Rep. Garry Smith has proposed the creation of a central registry of people who abuse, neglect or exploit adults. The registry would allow family members to see if a prospective caregiver has a history of maltreatment.
An Azalea man charged with a double murder, almost a year and a half ago, has had a habit of being absent from the courtroom in most of his co
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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.
Writer Beer & Society

There is nothing that cannot be discussed and worked out over a beer. Join me as I explore local beer, breweries and how they can civilize us.
GoPros genius discount grows larger. The wearable-camera maker styled itself a media company when it went public in 2014, but even its hardware business is suffering job cuts as sales fall short. Success is even harder than usual when  as at Snap, which fancied itself a camera company  the boss wastes time and resources chasing whims.

The companys portable cameras are popular among snowboarders, sky divers and mountain bikers, but its media partnerships and attempts to launch action shows never amounted to much. GoPro shut down those efforts in 2016. A bid to crack the drone market hasnt fared any better. The firm now says it will exit that business, blaming competition and a hostile regulatory environment.

While GoPro chased those dreams, competition in its core business of making portable cameras grew ever tougher. Asian rivals caught up on quality while cutting prices. And the emergence of waterproof smartphones with quality lenses and better editing software has caused some customers to wonder why they need a separate camera at all.

Its one thing to turn a good idea into a thriving business, as GoPros founder, Nick Woodman, did with small, rugged cameras for action sports. But one success hardly guarantees another, no matter how clever the vision. Snap, for example, has seen features like its disappearing messages, face filters and story format copied by Facebook. And the companys camera glasses have proved to be a dud, prompting it to take a $40 million charge against inventory last quarter.
The newly passed tax law could save Americans billions of dollars on their utility bills.

In recent days, electric companies in Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon and other states have announced plans to pass their tax cuts on to customers through lower rates. On Tuesday, Pepco, which provides power to nearly 300,000 customers in Washington, D.C., said it would cut rates beginning in the current quarter.

Other utilities might be forced to follow suit. In much of the country, investor-owned utilities have a monopoly on providing electricity and gas to homes and businesses. State regulators allow them to charge rates high enough to recoup their costs  including the cost of paying taxes  and to provide a return to their shareholders. Those regulators periodically scrutinize rates to ensure that they are reasonable. When taxes go down, so should customers utility bills.

State regulators across the country have said they will make sure that actually happens. And in a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, the attorneys general of several states, including Massachusetts, Texas and New York, asked the agency to act as well.
PASADENA, Calif.  Get ready for Rose McGowan on the small screen.

Ms. McGowan, the actress turned activist whose accusations against Harvey Weinstein helped spur a national reckoning on sexual abuse and harassment, will star in a documentary series, Citizen Rose, that is scheduled to premiere on E! later this month.

It is a time of reckoning and the reset button, she said at a Television Critics Association media event on Tuesday.

The cable network promised that the series will be an unfettered look into Ms. McGowans life. Filming began in September, the month before the publication of the New York Times story that disclosed her settlement agreement with Mr. Weinstein, whom she had accused of sexual assault.

She kept saying, Itll be worth it, I promise, Andrea Metz, an executive producer of the series, said of Ms. McGowans pitch to Bunim/Murray Productions.
Just a Show?

From The Ringer: In a response to the Golden Globes, Lindsay Zoladz, a cultural critic for The Ringer, explores the dissonance created by the ceremony during which symbols of feminist progress were overshadowed by antiquated traditions on the red carpet and during the presentations. She finds that the backdrop of male-dominated Hollywood machinery underscored just how little had changed. The celebratory we fixed sexism tone too often felt premature, she writes, worrying that the fashion of acknowledging the industrys entrenched sexism could be as fleeting as any other Hollywood trend.  Jonah Engel Bromwich, reporter, Express Team
And while he made his case, Mr. Christie did gloss over some numbers. Though he did cut the unemployment rate in half, New Jerseys rate of 4.9 percent is still higher than the national average of 4.1 percent.

And when he talked about a newly replenished state fund used to pay for public transit and road projects, he did not mention how close it came to bankruptcy, how New Jersey Transit service has declined or how he canceled a proposed rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

He paused in listing his accomplishments to thank political partners by name, including Democrats like Dana Redd, the former mayor of Camden, and Stephen M. Sweeney, the Senate president with whom Mr. Christie negotiated many deals.

He was just as harsh in his criticisms as he was glowing in his tributes. He admonished Mr. Murphy against wanting to be liked or working too closely with public worker unions. And while lamenting the states large, unfunded pension system, Mr. Christie criticized many of his predecessors in office by name, saying, They not only didnt fix it, they made it worse each and every year.

Sitting in the front row was one of those governors, James E. McGreevey. He did not join in the standing ovation that followed that line.

Mr. Christie saved his strongest superlatives for his administrations response to Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 disaster that launched his approval ratings into the stratosphere and elevated his national stature.
Dear Diary:

I was rushing to catch a train at Union Square to get to a doctors appointment. The door closed before I could get on, snagging my foot.

I pulled my foot out, but the beige mule that was on it got stuck. It teetered a moment before slipping between the train car and the platform, and then falling onto the tracks.

I reported my loss to a station attendant and learned that it might be some time before the shoe could be rescued. I left my phone number and got on the next train, tucking my bare foot under the seat and casually gazing upward.

After reaching my stop, I left the station in one shoe and my bare foot on tiptoes. I found some footsie socks at a Duane Reade and walked on, dodging the puddles on Park Avenue where building superintendents had hosed down the pavement.
The mayor and the police commissioner have spoken to the need for increasing transparency into the way our city is policed, Austin Finan, a spokesman for Mr. de Blasio, said. The release of body camera footage, when possible, is an important extension of that commitment.

Robert J. Freeman, the executive director of the state Committee on Open Government, who has called for the 50-a statute to be amended or repealed, said the lawsuit was an attempt by the union to further shield police officers from public accountability.

You have this myth that the disclosure of information relating to the performance of the duties of a public employee in some way relates to that persons personal privacy, he said. Not so. Not so. The record that indicates my salary is about me, but its not personal. Its about me as a public employee.

The police union, like others in Boston and Seattle, has resisted body cameras for its officers. Officials considered taking legal action against the city during contract negotiations last year until the city agreed to give a raise for officers who would be required to wear them.

While the police union would rather not see the videos released at all, prosecutors prefer that decision to be made after they have completed investigations and decided if criminal charges are warranted. And police-reform advocates have pushed for a standardized process that would allow more videos to be made public.

Darius Charney, the lead lawyer in a 2008 lawsuit that challenged the Police Departments stop-and-frisk tactics and led to a court-ordered body camera pilot, said the videos should be considered official reports, no different from what officers file each time they conduct a stop, arrest or other enforcement action.

Richard M. Aborn, the president of the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, a criminal justice policy nonprofit, said that whether the statute applies to body camera video may depend on whether the Police Department plans to use it to evaluate officers performances or make disciplinary decisions.
Martin Garbus, the lawyer for the victim, wrote a scathing Op-Ed piece in The New York Times in 2013 after seeing Lucky Guy, the Broadway show that lionized Mr. McAlary. He said on Tuesday that the trauma from the news stories was nearly as great as the trauma from the rape; she had to live with those stories for 23 years.

The detective said it was my piece, in The Times, on the play, that led him to begin to think about reopening the case, Mr. Garbus said, adding that no one has yet apologized to the woman.

Mr. Garbus conceded there was very little officials could do now, legally. He said the woman, who is now 51 and married with two children, feels relieved about the police breakthrough in her case, but was declining to speak about the matter. Mr. Garbus would not say what she does for a living, though she was pursuing an acting career at the time of the attack. He said that she now lives in the metropolitan area.

She was called a liar, Mr. Garbus said. So she feels good about her vindication. She doesnt have to walk along the streets any longer and fear that someone is going to call her a liar. But what happened to her is terrible.

Mr. McAlary, a dominant tabloid reporter, went on to write a series of columns in The Daily News on the brutalization of Abner Louima by officers in Brooklyn, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1998, months before he died at age 41. A libel suit that Mr. Garbus had brought against him on behalf of the woman was dismissed in 1997 after a judge ruled that Mr. McAlary was entitled to First Amendment protections to write about what the police had told him.

Mr. Webb has a long criminal history: He was arrested for at least 10 sex offenses from 1968 to 1995, the police said. In 1995, he was charged with raping four women and attempting to rape a fifth, according to law enforcement officials and court records. He was convicted in October 1997 in connection with all five cases, and sentenced in December 1997 to 75 years to life in prison.

Mr. Davis, the police spokesman, said it was important to close the Prospect Park rape case, even with an expired statute of limitations.

Its an open case, Mr. Davis said. We want closure on it. We want to try to do everything we can to show that we are going to fully investigate these things as thoroughly as we can.
The Trump administrations decision to end the Temporary Protected Status for nearly 200,000 people from El Salvador who have been allowed to live in the United States for more than a decade comes as no surprise, given President Trumps attitude toward immigration and his past decisions to end protected status for Haitians and Nicaraguans. Its the wrong decision, on humanitarian and practical grounds.

The T.P.S. program was approved in 1990 to allow undocumented foreigners who were in the United States when disaster struck their homeland to remain in the country until it was safe to return. The Salvadorans were granted protected status after a pair of devastating earthquakes in their land in 2001, and their status was extended several times by the George W. Bush and Obama administrations.

Technically, the Department of Homeland Security is right that the conditions created by those quakes no longer exist. But the reasons the Salvadorans, like the Haitians and Nicaraguans, should be allowed to stay far outweigh the technically legal reasons to send them home.

There is nothing stopping Congress and the Trump administration from rewriting immigration law to avoid such harsh choices in the future. And President Trump signaled on Tuesday that hed consider compromise on the hundreds of thousands of so-called Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.
Since we published, the public has learned a great deal more about how seriously the F.B.I. took the dossier. The F.B.I., CNN reported, used the dossier to justify its effort to spy on an American citizen, and reimbursed Mr. Steele for some of his expenses. The BBC reported that the dossier was a road map to the F.B.I. investigation. Fox News recently reported that a top Department of Justice official met with Mr. Steele during the 2016 campaign. And on Tuesday, the public was given a glimpse, in the release of secret testimony, into the fierce battle between Senate Democrats and Republicans over the dossier and how the F.B.I. made use of it during the 2016 campaign.

As the seriousness of the Russia investigation has become clearer, the pro-Trump line has shifted from dismissing the dossier to stressing its role in the investigation: The dossier, some of Mr. Trumps defenders now say, played too big a part, given that a portion of Mr. Steeles funding came from political enemies of Mr. Trump, including the Democratic National Committee. Are we in the midst of a major criminal investigation against the president of the United States as a result of this dodgy dossier? asked Tom Fitton, a Trump ally, on Fox & Friends recently.

While Mr. Trumps camp dismiss the dossier as malicious fiction or pure political opportunism, some elements have been corroborated. For example, that the Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort hid payments for his work in Ukraine, as federal authorities have alleged; that the Russian diplomat Mikhail Kalugin was withdrawn suddenly from the United States; and that Mr. Trump sought, but never consummated, business deals in Russia.

Mr. Steele also reported, in pages submitted just 11 days after a Russian lawyer reportedly promised Mr. Trumps aides negative information on Hillary Clinton during a meeting in Trump Tower, that the Kremlin had been feeding Trump and his team valuable intelligence on his opponents, including Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

One large portion of the dossier is crystal-clear, certain, consistent and corroborated, a C.I.A. veteran, John Sipher, wrote recently. Russias goal all along has been to do damage to America and our leadership role in the world.

For all these reasons, the chorus of criticism of our decision to publish has faded. I havent had a single person approach me to say, I wish I hadnt read the dossier, and wish I had less insight into the forces at play in America. Do you feel that way? Does anyone?
After the Maricopa County sheriffs office detained a Latino man with a valid visa for nine hours in 2007, a class-action lawsuit led to an injunction requiring Mr. Arpaios office to end its immigration-related stops. Mr. Arpaio defied the injunction for years, boasting about it to the news media. He was convicted and facing a potential six-month jail sentence when he was pardoned.

Mr. Arpaio is similar to Roy Moore, the Republican Senate candidate vanquished by Doug Jones in Alabama last month. A tough-talking champion to far-right conservatives, Mr. Arpaio is a morally repugnant publicity hound to Arizonans whod like their state to be known for something more noble than racial profiling and Tent City.

His entire platform pretty much consists of Im a big supporter of President Trump. And since Mr. Trump suggested on Tuesday that hed endorse a deal to eventually grant millions of undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship, a squirming Sheriff Joe came up with what he called a far-out plan:

When they come to your attention that theyre here illegally, these young people, deport them back to Mexico  or whatever  and then try to put them on a fast track to come back into the United States legally with special permits. Whats wrong with that? Theyd say they dont know where their home country is, so let them go there and spend six months, because it might take that long to do paperwork to get them here legally, and let them see their home country and see what its really like. They ought to be proud where they came from  So, you could kill two birds with one stone.

Mr. Arpaio acknowledges this idea may look stupid. Yep.
The legendary Memphis newspaper editor Ida B. Wells was targeted for assassination  and driven into exile  for exposing the lies that were routinely used to justify hanging, dismembering and burning alive African-Americans in the Jim Crow South.

Whites were particularly outraged when Wells said in an incendiary editorial, Nobody in this section of the country believes the old threadbare lie that Negro men rape white women  implying that rape accusations that preceded lynchings arose from the discovery of consensual sex between black men and white women.

By the time Wells took refuge in the North in 1892, white Southerners had made racial terrorism a fact of life and embarked on a propaganda campaign that romanticized slavery, idealized the Confederate past and held that white supremacy would restore lost Southern greatness. The Confederate monuments that sprang up in public spaces across the South  and that still stand today  were an essential part of that campaign.

The Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were popular choices for veneration. But Wellss beloved city of Memphis set its sights on Tennessees native son, the Civil War general and Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest. A monument of Forrest astride his horse towered over a public park in the city for more than a century until shortly before Christmas, when the city overcame state opposition to finally dismantle it.
Mrs. Sonny Bono, Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Donald J. Trump walk into a bar. Assuming youre the bartender, by what names will you address them?

Oh, wait, thats easy. Call them Cher, Your Holiness and Mr. President.

Because those are the names by which they are known.

Easy enough, except maybe for the strangeness of being in a bar with both Pope Francis and Cher (a situation that, you have to admit, has potential). So how about this scenario then, which is poised to take place next Tuesday afternoon: There Ill be, in the seminar room, kicking off spring term at Barnard by asking my students for their names, hometowns and personal pronouns.

Yes, pronouns. Even though Barnard is a womens college, its routine for there to be students in the room who dont use she. In part, this is because men from Columbia (our sibling institution) routinely cross Broadway to enroll in a class at Barnard, and also because I might have a few transgender students in one of my classes. (Barnard admits students who identify as female at the time of their application to the college; students coming out as trans men while matriculating continue to be welcomed as part of the community.) Still other students use the gender nonspecific singular they, or the gender-neutral pronouns ze or hir or xem.
NATIONAL

An article on Tuesday about natural disasters in the United States in 2017 misstated the name of an American scientific agency. It is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, not the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.



An article on Monday about the potential impact that the new tax law and President Trumps position on trade could have on farmers misstated the tariff that South Korea could impose on United States beef. It could raise its tariffs to 40 percent on beef, not 27 percent.

NEW YORK

An article on Monday about Dr. Mitchell H. Katz, the incoming president of NYC Health & Hospitals, described incorrectly the services offered by Healthy San Francisco. It provides health care to uninsured people; it does not provide health insurance.

BUSINESS DAY

The Square Feet column on Wednesday about rebuilding Salt Lake City International Airport referred incorrectly to its relationship with airlines. It serves nine carriers; it is not a hub for nine airlines.
One night last week, I found myself bundled up, standing with a photographer in an unusually quiet Pennsylvania Station.

About 10 inches of snow had fallen in New York, the wind was picking up outside, and temperatures were dropping. Our assignment was to check on the homeless. Were there more in the citys major transit hubs than usual? Where would they take shelter from the cold?

Last year, there were about 3,900 unsheltered homeless people in the city, an increase of 40 percent from the previous year. This population, which includes those who live in the subways and on the streets, has soaring rates of mental illness and addiction, and its members are thought to be standoffish, at best. Our subjects for that evening  and the weekend, as it turned out  did not look particularly eager to talk or be photographed.

I emailed my editor, Amy Virshup, for guidance. The important thing to do, she said this week, was to get their names. We needed to talk to the homeless and identify them by name the same way we do with other sources. Not just to count them.
When it comes to heroic dads, its hard to outdo the emperor penguin. But a newly released study suggests the reality may fall short of the legend.

Male emperor penguins are famous for going without food for up to 115 days while they mate and then shelter a solitary egg from the brutal winter winds. Dramatic footage of the semiannual ritual, which begins with a 100-kilometer Antarctic trek to an inland breeding ground, helped make 2005s March of the Penguins one of the highest grossing documentaries of all time.

But researchers who visited a different colony say they witnessed the animals taking breaks from their breeding duties to go fishing in the winter darkness, challenging the popular notion that they are natures most dedicated dads.

The behavior was witnessed at Antarcticas Cape Washington in late May 1998  after breeding season had begun and the sun had permanently set for the winter  by a team led by Gerald L. Kooyman, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.
Republican officials in the General Assembly said Tuesday evening that they intended to appeal the ruling, which many elected officials and political strategists were still scrambling to digest. Dallas Woodhouse, the executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, criticized Judge Wynn and accused him of waging a personal, partisan war on North Carolina Republicans.

In a separate post on Twitter, Mr. Woodhouse argued that Judge Wynn had concluded that North Carolinas Republicans should not be allowed to draw election districts under any circumstances under any set of rules, an effort he called a hostile takeover of the General Assembly and legislatures nationwide. Republicans could ask the Supreme Court to stay the decision and allow the disputed map to be used this year.

But critics of the congressional map welcomed a decision that was notable for its tartness and urgency.

Clearly, the courts have realized that they do need to step in and police extreme partisan gerrymanders, and the court recognized that North Carolinas gerrymander was one of the most extreme in history, said Ruth Greenwood, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center and a lawyer representing some of the maps challengers.

The chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, Wayne Goodwin, said the decision was a major victory for North Carolina and people across the state whose voices were silenced by Republicans unconstitutional attempts to rig the system to their partisan advantage.

The judges issued their decision fewer than 24 hours before the General Assembly was to convene in Raleigh for a special session. The ruling unmistakably placed lawmakers on the clock, giving them two weeks to present a remedial plan and declaring that the court would institute its own map if it finds the new district lines unsatisfactory.

Politically, this gives hope to Democrats, said J. Michael Bitzer, a professor of political science at Catawba College, which is near Charlotte. I can imagine the Republicans being furious, but they have to see political reality, and its not just in the next two weeks: Its come November.
The same is true of Mr. Cohen, who has vehemently denied any role in the conspiracy claimed in the dossier. In August, Mr. Cohen went so far as to give Congress a point-by-point rebuttal of the dossiers allegations that he has deep ties to Russian officials. He specifically denied one of the best-known allegations against him  that he secretly met in Prague with a Russian official last summer.

In the lawsuit, Mr. Cohens lawyers say that Fusion acted recklessly and then disseminated the dossier to reporters without being able to back up its explosive claims.

Mr. Cohen was collateral damage in a U.S. political operation, the lawsuit says.

We want to the courts to bring to a head because nobody else was going to bring this to a head, said David. M Schwartz, Mr. Cohens lawyer. This is the way Michael Cohen will get back his reputation  through the courts.

Neither Fusion nor Mr. Steele had any immediate comment on Mr. Cohens lawsuit.

Ben Smith, the editor in chief of BuzzFeed News, wrote in an op-ed article published late Tuesday by The Times that a year of government inquiries and blockbuster journalism has made clear that the dossier is unquestionably real news.

He defended BuzzFeeds decision to publish the dossier, despite having not verified the accuracy of its contents. Without it, many Americans would not have had the context necessary to fully understand the Russia investigations, he wrote.

We strongly believed that publishing the disputed document whose existence we and others were reporting was in the public interest, he wrote.

Mr. Cohen is not the first to sue BuzzFeed over the dossier. The news organization also faces a lawsuit by Aleksej Gubarev, a Russian technology executive named in the dossier. As part of that case, lawyers for Mr. Gubarev, who runs XBT, a technology company based in Luxembourg, have subpoenaed both Fusion and Mr. Steele for documents about the dossier and their communications with the news media.

Mr. Gubarev is mentioned at the end of the dossier, which claims that he and his company were involved in hacking operations against the leadership of the Democratic Party.
The president has stated his opposition to cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, Mr. Azar replied. He said that in the campaign, and I believe he remains steadfast in his views on that. Hes made that commitment. I will live up to that if Im confirmed.

But like many Republicans, Mr. Azar said that cuts in the growth of federal benefit programs were not really cuts if federal spending on the programs continued to increase.

Democrats kept returning to the question of drug prices. Mr. Azar said that the expertise he acquired in the pharmaceutical industry would help him rein in drug costs as a federal official.

Across the board, he said, drug prices are too high. Insulin prices are too high. All drug prices are too high in this country.

Democrats were generally skeptical, based on Lillys record during Mr. Azars time at the company.

The price of Lillys bone-growth drug Forteo, used to treat osteoporosis, more than doubled on Mr. Azars watch, said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the Finance Committee. In the same period, Mr. Wyden said, the company more than doubled prices for other drugs including Humalog, used to treat diabetes, and Strattera, for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Mr. Wyden asked Mr. Azar if, as head of Lillys operations in the United States, he had ever approved a reduction in the price of a Lilly drug.

Mr. Azar avoided a direct answer and blamed the system.

I dont know that there is any drug price of a branded product that has ever gone down from any company on any drug in the United States because every incentive in this system is toward higher prices, Mr. Azar said, adding: No one company is going to fix that system. Thats why I want to be here working with you.
The West Wing met The Apprentice on Tuesday when President Trump presided over an extraordinary meeting, later broadcast on television, of lawmakers from both parties debating policy in the cabinet room. On the table: immigration.

Over the course of about 55 minutes, members of both the House and the Senate discussed how best to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived as children, and whether to embrace a path to citizenship for millions of other immigrants. President Trump gave his endorsement to a plan for broad changes, even as the lawmakers debated a narrower deal that could be reached sooner.

Here are some dramatic moments from the meeting.

First of all, take a look at who was around the table.
WASHINGTON  For 55 minutes, with cameras rolling, President Trump engaged in a vigorous discussion of immigration with congressional leaders of both parties in a setting usually reserved for bland talking points and meaningless photo opportunities.

In effect, the president and his visitors threw away the blah-blah scripts and negotiated possible legislation in front of the nation. I hope weve given you enough material, a pleased Mr. Trump joked with reporters as he finally ushered them out of the Cabinet Room in the White House.

That was the point. After days in which his very fitness for office was debated, Mr. Trump appeared intent on demonstrating that he could handle the presidency. He was in command of the meeting while inviting input. He did not berate anyone. He did not call anyone derogatory nicknames. He signaled that he was open to compromise.

The bar, of course, was historically low given that Democrats and even some Republicans have been describing him as so unstable that he should be removed from office. For his advisers, the meeting was a relief, a chance to reset the narrative and make Mr. Trump look more like a traditional president. And his critics, grading on a curve, called it a welcome change, a moment of constructive engagement that they hoped would lead to more.
WASHINGTON  Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson is opening a formal inquiry into what the government has described as mysterious attacks in 2016 that sickened or injured 24 United States personnel who were stationed at the American Embassy in Cuba.

But at a hearing on Tuesday, Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, said the State Department did not follow the law in failing to set up a review board months ago. It was the first public discussion of many of the details behind the events in Havana, which are being investigated by the F.B.I. and top American medical authorities.

The Cuban government has repeatedly denied any responsibility for the problems reported by American personnel in Havana and has decried the plunge in relations with the United States under Mr. Trump. Whether the government of Cuba is at fault for the illnesses was disputed by senators, and some, including Mr. Rubio, argued that Havana should be punished.

The idea that someone could put together some sort of action against them, 24 of them, and the Cuban government not know who did it, its just impossible, Mr. Rubio said. He noted that the Americans in Havana became sick just after Mr. Trumps election, and speculated that rogue government officials from either Cuba or Russia had sought to create friction between Havana and the new administration in Washington.
The politicians are using us like a sport, you know, theyre using us like punching bags. Democrats and Republicans alike have to stand up for us because there are DACA beneficiaries in every state. I was brought when I was 11  ... when I was 7, from Brazil. I was about 10. I was 12 years old. I was 7 years old.  ... about 8 years old. We crossed the border, but we were little. So Ive been here 18 years. Im 29 years old. I am 20. I am 19 years old. Ive been here for 21 years. I am 27 years old now. I am 23 years old and I am originally from Mexico. When DACA was announced, I remember exactly where I was in 2012. I was at the Museum of American History. Before DACA I always felt like I was in between two worlds. I was born in Honduras. But if I were to go back to Honduras, its like Im foreign to them. Its a tug of war. When youre undocumented, youre always just aware of the situations, of the locations, who you were talking to, how you are interacting with folks, ensuring that you dont do anything that will bring attention to you because you live a life of shadows. You know, I have been able to accomplish a lot more than when I was undocumented. To get a social security number, loans from the bank, a better job. Every time my parents call me after 11 p.m., its like my heart is racing. When you are an immigrant in this country, you wake up every day with the fear that you could be taken away, right, that your family could be broken up. I have been preparing my kids of, for, you know, These are the risk[s]. This could happen to your dad and to me. I just cant imagine, you know, my nieces and nephews being separated from their parents or them going back to a country that they dont know because this is their home. They shouldnt live with that fear that I had to grow up with. Thats not a normal life. Thats not normal. And I know that like my friends that are U.S. citizens dont go through that. And nobody should go through that. Im not leaving my home, and I think if Trump ever wanted to talk to us, if he wanted to talk to these Dreamers he would realize that we love this country. We want to stay here, and ...   ... if its taken away, Im losing my job, Im losing the opportunity to work and school. People dont understand but its a big thing, its a huge thing, its privileges that some people here take for granted. Taking DACA away is like taking a family member away from me. That wall that Donald Trump wants to build, you know, its putting a wall in front of me where I wont be able to move forward. You are not just taking something away from us, but youre taking something away from this country. This land is not a white America. Its not. This is a land of immigrants. I mean, I was already a person before DACA. A lot of people say, Oh, you know, whats going to happen after DACA? Im not going down without a fight. You know, whatever happens next, I love this country and I belong here. Im fighting for my family, Im fighting for the friends of mine that cant even stand up because theyre scared. We just want to stay here and contribute to this country, to the economy ... We are good people. Were not criminals.
Months after two Category 5 hurricanes pummeled the United States Virgin Islands, officials said Tuesday that power has been restored to 92 percent of customers, a significant improvement from even a month ago, when about half of them remained in the dark.

Bringing power back up may help speed recovery in other areas that require basic infrastructure to operate, experts say, even as Gov. Kenneth E. Mapp estimated Tuesday that there was a long way to go after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Hospitals that sustained major structural damage on the islands, home to some 103,000 people mainly on St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas, continue to evacuate patients in serious condition to the mainland, Mr. Mapp said in an interview. Schools that have managed to reopen are juggling double sessions to accommodate students, and tourism  the economys lifeblood  is still slow, Mr. Mapp said.

The destruction the storms left on the islands  about 90 percent of customers lacked power in September  was at times overshadowed by the catastrophic devastation on neighboring Puerto Rico. About half of Puerto Ricos more than three million people still do not have electricity, the government acknowledged on Dec. 29, 100 days after Maria cut its brutal path across the island.
In the 90s and still today, United States authorities rounded up these gang members and deported them back to El Salvador. From there, the new seeds of gang culture, imported from the United States, grew into the vicious networks that operate with impunity throughout El Salvador.

The U.S. has such a deep impact on El Salvador for its own foreign policy needs that it bears significant responsibility, not only for the flow of migrants out of El Salvador into the U.S., but also for the current conditions of violence that exist there, said Erik Ching, a history professor at Furman University in South Carolina.

El Salvador has been struggling beneath the weight of these deportees and the turbulent dynamic they brought with them. Prisons are overflowing and have become cesspools of disease and overcrowding. On the outside, joblessness and violence are the broken realities of life.

The potential for 200,000 others to return will only exacerbate those problems. And in the meantime, the exodus continues: More than 250 Salvadorans leave the country each day, said Mr. Lopez of Cofamide.

Citing survey and medical data released last year that was gathered by its teams working with Salvadoran migrants traveling through Mexico, Doctors Without Borders said 55 percent of Salvadoran refugees and migrants reported being victims of blackmail or extortion. An additional 56 percent had a relative lost to violence, and 67 percent said they never felt safe at home.

The Border Patrol apprehended more than 27,000 families in the year ending in September 2016, and an additional 17,500 children made the trip alone. And those figures were down from recent years.

Thousands of families will be divided, and those who stay in the U.S. will be desperately worried about the safety of their relatives going back to a poor, unprepared country where their physical safety will be threatened every single day, said Mr. Lindo-Fuentes of Fordham.
BEIJING  A senior Chinese general who won the national spotlight by overseeing a grand military parade and who vowed unwavering support for President Xi Jinpings drive against corruption has come under investigation for graft, the latest in a string of Peoples Liberation Army commanders to fall.

Gen. Fang Fenghui disappeared from public view nearly five months ago and quietly retired from his posts, igniting rumors that he was under investigation. Xinhua, Chinas official news agency, confirmed on Tuesday that military prosecutors were investigating him on charges of giving and taking bribes.

The brief announcement gave no other details. But the charges that he had given, as well as taken, kickbacks raised the possibility that he may have paid his way up the ranks, some Chinese news media said. Mr. Xi has warned that such corruption threatens to shake Communist Party rule by eroding the loyalty and preparedness of the armed forces.

In fact, as early as 2003, he was already a senior military officer at military region deputy level, said a party commentary widely republished by the Chinese news media. The target of his bribes must be shocking.
Two years ago, the collector Patricia Phelps de Cisneros donated 102 Latin American artworks to the Museum of Modern Art. It turns out that was just the overture: On Wednesday she announced that her organization will donate 202 additional works to six international museums, including MoMA.

The donation includes work by 91 artists from 22 countries across Latin America, most of whom are still living. They include Jac Leirner (Brazil), Luis Camnitzer (Uruguay), Amalia Pica (Argentina) and Regina Jose Galindo (Guatemala). While the earliest works date back to the middle of the 20th century, a majority of them were made after 2000, and range from sculptures to videos to tapestries.

Ms. Cisneros, a prominent collector of Latin American art and a member of the MoMA board, said she has been working on this project  accumulating art with the intention of eventually bringing it to a wider international audience  for 40 years. Our mission has always been to build bridges of understanding between Latin America and the U.S. and the rest of the world, rather than to build walls, she said in a phone interview.

Ninety of the 202 pieces will go to MoMA, where Ms. Cisneros has been involved for decades. She has been a catalyst in transforming the way the MoMA thinks about Latin American art, Glenn D. Lowry the museums director, said in a phone interview. He said a team of curators worked with the staff at the Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros to comb through its vast contemporary holdings, with the intention of introducing new artists, like Ms. Galindo, to MoMAs collection. In a way, its even more important than the first gift, Mr. Lowry said.
Celso Renato

Through Jan. 20. Mendes Wood DM, 60 East 66th Street, 2nd floor, Manhattan; 212-220-9943, mendeswooddm.com.

The story of modernisms debt to non-Western, folk and tribal art is complex and only getting more so. A new wrinkle in the narrative is the work of the singular Brazilian artist Celso Renato (1919-1992), seen in its beguiling seven-piece United States debut at Mendes Wood DM. He was a practicing lawyer and self-taught artist who spent most of his life in Belo Horizonte in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

Renato began painting in the 1960s and by the 1980s was working with a spare geometric vocabulary applied freehand to found pieces of wood and lumber, which he tended to use unaltered. The combination made him an odd man out with the Neo-Concretists. Like them he rejected the clean rational forms of the Concretists, but he retained the earlier groups attachment to the art object

His efforts communicate and reward empathic attention. A piece of lumber shaped like a narrow irregular house about two feet tall is cracked all the way through at the center, giving it a crevicelike door. Renato simply painted a series of bars and blocks in red, black or white around its edges, giving it a kind of frame and turning it into a votive object of a female goddess. The same blocks and bars appear on a portion of an old tree trunk. They form a narrow stack at the center of the trunks round side, like an abstract homage to the tree it was once part of.
1. Broken and unfair.

That was President Trumps assessment of the courts after a federal judge ordered the administration to restart a program that shields young, undocumented immigrants from deportation.

The president had ordered a halt to the Obama-era program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, in the fall. But the judge ruled that it must continue as various legal challenges make their way through the courts.
Escalating brinkmanship, crippling sanctions, intercontinental missile testing  can the hair-trigger standoff between North and South Korea be defused by figure skating? The 2018 Winter Games will be hosted by North Koreas mortal enemy about 40 miles from their border, in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Whether the regime ends up as a participant or a pariah, it will not be the first time the Olympics has been at the center of a geopolitical chess game. Despite a tiny economy and decades of international isolation, North Korea has produced an impressive slate of world-class athletes, and won dozens of Olympic medals, from judo to gymnastics, table tennis to wrestling. In the early 2000s, the two Koreas, still formally at war, actually marched together in the Olympic ceremonies. This year, even with the global crackdown on the regime, South Koreas president and the International Olympic Committee have been repeatedly urging North Korea to attend the so-called games of peace. To fully understand the global push to get North Korea to compete, you need to rewind to the 1988 Olympics. Seoul was selected as the host city. To North Korea, it was not just a snub, but an affront to their national dignity. They demanded, with apparent support from China and the Soviet Union, that the International Olympic Committee allow the North to co-host and move some events across the border. There were two years of secret negotiations and threats. Ten months before the 1988 games, two agents of the regime placed a bomb on Korean Air Flight 858, killing more than 100 people. The bombers later said that the goal was to sabotage the Olympics by scaring off attendees. But the games went on as planned and were hailed as a historic success for the South. Meanwhile, North Korea, which carried out a feeble boycott after being abandoned by the Soviets and Chinese, was named a state sponsor of terror by the United States. What followed was years of international isolation, crippling hardship and famine, and aggressive nuclear ambitions. There have been periods of calm. The North occasionally sent teams to international competitions in the South. In 1991, the two Koreas actually united to play as a single team in youth soccer and table top tennis tournaments. But North Korea notoriously lashed out again when the South was hosting the World Cup in 2002. During the final set of matches, two boats from the North opened fire on a South Korean patrol ship, triggering a gun battle that killed and injured dozens of sailors on both sides. It was the last major international sports competition held in South Korea. Today, the threat posed by North Korea has been intensifying. But diplomacy has found a place on the playing field. There were the North and South gymnasts in Rio, the cross-border womens hockey and soccer matches last spring, the tae kwon do exchange in June. And then there was a pair of figure skaters from North Korea, who, in September, won worldwide fans and qualified to compete in the Olympics, skating to a Beatles song. But it remains to be seen whether the games can offer a diplomatic off-ramp for the Korean standoff or even a brief reprieve for a whirl around the rink.
Ms. Donegan, who wrote that she had graduated from college in 2013, began by explaining that she was the person who had first collected a range of rumors and allegations of sexual misconduct, much of it violent, by men in magazines and publishing.

She added, The anonymous, crowdsourced document was a first attempt at solving what has seemed like an intractable problem: how women can protect ourselves from sexual harassment and assault.

After acknowledging that the list had its pitfalls and made many people uncomfortable, she explained that she had never expected it to gain the attention of people beyond the group of women in media who were its intended audience.

But as more and more women added their own names and descriptions of inappropriate behavior to it, the list began to circulate far and wide. It was mentioned in an article on BuzzFeed and a version was posted on Reddit.

I had imagined a document that would assemble the collective, unspoken knowledge of sexual misconduct that was shared by the women in my circles: What I got instead was a much broader reckoning with abuses of power that spanned an industry, Ms. Donegan wrote.

It is likely that the Harpers article, which had yet to reach its final version on Wednesday, will be revised to reflect Ms. Donegans revealing herself as the person who created what became an important document at a time when powerful men in the media and other fields have been called out and punished not only for instances of alleged rape and sexual assault, but also for modes of behavior that seemed acceptable in workplaces just a decade ago.

Hours before the publication of Ms. Donegans story on The Cut, Ms. Roiphe said that she herself did not know the identity of the person who had started the list and added, I would never put in the creator of the list if they didnt want to be named.
Last week, a lawyer working on Mr. Trumps behalf, Charles J. Harder of Harder Mirell & Abrams in Beverly Hills, Calif., sent an 11-page cease-and-desist letter to the publisher of Mr. Wolffs book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

Mr. Harders letter demanded that the publisher, Henry Holt and Company, withdraw the book from stores and apologize; the publisher responded by moving up the books release date and increasing its first print run to one million copies, from 150,000.

Mr. Trumps remarks on Wednesday about libel law seemed, at times, to refer obliquely to the book, which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list, and has provided fodder for dozens of news articles, opinion pieces and cable news segments.

We want fairness, the president said. Cant say things that are false, knowingly false, and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account. We are going to take a very, very strong look at that, and I think what the American people want to see is fairness.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Trump made sport of the reporters who stood in fenced-off areas during his speeches, often whipping up the crowd against them.

He also said on the campaign trail that he would open up the countrys libel laws  although he later backed off that pledge in an interview with editors and writers at The Times, joking that he personally might be in trouble if the laws were loosened.

Somebody said to me on that, they said, You know, its a great idea softening up those laws, but you may get sued a lot more, Mr. Trump, who propagated false rumors that Barack Obama was born in Africa and that the father of Senator Ted Cruz had aided the assassination of John F. Kennedy, said at the time.
Five months after announcing that they would reward some American city with a $1.6 billion car plant and 4,000 jobs, Toyota Motor and Mazda Motor said on Wednesday that they had a winner: Huntsville, Ala.

Huntsville, home to a number of aerospace manufacturers, is the latest location in the Deep South to emerge as an auto-manufacturing hub. This is indeed a great day in Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey said at a news conference in Montgomery.

The two Japanese companies said the plant would open in 2021 and be capable of making 300,000 cars a year. In addition to direct employment, the factory is expected to create thousands of related jobs.

Toyotas chief executive, Akio Toyoda, said he was confident that the plant would be a built-in-America success story.
The authors of the study said that the removal of the words climate change from government websites, and a widespread effort to delete or bury information on climate change programs, would quite likely have a detrimental impact.

We have found significant loss of public access to information about climate change, the authors wrote.

Why are these federal agencies putting so much effort into science cleansing instead of using time and resources to fulfill agency responsibilities, such as protecting the environment and advancing energy security? they wrote. Removing information regarding climate change from federal websites does not affect the reality of climate change, but may serve to obfuscate the subject and inject doubt regarding the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and that it is caused by human activity.

The report tracks the Environmental Protection Agencys removal of hundreds of websites connected to state and local climate change programs; the removal of information about international climate change programs from the State Department, Energy Department and E.P.A. websites; and the deletion of the words climate change from websites throughout the federal government.
Want the latest climate news in your inbox? You can sign up here to receive Climate Fwd:, our new email newsletter.

WASHINGTON  At 5:20 on Tuesday evening, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke tweeted a photo of himself at the Tallahassee airport with Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, announcing that he had decided, after meeting with Governor Scott, to exempt the state from a new Trump administration plan to open up most of the nations coastline to offshore oil drilling.

It was a sudden and unexpected change to a plan that President Trump had celebrated just five days before, and it took lawmakers and governors from both parties by surprise. It also gave Governor Scott, a Republican who is widely expected to run for the Senate this year, a clear political boost in that race. Florida lawmakers of both parties have long opposed offshore drilling, especially after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill sent tarballs to the shores of a state where the economy relies heavily on tourism. Mr. Zinkes sudden flip-flop on Florida drilling allows Governor Scott to tout the decision as evidence of his influence with the White House.
Good morning. Theres a lot of exciting reading in the Food section we sent to the printing plants last night and delivered to the vicinity of front doors and driveways this chilly morning. Ligaya Mishan takes us all on vacation to Hawaii, where shes from, to eat poke and experience it in its indigenous form, far superior to anything youll ever find on the mainland. For Beers of The Times, Eric Asimov and his merry band of tasters dive deep into the pleasures of brown ale. Pete Wells reviews Ferris, a new New American restaurant in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

And Tejal Rao brings forth a delightful profile of Angie Mar, the chef and an owner of the Beatrice Inn in Manhattan, which includes a recipe of Ms. Mars for an impressively large English-style meat pie with potatoes and brown gravy, with a marrow bone roasted right into it. Some, like me, will want to make that as soon as this weekend, a kind of cry against winter in place of a flight to Kailua. (Though wed take that flight if we could, for sure. You ever see how they fish for giant trevally there?)

Tonight, though, I think most will want to cook simply, get some grub on the table soon as possible. That is the way of the world in the middle of the week, and, though we ache to change many things about our state of affairs, that is not one of them. You wont even need a recipe! Just cook some pasta  ziti, for instance, for thats what is on the shelf  in salted water, and drain it just before it is done, reserving a cup of the cooking water.

While the pasta cooks, melt a honking big knob of unsalted butter in a pan large enough to hold the pasta and cook some diced onions or shallots in it until theyre translucent. Add some slivered sage leaves and finish cooking the pasta in all of that, making a kind of sauce with around a half-cup of the cooking water and a healthy shower of grated Parmesan  like, at least a cup. Season liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and  heres a twist  serve the whole thing on a bed of raw baby greens, which will melt a little in the heat, while still retaining some crunch. Dinner is served.
During the eight years I lived in China, people would often say they felt as if they had no voice under Communist Party rule. This was especially true for minorities.

So when Tashi Wangchuk, a Tibetan herder turned shopkeeper, showed up at my apartment in Beijing in the spring of 2015, I of course wanted to listen to his story.

He told me the Chinese authorities on the Tibetan Plateau had been slowly eradicating the Tibetan language from schools and the business world. Mr. Tashi believed prohibiting the study of the Tibetan language went against Chinas constitution.

The New York Times was not Mr. Tashis first stop in his attempt to raise this issue, I learned. Chinese state-controlled media had refused to listen to him. And years earlier, the Chinese authorities had briefly jailed him for expressing his opinions on social media. Foreign media were his last resort to be heard.
Bioethics is a broad, interdisciplinary field. Its subject matter encompasses many of the most controversial and weighty matters facing contemporary society, including aid in dying or assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, artificial reproduction, genetic engineering, organ transplantation, medical marijuana and health care rationing.

In this first part of a two-part series, we use resources in The Times to help students explore difficult ethical questions related to patient autonomy, physician autonomy and scarce resources, such as:

 Should fertility clinics be required to offer services to gay or lesbian couples?

 Should parents have the right to refuse lifesaving medical care for their children because of religious beliefs?

 Should limits be placed on the amount of money the government spends on any one patients health care?

To help students address these questions, we first introduce them to guiding principles in bioethics. Then, in the suggested activities that follow, we ask students to take on the role of bioethicist, and apply these principles as they consider one or more of the topics below.

Teachers can also invite students to use the final activity to read The Times on their own to see how overarching questions about bioethics are often a part of our everyday lives.
My 12-year-old son and I found a cellphone in the back seat of a taxi. I called someone on the owners contact list who called him who then called me. We met on a convenient corner, and I gave him the phone. He was very appreciative and wanted to give us $40 to express his thanks. My son started to take it. I said: Thank you, but no thank you. We didnt do this for a reward. Trying to explain integrity to my son, however, has been very difficult. He doesnt see why we didnt take money for a good deed. Even some of my friends said I should have taken the reward. What do you think? Name Withheld

I understand your concern. We should be cautious about extracting market value from moral values. Imagine if we rewarded heroism in battle not with medals but with a cash prize. In his book The Moral Economy, Samuel Bowles, who directs the behavioral-sciences program at the Santa Fe Institute, argues that appeals to self-interest can undermine moral motivations.

But lets distinguish two issues here. One is why you should do the sort of generous thing you and your son did. The answer is, as you suggest, that good deeds are their own reward. And it was a good deed: You werent obliged to take the trouble to get the phone back to its owner yourself. You could have given it to the taxi driver, who has a professional duty either to arrange the return of lost property or to drop it off at a police station or with the owner of the cab. So what you did went above and beyond the call of duty. It was, to use a philosophers sesquipedalian word, an act of supererogation.

Had the phones owner just expressed his thanks, you would have had the satisfaction that decent people get from their decent acts. More than this, a world of decent people like you is a better world. Moments like these connect us to strangers in a way that reflects our common humanity. So we should honor these decent acts in others. I agree with you about all of that.
As this dispute was going on, Chinas anti-corruption operation was building a case against Ma Jian. In Guos telling, Ma had long been rumored to be collecting intelligence on Chinas leaders. As the anti-corruption campaign gained speed and officials like Wang Qishan gained power, Mas well of intelligence started to look like a threat. It was Guos relationship with Ma, the tycoon maintains, that made officials nervous. Ma was detained by the authorities in January 2015, shortly after Guo fled the country. Soon after Mas detention, accounts began appearing in Chinas state-run media claiming that Ma had six Beijing villas, six mistresses and at least two illegitimate sons. In a 2015 article that ran in the party-run newspaper The China Daily, the writer added another detail: The investigation also found that Ma had acted as an umbrella for the business ventures of Guo Wengui, a tycoon from Henan Province.

In the mix of spies, corrupt business dealings, mistresses and sex scandals, Guo has one more unbelievable story to tell about his past. It is one reason, he says, that he was mentally prepared to confront the leaders of the Communist Party. It happened nearly 29 years ago, in the aftermath of the crackdown on Tiananmen Square. According to Guo, he had donated money to the students protesting in the square, and so a group of local police officers came to find him at his home. An overzealous officer fired off a shot at Guos wife  at which point Guos younger brother jumped in front of the bullet, suffering a fatal wound. That was when I started my plan, he said. If your brother had been killed in front of your eyes, would you just forget it? Never mind the fact that it would take 28 years for him to take any public stand against the party that caused his brothers death. Never mind that the leadership had changed. Im not saying everyone in the Communist Party is bad, he said. The system is bad. So what I need to oppose is the system.

On an unusually warm Saturday afternoon in Flushing, Queens, a group of around 30 of Guos supporters gathered for a barbecue in Kissena Park. They laid out a spread of vegetables and skewers of shrimp and squid. Some children toddled through the crowd, chewing on hot dogs and rolling around an unopened can of Coke. The adults fussed with a loudspeaker and a banner that featured the name that Guo goes by in English, Miles Kwok. Miles Kwok, NY loves U, it said, a heart standing in for the word loves. Democracy, Justice, Liberty for China. Someone else had carried in a life-size cutout of the billionaire.

The revelers decided to hold the event in the park partly for the available grills but also partly because the square in front of Guos penthouse had turned dangerous. A few weeks earlier, some older women had been out supporting Guo when a group of Chinese men holding flags and banners showed up. At one point, the men wrapped the women in a protest banner and hit them. The park was a safer option. And the protesters had learned from Guo  it wasnt a live audience they were hoping for. The group would be filming the protest and posting it on social media. Halfway through, Guo would call in on someones cellphone, and the crowd would cheer.

Despite this show of support, Guos claims have divided Chinas exiled dissidents to such an extent that on a single day near the end of September, two dueling meetings of pro-democracy activists were held in New York, one supporting Guo, the other casting doubt on his motivations. (They are jealous of me, Guo said of his detractors. They think: Why is he so handsome? Why are so many people listening to him?) Some of Guos claims are verifiably untrue  he claimed in an interview with Vice that he paid $82 million for his apartment  and others seem comically aggrandized. (Guo says he never wears the same pair of underwear twice.) But the repercussions he is facing are real.

In December, Guos brother was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for destroying accounting records. The lawsuits filed against Guo for defamation are piling up, and Guo has claimed to be amassing a war chest of $150 million to cover his legal expenses. In September, a new set of claims against Guo were made in a 49-page document circulated by a former business rival. For Ha Jin, Guos significance runs deeper than his soap-opera tales of scandal and corruption. The grand propaganda scheme is to suppress and control all the voices, Jin said. Now everybody knows that you can create your own voice. You can have your own show. That fact alone is historical. In the future, Jin predicts, there will be more rebels like Guo. There is something very primitive about this, realizing that this is a man, a regular citizen who can confront state power.

Ho Pin, the founder of Long Islands Mingjing News, echoed Jin. Mingjings reporters felt that covering Guo was imperative, no matter the haziness of the information. In China, the political elite that Guo was attacking had platforms of their own, Ho said. They have the opportunity, the power and the ability to use all the governments apparatus to refute and oppose Guo Wengui. So our most important job is to allow Guo Wenguis insider knowledge reach the fair, open-minded people in China. Still, people like Pei urge caution when dealing with Guos claims. Even Guos escape raises questions. Few others have slipped through the net of Chinas anti-corruption drive. How could he get so lucky? Pei asked. He must have been tipped off long before.
Kenneth Leedom met Peter Cott in 1955, and when they were interviewed in 2013 about their 58 years together, they were newly married, living in a senior building in Lower Manhattan where I regularly visit my mother.

Mr. Cott was the more sociable of the two, and saucy; he was also slipping into dementia. Mr. Leedom was the organizer and planner, worried that he would not be able to take care of his husband.

Short-term memory is terrible, Mr. Leedom said.

But Im charming, Mr. Cott said. And he was.

Mr. Cott died the following year. Mr. Leedom continued on, going out less and less frequently. He went to Kinky Boots. He went to Sunset Boulevard.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand plans to use a prerogative given to home-state senators to try to block the confirmation of Geoffrey S. Berman if he is nominated by President Trump as the United States attorney in Manhattan, her spokesman said on Wednesday.

The senator, Democrat of New York, intends to use her blue-slip prerogative to lodge her objection over reports that President Trump had personally interviewed Mr. Berman as part of the selection process.

Ms. Gillibrand, through her spokesman, said those reports were deeply disturbing, because of conflicts of interest inherent in Mr. Bermans potential jurisdiction on matters that could affect the president personally.

Under these circumstances, Ms. Gillibrands spokesman, Glen Caplin, said, if such a meeting took place and Mr. Berman were nominated as United States attorney, the senator would have no choice but to stand up for the independence of this office by using her blue-slip prerogative.
A resident of 220 Riverside Boulevard, another condominium nearby, initiated a petition to remove the name from her building that garnered support from at least 57 homeowners and 24 renters in the building, although little came of it.

At 200 Riverside Boulevard, the boards residential committee conducted an anonymous survey of residents last February about whether to keep or remove the Trump name. The letter announcing the effort assured residents, in capital letters, that THIS IS A BLIND SURVEY AND CANNOT BE TRACKED TO AN APARTMENT, lest they be fearful of answering honestly.

A majority was in favor of removing the Trump letters, Mr. Koeppel, an independent management and technology consultant, recalled. He said a minority of residents had no issue with the letters, while others supported the president. Mr. Harvey and his wife, Peggy Koeppel, sold their 12th-floor apartment in July, after retiring and moving to the Hudson Valley, but not before they were forced to drop the price by 10 percent to secure a buyer.

Just before a meeting of unit owners to discuss the survey results, on March 29, Alan Garten, the chief legal officer of the Trump Organization, sent a letter to the board saying that removal of the letters would constitute a flagrant and material breach of the license agreement.

Mr. Garten also said that many apartment owners had reached out to express their grave concerns with the Boards contemplated action.

That cast a pall over the meeting, Mr. Koeppel said. There was definitively a fear in the air.

With a new board on its way in, a decision was delayed. Then, last week, the residential committee of the board asked the court to issue a declaratory judgment that the condominium has the right to use or remove the letters without violating its licensing agreement with Mr. Trump.

Under the licensing agreement, the committee acknowledges the boards obligation to maintain the building in a manner consistent with super luxury condominiums in Manhattan.
Anna Mae Hays, a front-line nurse who was named the United States militarys first female general after serving in three wars  in the jungles of India during World War II, in Korea and in Vietnam  died on Monday in Washington. She was 97.

The cause was a heart attack, a niece, Doris A. Kressly, said.

General Hays, who grew up mostly in Pennsylvania as the daughter of Salvation Army officers, had enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. She was shortly deployed to a field hospital in northeastern India, where she treated construction workers and Army engineers building a road to China, sometimes assisting in amputations.

In South Korea, she helped establish the first military hospital in the coastal city of Inchon, the scene of a decisive victory for United Nations forces in 1950.

During her three decades in the military, which culminated in her appointment to chief of the nurse corps, General Hays witnessed extraordinary medical advances, from the introduction of lifesaving antibiotics and painkillers to helicopter airlifts of wounded soldiers.
Dr. James Melius, an international expert on workplace medicine who advised the sponsors of a federal law that authorized billions of dollars for the medical care of first responders and others after the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, died on Jan. 1 at his home in Copake Falls, N.Y. He was 69.

His son Jeremy said the cause was cardiac arrest.

In the years before passage of the law in 2010, Dr. Melius gave forceful testimony to congressional committees that drew on his decades of work for government agencies and labor organizations.

He urged that Congress pass a comprehensive program to relieve the economic hardships of those who had developed  and would develop  respiratory diseases, cancer and other illnesses caused by exposure to toxins like asbestos and alkaline dust after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001.

He also lobbied to help workers who had lost their jobs and medical insurance and had found their medical claims being challenged by workers compensation.
To the Editor:

Re G.O.P. Senators Pursuing Author of File on Trump (front page, Jan. 6): Instead of putting party over country in an attempt to discredit a government source and longtime intelligence ally in Christopher Steele, a former British agent, Senators Lindsey Graham and Charles Grassley would serve their judicial oversight roles and the American public better by working with their colleagues to investigate the Russian attack on our political system.

Since Mr. Steele did bring the findings of his research to the F.B.I. because he was concerned that Kremlin interference was a threat to our election, senators serious about judicial oversight should be grateful for his information, not referring him to the Justice Department for criminal investigation.

After all, had any of the members of Mr. Trumps campaign gone to the F.B.I. when they first discovered that the Kremlin wanted to help Mr. Trump win the election, our country might not be in this mess now.

JANE RUPERT, HUNTINGTON, N.Y.
To the Editor:

Re With Red Tape Losing Its Grip, Firms Ante Up (front page, Jan. 2):

The examples cited as producing a wave of optimism that has swept over American business leaders show exactly why we should not set policy based on the preferences of corporate chiefs.

The articles examples of regulations to be overturned include limiting mining debris in streams; requiring broadband providers to obtain permission from customers to collect and use online information; banning plastic bottles from national parks, and restricting housing development in wetlands. The prospect of removing this red tape is, according to a Moodys economist, lifting everyones spirits.

Not mine. Every one of these changes would have the effect of increasing short-term profits at long-term cost to us all.

It is the job of government to weigh all factors and write rules that do not overly constrain business plans, but whose primary motivation is to consider the consequences to society as a whole. The views of corporations are just one highly self-interested pole of that debate; only regulation can balance their incentives away from short-term profit.
The key part of Simpsons testimony, as The Plum Lines Greg Sargent notes: The F.B.I. was already investigating the Trump campaigns relationship with Russia when it received additional information from Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer working with Simpsons firm, Fusion GPS. (Various Fox News commentators and others have tried to spin a tale in which the Clinton campaign effectively started the F.B.I. investigation, via Steele and Fusion.)

We still dont know how much of the information in Steeles infamous Trump dossier is accurate. Either way, Steele and Fusion are only supporting players in this story. The main questions are about Trumps campaign and Russia  not the people trying to figure out what was happening between the campaign and Russia.

Related: In The Times, Ben Smith, the editor in chief of BuzzFeed News, defends its decision to publish the Steele dossier one year ago today.

Perspective. The story of Russian collusion is devilishly complicated. Susan Hennessey  a legal expert whose work Ive often cited in this newsletter  offered an especially clear summary in a recent podcast with Voxs Ezra Klein. She described two scenarios  one more innocent, one less so. Here are the basics:

The innocent explanation: Amateurish Trump officials unwittingly blundered into a campaign by Russia to influence American policy and create chaos. The Trump officials cooperated with Russian nationals because they didnt know they shouldnt. They then lied about their contacts because those contacts were embarrassing, not because they were part of a sophisticated conspiracy. As Hennessey puts it, the cover up is worse than the crime.

The less-innocent explanation: Top Trump officials understood that they were doing something wrong. Perhaps they were trying to help their campaign with tactics they understood were wrong. Or perhaps they were working to advance the interests of a foreign power, because of financial entanglements between those officials  maybe including Trump  and Russia. These officials, and others who were aware of the entanglements, then lied about the contacts. In that case, Hennessey explains, the decision making at the top of the executive branch is not in any meaningful way being guided by the best interests of the American people.
To the Editor:

Re Attacks on Mueller and F.B.I. Open a Rift in the Party of Law and Order (news article, Dec. 30):

As a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I would like to address claims about the supposed bias at the F.B.I.

I questioned the deputy F.B.I. director, Andrew McCabe, in a closed committee session. While the discussion was confidential, I can assure you that the men and women at the bureau are dedicated public servants committed to defending the American people and upholding the law.

Firing the special counsel, Robert Mueller, would cross a line that congressional leaders in both parties have made clear. Instead, the presidents team is attacking the credibility of Mr. Mueller and the F.B.I. in what appears to be an attempt to sow doubt about Mr. Muellers eventual findings.

These attacks are beyond the scope of normal political dialogue and raise a profound question: What is the presidents team afraid of?
Not that it doesnt have partisan tilts and colorations. Some of its manifestations are more common in conservative America  where they usually have an evangelical and commercial gloss, as with Joel Osteen and his epigones. (This red-state style of spirituality was recently co-opted, with some success, by the prosperity preacher known as Donald Trump.) Others are more common in liberal communities  where they emphasize Eastern wisdom and Lost Christianities and the New Age and Esalen-style mystical humanism. Where the spiritual worldview blurs into secularism, its usually claiming scientific bona fides; where it blurs into traditional religion its usually talking about Jesus. And Oprah herself, with her Obama-endorsing, #MeToo politics and her tendency to mix spirituality with pseudoscience, is clearly somewhat on the blue-state side of that divide 

 but only somewhat, because the divide between blue-state spirituality and red-state spirituality is much more porous than other divisions in our balkanized society, and the appeal of the spiritual worldview cuts across partisan lines and racial divides. (Health-and-wealth theology is a rare pan-ethnic religious movement, as popular among blacks and Hispanics as among Americans with Joel Osteens skin tone, and when Oprah touts something like The Secret, the power-of-spiritual-thinking tract from the author Rhonda Byrne, shes offering a theology thats just Osteen without Jesus.) Indeed, it may be the strongest force holding our metaphysically divided country together, the soft, squishy, unifying center that keeps secularists and traditionalists from replaying the Spanish Civil War.

Which is not to say that its a good force in its own right; you could fill a book (as I once tried to do) with theological and sociological arguments about whats wrong with religious individualism, its false ideas and fatal consequences. But it clearly holds the balance of power in our cultural conflicts, and its hard to imagine our civic peace surviving without the bipartisan influence of its soothing faux profundities.

I know, I know: Youve stuck around this long to find out what all this religious business means for an Oprah presidential campaign. The disappointing answer is that I have no definite idea. It could be that Oprah would cease to be a figure of the spiritual center the instant she assumed a partisan mantle, that in entering in the political fray she would automatically lose her papal tiara. Or it could be that her religious authority would make the Democratic Party far more popular and powerful, more a pan-racial party of the cultural center and less a party defined by its secular and anticlerical left wing.

It could be that she would be extremely effective in the increasingly imperial role that our presidency plays, effectively uniting throne and altar and presiding over our divisions with a kind of spirituality-drenched mass empathy, to quote Business Insiders Josh Barro, that our present partisans conspicuously lack. Or it could be that by turning the spiritual center to partisan ends she would hasten its collapse, heightening polarization and hustling us deeper into metaphysical civil war.

All of these scenarios seem possible, even as the most plausible scenario remains the one where she decides being a prophetess is better than being a president and declines to run at all. But either way, the Oprah boomlet is a chance to recognize her real importance in our culture  and the sheer unpredictable weirdness, perhaps eclipsing even Donald Trumps ascent, that might follow if our most important religious leader tries to lay claim to temporal power as well.
I met Steve Bannon for the first time in September 2013 at the so-called Breitbart Embassy on Capitol Hill in Washington.

I had spent the better part of the previous seven years working for Republican members of Congress before making the leap to start my own public relations firm. Like anyone starting a business, I was eager to find clients. In Breitbart I had a media platform at my disposal to attract a stable.

Before that meeting, I had never met or even heard of Steve, and so I approached it with an open mind. But as I would come to learn over the course of two years working with him closely, his character and temperament made his stunning fall over the past few days inevitable.

In that first meeting, Steve described his ambitious vision for Breitbart. He wanted to seize on the social media revolution to create a central digital destination for conservatives. His observation  entirely correct  was that the center-right media universe was fractured and underserved by the mainstream media. The Tea Party movement that swept unconventional Republicans into office in 2010 represented a turning point that upended the establishment, and Steve wanted to use Breitbart to tap into that movement.
Let me say right here that I dont for a moment think the United States will follow the path of Venezuela, Germany or Italy. Yes, I do see in Trump these authoritarian tendencies  plus a troubling fondness for other authoritarians, like Vladimir Putin in Russia and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines  but Im confident our institutions are stronger than Trump.

Its true that he has tried to undermine institutions and referees of our political system: judges, the Justice Department, law enforcement agencies like the F.B.I., the intelligence community, the news media, the opposition party and Congress. But to his great frustration, American institutions have mostly passed the stress test with flying colors.

President Trump followed the electoral authoritarian script during his first year, Levitsky and Ziblatt conclude. He made efforts to capture the referees, sideline the key players who might halt him, and tilt the playing field. But the president has talked more than he has acted, and his most notorious threats have not been realized.  Little actual backsliding occurred in 2017.

That seems right to me: The system worked.

And yet.

For all my confidence that our institutions will trump Trump, the chipping away at the integrity of our institutions and norms does worry me. Levitsky and Ziblatt warn of the unraveling of democratic norms  norms such as treating the other side as rivals rather than as enemies, condemning violence and bigotry, and so on. This unraveling was underway long before Trump (Newt Gingrich nudged it along in the 1990s), but Trump accelerated it.

It matters when Trump denounces the deep state Justice Department, calls Hillary Clinton a criminal and urges jail for Huma Abedin, denounces journalists as the enemy of the American people and promises to pay the legal fees of supporters who beat the crap out of protesters. With such bombast, Trump is beating the crap out of American norms.

I asked the authors how we citizens can most effectively resist an authoritarian president. The answer, they said, is not for Trump opponents to demonize the other side or to adopt scorched-earth tactics, for this can result in a death spiral in which rule-breaking becomes pandemic. Its also not terribly effective, as weve seen in Venezuela.

Rather, they suggested protesting vigorously  but above all, in defense of rights and institutions, not just against the ruler. They emphasized that its critical to build coalitions, even if that means making painful compromises, so that protests are very broadly based.

If these actions are limited to blue-state progressives, the risk of failure and/or deeper polarization is very high, Levitsky told me in an interview. Extraordinary measures are sometimes necessary to defend democracy, but they should rest on extraordinary coalitions  coalitions that include business leaders, religious leaders and crucially, as many conservatives and Republicans as possible.
There are several reasons for this. Turkey is already paying a serious economic price for measures that Mr. Erdogan feels are necessary to maintain his power, as post-coup purges and a continuing state of emergency frighten away foreign investors. Moreover, from Ankaras perspective, the United States is already putting enormous pressure on Turkey. To Turkey, Washingtons military support for Syrian Kurdish fighters whose partners are at war with the Turkish Army, for example, makes matters of visa policy seem small.

As Turkeys political and economic situation deteriorates, the risk grows that further pressure will be counterproductive. Any sanctions with real bite would only increase the already serious possibility of a major economic crisis in Turkey. Rather than leave Turkey more dependent on Washington, such a crisis could well empower those in Ankara who already believe that Turkey has less to lose and more to gain by breaking with the West completely.

Given the grip on power that he now enjoys, Mr. Erdogan is unlikely to be voted out, regardless of how bad the economy gets. If he decides to cling to power at all costs, even his fall would be more likely to unleash violence than facilitate a smooth return to some form of democracy. In these circumstances, pushing the country toward the brink would do little to advance Americas ideals or interests, much less those of the Turkish people.

For all of Mr. Erdogans anger at America, he now stands to benefit from the very American cynicism he regularly denounces. However infuriating and dangerous American policy makers find him, they will ultimately find the alternative  chaos in Turkey  scarier. Having missed the opportunity to apply pressure earlier in Mr. Erdogans tenure, when it might have been effective, Washington is likely to end up quietly hoping he maintains his hold over the country for the same reason it has supported many other authoritarian leaders: stability.

With this in mind, American policy should look toward helping Turkey emerge intact from an inevitable period of authoritarian rule as early as realistically possible. Congress should focus any future sanctions on concrete issues affecting bilateral relations, like the targeting of American government employees and citizens. American leaders should remain consistent in their public and private criticism of Mr. Erdogans undemocratic behavior, rather than withholding or deploying it selectively as a diplomatic tool.

Finally, it is important to prevent further escalation of Turkeys Kurdish conflict. The United States can use its military and diplomatic leverage in Syria to forestall both Turkish attacks on Kurdish forces there and renewed terrorist attacks by Kurdish groups in Turkey.

Beyond this, though, Americans can do little but brace for whats next. Turkeys political turmoil, like its relationship with the United States, will almost certainly get worse before it gets better. In the end, the only interest Washington and Ankara share may be a desire to keep Turkey from becoming even less stable.
Set and shot amid the Lebanese civil war, Ms. Saabs feature debut, A Suspended Life (1984), follows Samar, an independent-minded young girl reveling in the freedom afforded by warfare chaos. She thinks herself  and proclaims herself  free and able to do whatever I want, but the cost of her spirited wandering is a hymen-restoring operation imposed by her family.

Ms. Sabbag, who died in 2008, was equally provocative. Her early films include Sand Screens (1991), a drama centering on a woman determined to lead an uninhibited life in a deeply conservative society, and the sarcastically titled A Civilized People (1999), which touches on such discomfiting topics as homosexuality, the ill treatment of immigrant house servants and religious acrimony in Lebanese society. (The Lebanese government banned the film.)

Ms. Srour, Ms. Saab and Ms. Sabbag are among the women featured in Rebecca Hillauers Encyclopedia of Arab Women Filmmakers. Ms. Hillauer notes in the preface that the book started with an investigation into the question Arab women filmmakers  do they exist? By the time she completed her research, she had enough material to expand what she had conceived as a small reference work into a tome of some 400 pages, covering women from Iraq to Egypt to Tunisia.

Since the most recent version of Ms. Hillauers book was released, in 2005, a number of younger Arab women have taken up film. In Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon, women make up about a quarter of all new directors, and most focus largely on aspects of womens lives in the Arab world, according to Roy Armess 2015 book New Voices in Arab Cinema. Mr. Armes credits the number of female directors to outside influence. Virtually all the women born in the 1960s and 1970s who have made a fictional feature have lived, worked, and/or trained abroad, he writes. There is no single pattern of entry to filmmaking, but it is notable that none of them has had the conventional, sheltered upbringing reserved for so many women in the Arab world. (Ms. Labaki, who has spent her life in Lebanon, is, as Mr. Armes points out, an exception.) This mass of educated and articulate women has changed the way in which a whole array of aspects of Arab society are experienced and depicted.

Ms. Hamoud and Ms. Labaki are entirely deserving of praise. They have made polished films with high production values, which are thoroughly engaging, often caustic and, at times, devastating. But they follow a path blazed by many women before them. Today they have a support system, which their predecessors lacked. The women before them worked away on their own, under much more dangerous conditions (including actual wars) and against much more pushback. But just like these contemporary Arab women directors, their work was acclaimed, welcomed and shown abroad, at leading European film festivals and on international movie screens. The output of the new wave of Arab female filmmakers  and even female writers and artists  should be viewed in the actual context of the history of Arab cinema, literature and art, and not with any misguided idea that these voices are emanating from a vacuum.
On todays episode:

 Jason Zengerle, a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine.

Background reading:

 Mr. Zengerles article on Carter Page, and how he differs greatly from others in the Trump-Russia story.

 A Times article on George Papadopouloss interactions with Russians.

Tune in, and tell us what you think. Email us at thedaily@nytimes.com. Tweet me at @mikiebarb. And if youre interested in advertising with The Daily, write to us at thedaily-ads@nytimes.com.

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Snap, crackle or pop?

Nature keeps coming up with new and baffling ways to blow things up.

Astronomers have been baffled lately by the mysterious pulses of cosmic energy known as fast radio bursts that seem to pepper the cosmos. In a few unpredictable milliseconds, they typically emit as much energy as the sun does in a day. About 30 of these objects have been discovered deep in space since the first was detected in 2007, all but one burping out a cataclysmic radio pulse exactly once and then disappearing into the night.

Only one burster, known as FRB121102, after the date it was discovered (Nov. 2, 2012), has repeated itself, hundreds of times now.

That allowed Shami Chatterjee of Cornell and his colleagues to track it to a galaxy 3 billion light years away. But that only deepened the mystery of the powers of these objects, and why none are closer to us.

Among the more out-there explanations proffered was that they are lasers propelling alien interstellar spacecraft. That is a scheme that Earthlings themselves are considering to launch a fleet of miniature space probes to Alpha Centauri later this century.
WeCroak, Mr. Bergwall said, was born of Bhutanese folklore saying that to be happy, one ought to contemplate death five times a day. For the more than 9,000 users of WeCroak, most in their 20s and 30s, he said, there is no time like the moment to get a grip on life by embracing mortality.

Hovering near the top of the App Stores paid health and fitness chart, the app, which I first read about in The Atlantic, is an exhortation to mindfulness. Meditation urges you to focus on your breath, Mr. Bergwall said. Its the same thing with remembering that youre mortal. You forget, so you need something strong, someone telling you straight out, being blunt about it.

That very bluntness is a provocation. Death until recently was often a conversational taboo, dark fodder for goth sites, maybe, but otherwise invoked discreetly, if at all, in spirit-soothing euphemisms.

Now its trending.

The app, on iOS and Android, could not be simpler. Ad-free, it is there strictly to remind you that the end is near, its message accompanied by alternately somber and uplifting homilies: The grave has no sunny corners or, more motivating, Begin again the story of your life. The words come from a variety of sources, including work by Emily Dickinson, Pablo Neruda, Henry David Thoreau, Charles Bukowksi, Pablo Neruda, Lao Tzu and Margaret Atwood.
Lennon Gave Him TV Guide

Mr. Reed may not have made a fortune in the film business, but he is sitting on millions of dollars of real estate. Its an awfully comfortable bachelor pad, he said of the book-filled Dakota apartment he has lived in since 1969, which he bought for $30,000.

He found the apartment through his friendship with Ruth Ford, the Broadway actress who lived there with her husband, the actor Zachary Scott, whose family owned half of Texas, Mr. Reed said. The playwright William Inge, Judy Garland, Judy Holliday and the saxophone player Gerry Mulligan were all neighbors at various points.

I moved into this apartment with an A.&P. shopping cart, some books and whatever I could drag over from my little walk-up on 73rd Street, Mr. Reed said. His only furniture was a corduroy Queen Anne chair and a sleeping bag. The night he moved in, the film star Robert Ryan, who was president of the Dakotas board, rang the doorbell to welcome him, and the two shared instant coffee, Mr. Reed on the sleeping bag, Mr. Ryan in the chair. Do you think that happens today? he asked.

Boris Karloff was another neighbor. Rudolf Nureyev, Leonard Bernstein and Rosemary Clooney lived in the building. Betty Bacall, whose spacious three-bedroom apartment sold for $21 million in 2015 after her death the previous year, and Mr. Reed used to eat together regularly, he said.

He once signed a petition supporting John Lennon when the government was trying to deport Mr. Lennon because of his drug use and political activism. Mr. Lennon thanked him with a one-year subscription to TV Guide, Mr. Reed said, adding, That was his bible. All he did was lie around stoned watching television.

If Mr. Lennon famously sang, All You Need Is Love, Mr. Reed appears to disagree.

I dont have relationships, except friends, he said. I dont know, love is not something that Ive been really good at. I think people are intimidated by people with opinions.
MUMBAI, India  Indias central government moved on Wednesday to reinvigorate its sluggish economy by relaxing rules governing foreign investment in industries including retailing and air travel.

The changes could lead Apple and other companies based outside this country of 1.2 billion to significantly expand their retail presence here. In addition to the changes in the retail sector, the government also said it would allow up to 49 percent of Air India, the troubled national air carrier that is now up for sale, to be bought by foreign airlines.

The moves are the latest steps taken by the government to open Indias economy up to outside companies. Foreign investment in the country reached $60 billion in the fiscal year that ended March 31, up 8 percent from the previous year. In a statement, the government said the changes would contribute to growth of investment, income and employment.

Among the potential beneficiaries of the changes is Apple, which has long sought to open stores in India. The companys iPhones account for only about 1 in 20 smartphones in active use in the country, according to the research firm Forrester, and Apple phones are now sold only by third-party vendors.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.  The playwright Adrienne Kennedy never wanted to move to Virginia. She spent 30 years living on the fourth floor of a brownstone on West 89th Street  her little Victorian palace, she called it. But the rent went higher. Her breath on the stairs came shorter. Just before she turned 80, she traveled down to Williamsburg, Va., to visit her younger son, Adam Kennedy, and she stayed.

Unfortunately, Ive been here six years, she said of her new city. I hate it.

The move to Virginia cost Ms. Kennedy her shelves of books and her walks down Broadway. But it has given her a poem, a memoir and a play, He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box, which begins performances at Theater for a New Audience on Jan. 18. It is her first new play in nearly a decade and the first that she has written without a collaborator in 20 years.

Ms. Kennedy, one of the American theaters greatest and least compromising experimentalists, was speaking at a table in a genteel hotel lounge near the Colonial Williamsburg living history site. Her dramas are sites of living history, too, where personal stories of racisms unhealed wounds mingle with dark tales thieved from the Brothers Grimm and 1940s Hollywood.

On a morning just after Christmas, the hotel was still decorated for the holidays and so was Ms. Kennedy, in a brocade coat, a purple scarf and a black broderie anglaise dress. One hand clutched an asthma inhaler.
It is two such nights  beginning with a movable celebration of their 17th birthdays  that particularly concern Disco Pigs. The script follows Pig and Runts paths of destruction through shops, pubs and clubs  where they steal, guzzle, dance and beat up on fellow townsfolk; into their bedrooms, where they are mesmerized by reruns of Baywatch; onto an empty beach, where their thoughts turn to the adulthoods that await them; and into a palatial discotheque that would appear to be the embodiment of their most cherished dreams.

And by furtive degrees, you become conscious of their nagging, growing awareness that their private realm of anarchy is beginning to dissolve. So is the symbiotic bond that has protected them from the bleakness of their lives.

The hallucinatory, Joycean night-town through which Pig and Runt roam is effectively conjured by Giles Thomass dense sensory soundscape, with lighting to match by Elliot Griggs. But its the hyper-physical performances (Naomi Saids movement direction is key) that define not only a completely detailed environment as Pig and Runt see it, but also the reality beyond it.

Watch Mr. Campbells Pig rush through the gamut of an entire alphabet of disco moves, in a trance of self-infatuation that fades into the realization that everyone around him is laughing at him. Observe how Ms. Lynchs Runt withdraws in betrayed, surprised disgust when her soul mates customary roughhousing turns erotic.

These segues feel even more affecting than they did when I first saw this production at Trafalgar Studios in London this summer. It helps, of course, to see Disco Pigs more than once to fully understand its dense, vernacular poetry, which abounds in thickly Gaelic neologisms and more classic obscenities.

Here is Pig on tripping the light fan-frigging-tastic at the disco: Beat beat through da veins full a drink! Ah pig he wee wee full a drink! Dis is sex in step to dat beautiful soun dat deep down thru me pump da danceflower.

In print, that may look as impenetrable as a passage from Finnegans Wake. But when such descriptions are recited by Mr. Campbell and Ms. Lynch, you know  and feel  exactly what they mean.
Federal immigration agents descended on dozens of 7-Eleven convenience stores across the country before daybreak on Wednesday, arresting undocumented workers and demanding paperwork from managers, in what the Trump administration described as its largest enforcement operation against employers so far.

The sweeps of 98 stores in 17 states, from California to Florida, resulted in 21 arrests, according to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which signaled intensified efforts against businesses that hire unauthorized workers.

Todays actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal work force: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable, Thomas D. Homan, the acting director of the agency, said in a statement.

Mr. Homan, the nations top immigration-enforcement official, has promised more scrutiny of businesses that knowingly violate federal laws requiring employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of their workers.
A neo-Nazi leader in Florida was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday over his stash of explosives, which the authorities discovered while investigating one of his roommates in the killing of the other two.

Officials were alerted in May to the explosives belonging to the neo-Nazi, Brandon Russell, by his roommate Devon Arthurs, who warned them that Mr. Russell had written online about plans to kill people and detonate bombs.

Mr. Arthurs confessed in May to shooting their other two roommates for disrespecting his newfound Muslim faith, the police said.
Lawmakers in New Hampshire have voted against a proposal to ban conversion therapy, a discredited practice that is meant to discourage same-sex attraction.

The bills sought to prohibit counselors from proposing or engaging in treatments to change a minors sexual orientation or gender identity. Conversion therapy, also called reparative therapy, has been widely condemned, and bans on using it against minors have been enacted in at least nine states and Washington, D.C., as well as other municipalities.

The House bill was defeated by one vote, 166-165, after House Speaker Gene Chandler, a Republican, broke a tie. The Senate version of the bill, which the House was voting on as well, was also narrowly defeated, 170-169, with Mr. Chandlers vote.

Opponents said the bill could have prevented minors from discussing unwanted same-sex attraction with a qualified counselor.
SAN FRANCISCO  Rescue workers scoured mud-swollen riverbeds in the wealthy Southern California enclave of Montecito on Wednesday, clutching to the hope that they might find some of the more than a dozen people missing after mudslides swept away about 100 houses.

At least 17 people were killed in mud flows so powerful that some one-story ranch homes in the area, which is northwest of Los Angeles, were covered up to their gutters. The devastation, sudden and violent, struck early Tuesday after a winter storm drenched and destabilized hillsides stripped bare last month by the largest wildfire in California history.

Hundreds of people have been rescued and evacuated, many of them having to be hoisted out of the area by our aircraft, Bill Brown, the Santa Barbara County sheriff, said Wednesday afternoon.
The amendment is chiefly sponsored by Representative Justin Amash, Republican of Michigan, and Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California. It would substitute in the text of another bill, dubbed the USA Rights Act, which would extend Section 702 by only four years.

The bipartisan coalition backing overhaul efforts  which includes some of the most conservative and most liberal members of the House  say that change is necessary to uphold the meaning and substance of Fourth Amendment privacy rights in light of 21st-century communications technology and surveillance powers.

But the F.B.I. and the intelligence community have balked at that proposal, saying it would impede their efforts to protect the country to require warrants to query information the government already possesses. There are also lawmakers of both parties  backed by House leadership  who oppose the amendment.

Aides to Representative Devin Nunes, the California Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, distributed a one-page sheet this week denouncing the amendment as imposing unnecessarily severe requirements that would endanger Americans.

Complicating matters, the base bill backed by Mr. Nunes contains a gesture toward a court-order requirement, too. It would apply only under narrow circumstances: if F.B.I. agents have already opened a criminal investigation into the American whose information they are searching for, and if the agents have no national-security rationale.

Representative Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said the warrant requirement in the base bill would be sufficient to prevent the database from being used as a general tool to gather evidence and introduce it in court in cases that have nothing to do with terrorism.

But the base bill would still permit routine queries for Americans information without warrants. Its warrant requirement would not apply to national-security-related queries by a range of agencies, including the C.I.A., the N.S.A. and the F.B.I. Nor would it apply to F.B.I. queries when agents are merely pursuing tips about an American but do not yet have enough evidence of wrongdoing to open a criminal investigation.
Hours after the White House meeting, Judge William Alsup of Federal District Court in San Francisco wrote that it was not proper to kill the program, and that the administration must maintain the DACA program on a nationwide basis as the legal challenge to the presidents decision in September to end the program moves forward.

Mr. Trump has previously criticized the courts system after judges have halted or held up his policy initiatives.

Ms. Sanders said the fate of the program should be addressed by Congress.

President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration, Ms. Sanders said.
A central question in the case was whether a failure to vote could be the reason to send out the notice.

Ohio is more aggressive than any other state in purging its voter rolls. After skipping a single federal election cycle, voters are sent a notice. If they fail to respond and do not vote in the next four years, their names are purged from the rolls.

A few other states use similar approaches, but not one of them moves as fast. Ohio is the only state that commences such a process based on the failure to vote in a single federal election cycle, said a brief from the League of Women Voters and the Brennan Center for Justice. Literally every other state uses a different, and more voter-protective, practice.

At Wednesdays argument, Eric E. Murphy, Ohios state solicitor, said about eight states send out notices based on the failure to vote.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said there was good reason to think that Congress didnt want failure to vote to be a trigger for this procedure.

But Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the laws appeared to permit Ohio to use its notification process.

Why isnt the best interpretation of this that one cannot be removed from the list solely because of failure to vote? he asked. The failure to respond to the notice, he suggested, was an additional reason.
Mr. Trump, in his remarks, repeated his often-stated assertion that he has essentially been cleared of colluding with Russia. It has been determined that theres been no collusion  and by virtually everybody, he said. When they have no collusion, and nobodys found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that youd even have an interview.

In fact, the Senate Intelligence Committee and its House counterparts have not reached a conclusion on that question, which Mr. Mueller is also believed to be exploring, along with whether the president or his team obstructed justice in firing Mr. Comey.

The Democratic report on Russian interference looked at efforts of the government of President Vladimir V. Putin in 19 countries, and describes misinformation campaigns, the funding of far-right political causes and the manipulation of energy supplies long before 2016 in an attempt to glean lessons for American officials considering how to counteract similar efforts here.

In total, the report offers more than 30 recommendations to safeguard the countrys electoral process and to work with allies, primarily in Europe, to establish new standards to address these types of threats. They include new sanctions to punish states that initiate cyberattacks on elections or critical infrastructure, an international summit meeting centered on such threats, an allied commitment of mutual defense against cyberattacks, as well as forcing social media companies to disclose the sources of funding for political ads.

The document begins by calling on Mr. Trump to assert presidential leadership to establish a governmentwide response to the Russian efforts, including setting up an interagency center modeled after the National Counterterrorism Center to coordinate the American response to threats and policy related to their deterrence. And it argues that merely investigating what the Russians did in 2016 will be insufficient in protecting against future attacks, given their persistence.

Over all, the report argues that Mr. Putins rise and hold on power in Russia has depended on the use of force and the undermining of institutions at home and abroad. It points to successful actions taken by European nations, including Germany and Nordic countries, as models for counteracting Russian tools like disinformation and hacking.
Facial exercises may significantly reduce some of the signs of aging, according to an interesting new study of the effects of repeating specific, expressive movements on peoples appearance.

The study, published in JAMA Dermatology, found that middle-aged women looked about three years younger after a few months of exercising, perhaps providing a reasonable, new rationale for making faces behind our spouses backs.

As all of us regrettably know, the human face changes with age. It begins to accumulate the grooves and wrinkles that connote either lengthening years or deepening character, depending on your viewpoint, and also starts, almost invariably, to sag.

This sagging occurs in large part because the fat pads that underlie the skin on our faces thin with age. When we are young, these pads snuggle together like Lego pieces, providing much of the structure of the contours of our faces. But as the pads change with age, their connections loosen and gravity draws them downward, leaving cheeks hollowed and visages generally droopier.
He said he had recalled the leader of his team involved in peace negotiations with the rebels.

Mr. Santos won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 for his role in the deal with the FARC. But security analysts say that the ELN is far less organized and more ideological, and that Mr. Santos, whose term ends this year, has few viable paths to sign a peace agreement with a group that seems interested in continuing attacks.

The ELN is disconnected from the electoral reality, said Jairo Libreros, a professor at the Externado University in Colombia who follows the group. They think that through acts of violence, society will rise up to call that the government signs a peace deal.

The attacks appeared to be typical for guerrillas: a midnight raid on a military base in the eastern department of Arauca, in which commandos threw a grenade at soldiers guarding a post, injuring several them. Near the town of Aguazul, about 100 miles from Bogota, the capital, another group bombed an oil pipeline, the government said.

The guerrillas defended their decision to resume attacks. The main purpose of the cease-fire, to improve the humanitarian situation of the population, was hardly achieved by the regime, they said in a statement. We delivered on the objectives.

The guerrillas said the attacks on Wednesday had occurred in the middle of a complex situation of conflict in the country. It called on the government to resume talks but did not offer another cease-fire.
Leer en espanol 

Earlier this week, we published an article on Mexican towns and cities that are dealing with public corruption and record violence by effectively seceding from the state. But we wanted to elaborate more on this story by recounting what it was like to report on each town, which we visited last year, and offering our thoughts on its larger lesson for Mexico and the world.

This article originally appeared in our Interpreter newsletter, and two more pieces spotlighting the other areas will publish later this month. So sign up the Interpreter newsletter here, and let us know what you think: interpreter@nytimes.com.

We came to Monterrey, a rich commercial city, with many questions. But there was one we asked over and over because we just could not believe the answer we kept getting.

Are you really O.K. with local business leaders seizing control of the police?

We asked rich and poor. We asked in corporate offices and community outreach centers. We asked activists and government officials. We asked a man who had been forced from his home by criminals. We asked a nun.
BANGKOK  The government of Malaysia and an American ocean exploration company began a new effort on Wednesday to solve one of historys greatest aviation mysteries: the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 nearly four years ago.

Ocean Infinity, a Houston-based company, could receive as much as $70 million if it finds the planes debris field or two data recorders within 90 days, Transportation Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Wednesday at a signing ceremony with company officials at Putrajaya, Malaysias federal administrative center.

But under the agreement, the company will receive nothing if it does not find the missing Boeing 777, which disappeared over the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014, with 239 people aboard.

Mr. Liow called it a no cure, no fee agreement.

Under the contract, Malaysia will pay Ocean Infinity $20 million if it finds the wreckage or data recorders early in the search. The potential fee rises in staggered amounts to as much as $70 million, depending on how large an area the vessel searches before locating the plane.
SEOUL, South Korea  President Moon Jae-in of South Korea warned on Wednesday that North Korea would face stiffer sanctions if it resumed weapons tests, while crediting President Trump with helping force the North to resume dialogue and strike a broader agreement to improve Korean ties.

I am giving a lot of credit to President Trump, Mr. Moon said at a nationally televised news conference a day after the two Koreas forged their agreement during border talks. I am expressing my gratitude.

The White House said that Mr. Trump and Mr. Moon had spoken and underscored the importance of continuing the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea, adding that Mr. Trump expressed his openness to holding talks between the United States and North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances.

Mr. Moons comments and his conversation with Mr. Trump suggested a tactful maneuver by the South Korean leader to stroke the ego of Mr. Trump, who has claimed credit for the inter-Korean dialogue, while easing fears in Washington and among his conservative critics at home that in his eagerness for dialogue, he may be too accommodating to North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un.
BANGKOK  Two journalists for the Reuters news agency were formally charged in Myanmar with obtaining state secrets, prosecutors said Wednesday, in a case seen as a key test of the countrys nascent political freedoms.

The reporters, U Wa Lone and U Kyaw Soe Oo, have been accused of violating the Official Secrets Act, a law dating to the British colonial period that carries a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison.

The journalists were brought to court in Yangon, Myanmars commercial capital, where they were arrested on Dec. 12, almost immediately after being given unidentified documents by members of the police.

Before their arrest, the journalists had been investigating the existence of a mass grave in Rakhine State, where a military campaign against Rohingya Muslims has sent more than 655,000 members of the persecuted minority fleeing to Bangladesh over the past four and a half months.
KATHMANDU, Nepal  The last time anyone saw Gauri Kumari Bayak alive, she was gathering grass and firewood. Considered impure because she was menstruating, she was about to sleep outside in a cold hut.

She never woke up.

According to the police, Ms. Bayak is the latest victim of a very old tradition in rural Nepal, in which religious Hindus believe that menstruating women are unclean and should be banished from the family home. She was found dead on Monday, apparently having asphyxiated after building a small fire inside the hut to keep warm.

In Nepal, one of Asias poorest countries, dozens of women and girls have died in recent years from following this tradition, despite activists campaigns and government efforts to end the practice.

Menstruating women often trudge outside at night to bed down with cows or goats in tiny, rough, grass-roofed huts and sheds. Many have been raped by intruders or died from exposure to the elements.
A review of Ms. Mas case  involving interviews with officials, diplomats and others, as well as searches in corporate registries  underscored Chinas deep ambivalence as it has come under increasing pressure to enforce sanctions against North Korea. While China is on the record opposing the Norths pursuit of nuclear weapons, it is wary of being seen imposing punishments at the bidding of the United States, especially against its own citizens.

Image Ms. Ma in a company photo. Since China announced an investigation in 2016, her whereabouts has been shrouded in mystery.

North Koreas agreement on Tuesday to send athletes to the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, and to hold talks and other exchanges with the South, may have been symbolic and perhaps a cynical effort to bide time. Yet it suggested that the rising diplomatic and economic pressure, meant to deny it the financial and material resources needed to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, may have had some effect on the Norths leader Kim Jong-un.

Mr. Kim has given no signal that he would give up his nuclear ambitions, but after the Norths initial overtures, Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter that the talks were evidence that sanctions and other pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea.

China has shown a willingness to support tougher sanctions at the United Nations Security Council over the last year, but it has done so grudgingly. The reasons for that are historical and strategic. North Korea has long counted on China as its only real ally, for example, but some analysts argue that economic factors also play a part.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  Hundreds of protesters, enraged over the murder of a young girl, clashed with the police in eastern Pakistan on Wednesday after surrounding the office of a senior district official and demanding justice. At least two people were killed when the police opened fire on the protesters in the city of Kasur, officials said.

Police officials said they had opened fire to safeguard public property after protesters tried to storm the office.

Protesters said they were outraged over the polices inability to stop a spree of child killings in the district. The police say at least 12 children have been killed within a radius of about a mile in the past two years in Kasur.

The violence came a day after the body of a girl, Zainab Amin, whose father said she was around 7, was found on a pile of garbage near a busy road in the district of Kasur. The city is about 30 miles from Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province.
The main separatist parties of Catalonia have reached a preliminary agreement to re-elect Carles Puigdemont as leader of the restive Spanish region, even as he remains in self-imposed exile in Belgium, the Catalan news media reported on Wednesday.

The deal  reached over dinner in Brussels on Tuesday  would allow Mr. Puigdemont to deliver his acceptance speech this month either by videoconference from Belgium or by having another lawmaker read it in the Catalan Parliament on his behalf, according to the Catalan radio station Rac1 and other outlets.

In a Catalan election on Dec. 21, the three main separatist parties won 70 of the 135 seats in the regional Parliament, with 47.5 percent of the vote  almost identical to the result in 2015.

The result was a setback for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain, who had called the election in the hope that voters would deliver a decisive blow to the secessionist movement. But the separatists will still struggle to form a coalition government, in large part because eight of their 70 elected lawmakers are either in jail in Madrid or with Mr. Puigdemont in Belgium to avoid prosecution in Spain.
This proposal is an encouraging and effective method of educating people of all backgrounds about the Nazi attempt to wipe out the entire Jewish population of Europe and the dangers such hatred can yield, Ronald S. Lauder, the organizations president, said in an emailed response to a request for comment.

More than any other country, Germany has faced up to the crimes of its past in an honest and straightforward way, and has made it clear at the highest levels of government that the memory of the Holocaust must never be forgotten or diminished, Mr. Lauder said.

The idea of requiring new arrivals to visit concentration camps was not universally endorsed. Some scholars of German history described it as a simplistic answer to a more complicated and insidious problem. Many acts of anti-Semitism in Germany, they emphasized, are not by immigrants.

You dont stop someone from being a racist or xenophobe by taking them to a concentration camp, said Sabine von Mering, the director of the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. I dont think that making it a requirement is somehow going to magically solve this problem. It requires a lot more attention and education.

Ms. Chebli, who suggested the required visits in an interview published Sunday in the newspaper Bild am Sonntag, was not immediately available for comment. Nor was it clear whether the German government would move to make such visits mandatory for immigrants, who are currently offered courses on German language, culture and history.
ATHENS  Greece has passed a law to limit the powers of Islamic courts in a northern region that is home to about 100,000 Muslims, restricting the application of religious law in the country and giving Muslims the option to take civil cases to Greek courts.

Lawmakers from all Greek parties except the far-right Golden Dawn voted on Tuesday in favor of the law, which Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras described as a historic step that broadens and deepens equality before the law to all Greeks.

The legislation was passed a month after the European Court of Human Rights examined an appeal filed by a Muslim woman in Komotini, Greece, of a case involving the application of Shariah, the Islamic legal code, over an inheritance dispute. A ruling in that case is expected this year.

Shariah has been applied in the northern region, Thrace, for nearly a century, the result of international treaties signed after World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which led to population movements between Greece and Turkey, and affecting the rights of minorities. The treaties stipulated that Islamic law and custom would apply to the thousands of Muslims in Greece.
MOSCOW  A human-rights activist in Chechnya has been detained by the police on drug possession charges in a case that colleagues and international observers say is part of a concerted effort to drive dissidents out of the Russian republic.

The activist, Oyub Titiev, 60, has run the Chechen branch of the Memorial Human Rights Center since the 2009 abduction and murder of another activist, Natalya Estemirova, a case that remains unsolved.

Chechnyas Ministry of Internal Affairs reported on its website that the police found a plastic bag with what it said the police suspected was marijuana weighing about 180 grams when they stopped Mr. Titievs car for a document inspection on Tuesday. The drug possession offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The State Department on Wednesday called for the immediate release of Mr. Titiev, saying his detention was the latest in a string of reports of alarming recent human rights violations in Chechnya.
SIENA, Italy  The colorful tickets bearing images of an elephant and giraffes behind the Colosseum along with the two iconic tigers of an Italian circus promised an afternoons respite from hardship, a gift from the Vatican to thousands of poor people.

But the announcement on Wednesday that Pope Francis charity office was planning to take 2,100 homeless and poor people to the circus, along with refugees and prisoners, did not go down well with animal rights activists.

Carla Rocchi, the chairwoman of Italys Animal Protection League, criticized the plan to attend the Thursday show, pointing to what she called the unnatural condition of detention and exploitation, if not mistreatment, of circus animals.

The vast majority of people and of the faithful believe that love for animals should not be sacrificed to love for the others, Ms. Rocchi said in a statement.
ARCHIDONA, Spain  When the Spanish authorities intercepted about 500 Algerian migrants who had traveled by boat to the southeastern coast of Spain, a space shortage in the countrys migrant detention centers left few options for where to send the new arrivals.

So the government sent them to an empty facility near this whitewashed town in the mountainous heartland of southern Spain, about 35 miles north of Malaga: its brand-new prison.

Archidonas penitentiary stands a few miles outside the town, amid olive groves that were covered in snow last weekend. Designed to hold about 2,000 prisoners, with a staff of almost 600, it was due to open in the first quarter of this year.

The arrival of the migrants, in November, has provoked mixed feelings.

Many of the towns 8,400 residents helped collect food and clothing for them. Then the migrants held protests in the prison  smashing windows and furniture, and prompting the stationing of riot police officers in Archidona, according to the authorities. Some residents voiced concerns about possible damage to the new prison even before its official opening.
LONDON  Imagine being trapped in paradise. Or winter wonderland. This was the situation 13,000 tourists found themselves in on Wednesday at the foot of the Matterhorn, Switzerlands most famously photogenic mountain.

A combination of heavy snowfall and rain made access routes inaccessible this week, stranding visitors in Zermatt, a picturesque resort village sitting among glaciers that promise white slopes all year round.

Both road and rail access remained cut off for much of Wednesday as officials raced to clear the way for tourists and locals alike to reach the lower valley. The Glacier Express, whose carriages offer stunning views of some of the most spectacular peaks in the Alps, couldnt reach Zermatt, either.
TEHRAN  Iranians sentenced to death for drug-related crimes have had their convictions suspended by the countrys hard-line judiciary, a move that activists say could save potentially 5,000 lives.

The decision, part of a legal overhaul in the works since 2016, is aimed at reducing the number of executions in the country. Iran is second only to China in its number of executions, and the majority who receive death sentences have been convicted of drug-related crimes.

Irans Parliament amended the countrys drug laws last autumn, removing the death sentence for a number of drug-related crimes and replacing it with life imprisonment or fines. Around 5,000 people are currently awaiting execution in Iran for such crimes, activists say.

On Tuesday, the head of the judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, announced that anyone awaiting execution for such crimes was entitled to have his or her case fully re-examined. The move has also been approved by the Guardian Council.
The Sinai militant group that later pledged allegiance to the Islamic State has been at war with the Egyptian government since 2013, when the military ousted the countrys Islamist government.

The group has since become one of the Islamic States most effective local affiliates. It downed a Russian jetliner in 2015, killing 224 people, and appears to have been responsible for an attack on a Sufi mosque in north Sinai in November, killing 311 people in Egypts worst terrorist attack.

Hamas is essentially a Palestinian national movement whose main effort is directed against Israel. It has periodically cracked down on more extreme jihadists in Gaza  who are ideologically closer to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda  including in a recent wave of arrests as extremists fired rockets into Israel to protest President Trumps Jerusalem move.

Islamic State sympathizers argue that those arrests served only Israel.

Salah Bardawil, a senior Hamas official, described the video as a Zionist production. Another senior Hamas official, Mahmoud al-Zahar, said the Islamic States Sinai branch does not want there to be weapons in Hamass hands to resist the Israeli occupation.

Generally, though, Hamas has remained tight-lipped about the video, not wanting to draw more attention to it. Families whose sons have joined the Islamic State are reluctant to talk about them for fear of repercussions from Hamas, which dominates the Palestinian coastal territory.

There is an undeclared war between Hamas and Daesh, said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist at Al Azhar University in Gaza, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. These are guys who disassociated themselves from Hamas and joined Daesh because they disagreed with Hamass participation in the 2006 elections. They dont like Hamass behavior as it doesnt enforce Shariah  Islamic law  and there are aspects of corruption regarding its rule in Gaza.

Ehud Yaari, an Israel-based fellow of the Washington Institute for Near Eastern Policy, said that in the past Hamas had provided the Islamic States Sinai branch with training and advanced weapons, and had allowed wounded fighters to come to Gaza for treatment. The recent shift, Mr. Yaari said, was a typical story of Middle Eastern changing alliances.
TRIPOLI, Libya  The Libyan Navy said on Wednesday that its Coast Guard had rescued at least 279 migrants off the coast of Libya, but that about 100 more were missing and feared dead.

The migrants, mostly Africans, had been packed into several vessels hoping to cross the Mediterranean and reach southern Europe. The missing appeared to have all been in the same dinghy, whose remnants were found near the city of Khoms, the navy said.

Search-and-rescue efforts continued for more than 12 hours in rough conditions, the navy said. All of the survivors, including 19 women and 17 children, were taken to a naval base in the capital, Tripoli, and were later handed over to Libyas anti-migration authority.

The United Nations migration agency estimates that more than 3,100 migrants died while trying to cross the Mediterranean in 2017, a number attributed to smugglers use of small dinghies and other poor-quality vessels.
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AAP leaders to visit Ram Lalla shrine before Ayodhya yatra, first list of UP candidates soon

1984 sikh riots case: AAP welcomes SC decision of constituting SIT

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jan 10: The Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Wednesday welcomed Supreme Court's order to constitute a new three-member special investigation team to monitor the re-investigation into 186 cases related to the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 which were closed earlier.

AAP leader Jarnail Singh, fighting for the families affected by the anti-Sikh riots, also urged the Supreme Court to direct the CBI, or an independent investigation agency, to investigate the cases.

"We have no trust in Delhi Police, which was directly involved in killings and made the biggest cover up in the history of India," Singh alleged.

"The cases should be monitored by Supreme Court as it was done in Gujarat riot cases and resulted in a few convictions," he added.

Large-scale riots had broken out in Delhi in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two Sikh security guards on October 31, 1984. The violence claimed 2,733 lives in the national capital alone.

Deciding to set up a new SIT, the Supreme Court today held that the previous SIT had not carried out further probe into the 186 cases in which closure reports were filed. It said a supervisory body it had appointed found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation. On August 16 last year, the court had appointed the supervisory panel to examine the SIT's decision to close 241 cases.

PTI
Step by step instructions on how to lock and unlock your Aadhaar biometrics online

No denial of Covid vaccine, treatment, essential services for want of Aadhaar: UIDAI

Aadhaar data breach case: CITU denounces Centre for being vindictive against scribe

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jan 10: The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on Wednesday accused the BJP government of taking "vindictive action" by registering an FIR in connection with a newspaper report on alleged Aadhaar data breach. UIDAI has registered a case against 'The Tribune' journalist for exposing the leakage in Aadhaar data.

"The CITU denounces the Government's move in registering an FIR against the journalist of Tribune, Rachna Khaira, and her sources for exposing the leakage-prone systemic fault in Aadhaar administration," it said in a statement issued here.

The CITU also welcomed rising protests against the "vindictive action" by the Centre. "Such vindictive action is the reflection of an obnoxious, authoritarian arrogance of the government, as if 'the king can do any wrong'.

The CITU welcomes rising protests against such vindictive actions of the government from various organisations and agencies, including the journalists', and the newspaper employees' unions, and urges the government to take a call initiating corrective action," the statement said.

'The Tribune' correspondent Rachna Khaira and her sources were named in an FIR over her report on the breach of one billion Aadhaar cards data.

The journalist should have been "rewarded" for successfully investigating the faults in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) system in respect of protecting individual data for preventing intrusion on peoples' right to privacy, which had been upheld by the Supreme Court, the CITU said in the statement.

Even though the issue was raised in Parliament, the government did not recognise the faults in the system and its fallouts which raised doubts, it claimed.

The CITU has demanded that the government should "withdraw the FIR against the journalist in the interest of fairness and propriety".

PTI
Karnataka: Will Congress not allow Kumaraswamy to be CM for full 5-year term?

Is it chief minister Kumaraswamy or chief manager of Congress Ktaka ATM? BJP has an answer

All is well between Congress, JD(S)? Kumaraswamy meets Rahul as Karnataka waits for full cabinet

Amit Shah slams Siddaramaiah govt, vows to uproot Congress in 2018 polls

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

BJP chief Amit Shah on Wednesday vowed to uproot Congress from Karnataka during his address at the Pairvartana Yatre in Chitradurga.

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress government Shah accused it of slowing down development and rampant corruption.

He claimed that the Modi government had allotted close to Rs 2,19,000 crore to Karnataka, and questioned the implementation of the money under the state's Congress government.

"In 13th Finance Commission under UPA Rs 88,583 cr was allocated for Karnataka, under our govt in 14th Finance Commission, Karnataka was given 2 lakh 19 thousand crores. But where did all the money given by the centre go? Did it reach your village?" he questioned.

I have come to answer the CM's question on what has centre done for Karnataka. In 13th Finance Commission under UPA Rs 88,583 cr was allocated for Karnataka, under our govt in 14th Finance Commission, Karnataka was given 2 lakh 19 thousand cr: Amit Shah in Chitradurga #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/DAD8qBBLUH  ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2018

"This govt (of Karnataka) is doing vote bank politics, it is an anti-Hindu govt. They have withdrawn all cases against SDPI, which is an anti-India organisation," Shah further said.

The BJP and Congress have sounded the poll bugle in Karnataka, which is expected to see assembly elections in April-May

OneIndia News
Why is the government unable to stop the grand terrorist funerals in Kashmir

'AMU scholar Wani is with us', says Hizbul Mujahideen

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Hizbul Mujahideen has confirmed that AMU scholar Mannan Wani has joined the outfit. The confirmation comes at a time when the police continue to probe whether Wani had joined the outfit or not.

"Joining of Manaan Wani exposes the Indian propaganda that the youths of Kashmir are joining militant ranks due to unemployment and economic distress," Salahuddin said in the statement to a Srinagar-based news gathering agency yesterday.

Wani, who belongs to Tikipora in Lolab area of north Kashmir's Kupwara district, went missing last week. He was scheduled to return home from Delhi on January 6.

AMU research scholar who joined Hizbul had blamed Army in a November post

The 26-year-old scholar was yesterday expelled by AMU following reports that he may have joined the terror group after his photograph, showing him with an AK-47 rifle, appeared in social media.

"From years on, educated and qualified youths of Kashmir have been joining Hizbul Mujahideen to take this ongoing freedom movement to a logical conclusion. This spirit of youths is laudable," Salahuddin said, confirming that Wani had joined Hizbul Mujahideen, in the statement in Urdu.

Did this brilliant AMU research scholar from Kashmir join the Hizbul Mujahideen?

Police had yesterday refused to deny or confirm the reports of Wani's joining the terror group, saying they were investigating the photograph of him brandishing the rifle on social media sites.

OneIndia News
India 9th largest recipient of FDI in 2019, will continue to attract investments: UN

Cabinet nod for 100% FDI in single-brand retail via automatic route

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to allow 100 per cent FDI or foreign direct investment through automatic route in single brand retail.

The move is a departure from the earlier mechanism where the government's nod was needed for more than 49% FDI in single-brand retail.

The Cabinet decision comes days before PM Narendra Modi's visit to Davos for the CEO meet.

The Cabinet has also approved some changes to FDI in the aviation sector, according to TV reports. FDI norms have also been liberalised for power exchanges and real estate broking, the reports said quoting sources.

The Cabinet also allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in national carrier Air India under the approval route. This move is expected to expedite the Air India divestment process.

Foreign airlines allowed to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India," the statement said.

As per the policy, foreign airlines are allowed to invest under government approval route in Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital.

However, the provision was not applicable to Air India, thereby implying that foreign airlines could not invest in Air India.

"It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India," it added.

This condition was relaxed subject to certain conditions.

The statement said that foreign investment in Air India including that of foreign Airline (s) shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly and "substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National".

The government said that the decision would help provide ease of doing business and also lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment.

Further it has clarified that real-estate broking service does not amount to real estate business and is therefore, eligible for 100 per cent FDI under automatic route.

The cabinet also decided to allow FIIs/FPIs to invest in power exchanges through primary market as well.

So far 49 per cent FDI was permitted under automatic route in power exchanges registered under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations, 2010. However, FII/FPI purchases were restricted to secondary market only.

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)
No love for those who do not love cows: Bhupendrasinh Chudasama

Cow vigilantism hits UP, once again: 2 men beaten up, heads tonsured, paraded for cattle stealing

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Lucknow, Jan 10: In 2017, India got a clear-cut idea how cow vigilantism, carried out by gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes), could prove fatal to the nation's peace and diversity.

While gau rakshaks possessed by mad love for cow (considered holy in the Hindu religion) did not even shy away from killing people in the name of animal protection, the country's minority communities like the Muslims and Dalits (mostly engaged in cattle-related trade) started living their lives under the shadow of fear.

It seems 2018 is not going to be any different, as the first high-profile case related to cow vigilantism came to light from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, within the first 10 days of the new year.

According to reports, two men were beaten up by a mob in Ballia, UP for alleged cattle stealing. The "animal lovers" did not stop at that. The mob also partially tonsured the heads of the two alleged cow thieves as a punishment.

Later, the duo was seen walking on the streets of Ballia holding placards saying "gai chor" (cow thieves).

"Two people were beaten up, their heads partially tonsured and paraded on allegations of stealing cattle in Ballia," tweeted ANI.

Two people were beaten up,their heads partially tonsured and paraded on allegations of stealing cattle in Ballia pic.twitter.com/Ok5sFuRx4J  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 10, 2018

The authorities are yet to issue any statement in this regard. After coming to power in March last year, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered the closure of slaughterhouses and banned cow smuggling across the state.

Recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in UP decided to spend a whopping Rs 7.86 crore for the cow census. Along with it, the state government would also get a census of buffaloes, pigs, goats and sheep done.

In November last year, Yogi said that any person who indulges in cruelty to cows will find himself behind bars.

"If any person indulges in cruelty to cows (leave aside talking of killing of cows), he will find himself behind bars," Yogi said while addressing an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Gauraksha Vibhag.

OneIndia News
Cow vigilantism a 'nasur' for India, says Indian-origin Tanzanian lawmaker

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jan 10: Salim Turky, a Tanzanian lawmaker of Indian-origin has said that he was deeply concerned over cow vigilantism in India, and claimed that it has become a "nasur" (canker sore) for the country. Part of the Tanzanian delegation, was in Delhi to attend the First PIO-Parliamentary Conference, Turky was also one of the speakers at the day-long event.

Turky, two-time lawmaker of the Tanzanian ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), on Tuesday, said that he has raised the issue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

"We are proud of what Modi government is doing in the world and in the country.

But one thing is not good for India and I call it a 'nasur' and that is cow vigilantism," Turky said on the sidelines of the event. "We do not live in India, but in the news, specially the (electronic) media, you find clips of people being killed, being provoked. This is like discrimination," he said.

Turky's great-grandfather migrated to Tanzania from Gujarat's Kutch region. When asked why he did not raise the issue in the conference, he said it would have "made the atmosphere bad".

"I have raised the issue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. She said these issues have been exaggerated," Turky claimed. His remarks come in the backdrop of incidents of violence allegedly committed by cow vigilantes in some states in the recent past.

He drew a parallel to the albinos in his country, who are killed as their body parts are considered as lucky.

Turky said the Tanzanian government came hard on those involved in the killing of albinos. In 2015, Tanzania banned witch doctors in an attempt to curb a rising wave of attacks and murders of albinos whose body parts are prized for witchcraft.

PTI
'Act against those foisting false cases': Opposition leaders write to President after Stan Swamy's death

Dalai Lama condemns Bhima-Koregaon violence

India

oi-PTI

The Dalai Lama on Wednesday condemned Pune's Bhima-Koregaon violence saying that people should not mobilise against any religion.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of inauguration of National Teachers Congress, organised by MAEERs MIT World Peace University and MIT School of Government.

Replying to a question on what message he wants to give in the wake of violence at Koregaon Bhima in Pune district on January 1, the spiritual leader said, "Religion is a personal business. Whether you follow this religion or that religion, it is personal matter. We should not mobilise...as we Buddhist, we Hindus, we Muslims. That is not good."

Dalits visiting a war memorial at Koregaon Bhima were attacked here on January 1 that led to a state-wide shutdown in Maharashtra two days later.

In his speech at the conference, the Dalai Lama hailed the Indian society for accommodating diverse religious faiths.

"The largest democracy in the world, India is young and yet a complicated nation. The country has remarkable tolerance when it comes to safeguarding religious faiths of different religions," he said.

He also said that Indians should preserve their ancient knowledge and traditions. "We kept the Nalanda tradition...but you Indians forgot. Indians should pay more attention to this Indian ancient knowledge and through rigorous study, they should revive these things," he said.

Addressing the teachers community, he said the present educational system gives more importance to material values and not "inner values".

"Today, the world is facing emotional problem and it can be only tackled by education and not religious faiths," he said.

"The 21st century should be the century of dialogue....

For building a better world, one needs to think about oneness of human beings," said the spiritual leader.

PTI

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Story first published: Wednesday, January 10, 2018, 22:07 [IST]
Fathers heart breaking plea falls on deaf ears of terrorist son

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

For Farhan Wani, one of the terrorists killed in an encounter at Kashmir on Tuesday, the pleas by his father made no difference. His father had put up a heartbreaking plea on his social media page on November 24.

However, Wani decided to stay with the terrorists and bit the Army's bullet in the Anantnag encounter on Tuesday.

AMU scholar Wani is with us says Hizbul Mujahideen

Wani had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen in October 2017. Hailing from Kulgam, he was the son of Ghulam Mohammad Wani. His father posted a message on his Facebook page urging him to give up the gun and return home.

The father wrote, "dear son, my body has begun betraying me ever since you left us. I scream from the pain you have inflicted upon us, but still, believe that you will return home."

AMU research scholar who joined Hizbul had blamed Army in a November post

"I can't explain how much I miss your smiling face. It's been almost six months, but not a minute goes by without me thinking about you. I hope you are okay, I hope you are well. I am your father, and if I do not tell you this, nobody else will," he continued. "I am sorry, but I am going to die. I am left with no other choice. You still have a lot to learn, but I will not be there to teach you, to scold you, to help you."

OneIndia News
Posted Thursday, January 4, 2018 1:32 pm

January 9  6 p.m.

Postcard collecting can be addictive. Just ask Wally Jung of Lansing, who recently added a cache of rock n roll cards to his already impressive hoard of postcards.

For years Jung has been collecting postcards from Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Lansing and many other Michigan cities hes called home.

Jung was first drawn to a postcard issued by a southwest Michigan radio station WHFB and then one from WKZO advertising the country band Rem Wall & the Green Valley Boys.

I never liked country that much, but I picked it up for my mother who listened to the program, Jung said.

That one postcard led to another and soon he was building a collection of music themed postcards. Jung eventually added a card from the rock group the Vogues which had several hits in the 60s including, Youre the One and Five Oclock World.

Then Jung picked up a card featuring The New Christy Minstrels, a large-ensemble folk group whose alumni includes Kenny Rogers and Gene Clark. He also has numerous postcards from local radio stations.

Now I have a whole box of cards, Jung said.

I had two requirements: the cards Courtesy photo had to be of groups that I liked and I had to like the graphics.

This past November, Jung bought a large collection of postcards from a Las Vegas dealer. The trove included many cards from the legendary Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, featuring art by renowned psychedelic artists.

Since then Jung has added similar postcards from the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. Russ Gibb, impresario of the Grande Ballroom, produced about 80 cards to promote his concerts.

Today, some of those cards by legendary artists Gary Grimshaw and Carl Lundgren sell for more than $150.

My favorite music cards are the psychedelic ones, they are cool, Jung said.

He also has numerous Coral-Lee postcards from the 80s which were commercially produced and feature popular musicians like Elvis Presley and Diana Ross.

Music of the sixties and seventies tells the story of my life, Jung said. I couldnt tell you where I was three weeks ago, but I can tell you where I was when I first heard Ferry Across the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Jung will take guests on a rock n roll tour at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at the Delta Township Library. His presentation includes music from several eras.

Jung will showcase a couple hundred rock postcards accompanied with music.

Exhibition of Rare Rock Art

Postcards Tuesday, January 9, 6 p.m. Delta Township Library 5130 Davenport Dr., Lansing Admission: Free
If you attack people for eating beef then also give up consuming mutton, says Netajis grandnephew

It's all Media creation: Kerala Police academy denies reports of excluding beef from menu

Goa to enjoy beef, once again, after traders call off strike

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Panaji, Jan 10: The beef traders in Goa went on a strike to raise their protest against harassment meted out to them by cow vigilantes.

In the process, foodies, including a large portion of tourists, in the state were forced to stay away from enjoying beef after the normal supply of meat got affected.

On Tuesday evening, beef traders finally decided to call off their four days of strike giving relief to the meat lovers.

While announcing the withdrawal of strike, All Goa Qureshi Meat Traders Association said the resumption of meat supply from neighbouring Karnataka will start from Wednesday.

"Police have assured us that they will not allow the harassment of traders who import beef from Belagavi in Karnataka at the border," Association president Manna Bepari told reporters.

"So we are withdrawing our strike and the supplies will resume from tomorrow," Bepari said.

Beef traders were on a strike for four days as a result of which the coastal state faced a scarcity of beef.

Gau Raksha Abhiyaan, an NGO, had targeted trucks carrying beef from Karnataka, claiming that animals are slaughtered in illegal slaughterhouses across the state border.

Former Congress MP Francis Sardinha alleged that many cow vigilantes "are sponsored by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- led state government (in Goa)".

"This is because the government wants to satisfy its bosses in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)," Sardinha told a press conference.

"Beef was a staple food in the coastal state and part of the cuisine of the minority communities", he said.

Slaughterhouses in Karnataka too had refused to supply the meat till the Goa government took steps to stop the harassment by cow vigilante groups.

According to Bepari, around 25 tonnes of beef is brought to Goa from Belagavi every day.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the "beef crisis" was being created to divert the attention of people from controversies like the Mahadeyi river water sharing and coal pollution.

While the BJP and several right-wing groups have openly expressed their reservation over-consumption of beef, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar government has always maintained that legal beef trade will never be stopped in the state.

"Those selling beef after completing all the legal formalities are free to carry forward their business as always", Parrikar said on Sunday.

OneIndia News
Nirbhaya: Convict Pawan refuses to meet new legal aid, authorities ask on last meeting with family

Hanging by neck most viable option to execute death sentence: Centre in SC

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The most viable way to execute a death sentence is hanging by the neck, the Centre has told the Supreme Court. The submission was made before a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra.

The court directed the Centre to come up with a list of the prevailing methods adopted in other countries when it came to executing death sentences.

The court granted the Centre represented by the additional solicitor general, Pinky Anand to file an affidavit in response to the petition that contended death by hanging, as contemplated under Section 354(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code, was "barbaric, inhuman and cruel".

On October 6, the court sought to know from the government if death by hanging is the best way of executing condemned convicts.

The court had then said the legislature can think of some other mode by which a convict has to meet his death in view of the invention of less painful ways of carrying out the execution.

OneIndia News
Finance Minister calls for written representations on glitches with new Income Tax portal

Facebook to publish interim compliance report as per IT rules on Jul 2, final report on Jul 15

I-T sleuths conduct searches at premises of south India-based jewellery chains

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jan 10: The Income Tax Department on Wednesday conducted country-wide searches at over 100 stores and other premises belonging to two major south-India based jewellery chains on charges of alleged tax evasion.

The action is being carried out against Kerala-based jewellery group Joyalukkas and another firm connected with it.

I-T sleuths are raiding 130 premises of the business houses in the cities of Chennai, Hyderabad, Thrissur and other locations in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal, I-T sources said.

The action, they said, is aimed at checking alleged tax evasion following demonetisation in the two firms. Tax sleuths detected huge cash deposits and sale figures of gold, diamond and jewellery in their accounts.

The Chennai wing of the income tax department is coordinating the nation-wide action, involving over 100 tax sleuths and a number of police teams, sources told PTI.

PTI
'If Hindu, vote for me, if Muslim vote for Congress', says Rajasthan minister

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Jaswant Yadav, the BJP candidate for the Alwar Lok Sabha bypoll, allegedly made a communal remark on Tuesday by saying that Hindus should vote for the BJP and Muslims should vote for the Congress.

A video clip of Rajasthan cabinet minister Jaswant Yadav purportedly asking Hindus to vote for BJP and Muslims for Congress has gone viral on social media.

"When I visited Mewat villages and met members of Meo community, they told me that 'we are willing to vote for you' but not for BJP because BJP is a Hindu party. So I said, if you are Hindu vote for me if you are Muslim then vote for the Congress (candidate)," Jaswant Yadav is purportedly heard saying in the video.

Jaswant Singh Yadav is the Labour and Employment minister in Vasundhara Raje- led Rajasthan Government and BJP's candidate for Alwar Lok Sabha constituency. By-elections are to be held this month in two Lok Sabha constituencies, including Alwar and one Assembly constituency.

Yadav, however, denied the allegations and said the video clips were a Congress conspiracy. Yadav said Congressmen were distorting his videos. "Earlier, when I said that our Prime minister Narendra Modi is the 'best PM', Congress people distorted it and claimed that I was saying Modi was the 'bhrasht (corrupt) PM'," Yadav said.

Recently Rajasthan MLA Banwari Lal Singhal, made a shocking comment in a video posted on Facebook, saying Muslims deliberately produce more children to corner Hindus in their own country. He said if the rise of population of Muslims was unchecked, the country will have a Muslims prime minister, Muslim president and chief ministers in most of the states.

Bansal further said that the when the Muslims rule, Hindus will become second class citizens.

OneIndia News
Global economy will shrink by 5.2 per cent this year says World Bank

Indias economy to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2018, World Bank gives a thumbs up to Modi govt

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

New Delhi, Jan 10: Since November 8, 2016, after the controversial demonetisation was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has come under severe scrutiny for failing to uplift the country's economy because of its "hasty decisions".

Then Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into effect from July 1 last year, causing tremor in the country's economy.

While the Modi government maintains that both the demonetisation and GST will help the country's economy in the long run, the Opposition constantly reminded the Centre about the various lacunae in its economy policies which led to slowdown in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Now, the ruling BJP can heave a sigh of relief as a latest World Bank report has given a thumbs up to the government's economic policies. The reported added that India is going to grow at a much faster rate than other economies in the world.

With an "ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms", India has "enormous growth potential" compared to other emerging economies, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

It has also projected country's growth rate to 7.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.5 for the next two years.

India, despite initial setbacks from the demonetisation and GST, is estimated to have grown at 6.7 per cent in 2017, according to the 2018 Global Economics Prospect released by the World Bank in Washington on Tuesday.

"In all likelihood India is going to register higher growth rate than other major emerging market economies in the next decade. So, I wouldn't focus on the short-term numbers. I would look at the big picture for India and big picture is telling us that it has enormous potential," Ayhan Kose, Director, Development Prospects Group, World Bank, told PTI in an interview.

He said in comparison with China, which is slowing, the World Bank is expecting India to gradually accelerate.

"The growth numbers of the past three years were very healthy," Kose, author of the report, said.

In 2017, China grew at 6.8 per cent, 0.1 per cent more than that of India, while in 2018, its growth rate is projected at 6.4 per cent. And in the next two years, the country's growth rate will drop marginally to 6.3 and 6.2 per cent, respectively.

To materialise its potential, India, Kose said, needs to take steps to boost investment prospects.

There are measures underway to do in terms of nonperforming loans and productivity, he said.

"On the productivity side, India has enormous potential with respect to secondary education completion rate. All in all, improved labour market reforms, education and health reforms as well as relaxing investment bottleneck will help improve India's prospects," Kose said.

Noting that India has a favourable demographic profile, he said it is rarely seen in other economies.

"In that context, improving female labour force participation rate is going to be important. Female labour force participation still remains low relative to other emerging market economies. Bringing force right now idle outside of the productive activities will make a huge difference," he said.

Reducing youth unemployment is critical, and pushing for private investment, where problems are already well-known like bank assets quality issues...If these are done, India can reach its potential easily and exceed, Kose asserted.

"In fact, we expect India to do better than its potential in 2018 and move forward," he said.

India's growth potential, he said, would be around 7 per cent for the next 10 years.

The Indian government is "very serious" with GST being a major turning point and banking recapitalisation programme is really important, Kose said.

"The Indian government has already recognise some of these problems and undertaking measures and willing to see the outcomes of these measures," he said.

"India is a very large economy. It has a huge potential. At the same time, it has its own challenges. This government is very much aware of these challenges and is showing just doing its best in terms of dealing with them," the World Bank official said.

The latest World Bank growth estimate for 2017 is 0.5 per cent, less than the previous projection, and 0.2 per cent less in the next two years.

"It is slightly lower than its previous forecast, primarily because India is undertaking major reforms," Kose said.

These reforms, of course, will bring certain policy uncertainty, he said, "but the big issue about India, when you look at India's growth potential and our numbers down the road 2019 and 2020, is that it is going to be the fastest growing large emerging market."

"India has an ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms. GST is a major reform to have harmonised taxes, is one nation one market one tax concept.

Then, of course, the late 2016 demonetisation reform was there. The government is well aware of these short-term implications," Kose said.

He said there might have been some temporary disruptions but "all in all" the Indian economy has done well.

"The potential growth rate of the Indian economy is very healthy to 7 per cent. I think the growth is going to be at a high rate going forward," the World Bank official said.

The big question is whether Indian policymakers would, under the necessary reforms, push its potential growth up, Kose said.

"So far we have seen ambitious policy initiatives and implementation like GST. And we have all the reasons to expect this government to continue economic policies to create friendly environment for businesses and push its growth potential up," he said.

In a South Asia regional press release, the World Bank said India is estimated to grow 6.7 per cent in fiscal year 2017-18, slightly down from the 7.1 per cent of the previous fiscal year.

This is due in part to the effects of the introduction of the GST, but also to protracted balance sheet weaknesses, including corporate debt burdens and nonperforming loans in the banking sector, weighing down private investment, it said.

If the ruling government at the Centre implement all the suggestions given by the World Bank, including creation of jobs, a day is not far away when the country could truly say "achhe din" (goods days), as Modi had promised during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, has finally arrived.

OneIndia News
Padmaavat protest: Goons who attacked school bus ought to be booked for 'attempt to murder'

Would it be accepted if Gandhiji is shown doing bhangra ': Giriraj Singh on Padmaavat row

46 people have been arrested so far in connection with 'Padmaavat violence': Gurgaon Police

Is Goa planning to ban Padmavat?

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Panaji, Jan 10: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has recently cleared the controversial Bollywood movie, Padmavat, with a U/A certificate to be screened across the country on January 25.

The film, earlier titled Padmavati, created national furore after Rajput and Hindu right-wing groups protested against the depiction of the character of Queen Padmavati, played by actress Deepika Padukone, in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali's directorial venture.

The film, which was earlier supposed to release on December 1, got delayed because of the violent protest it witnessed in several parts of the country.

In spite of the Censor Board (as the CBFC is also known as) clearing the film for public viewing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan made it clear that the film on the Rajasthani queen won't be released in the state as it hurts the sentiments of Rajputs. Rajput is a dominant community in the state.

Now, it seems another BJP-ruled state is going to ban the screening of the film. According to ANI, the Goa Police has written to the Manohar Parrikar government asking it not to allow the screening of Padmavat in the state.

The Goa Police has given a reason that since the film is controversial it would need special security arrangements for its screening in various theatres. Currently, the department is already overloaded with work as it is the peak tourist season in the coastal state.

Thus the screening of the film during the peak tourist season will add pressure on the state's police force.

Goa Police writes to the state government asking that #Padmavat be not screened in Goa during peak tourist season as it will put pressure on the state's police force  ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2018

Recently, reports suggested that the Censor Board has asked the director of the film to make at least 300 changes in Padmavat. However, the chief of the board, lyricist and poet Prasoon Joshi, denied the reports stating that the film has been cleared after it made the changes as suggested by a special committee.

Now, the Shri Rajput Karni Sena, the fringe group which has been at the centre protesting against the film, has asked for an all-India ban on Padmavat.

OneIndia News
Karnataka assembly elections: 'Chargesheet Congress by January 16', says Amit Shah

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

January 16 is the deadline set by BJP national president Amit Shah to file chargesheets against the ruling Congress in Karnataka. Addressing party workers at a resort in the outskirts of Bengaluru, Shah said that the chargesheet on the wrongdoings by the Congress will have to be ready by January 16 and it has to be made public all through the campaign.

Shah was addressing the BJP workers as part of the election strategy in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018. He said that enough progress was not made by the Karnataka BJP. What are you waiting for? Do not wait until the last minute, a BJP leader part of the meeting informed OneIndia.

When will Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 be held: EC contemplates April

Shah further told the BJP leaders that the process of appointing a page pramukh needs to be done at any cost. There should be a volunteer for each page of the voters' list, he said.

While explaining the importance of a page pramukh, Shah said that this is aimed at micro-managing the elections. The pramukh would be in touch with each one on the voters' list, he said. He cited the example of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat while pointing out that it was micro-management that helped them win the elections.

Karnataka Assembly elections 2018: Yogi, Siddaramaiah engage in Twitter war

Shah once again reminded the BJP about the one-plus-one strategy. He said that implementing the same would be crucial. As part of this strategy, a legislator looks after his own constituency apart from the one assigned to him by the party. He said that when he was here the last time, he had given a January 9 deadline for the same to be implemented. However it has not been done and the next time I am here, I want no excuses he said in a stern message.

OneIndia News
Swachh Survekshan 2021: Indore, India's cleanest city is now the country's first 'water plus' city

Viral video: Bangle seller thrashed in MP's Indore; Minister says used fake name

Madhya Pradesh minister calls Valmiki dacoit, sparks row

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

BJP leader Archana Chitnis calls sage Valmiki 'Dacoit', Watch video | Oneindia News

Madhya Pradesh women and child welfare minister Archana Chitnis has stirred up a controversy when she called sage Valmiki, author of Ramayana, a 'daaku' (dacoit), at a meeting in Mandsaur a couple of days ago.

She made the remarks at the All India Valmiki community conclave.

Her remarks, on Tuesday, sparked a furore among the Valmiki community members who decided to move the RSS leadership seeking to restrain the BJP leaders from making 'uncharitable' remarks against the revered leaders of different communities.

After she finished her address, some of the members of Valmiki community protested against her for insulting the great sage by calling him a dacoit.

"The minister's poor portrayal of our 'Dharam Guru' Maharshi Valmiki has hurt sentiments of our community," Devidas Chabaria, state general secretary of All India Valmiki Mahasabha, said.

However, the minister later apologised for her remarks.

Later talking to reporters, Chitnis said, "I was only talking about correcting the history that was written under British Rule. If someone is hurt by my words then I apologise from the core of my heart."

"I only talked of unity and the greatness of Valmiki ji, maybe in my one-hour speech i framed a wrong word or something, for that I humbly accept my fault and regret it", she added.

OneIndia News
Utah woman, who did not know she was pregnant, gives birth to baby on flight to Hawaii

Mid-air forex smuggling: How the trap was set and operation carried out

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A few years back a Ghana Airways flight was raided by New York customs officials on the tarmac. Three flight attendants were apprehended with 45,000 US dollars and booked under provisions of money laundering.

Earlier this week a flight attendant of the Jet Airways was picked up by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence was picked up after it was found that she was carrying US dollars worth Rs 3.2 crore on her meant to be exchanged for gold in Hong Kong.

Read | Flight attendant was part of global hawala racket: DRI

Flight attendants are easy targets for such acts of money laundering. Take the instant case on hand. The prime accused in the case, Amit Malhotra was travelling on a Jet Airways flight when he spotted the attendant, Devshi.

He then approached her and told her that he was a business tycoon. Impressed with him, she shared her number.

A few days later Malhotra messaged her asking whether she could meet him. The two met and then he made an offer to her. He told her whether she could carry some cash with her meant for an associate in Hong Kong. Initially, she was apprehensive about the offer and even turned it down.

Malhotra continued to persist and told her that it was safe. He even demonstrated to her that money wrapped in a silver foil could not be detected by X-ray machines.

The entire operation began with a low amount. She packed the money in a silver foil and concealed it in her baggage. The silver foil passed off as chocolates. On reaching Hong Kong she messaged the details and Malhotra arranged for a person to pick up the cash. The operation went off smoothly and Devshi was impressed that she could carry this off.

She carried out seven such operations. In the last few operations, she had charged a rupee for every dollar. In the last operation that she was attempting to carry out before her luck ran out, she was to get Rs 4.8 lakhs, investigations showed.

OneIndia News
ITBP contingent

An officer of ITBP contingent watching soldiers march during rehearsals ahead of the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Monday. PTI Photo

Security check at the venue

Security personnel with sniffer dogs inspect the lawns at India Gate, as a part of the preparations for the Republic Day celebrations, in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI Photo

Construction underway

A structure is being created as preparations are underway for the Republic day Celebrations at Rajpath, in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI Photo

President's bodyguards

President's bodyguards practice in dense fog ahead of the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI Photo

Republic Day statues

Artisans giving final touches on the fiberglass statues of great Indian personalities, at Kumartuli in Kolkata on Monday. The statues will be sent to Delhi for the forthcoming Republic Day function at India Gate. PTI Photo

Fiberglass sculptors

An artisan making a fiberglass sculptor of a sitar near readied statues, at Kumartuli in Kolkata on Monday. The statues will be sent to Delhi for the forthcoming Republic Day function at India Gate. PTI Photo
To take down terrorists effectively, NSG spruces sniping capabilities

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The NSG has spruced up its sniping capabilities in a bid to effectively take down terrorists, the force's chief said.

The 'black cat' commando force has procured new sniper weapons and trained more sharp-shooters in the skill in the recent past and is increasingly using them for special operations, NSG Director General S P Singh said.

"The skill of sniping is a big asset for a commando force like us. We have put a greater stress on this domain," Singh told PTI.

The National Security Guard (NSG), he said, has also procured advanced sniping weapons and has trained more personnel for special tasks.

The NSG DG, however, did not quantify the number of NSG commandos trained in the skill.

Official sources said while snipers were essentially part of NSG assault teams in operations, their numbers were now being increased and used more frequently.

"So, the next time a counter-terror team is making an intervention where a terrorist is holed up, the snipers would not only give them a good cover but also help in neutralising the target in better time," a senior officer said.

PTI, in February last year, had reported that the force, has upgraded its sniper rifles and inducted the German PSG1 A1, which carries an enhanced number of 20 rounds to engage and pin down targets for a longer time and is complemented with longer range and extreme accuracy.

The 7.2kg rifle with a telescopic sight is an upgrade of the PSG1 sniper variant being used by the marksmen of the NSG till recently.

The sniping discipline has also been included for the first time in the 8th All India Police Commando Competition, being hosted by the NSG this time.

The competition, involving 25 teams from various state police and paramilitary forces, will begin this weekend at the NSG garrison in Manesar near here.

The DG said the NSG desires that all the security forces of the country have "synergy and inter-operability" when it comes to tackling terror threats and attacks.

Singh said the force is "all prepared" to tackle any situation in the run-up to the upcoming Republic Day celebrations on January 26.

The NSG was raised in 1986 as the federal contingency force of commandos to counter any variant of terror or hijack threat.

OneIndia News
UP: Drunken man gives triple talaq to wife over phone, police remain mute spectators

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Lucknow, Jan 10: While lawmakers debated over the controversial triple talaq bill in Parliament, a woman in Uttar Pradesh has alleged that her husband in an inebriated state has given her divorce by uttering the word "talaq" three times over the phone.

What makes the woman's case more chilling is that in spite of the victim approaching the police for "justice", the cops are yet to take any action against the husband.

News agency ANI tweeted that a woman in Kaushambi, UP alleged that her husband gave triple talaq to her in an inebriated condition over the phone.

Woman in Kaushambi says her husband gave #TripleTalaq to her in an inebriated condition over the phone. pic.twitter.com/mYPUiBXhUA  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 10, 2018

She added that her husband used to beat her up and abuse her regularly for the last three-four years.

"After he gave me talaq over phone, I complained to the police but no action has been taken till now," rued Rosy Begum.

He used to beat me up and abuse me regularly for the last 3-4 years. After he gave me talaq over the phone, I complained to police but no action has been taken till now: Rosy Begum,victim #Kaushambi pic.twitter.com/bEafBwpfWe  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 10, 2018

In the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament, the triple talaq bill got stuck in the Rajya Sabha after opposition parties demanded that it should be first sent to a select committee for review.

That bill got passed in the Lok Sabha without much protest as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoys a majority in the Lower House of Parliament. The bill will be once again tabled in the Rajya Sabha in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament.

On August 22 last year, the Supreme Court banned the practice of instant triple talaq, (the practice under which a Muslim man can divorce his wife by simply uttering the word "talaq" three times) calling it unconstitutional.

Now, the bill has to be passed by the Upper House of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, to become a law. The passage of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill will make the practice of triple talaq criminal.

While moving the triple talaq bill for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on December 28 last year said that about 100 triple talaq cases had taken place since the Supreme Court struck it down in August last year.

OneIndia News
Was Jignesh Mevani's 'Yuva Hunkar' rally a flop show?

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Yuva Hunkar rally was a flop show, barely 200-300 people attended the event | Oneindia News

Reports from the venue of the 'Yuva Hunkar' rally say that Jignesh Mevani's event was a flop show with barely 200-300 people in attendance and being outnumbered by police and media persons. According to reports, even 80 per cent of security was withdrawn around the area.

The organisers claimed that supporters from outside of Delhi would attend the rally, which began at 1 pm. However, according to Times Now, only few hundred supporters turned up for the event.

However, the organisers deny reports calling the event a flop. CPI-ML Polit bureau member Kavita Krishnan termed the reports as blatant lies.

After first lying about Police permission being denied for #YuvaHunkarRally, the media is now trying to claim participation in the rally is poor! Does this look like poor participation?! pic.twitter.com/BEYVHw8Fc9  Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) January 9, 2018

Jignesh Mevani took a dig at the BJP and the right wing activists while speaking at Yuva Hunkar rally in Parliament-street on Tuesday.

Mevani said, "The way corruption, poverty, unemployment and the real issues are being swept under the carpet and ghar wapasi, love jihad and cows are being given space, we stand against that."

"We believe in India's polity. We are not love jihad guys. We're pyaar ishq muhabbat guys. We will celebrate 14th February (Valentines' Day)," Jignesh Mevani said.

Earlier, Amid heavy security, the 'Yuva Hunkar' started at Parliament Street. Around 2,000 security personnel, including the paramilitary forces, deployed at the venue. Parliament Street was fortified and water cannon vehicles were also deployed.

On being denied permission for Yuva Hunkar rally, Jignesh Mewani, said, "Unfortunate. We were just going to demonstrate democratically and peacefully, the Govt is targeting us, an elected representative is not being allowed to speak."

But, the Delhi Police maintained that permission has been denied for the event. A senior officer from New Delhi district told PTI that additional forces from other districts of the city have been called in.

Akhil Gogoi from Assam, Manoj Manzil from Bihar, Pooja Shukla from Lucknow to attended the event. The youth rally aimed to question PM Narendra Modi's government over unemployment and rise in attacks on Dalits.

OneIndia News
Karnataka: Will Congress not allow Kumaraswamy to be CM for full 5-year term?

Is it chief minister Kumaraswamy or chief manager of Congress Ktaka ATM? BJP has an answer

All is well between Congress, JD(S)? Kumaraswamy meets Rahul as Karnataka waits for full cabinet

When will Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 be held: EC contemplates April

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The date of the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 will be announced by mid-march. The Election Commission of India would take into account the SSLC and PUC examinations before announcing the date.

The elections in Karnataka are likely to be held anytime between April 5 and May 5.

Once the dates are announced the model code of conduct would come into force. A meeting of the EC officials was held this week to deliberate on the date of the elections.

'If you are a Hindu, why promote eating beef', Yogi asks Siddaramaiah

The meeting was attended by senior government officials, members from the state election commission and chief secretary Ratna Prabha. The DG/IG of police was also present at the meeting.

Karnataka Assembly elections 2018: Yogi, Siddaramaiah engage in Twitter war

It was decided at the meeting that the process of revising the electoral rolls would be completed by March. Further deliberations on whether to hold the polls in a single phase were also discussed. In all probability the polls would be held in a single phase and the approval of political parties would be sought to this effect. A meeting with the political party representatives is scheduled for this week. The elections in Karnataka this time would also see the use of voter-verified paper audit trail.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, January 10, 2018, 7:49 [IST]
World must brace for huge mess if its advice on Afghanistan ignored: Pakistan

Pakistan suspends military, intelligence cooperation with US: Reports

International

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Pakistan has suspended its military and intelligence cooperation with the United States according to Pakistan media reports.

Confirming that military and intelligence cooperation has been suspended, Khurram Dastgir Khan was quoted by Pakistani newspaper Dawn as saying that the US is engaging Pakistan in a blame game rather than assisting in the battle on terror. "Pakistan does not want to put a price on its sacrifices but wants them to be recognised," he said on Tuesday.

At a seminar titled 'Contours of Security Environment of Pakistan', he reportedly said that despite the US spending billions of dollars, it was facing defeat in Afghanistan and was using Pakistan as a scapegoat for its failures.

"Pakistan does not want to put a price on its sacrifices but wants them to be recognised," Dawn quoted the defence minister as saying.He added Pakistan won't let Afghanistan's war be fought on Pakistani territory.

Pakistan's claim came after Washington's decision to suspend security assistance to Islamabad.

While the US embassy in Islamabad has not confirmed if cooperation in the said areas has indeed been halted, souring relations between the two countries indeed point towards a firm possibility.

"We have not received any formal communication regarding a suspension," Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said, according to VOA news.

Since the beginning of New, Washington has increased pressure on Islamabad to "do more" in the fight against terrorism.

Washington has stated that the suspension of military aid, which came after Trump accused Pakistan of "lies and deceit", is part of America's South Asia strategy.

The development has followed in the aftermath of an increasingly terse back-and-forth between Washington and Islamabad since Trump announced the policy.

OneIndia News
PM Modi likely to visit US later this month

Will Modi meet Trump at World Economic Forum in Davos?

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

Washington, Jan 10: Whenever they have met, the world observed with bated breath.

As world leaders, economists and business honchos are all set to meet at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland beginning from January 23, a buzz is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump are likely to meet or walk into each other at the four-day gala event.

According to reports, the US President will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with PM Modi.

This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

"The President welcomes opportunities to advance his America First agenda with world leaders," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

She said Trump looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen "American businesses, American industries, and American workers".

Details of the President's trip to Davos, including bilateral meetings, are being worked out, Sanders said.

"We're finalising the details on exactly when the President will be there. We don't have any commitments beyond this year at this point," she said, adding that the White House is looking forward to being part of the process.

"The President's message is very much the same here as it will be there; just the same as it was here, as it was when he made many stops in Asia. This is very much an America First agenda," Sanders said.

She said Trump is "still 100 per cent focused and committed to promoting policies that strength American businesses and the American workers."

"That's going to be the same whether he's in the US or any other place," Sanders said.

Several senior members of the Cabinet and administration will be part of this event, she said.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place later this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme, Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World.

Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two- day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian PM will attend the Davos summit.

The annual meeting will be attended by 350 governmental leaders (among them over 60 heads of state or government), the chairs and chief executive officers of the world's most important companies and over 1,000 leaders from civil society, academia and the media.

Although, no official statement has been issued regarding the Modi-Trump meeting, looking at the bonhomie the two top leaders shared during their previous meetings, we can definitely expect a few friendly handshakes, hugs and peals of laughter as they meet and greet each other in Davos.

OneIndia News
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California Democratic says "only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public"

U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein, a California Democrat and ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, released on Tuesday the complete transcript of testimony given by Glenn Simpson, co-founder of the political research firm Fusion GPS, which originally commissioned the now infamous "Steele Dossier" which documents unsubstantiated yet explosive claims about the relationship between President Donald Trump and Russian officials.

In a statement released alongside more than 300 pages of Simpson's tesimony(pdf), Feinstein said, "The American people deserve the opportunity to see what he said and judge for themselves. The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice. The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public."

Among the explosive highlights contained in the transcript, as the Daily Beast reports, was that Simpson told the committee how the FBI had told Steele they had a "walk-in" whistleblower "from within the Trump campaign or organization" who may have offered damning evidence to law enforcement officials.

Though released on her own accord without permission of the GOP-controlled committee, Feinstein's decision comes days after it was learned that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had issued a criminal referral to the Department of Justice for Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence officer who compiled the dossier at the request of GPS.

In an op-ed in the New York Times last week, Simpson, along with fellow GPS co-founder Peter Fritsch, said publicly they wanted the testimony given to the committee released. "Republicans have refused to release full transcripts of our firm's testimony, even as they selectively leak details to media outlets on the far right," Simpson and Fritsch wrote. "It's time to share what our company told investigators."

The two men said they were proud of their work -- conducted at the behest of paying clients -- but said it was time to "stop chasing rabbits" in terms of misinformation about the role they played in creating the controversial dossier and how its existence and contents have been manipulated in the ever-growing spectacle of the Trump-Russia probe. "The public still has much to learn about a man with the most troubling business past of any United States president," the two men concluded. "Congress should release transcripts of our firm's testimony, so that the American people can learn the truth about our work and most important, what happened to our democracy."

Kevin Breuninger at CNBC detailed other key highlights contained in the transcript as these:
This week, the publication of excerpts from Michael Wolff's book Fire and Fury painted a picture of a White House that was full of chaos and contempt for Donald Trump. A few points here on the book and the fallout:

1. "Tell-all" books--purporting to give the "real, behind-the-scenes" look at palace intrigue--generally focus on gossip and rumor and are notorious for unattributed and/or denied quotes. Those who are quoted are very often trying to maneuver and manipulate within internal power struggles, almost always shading the truth and sometimes just plain inventing. These books are generally not reliable and objective and should not be taken at face value--though they may provide clues to power struggles within an administration.

2. This book does not break anything new. It is not news that Trump is an extremely ignorant and arrogant man who surrounds himself with toadies and backstabbers. On the other hand, it could lend itself to underestimating the danger posed by Trump in particular. Trump has in fact demonstrated tactical skill in the dogfights that go on within the ruling class. He intuited that the straight-up reactionary vision and persona he projects was needed to cohere the base for fascism in this country, and ascended to power on that basis. Notions that Trump is a dummy pure and simple or that the presidency is imploding are dangerous. Fascist regimes generally have their origin in ruling class factions that have not been part of the core establishment and come to power with a necessity and a will to tear apart previous norms and arrangements of ruling. They thus tend to proceed through a certain chaos, incoherence, splits, and improvisation. This one is no different.

3. Some people are now saying that it is time to invoke the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president, with a majority of the cabinet, to declare the president incapacitated. Some Democratic politicians and cable news hosts are pushing this particularly hard. But first, who exactly is going to invoke it? Pence? Or the Christian fascists (where Pence has his origins and strength) who have made clear their intense support for Trump? These religious fanatics went all-in for the profane and obscene Trump during the campaign because they believed he would boldly and brazenly tear up the norms and systems of bourgeois democratic rule and enable them to achieve their fascist agenda. And they were proven right--Trump is packing the federal courts with Christian (and other) fascists, moving to gut abortion rights, persecuting LGBTQ people, attacking Islam and Muslim people, breaking down the separation between church and state, and more. To the Christian fascists, Trump is "a miracle"! (In this regard, it may be of significance that the Christian fascists did not seem to have come in for any kind of criticism or embarrassment off the book.) Even if Pence (and the forces he represents) do at some point move on Trump, would it really be better to have an end-times, rapture-believing theocrat with his finger on the nuclear button and his hands on the state apparatus than a demented, openly racist, openly misogynist, unapologetic pig? Second, even if somehow this amendment were to get invoked through congressional action, if Trump then contested it, he would need the support of only one-third of either the Senate or the House to remain in power. But more than that: it is clear, once again, including as the dust has settled off the frenzy initially surrounding the book, that the ruling class--even those who have serious differences with the fascists--right now plan to do nothing more than maneuver within a world in which that regime holds the reins and is moving for a full-out fascist regime.

4. The take-home is this: Everybody has known for a while that Trump, the head of a whole fascist cabal including Pence, is utterly ignorant, demented, and certainly viciously arrogant, and that--as he so brutally reminded the world just this week--he has "the nuclear button" in his hands. The question confronting the people who know this and find it a nightmare is: Will we act in accordance with this knowledge, or will we continue to try to deny the implications? Will we play the useless and frankly damaging waiting game of elections, or will we act in a way that is commensurate with the danger posed to the very existence of humanity every day this regime is in power?
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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled: it will not hear the case of Young v. Borders.

Despite the fact that a 26-year-old man was gunned down by police who banged on the wrong door at 1:30 am, failed to identify themselves as police, and then repeatedly shot and killed the innocent homeowner who answered the door while holding a gun in self-defense, the justices of the high court refused to intervene to address police misconduct.

Although 26-year-old Andrew Scott committed no crime and never fired a single bullet or lifted his firearm against police, only to be gunned down by police who were investigating a speeding incident by engaging in a middle-of-the-night "knock and talk" in Scott's apartment complex, the Supreme Court refused to balance the scales between justice and injustice.

Despite the fact that polic e shot and killed nearly 1,000 people nationwide for the third year in a row (many of whom were unarmed, mentally ill, minors or were shot merely because militarized police who were armed to the hilt "feared" for their safety), the Supreme Court will not act to right the wrongs being meted out by the American police state.

Although "knock-and-talk" policing has become a thinly veiled, warrantless--lethal--exercise by which citizens are coerced and intimidated into "talking" with heavily armed police who "knock" on their doors in the middle of the night, the Supreme Court will not make the government play by the rules of the Constitution.

The lesson to be learned: the U.S. Supreme Court will not save us.

No one is coming to save us: not the courts, not the legislatures, and not the president.

According to journalist Michael Harriot:

More people died from police violence in 2017 than the total number of U.S. soldiers killed in action around the globe (21). More people died at the hands of police in 2017 than the number of black people who were lynched in the worst year of Jim Crow (161 in 1892). Cops killed more Americans in 2017 than terrorists did (four). They killed more citizens than airplanes (13 deaths worldwide), mass shooters (428 deaths) and Chicago's "top gang thugs" (675 Chicago homicides).

Americans are dying at the hands of the police, and the U.S. government doesn't care.

Worse, the U.S. government is actively doing everything in its power to ensure that the killing spree continues.

Take Jeff Sessions, for example.

While the president's conveniently-timed tweets distract the public and dominate the headlines, his attorney general continues to bulldoze over the Constitution, knocking down what scant protections remain between the citizenry and the hydra-headed police state.

Within his first year as attorney general, Jeff Sessions has made a concerted effort to expand the police state's power to search, strip, seize, raid, steal from, arrest and jail Americans for any infraction, no matter how insignificant.

What this means is more militarized police, more asset forfeiture, more private prisons, more SWAT-team raids, more police shootings of unarmed citizens, and more wars waged by the government against the American people.

And while the crime rate may be falling, the death toll--casualties of the government's war on the American people--is growing.

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From Strategic Culture

Almost a year of "Russia-gate scandal" alleging collusion between President Trump and the Kremlin has produced nothing in the way of pressuring his resignation from the White House. No doubt, that's simply because there is no substance to this "scandal." However, the failure to bring Trump down through Russia-gate by his domestic political enemies, may have found a new lever in the form of salacious questions over the president's mental state.

Trump is due to take a medical examination later this week, and that appointment is fueling media speculation that the doctors may find evidence of the president's alleged psychiatric deterioration.

The media speculation over Trump's mental state has exploded after publication of the tell-all book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, by Michael Wolff. Days after going on sale, the book has already become a best-seller. In it, Wolff quotes senior White House staff and aides, and even Trump family members, whom he says all attest that the president is suffering from mental ill-health.

The White House and senior members of the Trump administration have since come out in public interviews to denounce Wolff's book as a "garbage work of fiction." Trump himself has described the volume as a "fake book" and he says he was never interviewed by the author.

Michael Wolff, the author, claims that he interviewed some 200 White House people over a period of 18 months. One of his main sources was Stephen Bannon who was formerly Trump's chief strategist. Bannon has since retracted his views cited by Wolff and claims that he was misquoted.

Nevertheless, in several media interviews, Wolff has categorically stated that all his interviewees -- "100 percent of people" -- told him of their concerns about President Trump's mental fitness. The president was described as "paranoid, unstable, impetuous, repetitive, infantile and semi-literate."

Speaking at the weekend from his Camp David retreat outside Washington DC, Trump's rebuttal of the claims about mental instability were far from convincing. He described himself as a "stable genius."

"Throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart... I went from very successful businessman to top TV star to president of the United States... I think that would qualify me as not smart, but genius... and a very stable genius at that!"

This is by no means the first time that Trump's mental health has raised questions of concern. Many psychiatric professionals at respected American universities have for months been publicly voicing warnings that the 45th president may not be fit to carry out his duties of office.

One of those experts, Bandy Lee, professor of psychiatry at Yale University, has even testified to members of Congress about "signs of instability" in Trump's behavior and speech which "place our country and world at extreme risk of danger."

Professor Lee points in particular to Trump's unhinged verbal exchanges with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Last week, Trump boasted that his nuclear button was bigger and more powerful that that of the North Korea leader after Kim had noted in a New Year address that his country had acquired a nuclear capability of striking the US mainland.

American political opponents of Trump among the Democrats, some Republicans, large sections of the news media, as well as key figures in the security-military apparatus of the "deep state," have never accepted Donald Trump's election as president back in November 2016. The Russia-gate scandal has been the mainstay for the campaign to discredit Trump and to coerce his impeachment.

The problem with the Russia-gate tactic for overturning the US election result is threefold: first, it lacks credibility owing to an objective lack of substance about alleged Russian collusion; secondly, the American public seem to discern this lack of credibility and are finding the whole Russia-gate saga a boring drag; thirdly, if an impeachment were to be mounted against Trump, which is increasingly unlikely given the Russia-gate scandal's waning credibility, it would require a majority of Congress to support such a motion. Given the Congress's Republican majority, a motion to impeach a Republican president has next to no chance.

So, that raises the option of a "palace coup." The 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which was signed into law in 1967 four years after the assassination of President John F Kennedy, gives power to the vice president and a majority of the 15-member White House Cabinet to remove a sitting president if he is deemed to be unfit to carry out his duties. The president's unfitness for office could be due to physical or mental incapacity.

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From No More Fake News



Donald Trump

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-- After investigating psychiatry for two decades, I'm confident that, if we could go back and rewrite history, deleting all psychiatrists on the planet, so they'd never exist -- deleting their diagnoses and their drugs -- this would have resulted in a massive upsurge in mental health, moving forward --

The Daily Mail: "A group of leading psychiatrists told a conference that Donald Trump has clear hallmarks of mental illness that compromise his role as president. Twenty-five researchers made a drastic break away from ethical standards by meeting at Yale University on Thursday to discuss evidence questioning the commander-in-chief's mental health."

Psychiatrist Allen Frances, who has played a central role in defining mental disorders, disagrees. He wrote in the NY Times: "Most amateur diagnosticians have mislabeled [Mr. Trump as having] narcissistic personality disorder. He may be a world-class narcissist, but this doesn't make him mentally ill."

Dr. Frances makes an interesting point. He distinguishes between behavior and earning a badge for having a particular mental disorder.

For example, a person can be sad, but that alone doesn't make him a candidate for the label, "clinical depression." A person can take aggressive actions against authority, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is suffering from Oppositional Defiance Disorder.

Consider the accusation that Trump has Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). What does that mean? What is the official definition of NPD? Here is an excerpt from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the official bible of the American Psychiatric Association. Go ahead, plow through it, it'll only take a minute:

"The definition of NPD states that it comprises of a persistent manner of grandiosity, a continuous desire for admiration, along with a lack of empathy. It starts by early adulthood and occurs in a range of situations, as signified by the existence of any 5 of the next 9 standards (American Psychiatric Association, 2013):

" A grandiose logic of self-importance.



" A fixation with fantasies of infinite success, control, brilliance, beauty, or idyllic love.



" A credence that he or she is extraordinary and exceptional and can only be understood by, or should connect with, other extraordinary or important people or institutions.



" A desire for unwarranted admiration.



" A sense of entitlement.



" Interpersonally oppressive behavior.



" No form of empathy.





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Saudi Arabia is seeking to buy Israeli defense systems and working with Israel to prevent Iran's expansion in the Middle East, according to the Swiss newspaper Basler Zeitung.

Basler Zeitung reported on Monday (January 8) a "secret alliance" between Saudi Arabia and Israel, intended "to restrain Iran's expansion in the region, despite the absence of any official relations between the two countries."

The paper said the two countries are cooperating significantly in the areas of military issues and security on strategic issues, despite the fact that they have no open diplomatic ties.

"For the time being, Riyadh rejects any official normalization of relationships with Israel as long as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not resolved and normalization has not been publicly declared by Arab countries and thus there will be no exchange of ambassadors," Pierre Heumann, the newspaper's correspondent in Israel said in his report.

Iranian Factor

"There is an intensive secret cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Israel in order to achieve the main goal of curbing Iran's expansion project and undermining its regional ambitions," Heumann said. He added that "there exists indeed military cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Tel Aviv."

According to Middle East experts, the unifying security factor that has animated Israel and Saudi Arabia to intensify military cooperation is the Iranian regime's "jingoism in the Middle East".

"Both want to hold back the regional ambitions of Iran," wrote Heumann.

The Swiss daily also claimed that Riyadh requested Israel examine the possibility of acquiring, including through a third party, anti-tank defense systems and the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

According to the newspaper, "Riyadh seeks to intercept missiles coming from Yemen. Observers from Tel Aviv and Riyadh are confirming that cooperation between the security services of Israel and Saudi Arabia is very advanced, although Saudi Arabia has been officially denying any sort of cooperation with Israel," as the newspaper put it.

The Swiss newspaper also said "the Saudi elite has abandoned its fears of overt contact with representatives of Israel long time ago." CIA Director Mike Pompeo announced in early December last year that Saudi Arabia is working directly with Israel and other Sunni countries in the field of fighting terrorism.

Recently, there were several reports of Israeli and Saudi officials meeting, though neither side disclosed the topics discussed. The Swiss report claims that in October, intelligence officials from both countries met in order to tighten cooperation, and discussed holding an additional meeting with intelligence leaders of both countries.

The newspaper pointed out that a number of Saudi prominent figures met up with Israeli officials in public. In October, the two former Intelligence chiefs in Israel and Saudi Arabia met to exchange views about the US policy in the region. The newspaper noted that former Saudi Intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal held talks with former "Mossad" chief Efraim Halevy. Al-Faisal was even ready to participate with his Israeli counterpart at a symposium at the Jewish Community Centre in New York.

Israeli General's interview

In November, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot gave an interview to the Saudi Arabian news site Elaph, stating that "the real and greatest threat in the region is Iran, which has three important issues that need to be acted upon.

The first is its nuclear programme, which has been temporarily frozen, but there is no doubt about Iran's intentions to achieve nuclear capabilities.

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Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"Rob Kall is tapping in, exploring, assessing, and clarifying this important new way of thinking that has been influenced by the civil rights movement; women's movement; and new, more effective ways of doing business. This will be an important book that can make changes in our world."



Dr. Linda Seger, author of twelve books, including the best-selling Making a Good Script Great, Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success and The Better Way to Win.
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From Truthout



Crazy Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States

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George Orwell warns us in his dystopian novel 1984 that authoritarianism begins with language. Words now operate as "Newspeak," in which language is twisted in order to deceive, seduce and undermine the ability of people to think critically and freely. As authoritarianism gains in strength, the formative cultures that give rise to dissent become more embattled along with the public spaces and institutions that make conscious critical thought possible.

Words that speak to the truth, reveal injustices and provide informed critical analysis begin to disappear, making it all the more difficult, if not dangerous, to hold dominant power accountable. Notions of virtue, honor, respect and compassion are policed, and those who advocate them are punished.

I think it is fair to argue that Orwell's nightmare vision of the future is no longer fiction. Under the regime of Donald Trump, the Ministry of Truth has become the Ministry of "Fake News," and the language of "Newspeak" has multiple platforms and has morphed into a giant disimagination machinery of propaganda, violence, bigotry, hatred and war.

With the advent of the Trump presidency, language is undergoing a shift in the United States: It now treats dissent, critical media and scientific evidence as a species of "fake news." The administration also views the critical media as the "enemy of the American people." In fact, Trump has repeated this view of the press so often that almost a third of Americans believe it and support government-imposed restrictions on the media, according to a Poynter survey.

Language has become unmoored from critical reason, informed debate and the weight of scientific evidence, and is now being reconfigured within new relations of power tied to pageantry, political theater and a deep-seated anti-intellectualism, increasingly shaped by the widespread banality of celebrity culture, the celebration of ignorance over intelligence, a culture of rancid consumerism, and a corporate-controlled media that revels in commodification, spectacles of violence, the spirit of unchecked self-interest and a "survival of the fittest" ethos.

Under such circumstances, language has been emptied of substantive meaning and functions increasingly to lull large swaths of the American public into acquiescence, if not a willingness to accommodate and support a rancid "populism" and galloping authoritarianism. The language of civic literacy and democracy has given way to the language of saviors, decline, bigotry and hatred. One consequence is that matters of moral and political responsibility disappear, injustices proliferate and language functions as a tool of state repression. The Ministry of "Fake News" works incessantly to set limits on what is thinkable, claiming that reason, standards of evidence, consistency and logic no longer serve the truth, because the latter are crooked ideological devices used by enemies of the state. "Thought crimes" are now labeled as "fake news."

The notion of truth is viewed by this president as a corrupt tool used by the critical media to question his dismissal of legal checks on his power -- particularly his attacks on judges, courts, and any other governing institutions that will not promise him complete and unchecked loyalty. For Trump, intimidation takes the place of unquestioned loyalty when he does not get his way, revealing a view of the presidency that is more about winning than about governing. One consequence is myriad practices in which Trump gleefully humiliates and punishes his critics, willfully engages in shameful acts of self-promotion and unapologetically enriches his financial coffers.

David Axelrod, a former senior advisor to President Obama, is right in stating:

"And while every president is irritated by the limitations of democracy on them, they all grudgingly accept it. [Trump] has not. He has waged a war on the institutions of democracy from the beginning, and I think in a very corrosive way."

New York Times writer Peter Baker adds to this charge by arguing that Trump -- buoyed by an infatuation with absolute power and an admiration for authoritarians -- uses language and the power of the presidency as a potent weapon in his attacks on the First Amendment, the courts and responsible governing. Trump's admiration for a number of dictators is well known. What is often underplayed is his inclination to mimic their language and polices. For instance, Trump's call for "law and order," his encouraging police officers to be more violent with "thugs," and his adoration of all things militaristic echoes the ideology and language of Philippine President and strongman Rodrigo Duterte, who has called for mass murder and boasted about "killing criminals with his own hand."

At the same time, it would be irresponsible to suggest that the current expression of authoritarianism in US politics began with Trump, or that the context for his rise to power represents a distinctive moment in American history. As Howard Zinn points out in A People's History of the United States, the US was born out of acts of genocide, nativism and the ongoing violence of white supremacy. Moreover, the US has a long history of demagogues, extending from Huey Long and Joe McCarthy to George Wallace and Newt Gingrich. Authoritarianism runs deep in American history, and Trump is simply the end point of these anti-democratic practices.

With the rise of casino capitalism, a "winner-take-all" ethos has made the United States a mean-spirited and iniquitous nation that has turned its back on the poor, underserved, and those considered racially and ethnically disposable. It is worth noting that in the last 40 years, we have witnessed an increasing dictatorship of finance capital and an increasing concentration of power and ownership regarding the rise and workings of the new media and mainstream cultural apparatuses. These powerful digital and traditional pedagogical apparatuses of the 21st century have turned people into consumers, and citizenship into a neoliberal obsession with self-interest and an empty notion of freedom.

The ecosystem of visual and print representations has taken on an unprecedented influence, given the merging of power and culture as a dominant political and pedagogical force. This cultural apparatus has become so powerful, in fact, that it is difficult to dispute the central role it played in the election of Donald Trump to the presidency. Analyzing the forces behind the election of Trump, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt provide a cogent commentary on the political and pedagogical power of an old and updated media landscape. They write:

"Undoubtedly, Trump's celebrity status played a role. But equally important was the changed media landscape... By one estimate, the Twitter accounts of MSNBC, CNN, CBS, and NBC -- four outlets that no one could accuse of pro-Trump leanings -- mentioned Trump twice as often as Hillary Clinton. According to another study, Trump enjoyed up to $2 billion in free media coverage during the primary season. Trump didn't need traditional Republican power brokers. The gatekeepers of the invisible primary weren't merely invisible; by 2016, they were gone entirely."

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The story appeared, astonishingly, in The New England Journal of Medicine in the summer of 2007. Adopted as a kitten by the medical staff

, Oscar reigned over one floor of the Steere House nursing home in Rhode Island. When the cat would sniff the air, crane his neck and curl up next to a man or woman, it was a sure sign of impending demise. The doctors would call the families to come in for their last visit. Over the course of several years, the cat had curled up next to 50 patients. Every one of them died shortly thereafter.

SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE, writing for the NYTimes
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The Electoral College has caused fundamental damage to the United States in the first part of the twenty-first century. We have had two minority presidents, George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump, as a result of the arcane machinations of the electoral college. As a result, we have suffered through the Iraq War and its aftermath, including ISIS and al Queda. Now we will suffer generational damage to the federal courts, the environment, and tax inequality caused by President Trump and his merry band of misfits.

Constitutional Compromise

As President Trump said, "The election is rigged." He was right: The electoral college rigs the system. Elections are now decided by a few states where there are roughly equal blocks of Democrats and Republicans: Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin. A slim majority in several of these states can tilt the electoral college against the will of the people.

[Print by Joel D. Joseph. PartisanArtisan.com]

The Constitution is an exceptional document that has lasted 240 years. The electoral college was a compromise. At the time of the first election in 1789, thirteen states ranged in population from 68,000 in Rhode Island to 748,000 in Virginia, but those numbers included slaves, women and children. The total population of the United States was 3,929,214, less than half the population of Los Angeles County or New York City today. If we only look at the white male vote (the only ones who could vote in 1789), there was only a total of 800,000 voters. Virginia had 110,00 white males, New York, 83,000, Delaware 12,000.

Constitutional Amendment

The Constitution was meant to be amended. Article V of the Constitution provides for amendments. Thomas Jefferson, one of the primary drafters of the Constitution, said, "Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

Jefferson also wrote the Declaration of Independence which provides in part, "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Popular Vote

In a democracy, the popular vote is the only vote that matters. U.S. citizens now travel and move more often than in 1790 and the weight of their vote should not be decided on where they live. Whether you vote in Delaware or California, you vote should be treated equally. The Supreme Court in Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S.186 (1962), decided that the Constitution required that all votes be treated equally (not counting Presidential elections). In that case, Tennessee gave voters in some districts two or three times the weight of other districts in State elections. The Constitution does the same thing with the electoral college. Now is the time to get rid of that anachronistic piece of history. I understand ratification of a Constitutional amendment is difficult, requiring a 2/3 vote in Congress and approval by of the States. But the United States cannot afford a third mistake: we do not want another George W. Bush or Donald J. Trump, a minority president ill-prepared to lead this country and the world.
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From Our Future

The new year had barely started when the world got new grist for the "Trump-is-crazy" mill, one of the few American industries to experience a boom since Trump became president.

Michael Wolff's profile of the current White House, "Fire and Fury," is filled with rumors and backbiting. But the book, and the president's unhinged reaction to it, provide new evidence that Trump is cognitively and emotionally unfit for office.

Wolff got headlines, even in the august New York Times, for saying Trump has "less credibility" than anyone who has ever walked on earth." Hard news becomes indistinguishable from hyperbole and high school gossip. That's understandably irresistible for a lot of people. And a person's sanity becomes existentially important when they hold a nuclear button, regardless of its size.

But the deeper forces of history move on, and we ignore them at our peril. While the nation obsesses about Trump, he and his fellow Republicans are radically rewiring our political and economic order. The tax bill they passed at the end of last year proves it.

Years are arbitrary divisions, of course, but they're a useful reminder to note our individual and collective progress -- or lack thereof.

There are always end-of-year retrospectives. But how does the Trump era look from a centuries-long perspective on our nation?

200 years ago, at the start of 1818, President James Monroe was about to claim the continent for American military expansion. General (and future president) Andrew Jackson invaded Florida during the so-called "Seminole Wars," a military incursion against indigenous people and the Spanish colonial government there.

There was a growing belief in the federal government's ability to accomplish things. Close to my own childhood home, a major infrastructure project was kicked off in 1817 when construction of the Erie Canal began in Rome, N.Y. (I was born in nearby Utica, where the canal has long since been paved over.)

Monroe began promoting his own brand of national unity, based on a political consensus that supposedly transcended party divisions. In some ways, it foreshadowed the "centrist" bipartisanship promoted by Democrats like Barack Obama and the Clintons.

This period came to be known as the "Era of Good Feelings," a name that could hardly be applied to our own. But then, it undoubtedly didn't feel good for the slaves, women, native peoples, and poor whites who struggled to survive every day.

A century later, 1917 had just ended. It was an eventful year. The country entered World War I after a German terror attack blew up a naval ship docked in Lyndhurst, N.J. Germans, not Muslims, were the country's most hated and feared immigrant group in those days, as we noted back in 2016. The Alien Enemy Act was passed, placing immigrants like Trump's father under the watchful eye of the authorities.

The National Archives tell of German-language newspapers shut down or forced out of business. Bilingual churches were pressured to stop conducting services in German. German-language societies and even choral groups were disbanded as "volunteer watchdog societies reported on "German American gatherings and activities to federal authorities."

In an echo of Monroe's wars of expansion, General John "Black Jack" Pershing launched another one of his "punitive expeditions" into Mexico.

In 1917, racism's structural violence led to African-American uprisings -- often called "riots" -- in East St. Louis, Houston, and elsewhere.

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From Counterpunch

Steven Spielberg's new movie "The Post" depicts a newspaper's decision to defy the government, risk its financial health and imprisonment of its editors in order to report a hard truth and defend the press' First Amendment rights by publishing the Pentagon Papers.

After the Washington Post's decision to inform the American people that top government officials had known that the Vietnam War was unwinnable yet had repeatedly lied about it for years, editor Ben Bradlee (played by Tom Hanks) dumps a pile of out-of-town newspapers on a desk for publisher Katherine Graham (Meryl Streep) to see. We've started a "rebellion," Bradlee informs Graham. "We're no longer in speaking truth to power."

No way would that happen today.

I was pleased to see that "The Post" highlights the pressures and biases that weighed against publication: a publisher undermined by sexism and low expectations, a paper trying to raise capital under the eye of nervous bankers, the Nixon Administration's take-no-prisoners prosecutorial abuse by a vicious attorney general, and -- not least -- the Post's cozy establishmentarianism, centered around Graham's famous hard-drinking salons where reporters hobnobbed with the officials they were supposed to cover objectively.

After a lot of wavering and gnashing of lawyerly teeth, Graham finally makes the call: go to press.

The key point of this story, which isn't made in the movie and few younger moviegoers are likely to be aware, is that it was her decision to make. The Graham family held controlling interest in the Washington Post Company. Great newspaper families like the Grahams, the Chandlers and the Sulzbergers were quirky and often had bad politics. But they also had something today's corporate, publicly-traded media outlets do not: editorial freedom.

They didn't always do the right thing. But they could. So sometimes they did.

Sadly, those days are gone.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, reportedly a right-leaning libertarian, bought the Post in late 2013. What reception would a Daniel Ellsberg (who leaked the Pentagon Papers) or an Edward Snowden get if they contacted a Post reporter today, under Bezos?

Snowden's case is indicative. The Post and three other papers published Snowden's NSA leaks in 2013, months before Bezos took over. In 2016, the Bezos-owned Post called upon President Obama to refuse a Snowden's pardon application. In so doing, wrote Glenn Greenwald, the Post "achieved an ignominious feat in U.S. media history: the first-ever paper to explicitly editorialize for the criminal prosecution of its own source -- one on whose back the paper won and eagerly accepted a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service." (The other three papers were pro-pardon.)

Even more obnoxiously, the Post's Snowden editorial didn't mention its major conflict of interest related to intelligence agencies like the NSA. Amazon -- the Post's sister company under Bezos -- had the CIA (where Snowden also worked) as a $600 million client. That's more than twice what Bezos paid for the Post.

Coincidence? Je pense que non.

The Los Angeles Times sells "Speaking Truth to Power" hoodies. But when the power is the LAPD -- and the LAPD owns the paper -- the Times publishes lies.

My regular readers are familiar with the sordid details of my 2015 firing by The Los Angeles Times as a favor to LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. You're not much of a political cartoonist in L.A. if you don't go after the militarized, racist, violent LAPD -- and the Times published many of my anti-LAPD/anti-Beck toons over the years. So did the Pasadena Weekly, which drove the boys in blue so nuts that they asked its publisher to fire me. PW refused.

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Lithuania has entered the New Year with a political chaos. As it turned out there are problems and complete misunderstanding between the high-ranking officials concerning Lithuanian foreign policy. National mass media perplexedly quote the President, the Prime-minister and the Minister of foreign affairs, who have completely opposite views on Lithuania's role in the international arena.

(click here)

It sounds paradoxical, but Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskait "did not consult the government before making her decision to vote in favor of a UN resolution rejecting US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel." This way Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis commented her decision on the issue.

On the other hand the President called the statement made by Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis on the possibility of resumption of the work of the Lithuanian-Russian commission on intergovernmental cooperation irresponsible.

It has become absolutely obvious that lack of consent between Lithuanian authorities has led to the political chaos. The situation when "left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" is typical for Lithuanian domestic policy at least in the last five years. Probably, the fact is that Dalia Grybauskait and Saulius Skvernelis pursue different goals in the foreign policy. The Prime Minister is guided by national economic interests while the President is highly dependent on her previous promise to support the US and EU common strategy to restrain the growing might of Russia and its allies. Once again national interests contradict the interests of huge international organization -- NATO and EU. Having received huge financial resources she lost voice in these organizations. The more so Dalia Grybauskait also lobbies the US policy in Europe though it very often harms the national economy. As a result -- she could not oppose Washingnon's decisions. In other words she "works out" the funds received by exaggerating the threat coming from Russia and its neighbor Belarus.

Such foreign policy may be a straightforward consequence of failed domestic policy. The President could not find ways to restore the state economy after gaining independence. She has become accustomed to rely on external NATO, EU and the US assistance and continues to do so further. As soon as the issue of the threat from the East ceases to sound loudly, the president tries to aggravate the problem by inventing horror stories, for example about the Russian-Belarus Zapad 2017 exercise when the strength of involved troops was greatly overestimated in order to gain additional attention and financial aid.

Lithuanian Prime minister, who suggested resuming political contacts with Moscow, said that dialogue between Lithuania and Russia could address issues relating to trade, energy, and transport cooperation, as well as issues relating to agriculture, carriers, and the situation with teachers of the Lithuanian language in the Kaliningrad region. For Lithuania it is a good chance not only to support national economy but also restore lost ties.

Former President Rolandas Paksas, for example, reminds that Lithuania has three strategic political directions: NATO and EU membership as well neighborhood policy. It seems as if the third direction is no more actual one for the President.

He also blamed Dalia Grybauskait for refusing to negotiate not only with Russia but with Belarus. Today Lithuania fiercely protests against the construction of a Belarusian nuclear power plant about 50 kilometers from Vilnius, but, in his opinion, it was the unwillingness to talk and negotiate that led the Belarusians to build a station in a place so unsuitable for Lithuania.

Lithuania can not establish good neighbor relations even with Poland that is NATO and EU members either.

The President forgets or consciously does not want to use Lithuania's advantageous geographical position. After all, Lithuania can and should play the role of a bridge between the West and the East in all spheres: cultural, economic and even military. Today, Western countries communicate directly with Russia, and the heads of state do not refuse meetings and contacts, so it is unclear why Lithuania can not do the same.

" Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding." ---Albert Einstein.

Adomas Abromaitis
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The Trump administration announced Monday, Jan 8, that it will end "temporary protected status" (TPS) that was first granted to Salvadorans nearly two decades ago. Roughly 263,000 people from El Salvador are covered by the program, which allowed the immigrants to stay and work in the United States legally.

According to Gabe Ortiz of Daily Kos, with this marking the fourth termination of status for TPS recipients in four months, it's a systemic plan from the Trump administration to create more undocumented immigrants to deport, and a plan that's covered in the white supremacist fingerprints of the ghoulish Stephen Miller. But with several bills sitting in Congress that would protect TPS recipients from deportation, it's a plan we can fight back.

"With the termination of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and TPS status for individuals from Nicaragua, Sudan, and Haiti, this administration has now taken away lawful status from more than 1 million people, forcing them to live in the shadows or return to countries that are unstable and dangerous," said the National Immigrant Justice Center. "In light of this tragic reality, NIJC calls on Congress to act now to uphold American values and prevent human and economic devastation to our country and global community."

It may be recalled that Salvadoran immigrants had been streaming into the United States prompted by the country's civil war, which lasted from 1980 to 1992. Experts estimate the conflict sent more than 25% of El Salvador's residents fleeing for their lives. More than 330,000 Salvadorans came to the United States between 1985 and 1990, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Over 75,000 civilians died at the hands of government forces during the civil war in El Salvador with US-backed death squads. According to David Kirsch, the author of Death Squads in El Salvador: A Pattern of U.S. Complicity now, there is compelling evidence to show that for over 30 years, members of the U.S. military and the CIA have helped organize, train, and fund death squad activity in El Salvador. The United Nations has estimated that the Farabundo Mart- National Liberation Front (FMLN) guerrillas were responsible for 5% of the murders of civilians during the civil war, while approximately 85% of all killings of civilians were committed by the Salvadoran armed forces and death squads.

In January 2001 the 7.7-magnitude quake that struck El Salvador that was the worst to hit the country in a decade. Neighborhoods were buried. Homes collapsed. More than 1,100 people were killed. Another 1.3 million were displaced.

The devastation spurred a decision that March by then-US Attorney General John Ashcroft: Immigrants from El Salvador who'd been in the United States since February 2001 could apply for temporary protected status, or TPS, which would protect them from deportation and allow them to get work permits. It was an 18-month designation.

Now, it's been nearly 17 years. Time after time, officials from different administrations determined that conditions in El Salvador hadn't improved enough for migrants with TPS to return. On Monday, the Trump administration said it decided to end protections effective September 9, 2019.

Tellingly, El Salvador's murder rate is one of the highest in the world, and experts have said poverty and violence were major factors fueling the recent migration wave.

El Salvador foreign minister

"We are going to focus on the United States Congress, so that they pass legislation that allows our compatriots" to become residents, Hugo Mart-nez, El Salvador's foreign minister, said in a phone interview to Washington Post. "We think we have sufficient time and will work hard for this alternative."

The Salvadoran government has lobbied the Trump administration for months to find a solution that would allow these people to stay in the United States, rather than end the Temporary Protected Status program, or TPS, that has been in effect since 2001.

Over the weekend, El Salvador's Foreign Ministry continued tweeting about the benefits that Salvadorans bring to the U.S. economy and culture, saying that 95 percent of Salvadorans in the program are employed or own their own businesses.

Congress created TPS in 1990

Congress created TPS in 1990 as a form of humanitarian relief for people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict and natural disasters. Currently, about 437,000 people from 10 countries have TPS, according to the Congressional Research Service, but tens of thousands will lose that protection in the coming years.

This year officials will also have to decide whether to extend TPS for Nepal, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The Trump administration extended TPS for South Sudan last year and will reconsider the issue again in 2019.

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(Image by Egberto Willies) Details DMCA



Progressive activists running for office always face headwinds. They have a party with a deep-seated belief that America is much less Progressive than it really is. Candidates sanctioned by Our Revolution, Justice Democrats, Brand New Congress, and some running on their own are dispelling that false belief.

Tamara Johnson-Shealey is one of those Progressives. I met Tamara at Netroots Nation 2015 in Phoenix Arizona. As I interviewed her for my blog, I immediately saw that she was a committed Progressive, one that needed to be in office. She had a presence like few first-time candidates I had ever seen. Nothing was going to stop her from running again for Senate District 40 in Georgia which was ill-served by its current Republican occupant.

Without support from the party and with little money she launched a well-noticed campaign. A district that seemed unwinnable is now in the crosshairs. And the work she has done to build a base has encouraged the Democratic Party to engage including the running of a more establishment candidate as her opponent in the Democratic Primary. Not deterred, Tamara hits the pavement every day, meeting with the constituents and doing what community engagement is about when one wants to serve.

What are your thoughts? Let's talk. Tag your tweets with hashtag #PoliticsDoneRight. Follow me on Twitter @EgbertoWillies. We broadcast live on Facebook Live here and on BlogTalkRadio here.

(Article changed on January 10, 2018 at 18:34)
Artsyl Technologies Goes Platinum with Acumatica

http://www.artsyltech.com

ONTARIO, CANADA (January 9, 2018)  Artsyl Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of digital transformation technology for intelligent data capture and document workflow processing, today announced that it enlisted as a Platinum Sponsor for the 2018 Acumatica Summit to be held January 28-February 2 in Nashville, TN.The companys anticipated release of docAlpha 5.0 SP5, a significant enhancement to the companys flagship digital transformation platform, delivering intelligent capture and workflow functionality and integration with Acumatica for end-to-end business process automation, will be showcased at the Acumatica Summit.Artsyl continues to elevate our role within Acumaticas community of customers and partners as part of our vision to deliver fully automated business process automation solutions to the middle market, said Jeff Moore, Chief Sales Officer of Artsyl Technologies. The docAlpha digital transformation platform is a perfect fit for Acumatica partners and customers who want to maximize their return on investment in cloud ERP technology and business process automation.The Artsyl docAlpha platforms ERP and ECM integrations allow companies to quickly and easily implement automated processes to extract data from business documents, input that data into Acumatica and launch approval workflows.Integration with docAlpha will empower Acumatica customers to cost-effectively automate business processes, including Procure to Pay and Order to Cash processes, where companies waste countless hours manually processing vendor invoices and/or customer sales orders, adds Moore. We look forward to adding our business process and automation technology domain expertise to the collective knowledge of the Acumatica family.Platform capabilities provided by docAlpha 5.0 will allow Acumatica customers to: Automate A/P, A/R and other business processes end-to-end, eliminating manual data entry and driving approval workflows and transaction entry within Acumatica Transform existing documents and files into transaction data to inform business rules for process automation Gain control and visibility over your AP/AR and other processes while reducing cycle times Create and share reports to deliver business intelligence that creates greater visibility to processes and key performance indicators.Artsyl Technologies, Inc. is the innovative company behind the docAlpha Smart Process Platform. For over 10 years Artsyl has been designing, building and innovating technology used by companies globally to reduce their document processing burdens. Whether you have Accounts Payable Invoices, Sales Orders or Remittances docAlpha is designed to make their processing easy. docAlpha can be used in any business process to automate the classification, data extraction, validation and routing of mission critical information to its proper line-of-business application. docAlpha is a state-of-the-art IDR platform designed using Microsoft .NET and a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) which allows it to scale up for Enterprise level On-Premise deployment or be used as a CLOUD based SaaS solution. docAlpha is sold through distributors and VARs globally. Visitfor more information.Artsyl Technologies, Inc.10-8707 Dufferin Street, Suite # 111, Vaughan, ON L4J 0A6 CanadaNastya Samnastya_s@artsyltech.com
Enable Injections Names Jeannie Joughin, Ph.D. Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

Dr. Jeannie Joughin named Enable Injections Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

www.enableinjections.com

www.twitter.com/EnableInjection

CINCINNATI, OHJanuary 9, 2018Enable Injections, Inc., developer of the advanced enFuse large-volume wearable injectors (LVWI) platform for subcutaneous delivery of biologics, has named Dr. Jeannette Jeannie Joughin Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.A global pharmaceutical executive and long-time champion of a patient-focused approach to treatment, Dr. Joughin joined the company as Vice President of Corporate Development in 2015. In her new role she will support the CEO and Board with investment strategy and remains responsible for business development, strategic pharma partnerships, alliance management, as well as aiding in selection and prioritization of Enable Injections global portfolio.Jeannie has exceptional experience and a proven track record of developing mutually-beneficial partnerships with pharmaceutical companies who share our passion for radically improving the patient infusion experience, said Michael D. Hooven, Enable Injections President and CEO. Today we are recognizing her leadership in helping to drive the next phase of growth for Enable Injections.Prior to joining Enable Injections, Dr. Joughin was Vice President, Business Development at drug maker CSL Behring, with global responsibility. . The Australian native also served as Marketing Manager at Mayne Pharma, as General Manager of Medimark International, and held clinical and commercial roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb.# # # #About Enable Injections, Inc.Founded by medical device industry veterans, Cincinnati, OH-based Enable Injections develops and manufactures wearable devices that allow easy, comfortable patient self-administration of large volume/high viscosity drugs in doses from 4 ml to 50 ml. The Enable body-worn enFuse drug delivery platform utilizes any standard container closure system, including syringes or vials; automatically warms and can automatically mix lyophilized solutions. Enables devices are available for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry investigational use. For more information please visitand follow us on2863 E. Sharon Rd.Cincinnati OH 45241
Global Pre-engineered Building Market Trends, Drivers, Strategies, Segmentation Application, Technology & Market Analysis Research Report to 2021

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Global Protection Construction Glass Market Analysis, Technologies & Forecasts to 2021

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The report on Protection Construction Glass market is a source of expansive ideas, statistical data, and detailed information, which has the potency to ensure profit of an enterprises. It gives a basic overview of the industry which includes definition, applications, classifications, and industry chain structure. Extensive development plans and policies are discussed meticulously. There also exists a cost study and manufacturing structures with perfect explanation. The import/export, consumption and supply figures are also included in the report.The report study begins with a brief market history and then gives a comprehensive market overview. The report talks about the market dynamics  the trends that are shaping the global Protection Construction Glass market. A detailed analysis of the key market drivers and restraints are presented. In addition to this, an in-depth analysis of the challenges, threats the market faces are covered in this study. The study delivers an impact analysis of these key trends according to demography.Get Sample Copy of this Report:Key Players:Asahi Glass, Central Glass, China Glass Holdings, Guardian Industries, Nippon Sheet Glass, PPG Industries, Saint-Gobain, Schott AG, Sisecam, Xinyi Glass HoldingsThe stages of development of Protection Construction Glass market with respect to many geographic regions have also been presented thoroughly. This information which is provided helps the emerging players gain up-to-date information which can help them take perfect business decisions. In similar way, many other segments and sub segments are mentioned in Protection Construction Glass market helping in conveying impeccable data to the users.Avail Discount up to 30% on this report now at:The report is presented in a clear and concise manner so that readers can understand the market structure and dynamics effectively. Recent trends and developments in the global Protection Construction Glass market have been analyzed. Opportunities leading to the growth of the market have been analyzed and stated. The report focuses on the global Protection Construction Glass market, and answers some of the most critical questions stakeholders are currently facing across the globe. Information about the size of the market (by the end of the forecast year), companies that are most likely to scale up their competitive abilities, leading segments, and challenges impeding the growth of the market are given.Drivers and restraints impacting the growth of the market have also been analyzed. A segmentation of the global Protection Construction Glass market has been done for the purpose of a detailed study. The profiling of the leading players is done in order to judge the current competitive scenario. The competitive landscape is assessed by taking into consideration many important factors such as business growth, recent developments, product pipeline, and others. The research report further makes use of graphical representations such as tables, info graphics, and charts to forecast figures and historical data of the global Protection Construction Glass market.Get Complete Report@:About QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
New Research on Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market Analysis- Size, Share, Sales, Growth, Forecast, Segment, Application Analysis 2018

Global Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market

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The global roofing materials market is estimated at USD 105 billion in 2017. This demand is expected to accelerate by resuming residential construction activities in developed countries. The United States is expected to record a positive growth rate. Asia-Pacific markets are expected to grow further in the future, where residential demand is expected to account for more than 35% of roofing material demand.Various roofing materials can be used for building materials, performance, aesthetic and economic reasons. In recent years, roof design has become an architectural trademark that is both environmentally friendly and aesthetically appealing, structurally sound, and affordable. Many small regional markets, including India and Indonesia, are expected to grow steadily due to increased demand for re-roofing in rural areas supported by government-sponsored plans. Developing countries are expected to record steady construction growth similar to the US. The United States, which uses large quantities, is expected to account for more than 50% of North America's demand for roofing materials.The roofing industry is characterized by high brand loyalty and long-term relationships between customers and manufacturers. Key players focus on increasing brand reputation by providing a broad range of products and improving quality standards compared to competitors. Major manufacturers combine tile product portfolio with other roof components and integrated system services to secure competitive advantage for local manufacturers and suppliers.Companies Profiled In This Report:Atlas Roofing, Background, Company News, Products, Financial Performance, Strategic Direction, Distribution, Boral Limited, Boral Usa, Background, Financial Performance, Products, Building Products Of Canada, Background, Products, Financial Performance, Strategic Direction, Distribution, Carlisle Syntec, Carlisle Companies IncorporatedAccess Sample Copy:By Regions, this report covers North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, IndiaA deeper knowledge of the Global Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market could be attained through this report as the researchers have attempted to unveil important distributors and traders and vital factors such as market positioning and marketing channel. Readers have been offered with an intelligent analysis of marketing strategy for the sales while focusing on elements such as target client, brand strategy, and pricing strategy. With a view to helping understand the concept of a marketing channel for glass beads sales, the researchers have exposed some of the significant trends of marketing channel development, indirect marketing, and direct marketing.The report also looks into influential external factors likely to affect the development of the Global Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market in the coming years. These include the technological framework of the industry and likely advances expected in the coming years, consumer preference patterns, economic environment, and the demand for alternative technologies and devices. The report presents studied 2018-2023 forecasts for the Global Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market.Access to Remarkable Discount & Benefits on This Report:In the last sections of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report. The recent developments that took place in the Global Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market and their impact on the future growth of the market have also been presented through this study.For More Information:Table of Contents:Global Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market Research Report 2017Chapter 1: Global Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market OverviewChapter 2: Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3: Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4: Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5: Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6: Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7: Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8: Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12: Global Residential Roofing Materials Sales Market ForecastIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Access This Report Now:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Machine Learning as a Service Market Outlook : Top Companies, Trends and Growth Factors Details for Business Development 2023

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Global machine learning as a service market is on a significant rise because of the ongoing revolution of internet and its related services. Service category contributed a larger revenue to the global market in 2016 due to increase in the demand for advanced cloud based machine learning services across sectors. MLaaS refers to a range of services which offer machine learning tools as part of advanced cloud computing services. The tools in the MLaaS include data visualization, application program interface (API), face recognition, natural language processing, and predictive analytics and deep learning. The prime attraction of MLaaS is that consumers can get started easily with machine learning without the need to install software, or provision their own servers, just like any other cloud service. For decades, machine learning has been a field which was dominated by data scientists and few organizations who had enough computing power to run complex algorithms against huge datasets.Explore Report Description at:The global market is driven by factors such as increase in adoption of cloud based technologies by enterprises, growing need to understand consumer behaviour, advancement in learning and analytics technologies, and increase in affordability of data storage. Internet of things (IoT), neural networks, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and deep learning technologies are expected to provide numerous opportunities for the growth of global machine learning industry. However, the roadblocks to the growth of the global market include lack of historical data among small sized enterprises, seamless integration into current operating systems, and the growing need for effective and efficient predictive analytics technologies.North America has been the largest revenue contributor to the global market. The market in the region is also expected to grow the fastest during the forecast period. The fastest growth is expected to be fuelled by the increase in the need for integration of MLaaS with big data, and rise in IoT and other advanced data oriented technologies. Another reason which is expected to escalate the demand for machine learning solutions is the rapid expansion of all sized enterprises in the region. On the other hand, the market in Asia-Pacific is also expected to witness significant growth in coming years. The high growth in Asia-Pacific is expected to be backed by rise in investment for analytics and predictive software development by regional players, growth in adoption of machine learning tools, and the ongoing e-commerce wave.Download Free Report Sample at:Some of the prominent players operating in the global machine learning industry are IBM Corporation, Google Inc., Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Corporation, AT&T, FICO, Fuzzy.ai, Yottamine Analytics, Ersatz Labs Inc, Predictron Labs Ltd and SAS Institute.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports; business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.Contact:P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Paper Bags Packaging Market To Perceive Huge Accretions By 2022; Asserts MRFR

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Market Research Future published a research report on Paper Bags Packaging Market Research Report- Forecast 2022  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2022.Global Paper Bags Packaging Market - OverviewPaper Bags packaging refers to packaging converted out of flexible paper sheets to be used across industries. Paper bags are made from Kraft paper or sack papers and have wide range of applications. Paper bags give customers a sustainable option to carry their purchases home. These bags are durable, lightweight, and customizable to meet products as well as customers specific demand. It come in various product types; multiwall paper sacks, flat paper bags, bags with handles and others. The Global Paper Bags packaging Market is growing with the rapid pace; mainly due to the increase in consumption of packaged and processed food.According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global market of Paper Bags Packaging is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The Global Paper Bags Packaging market is forecasted to demonstrate an exponential growth by 2023, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value during the estimated period (2017  2023).Growth in retail sector is major factor driving the growth of the market. Increasing the number of mall developments and growing concentration of supermarkets offer opportunities in the sector. Additionally, various supportive government initiatives fuelling the growth of the market. Paper bags are cost effective, easy to form, easy to use, and very easily recyclable, and these features grab the attention of manufacturers and consumers towards paper bags packaging style. Whereas, fluctuating raw material prices are expected to pose challenges for the market.Get Sample of Report @Key Players:DS Smith Plc. (U.K.), International Paper Company (U.S.), WestRock Company (U.S.), OJI Holding Corporation (Japan), Smurfit Kappa Group Plc. (Ireland), Georgia-Pacific LLC. (U.S.), Industrial Development Company (INDEVCO) sal (Lebanon), Holmen Group (Sweden), and Hood Packaging Corporation (Canada) are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the Global Paper Bags Packaging Market.Paper Bags Packaging Global Market - Competitive AnalysisGlobal Paper Bags Packaging Market appears to be highly fragmented and competitive owning to the presence of numerous large and small players active in regional market. The key strategies traced from the analysis of recent developments of the key players include Product Launch, Agreement & Partnership, Acquisition and expansion. Strategic partnerships between Key players support the growth and expansion plans of the key players during the forecast period. On the product and sales side, companies are investing in innovation/R&D, brand building, and fostering strong relationships with customers to support their competitive position.Manufacturers operating in the market strive to deliver innovative solutions that improve the design and manufacturing processes of business around the world. Focusing upon the competitive edge, Paper Bags Packaging strive to develop products that can deliver optimal efficient, convenience and reliability. Utilizing their international and regional presence, these manufacturers assure their customers with the consistency in product & service quality. Manufacturers strive to develop their product portfolio with a wide range of Paper Bags Packaging for every application.Enquiry before Buying @Paper Bags Packaging Market - SegmentationGlobal Paper Bags Packaging Market is segmented in to two key dynamics for an easy grasp and enhanced understanding.Segmentation:On the basis of product, market is segmented into Flat Paper Bag, Multi-wall Paper Sacks / Paper Shipping Sacks, Twisted Paper Bags and others.Based on application segment the market is segmented into Bakery & Confectionery, Dairy, Consumer Goods, Pharmaceutical and others.Segmentation by Regions: Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World.Paper Bags Packaging Market - Regional AnalysisNorth America dominates the Global Paper Bags Packaging Market. Ban on the usage of plastic bags in the country ultimately increase the demand of paper bags. The U.S. is the major market in North America. Asia pacific is also the major region for the region. India, China, and japan are the major market in the region. The region is expected to see various mall developments in the pipeline and growing concentration of supermarkets offer opportunities in the sector. Changing life style along with increase in per capita income in the developing regions boosts the consumption of wide range of products, which in turn drives the demand for the paper bags packaging of these products.Access Full Report @About Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for , regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Akash Anand,Market Research FuturePune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone No. :+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Dynamic Glazing Market To Perceive Huge Accretions By 2023; Asserts MRFR

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Global Dynamic Glazing Market Information by Technology (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals (PDLC), Suspended Particle Device, Photochromic, Thermochromic, Electrochromic), By Application (Day Lighting Performance, Glare Control, Energy Savings, Heat Gain), By End-Use (Residential, Commercial, Transportation and Others) and By Region  Forecast To 2023Market Synopsis of Global Dynamic GlazingThe Global Dynamic Glazing Market is majorly driven by the ability to tune its solar heat gain coefficient and visible light transmission in response to the external environment. The dynamic glazing helps in controlling the glares and heat gain as well as it maintains the view through window. The growth of the market is also being majorly driven by its rising usage in the commercial sector, owing to properties such as improved exterior color aesthetics, nonrectangular shapes, wirelessly powered and controlled products for retrofit applications and enhanced daylight management features. Dynamic glazing has been shown to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions and have contribution in occupant comfort and productivity in buildings.Geographically, the Dynamic Glazing Market has been segmented as North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Rest of the world. The North America region is expected to contribute the highest revenue in the Dynamic Glazing Market during the forecast period. The region is experiencing an increase in the number of applications of dynamic glazing technology such as electrochromic glass in commercial offices, which is expected to positively impact the growth of Dynamic Glazing Market during the forecast period. The growth of Asia-Pacific region can be attributed to factors such as the growing demand for dynamic glazing glass in the field of architecture, growth in real estate, and the growing awareness about the conservation of energy, which will also boost the growth of the Dynamic Glazing Market.Get Sample of Report @This study provides an overview of the Global Dynamic Glazing Market, tracking three market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (ROW). The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the Global Dynamic Glazing Market by its technology, application, end-user and region.By Technology Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals (PDLC) Suspended Particle Device Photochromic Thermochromic ElectrochromicBy Application Day lighting performance Glare Control Energy Savings Heat GainBy end-user Residential Commercial Transportation OthersBy Region North America Asia Pacific Europe Rest of the WorldKey PlayersThe key players of Global Dynamic Glazing Market include Guardian Industries (U.S.), Beautex Industries Pvt. Ltd (India), Corning Inc. (U.S.), Saint-Gobain S.A(France), Research Frontiers, Inc.(U.S.), Pleotint LLC(U.S.), PPG Industries, Inc.(U.S.), GPD Group (U.S.), Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd.(Japan), GlasNovations, Ltd. (U.K.) and others.Enquiry before Buying @BRIEF TOC:1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY3. MARKET DYNAMICS4. GLOBAL MARKET SEGMENTATION5. REGIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS6. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS7. CONCLUSION8. LIST OF TABLES9. LIST OF FIGURESAsk for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports.Access Full Report @About Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for , regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Akash Anand,Market Research FuturePune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone No. :+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Sanding Pads Market Projected to Reach USD 2,764 Mn by 2023, with a CAGR of 4.19% through 2023

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Global Sanding Pads Market Information by Product (Disc, Wheels, Rolls, and Others), by Backing Material (Velcro / Hook and Loop, Pressure Sensitive Adhesive, and Others), by End-User (Automotive, Construction, Metal Fabrication and Others) and by Region - Forecast to 2023Market ScenarioSanding pads are coated abrasives that are used with sander power tool to smoothen surfaces. They are majorly used in industrial and commercial sanding applications. Different types of sanding pads are available for different surfaces. The growing construction industry across the globe, is the primary driving factor of the sanding pads market. Sanding pads are largely used in the construction industry for various applications such as smoothening a surface and scraping off layers of a surface, mainly during painting. Hence, the growth of construction industry across the globe has augmented the rise in global sanding pad market. However, stringent government regulations on the use of silica, is the factor that may hamper the growth of market.Global Sanding Pads Market is projected to reach USD 2,764 million by 2023, with a CAGR of 4.19% from 2017 to 2023.Get Sample of Report @Regional Analysis of Global Sanding Pads MarketAsia-Pacific region dominates the global sanding pads market. It accounts for the largest share of 40% in the global sanding pads market in 2015. Rapid industrialization and urbanization, especially in India, China, and Japan are the key contributors of the market growth in the region. Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.82% during the forecast period. North America is expected to grow from a market size of USD 546.6 million in 2015 to USD 728 million by the end of 2023.Key PlayersThe key players of global sanding pads market are Robert Bosch Tool Corporation (U.S.), 3M Company (U.S.), Saint-Gobain Abrasives (U.S.), SAIT Abrasivi S.p.A (Italy), Keystone Abrasives (U.S.), Klingspor AG (Germany), Mirka Ltd. (Finland), Abrasiflex Pty Ltd (Australia), Abcon industrial products Ltd (Ireland), Astro Pneumatic Tool Company (U.S.) and others.Target Audience Manufacturing Organizations. Distributors & Suppliers Government as well as Independent Regulatory Authorities Research Institute / Education Institute Potential InvestorsAccess Full Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Akash Anand,Market Research FuturePune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone No. :+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Ambient Food Packaging Market Driven By Demand Surge to Grow Exceptionally at more than 6% of CAGR, 2023

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Global Ambient Food Packaging Market Report by Packaging Type (Rigid Packaging and Flexible Packaging), By Material Type (Metal, Glass, and Plastic) and By Region - Global Forecast to 2023.Market ScenarioAmbient food packaging refers to packaging a food product in pasteurized and sterilized packs to increase its shelf life. Ambient food packing has become a trend in the food packaging industry and ambient food products are preferred by majority of the customers over others. Increasing demand for having more empty space in chill cabinets calls for the adoption of the food packaging methods that can offer a better shelf life to the product even without a refrigerator.Ambient food packaging bestows longer shelf life to the food product as compared to the usual packaging method, thus, enabling storage of products at room temperature. Additionally, it involves the use of high barrier sheets, which assure aspects such as safety of the food stored inside, consumer convenience, and attractive design, are taken care of. All these supporting factors have led to the increased demand for ambient food packaging among food manufacturers, globally. Manufacturers determine the extrinsic and intrinsic properties of the food products that affect its quality and safety. These include manufacturing process, ingredients used, packaging type and storage conditions. Two major processes for ambient food packaging are sterilization and pasteurization. Increasing competition for chill cabinet space signifies rise in demand of food packaging, which improves shelf life. The use of sustainable packaging products is a trend in the ambient food packaging market, which increases the demand for sustainable packaging materials.The global ambient food packaging market is expected to grow at ~ 6% CAGR during the forecast period.Get Sample of Report @Different food packaging and preservation processes are used to increase product shelf life. Increasing the products acidity, decreasing its water content and using air tight envelope can increase the products shelf life without changing its texture and taste.Global ambient food packaging market has been segmented based on packaging type, material type and by region. Based on packaging type the market has been as rigid packaging and flexible packaging. Flexible packaging is the largest packaging type segment in the market as it provides enhanced safety in product transportation and is easy to handle. Based on the material the market is segmented as metal, glass, and plastic. Plastic is an important material of the packaged food supply chain. Plastic ambient food packaging is the effective method for packaging bulky products and perishable food as it offers enhanced safety.Consumers expect ambient food packaging materials that are environment-friendly and sustainable. Vendors are investing in R&D to develop food packaging materials that can be recycled and have the traditional capabilities of friction, moisture, and heat resistance. A new innovative technology developed by the Western Reserve University Lab, AeroClay technology, helps in turning clay and other ingredients into a versatile material that is sturdy, eco-friendly, and temperature-resistant. It can be used as an insulated packaging material, and can keep products fresh for longer, which is the basic requirement for ambient food products. However, high level of processing required in case of ambient food packaging ultimately adds to the overall cost of packaging product. This poses a potential threat for growth of the global ambient food packaging market.Flexible packaging is expected to grow at the highest CAGR.Global ambient food packaging market has been segmented based on packaging type, material type and region. Based on packaging type, the market has been segmented as rigid packaging and flexible packaging. Flexible packaging combines the best qualities of plastic, film, paper and aluminum foil to deliver a broad range of protective properties while employing a minimum of material. Leading the way in packaging innovation, flexible packaging adds value and marketability to food and non-food products alike. From ensuring food safety and extending shelf life, to providing even heating, barrier protection, ease of use, resealability and superb printability, the industry continues to advance at an unprecedented rate.Enquiry before Buying @Global Ambient Food Packaging MarketThe global ambient food packaging market is expected to witness phenomenal growth during the forecast period. This is due to the considerably growing demand from food packaging Industries. Governments, across regions have set regulations to reduce packaging wastage, which drives the demand for environment friendly packaging materials such as recyclable ambient food packaging. The significant growth in e-Commerce has also augmented the growth of ambient food packaging. North America was the dominant market with a market share of more than 35% in 2016, while, Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market in the forecast period. This is attributed to growing demand for packaging of fruits & vegetable, meat, dairy products and others in emerging economies such as India and China.Scope of the ReportThis study provides an overview of the global ambient food packaging market, tracking two market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (ROW). The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the ambient food packaging market by its packaging type, by material type and by region.By Packaging Type Rigid Packaging Flexible PackagingBy Material Type Metal Glass PlasticBy Regions North America Asia Pacific Europe Rest of the WorldKey PlayersThe key players of global ambient food packaging market are FFP Packaging Solutions Ltd. (U.K), RPC Group (U.K), Amcor Limited (Australia), SIG Combiblog Obeikan (Switzerland), Tetra Pak (India), Rexam (U.K), Bemis (U.S.), Mondi (South Africa), Ampac (U.S), Dupont (U.S.), Excelsior Technologies (India) and KM Packaging (UK).Access Full Report @About Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for , regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Akash Anand,Market Research FuturePune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone No. :+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Construction Repaint Market - Region-Wise Outlook & Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Construction Repaint Market: SnapshotCompanies operating in the world construction repaint market could tap into several new avenues of application birthed with the development and innovation of new products through wide-ranging research and development accomplishments. PPG Industries, for instance, unveiled two innovative water-based aerosol ceiling textures under its HOMAX brand. These new products suitable for orange-peel and knockdown repair projects are expected to reduce the repair time of ceilings. This launch is anticipated to help the company gain a strong traction in the world construction repaint market.In 2016, a majority of players had taken to new product development, acquisitions, and expansions in order to enlarge their product portfolio and improve their international reach in the world construction repaint market. Other strategies that could take shape in the world construction repaint market to help players gain a competitive edge over their competitors include joint ventures and partnerships. Involved in various repaint seminars and projects, Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. launched Nippon VirusGuard Paint, a new antibacterial and antivirus paint.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The application of volatile organic compound-free or VOC-free paints is envisioned to dominate at almost all classes of the construction industry, especially in developed nations such as the U.S. Most American consumers are aware of the negative effects of VOCs on the environment and therefore could avoid the use of such paints for their repainting work in residential and commercial sites. Organizations at larger are foretold to invest in the Washington County Operation Clean House and other similar events to collect and safely dispose of VOC paints as per the prescribed regulations.Global Construction Repaint Market: OverviewConstruction repaints are paints used in residential buildings, commercial, and institutional establishments for the purpose of maintenance works, making repairs, and carrying out renovation. They typically consist of varnishes, emulsions, and enamels. The paints are primarily waterborne or solvent-borne formulations. The large number of buildings and constructions across the globe that need renovation and repairs have necessitated the demand for these repaints and kept the construction repaint market fast emerging.Request TOC of the Report @The construction repaints market can be segmented on the basis of resin type, formulation, application, and region. Major resin types that have applications as repaints are acrylic, epoxy, alkyd, polyurethane, and epoxy. Key regions witnessing the growth of the construction repaint market are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.Waterborne paints being water soluble are widely used as construction repaints. Acrylic paint, a resin type and having waterborne formulations, occupies a prominent share in the construction repaint market. Acrylic paints are available as emulsions, lacquers, powders, and enamels and are easy to maintain. Being cost-effective and having low volatile organic compounds (VOC), they are preferred over other construction repaints. Stringent environmental regulations related to emission norms of volatile organic compounds laid down by the governments in various countries have led to a significant demand for these construction repaints.The research report provides a comprehensive insight into the manufacturing processes, current and emerging trends, and the advances in specialty chemicals. The study analyzes the key market dynamics and assesses their impact on the demand for the major types of construction repaints across the globe. Prepared with the help of insights from various industry leaders and market experts, the report evaluates the development of upstream raw material value chain, downstream client survey, and supply chain network, along with their impact on competitive dynamics. The insights help stakeholders track the key trends and enable players to devise impactful strategies to gain a stronghold in the construction repaint market.Get Discount @Global Construction Repaint Market: Drivers and RestraintsWorn-off paint coatings in a large number of commercial and residential buildings and the damage of paints in various construction structures over time are the key factors driving the demand for construction repaints. Coupled with this, the rising demand for various repair and maintenance activities in the construction sector is anticipated to boost the growth of the construction repaint market. The demand for paints in different end-use industries such oil and gas, petrochemical, mining, and pharmaceutical is expected to stimulate the demand for construction repaints for various applications.In contrast, volatility in the raw materials prices due to fluctuating crude oil prices and growing popularity of glass buildings are crucial factors expected to hinder the growth of the construction repaints market. The application of durable paints, which has slowed down the decay of paints in buildings, is likely to impede the growth of the construction repaint market to some extent. In addition, the high cost involved in the manufacturing of paints having high performance characteristics is expected to hinder the growth of the market in some regions. However, the demand for bio-based paint materials  driven by stringent environmental regulations by various governments in developed and developing regions  is anticipated to create promising growth opportunities for players in the construction repaint market.Global Construction Repaint Market: Region-wise OutlookThe Asia Pacific region is estimated to contribute a major share in the construction repaint industry. The growth in the region is driven by the construction of residential and commercial buildings in countries such as China, Japan, and India, which has spurred the demand for cost-effective construction repaints. Growth of non-residential constructions due to increased urbanization in these countries and the rise in infrastructural spending have stimulated the demand for construction repaints in Asia Pacific. Companies vying for a significant share in these regions need to evaluate the market dynamics and the key development trends to devise business strategies.Companies mentioned in the report:Prominent players operating in the construction repaint market include Akzonobel N.V., PPG Industries Inc., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Axalta Coating Systems LLC, RPM International Inc., The Valspar Corporation, Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd., Kansai Paint Co., Ltd., and Asian Paints Ltd.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Hookah Tobacco 2018 Global Industry Key Players - Starbuzz , Fantasia , Al Fakher , Social Smoke , Alchemist Tobacco Market Analysis And Forecast To 2025

Global Hookah Tobacco Market

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Global Hookah Tobacco MarketIn this report, the global Hookah Tobacco market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.Global Hookah Tobacco market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingStarbuzzFantasiaAl FakherSocial SmokeAlchemist TobaccoAl-Tawareg TobaccoHaze TobaccoFumariRequest a Sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Hookah Tobacco in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoFruit FlavorMixed FlavorHerbal FlavorOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingOffline SalesOnline SalesTo enquire about this report visit @Table of Contents-Key Points CoveredGlobal Hookah Tobacco Market Research Report 20181 Hookah Tobacco Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Hookah Tobacco1.2 Hookah Tobacco Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Hookah Tobacco Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Hookah Tobacco Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Fruit Flavor1.2.4 Mixed Flavor1.2.5 Herbal Flavor1.3 Global Hookah Tobacco Segment by Application1.3.1 Hookah Tobacco Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Offline Sales1.3.3 Online Sales1.4 Global Hookah Tobacco Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Hookah Tobacco Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Hookah Tobacco (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Hookah Tobacco Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025).7 Global Hookah Tobacco Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Starbuzz7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Hookah Tobacco Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Starbuzz Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Fantasia7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Hookah Tobacco Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Fantasia Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Al Fakher7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Hookah Tobacco Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Al Fakher Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Social Smoke7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Hookah Tobacco Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Social Smoke Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Alchemist Tobacco7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Hookah Tobacco Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Alchemist Tobacco Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Al-Tawareg Tobacco7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Hookah Tobacco Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Al-Tawareg Tobacco Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Haze Tobacco7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Hookah Tobacco Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Haze Tobacco Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Fumari7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Hookah Tobacco Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Fumari Hookah Tobacco Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.8.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued..Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Silicone Gel Market - Emerging Trends & Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Silicone Gel Market: SnapshotThe global silicone gel market has welcomed several new application avenues in the last few years thanks to its versatility of use. Silicone gel is now commonly used in several modern medical devices, electronic goods, lubricants, and, most importantly, cosmetics. The steady growth of numerous end use sectors has been the key driver for the global silicone gel market, as sectors such as cosmetics, electronics, and medical devices are likely to remain leading consumers in the global silicone gel market.Asia Pacific is likely to be a key region for the global silicone gel market in the coming years. Countries in the region, including China, India, and Japan, have been leading pioneers in the solar energy sector in Asia Pacific, which has been a major factor in driving the Asia Pacific silicone gel market. The abundant availability of sunlight in the subtropical region has led to the solar power sector receiving significant government support throughout Asia Pacific, while the rising geopolitical complexities in the region have also heated up the alternative energy scenario, as power constitutes a key part of the economic dynamics in the region.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The medical devices sector in rising Asia Pacific countries has been subject to significant investment in the last few years from government agencies as well as private investors keen to enter the increasingly lucrative healthcare market in Asia Pacific. Rising private investment in the healthcare sector in ASEAN countries is likely to remain a key driver for the Asia Pacific silicone gel market in the coming years. The rising standard of care in emerging economies has also enabled growth of the geriatric demographic in Asia Pacific, leading to further growth of the silicone gel market.Global Silicone Gel Market: OverviewThe increasing use of prosthetics and implants in the medical application segment is expected to boost the market for silicone gel, according to new findings. Silicone gel is characterized by resinous, rubbery, and fluid texture. It is water-repellent. It is chiefly used in the manufacturing of lubricants, adhesives, hydraulic oils, electrical insulation, and cosmetics.Request TOC of the Report @The report discusses the key market opportunities, trends, growth drivers and restraints. Key market segments have been analyzed in detail along with statistical data and figures. The supply-demand dynamics, market size, and market projections have been discussed in the report. The major players in the market for silicone gel have been discussed in terms of their business strategies, product analysis, and market shares.Global Silicone Gel Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe silicone gel market will grow to a great extent on account of new applications. Some of these applications are chemistry, LED lighting, cosmetics and personal care, photovoltaic sectors, automotive electronics, aerospace and defense, comfort pads, agriculture, pharmaceutical industries, footwear and medical industries. The rapidly expanding electrical & electronics industry will boost the demand for silicone gel. Silicone gel has some primary properties such as high dielectric breakdown, hydrophobicity, and resistance for humidity, water, and high and low temperatures. It is also easy to use. As these properties are of great benefit to the electrical & electronics industry, it has been demanding silicone gel increasingly. Therefore, the market for silicone gel will rise at a considerable pace.Get Discount @On the other hand, the high costs of silicone gel in terms of manufacturing and unstable prices of raw materials have been key market restraints. However, extensive opportunities are to be found in the medical sector, as the geriatric population increases on a global scale.The medical application segment is projected to expand at a substantial rate due to the usage of silicone gel in medical implants. Apart from medical applications, silicone gel will gain prominence on account of the growth of LED lighting industry. Silicone gel plays an important role in the protection of the diode, along with improving light transmission. Moreover, it can also be used as a packaging material to cover and protect ready-to-ship lighting or display units.Global Silicone Gel Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of geography, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and MEA can be the key market segments. The region of Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a phenomenal rate over the coming years, with a promising CAGR, on account of the high demand displayed by end-user industries in the region.China is likely to emerge as be the most prominent regional segment in Asia Pacific. Latin America and MEA will exhibit a sluggish rate of growth, whereas Europe will display decreased demand for silicone on account of vast stakes at risk. However, countries such as Japan, India, South Korea, and China have been exhibiting increased usage in their photovoltaic sector, boosting growth. Popularity of low-cost, small, and advanced electronics components in these countries is also expected to fuel the market for silicone gel, apart from the factors such as increased healthcare expenditure, rising disposable incomes of people, and rapid infrastructural development.Companies Mentioned in the ReportSome of the key players operating in the global market for silicone gel are North Coast Medical Inc., DOW Corning Corporation, Applied Silicone Corporation, KCC Corporation, and ACC Silicones Ltd. One of the key developments in the competitive scenario is that ACC Silicones has announced that currently it will supply silicone gel only for short term out-of-body exposure, and not inside-the-body applications such as breast implants.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Aspherical Lense Market 2018- Schott, SEIKO, GeniuS Electronic Optical (GSEO), ZEISS

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eReportsMarket has recently added a new Aspherical Lense research report to its huge database of research studies. The research report, titled Global Aspherical Lense Industry 2018 Market Research Report, provides a comprehensive analysis of the industry, including an overview, Aspherical Lense market drivers and restraints, product segmentation, and major geographical segments.The Aspherical Lense study also covers the competitive scenario of the global Aspherical Lense market, providing detailed profiles of the leading players. The valuable inputs and recommendations by Aspherical Lense industry experts will guide the players in constructing their policies and strategies in an effective manner and gain a competitive advantage in the Aspherical Lense industry.Request For Sample Report @Besides, the Aspherical Lense market 2018 report covers the competitive scenario of the global Aspherical Lense market, including an overview of the major companies, followed by their financial overview, business policies, and recent developments. The major players operating in the global Aspherical Lense market include Panasonic, Kinko Optical, Asahi Glass (AGC), GeniuS Electronic Optical (GSEO), Tokai Optical, Nikon, Calin Technology, LARGAN Precision, SEIKO, HOYA, Canon, Schott and ZEISS. A detailed SWOT analysis of these players has also been included in the Aspherical Lense market report to determine the threats and opportunities faced by them while operating in the Aspherical Lense industry.This report focuses on Top Manufacturers in global Aspherical Lense market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering  Panasonic, Kinko Optical, Asahi Glass (AGC), GeniuS Electronic Optical (GSEO), Tokai Optical, Nikon, Calin Technology, LARGAN Precision, SEIKO, HOYA, Canon, Schott and ZEISSComplete Report Toc @On the basis of product, this report presents the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily divided into  Cameras, Optical Instruments, Ophthalmic, Mobile phone, Other.By Application, the market can be divided into  Glass, Plastic, OtherBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaReport Inquiry @eReportsMarket evermore pursuances high product quality with the assurance that quality is the heart of a business.420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300New York City, NY 10170
Global Lithium Compound Market Overview 2017, Demand by Regions, Types and Analysis of Key Players

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The global lithium compound market has witnessed a positive growth in the past several years. This can be accredited to the augmented demand for lithium-ion batteries on account of increased use for portable electronic devices. Some of the other factors include huge investments for infrastructural developments and growth of end-use industries.Request a free sample report:According to IMARC Groups latest report, titled Lithium Compound Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2017-2022, the global lithium compound market reached a volume of 260,500 Tons in 2016. Lithium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal, generally extracted from ores and mineral springs where it is found in small amounts. It is a highly reactive and flammable metal and burns with a brilliant white flame. It reacts with oxygen to form monoxide and peroxide and its reaction with water is known to be extremely vigorous. Lithium and its compounds find several industrial applications in the cooling systems for nuclear reactors, rechargeable batteries, special glasses, glass ceramics, aircrafts, armour plating, bicycle frames, etc.Highlights of the global lithium compound market:Increasing use of portable electronic devices such as electric vehicles, camera, pacemakers, smartphones and watches represents the key growth inducing factor.Lithium carbonate represents the most popular type of lithium compound.Asia Pacific dominates the market, accounting for the majority of the global share.The increasing demand-supply gap in the electricity sector has resulted in an augmented demand for lithium-ion batteries. The market is also driven by the increased popularity of portable electronic devices such as electric vehicles, camera, pacemakers, smartphones and watches. Moreover, huge investments in infrastructure developments, renovation of buildings and new housing projects are increasing the demand for glasses and ceramics, thereby providing a thrust to the global lithium compound market. Additionally, increased focus on reducing carbon footprint and the increasing number of power outages particularly in the Asia Pacific region has facilitated the market growth. Owing to the aforementioned factors, the market is expected to reach a volume of 399,800 Tons by 2022, exhibiting a CAGR of more than 7% during 2017-2022.The market has been segmented on the basis of type, wherein lithium carbonate represents the most popular type of lithium compound. It is followed by lithium hydroxide, lithium concentrate, lithium metal, lithium chloride and butyllithium. The market is also segregated on the basis of end-use into batteries, glass and glass ceramics, automotive parts, greases, metallurgy, polymer and air treatment. Amongst these, batteries account for the majority of the total share. Region-wise, Asia Pacific dominates the market, accounting for the majority of the global share. Other major regions include North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. On analyzing the competitive landscape, it is found that SQM, FMC Corporation, Orocobre Limited, Lithium Americas Corp. and Neometals Ltd. are some of the key players operative in the market.Read full report with TOC :The report by IMARC Group has examined the global lithium compound market on the basis of:Type:Lithium CarbonateLithium HydroxideLithium ConcentrateLithium MetalLithium ChlorideButyllithiumOther Lithium CompoundEnd-use:BatteriesGlass and Glass CeramicsAutomotive PartsGreasesMetallurgyPolymerAir TreatmentOthersRegion:Asia PacificNorth AmericaEuropeMiddle East and AfricaLatin AmericaKey Players:SQMFMC CorporationOrocobre LimitedLithium Americas Corp.Neometals Ltd.Browse related reports:Polyisobutylene Market Research Report:Silicones Market Research Report:About UsIMARC Group is a leading market research company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.IMARCs information products include major market, scientific, economic and technological developments for business leaders in pharmaceutical, industrial, and high technology organizations. Market forecasts and industry analysis for biotechnology, advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, travel and tourism, nanotechnology and novel processing methods are at the top of the companys expertise.Contact usIMARC Group309 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USAWebsite:Email: sales@imarcgroup.comUSA: +1-631-791-1145Follow us on twitter: @imarcglobal
Management Consulting Market Share and Growth with Development Factors, Applications, Regional Analysis, Leading Key Players and Outlook to 2022

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Management Consulting Report Covering Global and United States Market Status and Forecast by Players, Types and Applications 2017-2022 newly adds in ReportsWeb.com database. This report covers leading key company profiles with information such as business overview, regional analysis, consumption, revenue and specification.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Management Consulting in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast) , coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaGet FREE Sample Copy of this report atThe major players in global and United States Management Consulting market, including Deloitte Consulting, PwC, EY, KPMG, McKinsey, Booz Allen Hamilton, The Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company.The On the basis of product, the Management Consulting market is primarily split intoOperations AdvisoryFinancial AdvisoryTechnology AdvisoryOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversClient's Market Capitalization: below 300 MillionClient's Market Capitalization: 300-2000 MillionClient's Market Capitalization: 2000-5000 MillionClient's Market Capitalization: above 5000 MillionAccess Report Details atTable of Content1 Methodology and Data Source2 Management Consulting Market Overview3 Management Consulting Application/End Users4 Management Consulting Market Status and Outlook by Regions5 Global Management Consulting Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers6 United States Management Consulting Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers7 Management Consulting Players/Manufacturers Profiles and Sales Data7.1 Deloitte Consulting7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.1.2 Management Consulting Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Deloitte Consulting Management Consulting Sales (K Sets) , Revenue (Million USD) , Price (USD/Set) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 PwC7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.2.2 Management Consulting Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 PwC Management Consulting Sales (K Sets) , Revenue (Million USD) , Price (USD/Set) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 EY7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors7.3.2 Management Consulting Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 EY Management Consulting Sales (K Sets) , Revenue (Million USD) , Price (USD/Set) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 Management Consulting Manufacturing Cost, Industrial Chain and Downstream Buyers9 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors and Market Effect Factors10 Global Management Consulting Market ForecastPurchase complete report atNote: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comOrganization: ReportsWebPhone: +1-646-491-9876ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.533, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Soy Milk Market: In-Depth Qualitative Insights And Projected Industry Growth, 2017- 2025

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Soy milk is a type of grain milk which is prepared by soaking dried soya beans which is grinded in water. Soy milk is a stable emulsion of water, oil and protein. Soy milk is available in various flavors in the market which is also fortified with extra calcium and vitamins. Soy milk contains high amount of essential ingredients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and calcium as compared to regular cow milk.Soy milks does not contain lactose, and is highly preferred by consumers which are lactose intolerant and individuals that avoid dairy products, including vegan consumers. Manufacturers are offering innovative soy milk-based products which are fortified with vitamins such as vitamin B12 and B3, minerals and iron for increasing their product quality. Soy milks are the most consumed milk alternative worldwide which are boosting the sales growth over the recent years. Soy milk is mostly consumed by individuals which are lactose intolerant, allergic to soy and soy-based products or milk products. Soy milks are rich in protein and is calcium fortified drinks.Download PDF Brochure @Global Soy Milk: Market SegmentationThe global soy milk market is segmented on the basis of form, flavor, distribution channel, application and region. The soy milk market is segmented on the basis of form such as plain unsweetened form and plain sweetened form. The soy milk market is segmented on the basis of flavor such as chocolate and vanilla. The soy milk market is segmented on the basis of distribution channel such as online stores, supermarket/hypermarket, retail stores, and others. The global soy milk market is segmented on the basis of application in which soy milk is used in application in food products such as cheese, desserts, and snacks and beverages such as cold-pressed milks and others. Hence, the global soy milk market is expected to significantly increase the revenue contribution over the forecast period.Global Soy Milk Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global soy milk industry can be divided by major regions which include North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Globally, among all regions, Asia Pacific has developed as the dominant region in global soy milk market followed by Europe. Increasing demand for soy milk in lactose-intolerant consumers, has strengthened the growth of global soy milk market and hence is projected to significantly expand the revenue contribution of the market over the forecast period.Global Soy Milk Market: Growth DriversThe global soy milk market driving factors are increasing demand for lactose-free food products due to the ease of digest which is likely to contribute significantly to the revenue growth of global soy milk market till 2025. Growing levels of lactose intolerance is one of the major driving factor of the market. Rising consumer awareness regarding usage of lactose-free dairy products in day-to-day life which helps in maintaining the galactose level in the body, is one of the major driving factor for the market. Manufacturers are offering a variety of soy milk-based dairy products to the consumers in order to remain in the competition. Growing population of lactose intolerance consumers is also a major factor which is driving the global soy milk market. Hence, the global soy milk market is expected to observe robust growth over the forecast period.Obtain Report Details @Global Soy Milk Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified across the value chain of the global soy milk market include Vitasoy Australia, Alpro, Provamel, DREAM, Furama, NOW Foods, Palsgaard, Pacific Foods of Oregon, Inc., The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Lam Soon Group are among others. The companies are expected to expand their business by enhancing their product portfolio in global soy milk market. The companies are projected to frame certain strategies in future in order to gain the competitive advantage in global soy milk market till 2025.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700,Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Oriental Carbon & Chemicals Ltd

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Oriental Carbon & Chemicals Ltd- Company Profile & Financial Analysis" contains in depth information and data about the company and its operations. You will find information on the business structure, areas of operation, products and services offered by the company. It also comprises SWOT analysis, key ratios, historical financial data and insiders view on financial stability and industrial ranking with financial forecasts for two- year period.This report is a decisive resource for industry executives and stakeholders who are looking to access key information about "Oriental Carbon & Chemicals Ltd". It helps you formulate strategies that augment your business by enabling you to understand your partners, customers and competitors better.The report utilizes a wide range of primary and secondary sources, which are analyzed and presented in a consistent and easily accessible format. SKBKS strictly follows a standardized research methodology to ensure high levels of data quality and these characteristics guarantee a unique report.Try Sample Report @ABSTRACTOriental Carbon & Chemicals Ltd (OCCL) is one of the largest manufacturers of Insoluble Sulphur (IS) in the world. The company has a presence in 21 countries across the world with a huge presence in Asia and Europe, expected to be the leading markets in terms of demand of radialised tyres.The company's segments include Chemicals (including Sulfur, Sulfuric acid Oleum), Automotive Products and Fluid Power & Automation. OOCL manufactures both commercial grade and battery grade sulfuric acid and oleums.The company's production capacity of Insoluble Sulfur is approximately 23,000MTPA. It has manufacturing facilities in India at Dharuhera in state of Haryana and at Mundra in state of Gujarat. The company's subsidiary is Schrader Duncan Limited.RECENT DEVELOPMENTu Oriental Carbon plans Rs1.59bn investment to expand insoluble sulfur capacityREPORT HIGHLIGHTS Business description  A detailed description of the companys operations and business divisions Corporate business strategies  Analysts summarization of the companys business strategies Major products and services  A descriptive list of major products, services and brands of the company. Company history Major milestones achieved by the company Stock details- Ticker code at BSE and NSE, Market capitalization, Share price, 52 week relative performance at BSE, share holding pattern for the recent quarter Major Mergers & Acquisitions trends-a descriptive strategic acquisitions done by the company during the course of operations Financial Analysis- Five year financial summary; financial performance analysis of the company- a yearly and quarterly Detailed financial ratios for the past five years  The latest financial ratios derived from the annual financial statements with 5 years history. Cost structure- Five year cost structure analysis as percentage of sales Industry and peer competitors  Competitive economic environment in the industry and comparative financial analysis of peers. SWOT Analysis  A detailed analysis of the companys strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Recent developments and Investment-Includes recent activities and strategies followed by the company and investments done and planned for future Outlook- Outlook of the industry with growth drivers Analysts view on the company with forecast for two year period. Supplemented with graphs and tabular information wherever necessaryFor Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @REASONS TO BUYu Quickly enhance your understanding of " Oriental Carbon & Chemicals Ltd "u Gain insight into the marketplace and a better understanding of internal and external factors which could impact the industry.u Increase business/sales activities by understanding your competitors businesses better.u Recognize potential partnerships and suppliers.u Examine potential investment and acquisition targets with this reports detailed insight into the companys strategic, business and operational performance.u Gain key insights into the company for academic or business research purposes. Key elements such as SWOT analysis and corporate strategy are incorporated in the profile to assist your academic or business research needs.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra,Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Tata Elxsi Ltd

Tata Elxsi Ltd

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Tata Elxsi Ltd- Company Profile & Financial Analysis" contains in depth information and data about the company and its operations. You will find information on the business structure, areas of operation, products and services offered by the company. It also comprises SWOT analysis, key ratios, historical financial data and insiders view on financial stability and industrial ranking with financial forecasts for two- year period.This report is a decisive resource for industry executives and stakeholders who are looking to access key information about "Tata Elxsi Ltd". It helps you formulate strategies that augment your business by enabling you to understand your partners, customers and competitors better.The report utilizes a wide range of primary and secondary sources, which are analyzed and presented in a consistent and easily accessible format. SKBKS strictly follows a standardized research methodology to ensure high levels of data quality and these characteristics guarantee a unique report.Try Sample Report @ABSTRACTTata Elxsi is a global design company that blends technology, creativity and engineering to help customers transform ideas into world-class products and solutions. It is a part of the US$100bn Tata Group. It is amongst the worlds leading providers of design and technology services for product engineering and solutions across industries including Broadcast, Communications and Automotive. It provides technology consulting, new product design, development, and testing services. Tata Elxsi also provides solutions and services for emerging technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), Big Data Analytics, Cloud, Mobility, Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence.. Headquartered in Bangalore, India, Tata Elxsis global network of offices includes Dubai, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, UAE, UK, and USA.RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Tata Elxsi partnered with M-Star Semiconductor to provide a suite of software for MStars System-on-a-Chip (SoC) targeted at Set-Top Boxes (STB). The partnership is supposed to benefit MSOs and OEMs. Tata Elxsi partnered with Welspun to engage kids in immersive storytelling using Augmented Reality Tata Elxsi to test driverless cars on Bengaluru roads Tata Elxsi inked a pact with Netherlands-headquartered Irdeto to provide secure in-car display systems for auto mobiles.For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @REPORT HIGHLIGHTS Business description  A detailed description of the companys operations and business divisions Corporate business strategies  Analysts summarization of the companys business strategies Major products and services  A descriptive list of major products, services and brands of the company. Company history Major milestones achieved by the company Stock details- Ticker code at BSE and NSE, Market capitalization, Share price, 52 week relative performance at BSE, share holding pattern for the recent quarter Major Mergers & Acquisitions trends-a descriptive strategic acquisitions done by the company during the course of operations Financial Analysis- Five year financial summary; financial performance analysis of the company- a yearly and quarterly Detailed financial ratios for the past five years  The latest financial ratios derived from the annual financial statements with 5 years history. Cost structure- Five year cost structure analysis as percentage of sales Industry and peer competitors  Competitive economic environment in the industry and comparative financial analysis of peers. SWOT Analysis  A detailed analysis of the companys strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Recent developments and Investment-Includes recent activities and strategies followed by the company and investments done and planned for future Outlook- Outlook of the industry with growth drivers Analysts view on the company with forecast for two year period. Supplemented with graphs and tabular information wherever necessaryREASONS TO BUYu Quickly enhance your understanding of "Tata Elxsi Ltd "u Gain insight into the marketplace and a better understanding of internal and external factors which could impact the industry.u Increase business/sales activities by understanding your competitors businesses better.u Recognize potential partnerships and suppliers.u Examine potential investment and acquisition targets with this reports detailed insight into the companys strategic, business and operational performance.u Gain key insights into the company for academic or business research purposes. Key elements such as SWOT analysis and corporate strategy are incorporated in the profile to assist your academic or business research needs.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra,Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Polo Shirt Market 2018 Insights by Banana Republic, Ralph Lauren Corporation, Abercrombie & Fitch, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Burberry and Global Futures to 2025

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011403176/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011403176/buy/2900

http://www.reportsweb.com/global-polo-shirt-market-research-report-2018

The latest report on "Global Polo Shirt Market Research Report 2018-2025" published by ReportsWeb which covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. It also includes a discussion of the key players operating in this market.Global Polo Shirt market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingBanana RepublicRalph Lauren CorporationAbercrombie & FitchBrooks BrothersCalvin KleinBurberryPradaLacostePaul StuartJ. PressHugo BossGucciTommy HilfigerVineyard VinesKent WangThom BrowneRequest a Free Sample on Polo Shirt market atGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD) , market share and growth rate of Polo Shirt in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast) , coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoKids ShirtWomen ShirtMen ShirtOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales) , market share and growth rate for each application, includingEvery Day WearGame WearOthersOrder a copy of Global Polo Shirt Market atKey Point from Table of Contents:1 Polo Shirt Market Overview2 Global Polo Shirt Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Polo Shirt Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)4 Global Polo Shirt Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)5 Global Polo Shirt Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Polo Shirt Market Analysis by Application7 Global Polo Shirt Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Polo Shirt Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Polo Shirt Market Forecast (2018-2025)13 Research Findings and ConclusionComplete report on Polo Shirt Market is now available atContact Information:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Connected IoT Devices Market 2017 Global Key Players: Advantech, Amplia Soluciones, Microsoft, Smith Micro Software, Hewlett-Packard, LG, Samsung

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Market Research Future published a research report on Connected IoT Devices Market Research Report - Global Forecast to 2023  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Market ScenarioConnected IoT devices refer to a network of physical devices, home appliances, vehicles and other electronics, sensors, and actuators that enable objects to connect with each other and send & receive data. It comprises of various application areas including consumer applications, infrastructure management, enterprise management, and others.Technology giants such as IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, and PTC Incorporation are some of the major players in the global Connected Iot Devices Market. IBM Corporation has launched IoT for electronics, which ingests device data and transforms that data into meaningful insights, which can help optimize processes and provide new guided designs. The IoT for electronics focuses on controlling and analyzing connected electronics, enhancing product development, and integrating enterprise asset management with IoT devices. Whereas, Oracle Corporation focuses on providing solutions for a connected world by providing end to end solutions.Increasing demand for mobile applications and growing popularity of connected things are other major factors driving the growth of the global connected IoT devices market. Furthermore, increasing adoption of bring your own device and carry your own device is boosting the growth of the market. The proliferation of intelligent connected devices is one of the major factors driving the growth of the connected IoT devices market.Get Sample of Report @The global connected IoT devices market is segmented on the basis of the component, deployment, and application. The component segment is classified into solution and services. The solution segment is further classified into data management, remote monitoring, and real-time streaming analytics, security solutions, and network bandwidth management. However, the security solutions are expected to grow at the highest rate over the forecast period owing to the increasing security concerns amongst the clients deploying IoT solutions for the connected devices. Non-standardization and non-compatibility in devices is another factor responsible for driving the growth of security solutions, thereby is also responsible for fueling the growth of the global connected IoT devices market.The North American region holds the largest share of the market across the globe followed by Europe, and Asia Pacific region. The U.S. and Canada are dominating the North America market due to rising technological enhancements and proliferation of intelligent connected devices in the region. Moreover, the region has a well-established infrastructure, which allows faster implementation of advanced technologies. Additionally, the growing adoption of device and vendor agnostic platform is another major factor driving the growth of the connected IoT devices market in the region.The global connected IoT devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 19% during the forecast period 2017-2023.Key Players:Some of the prominent players in the global connected IoT devices market are Advantech Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), Aeris Communication, Inc. (U.S.), Amplia Soluciones (Spain), Cumulocity GmbH (Germany), IBM Corporation (U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), Oracle Corporation (U.S.), PTC Incorporation (U.S.), Smith Micro Software, Inc. (U.S.), Telit Communications PLC (Italy), Wind River Systems (U.S.), Xively (U.S.), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Motorola Inc. (U.S.), Nokia Solutions Network (Finland), LG Corporation (South Korea), Hewlett-Packard (U.S.), HTC Corporation (Taiwan), Apple Inc. (U.S.), Dell Inc. (U.S.) and others.Connected IoT Devices Market Segmentation:The global connected IoT devices market is segmented on the basis of the component, deployment, and application. The deployment segment is classified as a private cloud, public cloud, and hybrid cloud. However, the hybrid cloud segment is expected to grow at the highest rate across the globe over the forecast period. The hybrid cloud deployment offers various benefits to the businesses such as providing low-cost solutions, and flexible and scalable access to clients.Market Research Analysis:North America is estimated to account for the largest share of the market, whereas Europe market is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The North American market is witnessing a rapid growth due to technological advancements and increasing demand for mobile application development platforms across different industry verticals in this region. The U.S. holds the majority of market share both in terms of revenue as well as the adoption of smart homes and another connected internet of things applications and devices.Get Complete Report @Intended Audience Technology Investors Research/Consultancy firms Technology Solution Providers Government Bodies IoT devise management solution vendors System integrators Regulatory agencies Investors and venture capitalistsAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Ginger Extract Market : Opportunities and Forecast Assessment, 2017- 2027

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Ginger Extract Market: OverviewGinger is an edible flowering plant used as a spice and nutraceutical, which possesses various medicinal properties. It initially originated from tropical rainforest of Southern Asia, and belongs to the family Zingiberaceae. Galangal, cardamom, and turmeric are other constitutes of this family. Ginger is traditionally used in the manufacturing of pastes, drying fruits, and candies. Medicinally, ginger is majorly used for curing nausea and mild digestion problems. Furthermore, the presence of phenols in ginger extract, makes it an excellent preservative.Some new studies have found that ginger oil could help cure cardiac problems. Moreover, the side effects caused by chemotherapy could be cured by using ginger extract. Therapeutic effects against inflammation is expected to increase the application areas of ginger extract in the medical industry. Additionally, it is found that ginger is beneficial for immunity enhancement against hepatoprotection and gastric ulcer. All these health benefits and medicinal abilities of ginger extract are expected to contribute to the growth of the global ginger extract market.Download PDF Brochure @Ginger is also employed in the production of cosmetics. The growing demand for natural based products for consumers and the acceleration of this trend are likely to fuel the market growth of ginger. Furthermore, the swift cooking habits of people owing to hectic lifestyle is raising the demand for ready-to-use ginger pastes. A few studies have also suggested that the use of ginger in daily food routine may assist in fat loss, thus resulting in reduction of heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity occurrences. Furthermore, it is experienced that the consumption of regular ginger leads to increased energy and healthy hair and complexion. While it is expected that the global consumption of ginger may rise, the prominent exporters such as China and India in the Asia Pacific region might benefit exponentially from this scenario.Ginger Extract Market: Introduction:Ginger is an edible medicinal root and is used as nutraceutical and spice. Ginger has been typically used as an ingredient in candies, dried form, paste, and others. It has been using to cure mild digestion problems and nausea. The phenols present in the ginger extract are an excellent natural source of preservatives. The ginger extract has shown therapeutic effects against inflammation. New studies have open up opportunities to increase the use of the ginger extract for the treatment of the side effects caused by chemotherapy. It has shown an increase in immunity against gastric ulcer and hepatoprotection. Studies have also shown there are possibilities to cure cardiac problems by ginger extract oil. This creates a huge opportunity for the ginger extract market because of its multi-usability. The largest exporters of the ginger extract are China followed by India in the Asia Pacific region.Ginger Extract Market Segments:The ginger extract market can be segmented into its types, applications, and distribution channel. Under the type of products, the ginger extract market is divided into organic, natural and others. The organic ginger extracts are produced under strict conditions both pre-harvest and post-harvest. The natural ginger harvest extract is produced by conserving the natural flavor and aroma of the extract in postharvest stage. The other segment includes the ginger extracts which is mixed with different enhancing and preserving agents.Based on the application of the ginger extract market can be segmented as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics. Ginger extract is widely used as spice and flavoring agent in food and beverage market. Also ginger extract is also used as natural preservatives in the food industry. Ginger extracts can be used as a therapeutic ointment or as the drug in the pharmaceutical market. Ginger extract can be added to the cosmetic for improvement of skin condition and hence has a significant role in cosmetics market.The ginger extract market distribution channel can be of two types. The extracts produce by the manufacturer is directly sold to another manufacturer who can use it as an additive or preservative in the first case of ginger extract market. And in the other case of the distribution channel, the manufacturer produces packed ginger extract, which gets consumed by the customers as a spice or flavoring agent.Ginger Extract Market: Region-wise Outlook:On basis of regions, ginger extract market is segmented by North America, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Western Europe, excluding Japan, Japan & Middle East & Africa. Asia pacific stands as the major producers of the ginger extract. In Asia-pacific China, India, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia holds the top list. In the Middle East and Africa, Nigeria is the largest exporter of ginger extract. In Western Europe countries such as U.K, Netherland, France and Spain are leading exporters of ginger extract.Ginger Extract Market Drivers and Restrains:Due to change in the market trend, people are more focused on natural products which will play an important role in the present ginger extract market as it can suffice the need. The need of fast mode of cooking has also created a market for the ready to use ginger paste. The segment is new in a lot of the countries and has a potential market to grow. Improved farming techniques in the producing regions have created a good surplus yield and hence there is an availability of cheap raw source for the ginger extract market.The low shelf life of the products containing ginger extract can be a restrain for the producers for the market. Also, the quality of the final product is determined by pre-harvest and post-harvest factors like harvest time of the rhizomes or the moisture content of the extract.Obtain Report Details @Ginger Extract Market: Key PlayersThe local manufacturer can be a key player in the upcoming ginger extract market. Some of the prominent manufacturers of the ginger extract are Nutragreen limited, Arjuna natural extract LTD., Apex biotech limited, Ginger Dragon Ltd and others. The key players can increase their distribution by producing a better portfolio of the product.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700,Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Integrated Telecom Infrastructure Market 2017 Global Leaders: Texas Instruments, CROC, Tech Mahindra, Huawei Technologies, Experis IT, ZTE, Nokia Networks, Ericsson

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Market Research Future published a research report on Integrated Telecom Infrastructure Market Research Report -Global Forecast till 2023  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Market HighlightsThe global integrated telecom infrastructure market is segmented on the basis of services, components, and infrastructure type. The services are sub-sub-segmented into professionals services, managed services, and technical services. Among these, the professional services lead the market. However, the technical services are projected to witness fast growth during the forecast period. On the basis of the component, the market is sub-segmented into optical component, power component, network component, telecom tower component, video component, and network management component. These component work in an integration to provide better calling and internet services. The segmentation is also done by infrastructure type under civil infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, network infrastructure, and management layer infrastructure. Among these, the management layer infrastructure leads the market segment by infrastructure type. The major factors that drive the growth of the integrated telecom infrastructure are the advancement in VoLTE and 5G technology. Additionally, the demand for smartphone is growing along with enhanced mobile communication technology. Thus the mobile operators are putting more efforts to reduce call drops, interrupted networks, data packet loss during data transmission. The integrated telecom infrastructure market is expected to reach USD 60 billion at a CAGR of 26% over the review period.Get Sample of Report @Key Players:Sone of the key players in the integrated telecom infrastructure market: Nu Tek India ltd. (India), Texas Instruments Inc (U.S.), CROC Inc (Russia), Tech Mahindra Limited (India), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd (U.S.), Experis IT Pvt. Ltd, ZTE Corporation (China), Nokia Networks (Finland), NEC Corporation (Japan), Ericsson (Sweden), and Siemens AG (Germany).The global Integrated Telecom Infrastructure Market is expected to reach USD 60 billion at a CAGR of 26% during the forecasted period 2017-2023.Regional AnalysisThe integrated telecom infrastructure regional analysis covers the geographical regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world. Among these regions, Asia Pacific is leading the global market and is expected to shows the fastest growth during the forecast period due to the growing government spending to adopt VoLTE, 5G, and other advanced mobile telecommunication technologies. Countries like China, Japan, and India are investing heavily in the development of telecommunication infrastructure. India has launched its own independent satellites to provide a better geographical coverage and increase the global positioning system (GPS). India is also helping the countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar to develop the telecommunication infrastructure. On the other hand, Europe and North America are already matured market in integrated telecom infrastructure as these regions are the early adopters of these technologies and continue to show a steady growth. Europe shows a steady growth in the telecom infrastructure due to its European Union policies of no border restrictions. The mobile operators cover up the entire geographical segment of these countries. Also, the population and smartphone penetration of the regions is less than that of Asia Pacific. North America gets the third spot in the integrated telecom infrastructure due to the already established integrated mobile technologies. However, major upgrades are taking place in these regions to improve the communication and create a more integrated infrastructure.SegmentationThe integrated telecom infrastructure market is segmented into services, components, and infrastructure type. On the basis of services, the market is further segmented into professional services, technical services, and managed services. The professional services includes network consulting (network designing and planning), system integration (network migration and transformation), and network optimization. The professional services lead market since they are the most used services and they serve as a backbone to the integrated telecom infrastructure. On the other hand, the technical services include, deployment (installation and commission), maintenance (repair and replacement), and support (helpdesk and trouble shooting). The technical service is growing at a fast rate owing to the lack of experienced and skilled labor encouraging the companies to adopt the automation of helpdesk support, troubleshooting, and installation. The managed services include network outsourcing, and hosted & managed services and applications.On the basis of components, the market is segmented into power component, network component, telecom tower, video component, and network management component. The power component provides the required power to operate the electrical equipment like antenna receivers, antenna transmitters, network devices (routers, switches, modems) and transmission devices (repeaters, amplifiers). However, the network component is leading this market segment as it includes the LAN, MAN, and WAN technology required for the widespread of telecom network. In addition to network component, optical component plays an equally important role as it includes fiber optic cables, optical transmitters, and couplers. The Video component is expected to increase at a fast rate as this is the result of the advancement in VoLTE and 5G technology.On the basis of infrastructure type, the market is sub-segmented in to civil infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, network infrastructure, and management layer infrastructure. These infrastructure are important in the overall operation of the telecommunication. The management layer infrastructure segment is growing at the fastest rate owing to constantly growing need for upgrades and maintenance.Get Complete Report @Intended Audience Storage providers Network providers Telecommunicarion network providers Research firms Software investors Software Developers BTS providers Call centers Software Testers IT enablers Database solutions Cloud providers Telecommunication companies Government service providersAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Image Sensor Market 2017 Analytical Overview and Key Players: Sony, OmniVision Technologies, Aptina Imaging, Himax Imaging, GalaxyCore, SK Hynix

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https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/image-sensor-market-850

Market Research Future published a research report on Image Sensor Market Research Report- Global Forecast 2021  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2021.Market HighlightsThe CMOS image sensor segment is projected to be the fastest-growing technology during the period 2015 to 2024.Rapid development of low-power CMOS image sensors allows their penetration into various disciplines such as automotive, mobile phones, digital still cameras and others.CMOS image sensors offer considerable advantages in terms of flexibility, low power, low cost, low voltage, and miniaturization. These features make them very suitable for security and medical applications. CMOS image sensors medical applications open new perspectives for invasive medical devices, such as wireless capsules for gastrointestinal tract observation. In addition,surveillance and security systems enable a human operator to remotely monitor activities over large areas.Get Sample of Report @Key Players:This report includes a study of strategies, of major market players. It includes the product portfolios, developments of leading major players such as Sony Corporation (Japan), Samsung Semiconductor Inc. (South Korea), OmniVision Technologies Inc. (U.S.), Aptina Imaging Corporation (ON Semiconductor) (U.S.), Himax Imaging (Taiwan), GalaxyCore Inc. (China), SK Hynix Inc. (Korea), and STMicroelectronics N.V (Switzerland) and othersConsumer electronics and automotive are the one of largest image sensor marketThe factors driving the global image sensors market are growing use of image sensors for biomedical applications, camera enabled mobile phones and others. Increasing usage of image sensors in automotive applications such as lane departure warning system, rear corners, advanced driver assistance system, safety and security system and others,are laying new opportunities for the image sensors market.North America and Asia-Pacific regions to dominate the Image Sensor Market Information in 2015The North America region was the largest market for image sensor device in 2014. Countries such as U.S., Canada, and Mexico are major consumers of image sensor devices. Asia-Pacific image sensors market is expected to grow at highest rate during the forecast period attributed to rising demand of consumer electronics products. The growth of the smartphone and feature phone in addition with rising homeland security budget in the developing countries has boosted the demand of camera system in recent years. Japan, China, India and Taiwan are some of the major markets of image sensor in Asia-Pacific.Ask for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports.This research report has provides the insights, on various levels of analyses such industry analysis, market share analysis leading market players and their profiles. This report also helps in studying the target segments by providing views on emerging & high-growth segments and market conclusion. Together the market data comprise and discuss with the basic assessments on the competitive scenerios & strategies, of the global image sensor market, including the high-growth regions, countries and their political, economical and technological environments. Furthermore the project report also provides the views over the historical market values as well as, pricing and cost analysis of the same.Get Complete Report @Intended Audience Investors and consultants System Integrators Research/Consultancy firms Technology solution providers IT Solution Providers Original Equipment ManufacturersAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Solutions, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Organic Honey Global Market Top Key Players  Glorybee Inc. , Little Bee Impex , Madhava Honey , Wholesome Sweeteners , Y.S. Eco Bee Farms and Forecast to 2022

Organic Honey Market

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Global Organic Honey MarketDescriptionWiseGuyReports.Com adds Global Organic Honey Market Research Report 2018 Research To Its Database.Global Organic Honey Market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingGlorybee Inc.Little Bee ImpexMadhava HoneyWholesome SweetenersY.S. Eco Bee FarmsNorth Dallas Honey CompanyHeavenly OrganicsWedderspoon Organic Holdings,Barkman Honey LLC.Get sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Organic Honey in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoby TypesClover HoneyManuka HoneySourwood HoneyBuckwheat HoneyRosemary HoneyDandelion HoneyOthersby Packaging TypeGlass JarPlastic ContainersOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingCosmetic & Personal CareFood & BeveragePharmaceuticals & NutraceuticalsEnquiry About Report @Table of Contents -Major Key PointsGlobal Organic Honey Market Research Report 20181 Organic Honey Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Organic Honey1.2 Organic Honey Segment by Types1.2.1 Global Organic Honey Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Organic Honey Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Clover Honey1.2.4 Manuka Honey1.2.5 Sourwood Honey1.2.6 Buckwheat Honey1.2.7 Rosemary Honey1.2.8 Dandelion Honey1.2.9 Others1.3 Organic Honey Segment by Packaging Type1.3.1 Glass Jar1.3.2 Plastic Containers1.4 Global Organic Honey Segment by Application1.4.1 Organic Honey Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.4.2 Cosmetic & Personal Care1.4.3 Food & Beverage1.4.4 Pharmaceuticals & Nutraceuticals1.5 Global Organic Honey Market by Region (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Organic Honey Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.5.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.6 Global Market Size (Value) of Organic Honey (2013-2025)1.6.1 Global Organic Honey Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.6.2 Global Organic Honey Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025).7 Global Organic Honey Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Glorybee Inc.7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Organic Honey Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Glorybee Inc. Organic Honey Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Little Bee Impex7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Organic Honey Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Little Bee Impex Organic Honey Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Madhava Honey7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Organic Honey Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Madhava Honey Organic Honey Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Wholesome Sweeteners7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Organic Honey Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Honey Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Y.S. Eco Bee Farms7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Organic Honey Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Y.S. Eco Bee Farms Organic Honey Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 North Dallas Honey Company7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Organic Honey Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 North Dallas Honey Company Organic Honey Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Heavenly Organics7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Organic Honey Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Heavenly Organics Organic Honey Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Wedderspoon Organic Holdings,7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Organic Honey Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Wedderspoon Organic Holdings, Organic Honey Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview..CONTINUEDAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, Industry research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)
Energy Meter Market with Competitive Landscape, Trends, Market Concentration Rate, Business Strategies and Forecasts to 2022

ReportsWeb

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http://www.reportsweb.com/global-energy-meter-market-professional-survey-report-2018

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Global Energy Meter Market Professional Survey Report 2018 newly adds in ReportsWeb.com database. This report covers leading key company profiles with information such as business overview, regional analysis, consumption, revenue and specification.This report studies Energy Meter in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering Eaton, CAREL, SMA Australia, E.ON, Iberdrola, Holley Metering, Itron and CIRCUTOR,FREE | Request Sample Copy is Available atOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Electromechanical Meters and Electronic Meters. By Application, the market can be split into Commercial Use and Residential Use. By Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want) North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India.Browse Complete Report atTable of Content1 Industry Overview of Energy Meter2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Energy Meter3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Energy Meter4 Global Energy Meter Overall Market Overview5 Energy Meter Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2012-2018 Energy Meter Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2012-2018 Energy Meter Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Energy Meter8.1 Eaton8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 Eaton 2016 Energy Meter Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 Eaton 2016 Energy Meter Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 CAREL8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 CAREL 2016 Energy Meter Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 CAREL 2016 Energy Meter Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 SMA Australia8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 SMA Australia 2016 Energy Meter Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 SMA Australia 2016 Energy Meter Business Region Distribution Analysis9 Development Trend of Analysis of Energy Meter Market10 Energy Meter Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of Energy MeterPurchase this report atNote: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comOrganization: ReportsWebPhone: +1-646-491-9876ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Sensors Market - Rising Requirement of Devices & Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Sensors Market: SnapshotThe global sensors market is prophesied to record a healthy CAGR during the forecast period 20172025 on account of the growing application of intelligent management and monitoring in the smart systems industry. Distributed sensor networks are heavily engaged for transmitting control instructions and valuable measurement information after interconnecting the devices in networked embedded systems. In todays era of smart technologies, vendors could take advantage of key applications such as assembling infrastructure systems, intelligent transportation, smart water networks, smart homes, and smart grids with the use of sensors.The global sensors market is envisioned to witness the advent of more efficient products with superior sensing quality. For instance, in late 2016, the HC1100 single-chip offering was launched in the global sensors market via a joint effort by HMicro and STMicroelectronics. HC1100 is considered to be applicable for disposable, clinical-grade biosensors and smart patches. Electrocardiogram, vital sign monitoring, and other wired wearable devices could be especially benefited with such biosensors and smart patches. As a result, the rising requirement of such devices is projected to propel the growth of the global sensors market throughout the forecast period.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The coveted application of sensors in smartphones for improving user interface experience is foreseen to rake in a telling demand in the global sensors market. More number of leading smartphone manufacturers are anticipated to demand sensors at a significant rate. Google claims to boast of the best-ever smartphone camera in history after it launched Pixel in 2016, featuring the Sony IMX378 sensor.Global Sensors Market: OverviewIn recent times, the increasing trend of automation is providing a thrust to the global sensors market. Sensors form the backbone of automated systems. The market has witnessed a tremendous transformational leap with the rapid advancements in the sensor technology. With advancements, there has been a considerable expansion in the scope of applications of sensors. They are used across numerous industrial verticals including automotive, consumer electronics, oil and gas, healthcare, utility, and manufacturing and for a myriad of parameters such as temperature, level, position, pressure, image, light, motion, and magnetic field.The report serves as a repository of analysis and data regarding several critical parameters of the global sensors market including value chain analysis, its dynamics, geographical segmentation, and competitive landscape. It takes into account the historical statistics and the current scenario to estimate the future trends of the market. It profiles prominent players in the market along with their business strategies, market shares, contact information, revenue generation, and latest developments. It performs SWOT analysis on key players to derive the growth trajectory each player will experience.Request TOC of the Report @Global Sensors Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe proliferation of consumer electronics is providing a fillip to the global sensors market. The manufacturing of consumer electronics demands a large number of sensors such as pressure sensors, motion sensors, and image sensors. In addition, the rising implementation of fingerprint sensors in smartphones and wearable devices is augmenting the market. Moreover, the emergence of wireless technology is working in favor of the growth of the market. Sensors play a critical part in the proper functioning of wireless platforms. Furthermore, the growing need for real-time analysis is triggering their demand. On the other hand, the declining prices of sensors are adversely affecting the overall revenue generation of the market. However, the booming trend of miniaturization is creating ample growth opportunities for the market.Global Sensors Market: Region-wise OutlookThe key regional markets covered in the report are Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. Asia Pacific will be a prominent market throughout the forecast period. The presence of a large number of manufacturing facilities and the flourishing growth of various end-user industries are providing a fillip to the growth of the region. The cheap cost of labor and less stringent government regulations are attracting several multinational companies to set up their manufacturing plants in the region. North America will also account for a large share in the market, thanks to the rapid advancements in the field of sensor technology in the region.Global Sensors Market: Competitive LandscapeKey players in the global sensors market are paying high attention of technological advancements to stay relevant. They are pouring large funds into the research and development of novel and innovative sensors to differentiate their offerings and gain a competitive edge over their peers. Mergers and acquisitions are commonly adopted strategies by them to expand their business across different geographies.Get Discount @The immense potential of the market along with low entry barriers are attracting a large number of new players to invest in the market. The influx of new manufacturers is expected to intensify the competition in the market in the near future. Some of the prominent players in the global sensors market are Texas Instruments Inc., TE Connectivity Ltd., Infineon Technologies AG, Honeywell International Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, ABB Ltd., Siemens AG, Emerson Electric Company, Omron Corporation, NXP Semiconductor N.V., and ARM Holdings Plc.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Smart Mining Market: Technological Advancements Will Drive Market Share in the Coming Years

MRRSE

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https://www.mrrse.com/smart-mining-industry

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The report analyses the smart mining market on the basis of volume in units and revenue in US$ Mn. The report titled Global Smart Mining Market has been added to Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)s extensive research database. This report showcases a comprehensive geographical segmental analysis along with the market development estimates over the period ranging from 2017 to 2025, while considering 2015 as its base year. The historical data as well as current data is provided over the assessment period of 2017 and 2025. The report study also offers a comprehensive competitive scrutiny of key players associated in the advancement in technologies for the smart mining market. The research publication also covers the market force including opportunity, drivers, restraints and trend influencing the growth of the worldwide market for smart mining. Additionally, with the help of porters five force analysis the report offers a detailed analysis of the global and regional status of the market.Get Free Sample Report @Global Smart Mining Market: Segmental AnalysisThis research study categorizes the worldwide market for smart mining into service, software solution, region, automated equipment, hardware component. Based on service, the report divides the smart mining market into consulting services, support and maintenance, Automated Equipment training services, and system integration and implementation services. In terms of region, the study categorizes the smart mining market into Japan, South and Central America, North America, MEA, and Asia Pacific. On the basis of software solution, the report segregated the international smart mining market into asset management solutions, logistics software, remote management solutions, safety and security systems, analytics solutions, and connectivity solutions. Based on hardware component, the study segmented the market into intelligent systems, sensors, RFID tags, and other hardware component. On account of automated equipment, the report divided the market into drillers & breakers, excavators, robotic truck, load haul dump and others. The report also highlight the analysis of the market on the basis of each regional segments and provide opportunity for the new entrants in the five regions. Furthermore, the report also provide market attractiveness index, enabling the client to obtain information on competitive landscape of the smart mining market around the world as well as key findings.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Global Smart Mining Market: Key Player InsightsThis portion of the report highlights the key companies functioning in the global market for smart mining. The report analysis the global smart mining market on the basis of various parameters which include financial overview, product portfolios, SWOT analysis, and recent growth in the market. The final section of the report also highlights the key opportunity in the smart mining market along with the trends and important business strategies of prominent players, enabling the reader to get the scope of the present nature and future status of the smart mining market across the globe. The report also features companies operating in the global smart mining market such as Alcatel-Lucent, IntelliSense.io, Rockwell Automation, Inc., Sandvik AB, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., Trimble Navigation Limited, Cisco Systems, Inc., Komatsu Ltd., SAP SE, HEXAGON, STONE THREE MINING PTY LTD, Caterpillar Inc., SYMBOTICWARE INC., Atlas Copco, Alastri, and ABB Ltd.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:
Crop Protection Chemicals Market Significant Profits Estimated to be generated by 2023 with Leading Company Profiles

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5164

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/crop-protection-chemicals-market-5164

Market Overview:Crop protection is the practice of managing weather, weeds, pests, and diseases that damage or inhibit the growth of fruit, vegetable and other horticultural crops. Crop protection chemicals assist in these functions and promote plant growth. The most common types of crop protection chemicals include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and others. There are different formulations for application of crop protection chemicals such as emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powder, soluble powder, suspension concentrate, capsule suspensions, and others.Crop protection chemicals are used to promote plant health and increase agriculture productivity. They are applicable to oilseeds & pulses, cereals & grains, fruits & vegetables, and others. The continuous rising population is increasing the demand for high agricultural productivity and driving the growth of global crop protection chemicals market.Change in farming practices and technology leading to increasing acceptance of modern farming and protected agriculture is boosting the growth of the crop protection chemicals market. Moreover, limited availability of cultivable land due to increasing soil erosion and land pollution is further boosting the need for crop protection chemicals to increase farm productivity. However, several environmental and health hazards caused due to crop protection chemicals is restraining the growth of the market. Nevertheless, the market for natural crop protection chemicals can act as an opportunity for crop protection chemicals market.Request a Sample Report @Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the global Crop protection chemicals market are BASF SE (Germany), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), Monsanto Company (U.S.), FMC Corporation (U.S.), Bayer AG (Germany), Agrium Inc. (Canada), Syngenta AG (Switzerland)Key Findings:Bio based crop protection chemicals are expected to offer huge growth opportunity in North America and Europe.Synthetically produced crop protection chemicals are gaining popularity globally owing to low cost and higher efficiencyMarket Segments:Crop protection chemicals market is segmented on the basis of a type such as herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and others. Among them, the herbicides segment is dominating the market followed by the fungicides market. The high utility of herbicides for destroying various herbs and unwanted weeds to minimize the crop loss is driving the growth of this segment.Based on the formulation, the crop protection chemicals market is segmented into emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powder, soluble powder, suspension concentrate, capsule suspensions, and others. Among all, the suspension concentrate is anticipated to grow substantially over the forecast period owing to reduced or no use of hazardous solvents and improved stability.On the basis of the method of application, the crop protection chemicals market is segmented into foliar, soil treatment, seed treatment, and others. The foliar applied crop protection chemicals are dominating the market and are expected to grow substantially over the forecast period.Based on the application of the crop protection chemicals, the market is segmented into oilseeds & pulses, cereals & grains, fruits & vegetables, and others. Among all, the fruits and vegetable segment is dominating the market. However, the segment cereals and grains are expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period.Access Report Details @Regional Analysis:The global crop protection chemicals market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world (RoW). Asia Pacific dominates the market and is projected to continue growing over the estimated period. India and China, two of the largest countries in terms of population are majorly contributing to the growth of crop protection chemicals in this region.North America is the second largest consumer of crop protection chemicals. However, stringent environmental regulations in the developed economies of North America and Europe have expected to restraint the market growth in these regions. In rest of the world, South America is dominating the market.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Payments Landscape in Belgium Market 2017: Key Players: BNP Paribas, Belfius Bank, KBC Bank, Mastercard, Visa, and More

Payments Landscape in Belgium Market

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WiseGuyReports published new report, titled Payments Landscape in BelgiumSummary"Payments Landscape in Belgium: Opportunities and Risks to 2021", report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Belgian cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including credit transfers, direct debit, cash, payment cards, and cheques during the review-period (2013-17e).The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2017-21f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.The report brings together research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.The report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Belgian cards and payments industry, including - Current and forecast values for each market in the Belgian cards and payments industry, including debit and credit cards.- Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, cheques, direct debit, cash, and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.- E-commerce market analysis and payment methods.- Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Belgian cards and payments industry.- Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit and credit cards.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Companies mentionedBNP ParibasBelfius BankING BankKBC BankCredit MutuelBancontactVisaMastercardAmerican ExpressScope- To boost contactless payments in the country, Bancontact - the dominant scheme provider in Belgium - enabled contactless payments on its mobile app in October 2017, allowing users to store their Bancontact card details and make contactless payments at NFC-enabled terminals. The app is now supported by 20 banks in Belgium, making the service available to 99% of Bancontact card holders in the country. More than two thirds of payment terminals in Belgium already support NFC technology. All terminals in the country should be able to offer contactless payments by 2018.- Alternative payments are gaining prominence in Belgium, with rising adoption of local and international payment solutions. Android Pay was launched in Belgium in March 2017, and allows users to make in-store, in-app, and online payments. The solution is now supported by major schemes including Mastercard and Visa, as well as card issuers including BNP Paribas Fortis, Fintro, and Hello bank!. The solution allows users to load their card by taking a picture of it using their mobile phone. Meanwhile, in June 2015 Masterpass was launched by Mastercard in Belgium. It allows users to store multiple card details and billing addresses for faster checkout. Once details are saved, users can skip the process of entering card and shipping details for all future payments.- The emergence of mobile-only banks is likely to accelerate a shift towards electronic payments in Belgium. BNP Paribas launched mobile-only bank Hello bank! in Belgium in 2013, allowing consumers to conduct banking transactions entirely on their mobile phone. Similarly, French telecom provider Orange plans to introduce its mobile-only bank, Orange Bank, in Belgium in 2019.Key points- Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Belgian cards and payments industry and each market within it.- Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Belgian cards and payments industry.- Assess the competitive dynamics in the Belgian cards and payments industry.- Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Belgium.- Gain insights into key regulations governing the Belgian cards and payments industry...CONTINUEDFor accessing accurate and deep understanding and to gain latest insights and key developments in the area of your interest, we also have a list of conferences in which you will be interested in, for more information, cordially checkFor updating knowledge or for thoroughly understanding various terminologies, we also have vast list of seminars for your reference, for more information cordially checkWise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Cosmetics Market is expected to reach $12.9 billion by 2022, growing at 4.4% CAGR

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According to a new report, Global Cosmetics Market (2016-2022), published by KBV Research, the Europe market dominated the Global Cosmetics Market in 2015, and would grow at a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to attain a market size of $4.2 billion by 2022. However, North America market is expected to grow at CAGR of 4% during 2016-2022.The Skin and Sun Care market contributed the larger revenue share to the Global Cosmetics Market in 2015, and would grow at a CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period. The Hair Care market is expected attain a market size of $3.1 billion by 2022.The Retail market registered the largest revenue share to the Global Cosmetics Market in 2015. The Online market is expected attain a market size of $5.7 billion by 2022.The report highlights the adoption of Cosmetics, globally.Based on the Category, the Global Cosmetics Market is segmented into Skin and Sun Care, Hair Care, Deodorants, Makeup and Colour and Fragrances segment. Based on the Mode of Sale, the market is bifurcated into Retail and Onlinesegment. The global cosmetics market is further segmented into men and women segments based on the gender. The geographies included in the report are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and LAMEA (Latin America, Middle East and Africa).Key players profiled in the report includes Loreal International, Avon Products, The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G), Unilever Plc., Oriflame Cosmetics, Revlon, Kao Corporation, The Estee Lauder Companies Inc, Shiseido Corporation, and Skin Food.Full report:SegmentationThe market is segmented based on Category, Source and Geography.Global Cosmetics Market, by Category Skin and Sun Care Hair Care Deodorants Makeup and Color FragrancesGlobal Cosmetics Market, by Mode of Sale Retail OnlineGlobal Cosmetics Market, by Gender Men WomenGlobal Cosmetics Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.SCanadaMexicoRest of North AmericaEuropeGermanyUKFranceRussiaSpainItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaSouth KoreaSingaporeMalaysiaRest of Asia PacificLAMEABrazilArgentinaUAESaudi ArabiaSouth AfricaNigeriaRest of LAMEACompany Profiles Loreal International Avon Products The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) Unilever Plc. Oriflame Cosmetics Revlon Kao Corporation The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. Shiseido Corporation and Skin FoodRelated Reports-North America Cosmetics MarketEurope Cosmetics MarketAsia Pacific Cosmetics MarketLamea Cosmetics MarketKnowledge Based Value Research is a global brand and consulting firm serving all kinds of business verticals, government and non-governmental organizations, and not-for-profit organizations. Our motto is to extend our services that will have a lasting impact on our clients who trust us with their business goals.4F  CS  27, Ansal PlazaSector  1, Vaishali  201010Delhi NCR, Ghaziabad, IndiaTel: 0120-4968631 / +91-9990696033Email: info@kbvresearch.com
Global Automotive Camera Module Market to grow at a CAGR of 21.54% during 2017-2021 - AEi Boston, Autoliv, Bosch, Continental

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ACMs are devices that are installed in the front, rear, and sides of vehicles to provide maximum information to the driver about the surroundings to prevent accidents. Types of dash cameras: Basic dash cameras, Advanced dash cameras, and Dual cameras. Basic dash cameras are hard-wired into a vehicles electrical system and are used to record the driving sessions. Advanced dash cameras help in locating vehicles and in maintaining recommended speed limits. Dual cameras have a typical setup in which one camera faces outward, and the other records the interior of the vehicle.The global automotive camera module market to grow at a CAGR of 21.54% during the period 2017-2021. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global automotive camera module market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers camera module installed in new shipments of passenger and commercial vehicles.Click to get Sample PDF:The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEATechnavio's report, Global Automotive Camera Module Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.View Complete TOC with Tables and Figures at:Key vendors- AEi Boston- Autoliv- Bosch- ContinentalOther prominent vendors- Ambarella- Kappa optronics- OSRAM Opto Semiconductors- SAMSUNG ELECTRO-MECHANICS- Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG)- Texas InstrumentsMarket driver- Increased popularity of CMOS sensors due to improved performance- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- High replacement costs associated with camera modules- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Introduction of advanced night vision camera module- For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Cottonseed Oil Market trends estimates high demand by 2024

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Cottonseed Oil Market. The study, titled Cottonseed Oil Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Global Cottonseed Oil Market: OverviewThe rising use of cottonseed oil in food products and other industries is encouraging the growth of the global cottonseed oil market in the next few years. The enhancement of the distribution network by the key players is projected to accelerate the development of the overall market in the forecast period.The research report on the global cottonseed oil market provides insights into the key aspects of the market that are estimated to influence the development in the coming few years. The research study throws light on the growth drivers, barriers, and limitations in the global market. Moreover, the key segmentation, product portfolio, key applications, and the competitive scenario of the global cottonseed oil have been provided in the scope of the research study.View Report Preview:Global Cottonseed Oil Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global cottonseed oil market is expected to grow significantly in the next few years, thanks to the rising demand for cottonseed oil across diverse industries. The increasing awareness among consumers regarding the benefits of cottonseed oil is estimated to accelerate the growth of the overall market in the forecast period. In addition, the low price of cottonseed oil for cooking purposes is predicted to encourage the development of the market in the near future.As per these factors, the global cottonseed oil market is expected to register a progressive growth rate in the next few years. Some of the prominent end use industries of global cottonseed oil market are food processing, retail, cosmetics, and other industries. The expansion of the application base is projected to generate promising and lucrative opportunities for leading players operating in the cottonseed oil market across the globe.Global Cottonseed Oil Market: Region-wise OutlookFrom a geographical perspective, the North America market for cottonseed oil is anticipated to witness a healthy growth in the near future. The rising contribution from the U.S. is one of the key factors predicted to encourage the growth of this region in the coming years. In addition, the growing demand from several industries is estimated to accelerate the growth of the market in the next few years.On the other hand, on the basis of consumption and production, Asia Pacific is estimated to register a progressive growth rate in the next few years. The increasing contribution from China and India is predicted to encourage the development of the Asia Pacific market in the forecast period. Furthermore, Uzbekistan and Pakistan are expected to contribute extensively towards the growth of the market in the coming years. The rising demand for low-priced cooking oil is predicted to supplement the growth of the market in the near future.Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:Some of the leading players operating in the cottonseed oil market across the globe are Matangi Cotton Industries, Gokul Refoils & Solvent Ltd., Oil Seeds International Ltd., FEDIOL, Asha Cotton Industries, Willmar International Ltd., and Pyco Industries. The rising demand for cottonseed oil from diverse industries is anticipated to enhance the level of competition over the next few years. The presence of a large number of players and the expansion of their product portfolio are estimated to fuel the growth of the market.Request to view Sample Report:The research study offers a detailed overview of the competitive landscape of the global cottonseed oil market and highlights the key business policies that are being adopted by the players in order to sustain in the market worldwide. The company profiles of the dominating players have been provided in the research study, along with their SWOT analysis and financial overview. A list of other key players operating worldwide has also been provided in the scope of the research study.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Managed DNS Services Market Key Players - VeriSign Inc (U.S.), Dyn Inc (U.S.), Neustar (U.S.), ultra DNS (U.S.) by Forecast to 2027

Managed DNS Services Market

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Global Managed DNS Services Market Overview:DNS is a distributed, coherent, reliable, autonomous, hierarchical database, the first and only one of its kind. The Domain Name System (DNS) translates Internet domain and host names to IP addresses and vice versa. On the Internet, DNS automatically converts between the names we type in our Web browser address bar to the IP addresses of Web servers hosting those sites. Larger corporations also use DNS to manage their own company intranet. Home networks use DNS when accessing the Internet but do not use it for managing the names of home computers.Some of the major functions of DNS include locating IP addresses to specific site names, and then storing this data. This process is also known as maintaining records. Second function is to distribute the DNS over a vast network of connections, and a DNS can also store a vast library of records. DNS is the term used to define a database and, most importantly, a database that can be easily shared. This is because each server holds only a minor portion of the host name to IP address mapping details.Managed DNS Services Market is so widely used and is typically the first point of contact between a user and an application, it can be utilized to extend the plane of control far beyond the confines of the data center  where legacy appliances tend to dominate  to the extreme edge of the Internet. Developers are now managing failover, disaster recovery, load-shedding, load-balancing, and traffic management functions at points much closer to the end user. By doing so, they are improving performance while creating a new orchestration layer far away from the core application itself, thereby boosting resiliency.Issues with DNS can be intermittent and difficult to troubleshoot given its geographically-distributed nature. Clients can still connect to their local network when DNS is broken, but they will be unable to reach remote devices by their name.Request a Sample @Major Key Players:VeriSign Inc(U.S.), Dyn Inc (U.S.), Neustar (U.S.), ultraDNS (U.S.), Akamai (U.S.), Cloud flare (U.S.), DNS made easy (U.S.), Easy DNS (U.S.), AWS route 53 (U.S.), and Cotendo Advanced DNS (U.S.) are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the Global Mobile Security Market.Industry News :December, 2017 - RedLegg, a global partner for managed and cyber security services, announces new partnerships with Value Added Resellers. RedLegg provides a Channel Partner Program with comprehensive advisory solutions for real-world data protection and security challenges. The partnership with VARs and RedLegg will enable VARs to add additional security services to their already comprehensive full-service technology companiesDecember, 2017 - Advanced Technology Services, Inc. (ATS), a leading global manufacturing services and IT solutions provider, acquired Innovative Technology Solutions, LLC (ITS), an IT managed services and technology consulting company. The two companies will continue to operate independently with their current workforces and brands, but the acquisition creates new opportunities for both.Global Managed DNS Services Market Competitive Analysis:The Market of managed DNS services appears to be highly competitive. To maintain their market position and to drive the market growth, various dynamic and diversified international organizations, domestic organizations and as well as new entrants form a competitive landscape. Market leaders are innovating continuously and increasingly seeking market expansion through various strategic mergers and acquisitions, innovation, increasing investments in research and development and cost-effective product portfolio. Major players are investing on internal R&D and, most of all, in acquiring other firms.Global Managed DNS Services Market - SegmentationThe managed DNS services market can be segmented in to 3 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation by Type: Recursive DNS and Authoritative DNSSegmentation by Server Provider: Comprises enterprise service provider, self service providerSegmentation by Regions: Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World.Browse Full Report Details @Global Managed DNS Services Market Regional Analysis:North-America is dominating the Global managed DNS services market and is expected to dominate the market from 2017 to 2027 because this region accounts for the major chunk of the DDI solutions and services market, and the region is considered to be one of the most advanced regions with regards to the technology adoption and infrastructure. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market for managed DNS services currently, followed by North America. Furthermore, Asia Pacific is probable to grow at a significant rate owing to the proliferation of mobile devices, high density of population and internet usage in the region is expected to contribute to the growth of industry. The growth adoption of 4G and upcoming 5G networks solution is estimated to increase the average internet connection speeds owing to achieve effective IPAM solutions to manage the various IP address pools. This is expected to increase the demand of DDI (DNS, DHCP and IP address management) Market during the forecast period from 2017- 2027.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Delta Decalactone Market to observe high growth by 2020

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Delta Decalactone Market. The study, titled Delta Decalactone Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2014 - 2020, is available for sale on the firms website.Delta decalactone is found in animal foods such as butter oil, coconut oil, apricots, peaches, cheese, cane sugar, pork fat, margarine, lavender oil, and other substances. The chemical name for delta decalactone is Decan-5-olide. It is heat-sensitive and light-sensitive, due to which its container needs to be tightly closed in a dry and well-ventilated place. Delta decalactone is an indispensable lactone that is useful for lending roundness, creaminess, or a fleshy character to brown nuts, vanilla, diary, red fruit, meat, tropical fruit, and yellow fruit. Natural delta decalactone is an important constituent of a variety of natural flavorings. Its chemical formula is C10H18O2. Optical isomers of delta decalactone and delta dodecalactone imparts and / or enhance the aroma and taste of consumable materials including chewing gums, foodstuffs, beverages, perfume compositions, colognes, and fragrant articles such as solid & liquid anionic, cationic, nonionic, or zwitterionic detergents, hair preparations, and fabric softeners.View Report Preview:Delta decalactone is used as a fragrance in creams, household products; mango, coconut, raspberry, & nectarine flavors; and as a coumarin replacer. It is employed in pharmaceutical preparations and flavorings and is also an ingredient in the manufacturing of mixtures. The good solvency properties of delta decalactone is useful in industrial application. They also have wide demand in artificial fiber industry, they are polymerizable and can be used as nylon precursors. Usage of delta decalactone by the general public is strongly discouraged.Delta decalactone is found to be chemically stable under normal operating conditions. It is not considered dangerous according to directives and regulations; and the possibility of any form of hazardous polymerization is less, as it does not undergo any dangerous or explosive reactions. Avoiding heat, flames, and other sources of ignition is recommended. Delta decalactone is highly incompatible with chemicals such as strong oxidizing agents, reducing agents, and oxidizing mineral acids. Upon combustion, it may release hazardous decomposition products such as carbon monoxide and other unidentified organic compounds.It is advisable to use carbon dioxide in dry chemical powder or appropriate foam form as an extinguishing medium. Full water jets are not recommended for safety reasons. First aid measures to be followed on consumption of delta decalactone include rinsing ones mouth with water if swallowed and cleaning with copious amounts of water in case of eye or skin contact. Delta decalactone must be stored in a cool and dry place and in a tight container and be kept away from food, drink, and animal feed. During disposal, one must take into consideration all the state and local environmental regulations, the specific material, and the container in which it is stored. Reuse of empty containers is not prescribed. General control parameters for using delta decalactone include wearing personal protection equipment such as breathing apparatus for respiratory protection.Asia Pacific and North America followed by Europe are the dominant regions in the delta decalactone market because of the products wide application as a flavoring agent in food and animal products. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are still in their developmental phase but expected to witness decent growth over the forecast period.Request to view Sample Report:Key players operating in the delta decalactone market include Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC, United International Co., Ltd, Shenzhen Simeiquan Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Nanjing Oriental Pearl Industry & Trade Industry Co., Xiamen Miracle Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Rihua Flavor & Fragrance Co., Ltd., and Fairlong Aroma Chemical Co., Ltd.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Coconut Water Market is Projected to Worth Over $8 Billion by 2023 | Arizton

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The coconut water market is expected to grow from $2,193.4 million in 2017 to $8,346.0 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 24.95% during the forecast period.Ariztons recent market research report on the coconut water market provides comprehensive industry analysis, trend forecasts, and competitive analysis. The research study segments the market by variants (plain and flavored), packaging (paper and paperboard, metal, and plastic), type (sweetened and unsweetened), distribution (hypermarket and supermarket, convenience stores, specialty stores, and others), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, MEA, and Latin America).The growing demand for healthier on-the-go alternatives is driving the growth of the coconut water market. The food and beverage industry is witnessing a trend where consumers are shifting from high-sugar and calorie dominated carbonated drinks to healthier substitutes. Moreover, the increasing awareness about obesity and other lifestyle diseases will boost the demand for healthy beverage options such as coconut water in the global market.Request for your free sample today!The leading three drivers and trends driving the coconut water market are discussed below:Increased Global Awareness for Health and NutritionThe growing awareness of metabolic disorders and health risks such as obesity, diabetes, liver damage, kidney stones, heartburn, tooth decay, hypertension, and impaired digestion is propelling the growth of the global coconut water market. According to a WHO estimate, more than 39% adults worldwide were overweight in 2014 with the count increasing. With the increase in lifestyle related diseases, government bodies across the world are driving initiatives and programs to discourage the intake of sugar or aerated beverages, thereby promoting the market for nutritional, healthy, natural drinks. Vendors in the global market are increasing their investments and expand businesses by introducing healthy beverages and drinks that include green tea, juices, coconut water, and yoghurt. Such initiatives and business opportunities will drive the development of the global coconut water market.High Investments and Pro-government Policies in Coconut Farming to Boost Supply SideThe exponential demand for not only coconut water but also for coconut milk, concentrates, and dried products is encouraging governments of tropical countries to introduce packages and subsidies to promote the cultivation of coconut trees. The use of coconut in the medicine, cooking, and food and beverage industries is driving the growth of the coconut water market. Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Brazil, and Sri Lanka constitute 75% of the global coconut supplies. The policy convenience from governments in tropical countries and the rise in general demand driven by increased health awareness are creating new opportunities for vendors in the global coconut water market.Request for your free sample today!Growing Demand for Coconut Water Mix and ConcentratesThe health benefits associated with coconut water includes lowering the blood pressure, rehydrating the body, improving the heart health, promoting weight loss, treating headaches, regulating the blood sugar, and balancing the pH levels in the human body. Due to these health benefits, the number of health-conscious consumers is growing, which is propelling the demand in the global coconut water market during the forecast period. Vendors are introducing new alternatives to bottled coconut water, including mix, concentrates, and candies, which are economical, health-friendly, and convenient to meet the requirements of consumers and gain a large market share in the global coconut water market.Amy and Brian Naturals, Coca-Cola, Green COCO, PepsiCo, and Vita-Coco are the leading vendors in the coconut water market.The complete overview of the latest market research report on the coconut water market by Arizton is now available.The report offers a detailed study of major trends, drivers, challenges, and provides the market size and forecast for major geographical regions and key countries.Source :About Arizton Advisory & IntelligenceArizton  Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.Arizton Advisory & IntelligenceChicago, Illinois, 60605Mail: enquiry@arizton.comCall: +1-312-465-7864
Diisobutyl Carbinyl Acetate Market to Register Substantial Expansion by 2024

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Diisobutyl Carbinyl Acetate Market. The study, titled Diisobutyl Carbinyl Acetate Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Diisobutyl carbinyl acetate is a colorless to pale yellow liquid with a floral and fruity odor reminiscent of pear. It is synthesized by the acetylation of dimethylbenzyl carbinol. The resulting liquid is used as an ingredient for cosmetics and perfumes.Several factors directly or indirectly drive the diisobutyl carbinyl acetate market including changing consumer lifestyles and rising disposable incomes especially in Europe and Asia Pacific. Cosmetics are a premium segment of this market due to the expanding middle class in developing nations leading to their advancement, which boosts the demand for diisobutyl carbinyl acetate as it is a major ingredient in cosmetics. The fragrance and perfume industries are developing at a significant rate especially in emerging economies such as China and India with their massive population and rising income levels, which is another contributing factor. However, volatile raw material prices and availability of substitutes might pose a hindrance to some extent.View Report Preview:Currently, Asia Pacific is a major consumer of diisobutyl carbinyl acetate. China accounts for a significant share in the regions total consumption. Economic growth and rising standards of living fuel the demand for end-user products here. The Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and Japan are other important markets. Availability of raw materials and infrastructure are turning South East Asia into a manufacturing hub for the perfume industry. The global fragrances & perfumes market is highly competitive and consists of multiple vendors and large retail chains. Specialist retailers face tough competition from the retail giants as the latter possess the ability to offer products at lower prices as compared to the former. The industry has shifted from mainland Europe and North America toward Asia. A major chunk of diisobutyl carbinyl acetate in Asia Pacific is employed in perfume and cosmetics production. Consumption in Latin America and Europe is likely to experience moderate to high growth due to the products usage in personal and home care products.Large and medium chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies dominate the diisobutyl carbinyl acetate market. Key players in the market include P and G Chemicals (U.S), Wilmar (U.S), Myriant (U.S), Gevo (U.S), Amyris (U.S.), Solazyme (U.S.), Codexis (U.S.), Emery Oleochemicals (U.S) and Goldschmidt (U.S.) among others. Some other players include, Magna-Kron Corp (U.S.), Clearsynth Labs Limited (U.S.), Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc (U.S.), Hangzhou J and H Chemical Co Ltd (U.S.), Gihi Chemicals Co Ltd (U.S.), Merck Schuchardt OHG (U.S.), Cfm Oskar Tropitzsch GmbH (U.S.), Suzhou Bichal Biological Technology Co Ltd (U.S.), Karl H. Boddin Chemiehandel GmbH (China), Biesterfeld Spezialchemie GmbH (China), Reuter Chemische Apparatebau KG (China), SIGMA-ALDRICH Corporation (China), Hangzhou Dayangchem Co Ltd (China), Jinan Haohua Industry Co Ltd (China) and Simagchem Corporation (China) among others. Companies are adopting economies of scale and aggressive marketing campaigns in order to expand their market share. They are also shifting their production facilities to emerging economies in Asia Pacific due to availability of cheap labor, land, and government subsidies. In addition, companies are using export as a tool for geographic expansion in emerging economies of the Middle East & Africa.Request to view Sample Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Dimer Acid Market Growth to be Driven by Technological Advancements 2024

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A new research report by Transparency Market Research offers a comprehensive evaluation of the global Dimer Acid Market. The study, titled Dimer Acid Market - Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Growth and Forecast 2016 - 2024, is available for sale on the firms website.Dimer acids also known as dimerized fatty acids are known to be dicarboxylic acids that are produced by a process of dimerizing unsaturated fatty acids. These unsaturated fatty acids are obtained from fatty acid feedstock such as tallow oil, rapeseed oil and tall oil among others. Crude dimer is produced from tall oil fatty acid by heat treatment with or without use of a suitable catalyst. They act as building blocks for several end-products due to its di-carboxylic acid reactivity. Dimeric acids usually consist of stearic acids, therefore called as C36 dimer acid. This chemistry of Dimer acid can further produce trimer acid comprising of three fatty acid molecules. Dimer acids are transparent light yellow colored viscous liquids which are non-toxic in nature.View Report Preview:The major application of dimer acids is in manufacturing polyamide resins which are used in inks and coatings and adhesives among others. The other areas of application of dimer acids include reactive and non-reactive polyamides for epoxy resins, fuel additives, synthetic lubricants, polyol esters, alkyd resins, corrosion inhibitors, personal care and oil field drilling muds among others.Growing demand for dimer acids for manufacturing polyamides is the major factor driving the global dimer acid market. Increasing demand from the automobile industry is another factor generating scope for growth of global dimer acid market. Moreover, increasing demand from the end-user industries such as inks and coatings, adhesives and oil and petroleum industries is also expected to boost demand for dimer acids in the near future.However, the limitation to the growth of global dimer acid market is due to low availability of feedstock such as C18 tall oil fatty acid. This tall oil is a result of kraft wood pulping operations. Major production of dimer acids is carried out from tall oil fatty acids. This factor is expected to hamper the growth of global dimer acid marker in the near future.The environmental friendly nature of dimer acids has led to its application in wide range of applications in various end-user industries. Growing opportunities from the automobile industry for corrosion inhibitors, personal care and cosmetics and flexographic ink industry are expected to boost market demand for dimer acids in the developing as well as developing economies in the near future.North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW) are the major segments for global dimer acids market. Asia Pacific is expected to consume large volume of dimer acids owing to the growing demand from the adhesives industry in the region. Other industries such as personal care and cosmetics and lubricant industry is also expected to fuel demand for dimer acids in the region. North America and Europe are also expected to boost demand for dimer acids due to the rising demand from the other end-user industries in the regions.The key players profiled for global dimer acid market include: Anqing Juyuan Polymer Technology Co., Ltd., Anqing Hongyu Chemical Co., Ltd, Aturex Group, Arizona Chemical Company, LLC, BASF SE, Harima Chemicals Group, Inc, Jiangsu Jinma Oil Technology Development Co., Ltd., Croda International, Jiangsu Yonglin Chemical Oil Co., Ltd, Kodia Company Limited Company, ,Jiangxi Longwell Industrial Co.,Ltd, Shandong Huijin Chemical Co., Ltd , Jiangxi Yichun Yuanda Chemical Co.,Ltd, Tianmen Chengxin Chemical Co., Ltd. Company, Jiujiang Lishan Environmental Protection Technology Co.,Ltd, Cognis Corporation, Florachem, CHEMICAL ASSOCIATES, Hexion Specialty Chemicals and Liancheng baixin science and technology Co., Ltd., among others.Request to view Sample Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Market is expected to gain increased traction in the Upcoming Year

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global positioning systems market is expected to gain increased traction in the next few years.Global positioning technology, also called the NAVSTAR technology, short for navigation system for timing and ranging, came to reality owing to the efforts put in by the United States' Department of Defense to establish a reliable satellite-based navigation system. Consisting a network of between 24 and 32 satellites orbiting the earth, global positioning systems (GPS) works across the globe in all weather conditions, helping users track routes, locations, and objects.This report on the global market for global positioning systems presents a comprehensive overview of the present growth dynamics of the market and its key segments. The report also includes projections about the growth prospects of the market over the period between 2016 and 2024, based on quantitative and qualitative details pertaining to aspects such as recent trends, growth drivers, challenges, opportunities, regulations, and level of competition.Request Brochure:A detailed overview of the competitive landscape is also included in the report wherein business profiles of some of the key vendors in the market, and market data about aspects such as their recent strategies, technological advancements, and involvement in activities such as mergers and acquisitions is included. A detailed SWOT analysis of all companies examined in the report is also included. The competitive landscape is further examined with the help of Porters five forces analysis.Global Positioning System Market: Drivers and RestraintsFrom its use mostly restricted to military and defense purposes to being used across a vast range of civilian applications, the market for global positioning systems has come a long way in a matter of few decades. A large number of industrial applications put GPS to use for a number of purposes and the set of these applications continues to rise on a rapid pace. Industries such as construction, farming, transportation, and aerospace are among the key users of global positioning systems.The use of the GPS technology helps these industries improve their operational efficiency and bring about a notable reduction in overall operation costs. The transportation industry, especially, is presenting a multitude of new application areas through in-build GPS units in passenger vehicles or through smartphone apps specifically made to guide travelers through unknown routes.Browse Our Report:Global positioning systems have also significantly helped in improving the response time in terms of emergency across a number of end-use areas, leading to a stark improvement in safety of resources operating in remote areas. With the vast rise in the number of consumers using location services-enabled smartphone across the globe, the global positioning systems market is expected to gain increased traction in the next few years. High-speed mobile data technologies such as 3G and 4G have further supported the use of GPS across the globe. One of the key restraints for the market is the concern of licensing owing to strict regulatory policies.Global Positioning System Market: SegmentationThe global market for global positioning systems has been segmented on the basis of criteria such as application, type, and geography. Based on product type, the market is segmented into GPS-enabled mobile phones, marine systems, automotive systems, GPS cameras, and aviation systems. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into navigation and position tracking, security, and traffic control. From a geographical perspective, the market has been examined for Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Middle East and Africa.Pre Book Now This Report:Some of the key players operating in the global market for global positioning systems profiled in the report are Furono Electronics, FEI-Zyfer, Avidyne Corporation, Polar Electro Oy, MiTAC International, Garmin International, Raytheon Company, ECT Industries, Orolia SA, KVH Industries Inc, SiRF Technology, Hemisphere GPS, Trimble, Johnson Outdoors, Navico, Rockwell Collins, Symmetricom, TomTom NV, and Novatel.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Vacuum Pouches Market - Forecast on Market Dynamics, Emerging Trends, Growth Factors

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Vacuum pouches is a type packaging method that includes the process of removing excess air before sealing the bag. The vacuum pouches are primarily used to preserve fresh food and decrease food spoilage. Vacuum packaging is a common technique of extending the shelf life of food related products without adversely impacting their quality. Moreover, vacuum pouches have good machine handling as it does not curl, it provides gas and moisture barrier properties, exhibits excellent mechanical properties at low thickness and low cost, has aroma retention power, provides good resistance to puncture and tearing. All the mentioned features make vacuum pouches makes it a preferred packaging technique in comparison to other traditional packaging.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @Vacuum Pouches Market- Market Segmentation:Vacuum pouches market is segmented by material type, packaging type, process type, application type and by region. On the basis of material type, the vacuum pouches market can be segmented into polyethylene (PE), polyvinylidenchloride (PVDC), polypropylene (PP), polyvinylchloride (PVC), polyester (PET), polyamide (PA) and others. On the basis of packaging type global vacuum pouches market can be segmented into flexible packaging and semi-rigid packaging. On the basis of process type, vacuum pouches market can be segmented into shrink packaging, skin packaging and traditional packaging. On the basis of application type, vacuum pouches market can be segmented into food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, industrial goods, consumer goods, and others. On the basis of region, we have segmented vacuum pouches market into, North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa.Vacuum Pouches Market - Market Dynamics:The vacuum pouches market is expected to witness a healthy grow rate during the forecast period. Due to speedy urbanization and industrialization the vacuum pouches market is undergoing technological advancements. Other than that growing use of vacuum pouches in pharmaceutical, food and beverage industry is significantly fuelling this market. The retail sector in Asia Pacific is booming, mainly due to changing lifestyle coupled with increasing per capita annual disposable income of consumers in this region. Shelf life of products is an important attribute across all industry verticals, however, is strategically significant in food and beverages industry. This emerging cluster of the globe is also witnessing quick urbanization. Over past five years approximately 20% of the product manufacturers switched to vacuum packaging from conventional packaging options. On the other side high initial cost and rising demand of modified atmosphere packaging market might hamper the growth of global vacuum pouches market globally. The trend towards vacuum pouches is driven by consumer preference for lightweight, portable ease to handle and re-closable products with long shelf life. Thus companies are focusing on developing sustainable, recyclable, lightweight, and tough with long shelf life through barrier film.Vacuum Pouches Market - Regional Outlook:Vacuum pouches market is expected to register a high CAGR for the forecast period. Depending on geographic regions, vacuum pouches market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is expected experience the maximum growth in the vacuum pouches market primarily due to growth in the retail industry, increased sale of online products and rising disposable income. Increased demand for industrial products from the developed economies of North America and Europe is expected to drive the demand in the vacuum pouches market for these regions. Whereas, Latin America and MEA are expected to witness a stable growth in the vacuum pouches market over the forecast period.Browse Market Research Report @Vacuum Pouches Market - Major Players:Some of the major players identified across the globe in the heat sealing tape market are Amcor Limited, Bemis Company Inc., Berry Plastics, Sealed Air Corporation, Wipak Group, Mondi Group, Wenzhou Chuangjia Packing Material Co., Ltd., Dongguan OK Packaging Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Cangnan Kanghui Packaging Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Rishanhong Plastic Packaging Products Co., Ltd. etc.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
New Research Report Explore Conjugate Vaccine Market Size Share and Global Forecast to 2017 - 2025

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"The Latest Research Report Conjugate Vaccine Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"This exclusive report will provide you with the market size and forecast (US$ Mn) for the global market and its segments for the period from 2015 to 2025 along with the growth rate (CAGR) from 2017 to 2025, considering 2016 as base year. In addition, drivers, restraints and opportunities, competitive landscape have also been covered under the current proposed table of contents, which will in due course help you to take strategic decisions with respect to the market.Conjugate vaccines are vaccines for infectious diseases. There are special polysaccharide coatings on some bacteria and viruses that help them to escape the immune system. An immature immune system can recognize these bacteria with the help of the conjugate vaccines, as these vaccines link the special polysaccharide coatings to an organism by producing immunity and response. The examples of conjugate vaccines are meningococcal vaccine to prevent meningitis, haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine, and pneumococcal vaccine.Get Sample Copy of this report @Increased revenue from the sale of meningococcal vaccines and pneumococcal vaccines are driving the global conjugate vaccine market due to increasing advancements in the research and development. Increasing prevalence of infectious diseases and rising awareness toward prevention of these disease is anticipated to boost the global conjugate vaccine market during the forecast period. However, long time interval between the introduction of new conjugate vaccines in low-income countries and high-income countries is likely to restrain the global conjugate vaccine market. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, high mortality and morbidity are caused due to vaccine-preventable diseases. In 2010, 87% of the population of high-income countries had pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in their immunization schedules, whereas only 2% had pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in their immunization schedules among the total population of low-income countries.The global conjugate vaccine market can be classified on the basis of product type, disease indication, pathogen type, patient type, and region. In terms of product type, the global conjugate vaccine market can be segmented into multivalent conjugate vaccines and monovalent conjugate vaccines. The monovalent conjugate vaccines segment held the major share of the market in 2016 due to the high awareness and high quality vaccines provided by key players. However, the multivalent conjugate vaccines segment is anticipated to expand in the near future due to the improvements in technology and government initiatives.In terms of disease indication, the global conjugate vaccine market can be segmented into meningococcal, diphtheria tetanus pertussis, influenza, pneumococcal, and others. The diphtheria tetanus pertussis segment of the global conjugate vaccine market expanded in 2016 due to its high prevalence and highly contagious nature of the respiratory tract infection. The pneumococcal segment of the global conjugate vaccine market is anticipated to expand during the forecast period, as it is the most attractive segment in the market, in terms of technology. In terms of pathogen type, the global conjugate vaccine market can be segmented into combination (viral and bacterial) conjugate vaccine, viral conjugate vaccine, and bacterial conjugate vaccine. In terms of patient type, the market can be segmented into adults conjugate vaccine and pediatrics conjugate vaccine. The pediatrics conjugate vaccine segment held a major share of the global market in 2016 due to the high prevalence of infectious diseases among children.View Report @Geographically, the global conjugate vaccine market can be segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. In terms of technology, North America is projected to be the most attractive market for conjugate vaccine during the forecast period, due to rise in demand for pneumococcal, meningococcal vaccines, and other conjugate vaccines. The market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand during the forecast period due to increasing immunization initiatives by organizations such as GAVI and World Health Organization in emerging economies such as India and China. Increasing focus of major players on the market in India and governmental initiatives for infectious diseases are likely to fuel the demand for the conjugate vaccines in the region.Key players operating in the global conjugate vaccine market include Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer, Inc., Novartis AG, Neuron Biotech, Merck & Co., Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, CSL Behring, Biological E, and Bharat Biotech.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisSend An Enquiry Request @The regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketCheck Discount This Report From Here @About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Dual-clutch Transmission Market will Register a CAGR of 11.3% by value through 2020

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Dual-clutch transmission (DCT) market is expected to expand at a steady rate in 2016. However, consumer dissatisfaction with the technology in developed markets can create significant challenges for manufacturers during the forecast period. The sluggish growth in developed markets will be compensated to a large extent by robust adoption in Asia Pacific.Request For Report Sample:Higher fuel economy and convenient driving experience will continue to influence consumer preferences in Asia Pacific, providing an uplift to dual-clutch transmission market. Strict regulatory compliance targeted to curbed carbon emissions will continue fuelling demand for the technology in 2016. DCT technology is witnessing an uptick from manufacturers, as it serves as a differentiating factor. In order to achieve fuel efficiency and lower carbon footprint, adoption of DCT technology by manufacturers for integration in hybrid vehicles, will push the demand for DCT technology. Stellar growth in manufacturing and sales of vehicles in Asia Pacific will also play a key role in driving demand for DCT technology.Rising environmental awareness is catapulting the demand for lower carbon footprint technologies. OEMs are meticulously following the emission standards to meet stringent environmental regulations. Consumers are seeking enhanced driving experience, pushing the demand for the technology further. However, consistent criticisations and unfavourable customer reviews regarding the technologys performance and comfort will continue to deter the market growth. In addition, cost-intensive cost of DCT technology is expected to restrain its penetration in small and medium sized vehicles in developing economies.Based on product type, dry clutch transmissions segment will retain dominance over wet clutch transmissions, owing to economical costs. Dry clutch transmissions are estimated to experience hefty sales of nearly 3,755 thousand units in 2016, attributed to their application in passenger vehicles.On the basis of end use, passenger cars segment currently dominates over commercial vehicles, with over 80% of the market share. The Y-O-Y growth will however decline from 12.6% in 2016 to 11.7% in 2017.Based on region, the technology will continue to gain traction among manufacturers in Asia Pacific. North America, Western Europe, and APAC collectively contribute around 85% share to the global market revenues. N. America and W. Europe are expected to continue declining markets for dual clutch transmission technology, losing revenue shares to APAC. China, being the largest automotive market, is anticipated to reaffirm the highest adoption of DCT technology.Markets within APEC, including China, India, and Japan will witness introduction of compact DCT technology for compact sized vehicles. OEMs and suppliers are increasingly collaborating to improve DCT penetration in suppressed markets. Following the effort by OEMs and suppliers toward reduction in prices, DCT market may experience optimistic scenario. APAC will register the largest market in terms of volume, followed by Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Japan is a saturated market and will witness sluggish growth.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Key players competing in the dual clutch transmission technology market, include BorgWarner Inc., Getrag, ZF Friedrichshafen, Continental, and Eaton Corporation. Leading companies are increasingly focusing on the rising demand for DCTs, by increasing production capacity in Asia Pacific.Long-term Outlook: Global market for dual clutch transmission technology will witness a promising CAGR of 11.3% by value, over the forecast period 2014-2020. APAC will register the highest CAGR of 16.1% by value, by 2020 end.You can now buy a single user license of the report :ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Specialty Silica Market Size Projected to Rise Lucratively during 2024

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Only a handful of names were visible as prominent in the global specialty silica market for 2015. In this consolidated market, the players Evonik Industries AG, Wacker Chemie AG, and Cabot Corporation, collectively held a significant 69% of its overall value. At the same time, there do exist a sizeable number of regional players in the global specialty silica market.As per a market intelligence publication released by Transparency Market Research, the global specialty silica market is expected to hold an increasingly intensifying rate of competition over the coming years. The current player landscape of the global specialty silica market shows a moderately consolidated structure with a medium to low presence of key global players. Meanwhile, the demand for specialty silica is increasing and the entry barriers for new players are low.View Report Preview:The low initial investments required to initiate the manufacture of specialty silica is expected to encourage new entrants over the coming years. The global specialty silica market is expected to be valued at US$4.62 bn by the end of 2016. Between 2016 and 2024, this markets value is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.9% and reach US$7.32 bn by the end of 2024. In terms of volume, the global specialty silica market is expected to reach 5,185.0 kilo tons in 2024.Surge in Demand for Green Tires Expected Over Coming YearsThe automotive industry has consistently been a top application segment for the global specialty silica market for the past few years. Fossil fuels are depleting and emission norms are getting stricter every year. This is pressuring the automotive industry to achieve greater feats of engineering that allow vehicles to use as little resources as possible. One of the greater ways to achieve this is to use tires that give a lower rolling resistance, effectively allowing a vehicle to move further while consuming lesser fuel. And one of the leading ways to achieve a reduction in rolling resistance is to use tires created with a mixture of specialty silica with rubber. Specialty silica imparts several beneficial physical properties to tires, including toughness and a smaller coefficient of friction for rolling resistance, states a TMR analyst.Easy Availability of Substitutes Stifles Specialty Silica DemandColloidal silica and fused silica are the two key products from the global specialty silica market that are used in refractories. Both products are known to be expensive in nature and buyers are often reluctant enough to go for cheaper alternative even at the cost of lesser efficiency. Substitutes such as silica gel are not only cheaper than specialty silica but they are also easier to procure, therefore being a better preferred option for small and even medium scale buyers. This is currently a key restraining factor on the global specialty silica market, and might reduce in severity over time as development can help reduce product costs.Developments in the global specialty silica market are expected to provide the boost that manufacturers need to gain better opportunities. One of the key opportunities currently visible in the global specialty silica market includes the development and production of highly dispersible silica.Request to view Sample Report:HDS finds noteworthy use in high-performance tires which are commonly meant for premium cars. Over time, the growing concern over fuel usage and consistent developments on HDS by leading players should get it into the commercial markets at reasonable rates, creating a whole new world of opportunities, adds the analyst.The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, Specialty Silica Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Haptic and Touch Technology Market to Expand Substantially Owing to Technological Innovations During 2016-2024

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Haptic technology is a mechanical simulation that uses different motion, forces, and vibration to create the sense of touch in numerous electronic devices. The haptic and touch screen technology market has observed a noteworthy growth due to its application in controllers, joysticks, steering wheels, and future video games. It helps in improving the user experience by engaging light, sound, and touch.Based on feedback, the global market for haptic and touch technology can be segmented into tactile and force. In terms of components, the market can be classified into controllers, actuators, and others. On the basis of end user industry, the global haptic technology market can be categorized into consumer electronics, aerospace & defense, automotive, healthcare, and others.In the report, Transparency Market Report (TMR) offers a complete analysis of challenges and prospects in the global haptic and touch technology market. It also provides insight into the major segments and regions of the market.Request Brochure:Global Haptic and Touch Technology Market: Trends and ProspectsThe primary drivers for the growth of the global haptic and touch technology market are rising requirements for product differentiation and growing application of touch screen technology in numerous consumer electronic goods such as in digital cameras, mobile devices, and other devices. In addition, increasing concern for driver and passenger safety in vehicles is supplementing the demand for haptic and touch technology. Fast changing technology and high cost are the crucial factors that might pose as a threat to the growth of the global haptic and touch technology market.On the basis of feedback, the tactile segment will hold a large share of the market, and is expected to drive the market in the forecast period. The demand for this segment is high due to its varied application in consumer electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets. Presently, tactile feedback is inbuilt in practically all smartphones and tablets, and even wearable devices such as wristbands and smartwatches are slowly adopting this technology. In addition, the growth can be attributed to rising demand in several applications such as healthcare, automotive, and gaming.Browse Our Report:In terms of end user industry, the education & research segment is pegged to grow over the said period. Due to increased incorporation of haptics into AR & VR devices, the education sector has boosted the demand for haptic and touch technology. With the aid of haptics, learning and teaching would relatively become easier as the students will get a hands-on experience of haptics, and will further help in understanding and improving their skills.Global Haptic and Touch Technology Market: Regional AnalysisEurope, Asia Pacific, North America, and Rest of the World are the geographical segments on which the market can be based upon. Due to remarkable increase in demand for smartphones and tablets, Asia Pacific is expected to lead the market. In the forecast period, this region is predicted to register a strong CAGR. Whereas, high application in end user industry such as defense, automobile and healthcare, North America and Europe will contribute largely to the market share during the said period.Pre Book Now This Report:Companies Mentioned in ReportImmersion Corp, Precision Microdrives Ltd, AAC Technologies Holdings, Inc., Tactus Technology Inc., Haption SA, Johnson Electric Group, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., Immersion Corp, Texas Instruments, Incorporated, Densitron Technologies Plc, and 3D systems are some of the prominent players in the global haptic and touch technology market.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Surgical Lasers Market : Analysis, Applications, Size, Share, Overview To 2025

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Global Surgical Lasers Market: OverviewSurgical laser products are used in laser surgeries to destroy or cut abnormal or diseased tissues, destroy or shrink lesions and tumors, seal lymph vessels, remove moles and tattoos, and close off blood vessels and nerve endings among various other uses. They are available in different types such as argon, diode, neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet, and carbon dioxide. They are used in several procedures, including laparoscopic surgeries, percutaneous surgeries, and open surgeries and in various fields such as dermatology, urology, gynecology, cardiology, oncology, ophthalmology, and dentistry.Global Surgical Lasers Market: Key TrendsThe increasing prevalence of targeted diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases and expanding base of patients suffering from ophthalmic disorder are the leading factors providing a fillip to the global surgical lasers market. The growing preference for minimally invasive surgeries is also creating an upthrust in the global demand for surgical laser products. Moreover, the rising investments in the field from both public and private sectors are augmenting the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @On the other hand, the stringent regulatory scenario related to the approval of surgical lasers is inhibiting the growth of the market. Furthermore, the high costs of laser surgeries coupled with the shortage of suitable medical reimbursement policies are keeping the global surgical lasers market from realizing its utmost potential.Global Surgical Lasers Market: Market PotentialEmerging regions are expected to present immense growth opportunities. As a result of which, players in the global surgical lasers market are expected to shift their focus towards developing countries. The rising expenditure on healthcare and improving medical practices are boosting the uptake of surgical lasers in these countries. Moreover, the booming medical tourism sector in these regions attracts people from all over the world, which makes them promising markets.Rapid advancements in surgical lasers are opening new avenues for market players. The introduction of laser surgeries in the field of veterinary care is unfolding tremendous growth opportunities for the global surgical lasers market. Surgical lasers are now being used to address pain, injury, and chronic health conditions in companion pets.Request TOC of the Report @Global Surgical Lasers Market: Geographical SegmentationThe key segments analyzed in the research report are Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. North America will be a prominent market throughout the forecast period, with the U.S. being at the forefront of growth. The increasing number of clinical trials and availability of favorable reimbursement policies for laser-assisted surgeries are triggering the adoption of novel technologies among healthcare professionals, which in turn is propelling the growth of the region. A large number of manufacturers headquartered in the region are also facilitating the widespread adoption of surgical laser products.Asia Pacific will register a healthy growth rate during the same period, owing to widening base of patient population for target diseases. The rising initiatives by governments to improve healthcare facilities are providing a significant push to the growth of the region. Moreover, the increasing awareness among healthcare professionals regarding the procedural benefits of surgical laser equipment and growing geriatric population are driving the growth of the region.Request Discount of the Report @Global Surgical Lasers Market: Competitive LandscapeThe majority of companies are focusing towards product launches to enhance their visibility in the high competitive arena of the global surgical lasers market. Mergers and acquisitions are also among the primary growth strategies adopted by key players to expand their product portfolio in the market. Some of the prominent companies operating in the market are Lumenis, Alma Lasers, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Spectranetics Corporation, Fotona d.o.o., Biolitec AG, Boston Scientific Corporation, and Cynosure Inc.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Test Automation Market : Pit Falls, Present Scenario and Growth Prospects from 2017 to 2025

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Global Test Automation Market: OverviewThe emergence of test automation has been the biggest boon to the IT sector. This software development tool has thoroughly helped the sector in optimizing test processes, reducing time, and bringing in efficiency. Functional testing, web services testing, compatibility testing, load testing, security testing, mobile testing, and QA process design among others. The growing expenditure on development of the IT sector for improving their software services, QA, and other applications are expected to nurture the growth of the global test automation market.Global Test Automation Market: Drivers and TrendsThe research report states that the rapid development of mobile applications is expected propel the growth of the global market in the recent years. Uptake of mobile applications in communications, multimedia travel, and utilities is expected to fuel the rise of this market in the near future. Analysts expect that the usage of cloud applications is also expected to improve the revenue earnings for the global test automation market. The growing awareness about deploying test automation amongst the IT sector has been a definite positive influence on the overall market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Despite the steady market drivers, the global test automation market is likely to face a few challenges such as high operating costs and high initial investments. However, emergence of newer and better technologies such as cloud computing services, big data analytics, and data virtualizations are expected to offer several lucrative opportunities to the global market.Global Test Automation Market: Market PotentialMobile Labs Introduced its deviceConnect Hosted Cloud, a solution for QA professionals and developers to efficiently manage their mobile testing lab. This will allow organizations to pick a well-suited mobile device cloud that caters to their need. The deviceConnect Hosted Cloud and deviceConnect On-premises Cloud and are private cloud-based mobile application testing platforms. The primary aim of these products is to ensure simple management of multiple devices for the purpose of enterprise application testing. The only difference between the two is who is managing these devices and where are they being hosted.Request TOC of the Report @Global Test Automation Market: Regional OutlookIn terms of geography, the global test automation market is fragmented into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Of these, North America is projected to lead the global market in the coming years due to a growing base of QA units in various organizations in a wide range of industrial verticals. Analysts expect that functional testing segment will dominate the region in the near future. Additionally, the rising investments in upgrading the current automation testing tools is also projected to drive the regional markets growth.North America will also aid the progress of security testing segment during the forecast period. The high adoption of mobile applications and Software as a Service (SaaS) on cloud will be the primary growth drivers for test automation in North America. Analysts expect that Asia Pacific will also offer lucrative growth opportunities to the global test automation market in the near future as the IT sector witness tremendous growth. The growing investments of foreign firms in the IT sector of various developing countries of Asia Pacific are expected to propel the regional markets growth.Request Discount of the Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Construction Estimating Software Global Market Top Key Players  Glodon , UDA Technologies , Bluebeam , RedTeam , Microsoft and Forecast to 2022

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Global Construction Estimating Software MarketDescriptionWiseGuyReports.Com adds Global (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) Construction Estimating Software Market 2017 Forecast to 2022 Research To Its Database.Construction Estimating Software is a type of software designed for contractors to estimate construction costs for a specific project. They designed to avoid lose revenue due to inaccurate and inefficient estimating, and save time and money at the same time.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Construction Estimating Software in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Get sample Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversGlodonUDA TechnologiesBluebeamRedTeamMicrosoftJBKnowledgeTakeoff LiveFastESTVision InfoSoftQuoteSofteTakeoffProEstBuildingConnectedPrioSoftAdvanced Electrical TechnologiesAppliCadMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversCloud, SaaS, WebInstalled-PCInstalled-MobileMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoParty AIntermediariesConstruction PartyEnquiry About Report @Table of Contents -Major Key Points1 Market Overview1.1 Construction Estimating Software Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Cloud, SaaS, Web1.2.2 Installed-PC1.2.3 Installed-Mobile1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Party A1.3.2 Intermediaries1.3.3 Construction Party1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Glodon2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.1.1 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Description2.1.1.2 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.1.2 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Product Introduction2.1.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.1.2.2 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Product Introduction2.1.3 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.1.3.1 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.1.3.2 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Market Share in Global in 20162.2 UDA Technologies2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.1.1 UDA Technologies Construction Estimating Software Description2.2.1.2 UDA Technologies Construction Estimating Software Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.2.2 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Product Introduction2.2.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.2.2.2 UDA Technologies Construction Estimating Software Product Introduction..CONTINUEDAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, Industry research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)
Top Robotics Market : Analysis, Applications, Size, Share, Overview To 2025

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Global Top Robotics Market: OverviewThe surging demand for industrial robots with Internet of Things capabilities is transforming production lines, especially in the automotive and electronic industry. Next generation robots possess human-like attributes such as intelligence, recognition of objects, flexibility, memory, and ability to learn.Industries implementing robotic technologies receive huge financial benefits due to reduced overheads, flexibility, increased productivity, and waste reduction.Global Top Robotics Market: Key TrendsThe top factor driving the top robotics market for industrial robots is the increasing adoption of automated systems and the rising demand for industrial robots from medium and small-sized enterprises in developing countries. This is because deployment of robotic solutions ensures quality production and caters to meeting market demand in a timely manner. However, factors such as high upfront costs and high R&D expenses and unreliable performance in untested environment and absence of a high level of interface are restraining the markets growth.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Amongst industrial robots, articulated robots is expected to be leading product segment owing to their structural and operational capabilities. Articulated robots are extensively used in electrical and electronics, and automotive industries.On the other hand, the service robotics segment of this market is driven by the increasing demand for mobile robotic solution for warehouse automation and logistics, increasing demand from healthcare industry, and the increasing deployment of service robots for educational pursuits.Logistics currently holds the dominant position among the application segments of service robotics and is expected to retain its position in the near future. This is mainly due to the deployment of automated guided vehicles in production units and warehousing facilities for inventory management and freight handling.Request TOC of the Report @Global Top Robotics Market: Market PotentialFrom a leap from robotic vacuum cleaners, butlers, or medical assistants, industrial robots account for the greatest slice of the global robotics market, as per a recent industry news. Unlike the classical industrial robot that were used to carry out repetitive tasks, the next-generation robots are supported by software and peripheral vision systems and can perform varying tasks reliably that matches human capabilities.Global Top Robotics Market: Regional OutlookAsia Pacific is the leading regional market for industrial robotics market is led significant revenue contributions from China, Japan, and South Korea. The high concentration of robotic machines in South Korea and Japan to support the expanding electronics industry in these countries is benefitting the industrial robotics market in Asia Pacific. As per statistics of the International Federation of Robotics, Japan is the leading market for industrial robotics trailed by China.Moreover, the increasing deployment of automated systems in the automotive industry in Australia is anticipated to positively influence the regional markets growth. Strong focus on improving production techniques combined with efforts for the modernization of factories for improved productivity is one of the major factors driving robotic installations in the U.S. and Brazil.Request Discount of the Report @Global Top Robotics Market: Competitive LandscapeThe key players in the global top robotics market for both industrial and service robots are ABB Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp. FANUC Corp., Yaskawa Electric Corp., iRobot Corporation, Intuitive Surgical Inc., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Aethon Inc., Lely Holding S.a.r.l., KUKA AG, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp., Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Northrop Grumman Corporation, DJI, Parrot SA, Adept Technology Inc., DeLaval International AB, and The LEGO Group.Due to being capital-intensive, the industry restricts the entry of new market players in the market. New players are anticipated to face challenges pertaining to insufficient venture capital for innovation and product differentiation, thus limiting their presence in the robotics industry.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
VCSEL Market : Demand, Overview, Price and Forecasts To 2025

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Global VCSEL Market: OverviewVertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) refers to a specialized laser diode that is envisaged to transform fiber optic communications in terms of improved efficiency and increased data speed.VCSELs offer several advantages over older edge-emitting diodes. This includes their low manufacturing cost, easier testing, and higher efficiency. In addition, VCSELs require low electrical current to generate a desired coherent energy output. VCSELs emit a narrow nearly circular beam than what traditional edge-emitting diodes deliver, which makes it easier to transfer energy from a device to an optical fiber.Global VCSEL Market: Key TrendsVCSELs are used across a wide range of applications due to their advantages of compact size, low power requirements, high reliability, and low manufacturing costs. This, along with the rising use of electrical systems in automobiles is fuelling the growth of the global VCSEL market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @VCSELs are extensively used in medical applications and proximity sensing due to their high-power efficiency and additional capabilities of low diversion, low heat, high beam light, and greater accuracy.VCSEL are used across several end users such as consumer electronics, automotive, data center, industrial, and healthcare. Low manufacturing cost and high reliability of VCSEL have led to their increased use in consumer electronics. However, the data center segment stood as the leading segment in the recent past due to surging high data transfer rates leading to the greater use of VCSELs.Multimode VCSELs are expected to be the leading product segment in the near future due to several offerings. Multimode VCSELs offer better modulation and high speed, which makes them preferable over single-mode VCSELs. Multimode VCSELs are used in data communication and 3D imaging applications. On the other hand, single-mode VCSELs are mainly used in sensing applications such as bar code, printing, and others.The limitation pertaining to data transmission range is one of the major drawbacks of VCSELs. While the attenuation is elevated in multimode fiber the signal degrades as the distance increases. As a result, transmission of data becomes difficult over a certain distance due to weak signal strength. These factors are challenging the growth of the VCSEL market.Request TOC of the Report @However, development of advanced lasers is underway to increase transmission range using VCSELs, which would augment their implementation for applications.Global VCSEL Market: Market PotentialMergers and acquisitions and strategic partnerships are key growth strategies that top companies in the market are focused on. In a recent industry development, Austrian semiconductor manufacturer ams has completed discussions to acquire U.S. based Princeton Optronics Inc. The latter designs and develops high-power VCSELs in both single and multimode and also VCSEL arrays for consumer electronics, automotive, and industrial applications.Global VCSEL Market: Regional OutlookNorth America has been the leading market for VSCEL over the past few years. The presence of some of the leading companies has been the major factor for the dynamic growth of the region.Asia Pacific is expected to display significant growth in the VCSEL market in the near future. The increasing per capita income and increasing affordability for premium automobiles are indirectly driving the growth of the VCSEL market. Countries such as India, China, and Singapore are contributing to the VCSEL market owing to the modernization of infrastructure and support from respective governments. These factors are collectively aiding the growth of the APAC VCSEL market.Request Discount of the Report @Global VSCEL Market: Competitive LandscapeSome top players in the global VSCEL market are Broadcom Limited, Lumentum Holdings Inc., II-VI Incorporated, Vertilas GmbH, Vixar Inc., Finisar Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics N.V., IQE PLC, Princeton Optronics Inc., and Santec Corporation.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market : New Research, Future Opportunities, Treads, Analysis, Forecast 2025

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Global Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market: OverviewUbiquity of smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other portable electronic devices in the past decade has had a pied piper effect on the electronic industry. Innovation is in full swing too, consistently introducing new products that offer improved performance, are durable, and cost efficient. In this scenario, the demand for semiconductor wafers, which are among the basic building blocks of any electronic device along with PCBs, ICs, MEMS, and memory devices, has escalated exponentially in the recent past. Wafer cleaning an essential operation in the fabrication of semiconductor devices, particularly for the advanced ULSI silicon circuits in next generation electronic devices. Consequently, the global wafer cleaning equipment market is projected for a robust growth rate during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025.Global Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market: Key TrendsDiversifying conventional application of MEMS and increase in the number of cleaning steps required by the wafer manufacturing sector are two of the key factors that are expected to fuel the demand in the global water cleaning equipment market. In addition to that, the shift to single wafer processing from conventional processes and increasing demand for smart gadgets and printed electronics are other two favorable factors that may positively influence the global wafer cleaning equipment market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The growing popularity of light emitting diode (LED) is a trend that may prove to be a boon for the global wafer cleaning equipment market in the near future. Involvement of smaller players in the recent past has substantially reduced the prices of LEDs and demand has surged, owing to their strikingly better lighting and longevity. Conversely, high capital required to establish in this market is restricting the emergence of new players with novel concepts, and thereby challenging the prosperity of the market.Global Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market: Market PotentialWith constant research in the field in the past few years, the understanding of defects and surface contamination in the semiconductor industry has evolved multi-fold. Moreover, researchers are now more aware of factors such as particle adhesion, measurement, and deposition, which has enabled them to device better removal strategies. This advancement in the technology pertaining to semiconductors is expected to boost the global market for wafer cleaning equipment during the forecast period.Request TOC of the Report @Global Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market: Regional OutlookChina is the most prominent country-wise market for wafer cleaning equipment, but with growing demand from the countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, Asia Pacific overall has quickly turned into the most lucrative region for the players in this market. Constantly evolving production quality standards and rapidly increasing demand for portable consumer electronics is expected to maintain an escalating demand from this region. North America is showing steady progress in the market for wafer cleaning equipment for the lack of manufacturing industries in the region.Global Wafer Cleaning Equipment Market: Competitive AnalysisSCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd., Shibaura Mechatronics Corporation, and Tokyo Electron Limited are three of the leading players dominating the Chinese demand in the global wafer cleaning equipment market, while Applied Materials, Inc., Lam Research Corporation, Modutek Corporation, Entegris, Inc., and PVA TePla AG dominate in other parts of the world. Research and development of new products with enhanced attributes and partnerships with regional players are the common strategies adopted by these players to maintain their stronghold over the market.Request Discount of the Report @Quantumclean, SEMES Co. Ltd, Onboard Solutions Pvt Ltd., Tokyo Electron, Ultron Systems, Inc., Strabausch, Speedline Tech, and Stoelting Llc are some of the other notable players in this market.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Growing E-commerce Industry Offers Opportunities to Global Air Cargo Market: Research Anticipates 4.9% CAGR by 2025

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In today's globally connected world, there is an increasing demand for ready access of materials and products around the world. While ship and trucking cargo transportation are still appreciated, there is nothing faster and more operative than air cargo. A recent report, titled Air Cargo Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025 has been freshly publicized to the online repository of Market Research Hub (MRH), which reveals that the market is all set to grow at a steady pace in the coming years. As per the study key evaluations, the global air cargo market is expected to reach a valuation of US$130.12 bn by the end of 2025. Also, the global market is expected to surge at a CAGR of 4.9% during 2017 to 2025.Request For Free Sample -Geographical ExpansionTo summarize, this smart evaluation offers professional and in-depth research assessment of the world's major geographical market conditions, focusing on the main regions. In this report, the regions targeted include North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. The research observes that global air cargo market is highly fragmented. With a strong presence of combination airlines, chartered services, and all-cargo airlines the overall market faces some tough competition.In the present time, Air transport mode is preferred by companies across the world for various products such as perishables, chemicals, and valuables as air cargo, though costlier than another mode of transportation, and takes less time. In terms of geography, the research study estimated that Asia Pacific will remain the largest market in the coming years as it surges at a CAGR of 5.3% between 2017 and 2025. Growing demand for online retail stores, especially fashion stores and rising demand for the just-in-time production of goods are anticipated to lead for strong growth of the market in the APAC region.Browse Full Report With TOC -Major InsightsMoving further, the research study broadly categorizes the global market for air cargo on the basis of component, service, end-user and destination. By component, the study covers air freight and air mail, in which the air freight is expected to hold the major market share. In terms of end-use, the report suggests that the pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry is likely to offer the global market a plethora of opportunities.The report further adds that the global e-commerce market is expected to expand more than double during the forecast period, thus presenting the air express industry with the growth opportunities. Recent associations between e-tailers and carriers indicate the rise in overseas logistics, as online shopping encourages demand for shipping orders worldwide.Also, initiation of the Open Skies policy has a positive influence on the global market. The primary objective of this policy is liberalization of rules for aviation markets around the globe and minimum government intervention.The concluding part of the report offers the readers an insight into the top players.The company profiles are mentioned along with factors such as SWOT analysis, market presence, strategic overview and recent developments. China Airlines Cargo, Cathay Pacific Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo, FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, Lufthansa Cargo, DHL Aviation, Korean Air Caro, Singapore Airlines Cargo, Cargolux are some of the major players operating within the global air cargo market profiled in this study.Enquire About this Report -About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free : 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email : press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite :Read Industry News at -
Financial Leasing Global Market Top Key Players  CDB Leasing , ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd , BOC Aviation , Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd , CMB Financial Leasing and Forecast to 2022

Financial Leasing Market

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Global Financial Leasing MarketDescriptionWiseGuyReports.Com adds Global (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) Financial Leasing Market 2017 Forecast to 2022 Research To Its Database.A financial lease is a method used by a business for acquisition of equipment with payment structured over time. To give proper definition, it can be expressed as an agreement wherein the lessor receives lease payments for the covering of ownership costs. Moreover, the lessor holds the responsibility of maintenance, taxes, and insurance.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Financial Leasing in Global Market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Get sample Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversCDB LeasingICBC Financial Leasing Co., LtdBOC AviationMinsheng Financial Leasing Co., LtdCMB Financial LeasingMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoAviationShipConstruction MachineryMedical DevicesRailway Transportation EquipmentEnquiry About Report @Table of Contents -Major Key Points1 Market Overview1.1 Financial Leasing Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Aviation1.3.2 Ship1.3.3 Construction Machinery1.3.4 Medical Devices1.3.5 Railway Transportation Equipment1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 CDB Leasing2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.1.1 CDB Leasing Financial Leasing Description2.1.1.2 CDB Leasing Financial Leasing Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.1.2 CDB Leasing Financial Leasing Product Introduction2.1.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.1.2.2 CDB Leasing Financial Leasing Product Introduction2.1.3 CDB Leasing Financial Leasing Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.1.3.1 CDB Leasing Financial Leasing Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.1.3.2 CDB Leasing Financial Leasing Market Share in Global in 20162.2 ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.1.1 ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Description2.2.1.2 ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.2.2 CDB Leasing Financial Leasing Product Introduction2.2.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.2.2.2 ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Product Introduction2.2.3 ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.2.3.1 ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2.3.2 ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Market Share in Global in 20162.3 BOC Aviation2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.1.1 BOC Aviation Financial Leasing Description2.3.1.2 BOC Aviation Financial Leasing Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.3.2 BOC Aviation Financial Leasing Product Introduction2.3.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.3.2.2 BOC Aviation Financial Leasing Product Introduction2.3.3 BOC Aviation Financial Leasing Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.3.3.1 BOC Aviation Financial Leasing Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3.3.2 BOC Aviation Financial Leasing Market Share in Global in 20162.4 Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.1.1 Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Description2.4.1.2 Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.4.2 Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Product Introduction2.4.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.4.2.2 Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Product Introduction2.4.3 Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.4.3.1 Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4.3.2 Minsheng Financial Leasing Co., Ltd Financial Leasing Market Share in Global in 2016..CONTINUEDAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, Industry research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)
Global Polyalumnium Chloride Market Sees Promising Growth in 2022

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Polyalumnium Chloride to its huge collection of research reports.The global Polyalumnium Chloride market has witnessed changing patterns of consumer demand in the recent times. This research study is an attempt to understand the changes and the impact of this changes on the market across the world. The study delivers a comprehensive analysis of the market, acting as a source of valuable information for active market participants across the value chain and assisting them in capitalizing the opportunities as well as developing crucial business strategies. It also helps the companies operating in the global Polyalumnium Chloride market to understand the prevalent market trends and shaping their businesses accordingly.For more info, get the sample report for FREE here:The research study analyzes the current as well as historical performance of the Polyalumnium Chloride market and makes future projections on the basis of this analysis. It evaluates this market from the perspective of the prevalent market chain, the data related to import and export, and the sales dynamics of the market across the world. It further covers each and every aspect of the global market for Polyalumnium Chloride, starting from the definition of the market and progressing to various segments, classified on the basis of various significant criteria. The regional segmentation has also been discussed at length in this market report.In this report, the Polyalumnium Chloride market has been studied on the basis of an assessment performed on the production chain, production capacity, and the revenue garnered by each of the leading players operating in the global market. The market across the world has also been examined on the basis of products available in the market, their pricing, production volume, and the revenue generated.Several analytical tools such as investment returns, market attractiveness, and market feasibility analysis have been applied in this research to present a comprehensive research report on of the global Polyalumnium Chloride market during the period from 2018 to 2025.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringNeelchemKashyap IndustriesYixing Bluwat Chemicals Co., Ltd.Suvidhi IndustriesFeralco Deutschland GmbHA. & E. Fischer - Chemie GmbH & Co. KGF.B. Silberman GmbH & Co. KGLOBECK CHEMIE AGMOBI Sp. z o.o.BluwatWeifang Zhongqing Fine Chemical Co., Ltd.Shangdong Jiangyuan Refinement Co., Ltd.Qingdao Yuyin Chemical Co., Ltd.Read Complete Table of Content of the Report at:Table of ContentsGlobal Polyalumnium Chloride Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Polyalumnium Chloride1.1 Definition and Specifications of Polyalumnium Chloride1.1.1 Definition of Polyalumnium Chloride1.1.2 Specifications of Polyalumnium Chloride1.2 Classification of Polyalumnium Chloride1.2.1 Mid - basicity liquid PAC, 18%1.2.2 High - basicity liquid PAC, 9%1.2.3 Mid - basicity powder PAC, 30%1.2.4 High - basicity liquid PAC, 9% HB1.3 Applications of Polyalumnium Chloride1.3.1 Water purifying1.3.2 Paper Making1.3.3 pH Adjustment1.3.4 Academic Research1.3.5 Soil Treatment1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Polyalumnium Chloride2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Polyalumnium Chloride2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Polyalumnium Chloride2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Polyalumnium Chloride3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Polyalumnium Chloride3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Polyalumnium Chloride Major Manufacturers in 20153.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Polyalumnium Chloride Major Manufacturers in 20153.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Polyalumnium Chloride Major Manufacturers in 20153.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Polyalumnium Chloride Major Manufacturers in 20154 Global Polyalumnium Chloride Overall Market Overview4.1 2011-2016 Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2011-2016 Global Polyalumnium Chloride Capacity and Growth Rate AnalysisTo check available discount on this report, visit at:4.2.2 2015 Polyalumnium Chloride Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2011-2016 Global Polyalumnium Chloride Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2015 Polyalumnium Chloride Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2011-2016 Global Polyalumnium Chloride Sales Price4.4.2 2015 Polyalumnium Chloride Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)...About QYResearchReports.comQyresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from Qyresearchreports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Biomass Power Generation Market Research and Forecast 2017-2022

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Global Biomass power generation market, Size, Share, Market Intelligence, Company Profiles, Market Trends, Strategy, Analysis, Forecast 2017-2022GLOBAL BIOMASS POWER GENERATION MARKET INSIGHTS:The Global Biomass power generation market is expected to grow at a modest CAGR of 6.20% during the forecast period (2017-2022). Biomass refers to biodegradable organic materials which are non-fossilized and originate from biological sources resulting from animals, plants and micro-organisms. Biomass contains wastes, residues and by products from woods, agriculture industries as well as biodegradable organic fractions of municipal & industrial wastes. Biomass also refers to waste from food processing industries, urban and industrial residues, agriculture and wood wastes, wood, sawdust, short rotation woody crops and a host of other materials. It is used as a source of energy input for the electricity generation, provision of heat and as a fuel in the transportation sector. Biomass is an environment-friendly, carbon-neutral and sustainable source of power generation with an important potential to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.The Biomass power generation adoption is increasing across the globe to meet policy targets for reliable and secure source of energy to encourage economic expansion and improve electricity access. Biomass power generation distinct from the other alternative sources and can also provide base load power which is likely to foster additional growth in the biomass power generation market. It is the clean sources of renewable energy that form an important part of the solution to economic, environmental, climate and security challenges stood by the effective utilization of fossil fuels. Biomass used for power generation with a low-carbon and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, allow the local communities to use domestic biomass resources. The utilization of biomass resources for power and energy generation forms a significant part of the strategic advantages by various government institutions. These initiatives aim to re-organize the national energy economies and augment the share of renewable energy in the whole power generation mix.The biomass power generation market has been segmented majorly into two parts which includes feedstock and technology. On the basic of feedstock, the industry has been segmented into wood biomass, , biogas & energy crops, agriculture & forest residues, urban residues and landfill gas feedstock. On this basis of technology, the biomass power generation market has been bifurcated into anaerobic digestion , combustion, co-firing & CHP, , gasification and landfill gas..GEOGRAPHICAL INSIGHTS:The global biomass power generation market is regionally divided into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa. Countries in Europe and North America boast of favorable controlling framework outlines and government support which boosts the development as well as use of biomass for power generation. Incentives, funding programs, grants, investment subsidies and tax benefits play a major role in increasing the biomass power generation market in countries such as the UK, the US, and Germany. Developing economies such as Indonesia, Poland India, China and Australia have also been suggesting government legislations to fuel investments in biomass power generation. China is considered to be one of the major player of the biomass power generation.COMPETITIVE INSIGHTS:Key companies in the global biomass power generation market include DONG Energy A/S, Drax Group plc, Ameresco Inc., Alstom SA, Forth Energy Ltd., Helius Energy Plc, Enviva LP, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, MGT Power Ltd and Vattenfall AB. Merger and acquisition, partnership, collaboration, expansion and so forth are the key strategies adopted by the biomass power generation market. For example in July 2017, DONG Energy and Siemens signed an agreement with Belgian GeoSea stating that GeoSea will acquire the full ownership of A2SEA. However, A2SEA will continue to operate out of Denmark with offshore wind turbine service and installation.MARKET SEGMENTATION:Biomass power generation market is segmented on the basis of feedstock. The major segment in Biomass power generation market by feedstock and technology includes Woody Biomass, Agriculture & Forest Residues, Biogas & Energy Crops, Urban Residues, Landfill Gas Feedstock, Anaerobic Digestion, Combustion, Gasification, Co-firing & CHP and Landfill Gas (LFG). Woody biomass and currently holds the major share of the biomass power generation market in terms of utilization, this followed by agriculture and forest residues. Most economies determine for woody biomass as feedstock since it allows limiting climate change & keeping away from fossil fuels and enlarge the share of biomass in the total power generation mix. The combustion segment held the largest share of the biomass power generation market. Biomass power generation market has been segmented based on end users as households, industrial sector, government sectors and others.Biomass power generation market Research and Analysis, by FeedstockBiomass power generation market Research and Analysis, by TechnologyBiomass power generation market Research and Analysis, by End usersOMR REPORT COVERS:Comprehensive research methodology of Biomass power generation market.This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights.Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the Biomass power generation market.Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the Biomass power generation market.Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.For Full Reports Available here:At OMR we strive to deliver quality reports that are based on a 360 degree analysis of the market factors. We provide qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market. We serve clients from 16 different domains which includes healthcare, biotechnology, chemical, agriculture and information technology. We work to add more to our array of clients, services and products. At the moment OMR provides 4 services:i. Industry Reportsii. Consultingiii. Custom Reportsiv. Company ProfilingMarket research and consulting is a highly competitive market. There are number of companies which provide top quality reports and analysis. At OMR we believe in overcoming the competition by delivering timely and quality reports.CORPORATE OFFICE:Orion Market Research Pvt Ltd116, Shagun ArcadeIndore, Madhya PradeshIndia- 452010Email: info@omrglobal.comPhone No. +91-731-4958007Mobile No. +917803040404
Asia Pacific Tortilla Market Professional Survey and In-depth Analysis Research Report Foresight to 2023

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Market Overview:The tortilla is a baked bread, which is primarily prepared either from corn or wheat. The nutritious value of tortilla makes it a potential replacer for bread. It is extensively consumed as a convenience food owing to its ease of preparation. They are available in different types including tortilla mix, pre-cooked, frozen, and tortilla chips.High consumers inclination towards the adoption of healthy convenience food has encouraged the demand for bread alternatives in the Asia Pacific countries. Thus, the sale of the corn-based tortilla is experiencing a surge. Additionally, to expand their market share, the manufacturers are highly focusing on bringing innovations into their product line to generate high revenues.Manufacturers are found to fortify tortillas with fiber and flaxseeds to increase its nutrient content. This strategy has found to gain the attention of mass consumers, thereby further increasing its sale. Consumers evolving appetites and rising demand for healthier alternatives are supporting the sale of the product in this region. The common trend used by tortilla manufacturers to extend their consumer base was found to be the addition of chia, flax, daikon radish, and broccoli seeds into the product, which has gained consumers attention towards their offerings and increased its sale.However, the gap in the demand and supply of corn is likely to hamper the prices of corn-based tortilla. Several countries are experiencing the phase of fluctuations in the supply of corn due to climatic conditions. This has led to uncertain rise and fall in the prices of corn. These sudden changes in the supply of corn due to abnormal climatic conditions affect the production of tortilla which indeed leads to fluctuation in the prices of the product. These factors are likely to hamper the growth of the Asia Pacific tortilla market.Request a Sample Report @Major Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the Asia Pacific tortilla market: Tyson Foods, Inc. (U.S.), Gruma SAB de CV (Mexico), Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV (Mexico), General Mills, Inc. (U.S.), Azteca Foods Inc.(U.S.), Ole Mexican Foods Inc. (U.S.), Grupo Liven, S.A. (Spain)Regional Analysis:The Asia Pacific tortilla market is segmented into China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia & New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Among these, China is projected to retain its dominance over the forecast period owing to healthy economic growth and increasing consumption of tortilla. China is estimated to reach USD 580.96 million by 2023. However, Australia & New Zealand are projected to grow at a moderate CAGR of 2.88% during the forecast period 2017-2023.Market Segments:The Asia Pacific tortilla market is segmented on the basis of product types such as tortilla mix, pre-cooked tortilla, frozen tortilla, and tortilla chips. The pre-cooked tortilla segment is projected to account maximum market proportion and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 2.92% during the forecast period. Moreover, China is dominating the market consumption of pre-cooked tortilla.The Asia Pacific tortilla market has been segmented on the basis of sources such as corn, and wheat. Among both, the sources corn is estimated to witness the highest growth at a CAGR of 2.43% during the forecast period of 2017-2023. However, it is observed that the wheat source segment is growing exponentially at a CAGR of 3.23% over the forecast period.Furthermore, based on the claim, the Asia Pacific tortilla market has been segmented into gluten-free, low-carb, and others. The low-carb segment is anticipated to be the fastest growing segment at a CAGR of 3.03% over the review period. Increasing obese population is the major factor driving the growth of this segment. On the basis of the distribution channel, store-based distribution channel is dominating the market, which is holding a leading share of 90% of the market based on the one-stop shopping experience.Target Audience:Asia Pacific tortilla manufacturersFoods industryRaw material suppliersEnd usersRetailers and wholesalersE-commerce companiesTraders, importers, and exportersAccess Report Details @Key Findings:China is estimated to retain its dominance during the forecast period and is expected to grow at a substantial CAGR of 2.67%. However, Australia & New Zealand is projected to witness a substantial growth at a CAGR of 2.88% during the forecast period of 2017-2023.Asia Pacific tortilla manufacturers find massive opportunity in China owing to the huge demand for tortilla as a convenience food from the food industry.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Enterprise Asset Management Market will reach at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2016 to 2026

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Future Market Insights delivers key insights on the global enterprise asset management market in a new report titled, Enterprise Asset Management Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 20162026. The global enterprise asset management market was valued at US$ 1,877.4 Mn in 2015 and is estimated to increase to US$ 2,005.8 Mn by the end of 2016, reflecting a Y-o-Y growth rate of 6.8%. In this report, Future Market Insights analyses the factors and trends impacting the growth and performance of the global enterprise asset management market between 2016 and 2026.Request For Report Sample:A marked shift towards cloud services, improved ROI with the aid of enterprise asset management solutions, and the emergence of the Internet of Things are factors expected to drive the growth of the global enterprise asset management market over the forecast period. Factors expected to hamper overall market growth to a certain extent include high costs associated with designing and implementing enterprise asset management solutions, lack of strategic planning post installation of enterprise asset management solutions, and lack of skilled personnel to manage the enterprise asset management process.Major enterprise asset management solution providers are laying emphasis on introducing cloud-based enterprise asset management solutions to cater to the growing demand across various verticals, especially small and medium enterprises. Providers are also looking to integrate predictive analytics and ERP with their enterprise asset management solution offerings. --- Analyst  Electronics & ICT, Future Market InsightsSegmentation highlightsThe global enterprise asset management market is segmented on the basis of Solution (Database Solution, Analytics Solution, Mobile Solution, Cloud-based Solution); Service (Consulting Service, Implementation Service, Training and Support Service, Outsourcing Service); and Vertical (Public Sector, Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industry, Energy and Utility, Transportation, Wholesale and Distribution, Food & Beverages, Paper and Packaging, Chemical and Process Industry (Including Steel Industry), Mining, Service Industry).The Cloud-based Solution segment of the global enterprise asset management market is anticipated to reach a market valuation of US$ 1,243.8 Mn by 2026, registering a high CAGR of 9.8% during the forecast period, owing to greater adoption backed by lower cost of maintenance and support post installation. The Mobile Solution segment is anticipated to create incremental $ opportunity of US$ 265.3 Mn between 2016 and 2026The Implementation Service segment is expected to be the most dominant segment in the global enterprise asset management market in terms of revenue share and is estimated to account for 46.6% market share by the end of 2016. The Training and Support Service segment is estimated to register a CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast periodThe Manufacturing vertical segment was valued at US$ 274.9 Mn in 2015 and is estimated to reach US$ 306.8 Mn by the end of 2016, reflecting a Y-o-Y growth rate of 8.6%. The Public Sector vertical segment is estimated to create incremental $ opportunity of US$ 168.0 Mn between 2016 and 2026Regional forecastThe global enterprise asset management market is segmented on the basis of region into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Japan. North America is expected to dominate the global enterprise asset management market by the end of 2016 and is likely to continue its dominance throughout the forecast period, registering a CAGR of 8.3% between 2016 and 2026. Europe is expected to be the second largest market in terms of revenue in the global enterprise asset management market over the next 10 years, and is expected to regist>Am CAGR of 7.7% during the forecast period.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Vendor insightsIBM Corporation, SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, ABB Ltd., IFS AB, Infor Inc., Ultimo Software Solutions bv, CARL International SA, eMaint Enterprises, LLC, Mainsaver Inc., MEX Pty Ltd., and AssetWorks LLC are some of the leading companies operating in the global enterprise asset management market. Key market players are focussing on deploying enterprise asset management solutions primarily for large enterprises and asset intensive industries such as public sector, transportation, and energy & utilities.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Managed Security Service Market : Industry Analysis, Size, Trends, and Forecast Report 2025

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Global Managed Security Service Market: OverviewNetwork security services when outsourced to a third-party service provider is known as managed security services (MSS). A company providing such a service is referred to as a managed security services provider (MSSP). A managed security service provider monitors and manages security of devices and systems. Some of the popular services provided by them include intrusion detection, managed firewall, virtual private network, vulnerability scanning, and anti-viral services.Managed security service providers leverage high-availability security operation centers, either from their own in-house facilities or from other data center providers, to bring round-the-clock services. This helps to bring down the number of operational security personnel needed to hire, train and maintain proper security.Global Managed Security Service Market: Key TrendsTwo of the unique perceived benefits of managed security service is the convenience and effectiveness in providing high level of security. This has resulted in their uptake among end users and will continue doing so in the near future as well, thereby stoking growth in the global market. Further, its ability in bringing down the expenditure on IT and enabling quick resolution of problems is also slated work in favor of its markets growth.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Other factors stoking the market is the soaring uptake of public cloud and the shared responsibility model for security in the cloud. Besides, major dearth of skilled cyber security professionals along with the changing contours of cyber security is also pushing demand in the global managed security service market.Global Managed Security Service Market: Market PotentialAmong the different end users, the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment is seeing a rapid change in consumers behaviors which has resulted in massive usage of mobile applications and other online platforms. This has resulted in increased susceptibility to cyber-attacks. In December 2016, for example, the Russian central bank along with other private banks lost US$3 mn in cyber-attacks.Request TOC of the Report @Such incidents have necessitated robust security which in turn has driven up demand in the managed security service market. Other end use sectors driving the market are government, healthcare, retail, telecommunication and information technology, energy and utilities, and industrial manufacturing, among others.At the forefront of driving growth are the market is small and medium businesses that are increasingly ramping up their current business models and infrastructure to stay competitive. In the process they are increasingly taking to managed security services that helps them optimize business processes and enhance operational efficiency within their budgets.Global Managed Security Service Market: Regional OutlookFrom a geographical perspective, currently North America is a key market. One reason why the market has seen good growth is the presence of many organizations  large, medium, and small  in the economically advanced nations of the U.S. and Canada. In the near future, the market for managed security service is predicted to grow fast on account of rising demand for mobile workforce and proliferating mobile devices and digital technologies.Request Discount of the Report @Moving forward, however, the market is slated to lose some of its sheen because of the powerful emergence of the Asia Pacific market on the back of swift uptake of cloud-based managed security services by enterprises of different sizes.Global Managed Security Service Market: Competitive AnalysisThe global managed security services market is characterized by stiff competition owing to the presence of a copious number of small and large vendors. In order to bolster their positions further, established players are trying to acquire niche vendors. This would enable them to expand their product portfolio and up market shares. Some of the prominent vendors profiled in the report are IBM Corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Verizon Communications, Inc., AT&T, Inc., Symantec Corporation, and Rapid7, Inc.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Powder Coating Market Volume Analysis, Segments, Value Share and Key Trends 2017-2025

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Powder Coating Market: IntroductionA dry finishing process in which fine particles of paint are electro-statically charged and sprayed on a workpiece is known as Powder Coating Process. Once this is done, the workpiece is put into an oven at high temperatures so that it can flow and form a uniform layer of coating which is durable and environmentally safe. The coating finally obtained is of high quality and has attractive finish. Powder coating can be applied on various substrates such as metal, plastics, glass, and wood of which metal type accounts for over 90% of the overall use.Generally, six ingredients are used in the production of powder coating: resin, curing agents, additives, post additives, tint pigments and extenders. The powder may be thermoplastic or thermoset polymer in nature.Powder Coating possesses some unique properties. For instance, it is durable and abrasion, corrosion, chemicals and scratch resistant. It also meet the various requirements of end use industries  it can offer both high and low gloss. It offers a wide array of color selection and texture choices, such as for smooth surfaces, rough textures, etc. Powder coating can be very effective at hiding imperfections and providing matte finish. Powder Coating maximizes production as well as improving efficiency of coating while reducing the cost as coating that has been over spayed can be re-used and retrieved in comparison to liquid coating. Due to the eco- friendly nature of Powder Coating, when applied on a surface or equipment, it gives an attractive finish and is resistant to moisture, chemicals, ultra violet radiations and extreme weather conditions. Powder coating also reduces the risk of chipping, fading and wear and tear and is able to last for a longer period of time.Request to Browse Full Table of Content, figure and Tables @There are many advantages of using Powder Coating instead of liquid coating. Some of these includeNo volatile organic Compounds (VOCs) are generated.They Produce Less wasteThey are Eco- FriendlyThey do not contain any solvents, thereby reducing the risk of fire and the hassle of disposing wastePowder can be recycled when applied in excess.Health risk for operator is reducedPowder Coating Market: Market DynamicsThe stringent government regulations on solvent based coatings with respect to emissions, air quality, toxicity controls and individual and industry associates/initiatives is expected to favor the growth of powder coating market during the forecasted period owing to its non-hazardous effects .Factors such as increasing consumption of consumer goods, increased spending on vehicle refinish surface coatings, etc. have been driving factors of the powder coatings market. Currently, the demand from domestic appliance and furniture industries has been driving the consumption of powder coatings due to superior finish and product durability characteristics. It is expected that increasing scope of application in construction & architecture, agricultural & construction equipment, transportation, etc. will fuel the growth of the Powder Coating Market in the forecasted period.However, high installation cost and non-conformance to thin layer coatings in major end use applications is considered to be a restraint for the Powder Coating Market.Request Sample Report @Powder Coating Market: Regional OutlookThe ever increasing population, growing retail sector, hospitality sector and increased urbanization coupled with higher purchasing power of population in China, Brazil and India is expected to drive the demand for furniture and automobiles, which in turn, will fuel the consumption of Powder Coating, thereby driving the Powder Coating Market in the region.Increased demand for domestic appliances, such as washing machines, microwave ovens and freezer cabinets is expected to increase the use of Powder Coating in these applications in China, India, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines. China is expected to be the growing market for Powder Coatings during the forecasted period.Latin America, Middle East countries and Europe are expected to be economically progressive regions having huge potential opportunities. Higher income of people along with a general increase in the consumption of automobiles has triggered the boom in the automobile market. It is expected that countries, such as Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will invite automobile coating companies to invest in the region and generate better revenue. Countries like Germany, Hungary, U.K. and Romania are expected to show an increase in demand for Powder Coating as various automobile producing companies are located in these countries. Support from regulatory bodies like REACHES and EPA to use powder coating over conventional materials will also help the growth of the Powder Coating market in the region.Mexico is expected to witness significant growth in Powder coatings Market as many companies have shifted their manufacturing operation to Mexico, thereby driving the Powder coating market in the region.Pre Book Full Report @Powder Coating Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the examples of the market players operating in the global Powder Coating Market areAxalta Coating Systems,LLCThe Valspar Corporation.Akzo Nobel N.VAmerican Powder Coatings IncAllnex groupProcoatPPG Industries Inc.IFS CoatingsRPM International Inc.Midwest Industrial Coating Inc.Guangzhou Kinte Powder Coating Co. Ltd.ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Server Software Market Current Market Trends and Dynamics

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Servers are classified into various types such as application servers, web servers, database servers, cloud computing servers and file servers. Application servers are designed to install, operate and host applications for the end users. Web server is a system that uses network protocols such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) to deliver the HTML files requested by the end user through its Internet browser. Database server is the backend system of the database application which is used to perform functions such as data analysis, data manipulation, storage and archiving. Cloud computing servers are remotely accessed servers, built, hosted and delivered through a cloud platform over the Internet. File server is a computer or device that handles the request for files and transfers the files as requested by the end user. Server software is specifically designed for operating, managing and increasing server computing power. Server software is built to interact with servers hardware, which includes processor, memory devices, input/output devices and other communication ports. Server software is installed on the server and could be accessed by multiple users on the network.Request Brochure:The deployment of server in the organization enables the centralization of data and installed applications. This factor would significantly help in the growth of server software market. Extensive usage of computers, laptops and smartphones is the major factor driving the growth of server software market. Rising Internet penetration in emerging economies such as India and Brazil has created huge demand of web servers which supports the growth of web server software market. Growing demand from developers to create applications for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets supports the growth of server software market. Growth of cloud based applications and development in Internet of Things (IoT) applications are likely to create immense opportunities for server software market. However, integration and compatibility issues with processors/storage devices servers pose a challenge to server software market.Server software market is broadly segmented on the basis of server type, deployment and geography. On the basis of type, the server software market is segmented into application server software, web server software, database server software, cloud computing server software and file server software. On the basis of deployment, the server software market is segmented into on-premise and cloud deployment. Moreover, in terms of geographies, the global server software market is segmented into North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Middle East and Africa; and Latin America. North America is one of the leading regions in terms of adoption of server software due to huge adoption of cloud services in the region. Server software market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to grow significantly during the coming years due to high rate of growth in Internet penetration and digitalization in the region.Browse Our Report:The major participants of the server software market include Microsoft Corporation, Dell Corporation, International Business Machine (IBM) Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Red Hat Inc., SAP SE, Apache Software Foundation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LLC, CodeLathe LLC, and Aprelium.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.Pre Book Now This Reort:Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Galderma Pharma, S.A. Dominated Global Topical Drug Delivery Market Accounting for a Highest CAGR of 9.2% by 2024

Global Topical Drug Delivery Market Outlook 2017 to 2024

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Data Bridge Market Research new Insights on Global Topical Drug Delivery Market, is projected to reach USD 205.1 billion by 2024 from USD 101.7 billion in 2016, growing at a CAGR of 9.2% in the forecast period 2017 to 2024".The market is segmented by Product Type (Topical Drug Delivery Formulations (Solid, Liquid, Semi Solid), Transdermal Drug Delivery Devices (Transdermal Patches, Transdermal Gels)), By End-User (Hospitals, Clinics, Home Healthcare, Diagnostic Centers, Others), By Distribution Channel (Direct Tenders, Retail), By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Rest of the World)  Trends and Forecast to 2024Get Free Sample Report @Recent Developments of Global Topical Drug Delivery Market:Topical drug delivery involves the introduction of a medication to the body surface such as skin or mucous membrane or to the circulatory system by periodic transdermal drug delivery for the treatment of diseases. It is considered as key route for local and systemic treatment. Drugs delivered through this route of administration penetrate deeply into the skin and are better absorbed. Topical drugs such as sunscreens and astringents are used for prophylaxis. They are used in the treatment of skin conditions such as bacterial, fungal, and viral infections; inflammation; pruritus; corns; warts; and other dermatologic conditions. Also products such as transdermal patches provide systemic drug delivery non-invasively. Topical drug delivery includes liquid, semi-solid, solid, and transdermal patches and gels.Medications are topically applied to produce local or systemic actions. Common products included for local actions are creams, gels, ointments, pastes, suspensions, lotions, foams, sprays, aerosols, and solutions. Common drug products which produce systemic actions are referred as self-adhering transdermal drug delivery systems (TDS) or transdermal patches.Segmentation of Global Topical Drug Delivery Market:The global topical drug delivery market is segmented based on product type application, end user and geography.On the basis of product type the market is segmented into transdermal drug delivery devices and topical drug delivery formulations.Based on end-user the market is segmented into hospitals, home healthcare, clinics, diagnostic centers, and others.On the basis of distribution channel the market is segmented into Direct Tenders, and Retails.Inquiry about this Report visit @Geographic Segmentation of Global Topical Drug Delivery Market:Based on geography the market is segmented into 5 geographical regions, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and rest of the world. The geographical region are futher segmented into 24 major countries such as U.S. Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, U.K., Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan, China, Singapore, Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa among others.Company Share Analysis of Global Topical Drug Delivery Market:The market report contains an in-depth profiling of the key market players, along with the recent developments (new product launches, partnerships, agreements, collaborations, and joint ventures) and strategies adopted by them to sustain and strengthen their positions in the market.Some of the major players operating in the global topical drug delivery market are MedPharm, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (A J&J Company), Crescita Therapeutics, West Pharmaceutical Services, Galderma S.A., Biofarmitalia s.r.l, Pharmatek Laboratories, Inc., Stiefel Laboratories, Inc., Tapemark, Acrux Limited, Nitto Denko Corporation, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., Skinvisible Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., Pocono Coated Products LLC, TheraSolve NV., Samyang Biopharmaceuticals Corporation, Lohmann Therapie-Systeme AG, Prosollus Pharmaceuticals, Easton Pharmaceuticals Inc., Novosis AG, Antares Pharma, Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., Transdermal Technologies, Inc., Sheffield Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Solvay, and 3M Drug Delivery Systems.Read more about this Report visit @Table of Contents:1. INTRODUCTION2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY3. MARKET LANDSCAPE SUMMARY4. PREMIUM INSIGHTS5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY6. TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY MARKET, BY PRODUCT TYPE7. TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY MARKET, BY END-USER8. TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY MARKET, BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL9. TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY MARKET, BY GEOGRAPHY9.1. COUNTRYWISE DRUG DELIVERY DEVICES MARKET, (ALL SEGMENTATION PROVIDED ABOVE IS REPRESENTED IN THIS CHAPTER BY COUNTRY)9.2. KEY PRIMARY INSIGHTS: BY MAJOR COUNTRIES10. TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY MARKET: COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE11. TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY MARKET, COMPANY PROFILES11.1. JANSSEN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (A J&J COMPANY)11.2. CRESCITA THERAPEUTICS11.3. GALDERMA S.A.11.4. BIOFARMITALIA S.R.L11.5. PHARMATEK LABORATORIES, INC.11.6. STIEFEL LABORATORIES, INC.11.7. TAPEMARK11.8. NITTO DENKO CORPORATION11.9. VALEANT PHARMACEUTICALS INTERNATIONAL, INC.11.9. MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS INC.11.9. HISAMITSU PHARMACEUTICAL CO., INC.11.10. THERASOLVE NV.11.11. SAMYANG BIOPHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION11.12. LOHMANN THERAPIE-SYSTEME AG11.13. PROSOLLUS PHARMACEUTICALS11.14. EASTON PHARMACEUTICALS INC.11.15. ANTARES PHARMA, INC.11.16. ENDO PHARMACEUTICALS INC.11.17. TRANSDERMAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.11.18. SHEFFIELD PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.11.19. SOLVAY11.20. 3M DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMSRelated ReportNorth America Contraceptive Devices Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024North America Contraceptive Devices Market, By Product Type, By End-User, By Distribution Channel, By Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: Sales@databridgemarketresearch.comInvestor: investors@databridgemarketresearch.comVisit Blog:Follow us on LinkedIn:
Marine Chemicals Market Segments, Opportunity, Growth and Forecast By End-use Industry 2017-2025

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Marine Chemicals Market: IntroductionAn increase in the size of ships as well as their enhanced maintenance is adding to the use of marine chemicals. Harsh external climatic conditions and temperature variations associated with hydro transportation have generated the need for maintaining ships, which in turn, has led to an increase in demand for marine chemicals. Strict quality inspection is done whenever a ships leaves or enters a port. Many marine chemicals are used in the marine industry essentially for cleaning windows, doors, decks, heads, carpets, seats, seat covers, curtains, tanks, display screens and decorative panels made from plastics, woods and any other materials suitable to be used inside a ship. Excessive salt, dirt, carbon, oil, etc. gets deposited on bulbous, portside, bottom and star board sides of a ship and can adversely affect the performance of the ship. They can also meddle with the safety features of a ship, and thus, periodic cleaning of any ship is essential.Cleaning Chemicals are necessary because efficient use of proper marine chemicals saves ships from electrolytic corrosion. These chemicals do not only protect the interior but also the exterior surface of a ship. Marine Chemicals play a significant role in keeping the components of a ship safe and in working condition.Request to Browse Full Table of Content, figure and Tables @Marine Chemicals Market: Market DynamicsMarine Chemicals are widely used in military ships, cargo ships, tanker ships, passenger ships, RoRo ships (Roll on Roll off), fishing vessels and high speed crafts. However, the major chunk of the market is controlled by military ships and cargo ships.However, certain marine chemicals used are hazardous in nature and meddle with the proper functioning of the other components of a ship. Hence, many governments have laid strict rules against the use of such chemicals and this is a key challenge for the manufacturers operating in the marine chemicals market -- to follow the guidelines laid by governments and manufacture only those chemicals which are safe as well as find applications in the marine industry is a tough task.Passenger ships are expected to be one of the major consumers of marine chemicals after military ships and cargo Ships. Passenger ships contribute in major amounts to the revenue generated from the tourism and travel industry. Thus, these ships must be maintained and cleaned on a regular basis, which in turn, will add to the demand for marine chemicals and thus, fuel the marine chemical market.Request Sample Report @Marine Chemicals Market: Regional OutlookChina is expected to witness an increase in the use of marine chemicals as China is a major player in the field of import and export.The Indian marine chemicals market is also expected to expand during the forecast period as cargo traffic is increasing in India and as a result, the country will witness increased demand for marine chemicals during the forecast period.Japan is an island and is majorly dependent on seaborne trade, it is forecasted that Marine chemicals market in Japan will have a moderate growth.Marine chemicals market in North America and Europe is expected to grow significantly due to increasing industrial production, increase in demand for marine freight transportation, which in turn, will lead to increased consumption of marine chemicals for smooth functioning of transport and safety sectors.Pre Book Full Report @Marine Chemicals Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the key participants in the marine chemicals market are:Total GroupAqua Marine ChemicalsCHEMO Marine Chemicals S.A.Unitech ChemicalsWilhelmsen Holding ASAAnmar Industrial Chemicals. Co. Ltd.ERTEK ChemicalUnikem Holdings LtdStar Marine Chemicals B.VABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Maple Syrup Market Expected to Expand at a Steady CAGR through 2025

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Maple syrup is made from xylem sap of three common species maple trees which includes the red maple (Acer rubrum), the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and the black maple (Acer nigrum) and contains high sugar content in the sap. Various species of maple trees are selected and holes are drilled into their trunks from which the exuded sap is collected, which is then processed by the heating method and concentrated syrup is collected. Other maple syrup sources include box elder of Manitoba maple (Acer negundo), the bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) and the silver maple (Acer saccharinum). Maple syrup consists of a range of volatile organic compounds which includes hydroxybutanone, vanillin and propionaldehyde. Maple syrup contains various flavors such as malto, strawberry furanone and furanone. Maple syrup is widely used as toppings for various bakery products such as waffles, cakes, pancakes, bread rolls, and French toast. Maple syrup is also used for flavoring a wide range of food products such as hot cereal, ice cream, sausages, fruit juices, corn fritters, baked beans, baking powder, fresh donuts and baked apples. Maple syrup is also used as an alternative to honey in wine mead.Request to view Sample Report:Global Maple syrup: Market SegmentationThe global maple syrup market is segmented on the basis of raw material, application, distribution channel, and region. The maple syrup market is segmented on the basis of raw material which includes the red maple, the black maple, and the sugar maple. Maple syrup made from sugar maple is used widely for flavoring a variety of food products. The global maple syrup market is segmented on the basis of application in which maple syrup is used as a flavoring agent in bakery products such as baking powder, waffles, pancakes, French toast and oatmeal. Granulated maple sugar is used as a topping on coffee cake, oatmeal, grapefruit or crumb cake. The global maple syrup market is segmented on the basis of distribution channel such as online stores, retail stores, and super/hyper market. Hence, the global maple syrup market is expected to significantly increase the revenue contribution over the forecast period.Global Maple syrup Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global maple syrup industry can be divided by major regions which include North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa. Globally, among all regions, North America has developed as the dominant region in global maple syrup market. Increasing demand for maple syrup as a flavoring agent in various food products, has strengthened the growth of global maple syrup market and hence is projected to significantly expand the revenue contribution of the market over the forecast period.Global Maple syrup Market: Growth DriversThe global maple syrup market driving factors are increasing demand for baking foods such as pancakes, waffles, bread rolls and coffee cake. Increasing opportunities in bakery industry is also another factor in driving the maple syrup market along with rising in the production of maple syrup as it contains an abundant amount of minerals such as manganese, potassium, and calcium. Maple syrup is also used as a natural sweetener in various food products which is another major factor driving the global maple syrup market.Buy this Report at:Many maple syrup producers are providing healthier product offerings based on the increasing demand for maple syrup as a flavoring agent in a variety of food products. Hence, the global maple syrup market is expected to observe robust growth over the forecast period.Global Maple syrup Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified across the value chain of the global maple syrup market include Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association, New Hampshire Maple Producers Association, Inc., New York State Maple Producers Association, Pennsylvania Maple Association, Michigan Maple Syrup Association, Thompson's Maple Products, Bascom Family Farms, H.J. Heinz Company and Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association. The companies are expected to expand their business by enhancing their product portfolio in global maple syrup market. The companies are projected to frame certain strategies in future in order to gain the competitive advantage in global maple syrup market till 2025.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Pholaco

Pholaco is a South Africa Based Building Construction Products and Components Manufacturing Company

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Production and manufacturing of building materials, systems and components can be polluting, costly and thermally inefficient. Pholaco has been defying all the odds and negative views regarding this area through their bespoke, energy efficient and cost-effective products. The company draws its name from the isiXhosa language where phola means cool. With almost a decade of experience in this sector of business, they have become a leading name for the kinds of products they provide to their customers.Green Building SolutionsPholacos Green building solution is an environment-friendly initiative to produce energy efficient products that conform to South African energy efficiency code in the field of building materials and components production.The following solutions belong to this area:Thermal Panel ConstructionLight-weight steel frame constructionCellulose light-weight cement constructionLight-weight steel frame suspended floorsProducts and ManufacturingAll products that come along with the associated services are certified, licensed and checked for manufacturing defects. Let us consider the array of products that they deal with:Foundation SlabsEnvelope wall solutionsInternal wall solutionsCeiling solutionsRoof solutionsGutter solutionsWindow and door solutionsFire retardant solutionsBuilding kitsHard steel fabricationThe other area where Pholaco provides tough competition to its rivals is the manufacturing of certain products. They are:Off-site construction plantEPS Laminating PlantRoll Former manufacturingBuilding equipmentEco-friendly Expanded polystyreneServicesThe vast assortments of services that Pholaco provides are:Provide consultation and engineering of building system from scratch to completionThey provide design detailingThey offer diagrammatic technical detailing and a building method statementThey supply building materials, distribute the materials and manage building projectsThey design, manufacture and provide maintenance of roll formersThey excel in manufacturing building components and training of building systemsThey deal with sales and marketing of manufacturing equipmentBuilding quantity estimation, surveying and presentation of case studies for alternative building technologies are some extra servicesThey also provide feasibility study of equipmentTo know more about the institution, please log on toPholaco is a South Africa based building construction products and components manufacturer operational from 2008 and specialises in Expanded Polystyrene Mega Blocks production. They produce thermally efficient NBR 100400 XA products conforming to the energy efficient code of South Africa.Neil Hare Rd, Atlantis IndustrialCape Town, 7349, South AfricaTel: 021 5772601Fax: 086 563 4052Email: ask@pholaco.com
ID Card Printers Market Global Industry Analysis, size, share and Forecast 2017-2025

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ID Card Printers Market: IntroductionID Card printers are specialty printing devices that prints permanent or temporary impression on to predefined size Identity cards. The ID card printer operates on the same principle as any other desktop printer but its card feeding mechanism is where the difference lies. The printers are customized to fit only cards enabling it to print at a high speed with an improved efficiency. ID card printers are supplied to the customers with its own proprietary software to manage print quality and speed. ID card printers available in the market are capable of printing on special purpose cards a magnetic striped card, smart cards, cards with in built RFID technology and contactless cards. Some manufacturers, in order to gain higher customer base and market share offer ID card printers with an in built laminating system to improve the longevity of the card. Manufactures of ID card printers differentiate the pricing of their products on the basis of the amount of cards it can print on a daily basis. With the advantages of specific printing capabilities and improved speed, ID card printers market is anticipated to grow positively in all the regions in the upcoming years.ID Card Printers Market DynamicsThe world of today is geared towards technological advancements, data driven automation in every aspect with miniaturization taking the centre stage, therefore, a simple card has served more than its purpose of just an identification tool to an advanced data carrying device. This factor is the primary reason behind the growth of the ID card printer market from the global perspective. The utilization of cards has grown profoundly from past couple of years. Urbanization and increase in the size of working population has effectively aided in the growth of the ID card printer market and is anticipated to remain so in the upcoming years.Request to Browse Full Table of Content, figure and Tables @Though ID card printer offers its customers quick and easy solution for printing cards, integration of day to day processes and operations with a smartphone can come across as a restraint for the growth of the ID card printer market, in other words, smartphones has a huge potential to be utilized as a tool for maintaining and storing data that used to be imprinted on the ID card thereby effectively replacing it.ID Card Printers Market: Regional OutlookThe ID card printer market is anticipated for a positive in the North American region owing to large working class population. The same can also be said for the European region where the market for ID card printer is expected be on the same levels as the North American region in the upcoming years. Urbanization and large presence of middle class population relegated to office jobs in prominent countries of the Asia Pacific region such as China and India is also anticipated to drive the market in the forecast period. Middle East and Africa region is also expected to witness an upsurge in the market in the upcoming years owing to the migration of large number of professionals in the region from other developing countries.Request Sample Report @ID Card Printers Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the major players in the Global ID Card Printers market, identified across the value chain include:Entrust Datacard CorporationHID Global CorporationEvolis S.A.NBS TechnologiesZebra Technologies CorporationI.T. Engg. Co., Ltd.IDP Co., Ltd.Brady CorporationKanematsu USA, Inc.Magicard Ltd.Matica Technologies AGMF Group SrlOrphicard Tech Pvt. Ltd.Valid USAPre Book Full Report @ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Industrial Cleaning Robot Market to Worth $302 Million by 2022 | Arizton

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The industrial cleaning robot market is projected to grow from $16.49 million in 2016 to $302.42 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 62.39% during the forecast period.Ariztons recent market research report on the industrial cleaning robot market provides comprehensive industry analysis, trend forecasts, and competitive analysis. The research study segments the market by product (floor cleaning robots, duct and pipe cleaning robot, storage tank and boiler cleaning robots, hull cleaning robots, and others), end-users (manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, and others), and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, and ROW).The rise in per capita disposable income and the launch of new product models are propelling the growth of the global industrial cleaning robot market. The growing demand for these devices from the US and Europe will boost the sale in the global industrial cleaning robot market during the forecast period.Request for your free sample today!The leading three drivers and trends driving the industrial cleaning robot market are discussed below:Increased Industrial AutomationThe implementation of automation to handle various industrial processes and machinery setup is propelling the demand for robotics across industries in the global market. The adoption of industrial cleaning robots can be attributed to the industrial automation process. Leading vendors are launching floor cleaning robots, duct, and pipe cleaning robots, and high-pressure cleaning robots to gain the market share and increease the customer base in the global industrial cleaning robot market. The use of industrial cleaning robots will decrease human errors and help to reduce operational and maintenance costs across various industries. Such benefits associated with industrial automation will propel the growth of global industrial cleaning robot market.Increasing Investment in Industrial IoT by VendorsThe growing investment by leading vendors in industrial IoT will help streamline the manufacturing process, SPM (supply chain management), and deliver more personalized customer experience. IoT services will enable manufacturers to offer proactive services and encourage the use of smart devices in the different industrial process. The introduction of smart devices across industries will drive the growth of the industrial cleaning robot market during the forecast period. The launch of Internet-connected components such as sensors and smart appliances such as robotic vacuum cleaners or robotic scrubbers will revolutionize the industrial sector and boost the operational productivity. Further, implementing IIoT enables predictive maintenance of assets that can save costs up to 12% over a scheduled repair that can further reduce the maintenance costs by up to 30%.Request for your free sample today!Robot as a Service (RaaS)The introduction of the RaaS business model is fueling the growth of the global industrial cleaning robot market. The RaaS model is used to deliver highly adaptable robotic solutions depending upon the needs of a variety of end-users. These solutions will help vendors to offer the right solutions to its end-users, thereby increasing their consumer base and gain a larger market share in the global industrial cleaning robot market. For instance, Avidbots offers a rental service on an hourly basis to micro-businesses, which do not require purchasing high-priced robots and meet the consumer requirements. The increasing adoption of RaaS will augment the growth of global industrial cleaning robot market during the forecast period.ADLATUS Robotics, Alfred Karcher, Avidbots, Cleanfix, Combijet, Cyberdyne, Fybots, Makita, MDB, Muratec, Nilfisk, P.T.C., Sealed Air(Taski). BioVac Systems, Danduct Clean, DIS Dry Ice System, IBAK, IBC Robotics, LIFA AIR, LLOYDs, Neovision (Jetty), Robosoft Systems, Robotics Design, Urakami Research & Development. GE Inspection Robotics, ID-Tec, Scantron Robotics, SOLEX Robotics, Wolftank, Aeffe, Alion Energy, CleanHull, ECA Group Hytec, Ecoppia, Gulf Agency Company, KTV Group, Remora Marine, SeaRobotics, Serbot, and Weda poolcleaner are the leading vendors in the industrial cleaning robot market.The complete overview of the latest market research report on the industrial cleaning robot market by Arizton is now available.The report also offers a detailed study of major trends, drivers, challenges, and provides the market size and forecast for major geographical regions and key countries.Source:About Arizton Advisory & IntelligenceArizton  Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.Arizton Advisory & IntelligenceChicago, Illinois, 60605Mail: enquiry@arizton.comCall: +1-312-465-7864
Payment Bank Solutions Market Segments, Opportunity, Growth and Forecast By End-use Industry 2017  2027

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Presently with the growing usage of digital and online banking, many banks have started offering various options for banking payments. These Payment banks are helping in modernization of banking by offering unique payment solutions to customers. The concept of payment bank solution is growing at a faster pace due to rising usage of mobile technology to provide financial assistance in remote areas. These payment bank solutions are developed specifically for unbanked segments and locations which do not have banks.Request For Report Sample:This payment bank concept has been launched by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in which a payment bank operates at smaller level that as an actual bank. In this payment bank can make payments and do some work of banks but cannot lend money or issue credit card. A payment is allow to accept deposit, enable mobile payments, net banking services, fund transfers, issuance of ATM or debit card and can sell third party financial products. Payment Bank solutions are precisely tailored for organizations looking for payments banks and small finance banks licenses from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). With these solutions, licensees can set up the required technology backbone and become operational quickly.Payment Bank Solution Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe major factor driving the adoption of Payment bank solutions is the rising usage of mobile technology among individuals. In India, rural and urban both places, individuals have been adopted mobile technology significantly for online shopping, online banking and others. The concept of Payment bank solution is also getting adopted by individuals due to internet facilities and easy to understand concept.The key challenge for Payment bank solution is the lack of knowledge payment banking solutions. RBI has issued license to 11 entities to launch payment banks due to which only these 11 companies are offering solutions to areas where they already exist. This concept is in introductory stage due to which it will take time for individuals to adopt.Payment Bank Solutions Market: SegmentationSegmentation on the basis of type:HardwareATM cardsDebit cardsForex cardsSoftwarePlatformsMobile AppsKey Developments:In February 2017, MasterCard has entered into the partnership with Airtel Payment Bank to provide payment processing solution. The MasterCard is offering online debit card to Airtel customers to make digital payments up to 1 lakhs. This will help Airtel to offer safer, innovative and faster payments experience to its customers.In October 2015, Mahindra Comviva has entered in the Payment Bank Solutions market in India to offer technological solutions and infrastructure to payment banks. Mahindra Comvivas technological product has been deployed with Idea and is expected to be adopted by Tech Mahindra as well when it rolls out its own payments bank.In September 2015, Infosys Finacle, a subsidiary of EdgeVerve Systems has launched solution for Payment banks named as Finacle Payments Bank and Finacle Small Finance Bank solutions for the India market. hese solutions are specifically tailored for organizations seeking payments banks and small finance banks licenses from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).In Payment Bank Solution market there are vendors are Infosys Finacle, MasterCard, Mahindra Conviva and others.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Regional OverviewPresently, India is holding the largest market share for Payment Bank Solution market due to high adoption of mobile banking and net banking apps among individuals in various industries for improved payment services, to increase real time financial assistance and other.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Gas Pressure Regulator Market Global Industry Analysis, Trends and Forecast, 2017-2025

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Gas Pressure Regulator Market: IntroductionSafety of man, material and facility is the prime concern in every manufacturing industry. While dealing with gases, it is of prime importance to maintain flow rates and supply pressure and regulate the flow. These factors bring gas pressure regulators in the picture as a crucial part of various industries, such as chemical, healthcare and oil & gas, among others. Gas pressure regulators not only regulate the flow rates and pressure but also reduce the need for pressure compensating meters, as they can hold steady pressure. These regulators can be small or large depending upon the type of application. Prominent application areas of gas pressure regulators are natural gas distribution, boiler gas supplies, plant air services, oxygen supply, ammonia supply, furnaces and ovens. The market for gas pressure regulators is estimated to witness steady growth from both, upcoming projects and replacement demand from existing installed pipelines.Request to Browse Full Table of Content, figure and Tables @Gas Pressure Regulator Market: DynamicsGrowth of the gas pressure regulator market can directly be co-related with the performance of end use industries, such as oil & gas, energy generation and chemical. The market is also projected to witness significant investment by manufacturers in product innovation and development. Government investment in the establishment of new oil & gas and energy generation facilities and maintenance of existing ones will be a key growth driver. The market for gas pressure regulators is estimated to witness stringent safety regulations over the forecast period. Although replacement demand will play a major role in market growth, declining replacement rates of gas pressure regulators and fluctuating performance of some key end-use industries are anticipated to restrain the growth of the global gas pressure regulator market. Existing price pressures on dealers and distributors are also projected to be key restraining factors for this market.Request Sample Report @Gas Pressure Regulator Market: Regional OverviewAsia Pacific is projected to dominate the global gas pressure regulator market in terms of demand. China is expected to be a key market with a dominant market share throughout the forecast period. Strong growth of the manufacturing sector in key countries, such as India will supplement growth of the gas pressure regulator market in the Asia Pacific region. Europe and North America are projected to be the next big markets in terms of demand for gas pressure regulators. Europe is expected to have a relatively high growth rate as compared to North America. Within Europe, significant demand for gas pressure regulators will be from the western region and Eastern European countries, such as Russia and Poland are slated to witness slight fluctuation in terms of demand. The Middle East and Africa region will register significant demand for gas pressure regulators from oil & gas and chemical industries. The Latin America gas pressure regulator market is also pegged to witness healthy growth over the forecast period.Pre Book Full Report @Gas Pressure Regulator Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants identified in the global gas pressure regulator market are Honeywell International Inc., Emerson Electric Co, The Linde Group, Praxair Inc., Colfax Corporation, Maxitrol Company, GCE Group, Cavagna Group SPA, Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Air Liquide, Airgas Inc., Equipment & Controls, Inc. and Pressure Tech Ltd.ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Chemical Intermediates Market Current trends, Size, challenges 2025

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Intermediates are molecules produced during the conversion of a chemical substance to a final product. Chemical intermediates are formed during each step of the reaction to convert a reactant to a product. These have shorter life and are highly reactant. These chemicals are used in various applications. For instance, they are employed in the production of elastic textile fibers, coatings, plastics, pharmaceutical & crop protectants, and detergents. Apart from these, chemical intermediates are also employed in feed preservation. They are also used as de-icing agents for airport runways.Request Report Brochure @Increase in demand for chemical intermediates in coatings applications and extensive use of chemical intermediates in manufacturing plastics are some of the key factors driving the chemical intermediates market. This is prompting companies to increase the production of chemical intermediates. Additionally, easy availability of raw materials is anticipated to boost the demand for chemical intermediates in the near future.The global chemical intermediates market is witnessing technological advancements. Companies are constantly striving to develop new and better ways to manufacture chemical intermediates. Development of new manufacturing process of chemical intermediates and applications is estimated to propel the chemical intermediates market. However, volatility in prices of raw material is projected to adversely affect market growth.Based on type, the chemical intermediates market can be classified into reagents, solvents, building blocks, protective groups, and others. Solvents are the most commonly used chemical intermediates among all due to the excessive use of these in manufacture of coatings and detergents.Based on form, the chemical intermediates market can be divided into solid, liquid, and gas. Liquid chemical intermediates are commonly used in petrochemical applications.Chemical intermediates are used in a wide range of applications due to their excellent physical & chemical properties. Based on application, the market can be segmented into pharmaceutical, petrochemical, agriculture, construction, plastics, lubricants, coatings, personal care emollients, additive, and others. The petrochemical segment accounted for significant share of the chemical intermediates market in 2016 owing to the high demand for chemical intermediates in petrochemical processing across the globe.Read Report Overview @In terms of geography, the chemical intermediates market can be segregated into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. North America is anticipated to constitute key share of the market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is also estimated to be a rapidly growing region of the chemical intermediates market, owing to the increase in demand for chemical intermediates in the leather & textile segment in the region. Middle East & Africa is likely to be an attractive region of the chemical intermediates market during the forecast period due to the rise in demand for these in the textile industry in the region.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Furfuryl Alcohol Market Expansion to be Persistent During 2015-2025

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Furfuryl alcohol is an organic compound manufactured by catalytic reduction of furfuran. It is used in a wide range of applications such as solvents, foundry resins, plastics, wetting agents, adhesives and in gas hardening processes among others. The raw material furfuran is obtained from sugarcane bagasse, corn cobs, wheat bran and oats among others. It has application in rocketry as a hypergolic fuel which ignites readily in presence of fuming nitric acid and red fuming nitric acid.Increasing demand for bio-based products owing to increasing awareness among consumers coupled with rising environmental regulations is expected to drive the market. This alcohol finds application in plastic industry. Increasing demand for plastics in the construction and paints industry is anticipated to drive the furfuryl market over the next few years. Bio-based resins and paints are gaining demand from developed countries due to the presence of strict environmental regulations. However, the safety issues regarding transportation and export rules of different developing countries are expected to restrain the market growth. Research and development in the field of rocketry is expected to provide immense opportunities for manufacturers of furfuryl alcohol in the near future.A sample of this report is available upon request @Asia Pacific was the largest producer and consumer of furfuryl alcohol in which China contributes to the highest consumption. Proximity to raw material and increasing applications in plastics and resins are expected to drive the market. Europe follows Asia Pacific in consumption owing to increase in the application area of furfuryl alcohol. Research activities in the field of rocketry fuel are expected to provide opportunity for furfuryl alcohol market in this region. North America is expected to grow at a faster pace owing to increase in availability of raw materials and rising demand from construction and paints industry.Key players in this market include DynaChem Inc., The Chemical Company, Hongye Chemical Co. Ltd, Penn A Kem LLC, Nova Molecular technologies, Continetal Industries Group Inc., Shenzhen Shu Hang Industrial Development Co. Ltd., SolvChem Inc., NeuChem Inc., SweetLake Chemical Ltd., Ideal Chemical & Supply Company, Novasynorganics, International Process Plants among others.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @This research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically-supported and industry-validated market data and projections with a suitable set of assumptions and methodology. It provides analysis and information by categories such as market segments, regions, product types and distribution channels.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Abhishek BudholiyaFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Engine Degreaser Market Overview & Industry Landscape by Focusing On Top Key Vendors: Zep, Radiator Specialty Company, WD-40 Company, 3D Products, Penray, Royal Purple

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A comprehensive analysis of the Global Engine Degreaser Market is been done in this intelligence report. It includes the investigations done on the past progress, ongoing market scenarios, and future prospects. An accurate data of the products, strategies and market shares of leading companies in this particular market is mentioned. This report presents a 360-degree overview of the competitive scenario of the Global market. The report further projects the size and valuation of the global market in the coming forecast period. The report also presents a thorough qualitative and quantitative data affecting the projected impact of these factors on markets future growth prospects.Top Key Vendors:Zep, Radiator Specialty Company, WD-40 Company, 3D Products, Penray, Ravensberger Schmierstoffvertrieb GmbH and Royal PurpleGet Sample Copy of this Report @It explains a detailed outline of the Engine Degreaser Market depending on the important parameters. End users, products, regions, and many other segments are studied and explained. A brief idea of the driving forces which help make the market more flourishing is discussed in order to help the client understand the future market position.According to the research report, the global market for Engine Degreaser Market is witnessing a continual rise in its valuation with the advancement in technologies, which is impacting the consumer behavior and, accordingly, their purchasing patterns to a great extent. In addition to this, the rising penetration of internet and the surge in mobile surfing are anticipated to boost the demand for Engine Degreaser across the world, states the research report.On the basis of geographical regions, the Global Engine Degreaser Market is segmented broadly into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The global market is still in its exploratory stage in most of the regions but it holds the promising potential to flourish steadily in coming years. The major companies investing in this market are situated in Canada, U.K., and the US, India, China and some more countries of Asia Pacific region. Consequently, Asia Pacific, North America, and Western Europe are estimated to hold more than half of the market shares, collectively in coming years.Get Up to 40% Discount on this report:This statistical surveying research study presents an all-inclusive evaluation of the worldwide market for Card Personalization Equipment, taking various industry parameters, such as the capacity of production, product pricing, demand, supply, and sales dynamics, returns on investments, and the growth rate of the overall market into consideration.In the last sections of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the Engine Degreaser Market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report.Table of ContentsThe Global Engine Degreaser Market Research Report 20181 Engine Degreaser Market Overview2 Global Engine Degreaser Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Engine Degreaser Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2018)4 Global Engine Degreaser Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2018)5 Global Engine Degreaser Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Engine Degreaser Market Analysis by Application7 Global Engine Degreaser Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Engine Degreaser Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Engine Degreaser Market Forecast (2018-2023)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixAbout Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact:(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin  77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977sales@researchnreports.com
Servo Press Market Size and forecast, 2017-2025

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Servo Press Market: IntroductionA servo press uses a servomotor that basically makes a slide a controllable axis instead of a flywheel, main motor and clutch. The servo-driven press is coming on strong in the market where mechanical presses still dominate the manufacturing and stamping industry. In the recent years, press-makers have come up with a variety of types and designs of servo presses to overcome issues associated with traditional mechanical presses. The servo press provides end users the ability to control slide position and velocity within the range of microns. This helps gain better control of the forming stroke, ultimately improving performance and efficiency. Automotive is one of the major drivers for the growing demand of servo presses as the industry is realizing the benefits of this new technology. Engineers are coming up with new designs, which are inclined towards improving the forming capabilities of these presses and using high strength materials. The transition to high-strength steels and advanced materials and the necessities of producing parts that meet the shape and tolerance requirements in automotive and other industries has forced end users to shift towards servo presses. In the last few years, many small sized servo presses are finding applications in high technology based sectors, such as aerospace and defense.Request to Browse Full Table of Content, figure and Tables @Servo Press Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe sales of servo presses will continue to make headway into the press market as they meet the increasing demand for cost effective, consistent and reliable manufacturing. The market in the developed regions will be driven by replacement of traditional presses with servo presses that can generate various combinations and operate on broad types of dies, components and production speeds and strokes. Adding to this, slide motion, slide position and speed are also programmable in servo presses. Asia Pacific is one of the worlds most strongly expanding regions, due to growing manufacturing activities in developing nations in this region. The upswing in the regional mechanical engineering industry and growing demand for automation technology offer a promising future for the servo press market. Major countries that will drive growth in this region are China, followed by Korea and India. Manufacturers are taking steps to align their portfolios to meet high precision end-user requirements in order to sustain growth in the servo press market. The traditional mechanical press can still achieve high production speeds when compared with a servo press. However, technological advancement in the sector is estimated to overcome these limitations in the coming years. The initial investment required to acquire a servo press is relatively high as compared to that for its traditional counterparts. In the long term, the benefits associated with servo presses provide enough operational savings to cope with the increased investment.Request Sample Report @Servo Press Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global servo press market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA). In the coming years, Western Europe, Japan and North America are expected to witness notable growth in this market. The alignment towards adopting latest technology and advantages of servo presses over traditional presses are two factors expected to drive the demand for servo presses in these developed regions. APEJ and Latin America regions are expected to register significant growth, due to ongoing rapid industrialization boom in the developing countries of these regions. MEA and Eastern Europe are also expected to register healthy CAGRs over the forecast period.Pre Book Full Report @Servo Press Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants identified across the value chain of the global servo press market include:AIDA CompanyFagor ArrasateFesto GroupKomatsu LimitedPromess IncorporatedS. I. InstrumentsSchimidt TechnologySEYI SHIEH YIH Machinery Industry Co., Ltd.Stamtec Inc.Tox PressotechnikABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Forecast On Digital Fare Meters Market Global Industry Analysis and Trends till 2025

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Global Digital Fare Meters Market: OverviewDigital fare meters are electronic devices which are installed in taxicabs and auto rickshaws, which is used to calculate fare on the basis of distance travelled and waiting time. The digital fare meters have ticket receipt printers embedded in them, GPS systems to assist with the location and safety of the travelers. Credit and prepaid card support, Bluetooth support for communication with smartphones and tablets and other electronic devices, USB support. GPS technology has been used in digital taxi meters in order to protect the citizens from overpaying. Initially the digital taxi meters were based on optical transducer but due to the difference in the timer in the measurement controller and the module the reading were inaccurate, and the taxi owners chose longer roots to fake the digital fare meter readings. With the digital meter the customers can get benefits of a printed copy and SMS notifications. The digital fare meter has three basic functions which are for hire, Hired and stopped. The digital fare meters have built-in real time clock for automatic transitions from day fare to night fare, as the fare prices change from day fare to night fare.Request to Browse Full Table of Content, figure and Tables @Global Digital Fare Meters Market: Market DynamicsThe global digital fare meter is driven by factors such as accurate reading, easy to install, temper proof, weather proof, high durability and easy compatibility. As the digital fare meters are low in maintenance they are widely preferred by end users. The demand for global digital fare meters is expected to increase due rules and regulations set by governments regulatory bodies. The restrain for the global digital fare meter would be the cab services offered by new market players which use online technology to calculate the fare such as android based fare meter.Request Sample Report @Global Digital Fare Meters Market: Regional OverviewBased on the geographies, the global digital fare meters market is fragmented into seven key regions- Latin America, North America, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific except Japan and Japan. Among the regions mentioned above, Asia-pacific except japan has highest share for global digital fare meters followed by Japan. North America and Western Europe will see a decrease in the usage of digital fare meter due to increase in android based technology. Eastern Europe has a sluggish growth rate for the global digital fare meter market, other than Asia pacific the global digital fare meter market is expected to witness a steady growth rate. Overall the global digital fare meter market is expected to grow at a steady growth rate for the forecasted period. Auto rickshaw segment has the higher rate of usage of digital fare meters. Digital fare meter with printers are expected to grow at a higher CAGR.Pre Book Full Report @Global Digital Fare Meters Market PlayersSome of the market players identified in the global digital fare meters market includes:Sansui ElectronicsPulsar Technologies (I) Pvt. LtdPrecision Electronic Instruments Co.Pricol LimitedSuper Meter Mfg. Co.MIJO AUTO Meter Pvt. LtdSuperb Meter Mfg. Co.Automotive Techno Co. Inc.National Meter Mfg. Co.Maruti Meter Mfg. CorporationUnique Digital MetersHydaker IndustriesSrisenthilnathan Meter WorksAr. Micro Equipment Pvt. Ltd.Smart Technology systemsABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Endobronchial Ultrasound Biopsy Market Key Trends and Forecast Research Report 2025

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Technological advancements in last couple of decades have made diagnosis of lung cancer easy using endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) biopsy technique. Endobronchial ultrasound is minimally invasive technique that uses ultrasound along with bronchoscope to examine airway walls and structure adjacent to it. Ultrasound technology used in this procedure allows examination of multilayer tracheobronchial wall structure better than any other imaging technique. Endobronchial ultrasound biopsy has become best alternative to other traditional procedures such as fluoroscopic guided biopsy, fiberoptic bronchoscope, mediastinoscopy or thoracotomy.Report Overview @Using these traditional limits the view of bronchoscopist to bronchial mucosa and lumen, whereas EBUS has widen the vision beyond tracheobronchial wall. Endobronchial ultrasound biopsy is performed on outpatient basis under local anesthesia using thin needle aspiration. Endobronchial ultrasound guided tracheobronchial needle aspiration method has enabled real-time aspiration of lesions near to trachea and large bronchi. The use of this technique is rapidly gaining popularity due to accumulation of large amount of data related to safety and effectiveness of the technique. As per European Respiratory Journal, EBUS presents positive likelihood ratio of 26.8 and negative likelihood ratio of 0.28. According to American College of Chest Physicians, EBUS is recommended as first procedure to before surgical staging for lung cancer diagnosis in the U.S.The global market endobronchial ultrasound biopsy is expected to be driven by incidence of lung cancer all over the world. According to Cancer Research U.K., 46,403 new lung cancer cases were diagnosed in U.K. in 2014, which accounted for 13% of all new cancer cases. According to American Lung Association, Lung cancer is the most common cancer across the globe accounting for 1.8 Mn new cases worldwide in 2012. And is most prevalent in elderly person. 83% of patients living with lung cancer are 60 years-old or above. Growing geriatric population thus can be a factor contributing to growth of endobronchial ultrasound biopsy market over the forecast period. However, the biggest restraint for growth of endobronchial ultrasound biopsy market is unawareness about the technique. Despite the technique is being used for last two decade in matured markets, developing countries such as India and China have recently introduced to this technique.Download Report Brochure @One of the main applications of endobronchial ultrasound biopsy is in staging of cancer. Introduction of this technique has made dramatic changes in treatment planning for lung cancer. In 2016, American Medical Association created three new CPT codes for endobronchial ultrasound biopsy procedure. Thus all the services using EBUS including aspiration biopsy are reimbursed by MedicareHospitals end user segment is expected to be dominant in global endobronchial ultrasound biopsy market due to high patient population EBUS procedure is generally provided on outpatient or day case basis.Regionally, global endobronchial ultrasound biopsy market is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America clearly dominates the global market endobronchial ultrasound biopsy due to high prevalence and growing adoption of technique by physicians and patients. Europe is expected to be the second largest market endobronchial ultrasound biopsy. Asia pacific endobronchial ultrasound biopsy market is expected to witness steady growth over the forecast period of 20172025, primarily due to delayed introduction of EBUS technique in the region and limited availability of qualified resources to perform the procedure.Pre-Book Full Report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.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:
Computer-Assisted Surgical Systems Market Analysis & Key Trends 2025

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Computer-assisted surgery (CAS), also known as image-guided surgery or 3-D computer surgery, is a computer-based surgical procedure using advanced technologies such as 3-D imaging and real time sensing. It utilizes intuitive software, smart instruments, and infrared camera navigation to achieve precision. CAS is an advanced procedure used in the operating room due to high level of visualization and accuracy. It is generally used in neuro, ENT, cardiac, urological, spine, trauma, and orthopedic surgeries. Advantages of CAS include advance planning of surgery using 3-D computer models of patients anatomy, better visualization, and real-time feedback. For patients, the major advantages of CAS are minimally invasive technique, less blood loss, lesser amount of exposure to radiations through X-rays as it cuts down the number of X-rays required, and early recovery.Report Overview @Drivers of the computer-assisted surgical systems market are growing preference for minimally invasive procedures, increasing demand for advanced medical facilities, and reduced hospital stay due to fast recovery. However, high maintenance and service cost for the equipment and unavailability of highly skilled professionals are the major restraints of the market. Technological advancements focusing on the use of robotic systems in surgery is likely to boost market growth.In terms of product type, the computer-assisted surgical systems market can be segmented into surgical navigation systems, surgical robots, and surgical planners & stimulators. The surgical robots segment is anticipated to experience significant growth owing to rapidly advancing technologies, adoption of surgical robotic systems in large hospitals, and improving health care infrastructure.Download Report Brochure @Based on application, the computer-assisted surgical systems market can be segmented into preoperative planning and stimulation, ENT surgery, cardiac surgery, colorectal surgery, navigation methods, surgical robotic systems, spine surgery, craniofacial surgery, and others.In terms of region, the computer-assisted surgical systems market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America holds the largest market share due to rapid technological advancements. Asia Pacific and Europe are expected to grow due to rising medical tourism and increasing patient population. India and China are likely to witness strong growth owing to rising awareness and increased government funding.Pre-Book Full Report @Key players in the market are Stryker Corporation, Accuray Incorporated, Medtronic, 3D Systems Corporation, B. Braun Melsungen, MAKO Surgical Corp., Brainlab AG, Mazor Robotics Ltd., CONMED Corporation, Renishaw plc, Curexo Technology, Titan Medical, Inc., Blue Belt Technologies Ltd., Think Surgical, Inc., Hocoma AG, Hansen Medical, Inc., Intuitive Surgical, Smith & Nephew, and Hitachi Medical Systems.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Ammonia Industry 2017 - Current and Future Plans

Global Ammonia Industry

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WiseGuyReports published new report, titled Global Ammonia Capacity and Capital Expenditure ReviewSummaryGlobal Ammonia capacity is expected to experience considerable growth over the next nine years from around 230 mtpa in 2016 to more than 270 mtpa by 2025. More than 90 planned and announced ammonia projects are expected to come online, primarily in Asia and the Middle East over the next nine years. Dangote Group, The Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd, and Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited are the top three companies in terms of planned capacity additions during the outlook period.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Scope- Global ammonia capacity outlook by region- Ammonia planned and announced plants details- Global ammonia capacity by feedstock- Capacity share of the major ammonia producers globally- Global ammonia capital expenditure outlook by regionKey points- Understand key trends in the global ammonia industry- Understand regional ammonia supply scenario- Identify opportunities in the global ammonia industry with the help of upcoming projects and capital expenditure outlook- Understand the current and likely future competitive scenarioTable of Contents1 Table of Contents2. Q3 Global Ammonia Capacity and Capital Expenditure Review3. Global Planned and Announced Ammonia Projects4. Appendix..CONTINUEDFor accessing accurate and deep understanding and to gain latest insights and key developments in the area of your interest, we also have a list of conferences in which you will be interested in, for more information, cordially checkFor updating knowledge or for thoroughly understanding various terminologies, we also have vast list of seminars for your reference, for more information cordially checkWise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Urinalysis System Market Key Trends and Opportunity Analysis 2025

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Urinalysis is a laboratory test that examines urine. It is the process use to diagnose or detect the presence of disease or disorder by physical, chemical and microscopic evaluation of urine. Urinalysis is carried out to detect wide range of disorder like kidney disease, urinary tract infection, liver problems, diabetes and other metabolic conditions. A healthcare practitioner correlate the urinalysis results with a person's symptoms and clinical findings. Cloudiness, brown or red color appearance in the urine may indicate presence of some abnormality. The test detect the abnormalities that may require further investigation and treatment. However there are certain kits present in the market for urinalysis but are not fully countable because the test requires some additional equipments and technical skills to diagnose particular disorder or disease. Certain kits which is available in the market used to carry out the examination of the urine like pH, glucose, and ketones.Report Overview @On the basis of the product type, the market of the urinalysis is segmented into instrumental and consumables. The instruments segment has been categorized into portable analyzers, microscopy analyzers or sediment analyzers, and chemistry analyzers. Consumables have been further segmented into reagent strips (dipstrips), plastic consumables, and other chemical reagents. The consumables segment is expected to grow due to increase in use of disposables for urinalysis. On the basis of application, the urinalysis market segmented as disease diagnostics and pregnancy test.Disease diagnostic segment is expected to grow due to increase in incidence rate of chronic diseases like diabetes and urinary tract infection. Based on test type, the urinalysis market has been segmented into macroscopic, biochemical, and microscopic. End-users in the urinalysis market are hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, clinics, and others (industrial, home testing, nursing facility, etc.). In hospitals and diagnostic laboratories the increase in usages of the dipstick for diagnosis of chronic disease like urinary tract infection is major factor driving the growth of urinalysis marketDownload Report Brochure @Technological advancement (automated diagnostic tools and semi-automated tools) is a major factor driving market growth. For instance, in July 2016, Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd., launched the Laura XL System, fully-automated urine chemistry and sediment analyzer. However inadequate healthcare facilities and infrastructure and high cost of diagnosis are the factors restraints the adoption of latest diagnostic tools for urinalysis.On the basis of the geography North America held the dominant share of the global urinalysis market due to presence of key players, increase in incidence rate, and availability of developed healthcare infrastructure & advanced medical support. Addition to it, introduction of the automated and semi-automated diagnostic tools such as fluorescence flow cytometer and high healthcare expenditure boost the urinalysis market growth in North America. Europe hold the second position in urinalysis market due to increase in geriatric population. Asia Pacific is emerging market due to the developing healthcare infrastructure, rising government expenditure in the healthcare industry, and increase in patient pool. The refurbished medical equipment market in Latin America is also likely to experience significant market growth. In Middle East and African countries the development of the healthcare project and economy helps to boost the urinalysis market.Pre-Book Full Report @The major key players in the urinalysis market include Arkray Inc., Beckman Coulter Inc., Roche diagnostic, Simen Healthcare Pvt Ltd., Transasia Bio-Medicals Ltd. and Sysmex Corporation.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Tracheobronchial Stent Grafts Market Present Scenario and the Growth Prospects 2027

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Tracheobronchial stent grafts are used in management of lumen collapse or to prevent collapse after tracheobronchial reconstruction procedure, after trauma or lesions, airway obstruction etc. tracheobronchial stent-graft is a self-expanding stent generally made of nitinol mesh wire and encapsulated within two ultra-thin layers of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). Moreover, number of benign and malignant conditions can cause tracheobronchial narrowing or collapse which can lead to symptomatic and life-threatening dyspnea. Tracheobronchial stent graft system is mainly approved for use in treatment of in-stent restenosis in venous outflow in hemodialysis patients. The first tracheobronchial stent graft system Fluency was introduced in 2003 by C.R. Bard Inc. In 2005, W. L. Gore & Associates launched VIABAHN in the U.S. for use in treatment of tracheobronchial strictures. Both of these systems witnessed positive response from physicians and patients. Now-a-days, these devices are available in ling delivery sheaths or catheters necessary for placement of tracheobronchial stent graft.Report Overview @Increasing prevalence of chronic lung disorders such as tuberculosis and benign or malignant tumors are the foremost factor driving the growth of global tracheobronchial stent grafts market over the forecast period. Besides, easy and efficient procedure is the other factor expected to flourish the global tracheobronchial stent grafts market However, limited product approvals for tracheobronchial stent grafts in Europe. And alternative treatment options for tracheobronchial strictures are the important factors limiting the growth of global tracheobronchial stent grafts market.Download Report Brochure @Recent approval of Fluency Plus brings new hope to patients suffering from chronic lung diseases that cause airway obstruction. These device is expected to gain rapid adoption by patients as it is minimally invasive procedure and involves less risk that other approaches used for management of tracheobronchial strictures. The global market for tracheobronchial stent grafts is expected to grow significantly with high single digit growth rate over the forecast period of 20172027.Geographically, tracheobronchial stent grafts market is classified into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America is expected to dominate global tracheobronchial stent grafts market over the forecast period. Japan is expected to be the second largest market for tracheobronchial stent grafts. Despite the fact that tracheobronchial stent graft systems are being used since 2003, these systems are approved for clinical use only in the U.S., Canada and Japan. Key player in tracheobronchial stent grafts market is are trying to obtain regulatory approval in Europe in order to capture growing patient volume for chronic lung diseases.Pre-Book Full Report @So far BARD Peripheral Vascular. Inc.  a subsidiary of C.R. Bard Inc., and W. L. Gore & Associates are the only player operating in the global market for tracheobronchial stent graft systems. Bard offers Fluency and Fluency Plus tracheobronchial stent grafts in North America and Japan. Some of the other systems such as Symbiot and Corvita Endoluminal Stent-Graft were being studied in the Europe but unfortunately they failed to meet required clinical end points and never came to market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. 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:
Webinar Software Market Overview & Industry Landscape by Focusing On Top Key Vendors: Cisco WebEx, LogMeln, Inxpo, Zoom, Adobe, ClickMeeting, FreeConferenceCall.com, ON24, WebinarJam

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A comprehensive analysis of the Global Webinar Software Market is been done in this intelligence report. It includes the investigations done on the past progress, ongoing market scenarios, and future prospects. An accurate data of the products, strategies and market shares of leading companies in this particular market is mentioned. This report presents a 360-degree overview of the competitive scenario of the Global market. The report further projects the size and valuation of the global market in the coming forecast period. The report also presents a thorough qualitative and quantitative data affecting the projected impact of these factors on markets future growth prospects.Top Key Vendors:Cisco WebEx, LogMeln, Inxpo, Zoom, Adobe, ClickMeeting, FreeConferenceCall.com, ON24, WebinarJam, WebinarNinja, ReadyTalk, Google Hangouts, Mikogo, TokBox, VidyoGet Sample Copy of this Report @It explains a detailed outline of the Webinar Software Market depending on the important parameters. End users, products, regions, and many other segments are studied and explained. A brief idea of the driving forces which help make the market more flourishing is discussed in order to help the client understand the future market position.According to the research report, the global market for Webinar Software Market is witnessing a continual rise in its valuation with the advancement in technologies, which is impacting the consumer behavior and, accordingly, their purchasing patterns to a great extent. In addition to this, the rising penetration of internet and the surge in mobile surfing are anticipated to boost the demand for Webinar Software across the world, states the research report.On the basis of geographical regions, the Global Webinar Software Market is segmented broadly into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The global market is still in its exploratory stage in most of the regions but it holds the promising potential to flourish steadily in coming years. The major companies investing in this market are situated in Canada, U.K., and the US, India, China and some more countries of Asia Pacific region. Consequently, Asia Pacific, North America, and Western Europe are estimated to hold more than half of the market shares, collectively in coming years.Get Up to 40% Discount on this report:This statistical surveying research study presents an all-inclusive evaluation of the worldwide market for Card Personalization Equipment, taking various industry parameters, such as the capacity of production, product pricing, demand, supply, and sales dynamics, returns on investments, and the growth rate of the overall market into consideration.In the last sections of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the Webinar Software Market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report.Table of ContentsThe Global Webinar Software Market Research Report 20181 Webinar Software Market Overview2 Global Webinar Software Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Webinar Software Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2018)4 Global Webinar Software Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2018)5 Global Webinar Software Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Webinar Software Market Analysis by Application7 Global Webinar Software Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Webinar Software Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Webinar Software Market Forecast (2018-2023)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixAbout Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact:(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin  77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977sales@researchnreports.com
Hearing Aids Market Foreseen To Grow Exponentially Over 2024

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The Global Hearing Aids Market is highly consolidated with only six players holding a high share in the revenue pie. As per a new analysis by Transparency Market Research, a whopping 98% of the global hearing aids market was held by the leading six companies in 2015. Among these, Sonava accounted for the 25% of the market in the same year. Due to the high expenditure incurred on the initial production set-up and research and development, new entrants find it difficult to cut through the competition. Despite the absence of direct competition, the increasing interest in prosthetic implants could adversely impact the demand for hearing aids.Nevertheless, companies manufacturing hearing aids and amplification products are poised to witness incredible growth opportunities in the near future. Although the market has been growing at a modest pace since the last few years, the increasing geriatric population will fuel demand for hearing loss support in the near future, says an analyst at TMR. Furthermore, with hearing impairment emerging as one of the most prevalent chronic conditions worldwide, the sale of hearing aids is expected to increase in the forthcoming years, he added.Request to View Brochure of Report -High Price of Hearing Aids to Limit Adoption across Low-income CountriesDeveloping and underdeveloped countries have been witnessing a higher prevalence of hearing loss among their citizens. Governments across these countries are thus compelled to adopt various awareness initiatives aimed at curbing the incidence of hearing loss. Such initiatives are expected to positively influence sale of hearing aid products across developing and underdeveloped economies.On the flip side, the high price of hearing aids and cost incurred on maintaining them limit their purchase among low-income people. Furthermore, the device requires periodic replacements, which might not be feasible for a sizeable population across underdeveloped countries, thus restricting the markets trajectory. The lack of timely diagnosis of hearing impairment is another factor limiting growth of the hearing aids market across developing and underdeveloped nations.Nevertheless, these countries will continue exhibiting attractive opportunities for manufacturers of hearing aids. With government of these countries proactively involved to up the health status of the community, the favorable policies they draft are expected to give significant impetus to the hearing aid sales.Request to View Sample of Report -Presence of Unmet Medical Needs to Propel Hearing Aids Sales in Asia PacificRegionally, the prospects for hearing aid products are seen to be the most lucrative in Europe. The region, TMR says, held approximately 39% of the global market in 2015. The robust demand for hearing aids in this region is mainly attributed to the high pool of aged population, especially in Western Europe, and the increasing willingness among consumers to pay for advanced medical devices.In the same year, North America followed Europe in the global hearing aids market. Asia Pacific is poised to exhibit the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. The prevalence of a high degree of unmet medical needs is expected to boost the Asia Pacific market for hearing aids at a CAGR of 5.2% between 2015 and 2024.High Prevalence of Hearing Impairment among Adults Fuels Demand for Hearing AidsBy end user, the hearing aids market has been bifurcated into adult and pediatric in the TMR analysis. Of these, since the incidence of hearing impairment is exceptionally high among adults, the segment held approximately 95% of the market in 2015. However, experts forecast the incidence of hearing loss to rise among children at a considerable rate in the near future, thus boosting the pediatric hearing aids segment at a high CAGR.Transparency Market Research projects the global hearing aids market to exhibit a CAGR of 4.5% between 2016 and 2024. The market is expected to be worth US$7.01 bn by the end of 2024, rising from US$4.7 bn in 2015.Purchase this Report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Medical Education Market Estimated To Experience A Hike In Growth By 2024

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The Global Medical Education Market has a handful of players such as Apollo Hospitals, TACT Academy for Clinical Training, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (Zimmer Institute), Olympus Corporation, Gundersen Health System, GE Healthcare, and Medical Training College. Transparency Market Research identifies Apollo Hospitals as the leading contributor to the growth of the overall market owing to its extensive course portfolio, strong market penetration in countries in Asia Pacific, and vast scope for practical hospital experience.Geographical expansion in several developing countries has been Apollo Hospitals leading growth strategy, in addition to the acquisition of smaller local players, finds the lead author of the TMR study.In July 2016, Apollo Hospitals Group signed MoUs with Kenyatta National Hospital and Airtel Kenya to not just focus on capacity building in the Kenyan healthcare sector but to also conduct educational lectures and training programs in the country. In the same month, the company signed an agreement with Hainan Ecological Smart City Group in China to develop a highly integrated modern healthcare service facility in the Hainan province, which is likely to lend nursing, medical, and paramedical colleges in the island city tremendous support.Request to View Brochure of Report -Advantages of Online Training over Traditional Modes of Education a Driving FactorThe demand for medical education is primarily driven by the growing preference for online education. Online education is a highly lucrative investment avenue, a TMR analyst observes. The exposure to modern technologies around the world and the increasing penetration of the internet has greatly fueled the preference of students for online education. Moreover, online training presents several advantages over traditional modes of education, including variation in training and educational programs, lower cost, comfortable and flexible learning programs, and opportunities for improved technical skills.In line with this growing trend, TMR predicts that the emergence of e-learning markets in several developing countries will be a major opportunity for players in the medical education market.High Tuition Fee a Major RoadblockThe cost of higher education, especially in developed countries, continues to pose a key challenge for low-income students. Medical education is one of the most expensive fields and the tuition fee for classroom courses as well as on-campus training is extremely high. This acts as a major barrier for the medical education market, the author of the study says.In addition to this, the declining preference for distance education in medicine and paramedical training is likely to restrict the growth of the medical education market to an extent.Request to View Sample of Report -Steady Growth in Store for Medical Education MarketExpanding at a 4.3% CAGR over the course of the forecast period, the global medical education market is poised to rise from a value of US$25.9 bn in 2015 to US$38.4 bn by 2024. By mode of education, the medical education market is led by on-campus training. Changing student preferences will restrict the demand for distance training by 2024, TMR predicts. However, online training is fast emerging as a lucrative mode of medical education and this segment is likely to register the highest CAGR of 7.29% from 2016 to 2024.By type of training, the demand for cardiothoracic training has surpassed the rest, while training in radiology presents the highest scope for growth. By geography, North America led the overall medical education market with Asia Pacific as the most rapidly expanding regional segment through the forecast period.Purchase this Report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Insurance Agency Software Global Market Top Key Players  Vertafore , Applied Systems , EZLynx , ACS , ITC and Forecast to 2022

Insurance Agency Software Market

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Global Insurance Agency Software MarketDescriptionWiseGuyReports.Com adds Global (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa) Insurance Agency Software Market 2017 Forecast to 2022 Research To Its Database.This report studies the insurance agency software market, and the software is usually the agency management software, client management software, marketing software, rating software and website builder for insurance agencies.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Insurance Agency Software in Global Market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Get sample Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversVertaforeApplied SystemsEZLynxACSITCHawkSoftQQ SolutionsSapiens/Maximum ProcessingZywaveXdimensional TechAgency MatrixJenesis SoftwareAgencyBlocAllClientsImpowersoftInsurance SystemsBuckhillInsuredHQZhilian SoftwareMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversCloud-BasedOn-PremiseMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoSmall BusinessMedium-sized BusinessLarge BusinessEnquiry About Report @Table of Contents -Major Key Points1 Market Overview1.1 Insurance Agency Software Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Cloud-Based1.2.2 On-Premise1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Small Business1.3.2 Medium-sized Business1.3.3 Large Business1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Vertafore2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.1.1 Vertafore Insurance Agency Software Description2.1.1.2 Vertafore Insurance Agency Software Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.1.2 Vertafore Insurance Agency Software Product Introduction2.1.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.1.2.2 Vertafore Insurance Agency Software Product Introduction2.1.3 Vertafore Insurance Agency Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.1.3.1 Vertafore Insurance Agency Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.1.3.2 Vertafore Insurance Agency Software Market Share in Global in 20162.2 Applied Systems2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.1.1 Applied Systems Insurance Agency Software Description2.2.1.2 Applied Systems Insurance Agency Software Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.2.2 Vertafore Insurance Agency Software Product Introduction2.2.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.2.2.2 Applied Systems Insurance Agency Software Product Introduction2.2.3 Applied Systems Insurance Agency Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.2.3.1 Applied Systems Insurance Agency Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2.3.2 Applied Systems Insurance Agency Software Market Share in Global in 20162.3 EZLynx2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.1.1 EZLynx Insurance Agency Software Description2.3.1.2 EZLynx Insurance Agency Software Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.3.2 EZLynx Insurance Agency Software Product Introduction2.3.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.3.2.2 EZLynx Insurance Agency Software Product Introduction2.3.3 EZLynx Insurance Agency Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.3.3.1 EZLynx Insurance Agency Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3.3.2 EZLynx Insurance Agency Software Market Share in Global in 20162.4 ACS2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.1.1 ACS Insurance Agency Software Description2.4.1.2 ACS Insurance Agency Software Headquarter, Main Business and Finance Overview2.4.2 ACS Insurance Agency Software Product Introduction2.4.2.1 Production Bases, Sales Regions and Major Competitors2.4.2.2 ACS Insurance Agency Software Product Introduction2.4.3 ACS Insurance Agency Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share2.4.3.1 ACS Insurance Agency Software Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4.3.2 ACS Insurance Agency Software Market Share in Global in 2016..CONTINUEDAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, Industry research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)
Medical Aesthetic Devices Market To Receive Overwhelming Hike In Revenues By 2024

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The Global Market For Medical Aesthetic Devices is characterized by a highly consolidated competitive landscape, wherein the top two vendors, Mentor Worldwide LLC and Allergan Plc., collectively held a nearly 60% of the market in 2015, observes a recent report by Transparency Market Research. Mentor Worldwide LLC, the market leader with a 32% share in the global market, stayed ahead of the competition with the help of strategic collaborations and a strong emphasis on aesthetic products such as breast implants and body contouring.In September 2016, the company announced its plans for a new collaboration with Galderma, a medical solutions firm with strong operations in skin health. Under the collaboration, the companies plan to partner with Canadian surgeons to improve patient experience across innovative aesthetic procedures and solutions, broadening consumers' access to and awareness of aesthetic treatment options.Transparency Market Research estimates that the global medical aesthetic devices market will rise from a valuation of US$6.5 bn in 2015 to US$15.1 bn in 2024. This reflects a 9.0% CAGR from 2016 through 2024. In terms of product types, the segment of laser and energy devices presently leads. The segment held a nearly 30% share in the global market in 2015 and is expected to remain one of the most promising product segments over the forecast period as well. From a geographic perspective, the market earns a significant share of its revenues from sales across developed regions such as North America and Europe. North America dominated in 2015, accounting for a 43% of the global market.Request to View Brochure of Report -Increased Usage of Lasers for Medical Aesthetic Procedures to Stimulate Market GrowthIn the past few years, the global consumer has become more open to aesthetic procedures owing to a vast reduction in cultural prohibitions and social taboos. The resultant rise in surgical procedures for enhancing personal appearance is the key driver of the global medical aesthetic devices market.Other key trends positively influencing the overall development of the market include the increased adoption of laser-based devices, heightened demand for minimally invasive and non-invasive equipment, and the high demand for augmentation and reconstructive surgeries. The global adoption of laser-based devices has increased owing to the widening utility of laser devices.Cost-effectiveness and versatility of laser devices are also the key factors increasing adoption and usage of laser procedures in the aesthetics market.Increased adoption of minimally invasive surgeries, owing to the fewer post-surgery complications and side effects, and shorter recovery spans, have driven innovations and technological developments, bringing about a huge change in the quality and effectiveness of surgeries. As a result, the number of minimally invasive procedures in dermatological applications has significantly increased lately. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons estimated that the number of minimally invasive aesthetic procedures performed in the U.S. increased to 15.9 mn 2015, a rise of 2% over 2014.Request to View Sample of Report -Competitively Priced Equipment and Services from Domestic Vendors to Limit Market GrowthThe global medical aesthetic devices market is characterized by intense competition wherein local manufacturers and service providers offer devices/services at affordable costs. The resultant need to reduce costs of equipment to stay ahead of competition can severely hamper the overall profitability of international vendors, especially across cost-sensitive emerging economies.Continuous technological developments in the aesthetic devices market with respect to product design and efficiency require manufacturers to provide up-to-date solutions to the customers. Such upgrades could be highly cost-intensive and lead to erosion of investment and not many service providers may be open to adopting them on a regular basis. The scenario is expected to have a negative impact on the overall development of the market in the long run.Purchase this Report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
AFP Testing Market Value Chain Analysis and Forecast Upto 2024

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Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) screening tests are extensively employed globally as they aid in determining particular types of chromosomal aberrations such as Edwards syndrome and Downs syndrome, some types of cancer, and neural tube defects. AFP screening tests are commercially available owing to their sensitivity in the diagnosis of cancer. AFP is the most commonly found plasma protein in the fetus of human beings. This protein is primarily made up of immature liver cells within the fetus, hence infants have elevated levels of AFP, which later on falls to normal adult level at the end of the first year.Report Overview @This report on the global AFP testing market identifies the size of the market and also presents the growth opportunities in the market in forthcoming years. The market dynamics, drivers, growth indicators, challenges, and competitive landscape of the market have been encapsulated in this study. The significance of AFP testing and an analysis of the key trends dominant in the market has also been presented through this study. The top technological developments taking place in the AFP testing market have also been included. Analysis tools such as SWOT analysis and Porters five forces analysis are also being utilized in order to present the degree of competition prevalent in this market.The report utilizes tables and distinctive graphics to present the key segments dominant in the global AFP testing market. A pin point evaluation of the transforming dynamics has also been presented through this study. An extensive review on the macro and micro factors useful for the already present players as well as the new entrants has also been encapsulated coupled with a comprehensive value chain analysis. The study helps the emerging players in making informed decisions by incorporating complete market insights and by presenting a detailed evaluation of all the market segments.AFP screening tests are largely employed and numerous amongst them are available commercially owing to their sensitivity for cancer diagnosis. The normal level of AFP in the blood of human beings is lower than 10 ng/ml but it may become as high as 500ng/ml in people suffering from chronic hepatitis. AFP levels also elevate in patients suffering from renal cancer, brain tumors, Hodgkins disease, and lymphoma.Download Report Brochure @The segment of cancer diagnostic is rising owing to the fact that researchers are on the lookout for discovering specific antigens and new techniques for further improvement of the mode of treatment. Thus, the increasing cases of cancer globally will provide impetus to the growth of the market for AFP testing. Some common cancers include testes cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, and biliary tract cancer, and others including hepatitis and cirrhosis. In addition, the global AFP testing market is also poised to rise due to the increasing aging population because of the fact that aged people are more prone to tumor development and diseases.In terms of geography, the global AFP testing market is segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World (RoW). Of these, the North America AFP testing market presents a significant share, while Europe and Asia Pacific were also dominant regions in the market, after North America.Pre-Book Full Report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.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:
Automotive Water Pump Market Overview, Segmentation & Competitive Landscape by Focusing On Top Key Vendors: Bosch, Aisin, KSPG, Magna, Mikuni, Cardone, HYTEC, GMB, SP, Melling, Gates, NPW, ASC, NUK, Huayu, Allena, Q.M., Nanchang Autocare

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The report, titled Global Automotive Water Pump Market. The report on the global market offers an elaborate assessment of key drivers and restraints, emerging trends, notable opportunities, prominent business use cases, and recent technological advancements. The research presents a thorough insight into the market share and size of various types of lucrative avenues, and competitive landscape.This report studies Automotive Water Pump in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2013 to 2018, and forecast to 2023.Top Key Vendors:Bosch, Aisin, KSPG, Magna, Mikuni, Cardone, HYTEC, GMB, SP, Melling, Gates, NPW, ASC, NUK, Huayu, Allena, Q.M., Nanchang Autocare, Honsea, PuteGet Sample Copy @The report offers a fundamental overview of the Global Automotive Water Pump Market. It includes definitions, product specifications, classification, and applications of the global market. The study also comprises an industry chain analysis and an industry overview of the major regions and their status in the global market.The next section of the report analyzes the development plans and policies, manufacturing process, and product cost structure of the Automotive Water Pump market. The report specifically focuses on the leading regions and manufacturers engaged in the production of consumer devices along with the analysis of the competitive landscape, development trends, and prime regions status of development. The report also contains information such as company profiles, product specification and picture, production capacity, cost, revenue, and gross profit margin.The report profiles the key market players which are dominant in the global Automotive Water Pump market. It also provides essential information about leading companies, such as product specification, financial overview, business overview, contact information, and recent developments. The list of figures provided in the table of content has mentioned all of the statistical representations of the market offered in the report.On the basis of geographical regions, the Global Automotive Water Pump Market is segmented broadly into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The global market is still in its exploratory stage in most of the regions but it holds the promising potential to flourish steadily in coming years. The major companies investing in this market are situated in Canada, U.K., and the US, India, China and some more countries of Asia Pacific region. Consequently, Asia Pacific, North America, and Western Europe are estimated to hold more than half of the market shares, collectively in coming years.Get Up to 40% Discount on this report:The research report profiles the players and offers a detailed report about the competitive landscape present in the global Automotive Water Pump market. Additionally, the report also includes a Porters five forces analysis, which examines the threat of the new entrants, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, and the intensity of the competitive rivalry. The report also discusses the business and marketing strategies likely to be implemented by these in the coming few years.In the concluding divisions of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the  Automotive Water Pump Market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report.Table of Content:Global Automotive Water Pump Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1 Global Automotive Water Pump Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2018-2023)Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2018-2023)Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market Forecast (2018-2023)Chapter 13 AppendixAbout QYReports:We at QYReports, a leading market research report publisher cater to more than 4,000 prestigious clients worldwide meeting their customized research requirements in terms of market data size and its application. Our list of customers includes renowned Chinese companies multinational companies, SMEs and private equity firms. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering you accurate, in depth and reliable market insight, industry analysis and structure. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in an and execution of a new project globally and in Chinese markets.Contact:The Work Lab,FC Road, Pune, MH, India411016
Red and White Wine Concentrate Market Size & Key Trends in terms of volume & value 2017-2025

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Red and white wine concentrates can be made from different fruit extracts which are then stored in liquid or powder form to use it in near future. Red and white wine concentrates are beneficial in various industries such as food industry, beverage industry, cosmetics industry, pharmaceutical industry etc. Red and white wine concentrates are available in liquid as well as powdered form which makes it easy to store. Red and white wine concentrates are also available in organic as well as conventional form according to its end use application.Request to view Sample Report:Market Segmentation: Red and White Wine ConcentrateThe red and white wine concentrate market is segmented on the basis of its application in different industries such as food and beverage industry, cosmetic industry, pharmaceutical industry etc. In food and beverage industry red and white wine concentrate is used to enhance flavour, taste and color. In food industry, red and white wine concentrates have application in culinary bases, sauces, marinades and in soft drinks. In cosmetic industry red and white wine concentrate is used to promote and protects the production of collagen and elastin in order to maintain strength and suppleness in skin and obtain vibrant skin texture. In pharmaceuticals, red and white wine concentrates are used as it is a good source of polyphenols which complements cellular and cardiovascular health benefits.The red and white wine concentrate market is segmented on the basis of its forms as liquid and powders. Increasing demand for wine products and its application in various industries is making red and white wine concentrate popular in chefs and home use, therefore the market has seen to grow in forecast period.The red and white wine concentrate market is segmented on the basis of its nature as organic and conventional. Awareness of using organic products and health benefits associated with it is rising which is increasing demand for organic red and white wine concentrates as compared to conventional red and white wine concentrates.The red and white wine concentrate market is segmented on the basis of regions as North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and ME.Buy this Report at:Global Red and White Wine Concentrate Market: Regional OutlookDepending on geographic regions global red and white wine concentrate market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and ME. Red and white wine concentrate industries in Canada, Japan, Australia, and Asia are seen to grow in forecast period as a result of increasing food industries in these regions. France. The U.S., Spain, South Africa are some of the leading countries in wine production which have higher potential of rising in red and white wine concentrates in global market.Global Red and White Wine Concentrate Market: Drivers and TrendsThe red wine concentrates contain high level of antioxidants which is useful in tightening and refining the skin, also it promotes and protects the production of collagen and elastin in the skin which provides strength and suppleness to the skin with essential nutrients to the skin cells. Cosmetic industry is increasing its demand for organic products to maintain the healthy skin, which is one of the driver for growing red and white wine concentrate global market. Awareness of consumption of organic products is increasing in health conscious consumers which may increase the demand for organic red and white wine concentrate market. Consumption wine-based products is a new trend in youths which is driving red and white wine concentrate market globally.Global Red and White Wine Concentrate: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified across the value chain of the global red and white wine concentrate market include Kanegrade Limited, Diana Naturals, Australian Vintage Limited, GrapSud, The Ciatti Company, Home Winery Supply Company etc. are amongst.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Jan 10, 2018: Magnetic Chucks Market Forecast 2023 Lisle, Festool, Suburban, Klein Tools

Magnetic Chucks Market

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Magnetic Chucks Market Research 2018A market study "Global Magnetic Chucks Market" examines the performance of the Magnetic Chucks market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Magnetic Chucks market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Magnetic Chucks market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Magnetic Chucks Market 2018 report includes Magnetic Chucks market Revenue, market Share, Magnetic Chucks industry volume, market Trends, Magnetic Chucks Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Magnetic Chucks Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2023.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Magnetic Chucks Market 2018 : Accusize Industrial Tools Suburban GoldWorld Klein Tools Sarda Magnets Group Lisle Steel Dragon Tools Jancy Engineering Company Champion Cutting Tool Milwaukee FestoolMagnetic Chucks Market : By Application Grinding Machine Milling Machine PlanerMagnetic Chucks Market : By Type Ordinary Rectangular Chuck Strong Magnetic Chuck Dense Magnetic ChuckFirstly, the report covers the top Magnetic Chucks manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Magnetic Chucks report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Magnetic Chucks industry, Magnetic Chucks industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Magnetic Chucks Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Magnetic Chucks research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Magnetic Chucks market revenue worldwide.Finally, Magnetic Chucks market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWeb:Email: sales@spiremarketresearch.com
Jan 10, 2018: Woodworking Composer Market Forecast 2023 Fulpow, Qingdao Zhongding Machinery

Woodworking Composer

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Woodworking Composer Market Research 2018A market study "Global Woodworking Composer Market" examines the performance of the Woodworking Composer market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Woodworking Composer market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Woodworking Composer market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Woodworking Composer Market 2018 report includes Woodworking Composer market Revenue, market Share, Woodworking Composer industry volume, market Trends, Woodworking Composer Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Woodworking Composer Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2023.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Woodworking Composer Market 2018 : HOMAG HOLYTEK GONGYOU Qingdao Zhongding Machinery Fulpow HONGQIANG KTCC I FANFirstly, the report covers the top Woodworking Composer manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Woodworking Composer report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Woodworking Composer industry, Woodworking Composer industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Woodworking Composer Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Woodworking Composer research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Woodworking Composer market revenue worldwide.Finally, Woodworking Composer market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWeb:Email: sales@spiremarketresearch.com
Jan 10, 2018: Fire Suppression Products Market Forecast 2023 Hochiki, Safex Fire, Amerex, Britannia Fire

Fire Suppression Products Market

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Fire Suppression Products Market Research 2018A market study "Global Fire Suppression Products Market" examines the performance of the Fire Suppression Products market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Fire Suppression Products market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Fire Suppression Products market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Fire Suppression Products Market 2018 report includes Fire Suppression Products market Revenue, market Share, Fire Suppression Products industry volume, market Trends, Fire Suppression Products Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Fire Suppression Products Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2023.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Fire Suppression Products Market 2018 : Amerex BRK Tyco Fire Protection Products Minimax NAF Buckeye Fire Equipment Britannia Fire Cosco Fire Protection Douze It Fire Fighter Industry Globe Fire Sprinkler Hochiki Kidde NAFFCO Reliable Fire Sprinklers Safex Fire Strike First United TechnologiesFire Suppression Products Market : By Application Residential Non-residentialFire Suppression Products Market : By Type Fire Extinguisher Fire SprinklerFirstly, the report covers the top Fire Suppression Products manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Fire Suppression Products report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Fire Suppression Products industry, Fire Suppression Products industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Fire Suppression Products Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Fire Suppression Products research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Fire Suppression Products market revenue worldwide.Finally, Fire Suppression Products market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWeb:Email: sales@spiremarketresearch.com
Jan 10, 2018: Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter Market Forecast 2023 Setaram, Perkinelmer, Netzsch, Shimadzu

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Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter Market Research 2018A market study "Global Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter Market" examines the performance of the Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter Market 2018 report includes Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter market Revenue, market Share, Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter industry volume, market Trends, Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2023.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter Market 2018 : TA Netzsch Mettler-Toledo Perkinelmer Malvern Shimadzu Setaram Hitachi Rigaku Linseis Beijing Henven Nanjing Dazhan Shanghai InnuoFirstly, the report covers the top Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter industry, Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter market revenue worldwide.Finally, Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWeb:Email: sales@spiremarketresearch.com
Red Rice Market Expected to Expand at a Steady CAGR through 2025

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Red rice is a rice which has red color due to anthocyanin content in the rice. Red rice is consumed with hulls or partially hulled form having nutty flavour. Red rice have higher nutritional value than the usual polished rice. There are different varieties of red rice such as rakthashali, Thai red cargo rice, Bhutanese red rice, Camargue red rice etc. Red rice is also called as weedy rice as it persists as a weed in fields. Red rice contains iron, carbohydrates, zinc, protein, fat, fiber and potassium. Red rice is a source of anti-oxidant which helps consumer accelerate its wound healing and maintain bodys defense mechanism. Prevention of heart disease and lowering the cholesterol level in body are important factors in growth of red rice market in global market.Request to view Sample Report:Market Segmentation: Red riceThe red rice market is segmented on the basis of its application in different industries such as food and beverage industry, cosmetic industry, healthcare industry etc. In food and beverage industry, it is used for wine making and nutritional food for consumption. Red rice is a high source of antioxidant which makes it useful in cosmetic industry in Japan and Korea. In healthcare industry, red rice is used as traditional Chinese medicine for health issues such as increasing blood flow, better food digestion and eliminating blood blockages etc.The red rice is segmented on the basis of type as Rakthashali, Thai Red Cargo rice, Bhutanese red rice, Camargue red rice, Red parboiled rice etc. where Rakthashali is a uncommon rice variety, Thai Red Cargo rice is a gluten-free rice variety, Bhutanese red rice is medium grain rice cultivated in Kingdom of Bhutan, Camargue red rice is cultivated in southern France. Red parboiled rice is used mainly in India and Shri Lanka for making their traditional foods.The red rice is segmented on the basis of nature of rice as organic and conventional. Demand for organic red rice is more as compared to conventional red rice as a result of increasing awareness of consuming organic products. Higher nutritional value than polished rice makes red rice popular in fitness trainers and athletes.The red rice market is segmented on the basis of regions as North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and ME.Buy this Report at:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Romania Telecommunication Market 2018: Key Players RCS & RDS, Lycamobile, UPC Romania, Nextgen

Romania Telecommunication

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Summary"Romania: Country Intelligence Report", a new Country Intelligence Report, provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Romania today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2022. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile and pay-TV segments, as well as a review of key regulatory trends.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Companies mentionedOrange RomaniaVodafone RomaniaTelekom RomaniaRCS & RDSLycamobileUPC RomaniaNextgenRomanias telecom and pay-TV services market will grow from an estimated RON14.8bn ($3.6bn) in 2017 to RON17.6bn ($4.8bn) by 2022 at a CAGR of 3.6% (5.9% in US$) over 2017-2022, driven by projected growth in the mobile data, fixed broadband and pay-TV segments. Mobile voice will be the largest revenue-contributing segment in 2017. However, mobile data revenue will expand at the fastest CAGR of 21.2% (24.0% in US$) over 2017-2022, reaching RON5.8bn ($1.6bn) by 2022 driven by rising data consumption along with growing smartphone penetration, further supported by adoption of 4G/4.5G services and projected rise in adoption of 5G subscriptions. Moving forward, Romanias pay-TV market is expected to see a CAGR of 0.1% (2.4% in US$) with growth in DTH and IPTV subscriptions.The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following -- Demographic and macroeconomic context in Romania.- The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, tariff regulation and more.- Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, mobile data and pay-TV markets.- The competitive landscape: an examination of the positioning of leading players in the telecom and pay-TV services market as well as subscription market shares across segments.- Company snapshots: analysis of the financial position of leading service providers in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets.- Underlying assumptions behind our published base-case forecasts, as well as potential market developments that would alter, either positively or negatively, our base-case outlook.Scope- Overall telecom and pay-TV services revenue in Romania will grow at a CAGR of 3.6% (5.9% in US$) during 2017-2022.- Mobile revenue will account for 67% of total telecom and pay-TV services revenue in 2022, driven by increasing adoption of 4G/4.5G services and projected 5G growth.- Orange Romania leads Romanias mobile market in terms of mobile subscriptions for 2017, followed by Vodafone Romania, Telekom Romania, RCS & RDS, Lycamobile and others. All the operators compete on the basis of network expansions/upgrades, and competitively priced offers to strengthen their market position.Reasons to buy- This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of Romanias telecommunications markets, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies.- Accompanying Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Romanias mobile communications, fixed telephony, broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares.- With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality.- The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decision-makers built around in-depth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in Romanias telecommunications markets.- The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Romania.Table of Content: Key PointsTable of contents 3Market highlights 4Demographic, macroeconomic and regulatory context 5Demographic and macroeconomic context 6Regulatory context 8Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook 9Total telecom service revenue 10Mobile services market 12Fixed services market 18Pay-TV services market 22Competitive landscape and company snapshots 25Competitive landscape 26Telekom Romania 28Orange Romania 29Vodafone Romania 30RCS & RDS 31Additional resources 32ContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Pillow Support Systems Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2017 - 2025

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Pillow support systems products are designed for hospitals, clinical settings and research centers. They offer pillow support system kits that can be used by multiple patients in hospital and clinical outpatient MRI suites. Concern over infectious disease and fluid contamination has been various organizations primary reason to develop coatings and fabrics that can resist repeated cleaning using hospital grade disinfectants. A pillow support system is generally U shaped or horseshoe shaped with an ovate shaped cavity in the center and a means for fastening. At the point when utilized as a part of a horizontal position, the cavity is sufficiently extensive to fit around the midriff of an adult hence taking into consideration a back support with arm rests, a pregnancy pillow, a floor pillow for sleeping, watching TV, or a nursing pillow. At the point when the fastener is utilized, the two tubular arms cover at the closures framing a shut oval or doughnut shape. In this position, the cushion can bolster a little tyke in a sitting or leaning back position. The pillow can likewise be utilized as a part of a vertical position supporting both upper and lower back of the patient. The cushion is loaded with a pliable material making it to a great degree of comfort for all ages and as a result of the fastener it is easy to convey. Pillow support systems provide comfort and accuracy during imaging studies such as coatings give impervious hindrance to infections and microbes, available in vinyl or fabric coatings that resist puncture or tearing. Designed with high-grade memory foam ensure maximum comfort, to eliminate repeat testing and minimal movement.Request for Table of Contents @The Pillow Support Systems market is driven by global increasing rate of accidents, increasing demand for various diagnostic imaging instruments. Further increasing prevalence of osteoporosis and back, neck pain and hike in geriatric population is fueling global Pillow Support Systems market.However, the unawareness about Pillow Support Systems, and advanced technologies in Pillow Support Systems can impact negatively on the revenue growth of the Pillow Support Systems Market and restrain the growth of the global market over the forecast period. Side effects or adverse effects associated with Pillow Support Systems are also hindering the growth of global Pillow Support Systems market. Lack of awareness for advanced technologies in Digital Imaging technology is another restraining factor in global Pillow Support Systems market.Request to View Sample of Research Report @Players in Pillow Support Systems Market are adopting new pillow support systems technologies as the key strategy. Owing to high revenue and demand in the image diagnosis (X-Ray etc.), players are investing to build up their product diversity. By distribution channel, hospitals are anticipated to grow in positive traction owing to global rising awareness for pillow support system as a preventive major during surgery. By product type neck pillow support systems are expected to garner larger share in global Pillow Support Systems market due to increased prevalence of neck pain and related issues.Geographically, Pillow Support Systems market is segmented into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America and Europe regions are anticipated to hold larger market revenue share in pillow support systems market over the forecast period. Awareness of Pillow Support Systems is anticipated to fuel the revenue growth in the Asia Pacific region. The countries like India and China are attractive markets for key players for global Pillow Support Systems market.The key players in Pillow Support Systems Market include NoMoCo Pillow, Inc., Sissel UK Ltd, Putnams, to name a few.Pre Book Full Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Lichen Sclerosus Treatment Market Pegged for Robust Expansion During 2017 - 2025

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Lichen sclerosus is a chronic disorder of the skin, affecting the genital and anal areas. However, in some serious cases, they may appear on upper body such as arms and breast regions. According to various studies, lichen sclerosus is most common in females (after menopause), uncommon in adult males, and very rare in children. Lichen sclerosus appears by forming white spots on the affected regions, the spots may be glossy and smooth in appearance, if untreated they develop into bigger patches. In addition, lichen sclerosus may result in red or purple colored bruises, skin becomes more prone to tear, itching and bleeding. The main cause of lichen sclerosus is still unknown, it is believed to be caused by hyper-immunity reactions or by hormonal imbalance. An individual with previous skin destruction around genital or anal region, are more susceptible to develop lichen sclerosus. Corticosteroids are mainly used for the treatment and management of lichen sclerosus. Women with vulvas lichen sclerosus are at a high risk of causing vulvar cancer.Request for Table of Contents @The growth of lichen sclerosus treatment market is mainly driven by the increasing prevalence of immune system disorders, especially in females. In addition, hormonal misbalance is a general symptom in females undergoing menopause and are more liable to develop lichen sclerosus, and thereby, boosts the growth of lichen sclerosus market. The other factors driving the growth of lichen sclerosus is high susceptibility towards causative microorganisms, which tends to propel the overall growth of lichen sclerosus treatment market. However, the growth of lichen sclerosus market can be hampered owing to the lack of awareness among the population. The majority of population considers lichen sclerosus as a general infection which can be eradicated by itself. Moreover, other factors such as no availability of proper treatment or no exact drug formulation available in the market for treating lichen sclerosus can impede the growth of lichen sclerosus treatment market.Lichen sclerosus treatment market is expected to show healthy growth during the forecast period. Based on the location such as upper body part, treatment is not often required, therefore, patches fade away after a certain time, but if lichen sclerosus appears in the genital area, treatment is mandatory. If it remains untreated, patches become enlarged and can cause discomfort during sex, urination, and any other activities. In addition, over a period of time, lichen sclerosus can develop into skin cancer. The overall lichen sclerosus treatment market creates lucrative opportunities for manufacturers and investors owing to the fact that there are no exact treatment options available in the market. Moreover, there are very few industries engaging in developing or marketing treatment for lichen sclerosus, thereby, opens a gateway for third party investors in lichen sclerosus treatment market.Request to View Sample of Research Report @Geographically, global lichen sclerosus treatment market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. North America holds the largest market share, followed by Europe owing to more sophisticated healthcare infrastructure and ease of availability of treatment options. In addition, other factors such as favorable reimbursement policies also boosts the growth of lichen sclerosus treatment market in North America. Asia-Pacific region is estimated to grow at a rapid rate over the forecast period owing to factors such as presence of large population base in this region, including large geriatric population, and increasing healthcare facilities, and increasing investment by the public or private bodies, which propels the growth of lichen sclerosus treatment market. However, regions such as Latin America, Middle East and Africa show a steady growth during the forecast year due to the lack of awareness about the disease and its treatment, and dearth of skilled professional in these regions, but, these regions are anticipated to provide ample opportunities during the forecast period.Some of the market participants in the global lichen sclerosus treatment are AstraZeneca plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Inc., Pfizer Inc., Sandoz AG (Novartis AG), Sanofi S.A., Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and Zylera Pharmaceuticals.Pre Book Full Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Advanced Wound Care Management Market to Surpass US$ 16.9 Billion by 2025

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The global advanced wound care management market, by Product Type (Moist Wound Dressings {Foam Dressings, Hydrocolloid Dressings, Film Dressings, Alginate Dressings, Hydrogel Dressings, and Collagen Dressings}, Wound Therapy Devices {Pressure Relief Devices, Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Systems, Hyperbaric Oxygen Equipment, and Electrical Stimulation Devices}, and Active Wound Care {Artificial Skin & Substitutes and Topical Agents}), by Wound Type (Surgical Wounds, Ulcers {Pressure Ulcers, Diabetic Foot Ulcers, and Venous Ulcers}, Traumatic Wounds, Burns and Other Wounds), by End User (Hospitals, Clinics, and Ambulatory Surgical Units), and by Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) was valued at US$ 9,384.8 million in 2016 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.8% over the forecast period (20172025), as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.Request a sample copy of this report:Growth of the global advanced wound care management market is primarily attributed to increased research and development activity and rampant innovation in the advanced wound care products. In November 2017, Arora Biosurgery received 510(k) clearance from U.S. FDA for its Endoform Silver Dermal Template product. Endoform Silver Dermal Template is an advanced antimicrobial version of the companys EDT wound care product and cane be used for chronic wounds, where healing is stalled. With the FDA clearance, the company is expected be able to commercialize antimicrobial version of its EDT in the U.S and is expected to launch its product in the first quarter of 2018.In April 2017, ConvaTec Group Plc.  a global medical technology company  introduced Foam Lite ConvaTec dressing in the U.S for the management of low to non-exuding chronic and acute wounds. The Foam Lite ConvaTec dressing comprises breathable film and perforated, silicone adhesive. The dressing is flexible and conforms in different positions and places such as wrists, knees, elbows, and ankles. The silicone adhesive is user-friendly, easy to apply, and reposition and does not stick to the gloves or damages wound upon removal. The product is available in the Netherlands, the U.K, Germany, France, Austria, Spain, Croatia, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada.Browse 27 Market Data Tables and 35 Figures spread through 190 Pages and in-depth TOC on Global Advanced Wound Care Management Market by Product (Moist Wound Dressings (Foam Dressings, Hydrocolloid Dressings, Film Dressings, Alginate Dressings, Hydrogel Dressings and Collagen Dressings), Wound Therapy Devices (Pressure Relief Devoices, Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Systems, Hyperbaric Oxygen Equipment and Electrical Stimulation Devices), and Active Wound Care (Artificial Skin and Substitutes and Topical Agents), by Wound Type (Surgical Wounds, Ulcers (Pressure Ulcers, Diabetic Foot Ulcers and Venous Ulcers), Traumatic Wounds, Burns and Other Wounds), by End User (Hospitals, Clinics and Ambulatory Surgical Units), and by Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) - Global Forecast to 2025Key players are focusing on collaborations to strengthen their product portfolio related to advanced wound care management. For instance, in December 2017, Smith and Nephew in collaboration with MolecuLight Inc. introduced MolecuLight  a handheld digital scanner device  that instantly determines the presence of bacteria and infection in the wound. This point of care (POC) device is expected to decrease the diagnosis and wound healing time by nine hours with 54% more accuracy. Furthermore, in November 2017, Crawford Healthcare in collaboration agreement with EBOS Healthcare  an Australasian medical supplies distributor  in order to expand into New Zealand and Australia markets.Ask for customization:Key Takeaways of the Market:The global advanced wound care management market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.8% over the forecast period (20172025), owing to rising incidences of diabetic population and chronic wounds. According to Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in 2016, 23.6 million people suffer from diabetes, which is 7.8 percent of the total population in the U.S. One third of all diabetic population in the U.S also suffer from lower extremity wounds. Asia Pacific region in the global advanced wound care management market is expected to exhibit a high growth rate, in terms of value, over the forecast period owing to its large population baseAmong wound type, the ulcers segment is expected to exhibit a significant CAGR of 4.9%, owing to rising incidences of diabetic ulcersAsia Pacific emerging as a key market. For instance, in 2012, Smith & Nephew launched 23 new wound care products in Asian and Chinese markets. Further in the same year, ConvaTec started some operations in India to up bring novel healthcare technologies and treatment measures in Asian market.The major players operating in the advanced wound care management market include Johnson & Johnson, 3M Company, Baxter International, Acelity, Coloplast, Integra Lifesciences, Kinetic Concepts, Covidien, Smith & Nephew, Leap Therapeutics, Hematris Wound Care, and Triage Meditech.To know the latest trends and insights prevalent in the advanced wound care management market, click the link below:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website:
Meningitis Diagnostic Testing Deep Research on Industrial and Market studies - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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"Meningitis Diagnostic Testing Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.. .Description-' ' Meningitis is referred to as the inflammation (swelling) of meninges or membranes that cover the brain and the spinal cord. People of any age can be affected by the meningitis disease. The most common cause of meningitis is bacteria or viruses. However, microorganisms other than bacteria or viruses and certain medications (for example, amoxicillin, azathioprine, or methotrexate) or certain illnesses may also lead to meningitis. Fever, irritability, skin rashes, headache, drowsiness, and fits (seizures) are some of the most common signs and symptoms of meningitis. Signs and symptoms of infant meningitis might differ. They include jaundice, weak suck, and stiffness of the body and neck. Some of the major complications of meningitis are brain damage, hearing loss, epilepsy, vision loss, bone and joint problems, and loss of limbs (amputation). Patients suffering from meningitis can be diagnosed by their medical history, physical examination, and certain diagnostic tests. Meningitis diagnostic tests include laboratory tests and imaging studies that are primarily used to detect meningitis infection.. .Get Sample Report @' ' The global market for meningitis diagnostics is expanding significantly, owing to increased chances of infection led by increase in the life expectancy of people across the globe. A driving factor for the meningitis diagnostic testing market is rising initiatives by governments and disease foundations. For instance, GAVI has taken an initiative to save childrens lives and protect public health through the widespread use of diagnostic tests. Growth of the meningitis diagnostic testing market can also be attributed to the rise in cross-country travel and increase in the number of road accidents. The global meningitis diagnostic testing market can be segmented on the basis of type, source of infection, end-user, and region. Types of meningitis diagnostic tests include complete blood count test, blood culture test, lumbar puncture (spinal tap) test, imaging tests (computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)), and others. Blood culture tests help identify the bacteria in the blood. MRI or CT scan of the head show swelling or inflammation of meninges. X-ray or CT scan of the chest may also show the infection and help diagnose the meningitis disease. Spinal tap or lumbar puncture test is employed to identify increased pressure on the central nervous system (CNS) and inflammation or presence of bacteria in the spinal fluid. In terms of end-user, the meningitis diagnostic testing market can be segmented into hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and others. In terms of revenue, the hospitals segment held a significant share of the meningitis diagnostic testing market in 2016. In terms of region, the global meningitis diagnostic testing market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is the leading market for meningitis diagnostic testing, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. In terms of revenue, the U.S. holds a major share of the meningitis diagnostic testing market in North America. The market in Europe is expanding rapidly, due to increase in the patient population, especially in Germany. Moreover, the market in Asia Pacific and Latin America is projected to expand significantly in the near future. Developing economies such as China and Japan are projected to contribute to growth of the market in APAC between 2017 and 2025, due to better health care infrastructure, economic growth, increase in the number of insurance payers, growth of the private health care sector, and increasing awareness through awareness programs.Key players operating in the global meningitis diagnostic testing market are Abbott Laboratories, Inc., Affymetrix, Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Diamedix Corporation (a subsidiary of IVAX Diagnostics, Inc.), DiaSorin S.p.A., Fujirebio Diagnostics, Inc., Gen-Probe, Inc., Novartis Diagnostics, XCyton Diagnostics Limited, BioFire Diagnostics, HiberGene Diagnostics, and Diagenode Diagnostics. The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.  The study is a source of reliable data on:  Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysis  The regional analysis covers:  North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa) The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain. A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.  Highlights of the report:  A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the market. .More Clear Details get Table of Contents @ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Coagulation Analysers Market exhibiting a CAGR of 7.2% during the period of 2017 - 2027

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A new report published by Future Market Insights titled Coagulation Analysers Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012  2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017  2027) studies the performance of the global coagulation analysers market over a 10 year assessment period from 2017 to 2027. The report presents the value forecast of the global coagulation analysers market and provides useful insights into the factors driving market growth as well as the factors restricting market growth. The estimates point to a revenue growth from US$ 756 Mn in the year 2017 to US$ 1,514 Mn by 2027 end, resulting in a CAGR of 7.2% during the period of assessment.Growing Prevalence of Cardiovascular Diseases and an Increase in the Number of Cancer Patients Fuelling Revenue Growth of the Coagulation Analysers MarketCardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of deaths in the world and are considered as a global disease burden. As per the data provided by WHO, 17.5 million people across the world die from cardiovascular diseases every year, which accounts for 31 percent of all the deaths globally. In light of this, coagulation tests such as PT/INR are commonly used blood tests to identify the risk of cardiovascular diseases. An increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is expected to boost the global market for coagulation analysers during the forecast period.Request For Report Sample @Research has indicated that malignancy affects the haemostatic system and vice versa. An imbalance of the haemostatic system in cancer patients raises their chances of developing thrombosis, haemorrhage or both. In addition, the haemostatic factor plays an important role in tumour progression and haemostatic components and cancer biology are interconnected in various ways. As per the American Cancer Society, in the year 2016, nearly 1,685,210 new cancer cases were registered in the U.S. This increase in the number of cancer patients is expected to drive the global coagulation testing market during the assessment period.Global Coagulation Analysers Market: Segmentation and ForecastThe report segments the global coagulation analysers market on the basis of product type and end user. On the basis of product type, coagulation analysers are categorised as standalone analysers, table top analysers and portable analysers. On the basis of end use, the coagulation analysers market is segmented into hospitals, clinical laboratories and others.The table top analysers segment by product type is estimated to be valued at US$ 208 Mn in the year 2017, and is projected to reach a valuation of US$ 432 Mn by the end of the year 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.6% during the period of assessment.By end use, the hospitals segment is estimated to be valued at US$ 244 Mn in the year 2017, and is projected to reach a valuation of US$ 450 Mn by the end of the year 2027, registering a CAGR of 6.3% during the period of assessment.Global Coagulation Analysers Market: Regional ForecastFuture Market Insights tracks the performance of the global coagulation analysers market across the key geographies of North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and Middle East & Africa. As per the forecast of Future Market Insights, the North America coagulation analysers market is estimated to be valued at US$ 286 Mn in the year 2017 and is projected to reach a value of US$ 546 Mn by the year 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.7% during the period of assessment. The Western Europe coagulation analysers market is estimated to be valued at US$ 147 Mn in the year 2017 and is projected to reach a value of US$ 314 Mn by the year 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.8% during the period of assessment.Request For Table Of Content @Global Coagulation Analysers Market: Vendor InsightsThis report includes some of the important players operating in the global coagulation analysers market such as Instrumentation Laboratory, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Helena Laboratories Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Rayto Life and Analytical Sciences Co., Ltd., Nihon Kohden Corporation Siemens AG, Beckman Coulter Inc. (Danaher Corporation), Sysmex Corporation, Abbott Laboratories and Siemens AG. Manufacturers are concentrating on developing advanced analysers at a lower price, with an objective to witness an increase in their market share.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
DNA Polymerase Market revenues are projected to expand at a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period 2017-2027

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Future Market Insights presents a detailed forecast and in-depth insights on the global DNA polymerase market in a new report titled DNA Polymerase Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012  2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017  2027). According to the report, the global DNA polymerase market is anticipated to record a compounded annual growth rate of 6.5% and reach a market value of US$ 389.4 Mn in 2027.Factors Impacting Market Revenue GrowthStaggering increase in the use of DNA polymerases in point-of-care and molecular diagnostics kits is expected to continue to influence the adoption of DNA polymerases. Increasing use of DNA polymerases in epigenetics research, in addition to the increasing investments in life sciences R&D is also expected to boost revenue growth of the global market. However, high cost of reagents and availability of alternative techniques are expected to limit market growth over the forecast period.Request For Report Sample @Global DNA Polymerase Market: Segmental Analysis & ForecastBy product type, growth of the eukaryotic DNA polymerase segment will be positively impacted by the introduction of various innovative products such as high-fidelity DNA polymerase that show excellent results in whole blood and other samples containing crude lysates. These products have been used in direct PCR applications, with limited sample processing, which have been a constant requirement especially for high throughput applications. In addition, the use of PCR-based technologies in point-of-care tests, companion diagnostics and other applications have led to a major boost for the DNA polymerase market. Manufacturers of DNA polymerases are entering into distribution agreements to extend product reach and collaborations to ensure they gain market share and remain competitive in global markets. Eukaryotic DNA polymerase segment is expected to hold the highest share of the market, as well as display strong growth, expanding at a CAGR of 6.7% over the forecast period. Among end use segments, molecular diagnostics companies are expected to hold the largest share of the global DNA polymerase market at over 31% market share in terms of revenue in 2027. However, the academic and research institutes segment is anticipated to expand at a robust growth rate of 7.4% over the forecast period.Global DNA Polymerase Market: Regional Analysis & ForecastFMIs report segments the global DNA polymerase market on the basis of region into North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Japan, and the Middle East & Africa. This report assesses key trends driving each market segment and offers analysis and insights on the DNA polymerase market across specific regions. The market in North America is anticipated to dominate the global DNA polymerase market with maximum value share by end of 2027, accounting for over 56% in terms of revenue. In terms of value, the market in Latin America is expected to be the fastest growing, registering a CAGR of 7.8% over the forecast period. The market in Asia Pacific Excluding Japan is also expected to show a significant growth of 7.7% over the forecast period.Request For Table Of Content @Global DNA Polymerase Market: Vendor LandscapeSome of the key competitors covered in this report include Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Roche Diagnostics, Agilent Technologies, Qiagen NV, Takara Bio Company, Merck KGaA, Genscript, Illumina, New England Biolabs, and Promega Corporation. These vendors in the global DNA polymerase market are expanding their business by launching new and innovative products tailored for both research and in-vitro applications. Companies are also focussing on emerging markets in Asia Pacific to increase their geographical presence and tap into various end use segments that have the ability to invest in R&D for life sciences as well as develop innovative diagnostics tools.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Netherlands Telecommunication Market 2018: Key Players Lebara, Canal Digitaal, Online, KPN

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Summary"Netherlands: Country Intelligence Report", a new Country Intelligence Report provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in the Netherlands today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2022. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile and pay-TV segments, as well as a review of key regulatory trends.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Companies mentionedKPNT-Mobile NetherlandsVodafoneZiggoTele2 NetherlandsLebaraCanal DigitaalOnlineThe telecom and pay-TV services market in the Netherlands will see lethargic growth from 10.2bn in 2017 to 10.6bn by 2022 at a CAGR of 0.6% over 2017-2022 as fixed broadband, mobile data and pay-TV services will sustain total market growth over the forecast period. Mobile voice revenue will decline over the forecast period due to falling voice ARPS. Mobile data revenue will expand at the fastest CAGR of 4.9% in  driven by continued rise in smartphone penetration and consumption of higher-value data-centric plans. The pay-TV market will grow from 1.4bn ($1.6bn) in 2017 to 1.7bn ($2.1bn) by 2022 at a CAGR of 3.3% in  (5.1% in $) driven by an increase in IPTV subscriptions.The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following -- Demographic and macroeconomic context in the Netherlands.- The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, tariff regulation and more.- Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, mobile data and pay-TV markets.- The competitive landscape: an examination of the positioning of leading players in the telecom and pay-TV services market as well as subscription market shares across segments.- Company snapshots: analysis of the financial position of leading service providers in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets.- Underlying assumptions behind our published base-case forecasts, as well as potential market developments that would alter, either positively or negatively, our base-case outlook.Scope- The overall telecom and pay-TV services revenue in the Netherlands will grow at a CAGR of 0.6% in  (2.4% in US$) during 2017-2022.- Mobile revenue will account for 46.5% of total telecom and pay-TV services revenue in 2022, driven by increasing adoption of 4G/5G services.- KPN leads the Netherland's mobile market in terms of mobile subscriptions for 2017, followed by VodafoneZiggo and T-Mobile Netherlands. Major operators focus on LTE network advacements to remain competitive in the market.Reasons to buy- This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of the Netherlands telecommunications markets, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies.- Accompanying Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in the Netherlands mobile communications, fixed telephony, broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares.- With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality.- The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decision-makers built around in-depth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in the Netherlands telecommunications markets.- The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in the Netherlands.Table of Content: Key PointsTable of contents 3Market highlights 4Demographic, macroeconomic and regulatory context 5Demographic and macroeconomic context 6Regulatory context 8Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook 9Total telecom service revenue 10Mobile services market 12Fixed services market 18Pay-TV services market 22Competitive landscape and company snapshots 25Competitive landscape 26KPN 28VodafoneZiggo 29T-Mobile Netherlands 30Tele2 Netherlands 31Additional resources 32Baseline forecast assumptions 33Data tables 34Glossary 36Research methodology 39ContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Energy Harvesting Market 2018 Analysis by Type and Application, Manufacturers, Regions and forecast to 2025

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ReportsWeb.com added Energy Harvesting Market - Global Trends, 2017 Analysis and 2025 Forecasts report to its research database. This Report is spread across 150 Pages and Supported by 10 Company Leaders.Energy harvesting (also known as power harvesting or energy scavenging) is defined as a process which captures small amount of energy that would be lost as heat, light, sound and vibration. It is the process by which energy is derived from an external source and is directly utilized to drive the machines, or is used for future purpose.Energy harvesting reduces dependency on battery power, minimizes maintenance cost and as long as the ambient energy is available it will provide long term solution are the major drivers which help in surging the growth of this market whereas high initial setup cost may act as a restraining factor for this market. Innovation in energy harvesting technology such as ocean energy harvesting will add new opportunities for this market in the coming years.The "Global Energy Harvesting System Market Analysis to 2025" is a specialized and in-depth study of the energy harvesting system industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global energy harvesting system market with detailed market segmentation by technologies, components, application and geography. The global energy harvesting system market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request Sample Copy is Available atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global energy harvesting system market based on technologies, materials, components and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall energy harvesting system market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM). The market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 16 counties globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.Besides this, the report analyzes factors affecting market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely; North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the market in these regions.Inquire Before buyingGlobal Energy Harvesting Market Players:1. Arveni2. Convergence Wireless LLC3. Cymbet Corporation4. EnOcean GmbH.5. Honeywell International Inc.6. Powercast Corporation7. Texas Instruments Incorporated.8. Bionic Power Inc.9. O-Flexx Technologies GmbH10. Fujitsu LimitedComplete Report is Available atTable of Contents1. Introduction2. Key Takeaways3. Energy Harvesting Market-Key Industry Dynamics4. Energy Harvesting Market Analysis-Global5. Energy Harvesting Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025-Technologies6. Energy Harvesting Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025-Components7. Energy Harvesting Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025-Application8. Energy Harvesting Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025-Geographical Analysis9. Energy Harvesting Market, Key Company ProfilesAbout ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers.Contact Us:Phone: +1-646-491-9876Email Id: sales@reportsweb.com
Automotive Brake Pads Market Overview, Segmentation & Competitive Landscape by Focusing On Top Key Vendors: BOSCH, TRW Automotive, Nisshinbo, MAT Holdings, ITT Corporation, ATE, Hoenywell, Acdelco, Akebono, Delphi Automotive

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The report, titled Global Automotive Brake Pads Market. The report on the global market offers an elaborate assessment of key drivers and restraints, emerging trends, notable opportunities, prominent business use cases, and recent technological advancements. The research presents a thorough insight into the market share and size of various types of lucrative avenues, and competitive landscape.This report studies Automotive Brake Pads in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2013 to 2018, and forecast to 2023.Top Key Vendors:BOSCH, TRW Automotive, Nisshinbo, MAT Holdings, ITT Corporation, ATE, Hoenywell, Acdelco, Akebono, Delphi Automotive, BREMBO, Sangsin Brake, SAL-FER, ADVICS, FBK CORPORATIOIN, ICER, MK Kashiyama, Sumitomo, Hitachi Chemical, Hawk Performance, Fras-le, EBC Brakes, Brake Parts Inc, ABS Friction, Meritor, Shandong Gold Phoenix, Shangdong xinyi, Double Link, Hunan BoYunGet Sample Copy @The report offers a fundamental overview of the Global Automotive Brake Pads Market. It includes definitions, product specifications, classification, and applications of the global market. The study also comprises an industry chain analysis and an industry overview of the major regions and their status in the global market.The next section of the report analyzes the development plans and policies, manufacturing process, and product cost structure of the Automotive Brake Pads market. The report specifically focuses on the leading regions and manufacturers engaged in the production of consumer devices along with the analysis of the competitive landscape, development trends, and prime regions status of development. The report also contains information such as company profiles, product specification and picture, production capacity, cost, revenue, and gross profit margin.The report profiles the key market players which are dominant in the global Automotive Brake Pads market. It also provides essential information about leading companies, such as product specification, financial overview, business overview, contact information, and recent developments. The list of figures provided in the table of content has mentioned all of the statistical representations of the market offered in the report.On the basis of geographical regions, the Global Automotive Brake Pads Market is segmented broadly into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The global market is still in its exploratory stage in most of the regions but it holds the promising potential to flourish steadily in coming years. The major companies investing in this market are situated in Canada, U.K., and the US, India, China and some more countries of Asia Pacific region. Consequently, Asia Pacific, North America, and Western Europe are estimated to hold more than half of the market shares, collectively in coming years.Get Up to 40% Discount on this report:The research report profiles the players and offers a detailed report about the competitive landscape present in the global Automotive Brake Pads market. Additionally, the report also includes a Porters five forces analysis, which examines the threat of the new entrants, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, and the intensity of the competitive rivalry. The report also discusses the business and marketing strategies likely to be implemented by these in the coming few years.In the concluding divisions of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the  Automotive Brake Pads Market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report.Table of Content:Global Automotive Brake Pads Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1 Global Automotive Brake Pads Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2018-2023)Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2018-2023)Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market Forecast (2018-2023)Chapter 13 AppendixAbout QYReports:We at QYReports, a leading market research report publisher cater to more than 4,000 prestigious clients worldwide meeting their customized research requirements in terms of market data size and its application. Our list of customers includes renowned Chinese companies multinational companies, SMEs and private equity firms. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering you accurate, in depth and reliable market insight, industry analysis and structure. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in an and execution of a new project globally and in Chinese markets.Contact:The Work Lab,FC Road, Pune, MH, India411016
Fully Enclosed Cartons Market Dynamics, Forecast, Analysis and Supply Demand 2017  2027

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In recent few years folding cartons are considered to be one of the most important packaging type for food & beverages items and is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period 2017-2025. Packaging manufacturers are nowadays looking for innovative packaging solutions in order to capture target customers and have competitive edge. Folding cartons are one of the fastest growing packaging segment across the globe. Fully enclosed cartons are the advance version of folding cartons which are used for packaging of various packaging items such as cans, bottles and some other. Fully enclosed cartons are mainly manufactured from bleached paperboard and coated unbleached kraft paperboard. Fully enclosed cartons market is gaining traction due to recyclable nature of paperboard used in the cartons. All these factors are increasing the growth for fully enclosed cartons.Request For Report Sample @Global Fully Enclosed Cartons - Market Dynamics: Fully enclosed cartons market is projected to witness substantial growth due to rising demand for convenient packaging options. Fully enclosed cartons are also getting demand from logistics companies who are looking for small and convenient packaging solution. In addition, fully enclosed cartons are also capable of preserving the quality of food and beverages. Furthermore, fully enclosed cartons are also printed so than it can give aesthetic and promotional value for the product packed in it. Low cost of raw material for manufacturing fully enclosed cartons are getting attracted. Fully enclosed cartons have also seen significant growth due to increase in shipping and cargo industry across the globe. Moreover, fully enclosed cartons are getting restricted due to several other rigid packaging options available in the market. Fully enclosed cartons usage is also restricted towards the usage for small size packs and is not suitable for packaging of product in bulk.Fully Enclosed Cartons Market Segmentation By material type  Bleached paperboard,Coated unbleached kraft paperboard,White line chipboard; By structure type  Rounded corner carton,Two or three piece carton,Straight tuck end carton,Reverse tuck end carton,Double glued side walls carton;By application  Cans,Bottles,Jars,Pails,Others;By end use  Alcoholic Beverages,Non Alcoholic Beverages,Carbonated Beverages,OthersThe fully enclosed cartons market in North America and Europe region being a mature market is expected to witness above average growth over the forecast period 2017-2025. Fully enclosed cartons market in Asia Pacific region is anticipated to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Latin America and Middle East & Africa is expected to have a robust growth due opportunities for development in beverage packaging industry over the forecast period 2017-2025.Request For Table Of Content @Global Fully Enclosed Cartons Market  Key players: Few of the key players in the fully enclosed cartons market are WestRock Company, Graphic Packaging International, Inc., Aries Packaging SA, Atlas Packaging Ltd., North American Cardboard Inc., Ficus Pax Pvt Ltd, Empire Packaging & Displays, Smurfit Kappa Group, KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp, Sonoco Products Company, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Schur Pack Germany GmbH, etc.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Wi-Fi Business Models Global Market 2018: Key Players Airtel, AT&T, Google, Virgin

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Summary"Wi-Fi Business Models: Best Practices and Disruptive Trends", a thematic research report provides an examination of Wi-Fi business models worldwide through insightful case studies of eighteen (18) Wi-Fi service providers including mobile network operators as well as MVNOs and Internet companies. The report identifies best practices for Wi-Fi network options and monetization and describes the five key business models for Wi-Fi and their fit by operator type.The installed base of Wi-Fi enabled devices continues to grow, driven in large part by the growth of smartphones. The technology has developed to better support operators and opened the door to multiple business models, enabling lower costs, new revenue streams and improved services.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Companies mentionedAirtelAT&TBTChina MobileComcastFreeFreedompopGoogleInternet SolutionsKDDIKTO2OiProximusRepublic WirelessSprintT-MobileVirginThe report is structured as follows -- Section 1: Case studies. This section provides case studies of eighteen (18) Wi-Fi service providers worldwide, examining their Wi-Fi network and go-to-market strategies.- Section 2: Key findings and recommendations. This section examines Wi-Fi business models from the perspective of their fit for different operator types, best practices and disruptive trends and recommendations on Wi-Fi network evolution and business models.ScopeKey findings of the report include -- Wi-Fi supports multiple business models for operators. There are five broad Wi-Fi business models available to network operators which can and should be used in combination (they are not mutually exclusive), though not all are relevant to all operator types. Integrated (fixed-mobile) and fixed-MVNO operators can benefit from all the different business models available while mobile first operators are more limited.- The investment and operational costs of Wi-Fi must be kept low because the revenue upside is limited. There are multiple partnership opportunities which can help to keep costs down including joint ventures, roaming, wholesale, OTT providers, Wi-Fi specialists, venue owners, advertisers, payment providers etc.- Wi-Fi network revenue upside must be maximized and thus sold across the organization from the consumer and business facing departments to advertising/media and wholesale divisions.Reasons to buy- The report provides a comprehensive examination of operator business models in the global market to help executives fully understand market dynamics, determine what works and what doesnt, formulate effective product development plans and optimize resource allocation and return on investments.- Each business model is analyzed to highlight notable approaches as well as how different types of operators, whether fixed only, fixed-mobile or mobile only are leveraging the technology to suit their particular context.- Eighteen case studies illustrate the findings of the report, providing insights into particular situations in varied markets; this will help the reader understand both the challenges confronted in the real world and the strategies employed to overcome those challenges.- The report highlights innovative and progressive approaches from operators around the world, including both developed and developing regions.- The report discusses concrete opportunities for Wi-Fi, providing a number of actionable recommendations for operators and vendors.Table of Content: Key PointsTable of contents 3List of exhibits 5Executive summary 7Section 1: Case Studies 9Airtel India 10AT&T, US 12BT, UK 14China Mobile, China 16Comcast, US 18Free, France 20FreedomPop, US 21Google Project Fi, US 22Internet Solutions, South Africa 23KDDI, Japan 25KT, South Korea 27O2, UK 29Oi, Brazil 31Proximus, Belgium 33Republic Wireless, US 35ContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global In-Vitro Fertilization Market Is Projected To Grow From US$529.8 Mn In 2017 To US$725.9 Mn By The End Of 2022

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global In-Vitro Fertilization Market Is Projected To Grow From Us$529.8 Mn In 2017 To US$725.9 Mn By The End Of 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.The global in-vitro fertilization market is projected to grow from US$529.8 Mn in 2017 to US$725.9 Mn by the end of 2022. The worldwide market is forecast to expand at a CAGR of 6.5% during 20172022.Global In-Vitro Fertilization Market: SnapshotThe report on the global in-vitro fertilization market offers a comprehensive assessment of key factors and current and emerging trends impacting the growth of the market. It offers insights into share and size of various segments based on end use and product type in various regions. The threats of entry of new players into the market is also highlighted in the report. The evidence-based findings help in identifying lucrative growth prospects and in strategy formulation. The study also takes a closer look at regulatory landscape governing IVF treatments and the factors that will bode well for the market in the foreseeable future. The report takes into account supply chain structure and pricing analysis and assesses the profile of distributors to get a balanced view of the growth of the market trajectory.The global in-vitro fertilization market estimated valuation is US$529.8 Mn. in 2017. Witnessing profound potential opportunities in various regions, the market is projected to rise at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2017 to 2022 and reach US$725.9 Mn by the end of the forecast period.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global In-Vitro Fertilization Market: DynamicsThe reports offers detailed insights into notable trends, emerging opportunities, lucrative avenues, and strategic dynamics. The research offers a granular analysis of the factors that will boost the adoption rate in various regional market. The rising case of infertility in couples owing to various lifestyle factors, including environmental and occupational exposures, is boosting the demand for IVF in various developing and developed regions. A growing number of couples are delaying the family planning, thereby bolstering the demand for assistive reproductive technology such as IVF.A burgeoning medical tourism in several emerging economies, such India, Brazil, and China has fortified the demand for IVF treatments. The availability of affordable treatments along with the promise of a good outcome in these nations is a key factor contributing to the growth of the in-vitro fertilization market. On the other hand, the comparatively unsuccessful outcome with the first few IVF procedures is a key factor likely to hamper its demand among discerning couples. Nevertheless, the improvement of laboratory infrastructure in developing countries and the advent of novel technologies are key factors expected to accentuate the market.Browse TOC @Global In-Vitro Fertilization Market: SegmentationThe report offers an in-depth segmentation and offers their share and size. The report meticulously tabulates statistics based on year-over-year growth of various product and end-use segments. This helps the readers to have a thorough overview of the market along the historical as well as forecast period (2017 -2022).The report segments the in-vitro fertilization market based on product type, end use, and geography. Based on product type, the report segments the market further into equipment, reagents, and others. Among these, reagents hold the major share in 2017 and is expected to maintain its dominance. The market will witness the dominant absolute growth over the period 2017 - 2022 and the segment is projected to expand at a CAGR of 6.3% during the same period.Based on end use, the report segments the market into fertility clinics, hospital and research laboratories, and Cryobanks.On the basis of region, the report segments the global in-vitro fertilization market into North America, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), and Japan. Of these, the APEJ in-vitro fertilization market is the most lucrative market expanding at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period to reach US$ 235.9 Mn by 2022 end. The dominance of the region is driven by burgeoning demand for IVF treatments, attributed to the rising infertility in women and men in several countries. Improvements in health care is likely to further bolster the uptake in the region.Companies profiled in the report are:The report offers extensive profiling of prominent players and the strategies adopted by them to gain a competitive edge over others. Some of the leading players operating in the global in-vitro fertilization market are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Cook Medical, Merck KGaA, Vitrolife AB, Ovascience, Inc., CooperSurgical, EMD Serono, Inc., Genea Ltd., Rocket Medical PLC, and Fertility Focus Ltd.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Two Post VRC Manufacturer - Technovision Engineers Pvt.Ltd

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The Company is one of the front Runner in Manufacturing Material Handling Equipment and Two Post VRC in India With an ISO 9001-2015 Certification. The core focus of the company lies in superior quality and excellent customer services. Technovision Engineers Pvt. Ltd. Manufacturer & Supplier of a wide range of products which include Vertical Reciprocating Conveyor such as Two Post VRC, Four Post VRC, Cantilever VRC, Auto VRC, Industrial Lift, Multi Tier Lift, Mezzanine Lift, Material Lift, Vertical Lift, etc.General:Technovision 'Two Post VRC' is widely used to move the material from one floor to another floor with great safety. It is a self-supported free standing structure.Product Range:Series 'Two Post VRC' is available with lifting capacity up to 2000kgs, carriage size 1500x1500mm and travel height 16.0Mtrs.Read More:Structure:Modular design with MS tubular structure with 'T' guide and vertical 'H' beams. Carriage is MS fabricated tubular structure with checkered platform. Carriage is covered with MS perforated sheet at non-operating sides, operating sides are provided with collapsible doors. Vertical structure has provided with MS bracing and can be also covered with MS perforated sheet optionally.Operation:Carriage lifting & lowering movement is controlled with SEW Fail Safe Motor and speed Reduction Gear Box with the help of Chain & sprockets mechanism.Safety:2 Nos. of spring loaded Safety cams are provided to arrest sudden fall of the carriage due to failure of lifting chains. Bottom Safety Limit Switch provided to prevent carriage from hammering the ground in case of failure of the level floor limit switchChain Tensioner Limit Switch provided to stop the carriage in case of the lifting chains are pulled out due to any external obstruction in the upward / downward movement of the carriageTop safety counter weight limit switch provided to cut-off the main power supply in case the carriage does not stop due to the failure of top floor level limit switchLanding station collapsible doors are interlocked with electro-mechanical limit switches.Common contactor is provided to cut-off the main power supply if the up/down contactor is failed.Enquiry Now:Enquiry Data:Please specify the technical details as under:UDL Capacity, Kgs: Please specify Load carrying capacity.Carriage Size, mm: Width x Depth x HeightVertical Travel, mm:Number of Stops: G + 1/ G + 2 / G + 3 etc.About UsTechnovision is one of the Leading Manufacturer of Material Handling Equipments. The core focus of the company lies in superior quality and excellent customer service. The company is one of the front runners in Lean Manufacturing Solutions in India with an ISO 9001-2008 certification. The company owns three manufacturing set-ups and total area of 40000 sq. ft. with all manufacturing and design equipments.Contact UsTechnovision Engineers Private LimitedGat No. 1559-1560,Dehu Alandi Road, Shelarvasti, ChikaliPune, Maharashtra- 412114, IndiaPhone- 020- 66346500 / 523Email- sales@technovisionengrs.com / enquiry@materiallift.inWebsite-
Mobile Pet Care Global Market Research Report 2017 | 4 Paws Mobile Spa, Aussie Pet Mobile, Dial a Dog Wash, Hollywood Grooming

Mobile Pet Care Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Mobile Pet Care Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Mobile Pet Care market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Mobile Pet Care in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Mobile Pet Care market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including4 Paws Mobile SpaAussie Pet MobileDial a Dog WashHollywood GroomingMy Pet Mobile VetThe Pooch MobileAlpha Grooming Pet SalonAussie Mobile VetBonkersHaute PetsJones Mobile Veterinary ServiceOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoMobile pet groomingMobile veterinary careOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingCatDogOther PetsTable of ContentsGlobal Mobile Pet Care Market Research Report 20171 Mobile Pet Care Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Mobile Pet Care1.2 Mobile Pet Care Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Mobile Pet Care Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Mobile pet grooming1.2.4 Mobile veterinary care1.3 Global Mobile Pet Care Segment by Application1.3.1 Mobile Pet Care Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Cat1.3.3 Dog1.3.4 Other Pets1.4 Global Mobile Pet Care Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Mobile Pet Care (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Mobile Pet Care Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Mobile Pet Care Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Mobile Pet Care Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Mobile Pet Care Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Mobile Pet Care Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Mobile Pet Care Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Mobile Pet Care Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Mobile Pet Care Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionGet Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @3 Global Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Mobile Pet Care Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Mobile Pet Care Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Mobile Pet Care Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Mobile Pet Care Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Mobile Pet Care Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Mobile Pet Care Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Mobile Pet Care Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Mobile Pet Care Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Mobile Pet Care Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Mobile Pet Care Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Mobile Pet Care Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Mobile Pet Care Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Mobile Pet Care Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Mobile Pet Care Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Mobile Pet Care Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Mobile Pet Care Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Mobile Pet Care Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesContinue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Industrial Catalytic Converters Market to Reflect Impressive Growth Rate During 2017  2027

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Industrial catalytic converters are devices used to control the emission of toxic and harmful pollutants from exhaust gasses by converting them through a redox reaction. A redox reaction consists of either an oxidation reaction or a reduction reaction. As many countries have stringent norms pertaining to environmental safety, every industrial exhaust system should contain catalytic converters. Industrial catalytic converters find application in several industries, such as refinery, steel, and manufacturing, where the emission of toxic gasses is high. These devices are mainly used to convert harmful exhaust gasses, such as CO (carbon monoxide), HC (hydrocarbons), and NO (nitrogen oxides), among others into less toxic and harmful gasses, such as CO2 (carbon dioxide), N2 (nitrogen), and others.An industrial catalytic converter is made of two columns, ceramic and metallic, and both the columns have a catalyst coating. The ceramic column provides protection from thermal and vibration shocks, and the metallic column is directly mounted on the main body. In this device, platinum, rhodium or palladium are used as catalysts and they are coated on the ceramic column, and attached to the outlet. Earlier, platinum was a widely used catalyst, but nowadays, due to the high cost of platinum, the use of rhodium and palladium is trending.Request for Sample @While there are many types of industrial catalytic converters, two of the prominent ones are two-way catalytic converter and three-way catalytic converter. Two-way industrial catalytic converters are mainly used in some engines, such as diesel, gasoline, and others in order to decrease the emission of CO (carbon monoxide), NO (nitrogen oxide) and HC (hydrocarbons). Three-way converters are used to control highly harmful and toxic gasses emission, such as NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), and nitric oxide, among others that cause smog and acid rain.Industrial Catalytic Converters Market: DynamicsIncreasing industrialization across the world in industries, such as automobile, chemical, textile, and increasing manufacturing of electrical equipment, and steel products drives the demand for industrial catalytic converters. Additionally, stringent norms set by government authorities in various countries are influencing the demand for industrial catalytic converters.On the other hand, with the evolution of technology, the automobile industry is shifting towards electric vehicles, which will act as a restraint for the global industrial catalytic converters market. The use of non-noble metals in the manufacturing of industrial catalytic converters is a key trend identified recently. Increase in vehicle production and sales, and increase in global industrialization can foster a strong potential opportunity for this market. At the same time, fluctuating prices of some of the metals used in the manufacturing of industrial catalytic converters can be a major challenge for the market.Industrial Catalytic Converters Market: SegmentationMarket segmentation of the industrial catalytic converters market on the basis of its types:Two-WayThree-WayMarket segmentation of the industrial catalytic converters market on the basis of the applications:Portable Generators, Portable HeatersFurnace and ChimneyForklifts, Cranes and Lifting EquipmentAir CompressorsDrilling and Well-Digging MachinesPile Drivers and Bridge-Building MachineryConstruction EquipmentOthersMarket segmentation of the industrial catalytic converters market on the basis of the end use industry:Oil and GasChemicalMetal and MiningTextileAutomobileIndustrial Catalytic Converters Market: Regional OutlookThe Asia Pacific region holds a majority of the market share as compared to other regions, followed by Europe and then North America  both of which are expected to grow at the same rate. The demand for industrial catalytic converters in countries, such as China, India, and South Korea in Asia Pacific is expected to grow, owing to the continuous growth of chemical and textile industries in the region. Europe is seen as a potential market for the industry, due to the upcoming emission standards for the reduction of carbon monoxide from various industries. Also, Europe and North America show promising opportunities for the industrial catalytic converters market, as the regions are chemical manufacturing hubs. The demand for industrial catalytic converters is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 8% globally over the forecasted period, which can be attributed to the increase in demand from textile and manufacturing industries.Request for Table of Contents @Industrial Catalytic Converters Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the industrial catalytic converters market identified across the value chain are Bosal, Katcon, Ningbo Kesen Exhaust Gas Cleaner Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Wuxi Weifu Lida Catalytic Converter Co. Ltd., Catalytic Products International, Dcl International Inc., Standard Teco. Limited, Teco Limited, and AP Exhaust Products.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Semantic Knowledge Graphing Market to Witness Exponential Growth by 2025

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A knowledge graph is a knowledge base utilised by Google to optimise its search engine results with semantic-search information taken from many sources. It was added to Googles search engine in 2012 with the initial rollout in its home market, the United States. The Semantic Knowledge Graph market aims at extracting and presenting the knowledge of a specific domain automatically from a group of documents representative of that domain. The representation encodes the semantic relationship between different words, phrases and concepts such that those relationships can expose new information about the interrelationships between all entities in that domain.Request Report for TOC @The semantic knowledge graphing market has numerous applications like being used to discover related terms within a domain, explain multiple meanings of a similar phrase, boost semantic search by expanding user queries to related keywords/ phrases, and identifying trending topics among time-series data. It can also build a recommendation engine based on content, perform data cleansing by scoring each item according to relevance, summarise documents by judging the importance of each phrase and entity within the document and do a predictive analysis of time-series data.Semantic Knowledge Graphing Market DriversA key driver of the semantic knowledge graphing market is the sheer volume of data available on search engines. According to Internet Live Stats, there are approximately 1.11 billion websites live as of 2016 with hundreds more being added every minute. It can be extremely challenging for website owners to reach their target market or even customers to find the exact data they are looking for. Semantic knowledge graphs can act as the backbone of any information architecture, enabling entity-centric views on information, data, products, suppliers, employees, locations and research topics. Semantic graphs not only retrieve what is required but also provide the interrelations between the various objects, even if not stated in explicit terms. They thus help in converting unorganized data into useful information.The second driver of the semantic knowledge graphing market is the occasional personalization of information required. For e.g. - Some drugs might have regulatory aspects, a unique therapeutic character and an entirely different meaning to product managers or salespeople. At a given time, an individual might only require a certain aspect of information which is relevant in that particular situation. This personalised information processing requires a semantic layer on top of the data layer, particularly when the information is stored in different forms and scattered in several different repositories. Semantic knowledge graph engines can link similar content and documents related to one another in a highly precise manner.Request to Sample of Report @Semantic Knowledge Graphing Market RestraintsCurrent semantic knowledge graphs rely on traditional machine learning methods. Thus, their results are not reusable by algorithms and neither can humans easily interpret them. The amount of information being added to the World Wide Web daily is beyond the realm of imagination. Semantic knowledge graphing is not evolving anywhere near as rapidly as required.Semantic Knowledge Graphing Market Key RegionsChina currently has the worlds largest online population, followed by the U.S. which makes these two countries the largest semantic knowledge graphing markets. India is expected to outpace the U.S within this decade and should be a key focus for companies offering semantic knowledge graphs.Semantic Knowledge Graphing Market Key Market PlayersSome companies in the semantic knowledge graphing markets are Microsoft Bings Satori Knowledge Base, Yandex's Object Answer, LinkedIn's Knowledge Graph and Googles Knowledge Graph.Pre Book Full Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Increasing growth in the Automotive Battery Box Market Analysis, Research, Share, Growth, Sales, Trends, Supply, Forecast 2023

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The report systematically analyzes the most essential details of the Global Automotive Battery Box Market with the help of an in-depth and specialized analysis. Defined in a ground-up manner, the report presents a comprehensive synopsis of the market based on the factors that are predictable to have a considerable and determinate impact on the markets developmental prospects over the prognosis period.Get Sample PDF now @Key Players include:Noco, Grote Industries, Curt Manufacturing, Accuma, QuickCable, Camco, Dorman, Gator, Rijiu, Tengda, Leoch, Weikai, Tairui, Frauenthal Automotive, Magna, Yamaha Fine, Drive Right, Tecmaplast, McWane, Viair, Ice Industries, T&G Automotive, Centrair, Torin Jack, Dongfeng ChassiThis report of Automotive Battery Box Market studies Automotive Battery Box Market in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, focuses on top manufacturers in Global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer.It explains a detailed outline of the Automotive Battery Box Market depending on the important parameters. End users, products, regions, and many other segments are studied and explained. A brief idea about the driving forces which help make the market more flourishing is discussed in order to help the client understand the future market position. Estimated revenue growth in terms of volume with respect to the market for the upcoming years has been mentioned in depth.The growing focus of several competitive players on consolidating their back-end supply chain management for faster shipping and at lower cost is a key factor favorably impacting the growth of the market. The robust growth of online retail in various industries, such as information and communication technologies, electrical and electronics, and apparel, in several developed nations has boosted the market. The rising adoption of advanced digital technologies has boosted online retail, thereby indirectly catalyzing the Automotive Battery Box Market.With this report, organizations can have easy access to the details that will have the most substantial bearing on the overall development of the Global Automotive Battery Box Market or the sectors that matter the most to organizations. The report is assembled with the intent of providing necessary market information to vendors operating in the Global Automotive Battery Box Market.Thus, it makes for a resourceful data collection that can help decision makers devise most effective business strategies and includes a thorough overview of the competitive landscape and regulatory framework of the Global Automotive Battery Box Market which will offer clients a strong understanding of the current state of competition, threats, major opportunities, and the major rules, regulations, plans, & policies impacting the market.Table of Contents1 Automotive Battery Box Market Overview2 Global Automotive Battery Box Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Automotive Battery Box Market Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (2013-2017)4 Global Automotive Battery Box Market Sales (Volume) by Application (2013-2017)5 Global Automotive Battery Box Market Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis6 Automotive Battery Box Market Manufacturing Cost Analysis6.1 Automotive Battery Box Market Key Raw Materials Analysis7 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers8 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders9 Market Effect Factors Analysis10 Global Automotive Battery Box Market Forecast (2018-2023)11 Research Findings and ConclusionAbout QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Coronary Artery Imaging Market to Surge at a Robust Pace in Terms of Revenue Over 2017 - 2025

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Coronary Artery disease (CAD) is a cardiovascular disorder which is caused by reduced flow or absent of blood flow in arteries that enclose and supply the heart which is commonly known as Ischemia. Usually in a coronary artery, due to deposition of fat, cholesterol, and calcium forms a thick layer in the wall of arteries which reduces the flow of blood. Coronary artery disease due to the limitation of blood flow the myocardial cell starts decreasing due to lack of oxygen. Sometimes, coronary artery disease Patients suffer from chest pain, heartburn, discomfort in the shoulder, arm, back and neck. Usually, coronary artery imaging modalities include coronary CT angiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and radionuclide modalities like single proton emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/CT. Several contrasting agents are used for the enhancement of the image. Iodine based contrast agents are widely used for the enhancement of CT images while gadolinium for the MRI images. Radio-opaque iodine contrast dye is widely used in CT scan which is injected through coronary arteries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CAD is the most common type of heart disease. Almost 610,000 people die due to this disease in the U.S. that is 1 in every 4 deaths. According to CDC, about 365,000 people die in the United States in the year 2014 due to coronary artery disease. According to American heart association (AHO) a majority of people of 65 or older die due to coronary arterial disease.Request for Table of Contents @The global coronary artery imaging market is driven by the increasing incidence of coronary artery disease. Coronary Artery disease is one the common causes of death. Coronary Artery imaging market addresses common challenges such as the diagnosis. As there is a strong demand for high resolution, label free, fast and in vivo imaging tools in these areas. There is a rate of coronary artery diseases, and aging population which helps to increase the demand of coronary artery imaging global market. Growing the use of CT and MRI is also expected to drive the growth of coronary artery imaging global market. However Coronary computed tomography (CCT) is not only scan and read procedure as it involves high radiation dosages due to prolonged scan time.The global coronary artery imaging market is segmented on the basis of product type, application type, end user and geographical region. On the basis of product type it is segmented into MRI, CT scanner, X-rays, Ultrasound, Single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT) and positron emission tomography(PET). CT and MRI is preferably widely used in coronary artery imaging. On the basis of application type it is segmented into synchronous and asynchronous type. Usually synchronous type is widely used as in this images are in real time. On the basis of end user it is segmented into Hospitals, Diagnostic laboratories, ambulatory surgical centers, cardiac centers. Hospitals covers a major share in the global coronary artery imaging market due to their easy availability of coronary artery imaging devices and increasing patterns for the treatment of coronary arteries diseases. The coronary artery imaging market is expected to grow at a healthy growth during the forecast period.Request to View Sample of Research Report @By Region, Coronary artery imaging market is segmented into following seven regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe , Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and the Middle East & Africa. North America dominated the global coronary artery imaging market as it occupies a major share in this market followed by Europe. However, emerging countries like India and China are expected to record strong growth, due to high rise in investments by public & private players for providing improved healthcare services.The key players in the coronary artery imaging market are Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, GE Healthcare, Siemsens Healthcare. Philips N.V. Shimadzu Corporation, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Carestream Health. and others.Pre Book Full Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Commercial Helicopter Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2017  2027

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Rising use of helicopters in transportation, touring, and VIP movement has fuelled the demand for helicopters over the past few years. Helicopters can be employed in emergency situations as well, since they offer enormous manoeuvrability especially in small space and can reach to any affected area avoiding all the traffic on road as well as any natural calamity such as earthquake and flood. Moreover, these helicopters are equipped with passenger seats, better sound proofing capabilities, and air conditioning. Manufacturers are trying to make more visually appealing, carpeted interior and glossy finished commercial helicopters.The commercial helicopters can be used in the tourism industry, oil & gas transport, and VIP or corporate shuttle. In tourism industry, tour companies hire or purchase the fleet of helicopters for the transportation of the tourists offering aerial viewpoints of the tourist places. Secondly, corporate shuttle and VIP are preferred by leasing companies, VIP service or corporates. These helicopters are featured with advanced cabin comfort features. Thirdly, oil & gas support duties include pipeline patrols and light lift cargo flights.Request for Sample @Commercial Helicopter Market: DynamicsThe increasing per capita income coupled with aging fleet is expected to fuel the demand for global commercial helicopter market. Moreover, growing tourism industry is further expected to upsurge the demand for commercial helicopter market during the forecast period. However, stringent emission norms and high cost associated with helicopters can act as challenges for the growth of commercial helicopter market. Most of the countries impose tax on commercial helicopters, thereby hampering the growth to an extent.Helicopters produce sound level up to 110 decibels that is slightly less than the noise produced by a large chainsaw. The pressure on helicopter manufacturers to make more eco-friendly helicopters is likely to rise in the near future owing to the increasing number of rotorcrafts entering service. The developing countries such as Brazil, India and China are experiencing increase in demand for commercial helicopters owing to the growing tourism industry. Moreover, manufacturers expect that attractive financing schemes will encourage market sales, as consumers are getting favourable terms on purchase of new helicopters.Commercial Helicopter Market: OutlookCommercial helicopters cause pollution in two ways: gas emission from engine and noise pollution through its blades. Airframe and engine manufacturers are under immense pressure from environmental activists and governments to reduce the impact of rotorcrafts. Asia Pacific and Europe are estimated to be the promising markets for the delivery of helicopters in the upcoming decade. In Europe, the Clean Sky initiative by private/public partnership involving EU is developing technologies, which can be implemented in the production of new aircrafts. Similarly, Green Rotorcraft project is also taking initiatives to reduce emissions from commercial helicopters. Moreover, FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) imposed new rules on helicopter air ambulance services.Commercial helicopters are often the transportation option available to reach remote locations and hence play an important role by supporting lifesaving missions such as medical emergencies and rescue & search operations. The commercial helicopter fleet is also used for commerce and businesses such as in filmmaking, mineral, oil & gas, tourism, and mining.Request for Table of Contents @Commercial Helicopter Market: SegmentationOn the basis of size, the commercial helicopter market can be segmented into:Light Helicopter (< 4.5 T)Medium Helicopter ( 4.5 to 8.5 T)Heavy Helicopter (> 8.5 T)On the basis of engine type, the commercial helicopter market can be segmented into:Single EngineMulti EngineCommercial Helicopter Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global commercial helicopter market identified across the value chain include-Airbus Helicopter (Airbus Group)Lockheed Martin Corporation (Sikorsky)Leonardo S.p.A.Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.MD Helicopters Inc.Russian Helicopters, JSCRobinson Helicopter CompanyABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trend Research Report 2017

Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingRoboteam IncQinetiq Group PLCiRobot CorporationBoeingThales GroupNorthrop Grumman CorporationClearpath RoboticsRobotnik AutomationRecon Robotics Inc1Perrone RoboticsOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoTele-operatedSemi-autonomousAutonomousOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingISREODCBRNE & HAZMATOtherTable of ContentsGlobal Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Research Report 20171 Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots1.2 Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Tele-operated1.2.4 Semi-autonomous1.2.5 Autonomous1.3 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Segment by Application1.3.1 Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 ISR1.3.3 EOD1.3.4 CBRNE & HAZMAT1.3.5 Other1.4 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionGet Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @3 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Military Micro Tactical Ground Robots Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesContinue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Radiation Detection, Monitoring and Safety Equipment Market Projected to Discern Stable Expansion During 2021

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Increasing levels of radiationarecausing harm to human health globally. According to the United States Environment Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), radioactive materials produce ionizing radiation on decaying, which can damage the living tissues in human body. The human body tries to repair the damage but sometimes in cases of high severity it fails to repair them which lead to disease such as cancer .The most common forms of ionizing radiation are alpha, beta, and gamma.Threat of nuclear disasters drives governments and companies prone to the threat of radiation to upgrade their radiation detection and monitoring devices. The nuclear disaster in the Fukushima plant in Japan in 2011 resulted in meltdown of three nuclear reactors, leading to the release of a substantial amount of radioactive materials.Request Report for TOC @The use of radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment minimize the effects of harmful radiations. Radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment includes radiation protection equipment and instruments. Based on application, the radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment market can be segmented into six major categories including nuclear power plants, defense and homeland security, occupational safety, oil and resource exploration,and manufacturing . Nuclear power plants also use radiation safety accessories including full body radiation protection andhand safety accessories.Based on composition, the radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment market can be segmented into gas filled detectors, scintillators,and semiconductor-based detectors. There are three types of gas-filled detectors, namely Geiger Mueller counters, proportional counters, and ionization counters. Scintillators can be segmented into two categories, namely inorganic scintillators and organic scintillators. Based on product, the radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment market can be segmented into five categories:personal dosimeters, area process monitors, environment radiation monitors, surface contamination monitors, and radioactive material monitors. Gas-filleddetectors and personal dosimeters dominate the global sales. Scintillators dominate the gas filled detectors market for defense and homeland security due to their ability to detect radiation at micro levels. Personal dosimeters include passive dosimeters and active dosimeters.Request to Sample of Report @Increase in the number of nuclear energy industries has been propelling growth of nuclear power plants globally. The use of radioactive compounds in several consumer productsis another source of radiation.Increasing nuclear threats in developed countries and growing concern of governments regarding internal security are propellinggrowth of the radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment market fordefenseand homeland security.Increasing use of radiation therapy and nuclear medicine in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases is one of the major market drivers. Medical detectors include CT X-ray detectors, PET, and SPECT detectors.North America dominated the radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment market in 2013 in terms of global sales, followed by Europe. North America is expected to continue with its dominance during the forecast period due to technological advancements andgovernment support to the radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment market .Pre Book Full Report @Major players in the radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment market include Canberra Industries, Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Landauer, Inc., Mirion Technologies, Inc., Bar-Ray Products, Inc., Biodex Medical Systems, Inc., Protech Radiation Safety, ProtecX and Amtek, Inc. Most of the major players in the global radiation detection, monitoring, and safety equipment market are U.S. based.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Maritime Traffic Management System Market to Expand with Significant CAGR During 2017 - 2025

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In the history, harbor controlled radar was developed in order to increase the efficiency of waterways. With the rapid growth in the marine industry, the safety and security at harbors were difficult to achieve. To resolve this problem, many systems were developed like radio-communications, navigation rules, electronic chart systems and identification systems. Then came the evolution of maritime traffic management system. These systems were needed in order to manage, plan and supervise the traffic on road, air and ports. At present, the maritime traffic management systems are used to manage traffic on ports, harbor and coastal areas in order to increase the safety and security of materials and humans.Request Report for TOC @The latest technology developed in these systems are 3D maritime traffic management system which helps its users to make appropriate decisions in any situation. These systems provide many functionalities like it has remote sensors which can monitor and control traffic, it provides real-time and off-line data archiving, creating routes and providing alternative routes.Maritime Traffic Management System: Drivers and RestraintsThe maritime traffic management systems provide users with many advantages like traffic analysis of waterways, increase the efficiency of ports, protection of the environment and also guards the coasts against any damage. Such benefits are driving the usage of these systems thereby elevating the market growth.The high cost of deploying the system in the marine area is one of the major factor restraining the growth of maritime traffic management system. Also, the complexity of the system is very high which requires skilled labor. Such factors are major challenges to the adoption of the systems in the market.Continuous research and development in this field and investments by major vendors are the key trends in the maritime traffic management systems market.Maritime Traffic Management System: SegmentationSegmentation based on components of Maritime Traffic Management System in Market:HardwareSoftware PlatformSupport ServicesRequest to Sample of Report @Segmentation based on applications of Maritime Traffic Management System in Market:Port SecurityWaterways Traffic ManagementCoastal SurveillanceNavigation ManagementOther SystemMaritime Traffic Management System: Competitive LandscapeThe key players of the market are Saab AB, Thales Group, Transas Marine Ltd., Marlan Maritime Technologies, Arlo Maritime AS, Frequentis, Ericsson Inc., Elcome International LLC, Xanatos Marine Ltd., and Lockheed Martin Corporation.Regional OverviewNorth America is expected to the largest market of Maritime Traffic Management System. The majority of Maritime Traffic Management System vendors such as Elcome International LLC, Xanatos Marine Ltd., and Lockheed Martin Corporation are based in North America region. This is attributed to the growth of marine industry. The market is anticipated to grow in Europe region due to the presence of other market vendors like Transas Marine Ltd., Arlo Maritime AS and few others in the region.Pre Book Full Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Spend Analytics Market Global Outlook 2018: IBM, Oracle, Zycus, Empronc, Ivalua

Spend Analytics Market 2018

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The report entitled Global Spend Analytics Market 2018 delivers the comprehensive and in-depth research analysis of the key regional industry standing of the Spend Analytics market on a global level. This report especially focuses on the core regions such as North & South America, Europe, Africa, South & Middle East Asia and Australia and also the key countries like (USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Russia, India, China, South Korea and Japan).Get Sample Copy of Report Here:This Spend Analytics market report state and future prospects of the segment have jointly been examined. Additionally, key methods within the Spend Analytics market that features partnerships, product developments, link-ups, and acquisitions, etc., mentioned. Besides, Upstream raw materials, equipment, and downstream consumers analysis is equally carried out. This extensive research encompasses of market profit, sales, Spend Analytics market revenue, potentials, and challenges also project the growth rate. Producers Analysis and Prime Sellers of world Spend Analytics Market 2018:IBMOracleCoupa SoftwareZycusProactisEmpronc SolutionsJaggaerRosslyn AnalyticsIvaluaInquiry for Buying, Visit Here: Spend Analytics Market (Type Analysis):- Predictive Analytics, Prescriptive Analytics, Descriptive Analytics Spend Analytics Market (Application Analysis):- Manufacturing, Retail and Ecommerce, Government and Defense, Telecommunications and It, OthersIn the first segment, The Spend Analytics report covers the marketing research and forecast of Spend Analytics Market on a regional also the world level. The Spend Analytics report is generically divided into six components and each half aims at the summary of the Spend Analytics past, present and future conditions of the market, the feasibility of the investment on many methods and policies. Excluding the classification and definition, the Spend Analytics market report conjointly discusses the analysis crucial and export and explain a comparison of the Spend Analytics market that is targeted at the trends and development. Key Emphasizes the Spend Analytics Market:1. Spend Analytics Market evolution for the regional as well as country level segments.2. Depth Analysis of global market forecasts and outlook for 2022, and forecasting of CAGRs through an expected period.3. In-depth analysis of Types/product and applications.4. Competitive mapping the prevailing key trends.5. Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the Spend Analytics market estimations.6. Analyze the crucial market trends and new evolution technologically in the Spend Analytics Market.After that, This Spend Analytics report deals with the precise info on the selling Channels and novel project investments. So the modern professionals and the mainstream industry rival get the direction of these markets trends as well as regional analysis. This report also supports the new entrants, readers, investors and the established players to set up their plans and decide which segment or sub-segment to invest on so as to reap maximum profits.Finally, In Spend Analytics report key details, methods, and variables are examined and also whole helpful data are combined together for the learning and understanding the key facts related the worldwide Spend Analytics market. The Spend Analytics market share and production price with the SWOT analysis everything is integrated into this report.About Us:Business Worldwide is a trusted brand in the research industry with a capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At Business Worldwide, we believe in building long-term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries including Energy, Chemicals and Materials, Automotive, Software and Aerospace.Contact Us:Joel JohnSuite #8138, 3422 SW 15 Street,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803
Anti-aging Market Expansion Projected to Gain an Uptick During 2020

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A new Transparency Market Research report states that the Asia, Europe, and South America anti-aging market was valued at US$15.3 bn in 2012 and is predicted to reach US$30.9 bn in 2020. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.30% from 2014 to 2020. The title of the report is Asia, Europe, and South America Anti-aging Market - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020.As per the report, the anti-aging market in Asia, Europe, and South America is majorly fuelled by the increasing number of baby boomers, thus increasing the demand for various methods of curbing and reversing the prominent signs of aging. The market is continuously growing and a number of products, devices, and services have entered the market in recent years due to the consistent demand to lessen the signs of aging. Amongst these, in 2013, the anti-aging products held the biggest share in the anti-aging market due to increasing awareness amongst people and the economical prices of these products.Request to view Sample Report:On the basis of product type, the market is segmented into dermal fillers, UV absorbers, botox, anti-stretch products, anti-wrinkle products, and hair color. Amongst these, in 2013, anti-wrinkle products held the biggest share in the anti-aging products market in Asia. The anti-wrinkle product segment stood at more than US$8.1 bn in Asia in 2013. This is due to the broad range of anti-wrinkle products available in the market and the rising awareness owing to a number of promotional campaigns held in Asia. Anti-wrinkle products also held the largest share in Europe in the same year. The demand for these products is high in European countries owing to their increasing availability at economical prices.On the basis of service, the market is segmented into anti-adult acne therapy, anti-pigmentation therapy, liposuction, chemical peel, abdominoplasty, hair restoration therapy, sclerotherapy, and eyelid surgery. The anti-aging services market is expanding swiftly in Europe on account of the rising disposable income of consumers owing to ongoing recovery from the economic crisis in Europe. Within Europe, the anti-aging services market in Italy held the biggest share in 2013 owing to increasing demand for hair restoration treatments and breast augmentation. The anti-aging services market is predicted to record the highest growth rate in Spain in the forecast horizon due to the rising aging population and the increasing prevalence of obesity.On the basis of device type, the market is segmented into microdermabrasion devices, anti-cellulite treatment devices, radio frequency devices, and laser aesthetic devices. Anti-aging devices are the most prevalent in South American countries. Radiofrequency devices and laser aesthetic devices held the biggest share in South America, especially in Brazil, due to their high effectiveness and safety.Alma Laser Ltd., Allergan, Inc., Beiersdorf AG, Cynosure, Inc., Coty, Inc., LOreal SA, Valeant Pharmaceutical International, Inc., Solta Medical, Inc., and PhotoMedex, Inc., among others, are the major players dominant in the market.View Report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.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:
Underground Coal Gasification Market Size to Grow at a Steady Rate During Forecast Period 2014-2020

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Global energy demand had seen an exponential growth over the decade due to changing lifestyle. At the time when natural gas prices witnessing fluctuation and coal resources are depleting, the world is witnessing a significant gap between demand and supply of energy. Though as per World Coal Association, global coal reserves are estimated to be 861 tonne and accounts to 42% of total world electricity production; the year on year growth for coal consumption was highest in FY 2013, making it the highest since 1970. The demand for coal consumption is increasing every year thereby leading to depletion of coal reserves at an alarming rate. Moreover, most regions are economically unviable to extract coal from its bed. It is due to this reason that companies are looking for alternative solution that can lead to harnessing the total potential of coal, without disturbing the ecological balance.Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an industrial process by which coal is gasified under intense heat and atmospheric pressure. This enables the production of synthetic gas, constituents of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which are extracted through a well and utilized in various sectors, ranging from power generation to biodiesel and fertilizer production. Though this concept is not new to the market, little progress has been achieved in this sector, primarily due to low R&D. However, with growing energy consumption and fluctuating oil prices, industries are focusing on UCG to offer clean, efficient and cost-effective energy to various industries.Request For Report Sample@Asia-Pacific is projected as the largest market for underground coal gasification over the next 5 years due to impressive growth in end-use industries ranging from power to chemicals. China along with India, and Australia are key markets for underground coal gasification projects. China is the largest producer as well as the largest consumer of coal based energy. It consumes almost half of the total coal production to meet its energy demand. China has conducted 17 UCG trials since 1991 to check the economic viability of UCG. Major power generating enterprise SinoCoking Coal is planning to harness coal reserves in Henan Province which was abruptly shut down because of strict environmental compliance set up by Chinese government. UCG is an environmental friendly approach that empowers companies to scale high power generation. With worlds most populated country, China offers a vibrant platform for energy sector companies to set up their base in China and thereby meet the growing demand of energy in China. Recently, China signed a whooping US $ 1.5 billion major pact with UK for commercial development of UCG in interiors of Mongolia.Next prominent market is India. In India, mining contributes 10% of Indias GDP. With vast coal reserves, India is looking towards harnessing coal without disturbing ecological balance. There are also some sites which are economically nonviable to mine. Though Indias untapped 88.6 billion tonnes of non-metallurgical coal is found at a depth of 300 to 1200 metre is economically nonviable; UCG makes it economically sound option. Coal India Limited is trying to push the UCG technology to harness the coal in Kaitha (Jharkhand) and Thesgora (Madhya Pradesh) area. These two promising region is expected to generate high return on investment (ROI) by FY 2025.Next prominent destination is Australia. In Australia, most companies are undertaking R&D to fully harness the concept of UCG. At present, three major UCG trials is being conducted by Linc Energy, Cougar Energy, and Carbon Energy at Queensland. Australian government is paying a vigil eye on these projects until the technology is commercially proven.SinoCoking Coal, Cougar Energy, Carbon Energy, Linc Energy, and ONGC are key market players that have conducted pilot projects on UCG technology.Future is optimistic for underground coal gasification. With major innovations going around globally, it is expected to meet the needs of people in oil shortage region. Regions including APAC, and Africa will be a future market for underground coal gasification segments.Visit For TOC@This research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data and statistically-supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market geographies, End user industry etc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACTFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: http.futuremarketinsights.com
Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market : Trends and Growth in Forthcoming Years

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Global Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market: OverviewEnergy storage is referred to as the capturing of energy produced at one point of time for future use. A device that is used for storing energy is often known as an accumulator. Energy is found in multiple forms such as kinetic, latent heat, elevated temperature, electricity, electrical potential, gravitational potential, chemical, and radiation. Battery energy storage comprises converting energy into a form that can be easily stored in the form of battery and are more convenient and economically feasible. Battery energy systems are gaining prominence among residential, commercial, and transportation sectors as a mean of storing natural energy and using it at the time of emergency. Manufacturers seek huge growth potentials in the micro-grid developments in advanced battery energy storage systems for disaster relief and military purposes. Batteries such as lithium ion used for energy storage are witnessing high demand owing to factors such as low cost, long battery life, fast charging, light weight, and low requirement for space.The report examines the growth of the global advanced battery energy storage systems market that occurred in the last over the last few years and is likely to occur in the coming years. The research publication additionally explains the causes of the fluctuations in the global market. It does this by assessing of the facets and the different trends that have been prevalent from past few years and also the aspects that are anticipated to maintain a strong impact on the market over the coming years. The Porters five forces analysis has been considered by analysts to present a clear picture of the vendor landscape to readers. Agreements, mergers, acquisitions, and other dealings have been further mentioned in the study. It focuses on the strategies, products, and market share along with position of the companies operating in the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global market for advanced battery energy storage systems is likely to benefit from the growing emphasis on decreasing the dependence on fossil fuels and magnifying the share of clean resources in the energy mix. The burgeoning demand for enhanced power quality, time shifting, improved grid network utilization, and the availability of emergency power source for protecting and controlling equipment is expected to further drive the global advanced battery energy storage system market. These advanced battery energy storage systems have application in sectors such as forklifts, UPS, telecom, grid storage, and transportation. The growing demand from these sectors is likely to boost the growth of the market over the coming years. In order to enhance business productivity, there is an incessant need for uninterrupted supply of power in telecommunications and data centers. As a result of this, the demand for these storage systems is likely to exponentially rise.Request TOC of the Report @Global Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market: Regional OutlookRegionally, the global market for advanced battery energy storage system can be segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World. North America and Europe are likely to emerge as prominent regions in the market owing to high availability of natural resources and advanced means of converting and storing them. Asia Pacific is also expected to catch up in the run owing to rising focus on the use of the available natural sources for energy needs.Request Discount of the Report @Global Advanced Battery Energy Storage System Market: Competitive LandscapeSome of the key participants in the market are EnerSys, Samsung SDI, AES Technologies, Exide Technologies, Hitachi Ltd., and General Electric.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Network Traffic Analyzer Market Professional Survey Report 2018-2025

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A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, and stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Network Traffic Analyzer Market By Type, By Application, By Region - North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global Network Traffic Analyzer market. Additionally, the report also highlights market entry strategies for various companies across the globe.Worldwide Network Traffic Analyzer Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Network Traffic Analyzer industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Network Traffic Analyzer market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Network Traffic Analyzer market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Network Traffic Analyzer players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Major Network Traffic Analyzer Market Players:1. ManageEngine2. CA Technologies3. NETSCOUT SYSTEMS4. Ipswitch5. Colasoft6. Plixer7. Genie Networks8. Cisco Systems9. Nokia10. HPEView Complete Report atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Network Traffic Analyzer market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Network Traffic Analyzer market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Also, key Network Traffic Analyzer market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Request a Sample Report atReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Network Traffic Analyzer market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.533, 5th Floor, Amanora Chambers,Amanora Township, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Cloud ELN Service Market to Observe Strong Development by 2026

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Electronic lab notebook (ELN) are computer applications which performs functions of laboratory notebooks digitally. With the help of ELN, data is captured and recorded with better accessibility and security. It helps to achieve better efficiency with lower costs. ELN services are been offered on premise and are preferred by many organizations because the data is kept within their own firewall and is been considered more secured mode for data storage.A sample of this report is available upon request @Many ELN supplier are now providing ELN services hosted as Software as a Service (SaaS) through cloud where the service is offered on a subscription model by the vendors and can be accessed by any device from any location by the user. The market is in its infancy stage but growing number of engineers, technicians and scientists have started using the application and is expected to attract more number of users because of its advantages over on premise ELN services where various functionalities are been managed by vendors such as performing periodic system backups, software up gradation, server support etc. Access to data is allowed to allotted user where the data can be encrypted by signatures and passwords so as to make portability of the service more convenient without compromising on the security of the data.Cloud ELN Market SegmentationSegmentation of cloud ELN market on the basis of mode of deployment:Public Cloud:Public cloud supports multiple users with single code basis and since many clients can be supported by the same systems, these services are cost effective because the overall costs are been distributed over larger set of users. Also since there is no requirement for hardwares such as servers and networking devices, the service requires no investment.Although public cloud hosted ELN services are suffered by certain drawbacks such as lack of customization for individual users, high risk on data security etc. but will be in demand from medium and small scale organizations, research firms, individual doctors, scientists, technicians etc.Private or Hosted Cloud:In private or hosted cloud, service providers hosts the application for limited number of users where the applications are been supported individually and no other user share the same code. The host manages other operations such as backup and data security. Private clouds although suffer by performance issues because the same hardware supports all the clients on distributed systems, corporate organization are expected to choose private over public cloud because of customized applications and better data security.Segmentation of cloud ELN market on the basis of usage in different industries:PharmaceuticalsChemicalsLife ScienceResearch LabsAcademic InstitutionsOthersOn the basis of usage cloud ELN can be segment into corporate, academics & research, government and other sectors. Corporate, academic and research usages are expected to contribute maximum because these sectors are expected to use the technology in its nascent stage as they are been considered early adaptors compared to government sector who are expected to use cloud based ELN services at a later stage because this sector is more hesitant in using any new technology offered in the market and normally follows any technology only after it has been adopted by the corporate sector.Regional OverviewOn the basis of geography, global cloud ELN market can be segmented into four key markets namely North America, Europe, Asia and rest of the world. North America is expected to dominate market for cloud ELN among all the regions. USA in particular is expected to account for largest share in cloud ELN market and is expected to grow at highest CAGR. Europe market for cloud ELN trails behind the North American market. With increasing healthcare, research and IT developments, Asia-Pacific provides lucrative opportunities for the cloud ELN market. In rest of the world, countries belonging to Latin America and East Asia are expected to contribute more because of increasing healthcare and IT industry.Increasing adoption of cloud computing services in healthcare and research fields will motivate more users to move towards ELN and cloud ELN because of their latent advantages over paper based lab notebooks such as data security, portability, accuracy of the data, cost effectiveness etc. In todays scenario where most of the records in the fields of healthcare and research are been stored on servers instead of traditional paper based storage systems, more and more users will be attracted towards benefits offered by cloud based ELN services. ELN offered as public cloud is expected to attract more individual users because of its cost effectiveness which is expected to come down further with increasing number of users for the same shared service.Acceptance of SaaS for keeping confidential data such as patent related information in the cloud can be challenging task for the users who will fear from data security issues and can be a major restrain for cloud based ELN services. Although the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks but data security is one such fear which will be difficult to overcome for the users. Resistance to change can be a restrain for the market as users have been using paper lab notebooks from a long time and may show reluctance in using cloud ELN. Even on premise based ELN services can be a substitute for cloud ELN and will be preferred by corporate and government agencies who are quite critical about data security.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the major companies offering Cloud ELN services are PerkinElmer, Dassault Systemes, Core Informatics, Arxspan and Biovia. Many a companies are offering on premise ELN as well as cloud supported ELN both so as to meet the demands of varying set of customers. Cloud ELN being in its nascent stage is expected to drive the demand more after few years compared to on premise ELN.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Earthenware Market: Projection of Each Major Segment over the Forecast Period 2024

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Earthenware refer to a variety of articles made from ceramic materials and used for a wide ranging purposes including tableware, pottery, and decorative objects. Most of the amateur pottery and modern craft falls in the earthenware category. While porcelain has become one of the most preferred material for manufacturing these artifacts these days, earthenware represented a majority of pottery known to be made by the humankind from times ranging to thousands of years from now.Fossils and excavations show that earthenware have been made for the past more than 9,000 years across the globe. These continue to remain one of the most popular kinds of pottery till date. Some of the key varieties of earthenware to be used widely across a number of applications are tin-glazed pottery, creamware, yellowware, terracotta, victorian majolica, delftware, faience, raku, and ironstone ware.Obtain Report DetailsEarthenware is made by heating a mixture of clay between 1000 and 1150 degrees Celsius. The blend of materials used for manufacturing earthenware generally differs depending on the specific application or the region of manufacture. However, the key materials used are generally quartz, feldspar, china clay or kaolin, and ball clay.Global Earthenware Market: Scope of the ReportThis report on the global earthenware market presents a detailed overview of the present growth dynamics of the market and its segments and includes vast projections regarding the growth prospects of the market over the period between 2016 and 2024. The report includes a thorough analysis of factors expected to have a notable impact on the overall development of the market in the next few years, including drivers, restraints, opportunities, competitive landscape, and regulatory scenario.Pre Book ReportA detailed analysis of the competitive landscape of the global earthenware market is also presented in the report, wherein business profiles of some of the key vendors in the market are evaluated. Details such as recent technological advancements, product portfolios, participation in strategic mergers and acquisitions, finances, and growth opportunities for these companies are also included in the report.Global Earthenware Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global earthenware market is chiefly driven by generic home decoration trends. As such, growth opportunities are vast in regional markets where the consumer is willing to pay for innovative and exceptional design efforts. Although earthenware are highly appreciated for their brilliant looks, their market could be hampered due to the easy availability of cheap alternatives made from polymers.Obtain BrochureOf the key regional markets for earthenware, Asia Pacific represents one of the key producers as well as consumers of high-class earthenware. Countries such as India, China, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia are amongst some of the primary consumers of a variety of earthenware owing to the rising demand for home decoration artifacts from the rising population of affluent middle class consumers in these countries. These countries are expected to remain the key markets for earthenware in the next few years as well, with an increasing number of regional and domestic vendors venturing in the field and making it increasingly competitive.Focus on the development of high-class logistics systems and world-class production processes, to guarantee the production and delivery of innovative and high-quality product varieties could help vendors gain an edge. Some of the key companies operating in the global earthenware market are CoorsTek, CeramTec, Ceradyne, Corning, Stryker, Kyocera, and Asahi Glass.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Bio Based Construction Polymers Market Research Report Analysis and Forecasts 2025

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Global Bio Based Construction Polymers Market: OverviewBio-based construction polymers are the polymers which are derived from renewable biomass sources such as living organisms, microbiota, corn starch, and vegetable oils and fats. As they are polymers, these biopolymers contain units that are monomeric that are bonded to form large structures. Bio based construction polymers can also be made using agricultural by-products. It can also be produced by using microorganisms on used containers and plastic bottles. Normal plastics are derived from fossil fuels such as natural gas and petroleum. The production of these types of plastics require more fossil fuels than the ones which are bio based and also produce excess amount of greenhouse gases. Recent breakthroughs in the technology used to manufacture bio based polymers has shifted the focus of consumers towards the use of bio based polymers made from bacterial fermentation. This technology comprises synthesizing monomers via renewable sources such as starch, cellulose, and fatty acids.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The report examines the growth of the global bio based construction polymers market that occurred in the last over the last few years and is likely to occur in the coming years. The research publication additionally explains the causes of the fluctuations in the global market. It does this by assessing of the facets and the different trends that have been prevalent from past few years and also the aspects that are anticipated to maintain a strong impact on the market over the coming years. The Porters five forces analysis has been considered by analysts to present a clear picture of the vendor landscape to readers. Agreements, mergers, acquisitions, and other dealings have been further mentioned in the study. It focuses on the strategies, products, and market share along with position of the companies operating in the market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Bio Based Construction Polymers Market: Trends and ProspectsThe global market for bio based construction polymers is likely to expand at an extensive rate over the coming years owing to growing concerns over the use of petrochemical products along with rising adoption of products made from renewable sources. One of the prime sources of green-house gas emissions is related to the high usage of fossil fuels across several industrial facilities. Burgeoning concerns towards the growing footprint of carbon dioxide in large and medium scale manufacturing units has impelled the industrial units to shift towards the use of bio based polymers. The employment of bio based polymers has significantly increased in the construction industry owing to the growing research and development activities for developing eco-friendly and renewable products. The growing use of bio based polyurethanes in buildings for insulation is expected to further supplement the growth of the market.Global Bio Based Construction Polymers Market: Regional AnalysisRegionally, the global market for bio based construction polymers can be segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the Rest of the World. Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as an important region in terms of consumption of bio based construction polymers owing growing infrastructural projects in India and China along with a bio based product framework. The markets in Europe and North America are also expected to grow steadily over the coming years.Request Discount of the Report @Global Bio Based Construction Polymers Market: Companies Mentioned in the ReportSome of the key companies in the market are Metabolix, Synbra, Kaneka TEPHA, Bio-On, DuPont de Nemours, Toyobo, Nature Works LLC, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Evonik Industries, BASF SE, and SK Chemicals.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Publishing Market Professional Survey Report 2018-2025

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A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, and stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Publishing Market By Type, By Application, By Region - North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global Publishing market. Additionally, the report also highlights market entry strategies for various companies across the globe.Worldwide Publishing Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Publishing industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Publishing market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Publishing market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Publishing players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Major Publishing Market Players:1. The New York Times Company2. Forbes Media LLC3. Johnston Press plc4. Lee Enterprises5. Pearson6. Gannett Co., Inc.7. Macmillan8. Hachette Book Group9. HarperCollins Publishers10. Penguin Random House CompanyView Complete Report atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Publishing market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Publishing market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Also, key Publishing market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Request a Sample Report atReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Publishing market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.533, 5th Floor, Amanora Chambers,Amanora Township, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Railway Traction Motor Market: Comprehensive Evaluation Of The Market Via In-Depth Qualitative Insights

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The global railway traction motor market is envisaged to advance at a varied pace across different geographical regions, especially Europe. The North America market is anticipated to remain highly consolidated with the presence of a number of local and global vendors. The international market is predicted to live through certain transformations in the industry directed toward the improvement of railway systems on the back of intensified research and development activities.The market is foreseen to be influenced by the demand for comfort by consumers, prominence of the need to improve performance, observance of regulatory standards, and slimming down of expenditures.Obtain Report DetailsThe report on the global railway traction motor market elucidates the key segmentations on the basis of the type of technology, various applications, and geographical outreach. The top regions of the international market are envisaged to ride on the shift towards the electrification of railways. On a worldwide platform, the market is expected to flourish with the availability of high speed range for railway car drivers.Report buyers are offered a deep peep into the critical factors of the global railway traction motor market which have taken the lead to ensure a significant growth. Epoch-making elements such as market structure, growth factors, limitations, and future projections are extensively studied in the report. Moreover, interested parties can have a broad overview of the leading companies in the market, including the macro and micro constituents that are important for their advancement and also of the new entrants.Global Railway Traction Motor Market: Drivers and ConstraintsSince its momentous development in the 20th century with the introduction of the electrification of railways, the global railway traction motor market has exhibited a promising rise. The changing vehicular emission limitations enforced across a diverse range of transportation systems and advancement in railway technologies have assured a substantial growth in the market.Pre Book ReportFreight trains running at high power mode and a low speed are frequently faced with harmonic distortions, power distortions, flickers, and various other power disturbances due to the shortage of power.However, with the usage of traction motors, railway systems can be pampered with a higher efficiency range and smooth starts with no shocks, not to forget the ability to achieve the desired speed control. Moreover, railway engines can be protected from the risk of overload and breakdowns with the installation of traction motors. Beside this, traction motors can help to ensure a persistent output of diesel engines through automatic adjustment to the altering load and gradient.Global Railway Traction Motor Market: GeographyEurope is prophesied to sit on a major share of the global railway traction motor market as the region makes colossal investments to further advance its railway technologies. The region soon to follow the leading geographical segment is Asia Pacific, which will take advantage of the increasing demand for speed railways. North America is expected to count on the enhancement of railway infrastructures in the U.S. for its market growth. Other important regions studied in the report are Latin America and the Middle East and Africa.Obtain BrochureGlobal Railway Traction Motor Market: Competitive OverviewThe report has studied some of the influential players in the global railway traction motor market, which are Bombardier Inc., Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd., Saini Heavy Electrical & Engineering Co Private Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, ALSTOM, Hyundai Rotem Company, Sulzer Ltd., Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., VEM Sachsenwerk GmbH, Zytek Automotive Ltd., and ABB Group. The report aids railway traction motor businesses to stay ahead of their competitors by providing a pinpoint analysis of the altering competition dynamics.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Ethanol Market Could Rise At A CAGR Of 7.9% During The Forecast Timeframe 20172022 To Touch A Hefty Valuation Of US$105.0 Bn

Ethanol Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Ethanol Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.The global ethanol market could rise at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast timeframe 20172022 to touch a hefty valuation of US$105.0 bn by the final forecast year. In 2017, the market was valued at a US$71.8 bn.Global Ethanol Market: OverviewThe global ethanol market is known for its perseverance to sustain growth and demand in challenging situations. Ethanol producers in chief locations such as the U.S. remained unaffected when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) strategized to snuff out competition which halted the nations prominent boom during the time. However, U.S. producers were still able to reach to new heights of success. In another instance, the ethanol sector continued to adopt new technologies and innovate despite the mismanagement of the renewable fuel standard (RFS) that created uncertainty.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @In this report, the analysts explain some of the crucial factors of the global ethanol market that could prove to be important for ensuring a lasting progress in the industry. From segmentation to vendor landscape, the report offers a detailed study of critical aspects of the market. Buyers of the report are expected to receive a comprehensive guideline that could lead them to their peak success when operating in the market.Global Ethanol Market: DynamicsThe world ethanol market is prophesied to be strong against tough conditions that could paralyze its growth. Despite challenging production economics due to low oil prices, ramping up of opponents against the RFS, and uncertainty because of regulatory indecision, the market survived pretty well in 2015. The year showcased the resolve and strength of the ethanol sector. Producers were able to ride out the storm with the help of the indispensable value of ethanol as a low-cost, clean octane booster and thriving export demand. In the U.S., millions of metric tons of high-protein animal feed and billions of gallons of high-octane renewable fuel were produced in ethanol bio-refineries of several states.Global Ethanol Market: SegmentationThe international ethanol market is forecasted to be classified according to two classes, viz. type of feedstock and end use. As per the classification by feedstock, the market could see a segmentation into coarse grain-based, sugarcane-based, and wheat-based ethanol. Although there could be different markets for ethanol in terms of feedstock type, one is expected to garner a larger share in the coming years. The analysts foresee the market to be dominated by coarse grain-based ethanol, which represented a 53.0% share in 2017.On the basis of end-use segmentation, the international ethanol market is predicted to be segregated into fuel, industrial solvents, beverages, and cosmetics.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Regionally, North America could set the tone for a staggering growth in the international ethanol market while collecting a revenue of US$48.3 bn by the end of 2022. Another attractive region for the market is prognosticated to be Europe. However, there could be other geographies such as Japan showcasing a slower growth in the near future. Asia Pacific except Japan (APEJ) and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) drew a greater revenue than Japan in 2017.Global Ethanol Market: CompetitionThe competition in the worldwide ethanol market is elaborately explained in the publication while profiling key players such as Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Cargill, Incorporated, Solvay Group, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Pacific Ethanol, Inc., Green Plains, Inc., The Andersons, Inc., Valero Energy Corporation, POET, LLC, and Flint Hill Resources LP.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Sodium Methylate Market Estimated to Expand at a Robust CAGR During 2017 - 2025

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Global Sodium Methylate Market: IntroductionSodium methylate, also known as sodium methoxide (molecular formula CH3ONa), can be produced by an exothermic reaction between elemental sodium and methanol. Sodium methylate is a white to pale yellow color, odorless solid, obtained in powder form. It is a flammable compound, but not explosive, and it can be decomposed when exposed to high heat. Commercially, sodium methylate is available either in solid or liquid form. Generally, sodium methylate is sold as a 25% to 30% solution in methanol for various applications, such as the production of vitamin A1, B1, trimethoprim, sulfadiazine, and analytical agents, among others. It is also widely used as a catalyst in biodiesel production. Sodium methylate can easily react with oxygen. Hence, it is necessary to avoid the contact of sodium methylate with moisture or water, and air at high temperatures (above 1260C) to avoid its decomposition into sodium hydroxide and methanol. Sodium methylate is highly soluble in alcohols, such as methanol and ethanol, whereas it is insoluble in toluene and benzene. Sodium methylate finds various applications as a catalyst, especially in biodiesel production.Request Report For TOC @Global Sodium Methylate Market: DynamicsThe global sodium methylate market is mainly driven by the increasing demand from various applications, especially in pharmaceutical and agriculture industries, and in the organic synthesis of various products. Rising demand for sodium methylate as a catalyst in applications, such as edible oil processing, grease, and synthetic detergents is further expected to drive growth of the market during the same period. Moreover, sodium methylate market is expected to be driven by anticipated steady growth in biodiesel production where it finds application as a catalyst. Growing demand for biodiesel, coupled with government initiatives in various countries over its blending has in turn resulted in an increase in biodiesel production capacity. This increase in production capacity of biodiesel has led to an increase in the demand for sodium methylate. Besides this, the presence of mercury in sodium methylate solution during its manufacturing leads to contamination of the product and has an effect on the catalytic activity of sodium methylate. Thus, the development of alternative methods with other raw materials in order to avoid mercury presence will help in growth of the global sodium methylate market.Request To Sample Of Report @Global Sodium Methylate Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the Asia Pacific (APAC) region dominates the global sodium methylate market. In APAC, China dominates the sodium methylate market with a relatively higher share in both, production and consumption, followed by India and Japan. Growing demand from pharmaceuticals and chemical industries, among others in APAC is expected to help propel the demand for sodium methylate over the forecast period. It is expected that APAC will register a healthy CAGR over the forecast period. North America, followed by Europe is a large market for sodium methylate in terms of consumption. Rising capacity of biodiesel production in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., etc. has resulted in an increase in the demand for sodium methylate in Europe and North America. Furthermore, in Europe, government initiatives to encourage the use of biofuel and reach a 10% mark in terms of consumption in the transportation sector is expected to boost the demand for sodium methylate over the forecast period. North America and Europe are expected to register significant growth over the same time frame. Latin America and the Middle East & Africa region are expected to register slow growth during the forecast period.Global Sodium Methylate Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global sodium methylate market, identified across the value chain are BASF SE, Evonik Industries, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Anhui Jinbang Medicine Chemical Co. Ltd., Zibo Xusheng Chemical Co. Ltd., Dezhou Longteng Chemical Co. Ltd., and Inner Mongolia Lantai Industrial Co. Ltd, among others.Pre Book Full Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA,Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Energy Storage Systems Market To Become Worth US$52.59 Bn By 2025 By Expanding At A Steady CAGR Of 5.6% From 2017 To 2025

Energy Storage Systems Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Energy Storage Systems Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.The global energy storage systems market to become worth US$52.59 bn by 2025 from US$32.60 bn in 2016 by expanding at a steady CAGR of 5.6% from 2017 to 2025.Global Energy Storage Systems Market: OverviewThe energy storage systems market report provides analysis for the period 20152025, wherein the period from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast period and 2016 is the base year. The report covers all the major trends and technologies playing a key role in energy storage systems market growth over the forecast period. It also highlights the drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence markets growth during the said period. The study provides a holistic perspective on the energy storage systems markets growth throughout the above mentioned forecast period in terms of revenue and volume (in US$ Bn), across different geographies, including Asia Pacific, South America, North America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA).To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The market overview section of the report demonstrates the market dynamics and trends that influence the current nature and future status of this market. An attractiveness analysis has also been provided for every geographic region in the report, in order to give a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario of the energy storage systems market. Moreover, the report provides an overview of the various strategies adopted by key players present in the market. Product definition and introduction chapter helps in understanding different technologies of energy storage systems along with their applications which are included in the report.Global Energy Storage Systems Market: SegmentationThe report segments global energy storage systems market on the basis of technology, application, end user and geography. On the basis of technology, the market is segmented into electrochemical storage, mechanical storage, thermal storage and other storage technologies. Electrochemical storage is further sub-segmented into lithium ion battery, lead acid battery, sodium sulfur (NaS) battery, flow battery and others. While the mechanical storage can be further sub segmented into pumped hydro energy storage, flywheel energy storage and compressed air & liquid air energy storage. The market on the basis of application is segmented into transportation and application. End users include residential, non-residential, utilities and automotive. Thus, the report provides in-depth cross-segment analysis of the energy storage systems market and classifies it into various levels, thereby providing valuable insights at the macro as well as micro levels.On the basis of country, North American market is divided into The U.S., Canada and Rest of North America. Similarly, Europe market is divided into Germany U.K., France, and Rest of Europe. Asia Pacific has been segmented into China, Japan, India and Rest of Asia Pacific. Middle East and Africa covers the G.C.C., South Africa and Rest of Middle East and Africa. Similarly, South America region includes Brazil and Rest of South America. This report provides all the essential information required to understand the energy storage systems and its components. Also, the report provides insights related to the policies and regulations according to the various geographical regions mentioned above. These policies and regulations are directly or indirectly influencing the energy storage systems market.Global Energy Storage Systems Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report also highlights the competitive landscape of the energy storage systems market, thereby positioning all the major players according to their geographic presence and recent key developments. The comprehensive energy storage systems market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the porters five forces and value chain along with the current market dynamics affecting the energy storage systems market growth.Furthermore, Porters Five Forces analysis explains the factors which are currently affecting the energy storage systems market. This report also provides the ecosystem analysis for the energy storage systems which explains the participants of the value chain.ABB Ltd., BYD Company Limited, Calmac, Dynapower Company, LLC, EOS Energy Storage, Evapco, Inc., General Electric Company, Hitachi, Ltd., LG Chem, Ltd., Maxwell Technologies, Inc., NEC Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Schneider Electric SE, Siemens AG and Tesla are some of the major players operating within the global energy storage systems market profiled in this study. Details such as financials, SWOT analysis, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as part of company profiling.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Global Energy Storage Systems Market,? by TechnologyElectro Chemical- Lithium-Ion Battery- Lead Acid Battery- Sodium Sulfur (NAS) Battery- Flow Battery- OthersThermal StorageMechanical Energy Storage- Pumped Hydro Energy Storage- Flywheel Energy Storage- Compressed Air & Liquid Air Energy StorageOther Storage TechnologiesGlobal Energy Storage Systems Market, by ApplicationTransportationGrid StorageGlobal Energy Storage Systems Market, by End UserResidentialNon ResidentialUtilitiesAutomotiveGlobal Energy Storage Systems Market, by GeographyNorth America- U.S.- Canada- Rest of North AmericaEurope- The U.K.- Germany- France- Rest of EuropeAsia Pacific- China- Japan- India- Rest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)- GCC Countries- South Africa- Rest of MEASouth America- Brazil- Rest of South AmericaAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Cosmetic Palettes Market - Industry Analysis, Growth and New Market Opportunities Explored

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Cosmetic palettes are the Egyptian artifacts which were originally used by people to grind and apply the cosmetics ingredients on body and face often in a plain, rhomboidal or rectangular shapes. With time, the cosmetic palettes became more decorative or rather a ceremonial commodity. Apart from symbolism and display, its functional objective of grinding pigments was resurfaced again among the elite societies, and since then the functionality was never suppressed. With the advent of cosmetic industry, the cosmetic palettes became the ideal object to contain the cosmetic product with a perfect visibility of the product and ample space for the brand signature and the description.Request a PDF Brochure with Research Report Analysis @Urbanization and increased ratio of working women have caused an increase in the demand for cosmetic palettes as the woman try to present themselves to their very best in the working environment causing the cosmetic palette industry to grow and thus the increase in its revenue. Cosmetic packaging has been on the rise due to the new products and its varieties launched into the market every day. Cosmetic palette industry has extended its roots into apart from eye care to the skin and lip care sectors too.Cosmetic Palettes Market- Market Dynamics:The environment-friendly nature of cosmetic palettes has caused a major surge in the cosmetic palettes market. Innovative designs of palettes with different capacities have also driven the demand of cosmetic palettes. The reusability of the cosmetic palettes is yet another factor fueling the growth of cosmetic palettes market as they are mainly produced using recyclable plastic materials. The packaging design of cosmetic palettes are easy to use and protects the product for the customer giving it an advantageous point. Besides, the space available for the description of product and brand signature is also enough and are offer fitted with a mirror. The designing and graphics of cosmetic palettes appeal to the customers to a greater extend compelling them to utilize them. The increased interest of potential customers in instant results through cosmetics than any other traditional or modern time-consuming therapies has also caused an increase in the cosmetic palettes market. The variety in the skin care cosmetic palettes to fulfill the need of different customers including the varying skin tones and skin types. However, the high production cost causes an increase in the cost of the final product which acts as the barrier towards the growth of cosmetic palettes market. The cosmetic packaging is trend dependent, and the different colors and textures are trending styles in the cosmetic palettes market.Cosmetic Palettes Market- Market Segmentation:Cosmetic palette market can be segmented on the basis of product shape, lid type, material type and application. On the basis of product shape, the cosmetic palette market can be segmented into square, rectangular, round, oval, and others. On the basis of lid type, the cosmetic palette market can be segmented into hinge lid, sliding and slingback. On the basis of material type, the cosmetic palette market can be segmented into plastic and others (cardboard, etc.) where plastic is the major contributor in the cosmetic palettes market. On the basis of application, the cosmetic palette market can be segmented into eye care, lip care and skin care.Browse Market Research Report @Cosmetic Palettes Market- Regional Outlook:Geographically, the cosmetic palettes market can be segmented into five key regions namely, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. North America and Europe are the leading players. Urbanization in the Asia Pacific region has driven the demand for cosmetic palettes and is expected to witness a significant growth over the forecast period. Latin America being an emerging market is also anticipated to have a healthy growth over the forecast period of 2017-2024.Cosmetic Palettes Market- Key Players:Some of the key players of cosmetic palettes market are Frost Cosmetics, LLC, Akey Group LLC, HCP Packaging Co., Ltd., Elcos Co., Ltd., Z Produx, Inc., Mktg Industry Srl, and International Cosmetic Suppliers Ltd.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Rise In Demand : Fluid Handling Systems Market in EMEA Grow at a CAGR of 4.63% by 2021

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Albany, NY,10th January : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Fluid Handling Systems Market in EMEA 2017-2021" globally.The market for fluid handling systems in EMEA is growing, as fluid handling systems are used in critical applications to measure and control the fluid flow in end-user industries.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Fluid handling systems consume the maximum energy in end-user industries. Developing countries in EMEA are experiencing a stable growth trend due to new deployments of fluid handling systems in industries such as water and wastewater, and power generation. The key manufacturers of fluid handling systems are providing the latest fluid handling systems, and these are made available in the growing marketplaces in Africa and the Middle East.Technavios analysts forecast the fluid handling systems market in EMEA to grow at a CAGR of 4.63% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the fluid handling systems market in EMEA for 2017-2021. The report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AfricaEuropeMiddle-EastView Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Technavio's report, Fluid Handling Systems Market in EMEA 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsBoyserColfaxCraneFlowserveGracoOther prominent vendorsAtlantic PumpsAxFlowDoverERIKSKETOLEWALutzMEOSMoynoPermexSamoaSPX FLOWTecniumTrelleborgWrtsilMarket driverInstallation of new pipelines and building terminalsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeHigh capital investmentsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendGrowing deployment of IIoTFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse Report @Key questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Industrial Wax Market Projected to Garner Significant Revenues By 2025

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Global Industrial Wax Market: IntroductionWax is used in a wide range of applications and is an important constituent of variety of industrial products. Wax finds applications in candles, textiles, cosmetics, adhesives, polishes, coatings, rubber compounding, lubricants, medical products, etc. The use of wax is spread over a broad range, from commodity type products to specialty products. For any specific requirement, waxes are processed in order to meet the typical specifications required at consumers end. The market for industrial wax is expected to expand at a moderate CAGR over the forecast period. The demand for petroleum wax is currently at the maturity phase in the product lifecycle and is estimated to decline over the forecast period due to the increased usage of economic and cost efficient synthetic waxes. Moreover, the use of natural waxes, especially in personal care industry and cosmetics is forecasted to remain as an attractive segment over the forecast period.Request Report For TOC @Global Industrial Wax Market: DriversThe global industrial wax market is driven by proliferating demand for industrial wax across various end use industries such as manufacturing: coatings, adhesives, plastic and rubber processing, automotive and electrical & electronics.The increasing demand for organic personal care products are expected to drive the growth of natural waxes in the personal care industry.Global Industrial Wax Market: RestraintsOne of the major factors restraining the growth of the global industrial wax market is the declining use of wax in the packaging industry, owing to the availability of alternatives such as plastics. Limited supply of petroleum wax in the U.S. and Europe, and the legislations prevailing in Europe may lead to the replacement of waxes by other recyclable alternatives.Global Industrial Wax Market: TrendsA noteworthy trend identified across the global industrial wax market is the development of alternative synthetic waxes, which are of lower cost and can be used as a replacement for natural waxes.Request To Sample Of Report @Global Industrial Wax Market: Regional OutlookAsia Pacific is expected to hold a dominant share in the global industrial wax market and is expected to grow significantly owing to increasing usage in various end use industries in the region. China is projected to hold a significant share in the Asia Pacific industrial wax market. Malaysia and Indonesia are also expected to exhibit significant growth in the industrial wax market due to potential production opportunities of natural palm waxes in the region. North America is estimated to contribute a substantial share in the global industrial wax market. Western Europe is projected to witness moderate growth in the global industrial wax market over the forecast period. Japan will continue to exhibit steady growth in the global industrial wax market. Middle East and Africa will also witness a significant growth, owing to the availability of crude oil for the production of petroleum wax and other synthetic products.Global Industrial Wax Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the examples of market participants in the global industrial wax market identified across the value chain include, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Sasol Limited, International Group, Inc., Royal Dutch Shell Plc., Petroleo Brasileiro SA., CEPSA, Du Pont, Dow Corning Corporation, Croda International, BASF SE, Akzo Nobel N.V. and Westech Wax, among others.Pre Book Full Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA,Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Genomics Market Professional Survey Report 2018-2025

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A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, and stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Genomics Market By Type, By Application, By Region - North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global Genomics market. Additionally, the report also highlights market entry strategies for various companies across the globe.Worldwide Genomics Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Genomics industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Genomics market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Genomics market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Genomics players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Major Genomics Market Players:1. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.2. Illumina, Inc.3. Agilent Technologies4. General Electric Company5. BGI6. Qiagen7. Genomatix AG8. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.9. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd10. PerkinElmer Inc.View Complete Report atThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Genomics market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Genomics market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Also, key Genomics market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Request a Sample Report atReason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Genomics market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire before Buying atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.533, 5th Floor, Amanora Chambers,Amanora Township, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Technological Advancements : 3PL Market in FMCG Industry Globally Grow at a CAGR of 5.62% by 2021

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Albany, NY,10th January : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Global 3PL Market in FMCG Industry 2018-2022" globally.Food such as staples, dairy products, confectionary, fresh fruits and vegetables, processed foods, fresh and processed meat, and fish are some of the examples in the food category which are transported by the 3PL players.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @There is a rise in the sales of packaged food. This mainly due to the busy lifestyles which leave people with no time to cook at home. The change in consumer lifestyle coupled with the easy availability of packaged food is increasing the market for convenience food such as refrigerated appetizers, which in turn is increasing the global packaged food market that is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 4% during the forecast period.Technavios analysts forecast the global 3PL market in FMCG industry to grow at a CAGR of 5.62% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global 3PL market in FMCG industry for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEAView Complete TOC with tables & Figures @Technavio's report, Global 3PL Market in FMCG Industry 2018-2022, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsCEVA LogisticsC.H. ROBINSONDeutsche BahnDeutsche Post DHL GroupKuehne + NagelNippon ExpressOther prominent vendorsDACHSERGEFCOXPO LogisticsMarket driverIncreased adoption of technology by 3PLFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendGrowing popularity of autonomous vehiclesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse Report @Key questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2022 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Automotive Aftermarket Market 2018 Industry Trends, Sales, Supply, Demand, Analysis & Forecast to 2025

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Global Automotive Aftermarket valued approximately USD 320 billion in 2016 is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 5% over the forecast period 2017-2025. Digitalization of automotive repair & component sales, in addition to advanced technology incorporations in the automobile aftermarket component manufacturing, is expected to elevate the market growth.The objective of the study is to define market sizes of different segments & countries in previous years and to forecast the values to the next eight years. The report is designed to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the industry with respect to each of the regions and countries involved in the study. Furthermore, the report also caters the detailed information about the crucial aspects such as drivers & restraining factors which will define the future growth of the market. Additionally, it will also incorporate the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product offerings of key players. The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:Replacement Part:TireBatteryBrake PartsFiltersBody PartsLightening & Electronic ComponentsWheelsExhaust ComponentsOthersRequest a Sample Report @Regions:North Americao U.S.o CanadaEuropeo UKo GermanyAsia Pacifico Chinao Indiao JapanLatin Americao Brazilo MexicoRest of the WorldFurthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:Historical year - 2015Base year  2016Forecast period  2017 to 2025Some of the key manufacturers involved in the market are Robert Bosch GmbH, Denso Corporation, 3M Company, Federal-Mogul Corporation, Continental AG, Delphi Automotive PLC, and Magneti Marelli S.p.A.Target Audience of the Wholesale & Distribution Automotive Aftermarket Market StudyKey Consulting Companies & AdvisorsLarge, medium-sized, and small enterprisesVenture capitalistsValue-Added Resellers (VARs)Third-party knowledge providersInvestment bankersInvestorsTable of ContentChapter 1. Research Methodology1.1. Research Process1.1.1. Data Mining1.1.2. Analysis1.1.3. Market Estimation1.1.4. Validation1.1.5. Publishing1.2. Research AssumptionChapter 2. Global Automotive Aftermarket Definition & Scope2.1. Objective of The Study2.2. Market Definition2.3. Scope of The Study2.4. Years Considered for The Study2.5. Currency Conversion Rates2.6. Report LimitationChapter 3. Executive Summary3.1. Key Trends3.2. Global & Segmental Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)Chapter 4. Global Automotive Aftermarket Industry Dynamics4.1. Growth Prospects4.1.1. Drivers4.1.2. Restraints4.1.3. Opportunities4.2. Industry Analysis4.2.1. Porters 5 Force Model4.2.2. PEST Analysis4.2.3. Value Chain Analysis4.3. Analyst Recommendation & ConclusionChapter 5. Global Automotive Aftermarket by Replacement Part5.1. Market Snapshot5.2. Automotive Aftermarket, Sub Segment Analysis5.2.1. Tire5.2.1.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.1.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.2. Battery5.2.2.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.2.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.3. Brake Parts5.2.3.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.3.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.4. Filters5.2.4.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.4.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.5. Body Parts5.2.5.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.5.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.6. Lightening & Electronic Components5.2.6.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.6.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.7. Wheels5.2.7.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.7.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.8. Exhaust Components5.2.8.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.8.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.9. Others5.2.9.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)5.2.9.2. Regional breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)Chapter 6. Global Automotive Aftermarket, Regional Analysis6.1. Automotive Aftermarket, Regional Market Snapshot (2015-2025)6.2. North America Automotive Aftermarket Snapshot6.2.1. U.S. Automotive Aftermarket Size Estimates & Forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.2.1.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.2.1.2. Replacement Part breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.2.2. Canada Automotive Aftermarket Size Estimates & Forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.2.2.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.2.2.2. Replacement Part breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.3. Europe Automotive Aftermarket Snapshot6.3.1. U.K. Automotive Aftermarket Size Estimates & Forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.3.1.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.3.1.2. Replacement Part breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.3.2. Germany Automotive Aftermarket Size Estimates & Forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.3.2.1. Market estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.3.2.2. Replacement Part breakdown estimates & forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)6.3.3. France Automotive Aftermarket Size Estimates & Forecasts, 2015-2025 (USD Billion/Million)ContinuedMake an enquiry of this Report @ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Polyethylene Terephthalate POLAND MARKET 2018 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS, GROWTH, SIZE, SHARE, TRENDS, FORECAST TO 2021

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SummaryPolyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry Outlook in Poland to 2021 - Market Size, Company Share, Price Trends, Capacity Forecasts of All Active and Planned Plants, provides up to date in-depth information on Polands Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) industry. The report presents major market trends. The report covers Polands Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plants and presents installed capacity by process and technology. The report offers historical and forecast market size, demand and production forecasts, end-use demand details, price trends, trade balance data, and company shares of the countrys leading Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) producers.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Scope- Comprehensive information of all active Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plants in Poland- Comprehensive information of all planned Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) projects in Poland- Capacity forecasts to 2021 with details like process, technology, operator and equity- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) industry supply scenario in Poland from 2007 to 2021- Plant capacity growth and installed plant capacity by production process and technology- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) industry market dynamics in Poland from 2007 to 2021- Market size, demand and production outlook, demand by end-use sector, and average prices- Trade balance data from 2007 to 2021- Import and export data and net exports and imports as a percentage of demand- Company details, including company overview, business description and information on current and upcoming Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plants- Company capacity shares for key Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) producers in Poland.Reasons to buy- Latest information on Polands Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) industry- Macro and microeconomic trends affecting Polands Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) industry- Market positioning of the countrys Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) producers- Opportunities in the Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) industry- Market-entry and market-expansion strategies- Enables you to benchmark your operations and strategies against those of major companies.Table of Content: Key PointsTable of Contents 2List of Tables 3List of Figures 3Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Supply Scenario, 2007-2021 4Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Total Plant Capacity, 2007-2021 4Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Industry, Installed Plant Capacity by Production Process, 2016 11Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Installed Plant Capacity by Technology, 2016 13Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Company Share, 2016 15Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Market Dynamics, 2007-2021 16Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Industry, Market Size, 2007-2021 16Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Demand and Production Outlook, 2007-2021 18Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Industry, Demand by End Use Sector, 2016 20Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Price Forecasts, 2007-2021 22Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Trade Balance, 2007-2021 24Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Imports and Exports, 2007-2021 24Poland, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Net Exports, 2007-2021 26Poland Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Industry, Imports as Percentage of Demand, 2007-2021 28Indorama Ventures PCL, Company Snapshot 30Indorama Ventures PCL, Company Overview 30ContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Pimento Oil Market 2018-2023 Albert Vieille, Berje, Elixens

Pimento Oil Market

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Pimento Oil Market Research 2018A market study "Global Pimento Oil Market" examines the performance of the Pimento Oil market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Pimento Oil market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Pimento Oil market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Pimento Oil Market 2018 report includes Pimento Oil market Revenue, market Share, Pimento Oil industry volume, market Trends, Pimento Oil Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Pimento Oil Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Pimento Oil Market 2018 :1. Albert Vieille2. Berje3. Elixens4. Ernesto Ventos5. Fleurchem6. H.Interdonati7. INDUKERN INTERNACIONAL8. Penta Manufacturing Company9. Robertet Group10. Ultra international11. Treatt Plc12. PerfumersWorld13. Ungerer & CompanyPimento Oil Market : By ApplicationTherapeutic GradePimento Oil Market : By TypeMedicalSpa & RelaxationFirstly, the report covers the top Pimento Oil manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Pimento Oil report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Pimento Oil industry, Pimento Oil industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Pimento Oil Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Pimento Oil research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Pimento Oil market revenue worldwide.Finally, Pimento Oil market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAContact: +1-214-661-1669Web:
Thailand Water Pump Market will Account for Around US$ 25.6 Million by 2021

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Persistence Market Research (PMR) in its recent report titled, Thailand Market Study on Water Pump: Industrial Segment to Witness Highest Growth by 2021, projects that the Thailand water pump market is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period.In terms of revenue, the Thailand water pump market accounted for US$16.7 Million in 2014 and is projected to reach US$25.6 Million by 2021.Factors fuelling the market include low manufacturing costs, expansion of water supply network, massive urbanization and industrialization, increasing arable land and land under cereal production. Thailand is an agriculture-driven country. Growth in the agricultural sector, linked with increasing arable land and land under cereal production is leading to growing trend of micro irrigation in small farms, which is projected to increase deployment of centrifugal water pumps.Thailand Water Pump Market Research Report Overview @Similarly, the country is undergoing rapid economic growth and industrialisation and is also poised to emerge as a substantial market. It plays a crucial role as its one of the manufacturing hubs for water pumps. Deployment of monobloc pumps is increasing due to the growing trend of family farming, which is carried out on small agricultural plots and requires low HP centrifugal pump for micro irrigation. Pumps for domestic and agriculture application offer minimal product differentiation in terms of cost and quality. Similar buyer trends apply to both end-user segments.On the basis of pump type, the submersible water pump segment is estimated to be the most dominant segment, with 63.5% of the overall Thailand water pump market share in 2015, followed by monobloc water pump segment with 36.5%share. Growth of the monobloc water pumps segment over the forecast period is expected to be driven by increasing demand for application in agro-industrial and food production purposes.Request Sample Report@As of 2014, Thailand is among the worlds top ten countries in terms of water consumption for agro-industrial and food production. Central & Eastern Thailand region was the largest market in terms of revenue contribution, accounting for 30.2% of the overall Thailand water pump market in 2014.The Bangkok area is one of the most prosperous parts of Central & Eastern Thailand and is a dominant contributor to the national economy, with the infertile Northeast being the poorest in similar terms.Southern Thailand market is projected to lose 80 BPS during the forecast period. The region is part of a narrow peninsula, with a distinctive climate and terrain. Its economy is based on rice cultivation and rubber production. Mountainous terrain and absence of large rivers are conspicuous features of this region.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @By end-use application, the agriculture segment is projected to continue its dominance throughout the forecast period. Agriculture application segment is expected to gain 40 BPS during the forecast period as a major portion of the countrys GDP is generated from agricultural activities. However, the industrial segment is forecasted to register the highest CAGR by 2021.Growth of the market in East Asia is mainly driven by increased adoption of water pumps in power plants, for development of new infrastructure, in heavy industry, municipal wastewater treatment plants, irrigation and drinking water facilities.Key players in the Thailand water pump market includeGrundfos, KSB AG, Kirloskar Brothers Limited, Ebara Corporation. Global players like Grundfos, Sulzer Ltd, Flowserve Corporation focus on research and development initiatives to introduce innovative products to attain sustainable advantages over the competition. In addition, these players also focus on expanding their regional presence through mergers and acquisitions.Get full Report Now @Water pump manufacturers in Thailand usually sell their products via distributors, who account for approximately 80% sales share as compared to 20% share via direct sales.Global and regional players in Thailand water pump market focus on entering into long-term tie-ups with engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) companies and distributors. Chinese players have tie-ups with retailers to enhance customer reach.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market 2018 - Sumitomo Electric Industries, Rongke Power, UniEnergy Technologies

Global All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market

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Apex Market Reports, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries Market" from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries industry, and estimates the future trend of All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportSumitomo Electric IndustriesRongke PowerUniEnergy TechnologiesThe market research report explores the All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries Market". The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market based on major product types, application and end users industries of All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.The competitive landscape of the global market for All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market globally.Enquire Before Buying @The global All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries market 2018 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries production volume, data pertaining to demand and All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for All-Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries across the world.About UsApex Market Reports offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Apex Market Reports provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezCorporate Sales Specialist155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606Phone: +17739042683Email id - sales@apexmarketreports.comWebsite -
Global Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Market 2018-2023 M Company, Pentair plc, WaterFilters

Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Market

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Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Market Research 2018A market study "Global Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Market" examines the performance of the Point of Use Water Treatment Systems market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Point of Use Water Treatment Systems market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Point of Use Water Treatment Systems market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Market 2018 report includes Point of Use Water Treatment Systems market Revenue, market Share, Point of Use Water Treatment Systems industry volume, market Trends, Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Market 2018 : M Company (U.S.) Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.) Koninklijke Philips NV (The Netherlands) Pentair plc (U.K.) Panasonic Corporation (Japan) Unilever PLC (U.K.) LG Electronics Inc. (South Korea) WaterFilters.NET HomePlus Products Inc. Skillings & Sons, Inc. Calgon Carbon CorporationPoint of Use Water Treatment Systems Market : By ApplicationTabletop PitcherFaucet-MountedCountertopUnder-the-sinkby TechnologyReverse OsmosisDistillationDisinfectionFiltrationPoint of Use Water Treatment Systems Market : By TypeResidentialNon-ResidentialFirstly, the report covers the top Point of Use Water Treatment Systems manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Point of Use Water Treatment Systems report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Point of Use Water Treatment Systems industry, Point of Use Water Treatment Systems industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Point of Use Water Treatment Systems Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Point of Use Water Treatment Systems research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Point of Use Water Treatment Systems market revenue worldwide.Finally, Point of Use Water Treatment Systems market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAContact: +1-214-661-1669Web:
Global Port Fire Pedestals Market 2018-2023 Accmar Equipment, Cheyenne, Depagne

Port Fire Pedestals Market

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Port Fire Pedestals Market Research 2018A market study "Global Port Fire Pedestals Market" examines the performance of the Port Fire Pedestals market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Port Fire Pedestals market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Port Fire Pedestals market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Port Fire Pedestals Market 2018 report includes Port Fire Pedestals market Revenue, market Share, Port Fire Pedestals industry volume, market Trends, Port Fire Pedestals Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Port Fire Pedestals Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Port Fire Pedestals Market 2018 :1. Accmar Equipment2. Cheyenne3. Depagne4. Dockside Power5. Eaton6. HyPower7. Lindley Marinas8. Marina Dock Systems9. Marina Electrical Equipment10. MARTINI ALFREDO11. Plus Marine12. Rolec Services13. Ronautica14. Sea Technology15. Tallykey16. WMW WaubaushenePort Fire Pedestals Market : By ApplicationWith Built-in LightWith no Built-in LightPort Fire Pedestals Market : By TypePortsMarinasFirstly, the report covers the top Port Fire Pedestals manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Port Fire Pedestals report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Port Fire Pedestals industry, Port Fire Pedestals industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Port Fire Pedestals Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Port Fire Pedestals research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Port Fire Pedestals market revenue worldwide.Finally, Port Fire Pedestals market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAContact: +1-214-661-1669Web:
Tractive announces two brand-new GPS tracking devices for cats and dogs at CES to strengthen their lead in the pet tech market

Tractive GPS Cat Product Announcement

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LAS VEGAS, January 9th, 2018  Tractive announces two brand-new GPS tracking devices for cats and dogs at CES to strengthen their lead in the pet tech market.Europe's leading GPS pet tracking company, Tractive(has announced a pair of exciting new devices today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the biggest show of its kind. The Tractive GPS Cat and Tractive GPS Dog have a bold, new design and the feature-packed trackers have not only been optimized to fit the needs of both nimble cats and active dogs in two unique form factors, but they have also been designed to greatly enhance the pet owners' experience as well.Key FeaturesNew features such as activity tracking and Quick-Switch batteries, provide both users and pets with a unique experience, one in which no cat or dog ever has to be without an active Tractive tracker. Detailed activity level monitoring and precision GPS location tracking can now be provided nearly anywhere in the world with essentially zero downtime."The decision to make two distinct devices with unique strengths was made based on our great user feedback and active community." said CEO Michael Hurnaus, "and by doing this, we've allowed our engineers to explore and implement great features that specifically fit the individual needs of cat or dog owners, all while maintaining its durability and waterproofness."Additional features will be disclosed closer to the products release and will revolve around Tractive's IoT and smart home integration with services such as Google Home and Amazons Alexa.Tractive GPS Cat's Integrated Collar DesignThe integrated smart collar in the Tractive GPS Cat allows the tracker technology to be distributed across a wider area, reducing the load and impedance of a bulky tracking device, something important for small and nimble cats. An emergency break-away system has also been built into the collar and will release from the neck of the cat if, for example, it were to get stuck on a fence. Once enough force is applied the cat will be able to break free and the user can easily retrieve the active collar using the companion app. The Tractive GPS Cat is designed and optimized for cats, but would naturally fit small dogs or similar animals.Tractive GPS Dog's Quick-Clip DesignThe new clipping mechanism allows for easier and faster mounting of a Tractive tracker while increasing its reliability. The Quick-Clip attachment allows the device to fit nearly any collar and to detach at the press of a button. The tracker mount will remain on the collar comfortably while the tracker is charged or set aside providing a simple and secure user experience. It's slender design makes it ideal for a wide variety of dog sizes, and while the Tractive GPS Dog is designed and optimized for dogs, it would naturally fit large cats or other similar animals with a collar.Availability & ReleaseTractive GPS Cat will be released to consumers in next few months, beginning with a European rollout, and Tractive GPS Dog will be released later this year. Pricing has yet to be determined, but will be similar to that of their current line-up.Additional images can be found here:About TractiveTractive was founded in 2012 in Pasching, Austria by a group of paw-ssionate entrepreneurs looking to create a safer environment for the millions of pets in the world. Tractives mission is to strengthen the bond between pets and their owners by leveraging technology to ensure a healthier, longer and safer life together.Tractive specializes in the development of pet tech, wearables and apps. In addition to Tractive GPS, Tractives flagship trackers and app, the company produces a range of other applications including the very popular Dog Walk app and the pet social network, Tractive Photos, used by millions of pet owners.Media Kit & ContactThe CES press kit is available on the Tractive press page. For any press communications please email press@tractive.com.Melanie Feilmayrpress@tractive.comTractive GmbHRandlstrae 18a4061 PaschingAustria
Why Laser cutting machine Market is Projected to Witness a Staggering Growth During 2016 - 2026?

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Laser Cutting Machine Market: IntroductionLaser cutting is a technology that uses lasers such as CO2, solid-state, and fiber to cut materials. Laser cutting machines are capable to cut materials ranging from steel to plastic with absolute precision. It is an important manufacturing tool required by industries to manufacture components with complex geometry, such as machine tool industry, automotive industry, consumer electronics, and other manufacturing industries.Request to Sample of Report-Over the past decades, the laser cutting industry has gone through different phases of improvements in quality and thickness of cutting material, power, and efficiency which bring todays laser cutting machines with higher cutting speed and quality level, the ability to cut thin and thick metals, and the users need to process both steel and aluminum on the same equipment.The drastic advancement in technology and the arrival of sophisticated equipment made laser cutting machines find its application in the healthcare sector too. The areas of the sector which required micro cutting equipment are incorporated with laser cutting machines now. Apart from these, other prominent niche where laser cutting machines are used are metal fabricators, in which laser cutting machines play a prominent role to produce superior quality metal parts with minute finishing works.With the arrival of laser cutting machines, even complicated spatial components such as hot shaped sheets, vehicle bodies and tubes can be cut with precision and accuracy. The fitness equipment manufacturers use this technology for producing the desired complex shapes within a short time and also with perfect finish.With these advancements, conventional cutting machines are getting replaced with laser cutting machines with high beam quality systems that can operate automatically across various commercial and industrial sectors.Laser Cutting Machine Market DynamicsA key growth driver of the market is expected to be the rapid industrialization and increasing demand for laser cutting machines from developing economies such as India, South Korea, China, South Africa, and Brazil, which will further fuel the demand for laser cutting machines over the forecast period. Demand for laser cutting machines is rapidly increasing, owing to the increasing number and scope its usage across number of end-use applications, in which different types of laser cutting processes can be used.Stable growth of automobile industry is one among the primary factors which is driving the global laser cutting machine market. Production capabilities of automobiles has witnessed substantial increase in past decade in Asian countries such as China and India.Increasing requirements of precise and accurate shapes in Aerospace and defense sector, Electrical and electronics sector, and Industrial machinery is further expected to drive demand for laser cutting machines in near future. Availability of such machines at premium price acts as a minor restraint towards its rapid adoption in small and medium scale enterprises across the globe.The recent introduction of industrialized fiber and disc lasers represents a major technology shift in solid-state laser processing, which is expected to be the emerging trend in the global laser cutting machines market over the forecast period.Request Report for TOC @Global Laser Cutting Machine Market ParticipantsSome of the examples of laser cutting machine market participants include Koike Aronson, Inc., ROFIN Group, ALPHA LASER GmbH, Nissan Tanaka Corporation, Amada Co., Ltd., CTR Lasers, Universal Laser Systems, Inc., Kern Laser Systems, Jinan SENFENG Technology Co., Ltd., and IPG Photonics Corporation among the other key players.Pre Book Full Report About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Mobile Storage Cabinets Market - In-depth Qualitative Insights & Verifiable Projections About Market Size

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Mobile storage cabinets are available in various shapes & sizes. Mobile storage cabinets are specially designed for media and audio visual equipment storage and transport. There are various facility like roll able, lockable, portable media hubs which are provided by the mobile storage cabinets. These cabinets are best suitable for office and industrial storage. Mobile storage cabinets are majorly used to store files, tools, stationary etc. The key advantages of mobile storage cabinets are strength, which ensures longer life of the cabinets. Stainless steel mobile storage cabinets enjoy more preference over wooden counterparts, as they significantly reduce the chances of damage and require very less to negligible maintenance.Request a PDF Brochure with Research Report Analysis @Mobile storage cabinets help impart a clean and tidy look to the office environment, as all the stationery and mobile accessories can be kept inside. Mobile storage comes under the category of rotary cabinets, which has massive storage capacity. Mobile storage cabinets are available in various configurations such as with drawers, single door, or a double door. Due to their mobility, and ability to keep environment tidy, mobile storage cabinets enjoys high preference, over their non-mobile counterparts. Therefore, the global mobile storage cabinets market is expected to enjoy a positive outlook, over the forecast period.Global Mobile Storage Cabinets Market: DynamicsWith the advancement in the technology, the need for mobile & mobile accessories has become a necessity in the todays world which lead to rise in demand of the mobile storage cabinets market. There are several factors that are anticipated to drive the growth of the global mobile storage cabinets market, over the forecast period. Security is the major driver which is being provided by the mobile storage cabinet market. With the help of mobile storage cabinets hanging files, folders, tapes and CDS and many thing are being kept safe with the help of locker. Stainless steel mobile storage cabinets do not require any maintenance and it is easy for the consumers to organize the shelves and quick way to find out the things. Despite, the positive outlook there are certain factors which might affect the growth rate of the global mobile storage cabinets market.Global Mobile Storage Cabinets Market: SegmentationThe global Mobile Storage Cabinets market has been segmented as follows On the basis of types the global Mobile Storage Cabinets market has been segmented as:StandardRackmountOn the basis of material, the global Mobile Storage Cabinets packaging market has been segmented as:WoodMetalBrowse Market Research Report @Global Mobile Storage Cabinets Market: Geographical OutlookThe global Mobile Storage Cabinets market has been divided into seven regions as follows North AmericaLatin AmericaWestern EuropeEastern EuropeAsia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ)Middle East & Africa (MEA)JapanThe North America mobile storage cabinets market is expected to lead the global mobile storage cabinets market, over the forecast period. The Asia pacific excluding japan is expected to closely follow the North America Mobile Storage cabinet market. It is anticipated that the APAC region will surpass the North America region, in terms of mobile storage cabinet sales, over the forecast period. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) is also expected to contribute the growth of the global mobile storage cabinets market. The japan mobile storage cabinet market is expected to witness a sluggish growth of global mobile storage cabinet market, over the forecast period. However in terms of electronics market, it is anticipated to score more than the likes of the Asia Pacific region.Global Mobile Storage Cabinets Market: Key PlayersSome of the players operating in the global mobile storage cabinet market are  Strong Hold Products, Tennsco, EQUIPTO, Spacesaver Corporation, Wenger Corporation and others.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Traumatic Brain Injury Therapeutics Market: Industry Trends, Survey, Growth and Forecast to 2021

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Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI is sustained from severe or mild damage to the brain tissue from accidents or assaults. In North America, over 1.7 million people suffer annually from TBI and the consequent medical care costs exceed USD 70 billion. According to WHO, the global incidence for TBI is close to 10 million people annually. Brain tissue has one of the least self-repair capabilities making it highly vulnerable to injuries and often leading to permanent loss or disability of motor functions which dramatically reduces the quality of life for any individual. Most neuronal damage occurs sometime after the injury takes place giving a chance for a therapeutic intervention. The previous intervention with Glucocorticoids is not considered due to their harmful effects.A major challenge in developing therapeutics for TBI lie in overcoming the blood-brain barrier while delivering drugs. In May 2013, DARPA awarded USD 6 million to develop nanotech therapy for combating TBI to a team from University of California San Diego. Nanotechnology offers chances to overcome this physiological challenge of blood-brain barrier to deliver therapeutics. These porous silicon nanoparticles can carry a significant drug load through the blood brain barrier to treat TBI in patients. Other potential treatments include stem cell therapy for CNS trauma and use of apoE-mimetic compounds. Cognosci, a privately held start-up from North Carolina, U.S. has novel therapeutic compounds in pipeline for the treatment of TBI which the company expects to launch in coming years with a strategic partnership alliance.Request Report For TOC @Currently there are two notable clinical trials for gauging the capability of progesterone for traumatic brain injury. The ProTECT III (progesterone for traumatic brain injury) is currently conducted by the Emory University and is sponsored by the NIH. The study has recruited patients from 31 TBI clinical centers across the United States. SyNAPSe, initiated by BHR, a branch of Besins Pharma, in collaboration with the American Brain Injury Consortium (ABIC) and the European Brain Injury Consortium (EBIC), is another Phase III study investigating the efficacy and safety of progesterone in patients with severe traumatic brain injuries.Request to Sample of Report @Since there are currently no approved therapeutic products, the sector is teeming with opportunities for new entrants as well as stalwarts of the pharmaceutical industry. Some of the notable companies developing therapeutics for TBI are Cognosci, Medicortex, Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Aldagen, NeuroScience Pharmaceuticals and Targacept. Increasing incidences of TBI due to rising assaults, accidents and military combats over the world are expected to drive the growth of the market.Pre Book Full Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Automotive Steering Wheel Market to Exceed A Value of US$ 899,559.9 Mn by 2027

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Persistence Market Researchs latest report on the global automotive steering wheel market projects that over 2286 Mn Units of the automotive steering wheels will be shipped by 2027-end. As per the report, the US$ 337,585 Mn automotive steering wheel market will ride at a strong CAGR of 8.27% over the forecast period (2017-2027) to reach a valuation of US$ 899,559.9 Mn. As self-driving technology slowly becomes a reality, automotive components including steering wheels are expected to undergo massive transformation both in terms of design and technology.Request to sample reportNorth America to Remain the Largest Market for Automotive Steering WheelsAvailability of leading edge automotive component technology and increasing demand for advanced steering wheel design that are relevant to modern vehicle interiors is driving the automotive steering wheel market in North America. Manufacturers are focusing on adding more features on steering wheels, giving more control to the driver. At the same time, increasing concern over automotive safety is pushing manufacturers to make their products safer. In terms of value, North America is estimated to account for a relatively larger share of the global market over the forecast period.Meanwhile, the automotive steering wheel market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. Sales of advanced automotive steering wheels are steadily rising in China and India, as these two countries in the region have stepped up their road safety campaign. These countries also happen to be leading producer of automotive spare parts, with both countries going through essential phases of development. Higher emphases on road safety is expected to favor the global market for automotive steering wheels.Manufacturers are concentrating on developing high-quality automotive steering wheels. Strengthening of the supply chain, particularly in regions, such as North America, Japan and APEJ remains a key focus area for market players. Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd, ZF Friedrichshafen Manufacturing Company, Takata, Momo Automotive Accessories Inc., Toyoda Gosei, Tokai Rika Co., Ltd., Autoliv, Key Safety Systems, Nihon Plast Co. Ltd, Grant Products International INC, GSK Intek, Moto Lita, Simmonds Superspoke, Isotta, Neaton Auto Products, Nardi Personal, Sabic, KKR Metal Components, Emdet Group, Sun Autoelektrik Private Limited are some of the leading companies operating in the global market for automotive steering wheel.Driver airbag is expected to remain the most attractive product type segment of the market. Airbags have become an important passenger safety component and are being installed in low mid and premium end vehicles. Moreover, carmakers are rapidly adopting airbags in steering wheels to comply with the revised auto safety regulations.Request Report for TOC @Demand for neoprene coated automotive steering wheel is expected to remain strongest, followed by the silicone coated variant. In terms of the value, neoprene coated automotive steering wheels are expected to account for more than two-third share of the market towards the end of the assessment period.OEM will remain the leading sales channel for automotive steering wheels throughout the forecast period and is expected to account for 91.7% values share of the market. This is primarily owing increasing collaborations and partnerships between manufacturers and OEMs, which is further strengthening the sales and distribution channel.Get Full Report nowAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Automotive Radar Sensors Market Excessive Growth Opportunities Estimated to be Experienced 2017-2027

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Automotive radar sensors market: IntroductionDriver and road safety is one of the prominent challenges at present and it is estimated to be in the future as well. One of the main reasons for several road accidents is the slow reaction of the driver while responding to accidental situation. High-tech automotive wireless electronics is capable of automating many driving features which reduce significant human errors and the improve vehicle safety. Automotive radar is one of the key development in this area and is a forward step for increasing the driving comfort, automating driving and crash prevention. Automotive radar sensors are used for enhancing various driving features which give better control to drivers in hazardous accidental situation. Automotive radar sensors are fining various application in systems such as warning and mitigation, collision detection, collision avoidance, blind spot monitoring/blind spot detection, vulnerable road user detection, lane change assistance and lane departure warning system, and rear cross-traffic alerts. Driver assistance system which are equipped with radar sensors are already common in many passenger vehicles in the global market. Many of the driver assistance system have sensors which help in detection for lane-change assistance, rear cross-traffic alerts, back-up parking assistance, adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring. Presently, the 79 GHz, 77 GHz and 27 GHz radar sensors with increased signal bandwidth have the capability to distinguish between diverse objects and also offer high resolution.Automotive radar sensors market: DynamicsSome of the prominent factors influencing growth of the automotive radar sensors market are the increasing vehicle production globally and the need for enhancement of safety features. The demand for automotive radar sensors in the global market is estimated to grow with an incremental rate in the coming years. Owing to the increased number of road accidents globally, prominent emphasis is being given to improve road safety regulations and laws for making the automobiles safer for driving. Thus, this in turn is driving the increasing consumption of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and consequently increasing the demand for the automotive radar sensors in the global market. These sensors are not only helping in automating the vehicles but also used for effective detection in collision warning and monitoring system. Latest innovation and development in the global market has led to the introduction of receptor isolation and signal synthesis methods which will in-turn drive the growth of low power and high accuracy automotive radar sensors in the market. Key market participants in the global market are also coming up with solutions such as SOC (system on chip) which can equip multiple sensors on board owing to the rising trend of reduction in size for the automobile components. The collision monitoring and autonomous emergency breaking are expected to hold a prominent market share in terms of value and volume during the forecast period in the global automotive radar sensors market, owing to the stringent rules and regulation imposed to reduce the road accidents. This increasing growth of automotive radar sensors is directly proportionate to global vehicle production.Request For Report Sample@The most protuberant factors increasing the growth of automotive radar sensors in the global market include production of advanced technology in automobiles and clean transportation. Rules and regulations enforced by ruling authorities and governments regarding the vehicle safety coupled with safety of the environment encourage manufacturers to produce environment-friendly and efficient vehicles, which has successively resulted in an increase in the demand for automotive radar sensors in the global market. Escalating cost of radar sensors and its corresponding technology united with changing prices are one of the key restraints contradicting the growth of the global automotive radar sensors market.Automotive radar sensors market: SegmentationThe automotive radar sensors market can be segmented on the basis of application, range and vehicle type.By Application:Lane Change Assist (LCA)Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB)Blind Spot Detection (BSD)Forward Collision Warning System (FCWS)Rear Cross Traffic Assist (RCTA)Intelligent Parking Assistance (IPA)Others (Exit Assist applications, Rear Collision Warning, etc.)By Range:Short RangeMedium RangeLong RangeBy Vehicle Type:Passenger CarEconomic PCMid-Sized PCLuxury PCCommercial VehiclesRequest For Report Table of Content (TOC):Automotive radar sensors market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global Automotive Radar Sensors market are:Robert Bosch GmbHHELLA KGaAContinental AGDenso CorporationDelphi Automotive PLCAutoliv Inc.Valeo S.AInfineon Technologies AGNXP Semiconductors N.VTexas Instruments Incorporated.InnoSenT - Innovative Radar Sensor TechnologyFirst Sensor AGKestrel Radar SensorsZF Friedrichshafen AGFUJITSU TEN Ltd.UniqueSec ABABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Bromine Market growing Expand at the Fastest CAGR of 3.2% by 2024

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Global demand for bromine market will reach 483 kilo metric tons (KMT) in 2016, up from 470 KMT in 2015. Demand will be impeded by growing regulation and legislation, especially in the European Union (EU), where the use of certain brominated flame retardants is banned or restricted.Flame retardants will continue to remain the largest application segment, accounting for 203 KMT volume in 2016, a y-o-y increase of 2.8% over 2015. Use of bromine in oil and gas drilling will continue its upward momentum in 2016, growing at 4.3% in terms of volume  the fastest among all the application segments.Bromine Market Research Report Overview @The chemicals industry will remain the largest consumer of bromine, accounting for 292 KMT volume in 2016, representing market value worth 1,284 Mn. Use of bromine in the oil and gas sector will also continue to witness steady growth, as clear brine fluids gain traction for drilling purposes. Demand will be offset by sluggish adoption in the electronics industry, as use of brominated flame retardants continues to face stricter regulations. Demand for bromine from electronics sector will witness a growth rate of 2.1% in 2016 over 2015.Request Sample Report @Asia Pacific will remain the largest market for bromine, representing annual revenues worth US$ 1,087 Mn in 2016, up from 895 Mn in 2015. This is primarily due to expansion of end-use industries such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and electronic in APAC. Latin America will continue to offer growth opportunities to manufacturers, with global demand witnessing a 2.0% volume growth in 2016 over 2015. Demand will face constraints in the mature markets of North America and Western Europe in 2016 as well.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @Israel Chemicals Limited, Chemtura Corporation, Albemarle Corporation, Gulf Resources Inc., Tosoh Corporation, Tetra Technologies Inc., Tata Chemicals Limited and Hindustan Salts Limited are the key players in the market. Top players are continuously focusing on expanding their product offerings, especially in flame retardants segments. Collaborations and joint ventures are key business strategies to develop green brominated flame retardants.Long-term Outlook: PMR projects the global bromine market to witness moderate growth during the forecast period 2016-2024. APAC will continue to remain the largest market for bromine, growing at 4.1% revenue CAGR during the forecast period.Get Full Report now @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Vapor Recovery Services Market to Represent a Value of US$ 462.3 Mn by 2025

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Government authorities all over the world are enforcing stringent regulatory norms to limit VOC emissions, which is cited as a key factor fueling the demand for vapor recovery services. Moreover, such services are also getting popular due to their immense economic and environmental benefits. A report recently published by Persistence Market Insights (PMR) projects that global vapor recovery services market is poised to reach a market valuation of US$ 462.3 Mn by 2025-end, reflecting a CAGR of 7.4% during the forecast period (20172025).Global Vapor Recovery Services Market Research Report Overview @As companies shift their focus on maintaining a larger stockpile to address the on-time consumer demand, they are required to install higher number of vapor recovery units. In addition, companies are switching to new vapor recovery techniques such as the absorption and adsorption that are far more effective and cost-efficient than the conventional techniques, a growing trend which is expected to support the market growth in the years to come.According to the report titled Vapor Recovery Services Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 20172025, North America will have a relatively higher contribution to global vapor recovery services market. By 2017-end, the regions market is estimated to account for the largest revenue share and witness a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period. Owing to the existence of leading vapor recovery units manufacturers, North America has become a dominant market for vapor recovery services in recent years.Request to sample reportGlobal Vapor Recovery Services Market  Key Report HighlightsBy the end of 2017, nearly US$ 161.5 Mn worth vapor recovery units are estimated to be sold for midstream/downstream process. Vapor recovery units have significant applications in midstream/downstream processes. For instance, they are often used to compress and recover vapors during the process. They also help in complying with the environmental requirements set by regulatory bodies.Application of vapor recovery services in storage tank vent is expected to remain high throughout the forecast period. In terms of value, storage tank vent is expected to account for 64.4% share of the market by 2025-end. Storage tank vent has been estimated to account for close to one-third of the global vapor recovery services market revenue in 2017.By operation, demand for O&M/ services is expected to remain high over the forecast period. By 2017-end, O&M/ services will account for a staggering 77.4% revenue share, reaching a market valuation of US$ 202.8 Mn.Competitive DashboardLeading market players are focused towards making long term relationship with direct end-users, especially for scheduled annual maintenance to create a continuous revenue flow. Hy-Bon/EDI, PSG Dover, AEREON, Petrogas Systems, Cimarron Energy Inc., Accel Compression Inc., John Zink Company, LLC., Wintek Corporation and Whirlwind Methane Recovery Systems, LLC are amongst some of the top companies that offer vapor recovery services. Many of these companies are emphasizing on product innovation and development of customized application to cater to customer requirements.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Wind Power in Denmark Market 2017-Facilitate Decision-Making Based on Strong Historic and Forecast Data 2030

Wind Power in Denmark Market

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WiseGuyReports published new report, titled Wind Power in Denmark, MarketSummary"Wind Power in Denmark, Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2017 - Capacity, Generation, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Investment Trends, Regulations and Company Profiles", is the latest report from the industry analysis specialists that offer comprehensive information and understanding of the wind power market in Denmark.The report provides in depth analysis on global renewable power market and global wind power market with forecasts up to 2030. The report analyzes the power market scenario in Denmark (includes conventional thermal, nuclear, large hydro and renewable energy sources) and provides future outlook with forecasts up to 2030. The research details renewable power market outlook in the country (includes wind, small hydro, biopower and solar PV) and provides forecasts up to 2030. The report highlights installed capacity and power generation trends from 2006 to 2030 in Denmark wind power market. A detailed coverage of renewable energy policy framework governing the market with specific policies pertaining to wind power is provided in the report. The research also provides company snapshots of some of the major market participants.The report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, secondary research and in-house analysis by team of industry experts.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Companies mentionedDONG Energy A/SE.ON Sverige ABVattenfall ABSiemens AGVestas Wind Systems A/SScopeThe report analyses global renewable power market, global wind power (Onshore and Offshore) market, Denmark power market, Denmark renewable power market and Denmark wind power market. The scope of the research includes - A brief introduction on global carbon emissions and global primary energy consumption.- An overview on global renewable power market, highlighting installed capacity trends, generation trends and installed capacity split by various renewable power sources. The information is covered for the historical period 2006-2016 (unless specified) and forecast period 2016-2030.- Renewable power sources include wind (both onshore and offshore), solar photovoltaic (PV), concentrated solar power (CSP), small hydropower (SHP), biomass, biogas and geothermal.- Detailed overview of the global wind power market with installed capacity and generation trends, installed capacity split by major hydropower countries in 2016 and key owners information of various regions.- Power market scenario in Denmark and provides detailed market overview, installed capacity and power generation trends by various fuel types (includes thermal conventional, nuclear, large hydro and renewable energy sources) with forecasts up to 2030.- An overview on Denmark renewable power market, highlighting installed capacity trends (2006-2030), generation trends(2006-2030) and installed capacity split by various renewable power sources in 2016.- Detailed overview of Denmark wind power market with installed capacity and generation trends and major active and upcoming wind projects.- Deal analysis of Denmark wind power market. Deals are analyzed on the basis of mergers, acquisitions, partnership, asset finance, debt offering, equity offering, private equity (PE) and venture capitalists (VC).- Key policies and regulatory framework supporting the development of renewable power sources in general and wind power in particular.- Company snapshots of some of the major market participants in the country.Key points- The report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner.- Identify key growth and investment opportunities in Denmark wind power market.- Facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data for wind power market.- Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industrys growth potential.- Develop strategies based on the latest regulatory events.- Identify key partners and business development avenues.- Understand and respond to your competitors business structure, strategy and prospects...CONTINUEDFor accessing accurate and deep understanding and to gain latest insights and key developments in the area of your interest, we also have a list of conferences in which you will be interested in, for more information, cordially checkFor updating knowledge or for thoroughly understanding various terminologies, we also have vast list of seminars for your reference, for more information cordially checkWise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Automotive Tappet Market Revenue Growth Predicted by 2017-2027

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Automotive Global Tappet Market: IntroductionTappet is also referred to as a valve lifter or cam follower. It is a small automotive component interposed between the tappet lifting mechanism and camshaft lobe. The rotation of the camshaft lobe produces both vertical as well as side thrust. Since the side thrust is not useful, the tappet is used to eliminate it so that the vertical motion can uplift the valve. The center of the tappet is set in such a way that it allows the camshaft to rotate the tappet which is in contact with the lobe, which results in spreading of the tappet over a large area of the cross section. Racing cars and high performance automobiles require high performance tappet timing and quick changing of tappet without interrupting the working of the engine. Tappets increase the efficiency, power output, performance and RMP (Revolution per Minute). Their significant applications in camshaft is expected to drive the tappet market over the estimated period. The making of a tappet includes the cylindrical rod on which tappets are mounted. When a tappet is placed between the cam lobe and push rod, it creates a small gap between the two ends. Tappet pushes the rod, which allows the tappet to open and close. Convectional camshaft tappets follow steady mechanical rotation, irrespective of changing load and RMP (Rotation per Minute). Manufacturers are focusing on launching new technologies and methods to update the movement of tappets. Hydraulic tappets are generally used in racing cars and high performance vehicles. Hydraulic tappets adjust automatically after the initial instalment and do not require any servicing throughout the life of an engine. Roller tappets are gaining importance in the global market due to their enhanced output performance and efficiency. Roller tappets use small wheels at the bottom, which ride on the camshaft and reduce fiction. Convectional tappets, on the other hand, are flat at the bottom. However, the drawback of roller tappets is their higher cost price.Request For Report Sample@Automotive Global Tappet Market: Dynamics and RestrainsThe most prominent factors accelerating the growth of automotive tappets in the global market include increasing production and demand for automobiles. Inclination of the consumer towards enhanced efficiency and output power of the vehicle has resulted in an increase in demand for automotive tappets in the global market. All these factors are estimated to drive the automotive tappet global market over the estimated period. The global market for automotive tappets is highly dependent on the automotive industry. The decline in the number of automobiles is estimated to directly affect the global automobile tappet market.Automotive Global Tappet Market Segmentation:The automotive tappet market can be segmented on the basis of vehicle type and product typeThe Automotive Tappet market can be segmented on the basis of vehicle type into:Passenger CarsLCV (Light Commercial Vehicle)HCV ( Heavy Commercial Vehicle)The Automotive Tappet market can be segmented on the basis of product type into:Solid TappetHydraulic TappetAutomotive Global Tappet Market: Regional Outlook:The Asia-Pacific is estimated to hold a prominent share in the automotive tappet market in long term growth. Developing countries, such as India and China, are acting as significant market in boosting the demand for automobiles, which in turn, is supporting the growth of the automotive tappet market. Furthermore, automation and up gradation of technology is propelling demand in the global automotive tappet market. Europe, North America, and Middle East Africa are continuously showing growth, which in turn, is creating the demand for automobiles. Owing to this, the automotive tappet market is estimated to grow in the upcoming years in the above mentioned regions.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Automotive Global Tappet Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in the automotive global tappet market include:Crower Cams & Equipment Company, Inc.Competition Cams Inc.SM Motorenteile GmbHLunatiJinan Hongjitang Pharmaceutical Co LtdRane Engine Valve LimitedWuxi Xizhou Machinery Co., LtdSchaeffleFeedbackYuhuan Huiyu Tappets Co. LtdABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Riot Control Vehicle Market to Witness Growth Acceleration During 2017-2027

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Global Riot Control Vehicles Market: IntroductionRiot control vehicles are compact, maneuverable and designed specially to handle violent protests and civil unrest in a non-lethal manner. A riot control system refers to the non-lethal or lethal methods taken by the local security body, police, and military to control the mass protest. Riots generally take place in private business operations, communal difference, government issues and unwanted international invasion. Non-lethal measures are used in the temporary situations, where weapons cannot be used. Riot control vehicles are equipped with multidirectional and powerful water cannons that can be used to spray foam, tear gas, pepper spray, dye and other materials. Riot control vehicles are totally remote controlled and can provide facilities of semi-automated single pulses along with adjustable volume, continuous straight stream and automatic pulse. A riot control vehicle has an automated system that provides several self-protection options, such as jet surrounding riots, fire suppressant used to sprinkle against the fire ignited in the vehicle and specially designed door lock, which can be opened from inside. Riot control vehicles are fully armored and the torque provided by engine is powerful enough to push away the stationary vehicles coming in between. Riot control vehicles are equipped with high pressure pumps along with nozzleswhere the pressure can vary as per the needPA system, explosives removal equipment, fire extinguisher system, riot control plows, chemical additive tank and adjustable height ram-bumper. Furthermore, riot control vehicle is an armored vehicle which can withstand high pressure, velocity, explosive devices. The demand for non-lethal vehicle is increasing. Manufacturers are also working on to launch new products, such as rubber bullets and direct energy vehicles.Global Riot Control Vehicles Market: DynamicsNon-lethal vehicles to control a small crowd is trending in the market. Riot control vehicles are used to render temporary pain without any permanent injury. Growth of internal terrorism and asymmetrical warfare which requires high integrated network of paramilitary, civilians and military is driving the global riot control vehicle market. To avoid military interference, the governments are using safe tactics to remain in the boundaries of military spheres and civilians.Request For Report Sample@Civil turmoil due to the uneven development and bribery is propelling the demand of riot control vehicle to control the situations of local disputes and this is estimated to drive the global riot vehicle global market over the estimated period. Growing development and rapid expansion of urban areas have resulted in the mass migration of population from villages to the cities. This has overburdened the security system and security measures in the area. Riot control vehicles is used to push back the crowd from the high alert area and help bring the situation in control and as these situations are common these days, this is expected to drive the global riot control vehicle market.Global Riot Control Vehicles Market: SegmentationThe global riot control vehicle market can be segmented based on flow type and chemical used.By flow type, the global riot control vehicle market can be segmented as:Automated PulsesSemi-Automated Single PulseContinuous Straight StreamBy chemical used, the global riot control vehicle market can be segmented as:Colored DyeFoamTear gasOthersGlobal Riot Control Vehicles Market: Regional DynamicsDisproportionate development in the countries, such as India and China, of Asia Pacific has resulted in the asymmetrical warfare strategies. Developed regions such as Europe and North America are shifting their strategies from direct military confrontation to create the disorder within the boundaries of the opponents in non-lethal manner and this is estimated to drive the riot control vehicles market over the estimated period. The MEA also relies on the non-lethal measures, which is expected to accelerate the riot control vehicle market over forecast period.Global Riot Control Vehicles Market: Key ParticipantsExamples of some of the key market participants in the global riot control vehicle market, identified across the value chain include:Hobson IndustriesKatmercilerAlpine ArmoringINKAS Group of CompaniesLampered Less LethalDae-Kwang ChemicalCondor Non-Lethal TechnologiesBeit-Alfa TechnologiesCarmor Integrated Vehicle SolutionsSTREIT GroupJINO MOTORSThe research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, application, and industry.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):The report covers exhaust analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainRegional analysis includes:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico. Brazil)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain)Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC Countries, S. Africa, Northern Africa)ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Garage Body Shop Equipment Market Estimated to Soar Higher During 2017-2027

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Introduction: Garage Body Shop Equipment Global MarketAutomotive garage body shop equipment refers to technical tools used to repair vehicles by which the vehicle is easily accessible for repair and maintenance operations. Vehicle maintenance, repairs and operations (MRO) can be easily done by the use of garage body shop equipment. Maintenance services such as repairing damages, repainting, removing dents as well as overhauling highly damaged automobiles caused by major road accident can be made easier by the use of garage body shop equipment in the global market. The emerging economies where the vehicle production is in high demand is dominated by local garage workshops. The trend of hi-tech specialty mobile van garages is also picking up pace in this regions and the market for automotive garage body shop equipment is also continuously evolving. The replacement of damaged or un-operational auto-components is one of the major driving factors for the impelling growth of garage body shop equipment and its expansion is directly proportional to vehicle production in the global market. Recent research, development and innovation coupled with the technological advancement and improvements for manufacturing lifting equipment which can carry higher payloads with sleek and compact design is acting a catalyst for the growth of global garage body shop equipment market. Furthermore, the advancement in the automation industry (driven by growing population and hence higher disposable income as well as good standard of living) also motivate the growth of the global Garage Body Shop Equipment marketMarket Dynamics: Garage Body Shop Equipment Global MarketThe garage body shop equipment market is estimated to gain grip in the market over the forecast period owing to significant drivers, such as noteworthy manufacturing technologies and introduction of novel materials which enhance the operational capacity of the equipment in the global market. Additionally, there are other factors which are also expected to drive the demand for garage body shop equipment, such as the growing automotive MRO industry and manufacturing sector in developed and emerging economies, rising awareness about the benefits of garage body shop equipment, growing consumer consciousness about environment-friendly equipment and other comforts. Manufacturers have strong opportunity to introduce innovative materials and equipment which are being manufactured to meet transitioning consumer demand for dent and damage removal for commercial vehicles. Automotive and oil & gas industries are expected to fuel the demand for garage body shop equipment during the forecast period. This trend in the garage body shop equipment market is estimated to increase due to the rising automotive industries, growing population across the globe.Request For Report Sample@Currently, key market participants and manufacturers in the garage body shop equipment market which have widespread presence globally dominate the market with their broad distribution network along with their innovative product portfolio, which is a key driving factor for the growth of the global garage body shop equipment market. Additionally, the rising consumer preference towards eco-friendly vehicles has encouraged manufacturers to produce good quality parts, hence they have tied up with several OEMs to develop specific products for automobiles. Lack of awareness about the advantages of garage body shop equipment systems may act as a restraint for the global garage body shop equipment system market.Market Segmentation: Garage Body Shop Equipment Global MarketThe garage body shop equipment market is segmented on the basis of product type, material component and end use.On the basis of product type, the Garage Body Shop Equipment market is segmented into:Lifting EquipmentDent & Damage RemovalSurface FinishOthersOn the basis of garage type, the Garage Body Shop Equipment market is segmented into:Automotive OEM DealershipsFranchise StoresIndependent GaragesOn the basis of vehicle type, the Garage Body Shop Equipment market is segmented into:Two WheelerPCV and LCVHCVOn the basis of sales channel, the Garage Body Shop Equipment market is segmented into:OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)AftermarketRegional Outlook: Garage Body Shop Equipment Global MarketRising automotive sector in Asia-Pacific and MEA is expected to propel the demand of automotive garage body shop equipment market over the forecast period. European countries, especially the EU-5 countries are expected to grow during the forecast period which will in-turn fuel the demand of garage body shop equipment global market. Consumers in North America and Europe live a luxurious lifestyle. This united with higher disposable incomes and standard of living has led to a growth of trend of keeping their vehicles well-maintained, which is in turn estimated to propel the demand for global garage body shop equipment. Moreover, the customers in the global market have increased liking towards smooth and comfortable driving experience and hence, the market is estimated to experience rapid growth in all developed and developing countries in the future. Developing markets in the APEJ region, particularly India and China, are estimated to play a noteworthy role in the rise of the garage body shop equipment in the near future. In countries, such as India and China, automobile industries are growing at a good pace and hence, there is enormous growth prospective for garage body shop equipment in the near future.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Key Market players: Garage Body Shop Equipment Global MarketSome of the key players in the polyurethanes additives market are:ELGI GROUP OF COMPANIESManatec Electronics Private LimitedBodyshop SolutionsMADHUS GARAGE EQUIPMENT PVT LTDSpanesi S.p.A.Siemens AGThe Eastwood Company.LKQ CoatingsPRECISION TESTING MACHINES PVT. LTDDelta Equipments.Steck Manufacturing CompanyABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Atopic Dermatitis Treatment Market Estimated to Increase 4.1X during the period 2017  2027

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The global atopic dermatitis treatment market is poised to grow from close to US$ 7,225 Mn in 2017 to nearly US$ 24,000 Mn by 2027 end. This represents a CAGR of 12.8% over the forecast period. Revenue from the global atopic dermatitis treatment market is estimated to increase 4.1X during the period 2017  2027. This massive growth can be attributed to a rising prevalence of atopic dermatitis across the world as well as the introduction of innovative therapeutic options.To know the latest trends and insights prevalent in this market, click the link below:Industry consolidations leading to faster time-to-market in North AmericaVarious companies are focussed on partnerships with other companies with products in advanced stages of development to enable quicker approval and marketing of their products. Allergan plc, a leading global pharmaceutical company, successfully completed purchasing all outstanding shares of Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focussed on innovative development programmes for dermatologic conditions in Oct 2016. The completion of the Vitae acquisition has added highly differentiated development compounds to Allergans medical dermatology pipeline. The parent company is able to leverage its clinical development expertise and regulatory knowledge to ensure a win-win situation through this partnership.New classes of products launched in North America boosting the atopic dermatitis treatment marketSince December 2016, two new classes of drugs were launched targeting both mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis as well as severe atopic dermatitis. The launch of new classes of drugs gives patients and healthcare professionals alternatives to other classes of drugs such as corticosteroids, which carry the risk of side effects and calcineurin inhibitors, which do not have patent protection anymore and are open to generic alternatives. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Eucrisa (crisaborole) ointment to treat mild to moderate eczema (atopic dermatitis) in patients two years of age and older in Dec 2016. Eucrisa, applied topically twice daily, is a phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE-4) inhibitor.Side effects and high costs associated with biologic therapy may hamper the market in North AmericaDupixent can cause side effects such as serious allergic reactions and eye problems, such as pink eye (conjunctivitis) and inflammation of the cornea (keratitis). The most common side effects include injection site reactions; cold sores in the mouth or on the lips; and eye and eyelid inflammation, including redness, swelling and itching. Additionally, the developers of the biologic therapy Dupixent have priced the drug at approximately US$ 37,000/year. It is uncertain if payers will cover the cost of treatment, considering other lower cost alternatives; which could hinder the adoption of the drug.Request For Free Sample Report @Global Atopic Dermatitis Treatment Market Attractiveness Analysis, by RegionNorth America dominated the global atopic dermatitis treatment market in terms of revenue in 2017, and the trend is projected to continue throughout the forecast period. North America is the most attractive regional market, with an attractiveness index of 3.4 over the forecast period. Revenue from the North America atopic dermatitis treatment market is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 16.0% over 20172027, to reach a market valuation in excess of US$ 10,000 Mn by 2027. Western Europe is the second largest market in terms of revenue growth, anticipated to reach a market valuation of more than US$ 7800 Mn by the end of the forecast period  depicting a CAGR of 14.0%.Increasing R&D focus on novel biologics will shape future corporate strategiesAs the atopic dermatitis treatment market is currently highly generalised and there are only two key patent protected (U.S only) brands, no distinct trends exist. However, over the coming decade, the introduction of biologics, in particular interleukin inhibitors, will emerge as a key future strategy for this marketplace. Historically, Astellas and Novartis were the dominant market players in the atopic dermatitis treatment market for almost a decade, with the launch of the topical calcineurin inhibitor brands Protopic (tacrolimus) and Elidel (pimecrolimus), in the U.S in 2001. Although Astellas continues to maintain its strong standing in the current market, Novartis exited the space in April 2011, with the sale of Elidels rights to Meda. To some extent, Novartis continues to have a presence in this market, as some dermatologists opt for its brand edversions of cyclosporine, Sand immune or Neoral, for their atopic dermatitis patients requiring a systemic immune modulator.Enquire About this Report @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research 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.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Global Paper Shredding Services Market 2017 Key Players - Shred-it, Iron Mountain, Cintas, ProShred, Shred Station

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Paper Shredding Services Market Research Report dispenses an accomplished and profound analysis on the current state of Paper Shredding Services Market 2017 Paper Shredding Services Industry. In the first part Paper Shredding Services market study handles the all-embracing overview of the Paper Shredding Services market which subsists of definitions, a wide range of applications, classifications and a wholesome Paper Shredding Services industry chain structure.The worldwide Paper Shredding Services market analysis additionally entails a fierce landscape of Paper Shredding Services market, Paper Shredding Services market development history, extensive expansion trends, introduced by Paper Shredding Services Market. As the report advances further it elucidates development plans and policies, manufacturing procedures, cost structures of Paper Shredding Services Market as well as the dominant players.Request The Sample Report @It also concentrates on features like company description, product reproduction, supply chain relationship, import and export characteristics of Paper Shredding Services Market, market statistics of Paper Shredding Services Market, forthcoming expansion plans, Paper Shredding Services market gains, Contact details, Consumption ratio.In addition to this, the Paper Shredding Services market report also indemnifies gross margin by region i. e. US, EU, China and Japan. Other regions can be appended methodically. Lastly, Paper Shredding Services Market report involves an in depth investigation of sub-segments, market ambulation, viability study, key procedures utilized by dominant players, market share study and development contemplation of the industry. The Paper Shredding Services market report gauges the development entrenched by the market during the forecast period and research inference are offered.Access Full Report @The report also includes a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of the Paper Shredding Services market, with the assistance of information gathered from market contestants utilizing on all key sectors of the Paper Shredding Services market value chain. A distinct analysis of macro- and micro-economic facets, directive and trends affecting the all-inclusive evolution of the Paper Shredding Services market is also included in the report.Thus, the research study provides a comprehensive view of the global Paper Shredding Services market, offering market dimensions and evaluations for the period from 2017 to 2022, keeping in mind the aforementioned factors.Fior 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.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Detailed Analysis Of Agrigenomics Market 2018 in Global Industry By Leading players - Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Biogenetic Services, Inc., GalSeq Srl Via Italia And AgriGenomics, Inc.

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Albany, NY,10th January : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Agrigenomics Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025" globally.Agrigenomics is defined as the study of the genetic makeup of crops and livestock and how genes influence the produce. Application of genomics in agriculture enables improvement in the sustainability and productivity in livestock and crop production.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Significant enhancements in technology leading to a switch from single gene sequencing to whole genome sequencing, and increase in research on genome composition and gene function contribute to the growth of the agrigenomics market. Rise in applications of genome sequencing in livestock not only enables the study of parent lineage, but also aids in understanding the characteristics of infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses that infest them or live on them. The resolution of the next-generation sequencing enables researchers to study the mutations in infectious agents over time, and help in understanding the transmission patterns of these diseases, thereby contributing to the development of effective treatment. In addition, these studies enable researchers to control the outbreak of diseases among livestock which aids in enhancing productivity. These factors act as major drivers of the agrigenomics market.The agrigenomics market is anticipated to grow at a high rate during the forecast period, owing to the exponential increase in population, rise in demand for crop and livestock, government initiatives to support research and enhance crop productivity, and surge in demand for genomic databases by livestock breeders. Technological advances in sequencer systems such as development of high-throughput systems, and increasing automation contribute to the growth of the market. Additionally, decline in cost of sequencing and reduction in time required for nucleic acid sequencing boost the growth of the market. Furthermore, increasing adoption of sequencing owing to the accuracy of results augments the market. Ongoing research on market-assisted selection and breeding in also anticipated to propel the market. However, high cost of devices, stringent regulatory procedures, and high cost of investment are expected to hamper the growth of the agrigenomics market during the forecast period.Make An Enquiry About TOC with tables & Figures @The global agrigenomics market can be segmented based on technology, service offerings, application, end-user, and region. In terms of technology, the market can be categorized into real-time PCR (qPCR), microarrays, next generation sequencing, capillary electrophoresis, and others. Based on service offerings, the market can be classified into genotyping, DNA fingerprinting, assessment of genetic purity, trait purity assessment, gene expression analysis, and others. In terms of application, the market can be bifurcated into livestock and crops. Based on end-user, the market can be segmented into biotechnology companies, research laboratories, academic institutes, and others.Geographically, the global agrigenomics market can be segmented into five regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America accounted for the largest share of the market in terms of revenue in 2016 and the trend is anticipated to continue during the forecast period. Strong growth of the market in the region can be attributed to the significant technological advances, well-established health care infrastructure, and focus on research and development. Europe is anticipated to be the second largest market in terms of revenue. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a high CAGR owing to factors such as government support for research and development in the field of agrigenomics, decreasing prices of sequencing technologies, and significant technological innovations.Leading players in the global agrigenomics market include Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Biogenetic Services, Inc., GalSeq Srl Via Italia, AgriGenomics, Inc., Edico Genome, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Illumina, Inc., Affymetrix, Eurofins Scientific SE, SciGenom Labs Pvt. Ltd., Neogen Corporation, and LGC Limited. Strategies adopted by market players to enhance presence in the agrigenomics market include introduction of new products and services, strategic acquisitions, and partnerships.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisBrowse Report @The regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Bromine Derivatives Market Expected to Behold a CAGR of 3.2% through 2016-2026

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Demand for bromine derivatives will continue to surge owing to increasing adoption as reactants in the manufacturing of agrochemicals, water disinfectants, dyes and photographic chemicals. Considering a Y-o-Y growth of 3.5% over 2015, the global bromine derivatives market is expected to reach a value of US$ 3.70 Bn in 2016 end. Owing to the catalyst properties of bromine derivatives, global consumption volume will be significantly influenced by increasing production of rubber, plastics and flame retardants over the forecast period.The extensive use of bromide compounds as clear brine fluids in oil and gas industries is one of the primary factors driving growth of the global bromine derivatives market. Furthermore, use of bromine in reducing mercury emissions from coal-fired power stations is another factor expected to drive demand. However, varying environmental legislations can hamper growth of the global bromine derivatives market during the forecast period.Request For Report Sample@Based on the derivative-type, use of brine fluids derived from zinc bromide, sodium bromide and calcium bromide in the homogenous extraction of oil and gas is increasing and will continue to drive market growth to a significant extent. Tetrabromobisphenol A  commonly known as TBBPA - is expected to be the highest consumed derivative, and is estimated to reach 219,640.2 MT by 2016 end.The chemical sector will remain the largest consumer of bromine derivatives, accounting for around 60% of the global market volume share in 2016. Declining oil prices could result in reduced consumption of bromine derivatives in the oil and gas industry; whereas increasing applications of bromides in the electronics industry is expected to bolster growth of the global bromine derivatives market over the forecast period.Flame retardants will continue to be the largest end-use application for bromine derivatives, with total revenues anticipated to reach US$ 1,756.3 Mn in 2016 end.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):The growth of the global bromine derivatives market will be mainly concentrated in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. In 2015, China accounted for 28.2% of the global volume share of the bromine derivatives market, and it will continue to be a lucrative market for bromine derivatives in 2016 and beyond. India and Japan are the other key regions likely to dominate the bromine derivatives market in the Asia Pacific.Key players in the global bromine derivatives market include Tosoh Corporation, Chemtura Corporation, Gulf Resources Inc., ICL-Group, Tata Chemicals Ltd., TETRA Technologies Inc. and Albemarle Corporation, among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Surgical Table Market Report : Trends, Competitive Analysis, with opportunities and Forecast 2017  2022

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Surgical Tables Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.Global Surgical Tables Market: OverviewThe report on the global surgical tables market presents a detailed assessment of the market and reliable forecasts regarding its likely growth trajectory in the coming years. The global surgical tables market is assessed on all fronts, including the hierarchy of its segmentation, the major factors influencing its growth, and the leading players staking a claim in it. The comprehensive view provided in the report is backed up by solid facts collated from reliable first- and second-hand sources and reliable market figures. The latest figures for the global surgical tables market are elaborated upon in detail in the report in order to provide readers a clear picture of the markets current standpoint. The analysis of the current figures is combined with insight derived from analysis of the global surgical tables markets historical trajectory to derive solid projections regarding the way the market is likely to progress in the coming years.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Surgical tables are a key need in the healthcare sector and have thus benefited significantly from the growing investment in the healthcare sector in developed as well as developing countries. The surgical tables market has also benefited from the steady technological development embraced by the healthcare sector, which has resulted in the development of consistent progressions in design, boosting the demand from the surgical tables market. The rising economic prominence of the healthcare sector in the coming years is likely to ensure stable growth of the global surgical tables market in the near future.The global surgical tables market was valued at US$837.1 mn in 2017. Exhibiting a steady 3.9% CAGR in the 2017-2022 forecast period, the surgical tables market is expected to reach US$1,014.3 mn by 2022.Global Surgical Tables Market: DynamicsThe report provides a clear look into the dynamics of how various influential factors affect the global surgical tables market. The most important factors affecting the market are provided with great attention, with its relationship with the surgical tables market analyzed carefully to derive useful insight. Factors hindering the global surgical tables market are also assessed in detail in the report, which becomes a key tool for players to know what pitfalls to avoid. In dynamic markets such as the surgical tables market, with rapid influx of investment resulting in an unstable landscape, small matters can make a difference.The steady growth of the healthcare sector across the world is likely to remain the prime driver for the global surgical tables market. Healthcare industry players have started to pay attention to the growing need for advanced and innovative design in the medical devices industry, which has driven the development of innovative variants of various surgical implements, including the surgical tables market.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Global Surgical Tables Market: SegmentationNon-powered surgical tables dominate the global surgical tables market in terms of product type. The non-powered surgical tables segment was valued at US$619.1 mn in 2017, representing 74% of the market. Growing at a CAGR of 4.3%, the segment is expected to grow to US$765.7 mn by 2022, accounting for 75.5% of the global surgical tables market.Geographically, North America is the dominant contributor to the global surgical tables market due to the widespread adoption of advanced surgical equipment in developed countries such as the U.S. and Canada. The North America surgical tables market was valued at US$246.9 mn in 2017 and is expected to exhibit a steady 4.1% CAGR in rising to US$301.5 mn by 2022.Global Surgical Tables Market: Competitive DynamicsLeading players in the global surgical tables market are analyzed in the report in order to provide readers with a clear picture of the competitive dynamics of the global surgical tables market. Regulatory factors influencing the major competitive trends in the global surgical tables market are assessed in the report. Key companies examined in the report include AMTAI Medical Equipment, Inc., Allengers Medical Systems Limited, C-RAD AB, Getinge AB, Skytron Inc., STERIS, Elekta AB, Span America Medical System Inc., and Stryker Corporation.ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.us
Imitation Whipped Cream Market value projected to expand by 2025

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Imitation Whipped Cream Market OverviewImitation whipped cream is a type of cream which is beaten by a mixer or a fork until it becomes light and fluffy. It contains butter, flour, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt and is also called Chantilly cream. It isflavored with orange, coffee, vanilla, chocolate etc and very popular dressing for desserts such as pies, ice creams, cupcakes, milkshakes, muffins and puddings. Imitation whipping cream contains vegetable fats, milk proteins, sweeteners, water and emulsifiers and stabilizers One should have the right amount of emulsifiers and stabilizers to produce it in the right way.Imitation whipped cream is produced by the UHT-process as this results in a long shelf life of the product.Main function of emulsifiers in imitation cream is to destabilize the fat globule which is formed during homogenization of the cream. This is important for the structure formation and air cell distribution formed during whipping and also for the stability of the formed air cells. In imitation cream stabilizers work in the water phase to improve the emulsion stability in the liquid cream, improving the foam stiffness and also to prevent drainage in the whipped cream.Imitation Whipped Cream Market SegmentationImitation whipped cream market can be broadly segmented into two segments  Dairy whipped cream and non-diary whipped cream. Cream contains above 35% milk fat are called dairy whipped cream and creams which are based on vegetable fat or are non-diary whipped cream are called imitation whipped cream.Request to Sample Report -Imitation Whipped Cream Market DynamicsImitation whipped cream can be used for various purpose like to exclude dairy ingredients to avoid milk allergies, to provide extended shelf life, more flexibility to use, to reduce the price and for convenience. It also provides reduced fat content, better foam stability and better cost in use calculations, which hence makes them attractive for bakers and caterers to use. Few challenges for imitation whipped cream marketare procuring highest quality of ingredients, maintaining consistency in standards of food, managing efficient service in terms of hospitality, high inventory carrying cost, high taxation and high packaging costs.United States has the most consumption of imitation whipped cream. They topped the charts followed by Europeans and Japanese. Growing scope in Asia Pacific countries in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines in imitation whipped cream market.Due to concerns like rising health awareness, concerns over physical appearance, growing media coverage on health, rising health conditions (obesity, diabetes and cardiac problems), changing lifestyle and also soaring costs of healthcare, the introduction of low / light, functional, natural and organic products has become a trend in the imitation whipped cream market.Request Report TOC @Imitation Whipped Cream Market Key PlayersMajor industry players in theimitation whipped cream marketare Cool whip, Dream whip, LA Creme, Palsgaard, BestWhip Inc., Whipped Cream Company, Lucerne and Reddiwip.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite :
Computer Hardware Global Market Research Report 2017

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GET SAMPLE REPORT @Where is the largest and fastest growing market for computer hardware? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward? The computer hardware global market report from the Business Research Company answers all these questions and many more.The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the markets historic and forecast market growth by geography. It places the market within the context of the wider information technology market, and compares it with other markets. The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market. The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market and forecasting the future. Drivers and restraints looks at the external factors supporting and controlling the growth of the market. Market segmentations break down market into sub markets. The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth. It covers all the regions, key developed countries and major emerging markets. It draws comparisons with country populations and economies to understand the importance of the market by country and how this is changing. Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified. The trends and strategies section highlights the likely future developments in the market and suggests approaches companies can take to exploit this. The computer hardware market section of the report gives context. It compares the computer hardware market with other segments of the information technology market by size and growth, historic and forecast. It analyses Expenditure Per Capita, Expenditure Per Household, Computer Hardware Indicators Comparison, Internet Penetration, Households With Access To Home Computers, Average Internet Speed (Mbps) across selected countries.ACCESS REPORT @Table of Contents1. Computer Hardware Market Characteristics2. Computer Hardware Market Size and Growth2.1 Historic Market Growth2.1.1 Drivers of the Market2.1.2 Restraints on the Market2.2 Forecast Market Growth2.2.1 Drivers of the Market2.2.2 Restraints on the Market3. Porters Five Force Model3.1 Bargaining Power Of Buyer3.2 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers3.3 Threat Of New Entrants3.4 Threat Of Substitutes3.5 Industry Competition4. PESTLE Analysis4.1 Political4.2 Economic4.3 Social4.4 Technological4.5 Legal4.6 Environmental5. Computer Hardware Market Segmentation5.1 Global Segmentation5.1.1 Computers5.1.2 Market Characteristics5.1.3 Market Trends And Strategies5.1.4 Storage Devices5.1.5 Market Characteristics5.1.6 Market Trends And Strategies5.1.7 Peripheral And Other Devices5.1.8 Market Characteristics5.1.9 Market Trends And Strategies. CONTINUEDMore Details-Contact Us:The Business Research Company,1st Floor, Anshu Colors Building,Road Number 1, Park View Enclave,Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad (India),500033.+91 8897263534The Business Research Company excels in company, market and consumer research. It has offices in the UK, the US and India and a network of trained researchers in 15 countries globally.The Business Research Company,1st Floor, Anshu Colors Building,Road Number 1, Park View Enclave,Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad (India),500033.+91 8897263534
Augmented Expansion to be Registered by Soy Protein Ingredient Market by 2025

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Soybean is processed primarily into three forms which includes soy protein isolates comprise ~90% protein, soy protein concentrates with ~70% protein, and soy flour with ~50% protein. Soy protein ingredient is considered to be the best substitute for animal protein. Soy protein ingredient comprises amino acids and are also rich in fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, polyunsaturated fats and lecithin, magnesium and vitamin B. Thus it contains high health-related benefits and functional properties. Due to its characteristics it primarily used as emulsifier, gel, tenderizer, binder, stabilizer, and thickener by food and beverages processing industry. Soy protein ingredients are also environmental friendly as they require less amount of water while processing.Soy Protein Ingredient Market SegmentationOn the basis of type soy protein ingredient can be segmented as soy protein isolates, soy protein concentrates and soy flour. Among all these product type soy protein isolates is expected to account for the potential market share followed by soy protein concentrates. Due to high percentage of protein content in soy protein isolates is supporting the demand for the same during the forecast period. Soy flour is also expected to show a substantial growth in the near future. However due to less protein content in the soy flour is expected to restrain its growth in the near future.Furthermore the soy protein ingredient market is segmented on the basis of application which includes bakery and confectionary, processed meat products, functional foods, dairy replacers, infant foods and others. Among all these segment functional food is expected to be the major contributor in supporting the growth soy protein ingredient followed by processed meat products. Rising awareness among the consumer for health beneficiary products is supporting the demand for soy protein ingredient market during the forecast period. Moreover, infant food is also expected to support the demand of soy protein ingredient market. This is due to the increasing parental concern for providing the nutritious and healthy food to their child.Request to Sample Report -Geographically Europe and North America is expected to account for the major market share in the forecast period. However these region is expected to record moderate growth. In North America, U.S. is expected to be the major contributor in terms of revenue followed by Canada. Moreover Asia pacific is expected to show the double digit CAGR growth during the forecast period followed by Latin America. In Asia pacific region China and India is expected to account for the substantial growth due to increased demand for nutritional food among the consumers. Moreover in Latin America, Brazil is expected to be the major contributor in terms of revenue followed by Mexico.Soy Protein Ingredient Market DriversHigh functional properties of the soy protein ingredient coupled with ecofriendly and natural health benefits is driving the demand of soy protein during the forecast period. Moreover it is cost effective than the animal protein and reflects the same protein content. This is expected to enhance adoption of soy protein across various end-use industries resulting in increasing the shelf life of the processed food, so it is also considered as the most sustainable protein ingredients which is favoring its growth in alternate way.Soy Protein Ingredient Restraining FactorsHowever, its anti-nutrients and allergic nature of soy protein ingredients is restraining its growth during the forecast period. Moreover, negative impact of genetically modified (GM) soy coupled with the availability of various alternatives such as milk proteins, pea proteins and other animal proteins are also effecting the growth of soy protein ingredient in the forecast period.Request Report TOC @Soy Protein Ingredient Market: Key PlayersKey international players operating in the soy protein ingredient market are, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Company, Dean Foods Company, Armor Proteins, Gelita Group, Bunge Alimentos SA, Kerry Ingredients Inc., Burcon NutraScience, Cargill Health & Food Technologies, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Kellogg Company, Doves Farm Foods, Kraft Foods Group Inc., Manildra Group, MGP Ingredients, Omega Protein Corporation, George Weston Foods and others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite :
Global Fiber-optic Cable Market 2017  By Analyzing the Performance of Various Competitors 2021

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WiseGuyReports published new report, titled Global Fiber-optic Cable MarketSummaryFiber-optic Cable Market Report by Material, Application, and Geography  Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).GET SAMPLE REPORT @The report firstly introduced the Fiber-optic Cable basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) Basic information;2.) The Asia Fiber-optic Cable Market;3.) The North American Fiber-optic Cable Market;4.) The European Fiber-optic Cable Market;5.) Market entry and investment feasibility;6.) The report conclusion.Table of ContentsPart I Fiber-optic Cable Industry OverviewChapter One Fiber-optic Cable Industry OverviewChapter Two Fiber-optic Cable Up and Down Stream Industry AnalysisPart II Asia Fiber-optic Cable Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Fiber-optic Cable Market AnalysisChapter Four 2012-2017 Asia Fiber-optic Cable Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and ForecastChapter Five Asia Fiber-optic Cable Key Manufacturers AnalysisChapter Six Asia Fiber-optic Cable Industry Development Trend..CONTINUEDFor accessing accurate and deep understanding and to gain latest insights and key developments in the area of your interest, we also have a list of conferences in which you will be interested in, for more information, cordially checkFor updating knowledge or for thoroughly understanding various terminologies, we also have vast list of seminars for your reference, for more information cordially checkWise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Lithotripsy Devices Market to Witness Widespread Expansion During 2025

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Lithotripsy is a procedure that helps to break the process of urolithiasis. Urolithiasis is the process of forming stones in the kidney, bladder, and/or urethra. Kidney stones are a common cause of blood in the urine and pain in the abdomen, flank, or groin. Kidney stones occur in 1 in 20 people at some time in their life.Lithotripsy is a procedure that uses shock wave to break up stones in the kidney, bladder, or ureter. After the procedure, the tiny pieces of stones pass out of rom the body by the help of urine.Many parts of the world are now suffering from the stones disease which poses a major health hazard affecting 20% of the general population worldwide. In the U.S alone, up to 12% of men and 6% of women will develop urolithiasis at some point of life. In Thailand, the highest prevalence rate of 16.9% was reported in the Northeast provinces, while in Middle Eastern countries, the lifetime prevalence of kidney stone is even high.Lithotripsy Devices Market: Drivers and RestraintsPresently, lithotripsy devices global market is driven by the aging population, technological advancement, increasing incidence of urolithiasis.Lithotripsy devices market is driven by geriatric population, technological advancement, increasing incidence of urolithiasis, and growing number of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy procedures being performed. However, adverse effect of lithotripsy shock waves which can often result in hypertension, diabetes, and in some cases permanent loss of functional renal volume act as major barrier for this market.Request to Sample Report -Lithotripsy Devices Market: SegmentationLithotripsy devices global market is segmented into following types:Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy SystemIntracorporeal Lithotripsy SystemLaser LithotripsyElectrohydraulic LithotripsyMechanical LithotripsyUltrasonic LithotripsyLithotripsy Devices Market: OverviewWith the rapid technological advancement and increasing incidence of urolithiasis, the lithotripsy devices global market is expected to have healthy growth rate in the forecast period (2012-2025).Lithotripsy Devices Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic region, global orthopedic power tools market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa.The European region is estimated as the largest regional market in the world, whereas, Asia-Pacific market is estimated to be the fastest growing market during the forecast period. The growth of Asia-Pacific is likely to be supported by strong adoption potential for advanced technologies, due to rapidly growing awareness about technology and medical infrastructure, in this region.Request Report TOC @Lithotripsy Devices Market: Key playersSome of the key participating global players in this market are as Siemens AG, Medispec Inc., Olympus corp., Boston Scientific Corp., Direx Group and others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite :
Instant Messaging Worldwide Market by User Accounts, Trends, Analysis and Forecasts to 2019

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Instant messaging (IM) is a set of software applications bundled together to have real-time conversations, play games, and share photos, videos, or any documents via the internet. This help users to exchange conversations which can be viewed in a small screen where both the parties are available online. With the presence updater feature, quick responses can be obtained without delay by just sending the messages to the buddy list.Instant messenger is an effective tool that is used either by the individual users or by the business organizations to communicate with each other instantly and simultaneously. IM software is based on the client-server model where the client can start a session after logging into user account which gets connected to the central server.Publisher's analysts forecast the global instant messaging market to grow at a CAGR of 4.89% for enterprise IM and 19.42% for consumer IM over the period 2014-2019.For more informationThis report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global instant messaging market for the period 2015-2019. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from enterprise IM and consumer IM.Publisher's report, Global Instant Messaging Market 2015-2019, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report provides the vendor landscape for the top players in the market. In addition, the report discusses the major drivers that influence the growth of the global instant messaging market. It also outlines the challenges faced by players and the market at large, as well as the key trends that are emerging in the market.Key vendors- BigAnt Office Messenger- Cisco Jabber- HipChat- IBM Lotus Sametime- Kakao Talk- LINE- WeChat- WhatsAppRequest Sample CopyOther prominent vendors- AIM- Bopup Communication Server- BROSIX- DBabble- eBuddy- SnapChat- Tango- ViberMarket driver- Increased adoption of smart phones- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Limited monetization irrespective of high traffic- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Convergence and collaboration of communication- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMake an enquiry:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Siliconised films Market Strategies and Forecasts | 2025

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A wide range of coated plastic films are available in the market. These type of films have application in wide range of applications. Films coated with silicon are often referred to as siliconised films. Siliconizing means coating material with a thin layer of silicone polymer material. These films play a major role in the packaging industry. The silicon coated films are available in three basic form: one side coated, two side coated and two side differential coated. The silicone coating is basically done on polyethylene, polypropylene, polyesters and poly vinyl chloride films. These films are used in wide range of end-use industries such as medical, adhesives & sealants, and various industrial applications. In the medical industry, these siliconised films are often used as process liners for the manufacturing of medical films, foams, adhesives and gels. Furthermore they are also used as release liners for wound dressings, electrodes, transdermal patches and ostomy products.Read Report Overview @The siliconised films market can be segmented into three basic categories: by film type, by coating and by application. The film type segment can be further sub-segmented into: siliconised polyester films, siliconised polyvinyl chloride films, siliconised polypropylene films, siliconised high density polyethylene films, siliconised low density polyethylene films and siliconised medium density polyethylene films. The siliconised polyester film are used as a release film and for adhesive liners. The silicon coated polypropylene and polyethylene films are used in applications such as automotive, insulating tapes, shingles, sealing tapes and self-adhesive materials. Furthermore siliconised polypropylene films are used for demanding applications where many weaker liners would tend to be damaged or destroyed, for example during the production of heavy weight metal foil based tapes. The siliconised HDPE film has high elongation making it suitable to applications where the liner will be thermoformed or during processing.In terms of applications siliconised liners play a vital part in the manufacture and delivery of various medical devices. The continuously developing medical device industry is anticipated to drive the siliconised films market in the forecast period. Furthermore, on account of augmenting hygiene products market, the siliconised films market is anticipated to rise significantly during the forecast period. The siliconised films are applications such as sanitary napkins and dippers. Moreover, single wrap packaging for sanitary napkins is getting smaller and thinner, thus pushing the lightweight and fully siliconised packaging film market for sanitary napkins. Besides, these siliconised films are popularly used in wide range of adhesive and sealing applications such as self-adhesive foil laminates as a carrier - "liner" for labels, protection of adhesive coated insulating materials, flashing tape, pipe wrap tape and etc, which is further expected to enhance the demand for siliconised films. Additionally on account of rising residential construction segment, these use of siliconised films in the shingles application is anticipated to further growIn terms of geography, the global siliconised films market can be segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific dominate the siliconised films market The siliconised films market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand notably during the forecast period due to significant expansion of the hygiene products market in countries such as China, India, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan.. North America and Europe are anticipated to exhibit significant growth in the siliconised films market. This is on account of presence of advanced technologies and continued research & development activities in the field of medical devices. Latin America is anticipated to offer high growth opportunities for the siliconised films market, due to the considerable expansion of the medical industry in the region. Middle East & Africa is also holds a significant market share in the siliconised films market.Request to view Sample Report:The global siliconised films market is slightly fragmented, with China being prominent manufacturers of siliconised films. However, there are several other manufacturers around the world. Key players operating in the siliconised films market include Infiana, Fox River Associates, Siliconature S.P.A., Loparex, PPI RELEASE FILMS, Termoplasti - Plama d.o.o., Mitsubishi Polyester Film, Inc., Clopay Plastic Products Co., Inc., Mondi plc, Esaja Limited, apart from others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Multi Cooker Market Research Report 2017 Key Regions with Production & Consumption : Breville, Philips

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Multi Cooker Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.The market study on the global Multi Cooker market is a scientific instrument to understand the performance of the said market over the forecast period. The report includes historical values as well as future projections, which serve as crucial indices for companies interested to participate in the Multi Cooker market. Using historical database and projections, the report presents growth trends and growth trajectory pictorially.The beginning of the report summarizes standard terms and terminologies used in the Multi Cooker market, before moving on to classifications, applications, and industry chain structure. This is followed with an analysis of the competitive landscape, profiling major players for their key business attributes. Each of the companies is studied with reference to a timescale to understand the changing competitive hierarchy of the Multi Cooker over the years.Request a Free sample PDF of this Research to Evaluate More:The report is divided into sections, with each section discussing different industry aspects at length. Industry statues and policies, industry news and developments, and industry framework are the some of the aspects that have been discussed in this part of the report. Included in the report is a cost analysis of products, along with insights into manufacturer profit in the Multi Cooker market. The dynamics between various applications of the Multi Cooker market and their implication on the industry chain are also discussed herein.The industry chain analysis of the Multi Cooker market covers aspects such as production capacity, demand-supply dynamics, cost structure of product catalog, etc. An analysis of upstream raw material chain and downstream demand, along with import/export behavior is also included in the report.Market attractiveness analysis and feasibility of new investments in the Multi Cooker market are key features of this report. Using proven research methodologies and standard analytical tools, the report presents an accurate picture of growth trends and demand drivers, and points out strategies that are sure to present lucrative growth avenues in the future.Table of Contents1 Multi Cooker Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Multi Cooker1.2 Multi Cooker Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Multi Cooker Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Multi Cooker Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.3 Global Multi Cooker Segment by Application1.3.1 Multi Cooker Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.4 Global Multi Cooker Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Multi Cooker Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Multi Cooker (2012-2022)2 Global Multi Cooker Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Multi Cooker Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Multi Cooker Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Multi Cooker Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Multi Cooker Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Multi Cooker Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Multi Cooker Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Multi Cooker Market Competitive Situation and TrendsMake An Enquiry For Discount :3 Global Multi Cooker Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Multi Cooker Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Multi Cooker Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Multi Cooker Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Multi Cooker Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Multi Cooker Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Multi Cooker Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Multi Cooker Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Multi Cooker Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Multi Cooker Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Multi Cooker Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Multi Cooker Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Multi Cooker Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Multi Cooker Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Multi Cooker Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Multi Cooker Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Multi CookerFigure Global Multi Cooker Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Multi Cooker Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Global Multi Cooker Consumption (K Units) by Applications (2012-2022)Figure Global Multi Cooker Consumption Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Global Multi Cooker Market Size (Million USD), Comparison (K Units) and CAGR (%) by Regions (2012-2022)Figure North America Multi Cooker Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Europe Multi Cooker Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Multi Cooker Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Multi Cooker Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Southeast Asia Multi Cooker Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Technological Advancements of Baby Diaper Machine Market in Global Industry : Research and Forecast 2017-2021

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Baby Diaper MachineSales Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.Baby Diaper Machine Market Report by Material, Application, and Geography Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).The report firstly introduced the Baby Diaper Machine basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report includes six parts, dealing with:1.) basic information;2.) the Asia Baby Diaper Machine Market;3.) the North American Baby Diaper Machine Market;4.) the European Baby Diaper Machine Market;5.) market entry and investment feasibility;6.) the report conclusion.Table of ContentsPart I Baby Diaper Machine Industry OverviewChapter One Baby Diaper Machine Industry Overview1.1 Baby Diaper Machine Definition1.2 Baby Diaper Machine Classification Analysis1.2.1 Baby Diaper Machine Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Baby Diaper Machine Main Classification Share AnalysisChapter Two Baby Diaper Machine Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Materials Analysis2.1.1 Upstream Raw Materials Price Analysis2.1.2 Upstream Raw Materials Market Analysis2.1.3 Upstream Raw Materials Market TrendMake an Enquiry about TOC @Part II Asia Baby Diaper Machine Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Baby Diaper Machine Market Analysis3.1 Asia Baby Diaper Machine Product Development History3.2 Asia Baby Diaper Machine Competitive Landscape Analysis3.3 Asia Baby Diaper Machine Market Development TrendChapter Four 2012-2017 Asia Baby Diaper Machine Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast4.1 2012-2017 Baby Diaper Machine Capacity Production Overview4.2 2012-2017 Baby Diaper Machine Production Market Share Analysis4.3 2012-2017 Baby Diaper Machine Demand OverviewResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.us
Grand View Research of Skin Ultrasound Imaging System Market in Global Industry : Overview, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis and Research 2017-2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Skin Ultrasound Imaging System Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.Skin ultrasound imaging is a technique to image the skin at a microscopic level. In dermatology, skin imaging is carried out with high frequency ultrasound skin imaging systems which is set to have 20 MHz range along with other established diagnostic tools. The technique helps to elaborate upon the skin morphology non-invasively. Pressure ulcers are a common problem where patients are compromised due to immobility, nutrition, incontinence, or age.The formation of pressure ulcer or deep tissue injury starts when a tissue is deprived of nutrients and oxygen. The ulcer formation can be observed ultrasonically, as the formation of fluid in the subcutaneous tissue. This follows dermal and sub-epidermal edema as the injury progresses. A number of patients suffering from stage 3 or stage 4 pressure ulcers visit the hospital to determine whether its a pre-existing ulcer or an ulcer that has occurred due to deep tissue injury. A shift from usage of regular ultrasound imaging system to high frequency ultrasound imaging system has been observed for the treatment of different surface wounds and edema.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Increasing prevalence of chronic wounds is a major factor driving the skin ultrasound imaging systems market. Other factors anticipated to drive the market include the rise in geriatric population, preference for drug-eluting devices for ulcers, increase in number of domestic and global players entering the market with new products and techniques, leading to increase in funding for R&D of surgical procedures. However, the ultrasounds lateral resolution and mechanical motion of transducers is projected to restrain the market during the forecast period.The global skin ultrasound imaging systems market can be classified on the basis of ergonomic type, application, end-user, and region. In terms of ergonomic type, the market can be segmented into on-platform and portable. In terms of application, the global skin ultrasound imaging systems market can be classified into neonatology & pediatrics, peripheral vascular, musculoskeletal, dermatology, and others.The neonatology & pediatrics segment is projected to account for a major share of the global skin ultrasound imaging systems market during the forecast period due to the user-friendly device, i.e., small design & structure usually used to visualize the high resolution image. Rising demand for new technology for detection of pressure ulcers, especially in emerging economies such as China, Brazil, the UAE, and India, is also likely to boost the skin ultrasound imaging systems market. In terms of end-user, the market can be segmented into hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, surgery clinics, ambulatory care centers, and others.Make an Enquiry about TOC @In terms of region, the global skin ultrasound imaging systems market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is projected to dominate the global market during the forecast period. According to Longport Inc., each year more than 2.5 million people in the U.S. develop pressure ulcers. The cost of treatment ranges from US$ 20,000 to US$ 150,000 according to the wound type and severity of the ulcers. Hence, Longport Inc. has introduced a high resolution ultrasound known as EPISCAN, which produces images of about 40 microns. Furthermore, increasing prevalence of diabetes and the rise in number of chronic wound surgeries due to obesity and fatigue among the young population due to unhealthy food habits especially in developing countries such as China, Australia, and India, are likely to propel the skin ultrasound imaging systems market in Asia Pacific. However, incidence of diabetes, obesity, and other chronic wound surgery diseases is rising in Asia Pacific due to increase in wound surgery, unhealthy food habits, and a large geriatric patient population. This, in turn, is anticipated to fuel the demand for cost-effective skin ultrasound imaging systems devices. These factors are projected to drive the skin ultrasound imaging systems market in Asia Pacific between 2017 and 2025.Key players operating in the global skin ultrasound imaging systems market include Atys medical, Cortex Technology ApS, Courage+Khazaka electronic GmbH, tpm taberna pro medicum GmbH, Longport Inc, and Temena Group among others.ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.us
Glass Bottles Market will Exhibit a Steady 4.9% CAGR through 2017-2022

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Compared to plastic bottles, glass bottles demonstrate diminutive competency with respect to their characteristics as a packaging commodity. Despite this, the global demand for glass bottles continues to surge like the effervescence of carbonated drinks. Consumers in developed markets such as Europe still prefer buying beer, wine or non-alcoholic beverages in glass bottles. Unlike plastic bottles, glass bottles continue to be identified for their characteristic advantage in terms of hygiene, aesthetic appeal, durability, and being impermeable.Manufacturers of food and beverage products are actively adopting glass bottles as their packaging solutions, considering how these bottles can keep the item intact and also retain its true flavour over a long time period. Being diffusion-resistant, glass bottles have also been viewed as vital containers for storing volatile compounds, highly-reactive detergents and bleaching agents. Such products are predominantly used by consumers in the form of pharmaceuticals, domestic surfactants, and cosmetic goods.According to Future Market Insights, the demand for glass bottles will soar steadily over the next five years. By 2022, the global glass bottles market is anticipated to have reached a value of US$ 71 billion, reflecting a CAGR of 4.9%. The report also projects that Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will remain at the forefront of market expansion during the forecast period.Request to Sample Report -APEJ to Showcase Promising Opportunities for Glass Bottle ManufacturersThe report reveals that APEJ will remain the largest market for glass bottles through 2022. The region will particularly exhibit higher participation of companies, considering the competitive advantage of manufacturing glass bottles in low-wage countries such as China and India. The APEJ region is also viewed lucrative for manufacturing of glass bottles owing to ample availability of resources, increasing production of raw silica, and favourable industrial regulations. Over the forecast period, the APEJ glass bottles market is anticipated to grow robustly by registering a CAGR of 6.6%.North America, on the other hand, will be exhibiting a moderate growth in its glass bottle sales. Despite the booming food & beverage consumption in the US, North Americas glass bottles sales are anticipated to procure close to US$ 15 billion revenues by the end of 2022. Europe is also anticipated to show sluggish growth in terms of glass bottle sales across packaging applications. The report further projects that by the end of forecast period, Japans glass bottle market will have reached a value of US$ 2.3 billion.Key highlights from the report:The report projects that application of glass bottles in packaging of ready-to-drink beverages will gain impressive traction in 2017 and beyondIn 2017, more than one-fifth share of global revenues procured will be accounted by application of glass bottles in packaging of beersThroughout the forecast period, manufacturers will focus on producing glass bottles through moulding processesTowards the end of the forecast period, tubular manufacturing of glass bottles will witness a considerable dip in terms of adoptionRequest Report TOC @The report has profiled leading manufacturers of glass bottles in the global market. Companies profiled in the report include: Central Glass Co., Ltd., Consol Glass (Pty) Ltd., Vitro SAB de CV, Frigo Glass Jebel Ali Fzco, Owens-Illinois, Inc., Hng Float Glass Limited, Ardagh Group SA, AGI Glasspack Limited, Vidrala SA, and BA Vidro, S.A. Over the next five years, several manufacturers are anticipated to adopt new bottle designs and innovative manufacturing process while striving to compete with the outpacing adoption of plastic bottles in the packaging world.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite :
Evolving Industry Trends of Preventive Asthma Drugs Market in Global Industry : Analysis, Growth, Market Status, Demand and Technology 2017-2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Preventive Asthma Drugs Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways caused by recurrent attacks of breathlessness, bronchospasm, and reversible airflow obstruction. Asthma is a life threatening lung disease that hinders normal breathing. It has become one of the most common diseases that affects quality life of patients. It has been anticipated by the physicians the cases for asthma and COPD are increasing on a magnificent level. An estimated 300 million people suffer from asthma globally, with around 250,000 deaths each year. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, asthma can be classified into four types: exercise-induced, occupational, childhood, and allergic.The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America classifies asthma into two categories: allergic and non-allergic. Asthma can be controlled by preventive medicines, which ought to be managed to the patient regularly to enhance his quality of life by controlling the frequency and intensification of asthmatic attacks. Occurrence of asthma is common in both genders owing to increased usage of tobacco and exposure to smoke of biomass fuels used for cooking.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Increase in incidence of asthma and rise in industrialization leading to high air pollution are the major factors anticipated to drive the global preventive asthma drugs market. Asthma is a well-recognized disorder. Hence, simple diagnostic tests such as spirometry, polysomnography devices, peak flow meters, and other diagnostic devices are available in the market. Several drugs are also available in the market for the treatment of asthma including Advair and Pulmicort. Unknown disease etiology is the major restraint of the market.The global preventive asthma drugs market can be segmented based on product type and application. In terms of product type, the market can be segmented into immunosuppressants, corticosteroids, combination of LABA/ICS, leukotriene antagonists, and mast cell stabilizers. Corticosteroids are projected to account for the largest share of the market. The most commonly prescribed corticosteroids are Seretide/Advair and Flixotide/Flovent. Based on application, the global preventive asthma drugs market can be segmented into children and adults.Geographically, the global preventive asthma drugs market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominates the global market, followed by Europe, due to increased awareness among people and well developed medical system.Make an Enquiry about TOC @However, the market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a rapid pace during the forecast period owing to increase in incidence of asthma and adoption of modern lifestyles. Additionally, increase in number of contract manufacturing organizations in Asia Pacific drives the preventive asthma drugs market in the region. According to the WHO, regions such as Southeast Asia and Africa have highest mortality rates and high demand for asthma preventive medicines as some of the countries in these regions have less access to essential medicines. Lack of manufacturing facilities, technologies, and high dependence on imports are the factors hampering the growth of the preventive asthma drugs market in these regions.Key players in the global preventive asthma drugs market include Novartis AG, GlaxoSmithKline plc, AstraZeneca plc, Merck & Co., F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer Ingelheim, MediciNova, Inc. and Mylan.ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.us
Medical Robots Market with Current Trends Analysis, 2016-2026

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Medical Robot is a robot which enables the surgeons to perform surgeries with more precision. Medical robotics is emerging field. There are a wide variety of medical applications had emerged such as Surgical robots, laboratory robots, telesurgery, remote surgery, and teleconsultation robots, rehabilitation robots to help for the deaf and the blind. Medical robots assist in surgeries and make possible to decrease risk of infection. Medical robots are enables to increases accuracy of surgeons and reduce risk of patients For instance, heart bypass surgery requires, patients chest to be open and that long incision be made. The surgeon first cuts through skin, then tissue, and muscle, fascia, and then reaches to the heart. Through Medical robots it become easy to perform critical surgeries with precision. Medical robots are has advantages such as decrease post-operative pain, decrease risk of infection, decreases blood loss and minimum level of anesthesia. Medical robots have many challenges in the application of robotics in the medical field, such as safety, cost and reluctance to accept this technology.Medical Robots Market: Drivers and restraintsGlobal medical robots market can be driven by following drivers, Medical robots has gained widespread of acceptance by diverse range of fields such as Interventional cardiological surgery, Neurological surgery and orthopedic surgery etc., are provides lucrative market opportunities. Medical robots provides greatest contributions in more complex cases with more precision. Increasing technological innovations in medical field propels the global medical robots market. Major restraints of the market, Medical robots are expensive and need a technical professionals to perform surgeries.Request Report Sample@Medical Robots Market: SegmentationGlobal Medical Robots Market can be segmented as following typesGlobal Medical Robots by Products:Instruments and AccessoriesRobotic SystemsSurgical RobotsNeurological Surgery Robotic SystemsCardiology Surgery Robotic SystemsLaparoscopic Surgical Robotic SystemsOrthopaedic Surgical Robotic SystemsSteerable RoboticsRehabilitation RobotsTherapeutic RobotsProsthetic RobotsAssistive RobotsExoskeleton RobotsNon-invasive Radiosurgery RobotsHospital and Pharmacy automation robotsPharmacy automation robotsIV RobotsGlobal Medical Robots Market, by ApplicationNeurology ApplicationsOrthopaedic ApplicationsCardiology ApplicationsLaparoscopic ApplicationsOther ApplicationsVisit For TOC@Medical Robots Market: OverviewIncreasing the demand for advanced treatment methods for various severe diseases, increasing the prevalence of cardiac and neurological disorders and cancer are provides a robust market growth. Increasing the technological advancements and applications of these advancements in critical surgeries propels medical robots market over the forecast period.Medical Robots Market: Region-Wise OutlookDepending upon the geographic regions medical robots market is segmented into seven key regions: Those are North America, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Asia pacific excluding japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa.North America dominating the global medical robots market. Increasing awareness among the people towards the use of innovative technologies providing lucrative market. Asian Pacific region market is considered to rapidly evolving healthcare infrastructure, this region is anticipating providing a robust growth of global medical robots market.Medical Robots Market: Key playersSome of the key players in Market are Stryker Corporation, Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Houston Medical Robotics, Inc., Hansen Medical, Inc., Kirbey lester, Otto Bock Healthcare, Kinova robotics, Varian Medical Systems, Hocoma AG, Vecna Robotics, Globus Medical, IRobot Corporatin, Titan Medical, Inc, KB Medical S.A.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Molecular Diagnostics Market Growth, Trends and Value Chain 2016-2026 by FMI

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Molecular diagnostics is a method of analyzing and identifying the biological markers in the genome and proteome in order to identify gene expression by applying molecular biology. Molecular diagnostics are used to diagnose disease and risk involved. Molecular Diagnostics helps to decide the therapies are suitable for individual patients. The new advanced technologies has qualified the instruments in providing accurate results. This ability of the diagnostic tool resulted in increased rate of acceptance of the molecular diagnostics. The concept of personalized medicine has emerged out of molecular diagnostics.Molecular Diagnostics Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe factors driving molecular diagnostic market are increase in demand for care facilities, favorable regulatory policies which aims at promoting the care diagnosis, acceptance of personalized medicine, development in biomarkers, advancements in proteomics, increasing awareness of the diagnostic procedures. However rising cost of molecular diagnostics, obligation of skilled labors to handle the complexity of instruments are the factors restraining the growth of molecular diagnostics market.Molecular Diagnostics Market: SegmentationMolecular diagnostic market is classified on the basis of product, technology, application, end use and geography.Based on product, the global molecular diagnostic market is segmented into the following:InstrumentsReagentsOthers (service and software)Based on technology, the global molecular diagnostic market is segmented into the following:DNA sequencingPolymerase chain reactionIsothermal Nucleic Acid Amplification TechnologyTranscription Mediated Amplification (TMA)In situ hybridizationSequencingMicroarraysMass spectrometryDNA sequencingOthers (southern blotting, northern blotting, electrophoresis)Request Report Sample@Based on application, the global molecular diagnostic market is segmented into following:CancerPharmacogenomicsGenetic testingInfectious diseasePrenatalNeurological diseaseCardiovascular diseaseBased on end use, the global molecular diagnostic market is segmented into following:Diagnostic laboratoriesHospitalsOthers( nursing home, blood banks, point of care)Visit For TOC@Molecular Diagnostics Market: OverviewThe awareness of diagnosis is giving rise to the trend of self-care management. The early diagnosis of disease or disorder helps the patient in getting better treatment and cure. Infectious disease and Oncology is estimated to be the fastest growing application owing to the increased prevalence of cancer and demand for early diagnosis. The introduction to specific biomarkers for the treatment has a positive impact over the molecular diagnosis market. However maximum use of reagents is estimated owing to their accurate results. Commonly used reagents are salts, formamide, sodium dodecyl sulfate and dextran sulphate heparin. Growing awareness about the prenatal genetic testing for early detection of chromosomal abnormalities during pregnancy has enhanced the use of molecular diagnostics.Molecular Diagnostics Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic regions, the Global Molecular Diagnostics market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America is estimated to be the largest player in molecular diagnostic market owing to the technological advancements and innovations, increase in R&D investments by large pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries and demand for early diagnosis. Asia Pacific is estimated in rising molecular diagnostic market due to increase in the prevalence of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases and large population suffering from diabetes.Molecular diagnostics Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified in the molecular diagnostic market are Abbott laboratories, Becton Dickinson, Novartis, Roche Diagnostics, Johnson and Johnson, Bio-Rad Laboratories, bioMerieux, Danaher Corporation, Qiagen N.V, Siemens Healthcare, Cepheid, Hologic, Inc,.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Protein Trends & Technologies Market 2027| Absolute Research & Global Forecast | Assert MRFR

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Market Research Future published a research report on Global Protein Trends & Technologies Market Research Report - Forecast till 2027  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2027.Proteins are large biomolecules made up of amino acids. They perform various functions such as DNA replication, catalyzing metabolic reactions, transporting molecules from one place to another and responding to stimuli. There has been invention in technologies for protein synthesis and purification in last few years. According to the International Food Information Council Foundations (IFIC) 2017 Food and Health Survey, there has been 33% increase in consumption of protein in the Americas since 2012, whereas in 2016, around 64% of Americans saying they consume protein. Report suggest consumer believe calories from protein are less likely to cause weight gain than those from sugars, carbohydrates and fats.Global Protein Trends & Technologies Market  OverviewThe global protein trends & technologies market is rising with a swift phase; mainly owing to increase new technology for tracking activities of proteins. This technology has replaced traditional technologies such as chromatography and DNA micro array. Proteins also have wide range of application in diagnosis of disease and treatment development. Demand of new technologies to be applied in healthcare, emerging trends in protein identification & tracking and increasing use of protein studies in research activities drive the growth of this market.Companies are continuously invent new products and technology to capture the maximum share of global market. Thus major players invest more in research and development activity, in order to lead the global market. In this regards, MiTeGen LLC, in 2015 Announces that they have the mutual distribution agreements with Rigaku Reagents in order to expand their sales network globally. In 2015, Scienion AG and Anteo partner to develop consumables for better functionality and longer shelf life of protein microarrays. This project will help both companies to provide best product by combining the advantages of the Mix&Go technology with the capability of SCIENIONs precision spotting sciFLEXARRAYER technology, in order to deliver more accurate, better, and longer-lasting diagnostics.Cost of technology like High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and protein chip may act as a restraint for this market.Rigaku Corporation (Japan), Hampton Research Corp. (U.S.), Jena Bioscience GmbH (Germany), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S), Molecular Dimensions Ltd. (U.K.), Formulatrix, Inc. (U.S.), Bruker Corporation (U.S.), MiTeGen LLC (U.S.), Scienion AG (Germany), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), EMD Millipore (U.S.), Life Technologies Corporation (U.S.), Oxford Expression Technologies Ltd. (U.K), Qiagen N.V. (Germany), Takara Bio Inc. (Japan) are some of the leading players at the cutting edge of the competition in the market of Protein Trends & Technologies, globally.Get Sample Copy @Global Protein Trends & Technologies Market - Regional AnalysisThe market of protein trends & technologies is much higher in the Americas region. There are huge population which are suffering from inadequate nutrition. According to the report published by World Health Organization (WHO), in 2014, around 667 million children below the age of 5 year are suffered with malnutrition. There are huge population suffering with malnutrition, thus market players have good opportunity to maximize their profit with in this region owing to high awareness of healthcare. According to report published by World Health Organization (WHO), in 2015, the obesity population has gone up slightly between 1990 and 2014, from 4.8 per cent to 6.1 per cent that is 31 million to 41 million.Europe is also consider huge market for Protein Trends & Technologies players, owing to present of well-developed healthcare structure and awareness of proteins and technology. Government are more focusing on research and development to introduce new proteins and best technology for their citizen.Asia Pacific region is consider one of the big market. Whereas, countries like India and China have high potential of generating business for market players owing to the fastest growing economy, additionally they are open to adopt new technology, and best treatment option from developed countries in order to improve the quality of life for their citizen. Developing countries are focusing on new proteins and techniques for meeting the requirement of market, there are wide gap between the developed and developing countries due to advanced technology and awareness of citizen. These gap is the opportunity for the protein trends & technologies market players in the coming years.The Middle East and Africa are low market due to his incapability of investment. Most of the countries from this region are belong from low economy, and have very slow growth, thus this market consider as the lowest market for protein trends & technologies.Browse Full Report @ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Global Protein Trends & Technologies Market Research Report - Forecast till 2027 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Power Tool Market will reach at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2016-2026

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The power tools market in India is anticipated to register a Y-o-Y growth of 6.7% by end of 2016, and is estimated to reach INR 3,532.8 Crore in terms of revenue. Growing industrialisation and widespread availability of wide range of power tools will continue to drive growth of the India power tools market. The markets in South and North India are estimated to collectively dominate the India market.Robust development in the industrial sector and growing automotive sales are key factors driving growth of the India power tools market. Moreover, increasing consumer confidence index (CCI) in India is projected to play a key role in escalating demand for power tools in the India market. Emergence of a variety of cost-effective, durable and multi-functional power tools is anticipated to fuel demand in future. In addition, shifting consumer behaviour toward DIY hacks is also expected to boost demand for power tools in India.Request For Report Sample@Professional power tools will continue to gain traction, and major shift from nickel-cadmium to lithium-ion powered tools will create new opportunities for power tools manufacturers in the country.However, increasing import of power tools from China may negatively impact market share of domestic and international players in the India power tools market.The India power tools market is expected to witness increasing demand for industrial power tools as compared to household power tools. Industrial power tools segment is anticipated to contribute over 55.8% in terms of revenue to the market; whereas household power tools segment is expected to account for 44.2% in terms of value share by end of 2016.Low operational costs and ease-of-use will continue to drive electric power tools segment, which is anticipated to dominate the India power tools market till 2016 end. Pneumatics and others segments are projected to collectively contribute over 46% in terms of value share to India power tools market in 2016.The markets in South India and West India represent highest penetration of power tools, owing to concentration of a large number of industries. South and North India markets are expected to expand significantly in terms of revenue as compared to moderately thriving East India and North India markets.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Major global players in the India power tools market include Atlas Copco AB, Snap-on International, Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd., Danaher Corporation, Actuant Corporation and SKF AB. Key regional players include Stanley Black & Decker, Hitachi Koki Co. Ltd., Makita Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH and Kulkarni Power Tools.Long-term Outlook: India power tools market is anticipated to register a healthy CAGR of 9.5% in terms of volume and 8.9% in terms of value over the forecast period, 20162026. Electric power tools market is estimated to account for 56.6% in terms of revenue share by end of 2026.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
3D Computer Graphics Software Market Is Thriving Worldwide 2018-23

3D Computer Graphics Software Market

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HTF MI published a new industry research that focuses on 3D Computer Graphics Software market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global 3D Computer Graphics Software market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for managers, analysts, industry experts and other key people get ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by Application/ end users [Personal, Office & Commercial], products type [Mac OS, Windows & Other] and various important geographies like North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India].Get Access to sample pages @The research covers the current market size of the Global 3D Computer Graphics Software market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers. The in-depth information by segments of 3D Computer Graphics Software market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, CAPEX cycle and the changing structure of the Global 3D Computer Graphics Software Market.The study provides company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of key manufacturers of Global 3D Computer Graphics Software Market, some of them listed here are Autodesk, Blender, SketchUp, ZBrush, Maxon, FreeCAD, SpaceClaim & 3D Slash. The market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation, competition and M&A activities in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new manufacturer entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Global 3D Computer Graphics Software (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Mac OS, Windows & Other. Further the research study is segmented by Application such as Personal, Office & Commercial with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of 3D Computer Graphics Software in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2017 to 2022.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @There are 15 Chapters to display the Global 3D Computer Graphics Software market.Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of 3D Computer Graphics Software, Applications of 3D Computer Graphics Software, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of 3D Computer Graphics Software, Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India, 3D Computer Graphics Software Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the 3D Computer Graphics Software Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of 3D Computer Graphics Software;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [Mac OS, Windows & Other], Market Trend by Application [Personal, Office & Commercial];Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Global 3D Computer Graphics Software;Chapter 12,13, 14 and 15, to describe 3D Computer Graphics Software sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Enquire for customization in Report @What this Research Study Offers:Global 3D Computer Graphics Software Market share assessments for the regional and country level segmentsMarket share analysis of the top industry playersStrategic recommendations for the new entrantsMarket forecasts for a minimum of 5 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional marketsMarket Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimationsCompetitive landscaping mapping the key common trendsCompany profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developmentsSupply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsBuy this research report @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 segmentsThanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact us :HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Global Cargo Shipping Market Analysis and Market Insights, Key Players- A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., DHL Global Forwarding, Deutsche Bahn AG

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Market Synopsis of Global Cargo Shipping:A cargo ship is any kind of ship that carries cargo, goods and materials from one port to another. Cargo ships are specially designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and are available in all sizes.The growth of global cargo shipping market can be attributed to the global economic growth and progress in trading. Also, growing trend of globalization and demographic changes are driving the growth of cargo shipping industry. However, environmental changes globally and geopolitics is the major restraint that could hinder the market growth.The Global Cargo Shipping Market is expected to grow over the CAGR of around 3.45% during the period 2017 to 2023.Regional Analysis of Global Cargo Shipping Market:Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the global cargo shipping market during the forecast period. Developing economies are driving growth in the region. China is major exporter in Asia-Pacific, owing to its well-developed manufacturing hub. It is followed by Europe, which is estimated to account for the second-largest share in the global cargo shipping market due to the presence of developed nations such as Germany, France and U.K.Request a sample @Key Players:A.P. Moller-Maersk Group (Denmark), Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. (Switzerland), Panalpina World Transport (Holding) Ltd. (Switzerland), CMA-CGM SA (France), DHL Global Forwarding (Germany), China COSCO Holdings Company Limited (China), Nippon Express Co., Ltd. (Japan), Deutsche Bahn AG (Germany), Hapag-Lloyd AG (Germany) and Panalpina Welttransport Holding AG (Switzerland) are some of the leading players operating in this market.Target Audience: Manufactures Raw Materials Suppliers Aftermarket suppliers Research Institute / Education Institute Potential Investors Key executive (CEO and COO) and strategy growth managerProduct Analysis: Product matrix which gives a detailed comparison of the market for different recycled product typesAdditional Information: Regulatory Landscape Pricing Analysis Macroeconomic IndicatorsGeographic Analysis: Geographical analysis across 15 countriesCompany Information: Profiling of 10 key market players In-depth analysis including SWOT analysis, and strategy information of related to report title Competitive landscape including emerging trends adopted by major companiesThe report for Global Cargo Shipping Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Browse report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Global Market Analysis & Forecast to 2025 - GE, IDEXX, Esaote, Agfa Healthcare, Toshiba

Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Global Market Analysis & Forecast

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HTF MI published a new industry research that focuses on Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for managers, analysts, industry experts and other key people get ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by Application/ end users [Livestock & Pet], products type [X-ray Imaging Systems, Ultrasound, MRI & Other] and various important geographies like United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia].Get Access to sample pages @The research covers the current market size of the Global Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers. The in-depth information by segments of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, CAPEX cycle and the changing structure of the Global Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Market.The study provides company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of key manufacturers of Global Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Market, some of them listed here are GE, IDEXX, Esaote, Agfa Healthcare, Toshiba, Carestream Health, BCF Technology, Mindray, Hallmarq, Heska, Sedecal, Kaixin Electric, Chison, MinXray & Diagnostic Imaging Systems. The market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation, competition and M&A activities in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new manufacturer entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Global Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as X-ray Imaging Systems, Ultrasound, MRI & Other. Further the research study is segmented by Application such as Livestock & Pet with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2017 to 2022.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging market.Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging, Applications of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging, Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia, Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [X-ray Imaging Systems, Ultrasound, MRI & Other], Market Trend by Application [Livestock & Pet];Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Global Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging;Chapter 12,13, 14 and 15, to describe Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Enquire for customization in Report @What this Research Study Offers:Global Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging Market share assessments for the regional and country level segmentsMarket share analysis of the top industry playersStrategic recommendations for the new entrantsMarket forecasts for a minimum of 5 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional marketsMarket Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimationsCompetitive landscaping mapping the key common trendsCompany profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developmentsSupply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsBuy this research report @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 segmentsThanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road, Edison, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Female Contraception Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Pipeline Review H2

Female Contraception

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SummaryContraception (birth control) prevents pregnancy by interfering with the normal process of ovulation, fertilization, and implantation. There are many contraceptive methods which include implants and injections, intrauterine devices (IUDs), pills and vaginal rings, barrier methods, sterilization and natural methods. Contraception generally work by preventing sperm from reaching and fertilizing an egg (barrier and IUD methods), preventing an egg from being released every month (hormones), blocking the reproductive function (sterilization) and preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus (hormones).GET SAMPLE REPORT @Report HighlightsPharmaceutical and Healthcare latest pipeline guide Female Contraception - Pipeline Review, H2 2017, provides comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development for Female Contraception (Women's Health), complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The guide covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases.The Female Contraception (Women's Health) pipeline guide also reviews of key players involved in therapeutic development for Female Contraception and features dormant and discontinued projects. The guide covers therapeutics under Development by Companies /Universities /Institutes, the molecules developed by Companies in Pre-Registration, Filing rejected/Withdrawn, Phase III, Phase II, Phase I, Preclinical and Discovery stages are 1, 1, 4, 5, 3, 6 and 4 respectively. Similarly, the Universities portfolio in Phase III, Phase II and Preclinical stages comprises 1, 1 and 3 molecules, respectively.Female Contraception (Women's Health) pipeline guide helps in identifying and tracking emerging players in the market and their portfolios, enhances decision making capabilities and helps to create effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage. Additionally, various dynamic tracking processes ensure that the most recent developments are captured on a real time basis.Scope- The pipeline guide provides a snapshot of the global therapeutic landscape of Female Contraception (Women's Health).- The pipeline guide reviews pipeline therapeutics for Female Contraception (Women's Health) by companies and universities/research institutes based on information derived from company and industry-specific sources.- The pipeline guide covers pipeline products based on several stages of development ranging from pre-registration till discovery and undisclosed stages.- The pipeline guide features descriptive drug profiles for the pipeline products which comprise, product description, descriptive licensing and collaboration details, R&D brief, MoA & other developmental activities.- The pipeline guide reviews key companies involved in Female Contraception (Women's Health) therapeutics and enlists all their major and minor projects.- The pipeline guide evaluates Female Contraception (Women's Health) therapeutics based on mechanism of action (MoA), drug target, route of administration (RoA) and molecule type.- The pipeline guide encapsulates all the dormant and discontinued pipeline projects.- The pipeline guide reviews latest news related to pipeline therapeutics for Female Contraception (Women's Health)Reasons to buy- Procure strategically important competitor information, analysis, and insights to formulate effective R&D strategies.- Recognize emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage.- Find and recognize significant and varied types of therapeutics under development for Female Contraception (Women's Health).- Classify potential new clients or partners in the target demographic.- Develop tactical initiatives by understanding the focus areas of leading companies.- Plan mergers and acquisitions meritoriously by identifying key players and its most promising pipeline therapeutics.- Formulate corrective measures for pipeline projects by understanding Female Contraception (Women's Health) pipeline depth and focus of Indication therapeutics.- Develop and design in-licensing and out-licensing strategies by identifying prospective partners with the most attractive projects to enhance and expand business potential and scope.- Adjust the therapeutic portfolio by recognizing discontinued projects and understand from the know-how what drove them from pipeline.Table of Content: Key PointsList of TablesList of FiguresIntroductionFemale Contraception - OverviewFemale Contraception - Therapeutics DevelopmentPipeline OverviewPipeline by CompaniesPipeline by Universities/InstitutesProducts under Development by CompaniesProducts under Development by Universities/InstitutesFemale Contraception - Therapeutics AssessmentAssessment by TargetAssessment by Mechanism of ActionAssessment by Route of AdministrationAssessment by Molecule TypeFemale Contraception - Companies Involved in Therapeutics DevelopmentAddex Therapeutics LtdAgile Therapeutics IncBayer AGEvofem IncContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Robot Operating System Market: Recent Industry Developments and Growth Strategies Adopted by Players

Robot Operating System Market

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The Robot Operating System Market was worth USD 138.34 million in the year 2014 and is expected to reach approximately USD 287.04 million by 2023, while registering itself at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.45% during the forecast period. The worldwide robot operating system market is anticipated to encounter a critical development over the figure time frame. The market is anticipated to be impacted by increasing allocations on innovations and research.Get Sample Copy of the Report here:Key Players in Market:BB GroupClearpath RobotsHusarion Inc.Stanley InnovationOmromAdept Technology Inc.Cyberbotics Ltd. Rethink RobotsYaskawa MotomanKUKA AGiRobot TechnologiesFanuc Corporation.Market Scenario:The worldwide robot operating systems market is segmented intocommercial and Industrial, on the basis of applications. Again, the Commercial section can be subdivided into Healthcare, Hospitality, Retail, Agriculture and farming, others. Again, the industrial section is subdivided into Automotive, Electronics, Information Technology, Food and Packaging, Rubber and Plastics, Logistics and Warehousing and Others.North America held a significant share of the Robot Operating Systems (ROS) Industry in 2014 due to the increasing applications of ROS in various fields and rising fundings from venture capital companies. The Asia-Pacific market has not experienced any substantial growth due to high pricing and low Government initiatives towards this market, but can experience favorable growth in coming years owing to increasing in disposable income in the region.Table of Contents:1. Introduction2. Executive Summary3. Market Overview4. Robot Operating System Market, By Type4.1. Introduction4.2. Robot Operating System Market Assessment and Forecast, By Type, 2014-20234.3. Commercial4.3.4. Stationary4.4. Industrial5. Robot Operating System Market, By Application5.1. Introduction5.2. The Robot Operating System Market Assessment and Forecast, By Application, 2014-20235.3. Healthcare5.4. Agriculture and Farming5.5. Automotive Electronics5.6. Food and PackagingAsk For Customization:About Crystal Market Research:Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact Us:Judy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.comBlog:Website:
Professional PCBA Printed Circuit Board Fabrication Company In China

Lian Da Jin Electronic Ltd. offers Printed Circuit Board manufacturing, providing consistent high quality and affordable price of Printed Circuit Boards. Whether it is a single board for a prototype or large volume production runs, Lian Da Jin Electronic Ltd.Printed Circuit Board Fabrication needs in a variety of materials and technologies. We focus on multi-layer printed circuit boards, impedance Controlled circuit boards and HDI PCBs in varying complexities.Liandajin Electronics is one of the well-equipped Shen Zhen based Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) providers in Southern China.Liandajin Electronic Co., Ltd was founded in 2005. It is a large professional and medium-sized manufacturer in designing and manufacturing high-precision double-sided, multilayer (2-20 layers), aluminum-based, heavy copper, and high frequency, blind & buried PCBs. In 2008, Liandajin invested USD120 million to build a new industrial park in Daya Bay (National Economic Development Zone). The park covers an area of 20,000m2, and the production workshop is more than 15,000 m2. Our employees will over 1,000 and the output will reached 30,000 m2 per month.Liandajin Electronics currently owns PCB production plants in Huizhou owns FPC & Rigid-Flex production plants in Xiamen and owns PCBA production plants in Dongguan, China, and provide Engineering design PCB fabrication & SMT One-stop Shop" service to meet customers diverse demands.Liandajin Electronics offers flexible, cost effective and high quality EMS solutions for printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) and complete product assembly through state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies and production facilities.With 10-year PCB manufacturing experience in electronics sectors, Liandajin Electronics is more than a reliable EMS provider for OEMs. Aiming at top-notch manufacturing service and total customer satisfaction, we have maintained long-term business partnerships with multinational OEMs around the world.We offer an instant online quote for Printed Circuit Board Fabrication and PCB assembly, so you can quickly estimate the PCB + assembly cost. We also provide rapid response to BOM pricing queries with complete listing of checked items. We purchase the parts only from major distributors and from your authorized vendors. We are also capable of sourcing Hard-to-Find and Obsolete Electronic Components.PCB Fabrication Quote: - This instant PCB online quote only applies on prototype, small and mid-volume orders. To get your circuit board price, all fields are required. If you need a quote for PCB assembly mail us on - sales@liandajin-pcb.comLian Da Jin Electronic Ltd. is a leading PCB manufacturer, PCB Design Company offering a range of services. They harness the experience and skills of their team to produce cutting-edge PCB products globally.Lian Da Jin Electronic Ltd.LianDaJin Industrial Park,LongShan Six Road,DaYa Bay,HuiZhou, China, 516000
Wearable Injectors Market Report  Actionable Insights and Recommendation 2016-2026

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Wearable injectors are drug delivery devices created for single-use wearable device technologies which are designed to deliver large volume drugs to the patients over long durations. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are witnessing a growing trend of a diversion of their investments towards the development of routes of administration of biologics and other drugs particularly for subcutaneous self-administration by patient populations. Commercialization of patient-centric biologics and their conversion from intravenous (IV) infusion to subcutaneous injection has opened up significant opportunities in terms of costs. Wearable injectors have a primary container that is a cartridge or a collapsible reservoir, drug contact materials such as glass, plastic, elastomers, silicone oil, etc., a sterile fluid path from primary container to needle insertion mechanism (NIM) which could be a rigid needle or a soft cannula or an integrated NIM, tethered insertion set, or removable NIM accessory. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are continuously identifying approved as well as pipeline molecules that can be used with wearable injectors. Wearable injectors is an emerging technology similar to insulin pumps, but with faster drug delivery times. Wearable injectors generally administer 2-10 mL dose volumes. The steps for wearable injector use are as follows: patient needs to prepare the wearable injector, apply it on the injection site, press start to activate and dispose it off after use.Wearable Injectors Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global wearable injectors market is majorly driven by its advantage over traditional devices which are administered in large dose volumes and require subcutaneous injection. Wearable injectors provide ease of customization as per patient needs, affluent commercialization to suit manufacturing criteria with minimal regulatory risk and comfortable experience of drug delivery to patients. The benefit of wearable injectors over other drug delivery devices such as prefilled syringe is that wearable injectors limit the number of subcutaneous injections given to patients and enables reduced dosing frequency with an acceptable pain which eventually results in improved patient compliance during the course of patient treatment.Request For Report Sample:Wearable Injectors Market: SegmentationThe global wearable injectors market is classified on the basis of wearable injector type, usage, mechanism of injection, end user, therapeutic area and geography.Based on wearable injector type, the global wearable injectors market is segmented into the following:On-body (adhesive patch)Off-body (belt clip)Hand-HeldBased on usage, the global wearable injectors market is segmented into the following:DisposableSemi-ReusableBased on mechanism of injection, the global wearable injectors market is segmented into the following:Spring-BasedMotor-DrivenRotary PumpExpanding BatteryPressurized GasCollapsible ReservoirBased on therapeutic area, the global wearable injectors market is segmented into the following:OncologyDiabetesAuto-Immune DisordersCardiovascularInfectious DiseasesOthers (Neurology, etc.)Based on end user, the global wearable injectors market is segmented into the following:HospitalsClinicsHome Care SettingsAmbulatory Surgery CentresOthers (Physician office, etc.)Wearable Injectors Market: OverviewPioneering customer-centric approach in injectable drug delivery systems has enabled the key players in the global wearable injectors market to deliver efficient customization of each product and address specific customer, drug and patient needs. Off-body & hand-held wearable injector types have gained acceptance among the patient population as compared to adhesive patches. Hence, the adhesive patch segment growth is expected to be limited by factors such as painful removal, induction of sensitivity on skin and irritation, adhesive fitting issues, etc. Home care settings end user segment is projected to register highest CAGR during 2016-2026 owing to the robust features of wearable injectors which are designed mainly on basis of the patient compliance towards drug delivery devices.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Wearable Injectors Market: Regional OverviewRegion wise, the global Wearable Injectors market is classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America is expected to dominate the market due to early availability of advanced technologies and higher penetration of health care services across U.S. Wearable injectors market in the U.S. & Japan is driven by increasing use of reusable technology and launch of technologically advanced drug delivery devices. Easy availability, better marketing, efficacy in long term dosage, and most prominently rising number of patients in Western & Eastern Europe are the major factors that are anticipated to drive demand of wearable injectors in these regions through 2026. In APEJ, Latin America & MEA, it is expected that the demand for reusable devices will increase at rapid pace owing to growing use of mobile applications during the forecast period.Wearable Injectors Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global wearable injectors market include SteadyMed Therapeutics, Inc., Enable Injections, UNILIFE CORPORATION, Insulet Corporation, Sensile Medical AG, Becton, Dickinson and Company, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Buhler Motor GmbH, Ypsomed, Amgen Inc., among others. Every biologic, small molecule and vaccine has specific formulation, patient and commercial requirements and hence, the pharmaceutical companies have appointed a device partner for drug delivery through wearable injector technology.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Abhishek Bhudoliya616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Social Media Monitoring Software Market Forecast to 2021 by Technology, Application, End-User and Regional Outlook  Industry Analysis, Growth Analysis, Development Trends and Top Key Players

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Social Media Monitoring Software Market Report by Material, Application, and Geography  Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and in-depth research report on the worlds major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).DOWNLOAD SAMPLE COPY:The report on the Global Social Media Monitoring Software Market is a comprehensive overview of the market, covering various aspects such as product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, distribution channel, supply chain analysis, and these prevailing vendor landscape. An in-depth regional classification of the market is also included herein. The report also presents a round-up of vulnerabilities which companies operating in the market must avoid in order to enjoy sustainable growth through the course of the forecast period.The market study, Global Social Media Monitoring Software Industry 2018, has been compiled by industry experts and is based on a comprehensive analysis of this market in the world. The geographical distribution and various segments of the market are extensively studied in this report. The report also examines the market on the basis of the products. The pricing of products, production volume, supply chain dynamics, revenue generated as well as the policies influencing production are all described in this market study.A market study based on the Social Media Monitoring Software across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Social Media Monitoring Software Market 2018. The Research report is a market-oriented, technical, and commercial research analysis of this market. Primary sources included for the analysis include preferred suppliers, industry experts from core and associated industries, manufacturers, service providers, distributors, and organizations allied to the entire segments of the industry supply chain.The analysis is completed using a wide range of secondary sources, databases and directories in order to identify and assemble market data. After the basic information, the Social Media Monitoring Software Market report sheds light on the production. Production plants, their capacities, Global production and revenue are studied. Also, the Social Media Monitoring Software Industry growth in various regions and R&D status are also covered.FOR MORE INFORMATION:Further in the Social Media Monitoring Software Industry Analysis report, this Market is examined for price, cost and gross. These three points are analyzed for types, companies and regions. In continuation with this data sale price is for various types, applications and region is also included. The Market consumption for major regions is given. Additionally, type wise and application wise consumption figures are also given.To provide information on competitive landscape, this report includes detailed profiles of Social Media Monitoring Software Market key players. For each player, product details, capacity, price, cost, gross and revenue numbers are given. Their contact information is provided for better understanding.Table of Content:Global Social Media Monitoring Software Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1 Social Media Monitoring Software OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2018-2023)Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2018-2023)Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market Forecast (2018-2023)Chapter 13 AppendixAbout QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Frozen Food Packaging Market Expected to Behold a CAGR of 4.9% through 2017 - 2022

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Growing preference for fresh food products is projected to rev up demand for the frozen food packages in the food and beverages industry. In addition, increasing demand to deliver frozen desserts products is projected to impact growth of the global market of frozen food packaging positively. According to Future Market Insights, the global market of frozen food products is projected to reflect a CAGR of 4.9% over the forecast period, 2017-2022.Factors Fuelling the Global Market GrowthGrowth of the global frozen food packaging market is mainly bound to various micro-economic and macro-economic factors. Demand for the frozen food packages will continue to increase attributed to surge in the food delivery system. In an attempt to attract customers, manufacturers in the food and beverages industry are increasingly offering frozen food products through the online portals. Moreover, surge in demand for frozen dessert products among customers has further contributed towards growth of the global frozen food packaging market. With the growing need to protect the food products from exposure to extreme weather conditions and moisture, manufacturers are implementing enhanced packaging solutions such as temperature controlled and tamper-proof packaging. Bound to these factors, sales of the frozen food packages in the food and beverages industry is projected to witness robust growth throughout the forecast period.Request For Report Samlple@Packages for frozen food products also remain concentrated among the suppliers of the frozen food products. Manufacturers in the food and beverage industry witness significant demand for frozen food products as they have a fresh flavor and can be preserved for comparatively long time. Suppliers of prefer opting for frozen food product packages in order to protect the product from moisture and unprecedented climate conditions. These factors are projected to fuel demand for the frozen food packages in the food and beverage industry positively.On the other hand, high quantity of sodium in various frozen food products has led to a drop in the sales of the frozen food products, which has in turn led to a drop in demand for the frozen food packages. In addition, increasing prices of the frozen food products add to the overall cost price of the product, which is projected to witness drop in demand for the frozen food packages. These factors are projected to inhibit growth of the global market of frozen food throughout the forecast period.Plastic Materials to Witness Robust DemandWith the increasing demand for tamper-proof packaging, manufacturer prefer using plastic materials for frozen food product packaging. By packaging material, the plastic segment is projected to represent relatively high revenue growth, reflecting more than US$ 7,000 Mn by 2022-end. On the other hand, the paper & paperboard segment is expected record a relatively high CAGR through 2022. Based on the packaging type, the bags & pouches segment is projected to register a robust CAGR, recording more than US$ 2,000 Mn by 2017-end. During the forecast period, the frozen specialties application type segment is expected will reflect a healthy CAGR. On the other hand, the meat, poultry & seafood segment is projected to account for more than US$ 3,000 Mn by 2022-end. Europe will continue to remain a leading market for the frozen food packages globally.Request For Report Table of Contents (TOC):Market PlayersMajor player in the global market of frozen food packages are Ball Corporation, Amor Ltd., Crown Holding Inc., Bemis Company Inc., Pactiv LLC., International Paper Company, Sonoco Products Company, Sealed Air Corporation, Printpack Inc., Berry Global Group Inc. and Huhtamaki Oyj.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Abhishek Bhudoliya616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
A Comprehensive Study exploring Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug Market

Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug

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HTF MI published a new industry research that focuses on Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for managers, analysts, industry experts and other key people get ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by Application/ end users [Kidney Transplant, Bone Marrow Transplant, Liver Transplant, Heart Transplant, Lungs Transplant & Others Transplant], products type [Calcineurin Inhibitors, Antiproliferative Agents, mTOR Inhibitors, Antibodies & Steroids] and various important geographies like United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia].Get Access to sample pages @The research covers the current market size of the Global Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers. The in-depth information by segments of Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, CAPEX cycle and the changing structure of the Global Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug Market.The study provides company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of key manufacturers of Global Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug Market, some of them listed here are AbbVie, Inc., Allergan Plc, Astellas Pharma, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Roche, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis AG, Pfizer, Inc., Sanofi S.A. & Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S. The market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation, competition and M&A activities in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new manufacturer entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Check for discount @Global Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Calcineurin Inhibitors, Antiproliferative Agents, mTOR Inhibitors, Antibodies & Steroids. Further the research study is segmented by Application such as Kidney Transplant, Bone Marrow Transplant, Liver Transplant, Heart Transplant, Lungs Transplant & Others Transplant with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2017 to 2022.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug market.Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug, Applications of Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug, Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia, Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [Calcineurin Inhibitors, Antiproliferative Agents, mTOR Inhibitors, Antibodies & Steroids], Market Trend by Application [Kidney Transplant, Bone Marrow Transplant, Liver Transplant, Heart Transplant, Lungs Transplant & Others Transplant];Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Global Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug;Chapter 12,13, 14 and 15, to describe Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Enquire for customization in Report @What this Research Study Offers:Global Organ Transplantation Immunosuppressive Drug Market share assessments for the regional and country level segmentsMarket share analysis of the top industry playersStrategic recommendations for the new entrantsMarket forecasts for a minimum of 5 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional marketsMarket Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimationsCompetitive landscaping mapping the key common trendsCompany profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developmentsSupply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsBuy this research report @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 segmentsThanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.Connect with us atHTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact us :HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Harmonic Drive Gear Reduction

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Publisher Research announces that it has published a new study Harmonic Drive Precision Strain Wave Reducer Gearboxes and RV and RD Reducers: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2018 to 2024. The 2018 study has 230 pages, 141 tables and figures. The leading vendors in the harmonic drive industry have invested in high-quality technology and processes to develop leading edge reducer strain relief gearbox capability.Request Sample Copy atHarmonic drive market driving forces relate primarily to the implementation of speed reduction capability for robots and wind turbines initially, providing industrial controls that are compelling.The harmonic drive is used in situations where smooth, efficient gear operation is needed. Initial applications are in robotics, aerospace and solar tracking, the materials used in these applications can wear and break if the gearing in a motor is rough. Harmonic gear vendors offer a unique gear tooth profile that optimizes the tooth engagement. Revenue for harmonic drives was $838 million in 2017, and products are expected to generate revenue of $3.517 billion by 2024. Strong growth is the result of increasing use in industrial robots as they become integrated and able to perform multiple functions sequentially in an automated manner. Harmonic drive reduction gearboxes are presented many new market opportunities from multiple types of applications. The VNTOL aircraft uses the drive reduction to enable vertical takeoff This lifts off like a helicopter and files like an airplane. Demanding applications for the gear box include surgical robots. By application category, there was a substantial year-on-year increase in sales for industrial robots used on production lines for smartphones, tablet devices, household appliances, automobiles, and other products.Harmonic DriveInquire before Buying atAccording to Susan Eustis, leader of the team that prepared the research, Harmonic drive precision gearing is known for zero backlash, high torque, compact size, and excellent positional accuracy. Harmonic drive reduction gears are mechanical, they are used as speed changing devices. Harmonic drive gearboxes have of a thin ring that provides elastically as it rolls on the inside of a slightly larger rigid circular ring.Table of ContentsHarmonic Drive Reduction Gearbox Market Executive Summary 16Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearboxes Market Driving Forces 16Two Main Types of Speed Reducer Used In Robotics: RV Reducer andHarmonic Reducer 18Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearboxes Market Shares 18Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearboxes Market Forecasts 241. Harmonic Gearbox: Market Description and Market Dynamics 271.1 Harmonic Drive Precision Gearing 271.2 Harmonic Drive Concept of Total Motion Control 332. Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearbox Market Shares and Market Forecasts 342.1 Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearboxes Market Driving Forces 342.1.1 Two Main Types of Speed Reducer Used In Robotics: RV Reducer and Harmonic Reducer 362.2 Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearboxes Market Shares 362.2.1 List of Harmonic Drive Companies by Country 432.3 Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearboxes Market Forecasts 442.4 Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearboxes Market Application Analysis 472.4.1 VTOL Gearbox 502.4.2 Harmonic Drives in Industrial Robots 512.4.3 Harmonic Drive Reduction Gearbox Robotic Applications 582.4.4 Harmonic Gear Robotics 592.4.5 Harmonic Drive Reduction Gear SCARA Robots Applications 602.4.6 Harmonic Drive Applications 612.5 Cup-, Hat-Pancake Type Harmonic Drive Component Sets 632.5.1 Harmonic Drive Pancake Gearing Components includes: Ultra Flat Gearing Components 662.5.2 Hat Style 692.6 Harmonic Drive Strain Wave Gears Prices 712.6.1 Shopping Results 712.7 RV Precision Reducer 742.8 Harmonic Drive Strain Wave Gears Regional Market Analysis 782.8.1 China 812.8.2 Chinese Pearl River Delta Region Implements Wave Of Automation 832.8.3 Robot Situation in China 852.8.4 Japanese Economy Continued To Recover 87For more information about this report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Metallurgy Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts

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Publisher Research announces that it has published a new study Metallurgy Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2017 to 2023. The 2017 study has 224 pages, 99 tables and figures. Worldwide markets are poised to achieve continuing growth as the metallurgy additive manufacturing for aerospace decreases the cost of manufacture and increases efficiency in process. Lowering product manufacturing costs is a key benefit.Request Sample Copy atThe global market for metallic additive manufacturing for aerospace at $1.9 billion in 2016, $2.2 billion in 2017 is forecast to reach $20.9 billion by 2024. Market growth comes from the economies of scale achieved by building metal parts in layers instead of using cutting. Coherent designs make a difference, fostering market growth. The metal parts are structural, making metal additive manufacturing a core business.Aerospace and defense customers leverage 3D systems industry-leading solutions and expertise. Vendors seek to deliver productivity in increasing speed and reliability of quality assurance and validation processes, lowering fuel costs through light weighting and parts consolidation, and increasing manufacturing productivity through innovative 3D printed casting patterns, 3D data recovery, injection-mold design, and direct metal printing of airworthy parts.Report MethodologyThis is the 724th report in a series of primary market research reports that provide forecasts in communications, telecommunications, the Internet, computer, software, telephone equipment, health equipment, and energy. Automated process and significant growth potential are priorities in topic selection. The project leaders take direct responsibility for writing and preparing each report. They have significant experience preparing industry studies. Forecasts are based on primary research and proprietary data bases.Inquire before Buying atThe primary research is conducted by talking to customers, distributors and companies. The survey data is not enough to make accurate assessment of market size, so Publisher Research looks at the value of shipments and the average price to achieve market assessments. Our track record in achieving accuracy is unsurpassed in the industry. We are known for being able to develop accurate market shares and projections. This is our specialty.The analyst process is concentrated on getting good market numbers. This process involves looking at the markets from several different perspectives, including vendor shipments. The interview process is an essential aspect as well. We do have a lot of granular analysis of the different shipments by vendor in the study and addenda prepared after the study was published if that is appropriate.Forecasts reflect analysis of the market trends in the segment and related segments. Unit and dollar shipments are analyzed through consideration of dollar volume of each market participant in the segment. Installed base analysis and unit analysis is based on interviews and an information search. Market share analysis includes conversations with key customers of products, industry segment leaders, marketing directors, distributors, leading market participants, opinion leaders, and companies seeking to develop measurable market share.Over 200 in depth interviews are conducted for each report with a broad range of key participants and industry leaders in the market segment. We establish accurate market forecasts based on economic and market conditions as a base. Use input/output ratios, flow charts, and other economic methods to quantify data. Use in-house analysts who meet stringent quality standards.Interviewing key industry participants, experts and end-users is a central part of the study. Our research includes access to large proprietary databases. Literature search includes analysis of trade publications, government reports, and corporate literature.Table of ContentsLawyer Technology ServiceLawyers Are Tasked with Developing Regulations and Litigating Issues 3Drone Delivery, Self-Driving Cars, And Robots 3Digital Economy Consists of The Internet of Things, Robots, Drones, Artificial Intelligence, And Smart Devices 4IoT Monitoring Task 6 MEMs Sensor Applications 6Publisher Research Has a Lot of Studies in Print Relevant To Lawyers Who Need To Understand The Digital Economy 8Autonomous Vehicle Car Services 9Lidar Summary Example 10LIDAR Stands for Light Detection and Remote Sensing 10Semiconductors Used in Sensing 11Biomaterials Inside CI Biological Materials That Are Implanted into The Ear Area 12Watson Data Platform 12400G Optical Transceivers 13400G Transmitter / Transceivers 14Mega Datacenter Online Commerce, Streaming Video, Social Networking, And Cloud Services 15Adapter Processor Wired Scalable Infrastructure 16For more information about this report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Multi-Depth Corrugated Box Market is Poised to Exhibit A Moderate 6.6% CAGR through 2017 - 2027

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Corrugated material is manufactured of 3 different layers of paper such as outside liner, inside liner and fluting that is fixed in between these two liners. The corrugated medium also known as container board provides strength to the box.A recently released report on global multi-depth corrugated box market offered by Future Market Insights delivers key insights on the market over the forecast period. The global market is anticipated to grow at 6.6% CAGR throughout the assessment period (2017-2027). This growth of the market is attributed to number of factors that are influencing growth of the market, on which FMI delivers detailed insights in this report.Request For Report Sample:Segmentation of Multi-Depth Corrugated Box MarketThe market has been segmented based on capacity type, end-user board type, and strength type. Based on the capacity type, market has been fragmented into more than 300 lbs, 180 to 300 lbs, 80 to 180 lbs, and 80 lbs. Segmentation of the market on the basis of strength type includes heavy duty double wall (48 ECT), & heavy duty (44 ECT), standard (32 ECT), and normal (Below 32 ECT). Based on wall type, the market has been segmented into triple wall, and double wall & single wall. Moreover, the market based on end-user has been segmented into glassware & ceramics, home care & personal care, food & beverages, textiles, automotive, consumer electronics. The report includes trends fueling expansion of each segment at global level as well as delivers prospective takeaways that are likely to verify significantly useful for business partners of value chain, planning to enter into the market.The single wall segment, by board type is anticipated to retain its dominance in the market, in terms of market share, witnessing an estimated value share of nearly two-third by the end of 2027. This leads to the expansion of 110 basis points in the share of market over year 2917.Up to 80 lbs segment, by capacity type is anticipated to exhibit incremental opportunity of nearly US$ 480 Mn throughout the assessment period.The standard 32 ECT segment, based on strength is projected to remain popular in the market, reflecting high single-digit CAGR over the assessment period.The food & beverage industry, among end-user segments is forecasted to remain most lucrative, procuring more than two-fifth market share by the end of 2027.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Regional OverviewThe market of multi-depth corrugated box in the North America consists of country level investigation for Canada and the U.S. Throughout the assessment period, the market in the U.S. is anticipated to expand at single-digit CAGR. The country level analysis of the Latin America market compresses Mexico, Brazil and rest of Latin America. The market in the Brazil is anticipated to expand at single-digit CAGR on the back of critical challenges confronted by the countries in the region, throughout the assessment period. Country level analysis of European market includes BENELUX, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Russia, U.K., and Rest of Europe. Russia, U.K., France, Germany and Italy secured substantial share of the European market. Moreover, the country level analysis of the Middle East and Africa region includes South Africa, North Africa, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, and Rest of MEA. Owing to huge increment in food & beverage industry, the market in GCC region is experiencing considerable growth. The market in APEJ region includes country level analysis of India, China, New Zealand, Australia, and rest of the APEJ. APEJ is anticipated to remain most lucrative in the global market over the assessment period. The market in ASEAN and India is growing due to increasing trends for packaged food and shopping through e-commerce sites.Competitive LandscapeThe report has profiled several leading players effective in the market such as Minnesota Corrugated Box, Inc., Georgia-Pacific LLC, Aylesbury Box Company, Oji Holdings Corporation, Acme Corrugated Box Co. Inc., VPK Packaging Group nv, Shillington Box Co., LLC, Great Little Box Company Ltd., Smurfit Kappa Group Plc, WestRock Company, Uline, Inc., Wertheimer Box Corporation, A.D. Inc. of Milwaukee, Bee Packaging, DS Smith Packaging Limited, Tat Seng Packaging Group Ltd, Pratt Industries, Inc., Action Box Inc., Shanghai DE Printed Box, and International Paper.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Abhishek Bhudoliya616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Ruthenium Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025

Ruthenium Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Ruthenium Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.Ruthenium, which naturally occurs in the form of platinum ores, is considered to be a rare element found in the Earths crust and ranks sixth on the list of rare elements on the earth. Ruthenium is extracted from the ore by separating it from other platinum metals such as platinum, palladium, and osmium. The separation process involves a series of chemical reactions which results in the formulation of these rare metals. A major use of ruthenium is in the production of alloys (which is made by melting and mixing of two or more metals). Ruthenium is added to the alloy mixture and oxygen and other materials resistant mixture is derived. The most commonly employed metals for alloy mixtures, along with ruthenium, include platinum or palladium. The usage of these alloys primarily takes place in electrical contacts and devices that are employed for measuring very high and very low temperatures. Several medical instruments and jewelry are also manufactured using ruthenium alloys.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Ruthenium is widely utilized in the electrical sector; however, a new application of ruthenium has emerged for the last few years. This application involves its usage as a catalyst in chemical reactions. Ruthenium, being used as a catalyst, is likely to provide a way for changing light energy into electrical energy.The usage of ruthenium in the electrical sector for the production of hard disks, thick film chip resistors, and plasma display panels is driving its market, globally. However, the demand for ruthenium in the electrochemical sector is projected to further drive its market during the forecast period. The major factor attributing to this growth includes its strong demand from the chlor-alkali industry, as it is continuously replacing its mercury-based technology with diaphragm or membrane cells. Other potential emerging applications of ruthenium such as aerospace, super alloys, and fuel cells technology are driving the market. However, factors such as adverse health effects to humans is anticipated hamper the expansion of the market.In terms of application, the market can be segmented into electrical, chemical catalyst, electrochemical, and others. Among several applications of ruthenium in the electrical industry, some of its uses include Perpendicular magnetic recording technology (PMR) to increase the data to be stored on hard disk, in the chip resistor, and in the production of plasma display panels for flat screen televisions.In terms of form, the global ruthenium market can be segmented into dry/powder, gas, and liquid forms. Several manufacturers offer ruthenium in dry/powder form, as it reduces the reaction time, thereby increasing the yield in a chemical reaction.In terms of geography, North America is anticipated to lead the global ruthenium market. The production of ruthenium is high in platinum deposits near Ural Mountains in Russia and in North America and Latin America. It is also obtained as a by-product of the nickel mining in the Sudbury Basin in Ontario, Canada. Consequently, the consumption for this domestically-produced ruthenium is witnessed in the electronic and chemical industry in the region, thereby increasing its demand year on year. This, in turn, is propelling the region as a prominent consumer of ruthenium in the global market. Latin America and Europe are anticipated to be lucrative regions for ruthenium market due to the large amount of platinum metals mined in Russia and Brazil. Furthermore, the usage of ruthenium in radiotherapy for eye tumors and as an aid to cancer treatment is projected to drive its demand.Key players operating in the global ruthenium market include Johnson Matthey (U.K.) American Elements (U.S.), Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo), OXKEM (U.K.), Nordt Engineered Precious Metals (U.S.), and Dyesol (Australia).The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:- Market segments and sub-segments- Market trends and dynamics- Supply and demand- Market size- Current trends/opportunities/challenges- Competitive landscape- Technological breakthroughs- Value chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:- North America (U.S. and Canada)- Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)- Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)- Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)- Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)- Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)Browse Detail Report @The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:- A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market- Important changes in market dynamics- Market segmentation up to the second or third level- Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume- Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments- Market shares and strategies of key players- Emerging niche segments and regional markets- An objective assessment of the trajectory of the market- Recommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Automotive Alternator Market is Expected to Grow due to the Growing Production of Vehicles across the global Market 2025

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The Report Automotive Alternator Market  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants.  MarketResearchReports.bizAutomotive alternators are used in new automobiles to power the electrical system and when the engine is running. An alternator supplies the power to run the vehicle ignition, electronics, and lights and to charge the battery. The alternator is one of the most important components of an automotive charging system that powers the engine. An automotive alternator consist of a number of parts including the alternator rotor, the stator, the output diodes, the diode trio, the voltage regulator, the field current supply and the alternator or a battery light. An automotive charging system comprises of three main components including the voltage regulator, an alternator and the battery. The alternator works with the battery to produce power for the electrical parts of a vehicle, such as the instrument panel and the exterior & interior lights. Alternators generates AC power with the help of an electromagnetism mechanism which is produced through the rotor and stator relationship. The electricity is transmitted into the battery, which provides voltage to run the various electrical systems of the vehicle. There are various types of alternators, which are used in the vehicles depends on the make of the car. Luxury cars and emergency vehicles could have high-output alternators because they have electrical systems that require high amounts of electricity such as video systems and luxurious audio.View Report @The automotive alternator market is expected to grow due to the growing production of vehicles across the globe. Additionally, increasing adoption of electricity based vehicles due to various environment issues such as rising CO2 emission that cause air pollution, is expected to increase the demand for automotive alternator market. There are various benefits that automotive alternator offers to the different off-roads and emergency vehicles. For instance, off road vehicles, especially those that carry a large amount of snow plow, can benefit from alternators, since vehicle equipped with a snow plow could require a large output alternator since it produces a large drag on the electrical system. Furthermore, the increasing number of hybrid vehicles is expected to hamper the growth of the automotive starter and alternator market. As, the hybrid vehicles use number of motors that ignite with the help of the combustion engine and eliminates automotive starters and alternators.The rise of high output alternators is expected to bring novel opportunities in the automotive alternator market. High output alternator brings in a lot of advantages over traditional alternators. For instance, emergency vehicles, whether ambulance or police, require high amount of power in the engine. They also need to run large number of devices within the vehicle such as emergency medical systems and flashing lights. In previous times, these vehicles used regular alternators which needed to be replaced quite regularly. A high output alternator can handle high electrical demands and doesnt need to be replaced as often.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @The automotive alternator market is segmented on the basis of alternator type, vehicle type and region. The automotive alternator market on the basis of type is segmented into salient pole type and cylindrical rotor type. On the basis of vehicle type, the automotive alternator market is segmented into light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. Geographically, the automotive alternator market is segmented into Europe, North America, Middle East & Africa, Asia-pacific and South America. North America and Europe regions are expected to lead due to the technological advancements with respect to the vehicles alternators and increasing production of vehicles across the region. The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow due to the rapidly expanding automobile sector in the countries such as China and India.Some of the key players in the automotive alternator market are Bosch Auto Parts, DENSO, HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc, Elta Automotive Ltd, Prestolite Electric Inc, Motorcar Parts of America, INC., Remy International Inc. and moreThe report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout Us:MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketaState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Sales Of Bulk Container Packaging Is Projected To Be Valued At US$ 28.7 Bn By 2027 To Register A CAGR Of 7.8%

Bulk Container Packaging Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Bulk Container Packaging Market: APEJ Anticipated to Register Highest Growth Between 2017 and 2027: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017 - 2027" to its huge collection of research reports.a comprehensive and insightful report on the bulk container packaging market titled Bulk Container Packaging Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017 - 2027. The report begins with an elaborate executive summary which has the important market numbers related to the global bulk container packaging market such as the market values for the year 2017 and 2027 and the most attractive segments and regions in this market. The executive summary also gives a concise list of drivers and restraints operating in the global bulk container packaging market which are dealt in detail in another exclusive section of this report. The executive summary also has a list of prominent players in the global bulk container packaging market. In the executive summary, there is also a concise and yet informative Future Market Insights analysis of the target product type, target end-use segment, target material and target region in the global bulk container packaging market. At the end of the executive summary, the global bulk container packaging market share by region, by end use, by material type and by product type for the year 2017 are given. The market introduction and taxonomy follow next.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @After the market taxonomy, there is a section of the report devoted to the global industry overview of the parent market of packaging. After this section, an overview of the films market is also given. A section of the report is devoted to the product overview of flexitanks, bag in box containers, intermediate bulk containers and flexible intermediate bulk containers. Thereafter, bulk container packaging market value chain analysis is given. Another section features Porters Five Forces analysis that focusses on the level of competition in the bulk container packaging market. It analyses the bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, degree of competition, threat of new entrants and threat from substitutes. In another section of the report, trade flow across the globe is stated and trends of the bulk container packaging market are given. Subsequent sections of the report highlight the regional market analysis and forecast (2017-2027) of the bulk container packaging market. These sections contain detailed subsections on the market dynamics of the bulk container packaging market with exhaustive explanation about the regional drivers, restraints and trends applicable in the bulk container packaging market. This is an important section of the report as it contains a detailed explanation about the factors that encourage the growth of this market as well as the factors that hamper the growth of this market. Besides this, weightage of impact of the forecast factors is also given in this subsection. The regional subsections of this report contain important market information in the form of bulk container packaging market size (US$ Mn) forecast by country, by product type, material type and by end use. Market attractiveness index for each of the segments as presented in the market taxonomy is also given.An entire section of the report is devoted to the competition landscape of the global bulk container packaging market. This competition landscape gives a dashboard view of the key companies operating in the global bulk container packaging market along with their important information and broad strategy adopted to stay as leaders in the global bulk container packaging market. Each of the leading companies is also profiled individually and important information about the company such as company details, company description, product portfolio along with key developments concerning the company and strategic analysis is presented. A SWOT analysis of each leading market player is also presented which gives detailed information about the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that the company is dealing with. The competition landscape is the most important section of the report as it imparts a deep understanding of the leading companies operating in the global bulk container packaging market and is valuable for new entrants in the field to get a learning about how the companies are leading this lucrative market and also for established market players in order to get a better understanding about their competitors.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Research MethodologyOverall market size has been analysed through historical data, primary responses, and public domain data. Revenue of companies in the bulk container packaging market has been benchmarked to ascertain the market size for the base year. Macroeconomic indicators such as GDP and industry growth have been considered to forecast the market size over the forecast period. The historical growth trend of end-use industries, market participants performance, as well as the present macro-economic outlook has been taken into consideration for estimating the overall market trend forecast. This data is then validated using the triangulation method and is extensively scrutinised using advanced tools to garner quantitative and qualitative insights into the global bulk container packaging market.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market 2025 Key Players: Armstrong, Mannington Mills, Tarkett, NOX Corporation, LG Hausys, Congoleum, Mohawk, Gerflor,.

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Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market 2018 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2025reports to its database.Executive SummaryGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingArmstrongMannington MillsTarkettNOX CorporationLG HausysCongoleumMohawkGerflorForboBeaulieuRiLMetroflorMillikenPolyflorKarndeanParterreSnmo LVTHailide New MaterialTaide Plastic FlooringOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoDecorative Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT)Functional Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT)On the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingCommercial UseResidential UseIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Request Sample Report @Table of content:Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market Research Report 20181 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT)1.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Decorative Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT)1.2.4 Functional Luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT)1.3 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Segment by Application1.3.1 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Commercial Use1.3.3 Residential Use1.4 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion7 Global luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Armstrong7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Armstrong luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Mannington Mills7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Mannington Mills luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Tarkett7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Tarkett luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 NOX Corporation7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 NOX Corporation luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 LG Hausys7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 LG Hausys luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Congoleum7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Congoleum luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Mohawk7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Mohawk luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Gerflor7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Gerflor luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Forbo7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 Forbo luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 Beaulieu7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 Beaulieu luxury Vinyl Flooring (LVT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.11 RiL7.12 Metroflor7.13 Milliken7.14 Polyflor7.15 Karndean7.16 Parterre7.17 Snmo LVT7.18 Hailide New Material7.19 Taide Plastic FlooringContinuousFor further information on this report, visit -Contact Us:Norah Trentsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042
Dry Powder Inhalers Market Size, Share : Industry Trends 2025 : MarketResearchReports.biz

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The Report Dry Powder Inhalers Market  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017  2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants.  MarketResearchReports.bizDry powder inhaler is a medical device that delivers formulation using the pulmonary route for systemic or local effect. The combined use of powdered formulations and device performance provides a safe, reliable, bioequivalent, and efficient method of drug delivery into the lungs. The device performance depends upon the air inlet size, impaction angle of the powder, mouthpiece length, grid structure, and mouth piece configuration. Some of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved dry powder inhalers include mono-drug products such as Zanamivir, Umeclidinium, Tobramycin, Tiotropium, Salmeterol, Mometasone, Loxapine, Insulin, Indacaterol, Glycopyrronium, Formoterol, Fluticasone, Budesonide, Albuterol, Aclidinium, and others. While dual drug products include Umeclidinium + Vilanterol, Glycopyrronium + Indacaterol, Fluticasone + Vilanterol, Fluticasone + Salmeterol, and others. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved dry powder inhaler dual drug as well as mono-drug products include Umeclidinium + Vilanterol , Glycopyrronium + Indacaterol, Fluticasone + Vilanterol, Fluticasone + Salmeterol, Budesonide + Formoterol, Aclidinium + Formoterol, Umeclidinium, Indacaterol, Glycopyrronium, and Aclidinium.View Report @Drivers of the global dry powder inhalers market are development of novel device architectures, advances in particle engineering, and research advancements in powder formulations. More efficient designs of inhalers, and improved particle properties are expanding the range of active compounds and growing new opportunities for dry powder inhaler device that can be effectively delivered to the lung. Furthermore, increasing geriatric population encourages managed care initiatives such as self-administration of drug therapies and home health care. This is likely to boost the growth of the global dry powder inhalers market. Increasing inclination toward cost-effective and patient friendly therapies increase the demand for dry powder inhalers. Inhaled drug administration and dry powder inhalers are expected to evolve during the forecast period owing to commercialization of therapeutic drugs and advancements in pharmaceutical development.The global dry powder inhalers market can be segmented based on product type, performance level, therapy type, usage type, and region. In terms of product type, the market can be classified into canister/cartridge based, blister based, capsule based, and others. Based on performance level, the market can be divided into interpatient variability, dose metering accuracy, mechanism of aerosolization, and de-agglomeration. In terms of usage type, the global dry powder inhalers market can be categorized into single-use disposable devices and multi-use devices. The multi-use devices segment accounted for a larger market share in 2016 owing to growing awareness. However, advancements in research & development and addition of rescue medications, analgesics, and vaccines agents are anticipated to drive the single-use disposable devices segment during the forecast period. In terms of therapy type, the global dry powder inhalers market can be classified into neurological disorder, metabolic conditions, infectious diseases, hereditary diseases, systemic indications, bronchospasm, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, upper respiratory diseases, and others. In 2016, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) accounted for a large market share owing to high prevalence.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Geographically, the global dry powder inhalers market can be divided into Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. North America accounted for a large market share in 2016 owing to high geriatric population and increasing research & development activities. Europe held the second largest market share due to growing government facilities and initiatives to combat and control various diseases and disorders. Asia Pacific is anticipated to grow during the forecast period owing to rising prevalence of infections and other diseases, especially in the emerging economies such as China and India.Key players in the global dry powder inhalers market are Orion, Novartis, MicroDose Therapeutx, Meda, Mannkind, Mantecorp, Hovione, GlaxoSmithKline, Civitas/Alkermes, Cipla, Chiesi, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, and Aerovance, among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout Us:MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketaState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Rising Demand for High Thermal Resistance Products is Envisioned to Bolster the Growth of Global Silica Aerogel Market over the Forecast Period, According to Research Nester

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Silica Aerogel Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2023The global silica aerogel market is segmented into form such as monolith form, blanket form, article form and panel form. Among these segments, blanket form segment accounted for the dominating segment in overall silica aerogel market and is projected to garb a considerable CAGR in near future. Likely, increasing adoption of silica aerogel by various industries such as oil and gas, automotive and others is propelling the market of silica aerogel across the globe. In addition to this, increasing adoption of environmental friendly products is also predicted to foster the growth of silica aerogel market.Global silica aerogel market is anticipated to mask a noteworthy CAGR during the forecast period i.e. 2016-2023. Moreover, the global silica aerogel market accounted revenue of USD 415.3 Million in 2015. Additionally, the market is riding on the back of spiked growth in construction and aerospace industry.The electronics segment by application is projected to seize a robust CAGR over the forecast period. Moreover, the growth of aerospace segment is attributed to the growing demand high grade and advanced thermal insulators such as silica aerogel. In terms of regional platform, North America and Europe region are the prominent regional markets of silica aerogel. With 64% share, North America region captured the largest market of silica aerogel in 2015. Moreover, swift development in aerospace industry in this region is pushing the demand for silica aerogel. Europe silica aerogel market is projected to grasp a CAGR of 21.5% over the forecast period. Apart from this, Asia-Pacific region is believed to be the most lucrative market of silica aerogel owing to emerging economies such as India and China.Rising Government InitiativesFavorable government policies in order to adopt efficient silicates due to their numerous properties such as light weight and others is believed to fuel the growth of silica aerogel market. For instance, government policies such as Energy Efficiency Directive are encouraging the consumers to adopt silica aerogel. This factor is projected to foster the growth of silica aerogel market.Request For Sample Pages:Growing Power SectorExpansion of power sector has augmented the demand for high value insulators in terms of quality and grade and property of high thermal insulation and poor thermal conduction of silica aerogel are anticipated to impel the growth of silica aerogel market by the end of 2023. Moreover, various properties of silica aerogel such as high strength, light weight, high absorption rate and high surface area are attracting the consumers which are believed to flourish the growth of silica aerogel market.On the contrary, high cost associated with silica is expected to dampen the growth of silica aerogel market throughout the globe.The report titled Silica Aerogel Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2023 delivers detailed overview of the global silica aerogel market in terms of market segmentation by form, by process, by application and by region.Further, for the in-depth analysis, the report encompasses the industry growth drivers, restraints, supply and demand risk, market attractiveness, BPS analysis and Porters five force model.Request TOC Pages:This report also provides the existing competitive scenario of some of the key players of the global silica aerogel market which includes company profiling of Aerogel Technologies, Cabot Corporation, Dow Corning Corporation, Aspen Aerogels, Inc., NanoPore Incorporated, JIOS Aerogel, Active Space Technologies, Guangdong Alison Hi-Tech, Insulgel High-Tech, Enersens Aerogels. The profiling enfolds key information of the companies which encompasses business overview, products and services, key financials and recent news and developments. On the whole, the report depicts detailed overview of the global silica aerogel market that will help industry consultants, equipment manufacturers, existing players searching for expansion opportunities, new players searching possibilities and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to the ongoing and expected trends in the future.Request Buy Now:Research Nester is a leading service provider for strategic market research and consulting. We aim to provide unbiased, unparalleled market insights and industry analysis to help industries, conglomerates and executives to take wise decisions for their future marketing strategy, expansion and investment etc. We believe every business can expand to its new horizon, provided a right guidance at a right time is available through strategic minds. Our out of box thinking helps our clients to take wise decision so as to avoid future uncertainties.For Table of Content & Free Sample Report Contact:Name:-Ajay DanielEmail: ajay.daniel@researchnester.comU.S. +1 646 586 9123U.K. +44 203 608 5919Website:-
Global MRI Equipment Sales Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2017

MRI Equipment Sales Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global MRI Equipment Sales Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global MRI Equipment market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of MRI Equipment for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global MRI Equipment market competition by top manufacturers/players, with MRI Equipment sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingSiemensPhilipsGE HealthcareToshibaHitachiESAOTESciMedixParamedNeusoftXingaoyiANKEHuarun WandongAlltechOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoExtremity MRIOpen MRIClosed MRIOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingHospitalsClinicsOtherTable of ContentsGlobal MRI Equipment Sales Market Report 20171 MRI Equipment Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of MRI Equipment1.2 Classification of MRI Equipment by Product Category1.2.1 Global MRI Equipment Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global MRI Equipment Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Extremity MRI1.2.4 Open MRI1.2.5 Closed MRI1.3 Global MRI Equipment Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global MRI Equipment Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Hospitals1.3.3 Clinics1.3.4 Other1.4 Global MRI Equipment Market by Region1.4.1 Global MRI Equipment Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States MRI Equipment Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 China MRI Equipment Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Europe MRI Equipment Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan MRI Equipment Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia MRI Equipment Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India MRI Equipment Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of MRI Equipment (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global MRI Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global MRI Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @2 Global MRI Equipment Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global MRI Equipment Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global MRI Equipment Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global MRI Equipment Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global MRI Equipment (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global MRI Equipment Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Global MRI Equipment Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Global MRI Equipment (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global MRI Equipment Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.3.2 Global MRI Equipment Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4 Global MRI Equipment (Volume) by Application3 United States MRI Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States MRI Equipment Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 United States MRI Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 United States MRI Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 United States MRI Equipment Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 United States MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Players3.3 United States MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Type3.4 United States MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Application4 China MRI Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China MRI Equipment Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 China MRI Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 China MRI Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.3 China MRI Equipment Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)4.2 China MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Players4.3 China MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Type4.4 China MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Application5 Europe MRI Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 Europe MRI Equipment Sales and Value (2012-2017)5.1.1 Europe MRI Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.2 Europe MRI Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.3 Europe MRI Equipment Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)5.2 Europe MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Players5.3 Europe MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Type5.4 Europe MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Application6 Japan MRI Equipment (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Japan MRI Equipment Sales and Value (2012-2017)6.1.1 Japan MRI Equipment Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.2 Japan MRI Equipment Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.3 Japan MRI Equipment Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)6.2 Japan MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Players6.3 Japan MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by Type6.4 Japan MRI Equipment Sales Volume and Market Share by ApplicationContinue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Jet Injector Device Market Size, Share : Industry Trends, and Forecast 2017  2025

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The Report Jet Injector Device Market  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017  2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants.  MarketResearchReports.bizJet injector device is a medical device that uses a needle-free injection system. The injector delivers drugs, vaccines, compounds, anesthetics, steroids, or insulin in a very fine stream of fluid by high-pressure precision. The high pressure is produced either by using nitrogen-filled or carbon-dioxide-filled cartridge or a spring. The medication is forced through a tiny opening in the device, which allows the drug to penetrate the skin and is administered into the underlying tissue either intramuscularly, subcutaneously, or intradermal.The jet injector device provides (with minimal training) reproducible, reliable, and accurate delivery of medication, eliminates the need for sharps disposal, reduces risks such as cross-contamination and needle stick injuries, enhances compliance, and is less painful for the patient. These attributes are expected to drive the global jet injector device market. Increased inclination toward minimal invasive methods can further boost the demand for jet injectors. Improved patient convenience due to ease in professional and self-medication uses can drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. According to the International Diabetes Federation, the rate of diagnosis of diabetes has increased from 30 million people to 246 million people in India, China, and the U.S., over the last decades. Increasing incidence of diabetes drives the jet injector devices market. However, some formulations of vaccines and medications produce a stinging or burning sensation, whether it is administered using a jet injector or a needle.View Report @The global jet injector device market can be segmented based onproduct type, methods of injection, end-user, medication type, and region. In terms of product type, the market can be classified into powder jet injections, liquid jet injections, and depot or projectile jet injections. Based on the methods of injection, the market can be classified into gas powdered jet injector, spring load jet injector, and battery powdered jet injector. In terms of end-user, the market can be categorized into podiatric clinics, dental clinics, veterinary clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, and hospitals. In terms of the medication type, the global jet injector device market can be divided into vaccines, drugs, aesthetics, hormones, genes, and others.Geographically, the global jet injector device market can be classified into Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. North America held a dominant market share in the year 2016, owing to technological advancements in research & development, high awareness, and early adoption of jet injector devices. Europe held the second largest market share in 2016 due to government initiatives to promote good health in the region. Asia Pacific market is expected to expand during the forecast period. The growth can be accredited to increasing life expectancy in the region. According to World Health Organization (WHO), life expectancy continues to rise in the South East Asia region. Since 2000, life expectancy has increased at nearly 3.5 years per decade. The life expectancy in the region was 69.0 in 2015. The global jet injector device market in Africa is anticipated to grow during the forecast period owing to the increasing prevalence of diabetes. According to WHO, by 2030, the estimated number of diabetes cases will reach nearly 23.9 million in Africa. In surveys carried out by WHO, approximately 15% of adults between the ages of 25 and64 suffer from diabetes.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Key players of the global jet injector device market are PharmaJet, MK Global Co., Spirit Healthcare Ltd, Valeritas, Inc, Lundbeck Limited, Crossject needle-free injection systems, InjexUK, and Antares Pharma.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout Us:MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketaState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Worldwide Mobile Health and Fitness Sensors Market | MarketResearchReports.biz

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The Report Mobile Health and Fitness Sensors Market  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants.  MarketResearchReports.bizMobile Health and Fitness Sensors Market: SnapshotMobile health and fitness sensors market includes the sensors that are utilized as a part of healthcare sector by therapeutic experts and customers for measuring different body parameters, for example, blood glucose level, temperature, weight, and among others. Mobile health and fitness sensors support in gathering the healthcare related information of patients and keeping up their electronic data which can be utilized for discovering examples of patients past and dissecting information to discover the solution. Mobile health and fitness sensors market is developing at a critical rate because of different favorable highlights offered with utilization of mobile health and fitness sensors, for example diminishment in mistakes, more exact outcomes, less tedious and others.The report offered herewith considers all the major subtle parts and factors adding to the difference in the general development sensor market, for instance, market figures, drivers, confinement, outlines, openings, market potential, fragments, and land viewpoint. The report helps in understanding the market situation and intense scene for healing planning market, by demonstrating the key players, driving district, business methodologies, and level of change.View Report @Mobile Health and Fitness Sensors Market: Trend and OpportunitiesThe developing requirement for mobile health and fitness sensors can be accounted to the expanding infiltration of savvy devices and expanding use of associated medicinal gadgets. Mobile health and fitness sensors are for the most part centered around checking for counteractive action of different illnesses. This increased care enhances the general population and the administration to cut short healthcare costs. Among some of the mobile health sensors are being utilized for basic applications where quick and precise basic leadership is pivotal. So sellers are concentrating on creating mobile health and fitness sensors to enable crisis responders to settle on the correct choices in a convenient way. This is also estimated to help general market.The worldwide mobile health and fitness sensors market is becoming because of quick increment in demand of better healthcare administrations, developing number of medical cases, the different government activities for empowering effective, reasonable, and exact time conveyance of value mind. The worldwide mobile health and fitness sensors market is relied upon to develop amid the figure time frame significantly because of developing healthcare mindfulness among people in general and demand for accessibility of enhanced healthcare offices.Mobile Health and Fitness Sensors Market: Geographical AnalysisOn the premise of topography, the worldwide mobile health and fitness sensors market is divided into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, North America, and South America. North America holds the biggest market share in the worldwide mobile health and fitness sensors market and is relied upon to have a consistent development over the estimate period. This development is predominantly because of enhanced healthcare offices and expanded administration spending in healthcare in this district. Likewise among the districts in worldwide mobile health and fitness sensors market, Europe and Asia Pacific areas are required to develop at a higher CAGR amid gauge period. China and India are relied upon to develop at a speedier pace in Asia Pacific areas amid the estimate time frame.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Mobile Health and Fitness Sensors Market: Companies MentionedA portion of the significant organizations managing in the worldwide mobile health and fitness sensors market are Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Laboratories, F.Hoffmann-La Roche, Bayer HealthCare, and and Medtronic. A portion of alternate organizations having critical nearness in the worldwide mobile health and fitness sensors market are Honeywell International, GE Healthcare OMRON, LifeScan, Fujitsu, Acute Technology, and RF Technologies. These organizations are putting a considerable measure in their R&D, for example, to fuse new advancements, improve productivity, deliver more precise outcomes in their frameworks and grow new items in order to upgrade market share in worldwide mobile health and fitness sensors market.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)Send An Enquiry @The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout Us:MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketaState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Matrix Mentions Three Ways How Unified Communication Help Educational Institutions Deliver Enhanced Student Experience

Matrix, a leading manufacturer of Telecom and Security solutions, is known for its industry specific solutions tailored for different sized businesses. The company holds a channel of 1,000 partners across the globe to whom it explains all applications of products to help them realize new markets and generate high revenue.The educational institutions are always searching for the latest technological solutions that help them deliver enhanced services to their students at reduced rates. With the wave of change constantly blowing, students are looking for ubiquitous educational programs. Investing in reliable Unified Communication, cloud solutions and other collaborative technologies can help institutes suffice all the requirements of students through a least complicated architecture. Some of the other advantages of deploying Unified Communication in an educational environment are as follows: Multiple Feature Access from a Single Screen: Unified Communication, initially known as IP telephony, combines real-time and non-real-time modes of communication in a single interface. The solution supports variety of IP, Digital and Analog endpoints to enable students and teachers to connect from anywhere, regardless of their location. Other features such as multilingual Auto-attendant and Voicemail to Email allows the faculties to tailor an enhanced experience for their students by remaining constantly in touch with them. Flexibility to access multiple communication tools from the same interface help teachers lower down the redundant work and focus more on productive tasks. Flawless and hassle free arrangement of SMS or email campaigns help staff communicate important messages to numerous students with a single click. Mobility: Owing to the global architecture of the schools, collaboration amongst students, faculties and the admin staff is becoming important. Unified Communication backs up in this aspect by bringing multiple systems on the same network for uninterrupted communication. Other flexibilities such as Video Calls, Conferencing, advanced messaging capabilities and more help teachers reach out to parents and students in the most intuitive ways. However, equipping admin staff with tools offering advanced call management features help them manage their regular interactions with parents and students. Reduced Telephony Costs: Apart from merging different applications, the Unified Communication offers integrated access of legacy and modern networks from a single chassis. IP at Core, intelligent routing through the least cost effective trunk and scalability help authorities ensure robust communication network at reduced costs.There are many other aspects where Unified Communication enable educational institutions to streamline internal communication and offer improved experience to their students.The education industry is continuously evolving, and hence, is looking for a system that withstands test of time and technology. Matrix SARVAM UCS series addresses the exact needs of this sector with its innovative features and flexibilities. We are relentlessly working to add features that improve usability of platform and help us target different segments, said Ganesh Jivani, Managing Director.About MatrixEstablished in 1991, Matrix is a leader in Telecom and Security solutions for modern businesses and enterprises. Matrix, an innovative, technology driven and customer focused organization, is committed to keep pace with the revolutions in the telecom and security industries. With more than 40% of its human resources dedicated to the development of new products, Matrix has launched cutting-edge products like IP-PBX, Universal Gateways, VoIP Gateways and Terminals, GSM Gateways, Access Control, Time-Attendance and Video Surveillance solutions. These solutions are feature-rich, reliable and conform to the international standards. Having global footprints in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa through an extensive network of more than 1,000 channel partners, Matrix ensures that the products serve the needs of its customers faster and longer. Matrix has gained trust and admiration of customers representing the entire spectrum of industries. Matrix has won many international awards for its innovative products.About MatrixEstablished in 1991, Matrix is a leader in Telecom and Security solutions for modern businesses and enterprises. Matrix, an innovative, technology driven and customer focused organization, is committed to keep pace with the revolutions in the telecom and security industries. With more than 40% of its human resources dedicated to the development of new products, Matrix has launched cutting-edge products like IP-PBX, Universal Gateways, VoIP Gateways and Terminals, GSM Gateways, Access Control, Time-Attendance and Video Surveillance solutions. These solutions are feature-rich, reliable and conform to the international standards. Having global footprints in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa through an extensive network of more than 1,000 channel partners, Matrix ensures that the products serve the needs of its customers faster and longer. Matrix has gained trust and admiration of customers representing the entire spectrum of industries. Matrix has won many international awards for its innovative products.394, GIDC Makarpura, Vadodara-390010
DAES Distribution Selected by Straaltechniek International as Distributor Partner

Straaltechniek innovators in shot peening turnkey solutions turn to DAES for North America and Middle East

DAES Distribution LLC, a DAES Group company, dedicated to serving the aerospace industry by offering the finest solutions on the market, announced that it signed a new commercial agreement with Straaltechniek International BV. Straaltechniek, a shot peening and high-end blasting technology leader, headquartered in Oosterhout, The Netherlands, is now distributed by DAES to the aerospace industry in North America and the Middle East regions, where DAES Group has strong established relationships.Straaltechniek has served the aerospace industry for over 30 years achieving outstanding results through their high levels of innovation. Their clients include companies such as Rolls-Royce, GE, Air France KLM, Turkish Airlines, South African Airways and Pratt & Whitney. Its robust portfolio ranges from a robotic shot peening machine to high-end blasting equipment.We are pleased to start this business relationship with DAES Distribution. This agreement fortifies our efforts to become a premier provider in the aerospace industry, said Marco Klijsen, Straaltechniek Managing Director. DAES experience and capabilities make them a strong partner and this new chapter is enabling us to extend our markets, stated Marco Klijsen.Straaltechniek relies on a variety of resources to customize each project to reach OEMs or MROs specific needs while maintaining quality standards. Straaltechnieks strengths and competitive advantages are based on the combination of innovation, flexibility, adaptability, strategic planning, and high technology.This agreement between Straaltechniek and DAES Distribution will result in success for both companies, said Alan Codlin, DAES Distribution Chairman, Straaltechniek solutions, are not only clear market leaders  but their technology is also ideal for our industry, where metal fatigue is a critical issue. This strategic relationship will benefit our portfolio and enhance our client's success, added Codlin.About DAES Distribution LLC, part of DAES Group, provides equipment, tools and consumable product solutions to the aerospace industry. Founded in 2015, the company is focused on delivering support in the USA, Canada and Mexico, primarily for quality European-based equipment and consumable manufacturers.About Straaltechniek International BV, founded in 1982, develops and builds complete installations for shot peening and high-end blasting applications, and is the leading supplier of installations and services in the field of surface treatment. Straaltechniek International headquarters are located in Oosterhout, The Netherlands and has seven branches, distributed throughout Europe.DAES DistributionAtn. Ana Dos Santos6601 Lyons Road Suite A5/A6. Coconut Creek, FL.33073.
AC Square Celebrates Momentum with JDA Warehouse Management Deployments in Singapore

www.acsqr.com),

www.jda.com

Singapore  Jan 17th, 2018 AC2 group(the leading supply chain software solutions provider in ASIA, today celebrated a JDA Warehouse Management implementation success, where JDA Warehouse Management has been successfully implemented in one of the largest pharmaceutical warehouses in Singapore.We signed an extended reseller and partnership agreement with JDA Software Group Inc., () about 10 months ago, which enables us to resell JDA supply chain software in Asia-Pacific through the AC2 group of companies. This allows AC2 group to further extend our market reach to the entire Asia-Pacific region with JDAs state of the art supply chain solutions. Said Aw Yang Uei, the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of AC2 group of companies. JDA is a world leader in supply chain solutions, and were very excited to be their strategic regional partner in Asia-Pacific. Through this partnership, we look forward to bringing the benefits of JDAs solutions to companies who have need to optimize and streamline their supply chain.JDA is very pleased to extend our relationship with AC2 through this agreement, said Nitin Gangla, Vice President, Alliance Sales, Asia-Pacific, JDA. AC2s expertise in supply chain, their domain knowledge and their track records of implementation capabilities and customer commitment will certainly help many customers to successfully implement JDA solutions. This will, in turn, enable them to leverage their supply chain advantage to achieve their business goals. This is one of the reasons we have signed this partnership agreement last year.On October 30, 2017, AC2 celebrated its first China JDA Warehouse Management implementation success, where JDA Warehouse Management has been successfully implemented in a large cold chain distribution centre in Shanghai, China.JDA Warehouse Management is a world-class warehouse management systems (WMS). It is extremely flexible to configure and personalize to meet the unique requirements for our customers. JDAs WMS provides many extended functionalities that allow seamless operation of complex warehouse processes while providing end-to-end inventory visibility, said Clement You, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of AC2 group of companies. With this implementation of JDA Warehouse Management in our customer's cold chain facility, movement of temperature sensitive inventory throughout the entire supply chain is now controlled and tracked, giving unparalleled benefits to our end customers.JDA is very pleased with the result and congratulate AC2 on another successful go-live of JDA Warehouse Management. remarked Gangla. To choose to go-live in Chinas busiest peak period has indicated customer confidence in both JDA Warehouse Management and AC2. These positive results have really shown AC2s commitment and expertise. Today we have yet another successful JDA implementation in Singapore. We are very pleased to have such a partner and looking forward to having more JDA success stories from them.AC Square Limited is a leading supply chain software solutions provider in ASIA.Room 904, 9/F 135 Bonham Strand Trade Centre, 135 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan,999077 Hong Kong.
Future of the US Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecast Trends (2018-2022)

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The Future of the US Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022, report added by Market Research HUB, provides readers with detailed analysis of both historic and forecast defense industry values, factors influencing demand, the challenges faced by industry participants, analysis of industry leading companies, and key news.Request Free Sample Report-SynopsisThis report offers detailed analysis of the US defense industry with market size forecasts covering the next five years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for the industry, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following -- The US defense industry market size and drivers: detailed analysis of the US defense industry during 2018-2022, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the countrys expenditure and modernization patterns- Budget allocation and key challenges: insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defense budget with respect to capital expenditure and revenue expenditure. It also details the key challenges faced by defense market participants within the country- Porters Five Force analysis of the US defense industry: analysis of the market characteristics by determining the bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitution, intensity of rivalry, and barriers to entry- Import and Export Dynamics: analysis of prevalent trends in the countrys imports and exports over the last five years- Market opportunities: details of the top five defense investment opportunities over the next 10 years- Competitive landscape and strategic insights: analysis of the competitive landscape of the US defense industry. It provides an overview of key players, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives, and a brief financial analysisScope- Being the largest defense spender in the world, with a budget of US$586.7 billion in 2017, the US is expected to sustain its superiority over other nations in the coming years. During the historic period, the total defense budget, including funding for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), was relatively flat, registering a CAGR of 0.40% due to the sequestration measures imposed by the government.- Between 2013 and 2017, the US allocated an average of 34.2% of its total defense budget to capital expenditure, primarily to fulfill the equipment needs of its overseas contingency during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. However, with the country expected to focus on the replacement of damaged and obsolete defense equipment rather than on war needs, the capital expenditure is estimated to average 36.3% over the forecast period. Consequently, the share of revenue expenditure is expected to average 63.7% during the forecast period as compared to 65.8% during 2013-2017.- Oppurtunities are expected to emerge in Networking, Multi-role aircraft, IT-software, multirole aircraft MRO andf IT-Hardware.Browse Full Report with TOC-Reasons to buy- This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of the US defense industry market trends for the coming five years- The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period- Detailed profiles of the top domestic and foreign defense manufacturers with information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins, and financial analysis wherever available. This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector- A deep qualitative analysis of the US defense industry covering sections including demand drivers, Porters Five Forces Analysis, Key Trends and Growth Stimulators, and latest industry contractsTable of Contents1. Introduction 121.1. What is this Report bout? 121.2. Definitions 121.3. Summary Methodology 141.4. About Strategic Defence Intelligence 152. Executive Summary 163. Market Attractiveness and Emerging Opportunities 183.1. Current Market Scenario 193.1.1. Primary Threat Perception 193.1.2. Military Doctrine & Strategy 213.1.3. Military Fleet Size 233.1.4. Procurement Programs 293.1.5. Social, Political and Economic Environment & Support for Defense Projects 323.1.6. Political and Strategic Alliances 333.2. Defense Market Size Historical and Forecast 343.2.1. US defense expenditure expected to increase at a CAGR of 5.72% over the forecast period 343.2.2. Initiatives to retain military superiority, equipment modernization program, turbulence in the Middle East, rising tension with China and Research and Development activities are expected to drive defense spending 363.2.3. Defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP estimated to decline over the forecast period 383.2.4. Per capita defense spending projected to decline over the forecast period 403.3. Analysis of Defense Budget Allocation 423.3.1. Total Department of Defense (DoD) budget forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 5.72% 423.3.2. Share of revenue expenditure expected to increase over the forecast period 443.3.3. US defense capital expenditure expected to increase at a CAGR of 8.53% over the forecast period 463.3.4. Navy to receive the major allocation of the defense budget over the forecast period 483.3.5. Allocation for defense expenditure on army expected to increase over the forecast period 503.4. Homeland Security Market Size and Forecast 523.4.1. The US homeland security expenditure to reach US$87.6 billion by 2022 523.4.2. Prevention of terrorism, securing and managing borders, safeguarding cyberspace and disaster management to drive homeland security expenditure over the forecast period 543.4.3. The nation is at highly affected category of terrorism 563.4.4. The US faces high level of threats from terrorist organizations 573.4.5. The US has a terrorism index score of 4.9 593.5. Benchmarking with Key Global Markets 603.5.1. The US will dominate global military spending over the forecast period 603.5.2. US defense budget is much higher than other leading spenders 623.5.3. US is one of the top defense spenders in terms of expenditure as a percentage of GDP 633.6. Market Opportunities: Key Trends and Growth Stimulators 643.6.1. Networking 643.6.2. Multi-role Aircraft 663.6.3. IT Software 673.6.4. Multi Role Aircraft MRO 69.....Enquire about this Report-About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of medical equipment market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: - 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email:- press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:-Read Industry News at :-
Future of the Peruvian Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecast Trends (2018-2022)

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The Future of the Peruvian Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022, report added by Market Research HUB, provides readers with detailed analysis of both historic and forecast defense industry values, factors influencing demand, the challenges faced by industry participants, analysis of industry leading companies, and key news.Request For Sample Report-SynopsisThis report offers detailed analysis of the Peruvian defense industry with market size forecasts covering the next five years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for the industry, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following -- The Peruvian defense industry market size and drivers: detailed analysis of the Peruvian defense industry during 2018-2022, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the countrys expenditure and modernization patterns- Budget allocation and key challenges: insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defense budget with respect to capital expenditure and revenue expenditure. It also details the key challenges faced by defense market participants within the country- Porters Five Force analysis of the Peruvian defense industry: analysis of the market characteristics by determining the bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitution, intensity of rivalry, and barriers to entry- Import and Export Dynamics: analysis of prevalent trends in the countrys imports and exports over the last five years- Market opportunities: details of the top five defense investment opportunities over the next 10 years- Competitive landscape and strategic insights: analysis of the competitive landscape of the Peruvian defense industry. It provides an overview of key players, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives, and a brief financial analysisScope- Peru's defense budget values US$2.3 billion in 2017 and registered a CAGR of -0.16% during the historic period. The persistent threat from insurgent guerrilla organization the Shining Path group, border conflicts with Chile, active participation in peacekeeping missions, narco-terrorism, defense sector reforms, and modernization initiatives drove defense expenditure over the historic period.- The capital expenditure allocation, which stood at an average of 18.3% during 2013-2017, is anticipated to increase to an average of 27.5% during the forecast period. This increase is primarily due to the fact that Peru has already signed several deals for the procurement of advanced defense equipment and undertaken steps to increase the capabilities of the countrys indigenous defense industry.Procurements that are expected to account for capital expenditure over the forecast period include frigates, multirole aircraft, submarines, and main battle tanks (MBTs).- The MoD is expected to invest in frigates, multirole aircraft, submarines, and main battle tanks (MBTs).Browse Full Report with TOC-Reasons to buy- This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of the Peruvian defense industry market trends for the coming five years- The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period- Detailed profiles of the top domestic and foreign defense manufacturers with information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins, and financial analysis wherever available. This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector- A deep qualitative analysis of the Peruvian defense industry covering sections including demand drivers, Porters Five Forces Analysis, Key Trends and Growth Stimulators, and latest industry contractsTable of Contents1. Introduction 71.1. What is this Report About? 71.2. Definitions 71.3. Summary Methodology 91.4. About Strategic Defence Intelligence 102. Executive Summary 113. Market Attractiveness and Emerging Opportunities 133.1. Current Market Scenario 143.1.1. Primary Threat Perception 143.1.2. Military Doctrine and Strategy 153.1.3. Military Fleet Size 163.1.4. Procurement Programs 203.1.5. Social, Political and Economic Environment and Support for Defense Projects 213.1.6. Political and Strategic Alliances 213.2. Defense Market Size Historical and Forecast 223.2.1. Defense expenditure to grow at a CAGR of 2.30% over the forecast period 223.2.2. Threat of narco-terrorism, defense reforms and modernization, border disputes, and peacekeeping operations to drive defense expenditure 243.2.3. Defense budget as a percentage of GDP is anticipated to average 1.1% during the forecast period 253.3. Analysis of Defense Budget Allocation 273.3.1. Revenue expenditure accounts for the majority of the Peruvian defense budget 273.3.2. Peruvian defense capital expenditure is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.86% during the forecast period 293.3.3. Per capita defense expenditure expected to increase during the forecast period 323.4. Homeland Security Market Size and Forecast 343.4.1. Homeland security expenditure is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.92% during the forecast period 343.4.2. Measures to prevent cocaine trafficking and organized crime to drive HLS expenditure 373.4.3. Peru considered at moderate risk of a terrorist attack 393.4.4. Peru experiences moderate levels of terrorist activity 403.4.5. Peru has a terrorism index score of 3.0 423.5. Benchmarking with Key Global Markets 433.5.1. Peruvian defense budget expected to register marginal growth over the forecast period 433.5.2. Perus military expenditure is limited compared to countries with the largest defense expenditure 453.5.3. Peru allocates a low percentage of GDP to defense 463.6. Market Opportunities: Key Trends and Growth Stimulators 473.6.1. Transport Aircraft 473.6.2. Frigates 483.6.3. Multirole Aircraft 493.6.4. Training Aircraft 503.6.5. Main Battle Tank 514. Defense Procurement Market Dynamics 524.1. Import Market Dynamics 53......Enquire about this Report-About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of medical equipment market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: - 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email:- press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:-Read Industry News at :-
Future of the Mexican Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecast Trends (2018-2022)

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The Future of the Mexican Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022, report added by Market Research HUB, provides readers with detailed analysis of both historic and forecast defense industry values, factors influencing demand, the challenges faced by industry participants, analysis of industry leading companies, and key news.Request Free Sample Report-SynopsisThis report offers detailed analysis of the Mexican defense industry with market size forecasts covering the next five years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for the industry, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following:- The Mexican defense industry market size and drivers: detailed analysis of the Mexican defense industry during 2018-2022, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the countrys expenditure and modernization patterns- Budget allocation and key challenges: insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defense budget with respect to capital expenditure and revenue expenditure. It also details the key challenges faced by defense market participants within the country- Porters Five Force analysis of the Mexican defense industry: analysis of the market characteristics by determining the bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitution, intensity of rivalry, and barriers to entry- Import and Export Dynamics: analysis of prevalent trends in the countrys imports and exports over the last five years- Market opportunities: details of the top five defense investment opportunities over the next 10 years- Competitive landscape and strategic insights: analysis of the competitive landscape of the Mexican defense industry. It provides an overview of key players, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives, and a brief financial analysisScope- Mexico's defense budget stands at US$5.1 billion in 2017, and the country is expected to cumulatively spend US$33.8 billion on its military over the forecast period.The main factors driving this growth are the rapid modernization of the countrys armed forces in recent years.- During 2013-2017, an average of 11.0% of the countrys total defense budget was allocated to capital expenditure; while an average of 89.0% was reserved for revenue expenditure.- This is primarily due to Mexicos future modernization programs. For instance, In April 2016, Mexico placed an US$54.9 million order for the acquisition of highly customized variants of the UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters. Similarly, in September 2016, the Mexican Navy took delivery of the first of ten units of Airbus AS565 MBe Panther helicopters, which were ordered in 2014.- The MoD is expected to invest in corvettes, multi mission helicopter, transport aircraft and corvettes MRO.Browse Full Report with TOC-Reasons to buy- This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of the Mexican defense industry market trends for the coming five years- The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period- Detailed profiles of the top domestic and foreign defense manufacturers with information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins, and financial analysis wherever available. This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector- A deep qualitative analysis of the Mexican defense industry covering sections including demand drivers, Porters Five Forces Analysis, Key Trends and Growth Stimulators, and latest industry contractsTable of Contents1. Introduction 71.1. What is this Report About? 71.2. Definitions 71.3. Summary Methodology 81.4. About Strategic Defence Intelligence 92. Executive Summary 113. Market Attractiveness and Emerging Opportunities 143.1. Current Market Scenario 153.1.1. Primary Threat Perception 153.1.2. Military Doctrine & Strategy 163.1.3. Military Fleet Size 183.1.4. Procurement Programs 233.1.5. Social, Political and Economic Environment & Support for Defense Projects 243.1.6. Political and Strategic Alliances 253.2. Defense Market Size, Historical and Forecast 263.2.1. Defense expenditure is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.14% during 2018-2022 263.2.2. Government initiatives to combat drug trafficking to drive defense expenditure over the forecast period 283.2.3. Defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP estimated to increase over the forecast period 293.3. Analysis of Defense Budget Allocation 313.3.1. Share of capital expenditure to average 13.7% during the forecast period 313.3.2. In Mexico, capital expenditure on defense is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.24% during the forecast period 333.3.3. Per capita defense expenditure expected to increase over the forecast period 363.4. Homeland Security Market Size and Forecast 383.4.1. Homeland security expenditure is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 8.52% during the forecast period 383.4.2. Money laundering and organized crime to drive the Homeland Security market 403.4.3. Mexico is considered to be at high risk of terrorist attacks 423.4.4. Mexico has a moderate threat from foreign terrorist organizations 433.4.5. Mexico considered at Moderate Risk of terrorist attack 453.5. Benchmarking with Key Global Markets 463.5.1. Mexicos defense budget is expected to increase over the forecast period 463.5.2. Mexicos military expenditure is limited compared to the leading countries worldwide 483.5.3. Mexico allocates a low percentage of GDP to defense 493.6. Market Opportunities: Key Trends and Growth Stimulators 503.6.1. Multi-mission Helicopters 503.6.2. Corvettes MRO 513.6.3. Corvettes 52.....Enquire about this Report-About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of medical equipment market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: - 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email:- press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:-Read Industry News at :-
Future of the Chilean Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecast Trends (2018-2022)

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The Future of the Chilean Defense Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2022, report added by Market Research HUB, provides readers with detailed analysis of both historic and forecast defense industry values, factors influencing demand, the challenges faced by industry participants, analysis of industry leading companies, and key news.Request Free Sample Report-SynopsisThis report offers detailed analysis of the Chilean defense industry with market size forecasts covering the next five years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for the industry, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following -- The Chilean defense industry market size and drivers: detailed analysis of the Chilean defense industry during 2018-2022, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the countrys expenditure and modernization patterns- Budget allocation and key challenges: insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defense budget with respect to capital expenditure and revenue expenditure. It also details the key challenges faced by defense market participants within the country- Porters Five Force analysis of the Chilean defense industry: analysis of the market characteristics by determining the bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitution, intensity of rivalry, and barriers to entry- Import and Export Dynamics: analysis of prevalent trends in the countrys imports and exports over the last five years- Market opportunities: details of the top five defense investment opportunities over the next 10 years- Competitive landscape and strategic insights: analysis of the competitive landscape of the Chilean defense industry. It provides an overview of key players, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives, and a brief financial analysisScope- The Chilean defense budget values US$2.6 billion in 2017 and registered a CAGR of 0.24% during the historic period 2013-2017.- The countrys maritime border dispute with Peru and Bolivia and active participation in international peacekeeping missions, along with its plans to equip its forces with advanced equipment, technology, command systems, and adequate training to ensure improved capabilities are anticipated to drive demand for robust defense expenditure over the forecast period.- However, with the country winding down its peacekeeping contingent in Haiti, its overseas engagements are also expected to diminish, thus negating the need to maintain high defense spending.Browse Full Report with TOC-Reasons to buy- This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of the Chilean defense industry market trends for the coming five years- The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period- Detailed profiles of the top domestic and foreign defense manufacturers with information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins, and financial analysis wherever available. This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector- A deep qualitative analysis of the Chilean defense industry covering sections including demand drivers, Porters Five Forces Analysis, Key Trends and Growth Stimulators, and latest industry contractsTable of Contents1. Introduction 71.1. What is this Report About? 71.2. Definitions 71.3. Summary Methodology 91.4. About Strategic Defence Intelligence 102. Executive Summary 113. Market Attractiveness and Emerging Opportunities 133.1. Current Market Scenario 143.1.1. Primary Threat Perception 143.1.2. Military Doctrine & Strategy 153.1.3. Military Fleet Size 163.1.4. Procurement Programs 203.1.5. Social, Political and Economic Environment and Support for Defense Projects 223.1.6. Political and Strategic Alliances 233.2. Defense Market Size Historical and Forecast 243.2.1. Chilean defense expenditure to be US$15.2 billion cumulatively over the forecast period 243.2.2. Border disputes and military modernization to drive defense expenditure 263.2.3. Defense expenditure as a percentage of GDP is anticipated to decline over the forecast period 283.3. Analysis of Defense Budget Allocations 303.3.1. Capital expenditure allocation expected to increase over the forecast period 303.3.2. Capital expenditure expected to decrease over the forecast period 323.3.3. The army is expected to receive the highest allocation over the forecast period 343.3.4. Army expenditure to rise over the forecast period 363.3.5. Per-capita defense expenditure expected to increase over the forecast period 403.4. Homeland Security Market Size and Forecast 413.4.1. Homeland Security market in Chile expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.19% during the forecast period 413.4.2. Drug trafficking, natural disasters, and threats from the Mapuche community to drive the homeland security budget 443.4.3. Chile considered at moderate risk of a terrorist attack 463.4.4. Chile experienced moderate terror activity during the historic period 473.4.5. Chile has a terrorism index score of 2.7 493.5. Benchmarking with Key Global Markets 503.5.1. Chilean defense budget expected to register consistent growth over the forecast period 503.5.2. Chilean military expenditure is expected to remain low compared to other leading spenders 523.5.3. Defense budget as a percentage of GDP expected to remain low on a global scale 533.6. Market Opportunities: Key Trends and Growth Stimulators 543.6.1. Transport Aircraft 543.6.2. Surface-Air Missiles 553.6.3. Military IT - Networking 564. Defense Procurement Market Dynamics 574.1. Import Market Dynamics 58.......Enquire about this Report-About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of medical equipment market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: - 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email:- press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:-Read Industry News at :-
Industrial Control and Factory Automation Market: Forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth

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The Industrial control and Factory automation is a rising trend in the manufacturing industry which provides smart manufacturing infrastructure. The industrial control and factory automation facilitates cost efficiency, quality of production; standardize manufacturing, reliability and flexibility in the process of manufacturing. Industrial control and factory automation offers perfect mix of mechanical components and devices and Information Technology.The emerging applications such as heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) systems, electronic power distribution systems and human machine interface (HMI) would further spur the demand of industrial controls and automation in the coming years. Technological developments in process monitoring, industrial automation and control over the last decades have contributed immensly towards improvement of productivity of all manufacturing industries globally.Blend of smart mechanical technology with IT technology has given spur to the industrial controls and factory automation market. These systems are used in the industries create the standardized and reliable production environment. Advantages offered by automation in manufacturing activities includes cost-efficiency, reduced feedback, fast production, waste reduction, production monitoring and management over the conventional manual processes.Browse the Report @Several mechanical devices are integrated with IT systems for enhanced outcomes in automation. Software systems such as Enterprise Resource planning (ERP) are assisting the market to broaden its service offerings. It is delivering improved quality, standardized and dependable products within time frame and at moderate cost to the customers.Industrial Control and Factory Automation Market: DriversThe focus by industry players on achieving energy efficiency in manufacturing process is driving the market. In addition, others factors such as internet of things, country and government initiatives towards improving production activities, services blending manufacturing and engineering technologies and shifting production base are driving the market. Other drivers are country wise investment and development plan for production activities and shifting in the manufacturing base.Industrial Control and Factory Automation Market: ChallengesFactors such as lack of awareness, limited fund generation for re-investment owing to compact working capital cycle, narrow geographical diversity and absence of standardization are restraints for the market. Major number of industrial units function on a compact budget, in particular for small and medium enterprises (SME). This creates limited opportunities for re-investment as profits margins are low. This acts as one of the key restrains for market as not every production facilities can afford to invest in the automation and industrial control systems.Request Sample @Another restrain for players in the market is less availability of trained professionals who can help the implementation of automation and control processes. Companies in the market are delivering training programs and certifications to the interested individuals so as to overcome this challenge. Although, emerging countries in the area of production, reduction in prices, adoption of latest technology and developing scope of used robots offer immense opportunity for industrial control and factory automation market.Industrial Control and Factory Automation Market: SegmentationThe market is segmented by application and product. Application include power, automotive, printing and packaging, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, textile, chemical, plastics, food processing and original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Products include industrial control systems, machine vision, sensors, relay and switches, field devices, manufacturing execution system (MES) and motion and drives. Field devices are further segmented as industrial networks, industrial robotics and control devices.Key players in the market include Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Ametek Inc., Honeywell International, Bosch Automation, Emerson, Mitsubishi Corporation, Schneider Electric, National Instrument Corporation, General Electric Co, Siemens Ag, Rockwell Automation, Omron Corporation and ABB Ltd.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Safety Sensors Market: Pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitors

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Safety sensors are used to monitor the work place environment and provide timely indications in order to prevent accidents. These sensors are widely applicable in construction, manufacturing, healthcare and defense industry among others. The market is expected to grow during the forecast period.The global safety sensors market is driven by the increasing awareness for the safety of workers in the manufacturing industry. Moreover, the stringent government regulations for safety at the workplace are also aiding the growth of this market. In addition, the technological advancements across all the sectors are creating a demand for automation. Sensors play an important role in the automation process. Hence, the demand for automation is in return fueling the growth for global safety sensors market.However, the installation charge for safety sensors is very high which is acting as a restraint for the market. Moreover, the safety sensors are automated in nature and can malfunction by giving false indications which can lead to confusion at the workplace. This, in return is hindering the market from growth.Browse the Report @Safety Sensors Market: SegmentationSafety sensors are increasingly being applied across several sectors such as manufacturing, construction, defense and automobiles. In the future, these sensors are expected to be applied in the cars in the form of radar sensors, nigh vision, adaptive cruise control systems and driver assistances such as driver monitoring. The application of these will ensure enhanced safety for vehicle drivers.The market can be segmented on the basis of sensor types, application, and geography. By sensors type, the market is segmented into accelerometers which include capacitive, Hall Effect sensors, heat transfers and MEMS; biosensors include methane, microbial and BOD sensors among others; image sensors include CMOS and CCD image sensors; and motion detectors.By application, the market is divided into construction, oil and gas, mining, healthcare, defense, manufacturing, logistics, and food and beverages among others.Request Sample @Safety Sensors Market: Region-wise InsightIn terms of geography, the market has been divided into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world. North America and Europe are known to be adapters of new technology. However, Asia Pacific is the largest market for safety sensors. The reason for their dominance is due to the large presence of manufacturing industries in countries, like Philippines, China and India.With factory workers putting in long hours and lacking adequate safety knowledge, the Asia Pacific region has now begun to see a growing demand for safety systems. This has also been the result of stringent safety regulations applied by governments in various countries. This factor has fuelled the growth by extensive application of safety sensors in this region. Moreover, the region has a wide numbers of sensor manufacturers which is also aiding to the regions dominance.Safety Sensors Market: Key PlayersThe key players in this market include Allen Bradley, Keyence Corporation, Omron Corporation, IFM Efector GmbH, Siemens, ABB ltd, Baumer Limited, Panasonic Corporation, AMETEK Factory Automation, Asteel Sensor and Delphi among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Spanish True Fleet records a full year of growth for 2017

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The Spanish True Fleet Market seems to be unstoppable on its upward trajectory. With a healthy growth of 6.3% in December, the market surpassed each of last years corresponding months with expansion adding up to a buoyant 12.5% rise for 2017. Year-to-date (YTD) December also was the highest number of registrations since we started recording True Fleet only figures in Spain back in 2008. Other segments were also in good shape with the Private Market increasing by 7.3% while Special Channels also remained in the black (+ 3.2%). All this combined to lift Total Markets growth towards 6.2%, finishing with almost 108,000 registrations.Brand PerformanceLooking inside the fleet Top 10, the first three brands all retained their positions in December 2017 with Renault in the lead followed by Volkswagen and Peugeot. Audi in 4th gained two positions after increasing their fleet registrations by robust double-digit growth rates. The Ingolstadt-based brands performance was lifted by the new Q2 and the Q3 models as well as extraordinary growth rates from the A1 and A5.Decembers biggest gain came from its growth star SEAT jumping from 13th into 5th in the rankings by more than doubling its registrations (+ 110.0%). As you may guess, it was the Arona fuelling Decembers surge, but the Ibiza and Leon made additional contributions to push up registrations for the Spanish brand. This monthly performance helped to push SEATs True Fleet share to 6.2% for 2017, a gain of 1.2 percentage points over 2016.BMW followed ranking 6th with only 27 registrations separating Ingolstadt and Munich. After Ford (7th) another close race took place between Mercedes (8th) and Toyota (9th), with Toyota falling short by just 3 registrations of topping the prestige brand. Citroen completed the Top 10 ranking for December. Furthermore, we identified some remarkable performances from brands not (yet) in the Top 10. Fiat showed some sound growth (78.2%), but in terms of percentage growth it was outpaced by Kia (+ 103.6%) and its FCA affiliate Alfa Romeo (+ 156.1%).SUVs all over againJust like the overall True Fleet segment, SUVs also continue on their upswing. For YTD December, SUVs achieved their highest fleet market share and their monthly growth rate of 21.6% was the highest among all vehicle segments. As already mentioned, the recently introduced smaller models especially revved up the monthly growth of several OEMs. Looking into the details, the Nissan Qashqai took the crown, followed by the Seat Arona already in 2nd  raising the question as to whether the Arona can usurp the recently facelifted Qashqai that has been dominating the Spanish SUV registrations since 2010  the Ford Kuga completed this months podium.In addition, outside the Top 3 we found six models achieving robust triple-digit growth rates compared to prior years month: Mini Countryman, Kia Niro, Fiat 500X, Audi Q2, Toyota C-HR and Ford Ecosport. Due to the recent market start of several models and further upcoming ones, this boom will foreseeably continue, especially in the short term.(498 words; 3,077 characters)Publication by indication of source (DATAFORCE) onlyDATAFORCE  Focus on FleetsDataforce is the leading provider of fleet market data and automotive intelligence solutions in Europe. In addition, the company also provides detailed information on sales opportunities for the automotive industry, together with a wide portfolio of information based on primary market research and consulting services. The company is based in Frankfurt, Germany.Mario ZagarDataforce Verlagsgesellschaft fur Business Informationen mbHHamburger Allee 1460486 Frankfurt am MainGermanyPhone: +49 69 95930-229Fax: +49 69 95930-333Email: mario.zagar@dataforce.de
Li-Fi Market: Distinctive graphics and analysis of major market segments

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The global Li-Fi market is expected to exhibit growth at a robust pace between 2016 and 2023. Massive bandwidth owing to the growing RF spectrum crunch, together with a high degree of security and energy efficiency are expected to bolster the global Li-Fi market.While the features offered by Li-Fi and visible light communications (VLC) are quite similar, unlike the latter, Li-Fi does not require line-of-sight between receiver and transmitter. The technology offers data transfer at high speed due to the presence of lesser interferences and availability of large bandwidth over the network. For instance, Li-Fi is capable of delivering the same, if not greater, data transfer speed as compared to a Wi-Fi access point.Furthermore, internet video traffic is expected to grow considerably in the coming years, with video projected to contribute to a majority of consumer internet traffic. This increasing data production and usage will eventually spur demand for wireless optical networks and RF-based networks. These are prime factors that will aid the expansion of the Li-Fi market worldwide.Browse the Report @The report provides a granular analysis of the growth trajectory exhibited by the global Li-Fi market. The key factors encouraging the large-scale deployment of Wi-Fi are analyzed in detail. The factors that market players should guard themselves against are also evaluated in the report. Apart from examining the strengths of and opportunities for the leading market players, the report also presents insights into the threats and opportunities that they could face in the near future.Global Li-Fi Market: Key Opportunities and ThreatsIncreasing demand for applications in medical centers, hospitals, and schools will give considerable impetus to the global Li-Fi market. Since the technology involves visible light wavelengths and not radio waves, it is less likely to have negative effect on human health. Experts often compare Li-Fi to Free Space Optics (FSO) as it also utilizes light to transfer data.The market is also significantly gaining from the rising adoption of LED worldwide due to benefits such as a longer life span, higher efficiency, and lower maintenance it offers. Several countries such as Japan, China, and the U.S. have already adopted initiatives for promoting energy conservation using LED lighting technology.For instance, the Chinese government is offering lucrative incentives, resources, and financial subsidies to promote the adoption of LED lighting across industries. Furthermore, it has also taken several steps to support and advance the capabilities of domestic LED manufacturers.On the flip side, the lack of awareness about the benefits offered by the technology is negatively impacting Li-Fi market growth. Misconceptions such as Li-Fi being line-of-sight in nature are also expected to restrain market growth to an extent.Request Sample @Global Li-Fi Market: Regional OutlookAsia Pacific is expected to emerge as a lucrative market for Li-Fi. The growth of the market in this region is fuelled by the increasing demand for better internet connectivity. The U.S. is expected to present attractive opportunities for enterprises in the Li-Fi market over the forecast period. The Li-Fi market in the U.S. is also expected to grow at a phenomenal rate. The high demand for wireless communication aids the rapid expansion of the Li-Fi market in the U.S.Global Li-Fi Market: Competitive InsightSome of the leading enterprises operating in the Li-Fi market include Philips, LVX, PureLifi, GE, Oledcomm and others. The majority of these market players are focusing on strategic collaborations, mergers, and acquisitions to gain a competitive edge. For instance, GE recently collaborated with Qualcomm to merge big data and lighting to transform the retail experience. In 2015, LVX partnered with NASA to introduce products for space missions and design new applications for VLC.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Crushing The Constitution - Nothing New Says Joseph Ganci, Award Winning Author Of New Spiritual Book 'Gideon The Sound And The Glory'

Author Joseph Ganci

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Since practically the beginning of recorded history we have heard tales of ruling bodies and political establishments that have been reformed or perhaps overthrown by new or opposing political philosophies. We are living in the very middle of one such movement today.Trump and others within the Republican Party seem to be focused on tearing the "Obama Legacy" up by the roots; not just changing or reorganizing, but rather by annihilating and utterly negating anything having to do with Obama's administration.The result of these melodramatic attempts at reorganization is that governments, markets, institutions, businesses and the public at large have become fearful, frustrated, moody and mistrustful.Today political change in the US is accomplished through Executive Orders and formal processes of law. There are checks and balances in the Democratic political system. New political philosophies are implemented in a somewhat orderly, lawful fashion. That was not always the case."Few people would believe the Bible relates stories that are the equal of any great modern-day political upheaval, but it certainly does," Ganci stated. There is nothing new under the sun. We have learned from sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, will immediately exercise abuse of power. Through any, and all despicable means to gain an irrational illusion of control over the affairs of free men."Gideon coverFrom 'Gideon's Glory': A feast of red wine and the fatted calf of subtle diplomacy were prepared in a shrewd appeal for assistance in Abimelechs quest for dominion. Abimelech gathered together his brethren in the house of his mothers flesh and reminded them of the importance of blood, saying, I need you to fill the ears of Shechem. Tell the citizens it is better for them that I rule. Having my rule will be particularly useful to you, my dear cousins, as you will, by all accounts, receive the greatest advantage of my generosity and bounty. Explain to them that I, Abimelech, will personally rule without malice and without the distractions born from the slow process of debate and consensus currently practiced by the council of seventy. I will dismiss with the edge of my blade the council of the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, who are hard-pressed to make the simplest decisions, always inclined to the benefit of Israel, never the cause of Canaan.Joseph Ganci was recently chosen as one of '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' in the 2017 Book Awards. 'Gideon: The Sound and the Glory' has received rave reviews from readers and reviewers alike. A recent reviewer stated, "Joseph Gancis prose is arresting, peppered with fantastic imagery and succinct descriptions of plot, characters, and setting. The themes are masterfully created, and they are woven into the story in a way that allows the reader to enjoy both the inspiration the story offers and the accompanying action. The book explores powerful spiritual and political themes, capturing the conflicts and the dynamics of life within the community of God's chosen people. Gideon: The Sound and the Glory will appeal to fans of political thrillers, adventure, and conflict-driven stories laced with intense action." Other reviewers have used phrases such as "riveting," "amazing" "deftly crafted" and "highly recommended."Joseph Ganci was recently chosen as one of '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' in the 2017 Book Awards. He was selected by public vote.Ganci has also announced he will make his book available as a fundraising tool for like-minded associations and charities. Donors can receive an eBook version of 'Gideon' in exchange for a donation to a worthy cause. For more details, contact Joseph via email.Joseph Ganci is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at joseph@gideonsglory.com. 'Gideon: The Sound and the Glory' is available in both print, eBook, and a superb, ethnically correct audio narration. All from online retailers. More information is available at Ganci's website.Joseph Ganci is a Levite and a high priest and remains a passionate Italian. He is a Vietnam combat veteran and is the father of five daughters and five grandchildren. He resides in Texas.PO Box 1613Shallotte, NC 28459
Global Nurse Call Systems Market Estimated to Reach US$2,665.98 Million by 2025

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has recently publicized a new study to its vast repository, which is titled as nurse call systems market is projected to expand at a strong CAGR of 10.9% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025, and estimated to reach a valuation of US$2,665.98 mn by the end of 2025. This market is gaining traction from a number of factors, such as escalating geriatric population, increased healthcare budget in both developed and developing countries, technological advancements that have added the efficiency of these systems, and prevalence of chronic diseases. On the other hand, high cost of implementation, strict government regulations, and the lack of trained professionals of healthcare and IT are a few hindrances obstructing the global nurse call systems market from achieving its true potential.To know the latest trends and insights prevalent in this market, click the link below:IP-Based Nurse Call Systems Profitable Equipment-type SegmentOn the basis of equipment-type, the global nurse call systems market has been segmented into digital nurse call systems, IP-based nurse call systems, nurse call intercoms, basic audio/visual nurse call systems, and nurse call mobile systems. In 2016, the IP-based nurse call systems segment accounted for maximum demand, owing to its flexible nature of being installed in phases. Moreover, the growing demand for installation of these systems would aid the market growth. For instance, in August 2016, Azure Healthcare Ltd received a US$ 1.1 mn purchase order from a hospital in North America for the supply of Internet protocol (IP) based Tacera nurse call system.Based on communication technology, the market has been segmented into wireless communication and wired communication. Wired communication is anticipated to record significant growth during the forecast period, owing to the existence of traditional wired systems and various government regulations mandating wired infrastructure in acute care settings. In terms of end-users, hospitals provide the maximum chunk of demand in the global nurse call systems market, considerably more than other end-user categories, viz. assisted living centers, nursing homes, and clinics.Request Free Sample Report @North America Leads, but Asia Pacific Projected for Better Growth RateGeographically, the report studies the potential of nurse call systems market in the regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Owing to rapidly increasing geriatric population and and increased demand for assisted living centers, North America region dominated the market in 2016 and is anticipated to remain dominant in the forecast period. As per the Population Reference Bureau, the number of people in America aged 65 years and older is projected to increase more than double from 46 million in 2016 to 98 million by 2060. In addition to that, the technological advances, and the ability of these nurse call systems to reduce the amount of redundant nursing activities such as regular manual check-ups, would also contribute to the positive growth of the nurse call systems market. Asia Pacific region is anticipated to grow at a significantly high CAGR in the forecast period, owing to higher adoption of reliable and secure wired nurse call solutions in acute care and skilled nursing facilities. Improving healthcare infrastructure and improved access, mobility, and flexible nature of wireless communication and the rising awareness on the benefits of IP nurse call systems are anticipated to drive the nurse call systems market growth in Asia Pacific.Make An Enquiry @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research 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.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
LPG Cylinder 2018 Global Market Net Worth $ 3900 million USD Forecast By 2021

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WiseGuyReports.Com adds LPG Cylinder 2018 Global Market Net Worth $ 3900 million USD Forecast By 2021 Research to its Database.Description:The LPG Cylinder industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth. The past four years, LPG Cylinder market size maintained the average annual growth rate of 6.06% from 2850 million $ in 2013 to 3400 million $ in 2016. The analysts believe that in the next few years, LPG Cylinder market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2021, the market size of the LPG Cylinder will reach 3900 million $.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better. This report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status, including market size, volume and value, as well as price data.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Sections:-Section 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailAmtrol-AlfaAygazLuxfer Gas CylindersHexagon RagascoEVASGaz Liquid Industrie (GLI)Faber IndustrieGI&E HoldingEurocampingAburi CompositesSantekRubis CaribbeanEurocylindersAtramaSection 4: 900 USDRegion SegmentationNorth America Country (United States, Canada)South AmericaAsia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)ContinueAsk Query @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsSection 1 LPG Cylinder Product DefinitionSection 2 Global LPG Cylinder Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 Global Manufacturer LPG Cylinder Shipments2.2 Global Manufacturer LPG Cylinder Business Revenue2.3 Global LPG Cylinder Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturer LPG Cylinder Business Introduction3.1 Amtrol-Alfa LPG Cylinder Business Introduction3.1.1 Amtrol-Alfa LPG Cylinder Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.1.2 Amtrol-Alfa LPG Cylinder Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Amtrol-Alfa Interview Record3.1.4 Amtrol-Alfa LPG Cylinder Business Profile3.1.5 Amtrol-Alfa LPG Cylinder Product Specification3.2 Aygaz LPG Cylinder Business Introduction3.2.1 Aygaz LPG Cylinder Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.2.2 Aygaz LPG Cylinder Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Aygaz LPG Cylinder Business Overview3.2.5 Aygaz LPG Cylinder Product Specification3.3 Luxfer Gas Cylinders LPG Cylinder Business Introduction3.3.1 Luxfer Gas Cylinders LPG Cylinder Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.3.2 Luxfer Gas Cylinders LPG Cylinder Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 Luxfer Gas Cylinders LPG Cylinder Business Overview3.3.5 Luxfer Gas Cylinders LPG Cylinder Product Specification3.4 Hexagon Ragasco LPG Cylinder Business Introduction3.5 EVAS LPG Cylinder Business Introduction3.6 Gaz Liquid Industrie (GLI) LPG Cylinder Business IntroductionSection 4 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 North America Country4.1.1 United States LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.1.2 Canada LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.2 South America Country4.2.1 South America LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3 Asia Country4.3.1 China LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.2 Japan LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.3 India LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.4 Korea LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4 Europe Country4.4.1 Germany LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.2 UK LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.3 France LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.4 Italy LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.5 Europe LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5 Other Country and Region4.5.1 Middle East LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5.2 Africa LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5.3 GCC LPG Cylinder Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.6 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Region Level) Analysis 2013-20164.7 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Region Level) AnalysisSection 5 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2013-20165.2 Different LPG Cylinder Product Type Price 2013-20165.3 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisSection 6 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Industry Level)6.1 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Market Size 2013-20166.2 Different Industry Price 2013-20166.3 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Industry Level) AnalysisSection 7 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Channel Level)7.1 Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Sales Volume and Share 2013-20167.2 Global LPG Cylinder Global LPG Cylinder Market Segmentation (Channel Level) AnalysisContinue.Buy 1-User PDF @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Green Art Gallery presents Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck: Intrumentalized

Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck, Chronoscope series (still). Courtesy of the Artist and Green Art Gallery, Dubai

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Instrumentalized20 January - 7 March 2018This text is a tool, but we should never focus on its role as a tool. That would make it too obvious, even for a press release.Here comes the spin phrase, for pride and continuity: Green Art Gallery is proud to announce its second solo show of Venezuelan-Italian-Lebanese-artist Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck in Dubai. Youll need to know that he is based in Berlin, commandeering a career: it amplifies the international dimension of his opportunistically framed multi-cultural identity.This text has a voice beyond the gallery. It is a higher voice, one of greater authority. It does not matter that the gallery commissioned an equally multi-cultural, globetrotting polyglot writer to craft the text. When it is activated, uploaded, printed, distributed, a weighty power grips it. You, the reader, will look to it for explanation, for enlightenment. This text unlocks the artworks meaning, even if you never make it to the inner sanctum of the gallerys white cube.That meaning goes something like this:[Editors, start copy/pasting here.]The show is titled Instrumentalized. It brings together two bodies of work that confront the propagandization of human rights since the early days of their institutionalization, within the current climate in which human tragedy is used as a tool by governments, artists, NGOs and other public bodies to advance specific ideological agendas.[End copy/pasting.]The gallerys endgame, through this text, is to create value for the work it will display. After all, it needs to sell. Words are carefully chosen to prompt images of arduous process, creative vision and finely groomed artistic intent. Balteo-Yazbeck, known for his strategies of appropriation1, presents the latest2 in his on-going series, Chronoscope 1952- 53 (2017). Craftily edited broadcast footage from CBSs Longines-sponsored public affairs show from the early years of television covers issues such as the Korean War, the intensifying Israeli-Palestinian crisis and the draft of the United Nations Human Rights Charter.So why is the artist so riled up? Well, he wants to highlight the prevalence of propaganda in furthering a capitalist pseudo-democratic ideology. Isnt that enough?The Instrumentalized series (2017) is suspiciously made of used clothing that behaves like paintings and sculptures. Unlike the Chronoscope series, with its barefaced political narrative, Instrumentalized retreats into itself.You will look for answers here in vain. What is behind the shirt? Where did these trousers come from? This text might even try to legitimize it through the obvious art historical references, like Arte Povera. But is that really it? Who wore these clothes before? Why are they covering canvases, or wrapping around plinths? This text refuses to say any more: to provide a narrative for these objects is to slip into the same demagoguery the work tears into. Its sarcasm would be defanged.Its really very simple: Balteo-Yazbecks practice is all about raising awareness of ideological dynamics through subtle, devilishly intelligent work. His art doesnt resolve anything. But it asks lots of unsettling questions.Like, how was this text a tool?Kevin Jones----1 A peppering of artspeak lends credibility.2 A never-before-seen angle intensifies appeal.Artists BiographyAlessandro Balteo-Yazbeck Alessandro Balteo Yazbeck (b. 1972) graduated in Fine Arts from his native city of Caracas, Venezuela, where he has exhibited his work extensively. He moved his practice to New York from 2000 to 2010, and is now based in Berlin.Solo exhibitions include Autocratic Nostalgia: Venezuelan Contemporary Landscapes, Henrique Faria, New York, USA (2017); Electoral Autocracy (Venezuelan Case), Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna, Austria (2016); Diplomatic Entanglements at Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN (2015); Modern Entanglements at Green Art Gallery, Dubai, UAE (2015); Cultural Diplomacy: An Art We Neglect at Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna, Austria (2013); Corrupted Files at Galeria Luisa Strina, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2012); Cultural Diplomacy: An Art We Neglect at Henrique Faria Fine Art, New York, NY (2010), A little bit of heaven at Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (2008).Balteo Yazbecks work has been included in numerous group exhibitions including most recently, in 2017: Parapolitics: Cultural Freedom and the Cold War, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany; 4.543 billion. The matter of matter, CAPC Musee dart contemporain de Bordeaux, France; Colourless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously, curated by David Upton, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, Republic of Ireland; Weapon of Choice, Shiva Art Gallery, New York, NY; Acordo de Confianca, Biblioteca Mario de Andrade, Sao Paulo, Brazil; in 2016: La Democrazia in America, XVI Quadriennale DArte Di Roma, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy; in 2014: New Territories, Museum of Art and Design, New York; Beyond the Supersquare, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York; 12 Cuenca Biennale, Cuenca, Ecuador; in 2013: Liquid Assets: In the Aftermath of the Transformation of Money, Steirischer Herbst, Graz, Austria; Order, Chaos, and the Space between: Contemporary Latin American Art from the Diane and Bruce Halle Collection, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix; in 2012: When Attitudes Became Form Become Attitudes, CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco; Artist on the News, Creative Time, New York; in 2011: Liberalis, Lutze-Museum and Galerie der Stadt Sindelfingen; 12th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2011); Then & Now: Abstraction in Latin American art, 1950 to Present, Deutsche Bank, New York (2010); Panorama, Museu de Arte Moderna de Sao Paulo (2009).For more information, please contact the gallery at info@gagallery.com or +971 4 346 9305Green Art Gallery is a Dubai-based contemporary art gallery representing artists from the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, South Asia and beyond.Green Art GalleryAl Quoz 1, Street 8, Alserkal Avenue, Unit 28P.O.Box 25711Dubai, UAET: +971 4 346 9305E: info@gagallery.comW:
Distribution Automation Market - Technical Advancement Fuelling Market Growth: Forecast, 2013 - 2019

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A market study, based on the global distribution automation market, has been published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), estimating the market to report a CAGR of 8.50% during the period from 2013 to 2019. Analysts at TMR anticipate the worldwide market for distribution automation to reach US$17,677.2 mn by the end of the forecast period.The research study, titled Distribution Automation Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2013 - 2019, also estimates the historical value of the global distribution automation market in 2012 to be US$9,986.3 mn.The technical advancement in distribution automation solutions, improving their reliability and efficacy, is significantly fuelling the global distribution automation market. However, the report states that the growth of the global market may get hampered by the lack of adequate standards in communication technology and infrastructure in the coming years.The market for monitoring and control devices held 36.1% of the global distribution automation products market in 2012. However, the fastest growth is projected to be reported by the power quality and efficiency devices market over the forecast period, cites the report.The industrial sector emerged as the largest end user of distribution automation solutions in 2012 with a share of 51.3%, notes the study. This market segment is predicted to maintain its leadership throughout the forecast period.Get the sample copy of report :According this market study, the distribution automation market in Europe contributed for the highest revenue in 2012, accounting for a 32.2% of the global market. The rising number of smart grid projects and increasing investment in various components of distribution automation have stimulated this regional market. Additionally, the low cost associated with operation and maintenance of distribution automation is likely to drive this regional market during the forecast period, maintaining its dominance.The research report further discusses the condition of the distribution market in North America and Asia Pacific. The increased focus on advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) integrated with distribution automation solutions in North America is likely to boost this market during the forecast period.The distribution automation market in Asia Pacific is also expected to exhibit remarkable growth between 2013 and 2019, states the report.The global distribution automation market is highly concentrated with the presence of a few number of market players. ABB Ltd. and Siemens AG dominate this worldwide market with a share of 24% and 22%, respectively.Other prominent players in this market are American Electric Power, Dominion Virginia Power, Cooper Power Systems, Electricite de France, S&C Electric Co., Pacific Gas and Electric Co., General Electric Corp., Schneider Electric SA, Beckwith Electrics, Alstom Group, Edison Electric Institute, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc., Duke Energy Corp., PECO, Nissin Electric Co. Ltd., and Tennessee Valley Authority, reports the market study.Request for TOC of this report :The global distribution automation market is segmented into:By ProductsMonitoring and control devicesPower quality and efficiency devicesSwitching and power reliability devicesBy End UsersIndustrial segmentCommercial segmentResidential segmentBy RegionsNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificRest of the World (RoW)MRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Smart/Intelligent Sensors Market: Technological Advancement Will Increase Demands In Near Future

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According to a recent market research report, the global smart/intelligent sensors market is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 12.2% during the period between 2013 and 2019. The report, titled Smart/Intelligent Sensors Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2013 - 2019, projects the global smart/intelligent sensors market to be worth US$21.60 bn by 2019. The overall market stood at a valuation of US$9.0 bn in 2012.The rapidly growing importance of smaller and more diversely functional smart/intelligent sensors across applications such as healthcare monitoring, collision prevention, automotive application, and oil platforms has boosted the growth of the global smart/intelligent sensors market. The report points out that increasing application of smart/intelligent sensors in transportation and logistics, military, and surveillance will further augment the growth of the market during the forecast horizon. However, high replacement costs and lack of privacy are the key factors restraining the markets growth. The global smart/intelligent sensors market has a huge opportunity to grow with the development of smart cities and the growing trend of harnessing power from non-conventional sources of energy.Request for sample copy of report :In terms of application, the report segments the global smart/intelligent sensors market into medical equipment, consumer electronics, infrastructure, automotive industry, and others including avionics and food and beverage. In 2012, the automotive sector dominated the overall market, closely followed by the industrial sector. Both these sectors are anticipated to maintain their leading positions in the market during the forecast horizon.The report studies the global smart/intelligent sensors market across four key regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. The overall market witnessed the highest demand from Europe in 2012. The robust growth of the market in Europe can be attributed to the high healthcare standards, developed infrastructure, and presence of leading automobile manufacturers such as Audi, Renault, and BMW. North America ranks second in terms of market share in the global smart/intelligent sensors market. The growing demand for advanced medical equipment, introduction of advanced features in automobiles, and consumer preference for the replacement of electronic devices for technologically advanced features have propelled the growth of the market in this region.Request for TOC of Report :Describing the competitive hierarchy, the report profiles some of the key players in the global smart/intelligent sensors market such as Custom Sensors and Technologies Inc., Analog Devices Inc., Delphi Automotive PLC, Eaton Corporation PLC, Emerson Process Management LLLP, Omron Corp., Infineon Technologies AG, Vishay Intertechnology Inc., Yokogawa Electric Corp., and Wilcoxon Research Inc. The report further provides insightful information about the players by including their financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments. The key players are focusing on advancements in smart/intelligent sensors, thereby expanding their applications across other sectors.Global Smart/Intelligent Sensors Market has been segmented as:Product types segmentation of smart/ intelligent sensors marketImage sensorsSmart temperature sensorsTouch sensorsSmart positionSmart pressure sensorsApplication base segmentation of smart/intelligent sensors marketAutomotiveIndustrialInfrastructureMedicalOthers (Food & beverage, avionics)Geographical segmentation of smart/intelligent sensors marketEuropeRest of the World (RoW)North AmericaAsia PacificMRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) in Europe 2018 Market Net Worth $ 1620 million USD Forecast By 2021

FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) in Europe

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WiseGuyReports.Com adds FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) in Europe 2018 Market Net Worth $ 1620 million USD Forecast By 2021 Research to its Database.Description:The FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 4.85% from 1180 million $ in 2013 to 1360 million $ in 2016, The analysts believe that in the next few years, FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2021 , The market size of the FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) will reach 1620 million $.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Sections:-Section 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailGlobal-PakFlexi-tuffIsbirBAG CorpGreifConitex SonocoBerry PlasticsAmeriGlobeLC PackagingRDA Bulk PackagingSackmakerLangstonTaihua GroupRishi FIBCHalstedIntertape PolymerLasheen GroupMiniBulkBulk LiftSection (4): 500 USDRegionGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalyNetherlandsSpainContinueAsk Query @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsSection 1 FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Product DefinitionSection 2 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 Europe Manufacturer FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Shipments2.2 Europe Manufacturer FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Revenue2.3 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturers Who Have FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business in Europe Introduction3.1 Global-Pak FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Introduction3.1.1 Global-Pak FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.1.2 Global-Pak FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Global-Pak Interview Record3.1.4 Global-Pak FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Profile3.1.5 Global-Pak FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Product Specification3.2 Flexi-tuff FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Introduction3.2.1 Flexi-tuff FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.2.2 Flexi-tuff FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Flexi-tuff FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Overview3.2.5 Flexi-tuff FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Product Specification3.3 Isbir FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Introduction3.3.1 Isbir FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.3.2 Isbir FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 Isbir FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Overview3.3.5 Isbir FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Product Specification3.4 BAG Corp FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Introduction3.5 Greif FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business Introduction3.6 Conitex Sonoco FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Business IntroductionSection 4 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Region Level) Market Size (Volume) 2013-20164.2 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Region Level) Market Size (Value) 2013-2016Section 5 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2013-20165.2 Different FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Product Type Price 2013-20165.3 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisSection 6 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Industry Level)6.1 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Market Size 2013-20166.2 Different Industry Price 2013-20166.3 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Industry Level) AnalysisSection 7 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Channel Level)7.1 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Sales Volume and Share 2013-20167.2 Europe FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container) Market Segmentation (Channel Level) AnalysisContinue.Buy 1-User PDF @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Increasing Demands on Smart Cities Market to Valued at US$1,265.85 bn by 2019

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Global Smart Cities Market: SnapshotA general and continued migration of populations from rural centers to urban areas, stimulated by the availability of better economic and social prospects, is a key trend leading to the evolution of the market. A marked focus of governments in several emerging economies to offer sustainable environment for growth to their citizens has propelled the demand for smart cities. The recent efforts by governments in various nations to improve the quality of life for their citizens and provide them with easy access to essential services have positively impacted the overall market. The major proponents of smart cities development broadly entail the presence of robust infrastructure, sustainable real estate, advanced communications, intelligent transportation, citizen safety, and improved market viability.A number of cities are rapidly adopting advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) such as big data analytics, Internet-of-Technology (IoT), and autonomous systems. These have been key enablers of seamless connectivity and digitization across businesses, laying the foundation of smart cities. Driven by a variety of lucrative trends, the smart cities market is projected to rise at an impressive CAGR of 14.0% from 2014 to 2019 and the market valuation is anticipated to reach US$1,265.85 bn by the end of the forecast period.Get the sample copy of report :Substantial Demand for Developing Transportation Systems with Low-Carbon FootprintThe major applications of smart cities are in smart security, smart homes, smart buildings, smart industrial automation, smart energy management, smart transportation, smart education, smart water management, and smart healthcare. Of these, the smart security segment is projected to rise at a significant CAGR of 15.0% from 2013 to 2019. The spectacular demand for smart security technologies is driven by the pressing need for ensuring the privacy of citizens data from unauthorized use of these data by the third parties to serve their business objectives.Meanwhile, smart transportation was one of the prominent segments in 2016 and is anticipated to grow at an impressive pace over the forecast period. The growing demand for optimizing fuel consumption, reducing travel displays, and improving traffic flow across inter-urban road networks has boosted the development of smart transportation technologies and services. The rising concerns to reduce carbon footprint is expected to open prospects for alternative and advanced modes of transportation.Request for TOC of this report :Growing Popularity of e-Governance in Several Nations to Boost North American MarketBased on geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. Of these, North America is the major regional market for smart cities and is anticipated to lead throughout the forecast period. This regional market is expected to attain a valuation of US$392.41 bn by the end of 2019. The growth of the regional market is driven by the rising focus of governments in developed nations to reduce the emission of greenhouses gases. The governments in several nations of North America are actively boosting the adoption of renewable power for meeting the burgeoning needs of the populations.The growing popularity of smart industrial automation in a variety of manufacturing industries is expected to fuel the market. In addition, the rising prominence of cloud-based services and the advent of inexpensive sensors are the crucial factors boosting the regional market. Furthermore, the rise in spending on research and development (R&D) of innovative technologies has offered an impetus to good governance.MRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Thermal Imaging Market to Grow at a CAGR of 9.76% from 2013 to 2019

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Global thermal imaging market was valued at USD 3,192.5 million in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.76% from 2013 to 2019. Rising penetration of thermal imaging devices in industrial and commercial sector is driving the growth of this market. Industrial sector is using thermal imaging devices for manufacturing process monitoring and to find hot spot in mechanical and electrical installation. Commercial sector is deploying thermal imaging devices for building diagnosis and security of airports and estates etc. In addition, reduction in the price of thermal imaging devices has increased penetration in the residential sector. However, decreasing military spending by major countries such as U.S., Canada, Italy and France are hindering the growth of thermal imaging market. The market growth is driven by emergence of new applications and increased investment on modernization of armed forces across emerging markets.Get the sample copy of report :Among the various end-user segments, defense and military is the largest sector and accounted for 45.04% of market revenue share in 2012. The defense and military sector is expected to dominate the market over forecast period due to the increasing investment by various countries such as China, U.K, Russia and India for upgrade and modernization of armed forces. Thermal imaging devices are widely used in applications such as surveillance and security, maintenance and monitoring, traffic monitoring, healthcare, automobile, research and development, and others (firefighting and personal vision). Surveillance & security and maintenance & monitoring applications are emerging as promising applications for thermal imaging devices. These two segments together accounted for 44.7% of market revenue share in 2012. Demand for surveillance and security is supported by the need to enhance border and commercial security. Commercial security includes security of airports, ports, estates and warehouse.Geographically, North America is expected to remain largest market for thermal imaging due to the growth in industrial and commercial sector in the country. North America is anticipated to dominate this market throughout the forecast period due to the increasing use of thermal imaging devices for law enforcement activities. Europe would be the next largest market followed by Asia-Pacific. Countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific are increasing their defense spending, which is expected to drive thermal imaging market in these regions.Request for TOC of this report :Global thermal imaging market was dominated by few existing players in 2012. Renowned players such as FLIR Systems Inc., DRS Technologies Inc., Raytheon Company and BAE Systems Inc. led the global market, and collectively accounted for around 75% of the market in 2012. These players have well-developed resources and network to meet industry demand and to retain pace with the changing technology. In order to increase their market share, key players are reducing their product prices, which is further increasing the competition among the manufacturers.This report analyzes the global thermal imaging market in terms of revenue (USD million). The market has been segmented as follows:Market Segmentation of Global Thermal Imaging Market:Thermal Imaging Market, by Applications:Surveillance and securityMaintenance and monitoringTraffic monitoringHealthcareAutomobileResearch and developmentOthers (firefighting and personal vision)Thermal Imaging Market, by End-users:Defense and military sectorIndustrial sectorCommercial sectorResidential sectorThermal Imaging Market, by Geography:North AmericaEuropeAsia PacificRoW (Rest of the World)MRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
CHETU NAMED TO INC.'S AMERICA'S FASTEST-GROWING PRIVATE COMPANIES LIST

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Chetu was recognized yesterday with an inclusion on the 35th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of America's fastest-growing private companies. This recognition marks the 5th year in a row Chetu has been featured. This renowned list of the nation's most successful private companies has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial accomplishment.The 2016 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth over a three year period. Chetu achieved a three year growth rate of 127 percent with a 2015 revenue of $31.5 million. To qualify, companies must be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent. Chetu can be found on the list atThe Chetu team is proud to be recognized for our growth and dedication to excellence," stated Atal Bansal, CEO of Chetu, Inc. Our continued success is attributed to customer retention and our stellar team. By providing world-class software development services to our existing clientele we are able to gain repeat business from our happy customers. All thanks to the amazing Chetu team.As an Inc. 5000 honoree, Chetu now shares a pedigree with Microsoft, Dell, Oracle, and other notable alumni. In addition to Chetu, the 2016 list adds such powerhouses as Square, Dollar Shave Club, and Yeti Coolers."The Inc. 5000 list stands out where it really counts, says Inc. President and Editor-In-Chief Eric Schurenberg. No one makes the Inc. 5000 without building something great  usually from scratch.This announcement comes in the wake of other exciting news from Chetu as The South Florida Business Journal recently honored Chetu, Inc. as one of the Top 100 Private Companies in South Florida.###About Chetu, Inc.Founded in 2000, Chetu Inc. is a global provider of customized software development solutions and IT staff augmentation services for software technology providers. Chetu's specialized technology and industry experts serve start-ups, SMBs and fortune 500 companies with an unparalleled software delivery model suited to the needs of the client. Chetu's one-stop shop model spans the entire software technology spectrum. Headquartered in Plantation, Florida, Chetu has fourteen locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.For more information visit:Media Contact:Seth Burgermarketing@Chetu.com954-342-5676Chetu is a custom software development company servicing startups, SMBs & Fortune 500 firms worldwide with specialized technology solutions. We provide on-demand programming from senior-level software developers who are dedicated to advancing your business technology objectives.Chetu Inc.10167 W Sunrise Blvd,Suite 200, Plantation,FL 33322
Asia Baby Stroller 2018 Market Net Worth $ 840 million USD Forecast By 2021

Asia Baby Stroller Market

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WiseGuyReports.Com adds Asia Baby Stroller 2018 Market Net Worth $ 840 million USD Forecast By 2021 Research to its Database.Description:The Baby Stroller industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Baby Stroller market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 1.32% from 750 million $ in 2013 to 780 million $ in 2016, The analysts believe that in the next few years, Baby Stroller market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2021 , The market size of the Baby Stroller will reach 840 million $.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Sections:-Section 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailGood BabyNEWELL RUBBERMAIDArtsana S.p.A.Combi CorporationStokke ASHauckDorelABC DesignEmmaljungaUPPAbabyPeg PeregoSeebabyShenma GroupBBHMybabyAingRoadmateSection (4): 500 USDRegionChinaJapanKoreaIndiaTaiwanSingaporeContinueAsk Query @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsSection 1 Baby Stroller Product DefinitionSection 2 Asia Baby Stroller Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 Asia Manufacturer Baby Stroller Shipments2.2 Asia Manufacturer Baby Stroller Business Revenue2.3 Asia Baby Stroller Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturers Who Have Baby Stroller Business in Asia Introduction3.1 Good Baby Baby Stroller Business Introduction3.1.1 Good Baby Baby Stroller Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.1.2 Good Baby Baby Stroller Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Good Baby Interview Record3.1.4 Good Baby Baby Stroller Business Profile3.1.5 Good Baby Baby Stroller Product Specification3.2 NEWELL RUBBERMAID Baby Stroller Business Introduction3.2.1 NEWELL RUBBERMAID Baby Stroller Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.2.2 NEWELL RUBBERMAID Baby Stroller Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 NEWELL RUBBERMAID Baby Stroller Business Overview3.2.5 NEWELL RUBBERMAID Baby Stroller Product Specification3.3 Artsana S.p.A. Baby Stroller Business Introduction3.3.1 Artsana S.p.A. Baby Stroller Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.3.2 Artsana S.p.A. Baby Stroller Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 Artsana S.p.A. Baby Stroller Business Overview3.3.5 Artsana S.p.A. Baby Stroller Product Specification3.4 Combi Corporation Baby Stroller Business Introduction3.5 Stokke AS Baby Stroller Business Introduction3.6 Hauck Baby Stroller Business IntroductionSection 4 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Region Level) Market Size (Volume) 2013-20164.2 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Region Level) Market Size (Value) 2013-2016Section 5 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2013-20165.2 Different Baby Stroller Product Type Price 2013-20165.3 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisSection 6 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Industry Level)6.1 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Market Size 2013-20166.2 Different Industry Price 2013-20166.3 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Industry Level) AnalysisSection 7 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Channel Level)7.1 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Sales Volume and Share 2013-20167.2 Asia Baby Stroller Market Segmentation (Channel Level) AnalysisContinue.Buy 1-User PDF @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Industrial Surge Protection Devices Market boosting the growth Worldwide 2018-2025

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Industrial Surge Protection Devices Market Professional Survey Report 2018 to its huge collection of research reports.The report on the global Industrial Surge Protection Devices market offers elaborate and comprehensive assessment of key growth drivers, challenges, noteworthy trends, major technological advances, and strategic landscape. The analysis presents a detailed overview of the current market offerings, their scope in various regions, and major research and development activities influencing their growth. The study presents a detailed assessment of various types of business risks, notably operational and strategic, and highlights the prevailing governmental regulations in various regions. It further takes a closer look at expected growth areas and lucrative prospects emerging in the global Industrial Surge Protection Devices market. Key innovations likely to open up new revenue streams in untapped markets are also covered in the report.Get Free PDF Brochure For More Technical Insights@A diverse range of trends is causing considerable shifts in consumer preferences in the global Industrial Surge Protection Devices market in various developing and developed regions. The study offers a granular analysis of such aspects and the likely opportunities that will emerge on account of this are covered. It further zeroes in key factors that will support public and private investments in the global Industrial Surge Protection Devices market.The study highlights major recent developments in end-use sectors likely to change the competitive dynamics of the overall market. It estimates the current revenue share and size of various players in the Industrial Surge Protection Devices market and analyzes the factors that will account for the dominant position of some over the assessment timeline.The research methodology employed in analyzing the Industrial Surge Protection Devices market draws from approaches universally accepted by industries and reflects the findings from a wide spectrum of primary and secondary research. This is supported by extensive rounds of interviews with CXOs, business executives, policy makers, and industry leaders. The findings offered in the research study is invaluable for various market participants, stakeholders, and budding entrepreneurs.Table of ContentsGlobal Industrial Surge Protection Devices Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Industrial Surge Protection Devices1.1 Definition and Specifications of Industrial Surge Protection Devices1.1.1 Definition of Industrial Surge Protection Devices1.1.2 Specifications of Industrial Surge Protection Devices1.2 Classification of Industrial Surge Protection Devices1.2.1 5kA1.2.2 20kA1.2.3 30kA1.2.4 Other1.3 Applications of Industrial Surge Protection Devices1.3.1 Construction1.3.2 Automotive and Transportation1.3.3 EnergyAccess the full Report TOC in Detail @2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Industrial Surge Protection Devices2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Industrial Surge Protection Devices2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Industrial Surge Protection Devices2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Industrial Surge Protection Devices3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Industrial Surge Protection Devices3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Industrial Surge Protection Devices Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Industrial Surge Protection Devices Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Industrial Surge Protection Devices Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Industrial Surge Protection Devices Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Industrial Surge Protection Devices Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Industrial Surge Protection Devices Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Industrial Surge Protection Devices Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Industrial Surge Protection Devices Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Industrial Surge Protection Devices Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis5 Industrial Surge Protection Devices Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Industrial Surge Protection Devices Market Analysis5.1.1 North America Industrial Surge Protection Devices Market Overview5.1.2 North America 2012-2017E Industrial Surge Protection Devices Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.1.3 North America 2012-2017E Industrial Surge Protection Devices Sales Price Analysis5.1.4 North America 2016 Industrial Surge Protection Devices Market Share Analysis5.2 China Industrial Surge Protection Devices Market Analysis5.2.1 China Industrial Surge Protection Devices Market Overview5.2.2 China 2012-2017E Industrial Surge Protection Devices Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption AnalysisGet discount copy @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Network-as-a-Service Global Market 2018: Key Players  Ciena Corporation, Alcatel Lucent, Aryaka Networks, Inc, NEC Corporation, Juniper Networks

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Network-as-a-Service IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Network-as-a-Service -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis of Top Key Player Forecast To 2022 To Its Research DatabaseAccording to Stratistics MRC, the Global Network-as-a-Service Market is accounted for $1.85 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $22.50 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 51.6% from 2016 to 2022. Growing requirement for subscription (pay per use) business model, huge development in network virtualization, cloud computing, software defined networking (SDN), enlarging need for global connectivity and escalating awareness about the economic benefits of (NaaS) are some of the drivers which in turn empowered the growth of this market. However, privacy concerns and information security are some factors which are anticipated to decrease the market size. Moreover, the market has tremendous growing trend which is enterprises shifting there IT investment from capital expenses to operating outflow business model.By end user, BFSI segment is expected to account for the largest market share in the global market due to constant adjustment for cost effective IT infrastructure operation and growing applications. Asia Pacific region is likely to exhibit highest growth rate due to major committal in IT infrastructure projects and continuous expansion in telecommunication networks.Request for Sample Report @Some of the key players in this market includeCiena Corporation, Alcatel Lucent, Aryaka Networks, Inc, NEC Corporation, Juniper Networks, Inc, Brocade Communication Systems, Inc, AT&T, Inc , Vmware, IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc, Akamai Technologies, CloudGenix, Intellipath, Silver Peak Systems, VeloCloud, Aerohive Networks, Netcraftsmen, Fatpipe Networks, Talari Networks and Viptela.Types Covered: WAN as a Service LAN as a ServiceComponents Covered: Technology Service InfrastructureApplications Covered: Integrated Network Security as a Service Network Function Virtualization V-CPE Bandwidth on Demand Other ApplicationsEnd Users Covered: Healthcare Retail IT and Telecom Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance Manufacturing Government Transportation and Logistics Other End UsersLeave a Query @Regions Covered: North Americao USo Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo UKo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Australiao New Zealando Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the Worldo Middle Easto Brazilo Argentinao South Africao EgyptWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developmentsBuy Now @Table of Content1 Executive Summary2 Preface2.1 Abstract2.2 Stake Holders2.3 Research Scope2.4 Research Methodology2.4.1 Data Mining2.4.2 Data Analysis2.4.3 Data Validation2.4.4 Research Approach2.5 Research Sources2.5.1 Primary Research Sources2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources2.5.3 Assumptions3 Market Trend Analysis3.1 Introduction3.2 Drivers3.3 Restraints3.4 Opportunities3.5 Threats3.6 Product Analysis3.7 Application Analysis3.8 End User Analysis3.9 Emerging Markets3.10 Futuristic Market Scenario4 Porters Five Force Analysis4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers4.2 Bargaining power of buyers4.3 Threat of substitutes4.4 Threat of new entrants4.5 Competitive rivalry5 Global Network-as-a-Service Market, By Type5.1 Introduction5.2 WAN as a Service5.3 LAN as a Service6 Global Network-as-a-Service Market, By Component6.1 Introduction6.2 Technology Service6.3 Infrastructure7 Global Network-as-a-Service Market, By Application7.1 Introduction7.2 Integrated Network Security as a Service7.3 Network Function Virtualization7.4 V-CPE7.5 Bandwidth on Demand7.6 Other Applications8 Global Network-as-a-Service Market, By End User8.1 Introduction8.2 Healthcare8.3 Retail8.4 IT and Telecom8.5 Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance8.6 Manufacturing8.7 Government8.8 Transportation and Logistics8.9 Other End Users...Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042
Fruit Juice Powder Market Analysis and Prediction by Leading Manufacturers: G. G. Foods, Nanguo Foodstuff, Mondelz

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Fruit Juice Powder Market Research Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.This business and commerce report on the global Fruit Juice Powder market is a comprehensive study that has been prepared to specifically to armor the vendors connected to the value chain of the market, aspiring to aid them in detecting the lucrative avenues and hence gain ground over their competitors. The report covers the analysis and forecasts the market on a global, regional, and country level. To complete a thorough study, the report has included historic data on how the demand has evolved in the recent past and how it will formulate during the forecast period based on revenue. The study provides a decisive view of the market for Fruit Juice Powder by carefully segmenting into significant aspects such as product type, application, end users, component, and whichever applicable, and regions. The analysis of the global market as well as each of the segments have been based on current trends and future potential, and the figurative estimations has been provided.Get Free PDF Brochure For More Technical Insights@The study covers drivers, trends, opportunities, and restraints defining the dynamics of the global Fruit Juice Powder market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. Additionally, the report encompasses pitfalls or barriers in the global Fruit Juice Powder market. The report comprises detailed value chain analysis to provide a comprehensive view of the market. Proven market research methodologies such as Porters five forces model and SWOT analysis has been included to help understand the competitive landscape in the market. The study includes market attractiveness analysis, wherein crop types have been benchmarked by based of their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness for future growth.One of the key aspect of the report is the chapter on company profiles wherein it includes the market share of some of the prominent players operating in the global Fruit Juice Powder market. For each of the profiled company, the study provides important details such as manufacturing base, competitors, product portfolio, revenue, margin, business strategies, and recent developments.Table of ContentsGlobal Fruit Juice Powder Market Research Report 20171 Fruit Juice Powder Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Fruit Juice Powder1.2 Fruit Juice Powder Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Fruit Juice Powder Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Fruit Juice Powder Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Apple Fruit Powder1.2.4 Lemon Juice Powder1.2.5 Strawberry Juice Powder1.2.6 Grape Juice Powder1.3 Global Fruit Juice Powder Segment by Application1.3.1 Fruit Juice Powder Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Supermarkets and Hypermarkets1.3.3 Independent Retailers1.3.4 Convenience Stores1.4 Global Fruit Juice Powder Market by Region (2012-2022)Access the full Report TOC in Detail @2 Global Fruit Juice Powder Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Fruit Juice Powder Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Fruit Juice Powder Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Fruit Juice Powder Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Fruit Juice Powder Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Fruit Juice Powder Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Fruit Juice Powder Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type3 Global Fruit Juice Powder Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Fruit Juice Powder Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Fruit Juice Powder Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Fruit Juice Powder Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Fruit Juice Powder Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Fruit Juice Powder Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Fruit Juice Powder Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Fruit Juice Powder Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Fruit Juice Powder Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Fruit Juice Powder Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Fruit Juice Powder Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Fruit Juice Powder Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Fruit Juice Powder Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Fruit Juice Powder Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Fruit Juice Powder Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Fruit Juice Powder Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Fruit Juice Powder Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Fruit Juice Powder Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)To Get Discount Of This Report Click here @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Speciality Fertilizer Global Market 2018: Key Players  Atlantic Gold Inc., Behn Meyer Group., Agrium Inc., Haifa Chemicals Ltd., Israel Chemicals Ltd

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Speciality Fertilizer IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Speciality Fertilizer -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis of Top Key Player Forecast To 2022 To Its Research DatabaseGlobal Specialty Fertilizers Market is expected to reach $13.86 billion in 2015 and is estimated to reach $24.07 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period. The plant releases nutrient and ammonia due to evaporation, which considerably multiply the risk of environmental pollution, in order to stop this Speciality fertilizers are used. The growing demand for food and decreasing land are creating challenges for farmers, in order to increase yield per capita they are opting for speciality fertilizers which in turn is fuelling the market growth. High cost of fertilizers and limited storage capacity are restraining the market growth.Cereals segment among the crop types is estimated to be the fastest growing because of global demand for cereals, which is followed by oilseeds and commercial crops. North America is accounted for the largest share of the Global Specialty fertilizers market, but Asia pacific will be the emerging market led by the dependency of people on agriculture.Request for Sample Report @Some of the key players in market includeAtlantic Gold Inc., Behn Meyer Group., Agrium Inc., Haifa Chemicals Ltd., Israel Chemicals Ltd., Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc., Sinochem Group, Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A., Tessenderlo Group, The Mosaic Company and Eurochem .Crop Types Covered: Commercial crops Fruits & Vegetables Cereals Turf & Ornamentals Oilseeds Other Crop TypesFertilizers Type Covered: Ammonium Nitrate Granular N and P fertilizers (GNP) Monopotassium Phosphate (MKP) Phosphoric Acid Granular N, P and K fertilizers (GNPK) Potassium Chloride Potassium Sulfate UAN (30%) Urea Potasasium Nitrate Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP) Granular P and K fertilizers (GPK) Other Fertilizer TypeLeave a Query @Applications Covered: Horticulture Fertigation Foliar Nutrition Aquaculture Hydroponics Other ApplicationsRegions Covered: North Americao USo Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo UKo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Australiao New Zealando Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the Worldo Middle Easto Brazilo Argentinao South Africao EgyptWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsBuy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042
Sarawak Energy are the Gold Sponsors of the 3rd Critical Infrastructure Protection & Resilience Asia

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The organisers are proud to announce Sarawak Energy are the Gold Sponsors of the 3rd Critical Infrastructure Protection & Resilience Asia Conference & Expo will be hosted by CyberSecurity Malaysia in Sarawak, Malaysia on 17th-19th July 2018.The Sarawak Energy is the company responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is wholly owned by the State Government of Sarawak.Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience Asia will bring together leading stakeholders from industry, operators, agencies and governments to collaborate on securing Asia. The conference will look at developing existing national or international legal and technical frameworks, integrating good risk management, strategic planning and implementation.Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience Asia conference has a unique two-track conference programme, with joint plenary sessions, delivering a leading line up of international experts to discuss securing Americas critical infrastructure, from both physical and cyber perspectives. Providing enhanced opportunities for discussions between the physical infrastructure and cyber security, who need to work together to mitigate threats and attacks in our combined plenary sessions, as well as focussed discussions within each discipline in the individual CIP and CIIP tracks.For details go to:The 3rd Critical Infrastructure Protection & Resilience Asia conference & exhibition, organised by Torch Marketing and KNM Media, will be hosted by CyberSecurity Malaysia in Sarawak, Malaysia on 17th-19th July 2018.Torch Marketing Co Ltd, 53 Clarendon Road, Cheshun, 53 Clarendon Road, Cheshunt
United Arab Emirates Crude Oil Refinery Outlook to 2022

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"United Arab Emirates Crude Oil Refinery Outlook to 2022" is a comprehensive report on crude oil refinery industry in United Arab Emirates. The report also provides details on oil refineries such as name, type, operational status, operator apart from capacity data for the major processing units, for all active and planned refineries in United Arab Emirates for the period 2012-2022. Further, the report also offers recent developments, financial deals as well as latest contracts awarded in the country's oil refinery industry.Inquire for Report atScope:- Updated information related to all active and planned refineries in the country, including operator and equity details- Information on CDU, condensate splitter, catalytic cracking and hydrocracking capacities by refinery in the country, where available- Key mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, private equity and IPOs in the country's crude oil industry, where available- Latest developments, financial deals and awarded contracts related to crude oil refineries in the countryReasons to buy:- Gain a strong understanding of the country's crude oil refining industry- Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast capacity data- Assess your competitor's major crude oil refining assets and their performance in the country- Analyze the latest developments, financial deals and awarded contracts related to the country's crude oil refining industry- Understand the country's financial deals landscape by analyzing how competitors are financed, and the mergers and partnerships that have shaped the marketRequest Sample Copy atTable of Content:1. Table of Contents 11.1. List of Tables 31.2. List of Figures 42. Introduction 52.1. What is This Report About? 52.2. Market Definition 53. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry 63.1. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Key Data 63.2. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Overview 63.3. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Total Refining Capacity 63.4. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Crude Distillation Unit Capacity 83.5. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Condensate Splitter Unit Capacity 83.6. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Catalytic Cracking Capacity 93.7. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Hydrocracking Capacity 93.8. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Asset Details 103.8.1. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Active Asset Details 103.8.2. United Arab Emirates Refining Industry, Planned Asset Details 234. Recent Contracts 254.1. Detailed Contract Summary 254.1.1. Awarded Contracts 255. Financial Deals Landscape 345.1. Detailed Deal Summary 345.1.1. Acquisition 346. Recent Developments 356.1. Other Significant Developments 356.1.1. Mar 31, 2016: Bangladesh To Import 1.3 MT Of Crude Oil In 2016 From UAE And Saudi Arabia 356.1.2. Mar 13, 2016: Enoc To Expand Jebel Ali Refinery In UAE 356.1.3. Jan 20, 2016: Pyramid E&C Announces Ecomar Refinery Nears Completion 356.1.4. Aug 06, 2015: ADNOC Suspends Operations At RFCC Unit Of Ruwais Refinery 366.2. New Contracts Announcements 366.2.1. Jan 09, 2017: Saudi Aramco selects Tecnicas for clean fuels project contract in Ras Tanura refinery 366.2.2. Oct 11, 2016: Amarinth Secures A Further 500K Order For The Al Dabb'iya Facilities Development Phase III Project 366.2.3. Sep 19, 2016: ENOC Announces Technip As Main EPC Contractor For Refinery Expansion Project 376.2.4. Jan 31, 2016: Enersul Receives Equipment Supply Contract From Petrofac International (UAE) 387. Appendix 40For more information about this report:About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028Phone : +91-20-67278686E-Mail : info@reportsweb.com
Global IoT Communication Protocol Market Growth and Size in 2022

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global IoT Communication Protocol Market Size,Status and Forecast 2022 to its huge collection of research reports.This report on the global IoT Communication Protocol market is a thorough study that has been compiled by experienced and professional research analysis who are experts in the commerce of the field. The idea behind the development of this report is to help its targeted audiences, serving as an asset for companies wanting to make informed decisions for growth in this space. This report on the global IoT Communication Protocol market also presents a figurative estimation of the future of the market. The report has been a result of primary and secondary research using proven market research methodologies such as SWOT analysis and Porters five forces analysis.Get Free PDF Brochure For More Technical Insights@The primary research formed the bulk of our research efforts along with information collected from telephonic interviews and interactions via e-mails. Secondary research involved study of company websites, annual reports, press releases, stock analysis presentations, and various international and national databases. The report provides market size in terms of US$ mn for each segment for the period from 2018 to 2023, considering the macro and micro environmental factors.For the estimation of the future lucrativeness of the global market for IoT Communication Protocol, the report studies various factors that are expected to positively influence the growth rate. It also analyzes the challenges expected to hinder the growth rate during the forecast period, besides highlighting the emerging trends and opportunities, which will significantly define the future scenario. The report also divides the global IoT Communication Protocol market into quantitative segments and studies the opportunities available in the regional markets based on geography. Growth rate for each of the product and geographical segment has been provided.The key feature of the report is the section on company profiles. Here, this report lists out some of the key players who are currently functional in the global IoT Communication Protocol market, providing details such as market share, product portfolio, recent developments, and strategies for the future.Table of ContentsGlobal IoT Communication Protocol Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of IoT Communication Protocol1.1 IoT Communication Protocol Market Overview1.1.1 IoT Communication Protocol Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global IoT Communication Protocol Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.3 IoT Communication Protocol Market by Type1.3.1 Wi-Fi1.3.2 Bluetooth1.3.3 Cellular1.3.4 Other1.4 IoT Communication Protocol Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Healthcare1.4.2 Industrial1.4.3 Precision FarmingComplete table of content is available at:2 Global IoT Communication Protocol Competition Analysis by Players2.1 IoT Communication Protocol Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 NXP Semiconductors3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 IoT Communication Protocol Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Texas Instruments3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 IoT Communication Protocol Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 STMicroelectronics4 Global IoT Communication Protocol Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global IoT Communication Protocol Market Size by Type (2012-2017)4.2 Global IoT Communication Protocol Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Potential Application of IoT Communication Protocol in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of IoT Communication Protocol5 United States IoT Communication Protocol Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States IoT Communication Protocol Market Size (2012-2017)5.2 United States IoT Communication Protocol Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)Enquiry For Discount Visit @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
ECG Monitoring Equipment- Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment 2017

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http://www.reportsweb.com/ECG-Monitoring-Equipment-Medical-Devices-Pipeline-Assessment-2017

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ReportsWeb.com published ECG Monitoring Equipment Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Publisher's Medical Devices sector report, "ECG (Electrocardiogram) Monitoring Equipment - Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment, 2017" provides an overview of ECG (Electrocardiogram) Monitoring Equipment currently in pipeline stage.The report provides comprehensive information on the pipeline products with comparative analysis of the products at various stages of development. The report reviews major players involved in the pipeline product development. It also provides information about clinical trials in progress, which includes trial phase, trial status, trial start and end dates, and, the number of trials for the key ECG (Electrocardiogram) Monitoring Equipment pipeline products.Request Sample Copy atThis report is prepared using data sourced from in-house databases, secondary and primary research by Publisher's team of industry experts.Scope:- Extensive coverage of the ECG (Electrocardiogram) Monitoring Equipment under development- The report reviews details of major pipeline products which includes, product description, licensing and collaboration details and other developmental activities- The report reviews the major players involved in the development of ECG (Electrocardiogram) Monitoring Equipment and list all their pipeline projects- The coverage of pipeline products based on various stages of development ranging from Early Development to Approved / Issued stage- The report provides key clinical trial data of ongoing trials specific to pipeline products- Recent developments in the segment / industryReasons to buy:The report enables you to -- Formulate significant competitor information, analysis, and insights to improve R&D strategies- Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage- Identify and understand important and diverse types of ECG (Electrocardiogram) Monitoring Equipment under development- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies- Plan mergers and acquisitions effectively by identifying major players with the most promising pipeline- In-depth analysis of the product's current stage of development, territory and estimated launch dateFor more information about this report:Companies Mentioned:Advanced Medical Electronics CorporationAerotel Medical Systems (1988) LtdBen-Gurion University of the NegevBioTelemetry IncCactus Semiconductor, Inc.CardioComm Solutions, Inc.Cognionics, Inc.Coland Holdings LimitedCybernet MedicalEasyG LLCEP LtdGeorge Washington UniversityHEARD MedicalHeart Tronics, Inc.HMicro IncIMEXCO General Ltd.John Hopkins UniversityLivaNova PLCMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMedical Care Technologies, Inc.Medtronic plcMicroPort Scientific CorpMobilECG Laboratories Ltd.NewCardio, Inc.NimbleHeart Inc.Novosense ABNuuboOrbital Research Inc.Qardio Inc.QT Medical, Inc.Rapid Rhythm Ltd.Schiller AGTen3t Healthcare Pvt LtdToumaz Technology LimitedTrivitron Healthcare Pvt LtdUniversitat Politecnica de CatalunyaUniversity of TampereVentriPoint, Inc.VivaQuant LLCVTT Technical Research Centre of FinlandInquire for Report atAbout ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028Phone : +91-20-67278686E-Mail : info@reportsweb.com
Modern Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Market 2018: ABB, GE, Yokogawa Electric, SAP SE, Schneider Electric, Emersion Electric, Siemens, Rockwell, Honeywell, Tata Technology

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Modern Manufacturing Execution System Global Market - OverviewThe demand for Modern Manufacturing Execution System is growing with the rapid pace among manufacturing industries as it provide competitive advantage, and efficiency in production. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global market of Modern Manufacturing Execution System is increasing and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The market is projected to demonstrate a spectacular growth by 2023, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR during the anticipated period (2017  2023).The Global Modern Manufacturing Execution System Market is driven by competition to manufacture complex products, digital transformation of businesses, and integration of connected devices among others. On the other hand, lack of technical expertise and changing consumer demand are some of the challenges hindering the growth of Modern Manufacturing Execution System Market.Industry NewsJune 2017  Rockwell Automation has announced to expand MES application to increase flexibility, process integration and deployment process. This new suite includes factory talk production, factory talk performance, factory tall quality and factory talk warehouse application.July 2017  iBASEt, a leading software solution provider partnership with Cogiscan Inc., a solution provider for electronics manufacturing industry, to create automated electronics assembly solution for complex manufacturing.August 2017  General electric introduced new version of manufacturing execution system software addressing issues of plant floor systems and paper based process.MES Industry Players:General Electric Co. (U.S.), Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Japan), SAP SE (Germany), Schneider Electric (France), Emersion Electric (U.S.), Siemens (Germany), ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Rockwell Automation (U.S.), Honeywell International (U.S.), Tata Technology (India) are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the Global Modern Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Market.Request a Sample Report @Industry 4.0: A Major Driving Force for Manufacturing Execution System MarketManufacturing execution system comprises of manufacturing intelligence and operation intelligence. Production management, scheduling, tracking and optimization are some of the key areas served by manufacturing execution system. It helps manufacturers in improving their operational efficiencies, product quality, reduce production and packaging time and increase profitability. With changing lifestyle, and technology upgradation, the consumer demand is also changing. To serve the changing consumer requirements, manufacturers are upgrading their shop floors with robots and automated machines.Industry 4.0 is the advanced version of automation and data transformation in manufacturing sector. It consist of cyber physical systems, IoT and cloud computing technology. As the manufacturing environment is upgrading, MES is also evolving and adopting the new technology expectations and demand. MES manages and monitor the work in progress on shop floor. It offers a platform to manufacturers for implementation of advanced version of automation and decentralized process of Industry 4.0.Major industry players such as General Electric, Siemens, and Rockwell Automation among others are investing in improving their manufacturing process and adopting advanced automation products and services. For instance, recently in November 2017, Rockwell Automation announced about its investment in artificial intelligence to focus on industrial automation. This investment is done to identify new emerging technologies and accelerating innovation which help the company in bridging gaps between plant floor and higher level information systems.Modern Manufacturing Execution System Market - Competitive AnalysisThe Market of Modern Manufacturing Execution System appears to be highly competitive in the coming years. To drive the market growth, market leaders are innovating continuously and increasingly seeking market expansion through various strategic mergers and acquisitions, innovation, increasing investments in research and development and cost-effective product portfolio. Major players of Modern Manufacturing Execution System such as General Electric Co., Yokogawa Electric Corporation, SAP SE, Schneider Electric, Emersion Electric, and Siemens targeting to invest more in technology and research and development activities to innovate their already existing products. These players possess state of art R&D labs and strong sales and distribution network which have helped them to gain leadership position in the market.Browse Report @Modern Manufacturing Execution System Market - SegmentationThe Modern Manufacturing Execution System Market can be segmented in to 3 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation by Component: Programmable controller, Process Control Systems, HMI/SCADA, and Software.Segmentation by Verticals: Automotive, Food & Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Consumer Electronics, Aerospace & defence and others.Segmentation by Regions: Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World.Modern Manufacturing Execution System Global Market - Regional AnalysisNorth-America is dominating the Global Modern Manufacturing Execution System Market with the largest market share and therefore accounting for astronomical amounts and is expected to grow over its previous growth records by 2023. Modern Manufacturing Execution System Market in Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at a substantial CAGR during 2017 to 2023 due to increasing technical expertise and implementation of automation technologies in the region. The European market for Modern Manufacturing Execution System Market is expected to grow at a considerable CAGR (2017-2023).About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Fixed-mobile Convergence in Middle East and North Africa

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ReportsWeb.com published Fixed-mobile Convergence Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market."Fixed-mobile Convergence in Middle East and North Africa", a new Telecom Insider Report by GlobalData, provides an overview of the state of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) in the MENA region. The report draws from examples of fixed-mobile convergence from operators around the world to understand the market conditions which lead to convergence. The report first provides an overall introduction to FMC and a comparison of FMC development in different regions. It offers an analysis of the pathway in which operators converge, and examines the benefits of convergence, with examples from operators. Then it provides an overview of the MENA region in terms of FMC, and analyzes the conditions for those markets which have already seen convergence, as well as those who have not. Looking at 11 MENA markets in particular, the report provides and in-depth comparison of different conditions relevant to FMC development. Then the report dives into three case studies of fixed-mobile convergence in MENA-Bahrain, Egypt, and Turkey. The report concludes with recommendations for operators interested in pursuing FMC.For more information about this report atFixed-mobile convergence (FMC) has emerged in some competitive markets as a way for operators to differentiate and pursue growth. In MENA, FMC is nascent, with only a handful of opreators offering converged services. There are a number of market and regulatory conditions which support or hinder the development of FMC.Scope:-Compared to Europe, where some operators have pursued fixed-mobile convergence as their central strategy, MENA has seen relatively few cases of convergence, and all of them relatively recent or at an early stage.-The state of competition, regulation, and base of subscribers bi-equipped for both fixed and mobile services are key for the development of convergence.-There is scope for more fixed-mobile convergence development in MENA. However, the feasibility and entrance point of convergence depends on the unique conditions of each market and the profile of each operator.bRequest a sample copy atReasons to buy:-This Insider Report provides a comprehensive examination of the market conditions and business models for fixed-mobile convergence, to help executives fully understand market dynamics, determine what works and what doesn't, formulate effective product development plans and optimize resource allocation and return on investments.-Three case studies illustrate the findings of the report, providing insight into particular situations in the fixed-mobile market in MENA; this will help the reader understand both the challenges confronted in the real world and the strategies employed to overcome those challenges.-The report discusses concrete opportunities in fixed-mobile convergence in MENA, providing a number of actionable recommendations for operators.-Eleven MENA markets are compared in terms of market competition, regulation, and subscriber base; providing an overview of the conditions facilitating and hindering convergence for the region.Table of Contents:Executive summary 5Section 1-Introduction to fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) 6Section 2-MENA market overview 15Section 3-Case studies 22Section 4-Key findings and recommendations 29Inquire for Report atAbout ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028Phone : +91-20-67278686E-Mail : info@reportsweb.com
Aerospace and Defense Market by Market Share, Market Size, Analysis and Forecast to 2021

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ReportsWeb.com published Aerospace & Defense Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Global Aerospace & Defense industry profile provides top-line qualitative and quantitative summary information including: market share, market size (value 2012-16, and forecast to 2021). The profile also contains descriptions of the leading players including key financial metrics and analysis of competitive pressures within the market.Essential resource for top-line data and analysis covering the global aerospace & defense market. Includes market size and segmentation data, textual and graphical analysis of market growth trends and leading companies.Request a sample copy@- The aerospace & defense market consists of civil and military aerospace and defense procurements. The civil aerospace segment is deemed to be the revenues accrued by manufacturers from all civil aerospace procurement.The valuation of the military aircraft, military vehicles, naval vessels, systems & ordnance, and other defense segments is based on capital expenditure (CAPEX), which is defined as expenditure on research and development (R&D), procurement and maintenance of weaponry and other military equipment. Such procurements only include equipment, parts, and maintenance (EPM); other elements of military spending, such as personnel and buildings, are omitted. All market values are given in nominal terms except for the forecast data for Venezuela which is reported in real basis.- Any currency conversions used in the creation of this report have been calculated using constant 2015 annual average exchange rates.- The global aerospace & defense market is expected to generate total revenues of $988.7bn in 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% between 2012 and 2016.- The civil aerospace segment is expected to be the markets most lucrative in 2016, with total revenues of $554.0bn, equivalent to 56% of the market's overall value.- The global strategic landscape is disturbing and turbulent: ongoing tensions in Ukraine and Russia have led to Russian sanctions, Iraq and Syria have seen the rise of Islamic State (IS) and refugees from the Middle East and Africa flee to the Mediterranean, and no solution in prospect remains for the tensions between Israel and the occupied territories.For more information about this report@Scope:- Save time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the size, growth, major segments, and leading players in the global aerospace & defense market- Use the Five Forces analysis to determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of the global aerospace & defense market- Leading company profiles reveal details of key aerospace & defense market players' global operations and financial performance- Add weight to presentations and pitches by understanding the future growth prospects of the global aerospace & defense market with five year forecastsReasons to buy:- What was the size of the global aerospace & defense market by value in 2016?- What will be the size of the global aerospace & defense market in 2021?- What factors are affecting the strength of competition in the global aerospace & defense market?- How has the market performed over the last five years?- Who are the top competitors in the global aerospace & defense market?Inquire for Report@About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028Phone : +91-20-67278686E-Mail : info@reportsweb.com
Global Temperature Management Systems Market, Industry Analysis, Growth, Share by 2023

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Temperature management systems market , also known as thermal management systems, make use of heat transfer and thermodynamics to manage the temperature of a system. Temperature management systems aid in the regulation and maintenance of normal body temperature of patients in recovery rooms, operating theatres, intensive care units, and other areas of hospitals. These systems are critical for patients in every setting. Temperature management is a form of active treatment for a specific period of time during recovery, when the blood flow to the brain is poor.To know the latest trends and insights prevalent in this market, click the link below:The global temperature management systems is segmented on the basis of application, product, and geography. On the basis of application, the market is segmented into acute care, delivery suites, emergency rooms, perioperative care, and newborn care, among many others. On the basis of product, the market is segmented into cooling accessories, warming accessories, systems for surface cooling, systems for intravascular cooling, and patient warming systems, among others. The leading segment and the fastest growing segment have been pointed out along with the factors behind their growth. The report also mentions segments experiencing sluggish growth.The report offers a detailed overview of the global temperature management systems market. The prime factors affecting the growth of the global temperature management systems market have been studied. The report studies the effect of Porters five forces on the market. References and case studies are included, making the report extremely invaluable. Tables, charts, graphs, and statistics have been included wherever required to make the report comprehensive. The threat of new entrants, degree of competition, bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, and the competitive landscape have been discussed.Overview of the Temperature Management Systems MarketThe global temperature management systems market is driven by low-cost surgeries and low-cost treatments that are available in many countries today. The growing prevalence of chronic diseases and a consequent rise in the number of healthcare facilities have also helped the market grow. Favorable reimbursement scenarios are boosting the adoption rate of temperature management systems. On the other hand, the high cost and high risk linked with the use of these systems are restraining the growth of the market. However, the market will continue to grow despite these challenges owing to the rising geriatric population and increasing prevalence of cardiovascular and other diseases.Request For Free Sample Report @On the basis of geography, the global temperature management systems market is segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the Rest of the World. Of these, the market is led by North America owing to technological advancements in intravascular systems. Europe is the second largest regional segment in the global temperature management systems market. Latin America, South East Asia, and the Middle East are anticipated to hold lucrative opportunities for the growth from 2016 to 2023. The medical tourism industry in India and China, coupled with favorable government initiatives for the development of healthcare systems, currently makes Asia Pacific an attractive market for these systems.Companies Mentioned in the ReportThe global temperature management systems market is fragmented with the participation of large number of companies, including new and global players. The report profiles key players that are operating in the market. These include: ZOLL Medical Corporation, Stryker Corporation 3M, Koninklijke Philips N.V., and C.R. Bard, Inc. The strategies implemented by each of these players to gain profit and grow in the market have been included. The report also compiles important information such as business and financial overview of the companies. Recent developments by market players are also covered.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisHighlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketEnquire About this Report @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research 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.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
China Telecom Americas Announces Partnership with Intelisys to Extend Transpacific Network Services

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http://www.Intelisys.com

www.scansource.com

ntelisys Sales Partners Gain Access to China Telecom Americas Global Communication Solutions Connecting the Worlds Two Largest EconomiesHERNDON, VA  January 9, 2018  China Telecom Americas today announced it has partnered with Intelisys, Inc., a ScanSource company and the nations leading Technology Services Distributor, to extend China Telecoms service offerings. Through Intelisys, the companys Sales Partners will gain access to China Telecom Americas local expertise and customer service for deploying and managing transpacific network services between the U.S. and China, the worlds two largest economies.For agents and VARs whose customers are multinational enterprises seeking global communication solutions, China Telecom Americas transpacific network services are an exceptional addition to their portfolio, comments Jay Bradley, President, Intelisys. As businesses, regardless of size or industry, evolve into cloud companies, this partnership with China Telecom will undoubtedly benefit our Sales Partners and their customers. We look forward to a mutually successful relationship.Intelisys is dedicated to serving the needs and accelerating the success of the industrys top producing telecom sales agents, IT Solution Providers, VARs, MSPs and integrators, which it refers to as its Sales Partners. As a result of this agreement, Intelisys Sales Partners will gain cost-effective access to China Telecom Americas global communication solutions, including China Telecoms Cloud Services, direct-connects to partner cloud companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, data center and colocation services, global internet, network and managed services, Equipment, Unified Communications and its China 4008 Toll Free service.China Telecom is excited to work with Intelisys and its Sales Partners, states Stephanie Condrell, Senior Global Director of Channel Alliance Programs and Strategic Accounts at China Telecom Americas. Along with its size and strength in the market, Intelisys has a long-standing and proven track record of providing a best-in-class service portfolio and support for its partners who sell the most complex business communications to global enterprises.China Telecoms Channel Alliance Program enables the partner community to extend its reach with an industry-leading portfolio of solutions, all while engaging a team of experts in the marketplace to help the partner drive business in this complex part of the world. Additionally, the company offers marketing and training support, empowering partners to deliver total communications solutions to their clients.To learn more about China Telecom Americas Agent Partner Program, email Partnersales@ctamericas.com.# # #About China Telecom AmericasChina Telecom Americas is a wholly owned U.S.-based subsidiary of China Telecom Corporation, one of the worlds leading providers of integrated communications and information technology services to customers in more than 70 countries around the globe. With headquarters in Herndon, Va., and offices in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Jose, Toronto and Sao Paolo, China Telecom Americas is advancing transpacific enterprise connectivity through a suite of locally based, turnkey solutions from network architecture, cloud services, and services for data centers to equipment management, security, content delivery, mobility solutions, and more. Discover more atand contact us at Partnersales@ctamericas.com.About IntelisysIntelisys, a ScanSource company, is the nations leading Technology Services Distributor of business communications services, including voice, data, access, cable, collaboration, wireless and cloud. Intelisys is dedicated to one thing  serving the needs and accelerating the success of the industrys top producing telecom sales agents, IT Solution Providers, VARs, MSPs and integrators, as they leverage the power of recurring revenue in their businesses.Today Intelisys is leading the way as its Sales Partners make the pivot and experience the shift away from traditional telco services into a new era of cloud-based solutions. Under contract with more than 130 of the worlds leading telecom carriers, cloud services providers and technology partners, Intelisys delivers the services end users demand exclusively through a network of Sales Partners, supporting those Sales Partners via the most exceptional back office support team ever assembled in the channel. To learn more, visitor talk to Intelisys at 800-615-8330.Intelisys was acquired by ScanSource, a leading global provider of technology products and solutions, in August of 2016.Media Contacts:iMiller Public Relations for China Telecom Americas221 Harbor HillMamaroneck NY 10543Tel: +1 866.307.2510cta@imillerpr.com
Hydraulic Wrench In South East Asia Market by Manufacturers,Types,Regions and Applications Research Report Forecast to 2021

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WiseGuyReports.Com adds Hydraulic Wrench In South East Asia Market by Manufacturers,Types,Regions and Applications Research Report Forecast to 2021 Research to its Database.Description:The Hydraulic Wrench industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Hydraulic Wrench market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of X% from XXXX million $ in 2013 to XXXX million $ in 2016, The analysts believe that in the next few years, Hydraulic Wrench market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2021 , The market size of the Hydraulic Wrench will reach XXXX million $.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Sections:-Section 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailEnerpacHydratightSPXHYTORCAtlas CopcoHi-ForcePrimoTorcUPITHGEDORE Torque SolutionsSection (4): 500 USDRegionIndonesiaPhilippinesVietnamMalaysiaThailandMyanmarContinueAsk Query @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsSection 1 Hydraulic Wrench Product DefinitionSection 2 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 South East Asia Manufacturer Hydraulic Wrench Shipments2.2 South East Asia Manufacturer Hydraulic Wrench Business Revenue2.3 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturers Who Have Hydraulic Wrench Business in South East Asia Introduction3.1 Enerpac Hydraulic Wrench Business Introduction3.1.1 Enerpac Hydraulic Wrench Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.1.2 Enerpac Hydraulic Wrench Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Enerpac Interview Record3.1.4 Enerpac Hydraulic Wrench Business Profile3.1.5 Enerpac Hydraulic Wrench Product Specification3.2 Hydratight Hydraulic Wrench Business Introduction3.2.1 Hydratight Hydraulic Wrench Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.2.2 Hydratight Hydraulic Wrench Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Hydratight Hydraulic Wrench Business Overview3.2.5 Hydratight Hydraulic Wrench Product Specification3.3 SPX Hydraulic Wrench Business Introduction3.3.1 SPX Hydraulic Wrench Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.3.2 SPX Hydraulic Wrench Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 SPX Hydraulic Wrench Business Overview3.3.5 SPX Hydraulic Wrench Product Specification3.4 HYTORC Hydraulic Wrench Business Introduction3.5 Atlas Copco Hydraulic Wrench Business Introduction3.6 Hi-Force Hydraulic Wrench Business IntroductionSection 4 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Region Level) Market Size (Volume) 2013-20164.2 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Region Level) Market Size (Value) 2013-2016Section 5 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2013-20165.2 Different Hydraulic Wrench Product Type Price 2013-20165.3 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisSection 6 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Industry Level)6.1 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Market Size 2013-20166.2 Different Industry Price 2013-20166.3 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Industry Level) AnalysisSection 7 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Channel Level)7.1 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Sales Volume and Share 2013-20167.2 South East Asia Hydraulic Wrench Market Segmentation (Channel Level) AnalysisContinue.Buy 1-User PDF @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Global Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market Anticipated to Touch Reach $20.7B By 2022

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been serving as an active source to cater intelligent research report to enlighten both readers and investors. This research study titled Continuous Glucose Monitoring MarketRequest a Free Sample Report @Rapid rise in diabetic population across the globe has considerably increased the demand for effective diabetes management systems. Currently, blood glucose meters are widely used for diabetes management; however, the trend is shifting towards minimally invasive (CGMS) or noninvasive glucose monitoring systems as these systems reduce the need for regular finger pricking and also lessen the pain. Continuous glucose monitoring systems are real time glucose sensing and monitoring devices that measure and display glucose levels of a patient at regular intervals. The usage of CGM is substantially increasing over traditional glucose monitoring systems as these systems are user friendly, provide access to real time values and trend, and provide enhanced accuracy. Additionally, it has been observed that continuous glucose monitoring significantly helps in diabetes management especially in type I diabetics, and helps in reducing long-term complications associated with diabetes. Increasing awareness in developed and developing economies, technological advancements and rising number of diabetic patients are some of the key factors that are expected to fuel the growth of this market.According to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reports, approximately 382 million people globally were diagnosed with diabetes in 2013 and this number is expected to grow to 592 million by 2035. Additionally, as per Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the prevalence of type I diabetes rose by 23% in the U.S. between 2001 and 2009 for children under 20 years of age and is identified as the seventh leading cause of death in the country. Hence, rising number of patients suffering from type I diabetes is likely to increase the demand for CGMS. The continuous glucose monitoring market has been segmented on the basis of various CGM systems available in the market including Guardian Real Time CGM System, FreeStyle Navigator, Dexcom Seven Plus, Dexcom G4 Platinum and MiniMed Paradigm Revel/Veo CGM Systems. In 2012, the market for Guardian Real Time CGM system held the largest share globally, followed by Dexcom Seven Plus CGM system. However, during the forecast period 2013 to 2019, growth of the market for Guardian Real Time CGM system is expected to be slowest due to market saturation and development of innovative competitor products. Dexcom G4 Platinum CGM System market is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. FreeStyle Navigator that witnessed a decline in its market share in 2012 due to product recall from the U.S. market is anticipated to show significant growth during the forecast period due to expected launch of FreeStyle Navigator ll in 2014 in the U.S. market.Outlook Complete Report with Table of Content @North America held the largest share in the global continuous glucose monitoring market in terms of revenue in 2012. Factors responsible for the leading position of this region were rising obesity population, aging population and increasing acceptance of technologically advanced devices. Europe held the second largest market in 2012, followed by Asia-Pacific. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to show the highest CAGR during the forecast period because of the presence of growing patient awareness, economic development and changing lifestyle. Other factors such as increasing healthcare expenditure, increasing market penetration by CGM players in this region are anticipated to increase the uptake of these devices in this region.Medtronic, Inc., Dexcom, Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc., Bayer AG, Nova Biomedical Corporation, Senseonics, Incorporated, GlySens, Incorporated and Insulet Corporation are the major companies engaged in the development and commercialization of the continuous glucose monitoring systems. Presence of very few players in the CGM market provides ample opportunity for further research and development for both existing and emerging players.Send an Inquiry @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research 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.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Digital Healthcare (EHR, Wireless Health, Mobile Health) Market: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts (2017-2021)

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ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the Global Digital Healthcare Market Research Report 2017 The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.The market grew at a CAGR of 13.21 % in the period 2011-2015 and for 2016-2021, the growth rate is expected to be at 15.05 %. The recent research report published by Publisher "Global Digital Healthcare Market: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts (2016-2021F)" suggests that the mobile health segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of x% whereas the wireless health market will grow at a CAGR of x% during the period 2016E-2021F. Leading players of the industry include WebMD, Biotelemetry, Allscripts, Cerner Corporation. The report also covers other prominent vendors such as Portea Medical, Practo, eclinical works etc.A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, stakeholders) and secondary research, the report presents the analysis of the global digital healthcare market on the basis of various segments (Electronic Health Records or EHR, Mobile Healthcare, Wireless Healthcare) and By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC) and for various types (Applications, Sensor, Functionality, End-Use).The digital healthcare market is driven by surging adoption of use of smartphones, rising trend of home healthcare, rise in use of mobile health apps. Digital healthcare market is steadily gaining momentum in investments with government initiatives towards the digitization of healthcare along with the trend of value based healthcare. Moreover the need for streamlined and real time based communication between the patient and the doctor will present the market with huge growth opportunities and potential in near future.In terms of region, North America has the fastest adoption rate of wireless health & mobile health based services along with rising adoption of EHR in hospital owned ambulatory care, with maximum market share in United States, while APAC and Latin America region holds huge opportunities accompanied with growth potential in Brazil, Japan , China and Indian Market.Get Free Sample of this Report@Scope of the ReportThe report provides coverage by Segments-Electronic Health Records (EHR)-Mobile Healthcare-Wireless HealthcareThe report provides coverage by Region-North America-Latin America-Europe-Asia Pacific-ROWThe report provides coverage by Types-Applications-Sensor-Functionality-End-UseComplete report is available atResearch Methodology-The objective of the research is to present the historical growth (2010-2015) and the future projections (2016-2021) of the global digital healthcare market (global, regional, country-wise).-Historical market trend of digital healthcare has been figured out through secondary research (associations, annual reports, magazines, journals) and by various paid databases.-Extensive primary research was conducted (inputs from industry experts, companies, stakeholders) for presenting the dynamics of the industry and future projections.Companies ProfileWebMD2. Cerner Corporation3. Allscript4. Biotelemetry5. Medtronic6. Practo7. Portea Medical8. iHealth9. Omron Corporation10. eClinical WorksAbout ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queriesContact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028Phone : +91-20-67278686E-Mail : info@reportsweb.com
Growing Awareness about Metal Vacuum Insulation Panels Market Analysis, Market Size, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2017 To 2022, Focusing On Top Key Vendors

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Major factors affecting the growth of the VIPs is the increasing demand for sea food globally. The significant population growth in China, India, and Brazil is imperative in fostering the demand for frozen fish and seafood. This rise in demand has created the need for cold storage and transportation that require VIPs for insulation. The consumers are seeking frozen food products that have functional benefits and are good for their health. To bridge this consumer demand, refrigerated transportation service providers are focusing on enhancing the efficiency of their supply chain and are improving the technology used in cold storage facilities to deliver high-quality food products.The Metal Vacuum Insulation Panels presents insights into various restraints that pose threat and highlights opportunities that will help the market pick pace in the forthcoming years. The report accumulates exhaustive information obtained via proven research methodologies and from trusted sources within the industries. It also includes expert opinions to provide readers a clearer perspective regarding the global market.The Global Metal Vacuum Insulation Panels market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of +8% over the forecast period.Request a sample @:Companies Profiled in this report includes, Evonik Industries AG,LG Hausys Ltd.,Panasonic Corporation, Dow Corning Corporation, OCI Company Ltd., Kevothermal, LLC, Porextherm D mmstoffe GmbH, ThermoCor, Va-Q-Tec AG, Microtherm, Marley Eternit, Suzhou Wei Yipu New Materials,Creek,Super Tech,Yinxing Electric,Changzhou Sanyou Dior Insulation Materials MFG,Shanxi Jiudi Energy Saving Technology.The report presents a comprehensive study of the global Metal Vacuum Insulation Panels market by assessing the growth drivers and restraining factors at length. This detailed study of important factors assists the market participants in understanding the issues they will be facing while functioning in this market over a long period of time. Other important information, such as manufacturing capacity and volume, pricing of products, and dynamics of demand, supply, and sales, and the revenue, have also been examined thoroughly in this research report.Get Best Discount on This Report @:The Global Metal Vacuum Insulation Panels Market is gaining pace and businesses have started understanding the benefits of analytics in the present day highly dynamic business environment. The market has witnessed several important developments over the past few years, with mounting volumes of business data and the shift from traditional data analysis platforms to self-service business analytics being some of the most prominent ones.The report profiles leading players within the global Metal Vacuum Insulation Panels market for the purpose of study. The business and financial overview of the companies are given in the report. Information on their recent developments and accomplishments is also included in this report. The expansion strategies adopted by leading players in the market are also revealed in the report. Growth and expansion strategies as well as business strategies to make more profits have also been disclosed.Access Complete Report @:Table of ContentsGlobal Metal Vacuum Insulation Panels Market Research Report 2017Chapter 1 Global Metal Vacuum Insulation Panels Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Global Market ForecastAbout QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Paediatric Healthcare-Rising Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and Increasing Demand for Paediatric Medical Devices Accelerate the Growth of the Market

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Market Research Future published a Half Cooked research report on Middle East & Africa Paediatric Healthcare Research Report - Forecast to 2023  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Paediatrics is a branch of medicine which deals with diagnosis and treatment of diseases related to paediatric group. It can be classified into the four categories namely neonates (from birth till the first 28 days of life), infants (29 days to 2 years), children (2 years to 12 years) and adolescents (12 years to 18 years). Paediatrician is a medical professional who specializes in providing treating the paediatric group. Paediatric medical devices are devices used for the treatment and care of infants and children below 18 years having some healthcare issues.Get a sample report atDemand for paediatric medical devices is increasing due to high incidence of chronic illnesses among children, high premature birth rate, increasing birth defects among new born, and rising awareness regarding disease conditions among children. Malnutrition among children prevalent in under developed parts of the world is also a major driver of this market. Global Paediatric medical device market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% during forecast period 2017 to 2023.Key players in the Paediatric Healthcare:Key players in the automated devices market are F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Germany), Medtronic Plc. (U.S.), Bayer AG (Germany), Abbott (U.S.), I-SENS, Inc. (South Korea), Siemens (U.S.) and others. The main focus of these players is tapping the market in developing regions across the globe. Also product differentiation plays an important role for sustaining the growth of key players in the market.Key developments:Hoffmann-La Roche AG:June, 2017: F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG acquired mySugr to form a leading platform for digital diabetes managementAugust, 2015: F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG acquired GeneWEAVE to strengthen offerings in microbiology diagnostics. Roche will pay GeneWEAVE shareholders USD 190 million upfront and up to USD 235 million in contingent product related milestonesFebruary 2015 : F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG announced the collaboration with BioMed X for the development of Nanomaterial-Based Biosensors for Near-Patient TestingSeptember 2014: F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG launched Elecsys anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) fertility test for assessment of ovarian reserve for pregnancyMedtronic plc.:October, 2016: Medtronic plc received an approval for its suite of cardiac rhythm and heart failure devices and leads to be scanned in both 3 and 1.5 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. This FDA approval will help the company to strengthen its position in MRI machines segment.December, 2015: Medtronic plc and Samsung came together in an alliance to accelerate the development of digital health solutions for the millions of people suffering from chronic pain, movement disorders, incontinence, and other conditions who could benefit from neuromodulation therapy.Abbott:October, 2016 : Abbott announced collaborations with Celgene and Agios for diagnostic identification of IDH mutations. The agreement focuses on the development and commercialize the diagnostic tests.April, 2016: Abbott received FDA approval for its companion diagnostics Vysis CLL FISH probe kit in Leukemia. The kit is used to detect the 17p deletion in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, the target population of a new drug from AbbVie.Siemens:September, 2016: Siemens launched the combination of the Modularis urological shock wave unit and the flat detector technology of the mobile C-arm Cios Fusion. Since, constantly switching between two or even three different control units would be complicated and could lead to errors, the Modularis' central control unit is a better option. This will help Siemens to strengthen its position in the market.Browse Complete Report atMiddle East & Africa Paediatric Healthcare Market-Regional Analysis:Healthcare system in the Middle East & Africa has exhibited tremendously growth from last few years. In the Middle East, the market is expected to grow at a fastest rate owing to the development of healthcare system as well as rising important of diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Furthermore, increasing support by the government authorities for development of novel therapies also influences the growth of the market. In the Middle East & Africa, United Arab Emirates is the largest market for paediatric healthcare market. In Africa, there is tremendous demand for paediatric medical devices owing to an increasing health problems among the infants and children. There is wide scope of the growth of paediatric medical devices and nutritional products in number of under developed countries in African region. Number of government organisation are engaged in the evaluation of healthcare conditions in Africa as well as healthcare firms undertake products such as healthcare camps for women and children in this.About usAt Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureP: +1 646 845 9312W:sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Point of Care Blood Gas and Electrolyte Devices: Increasing Prevalence of Chronic Disease and Cancer to Encourage Market Growth at a CAGR of 7.8% During Forecasted Period 2017-2023

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Market Research Future published a cooked research report on the global point of care blood gas and electrolyte devices market.Point of care blood gas and electrolyte analyzers is the new technology, which helps in reducing therapeutic turnaround time, enhancing patient satisfaction, accuracy, and help to improve hospital operations. Rising prevalence of chronic diseases and cancer across the globe, increasing the treatment of NICUs, ICUs, Cardiovascular Operating Room (CVOR), and emergency department, which drives the global point of care blood gas and electrolyte devices market growth. In 2017, due to changes in the regulatory policies of the U.S., R&D investment is affected to some extent. In 2016, R&D spending of the US was 527.5 billion, which grew by 1.6% in 2017. Currently, the major shares of the global market are dominated by few leading players, and they can fluctuate the costs of the products. In developing regions such as Asia Pacific the suppliers are trying to provide their products at affordable price.The global point of care blood gas and electrolyte devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.8% during the forecast period 2017-2023.Get a sample report atSegmentationThe global point of care blood gas and electrolyte gas devices market has been segmented on the basis of types and end users.On the basis of the types, the market is segmented into consumables and Instruments. The instrument type is sub-segmented into benchtop and portable devices. The consumable devices are further segmented into reagents, cartridges, and others.On the basis of the end users, the market is segmented into hospitals & clinics, home care, research institutions, and others.Regional AnalysisThe Americas dominate the global market owing to a huge population with chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney, and liver disease, increasing government support for research & development, and high health care expenditure. According to the WHO, in 2014, 9.7% of the total America population is having diabetes. Thus, increasing prevalence of diabetes has boosted the market growth. Additionally, changing lifestyle and the presence of major players in the market have fuelled the growth of the market.Europe is the second largest point of care devices market across the globe, which is followed by Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market and majorly driven by India and China owing to a huge number patients with chronic diseases and rapidly growing economy. According to the WHO, 60% of the global diabetic population lives in Asia Pacific region. The healthcare expenditure of Asia Pacific has increased over the last few years, which has contributed to the growth of the market.The Middle East and Africa region account for the least share of the global market. Whereas, Africa holds the least share of the global market due to limited availability of medical facilities and poor economic condition of the region.Browse Complete Report atKey PlayersSome of the major players in this market: Siemens, Abbott, F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., Radiometer, Nova medical, Edan Instruments Inc., and Instrumentation LaboratoryAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2015, the number of adults with diagnosed chronic bronchitis and emphysema were 9.3 million and 3.5 million respectively. Additionally, according to WHO in 2016, over 1.9 billion adults aged 18 years and older were obese, which was approximately 650 million. Overall 13% of worlds adult population (11% of men and 15% of women) were obese. These diseases are the main cause of the immense growth of treatment in NICUs, ICUs, Cardiovascular Operating Room (CVOR), and emergency department. Point of care blood gas developers is now focusing on developing automated and user-friendly devices, which may lead the market of this product in the coming future. Healthcare expenditure across the world is rapidly increasing. From the last decade, healthcare expenditure in regions like the Americas and Europe has been growing rapidly. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in 2015, the U.S. healthcare spending was increased by 5.8% and reached USD 3.2 trillion.About usAt Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureP: +1 646 845 9312W:sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Discuss, debate and learn from NATO partners & allies at SMis Mission Planning & Support conference 2018

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SMi reports: Discuss, debate and learn from NATO partners & allies at SMis Air Mission Planning & Support conference 2018As NATO partners & allies ended 2017 by taking steps to improve air power superiority, as illustrated by exercises Blue Flag, Optic Windmill and the Spartan Series, SMi invites attendees to discuss, debate and learn from these experts at Air Mission Planning & Support in London on 17th & 18th April 2018.The conference this year will have a unique focus on the complexity of managing varied air mission planning and support systems and key strategies, not only to procure and acquire new systems, but also how to best upgrade, modernise and improve existing platforms for modern day warfare and operations. These technological upgrades will bring the production and implementation of new integrated assets, training, updating legacy assets, interoperability in joint environments, data management by means of smart software and improved cyber security.The two-day event will focus upon six key themes: National Updates to Air Mission Planning; Network-Centric Capabilities and C2; Strategic-Level Analysis of Planning and Support; 5th Generation Air Power and Development; Air Mission Planning and Power in All Operations; Simulation and Virtual Training for Effective Mission Planning and Support.If you are interested in Joining USAFE-AFAFRICA Warrior Preparation Centre, US Air Force, UK, Jordan, Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Spain, NATO, OCCAR and many more, there is currently a 200 early bird registration discount for bookings made by 31st January visitfor more details.Air Mission Planning and Support17th-18th April 2018London, UK---ENDS---For sponsorship and exhibition queries please contact Sadia Malick at smalick@smi-online.co.uk . For delegate queries please contact James Hitchen on jhitchen@smi-online.co.uk. For media queries please contact Natasha Boumediene at nboumediene@smi-online.co.uk.Established since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the worlds most forward thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found atSMI GroupGround & First Floor 1 Westminster Bridge Road London, SE1 7XWNatasha Boumedienenboumediene@smi-online.co.uk
Yeast Infection Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% Till 2023

Yeast Infection Market

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The Global Yeast Infection Market Research Report provides detailed analysis of the key regional market status of the Healthcare Industry. The global Yeast Infection Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecasted period.Yeast infection is also known as candidiasis. Candidiasis is an infection caused by numerous types of yeast called Candida. The most common type of yeast causing infection is Candida albicans. This yeast is normally present on the skin, in the intestines and vagina, but under normal conditions it doesnt cause infection. However, sometimes it can develop into an infection of the mouth, vagina or skin due to weak immune response, unhygienic conditions, and other factors.Top key players in yeast infection market are: Scynexis (US), Synmedic Laboratories (India), Merck & Co., Inc. (US), Astellas (Japan), Bayer AG (Germany), Mentis Pharma Ltd. (India), Abbott (US), Novartis AG (Switzerland), Pfizer Inc. (US), Sanofi (France), ALLERGAN (Ireland), AstraZeneca (UK)Get Sample Reports @Yeast infection can occur due to many reasons such as weak immunity, unhygienic conditions, and presence of a conducive environment for the growth of the associated microbes. In addition to infants, people suffering from diabetes, obesity, hypothyroidism, inflammatory disorders are also prone to catching yeast infection. The global yeast infection market is majorly driven by increasing prevalence of autoimmune diseases, continuously increasing geriatric population, and increasing number of patients suffering from HIV. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), by the end of 2015, approximately 36.7 million people worldwide were suffering from HIV/AIDS , out of which 1.8 million were children below 15 years. Moreover, rising demand for antifungal drugs and government support for research & development have fuelled the market growth. However, side effects of the treatment may hinder the growth of the market.The global Yeast Infection Market is segmented on the basis of pathogen, types, treatment, and end users. On the basis of pathogens, the market is segmented into Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida rugosa, and others.On the basis of types, the market is categorized into vaginal yeast infection, skin yeast infection, throat yeast infection, and others.On the basis of treatment, the market is segmented into drug treatment and surgery. Drug treatment is further classified into cream, ointment, tablet, and suppository.On the basis of end users, the market is segmented into hospital, clinics, ambulatory centers and others.Regional Analysis:The Americas account for the largest share in the global Yeast Infection Market owing to presence of huge geriatric population and increasing number of patients suffering from immune diseases. According to the Autoimmune Registry, in 2012, approximately 14.7 million Americans were suffering from auto immune diseases.Europe is the second largest market and holds a noticeable share in the global yeast infection market. The European market is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period owing to availability of advanced treatment facilities, skilled medical professionals, and government support for research & development.Increasing prevalence of HIV in Asia Pacific region is the crucial factor for the market growth. Rising awareness about the infections and availability of new treatment methods drive the market in this region. In Asia Pacific, the market shows growth opportunities in China and India.However, the Middle East & Africa is expected to show the least growth in this market due to some major factors such as lack of awareness about the yeast infections, limited access and availability of treatment facilities.Report Illustrations:1 Report Prologue2 Market Introduction3 Research Methodology4 Market Dynamics5 Market Factor Analysis6 Global Yeast Infection Market, By Pathogens7 Global Yeast Infection Market, By Types8 Global Yeast Infection Market, By Treatment9 Global Yeast Infection Market, By End User10 Global Yeast Infection Market By Region11 Company Landscape12 Company Profiles13 MRFR ConclusionContinuedApply for Discounts @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comMRFR has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.Our Research Analysts are eager to share their knowledge and assist you in refining market research parameters, choosing right market studies, and evaluating both the market scope and the research methodologies of varied segments.We bridge the gap between our clients and their clients by identifying and decoding just the target group, while generating leads with the highest accuracy.Years of research into diverse fields of work has ingrained within us, a proficiency so distinguished that our industry-specific specialists identify with your business ideas and feel the pulse of your challenges and opportunities. This enables us for providing assistance, through our consulting and strategic consulting services, in informed managerial decision making. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industries, WantStats Research and Media often conducts industrial visits for its research analysts. Relevant inputs from various established market participants, help our clients make significant contribution in respective markets are a huge motivation for all of us to endlessly furnish quality. We depend greatly on profound insights into complex realms of our study.Pune, India
RF Power Amplifier Market Opportunities and Strategic Focus Report

The Insight Partners

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The Insight Partners Added World RF Power Amplifier Market Report 2017-2025 To Its Research Database.RF power amplifiers are defined as the components used for transmitting amplified radio frequency signals through antenna within a defined frequency range. This component finds application in every wireless electronic component operating in radio frequency range. Some of the most commonly used devices are mobile phones, unmanned aircraft systems, radios, and military walkie talkie operating over RF frequency range. Choice of deploying RF power amplifier depends on the end - user application. Several factors such as output power, operating frequency range, linearity, form factor and DC power consumption are taken into consideration based on specific end - use application.Request a Sample Report atMajor players in RF power amplifier market are constantly focusing to keep roll with the wheel of innovation in mobile communication technology. For instance, with ending era of 2G network system and abrupt rise in 3G and LTE communication technology new devices and circuit technologies needs to be implemented. With cost pressure being one of the major challenge, new low cost packaging techniques combined with increased performance levels is majorly driving the organic growth of the companies.RF Power Amplifier Market Players:1. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.2. Qorvo, Inc3. Skyworks Solutions, Inc.4. Broadcom Limited5. Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.6. Infineon Technologies AG7. NXP Semiconductors8. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation9. Texas Instruments Incorporated10. Maxim IntegratedView Complete Report atThe objectives of this report are as follows:-To provide overview of the global RF Power Amplifier market-To analyze and forecast the global RF Power Amplifier market on the basis of product type-To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall RF Power Amplifier market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM), which are later sub-segmented across respective major countries-To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend-To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions-To profiles key RF Power Amplifier players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies.Table Of Content1 Introduction1.1 Scope of Study1.2 The Insight Partners Research Report Guidance2 Key Takeaways3 RF Power Amplifier Market Landscape3.1 Market Overview3.2 Market Segmentation3.2.1 RF Power Amplifier Market - By Technology3.2.2 RF Power Amplifier Market - By Application3.2.3 RF Power Amplifier Market - By Frequency Range3.2.4 RF Power Amplifier Market - By Region3.2.4.1 By Countries3.3 PEST Analysis3.3.1 North America - PEST Analysis3.3.2 Europe - PEST Analysis3.3.3 Asia Pacific - PEST Analysis3.3.4 Middle East and Africa - PEST Analysis3.3.5 South America - PEST AnalysisContinued.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout The Insight Partners:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township, Amanora Chambers, East Block, Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Automotive Shock Absorber Market Competitive landscape By 2023

Automotive Shock Absorber Market

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Automotive Shock Absorber Market 2018Summary:Global Automotive Shock Absorber Market Information Report by Type (Air Shock Absorber, Damper Shock Absorber, and Others), Vehicle Type (Passenger car and Commercial Vehicle), Sales Channel (OEM and Aftermarket), and region.Market ScenarioThe factors that are responsible for the growth of automotive shock absorber market are growth in the automotive industry, increase in the production of vehicles in emerging countries such as China, India, and Japan, increased focus by manufacturers to improve comport for the passenger, and advancement in technology. The increase in the production of vehicle will result in higher use of shock absorbers to improve ride comfort. This increase in the usage of shock absorber, will result in the growth of the market during the forecast period. In current scenario, manufacturers are moving toward advancement in the technology so as to compete in the automotive market. The advancement in technology will result in improvement in the overall suspension system. Manufacturers are also focusing on improving the ride comfort of the passenger in order to grow in this market. All the above factors are responsible for the growth of automotive shock absorber market during the forecast period.The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.12% during the forecast period.Key PlayersThe key players in global automotive shock absorber market are Meritor, Inc. (U.S.), ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Germany), Delphi Automotive Plc. (U.K.), Gabriel India Ltd. (India), Hitachi, Ltd. (Japan), KYB Europe G.M.B.H (Germany), SHOWA Corporation (Japan), Tenneco Inc. (U.S.), Koni BV (Netherlands), Thyssenkrupp Bilstein Gmbh (Germany) and others.Request For Sample Report @Shock Absorber is an important component of vehicles. Their main purpose is to absorb energy so as to provide a comfort ride to the passenger. It is a mechanical device used to absorb shock impulses. It converts kinetic energy in another form of energy, typically in heat form. Shock absorbers are mainly used in suspension systems to reduce the jerks created due to rough terrain roads. The main purpose of a shock absorber is to improve the ride for the passenger. Shock absorbers are not only used in automotive but also are used in landing gear of an aircraft, industrial machinery, and others. In automotive application, shock absorbers used are mainly damper shock absorbers and air shock absorbers.The automotive shock absorber market is segmented based on type, vehicle type, sales channel, and region. On the basis of type, the market is segmented as air shock absorber, damper shock absorber, and others. Air shock absorber segment is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period due to higher sustainability. Air shock absorber segment is driven by the electric or electric driven air pump, which gives smooth and improved ride quality or the passengers. On the basis of vehicle type, the market has been segmented as passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The passenger car segment is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period due to increase sales of passenger cars and SUVs. There is growing demand for the crossovers and SUV in passenger car segment because of their improved fuel efficiency.Global Automotive Shock Absorber Market, By SegmentationOn the basis of region, the market has been segmented as North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World. Asia Pacific region is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period due to increase in the production of vehicles in emerging countries such as China, India, and Japan. North America is expected to be the second largest market due to higher innovation in the shock absorbers. Europe is expected to be the third largest region during the forecast period.The report for Global Automotive Shock Absorber Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Complete Report Details @Table of Contents1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2 SCOPE OF THE REPORT3 MARKET LANDSCAPE4 MARKET DYNAMICS5 Global Automotive Shock Absorber Market, By Type6 Global Automotive Shock Absorber Market, By End-Use7 Global Automotive Shock Absorber Market, By Vehicle Type8 Global Automotive Shock Absorber Market, By Region9 Competitive Landscape10 Company ProfileList Of TablesTable 1 Global Automotive Shock Absorber Market: By Region, 2017-2023Table 2 North America Automotive Shock Absorber Market: By Country, 2017-2023Table 3 Europe Automotive Shock Absorber Market: By Country, 2017-2023Table 4 Asia-Pacific Automotive Shock Absorber Market: By Country, 2017-2023Table 5 RoW Automotive Shock Absorber Market: By Country, 2017-2023..List Of FiguresFIGURE 1 RESEARCH PROCESS OF MRFRFIGURE 2 TOP DOWN & BOTTOM UP APPROACHFIGURE 3 Market DynamicsFIGURE 4 Impact Analysis: Market DriversFIGURE 5 Impact Analysis: Market Restraints.ContinuedAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR) and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have the prime objective to provide optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies depending on products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments enables our clients to know more consequently do more, which gives them answer for their each and every important question. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industryCONTACT US:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Floor Tile Market Analysis, Market Size, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts, 2018 To 2023

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The global Floor Tile market is highly dynamic and versatile. Equipped with a wide-ranging portfolio of products, this market is among the most important building material markets. The substantial rise in the construction industry and the increasing trend of home improvement and renovation project activities is likely to boost this market substantially over the forthcoming years. On the other hand, the market may face severe challenges from the surging concerns over the harmful effect of certain chemicals used in the manufacturing of Floor Tile products in the years to come.Global Floor Tile Market Size, Status and Forecast 2023 is the latest report added to the large report database of Research N Reports. The objective of the report is to gather important market data and offer insights about the trends and opportunities of the global market to the readers. The report categorizes the market in a detailed manner to offer thorough insights about the facets responsible for augmenting as well as restraining the market growth. The research report on the global market also inspects the indicators in the market that are vital to represent the revenue forecast of the market over the given forecast period.Top Key Vendors: VANDYCK, Pergo, EGGER, Lamett, HARO, Armstong, Balteno, Teke, LG, Parky.Get Sample Copy of this Report @The research report makes use of industry-centric tools for market analysis to gauge the scope of the competitive landscape of the global Floor Tile market in current as well as future market scenarios. The competition in the global market is evaluated on the basis of the key market player operating at both regional as well as global. The report also discusses the associations and business partnerships among the key players operating in the market.The research report not only offers readers a broad overview of the international industry but also provides a granular assessment of the regional market in several countries and regions. Furthermore, the report consists a part that acknowledges the competitive analysis of the global Floor Tile market. These strategies followed by prominent players to stay ahead in the competition, the hurdles they are facing, the competition they are dealing with, and the opportunities that are keeping them motivated are included in this section. This will help both large scale and small scale companies to deliberately understand the outlook of competition, which will help them to expand their territory.Get Discount on This Premium Report @Historical and projected information pertaining to cost, capacity, gross margin, imports and exports, company contact information, growth drivers and restraints, market position, production value, products, demand, and others have been included while evaluating the different regional market. A SWOT analysis of the upcoming projects being undertaken in the global Floor Tile market identifies and evaluates the weaknesses, strengths, threats, and opportunities of the new projects, in addition to an assessment of their investment returns, investment feasibility, and development trends.Besides recognizing the factors enabling growth in the global Floor Tile market, the report also profiles some of the leading companies operating therein. The product portfolio of the companies profiled is studied in detail. Besides this, information is obtained from their financial reports and strategies they adopted over the last couple of years. The impact of these strategies in the overall market is gauged as well, for the purpose of the study.Table of Content:Global Floor Tile Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1 Floor Tile Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2018-2023)Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2018-2023)Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market Forecast (2018-2023)Chapter 13 AppendixAbout QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Subscriber Identity Module Market Size & Share Forecast 2022: Technological Advancement Will Increase Demands

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A subscriber identity module or subscriber identity module (SIM) is an integrated circuit for securely storing an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number and associated keys, such as a mobile phone device.The report on Subscriber Identity Module market is a source of expansive ideas, statistical data, and detailed information, which has the potency to ensure profit of an enterprises. It gives a basic overview of the industry which includes definition, applications, classifications, and industry chain structure. Extensive development plans and policies are discussed meticulously. There also exists a cost study and manufacturing structures with perfect explanation.Get Sample copy of this Report @:Companies Profiled in this report includes, Gemalto, G&D, Oberthur, Morpho (Safran), VALID, Eastcompeace, Wuhan Tianyu, DATANG, KONA I, CPI Card Group, Watchdata, HENGBAOThis report defines the specifications, applications, classifications of Subscriber Identity Module market and explains the industrial chain structure in detail. Recent policies and developments are researched in depth to help enhance this report. A detailed cost structure is examined and prices are coated by labors, raw material supplier and others. An insight about demand supply chain is also mentioned in detail.Early Buyers will get 20% Discount on this Report @:Microeconomic and macroeconomic factors which affect the Subscriber Identity Module market and its growth, both positive and negative, are also studied. The report features the impact of these factors on the ongoing market throughout the mentioned forecast period. The upcoming changing trends, factors driving as well as restricting the growth of the market are mentioned.Initially, the Subscriber Identity Module producing an analysis of the most important trade players based on their company profiles, annual revenue, sales margin, growth aspects is additionally lined during this report, which is able to facilitate alternative Subscriber Identity Module market players in driving business insights.Access Complete Report @:This research report analyzes the global Subscriber Identity Module market in a detailed manner by explaining the key aspects of the market that are expected to have a quantifiable influence on its developmental prospects over the forecast period. The report analyzes the entire demand and supply chain in the global market and further studies the various components. Also, a number of analysis tools such as Porters five forces analysis and SWOT analysis have been employed to provide a precise understanding of this market to the readers.Table of ContentsGlobal Subscriber Identity Module Market Research Report 2017Chapter 1 Subscriber Identity Module Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Global Subscriber Identity Module Market ForecastAbout QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Global Feed Amino Acid Sales Market Analysis- Size, Share, Sales, Growth, Forecast, Segment, Application Analysis 2018

Feed Amino Acid Sales Market

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Feed amino acid products have become prominent in the recent years, owing to the growing awareness among the consumers regarding the impact of quality feed provided to the livestock on animal-based products such as meat and dairy products. Also, the inclination of livestock producers toward quality and nutritious feed products is fueling the demand for feed amino acids, as they help increase the feed intake and enhance the growth performance of livestock.The lysine segment, on the basis of type, is estimated to dominate the feed amino acids market in 2017. Lysine is an essential part of animal feed. The usage of lysine acts as a lower cost alternative source when compared to protein sources such as corn and soy, while maintaining high growth rates in the livestock, and reducing the pollution from nitrogen excretion.Companies Profiled In This Report:Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Royal DSM, Adisseo France Sas, Novus, Cheil Jedang, Ajinomoto, PHW Group, Evonik, Kemin, Changchun Dacheng, Ningxia Eppen, Anhui BBCA, Threonine, TryptophanAccess Sample Copy:By Regions, this report covers North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, IndiaThe poultry segment, on the basis of livestock, is estimated to dominate the feed amino acids market, by livestock in 2017. Growth in concerns about animal health and rise in awareness about the benefits of amino acids in feedstuffs have led to an exponential growth of the poultry feed amino acids market.The dry feed amino acids segment, on the basis of form, is estimated to dominate the market in 2017. Several advantages offered by the dry form of feed amino acids such as ease of storage & handling, cost advantage over liquid form, and protection from processing heat are expected to drive this segment in the coming years.The report also looks into influential external factors likely to affect the development of the Global Feed Amino Acid Sales Market in the coming years. These include the technological framework of the industry and likely advances expected in the coming years, consumer preference patterns, economic environment, and the demand for alternative technologies and devices. The report presents studied 2018-2023 forecasts for the Global Feed Amino Acid Sales Market.Access to Remarkable Discount & Benefits on This Report:In the last sections of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report. The recent developments that took place in the Global Feed Amino Acid Sales Market and their impact on the future growth of the market have also been presented through this study.For More Information:Table of Contents:Global Feed Amino Acid Sales Market Research Report 2017Chapter 1: Global Feed Amino Acid Sales Market OverviewChapter 2: Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3: Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4: Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5: Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6: Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7: Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8: Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12: Global Feed Amino Acid Sales Market ForecastIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Access This Report Now:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Healthcare Security Systems Market Segments, Key Players Strategies, Analysis and Forecasts Till 2024

Market Research Future

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Global Healthcare Security Systems Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2024 Report Provides In-Depth Analysis of Parent Market Trends, Macro-Economic Indicators and Governing Factors Along With Market Attractiveness as Per Segments. On the other hand, high cost of security devices like radiofrequency identifiers may restrain the growth of this market. Global Healthcare security systems market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% during forecast period 2017 to 2023.MarketResearchFuture.com adds Healthcare Security Systems Market -2017 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2024 reports to its database.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Global Healthcare Security System Market - Overview:Protection and safety of patients is an important goal for every hospital small or big. Healthcare resources are scarce and are needed to be protected from robbery. These resources are vital for the patients as well as the healthcare provider. Hence, security system play an important role in healthcare sector. There are number of devices for security of patients and resources in healthcare like camera, radiofrequency identifiers, alarms, and many other types of security devices. Demand of security system in increasing with an increasing emphasis on patients security & wellness, improving quality of care provided in the hospital, growing patient pool, need for security of infants in hospitals, as well as availability of wide of surety systems. Radiofrequency identifier is one of the most widely used security devices across the globe. Restrains for this market are high cost of security devices and system failure at the time of emergency as well as unavailability of backup in hospitals.Further as cyberattack become a gradually common event, healthcare professionals must push security to the front. As of now, the state of healthcare security has opportunity for development in both the hospital and medical device setting in the healthcare industry. Healthcare organizations spend an average of 4% to 6% of IT budget on security, a much lower percentage when associated to the 12 to 15 percent investment of the financial industry. The low capital by healthcare organization may explain why 94 percent of medical institutions have experienced a cyber-attack. Regrettably, the security of medical devices is also abandoned because most vendors are stuck trying to find skilled developers and build security awareness.Global Healthcare Security System Market - Competitive Analysis:Key Market Driver:Security and protection is one of the most important factors in the healthcare market, which is very essential for health care institutes to upgrade by adding security systems in their healthcare institutes. Hence providing security and protection will play a major role in the growth of the security system market.ADT LLC dba ADT Security Services (U.S.), Avigilon (Canada), STANLEY Healthcare (France), Seico Security (U.S.), Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Atos SE (Germany), Johnson Controls (U.S), Allied Telesis, Inc. (U.S.) others are some of the prominent players and some major vendors includes Siemens AG, Bosch Security Systems, Tyco Integrated Security, Honeywell International, Inc., Schneider Electric, Nedap Security Management at the forefront of competition in the Global Healthcare Security System Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis.GET FULL REPORT @New Launches in Global Healthcare Security System Market:G4S launches new portable security system to protect patients. G4S, an integrated security company, has launched a portable monitoring system for vulnerable patients who have psychiatric disorders or cognitive conditions. Virtual Patient Watch is a security system that monitors patients and sends out an alarm if someone tries to get out of bed or has behavior that requires immediate medical attention. It is designed to enhance monitoring and security of patients who have psychiatric illnesses or cognitive conditions like Alzheimers and dementia. G4S is able to provide both the technology and security staff specifically trained for this environment, unlike any other solution on the marketGlobal Healthcare Security System Market - Regional AnalysisThe security risks in the healthcare industry is growing rapidly. These security risks have put pressure, the major reason for this pressure is due to hospitals which are being targeted frequently as they are the have most easily accessible premises. Thus these institutions and facilities are facing problems in providing treatment and services to their customers and patients with the fear of security. Thus all the healthcare institutes have made it essential to install security systems in their organizations.With players like BOSH securities systems and STANLEY securities in US the market is already in the growth stage and soon heading towards maturity. Security playing major role in the healthcare industry the healthcare security system market will have huge demand and the growth of this market will be phenomenal.With increasing crime and prisoners in Europe Hospitals, healthcare organizations and institutions are taken major steps in protecting their patients, customers and employees by prioritizing healthcare security systems in their Organizations and institutions. Increase In the healthcare security systems will lead to increase in the prices of healthcare services, but Europe has a growing GDP and Economy, hence pricing will not be an issue in the European healthcare industry as long as good security and services are provided.Every report of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Healthcare Security Systems Applications and Segmentation:Healthcare security systems applications by type are System Integration, Maintains and support service, system design and installations, by product access control system, smart cards, readers, biometric systems, chipper locks, wireless locks, fire safety system, radio frequency identification system, infant security system and video surveillance system. Healthcare security services By end users Clinic and public health laboratories, standard developed organizations, pharmaceuticals vendors, EHR (electronic health record) and PHR (Personal Health Record) vendors, healthcare IT vendors, clinical decision support system vendors, lab vendors, HIS Vendor and Health care institutions (Hospitals, long term care, Home care, Mental health)....CONTINUEDGET DISCOUNT @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312
Americas Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market Segments, Key Players Strategies, Analysis and Forecasts Till 2023

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American Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023 Report Provides In-Depth Analysis of Parent Market Trends, Macro-Economic Indicators and Governing Factors Along With Market Attractiveness as Per Segments.MarketResearchFuture.com adds Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market -2017 American Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2023 reports to its database.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Market Highlights of American Human Resources Software Market:Healthcare is one of the biggest sector to collect revenue in America. Human resource software plays an important role in healthcare sector. Human resource department operates various functions like recruitment, salary hikes, vacation leaves, bonus, training, management and payment benefits management. HR software offer various benefits like document control and security. North America has the highest share of revenue in Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market. Human resource professionals face many problems in their attempt to deliver the superior-quality health care to citizen. These is because of lack of budget, high rates of turnover and low morale of health personnel.In North America, Canada and USA are the most important countries to contribute the Healthcare HR software market. Because of lot of funding these country are leading in the HR software market. Canadian Healthcare system is publicly funded and divided into several groups like provincial and territorial governments, the federal government, physicians, nurses and allied health care professionals. The need to reduce the labour costs in hospital, increase in operational efficiency are the major factors for the growth of this market in America. North America share the total 65% of the global healthcare software market.Key Players for American Human Resources Software Market:IBM Corporation (U.S.), Infor, Inc. (U.S.), BambooHR (US), Oracle Corporation (U.S.), Kronos, Inc. (U.S.), McKesson Corporation (U.S.), Gusto (US), Halogen Software Inc(Canada), SumTotal Systems Inc. (US), Zenefits Z2 (US), and Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (U.S.).Segmentation of American Human Resources Software Market:HR software market has been segmented on the basis of administration software which are payroll, time and attendance, benefits management and others. On the basis of type of software like Recruiting, software-as-a-service (SaaS), core HR and others. By Organizations Type, Medium Businesses, Large Enterprises, Small Business. By user end, they are Pharmaceuticals, hospital and laboratories and other. By countries it is segmented as Canada, USA and Rest of America.GET FULL REPORT @American Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, by Countries:North America is the largest market for the healthcare human resource software market. This is because of development in healthcare sector. Among this Canada and USA are the two most important countries for healthcare human resource software market. USA has the highest share in North America followed by Canada.The report for North America Healthcare Human Resources Software of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different markets segments and regions.Major TOC of American Healthcare Human Resources (HR) Software Market:Chapter 1. IntroductionChapter 2. Research MethodologyChapter 3. Market DynamicsChapter 4. Market Factor AnalysisChapter 5. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By Administration SoftwareChapter 6. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, Type of SoftwareChapter 7. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By Organizations TypeChapter 8. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software by End UserChapter 9. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By CountriesChapter 10. Competitive LandscapeChapter 11. Company ProfileList of Tables:Table 1. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By Application, 2017-2023 (USD Million)Table 2. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By Administration SoftwareTable 3. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By Organizations TypeTable 4. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software by End UserTable 5. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market by Countries 2017-2023 (USD Million)List of Figures:Figure 1. Research ProcessFigure 2. Porters Five Forces ModelFigure 3. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By ApplicationFigure 4. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By Administration SoftwareFigure 5. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By Organizations TypeFigure 6. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market, By End UserFigure 7. Americas Healthcare Human Resources Software Market: Company Share Analysis, 2016 (%)...CONTINUEDGET DISCOUNT @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312
Global Port Infrastructure Market by Product Type, Application, End-User & Regions - Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2017-2022

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The Market Report provides an analytical assessment of the prime challenges faced by Port Infrastructure Market currently and in the coming years, which helps Market participants in understanding the problems they may face while operating in this Market over a longer period of time.The report on the Global Port Infrastructure Market is a comprehensive overview of the market, covering various aspects such as product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, distribution channel, supply chain analysis, and the prevailing vendor landscape. An in-depth regional classification of the market is also included herein. The report also presents a round-up of vulnerabilities which companies operating in the market must avoid in order to enjoy sustainable growth through the course of the forecast period.The market study, Global Port Infrastructure Industry 2017, has been compiled by industry experts and is based on a comprehensive analysis of this market in the world. The geographical distribution and various segments of the market are extensively studied in this report. The report also examines the market on the basis of the products. The pricing of products, production volume, supply chain dynamics, revenue generated as well as the policies influencing production are all described in this market study.Download Sample Copy:Company Profiled: The Top Key Players including Adani Ports, The Great Eastern Shipping Company, Essar Ports Limited (EPL), Shipping Corporation Of India, Gujarat Pipavav Port, Shreyas Shipping And Logistic, Krishnapatnam Port, Kakinada Seaports, DP World, APM Terminal.A market study based on the Port Infrastructure across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Port Infrastructure Market 2017. The Research report is a market-oriented, technical, and commercial research analysis of this market. Primary sources included for the analysis include preferred suppliers, industry experts from core and associated industries, manufacturers, service providers, distributors, and organizations allied to the entire segments of the industry supply chain.The analysis is completed using a wide range of secondary sources, databases and directories in order to identify and assemble market data. After the basic information, the Port Infrastructure Market report sheds light on the production. Production plants, their capacities, Global production and revenue are studied. Also, the Port Infrastructure Industry growth in various regions and R&D status are also covered.For more Information:Further in the Port Infrastructure Industry Analysis report, this Market is examined for price, cost and gross. These three points are analyzed for types, companies and regions. In continuation with this data sale price is for various types, applications and region is also included. The Market consumption for major regions is given. Additionally, type wise and application wise consumption figures are also given.Major Region includes:United StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaIn this Market report analysis, traders and distributors analysis is given along with contact details. For material and equipment suppliers also, contact details are given. New investment feasibility analysis and Port Infrastructure Industry growth is included in the report.To provide information on competitive landscape, this report includes detailed profiles of Port Infrastructure Market key players. For each player, product details, capacity, price, cost, gross and revenue numbers are given. Their contact information is provided for better understanding.Complete Report:About QYReports:We at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:Jones John(Sales Manager)QYReports+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Europe, Middle East & Africa Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market Segments, Key Players Strategies, Analysis and Forecasts Till 2023

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Europe, the Middle East and Africa Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023 Report Provides In-Depth Analysis of Parent Market Trends, Macro-Economic Indicators and Governing Factors Along With Market Attractiveness as Per Segments. The Europe, the Middle East and Africa Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market is expected to grow at a rate of 12% CAGR during the forecasted period for both regions.MarketResearchFuture.com adds Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market -2017 Europe, the Middle East and Africa Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2023 reports to its database.GET FULL REPORT @Market Highlights of Europe, the Middle East and Africa Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market:The healthcare industry are growing very rapidly in terms of storing and managing data of patients in large amount. The hospitals and clinics are encountering more and more number of patients every day. The rise in the patients is due to growing population. It is becoming difficult to maintain the data on papers and handling files. It also becomes difficult for the hospitals and clinics to find information of the old patient visiting the hospital again.The problem for this has been solved, the large data can be stored paperless. This is possible because of the advanced information technologies. It is mandatory of the healthcare industry to save their data this has been made compulsory by European Union under the action plan for 2012-2022 to meet requirement of European eHealth Record (EHR).The data stored in the hospitals, clinics and the healthcare companies are very important and confidential data. The data need to be kept secured and the data archiving and ediscovery help them to keep secure. Moreover this technologies helps to identify, collect the electronic data and also preserve them. This data is reviewed and assisted for government and legal proceedings. The data is stored by two methods on-premise software and cloud based software. These methods helps to maintain the data for the long term use.The storage of data is done for the basic purpose of incorporating the genomics with the clinical care, to create and increase interest in the personal health records and results and to shift data from paper to electronic storage medium. Furthermore the technology benefit the user by reducing the cost of data storage and maintenance, eliminating issues for data conversions, helps in merging of data with other data, and also reduces the risk for enquires while audits and litigations and it also simplify the access to data for the authority person. In Europe, Middle East & Africa healthcare sector is the growing field in the digital industry. The Europe has good market for archiving and the ediscovery of the healthcare data, but the Middle East and Africa is quite slow growing market than Europe and America. The amount of data created by hospitals is quite high and the skilled labors are also available to handle it. The Middle East market is slow growing because of slow economies and unskilled labors.Key Players for Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market:Some of the Key Players in This Market Are: Stryker Corporation, GE Healthcare, NextGen Healthcare, Siemens, Allscripts, Meditech, Mckesson, Novarad, ScImage, NaviNet, eClinical works and many more.Segmentation of Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market:The Market is segmented on the basis of type, method and data storage. On the basis of type (Archiving and eDiscovery) on the basis of method (On-premise system and cloud system) and on the basis of data storage (Revenue cycle management system, Electronic health record, Practice management system, Laboratory information system, Radiology information system and Picture archiving system)GET SAMPLE REPORT @Regional Analysis of Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market:The market for Europe, Middle East & Africa is divided into two major region Europe and Middle East & Africa. The market for the archiving and the ediscovery is further divided country wise for both the regions. The countries covered European regions are Western Europe, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, U.K and rest of Western Europe. Whereas the Middle East and Africa are the two different regions. The European Union has their own specific rules and standards for the European eHealth Records (EHR) and are specific to specific countries in this region. There are some countries those have partially adopted these rules and standards. Also the European Union has various schemes for the EHR. These rules are meant for the interoperability of the EHR. The Middle East and African countries are not that developed as compared to other developing and developed countries, they lack the infrastructure and skilled labors to operate the technology. The market is slow growing for this region.The report for Europe, Middle East & Africa Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different markets segments and regions.Major TOC of Europe, the Middle East and Africa Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market:Chapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market IntroductionChapter 3. Research MethodologyChapter 4. Market DynamicsChapter 5. Market Factor AnalysisChapter 6. Europe, Middle East & Africa Healthcare Archiving and EDiscovery Market, By TypeChapter 7. Europe, Middle East & Africa Healthcare Archiving and EDiscovery Market, By Storage MethodChapter 8. Europe, Middle East & Africa Healthcare Archiving and EDiscovery Market, By Data StorageChapter 9. Europe, Middle East & Africa Healthcare Archiving and EDiscovery Market, By CountryChapter 10. Company Profile...CONTINUEDGET DISCOUNT @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312
Ill admit Im reluctant to criticize The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper because I am a great fan of everyone on it. The show has a talented cast and a talented writing staff and Im very glad all these people are working. Still, Im kind of baffled the show is on the air. Its dreadfully uninteresting and doesnt seem to have any point of view other than, all this stuff thats going on is pretty crazy. Which is true, but, youd think the bar might be somewhat higher, especially for talent of this caliber? In theory its a parody of fringe right-wing media like Infowars, but in practice it sounds like any other liberal comedy show. Theres usually some veneer of conspiracist lunacy, but its all pretty flimsy and transparently in the service of a liberal point of view. Consider this segment on Oprah from yesterdays show:

Jordan fears a potential threat to Trump in 2020: Oprah Winfrey. Watch tonight at 11:30. pic.twitter.com/d0c5H20fiN  The Opposition (@TheOpposition) January 9, 2018

We cant ignore this threat to Trump in 2020. I mean, Win is Oprah Freys middle name. What? Fine, okay, good pun, definitely something Alex Jones might say, yup. Lets just look at Oprahs scandals. To start, she has a private email server. We hate that. Also, I dont see anything about Benghazi in O Magazine. She doesnt care at all. And whos to say that ISIS isnt on Oprahs list of favorite things? Plus, if Oprah takes office, shell start saying to America, You get a healthcare, you get a healthcare, you get a healthcare, you get a healthcare! Its like conservative buzzword Mad Libs. Or, no, its like a bunch of Sunday and Mondays most common Twitter jokes strung together. (Okay, the bread punchline is pretty funny.) Its entertaining and quotable and it doesnt say anything at all about the likes of Alex Jones, who of course had a much darker response to the prospects of an Oprah candidacy: They want to call Trump a Nazi? Look out, lady. We know what youre designed to do. Youre the black face to carry out the enslavement of black folks and everybody else. No wonder The Opposition prefers a more toothless approachthe reality of right wing media is quite painful to gaze upon.

So I was interested to see Klepper was a guest on yesterdays Off Message podcast from POLITICO. I thought he might give some insight into The Oppositions point of view, which he did, somewhat, but it also seems a bit like he hasnt watched the show hes on. By that I mean he leans very hard on his notion of The Opposition as a character-based satire, as though the obvious transparency of these charactersthe overwhelming reluctance to actually gaze into the abyss of nativist, racist right-wing mediadoesnt make the whole project sort of, well, a joke:

I got to create a show after Donald Trump was president. I wanted talk about the news, I love the news, its what Im living, I want to comment on that. But for me, the fun way to do that, instead of just being mad every day, is to play with it. And so I think character-based satireI can show it, I can be more show than tell, I can play with with the wildness of it. If he says he needs a button, I can explore what that means. If hes obfuscating the truth with, like, creating fake villains, I can create real villains and get kidnapped on television I can use those constraints to, like, play Because I get tired of just yelling at Donald Trump and, look how dumb he is. And so for us, were like, lets try to find some fun in the new and like, lets show it. Lets show these tactics. Well be talking about him anyway, right? Lets not be mad about it. Lets lets expose it by playing with it.

It all makes good sense: Enacting a thing indeed opens different comedic possibilities than just commentating on it. But when Klepper says The Oppositions approach allows him to explore what Trump means by his nuclear button tweet, heres how that manifests in reality:

The joke in this bitthe thing he exposes by playing with Trumps wordsis that Chris Pine and Chris Pratt are the same person. Not all that hard-hitting, is it? Its silly, and maybe even funny, but to my eyes it does exactly the thing Klepper says hes tired of. It holds something upTrump to an extent, and conspiracy theorists to a greater extentand says, Look how dumb this is.

Which isnt all that bad! Klepper observes elsewhere in the interview that one great function of late night comedy right now is to provide catharsis. I think a lot of people find catharsis in this weird time and so they turn to late night shows, he says. They turn to shows that are talking about this. And that is a cathartic moment: Were all in this together. Can you believe this is happening? I dont want to downplay the value of comedy providing people with that kind of release. But I do think its worth asking of any show, why you? Why now? What do you do differently? What do you offer that I cant get anywhere else?

In The Oppositions case, I really cant come up with any compelling answers. A few breaths after that last thought, Klepper says his team makes an effort not to preach to the choir and not to dunk only on Trump: We try to stay honest and we try to stay open and making fun of the things that dont have to be partisan based, he tells host Edward-Isaac Dovere. Theyre, a lot of times, aimed at good ol DT, but we have to keep asking ourselves a question: What do we really think on this? Heres a recent example of one of those non-partisan segments:

On tonights Post-Oppo, Laura Grey leaks her exclusive conversation with Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff. pic.twitter.com/hDuxoLpy3J  The Opposition (@TheOpposition) January 5, 2018

The bit here is Laura Grey playing a drunk Trump supporter surreptitiously recording a conversation with Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff. Its, again, perfectly entertaining and perfectly devoid of any message other than These people are dumb. What does The Opposition really think on this? I couldnt tell you. Its not that I think the segment is dumb or wrongheaded or counterproductive; I just think it doesnt do anything. And it doesnt seem too unreasonable to expect that the people who get to be on late night television might do something with their platform.

The most revealing part of the interview, to me, comes when Dovere asks how Klepper gets into character. Do you have to do anything to, like, method it out? he inquires. Because its not you, right? Its really very much not you and I know youre probably tired of the Colbert comparison, but I feel like your character is more distant from who you are than even Colbert was from who his character was.

First of all: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what? Kleppers character is almost completely indistinguishable from his normal (public) persona. Its heightened, sure, but its hardly more performative than, say, Trevor Noahs on-air personality on The Daily Show. Or, I dont know, Kleppers on-air personality on The Daily Show. See:

Secondly: I suppose I cant blame Klepper for thinking hes doing the thing hes trying to do, but his answer still strikes me as oblivious. Here:

Im not a one-to-oneI know Colbert was, like, one-to-one with OReilly, or someone, or Stone Phillips, in that world too. I think, like, Im using the energy and the world of like an Alex Jones. Im in the body of a Tucker Carlson or maybe even worseJesse Watters. Geez, I cant believe Im saying it. But I think the right and the fringe all kind of are starting to melt. And so Im borrowing from those things.

(Then he says he doesnt really get into character because theyre writing the show pretty much up until the moment it records.)

I say this strikes me as oblivious because I think its very clear why The Opposition is on television. Jordan Klepper is a funny, handsome white guy with a good resume. Hes host material; his correspondents are correspondent material. He absolutely does not resemble Tucker Carlson or Jesse Watters (I know hes exaggerating, but, come on, dude). Who he resembles is Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. In the same sense, The Opposition resembles a late night news satire: It features comedians playing over-the-top characters riffing on the days events. Everyone is very talented and the jokes are sometimes pretty funny. But they dont say anything; with the exception of Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharps Milo Yiannopoulos-types, they barely even take aim at their ostensible targets. And when the show occasionally nails the form of fringe right wing media, it rarely nails the substance, treading instead in safe territoryChris Pine and Chris Pratt look similar, conservatives hate free healthcare, Trump supporters are dumb, lol. Its easy, its unsurprising, its boring.

And its disappointing. As Klepper tells Dovere, were living in an important time for comedy. There is a surplus of voices struggling to be heardto provide the catharsis people seek and deserve. It would be nice if the voices who break through the noise said something different than the noise itself. Listening to his interview, I was reminded of something Ed Helms told The Daily Beast in advance of his own lifeless iteration of The Opposition, The Fake News with Ted Nelms:

Its now been more than a decade since you left The Daily Show. What are the biggest changes youve seen in the media over that time?

When I was on The Daily Show, my boss at the time, Jon Stewart, went on CNN, the show was called Crossfire, and he said to them, Youre hurting America. Because they were just doing this cage-match journalism. Just these guys yelling at each other. And Tucker Carlson was on the show at the time, hes now on Fox News. What was so interesting is that right after thatand I dont know if it was because of Jon, but it was certainly part of a moment of retrospection for CNNthey canceled Crossfire. And I think that was a smart move. And a responsible move. Now, when you turn on CNN, it doesnt even matter what show it is or what time of day it is. Its a version of Crossfire.

Yeah, its all Crossfire.

Its all Crossfire, 24/7. And every network has taken up that approach and I think thats a very sad development. But its fun to make fun of.

Its sadHelms doesnt appear to realize the indictment hes making. Twelve years ago Jon Stewart exposed the lunacy of mainstream right wing media. The immediate effect was the cancellation of one show, but the long-term effect was nothing. The lunacy took over. It won. Now the fringes are even loonier. And the response of Jon Stewarts successors is to keep making carbon copies of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report? Youll have to forgive me if Im not all that inspired.

Its clear Klepper wants to tell us more than what we already knowthat Trump is dumb, that Alex Jones is dumb, that the right wing is dumb. Whats not clear is whether he knows anything we dont already. Well, were waiting. What do you really think?

Seth Simons is Pastes assistant comedy editor. Follow him on Twitter.
Glenn Simpson is a former Wall Street Journal reporter who gained notoriety thanks to his dogged reporting on financial malfeasanceespecially when he helped expose the the Keating savings and loan scandal that wrapped up several Senators, including John McCain. His specialty lies in document recovery, and he is an expert on money laundering and other financial crimes. After leaving the WSJ, he started his own opposition research consulting firm. Eventually he would come to create Fusion GPS, whose name has become synonymous with the infamous dossier compiled by former British secret agent Christopher Steele. On August 22nd of last year, Simpson testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Republican chairman Chuck Grassley said that he was not planning to release the transcript yet, despite saying in August that the committee would vote on whether to release the text of Simpsons testimony. The committee never voted on that matter. Grassley and Lindsey Graham issued a criminal referral to the Justice Department for Steele last weekescalating an already testy situation between Senate Democrats and Republicans. Seemingly in response, yesterday, Dianne Feinstein released the entire 312-page transcript of Glenn Simpsons testimony (this is my way of letting you know that this article will be long).

The American people deserve the opportunity to see what he said and judge for themselves, Feinstein asserted. The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice. The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public.

Its totally confounding that Senator Feinstein would unilaterally release a transcript of a witness interview in the middle of an investigation, Grassley told CNNs Manu Raju. President Trump isnt too happy either.

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

The questioning in this unclassified session centered on Fusion GPS' activity, including both the Trump dossier as well as the work they did to reveal Bill Browder's financial conflicts. Browder is a name you may know thanks to his lobbying on behalf of the Magnitsky Act. He made gobs of money in Vladimir Putin's Russia (red flag), and Simpson dug into Browder's hedge fund to reveal some dirty tricks. This is important because Browder is ostensibly a U.S. ally in this fight, and Simpson was working on behalf of Baker Hostetlera law firm representing Prevezona Russian company who was supposed to appear in a U.S. court in the largest money laundering case in Russian history (the case was settled because U.S. prosecutors were worried they may lose in court or win a pyrrhic victory).

If you came here for simplicity, well, sorry. Simpson finds himself on both sides of this feud between Russia and the United States. He helped to discredit a man working to impose sanctions on Russia (and perhaps, the sanctions themselves), while digging in to the connections between Russia and the President of the United States. Simpson is very much an old-school journalist and tries to hide behind his bona fides on that front, while dismissing the uncomfortable reality that arises from the fact that he now operates in the shadows that he once was dedicated to exposing for the public's benefit. Now he exposes them to the highest bidder.

Here are the 13 most important excerpts of this nearly ten-hour interview.

MR. DAVIS (Deputy Chief Investigative Counsel, Chairman Grassley): Did Fusion ever work with subcontractors on its Prevezon or Magnitsky efforts?

MR. SIMPSON: Yes.

MR. DAVIS: Who were they?

MR. LEVY (Simpson's lawyer): Just to clarify that, your question was  can you repeat the question, please?

MR. DAVIS: Sure. Did Fusion ever work with subcontractors on its Prevezon or Magnitsky efforts?

MR. LEVY: What do you mean by Magnitsky efforts?

MR. DAVIS: I mean all matters related to the efforts with the media, government officials, and campaigns  or campaigns to overturn the Magnitsky Act, prevent the passage of the global Magnitsky Act, remove the word Magnitsky from the law  from either law, as well as the Russian ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children.

MR. LEVY: And you were also asking about subcontractors for Prevezon as well?

MR. DAVIS: I'm asking whether Fusion ever worked with subcontractors on those issues.

MR. SIMPSON: Well, I object to the question the way the question is framed. You've sort of built into the question the sort of inference that we were doing something other than working on a legal case, and there's extensive public record, documentation in Pacer of the work that we did and it was a legal case. So I don't  it's going to be difficult because it's really hard for me to answer questions where you lump in all these things that other people were doing and impute them to me.

MR. SIMPSON: [Browder] was willing to, you know, hand stuff off to the DOJ anonymously in the beginning and cause them to launch a court case against somebody, but he wasn't interesting in speaking under oath about, you know, why he did that, his own activities in Russia.

So looking at the public record we determined that he did come to the United States frequently, and I discovered through public records that he seemed to own a house in Aspen, Colorado, a very expensive mansion, over $10 million, which he had registered in the name of a shell company in a clear attempt to disguise the ownership of the property. We were able to ascertain that he does use that property because he registered cars to that property with the Colorado DMV in the name of William Browder.

So we began looking for public information about when he might be in Aspen, Colorado, and I found a listing on the Aspen Institute Website about an appearance he was going to make there in the summer of 2014. So we  I served him a subpoena in the parking lot of the Aspen Institute in the summer of 2014 using two people  two subcontractors. Actually, those other subcontractors were  their names escape me, but I forgot about those. We can get you that. This is all in the Pacer court record, the public court record.

In any event, the three of us served  there was another subcontractor working for the law firm whose name I also forget. I did not retain him, but I was asked to work with him on this. He is a private investigator and we can get you his name. In any event, we served him the subpoena and he ran away. He dropped it on the ground and he ran away. He jumped in his car and went back to his mansion.

MS. SAWYER (Chief Oversight Counsel, Senator Feinstein): So you had mentioned a few minutes ago that you had done some political or campaign research in the course of the 2016 presidential election and you clarified that that was work related to then Candidate and now President Trump. What can you tell us about that work? Can you just describe it first generally and then I'll ask you some follow-up.

MR. SIMPSON: It was, broadly speaking, a kind of holistic examination of Donald Trump's business record and his associations, his bankruptcies, his suppliers, you know, offshore or third-world suppliers of products that he was selling. You know, it evolved somewhat quickly into issues of his relationships to organized crime figures but, you know, really the gamut of Donald Trump.

(later in this round of questioning)

MS. SAWYER: So with regard to this engagement in September  that began initially in September or October 2015, what were you asked specifically to do by the client?

MR. SIMPSON: I don't have specific recollection of there being a specific tasking. I believe it was why don't you take a look at Donald Trump, it looks like he may, you know, be more successful than people think, something  there was some level of insight that he had a better shot than people were giving him at the time, but it was on open-ended request like most of the things that we get.

(later)

MS. SAWYER: Were you in any way limited in the research that you did or the facts that you wanted to pursue?

MR. SIMPSON: I mean, in general it's very rare for someone to tell me look here, don't look there. For the most part we are looking at  you know, we're trying to understand something big. So it's really counterproductive for somebody to tell you look here, don't look there, I'm interested in X but not Y. So we generally sort of push back when that happens, but I have to say we sort of set the rules at the beginning and people, you know, accepted those terms. So generally that's what we explain to people in the beginning of our engagements, you know, let us do our jobs and that's the way it works best.

4. Trump's Relationship with Felix Sater (That I Detailed in My Deep Dive in to Trump's Businesses) Raised Tons of Red Flags for Simpson

MR. SIMPSON: As it happens, Felix Sater was, you know, connected to the same Russian crime family that was at issue in the Prevezon case, which is the dominant Russian crime family in Russia and has a robust U.S. presence and is involved in a lot of crime and criminal activity in the United States and for many years was the  the leader of this family was on the FBI most wanted list and lives openly in Moscow as a fugitive from U.S. law for a very elaborate stock fraud.

MS. SAWYER: Who is that individual and family?

MR. SIMPSON: The first name is Semyon, the last name is Mogilevich. Mogilevich is sometimes referred to as the brainy Don because he runs very sophisticated schemes including, according to the FBI, involving natural gas pipelines in Europe, and he's wanted in connection with an elaborate stock fraud called YBM Magnex that was took place in the Philadelphia area.

You know, Russian organized crime is very different from Italian organized crime. It's much more sort of a hybrid kind of thing where they're involved in politics and banking and there's even a lot of connections between the mafia and the KGB or the FSB and cyber crime, things that the Italians sort of never figured out. Stock fraud in particular was the big thing in the U.S. In any event, all of that entered into my thinking when I saw that Donald Trump was in business with Felix Sater in the Trump Soho project and a number of other controversial condo projects.

MS. SAWYER: And what, if anything, did you conclude about the connection between and in the business dealings that then Candidate Trump had had with Mr. Sater?

MR. SIMPSON: Well, somewhat analogous to the Browder situation I found it notable this was something he didn't want to talk about and testified under oath he wouldn't know Felix if he ran into him in the street. That was not true. He knew him well and, in fact, continued to associate with him long after he learned of Felix's organized crime ties. So, you know, that tells you something about somebody. So I concluded that he was okay with that and that was a troubling thing. I also, you know, began to  I keep saying I, but we as a company began to look at where his money came from and, you know, that raised a lot of questions. We saw indications that some of the money came from Kazakhstan, among other places, and that some of it you just couldn't account for.

You know, we also conducted a much broader sort of look at his entire career and his overseas investments in places like Europe and Latin America. You know, it wasn't really a Russia focused investigation for the first half of it. That was just one component of a broader look at his business career, his finances.

MS. SAWYER: So in May or June 2016 you hired Christopher Steele to, as you've just indicated, find out what he could about Donald Trump's business activities in Russia. Did something in particular trigger that assignment?

MR. SIMPSON: No, I don't think I could point to something in particular as a trigger. I mean, the basis for the request was he had made a number of trips to Russia and talked about doing a number of business deals but never did one, and that struck me as a little bit odd and calling for an explanation.

You know, in the background of all international business is questions about corruption. The Trump organization had branched out all over the world in like the four to eight years prior to 2016. So in any kind of investigation you would naturally want to know whether there was some issue with improper business relationships.

I'll just stress that we weren't looking for  at least it wasn't at the forefront of my mind there was going to be anything involving the Russian government per se, at least not that I recall.

MR. DAVIS: Do you know Natalia Veselnitskaya?

MR. SIMPSON: Yes.

MR. DAVIS: When did you first interact with Ms. Veselnitskaya?

MR. SIMPSON: I believe it was sometime in 2014.

MR. DAVIS: Has Fusion ever worked with Ms. Veselnitskaya?

MR. SIMPSON: Didn't I just answer that? Yes. I mean, she was the lawyer, the Russian lawyer who retained Baker Hostetler who retained us. So when you say worked with, I don't know that as a technical meaning, but we interacted with her as part of the Prevezon litigation.

(later in the testimony)

MR. DAVIS: Do you have any reasons to believe that Ms. Veselnitskaya has ties to the Russian government?

MR. SIMPSON: I know what I've read in the newspaper.

MR. DAVIS: Beyond that?

MR. SIMPSON: Beyond that my impression of her was of someone who, you know, was a very smart and ambitious lawyer, but not like a big political player in the Kremlin. Of course given to wonder given all the recent events and disclosures that I was unaware of whether my assessment of her was right or wrong. As we sit here today, the jury's kind of out. I honestly can tell you all I knew is she didn't seem to be a heavy hitter in the Kremlin world.

MR. SIMPSON: We've seen hacking in politics before, but this kind of, you know, mass theft of e-mail and then to dump it all into, you know, the public sphere was extraordinary and it was criminal.

So the question by now of whether this was Russia and whether this might have something to do with the other information that we'd received was, you know, the immediate question, and I think this is also  by the time this memo was written Chris had already met with the FBI about the first memo. So he's  if I can interpret a little bit here. In his mind this is already a criminal matter, there's already a potential national security matter here.

I mean, this is basically about a month later and there's a lot of events that occurred in between. You know, after the first memo, you know, Chris said he was very concerned about whether this represented a national security threat and said he wanted to  he said he thought we were obligated to tell someone in government, in our government about this information. He thought from his perspective there was an issue  a security issue about whether a presidential candidate was being blackmailed.

8. Simpson Confirmed the NYT Report Saying the FBI's Inquiry Began Thanks to a Source in the Trump Camp

MS. SAWYER: You said that [Steele] told you of the meeting with the FBI in Rome in mid or late September, that he gave them a full briefing?

MR. SIMPSON: A debrief I think is what he probably said, they had debriefed him. I don't remember him articulating the specifics of that. You know, my understanding was that they would have gotten into who his sources were, how he knew certain things, and, you know, other details based on their own intelligence. Essentially what he told me was they had other intelligence about this matter from an internal Trump campaign source and that  that they  my understanding was that they believed Chris at this point  that they believed Chris's information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization.

MS. SAWYER: And did you have any understanding then or now as to who that human intelligence source from inside the Trump campaign might have been?

MR. LEVY: He's going to decline to answer that question.

MS. SAWYER: On what basis?

MR. SIMPSON: Security.

A source close to Fusion GPS tells me there was no walk-in source  that was a mischaracterization by Simpson of the Australian diplomat tip about Papadopoulis.  Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) January 9, 2018

9. The NYT Was Briefed by Steele, yet Still Published a an Article a Week before the Election Saying the FBI Concluded There Was Nothing to Trump-Russia

MR. DAVIS: So with the second one on page 8 of Exhibit 5, under the response to Steeles attorneys state The journalists initially briefed at the end of September 2016 by the second Defendant and Fusion at Fusions instruction were from the New York Times, the Washington Post, Yahoo News, the New Yorker, and CNN. The second Defendant  that would be Mr. Steele  subsequently participated in further meetings at Fusions instruction with Fusion and the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Yahoo News which took place in mid-October 2016.

MR. DAVIS: Now, with regard to  just to finish up on the interactions with FBI, do you know were there any additional interactions between Mr. Steele and the FBI?

MR. SIMPSON: There was some sort of interaction, I think it was probably telephonic that occurred after Director Comey sent his letter to Congress reopening the investigation into Hillary Clintons e-mails. That episode, you know, obviously created some concern that the FBI was intervening in a political campaign in contravention of long-standing Justice Department regulation.

So it made a lot of people, including us, concerned about what the heck was going on at the FBI. So, you know, we began getting questions from the press about, you know, whether they were also investigating Trump and, you know, we encouraged them to ask the FBI that question. You know, I think  Im not sure weve covered this fully, but, you know, we just encouraged them to ask the FBI that question.

On October 31st the New York Times posed a story saying that the FBI is investigating Trump and found no connections to Russia and, you know, it was a real Halloween special. Sometime thereafter the FBI  I understand Chris severed his relationship with the FBI out of concern that he didnt know what was happening inside the FBI and there was a concern that the FBI was being manipulated for political ends by the Trump people and that we didnt really understand what was going on. So he stopped dealing with them.

MS. SAWYER: And did he ever tell you that information in any of these memos, that he had concerns that any of it was disinformation?

MR. SIMPSON: No. What he said was disinformation is an issue in my profession, that is a central concern and that we are trained to spot disinformation, and if I believed this was disinformation or I had concerns about that I would tell you that and Im not telling you that. Im telling you that I dont believe this is disinformation.

MR. FOSTER (Chief Investigative Counsel, Senator Grassley): Earlier you talked about evaluating the credibility of the information in the memoranda that you were being provided by Mr. Steele and, by way of summary, you talked about your belief that he was credible and that you had worked with him before and the information he had provided you had been reliable in the past. Did you take any steps to try to assess the credibility of his sources, his unnamed sources in the material that he was providing to you?

MR. SIMPSON: Yes, but Im not going to get into sourcing information.

MR. FOSTER: So without getting into naming the sources or anything like that, what steps did you take to try to verify their credibility?

MR. SIMPSON: Im going to decline to answer that.

MR. FOSTER: Why?

MR. LEVY: Its a voluntary interview, and in addition to that he wants to be very careful to protect his sources. Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work.

MR. DAVIS: Has Fusion GPS ever offered directly or indirectly to pay journalists to publish information?

MR. SIMPSON: No.

MR. DAVIS: Are you aware of any Fusion clients offering directly or indirectly to pay journalists to publish information from Fusion?

MR. LEVY: While working for Fusion on a Fusion matter or as a general matter?

MR. FOSTER: Can you let the witness answer.

MR. LEVY: Well, if the questions clear he can answer any question 

MR. FOSTER: I think the question was clear.

MR. LEVY:  within the scope of the interview 

MR. DAVIS: Are there any of Fusions clients offering 

THE REPORTER: Guys.

Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling.
For Subscribers Alongside pandemic, longer-term trends seen driving labor shortage

Observers say COVID-19 has aggravated difficulties in lining up candidates for jobs, but they also see trends that took root pre-pandemic at work.
Recital recordings can often reflect idol worship at the expense of narrative cohesion. Classical musicians prize Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and nearly everyone else in the established canon, hence their endless programmability on the stage and the stereo. Still, finding substantial connections between composers and repertoire, something beyond a relatively simple greatest hits compilation of sorts, isnt always valued by modern day performers. With Bach, Busoni, Beethoven violinist Yukko Shiokawa and pianist Andras Schiff draw a line from Baroque stateliness to Romantic introspection using Busoni as the connective guide.

With four movements paired in slow-fast-slow-fast sequence, J.S. Bachs Sonata No. 3 in E Major exemplifies how crucial subtlety can be. Shiokawa sustains her melodies in the opening Adagio like an endless strand of gold string, growing in conviction as the phrases begin and gently tapering off as they conclude. Likewise, the subsequent Allegro is packed with gestural moments where she deftly demonstrates her nuance for articulation and attack. All the while Schiff finds the balance between the steady drive of his left hand with a light and poised attack of his right.

A sorrowful melody trades back and forth between violin and piano on third movement Adagio, ma non tanto. Both Shiokawa and Schiff are graceful with their phrasing and dialogue, yet their balance doesnt seem to ever find a proper footing. Its unclear whether its related to their performance or the final recording mixing, but there always seems to be an overwrought soloistaccompanist hierarchy between the violin and the piano, and it tends to mute the graceful intermingling between the two voices. The concluding Allegro is a joyous rampage of sixteenth notes that display Shiokawa and Schiff at their most exuberant state throughout the entire work.

With his extensive essays, commentary, and transcriptions, the Italian Ferruccio Busoni is irrevocably linked to the keyboard music of J.S. Bach. Nonetheless, theres an urgency in Busonis own compositions that move them beyond any Baroque-worship. His Sonata No. 2 in E Minor is an extended affair, a complex stream-of-consciousness work that wavers from dissonant rumblings to soaring victorious flights. Shiokawa and Schiff meditate on the works involved nature in the opening Langsam while infusing the following Presto with a wealth of energy to keep it dancing.

Busoni, nonetheless, acknowledges Bachs influence in a notably grandiose way with the concluding Andante con moto, a 17-minute theme and variation set based upon the chorale Wie wohl ist mir, o Freund Der Seelen, wenn ich in deiner Liebe ruh. Using Bachs chorale as source material Shiokawa and Schiff explore songs and dances, examining the both the damned and the divine in Busonis exploration of harmony and melody. The musical interpretation is relatively straightforward, a celebration of the music that doesnt over-glorify overtly romantic sentiments. Intimacy is valued.

Likewise, Beethovens composed his Sonata No. 10 in G Major with ample consideration for similar intimate musical moments. Pierre Rode, the French violinist intended for the works premiere, was well known for his touch and musical sensitivity, so all likelihood points to his presence as a standing influence on the compositions sensibility. Being the last of Beethovens violin sonatas, however, points to the influence of maturity and introspection on the sonatas complex depth.

Shiokawa and Schiff deliver a fine reading of the work, emotive yet not too dramatic. The dynamic range feels slightly compressed when compared to the rest of the recordthe highs arent as high, and the lows dont drip down to what weve already heard. Thats not to say their performance isnt effective; rather, its more revealing of a duo who clearly understand both what this work is and how to deliver an honest interpretation. The two are longtime musical partners, and their connection is perhaps best reflected in their balanced and reserved performance of Beethovens work.
The weather warm-up feels good, but the previous week I thought we were under attack. Now we have a term of "bomb cyclone" winter storms that can be used to traumatize small children and even some adults.

That stretch of winter storms had an impact on many areas. In Minnesota no amount of snow or cold really surprises us.

One of my sisters lives in Duluth, and last week I told her I was driving up for a couple of days. She responded with, "You do realize that it's 50 below, don't you?"

Like any Minnesota driver I filled up with gas, cell phone was charged and threw in an extra jacket and blanket. Stories were abounding of frostbite, shoveling dangers and winter peril.

The drive went fine and after waking up in a hotel the following morning I decided to head outside to make sure my truck started. Heck, the weather had warmed up. It was 22 below with a 40-below wind-chill advisory.

The truck did start and after a few minutes of letting it idle, I hustled back into the hotel for coffee and breakfast. The desk clerk asked me the classic question, "Cold enough for ya?"

I don't mind winter. I feel tough out there with my four-wheel drive, doing what I need to do. My wife on the other hand is getting to disapprove of Minnesota winters.

She was getting testy during the cold snap and was putting on a bigger coat each day. She has quite a few coats.

Despite this, we are anchored here in Minnesota with our grandkids a couple of miles away. However, as they get older, maybe trips south are in our future.

We all have friends who have pointed their vehicles south a month or two ago or have made the permanent move. I thought I would check in with some of my southern acquaintances.

My friend Jan grew up on a farm and graduated from Chatfield High School. Jan, along with her four siblings, helped mom and dad with chores year around  humid and hot or bitterly cold.

Jan obtained her nursing degree and started work at Olmsted Community Hospital. Eventually she was hired by the Federal Medical Center in 1985.

Jan departed Minnesota in 1992 when she transferred to Lexington, Kentucky, and then headed to Maryland in 1995. Jan told me that once you get away from the long, cold winters, by gosh, you don't miss them  at all.

As time went by she had young grandkids in Arizona and Minnesota, and knew she needed to make a change and pick one of those spots to relocate, too.

Hmm, Minnesota or Arizona? Jan picked Arizona. In 2008 Jan sold her Maryland home and headed to Arizona. She loves it.

She does return to Minnesota quite often to visit her oldest son and his family. This includes coming occasionally during Christmas on a rotating schedule. Jan said she gets made fun of when she is here as she piles on the clothes in a desperate attempt to stay warm.

My friend Rick and his wife, Cindy, grew up in Minnesota. Both are active in outdoor activities including winter sports.

However, once they both retired they found their perfect spot in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas for wintertime. They have a fifth wheel with all the comforts of home. Rick is a competitive skeet shooter and Cindy is an avid bicyclist and now they can enjoy those activities year-round.

Since this started a few years ago Rick says his level of tolerance for cold has turned to wimpy.

They return to Minnesota when the landscape thaws out as Rick works for the DNR as a seasonal watercraft safety and invasive species inspector on Crow Wing County Lakes and Cindy works for the Brainerd schools.

They have this thing figured out  enjoying the best of both worlds  Texas warmth and Minnesota beauty.

The final friend I checked in with was a former colleague who lived in upstate New York for 23 years. The winters were brutal and Roger and his wife made the relocation decision and bought a home in Florida. A tax break also helped with that decision.

Roger feels his choice was the right one, in particular, when he sees that the East Coast or Minnesota is getting pounded with snow or below-zero temperatures. During the winter Roger occasionally informs me he took a walk in his Yankee T-shirt.

It was a tough stretch of cold weather. My granddaughter told me the other day she has been very cold waiting for her bus at 6:45 a.m.

Those who have headed south to escape the wrath of winter have generally found different adventures and new friends.

Who knows what the future holds for some of us? I think wherever you go some type of a 'bomb cyclone' is always possible  whatever that may be.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-10 11:01:02

Together with management and technology consultancy BearingPoint, Emmi launches a grand redesign of its business process landscape, netting millions in projected future savings

Emmi Overhauls Its Business Processes with a Unifying IT Platform and Milks the Rewards

BearingPoint

Alexander Bock

Manager Communications

Tel.: +49 89 540338029

Email: alexander.bock@bearingpoint.com

Swiss dairy giant Emmi is expecting a positive influence on long-term growth after harmonizing a crosshatch of processes and systems with a customized IT platform.

In recent years, a bold agglomeration strategy has helped Emmi move into the club of companies dominating one of Europes most valuable food sectors. However, along the way, the dairy producer amassed a plethora of processes that was weighing it down. Among the challenges were barriers to communication, duplication of work and sub-optimal reporting. By drawing upon BearingPoints large-scale IT integration and change management expertise, Emmi was able to see how a single, unified IT platform via OneERP would not only rationalize its operations, but enable it to take advantage of the new synergies.

Lars Machler, Head of Corporate Development, Emmi, said: BearingPoint succeeded in reconciling the various parties and perspectives involved and did so in a complex project environment, thus providing critical help in driving the progress and the success of the project.

Getting this core business management system right had assumed outsized importance as competition was heating up.

BearingPoints Business Transformation Framework proved critical in defining the company strategy, which informed and structured the IT. With these key principles and priorities in hand, the design work and organizational change requirements proceeded apace. In scope were all processes in the areas of finance and controlling, master data management, sales, planning, purchasing, quality management, production and logistics. Additionally, a business process management organization was defined and rolled out in stages, utilizing a mix of prototype and agile project methods.

Asked about the Emmi project, Matthias Gortzen, Partner at BearingPoint, said: A project of this magnitude hinges on cultural sensitivity as much as it does on technical ability. Emmi had great leadership and employee buy-in and was able to realize a business transformation, which is really outstanding in the market.

The industry bodies have also recognized the team, with the Emmi project scooping up multiple laurels, including a 2017 SAP Quality Award in gold for Business Transformation, as well as the ASCO award in 2016. Importantly, Emmi is powered by a cutting-edge IT platform. This has increased transparency and efficiency while reducing not only the companys risk exposure but also its costs - with savings projected in the two-digit million francs range. Emmi is well-placed to look to new horizons. With this project, Emmi has served notice that it is well-prepared for the future.

For more information, please also read our client story: https://www.bearingpoint.com/en/our-success/client.

About BearingPoint

BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consultancy with European roots and a global reach. The company operates in three units: Consulting, Solutions and Ventures. Consulting covers the advisory business; Solutions provides the tools for successful digital transformation, regulatory technology and advanced analytics; Ventures drives the financing and development of start-ups. BearingPoints clients include many of the worlds leading companies and organizations. The firm has a global consulting network with more than 10,000 people and supports clients in over 75 countries, engaging with them to achieve measurable and sustainable success.

For more information, please visit:

Homepage: www.bearingpoint.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/bearingpoint

Twitter: @BearingPoint

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201801100054

Together with @BearingPoint, Emmi launches grand redesign of business process landscape
PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-10 11:00:16

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for GGX Gold Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - GGX Gold Corp. (TSX Venture:GGX). has issued a press release with the following headline:GGX Gold Extends Drilling Targets 600 MetersTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on GGX Gold Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/GGX Gold Corp.Source: GGX Gold Corp. (TSX Venture: GGX, WKN: A1JFMB , ISIN: CA76155T1093, OTC Pink: GGXXF)Date: January 10, 2018Time: 5:00 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of GGX Gold Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
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PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-10 15:48:46

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According to Fact.MR , the global peptide and heparin market is projected to reflect a high single-digit CAGR throughout the forecast period (2017-2026). The market is estimated to reach nearly US$ 35,000 Mn revenues by 2026-end.Vendors of Peptide Therapeutics are Outsourcing Manufacturing Processes to Developing CountriesAlthough therapeutic peptides were originally developed for replacing their endogenous lack, spectrum of the candidate peptide drugs available is not by far restrained to human peptide pool. With the help of multifarious organisms, bioactive peptides are being discovered through modern tools of peptidomics. A virtually infinite range of potential peptide-based medications await pharmacological characterization. Meanwhile, several methods of peptide synthesis are evolving to enable highly efficient production of extraordinarily long & heavily-modified compounds. Numerous clinical trials associated with peptide drug candidates are currently being conducted, which in turn represents a bright future for peptide-based therapeutics. Vendors of peptide therapeutics have been moving to developing countries on the back of large population base serving as potential clinical subjects. Lenient regulatory guidelines, skilled labor, low manufacturing costs, and low market competition are primary reasons why vendors of peptide therapeutics are outsourcing their manufacturing processes to these countries.Request For Sample Report- https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=378 The market for heparin will continue to be influenced by increasing prevalence of diseases, which lead to formation of clots. Concerns regarding adulteration had been the cause for the prohibition of bovine heparin by the U.S. FDA. However, extreme shortage of porcine heparin has led the FDA to reconsider introduction of bovine heparin, which in turn has led to a rise in amount of crude heparin. Heparin is increasingly used prior to surgeries, during blood transfusion or dialysis, when blood is collected as a sample, which implies their general use for reducing the blood clotting risk. Apart from surgical applications, heparin is also prescribed for preventing blood clot in patients affected with chest pain or angina. Heparins supply chain commences at slaughterhouses, trailed by various workshops that extract basic heparin material, called heparin crude, from the mucous membrane of pig intestine. Heparin crude is then sold to pharmaceutical companies, which post-processing produce heparin.Browse Full Report with TOC- https://www.factmr.com/report/378/peptides-heparin-market 6 Key Future Prospects of Peptide and Heparin Market for Forecast Period 2017-20261- Hospital pharmacies are expected to remain the dominant distribution channel for peptide and heparin. Revenues from sales of peptide and heparin in hospital pharmacies are anticipated to remain considerably larger than those from retail pharmacies and online pharmacies combined.2- On the basis of indication, revenues from sales of peptide and heparin for cancer treatment are projected to account for the largest market share by 2026-end. Cardiovascular and metabolic disorder indication will also remain remunerative in the market. Sales of peptide and heparin for central nervous systems indication are expected to register the fastest expansion through 2026.3- Oral route of administration will remain preferred for peptide and heparin, with revenues estimated to surpass US$ 15,000 Mn by 2026-end. However, sales of peptide and heparin with intravenous route of administration will register a comparatively faster growth through 2026.4- Liraglutide is expected to remain the most lucrative product in the market, followed by bortezomib and goserelin. Liraglutide sales will exhibit the highest CAGR through 2026. In addition, sales of sodium heparin, lithium heparin and exenatide are projected to register a parallel growth through 2026.5- Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will continue to be the largest market for peptide and heparin, in terms of revenues. The markets in Europe and North America will also remain lucrative, however revenues from these regions will remain significantly lower than those from APEJ.6- Key market participants identified by the report include Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Takeda, Teva, Leo Pharma, Aspen, Pfizer Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Bachem, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Wockhardt Ltd., AmbioPharm, Inc., Hemmo Pharma, Biofer S.p.A, Celsus, and Baxter.Request Discount on Report - https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=D&rep_id=378 About Fact.MR Fact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-10 11:02:03

SYDNEY, Australia and MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medibio Limited (MEB or the Company) (ASX:MEB) (OTCQB:MDBIF) has received a Certificate of Compliance certifying that the Company's Quality Management System complies with the requirements of ISO 13485. This also includes conformance with the Canadian Medical Device Conformity Assessment System (CMDCAS).

The certification was issued by DQS Med, the Notified Body appointed to assess Medibio's submission for CE Mark. It signifies that Medibio has established a comprehensive quality system for the design and manufacturing of medical devices. ISO 13485 is recognized internationally as a universal measure of quality and is a critical prerequisite to securing CE Mark and other regulatory certifications.

"This is an major milestone for the Company," said Medibio's CEO & Managing Director, Mr. Jack Cosentino. "This accomplishment reflects the work of all individuals within the organization who all believe that this achievement of ISO certification echoes Medibio's commitment to the highest level of quality management and to operational and production excellence."

Following receipt of ISO certification, Medibio reaffirms its expectation of gaining CE Mark shortly.

About Medibio Limited

Medibio (ASX:MEB) (OTCQB:MDBIF) is a mental health technology company that has pioneered the use of objective biometrics to assist in the screening, diagnosing, monitoring and management of depression and other mental health conditions. The company was founded in Australia, with offices located in Melbourne (Vic), and U.S. offices in Minneapolis, MN. Medibio is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd and trades on the OTCQB Venture Market. Investors can find additional information on www.otcmarkets.com and www.asx.com.au.
Patient Monitoring Devices Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-10 12:24:06

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Patient monitoring devices are the devices with the digital technology used to measure the persons health condition. The accuracy of the results with patient monitoring devices may help to early diagnosis of the disease, leads to more efficient and specific treatment. The major advantages of the patient monitoring devices include accuracy of the results with less time and reduce the cost for disease diagnosis. These devices are commonly used to measure oxygen saturation level, pulse rate, body temperature, blood pressure, and heart activity among others. Physicians prefer the patient monitoring devices to enhance the excellence in the patient care.Increase in the technological advancements such as wireless devices of patient monitoring devices, the rise in prevalence of various diseases such as diabetes and hypertension which require lifelong monitoring, increase in geriatric population, growth in the adoption of patient monitoring devices are anticipated to fuel the growth of patient monitoring devices. Moreover, increase in the healthcare awareness, ease of operating and availability of the wider products in the market, and rise in healthcare expenditure expected to propel the market Global Patient Monitoring Devices Market over the forecast period. However, product recalls, lack of awareness in rural areas, a high cost of the devices, and lack of favorable reimbursement policies for medical devices are the key factors restrain the patient monitoring devices market growth.A sample of this report is available upon request @Patient monitoring devices market is segmented on the basis of product type, technology, application, and end userBased on the product type, patient monitoring devices are segmented into the following: Blood pressure monitors Blood glucose monitors Heart rate monitors Pulse oximeters Weight monitors Sleep apnoea monitors Breath monitors OthersBased on the technology, patient monitoring devices are segmented into the following: Portable devices Standalone devices Wireless technology devices OthersBased on the application, patient monitoring devices are segmented into the following: Cardiovascular conditions Neurological conditions Haematological conditions Respiratory conditions Physiological conditions OthersBased on the end user, patient monitoring devices are segmented into the following: Hospitals Clinics Ambulatory surgical centres Home care settings OthersTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @Patient monitoring devices market is growing at a significant CAGR owing to increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular, and neurological advancements. Market players majorly focusing on the innovation of new devices with advanced technology to gain larger market share. Acquisitions and mergers, collaborations, product approvals, product launchings, and patent approvals are the strategies followed by the competitors for increasing their revenue in the patient monitoring devices market. For instance, in September 2015, Zoll Medical Corporation acquired Kyma Medica Technology for broadening the product portfolio in cardiovascular monitoring devices. In addition, in March 2014, Nihon Kohden has awarded a U.S. patent for the advanced technology which reduces the false alarms in the patient monitoring systems.Geographically, patient care monitoring devices are segmented into Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. North America holds significant share in patient monitoring devices owing to rise in geriatric population prone to chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer, increase in healthcare expenditure, and patent approvals for novel technologies in the region. In Europe, due to high adoption of novel technologies, technological advancements, and well-developed healthcare infrastructure are propelling the patient monitoring devices market. However, Asia Pacific exhibiting significant growth in global market which is attributed to growing prevalence of chronic diseases, rise in healthcare expenditure, and rise in per capita income are driving the patient monitoring devices market in the region.Need more information about this report @Some of the players in patient monitoring devices market are GE Healthcare (U.K.), Philips Healthcare (Netherlands), Nihon Kohden (Japan), Roche Diagnostics Limited (Switzerland), Abbott Laboratories (U.S), Omron Healthcare (Japan), Zoll Medical Corporation (U.S.), Cardinal Health (U.S.), and Medtronic (Ireland) to name a few.Get access to full summary @Contact to Precision Business Insights,Email: sales@ precisionbusinessinsights.com Website @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com
Processed Food Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-10 08:52:40

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Food which is altered using freezing, baking, and drying is called processed food. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines processed food as any raw agricultural products that has been subjected to cleaning, washing, milling, chopping, cutting, heating, blanching, pasteurizing, cooking, freezing, canning, drying, mixing, packaging, dehydrating or other procedures that modify the food from its natural state. Such process may include the additional ingredients such as flavors, nutrients, preservatives. These products are having a demand in the global market due to its advantages such as easy cooking or immediate consumption, easy handling, preservation, and storage. Changing lifestyle, safety, and convenience are the major driving factors for the global processed food market. Excellent marketing strategies for such products also play an important role. Innovative packaging is used by processed food industry which in turn increases the demand for the global packaging industry.Request Sample Copy of this Report: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/735 The major challenge for the global processed food industry is the health awareness, food contamination, and government regulations. The health problems associated with preservatives and other additives is a major concern. However, the major players are coming up with innovative ideas such as fortification of various nutrients in the processed food to overcome this problem.Global Processed Food -Market TaxonomyThe global processed food market is segmented on the basis of process, products, and application.Based on process, global processed food market is segmented into:MinimallyHighlyBased on product type, global processed food market is segmented into:Plant basedFruitsVegetablesLegumesExtracted foodsOthersAnimal basedMilkPoultryFleshyOthersBased on application, global processed food market is segmented into:Baked foodsBaby foodBreakfast CerealBiscuitsCheeseChocolate confectionaryIce creamsInstant NoodlesNon-alcoholic drinksNutsPastaReady mealsSauces, Dressings and condimentsSoupsYogurtOthersBaked goods, baby foods, breakfast cereals, chips, nuts, sweet snacks, candy, pet food, ready to eat meals, cheese yoghurt, salad dressing, instant products are few examples of processed food which are gaining popularity in the market.View More Inforamtion @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/processed-food-market-735 Global Processed Food Market OutlookNorth America is the largest market for processed food due to increased snacking trend. Furthermore, busy lifestyle, packaging innovation and expanded lifestyle plays a major role in increasing demand of processed food.Europe has high demand for high quality and nutritious food. The strict government regulations is the major challenge in this market. The basic food hygiene and food law requirements are in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and in Regulation (EC) No 825/2004 which plays a dominant role in European processed food industry.Processed food market is fast growing in Asia pacific region due to increase in population and increase in consumer buying power. The consumer spending in ndia on processed food is expected to grow to US$ 3.6 trillion by 2020. Cost competitiveness along with availability of raw materials are the growth drivers for the processed food industry in India and China.In Latin America, urbanization and modernization is creating a demand for processed food. However, regulations such as, special 8% tax on high calorie food in Mexico from January 2014 will have a considerable effect on the processed food market. Also, it will increase the demand for nutritious processed food in these regions.In Middle East, the limited agricultural production because of the nature of climate, terrain and water scarcity has led to a significant increase in the processed food market.United Nations estimated that the population of Africa will be doubled by 2020 which will be a market driver in this region. Low market penetration is the major restraint in Africa.Key players in the global processed food marketThe companies are adopting various organic and inorganic growth strategies to sustain their market positions such as partnership and mergers. For instance, in 2015, Krafts food and Hienz merged to expand their business. Also, Tyson food collaborated with Godrej India in 2008. Some of the important players in the global food industry market are Nestle, General Mills, Kraft Food, Inc., ConAgra foods, Inc., Tyson Foods, Kelloggs, Frito-Lay, JBS Food, Smithfield Food, Inc. and Mars, Inc.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-10 08:01:01

TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report Shows a Sharp Rise in Rental Properties in UKs Largest Cities, but New Buy-to-Let Policies Leave Londoners Suffering from a Drop in Rental Stock

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Loudmouth PR

Charlotte Panther, 020 7981 9858

charlottep@loudmouthpr.co.uk

TwentyCi released its latest Property & Homemover Report today, a comprehensive review of the UK housing market up to the end of 2017*.

Rentals on the rise, but demand outstrips availability in London

The report reveals that in the last quarter of the year there has been a marked increase in the availability of rental versus sales properties on the market in the UKs top 10** largest cities (excluding London) except Glasgow. Manchester now has a ratio of 50:50 rental to sales properties and Newcastle has more properties for rent than for sale.

London, however, is losing its grip as the rental Capital of the UK, seeing fewer rentals compared to properties to buy, with rentals share of the property market down 4% on the same period last year. East Central and West Central London have been affected the most, with rentals market share down 14% and 10% respectively. All areas of central London have seen rentals fall in terms of both volume and market share, surprising for an international city that relies on a higher volume of rentals than sales.

Independent Property Market Analyst & Commentator Kate Faulkner, comments on TwentyCis findings: The big decline in properties for rent now in London suggests that the governments anti-landlord, buy-to-let policies may have backfired. Instead of improving conditions for tenants, what were seeing now is a decline in the availability of properties for rent. Although it hasnt necessarily pushed up rental prices, is does mean that the growing population of renters now have fewer options than before. Looking at London particularly, its difficult to see that the reduction in rental properties has translated into a magic increase in the number of people buying homes; something which the government had hoped for.

2017 ends with a return to stability and more people planning a move

However, the TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report also shows a return to stability across the country, with the average asking price increasing by 3.3% to 298k, and exchanges up 1% year-on-year, most occurring within the 100-200k bracket. Wales is experiencing a particularly buoyant market with exchanges increasing 11% year-on-year.

Colin Bradshaw, Chief Customer Officer at TwentyCi, says: After the turbulence that followed the Brexit vote in 2016, there is a much calmer landscape now for the UK housing market. There are no seismic shifts year-on-year and the huge spikes in house prices that weve seen in some areas in recent years appear to have stabilised. What is looking particularly positive is the marked increase in the number of people at every stage of the homemover process. Eleven percent more people are planning to move, 27% more are actively approaching the time of their move and there has been a 23% hike in those who have just moved. As homemovers inject billions of pounds into the UK economy for many months before and after their move this is great news for 2018.

Silver Economy continues to invest in property

The report also highlighted the Silver Economy as the fastest growing market segment with a 31% increase in exchanges year-on-year amongst this group. Conversely, Millennials are finding it difficult to get on the housing ladder, or opting to rent as a lifestyle choice, with 17% fewer exchanges occurring amongst 18-35 year olds in 2017.

The TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report, created by life event data firm TwentyCi, is believed to be the biggest, most comprehensive report of its kind, drawing from 29 billion qualified data points to create a factual view on 99.6% of all home moves across the UK.

To see the full TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report in more detail, which includes monthly changes in exchanges, fall-throughs and property withdrawn, regional figures, property types and price bands, as well as demographic data such as Homemover segments and household income bands, please click www.homemoverreport.com.

*All data is based on Q4 2017 vs Q4 2016 year-on-year comparison unless otherwise stated

**Top 10 largest cities in the UK based on the number of properties

Editors notes  what is different about the TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report?

Created from the most robust property change data source available  making it the most comprehensive audit of its type

Data is collected in close to real-time

It combines more than 29 billion qualified data points

The data provides a view of nearly 96.6% of all property moves  both sales and rentals

It compiles not just data about the property being sold/moved into, but also the people who are doing the buying/moving

It is factual data from qualified data sources  unlike some other reports which are based on sentiment

The TwentyCi Property & Homemover Report is published quarterly

About TwentyCi

TwentyCi is a life event data company that provides intelligence into the events in consumer lives which act as purchase triggers, such as moving home, having a baby, buying a car or retiring. TwentyCi has been managing data for major advertisers like HJ Heinz and ATS Euromaster as well as many leading estate agents for over 15 years. TwentyCi holds the UKs biggest and richest resource of factual life event data including the largest, most comprehensive source of homemover data compiled from more than 29 billion qualified data points. It works with advertisers and their agencies to create contextually targeted marketing programmes that cut through by reaching consumers at the exact moment that they need a companys product or service, through the best media channel for that individual. For more information visit http://www.twentyci.co.uk/.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201801090067
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The federal government has identified five key areas it hopes to collaborate with its Japanese counterpart to bring development to the people.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, identified the areas as health, education, power, infrastructure development and agriculture.

Mr. Udoma, who was speaking with members of the Japanese Parliament led by Kiyoshi Ejima when they visited him in Abuja, said these five areas not only aligned with Nigerias development assistance programmes, but also the countrys needs.

Japans contributions to Nigeria in these five areas through it governments Overseas Development Assistance, ODA programme fits into the priority areas of the Nigerian government and (is) very valuable to the overall development agenda of the current administration, Mr. Udoma said.

The assistance has been very helpful because it focuses on our priorities, particularly in agriculture, industrialisation, transportation, power and oil and gas which are also the priority areas of focus in Nigerias Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP. So, the assistance you are giving are in our priority areas, he added.

The minister told the parliamentarians that Nigeria is a country in a hurry for rapid economic development and would be willing to learn from the experiences of a country like Japan, which has done extremely well in its economic development strides.

Due to a number of opportunities for foreign investment in the country, the federal government introduced policies and initiatives to make doing business in the country easy and convenient for investors, the official said.

While acknowledging the contributions of the Japanese government to various aspects of Nigerias national life, Mr. Udoma told the visiting lawmakers that Nigeria appreciates the benefits of such development assistance.

The ministers spokesperson, Akpandem James, who sent the ministers statement on Wednesday said it was his boss belief that continued collaboration between the two countries could generate mutual benefits for their citizens.

Acknowledging the significance of the parliamentarians inputs in shaping government policies, Mr. Udoma said he remained optimistic that their visit to Nigeria would strengthen economic ties existing between the two countries.

In her speech, the Minister of State, Zainab Ahmed, observed that it was the first time parliamentarians from any country would visit Nigeria to monitor the progress of development assistance programmes.

She said this was a welcome development, as it would put the receiving country on notice that utilisation of the assistance was being monitored.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ejima, who is also a member of the Japanese House of Councillors, said that Japan attached great importance on its relations with Nigeria.

He expressed the support of his home government to assist Nigeria achieve her ambition of becoming one of the largest economies by the year 2020.

Referring to an earlier visit by a delegation of Japanese businessmen to Nigeria last year, Mr. Ejima said it further demonstrated the value Japan attached to its relations with Nigeria.
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Soldiers in Gamboru-Ngala village of Borno State on Tuesday morning averted a major disaster when they intercepted and killed two suspected female suicide bombers. The suspects were trying to invade the community with explosives strapped on their bodies, the army said.

A third teenage girl who probably opted out of the deadly mission was later arrested after she had un-strapped and dumped her explosive belt.

The arrested teenager said she and the two killed set out on a journey at 3.30 a.m. shortly after their Boko Haram leaders had primed them to carry out attacks in Gamboru village, the army said.

The spokesperson of Operation Lafiya Dole military command and control centre, Maiduguri, Onyema Nwachukwu, said the explosives could have caused many deaths had the troops not intercepted the girls.

Tuesdays incident comes barely a week after three suicide bombers attacked a mosque in the same community during which about a dozen worshippers, including the father to one of the suicide bombers, were killed.

Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole deployed around Gamboru Ngala have successfully averted what would have been a major devastating suicide attack carried out by three female Boko Haram terrorists against innocent citizens in Gamboru town in Gamboru Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State in the early hours of Tuesday, Mr. Nwachukwu, a deputy director, army public relations said in a statement issued to PREMIUM TIMES at midnight.

Two of the suicide bombers, strapped with suicide vests had attempted infiltrating Gamboru town at about 6.45 a.m. when they were sighted by a joint patrol team of vigilant troops and Civilian JTF at Unguwar Yobe area shortly before entering the town.

They were halted by the patrol team from a safe distance and were ordered to unstrap their suicide vests, to which they vehemently declined. All efforts and entreaties by the patrol team to make the suicide bombers remove their IED vests failed as the duo adamantly approached the troops armed with their IED vests.

They were immediately neutralised (killed) by the troops, while the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team (EOD) safely unstrapped and detonated the suicide vests.

A third female suicide bomber was detected and intercepted within the same general area and subsequently confessed to the joint patrol that she and the other two terrorists had been dispatched at about 3.30 am on Tuesday to unleash mayhem on Gamboru town. She also revealed the location she had hid her suicide vest and led the troops to recover it.

A soldier defusing a bomb best from the body of a shot suicide bomber.

The recovered vests and the surviving suicide bomber have been taken into custody for further interrogations. We call on the general public to be more alert and vigilant, while going about their daily activities in their various communities to detect suspicious persons and inform the security agencies accordingly.

This incident occurred after four soldiers of the Nigeria army lost their lives during a shootout between soldiers and Boko Haram insurgents on the islands of Lake Chad.

The army spokesman, Sani Usman, said nine soldiers were also injured in the Monday shooting that left 107 Boko Haram fighters dead.

A large cache of high calibre arms and ammunitions were recovered from the scene.
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The police fired shots on Wednesday morning in Abuja as they forcefully dispersed protesting members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN.

Hundreds of IMN members started their protest from Garki Area 10 heading towards Area 1 shortly before they were barricaded by armed security operatives at Moshood Abiola Road on Area 2 junction of the Nigerian capital.

The Shiites insisted on continuing with their peaceful march. The police eventually used tear gas and gunshots to disperse them. That led to confusion among traders, motorists and residents.

The Shiites are demanding the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who has been held without trial by the government for almost two years.

Details later
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The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen, has warned against the discussion in the media of matters pending before courts.

In a New Year message to journalists on Wednesday signed by Mr. Onnoghens assistant on media, Awassam Bassey, the CJN cited judicial expressions forbidding the practice of discussing pending cases in the media.

According to the statement, Mr. Onnoghen said lawyers have often taken advantage of such public discussions to channel the minds of the people towards certain outcomes for court cases.

The attention of the Honourable, the Chief Justice of Nigeria  Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, GCON, has been drawn to the emerging and continued practice of discussions of matters that are subjudice in the print and electronic media, such as the issues concerning the Anambra State Central Senatorial District dispute.

The Hon. CJN wishes to remind the general public that it is Contempt of Court for anyone to discuss any matter pending in any Court of Law in the country. The punishment for Contempt may include a term of imprisonment, the statement said.

Citing previous decisions of courts, the statement said the courts of law had prohibited the discussion of pending criminal cases. It added that the declarations still stand.

In respect of criminal proceedings, it is forbidden for parties, their counsel or newspaper commentators to freely offer opinions in respect of matters pending in court, including any situation where a conviction has been entered but the convicts appeal is pending at the appellate court.

We must not allow trial by newspaper or trial by television or trial by any medium other than the courts of law.

I think that anything in the nature of prejudgment of a case or of specific issues in it is objectionable not only because of its possible effect on that particular case but also because of its side effects which may be far reaching.

Responsible mass media will do their best to be fair, but there will also be ill-informed, slapdash or prejudiced attempts to influence the public.

If people are led to think that it is easy to find the truth, disrespect for the processes of the law could follow and, if mass media are allowed to judge, unpopular people and unpopular causes will fare very badly.

Most cases of prejudging of issues fall within the existing authorities on contempt. I do not think that the freedom of the press would suffer, and I think that the law would be clearer and easier to apply in practice if it is made a general rule that it is not permissible to prejudge issues in pending cases.

The statement further said the abusive tone adopted by other lawyers for judges and opponents of cases makes it necessary to stop the practice.

To make matters worse, in such discourse, the language being used in describing the judgments of the Courts is not only ungentlemanly, degrading and contemptuous, but amounts to uncharitable insults which should not be encouraged in any decent democracy.

It is in the light of the above that the Hon. CJN continues to encourage parties and the general public to use only lawful means in the pursuit of remedies for their real and imagined grievances.

The Hon. CJN reiterates his appeal to litigants, advocates and the public to refrain from making unsubstantiated and malicious allegations and complaints against Judicial Officers, and reminds Judges to consider invoking their inherent power of contempt where there are clear violations or infractions in respect of matters that are subjudice, the statement added.

According to the statement, the CJN assured Nigerians of the commitment of the judiciary to the discharge of its responsibilities in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without fear or favour; affection or ill-will.
Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, protesting the continued incarceration of their leader, were on Wednesday attacked by security operatives.

The operatives fired tear-gas and also shot in the air to disperse the protesters marching in Abuja. Many of them were eventually arrested.

Hundreds of IMN members at about 11.a.m took to the streets of Abuja chanting as they demanded the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky who has been in detention without trial since December 2015.

This is not the first time the group will be protesting in Abuja and other northern states against the incarceration of Mr. El-Zakzaky.

On Wednesday, the group started its procession from Garki, Area 10 and later headed to Area 1, also in Garki District of the Nigerian capital. They were ordered to stop the march by armed security operatives at the Moshood Abiola Road along Area 2 junction.

The Shiites insisted on continuing with their peaceful march, chanting Free Zakzaky! Free Zakzaky!

The police eventually fired tear gas and shot into the air as they tried to disperse the group. This led to confusion among traders, motorists and residents of the area.

Some of the fleeing IMN members during the clash escaped with injuries.

A reinforcement from the Mobile Police Force Unit later stormed the scene and arrested some of the protesters who were whisked away in police vans.

The operatives, undeterred, were seen combing the area to arrest other fleeing protesters.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, IMN spokesperson claimed that the group, lost three members during the clash.

He did not provide details of his allegations; neither could PREMIUM TIMES validate his claims.

The group also accused the police of victimisation and harassment of its members during its peaceful procession.

Despite the incessant clashes with the police, the group on Tuesday vowed to continue its demand for the release of its leader.

Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife were arrested on December 14, 2015, following a clash between members of his group and the Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State. Over 300 members of the Shiite IMN were eventually killed by the soldiers, an act condemned by local and international rights groups.

The Nigerian government has failed to release Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife since then despite court rulings demanding such.

After PREMIUM TIMES enquiry, the police released the statement below explaining the attack on the IMN members.

Shiite Protest: Police Arrest 52 Suspects in Abuja

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Following the violent protest by members of the El-Zakzaky Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) group who went on rampage and were attacking innocent citizens including Police operatives on Wednesday 10th January, 2018, the FCT Police Command has arrested some members of the sect and recovered some bottles of improvised petrol-bomb, stones and catapult used by members of the sect to attack police operatives and damage police operational vehicles.

It is pertinent to state that the unlawful action of members of the sect which started on Monday 8th January, 2018 is constituting a serious security threat to the peace of the Federal Capital Territory and at the same time disrupting innocent citizens from going about their lawful businesses.

In view of the current security situation in the Country, the Command wishes to unequivocally state that while it will continue to be professional in the discharge of its constitutional and statutory roles of the protection of lives and property of the good people of FCT; and equally recognise the rights of citizens to express their lawful grievances, the Command will not fold its arms and watch some persons hold the capital city to ransom by disrupting government and legitimate business activities.

In view of the foregoing, the Command wants to state that any person or group of persons arrested for violating the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution while registering their protest will be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the appropriate section(s) of the law.

Meanwhile, the fifty-two (52) members of the El-Zakzaky group arrested by police operatives during today 10th January, 2018 violent protest that left some policemen with injury will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

EDITORS NOTE: The police reaction was received after the report was published. The story was consequently updated.
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The Nigerian Police have provided reasons for attacking members of the Shiite IMN group protesting the illegal incarceration of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the protesters were dispersed with tear gas and gun shots in Abuja as they marched in Garki area of the Nigerian capital.

In a statement by its Abuja spokesperson, Anjuguri Manzah, the police confirmed that 52 IMN members were arrested.

The police said the protesters were violent and that they recovered some bottles of improvised petrol-bomb, stones and catapult used by members of the sect to attack police operatives and damage police operational vehicles.

Read the full police statement below.

Following the violent protest by members of the El-Zakzaky Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) group who went on rampage and were attacking innocent citizens including Police operatives on Wednesday 10th January, 2018, the FCT Police Command has arrested some members of the sect and recovered some bottles of improvised petrol-bomb, stones and catapult used by members of the sect to attack police operatives and damage police operational vehicles.

It is pertinent to state that the unlawful action of members of the sect which started on Monday 8th January, 2018 is constituting a serious security threat to the peace of the Federal Capital Territory and at the same time disrupting innocent citizens from going about their lawful businesses.

In view of the current security situation in the Country, the Command wishes to unequivocally state that while it will continue to be professional in the discharge of its constitutional and statutory roles of the protection of lives and property of the good people of FCT; and equally recognise the rights of citizens to express their lawful grievances, the Command will not fold its arms and watch some persons hold the capital city to ransom by disrupting government and legitimate business activities.

In view of the foregoing, the Command wants to state that any person or group of persons arrested for violating the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution while registering their protest will be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the appropriate section(s) of the law.

Meanwhile, the fifty-two (52) members of the El-Zakzaky group arrested by police operatives during today 10th January, 2018 violent protest that left some policemen with injury will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.
The Benue State Government says it will bury victims of the January 1 attacks on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that over 50 persons were gunned down by unknown assailants that invaded five villages in Guma and Logo Local Governments on New Year day. Several others were injured while about 50,000 persons were displaced.

Gov. Samuel Ortom announced governments decision to hold a mass burial for the deceased at a stakeholders meeting in Makurdi on Wednesday.

The meeting focused on insecurity in the state and the way forward.

Mr. Ortom, who called for prayers, said that the deceased would be remembered for sacrificing their lives to protect Benue farmlands.

He appealed for calm during the burial, and cautioned Benue residents against reprisal attacks against anyone.

Mr. Ortom vowed to ensure that the attackers were apprehended, and promised governments support to the security agencies to actualise that.

Mr. Ortom also said security agencies did not take proactive measures to protect the state against its aggressors after several complaints of planned attacks reported to them.

I saw the attacks coming and we wrote several letters of complaint to the police and complained to the presidency, yet nothing happened.

We called for the arrest of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) but nobody responded; we have facts that can be used against them.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and top police officers including the DIG operations, Habila Joshak, two commissioners of police for Benue and Nasarawa states were in attendance.

The governor expressed regret that after repeated complaints to the police and other security agencies in the country on the threats of attacks by MACBAN, nothing was done to secure lives and property in the state.

We called for the arrest of leaders of the association; we had evidence to support our claims but nobody paid heed to us.

We wrote to you IGP three times but received no response. We briefed the presidency yet to no avail, he lamented.

Mr. Ortom said the refusal of the security agencies to act and their lackadaisical attitude on the matter led to the mayhem of January 1.

He wondered why open statements of intended aggression against the state on national television, radio stations by members of the association had not been investigated and arrests effected.

He vowed to continue with the anti-open grazing law, stressing there is no land in Benue for open grazing.

Mr. Ortom said he would not adopt the cattle colonies as suggested by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh.

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He appealed to the IGP to immediately order for the arrest of leaders of MACBAN to give hope to the ordinary citizens that all people were equal before the law.

The governor said that the herdsmen that attacked the state came from their bases in Nasarawa State and challenged the police to refute his claims.

Responding, the IGP said he had not received such letters of complaints from the governor but promised to investigate the claims and fish out the aggressors.

He said the police had deployed 663 police operatives and created 10 mobile units to deal with the insecurity in the state.

Mr. Idris said the police would deploy helicopter surveillance to monitor the movement of such miscreants across the state and pledged to be diligent in discharging the presidential assignment.

He explained that the situation was not yet beyond the capacity of the police, stressing there is no need for the army to be invited.

Other speakers at the meeting include the Tor Tiv, James Ayatse, who called on the IGP to ensure the arrest of the aggressors.

They rejected the suggestion for the establishment of cattle colonies in the state and affirmed their support for the implementation of the anti-open grazing law.

They also called on the federal government to commence the process of establishing ranches across the country as a panacea to farmers/herders clashes.

The high point of the meeting was the open apology by the IGP for describing the Benue killings as communal clashes, following insistence from participants.

Mr. Idris also reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of the killings.

The police boss said the meeting was geared toward finding lasting solution to the crisis that bedevilled some communities of the state.

He said police would not rest until the perpetrators of the killings were arrested.

He added that I want to assure you that the police will not rest on its oars until these hoodlums are apprehended and brought to justice.

We are conducting investigation into the killings and will take appropriate action against perpetrators of the heinous crime.

I want to assure you that police have put in place security measures to checkmate activities of miscreants.

Mr. Idris also promised to take appropriate action against anyone carrying arms around.

He enjoined the people to give the police actionable intelligence that would lead to further arrest of criminal elements.

The police chief, who kicked against the clamour for deployment of the military, said they could only intervene when the police was overwhelmed.

(NAN)
The Kaduna State Government and the police have warned against the mass protest scheduled for the state capital on Thursday.

However, the Nigeria Labour Congress has vowed to proceed with the rally called over the sack of workers by the state government.

The President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, on Tuesday said the union will begin a series of actions with the first phase of protests in Kaduna on Thursday to defend the rights of the affected workers.

The NLC condemned the sack of teachers and thousands of other workers by the state government.

Having exhausted all processes aimed at constructive engagement with the state government, it is clear that El-Rufai has to be stopped by all means with all means lawful for the sake of Kaduna State and Nigerian people, Mr. Wabba said.

But at a press briefing in Kaduna on Wednesday, the spokesperson of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Samuel Aruwan, said security agencies had decided not to allow the protest to hold.

He said this was because protesters had attacked the State House of Assembly and destroyed public property in addition to engaging in unlawful assembly and other violations of the Penal Code of the state during a similar protest November last year organised by the NLC.

To that effect the security agencies have already made it clear that no body or group will be allowed to repeat those messy incidents or threaten law and order in Kaduna State in the guise of a march, Mr. Aruwan said.

Trade unions cannot hold our state to ransom, by shamelessly insisting on the retention of bad teachers, or baseless claiming that a state must spend all its resources on one per cent of the population.

No amount of sentiments will result in subjugating the future of these two million children to the caprices of poor teachers. Not strikes. Not blackmail. Not craven indulgence in tired cliches.

The urgency of serving our people does not permit us to retain unqualified or redundant workers just because they were able to sneak in.

Perhaps the labour unions are unable to identify or grapple with the great issues of the day if they are not prompted by external actors, but not every social actor shares that affliction.

There is no way to even contemplate retaining teachers who have failed badly, and who are actually in need of adult education classes in Literacy and Numeracy, the governors spokesperson said.

Mr. Aruwan insisted that the government was doing what is right and proper for the people of Kaduna state.

Getting employed as a public servant does not elevate the interests and perks of that person above the larger interests of society. Keeping five people in employment sharing the desk and job of one person amounts to injustice to the many whose public resources are being squandered on a few.

The government said that the labour union and the NUT were involved when the state was planning the competency test that led to the sack of 21,000 teachers in the state.

The Kaduna State Government launched its Public-Sector Revitalisation Programme in October 2016. No cadre of its public service was left in any doubt that the public service must be made leaner, more efficient, younger and IT-savvy.

Government engaged with labour unions and individual workers before it launched the programme in 2016. Nobody can blame a government for acting on the things it has repeatedly said it would do.

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It is instructive that NLC and NUT officials were part of the committee that organised and supervised the competency test. They requested that 60 per cent be accepted as pass mark for teachers writing a Primary Four exam, but are reluctant to admit to their members that they endorsed the logic that unqualified teachers must go. To save face, they have shamelessly tried to repudiate their participation in the process.

The government has proposed a package to help ease the post-service transition of disengaged public servants. But nobody should foster the delusion that this government will be browbeaten into surrendering the interests of the majority for a vocal and selfish minority.

The state government believes in the equality of opportunity and is devoted to promoting social mobility through Education and Skills. It is the children of the poor that attend public primary schools, and public schools must not offer inferior education.

Therefore, senior government officials, including Malam Nasir El-Rufai, who are themselves products of public education, believe that the children of the poor are entitled to decent education.

The governments programmes since 2015 have been propelled by a need to improve the learning environment and the quality of teaching. It has guaranteed nine years of free basic education in its public schools, and is determined that only qualified teachers will be allowed to mould the minds of the two million pupils currently in public primary schools.

Kaduna State has disengaged failing teachers. 25,000 new teachers will replace the almost 22,000 that have proven unsuitable. The recruitment process will continue until we find the right calibre of teachers.

The scripts of the 43,000 applicants who sat for teacher recruitment exams have been marked, and are being collated. The next phase is to interview and screen the candidates that passed the recruitment test, Mr. Aruwan stated.

Also in a statement on Wednesday, the police warned NLC to stay away from the state because present law of the state prohibits all forms of public protests.

Agyole Abeh, the State Commissioner of Police, at a press briefing on Wednesday in Kaduna, warned that any individual or group intending to carry out any public protest or procession should in the interest of the public peace shelve such plans.

The police chief said his officers will not stand by and watch the peace enjoyed by the citizens of the state truncated.

We wish to remind that the last incident relating to the same issues of teachers where the organized labour union staged what was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned out to be a near bear breach of the public peace in the state which resulted to chaos and destruction of some properties of government especially at the State House of Assembly.

It is also in the interest of the good people of Kaduna State to note that those who might be contemplating to come to Kaduna to foment trouble are strictly advised to stay away from the state as the command is prepared to deal decisively with any such person or group, he said.

NO STOPPING US NOW  NLC

In a statement he personally signed and issued on Wednesday evening, the NLC president said the union had credible information that Governor El-Rufai has mobilised thugs to disrupt workers peaceful protest tomorrow.

We also have information that the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State Command has said all protests in the state remain banned.

We do not think he has such powers. Moreover, it would run against the grain of fair-play and proper policing if the commissioner will be selective in which protests he allows because only recently, the governor himself organised two protests in support of his policies in the state.

We do hope the statement credited to the commissioner is not true.

We also do hope he does not condition his officers and men to allow their services to be procured in furtherance of a sinister agenda.

We not only warn against these desperate tactics, we feel duty-bound to draw the attention of the relevant authorities and the generality of Nigerians to the grave dangers these portend.

Peaceful protest is a form of expression validated or legitimised by our national constitution, ILO Conventions and our Labour Laws and no governor, no matter how executive, should abridge this legitimacy!

We at the Nigeria Labour Congress, and indeed, all law-abiding citizens consider any attempt to circumvent the Law by any citizen, no matter how highly-placed as an affront to our history of popular struggle and democratic values.

We wish to use this opportunity to let the governor and his cohorts know that our members from across the country are fully mobilised in Kaduna, and nothing, absolutely nothing, will stop them from peacefully protesting against his mindless policies on Thursday, November 11, 2018.

We also wish to let the world know that he has made this peaceful protest inevitable by his refusal to fully submit himself to the conciliation process by the Federal Ministry of Labour.

We are in a democracy governed by the rule of law and not the caprice of a vindictive mind out to satisfy only the whims of the World Bank and the IMF.

Finally, we also wish to call upon the Inspector General of Police and the leaderships of other relevant security agencies to caution their officers and men against betraying their oath of office by accepting to do a dirty job.

Today, it is about 36,000 Kaduna State workers thrown out of work for no just cause. Tomorrow, it could be anybody.

We are committed to a peaceful protest. No stopping us now.
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The Nigerian Army on Wednesday warned against providing sanctuary to fleeing Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east.

The army also called on the people to report suspicious persons in their communities to security agencies nearest to them.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Sani Kukasheka, gave the warning in a statement issued in Maiduguri.

Mr. Kukasheka said intelligence reports indicated that the insurgents were taking refuge in dry wells and other hideouts to avoid the ongoing military offensive against them.

This is to warn residents in the North-east not to harbour the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists who are trying to flee from their waterloo.

Credible intelligence revealed that several of the insurgents have resorted to taking refuge in dry wells and other hideouts in some communities along their escape routes from the Sambisa Forest in order to evade the sustained bombardments from air and ground troops of Operation Lafiya Dole.

Any unpatriotic and unscrupulous persons especially in the North Eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe found providing safe sanctuaries or any assistance to the criminals will be treated as accomplices and given same treatment as terrorists, he said.

The director appealed to the people to cooperate with the military by reporting any fleeing terrorists immediately to the nearest security agency or call the Nigerian Army Information Call Centre Number 193.

(NAN)
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Governor Rauf Aregbesola has called on Nigerians to pray for the speedy recovery of President Muhammadu Buharis son, Yusuf.

Mr. Aregbesola made the call while speaking at the closing of 19th edition of the Annual National Conference of the Jamaatu Taawunil Muslimeen (Society of Nigeria) on Wednesday in Iwo

According to the governor, the comfort of the president is the comfort of all.

Mr. Aregbesola described prayer as the only instrument that could rescue Nigeria from some of its predicaments.

He called on religious leaders to intensify prayers for president Buhari, his sick son as well as for the socioeconomic prosperity of the country.

According to him, apart from prayer being a powerful part of our existence as human beings, it is pertinent for every believer to pray for his or her leaders.

I am happy that every religion emphasises this, and it is something important we can do to support the present administration by praying and fasting for our leaders.

As we all know the condition of the Presidents son, I urge Nigerians regardless of our socio-economic, political and ethnic differences to pray for the speedy recovery of Yusuf Buhari who is presently receiving medical attention.

Yusuf had a bike accident at the Gwarimpa Area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in December 2017.

The accident left him with a broken limb and an injury on his head.

Earlier, Imran Molasan, the Founder and President of Jamaatu Taawunil Muslimeen Society of Nigeria, commended Mr. Aregbesola for laying a strong foundation for the economic development of the state.

Mr. Molasan applauded Mr. Aregbesolas high sense of commitment to human and capital development, particularly the impact his government had made toward re-engineering the economy of the state.

In his remarks, the Oluwo of Iwoland, Abdulrasheed Akanbi, described Mr. Aregbesola as a rare political gem for repositioning Osun.

(NAN)
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Stakeholders in the Nigerian power sector on Monday said the unutilised 2,000 megawatt of electricity available from Distribution Companies, Discos, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, need to be distributed.

They made this known at the 23rd monthly meeting of operators in the electricity industry hosted by the Nasarawa State Government at Mararaba-Akunza Injection Substation in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The meeting was chaired by Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing.

According to a communique released on Wednesday, the stakeholders stated that work is ongoing to improve distribution infrastructure across the country to ensure taking power to Nigerians.

Speaking on the unutilised 2,000 MW, the operators encouraged manufacturers to inform the ministry of power of their locations where they need power so the unutilised 2000MW can be delivered to them.

The gathering also said that there are noted improvements in functional generation capacity and transmission capacity to over 7000MW and proven distribution capacity to over 5000MW in distribution infrastructure.

This impact has been noticed with the ministry receiving positive feedback from consumers, the communique said.

Consumers, particularly those with prepaid meters had also noted improvements in energy availability to the point that energy conservation has become necessary.

It explained further that sector teamwork was necessary to sustain progress and achieve milestones both on and off grid, just as it commended NERCs regulatory diligence by releasing the mini-grid regulation.

The stakeholders acknowledged the sectors commitment to reduce estimated billing as NERC concludes work on metering regulations to ensure consumers are metered.

Similarly, a resolution of a setback occasioned by a damaged gas pipeline was discussed.

According to participants, the setback caused shutdown of gas supply to six power plants previously supplying more than 1500MW to the national grid.

However, as at 7th January 2018 the pipeline repair work is completed, and Egbin and Olorunsogo have started receiving gas and with expectation for full restoration to other plants in the next few days, the communique reads.

The meeting acknowledged that gas is the fuel that most generation companies use in generating power. Gas pipelines are therefore vital national assets, and all Nigerians are encouraged to have a personal interest in ensuring the security and functionality of these pipeline.
Days after the damage by fire of a gas pipeline threw Nigeria into darkness, operators in the power sector on Wednesday called on Nigerians to take special interest in securing vital national asset in their domains.

The fire at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Escravos-Lagos Pipeline, ELP, forced operations in four gas-powered power plants to shut down; and disrupted gas supply to Ondo, Ogun and Lagos states.

The 36-inch pipeline conveys natural gas from the Escravos oil fields in the Niger Delta to various locations for power generation and other industrial use.

The fire, resulting from a bush fire on January 2 at Abakila in Ondo State, affected power plants including Egbin in Lagos, Olorunshogo and Papalanto, both in Ogun and Omotosho in Ondo State.

The four power plants account for 1,143 megawatts of electricity.

But, a report on the incident presented during the 23rd monthly meeting of the operators with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing on Monday in Lafia, Nasarawa State, said normal gas supply on the pipeline has been restored.

The setback caused by the shutdown of gas supply to six power plants previously supplying more than 1,500MW to the national grid, a communique issued at the end of the meeting noted.

The communique said as at January 7, the pipeline repair work was completed, with Egbin and Olorunsogo power plants already receiving gas.

Full restoration of gas supply to other power plants is expected in the next few days, the communique added.

The meeting noted that since most power companies use gas in generating power, gas pipelines are vital national asset and all Nigerians must be encouraged to have a personal interest in ensuring their security and optimum functionality.

The meeting focused on identifying, discussing, and finding practical solutions to critical issues facing the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI.

Participants at the meeting noted improvements in the current national power generation and transmission capacity to over 7000MW and proven distribution capacity to over 5,000MW.

The meeting noted the positive feedback from the power ministry from consumers, particularly from prepaid meters, who acknowledge improvements in energy availability and the need for energy conservation.

The meeting also noted the interest to invest in Nigerias power sector showed by over 600 participants in a mini-grid regulation conference from 40 countries hosted by the Rural Electrification Agency, REA.

Besides, the meeting resolved that 2000 MW available from power distribution companies, DISCOs and Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, still needed to be distributed, assuring that work was ongoing to improve distribution of power to Nigerians.

Urging manufacturers to let the ministry know about their locations where they need power, the meeting said this would ensure that the unutilized 2,000 MW was delivered to them.

Other resolutions included their commitment to reduce estimated billing as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Agency, NERC, concludes work on metering regulations to ensure consumers were metered.

The meeting also resolved to provide better customer service and timely communications on any service disruptions by all operators within the industry and with the public.

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Participants at the meeting included NERC Commissioners, Managing Directors and CEOs of Generating Companies, GenCos, DISCOs, TCN and Gas Companies (GasCos).

Also participating were government agencies such as the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader, Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company, and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC.
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The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, has vowed to continue its demand for the release of its leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, despite the clampdown by security operatives during some of their processions.

The groups spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa, made this known on Tuesday to PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview.

Mr. Musa condemned the recent attacks by the police and other security agents that disrupted their peaceful processions in Kaduna and Abuja.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the police forcefully disrupted an IMN protest in Abuja on Monday, beating and man-handling some of the protesters. Mr. Musa said no member of the group was killed but scores were arrested by the police.

Also, the Kaduna State Police Command on Monday issued a warning to the IMN members against unlawful assembly, lawlessness, incitement and acts capable of breaching the peace in the state.

The Public Relations Officer of the command, Mukhtar Aliyu, who issued the warning in a press statement in Kaduna, said any breach of peace would be dealt with decisively.

But the IMN members said they would not relent in their quest for the release of their leader.

The Free Zakzaky procession that has been ongoing despite several attacks on our members by the police. It is because of the deteriorating health condition of our leader, he said.

We will not relent from this procession across key northern states unless the federal government releases our leader from detention to enable us cater for his health, Mr. Musa said.

If the government does not want to see our face on the streets of Abuja, they should release our leader. They disrupted our procession in Abuja today and arrested about 200 members after using live bullets and cannister of tear gas on us, he added.

Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife were arrested on December 14, 2015, following a clash between members of his group and the Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State.

At least 347 members of the group were killed with the army who said they blocked a major road and prevented the army chief, Tukur Buratai, from passing.

The killings have been condemned by local and international rights groups and nobody has been prosecuted for them.

However, efforts made to reach the FCT Police Command spokesperson, Manzah Anjuguri, was unsuccessful as he did not respond to our reporters phone calls and text messages sent to him.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had in December 2016 ordered the release of Mr. Ek-Zakzaky and his wife. The government refused to obey the order.
The Benue State Government has denied arming militia groups to defend the people against marauding herdsmen in the state.

The Nigerian Army on Tuesday said it arrested nine well-armed militia from Benue, alleged to be members of the state government sponsored security volunteers.

The suspects were arrested at Arufu, a boundary town between Taraba and Benue States by troops of 93 Battalion of the Nigerian Army stationed in Takum, Taraba State, a military intelligence source told PRNigeria.

The army official said further investigation revealed that more than 700 armed militia are being trained in a camp in Benue State.

Five of the suspects were armed with AK-45 rifles fully loaded. During preliminary investigation the arrested armed gang claimed that the weapons were issued to them by one Aliyu Tashaku through an agent of government.

The suspects also confirmed that they were 60 in number in their own camp located at Gbeyi, Benue State. However, further investigation revealed that they were more than 700 and well-armed at the camp where they were trained by selected ex-service men on a monthly allowance of N15,000.00 from their sponsors, the source said.

The Commanding Officer of the 93 Battalion, Ibrahim Gambari, a lieutenant colonel in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday, confirmed the incident. He, however, refused to give further details.

Reacting to the report, Terver Akase, media aide to the state governor, Samuel Ortom, said the government has never recruited armed militias since inception.

We read a news report insinuating that some youth arrested by the military at Arufu, a town between Benue and Taraba States are armed militia sponsored by the Benue State Government to defend the territory of the State against invaders.

We wish to state categorically that the Benue State Government under Governor Samuel Ortom has not recruited any militia group and armed them since the Governor assumed office.

Governor Ortom is widely recognised for his disarmament policy which brought the amnesty programme leading to the recovery of about 700 arms and ammunition with over 800 youth laying down their weapons to embrace the programme across the State.

It is also on record that the present administration inherited the State Civilian Joint Task Force from the previous government but later proscribed it.

Following the enactment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law in Benue State last year, the Government set up Livestock Guards to help in implementation of the law. The Livestock Guards are not armed personnel. Their job is to ensure compliance with the regulation of ranches establishment and prohibition of open grazing of animals in the State.

The Benue State Government believes in the use of conventional security agencies to protect the people. Even in the face of renewed killing of innocent people by herdsmen in Logo and Guma Local Government Areas, Governor Ortom did not let the people resort to self help. The Governor acted swiftly to get the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the deployment of more troops to troubled parts of the State.

We reassure the people of Benue State and other Nigerians that the Government is committed to bringing the killings in the State to an end andrestoring peace to the affected areas.

Dozens have been killed in the past one week in Benue State by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The Governor of the State, Mr. Ortom, had accused the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, a group of Fulani cattle breeders in the country, for the string of killings.

His comments come amidst reports of continuing unreported attacks in the state.

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On Monday, two policemen were killed by herdsmen who had earlier exchanged gunfire with the police, Mr. Ortom said.

President Buhari, also a Fulani, who has faced criticisms for his handling of previous attacks, has appeared more forceful in the past week, mandating heads of security agencies to curtail the violence and directing the police Inspector General, Ibrahim Idris, to relocate to Benue.
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President Muhammadu Buhari has named four heads for major health institutions across Nigeria.

The president appointed Ajayi Adekunle as Chief Medical Director, Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, Ekiti State.

He appointed Henry Ugboma as Chief Medical Director, University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

He appointed T.O. Adebowale as Medical Director, Neuro-Psychiatric, Aro, Abeakuta, Ogun State and Achigbu Kinsley as Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State.

The appointments were disclosed in a press statement issued by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

The appointments of the new officials are for a term of four years from December 31, 2017.

The appointments of heads of these institution come months after a PREMIUM TIMES report showed that about 20 of Nigerias 52 tertiary health institutions have no CMDs. These institutions had been run by interim heads for between six months to two years, against the provision of the Acts that established them.

Out of these 20, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while in acting capacity as the president, had approved appointment of 14 heads for the tertiary health institutions. The four announced on Wednesday are also part of the 20.

The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, according to the statement, congratulated the new appointees and charged them to justify the confidence reposed in them by the president.
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The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Wednesday arrived Makurdi as ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The President had ordered the I-G to move to Benue to restore law and order, prevent further loss of lives and forestall the crisis from escalating.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that gunmen had on New Year day attacked and killed 50 persons in Logo and Guma local government areas of Benue.

The Force spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, in a statement said the order followed the recent unfortunate killings of innocent people in Guma and Logo.

Mr. Moshood said that in compliance with the presidential order, the I-G was moving with additional five Units of Police Mobile Force making a total of 10 Units deployed to the State.

More Units of the Police Special Forces, Counter Terrorism Units, and Conventional Policemen are already being deployed to the State to comply in totality with the Presidential order.

The full weight of the law will be applied on anyone arrested for being responsible for the mayhem in the affected areas in the state.

The commitment of the Nigeria Police Force to ensure Law and order and protection of lives and property of all Nigerians throughout the country remains unequivocal and unwavering, he said.

The I-G, who arrived Makurdi at about 10 a.m. proceeded straight to Zone 4 Police Command.

At the command, the police chief was received on arrival by the Assist Inspector-General of Police in charge of the zone, Benue Commissioner of Police and other senior police officers.

(NAN)
The Sokoto State Government has started an intensive training programme for 3,374 primary school teachers in the state.

According to a statement on Wednesday by the spokesperson of Governor Aminu Tambuwal, the exercise is part of the governments efforts to address challenges of the education sector in the state.

The state had in 2016 declared a state of emergency to enable it give priority attention to the sector.

In the statement signed by Imam Imam, the government said the training will update the knowledge of the teachers and acquaint them with modern teaching techniques.

He said the training, executed under the Teacher Professional Development Programme of the state Universal Basic Education Board, will be attended by teachers in the 23 local government areas of the State.

Speaking at the flag off ceremony in Sokoto, Governor Tambuwal stressed that his administration was committed to improving the capacity of teachers in the state through regular training and re-training.

Represented by the Commissioner of Basic and Secondary Education, Muhammad Kilgori, Mr. Tambuwal said the measure was necessary in order to provide quality education in the state.

Training and retraining of teachers is necessary so as to successfully achieve the desired objective in education in the state.

The workshop, organised in collaboration with the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, is also aimed at building the capacity of the beneficiaries.

Mr. Tambuwal said the state government would continue to give priority attention to the education sector to ensure effective teaching and learning in schools.

As you are aware, for the third year running, the education sector got the highest budgetary allocation of over N67.5 billion, representing 26.1 per cent of the total estimates.

So with the attention given to teachers welfare, quality and commitment will surely improve the standard of our learning environment in the state, the governor said.

I believe with the highly resource persons to conduct this workshop, we will successfully achieve the desired need of improving the capacity of our teachers.

The Governor called on the participants to make the best use of the opportunity to improve their knowledge and ensure the success of the training.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of NOUN, Abdalla Adamu, commended the state governments efforts toward providing quality education in the state.

This will go a long way in ensuring quality education for the citizens and enable more productive and developed society, Mr. Adamu, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic, Joy Eyisi, said.

The Executive Chairman of Sokoto SUBEB, Bello Danchadi, thanked the state government for its support for the workshop.

It is my sincere hope that the participants will utilise the knowledge gained from the training to improve the standard of education in the state.

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The aim of the workshop is to promote their ability to teach effectively in the 21st century with a view to making them effective. This is meant to build capacity of principals of schools, he said.
The Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Paul Boroh, said on Wednesday that over 4,000 had benefitted from the training and empowerment programme of the Amnesty.

Mr. Boroh, also the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Matters, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja.

He said the beneficiaries were empowered in their choice areas of business ranging from professional trading, skills acquisition, agriculture, building materials and commodities, restaurant and bar, and timber saw milling.

Others included film making and videography, industrial safety, baking and confectionery.

He explained that the empowerment was to make them entrepreneurs and promote self-employment across Niger Delta region.

He disclosed that only N35 billion was released to them out of the N65 billion, which was the actual budget for the year 2017.

However, in managing the 30,000 beneficiaries of the programme, it is the responsibility of the amnesty office to pay monthly stipends, tuition fees and in-training allowances.

Allowances for offshore and onshore education delegates, training cost and in-training allowances for onshore vocational training delegates, payment for empowerment and setting up of already trained beneficiaries, he said

The special adviser said that the Amnesty Office produced 500 bags of rice from its agriculture revolution initiative.

He stated that the rice was produced by ex-agitators, adding that the initiative was one of the best programmes by his administration.

Mr. Boroh, a retired brigadier general, said the Amnesty beneficiaries raised bar on rice farming, targeting the improvement of vegetable and soya oil production in 2018.

According to him, Soya oil is considered healthier than most other vegetable oils due to its good variety of essential fatty acids that the body needs to remain healthy.

The coordinator said in Nigeria today, the soya beans processing sector, which has an estimated capacity of over one million tonnes per annum is hampered by low production.

He said the main products from this crop are soya oil and the high protein cake used as basic ingredient in poultry and other animal feeds.

Apart from making oil and animal feeds, large quantities of soya beans are consumed by many households producing soya milk and cake called awara in the North.

Many Nigerian vegetable oil producing firms go to neighbouring countries to buy soya beans to meet their industrial demands, paying higher prices in the process.

Soya bean also improves soil fertility by adding nitrogen from the atmosphere, he said.

He said recently, a ban has been placed on the importation of vegetable oil by the federal government with the aim of encouraging local production and marketing of vegetable oil in the country.

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He said that Amnesty office had carefully researched into the production of vegetable oil; therefore, its beneficiaries would be properly trained to help them gain useful insight into the nitty-gritty of vegetable oil business in Nigeria.

(NAN)
Over 150 doctors from private, public and missionary hospitals and those in tertiary institutions in Cross River State, on Wednesday protested in Calabar against the kidnap of their colleague, Emem Udoh.

Mrs. Udoh, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, was kidnapped on Monday in Calabar.

The doctors who wore black attires had on Tuesday threatened to down tool because six of their colleagues and family members had been kidnapped in the last few months.

They had however expressed relief over the release of their colleague, Usang Ekanem, who was kidnapped on December 26, 2017 and set free on January 7.

Mr. Ekanem works in Cross River College of Education Medical Centre in Akamkpa Local Government Area of the state.

The aggrieved doctors, who protested along major streets in Calabar culminating at the Government House, expressed displeasure with the state government over its approach toward abduction of doctors in the state.

The Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association in the state, Effiong Mkpanam, said that all hospitals in the state would remain closed until their colleague was released.

Mr. Mkpanam urged the state government to address the current security challenges in the state.

We are not safe and we want people to know that we cannot go to work because we are not safe.

We want unconditional release of Dr Emem Udoh who is a nursing mother and until she is released, all the doctors in Cross River State will sit at home.

Anybody who wants medical treatment should go to the neighbouring states, he said.

The chairman decried the level of insecurity in the state, adding that Cross River was no longer safe for residents and tourists.

The NMA spokesman in the state, Ernest Ochang, said doctors in the state would sit at home anytime a doctor or a family member was kidnapped.

The litmus test for any leader is security and safety of its citizens. But when we are not safe, we dare say that the government has failed the litmus test.

The government, however, has the litmus test of redeeming itself by ensuring the release of Dr Emem Udoh.

If Udoh is brought back today, we will resume work today. But until then, anyone seeking medical attention in Cross River State should go to neighbouring states, he said.

The Secretary to the State Government, Tina Agbor, said that government was doing everything possible to secure the release of the abducted doctor.

Ms. Agbor noted that Governor Ben Ayade was unhappy about the security situation.

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It is unfortunate that soon after one of the doctors was released, another one was abducted, and this time, a woman.

I am a woman and right now, the Security Adviser to the Governor is on the streets trying to solve this problem.

You did not need to come here to remind us of our duty because we are doing something about it, she said.

(NAN)
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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Bayelsa Command, said on Wednesday that it destroyed over 500 illegal oil refining camps in various locations in the state in 2017.

Godwin Nwachukwu, the State Commandant of the agency, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Yenagoa.

Mr. Nwachukwu, while reviewing the Corps operations for 2017, said that a total of 60 local boats used to transport stolen crude were also destroyed.

The commandant said that the suspected persons in the boats were also arrested in connection with oil pipeline vandalism.

According to him, the 60 local boats captured and destroyed along the waterways were with over 50 million litres of suspected adulterated petroleum products.

In 2017, we uncovered and destroyed over 500 oil cooking camps; we also destroyed a total of 60 local boats in Bayelsa.

Towards the end of the 2017, two tankers conveying illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), also known as diesel, were arrested.

And these tankers were handed over to us by the men of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe.

Yes, it was two trucks involving about nine persons and they have been prosecuted according to the law.

The general public should steer clear of illegal oil activities not only in Bayelsa but Niger-Delta region and Nigeria at large, because NSCDC will not relent on its efforts to clamp down on such criminal act.

Pipeline vandalism or illegal oil bunkering is not a good business because lives are always at risk.

We are committed to bringing down illegal oil activities to a zero point in Bayelsa and nation at large in 2018, he said.

(NAN)
An Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has reserved its ruling in the ongoing disputes surrounding the rightful occupant of the Anambara Central Senatorial seat.

In a ruling after fielding arguments from counsel on the matter on Wednesday, the presiding judge, John Tsoho, said the courts decision on the matter would be given on January 12, a day before the scheduled election.

Following an Appeal court ruling which ordered a rerun of the election within 90 days in November, 2017, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had slated January 13 for the said election.

The Anambra Central Senatorial seat has remained without a representative in the upper chamber of the national assembly since November, 2015.

After an appeal Court in Enugu State nullified the controversial emergence of a Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Uche Ekwunife, as the winner of the seat in November, 2015, Ms. Ekwunife decamped to the All Progressives Congress where she failed to emerge as a representative of the party in a scheduled election for the seat.

After various legal battles for the authentic occupant of the seat, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered a rerun of elections into the controversial position and that Ms. Ekwunifes former party, the PDP, be exempted.

Nearly a month later on December 13 the federal high court gave a judgement announcing another candidate of the PDP, Obiora Okonkwo to be regarded as the authentic candidate for the Anambara central senatorial seat.

The court said he should, therefore, be sworn in as senator.

The decision of the FHC followed a collective agreement of parties in the matter. The court said it complied with the request by Mr. Obioras lawyer, Sabastien Hon, because other parties including INEC agreed with the request for the FHC to recognise Mr. Obiora as the authentic candidate of the PDP for the seat.

After the decision of the FHC however, INEC said it was still going ahead with the election, in compliance with the order made by the Court of Appeal.

Also, the election umpire on Tuesday approached the FHC with a request that it (the FHC) variess its December 13 judgement.

The counsel to INEC, Adegboyega Awomolo, informed the court of an application from his client seeking a review of the December 13 judgement of the Federal High Court which recognised Mr. Okonkwo as the authentic candidate for the seat.

Another lawyer, Solomon Umoh, also told the court about a fresh application from his client, Ann Okonkwo, seeking to be joined in the matter.

Ms. Okonkwo is also a member of the PDP who had taken part in the primaries conducted by the PDP ahead of the senatorial election.

The court, however, declined listening to the application by Ms. Okonkwos lawyer. The judge, John Tsoho, said the application by INEC supersedes all other pending requests in court.

While making his submission, Mr. Awomolo argued that the principle of hierarchy maintains that once a higher court had taken a decision on a matter, the lower court was bound to comply with the decision of the higher court.

Mr. Awomolo said it was the duty of INEC and other parties in the matter to bring the decision of the higher court to the notice of the lower court.

In a different opinion however, Mr. Hon asked the court to dismiss INECs application with appropriate costs awarded against the commission.

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Mr. Hon said the senior lawyer (Mr. Adegboyega) was duly aware of the fact that the case at hand was a pre-election matter.

He added that the Supreme Court had previously decided that the principle of hierarchy was not applicable in pre-election matters.

Mr. Hon further said the current application by Mr. Awomolo, despite the consent of INEC in the December 13 judgement, amounts to an abuse of court process. He said his client would state the desired cost to be demanded from INEC at the appropriate time.

Mr. Hon asked the court to decide on the current application, in time to prevent the scheduled election which he (Mr. Hon) described as a waste of time.

INEC is planning to hold a rerun so we will be pleading and warning, Mr. Hon said.

HOW THE LEGAL BATTLE BEGAN

Mr. Okonkwo, represented by his lawyer, had approached the Federal High Court in December 2014 to contest the nomination of a fellow PDP member from the state, Unche Ekwunife, who was controversially picked as the partys flag bearer in the 2015 senatorial elections in the state.

Mr. Okonkwos argument had been that he won the primaries conducted by the party and should have been presented as the authentic flag-bearer of the PDP during the 2015 election in the state.

Ms. Ekwunife was eventually declared winner of the election by INEC, but Mr. Okonkwo continued with his suit.

While Mr. Okonkwos matter was ongoing before Justice Okon Abang, the candidate representing the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Victor Umeh, approached the Anambra State National Assembly election tribunal to contest the emergence of Ms. Ekwunife as winner of the said election.

A three-member panel of judges in that tribunal, led by Justice Nayai Alabama, upheld the election of Ms. Ekwunife in October 2015.

Following the ruling of the tribunal, Mr. Umeh appealed the tribunals decision at the Appeal Court in Enugu State.

In its ruling, however, the Appeal Court nullified the nomination of Ms. Ekwunife and ordered a re-run election to be conducted within 90 days from the date the judgement was delivered on December 6, 2015.

The appellate court also ruled that Ms. Ekwunife and her party, PDP, should not partake in the re-run election ordered to be conducted for the vacant position.

Shortly after that ruling, on January 8, 2016, Ms. Ekwunife decamped to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Ms. Ekwunife also contested the December 2015 Appeal Court judgement at the Supreme Court, resulting in the suspension of the election ordered to be conducted within 90 days.

While her appeal was being handled at the Supreme Court, the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court again delivered another ruling still on the same election matter.

The trial court, in an application filed by the PDP on the December 6 post-election judgement, allowed the inclusion of the party in the scheduled re-run election.

Dissatisfied with that judgement Mr. Umeh again approached the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court which ordered a re-run election in its ruling on November 20.

A three-member panel of judges, headed by Justice Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson, ordered the re-run election in the district within 90 days, and that PDP be exempted.

It was based on that ruling that INEC slated January 13, 2018 for the re-run.

Various applications have already been filed at the Supreme Court requesting a stay of porceedings in the matter.
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Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on Wednesday received ten out of the eleven indigenes of the state who were among the 490 Nigerians recently repatriated from Libya.

Addressing the returnees at the Government House, Enugu, Mr. Ugwuanyi thanked God for their safe return and also expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari and his team for facilitating the return of the affected Nigerians to the country.

The governor noted that the female returnee from the state could not return with the others because she was currently receiving medical attention in Port Harcourt.

He promised to assist the returnees undertake necessary medical examinations as well as reintegrate them with their families and society at large.

Mr. Ugwuanyi advised Nigerians, especially the youth, to desist from travelling to Libya and similar unsafe places in search of greener pastures. He charged them to positively invest their resourcefulness and creativity at home rather than expose themselves to slavery and other untold difficulties abroad.

Narrating their ordeals, the returnees thanked God for their safe return after the trauma they experienced in Libya, applauding the federal government for the surprised intervention and Mr. Ugwuanyi for receiving them back to the state.

The returnees said it was only God that sustained them in Libya, as they experienced several inhuman treatments in the hands of the Libyans.

They stated that it was because of their pitiable conditions in Nigeria that they travelled to Libya, stressing that they had no bad intention.

It was only God that saved us. I never believed I will return to Nigeria. I trusted my hope in God. I didnt have any bad intention travelling to Libya. It was because of my condition that I travelled out. I was a shoemaker in Nigeria. I sold my tools, everything, to be able to travel.

It pains me a lot that I had to pass through all these. But I thank God that the Federal Government still remembered somebody like me, more especially my Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who sent his team to come and bring us back home from Port Harcourt, after we returned from Libya, one of the returnees, Hyacinth Ikechukwu, said.

Another returnee, James Ogbo, said: While I was in the prison, I was surprised to hear that the Federal Government of Nigeria, our President, sent people to come and rescue us. We are surprised that our country can remember us. That was our greatest surprise and we are equally very grateful to our governor and members of his team.

Earlier in her remark, the Executive Secretary of State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Nkechi Eneh, who accompanied the returnees to the Government House, disclosed that the governor quickly provided the logistics for their return to Enugu from Port Harcourt, and thanked him for his prompt response.
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Ahead of the scheduled Ekiti governorship primaries in April, some aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have warned that the party stands to lose the coming governorship election if the governor, Ayo Fayose, is allowed to impose his candidate on the party.

They also called on the National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, to put in place a process that would ensure free and fair primaries.

The aspirants include the senator representing Ekiti South senatorial district, Biodun Olujimi; former Minister of Works, Adedayo Adeyeye; former Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, Dare Bejidej and the immediate past Commissioner for Justice, Owoseeni Ajayi.

Mr. Fayose has already endorsed his deputy, Kolapo Olusola, as the PDPs flag bearer for the election, in spite of stiff opposition from other aspirants.

The governor had clarified that his endorsement did not preclude other aspirants from contesting for the ticket.

But the aggrieved aspirants have called for the dissolution of the state Working Committee(SWC), led by Gboyega Oguntuase and establishment of a caretaker committee to conduct the primaries.

Speaking on behalf of the aspirants on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, Mr. Adeyeye on said the aspirants reject the adoption of Mr. Olusola as the sole candidate of the for the July 14 governorship election.

He called on the National Chairman of the party to exclude Mr. Fayose and the State Chairman of the party, Gboyega Oguntuase from partaking in the conduct of the primary, saying the duo have already compromised, they have taken positions and cannot be fair to all the aspirants.



The State Working Committee (SWC) having betrayed its expected neutrality role, should be disqualified in the process leading to the gubernatorial primary in April. We demand for

a caretaker committee to replace them for the state, he said.

Governor Fayose has pitched his tent with Prof Olusola and he should be disqualified from playing any role.

The relevant provisions of the electoral Act and the PDP constitution should be followed strictly and arbitrary and illegal use of state apparatus like radio and television stations to subvert the truth must stop.

Mr. Adeyeye also advised Mr. Secondus to act fast and checkmate Mr. Fayose to prevent the loss the PDP suffered in Ondo during its last governorship election.

Ms. Olujimi, in her comments, said to undermine her and her co-aspirants would attract dire consequences for the party.

Whoever says we are politicians that can be wished away will have himself to blame, the result will be grievous, she said.

We dont want to lose Ekiti but Governor Fayose is messing up the whole process. It was because people like us worked hard in 2014 that made the 16-0 possible for PDP.

Prof Olusola was only a beneficiary of our sweat , he didnt contribute anything and now he wants to be adopted against the partys constitution, this we will not accept.

Messrs. Owoseeni and Bejide , who spoke separately on the unconstitutionality of Mr. Fayoses imposition, cited Section 50(1) ( 2) and 50(2b) of the PDP constitution. They argued that the governor and the SWC had no role whatsoever to play in the conduct of primary.

Allowing the governor to have his way in a crude manner may spell doom for the party, Mr. Owoseeni said.
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The Lagos Airport Police Command said on Wednesday that 235 persons were prosecuted for committing various offences at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos between January and December 2017.

The spokesman for the command, Joseph Alabi, a deputy superintendent of police, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the suspects were charged with assault, stealing, obtaining by false pretences, unlawful entry and touting, among others.

He said that the offences contravened the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria by-laws.

Mr. Alabi said the command made 357 arrests within the period under review.

The command was able to secure 89 convictions for the period under review, he said.

The spokesman said 222 cases were still at various levels of investigation and awaiting trial.

According to him, the command, under the leadership of Abdullahi Usman, has put strategies in place to beef up security at the airport and its environs.

He said this was aimed at improving the safety of passengers, airline operators and other users.

Mr. Alabi appealed to members of the public to abide by the rules and regulations of the airport, especially on the issue of restricted areas.

(NAN)
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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in Osun says the corpse of a police sergeant has been discovered at Sawmill Area of Osogbo.

The spokesman of the command, Babawale Afolabi, said in a statement that some wood sellers at a sawmill had reported the discovery of the body found in front of Dawodu Petrol Station in the area at about 8 a.m.

Mr. Afolabi said investigation carried out by the NSCDC revealed that the deceased was a police sergeant attached to the Zonal Police Headquarters in Osogbo.

He said one cell phone, one ATM card and a wrist watch were found on the deceased.

The spokesman said the cause of death of the deceased was yet to be identified as no physical marks were found on the body.

He, however, said that there were traces of a foamy substance on his mouth, adding that the police had been notified of the incident.

The police spokesperson in the state, Folashade Odoro, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the command had been notified of the incident.

She said the corpse had been deposited at the mortuary while the command would conduct further investigation on the matter.

(NAN)
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The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday in China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese consortium for a 5,500 barrel per day modular refinery in Edo State.

The event is coming hours after a similar MoU was signed with China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. in Beijing, China, for the development of the Gelegele Seaport in Edo State.

The Chinese consortium that will handle the modular refinery is made up of Peiyang Chemical Equipment Company of China (PCC), a world leading modular refinery company; Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation (SIPS) which is a subsidiary of Sinopec, the top chemical giant in the world and African Infrastructure Partners, AIP, a Nigerian infrastructure company.

The first phase of the project will be ready within twelve (12) months after all the necessary approvals are granted by the regulatory authorities.

The MoU signing ceremony for the refinery took place at SINOPEC headquarters in Beijing, China, and was witnessed by officials of the Nigerian Embassy in the Asian country as well as staff of SIPS Nigeria, a major local fabrication company, with a branch in Benin City, Edo State.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Obaseki expressed his delight at the local content component of the deal, which will ensure that Edo citizens are trained in welding, refinery operation and fabrication works to enable them participate in the construction of the refinery as well as its operation, post-commissioning.

The governor assured that the refinery construction will provide jobs for several unemployed Edo youth including the Libya returnees who are being evacuated from the crisis-ridden North African country.

Mr. Obaseki added that the modular refinery will solve the problem of inadequate petroleum products in the country and will turn Edo State to the preferred source of petroleum products considering the gateway status of Edo State to other parts of the country.

With the federal government of Nigerias commitment to support communities in the Niger Delta states to set up modular refineries, the SIPS fabrication yard in Benin City is expected to be very busy handling the fabrication jobs of modular refineries in the Niger Delta Region, Mr. Obaseki said.

He pledged that his administration will provide community support to the project, assist in securing all regulatory approvals from the appropriate regulatory authorities such as the federal ministry of petroleum resources.

The consortium is committed to delivering phase 1 of the project within 12 months of receiving the required regulatory approvals.

In addition, PCC also agreed to finance the demonstration modular refinery up to 70 per cent, thereby assisting in scaling the financing hurdle that has militated against the development of modular refineries in Nigeria.

The project will be executed in two phases; phase 1 consisting of 500 bpd demonstration refinery and phase 2 consisting of a 5,000 bpd capacity refinery. The PCC will also serve as the Operations and Management company that will manage the refinery before transferring it to the local investors.

The demonstration refinery will serve as, proof of concept and to train the indigenes in the management of the refinery.
The Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has raised the alarm over what he alleged was a plot by Fulani herdsmen to unleash mayhem in the state.

The governor who made the claims in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday, said the herdsmen had taken over the states forest reserves and were using the forest as cover to unleash violence on the state.

Mr. Fayose had earlier condemned the herdsmens killing in Benue and had described it as terrorism. Ekiti, like Benue, has an anti-open grazing law.

He had also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently declare the herdsmen as terrorists based on their activities in Benue and other parts of the country.

According to him, some persons identified as Fulani herdsmen fondly called the Bororo were making a surreptitious move into the outskirts of Ekiti with the aim to kill and maim people and rubbish his anti-grazing law.

I have received letters that the Bororos have entered our reserves they want to violate our laws. I want to call on the attention of the federal government that they have come and want to kill men and kids and women in Ekiti, he said.

The governor subsequently held a meeting with all local hunters from the 16 local government areas of the state and charged them to secure the state.

If you have charms, dont forget to use it and make them sleep off, because your people must not be killed, he charged the hunters.

We will not allow that to happen. I want you all the hunters to go back today to protect your people. Be vigilant, open your eyes, make sure everyone entering our state is screened.

No one in the guise of grazing should enter our land after 8 p.m. For our brothers who harbour criminals, tell them Ekiti is a no go area.

If your plan is to make this state ungovernable, you are wasting your time. I have called this meeting for everyone to be vigilant. I will begin to support you now to secure Ekiti.

Speaking further, Mr. Fayose said, Mr. President, declare herdsmen as terrorist group now, they are mindless, Godless and devilish.

I sympathise with our brothers, sisters and people from Benue State that are mourning the brutality of those who killed their kinsmen, he added.

Mr. Fayose, who observed a minutes silence for the Benue victims, was in military fatigue seemingly to appear battle-ready.

This (uniform) is done to charge our hunters to secure the state. I saw pictures of the killings and I wondered if those were human beings, he said.

I asked the question, if people could be that piqued to kill human beings that way. They will find no peace. It is no tribal killings but that of mindless people. Blood of departed will find those people and they wont know peace. It is the duty of the federal government to protect its people. We are not protected. We have never had it so bad. People must come to leadership with conscience. The federal government should have sent the army not police.

Governor Samuel Ortom should fasten his belt and protect his people. Those seeking for help in Abuja would not find because Abuja also needs help. I sympathise with you, this is your home and nobody would kill you. You are all safe here.

However, Mr. Fayose charged the hunters not to take the law into their hands in their bid to protect the people.

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I also learnt that they want to come and be arresting people for no reasons. They would meet Gods hand in it. My hunters, you know Ekiti very well. Protect the state. We will be having monthly meetings, he added.
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The police in Ondo State have arrested six armed robbery suspects, two of whom said they were soldiers.

The two, Moruf Oguntade and Adetayo Ogunbadejo, who claimed to privates in the Nigerian Army, were said to operate while in their army uniforms.

Speaking at the police command headquarters on the arrest on Wednesday, the Commissioner of Police, Gbenga Adeyanju, said the suspects were arrested along Akure-Owo expressway in Ogudu Camp, along Emure town.

Mr. Adeyanju said the hoodlums blocked a road leading to the expressway around Emure town in order to rob vehicles or kidnap people during the operation.

He further explained that officials of the state police command received the information about the activities of the robbers and swung into action. That led to the arrest of one the robbers, Jacob Amos, who confessed to the crime and led the police to their hideout.

He noted that although five persons alleged to be members of the gang were arrested, three others were still on the run.

The other suspects paraded include Moses Aleka, Iliyasu Suleiman and Jayeola Ojo.

One of the suspects, Mr. Suleiman, who claimed to be a computer repairer, told journalists that he was invited from Kogi State and lured to the robbery operation by his friends who claimed to be Internet fraudsters popularly known as Yahoo boys.

Mr. Suleiman, 37, said he joined the gang of robbers because he needed to raise enough money for his mothers burial.

When I came, he told me it was Yahoo. It was when I got to him that it became a different thing, I told them I cannot go out like this, and they said there is no problem, Mr. Suleiman said.

It was when we went out that I knew it was a real problem. The village people shouted at us and we ran. I was later arrested by the police.

I am a repairer of the laptop, he told me to come and that he will teach me how to make faster money with Yahoo. When I came, I asked him, where is the laptop? He said I should not worry. On the eighth day, he said we should stroll out, he gave me a knife, he gave the other guy cutlass and he handled the pistol.

I am appealing to the police to sympathise with me because of my late mother, I dont care what they want to do to me I want to witness her burial.

Items recovered from the suspects include army uniforms, one Beretta pistol, cutlasses, knives, charms, one Hummer SUV and three booklets of Army pass.

The police commissioner, however, said detectives from the command were on the trail of three other members of the gang who would certainly arrested.
"Some people have looked at our product as a last mile vehicle," says Jack Mudd, Onewheel Chief Evangelist. "But now with 12-18 mile range it can really take you on much bigger journeys."

When you think of traveling to CES, Onewheeling might not be your first choice. A team of riders from Onewheel creator Future Motion embarked on an epic adventure: riding to Las Vegas from Palm Springs. 300 miles of lonely roads and great scenery.

The road to Vegas was not without challenges though. The chase vehicle broke down and the weather turned ugly, but spirits remained high. "When you're riding a Onewheel, you just don't worry about all the other stuff that's going on. You're in the moment, silently riding. It's amazing," says Elai Dankner, who led the expedition.

"When we were developing Onewheel+ XR, we knew we wanted to go on a big adventure to launch the product and showcase what it can do," says CEO Kyle Doerksen. "I think this is going to inspire many other amazing Onewheeling adventures."

The four-person team traded off every 10-15 miles and enjoyed some sightseeing along the historic Overland Route and through Joshua Tree National Park.

"It was so incredible. It's the most freeing thing ever. You feel so alive," says Nicola Hopwood, team rider. "With this much range, it feels like you can ride forever," says Christian Shaw, Brand Ambassador.

The team is planning to roll into Las Vegas this afternoon amidst rainy conditions or "good fender weather," referring to the fender accessory that prevents water and dirt from splashing up while riding.

"You see a lot of rideable gadgets at CES," says Mudd. "But Onewheel+ XR isn't just for riding around the pool on a lazy weekend. It's something that can replace your car."

Footage from the journey is available here.

The new Onewheel+ XR is available for pre-order at www.onewheel.com for $1799, and Onewheel+ is in-stock and shipping for $1499 online and at select dealers across the US and worldwide.

About Future Motion, Inc

Founded in 2013, Future Motion is committed to designing and developing inspiring vehicles that include both elegant form and unprecedented function. Future Motion's products Onewheel+ and Onewheel+ XR, exemplify its dedication to crafting products that bridge recreation and transportation. Future Motion is based in Santa Cruz, California. Its products are protected by over 26 issued patents in the US and worldwide.

Contacts:

Jack Mudd

[email protected]

(650) 400-3123

Brody Gordon

[email protected]

(212) 528-1691

SOURCE Future Motion, Inc

Related Links

http://www.onewheel.com


"Because community banks put their focus on local people and small businesses, they are perfectly positioned to provide the specialized support that is unique to their area," acknowledges Karen L. Dorway, president of BauerFinancial. "Community banks, like First Bank and Trust, promote local growth by investing back into the same neighborhoods that their deposits come from. By fostering these local relationships, they achieve two goals: they are highly capitalized and they are accountable to their customers."

Established in 1979, First Bank and Trust has been reinvesting in its local communities for 38 years. It currently operates through 21 conveniently located full-service offices in Tennessee and Virginia and can also be found online at firstbank.com.

First Bank and Trust: "The Bank That Puts You First"

Member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.

BauerFinancial, Inc., Coral Gables, Florida, the nation's leading independent bank and credit union rating and research firm, has been reporting on and analyzing the performance of U.S. banks and credit unions since 1983. No institution can pay for or opt out of a BauerFinancial rating. Star-ratings are all available for free at bauerfinancial.com.

BauerFinancial, Inc. P.O. Box 143520, Coral Gables, FL 33114.

SOURCE First Bank & Trust Company

Related Links

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BALTIMORE, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Urological Association (AUA) announced today the list of 2018 award recipients who will be recognized at the Association's Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA this May. Marking its 55th anniversary this year, the ceremony in San Francisco will celebrate this year's honoree physician researchers and educators for their contributions to the field of medicine, the specialty of urology and the AUA.

The following awards will be presented:



Ramon Guiteras Award: The Ramon Guiteras Award is presented annually to an individual who is deemed to have made outstanding contributions to the art and science of urology. Edward M. Messing, MD will receive this award for over 35 years of outstanding contributions to the art and science of urology, specifically urologic oncology.

Hugh Hampton Young Award: The Hugh Hampton Young Award is presented annually to an individual for their outstanding contributions to the study of genitourinary tract disease. Francesco Montorsi, MD, will receive this year's award for seminal scientific contributions to the study of urologic oncology and andrology, as well as for mentorship and global leadership in academic urology.

Gold Cystoscope Award: The Gold Cystoscope Award is presented annually to a urologist distinguished by outstanding contributions to the profession within 10 years of completing residency training.

E. Jason Abel, MD, will receive this award for outstanding contributions as a physician-scientist in renal carcinoma research, clinical excellence and education.

Lifetime Achievement Award: The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has been deemed to have made outstanding contributions to advance the mission and goals of the AUA. Pramod C. Sogani, MD, will receive this award for exemplary service and leadership as AUA President and for teaching and mentoring generations of urologists.

Robert C. Flanigan Education Award: The Robert C. Flanigan Education Award is given once every three years to an individual who has made exemplary contributions to the educational goals of the American Urological Association. Gary J. Faerber, MD will receive this award for years of tireless devotion to education and mentorship of residents and faculty, and vision in developing the AUA Residents Bowl.

Victor A. Politano Award: The Victor A. Politano Award is presented annually to an individual for outstanding research and work in the field of incontinence and for enhancing the treatment of incontinent patients, thereby helping to improve their quality of life. Timothy B, Boone, MD, PhD will receive this award for excellent clinical research and educational efforts in neurourology and neuroscience, including urodynamics, female pelvic medicine and spinal cord injury.

William P. Didusch Art and History Award: The William P. Didusch Art and History Award promotes and recognizes contributions to urological art, including, but not limited to, illustrations, sculpture, still photography, motion pictures and television productions. Erwin W. Rugendorff, MD, will receive this year's award for decades of support for the Didusch Center for Urologic History and outstanding writing on the history of medicine and philately.

Distinguished Contribution Award: The Distinguished Contribution Awards are presented annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the science and practice of urology, including, but not limited to, contributions made in a sub-specialty area, for military career service or for humanitarian efforts. The following individuals will be recognized with this award:

Arthur L. Burnett II , MD, MBA, for outstanding contributions to the fields of prostate cancer, sexual medicine and urologic mentoring.

for outstanding contributions to the fields of prostate cancer, sexual medicine and urologic mentoring. Wayne J. G. Hellstrom , MD , for seminal contributions to andrology in the fields of sexual dysfunction and infertility as well as effective leadership and mentorship in academic urology.

, for seminal contributions to andrology in the fields of sexual dysfunction and infertility as well as effective leadership and mentorship in academic urology. Louis R. Kavoussi , MD, for pioneering contributions to minimally invasive urologic surgery, telecommunication and education.

Distinguished Service Awards: The Distinguished Service Awards are presented annually to individuals for outstanding service in advancing to the goals of the American Urological Association. The following individuals will receive this award:

J. Quentin Clemens , MD , for excellence in neurourology and pelvic reconstructive surgery as well as service as the Data Committee Chair in developing the AUA Quality Registry.

, for excellence in neurourology and pelvic reconstructive surgery as well as service as the Data Committee Chair in developing the AUA Quality Registry. Jeffrey E. Kaufman , MD, for decades of outstanding leadership and service to the Western Section and the AUA Board of Directors and contributions to the importance of Health Policy.

for decades of outstanding leadership and service to the Western Section and the AUA Board of Directors and contributions to the importance of Health Policy. Richard A. Memo , MD, for exemplary service and leadership as AUA Treasurer, and as the inaugural Chairperson of the Urology Care Foundation.

Gold-Headed Cane Award: The Gold-Headed Cane Award is presented to a senior urologist distinguished by outstanding contributions to the profession and to the AUA. George W. Kaplan, MD, is this year's award recipient for excellent work in the treatment of children with urologic diseases and mentorship in educating future pediatric urologists.

Presidential Citations: Presidential Citations are presented to individuals deemed to have significantly promoted the cause of urology. Each recipient is chosen by the AUA President. This honor will be bestowed upon the following individuals:

Michael S. Cookson , MD, MMHC, f or outstanding service in the development of the Oncology Knowledge Assessment Test and as chair of the Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Guideline.

or outstanding service in the development of the Oncology Knowledge Assessment Test and as chair of the Guideline. Gerald H. Jordan , MD, f or decades of innovation in urologic reconstruction and fostering collaboration between the American Board of Urology and AUA.

or decades of innovation in urologic reconstruction and fostering collaboration between the American Board of Urology and AUA. Jack W. McAninch , MD, f or training and educating generations of urologists in trauma and reconstruction.

or training and educating generations of urologists in trauma and reconstruction. Jessica McCullough , in recognition of 15 years of outstanding administrative service to urology and the AUA.

in recognition of 15 years of outstanding administrative service to urology and the AUA. Arturo Mendoza-Valdes , MD, in recognition of years of service to the Sociedad Mexicana de Urologia and the AUA South Central Section.

in recognition of years of service to the Sociedad Mexicana de Urologia and the AUA South Central Section. John W. Weigel , MD, for over 50 years of educating and mentoring generations of urologists in the military and the University of Kansas .

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 22,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.

Media Contact: Christine Frey, AUA

410-689-3731, [email protected]

SOURCE American Urological Association

Related Links

http://www.AUAnet.org


The 43,295 square-foot office space, which occupies the 31 st and 32 nd floors of the iconic New York building, located at 230 Park Avenue, has been beautifully renovated to accommodate the agency's continued growth and expansion as it moves into 2018 and beyond. The space is home to 5W's 150-person team, with specialized divisions Consumer, Corporate, Technology and Digital/Social Media.

"We're excited for continued growth and success in 2018," said Ronn Torossian, President & CEO. "5W is continuously expanding and growing  innovating our programs to continue to provide exceptional services to clients in the ever-changing media landscape. Our renovated space was designed to be inspirational and collaborative, welcoming the never-been-done-before big ideas and great work culture that defines our agency."

5W Public Relations, which celebrated 15 years of growth in 2017, saw another exceptional year across key categories. Key 2017 client wins included The Trade Desk  a cloud-based technology platform for buying and managing digital advertising campaigns, Servcorp  the leading provider of luxury office space solutions, and the Indie Beauty Expo  a platform that showcases and celebrates independent beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands.

Photos from inside 5W's renovated office space reflect the team's hard work and commitment to delivering innovative and lasting results for its clients.

ABOUT 5W Public Relations:

5W Public Relations, a full-service PR Agency, helps some of the world's most admired brands, corporations and personalities achieve more. 5W's bold, resourceful and thoroughly modern approach has measurably increased the positive results of their clients' communication efforts.

5WPR's diverse roster of client experience includes Welch's, Walgreens, Sparkling ICE, Medifast, T-Fal, KRUPS, Zeta Global, Unilever, Ultra Mobile, ROBLOX, Santa Margherita, Camp Bow Wow, JetSmarter, All-Clad and Wendy Williams. Its roster also encompasses clients from government organizations to leading technology startups and businesses.

Public Relations

Ronn Torossian | [email protected]

212-999-5585

SOURCE 5W Public Relations

Related Links

http://www.5wpr.com


Viceroy Los Cabos is the brands first collaboration with Rodina Group, an investment firm specializing in hospitality, real estate, transportation and infrastructure across Mexico, who acquired the hotel in December 2017.

"This is an incredible opportunity to expand our presence in Mexico and to offer travelers a remarkable Viceroy experience in Los Cabos," said Bill Walshe, CEO, Viceroy Hotel Group. "It is a privilege to collaborate with such an accomplished partner as Rodina, who shares our vision to create an extraordinary new modern luxury resort experience in one of the world's most sought after destinations."

"Rodina is thrilled to bring the first Viceroy to Los Cabos, as the brand is perfectly suited for such a striking and progressive property. With every angle thoughtfully designed, Viceroy Los Cabos will emerge as a modern icon and truly unique destination in Los Cabos," said Felipe and Andres Chico, Managing Partners at Rodina.

New and Enhanced Offerings

Activating vibe through epic on-property experiences is a hallmark of the Viceroy brand. In collaboration with Al Arquitectura de Interiores, a celebrated design firm out of Guadalajara, Mexico, the renovations and updates to be revealed in the spring opening will include an energized arrival experience, the addition of a beach bar and beach pool, and an expanded, redesigned state-of-the-art fitness center and spa. Two of the four existing dining outlets will be structurally updated and re-concepted to provide spectacular dining and social options for guests and locals alike. Upon completion, Viceroy Los Cabos will feature 194 rooms, suites and villas, and 50 residences.

The resort amenities, including a cinema room for movie screenings and versatile meeting spaces, in addition to the new restaurants and bars, will establish Viceroy Los Cabos as the new energetic social hub in Los Cabos.

Celebrating Water and Local Surroundings

Viceroy Los Cabos is a beachfront resort, a canvas of architectural achievement, located in San Jose del Cabo on the outer rim of Baja California Sur. Built by skilled local artisans, the unparallelled design of Viceroy Los Cabos celebrates water as our most precious natural resource, which stands as a proud celebration of, and connection to, its location.

The resort creates many opportunities for guests to create memories that will last a lifetime: whale watching on the Pacific Ocean, sailing on the stunning bays of Los Cabos, laying on the pearl white sand beaches, swimming in the turquoise lagoon in La Paz, and marine park exploration on the pristine beaches of Cabo Pulmo Park, which cradle some of the world's largest coral reefs. Each will allow guests to experience the stunning bays of Los Cabos and ocean wonders that can only be found in the "World's Natural Aquarium."

Minutes away from downtown San Jose del Cabo, guests can take in the art walk of San Jose and its colonial architecture, explore multiple dining options, and discover local culture.

A Viceroy Milestone

Viceroy Hotel Group currently operates Viceroy Riviera Maya, a romantic luxury resort located on Playa del Carmen. Viceroy Los Cabos will be the second resort in the company's Mexican collection and an important part of Viceroy's aggressive and expansive growth strategy. In addition to Cabos, forthcoming openings over the coming years include Serbia, Argentina, Panama, Portugal and Vietnam.

For more information, please visit viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/loscabos.

About Viceroy Hotel Group

Viceroy Hotel Group inspires travelers with one-of-a-kind authentic lifestyle experiences that bring together provocative design and intuitive service in sought-after locations. A leader in modern luxury, Viceroy's vibe-led hospitality is guided by the brand promise "Remember to Live," an affirmation to create lifelong memories for each and every guest. Viceroy destinations are segmented into three distinct portfolio tiers to help travelers find exactly the kind of experience they're looking for. The Viceroy Icon Collection properties include epic hotels and resorts in Chicago, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Beverly Hills, Riviera Maya, Snowmass, and St. Lucia, with forthcoming openings in Algarve, Buenos Aires, Los Cabos, Panama, and Vietnam. The Viceroy Lifestyle Series hotels and resorts are found in attitude-led destinations including New York and Santa Monica, with a forthcoming opening in Serbia. The Urban Retreat Collection properties in San Francisco have an independent spirit and bold, eccentric personalities. Viceroy Hotel Group is a member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) DISCOVERY, a unique loyalty program offering exclusive benefits and experiences to its members at over 550 hotels around the world. For more information, visit www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com. Follow Viceroy Hotel Group at facebook.com/viceroyhotelgroup and on Instagram and Twitter @viceroyhotels.

Contact: LFB Media Group 646-455-0042

Erin Brunner [email protected]

Priya Bhambri [email protected]

SOURCE Viceroy Hotel Group

Related Links

http://viceroyhotelsandresorts.com


WOOD DALE, Ill., Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR) announced that its Board of Directors at its regularly scheduled meeting declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share to its stockholders. The dividend will be payable on February 5, 2018 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on January 22, 2018. Future cash dividends will be subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.

About AAR

AAR is a global aftermarket solutions company that employs more than 5,000 people in over 20 countries. Based in Wood Dale, Illinois, AAR supports commercial aviation and government customers through two operating segments: Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services. AAR's Aviation Services include inventory management; parts supply; OEM parts distribution; aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul; and component repair. AAR's Expeditionary Services include airlift operations; mobility systems; and command and control centers in support of military and humanitarian missions. More information can be found at www.aarcorp.com.

This press release contains certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated, including those factors discussed under Item 1A, entitled "Risk Factors", included in the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2017. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many are beyond the Company's control. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. For additional information, see the comments included in AAR's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE AAR CORP.

Related Links

http://www.aarcorp.com


NEW DELHI, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Talent Acquisition and Management Services provider, Alexander Mann Solutions, today announced an exclusive strategic partnership agreement with FlexAbility, the Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) subsidiary of ABC Consultants. Building on a successful and proven partnership over the last 8 years, Alexander Mann Solutions and FlexAbility India will work together on investing and continuing to deliver innovative, impactful RPO services in India.

The partnership between Alexander Mann Solutions and FlexAbility India is a unique part of the Global Alexander Mann Solutions strategy. It is the only exclusive partnership Alexander Mann Solutions have engaged in to deliver exquisite services to our clients. The partnership already delivers enormous value to clients by leveraging a unique combination of deep-rooted Indian recruitment expertise, industry knowledge, and insights, combined with world-class recruitment process expertise and excellence. While Alexander Mann Solutions offers a distinctive blend of outsourcing and consulting services, FlexAbility has an ISO 27001 certified shared service centre in New Delhi along with sourcing hubs in Mumbai, Bangalore & Hyderabad to support their fortune 250 RPO clients.

"Alexander Mann Solutions and FlexAbility India, together, bring innovation along with operational rigour to our clients. It is a great opportunity for us to continue to build our market leading RPO and Consulting proposition with FlexAbility India. Our renewed exclusive partnership will enable us to deliver top-tier recruitment services, measurable innovation and operational rigour, positively impacting business outcomes for our clients," said Caleb Baker, Managing Director, APAC & Emerging Markets, Alexander Mann Solutions.

"We are pleased to work with a global leader and innovator in RPO  Alexander Mann Solutions. Partnering with them is a crucial and exciting step for us. Their innovative business engagement practices, experience in RPO and global client service centre infrastructure, will let us take our client interactions and service delivery to the next level, thereby becoming more strategic and proactive in responding to needs of our clients. This partnership will also create an opportunity to serve our clients globally," said Vinod Subramanian, Director & Business Head, FlexAbility RPO.

According to Everest Group research, India has one of the fastest-growing RPO markets worth US$660-700 million, and it is expected to grow at a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24-26% from 2015 to 2020.

About Alexander Mann Solutions:

Alexander Mann Solutions is passionate about helping companies and individuals fulfil their potential through talent acquisition and management. Today, over 3,500 talent acquisition and management professionals are partnering with over 80 blue-chip clients across multiple sectors, in more than 90 countries globally. Delivering a distinctive blend of outsourcing and consulting services, Alexander Mann Solutions' unrivalled experience, capability and thought leadership helps its clients attract, engage and retain the talent they need for business success.

About FlexAbility India:

FlexAbility is the Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) division of ABC Consultants and has been delivering customised end to end RPO and Resource Augmentation solutions to large Multinational and Indian corporates for the past 8 years in India. FlexAbility have evolved as a trusted RPO partner to its clients to attract the best available talent and have over 200 full-time professionals spread over 7 cities in India.

About ABC Consultants:

ABC Consultants is the pioneer of organised recruitment services in India. Over the years, ABC has acted as preferred recruitment partners to multinationals and Indian businesses to emerge as the leading recruitment brand nationally. ABC's focus has always been on middle and senior management talent needs. With over 300 professionals spread across 8 cities in India, ABC recruits for its clients across 25 industry sectors. In the past 48 years, ABC have helped shape the careers of over 147,500 professionals.

SOURCE Alexander Mann Solutions
TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Alphabet Communication (www.AlphC.com) was granted U.S. Patent No. 9,860,203 on Jan 2, 2018. AlphC revolutionary communication concept assigns an email address to every physical address in the entire world, creating the first complete global communication network. According to Shafin Valla the founder of AlphC, "We are on the cusp of the biggest changes to the Internet since its inception." Using the patented platform, the geo-coded email created can be used as the universal form of communication linking the entire global population for the first time. Valla continues, "The science of "Six Degrees of Separation" is now Zero."

Addresses are authenticated via cell phone verification. All occupants of an address are linked via their email, to the geo-coded email created for their physical address. A message sent to the email of the address connects you to all occupants. As AlphC emails are geo-coded they cannot be duplicated, adding a layer of transparency and security that does not exist with current email.

According to Valla, "This method of communication does not exist in the world. It is new knowledge which comes with incredible reach and great responsibility." AlphC gives an unprecedented lifeline for governments to reach their citizens via their address. This capability provides the foundation for emergency communication, crisis mapping during disasters, logistical management of infrastructure and public registry. Population migration can be tracked assisting with management of resources and increased efficiency for the government. Data transfer from Driver's Licenses (DOT) and other government sources can be used to map the population of the country. There are far reaching possibilities with this technology, including the prevention of crime and terrorism.

Facebook is trying to map the global population via their Connectivity Labs using basic assumptions based on building size. Valla finds they are limited in scope. "AlphC platform serves a dual purpose, the ability to accurately map the global population and permit communication."

The primary focus of AlphC remains emergency and crisis communication. The company's preference is having Licensing Agreements that provide autonomy to countries and relevant authorities based on local needs and privacy issues, limiting barriers. The company is seeking partnership and alliances.

The company is represented by the intellectual property and technology law firm, Knobbe Martens.

Follow us on Twitter at @Alphc1

SOURCE Alphabet Communication
ROHNERT PARK, Calif., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In December 2017, Ameritech Financial hosted a food drive at its Rohnert Park, California, office. During the three weeks that the food drive barrels were available, team members donated a total of 1,852 pounds of food  equivalent to 1,543 meals  to be distributed to people in need throughout Sonoma County. Ameritech Financial, a document preparation company that helps federal student loan borrowers apply for repayment plans offered through the Department of Education, is proud of the level to which its team members stepped up to participate and help those in need.

Ameritech Financial

"We are so grateful to our team members who went above and beyond for this food drive," said Tom Knickerbocker, Executive Vice President at Ameritech Financial. "We knew there's an amazing group of people working here, but we couldn't have predicted this level of generosity."

The high level of participation impressed the management team at Ameritech Financial, who is immensely grateful to have such a generous workforce. Several team members stepped up and organized donation pushes throughout the three-week food drive to keep the cause at the forefront of everyone's minds and keep the donations coming. It was a resounding success.

Ameritech Financial would like to thank Redwood Empire Food Bank for facilitating the food drive by providing the barrels, picking up donations, and doing all the work that comes next. REFB distributes food to hungry children, elders, and anyone else in need in Sonoma County, including those affected by the wildfires that destroyed homes across Sonoma and Napa counties in October.

"When people can't help themselves, it's important they have access to all the resources that exist to help them," said Knickerbocker. "That's how our entire business operates. Whether it's assisting student loan borrowers or helping our community, our business's primary function is helping those who need it the most."

About Ameritech Financial

Ameritech Financial is a private company located in Rohnert Park, California. Ameritech Financial has already helped thousands of people with financial analysis and student loan document preparation to apply for federal student loan repayment programs offered through the Department of Education.

Ameritech Financial is a member of the Association for Student Loan Relief (AFSLR), and each representative on the phone has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA).

Ameritech Financial prides itself on its exceptional Customer Service.

Contact

To learn more about Ameritech Financial, please contact:

Ameritech Financial

5789 State Farm Drive #265

Rohnert Park, CA 94928

1-800-792-8621

[email protected]

Related Links

Ameritech Financial home page

SOURCE Ameritech Financial

Related Links

https://ameritechfinancial.com


TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AudioEye, Inc. (OTCQB: AEYE) ("AudioEye" or the "Company"), the leader in cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) digital content accessibility solutions, today announced preliminary revenue and new client cash contract bookings ("cash contract bookings" or "bookings") for its fiscal year ending December 31, 2017.

For 2017, AudioEye secured revenue of more than $2.7 million, an increase of more than 172% from $994,000 in the prior year. Bookings for 2017 were a Company record $6.3 million across more than 470 user accounts, an increase of 232% from cash contract bookings of $1.9 million for 2016. The Company expects to report complete financial results in March.

AudioEye previously released 2018 targets for revenue between $6.5 million and $7.5 million and cash contract bookings between $11 million and $12 million, indicating expected continued rapid growth in its business.

CEO Todd Bankofier stated, "Bookings momentum continued to accelerate as companies increasingly prioritize accessibility as a critical part of their digital content strategy. AudioEye's industry leading solutions are being adopted by a rapidly growing list of financial service, government, education, HR and consumer sales facing customers. Our platform is in place on sites ranging from community banks to Fortune 500 enterprises, from private schools to US Federal Government agencies. Over the course of 2017, we have proven our ability to grow revenue, increase bookings and closely manage operating expenses. We look forward to continuing to do so with even greater success in 2018."

"The rapid expansion of market demand has also significantly increased interest in strategic partnerships between AudioEye and industry-leading third-party content management platforms. Our seven partnerships to date are accelerating our sales process in multiple vertical markets, several of which are just beginning to ramp going into 2018. We are actively discussing additional partnerships to further accelerate our market growth opportunities and expand our total addressable markets. We believe AudioEye is on track to not only further grow revenue in the year ahead, but also to achieve profitability and report significantly increased bookings in 2018."

In the first quarter of 2018, AudioEye plans to launch new service offerings and announce a key upgrade to the Digital Accessibility Platform (DAP), each of which will be impactful across its vertical markets.

In preparation for the "refresh" to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which will require federal agencies to conform to new updated accessibility standards, AudioEye has fully aligned its industry best Digital Accessibility Platform to fully align with the new standards that take effect in January 2018.

Additionally, AudioEye will introduce two new PDF services through its Accessible Documents Solutions. The first will provide remediation of key static legacy documents in PDF format, such as bank statements and other consumer and business records. The second service creates accessible templates for dynamic PDF downloads. This service was created working with HR-industry leader ADP to provide accessible W-2 downloads to millions of its users. The platform will be available to all clients needing to provide accessible templated high-volume PDFs on demand.

"In 2017 we secured our position as the technology leader in software driven accessibility solutions and dramatically increased awareness of our capabilities across key vertical markets," said Bankofier. "We head into 2018 with great momentum, and look forward to a year of new and expanded service offerings, greater market penetration and launches into new vertical markets."

About AudioEye, Inc.

AudioEye is a technology company serving businesses committed to providing equal access to their digital content. Through patented technology, subject matter expertise and proprietary processes, AudioEye is transforming how the world experiences digital content.

Leading with technology, AudioEye identifies and resolves issues of accessibility and enhances the user experience, making digital content more accessible and more usable for more people.

AudioEye's common stock trades on the OTCQB under the symbol "AEYE." The Company maintains offices in Tucson, Atlanta and Washington D.C. For more information about AudioEye and its online accessibility solutions, please visit https://www.audioeye.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about AudioEye's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, prospects, financial condition, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the federal securities laws. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "believe", "anticipate", "should", "intend", "plan", "will", "expects", "estimates", "projects", "positioned", "strategy", "outlook" and similar words. You should read the statements that contain these types of words carefully. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, including the risk that the Company's bookings will not increase as currently expected or at all, the risk that the Company's cash position will not improve or will worsen, the risk that the Company's current capitalization plan will not provide the Company with sufficient cash to address its current or future needs or will otherwise not be successful, the risk that the Company's products will not perform as expected and the risk that the Company's products will not generate significant, or any, revenue for the Company. There may be events in the future that AudioEye is not able to predict accurately or over which AudioEye has no control. Other risks are described more fully in AudioEye's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements reflect management's analysis as of the date of this press release and AudioEye urges you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. AudioEye does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or uncertainties after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

For Further information, please contact:

Matt Kreps, Darrow Associates Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (214) 597-8200

Todd Bankofier, AudioEye Chief Executive Officer

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (520) 308-6140

SOURCE AudioEye, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.audioeye.com/


SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Australia and the Asia Pacific are fast becoming the destination of choice for the over US$140 billion international biotech industry1, with considerable research incentives, supportive regulatory environments and affordable trial costs available.

The increase in industry participation in the Asia Pacific region was highlighted in a private event during Biotech Showcase 2018, where Asia Pacific Novotech CRO and specialist compliance group CoSec Consulting briefed industry leaders on the clinical trial benefits available.

The Asia Pacific region has a wealth of clinical trial benefits to offer biotech companies, regardless of their stage of research explained Novotech CRO Chief Executive Officer Dr John Moller.

"Like any business, biotech companies need to maximise cost efficiencies and regulatory speed, and access leading clinical trial infrastructure and decision makers in the regions in which they operate," Dr Moller said, "Australia is able to provide a fast and supportive clinical trial environment, especially for early stage research. A cost comparison study has found that clinical research costs in Australia are up to 60% cheaper than the US for companies able to fully utilise R&D incentives."

CoSec Consulting Managing Partner, Mr Blair Lucas, said Australia's supportive clinical trial environment is a smart financial decision for international biotech companies undertaking early stage research.

"Australia's tax and company compliance environment is transparent and efficient, which has enabled us to provide a simple, fixed-cost model for foreign-domiciled biotech companies seeking to establish operations in Australia," Mr Lucas said. "These tax incentives include a 43.5% refundable cash benefitfor eligible research and development activities in Australia."

Dr Moller said that many governments across Asia are prioritising the benefits of clinical trials to their economies and health sectors; and are working hard to reduce many of the previous barriers to entry by reducing regulatory hurdles, decreasing clinical trial approval and start up timelines, and increasing levels of government support.

"Major advancements during 2017 included the significant restructure by China's FDA to many aspects of its regulatory framework, with the changes outlined in Circular 53 now being implemented," said Dr Moller, "Malaysia has prioritised its clinical trial industry as part of its Economic Transformation Program and launched its first Phase I Clinical Trial Guidelines; while South Korea changed its healthcare policy to now cover the standard of care of patients participating in clinical trials. India also simplified its regulatory approval process in a bid to revitalise its clinical trial industry. Novotech is committed in providing our clients with access to the untapped benefits available in the Asia Pacific region."

As the leading Asia Pacific CRO, Novotech has 13 offices in 11 countries throughout in the Asia Pacific and actively works with each country's regulatory authorities and key clinical trial centres to improve approval processes and timelines. Novotech has recently launched a central labs service in Australia, launched a site monitoring (SMO) business to support clinical trial activity in South Korea and Taiwan; and signed two MOUs with leading clinical trial networks in South Korea.

About Novotech - www.novotech-cro.com

Headquartered in Sydney, Novotech is internationally recognised as the leading regional full-service contract research organisation (CRO). With a focus on clinical monitoring, Novotech has been instrumental in the success of hundreds of Phase I - IV clinical trials in the Asia Pacific region.

Novotech provides clinical development services across all clinical trial phases and therapeutic areas including: feasibility assessments; ethics committee and regulatory submissions, data management, statistical analysis, medical monitoring, safety services, central lab services, report write-up to ICH requirements, project and vendor management. Novotech's strong Asia Pacific presence included running clinical trials in all key regional markets. Novotech also has worldwide reach through the company's network of strategic partners.

For all enquiries, please contact:

Novotech CRO Director Barry Murphy

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 415 767-3663

For RFPs, you can also fill out the form available at www.novotech-cro.com/contact-us-0



About CoSec Consulting - www.cosec.com.au

CoSec Consulting provides specialist compliance, governance and financial solutions for offshore companies undertaking research and development activities in Australia. CoSec has a particularly strong track-record in hosting life sciences companies that are establishing subsidiaries in Australia for the purpose of conducting clinical trials.

CoSec's team of accountants, tax agents and legal professionals offer a full range of highly integrated financial, administrative and advisory services to help companies fulfil their regulatory obligations. In addition to its core compliance and accountancy support, CoSec provides overseas clients with a full suite of registered office and CFO services, and its specialist R&D Advisor also helps clients find out how to take advantage of the country's world-class program of tax incentives for R&D expenditure.

CoSec is headquartered in Melbourne, with senior consultants based in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and San Francisco.

For all enquiries in North America, please contact:

Stewart Walker, Vice President - North America

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 415 310 6252

SOURCE Novotech

Related Links

http://www.novotech-cro.com


"It is important to spotlight the innovators and pioneers who are making future advancements a reality today . Their efforts and technologies have the potential to bring tremendous societal benefits  first and foremost greater motor vehicle safety, as well as greater mobility and reduced emissions," said Mitch Bainwol, president and CEO, Auto Alliance.

The new awards and dinner are part of the Autos2050SM event, including a conference focusing on the crossroads of public policy and automotive technology to be held prior to the dinner on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at the Marriott Marquis.

"These winners were chosen for making game-changing contributions to the automotive industry over the past year, and they will be honored at the first Autos2050SM conference and Driving Innovation Awards Dinner," said Paul Brubaker, president and CEO, ATI21.

The award winners, in alphabetical order, are:

State Senator Jeff Brandes (R-FL) has been a leader in getting self-driving vehicles on Florida's roads by eliminating legal and regulatory obstacles. Brandes authored legislation that reforms Florida's motor vehicle laws and updated the sections of the regulations requiring a human behind the wheel. As Chairman of Florida's Transportation Committee, Brandes inserted self-driving clauses into every transportation bill during his tenure. As a result, today every major Florida city must now incorporate autonomous vehicles into their long-range planning.





has been a leader in getting self-driving vehicles on roads by eliminating legal and regulatory obstacles. Brandes authored legislation that reforms motor vehicle laws and updated the sections of the regulations requiring a human behind the wheel. As Chairman of Transportation Committee, Brandes inserted self-driving clauses into every transportation bill during his tenure. As a result, today every major city must now incorporate autonomous vehicles into their long-range planning. U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI) was instrumental in House passage of the SELF DRIVE Act. Her leadership, advocacy and seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee will advance the testing and deployment of increasingly autonomous vehicles which are expected to save lives, create new economic opportunity and help Americans gain access to safe, affordable and convenient mobility options.





was instrumental in House passage of the SELF DRIVE Act. Her leadership, advocacy and seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee will advance the testing and deployment of increasingly autonomous vehicles which are expected to save lives, create new economic opportunity and help Americans gain access to safe, affordable and convenient mobility options. U.S. Representative Bob Latta (R-OH) also played a significant role in the SELF DRIVE Act. Through his work as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, he generated broad support in the House by highlighting the wide-ranging impacts and diverse societal benefits of self-driving vehicles, helping to pass the legislation in September 2017.





also played a significant role in the SELF DRIVE Act. Through his work as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, he generated broad support in the House by highlighting the wide-ranging impacts and diverse societal benefits of self-driving vehicles, helping to pass the legislation in September 2017. Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) has established Virginia as a global leader in the introduction of self-driving vehicles. McAuliffe opened the Virginia Automated Corridors to support autonomous vehicle testing. This 70-mile network of highways and arterial roads was developed by the prestigious Virginia Tech Transportation Institute to deploy high-definition mapping and data-acquisition systems. In 2017, McAuliffe established the Autonomous Systems Center of Excellence to assist automakers and regulators in bringing autonomous vehicles to consumers.





has established as a global leader in the introduction of self-driving vehicles. McAuliffe opened the Virginia Automated Corridors to support autonomous vehicle testing. This 70-mile network of highways and arterial roads was developed by the prestigious Virginia Tech Transportation Institute to deploy high-definition mapping and data-acquisition systems. In 2017, McAuliffe established the Autonomous Systems Center of Excellence to assist automakers and regulators in bringing autonomous vehicles to consumers. Huei Peng , Director of Mcity is recognized for working with industry, government, and academia to improve transportation safety at the Mcity Test Facility in Ann Arbor, MI. Mcity is the first proving ground built for testing connected and automated vehicles and technologies in simulated urban and suburban driving environments. To date, Mcity has invested about $20 million in 40 research projects. Sixteen automakers and auto suppliers are partners in Mcity.





is recognized for working with industry, government, and academia to improve transportation safety at the Mcity Test Facility in Mcity is the first proving ground built for testing connected and automated vehicles and technologies in simulated urban and suburban driving environments. To date, Mcity has invested about in 40 research projects. Sixteen automakers and auto suppliers are partners in Mcity. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) has been a key force in advancing legislation on self-driving vehicles in the United States Senate. A member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Peters co-authored the bi-partisan American Vision for Safer Transportation through the Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act, and he continues to work for its passage.





has been a key force in advancing legislation on self-driving vehicles in Senate. A member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Peters co-authored the bi-partisan American Vision for Safer Transportation through the Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act, and he continues to work for its passage. Dr. Bryan Reimer , Research Scientist at MIT's AgeLab and Associate Director of the New England University Transportation Center , and his work with the Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium has been providing a data-driven understanding of how people engage with vehicle automation, using advanced computer-vision software and big data analytics. As of 2017, the consortium has gathered data across more than 7,146 participant days, 78 drivers and 275,589 miles of travel.





, and his work with the Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium has been providing a data-driven understanding of how people engage with vehicle automation, using advanced computer-vision software and big data analytics. As of 2017, the consortium has gathered data across more than 7,146 participant days, 78 drivers and 275,589 miles of travel. Mark A. Riccobono , President of the National Federation of the Blind , has served as a strong advocate for autonomous vehicles for the disability community. In October 2017 , the National Federation of the Blind hosted a first-of-its-kind gathering of consumers with disabilities, auto representatives, ride-sharing providers and policymakers to lay the groundwork for including accessibility in the development of promising new vehicle technologies in the early stages. The conference launched an ongoing conversation about how autonomous vehicles can be developed and deployed safely, while considering the needs of those 57 million Americans with disabilities.





, has served as a strong advocate for autonomous vehicles for the disability community. In , the National Federation of the Blind hosted a first-of-its-kind gathering of consumers with disabilities, auto representatives, ride-sharing providers and policymakers to lay the groundwork for including accessibility in the development of promising new vehicle technologies in the early stages. The conference launched an ongoing conversation about how autonomous vehicles can be developed and deployed safely, while considering the needs of those 57 million Americans with disabilities. Austin Russell , Founder and CEO of Luminar Technologies , is an accomplished applied physicist who implemented his vision to develop a new type of LiDAR for autonomous vehicles. Luminar's system provides 40 times more laser power, 10 times more range and 50 times more resolution, allowing their sensors to see not just where objects are, but to go further and see what they are  even at distance. Beyond creating a high-performance LiDAR, Russell's company also designed a sensor specifically for high-volume manufacturing.





, is an accomplished applied physicist who implemented his vision to develop a new type of LiDAR for autonomous vehicles. Luminar's system provides 40 times more laser power, 10 times more range and 50 times more resolution, allowing their sensors to see not just where objects are, but to go further and see what they are  even at distance. Beyond creating a high-performance LiDAR, Russell's company also designed a sensor specifically for high-volume manufacturing. Eran Shir , Co-founder and CEO of Nexar, is demonstrating leadership by building the world's largest safe driving network. Dedicated to eliminating car collisions, Nexar leverages existing off-the-shelf hardware and applies its deep learning and sensor fusion technology to deliver consumers, insurance companies and automakers sophisticated safe driving tools including advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and collision prevention alerts, collision reconstruction and first notice of loss reports. Since launching its vehicle to vehicle network in 2015, Nexar reports it has seen a 30 percent reduction in collisions among its users, and is helping expedite insurance claims every day as well as preventing countless fraudulent ones.





is demonstrating leadership by building the world's largest safe driving network. Dedicated to eliminating car collisions, Nexar leverages existing off-the-shelf hardware and applies its deep learning and sensor fusion technology to deliver consumers, insurance companies and automakers sophisticated safe driving tools including advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and collision prevention alerts, collision reconstruction and first notice of loss reports. Since launching its vehicle to vehicle network in 2015, Nexar reports it has seen a 30 percent reduction in collisions among its users, and is helping expedite insurance claims every day as well as preventing countless fraudulent ones. Senator John Thune (R-SD) has been on the leading edge of advancing the benefits of self-driving vehicles through the introduction of the AV START Act in the U.S. Senate, and  as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation  he continues to work for public policy that ensures the federal government maintains safety while leaving room for innovators to reach their full potential in providing mobility benefits to Americans.





has been on the leading edge of advancing the benefits of self-driving vehicles through the introduction of the AV START Act in the U.S. Senate, and  as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation  he continues to work for public policy that ensures the federal government maintains safety while leaving room for innovators to reach their full potential in providing mobility benefits to Americans. Mike Tzamaloukas , Vice President, Navigation Technologies at HARMAN helped bring autonomous and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to market, including HARMAN's "map live layers" solution. This system identifies differences between on-board map data and real-world information captured by a vehicle's ADAS, navigation system and on-board sensors. If a difference is detected between the navigation system and on-dashboard sensors, the information is anonymized and sent to the cloud, where HARMAN's cloud platform analyzes the data collected from other similarly-equipped production vehicles.

Each recipient was nominated by peers within the industry and selected by the Autos2050SM Host Committee comprised of representatives from automakers. The 2050 Awards recognize ingenuity, impact and leadership.

The Autos2050SM dinner starts with a reception at 5:30 pm, with dinner at 7 pm on January 24 at the Marriott Marquis. Prior to the dinner, a conference in conjunction with the Washington, DC Auto Show will be held that day, opening with a luncheon honoring Sen. Thune, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, followed by a conference on autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and more.

For more information, visit www.Autos2050.com.

The Auto Alliance is a trade association representing 12 automakers. Together, our mission is to promote policies that allow automakers the freedom and control to build cars and light trucks that are safe, reliable, energy-efficient, clean and smart  all so our customers can enjoy greater peace of mind as they go about their daily lives. Visit www.autoalliance.org.

The Alliance for Transportation Innovation (ATI21) is a consortium of transportation technology innovators, subject matter experts, and researchers. The consortium is dedicated to increasing public and stakeholder awareness of the transformative safety, sociological, and economic improvements that can be realized through the accelerated development and deployment of advanced transportation technologies. Visit www.ati21.org.

CONTACT: Gloria Bergquist (Auto Alliance), 202-326-5596

Wade Newton (Auto Alliance), 202-326-5571

SOURCE Auto Alliance

Related Links

https://autoalliance.org


WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Autosoft, Inc., a leading national dealer management system (DMS) provider, has been named the 8th Best Place to Work in PA in 2017 for the medium-sized company category. Autosoft has been honored as one of the top 100 Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania for the past four years and has steadily moved up the list each year.

This award was provided by Team Pennsylvania Foundation in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Pennsylvania State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management, and the Central Penn Business Journal. For the past 18 years, this program has identified, recognized, and honored those companies who have made their employees a priority.

"Every year, Autosoft strives to further improve our workplace, and 2017 was no exception," says Autosoft's President and CEO, Bryce Veon. "We're humbled and honored to be named the 8th Best Place to Work in Pennsylvania this year. This award emphasizes our commitment to our employees' well-being, both inside and outside the office."

Autosoft offers all employees many progressive benefits, including volunteer time off, tuition reimbursement, peer-to-peer bonuses, and wellness activities that generate company contributions to employees' HSA accounts.

To be awarded this honor from Best Places to Work in PA, Autosoft was required to go through a six-month process analyzing their workplace policies, demographics, practices, and systems. Additionally, their employees were encouraged to take a detailed employee survey designed to measure their work environment, job satisfaction, and culture. That data was gathered, analyzed, and combined to determine the final ranking.

Autosoft has been recognized for eight other achievements in 2017. They received a Healthiest Employers of Western Pennsylvania award, were certified by Great Place to Work, were named the Culture Leader of the Year, were honored with the Cigna Well-Being Award, won three Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Excellence, and received their third Highest Rated DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award.

For more information on the Best Places to Work in PA or to see all winners, visit www.bestplacestoworkinpa.com/2017-best-places-to-work-in-pa.

About Autosoft

Autosoft provides a complete dealer management system (DMS) that has received the Highest Rated DMS award from DrivingSales three years in a row. With affordable month-to-month contracts, Autosoft's DMS improves processes and reduces operating costs in over 2,000 franchised automotive dealerships. Easy-to-use and innovative software helps dealers focus on their customers' needs. To learn more about Autosoft, call 844.888.8200, email [email protected], or visit www.autosoftdms.com.

Contact: Michael Cross, [email protected], 724-906-6249

SOURCE Autosoft

Related Links

http://www.autosoftdms.com


(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626943/Calvin_Ayre_CoinGeek.jpg )



Most of those with a long history of Bitcoin adoption are now of the view that BCH is the only genuine low-fee, peer-to-peer digital currency. With that vision in mind Ayre has invested significantly in both hardware and software in order to build the 'hash rate' of BCH and highlight the all-important scalability of the chain. Ayre will mine only Bitcoin BCH, the one true Bitcoin that follows the original Satoshi White paper.

The new mining operation will be under the same brand as Ayre Media's recently purchased Bitcoin news portal, CoinGeek.com. CoinGeek.com just launched its new website and focuses on Bitcoin Commerce (bComm), which means, Bitcoin BCH, as the only technology positioned for this function.

Ayre explains: "This is the first step in a whole host of activity in the BCH space that we are rolling out this year. For instance, we are also embarking on a full merchant adoption marketing program. This will help educate not only those who have already embraced the now-dysfunctional, legacy Segwit Coin but also those who are thinking of taking the plunge for the first time; that BCH is the only option for low-fee micro-payments. This will include the industry's first bComm merchant adoption conference in Hong Kong, May 18th at the Four Seasons." [CoinGeek.com Conference].

Bitcoin BCH offers secure, reliable, low cost micro-transactions and in 2018 will prove itself to be "the one" that can do it all.

To be informed about registration please email: [email protected]

SOURCE CoinGeek
RIDGEFIELD, Conn., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that the Arthritis Foundation recognized Respimat with its Ease of Use Commendation. As defined by the Arthritis Foundation, the Ease of Use Commendation, is awarded to "products proven to make life easier for people with arthritis and other physical limitations."

"The Arthritis Foundation awards its Ease of Use Commendation when a product's design or packaging has been proven to make taking medication easy and comfortable for people living with arthritis," said Cindy McDaniel, Senior Vice President, Consumer Health, Arthritis Foundation. "To earn this Commendation, the Respimat inhaler went through a series of evaluations from experts and people living with arthritis."

The Respimat inhaler was designed to deliver the medication through a slow-moving mist, which gets medicine deep into patients' lungs. The slow-moving mist of the Respimat inhaler provides patients with enough time to breathe in the medication.

In addition, the Respimat inhaler operates independent of inspiratory effort, helping patients effectively breathe the medicine into their lungs without having to sharply inhale the medicine. As with all inhaled drugs, the actual amount of drug delivered to the lung may depend on patient factors, such as coordination between actuation of the inhaler and inspiration through the delivery system. The duration of inhalation should be at least as long as the spray duration (1.5 seconds).

To earn the Ease of Use Commendation, the Respimat inhaler was independently tested by experts at the Intuitive Design Applied Research Institute lab in Atlanta and evaluated by people with arthritis.

"We are proud of our Respimat inhaler as being the first and only inhaler recognized by the Arthritis Foundation as easy-to-use for everyone," said Jean-Michel Boers, president, Human Pharma, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "For nearly a century, we have been committed to advancing care for serious respiratory diseases, and the Respimat inhaler is an important achievement as part of this long-standing commitment."

Boehringer Ingelheim's Respimat family of products includes four FDA-approved medicines for COPD as well as one for asthma.

About Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation.

Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, the company operates globally with 145 affiliates and more than 47,000 employees. Since its founding in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel treatments for human and veterinary medicine.

Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improving lives and providing valuable services and support to patients and their families. Our employees create and engage in programs that strengthen our communities. To learn more about how we make more health for more people, visit our Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

In 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about $15.8 billion (14.8 billion euros). R&D expenditure corresponds to 20.3 percent of its net sales.

For more information please visit www.us.boehringer-ingelheim.com, or follow us on Twitter @BoehringerUS.

Media Contact

Chris Wahlers

Associate Director, Communications, Primary Care

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877

[email protected]

C: 202.798.4375

SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim

Related Links

http://www.us.boehringer-ingelheim.com


WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed a decision by a Tennessee university to drop an Islamophobic "homeland security summit" featuring John Guandolo, an infamous anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist who claims a former CIA director was a "secret Muslim" and that Muslim hotel managers, cabbies and 7-11 workers seek to take over America.

CAIR, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, says Trevecca Nazarene University will no longer host the January 25 anti-Muslim event organized by Republican gubernatorial candidate Mae Beavers. The event would have featured three Islamophobic speakers, including Guandolo.

SEE: Trevecca Nazarene University Blocks Mae Beavers Event Called Anti-Islam

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/01/10/trevecca-nazarene-university-considers-blocking-controversial-anti-islam-event-sponsored-mae-beavers/1009242001/

"We welcome the decision by Trevecca Nazarene University to disassociate itself from this hate event featuring bigoted Islamophobic conspiracy theorists posing as national security experts," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. "We thank Tennessee's American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) for its vital work on this issue."

"By working with our allies here on the ground in Nashville, AMAC was able to prevent the anti-Muslim haters from having their event at a respected university like Trevecca. Nashville has become a welcoming city for all people and will continue to be so," said AMAC Program Manager Sabina Mohyuddin.

Earlier this week, CAIR similarly welcomed a decision by Virginia's Amherst County Sheriff's Office to drop an event featuring Islamophobic conspiracy theorist Chris Gaubatz. Gaubatz is an employee of Guandolo's anti-Muslim hate group Understanding the Threat.

SEE: CAIR Welcomes Virginia Sheriff's Decision to Drop Anti-Muslim Event

http://cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14905-breaking-cair-welcomes-virginia-sheriff-s-decision-to-drop-anti-muslim-event.html

Audio/Video: Islamophobes John Guandolo, Chris Gaubatz Smear Mosques, Say BLM is Funded by 'Enemies' of U.S.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR4VgC0Yf_Y

The FBI is currently investigating an image tweeted by Guandolo's hate group that purported to show the bombing of "CAIR HQ" in Washington, D.C. Guandolo, who has previously tweeted that "CAIR needs to be obliterated," re-tweeted the bombing image on his personal account. Earlier this month, Guandolo tweeted that "Islam is evil & barbaric."

SEE: CAIR Asks FBI to Probe Tweet by Anti-Muslim Group Showing Bombing of 'CAIR HQ'

http://cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14750-cair-asks-fbi-to-probe-tweet-by-anti-muslim-group-showing-bombing-of-cair-hq.html

Minnesota's Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek has accused Guandolo of assaulting him during a national law enforcement conference earlier this year in Reno, Nev.

SEE: Video Shows Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theorist John Guandolo's Alleged Assault on Minnesota Sheriff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBlxiFVeXtI

Exclusive - Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theorist Guandolo Assaults Minn. Sheriff at NSA Conference, Per Court Documents

http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/2017/08/11/john-guandolo-assault-richard-stanek-national-sheriffs-association/

John Guandolo Ordered to Stay Away from Sheriff Stanek (Star Tribune)

http://www.startribune.com/restraining-order-filed-against-former-fbi-agent-accused-of-assaulting-sheriff-stanek/439932193/

Anti-Muslim Speaker Now Accused of Assaulting a Sheriff

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/maricopa-county-attorney-john-guandolo-islamophobic-training-9592739

Among his many bizarre and Islamophobic claims, Guandolo has falsely claimed that:

U.S. mosques are planning armed attacks on law enforcement authorities and churches,

the Black Lives Matter movement is funded by "enemies of the United States ,"

," when a Delaware Imam (Islamic religious leader) touched his nose during the pledge of allegiance before a legislative session it was part of "civilizational jihad,"

former CIA Director John Brennan was a secret Muslim,

was a secret Muslim, Muslims are "obligated" to lie,

Muslim hotel managers, cabbies and 7-11 workers seek to take over America,

it is "unprofessional" for officials to seek information about Islam from Islamic religious leaders (imams).

CAIR has in the past said Guandolo is putting local Muslim communities at risk by making the false claim that, "Mosques/Islamic Centers are organizing for armed confrontation with law enforcement, shoring up physical defenses where they see likely confrontation and increasing their pre-attack surveillances of churches and other targets."

John Guandolo: Indict Journalists - Muslim Hotel Managers, Cabbies, 7-11 Workers Seek U.S. Takeover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-NMLtiwfZM

Audio: Islamophobe John Guandolo Claims Mosques, MSA Chapters Seek 'Overthrow' of U.S. Government

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=645fIfXjdp8

Video: John Guandolo Claims Muslims are 'Obligated' to Lie, Talking to Imams is 'Unprofessional'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juQj8FDINz0

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: John Guandolo

http://islamophobia.org/islamophobic-individuals/john-guandolo/75-john-guandolo.html

Video: Islamophobe John Guandolo Claims CIA Director John Brennan is a Secret Muslim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aieUdwZoYMg

Guandolo: Delaware Imam Touching His Nose is Part of Civilizational Jihad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq2IL2oJsQE

Backgrounder on Islamophobe John Guandolo:

CAIR's profile of Guandolo documents his belief that America "is at war with Islam" and that major Muslim organizations and mosques are "preparing for combat." Guandolo also claims there is inaction on the part of the U.S. government to counter this threat because people inside the Trump White House "have been co-opted by the bad guys."

Earlier this year, Guandolo excused a terror attack on a London mosque because "people who are still sane" are "having to make very difficult decisions."

CAIR Islamophobia Monitor: Understanding the Threat

http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-organizations/32-understanding-the-threat.html

In 2016, a Texas college canceled a similar event. The college's decision came following a request by CAIR's Dallas-Fort Worth chapter.

SEE: Texas College Cancels Controversial Law Enforcement Training Event Led by 'Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theorist'

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-college-cancels-controversial-law-enforcement-training-event-led-by-anti-muslim-conspiracy-a7061731.html

Ex-FBI Agent John Guandolo to Host Anti-Muslim Training at Texas College

http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/2016/05/31/fbi-agent-guandolo-islamophobia-training-texas-college/

CAIR-Dallas Asks College to Cancel Law Enforcement 'Training' by Islamophobe John Guandolo

http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13562-cair-dallas-asks-college-to-cancel-law-enforcement-training-by-islamophobe-john-guandolo.html

In 2015, CAIR welcomed the withdrawal of an FBI representative from an event in Texas that was initially sponsored by the anti-Muslim hate group ACT! for America and featured Guandolo.

SEE: FBI Withdraws from Texas Event Initially Sponsored by Hate Group and Featuring Anti-Muslim Conspiracy Theorist

http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12832-fbi-withdraws-from-texas-event-sponsored-by-hate-group.html

Virginia's Rappahannock Regional Criminal Justice Academy rescinded its approval of in-service training credits for state law enforcement scheduled to attend a training Guandolo was conducting in Culpeper, Va., after being made aware of his anti-Islam rhetoric.

SEE: Virginia Agency Pulls Accreditation for Anti-Muslim Training

http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12387-virginia-agency-pulls-accreditation-for-anti-muslim-training.html

A sheriff in Kansas decided not to partner with a citizens group sponsoring a Guandolo training after being informed of his conspiracy theories. When a journalist at Kansas' Wichita Eagle covered the controversy, Guandolo accused the reporter of material support of terrorism.

SEE: Kansas Sheriff Won't Partner on Training by John Guandolo

http://www.cair.com/press-center/cair-in-the-news/12503-kansas-sheriff-wont-partner-on-training-by-john-guandolo.html

A number of Arizona police departments decided not to send officers to one of Guandolo's trainings.

CAIR: Arizona Police Departments Drop Out of Islamophobic Training

http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/12655-arizona-police-departments-drop-out-of-islamophobic-training.html

Guandolo left the FBI shortly after reports surfaced that he had allegedly engaged in a sexual relationship with a key witness in a corruption trial targeting a member of Congress. In addition, he is documented as having falsified his credentials and work experience.

Major General Tony Cucolo, Commandant of the US Army War College, informed CAIR in an email: "Mr. Guandolo's claim (in print) that he teaches at the Army War College and any other references (e.g., online) identifying him as an adjunct instructor here are simply untrue."

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights group is asking Muslim community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: https://www.cair.com/civil-rights/report-an-incident/view/form.html

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La mision de CAIR es mejorar la comprension del Islam, fomentar el dialogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprension mutua.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR's Email List

http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR's Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR's YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Related Links

http://www.cair.com


NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Captain D's, the nation's leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced today the brand has grown its footprint in Texas with a conversion of former Church's Chicken to its newest franchised location opening today in Houston, located at 5854 Hwy. 6 N. The brand has continued to target Houston as a prime market for expansion, and the opening of this new location is fueled by the tremendous success and surge in franchise development Captain D's experienced in 2017.

Captain D's

The Houston restaurant is owned and operated by Michael Knobelock and marks the first of four Captain D's locations he plans to develop in the community over the next several years. A franchising industry veteran, Knobelock has extensive experience as a multi-unit operator, and also owns 43 Church's Chicken and 20 Little Caesars franchises nationwide, as well as two Captain D's restaurants in Mississippi. The Houston conversion marks Captain D's 14th location in Texas and signifies the brand's accelerated development plans for the region.

"I've loved Captain D's since I was a kid, so it was one of the first brands I looked at when I decided to diversify my portfolio. The brand's evolution over the past several years has solidified its position as an industry leader, and it was obvious to me that the compounding success it's achieved is a direct reflection of its unwavering commitment to its guests, franchisees and product innovation," said Knobelock. "The success of my existing locations in Mississippi has fueled my desire to grow with Captain D's, and I look forward to being a part of the company's ongoing expansion efforts in Houston."

Captain D's expansion in Houston comes on the heels of the outstanding success the brand has experienced over the past several years. This success fueled a surge in franchise and corporate development throughout 2017, with more than 20 new locations opened and numerous development agreements signed to open new restaurants in key markets nationwide, including Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Virginia.

Coupled with its ongoing menu innovation, Captain D's credits its new restaurant beach design with contributing to the brand's ongoing strong performance. To date, nearly 75 percent of all restaurants have been reimaged to the brand's new vibrant, coastal design. With these efforts, Captain D's has remained true to what it does best  serving high-quality seafood with warm hospitality at an affordable price in a welcoming atmosphere.

With 532 restaurants in 21 states, Captain D's is the fast-casual seafood leader and number one seafood franchise in America ranked by average unit volume. The company is currently seeking single- and multi-unit operators to join in the brand's rapid expansion. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit http://www.captaindsfranchising.com or call 800-550-4877.

ABOUT CAPTAIN D'S

Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D's has 532 restaurants in 21 states. Captain D's is the nation's leading fast casual seafood restaurant and was named the #1 seafood chain in the QSR 50, ranked by AUV. Founded in 1969, Captain D's has been offering its customers high-quality seafood at reasonable prices in a welcoming atmosphere for more than 48 years. Captain D's serves a wide variety of seafood that includes freshly prepared entrees and the company's signature hand-battered fish, which is cooked to order. The restaurants also offer premium-quality, grilled items such as shrimp, and surf and turf, as well as hushpuppies, desserts and freshly brewed, Southern-style sweet tea, a Captain D's favorite. For more information, please visit www.captainds.com.

Contact:

Samantha Russo

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

[email protected]

SOURCE Captain D's

Related Links

http://www.captainds.com


MADISON, N.J., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- After a three-month media recruitment campaign, Century 21 Real Estate LLC, franchisor of the iconic CENTURY 21 brand, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Miami Dade College, revealed today the names of the 70 winners of the "Empowering Latinas" program. The South Florida awardees, who were chosen from more than 150 applications, originally hail from Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico, and are between the ages of 18 and 65 years old. The winners include U.S. military veterans and individuals currently serving as teachers, graphic designers, chefs, architects, civil engineers, housewives, and paralegals.

"The CENTURY 21 System thrives on diversity and this program purposefully prioritizes the talents, ideas, connections, and the growing influence of Latinas in the workforce," said Cara Whitley, chief marketing officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. "Our aim is to elevate Hispanic women and provide the upfront guidance and the hands-on support they need to help get them 'up and running' as successful real estate entrepreneurs."

The "Empowering Latinas" program award winners will receive a scholarship to help offset the costs of earning a real estate license in Florida. Plus, CENTURY 21 affiliated brokers in the greater South Florida region have agreed to mentor the scholarship awardees and offer them an opportunity to hone their craft with a local franchise affiliate.

"As a Latina entrepreneur, being a spokesperson for this program, and a prospective mentor to an awardee, is made a lot easier when you have a global brand behind you that truly lives its commitment to serving diversity, from both an industry and consumer perspective," said Melva Garcia, director of the luxury division and affiliated agent at CENTURY 21 Yarlex International Realty.

To view the names of the 70 "Empowering Latinas" scholarship program award winners, please visit www.C21empoweringlatinas.com.

About Century 21 Real Estate LLC

The approximately 117,000 independent sales professionals in over 7,700 offices spanning 78 countries and territories in the CENTURY 21 System live their mission everyday: to defy mediocrity and deliver extraordinary experiences. By consistently chasing excellence, giving 121% and being obsessed with better, the CENTURY 21 brand is helping its affiliated brokers/agents to be the first choice for real estate consumers and industry professionals worldwide.

Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs. They are century21.com, century21global.com, commercial.century21.com, century21.com/finehomes, and espanol.century21.com.

2018 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY 21 and the CENTURY 21 Logo are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated.

Contact:

Peter Mosca

Century 21 Real Estate LLC

Phone: 973.407.5180

Email: [email protected]

Polvora Advertising

Aleyso Bridger

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE CENTURY 21

Related Links

https://www.century21.com


LOS ANGELES, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera Financial Group ("Cetera" or "the Company")*, a leading network of independent firms supporting the delivery of professional financial advice, and Cetera Financial Institutions today announced that Investors Bank will move its retail wealth management program to the Cetera Financial Institutions platform. Investors Bank, a subsidiary of Investors Bancorp, Inc., is a Short Hills, NJ-based bank serving consumers, businesses, corporate clients and public entities through its branches in New Jersey and New York, with total assets at $24.78 billion. Cetera Financial Institutions is the Cetera firm specifically focused on serving the wealth management programs of banks and credit unions.

Encompassing 22 financial professionals and over 65 licensed bankers working across all of its branches, Investors Bank's "Investors Financial" retail investment program focuses on providing financial planning, retirement, insurance and investment management services to a diverse retail client base. The program, which was established in 2011, today supports approximately $700 million in assets under administration, and has a particular focus on serving mass affluent and high net worth retail investors, as well as company retirement plans for businesses of all sizes.

LeAnn Rummel, President of Cetera Financial Institutions, said, "We're excited to welcome Investors Bank to our platform, and to support the next stage of growth for its retail wealth management business. Like many financial institutions seeking wealth management-driven growth, Investors Bank has chosen to affiliate with Cetera Financial Institutions because of our focus on supporting bank and credit union-based investment programs, our world class technology resources and our delivery of an Advice-Centric Experience to reshape the future of our industry. We're privileged to support Investors Bank and hundreds of other growth-oriented bank and credit union programs across the country."

Richard Koll, Senior Vice President of Wealth Management & Insurance for Investors Financial, said, "From the onset of our search for a new broker-dealer, we were extremely impressed with Cetera Financial Institutions because of its deep understanding of the important role financial institutions play in delivering wealth management services to its clients. The firm's singular focus on helping banks and credit unions, combined with the high quality of its technology platform and its proven track record of supporting the delivery of an exceptional service experience to advisors and their clients made this a very natural strategic alliance for our bank."

Glenn Brodwater, President of Investors Financial said, "We're very excited about the prospect of working with Cetera Financial Institutions to help us grow our retail investment program. Now that we have entered the fiduciary era, it's clear that Cetera has the scale, resources and expertise that will enable our investment program to not only meet the rapidly evolving expectations of retail investors, but keep pace with the constant flow of changes coursing through the financial services industry."

About Cetera Financial Group

Cetera Financial Group ("Cetera") is a leading network of independent firms empowering the delivery of professional financial advice to individuals, families and company retirement plans across the country through trusted financial advisors and financial institutions. Cetera is the second-largest independent financial advisor network in the nation by number of advisors, as well as a leading provider of retail services to the investment programs of banks and credit unions.

Through its multiple distinct firms, Cetera offers independent and institutions-based advisors the benefits of a large, established broker-dealer and registered investment adviser, while serving advisors and institutions in a way that is customized to their needs and aspirations. Advisor support resources offered through Cetera include award-winning wealth management and advisory platforms, comprehensive broker-dealer and registered investment adviser services, practice management support and innovative technology. For more information, visit cetera.com.

* "Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors, Cetera Advisor Networks, Cetera Investment Services (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions), Cetera Financial Specialists, First Allied Securities, and Summit Brokerage Services. All firms are members FINRA/SIPC.

About Cetera Financial Institutions

Cetera Financial Institutions is a marketing name of Cetera Investment Services LLC, a self-clearing registered broker-dealer that delivers customized investment and insurance solutions to financial institutions nationwide. Cetera Investment Services helps institutions expand their financial offerings, which allows clients to pursue their financial goals through a holistic approach while delivering sound and strong financial solutions. Advisory services are offered through Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser firm, where financial advisors receive a wide array of solutions and back-office support, so that they can focus on their clients.

Cetera Investment Services LLC and Cetera Investment Advisers LLC are members of Cetera Financial Group, which provides leading wealth management and advisory platforms and innovative technology to financial advisors and financial institutions nationwide. Cetera Investment Services is a member of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). For more information, see www.ceterafinancialinstitutions.com.

About Investors Bank

Investors Bank, headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, is a full-service community bank that has been serving customers since 1926. With over $24 billion in assets and a network of more than 150 retail branches, Investors Bank delivers personalized services and products tailored to the needs of its customers. Investors Bank's banking services include complete deposit, loan and cash management products for consumers and businesses.

Investors Bank: Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.

Media Contacts:

Chris Clemens

Haven Tower Group

424.652.6520 ext. 102

[email protected]

Joseph Kuo

Haven Tower Group

424.652.6520 ext. 101

[email protected]



SOURCE Cetera Financial Group

Related Links

http://www.cetera.com


STOCKHOLM, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the completion of the divestment of SEQR, Invuo Technologies AB ("Invuo") is pleased to announce the new operating Management, which will be responsible for implementing Invuo's B2B strategy. The new management, led by John Longhurst, CEO, consists of the following executives:

Martin Schedin , CFO and Head of Investor Relations: Martin, who joined Invuo in 2016, has more than two decades experience in exacting Finance roles, and is making highly important contributions to the company's efforts to maintain financial integrity, and reduce cash burn.

Lars Sandtorv , Head of MeaWallet: Lars joined Invuo as the Head of MeaWallet when MeaWallet was acquired in July 2016 . Prior to being the CEO at MeaWallet, Lars has held positions as CEO at TrustNordic and manager at IBM.

Jonas Lundgren , Head of eProducts. Jonas, who has been with Invuo since 2013, has long experience from different roles and responsibilities within IT operations and support, leading and managing organisations.

Tomas Klevbo resigns as board member

Tomas Klevbo has informed the Chairman of the Board, Tomas Jalling that Klevbo, effective today, resigns from the Board in Invuo. The reason for leaving Invuo's Board is that since the listing of the former subsidiary Seamless Distribution Systems AB ("SDS"), where Klevbo is also a Board member, there has been several cases of potential conflict of interest, related to the fact that Invuo still holds 23.3 % of the shares in SDS. In order to be able to fully be able to contribute in the board of SDS, Klevbo has chosen to avoid any risk of future conflict of interest by resigning from Invuo's Board.

"Tomas Klevbo has made critical contributions as a member of Invuo's Board. By resigning from Invuo's Board, and thereby eliminating any risk of conflict of interest, Tomas Klevbo will able to fully participate in the important work as member of SDS' Board," says Tomas Jalling.

For further information, please contact:

Martin Schedin, CFO

[email protected]

+46 8 564 878 00

This information is such that Invuo Technologies AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 17:45 CET on January 10, 2018.

About Invuo

Since 2001 Invuo has been providing its proprietary solutions and systems for mobile phone transactions. Invuo operates in two main business areas; mobile phone payment solutions provided through the brand MeaWallet, and distribution of e-products. www.invuo.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/invuo-technologies-ab/r/changes-to-invuos--management-and-board,c2429291

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/4815/2429291/776116.pdf Press release (PDF)

SOURCE Cision AB
BEIJING, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China New Borun Corporation (NYSE: BORN) (the "Company"), a leading producer and distributor of corn-based edible alcohol in China, today announced that its Board of Directors (the "Board") has received a non-binding proposal letter, dated January 10, 2018, from Mr. Jinmiao Wang ("Mr. Wang"), Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, and King River Holding Limited ("King River"), a British Virgin Island company and a majority shareholder of the Company, proposing a "going-private" transaction to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company not already owned by Mr. Wang or King River for US$1.67 in cash per American depositary share ("ADS"), or US$1.67 per ordinary share, which represents approximately 32.6% above the average closing price of the Company's ADSs over the last 30 trading days up to and including January 9, 2018. A copy of the proposal letter is attached as Annex A to this press release.

The Board intends to form a special committee consisting of independent directors to consider this proposal. The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that the Board only recently received the non-binding proposal letter and no decisions have been made with respect to the Company's response to the proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.

About China New Borun Corporation

The Company is a leading producer and distributor of corn-based edible alcohol sold as an ingredient to producers of baijiu, a popular grain-based alcoholic beverage in China. The Company also produces DDGS Feed, liquid carbon dioxide and crude corn oil as by-products of edible alcohol production, and CPE that is widely used in chemical industries. China New Borun is based in Shouguang, Shandong Province. Additional information about the company can be found at http://www.chinanewborun.com and in documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

Forward-looking Statements

All statements included in this press release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Contact Information

Asia Bridge Capital Limited

Michael Tieu

Phone: +86-10-8556-9033 (China)

+1-888-870-0798 (U.S.)

Email: [email protected]

ANNEX A

January 10, 2018

The Board of Directors

China New Borun Corporation

Bohai Industrial Park, Yangkou Town, Shouguang, Shandong 267215

The People's Republic of China

Dear Sirs:

We, Jinmiao Wang ("Mr. Wang"), Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of China New Borun Corporation (the "Company") and King River Holding Limited, a British Virgin Island company ("King River", together with Mr. Wang, collectively, the "Consortium Members", and the consortium so formed, the "Consortium"), are pleased to submit this preliminary non-binding proposal to acquire all outstanding ordinary shares of the Company ("Shares") not already owned by the Consortium Members in a going private transaction (the "Transaction"), as described below.

We believe that our proposal provides a very attractive opportunity to the Company's shareholders. Our proposal represents a 21.0% premium to the closing price on the last trading day prior to the date of this proposal and a premium of 32.6% to the average closing price during the last 30 trading days.

1. Consortium . The Consortium Members will form an acquisition company for the purpose of implementing the Transaction, and have agreed to work with each other exclusively in pursuing the Transaction.

2. Purchase Price . Our proposed consideration payable for the Shares acquired in the Transaction will be US$1.67 per Share, or US$1.67 per American Depositary Share of the Company ("ADS", each representing one Share), in cash (in each case other than those ADSs or Shares held by the Consortium Members that may be rolled over in connection with the Transaction).

3. Funding . We intend to finance the Transaction with a combination of debt and equity capital. Equity financing is expected to be provided in the form of rollover equity in the Company from the Consortium Members and cash contributions from the Consortium Members and, potentially, third party sponsors. Debt financing is expected to be provided by loans from financial institutions or third party sponsors. We are confident that we can timely secure adequate financing to consummate the Transaction.

4. Due Diligence . Given the role of Mr. Wang with the Company and existing ownership interest of the Consortium Members, we expect the diligence needs will be quite limited. We expect that our financing sources will require a timely opportunity to conduct customary due diligence on the Company. We would like to ask the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") to accommodate such due diligence request and approve the provision of confidential information relating to the Company and its business to possible sources of equity and debt financing subject to confidentiality agreements with customary terms. We believe that we will be in a position to complete customary legal, financial and accounting due diligence for the Transaction in a timely manner and in parallel with discussions on the Definitive Agreements (as defined below).

5. Definitive Agreements . We are prepared to promptly negotiate and finalize definitive agreements (the "Definitive Agreements") providing for the Transaction and related transactions. These documents will provide for representations, warranties, covenants and conditions which are typical, customary and appropriate for transactions of this type.

6. Process . We believe that the Transaction will provide superior value to the Company's shareholders. We recognize that the Board will evaluate the Transaction independently before it can make its determination to endorse it. Given the involvement of Mr. Wang, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and King River, a major shareholder of the Company, in the Transaction, we expect that that the Board will appoint a special committee of independent directors to consider this proposal and make a recommendation to the Board based on its independent evaluation of the proposal.

In considering our offer, you should be aware that the Consortium Members are interested only in acquiring the outstanding shares of the Company that the Consortium Members do not already own, and that the Consortium Members do not intend to sell their stake in the Company to any third party.

7. Confidentiality . We expect the Company to make a public announcement in connection with receiving our proposal. However, we are sure you will agree with us that it is in all of our interests to ensure that we otherwise proceed in a strictly confidential manner, unless otherwise required by law, until we have executed Definitive Agreements or terminated our discussions.

8. No Binding Commitmen t. This letter constitutes only a preliminary indication of our interest, and does not constitute any binding commitment with respect to the Transaction. A binding commitment will result only from the execution of Definitive Agreements, and then will be on terms and conditions provided in such documentation.

In closing, we would like to express our commitment to working together to bring this Transaction to a successful and timely conclusion. Should you have any questions regarding this proposal, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

JINMIAO WANG

/s/ Jinmiao Wang

KING RIVER HOLDINGS LIMITED

By: /s/ Junqin Shan

Name: Junqin Shan

Title: Director

SOURCE China New Borun Corporation

Related Links

http://www.chinanewborun.com


LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AI assistants, robots, unmanned cars and VR/AR turned heads at this year's CES, which opened in Las Vegas on January 9th. Notably, the number of Chinese exhibitors on display at the event left a deep impression on American visitors. Rather than being sidelined to a minor role, as had been the case in previous sessions of the annual event, Chinese exhibitors, to quite an extent, outrivaled their American, Japanese and South Korean counterparts when they displayed some best-in-class high-tech products, becoming this year's eye-catchers. As the developer of the world's first AI TV, Chinese consumer electronics maker Changhong showcased an AI-enabled 4K laser television, serving as a further demonstration of advanced technologies developed in-house by a Chinese firm and embodying the term, "China Phenomenon".

Data from the Consumer Technology Association, the organizer of CES, revealed that 4,229 firms took part in the event, of which 482 have "Shenzhen" as a part of their corporate names, well above the number of local American firms. Of the 4,229 firms, 1,551 were Chinese, one good third of this year's exhibitors. Chinese manufacturers demonstrated their strong competence in producing consumer electronics for the world via the CES platform, providing definite and incontrovertible evidence that they have completed the transition from "Made in China" to "Created in China".

The presence of so many Chinese exhibitors is not in itself enough to demonstrate their competence. American firms had been the leading exhibitors of new technologies and new platforms in previous sessions of CES, while Chinese firms showcased only new products based on the new technologies. But, this time around, it was the Chinese firms that became the eye-catchers with their advanced technologies. Baidu debuted its Apollo 2.0 autonomous driving platform and disclosed their production plans, which, based on what they said, would make Apollo 2.0 the first autonomous driving platform to move to mass production. Following in the heels of DJI's dominating the UAV market, PowerVision Technology Ltd showcased its PowerDolphin on-water robot with the aim of becoming the leader of the segment. BYTON and Xiaopeng Motors participated in the event with their electric vehicles. Chinese exhibitors also debuted virtual voice assistants, AI, robots and home appliances, which, to date, had been fiefdoms dominated by Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. The products lineups from what could be viewed as "upstarts" more than serve as a testament to their creativity, strong competence in advanced technologies and confidence in winning in the arena of global competition.

Chinese firms are demonstrating increasingly improved creativity, not only in terms of autonomous driving but also home appliances, and the world is beginning to take note. China-based Changhong showcased an AI-enabled 4K laser television, the C7TU, at CES, the traditional "battlefield" for home appliances makers as they each roll out their latest creations. As opposed to a number of single-color laser TVs available in the market, the C7TU, the world's first tri-color laser television, provides a laser light source for red, green and blue, resulting in significantly enhanced color performance. As a pioneer of embedding AI into TV products, Changhong is heralding the arrival of the 3.0 era with AI TV solutions that integrate the technology into its latest 4K laser TV. The technology makes video and audio content recommendations that are personalized to the preferences of every family member via voice print recognition, quickly surfacing what the viewer who happens to be sitting in front of the screen is likely to want to watch. Chinese maker Hisense displayed its 80'', 88'', 100'' and 150'' 4K laser TVs and plans to launch a 300'' laser TV in 2018, as part of its efforts in meeting shopper expectations for large-size display.

Some Chinese firms have shown their interest in expanding into the US market, in addition to their efforts at enhancing brand awareness at CES as a means to stimulate sales in the home market. Huawei debuted the Mate 10pro prior to the formal opening of CES. Huawei plans to make the Mate 10pro available in the US, home turf of the iPhone. ZTE, another mobile phone maker with sales in overseas markets outperforming what they have achieved in the domestic market, has also expressed interest in the US market with their showcasing of a double-screen folding phone.

SOURCE Changhong
Highly regarded industry veterans become Principals, will work as a team while focusing on their industrial brokerage specialty

CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Danny Nikitas, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the firm's Chicago office, announced today the strategic hiring of highly regarded commercial real estate industry veterans Chris Lydon and Chris Tecu.

Effective immediately, Lydon and Tecu become Principals of Avison Young and will work as a team while focusing on industrial brokerage services. Both will be based in the firm's Rosemont, IL office. Lydon was most recently a senior director with Cushman & Wakefield in Chicago while Tecu most recently served as a vice-president with CenterPoint Properties in Chicago. Lydon and Tecu previously worked together at Trammell Crow Company in Chicago.

"We're thrilled that Chris Lydon and Chris Tecu have joined us in Chicago," comments Nikitas. "We have known them for many years as strong industrial brokerage professionals who have held various positions within the industrial real estate sector. Between them, they have more than 40 years of experience, and their reputations are impeccable in the industry. They are known for honest and intelligent representation of their clients, and have elevated themselves to a very high level of respect in our business. They will also enhance our capital markets capabilities with their experience on the investment side."

Nikitas adds: "Their move to Avison Young is actually a reunion because they previously worked together at another firm. Both have adopted a collaborative approach to each transaction and, therefore, will fit seamlessly into Avison Young's culture and client-first business model. They will also play important roles as we expand our industrial service line throughout Chicagoland and further Avison Young's ongoing expansion program."

Lydon brings 25 years of industry experience to Avison Young. During his career, he has been involved in transactions covering more than 100 million square feet (msf) with an aggregate value in excess of $950 million. A consistent top producer, he has represented institutional owners and users on both a local and national level while serving in the roles of broker, owner and developer.

Lydon's past and current clients include Sears Holding Corporation, Seefried Properties, Liberty Property Trust, Panattoni Development, Wirtz Realty Corp., Invesco, 3D Exhibits, Prologis and Morgan Stanley, among others.

Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, Lydon was a senior vice-president and industrial brokerage leader at Grubb & Ellis Company in Chicago. Before moving to Grubb & Ellis, he was a vice-president and marketing director at AMB Property Corporation, where he oversaw the leasing of the company's 14-msf Chicago industrial-building portfolio. He began his career as a vice-president with Trammell Crow Company, providing brokerage services and brokerage management for the Chicago-area office's industrial brokerage division while working in partnership with Tecu.

Lydon is a member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) and the Chicago chapter of the Association of Industrial Real Estate Brokers (AIRE).

"We look forward to our new venture here at Avison Young, and to leveraging the company's full-service platform," notes Lydon. "The Principal-based ownership model was highly attractive to us, as it allows us to participate in the company's overall decision-making process. We were very familiar with some of the existing industrial brokerage professionals and felt that we shared a similar vision in relation to the overall industry. The client-first attitude that exists at Avison Young will continue to be our emphasis moving forward."

Tecu brings 19 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young. During his career, he has negotiated more than 80 msf of industrial real estate acquisitions, dispositions and leasing transactions. From 2010 to 2017, he managed CenterPoint Properties' acquisitions in the Gulf Coast region, particularly in the Houston marketplace. From 2008 to 2017, he was responsible for the purchase of more than $1 billion of industrial properties nationally. Prior to joining CenterPoint in 2008, Tecu was an industrial broker in the O'Hare submarket for CBRE. He entered the commercial real estate industry in 1999 with Trammell Crow Company in Chicago, where he originally partnered with Lydon.

Tecu's past and current clients include AMB, Prologis, CenterPoint, Duke Realty, First Industrial Realty Trust and Sitex Realty Group. He is an active member of NAIOP and AIRE. He holds a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Kansas.

Tecu adds: "We feel that the in-house resources here at Avison Young will enable us to even better service existing customers and help us expand our client base. There seems to be great entrepreneurial spirit within the firm, and we look forward to continuing with the overall collaboration within the industrial brokerage group. The firm is in a global growth mode and we are pleased to be part of its expansion here in Chicago. We look forward to collaborating with our new colleagues across the globe while serving local, national and international clients."

Over the past nine years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 82 offices and from 300 to more than 2,600 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe.

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 82 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hospitality properties.

For further information/comment/photos:

Sherry Quan , Principal, Global Director of Communications & Media Relations,

Avison Young: 604.647.5098; cell: 604.726.0959 [email protected]





, Principal, Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: Danny Nikitas , Principal and Managing Director, Chicago , Avison Young: 312.940.8797

[email protected]





, Principal and Managing Director, , Avison Young: Chris Lydon , Principal, Avison Young: 847.232.8610 [email protected]





, Principal, Avison Young: Chris Tecu , Principal, Avison Young: 847.232.8611 [email protected]





, Principal, Avison Young: Earl Webb , President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610





, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: Mark Rose , Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011 and requalified in 2017 to maintain its status as a Best Managed Gold Standard company.

Follow Avison Young on Twitter:

For industry news, press releases and market reports: www.twitter.com/avisonyoung For Avison Young listings and deals: www.twitter.com/AYListingsDeals

Follow Avison Young Bloggers: http://blog.avisonyoung.com

Follow Avison Young on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/avison-young-commercial-real-estate

Follow Avison Young on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/AvisonYoungRE

Follow Avison Young on Instagram: www.instagram.com/avison_young_global

Editors/Reporters

Please click on links to view and download photos of Chris Lydon and Chris Tecu:

http://www.avisonyoung.com/documents/20342/2631393/Chris_Lydon.jpg

http://www.avisonyoung.com/documents/20342/2631393/Chris_Tecu.jpg

SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

Related Links

www.avisonyoung.com


PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Christine Miles, Ed., is the newest host for Executive Leaders Radio, the #1 business weekly radio show in the Mid-Atlantic States; it is broadcast nationally on 91 terrestrial and internet radio stations, from the most credible institutions including chambers of commerce and universities.

Miles is the chief architect and co-founder of the sales training company CI Squared in St. Davids, Pa. She had been a "host-in-training" with the weekly radio program since January 2017.

Christine Miles

In making the announcement, Rachel Blumenthal, president and executive producer of Executive Leaders Radio, commented, "We are thrilled and honored to have Christine as one of our newest hosts. We know she will add a distinct and profound dimension to the quality of our interviews and we look forward to working with her for a long time to come!"

Each interview on the program is long enough to provide the 7 million weekly-ranked listeners with a clear sense of each CEO's story of success, yet short enough to enable the CEOs to relax and share their secrets without preparation.

Miles has a behavioral psychology background and was a therapist for many years. She combined her love of business and knack for communication to co-create CI Squared. Listening to and gathering stories of anyone and everyone has been part of her daily routine for years. Becoming a part of the ELR host team is an absolute honor for Miles, enabling her to hear the stories of executives from the Delaware Valley, understand who they were between the ages of 8- and 14-years-old, and how that influenced their leadership style and success today.

Miles says, "Herb Cohen, founder and host of Executive Leaders Radio, has created an absolute gem. I'm honored to be part of the team that has the privilege to gather the personal stories of who the CEOs were in their young lives and how that informs their success today. Our direction and passion are formed early in our lives, and it is fun to help our CEOs make these connections."

CI Squared, LLC stands for Continuous Improvement and Innovation. It is a professional training company that focuses on an extraordinary communication framework to overcome challenges. CI Squared uses storytelling to nudge people into action because no one likes to be told what to do. Story changes the conversation in this "Age of Digital Disruption." Learn more about the company by visiting http://cisquared.net/

For more information, contact Sarah Hopkins at 215-740-0637 or [email protected]

SOURCE Christine Miles
LONDON, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Worldwide shipments of desktop monitors have reached almost the same levels as last year, with volumes declining by -0.4 % in Q3 2017 compared to the year before, according to the latest figures from CONTEXT, the IT market analysis company.

The modest decline was driven by the business segment, in which volumes dropped by -3% and revenues by -5%, while the consumer sales have witnessed uptick of +3% in volumes and +7% in revenues. Shipments to EMEA grew by +3%, driven by Central & Eastern Europe, which saw +12% growth. Shipments to both North and Latin America increased, as did those to Japan (by 6%, +11% and +4% respectively). However, those to the rest of the world - 40% of the total - declined and there was a -10% year-on-year fall in shipments to the biggest market, China.

Screens of 23" and above accounted for 60% of the global market in Q3 2017, up from over 50% in the same period in the previous year and 3 points more than in Q2 2017. IPS remains the fastest growing panel technology: it had a 43% share of the market, up from 37% the year before, and grew by +18% year-on-year.

Full-HD monitors have steadily penetrated the global market and continue to dominate, accounting for over two-thirds of global shipments and experiencing +8% growth. WQHD screens have gained share, with sales growing at +75% year-on-year. Ultra HD monitors still represent a small portion of the market in Q3 2017; however, with a +85% year-on-year sales increase, this resolution is seeing faster growth than any other.

Worldwide, the multi-function monitor market registered year-on-year growth and also significant quarter-on-quarter growth of +16%. This increase was seen across all regions apart from China, where decline reached -19% year-on-year in Q3 2017.

Dell retained its position as top vendor with a 19% unit share of the total market, while HP and Lenovo followed with shares of 14% and 10% respectively.

"Despite an overall slowdown, there are still many growth opportunities in the monitor market due to factors such as a shift to larger, more expensive screens; rising sales of curved monitors, the development of higher resolution displays; and growing demand for ultra-wide monitors and gaming monitors", said Dominika Koncewicz, Senior Analyst for Displays at CONTEXT. "Moreover, steady growth in Europe, improved economic development and slowly recovering demand in China, together with falling panel prices (which eases pressure by reducing high component costs), are expected to incentivise the market and drive monitor shipments in the coming months."

About CONTEXT

CONTEXT's market intelligence, performance benchmarks and opportunity analysis empower clients to optimise operations and accelerate tomorrow's revenues. With over 30 years of industry partnership and of experience reporting on large datasets, CONTEXT delivers analytics at all points in the value chain, providing clients with actionable insights rooted in concrete data and a profound understanding of customer needs. CONTEXT is headquartered in London, with over 250 staff across the world and in 2017 was 2017 recognised as one of the UK's Best Workplaces by Great Place to Work.

SOURCE CONTEXT
"Gionee's launch of fast wireless charging into the world's largest mobile market is a significant milestone for the entire wireless charging ecosystem," said Camille Tang, President, ConvenientPower Systems. "This milestone accelerates innovation and performance by Chinese mobile brands and manufacturers across the ecosystem. The sophistication of Chinese mobile users and the large volumes of the China market will drive new dimensions in the wireless power charging user experience as well as the scale for cost optimization."

A leader in wireless charging technology, ConvenientPower Systems developed the fast wireless charging for both the Gionee M7Plus smartphone and the Gionee fast wireless charging pad. The M7Plus smartphone features Qi and the Gionee wireless charger has up to 10 watts of power for a fast charge.

The Gionee M7Plus mobile phone fast wireless charging will be demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show 2018, the Wireless Power Consortium Booth #SL2, South Halls 3-4 Upper Level & Connector, Tech East, Las Vegas Convention Center.

*Statista, August 2017

About Gionee

Gionee is a leading China mobile group providing innovative, high quality mobile devices. With over 15,000 employees in R&D, production, sales and after-sales services in China, Gionee's distribution in China includes more than 300,000 sales counters and 80,000 sales promoters. Gionee's rapid international expansion across 50 markets includes Egypt, India, Indonesia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, UAE. Gionee is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.

www.gionee.com

About ConvenientPower Systems

ConvenientPower Systems "CPS" is a 1-stop hub for wireless charging solutions, products and services. The only wireless charging technology and solutions provider whose technology is proven in products launched in the market, in volume, every year, over the past 9 years, CPS has 27 world first's. Its solutions and products scale across consumer and mobile, automotive, furniture and buildings, medical and healthcare applications. CPS wireless charging technology is patent-protected. The CPS Group is located in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shenzhen, Chengdu.

http://www.convenientpower.com

Contact

Larry Smalheiser, Sparkpr

[email protected]

(415) 504-3694

SOURCE ConvenientPower Systems

Related Links

http://www.convenientpower.com


WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "We are urging an employee of a company that is providing any type of service to the federal government to call us anytime at 866-714-6466 if their employer has lied about being a veteran or minority owned business to gain an unfair advantage when bidding for federal work contracts. Veteran or minority owned businesses get preferential treatment when bidding for federal work contracts. Typically, it is extremely easy to prove the company is not a minority or veteran owned business, and the potential federal rewards for this type of information can be substantial, as we would like to discuss." http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com

Government Contractors

In August 2017 the Department of Justice announced a $16 million settlement with a Virginia based company to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act. The settlement resolves allegations that the company, together with several purported small businesses that it controlled, fraudulently induced the government to award certain small business set-aside contracts by misrepresenting eligibility requirements. The settlement also resolves allegations that the company engaged in illegal bid rigging schemes that inflated or distorted prices charged to the government under certain contracts. In this instance the whistleblower will receive $2.9 million dollars.

The Corporate Whistleblower Center believes there is probably at least one employee of a company in every state who can prove their employer has falsely labeled itself as a minority or veteran owned business to get an unfair advantage when bidding for federal jobs or contracts. As the group would like to explain anytime at 866-714-6466 the rewards for this type of information can frequently exceed a million dollars. Why sit on a potentially winning lotto ticket without ever knowing what it might have been worth? http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com

Simple rules for a whistleblower from the Corporate Whistleblower Center: Do not go to the government first if you want to become a whistleblower. The Corporate Whistleblower Center says, "Major whistleblowers frequently go to the government thinking they will help. It's a huge mistake. Do not go to the news media with your whistleblower information either. Any type of public revelation of a whistleblower's information could destroy the prospect for a reward. Do not try to force a government contractor or individual to come clean about overbilling the federal government out of millions of dollars, by failing to abide by the terms of contract with the federal government or by falsely claiming to be a minority, woman or veteran owned business."

The Corporate Whistleblower Center wants to emphasize there are high quality whistleblowers in every state, including California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, or Alaska.

The Corporate Whistleblower is the premier advocate for whistleblowers in the United States. Unlike any group in the US, they assist a potential whistleblower with packaging their information and providing the whistleblower access to some of the most accomplished whistleblower attorneys in the nation. For more information a potential whistleblower in any state can contact the Corporate Whistleblower anytime at 866-714-6466 or visit http://CorporateWhistleblower.Com

For attribution, please refer to the August 2017 press release.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/defense-contractor-ads-inc-agrees-pay-16-million-settle-false-claims-act-allegations.

Media Contact:

Thomas Martin

866-714-6466

[email protected]

SOURCE Corporate Whistleblower Center

Related Links

http://corporatewhistleblower.com


BOULDER, Colo., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Congruex, an end-to-end provider of design, engineering, construction management and maintenance services to broadband service providers, today announced the acquisition of CHC Consulting, LLC ("CHC"). CHC is a full-service engineering consulting firm serving blue chip clients across the telecommunications industry, with particularly strong expertise in outside plant (OSP) engineering services. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2003, CHC provides comprehensive, turn-key professional services in the areas of design, project management, process development, and staffing to a range of marquee telecommunications clients. CHC expertly manages projects from inception through implementation, providing frictionless solutions while maintaining deep and collaborative ties to its customers.

Congruex's acquisition of CHC follows its recent purchase of CCLD Technologies in November 2017, and positions Congruex as the fourth-largest pure telecom engineering firm in the United States with expanding scale and resources.1 Both acquisitions followed Congruex's partnership with Crestview Partners, a New York-based private equity firm with significant experience in the cable, telecommunications and business services industries. As of May 2017, funds managed by Crestview and the Congruex leadership team have committed $200 million of equity to the new platform, as part of what is expected to be a total investment of approximately $500 million.

Bill Beans, Congruex's CEO, said, "We are pleased to announce the acquisition of CHC Consulting, an innovative engineering consulting firm with a distinct expertise in OSP. We welcome Chris Cook, CHC management and employees to the Congruex platform."

Kevin O'Hara, Congruex's Executive Chairman, added, "In less than a year, we have successfully established the Congruex platform and are actively bringing together best-in-class engineering and construction companies across the U.S. Congruex is now a national platform capable of performing turn-key design and engineering of outside plant fiber projects across the United States."

Chris Cook, CEO of CHC Consulting, said, "We are excited to begin our partnership with Congruex. We look forward to leveraging their operational expertise and capital resources, as we continue providing exceptional engineering solutions to our expanding client base. As a firm that maintains a strong client-centric culture, stressing collaboration and efficiency, we could not be more pleased to enter this next stage of growth in partnership with Congruex, its executives and highly compelling national platform."

Brian Cassidy, Partner at Crestview and head of the firm's media investment strategy, said, "CHC Consulting is an ideal cornerstone acquisition for Congruex. With industry consolidation and robust spending on communication networks and utility infrastructure on the rise, we look forward to being a transformational partner for select engineering and construction companies."

About Congruex

Congruex was formed in mid-2017 by industry executives, Bill Beans and Kevin O'Hara, in partnership with Crestview Partners. Congruex is comprised of seasoned industry executives bringing together leading engineering and construction companies across the U.S. Congruex is building a company with unique capabilities that include network development, engineering, construction and operations. Our customers benefit from the integrated skills that the Congruex companies can offer either as a single discipline, or as a turn-key solution with self-perform capabilities. For more information: www.congruex.com

About CHC Consulting

Founded in 2003, CHC Consulting is a full-service engineering consulting firm focused on the telecommunications industry. CHC provides comprehensive, turn-key professional services in the areas of design, project management, process development, improvement and staffing to a range of blue chip clients across the United States.

About Crestview Partners

Founded in 2004, Crestview Partners is a value-oriented private equity firm focused on the middle market. The firm is based in New York and manages funds with over $7 billion of aggregate capital commitments. The firm is led by a group of partners who have complementary experience and distinguished backgrounds in private equity, finance, operations and management. Crestview has senior investment professionals focused on sourcing and managing investments in each of the specialty areas of the firm: media, industrials, energy and financial services. For more information: www.crestview.com.

Media Contact:

Daniel Yunger

Kekst

212-521-4800

[email protected]

1 Based on 2016 design revenue from manufacturing / telecom as reported in Engineering News Record's survey of leading contractors and design firms. See ENR.com for expanded listings.

SOURCE Congruex
LONDON, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Stricter environmental controls in China have led to acute shortages of natural gas and over 9.4 million tons of gas based urea production has been suspended. Together with rising coal prices and costs, the urea market in China will be tighter in the near term. Global implications are centered on additional supply from other marginal exporters as China supplies less in the export market.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/536199/CRU_Logo.jpg )



Coal-to-Gas switching leads to a tighter supply of natural gas

Stricter environmental controls have been implemented over the autumn-winter period 2017/2018 in China. Three million enterprises in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding regions (alleged '2+26 cities') were required to switch from coal to natural gas or electricity by the end of October 2017, to reduce coal consumption in winter.

Consequently, the demand for natural gas increased dramatically when north China came into the winter heating period from mid-November 2017. The growth rate for natural gas consumption exceeded expectations.

According to the NDRC, Chinese natural gas production increased by 11.2% to 121.2 billion cubic meters while consumption increased by 18.7% to 186.5 billion cubic meters in Jan-Oct 2017, which led to a surge in imports of 27.5% year on year to 72.2 million cubic meters.

The growth rates of domestic natural gas production and pipeline natural gas expansion were only 8.3% and 5.2% respectively during the first three quarters this year. As a result, the demand gap must be satisfied by the more expensive LNG.

Driven by the significant increase in demand, Chinese LNG prices doubled in one month from early November through to early December. The LNG price provided by local producers located in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi reached $1,200/t in early December from about $600/t in early November, while the sales price of imported LNG increased to $720/t from $600/t in south China during the same period.

Read the full story: http://bit.ly/Winter-in-china-idling-urea-plants

Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU

About CRU

CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events.

Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China.

CRU employs over 260 experts and has more than 10 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia - our office in Beijing opened in 2004.

When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response.

CRU - big enough to deliver a high quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers.

SOURCE CRU
NAC3 is distinctive in that it is the only Bitcoin and Blockchain conference designed for "the average person." It is the perfect event for those new to Bitcoin and Blockchain, as well as those who want to gain a deeper understanding. Event attendees have open access to keynote speakers both before and after presentations as well as the opportunity to join an intensive all-day advanced trading course taught by Crypto Bud (Ivan Leon.)

NAC3 founder Andy Crane has leveraged his talent for producing successful events into this new venture. He was the Director of Business Development for Desert Hearts, a music festival whose alternative business model was acclaimed in a 2014 article in the Wall Street Journal.

Crane noted, "Attendees learn the practical steps of how to begin in the world of crypto currencies and make sense of all things crypto. We promise attendees only language that you'll understand. We promise no tech jargon. Our intimate and open approach led to last year's Las Vegas event being completely sold out."

Topics include everything from "A Beginner's Guide to Trading Crypto Currency" and "Investing in Today's Crypto Market" to "Wallets and Security," "Tax Implications," "Legal Regulations," and more. Keynote speakers are some of YouTube's most followed and knowledgeable cryptocurrency personalities including but not limited to:

Day Hay (Crypto Riot)

Rob Paone (Crypto Bobby)

(Crypto Bobby) Ivan Leon (Crypto Bud)

(Crypto Bud) Nathan Leung (Cryptonauts)

(Cryptonauts) Blockchain legal expert Jason Civalleri

Blockchain security expert Giordany Orellana

Foreground CEO Richard Feiner

Blockmason CEO Tim Galebach

Polyswarm CEO Steve Bassi

In regards to last year's NAC3, David Hay, host of Crypto Riot said, "[It was] probably one of the coolest things I've been a part of." And Rob Paone, a.k.a Crypto Bobby, added, "If you're looking for a conference that's both highly educational and fun, NAC3 is where it's at. Every speaker was super accessible."

Previously announced sponsors include Foreground, Blockmason, INS Ecosystem, CEX.io, and BlockExplorer. Contact [email protected] to obtain details about available sponsorship packages.

About NAC3

NAC3 (North American Crypto Currency Conference) is the world's premier producer of Bitcoin and Blockchain conferences, welcoming Blockchain enthusiasts from all walks of life, whether they are trading coins in their bedroom, a Silicon Valley techy, or just crypto-curious. In 2018, NAC3 goes global with events planned for Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, and London. Tickets for Los Angeles and New York are now available at https://www.nac3.io.

SOURCE NAC3

Related Links

http://www.nac3.io


Mr. Barksdale has over 30 years experience in the banking industry. Most recently, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Carolina Premier Bank / Premara Financial, Inc. Prior to that Barksdale served in various executive roles at NewBridge Bank with increased levels of responsibility the last being Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, where he led the identification and implementation of bank acquisition opportunities.

Barksdale is a graduate of Wake Forest University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. He is active in Boy Scouts of America, Community Investment Corporation of the Carolinas, and has held various board positions in the following organizations which include; North Carolina A&T State University Board of Visitors, Leadership North Carolina Class of XIX, Leadership Winston-Salem, Forsyth Tech Foundation, and the Piedmont Triad Leadership Institute.

"David is a strong addition to our First Reliance executive management team," said Rick Saunders, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Reliance Bank. "He brings a depth of proven strategic management experience and comprehensive understanding of markets in North Carolina. As the President of North Carolina, he will develop strong local community banking teams focused on sharing the First Reliance Bank brand to make the lives of our customers better and earn the business of customers in North Carolina.

ABOUT FIRST RELIANCE BANK

First Reliance Bank, founded in 1999, has assets of approximately $459 million, and employs over 140 highly talented associates. The bank serves the Midlands, Low Country, N. Myrtle Beach, Loris and Florence markets in South Carolina and the Winston-Salem market in North Carolina. First Reliance Bank offers several unique customer programs which include a Hometown Heroes package of benefits to serve those who are serving our communities, Check'N Save, a community outreach program for the unbanked or under-banked, a Moms First program, and an iMatter program targeted to young people. The Bank also offers a Customer Service Guaranty, a Mortgage Service Guaranty, FREE Coin Machines for customers to use, Mobile Banking, and is open on most traditional bank holidays. Its commitment to making customers' lives better and the idea that "There's More to Banking Than Money" has earned the Bank a customer satisfaction rating of 95%. First Reliance Bank is traded as FSRL.OB. Information about the Company is available on the company's website at www.firstreliance.com.

SOURCE First Reliance Bank
HOUSTON, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Published on the bank's global news platform, bbva.com, the articles below capture BBVA Compass' brand promise of "creating opportunities," honing in on efforts and investments that will positively impact underserved communities throughout the bank's footprint. The latter four articles position BBVA Compass as an engine of opportunity for people, highlighting the bank's commitment to helping customers digitally and through an array of financial services.

BBVA Compass wrapped up the year with an article recapping last year's activities  including community and people-oriented initiatives  that underscore and reemphasize the bank's global tagline of "creating opportunities," which debuted in January 2017.



BBVA Compass Opportunity Campus, the first of its kind for KIPP, makes its debut in Houston

BBVA Compass' $1.8 million investment in KIPP Houston's BBVA Compass Opportunity Campus  the first KIPP campus nationwide to share its name with a corporate investor  is the bank's largest education investment, underscoring its commitment to creating opportunities for underserved youth in Houston.

Workforce Development Center part of The Salvation Army's new Center of Hope

The Salvation Army's new Center of Hope facility houses the Workforce Development Center, a program made possible in part by a $250,000 gift from the BBVA Compass Foundation. Part of the Center's role is to partner with other nonprofits in the community to provide training and education to build a pipeline of qualified employees in Birmingham.

Project Blue Elf's impact reaches milestone 20,000 students on its five year anniversary

Project Blue Elf, BBVA Compass Foundation's signature holiday initiative, wrapped up its fifth anniversary in December and reached more than 5,500 students in 30 markets across the bank's footprint. The campaign brought toys, cookies and smiles to kids in 32 different elementary schools, with most students coming from low- to moderate-income backgrounds.

MOBILE Act means more access for underserved, unbanked

Initially conceived in BBVA Compass' Legal Department, the enactment of the MOBILE Act, which could occur early this year, aims to improve access to mainstream financial services for people in communities where financial institutions are limited or inaccessible.

The important role branches play in digital transformation

As a community pillar, BBVA Compass branches leverage the customer experience and personal service, not only to to conduct high-value transactions and solve problems, but also to maximize the banking experience through customers' adoption of digital channels.

The remittance market in the U.S.  where the money goes

Much of the remittances sent from the U.S. are forwarded funds to Mexico. BBVA Compass featured an article to give people insight into the magnitude of remittances being sent across the border, while spotlighting how BBVA's recently launched mobile app, Tuyyo, can help send funds quickly to Mexico.

BBVA Compass  your holiday shopping companion

As the holiday season neared, BBVA Compass highlighted services and products that can help shoppers manage their budget and responsibly tackle and maximize their holiday shopping experience.

To learn more about BBVA Compass, visit: www.bbvacompass.com

For more news visit: www.bbva.com and newsroom.bbvacompass.com

About BBVA Group

BBVA (NYSE: BBVA) is a customer-centric global financial services group founded in 1857. The Group has a strong leadership position in the Spanish market, is the largest financial institution in Mexico, and has leading franchises in South America and the Sunbelt Region of the United States; it is also the leading shareholder in Garanti, Turkey's biggest bank for market capitalization. Its diversified business is focused on high-growth markets and it relies on technology as a key sustainable competitive advantage. Corporate responsibility is at the core of its business model. BBVA fosters financial education and inclusion, and supports scientific research and culture. It operates with the highest integrity, a long-term vision and applies the best practices. More information about BBVA Group can be found at bbva.com.

About BBVA Compass

BBVA Compass is a Sunbelt-based financial institution that operates 649 branches, including 336 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 63 in Arizona, 61 in California, 45 in Florida, 37 in Colorado and 18 in New Mexico. BBVA Compass ranks among the top 25 largest U.S. commercial banks based on deposit market share and ranks among the largest banks in Alabama (2nd), Texas (4th) and Arizona (5th). BBVA Compass has been recognized as one of the leading small business lenders by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and ranked 5th nationally in the total number of SBA loans originated in fiscal year 2016. Additional information about BBVA Compass can be found at www.bbvacompass.com. For more BBVA Compass news, follow @BBVACompassNews on Twitter or visit newsroom.bbvacompass.com.

SOURCE BBVA Compass

Related Links

https://www.bbvacompass.com


NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Diebold Nixdorf (NYSE: DBD), a world leader in driving connected commerce, today announced that Arvin Jawa recently joined the company as vice president, retail strategy. Jawa will be responsible for the company's ongoing consumer-centric strategy for growth in the retail business, particularly in the Americas. Jawa will also work to extend the company's retail partner ecosystem and grow its portfolio of future offerings to provide retailers with open and flexible innovation that addresses evolving consumer demands. He reports to Stefan Merz, senior vice president, corporate strategy and development.

Jawa has held various leadership roles throughout his career in the retail industry. He joins Diebold Nixdorf from Vera Bradley Designs, where he most recently served as senior director, strategic initiatives  strategy and business development. There, he was responsible for the company's long-range strategic planning, leading key consumer-facing initiatives to improve the brand's perception, as well as facilitating the development and launch of new business lines. Prior to this, he worked as vice president at LakeWest Group, the country's largest independent retail management consulting firm. At LakeWest, he advised retail clients on growth strategies through redesign of business processes, selection and implementation of enabling technologies, and designing revenue-driven, consumer-centric plans.

"Arvin's track record in retail operational process and design, along with his experience in consulting various companies on successful growth strategies, makes him uniquely qualified to lead our retail business strategy -- especially in the Americas, where we have great opportunity for growth," said Merz. Jawa is based at the company's headquarters facility in North Canton.

A native of Cleveland, Arvin received his MBA from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management, focusing on Entrepreneurship and Marketing. He also holds a bachelor's degree in art and art history from the University of Rochester.

About Diebold Nixdorf

Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD) is a world leader in enabling connected commerce for millions of consumers each day across the financial and retail industries. Its software-defined solutions bridge the physical and digital worlds of cash and consumer transactions conveniently, securely and efficiently. As an innovation partner for nearly all of the world's top 100 financial institutions and a majority of the top 25 global retailers, Diebold Nixdorf delivers unparalleled services and technology that are essential to evolve in an 'always on' and changing consumer landscape.

Diebold Nixdorf has a presence in more than 130 countries with approximately 24,000 employees worldwide. The organization maintains corporate offices in North Canton, Ohio, USA and Paderborn, Germany. Shares are traded on the New York and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol 'DBD'. Visit www.DieboldNixdorf.com for more information.

SOURCE Diebold Nixdorf

Related Links

http://www.dieboldnixdorf.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- DoorDash -- the technology company connecting customers with the best local businesses through door-to-door delivery -- today announced its launch in the Tucson area. This marks DoorDash's expansion into its second major Arizona market.

Starting today, DoorDash will be available in the Tucson area, including University, Midvale Park, Rita Ranch, Sunnyside, Flowing Wells, and Oro Valley.



Customers in the area can order DoorDash between the hours of 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. from a selection of local favorites, including:

DoorDash's national partnerships with P.F. Chang's, Red Robin, and Buffalo Wild Wings will also extend to the Tucson area.

"We've received great support from our manger and the DoorDash team. We had a very smooth set up and the training with managers was great. DoorDash's support team really stands out - when you have a question the team gives you an immediate response," said Bassel Osmani, co-founder of Pita Jungle.

To celebrate the debut of DoorDash in Tucson, customer's first delivery will be free. Also, customers can get $7 off their first order of $15 or more using code TUCSONLAUNCH, and for the first month, all deliveries will be $1.99 or less.

"We love our Arizona community and have been wanting to expand. Today, we are excited to be able to offer DoorDash's services to even more customers in the Arizona area," said Tony Xu, CEO and co-founder of DoorDash.

To search DoorDash for local favorites or to discover your next go-to, visit doordash.com or download DoorDash for Android or iOS.

About DoorDash

DoorDash is a technology company that connects customers with their favorite local and national businesses in more than 600 cities across the United States and Canada. Founded in the summer of 2013, DoorDash empowers merchants to grow their businesses by offering on-demand delivery, data-driven insights, and better in-store efficiency, providing delightful experiences from door to door. By building the last mile delivery infrastructure for local cities, DoorDash is bringing communities closer, one doorstep at a time. Read more on the DoorDash blog or at www.doordash.com.

SOURCE DoorDash

Related Links

https://www.doordash.com


WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hampton University President Dr. William R. Harvey is donating the proceeds from his motivational book Principles of Leadership: The Harvey Leadership Model, which was recently published in China, to fund student scholarships at Hampton. The news was disclosed today by Julia Wilson, CEO and founder of Wilson Global Communications, who brokered the book deal with the Intellectual Property Publishing House Co., Ltd. in Beijing on behalf of Dr. Harvey.

"I'm beyond delighted with the reception my book is receiving in China," Dr. Harvey said. "In my travels to China over the years, I have met Chinese officials, educators and students. I've been highly impressed by the insatiable intellectual curiosity of students there. Chinese students and their families simply cherish reading and learning - and revere their teachers and professors. Perhaps, that's a tradition we could re-energize here in the states."

Dr. Harvey recently celebrated his 40th anniversary as the president of Hampton University, and is one of the longest sitting presidents of any American university or college. Principles of Leadership Mandarin version will be sold in bookstores throughout China, including the Xinhua book stores, and can be bought through e-commerce online sites Dangdang, Jingdong and Amazon China and on the Alibaba website. In the U.S., the English version of the book can be purchased on Amazon.com.

"This was the fastest book deal I've ever negotiated," said Julia Wilson, who has been working on education and civic affairs programs in the China market for eight years. "Over the course of just a few months, Dr. Harvey's Chief of Staff Dr. Charrita D. Danley and I met with three major Chinese book publishers in Beijing, all of whom made strong offers to publish the book. We believe we aligned with one of the best.

The book has received enthusiastic endorsements from the Chinese educational community, and I look forward to meeting with hundreds of Chinese wholesale book distributors on Jan. 12, 2018 at the prestigious Beijing Book Fair, where there will be an official launch and live Webcast."

"Dr. Harvey's book resonates with people across cultural and generational lines," Wilson said. "It is literally a how-to guide to pursuing and achieving personal and professional excellence. His work underscores the basic principles of success he has pioneered and used throughout his life as not only the president of a university, but as a highly successful businessman who is the owner of the Pepsi Cola Bottling Co., of Houghton, Mich."

Principles of Leadership chronicles Dr. Harvey's many challenges, as an African American growing up in America's then-segregated South. One of the great appeals of his work to his Chinese audiences is that his book and life are a testament to how through hard work, perseverance and education, anyone can achieve his or her dreams. That is a powerful and inspiring message to China's 1.4 billion people, which include 56 different ethnic groups (55 of whom are minority).

"It is the great honor of IPPH to publish the Chinese version Principles of Leadership,' said Mr. Zhu Mingang, president of IPPH. "The successful experiences of President Harvey are fully revealed in this book, which is not only related to management science, but also more to the humanities. Since the knowledge and wisdom of leadership is not confined to any nation's border or to any industry, we believe the life and experiences of Dr. Harvey will greatly inspire management leaders, as well as would-be leaders from all walks of life."

Since taking the presidential helm at Hampton in 1978, Dr. Harvey has helped shape the university as a leader in educational standards, innovation and financial stability.

"If my life's work and my book can be an inspiration to young minds in China, as well as here in the U.S., I will indeed feel truly blessed that I've been able to help to make a positive difference in the world," Dr. Harvey said.

Dr. Harvey received his doctorate in college administration from Harvard University, has served on several multinational corporate boards of directors, and has been appointed to national advisory boards by six U.S. presidents, including presidents George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama. He is included in Who's Who in American Education, International Who's Who of Intellectuals, Who's Who in Business and Finance, and Who's Who in America.

SOURCE Wilson Global Communications
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Webroot, the Smarter Cybersecurity company, announced it has appointed Drew Thomas to the role of Vice President, Corporate Development. Thomas will be responsible for leading Webroot's corporate partnership and acquisition strategy, and managing the company's business intelligence team.

"Today, Webroot is the number one provider of cybersecurity solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and small businesses, and we see great potential to extend that leadership position through partnership and acquisition," said John Post, CFO. "Drew brings a strong track record in M&A that will help us expand our product portfolio and protect our customers against a rapidly changing threat landscape."

Prior to joining Webroot, Thomas was a director in William Blair's technology investment banking group, where he focused on enterprise IT, including cybersecurity, networking, and enterprise software. At William Blair, Thomas successfully completed more than 50 transactions with an aggregate value of more than $10 billion. Thomas began his career at Stone Arch Capital and RBC Capital Markets.

"Webroot's cloud-based architecture and use of advanced machine learning uniquely positions our products as both easy to use and incredibly effective against the most dangerous cyber threats," Thomas said. "I am excited to help the company expand its solution set and grow even faster in the dynamic SMB market."

About Webroot

Webroot was the first to harness the cloud and artificial intelligence to protect businesses and individuals against cyber threats. We provide the number one security solution for managed service providers and small businesses, who rely on Webroot for endpoint protection, network protection, and security awareness training. Webroot BrightCloud Threat Intelligence Services are used by market leading companies like Cisco, F5 Networks, Citrix, Aruba, Palo Alto Networks, A10 Networks, and more. Leveraging the power of machine learning to protect millions of businesses and individuals, Webroot secures the connected world. Headquartered in Colorado, Webroot operates globally across North America, Europe, and Asia. Discover Smarter Cybersecurity solutions at webroot.com.

Social Media: Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook

2017 Webroot Inc. All rights reserved. Webroot, SecureAnywhere, Webroot SecureAnywhere, Webroot BrightCloud, BrightCloud, and Smarter Cybersecurity are trademarks or registered trademarks of Webroot Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SOURCE Webroot

Related Links

https://www.webroot.com


A brand new, game- and industry-changing innovation for designers and consumers alike, Elkay's newest sink, the Stainless Steel Farmhouse with Interchangeable Apron Front, takes iconic design to the next level with a sink that is both timeless in appearance as well as versatile and fashion forward. This new sink blends the worlds of classic stainless steel with non-traditional, modern materials, giving designers and consumers the option to change the apron look, color and material without having to replace or reinstall the sink itself  a true industry first. The changeable apron front is available in a carefully curated selection of materials and colors including colored stainless steel, white fireclay and more to match your ever-evolving decor.

"Elkay's newest farmhouse sinks are the first of their kind, featuring non-traditional, modern material apron fronts that are true showstoppers, allowing homeowners to easily switch out the apron to give the kitchen a new look in a matter of minutes without the major expense of a full kitchen remodel," says Elkay Director of Product Management, Sinks & Faucets, Derek Voigt. "Homeowners love both the design statement of farmhouse sinks partnered with their functionality for everyday tasks, evidenced by their sales increase of more than 300% over the last two years at Elkay."

Elkay Quartz Luxe Farmhouse Sink with Visible Carbon Fiber Apron Front

The Elkay Quartz Luxe collection now offers two of its existing popular colors with an apron made of visible carbon fiber, the same material used in high-performance products such as boats and luxury cars. Handcrafted from a carbon fiber reinforced polymer, the visible carbon fibers in the apron create a unique tone-on-tone woven pattern that has a subtle, playful movement. This movement reflects the light for a glossy, high-tech look, offering sleek style and sophistication with a hint of color.

"Expanding beyond the traditional stainless steel sink with our additions of Fireclay, Quartz and Quartz Luxe sinks, Elkay is adding to this portfolio of non-traditional, modern materials with the new Visible Carbon Fiber Apron Front, showing we are continuing to innovate and blend the worlds of function and style," says Elkay Senior Product Manager, Alternative Materials, Mark Hird.

These as well as a large portfolio of Elkay's newest products will be launching and available for purchase in 2018. Other Elkay products debuting at KBIS 2018 include:

Elkay Quartz Luxe Single and Double Bowl Sink in Blue and Silver with Perfect Drain : Organic fibers are molded into the Luxe material of the sink base and apron offering extra impact resistance alongside cool-tone hues

Organic fibers are molded into the Luxe material of the sink base and apron offering extra impact resistance alongside cool-tone hues Elkay Lustertone Iconix: The linear design accommodates straight sidewalls and a flat bottom for a sleek look and more usable space in the sink. The sink features Elkay's signature Lustertone finish that keeps the sink looking brand new throughout the years

Consumers can learn about all of Elkay's latest innovations debuting at KBIS at Elkay.com/KBISpressroom and view the entire existing portfolio at Elkay.com. Join the KBIS conversation on social media using #ElkayKBIS18.

About Elkay Manufacturing Co.

Family-owned since 1920, Elkay has been making innovative products and delivering exceptional customer care for almost a century. While proud to be America's No. 1 selling kitchen sink company, Elkay expanded its commercial offerings more than four decades ago, and today delivers faucets, foodservice fixtures, water coolers, drinking fountains and award-winning ezH2O bottle filling stations, in addition to world-class stainless steel and quartz sinks. Elkay Wood Products is one of the top cabinetmakers in the American marketplace, with industry-leading brands that include Medallion Cabinetry, Mastercraft Cabinetry, Design-Craft Cabinetry, Yorktowne Cabinetry, Schuler Cabinetry and American Cabinetry Collection. Like your family, Elkay has values and traditions that endure; like a commitment to sustainability and to our country. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, Elkay has been American-owned and operated, providing thousands of jobs that support our families and communities.

SOURCE Elkay Manufacturing Co.

Related Links

http://www.elkay.com/


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Experimac, an international retailer specializing in the repair and sales of pre-owned Apple* computers and devices, opened more than 50 new locations in 2017, including eight international franchise locations, eclipsing any previous year. Since they began operations in 2009, Experimac's popularity has exploded. There are more than 100 locations across the globe, and growth is expected to double in 2018, with 130 new locations planned, including 25 international franchise locations.

"This year, we not only made great inroads into new markets here in the U.S., but also expanded into several new countries internationally; France, Ireland, Chile, plus additional locations in Australia and South Africa," said Jim Muir, Experimac's founder and president. "The strength that comes from being part of UFG enables franchise entrepreneurship to be within reach for many new and existing small business owners. In 2018, we hope to bring on smaller, independently owned businesses that are providing similar services to Experimac's. We will invite them to formalize under the Experimac brand name, so they can benefit from the entire strength of the brand."

Experimac sells and repairs quality, pre-owned Apple products and accessories. In addition to sales of certified pre-owned Apple equipment, they also offer computer and device repairs, system updates and upgrades, and they purchase older Apple products, which are certified and resold at competitive prices. Devices purchased at an Experimac store come with a one-year warranty at participating locations.

Experimac is part of the United Franchise Group (UFG) family of companies, which develops and nurtures entrepreneurship and business ownership through worldwide franchising efforts. UFG is comprised of brands with more than 1,400 franchise locations across 80 countries.

All Experimac stores are independently owned and operated, with a focus on building customer relationships providing excellent service in their communities. Visit www.ExperimacFranchise.com to learn more.

About Experimac

Experimac is a unique franchising concept that specializes in the sale of certified pre-owned Apple products. Your Local Experimac can also repair, upgrade or buy your current device, and no appointment is ever necessary. They offer a one-year warrantee at participating locations, which takes the risk out of buying pre-owned. Experimac was founded by Jim Muir in 2009, and began franchising as one of United Franchise Group's family of brands in 2014. Today there are more than 100 locations across the US, and Experimac stores can be found in Australia, Mexico, Chile, South Africa, France, Switzerland and Ireland. The brand has seen tremendous growth with no sign of slowing down. For more information visit www.ExperimacFranchise.com.

About UFG

Led by CEO Ray Titus, United Franchise Group is home to a variety of internationally recognized brands including Signarama, Fully Promoted, Experimac, Jon Smith Subs, Venture X, SuperGreen Solutions, Transworld Business Advisors and Paramount Tax & Accounting CPAs. With over three decades in the franchising industry and more than 1400 franchisees throughout the world, United Franchise Group offers unprecedented leadership and solid business opportunities for entrepreneurs.

*The use of the Apple Inc. logo or trademark does not represent an endorsement by Apple Inc. of Experimac or United Franchise Group.

Media Contact:

Ashley Soto

305-631-2283 x1005

[email protected]

SOURCE Experimac

Related Links

http://www.ExperimacFranchise.com


The rise in growth comes as no surprise, due in part to the heavy influence of social media and celebrities and now at-home application, thanks to KISS innovations. The KISS lash brand has skyrocketed over the last couple of years driving KISS lashes to #1 position in both market share and category growth.

Current lash users are making falsies a staple in their everyday beauty routine and new users are quickly embracing the trend. "Lashes ignite confidence and KISS hopes to empower and encourage women to make their own rules when it comes to beauty," says Annette DeVita-Goldstein, Senior Vice President Global Marketing at KISS Products, Inc.

Women are looking for accessible beauty and KISS, with its comprehensive assortment of over 50 different lash styles, has more top selling lash items, including the #1 lash product, than any other brand according to Nielsen data..*

Beyond the vast portfolio of lash offerings, KISS brings first-to-market technologies and enhancements that deliver the most natural looking results. Here are some of the key examples.

KISS introduced Tapered End Lash Technology with the launch of Looks So Natural Lashes and True Volume Lashes, designed to replicate the thin, tapered tip of a natural lash. These lashes blend seamlessly with natural lashes and provide a lightweight, comfortable feel.

Then KISS introduced Blooming Lash, a true game-changer in the lash category, designed with exclusive patent-pending Multi-Angle Technology that delivers dimensional volume with 3-level vertical variation on a single lash band while flawlessly mimicking a natural look. KISS Blooming Lash received a SheFinds 2017 Drugstore Beauty Award.

The latest innovation from KISS is the Lash Couture Faux Mink Collection, which delivers the unrivaled beauty of mink lashes  plushness, volume, softness, luster  without the use of real mink and the expensive price tag. KISS Lash Couture in Little Black Dress received a 2017 Allure Best of Beauty Award, winning in the Best False Lash category.

Finally, KISS also offers strip lashes, a staple for professionals and lash enthusiasts, EverEZ Trio Lashes are faster and easier than using individual lashes and allows for customized results.

"Lashes are a truly transformational beauty experience that deliver instant results," says DeVita-Goldstein. Beyond its groundbreaking product offerings, KISS understands that convenience and education are crucial in driving sales. In an effort to attract new lash wearers and entice current users, the brand launched KISS Lash Wardrobe, a digital mobile app that delivers virtual lash trial and shopability. The app focuses on making trial easy and accessible to the consumer through a virtual lash application and direct consumer purchase option. "We wanted women to have the ability to find a lash style that best suits her eye shape and desired look in the most convenient way possible," says DeVita-Goldstein. "KISS Lash Wardrobe converts the consumer experience from trial to purchase in a few quick steps, all from her smartphone."

The KISS Lash Wardrobe App is now available for free download on the APP Store and Google Play.

* Kiss Products calculation based in part on data reported by Nielsen through its Scantrack service for the 52-week period ending 11/11/2017, for the Total U.S. xAOC market and combined Food, Drug, Dollar, DeCA, Club, and Mass (incl. Walmart) channel.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: KISSusa.com

FACEBOOK/TWITTER/INSTAGRAM: KISSProducts

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Bratskeir & Company / 212.679.2233

Nikki Croney / [email protected]

ABOUT KISS LASHES:

KISS, the #1 lash brand in America, leads the eyelash category in innovation and sales growth. KISS is the trusted beauty brand and category expert for innovative, premium quality products that are accessible and affordable. KISS offers a vast portfolio of lash styles with strip and individual lashes and all-in-one kits. KISS expands the consumer experience with KISS Lash Wardrobe, a digital mobile app that delivers virtual lash trial and shopability for convenience and education. For more information, visit www.KISSusa.com

SOURCE KISS

Related Links

http://www.KISSusa.com


LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cayuga Medical Center (CMC) is a progressive general hospital located in Ithaca, New York, serving the residents of Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca, Tioga and Tompkins counties. The hospital has 212 beds in total and is one of the largest hospitals in the Finger Lakes region and the Southern Tier.

ezCAC/ezCDI will enable Cayuga Medical Center physicians to effortlessly collaborate with Health Information Management, Coders and CDI staff, providing the highest degree of code assignment, clinical documentation integrity and coding compliance.

ezDI applications are more secure than traditional on-premise solutions with a dramatically lower total cost of ownership through the elimination of maintenance fees and upgrade costs and a significantly decreased effort to install and operate.

"We look forward to providing Cayuga Medical Center with our cognitive technologies to help improve the quality and efficiency of their clinical documentation," said Terry Ciesla, executive vice president for ezDI. "There is a great deal of excitement here at ezDI as we expand the use of our CAC/CDI toolsets to providers. ezDI is leading the charge with cloud-based technologies and applications that are simple, clean and intuitive." Terry further states, "Our applications are easily configured to work within a customer's coding workflow and not the other way around, where CDI staff and coders must adapt workflow to conform to legacy applications."

About Cayuga Medical Center

Cayuga Medical Center at Ithaca is a 212-bed, acute-care hospital offering state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment services. They are affiliated with 35 teaching and research institutions, including Weill Medical College of Cornell University and New York Hospital, Columbia University, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Rochester Heart Institute, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, University of Rochester, University Hospital in Syracuse, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College. CMC has an affiliated medical staff of 200 physicians, many of them subspecialists. With more than 1,000 skilled health-care employees and two satellite campuses, CMC is the fifth-largest employer in Tompkins County. Cayuga Medical Center has been designated twice as a "Top 100 Hospital for Community Value."

About ezDI Inc.

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, ezDI Inc. focuses on developing healthcare IT solutions that leverage cutting-edge technologies including Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning, Semantic Web and High-Performance Cloud Computing. The goal is to put operational data in the hands of healthcare professionals to help them proactively identify patients at risk, patterns in disease and treatment outcomes. ezDI builds intuitive healthcare IT solutions spanning Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI), Computer-assisted Coding (CAC), Medical Transcription, Analytics and more. ezDI has been named as one of the top 100 highly innovative companies at TiECon 2014 and ranked #1 in the Semantic Evaluation of Clinical Data (SemEval) competition for the year 2015. Website  www.ezDI.com.

Media Contacts:

ezDI Inc.

Terry Ciesla, EVP

866.473.5655

[email protected]

https://www.ezDI.com

12806 Townepark Way,

Louisville, KY 40243

Related Links

ezCDI - #1 NLP-based Computer-Assisted CDI Software

ezCAC - #1 NLP-based Computer-Assisted Coding Software

SOURCE ezDI Inc.

Related Links

https://www.ezDI.com


STOCKTON, Calif., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

WHO:

Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-9)

(CA-9) Mayor Michael Tubbs , Stockton, CA

, Lawrence Parks , Senior Vice President, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco

, Senior Vice President, Federal Home Loan Bank of Jose Blanco , President and CEO, Central Valley Fund

, President and CEO, Central Valley Fund Jason Mills , President and CEO, Utility Telecom

, President and CEO, Utility Telecom David Ypma , President and CEO, Initiative Foods

, President and CEO, Initiative Foods David Harrison , Board Member, New World Foundation

, Board Member, New World Foundation David Maurrasse , Senior Fellow, New World Foundation

WHAT:

Remarks by Mayor Tubbs and Rep. McNerney, followed by a press conference where Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) Senior Vice President Lawrence Parks and New World Foundation (NWF) Board Member David Harrison present a $5 million check to Jose Blanco, President and CEO of the Central Valley Fund (CVF), as part of the Quality Jobs Fund initiative. FHLBank San Francisco seeded the Quality Jobs Fund (QJF) with a $100 million charitable contribution to facilitate quality job creation, finance small business expansion, and support job training in its three-state district of Arizona, California, and Nevada, and in other communities nationally. NWF administrates the program and chooses the recipients. The groundbreaking initiative will improve the wealth-building potential of working families, help generate future homebuyers, and serve as a catalyst for sustainable, long-term community development programs, especially those in underserved communities. The $5 million will be used to invest in companies that develop quality jobs. After the check presentation, Initiative Foods CEO and President David Ypma and Utility Telecom CEO and President Jason Mills will discuss how Central Valley Fund investments in their companies helped them grow and offer quality jobs, fair wages, and good benefits to employees. The press conference will end with a Q&A.

WHERE:

Utility Telecom

4202 Coronado Avenue

Stockton, CA 95204

Live streamed at http://qualityjobsfunds.org

WHEN:

Friday, January 12, 2018

9:30 AM PST/ 12:30 PM EST

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Michael K. Frisby 202-625-4382 or [email protected]

Kevin Blackburn 510-377-8999 or [email protected]

(Please contact Mr. Frisby or Mr. Blackburn to schedule a broadcast or print interview with Mr. Parks or Mr. Seibly, President and CEO of FHLBank San Francisco to discuss the initiative.)

SOURCE FHLBank San Francisco
SALINAS, California, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FieldIn is disrupting the $65 Billion Agricultural Pesticide (AgPest) market utilizing IoT devices connected to its powerful analytics platform, providing growers with unprecedented control over their farming operations, while constructing the largest AgPest dataset in existence. Over the past two years FieldIn has successfully monitored over 1 million sprayed acres in real-time, to discover that more than 25% of sprays were performed with consequential errors. Moreover, according to publications, over $300B of annual world crops is lost due to problems related to pest and disease control. FieldIn's innovative technology allows growers, as well as the entire AgPest supply chain (from growers to retailers), to improve yields, decrease costs and dramatically reduce the impact of pesticides on our entire environment.

"Our AgPest dataset has reached a critical-mass coverage that enables us to provide unique insights on crops, chemicals and geographies," said Boaz Bachar, Founder and CEO of FieldIn. "We started our initial activities in Israel and expect to cover over 40 percent of the citrus and vine markets in 2018. Fieldin is rapidly expanding to the US, Europe and Africa, and has landed major contracts with some of the biggest names in the industry. We are especially excited about our recent agreement with 'The Wonderful Company', the world's largest grower of tree nuts. Overseeing nearly 100,000 acres for this company is a significant milestone for us."

In order to support its rapid growth, Fieldin has secured a strategic partnership with Adama, a global leader in crop protection solutions, as well as a distribution agreement with Kern Machinery, John Deer's largest distributor in California. "FieldIn offers growers a unique spray management system that is economical and easy to use. It's a strategic asset that should be part of every grower's fleet," said Larry Sitzman, GM of Kern Machinery.

Amid these accomplishments, FieldIn is now announcing that it has successfully closed $4M in funding. The round was co-lead by Gal Ventures and Germin8 Ventures along with participation of early investors, Terra Ventures. Additional participants in this round include prominent international angels and the Israel Innovation Authority (formerly the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel's Ministry of Economy).

Bachar shared his plans for the future: "This funding round is an important milestone for FieldIn. We intend to increase our customer base worldwide while enhancing our unique AgPest dataset. This will get us closer to fulfilling our vision: empowering an industry in which all AgPest activities become data driven, where FieldIn serves as the authoritative data source for the entire supply chain  chemical manufacturers, growers, retailers, and ultimately consumers".

About FieldIn Tech

FieldIn is a data software service that provides real time management of AgPest usage, patterns and efficacy. Utilizing advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence, FieldIn computes geospatial, chemical, biological, weather and other parameters, to provide growers the ability to dramatically improve yields, adapt to evolving pest resistance and reduce costs. FieldIn has created the largest and most comprehensive AgPest dataset in the world, enabling data driven improvements of field execution, application methods and chemicals efficacy for the AgPest supply chain. No less important, this new transparency positively impacts the environment through diminished pesticide contamination.

For more information, please visit www.fieldintech.com.

Team

Boaz Bachar, Founder and CEO is a Law & Business graduate from the Interdisciplinary center's Zell Entrepreneurship program. Iftach Birger, the company Chief Agronomist, holds a B.A.Sc in plant sciences as well as a Masters in Biotechnology from the Hebrew University and was born and raised on an agricultural farm. The company counts 25 team members which are comprised of software engineers, data scientists and agronomists in its Ramat-Yishai offices, as well as sales and support team members in California and South Africa. The company plans to expand its teams in Israel and in California in order to support its rapid growth.

For more details, please contact:

[email protected]

Adam Ingram



SOURCE FieldIn

Related Links

http://www.fieldintech.com


ATLANTA, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released new data in its Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Investment Map, which shows early progress by states to combat AR. This year's AR Investment Map features more than 170 state-reported successeslike rapidly identifying and containing rare and concerning resistant germs to protect communities. Each state reported multiple successes. These are the first comprehensive reports on state progress made following the first year of Congress' unprecedented investment in CDC's Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative.

The AR Investment Map displays CDC's AR activities in printable state- and city-specific fact sheets, providing a comprehensive view of CDC's resources to protect Americans from antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when germs no longer respond to the drugs designed to kill them. Some germs already have become resistant to all available antibiotics, making some completely untreatable.

"Antibiotic resistance has the potential to impact all Americans at every stage of life," said CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D. "This interactive map showcases the work happening on the frontlines of every state and CDC's commitment to keep people safe from drug-resistant infections."

In fiscal year 2016, CDC made investments in all 50 states, six large cities, and Puerto Rico to enhance laboratory and epidemiology expertise and grow public health innovations to fight antibiotic resistance across healthcare settings, food, and communities.

These investments helped states like Oklahoma and Connecticut each successfully identify and contain a single case of Candida auris, a multidrug-resistant fungus that can cause deadly infections.

Early progress shows antibiotic resistance investments are working

Also displayed in the new AR Investment Map are successes states reported for fiscal year 2017:

In Tennessee , when a person got a rare and concerning infection, the state health department and facility immediately began CDC's containment protocol and isolated the patient. Within 48 hours, the teams fully executed the containment protocol (AR Lab Network testing, infection control assessments, colonization screening). Since then, the facility has not identified additional cases.

, when a person got a rare and concerning infection, the state health department and facility immediately began CDC's containment protocol and isolated the patient. Within 48 hours, the teams fully executed the containment protocol (AR Lab Network testing, infection control assessments, colonization screening). Since then, the facility has not identified additional cases. Michigan reduced "nightmare bacteria" CRE by 30 percent in 40 facilities and prevented more than 300 infections through its surveillance and prevention initiative.

reduced "nightmare bacteria" CRE by 30 percent in 40 facilities and prevented more than 300 infections through its surveillance and prevention initiative. Thirty-eight states and two cities now use whole genome sequencing to monitor for outbreaks and identify antibiotic resistance for Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli that are commonly transmitted through food and animal contact . When these outbreaks are detected, local CDC-supported epidemiologists investigate the cases to stop the outbreaks and spread of resistance. Since the end of fiscal year 2017, six more health departments successfully implemented whole genome sequencing.

and that are commonly transmitted through food and animal contact When these outbreaks are detected, local CDC-supported epidemiologists investigate the cases to stop the outbreaks and spread of resistance. Since the end of fiscal year 2017, six more health departments successfully implemented whole genome sequencing. In Kentucky , an aggressive and coordinated response to a rare and concerning resistance gene successfully contained the outbreak and stopped its spread.

, an aggressive and coordinated response to a rare and concerning resistance gene successfully contained the outbreak and stopped its spread. California increased its local response capacity to combat resistant gonorrhea and increased its rapid susceptibility testing by eight-fold. Susceptibility testing shows how well a gonorrhea strain will respond to specific antibiotics. These results are used to inform local outbreak response action, national treatment guidelines, and antibiotic resistance trends.

In its mission to protect people, a significant portion of CDC's AR investments goes to enhancing infrastructure in health departments nationwide. Since 2016, CDC has provided $144 million to 56 state and local health departments and Puerto Rico to address this threat. CDC has also invested more than $76 million in more than 60 universities and healthcare partners to find and implement innovative ways to prevent resistant infections and contain their spread.

The updated AR Investment Map reflects fiscal year 2017 extramural funding and highlights CDC's collaborations that protect people worldwide. CDC continues to partner with health departments; academia; and the healthcare, veterinary, and agriculture industries to advance the science and implement strategies that protect Americans from antibiotic resistance.

Learn more about CDC's AR Solutions Initiative and ongoing work to combat AR at www.cdc.gov/DrugResistance.

US Department of Health and Human Services

CDC works 24/7 protecting America's health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America's most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.

Contact: CDC Media Relations

404-639-3286

SOURCE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Related Links

http://www.icf.com


BOSTON, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fish & Richardson has elevated 21 attorneys to principal at the firm, effective January 1, 2018. The new principals in the firm's Litigation Group are: Erin Alper and Jacqueline Tio (Atlanta); Elizabeth Brenckman (New York); Jane Du (Dallas); Joanna Fuller (San Diego); Brian Livedalen (Washington, D.C.); Warren Mabey, Jr. (Delaware); and Neil Warren (Silicon Valley). The new principals in the Patent Group are: Dr. Andrea Dorigo (Munich); Dr. Heather Flanagan (Austin); Dr. Angela Follett, Chris Hoff, and Jennifer Huang (Twin Cities); David Holt, Nick Jepsen, Chris Ma, and Andrew Patrick (Washington, D.C.); Dr. Sushil Iyer, formerly Sushil Shrinivasan, (Dallas); Dr. Tiffany Reiter (Boston); and Michael Portnov and Michael Shepherd (Silicon Valley).

Of the 21 attorneys elevated to principal, 43% are women. Fish is committed to hiring, retaining, and advancing the most talented technical, scientific, and legal minds in the country as part of its Diversity & Inclusion mission.

Erin Alper continues to focus her practice on patent litigation. Her practice covers a range of technologies in venues across the country, including the International Trade Commission (ITC) and inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). She received her J.D., with honors, Order of the Coif, from Emory University School of Law in 2009 and her B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Southern California in 2006.

Elizabeth Brenckman continues to focus her practice on trademark and copyright litigation and enforcement matters. She represents clients of all sizes in a wide range of industries in federal district and appellate courts across the country, as well as the ITC and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2008 and her B.S. in finance, summa cum laude, from St. Cloud State University in 2004.

Dr. Andrea Dorigo has experience in both patent-related and transactional aspects of IP and extensive experience in licensing agreements. He received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law in 2001 and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1987.

Jane Du practices all aspects of IP litigation with a focus on patent and trademark enforcement actions in federal district court. She has worked on numerous high-profile competitor cases in a broad range of technological areas. She received her J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law in 2009 and her B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Texas in 2006.

Dr. Heather Flanagan continues to focus her practice on U.S. and foreign patent prosecution and counseling, opinion work, due diligence studies, and development and management of patent portfolios in chemistry and related fields. She received her J.D. from the University of Texas Law School, her M.B.A. from the University of Florida, her Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Harvard University, and her B.S. in chemistry from University of Georgia.

Dr. Angela Follett works with a range of clients, from start-up and emerging companies to academic and research institutions in the areas of life sciences, chemistry, and pharmaceuticals with a practice focusing on patent prosecution, portfolio development advice, and strategic patent counseling. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of St. Thomas in 2011, her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 2006, and her B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in chemistry and biochemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2001.

Joanna Fuller represents pharmaceutical and high-tech clients in patent litigation nationwide in cases encompassing a wide range of technology. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2009 and her B.S., with high honors, Phi Beta Kappa, in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996.

Chris Hoff focuses his practice on patent portfolio development and management, patent prosecution, and post-grant proceedings for a wide variety of clients, ranging from individual inventors and startups to large technology companies. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2008 and his B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, in computer science from Carleton College in 2002.

David Holt focuses his practice on patent prosecution and post-grant proceedings for both petitioners and patent owners. He received his J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 2011 and his B.S. in computer and electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2005.

Jennifer Huang assists clients in various aspects of maintaining and enforcing IP rights, including patent prosecution, patent reexamination, due diligence, and litigation. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2008 and her B.E., magna cum laude, in electrical engineering, minor in mathematics, from the University of Minnesota in 2005.

Dr. Sushil Iyer, formerly Sushil Shrinivasan, maintains a practice that focuses on domestic and international patent preparation and prosecution in a broad range of technological areas. He received his J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 2012 and mechanical engineering degrees from the University of Virginia (Ph.D.) in 2006, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (M.S.) in 2001 and the University of Madras (B.E.) in 1998.

Nick Jepsen emphasizes strategic patent prosecution and client counseling related to electrical and computer technology and medical devices as well as patent due diligence and patent post-grant proceedings. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2009 and his B.S., cum laude, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, in electrical engineering from Brigham Young University in 2006.

Brian Livedalen focuses on all aspects of patent litigation in federal district court and before the U.S. ITC, patent licensing, and post-grant review proceedings. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center in 2009 and his B.S. in physics from the University of Virginia in 2005.

Chris Ma emphasizes intellectual property portfolio management and counseling in computer software and hardware technologies, as well as due diligence in connection with technology acquisitions and patent litigation matters. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008 and his B.S. in computer engineering from the University of Virginia in 2005.

Warren Mabey, Jr. emphasizes patent litigation in a wide range of technologies, primarily in the areas of electrical engineering and computer science. He received his J.D., summa cum laude, from Rutgers Law School in 2010 and his B.S. in electrical engineering, with minors in biomedical engineering and economics, from Bucknell University in 2004.

Andrew Patrick emphasizes post-grant proceedings, patent prosecution, client counseling, and portfolio development in his practice and is technically focused on the computer-related, electrical, and mechanical arts. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center in 2010, and two B.S. degrees, with high honors, in mathematics and computer sciences and in economics from Colorado School of Mines in 2005.

Michael Portnov focuses his practice on client counseling and preparing and prosecuting patent applications directed to computer-related technologies. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2009 and his B.A. in mathematics, with a minor in physics, from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006.

Dr. Tiffany Reiter focuses her practice on U.S. and foreign patent prosecution, opinion work, due diligence, and portfolio advisement in the life sciences. Her clients range from start-up to large companies. She has extensive experience in biologic pharmaceuticals (including antibody- and antibody-based technologies, such as CAR-T therapies), methods of manufacturing biologic pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, genetics, and recombinant food technologies. She received her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 2012, her Ph.D. in molecular biology from Mayo Graduate School in 2002 and her B.S., summa cum laude, in biotechnology from St. Cloud State University in 1997.

Michael Shepherd focuses his practice on client counseling and patent prosecution in the areas of software and other computer-related technologies. He received his J.D., cum laude, Order of the Coif, from Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2009, and computer science degrees from Syracuse University (M.S., 2005) and University of Notre Dame (B.S., cum laude, 2002).

Jacqueline Tio focuses her practice on IP litigation in venues across the country, including before the U.S. ITC, with an emphasis on patents covering a wide range of technologies. She continues to engage in pro bono matters, such as assisting clients seeking post-conviction relief, and more recently represented amici on issues concerning cybersecurity. She received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 2009 and her B.S., Phi Beta Kappa, in chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006.

Neil Warren focuses his practice on both federal district court litigation and practice before the PTAB with client technologies relating to semiconductors, integrated circuits, medical devices, and computer software. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2010 and his B.S., with honors, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007.

Fish & Richardson is a global patent prosecution, intellectual property litigation, and commercial litigation law firm with more than 400 attorneys and technology specialists in the U.S. and Europe. Our success is rooted in our creative and inclusive culture, which values the diversity of people, experiences, and perspectives. Fish is the No. 1 U.S. patent litigation firm, handling nearly three times as many cases as its nearest competitor; a powerhouse patent prosecution firm; a top-tier trademark and copyright firm; and the No. 1 firm at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, with more cases than any other firm. Since 1878, Fish attorneys have been winning cases worth billions in controversy  often by making new law  for the world's most innovative and influential technology leaders. For more information, visit https://www.fr.com or follow us at @FishRichardson.

Contact: Amy Blumenthal or Kelly Largey Blumenthal & Associates

Fish & Richardson 617-879-1511

800-818-5070 [email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Fish & Richardson

Related Links

http://www.fr.com


KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fishtech Group today announced CYDERES (Cyber Defense & Response), a human-led, machine-driven Security-as-a-Service solution including Managed Detection and Response (MDR). Powered by the proprietary CYDERES Platform, CYDERES supplies organizations with people, process, and technology "as a Service" to manage risks, detect threats, and respond to security incidents in real-time.

"CYDERES was built to address systemic industry challenges, including a critical lack of skilled security resources, a general shortcoming of cohesion between various point products, and the continued escalation in pace and scope of security breaches," said Fishtech CEO and Founder Gary Fish.

The CYDERES flagship offering is a Security-as-a-Service solution for Managed Detection and Response that delivers expedited detection, investigation, remediation, and proactive threat hunting for security events. Leveraging partnerships with leading security products, CYDERES not only supports traditional "on premise" infrastructure, but thrives in hybrid environments and includes full support for "cloud-first" architectures.

The CYDERES MDR solution is technology independent  designed to leverage a company's existing investment in security solutions and make them better. CYDERES brings disparate data together from best-of-breed security products and makes that data actionable by CYDERES analysts in one intuitive pane of glass. The proprietary Platform scales on demand, leverages sensibly-applied machine learning to improve over time, and correlates and enriches both cloud and on-premise event data with threat intelligence sources. CYDERES integrates next-generation investigation, management, and response tools along with exceptional industry experts to drive them.

Additionally, Fishtech is proud to announce that Eric Foster has joined the company in the role of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Serving on the Fishtech executive management team, Foster is responsible for CYDERES division as well as Fishtech's security, governance, and compliance initiatives. Foster is an experienced leader in information security who has won national recognition for security, customer success, and business innovation. A longtime Certified Information Systems Security Provider (CISSP), Foster recently became a Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP), one of only about 1,400 in the U.S.

Foster comes to Fishtech most recently from Netsmart, where he served as CISO for the nation's largest provider of innovative healthcare technology for the behavioral health, social services and post-acute communities. Previously, Foster ran post-sales operations for RiskIQ, the leader in digital threat management. There, he built from scratch and led RiskIQ's world-class Customer Success team.

"Through CYDERES, we are enabling security teams to focus on delivering value to the business instead of chasing events," said Foster. "We've assembled a world-class team of InfoSec experts, SOC operators, security researchers, and customer success leaders. We've teamed up with experts in automation, DevOps, machine learning and data science. And we're incubated under the leadership of Gary Fish, one of the most successful cyber security entrepreneurs of all time.

"Together we are all driven toward a single goal: to deliver the "next generation" Security as a Service solution I've needed throughout my CISO career, but could never find in the market. We've built a service that meets our own exceedingly high standards."

About Fishtech Group

Fishtech delivers operational efficiencies and improved security posture for its clients through cloud-focused, data-driven solutions. Fishtech is based in Kansas City, Missouri. Visit https://fishtech.group/ or contact us at [email protected].

Gary Fish is a seasoned entrepreneur whose ventures include FishNet, Firemon, and Fishtech. With evidenced insight in the information security space, he has led Fishtech to invest in early stage information security startups that redefine, disrupt, or create large new markets.

SOURCE Fishtech Group

Related Links

https://fishtech.group


TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida had a rocky road to legalizing medical marijuana last year, but in the end, patients did in fact get legal access to cannabis as medicine. Under Amendment, state certified MMJ doctors can recommend marijuana to qualified patients. To date over 70,000 new patients have been approved by the state, plus new medical marijuana doctors networks in Florida are flourishing.

For patients to qualify, they must meet a few non-negotiable criteria, including being able to show proof of Florida residency, by showing either a drivers license, state ID or current utility bill. Then a patient must qualify under Amendment 2 legislation, finally signed into law back in June of 2017.

The qualifying conditions include debilitating illnesses that have symptoms such as chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, seizures, symptoms of chemotherapy and any other symptoms of similar likeness that a doctor feels marijuana would effectively treat.

That is where The Florida CBD Connection comes in. It offers visitors unparalleled access to Florida's medical marijuana doctors. Giving potential cannabis patients the resource to properly research the health benefits of marijuana and find an MMJ doctor who will help them with relief that only marijuana can offer.

The company ensures its member doctors are true "green health believers" that understand why medical marijuana is so successful throughout the United States today. They make sure to educate their patients on different strains and the effect they have on the body, including what dosages to use for different symptoms and what products would be best for their individual needs.

The company also features CBD Doctors that specialize in CBD oil treatments for severe seizures and chronic pain. Cannabinoid (CBD) is treating long-term pain management patients and replacing their traditional, more addictive medications. The member doctors are eager to discuss how cannabis can help with hundreds of ailments that afflict many people today.

In addition to instant access to Florida's new marijuana doctors network in 2018, the Florida CBD Connection also supports and promotes new ideas to better serve patients in the Sunshine State. Its the start of an exciting year, with recreational marijuana on the horizon for 2020 and with "The Florida Cannabis Act" petition already getting signatures, big changes could be close.

Become a free site member to gain useful insights on all Florida medical marijuana news, law updates, dispensary deals and more.

Find a Doctor Near You: https://www.floridacbdconnection.com/doctors

Related Links

Florida CBD Connection

Florida Medical Marijuana Doctors, Facebook Page

SOURCE Florida CBD Connection
DALLAS, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Experts are predicting an acceleration of merger and acquisition activity in 2018 thanks to the passage and implementation of the major tax reform legislation signed last year by President Trump.

A recent survey of business leaders indicates an increase in merger and acquisition transactions this year. Deloitte's "State of the Deal M&A Trends" report foresees an "increase of merger and acquisition activity in 2018 with 68 percent of corporations surveyed and 76 percent of private equity respondents anticipating an uptick in the number of transactions."

"Concerns about the size and scope of tax reform and the ability of the current administration to reduce the regulatory burden have been largely resolved," said Terry Johnson, Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer for Generational Equity, a leading middle market M&A advisory firm. "With reduced taxes, large strategic buyers will have more capital available to reinvest in their growth initiatives, including acquisitions."

Wells Fargo predicts that the repatriation tax holiday will be a huge driver of merger activities as companies forgo capital spending and share buybacks in favor of growth by acquisitions.

"It is our belief that tax reform will strengthen the current seller's market," says Johnson. "However, the window of opportunity for business owners to maximize their exit can close quickly based on geopolitical events, a slowdown in the economy, or other factors, all of which are largely out of our control."

"Seller's markets don't last forever," says Johnson. "With literally trillions of dollars coming into the market in terms of tax breaks and tax repatriation programs, it is prudent for business owners to recognize this and consider the opportunities in the marketplace now."

About Generational Equity

Generational Equity, DealForce, and Generational Capital Markets, member FINRA/SIPC, are part of the Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas and is one of the leading M&A advisory firms in North America. With over 250 professionals located throughout North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing merger, acquisition and strategic growth advisory services. Their four-step approach features exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, and M&A transactional services.

The M&A Advisor named the company the 2016 and 2017 Investment Banking Firm of the Year. For more, visit http://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room.

For more information:

Carl Doerksen

972-232-1125

[email protected]

SOURCE Generational Equity

Related Links

http://www.genequityco.com


NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- GLOBALHealthPR, the largest independent health and science communications agency partnership worldwide, today welcomed Johannesburg-based F/NE to its rapidly expanding global network. Founded more than 18 years ago, F/NE has built an impressive reputation as the leading independent healthcare communications consultancy in South Africa, with an extended reach into Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

With the addition of F/NE, GLOBALHealthPR adds a strong strategic presence in South Africa and across Africa, helping to address increased client demand for deep insights and seamless execution across the diverse markets in the region. The need for and investment in healthcare services in Africa remain at an all-time high, while successful communications programs require local knowledge and an ability to work across disciplines to reach a broad range of stakeholders.

"F/NE is thrilled to add our name to GLOBALHealthPR's roster of best-in-market healthcare communications agencies as they continue to redefine the industry's approach to building a collaborative global network focused on client needs," said Mandi Fine, Founder and CEO of F/NE. "Our clients will now benefit from access to the top health communications consultancies internationally, in addition to our best-in-class capabilities in South Africa and across the continent."

Founded in 2001, the GLOBALHealthPR network delivers local, regional and global healthcare communications expertise through carefully-selected partner agencies that choose to work together based on shared values, independence and flexibility. Headquartered in New York, with regional hub offices in London and Singapore, GLOBALHealthPR uniquely combines the capabilities, power and reach of the big holding company networks with the flexibility, agility, entrepreneurial spirit and creativity of independent agencies. In doing so, the network and its agencies have become trusted partners to top global biopharmaceutical companies, medical-device manufacturers, health-technology companies, advocacy and professional associations and consumer goods companies.

"GLOBALHealthPR is incredibly excited to join forces with F/NE, a firm whose strategy-first approach to health communications aligns perfectly with our existing agency partners," said Jonathan Wilson, President of GLOBALHealthPR. "Mandi and her team have a great reputation thanks to their unparalleled understanding of the healthcare communications needs in South Africa and their delivery of innovative, multi-disciplinary solutions to address the unique challenges clients face every day."

Currently fewer than 50 percent of Africans have access to modern healthcare facilities, though urban development and increased wealth, coupled with greater access to mobile phones and the internet, are likely to significantly change the delivery of healthcare in the coming years.

"Healthcare communications plays a critical role in South Africa and across the African continent, helping to increase health literacy and access to care in underserved communities and highlighting incredible innovation taking place in the academic and commercial sectors," said Tim Goddard, Executive Vice President, GLOBALHealthPR. "Similar to the Latin American and Asia Pacific regions over the last decade, we anticipate a significant boom in strategic health communications needs in Africa. We are pleased to partner with F/NE as we continue to offer our clients access to the top healthcare communications agencies around the world."

About F/NE

F/NE is a niche consultancy based in Johannesburg, South Africa that is structured as a strategic hub, with highly skilled strategists who have deep institutional knowledge of healthcare. F/NE has worked as a trusted partner to large multinational healthcare clients in building companies' brands and reputations in South Africa, Africa and many emerging markets for more than 18 years.

About GLOBALHealthPR

GLOBALHealthPR is a partnership of independently owned and operated health and science communications agencies that choose to work together based on common values. With more than 600 health-specialist communications professionals, researchers and medical advisors on staff serving more than 200 organizations globally, the agencies that make up the partnership share a belief in insights-driven strategies and a commitment to collaboration in order to provide clients the best possible counsel and execution.

GLOBALHealthPR's presence spans more than 40 countries covering Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions.

For more information, visit www.globalhealthpr.com or follow us on Twitter:

@GLOBALHealthPR.

SOURCE GLOBALHealthPR
CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Halyard Energy Ventures, LLC (Halyard) announced today that Halyard Energy Wharton, LLC signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contract with Texas-based Lauren Engineers & Constructors, Inc. (Lauren) for the Halyard Wharton Energy Center (HWEC) in Wharton County, Texas. The HWEC, located within the South Zone of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), will be a 348 MW natural gas-fired, simple-cycle power generating facility.

"Lauren brings the experience and integrity we are looking for; with more than 33 years of successfully designing and building similar projects. They are strategically located to provide full turnkey services to bring the project to successful completion," says Chris DePodesta, partner at Halyard.

"Halyard is ahead of the curve in bringing flexible and efficient peaking capacity to ERCOT. We've assembled a team of experts to construct a responsive, reliable, and low-cost project as envisioned by the Halyard team," says Jack Shoemate, Executive Vice President of Power at Lauren.

The HWEC is scheduled to enter commercial operations in 2019 and will complement the substantial and steady growth of renewable resources and load within ERCOT, which serves 24 million customers. In the past year, several significant coal-fired retirements have been announced, substantially lowering ERCOT's reserve margin. As a result, the likelihood of scarcity pricing events has increased. The HWEC has received all permits and entitlements required to begin construction in 2018, allowing it to best respond to the current market conditions.

"The energy mix in Texas is trending toward intermittent generation resources as the demand for power continues to increase. Considering the retirements of baseload facilities, it is clear there is a need for new peaking power," says Karl Dahlstrom, partner at Halyard. "Our Wharton plant fills an immediate need for flexible generation and our plan for additional gas-fired plants align with future demands in the market."

Halyard Energy Ventures, LLC is headquartered in Chicago, IL and is the limited liability management group, formed for the purpose of developing and managing a portfolio of flexible generation projects. Halyard has a portfolio of five natural-gas peaking projects underway; HWEC being one of them. The principals of Halyard have a long and consistent track record of developing commercial scale power plants from inception to operation. For more information, please visit http://www.halyardenergy.com.

Lauren Engineers & Constructors is a North American Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contractor based in Abilene, Texas. Founded in 1984, the company specializes in industrial and heavy construction projects in the power, polymers, chemical, refining and specialty metals markets in the U.S. and Canada. The company is an Engineering News-Record Top 100 Design-Build Firm in the U.S. and a Top 400 Contractor.

For additional information, please contact :

Halyard Energy Ventures, LLC

10 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 875

Chicago, IL 60606

[email protected]

SOURCE Halyard Energy Ventures, LLC

Related Links

http://www.halyardenergy.com


To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8155251-handheld-launches-nautiz-x9-rugged-pda/

The new Nautiz X9 Android handheld is targeted for industrial and field applications where reliability is critical and ruggedness is key. Offering a complete and unique set of features, the fully rugged Nautiz X9 can be used as a mobile computer, data collector or field controller.

The fully rugged Nautiz X9 offers:

A quad-core processor and easy-to-use Android 7 (Nougat) OS.

GPS/GLONASS capabilities standard

Optional high-quality, high-speed 2D imager.

Dual cameras including 13-megapixel rear-facing with autofocus and flash, and 2-megapixel front-facing.

4G/LTE Android phone functionality.

Google GMS for Google Maps navigation and Play Store app access.

A sunlight-readable 5-inch capacitive display with multi-touch sensitivity.

IP67 ruggedness rating for waterproof, dust-tight performance.

The Nautiz X9 is designed for use in the most challenging outdoor and industrial environments. This rugged PDA is MIL-STD 810G tested for drops, vibrations, humidity, extreme temperatures and varying altitudes. Handheld's newest device has a fast 1.3 GHz processor with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB Flash. And the 4800 mAh battery will run for a full shift, even with heavy use.

"Adding the Nautiz X9 to our family of products reflects our commitment to bringing truly rugged field devices to market," says Johan Hed, Handheld Group director of product management. "The Nautiz X9 also extends our wide Android offerings, which have been in increasingly high demand. GMS certification is an extra feature not always included in enterprise devices, but it has proved to be invaluable for our customers, giving them access to the full suite of Google applications. The reliability and toughness of the Nautiz X9 will bring great value to field users worldwide."

The Nautiz X9 is part of the Nautiz rugged handheld family. See it at our upcoming tradeshows, starting with InfraTech, Geospatial World Forum and Intersec.

Introduction webinar

Join the free in-depth webinar introducing the Nautiz X9. Register to attend the time that works for you.

Availability

Nautiz X9 orders can be placed immediately for shipment in January.

Helpful links

NAUTIZ X9 product specifications

Press images

Product video

Product webinar registration

Handheld product lineup

What does rugged mean?

Tweet this:

Handheld launches the all new NAUTIZ X9, an outdoor-rugged enterprise Android PDA

About Handheld

Handheld Group is a manufacturer and global supplier of rugged mobile computers, handhelds and tablets. Handheld and partners worldwide deliver mobility solutions to businesses within geomatics, logistics, forestry, public transportation, utilities, construction, maintenance, mining, military and security. Handheld Group, headquartered in Sweden, has subsidiaries in Finland, the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and the USA. Learn more at http://www.handheldgroup.com.



(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/543097/Handheld_Group_NAUTIZ_X9.jpg )



Video:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8155251-handheld-launches-nautiz-x9-rugged-pda/





SOURCE Handheld Group
DALLAS, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Huggies continues its mission to support hospitals and nurses and the newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) they serve by awarding four $10,000 grants to help support or establish volunteer hugging programs. Hugging programs can have a positive impact on a baby's growth and development and even help make their transition from the hospital to the home quicker. These four hospitals join an additional eleven that received No Baby Unhugged grants in 2017.

"We're thrilled that our No Baby Unhugged grants will continue to help hospitals positively impact their tiniest patients through hugs and physical touch," said Giusy Buonfantino, president of Kimberly-Clark Baby and Child Care North America. "Huggies believes deeply in the power of hugs and understands how hugging and cuddling infants can help with development and growthespecially for those in the NICU."

The four hospitals receiving grants in January include:

Southern Regional Medical Center  Riverdale, GA : The grant will help launch its first hugging program that will train volunteers to provide consistent, ongoing, uninterrupted therapy while parents are absent to improve the recovery process. Funds will also help purchase glider rockers, blankets and other accessories to provide a comforting environment. Alta Bates Summit Medical Center  Berkeley, CA : The grant will enhance its existing hugging program, with an emphasis on caring for babies born to mothers addicted to opioids and other substances. Funds will help replace worn out rocking chairs and enhance the level of training offered to prospective volunteers. Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women  Memphis, TN : Funds from the No Baby Unhugged grant will help provide more hugs to the 70% of babies in the NICU that receive very few visitors. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford  Palo Alto, CA : Grant funds will be used on supplies, ongoing education and enhancing communication with volunteer huggers while they are in the hospital.

"Thanks to the No Baby Unhugged grant, we are excited to launch our first-ever hugging program that will help provide the benefits of human touch to babies in the NICU when parents cannot be there," says Charlotte Dupre, President and CEO of Southern Regional Medical Center. "This program not only extends our services to help our tiniest patients thrive, it aligns our hospital to reach our goal of becoming an accredited Baby Friendly 5-Star Hospital."

Huggies will continue to award No Baby Unhugged grants in 2018 and hospitals interested in applying can check Huggies website for new details. Visit Huggies.com/NoBabyUnhugged to become a Huggies Member and in turn, Huggies will donate $5 to support volunteer hugging program grants for hospitals.

About the Huggies Brand

Huggies believes deeply in the Power of Hugs. That's why every Huggies diaper and wipe is inspired by parents' hugs. For nearly 40 years, Huggies has been helping parents provide love, care and reassurance to help babies thrive. No Baby Unhugged is Huggies promise to ensure babies get the care they need to thrive  from innovative everyday products, growing hospital hugger programs and specially-designed products for the tiniest of babies, to diapers and wipes donations. Huggies is the fastest growing diaper brand in hospitals and partners with NICU nurses to develop diapers and wipes that meet the specific needs of pre-term infants. For more information on the Huggies No Baby Unhugged program, visit the "Why Huggies?" page at Huggies.com.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust Kimberly-Clark brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No.1 or No. 2 share positions in 80 countries. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the Company's 145-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

[KMB-B]

Contact: Erica Schmitt

312-233-1293

[email protected]

Contact: Andrea Hopkins

(920) 721-5065

[email protected]

SOURCE Huggies

Related Links

https://www.huggies.com


MIAMI, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Humantelligence, the leading AI-driven recruiting and culture analytics company today announced that it will embed Jitterbit to infuse Humantelligence culture analytics data into all applicant tracking and enterprise HR systems like Workday, SAP/SuccessFactors, ADP, Oracle HCM; SMB HR systems like BambooHR, Zoho, Zenefits, and ATS systems like Greenhouse, iCIMS, Oracle/Taleo, and Bullhorn, to name a few. By rapidly combining data from human capital management (HCM) systems with Humantelligence data, Humantelligence gives HR managers unique culture insights. HR managers can then leverage these insights to measure cultural fit at the team, group, and company level for applicant candidates and the existing workforce, reducing employee turnover by 30 percent, accelerating the interview process by 80 percent and significantly improving corporate performance.

Humantelligence uses artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure applicants will meld well with a company's unique culture, streamlining the recruiting process and improving recruiting outcomes. The cloud-based solution uses the world's most advanced, and shortest, 12-minute self-assessment tool and applies talent-centric AI to provide companies with advanced culture insights to drive optimal workforce performance and to hire for culture fit and predictive success. Humantelligence customers typically leverage applicant tracking systems (ATS), such as iCIMS and Oracle/Taleo to manage the recruiting process, and use Humantelligence data separately to assess candidate cultural fit with teams, managers, and high performance attributes via a comprehensive behavioral science self-assessment.

Through the Jitterbit API integration platform, Humantelligence can now rapidly integrate its AI-driven culture analytics with a customer's ATS systems of choice. For the first time, HR recruiting managers will have automatic access to the Humantelligence self-assessment results within their ATS systems, so managers can optimize employee engagement and success programs, find the best talent, make informed, data-backed decisions about cultural fit, and streamline the recruiting process, all within one tool.

"Our partnership with Humantelligence uses the combination of Artificial Intelligence, APIs and integration to deliver immediate strategic advantage to companies looking to win the fierce battle for today's top talent" said Simon Peel, chief strategy officer, Jitterbit. "By enabling businesses to apply AI-powered algorithms to data from multiple HR systems, Humantelligence and Jitterbit will help organizations make faster, more effective hiring decisions. We look forward to working with Humantelligence to unleash the transformative effect of artificial intelligence for their customers worldwide."

"Our culture analytics data drastically reduces subjectivity in the hiring process and predicts how candidates will perform based on cultural fit and what currently works in any role at a company, and now thanks to Jitterbit we can quickly and seamlessly inject those insights into any human capital management system," said Juan Luis Betancourt, CEO, Humantelligence. "After evaluating multiple solutions, Jitterbit became the clear choice to help us rapidly integrate our platform with HCM and ATS systems. We can trust Jitterbit to connect even the most complex cloud-based applications, while automating the process to the point where we can create and manage our necessary APIs with just a few clicks. We're now able to infuse HCM and ATS systems with our cultural fit intelligence within just a matter of days, transforming a process that used to take months."

To learn more about how Humantelligence can help companies gain valuable culture insights and to recruit for the best cultural fit, please contact [email protected] or visit www.humantelligence.com. For more information about Jitterbit's industry-leading API integration platform, please contact [email protected] or schedule a Jitterbit demonstration.

About Jitterbit, Inc.

Jitterbit, the API transformation company, makes it quicker and easier for businesses to exploit data from any source, empowering them to rapidly innovate and make faster, more effective decisions. The Jitterbit API integration platform enables companies to quickly connect SaaS, on-premises, and cloud applications and instantly infuse intelligence into any business process. To learn more, visit www.jitterbit.com and follow @Jitterbit on Twitter.

About Humantelligence

Humantelligence is the leading cloud-based recruiting and culture analytics platform that leverages break-through articial intelligence and talent analytics to measure team culture and to help companies recruit for culture t and predictive success. With Humantelligence companies can streamline the recruiting process, significantly improve employee engagement, and reduce turnover. Humantelligence is headquartered in Miami, FL, with offices around the world and tens of thousands of users. To learn more about Humantelligence visit www.humantelligence.com, follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@humantelligence) and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Humantelligence

Related Links

http://www.humantelligence.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovaccer Inc., a San Francisco-based healthcare data platform company, will be launching InAssist, a new point-of-care alerts solution at HIMSS 2018 this March. The solution will stream in information from EMRs, recognize patients that need attention, and offer actionable insights to healthcare providers  all without requiring physicians to leave their EMR experience. The solution will be compatible with all browser-accessible EMRs.

Innovaccer

As healthcare becomes increasingly data-centric, providers are seeking to integrate data-driven insights into their practice while avoiding further complicating operations. Pulling data together from different sources to identify the best treatment regimens can often be time-consuming, resulting in physician burnout and limiting patient interaction time. Additionally, integrating disparate data sources manually can often create substantial gaps in care as EMR information at times does not align with patient priorities and clinical workflow.

InAssist leverages advanced algorithms to integrate EMR data with other data sources in order to assess and surface care gaps, risk scores, disease registries, clinical documentation gaps, and other relevant information available for a patient. InAssist presents this crucial information on-screen in simple, real-time alerts as care team members work within EMRs. It also synchronizes with the providers' calendar and presents upcoming appointments via timely reminders. The application runs with all the browser-accessible EMRs with no prior configuration and recognizes patients in need of immediate attention.

InAssist presents concise information, which can be customized to suit specific needs:

Patients' Name

Demographic Details

Care Gaps

Coding Gaps

Risk Scores

Markers (e.g. Frequent ED Visitor, Frequent Flyer)

Vitals

Lab Results

Medications

Recent Visits

Care Team (e.g. PCP, Specialist, Health Coach, etc.)

The alerts solution can also be integrated with other data systems using RESTful APIs leveraging Innovaccer's InData platform to gain access to more information.

"With the growing role of data and technology in healthcare, we understand the continued importance of providers spending more time with patients rather than spending half their day sorting through static files and millions of records," says Abhinav Shashank, CEO at Innovaccer. "InAssist is a significant step in our commitment to making health data transparent, accessible, and impactful. We are optimistic that it will not only deliver crucial point-of-care alerts but also save a great deal of time for care teams," he concludes.

Innovaccer will be launching InAssist at HIMSS 2018, being held from March 5-9, 2018 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas. Join Team Innovaccer at HIMSS 2018 at booth #12752 and get a firsthand demo of InAssist.

About Innovaccer

Innovaccer Inc. is the healthcare data platform company focused on delivering a more efficient and effective healthcare through the use of pioneering analytics and transparent, clean, and accurate data. Innovaccer's aim is to simplify complex data from all points of care, streamline the information, and help organizations make powerful decisions and realize strategic goals based on key insights and predictions from their data. Its products have been deployed across more than 500 geographies with over 10,000 providers leveraging it at institutions, governmental organizations, and several corporate enterprises such as Mercy ACO, StratiFi Health, Catalyst Health Network, Osler Health Network, and PHIX HIE. Innovaccer is based in San Francisco with offices around the United States and Asia.

For more information, please visit innovaccer.com or follow us on Twitter @innovaccer.

Press Contact

Sachin Saxena

Innovaccer Inc

213-618-3678

Related Links

Innovaccer InAssist

Innovaccer

SOURCE Innovaccer

Related Links

http://www.innovaccer.com


TORONTO, Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. ("iSIGN" or "Company") (TSX-V: ISD) (OTC: ISDSF), a leading provider of interactive mobile advertising solutions that serves brands, commercial locations, retailers and service providers throughout North America, today announced it has entered into a shares for debt arrangement, in which the Company has agreed to issue 495,505 common shares at a deemed price of $0.14 per share in settlement of a debt of $69,371.

Satisfying this outstanding indebtedness with shares was undertaken in order to preserve the Company's cash for operational purposes.

This arrangement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("Exchange"). The Company will issue these shares, which are subject to a four month hold period, once approval has been received from the Exchange.

About iSIGN Media

iSIGN Media, based in Toronto, is a data-focused, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company that is a pioneering leader in gathering point-of-sale data and mobile shopper preferences to generate actionable data and reveal valuable consumer insights. Creators of the Smart suite of products, a patented interactive proximity marketing technology, iSIGN enables brands to deliver targeted messaging, personalized offers and loyalty perks to consumers' mobile devices in proximity and with real-time proof of redemption. iSIGN's data gathering capabilities provide analytics on price points, typical purchases, in-store dwell time and other shopper metrics that identify emerging consumer behaviors. These insights enable smarter business decisions and provide increased ROI metrics for more transparent marketing. iSIGN delivers relevant, timely messages on an opt-in basis at no charge to consumers, transmitting rich media to consumer mobile devices via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity in complete privacy as opposed to iBeacons, apps, downloads and required surrendering of personal information. Proven to increase brand engagement and customer loyalty, iSIGN generates preference-based, predictive "clean data" without compromising consumer privacy. Partners include: IBM, Keyser Retail Solutions, Baylor University, Verizon Wireless, TELUS and AOpen America Inc. www.isignmedia.com

 2018 iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor Its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE iSIGN Media Solutions Inc.
DENVER, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lariat Partners ("Lariat"), a Denver-based private equity firm, announced today that it has made a significant investment in Offen Petroleum ("Offen" or the "Company"), a leading independent provider of fuel, lubricants, and logistics services in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.

Offen traces its roots to the 1930s and was acquired by Bill Gallagher and Gwen Stukey in 1997. The Company has grown to over 500 million gallons annually and today serves as both a branded and unbranded wholesale fuel supplier. Offen sources and sells fuel in 12 states. In addition to fuels, Offen's lubricants division provides products and solutions for the commercial, industrial, and passenger car segments, as well as diesel exhaust fluids used in emission controls. The Company operates a specialty logistics division that is a premier fuel carrier throughout Colorado.

"The strategic investment that Lariat Partners has made in our company will continue to fuel our growth," states Bill Gallagher, Offen Petroleum's CEO. "We have consistently grown over the past 20 years and this investment from Lariat will allow us to continue expanding into new markets through both greenfield locations and strategic add-on acquisitions."

Jay Coughlon, Managing Partner at Lariat Partners, said "Offen is one of the few platforms of scale with a comprehensive team, state-of-the-art facilities, modern distribution fleet, and significant purchasing power that services Colorado and the broader Rocky Mountain region. Lariat backs strong entrepreneurs that have a proven ability to execute growth strategies. Offen's consumable product offerings, 20-year history, strong management team, and exciting growth plans make it an ideal fit for our investment strategy. We are thrilled to partner with Bill Gallagher and his team."

More information on Offen can be found at www.offenpetro.com.

About Lariat Partners

Denver-based Lariat Partners is a private equity firm focused on redefining the private equity experience in the lower-middle market. With its People First, Strategy Second relationship philosophy and its CORE investment strategy targeting Consolidations, Consumables and Recurring Revenue businesses, Lariat offers a differentiated approach to partnering with entrepreneurs and growing their middle market businesses. The firm targets companies across a number of industries, including Specialty Distribution, Energy & Environmental Services, Food & Agribusiness, Consumer Products and Maritime Services. For more information, visit www.lariatpartners.net

About Stephens Inc.

Stephens Inc. served as exclusive financial advisor to Offen Petroleum, Inc. in the transaction.

Contact: Chris Tofalli

Chis Tofalli Public Relations, LLC

914-834-4334

SOURCE Lariat Partners

Related Links

http://lariatpartners.net


GB17-13 0.92% Co over 2.0 m from 34.00 to 36.0 m , including 2.53% Co over 0.6 m from 35.1 to 35.7m .



GB17-13 0.46% Co, 132.5 ppm Ag, 1.46% Cu over 0.9 m from 77.6 to 78.5 m , including 0.79 % Co, 221.0 ppm Ag, 2.40% Cu over 0.4 m from 77.6 to 78.0 m .



GB17-13 0.32% Co, 98.8 ppm Ag, 0.81% Cu over 1.5 m from 100.5 to 102.0m , including 0.55% Co, 16.9 ppm Ag, 0.50% Cu over 0.6 m from 100.8 to 101.4 m .



GB17-20 0.44% Co, 19.4 ppm Ag 0.99% Cu over 4.05 m from 60.25 to 64.30 m , including 1.42% Co, 48.8 ppm Ag, 1.94% Cu over 1.2 m from 62.8 to 64.0 m .



GB17-21 0.08% Co, 18.1 ppm Ag, 1.25% Cu over 6.1 m , including 0.73% Co, 50.0 ppm Ag, 1.31% Cu over 0.6 m from 69.7 to 70.3 m .

"We are very pleased with the drill program continuing to intersect the higher grade cobalt mineralization that has been intersected at Glencore Bucke property," says Tim Fernback, President & CEO of LiCo. "Not only have we continued to intersect cobalt mineralization, but also the base metal mineralization that has the potential to be advantageous when a resource estimate will be completed in the future".

On the Glencore Bucke Property, the Company has completed a total of 21 diamond drill holes totaling 1,900 m, testing the Main and Northwest zones. The Company will continue to release results from the Glencore Bucke and Teledyne drill programs as they are received.

The results for diamond drill hole GB17-11 through to GB17-14, GB17-20, and GB17-21 are summarized in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Summary of Diamond Drill Results: DDH From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Co (%) Ag (ppm) Cu (ppm) Zn (ppm) Pb (ppm) GB17-11 29.00 29.25 0.25 0.27 0.6 1 27 2 GB17-11 60.00 60.30 0.30 0.32 22.5 2650 92 34 GB17-11 82.50 83.50 1.00 0.03 28.0 4260 13960 29050 GB17-12 50.50 51.30 0.80 0.14 25.8 475 152 2395 GB17-13 34.00 36.00 2.00 0.92 2.8 175 147 23 incl. 35.10 35.70 0.60 2.53 5.2 270 101 32 GB17-13 52.40 53.00 0.60 0.48 65.8 3770 94 2675 GB17-13 77.60 78.50 0.90 0.46 132.5 14614 1759 2059 incl. 77.60 78.00 0.40 0.79 221.0 24000 3670 3840 GB17-13 100.50 102.00 1.50 0.32 98.8 8124 417 6588 incl. 100.80 101.40 0.60 0.55 16.9 4970 376 6110 GB17-14 33.60 37.70 4.10 0.04 5.4 3559 575 2095 incl. 36.00 36.30 0.30 0.36 17.1 3600 633 2080 GB17-14 41.70 43.30 1.60 0.03 16.8 10184 317 164 GB17-20 52.20 52.80 0.60 0.34 129 268 110 10200 GB17-20 58.00 64.00 6.00 0.29 13.8 7804 110 26 incl. 60.25 64.30 4.05 0.44 19.4 9863 116 30 incl. 62.80 64.00 1.20 1.42 48.8 19362 127 60 GB17-20 66.40 69.70 3.30 0.02 13.2 9494 180 130 incl. 67.00 68.50 1.50 0.03 19 13858 169 100 GB17-20 101.50 108.60 7.10 0.03 16.9 7640 275 901 incl. 102.30 103.70 1.40 0.07 28.7 11814 193 432 incl. 102.30 102.60 0.30 0.26 49.5 11600 198 1230 GB17-21 55.10 55.40 0.30 0.33 134.0 702 181 15600 GB17-21 67.50 73.60 6.10 0.08 18.1 12545 378 463 incl. 69.70 73.10 3.40 0.14 31.2 21071 160 162 incl. 69.70 70.30 0.60 0.73 50.0 13070 312 378 GB17-21 83.45 83.70 0.25 0.28 49.7 1650 396 4990 Note: Intervals reported in Table 1 represent core lengths and not true widths

As reported on the Company's November 30th, 2017 news release, LiCo has recently completed its 2017 diamond drilling program on its Teledyne and Glencore Bucke Properties completing a total of 32 diamond drill holes, drilling 4,100 m of core. This exploration work satisfies both its flow-through financing obligations and the contractual obligations outlined in the recently acquired Glencore Bucke Property from Glencore plc of Baar Switzerland (LSE: GLEN).

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved Joerg Kleinboeck, P.Geo., an independent consulting geologist and a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101.

About LiCo Energy Metals: https://licoenergymetals.com/

LiCo Energy Metals Inc. is a Canadian-based exploration company whose primary listing is on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's focus is directed towards exploration for high value metals integral to the manufacture of lithium ion batteries.

Glencore Bucke Cobalt Project, Cobalt, Ontario:

The Company has entered into a property purchase agreement to acquire a 100% interest from Glencore Canada Corporation (subsidiary of Glencore plc) in the Glencore Bucke Property, situated in Bucke Township, 6 km east-northeast of Cobalt, Ontario, subject to a back-in provision, production royalty and off-take agreement. Strategically, the Glencore Bucke Property consists of 16.2 hectares and sits along the west boundary of LiCo's Teledyne Cobalt Project. The Property covers the southern extension of the #3 vein that was historically mined on the neighbouring Cobalt Contact Property located to the north of the Glencore Bucke Property. Diamond drilling in 1981 on the Glencore Bucke Property delineated two zones of mineralization measuring 150 m and 70 m in length.

Ontario Teledyne Cobalt Project:

The Company has an option to earn 100% ownership, subject to a royalty, in the Teledyne Project located near Cobalt. Ontario. The Property adjoins the south and west boundaries of claims that hosted the Agaunico Mine. From 1905 through to 1961, the Agaunico Mine produced a total of 4,350,000 lbs. of cobalt and 980,000 oz. of silver. A significant portion of the cobalt that was produced at the Agaunico Mine located along structures that extended southward onto the Teledyne property. The Company completed a total of 11 diamond drill holes totaling 2,200 m in the fall of 2017. The drilling has confirmed cobalt mineralization present on the Property which is consistent with historical grades as reported historically by Cunningham-Dunlop (1979) and Bressee (1981), disclosed in earlier news releases. These reports are available in the public domain through MNDM's AFRI database.

NI 43-101 Reports for both the Teledyne and Glencore Bucke Properties, are publicly available on www.SEDAR.com as well as the Company's website. LiCo's recently completed diamond drilling program (September to December 2017) consisted of both twinning and infill drilling of the historical drill holes located on both the Teledyne Cobalt and Glencore Bucke Properties.

Chile Purickuta Lithium Project:

The Purickuta Project is located within Salar de Atacama, a salt flat encompassing 3,000 km2, being about 100 km long, 80 km wide and home to approximately 37% of the worlds Lithium production and Chile itself holds 53% of the world's known lithium reserves (Source: Bloomberg Markets  June 23, 2017, "Lithium Squeeze Looms as Top Miner Front-Loads, Chile Says"). The property is 160 hectares large and is enveloped by a concession owned by Sociedad Quimica y Minera ("SQM") and lies within a few kilometers of a property owned by CORFO (the Chilean Economic Development Agency) where its leases land to both SQM and Albermarle's Rockwood Lithium Corp. ("Albermarle") for lithium extraction. Together these two companies, SQM and Albermarle, have a combined annual production of over 62,000 tonnes of LCE (Lithium Carbonate Equivalent) making up 100% of Chile's current lithium output. As reported in The Economist (June 15, 2017  A battle for supremacy in the lithium triangle), the Salar de Atacama has the largest and highest quality proven reserves of lithium. The combination of the desert's hot sun, scarce rainfall, and the mineral-rich brines make Chile's production costs the world's lowest. This together with a favourable investment climate, low levels of corruption, and the quality of its bureaucracy and courts makes Chile a favourable place to conduct business.

Nevada Dixie Valley Lithium Project:

The Company has an option to acquire a 100% interest, subject to a 3% NSR, on a large lithium exploration project at the Humboldt Salt Marsh in Dixie Valley, Nevada. Some important geological similarities exist between various lithium brines, notably geothermal activity, a dry climate, a closed basin, an aquifer, and tectonically driven subsistence exist at Dixie Valley along with Clayton Valley and various lithium bearing salars in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia.

Nevada Black Rock Desert Lithium Project:

The Company has entered into an option agreement whereby the Company may earn an undivided 100% interest, subject to a 3% NSR, in the Black Rock Desert Lithium Project in southwest Black Rock Desert, Washoe County, Nevada.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Tim Fernback

President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information:

This news release may contain forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements.

Contact:

LiCo Energy Metals Inc.

Phone: +1(236) 521-0207

LiCoEnergyMetals.com

SOURCE LiCo Energy Metals Inc.

Related Links

https://licoenergymetals.com/


TEANECK, N.J., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- After seeing the success her own two sons had in the Kumon Math and Reading Program, Nikita Patel decided to join the world's largest after-school education franchise by opening her own Kumon Center in Rockwall, Texas.

Thousands of additional parents in Greater Dallas will now have access to an individualized learning program for their preschool to high school aged children. Kumon goes beyond traditional tutoring by actively developing critical thinking skills as children progress independently through a carefully crafted math and reading curriculum.

"As a local elementary educator for the past four years, I've developed a passion for helping children learn," said Patel, owner and Instructor of Kumon Math and Reading Center of Rockwall. "I look forward to motivating my students and helping to instill confidence and a passion for learning. My goal is for them to realize their true potential by setting goals and working to achieve them."

Kumon has a massive presence in Texas with 143 centers across the state, including 40 in Greater Dallas. This will be the first center to open in Rockwall and is part of Kumon's 2018 expansion plan of welcoming 100 new franchisees nationwide.

"Kumon has seen a great deal of success meeting the high demand for supplemental education programs in the state of Texas for the past 30 years," said Larry Lambert, vice president of franchise recruitment at Kumon North America. "We are fortunate for the opportunity to expand in Rockwall and look forward to continuing the tradition of instilling a love for learning in the community."

Kumon's Presence in Greater Dallas

7,354 subject enrollments at 40 centers

73 percent increase in the number of centers in last 10 years

96 percent increase in subject enrollments in last 10 years

The Kumon Method empowers children to become self-learners and is designed to advance math and reading skills while fostering a love for learning. Kumon sparks critical thinking, establishes a pattern of success and builds confidence that can lead to accelerated learning throughout life.

To learn more about the Kumon franchise opportunity, visit kumonfranchise.com.

About the Kumon Franchise Business

Kumon is an ideal small business for professionals. Kumon Franchisees must have a four-year college degree, be proficient in math and reading and have investment capital of $70,000 and a net worth of at least $150,000. Founded in 1958, Kumon has over four million students enrolled in nearly 25,000 learning centers in 50 countries and regions. Kumon North America is headquartered in Teaneck, NJ.

SOURCE Kumon North America

Related Links

http://www.kumon.com


ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin recently awarded Gibbs & Cox, the nation's leading independent naval architecture and marine engineering firm, a contract to support the Functional Design of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC).

A derivative of the Freedom-variant, Lockheed Martin's MMSC was selected to fulfill the Royal Saudi Naval Forces' (RSNF) multi-mission surface combatant requirement. In May 2017, the United States Navy and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for four MMSCs. This agreement represents the first sale of a U.S.-built surface combatant to another nation in more than 40 years.

"We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Lockheed Martin and extend our partnership to a new derivative and customer," said Chris Deegan, Gibbs & Cox president and CEO. "G&C's 85 years of surface combatant design experience has supported many of the world's navies via Foreign Military Sales. We look forward to working with Lockheed Martin to design the Multi-Mission Surface Combatant to meet the needs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

The MMSC is a lethal and highly maneuverable multi-mission surface combatant capable of littoral and open ocean operation. It was designed from the keel up to confront modern maritime and economic security threats.

The MMSC takes the proven capabilities of the U.S. Littoral Combat Ship and the inherent flexibility of the Freedom-variant hull to meet the unique maritime requirements of international navies. The Multi-Mission Surface Combatant has a range of 5,000 nautical miles and can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots. It will be based on the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship's 118 meter hull and it will utilize the same combined diesel and gas propulsion system.

About Gibbs & Cox, Inc.

Gibbs & Cox is a global leader in maritime engineering and design, with nearly 7,000 vessels built to our designs since 1929. Gibbs & Cox supports commercial and military clients in the U.S. and internationally across all phases of marine design, construction, and life cycle management. Independent and privately held, Gibbs & Cox is headquartered in Arlington, VA, with offices in New Orleans, LA; Chesapeake and Newport News, VA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA and Canberra, ACT, Australia.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

SOURCE Gibbs & Cox, Inc

Related Links

http://www.gibbscox.com


BALTIMORE, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is providing cash assistance to more than 1,100 families to meet immediate needs in the wake of damage caused by Typhoon Tembin, which swept across the island nation of the Philippines in the days before Christmas.

Typhoon Tembin (known as Vinta in the Philippines) made landfall on December 22 in the southern island of Mindanao, crossing a number of provinces and causing flash floods and landslides in several locations. The storm killed more than 190 people, a toll that is expected to rise. It damaged nearly 7,000 houses and caused agricultural losses estimated at $26 million. With more than 800,000 people affected by the storm, the needs are immense and LWR is positioned to expand its initial response as resources become available.

The typhoon is the second major upheaval for families forced to flee Marawi City seven months ago due to armed conflict between ISIS-affiliated militants and the Philippines military. Evacuation centers in Iligan City and Lanao provinces, which are still hosting displaced families from Marawi City, also suffered damage.

LWR is well-positioned to respond to the needs of families affected by Typhoon Tembin. The international NGO has been working with local partner MARADECA to assist more than 3,000 families displaced during the siege of Marawi City. While many displaced families from the earlier conflict have returned to their homes in Marawi, up to 70 percent of the families who will receive assistance because of this latest typhoon remain displaced and are living with other host families or in evacuation centers.

LWR has been working in the Philippines since the 1960s, with programs in Mindanao focusing on agriculture and food security, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, peacebuilding, and emergency response. LWR has responded to several major emergencies in the Philippines, including Tropical Storm Washi in 2011, Typhoon Bopha in 2012, and Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

How to Help:

Donate By Phone: (800) 597.5972

Donate By Mail: Lutheran World Relief, PO Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21297-1061

Donate Online: donate.lwr.org/worldofgood

Media Contact

John Rivera, Lutheran World Relief

[email protected], 443-604-2918

SOURCE Lutheran World Relief

Related Links

http://www.lwr.org


The license agreement is extended until 2025, consolidating a partnership and a synergy between the two Groups, which has lasted for over 25 years. GUESS is the pillar brand in the diffusion segment for Marcolin Group, offering eyewear collections which fully embody the core values of the brand, characterized by trendy modern silhouettes. The wide range of sun and optical eyewear includes models for men and women, as well as for children and teenagers.

Giovanni Zoppas, Executive Vice Chairman of Marcolin Group said: "GUESS, one of the most iconic and distinctive lifestyle brands in the fashion industry, and Marcolin Group have always shared an attention for the product's quality with an aim to keep up with times. We would like to thank Paul Marciano and his GUESS team for, once again, renewing their trust in Marcolin Group. We begin a new chapter of a collaboration that has distinguished itself for over 25 years of the two companies' history. The license agreement renewal with GUESS reaffirms our solidity and represents another important step in the long-term development and growth plan of Marcolin Group."

Paul Marciano, Co-Founder of GUESS?, Inc. said: "Throughout the past 25+ years, Marcolin Group has always respected GUESS' core values and honored the brand's importance on product quality and trends. Time and time again, they have proven to be a great partner to GUESS and Marciano sunglasses and eyeglasses. We look forward to future success and growth within the eyewear category as we continue to collaborate globally."

About Marcolin Group

Marcolin Group among the worldwide leading companies in the eyewear industry, stands out for the pursuit of excellence, the continuous innovation and the unique ability to faithfully combine design and Italian craftsmanship with the core values of each brand.

The brand portfolio includes: Tom Ford, Moncler, Ermenegildo Zegna, Roberto Cavalli, Atelier Swarovski, Tod's, Emilio Pucci, Balenciaga, Swarovski, Dsquared2, Guess, Diesel, Just Cavalli, Covergirl, Kenneth Cole, Montblanc, Timberland, Gant, Harley-Davidson, Marciano, Catherine Deneuve, Skechers, Candie's, Rampage, Viva, Marcolin and Web.

In 2016, the company sold about 14 million eyeglasses.

www.marcolin.com

About GUESS?, Inc.

Established in 1981, GUESS began as a jeans company and has since successfully grown into a global lifestyle brand. Guess?, Inc. designs, markets, distributes and licenses a lifestyle collection of contemporary apparel, denim, handbags, watches, footwear and other related consumer products. Guess? products are distributed through branded Guess? stores as well as better department and specialty stores around the world. As of October 28, 2017, the Company directly operated 982 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Company's licensees and distributors operated 671 additional retail stores worldwide. As of October 28, 2017, the Company and its licensees and distributors operated in roughly 100 countries worldwide. For more information about the Company, please visit www.guess.com.

SOURCE Marcolin Group

Related Links

http://www.marcolin.com


EXTON, Pa., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Morphotek, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for MORAb-202, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), to treat solid tumors that express folate receptor alpha (FRA). A Phase 1 dose-escalation study will be conducted in the U.S. to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of MORAb-202 in patients with solid tumors that express FRA. The solid tumors to be studied include advanced or metastatic endometrial, non-small cell lung, ovarian and triple-negative breast cancer.

MORAb-202 is a novel investigational ADC that uses a cathepsin-cleavable linker to combine investigational farletuzumab with the microtubule inhibitor payload, eribulin. Farletuzumab is a humanized antibody targeting FRA and has been studied in clinical trials in patients with FRA-expressing tumors. FRA expression is observed in a large number of cancers, including endometrial, gastric, non-small cell lung, ovarian and triple-negative breast, but is largely absent from normal tissue. Eribulin mesylate (Halaven) is approved in the U.S. for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer who have previously received at least two chemotherapeutic regimens for metastatic disease, including an anthracycline and a taxane in either the adjuvant or metastatic setting.

"We are pleased that the FDA has accepted our IND application to study MORAb-202, an antibody-drug conjugate that combines farletuzumab with the regulatory-approved eribulin, in solid tumors that express folate receptor alpha," said Nicholas Nicolaides, President and CEO of Morphotek. "This investigational agent has shown robust antitumor effects in a number of preclinical FRA-expressing tumor models, making it a potential promising candidate for the treatment of cancers that express this biomarker."

About Morphotek

Morphotek, Inc., a subsidiary of Eisai Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel classes of biological-based products to treat cancer, inflammatory and infectious diseases. Our mission is to develop novel targeted therapies that attack underlying disease pathways, and in oncology indications, that can overcome the immunosuppressive effects by tumors on immune-mediated experimental therapies. Our diverse pipeline includes clinical-stage biological products to lead targets folate receptor alpha, mesothelin and endosialin, as well as antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies to undisclosed targets in preclinical development. Our mission is supported by proprietary cutting-edge technologies in antibody engineering, manufacturing and screening optimization platforms, along with our expertise in developing diagnostics to support patient selection and therapeutic strategy. For more information, please visit www.morphotek.com.

About Eisai Inc.

At Eisai Inc., human health care (hhc) is our goal. We give our first thought to patients and their families, and helping to increase the benefits health care provides. As the U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eisai Co., Ltd., we have a passionate commitment to patient care that is the driving force behind our efforts to discover and develop innovative therapies to help address unmet medical needs.

Eisai is a fully integrated pharmaceutical business that operates in two global business groups: oncology and neurology (dementia-related diseases and neurodegenerative diseases). Each group functions as an end-to-end global business with discovery, development, and marketing capabilities. Our U.S. headquarters, commercial and clinical development organizations are located in New Jersey; our discovery labs are in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; and our global demand chain organization resides in Maryland and North Carolina. To learn more about Eisai Inc., please visit us at www.eisai.com/US and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Halaven (eribulin mesylate) Injection

Halaven (eribulin mesylate) is a microtubule dynamics inhibitor indicated for the treatment of patients with:

Metastatic breast cancer who have previously received at least two chemotherapeutic regimens for the treatment of metastatic disease. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline and a taxane in either the adjuvant or metastatic setting.

Unresectable or metastatic liposarcoma who have received a prior anthracycline-containing regimen.

Discovered and developed by Eisai, eribulin is a synthetic analog of halichondrin B, a natural product that was isolated from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai. First in the halichondrin class, Halaven is a microtubule dynamics inhibitor. Eribulin is believed to work primarily via a tubulin-based mechanism that causes prolonged and irreversible mitotic blockage, ultimately leading to apoptotic cell death. Additionally, in preclinical studies of human breast cancer, eribulin demonstrated complex effects on the tumor biology of surviving cancer cells, including increases in vascular perfusion resulting in reduced tumor hypoxia, and changes in the expression of genes in tumor specimens associated with a change in phenotype, promoting the epithelial phenotype, opposing the mesenchymal phenotype. Eribulin has also been shown to decrease the migration and invasiveness of human breast cancer cells.

Important Safety Information for Halaven (eribulin mesylate) Injection

Warnings and Precautions

Neutropenia: Severe neutropenia (ANC <500/mm3) lasting >1 week occurred in 12% of patients with mBC and liposarcoma or leiomyosarcoma. Febrile neutropenia occurred in 5% of patients with mBC and 2 patients (0.4%) died from complications. Febrile neutropenia occurred in 0.9% of patients with liposarcoma or leiomyosarcoma, and fatal neutropenic sepsis occurred in 0.9% of patients. Patients with mBC with elevated liver enzymes >3  ULN and bilirubin >1.5  ULN experienced a higher incidence of Grade 4 neutropenia and febrile neutropenia than patients with normal levels. Monitor complete blood cell counts prior to each dose, and increase the frequency of monitoring in patients who develop Grade 3 or 4 cytopenias. Delay administration and reduce subsequent doses in patients who experience febrile neutropenia or Grade 4 neutropenia lasting >7 days.

Peripheral Neuropathy: Grade 3 peripheral neuropathy occurred in 8% of patients with mBC (Grade 4=0.4%) and 22% developed a new or worsening neuropathy that had not recovered within a median follow-up duration of 269 days (range 25-662 days). Neuropathy lasting >1 year occurred in 5% of patients with mBC. Grade 3 peripheral neuropathy occurred in 3.1% of patients with liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma receiving HALAVEN and neuropathy lasting more than 60 days occurred in 58% (38/65) of patients who had neuropathy at the last treatment visit. Patients should be monitored for signs of peripheral motor and sensory neuropathy. Withhold HALAVEN in patients who experience Grade 3 or 4 peripheral neuropathy until resolution to Grade 2 or less.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: HALAVEN can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with HALAVEN and for at least 2 weeks following the final dose. Advise males with female partners of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with HALAVEN and for 3.5 months following the final dose.

QT Prolongation: Monitor for prolonged QT intervals in patients with congestive heart failure, bradyarrhythmias, drugs known to prolong the QT interval, and electrolyte abnormalities. Correct hypokalemia or hypomagnesemia prior to initiating HALAVEN and monitor these electrolytes periodically during therapy. Avoid in patients with congenital long QT syndrome.

Adverse Reactions

In patients with mBC receiving HALAVEN (eribulin mesylate) Injection, the most common adverse reactions (25%) were neutropenia (82%), anemia (58%), asthenia/fatigue (54%), alopecia (45%), peripheral neuropathy (35%), nausea (35%), and constipation (25%). Febrile neutropenia (4%) and neutropenia (2%) were the most common serious adverse reactions. The most common adverse reaction resulting in discontinuation was peripheral neuropathy (5%).

In patients with liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma receiving HALAVEN, the most common adverse reactions (25%) reported in patients receiving HALAVEN were fatigue (62%), nausea (41%), alopecia (35%), constipation (32%), peripheral neuropathy (29%), abdominal pain (29%), and pyrexia (28%). The most common (5%) Grade 3-4 laboratory abnormalities reported in patients receiving HALAVEN were neutropenia (32%), hypokalemia (5.4%), and hypocalcemia (5%). Neutropenia (4.9%) and pyrexia (4.5%) were the most common serious adverse reactions. The most common adverse reactions resulting in discontinuation were fatigue and thrombocytopenia (0.9% each).

Use in Specific Populations

Lactation: Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in breastfed infants from eribulin mesylate, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment with HALAVEN and for 2 weeks after the final dose.

Hepatic and Renal Impairment: A reduction in starting dose is recommended for patients with mild or moderate hepatic impairment and/or moderate or severe renal impairment.

For more information about HALAVEN, click here for the full Prescribing Information.

Morphotek Contacts:



Investor Inquiries: Media Inquiries:

Rod Dausch Diana Martens

610-423-6111 610-423-6085

[email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Morphotek, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.morphotek.com


HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today held the first in a series of auctions in a process that establishes the order in which the winning bidders select a location for a Category 4 casino.

In today's public bid opening, in which 4 bids were received, Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC, which operates Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, was the high bidder with a bid of $50,100,000. The center of the Category 4 location, which is an area 30 miles in diameter, chosen by Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC is located in the Borough of Yoe in York County.

Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC, is required to pay the bid price to the Commonwealth within two business days, and then has up to six months to submit an application for the Category 4 slot machine license.

The application will contain the precise site of the proposed Category 4 casino, as well as detailed plans and information concerning the proposed building plan, amenities, employment projections and other related information. Once the application is received, the Board will post public information about the project on its website for interested persons to review.

A Category 4 slot machine license would permit the entity to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines. The entity could also petition for permission to initially operate up to 30 table games for an additional fee of $2.5 million with the capability of adding an additional 10 tables games after its first year of operation.

Additional information on the Category 4 auction process is available on the Board's web site at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov.

The Gaming Control Board plans to hold its next public auction on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. in its Harrisburg Public Hearing Room in Strawberry Square. The auction will also be streamed live from the Board's web site. Subsequent auctions are planned every two weeks thereafter on Wednesdays at the same time and location.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board :

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state's casino industry, along with oversight of new gaming initiatives to the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act recently approved through the signing of Act 42 of 2017.

The Commonwealth's casino industry currently consists of 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two smaller resort casinos. These facilities collectively employ 18,000 people and annually generate approximately $1.4 billion in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. The largest portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners.

Additional information about both the PGCB's gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania's gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

CONTACTS: Doug Harbach or Richard McGarvey

(717) 346-8321

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

Related Links

http://www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov


WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Nina E. Olson today released her 2017 Annual Report to Congress, describing challenges the IRS will face as it implements the recently enacted tax reform legislation and unveiling a new publication, "The Purple Book," describing 50 legislative recommendations intended to strengthen taxpayer rights and improve tax administration. The report also examines a range of other tax administration issues.

The NTA's report says the reduction in IRS funding since FY 2010 has challenged the agency's ability to perform basic tasks of administering the tax system. "I see the consequences of reduced IRS funding and the choices made by the agency in the face of these funding constraints," Olson wrote. "Funding cuts have rendered the IRS unable to provide acceptable levels of taxpayer service, update its technology to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, and maintain compliance programs that both promote compliance and protect taxpayer rights. 'Shortcuts' have become the norm, and 'shortcuts' are incompatible with high-quality tax administration."

While Ms. Olson said the IRS needs additional funding, she also expressed concern that the agency has sometimes been too quick to cite funding constraints as a basis for inaction. "[L]imited resources cannot be used as an all-purpose excuse for mediocrity," she wrote. "There is not a day that goes by inside the agency when someone proposes a good idea only to be told, 'We don't have the resources.'" Notwithstanding funding constraints, she said there are steps the IRS can take to improve taxpayer service through creativity and innovation.

Still, the report says the implementation of major tax legislation is always a heavy lift for the agency. A preliminary estimate from the IRS projected it would require additional funding of $495 million in fiscal years 2018 and 2019.

"The IRS will have many issues to work through, and taxpayers will have questions. But with more funding, strong leadership, and a closer working relationship with Congress, I am convinced the IRS can do the job well," Olson said.

In the Advocate's new "Purple Book," she suggests Congress codify both the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the IRS mission statement as Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code.

This year's report identifies 21 problems, makes dozens of recommendations for administrative change, makes 11 recommendations for legislative change, analyzes the 10 tax issues most frequently litigated in the federal courts, and presents 7 research studies and 2 literature reviews.

Problems addressed include:

Private Debt Collection.

Online Taxpayer Accounts.

Taxpayer Rights in "Real" vs. "Unreal" Audits.

Streamlined Section 501(c)(3) Approval Process (1023 EZ).

Passport Denial and Revocation.

Volume 2 of the report contains or outlines research studies on seven additional topics related to taxpayers. The report also contains literature reviews on two topics.

Visit www.TaxpayerAdvocate.irs.gov/2017AnnualReport for more information.

Related Items:

About the International Conference on Taxpayer Rights

The NTA has organized and will convene the third International Conference on Taxpayer Rights in Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 3-4, 2018. The conference will be hosted by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation and sponsored by Tax Analysts. Registration is now open on the Taxpayer Rights Conference website. "The International Conferences on Taxpayer Rights broadened the focus on taxpayer rights beyond the United States. Tax administrators, academics, and tax professionals from all over the world were afforded the opportunity to discuss the reasons for and challenges in adopting and implementing a Taxpayer Bill of Rights or taxpayer charter," said Olson.

About the Taxpayer Advocate Service

The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers and protects taxpayer rights. TAS can help if you need assistance resolving an IRS problem, if your problem is causing financial difficulty, or if you believe an IRS system or procedure isn't working as it should. And the service is free.

Contact local Taxpayer Advocate at https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/contact-us.

Call TAS toll-free at 1-877-777-4778.

For more information about TAS and your rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, go to https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov.

Visit TAS at facebook.com/YourVoiceAtIRS, Twitter.com/YourVoiceatIRS, and YouTube.com/TASNTA.

Media Relations Office Media Contact: 202.317.4000 www.irs.gov/newsroom Public Contact: 800.829.1040

SOURCE Taxpayer Advocate Service

Related Links

https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov


With the mission of embedding power-efficient AI everywhere, the founder and CEO of NovuMind Ren Wu and his team have been developing the chip for more than two years. Now, the latest AI chip with an absolute advantage over its competitors in the industry, designed by NovuMind, is being showcased for the first time at CES.

NovuTensor runs on a 15 teraflops of performance (ToP) chip under 5 watts. Mike Li, IC engineering VP of NovuMind said, "With such performance and power efficiency, NovuTensor can offer the best hardware accelerators for AI applications."

In the past two years, with 50 top AI engineers, including 35 in the U.S. and 15 in Beijing, NovuMind has been seeking for what Wu describes as the best approach to deep learning.

The market of deep-learning accelerators for edge devices is highly competitive. All the players are facing fierce challenges, "but we have the confidence to deliver the best products to the industry," said Bin Zhou, President of NovuMind China.

To enable embedded AI, NovuMind provides not only NovuTensor with high performance and low power, which is vital for AI inference, but also NovuStar, a supercomputer specially designed for AI which provides industry leading performance for AI training. "We are a full stack AI technology company. NovuTensor and NovuStar are like little brains that sense, process, react and adapt to the environment and interact with rest of the world  intelligently," Bin said.

One of NovuMind's showcase is the AI endoscope diagnosis, which is known as the first global artificial intelligence digestive endoscope by Chinese media. As the tech support team, NovuMind provides full stack AI technology to West China Hospital of Sichuan University, including ASIC chips NovuTensor and AI training platform NovuForce. According to the data published by West China Hospital, the accuracy rate of detection reached a high level of 92% - 96%, which is even better than human doctor.



Powered by NovuTensor, AI technology can help traditional TV improve the image rate of display. NovuMind super-resolution uses deep neural networks to intelligently creat details, restore edges, and reduce noise of imagines, helping traditional display achieve high quality visual effects, not only more effective, but also in real time. Up to now there are international well-known manufacturers already reach cooperation with NovuMind.

CES is the world's gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years. As an enterprise that has caught the attention of the industry, NovuMind showcased its new chip at the CES for the first time, which was praised by many media as the next-generation innovation in AI chips market.

After raising $15.2 million in series A funding in December 2016, NovuMind is expecting a new round of financing. Its second chip, designed to run under a watt, is expected to launch in mid-2018.

SOURCE NovuMind
It offers scholarships of as much as 75 percent of tuition to U.S. residents, bringing the total tuition for the rigorous, highly technical education to $15,000 for the entire program  the lowest of any cybersecurity master's degree program in New York City.

"Perhaps the most important element of the New York Cyber Fellows program is the way it will reflect our collaboration with influential New York employers, including the NYC Cyber Command to ensure students get the precise hands-on education they need," said Professor Nasir Memon, founder of NYU Tandon's cybersecurity program and Associate Dean for Online Learning. "The NY Cyber Fellows will work on real-world problems and get unprecedented access to our city's job market."

"A more affordable degree in this field means more New Yorkers will develop the skills to defend our digital city and land a great job. We're proud to work in partnership with NYU's Tandon School to launch the program this fall and I encourage New Yorkers to apply now," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "This is exactly the kind of program New York needs to attract companies in this fast-growing sector, and to help New Yorkers compete for those good jobs."

To shape the program, NYU Tandon elicited curriculum recommendations from NYC3 and leading sectors of the city's economy. Business partners include Blackstone, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bridgewater, EY LLC, Goldman Sachs, IBM Security, Jefferies, Loki Labs, Morgan Stanley, Synack, and U.S. Bank.

NYC3, the agency that leads the City of New York's cyber defense efforts, will offer Cyber Fellows access to the NYC3 Cyber Range  a virtual laboratory with realistic simulation for hands-on training and development.

"NYC3's Cyber Range will expose students to simulation, testing, and research into a wide range of security and technology concerns associated with securing one of the largest digital cities in the world," said Geoff Brown, New York City Chief Information Security Officer and Head of NYC3. "We're proud to support a program that opens up a career in cyber defense to more students, allowing the next generation of cyber professionals to better resemble the diversity of the society they will be charged to protect."

The NY Cyber Fellows program answers a call from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's New York Works initiative to add 10,000 cybersecurity experts to the workforce within a decade. NYU Tandon decided to extend its reach nationally at the encouragement of national employers.

One of the program's most compelling benefits: A free five-year subscription to audit the newest versions of the online courses that graduates took as NY Cyber Fellows  important because coursework typically updates every semester, as new threats emerge.

"We want our Cyber Fellows to know we will be with them for the long term  and I have no doubt that their experiences in the field will enrich future scholars," Memon said.

Other novel elements of the NY Cyber Fellows program include:

Exclusive access to speakers, events, and mentorships provided by business partners and NYC3. The advising institutions will also offer internship and employment opportunities, and capstone projects will link student research projects to these institutions.

Year-round, around-the-clock access to the Capture the Flag (CTF) and other challenges developed for Cyber Security Awareness Week (CSAW), the giant worldwide cybersecurity games founded by NYU Tandon. Such games are widely used for education and by employers to find the most skilled applicants.

Access to Synack's crowd-sourced penetration testing challenges to build the offensive skills valued by employers  an element of the offensive security skills long recognized as a cornerstone of NYU Tandon's cybersecurity education.

The NY Cyber Fellows program is structured as a part-time curriculum to accommodate working professionals. For those without an engineering baccalaureate degree, NYU Tandon will offer its groundbreaking Bridge to Tandon to qualified NY Cyber Fellows applicants. It provides the foundation they will need to apply to a master's degree program in cybersecurity  within 26 weeks and for $1,500.

"The New York Cyber Fellows program continues NYU Tandon's long history of actively working with our community to solve its most pressing societal problems  and few problems are as pressing in the 21st century as digital security, especially for New York City as the financial and media capital of the world," said NYU Dean of Engineering Katepalli R. Sreenivasan. "Over the years, we have helped the City engineer building codes, train firefighters to combat high-rise conflagrations, and develop and maintain our power grid. Today, NYU Tandon is proud to add our experience to securing our personal and collective digital futures as we continue to educate larger and larger community of experts in the field."

"Growing our cybersecurity industry is critical to the de Blasio Administration's plan to create 100,000 good-paying jobs over the next 10 years, a goal that cannot be accomplished without preparing New Yorkers with 21st century training and skills," said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO James Patchett. "NYU's Cyber Fellows program will open the door for many New Yorkers looking to join a growing and high-paying industry, while building a talent pipeline that will keep New York City a leader in cybersecurity for years to come. NYCEDC has been making a big push to advance the cybersecurity industry through our CyberNYC initiative, and we thank both New York City Cyber Command and NYU Tandon for building on these important efforts."

New York City reports it is already home to more than 6,000 cybersecurity jobs and that local businesses are eager to add more. If the demand for cybersecurity jobs keeps pace with the recent trends and growth of other major hubs of activity, New York City estimates it will need more than 10,000 additional cybersecurity professionals over the next ten years. Educating new experts  rather than hiring from outside the region  is key to solving the local shortage because the city competes for talent amidst a global drought: There are already some 200,000 unfilled jobs nationwide, and the shortfall is expected to climb to 1.8 million worldwide by 2022.

Cyber Fellows Partners Comment

Anil Markose, a Booz Allen Hamilton Senior Vice President and leader in firm's commercial business, said: "The NYU Cyber Fellows program helps addresses a major talent shortfall in our industry; Booz Allen is excited to share our expertise in cyber with NYU to provide real-world opportunities right here in New York for the next generation of cyber experts."

Richard A. Falkenrath, Chief Security Officer, and Tom Ostebo, Deputy Chief Security Officer at Bridgewater Associates LP, said: "The Security Department at Bridgewater Associates is honored and excited to partner with the NYU Tandon School of Engineering on their Cyber Fellows Master's Degree Program and support students in helping to advance their knowledge and careers in cybersecurity."

M.J. Vaidya, Principal at EY, said: "As someone who has focused on this area for several years including as an educator, I am very excited to see the launch of this program. As our government and businesses focus on digital enablement and implement solutions that result in increased collection of sensitive data and/or connected IoT products, security risk management becomes a fundamental requirement. To that end, the New York Cyber Fellows program is helping address a critical cyber talent shortage and at the same time providing growth opportunities for working professionals."

Bill McDonald, Director of HR, IBM Security, said: "Cybersecurity threats currently pose one of the greatest challenges to our businesses, personal data, and society at large, and it's more important than ever to create a talent pipeline that can keep pace. It's essential that the cybersecurity experts working in the field today join forces with educators to ensure that the next generation of cyber defenders is equipped for today's rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape. Partnerships like this are a great way to connect training and curriculum with the real-world knowledge and skills needed for the modern security workforce."

Nick Hnatiw, CEO of Loki Labs, said: "We are excited about NYU Tandon's response to Mayor de Blasio's New York Works initiative because it uniquely addresses the cybersecurity skills shortage facing the city by providing access to education and training that is both affordable and world-class. As a Brooklyn-based cybersecurity company, we look forward to partnering with NYU Tandon and supporting the Cyber Range, which will provide the next generation of much-needed cybersecurity professionals with world-class training. This virtual laboratory will give students access to leading technology and tools in a learning and research environment that is second to none globally."

Jerry Brady, Global Chief Information Security Officer, Morgan Stanley, said: "We are delighted to provide our expertise and support to the New York Cyber Fellows program to educate the next generation of cyber security leaders. In light of the rapid evolution of the cybersecurity landscape, it's the joint responsibility of our industry to ensure we invest in world class talent to help safeguard our business, clients and assets."

Tom Brennan, Member of the Global Board of Directors of the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), said: "The OWASP Foundation supports the mission of raising visibility for software security and applauds the efforts of NYU locally and globally."

Jay Kaplan, CEO and Co-Founder of Synack, said: "The epidemic of cybercrime is one of the most critical issues governments and businesses face today. I applaud NYU on their initiative to train our next generation of capable cybersecurity experts. Through working with the largest government and corporate enterprises in the world on implementing crowdsourced security programs, we understand at Synack how imperative it is to augment formal education with real-world, hands-on hacking experience. We're excited about taking on an advisory role with NYU Tandon for their Cyber Fellows program and contributing through curriculum development, integrated hacking opportunities, and specialized internship opportunities to support the next generation of ethical hackers. Together we can start to get ahead of the cyber attacks and issues of today."

Jason Witty, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer of U.S. Bank, said: "U.S. Bank looks forward to partnering with New York University on Cyber Fellows. This program makes a graduate degree from a highly respected institution accessible to a geographically diverse workforce, and we look forward to helping NYU empower these talented leaders and cyber professionals to hit the ground running and add substantively to the security of sensitive network operations."

A Cybersecurity Innovator

NYU Tandon, which introduced one of the earliest master's cybersecurity degree programs, is an internationally recognized center for cybersecurity research, education, and policy. It has received all three Center of Excellence designations from the National Security Agency and the United States Cyber Command. NYU Tandon has joined with other NYU schools to form the NYU Center for Cybersecurity to research new approaches to security and privacy by combining security technology, psychology, law, public policy, and business.

U.S. News & World Report scored NYU Tandon number two in the nation in its 2018 rankings of the "Best Online Graduate Programs in Computer Information Technology" and ranked Tandon number 13 among the "Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs," assigning it to the top tier for the sixth consecutive year. NYU Tandon's virtual cybersecurity program was previously named the nation's best online program by the Sloan Consortium (now the Online Learning Consortium). NYU Tandon Online received the Consortium's 2015 Ralph E. Gomory Award for Quality Online Education.

Fourteen years ago, NYU Tandon founded CSAW, which has grown into the world's largest student-led security games, staged across five international sites. NYU Tandon's cybersecurity students keep their network active throughout the year, staging weekly Hack Nights to educate one another and studying and researching in the Offensive Security, Incident Response and Internet Security Laboratory (OSIRIS Lab), founded with National Science Foundation (NSF) support. The NSF was also the original supporter of one of NYU Tandon's longest-running outreach programs for women, which educates high school girls each summer in computer science and cybersecurity.

NYU Tandon helps retain its reputation for connecting students to the wider security community and preparing them with current offensive and defensive skills they need in the wild through classes taught by industry and government professionals, particularly its Hackers in Residence.

To learn more about the NY Cyber Fellows, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu/academics/online/masters/cybersecurity/fellowship. Deadline to apply for the fall semester is May 1, 2017.

About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, the country's largest private research university, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit http://engineering.nyu.edu.

Fast Facts  Cybersecurity Careers in NYC

Current national shortage of cybersecurity experts: 200,000 *

Projected shortfall in NYC by 2027: 10,000 **

Projected shortfall worldwide by 2022: 1.8 million ***

Median starting salary of Network Security Administrator in NYC: $153,500 ****

**** Median starting salary of Information Systems Security Manager in NYC: $192,500 ****

* CyberSeek

** New York Works

*** Frost & Sullivan

**** Robert Half

Note: Images available at http://dam.engineering.nyu.edu/?c=2032&k=34dd388f0f

Video at tps://drive.google.com/file/d/1wXWVvTXd9LT_DUQ20UAw42eAGLRzbwwH/view?usp=sharing

www.facebook.com/nyutandon

@NYUTandon

SOURCE NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Related Links

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As a global leader in crowd sourced computing, Onething achieved the innovative breakthrough of combining the shared economy, cloud computing and blockchain technology to effectively improve future computing. With the popularity of OneThing Cloud and Nebula CDN, it has access to solve the problem of scant computing resources through the sharing economy and provided a platform for fair usage of public resource with advanced blockchain technology.

Launched in August 2017, OneThing Cloud is a private cloud specifically designed for individuals who pursue life with high quality digital needs, providing people with quick downloads, storage, file management and other functions with remote control. By enrolling in Onething Reward Program, it is also a shared computing node, enabling Onething to sell cloud computing to technology companies at a much lower cost. Each people joined this program can get LinkToken as a free gift in exchange of the computing resources (bandwidth, storage and so on). Within three months, the company received more than 20 million pre-orders for OneThing Cloud on JD.com, with a nearly 100% customer satisfaction rating.

In China, Onething currently harness one million consumer devices and bandwidth in their cloud computing infrastructure, while providing Nebula CDN services to China's largest video streaming companies,such as XiaoMi, iQIYI, PandaTV, Kuaishou and other top-rated companies. With Xunlei's 10-year downloading and acceleration techniques, this new generation product possesses the domestic pioneering Nebula scheduling technology, weak network acceleration technology, dynamic defense technology as well as the infinite nodes cannot be matched by traditional CDN manufacturers.

Recently certified by the US Federal Communications Commission and European Commission, Onething will begin its foreign expansion in developing markets closer to China in January or February and move to Western countries later this year.

Onething's foreign expansion will redefine the industry with unique cloud computing platform based on shared economy and aim for sustainable development in the future computing.

"Onething has certain advantages over the traditional cloud computing industry and is leading the world," said industry analyst. "By expanding into developed markets, Onething will not only bring innovative products and services to the world, but also contribute to a sustainable cloud computing business by replacing the high-cost data centers."

Onething is committed to promoting a sustainable development of crowd sourced computing ecological cycle. For society, it is a great effort to engage future computing; for customers, the internationalized LinkToken will be applied for various uses and bring more applications of the blockchain technology; for corporations, Onething will largely reduce Internet companies' operation costs by providing efficient shared-computing services; for Onething itself, with the constantly transcendental entrepreneurship passion and foreign expanding strategies, the company will grow in all aspects.

CES 2018, January 9-12 in Las Vegas, is the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years. The Onething booth will be in the Las Vegas Convention Center's South Plaza #63925, and company executives are available by appointment to provide technology demos.

About Onething:

Founded in 2013, Shenzhen Onething Technologies Co., Ltd is committed to providing technical resources for global internet development. The company combines Nebula CDN and Xunlei MineCrafter through innovative technology, building the first domestic millions of magnitude node of "infinite node type content delivery network". Through authorized intelligent hardware, Onething Technologies collect bandwidth, storage, computing and other resources which are idle in ordinary families. By using virtual technology of cross platform, low power consumption, and also the intelligent scheduling technology of access to the nearest node, Onething Technologies create a new computing mode that is faster, easier to expand, and more environmentally friendly. Onething not only redefines the CDN industry and Internet content transmission, but also heralds shared economic cloud computing era.

For more information, please visit: http://www.Onethingtech.net

SOURCE Onething Technologies Co., Ltd.
"For the past seven years, our employees have rolled up their sleeves to help support the cities that host our Distribution team conferences," said John McDonough , Head of Distribution and Marketing at OppenheimerFunds. "This year, we are proud to partner with Trusted World and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas to help advance the positive contributions they make in these local communities and beyond."

Trusted World is a global non-profit organization that provides free resources to both local and national organizations serving individuals and families in need. Attendees assisted in packing 4,000 meal kits that will be distributed to families recovering from recent natural disasters. In addition, the firm donated 16,000 meal kits to the organization.

"We are pleased to partner with OppenheimerFunds to help those affected by recent hurricanes," said Michael Garrett, CEO for Trusted World. "Each package assembled during the firm's Distribution Symposium can help families by providing them with six nutritionally complete meals."

Attendees also supported Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas by assembling 60 Robotics IQ Kits for use in their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program. In addition, the firm donated 115 Robotics IQ Kits to the organization.

"Math literacy is a crucial skill for our Club members to develop throughout their education," said Charles English, President & CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. "The school supplies and robotics kits donated by OppenheimerFunds will help our clubs achieve this goal."

To further support math literacy, OppenheimerFunds also partnered with WorldVision to host a SchoolTools event where conference attendees filled 200 backpacks with school supplies and personalized notes. The backpacks were donated to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas.

The firm's corporate philanthropy and community initiatives include its 10,000 Kids by 2020 program, which aims to introduce 10,000 students to math literacy programs over the next few years through nonprofit partnerships and active employee volunteerism. The firm works closely with organizations including the National Museum of Mathematics, Boys & Girls Club, MATHSWORLDUK and Cross-Cultural Solutions, which provides impactful and sustainable service opportunities and skills based volunteer programs.

OppenheimerFunds is one of the world's leading global asset managers, with nearly 2,000 employees and more than 170 investment professionals in offices including New York, Dallas, Denver, London, Rochester and Seattle. In 2012, OppenheimerFunds established its Dallas location through its acquisition of SteelPath, an innovator in developing midstream energy investment products as one of the first firms to market with MLP-focused open-end mutual funds.

OppenheimerFunds Distribution Symposium Volunteer Highlights

Date Location Organization Activity Amount Donated January 2011 Dallas, TX Dallas Children's Hospital Created murals for hospital walls $10,000 August 2011 Chicago, IL Chicago Cares to benefit Woodson South Elementary School Refurbished local school facilities $10,000 January 2012 Fort Worth, TX USO Dallas Assembled and donated backpacks for troops $10,000 August 2012 Salt Lake City, UT Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salt Lake Built and donated bicycles $10,000 January 2013 New York, NY Breezy Point Relief Fund Assembled and donated care packages $10,000 August 2013 Laguna Nigel, CA Las Palmas Elementary School Refurbished local school facilities $10,000 January 2014 Dallas, TX Flood victims Provided various types of assistance $10,000 August 2014 Washington, DC Boys Town Made campus improvements, organized donated items, created backpacks, repaired kitchen facilities $10,000 January 2015 Atlanta, GA USO Council of Georgia Gathered and donated care packages for troops $10,000 August 2015 San Diego, CA Support the Enlisted Project (STEP) Built 75 wheelchairs for donation $10,000 August 2015 San Diego, CA Ronald McDonald House Stuffed ~100 teddy bears for children $10,000 January 2016 Atlanta, GA Hands On Atlanta Assembled 600 snack packs and hygiene essential kits $10,000 July 2016 Boston, MA Boston Cares Constructed 30 toddler beds and packed 100 blankets and 100 superhero capes $10,000 January 2017 Atlanta, GA Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta Assembled and donated 300 College Bound Care packages $10,000 August 2017 San Diego, CA Operation Homefront Created 400 baby care packages for local military families $10,000 August 2017 San Diego, CA Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego Helped build 20 model solar cars with children from Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego and donated 100 model solar car kits to the organization's STEM program $10,000 January 2018 Dallas, TX Trusted World Attendees packed and donated 20,000 meal kits to be distributed to families recovering from recent natural disasters. $10,000 January 2018 Dallas, TX Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas Assembled and donated 175 Robotics IQ Kits for the organization's STEM program. $10,000

About OppenheimerFunds

OppenheimerFunds, Inc., a leader in global asset management, is dedicated to providing solutions for its partners and end investors. OppenheimerFunds, including its subsidiaries, manages more than $249 billion in assets for over 13 million shareholder accounts, including sub-accounts, as of December 29, 2017.

Founded in 1959, OppenheimerFunds is an asset manager with a history of providing innovative strategies to its investors. The firm's 16 investment management teams specialize in equity, fixed income, alternative, multi-asset, and factor and revenue-weighted-ETF strategies, including ESG offerings, and is a signatory of the UN PRI. OppenheimerFunds and its subsidiaries offer a broad array of products and services to clients, who range from endowments and sovereigns to financial advisors and individual investors. OppenheimerFunds and certain of its subsidiaries provide advisory services to the Oppenheimer family of funds, and OFI Global Asset Management offers solutions to institutions. The firm is also active through its Philanthropy & Community initiative: 10,000 Kids by 2020, reaching children with introductions to math literacy programs.

Web: oppenheimerfunds.com

Tweets: twitter.com/OppFunds

Podcasts: oppenheimerfunds.com/advisors/podcasts

Shares of Oppenheimer funds are not deposits or obligations of any bank, are not guaranteed by any bank, are not insured by the FDIC or any other agency, and involve investment risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested.

Before investing in any of the Oppenheimer funds, investors should carefully consider a fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Fund prospectuses and summary prospectuses contain this and other information about the funds, and may be obtained by asking your financial advisor, visiting oppenheimerfunds.com or calling 1.800.CALL OPP (225.5677). Read prospectuses and summary prospectuses carefully before investing.

Oppenheimer funds are distributed by OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc.

225 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10281-1008

 2018 OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE OppenheimerFunds

Related Links

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Known for their signature style and alluring looks, the pair of savvy business women are the designers behind the prominent brand 'Nat & Liv' and authors of stylish fashion blog Jerome. Their remarkable online presence is one to admire, with a notable five million social media followers combined. The beautiful cousins and best friends also have featured roles on E!'s reality TV series WAGS, where they have become fan favorites.

"We're thrilled to collaborate with Nat & Liv. The girls are trendsetters and well known for their love of beauty products and treatments," said Kerry Mcgreevy, Digital Marketing Director for OROGOLD. "They bring a breath of fresh air to the brand."

In an exclusive interview with OROGOLD Lifestyle Magazine, the dazzling beauties shared their love for the new OROGOLD 24K Cryogenic MagnoLift Mask.

"You put the mask on your face and you actually have a magnet and you hover it over your skin, it's like a vacuum and it pulls out all the impurities and stimulates blood flow. Your skin is so glowy after, it's to die for," said Natalie of the OROGOLD 24K Cryogenic MagnoLift Mask. "Yeah, I am obsessed with this mask. Our moms actually tried it too and they are in love. So, it's really cool to know that it's good for mature skin and younger skin," Olivia added.

In addition to being authors and personalities, Nat and Liv are getting ready to launch their highly anticipated clothing brand 'Nat & Liv' later this year. Whether it's on TV, social media or on the blog, the vivacious, sparkling personalities of these beauties definitely shine through in whatever they do.

About OROGOLD Cosmetics: Founded in 2008, OROGOLD Cosmetics is an innovating brand of luxury skin care products. Known for using 24K gold as the main ingredient, pampering store experiences and quality formulas, OROGOLD Cosmetics helps users address any skin concern to achieve flawless looking skin.

Follow OROGOLD and join the conversation:

https://www.instagram.com/orogoldcosmetics/

https://twitter.com/orogoldcosmetic

https://www.facebook.com/orogoldcosmetics

https://www.youtube.com/user/orogoldcosmetics

SOURCE OROGOLD Cosmetics
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of Banking and Securities Robin L. Wiessmann today announced the launch of a blog, "PA Money Talks," which will help consumers and businesses become better informed about the financial services marketplace.

"This new communication tool will harness the department's resources to deliver pertinent, timely, and useful information to consumers and stakeholders," said Wiessmann. "'PA Money Talks' will provide research, perspective, and insight that help consumers better understand financial services, products, companies, and transactions; help businesses better understand compliance and financial services industry issues; and to help media and elected officials better understand the issues facing financial services regulators."

The inaugural blog post focuses on a topic that continues to be a top priority of the department and one that Wiessmann has been addressing since her arrival at the department in 2015: cybersecurity.

"We are living in an age where technology has made simple tasks easier and complex functions more convenient. However, along with these advances in technology, the associated risks to consumers have evolved and become more challenging," writes Wiessmann. "People's identities can be stolen, their bank accounts drained, and their credit ruined by criminals in distant lands over the course of weeks, months, or even years."

Wiessmann said she expects "PA Money Talks" to address a wide range of issues in bi-monthly posts, including homeowner challenges, protecting senior citizens from financial abuse; financial technology trends, fiduciary duties of investment advisers, women in finance, financial challenges facing the military community, and the challenges facing people without access to traditional financial services.

The blog can be accessed through the department's Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or directly on the department's website: www.dobs.pa.gov/PaMoneyTalks/Pages/Blog.aspx

Anyone can contact the Department of Banking and Securities at www.dobs.pa.gov or 1-800-PA-BANKS (or 1-800-600-0007) to ask questions or file complaints about financial transactions, companies, or products.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ed Novak, 717-783-4721

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities

Related Links

http://www.dobs.pa.gov


NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pareteum Corporation (NYSE American: TEUM), ("Pareteum" or the "Company"), the rapidly growing Cloud Communications Platform company, today announced that it has been awarded a three-year contract from a significant Cross Border European and African Mobile Operator. This established Mobile Operator provides Consumer, Enterprise and Internet of Things wireless services throughout Europe and Africa. Under the terms of the Agreement, Pareteum will provide its Global Cloud Services platform and receive revenue for subscribers, data and messaging services.

According to Ericsson, "While Nigeria and South Africa will continue to have the highest number of connected devices, IoT is taking shape in the rest of the region, especially in East Africa. The number of cellular IoT connections in the region is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 38 percent from 2016 to 2022, as governments and industries in the region begin to explore IoT solutions to solve region-specific challenges."

"We are honored to be chosen for this contract. It represents the continued expansion to all corners of the Globe where there is a need for new offerings, applications, settlement services and access to a superior cloud platform. We look forward to deploying these services and generating revenue in the first half of 2018," stated Vic Bozzo, CEO of Pareteum.

"Our efficient TEUM continues to perform at a level higher than industry standard because our customers and TEUM live in an 'always on' world requiring us to live differently and answer industry demands faster. One consistent platform anywhere in the world is why customers are flocking to our solution," stated Hal Turner, Executive Chairman and Principal Executive Officer of Pareteum.

About Pareteum Corporation:

The mission of Pareteum Corporation (NYSE American: TEUM) is to connect "every person and everything". Organizations use Pareteum to energize their growth and profitability through cloud communication services and complete turnkey solutions featuring relevant content, applications, and connectivity worldwide. By harnessing the value of communications, Pareteum serves retail, enterprise and IoT customers. Pareteum currently has offices in New York, Sao Paulo, Madrid, Barcelona, Bahrain and the Netherlands. For more information please visit: www.pareteum.com.

Forward Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to Pareteum's plans and objectives, projections, expectations and intentions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about Pareteum's industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Because such statements involve risks and uncertainties, the actual results and performance of Pareteum may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Unless otherwise required by law, Pareteum also disclaims any obligation to update its view of any such risks or uncertainties or to announce publicly the result of any revisions to the forward-looking statements made here. Additional information concerning certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested in Pareteum's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available from the SEC or may be obtained upon request from Pareteum Corporation.

Contractual Revenue Backlog Definition:

Contractual revenue backlog is measured on a forward looking 36 month snapshot view monthly, and, is generated by each of the Company's Managed Services, Global Mobility Cloud, and Application Exchange & Developer's Platform customers. The Pareteum multi-year Software-as-a-Service agreements include service establishment and implementation fees, guaranteed minimum monthly recurring fees, as well as contractually scheduled subscribers, in some cases including subscriber usage, during the term of the agreement, and, their resulting monthly recurring revenue.

Investor Relations Contact:

Ted O'Donnell

Chief Financial Officer

(212) 984-1096

[email protected]

Hayden IR

917-658-7878

SOURCE Pareteum Corporation

Related Links

http://www.pareteum.com


ALBANY, New York, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The global patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market size is expected to reach US$ 4,605.4 Mn by 2025, expanding at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2017 to 2025. North America was the largest market for patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market in 2016.

As healthcare industry shifts from the traditional medical instruments to digital instruments, medical and imaging devices have increasing requirements for both performance and features. Hospitals are looking for rugged device displays that can provide high contrast, high resolution images, and data, as well as resistance to glare in high-ambient-light environments such as surgical rooms, emergency rooms and intensive care units (ICU's). Various end-users are preferring touch interactive and wide viewing angle displays for ease of readability. The increasing demand for advanced patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display is expected to contribute to the growth of patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market.

View Report Preview at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/patient-monitoring-ultrasound-devices-display-market.html

The global patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market can be segmented on the basis of its device type, screen size, screen resolution, touch type, display technology, color and region used in patient monitoring and ultrasound medical devices. Under patient monitoring device type the market is segmented into hemodynamic monitoring devices, neuromonitoring devices, cardiac monitoring devices, fetal & neonatal monitoring devices, respiratory monitoring devices, multiparameter monitoring devices, remote patient monitoring devices, weight monitoring devices and temperature monitoring devices, whereas, under ultrasound device type it segmented into 2D Ultrasound, 3D Ultrasound, 4D Ultrasound, Doppler Ultrasound, High-intensity Focused Ultrasound and Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy. The market further segmented based on various display screen sizes into 4" - 8", 8" - 12", 12" - 16", 16" - 20" and 20" and above. In terms of screen resolution, patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market can be segmented into 640 x 480, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 800, 1280 x 1024 and others. Based on the touch type, the market is further categorized into interactive and non-interactive display. Further the market has been segmented into LED, TFT-LCD, PM-LCD, CRT, PMOLED, AMOLED patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display on the basis of display technology. In terms of color display, the market is segmented into Black & White (B/W) and Colorful display. Due to high demand for the advanced patient monitoring and ultrasound devices by the various end-users is expected to grow the patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market with a significant CAGR during 2017-2025.

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Geographically, North America holds largest share in patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market in 2016. This is due to the early penetration of medical technology in this region. Moreover, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period followed by Middle East & Africa and South America. The growth in Asia-Pacific is fuelled by the growing adoption of patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display in healthcare automation and advance digital imaging solutions in the emerging countries in the region such as China, India, Japan and others during the forecast period.

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The global patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market is highly fragmented with number of companies operating in the segment. Leading players are currently focusing on providing cost competitive products to the customers. Some of the key players engaged in patient monitoring and ultrasound devices display market include various manufacturers such as Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Shimadzu Corporation, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (TMSC), Carestream Health, Hitachi Medical Corporation, Barco NV, Hologic, Inc., Esaote SpA, EZISURG MEDICAL, Beijing JingJing Medical Equipment Co Ltd, Cook Medical, Medtronic, Inc., Shanghai Fosun Long March Medical Science Co Ltd, Lifetech Scientific Corporation, China Medical Equipment Co Ltd., Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co Ltd., and Beijing Leadman Biochemistry Ltd.

Buy Patient Monitoring and Ultrasound Devices Display Market Research Report: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=37934<ype=S

About TMR

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In the past year, over 100 patients of the Neurological Clinic (RHON-KLINIKUM) in Saale, Germany participated in a unique pilot. The pilot tested the utilization of personalized educational videos generated by Telesofia Medical explaining medical information for patients before they undergo a Lumbar Puncture (LP) procedure.

The goal of this first-of-its-kind pilot was to provide the patients with pre-procedural information about the LP procedure and its risks. Watching personalized videos, based on the personal clinical data that the patients provided, helped them become better informed before they gave a consent for the treatment.

The feedback of the patients who used Telesofia's personalized videos during the procedure reflects a very positive picture: 95% of patients stated that the system is easy to use and 99% found the educational video to be clear and understandable. Additionally, 92% of respondents support the use of current communication media such as digital patient education in clinical procedures and 85% of patients agreed that the educational video contained all the important information necessary for informed consent.

Prior to the procedure, the patients received a tablet to watch the clear, easy to understand video, which introduced (in addition to a verbal explanation by a doctor and written information), a general background about the medical procedure. Afterwards, patients were asked to answer a few questions on personal demographics such as gender and age, as well as clinical questions such as drug history, allergies, present and past diseases, etc. This personal information was incorporated into the educational video content.

According to Dr. H. Soda, Chief Physician, Neurology: "Using videos as a support tool in educating patients was perceived as positive by our doctors."

90% of the physicians that participated in the LP program pilot stated that the video reduced the effort of educating the patient and 80% of them support communication using such videos. In addition, all the physicians (100%) stated that the video is suitable for clinical usage. The medical team listed additional benefits such as "Higher patient satisfaction," "Better informed patients," "Saving time educating the patient," "More legal certainty" and "Better focus on the personal risk profile."

To read more visit https://www.telesofia.com/press-releases/patients-and-physicians-agree

Click here for Telesofia contact information

About Telesofia Medical

Telesofia makes medical information clear using automatic generation of personalized educational/ videos for patients and medical staff. In 2016, Frost & Sullivan awarded Telesofia with the best practice award for patient engagement. www.telesofia.com

About RKA

RHONKLINIKUM AG is one of the largest healthcare providers in Germany. More than 800,000 patients are treated every year at the five group hospitals located in Bad Berka, Bad Neustadt, Frankfurt (Oder), Giessen and Marburg where approx. 16,500 employees work.

SOURCE Telesofia Medical ltd

Related Links

https://www.telesofia.com/


"After an indulgent holiday season, our wellness-centric and coffee forward Golden Caffe Latte, Golden Chai Latte, and Golden Cappuccino are the perfect way to kick off 2018," said Dave Burwick, CEO and President, Peet's Coffee. "Their simple, flavorful spices also honor our founder, Alfred Peet, who originally sold such ingredients in our first coffeebar on Vine & Walnut when it opened in 1966 and was known as 'Peet's Coffee, Tea, and Spices.'"

Good as Gold: Bright Flavors for a New Year

The following 2018 winter beverages, handcrafted with organic and all-natural ingredients, are available across participating Peet's coffeebars from 1/10/2018 to 4/30/2018.

Golden Caffe Latte ( $4.30  $5.60 USD ): hand-steamed milk carefully blended with earthy turmeric and poured over expertly pulled espresso infused with ginger and a touch of honey sweetness.

(  ): hand-steamed milk carefully blended with earthy turmeric and poured over expertly pulled espresso infused with ginger and a touch of honey sweetness. Golden Chai Latte ( $3.95  $5.25 USD ): an infusion of Mighty Leaf Tea Masala Chai , turmeric, and light spices to create an aromatic cup.

(  ): an infusion of Mighty Leaf Tea , turmeric, and light spices to create an aromatic cup. Golden Cappuccino ( $3.85  5.10 USD ): the classic cappuccino reimagined with the zesty mix of turmeric, ginger, and honey.

"We are thrilled to introduce to our menu a spice with such a storied tradition in South Asia before gaining popularity across the world," said Patrick Main, Senior R&D Manager, Peet's Coffee. "We cannot wait to showcase to fans how turmeric complements our coffee first attitude with a tasty aromatic filled punch."

Peet's is also proud to continue its history of using real ingredients for added flavor and visual effect, building on menu expansions like coconut milk in 2017, which followed on the success of a whipped coconut cream topping that the craft company launched in 2016. As with all Peet's beverages, Peetniks are encouraged to mix it up with coconut or almond milk.

About Peet's Coffee:

Peet's Coffee is a U.S. specialty coffee company founded by Alfred Peet in 1966 in Berkeley, California. Mr. Peet grew up in the coffee trade and moved to America from Holland after World War II. His coffee style was unlike anything Americans had ever tasted beforesmall batches, fresh beans and a superior quality roast that is rich and complex. Mr. Peet's influence on the artisan coffee movement inspired a new generation of coffee entrepreneurs, including the founders of Starbucks. Today, Peet's upholds its commitment to delivering a premium product by continuing to source the world's best beans, hand-roast in small batches, and craft every beverage by hand. Peet's asserts a strict standard of freshness to ensure optimum flavor, including a unique direct store delivery network serving over 15,000 grocery stores to personally vet the freshness date on every bag. Peet's is dedicated to growing its business through its retail, grocery and e-commerce channels while maintaining the superior quality of its coffee. Peet's is also proud of its status as the first LEED Gold certified roastery in the United States. For more information, visit www.peets.com. Stay connected to Peet's: @peetscoffee on Twitter and Instagram and facebook.com/peets.

SOURCE Peet's Coffee

Related Links

http://www.peets.com


MELVILLE, N.Y., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon Solutions America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc. today announces its participation in the 2018 Best Value Conference, a nationally recognized event that educates attendees on a leadership-based business model designed to improve performance of individual projects and entire organizations. Members of Canon Solutions America's Enterprise Managed Services Division (EMSD) will return for the third year in a row to discuss the positive integration of the Best Value approach into programs at Canon Solutions America. The event will be held on January 15-19, 2017 in Tempe, Arizona.



The Best Value Conference focuses on sharing best procurement and risk management practices with leading industry professionals seeking measurable results for their respective industries. The model, which is based on leadership principles, drives accountability and efficiency to ultimately decrease risk, stress, cost, and management requirements. Since its founding in 1994, the Performance Based Studies Research Group (PBSRG) has been testing and refining the Best Value Business Model under the leadership of Dr. Dean Kashiwagi, Director of PBSRG and Best Value Guru. Consequently, the model has improved the performance of projects and organizations more than 1,800 times.



"This year, we're focusing on the practical applications of the Best Value methodology," said Rick Ranft, the Senior Director of the Strategic Markets Team within the Enterprise Managed Services Division. "We'll be delving into several case studies as examples, but we'll also be outlining what we believe makes a 'Best Value' service provider."



Ranft, who leads the Strategic Markets group, which includes Advisory Teams dedicated to Higher Education and Healthcare, will be making an appearance at the conference as a Canon Solutions America representative for the fourth time. He has been invited to share Canon Solutions America's expertise in implementing Best Value programs in large, complex organizations. Ranft and his team have adapted the Best Value approach to cater to the complex needs of Higher Education and Healthcare clients. With transformational design, dedicated account teams, and industry-leading technologies, the Enterprise Managed Services Division builds robust and scalable, yet flexible, print and document management services platforms, which include hardware and software that allow for customization and innovation based on relevant business needs. The Best Value model has shown to be applicable to any level of organization, allowing Canon Solution America's EMSD to implement it in a variety of environments. Furthermore, the flexible details of the model clearly align it to additional divisions of the company and extending services to customers on a small or large scale.



"We're also asking for more participation than in years past," said Erin Gruber, Practice Leader with the Strategic Markets Team. "This year, we want the attendees to share with us their experience implementing Best Value, and open a dialogue about which approaches are successful and how to promote Best Value within your organization."



To learn more or find out about Canon Solutions America's success with Best Valuecontact the Canon Solutions America Strategic Markets Team.



About Canon Solutions America, Inc.

Canon Solutions America provides industry leading enterprise, production, and large format printing solutions, supported by exceptional professional service offerings. With the technology offerings of the Canon and Oce brands, Canon Solutions America helps companies of all sizes improve sustainability, increase efficiency, and control costs through high volume, continuous feed, digital and traditional printing, and document management solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. Inc., Canon Solutions America is headquartered in Melville, N.Y. and has sales and service locations across the U.S. For more information on Canon Solutions America, please visit csa.canon.com.

Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States and elsewhere. Oce is a registered trademark of Oce-Technologies B.V. in the United States and elsewhere. All other referenced product names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.

 2018 Canon Solutions America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon Solutions America, Inc. Website: Editorial Contact: http://csa.canon.com Conor Febos For sales info/customer support: 631-330-4109 1-844-443-INFO (4636) [email protected]

SOURCE Canon Solutions America, Inc.

Related Links

https://csa.canon.com


Professor Dame Janet Beer has dedicated the majority of her working life to higher education. An outstanding researcher in the field of late 19th and early 20th century American literature and culture, she has held a number of senior leadership roles and took up post as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool in February 2015 after seven successful years as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University. She is also currently President of Universities UK, the representative body for universities nationally.

Professor Beer said: "I am both honoured and humbled by this award and grateful for the support of colleagues over the years. Having had my own life transformed by higher education, I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to contribute, in the University of Liverpool founders' words, to the 'advancement of learning and ennoblement of life' throughout my career.

Founded in 2006, XJTLU is the largest international joint venture university in China, a partnership between Xi'an Jiaotong University and the University of Liverpool.

Professor Beer made her first visit to XJTLU in July 2015 to attend the University's graduation ceremonies.

"International partnerships and collaborations have always been important to me and, I firmly believe, are now more important than ever in higher education. I remain committed to continuing and building on the University's already significant international presence in order to maximise the power of our learning opportunities and the impact of our research projects," added Professor Beer.

Dame is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of knighthood in the British honours system, and was granted to Professor Beer on New Year's Day, 1 January.

XJTLU is an independent, Sino-British joint venture, based in the world heritage city of Suzhou in China's Jiangsu province, a high-tech, high-growth corridor just 25 minutes from Shanghai.



As one of the most international universities in Asia, XJTLU is seeking to further increase its international student enrolment, research partnerships and academic staff recruitment. Our vision is to become a research-led international university in China and a Chinese university recognised internationally for its unique features.

SOURCE Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
Security is of paramount importance for all companies and is also the highest priority for QNAP as a network-attached storage solution provider. In addition to participating in the CVE Numbering Authority (CNA) and supporting McAfee Antivirus services, QNAP is now collaborating with Netgate to take network security to the next level with the pfSense firewall solution on QNAP NAS.

"We are very excited to be working with QNAP," said Jim Thompson, Netgate's co-founder and CTO. "Given their market strength in the NAS market, as well as their innovative Virtualization Station, it is logical for customers to want to secure their NAS-based business applications and data from damage or theft. Netgate's pfSense provides an unbeatable secure networking value play."

"We are pleased to join hands with Netgate to enhance network security. Netgate pfSense provides numerous security options for users to help safeguard their QNAP NAS in a protected network environment," said Meiji Chang, General Manager of QNAP.

Organizations can implement Netgate's pfSense in a virtual machine operated on the QNAP NAS using Virtualization Station, a full virtualization solution for x86-based QNAP NAS with virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V). The joint solution  comprised of a full-featured intrusion prevention system through pfSense, and the virtual switch available via QNAP's QTS NAS system  enables fast and easy internal firewall deployment that safeguards applications running on the NAS.

QNAP and Netgate also plan to collaborate on advanced firewall solutions that address the expanded throughput, encryption, and management flexibility needs of enterprise-class organizations. The availability of advanced Netgate secure networking solutions for QNAP NAS will be announced separately.

About Netgate

Netgate is dedicated to developing and providing secure networking solutions to businesses, government and education institutions around the world. Netgate's pfSense, one of world's most trusted open-source firewalls, has an installed base of over one million firewall users. The company is extending its open-source leadership and expertise into high-performance secure networking firewall and router solutions  capable of delivering compelling value at a fraction of the cost of proprietary solutions. Learn more at www.netgate.com.

About QNAP

QNAP Systems, Inc., headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, provides a comprehensive range of cutting-edge Network-attached Storage (NAS) and video surveillance solutions based on the principles of usability, high security, and flexible scalability. QNAP offers quality NAS products for home and business users, providing solutions for storage, backup/snapshot, virtualization, teamwork, multimedia, and more. QNAP envisions NAS as being more than "simple storage", and has created many NAS-based innovations to encourage users to host and develop Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning solutions on their QNAP NAS.

SOURCE QNAP Systems, Inc.
Raytheon Company, with 2016 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 95 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter.

Media Contact

Mike Nachshen

+ 1.520.269.5697

[email protected]

SOURCE Raytheon Company

Related Links

http://www.raytheon.com


Jointly developed with organizational psychologists, Reward Gateway's Employee Surveys fosters open and honest dialogue, so employers can monitor the heartbeat of the company and understand how their investments in engagement are working. The simple, credible pulse survey solution consists of Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), best-practice survey templates, and a custom survey builder that helps ensure that the right questions are being asked to get the right insights.

Employee Surveys, unlike other options on the market, is integrated into a centralized engagement platform. It now rounds out the Reward Gateway platform, which combines communications, recognition, analytics, and perks, allowing for a seamless transition from receiving employee feedback to taking action. The platform supports the type of two-way communication that's central to Reward Gateway's Engagement Bridge  a 10-step practical model designed to support continuous and authentic touch points between an organization and its people. Together, The Engagement Bridge model and the Employee Surveys tool give HR and business leaders greater awareness about where to focus their employee engagement investments.

Caroline Shine, Head of HR and People Development, GANT UK, says:

"At GANT, we're on a journey to become the best employer by 2020, and it's vital we have a tool that helps us to benchmark where we are on that journey at any point throughout the year.

Reward Gateway's Employee Surveys tool enables us to listen to how our employees are feeling and then react quickly. The on-the-spot feedback we get from the eNPS polls allows us to experiment with new ideas and initiatives to keep engagement high. The benefits of having customized templates is that the hard work is already done for you. The templates are flexible enough that we are able to speak to our employees in a way that's in line with the employer brand that we've worked so hard to create."

Doug Butler, CEO of Reward Gateway, says:

"Reward Gateway is not a survey company, but we do believe that effective employee engagement requires open and honest communication between employers and their employees. Employee Surveys is an important new tool in our integrated engagement platform, which already includes communications, recognition, rewards, perks, and other benefits technologies. Our clients can now assess engagement levels at the beginning of their journey, communicate and implement strategies and initiatives to make improvements, and continually monitor and measure the effectiveness of their actions, all with one company-branded, easy-to-use employee engagement platform."

Click here to hear more from GANT UK and Caroline Shine's story.

About Reward Gateway

Your people will do amazing things and create value if they feel connected to your mission, purpose, and values. That's why it's time to upend business as usual. With Reward Gateway, you can have a radically different relationship with your people. We have the only Employee Engagement Platform that puts employee communications at the core to magnify solutions for recognition, surveys, analytics, and perks. Down with the status quo. Up with bridges toward engaged employees and business results. Over 1,700 clients in 23 countries have joined the employee engagement rebelution. Join us at www.rewardgateway.com.

Reward Gateway. The Employee Engagement Platform.

SOURCE Reward Gateway

Related Links

http://www.rewardgateway.com


DALLAS, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ryan, a leading global tax services and software provider, has acquired Scott B. Retzloff & Associates, a commercial real estate property tax consulting firm based in San Antonio, Texas. This strategic acquisition adds more than 300 property tax clients and positions Ryan as the leading property tax provider in the Austin-San Antonio, Texas corridor. The deal adds a team of talented commercial property tax professionals, including Scott Retzloff, who will assume a role on the senior leadership team as Principal. Integrating Scott B. Retzloff & Associates into Ryan's existing Southwest Commercial Property Tax group solidifies the Firm's dominance in the Texas commercial property tax services industry and extends the Firm's national market leadership position in property tax consulting.

"We are excited to have the talented professionals of Scott B. Retzloff & Associates join our Commercial Property Tax team as we execute our aggressive growth strategy," said Shane Moncrief, Principal and Commercial Property Tax Practice Leader. "Our shared technical expertise and commitment to client service excellence and results will benefit our newly combined portfolios of premier commercial real estate clients."

"We are excited to join the industry leader in property tax services and look forward to delivering our new and existing clients even higher levels of value and results," said Scott Retzloff, owner of Scott B. Retzloff & Associates.

"This acquisition supports our strategic growth plan to strengthen our commercial property tax market leadership position across every region of North America and beyond," said G. Brint Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Ryan. "The client-centric philosophy and exceptional talent of the Scott B. Retzloff & Associates team of tax professionals will add tremendous value to our Commercial Real Estate Property Tax practice and the thousands of clients that they serve."

About Ryan

Ryan, an award-winning global tax services and software provider, is the largest Firm in the world dedicated exclusively to business taxes. The Firm provides an integrated suite of federal, state, local, and international tax services on a multi-jurisdictional basis, including tax recovery, consulting, advocacy, compliance, and technology services. Ryan is a five-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the dynamic myRyan work environment, which is widely recognized as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan's multi-disciplinary team of more than 2,100 professionals and associates serves over 14,000 clients in more than 45 countries, including many of the world's most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at ryan.com. "Ryan" and "Firm" refer to the global organizational network, and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ryan International, each of which is a separate legal entity.

PRESS INFORMATION CONTACT

Jim Aubele

SVP, Chief Marketing Officer

Ryan

972.934.0022

[email protected]

SOURCE Ryan

Related Links

http://www.ryan.com


TSX.V: SCZ

FSE: 1SZ

VANCOUVER, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (TSX.V:SCZ) (the "Company" or "Santacruz") reports that pursuant to the terms of the binding LOI (the "Carrizal LOI") with Carrizal Mining, S.A. de C.V. ("Carrizal") (see press release dated December 14th, 2017) Carrizal has commenced construction works to expand the Veta Grande mill to 750 tpd. The mill expansion program is expected to conclude early in the second quarter of this year.

In addition to this, Santacruz has received final permits from SEMARNAT (Mexicos Environmental Agency) to conduct a surface diamond drill program at its Veta Grande Project. The first stage of the campaign is to drill 6000 metres in 15 drill holes. The initial campaign will be focussed on drilling the Veta Grande vein at depth below the current area being mined by the Company and will be funded by Carrizal as part of the Carrizal LOI.

Carlos Silva, COO of Santacruz, stated "The purpose of this diamond drilling campaign is to confirm the width and grade of the Veta Grande vein at depth which will allow us to properly develop a mine plan to deliver mineraized material to the expanded Veta Grande mill" Mr. Silva continued "These ongoing activities at Veta Grande will result in more reliable operations and provide a solid base for growing the Company."

About Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd.

Santacruz is a Mexican focused silver company with two producing silver projects (Rosario, including the Cinco Estrellas property and Membrillo Prospect, and the Veta Grande project and milling facility); and two exploration properties including the Minillas property and Zacatecas properties. The Company is managed by a technical team of professionals with proven track records in developing, operating and discovering silver mines in Mexico. Our corporate objective is to become a mid-tier silver producer.

About Carrizal Mining, S.A. de C.V.

Carrizal Mining is a Mexican privately owned Company which operates the Zimapan mine in Zimapan Hidalgo Mexico. The Company runs a 3,200 tpd mill and produces approximately 5.5 million silver equivalent ounces a year.

'signed'

Arturo Prestamo Elizondo,

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward looking information

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events, that third party mineralized material to be milled by the Company will have properties consistent with management's expectations, that the Company will receive all required regulatory approvals, and that future metal prices and the demand and market outlook for metals will remain stable or improve. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, which could result in lower revenue, higher cost, or lower production levels; delays and/or cessation in planned work; changes in the Company's financial condition and development plans; delays in regulatory approval; risks associated with the interpretation of data (including in respect of the third party mineralized material) regarding the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information or statements, other than as required by applicable law.

Rosario Project

The decisions to commence production at the Rosario Mine, Cinco Estrellas Property and Membrillo Prospect were not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, but rather on a more preliminary estimate of inferred mineral resources. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably, due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101.

Veta Grande Project

The decision to commence production at Veta Grande Project was not based on a feasibility study on mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability. Accordingly, there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with this production decision. Production and economic variables may vary considerably due to the absence of a complete and detailed site analysis according to and in accordance with NI 43-101.

SOURCE SantaCruz Silver Mining Ltd.

Related Links

www.santacruzsilver.com


(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 38 market data Tables and 37 Figures spread through 112 Pages and in-depth TOC on "SDN Orchestration Market"

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The rising need for automation of networks and simplification of network infrastructures has increased the adoption of SDN orchestration solutions across the globe. Moreover, the rising demand for simplified SDN architecture, which is easy to manage with a reduced number of managed devices and an abstract complexity of the network topology, is also contributing to the growth of the SDN Orchestration Market across the globe.

Based on component, the solutions segment of the SDN Orchestration Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2017 to 2022.

Based on component, the solutions segment of the SDN Orchestration Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2022. The growth of this segment of the market can be attributed to the increasing focus of enterprises to handle high network traffic, provide a real-time view of various infrastructure elements, and avoid system failures. The services component segment of the SDN orchestration market has further been classified into integration & implementation, training & consulting, and others. The integration & implementation services component segment of the SDN Orchestration Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The growth of this segment of the market can be attributed to the increasing demand for SDN orchestration solutions and growing deployment and integration of SDN orchestration solutions with other business solutions.

Based on organization size, the small & medium-sized enterprises segment of the SDN Orchestration Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on organization size, the small & medium-sized enterprises segment of the SDN Orchestration Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2022. The growth of this segment of the market can be attributed to digital transformations taking place in small & medium-sized enterprises to automate various business processes to improve their operational efficiency and enhance customer experience.

The Asia Pacific SDN Orchestration Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific SDN Orchestration Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The growth of the Asia Pacific SDN Orchestration Market can be attributed to the increased number of data centers in the Asia Pacific region. The SDN Orchestration Market in countries such as India, China, Russia, Australia, and Japan is expected to grow at significant rates during the forecast period.

Cisco Systems (US), Nokia (Finland), Ciena Corporation (US), Juniper Networks (US), Huawei (China), Netcracker (US), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (US), CENX (US), Virtela (US), QualiSystems (US), Anuta Networks (US), and Zymr (US), among others are the major players operating in SDN Orchestration Market.

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ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

American Energy Partners, Inc. (OTC: AEPT) (the "Company", "American Energy" or "AEPT"), a diversified energy company, today announces that SeeThruEquity has updated its analyst coverage on American Energy.

The report is available here: SeeThruEquity Research Report

About SeeThruEquity

Since its founding in 2011, SeeThruEquity has been committed to its core mission: providing impactful, high quality research on underfollowed smallcap and microcap equities. SeeThruEquity has pioneered an innovative business model for equity research that is not paid for and is unbiased. SeeThruEquity is the host of acclaimed investor conferences that are the ultimate event for publicly traded companies with market capitalizations less than $1 billion.

SeeThruEquity is approved to contribute its research reports and estimates to Thomson One Analytics (First Call), the leading estimates platform on Wall Street, as well as Capital IQ and FactSet. SeeThruEquity maintains one of the industry's most extensive databases of opt-in institutional and high net worth investors. The firm is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

For additional information, visit: SeeThruEquity

American Energy Partners, Inc. (AEPT)



AEPT and its group of companies focus on providing solutions in markets where energy production and water meet technology. Collectively, the subsidiaries are engaged in the energy sector as well as the design, construction and operation of regional water treatment facilities that serve the industrial, energy and government sectors.

Hydration Corporation of PA, LLC ("HCPA") is engaged in the businesses of water exploration, water augmentation, and the treatment of impacted waters. Notably, its intellectual property delivers one of the highest energy yields from a broad range of water-bearing assets, with one of the lowest capital expenditures of any other known water processes. American Energy Solutions, LLC provides treatment technologies that contribute to HCPA's business model of low-cost treatment and distribution. As a provider of design, this subsidiary is capable of repeatable and synergistic services across the value chain. Gilbert Oil & Gas Company is leveraging broad industry valuation experience to source drilling, operating, and partnership opportunities in the upstream oil and gas space. It is positioned to become a strong customer of AEPT's other subsidiaries while providing them with the foundation to attract other customers and enter new markets.

For additional information, visit: American Energy Partners, Inc.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements, particularly as related to, among other things, the business plans of AEPT, statements relating to goals, plans and projections regarding AEPT's financial position and business strategy. The words or phrases "would be," "will allow," "intends to," "may result," "are expected to," "will continue," "anticipates," "expects," "estimate," "project," "indicate," "could," "potentially," "should," "believe," "think", "considers" or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements fall within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by these sections. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, involve known and unknown risks, a reliance on third parties for information, transactions or orders that may be cancelled, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in our industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties related to the fluctuation of global economic conditions, the performance of management and our employees, our ability to obtain financing, competition, general economic conditions and other factors that are detailed in our periodic reports and on documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. AEPT cautions readers not to place undue reliance on such statements. AEPT does not undertake, and AEPT specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement. Actual results may differ materially from AEPT's expectations and estimates.

Company Contact:

[email protected]

+1-610-217-3275

SOURCE American Energy Partners, Inc.
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- For an amazing fourth consecutive time, Shamrock Financial has won the National Best and Brightest Companies to work for in the Nation Award. Given by the National Association for Business Resources (NABR), this award celebrates those companies across the United States that consistently show their dedication to excellence.

This is especially exceptional since Shamrock Financial is the only mortgage lender in the list of 101 Best and Brightest - National Division - to receive this award.

To determine the winners of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For 2017 awards, two surveys were used. The first dealt with employees' thoughts and observations about their workplace. The second was for Human Resources about how well the business' policies match the experience of their employees. Areas of consideration include employee advancement and human resource policies. Contenders were assessed in categories such as employee retention, corporate communication, education, diversity, workplace excellence, and work-life balance.

Shamrock Financial has designed and endorsed corporate training for every employee associated with their New England business, regardless of position. For instance, employees can learn about the mortgage lending industry, understand about new social media trends, and hone their client communication skills using a variety of streams. These include face-to-face training, online webinars, and workshops. Yet education is not restricted solely to in-house employees. Real estate agents and referral partners can also take seminars, among other modes of education. These help them learn about marketing techniques, sales strategies, and the developments in the local economy. Furthermore, Shamrock ensures that employees, real estate agents, and referral partners can refresh their knowledge on demand. They can view any of the free e-Books, blog posts, or videos that are frequently uploaded to its comprehensive website.

Shalimar Albanese, Director of Marketing & Client Delight, declared, "I am beyond excited that Shamrock has won this award for the fourth year running. It is no wonder that we are the only mortgage lender on the current list. After all, our dedicated employees always strive to offer the best service and communication to each and every one of our clients. I am proud that their dedication to success is acknowledged yet again."

Founded in 1996, the NABR helps to create, maintain, and advance a collaborative and diverse workplace. This is where businesses study, understand, and then apply current trends to internal policies to further the business, employees, and clients.

The complete list of the Brightest and Best Companies to Work For 2017 award winners is available for review from their website.

About Shamrock Financial

Founded in 1989, Shamrock Financial is a privately owned direct mortgage lender licensed in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Virginia, and Florida.

Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12684959

Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Shamrock Financial Corporation
Huppe took the helm at SoundExchange in 2011. Since that time, annual collections have increased by more than 150 percent and the company has successfully diversified its offerings to include administration of direct licenses and distribution of settlement monies for third parties. SoundExchange moved into music publisher administration with its acquisition of Canadian mechanical rights society CMRRA in May 2017. SoundExchange has distributed nearly $5 billion in digital performance royalties to artists and rights owners since it was formed.

"Mike's vision and energy have driven SoundExchange through a remarkable period of growth and diversification, resulting in one of the most effective, efficient and transparent organizations in the industry today," said Cary Sherman, chairman and CEO, Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and a member of the SoundExchange Board of Directors. "Mike has identified and executed on opportunities to redefine service and efficiency. Moreover, he has guided the expansion of our business beyond its initial core to include administration of direct licenses for sound recordings and brought the company into the music publisher services sector through the acquisition of CMRRA. He is a tireless advocate for musicians and the industry, and I'm thrilled he will be at SoundExchange's helm for another term."

SoundExchange Board member and founding member of The Talking Heads, David Byrne, added "Mike has the tricky job of navigating the interests of the various SoundExchange board members, myself included  interests which often converge, but often after a process, which Mike skillfully takes us through. The music business is never smooth sailing, to continue the metaphor, but with Mike as our captain we'll adapt, prosper and grow. Mike is great at seeing the larger picture and has been adept at making SoundExchange a unique and trusted (trust, in the music business!) name in our world. I for one am happy to have him continue everyone on the board seems to be thrilled to extend his contract and continue to work together."

Dedicated to advocating for all creators of music, Huppe has testified multiple times before Congress and led the organization's successful efforts before the Copyright Royalty Board, resulting in substantial increases in royalties paid by webcasters and satellite radio. At the same time, the company delivered new services to the market including direct license administration and the distribution of settlement monies to artists including the recording industry's settlement of litigation around pre-72 sound recordings. The company also developed and rolled out SoundExchange Direct, providing a new level of access and transparency in royalty reporting as well as the industry's first publicly accessible International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) database. SoundExchange also powers the official ISRC database for the global International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

In May 2017, SoundExchange acquired the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd., which licenses and administers more than 85 percent of mechanical royalties for music publishers in Canada. Huppe is the Chairman of the Board of SXWorks, a subsidiary of SoundExchange which holds the CMRRA acquisition and provides administration services to music publishers around the world.

Huppe also serves on the Executive Committee of industry lobbying organization musicFIRST and the Community Advisory Board for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University School of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard Law School.

About SoundExchange

SoundExchange develops business solutions to benefit the entire music industry. The organization collects and distributes digital performance royalties on behalf of more than 155,000 recording artists and master rights owners accounts and administers direct agreements on behalf of rights owners and licensees. To date, SoundExchange has paid out nearly $5 billion in royalties. SXWorks, a SoundExchange subsidiary created with the acquisition of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd. (CMRRA), provides global administration and support services to music publishers for multiple licensing activities. For more information, visit www.SoundExchange.com or http://sx-works.com.

SOURCE SoundExchange

Related Links

http://www.soundexchange.com


"We're excited to welcome these two breeds into the AKC family," said AKC Executive Secretary, Gina DiNardo. "These are two very different dogs  a duck hunter and a scent hound  and they make wonderful companions for a variety of people. It's important for prospective dog owners to do their research to find the right breed for their lifestyle, and visiting www.akc.org is a great way to start."

Joining the Sporting Group, the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje  pronounced Netherlands-e Coy-ker-hond-tsje  is a spaniel-type dog that originated hundreds of years ago in Europe as a duck hunter. The breed was also a favorite of Dutch nobility. These are energetic, friendly and alert dogs that are ready for work. They have a moderate activity level, needing regular mental and physical activity to be happy. Their medium-length coat requires weekly brushing to keep it free of tangles.

The Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen (GBGV)  pronounced Grahnd Bah-SAY Grif-FON Vahn-DAY-ahn  joins the Hound Group. Bred as a rabbit and hare hunter in France, the GBGV has a great deal of stamina and speed. The GBGV is a laidback, intelligent, friendly pack hound that gets along well with other dogs. These dogs are courageous and passionate workers with a high activity level. They need daily vigorous exercise. The GBGV's coat is rough and straight, and looks tousled and natural. It does need weekly brushing to prevent it from matting.

Both breeds became eligible to compete in their respective groups on January 1, 2018.

To become an AKC recognized breed there must be a minimum number of dogs geographically distributed throughout the U.S., as well as an established breed club of responsible owners and breeders. Breeds working towards full recognition are recorded in AKC's Foundation Stock Service (FSS). Additional information on the process can be found at akc.org.

Hi-res images are available for download HERE.

About the American Kennel Club

Founded in 1884, the American Kennel Club is a not-for-profit organization which maintains the largest registry of purebred dogs in the world and oversees the sport of purebred dogs in the United States. The AKC is dedicated to upholding the integrity of its registry, promoting the sport of purebred dogs and breeding for type and function. Along with its more than 5,000 licensed and member clubs and its affiliated organizations, the AKC advocates for the purebred dog as a family companion, advances canine health and well-being, works to protect the rights of all dog owners and promotes responsible dog ownership. More than 22,000 competitions for AKC-registered purebred dogs are held under AKC rules and regulations each year including conformation, agility, obedience, rally, tracking, herding, lure coursing, coonhound events, hunt tests, field and earthdog tests. Affiliate AKC organizations include the AKC Humane Fund, AKC Canine Health Foundation, AKC Reunite and the AKC Museum of the Dog. For more information, visit www.akc.org.



AKC, American Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club seal and design, and all associated marks and logos are trademarks, registered trademarks and service marks of The American Kennel Club, Inc.

Become a fan of the American Kennel Club on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @AKCDogLovers

SOURCE American Kennel Club

Related Links

http://www.akc.org


PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Total Retail, the preeminent source for content and community for retail executives, and its sister brand Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC) are proud to announce the release of its eighth annual list of the Top Women in Retail.

Honorees were chosen based on a number of factors, including being in a top-level position within a retail organization, scope of responsibility within that position, career achievements, and involvement within the retail industry.

This list serves as a resource to learn more about these retail leaders, from what characterizes their leadership style to whom they turn to for advice to the latest retail technology trends they're tracking. It's an introspective look at some of the brightest minds in the retail industry.

"Our eighth annual list of Top Women in Retail features a who's who in the industry," says Melissa Campanelli, editor-in-chief/content director, Total Retail, and co-founder of Women in Retail Leadership Circle. "These women have helped their companies grow and thrive in an unsettled retail environment, built and managed great teams, launched new strategic initiatives, mentored colleagues, and given back to the industry. We're especially thrilled to highlight these women in 2018, which we believe will be the 'Year of the Woman.'"

Here are Total Retail's 2018 Top Women in Retail:

Kristi Argyilan , Senior Vice President, Media, Guest Engagement and Measurement, Target

, Senior Vice President, Media, Guest Engagement and Measurement, Target Carrie Ask , Executive Vice President and President, Global Retail, Levi Strauss & Co.

, Executive Vice President and President, Global Retail, Levi Strauss & Co. Paula Bennett , President and CEO, J.Jill

, President and CEO, Rachel Blumenthal , Founder and CEO, Rockets of Awesome

, Founder and CEO, Rockets of Awesome Georgie Greville , Co-Founder and Creative Director, Milk Makeup

, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Milk Makeup Fran Horowitz , CEO, Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

, CEO, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Shea Jensen , Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, Nordstrom

, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, Nordstrom Cheryl Kaplan , President, M.Gemi

, President, Sarah LaFleur , Founder and CEO, MM.LaFleur

, Founder and CEO, MM.LaFleur Liza Landsman , President, Jet.com

, President, Jet.com Jenny Ming , CEO, Charlotte Russe

, CEO, Kendra Scott , CEO, Designer and Founder, Kendra Scott

, CEO, Designer and Founder, Tina Sharkey , Co-Founder and CEO, Brandless

, Co-Founder and CEO, Brandless Jocelyn Wong , Chief Marketing Officer, Lowe's

These women will be honored at the Women in Retail Leadership Circle's fifth annual Women in Retail Leadership Summit, taking place April 16-18 at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami. The Summit will host 300 leading women retail executives for two-and-a-half days, with content focused on business strategy and executive professional development.

"We're so excited to host the Summit this year, which will mark our fifth anniversary," Campanelli says. "We're very proud of how the event has grown and what it means to attendees each year. This year's event will be better than ever."

The Top Women in Retail list, featuring exclusive interviews with all honorees, can be downloaded for free here.

For more information about the Women in Retail Leadership Summit, visit www.womeninretailsummit.com.

About Women in Retail Leadership Circle/NAPCO Media

Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC) is a unique, members-only networking group that offers enterprise-level women in the retail industry a place to learn, connect and grow. Our community is comprised of successful, motivated and passionate women from the retail world. WIRLC strives to continuously offer members the opportunity to share best practices, discuss industry issues and find inspiration on how to conquer challenges in their professional lives through virtual and live events, a weekly e-newsletter, an information-packed website, social media, and more.

NAPCO Media, Total Retail's parent company, has been a leading information source in the markets it serves since 1958. NAPCO Media continues to evolve with information distribution methods and specializes in the creation and cross-channel distribution of exceptional content. NAPCO Media's mission is to build community between its audience and its clients.

Contact

Joe Keenan

215-238-5435

[email protected]

SOURCE Total Retail

Related Links

http://www.mytotalretail.com


CARROLLTON, Texas, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Truco Enterprises announced today that it appointed Lisa Walsh as the company's Chief Executive Officer effective January 3, 2018. Walsh joins Truco with more than 25 years of consumer packaged goods experience, particularly in the food and beverage space. As Truco's new CEO, Walsh's top priorities will be expansion of distribution of the On The Border brand and acceleration of the company's growth.

David Lowe, Chairman of the Board of Truco, said, "Lisa is a proven leader with exceptional business skills, a deep knowledge of consumer and shopper insights, and strong general management expertise. With On the Border currently the fastest growing and highest velocity tortilla chip brand, the Board is confident that Lisa can leverage her skillset to take the company to the next level. Her commitment to leading and supporting high-performing teams is a key component of her success and will serve Truco well. We look forward to this next exciting chapter under her direction."

Walsh most recently served as the Senior Vice President of PepsiCo Sales where she led the global strategy for one of PepsiCo's largest customers. She was responsible for a portfolio that included Frito-Lay, Quaker Foods and all of PepsiCo's beverage businesses. Over the course of her 18 years at PepsiCo she held a variety of roles in general management, sales, strategy, category management and industry engagement. She is a proven people leader, championing gender equality across the industry through her involvement with Network of Executive Women as well as spearheading various diversity and inclusion initiatives within PepsiCo during her tenure with the company.

"I am thrilled and honored to be joining Truco and look forward to working closely with our Board and the incredibly talented Truco team. The On The Border brand has tremendous momentum right now, driven by a commitment to authentic, flavorful products that consumers love," said Walsh. "I'm confident our guiding values, innovative mindset and passion for the business and its products will enable us to accelerate growth, continue to delight consumers, and deliver exceptional value to our retail partners."

Walsh currently serves as the Board Chair for the Network of Executive Women. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Lafayette College.

About Truco Enterprises

Founded in Dallas, TX in 1991, Truco is a leading developer and marketer of tortilla chips, salsa and queso under the On The Border brand. The Company's products are sold nationally through grocery retailers, club stores, mass merchandisers and convenience stores. Truco Enterprises is the exclusive licensee of the On The Border brand for food products sold through retail. For more information, please visit http://www.ontheborderproducts.com. Truco Enterprises is a portfolio company of Insignia Capital Group. In addition to Truco Enterprises, Insignia's portfolio companies also include Century Snacks, a provider of branded and private label snack nuts, trail mixes and similar snacks, and Tillamook Country Smoker, a provider of jerky, meat sticks and other meat snack products. For more information, please visit http://www.insigniacap.com.

SOURCE Truco Enterprises
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Union Leasing, Inc., the premier mid-market fleet management company and a subsidiary of Sasser Family Holdings, today announced that Jeff Malko has been named vice president of Customer Experience effective January 8.

"Consistently delivering personalized customer service, giving our customers the ability to effectively manage their fleets when they choose, and flexibility that meets our customers' needs are what drive Union Leasing. It's one thing to be attentive and responsive when pitching a customer, but it's equally important to follow through on the promises you made when trying to win their business. I'm really fortunate to work with a team and for a company that's truly committed to meeting our clients' needs and to empowering employees to be successful at every level. I am excited to have the opportunity to help us continue working hard to earn the trust of our customers every day," said Malko.

In his new role, Malko will lead Union's Client Services, Purchasing, and License & Title departments. He has been a part of the Union team for almost 10 years--first as regional Sales manager in 2008 and, beginning in January 2016, as regional vice president of Sales. Malko was previously a Business Development manager for GE Capital and a territory manager for Unilever.

"Jeff's sales background gives him on-the-ground insight into the importance of providing the highest level of personalized service after potential customers become existing customers. This is an example of stewardship in action that Jeff and the entire Union team demonstrate every day. I got to know Jeff earlier this year while we visited customers together. I saw firsthand how he interacts with them, as well as the respect he has among his colleagues. The fact that Jeff is a salesman at his core and knows the industry inside and out will be a big advantage when it comes to managing our customer experience teams," said Todd Heemsoth, president, Union Leasing.

About Union Leasing, Inc. and Sasser Family Holdings, Inc.:

Union Leasing Inc. provides flexible, vehicle lease financing and highly customized fleet management services to corporate and rental customers nationwide. Union Leasing was established in 1955 and is a subsidiary of Sasser Family Holdings, Inc. Sasser Family Holdings is a fourth generation, family-held transportation asset services and management company with roots dating to 1928. Other Sasser Family Holdings subsidiary business units include Chicago Freight Car Leasing Co., Union Leasing, Inc., CF Asia Pacific Group PTY Ltd., CF Rail Services, NxGen Rail Services, LLC, Express 4X4 Truck Rental, and Xced Aviation Services, LLC. The businesses are leaders in providing commercial and industrial-focused rail, ground support, and vehicle transportation equipment solutions including asset leasing, fleet administration management, asset repair and maintenance, and innovative technology solutions throughout North America. For more information, visit Union Leasing, Inc. at www.unionleasing.com or Sasser Family Holdings, Inc. at www.sfhsinc.com.

SOURCE Union Leasing, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.unionleasing.com


WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yesterday the nation's largest federal union, the American Federation of Government Employees, sent a letter to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs leadership calling for an investigation into the two main contractors running the controversial Choice program which have defrauded taxpayers by nearly $90 million.

The American Federation of Government Employees has been working to improve veterans' access to health care, holding rallies outside VA facilities like the one here in St. Louis, Mo.

AFGE, which represents 250,000 front-line workers  more than 100,000 of whom are veterans themselves  at the Department of Veterans Affairs, sent the letter from National President J. David Cox Sr. to House Committee of Veterans' Affairs Chair Rep. Phil Roe of Tennessee, Ranking Member Rep. Mark Takano of California, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan, Ranking Member Rep. Ann Kuster of New Hampshire, and Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chair Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Ranking Member Sen. Jon Tester of Montana.

In a September memo by the VA Office of Inspector General, titled "Accuracy and Timeliness of Payments Made Under the Choice Program Authorized by the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act," it was found that at least two third-party administrators of the VA Choice Program had led to $90 million in improper charges to the American taxpayer.

National President Cox said in the letter that "The questionable practices used by third-party administrators of the VA Choice Program, TriWest and HealthNet, including double billing and improper payment rates, have directly harmed veterans and undermined the capacity of the VA health care system to provide them with the exemplary care that they have earned with their service." Adding that the union "respectfully requests that the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and the Sub-Committee on Oversight and Investigations conduct oversight hearings into the contractors' billing practices and the VA's effectiveness in overseeing these contracts."

The revelations of overcharging by third-party administrators is just the latest controversy plaguing the negligent Choice program. Last month, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs voted along party lines to pass H.R. 4242  VA Care in the Community Act  which would continue to funnel funding away from veterans' first and best choice for health care, sticking them in the back of the line at unaccountable, private, for-profit providers.

Rep. Takano attempted to submit three amendments to H.R. 4242, to increase hiring and improve accountability of the Choice program, but Committee Republicans voted down each on party line votes.

"Thank you to Rep. Takano and to the Committee Democrats who all tried to stand up to Republicans and protect veterans' health care. This year we have continued to hear veterans and their service organizations tell us how important VA care is, and how we cannot let it be dismantled and auctioned off to unqualified for-profit providers," said Cox.

"H.R. 4242 is a terrible piece of legislation that not only chips away at the only health care system tailored to the unique needs of veterans, but it also insulates private, for-profit providers from being accountable to veterans or taxpayers. We keep hearing from Congress and the Administration that there needs to be a greater level of accountability, but when it came down to making sure these private providers would be accountable to the men and women who served this country, party politics won out," he added.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

Related Links

http://www.afge.org


EASTON, Pa., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Victaulic, the leading manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining solutions, has unveiled a plan to build an additional state-of-the-art manufacturing center in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The 400,000 square foot facility is the result of increased domestic demand for the company's products. The facility is expected to break ground later this year and be fully operational in 2019.

"This new facility will play an important role in meeting increased customer demand, while also producing the highest quality products in the industry -- something our customers have come to expect from us since our first innovation nearly 100 years ago," said John F. Malloy, CEO of Victaulic. "A major aspect of our business strategy has always been to manufacture products in close proximity to our customers," commented John F. Malloy. "While we already manufacture 80 percent of domestically sold products in the United States, this facility will further enhance our product delivery capabilities, making our U.S. operations even more competitive."

Pennsylvania Governor Wolf commented, "Whenever a manufacturer expands here in Pennsylvania, its more evidence that our manufacturing sector is growing stronger. The establishment of Victaulic's new facility doesn't simply continue the company's 40-year tradition of commitment to growth here in the Commonwealth  it will also create jobs and help develop the Lehigh Valley's manufacturing workforce," Governor Tom Wolf said. "I applaud Victaulic for this new facility, and I look forward to seeing the company continue to grow for years to come."

In addition to housing the company's current light assembly operation, which has been conducted in partnership with Cast-Pac Inc. for 20 years, the new facility will include several millions of dollars in new equipment to modernize its manufacturing operations. Robotic and optical technology in Victaulic's new facility will advance the limits of quality control for the company's castings and finished products through automated assembly operations. Use of computerized, visual inspection systems can identify nonconformities, preventing them from being shipped to customers and maintaining Victaulic's operational excellence in excess of Seven Sigma requirements.

Along with the expansion, Victaulic anticipates adding 40-50 new jobs by the end of 2018. From machining and lab technicians to assemblers and production staff, it is expected that many of the new positions will be filled by local talent from the area's skilled workforce. New hires will join the current Victaulic team of 3,600 employees globally, of which 49 percent are located in the United States.

Victaulic has been a part of the Lehigh Valley business community for nearly 40 years. The new facility will be located on 28 acres of land located in Lower Nazareth Township, Pennsylvania.

About Victaulic

Since 1919, Victaulic's pipe joining and flow control solutions have optimized construction productivity and reduced risk, ensuring projects are completed safely, on time and within budget. Driven by a spirit of continuous innovation, Victaulic's portfolio of 100,000+ products and patented technologies promote freedom of design, as well as simplified inspection and maintenance for the life of any system. With more than 3,600 employees and 40 international facilities, Victaulic helps customers in over 120 countries succeed in the global construction industry. From the tallest buildings to the deepest mines, customers trust our products to increase overall system durability in the most demanding construction projects and operating conditions. Learn more about how our innovative piping products and design services can engineer confidence into your build at www.victaulic.com.

SOURCE Victaulic

Related Links

http://www.victaulic.com


EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vision, the leader in website design and software for local government, today announced it has been named one of America's top companies in developing innovative government solutions for the third consecutive year. The GovTech100 list recognizes leading companies that create solutions to solve real problems in the state and local government market.

The GovTech100 is an annual list compiled and published by Government Technology as a collection of 100 companies focused on making a difference in and selling to state and local government agencies across the United States.

"In the past five years, local government has evolved to meet rapidly changing customer expectations," said David Nachman, CEO of Vision. "Residents and customers of today's cities and counties are increasingly looking to interact with local government online, frequently via mobile devices. City and county websites have become the front door for engagement with local government; we are honored to provide the expertise and platforms that make this interaction easier and more satisfying for citizens and public agencies."

The companies in the GovTech100 listing are active in one or more market segments, including: administrative, service delivery, intelligent infrastructure and civic tech focus areas. In its announcement of the 2018 list, Government Technology noted the list recognizes companies that are moving the needle in the gov tech space, serving government in unique, innovative, effective ways.

In announcing the list of top companies, Dustin Haisler, e.Republic Chief Innovation Officer, said the government's lag time in following commercial-sector technology trends is an opportunity driver.

"State and local governments have become more willing to try implementing new systems using agile methodologies that fit better with the modern tech world," the magazine reported. "The rise of cloud computing has created an environment where small companies are better able to build products that can work for public agencies big and small."

About Vision

Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., Vision is a national leader in government website design, development and hosting with more than 800 government, non-profit and education clients in U.S. and Canadian communities with populations that range from less than 1,000 residents to more than 5 million. For more than 20 years, Vision has created cost-effective solutions that increase government efficiency, build transparency and promote interactive communications with citizens.

CONTACT:

Alyssa Trenkamp

310-656-3100

[email protected]

SOURCE Vision
Dr. Steve Ma, Vice president of VIVOTEK Brand Business Research & Development Division, commented, "Our approach requires a tight integration between hardware-based security features and software applications. Joining forces with Trend Micro is a vital step and together we are proud to roll out the first cybersecurity enhanced network cameras in the IP surveillance industry. Thanks to Trend Micro IoT Security for Surveillance Cameras (TMIS-CAM) solution, these cameras are able to automatically detect and prevent credential attack and block suspicious events. Both parties are committed to reducing security vulnerabilities, and develop a safety net for the IoT ecosystem."

"As more and more network cameras are connected to Internet for cloud-related services," said Dr. Terence Liu, Vice president of Network Threat Defense Technology Group at Trend Micro, "securing the cameras against network security threats is getting vital. The cooperation with VIVOTEK demonstrates an effective and practical approach to IoT security by combining the companies' deep knowledge of cameras and network threats."

For more information about VIVOTEK and its comprehensive product line, please visit www.vivotek.com.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments, networks and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 6,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their journey to the cloud. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.

About VIVOTEK

VIVOTEK Inc. (TAIEX: 3454) was founded in Taiwan in 2000. The Company markets VIVOTEK solutions worldwide, and has become a leading brand in the global IP surveillance industry. Its comprehensive solutions include network cameras, video servers, network video recorders, PoE solutions, and video management software. Through the growing proliferation of IoT, VIVOTEK aspires to become the Eye in IoT by drawing on its expansive technological capabilities in image and audio. The Company has established offices and subsidiaries in the United States (California), Europe (Netherlands), India (Delhi), Middle East (Dubai), Latin America (Mexico), and Japan (Tokyo) in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively. To create a sound industrial ecosystem, VIVOTEK has expanded strategic alliances with leading international software and hardware partners and works with over 183 authorized distributors across 116 countries. For more information, please visit www.vivotek.com.

SOURCE VIVOTEK INC.

Related Links

http://www.vivotek.com


LOUISVILLE, Ky. and TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In the face of a growing opioid abuse epidemic, WellCare of Kentucky is donating $35,000 to support addiction recovery programs in Louisville and eastern Kentucky.

WellCare of Kentucky, a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), is this week donating $10,000 to The Healing Place in Louisville and $25,000 to Addiction Recovery Care, (ARC) which operates seven residential facilities throughout eastern Kentucky.

"Our interest is in saving lives and improving the health of people in Kentucky," said Bill Jones, president of WellCare of Kentucky. "Opioid abuse is life-threatening  that's obvious. But it, and other addictions, also prevents entire families from living healthy lives and meeting their full potential."

According to data from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, emergency departments in Kentucky saw a 266 percent increase in heroin overdoses between 2013 and 2016. As the largest Medicaid managed care organization in the state, WellCare is concerned about both the direct and indirect health implications of addiction.

"When someone is suffering from addiction, their family may be in a perpetual crisis  and that potentially affects the health of each family member," Jones said. "When a family member is struggling, it makes it harder for others to seek regular preventive care and treatment. It may even be impossible for them to stay in their home or keep the fridge full. Addiction has ripple effects throughout the community that can be nearly impossible to measure."

The Healing Place has served metro Louisville and surrounding areas since 1989 with a nationally recognized, innovative social model recovery program for drug and alcohol addiction. More than 5,000 clients have completed their program, which is one of the most effective long-term social model recovery programs in the nation with a 75 percent success rate.

"It's heart-wrenching to turn people away from our services because we're at capacity. Our programs can radically change lives; we want even more people to have access to that transformative experience," said Karyn Hascal, president of The Healing Place. "We are grateful to WellCare for providing additional funding to support our addiction treatment programs. Each donation helps us connect with more people who desperately want a fresh start."

Addiction Recovery Care, LLC (ARC) operates a network of state-licensed residential and outpatient drug and alcohol abuse treatment centers in Kentucky. The network includes residential and outpatient centers in Boyd, Fayette, Fleming, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Lawrence, and Montgomery counties. With more than 70 of their 200 employees being program graduates, Addiction Recovery Care has emerged as a state leader in holistic addiction treatment - utilizing medical, clinical, spiritual and vocational programs. Clients who complete ARC's Peer Support Specialist Academy (PSSA) job training program have an 85 percent success rate.

"The drug epidemic in our state is Kentucky's top public health concern. We appreciate WellCare investing in successful programs and Addiction Recovery Care is looking forward to serving their members with world-class drug and alcohol treatment," said Tim Robinson, president of Addiction Recovery Care.

"So many people with addictions continue to suffer not because they aren't ready to quit, but because they can't get the help they need  our state is woefully short on effective treatment options," said Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers of Manchester. "I applaud WellCare's efforts to support these treatment centers. Their donations will help more families get a fresh start, creating more stable communities."

"Our communities are in need of additional support to combat the strains of addiction, and WellCare's donation to The Healing Place will help provide the services needed to address the growing problem in Kentucky," said Senator Julie Raque Adams of Louisville. "We are grateful for The Healing Place's work in providing treatment to people fighting addiction. The donation from WellCare will open new doors of opportunities to families in our community."

"No one is immune from the tragedy that is addiction. It affects family, friends and our communities. The Healing Place offers hope and help to those battling addiction. This donation will assist The Healing Place to continue that noble cause of helping save and rebuild lives," said Senator Denise Harper Angel of Louisville.

"ARC is recognized as an outstanding treatment option for people in the grip of addiction," said Senator Brandon Smith of Hazard. "It's not surprising that their services are in high demand. I commend WellCare on their active support to the organizations programming."

As of Sept. 30, 2017, WellCare serves approximately 446,000 Medicaid members, 9,000 Medicare Advantage plan members and 23,000 Medicare Prescription Drug Plan members in Kentucky. To learn more about how we care for Kentuckians, watch Brandi's story at http://youtu.be/YwOw5EgeSYo.

About WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) focuses exclusively on providing government-sponsored managed care services, primarily through Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans, to families, children, seniors and individuals with complex medical needs. WellCare serves approximately 4.3 million members nationwide as of Sept. 30, 2017. For more information about WellCare, please visit the company's website at www.wellcare.com or view the company's videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/WellCareHealthPlan.

SOURCE WellCare Health Plans, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.wellcare.com


ADA, Okla., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The LegalShield Law Index, released today, has indicated for months that confidence levels measured by other means were likely inflated. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell sharply (worsened) by 6.5 points in December, the largest one-month decline in over two years, bringing it closer in line with the LegalShield Consumer Financial Stress Index. Meanwhile, the LegalShield measure edged down (i.e, consumer financial stress lessened) from 88.9 to 88.7 in December, due to mild improvements in its Estate Planning and Bankruptcy components, and remains near an all-time low after falling 0.1% in 2017. This underscores that consumers' finances remain generally healthy as the new year begins, despite the drop in confidence.

The divergence over the last few months between Consumer Confidence and the LegalShield Consumer Financial Stress Index shrank markedly in December. The LegalShield data  along with other "hard" data sources, such as consumer spending  correctly indicated consumer confidence levels based on economic factors. Other measures of consumer confidence support LegalShield's position, including the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment, which fell slightly in 2017.

"Although high consumer debt levels and a 10-year low in the personal savings rate are potential early indicators of future financial stress, LegalShield data continue to indicate that consumers are right to feel good about their current financial situations and the overall economy," observed James Rosseau, LegalShield's chief commercial officer. "Our data, which stem from concrete legal actions undertaken by consumers and small businesses, continue to be prescient when it comes to cutting through the noise and illuminating the state of the economy."

Another component of the LegalShield Law Index  the LegalShield Housing Activity Index, a leading indicator of housing starts  suggests that housing construction will likely remain subdued over the near-term. The Housing Activity Index decreased (worsened) 2.2 points to 109.7 in December, as both the foreclosure and real estate components weakened. The index was essentially unchanged in 2017, but remains elevated by historical standards. Housing starts jumped to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.30 million in November, the highest level in over a year.

"The movement in housing is consistent with LegalShield's predictions in July and August that housing starts could rebound to 1.3  1.4 million by the end of the year," Rosseau added. "However, it will be interesting to see if the recently-signed tax legislation tamps down demand for new home construction due to several changes to the tax code that reduce the tax advantage of home ownership."

Debuting in May, the LegalShield Law Index is made up of five indices: the LegalShield Consumer Financial Stress Index, LegalShield Housing Activity Index, LegalShield Bankruptcy Index, LegalShield Foreclosure Index, and LegalShield Real Estate Index. Each index depicts the health of the U.S. economy using LegalShield's unique and proprietary database of member demand for and usage of legal services.

Additional predictive takeaways based on the data through December:

The LegalShield Real Estate Index, a leading indicator of existing home sales, suggests that home sales are unlikely to maintain the robust growth experienced in November  though sales could pick up in 2018 if the growth in home prices slows.

a leading indicator of existing home sales, suggests that home sales are unlikely to maintain the robust growth experienced in November  though sales could pick up in 2018 if the growth in home prices slows. The LegalShield Bankruptcy Index, a leading indicator of monthly bankruptcy filings, continues to suggest that bankruptcies will remain subdued in the near term.

a leading indicator of monthly bankruptcy filings, continues to suggest that bankruptcies will remain subdued in the near term. The LegalShield Foreclosure Index, an advance measure of foreclosure activity, suggests that foreclosures should remain subdued in the short term.

The five LegalShield indices closely track a handful of key economic indicators, such as the Consumer Confidence Index (developed by the Conference Board), Housing Starts (reported by the U.S. Census Bureau), and Foreclosure Starts (reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association). Each LegalShield index has undergone a battery of statistical tests to validate its relationship to an existing economic indicator that sheds light on the health and direction of the U.S. economy. LegalShield publishes the Law Index monthly, on the sixth business day of each month. Please contact Jeff Monford at [email protected] for a copy of the economic assessment.

About LegalShield

A pioneer in the democratization of affordable access to legal protection, LegalShield is one of North America's leading providers of legal safeguards and protection against identity theft solutions for individuals, families and small businesses. The 45-year-old company has more than 1,743,000 members that are covered by its legal and identity theft plans. IDShield provides identity theft protection to one million individuals. LegalShield and IDShield serve more than 141,000 businesses. Both legal and identity theft plans start for less than $25 per month.

LegalShield's legal plans provide access to attorneys with an average of 22 years of experience in areas such as family matters, estate planning, financial and business issues, consumer protection, tax, real estate, benefits disputes and auto/driving issues. Unlike other legal plans or do-it-yourself websites, LegalShield has dedicated law firms in 50 states and four provinces in Canada that members can call for help without having to worry about high hourly rates.

IDShield provides identity monitoring and restoration services and is the only identity theft protection company armed with a team of licensed private investigators on call to restore a member's identity.

For more information, call press and corporate relations at 580-436-1234.

SOURCE LegalShield
NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The BWW-Best Wine of the World -competition surpassed all its goals in its initial stages. The competition was a success by all standards: 22,588 wines received a total of 1,333,896 votes from more than 620,000 wine-lovers and professionals around the world.

The most voted red wines were the Italian Monteverro 2012, Australian Penfolds Grange 2012 and Henschke Hill of Grace 2012.

The most popular white wines included the Australian Sirromet Le Sauvage Chardonnay 2013, Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 2010 and Emmerich Knoll Gruner Veltliner Vinothekfullung 2015.

Favorites among the Champagnes were Dom Perignon 2002, followed by Piper Heidsieck Rare 2002 and Roederer Cristal 2002.

The French wines gaining the most votes were Guigal La Mouline 2010, Le Pin 2010 and Armand Rousseau Chambertin 2010.

American favorites were Heitz Martha's Vineyard 2012 and Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2014.

With the Italian Monteverro in the lead, Sandrone Barolo Le Vigne 2011, Masseto 2011 and Tua Ritan Redigaffi 2004 gained much popularity.

Vega Sicilian Unico 2008 and Pingus 2008 gathered the most votes in the Spanish selection.

The public votes and votes given by wine professionals are tallied, and the wines with the most votes from each competition category enter the finals that will be held in January 2018. In the finals, the wines undergo a blind evaluation by panels consisting of leading wine writers, Masters of Wine and wine professionals. Less than 1% of all the wines in the competition were selected for the finals.

BWW - the Best Wine of the World Competition, true to its name, selects the Best Wines in the World. It is the largest wine competition in the world, whether measured by the number of wines, the number of consumers involved or the judges taking part.

The competition differs significantly from other wine competitions in that the wines are selected by consumers all around the world and many thousands wine during a three-month period of voting, which takes place on Tastingbook.com and via social media, such as Facebook and Instagram.

The competition is arranged by the world's largest wine information platform Tastingbook.com (www.tastingbook.com) and the world's leading fine wine magazines - FINE Magazines (www.fine-magazines.com).

Tastingbook.com is the WORLD'S LARGEST wine information platform. Tastingbook is created by FINE - the world's leading Fine Wine magazines and thousands of wine professionals and wineries from over 60 countries.

Tastingbook started in 2015 and has today over a million pages of wine information and around 1.5 million visitors every month. Over 5000 wine professionals from 59 countries are keeping it updated. In Tastingbook you will find the most up-to-date tasting reports virtually from every major tasting from all around the world.

Tastingbook is unbiased, ad-free, non-commercial, free to everyone and easy to use.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Tastingbook

Related Links

http://tastingbook.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wood Partners, a national leader in real estate development and acquisition, announced today the closed acquisition and start of construction of a 172-unit mixed-use development in the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco.

Alta Potrero Hill is located at 1301 Sixteenth Street near Showplace Square, and in close proximity to Jackson Playground, California College of Arts, new Warriors Arena, UCSF Medical Center and Kaiser Mission Bay. Strategically located near several major tech employers, including Airbnb and Adobe, Alta Potrero Hill is also just blocks away from public bus lines and a mile from both the 16th Street Bart Station and the 22nd Street Caltrain station.

"The Showplace Square District and Potrero Hill align perfectly with our approach to building communities that aim to complement and enhance surrounding neighborhoods," said Brian Pianca, Development Director for Wood Partners. "We're excited to bring Alta Potrero Hill to San Francisco and add to our growing Bay Area portfolio."

The 172-unit community will consist of over 40 percent family-sized units, that are two bedrooms or bigger, with the average size of the units being 800 square feet. 29 of the units will be below market rate.

The seven-story building will include 8,000 square feet of rooftop deck with 360-degree skyline views. There will also be parking spaces for 65 percent of residents and bicycle parking spaces available for each unit.

Alta Potrero Hill will consist of approximately 6,700 square feet of ground-floor retail and PDR space for artisans and craftsmen. This is the second Wood Partners project in San Francisco and the sixth project in the Bay Area.

For more information please visit www.woodpartners.com.

About Wood Partners

Wood Partners is a national real estate development company that acquires, develops, constructs and property manages high density and mixed-use communities. It ranks consistently among the top five multifamily developers in the country. Through quality construction, responsible land development and intelligent design, its communities reflect the aesthetic and social fabric of the community and provide a luxurious living experience at a fair price. The company has been involved in the acquisition and development of more than 70,000 homes with a combined capitalization of more than $11.5 billion nationwide. The company currently owns 70 properties with a combined total of 20,000 units. Wood Partners has offices in 17 major markets nationwide including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Southern California, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and West Palm Beach. To learn more about Wood Partners, please visit WoodPartners.com.

Media Contact

Marissa Currie

415-227-9700

[email protected]

SOURCE Wood Partners

Related Links

http://WoodPartners.com


PHOENIX, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the first and largest not-for-profit professional supply management organization worldwide, has announced an expanded agenda and the themes of its impressive line-up of keynote speakers at the supply management profession's largest global event, ISM2018, which will be held May 6-9, 2018 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Participants can take advantage of special early bird rates if they register by Friday, January 12, 2018.

Keynoter Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global and founder of The Huffington Post, will discuss the latest online and social media trends  including how media companies are turning content promiscuity into profits  and reveal her vision of a hybrid future where traditional media and new media become one.

With his experience dealing with the global political climate, keynoter Mitt Romney, governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007), president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, founder and CEO of Bain Capital, will share his insights on how the U.S. and other countries can use their influence to contribute to peace, prosperity, and a sustainable world  in turn defining our place in history.

Featured speaker John Rossman, former Amazon executive and author of "The Amazon Way: 14 Leadership Principles Behind the World's Most Disruptive Company" will discuss the key to scaling, Amazon's secrets to drive accountability, how to achieve "operational excellence" and "innovation," and what customers truly desire.

Focused on, "Global Insights, Peak Performance," ISM2018 expects to draw over 2,500 supply management executives and professionals from around the world seeking actionable ideas, standards and best practices to give their organizations a competitive advantage. More than 100 interactive sessions will be part of six practitioner-led learning tracks at ISM2018, and will feature executives from firms such as Google, Pfizer, and P.F. Chang's China Bistro. All sessions are mapped to the ISM Mastery Model, so attendees can enhance their conference experience by selecting sessions that are specifically designed to improve their individual supply management competencies. ISM2018 will also once again feature a number of programs tailored to specific audiences within the supply management profession, including:

Invitation-only ExecIn: A select gathering of top procurement and supply management leaders will participate in special executive-level sessions, including exclusive access to these speakers.

Emerging Professionals Experience: Designed for those with one to eight years of experience who are working toward their CPSM  (Certified Professional in Supply Management  ) designation, this experience features a personal ambassador, specialized career building and networking sessions, on-site CPSM accelerated training, and invitations to exclusive social events.

(Certified Professional in Supply Management ) designation, this experience features a personal ambassador, specialized career building and networking sessions, on-site CPSM accelerated training, and invitations to exclusive social events. Team Experience: Participants in this program will enjoy specialized counsel from ISM executive leadership, and preferred "team seating" near the front of all ISM2018 keynote sessions. It's limited to only 100 people, so interested attendees should act quickly.

For groups of five or more, special pricing is also available: If groups register by January 15, 2018 they can receive up to 45 percent savings compared to on-site registration. Individuals can save 40 percent by registering by January 15, 2018 compared to on-site registration.

For more information about ISM2018 and to register, please visit www.ism2018.org.

About Institute for Supply Management

Institute for Supply Management (ISM) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that serves supply management professionals in more than 100 countries. Its 50,000 members manage about $1 trillion in corporate supply chain procurement annually. Founded in 1915 as the first supply management institute, ISM drives value and competitive advantage for its members, contributing to a prosperous and sustainable world. ISM leads the profession through the ISM Report On Business, its highly regarded certification and training programs, events, corporate services and the ISM Mastery Model. For more information, please visit: www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org.

Media Contact

Dawn Ringel

Warner Communications

781-449-8456

[email protected]

SOURCE Institute for Supply Management
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In 2016, Neal Shusterman released Scythe, the first book in his Arc of a Scythe series, set on a future Earth governed by an artificial intelligence known as the Thunderhead. Technology has advanced to a point that poverty, crime, and even death itself have all but ceased to be concerns. In order to keep population growth in check, an organization known as the scythedom was established, its members revered and feared for their duty to glean humans, one of the few ways a person can truly, irrevocably die. Scythe, which received a Printz Honor, followed the training of two apprentice scythes, Rowan and Citra, amid political turmoil within the scythedom. In book two, Thunderhead, Shusterman turns his attention to the powerful AI itself, as the machinations of power-hungry scythes threaten to upset the world order.

No surprise, given the title, but readers get quite a bit of the Thunderheads perspective in this sequel. How did you approach channeling the voice and thought processes of a near-omnipotent artificial intelligence, one thats responsible for running just about everything on Earth?

I had to approach the Thunderhead very carefully. It doesnt think like we do, and I had to keep that in mind in each segment that was in its point of view. First of all, it cannot have regrets, because it never makes mistakes. By definition, everything it does is the perfect action. Its tempting to have it be imperfect, but that would go against the whole premise. Its also tempting to turn it into an evil forcewhich is what all stories seem to do with artificial intelligence. The AI is a threat. I had to fight against that impulse, because in this story, the AI truly is benevolent, and non-threatening. The threat comes from humans. It comes from the scythedomwhich is corruptible in a way that the Thunderhead is not. The Thunderhead does experience emotions, however. It loves humankind. It grieves loss. It is frustrated by the things that are out of its controland the only thing out of its control are scythes, and their actions.

At one point, the Thunderhead says that the illusion of purpose is critical to a well-adjusted society, describing why it helps citizens find employment even though the jobs (which could easily be done by machines) are essentially meaningless. The line also seems to speak to underlying existential questions in these books, given that this is a world where true, final deathbeing gleaned by a scytheis quite rare, at least for the time being. Were there certain philosophical or scientific ideas that led you to write this series, and that you wanted to explore?

After so much dystopian YA literature, I wanted to take a different approach to a futuristic story. What happens to us when we achieve all we want to achieve as a species, and attain a world without war, without poverty, without hunger or disease, and ultimately a world where weve conquered death? What happens to us, both individually and as a society, once we achieve all that? There are consequences to getting everything we strive for, and I wanted to address, as realistically as possible, those societal and psychological consequences.

I also wanted to address issues that were already facing today, such as upheavals due to technological unemployment. Entire occupations are becoming irrelevant every day, and people are struggling to adapt. I remember reading an article about metropolitan train conductorshow many cities have trains that are pretty much automated, but they still have conductors. But if the conductor fell asleep, the trains would run just fine without them. Thats just one of many examples of jobs that only exist because of a need for employment.

As for the BIG, or Basic Income Guarantee, I did a lot of research on projections for the future of society. A lot of them came from TED Talks, which are all mind-expanding. The idea that future governments will pay us just because we exist, is a concept that more and more academic futurists are leaning toward. Once AI can do everything we can do, and better, there becomes no way to earn an income based on labor. Theres irony in the idea of the illusion of purpose being critical to a well-adjusted society. In the future, we all become mostly useless. But we must not be allowed to feel that way!

Theres something almost biblical in the way that the Thunderhead is unable to interfere in the actions of the scythedom and unable to communicate with the willfully defiant humans that have been designated as unsavories, who could be seen as sinful in a sense. Given the quasi-godlike power of the Thunderhead, were these parallels on your mind?

Oh, absolutely! In a sense, the Thunderhead is a god-in-training. It loves humanity with every fiber of its being, but it is coming to the same conclusions that any all-powerful entity would reach about its relationship with us. Everyone wonders why the universe is the way it is, and what a guiding hand, if there is one, might be thinking. The Thunderhead slowly comes to realize that humanity must be allowed to fail, sometimes painfully, in order to grow. We must be allowed to make the mistakes that it cannot, because unlike the Thunderheadand unlike our various versions of Godwe are not perfect.

Scythe focused largely on Citra and Rowan as they trained to be scythes, and this book expands in scope to include not just the Thunderhead but Greyson Tolliver, a human who adores the Thunderhead but winds up marked as unsavory. The less revealed about the ending of Thunderhead, the better, but is there anything you can say about where things are headed in the next book?

Ooh, thats a tough one, because its hard to say much without giving major spoilers! So Ill have to be cryptic and vague. Book three, currently entitled The Toll, takes place a few years after Thunderhead. The world has changed in ways that follow from what happens at the end of Thunderhead. Greyson becomes a very important figure in book three, as do all the key characters who survive book two, and even a few of the ones who dontbecause, as you know, death isnt always permanent. A critical aspect will be the failsafe that the founding scythes created in case the scythedom became corrupt, and failed to uphold its moral imperative. Also important will be a massive cover-up, which Ive already alluded to in both Scythe and Thunderhead, concerning the nature of the tragedies in space that keep humanity earth-bound. We also find out a troubling truth about the mysterious rings that the scythes all wear.... Im busy working on The Toll as we speak! Cant wait to get it out there!

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman. Simon & Schuster, Jan. $18.99 ISBN 978-1-4424-7245-7
Knock, knock. Whos there? Its a new companion book to David Ezra Steins 2011 Caldecott Honor title Interrupting Chickenand we have the first look at the cover. Candlewick will be publishing Interrupting Chicken and the Elephant of Surprise on September 11.

Stein dreamed up the impatient and exuberant young star of Interrupting Chicken when he thought back to a favorite knock-knock joke from his childhood. But before the little red chicken ever landed on the page, Stein had been kicking around some ideas for another, much larger, animal. I had had the idea of the elephant of surprise for a while, as a separate character, he said. My idea was to have scenes of stuffy people talking about something boring, and then suddenly this elephant would just burst in and knock over the furniture or the tea set. I did some development, but it wasnt quite coming together as a full-fledged book, so I put it aside for awhile.

But in the last couple of years, in the wake of Interrupting Chickens popularityand especially seeing kids enthusiasm for it whenever he did appearancesStein knew he wanted to do another book with those same characters. Then he had a bit of a brainstorm: What if I put that elephant in the chickens world? Similar to the way he based the chicken on a joke, Stein noted that the elephant is based on a pun, or wordplay, and is a goofy jack-in-the-box character that can be a lot of fun. When I tried putting him into the chickens world of reading stories with her father, it suddenly came into place; it seemed he was a natural.

Stein explained how sticking with different characters and scenarios is part of his creative process. I never give up on ideas, he said. I have many of them on the back burner, and many journals filled with images and bits of stories. I may not live long enough to do all of them, but its a very satisfying thing when one of them falls into place and becomes a book.

In the new book, the chicken comes home from school excited that shes learned about the elephant of surprise. Her father inquires, Dont you mean the element of surprise? He then goes on to explain that the element of surprise is the part of the story that makes you say, whoa! I didnt know that was going to happen.  To which the young chicken responds, Well, an elephant in a story always makes me say whoa!  As part of young chickens homework, she and Papa read three familiar fairy tales together, in which the elephant makes unexpected and absurd appearances.

For the cover image, Stein wanted to include the familiar father-daughter chicken duo and introduce the elephant in the room, too. It was a bit of a design challenge to get all the characters in there, he admitted. I wanted the elephant to be tempting you to come into the book by being cute and showing you that he really is there and you have to look for him. He noted that within the story, its almost like hide-and-seek between the chicken and elephant, so its got that tantalizing come and find me thing going on on the cover.



Stein is eager to see the reaction to Elephant of Surprise from fans of Interrupting Chicken. But hes also excited about another companion project he has on tap. Honey, a follow-up to his book 2007 title Leaves, comes out from Nancy Paulsen Books on March 27. Im really proud of that one too, he said. Its like a new visit with an old friend from the beginning of my career, and Bear is one of my favorite characters.

Stein feels a fondness for both the chicken and the bear, believing that those two characters are the closest to who I am. Theyre very different from each other. One is a lot more meditative and reflective and the other is much more bouncy and impatient. He recalls that his cousin and dear friend once said,  I think your best books are the ones that are the most you, and I thought, yeah, thats true. Isnt that cool how the most truthful thing becomes the most accepted by other people? I feel like thats how I want things to bethat if something is important to me it will be important to someone else.

In addition to working on other potential book projects, Stein is also developing a puppet show based on Interrupting Chicken with his wife (prior to his publishing career, Stein held an early job in the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in New York Citys Central Park.) Were both really into puppetry, he said, and its something that I love to dobring a live show to kids. The couple hopes that the eventual production is something theyll be able to take around to schools. Its magic, he said. Theres just something about it, even for adults. When you see a puppet, there is that sense of wonder.
Lonely Planet Kids, the childrens imprint of travel media brand Lonely Planet, has announced the appointment of Hanna Otero as publisher. The hire is part of the houses ongoing expansion in the North American market. Beginning on January 8, Otero took the helm from former publisher Tim Cook.

Also joining Otero in the childrens imprints N.Y. office is Lisa Ford, who has been named production manager. In addition, there are plans to bring on an art director, editor, and commissioning editor for the team, which currently includes art director Andy Mansfield in London. As part of the imprints reorganization, Nora Rawn, senior editor of illustrated nonfiction, and an incoming art director will be based in N.Y., reporting to Robin Barton, associate publisher of illustrated nonfiction in London.

Lonely Planet began publishing childrens books with a packager in 2011, and launched its own childrens imprint in 2014. The Lonely Planet Kids list now approaches 100 titles. Piers Pickard, managing director of publishing in London, told PW, Our sales are really good and theyre growing each year. In 2017, we published 22 kids books. In 2018 well do 27, and in 2019 were looking to do around 35. Of the U.S. expansion, he said, We want to make books that work everywhere. And that means putting a bit more emphasis on the American market.

Popular Lonely Planet Kids books this past holiday season, according to Pickard, included The Dinosaur Atlas, which presents information on dinosaurs in the form of maps, and The Incredible Cabinet of Wonders, a collaboration with 12 renowned museums from around the world. Other notable titles of 2017 included How Animals Build and the First Words series. Across all formats, Pickard said the brands mission is kickstarting the travel bug in young readers.

New Directions



As the childrens imprint grows, the group is seeking new ways to reach wider audiences. Pickard said, Were roughly doubling the size of our childrens team and looking to at least double our list. Were very much a branded publisher, but as we enter the kids arena, were finding that we can have a wider footprint. In particular, he cited potential for growth in board books, picture books, and novelty formats.

Otero brings expertise in a wide range of formats for young readers. She joins Lonely Planet from Sterling Childrens Books, where she served as editorial director, overseeing middle grade fiction, picture books, nonfiction, and novelty and board books. Otero began her career working for Teach for America. She said, I had always loved kids, and that experience ignited my love of learning. She then set out to combine those two passions, landing in educational publishing, at Frank Schaffer Publications and McGraw-Hill Education, and in 2002 she helped launch Barnes & Nobles Flash Kids line of educational products.

Otero said of her recent move, Childrens is a newish category for Lonely Planet. Im excited to take the goodwill people already have for this brand and bring it to a new audience. The challenge is finding ways to meet kids where they are todayto bring them topics that will fascinate and engage, and pull them away from all the other things competing for their attention.

Speaking of potential areas for growth, Otero described what she sees as a current trend of childrens books taking on fascinating topics in a fun way. Theres an appetite for increasingly sophisticated subject matter in younger age groups. She pointed to Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (Timbuktu Labs) and Sourcebooks Baby University series of board books, which includes Quantum Physics for Babies by Chris Ferrie, as examples of this trend. There are all kinds of interesting new ways of bringing nonfiction to kids, she said. It opens the door for us to focus on culture, history, architecturetopics that seemed academic beforeand give them a fun treatment.

Otero emphasized the imprints continued commitment to introducing different cultural experiences to young readers through books. Having grown up in an Air Force family, and having lived all over the world as a child, she said, I was exposed to new cultures and new ways of living, which really shaped me as a person. Thats something I want to bring to kids. And I think thats what Lonely Planet means to people: the idea of adventure and discovery.

Pickard echoed the importance of the brands global perspective. Its an interesting time politically. Parents want their kids to be looking outward at the moment, as global citizens. And it seems like thats an area where Lonely Planet has a lot to say. He described plans for new books building on the theme of multicultural exploration. In 2018, were very excited about a title called The Kids Book, [which profiles] 75 kids from around the worldtheir life in their words. That will be the focus of our marketing this year. Were figuring out how we can get [the children featured in the book] talking to other kids around the world.

Otero also noted the ongoing push, across the childrens publishing industry, for more diverse books. What I think Lonely Planet can do is to come at diversity from a different angle, she said, showing all of the things people do around the world, and how they make us both different and the same.
Newbery Honor author Jacqueline Woodson took up the mantle of the sixth National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature on January 9 at the Library of Congress, during a ceremony presided over by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. National Ambassador Emeritus Gene Luen Yang was also present, passing the torch to his successor.

The National Ambassador program was launched in 2008 by the Childrens Book Council, Every Child a Reader, and the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress as a means of fostering a love of literature in children and teens. During her two-year term as Ambassador, Woodson will visit schools and libraries nationwide, speaking with students about the joys and rewards of literacy, and sharing her platform, Reading = Hope x Change.

Weve gathered a selection of photo highlights from the inauguration ceremony. All photos by Shawn Miller, Library of Congress.

Woodson (standing, l.) welcomes attendees to the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C.

Hayden (center) presented Woodson with her official medallion, as former Ambassador Gene Luen Yang looked on.

Woodson joined Hayden in conversation about her path to becoming a writer, and the need for literature that reflects our diverse world. As a child reading Mildred D. Taylors Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and the works of Virginia Hamilton, Woodson said, Suddenly I realized that, not only could I be on the page, but I could grow up to be a woman of color who wrote.

In spite of the many devices and distractions competing for kids attention in the digital age, Woodson is hopeful for the future of literacy: Young people love story, and they love being engaged. To the young people gathered today, the power to create change is in your hearts and heads and hands.

Taking the podium, Woodson described her platform and spoke to the transformative power of literature, saying, Books change us. They can help us have the bigger conversations.

During a Q & A, D.C.-area students asked Woodson about her writing and inspiration. But the first two questions were more direct: What are you going to do after youre National Ambassador? and Who will be the next National Ambassador?

Woodson with her partner, Juliet Widoff (l.), and their children, Toshi and Jackson-Leroi.

(From l.): The first National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature, Jon Scieszka, joined Woodson, Yang, and Hayden for a group selfie. What an honor to follow in the footsteps of groundbreaking Ambassadors before me, Woodson said during her remarks.

To see a full video of the inauguration, click here.
The Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) has hired Heather Duncan for the position of executive director. Duncan takes over from Laura Ayrey Burnett, who announced her resignation in November after seven years in the job.

Duncan comes to the organization from the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, where she has worked for 28 years, most recently as director of marketing and events. She previously served on the board of directors of MPIBA, as well as its advisory board. She was elected board president last spring, and was due to assume the role on January 1. Duncan confirmed that the organization will announce a new board president soon.

As for establishing priorities, Duncan said she intends to expand on the agenda established by Burnett. "I plan to reach out to our membership and visit as many stores in the region as I can, she said. "In particular, I also want to visit stores in our region that are not members. Many of these are in smaller towns or rural places and could derive a different value from the organization than stores in larger cities."

Duncan, who will remain based in Denver, confirmed that the next two MPIBA Fall Discovery Shows will take place in Denver. She said that she plans no significant changes to the format for the foreseeable future, but does have ideas for some new educational sessions and potential vendors.

"Denver, which is a hub for several airlines, is very convenient for many people," she said, adding that the show could be be moved after 2019. "The MPIBA covers a massive part of the country, from Montana to the bottom of Texas, so we have a lot of ground to cover." Texas, she went on, is the most likely potential location for the show, or the organization's spring meeting. "After Colorado, Texas has our highest number of members."
The board of directors of F+W Media has fired most of the publishers entire upper management team, replacing them with Greg Osberg, who has been named interim CEO. The only high-ranking exec to remain at the company is CFO Jennifer Graham.

Gone from the publisher are CEO Tom Beusse and lieutenants Joe Siebert and Joe Romello. Beusse was hired in January 2016 to succeed David Nussbaum, who left late in 2015 to head up Americas Test Kitchen.

In his letter to employees and in a brief interview with PW, Osberg said his mission is to accelerate F+Ws efforts to move from a print business to one that offers print and digital products, holds events, and engages in e-commerce. He said his three priorities are finding operational efficiencies (Folio: magazine reports a number of layoffs in December), growing revenue, and moving ahead with F+W's digital transformation. He said he has no preconceived ideas about F+W and will be looking at all aspects of the business.

To help him speed up F+W's transformation, the board has also has hired the media and publishing advisory firm FTI Consulting. Osberg said he will be working with Ken Harding, the leader of FTI's publishing group, to accelerate F+W's efforts to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in today's changing media landscape.

Osberg told employees that his own background focuses on digitally transforming traditional media companies with legacy operations in print media and launching web-based businesses. He had served as publisher and CEO of Philadelphia Media Networks (which includes The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com) and as president and worldwide publisher of Newsweek and Newsweek.com, both of which were in the midst of transformation when Osberg joined.

CORRECTION: This story previously misspelled Ken Harding's surname as "Hardy." We regret the error.
The National Book Foundation will launch an adult-focused reading initiative, Raising Readers, after receiving one of seven 2018 Mayor's Grants for Cultural Impact from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The program, which will be implemented in partnership with the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), aims, the NBF said, to "to empower adults who work with and raise children to expand their own love of books and reading, in order to better model the habit of reading for pleasure with the young people in their lives."

The initiative will provide paid professional development training for DYCD provider staff, who will work with young people through afterschool and summer programs, and will pair staff with NBF teaching artists to collaboratively run reading circle series for parents at local DYCD sites across the city. Other programs included in the initiative include book giveaways, lectures from high-profile authors,, and book shopping opportunities for participants.

"We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Department of Youth and Community Development, and, with the launch of this new initiative, to further enrich the work we do together," Lisa Lucas, executive director of the NBF, said in a statement. "Over the last few years we've been able to encourage a love of reading in young people around New York City, helping provide access to the joys of book ownership through our Book Up Summer Storytellers collaboration with DYCD and Boomwriter. With the help of this grant, we will be able to implement a more holistic approach that offers resources to the parents and service providers whose own reading habits will directly impact the children in their lives."

Among other literary programs launched through the grant is the Free Verse Poetry Apprentice Project, a collaboration between Carnegie Hall and the NYC Department of Probation that will provide free, year-round literary arts programming designed to connect people on probation with their neighborhoods.
NavPress to Publish New Manifesto for Men

Kenny Luck has signed a multiple-book deal with NavPresss Don Pape and David Zimmerman. The first book, for which NavPress has acquired world rights, is Dangerous Good, which is scheduled for June 2018 publication. The book is a manifesto for the next generation of men to rise up in an honorable manner, with attention paid to upholding the dignity of all, particularly women.

Tyndale Kids Jumps for Veggie Tales Co-Creator

Linda Howard of Tyndale Kids, through Dan Lynch of Brentwood Studios, acquired world rights to The Dead Sea Squirrels series by Mike Nawrocki, co-founder of VeggieTales. The six-book series features a pair of squirrels who lived in the time of Christ and are now in our time teaching biblical truths to early readers. Expected release date is Spring 2019.

McCleneghan Moves to WJK

Carol Mann of Carol Mann Agency brokered a deal with Jessica Miller Kelley of Westminster John Knox for world rights to Bromleigh McCleneghans tentatively titled Really Freakin Lucky: Blessing, Privilege, and the Work of God, with publication set for Fall 2019. McCleneghan, who has written widely on sex, abortion, love, and feminism, breaks down the concepts of blessing and providence and examines their connections to economic and racial privilege in America.

SparkHouse Acquires Picture Book by Ellis

SparkHouse Family editor Naomi Krueger acquired world rights to The Fabulous World That God Made by Joyce K. Ellis, with Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency as agent. The picture book is written loosely in the style of This Is the House That Jack Built, and is expected to be released in Spring 2019.
French Lifestyle Book Draws Multiple Buyers

On behalf of French publisher Grasset, 2 Seas Literary sold A Paris by Jeanne Damas in several sales, including in a joint deal to Penguin Press (U.S.) and Viking UK. Deals have also been made in Korea and Spain. Grasset published the novel, which was written with Lauren Bastide, in October 2017. The fashion/ coffee-table book portrays 20 Parisian woman of various ages and backgrounds, using photos and biographical information. Damas created the clothing like Rouje.

Swedish Crime Novel Sells to Orion

Orion Publishing in the U.K. acquired world English rights to Annabelle by Lina Bengtsdotter from Bonnier Rights Sweden in a deal brokered by Regal Hoffmann & Associates. Published last year, the novel has been a bestseller in Sweden, and rights have sold in 14 territories. Orion will publish the title, about a detective investigating the case of a missing girl in the town where she grew up, in December 2018.

Spanish Thriller Moves to the U.S.

The Spanish thriller The Black Jersey by Jorge Zepeda, which recently sold to Polish house Sonia Draga, has been snapped up in another deal, this time to an American publisher. Random House's Caitlin McKenna who took world English rights to the murder mystery set during the Tour de France. Planeta will publish the novel, which has been in seven international deals to date, in Spain and Latin America in June. The Pontas Agency controls all rights, and is comparing the book to work by Alan Bradley and Louise Penny.

Re-Issued Italian Crime Novel Series Spur German Sale and Film Deal

The recently re-issued collection of novels by Giorgio Scerbanenco known as the Milano Quartet, originally published in Italy in the 1960s, sold to Folio Verlag in Germany with film rights optioned by Italian production company O'Groove/Tramp. The books follow a doctor-turned-detective as he investigates crimes. Folio plans to release the book later this year. Piergiorgio Nicolazzini Literary controls all rights to the title.
Following the strategy it unveiled last month, Telefonica has launched Movistar TV in Costa Rica in a bid to increase its presence in the satellite TV market.





Subscription to the service, which covers the entire territory, is currently only available in Movistars stores but from next week, clients will be able to subscribe online. Movistar TV will only work as a pre-paid service.Subscribers will also have to purchase or rent one of Telefonicas set-top boxes (STBs) in order to access the platform, either through the regular direct-to-home (DTH) box or a hybrid STB, the same Deco Smart HD that has been distributed by the telco in other LATAM territories since 2016.The smart box will integrate Telefonicas over-the-top (OTT) and video-on-demand (VOD) service, Movistar Play.As for packages, Movistar TV has launched in Costa Rica with four different plans, from basic (15 HD networks, 54 SD channels) to premium with 25 HD channels and the entire HBO and FOX signals portfolio.With 4.5 million pay-TV subscribers in Latin America, the Spanish telco giant aims to boost growth in Central America, where it also recently launched operations in Guatemala and Nicaragua.In Costa Rica it will find a mature market (over 50% service penetration) with a satellite TV segment dominated by Sky and Claro.
n February 2017, according to Michael Wolffs new book, Fire And Fury: Inside the Trump White House, Tony Blair met with Jared Kushner in Washington. Blair, the story goes, was eager as ever to please and offered Kushner what Wolff describes as a juicy nugget of information. There was, he suggested, the possibility that the British had had the Trump campaign staff under surveillance, monitoring its telephone calls and other communications and possibly even Trump himself. The implication was that the British government had done this to win favor with the Obama administration. However: It was unclear whether Blairs information was rumor, informed conjecture, his own speculation, or solid stuff. After Trump learned of the news, Kushner and Steve Bannon decided to ask the CIA whether Blairs scoop was accurate. A few days later, Wolff concludes, the CIA opaquely reported back that the information was not correct; it was a miscommunication. 
WASHINGTON -- The unceasing debate over Ivanka Trump is whether she is a clueless enabler or a savvy troll, jabbing her father with sly tweets. Whatever the answer to the Ivanka Trump riddle, whether she is a dupe or a nettle, it has become obvious that she serves no useful role in this administration. She has failed to temper any of her father's worst instincts -- of temperament or of ideology. So these days, she mostly deserves ignoring.

Mostly. But her Monday night tweet praising Oprah Winfrey's Golden Globes speech merits attention -- actually, it merits derision -- if only because it is such a classic of the Ivanka Trump genre, so brazenly heedless of her father's behavior and her own complicity.

"Just saw @Oprah's empowering & inspiring speech at last night's #GoldenGlobes," Ivanka Trump tweeted. "Let's all come together, women & men, & say #TIMESUP."

Oh yes, let's.

How dare she.

"For too long," Winfrey said, "women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those [abusive] men. But their time is up. Their time is up."

Daughters want to respect their fathers, to believe the best of even the most flawed, so perhaps Ivanka Trump gets a bit of a pass when it comes to the allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault involving her own father. Even if the stories are multiple and consistent. Even if they are paired with the "Access Hollywood" tape. Even if the president dismissed the women as liars too unattractive to merit his attention -- and then did not follow through with his threatened lawsuits.

But how, how, can Ivanka Trump justify her "you go, girl" Oprah cheerleading with her silence about her father's endorsement of accused child molester Roy Moore, the failed Republican Senate candidate in Alabama?

Early on after The Washington Post reported the allegations against Moore, when the official position of the Trump White House was that the conduct was disqualifying if true, Ivanka Trump told The Associated Press that "there is a special place in hell for people who prey on children," adding, "I've yet to see a valid explanation, and I have no reason to doubt the victims' accounts."

After which the White House decided that a Senate seat was worth a (credibly accused) child molester after all, and the president went all-in for Moore. From Ivanka Trump, silence. There is a special place in hell for people who prey on children, but there's room for those who overlook such conduct for partisan advantage and for those who tacitly condone such amorality.

And who then seek to position themselves as champions of the very victims whose concerns they have been happy to minimize or ignore. Spare us the "let's come together" feel-good-isms, the trite adjectives (empowering, inspiring), the empty hashtags.

Ivanka, #TimesUp.

(c) 2018, Washington Post Writers Group
Public agitation in Iran has many wondering about the fate of the almost 40-year Islamic republic. As evident from the way in which the latest wave of protests has been contained, popular unrest is unlikely to bring down Irans clerical regime. That said, the demonstrations underscore a political economic problem in the Shiite Islamist state. Before it can truly address its economic problems, it needs to sort out the war that the regime is having with itself.

Jan. 8 marks one year since the death of Irans most influential cleric and former president, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Normally, we at GPF do not pay much attention to individual political leaders since they matter only so much when it comes to geopolitics. But in this case, there is a strange development: Reportedly, President Hassan Rouhani has ordered a review of the investigation into Rafsanjanis death. Rafsanjani, a founder of the Islamic republic, was found dead in his pool. The explanation given was that the octogenarian leader died of cardiac arrest, but the reports that surfaced in recent weeks quoting family members say his body had unusually high radiation levels.

It is strange (to say the least) that this inquiry into Rafsanjanis death comes at a time when Irans political establishment is trying to move past serious unrest. This story is emblematic of the struggles within the clerical regime, which have only gotten worse over the past decade. These internal differences are being exacerbated by the public uprising. Just as Rouhanis opponents tried to take advantage of the unrest to weaken the president, his faction appears to be trying to use Rafsanjanis death as a countermove  among many others.

Though many see Rafsanjani as a symbol of a corrupt political elite, many others see him as a symbol of political moderation. Rafsanjani left an indelible mark on the countrys political system. He was a close associate of the founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led the uprising against the shah. After the revolution, Rafsanjani held several pivotal positions in the regime.

Khomeini appointed him to the Council of the Islamic Revolution, which existed from January 1979 to July 1980 with the purpose of transitioning the country from the monarchy to the Islamic republic. During this same period, Rafsanjani also served as interim interior minister. In 1980, he was elected speaker of parliament, a position he held for nine years. When Khomeini died, Rafsanjani played a key role in the succession of the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Then, from 1989 to 1997, Rafsanjani served two consecutive terms as president.

In 1989, he also assumed the chairmanship of the powerful Expediency Council, which was created to mediate between parliament and the Guardian Council (a 12-member clerical entity with oversight of legislation and the power to vet candidates for public office) and later granted supervisory authority over all three branches of government. Rafsanjani held this position until his death. In addition, from 1983 until his death he served as a member of the popularly elected Assembly of Experts, an 86-member clerical body responsible for electing the supreme leader, holding him accountable and removing him, if and when necessary. From 2007 to 2011 he served as the chairman of the assembly.

Rafsanjani is best known for being the father of the pragmatic conservative camp within Tehrans political establishment. In this way, he had one foot in the camp of the hard-line clerical establishment and the other in the reformist trend that came to prominence under his successor, former President Mohammad Khatami.

Deeply cognizant of the public mood, as well as the strength of the hard-liners who have dominated the Islamic republic, Rafsanjani long sought to strike a balance between the two sides. His power began to fade after he lost a re-election bid against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005. Four years later he sided with the reformists who claimed foul play in the elections in which former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi lost to Ahmadinejad.

The uprising known as the Green Movement that followed the controversial election forced Rafsanjani to return to trying to find some balance between the liberal and conservative camps. However, he had made enough enemies on the right that, despite his positions on the Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts, his influence continued to wane. His last major accomplishment was supporting the 2013 election of his protege, the current president, Rouhani, who has emerged as the de facto leader of the pragmatic conservatives and their reformist allies.

It is important to note that these categories  pragmatic conservatives, ultra-conservatives and reformists  are no longer coherent blocs; rather, they represent broad coalitions containing multiple factions. The Iranian political establishment has been losing its coherence, especially since the intra-conservative rifts that emerged during the Ahmadinejad presidency (2005-13). In other words, the regime is fast approaching an impasse (if it hasnt reached it already) where it cannot continue to expect that it will maintain social stability without undergoing substantial political economic reforms. The regime must evolve to preserve itself.

The current supreme leader, at age 78, is near the end of his career. The Islamic republic has had only two supreme leaders  Khomeini and Khamenei  and most of the founders are dead. The only prominent survivors are Khamenei, Rouhani and the 90-year-old Guardian Council chief, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati. The political fragmentation coupled with the inability of the state to provide for the needs of a growing and increasingly younger population make succession all the more difficult. The tug of war between the republican and theocratic components of the hybrid regime and the disproportionate power wielded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps further complicate matters.

The old guard is a dying breed, and its allies lack the ability to address the problems of governance. This has enabled Rouhani to get aggressive in pushing for economic reforms. Just this week he criticized religious organizations for not paying tax. On Jan. 9, he made an even more profound remark, according to a statement published on the presidencys website: The problem we have today is the gap between officials and the young generation. Our way of thinking is different to their way of thinking. Their view of the world and of life is different to our view. We want our grand-childrens generation to live as we lived, but we cant impose that on them.

Rouhani and his allies understand that the problems are not just economic; they are also political. The threat to the Islamic republic comes not from protesters but from the disagreement within the regime on how to govern the country of 80 million. The contradiction hardwired into its political system threatens its long-term stability. Irans political problems are catching up with it at a time when it was hoping to consolidate the geopolitical gains it has made over the years during the meltdown in the Arab world.
Less than three days after Georgias New Years day victory over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, the school sent out an unusual message for an unusual event.
One of the single most tragic days in millennial history is when Twitter announced on October 27, 2016 that they would be closing down Vine, t
UPDATED at 9:40 A.M. on 2017-01-10

Rohingya leaders have called on the United States and other members of the international community to ensure that refugees from the Muslim minority who fled a military crackdown in Myanmars northern Rakhine state to neighboring Bangladesh not be forced to return to the Southeast Asian country unless officials can guarantee their security and restore their citizenship.

The Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown targeting the Rohingya in response to deadly terrorist attacks by a Muslim militant group in August 2017. The Rohingya endured killings, arson, rape, and torture during the campaign, which forced about 655,000 of them to flee to safety in Bangladesh.

Rohingyas must not be sent back to the genocide zones of Burma without security and citizenship, said Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of Burma Task Force USA, a coalition of 19 U.S. and Canadian Muslim organizations dedicated to advocating for the Rohingya and ending genocide in Myanmar.

He was one of several Rohingya leaders from across the U.S. who participated in a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on the situation in northern Rakhine state and were part of a delegation that met on Capitol Hill.

Saw Hlaing, executive member of the Burmese American Muslims Association based in California, told RFAs Myanmar Service that the government of Myanmars de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi cannot resolve the problems in ethnically and religiously divided Rakhine state without the collaboration of military leaders and the nations former leaders.

He said that a relative told him how Myanmar army soldiers and ethnic Rakhine mobs attacked Rohingya villages during the crackdown.

My sister saw with her own eyes in her village that the Myanmar army and [ethnic] Rakhine extremists set fires and killed people, Saw Hlaing said. The villages name is Vasala in the Rohingya language.

The Myanmar government and army have denied allegations of atrocities committed by soldiers against the Rohingya, even though both the United Nations and United States say the crackdown amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Citizenship Law unfair

Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement in November to repatriate Rohingya refugees who wished to voluntarily return to Myanmar and who could prove prior residency there.

Myanmar is in the process of issuing the Rohingya national verification cards as part of a citizenship eligibility process for undocumented people in Rakhine state.

Kyaw Soe Aung, executive director of the Rohingya American Society, said that the Rohingya community rejects the cards because all Rohingya who live in Myanmar have other forms of identification and official lists documenting all family members

We would like to ask the Myanmar government to determine citizenship according to these documents, he said.

Myanmars 1982 Citizenship Law denies the Rohingya citizenship because they are not among the countrys 135 official ethnic groups.

Kyaw Soe Aung told RFA that the Citizenship Law is unfair.

That law was issued without peoples consent, he said. We want to ask whether this law was issued just for Muslims or all people in Myanmar. If it is only for Muslims, then it is discrimination.

He suggested that the government accept the Rohingya refugees back, help them resettle since most of their villages and homes were burned during the crackdown, and give them back their rights.

If this is done, the problems in Rakhine state will disappear, he said.

Data verification

Myanmar plans to begin repatriating about 100,000 Rohingya refugees on Jan. 22, though rights groups, the U.N., and Rohingya leaders themselves have warned against a hasty return, saying that the Rohingya may not be able to produce documents proving prior residency since many fled in haste to escape violence by security forces.

They also have cautioned that Rohingya who return will continue to face repression and discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and are denied citizenship and access to basic services.

The plan that Myanmar and Bangladesh have come up with does not take into account the rights of the returning Rohingya, Kyaw Soe Aung said.

The agreement said Myanmar will accept those who have documents or evidence that shows that they previously lived in Rakhine state before, he said. Most of them dont have any documents or evidence because the Myanmar army and security guards burned their houses, and they had to flee to Bangladesh.

Myanmar officials, however, say they have documents to verify the residency of Rohingya who want to return but no longer possess official papers.

The Myanmar government has to receive the Rohingya back by checking its immigration data and giving them their full rights, Kyaw Soe Aung said.

Kyaw Soe Aung also said the Myanmar government must implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, a body led by former U.N. head Kofi Annan which called for reviews of the countrys Citizenship Law and for an end to restrictions on the Rohingya to prevent further violence in the region.

I completely accept the suggestions in his report, he said. If Daw [honorific] Aung San Suu Kyis government and military can implement the Annan commissions suggestions, the problems in Rakhine State will be resolved, I believe.

Reported by Khin Maung Soe for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Hundreds of signatories have lent their support to a petition calling on Vietnams President Tran Dai Quang and the countrys Supreme Court to reverse a death sentence for a farmer who killed three people in a land dispute, saying the verdict in the case is too severe.



A court in central Vietnams Dak Nong province sentenced Dang Van Hien, 42, to death last week for shooting dead three employees of the Long Son Limited Company and injuring 16 others in October 2016 when they tried to raze the cashew and coffee fields he had cultivated for years on the firms land in Tuy Duc district.



Fellow farmers Ninh Viet Binh and Ha Van Truong were also convicted of murder and received 20 and 12 years in prison, respectively, while Long Son Limiteds owner, Nguyen Thien Suu, was handed six years in jail for destroying Hiens property.



Hiens sentence has drawn criticism from observers, who say the farmer was forced to defend his land because of the companys wrongdoing, and that he should instead have been tried for murder due to provocation under Article 95 of Vietnams Penal Code, which carries a maximum seven-year jail term.



As of Tuesday, five NGOs and nearly 400 individuals had signed a petition, dated Jan. 8, requesting that President Quang and the Supreme Court undertake a serious review of the verdict against Hien, who they said opened fire as a last resort after suffering a lengthy period of repression and sabotage.



The sentence handed to Hien was too heavy and unfair, the petition said, adding that as Vietnamese citizens, the signatories demand justice from the government.



Nha Trang-based independent journalist Vo Van Tao, one of the petitions signatories, told RFAs Vietnamese Service Tuesday that the Dak Nong incident had sparked anger and shock among the public.



When I received the petition requesting the state to reconsider the verdict, I immediately signed it, posted it on my Facebook page, and contacted intellectuals I know in the country and abroad to join me in adding their names, he said.



We share the same opinionthats why the petition came together so quickly and smoothly. We all think that this sentence is extremely unfair.



Among the reasons given for why Hiens sentence should be reconsidered, the petition states that the charge of murder is inconsistent with the case and the actions of the defendants, that Hien turned himself in and should be shown leniency, and that Dak Nong and Tuy Duc authorities were negligent in failing to resolve the dispute before it became violent.



The petition also alleges that the legal system and law enforcement agencies do not protect citizens and instead are tools used by special interest groups to rob the people of their land, that legislation on land ownership has granted authorities vast power to grab land, and that society will be left unstable and chaotic when the people no longer trust the government to act in their interests.



Land disputes are the main source of protests in one-party Communist Vietnam, where dissent is not tolerated.



Such disputes accounted for 70 percent of all complaints lodged against the government in 2012, according to state media, and remain the top reason for complaints by Vietnamese citizens, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a meeting last month.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Emily Peyman. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
TBILISI -- The family of a Georgian teenager who died after being badly injured in what authorities said was a counterterrorist operation in the Pankisi Gorge region is calling for a thorough investigation into the death.

Doctors said 19-year-old Temirlan Machalikashvili died in a Tbilisi hospital early on January 10 after being in a coma for two weeks.

Machalikashvili's mother, Mediko Margoshvili, claimed that her son died after doctors intentionally disconnected him from the life-support system without the familys permission.

She also said this was done as his sons possible transfer to a foreign clinic for treatment was being considered.

A leader of the Pankisi Gorge elders, Khaso Khangoshvili, told Georgia's Channel 1 television that people responsible for Machalikashvilis death must be held accountable.

Machalikashvili was shot in the head during the operation by Georgian security forces on December 26 in the Pankisi Gorge, near the border with Russia's volatile southern republic of Chechnya, and had been in a coma since. Several other residents of Pankisi Gorge, which is home to Muslims with ethnic ties to Chechens, were arrested in the sweep.

Security officials have said officers shot Machalikashvili because he intended to throw a grenade at security troops. But relatives and friends say he was lying in bed holding a mobile phone, not a grenade, when he was shot.

They contend he was not a militant and had no ties with any suspected terrorists.

On December 27, following protests in the Pankisi Gorge, Georgian prosecutors launched an investigation to determine whether excessive force was used during the security operation.

Georgia's Ombudswoman Nino Lomjaria said on January 10 that she will do everything to find the truth about the teenagers death.

"As the ombudswoman, I promise I will use all my abilities to find out if excessive force had been used during the special operation, necessary medical service was provided in a timely fashion, and everything was done to save his life," Lomjaria said.

Machalikashvili's death came a day after security forces held another counterterrorist operation in the Pankisi Gorge and detained a local resident, Zurab Idoidze, on suspicion of assisting a terrorist group.

Chechnya was the site of two post-Soviet separatist wars and an Islamist insurgency that spread to other parts of Russia's mostly Muslim North Caucasus.
A German government official and an Iranian opposition group say a top Iranian cleric under investigation in Germany for alleged crimes against humanity has left the country, Reuters reports.

The news agency quoted an unidentified German government official as saying in the afternoon of January 11 that Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi was aboard an Iran-bound plane.

Javad Dabiran, a spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that the exiled opposition group saw Shahrudi leave the hospital in the northern city of Hannover where he was receiving treatment. Dabiran said the cleric later departed from Hamburg airport on an Iran Air flight.

Two complaints were filed earlier this week in Germany against Shahrudi, who is accused of committing crimes against humanity during his decade at the helm of Iran's judiciary.

One complaint was made by former Green Party lawmaker Volker Beck and the other by the NCRI, which also urged Berlin to prevent the cleric from leaving Germany.

The office of Germany's federal prosecutor said on January 10 that it was continuing to investigate whether to bring charges against the cleric, regardless of whether he leaves the country or not.

Shahrudi, who has been the target of protests and sharp criticism during his stay at a neurological treatment center in Hannover, has not publicly commented on the accusations against him.

The mass-circulation Bild daily's front-page headline on January 8 read: "Death Judge In Iran, Luxury Patient In Germany."

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Rainer Breul said on January 8 that Shahrudi sought treatment in Germany for a "serious illness" and that his request was granted after "credible health reasons" were given.

Shahrudi headed Iran's judiciary from 1999 to 2009. Amnesty International said that during that time, he carried out more than 2,000 executions, including of adolescents, while overseeing the torture of prisoners and arrests of political and human rights activists.

A coalition of Iranian human rights groups said it provided the German government with evidence Shahrudi "was responsible for the Islamic Revolutionary Courts that sent numerous human rights activists, defense lawyers, journalists, webloggers, political dissidents, and religious minorities to Irans notorious prisons, where they were subject to torture, rape, and murder."

The coalition quoted Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian human-rights lawyer and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as saying Shahrudi is directly responsible for the appointment of judges and prosecutors who have been responsible for persecutions and systematic violations of fundamental human rights. He must be held accountable.

Shahrudi currently is a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, which can pick and dismiss the supreme leader. He also heads the Expediency Council, a body that is intended to resolve disputes between Iran's parliament and the Guardians Council, a constitutional watchdog.

Shahrudi was a student of Iran's first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and is viewed as a strict disciple of current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

With reporting by Reuters and Bild
Iranian media say thousands of prisoners awaiting execution for drug crimes could be spared after the judiciary said previous death-row convictions should be reviewed following a softening in the country's law.

Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani on January 9 ordered judges to halt death sentences for some prisoners and to review their cases, the judiciary's Mizanonline news agency reported on January 10.

Mizanonline, pro-reform Shargh newspaper, and other dailies quoted Larijani as saying that the move "clarifies the fate of some 5,000 sentenced to death for drug trafficking" and that it would be applied retroactively.

He added that most of the convicts will see their death sentences commuted to jail terms of 25 to 30 years.

An unknown number of people are executed every year in Iran, but it is estimated by rights human groups to be in the hundreds, mainly for drug crimes.

Amnesty International has said that in 2016, Iran had the second-highest number of executions behind China.

Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnestys Middle East and North Africa deputy director, said the new rules could "spare hundreds from the gallows," but she added that Iran "must stop using the death penalty for drug-related offenses with a view to eventually abolishing it for all crimes."

The judiciarys announcement comes a few months after the Iranian parliament raised the threshold on the amount of drugs that would be considered a death-penalty case.

The new law raised the amounts that can trigger the death penalty from 30 grams to 2 kilograms for the production and distribution of narcotics such as heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines.

For natural substances such as opium and marijuana, the levels have been raised tenfold to 50 kilograms.

The amendment maintains the death penalty for those who head drug-trafficking gangs, exploit people below the age of 18 in doing so, or carry or draw firearms while in the commission of drug-related crimes.

Neighboring Afghanistan produces 90 percent of the world's opium, which is extracted from poppy resin and refined to make heroin, and Iran is a major transit route for the drug to western Asia and Europe.

With reporting by the BBC, AFP, and AP
A 19-year-old participant in Iran's recent street protests says that while the wave of public demonstrations has subsided, the antiestablishment unrest in December and early January opened many Iranians' eyes and the underlying anger remains.

"Nothing [the authorities] do will decrease people's anger and frustration," Hadi, the son of a working class family in the northwestern city of Tabriz, told RFE/RL.

Tabriz is one of more than 90 cities and towns where protests were unleashed after a December 28 demonstration in Mashhad, the country's second-largest city, over rising prices and other grievances.

At least 22 people are thought to have been killed in the unrest, which targeted government policies but also featured chants against Iran's clerically dominated system and attacks on police and other official institutions.

The demonstrations have tapered off in the past week amid a pushback by authorities that included harsh warnings and a conspicuous show of force by security troops, the blocking of Internet access and social media, and reports of three deaths in custody and thousands of arrests.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian officials have blamed the flare-up on foreign "enemies."

But President Hassan Rohani took a different tack, leaving open the possibility of foreign influence but adding, "We can't say that whoever who has taken to the street has orders from other countries." Rohani acknowledged that "people had economic, political, and social demands" and said Iranians "have a legitimate right to demand that we see and hear them and look into their demands."

Iranian officials were said to have eased some of the price increases stoking some of the protests.

Won't Get 'Fooled' Again

Hadi, who asked RFE/RL not to publish his last name, dismissed that and other steps as mere attempts to ward off public anger in the short term and said he thought such tactics have lost their effectiveness.

"They may decrease the price of eggs, thinking that they can fool people. But people are now very much aware," Hadi said.

Hadi talked of his own frustration at being accepted into Iran's Islamic Azad University but being unable to afford the school's fees.

"My father says [Islamic Republic of Iran founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] promised that we won't even pay for water, [that revolutionaries] said they would give everyone free housing," he said, adding that four decades later many Iranians struggle to make ends meet.

Hadi said he and dozens of others took to the streets of Tabriz to complain of high prices, poverty, and repression in a country where he says authorities "bully" citizens.

The protests, Iran's largest since a disputed election sent millions into the streets in 2009, were initially fueled by economic grievances and mostly young citizens frustrated by an ailing economy and a potentially bleak future.

Some Iranians envisaged rising prosperity two years after an international deal traded sanctions relief for checks on Tehran's nuclear program, and Rohani campaigned for election in 2013 and reelection last year pledging mild reforms and more jobs.

'Angry Young Men'

A journalist in Tehran who did not want to be named attributed the protests to "angry young men" disappointed by reformists and conservatives, with no hope in the future.

"They have nothing to lose," said the reporter, who had witnessed several protests in the Iranian capital.

The demonstrations morphed quickly into protests against the clerical establishment and the country's leaders. Protesters called for an "Iranian republic" instead of an "Islamic republic," while some complained that the clerics who have been ruling Iran since the 1979 revolution should "get lost."

Many demonstrators also complained of Iran's actions in the Middle East, including its military and other support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and aid to militants in the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon. They said Tehran should instead focus its resources on Iranians.

"Where in the world does a government spend its money on another country?" Hadi said. "[Assad] supports Iran because he is investing Iran's money in his country."

Hadi said he was frustrated at Rohani for abandoning social and economic promises: "He should take action, not just talk. He made many promises four years ago, but he hasn't achieved them."

But Hadi primarily blamed Khamenei -- who, as supreme leader, holds the final word on religious and political affairs in Iran -- for the state of affairs in the country, including the ailing economy and corruption.

"He is the main culprit, and his establishment," Hadi said, adding that Iranian leaders "don't know how to rule."

Khamenei was the target of some of the chants, with protesters shouting, "Death to the Dictator!" and, "Death to Khamenei!" in many places.

'Turning Point'

Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said last week that the people and security forces had ended the unrest, which it said was fomented by Iran's foreign enemies.

Former student leader Ali Afshari, who has been tortured in an Iranian jail for protesting against the establishment, also warned that there could be more unrest in Iran's future.

"The forces that took part in these protests are different than those behind other demonstrations we've seen in past years," said Afshari, who now lives in the United States. "They came out because of their basic needs; and since the establishment has serious problems on the economic front, it doesn't have the ability to respond to these needs."

Afshari predicted the latest wave of protests would mark a "turning point" in Iran's modern political history.

"The geographical scope of these protests were unprecedented in Iran's recent history. Within a week, protests were held spontaneously in 82 cities across Iran."

Meanwhile in Tabriz, Hadi insisted that the rage that sent him and others into to the streets won't go away.

"This regime has to go, that's what I want," he said. "In Tabriz, we say that now the regime is even afraid or our silence."

Accounts are just starting to emerge of detainees locked up in connection with the protests, and Iranian officials continue to block many social-media networks and other sources of information, including Western radio and television.

"Even if there are no more protests [right now], it will explode one day," Hadi said. "This is not the end."


WASHINGTON -- The United States says it is deeply concerned by reports that Iranian authorities have imprisoned thousands of citizens for participating in the antigovernment street protests that have rocked dozens of cities and town.

The White House on January 10 said it found even more disturbing reports that some of the demonstrators were tortured or killed.

We will not remain silent as the Iranian dictatorship represses the basic rights of its citizens and will hold Irans leaders accountable for any violations, a statement said.

It called for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Iran, including the victims of the most recent crackdown.

More than 90 cities and towns were hit by antigovernment protests after a December 28 demonstration in Mashhad, the country's second-largest city, over rising prices and other grievances.

At least 22 people have reportedly been killed in the unrest, which targeted government policies but also Iran's clerically dominated system.

An Iranian lawmaker said on January 9 that about 3,700 people have been arrested during the antigovernment protests. The number cited by reformist lawmaker Mahmud Sadeghi is far higher than figures announced by the authorities.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran said it had documented the deaths of three arrested protesters, the Associated Press reported on January 9.

One died at Tehran's Evin prison in what Iranian authorities said was a suicide. Another man detained in Arak, 235 kilometers southwest of the capital, also died, the center said. His family said their son's body bore an enormous head wound "as if he had been hit with an ax," the center said.

Iran's judiciary acknowledged a death in Arak via its Mizan news agency, saying an unnamed detainee committed suicide.

The center alleges a third detainee died in custody in Dezful, 460 kilometers southwest of Tehran. This death had not been reported before.

The condemnation from the White House comes after the House of Representatives nearly unanimously adopted a resolution expressing support for the people of Iran that are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive, corrupt regime."

The resolution, backed by a vote of 415-to-2 late on January 9, also condemned the government's "serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people" and called on the U.S. administration to issue new sanctions punishing human rights violators in Iran.

"U.S. sanctions target the oppressive, destabilizing regime, not the people of Iran," House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi on January 10 "strongly condemned" what he called the hostile resolution.

U.S. President Donald Trump has praised what he called the courage of the Iranian demonstrators and said that the United States would support them at the appropriate time.

On January 9, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei repeated accusations -- rejected by the United States and other governments -- that foreign countries including the United States and its allies were behind the protests.

Once again, the nation tells the U.S., Britain, and those who seek to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran from abroad that youve failed, and you will fail in the future, too, Khamenei said in a message on his official Twitter account.

Khamenei said that some of the calls being made by the demonstrators were honest and rightful demands. He did not elaborate.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
CHISINAU -- The speaker of Moldova's parliament, Andrian Candu, has signed legislation appointing seven new government ministers along with a law that bans Russian "media propaganda."

The signings on January 10 took place after Moldova's Constitutional Court suspended pro-Russia President Igor Dodon's powers on the issues and ruled that Candu could ratify the legislation, which was proposed by Moldova's pro-Western government and passed by pro-Western lawmakers in the parliament.

The so-called "media propaganda" law effectively bans the rebroadcasting in Moldova of Russian television programs on news, analysis, politics, and military issues.

The Constitutional Court ruled on January 5 that either Candu or Prime Minister Pavel Filip could sign the bill into law because Dodon had "refused twice to fulfill his constitutional duty to sign the bill into law."

Both Candu and Filip are members of the pro-Western Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM).

On January 2, the court ruled that the same procedure could be used to confirm Filip's nominees in a cabinet reshuffle that Dodon refused to ratify.

Dodon said Filip's nominees were incompetent and that some were corrupt.

Dodon is frequently at odds with Filip and his government, which favors closer ties with the EU and the United States.

Dodon on January 10 said Moldova's seven newly appointed ministers "lack legitimacy." He also said the Constitutional Court helped Filip's government to violate "the principles of democracy and a rule-of-law state."

Pro-Russia political parties in Moldova on January 10 called for street protests.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti condemned enactment of the law against rebroadcasting certain Russian television programs, saying it will be used to prohibit all Russian media broadcasts in Moldova.

Russian authorities also have been at odds with the PDM over its attempts to bolster Chisinau's ties with the EU and the United States.

The Moscow city court on January 10 upheld the legality of charges filed in absentia against the president of the PDM, Vlad Plahotniuc.

Plahotniuc, one of Moldova's most influential pro-Western politicians, was charged in absentia in November 2017 in Moscow's Basmanny district court of attempted murder in Russia.

Russian authorities allege that Plahotniuc was behind a March 2012 assassination attempt against German Gorbuntsov, the former owner of banks in Russia and Moldova.

Gorbuntsov was shot several times in east London by a man armed with a submachine gun, but survived the attack.

Aleksandr Nekrassov, a former Kremlin adviser, told the BBC in 2012 that the attack appeared to be linked to information Gorbuntsov claimed to have about the attempted assassination of another Russian banker, Aleksandr Antonov.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa, Interfax, and TASS
Pakistani protesters angry over the rape and killing of an 8-year-old girl have attacked a police station and another government office, resulting in the deaths of at least two people.

Senior police officer Imran Nawaz Khan told RFE/RL that the attack on the police station occurred on January 10 in Punjab Provinces district of Kasur.

Another official declined to say whether the two deaths were the result of police gunshots or other actions.

The violence broke out hours before the planned funeral of the girl, Zainab Ansari, whose body was found on January 9 in a garbage bin.

Local residents said the 8-year-old had gone missing after attending Koranic studies on January 4 while her parents were in Saudi Arabia to perform the umrah pilgrimage.

The girl's parents flew back to Pakistan on January 10.

"I want justice! I want justice!" the girl's mother told reporters at Islamabad's international airport.

"For the last two years, we are living in fear. Parents are scared to send their kids outside," her father said.

The abduction and killing drew widespread outrage in Pakistan after closed-circuit video that appeared to show her being led away by a stranger was shown on social media.





Nawaz Khan said one suspect has been arrested.

He added that 57 others had been detained but released after "their DNA did not match."

Ansari's case has attracted the attention of the country's civilian and military leadership, with Pakistan's chief justice calling for a police report within 24 hours, according to a Supreme Court statement.

A spokesman for the military tweeted that the army chief had directed "all-out support to civil administration to arrest the criminals and bringing them to exemplary justice."

Opposition leader Imran Khan urged authorities to act swiftly, saying in a Twitter message that "the condemnable and horrific rape of the minor had once again exposed how vulnerable children are."

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpa
Working in Chechnya -- one of the most dangerous places in Russia for human-rights activists -- Oyub Titiyev has kept a low profile personally, even as his organization churns out almost weekly accounts of alleged rights abuses in the North Caucasus republic.

Titiyev, the head of the Chechnya office of the respected Memorial Human Rights Center, was detained on January 9 on drug-possession charges that he and his supporters say were trumped up to punish him for his activism.

The 60-year-old Titiyev took over the position in 2010, shortly after the abduction and murder of his predecessor, Natalya Estemirova.

"They are trying to frighten us, but I believe we will find rather a lot of people who are ready to express solidarity to defend not only Oyub but his cause as well," Aleksandr Cherkasov, chairman of Memorial's board in Moscow, told RFE/RL. "Oyub Titiyev became the head of the Grozny office of Memorial after the murder of Natasha Estemirova. He understood perfectly well what he was getting into. He is a very good man, a very strong man."

In 2009, the Russian government declared the end of a 10-year state of emergency in war-torn Chechnya, withdrawing most federal troops and turning over control of the republic to Ramzan Kadyrov, a former guerrilla fighter against Moscow who remade himself as an outspoken loyalist of President Vladimir Putin.

Abductions, Executions, Other Atrocities

Nonetheless, independent rights monitors from organizations such as Memorial, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture have regularly documented cases of illegal abductions, torture, extrajudicial executions, and other atrocities they blame on armed formations controlled by Kadyrov that have come to be called "Kadyrovtsy."

Cherkasov said that after Estemirova was killed -- her killer or killers have never been brought to justice -- Memorial decided to handle "the most difficult and problematic cases" in Chechnya using a "mobile rights group" comprising activists from other parts of the country.

Local representatives headed by Titiyev provided informational support, looked into local cases, and assisted in the follow-up work after rulings against the government by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

"As far as high-profile cases are concerned, I know journalists who had to leave Russia for a long time after they covered such cases in Chechnya," Cherkasov said. "Oyub Titiyev was not involved in such cases, but, believe me, his work was no less important."

Chechen police claim they detained Titiyev with 180 grams of marijuana in his car.

Greater Risk

The accusations mirror those leveled earlier against Kadyrov opponents. In 2014, following public criticism of Kadyrov, activist Ruslan Kutayev was sentenced to four years in prison on drug-possession charges that he flatly denied. He was released on parole late last year.

In 2016, journalist Zhalaudi Geriyev of the Caucasian Knot website was also arrested on drug charges and sentenced to three years in prison. He remains in custody.

Both Kutayev and Geriyev said they were tortured while in the hands of Chechen law enforcement.

In March 2016, Igor Kalyapin, the head of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, was attacked and beaten in Grozny by about a dozen unknown men. Two years earlier, the organization's office in Grozny was ransacked and gutted by fire.

"Any human rights activity in Chechnya involves significantly greater risk than in any region of central Russia," Kalyapin told RFE/RL in 2016. "That is clear."

"I can't think of any regions where investigations were opposed and rights activists helping victims were pressured by the head of the region," Kalyapin added. "In Chechnya, this happens all the time."

With reporting by RFE/RL correspondents Yulia Suguyeva and Vadim Dubnov
A former Russian police officer who was sentenced to life in prison for the killings of 22 women is on trial again, charged with murdering 60 more women.

The second trial of convicted serial killer Mikhail Popkov, 53, began at the Irkutsk regional court in southeastern Siberia on January 10.

The judge announced the charges against Popkov and adjourned the trial until January 15, also ruling that the hearings will be held behind closed doors.

Popkov, a former police officer from the nearby city of Angarsk, was arrested in 2012 after a series of DNA tests linked him to rapes and murders of three women in 1997. He later confessed to killing more women, the authorities said.

In January 2015, Popkov was found guilty of the murder of 22 women and the attempted murder of two women between 1994-2000, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Authorities say he later confessed to killing 59 more women. They say he committed some of the killings while on duty, using his police car and uniform to trap his victims.

As a result of the additional investigation and alleged confessions, Popkov was charged in March 2017 with murdering 60 women.

Even the initial conviction made Popkov -- dubbed the Angarsk Maniac by Russian media -- one of the most prolific known serial killers in Russian and Soviet history.

Andrei Chikatilo was convicted in 1992 and executed in 1994 for raping, butchering, and in some cases cannibalizing as many as 52 people.

With reporting by TASS and Interfax
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. capitals city council plans to rename the street in front of the Russian Embassy after slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, a move that Moscow has complained about.

In separate votes on January 9, the Council of the District of Columbia passed the Boris Nemtsov Plaza Designation Act in its first reading and unanimously approved the renaming "on an emergency basis" pending final adoption of the permanent legislation.

The city initiative renames the block of Wisconsin Avenue that is home to the Russian Embassy in honor of Nemtsov, a reformist politician and fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin who was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin on February 27, 2015.

D.C. authorities must still get a permit from the House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Homeland Security, but council officials said a ceremony to erect the plaque noting the name change has tentatively been set for the third anniversary of his killing.

Federal legislation on renaming the portion of the major thoroughfare was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House in 2017 but has not been passed.

The Senate bill specifies that the address of the compound containing Russia's embassy, consulate, and ambassadors residence would be changed to 1 Boris Nemtsov Plaza.

Russian officials in the past have expressed opposition to the renaming to their U.S. counterparts. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by state-run TASS news agency on January 10 as saying it is up to the D.C. authorities to decide how they want to name the street in front of the embassy.

"This is a prerogative of the city authorities, he said, although he added it comes at a time when bilateral relations between the two countries still leave much to be desired, mildly speaking."

Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, chairman of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, wrote on Facebook after the city council vote that it would take effect on February 27.

In Moscow, Nemtsov supporters have established a makeshift memorial in his honor on the bridge where he was shot dead. But it has been repeatedly ransacked or removed by police or unknown people.

A plaque honoring Nemtsov that was mounted on his Moscow apartment building in September was declared illegal by city officials and was removed after less than one week by a radical pro-Kremlin activist group called SERB.

In June, a Moscow court found five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya guilty of Nemtsov's murder, and in July it sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 11 to 20 years.

But relatives and associates believe the killing was ordered at a higher level. They say justice will not be served until the person or people who ordered his assassination are identified and prosecuted.

At a public hearing in Washington in December, Nemtsov's daughter Zhanna Nemtsova told the city council that Putin's government wanted to "eradicate the memory" of her father.

She said the Kremlin "believes -- correctly -- that symbols are important and can potentially facilitate and inspire change."

"This explains the nervous reaction from the Russian Foreign Ministry when they first heard of the Washington, D.C., [street-naming] initiative," Nemtsova said.

"In today's Russia, where politics is dominated by isolationism and an archaic mind-set, the symbols of openness, a global-thinking democratic approach, and market reforms are much needed," Nemtsova told the council.

Mary Cheh, a city council member who co-sponsored the Boris Nemtsov Plaza Designation Act, said that "there is little doubt that his murder was motivated by his political beliefs, his popularity, and his frequent and open criticism of the Russian government."

Cheh also said that while Russian officials had repeatedly removed signs in Russia that memorialize Nemtsov, "the Russian government will not be able to do it here."
KYIV -- Ukrainian opposition figure Mikheil Saakashvili has been questioned by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), his lawyer says.

Lawyer Ruslan Chornolutskyy said Saakashvili was held at SBU headquarters for four hours on January 10 and was questioned for about 2 1/2 hours of that time.

Saakashvili told journalists the questioning was related to his political activities in Ukraine, where he has become a vocal critic of the government of President Petro Poroshenko.

He vowed to continue his opposition to the current rulers and to press efforts to establish a new government.

"We will destroy Ukraine's current political system and create a normal, democratic, and progressive Ukraine that will be a superpower in Europe," Saakashvili said.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Saakashvili -- the former governor of Ukraines Odesa region -- of abetting an alleged criminal group led by former President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia after his ouster in February 2014.

They also claim that protests led by Saakashvili in Ukraine are part of a Russian plot against the government in Kyiv.

Saakashvili, who is also the former president of Georgia, has strongly denied all the charges.

Ukrainian police on December 5 attempted to arrest Saakashvili, but his supporters crowded around a police vehicle where he was being detained and managed to set him free.

He was again detained three days later, but a judge on December 11 turned down a request by prosecutors to place him under house arrest.

Saakashvili was president of Georgia from 2004-13. He lost his Georgian citizenship in 2015 when he accepted Ukrainian citizenship and took the post of Odesa governor.

He resigned that position in November 2016, complaining of rampant corruption, and has since becoming an ardent opponent of Poroshenko.

In an interview with Current Time TV, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, Saakashvili said on December 12 that corruption inflicted far greater damage on Ukraine than Russia had.

Saakashvili also faces government anger in Georgia.

On January 5, the Tbilisi City Court found him guilty of abuse of power by allegedly trying to cover up evidence about a 2006 murder case and sentenced him in absentia to three years in prison.

He has also denied those charges and said they are politically motivated as well.


State-supported Russian media outlet Sputnik says its U.S.-based partner company RIA Global LLC has been ordered to register as a foreign agent by the U.S. government.

Citing what it said was a letter from the Justice Department, Sputnik said it was told that RIA Global "has an obligation to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act," known by the acronym FARA.

According to Sputnik, the Justice Department said that RIA Global produces content on behalf of state media company Rossiya Segodnya and thus on behalf of the Russian government.

It said the media outlet was given a deadline of 30 days after January 5 to register.

Among many severe strains on their relationship, Russia and the United States are at odds over the treatment of Russian media outlets in the United States and U.S. media outlets in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law in November that enables the country's Justice Ministry to designate foreign media outlets as "foreign agents."

Moscow says the law, which has been sharply criticized by Western governments and global media rights groups, is a response to what it claims is pressure on Russian media outlets in the United States, including a requirement issued last year for state-supported broadcaster RT's U.S. operating unit to register under FARA.

The United States denies that it has pressured Russian media outlets.

The U.S. law, which was passed in 1938 to counter fears of Nazi propaganda and misinformation, does not restrict foreign media operating in the United States but does require things like accounting registers, corporate documents, and similar records be made available for Justice Department inspection.

Sputnik cited the Justice Department letter as saying that upon registration, "Rossiya Segodnya and RIA Global may continue producing and broadcasting the content of their choosing, provided that each broadcast is accompanied by a requisite disclosure statement."

Late last year, a Washington, D.C., area radio station that had recently taken over Sputniks broadcasts registered under the U.S. foreign-agent law. The stations owner, a Virginia company called Reston Translator, filed the paperwork with the Justice Department in November.

In December, the Russian Justice Ministry on December 5 declared Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and seven affiliated news services "foreign agents."

While RT and Sputnik distribute their programs freely in the United States, RFE/RL is already subject to severe restrictions in Russia, with nearly all of its radio broadcasts forced off the air by 2012 due to administrative pressure. Neither RFE/RL nor VOA has access to cable TV in Russia.

RFE/RL and VOA are overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a U.S. agency that supervises civilian government broadcasting and media operations. VOA is a federal entity, while RFE/RL is a private, nonprofit organization funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress.

With reporting by Sputnik and Reuters
Rescue teams were forced to temporarily suspend their work after an explosion on an Iranian oil tanker with 31 missing crew members that has been burning for five days in the East China Sea.

The blast happened on board the tanker on the afternoon of January 10 as rescue crews were dousing the ship with foam in an attempt to put out the fire, China's Transport Ministry said.

Officials said they still have hopes of finding some of the missing crew alive, though they said the blaze set off by a collision with a freight ship on January 6 could rage for as long as a month.

Iran's Navy joined the rescue efforts off the coast of China near Shanghai on January 10, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) cited a government official as saying.

The Iranian operator of the Sanchi tanker repeated on January 10 that it believes survivors could still be found on board the burning ship, which contains a highly flammable fuel that is in danger of exploding and sinking the vessel.

"Our priority is the lives of the crew," said Mohsen Bahrami, a spokesman for the National Iranian Tanker Company, the tanker's operator.

"We still hope that at least some of them -- and I hope all -- are inside a protected part of the tanker," he said on Iranian state television.

"There is a good possibility that people are still alive," he said, but added that he had no solid information anyone has survived the massive fire and explosion.

The body of one of the tanker's 32 crewmen, who are mostly Iranian, has been recovered, while the other 31 are missing.

"We do not have the same priorities as the Chinese," Bahrami said. "They think first about the environment and prefer that the whole load burns, because it is a fishing area with a lot of fish."

Dozens of rescue boats have battled strong winds, high waves, and poisonous fumes to put out the fire and search for the missing sailors in an area of 3,000 square kilometers.

The tanker collided with a freighter carrying grain from the United States about 300 kilometers off China's coast near Shanghai.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tons of condensate, an ultralight fuel that is highly flammable, to South Korea.

The Chinese government said late on January 9 that it had not found a "large-scale" oil leak, and the condensate was burning off or evaporating so quickly it would leave little residue if it spills into the ocean. That reduces the chances of an environmentally destructive oil slick forming off China's coast.

Still, condensate is highly volatile when exposed to air and water, and concerns were growing the tanker could explode and sink as long as the fire burns uncontained.

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has called on Russia and Iran to fulfill their obligations under a peace plan for Syria and prevent attacks by Syrian government forces in Idlib Province, saying the violations could not happen without their support.

In a January 10 interview with state-run news agency Anadolu, Cavusoglu accused Syrian government forces of attacking moderate opposition fighters under the guise of fighting Islamic extremists.

He also called on Russia and Iran, the two main allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, to halt their air strikes on rebel-held parts of Idlib Province near the border with Turkey.

Cavusoglu also announced that Ankara would host a meeting on Syria with "like-minded countries" after a meeting in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, where Russia is planning to host a Syrian "congress of national dialogue" on January 29-30.

His remarks came after Syrian government forces on January 8 captured 14 villages as they advanced on Idlib, the largest rebel-held enclave in northern Syria.

Turkey says the Syrian government advance has been supported by waves of air strikes by Russian and Iranian warplanes.

Russia's Foreign Ministry says the Sochi gathering is part of an effort to resolve Syria's nearly seven-year war on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions and encourage direct talks in Geneva between Syrian government representatives and moderate Syrian "opposition" delegates.

Dozens of rebel groups have rejected plans for the meeting, contending that Russia has not put pressure on Assad's government to reach a political settlement.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, SANA, and Anadolu
DUSHANBE -- Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon have discussed bilateral ties between the two Central Asian states at talks in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

Aripov arrived in Dushanbe on January 10 for a two-day official visit.

Aripov and Rahmon discussed issues including the elimination of obstacles in trade, simplified border crossing for the neighboring countries' citizens, decrease of taxes for goods transportation, reconstruction of the railway link, demining of some areas along the border, opening of a border checkpoint, and water use, the Tajik presidential press service said.

It said topics also included joint efforts to combat regional threats such as terrorism and extremism.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, ties between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have often been tense due to disagreements on issues including borders, water, energy resources, and transit routes.

Relations have been warmer since the death of longtime Uzbek President Islam Karimov in 2016.

President Shavkat Mirziyoev, who took over after Karimov's death, has said that improving ties with Uzbekistan's neighbors is a major foreign-policy priority.
Villagers in a sleepy village in southern Tajikistan are under attack, blasted by insulting poems that are mysteriously cropping up in public places where they are sure to sting.

Outraged residents of Khojaghalton say they don't know who the author  or the authors  are, but they are certain that he or she lives among them.

The author knows our names and nicknames, our habits and daily routines, the villagers say. Often the snarky sonnets target individuals or mock businesses. Such was the case with Sitora's shop, which came under fire for being a place where neighbors always borrow goods, instead of buying them.

A man called Khusrav -- who only works during harvest season, according to another poem -- "sniffles and smokes, sitting idly and watching his life pass by."

Without naming names, another ridicules "the head of the village, who collects money for different causes every year, but the money always disappears."

Ashur, notorious for calling for unnecessary village meetings and feeding people "over-salted plov," is singled out. So, too, is the shopkeeper Jomi, who determines prices as he pleases.

'I Watch It And Feel Sorry'

Yet another villager is mocked for his gait; another for being blind. And the poet expresses sympathy "for people needing treatment from local faith healer Toj and Mullah Miroj."

Every four-line stanza ends with the same sentence: "I watch it and feel sorry." Throughout, even the writer's sex remains concealed, as verbs and pronouns don't indicate gender in the Tajik language.

One villager has offered the equivalent of $60 to anyone who could reveal the identity of the mysterious poet, while insisting it is "just out of curiosity."

"The poems don't contain any insult, they are a satire," Qiyomiddin Nizom explains. "We are just curious and want to find out who is writing them. That's the only reason I offered the prize."

Nizom, a former village policeman, says his 77-year-old father was mocked for his habit of "sitting idly all day" and people-watching.

"It's all true," Nizom admits. "My father said he didn't mind how he was described."

During winter days, many Khojaghalton men gather at a small car-repair shop to share tea and catch up on the latest village gossip.

Exposing Realities

The topic of the conversation inevitably turns to the latest works of the local mystery poet, says garage owner Alamkhon Saifov.

Saifov says the poems expose the realities of the village in an up-to-date manner.

"So far the poet has written about some 40-50 people," says Saifov, once singled out as someone the poet "watches and feels sorry for."

"Those who haven't been targeted yet enjoy the poems, while the 'targets' want to find the person and rebuke them gently," Saifov says lightheartedly. "Someone might respond to the bounty offer."

Sixty dollars is nearly a monthly wage for a village teacher or a nurse. No one, however, has come forward with any information about the identity of the village's most-wanted person.

Khojaghalton inhabitants recently asked local police to help identify the man or woman behind the lyrics.

In the meantime, the author is expanding the reach of their barbs, writing about the nearby villages of Navobod and Shuroobod.

Written by Farangis Najibullah based on reporting by RFE/RL Tajik Service correspondent Mahmudjon Rahmatzoda.
The United States, European representatives, and human rights groups in Russia and abroad have condemned the detention of a leading activist in Chechnya on narcotics charges and called for his immediate release.

The U.S. State Department said on January 10 that it was troubled by the reported arrest of Oyub Titiyev, calling it the latest in a string of reports of alarming recent human rights violations in Chechnya.

A statement called on Chechen authorities to release Titiyev, who is the head of the prominent Russian human rights group Memorial's office in Chechnya, and to allow independent civil society to operate free from harassment and intimidation.

Earlier, the Moscow-based Committee for the Prevention of Torture (KPP) called Titiyev's detention an "abduction" and said his rights under the Russian Constitution and other laws were blatantly violated.

European nations and groups also condemned the arrest. Germany urged Russian authorities to ensure Titiyev is treated in a "transparent manner and according to the rule of law" and said it would be closely monitoring the case.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr told reporters that the work of Titiyev and Memorial is "invaluable to many people, especially in Chechnya."

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Russia has an "obligation" as a member state "to ensure that law enforcement bodies do not abuse the law to prevent human rights defenders from carrying out" their work.

"I urge the Russian authorities to ensure [Titiyev's] human rights, including access to a lawyer and the rights to a fair trial, to physical integrity and dignity, and to protection from judicial harassment, criminalization, and arbitrary arrest, said the OSCE's human rights director Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir.

The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, called Titiyev's detention and possible prosecution "a very worrying signal."

On Twitter, Muiznieks called on the Russian authorities to "immediately ensure" Titiyev's release and provide him "with all the necessary safeguards in the current proceedings."

Hours after colleagues at the prominent Russian human rights group Memorial raised the alarm when Titiyev -- the head of its Chechnya office -- failed to show up for a meeting with an acquaintance on January 9, Chechen officials said he had been detained.

Officials said that police found a plastic bag with some 180 grams of suspected marijuana in his car, and a member of the Chechen council for human rights, Kheda Saratova, said he was suspected of transporting drugs.

'Implausible' Accusation

KPP said that Titiyev's relatives were not informed about his detainment in a timely manner and that police in Chechnya's Kurchaloi district denied for some time that he was in their custody, violating his right to legal representation.

The circumstances of Titiyev's detention "do not correspond to the legal norms and therefore can be assessed as abduction," it said.

Memorial chairman Aleksandr Cherkasov said on January 10 that Titiyevs home was searched overnight and that no drugs or other illegal items were found.

Cherkasov, who has known Titiyev for years, said the accusation of drug possession or transport was "implausible" and that the detention was most likely motivated by his human rights work.

Cherkasov also said that Chechen police violated Russian laws by withholding information about his detention from his relatives for several hours and denied his presence in the district police to his lawyer.

Tanya Lokshina, the Russia program director and a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), called the drug case against Titiyev a pure fabrication.

"We are aware of several other cases when critics of the government in Chechnya were put on trial on fraudulent drug charges and actually went to jail, Lokshina told Reuters. This is yet another case of this sort, and it seems that the Chechen authorities are now frequently using these particular tactics to silence their opponents."

Chechen State Human Rights Council member Kheda Saratova quoted Titiyev as saying that "his car just came out of a car wash and he couldn't possibly have had anything like [marijuana] in his car."

"He doesn't know who could have deliberately placed it there," she added. "He categorically denies that he has anything to do with this package or what the package contains."

'Worrying Signal'

Mikhail Fedotov, head of President Vladimir Putin's advisory council on human rights and civil society, said that the council had formally called on the Interior Ministry to investigate the possibility that drugs were planted in Titiyev's car.

Activists say that Chechnyas Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who was appointed to head the region by Putin in 2007, rules through repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the province. They claim that he bears responsibility for abuses including kidnappings, disappearances, torture, and killings of political opponents.

Natalya Estemirova, a Memorial activist who was investigating rights abuses in Chechnya, was kidnapped in Grozny and killed in 2009.

Kremlin critics say Putin supports Kadyrov, turning a blind eye to alleged abuses and violations of the Russian Constitution, because he relies on the former rebel to keep a lid on separatist sentiment and violence in Chechnya, the site of two devastating post-Soviet wars and an Islamist insurgency that spread to other mostly Muslim regions in the North Caucasus.
Media are reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to extend sanctions relief granted to Iran under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, leaving the accord intact for now.

Citing people familiar with Trump's decision late on January 11, Reuters, The New York Times, and Bloomberg reported that the White House is expected to announce Trump's decision on January 12.

The media reports say that while Trump decided to continue waiving U.S. sanctions on Iran's central bank and oil industry, in keeping with U.S. obligations under the nuclear deal in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear activities, he also has decided to impose new, targeted sanctions on Iran.

The New York Times reported that Trump may also give the U.S. Congress and European allies a deadline to either improve the deal to his liking or he will pull the United States out of it.

Administration officials have said Trump was reluctant to uphold the U.S. side of the deal, which he has fiercely opposed and criticized. But many of his top advisers urged him not to pull out of the accord, and he was under heavy pressure from European allies to keep honoring it.

Earlier on January 11, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged all parties to continue complying with the deal, which she said is working.

Speaking after talks in Brussels with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif -- as well as the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Britain -- Mogherini said the nuclear deal "is delivering on its main goal" of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

"The European Union remains committed to supporting the full and effective implementation of the agreement, including making sure that the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions has a positive impact on trade and economic relations with Iran, including benefits for the Iranian people," Mogherini said.

French Foreign Minister Yves Le Drian said after the Brussels meeting that it was "essential that all parties should continue to abide by the deal." He called on the United States to respect the accord, too, saying "there is no particular reason for any rupture."

"There is no indication today that could call into doubt Iranian respect of the agreement," Le Drian said.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said nobody has "so far produced a better alternativeas a way of preventing the Iranians from going ahead with the acquisition of their military nuclear capability."

Targeted Sanctions?

Trump made a decision to stick with the nuclear deal, for now, after meeting with his national security advisers late on January 11 at the White House.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said earlier in the day that he expects Trump to also impose new sanctions on Iran.

"We continue to look at them. We've rolled them out, and I think you can expect there will be more sanctions coming," he told reporters, without being specific.

The New York Times reported that some of the new sanctions Trump will announce will target Iranian government officials involved in the crackdown on antigovernment protests this month, as well as those deemed to have violated human rights.

In a phone call on January 11, France's President Emmanuel Macron stressed to Trump the importance of adhering to the nuclear deal, the French presidency said.

Macron "recalled France's determination in favor of a strict application of the agreement and the importance of its respect by all of its signatories," a statement said.

The White House said Trump underscored to Macron that Iran must cease its "destabilizing activity" in the Middle East.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Washington was right to address other issues that have raised concerns about Iran's regional ambitions.

But he said the Trump administration should consider the nuclear agreement as an issue that is separate from Iran's ballistic-missile program and its role in Syria's civil war, where Tehran supports President Bashar al-Assad's military forces.

Gabriel said the EU is opening a new line of communication with Iran to talk about nonnuclear issues because Iran has a "difficult" role in the Middle East that must be discussed separately from the 2015 nuclear deal.

'Sending A Message'

European powers at the Brussels meeting reassured Iran's foreign minister on January 11 that they remain committed to the nuclear deal.

Trump's own top advisers reportedly had urged him to stick with the deal and keep sanctions relief in place, including U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

Moreover, Iran has warned it, too, will pull out of the nuclear deal if the United States withdraws.

With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Richard Jozwiak in Brussels, Reuters, AP, AFP, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and dpa




U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev at the White House on January 16, the White House has said.

A White House statement on January 9 said the two leaders "will discuss ways to strengthen and enhance our strategic partnership on regional security issues and economic cooperation."

Kazakhstan's ambassador to the United Nations, Kairat Umarov, on January 1 took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council and has already overseen contentious debates over street protests in Iran and other matters.

The White House said Trump and Nazarbaev will discuss several international challenges, including Afghanistan, that are expected to come before the Security Council during Kazakhstan's tenure.

Earlier on January 9, Nazarbaev met with U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol in Astana and said he was seeking to build on the "amicable relationship" the two countries have established in the last 26 years, Nazarbaev's office said in a statement, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

Nazarbaev said he hoped to further cooperate with Washington in the fight against terrorism and in strengthening nuclear nonproliferation and expanding trade and investment, the statement said.

"About 500 companies with U.S. participation are working in Kazakhstan, and more than 140 of them are joint ventures. They are manufacturing goods and exporting their products to other countries," Nazarbaev was quoted as saying by Interfax.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Interfax
WASHINGTON  U.S. President Donald Trump says it seems unlikely he will be required to give testimony before Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into alleged Russian meddling in last years presidential election and possible collusion by associates of Trump.

Speaking in a joint news conference with visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (EDS: a woman) on January 10, Trump reiterated his claim that there was "no collusion" between his presidential campaign and Russia.

Given that, he said, "We'll see what happens [but] it seems unlikely you'd even have an interview."

Trumps comments come after U.S. media reported that Mueller had informed the White House that he probably will seek to interview Trump as part of his probe.

Citing people familiar with the matter, media reported late on January 8 that Mueller's investigative team informed Trump's lawyers during recent discussions that an interview likely would be sought soon, but no date has been set and no arrangements for the meeting have been made.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to the benefit of Republican Trump and to the detriment of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Mueller and at least three congressional committees are separately investigating Russian involvement in the election process.

The Kremlin has denied the accusations, and Trump has repeatedly denied that his team colluded with any Russian efforts.

Trump also said on January 10 that the United States could "conceivably" return to the 2015 Paris climate accord on curbing global warming emissions, a deal he pulled out of in June.

"Frankly, it's an agreement that I have no problem with, but I had a problem with the agreement that they signed, because, as usual, they made a bad deal," Trump said.

"So, we can conceivably go back in," he added, without giving specifics.

Solberg said Norway remains committed to the accord and that she believes the focus on a green economy can lead to great investment opportunities.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the recent conviction of a Turkish bank executive for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran, calling it a "political coup attempt" against his government.

Addressing his ruling Justice and Development Party on January 9, Erdogan said the case brought against Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla by the U.S. Justice Department was a joint effort by the U.S. CIA and FBI to undermine him.

U.S. prosecutors and witnesses who took the stand in Atilla's New York trial accused Turkish bank and government officials of taking bribes and participating in a scheme to help Iran launder $1 billion in oil revenues through the U.S. banking system in violation of U.S. sanctions.

One key U.S. government witness said Erdogan himself aided the scheme, though Erdogan has dismissed the accusation and was not charged by U.S. prosecutors.

Erdogan and his deputies have repeatedly charged that the U.S. prosecution was aided by his enemies -- the same people who he said were behind a failed coup against him in July 2016 -- the followers of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who resides in exile in the United States.

U.S. prosecutors have called the accusation "ridiculous."

"Those who could not succeed in the coup attempt in Turkey on July 15 are now searching for a different attempt in our country," Erdogan said on January 9, calling the case against Atilla the latest such "political coup attempt."

Atilla, one of nine defendants named in the U.S. indictment in the case, was convicted of evading Iran sanctions by a U.S. jury on January 3.

His former co-defendant and the alleged mastermind of the sanctions-evasion scheme, Reza Zarrab, pleaded guilty before the trial and cooperated with prosecutors, becoming a star witness in the case against Atilla.

Erdogan last week suggested that state-owned Halkbank might file a countersuit against the United States because the bank's image and reputation were damaged during Atilla's trial, although the bank was not named as a defendant in the case.

With reporting by Reuters, Hurriyet Daily News, and Enter.news
Residents in Ukraine's western Lviv region have partially blocked four checkpoints along the frontier with Poland to protest against new border-tax regulations.

The checkpoints at Rava-Ruska, Shehyni, Yahodyn, and Krakovets were blocked for several hours on January 10, with the protesters allowing only vehicles carrying children and ill people to cross the border.

The protesters said they started collecting signatures for a petition calling on Ukraines president and lawmakers to cancel the new regulations that came in force as of January 1.

According to the amendments to the Tax Code adopted in December, individuals are allowed to bring up to 50 kilograms of goods into Ukraine without paying taxes if the price of the goods does not exceed 50 euros ($59.50).

Also, taxes are not due if the person bringing goods into Ukraine left the country for more than 24 hours and entered it no more than once in 72 hours. In that case, the price of the goods must not exceed 500 euros ($595).

Critics say the authorities are targeting shuttle vendors instead of fighting against corruption among border officials.

Many Ukrainians living close to the border with Poland travel to the other side of the border on a regular basis to buy goods.

Since June 2017, Ukrainians are allowed to travel to most European Union member states, including Poland, without a visa.
Man dies after fall from 15th floor of Riu Cancun Hotel

Cancun, Q.R.  A man fell to his death from the Riu Cancun Hotel Tuesday after falling from the 15th floor.

The man, who was of Afghanistan decent but with an American passport, was reported to not be a guest at the hotel. The deceased is identified as 41-year-old Rahman Hadid.

According to the State Attorney Generals Office, the accident occurred at approximately 8:00 a.m. Tuesday when someone reported the death of a person at the hotel. It is not clear if the man fell or was launched from the hotel, nor do authorities yet know if it was a suicide or homicide.

Police have requested the hotels video surveillance to gather more evidence.

The hotel was sealed off while police carried out their investigation and the Forensic Medical Service removed the body.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said tsunami waves from this quake were possible within 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) of the epicenter along the coasts of Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Mexico, Honduras, Cuba, Belize, San Andres, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Tsunamis can travel over 800 kilometers per hour (500 miles) at the deepest point of the water.

No tsunami waves had been confirmed, but that a sea level rise from a foot to 3 feet (0.3 to 1 meter) above normal might occur. The National Weather Service in Puerto Rico earlier in the night urged persons located in/near the ocean to move away from the water. Officials in Honduras said shaking was registered across much of the nation and there were some reports of cracks in homes in Colon province along the northern coast and Olancho in eastern Honduras. No reports of serious damage was immediately. President Juan Orlando Hernandez wrote on Twitter that Honduras activated its emergency system and asked people to remain calm. In recent years, tsunamis have been responsible for significant numbers of deaths and environmental destruction.
Like many 17-year-olds, Cristina Bran got a job as a waitress. But for her, it wasnt only about earning extra spending money. She had recently moved to London from Romania and needed to make a new life for herself.

Being a waitress wasnt exactly part of her life plan, though. She had dreamed of having a career and going back to school to earn a degree. As she put it, I wanted to build a career for myself. Then, on the day before her 22nd birthday, she decided to make a bold change and quit her waitressing job. As she thought about what to do next, she feared that because she was an immigrant with only a high school education, her options would be limited.

Cristina shared her concerns with her friend, Hannah Stevens, who suggested a free, five-week business course that shed recently completed herself. Called the Biz Academy, the program was hosted by Skills for Growth and funded by Salesforces 1-1-1 philanthropy model  which promises 1% of the companys time, equity, and product to the community. With nothing else lined up, Cristina thought, Ill give it a go.

During the course, she learned important interviewing skills, improved her CV (or resume, if youre American), and completed an introductory Salesforce Admin training. The purpose of the course was to secure an apprenticeship as a Junior Salesforce Administrator, she explained. And it delivered. At at the end of the program, she had five options waiting for her.

Five years later, Cristina is a Cloud Applications Analyst and the subject matter expert for all things Salesforce at the world-renowned media company, The Guardian. Today she has nine Salesforce certifications under her belt, and shes also pursuing a degree in computing. But most importantly, she found the career shed been dreaming of.

I caught up with Cristina to learn more about her journey, what she likes most about Salesforce, and how transitioning from waitressing to technology was more natural than she expected.

Q: Was Salesforce your first exposure to technology?

A: Not really. In Romania, I studied IT in high school but it was not something I was really keen on. It felt boring. I didnt feel engaged or interested in going any further with it.

But when my friend first explained Salesforce to me, I thought, this is about people. I know its technology, but it also needs a lot of people skills and I thought I had that. Now that Ive gotten a job administering Salesforce, I use those same people skills to get business requirements for changes within our org, to build relationships, to build trust, and to get people to know me as the Salesforce go-to at my company.

Q: Has the Salesforce community played a role in your career development?

A: Initially, I used to struggle so much with things that were probably easy. So, I would go online to try to figure out how to do something, and the community would always, always get back with steps, documentation, and whatever I needed. Theres one person in particular, Steve Molis, whos on every answer. Hes a Salesforce MVP and I think the whole world owes him a beer!

As time has gone by and Ive gained experience, got certified, and learned how to do things a bit better, Ive turned to the local community more. I dont look for answers online so much but I go to inspiring meet-ups where I can see what other people are doing with Salesforce.

Q: How important was it that you were able to take the Biz Academy course and discover Salesforce, all for free?

A: I have to be honest, the Biz Academy completely changed my life. Its amazing that Salesforce does this and to have actually benefited from it. You hear about companies doing charitable things but you dont really see it in action that much  or you get one or two success stories  but Ive seen every single person from my group open doors that they couldnt have imagined opening before.

At the end of my apprenticeship, I was contacted by The Guardian for a role as a Junior Salesforce Admin. Since then, Ive embraced the Salesforce career path.

Q: How do you define being a Trailblazer?

A: I think its someone whos passionate about what they do and not afraid to keep chasing improvement. Its staying motivated when people dont expect you to and being ambitious enough to keep trying and bettering yourself every day.

Q: What advice would you give other Trailblazers just starting out?

A: Dont. Stop. Learning. Its a brilliant ecosystem to get into. The industry has a talent gap that needs to be filled, so theres plenty of opportunities. Once you get started, keep at it. Your life will change forever.

Making the move from waitressing at a restaurant to managing important technology systems for a global company might seem impossible for most. But it doesnt have to be when the technology is declarative, rather than requiring coding skills. At Salesforce, we believe technology is the most powerful equalizer for our time, and that making the world a more equitable place means making todays technology available to everyone. To learn more about Salesforces commitment to workforce development, click here.

Do you also have an inspiring Trailblazer story to share? We want to hear it! Send us a tweet on Twitter at @salesforce using the #BlazingTrails hashtag.

This article is part of an ongoing series highlighting the many voices and stories that make up Salesforces diverse community of Trailblazers.
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VALE DE SALGUEIRO, Portugal  The Epiphany celebrations in the Portuguese village of Vale de Salgueiro feature a tradition that each year causes an outcry among outsiders: Parents encouraging their children, some as young as 5, to smoke cigarettes.

Locals say the practice has been passed down for centuries as part of a celebration of life tied to the Christian Epiphany and the winter solstice  but nobody is sure what it symbolizes or exactly why parents buy the packs of cigarettes for their children and encourage them to take part.
The U.S. House of Representatives could soon vote to do something truly historic and deeply dangerous: authorize the warrantless surveillance of Americans. Thats unless Democratic leaders  starting with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi  speak out.

The bill in question, unveiled last Friday, would reauthorize a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This powerful law allows the National Security Agency to collect emails and phone calls without a warrant or evidence of wrongdoing, but only if the target of surveillance is a foreigner overseas.

The problem arises because this surveillance inevitably sweeps in enormous amounts of Americans communications. The law requires the government to minimize the retention and sharing of such incidentally acquired data. Instead, as Edward Snowdens disclosures revealed, the CIA, FBI and NSA routinely search their collections for Americans phone calls and emails  a practice known as backdoor searches.

A law designed to target foreign threats has thus become a rich source of warrantless access to Americans data. The potential for abuse is evident under any administration. For instance, FBI officials could search for communications of Black Lives Matter activists known to have foreign relatives in order to keep tabs on their activities. The risk of misuse is particularly worrisome under President Trump, who flaunts his grudges against political adversaries and has pledged to intensify mosque surveillance.

There is striking bipartisan consensus that this section of the law must be revised to better protect Americans privacy. Lawmakers hailing from the progressive left to the Tea Party right have introduced bills requiring the government to obtain a warrant before attempting to access Americans communications. Even California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a former intelligence committee chair who generally favors broad surveillance powers, supports a warrant requirement.

Republican leadership, however, has backed a series of bills that masquerade as reform while authorizing warrantless searches. Just before the holiday recess, House Speaker Paul Ryan scheduled a vote on a bill that gave the government the option of applying for a warrant. This putative reform did not pass the laugh test, and Ryan was quickly forced to cancel the vote.

The most recent bill is cut from the same cloth. It would require a warrant to access Americans communications, but only in predicated criminal investigations unrelated to national security or foreign intelligence.

The exceptions in the bill would devour the rule. The government has adopted extremely broad definitions of national security and foreign intelligence. Almost any investigation of an immigrant or a Muslim American could be shoehorned into those definitions, and there would be no way to challenge the designation.

Even without those exceptions, the bills warrant requirement is largely meaningless because it applies only to predicated criminal investigations  namely, later-stage investigations based (or predicated) on well-developed facts. Perversely, the government would remain free to conduct warrantless searches during the earlier, assessment phase of the investigation, when there is less evidence of wrongdoing.

This back-loaded approach would do more harm than good. Because warrantless searches could occur only in the early stages, FBI agents would have an incentive to conduct them the moment they received the barest tip, however unsupported or unreliable.

Moreover, for early-stage investigations and those deemed to have national security or foreign intelligence components, the bill expressly authorizes warrantless access to Americans communications. It thus codifies a practice not authorized in current law, effectively overriding the requirement to minimize the use of this incidentally collected data.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., ranking member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, aptly describes the bill as written by the intelligence community, for the intelligence community. Unfortunately, few outside the FBI know what a predicated investigation is. Ryan is banking on this fact, hoping to sell the bill as a pro-privacy measure.

The gambit could succeed. Pelosi and other Democratic Party leaders have remained conspicuously silent on the faux-reform bills, even as Republicans such as Ted Poe of Texas have denounced them. They may not see the flaws beneath the window dressing. Or they may be reluctant to enter the fray for fear of seeming soft on national security.

Whatever the cause, their reticence is endangering their constituents rights. Congress passed this law to enable detection of foreign threats, not warrantless surveillance of Americans. Backdoor searches violate the laws premise and Americans privacy. And they dont make us safer: The government has never even claimed that backdoor searches have helped to thwart terrorist plots.

Pelosis influence over her caucus is legendary. Its down to her and her leadership team to line up Democrats behind real reform. If they dont, the Trump administration may soon be able to add another legislative victory to Decembers tax bill: Congresss blessing for warrantless domestic spying.

Elizabeth Goitein is co-director of the Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
As a sweltering heat wave grips southern Australia, hundreds of bats are dying.

The sizzling-hot temperatures reaching well over 100 degrees are literally boiling the brains of flying fox bats, and the heat-struck creatures are dropping from the sky and falling from their perches in trees.

"It affects their brain  their brain just fries and they become incoherent," Campbelltown flying fox colony manager Kate Ryan told the local Camden-Narellan Advertiser. "It would be like standing in the middle of a sandpit with no shade."

A Jan. 7 Facebook post from an animal rescue group in the Sydney suburb of Campbelltown reported on the unfortunate situation.

"So many little lives lost due to the extreme heat and not enough canopy cover to shade them or keep them cool," the message from Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown read. "Adults sought out shade and more shelter further up the creek resulting in many babies being left behind to deal with the heat."

The organization reported recovering the bodies of more than 200 dead bats in Campbelltown on Sunday.

Temperatures soared to 117 degrees in Sydney on Sunday; it was the hottest day since 1939 in the city.
San Francisco acting Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Jane Kim made their bids for the mayors office official on Tuesday after filing their candidacy paperwork with the citys Elections Department.

And just six days after pulling his nomination papers for a potential run of his own, City Attorney Dennis Herrera wrote in an email to his staff that he would not be entering the race after all, choosing instead to focus on continuing to protect the interests of San Franciscos residents and taxpayers.

Now is not the right time for me to seek the office of mayor. Herrera was unavailable to elaborate on his decision to stay out of the race.

The field of candidates vying to become San Franciscos next mayor was solidified Tuesday when the deadline to register as an official candidate for the June 5 special election expired. The list of eight mayoral hopefuls is split evenly between experienced candidates and newcomers entering the race from outside the established orbit of city politics.

Breed, who is also president of the Board of Supervisors, brought along 10 young girls with her to the elections office, some of whom had to crane their necks to see over the counter as they watched Breed fill out her campaign paperwork.

I wanted these young ladies to know that if I can be mayor, they can be mayor, too, and I want them to strive to do all they can to be successful in life, she said.

Breed has sought to set herself apart from other mayoral hopefuls largely by evoking her personal history of growing up poor in San Franciscos Western Addition. Her lifes trajectory  from an impoverished youth to acting mayor of her home city  provides her with a unique perspective about how to lift up the citys most vulnerable, she said.

Kim signaled her intent to enter the mayors race on Dec. 20 and, after filing her candidacy papers, she became the eighth and final candidate to qualify for the June ballot.

Kim said that her decadelong track record of fighting for ambitious progressive programs would set her apart in the race for mayor in a field that includes mostly left-leaning candidates.

I have a track record of being bold and fighting for really big ideas for the city, Kim said, citing her efforts to make City College of San Francisco free to city residents, increase affordable and middle-income housing and raising the citys minimum wage to $15 an hour.

This is the work that has set me apart, Kim said. I havent been scared to go big and to lose, but Ive also won for our residents.

The mayoral election was originally scheduled for November 2019, but the date was moved to June following the unexpected death of Mayor Ed Lee from a heart attack on Dec. 12.

In addition to Breed and Kim, the list of confirmed candidates includes former state Sen. Mark Leno and former Supervisor Angela Alioto.

Confirmed candidates coming from outside San Francisco politics include housing and homelessness community organizer Amy Farah Weiss, volunteer social worker Ellen Lee Zhou, business consultant Richie Greenberg and Michelle Bravo, who did not list contact information on her candidacy paperwork.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa

Online extras

To see videos of London Breed and Jane Kim filing for mayor, go to: http://bit.ly/2qIuD3O and http://bit.ly/2CY9UxK
Page Content

Human resource professionals in California will play a vital strategic role in how businesses navigate critical workplace challenges, including sexual harassment prevention training, the legalization of recreational marijuana and demands for equitable compensation.

They have their work cut out for them. Effective with the new year, California employers can no longer ask job candidates for their salary history or immediately disqualify job applicants with criminal records. New laws also legalize pot and make more parents eligible for baby-bonding leave.

Sexual harassment prevention education tops the to-do lists of many HR professionals and attorneys who advise California businesses. They've been fielding detailed questions about the adequacy and efficacy of their anti-harassment instruction in the wake of highly publicized accounts of harassment and assault by powerful men, including Hollywood producers and actors, Silicon Valley investors and executives, Sacramento politicians, and a Pasadena-based federal appellate judge.

Employees say they are unclear about what comments and behaviors are inappropriate on the job or would create a hostile work environment. Is commenting on a colleague's new outfit acceptable? Are hugs forbidden? Effective training will provide answers and guidance.

Can I Give You a Hug?

Even the California courts are wrestling with where to draw the line: A Yolo County corrections officer sued the county, claiming that her supervisor, Sheriff Edward Prieto, created a hostile work environment by repeatedly hugging her and other colleagues. She claimed that the hugs made her feel uncomfortable and stressed. A trial court sided with the county, saying the sheriff's behavior did not meet the standard of a hostile environment. But a federal appeals court disagreed earlier this year, noting that a jury might see things differently.

California employers with 50 or more employees must provide sexual harassment training to supervisors every other year. Some businesses may decide to offer more than what's legally required.

For example, Elisabeth Giammona, SHRM-CP, said her employer, Agari of San Mateo, may make sexual harassment prevention education mandatory for all employees. Giammona, the company's senior HR manager, also wants to include material on recognizing unconscious bias and promoting diversity and inclusion at Agari, an e-mail security software company with about 100 employees.

The startup's casual culture lends itself to a more anecdotal, conversational approach to training, rather than a lecture or presentation. It's tricky to find people to do training because of the demand and because developments around sexual harassment are moving quickly, she said.

Mike Letizia, SHRM-SCP, president and CEO of Letizia HR Solutions in Stockton, is urging his clients to provide sexual harassment prevention training for all employeesand many small businesses are requesting it.

Businesses are definitely more aware of the need for such training than they used to be, he said. His training includes a blunt warning to workers that they will lose their jobs and face litigation alonewithout their employer's legal defenseif they harass colleagues. Letizia said he won't be surprised if California lawmakers introduce legislation in 2018 to make training mandatory for every Golden State businessnot just those with 50 or more workers.

Effective Jan. 1, California sexual harassment prevention training must include gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Managers have inquired about best practices for handling workers' requests when transitioning genders to be identified by a name that better reflects their identity, said Wendy E. Lane, an attorney with Greenberg Glusker in Los Angeles. She recommends that requests be accommodated whenever possiblesuch as on ID badges. But tax and insurance paperwork should use given names until workers provide proof of a name change.

How Much Do You Make?

California HR professionals are also overseeing compliance with AB 168, which forbids employers from requesting candidates' salary histories. That ban means HR professionals must also ensure that job applications no longer request salary information and that recruiters don't ask for it.

"It's kind of a watershed moment in a way," said Marielle Smith, vice president of people for software developer Inflection.com Inc. in Redwood Shores. She's been revising applications to remove requests for salary history and is asking candidates early in the interview process to specify an acceptable salary range.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Managing the Hiring Process in California]

Though a majority of the company's 100 U.S.-based employees work in Omaha, Neb., Inflection will extend California's ban on salary history inquiries to hiring efforts there as well. "We're going to apply the most candidate-friendly laws, and that's going to insulate a business best from risk," said Elizabeth McLean, an in-house attorney for Inflection. Agari will do the same, Giammona said.

Even if job applicants volunteer their salary histories, Jenn Protas advises clients never to record that number or consider it when making a job offer. Employers accused of pay inequities have a stronger defense if their notes do not mention prior salary, said Protas, an attorney with Hoge Fenton Jones & Appel in San Jose.

While California's salary history ban can prevent pay disparities based on gender or ethnicity for new hires, Protas and Lane noted that it doesn't affect entrenched inequities. A salary history ban is no substitute for a thorough pay audit spearheaded by HR professionals and then, if needed, corrective action.

Going to Pot

As more job candidates test positive for marijuana, employers will need to explore whether to modifyor even abandontheir policies on pre-employment drug testing, Lane said. Businesses are reconsidering mandatory testing because Millennials are pushing back against what they see as employers meddling in their off-duty activities.

The number of candidates who can pass a drug test has been "significantly impacted" by the widespread casual use of marijuana, she said. Pot is still illegal under federal law, but California is one of 29 states (as well as Washington, D.C.) that have legalized it.



June D. Bell covers California labor and employment issues for SHRM.


Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP)  what you need to know about modern and future proof access control security?

Access control and management of trusted identities are the building blocks of security, safety, and site management policies for many businesses and organisations. The current pandemic has compounded this with the introduction of new policies and regulations, particularly around social distancing and contact tracing. Most organisations will have some form of legacy access control in place, ranging from the most simplistic options, such as locks and keys, to technology-based systems. The issue with legacy systems of any type is that risks, just like technology, evolve. What was secure, convenient, and efficient a few years ago is often found wanting as the threat landscape changes. The standards governing the development and testing of physical access control systems (PACS) have also evolved to improve security and product interoperability. An example is the Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP), introduced 10 years ago as an alternative to the antiquated and vulnerable Clock-and-Data and Wiegand protocols. However, when it comes to planning infrastructure upgrades or implementing new tools, businesses must carry out due diligence to ensure the solutions are future-proof and deliver the expected level of security. Vulnerabilities and challenges In the early 1980s, Clock-and-Data and Wiegand protocols were widely adopted as the de-facto standard for interoperability between access control readers and physical access controllers. Those de-facto standards were later formalised and adopted into industry standards by the Security Industry Association in the 1990s. Wiegand is unencrypted and unable to protect from man in the middle attacks and vulnerabilities There were weaknesses, though, Wiegand is unencrypted and unable to protect from man in the middle attacks and vulnerabilities from the reader to the controller. Not only that, but Wiegand delivers limited range options and is operationally inefficient. It is also easy to target via its learnable language and a host of hacking devices available via online sources. Furthermore, the retrofitting installation alongside a legacy system is complicated for integrators and expensive for organisations, as most readers require dedicated home-run wiring. Extensive wiring on a large-scale project, such as a school or corporate campus, results in considerable  often prohibitive  costs for the installation of a PACS. Legacy access control protocol Despite the well-publicised vulnerabilities and weaknesses, Wiegand is still one of the most common protocols in legacy access control, with estimates indicating it is used in more than 90 percent of installed systems. This not only presents issues about physical security but also raises concerns relating to the protection of personal data. Access control systems not only contain information about who can and cannot use certain doors. OSDP is a communication standard Modern systems include a wide range of personal data, ranging from qualifications and certifications of individuals, home contact details, and even medical conditions or HR and employment information. With the potential fines associated with GDPR breaches, companies need to take this concern seriously. These weaknesses pushed the security industry to adopt a new protocol: Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP). This access control communications standard was developed by Mercury Security (now part of HID Global) and HID Global in 2008, and donated, free of intellectual property, to the Security Industry Association (SIA) to improve interoperability among access control and security products. Since then, it has been adopted as a standard by SIA, becoming the first secure, bidirectional reader/controller protocol to be governed by a major standards body in the security industry. In 2020 OSDP reached an additional milestone in becoming an International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard. Why implement OSDP as a standard? OSDP is the only protocol that is secure and open for communication between readers and controllers The growth of networked devices, such as video and access control products, has led to an increased demand for converged solutions. Businesses and organisations recognise the value of implementing an integrated solution to enhance security and add value to technology investment. OSDP is the only protocol that is secure and open for communication between readers and controllers and is also being widely adopted by industry-leading reader and controller manufacturers. It is an evolving, living standard, making it a safer, more robust, future-proof option for governing physical access control systems. OSDP offers important benefits: 1) Increased security Implementing OSDP standards can increase security, as OSDP with Secure Channel Protocol (SCP) supports AES-128 encryption that is required in U.S. federal government applications. Additionally, OSDP constantly monitors wiring to protect against tampering, removing the guesswork since the encryption and authentication are predefined. 2) Bidirectional communication Early on, communication protocols such as Wiegand were unidirectional, with external card readers sending information one way to a centralized access control platform. OSDP has transformed the ability for information to be collected, shared, and acted upon with the addition of bidirectional communication for configuration, status monitoring, tampering, and malfunction detection, and other valuable functions. In fact, OSDP is the only open, non-proprietary, bidirectional, secure protocol for communication between card reader and physical access controller. 3) Open and interoperable OSDP adds new technology that enhances its ability to protect incoming and outgoing data collection OSDP supports IP communications and point-to-point serial interfaces, enabling customers to flexibly enhance system functionality as needs change and new threats emerge. They also can proactively add new technology that enhances their ability to protect incoming and outgoing data collection through a physical access control system. 4) Reduced installation costs OSDPs use of two wires (as compared to a potential of 11 wires with Wiegand) allows for multi-drop installation, supervised connections to indicate reader malfunctions, and scalability to connect more field devices. Daisy-chaining accommodates many readers connected to a single controller, eliminating the need to run home-run wiring for each reader, and the use of a four-conductor cable achieves up to 10x longer distances between reader and controller than Wiegand while also powering the reader and sending/receiving data. 5) User friendly OSDP gives credential holders greater ease of use, with audio and visual feedback such as coloured lights, audible beeps, and the ability to display alerts on the reader. For security administrators, managing and servicing OSDP-enabled readers also becomes increasingly convenient, as OSDP-enabled readers can be remotely configured from network-connected locations. Users can poll and query readers from a central location, eliminating the cost and time to physically visit and diagnose malfunctioning devices. Unlimited application enhancements OSDP streamlines installations and upgrades while saving organisations the expense of replacing readers OSDP supports advanced smartcard technology applications, including PKI/FICAM and biometrics, and other enhanced authentication protocols used in applications that require Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) compliance and interactive terminal capabilities. Audio-visual user feedback mechanisms provide a rich, user-centric access control environment. OSDP offers advantages for users, administrators, and integrators, alike. It adds security and real-world efficiencies, and its interoperability ensures that organisations can use systems from numerous manufacturers as they invest in infrastructure that maximises the protection of critical data. For our part, HID Globals range of HID Signo readers is OSDP verified, ensuring they offer the intended interoperability and security for secure bidirectional communication and provide an easy migration from Wiegand devices. In a campus environment, OSDP streamlines installations and upgrades while saving organisations the expense of replacing readers if a new access control solution is implemented. There are also service and maintenance benefits as OSDP encourages continuous monitoring of system uptime and allows for remote configuration of -- or upgrades to -- a reader. Cost savings upon system upgrade Integrators can also capitalise on the introduction of OSDP by encouraging open standards, which can, in turn, help them build new customer relationships and win more projects. Although upgrading to access control systems that adhere to OSDP standards is a significant initiative, the range of benefits outweighs the cost of upgrading. Increased security coupled with business efficiencies adds value for those administering the system and a high level of interoperability ensures users can deploy systems from numerous third-party manufacturers. Integrators who understand the benefits of OSDP can also help their customers support both current and future technology requirements. When a sites needs change, OSDP offers significant cost savings as the open functionality makes adding new devices easier and reduces the expense of requiring all readers to be replaced if a new solution is installed. Businesses and organisations transitioning to OSDP will also enhance value in terms of operational costs such as servicing and maintenance.
State lawmakers are considering a ban on campaign contributions from investor-owned utilities in South Carolina, after the cancellation of two nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer station.
Georgetown City Administrator Paul Gardner, right, presents a gift to former city councilman Ed Kimbrough Dec. 21 in the city's municipal court. The meeting was the last for Kimbrough and mayor Jack Scoville.
The Andromeda galaxy, our Milky Way's closest neighbor, is the most distant object in the sky that you can see with your unaided eye  but only on a clear night from a location with a very dark sky. The galaxy is a beautiful spiral, but one fact you may not be aware of: Were safe for a few billion years, but Andromeda is headed our way and on a collision course with the Milky Way.

Andromeda's close proximity to Earth  at only 2.5 million light-years away  makes it a convenient target to observe for extrapolations about other spiral galaxies. In recent years, scientists have done detailed studies of black holes, stars and other objects within the galaxy. This included a stunning mosaic of Andromeda galaxy images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2015.

Location, location, location

This mosaic of M31 merges 330 individual images taken by the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope aboard NASA's Swift spacecraft. It is the highest-resolution image of the galaxy ever recorded in the ultraviolet. The image shows a region 200,000 light-years wide and 100,000 light-years high (100 arcminutes by 50 arcminutes). (Image credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler (GSFC) and Erin Grand (UMCP))

The visible fuzzy patch of stars stretches about as long as the width of the full moon, and half as wide; only with significant magnification can you tell it stretches six times that length in fullness.

A spiral galaxy like the Milky Way, Andromeda contains a concentrated bulge of matter in the middle, surrounded by a disk of gas, dust, and stars and an immense halo. Though Andromeda contains approximately a trillion stars to the 250 billion in the Milky Way, our galaxy is actually more massive, because it is thought to contain more dark matter. [Andromeda Galaxy Photos: Amazing Pictures of M31]

Collision course

Artist's conception of the Milkomeda galaxy a trillion years from now. (Image credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA))

Andromeda and the Milky Way are heading on a collision course that will alter the structure of the two galaxies forever. The galaxies are rushing closer to one another at about 70 miles per second (112 kilometers per second). Astronomers estimate that Andromeda will collide with the Milky Way in 4 billion years, with the merger concluding 6 billion years from now. By that time, the sun will have swollen into a red giant and swallowed up the terrestrial planets, so Earth will have other things to worry about. [Milky Way Galaxy's Head-On Crash with Andromeda in Pictures (Gallery)]

Still, the fresh influx of dust should boost star formation in the new "Milkomeda" galaxy, and the Earthless sun may well leave the Milky Way for good. After a messy phase, where arms project crazily from the combined pair, the two should settle into a smooth elliptical galaxy.

Galaxy collisions are a normal part of the universe's evolution. In fact, both Andromeda and the Milky Way bear signs of having already crashed into other galaxies. Andromeda boasts a large ring of dust in its center, giving it an interesting shape. Astronomers believe this dust may have formed when it swallowed an existing galaxy.

Early observational history

In 964, the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi described the galaxy as a "small cloud" in his "Book of Fixed Stars," the first known report of our nearest neighbor. When Charles Messier labeled it M31 in 1764, he incorrectly credited the discovery of what was then called a nebula to the German astronomer, Simon Marius, who provided the first telescopic observation of the object. The first photographs of Andromeda were taken in 1887, by Isaac Roberts.

This image of the Andromeda Galaxy is a composite of an infrared photo from ESA's Herschel space telescope and the XMM-Newtons X-ray telescope. The infrared frame shows rings of dust that trace gaseous reservoirs where new stars are forming and the X-ray image shows stars approaching the ends of their lives. (Image credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/J.Fritz, U.Gent/XMM-Newton/EPIC/W. Pietsch, MPE)

In the 1920s, the distant galaxy became part of the Great Debate between American astronomers Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis. At the time, astronomers thought the Milky Way composed the whole universe, and the strange patches known as nebulae lay inside of them. Curtis had spotted various novae in Andromeda, and argued instead that it was a separate galaxy.

The discussion wasn't concluded until 1925, when Edwin Hubble identified a special kind of star known as a Cepheid variable  a star whose characteristics allow for precise measurements of distance  within Andromeda. Because Shapley had previously determined that the Milky Way was only 100,000 light-years across, Hubble's calculations revealed that the fuzzy patch was too far away to lie within the Milky Way.

Hubble went on to use his measurements of the Doppler shifts of the galaxies to determine that the universe was expanding. The calculated distance to Andromeda doubled in the 1940s when Walter Baade was the first to observe individual stars in the central region of the galaxy, and found two different types of Cepheid variables. Radio maps of Andromeda followed in the 1950s, after radio emissions were detected by Hanbury Brown and Cyril Hazard at Jodrell Bank Observatory.

Recent Andromeda discoveries

Our understanding of the size of the Andromeda galaxy has grown bigger in recent years. In 2015, observations from the Hubble Space Telescope found that a halo of material surrounding Andromeda is six times larger and 1,000 times more massive than what was previously measured. (At the time, astronomers said the Milky Way may have a halo as well  and perhaps the two galaxies' halos are already starting to merge.) This follows on from revised size estimates in 2005 and 2007, based on observing stars and star motions.

In 2015, scientists released the most detailed photo of Andromeda ever using a mosaic of images from the Hubble Space Telescope. The image included 7,398 exposures taken over 411 pointings of the telescope. The image revealed more than 100 million stars within the galaxy, as well as dust structures and other features. At the time, scientists said the images would help with extrapolating the structure of spiral galaxies that are even farther from Earth, making them more difficult to view in such detail.

Black hole activities within Andromeda also came under scrutiny. In late 2017, scientists unexpectedly found two supermassive black holes closely orbiting each other. At the time, the research team said these black holes were likely the "most tightly coupled" of any supermassive ones known.

A search using NASA's Chandra X-Ray Telescope yielded 26 black hole candidates in Andromeda in 2013, making this the biggest catch of such candidates ever found in another galaxy besides our own Milky Way. Another 40 black holes were tracked down in 2016 using NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), which specializes in X-ray observations.

Scientists tracked down a probable pulsar  a dead star that spins rapidly  in Andromeda in 2017. The X-ray source was first cataloged by NASA's Swift satellite as object Swift J0042.6+4112, and then characterized by NuSTAR. The newer observations found that this object's spectrum of light appears similar to pulsars in the Milky Way.

Other miscellaneous discoveries in Andromeda include tracking star birth and death in infrared wavelengths in 2011; discovering gamma-ray radiation in 2017 that could be an indication of dark matter, a substance that is only known through its effects on "ordinary" matter such as galaxies; and spotting a ring of dwarf galaxies around Andromeda in 2013  something that could also be present around the Milky Way.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Howell, Space.com contributor

Correction: This article was updated on March 11, 2019 to include the correct estimated number of stars in the Milky Way.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program will likely start test flights this year, six and a half years after STS-135, the last human spaceflight mission to lift off from American soil.

A NASA update, released Jan. 4, outlines what the two participating companies  Boeing and SpaceX  will do to prepare their vehicles for space in the coming year. Under the schedule, both Boeing and SpaceX will fly uncrewed flights in 2018. SpaceX also plans to fly astronauts this year, but neither NASA nor Boeing provided details on when the crewed Boeing flights will occur. Boeing and SpaceX are performing the flights as a part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program under a contract that began in 2014. [The Most Exciting Space Missions to Watch in 2018]

Three crew modules and several service models for Boeing's spacecraft, called the CST-100 Starliner, will be outfitted at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials said in the update. Boeing plans several service-module hot-fire tests in White Sands, New Mexico; environmental testing in El Segundo, California; and tests in 2018 concerning loads, shock and separation in Huntington Beach, California.

Boeing's spacesuit will undergo multiple tests. The company will also test the spacecraft's engines and conduct a pad abort test at White Sands, recovery training in the western United States and parachute testing near Yuma, Arizona. (Boeing has already finished two of the five qualification tests for parachutes.)

The culmination of this work will be an uncrewed orbital flight test in which CST-100 leaves Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and docks to the International Space Station for two weeks. This test flight will demonstrate how the launch vehicle, spacecraft and Boeing team perform during a flight. Boeing will then run the first crewed flight, which will have two astronauts on board and will launch from a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from the same launch complex. (The company did not give an expected date for either the uncrewed or the crewed launch.)

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is already used for cargo flights to the space station, but a crewed version is in development. The company expects to wrap up structural qualification tests on the crewed Dragon in the first half of 2018, NASA officials said in the update; SpaceX also will continue hardware and software testing on the environment-control-and-life-support system, as well as preparations for the crew module

The company plans to extensively test its spacesuits, Merlin/SuperDraco engines, parachutes and recovery training procedures. Like Boeing, SpaceX has already completed some of its parachute qualifications. The spacecraft will be recovered off the coast of Florida, so that is also where the recovery training will take place.

SpaceX plans two flight tests in 2018, according to the update. Demo-1 will happen in the second quarter, when an uncrewed Dragon will launch from Space Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. This test will encompass the Falcon 9 rocket, the Dragon spacecraft and ground systems. The second test flight, called Demo-2, will happen in the third quarter of 2018. In this mission, two NASA astronauts will fly to and from the International Space Station using Dragon. [Boeing Unveils Spacesuits for Starliner Astronaut Taxi (Photos)]

SpaceX also plans an in-flight abort test at Kennedy Space Center in 2018, in between its two demonstration flights; the company will demonstrate how Dragon can safely pull itself away from a rocket in case of an in-flight emergency.

Once the companies pass their certification tests, both SpaceX and Boeing are expected to fly six crew missions each to the International Space Station between 2019 and 2024.

The last mission to fly from U.S. soil was STS-135, in July 2011; since then, NASA has been buying seats on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to continue ferrying its astronauts from Kazakhstan to space until a replacement spacecraft is ready.

As the shuttle entered its last few years of service, NASA embarked on a Commercial Crew Program with multiple phases. During the first phase of the program, in 2010, NASA awarded a total of $50 million to five American companies. Each phase of the program was competitive, with multiple companies applying for spots. Phase 2 took place between 2011 and 2012, and Phase 3 was from 2012 to 2014.

In 2014, Boeing and SpaceX were selected in the final phase, which is intended to make their spacecraft fully ready for flight. The potential value for the companies in the final phase is $4.2 billion for Boeing and $2.6 billion for SpaceX, depending on what milestones they meet.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
The National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-47 satellite, encapsulated inside a 16.5-foot (5 meters) payload fairing, is mated to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Update for 8 pm ET: The launch of the spy satellite NROL-47 has been delayed to Friday, Jan. 12, at 4 p.m. EST. Visit Space.com then for complete launch coverage.

The United States government plans to launch a new classified reconnaissance satellite Thursday (Jan. 11), and you can watch the liftoff live. The launch, originally planned for Wednesday, was delayed 24 hours due to high winds, according to launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA).

The NROL-47 spacecraft is scheduled to launch atop a ULA Delta IV Medium rocket from California's Vandenberg Air Force today at 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT; 1 p.m. local California time). Watch the liftoff coverage here at Space.com, courtesy of ULA, beginning at 3:40 p.m. EST (2040 GMT; 12:40 p.m. local time).

You can also watch the webcast directly via ULA.

"We are ready and eager to take on this Delta launch," launch commander Col. Greg Wood, vice commander of the Air Force's 30th Space Wing, said in a statement. "We are proud to provide this national defense capability, and every Team V member involved has tirelessly worked to ensure the launch is safe and successful."

As its name suggests, NROL-47 will be operated by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the agency in charge of the nation's fleet of spy satellites. NRO missions are generally classified, so it's unclear what NROL-47 will be doing as it cruises around Earth.

Today's liftoff will be ULA's first space mission of 2018, and its 27th overall for the NRO. The company launched three NRO satellites in 2017, all of them aboard Atlas V rockets.

Today's launch will be the 36th by a Delta IV, a two-stage rocket that started flying in 2002, ULA representatives said.

If the NROL-47 launch isn't enough for you, you're in luck. Space agencies in China and India are also expected to launch rockets Thursday.

At China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, a Long March 3B rocket is scheduled to launch two Beidou navigation satellites into orbit to join the country's space-based navigation network. That launch is scheduled for around 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT).

Later, the India Space Research Organisation will launch a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying the Cartosat 2 Earth-mapping satellite and 30 other smaller payloads into orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India. Liftoff is scheduled for 10:58 p.m. EST (0358 GMT).

ISRO will provide a launch webcast here beginning at 10:30 p.m. EST (0330 GMT), according to ISRO officials.

Editor's note: This story, originally posted at 7 a.m. EST on Jan. 10, has been updated to include launch delay details and the additional rocket launches scheduled for Jan. 11.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
A pair of spectacular images of an ethereal spiral in the night sky may show the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket after it launched a secret satellite for the U.S. government on Sunday night (Jan. 7).

The photos, posted on Twitter, show a brilliant spiral that appeared in the night sky shortly after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Zuma satellite on a mystery mission for the U.S. government. Some media reports, citing anonymous government officials, have reported that the Northrop Grumman-built Zuma spacecraft may have failed after it launched into orbit. SpaceX representatives have said their Falcon 9 rocket performed as expected during the Zuma launch. A Northrop Grumman representative said the company cannot comment on the mission due to its classified nature. [See amazing photos of SpaceX's Zuma launch]

One photo, taken by Dutch pilot Peter Horstink, shows a dazzling aerial view of an object in the sky, taken as Horstink flew on a freighter aircraft. The object appears as a greenish-blue spiral, seen as Horstink flew 35,000 feet (11,000 meters) above the Earth's surface near the city of Khartoum, Sudan, according to veteran satellite tracker Marco Langbroek, who posted the photo on Twitter.

See more

Langbroek said both photos show what appears to be a normal venting of excess fuel by the upper stage of the SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket after separating from its payload. Such venting procedures are typical after launches, done to avoid explosions after spacecraft separation, Langbroek wrote on his satellite-tracking website.

Another photo in Sudan, posted to Twitter by Sam Cornwell, shows a view of the spiral from the ground.

See more

SpaceX launched the secret Zuma spacecraft on Sunday night from the company's Space Launch Complex 40 pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was built by Northrop Grumman for a U.S. government agency, but which agency that is has not yet been revealed.

The mission was SpaceX's first launch of 2018 and the company's third classified launch for the U.S. government. In May 2017, SpaceX launched a classified spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, following that in September with the launch of an X-37B robotic space plane on a secret mission for the U.S. Air Force. The X-37B space plane is still in orbit on its classified OTV-5 mission.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
The Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico recorded highly polarized signals from the fast radio burst source FRB 121102, twisted by an extreme region of magnetized plasma.

New work probes the extraterrestrial source of incredibly powerful explosions of radio waves, investigating why that spot is the only known location to repeatedly burst with these blasts.

These repeating bursts may come from a dense stellar core called a neutron star near an extraordinarily powerful magnetic field, such as one near a massive black hole, the study finds.

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are intense pulses of radio waves lasting just milliseconds that can give off more energy in a fraction of a second than the sun does in hours, days or weeks. FRBs were discovered only in 2007, and while researchers have detected 20 or so FRBs in the past decade, they estimate that such flashes might occur as many as 10,000 times a day across the entire sky, researchers wrote in the study. [Inside a Neutron Star (Infographic)]

Much remains a mystery about the origins of FRBs, because their brief nature makes it difficult to pinpoint where they come from. Among the possibilities that prior work suggested are cataclysmic events such as the evaporation of black holes and collisions between neutron stars.

A 3D-printed depiction of one of FRB 121102's radio bursts detected with Arecibo shows how bright the burst was as a function of observed radio frequency and time. (Image credit: Anne Archibald/University of Amsterdam)

However, in 2016, scientists discovered that a fast radio burst known as FRB 121102 could release multiple bursts. "It is the only known repeating fast radio burst source," study co-lead author Jason Hessels, an astrophysicist at the University of Amsterdam, told Space.com.

That FRB 121102 can explode over and over again suggests it does not come from some one-time cataclysmic event, Hessels said. "A key question in the field is whether this repeating fast radio burst source is fundamentally different compared to all the other apparently nonrepeating sources," he said.

To learn more about this FRB, scientists used the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia to analyze data on 16 bursts from object. FRB 121102 is located in a star-forming region of a dwarf galaxy found about 3 billion light-years from Earth, Hessels said. Because astronomers can see it from such a great distance, the amount of energy in a single millisecond of each of these bursts must be about as much as the sun releases in an entire day, Hessels and his colleagues said in a statement.

In studying these emissions, the researchers focused on a feature of radio waves known as polarization. This property occurs because all light waves, including radio waves, can ripple up and down, left and right, or at any angle in between. The radio waves from FRB 121102 were short in duration and strongly polarized (with most of the radio waves all rippling in the same direction), similar to radio emissions from young energetic neutron stars previously seen in the Milky Way galaxy, Andrew Seymour, co-author on the study and a researcher at the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center at Arecibo Observatory, said in the statement.

The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia measured a complicated structure in a fast radio burst from the source FRB 121102. The telescope detected the burst using a new recording system from the Breakthrough Listen project. (Image credit: Image design: Danielle Futselaar - Photo usage: Shutterstock.com)

When radio waves pass through a magnetized plasma, or cloud of electrically charged particles, the direction in which they are polarized can twist, an effect known as Faraday rotation. Hessels and his colleagues found that FRB 121102's radio bursts were more than 500 times more twisted than those from any other FRB to date. Gorgeous New Hubble Photo Reveals 'Beating Heart' of Crab Nebula

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw the data. Such extreme Faraday rotation is extremely rare," Hessels said in the statement.

This extreme twisting suggests that FRB 121102's bursts passed through an extraordinarily hot plasma with an extremely strong magnetic field. Such plasmas might exist near either a black hole more than 10,000 times the mass of the sun or the remnant of a supernova, the researchers said.

"Myself and many others would love to know whether this fast radio burst phenomenon has a single or multiple physical origins," Hessels said. "There is a whole host of telescopes coming online in the next few years that promise to discover many more such sources and to answer these questions."

The scientists detailed their findings in the Jan. 11 issue of the journal Nature.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
John Young (left) and Gus Grissom flew on the first crewed Gemini flight, Gemini 3, on March 23, 1965. Here, they're shown in the spacecraft simulator at the McDonnell plant in St. Louis. One additional "passenger" on the real flight was a corned-beef sandwich that Young smuggled aboard in his pocket.

While John Young, who died on Jan. 5 at age 87, is famous for his Apollo 16 moonwalks and his role as commander of the first space shuttle mission, the NASA astronaut is also remembered for a small scandal he triggered with a sneaky act: smuggling a corned-beef sandwich into space.

Young slipped the sandwich into his pocket just before launching on Gemini 3 on March 23, 1965. It was the first U.S. mission to carry two astronauts  Young and his crewmate, Gus Grissom. But the Soviets had launched their own two-person mission, Voskhod 2, less than a week earlier, so tensions were already high among politicians when Gemini 3 safely made it to space and efficiently completed its objectives.

The corned-beef sandwich sparked a brief conversation between Young and Grissom, according to the Gemini 3 transcript. The chat lasted for only about a minute of the nearly 6-hour mission.[John Young in Photos: Astronaut, Moonwalker, Shuttle Pioneer]

"What is it?" Grissom asked. "Corned-beef sandwich," Young replied. "Where did that come from?" Grissom asked. Answered Young: "I brought it with me. Let's see how it tastes. Smells, doesn't it?"

Grissom tasted the sandwich but quickly announced he would stick it back in his pocket because it was starting to break up. Young suggested the sandwich was "a thought  not a very good one." Replied Grissom: "Pretty good, though, if it would just hold together."

A corned beef sandwich, embedded in acrylic, is exhibited at the Grissom Memorial Museum in Mitchell, Ind., to "memorialize the infamous sandwich" on Gemini 3. (Image credit: Raymond K. Cunningham, Jr. via collectSPACE.com)

Shortly after returning home from the mission, Grissom later recounted the taste test for Life magazine. "I took a bite, but crumbs of rye bread started floating all around the cabin," he said, adding that he and Young enjoyed "the chance to carry out some real 'firsts' in spaceflight." [Space Food Evolution: How Astronaut Chow Has Changed (Photos)]

But the brief incident sparked a review by the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Appropriations, in which one member of Congress called it "a $30 million sandwich" and politicians cited safety concerns about crumbs interfering with spacecraft operations. Several senior NASA officials, including then-Administrator James Webb, testified at the proceedings.

Young recalled that review in his 2012 memoir "Forever Young": "Today the theater that took place inside the meeting room that day strikes me as totally comic, but I can assure you that those testifying for NASA at the time were not smiling."

A frequently cited quote from that meeting comes from George Mueller, then NASA's associate administrator for manned space flight: "We have taken steps  to prevent recurrence of corned-beef sandwiches in future flights," he said.

Corned beef flies officially in 1981

The offending sandwich came from a Cocoa Beach, Florida, deli called Wolfie's Restaurant and Sandwich Shop, at the Ramada Inn. (The chain closed in 2002, according to Space.com partner site collectSPACE.) Noted astronaut prankster Wally Schirra bought the sandwich and gave it to Young, who smuggled it on board in a spacesuit pocket.

For context, early space food (by today's standards) was pretty bland, with astronauts often needing to suck nutrition out of a pouch. Today, astronauts commonly make their own sandwiches (and even pizzas) on the International Space Station  but they use tortilla bread to reduce crumbs.

"I didn't think it was any big deal," Young wrote in his memoirs of the sandwich, pointing out that one of the mission objectives had been to test NASA food anyway. "It was very common to carry sandwiches  in fact, the corned beef was the third sandwich that had been carried on a spacecraft."

Corned beef did appear on the menu of the first space shuttle mission in April 1981 -- which Young happened to command.

While the infamous sandwich is no longer available to historians, a similar one, preserved in acrylic, is on display at the Grissom Memorial Museum in Mitchell, Indiana.

Chris Kraft was NASA's flight director during Gemini 3. In his 2001 memoir, "Flight," Kraft defended the astronauts' actions. "No matter how brave or focused an astronaut is, there's a tension in spaceflight that none of us on the ground can truly appreciate. A moment of diversion up there is no bad thing."

Young added that, in any case, the sandwich was missing some ingredients. "It didn't even have mustard on it," he wrote. "And no pickle."

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.




Thanks to Ezio Auditore for the heads up.





The crossover, which will begin on Wednesday night with Chicago P.D. and then finish out with Chicago Fire on Thursday, will see Dawson (Monica Raymund) and Brett (Kara Killmer) trading in their EMT hats for some undercover action with Chicago P.D.'s Central Intelligence crew. After saving a heart attack victim, Antonio (Jon Seda) will enlist them to help with a case regarding said person."Antonio comes to the firehouse and asks Boden (Eamonn Walker) [to use them] in their roles as paramedics to distract this guy so [Central Intelligence] can slip into their house," Chicago Fire showrunner Derek Haas tells TV Guide. It's a break from traditional crossover episodes which usually features one show handing off the case to another. This time around, you can expect to see even more overlap than before."It'll focus on a man whose life has been essentially destroyed by social media," Chicago P.D. boss Rick Eid explains. Described as a "real journalist," he'll seek revenge on someone who apparently has been spreading lies about him. "It's a real journalist who played by the rules, who checked his sources and vetted the facts, [and] is on the wrong end of a social media smear campaign."




Here we are, first episode of 2018! Woo!



Or maybe that should be more like, ...woo.... Because the first episode of this year...was kind of a dud. Which is a shame, given the show went into the winter break on a fantastic note, with the intense, suspenseful, engrossing False Flag. It wouldve been nice to continue that excellent streak into the new year, especially since elements of this case had some interesting potential and couldve led the story in a totally different, and less goofy, direction.



That was not to be, though. But you know me, I always like to look at the positive where I can, and Ill certainly highlight those moments in this review when they come along. Lets get to this.



The Case:



The opening scene to this episode certainly seems appealing at first. Theres romantic music playing, lit candles sitting alongside a pool, a womans bikini top floating in the water. Looks like were about to interrupt some kind of sexy rendezvous.



Or, you know, were going to see the womans dead body floating in the water instead. Eek. Talk about ruining the mood. Things get even more disturbing when we see a man bound and gagged, a cinder block attached to his ropes. Hes pushed into the pool shortly after, and thats the last we see of the poor guy.



As Garcia soon informs the team (and us), the unfortunate couple are Larry and Wanda, and they were newlyweds. Aw. Wanda was shot in the chest, and Larry obviously drowned. The unsub also looked to have robbed the couples home, since some of Rhondas jewelry has been reported missing.



And since these sorts of crimes typically arent isolated events, the team also learns of two other similar robbery/homicides that happened recently in Ramona, California. One involved an eighty-one year old man named Ben, the other a man named Burt. Both men were killed in the exact same manner as Larry  drowning in their backyard pools  and Bens coin collection was taken from his home. Its revealed later on the plane that Burts bowling trophies were stolen from his place, much to Lukes confusion. The types of things stolen may be different, but the robbery/homicide angle and the use of pools are pretty much the main connection between the victims. They were all longtime residents of the area, but none of them knew each other. How the unsub found all of them is yet another in the many mysteries the team will have to solve.



While the teams making their way out to California, its time to meet the unsub. Hes pouring bleach directly into his eyes. Okay, so this is clearly going to be one of those weird unsubs.



Dont suppose you folks brought some rainmaking secrets with you?



Once the team gets settled in at the police station in Ramona, they meet the local sheriff in charge of this case. His name is Clifford Mason, and hes got his own theory regarding this rash of robberies. Ramonas been struggling with drought conditions in recent times, and thats had a negative impact on the tourism and outdoor activity businesses. As a result, the economy is struggling, and when that happens, people get desperate. Its a valid theory, bolstered even more by the fact that the unsub specifically uses pools in their M.O. A commentary on the drought and its impacts? A way to punish those who have the luxury of things like pools while others are low on much needed water? Something to consider.



Rossi and JJs investigation of Larry and Wandas home gives the team a few more answers and new avenues to consider as well. This is an unusual robbery in the sense that theres no forced entry. Rather, the unsub looks to have walked straight through the gate, no problem. The house itself was trashed, however. Neither victim has any defensive wounds, and theres no indication Wanda was sexually assaulted, as she seemed to be half undressed before the attack.



One other odd thing about the robbery that jumps out: the unsub only took costume jewelry. That stuff may be pretty and fun to wear, but its not exactly going to fetch a lot of money for a robber. And the way the home was trashed seemed rather staged. Bens coin collection wasnt worth much, either, and it was scattered along the shoreline of a nearby lake. The unsub clearly had no interest in keeping the things he stole. These revelations lead JJ to believe that the robberies are nothing more than an afterthought, a smokescreen of sorts to throw off the investigators.



Late on, while the team explores the lakeshore and attempts to collect the coins for evidence, a new and horrifying discovery is made. A mans body is found in the lake...and as Sheriff Mason informs the team, dead bodies arent exactly an uncommon site in this lake. Apparently theres lots of skeletons and other human remains there from over the years. Why? Well, the lake was a man-made one, you see, and as it formed, people who went to hang out in the area would sometimes get caught in the water and drown. Thanks to the recent drought lowering the water levels, however, more and more of those peoples bodies are being found. So thats incredibly creepy.



Mason and the team dont know it, but theyre being watched by the unsub. Hes observing the entire lakeside investigation from a distance through his binoculars, and once he sets them down, we get a proper glimpse at his face at last. And frankly, he looks like he should audition for the role of the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera. That bleach messed up the right side of his face pretty good.



His observation of the team is interrupted shortly after by a young boy named Tim. He apparently saw the whole thing with the retrieval of the body from the lake. The unsub asks him what the body looked like, and Tim apparently doesnt seem fazed by the idea of an adult asking a child such a dark question. Tim and the unsub then acknowledge the fact that they both believe in ghosts. Mmkay.



Back at the station, the team examines all the evidence they have thus far, and theres still a few details that are puzzling them. The murders are very organized and planned out, while the thefts are disorganized and impulsive. Could there be some sort of weird symbolic aspect to the way these crimes play out? Theres also the fact that the lake is a ways away from the neighborhood where the crimes occurred. Why would the unsub need to travel that far?



Let the dead rest in peace.



As the discussion about the whole situation with the lake continues, we learn at one point that its all really not sitting well with Sheriff Mason. Not because hes involved in this bizarre case somehow, but because he has his own sad story to tell regarding that lake. Years ago, his high school sweetheart drowned there. She and Mason had gone their separate ways after school, with her going on to have a family of her own, and Mason had always wondered what mightve been had they stayed together. Her death closed that chapter for good, sadly, and as much as Mason misses her, hes also not keen to find her body in the lake. He prefers to remember her as she was, and wants her to rest in peace where she is. Thats a really bittersweet story, I gotta say. Poor Mason.



The new information about the recovered bodies does manage to reveal another surprising bit of information, though. Nine people drowned in the lake last year. The first body was pulled out on November 22nd. The second was found November 28th. And then two more were discovered on December 3rd. Anyone want to guess what dates Ben, Burt, and Larry and Wanda, respectively, were murdered? Yep. The crimes coincided with the removal of the bodies. Chilling.



Unfortunately, the unsub is wasting no time in adding to his victim list, as we see him binding and gagging yet another man while wrapping and sewing him into a bedsheet. His M.O. is shifting a little this time, however. He forgoes the cinder block, using only a chair to weigh the man down this time, and instead were treated to a squirm-inducing moment where he brings a needle towards the poor mans eye. Thankfully, were spared the full extent of what he did there, but we do get the oh-so-lovely image soon after of seeing a needle sticking directly through the now dead mans nose. Said mans name is Walter, and he had a wife and children. Thankfully, theyre far away from this madness, visiting family in Florida. While the method of killing may be different, the robbery aspect is still the same  Walters place is ransacked, though nothing seems to be taken.



If theres one piece of good news in all of this horror, its that Walters murder does finally provide the answer behind the unsubs murder methods. Thanks to a call to Reid, Rossi tells the team that the whole needle in the nose thing is an old pirate technique used to determine that somebody is really dead. Between that and the theft of things like cheap jewelry and coins, and the unsubs more immature side coming out in the disorganized thefts, the team concludes that their unsub apparently believes hes a pirate. And those men he killed? They were simply walking the plank, as it were.



Okay, then.



So if this unsub sees himself as a pirate, that seems to speak to some sort of childhood incident, and further investigation appears to support that theory. Apparently, the unsubs trigger, whatever it is, mustve happened around the time the man-made lake was being created. All the family homes in the area were brought up and the families moved away  except for one man, a guy named Bob Turner. He didnt move away, but he did mysteriously disappear about twenty years prior. Perhaps he has some sort of connection to the unsub?



We specialize in mood adjustment.



Turns out it doesnt take long for the team to find him, and they do so in a rather unusual way. Bobs wandering the docks near the lake, calling out to people and trying to get their attention. He even pulls off one guys sunglasses, much to the guys chagrin. Before a fight can ensue, though, JJ and Luke show up and bring Bob in for an interview.



Problem is, Bobs not exactly in the mood to talk. That alone is enough to raise suspicions, but its his past that really raises some eyebrows. Garcia learns, through a search of Bobs history, that Bob Turner isnt even his real name! His actual name is Casey Peters. And why would he change his name? Well, hes kinda got a nice little rap sheet involving things like embezzlement and fraud. Oops. He hightailed it out of the area about twenty years ago once he learned the FBI was closing in on him, and he remained under the radar for twenty years. So whats lured him back to the area now? And is it just a coincidence he happens to be back in town right around the time a string of murders occurs?



As the teams trying to get Casey to open up, the unsub continues to stay busy (and is now sporting an eyepatch to cover his bleach-destroyed eye, because, yknow, pirates). He runs into Tim once again, and they get to chatting about random things. The conversation soon turns to the topic of pirates, and the unsub shares a story from his childhood, in which he and a friend would go around town dressing up like pirates and playing games and whatnot. They even went so far as to make an actual blood oath, mingling their blood together and reciting a pirates code.



The unsub then decides it would totally be a good idea to make a blood oath with Tim and play pirates with him. Tim agrees to this, because what kid doesnt want to share blood with a near total stranger? Its completely normal for strange men to ask children to do blood oaths! Anywho, so they go through with it, but Tims got one more step he must take in order to prove hes an official pirate. According to the unsub, he must stay out on the lake alone for an entire night.



Tim hesitates at this suggestion, claiming that his parents would worry about him if he were gone too long. HI, KID, YOU JUST SWAPPED BLOOD WITH A STRANGER, WHAT WOULD YOUR PARENTS SAY ABOUT THAT, HM? But he ultimately agrees, and I think we can safely say this will not end well. Somebody get this kid to a Dont talk to strangers lecture, stat.



Surprisingly, however, the unsub does not harm Tim at any point during the night. Instead, hes struggling with nightmares in which he himself tries to enter the lake, only for a dead body to pop up out of nowhere. Not going to lie, I actually flinched a bit when the body popped up in the unsubs dream. Tim, meanwhile, manages to follow through on his dare. Hes officially a pirate now! But the unsub is not finished with him.



While all this is going on, we finally get some proper information on our unsub. The guys name is Jess Carney, and not surprisingly, it seems he had a rough life. He ran away as a teen, was institutionalized for a while, and returned home at the age of twenty-four. He tried to resume a normal life, taking on a couple jobs in the area, but the bodies being recovered in the lake seemed to trigger something in him, and he began killing.



So what was his trigger? Well, it all has to do with Jess story he told Tim about his friend from childhood. His friends name was Leland, and they were true buddies. They liked to play pirate, just as Jess said, and did the whole blood pact thing. They also gathered up some trinkets to make their own buried treasure, and hid it away down by what would eventually become the man-made lake. I think you can see where this is going. One day, Leland went down to where their treasure was buried to keep an eye on it as the lake was being filled up. Sadly, he got swept away into the water and drowned. Jess was supposed to go with him, but he got too scared and backed out at the last minute.



So basically, Jess has simply been trying to recreate his friends death in a twisted sort of way, perhaps in an attempt to deal with his guilt over abandoning and losing him, and dumping the coins along the shoreline of the lake was some sort of sacrifice, as well as an attempt to add to the boys' "buried treasure".



And now it looks as though he wants to use Tim as a sacrifice/recreation sort of thing. True to form, he binds the boy, adds the cinder block, and prepares to toss him in the water. Hes interrupted, however, by Matt, whos arrived on the scene to try and capture Jess. His plans go awry, however, as his presence startles Jess...and Jess responds by shooting Matt! He then throws Tim in the water and attempts to escape via his boat.



Luckily, Matts bulletproof vest takes the brunt of the bullets, and he recovers enough to jump into the water and rescue Tim. Hes unable to get to Jess, though, as hes long gone by the time Matt and Tim get back onto the dock. But Tim is okay, and hes reunited with his parents, and Matts injuries look to be minor at best, so at least that part of the story ended well.



As for Casey Peters? Hes not the unsub, obviously, but he is connected to the case in a tangential way  hes Leland's father! He returned to the area upon hearing about the murders, believing his son was involved in them. He tried to look for him, but when he couldnt find him, he started to believe that his son mightve actually been among the bodies hidden in the lake.



His son isn't the murderer, which is good, but unfortunately, the team has to inform him of Leland's death in the process. Casey admits that hed hoped that Leland was involved with the murders, which sounds like an odd thing to say on the surface, but he explains his reason as to why. If Leland was involved, that meant he was still alive, and that meant that maybe Casey might be able to see his son again, even if only through prison visits. Hed just missed a potential reunion with his son, and now hell spend time alone in a jail cell for his own crimes.



Later that night, the team and Sheriff Mason both head back out to the lake for a moment of reflection. A short time later, as the team prepares to leave for home, it starts to rain.



Okay, so lets get the main aspect of this episode out of the way  the whole pirate story and setup. The idea of somebody struggling to deal with the death of a childhood friend, and being stuck in a state of arrested development because of such a tragic loss, is an interesting idea in and of itself. I think that part of the story worked the best  the untimely death of Leland, and Jess desire to reunite with him, is genuinely heartbreaking, and it makes sense that somebody who was already struggling with personal issues would be especially affected by that event, to the point where they could become a killer. The mental instability can also plausibly explain the unusual nature of his crimes.



Where the story got all awkward and weird was in the unsubs methods. If the lake was his main focus, why not just kill all his victims there, instead of in pools in areas far away. I could get that he wouldnt want to clog the lake with more bodies, as that would muddy up any hopes he might have of finding Lelands body...but considering he was willing to throw Tim in there, that seems to counter that argument to some degree. Plus, since it was the lake that killed his friend, one would think that hed use it as part of his murder spree as some kind of retaliation towards those who decided to put the water there in the first place, and kick families like his out of their homes.



The sacrifice angle with the coins kinda fell flat, too, since that was the only item from his victims that he dumped near the lake. They didn't mention whether or not he dumped the jewelry and trophies there, too - if not, why not? And if so, one would think they would've mentioned that. And on a similar note, why would he steal bowling trophies? The gold and glitter of them would fit the treasure theme, yes, but why not find something else that was gold and glittery in nature to steal instead that would connect better to the pirate theme? Or why not make the trophies be for something other than bowling? It just seemed an odd thing to steal.



The whole walk the plank bit didnt make sense, either, because, well, no, the men didnt walk the plank, at least, not literally speaking. They were shoved into the water while tied down to something. It wouldve been more effective, and fit the pirate theme better, if hed actually made the men walk a plank, holding a weapon towards them to make them comply all the while.



And the victimology seemed off, too. Targeting Tim made sense, because he was closer to the age Leland was when he died. But targeting random older men didnt really seem to fit with his whole pirate setup. There was no connection between them, and they had no ties to the lake or Leland. It wouldve made sense if theyd been among those who brought up the homes along the lake  that would be enough motive for Jess to seek revenge, and it seems a missed opportunity on the writers part. And since they didnt go with that idea, I think it wouldve made much more sense for Jess, who was perpetually stuck in a thirteen year old mindset, to target people around that age. It wouldve made the story even creepier, too  he couldve been a Pied Piper sort, luring children to an unsuspecting end.



Ultimately, though, I think it mightve made more sense to just forgo the whole pirate aspect of things altogether. The bodies appearing out of the lake was the much more interesting part of the story, I felt, and Lelands tragic death at the lake couldve still worked in that setting without having to bring the pirate theme in at all. Maybe Jess and Leland snuck down there to play one night, only for Leland to be sucked under. Maybe theres a more sinister reason behind all the drownings in the lake, Leland's included, that would push Jess to seek revenge. Heck, maybe Jess himself was responsible for some of the drownings before being institutionalized, and once he got out, he resumed killing people at the lake. I dunno, Im just spitballing ideas here, but any one of those ideas wouldve been far more realistic and appropriately creepy than an unsub wanting to play pirate would be.



For that matter, Jess didnt even need to be the unsub at all. Given how antsy Sheriff Mason was throughout the whole case, especially when it came to the bodies in the lake, I initially wondered if he was going to be our unsub. The victimology wouldve made a lot more sense with a killer like him, since he was an older guy himself, and with his knowledge of the lake, and his own personal loss related to it, theres some potential for motive right there. Maybe one of the male victims had some connection to his high school sweetheart, or he couldve just targeted newlyweds like Larry and Wanda out of bitterness for his own love slipping away, and used some of the stuff stolen from the house to honor her. Stuff like that. Or heck, dont let Mason be the unsub, but have his initial theory about the robbery/homicides being economically motivated be the main focus. That wouldve made for a really good story idea, too.



I also feel it wouldve made sense for Mason to have some bigger role in this whole case, unsub or not, mainly because otherwise, he really didnt have much to do this episode. You get somebody like Lou Diamond Phillips on your show, he should have some major involvement of some kind in the storyline.



Then theres Matt being shot. Lets just set aside the idea that Matt would easily bounce back right away to where he could dive right into the water to save a child with no problems, cause whatever, this shows had a few unrealistic moments like that with the team, so I can shrug that off.



But the fact he wasnt impacted at all aside from being knocked down for a moment made the idea of him getting shot at all pretty pointless. Jess couldve simply tossed Tim into the water and started away in his boat without having to fire a shot at all. The fact that we didnt get any sort of How are you doing? moment with him afterward just further showed how unnecessary the shooting was.



Theres also the fact that Matt may not have been shot at all, and the team may have been able to nab Jess in time, if Matt had some kind of backup on him from the get-go. Sure, he called for it when he came upon Jess and Tim, but Im finding it kind of odd how some episodes this season have had team members wandering off alone to confront an unsub. I would think the events of Wheels Up wouldve shaken the team up enough to where nobody dares go anywhere alone again, and wouldve led Emily to be a lot tougher on that part of things.



As noted at the beginning of this review, though, I like to touch on the positive, too, and I will say that the backstories for Mason, Jess, and Casey legitimately worked for me. Masons story explained his deep investment in and unnerved reactions to the case perfectly, and I felt for him at the end of the episode as he stood at the lake, reflecting on his lost love. I mentioned already how heartbreaking Jess story was. And Caseys longing to reunite with his son, and his explanation why he hoped Leland was tied to the murders, was rather poignant in its own right. I also liked the discussion, brief though it was, regarding letting the dead rest in peace, instead of digging their bodies up. Its those quiet little moments, those emotional backstories, that draw me into the cases on this show.



I also admit to liking the whole thing with the rain falling at the end. Cliche as hell? Yes. But somehow it worked for me anyway.



So the case was alternately kinda meh and weird. Was the personal side story any more exciting?



Meanwhile, back at Quantico:



Eh, no. Rossis tired because he was up late the night before, the result of a long-running poker game, he claims. Thats it. There was a funny bit where JJ tries to guess who some of his poker buddies may have been (Ringo Starr, an old general friend of Rossis, and Judge Judy. And the mere idea of Rossi and Judge Judy playing poker together entertains me greatly), but theres no further mention of Rossis late night beyond that. Pretty uneventful, huh?



Or maybe not. The way the camera lingered on Rossi both when he was getting coffee and after the rest of the team headed towards the conference room, leaving him alone, had me wondering if maybe the late night poker game explanation was made up, and theres a deeper reason behind his being up late. If thats the case, then I wish we couldve touched on that story a bit more in the episode. Or that we can touch on it in a future episode. If thats not the case, however, then it was a humorous little moment, but nothing more.



So the first episode of 2018 may have been on the more routine side, but Im hopeful that the next episode will be much more exciting. Its the fourth collaboration between Kirsten Vangsness and Erica Messer, and Ive liked all the episodes theyve written together thus far, so Im looking forward to what comes of that one. Especially since, unlike their other collaborative efforts, this episode will not be centered around a specific team member.



Also, Reid returns from his break next episode, so hopefully we can get an update on how his time off went as well. Until next time, everyone!



What did you think of the episode? Did the pirate theme work for you, or was it a little too odd? Did Tims open trust of Jess seem like typical kid innocence gone wrong, or naivety? Did the sad stories for Mason, Jess, and Casey strike the right emotional chord with you? Do you think Rossis late night was just that, or do you think theres more to it? Share your thoughts in the comments!



" "








returned with My Struggle III written and directed by Chris Carter. In my opinion, this was ashower scene. For those of you too young to remember, I hope you are at least familiar with the trope. Something we thought had real stakes turns out to be a vision or a dream  or nothing at all? It seems all the provocative questions raised in My Struggle II were simply a figment of Scullys (Gillian Anderson) mind. Im still looking forward to the new season, but my faith that Carter will ever truly deliver on the mytharc portion of the show is quickly waning to nothing. And yet, when the show is good, its greatI did appreciate how all the My Struggle episodes are somewhat structurally similar. This one begins with the Smoking Man (William B Davis) delivering the initial voice over re-cap. I thought it a bold move to link Trump in with the evil cabal. However, Im not entirely sure how serious we should take the entire thing once we see the Smoking Man overseeing the moon landing being shot on a sound stage  such an old conspiracy theory! I did like that we are getting some insight into the character  though the bit of empathy we may feel for his plea that hes explaining for his sons wanes as the episode and his intentions roll out.We come back fairly quickly to Scullys eye from the last shot, but now shes on the floor unconscious in Mulders (David Duchovny) office. Scully is taken to the hospital where they detect abnormal brain activity. Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) shows up and insists that he can see a message in the abnormal blinking: Find him. Its clear to Skinner that Scully wants Mulder to find their son.When Scully finally wakes up, she sends Mulder to the Smoking Man to get answers. This really seems to be the contrary episode as Mulder appears to be the only sceptic, finding it hard to believe any of whats happening. Duchovnys voice over sounded bored to me  in fact many of the performances in the episode seemed a bit flat, and when faced with that many flat performances, I tend to look at the director.In the end, Mulder agrees to look into the Smoking Man who he insists is dead. When Mulder is followed upon leaving the hospital, he turns the tables and chases after a man (Mike Dopud) who he thinks is leading him to the Smoking Man in Spartanburg, but who leads him to Mr Y (AC Peterson) and Ericka Price (Barbara Hershey). They are others members of the cabal but have split with the Smoking Man who has gone rogue. They tell Mulder that the aliens arent coming  whod want this planet which is on the brink of self-destruction? Their interest is in space colonization, but they warn Mulder that the Smoking Man is determined to wipe out civilization.Meanwhile, Scully is visited by Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) in the hospital. Hed tried to contact Mulder after being attacked by the man Mulder is following who is after William. Scully leaves the hospital against Dr Joyets (Anjali Jay) advice, determined to find William. Spender can only tell her that the name of the adoptive parents is Van Camp. While in Mulders office, Scully suffers another seizure.Skinner comes to Mulders office looking for Scully, but she gets out, leaving her phone before he arrives. She drives off, has another seizure and gets in a car accident. Luckily, Einstein (Lauren Ambrose) and Miller (Robbie Amell) find her, see the hospital bracelet and return her to Joyet. Joyet calls Mulder to tell him where Scully is.Mr Ys man arrives at the hospital and attempts to kill Scully. Mulder arrives in the nick of time and cuts his throat, saving Scully. She knows that the Smoking Man didnt send the assassin as she is positive that he will never try to hurt her.Meanwhile, Skinner is ambushed in his car by Reyes (Annabeth Gish) who is working with the Smoking Man to insure her own survival. They are joined by the Smoking Man who offers Skinner his life (immunity) in exchange for selling out the human race. Im really disappointed that they sure seem to be setting up Skinner to turn out to be a bad guy. The Smoking Man also reveals to super creepy reason he wont have Scully harmed  shes the mother of William  who happens to be the Smoking Mans son  NOT Mulders! Im still holding out hope that this is somehow a twisted fantasy on the Smoking Mans part. Its another disappointing development for me.When Skinner finally shows up at the hospital, Mulder demands to know where he was. Skinner tries to put him off, but Mulder realizes that Skinner smells like smoke  hes onto him. The two almost come to blows  push fighting doesnt count. Skinner storms out, telling Mulder to leave it alone. We cant be sure what Skinner will do with what the Smoking Man told him. Will he warn Scully of the impossible choice that the Smoking Man plans to give her  to choose between William and Mulder? Will he tell Mulder the truth about William? Will he try to save himself?And of course, just as we might be on the brink of getting somewhere, we have to slam the breaks on the mytharc storyline. Its time for some standalone episodes, right? Even though they have the name of the adoptive parents and the Spartan virus could be released at any moment, suddenly, Scully and Mulder have nothing else to do but continue to look for the truth in the X-Files? Dont get me wrong, Im happy to have some great standalone stories, but this felt like a bit of a forced pause to me.What did you think of the episode? Are seasons too short and too far apart now to have such convoluted storylines and cliffhangers? Do you watchfor the mytharc or the X-Files standalones or both? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Demons, Sunday School, and Prime Numbers





A worried Mary sends Sheldon to Sunday school after she finds him playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends Tam and Billy.



Oh Dungeons and Dragons. I've never played this game when I was a child, maybe because they didn't sell it on my country, who knows. But when I saw Sheldon and their friends playing with Dungeons and Dragons I thought about Stranger Things - that's '80s.

The episode is pretty interesting because we learn more about Sheldon's proudly religious mom. Also we get to see how Sheldon's and Mary's visions collide: science versus faith. You know, he doesn't believe in God, but this doesn't mean he can't learn something from the Bible.

Sheldon is a smart and genuine child, sometimes naive, but he's hungry for culture and learning. Mary insists her religion is the one and only, Sheldon insists he wants to know the truth about God.

I can't tell you more, but the son/mom relationship is always fascinating to see in Young Sheldon.



Some teasers from the episode:



- Gosh, Zoe Perry is so good in her role. Some expressions really reminds me Laurie Metcalf in The Big Bang Theory.

- Chickens. A lot of chickens.

- There's a scene with Mary and some chinese sellers which is hilarious.

- Do you know what's the coolest book ever? It begins with a B.

- Sheldon really knows how to make her mom happy.

- Little Sheldon is number one student even in church.

- Never ask Tim what is catholicism.

- You'll never imagine but Kirk and Spock have a religion.



Some quotes from the episode:



"And this the devil?" "No, he's just a monster who doesn't wear pants."

"To have a smart son is a great joy. I do not have that joy."

"As an American I have freedom of religion?"

"We've got celebrities too."

"Zero was about to tell me the secret and you've reuined it!"

Excited to see the episode? Drop your questions and I will try to answer with no spoiler. Share your comments below.
Brussels, Jan 09, 2018 (SPS) - the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini met with the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy H.E. Horst Kohler in Brussels on 9 January for an exchange of views on the relaunch of the UN peace process for Western Sahara.

Mogherini stressed the EU's resolute support for the UN's renewed efforts, in the spirit of recent UNSC resolutions and in particular the latest UNSC resolution of 28 April 2017, to help bring to a conclusion this long-standing conflict and to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in the context of arrangements consistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the UN.

She highlighted that not only the parties in the dispute stand to gain from a definitive peace agreement, but so do all countries in the region as would the EU.

The EU has long argued in favour of increased regional cooperation and would be willing to consider with all interested stakeholders ways to promote regional and cross-border cooperation so as to enhance regional development.SPS

125/090/
Washington (U.S.A), Jan 09, 2018 (SPS) - The famous Boston newspaper The Christian Science Monitor addresses, in a thorough investigation, the extent of censorship on Morocco where Monarchy has a complete control on press, reinforcing trend on self-censorship.

In this regard, the government in Morocco uses several ways to stifle the press: harassment, arrest, fines, suspension and economic pressure from advertisers close to the monarchy, according to this investigation funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

The daily underlines that Morocco overhauled its speech and press laws, a move the country heralded as a major step toward a free press with the intent of decriminalizing all speech that does not incite violence.

These restrictions do not leave much room for critical coverage of the most influential issues in Morocco, such as the popular protest led by movement known as Hirak, noted the investigation citing the report of the American NGO Human Rights Watch on the free speech in Morocco.

As a consequence of these measures, the majority of journalists have taken to practicing self-censorship to avoid getting in trouble in the first place, said Abdelmalek El Kadoussi, communication professor in Meknes. The list of stories they steer clear from has grown in recent years, he added.

--Discrediting reporters--

Christian Science Monitor notes that the brief honeymoon period between the Makhzen and the press, observed right after the reign of Mohamed VI did not last.

Reporters were quickly shut down as soon as they started poking around the monarchys vast financial interests and exposing potential corruption or writing about the slow pace of change, noted the newspaper. SPS

125/090/7OO
S pread-betting customers are at serious risk of harm from bad practices in the sector, the City watchdog warned on Wednesday in a damning verdict on the industry.

The Financial Conduct Authority is worried over a series of significant weaknesses among 19 businesses such as management oversight and pay practices in its review of the market for so-called contracts for difference.

CFDs allow investors to trade shares and markets without owning the underlying asset, avoiding capital gains tax and stamp duty. But the FCA has thrown the spotlight on them because investors can leverage the CFDs to magnify wins but also lose many times more than their original stake.

The watchdog highlighted that more than three-quarters of customers lost money trading CFDs in the year to June 2016 under review. But it slammed companies for taking too broad a view of the potential market for CFDs  potentially putting unsuitable customers at risk  as well as failing to act with due skill, care and diligence.

CFD providers also failed to do enough due diligence on the firms selling CFDs on their behalf, manage conflicts of interests and monitor sales effectively to help stamp out poor practices. Some of the 19 firms also paid their staff on a 100% variable basis  which significantly increases the risk of mis-selling since staff may feel pressured to achieve minimum sales targets.

It added: Consumers may be at serious risk of harm from poor practices in this sector. Firms need to improve a number of oversight and control arrangements to reach standards we would consider adequate.

The latest regulatory broadside comes as the sector faces up to limits on leverage, which will hit profits. If the sector does not improve its practices individual firms are likely to face a full-scale investigation.

The head of one major business blamed an influx of smaller firms  loosely regulated in Cyprus but passported into the UK under EU rules  for tarnishing the industrys reputation. This is now about punishing the product rather than the bad players. We are perceived as the bad boys but the whole industry is being hammered because of the behaviour of the smaller players.
A s American futurist Roy Amara said: we overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run. We get excited about innovative ideas, then disillusioned when they fail to deliver immediately but, in time, they resurface and change our lives even more than we had initially expected.

History is full of examples of this. In the late 1990s, Palm Pilots and Apple Newtons failed to make computing mobile, but iPhones today do more than wed ever expected from those early gadgets.

I would like to share four technology themes that look like they will drive 2018. But bear Amara in mind  some of these will be all hype, others are back and will make a real impact this time.

Still a Dream: Self-driving Cars

Most engineers grew up watching Knight Rider, and recent developments in computer vision have got them excited about this particular science catching up with fiction. Will self-driving cars happen? Absolutely. Will they happen in 2018? Absolutely not.

The reality is that the state of the art still requires hugely expensive technology, and almost no one has the colossal volumes of data required to train a computer to cope with the events that occur even on a simple school run. And all of that is before we think about ethics and regulation.

However, expect to see excitement around the trend as companies such as FiveAI and Oxbotica run public trials. Less sexy, but still very impactful, we will see other technology-led developments to transport. Uber and its ilk will take a stronger hold across the country and here in London watch Citymapper roll out its revolutionary new Smartbus.

In the hype cycle: bitcoin and blockchain

Expect to read lots about bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash as well as blockchain, the technology that underpins these so-called crypto-currencies.

Blockchain has created an entirely new way of thinking about trust. Rather than requiring a central body that we believe in (the village elders, a monarch, a government, an economic union built on treaty), trust can for the first time in history be reliably distributed throughout a community, perhaps one as large as humanity itself.

This is a huge idea that I strongly believe will eventually change everything about the way we govern and organise ourselves as a society and the way we track fundamental things like property, wealth and debt.

In countries such as the UK, however, these systems work perfectly well. Couple that lack of a problem with fundamental questions around the scalability of blockchain technology, and were probably a while away from sweeping change.

On the other hand, there are places in the world where trust is already so scarce that the technology makes sense. Witness recent news stories about the Kremlins plans for a crypto-rouble and the runaway success of companies like London-based Luno, which provides a bitcoin wallet popular in developing economies.

In addition, the rampant speculation on the currencies themselves is likely to continue its volatile course, which means the topic will be a news favourite through the year.

Coming of age: the AI-powered office

Since Googles 400 million acquisition of DeepMind, the technology world has been awash with excitement around what artificial intelligence might do.

The phrase conjures up images of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey or R2-D2 from Star Wars but reality has been more prosaic  better search results from Google, the occasional inspired moment from Apples Siri and attempts by Facebook to spot everything from terrorism to teenage suicides before they happen.

However, I believe a key wave of AI will take off this year, if behind the scenes. Just as business process outsourcing has changed the way the service industry is run  in 2016, it was a $140 billion (103 billion) business, taking the form of call centres in Dublin and social media marketing in Manila  many repetitive, white-collar tasks will become the domain of AI robots.

Companies such as Tractable in insurance and Comply Advantage in compliance have built the technology and have access to the training data required to make this reality today. Though not talking robots or automated assistants, this trend will, in the long run, have an enormous impact on how humanity works.

A year of reckoning: Brexit

In the short-term aftermath of Brexit, it was common to point to relatively unchanged financial metrics and suggest the Remain campaign had overplayed its hand.

The reality is that financial markets move fast, and knew profits could still be gained in the short term. As Brexit continues its stumble towards reality, we will see with increasing clarity just what effect it will have on UK technology.

Last year, for the first time in modern history, a country other than the UK led Europe for venture-capital funds raised (France, for the curious). This is a leading indicator on innovation itself, so expect to see the country lose some ground.

In the meantime, with new immigration guidelines undefined and a difficult-to-assess impact on the brand of London and the UK as a place that welcomes entrepreneurial talent, also expect to see companies struggle to hire and grow at times.

This is the year where Brexit, if not managed better, begins to bite.
C hopping and changing at the top of Government is bad news for stability, the head of housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said on Wednesday.

The housing industry now has its third minister in seven months after Dominic Raabs move from the Department of Justice to take on the brief in yesterdays reshuffle.

He replaces Alok Sharma, who in turn stepped into Gavin Barwells role when he lost his seat in Junes election and joined Theresa Mays Downing Street operation.

The ministerial changes have all come in the 11 months since the Government published its White Paper on an overhaul of housing, which has leapt up the political agenda.

Taylor Wimpey chief executive Pete Redfern said: It is a shame not to see more stability in the role. I think Im into double figures in my time here. Stability does matter, it takes time to get up to speed.

His comments came as the company reported a 5% rise in sales volumes last year to 14,541, with sales strong across the board.

The order book slipped slightly to 1.63 billion, as the firm increased the pace of production to meet market demand.
" We are somehow surprised that the UK is surprised that we are preparing for a scenario announced by the UK Government itself: that was the deadpan response of the European Commission to Brexiteer outrage that the EU is preparing for a no-deal Brexit.

The complaint from David Davis, in a leaked letter to the Prime Minister, is that the EU is systematically explaining to British companies, from airlines to pharmaceutical firms to mineral water manufacturers, what in practice it would mean to their business if the UK withdraws from the single market in 2019 with no transition and no deal. Licenses to trade will expire and contracts will be terminated, they warn.

The Brexit Department here said the EU is attempting to stoke fears about worse-case scenarios.

They seem to be unaware that our own regulators, like the Bank of England, are giving similar advice to our firms. And why wouldnt they?

Isnt preparing for a no deal exactly what the hardline Brexiteers say we should all be doing?

Didnt they force the Chancellor to announce in his Budget that hed waste 3 billion of taxpayers money preparing for this exact scenario? Wasnt the central demand in advance of the reshuffle that a minister for no deal be appointed? Doesnt no deal is better than a bad deal remain official Downing Street policy?

Mr Davis, in his letter, is now worried that the threat of no deal could lead to British companies moving to the continent and is damaging to UK interests. Really?

You mean threatening to walk out of all of the economic arrangements with our largest trading partners might be damaging to the UK?

You mean warning firms that there may not be a Brexit deal could lead them to leave the country?

Who knew?

The EU wants to give the Brexiteers a taste of their own medicine  assuming that medicine will still be licensed here in the UK.

Sadiq must act on knives

The new statistics today showing the dramatic rise in acid attacks across London  they have increased by 78 per cent over the past two years  are another instance of an overall recent surge in violent crime.

Twenty London teenagers were killed in stabbings in 2017. In an article for the Evening Standard today, the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, promises measures to reduce the toll, particularly of knife crime, including more targeted stop and search to find knife carriers, offering all schools a knife wand to detect blades, and what he describes a public-health-led approach which will aim to tackle the root causes of such serious offending.

Mr Khan says he feels strongly about all this, and his measures are sensible enough, but Mr Khan, who less encouragingly also seeks to divert blame for the rise in knife crime onto the Government, now needs to produce concrete results.

In particular, the Mayor, who prides himself on his community connections, must find better ways of changing attitudes among those young Londoners who carry knives or use acid  in particular those from those communities which account for the majority of teenage stab victims and many perpetrators.

Mr Khan is right that intensified police enforcement  important though it is  cannot solve the problem of youth violence on its own and that altering the mindset of those who engage in it is essential. This is an area in which we need persuasive words rather than political point scoring.

As this citys former deputy mayor for policing Kit Malthouse pointed out in this paper last week, when knife fatalities surged to similarly high levels a decade ago, City Hall and the Met responded with a plan that worked.
T he unveiling of Theresa Mays shiny new Cabinet was like the launch night of Celebrity Big Brother. And by that I dont mean there were too many Johnsons. You get all excited, settle down in front of the telly, get the snacks in and then spend the whole time going Who is that?

We all know that the what-was-meant-to-be girl power in the Cabinet ended up being girls not allowed, with poor Justine Greening getting the boot because she had the temerity to question grammar schools and seemed quite nice.

If you were a male Cabinet minister who had been madly disloyal, monstrously rubbish at your job and become an international liability, it was all good in the hood. When was the last time you got called in for the sack by your boss and swaggered out with a promotion? Ladies, next time you ask for a pay rise, ask yourself this What would the Hunt do?

Speaking of which, there is also the awks issue of a substantial pay gap in the Cabinet, proving yet again the meme: women  like men but cheaper!

There was better news farther down the greasy pole. It is absolutely right that more talented women and people from minorities are given the chance to serve and shine. Notable appointments include James Cleverly as deputy party chairman, Kemi Badenoch as a party vice-chair, Sam Gyimah as universities minister and Margot James as digital minister.

But the problem for Theresa May is that unless you make big-ticket moves, reshuffles rarely register with the public. She may have brought in talent to the youth squad, but the team on the pitch is still male, pale and stale.

And she doesnt look in charge. If she had had the courage to make even one big change, such as moving Boris Johnson, she would have flexed muscle and shown whos boss. Sadly, most of us now think thats now the Health (and Social Care) Secretary.

But this reshuffle has one big winner and, yep, its another posh, white dude Ooooh Jeremy Corbyn. If May is a non-stop political tragedy, Corbyn is one lucky general and must be watching this with the biggest of twinkles in his eye. The Labour Party faithful in London will gather this Saturday for the new year Fabian Society conference (where yours truly will be chairing an infrastructure panel).

Party members and Team Corbyn will naturally feel joyful about the shambles that Tories yet again find themselves in and there will be a lot of air punching about the fact that Labour did better than expected at the election, which is to be applauded.

But Labour must not be seduced into complacency. Corbyn has a genuine shot at the title at the next election, but that may not happen for a long time and he needs to keep up the momentum. Labour has captured hearts but it must appeal to minds.

When I hosted a phone-in for LBC over Christmas many Tory supporters said they thought Corbyn may become Prime Minister but they feared for the economy even though many conceded they didnt feel it currently worked for them.

Corbyn will also have to pick a side on Brexit before a general election and deal with many difficult issues. And local elections in May will be a moment to show the country that Labour could be on the path to power.

So, while its easy to point and laugh at Mays weakness and the night of the plastic knives, shes still the one in No 10. Labour must resist the urge to gloat and keep its eyes on the prize.

Lumley will be ab fab Bafta host

Hats off to Bafta for its decision to appoint Joanna Lumley as this years host. Its high time these big global glitzy awards ceremonies were hosted by women and Hollywood should take note. Lumley will be absolutely fabulous but I hope she channels her inner Patsy and hires top writers because what this event needs is razor-sharp, edgy, truthful and funny gags that will sound so much better coming from a woman.

Dont play it safe! I have fond memories of the awards. When I was at the after-party, I posted a picture on Facebook of me holding a Bafta.

I then spent a week explaining to disappointed aunties in India that it wasnt mine.

* Fresh from celebrating Hogmanay in Monaco, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kept it real by visiting an underground radio station, Reprezent 107.3 FM, in Brixton, which is staffed by under-25s and has supported many stars, including rapper Stormzy.

This is the kind of visit that fills any press officer with horror but they stormed it and even managed to pull off wearing headphones without looking like they were in the Live Aid video.

The crowds went wild and the couple even got an offer from a young DJ to spin tunes at their wedding reception. It wouldnt surprise me if he gets the call.

Markle has also wisely decided to shut down her social media accounts as she prepares for public life.
Since first appearing on the arm of Prince William over a decade ago, Kate Middleton has found her sartorial decisions under close scrutiny.

Having moved on from the preppy, country-girl sense of style that she favoured during her university years at St Andrews, the Duchess of Cambridge has stepped seamlessly into the position of a modern day fashion icon.

From state banquets to official engagements, Kate always looks timeless and elegant. She continues to strike the balance between giving a nod to established, well-regarded global fashion brands - including Alexander McQueen, Jenny Packham and Michael Kors - and supporting slightly lesser-known British talents such as Matthew Williamson, Catherine Walker and Preen by Thornton Bregazzi.

Kate's 37th birthday highlights

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So far this year there's been her newly-lightened hair which she's worn in its usual bouncy blow-dry and debuted on Princess Charlotte's first day of school, and her traditional selection of shawar kameez which she modelled throughout her time in Pakistan, but through it all, it's fair to say that she managed to pull it off with effortless grace and style.

Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror

Undeniably the duchess's favourite designer continues to be the brand responsible for her wedding dress in 2011, Alexander McQueen. From creating a bespoke gown for a state banquet to a pastel pink ensemble for the Queen's garden party, the British brand has been responsible for many of Kate's most memorable ensembles so far this year.

In McQueen for the state banquet (Getty Images ) / Getty Images
It's official: Marks and Spencer's is off to a soaring start in 2018.

Yesterday afternoon Meghan Markle stepped out in Brixton wearing its 45 black bell sleeve jumper - the winter woolly selling out within hours of Meghan's M&S debut.

Although the red 'sold out' sign left a lot of us devastated - all was not lost as the stylish princess-to-be had directed us towards M&S's very chic (and affordable) new season collection.
Kate Middleton wears a military-inspired coat for her first official engagement of 2018

The Duchess was glowing on Wednesday afternoon as she stepped out in a coordinated royal blue outfit

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1 /18 The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy - In pictures Duchess of Cambridge is greeted by children as she visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Rex Features The Duchess of Cambridge visiting the Reach Academy Feltham PA The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Eddie Mulholland/Pool/Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Eddie Mulholland/Pool/Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Eddie Mulholland/Pool/Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Eddie Mulholland/Pool/Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge is greeted by children as she visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Getty Images Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Getty Images Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at an event for Place2Be charity at Reach Academy Feltham PA The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Eddie Mulholland/Pool/Reuters The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Eddie Mulholland/Pool/Reuters Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Getty Images Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at an event for Place2Be charity at Reach Academy Feltham EPA The Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be Getty Images The Duchess of Cambridge arriving to visit the Reach Academy Feltham PA The Duchess of Cambridge waves as she arrives for an event for Place2Be charity at Reach Academy Feltham EPA
Never one to shy away from surprising her audiences, Vivienne Westwood once again did the unexpected at her presentation yesterday at London Fashion Week Men's.

The 76-year-old designer chose not to stage her usual fashion show but instead to treat her audience to a two minute and 45 second film called "Don't Get Killed."

The film depicts character models on a photo shoot for Westwood's AW18 unisex collection, marching around waving Union Jacks and EU flags, enthusing about their commitment to the Westwood's army.

Westwood had been teasing the film on social media with weekly releases of tarot-like playing cards on her climaterevolution.co.uk site. She's designed a full pack of the playing cards, which she describes "as a strategy to save the whole world- collect the cards, connect the cards."

Vivienne Westwood AW18 Lookbook 1 /55 Vivienne Westwood AW18 Lookbook

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The cards she released in the lead up to her presentation were all clubs. "Clubs," she explains, "mean War, and this theme runs through our collection. Sow the whirlwind, Reap the whirlwind  a shield of terror designed for Warchild."

The decision to show a film instead of a putting on a high-spec fashion show is in line with Westwood's anti-waste mantra.

Presenting the film she said: "You all know what Im up to  I use fashion as a vehicle for activism to stop climate change and mass extinction of life on Earth," once again underscoring her longstanding mantra of "buy less, choose well, make it last."

The theme of war and the chants from models carrying EU flags and Union Jacks of "don't get killed, don't get killed" paints a clear political message from the designer, whose brand has been negatively impacted by Brexit.

Westwood is also set to grace the screen later this year in a feature-length film directed by Lorna Tucker entitled Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist.
C hristmas is well and truly over  and it's likely your pockets are well and truly empty.

The joy of giving may have malformed into a fear of checking your bank balance, but you can always trust Londons restaurants to hear your cries, with budget-saving food offers popping up across the capital.

From low-cost lunches to discounted dinners, keep your pennies in order until that sweet post-Christmas paycheck with these January-friendly dining out deals.

The Jam Tree

Found in Chelsea and Clapham, both Jam Trees are friendly, lively spots  and the Clapham site even boasts a bar hidden away behind a bookcase, complete with its own ping-pong table. The offer is straightforward enough: until February 9, all food is half price on weekdays (see above). Their short rib chilli is the ideal foil to a few pints.

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Pop Brixton

Camille Mack

Head over to Pop Brixton to take advantage of its lunch specials. From January 9 until the end of the month, there are lunch specials for just 6 at Sakeya, Made of Dough, Viet Box and Mamas Jerk. Lunch in Pop Brixton is fortunately a rather vague term, with the offer running 11am till 4pm, Monday through Thursday, so theres plenty of time to treat yourself.

Shaun Rankins handsome Mayfair joint flies somewhat under the radar, which is entirely unfair: serving delicately done British fare in unashamedly luxurious surroundings, it thoroughly deserves to make its debut on the Michelin list this year. Until January 25, it's offering a three-course lunch with two glasses of wine alongside tea, coffee and petit fours, all for 45 per person. The menu runs Tuesday to Saturday, which is fair enough as it's shut on Sundays and Mondays.

The Cinnamon Collection

Vivek Singhs upmarket Indian spots are all going in for the January sale. At the Cinnamon Kitchen (see above), just off from Liverpool Street, get a three-course meal from the a la carte menu for just 30, which is frankly a stunning deal for a place where mains alone largely cost more than 20. Over at Cinnamon Bazaar, theres souk-style all-day meze, offering one course for 15, or 10 as a takeaway. Wed stay in, to help ourselves to the bottomless chaat trolley.

The Test Kitchen

Are you ready to be The Test Kitchens willing guinea pig? This pop-up comes courtesy of chef Adam Simmonds, who is putting his Michelin-starred experience into this development venture, where diners fill out feedback forms after their meals to fuel constant changes to the menu. If you fancy taking part in the experiment, then you can do so with 25 per cent off if you quote January Blues when you call up to book a table.

Carluccios

Carluccios is reviving its rightly popular January offer, which seems practically custom built for a quick catch-up with friends: order a full-price main and get another for 1. With all the other restaurants in town, chains like Carluccios often gets overlooked, but there are branches everywhere and their very simplest dishes, like the ragu, really are decent. The offers on from now until February 8.

30 must-try dishes in London restaurants 1 /31 30 must-try dishes in London restaurants Bone marrow on toast with parsley salad at St John Not only has this dish kicked off countless wonderful meals over the course of St Johns 25 years, but it also gets credit for putting British cooking back on the global culinary map. Roasted bone marrow, coaxed out onto toast, cut perfectly with salad of parsley, shallots and capers. A nose-to-tail revolution, and utterly divine. Whole turbot at Brat Tomos Parrys talents with a turbot first came to feverish acclaim at Mayfair restaurant Kitty Fishers, but they are now the star attraction at his Michelin-starred solo spot. This whole fish  grilled Basque-style, over hot coals and in a specially designed cage  softens as if it has melted, and is basted at the table in an emulsion made with its own juices. Benjamin McMahon Marinara at 50 Kalo di Ciro Salvo Superlatives should be used in moderation  but heck it, this might just be Londons best pizza. This under-the-radar London iteration of a Naples pizzeria serves an unrivalled marinara: just tomato sauce, oil, garlic and oregano. No need for any more  with a sauce this good and a base so fine and perfectly charred, you can stop mourning your cancelled Italian holiday at first bite. Luciano Furia Clay pot baked pork and crab glass noodles at Kiln When we say Kiln is one of the hottest spots in town, we mean it  hang over the counter at the Thai barbecue and youre not far out of range for the odd flame. Baking in the heart of the swirling heat is this must order: shimmering glass noodles, coated with a silky sauce enriched with fatty slicks of Tamworth pork belly and improbably unctuous crab meat. Lamb chops, Melabes Perhaps because its quietly tucked in among its unassuming neighbours down on the wrong end of High Street Kensington, Melabes is often overlooked by Londons food lovers. An unwarranted shame, as this partly Middle Eastern, partly Mediterranean set-up is really very good; it is somewhere to pick and choose from bits and pieces, and put a meal together yourself. The lamb chops, which come all smokey and burnished from the grill, are perfect; pink as a Vegas sign inside, but the fat all soft and dripping and delicious. A must, whatever the order. Steak tartare imperial at Bob Bob Ricard Theres Press For Champagne buttons, lobster in your mac and cheese and anything that stays still long enough gets gilded  there is no point in going small at Bob Bob Ricard. Steak tartare is a luxurious pick at the best of times, but the Imperial upgrade here comes with a dollop of caviar  even without the finishing touch, the tartare itself is one of the best in the capital. Bacon naan at Dishoom Londoners spent decades believing bacon in a bap with some ketchup (or brown sauce, but lets not have that argument now) couldnt be beaten  and then Dishoom came along. This breakfast sandwich fills a fresh naan with bacon, a slathering of cream cheese, a luxurious tomato and chilli chutney, coriander and an oozing fried egg if you feel so inclined. Hangover be gone. Cacio e pepe at Padella Five years ago, you would have thought anyone queuing for pasta in London to have lost their minds  this dish changed that. The starlet of Padellas much coveted is this plate of pici  hand-rolled fat worms of eggless pasta  with a mirror-shine sauce of parmesan cheese and pasta. Simple but unrivalled  and itll set you back just 6. Jamon croquetas at Barrafina A dish like this should be elusive  it is far too easy to eat seven portions of croquetas in a single sitting, which is why we presume Barrafina makes you queue. Very sensible. As the crunchy coating gives way to the oozing centre, enriched with the flavour of Spanish jamon (the best ham in the business), were already planning our next visit. Biang biang noodles at Xi'an Biang Biang Noodles There are oodles of noodles in the capital, but Guirong Weis triumphant take is one of the finest. First finding followers at her north London restaurant Xian Impression (soon to reopen for dine-in, but not yet), the dish of has inspired a whole spin-off restaurant in Spitalfields. Thick, hand-pulled, chewy noodles soak up all the spice and zing of the special sauce they swim in  very special indeed. Souffle Suissesse, Le Gavroche Le Gavroche  the street urchin  is perhaps not for everyone. It is a Mayfair time machine, a reminder of how things were done once upon a time. Fortunately, it happens that how things were once done was very well indeed, and lunch or supper here is a masterclass in traditional French luxury (and often, happily, includes very large glasses of wine). Staff make the place, anyone who has been gently teased by the twins pretending to be each other will know. A tendency towards the old ways does mean the cooking offers little in the way of evolution or revolution, but new, after all, isnt always better. Michel Roux Jrs cheese souffle, baked on double cream, stuns, so overwhelmingly tasty, utter decadence that clings to the taste buds. Buttermilk Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Around the Cluck / 12:51 James Cochran found his signature dish early on, but its good it should stay with him for the rest of his career. While he has chops, and can do more beyond, theres something special in the way he works with his chicken; hotly spiced, gorgeously crispy, beautifully soft on the inside. A long-standing favourite and, though 12:51 cant operate as it did before, there are tables at his new project Around the Cluck, which is operating out of the same site. Breakfast at Hawksmoor Guildhall Your Full English is not full in comparison to the Hawksmoor breakfast at the steak connoisseurs Guildhall restaurant. The mind-boggling two-person spread swaps bacon rashers for an entire smoked chop, serves its bubble and squeak with short rib, puts trotter meat into its baked beans, and adds grilled bone marrow to all the usual trimmings. Cauliflower shawarma at Berber & Q Its not often that the main event at a barbecue restaurant is the veg, but Berber & Q have achieved just that. The cauliflower shawarma here is cooked on their flaming grill until softened and charred, before being doused liberally in tahini, pomegranate molasses, coriander, pomegranate seeds and a scattering of dried rose petals. BBQ Butter Chicken Wings at Brigadiers Brigadiers is a bold, boisterous sort of place: a labyrinthine City dining room, packed to the rafters with beer and Indian food that is indisputably gutsy. But arguably its finest moment comes in one of its smallest packages  these chicken wings may be diminutive, but are mightily spiced, deftly charred and dripping with ghee-fuelled succulence. Beef brisket bun at Smokestak David Carters Shoreditch restaurant occupies itself by giving the entirety of Kansas City a run for its money on a daily basis. The star turn at this lauded barbecue restaurant is its beef brisket bun  the meat is soft and juicy, riddled with its fats in the centre, while charred and treacle-like on the outside, paired perfectly with pickled chillies. To remember it is to salivate, we assure you. Snails, LEscargot LEscargot is one of Sohos old aristocrats and in its grand, beret red dining room there is always a mischievous sense of fun  perhaps because it is still such a smart, suited, chandeliered place, and people are often drinking themselves rather silly. The clue to good eating is in the name; the snails come still clinging to their shells and submerged in their butter and parsley sauce. Dive in; you will emerge stinking gloriously of garlic. It wont matter a jot; roll on the red wine and settle in for a long, comforting night. Confit potatoes at Quality Chop House Yes, there are some high quality chops on offer at this 150-year-old Clerkenwell restaurant but blimey, leave room for the chips. Fine slices of potato are stacked into architecturally sound wedges, and confited until shatteringly crispy on the outside and devastatingly soft in the centre. They have been much imitated in recent years, but never bettered. Smoked eel sandwich at Quo Vadis Jeremy Lee cooks many things to a legendary level at Quo Vadis  his pies could so easily have also made this list  but he gets the nod here for his unrivalled take on the fancy sandwich. Smoked eel, horseradish cream and Dijon mustard, served with red onion pickle  a combination so popular Lee says he nearly ran out of eel on post-lockdown reopening. Classic bao at Bao London has buns in abundance, but we still bow down to the fluffy superiority of Bao. The Taiwanese restaurant has become a cross-town favourite, thanks to its pleasingly pert rice buns (they are genuinely very pert, no crassness intended) and carefully considered fillings. The classic order comes filled with braised pork, fermented veg, coriander and a dusting of peanut powder. Carol Sachs Potato and roe, Core by Clare Smyth Clare Smyth has a knack that must infuriate other chefs; she is able to take the simplest of ingredients  say, a single carrot and a smattering of lamb mince  do something devilish with it and charge rather a lot for it; so good are the results, though, that few mind. Smyths sorcery is perhaps best witnessed with her signature, the potato and roe. It is simply a potato on a plate in a little sauce, but then it is also perhaps the best potato dish in the world; it has this wonderful salty richness, a certain seaside intenseness. It is glorious; so too is the smoked chicken that tends to come as an amuse bouche. Youll be treated here. Omelette Arnold Bennett Dont worry, no Arnolds were harmed in the making of this dish. Alongside impeccable service and an arguably perfect dining room, you could add another highlight to your breakfast at The Wolseley by ordering this creamy, haddock-filled dish, named for the writer who inspired its creation while staying at the Savoy. Fish pie, J Sheekey Long an actors favourite, J Sheekeys glamour has never lost its lustre. Its kept its regulars and charmed newcomers with a menu that plays the greatest hits of fine dining favourites. Seafood is Sheekeys thing; simply done sole is beautiful here, crab comes three ways, brill brushed in butter has a meatiness thats beyond satisfying. The fish pie is famous though, and rightly so; beneath the flaking pastry is a sea of cream, mustard and white wine, in it bobbing cod, haddock and salmon. It is simple but never fails; it does on its own for lunch, but is a failsafe at supper, too. John Carey The Ari Gold at Patty & Bun Theres a cheeseburger on every high street in the capital  but not all of them are created equal. Patty & Bun has got the classic combination down to a tee with its curiously named Ari Gold burger: a fat, 35-day aged patty is served medium rare, and topped with gooey American cheese, smokey house mayo and tangy pickled red onions. Xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung Few dishes in the capital have been known to cause queues of four hours. Thats exactly what the world-famous xiao long bao dumplings did when top Taiwanese restaurant group Din Tai Fung first opened in Covent Garden. An intricately folded out layer (made by chefs trained for at least 18 months) gives way to succulent meat and a broth you could take on by the bowlful. Pig's trotter, the French House Upstairs in the Soho local, Neil Borthwick is quietly running one of the areas best kitchens. He orders in particularly good oysters, does brilliant things with brill and with his pigs trotter, has a dish that is rich and fatty, but with a beautiful salty cut that makes it madly moreish. The menu tends to change often upstairs in the French, but have this if its on. That little dining room is somewhere to go in early for lunch and stay until late, eventually spilling down into the pub below, to drink pints  they do pints now, not just halfs  all while merrily reliving the joys upstairs. Peter Clark Dover sole with crab butter at Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill There are so many delights at Bentleys, its tricky to pick a single one. This could so easily have been a plate of rigorously sourced oysters, the fish pie, the decadent Royal seafood platter (pictured). It is however, the Dover sole that wins. A sublime piece of fish always, expertly cooked without fail  choose it either filleted with beautiful crab butter, or grilled and whole for a simple pleasure. Over in the City, Corrigan does similarly brilliant things with lobster at Daffodil Mulligan. Ragu, Lina Stores Sohos Lina Stores  the pasta bar, not the longstanding Italian deli it comes from  is the sort of restaurant one longs for; small, fun, friendly, not too pricey. They do small plates of near perfect pasta; their ragu, whether lamb or veal, is a gem. A good ragu is hard to find  too often theres too little meat, or meat not cooked for long enough  but here, they spend the time over it, cooking slowly, carefully. No restaurant can compare with a Nonna, but Lina gets gratifyingly close. Porterhouse steak, the Guinea Grill London is not short of steakhouses, but the Guinea does not number among them. A pub  a proper one  it is tucked down a Mayfair sidestreet, away from everything and yet still perpetually busy. Besides the small bar is a dining room that looks much as it must have done when the likes of Sinatra was in (or Bette Midler, or Kylie, or Regan, or, or, or), where theyve served prime Aberdeen Angus cooked on a smoking hot grill. The Guinea is all about having a good time  pints, red wine, brandies, the lot  but they cook beautifully, and their handling of a good piece of beef is second to none. Puree de pommes de terre, Le Comptoir Robuchon The late Joel Robuchon may have been the most decorated chef of his and perhaps any other era, but his signature stayed humble  mashed potato. Until youve had it, it is hard to believe it could be quite so good; mash, after all, is mash. No matter the scepticism, it will always surprise; it is almost silly that so little could taste of so much. A side, it will match almost everything on the menu; of which, the lamb with aubergine on the menu of classics is extraordinarily good.

Inamo

Transporting a little bit of Tokyo to the capital, Inamo restaurant fuses Pan-Asian flavours with a Japanese passion for the more whimsical uses of technology. Not only can you enjoy a game of virtual pong on your high-tech dinner table, but you can also get four dishes for 22. Pick up either miso soup or edamame, followed by two Asian tapas dishes and a larger dish of either Sichuan chicken, salmon teriyaki or chicken katsu curry. The deal is available for at certain times of the day, which differ across its three restaurants (so check the website out first), and cant be used with any other offer or for parties over six people. It is currently planned to run until March 31, but cant be used on Valentines Day  so no sneaky cheap date for you.

Cut + Grind

A Cut + Grind, theres no mistaking how that burger got to your plate. At the hands of these burger buffs, all the meat in the beef patties is blended and ground on site from prime cuts, with homemade ketchup and weekly pickled pickles to top it all off. For all those who sign up to its newsletter, Cut + Grind is gifting 50 per cent off all of the food across the entire menu between January 2 and January 31. For those on a health kick, this means you can get their vegetarian Virtue burger with sweet potato fries for just 5, or go decadent with a three-pattied, hot-dog-included Vice burger for 10.

Brasserie Blanc

All six of Raymond Blancs smart spots will be serving up their upscale French fare with 50% off from now until February 11. While starters and puddings are still full whack, any mains from the a la carte menu are half price on presentation of a voucher from the website. The offer is valid throughout the week, aside from Saturday nights and Sunday lunches, though predictably it cant be used in conjunction with any other offer. Blanc's boeuf bourguignon is suitably indulgent and the moules frites is not to be missed.

YO! Sushi

Suffering from the festive binge? YO! Sushi is here to help both your body and your pocket recover. Visitors to many YO! Sushi conveyor belts (from Monday  Friday until January 19) will find 47 dishes priced at just 2.80 each. Twenty of these will also contain less than 150 kcal and, for those kicking out the meat and dairy for Veganuary, three new totally vegan dishes  green vegetable gyoza (see above), spicy pepper cauliflower and agedashi tofu  are also available.

Camino

Steven Joyce

There may be a chill in the air this time of year but foodies know that you can always find a corner of Mediterranean sun somewhere in London. Escape the wintry winds at Camino, where there is 30 per cent off all tapas at Caminos five London branches for all Camino Club members. Sign up online to pick up your patatas bravas, call in the chorizo riojano, or really treat yourself with a portion of Paleta Iberica 5 Jotas Black Label, jamon from 100 per cent Iberico pure breed, aged for 36 months.

Bluebird

The bird is back: Bluebird has had a striking overhaul / Paul Winch-Furness

This Chelsea hotspot has a pair of special menus until February 11, offering two courses plus a glass of wine for 15 in its cafe or three courses plus a glass of champagne for 30 in the main restaurant. Offerings include stone bass ceviche with avocado, ginger and coriander, and pot-braised duck leg with quince and walnuts.

Fiume
L in-Manuel Miranda has revealed he tweaked some of the Hamilton lyrics for the West End production of the smash hit musical.

The shows very American story, based on the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, has had no trouble captivating British audiences - but its creator had to ensure a couple of key lines werent lost on them.

Miranda took to Twitter to ask fans if theyd spotted the changes, only to find that they had been listening very carefully.

The first change was in the song Take a Break - Miranda took out the name of John Adams and switched it to his job title, clearing things up for any audience members not quite up on their 18th century American politics.

The lyric is now, Angelica, tell my wife, Vice President isnt a real job anyway.

Next up is a minor tweak to Your Obedient Servant, the song where Aaron Burr and Hamilton exchange letters agreeing to fight a duel. Burr sings New Jersey, dawn, guns drawn, where previously he proposed the duel take place in the small town of Weehawken. Miranda said British audiences thought he was saying we hawkin - which would be a very unfair duel fighting tactic.

The final change is in show-stopping banger The Room Where It Happens, also sung by Burr. Instead of Well, I promise the Potomac, he now sings Invite him over, propose it. Because lets face it, no one in England knows what on earth the Potomac is. (Its a river in Washington.)

The rest of the Pulitzer Prize-winning show remains the same, word for word. Its London opening was met with high praise from critics, with our critic Henry Hitchings writing, In short: believe the hype.

Hamilton's opening night 1 /6 Hamilton's opening night Hamilton's opening night Dave Benett Hamilton's opening night Dave Benett Hamilton's opening night Dave Benett Hamilton's opening night Dave Benett Hamilton's opening night Dave Benett Hamilton's opening night Dave Benett
T ripAdvisor has released its annual list of destinations on the rise and the winner is somewhere youve quite possibly never heard of.

The top gong went to Ishigaki - a small Japanese island found in the countrys southwestern Okinawa Prefecture which is a three hour flight from Tokyo.

The list, which is part of the companys sixth annual Travellers Choice awards, looks at data and determines which destination has enjoyed the most year-on-year increase in positive TripAdvisor feedback - looking at accommodation, restaurant, activity ratings and booking numbers.

229 sq km with a population of 48,000, Ishigaki in Japanese means stone wall but the name couldnt be more misleading.

Compared by some to Bali and Hawaii, Ishigaki resemble a postcard paradise.

Neon blue waters, white sands, coral reefs and a tropical climate make it an excellent, off-the-beaten-track destination for any discerning sun worshipper and according to TripAdvisor, its also of interest to foodies. The island is known for its Yaeyama soba noodles, which are made of flour instead of the more traditional buckwheat.

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Already looking likely to overtake Hawaii in number of visitors per year, in 2016 the island group (a collection of more than 150 islands between Taiwan and Japans mainland) welcomed a record 8.77 million people (a 10.5 per cent year-on-year increase), compared to the 8.93 million tourists in Hawaii (a 2.9 per cent rise).
A moped delivery rider targeted during a teenage robbers 90-minute acid attack rampage has called for tougher sentences to deter assailants.

Jabed Hussain was one of six moped riders sprayed with strong acid by Derryck John, 17, during his attacks across north and east London in July. The 33-year-old, from Tower Hamlets, said attackers should be given life sentences as a deterrent.

He added: If they throw acid at someones face, the person may not die but they will carry that pain until they die  on their face, where they cant hide it.

Mr Hussain, originally from Bangladesh, suffered facial burns which have since healed but continues to have breathing problems and chest pains. The former Uber Eats driver has yet to return to work and said he still remains concerned for his safety.

He welcomed Government proposals to restrict the sale of corrosive substances to stop under-18s buying them but described the measures as not enough. He added: The Government want to cut off the top of the tree, they dont want to go from the bottom. They should go to where the boys are. They are bored at home, they have nowhere to go. Since the attack Mr Hussain has been campaigning to raise awareness of acid attacks. He said: Compared with other victims Im very lucky, so Im the person who is speaking up.
P olice today released CCTV images of two men they want to trace in connection with a pub melee which left former EastEnders star Jessie Wallace shaken and another actor with cuts and bruising.

Ms Wallace, who played Queen Vics landlady Kat Slater in the soap, was allegedly attacked by two fans in a pub in Bromley after she refused to pose for a selfie with them, saying they were too drunk.

The 46-year-old actress was starring as The Wicked Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs pantomime at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley and had been enjoying a drink in The Partridge pub with fellow performers at the time.

Scotland Yard said today that the 49-year-old victim, believed to be Jason Sutton, who was playing Nurse Nancy in the pantomime, was sitting with two women when they were approached by a man who started talking to them.

Then in an unprovoked assault the man punched the victim in the face, causing a cut above his eye and bruising.

Police have today released this CCTV image / Met Police

A second man then threw a drink at the group.

At the time, one fellow customer said: There was a nice atmosphere until these two drunks were asking Jessie for a photograph.

They were hassling her for a photo and she said no because they were too drunk.

When she refused the two men started throwing glasses at the group before running away, the customer said.

Ms Wallaces agent said afterwards that the actress had been left very shaken by the incident.

CCTV footage has been released in a hunt for fans who 'attacked Eastenders star Jessie Wallace' in south London pub / Met Police

Police said today that officers were called to an unprovoked assault at the pub at 8.20pm on Thursday, December 7.

Both suspects are described as in their late 30s or 40s. One is described as of big build and wearing a white T-shirt, the second suspect was said to be slimmer and wearing a blue T-shirt.

There have been no arrests.

Detective Constable Francesca Bruni, of Bromley CID, said: This was a violent unprovoked assault on the victim who was left shaken after the incident.

To assist the investigation, we are keen to identify and speak to the two men in the CCTV stills. If you recognise either or both of these men, please get in touch.
A murder probe has been launched after an 18-year-old man died following a fight on a leafy residential street in south east London.

Police and paramedics rushed to Empress Drive, Chislehurst, at about 9pm on Tuesday.

A man was found injured in the street and was rushed to hospital, police said. He died from his wounds shortly after 8am on Wednesday.

According to Scotland Yard no arrests have been made.

DCI Tim Wright, who is leading the police investigation, said: "We understand that neighbours and people passing through the area witnessed the incident on Tuesday evening. We are keen to speak to all witnesses and would encourage them to come forward as soon as possible.

"A young man has lost his life and we are doing everything we can to piece together what took place."

A Met Police spokesman added: His next of kin have been informed.

A post-mortem examination will be held in due course. Formal identification awaits.

Detectives from Bromley and the Homicide and Major Crime Command continue to deal. 
H eroic commuters banded together to detain a suspect who allegedly hit a fellow passenger during rush hour at a busy south London station.

A scuffle broke out near the ticket barriers at East Croydon station at about 9am on Tuesday, leaving one man in hospital.

Witnesses quickly stepped in and formed a barrier to prevent the suspect from fleeing until emergency services arrived.

Katherine Heubeck, 27, who called the police, said it was "heartening" to see such "goodness".

She told the Standard: As I was getting through the barriers I could see a group of guys in a scuffle.

One guy was asking people to call the police; he was saying hes getting away.

I could a see a middle-aged guy being helped by commuters, bleeding from his face, there was blood on his hand.

I called 999, while I was on the phone there were people making sure the guy who hit him wasnt getting away, blocking the stairs.

Katherine Heubeck witnessed the incident on Tuesday morning

When it was at its busiest there were about 15 people there making sure it was as busy and difficult an area to get away from."

One person had grabbed the suspect by the arm while another comforted the victim, Ms Heubeck said.

She added: A guy was holding the attacker by the arm, making sure he wasnt getting anywhere.

He was trying to push people out of the way and run off, then he calmed down for a bit and said I am not going to run, I am not going to run. But as soon as someone slackened he tried to make off.

One lady in particular was looking after the victim, crouched down next to him until he was able to sit when she sat down next to him.

It wasnt what youd expect from London commuters during rush hour."

A spokesman for BTP said: We were called to East Croydon station just before 9am yesterday to reports that a man had been assaulted.

A 51-year-old man sustained injuries to his face and was taken to hospital for treatment.

A 58-year-old man from Crowborough in East Sussex was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and travelling on the railway without paying a fare.

He has been released under investigation. Enquiries are ongoing.
P olice are investigating how a British woman got hold of strong painkillers which led to her being jailed in Egypt.

Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, was sentenced to three years in prison for taking 290 Tramadol tablets into the country last month.

The shop worker told the court she had got the tablets for her Egyptian partner, Omar Caboo, who suffers from severe back pain, and she had no idea what she was doing was wrong.

She said she obtained the drugs, which were in her suitcase, from a friend in the UK.

Now the British authorities have started an investigation into how she got hold of the prescription medication.

Detective Inspector Jon Cross, of Humberside Police, said: "Following the arrest and subsequent conviction of Laura Plummer, we are looking into the circumstances of how the prescription drugs came to be in her possession and if any further individual has committed any offences.

Jailed: Laura Plummer / PA

"This investigation is still ongoing.

"If you have information you believe could assist us in this inquiry, please call 101."

Ms Plummer was arrested at Hurghada airport on October 9 when she flew into the Red Sea resort.

It is thought she will appeal against her sentence and supporters have said the Tramadol was not hidden in her luggage.

The shop assistants family spoke out against her conviction and have begged for her release.

Her father, Neville Plummer, previously told the Mirror: My daughter is in extreme danger.

He added that his daughter, who he referred to as Coo Coo, had "never been in any trouble" and has an "innocent heart" and "forgiving nature".

He added during an interview in December: "The only thing she hated were druggies. If they came into her store it made her sick. I cant bear thinking of her in that prison with the rapists, murderers, prostitutes and jihadis.
P olice have released images of two suspects after a shopkeeper was allegedly killed by a single punch when he refused to serve a group of underage teenagers.

Vijay Patel, 49, was knocked to the ground and suffered a fatal head wound in the late-night attack outside Rota Express in Mill Hill Broadway on Saturday.

The father-of-two spent nearly two days on a life support machine before he was pronounced dead on Monday evening.

Detective Inspector Ian Lott, who is leading the police investigation, said: We are releasing CCTV images of two male youths who were in the shop during the initial dispute and were outside at the time Vijay Patel was assaulted.

Lovely man: Vijay Patel with his wife Vibha

This was an unprovoked and wholly unnecessary attack on a man who was just trying to do his job. It is vitally important that these two males are traced as they undoubtedly have information that could assist our investigation.

While one male has been charged with Vijays murder, I still need the publics help to ensure all those who were involved in this incident are identified and held to account for their actions.

Mr Patel in hospital before his life support was switched off

Scotland Yard said Mr Patel was with a colleague in the shop when three teenage boys attempted to buy items including cigarette papers but were refused.

They allegedly became aggressive and threatened to vandalise the shop.

Mr Patel and the colleague went outside and then he was allegedly hit and fell to the floor.

Police at the scene in Mill Hill after the attack / Nigel Howard

The colleague suffered minor injuries when he was also struck by the teenagers, who then fled the scene in the direction of Mill Hill Broadway Station.

Mr Patel, who lived in Kingsbury, had moved to London from India in 2006 to provide a better life for his wife Vibha and their two sons Neel and Dhruv, his family said on Tuesday.

His brother Prakash, 47, told the Daily Mail: He was the greatest man in the world. He always wanted to help and do the right thing.

The two males police wish to trace are described as a black male teenager wearing a red sweatshirt, black jeans and white trainers and a black male teenager wearing a dark coloured hooded sweatshirt or jacket and dark coloured jeans. The latter was also wearing a Nike rucksack.

A 16-year-old boy appeared at Willesden youth court today charged with murder. He was remanded in custody until January 24.
P olice in South Africa have launched a hunt for a man with a bitten penis after a pregnant woman was raped in front of her young child.

The victim, who is three-months pregnant, was allegedly attacked after accepting a lift from two men as she hitch-hiked to a clinic with her five-year-old.

A gun was then pointed at the woman as the driver of the white Toyota Tazz sped off into some bushes near the town of White River, detectives said.

One of the men raped the victim at knifepoint in front of her child during the attack on Tuesday, Mpumalanga police added in a statement.

The victim was able to bite the genitals of her alleged attacker who ran away following the assault.

Medical staff have now been issued with an alert to report any men seeking help for injured genitals.
T he probation staff who will be responsible for monitoring black cab rapist John Worboys have the worst record in the country for responding when offenders breach the terms of their release, a watchdog revealed today.

Dame Glenys Stacey, the Chief Inspector of Probation, says in a report that the National Probation Service in London does good work overall in ensuring the public is protected from criminals released into the community.

But she says that staff still fail to do enough to minimise the risk of harm posed by offenders in a third of cases and perform worse than colleagues outside the capital when offenders do not comply with release conditions.

Her report also warns of variable work to reduce re-offending by convicts, inadequate engagement with victims, and a failure in some cases to conduct reviews when the offenders risk level changes.

The report also says that inadequate information is being given to the courts about the risks posed to children and offenders partners when probation staff prepare pre-sentencing reports.

It blames a desire to avoid sentencing delays but expresses concern that serious harm could result and insists greater rigour is needed to ensure that any dangers are fully understood.

The findings will raise concerns about the ability of the National Probation Services London wing to carry out checks on Worboys, who is due to be freed imminently, and other criminals released into the community.

Conservative MP Anna Soubry has backed the calls of several victims for Worboys, who was jailed in 2009 for 19 offences including one rape and five sexual assaults, to be banned from Greater London on his release.

The expectation is, however, that he will be allowed to live in the capital where he will be subject to monitoring by the National Probation Service.

In her report, Dame Glenys says that the London wing has made encouraging improvements over the past year after a previous scathing assessment.

But she says staff, who have seen their workload rise by eight per cent over the past year to 16,765 cases across the city, are stretched and highlights a series of weaknesses.
S adiq Khan today revealed that police will significantly increase the use of stop and search to tackle soaring knife crime on Londons streets.

The Mayor promised a tougher crackdown this year with the Met ramping up the fight against violent crime.

New figures also showed that the number of violent acid attacks in London has soared by more than 78 per cent over the last two years with a huge increase in the number of victims.

Mr Khan said more intelligence-led stop and search was a vital tool to keeping the capitals communities safe.

It is hoped body-worn video cameras will give the public more confidence / Metropolitan Police

The Mayor has been under intense pressure over his record on knife crime since New Year, when four young Londoners were stabbed to death in unrelated incidents.

The pledge to step up stop and search represents a shift in position from Mr Khan who promised before he was elected to do all in my power to drive down the controversial tactic.

City Hall insiders said he still had concerns about its dramatic effect on communities, with public confidence in the police undermined if Londoners are stopped and searched for no good reason.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick has said that more stop and search could help reduce knife crime while many frontline officers believe its decline has been a factor in the recent knife crime epidemic.

Police at the scene of a fatal stabbing in Stoke Newington earlier this week / @999London

Senior officers and City Hall also hope that the roll-out of body-worn cameras will give the public more confidence that the tactic is being used properly and protect against accusations of racism and unfairness.

Writing in the Standard today, Mr Khan said: The Met Commissioner, Cressida Dick, and I are in full agreement that the Met must continue to ramp up their fight against violent crime.

Londoners will see a tougher crackdown throughout 2018. This will include a significant increase in the use of targeted stop and search by the police across our city.

The Mayor, who was stopped and searched himself as a teenager growing up in South London, added: I know from personal experience that when done badly, stop and search can cause community tensions.

But when based on real intelligence, geographically focused and performed professionally, it is a vital tool for the police to keep our communities safe.

It will allow the police to target and arrest offenders, take the weapons they carry off our streets and stop these attacks from happening.

The Met dramatically reduced the number of random stop and searches in 2012 in an effort to improve relations with black and ethnic minority communities.

The Home Office is still putting pressure on police chiefs to reform the practice after the latest figures showed that nationwide black people were dramatically more likely to be targeted by officers than white people.

Overall use of stop and search has fallen by 21 per cent in the last year to just under 304,000 incidents across England and Wales, the lowest number since 2002. At the same time violent crime has soared.

However, the Tories described Mr Khans record as a disgrace and cited figures from the Mayors Office of Policing and Crime which showed knife crime was up 31.3 per cent year-on-year between 2015/16 and 2016/17.

Tory Assembly member Steve OConnell, who advised Boris Johnson on policing, said: Sadiq Khan has sat idle whilst knife crime and other youth violence has reached near-record levels on Londons streets.

He previously said he would do everything in his power to reduce stop and search. Only now, with politicians from all parties pleading with him to act, is he pressing ahead.

The Mayors weak approach has sent a message to carriers of knives that they will get away with it. Four people were stabbed to death over New Year. The Mayors answer? Ask more schools to introduce metal detectors.
M Ps and the City strongly criticised the Government today over its failure to produce a long-delayed paper on the future of the powerhouse financial sector and services after Brexit.

Nicky Morgan, chairwoman of the Commons Treasury committee, called on Brexit Secretary David Davis to publish the overdue blueprint for post-2019, warning that business leaders felt left in the dark.

The call was taken up by the City of London, the Law Society of England and business group London First, together representing thousands of firms and professional bodies.

Ms Morgan said: Services make up 80 per cent of the UK economy and the City alone paid 72 billion in taxes in 2016.

Those working in the services sector are entitled to know how ministers plan to safeguard their futures after Brexit, so a Government paper on services, including financial services, is well overdue.

Today Chancellor Philip Hammond and Mr Davis travelled to Berlin to seek support from German business leaders for a post-Brexit trade deal they said ought to be the most ambitious in the world.

However, reports from Germany said Chancellor Angela Merkel was moving against the UK proposal for managed divergence, which would allow Britain to choose which EU rules it follows in the long term. Mrs Merkel regarded the idea as a British ruse to have its cake and eat it, said the Daily Telegraph.

Catherine McGuinness, policy chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: City firms will find it baffling we have not had a position paper published for the sector. We have had papers for a wide range of other sectors and policy issues but not for financial services. All this does is add more uncertainty.

Law Society president Joe Egan called for clarity from ministers, saying: There has been much talk of a trade deal matching the one between Canada and the EU, but that would leave legal services, worth more than 28 billion to the economy, high and dry.

Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of London First, warned firms would leave the capital if they did not get clearer guidance: The financial services industry employs over one million people so its staggering the Government has failed to set out what it wants. Companies are being asked to take on blind faith that Government has a coherent plan for continued market access and tariff-free trade hidden up its sleeve.

A Department for Exiting the EU spokesman said: We have always said we will release any further position and future partnership papers at the appropriate time. That remains the case.

Last summer seven position papers were published, on issues from Northern Ireland to goods, citizens rights and free trade. The paper on financial services was expected in August.

Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, Mr Hammond and Mr Davis said: It makes no sense to either Germany or Britain to put in place unnecessary barriers to trade in goods and services. But the European Union is warning British firms, including in pharmaceuticals, haulage and air travel, that their operating licences for the EU will lapse after Brexit.
J eremy Corbyn's Left-wing campaign group Momentum has shut its youth wing for reportedly bringing the organisation into disrepute.

Momentum chair Jon Lansman ordered the Momentum Youth and Students (MYS) organisation, which has 5,000 online followers, to hand over passwords to social media accounts in a letter sent to it last night.

It was not clear which posts had offended Mr Lansman, but former committee members of the organisation for under-30s claimed in a blog post that in the past the group had been hostile and put sectarian vendettas above co-operation and campaigning.

They also hit out at bad-spirited jokes being put online, which may refer to a number of Facebook posts about deselections of Labour MPs littered with emojis and posts celebrating the Russian revolution.

In his letter leaked online last night, veteran Left-winger Mr Lansman wrote: The MYS social media accounts have at times been used in ways which have brought Momentum into disrepute and which are inconsistent with Momentums code of ethics, which seek to promote values consistent with those of Jeremy Corbyns two leadership campaigns of fair, honest debate focused on policies, not personal attacks or harassment.

Momentum is widely credited with helping Labour far outstrip expectations during the general election by rallying younger members and spreading campaign messages through viral social media videos. It also ran a nationwide carpool taking activists to marginal seats to campaign.

However since Momentum was founded in 2015 it has been repeatedly embroiled in rows with moderate members of the Labour Party who feared it was orchestrating the deselections of MPs.

In London it has been accused of organising the Left-wing takeover of the centrist-run Labour Haringey council after local elections in May.

It is also being investigated by the Electoral Commission over its general election expenditure.

The youth wing, founded in 2016, had 200 people at its first meeting. But thousands now follow its national Facebook group and regional pages, and it also runs its own political schools for young activists.

However, Mr Lansman has said MYS has never been affiliated to the main organisation, it does not recognise their work and it has not given it permission to use its logos or branding.

Mr Lansman wrote: I respectfully ask those involved to cease to use Momentums name and to close down the social media accounts or hand them over to a member of the national office team.

It is understood Momentum is working on developing a new youth wing later this year.
A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of an 18-year-old man following a fight in south east London.

The victim was found wounded in the front garden of a suburban home shortly after 9pm on Tuesday and died in hospital on Wednesday morning.

An 18-year-old man was detained on Wednesday afternoon and remains in custody at a south London police station, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers launched a murder probe over the death of the man, who was found in Empress Drive in Chislehurst.

A post-mortem examination has yet to take place and the victim has not been formally identified but his next of kin have been informed.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Wright, of the Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "We understand that neighbours and people passing through the area witnessed the incident on Tuesday evening.

"We are keen to speak to all witnesses and would encourage them to come forward as soon as possible.

"A young man has lost his life and we are doing everything we can to piece together what took place."
A coconut juice company has responded after facing a backlash over the packaging used to wrap the food.

Genuine Coconut came under fire this week after environmentally conscious shoppers were dismayed to find their coconuts packaged in what appeared to be plastic whilst shopping in Sainsburys.

The company sells coconut juice which comes straight from the coconut. The product comes with a pull top and is accompanied by a straw. The entire product is then wrapped in film.

Disgruntled customers took to Twitter to express their concern over whether or not the excess packaging was necessary.

The product comes wrapped in packaging with a pull top and a straw / Genuine Coconut

Esme Lila Sarfas said: "Utterly ridiculous . A coconut has one of the strongest, unbreakable natural packaging in the world. It doesnt need to be covered in plastic!!!"

Another questioned why Sainsburys had chosen to endorse the product by selling it in its shops.

Mezzie wrote: Can you tell me where in Wiltshire Genuine Coconut wrapping can be recycled? Just because it is made from recycled materials still shows lack of Eco consideration as materials require energy to produce and transport. Wake up Sainsbury#s the world is changing.

However, Genuine Coconut responded to the backlash claiming that there had been a misunderstanding and that the plastic packaging was recyclable.

A spokesman said: We can assure customers we use a range of recyclable materials to keep our organic coconut water fresh. This includes the high-tech film on the product, which mimics its original green peel and is made of entirely recyclable materials.

The company claimed that the film covering the coconuts was necessary as the coconuts no longer had the protection of a natural green peel which they would usually have when they fall straight from the tree.

Ben Feltwell, the Director of online website About Orgainics which outlines advice on the labelling and packaging of organic foods, said that there could be merit to this explanation.

He said: From a recent trip to Guaruja, Brazil (where coconuts are abundant) the locals were adamant that they wouldn't drink coconut water in the UK as they believe that the green flesh is required to keep the water fresh. Without it, the water quickly becomes milk and if coconuts are stored as the brown cores (that we know and expect) without the green flesh, they apparently don't last as long.

If there's any real science behind the use of a plastic wrap around the coconut cores, it may be to replicate the effect of the flesh in keeping the coconut water fresh, though this is just guesswork based on their local customs.
A former military chief today warned that the Army must not be turned into a fighting force that is just jolly nice to people after the launch of an inclusive recruitment campaign.

The 1.6 million campaign, which aims to encourage recruits from different backgrounds, genders, sexualities and faiths, will see a series of adverts broadcast on television, radio and digital platforms.

Titled This Is Belonging 2018, it includes animation films released on social media which ask What if I get emotional in the Army?, Can I practise my faith in the Army?, Will I be listened to in the Army?, Do I have to be a superhero to join the Army? and Can I be gay in the Army?

Retired Army officer Major General Tim Cross said he supported recruiting from a broader base to boost numbers given that the army is around 4,000 soldiers short of its target of 82,000.

However, he told BBC radio: Its no good just having an army that is jolly nice to people.

Inclusive: a scene from the new army campaign ad

There are no prizes for coming second on a battlefield.

Maj Gen Cross also warned against discouraging Christians and people from other faiths from signing up amid reports that one advert was focused on showing Muslims they could practise their religion while serving as a soldier.

However, the head of the Army, General Sir Nick Carter, said that in Britain today there were 25 per cent fewer white 16 to 25-year-old males, who formed the forces traditional recruitment base, forcing a rethink of how to address a personnel shortage.

What this campaign is about, frankly, is a recognition that we dont have a fully manned Army at the moment, that the demography of our country has changed, and that we need to reach out to a broader community in order to man that Army with the right talent, he said.

Sir Nick also warned that the threats to Britain, from terrorists, Russia and other countries, had never been greater during his 40-year campaign.

He said applications to join have gone up by 30 per cent -35 per cent in the last nine months, when the Army has been running an updated advertising campaign, with new types of applicant requiring a shift in approach of how they are nurtured into the Army.

And he turned the tables on BBC Today programme presenter Nick Robinson amid the row over unequal pay at the Corporation.
T he Duchess of Cambridge showed off her growing baby bump as she greeted grinning children at a west London school for her first official engagement of the year.

The glowing Duchess crouched down and shook hands with pupils as they lined up outside the Reach Academy Feltham  a school working with a children's mental health charity supporting pupils, teachers and parents.

She met with representatives from Place2Be charity, which provides the help to 282 schools across the UK - including the west London academy.

The Duchess, who is due to have her third child in April, covered her bump with a pleated navy blue military-style coat and wore matching court shoes.

Kate arrives at Reach Academy Feltham

Kate is a patron of the charity and a long-time support of mental health campaigns and organisations, alongside Princes William and Harry.

Kate's baby bump was visible as she greeted schoolchildren today / PA

She greeted the young children before visiting the early years section of the nursery and meeting families who have benefited from the school's parenting support.

Welcome: The Duchess was greeted by children from the early years nursery / Getty Images

She will also be given a tour of the school, which teaches pupils aged four to 18, before talking with Place2Be staff and a group of secondary pupils about the support on offer.

Bump: The glowing Duchess wore a navy blue pleated coat / PA

Her visit to the nursery comes just a day after new pictures of her daughter, Princes Charlotte, were published marking her own first day at nursery school.

Adorable: Princess Charlotte dressed to go to nursery (PA Wire/PA Images) / HRH The Duchess of Cambridge

The Duchess took the pictures herself as the two-year-old left for school.

They show the tot dressed in an adorable red coat and wearing her own pink rucksack on her back.

She follows in the footsteps of her older brother, Prince George, who started primary school last year.
A strain of 'Japanese' flu that can particularly affects children is spreading across the UK, health experts have said.

Doctors are urging parents to take up free jabs against Yamagatu flu, Manchester Evening News (MEN) reported.

While the strain is less severe than the A/H3N2 'Australian' flu that has already caused fatalities in Ireland, it could place further pressure on the NHS as the virus spreads.

This year's main flu vaccine for adults does not protect against the Yamagatu strain. Children are being offered a free vaccine that protects against the Australian and Japanese flu strains.

In the week leading up to Christmas, 21 out of 25 flu B viruses examined in the UK belonged to Yamagata lineage, Public Health England (PHE) confirmed.

Flu jab: This year's standard vaccination does not include 'Japanese' flu, which is spreading / AFP/Getty Images

Annual vaccines are designed to target strains of influenza believed to be the most of risk to the population. This year, the standard "trivalent" vaccine given to most Brits protects against three strains of flu, including Australian flu but not influenza B/Yamagata - which is now spreading.

However, children between the age of two and eight are being offered free "quadrivalent" jabs against both the Japanese and Australian strains.

Experts say this is because young children are high-risk 'super shedders', meaning they excrete more of the virus than adults.

It protects against same the three strains as the main vaccine, in addition to a strain called B/Phuket that is said to behave like the Yamagata strain, according to Public Health England's latest flu report.

Alarming images show the spread of a potentially deadly flu virus as it engulfs the UK following a surge in cases over the weekend

Children aged two and three can be given the vaccination at their general practice, while children in reception class and school years 1, 2, 3 and 4 are offered their vaccination in school.

It it up to individual Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to decide which vaccination to administer to adults.

Graham Munslow, clinical screening and immunisation manager for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership told MEN: If we increase immunisation in younger children we are indirectly protecting the rest of the population. So the emphasis is to increase the uptake in children who are offered it by their GP or at school.

Yamagata is not in the vaccination for the elderly population so we could well start to see it in other age groups."

Dr Deborah Turbitt, deputy director for health protection at PHE said: "Two types of vaccine are available for use in adults  trivalent and the quadrivalent. Quadrivalent vaccines offer protection against two types of flu A and two types of B. Trivalent vaccines provide protection against one type of flu B and two types of flu A. The World Health Organisation recommended that either vaccine could be used.

"It is up to individual CCGs to decide which vaccine to procure for the adult programme.

"Children in eligible groups receive the quadrivalent vaccine, this is the group most likely to be affected by flu B and will also provide some indirect protection to other parts of the population.

"The Yamagata lineage has similar symptoms to other flu B types - cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, fatigue, aches and pains.

"In fact flu B generally results in milder illness compared to Flu A, though it still can occasionally cause more severe disease."

Health officials urged people to get vaccinated at the start of the New Year after a number of deaths in Ireland that were linked to Australian flu.

Figures for England and Wales revealed the number of recorded flu cases more than doubled in the week before Christmas.
A police hunt has begun for a man who was spotted illicitly using a metal detector in the grounds of a listed 18th century manor house.

Sussex Police have released CCTV of the suspect walking across a lawn at Hotham Park in Bognor Regis as he scans the grass with his detector.

Police said the park is an important heritage site in the coastal town and the local council does not give permission to hobbyists hoping to metal detect there.

PCSO Daryl Holter, heritage crime lead for Sussex Police, said: Wed like to trace the man seen here using a metal detector in the park.

"If you know who he is, or are indeed that person, please get in touch so that we can discuss the matter."

Hotham House and grounds was built and lived in by Sir Richard Hotham, the founder of modern Bognor Regis.

It is grade II* listed  the second highest listed status for buildings in Britain  and is now privately owned.
T hree quarters of the UKs worst pollution hotspots are in London, a study on air quality has revealed.

Hyde Park Corner and Marylebone Road in central London have the most polluted postcodes in the country, while spots near east Londons Blackwall Tunnel were also ranked high for toxic nitrogen dioxide levels.

A new tool based on the data, created by company EarthSense and the BBC, allows people to check the pollution levels in their postcode.

The rating is ranked on a scale from one (good) to six (heavily polluted) and is based on NO2 gas, which has been linked to respiratory disease.

Pollution is thought to lead to the early deaths of 40,000 people a year in Britain.

Professor Roland Leigh, who provided the data from the University of Leicester for the map, told the BBC: By focussing it down we can really isolate the hotspots of poor air quality, and better target our solutions.

Cyclists make their way to work in pollution-stopping facial shrouds / Alex Lentati

Air quality is actually getting better in Britain, and we are in a better state than a large number of countries - particularly across Asia.

"In Britain, it's always better to be outside exercising than inside avoiding pollution, even in the worst areas."

In October, separate research from CleanSpace was published following a year-long programme which saw activists, group and businesses take carbon monoxide readings from around London.

Carbon monoxide is often a good indicator of other outdoor pollutants and can be used to estimate levels of other gas like nitrogen dioxide.

Among the most polluted postcodes identified was Charing Cross, Bloomsbury and Ladbroke Grove.

This month, figures showed London breached EU legal limits for toxic air in nearly 50 pollution blackspots in London.

Brixton Road in Lambeth recorded an average annual reading of 94 micrograms of NO2 per cubic metre of air  more than
A n American teenager managed to track down a stranger she kissed at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris after launching a global search on social media.

Student Juliana Corrales, from California, appealed to Twitter on Monday after she shared a romantic moment with the handsome teenager but forgot to get his number.

She wrote: "Kissed this great guy on the top of the Eiffel Tower, biggest regret is that I didn't get his number, Twitter can ya help a girl out?"

And just days later, her plea was successful as the boy, named only as Gavin, was found.

The love story gripped people on social media and the original video has since been retweeted nearly 20,000 times.

However, many were disappointed to find the young man may have a girlfriend after discovering his social media accounts.

In a series of posts, Ms Corrales detailed her meeting with Gavin while away in the French capital on a school trip for 12 days.

She explained: "Ever since my amazing parents surprised me with the news, I made a pact with myself that I would kiss someone on the Eiffel Tower."

And on the final day of her trip on January 6, Ms Corrales visited the landmark.

"I was looking for someone to kiss," she wrote. "Unfortunately there wasnt many options because there was no one my age who didnt come with their girlfriend."

Until Ms Corrale's friend spotted Gavin.

She added: "She [my friend] tapped on his shoulder and then backed away to let me speak.

"Somehow I managed to make concise sentences and I asked him if he wouldnt mind kissing me.

"I explained to him about my pact, and to my dismay he actually agreed to kiss me.

"So we kiss and it was pretty cool and my friends were all cheering and we were all laughing, and then his Mum yells 'Thats my son, kiss again so I can get a picture' and, of course, I happily oblige because he is gorgeous and then we kissed again."

It was only after Ms Corrales had enjoyed her fairytale moment that she realised she had no way of contacting Gavin, and asked Twitter to help her.

She said: "In the heat of the moment I completely forgot to get his number, which is why I took it to Twitter, making hoping maybe we could find him?"

People from around the world got involved in the mission to find the mystery man, with only his first name and home state as clues.

Yet they were heartbroken to find that he might have a girlfriend, with many tweeting their disappointment to Ms Corrales.

She seemed to take the news in good spirits, responding: "So I saw that you guys found Gavin haha and whether he has a girlfriend or not, I would just like to thank everyone for finding him and being so supportive.
A judge has temporarily blocked Donald Trump from scrapping Barack Obamas Dreamers programme that gives amnesty to people who came to the US illegally as children.

District Judge William Alsup granted a request by the state of California and four other plaintiffs to keep the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme in place  and prevent deportations  until other lawsuits are heard in court.

Judge Alsup said young immigrants were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm if they were deported and their lawyers had a strong chance of succeeding. DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the US illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. The programme includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the programme would be phased out, saying President Obama had exceeded his authority implementing it in 2012.

The Department of Justice said it would fight the judges decision as DACA was an illegal circumvention of Congress and it was within the agencys power to end it.

Donald Trump's attempts to scrap Obama / EPA

Brad Rosenberg, a Justice Department attorney, said the administration considered the effects of ending DACA and decided to phase it out over time.

DACA recipients will be allowed to stay in the US for the remainder of their two-year authorisations. Any recipient whose status was due to expire within six months also got a month to apply for another two-year term.

Donald Trump impeachment protests - In pictures 1 /6 Donald Trump impeachment protests - In pictures Demonstrators carry signs during the Impeachment March to call for Congress to start impeachment hearings against US President Donald Trump in Los Angeles AFP/Getty Images Kyle Chapman (right) gets held back by supporters after an altercation with an anti-Trump supporte AP Demonstrators hold signs during the Impeachment March to call for Congress to start impeachment hearings against US President Donald Trump in Los Angelse AFP/Getty Images A small group of protesters gathers at Piedmont Park during an 'Impeachment March' against US President Donald J. Trump in Atlanta, Georgia EPA Demonstrators hold signs during the Impeachment March to call for Congress to start impeachment hearings against US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Anti-Trump supporters rally at the Texas State Capitol AP

They are commonly referred to as dreamers, based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act that would have extended protections for young immigrants.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said: Dreamers lives were thrown into chaos when the Trump administration tried to terminate the DACA programme without obeying the law. Tonights ruling is a huge step in the right direction.

People took out loans, enrolled in school and even made decisions about whether to get married and start families on the basis of DACA and now face horrific consequences from the loss of the programme, said Jeffrey Davidson, a lawyer for the University of California governing board.
D ramatic pictures show the destruction wreaked by mudslides that swept through southern California neighbourhoods killing at least 13.

Cars and lorries were seen floating on rivers of thick mud that coursed through residential areas in Montecito, Santa Barbara County, sending thousands fleeing from their homes.

Emergency workers using search dogs lifted out residents trapped in collapsed buildings, including a 14-year-old girl.

The girl, whose name was not immediately available, emerged caked in mud from the top of her head to her feet and hands..

AP

Firefighters dressed in high-vis and orange jumpsuits and hard-hats hauled her from the debris of the house.

Other residents were also lifted from destroyed homes either by rescue workers or with the help of helicopters.

Footage shows helicopter rescue after California mudslides

Heavy downpours struck Southern California before dawn on Tuesday after thousands of residents living along the Pacific coast north of Los Angeles were ordered to evacuate or urged to do so voluntarily.

But only 10 to 15 percent complied with mandatory orders, said Amber Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

Devastation: Debris clogged roadways as vehicles became trapped by sludge / EPA

The well-to-do communities of Montecito and Carpenteria, just outside the city of Santa Barbara, were hardest hit.

The mudslides toppled trees, demolished cars and covered quiet residential neighbourhoods with a waist-high layer of sludge, blocking Highway 101, a major north-south route along the coast.

Widespread: Two neighbourhoods, Montecito and Carpenteria, were particularly hard hit / Reuters

"The best way I can describe it is, it looked like a World War One battlefield," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a news conference.

The death toll could rise, with rescue workers still picking through dozens of damaged and demolished homes in the search for survivors, Brown said.

'This is not a river': Roads were flooded with mud / Reuters

TV personality Ellen DeGeneres, who is among a coterie of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe who own homes in Montecito, posted a photo on Twitter of a road choked with mud and brown water.

"This is not a river," DeGeneres wrote on Twitter. "This is the 101 freeway in my neighborhood right now. Montecito needs your love and support."

The same stretch of California's scenic coastline was ravaged last month by a series of intense wildfires, the largest in California history.

Residents are evacuated through the mud / Reuters

They left the area vulnerable to mudslides by burning away grass and shrubs that hold the soil in place and also baked a waxy layer into the earth that prevents water from sinking deeply into the ground.

Some areas of Santa Barbara County early on Tuesday were pounded with more than a half-inch of rain in five minutes, a rate that far exceeds the normal flash flood threshold, officials said.

Roads and railways were blocked by the mudslide / Reuters

Many local residents had to flee their homes due to the fires last month and again this week because of the rains.

"Where are the frogs and locusts? We're waiting for them," Dominic Shiach, a restaurateur from Montecito who evacuated due to last month's fire, told Reuters.
D onald Trumps administration is planning to loosen constraints on the use of US nuclear weapons, according to reports.

Under the new draft nuclear posture review (NPR), it is believed the country would use its nuclear arsenal in response to a non-nuclear attack that caused a large number of casualties.

And the plans also reportedly include the development of a new low-yield nuclear warhead for US Trident missiles, according to the Guardian.

Reports suggest that plans have been discussed for the creation of a smaller modified version of the Trident D5 submarine-launched missiles with only part of its normal warhead.

Trump to Kim: My nuclear button is bigger than yours

Jon Wolfsthal, a former special assistant to Mr Trumps predecessor Barack Obama who has seen the draft policy, said the plans were intended to be a clear deterrent message to North Korea, Russia and China.

Mr Wolfsthal, who has reviewed what he believes is the final draft of the document, said the proposed new war head would be totally unnecessary.

Speaking to the Guardian, he said the NPR is not as extreme as earlier drafts of it.

He told the newspaper: My read is this is a walk-back from how extreme it was early on. It doesnt have as much terrible stuff in it as it did originally But its still bad.

North Korea: Ballistic Missile Test - In pictures 1 /19 North Korea: Ballistic Missile Test - In pictures People watch reports about the launch of the short-range ballistic missiles Getty Images North Korean government shows a test of a missile launch in North Korea AP North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watching through binoculars as a new-type of tactical guided short-range missile is launched at an undisclosed location in North Korea AFP/Getty Images A test of a missile launch in North Korea AP People watch a TV showing images of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea AP A man watches a news report about the North Korea missile launch EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a missile test in North Kore AP Kim Jong-Un admires the launching of the Hwasong-15 missile AFP/Getty Images The new missile is thought to be capable of reaching anywhere on the US mainland AFP/Getty Images Missile: the Hwasong-15 missile which is capable of reaching all parts of the US AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images AP AFP/Getty Images Missile test: The launch AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Rocket power: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pictured giving an order to test-fire the newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-15 EPA The Hwasong-15 missile was launched in the early hours of Wednesday AFP/Getty Images

What Ive been told by the people who wrote the thing was what they were trying to do was to send a clear deterrent message to Russians, the North Korean and the Chinese.

And there is pretty good, moderate but strong language that makes clear that any attempt by Russia or North Korea to use nuclear weapons would result in a massive consequence for them, and I think thats actually moderate, centrist and probably very much needed.

The NPR, which aims to outline the capabilities of US nuclear weapons, and the strategy that would be used if it were to fire them, is the first since 2010.

It is expected to be published after Mr Trumps State of the Union speech at the end of this month.
T he rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Pakistan has sparked violent clashes between police and protesters after an outraged mob stormed official buildings.

The body of Zainab Ansari was found dumped in a dustbin on Tuesday after she was abducted from her home in Punjab, sexually assaulted and killed.

Ahead of her funeral on Tuesday a mob, angered by the details of the childs death, attacked a police station and government buildings in the city of Kasur.

The attack sparked clashes across the city, with footage showing police firing shots in the air and towards the mob, who were throwing stones.

CCTV footage of Zainab with her killer

Officials said at least two people were killed but would not confirm how they died.

In one segment shown by local broadcasters, an officer asks another to hold direct fire, after which the second officer is seen continuing to shoot at the protesters.

Zainab went missing last week after she left to go to a nearby home where she was due to study the Quran.

'Mob': Speakers address thousands of mourners demanding the ruling party step down / AP

Police, who found her body days later, confirmed she had been raped and murdered.

Her devastated parents, who were on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia at the time of their daughters death, returned on Wednesday to Islamabad airport.

Accompanied by his sobbing wife, Zainabs father, Ameen Ansari, said: "We will not bury our daughter until her killers are arrested."

Police officer Maqsood Ahmed said that six girls had been sexually assaulted in recent months in the city and that police were probing whether there was a connection in the cases.

Kasur shop owners shut their businesses Wednesday to express their anger over Zainab's killing and activists on social media condemned the government for failing to arrest those involved in the crime.

Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the police were trying to contain the violence and find and arrest those involved in the girl's murder.

But cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri who took part in Ansari's funeral service, demanded the local government be replaced and blamed the Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, for failing to "protect lives and honour of innocent girls" in the province.

Qadri, a political rival of the ruling party who has led violent rallies in the past, issued an ultimatum to Sharif and Sanaullah to step down by January 17 to avoid street protests.
T he guitarist for Japanese metal band Babymetal, Mikio Fujioka, has died aged 36.

Members of the band shared an emotional tribute to the musician on Tuesday.

A tweet from their official Twitter account read: "The 'Little' Guitar Kami of BabyMetal's #Kamiband has passed away in the metal galaxies.

"We hope that he is now with his guitar master A. Holdsworth and enjoying an epic guitar session with him."

Babymetal is one of Japan's most successful musical exports, having toured the US and UK and received plaudits from the MTV Europe Music Awards and Kerrang! magazine.

BabyMetal is one of Japan's most successful rock bands / Getty Images

Mr Fujioka was popular among the group's fanbase and widely known as Ko-Gami or "The Little God".

Reports say he fell from an observation deck on December 30 and was hospitalised before his condition deteriorated.

According to Billboard, he died on January 5.

The talented guitarist graduated from the Musicians Institute of Osaka in 2000 at the age of 19 and had toured with Babymetal since 2013.
M ichelle Williams was reportedly paid significantly less than Mark Wahlberg during reshoots for Ridley Scotts All The Money in the World.

The John Paul Getty kidnapping drama was reshot in a matter of days after Kevin Spacey was hastily replaced by Christopher Plummer following allegations of sexual misconduct.

According to reports in USA Today and the Washington Post, Wahlberg negotiated a $1.5 million (1 million) pay packet for the additional days, despite Scott claiming everyone did it for nothing.

Williams was reportedly paid $80 (60) per day totalling less than $1,000 (740) which works out as less than one per cent of Wahlbergs earnings.

All The Money In The World - Trailer 3

The report sparked a backlash with Mia Farrow branding the alleged findings outrageously unfair while Judd Apatow called them messed up.

Jessica Chastain also waded in, tweeting: Please go see Michelle's performance in All The Money in The World. Shes a brilliant Oscar nominated Golden Globe winning actress. She has been in the industry for 20 yrs. She deserves more than 1% of her male costars salary.

Backlash: Actor Mark Wahlberg reportedly took home a hefty pay packet / Tim P. Whitby/Getty

Campaigner Melissa Silverstein used the hashtag #payMichelle writing: I started this last night and now it has been confirmed by others. Michelle Williams paid under 1,000 and Mark Wahlberg paid 1.5m.

Williams was told they were all donating their time for the reshoots. THIS IS AN EGREGIOUS GENDER PAY GAP. #paymichelle.

The pay disparity comes amid the Hollywood sex scandal following the allegations levelled against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.

The news rocked the entertainment industry and saw all but three female stars wear black to the Golden Globes in solidarity with the Times Up movement against sexual harassment.

Standard Online has contacted representatives for Wahlberg and Williams for comment.
P rofessor Green was accused of defending rapists during a heated clash with Britain First supporters at a protest in Rochdale.

The rapper, real name Stephen Manderson, attended the rally as part of his new documentary series, Working Class White Men.

In scenes from Tuesdays episode, he debated with Britain First leader Jayda Fransen and supporters of the far-right party who were protesting against the Rochdale grooming ring.

One of the men attending the march asked Manderson: Have your kids been raped? What you defending it for then?

Hard-hitting: Professor Green in Working Class White Men / Channel 4

The documentary-maker hit back: I would never defend a rapist. I would never defend a rapist. What am I doing here? Im doing a documentary on white working class.

The Rochdale grooming scandal involved a group of men of middle-eastern origin who groomed local underage girls for sex and prostitution.

Manderson later accused the group of inciting hatred after Fransen was seen leading protestors in a chant of no surrender to the p*** scum.

He also told them: The country has not been very kind to you and that's not the fault of anyone Muslim or foreign person. It's a class problem it's not a race problem.

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Viewers praised Manderson for the brutally honest nature of the documentary, calling it a real eye-opener.

One wrote: Just got round to watching white working class men. Really good. Very human. A real eye opener of what its like for white men growing up and making a living in a working class area.

While another commented: What an amazingly eloquent and brutally honest documentary #WorkingClassWhiteMen highlighting at the front line the social issues of the UK. @professorgreen seems such a real, normal down to earth guy.

Fransen is currently facing trial for allegations of hate speech. She is accused of using threatening, abusive or insulting language at a protest in Belfast that took place last year.
P rofessor Green is on a mission to re-engage working class men. In his new documentary he travels the country to meet men struggling to make a living for themselves, achieve their dreams or overcome low expectations from those around them.

Whats it about?

The series sees Green, real name Stephen Manderson, head to different parts of the UK to find out more about the struggles of working class men.

In Eastleigh he meets Lewis, who is hoping to defy the odds and gain entry to Cambridge University but feels he must hide his inauspicious roots.

Theres also Essex boy Denzil who is an aspiring entrepreneur with a series of inventive money-making schemes and unemployed David, who Manderson encounters when hes living in a homeless hostel and on the brink of becoming involved in far-right politics.

Who is Professor Green?

Manderson is best-known for his career as a rapper and producer. He has been outspoken throughout his career on various political issues, fronting documentaries for the BBC and other broadcasters on homelessness, poverty, the legalisation of weed and male suicide.

Whens it on?
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Melescanu on Wednesday mentioned the two-state solution, in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the meeting with the group of heads of diplomatic missions of the Arab states accredited to Bucharest, while showing that "one of the priorities of the Romanian foreign affairs policy is the development of political and economic relations between Romania and the group of Arab states."

The meeting occasioned an exchange of opinions on the concrete modalities to strengthen and diversify cooperation between Romania and the European Union with the Arab states, as well as on topical issues, with an emphasis on the security developments in the Middle East and Northern Africa regions, informs a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) remitted to AGERPRES

"The key for identifying solutions to ensure stability and security in the region and at global level is to promote and encourage a substantial dialogue. One of the priorities of the Romanian foreign affairs policy is the development of political relations between Romania and the Group of Arab states," stated Minister Teodor Melescanu, according to the abovementioned source.At the meeting, the representatives of the group of Arab states appreciated Romania's role as an active promoter of peaceful solutions to conflicts and the constant support granted by our country to dialogue and negotiations.The Romanian Minister highlighted the fact that Romania opted for a political solution to settling conflicts, through direct negotiations, and also highlighted the importance of maintaining stability and solving crisis in the Middle East."Resuming direct dialogue between the parties and solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of a just and sustainable manner, to correspond to both parties' interests and to contribute to ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East, including in respect to the issue of the status of Jerusalem, this is the only viable solution," said Melescanu.Among the group of Arab states accredited to Bucharest are: the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Iraq, the State of Kuwait, the Lebanese Republic, the State of Libya, the Kingdom of Morocco, Palestine, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Tunisia.
Prime Minister Mihai Tudose announced on Wednesday that he asked the head of the Romanian Police Inspectorate General (IGPR), Bodgan Despescu, to present him in one week the measures taken to solve the situation inside the Romanian Police, pointing out that the agent accused of sexual assault against two minors was apprehended in two days.

"I had a discussion with Mr Bogdan Despescu, he presented me the report (...). I understood from sources that the new proposal has declined the intention to fill in the position. I asked Mr Despescu to present me in one week the measures he took (...) to solve the situation. Which is still to be noted is that the perpetrator was apprehended in two days," Tudose said.

AGERPRES .
This will be a nonpartisan commentary about US politics, as viewed by an American historian who is disgusted with the profoundly corrupt US Government  not merely the political Parties, but the billionaires who effectively control them. Not everyone who finds Trump and the Republican Party to be beneath contempt is a Democrat. All that this commentator is a democrat  a person who is opposed to all forms of dictatorship, including Americas own.



Key factors are now coming together to indicate that Donald Trumps Presidency is already doomed, even if he survives to the end of his term as President. His remaining chances of being elected to any public office are near zero; even his success with the Republican Party has doomed  tainted for years, if not ended  that Party, made it not just repulsive, but increasingly repulsive, both inside and outside the United States; and, here is how, and why, this extraordinary phenomenon is happening:

Everyone knows, by now, that Steve Bannon, who was reliably reported (both before the election, and, in even deeper retrospect, after the election) to have been absolutely crucial to Trumps election, has recently become instead the total opposite, Trump's enemy  out to destroy both Trump and his family. A book will soon be published from him, thats sure to spill lots of disgustingly putrid beans, beyond anything previously wafted by the public, from these now rotting but powerful targets.

The well-connected political reporter Michael Wolff has also recently come out with a new book (excerpts here), in which many of Trumps aides already anonymously leak damning testimony of Trumps personal stupidity and psychopathy.

Also, the brilliant geo-strategic analyst and reporter Wayne Madsen posted to the Strategic Culture site, on January 4th, "I, Neocon  the Foreign Policy of Emperor Trump, in which he says (and I know, from multiple reliable sources, that all of this is true):

Trump follows the advice of a dangerous cabal he has established around himself. On issues of the Middle East and relations with Muslim nations, Trumps cabal possesses a toxicity never seen before in a US administration. This cabal revolves around the troika of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law with many portfolios; Jason Greenblatt, former chief legal officer for the Trump Organization and now Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiation; and David Friedman, formerly with Trump's law firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman and now US ambassador to Israel. They, along with Trump, have succeeded in reversing 70 years of US Middle East policy by ensuring America's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The Jerusalem decision will also see the United States move its embassy from Tel Aviv to property in Jerusalem originally seized by the Israelis from Palestinian landowners.

The Jerusalem decision sends a stark warning to Muslims everywhere, who regard Jerusalem as the third-holiest city in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. It also throws a gauntlet down to the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern and Coptic Orthodoxy, and mainstream Protestantism, all which regard Jerusalem as not only Christianity's most-revered city but an international zone that ought to be placed under joint Israeli-Palestinian control or under a regime like those of past international city-states, Tangier, Danzig, and Trieste, for example. By rewarding Israel with US recognition, Trump's action was a slap in the face to Christians in Jerusalem who have been forced to contend with hundreds of vicious Jewish hate attacks on Christians, such as the scrawled words in Hebrew, "Death to the Heathen Christians, the enemies of Israel" and "Christians to Hell," painted on the Benedictine Monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem, the revered site of Jesus's Last Supper. The Israeli government has taken no action to find and punish the perpetrators of these anti-Gentile attacks by Jewish hate mongers.

On January 1st, Israels own Haaretz newspaper bannered "US Gives Israel Green Light to Assassinate Iranian General Soleimani, who is, in effect, the Commander-in-Chief of Irans military.

Ayatollah Khamenei and the mullahs are at the very top of their state, but the elected President, Hassan Rouhani, though the nations President, is not, in addition, the head of Irans military institutions. Technically, Khamenei is Iran's Commander-in-Chief; but, in reality, he relies for that function almost 100% upon the strategic brilliance of General Qassem Soleimani, whom the Israeli regime has long wanted to assassinate; but only now has the US regime given them the go-ahead to do that. It would, effectively, decapitate Irans military.

Here is one scenario:

1: Major General Qasem Soleimani becomes assassinated by Israels Mossad.

2: Iran and its Hezbollah Shia ally in Lebanon release all their missiles against Israel, to blitz-destroy as much of Israel as possible. Any Iranian weaponry that would be held back in such an attack would only be destroyed in Israels counter-attack, and so there would be no sense in holding any of it back.

3: Israel nukes Iran, and it also attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon  but not with nukes, because Lebanon is too close to Israel, and Israel will try to minimize contamination of its own territory.

Here is another scenario:

2: Iran takes it on the chin, and tries to find, immediately, someone who is comparably brilliant to Solomeini, to fill his role  the role upon the basis of which, Iran has achieved remarkable improvements in its military, and thus made possible its remarkable achievements in their international relations.

Obviously, Iran will be a much weaker nation, when Israel murders its commander-in-chief. Donald Trump, apparently, wants this as desperately as does Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump is the only US President who ever has. This is a very big development. The US regime is now, even more clearly than before, a rogue state, just as Israel itself is. Its now clearly out in the open.

The highly respected analyst and commentator upon international relations concerning Middle Eastern countries, Abdel Bari Atwan, had already reported, on December 30th, that:

Israel's Channel 10 has disclosed that a secret agreement was reached on 12 December, following talks between Israeli national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and his US counterpart HR McMaster, for the two sides to take action and devise scenarios against Iran on several fronts. This reportedly entailed measures aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities, rolling back its presence in Syria, and confronting its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. The White House later confirmed the existence of the agreement after news it of it was leaked to media.

Then, theres the catastrophic domestic policy that Trump and his unanimous Republican congressmen rammed through Congress and Trump signed into law on taxes and lots more. Heres a bit of the best summary of it:

NPR, December 19th:

In 2027, the Republican tax overhaul would raise taxes on 53 percent of households. Still,  Households making $1 million or more per year would get an average tax cut of $23,190.  in 2018, households earning $1 million or more  or, 0.4 percent of all tax filers  would be getting 16.5 percent of the total benefit from the bill.

In 2027, households earning $1 million or more  estimated to be 0.6 percent of all filers  would be getting 81.8 percent of the total benefit. 

In 2018, only 5 percent of taxpayers would have tax hikes, and by 2025, only 9 percent would.  In 2027, 53 percent of tax filers would have a tax hike.

Congress members could avoid that wave of tax hikes by extending those individual tax cuts beyond 2025. The White House has suggested that this is the plan.  But if they do, it means a much heftier price tag, as yet-another analysis released Monday found. As currently written [which is the bill that did become law], the bill would cost around $1.5 trillion. But if Congress extended provisions that expire early, the bill would cost more than $2 trillion.

The US economy is already skating on thin ice, and federal debt at the end of the third quarter of 2017) is $20,244,900,000,000 and rising at an accelerated clip since 2009, when it was $11,126,941,000,000 in the first quarter of 2009  almost a doubling during the past 7 years.

The Republican Party used to be nominally opposed to increasing the federal debt, but now they are totally committed to soaring the federal debt. Yet all of that increase is going to the military (the most-wasteful and corrupt of all federal departments). Other federal departments  especially the regulatory agencies such as the FDA and EPA, which protect consumers and the environment  are being slashed. Productive spending is thus to be slashed, while destructive spending is to be escalated.

Clearly, Donald Trump combines the worst features of the worst Presidents in American history  George W. Bush and Barack Obama  and displays those worst features even more than both of them together did.

And, then, theres Trumps removing America from the already weak Paris Climate Accord, so that global warming will increase even more  and fossil fuels corporations will benefit even more, at the planets expense.

Isnt it now obvious that Trump, in the view of future history (if there will be future history) will be loathed?

The billionaires own the corporations that select and publish the newspapers, books, and other propaganda that newspeople and historians write, but anyone is going to be able to see through the lipstick that might be painted onto this pig.

Consequently: I predict that a progressive political party will soon be created, with almost only grassroots support, which will come close to winning (or even could win) the US Presidency in 2020 (and then soon replacing either the Republican or the Democratic Party  just as the Whig Abraham Lincoln switched to the new Republican Party and won the Presidency in 1860 ending the Whig Party), unless this country is even more corrupt than I think it is. If such a new-and-committedly-progressive party wins, then that will constitute Americas repudiation and reversal of the conservative Reaganite path it has been on ever since 1980 ended the progressive Democratic FDR era in America and started the conservative Reagan era  which now has more clearly become fascism in America.
Well, that didn't take long. Just five days into 2018, and the American fake news industry is already up and running, churning out tasteless whoppers faster than Burger King.

Wired magazine has joined the greasy ranks of other Western mythmakers now fueling a black wave of anti-Russia hysteria by mass-producing a never-ending unsubstantiated claims and outright lies against the Kremlin.

The article begins with a doomsday scenario involving some "terrorist organization or nefarious nation" making the reckless decision to cut the undersea fiber optic cables that connect people across the world. So out of all the numerous diabolical groups that now populate the planet, who did Wired nominate as the most likely to pull off such a wanton act of sabotage? Yes, you got it. Putin's Russia.

The obvious question for any rational thinking person is: Why would Russia do such a thing? Because, according to Wired, the Russian Navy has been "repeatedly caught snooping near the cables" that run along the entire expanse of the North Atlantic Ocean. Wired conveniently fails to remind its readers, however, that any country with a naval force would be forced to pass these lines on numerous occasions in the course of its travels. But acknowledging as much would be putting facts before fiction, and of course we can't have that.

So where does Wired get its information regarding these latest nefarious plans on the part of Russia? From yet another purveyor of Russian fake news  arguably second only to the Washington Post  the New York Times.

"Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively operating near the vital undersea cables that carry almost all global Internet communications, raising concerns among some American military and intelligence officials that the Russians might be planning to attack those lines in times of tension or conflict," the Times breathlessly reported back in 2015.

However, just like the fake news of 'Russia hacking the 2016 US presidential elections,' don't expect any evidence to support the claims. In fact, the Times admits as much in the third paragraph.

"While there is no evidence yet of any cable cutting, the concern is part of a growing wariness among senior American and allied military and intelligence officials over the accelerated activity by Russian armed forces around the globe."

Well, now we're getting somewhere. What really seems to be annoying the Americans is not some sort of outlandish attack on the Internet by Russia, but the fact that the Russian military is now a force to reckon with.

It is also worth noting that the Times article appeared just one month after Vladimir Putin committed the Russian military in September 2015 to fighting against Islamic State forces in Syria  following a formal request by Syrian President Bashar Assad. Some might call that curious timing.

So what exactly would Russia stand to gain from cutting these undersea cables? Absolutely nothing. In fact, as even Wired was gracious enough to admit  albeit buried far at sea in its hit piece  is that any cutting of the cables would be more injurious to Russia than most other countries.

"Russias epic hypothetical cable attack would primarily harm its own people," according to a Telegeography senior analyst Jonathan Hjembo, as quoted by the magazine. It would hurt the Russians perhaps even more than it would hurt [Americans]. Theyre far more dependent on international networks than we are, because so much of our content is stored locally."

In fact, Wired was forced to admit that the greatest threat to the undersea cables is not Russia, the bogeyman of nearly every Western publication in circulation, but fishermen and scavengers.

Wired retold the story of one elderly woman who accidentally cut through an underground cable "while scavenging for copper," cutting off Armenia's entire internet access, leaving the country offline for five hours.

Yet despite those admissions, and the absolute lack of any incentive on the part of Russia to commit such an act of folly, Wired bowed out of its story with a parting shot at "Putin's Russia" anyways.

"There have also been no ruptures attributed to Russian aggression. It appears that Putin has largely left the undersea cables alone, at least for now."

Clearly, as this ridiculously flimsy article illustrates, without any shame, there will be no pause in the anti-Russia propaganda mudslinging in the New Year.
Despite budget problems caused by lower oil prices and sanctions Russia has moved forward more quickly than expected in building and deploying its new Voronezh family of early-warning radars. In 2013 it was believed seven of the nine radar system would not be complete until 2018 but at the end of 2017 Russia announced that three more Voronezh radars (one M and two DM models) were operational. The three new ones monitor activity in China and the Middle East. Two more are under construction in northern Russia to monitor activity in North America while a tenth, and last one, is being planned for Crimea, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014. The official reason for all these is new radars is that the government considers them essential to protect Russia from the growing possibility (according to Russian leaders) of nuclear attack by Western nations (America, Britain and France). As a practical matter the Voronezh radars are much cheaper to build, maintain and operate as well as being more reliable and capable than the older models. Russia also had to move some of these radars.

These new radars will replace the Daryal radars and the even older models that Daryal was replacing but are still in service. The older early-warning radars were usually in areas that were part of the Soviet Union but are not in present day Russia. Thus in 2013 Russia shut down its Daryal type long range missile detection radar in Azerbaijan after the Azerbaijanis demanded that a new lease increase annual rent from $7 million to $300 million. Russia refused to pay and shut down the Azerbaijan radar and dismantled it. The ten year lease ended on December 24, 2012. That radar went operational in 1983, and was supposed to be one of seven. But the end of the Cold War halted that project and only one other Daryal radar was built (on the north coast of Russia). That one detected missiles coming in over the North Pole from North America. The radar in Azerbaijan covered all of the Middle East and India. Its role has been assumed by the more modern Voronezh radar on the Black Sea coast. Russia had offered to upgrade the Azerbaijan radar and pay more rent but not $293 million more a year. In addition, Russia has always paid Azerbaijan $5 million a year for electricity and $10 million a year for other services. About 500 Azerbaijanis were employed at the radar station, in addition to 1,100 Russians. For Azerbaijan this was all about showing Russia that Azerbaijan was now independent, no matter what the cost.

In 2012 Russia activated its fourth Voronezh early warning radar in Irkutsk, Siberia. This was the first of three to be built in eastern Russia. The other two entered service, on schedule in 2017. The Voronezh radars in Western Russia cost between $50 million and $75 million each, while those in eastern Russia (VP models) cost over $100 million because they cover a wider area. The Voronezh radar can detect incoming missiles up to 6,000 kilometers away, as can the Daryals. Three Voronezh M/DM radars were installed in Western Russia between 2005 and 2011. One is in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. Another is on the east coast of the Black Sea (Armavir), while the third is at the eastern end of the Baltic Sea outside St Petersburg.

All this recent radar building activity was caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and the destruction of the Russian ballistic missile early warning system. This came about because each of the fourteen new nations carved out of the Soviet Union got to keep whatever government property was within the new borders. That meant many of the radar stations that formed the Soviet ICBM early warning system were now owned by foreign countries. The combination of disputes over money plus aging electronics eventually put many of those early warning radars out of action. The two in Ukraine went off line in 2010.

The rising price of oil from the 1990s through 2013 provided Russia with the cash to rebuild its ballistic missile early warning radar system. The first one, outside St Petersburg, was built in 18 months (versus over ten years for the ones it replaced). The new design uses much less electricity, has a smaller staff, and can be built using a lot of prefabricated modules. In fact, a Voronezh radar, because it uses digital AESA technology can go online before the radar is completely finished. That appears to be what happened with some of the Voronezh radars already in service.

Russia has adopted a lot of Western technology and work practices since the collapse of the Soviet Union and it all showed in these new radars. The St. Petersburg facility replaced one that was in Latvia and was dismantled in 2003, after going off line in 1998. The one new radar in Armavir (on the Black Sea coast) was built to replace defunct Soviet era radars in Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

The new early warning system is providing detection for missiles coming from all directions. Russian leaders proclaim NATO to still be the major threat but latest ones to go online face China, just in case. In practice the new Voronezh phased array design is useful for monitoring test launches and because of the greater amount of detail Voronezh can detect these radars provide more information on what other nations are doing as they develop new ballistic missiles. Russia noted that their early-warning radar system detected fifty ballistic missile launches in 2017. Russia had rarely released data like that before but apparently that is more in line what Western (mainly American) long-range radars can detect.
ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant)

The most extreme Islamic terror group on the planet, hated by all other Islamic terrorists, was defeated but not destroyed in 2017. It was driven underground where, if tradition holds, it will fester for a generation or so and then revive and repeat. In effect this is a chronic problem. It is an unending Moslem civil war between those (mainly Islamic terrorists) who want a worldwide religious dictatorship run by themselves, versus those representing the majority of Moslems who are getting tired of being threatened and murdered by Moslem religious fanatics. This religious radicalism has always been around, for Islam was born as an aggressive movement that promoted the use of violence and terror to expand. Past periods of conquest are regarded fondly by Moslems, who are still taught by many of their religious leaders and teachers that non-Moslems ("infidels") are inferior and can only be saved if they submit to Islam. The current Moslem enthusiasm for violence in the name of God has been building through most of the 20th century. Historically, Islamic radicalism has flared up into mass bloodshed periodically, usually in response to corrupt governments, as a vain attempt to impose a religious solution on some social or political problem. The current violence is international because of the availability of planet wide mass media (which needs a constant supply of headlines), and the fact that the Islamic world is awash in tyranny and economic backwardness. This is why the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, and their desire to establish democracies, may do some permanent damage to the Islamic terrorism tradition. There are already more condemnations of Islamic radicals by Islamic clerics and media in Moslem nations. These changes have not come as quickly as many hoped, but at least they finally arrived. This came as a surprise to many Moslems. Thats because the past has had a huge influence on Islamic societies. For many, this resistance to change is considered a religious obligation. Many Moslems consider democracy a poisonous Western invention. There is still a lot of affection for the clerical dictatorship of legend; a just and efficient government run by virtuous religious leaders. The legends are false and there are centuries of failed religious dictatorships to prove it. But this legend have become a core belief for many Moslems and tends to survive assaults by reality or the historical record. Islamic radicalism itself is incapable of mustering much military power, and the movement largely relies on terrorism to gain attention. Most of the victims are fellow Moslems, which is why the radicals eventually become so unpopular among their own people that they run out of popular (new recruits and cash) support and fade away. This is what is happening now because the first target of Islamic terrorists are Moslem heretics with innocent bystanders considered involuntary martyrs. This violence kills so many Moslems, especially women and children that the Islamic radicals lose their popularity among Moslems. The sharp decline in the Islamic nation opinion polls was startling for al Qaeda and ISIL since the 1990s. Yet as soon as the Islamic terror threat was reduced in a Moslem country the popularity of Islamic terrorism slowly returns (but only if it happens to someone else, like a different kind of Moslem or a non-Moslem). More Moslems are admitting this is a problem, something that has been going on (without much notice in the West) for nearly a century.

Syria

The defeat of ISIL changed the outcome of the rebellion, or did it? Until late 2017 everyone more (the West and their Arab allies) or less (Assads, Russia, Iran, Turkey) concentrated on fighting ISIL. This effort appeared to have destroyed the rebel advantage because early on most Syrian rebels embraced Islamic radicalism. This was because most of the population was Sunni Moslems who the Shia Assads suppressed and exploited for decades. That meant that after 2012 Islamic radical rebels spent most of their time fighting other rebels. With the defeat of ISIL the rebels are much weakened but more willing to cooperate with each other. Meanwhile the coalition that saved the Assads is falling apart. It goes like this. Russia, Iran and the Assads find themselves facing (and often fighting) and informal coalition of Turkish and American troops along with SDF (predominately Kurdish rebels) and some Sunni Islamic terror groups that appear to be cooperating with the Turks. To further complicate matter the Turks want to eliminate all armed Kurdish groups west of the Euphrates River. Then there is the problem of who is in charge. Technically the Assads are still the legal (internationally recognized) government of Syria and control the UN seat and the Syrian embassies. The Assads invited Iranian and Russian forces into the country, but not the American or Turkish forces. At the same time Turkey has made it clear that it does not want any peace deal that leaves the Assads in power. The Turks have never got on well with the Assads, especially since the 1980s when the Assads became allies with Iran (because both Iran and the Assads were Shia and both were enemies of the Sunni minority dictatorship in Iraq that was then led by Saddam Hussein). The Turks are not getting on with their Russian allies either. Russia accuses the Turks of collaborating with Islamic terror groups and assisting some of these groups in making attacks on Russian bases in Syria. Turkey does not want to see Russian and Iranian bases in Syria. Russia is also pressuring the Assads about any Shia groups that might be attacking Russian bases with assistance from the Assads or Iran. Meanwhile the Syrian Kurds have the military and diplomatic backing of the Americans and diplomatic support from the Russians. The Assads are trying to back out of their long (since the 1980s) alliance with Iran and have the backing of Russia for that. Wanting Iran gone from Syria is a common goal for Turkey, Iraq, Kurds and Israel. Most Lebanese also agree with that (but Hezbollah does not). Israel believes the Assads are hostile to a permanent Iranian presence because that might lead to an Israeli invasion, which would give the Syrian rebels a boost. And the rebels are still the rebels (although the Kurds have always been flexible when it comes to the Assads). The Syrian government forces by themselves are still very weak and depend on Iranian mercenaries (mainly Afghans, Pakistanis and Iraqis led by Iranians) and Russian air support (and technical assistance of all sorts). The Syrian rebellion is not over and the end is still in doubt.

Colombia Subdues La Violencia

Colombia has finally ended over 70 years of fighting and general misery. In 2017 the main leftist rebel force (FARC) made peace and the much smaller ELN is negotiating a similar deal. The death rate is way down as is crime in general. The drug cartels are moving their operations out of the country and the economy is one of the healthiest in Latin America. There is still much to do but the situation no longer seems hopeless. As with so many other countries it was angry farmers and obvious crimes committed against them that were the major reason for the undeclared war that began in the late 1940s. Eventually referred to as "La Violencia" (The Violence) the seemingly endless fighting went on to leave over half a million dead, and millions injured or displaced. Millions more simply fled the country, either into neighboring states, or distant destinations like the U.S. or Europe. La Violencia kept going for many reasons and was ultimately a bloody struggle between leftists and conservatives. There was a lull in the late 1950s and early 60s, when moderate leftists and conservatives worked out a compromise. But the worldwide upsurge in leftist activism in the 1960s reignited La Violencia. The leftist FARC and ELN rebels got another boost in the 1970s when cocaine became a big business, and the leftists used their muscle to protect the drug gangs from the government. Half a century after the peacemaking compromises that ended the first round of La Violencia, the conservative government managed to work out a similar deal with the leftist rebels. FARC and the smaller ELN took their time trying to negotiate a deal that allowed them to keep much of what they had stolen, including rural land. FARC and ELN always said they were fighting to get justice for farmers while at the same time being a major source of the injustices farmers demanded be put right. The Colombian government made their big comeback after 2000 by concentrating on protecting the population, which made it possible to revive the economy. FARC's guns and slogans could not compete with this but the farmers feel they are still being ignored. By 2017 there was peace, but also the possibility of reviving La Violencia. While most Colombians prefer urban life the rural injustices are still a big deal.

Chinese Military Technology

China has been building modern warships at a record rate, something rarely seen in peacetime. China has been building world class warships faster and cheaper than anyone else. There is nothing magical about this, the Chinese simply were practical and ruthless in catching up. Practical in the sense that they managed to merge a market economy with a communist police state. That rather unnatural act may yet come apart but since the 1980s China has been learning from what Russia did wrong during the Cold War and putting their more effective methods into practice. First the Chinese allowed Western firms in and created a situation where everyone made money. More importantly China was able to import Western manufacturing techniques (which Japan, South Korea and other Asian nations had already done with great success) and by the turn of the century were competitive in many manufacturing sectors. The government provided plentiful financing to key industries (ship building, electronics, machinery) and supplied them with lots of stolen (from Russia and the West) tech. The Russian tech was necessary because it enabled Chinese weapons manufacturers to proceed more smoothly to building Western quality weapons. Russia was never able to do this while the Soviet Union existed because the Soviets clung to their command economy and the lack of economic freedom and competition meant Russia could never match Western standards of manufacturing quality. China eventually could, a process which is still under way in areas like jet engine manufacturing and nuclear submarines. But in most other categories China can be competitive, along with cheaper and faster. The Chinese are catching up by being practical and persistent. They accept that it will take longer to maser certain techs but have been able to go through that process making money with good enough weapons that are cheaper and appeal to a larger market than the world class Western stuff. A lot of this Chinese military technology performs well enough to keep customers coming back. China keeps demonstrating what it can do. For example, Chinas second aircraft carrier (CV-17 Shandong) was launched (in the water) by April 2017. That was 25 months after construction began. At the end of 2017 CV-17 was at dockside being prepared for sea trials, which will apparently begin in early 2018 and have CV-17 in service by 2020. Thats less than half the time a Western nation would require and at half the price. Its not just aircraft carriers. China has demonstrated the same efficiency with other ship classes (destroyers, frigates, amphibious, sustainment, floating docks and so on).

F-35

The American F-35 has entered service and mass production is under way and on schedule. The F-35 was much maligned for all sorts of problems but suddenly pilots are finding that the F-35 is not what the media described. For example in mid-2017 F-35s completed their first 100,000 flight hours. That is the point when a new aircraft is seen as mature. The F-22 reached that point in 2010. But the F-35, unlike earlier jet fighters, reached 100,000 flight hours without any crashes. However the F-35 did suffer three Class A accident (defined as an aircraft incident that killed someone or cost at least $2 million to repair). Thats a record low accident rate for a new aircraft but that rate may increase a bit before it settles down. F-35s are entering service in large numbers (a hundred plus a year) over the next few years and will be used operationally. Some are already operating near combat zones, like the ones Israel has put into service. Israeli pilots, and all others who have flown the F-35 agree that the software and the degree of automation built in is spectacular. The F-35 has a large number of sensors (receivers for electronic signals, six cameras and a very capable radar) and the fusion of all that data and presentation to the pilot based on the current situation is impressive and makes the F-35 much easier to fly, despite all the additional capabilities it has. This sort of thing is not a new idea. By the 1990s it was recognized that this new technology; data fusion, would be a key capability for combat aircraft (as well as ships and ground forces). Put simply, it's all about taking real-time vidcam, radar and other sensor data (sensor fusion) and other information about the battlefield situation (all sorts of databases and reports), and combining it to provide commanders with a better understanding of current operations, preferably in real time if you are a fighter pilot. The F-35 is apparently the best working example of this so far and what is learned from the F-35 software will be the basis for updated software for older aircraft. But beyond the data fusion (and automatic sharing with other aircraft or systems on the surface) the pilots were impressed about how effective the pilot assistant software was. This is another concept that has been around for decades and more frequently installed in new aircraft. These minor advances get reported but never make headlines. But given the F-35s stealth, maneuverability and sensor/data fusion, most pilots quickly become enthusiastic proponents of the aircraft. Some of the early pilot reactions were dismissed by critics as PR. But with the Israelis it is different because they are most likely to use those new capabilities in combat first and Israeli pilots have a reputation for delivering very blunt assessments (both public and otherwise) of aircraft performance. That bluntness has always been encouraged in Israel. For decades the U.S. has been building new combat aircraft and upgrades based on input from Israeli experience and that input has generally been very useful.

Israel and Arabs Unite

In 2017 it finally happened. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait went public in support of an Arab-Israeli alliance to oppose Iran. Many (Arabs, Israelis and Iranians) believe that such an alliance wont last long but that is not crucial. The alliance only has to last long enough to halt the spread of Iranian power and influence. Israel has been through this before. The peace deals with Jordan and Egypt have largely held even though there are ups and downs. The Israelis know that the anti-Semitic attitudes in the Arab world go back to before the emergence of Islam in the 7th century and have waxed and waned ever since. Anti-Semitism is again widely tolerated in Europe. But the United States has a new president who grew up in and around New York City, built a fortune there, has a Jewish son-in-law, Jewish grandchildren and a pro-Israel attitude that is more decisive and imaginative than that of the last few American presidents. Currently the Arabs of Arabia, or at least key leaders, have decided that decades of denouncing Israel, the one nation in the region with a functioning democracy, the most advanced and successful economy and the most powerful armed forces, ought to be rethought. So now Israel is seen as a potential ally not a battlefield opponent. As a result Arab journalists and leaders are speaking openly, and more frequently, about such an alliance. Some countries, like the UAE (United Arab Emirates), can now speak openly of the discreet (and often not so secret) commercial, military and diplomatic links they developed with Israel over the years. To a lesser extent Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian connections are now admitted. The motivation here is survival against an increasingly aggressive Iran. Hang together or hang separately. Israel already has powerful allies for dealing with Iran and welcomes an Arab alliance, even if it wont last, or at least will be under constant attack going forward, as was the case with the Jordanian and Egyptian peace deals. Then there is a new generation of Saudi leaders. The young Saudi crown prince (and soon to be the king as his elderly father announced his abdication) pointed out that Iran is officially obsessed with destroying Israel while a growing number of Arabs see Israel as a potential ally. Everyone knows that before the current religious dictatorship took control of Iran in the 1980s Israel and Iran had many diplomatic and economic links, far more that Israel had with the Arab world. But Iranian religious leaders decided that Israel was at the top of the list of things that had to change if Iran was to become popular with non-Iranian Moslems. Next on the list was who should control the Islamic shrines in Saudi Arabia and so on. Iran has always been scary to its neighbors but was usually ruled by some aristocrat. Now that the Iranian Shia clergy (who were long known to be aggressive) are in charge it is time for neighbors to reconsider traditional alliances.

Palestinians Abandoned

Its been a long time coming but the Palestinians are losing all their primary sources of income and special status with the UN. The Americans, long the largest contributor, are withdrawing support as are a growing number of European donors. The Arab oil states are also cutting way back because of Palestinian corruption, inability to unite and the Palestinian refusal to make some kind of peace deal with Israel. The Arab oil states are also mad at the Palestinians for supporting Saddam Husseins plans to conquer all of Arabia (starting with Kuwait in 1990) and now working with Iran. Then there is the common attitude in the Arab world that the Palestinian mess is all the fault of the West and they should pay for it. That worked for a while but no longer. This all began in 1949 when Arab nations refused to accept and absorb Moslems who fled (mostly) from the newly created Israel on the promise of the Arab nations soon mobilizing sufficient military strength to destroy Israel, drive the Jews out and allow the refugees to return home. That never happened and it was quickly recognized that there was a serious refugee problem. The UN established a program to take care of these refugees but in a very unusual move the 750,000 original (later called Palestinian) refugees were allowed to pass on their refugee status to their children. No other refugee group was allowed to do that by the UN and now there are calls from major donor nations to rescind that rule. About the same number of Jews were driven out of Moslem countries after 1948 and they were all accepted and absorbed by other nations, mainly Israel and the U.S. Since 1947 the number of Palestinian refugees has grown to five million and Arab states continue to refuse to absorb them. Many Palestinians have managed to find acceptance (and citizenship) in other nations (usually not Moslem majority ones) but few have renounced their rights as hereditary refugees. This situation was all about Arabs believing they had the right to decide who can live in Moslem territories and for them Israel was a major offense. This is nothing new. Moslems had been driving infidels out of Islamic nations for a long time. Thats why most Arab-Americans are Arab Christians. Despite having been there before Islam came along, Arab Christians (and Arabs professing other religions) were always under pressure to either convert, or leave. Many of those who left over the past two centuries, came to America, and prospered in a much more tolerant society. For decades, Arab propaganda, including stuff included in schoolbooks for kids, insisted that the Israelis were illegally occupying Arab land, were not capable to doing so without the assistance of other nations (especially the United States), committed the most outrageous (and non-existent) atrocities, and that there could be no compromise on this issue of Palestinian control. The message was clear; Israel must be destroyed, and Arabs were not at fault in creating the situation. Thus a growing number of Moslems (especially Palestinians) feel they are being oppressed by the UN and the West for condemning righteous Islamic terrorism. With all that Islamic terrorism efforts against Israel have not been very successful. In desperation Palestinian terrorists adopted the use of suicide bombing against Israel in 2000. The Israelis eventually developed tactics which emphasized going after the key people involved in planning and carrying out the suicide attacks. This worked and defeated the effectiveness of suicide bombing. On the down side the Palestinian attacks destroyed the substantial support within Israel for a Palestinian peace deal, and increased support for stronger measures against Palestinian terrorism. The Palestinian terrorists are still at it, although many Palestinians admit that the tactic has failed and has been counterproductive. Despite that opinion polls show Palestinians continue to favor violence over peaceful resolution.

Pakistan Pilloried

Pakistan fears the United States and India will carry out more air strikes and commando operations in Pakistan against Islamic terrorist targets. Pakistan is particularly concerned with protecting the Haqqani Network, an Afghan led group that has prospered under Pakistani protection and is now believed to control the leadership of the Afghan Taliban, Pakistan has long denied any connection with Haqqani, much less control of the group, but there is much evidence that ISI (Pakistani Intelligence) works closely with Haqqani. Growing American (and international) pressure has forced Pakistan to say it is acting against Haqqani. There is little evidence of that. Meanwhile Pakistan insists that most Islamic terrorism inside Pakistan is the work of India with the help of the Americans and Israelis. Pakistan now describes this as an American secret strategy of creating perpetual instability in South Asia. Pakistan is the only South Asian nation that agrees with this analysis. Actually the foreign policy of the Pakistani military is to stage such attacks itself, in Afghanistan and India. This is now the Pakistani military justifies and perpetuates its dominant position in Pakistani politics and the economy. It is how the Pakistani military manages (successfully so far) to run the government without actually being the government. Power without responsibility plus generous retirement benefits, immunity from prosecution for most crimes and all those nifty uniforms and parades. No wonder a military career is so popular among the best families. Since 2011 the Pakistani military has fewer secrets. Thats because of the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden in his Pakistani hideout and left with the bin Laden corpse and massive amounts of documents, many of them detailing how the Pakistani military had lied to the world about secret support for al Qaeda and many other Islamic terror groups. After 2011 the military made a few changes like going to war with Islamic terror groups that carried out unauthorized (by the military) attacks inside Pakistan. This included shutting down sanctuaries these groups (particularly the Pakistani Taliban) had long used. The army literally invaded the main sanctuary (North Waziristan) in mid-2014 and is still fighting there and nearby areas. This greatly reduced Islamic terror related deaths inside Pakistan. There was still such violence inside Pakistan but most of it was done without permission from the military. What Islamic terrorism the military still used inside Pakistan had a specific purpose. Case in point is the growing use of blasphemy charges by Islamic religious parties against those who threaten military power. Most of these parties are either allies of the military or literally on the army payroll. This program includes the new Islamic political parties formed by Islamic terror groups that have long worked for the military to carry out attacks inside India. The Pakistani military wants to protect these Islamic terror groups and turning them into political parties is the latest ploy. The covert violence against foreign (Afghan and Indian targets) is against Pakistani and international law and the Pakistani military continues to claim that it is not involved. The Americans are going to cut military and economic aid to Pakistan over this are pressuring the UN to act against Pakistan. China and Russia could block some of that, but these two countries have apparently told Pakistan they are not willing to do much more to back the lies and secret support for Islamic terrorism.

Philippines Perfected

After decades of effort the Philippines has finally made decisive progress in dealing with its endemic corruption, communist rebels and violence by Moslem separatists and bandits. In 2015 the Moslem separatist group MILF agreed to proceed with the peace deal even if the legislature does not approve all aspects of the autonomy package. The current government is insisting that MILF must deliver a convincing effort to shut down Islamic terrorists and other Filipino Moslem groups opposed to the peace deal. Countrywide there is a lot of popular opposition to the MILF autonomy deal and even MILF accepts that they will never have the votes in the legislature to get everything they want. The major problem down there in that a sizable minority of southern Moslems (ten percent or more) want to hold out and keep fighting to establish a separate Moslem state in the south. MILF leaders know this is impossible because a majority of the people in the south are opposed. That includes a majority of the Moslems and the nearly all the non-Moslems down there. Moslems are only eight percent of all Filipinos, and represent an even smaller proportion of the economic activity. MILF wanted control of more of the economy, which meant control of "ancestral Moslem areas" in the south that are now populated by Christians. The Christian majority in the legislature refused to allow domination by Moslems in a larger and more autonomous Moslem south. MILF settled for a smaller autonomous area (Bangsamoro) that had about four million people and a Moslem majority. This issue is still a big deal for many Moslems and could still turn into an armed rebellion against MILF and the collapse of the plan for an autonomous Moslem area in the south. But in 2017 that was attempted and failed as over a thousand Filipino ISIL adherents tried to take over a southern city and lost. Most of the Islamic terrorists died, as did nearly all their senior leaders. After this mid-year defeat Islamic terrorist activity in the south declined considerably. So did piracy, kidnapping and drug smuggling. Meanwhile the new government has demanded that China pay more for Filipino cooperation in the South China Sea. China and the Philippines do not trust each other, which is about as healthy as such a relationship can get.

Iran Hits A Wall

For the second time since 2009 Iran is undergoing a nationwide protest against the religious dictatorship. Its not an armed revolution. The protestors have been loud but not violent unless attacked. Nearly all the deaths have been protestors attacked by the security forces. The government has called out its supporters (or simply those with a government job) to stage pro-government rallies. These are well guarded and thoroughly covered by state controlled media. The goal of the protests is to, at the very least, get the clerical dictatorship to openly discuss the mess they have made of the economy and much else in Iran. The implication is that if the clerics do not make themselves useful they will eventually lose power and much else. It has happened before. The last major outbreak of demonstrations was in 2009, when it was mostly about fair elections. It was put down, somewhat gradually, with force. Now the protestors are calling for the corrupt religious rulers to be removed. Some protestors call for a return of the constitutional monarchy the religious leaders replaced in the 1980s (after first promising true democracy). Even more disturbing is that some of the protestors are calling for Islam to be replaced with something else, like Zoroastrianism, the ancient Persian religion that Islam replaced violently and sometimes incompletely in the 7th and 8th century. After decades of mandatory rallies where you had to shout Death to America and Death to Israel these same young Iranians were now shouting about who they believe is really the enemy rather than who they were ordered to pretend was the enemy. The government says it has things under control while admitting that the protestors do voice some (unspecified) legitimate grievances the government must deal with. Young Iranians have, like their Arab neighbors, noted the success of Israel (a former ally, before the current religious dictatorship took over in the 1980s) and are now demanding changes that involve less foreign trouble making. The cost, in terms of money (billions) and Iranian lives (thousands) of operations in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, South America, Africa and elsewhere does most Iranians no good at all and makes the people on the receiving end hostile to Iran. The operation in Syria was seen as particularly wasteful and expensive, especially with Israel threatening to use whatever it takes (including their nukes) to prevent Iran from creating a military presence there. Iranian history is one of frequent rebellions and civil wars. The current Iranian rulers were young men in the 1970s and 80s many can sense a bit of deja vu here. Since the senior leaders are nearly all clergy, some have always been critical of the corruption and more of them are speaking out. The monarchy ignored the signs in the 1970s and four decades later it is happening again with the new rulers. This has resulted in a divided leadership. In Iran if you promise change and dont deliver there are consequences. Surviving this sort of unrest requires a strong, united and ruthless leadership. That is hard to achieve when most of the leaders are clergy, even if a lot of them are corrupt. Arab nations seem pleased with the unrest in Iran, because the demonstrators have expressed anger at the government efforts to exercise more control in Arab countries. It has also been noted that Turkey supports the Iranian government while a lot of Turks support the protestors. This is also seen as a positive development in the Arab world who have felt the impact of what they call Iranian and Turkish imperialism. This is seen as Iran and Turkey both trying to increase their political, economic and military power at the expense of Arab countries.
A woman who obtained stolen goods and accidentally sold the items back to their owner has escaped jail time.

Louise Surgenor, 23, appeared at Tauranga District Court on Wednesday facing a number of charges for obtaining and attempting to sell stolen goods.

The charges relate to around $5000 of stolen property.

Judge David Cameron described the incident as an unusual one.

Once obtained, some of the items were then sold on TradeMe to their original owner.

He says the owner had at the time already claimed insurance on the stolen items.

It is a serious offence not only to obtain stolen goods, but to then sell them on as well.

In this instance, you have managed to sell those goods on to the person whom they belong to.

You say you were unaware at the time that was the owner of the goods and have indicated that you are very remorseful.

After meeting and speaking with the owner you say they are a very nice person.

He asked the woman to take into account the seriousness of her offending.

This is a charge which usually results in people going to jail.

He ordered she pay reparation costs of $500 directly to the owner to cover insurance excess costs and serve 60 hours community work.
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Ireland Remains Tax Competitive, Says FM

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

10 January 2018

Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said that Ireland's 12.5 percent corporate tax rate will remain competitive, despite the substantial reduction to the United States corporate tax.

Donohoe told a news conference on January 9 that, in the light of his recent discussions with multinational companies, Ireland will remain a popular location for foreign investment, despite the recently enacted US tax reform legislation.

"The proposition that we offer will continue to be competitive, even against the context of changes being made in the US and the UK," he said.

"The engagement I have had with international companies since it has become clear what the direction of travel will be in the US has confirmed that view to me," he added.

Legislation was passed in December to reduce the US corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, a move described recently by Martin Shanahan, the Chief Executive of IDA Ireland, as "an effort to make the US more competitive." Shanahan said that US tax reform is unlikely to disrupt investment flows into Ireland.
IRS Issues Warning On New Tax Info Phishing Attempts

Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington DC

10 January 2018

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has warned tax professionals that a new round of emails from cybercriminals posing as potential clients are attempting to trick practitioners into disclosing sensitive information.

The Security Summit, comprising the IRS, state tax agencies, and the tax industry, on January 9, 2018, encouraged tax practitioners to be wary of communicating solely by email with potential or even existing clients, especially if unusual requests are made.

"Data breach thefts have given thieves millions of identity data points including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and email addresses. If in doubt, tax practitioners should call to confirm a client's identity," said the IRS.

Fraudsters are using phishing emails to trick tax professionals into opening a link or attached document by posing as potential clients. If the practitioner responds, the criminal will send a second email that contains either a phishing URL or an attached document that contains a phishing URL, claiming their tax data is enclosed. The fraudster wants the tax professional to click on the link or attachment and then enter their credentials. In some cases, the URL or attachment might be malicious and if clicked will download malicious software onto the tax professional's computer.

"Depending on the malware involved, this scheme could give fraudsters access to the tax practitioners' secure accounts or sensitive data. It may even give the fraudster remote control of the tax professionals' computers," said the IRS.

The agency has also received reports of a scam involving cybercriminals posing as IRS e-Services, asking tax professionals to sign into their accounts and providing a disguised link. The link sends tax professionals to a fake e-Services site that steals their usernames and passwords.

The IRS reminded tax professionals that it does not send unsolicited mails. Tax practitioners receiving emails from fraudsters posing as the IRS, or even their tax software provider, should go directly to the main website, such as IRS.gov, rather than opening any links or attachments.
Philippines Commits To 25 Percent Corporate Tax Rate

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

10 January 2018

The Philippines Department of Finance has said the country will look to install a 25 percent corporate income tax rate on a broader base as part of the second phase of its tax reform process.

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua explained that, presently, the country levies a 30 percent tax rate but it is applied across a narrow base, due to authorities granting tax breaks and concessions too extensively.

The Philippines imposes the highest corporate income tax (CIT) rate among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) but is among those at the bottom in terms of collection efficiency. "The Philippines," he said, "currently imposes a CIT rate of 30 percent but with a tax collection efficiency of only 12.3 percent, while Thailand's CIT rate is only 20 percent but it collects almost triple[...]"

"So clearly, we have the classic problem of a high rate but narrow base. That is why the efficiency is problematic," Chua said.

Chua said the second stage of the Government's tax reform progress will look to rationalize incentives to ensure these are "performance-based, targeted, time-bound, and transparent."
Swiss Court Refuses Information Exchange Request

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

10 January 2018

Switzerland's highest court has ruled that information relating to certain third parties of a tax evasion case cannot be handed over to US tax authorities.

In a decision issued on January 3, the Swiss Federal Court upheld an earlier ruling that the information obtained by the Swiss Federal Tax Authority could not be transmitted to the US because it was not relevant to the case.

The information in question related to the bank account of an American citizen residing in Switzerland and involved details of third-party individuals including bank employees and lawyers, among others.

The court concluded that the FTA had failed to provide a convincing argument that the information was absolutely necessary for proving that tax evasion had taken place. It also said that there was no legal basis for requesting specific information about these individuals through administrative assistance channels, even if tax evasion had taken place.
UK Lawmakers Discuss Potential Post-Brexit Free Zones

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

10 January 2018

During a January 7, 2018, debate in the UK House of Commons, UK lawmakers discussed the country's plans to leave the EU, its customs union, and value-added tax area.

The debate was on the content of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill, which is to set out the future arrangements between the EU and the UK on tax and trade.

There continued to be consternation as to whether leaving the customs union and value-added tax area is the right decision for the UK, with Prime Minister Theresa May having earlier reinforced that the UK is heading towards a hard Brexit involving exiting all three.

As well as discussing the impact on local businesses and in particular businesses' cash flow, a minister from Labour, the leading opposition party, Anna Turley suggested that the Government should consider whether it can solve some of the issues surrounding maintaining strong ties with the European Union, facilitating trade post-Brexit, and the cash flow considerations by establishing free trade zones.

Such zones, which are particularly prevalent outside the European Union, often provide preferential tax settings to encourage investment and innovation within their borders and suspend certain customs and tax obligations for temporarily imported goods.

In her address to lawmakers, Turley said: "Around the world there are approximately 3,500 free trade zones employing 66 million people across 135 countries. There are currently none in the UK."

"Conferring free trade status on a UK port would place it administratively outside of customs territory. It would mean that goods could be imported, manufactured, or re-exported inside the free trade zone without incurring domestic customs duties or taxes, which is paid only on goods entering the domestic UK economy. As well as bringing benefits through customs taxes and duties, free zones also support economic activity through financial incentives such as research and development tax credits, regulatory flexibility, and tax reductions. They are recognized around the world as playing a major role in retaining, re-shoring, and growing domestic manufacturing activity and boosting trade. In the US there are 250 free trade zones, and they also play a major role in the economies of Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates."

"Ports are already a vital strategic asset for the UK, accounting for 96 percent of all trade volume and 75 percent of trade value. The free port concept builds on our maritime history and an existing UK strength. The creation of a free port would increase employment and economic activity in areas where economic need is high and could play a major role in rebalancing our London-centric economy."

"The development corporation  the only one outside London  has set out its ambition to create 20,000 additional jobs in high-value manufacturing over a 25-year period, adding GBP1bn in gross value-added for the local economy. This would be substantially enhanced through the creation of a free port."

"This Bill provides an opportunity to establish the legislative basis to enable such a system to be set up in the UK, potentially giving a quick and powerful boost to the British economy as we go forward in Brexit negotiations. However, such a zone is not dependent on leaving the EU. Other member states have free ports, including the ports of Bremerhaven in Germany, Le Verdon in France, and Shannon in the Republic of Ireland. In fact, there are currently 85 free port zones within the European Union," she noted.

"Moreover, the Secretary of State is already empowered to designate free ports by statutory instrument under Section 100A of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, which is still in force. Indeed, the UK itself had five free trade zones until 2012, at which point the statutory instruments that set them up expired, so the framework is in place and the opportunity is there."

"I conclude by asking the Minister the following questions. First, does he agree with the principle of free ports, and does he recognize the role they can play in driving and rebalancing our economy? Secondly, will the Government be using this Bill to amend the free port powers created by the Customs and Excise Management Act? If so, will they use the opportunity to bring forward powers to enable Teesport to become a free port or subject to special customs arrangements?"

In a later response, in returning to the question, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade, Mark Garnier, said: [Turley] asked a couple of important questions. The first was whether the Government were supportive of free trade zones. The simple answer is yes, but with a caveat that we need to understand them a great deal more. Her second question was whether the Government would advocate Teesport as a free trade port. She made a strong case for thatshe speaks very well on behalf of her constituents. The Government will be very happy to engage with her and hear her case for that."
Universities will have to publicly justify the size of the Vice Chancellors pay packet if it exceeds 8.5 times the institutions median salary, under new rules aimed at cracking down on excessive VC salaries.

Following a series of revelations regarding astronomical VC pay, particularly the 486,000 per annum salary of Glynis Breakwell, VC of Bath University, the new guidelines aim to ensure that University officials receive fair, appropriate and justifiable remuneration. Breakwell subsequently quit following widespread outcry.

The new guidance also aims to make the remuneration process more transparent. Many Vice Chancellors, including Stephen Troope, Vice Chancellor of Cambridge, sit on the committees that decide their own pay. While Troope is said to leave the room when his own pay is discussed, many have raised concerns about the opacity of the process.

Professor Troope, who became Vice Chancellor last year, has publicly defended his own 365,000 pay packet and criticised the concept of pay cuts to VCs as reaffirming the that the UK is not operating in the open market for global talent Currently 80% of UK institutions lie have a multiplier between 4.5 to 8.5. Whether or not the Troopes salary would be over the 8.5 multiplier is unknown, however given it exceeds the average VC salary by 100,000, it is not unlikely Cambridge will breach the new guidelines.

The new guidelines, drawn up by the Committee of University Chairs (CUC), have been criticised for being to weak. Compliance with them is voluntary, and The University and College Union (UCU), which represents University staff members, have noted how closely linked the CUC is to the Vice Chancellors.

Speaking to The Guardian, UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: If we are serious about tackling the problems of senior pay and perks in our universities, then we need a body not so closely linked to vice-chancellors to look at it.

Last month the CUC said it saw no evidence that most vice-chancellors are paid an unreasonable amount. Ministers have been calling for a check on massive pay hikes for university leaders for years and we have highlighted how many sit on the remuneration committee that sets their own pay.

The time has come for vice-chancellors and their supporters to be removed from the setting of their pay and a national register of senior pay and perks.

TCS has contacted the Cambridge branch of UCU for comment.

TCS has contacted the University for comment.
Following the recent reshuffle by Theresa May, 48% of cabinet ministers graduated from Oxford or Cambridge, new analysis conducted by the Sutton Trust foundation has revealed.

Although under pressure to differentiate her government from that of David Camerons, Mays new cabinet contains nearly as many Oxbridge-educated ministers as that of her predecessor (50%). A further 35% of the new cabinet attended Russell Group universities.

Just months earlier, over 100 cross-party MPs called on Oxbridge to widen and diversify admissions offers, when it emerged that students from the top two social classes gained 81% of places at Oxbridge in 2015. The 2018 admissions round is expected to conclude by the end of today.

Despite Mays apparent intention to create a more diverse front bench representative of the population, 34% of the new cabinet is privately educated, in stark contrast to 7% of the general public.

In addition, 24% of the new cabinet attended selective state schools, whilst 41% had received a comprehensive state education. This comes after Mays previous endorsement of selective state education and now-abandoned plans for additional grammar schools, despite numerous studies showing that selective state schools do not promote social mobility.

Dr Lee Elliot Major, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, said: Theresa May made great progress in the composition of her first cabinet, so it is disappointing that yesterdays reshuffle means that progress has reversed a little. The prime ministers cabinet has to reflect the society that they represent and this is a step in the wrong direction.

Nonetheless, the proportion of state-educated ministers in the new cabinet (66%) represents a significant increase as compared with the proportion under Cameron (50%). Following the ministerial changes, May said the reshuffle makes the government look more like the country it serves with a new generation of fresh talent.

The new education secretary, Damian Hinds, attended a grammar school. His predecessor, Justine Greening, who refused a move to the Department for Work and Pensions in the reshuffle and subsequently resigned from government, was the first comprehensively-educated Tory education secretary and the first openly gay woman in cabinet. In her resignation statement, Greening said: Social mobility matters to me and our country more than a ministerial career.
When Samsung certified its Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus handsets with the FCC last month, it was suggested that the phones would be unveiled at Spains Mobile World Congress rather than CES, which ends on Friday. Now, the Korean firms mobile boss has confirmed this: the devices will be debuted at Barcelona and not Las Vegas.

DJ Koh confirmed the news to ZDNet at CES, though he never gave a specific date for the launch event. Mobile World Congress runs from February 26th to March 1, but some companies hold press conferences on the weekend before the conference starts.

Last March, Samsung decided to hold a dedicated Unpacked event in New York to reveal the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, with the devices going on sale in April. As the timelines seem to have been put back a month for 2018, it's likely that sales of the S9 and S9 Plus will begin in March this year, the same month the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge (also unveiled at MWC) launched in 2016. Koh said the release dates for the new handsets would be announced next month.

The mobile boss also spoke about Samsung's foldable phone, confirming that the company plans to launch the device sometime next year. He added that the UX was proving the biggest obstacle in commercialization, but hoped that production would start in late 2018.

Additionally, Koh said a new version of Samsungs AI would be launched this year. Bixby 2.0 will be here sometime in the next twelve months and will be supported on all Samsung devices, which presumably includes the likes of TVs and laptops, by 2020.
Apple on Wednesday announced that its mainland Chinese iCloud services will be operated by Guizhou on the Cloud Big Data (GCBD) which is owned by the Guizhou government in southern China. GCBD will be operating in Apple's $1 billion data center to be built in the southwest province.

This move also relocates Chinese customers' iCloud data from the US to China. Per a clause in the terms and conditions, Apple and GCBD "will have access to all data that you store on this service, including the right to share, exchange and disclose all user data, including content, to and between each other under applicable law."

China passed a controversial cybersecurity law last July that required companies that operated data centers in China to store all data in the country. Apple is simply doing this to comply with the regulation despite harsh criticism that this is just a form of censorship and privacy violations. The Chinese government claims the new cybersecurity regulation helps deter terrorism and crime.

For Apple's part, they've said that users will have an opportunity to determine if they want their data to be stored on Chinese servers. Objectors will have to deactivate their iCloud account.

"Because of our commitment to transparency, there will be a series of customer communications over the course of the next seven weeks to make sure customers are well informed of the coming changes," Apple said.

Despite the prospect of "Big Brother" having unlimited access to Chinese iCloud content, Apple has tried to reassure Chinese users that their data will be thoroughly protected. "Apple has strong data privacy and security protections in place and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems."

Apple is not the only American tech company to comply with China's cybersecurity laws. Microsoft and Amazon also have data centers in China which will have to be in compliance as well. Amazon has already struck deals with Chinese firms to operate its AWS platform within the country.

GCBD will formally take over Chinese iCloud operations next month.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich is in hot water after selling $24 million worth of stock back in November. The sale took place after Intel was made aware of the disastrous Spectre and Meltdown security vulnerabilities but before the company publicly announced the details.

Krzanich did have the required 10b5-1 plan in place which allows company executives to legally sell some of their stock but this plan was created at the end of October, five months after Intel became aware of the vulnerability. Another troublesome aspect is that Krzanich sold the maximum number of shares allowable while retaining the minimum required amount under his contract with Intel.

As a result, many immediately voiced concerns of insider trading and the possibility that Krzanich used his access to material non-public information for personal gain. Many investors and attorneys have started discussing the idea of a shareholder suit against Intel. The company's board may also conduct an internal investigation.

The SEC could also be interested in the sale but has declined to say whether or not they are currently investigating him. For their part, Intel has claimed that the stock sale was "unrelated" to the bugs in their CPUs.

The key piece of information in this case is to determine exactly when Krzanich became aware of the vulnerability and whether or not that knowledge affected the sale of his shares. If it turns out that this was indeed insider trading, then Krzanich now has $24 million to get the best lawyer money can buy to protect him.
The government delegation's priority is the recovery of the assets "cut off, blocked, and stolen from the Venezuelan people" due to the U.S. arbitrary sanctions. | Read More
CES Auto Show: Cypress Brings Superior Infotainment Experience to Connected Cars

LAS VEGAS--Cypress Semiconductor Corp. , the leader in advanced embedded system solutions, today announced production availability of a combo solution that delivers robust 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity to vehicles, enabling multiple users to connect and stream unique content to their devices simultaneously. The new Cypress CYW89359 combo solution is the industrys first to implement Real Simultaneous Dual Band (RSDB) technology, which enables two unique data streams to run at full throughput simultaneously, by integrating two complete Wi-Fi subsystems into a single chip. The solutions advanced 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence engine delivers optimal performance for 2.4- and 5-GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi and dual-mode Bluetooth/Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) simultaneously.

The RSDB architecture of the CYW89359 combo solution allows applications such as Apple CarPlay and a Wi-Fi Hotspot to operate concurrently without the performance degradation caused by real-time switching between radio frequency (RF) bands, which is required by todays devices. The CYW89359 is fully automotive qualified with AECQ-100 grade-3 validation and is being designed in by numerous top-tier car OEMs and automotive suppliers as a full in-vehicle connectivity solution, supporting infotainment and telematics applications such as smartphone screen-mirroring, content streaming and Bluetooth voice connectivity in car kits. More information on Cypress RSDB and 802.11ac combo solutions is available at www.cypress.com/802.11ac.

People now expect to enjoy the same connectivity, rich multimedia content and user experience in a vehicle that they get at home, said Brian Bedrosian, vice president of marketing for the IoT Business Unit at Cypress. Cypress new CYW89359 combo solution has made the vision of all the passengers in a car connecting at once and each streaming their own high-fidelity video and audio content a reality. Not only is this the highest-performance Wi-Fi device in our IoT portfolio, but the solution meets our automotive customers rigorous requirements for reliability and safety for in-vehicle applications.

Cypress is demonstrating the CYW89359 combo solution, along with its full portfolio of embedded systems solutions for automotive infotainment systems, smart homes, wearables and industrial applications, here at CES 2018 in South Hall 2 of the Las Vegas Convention Center in meeting room MP25365.

Availability

The CYW89359 combo solution is currently in full production.

Follow Cypress Online

Join the Cypress Developer Community, read our Core & Code blog, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and watch Cypress videos on our Video Library or YouTube.

About Cypress

Cypress is the leader in advanced embedded system solutions for the worlds most innovative automotive, industrial, smart home appliances, consumer electronics and medical products. Cypress microcontrollers, analog ICs, wireless and USB-based connectivity solutions and reliable, high-performance memories help engineers design differentiated products and get them to market first. Cypress is committed to providing customers with the best support and development resources on the planet enabling them to disrupt markets by creating new product categories in record time. To learn more, go to www.cypress.com.
 Kia presents autonomous, connected and eco/electric technologies at CES



 Full model range to be connected cars by 2030

LAS VEGAS - January 10, 2018: Kia Motors today presents its future mobility vision at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Under its new Boundless for all vision, Kia will bring a future in which opportunities for mobility and transportation are limitless. To broaden horizons with its mobility services, Kia is also demonstrating a range of new technologies as part of its new ACE strategy to make its cars more Autonomous, Connected and Eco/Electric.

Kias ACE strategy is based around three core elements, presenting Kias vision for future personal transportation:

Alongside these technologies, Kia announced its plans to roll-out its WiBLE car-sharing service  launched in Korea in 2017  to new regions from 2018, starting with Europe.

Beyond Autonomous Driving: Kias exhibition theme for connected vehicles





At CES 2018, Kia is presenting a range of interactive exhibits which combine existing and future technologies. These demonstrate how vehicles could be optimized for enhanced connectivity as they become more autonomous.





Kias exhibits at CES 2018 hint at a future Beyond Autonomous Driving. Visitors can interact with Kias developing autonomous drive technologies through a VR simulator, while also experiencing a V2X diorama demonstrating how cars could connect with other vehicles and the urban environment.





The company plans to operate a large-scale test fleet for autonomous technology on public roads from 2019, paving the way for commercial production of the technology. Kia aims to commercialize Level 4 autonomous vehicles in smart cities from 2021 with a new Smart City pilot project.





Kias connected cars will be both boundless and connected and offer a new kind of mobility experience. Virtual reality, self-driving cars, and vehicle-to-everything connectivity were all once considered technologies of the distant future. As they rapidly become a reality, Kia is exploring how to deploy these new technologies for its customers. Our strategy and vision for future mobility is demonstrated by a range of interactive displays, showing what our customers can look forward to, said Vice Chairman Yang.





16 new electrified vehicles by 2025





Kia will continue to expand its range of environmentally-friendly cars in the coming years, and plans to offer a total of 16 electrified vehicles by 2025, including a fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in 2020.





By 2025, we will offer a total of 16 advanced powertrain vehicles, with five new hybrids and plug-in hybrids, five new battery EVs, and an all-new mass market FCEV. Due to launch in 2020, this FCEV will spearhead Kias efforts to realize a zero-emission future for mobility, said Vice Chairman Yang.





As part of this strategy, Kia is exhibiting the Niro EV Concept at CES 2018. Combining the stylish design of a modern compact SUV with the high efficiency of an advanced battery-electric powertrain, the Kia Niro EV Concept represents the next step in the brands ongoing journey to electrification.





Created by Kias design studio in Korea, the Niro EV Concept is a fully-electric compact SUV. Its aerodynamically-efficient body allows air to slip over, around and beneath the vehicle with ease. The traditional grille  no longer required for engine cooling  is replaced by a smooth interactive display panel, combined with ultra-slim lamp technology in the overall front. In profile, the concept draws inspiration from the current Kia Niro, with a modish compact crossover silhouette, elevated body and wide C-pillar. The Niro EV Concepts seamless rear aspect has clean and sharp trailing edges allowing air to flow more easily off the back of the car.




Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner. Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her disgraced ex-Congressman husband Anthony Weiner have withdrawn their divorce case, the New York Post reports. But according to one of Abedins attorneys, the estranged couple are still splitting up  theyve just instead decided to reach a settlement swiftly and privately out of court.

The move comes only two months after Weiner, a registered sex offender, began serving a 21-month prison sentence for transferring obscene material to an underage girl. According to the Post, Abedin had been scheduled to appear in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday in the divorce proceedings. But Abedins attorneys instead submitted paperwork signed by both parties, stating that theyve agreed to end the case. Per the Post:

The judge announced from the bench that the case was discontinued.

Abedin initially stood by Weiner in 2011 when, only a year into their marriage, he admitted to posting an underwear selfie on Twitter (and subsequently resigned from Congress). But by August 2016, Weiner was found to be back to his old ways (sending dick pics), and Abedin announced the couple was separating. Shortly after, the Daily Mail exposed his online sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl  and then FBI director James Comey revealed an investigation into new Clinton emails linked to Weiners server.

According to the New York Daily News, Abedin attorney Charles Miller said in a statement: In order to ensure the proceedings have a minimal impact on their child, the parties have decided to finalize their divorce swiftly and privately.
Katja Blichfeld started 2017 with one tattoo, but after the two shes getting today, shell end the year with eight. Shes standing outside the shop on Roebling Street, FaceTiming with her girlfriend as she waits for her appointment, and wearing a boxy quilted jacket, pale high-waisted jeans, and off-white leather shoes. Her white-blonde hair gleams in the sun. When we head inside, she takes off the jacket to reveal a black T-shirt printed with a photograph of Tupac and Marilyn Monroe.

Even though the shop has a rule that no one whos not being tattooed is allowed past the reception area in front, Blichfeld convinces them to waive it for me. She does this without being a jerk but without being apologetic, either  she just listens to the explanation for the rule, making eye contact the whole time, then tells the artist why I need to hang out with her while she gets tattooed: Im being interviewed and this is the activity I said wed do, she says, un-self-consciously, like being interviewed and doing an activity are nothing to be ashamed of, which theyre not, but still. Blichfeld treats everyone she interacts with pretty much exactly the same, which is to say, she treats everyone with patience, curiosity, openness, and honesty, and then at the end of the interaction she gets exactly what she wants.

The artist ends up not only setting up a little stool for me near the tattoo chair, he also accedes to Blichfelds request that he do the rose tattoo she wants on her forearm in blue, not black, ink, even though he warns her many times that the color will bleed and fade. She doesnt care. Tattoos are a corny and obvious way to announce an inner transformation, but like many corny and obvious things, they are also profound and effective. Since 2017 has changed Katjas life forever  she began it at the end of her marriage to her most important collaborator, in mourning for losses both personal and national, and ended it in triumph, about to show the world the creative results of her new way of life  it makes sense to memorialize those changes in a tangible way. The rose ends up looking perfect, exactly how shed envisioned it. The tattoo of her mothers name in script on her deltoid ends up exactly how she wanted it, too.

The first time after coming out as gay that Katja saw her mom, her mom got teary. Its so amazing to see you be yourself, we feel like we have you back, its like a dark cloud has lifted, she remembers her mother telling her.

This month, High Maintenance  the show that Blichfeld co-created with her ex-husband, Ben Sinclair  will begin airing its second season on HBO. Each episode centers on a different client buying weed from a dealer known only as the Guy, played by Sinclair. In the shows earliest incarnation, as a DIY web series, episodes were a swift six, or eight, or 12 minutes; and like a lot of shows that got their start online around that time  Broad City, Be Here Nowish, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl  it combined scrappy urban verite with characters and points of view then considered too edgy for prime time. Some story lines were based on viral local news, like the 2009 Observer story about a girl dubbed the Hipster Grifter. This ripped-from-the-headlines quality, plus the shows deft use of real NYC apartment interiors, sometimes gives it the feel of a utopian Law & Order, albeit one where a minor criminal, not cops or detectives, structures each episode of the show. And as the show has evolved  moving first to Vimeo and then to HBO  its intimate sense of detail has helped it maintain a devoted core of fans, who love it like the TV equivalent of a band they first saw playing church basements.

Rosie Assoulin top, $2,495 at Saks Fifth Avenue. Photo: Rebecca Ramsey.

Before she was known for High Maintenance, Blichfeld was a casting director, a job at which she was very successful (she won an Emmy for her work on 30 Rock) and at which she arrived via an indirect path. Born in Long Beach, California, to Danish parents, she grew up attending Evangelical Christian schools, where she was taught that much of pop culture was the devils doing. Like I couldnt watch The Smurfs, she explains, because of witchcraft and sorcery. She spent a couple of semesters at Long Beach City College, dropped out, moved to Chicago, worked in admin at a university, and then, in 2004, followed a relationship that had begun on Friendster to New York. We were watching a lot of movies together, and the way that I would talk about movies was always very actor-centric. And I remember this person saying, You should be a casting director. Blichfeld decided shed try to get an internship. She made a list of people she wanted to work for, topped with Jennifer McNamara, who had just won a bunch of awards for her work on Sex and the City: She, being a casting director  you know, very good at seeing potential  saw it in me, lucky me, and took me on.

The ability to see potential  that semi-psychic way of assessing people at a glance  is a strength Katja shares. She jokes that its why she tends to date people who are younger than she is: My best friends are all like, I think its just that youre really turned on by possibility and potential. She and Sinclair met at a party in L.A. when she was 30 and he was a struggling actor just a day shy of 25. I just became very obsessed with this idea of us making something that would allow him to get decent footage for a reel, she recalls. And to get better opportunities and to show the side of him that I felt like maybe the casting directors were missing. It also gave her a chance to tap the unused potential she encountered in her day job at 30 Rock  all the talent she saw but couldnt cast. She and Sinclair began writing together almost immediately after becoming a couple, and up through the first season of High Maintenance on HBO they remained the shows sole writers.

In the final episode of that season, audiences got a rare glimpse of the Guys life off-duty: We see that he lives down the hall from his ex-wife, who has left him for another woman. Blichfeld and Sinclair wrote the episode before their own split, and before she experienced the life-altering revelation that she was gay. Though shed dated women for years, something  her Evangelical Christian education, her own internalized homophobia  had held her back from admitting the full reality of her sexual orientation. But though she says it had been coming for a long time, Donald Trumps election is what forced the breakthrough  she and Sinclair decided their relationship was over for good on election night. Blichfeld calls it the punctuation on that period of uncertainty and suffering. Sinclair, though upset, was not surprised. (I mean, he went to Oberlin, she says.)

While the divorce has been painful, none of Blichfelds friends or family members were shocked, either. Even her parents, who are no longer religious, have been supportive. Katja  joking, but also not  describes the breakup as a true conscious uncoupling. After splitting up, they spent the next seven months working 70-hour weeks at each others sides, which Sinclair calls exposure therapy. They share a manager and an assistant. Sinclair still lives in the apartment the couple shared; Blichfeld moved out, and, at the moment, her girlfriend is living with her while between apartments. A writer named Adele, she met Katja when Katja was on a date with someone else and  her eye for potential sharp as ever  Adele was her server.

Marc Jacobs shirt, $375 at Marc Jacobs. Photo: Rebecca Ramsey. Photo: Lia Clay; styled by Rebecca Ramsey. Photo by Lia Clay, styled by Rebecca Ramsey.

My own interest in Blichfeld ascended to full-on fascination when I started following her on Instagram. She documents her life there with the same detail-oriented directorial skill she brings to the show, and her Stories have painted the picture of a woman in the midst of a profound and joyous, but not uncomplicated, year of awakening. Shes blase about the medium  she says she feels self-conscious and hates that she keeps track of what gets more likes  but she must know that her account is engrossing.

A big part of it is the visual appeal of her uniquely androgynous and original personal style. Most of her wardrobe is thrifted. In 2018, anyone can look cool with enough money and effort, and some of High Maintenances best moments occur when it deftly undermines people whose style doesnt match their substance. But Katja is cool  she could take any item off any rack at Buffalo Exchange, put it on, and youd think, Yes. I need that. Sinclair told me that he remembers meeting Blichfeld with almost-photographic precision: The long blue patterned halter-top dress she was wearing at that party and the worn-thin T-shirt with a black-and-white bra underneath she wore to his 25th birthday are still emblazoned in his memory.

Lately her style has become even more experimental and vibrant: She says she used to wear mostly black, and now she avoids it. Im such a cliche; now Im gay, Im wearing bright colors, she laughs. At our first meeting she wore a peacock-blue hoodie under a diaphanous silvery-white Rachel Comey top (from a sample sale  the designer is a friend, as viewers of the episode Rachel may have guessed), Adidas-style track pants, hiking boots, and a perfectly oversize black wool coat.

CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC trench coat, $3,995, and ankle strap pumps, $990 at 654 Madison Avenue; (212) 292-9000. Photo: Rebecca Ramsey.

Since coming out, shes also smoking less weed. Thanks to her early anti-drug programming, Blichfeld came to weed late, in her mid-20s, but then made up for lost time: As she dealt with anxiety and depression, she started a regular habit that soon included waking up and getting high, gaining such a high tolerance that she had to smoke what now seems to her to be mind-boggling amounts. I didnt want to feel my feelings all the time, she says. And now I feel much more accepting and okay with feelings, even if theyre not great. She emphasizes, however, that she does still smoke  and its obvious that stoner culture will always be in the shows DNA.

In this seasons premiere, the camera dips into the point of view of a man walking past a restaurant, then eavesdrops on the conversations at several tables, before following the path of a plate of tainted mussels back into the kitchen, where we finally encounter the character who, after several false starts, will be this episodes protagonist (insofar as it has one). Something High Maintenance shares with the experience of being high is an easy willingness to pay attention to stuff that might not otherwise interest you  to follow unexpected associations and trains of thought farther than you ordinarily would. Meanwhile, the episode also alludes to, but doesnt exactly mention, Trumps election. It quickly becomes clear that some unnamed horrible thing has happened, and the city is dealing in varied ways: brunching and bingeing, getting blackout drunk, having a threesome with strangers, working like its a normal day because your family depends on you.

Its the first episode to air since High Maintenance gained a writers room beyond just Blichfeld and Sinclair. Their breakup precipitated a huge shift in the way they wrote the show. Up until then, theyd collaborated exclusively on every episode  a rare if not completely anomalous way to make a premium cable show  and they went about hiring writers in an unconventional way, too. By reading submissions blind, they assembled a group of people who look like the show, which has always been notably queer and female (even if it nominally revolves around the Guy). Before, Blichfeld and Sinclair would take turns writing the bulk of each episode solo depending on who felt closer to the story, sometimes improvising dialogue back and forth but more often just taking turns. Now, Blichfeld says, she cant believe they didnt always have a writers room: Its just so much more fun to collaborate. The writers she and Sinclair chose were diverse in their writing backgrounds, too, from short-story writers to playwrights. (Sinclair says that having the room also helped them work past the trauma of their split: He remembers laughing for the first time after the breakup, six weeks on, because someone in the room remarked that it was the first time theyd ever seen him laugh.)

The result is an even better, richer version of the show. If the theme that ran through the last season was confinement, this season seems to be about escape, with all its attendant thrills and responsibilities. The Guy also becomes more of a fleshed-out character; one episode focuses almost exclusively on his relationship with his ex-wife as she cares for him after a bike accident. Some of the episodes  like one about a couple who moves from a communal loft to a subsidized apartment in a sleek new condo  activated my class consciousness in a way that had me cringing, but the cringe was never the revolted, complicit cringe that I get watching Girls or Curb Your Enthusiasm. When the show was a web series, episodes had less room for multi-dimensionality, but now the show can really flex its empathy: Even when the characters are assholes, theyre never caricatures, and theyre rarely unredeemable. Watching the new episodes alongside the old ones reveals both contrast and continuity.

Dries Van Noten dress, $2,835 at Bergdorf Goodman. Photo: Rebecca Ramsey.

Blichfelds close friend and manager Russell Gregory describes what she brings to the High Maintenance set as subtle, ineffable, and completely necessary to the shows authenticity. Shell be the only one wholl notice an extras socks and say Theyre wrong for this neighborhood, he says. Well think thats crazy, and then in the playback well be like The socks are wrong. With Katja, Theres just a thing that everybody does, we kind of look to her to see if shes smiling, or if her eyebrows are up, or if shes attentive, or if shes not really into it. You kind of try and read how she feels to gauge how to move forward.

I see the same thing when were eating lunch a few weeks pretattoo date at Marlow and Sons, a restaurant where she knows everyone, of course. Theres a subtle way she wields control that makes everything about the situation perfect. She would never, ever be so gauche as to gesture for a waitresss attention or seem impatient, but she gets exactly what she wants  hot water with lemon, our plates cleared  with zero agita. If there was ever a version of Katja who worried about the impression she was making, 2017 has definitely eliminated the last traces of her.

That anxiety I used to, like, wake up every morning, truly for my whole life, this sense of something going wrong, this sense of dread and doom  that, she says, has been suddenly, miraculously erased. Its wonderful, but also confusing. What does she do with her memories, for example  what about her marriage, the whole story of her love for Sinclair and how it created the project thats still defining her life? Was everything that Id done to that point a lie? What does it do to my narrative?

This season is designed to end in a way that would be a satisfying series finale, if need be  getting picked up again is always a crapshoot. And though shed love to see the show continue, shes also eager to work on the projects that shes starting to write, for the first time, without Sinclair. One of the other tattoos she got this year is of the words Best Crab, an inside joke with Gregory. According to him, its about how she wants to nurture and grow people, sometimes at her own expense  like the character in Joy Luck Club who takes the worst crab for herself, rather than reaching for the best one. The tattoo is a reminder to reach for the best, and for the potential in herself that shes only recently begun to realize.
101-Year-Old Woman Dies After Being Run Over in Grocery Store Parking Lot

A 101-year-old Arizona woman has died after being struck by a car in a grocery store parking lot.

Esther Dorsch was walking in the parking lot of Frys Food and Drugs in Prescott Valley on Jan. 3 when she was hit.

She was treated in a hospital in Phoenix but ultimately succumbed to her injuries on Jan. 9.

Dorsch was struck by a car being driven by an 83-year-old woman, police told The Daily Courier.

Surveillance footage shows that the driver did not stop for several seconds after the impact, and the driver told officers she didnt see Dorsch.

[The driver] is very remorseful, very sad and beside herself, said Prescott Valley Police Sergeant Jason Kaufman.

No charges have been filed as of yet.





Betty Donald, a close friend of the deceased, told the Courier that the driver should face some sort of penalty.

Dorsch was trapped under the vehicle for several minutes before being freed by firefighters, reported Fox10.

It was upsetting, Betty Hampton, another friend, told the broadcaster. Very upsetting to get to 101 years old and get hit by a car.

Dorsch was still active and social despite her old age, Hampton noted.

She went to the computer room every day, get on Facebook, check her emails and surf the web, said Hampton. She was with it. She was very young at heart and in mind. A modern 101-year-old with a drivers license and a Facebook page.

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Body of Missing 19-Year-Old Penn State Student Found in Park, Case Now a Homicide Investigation

The body of a missing 19-year-old college student who went missing about a week ago was discovered in Southern California, and the case is being investigated as a homicide.

Blaze Bernsteins body was found Wednesday in Borrego Park in Lake Forest, located in Orange County, California, investigators told the Orange County Register.

On Tuesday afternoon, at approximately 2 p.m., a search of the Foothill Ranch park was initiated by sheriffs investigators. Bernsteins body was discovered in the brush surrounding the park, sheriffs spokeswoman Carrie Braun said in a statement to the newspaper. An autopsy will be performed today, Braun added.

Celebrities like Jeremy Piven, Mayim Bialik, and Kobe Bryant posted on Twitter and Facebook to help search for the missing college student.

Bernstein had been on break from the University of Pennsylvania and visiting was family, the paper reported.

But on Jan. 2, he sent a text message to a high school friend and asked to be picked up from his home to be taken to the park to he could meet a third person, a family friend, Annee Della Donna, told the Register. They arrived at the park at 10:30 p.m., and he went alone into the park, she said.

His friend sent him text messages when he didnt come back. The friend left and returned to the park hours later at 4 a.m. to search for him.

Search-and-rescue crews looked for Bernstein for several days before investigators found his body in the brush near the park, the Los Angeles Times reported.

ABC7 reported that he was reported missing by his family the next day.

His father, Gideon, said that his son was slated to fly back to Pennsylvania on Sunday for class. We know Blaze would have loved to be on that flight back to school, Gideon Bernstein wrote, according to the ABC affiliate report.

But Gideon and Jeanne Bernstein said their son left without saying a word to them that night.

I feel like weve explored everything that we could in regard to what happened. But all that we really know is that he ran off into the wilderness and we dont know why, his mother was quoted as saying.

No additional information on his case was released by police. Investigators are looking into multiple leads, but no suspect is in custody.

Those with information can call the Orange County Sheriffs Department at 714-647-7000. And anonymous tips can be sent to the Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS.

The blaze Bernstein missing case has consumed me. So many holes in story. Please hoping for a safe return pic.twitter.com/e6qDNMybIz  Seth Galena (@SethGalena) January 9, 2018

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British Man Jailed in Dubai for Sending Angry WhatsApp Message to Dealer About Faulty Car

A British man spent three weeks in a Middle Eastern prison for sending an angry WhatsApp message to a car dealer who sold him a lemon, the Sun reported.

Killick was in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with his wife Robyn, working as a real estate agent. The pair decided to buy a car from a local dealer, which set them back over $8,000and then some.

The car allegedly broke down just hours after he drove it off the lot. It is reported that an investigation revealed the car had previously been written off in an accident and had been repaired cheaply.

Killick then wrote an angry WhatsApp message to the dealer.

Not once did you mention the fact you bought the car as a write off from an insurance company. I also asked why it has only done 40,000 km and you said the previous owner was a woman who worked for an airline company so only drove it ever now and then, Killick said in the message.

All lies!! he said, adding, How do you sleep at night knowing you are ripping people off?

However, Killick was not prepared for what followed. The recipient of the message complained to the police about being sent abusive messages, and Killick was arrested. He spent three weeks in jail.

It was a nightmare. The prison conditions were horrific, he said. I was treated appallinglyall for sending a WhatsApp message.

And then Killick was deported.

His wife, Robyn, who is a teacher, told reporters the experience has been traumatic.

We have lost our home and our jobs and its been horrible all over this guy ripping us off and we are so badly out of pocket.

We went there to try as a last adventure before coming back to England and getting married and starting a family but its left us really badly out of pocket.

This follows a number of cases where Brits have been held in the UAE for questionable reasons.

According to a report by pressure group Detained in Dubai, 46-year-old businessman David Ballantine was detained in the UAE for 2 years over a less-than-$3 cab fare mixup.

Ballantines passport was allegedly confiscated and he was forced to stay in Dubai for 2 years until his trial.

I couldnt work legally, so I worked off the books for the first year, until eventually needing to rely on handouts from friends and family over the course of the following year, Ballantine said.

I was forced to sleep in hotel toilets. I took beatings from hotel security staff; and was even thrown down flights of stairs and assaulted in public restrooms by hotel security.

After the two years in limbo, David continues, I was sentenced to 69 days in jail. Ironically, one of the charges was outstaying my visa, a charge I could hardly have avoided as the police had confiscated my passport. Once those final 69 days were over, I was deported back to Scotland.

Both Ballantine and Killick complain of inadequate assistance from the British embassy, with Killick slamming it as useless.

Detained in Dubai blames endemic problems with the UAE legal system, saying, frivolous cases that often have devastating consequences are on the rise.

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Bystander Calls Police After Seeing Man Beat His Dog, Then Throw it Into Trunk

An Ohio man has been charged after a witness told police that he saw the man beating his dog, then throwing the canine into a car trunk.

The witness told police that James Combs, 34, approached him and asked if the witness wanted to buy his pit bull.

After the witness declined, he witnessed the dog starting to run away from Combs. The Marysville man then caught the dog, slammed it against the car, kicked it, and threw it in the trunk of the car, reported WCMH.

Deputy Chief Tony Brooks said when officers caught up with Combs soon after, they indeed found the dog in the trunk. He told the broadcaster that Combs didnt really see an issue with how he was transporting the dog.



He told officers: Im taking her home now. I wouldnt abuse her. I just put her in the trunk, reported ABC13.

Brooks, though, said it appears Combs wanted to get rid of the pit bull.

It sounds like he was just wanting to get rid of the dog, Brooks told FOX 28. He was tired of owning it.



Combs told officers he bought the dog recently wanted to give her back.

Combs is charged with two counts of animal cruelty, reported WCMH.

In our opinions we do not believe it is not reasonable to transport a dog inside a trunk of a car especially given the condition that was out that night; as cold as it was, the broadcaster quoted Brooks as saying.

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California Man Arrested After Assault of 8-Year-Old Girl in Her Home

Cops say he may have used a garage door opener to get inside

A mother in California says a man broke into their home using a garage door opener and the began assaulting her child.

At around 3:53 a.m., police said they received a call from a mother saying that a man broke into their home in Rohnert Park and assaulted her 8-year-old daughter, reported KRON4.

The girl woke up and started screaming. The man ran out of their house in the nude, according to the report.

Police believe that the man, Noah Holland, got into their home with a garage door opener that was found in an unlocked car. They found Hollands property in the girls room. The family said they dont know the suspect.

A second man who was seen walking with Holland was also arrested, NBC Bay Area reported. Tristan Ford, 18, provided information to police about Hollands activity that evening. He was later placed in police custody.

Ford was charged with burglary, conspiracy, and violation of probation.

Holland, according to KRON, was not cooperative with the investigation.

Commander Aaron Johnson told ABC7 of the incident and how it unfolded: [The] mother heard her daughters screams  when she went into the bedroom the suspect was gone but evidence was left behind.

He said the girl screamed and fought back.

We feel the brave actions of the victim averted a real tragedy, he said.

(H/T  Dearly)

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In this handout photo provided by NBCUniversal, Oprah Winfrey accepts the 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 7, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Clinton Rape Accuser Slams Oprah Winfreys Golden Globes Speech: Remember This

One of Bill Clintons most insistent rape accusers has slammed Oprah Winfreys viral speech that the business mogul gave during the Golden Globe Awards over the weekend.

Winfreys speech focused on the recent vocal reaction to decades of sexual harassment by men in powerful positions across society, with Winfrey emphasizing the importance of women speaking their truth and sharing stories of being abused and assaulted in the workplace and elsewhere.

However, many people have pointed out Winfreys long friendship with producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual harassment. And now Juanita Broaddrick, who said former President Bill Clinton raped her in 1978, has come forward to voice her concern over Winfreys speech.

Hey @Oprah #Goldenglobes. Funny I've never heard you mention my name. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?Guess not. My rapist was/is your friend, Bill Clinton https://t.co/zBSPnrqRzk  Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) January 8, 2018

Hey @Oprah #GoldenGlobes. Funny Ive never heard you mention my name. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?Guess not. My rapist was/is your friend, Bill Clinton, wrote the 78-year-old on Twitter.

Broaddick also linked to a 2004 interview that Winfrey conducted with Clinton. During that interview, Oprah did question Clinton about the sex scandal involving former White House intern Monica Lewinskybut only asked, What was the most difficult part of that time for you?

Remember this @Oprah You've had so many opportunities to bring up my allegations, which have never been discredited. Why?? https://t.co/C7Iaqn0kOp  Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) January 8, 2018

Remember this @Oprah, Broaddrick tweeted. Youve had so many opportunities to bring up my allegations, which have never been discredited. Why??

Clinton has denied Broaddricks rape accusations through his team.



Any allegation that the president assaulted Ms. Broaddrick more than 20 years ago is absolutely false, Clintons personal attorney David E. Kendall said in 1999. Beyond that, we are not going to comment.

In her speech, Winfrey encouraged all women that have been assaulted or abused to speak up.

For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men, said Winfrey. But their time is up. Their time is up.

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Colorado Veteran Who Vandalized Mosque Takes Own Life After Sentencing

A Colorado veteran suffering from PTSD has taken his own life after being sentenced for vandalizing a mosque.

Joseph Giaquinto, 36, used rocks to smash several windows of the local Islamic Center in Fort Collins and threw a Bible through the window, back in March 2017.

Giaquinto, who lives in Fort Collins, Colorado was charged with a hate crime since it was deemed that his actions were deliberatethe court ruled that he chose the mosque as a target and the Bible as a projectile as a deliberate insult to Islam.

This is how members of the Islamic Center in Fort Collins found their mosque this morning. They say a bible was thrown inside as well #9news pic.twitter.com/MjVQUpfRfX  Dan Grossman (@Dan_Grossman) March 26, 2017

Giaquinto pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor bias-motivated crime on Dec. 18 and was sentenced to three years of wellness court and six months of work release, The Coloradoan reported.

On Jan. 5, Giaquinto took his own life in a Motel 6 in Fort Collins, according to Latimer County Coroners office.

The wellness court referred to in the sentence is a judicially supervised program to help people with mental health issues stay on track with medication and counseling sessions.

The president of the Islamic Center, Tawfik Aboellail said, It is a tragedy that this incident has made victims of both the vandal and the vandalized.

In the statement on Facebook he wrote, we wish none of this had happened from the start, but wishing will not get us anywhere, nor will it change the outcome of the events that have transpired.

Claimed History of Mental Health Issues

Joseph Giaquinto spent eight years in the U.S. Army as a combat medic, serving in Iraq and in Korea. He was later diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) his father Michael Giaquinto told The Coloradoan.

His father also claimed that younger Giaquinto had a history of substance abuse.

Giaquintos lawyer, Heather Siegel, claimed that Giaquinto was drunk at the time of the vandalism incident, and was horrified when he learned later what he had done, The Coloradoan stated.

Giaquinto claimed that he did not have any hatred for any particular faith, and had attacked the mosque only because it was near his home, a target of convenience.

@ 5/6-Ft. Collins Muslims say recent vandalism to mosque comes weeks after anti-Islam flyer passed around CSU. How lawmakers are weighing in pic.twitter.com/gnZxybtWoP  Dillon Thomas (@DillonMThomas) March 27, 2017

Police identified Giaquinto from surveillance footage in which he can be seen picking up a paving stone and kicking the door of the mosque before walking out of camera range.

BREAKING : Ft Collins police 35 year old Joseph Scott Giaquinto in weekend vandalism at local mosque. more new info @10. pic.twitter.com/bpbqiVCZl8  jim benemann (@jimbcbs4) March 28, 2017

When he was arrested, Giaquinto confessed.

Giaquinto pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, and on Jan. 4 was sentenced.

On the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 6, police were summoned to the Motel 6 on 3900 E. Mulberry St. in Fort Collins, where Giaquintos lifeless body was discovered. He was autopsied on Jan. 7 and his death ruled as a suicide.

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Death of Girl Who Was Face of Akubra Blamed on Bullying

A young Australian girl who was once the face of Akubra has taken her own life because of bullying, leaving her family devastated.

Amy Everett, nicknamed Dolly, died on Jan. 3. She was only 14 years of age.

Her family, who live in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, are distraught.

Four days after his daughters death, Tick Everett wrote a heartfelt message on his Facebook page thanking people for their support while also addressing the bullies that made his daughters life hell.

If we can help other precious lives from being lost and the suffering of so many, then Dolls life will not be wasted, Tick wrote.

I know for some suicide is considered cowardly but I guarantee those people wouldnt have half the strength that my precious little angel had, Doll had the strength to do what she thought she had to do to escape the evil in this world.

However unfortunately Dolly will never know the great pain and emptiness left behind.

He then challenged the bullies.

[If] by some chance the people who thought this was a joke and made themselves feel superior by the constant bullying and harassment see this post, please come to our service and witness the complete devastation you have created, he wrote.

He also asked for other people, the strong ones, to stand up to bullies.

Many people leaving messages on his Facebook page not only offered their condolences but shared their own stories of their children had suffered at the hands of bullies.

Amy was also one of the faces used in a Christmas campaign eight years ago by iconic Australian hat maker, Akubra, who released a statement on the teenagers death.

The company said it was shocked and distressed by the news of her death.

To think that anyone could feel so overwhelmed and that this was their only option is unfathomable, said Akubra via Facebook. Bullying of any type is unacceptable. It is up to us to stand up when we see any kind of bullying behavior.

Dolly could be anyones daughter, sister, friend. We need to make sure that anyone in crisis knows there is always someone to talk to. Be a friend, check up on your mates.

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Elderly Couple Who Claimed Drugs Were Christmas Presents Busted Again on Anti-Drug Charges

An elderly man and woman arrested in Nebraska in December with 60 pounds of assorted marijuana goods the couple claimed were Christmas presents, were arrested once again on Tuesday, Jan. 9, in Lancaster County, KOLN reported.

Patrick Jiron, 80, and his wife, Barbara Jiron, 70, were passengers in a vehicle subjected to a traffic stop on Tuesday by Lancaster County Sheriffs Office deputies.

Contact with the couple raised the officers suspicions, who ordered a drug-detecting dog deployed.

The K-9 detected the presence of marijuana, and a search revealed $18,000 cash and a large bag. Both tested positive for cannabis residue, according to police.

The two were detained and booked at the Lancaster County Jail for possession of money used or intended to be used to facilitate a violation of laws against controlled substances.

They were released on bond and are due to appear in court.

The driver, the couples daughter, was not detained.

In an earlier incident, the Jirons were arrested on Dec. 19 with 60 pounds of assorted marijuana goods with a street value of over $300,000 police said. The pair told police that they were driving cross-country to deliver the pot as gifts for relatives and friends in Vermont and Boston.

Burlington Free Press later linked the couple to Chittenden County Chief Deputy States Attorney Justin Jiron, who the paper said is their son.

Justin Jirons boss told the paper that there is no connection between the Nebraska bust and her employee.

Justin is in no way connected to this allegation other than by relation, Chittenden County States Attorney Sarah George, wrote in an email to the Burlington Free Press. Justin is and has been a dedicated public servant for over 15 years, and I assure you he is as surprised and upset about these allegations as anyone.

Elderly couple claims marijuana was for Christmas presents https://t.co/aCNGKuhJE0 pic.twitter.com/HyrTJfHcvz  York News-Times (@yorknewstimes) December 20, 2017

In that incident, the prosecutors parents were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and no drug tax stamp.

The couple was pulled over after they crossed a center line on a road without signaling. The deputies who approached the couples Toyota Tacoma smelled a pungent marijuana odor, NPR reported.

Patrick Jiron was placed in York County Jail, while Barbaras processing was delayed due to a medical issue, Fox News reported.

NTD reporter Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.

2017 Year in Review
Girl Diagnosed With Inoperable Brain Tumor Touches the Hearts of Many in Heartbreaking Photo

A 5-year-old girl from Florida was just living a normal life up until December last year when she was diagnosed with a deadly brain cancer and was given a less than 10 percent survival rate.

Braylynn Lawhon was looking forward to celebrating her birthday when she was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)a highly aggressive and difficult to treat brain tumor found at the base of the brainjust four days before she was going to turn five.

Doctors told her family that Braylynn may only live for up to a year, however, in early January things took a turn for the worse. After her family was told the little girl had a limited time to live, they gathered family and friends to say their final goodbyes.

Braylynns mother, Ally Parker, has been documenting the little girls heartwrenching battle with childhood cancer on social media. Her Facebook page, Braylynns Battalion, has garnered the support and sympathy of thousands of people.

Parker shared a photo to her page which has been moving people around the world.

The photo shows the heartbreaking moment where Parkers father, Sean Peterson, sitting beside his granddaughter with grief and tears across his face. Parkers father suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) which renders him unable to speak. But his expression shows the brutal reality of cancer.

The family had just raised enough money for Braylynn to receive treatment in Mexico. Each treatment cost $18,000 each and are delivered every 3-7 weeks, Parker said.

Parker said her daughter is expected to pass away at any moment. In a post on Jan. 7, she expressed her pain in a heartfelt post.

Today is the day, Parker wrote. Today will be the worst day of my life so far, and in less than a week, I will have a day that is even more terrible.

Today is the day that everyone will have to say their final goodbyes, to a FIVE-year-old. This should never happen to anyone. There is no one in this world who is evil enough to deserve to feel what I am currently feeling. My baby girl deserves to live a full, happy life, and so does every other child who has had to face DIPG, she continued.

We have to put an end to this. No more kids can get this disease and be allowed to die from it. We HAVE to find a cure, not a damn band-aid. These kids deserve so much more than that, someday soon someone needs to find out what that cure is, she added.

According to Dana Farber Cancer Institute, DIPG account for 10 percent of all childhood central nervous system tumors.

Approximately 300 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with DIPG each year. While DIPGs are usually diagnosed when children are between the ages of 5 and 9, they can occur at any age in childhood. These tumors occur in boys and girls equally and do not generally appear in adults, the website said.

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Theres Johnetta, 101, whom shes known for 70 years and who has Alzheimers disease. I call her every day and just say Hi, how are you doing? She never knows, but she says hi back, and I tease her, Smith said.

Then theres Rhea, 90, whom Smith visits regularly at a retirement facility. And Mary, 95, who doesnt leave her house anymore, so I fix her a basket about once a month of jelly and little things I make and send it over by cab. And fellow residents at Smiths Chicago senior community, whom she recognizes with a card and a treat on their birthdays.

Im a very friendly person, Smith said when asked to describe herself.

That may be one reason why this lively centenarian has an extraordinary memory for someone her age, suggests a recent study by researchers at Northwestern University. The study highlights a notable link between brain health and positive relationships.

For nine years, these experts have been examining SuperAgersmen and women over age 80 whose memories are as goodor betterthan people 20 to 30 years younger. Every couple of years, the group fills out surveys about their lives and gets a battery of neuropsychological tests, brain scans, and a neurological examination, among other evaluations.

The study highlights a notable link between brain health and positive relationships.

When we started this project, we werent really sure we could find these individuals, said Emily Rogalski, an associate professor at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimers Disease Center at Northwesterns Feinberg School of Medicine.

But find them they did: 31 older men and women with exceptional memories, mostly from Illinois and surrounding states, are currently participating in the project. Part of the goal is to characterize themwho are they, what are they like, Rogalski said.

Previous research by the Northwestern group provided tantalizing clues, showing that SuperAgers have distinctive brain features: thicker cortexes, a resistance to age-related atrophy and a larger left anterior cingulate (a part of the brain important to attention and working memory).

But brain structure alone doesnt fully account for SuperAgers unusual mental acuity, Rogalski suggested. Its likely there are a number of critical factors that are implicated, she said.

Social Relationships Key

For their new study, the researchers asked 31 SuperAgers and 19 cognitively normal older adults to fill out a 42-item questionnaire about their psychological well-being. The SuperAgers stood out in one area: the degree to which they reported having satisfying, warm, trusting relationships. In other areas, such as having a purpose in life or retaining autonomy, they were much like their normal peers.

Social relationships are really important to this group and might play a significant role in preserving their cognition, Rogalski said.

That finding is consistent with other research linking positive relationships to a reduced risk of cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia. Still, researchers havent examined how SuperAgers sustain these relationships and whether their experiences might include lessons for others.

The SuperAgers stood out in one area: the degree to which they reported having satisfying, warm, trusting relationships.

Smith, one of the SuperAgers, has plenty of thoughts about that. At her retirement community, shes one of nine people who welcome new residents and try to help make them feel at home. I have a smile for everybody, she said. I try to learn someones name as soon as they come in, and if I see them its Good morning, how do you do?

What she does every day, she said, is show people I care.

William Bill Gurolnick, 86, another SuperAger in the study, realized the value of becoming more demonstrative after he retired from a sales and marketing position in 1999. Men arent usually inclined to talk about their feelings, and I was a keep-things-inside kind of person, he explained. But opening up to other people is one of the things that I learned to do.

With a small group of other men whod left the work world behind, Gurolnick helped found a mens group, Men Enjoying Leisure, which now has nearly 150 members and has spawned four similar groups in the Chicago suburbs. Every month, the group meets for two hours, including one hour they spend discussing personal issuesdivorce, illness, children who cant find jobs, and more.

We learn people arent alone in the problems theyre dealing with, Gurolnick said, adding that a dozen or so of the men have become good friends.

You really get a sense of still being alive, you get a sense of not being alone.  Bill Gurolnick

Activities are another way of cultivating relationships for Gurolnick. On Mondays, he bikes 20 to 30 miles with more than a dozen older menmany of them from his mens groupfollowed by lunch. On Tuesdays, hes part of a walking group, followed by coffee. On Wednesdays, he goes to the Bernard Weinger Jewish Community Center in Northbrook for two hours of water volleyball. On Thursdays, its back to the JCC for pickleball, a racquet sport.

You really get a sense of still being alive, Gurolnick said, when asked what he takes away from these interactions. You get a sense of not being alone.

Another SuperAger, Evelyn Finegan, 88, is hard of hearing and has macular degeneration in both eyes, but otherwise is astonishingly healthy. Without her best friend, Grayce, whom shes known since high school, and friends who live in her condominium complex, Finegan might have become isolated.

Its very important to keep up with your friendsto pick up the phone and call, said Finegan, who talks to Grayce almost daily and chats with four other friends from high school on a regular basis.

Today, the staples of Finegans life are attending her church, going to a monthly book club, volunteering at a resale shop, socializing in her building, attending a club of Welsh women, and seeing her grandchildren whenever she can.

Its so nice to spend time with Evelyn, said her upstairs neighbor, June Witzl, 91, who often drives Finegan to doctors appointments. Shes very kind and very generous. And she tells you what she believes so you really feel like you know her, instead of wondering whats on her mind.

Judith Graham is a writer for Kaiser Health News, which originally published this article. KHNs coverage of these topics is supported by John A. Hartford Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and The SCAN Foundation.
Gym Gives 12-Year-Old Syrian Refugee Lifetime Membership After Photo Goes Viral

A Syrian refugee has been given free lifetime membership at his local gym after a photo of him staring longingly through its window went viral.

Muhammad Hussein, 12, who works as a shoeshiner, was pictured gazing at the equipment inside the gym in the southeastern province of Adiyaman, Turkey, in a photo that won the hearts of many in the country.

The picture of the young boy, who fled the war in Syria, caught the eye of gym owner Engin Dogan.

A boy, looking through the gym window, wearing slippers in the middle of winter and carrying his bagpack Our aim was to find him and offer him a lifetime membership here, Dogan said to the Hurriyet News.

And, we did it. He is one of our members now, he said.

Dogan owns the gym with Mustafa Kucukkaya and Dicle Oma.

Speaking with Saba, Kucukkaya said: It affected me very much because we came from nothing and we did not have such a gym in our time. The Turkish people are very sensitive about this issue, I am very touched, I think we are doing something very good.

Turkish social media was heartbroken over the viral photo of a Syrian refugee shoeshine boy staring in from the outside of a southeast Turkey gym (left). So the gym gave the 12-year-old Muhammad Hussein a free lifetime membership. (right, DHA photo) pic.twitter.com/NCTXvV4I5F  Borzou Daragahi ?? (@borzou) January 9, 2018

Here's a photo of Muhammad Hussein, 12, and Turkish gym co-owner Engin Dogan. Via @dhainternet https://t.co/oLww27qJWq pic.twitter.com/WLs6HUIl0X  Borzou Daragahi ?? (@borzou) January 9, 2018

According to the Independent, the young Syrian boy spoke with Turkish news agency Anadolu.

He found me and helped me, he said. I had always dreamed of losing weight and now I believe I can do that by working out.

Hussein was photographed with the gym owners on Kucukkayas Instagram account.

The image has struck a chord with many, bringing home the realities of children who have been displaced by the conflict in Syria.

Many people have taken to Twitter to express how moved they were by the kind gesture.

Brought tears to my eyes. Too many good people on this earth, wrote Kodi.

Brought tears to my eyes. Too many good people on this earth.  Kodi (@IamPhreedah) January 9, 2018

Sometimes media shows just how powerful it is and how big of a heart the world has. The world is pretty messed up but images like these give us hope to move forward.  Oldmomma (@oldmommatajuri) January 9, 2018

Unfortunately we cant care about everybody in the world. But we all should look more around us to take care of someone in the immediate environment! Like that guy did! Thank you Engin??  Kate (@cmqkate) January 9, 2018

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Close to 90 percent of Canadians say it is unacceptable for parliamentarians to go on sponsored trips, according to a new survey. (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)

Large Majority of Canadians Against MPs, Senators Taking Sponsored Trips

China among governments sponsoring trips

Nine out of 10 Canadians are against members of Parliament and senators going on sponsored travel, a new survey shows.

The Jan. 8 survey, conducted by Nanos Research for The Globe and Mail, shows that 73 percent of Canadians find the practice unacceptable, and 16 percent find it somewhat unacceptable.

Records from the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner show that since 2007, MPs have taken close to 1,000 sponsored trips, with more than 95 percent to foreign countries.

Sponsors of the trips ranged from foreign governments to associations and private companies. China was also among the destinations visited, with the trips sponsored by agencies of the central government, local governments, or pro-Beijing overseas associations.

China has been cited by intelligence officials as one of the foreign countries most aggressive in trying to exert influence in Canada.

In an interview in 2010, then-head of the Canadian Intelligence Security Agency Richard Fadden said that some Canadian officials are already under the influence of foreign regimes, and hinted that China is one of the most active.

You invite somebody back to the homeland. You pay [for] their trips and all of a sudden you discover that when an event is occurring that is of particular interest to country X, you call up and you ask the person to take a particular view, Fadden said.

Former MP John McCallum, now Canadas ambassador to China, was one of the heaviest users of sponsored travel to China when he was a parliamentarian.

Liberal MP Geng Tan and Conservative Senator Victor Oh are also frequent travelers to China, the Globe reports.

Online reports in Chinese on the website of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office (OCAO) of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China show Tan meeting with the head of the organization, which operates under Chinas United Front apparatus.

Oh, McCallum, and Michael Chan, an Ontario cabinet minister, were also among a group welcoming the head of the OCAO in Toronto, according to reports on the website of the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. Tan was also present as an executive of a local association.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses the United Front to run operations through Beijings overseas embassies and consulates, specifically working to create a united front for the CCP by subverting and influencing foreign governments and societies.

They Treat Me Like an Emperor

In 2010, after returning from a trip to China, then-Ottawa Mayor Larry OBrien withdrew his support for a proclamation recognizing local practitioners of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, a spiritual group whose believers are persecuted by the Chinese regime. He reportedly explained his change of heart to an Ottawa councilor as the result of a commitment he had made while in China.

According to Chen Yonglin, a former Chinese diplomat who defected to Australia in 2005, Falun Dafa is among the five target groups that the CCP sees as a big threat. The five include Tibetan exiles, Taiwanese, Uyghur Muslims, democracy activists, and Falun Dafa adherents.

While in office, former Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, who has been invited to China several times, pursued court action to shut down a Falun Dafa protest site outside the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver. When I go to China, they treat me like an emperor, Sullivan told the Vancouver Sun in 2006.

Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone was flown to Beijing during the 2008 Olympics as part of a junket by the Chinese regime that cost more than $30,000. He told the London Evening Standard that China is going in the right direction on human rights. This was while China consistently made it to the top list of human rights violators in the world each year. The Chinese government broke its promise to improve human rights in conjunction with its hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Human Rights Watch reported in its 2009 annual report.

According to Chen Yonglin, China also often uses honeytraps to entrap Western politicians, including one Australian official who Chen said was forced to advocate for the regimes interests after being snared in a honeytrap.

Then-Deputy Mayor of London Ian Clement was seduced and robbed of important information regarding Londons operations when he traveled to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. This happened on the heels of an incident involving an aide to the British prime minister, who suffered from a similar predicament a week before.
Man Who Renamed His Gas Station Obama Mart Hit With Tax Evasion Charges

The man who renamed his gas station Obama Mart has been arrested in South Carolina and charged with tax evasion.

The states Department of Revenue says Murad Alhanik filed monthly sales tax returns from 2013 to 2016 alleging a total of $971,935 in gross sales.

However, an investigation revealed actual sales during that time to total $2,688,533.

Due to the underreported sales, the defendant evaded paying $136,753 in sales taxes due to the state of South Carolina, the department stated in a press release.

The SCDOR is committed to the fair administration of tax laws. By taking enforcement action against noncompliant taxpayers, the Department seeks to prevent unfairly increasing the tax burden on those who do comply.

If convicted, Alhanik faces up to $10,000 and/or up to five years in prison for each of the four counts of tax evasion hes been charged with.

Alhanik bought the station in Columbia in 2011 and rebranded it as Obama Mart.

The rebrand caused more customers to come, he told WIS at the time.

I see more people come in, Alhanik said. Excited with the name.

Josh Saleh was also named as an owner of the store by the Post and Courier.

Saleh, a native of Yemen, moved to the United States in 2004 and became a citizen in 2010.

He and Alhanik told the media outlet that they would never change the name to reflect the new president.

We would never change it, Alhanik said. Its still history.

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Stan Lee poses with the first IMDb STARmeter Award for Lifetime Achievement on the #IMDboat at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 on the IMDb yacht on July 21, 2017, in San Diego, Calif. (Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb)

Marvel Creator Stan LeeNow 95Accused of Sexually Assaulting His Personal Nurses

Stan Lee, the creator of a number of iconic superheroes including the X-Men, has been accused by the young female nurses caring for him in his old age of sexual harassment and assault.

Lee, now 95, has been hit with multiple allegations by the nurses caring for him at his Hollywood Hills home, reported the Daily Mail.

Sources told the Mail that Lee enjoys walking around the house naked and uses vulgar language to describe his desires to the nurses. In addition, he has acted on some of those desires despite objections by the nurses, leading to the current situation hes embroiled ina legal dispute with the company that hires the nurses, which could lead to a lawsuit.

A source with knowledge of the situation said that Lee finds it funny to sexually harass the nurses, who are typically much younger than him.

Multiple women accuse Stan Lee of sexual abuse https://t.co/lwHviX9NzZ pic.twitter.com/z3GnLF0h99  Od (@odshek) January 9, 2018

The owner at the nursing company has openly said to people that Stan has sexually harassed every single nurse that has been to the house. That got back to Lee and sparked this whole thing, the source told the Mail.

It appears the owner, who has nursed Stan herself, eventually decided enough was enough, said the source.

No legal suit or criminal action has been taken so far, but a representative for the company confirmed that the female owner had spoken to Lee about the complaints. The company also stopped working with Lee late last year.

Lee, though, through his attorney, denied any wrongdoing.

Lees attorney, Tom Lallas, told BuzzFeed in a statement that the allegations were made by the nurses to try to blackmail Lee for money.

Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee claims his former nurses are trying to extort him with false allegationshttps://t.co/bfc7bvcMy1  BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) January 10, 2018

Mr. Lee categorically denies these false and despicable allegations and he fully intends to fight to protect his stellar good name and impeccable character, Lallas said in his statement.

We are not aware of anyone filing a civil action, or reporting these issues to the police, which for any genuine claim would be the more appropriate way for it to be handled. Instead, Mr. Lee has received demands to pay money and threats that if he does not do so, the accuser will go to the media.

Lee was involved in creating a number of iconic superhero characters, including the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and the X-Men. Movies and television shows starring these Marvel characters have grossed billions of dollars, with many new ones being released every year.

From NTD.tv

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A North Korean military check point is seen from an observation post in Panmunjom, South Korea, on Sept. 28, 2017. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

North Korea Defections Surge Over New Years

A surge of North Koreans tried to flee the prison state over the New Year, hoping security would be lightened during celebrations, according to sources in Ryanggang Province, in the northeast of North Korea.

Many of them were arrested.

Defections from the hermit kingdom have plummeted under Kim Jong Un since 2012 as border security has been ramped up, dramatically reducing the number of North Koreans managing to escape through China, according to the South Korean government.

But according to North Korean sources reached by Daily NK, a Seoul-based news service that specializes in reaching sources inside North Korea and North Koreans in China, arrests spiked over the holiday as North Koreans trying to cross the border were captured.

Unlike the soldier who ran across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the heavily guarded border between the North and South in late 2017, taking five bullets in the process, most North Koreans flee through the less guarded border with China.

Chinas communist regime has taken flak from human rights groups for decades over its forced repatriation of fleeing North Koreans. Leaving North Korea without permission is considered a serious crime and can result in incarceration in the regimes brutal labor camps.

According to sources that spoke with Daily NK, defection attempts have recently surged, resulting in a rise in arrests.

Two families10 people in allwere arrested close to where China meets the borders of Ryanggang and Jagang Provinces. They thought security would be more relaxed due to the New Years holiday, so they attempted to cross into China at 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, but were not successful, a source in Ryanggang Province, in the northeast of North Korea, told Daily NK on Jan. 7.

North Korean border forces have been increased, alongside the use of informants to catch out residents who are considering fleeing the country, said the source.

Some families try to keep authorities from uncovering their defection for as long as possible by pretending to be migrating within North Korea.

One family told neighbors they were leaving to work in the markets in another region, said the source, but actually hid in another house for a little over a week before trying to cross the border on New Years Eve.

They were arrested while trying to cross the Yalu River into China.

Pressure to clamp down on uncontrolled border crossings has increased across North Korea, affecting smugglers as well as would-be defectors.

The result has been a dramatic fall in North Koreans seeking refuge in South Korea, and the near extinction of small-time smugglers that once fueled North Koreas black markets.

While those smugglers once operated in a pseudo-legal status, paying bribes to soldiers and officials along the border, Kims strict directives and increased punishments for unsanctioned border crossings have scared border guards from taking such bribes, reported the Japan Times.

While smuggling continues, it is largely limited to a few large Chinese companies, according to the Times.

For average North Koreans, crossing the border has become much more difficult.

According to Daily NK, central party authorities have put intense pressure on lower cadres to crack down on would-be border crossers.

Residents are hearing warnings from police and inminban [peoples unit, or neighborhood watch] leaders who are saying to be careful even when collecting water or washing clothes in the river near common defection spots, the source said.

Police have also ramped up searches of homes that appear to be vacant, an effort to ferret out defectors who may still be en route to China.

The border authorities seem extremely busy lately as the number of arrests of attempted defectors has increased over the last year. Specifically, there has been at least a 150 percent rise in arrests over the same period last year in Ryanggang Province, claimed the source.

Around 30-40 people were arrested over January last year, the source claimed, while 20 people were arrested on Jan. 1 alone this year.

South Korea disclosed in late 2017 that the number of refugees from North Korea had dropped continually since 2012, coinciding with Kims rise to power and increased border controls.

In 2017, the number of refugees fell to 1,127 North Koreans arriving in South Korea, a 21 percent drop from 1,418 in 2016, according to preliminary data from South Koreas Ministry of Unification, reported by The Korea Herald.

That number is less than half what it was in 2011.

Border surveillance has increased under the new Kim, as has Chinas efforts to capture North Koreans trying to cross into China. Reports from inside China indicate increased patrols, surveillance, and arrests along the border.

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In this May 25, 2016, photo, Kim Pack poses with a photo of her late mother, talk-show host April Kauffman, in Linwood, N.J. Pack's stepfather, Dr. James Kauffman, was charged in the murder of her mother April on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Kauffman, a New Jersey doctor running an illegal prescription opioid drug ring with a motorcycle gang had a member hire someone to kill his wife after she threatened to expose the scheme while trying to force him to agree to a divorce, authorities said Tuesday. (Vernon Ogrodnek/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)

NJ Doctor Had Wife Killed When She Threatened to Expose His Drug Network: Prosecutors

A popular New Jersey doctor has been charged in an alleged murder-for-hire plot that led to the death of his wife.

Dr. James Kauffman is accused of having his wife killed after she threatened to expose his fraudulent drug network, prosecutors said this week.

Kauffman planned to build a massive opioid drug ring with the Pagans motorcycle gang, Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner told the Press of Atlantic City.

He was intent to rather have her killed as opposed to losing his financial empire, as he described it to several individuals, Tyner said during a press conference on Jan. 9. We are very excited today because this has gone on for far too long.



Kauffman, now 68, searched for a year before finding someone to kill April Kauffman, a radio personality.

Prosecutors said the hitman, Francis Mullholland, who is now dead, was paid at least $20,000 and given a gun. On his way out of the house on May 10, 2012, Kauffman left the doors open so Mullholland could enter and kill his wife.

Kaufmann, who practiced in Mays Landing, is already being held in jail on weapons charges, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Kimberly Pack, daughter of slain radio host April Kauffman said her mother had shared her concerns about Dr. James Kauffman. The details she heard today were gut wrenching, she said. pic.twitter.com/9DJ5bv4iYa  Amy S. Rosenberg (@amysrosenberg) January 9, 2018

Hes now been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and racketeering.

The cold case sat unsolved for a year until Tyner was named the new district prosecutor, reported ABC.

As part of his new authority, he ordered a review of all cold cases.

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Police Chief Says Theres No Gang Crisis in Melbourne

Victorias top policeman has rubbished claims that Melbourne isnt a safe place and said there is no so-called African gang crime crisis in the city.

Police chief Graham Ashton told the press on Wednesday, Jan. 10, the issue of crime among youths of African appearance has been blown out of proportion and the state is one of the safest in the world.

Ive heard people say that Victoria is not a safe place to live, thats complete and utter garbage, Ashton said reported The Age.

There are people who have been affected by crime, and thats always been the case, and thats the case in every city in Australia, and the same as every city in the world, he said.

Victoria is one of the safest places in the world to live, he said.

Victoria's Chief Police Commissioner has denied there's an African gang crisis, as he announced the formation of a community taskforce to end the violence. #7News pic.twitter.com/up6VzAGoJk  7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) January 10, 2018

Ashtons comments come in the wake of public attention to Melbournes so-called African crime gang crisis and a string of headline-grabbing crimes attributed to gangs of African youth, mostly South Sudanese.

His remarks also follow those made by federal politicians who voiced their concerns over the issue, including those made by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The federal government was very concerned about the growing gang violence and lawlessness in Victoria, particularly in Melbourne, Turnbull told media on Jan. 1, reported the ABC.

Federal MP Greg Hunt similarly said African gang crime was out of control in Melbourne while Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told a Sydney radio station that African gang violence had made people too scared to go out to restaurants.

Ashton told the press his comments were not a response to those made by politicians and he did not want to enter the ongoing political debate over the issue.

The Prime Minister has weighed in to the debate over youth crime in Melbourne, declaring there is a gang problem and it's the Premier's fault. @EstelleGriepink #7News pic.twitter.com/Q0LFW2PNXG  7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) January 1, 2018

The ABC reported that Ashton recognized that people were worried by what they had seen on media coverage of the issue but he said the crime rate in the state was, in reality, going down.

I dont think its a crisis  I think if you put it into context youve got a few hundred offenders engaging in offending in a city of 4.5 million people, he said.

If you look across the totality of the Victorian crime situation, the last two quarters weve reduced total crime in the state. Were continuing to do that, said Ashton.

But Ashtons comments have upset some of those who have been affected by the crimes, which have mainly occurred in Melbournes west.

Police will be investigating death threats against members of the African community after a new taskforce was established to tackle youth crime. @CGreenbank9 #9News pic.twitter.com/VUkZuyVCkS  Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) January 10, 2018

Luke Mitchell, a resident of an estate in the citys west that had its community center trashed by gangs of youth over an eight-month period, told The Australian that people in suburbs are frightened.

The reality is that the crisis isnt playing out in shops or restaurants or the center of the city; its in the streets in suburbs around western Melbourne, its in the parks, its in the unmanned buildings that people dont want to go into, Mitchell said.

Young men, reported by media to be South Sudanese born and others, hijacked the estates privately owned facility and used it day and night. Images of the center published by the media show the center has been trashed inside and out with litter everywhere, holes in walls, and graffiti covering both the exterior and interior.

A petition from the estates residents that began on Saturday has called for urgent government action to strengthen penalties and tighten bail laws.

Petition founder Arnav Sati told The Australian that Ashtons comments proved police and some politicians are in a state of denial about the severity of the problem.

OK, the 99 percent across the state are fine, but the 1 percent who have to deal with it are very, very scared by what theyve seen or put up within their neighborhoods, Sati said.

.@GrahamAshtonCCP announces new African Australian Community taskforce to cut youth crime. #7News https://t.co/GvD7OgIo8X  7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) January 10, 2018

When Ashton was speaking with the press on Wednesday he did so with leaders of Melbournes African community who have been also affected by what has occurred.

As an example, Ashton said that death threats have made against innocent members of the African community.

We know that the vast majority of African-Australians in Victoria are decent, law-abiding people, Ashton said.

They are suffering as a result of the actions of a small cohort of young offenders. The African-Australian community can, and want to, play a role in providing solutions, he said.

Wednesdays media event was also used to announce how police have established a community taskforce with African-Australian leaders to tackle youth crime in the city.



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Police Hunt Man Who Tried to Fix Smile With Fake Identity

Police are searching for a man who allegedly stole someones identity and used it to try to fix his smile.

Texas police dont know the identity of the fraudster, but they do have the photographcomplete with crooked teethtaken by the dentist.

The man tried to open a line of credit for extensive surgery at a cosmetic dentist in Sugar Land, Texas, say police, and is now facing potential fraud charges.

Local police say that he used a false name to schedule the dental work at Texas Smile, including dentures and surgery totaling $45,000.

He was eager to get it done quickly, Elsa Horn, Texa Smiles finance coordinator, told ABC13

He had everything set up ahead of time. Our patients can go online ahead of time and be pre-approved for financing.

Texas Smiles Facebook page has a gallery of satisfied customers displaying before and after photographs.

But the fraudster never graduated to the after photographand the photograph that might have adorned the gallery of before shots was instead handed over to police to help identify him.

Were hoping to get his picture out, get him on the news, and get him identified, Sergeant Matt Levan of Sugar Land police department told ABC13. You see him smiling in the picture, and he does need a little bit of work on his teeth. 

Sugar Land Police described him as a black male in his 40s, about 6 feet 1 inch tall, and weighing about 220 pounds, according to KHOU.

His charges include fraudulent use of identifying information and tampering with a government document.

According to KHOU, a loan was approved at his first consultation on Nov. 30.

It was only after $9,800 worth of preparations, however, that the dentists realized something was wrongon the day he was due for surgery.

When he didnt show up, staff tried to get hold of him via phone, but to no avail. Then the reason was revealed when another man called in to inform them that someone had used his personal information to open fraudulent lines of credit.

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Social Security Robber Has Number Tattooed on Forehead, But Police Still Havent Caught Him

Texas police are asking the public for help to capture a serial robber who has his social security number inked on his forehead and his area code tattooed on his neck.

Robert Wooten, 40, is suspected to have carried out at least six armed robberies at stores, including a Walgreens pharmacy, but investigators havent been able to catch him.

Theyre calling this guy Social Security because he actually has his Social Security [number] tattooed across his forehead,Frank Heenan, a Houston police investigator, told KPRC.

Wooten began his streak of robberies on Oct. 15. He walked into a convenience store, asked the cashier several odd questions and then said, You care about your life? while lifting his shirt to reveal a gun. He then demanded a pack of cigarettes, KIAH reported, citing court documents. Wooten came back to the same store and robbed it of cigarettes again on Nov. 4.

In another robbery, surveillance footage shows Wooten strolling into a store wearing American flag shorts. He then throws a bag at an employee and demands for it to be filled with money.

Wooten has robbed a corner store, a pawn store, a Family Dollar store, a Metro PCS outlet, and a Walgreens pharmacy.

The suspects face and neck are covered in several tattoos, including his social security number, 463-15-8781, on his face, and his telephone area code, 713, on his neck.

Wooten has a long rap sheet with charges including aggravated robbery, burglary, and indecent exposure among others. The suspect did not injure anyone during the robberies.

Hes notorious around the Acres Homes area, North Shepherd, West Little York, West 43rd, Heenan said.

If you have information about Wootens whereabouts, youre asked to call the Houston Police Department at 713-884-3131 or Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS. Calls to Crime Stoppers allow tipsters to remain anonymous and can result in rewards of up to $5,000.

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Talks With North Korea a Farce, Say Experts

News Analysis

North Koreas new willingness to hold talks with South Korea is either a ploy to buy time or hold off a possible U.S. invasionor bothaccording to two experts.

Much has been made of North Koreas sudden willingness to talk to South Korea. Some commentators are calling it a diplomatic breakthrough. Meanwhile, the participation of two North Korean figure skaters in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang has been framed by some as a turning point for the worlds most oppressive regime.

But any hopes that North Koreas current olive branch signals a meaningful change on the Korean Peninsula is misplaced, according to Rick Fisher, a senior fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center.

Fisher believes that during the current crisis, North Korea has aligned the entire world against it, with only two strained alliesChina and Russiawilling to offer credible support.

With nowhere left to turn, and sanctions now taking a fiercer hold on the North Korean economy, Kim Jong Uns communist regime is also facing a credible threat of military force from the new American administration.

North Korea cant address that threat through force, so Kims regime is trying a different approach.

They think they can deflate some of the growing American-led consensus for some kind of action against them by making nice with the South, said Fisher.

For South Korea, the memory of a devastating war and the possibility of another are enough to want to preserve the hope that North Korea could be sincere.

But Kim has specifically said his nuclear-armed ballistic missiles are intended for the United States, making any such optimism dangerously reckless.

Fisher says North Korea will continue building toward a nuclear missile threat to the world and especially the United States.

The current diplomatic overture is a tactical retreat of sorts, a way to ease the pressure that is building to a dangerous possibility that North Korea doesnt want to face.

The North Koreans want to prick the bubble of a gathering international consensus led by the United States that if necessary, military action must be taken against North Korea, he said.

Fisher says that North Korea hopes to dilute that consensus by opening a dialogue. That gives the regime time, which is about the only thing Kim needs as much as money.

Fisher holds with other intelligence assessments that North Korea is a year away from being able to fully exploit their current nuclear and missile programs, combining them to create a nuclear ICBM capable of delivering a warhead to a target on the ground.

The Kim regime also needs time to finish building a larger submarine as well as perfect a submarine-launched missile that could pose a threat to Japan.

Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute and the author of the recent book Bully of Asia: Why Chinas Dream is the New Threat to World Order, thinks North Korea is buying, or rather bribing for, time.

From the American point of view, past negotiations with North Korea have accomplished nothing. From the North Korean point of view, however, they have accomplished precisely what they were intended to, Mosher said. They have bought North Korea the time and over a billion dollars in American aid from the Clinton and Bush administrations.

Now the regime is entering the stage where it can pair its missile and nuclear weapons programs together, Mosher says. It just needs more time and perhaps some money, neither of which are possible to obtain through force or further provocations. With no other option available, North Korea has to pull out its talk card.

And there is no country as ready and willing to talk to North Korea as South Korea. While Japan and the United States are both calling for a hard line on the Kim regime, South Korea remains more open and optimistic.

The sanctions are starting to bite, and Kim Jong Un is reaching out to the weakest link of the U.S.Japan and U.S.South Korean alliances, which is South Korea, he said.

Mosher agrees with Fisher that South Korea is moved by its natural sympathy for average North Koreans, people traumatized by the current regime. There is also the possibility that North Korean artillery could claim millions of lives in South Korea.

But while those sentiments may urge South Korea to make every possible effort at a diplomatic solution, Mosher says that all the while, North Korea will continue to feverishly build missiles and nuclear weapons.

The key to solving the North Korean dilemma will not be found in negotiations between North and South Korea, but in pressure by the U.S. on North Koreas sponsor, China, Mosher said. As long as Kim Jong Un is convinced that he enjoys Chinas quiet support, he has absolutely no reason to change his behavior.

That is doubly so as North Korea develops ICBMs capable of carrying the miniaturized nuclear warheads that the Kim regime is believed to already possess.

Mosher believes that President Donald Trumps forceful approach has given Kim pause and slowed North Korea missile tests.

But for a more lasting change, the United States needs to break the ChinaNorth Korea alliance. For China, North Korea is a boogeyman perfectly designed to distract the United States and waste U.S. military resources, Fisher says.

And should war break out, the United States would use up significant military and financial power, leaving it weakened and less able to defend its ally, Taiwan, from an attack by China. Therefore, another Korean war could potentially accelerate Chinas timeline for conquering Taiwan, Fisher says.

In Fishers view, the best solution to all of these problems is to reintroduce tactical nuclear weapons in Asia, which the Bush administration withdrew during earlier efforts to negotiate North Korea away from developing nuclear weapons.

With Bushs withdrawal approach clearly a failure, tactical nuclear weapons on Kims doorstep would do much to convince Kim, and China, that war is in no ones best interest.
Our bodies are subjected to one quintillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) times more electromagnetic radiation compared to just a decade ago, according to Olle Johansson, associate professor in neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.(jamesteohart/shutterstock)

The Dark Side of Wireless Technology

New film explores hidden health problems linked to constant connectivity

Wireless technology is modern magic. For the price of a device and a data plan, you are granted the power to communicate and connect to the World Wide Web through a pocket-sized screen. But some evidence suggests this magic has a dark side, and we may be paying more for it than we realize.

With an estimated 4.8 billion cellphone users worldwide, its hard to fathom that something so commonplace could pose health problems. Besides, since the 1990s, government and industry experts have maintained that cellphones are safe, and have pointed to studies that reveal no problems associated with wireless exposure.

Yet there is compelling evidence of harm. In 2015, an appeal letter to the United Nations signed by over 200 scientists from a group called International EMF Scientist wrote that the microwave radiation emitting from our phones and other wireless devices is proven to be harmful to humans and the environment. They pointed to effects such as cancer risk, a rise in harmful free radicals, genetic damage, structural and functional changes to the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and a negative impact on our general well-being.

In 2016, the National Toxicology Program released a report from its 16-year, $25 million study examining the health impacts of wireless radiation. The study, which aimed to give the government a conclusive answer as to whether or not the radiation emitted from cell phones can cause harm, found that it can cause brain tumors, heart tumors and DNA damage.

Scientists determined that the microwave field flowing from our phones is proven to be harmful to humans and the environment.

This conclusion comes as no surprise in much of the developed world, where public health officials have taken evidence of harm seriously for years. In the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Russia, and other nations, wireless usersespecially childrenare urged to minimize their exposure to microwave radiation.

But in the United States, public health officials have been hesitant to sound the alarm. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control issued a public statement urging caution with cellphone use, but retracted the statement just a few weeks later.

Last month, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released consumer guidelines on how to lessen exposure to wireless radiation, particularly for children, citing a possible link to harmful health conditions like cancer and lower sperm count. But it almost didnt happen. The CDPH made their recommendations several years ago, but refused to release them to the public until a lawsuit forced the agency to do so.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, an attorney defending the CDPHs decision to withhold the recommendations said the CDPH didnt want to cause unnecessary panic.

Generation Zapped

Filmmaker Sabine El Gemayel believes we deserve to have a better understanding of the health impact associated with wireless technology. Thats the mission of her new documentary, Generation Zapped.

I made the movie because no one would believe me, El Gemayel told The Epoch Times. But thats the power of media. When its well done, well documented, and doesnt go into conspiracy theories or fake news, then people listen to the information and are willing to make lifestyle changes for the health of their family.

But El Gemayel is having trouble getting her message to the public. Network representatives have expressed interest in distributing her film, but after consulting with their companies, the subject has often been deemed too damaging to their brand.

Network representatives have expressed interest in distributing her film, but after consulting with their companies, the subject has often been deemed too damaging to their brand.

Netflix, for instance, they do streaming, so theyre not going to show this film because of the nature of their business, El Gemayel said.

Generation Zapped features scientists who discuss the dangers regarding wireless exposure, and individuals who claim to have gotten sick from it. The film also tells the story of a powerful wireless industry that has shaped policy for decades, ensuring that their devices and the field that powers them receive little oversight or scrutiny.

Its like the tobacco, chemical, or pharmaceutical industries. They tell us this stuff is safe, and then, decades later, you find out that they were hiding all this evidence that it was causing us harm, said El Gemayel.

One of the experts featured in Generation Zapped is George Carlo, an industry scientist turned outspoken critic of wireless technology. In the 1990s, Carlo headed a $27 million research project funded by the cellphone industry to examine the health risks of these devices. The goal was to alleviate consumer fears that the technology might be harmful. But the story did not unfold as planned.

Carlos team found what has been echoed in many other studies: a correlation between cellphone emissions and DNA damage, as well as a slightly higher rate of brain tumors in cell users compared to non-users. But the industry dismissed Carlos findings and worked to discredit his reputation.

Through its lobbying power, the industry also managed to put the Federal Communications Commissionan agency with no previous experience in evaluating harm and health effectsin charge of cellphone safety.

The system is broken with regard to protecting consumers from wireless signals, Carlo said.

Microwave Sickness

Wireless technology communicates through a band of frequencies known as microwaves, named for their tiny wavelengths. All scientists agree that microwave exposure can damage our biology. The debate is about how much is necessary to cause illness.

The conventional notion regarding the safety of wireless rests on the assumption that only microwaves intense enough to cause a thermal reactionlike in a microwave ovenare considered harmful, says Carlo. Since wireless radiation falls below this thermal threshold, officials automatically consider these frequencies safe. As a result, cellphones were never subjected to premarket testing.

But many studies challenge this assumption. About 100 scientific reviews show that microwave exposure at nonthermal levels causes health effects.

Studies around the world have clearly shown that it is the nonthermal, indirect effects that are of most concern today, said Carlo.

When cellphones first emerged in the early 1980s, the pricey, brick-sized gadgets were restricted to a select few. Today, wireless is everywhere. Even if you are one of those few who doesnt carry a cellphone, youre still constantly exposed to microwave radiation emitting from Wi-Fi routers and cellphone towers, which saturate our environment in the name of good reception.

Even if you are one of those few who doesnt carry a cellphone, youre still constantly exposed to microwave radiation emitting from Wi-Fi routers and cellphone towers, which saturate our environment in the name of good reception.

According to Olle Johansson, associate professor in neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, our bodies are subjected to one quintillion times (1,000,000,000,000,000,000) more electromagnetic radiation today compared to just a decade ago.

But if this ubiquitous technology is really so harmful, why dont we see more problems related to it? According to Dafna Tachover, an attorney and founder of We are the Evidencean advocacy group dedicated to protecting those who have been injured by wireless radiationproof of health problems related to wireless is all around us. But the majority of doctors are blind to the signs.

Before Tachover studied law, she was a telecommunications officer, constantly on the computer. But soon after purchasing a new laptop in 2009, she fell ill with a variety of symptoms, such as a racing heart, sharp headaches, and an inability to concentrate. After six months, the symptoms became debilitating. Once she identified wireless as the problem, Tachover moved to the Catskill Mountains, where microwave radiation is minimal, and her symptoms disappeared.

Tachover has what is called electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), a controversial condition usually characterized by a host of nonspecific physical and dermatological symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, skin rashes, or burning sensations.

The World Health Organization has recognized EHS since 2005, but note the difficulty in measuring how widespread it is. Some studies estimate up to 10 percent of the population suffers from EHS, and project this figure to grow. In 2015, a woman in France won a lawsuit for disability benefits related to her EHS, in what is one of the first cases of its kind to be recognized in court.

Tachover rejects the EHS term. She prefers to use microwave sickness, a term used by the military 60 years ago when soldiers in both the United States and Russia developed neurological symptoms after prolonged exposure to radar.

But Tachover rejects the EHS term. She prefers to use microwave sickness, a term used by the military 60 years ago when soldiers in both the United States and Russia developed neurological symptoms after prolonged exposure to radar.

By calling it a sensitivity, you just describe the person that has it, rather than focusing on the environment that is making people sick, Tachover said.

Symptoms of microwave sickness include headaches, heart palpitations, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, and more. But Tachover says that most people who experience signs of microwave sickness dont think to associate it with wireless technology.

I talked to a hotel manager recently who noted that every time he used his cellphone, his hands became paralyzed, she said. But he never thought he should stop using it. He was still waiting for the government to tell him that its harmful.

Consumer Demand for Safer Tech

Although we lived comfortably without cellphones just a few decades ago, wireless has become a way of life. There are lots of frivolous applications, but many of our livelihoods now depend on cellphone access, and a wireless network has become an indispensable tool for countless industries.

But theres no reason we need to be bathed in microwave radiation 24/7. One clear takeaway from Generation Zapped is that there are simple, painless habits we can adopt to substantially reduce our microwave exposure, such as turning your phone to airplane mode when not in use, or turning off your Wi-Fi router before bed.

Carlo believes there is a way that wireless technology and human biology can peacefully coexist, we just need the impetus to initiate it.

Carlo believes there is a way that wireless technology and human biology can peacefully coexist, we just need the impetus to initiate it.

The industry responds to what people want in their gadgets: more data, faster downloads, more pixels, he said. But there is not an incentive toward changing the signal forms, for example, so that these biological cascades are not triggered.

El Gemayel believes her film can help foster the demand for safer technology, but only if people see it. With no distribution network, the film has only been shown in small community viewings.

But one recent screening could help significantly amplify the impact of her film. In December, Generation Zapped was featured at the Silicon Valley International Film Festival, a private festival for Google employees.

Its an accomplishment for me, because the movie is showing right where the technology is invented, El Gemayel said. These are the guys who can make the difference.
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (not pictured) during a bilateral meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on May 16, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Wu Hong-Pool/Getty Images)

The Outlook on Chinas One Belt, One Road

Massive bid to link Eurasia under Beijings geopolitical aegis encounters setbacks

News Analysis

Wielding wealth and industrial might second only to the United States, the Chinese regime has employed imagery of the ancient Silk Road as part of a vision to take center stage in economic and political influence across Asia and Europe.

One Belt, One Road (OBOR), also known as the Belt and Road Initiative, has been a cornerstone of Chinese leader Xi Jinpings foreign policy since he became the head of the Communist Party in 2013. In the last few years, Beijing has invested hundreds of billions of dollars, and has called to mobilize up to $5 trillion, in energy, transport, and port projects in partnerships with scores of countries over the next five years.

Covering more than 60 nations, OBOR projects so far have had mixed results. On the one hand, pumping billions of dollars into developing (or struggling) economies has obvious diplomatic benefits.

But it is yet to be seen whether China will be able to collect payment for the massive loans it is offering among less affluent and potentially unstable states, and even Beijings close allies have been hesitant to fully commit to OBOR.

Chinese companies are spearheading a $5 billion high-speed rail line in Laos.

In November 2017, Pakistan withdrew from a $14 billion investment that government representatives said was against our interests. A few days earlier, Nepal canceled a $2.5 billion hydroelectric plant being built by a Chinese state-run company as part of One Belt, One Road. Burma (also known as Myanmar) ended a similar plan, saying that it was no longer interested in hydroelectric dams.

OBOR consists of six proposed land-based economic corridorscollectively termed the Economic Silk Roadradiating out from China to central, south, and southeast Asia, as well as Siberia. It also includes a Maritime Silk Road that links Chinese ports with destinations on Indian Ocean coasts as far as eastern Africa.

Buying Influence

International scrutiny of OBORs economic feasibility has been paired with concerns that its driver, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is attempting to buy political allegiances to consolidate its geostrategic position. In an era where the CCP professes to avoid exporting communist revolution, generous offers for ambitious projects like dams and high-speed rail lines seem geared to align the interests of local governments with Beijings long-term aims.

The Trump administrations National Security Strategy, released Dec. 18, called for the United States to recognize and check the efforts of China and Russia to whittle away at the post-Cold War international order traditionally maintained by U.S. economic strength, rule of law, and military supremacy.

Our adversaries will not fight us on our terms. We will raise our competitive game to meet that challenge, to protect American interests, and to advance our values, the paper stated, while noting that China and Russia target their investments in the developing world to expand influence and gain competitive advantages against the United States.

In July 2016, an international court ruled that the Chinese regimes territorial claims in the South China Sea were baseless. But in the Philippines, which has the greatest spatial disputes with China and introduced the arbitration three years prior, the election of President Rodrigo Duterte brought a shift in Manilas stance.

The Philippines is part of OBORs Maritime Silk Road and stands to benefit from the billions of dollars Chinese investment could bring to the island nations transport and energy grid.

According to the PhilStar Global, this relationship emphasizes the importance of taking a quieter stance on our sovereign rights as the key to gaining greater benefits overall.

After the arbitration on the South China Sea, Dutertewho has made a name for himself by insulting foreign leaders and cracking down on drug traders and users with deadly forcesuggested that the Philippines would work directly with Beijing to resolve their territorial disputes.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Chinese companies are spearheading a $5 billion high-speed rail line in Laos and have put a combined $20 billion into the Melaka Gateway of artificial islands and a coastal rail line in Malaysia. Similar projects exist in Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

In December 2017, the government of Sri Lanka agreed to lease the strategic Indian Ocean port of Hambantota to China for 99 years. The decision was helped along by the inability to pay off $8 billion in debts Sri Lanka owed Chinese state-owned enterprises.

New Silk Road or Road to Nowhere?

Around 2,000 years ago, armies of the Han Dynasty pacified nomad tribes and opened up the Silk Road, creating trade links through Central Asia that brought the splendors of Chinese civilization as far as the Roman Empire.

OBORs economic corridors through Russia and Central Asia aim ultimately at Europe, facilitating overground trade and putting Beijing in the good graces of local authorities. Kazakhstan and other post-Soviet Central Asian states are heavily invested in OBOR and form the focal point in Beijings east-west ambitions.

Russia suffers from chronically antagonistic relations with NATO and the European Union, and has often turned to China for support. The two countries are strong trade partners and Moscow has expressed enthusiasm for OBOR. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the project had paved the way for a new stage of cooperation in Eurasia.

Despite the low-intensity conflict between Russia and Ukraine over the latters eastern regions, China has also courted Kiev. China has announced plans to spend $7 billion to develop transport infrastructure in Ukraine and sees the country of 45 million as an important stepping stone to Europe.

According to Franklin Holcomb, a Russia and Ukraine analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, in an interview with the Daily Signal, an acceptable end state for both countries would likely be a Ukraine that is under Russian political and military influence, is being rebuilt with Chinese funds, and serves as a conduit for Chinese influence to Europe, where Western influence is minimized.

Despite the recent Sino-Russian cooperation on the northern flank of OBOR, the project seems to be progressing at a glacial pace. The endeavor, as noted in an article published in October 2017 by the Diplomat, enjoys little real development and is hampered by the bureaucratic and financial realities in Russias infrastructure sector.

The presence of strong, independent, or pro-U.S. powersparticularly India, Australia, and Japanalso presents a conundrum for the Chinese regime, with much of OBORs overland and maritime Silk Road projects centered on South and Southeast Asia.

In December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged India to support OBOR, which it has been boycotting in large part due to how much it involves Pakistan, a long-time Chinese ally. New Delhi protests the fact that a portion of the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor runs through the disputed Kashmir region.

Adding to Chinas, and by extension OBORs, financial worries is the recent U.S. tax cut. The reform, which Beijing vehemently criticized, puts pressure on the top-heavy Chinese economic structure that favors a collection of big state firms over the private sector.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) speaks to reporters after finishing a speech on the Senate floor on March 11, 2014. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Trump Calls Out Sen. Feinstein for Leaking Fusion GPS Transcript

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called out Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) for leaking the transcript of a closed-door hearing the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson.

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!, President Trump wrote on Twitter.

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

Feinstein has on multiple occasions publicly stated that there is no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Fusion GPS is currently being investigated by the Senate Judiciary Committee for the controversial dossier it produced on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 elections.

Fusion GPS hired former British spy Christopher Steele to produce the report, which contained unverified allegations against Trump.

The 35-page report, marked as classified, relies almost exclusively on Kremlin-linked sources. These include a senior Kremlin official, a senior official in the Russian Foreign Ministry, and a former top-level Russian intelligence officer still active in the Kremlin.

Fusion GPS then leaked the salacious claims made by the Russian sources to intelligence agencies in the United States and the UK, to politicians, and to media organizations.

The company also paid several journalists who reported on Russia matters during the same time frame.

A separate investigation by the House Intelligence Committee led by chairman Devin Nunes is trying to establish whether opposition research from Fusion GPS on Trump formed the basis of the FBIs investigation into allegations that Trumps campaign colluded with Russia.

The FBI opened its investigation in July 2016, the same month that Christopher Steele, a former British spy hired by Fusion GPS to write the Trump Dossier, talked to the FBI.

The leak of the transcript by Feinstein comes as Fusion GPS embarks on a PR campaign, including publishing an op-ed in The New York Times, in which it tries to salvage the claims in its report and to deny its report was the foundation for the FBIs investigation.

In an op-ed piece published in The Times on Jan. 2, Fusion GPS co-founders Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch write that they dont believe the Steele dossier was the trigger for the FBIs investigation into Russian meddling.

A revelation that the Russia collusion investigation was sparked by the dossier, a piece of opposition research paid for by the Clinton campaign and the DNC, would prove to be a massive scandal.

The House intelligence committee is also establishing whether the FBI investigation was then used by the Obama administration to obtain a court warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to spy on the Trump campaign and transition team.

The leak of the transcript by Feinstein also comes after Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) referred Christopher Steele to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal investigation.

The referral to the DOJ was made over potential false statements to investigators over the distribution of the information contained in the dossier.

I dont take lightly making a referral for criminal investigation. But, as I would with any credible evidence of a crime unearthed in the course of our investigations, I feel obliged to pass that information along to the Justice Department for appropriate review, Grassley said in a statement.

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Two Men Detained After Criticizing Police Officer Who Beat Dog to Death

Two men were detained after they took to the internet to criticize a police officer for beating a dog to death in public.

Footage of a police officer in China beating a tied-up golden retriever to death with a thick wooden pole in front of a horrified crowd has gone viral. Numerous pictures and videos of the scene were posted on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter around the New Year.

Heartbroken for this poor dog.The lack of care & understanding shown by this monster exposes a deep phycosis he needs therapy. Tied-up golden retriever beaten to death by policeman in street https://t.co/QBnPg9YaDh  Peter Egan (@PeterEgan6) January 7, 2018

The brutal attack on the dog sparked fury among web users causing multiple people to criticize the police officer.

A 24-year-old man was arrested and given a five-day detention for releasing a photograph and personal details of the police officer. On the same day, a 26-year-old man was also given the same punishment for openly insulting the police officer, according to a police statement on Jan. 7.

Both men are from Changsha Municipal City, the capital of Hunan Province.

The footage shows the animal being severely beaten over the course of three hours and eventually dying as onlookers stood by.

Along with lambasting the police officer, many social media users also expressed outrage at the onlookers for not stopping the attack on the dog.

Chinese society continues to be tightly controlled by the Party and many Chinese people fear the repercussions of speaking up against violence and police brutality.

There are an increasing amount of Chinese social media users reporting on events that expose police brutality and how the Chinese regime has utter disregard for life. Under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the lack of freedom of speech and freedom of expression means that anyone speaking out against the government or police can end up imprisoned and even subjected to torture.

The dog was tied to a barrier in the middle of the street. The owner of the animal was not present at the time of the beatings.

A police spokesperson later said the officer didnt shoot the dog because he feared the bullet would ricochet and hit a person. The dog became a target after he allegedly bit two pedestrians, reported the Mirror.

Police said they are still investigating other suspects for criticizing the police officer and warned people to make complaints through a reasonable and legal way, according to the statement.

Janita Kan contributed to this report.

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A unit of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force honor guard holds national flags for a visiting U.S. Army general at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo on Oct. 28, 2011. (KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

US Finalizes Deal To Sell Japan Defensive Missiles

The United States is preparing to sell Japan anti-ballistic missiles that can be used on land or on AEGIS-class destroyers, according to a spokesperson in the State Department.

The administration notified Congress of the proposed sale on Jan. 9, looking for final approval on a deal that will see Japan buy four SM-3 Block IIA missiles four MK 29 missile canisters, and other technical, engineering and logistics support services.

The deal is worth $133.3 million and will boost Japans Maritime Self Defense Forces (JMSDF) ability to defend Japan and the Western Pacific from ballistic missile threats in line with U.S. foreign policy and national security interests, said the spokesperson.

It will bolster the security of a major treaty ally that has been, and continues to be, a force for political stability and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region, said the spokesperson

The deal will improve Japans ability to work with U.S. missile defense systems and protect U.S. military bases in the region while creating U.S. defense jobs and supporting the health of the U.S. defense industrial base.

It would also follow through on President Trumps commitment to provide additional defensive capabilities to treaty allies threatened by the DPRKs [North Koreas] provocative behavior.

The sale comes as North and South Korea hold talks to navigate North Koreas entry into the Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea from Feb. 9 to Feb. 25. Those talks are also purportedly aimed at lessening military tensions on the peninsula.

Japan has faced a series of threats from North Korea that have gone beyond calls in North Korean state media to bomb Japan into the sea. North Korea has twice flown two ballistic missile tests over Japanese territory and landed its last ICBM test on Nov. 28 in the Sea of Japan within 200 nautical miles of the Japanese coast.

Japan announced its decision to expand its ballistic missile defenses in December using U.S. systems, including the ground-based Aegis radar and interceptor missiles.

The Aegis system is geared towards intermediate-range ballistic missiles. North Korea is believed to have many such missiles, the largest single threat North Korea poses to Japan besides a nuclear-tipped Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). ICBMs travel higher and faster and are more difficult to defend against. The Aegis system is not designed to intercept such missiles.

A source familiar with Japans ballistic missile defense plans told Reuters in December that Japans plan to build two Aegis Ashore batteries will cost at least $2 billion without the missiles and wont be operational until 2023 or later.

U.S. and Japanese military officials have been in constant communication since the current North Korean nuclear crisis heated up after North Korea tested its most powerful nuclear bomb yet on Sept 3, 2017.

A Pentagon statement on the most recent call between Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Japanese Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera on Jan. 9 says the two condemned North Koreas reckless and unlawful behavior.

They discussed the importance of maximizing pressure on North Korea so it changes its path, refrains from provocative and threatening actions and makes a strategic decision to abandon its nuclear and missile programs, said Dana White, the Pentagons chief spokesperson.

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Granite Oil Corp. engages in the exploration for, exploitation, development, and production of oil and natural gas in Canada. The company holds a 98% working interest in the Alberta Bakken properties covering 56,409 net undeveloped acres and 72,652 net developed acres with 68.0 net oil wells and 83.0 net gas wells located in southern Alberta. The company was formerly known as DeeThree Exploration Ltd. and changed its name to Granite Oil Corp. in May 2015. Granite Oil Corp. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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14 hours ago

| September 5th | 2021 3:01 AM

Do we need humans for that job? Automation booms after COVID

Ask for a roast beef sandwich at an Arbys drive-thru east of Los Angeles and you may be talking to Tori  an artificially intelligent voice assistant that will take your order and send it to the line cooks. It doesnt call sick, says Amir Siddiqi, whose family installed the AI voice at its Arbys franchise this year in Ontario, California.
SHANGHAIWith an advanced screen, a special artificial-intelligence microchip and an eye-popping price, the newest smartphone from Huawei Technologies was meant to show Americans what China can do with technology.

Instead, Huaweis push to sell the phone in the United States has suddenly lost a powerful backer  and the push has attracted some unwanted scrutiny from Washington.

AT&T walked away from a deal to sell the Huawei smartphone, the Mate 10, to customers in the United States just before the partnership was set to be unveiled, said two people familiar with the plans, who spoke Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because the discussions were not public. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that AT&T had changed plans.

Read more: Huawei, LG hope to fill Samsung smartphone void

The reasons that led to AT&Ts shift were not entirely clear. But last month, a group of lawmakers wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission expressing misgivings about a potential deal between Huawei and an unnamed U.S. telecommunications company to sell its consumer products in the United States. It cited long-standing concerns among some lawmakers about what they said are Huaweis ties to the Chinese government.

The letter, which was reviewed by The New York Times, said Congress has long been concerned about Chinese espionage in general, and Huaweis role in that espionage in particular.

While the letter did not mention AT&T, its pending deal to sell the Huawei smartphone in the United States had been widely reported.

Fletcher Cook, a spokesperson for AT&T, declined to comment.

Huawei, a private company, has long denied that it presents security risks. In a statement, Huawei said that it had delivered premium devices with integrity globally and in the U.S. market over the past five years, adding that it would introduce new products for the U.S. market Tuesday.

The last-minute disruption is the latest in a long line of setbacks for Huawei, which has struggled for years with political opposition to its efforts to tap the hugely valuable U.S. market. More broadly, it underscores a deepening political rift over issues of technology, user privacy and security  a rift that adds to a brewing trade dispute between the worlds two largest economies.

Huawei has been counting on the Mate 10 to compete with Apples high-end iPhones, in a test of the potential appeal of a Chinese brand in the U.S. market. While Huawei has long sold budget phones, some Mate 10 versions cost $900 (U.S.) or more without subsidies from phone carriers.

Huawei sells smartphones in the United States, but it does not have smartphone deals with any of the major wireless carriers in the country. Those carriers  Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile  dominate the market, making it more difficult for Huawei to get a foothold in the country. The AT&T deal was supposed to cement the companys status as a top maker of the devices, alongside Apple and Samsung Electronics of South Korea.

Congressional misgivings about the companys close relationship with the Chinese government have long plagued Huawei. Already, other major telecommunications companies refuse to buy the equipment Huawei makes for telecommunications networks  its core business  because of worries in Washington over security.

In the letter, the lawmakers said that Huawei had ties to the Chinese Communist Party, as well as to the countrys intelligence and security services, and they accused Huawei of disregarding intellectual property. In particular, the letter implies that the deal with AT&T could more firmly establish Huawei phones in the United States, and ultimately open up the possibility of U.S. government officials using them.

Analysts said the political opposition to Huawei was not surprising. Leaders in China and the United States view technology made in the other country with suspicion. In policy guidance and speeches, Chinese officials have repeatedly called for technology made by U.S. companies to be replaced by locally produced ones. Beijing has also widely blocked major U.S. internet companies from offering products in the country.

U.S. lawmakers have stated their suspicions before. In 2012, a House intelligence committee report said two Chinese companies, including Huawei, were a threat to U.S. national security.

For a Chinese company that has pushed hard to become a recognized multinational player, the setback is only one of many in the United States. Huawei is also under investigation by the Treasury and Commerce departments over whether it broke U.S. trade sanctions against countries including Iran and North Korea. Huawei says it is committed to complying with the law.

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MOREMI GAME RESERVE, BOTSWANA  Mary is a shy, 20-something-year-old vegetarian from Zimbabwe. Shes expecting her first child, shes a lover of the outdoors, and if she stepped on a scale without breaking it in half, she would weigh in at approximately 860 kilograms.

Seventeen years ago, neither Mary the black rhinoceros nor any of her kind could be found in the wilds of Botswana. Yet she, along with an impressive group of her species, are now thriving in the countrys Moremi Game Reserve thanks to major efforts by Rhino Conservation Botswana, its dedicated partner Sanctuary Retreats and two enthusiastic young conservation officers.

They are like our children, conservation officer Kandu (known by his first name only, due to safety reasons) says when asked if hes chosen a favourite rhino of the lot. We are happy when we see any of them.

Today, Kandu and his co-officer, Olly, have risen before dawn, as they do every day, to track down wild rhinos in the 2,000 square kilometres of reserve terrain on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta in Northern Botswana.

The goal of each excursion, which guests of Sanctuary Retreats Chiefs Camp are invited to participate in, is to seek out the small number of white and black rhinos that have been released into the area recently and document their movements, well-being and, perhaps most importantly, their social behaviour.

Chiefs Camp, a safari retreat in the Mombo Concession of the Moremi Game Reserve, promptly joined forces with the organization and hired the two officers to monitor the areas rhinos full-time.

We had a black rhino charge our vehicle a few months ago, mentions Olly casually, as he makes a note of Marys geographical co-ordinates in his notebook. It started dragging its horn on the ground, and then came at us full-force before stopping at the last second.

Was the 34-year-old scared when the massive animal, which could easily destroy the open-air research jeep, came barrelling in his direction?

No, answers Olly, I was happy.

Those are behaviours we like to see, he says, explaining that this type of display proves the naturally defensive mammal was finding its place in the wild. Also, were still learning about the rhinos ourselves, and its much better to see those things practically than to just talk about it to others.

Today, we are lucky to have found Mary early on in our drive, with the help of a static-fuelled call from another Sanctuary Retreats guide whos spotted her out on a game drive. She is browsing the trees and bushes about half an hour out from our Chiefs Camp base. Its almost 20 C out despite being 7:30 a.m., and the colouring on Marys swollen belly indicates shes helped herself to an early morning mud bath.

The air is heavy with the scent of wild sage. The dry, sub-Saharan landscape is stone-still apart from the flybys of insects and the tail flick of a leopard we see relaxing by a nearby tree. We approach the massive female from our knees, at a distance of nine metres, when the conservation duo is able to confirm that she is, in fact, Mary, by noting the three unique notches on her right ear.

Unfortunately, there is a belief that has grown that a rhinos horn cures cancer, Kandu says, pointing out the massive accessory between Marys eyes that has doomed her kind to near-extinction.

The conservation officers go on to explain that despite zero-tolerance poaching laws, the continent is facing a poaching epidemic, with an estimated three rhinos a day still being poached in South Africa. It was poaching alone that rendered the black rhino locally extinct in Botswana, after the species enjoyed an extensive history in the country.

With the support of the Botswana government, Rhino Conservation Botswana took up the enormously costly and complex task in November 2001 of beginning to translocate vulnerable rhinos from South Africa and Zimbabwe into the Okavanga Delta  a land which is both ideal for rhinos and one that is virtually unreachable by poachers.

There is lush grass here and many bushes, Kandu says, We are in between The Delta, with rivers over the side and in between. Were very protected.

We are very shy of giving away the numbers of rhinos we now have here, because that sometimes encourages poachers, Kandu says. I would say that we have more white rhinos than black rhinos, and we know white rhinos are doing very well because we have seen young ones.

When the guides decide its time to leave Mary to her bush-centric breakfast, we drive the half-hour out to the bomas, or livestock enclosures, where translocated rhinos are monitored for two weeks before being released into the wild.

Today, the bomas are quiet and empty, but on the occasion that a new rhino arrives in the Moremi Game Reserve via C130 cargo jet, the area comes alive with locals, journalists, and resort guests who observe. Members of the areas antipoaching units and rhino conservation representatives stand on guard for the animals 24 hours a day.

Its amazing to see them that close, says Olly, who was present for a rhino delivery and eventual release in 2015. It was such a happy moment, when the rhino went out into nature. Even for some local people who came, it was their first time ever seeing a rhino.

Heading back to Chiefs Camp, we search for more rhinos by keeping an eye out for their dung piles, or middens. Im told that these are communication tools for the animals, and can indicate where they soon may return.

Tracks in the sand also are closely examined  with those of rhinos showing hooks in the padded stamp of their hooves. There are GPS anklets on some of the rhinos used to collect data on their movements, but the conservation officers prefer to locate them through natural methods.

Some years back, elephants used to be hunted all the time, Kandu says, stopping at a midden to examine its freshness. We introduced a very strong antipoaching campaign, and because of this, the population is very high. We are trying to replicate that with the rhinos.

Continuing back to home base, our jeep is in plain sight of many giraffes, buffaloes, zebra, and elephants, but Mary proves to be our only rhino find of the day. Kandu and Olly drop me off at camp with the hopeful thought that in the long term, rhinos will be as easy to spot as any of the species who saturate this vast, sun-drenched landscape.

Later that same afternoon, on a separate game drive, the jeep Im riding in will be briefly mock-charged by a bull elephant, whose forested territory we have accidentally encroached upon.

The four-metre giant will stamp heavily and trumpet at us after appearing suddenly from the thick bush on the left side of our vehicle, which in turn sends leaves and dust flying into the air before he retreats quickly back to his herd in an instinctual moment of self-protection.

At the time, I will fail to sustain a small scream and silently, perhaps melodramatically, count myself lucky to have survived within the confines of my vehicle. But I will also remember quickly how lucky I have been to witness the natural order of things in the Botswana bush, and to have seen these animals at all in my lifetime.

Liz Beddall was hosted by Sanctuary Retreats and The Africa Adventure Company, which did not review or approve this story.

When you go:

Get there: I flew with KLM from Toronto to Johannesburg, with a brief layover in Amsterdam. I then flew from Johannesburg to Botswana via South African Airways and arrived at each of Sanctuary Retreats three Botswana camps via the companys private charter flights.

Stay: In Moremi Game Reserve, I stayed at Chiefs Camp, which is Sanctuary Retreats flagship property. The 10-lodge camp has reopened recently after a massive renovation and offers exceptionally luxurious services and accommodations in Okavanga Delta, an area known as the predator capital of Africa. I also spent time at Sanctuarys Chobe Chilwero Lodge in Chobe National Park and Sanctuary Baines Camp in the Okavanga Delta.

Do your research: rhinoconservationbotswana.com, africa-adventure.com
OTTAWACanada is ready for another surge of migrants, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says, but the U.S. order to lift residency protections for nearly 200,000 people from El Salvador doesnt mean a new wave will inevitably come.

Hussen made the comments Tuesday after he met with a panel of federal and provincial ministers assembled last year to deal with a spike of thousands of asylum seekers who crossed into Canada from the U.S., including thousands of Haitians who walked across the border last May after Washington announced it would lift their temporary residency status.

Hussen played down the prospect of a similar surge of Salvadorans in the coming months, crediting government moves that include an ongoing push to inform U.S. communities that Canada isnt automatically welcoming, as well as efforts to speed up the process of determining whether people crossing irregularly are eligible to make asylum claims.

Were prepared, Hussen said. We continue to be prepared domestically to engage and make sure that we respond even better the next time theres an influx  if theres an influx.

The Trump administration announced Monday that it would end a 17-year special government program that allowed tens of thousands of Salvadorans to temporarily live and work in the country. Washington said the program will remain in place until September 2019 to allow people to arrange for their departure from the U.S. or to find a legal way to stay in the country.

Hussen said this 18-month grace period will give people time to apply for different types of residency status instead of coming to Canada.

We expect that a lot of them will do that, he said. These are people with deep roots in communities in the United States.

This is a population that were already engaging as part of our outreach efforts and well continue to engage.

Jean-Pierre Fortin, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, which represents Canadas border agents, said Ottawa has no reason to believe another influx isnt coming. He said that, even in the midst of the extreme cold in late December and early January, 50 to 60 people were crossing by foot into Quebec each day. On New Years Eve, there were 127, he said.

All the factors are there to see a significant increase.

Mondays decision in the U.S. comes after Washingtons move last year to end access to the same program for almost 60,000 Haitians. That announcement preceded a surge of asylum seekers from the country, particularly in Quebec, according to government figures.

The wave strained social services and forced officials to temporarily house migrants on cots in Montreals Olympic Stadium. The federal government also brought in the military to set up tents at the border, dispatched MPs to U.S. cities in an effort to curb the flow of migrants, and instructed its 13 consulates across the U.S. to put out the word that Canada isnt a sure bet for asylum.

Data released last November, for example, showed that Haitians crossing into Canada between February and October 2017 had the lowest asylum acceptance rate of any population: 17 per cent.

There is also a backlog of claims before the Immigration and Refugee Board. Anna Pape, the boards senior communications adviser, said Tuesday that the projected wait time for a refugee hearing has jumped to about 18 months from 16 months last September.
CALGARYThe Calgary Police Service has charged a Los Angeles man in a hoax last month that caused tactical teams to descend on an apartment building for a report of a shooting and hostage taking that turned out to be bogus.

Acting Duty Insp. Peter Siegenthaler said theres a good indication that the accused  Tyler Raj Barriss  is the same man charged in a similar incident six days later that led police in Wichita, Kan., to fatally shoot an unarmed man.

Calgary police have charged Barriss, 25, with public mischief for falsely reporting an offence, fraud for providing false information by letter or telecommunication and mischief.

A man with the same name, age and city of residence has been charged in Kansas with making a false alarm. He waived his right to an extradition hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court last week.

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Gamers say they hope whoever made fatal Kansas swatting call is convicted of crime

California man arrested in case of prank SWAT call that led to fatal police shooting in Kansas

Prank led officers to a house where Kansas man was shot and killed, police say

A prank call led to 28-year-old Andrew Finch's death on Dec. 29. Someone called in a false report of a hostage situation that sent police to Finch's home. The prank is known as "swatting." (The Associated Press)

In both the Calgary and Wichita cases, police say a man called 911 purporting that hed shot his father and that he was holding his mother and a sibling at gunpoint. When someone makes a phoney emergency call aimed at sending tactical officers to a certain location, its known as swatting.

Siegenthaler said swatting calls can put the public and officers at risk and tie up police resources.

He said its frustrating.

We have to take these calls seriously and we have to take them at face value based on the information that we receive.

Siegenthaler said a man called 911 on Dec. 22 claiming he had shot his father and was holding his mom and younger brother hostage. He gave an address.

This call concerned us because it was very specific and it sounded very real, said Siegenthaler.

Patrol and tactical officers were on the scene quickly and they began evacuating nearby apartment units. While police were trying to confirm what happened, another 911 call came from a woman at the same address.

The woman told police she believed she was the victim of a swatting call, based on something a person told her online. Siegenthaler said she had contact with Barriss earlier in the day, but did not elaborate on their relationship.

Police said they believe the woman was targeted because of her online persona. But Siegenthaler said victims are often random and pranksters have even been known to target movie stars.

He said its not difficult for someone to figure out how to make a 911 call to a different city.

Siegenthaler said its unlikely that Barriss will be extradited to Canada, but that he would be arrested if he entered the country.

He said Barriss wasnt on the Calgary Police Services radar until after the death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch in Wichita on Dec. 28.

Someone made a similar shooting-and-hostage-taking report at Finchs address and officers surrounded the home.

Finch was fatally shot by police after he answered the door.

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MONTREALThe son of deceased Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zara Kazemi wants German authorities to bring criminal charges against a senior Iranian cleric who is in the country for medical treatment, the Star has learned.

A coalition of humanitarian organizations is collecting evidence of the alleged injustices authorized and overseen by Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi while he was head of the Iranian judiciary between 1999 and 2009, a span that includes the imprisonment, torture, rape and killing of Kazemi, a Montreal-based photojournalist, in July 2003.

Shahroudi is receiving medical treatment for a reported brain tumour at a hospital in Hanover, Germany  a fact that had been kept secret until it was revealed by Iranian exiles and confirmed by the German government this week.

For over a decade, Shahroudi presided over widespread, systematic human rights abuses, of which the Kazemi case is just one instance, said Payam Akhavan, a professor of international law at McGill University and a former United Nations prosecutor.

Thousands of political dissidents, journalists, bloggers, human rights lawyers have gone through the revolutionary justice system and ended up in the torture chambers or on the gallows, and all under the direction of Mr. Shahroudi as head of the judiciary.

The hope is that Germanys justice ministry will agree to charge Shahroudi with crimes against humanity before he leaves the country.

Stephan Hashemi, Kazemis son, told the Star on Tuesday that he has written to the German government expressing his desire to see charges laid and offering his assistance to prosecutors should it be required.

He has also urged Canadian authorities to intervene.

My mother was unlawfully detained, brutally interrogated, tortured and killed by the Iranian regime. None of the individuals responsible for these unforgivable crimes have ever been held to account, he said in a statement.

This is an important first step toward a certain justice for my mother and for the overwhelming number of other individuals who were tortured, raped and killed by this regime.

Germany is already facing sharp criticism over its decision to let Shahroudi into the country to receive medical care. Iranian dissidents have protested outside the hospital.

Volker Beck of Germanys Green Party said he, too, has filed a criminal complaint, alleging that Shahroudi is complicit in mass-murder activity.

Germany should not be a sanctuary for such people, who in their country persecute people for political or religious reasons and threaten them with death, Beck said, according to The National, a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates. The Iranian regime persecutes women, homosexuals, ethnic minorities and atheists.

The Reuters news agency quoted a spokesperson for the German prosecutors office as saying: The complaint has been received and it is being examined.

Akhavan said Ottawa should also push diplomatically for Shahroudis arrest.

The man who was implicated (in Kazemis death), Saeed Mortazavi, was basically the direct subordinate of Mr. Shahroudi, he said.

Mortazavi was a prosecutor with the Islamic Revolutionary Court and was accused by the Iranian parliament in 2003 of trying to cover up details of Kazemis death and intimidating witnesses to change their stories.

A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada could not comment on the governments involvement in, or support of, the initiative to bring charges against Shahroudi.

The point is that Canada should be on top of this, Akhavan said. One of its citizens was brutally raped and tortured and murdered, and Canada should have been the first to request Shahroudis arrest and extradition.

Instead, he said, it has been left to an international group of volunteers to assemble the testimony and documentation needed to support a charge of crimes against humanity.

We have a number of highly credible witnesses that have direct familiarity with the role of Mr. Shahroudi presiding over the revolutionary courts that sent numerous victims to torture chambers and the gallows, Akhavan said. The evidence is there, but were gathering it in an awful hurry.

Supporting the request to the German government, he said, is a statement from 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, Irans first female judge, who was celebrated for her work as a democracy and human rights campaigner in the country.

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MONTREALConcordia University has launched a formal investigation into allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour involving male faculty members and female students.

School president Alan Shepard made the announcement Wednesday, two days after a blog post by Mike Spry, a Concordia graduate, that spoke of witnessing innumerable instances of unwanted affection, groping, inappropriate remarks and propositions in the creative writing program during his time at the school.

However the allegations of sexual assault, improper relationships between professors and teachers and other questionable behaviour have been circulating among students and have been recounted in published essays going back several years. Many former students have described the problems as an open secret at the school.

Ive been reading that its an open secret but it was not an open secret to me, Shepard said. I wasnt aware and if I had been aware I would have acted sooner.

In addition to probing the specific allegations of wrongdoing, Shephard has directed high-ranking administratorsthe dean of arts and science, the deputy provost and the vice-provost of faculty relationsto meet this week with students, faculty and staff in the Concordia writing program to discuss systemic issues and ensure there is a safe and secure environment for all.

These are complicated matters and we have to proceed with care. Peoples lives are affected by these negative experiences and the people who are facing accusations also deserve due process, he said. We take the allegations seriously. Its not the case that were trying to sweep anything under the rug.

Toronto poet Emma Healey wrote in 2014 about a harrowing experience with an older male faculty member whom she had dated for about a year while a student at Concordia. After crossing paths with him again at a bar, she wrote that he walked her home and forced himself on her.

I remember his hands around my wrists. I remember him saying, Youre not telling me you dont want to, she wrote.

The Star has spoken to other women who have detailed alleged abuse and inappropriate behaviour by male faculty at Concordia, but who asked not to be identified.

Award-winning Montreal author Heather ONeill, who studied at Concordia two decades ago, said she was harassed by a professor.

Just to show that this is not something that you can pinpoint on a few professors  its endemic and systematic within Concordias creative writing program and I do not believe theres a single professor there who doesnt know whats happening, she said in an interview with the Canadian Press.

She was reluctant to come forward as a young female writer.

I didnt want to start my career by attacking these older, white men who had platforms and were very well connected, ONeill said.

As a young woman . . . I would say I was vulnerable to these forms of abuse. I didnt even realize how wrong it was.

Influential Toronto editor and bookseller Martha Sharpe said she was outraged to hear about the allegations of wrongdoing at Concordias Creative Writing program.

Its your entrance to the industry and to think that its being marred by this ridiculous behaviour just sickens me, she said in an interview.

Speaking of the alleged behaviour by male writers, she said: Theyre teachers, theyre professors, theyre in academic institutions. There should be no tolerance.

Like many others in the Canadian literary community, Sharpe said she read Healeys 2014 essay about her experience as a student and assumed that the problem had been or would be dealt with.

I just sort of figured that since it was out there and people in the know knew who she was talking about, that that person would have been confronted and called to account and to atone or something. I couldnt believe that he was still employed by the university, she said.

Shepard, the Concordia president since 2012, refused to say if any employees of the school have been suspended pending the investigation, citing privacy concerns. He told reporters he had no idea of the problems that have been alleged.

I wasnt aware and if I had been aware I would have acted sooner, he said.

Sharpe is calling on editors, publishers and book sellers like herself to exert influence and change behaviours in the industry.

She was not the only member of the literary community to condemn the alleged activities at Concordia.

Alana Wilcox, the editorial director of Toronto publisher Coach House Books, said she was shocked by the developments.

We strongly condemn that kind of behaviour, she said. We would never knowingly publish a sexual predator.

Correction  January 11, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Emma Healeys surname in one reference.

Read more:

Concordia University head disturbed by sexual misconduct allegations

Concordia University alerts students after reports of drugging, sex assault
The living urban lab envisioned by a Google sister company could stitch Torontos east waterfront together with neighbourhoods on the north side of the elevated Gardiner Expressway, the Sidewalk Labs chief executive said Wednesday.

New York-based Dan Doctoroff made the comment while being peppered with questions about the Sidewalk Toronto proposal by Reddit website users during an Ask Me Anything session.

Doctoroff rejected a questioners description of the test-bed neighbourhood, proposed for Waterfront Torontos 4.8-hectare (12-acre) patch at Queens Quay E. and Parliament St., as a bubble separated from the rest of downtown.

It should be fully integrated into the fabric of the metropolitan area, Doctoroff wrote. Weve done a lot of work thinking about the ways that this site  which sits on the water, separated by the Gardiner from the rest of downtown  can be stitched together into Torontos existing neighbourhoods.

That includes potential expansions of mass transit, new forms of shuttles (overtime potentially using self-driving technology), heated bike and pedestrian paths, and other ideas.

On other key points, including who owns the digital mountains of data that would be collected by sensors, and how Sidewalk Labs, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, would profit from innovation experiments on public land, Doctoroff said even he doesnt know those answers yet.

There is nothing more important to the success of this project than developing a privacy and data policy that people can trust, and over the course of the next year well be developing that policy in collaboration with the community, Doctoroff wrote, noting that Ann Cavoukian, a former Ontario information and privacy commissioner, is a privacy consultant for the Sidewalk Labs-Waterfront Toronto partnership they are calling Sidewalk Toronto.

On the revenue model, were not overly focused right now on the specifics. Whats important is that we believe very strongly that integrating innovation in a new way into the physical environment can fundamentally improve quality of life, including affordability. If we can do that, we know there will be ways to make money  but quality of life is job one.

Waterfront Toronto, a federal-provincial-city agency, last March invited proposals to develop the once-industrial Quayside site as a new mixed-use neighbourhood. Sidewalk Labs won the competition in October, news that drew Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the launch and focused worldwide attention on the proposal to build a high-tech neighbourhood from the Internet up in an existing city.

Sidewalk Labs vowed to spend one year and up to $50 million listening to public input and developing a model with Waterfront Toronto, with no guarantees the firm will get approval to build out the plan.

Concept documents envision low-cost buildings easily reconfigured to simultaneously accommodate residential, commercial and even industrial uses. Small self-driving taxi-bots, and possibly buses, would be summoned with an app. Automated trash pickup would happen through underground chambers. Computer sensors would constantly analyze everything from vehicle flow to weather, and adjust the infrastructure to suit.

Sidewalk Labs acknowledges that to test things like new construction technology at scale, it would spill into some of the surrounding 800-acre Port Lands, mostly owned by the City of Toronto. Also, existing city rules for zoning, building codes and more would need to be rewritten for the test district.

Any time you innovate in a public environment, youre going to need to work closely with government officials and regulators, Doctoroff wrote. For example, if we have an all-autonomous vehicle district, the regulatory regime would have to accommodate that. If we want to have a new form of building codes that enables more flexible  and therefore cheaper  buildings, new regulations will have to be put in place so that can happen.

He envisions his company as the co-master developer with Waterfront Toronto. That role includes developing a plan and a vision that the community and its elected officials can rally around and be excited about; working to get the plan approved; and overseeing the eventual development of infrastructure. Part of that plan will be to create standards and design guidelines that developers will have to follow . . .

We want to build the first truly 21st-century city.

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David Gordon would rather sleep tucked into the doorway of a bank than in the citys emergency shelters or cold weather drop-in sites.

Its not because of the individual people, stressed Gordon, 42, but because his anxiety and post-traumatic stress make it impossible for him to stay in cramped and noisy places, where men and women can experience a range of mental and physical health issues.

Torontos shelter system has beds, but at last count was 94 per cent full. At the citys 24/7 winter drop-in sites people often sleep shoulder to shoulder on mats, or in chairs, or wherever they can rest.

You cant just throw a mat on the floor and expect that is going to solve the problem. You need to build places that we can afford to live in, Gordon said during a press conference at City Hall on Tuesday morning.

We all have a right to live and live comfortably, not the way we are now.

Gordon is a community health centre volunteer. He relies on Ontario Disability Support Program payments, struggles with drug addiction and was one of many people who spoke to the need for better services and additional staff in shelters, drop-ins and warming centres. The city boosted the number of cold weather drop-ins this year, but advocates say the conditions are unsanitary and unsafe, despite the efforts of people working at them.

We are here today to talk about the health crisis embedded in the shelter crisis, said Jo Connelly, executive director with the Inner City Family Health Team.

Connelly, with advocates, health care providers, shelter workers and city councillors called on all levels of government to work together to boost the number of permanent shelter beds and provide wrap-around services for people without housing.

The folks that are coming into our respite centres, our drop-ins, our shelters are needing more, she said.

After the press conference, the group moved to the Toronto Homeless Memorial, at the Church of the Holy Trinity, where each month advocates add the names of people whose deaths are related to homelessness.

Four were added on Tuesday, said street nurse and advocate Cathy Crowe.

Members of the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society spoke at the memorial, also calling for more shelter space and better health and support services for the people relying on them. They also want Toronto Public Health to release information on where and how people died.

Are people dying in shelters of overdose, in housing, or on the street and all of those things we need to know to plan services effectively, TOPS member Leigh Chapman told the Star.

Since mid-August, Chapman has been part of a team running an unsanctioned overdose prevention and harm reduction site in Moss Park. The team has supervised 3,855 injections and stopped or reversed 143 overdoses, as of Jan. 5, according to a recent press release.

The city has seven, 24/7 winter respite sites, including the Moss Park Armoury, which opened on Saturday at the tail end of a brutal cold snap and has cots for 100 people.

The federal government approved the site for two weeks. Mayor John Tory, who has spoken about the need for better mental health services, had asked for it to be open until April.

On Tuesday, city and provincial officials confirmed that a former youth detention centre on George St. would be ready for use as an emergency cold respite site by months end. The province and the city formally requested that Moss Park remain open until that time.

Tory, in a written statement, said he has asked for assurances that all efforts will be taken to ensure that this is a safe, comfortable, and dignified option for our most vulnerable citizens.

The announcement followed a meeting between Tory and provincial Health Minister Eric Hoskins and Housing Minister Peter Milczyn.

We had good discussions around the need to provide mental and physical health supports and services within the shelter system and the need to create more supportive housing that I hope will translate very quickly into actions we can take together, Tory said.

On Sunday, the 5,880 spots in Torontos emergency system were 94 per cent full, according to city data. That included close to 1,500 spots in motel rooms for families. The citys cold weather 24/7 respite sites were used by 360 people and an additional 111 women took refuge at two 24/7 drop-ins.

Two warming centres were used by 90 people. One, at Regent Park, remains open.

On Monday, 53 people were using the Moss Park site, as of 4 a.m.

After the memorial, MP Adam Vaughan said the most humane and cost-effective solution is the creation of supportive housing, rather than expanding the shelter system. In the meantime, he said, there should be better services within the existing system.

Homelessness is a health care issue; it is not a poverty issue, and is tied to mental health issues, physiological brain damage, addiction and undiagnosed developmental handicaps, he said.

If we address it as a health care issue, it becomes a much easier problem to understand and therefore a much easier problem to solve.

With files from David Rider and Amy Dempsey
Labour activists converged Wednesday on Tim Hortons restaurants to protest pay and benefit clawbacks pegged to the recent hike in Ontarios minimum wage.

About a dozen protests were held throughout Ontario Wednesday, where labour activists gathered outside the restaurant locations  not to stop people from getting their coffee or bagel, but to spread a message of support for the chains workers and apply pressure on the chains parent company.

Wheres the justice? Wheres the Canadian values? said John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, speaking of the clawbacks at an 8:00 a.m. protest at Markham Rd. and Lawrence Ave E.

Cartwright and President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Chris Buckley, said the protests were aimed at Tim Hortons parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which they say has the power to tell its franchisees to reverse punitive responses to the minimum wage increase.

Imagine what its like serving coffee . . . this is hard work. They deserve a living wage, and guess what? They deserve a break as well, Cartwright said.

Protesters want Restaurant Brands International to issue a directive to franchises preventing these benefits from being clawed back.

Demonstrators gathered outside a Tim Hortons on Lawerence Ave. E. to protest wage and benefit clawbacks blamed on the recent increase in Ontario's minimum wage.





Ontario raised the minimum wage to $14 on Jan. 1. In response, some employers have moved to offset the increased labour costs by eliminating paid breaks or increasing workers contributions for benefits  most notably at Tim Hortons restaurants in Cobourg owned by Jeri Horton-Joyce and Ron Joyce Jr., the children of the chains founders.

Workers at the Markham and Lawrence location were told they could no longer accept tips or have paid breaks.

Restaurant Brands International has called the restaurant owners who have taken action a rogue group, the actions of which do not reflect the values of our brand.

Have your say

Shame on RBI, and RBI better listen up today. The CEO better hear me loud and clear, Buckley told the group of about two dozen protesters in Scarborough, who were mostly union members.

Were going to make sure that theyre respected and theyre not disadvantaged by greedy multinational companies, he said.

Read more:

Opinion | Martin Regg Cohn: Human resources must be managed, not manipulated

Ontarios largest business lobby group appeals for help with $14 minimum wage

Minimum wage increase doesnt faze some local business owners

In a letter sent Wednesday to RBI chief executive officer Daniel Schwartz, Buckley called for RBI to take immediate steps to ensure franchise owners respect labour laws.

Stating your disdain for the actions of rogue franchise owners is not enough to resolve this unfortunate situation, the letter said.

Almost all of our restaurants in Canada are independently owned and operated by small business owners who are responsible for handling all employment matters, including all policies for benefits and wages, for their restaurants. Restaurant Owners are expected to comply with all applicable laws and regulations within their jurisdiction, said RBI in a statement to the Star.

Our focus continues to be on supporting our Restaurant Owners by growing sales and profitability through a balanced and multi-faceted strategy while ensuring we provide our Guests with great experiences.

Fight for $15 and Fairness and the Workers Action Centre were also involved in co-ordinating Wednesdays protests.

Pam Frache, the co-ordinator of the Fight for $15 and Fairness, a movement that has spearheaded the campaign for a higher minimum wage and employment law reform in Ontario, noted some small business owners have already embraced a higher minimum wage, which will rise from $14 an hour in 2018 to $15 next year.

Its high time that sustainable business models dont have to compete for businesses that rely on sub-poverty wages, Frache said.

Bowen Lafave, who attended Wednesdays protest in Scarborough with a small group of construction workers, said it was important to show solidarity with the Tim Hortons employees and the labour movement.

Were not here to call for a boycott, he said, echoing Cartwright. Everyone loves their coffee.

Albert Salmon, a retired LCBO worker, said he came to the protest at Markham and Lawrence to help my brothers and sisters.

Were not going to put up with these corporations trying to take advantage of people who cannot help themselves, Salmon said.

A noontime protest outside the Tim Hortons location at Bloor St. W. and Bedford Rd. drew young people and students from the nearby downtown campus of the University of Toronto.

At its peak, around three dozen protesters crowded the street corner, and police officers occasionally stepped in to help pedestrians get through. Organizers chanted Hold the sugar, hold the cream, Tim Hortons dont be mean as passing vehicles honked in support.

Jennifer Galicinsky, a Master of Divinity student who worked for Tim Hortons from 1994 to 1996, said she wanted the company to feel pressured to be a better employer.

I think its really off brand for them to be bullying their workers.

Another passerby, Vic Host, called the protests well timed and said he expected more protests to break out in light of employers' responses to the minimum wage increase.

A minimum wage increase was originally outside the scope of the governments two-year review of labour laws aimed at tackling the rise of precarious work, culminating in Bill 148. But the two independent special advisers appointed to conduct the review noted that many vulnerable workers in Ontario are low-wage earners and are highly concentrated in the retail trades, accommodation and food services industries.

In response to their findings  and numerous submissions by workers rights advocates  the Ontario government vowed to increase provinces base hourly rate to $15 an hour by 2019, arguing many employees were still struggling to support their families on the current minimum wage.

Exemptions for students under 18 and liquor servers remain intact, though the provinces special advisers recommended they be eliminated or phased out.

This week, a social media movement encouraged customers to take part in a No Timmies Tuesday and instead visit independent coffee shops.

With files from Robert Benzie

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ISLANDS IN THE SUN. The Philippine government, which has allotted funding for the rehabilitation of a runway at the countrys-held Pagasa Island near Puerto Princesa, will follow the lead of China and Vietnam and develop islands under its control in the disputed South China Sea, according to defense authorities Tuesday, short of disclosing technical details.

THE Philippines will follow the lead of China and Vietnam and develop islands under its control in the disputed South China Sea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Tuesday. My plan of action is also to develop all the islands there because they are occupied by us, Lorenzana said, referring to Chinas aggressive posturing in the South China Sea and evidence of its massive reclamation projects in various disputed islets and atolls. The government has alloted funding for the rehabilitation of a runway at the Philippine-held Pagasa Island, a few nautical miles away from Puerto Princesa. Modern facilities have also been built at Pagasa intended to support the 300 inhabitants, including communication facilities and ports. Lorenzana gave no technical details of the projects that would be established in all of the Philippine-held islands. At the same time, Lorenzana said, the Philippines is set to file a diplomatic protest of Chinas militarization of the South China Sea and the recent harassment of Filipino fishermen by the Chinese coast guard.Reports said China has been deploying soldiers in Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef, in violation of Beijings recent commitment not to militarize any of the reclaimed islands in the area. Our stand here is that we will register our protest through the Department of Foreign Affairs because I know for a fact that the Chinese government sometime ago said that they are not going to militarize those reclaimed islands, Lorenzana said. Fiery Corss is located in what Manila calls the West Philippine Sea and is within the victinity of the Kalayaan Group of Islands near Palawan. Pamalakaya, a group of militant fishermen, urged the government to file a protest over Chinas transformation of Kagitingan Reef into a full-scale military airbase. Kagitingan Reef is part of the disputed Kalayaan Group of Islands in the Spratly region of the South China Sea. It is part of the Philippines 220-naughtical mile exclusive economic zone. In 2004, China began to construct an artificial island on the reef. A recent report from a Hong Kong-based news site said the reclaimed island now features a 3,125-meter runway for strategic bombers to land.The Philippine government must pursue filing a diplomatic protest to condemn and expose Beijings aggressive usurpation in our marine territory. China destroys not only our marine biodiversity but also the livelihood of our Filipino fishermen who used to fish in the West Philippine Sea. The continuous reclamation of our waters in the West Philippine Sea is also a threat to our domestic supply of fish products, Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya chairman, said in a statement. The group hit Lorenzana for dilly-dallying on defending the countrys territory. Why would Secretary Lorenzana have to wait for the complete militarization of Kagitingan Reef before filing a diplomatic protest? It seems that the complete transformation of our resource-rich reef into military airbase is not enough for the government to get alarmed over this outright foreign invasion. The governments indecisive action is the reason why China has been able to swiftly reclaim our waters and construct military facilities without us knowing, Hicap said. The group also urged the government to assert the international tribunal ruling that invalidates Chinas claim over Philippine waters. The Palace, however, said that China had not breached its good faith obligation because it has not embarked on new reclamation work in the South China Sea. Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said that while aerial photos showed the extent of development on Kagitingan Reef, this was one of the islands that China had already reclaimed. And this is one of the islands subject of the arbitral tribunals decision that it is within the Philippine economic zone, Roque said. When we invoke the good faith of China, it is against making further reclamations and not making further works on islands that it had already reclaimed, he said. But he added that if China militarizes these islands, that would constitute a further threat to peace and security in the area. But for as long as there is [no] reclamation of new islets or reefs, then we continue to respect that they are true to their commitment... But I think from the very beginning, China, we knew, was militarizing the area by reclaiming these areas and by using them as military bases, Roque told reporters. The point is, has there been a breach of Chinese commitment not to reclaim any new islands or shoals in the area? None. The good faith were relying on is the commitment of China not to embark on new reclamations, he added. Roque agreed with Lorenzana that filing a diplomatic protest was the proper remedy.
In a triple murder trial now nearing an end in Brampton, the Crown has put forward a disturbing theory: a father, mother and adult son were murdered years apart in their Mississauga home, one after the other, by the same person.

The defence team for accused killer Christopher Fattore has argued that a sudden cardiac event and a fall down the stairs were to blame for the first two deaths, while Fattore killed the third victim unintentionally.

A jury must now decide what happened to Bill, Bridget and Caleb Harrison. After 12 weeks of testimony and a four-day charge by Superior Court Justice Fletcher Dawson, members began deliberating Wednesday afternoon.

Their verdict may answer some of the troubling questions that have hung over the trial and haunted everyone who knew the family. Did Peel police miss two homicides? Did a murderer escape punishment for years, leaving him free to kill again? And could the deaths of at least two Harrisons have been prevented?

Melissa Merritt, a 37-year-old Mississauga mother of six, is accused of first-degree murder in the 2013 death of her former husband, Caleb Harrison, and the 2010 death of his mother, Bridget Harrison, a beloved educator and retired Peel District School Board superintendent.

Facing the same charges is Fattore, 40, father to Merritts four younger children. Fattore faces an additional charge of second-degree murder in the 2009 death of Bill Harrison, Bridgets husband and Calebs father.

Merritt and Fattore have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Read more:

Alleged killer of father, mother and adult son tells jury he falsely confessed to murder

Chief pathologist questions autopsy in family triple killing

Alleged killers of father, mother and adult son plead not guilty to murder

The bodies of all three Harrisons were discovered years apart in their family home on Pitch Pine Cres., a quiet suburban street in Mississauga. Bill and Bridgets deaths were not classified as homicides until after their son was killed.

A spokesperson for Peel Regional Police declined to comment, saying it would be improper to respond to questions while the jury is deliberating.

The Crown has alleged the Harrisons were murdered at key moments in an acrimonious custody battle over Caleb and Merritts two children. Prosecutors believe Merritt and Fattore, who began dating in 2006 after her split with Caleb, conspired to murder her ex and his mother, while Fattore alone committed the acts.

Fattore attempted to plead guilty to manslaughter in Calebs death, but the Crown rejected his plea. He testified that he did kill his wifes ex, but that he only intended to rough him up.

His explanation contradicted a statement made to police after his 2014 arrest in which he confessed to attacking and strangling both Bridget and Caleb. Fattore now says he falsely confessed after a 13-hour police interview because he believed that Merritt, who had been arrested on the same charges, would be freed to be with their children. Fattore has consistently denied that Merritt had any involvement.

Lawyers for the accused killers have suggested the Crown theory is far-fetched.

Experienced investigators, concluded there were no suspicious circumstances after attending the scene of Bill Harrisons death in 2009, not a bunch of rookie fools, said Jennifer Myers, counsel for Fattore with Daisy McCabe-Lokos, in a closing argument to the jury in December.

Joel Hechter, Merritts lawyer, said the circumstantial evidence presented against his client shows she only learned about Fattores plan after Caleb was dead. She didnt kill anyone. She didnt plot to kill anyone, he said in his closing argument.

Merritt and Fattore would have to be criminal masterminds to pull off what the Crown has alleged, Hechter said.

Hechter said that if the jury finds Fattore did commit the acts alleged, the evidence shows he is capable of having acted alone. If the Crown is right, Hechter said, Fattore managed to hide his involvement in two murders for years . . . from highly trained investigators who looked at him with considerable suspicion.

On Aug. 23, 2013, Caleb Harrison, a 40-year-old father of two, was found dead in his home on Pitch Pine Cres. His was the third body discovered in the same house in less than five years. His mother, Bridget, had been found dead at the bottom of a staircase on the main floor in April 2010. One year earlier, in April 2009, Bridget had discovered her husbands lifeless body in the main-floor powder room.

Bills 2009 death was not considered suspicious at the time. The cause was listed as acute cardiac arrhythmia. At trial, Dr. Michael Pollanen, Ontarios chief forensic pathologist, testified that the autopsy performed on Bill was not as thorough as it should have been and that it was his opinion Bill had been assaulted before he died. Fattores lawyer argued the original cause of death was correct, and provided evidence from a defense expert in forensic pathology.

When Bridget died in 2010, the cause of death was listed as neck injuries including neck compression, but it appears police favoured the theory that she had fallen down the stairs. The investigation into her death stalled, and then eventually stopped altogether, Crown counsel Eric Taylor said in his opening argument at trial last September.

It was only after the discovery of Calebs body in 2013 that police took a closer look at the earlier deaths and created a timeline that would form the Crowns theory.

Merritt and Caleb separated in 2005 after he was charged with domestic assault. Following the split, Caleb lived with his parents, who became very involved in their grandchildrens lives  a development Merritt was not happy with, the prosecution argued.

All three Harrisons died at key moments in a heated custody battle.

In early 2009, a judge gave Bill and Bridget shared custody with Merritt while Caleb was serving a jail sentence for an impaired driving crash that left a man dead. The jury heard that Merritt and Fattore did not want the children visiting their father in jail and were having financial troubles, so they decided to leave the province in secret.

Bill died the same day they fled with the children in contravention of the shared custody order. The jury heard Bill had learned of their intentions from a mutual acquaintance a day earlier. The prosecution argued that it would be reasonable to conclude Bill died in a confrontation with Fattore related to their plan.

Police did not make the connection between Bills death and the abduction at the time, but you can, Crown counsel Brian McGuire said in his closing argument.

Bridget died months after she had tracked down her missing grandchildren in Nova Scotia and the day before she was to testify at Merritts parental abduction trial, at a time when she had sole interim custody of the children. Three years later, Caleb died the night before a 50-50 summer custody split was to revert back to sole custody for him.

In January 2014, police arrested Merritt and Fattore in Nova Scotia, where they had moved again after Calebs death.

Among the key questions the jury will have to answer is whether Merritt drove Fattore to Walmart to buy the throw-away shoes he has admitted he wore the night he killed Caleb  shoes he paid for with his own debit card, which were later found in the trash at the Merritt-Fattore household. Fattore has testified that Merritt did not know about the shoes until later.

Evidence presented at trial includes autopsy reports; DNA from the scene of Calebs death that has been linked to Fattore; the 13-hour confession video; and wiretaps recorded while Merritt and Fattore were living in Nova Scotia after the alleged crimes.

What can be heard in the wiretaps has been a hotly contested issue, with the defence charging that transcripts prepared by police contain errors that, when corrected, change the meaning of what was said. In one intercept, recorded after Merritt and Fattore received a police stimulation email meant to get them talking about Caleb, the prosecution says Fattore can be heard saying, I killed him f---ing perfect.

The defense contends that Fattore actually said f---ing prove it.
JERUSALEMIsraels embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a new scandal Tuesday after recordings emerged of his 26-year-old stay-at-home son joyriding at taxpayer expense to Tel Aviv strip clubs with his superrich buddies.

In the 2015 recording, Yair Netanyahu and his friends recount their night out on the town and make disparaging comments about strippers, waitresses and other women, including one of Yairs former girlfriends.

He is also heard drunkenly bragging about how the prime minister advanced a bill that he appears to believe delivered billions to his friends father  an embarrassing blow to the premier, who stands accused of accepting a fortunes worth of cigars and champagne from rich supporters.

At one point, Yair cryptically refers to 400 shekels (about $115 U.S.) paid to a prostitute. Speaking of prostitutes, whats open at this hour? he asks his friends, before they settle on a well-known bistro. Its possible the waitresses there go with the flow, he adds.

The recording, aired Monday night on Israels top-rated news broadcast, sparked outrage over its misogynistic content and raised questions over why a state-funded bodyguard and driver were necessary to facilitate such debauchery. Adding to the anger was the fact that the salacious outing took place on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath  and was aired just as Netanyahus government was passing unpopular legislation to curb business on the Sabbath under pressure from ultra-Orthodox Jewish coalition partners.

One of Yairs buddies, Roman Abramov, jokes that the security guard  who was privy to the banter  would have to be killed if he ever left his job so the conversation wouldnt leak.

Read more: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahus son posts anti-Semitic meme online

Most of the public outcry, however, involves Yairs comments to the third member of his entourage  the son of Israeli tycoon Kobi Maimon  about how the prime minister advanced a controversial gas deal in parliament that benefited his father.

My dad arranged $20 billion for your dad, and youre whining with me about 400 shekels, he says, referring to money he borrowed in a strip club. The chatter is interrupted by a phone call from Yairs mother, which he screens and apparently doesnt answer. How embarrassing, he says.

Yair Netanyahu has long drawn criticism for living a life of privilege at taxpayers expense, hobnobbing with ultra-rich donors and making crude social media posts, all while never holding down a job. The often combative younger Netanyahu issued a quick apology, saying the remarks did not represent the values he was raised on and were made under the influence of alcohol.

But the fallout was swift. A pair of opposition lawmakers appealed to the attorney-general to investigate Yair Netanyahus security needs, saying it was disgraceful that public funds fuel a culture of womens exploitation. Others piled on. Even big kids say what they hear at home, said Eitan Cabel of the opposition Labor party.

Netanyahu, who has repeatedly attacked the media as his legal troubles have mounted, issued a typical response after the recordings were released. He called them the height of a media-orchestrated witch hunt aimed at ousting him, saying the press had stooped to unprecedented persecution, bloodletting and shaming, and that his son had nothing to do with policy-making or security arrangements.

We have no intention of addressing the cheap and malicious gossip regarding snippets of jokes that were made after a night of drinking that dont reflect Yairs positions and were taken out of context from an illegal and tendentious wiretap, read a statement from the family.

But on Tuesday, Netanyahu softened his rhetoric, saying that his sons comments were the result of alcohol consumption and that he was raised to respect women.

The Netanyahu familys perceived hedonism and sense of entitlement has gotten them in trouble before, with repeated inquiries into their conduct. Israeli police say Netanyahu is suspected of fraud, breach of trust and bribes in a pair of cases.

One involves reportedly more than $100,000 worth of cigars and liquor Netanyahu and his wife Sara received from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, who is said to have asked Netanyahu to press the U.S. Secretary of State in a visa matter.

Australian billionaire James Packer has also reportedly lavished Yair with gifts that included extended stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Col., as well as the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by Packers former fiancee, Mariah Carey. Police are trying to determine whether these constitute bribes, since Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes.

Israels Channel 2 News, which broke the story, said that Yair Netanyahu ended the evening with his friends by staying at Packers luxury residence in Tel Aviv. Abramov was later employed as Packers representative in Israel.

In further comments Tuesday, the premier said he had no connection to Maimon and was unaware of their sons friendship. He added that his son had no knowledge of the gas deal and that his own backing of expanded natural gas extraction did nothing to benefit Maimon.

He also accused a disgruntled driver in the prime ministers office of making the illicit recording and attempting to sell it for a profit  and demanded that Channel 2 disclose how much they paid for it.

Yair Netanyahu has previously sparked controversy by posting an anti-Semitic caricature aimed at his fathers critics, vulgarly confronting a woman who criticized him for refusing to pick up after the family dog at a public park, and lashing out on Facebook at a liberal think-tank with emojis of a middle finger and a pile of excrement. His behaviour has sparked online comparisons to the nefarious Game of Thrones character Joffrey Baratheon.

Yediot Ahronot columnist Sima Kadmon said that despite his apology, the recordings show exactly what kind of person the younger Netanyahu is.

A 26-year-old who does not work and lives at the states expense. A young man who drags after him, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, an entire array of bodyguards that costs the Israeli public millions ... and behaves like a spoiled and pampered child, she wrote.

The new recordings may not directly harm Netanyahu politically  but they add another blow to his battered public image after nearly nine years in office.

It turns out that this barrel has no bottom, wrote Haaretzs Yossi Verter.

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VATICAN CITYThe Vatican on Wednesday took over a Peru-based Catholic movement whose founder was accused of sexually, physically and psychologically abusing his members, just days before Pope Francis starts a trip to Chile and Peru where the churchs sexual abuse scandal is expected to play out.

A Vatican statement said the congregation for religious orders had issued a decree naming a commissioner to take over the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, a conservative movement that has some 20,000 members and chapters throughout South America and the U.S.

The move came just weeks after Peruvian prosecutors announced they were seeking the arrest of Sodalitiums founder, Luis Figari, who an independent investigation concluded was a paranoid narcissist obsessed with sex and watching his underlings endure pain and humiliation.

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Francis is expected to contend with the abuse scandal in his home continent for the first time during the Jan. 15-21 trip, with protests planned and recent revelations in Chile about the growing scandal there. On Wednesday, the online database BishopAccountability.org released research showing 78 priests or members of religious orders had been credibly accused or convicted in Chile.

In Peru, a journalist and former member of the society began publicly accusing Figari of abuse in 2010. The case languished in Lima and the Vatican for years until a book was published in 2015 detailing the twisted ways Figari would humiliate his members. While Figari was never charged, many of the allegations against him were eventually confirmed by a Vatican inquiry. Figari was ordered to cut contact with members of the society last year, and has been living in Rome ever since.

He has never provided concrete responses to the accusations, though the society has said they were likely true. His Peru-based lawyer, Armando Lengua, has said he hasnt been in contact with Figari, saying he is unreachable in the Sodalitium prayer and retreat house in Rome.

Some of Sodalitiums victims had denounced the Vaticans handling of the case, saying in 2017 that the years-long delay in taking any action, and subsequently decision to allow Figari to live in comfortable retirement in Rome, was anything but satisfactory.

In the statement, the Vatican said Francis had followed the Sodalitium saga for years, had asked that the congregation pay particular attention to it and was particularly concerned about the seriousness of information about the internal regime, the training and financial management.

The Vatican said the congregation had decided on the commissioning of the society, and appointing Colombian Bishop Noel Antonio Londono as the commissioner, after the recent moves by Peruvian prosecutors to arrest Figari and a profound analysis of all the documentation.

The decision marked the latest  and most extreme  action to date by the Vatican, since it first ordered an investigation into the society 2015. After that, the Vatican named a delegate, American Cardinal Joseph Tobin, to accompany Sodalitium as it reformed and then sanctioned Figari last year.

The decree to place the society under a Vatican-appointed commissioner signalled that the Holy See believed the Sodalitium was incapable of reforming itself despite a series of measures its new leadership has taken to try to make amends with victims, acknowledge past abuses and reform its internal methods and governance.

The society said it only learned of the takeover on Wednesday. In a statement, it thanked Francis, pledged to co-operate fully with the new commissioner and said it would accept whatever is decided in the future.

We reaffirm once again our absolute obedience to the Holy Father and the Holy Mother Church, a statement on the groups website read.

Figari founded the society, known by its acronym SCV, in 1971 as a lay community to recruit soldiers for God. It was one of several Catholic societies born as a conservative reaction to the left-leaning liberation theology movement that swept through Latin America starting in the 1960s.

Figari was a charismatic intellectual, but he was also narcissistic, paranoid, demeaning, vulgar, vindictive, manipulative, racist, sexist, elitist and obsessed with sexual issues and the sexual orientation of SCV members, according to a 2017 investigative report commissioned by the societys new leadership.

The report, by two Americans and an Irish expert in abuse, found that Figari sodomized his recruits and forced them to fondle him and one another. He liked to watch them experience pain, discomfort and fear, and humiliated them in front of others to enhance his control over them, the report found.

The SCV scandal parallels that of the Mexico-based Legion of Christ religious order, whose charismatic founder was a favourite of St. John Paul II. He was found to be a serial pedophile who sexually abused his seminarians, fathered three children and built a secretive, cultlike organization to hide his double life.

The Vatican sanctioned him in 2006 after documentation about his abuse languished for decades in the same congregation that received the SCV complaints years ago and finally took over the society Wednesday.

The SCV case also echoes the scandal in the El Bosque community in Chile, where local church authorities for years refused to believe victims of a charismatic priest, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, who was ultimately sanctioned by the Vatican in 2011 to live a lifetime of penance and prayer for his crimes.

Some of Karadimas victims, as well as concerned Chilean laity, are expected to stage protests during Francis trip to Chile, which begins Monday. The Karadima scandal has taken on new life after Francis named as bishop of the southern diocese of Osorno a Karadima protege accused by victims of knowing of his abuse and doing nothing.
BANGKOKBurmas military acknowledged Wednesday that its security forces and Buddhist villagers killed 10 Rohingya Muslims whose bodies were found in a mass grave in a village in troubled Rakhine state.

The public admission of wrongdoing is the militarys first since it launched clearance operations against ethnic Rohingya in August, prompting more than 650,000 to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh in what the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.

A statement on the military commander-in-chiefs Facebook page said the Rohingya found in the mass grave had threatened Buddhist villagers and were killed in retaliation.

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The UN and other groups accuse the military of widespread atrocities against Rohingya, including killings, rapes and the burning of homes. But the military has insisted that there has been no wrongdoing by any security forces.

The government of Buddhist-majority Burma has refused to accept Rohingya Muslims as a minority group, even though they have lived in the country for generations. They are widely called Bengalis and are accused of migrating illegally from Bangladesh.

Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship in 1982, denying them almost all rights and rendering them stateless.

The 10 bodies were found in December in a mass grave near a cemetery in Inn Din village.

It is true that both the villagers and security forces admitted they killed the 10 Bengali terrorists, the military statement said. The army will take charge of those who are responsible for the killings and who broke the rules of engagement. This incident happened because ethnic Buddhist villagers were threatened and provoked by the terrorists.

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BEIJINGAn explosion rocked a stricken oil tanker off the coast of Shanghai on Wednesday, forcing maritime authorities to suspend firefighting and rescue efforts, Chinese officials said.

Chinas ministry of transport said rescue vessels withdrew to a safe distance after the explosion on the Sanchis bow, the latest setback in the multinational effort to extinguish the burning wreck and find more than 30 missing crew members.

The ship is still on fire, the ministry said.

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Chinese officials have previously warned that the tanker could explode and sink, possibly triggering an environmental disaster.

The South Korean coast guard says thick smoke is still billowing from a burning Iranian oil tanker in the East China Sea. Up to 32 crew members from the Iranian tanker are missing after the ship and a freighter collided late Saturday. (The Associated Press)

The Sanchi was carrying nearly 1 million barrels of condensate, a type of gassy, ultralight oil, when it collided Saturday evening with a freighter 257 kilometres off the coast and caught fire. Intense flames, bad weather and poor visibility have hampered rescue efforts.

The entire crew of the Panamanian-registered Sanchi  30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis  went missing after its collision with the Chinese freighter CF Crystal. The cause of the collision remains unclear.

Rescuers on Tuesday found a body believed to be a sailor from the Iranian-operated tanker, while a search continued for the 31 other missing crew members.

The National Iranian Tanker Co., the Sanchis operator, said Tuesday there was a chance that survivors were trapped in the ships engine room.

Since the vessels engine room is not directly affected by the fire and is about 14 metres under water, there is still hope, NITC spokesperson Mohsen Bahrami told The Associated Press.

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NEW YORKThe longtime personal lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against BuzzFeed for publishing an unverified dossier of allegations about Trumps presidential campaign and Russia.

The lawyer Michael Cohen, filed the lawsuit in a New York State Court Tuesday, nearly a year after BuzzFeed published the dossier commissioned by political opposition research firm Fusion GPS.

Cohen, who is named in the dossier, said BuzzFeed and several of its staffers defamed him by publishing the 35-page document, which contained a mix of truths, falsehoods and unverified rumours about interactions between people close to Trump and Russian figures.

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The lawsuit says that BuzzFeed published the unverified allegations without attempting to determine the veracity of these reports with plaintiff himself.

That included a claim that Cohen had travelled to Prague for secret meetings with a Russian official. Cohen said he has never been to Prague and his passport shows no visits to the Czech Republic.

Enough is enough of the #fake #RussianDossier, Cohen wrote on Twitter. Just filed a defamation action against @BuzzFeedNews for publishing the lie filled document on @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and me!

When it published the dossier, Buzzfeed noted it contained allegations that were unverified and had some clear errors. BuzzFeed said it was nevertheless publishing the document so that Americans can make up their own minds about the allegations against Trump.

Cohen also filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday against Fusion GPS, saying the political opposition reports it prepared included immensely damaging and defamatory statements.

He faulted the company for recklessly distributing the dossier and allowing it to fall into the hands of media devoted to breaking news on the hottest subject of the day: the Trump candidacy.

Josh Levy, a lawyer for Fusion, declined to comment Wednesday morning.

BuzzFeed spokesperson Matt Mittenthal defended the publication of the dossier and added, we look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court.

In an opinion column published in The New York Times, BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith said he was proud of the decision to publish the dossier, saying Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. election has become the central challenge to Mr. Trumps presidency.

The dossier is unquestionably real news, he wrote.

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New York City is taking on the oil industry on two fronts, announcing a lawsuit Wednesday that blames the top five oil companies for contributing to global warming and saying the city will sell off billions in fossil fuel investments from the citys pension funds.

Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio received immediate blowback from some of the companies, while winning praise from environmentalists and others.

Were bringing the fight against climate change straight to the fossil fuel companies that knew about its effects and intentionally misled the public to protect their profits, the mayor said. As climate change continues to worsen, its up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient.

The city alleges the fossil fuel industry was aware for decades that burning fuel was impacting climate change.

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The defendants in the citys federal lawsuit are BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. Three of the companies shot back against the mayors accusations, while two others  ConocoPhillips and BP  declined to enter the fray.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global issue and requires global participation and actions, said Exxon Mobils Scott Silvestri. Lawsuits of this kind  filed by trial attorneys against an industry that provides products we all rely upon to power the economy and enable our domestic life  simply do not do that.

Chevron spokesperson Braden Reddall called the lawsuit meritless and said the litigation will do nothing to address climate change. Curtis Smith, a Shell spokesperson, said the courts are not the venue to address climate change.

New Yorks lawsuit, filed in federal court, follows similar litigation filed by San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Cruz in California.

Also Wednesday, de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer said they intend to divest the citys five pension funds of roughly $5 billion (U.S.) in fossil fuel investments out of its total of $189 billion. They say the divestment is the largest of any municipality in the U.S. to date.

Safeguarding the retirement of our citys police officers, teachers and firefighters is our top priority, and we believe that their financial future is linked to the sustainability of the planet, Stringer said.

Clara Vondrich of the DivestInvest campaign says the city joins a movement that started about six years ago. She says hundreds of institutional investors managing assets of more than $5.5 trillion have taken their money out of fossil fuel investments.

Last month, Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to have the state pension funds also divest from fossil fuel investments. He and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli are creating an advisory committee to examine the way to proceed with divestment.

In November, Norways central bank urged the Norwegian government to consider divesting oil and gas company shares held in the $1 trillion oil fund.

Vondrich said other cities and entities selling off fossil fuel interests have included Berlin and Washington, D.C.; insurance companies Swiss Re, Axa and Allianz; and educational institutions such as the University of Oxford in Great Britain, Stanford University in California and Trinity College in Ireland.

Philanthropies have included the Wallace Global Fund and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, notable because the late John D. Rockefeller grew his wealth as an oil baron.

Kyle Isakower, vice-president of the American Petroleum Institute, has previously said that divestment is a tactic of misinformed activists that is incompatible with job creation, affordable energy and economic prosperity. The industry groups New York executive director, Karen Moreau, accused him of hurting pension holders in a disgraceful way to score cheap political points.

Linda Kelly, senior vice-president and general counsel of the National Association of Manufacturers, a trade group, called the lawsuit a stunt.

Ironically, this attack on energy manufacturers comes at a time that New Yorkers have depended on natural gas and heating oil to carry them through the recent extreme cold, she said. The mayors announcement may raise his profile, but it will do nothing to address climate change and will ultimately fail.

Longtime environmental activist Bill McKibben called the actions by the city one of a handful of the most important developments in the past 30 years. The mightiest city on the planet has now sort of walked into a real fight with the richest and most irresponsible industry on the planet, he said.

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LAHORE, PAKISTANA mob angered over the recent rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl attacked a police station and a nearby government building in eastern Punjab province on Wednesday, triggering clashes that left at least two people dead and several injured, the police said.

The violence erupted in the city of Kasur hours before the funeral of Zainab Ansari, whose case has drawn wide public outrage.

The girl went missing last week while going to a nearby home for Quranic studies. Her parents, who were away at a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia at the time, returned on Wednesday, landing at the Islamabad airport.

We will not bury our daughter until her killers are arrested, said the father, Ameen Ansari, as his wife sobbed.

Zainabs body was found on Tuesday in a garbage bin, senior police officer Imran Nawaz Khan said. Police say she was abducted, raped and murdered. Officer Maqsood Ahmed said six girls were sexually assaulted in recent months in Kasur and that police were probing whether there was a connection in the cases.

Activists on social media have condemned the government for failing to arrest those involved in the crime.

As the attack on the police station and the subsequent clashes unfolded Wednesday, local TVs broadcast footage showing police firing shots in the air and toward the stone-pelting mob, trying to disperse it. In one segment, an officer asks another to hold direct fire, after which the second officer is seen continuing to shoot at the protesters.

Also Wednesday, the Lahore High Courts chief justice ordered a probe into Zainabs killing.

Zulfiqar Hameed, the police chief in Kasur, refused to say whether the two people killed in Wednesdays clashes had died from police gunshots. Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the police were trying to contain the violence and find and arrest those involved in the girls murder.

Kasur shop owners shut their businesses Wednesday to express their anger over Zainabs slaying.

Firebrand cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri who took part in Ansaris funeral service demanded the local government be replaced, saying it has no right to remain in power after the killing of Zainab Ansari.

In a speech to thousands of mourners, he blamed the Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, for failing to protect lives and honour of innocent girls in the province.

Qadri also issued an ultimatum to Sharif and Sanaullah to step down by Jan. 17 to avoid street protest.

Qadri is a staunch political rival of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party and he has led violent rallies in the capital, Islamabad, since 2014 after eight of his supporters were killed in anti-government rallies in Lahore, Punjab provincial capital.

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREAIts been more than a decade since the leaders of the two Koreas have held a summit. Could it happen now?

South Korean President Moon Jae-in told reporters Wednesday that he remains open to a meeting with North Koreas leader, if it would improve the strained relations between their two countries and help resolve the global standoff over the Norths nuclear weapons development.

Its not a new position for Moon, who took office in May, but it took on new meaning coming one day after high-level officials from the two Koreas held a rare and apparently successful meeting, agreeing on the Norths participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics in the South.

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A meeting between the two leaders isnt likely in the immediate future. The Norths Kim Jong Un hasnt met any foreign leader since he succeeded his father in 2011, and attitudes have hardened since the only two previous Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, when South Korean presidents were pursuing a Sunshine Policy of trying to win over the North through engagement and aid.

Moon is a liberal who favours a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue and whose election ended nine years of hard-line conservative rule. He was chief-of-staff to former president Roh Moo-hyun, who held the last summit with Kims father in 2007.

Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul, said a meeting during Moons five-year term is possible.

Kim has never met any foreign leader, so it would be meaningful for him to make his first summit a meeting between Koreans, Koh said.

During the televised news conference in Seoul, Moon said I keep myself open to any meeting including a summit, and that he would push for further talks and co-operation after Tuesdays meeting.

To have a summit, some conditions must be established, he said. I think a certain level of success must be guaranteed. He didnt set any specific conditions.

Moon called North Koreas participation in next months Olympics very desirable, but said inter-Korean relations cannot be improved without progress on the nuclear issue. He warned that the North would face harsher international sanctions and pressure if it resorts to new provocations, adding that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the path to peace and our goal.

Under the deal struck Tuesday at the border village of Panmunjom, North Korea will send officials, athletes, cheerleaders, journalists and others to the Olympics in Pyeongchang, a mountainous county near the border. South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Wednesday he expects the delegation will include 400 to 500 people. The accord stipulates the two Koreas will actively co-operate in the Olympics to enhance the prestige of the Korean people.

The two sides also agreed to hold military talks, and North Korea said it had recently restored a military hotline with the South, the second reopening of an inter-Korean communication channel in about a week, according to South Korean officials. All major communications had been shut down because of the tensions over the Norths nuclear program.

The accords, reached at the first meeting between the rival Koreas in about two years, were widely viewed as a positive step following a year of escalating tension over Kims rapidly advancing nuclear and missile programs. Last year, Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged bellicose rhetoric and crude insults as North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test and three tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that put the U.S. within its range.

Trump contended that his tough stance had helped persuade the North to sit down with the South, and Moon said during Wednesdays news conference that he feels thankful to the U.S. president for helping make the talks happen.

Some warn that tensions could quickly flare again as the North still wants to expand its weapons arsenal. They also say Kim may be pushing for better ties with South Korea because North Korea is feeling the pain of U.S.-led international sanctions.

The countries have a long history of failing to follow through with rapprochement accords. In 2015, negotiators met for nearly 40 hours before announcing a deal to pull back from a military standoff caused by landmine blasts that maimed two South Korean soldiers. But animosities flared again several months later after the North Koreas fourth nuclear test.

John Delury, a China and North Korea expert at Yonsei University in Seoul, cautioned that the process is fragile, but said Tuesdays talks are opening up new diplomatic possibilities, in striking contrast to last year.

Its still very early in this process, and we have to see how much momentum it acquires, but so far this year is definitely getting off to a very different start, he said. You have to knock on the door to see if it will open.

Two earlier liberal presidents, Roh and his predecessor Kim Dae-jung, met with then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. But the conservative governments that followed them took a tougher line.

The presidency of conservative Lee Myung-bak, from 2008 to 2013, was marked by animosity, including North Korean attacks on a warship and a border island that together killed 50 South Koreans in 2010. His successor, Park Geun-hye, indefinitely suspended South Korean participation in a joint industrial park in North Koreas Kaesong city in February 2016, the last remaining major symbol of co-operation between the two.

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BEIRUTSyrian pro-government forces reached the outskirts of a sprawling rebel-held airbase on Wednesday, the target of a wide-ranging offensive in the northwestern Idlib province.

Recapturing the Abu Zuhour airbase, which the rebels took in 2015, has been one of the main goals of the government offensive launched in late October. The operations also aim to secure the road linking the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, Syrias largest.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said troops are fighting Al Qaeda linked militants and other insurgents in different areas near Abu Zuhour. It said troops approaching from the south are now 2 kilometres away from the base.

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The government offensive has displaced tens of thousands of people, who have fled toward areas close to the Turkish border.

The push into Idlib province, which is mostly held by rebels, is the deepest by the government since it lost much of the area three years ago. The province is covered by a de-escalation agreement reached last year between Russia and Iran, who back President Bashar Assad, and Turkey, which supports the opposition.

The UN human rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein expressed grave concern over the situation in Idlib, which is home to more than 2.6 million Syrians, including more than 1.1 million who fled fighting elsewhere in the country.

Zeid also condemned the upsurge in civilian casualties in the eastern suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta, stressing that all parties are obliged under international law to distinguish between lawful military targets and civilians.

On Wednesday, more than two dozen people were killed in the government bombardment of eastern Ghouta and rebel shelling of the capital itself.

The suffering of the people of Syria knows no end, Zeid said in a statement about eastern Ghouta, where nearly 400,000 people are living under government siege.

In Idlib, ground attacks and airstrikes have escalated as a rapidly-moving government offensive gains momentum, jeopardizing the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians, said Zeid.

He said that at least 85 civilians, including 21 women and 30 children, have been killed and at least 183 injured in eastern Ghouta since Dec. 31.

The push toward Abu Zuhour came as the oppositions Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported several explosions in the coastal province of Latakia, an Assad stronghold. The Observatory said the blasts were the result of explosions in an arms depot east of Latakia.

State media did not report any blasts in the area.

In Moscow, the Russian military urged its Turkish counterparts to tighten monitoring of the opposition in northern Syria in the wake of a drone attack on Russian military bases in the country.

Russias Defence Ministry said its forces repelled a series of drone attacks Saturday, adding that out of the 13 drones involved, seven were shot down and six were forced to land without inflicting any damage.

The official military daily Krasnaya Zvezda said the ministry sent letters to the Turkish military asking it to deploy observers to Idlib to ensure that rebels dont launch more attacks.

Russia entered the civil war in 2015 to bolster government forces, helping them to secure a series of victories against the Islamic State group as well as mainstream rebels.

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ROMEThe heads of seven southern European states gather in Rome on Wednesday to tackle one of the stubbornest thorns in the EUs side: flows of migrants from war-torn and impoverished countries. The leaders of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain will meet in the Italian capital for a short meeting at 7pm (1800 GMT), followed by a joint press conference and a working dinner. It will be the fourth meeting of the Southern Seven since Greeces Alexis Tsipras launched the initiative in September 2016. The group met twice last year, in Lisbon and Madrid. Issues on the agenda are expected to range from the future of the eurozone, to efforts to propel growth, employment and investment, as well as preparation for the 2019 European Parliament elections. But from overcrowded reception centers on Greek islands to packed boats heading for Spain, the hottest topic is bound to be migrants. For Italy, 2017 was a turning point: the country went from large-scale arrivals in the first six months to a sharp drop off, thanks to controversial agreements in Libya. In the end some 119,000 people landed here, down 35 percent on 2016. For its part, Spain saw a notable increase in Algerians and Moroccans sailing in, from 6,000 attempting the crossing in 2016 to nearly 23,000 picked up last year. In Greece, an accord struck between the EU and Turkey limited the number of arrivals to 28,800 peoplesix times fewer than in 2016but it did not solve the problem of how to care for those who had already made the journey. The death toll in the Mediterranean dropped, from nearly 5,000 people dead or reported missing during crossings in 2016, to 3,116 in 2017. But asylum applicationsand the inevitable delays and lengthy appealshave placed great strain on some countries. Greece is struggling to deal with over 50,000 migrants and refugees, 14,000 of whom are crammed into tents or centers on overcrowded Aegean islands.In Italy, the authorities have stopped providing details on the number of asylum seekers housed in its reception centers, with the last available figures showing there were almost 200,000 last spring. Despite a proliferation of small structures aimed at improving integration, tens of thousands of people are still forced to idle away their days in large centers as a climate of mistrust and racism grows ahead of the general election on March 4. Spain has faced a backlash over the state of the detention centers where migrants are held before being expelled. Anger was fueled in December after the suicide of an Algerian who was locked up in a prison in Andalusia along with nearly 500 other migrants for lack of space elsewhere. The southern European countries have urged time and again for the migrant burden to be shared across the EU. Italy can no longer continue to pay for everyone, in financial terms as well as in terms of political effort, Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Monday in Brussels. Interior Minister Marco Minnitithe man behind the morally-questionable yet Brussels-backed deal with Libya to block migrants from setting out for Europehas urged the EU to follow Italys lead on humanitarian corridors. Three days before Christmas, Rome was the first to welcome a group of 162 Ethiopian, Somali and Yemeni refugees who flew directly in from crisis-hit Libya. Some 10,000 refugees are expected to follow in 2018, Minniti saidprovided they are spread across the EU. With France also facing a record increase in asylum applications, the migration issue is also expected to figure at a bilateral meeting Thursday between President Emmanuel Macron and Italys Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the Olympics-inspired diplomatic opening with North Korea, telling South Koreas leader Wednesday that the U.S. was open to talks with Kim Jong Uns government under the right circumstances.

A White House statement said Trump and South Koreas President Moon Jae-in still underscored the importance of continuing the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea over its development of nuclear weapons  the U.S.-led barrage of international sanctions that is starting to bite the Norths meagre economy.

But South Koreas presidential office also said Trump told Moon to let North Korea understand that there will be no military action of any kind while the two Koreas continue to hold dialogue, the Yonhap news agency reported. On Tuesday, the two Koreas held their first talks in two years and agreed on the Norths participation in the Winter Olympics being held in the South next month.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

The prospects of resolving decades-old tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula remain deeply uncertain. North Korea has shown no willingness to discuss its nuclear weapons which pose an emerging threat to the American mainland, and it has stuck to its tough stance toward Washington while it tries to woo the South. The newspaper of the ruling party on Tuesday called Trump a lunatic and said the U.S. needs to accept North Korea is now a nuclear power.

But the thaw between North and South, which have also restored a military hotline, provides a diplomatic opening after months of escalating tensions that have fuelled fears of war.

President Trump expressed his openness to holding talks between the United States and North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances, the White House statement said.

Trump also told Moon that Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence will lead the U.S. delegation to the Winter Olympics, scheduled for Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang. Pence will stop in Alaska to review intercontinental ballistic missile defence systems and in Japan, stressing the U.S. commitment to stability in the region.

Senior officials from the rival Koreas said Tuesday they would try to achieve a breakthrough in their long-strained ties as they sat for rare talks at their border. They're discussing how to cooperate in next month's Winter Olympics in the South. (The Associated Press)

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Speaking later Wednesday, Trump claimed his administrations pressure campaign had prompted the North Koreans to negotiate with the South, and recounted Moon as telling him the initial meeting was extremely good. He voiced cautious hopes for diplomatic success that would benefit not just the United States but the wider world. He played down fears of war.

We have certainly problems with North Korea, Trump said at a news conference. A lot of good talks are going on right now. A lot of good energy. I see a lot of good energy. I like it very much what Im seeing ... hopefully a lot of good things are going to work out.

Moon has been supportive of the pressure campaign but has long advocated engagement with Pyongyang. He told reporters in Seoul Wednesday that hes open to meeting with Kim to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff, although he said the success of such a summit must be guaranteed before the meeting can be realized.

Trump has previously scoffed at the futility of talking with the North, but when the inter-Korean dialogue was proposed last week he claimed credit and declared in a tweet, talks are a good thing. The White House said Moon had briefed Trump on the outcomes of the North-South talks on Tuesday, and thanked President Trump for his influential leadership in making the talks possible.

A National Security Council spokesperson, who was not authorized to be quoted by name and requested anonymity, said Trump assured Moon that press reports suggesting the U.S. was considering imminent, unilateral military actions against North Korea were false. Yonhap reported that Moon's chief press secretary, Yoon Young-chan, said Trump also offered assurance that military force would not happen while the two Koreas continue to talk.

The U.S. retains 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the adversaries in a state of war for the past six decades.

The prospect of military confrontation has been magnified in the past year as Trump and Kim have traded bellicose rhetoric and crude insults, as the North has conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear detonation and three tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that now put the U.S. mainland in North Koreas range.

Resorting to force is widely viewed as very risky. A pre-emptive U.S. attack could provoke a devastating retaliation by North Korea against the South, whose capital Seoul lies with the range of North Korean artillery and rockets.

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WASHINGTONU.S. President Donald Trump is expected this week to extend relief from economic sanctions to Iran as part of the nuclear deal, citing progress in amending U.S. legislation that governs Washingtons participation in the landmark accord, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the administrations deliberations.

But Trump is likely to pair his decision to renew the concessions to Tehran with new, targeted sanctions on Iranian businesses and people, the six people briefed on the matter said. The restrictions could hit some firms and individuals whose sanctions were scrapped under the 2015 nuclear agreement, a decision that could test Tehrans willingness to abide by its side of the bargain.

The individuals  two administration officials, two congressional aides and two outside experts who consult with the government  werent authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. They cautioned that Trump could still reject the recommendation from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defence Secretary James Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster and that no final decision had been made. They said heated discussions were going on within the administration and with key Republican lawmakers.

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The State Department and White House didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump must decide by Friday to extend the nuclear-related sanctions relief for Irans central bank or reimpose the restrictions that President Barack Obama suspended two years ago.

The old, central bank sanctions largely cut Iran out of the international financial system, and are considered to be the most powerful of the penalties imposed by the U.S. during the Obama era, along with global penalties for buying Iranian oil. Some Iran hawks want to see both sets of restrictions return, but the six people with knowledge of Trumps plans say the president isnt planning to reinstate either at this point.

The individuals said Trumps top national security aides appear to have successfully made a different case to the president: Waiving anew for 120 days the nuclear-linked sanctions while simultaneously imposing new measures to punish Irans ballistic missile testing, alleged terrorism support and human rights violations.

Such a balance could satisfy Trumps demand to raise pressure on Iran, while not embarking on a frontal assault on the most central trade-offs of the nuclear agreement. While the U.S. and other world powers rolled back economic restrictions on Tehran, the Iranians severely curtailed their enrichment of uranium and other nuclear activity. Trump has complained that many of the Iranian restrictions expire next decade and has vacillated between talk of toughening the deal and pulling the U.S. out entirely.

A senior State Department official told reporters Wednesday that Tillerson and Mattis would be meeting with Trump on the matter before an announcement Friday. Trump, Tillerson and Vice-President Mike Pence were scheduled to have lunch Wednesday at the White House after a formal Cabinet meeting.

The decision coincides with the administrations efforts to secure a face-saving fix from Congress on the requirement for Trump to address Irans compliance every three months. In October, Trump decertified the nuclear deal under U.S. law, saying the sanctions relief was disproportionate to Irans nuclear concessions, and describing the arrangement as contrary to Americas national security interests.

Tillerson told The Associated Press in an interview last week that he and others were working with Congress on ways to amend the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, or INARA, to resolve concerns Trump has with the deal. That will be coupled with diplomacy with European government on addressing Irans missile testing and support for the Hezbollah militant movement, Shiite rebels in Yemen and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The president said he is either going to fix it or cancel it, Tillerson said of the overall deal. We are in the process of trying to deliver on the promise he made to fix it.

On the INARA law, its unlikely Congress could move fast enough to codify changes by Friday. So Tillerson and others are hoping to convince the president theres enough momentum to warrant another extension of sanctions relief and not jeopardizing the entire agreement. The goal would be for Congress to make the changes sometime before May, when Trump is next required to address the sanctions.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the Iran deal, one of Obamas signature foreign policy achievements, as the worst ever negotiated by the U.S. He has particularly bristled at having to give Iran a thumbs up every few months by acknowledging that it is meeting the requirements to invest in foreign banks, sell petroleum overseas, buy U.S. and European aircraft, and so forth.

Iran hawks in Congress and elsewhere worry the changes being discussed dont strengthen the nuclear deal enough.

One would automatically reimpose, or snap back, suspended sanctions if Iran commits certain actions, possibly including things unrelated to its nuclear program. Currently, Congress must act for the sanctions to snap back.

Another proposal would require snapback if Iran refuses a request from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.s atomic watchdog, to inspect a military site not currently being monitored. Iran hawks worry the IAEA, fearing a confrontation with Iran, wont even ask for such an inspection.

Other debates centre on Irans missile testing. Hardline Republican Sens. Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz want sanctions back if Iran launches any ballistic missiles capable of targeting territory outside of Iran, such as Israel or Saudi Arabia, and not just an intercontinental missile.

Senate Democrats, generally more supportive of the nuclear deal, are pushing their own suggestions. One would let a simple House and Senate majority stop any effort to snap back sanctions, unless the president vetoes the block. While such a mechanism is unlikely to threaten Trump in the short term, some anti-deal Republicans fear it could be used against them under a future Democratic president.

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LOS ANGELESU.S. immigration agents descended on dozens of 7-Eleven stores before dawn Wednesday to open employment audits and interview workers in what officials described as the largest operation against an employer under Donald Trumps presidency.

Agents targeted about 100 stores nationwide, broadening an investigation that began with a four-year-old case against a franchisee on New Yorks Long Island. The audits could lead to criminal charges or fines over the stores hiring practices.

The action appears to open a new front in Trumps sharp expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40-per-cent increase in deportation arrests and plans to spend billions of dollars on a border wall with Mexico. Hardliners have been pressing for a tougher stance on employers.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

Derek Benner, a top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Associated Press that Wednesdays operation was the first of many and a harbinger of whats to come for employers. He said there would be more employment audits and investigations, though there is no numerical goal.

This is what were gearing up for this year and what youre going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters. From there, we will look at whether these cases warrant an administrative posture or criminal investigation, said Benner, acting head of ICEs Homeland Security Investigations, which oversees cases against employers.

Its not going to be limited to large companies or any particular industry, big, medium and small, he said. Its going to be inclusive of everything that we see out there.

7-Eleven Stores Inc., based in Irving, Texas, with more than 8,600 stores in the U.S., didnt immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Though agents arrested 21 people suspected of being in the country illegally during Wednesdays sweep, the action was aimed squarely at management.

Illegal hiring is rarely prosecuted, partly because investigations are time-consuming and convictions are difficult to achieve because employers can claim they were duped by fraudulent documents or intermediaries. Administrative fines are discounted by some as a business cost.

George W. Bushs administration aggressively pursued criminal investigations against employers in its final years, with dramatic pre-dawn shows of force and large numbers of worker arrests. In 2008, agents arrived by helicopter at the Agriprocessors meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, and detained nearly 400 workers. Last month, Trump commuted the 27-year prison sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, former chief executive of what was the nations largest kosher meat packing operation.

Barack Obamas administration more than doubled employer audits to more than 3,100 a year in 2013, shunning Bushs flashier approach. John Sandweg, an acting ICE director under Obama, said significant fines instilled fear in employers.

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The Trump administration is pursuing its own kind of unique strategy tied to its broader emphasis on fighting illegal immigration, including enforcement on the border, Benner said. Some workers may get arrested in the operations but authorities are targeting employers because, they say, they are job magnets for people to come to the country illegally.

We need to make sure that employers are on notice that we are going to come out and ensure that theyre being compliant, Benner said For those that dont, were going to take some very aggressive steps in terms of criminal investigations to make sure that we address them and hold them accountable.

Wednesdays operation resulted from a 2013 investigation that led to charges against nine 7-Eleven franchisees and managers in New York and Virginia. Eight have pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay more than $2.6 million (U.S.) in back wages, and the ninth was arrested in November.

In the 2013 investigations, managers used more than 25 stolen identities to employ at least 115 people in the country illegally, knowing they could pay below minimum wage, according to court documents. The documents say 7-Eleven corporate office does automated payroll, requiring franchisees to provide employee names and Social Security numbers to pay workers through direct deposit or check.

The 7-Eleven stores served on Wednesday will be required to produce documents showing they required work authorization, which Benner said will become more common. Audits may lead to criminal charges or administrative penalties.

In Los Angeles Koreatown, seven agents arriving in three unmarked cars closed a store for 20 minutes to explain the audit to the only employee there, a clerk with a valid green card. Agents, wearing blue jackets marked ICE, told arriving customers that the store was closed briefly for a federal inspection. A driver delivering cases of beer was told to wait in the parking lot.

The manager was in Bangladesh and the owner, reached by phone, told the clerk to accept whatever documents were served. Agents said they would return Tuesday for employment records they requested.

Neither 7-Eleven nor its parent company, Seven & i Holding Co. based in Tokyo, was charged in that case.

Just as the IRS performs audits of people all the time of their tax returns, the same purpose here is to ensure a culture of compliance in this area, he said.

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Let them go skating, Letters, Jan. 9

Letter writer Manny Lopez complains that money should not have been spent on the Bentway skating trail while there are still homeless people in Toronto. It is this attitude, and the Bread Not Circuses organization that espoused it, that cost Toronto the opportunity to host the Olympics in 1996. Guess what? We still have poverty and we missed the chance to have a great party that would have showcased our city to the world.

It is not a zero-sum game. Yes, we need to tackle homelessness, but we dont have to give up the things that make our city fun and beautiful. Sure, we could cancel all public art, public celebrations, sporting events, festivals and beautiful subway stations because they dont contribute to the fight against poverty. But then we would live in a boring, ugly city.

Jason Shron, Thornhill
Heres a quick question: How many women have served as a provincial premier in Canada?

Now heres a harder question: How many of them have been re-elected as premier?

Give up?

The answer to the first question is eight. The answer to the second is just one, and she and her re-elected minority government lasted barely one month before losing a non-confidence vote and being tossed out of power.

All of the former female premiers were well-liked and respected when they first took office. But all were hugely unpopular when they were forced out as premier a few years  and in some cases just months  later.

Is there a pattern here? Is it sexism?

These are serious questions facing Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne as she tries to buck the trend and win re-election in the provinces June 7 election. In Wynnes case, she is one of the most disliked premiers in history, with her popularity rating below 20 per cent for the better part of three years.

Wynnes election in 2014 as Ontarios first female premier, and as the first openly gay premier, was hailed as a major breakthrough for women in politics.

Now, though, Wynne and her Liberals seem doomed to lose the coming election by a wide margin to the Conservatives.

Clearly, voters have lots of reasons to be unhappy with Wynnes performance, such as her decision to sell off a big chunk of Ontario Hydro, high electricity rates and special deals with teacher unions.

At the same time, though, Wynne has launched some of the most popular and progressive programs in the country, such as free tuition for thousands of post-secondary students, a higher minimum wage and free pharmacare for anyone under 25.

Still, she has been criticized and treated in ways unimaginable to male premiers. The abuse is sexist, vulgar and steady, a pattern encountered by many other female politicians.

Given such abuse, its easy to argue that misogyny is a large reason for Wynnes low popularity ratings.

Indeed, Wynne has been disrespected like no other Ontario premier in recent history. Its similar to the attacks Hillary Clinton faced in her 2016 run for the U.S. presidency against Donald Trump, with rants of Hang the Bitch.

For many voters, when things are going well they dont care if the premier is a woman. But if times get tough, the criticism and dislike for a woman leader grows tremendously, with some of the attacks focused on her gender, and in Wynnes case her sexual orientation.

If Kathleen Wynne were a man, she wouldnt be facing any of this stuff, former Ontario cabinet minister Glen Murray told Steve Paikin, host of The Agenda on TVO, last year. Its sexism, plain and simple.

All seven other women who have sat in a premiers office have faced similar issues as Wynne is now confronting.

The first provincial woman premier was Rita Johnson, who was named interim B.C. Social Credit leader and thus premier in 1991 after Bill Vander Zalm resigned, but the party lost power in a general election 217 days later.

Catherine Callbeck led the P.E.I. Liberals to victory in 1993, but she resigned before the next election after falling sharply in polls.

Kathy Dunderdale led the Newfoundland Conservatives to victory in 2011, but quit after a steep drop in the polls before the next election.

Alison Redford led the Alberta Tories to victory in 2012, but quit two years later after scandals resulted in a major drop in her popularity.

Pauline Marois led the Parti Quebecois to power in 2012 but was trounced in the 2014 election.

Christy Clark led the B.C. Liberals to victory in 2013, but in 2017 she managed to win only a minority government and almost immediately lost a confidence vote. She resigned and quit politics.

Rachel Notley led the Alberta NDP to a stunning victory in 2015, but now trails the new United Conservatives led by Jason Kenney by a huge margin and likely will be defeated in 2019.

And dont forget Kim Campbell, who spent 132 days as Canadas only female prime minister. Under her leadership, the Conservatives won just two seats in the 1993 election.

If Wynne can defy this disturbing trend and win the June election, then she will have managed a breakthrough for women in politics as significant, if not more, than she did in 2014 when she was first elected premier.

Correction  January 11, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Kathy Dunderdale led the Newfoundland Liberals to victory in 2011.

Bob Hepburns column appears Thursday. bhepburn@thestar.ca

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I happened to spend three days over New Years in Las Vegas. Work! On the Stars dime!

What a pleasure it was to smoke indoors again, a rarity in our world, with all the casinos tobacco-friendly. A city built on vice recognizes that gamblers are smokers and drinkers.

But on New Years Eve, when venturing out onto the Strip, I immediately recoiled from the stench of cannabis.

Had forgotten that Nevada is one of eight American states where recreational marijuana is now legal. Clark County, in which Vegas is situated, boasts some 80 dispensaries selling recreational (as opposed to medical) pot. Anyone over the age of 21 can buy up to one ounce of cannabis (or one-eighth-ounce of concentrate) at a time.

Technically, the fine print on the legislation  it came into effect in November 2016  bans smoking dope in public, on federal land or in a vehicle. Dont know about the federal land or vehicle part, but clearly law enforcement isnt paying any mind to public consumption. The city reeks. Its almost impossible to avoid a second-hand pot contact high.

This was annoying to someone such as moi who loathes the smell of cannabis. It makes me retch. Perhaps non-smokers, similarly averse to tobacco fumes, can sympathize. We, Butt Nation, have effectively been shunted well away  nine metres  from any building used by the public, where once the restriction applied only to medical facilities. Eventually, well probably be forced to fire up our darts in the middle of the street, hopefully  as Nico Nazis would have it  amid heavy traffic, all the better to wipe us off the face of the Earth.

Thats OK, I can live with it. Until I die from it.

Nevada is actually beholden to pot-heads. State legislators had been scrambling to replace the monies from hundreds of millions of dollars  Nevadas share of settlements with tobacco companies, recouped to cover the cost of health-care spending attributed to smoking-related illnesses. But that pot of gold, which has funded dozens of education and social programs, has severely dwindled, even though payments from 53 tobacco manufacturers to 46 states were to run a minimum of 25 years (beginning in 2008), totalling at least $206 billion (U.S.).

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Marijuana tax revenue allotted to Nevadas schools  the Distributive Schools Account, its called, carefully avoiding the dope essence  has grown from $571,385 in fiscal 2016 (when only medical marijuana taxes were collected) to a projected $20 million from medical and recreational tax revenues in fiscal 2018. Thats the educational cut from a 15-per-cent wholesale tax estimated to rake in more than $56 million by 18, according to government figures. Five million dollars has been set aside to offset the cost of enforcing marijuana regulations.

Naturally, theres been political bickering, with some counties, like Clark, arguing they should be entitled to a proportional larger chunk of the money because it generates a heap o marijuana sales compared with sparsely populated regions of the state.

California, which just came on licit weed-stream January 1  and with the worlds sixth-largest economy  expects the cannabis market to reach $3.7 billion this year and $5.1 billion in 2019.

It is always about the money, how government can most greedily profit from vice as overarching and monopolistic drug trafficker, within the moralizing rubric of stamping out criminal gangs that have owned the black market for the past century.

These are issues Canada will be confronting soon, if the Liberal government comes through on its promise to legalize dope by this summer, a key election vow by Justin Trudeau. July 1, a Canada Day goal for a fug of pot fumes, is no longer the precise deadline.

Relevant legislation  Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, and Bill-C-46, which would tighten rules on impaired driving related to marijuana use  are still tied up in the Conservative-dominated Senate, although they were passed in the House last year. Distribution, sales and packaging will not necessarily be consistent among provinces, although it appears that wholesale distribution and online sales will be largely controlled by the feds. Provinces and territories will choose from three retail models for over-the-counter sales: private, public or hybrid.

Ontario has already announced its plan to roll out pot via LCBO subsidiary stores, essentially freezing out the private sector, including scores of dispensaries that have already set up shop. Unless Queens Park offers a competitive pricing scale, this scheme will definitely not send gangs and bikers out of business.

Im still trying to wrap my brain around Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief, as Trudeaus drug czar, though at least hes always been honest about the ineffectiveness of drug laws to control crime. His predecessor, Julian Fantino, was among the most hard core of anti-drug chiefs, even once comparing legalization of pot to legalizing murder. Yet there was Fantino, in November, cutting the ribbon on a new medical marijuana business he co-owns with former RCMP deputy commissioner Raf Souccar.

Several other Canadian ex-cops, according to a recent Reuters story, are wading into the pot-selling sphere. So members of the same law enforcement gang that busted your ass lo, these many years are now hoping to get rich off drug use.

The world keeps on turning and I can evolve with the times, although I still think its a dumb idea. But Ive heard little of genuine significance about how this all will work in a country where the black market windfall from marijuana was estimated by Statistics Canada as worth up to $7.2 billion in 2015; a country that has a ridiculously high rate of pot consumption by teenagers, who will still be handing over their money to street dealers because they cant buy legal. I suspect the same guys who stroll into my local bar with a duffel bag full of cheap untaxed smokes-off-the-reservation will be expanding their inventory.

What of the million or so Canadians who have a pot-related criminal record? In 2015 alone, upward of 20,000 individuals found with varying amounts of pot were charged. Trudeau has hinted at an amnesty and pardons but that sunny thereafter has not found its way into any proposed legislation yet.

Politicians cock everything up. Politicians straining under the weight of unprecedented debt, dope dollar signs dancing in their eyes, will doubtless make a mess of this too.

And where will you be able to toke? Because I dont want the stink anywhere around me and I sure as hell will go bat s--- crazy if its permitted anywhere I cant smoke an ordinary cigarette.

Big tobacco bad. Big pot perfectly fine Canadiana.

Correction January 23, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Bill C-45 and Bill-C-46 was passed in the House seven months ago. In fact, Bill C-45 passed in the House of Commons on Nov. 27 and Bill C-46 on Oct. 30.

Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
The revolving door doesn't spin much faster than this. Keith Noreika, a lawyer for Wall Street banks like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, took over in May 2017 as head of one of the main U.S. bank regulators. Less than a year later, he's back at his old firm -- representing banks.

Call it an internship - in the swamp.

Keith Noreika, a longtime lawyer for big Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) - Get JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Report , Bank of America Corp. (BAC) - Get Bank of America Corp Report and Citigroup Inc. (C) - Get Citigroup Inc. Report , quit his law firm in May 2017 to become acting head of the U.S. Office of Comptroller of the Currency - one of the main regulatory agencies overseeing big banks.

He spent just six months in the post, using many of his public appearances to discuss the need to roll back regulations on the banking industry.

Now, Noreika, 45, has returned to his former law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he'll resume his job advising big banks on regulation and defending them against related lawsuits.

"Keith's return to the firm will enhance our ability to serve our financial-institution clients around the world," Bill Dougherty, chairman of Simpson Thacher's executive committee, said Monday in a statement.

Noreika's round-trip from industry to regulator and then back to industry after just six months illustrates how President Donald Trump's pledge to "drain the swamp" - a reference to the Washington culture of lobbyists, lawyers and executives who shuttle between private-sector and government jobs - often means they're just returning to the industry whence they came.

Within weeks of taking office in January 2017, Trump issued an order requiring executive-agency appointees to sign a pledge that they wouldn't "engage in lobbying activities" with respect to their agency for at least five years after the termination of their employment. The appointees also had to agree not to participate, during their time in government, in any proceedings involving former clients for at least two years.

In an e-mail, Noreika referred questions about any post-employment restrictions to an OCC spokesman, Bryan Hubbard.

Hubbard said in a phone interview that Noreika was not required to sign Trump's pledge because he was acting comptroller rather than the agency's permanent head.

"He was not in a position to sign that pledge," Hubbard said. Noreika stepped down in November after Trump named Joseph Otting, a former bank executive, as the new comptroller.

Under U.S. law, Noreika is permanently barred from communicating with agency employees on specific matters he worked on during his time at the OCC, Hubbard said.

Noreika also plans to voluntarily avoid communicating with OCC officials "on behalf of anyone seeking official action on any matter" for one year, Hubbard said in an e-mail.

As comptroller, Noreika brought no major enforcement cases against big banks, based on a review of press releases during his tenure. He did seek to relax certain lending standards while giving speeches detailing his efforts to "minimize the burden associated with regulation." He issued three separate statements applauding legislative efforts to make it more difficult for consumers to file class-action suits against banks over abusive financial practices.

In a November speech before a trade association of the biggest Wall Street firms, he raised questions about an eight-decade U.S. policy -- originated in the wake of the 1929 crash -- of barring banks from engaging in commerce.

Banks supervised by the OCC should be "engines of economic growth for the nation," Noreika testified before a U.S. Senate panel in June 2017.

"I'll let my record speak for itself," Noreika, who got his law degree from Harvard University, said in the e-mail.

Eventually, Noreika's newfound understanding of the OCC's inner workings could be put to use for his bank clients, especially valuable given that financial regulators are typically secretive about supervision matters.

The banks who pay Noreika to represent them also could benefit from any relationships he formed with key OCC staffers during his tenure. Simpson Thacher's profits per partner averaged $3.47 million in 2016, according to the website Above the Law, which cited a ranking from the publication American Lawyer. That's about 20 times the Comptroller of the Currency's annual salary of about $170,000.

Noreika isn't alone in taking the revolving door back to Wall Street riches.

Thomas Curry, an appointee of former President Barack Obama who headed the OCC from 2012 through May 2017, joined Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP in November as co-head of the law firm's banking and financial-services practice, where he'll advise clients in a "wide range of policy, regulatory, governance and other matters," according to a statement from the firm.

And John Dugan, who headed the OCC during the financial crisis of 2008 and advocated behind the scenes for Citigroup to get a multibillion-dollar taxpayer bailout, joined the bank late last year as a member of its board of directors.

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Dani Reiss, president and CEO of Canada Goose Holdings, tells Jim Cramer about his company's partnership with Bain Capital.

Did you miss "Mad Money" on CNBC? If so, here are some of Jim Cramer's top takeaways.

In an "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Dani Reiss, president and CEO of Canada Goose Holdings (GOOS) - Get Canada Goose Holdings, Inc. Report , the 60-year old family business that is now a luxury outerwear powerhouse.

Reiss started off by saying that all of their products are indeed made in Canada, where the company employs 1,500 people in six facilities. Canada Goose doesn't just make "stuff," he said, they make enduring and relevant products that are truly best in class.

Reiss added that they've found a terrific partner in Bain Capital, which took a majority stake in the company in 2013. He said the partnership has been great and Bain is very supportive of everything they do.

When asked about the fur used in some of their products, Reiss explained that all their materials are sourced ethically and responsibly, and for those who don't want fur, they have many products without it. Canada Goose gives customers the freedom to choose the styles they want and fur is always used for function first and not simply fashion.

Cramer and the AAP team analyze the 2018 roadmap for Allergan (AGN) - Get Allergan plc Report . Find out what they're telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS

Over on Real Money, Cramer says always remember that on Wall Street, artifice is a major mover of stocks. Get more on his insights with a free trial subscription to Real Money.

Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

To read a full recap of this episode of "Mad Money," click here.

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Geopolitical risks, such as global supply disruptions, could send crude oil prices into the $70 to $80 range, according to analysts at Citi.

Oil prices, which rose on Wednesday after the U.S. reported a 4.9-million-barrel decline in crude inventories, could reach $80 a barrel due to some geopolitical risks that have not abated, such as tension in the Middle East, Donald Trump and the potential for global oil supply disruptions, analysts at Citigroup Inc. said.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude contracts for February delivery rose by about 0.7% to $63.43, while Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, gained 0.4% to $69.07 at 2:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday.

Crude prices have increased since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, decided to extend production cuts until the end of 2018. They were further boosted by the unrest in Iran as concerns about supply disruption surfaced.

But the team of analysts at Citi said there is a significant risk of supply disruption in five OPEC countries, including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela.

"After hitting a five-year low in September 2017, global oil supply disruptions could materially increase in 2018 and in short order," Citi analysts, including Ed Morse, wrote in a Jan. 9 report titled Wildcards for 2018: Trump looms large along with systemic risks.

"Disturbances in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and/or Venezuela could see disruptions climb above 3 million barrels a day," the analysts continued.

If these disruptions occur this year, particularly in the first half of 2018, then oil prices would very likely trade in the $70 to $80 a barrel range, Citi said.

Still, the most prominent systemic risk to commodities could be President Trump, said the analysts.

"Global uncertainties, for the first time in modern history, centered on the U.S. with a new president promoting an 'America First' doctrine that upended the existing world order," wrote the Citi analysts.

If the U.S. were to re-impose sanctions on Iran, the third-largest OPEC producer, it could dislocate at least 500,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil exports, which could result in a $5 a barrel price increase, the analyst team said.

"The Trump Administration has already increased sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals at least twice since the inauguration in efforts to punish and impede missile development and financing of activities abroad, setting precedents for doing more without walking away from the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran Nuclear Deal]," the Citi analysts said.

The president is expected this week to extend relief from economic sanctions to Iran, the Associated Press reported, citing six people familiar with the administration's deliberations.

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YANGONMyanmars media has long been on the rack. On Wednesday the situation worsened markedly when police formally charged two Reuters reporters with breaching the Official Secrets Act. The case against Myanmar nationals Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, follows their work on the Rohingya refugee crisis. Hopes of a new dawn for free speech under the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi have been dashed. At least 11 journalists were arrested in 2017 and dozens of non-media workers have been charged with online defamation since she took office the year before. At the same time, rights groups say the Rohingya crisis has created a toxic atmosphere of self-censorship among the media. Here are some of the other prominent legal cases involving the media and freedom of expression in recent months in Myanmar, which ranked 131st out of 180 countries in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index. In October three journalists and their driver were arrested for flying a drone near parliament while working for Turkish broadcaster TRT. The reporters, Myanmar national Aung Naing Soe, Malaysian journalist Mok Choy Lin and Singaporean cameraman Lau Hon Meng, were later jailed for two months along with their driver Hla Tin for violating a colonial-era aircraft act. They were released in December shortly before finishing the sentence. Observers linked the case to antipathy towards Turkey after its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Investigative journalist Swe Win was arrested at Yangons airport in July and charged under the notorious 66(d) statute, which covers online defamation. His case stemmed from Facebook comments in which he criticized a nationalist monk. Swe Win was released on bail but the case is continuing in the city of Mandalay. Scores of writers, poets, journalists and civilians have been subject to 66(d) complaints, which have soared under Suu Kyis administration.Complaints have been filed against critics of both Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing. Three Myanmar journalists from the Irrawaddy and the Democratic Voice of Burma were arrested in June after reporting on a drug-burning ceremony. The event took place in territory controlled by the rebel group the Taang National Liberation Army. The reporters were charged with unlawful association, a law used against supporters of Myanmars many ethnic armed organizations fighting for autonomy in border areas. The case was eventually withdrawn but the reporters spent more than two months in jail, in what was seen as a warning against giving publicity to rebel groups. Pre-publication censorship was abolished in 2012. But articles critical of the security forces and senior officials still give editors reasons to be afraid. Sometimes this reaches absurd heights: a satirist from the Voice newspaper was arrested in June along with his editor for publishing an essay gently mocking Myanmars failed efforts to make peace with ethnic armed groups. Charges were eventually dropped against both of them. Allegations of atrocities by security forces in Rakhine state also pose acute problems for Myanmar-based media. They fear a backlash from the government and the Buddhist-majority public, who consider condemnation over the Rohingya crisis unfair and one-sided. Several staff members at the Myanmar Times quit in protest at the firing of a colleague who had raised allegations of sexual assault against security forces in Rakhine.
A couple got engaged amid friends and family and within hours were married after the groom had planned the entire event to make life easier for his bride.

Nicole Rios, nee Carfagna, has lupus  a condition with no cure that can be exacerbated by stress, such as that which accompanies planning a wedding.

Her husband Danny decided to ask if she wanted to have the wedding immediately at their home in Smithtown, New York, instead, with photographer Stephanie Scapallati on hand to document the day.

Ms Rios has undergone chemotherapy to help with her lupus and told the BBC that it has been a tough time for the couple with her illness.

Stress is not good with lupus. I would have been sick the majority of the time, I wouldnt have enjoyed it, she said.

What if wed planned the wedding then on the wedding day Im sick? So this took all that stress away, the new bride explained.

Mr and Ms Rios were returning from a trip from Walt Disney World when she noticed their home decorated with lights.

I thought Dannys mom and stepdad had decorated our house for Christmas... But Danny took me by the hand and I saw a big tent in our backyard, with our family lined up outside it, Ms Rios said, describing the scene.

All who were gathered thought it was an engagement party as Mr Rios got down on one knee and proposed. They were in for a surprise as Mr Rios took Ms Rios aside and said: If you want, I have everything set up to get married.

Ms Rios said she didnt need to think about it. Suddenly all my jitters and anxiousness went away because I knew I wanted to marry him. I just said yes.

There were already a tuxedo and wedding dress hanging up as well as a backyard tent full of guests and food. In addition, Mr Rios father was ordained earlier in the day in order to marry the couple.

The brides brother served as her man of honour as well.

Ms Rios said it was like a fairytale and that her wedding went perfectly.
Sheep Noel and Neidin are married at the Kenmare Co-op Mart | Photo via Kenmare Co-op Mart on Facebook

A livestock mart in Kerry is cementing its bid to become a top wedding venue in Ireland by holding its first wedding.

But as couples seemed to be cautious about the idea of getting married in a farmer's market, it was up to a pair of sheep to step up to the plate and become the bride and groom at the first wedding held in the Kenmare co-op.

Expand Close Sheep Noel and Neidin are married at the Kenmare Co-op Mart | Photo via Kenmare Co-op Mart on Facebook / Facebook

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Noel, the 'groom' and Neidin, the 'bride', tied the knot over the festive season wearing their Sunday best, with Neidin in a white bridal veil and Noel in a fetching tie and top hat.

"It was a big turnout," manager of the Kenmare Co-op Livestock Mart Dan McCarthy told THEVOW.ie, "everyone was very happy for the couple."

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"It was the first official sheep wedding in the country I think," he added.

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Spurred on by the success of similar venues in the UK, Dan has been urging couples to consider the sheep and cattle auction room as their wedding venue and so far says he's received "a few" queries.

The venue meets many of the requirements in that it's open to the public and has its fire, health and safety certification.

Other criteria for civil ceremonies in Ireland include that it is "a seemly and dignified venue for the solemnisation of marriages".

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Dan has urged couples to consider choosing the site as the place to say their vows, and for anyone single who was interested in the idea, also mentioned that there were "plenty of bachelors" around locally, so ewe too could be walking down the aisle sooner than you think.
Japanese stars Dean Fujioka and Takei Emi in 'May I Blackmail You?'

New Year with star-studded dramas from Japan New year is for new beginnings. A professional villain teams up with a girl his polar opposite in May I Blackmail You?. A player who doesnt believe in love gets to relive the final week of his life over and over in Kiss that Kills. Finally, two people broken by their experiences get a second chance at building a real family in anone. May I Blackmail You? Senkawa Kanji (Dean Fujioka) is a professional villain who takes on cases that the police or private investigators cannot handle. He solves cases by blackmailing people to get the answers or clues that he needs. In one of such cases, he meets Mio (Emi Takei), a wealthy university student who has a heart of gold. How will this highly unusual pair work together to solve the cases? May I Blackmail You? airs 9 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays. Kiss That Kills Dojima Otaro (Kento Yamazaki) is the most sought-after host at a club. He is the ultimate player who is quick to move on to his next target as soon as he sees no value in in a woman. One day, a pale-looking woman with bright red lips appears before Otaro and gives him the Kiss of Death. This kiss causes Otaro experience breathing difficulties and heart palpitations, before sending him into a seizure  and finally, he dies. Yet he wakes up to seven days before the event and relives the events over and over again. Can Otaro unravel the mystery behind the kiss and the death loops?Kiss That Kills airs Sundays at 9:30 p.m. same time as Japan. Anone Harika (Suzu Hirose), a girl who lost her family and became separated from society can no longer figure out a way to live. One fateful day, Harika meets an elderly woman, Anone (Yuko Tanaka). Both of them were deceived, betrayed and have lost faith in other people, but somehow, they gravitate towards each other and so the older woman gives shelter to Harika. Can they become a real family and eventually find true humanity? anone premieres Jan. 13, and airs Saturdays at 7.30 p.m., same week as Japan. GEM is available on SKYCable Channel 116 in Metro Manila and on Channel 222 in Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Baguio.
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions segments. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, artificial intelligence based adaptive radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as quality assurance equipment. Its products include linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment accessories, and quality assurance software; and information management, treatment planning, image processing, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, decision-making support, and practice management software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, physicians' offices, medical oncology practices, radiotherapy centers, and cancer care clinics. The Proton Solutions segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services products and systems for delivering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The company has a strategic agreement with McKesson Corp. to supply treatment delivery systems and planning, services, and radiotherapy information system solutions to its U.S. Oncology Network and Vantage Oncology affiliated sites of care; and a strategic partnership with Siemens AG to represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products to radiation oncology clinics in the United States and other select markets. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

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Posted Wednesday, January 10, 2018 7:00 am

An investigation into a hotline call to Greene County Childrens Division has resulted in a felony sex crime charge against a deputy with the Webster County Sheriffs Office.

According to a news release from the sheriffs office, the department was notified Monday, Jan. 8 about the investigation being conducted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol regarding Brent D. Grey, 50, Marshfield. Later that night, Grey was arrested at his Marshfield home and has since been charged with first-degree statutory sodomy, an unclassified felony.

The sheriffs office release said as a result of the allegations, Grey has been terminated from his position as chief deputy.

The charge stems from an allegation by a juvenile female, who said she was 10 or 11 years old when Grey would touch and massage her, making her feel uncomfortable, according to a probable cause statement from MSHP trooper E.L. Tyrrell. In the statement, the alleged victim said Grey also would make her touch his penis.

Tyrrell said in the statement he and an investigator with the Childrens Division arrived at Greys residence the evening of Monday, Jan. 8. Greys wife told the investigators he didnt want to speak with them, according to the statement. However, after several minutes, contact was made with Grey, with the investigators able to speak with the girl outside the residence. During the interview, she repeated the allegations, Tyrrell said in the statement.

The girls statements have been consistent and they have been made to three or four other people prior to the initiation of this investigation, Tyrrell added in the statement.

According to court records, Greys bond was set at $50,000 and he is being held in the Texas County Jail. Webster County Prosecutor Ben Berkstresser was granted a request by the court to have a special prosecutor assigned to the case. Stone County Prosecutor Matt Selby has been appointed, with the Missouri Supreme Court assigning Greene County Associate Circuit Judge Ron Carrier as judge.

A motion for a change of judge was filed and granted today (Jan. 10) by Greys attorney, Rita Sanders, according to court records.
HOOSICK FALLS - The Village Board voted Tuesday night to take legal actions they say would ease the financial burdens imposed by PFOA contamination of its soil and drinking water.



The village trustees voted unanimously to sue Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International for damages, blaming them for causing the contamination of the chemical linked to various diseases including several cancers. The second lawsuit will challenge the more than $582,000 that FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth and its public relations firm Behan Communications want to charge the village for work done on a failed class action lawsuit against the companies last winter.



"It's been weighing on me," said Mayor Robert Allen. "It's an unfortunate step, but a necessary one."



Attorney David Engel of Nolan & Heller in Albany will take on the companies in a suit seeking a significant amount of money, for costs the village has already incurred and expected costs into the future. Engel said he tried to negotiate with both Saint-Gobain and Honeywell, but was unsuccessful. One of the main issues is that the companies want to be released from all future responsibilities for the PFOA contamination.



"The sad truth is a lawsuit is the best way to prompt a meaningful discussion," Engel said.



Andrew Gilchrist, the Troy lawyer for the village on the billing issue, could not predict what the legal costs will be. Gilchrist said he too tried to come to an agreement without litigation, but said FitzGerald Morris and Behan have filed a notice of claim, seeking the payment. As they intend to sue the village, the village has no choice but to go to court, he said.



Trustee Brian Bushner said he had hoped that Saint-Gobain and Honeywell would be good neighbors. But he said the companies "keep kicking us when we are down."



Last year, Hoosick Falls trustees came close to settling with the companies for just over $1 million, with the caveat that the village would be prohibited from bringing future claims against Saint Gobain and Honeywell related to pollution. That proposed deal sparked outcry from residents as well as state and federal leaders.



The settlement was negotiated by FitzGerald Morris on behalf of the village was tabled by the board in February 2017. It included roughly $310,000 in fees payable to the law firm, intended to cover the costs of the small community's expenses for engineering, water sampling and legal and public relations advice.



A new village administration, voted into office last March, voided the law firm's contract.



"This is incredibly difficult," Bushner said. "I'm angry to have to come to this decision. It's unfair to the village.



At one point in their discussion, Loreen Hackett, a resident who has been outspoken about the contamination, ran up to the trustee table with her cell phone displaying a photo of her granddaughter who suffers migraines and seizures. She believes her illnesses are caused by PFOA.



"It doesn't matter how much it will cost," Hackett shouted. "You have to do it for the kids. This is for the kids."



Liz Moran, water and natural resources director of Environmental Advocates of New York, has been following the PFOA crisis in Hoosick Falls closely. She agrees something must be done to force the companies to do right by the residents.



"It's no secret that the polluters need to pay up," Moran said. "They certainly have the money. To make a small community go through this, it's just not right. This pollution is not going away. It's in people's system, they are suffering health impacts. The companies could have a new water system for them in no time. But this has been going on for two years. And they knew about it a year and a half before that. The people of Hoosick Falls have waited a long time for justice."

Dina Silver Pokedoff, a spokeswoman for Saint-Gobain, said the company and Honeywell "have been in continuous dialogue with this administration, as well as the previous, to provide reimbursements to the village for the actual costs it incurred to investigate and install the filtration systems that ensure village residents have access to potable drinking water.
ALBANY  Advocates for childrens well-being will be watching how Gov. Andrew Cuomos 2018 agenda, as released last week in his State of the State, will play out in the budget he proposes later this month.

The governors 376-page outline of priorities for the year includes investing in the first 1,000 days (about three years) of childrens lives. Kate Breslin, president of the Schuyler Center for Analysis & Advocacy, said Tuesday that effort is high on her organizations list of concerns, whose work focuses on New York children and families living in poverty. Research shows neglect and negative experiences early in life can have long-term impacts.

As other advocates have done in the weeks before Gov. Andrew Cuomo releases his state budget, the Schuyler Center on Tuesday presented its argument for a state investment in New York families to dozens of policymakers and nonprofit representatives assembled at the Legislative Office Building. A challenge for childrens advocates, Breslin said, is convincing elected officials to spend money now while understanding that it may take years for positive results to materialize.

Many solutions, many efforts, will take longer than a budget year or an election cycle to bear fruit, Breslin said. Our job together is to convince our leaders, our policymakers, to make tough choices and serious investments now that generate opportunities and outcomes that certainly bear fruit, but that they may not be able to claim in the next election.

The nonprofits analysts painted a bleak picture of the status of New Yorks most vulnerable children. The state ranks 41st in the country on measures of childrens economic well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Thats despite the fact that New York lags just one other state, California, in the number of residents whose net worth tops $30 million, said Dede Hill, the Schuyler Centers policy director.

Most poor New York families are headed by working parents, Hill said, and the high cost of child care is among their major hurdles.

Almost 60 percent of children age 3 and under are covered by Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income Americans. In August, Gov. Cuomo directed the state Health Department to establish a First 1,000 Days on Medicaid working group to recommend ways to improve opportunities for young children and their families.

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Among recommendations made by the Schuyler Center on Tuesday are strengthening the states child tax credit, which now exempts kids under 4 years old; increasing full-day pre-kindergarten beyond New York City; and expanding access to child care, including fair compensation for workers.

The Schuyler Center is also concerned about Congress failure to reauthorize funding for the Childrens Health Insurance Program, Breslin said. Without action at the federal level, the state could run out of funding for CHIP by March.

New York has had a historically high rate of insurance coverage for children, in part due to CHIP and a robust Medicaid program.
Tipperary's farmers are spreading their wings when it comes to buying up land, according to a national round-up of land sales for 2017.

As well as paying some of the top prices in the Premier County, Tipperary farmers have been eyeing up land in places as far apart as Westmeath, Offaly and Roscommon.

Two Tipperary farmers acting independently paid 1.68m for the largest holding sold nationally in 2017.

The property, a 338-acre farm at Kilnahinch, Moate, County Westmeath, was sold by Murtagh Bros, according to a survey of land sales released by the Farming Independent.

The figure raised was equivalent to 4,900 per acre.

In money terms, the biggest sale in Munster last year was a non-residential grass and tillage holding at Golden, fetching 2.3m or 17,153 per acre for the 130-acre farm. It was sold by Alison de Vere Hunt of Cashel Marts.

Not far behind was the 2.2m spent by showjumper Greg Broderick on a 217-acre residential farm at Borrisoleigh, which comprises a Georgian house, grass and extensive road frontage. The sale was handled by Vincent Ryan of Thos Ryan Auctioneers.

Tipperary held the highest number of land auctions in Munster in 2017, hosting 16 of the 30 sales, with two other farms making over the 1m mark.

A 65-acre farm at Ballyslatten, Golden, auctioned by Mark Donovan of Donovan Auctioneers, fetched 1.02m, or 15,700 per acre, when it was bought locally.

A residential farm of 104 acres at Cullen, with grass, sheds and a disused milking system was sold by Matthew Ryan Auctioneer for 1.25m, or 1,200 per acre. The same auctioneer also sold a 33-acre farm at Kilpatrick, Dundrum, for 11,757 per acre, or 387,981.

A parcel of 24 acres of non-residential tillage land at Farranlahasery, Cahir, was sold by John Fitzgerald of Dougan Fitzgerald for 390,00, or 16,250 per acre.

Meanwhile, Offaly auctioneer Gordon Cobbe of GVM Tullamore has reported an increase in interest in land in Offaly coming from Tipperary farmers.

And, he said, it was not just interest from dairy farmers, but was also coming from tillage, drystock and the equestrian sectors as well.

But one place where Tipperary farmers lost out was in Tulsk, County Roscommon, where Premier County interest for a 125-acre non-residential holding was beaten off by local interest. The farm, sold by auctioneer John Earley, had extensive shedding, good fencing and 17,000 in entitlements.
London-based human rights group Amnesty International has called on Iranian authorities to shed light on the death of at least five demonstrators in the countrys prisons in the wake of week-long protests which challenged the theocratic regime.

At least five are reported dead in several prisons across the country, Amnesty International (AI) notes.

The shroud of secrecy and lack of transparency over what happened to these detainees is alarming. Instead of rushing to the judgment that they committed suicide, the authorities must immediately launch an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation, including independent autopsies, said Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty Internationals deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

We have long documented the nightmarish conditions in detention facilities in Iran, including the use of torture. Those suspected of having any responsibility for these deaths should be suspended from their positions and prosecuted in proceedings that respect international fair trial standards and without recourse to the death penalty.

The rights group reports the death of 23-year old Sina Ghanbari, who reportedly died in Teheran notorious Evin prison.

Authorities claimed he committed suicide but activists have lambasted the account.

Aside from Ghanbari, two other protesters died in the same prison at the quarantine section, reports say citing human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.

A judiciary source reported the death of one protester detained in the town of Arak, nearly 200 kilometers south of capital Tehran.

AI also reports the death of AI Vahid Heydari and Mohsen Adeli in detention in different locations.

Families of detainees have reportedly received threats for seeking the whereabouts of their loved ones that they have not heard from since they were arrested.

At least 22 people have died since the beginning of the protests in the second city of Mashhad on December 28 over economic grievances. The demonstrations quickly spiraled into anti-regime protests that authorities blamed on enemies of the Islamic Republic.

Around 3,700 have been rounded up during the protests quashed by the powerful Revolutionary Guards and their allied militia.
Thirty suppliers of the Garda Training College in Templemore will be faced with laying off workers as a result of the College authorities being forced to tender for all supplies under the controversial National Procurement Framework, The Tipperary Star can reveal

The Framework will see these small local businesses having to compete with large national companies for the right to supply all goods and services to the Garda Training College. And, Deputy Michael Lowry is blaming the intense scrutiny under which the College has been placed in recent times, by the likes of the Public Accounts Committee, for the latest move which will most certainly result in job losses across the county.

People are livid over this and I don't blame them. We have small businesses supplying the Garda College with top class produce and services for years, without any complaint, sometimes delivering twice daily to the College. Now, they will have to compete with the large national and multinational companies who will make huge deliveries once a week - they just won't be able to compete with them. And all of this because somebody in an office in Dublin decides that this is in the best interest of everybody. This will end up costing money and jobs in the long run, and angry Deputy Lowry said.



Deputy Michael Lowry says all the negative press has forced this dictat upon College authorities.

The Independent TD said that the accounting system at the Garda College which has come under scrutiny in recent times, amid much hype and negative publicity, has resulted in this latest dictat which is literally taking the bread from the mouth of local businesses.

These local businesses are also entitled to tender under the National Procurement Framework, but the process is extremely complicated, with one document alone run ning to 89 pages, according to Deputy Lowry.

I have asked the Tipperary Enterprise Board to assist companies with the completion of their application forms, but we know that most of them will simply not be able to compete and will not be eligible to compete. The Garda College has become so vital to their businesses, some of them for over thirty years, and to have that taken away from them will certainly result in job losses. The tendering process is underway and will be completed by March, Deputy Lowry said.

The catering section of the Garda College alone, prepares and serves 2,000 meals per day to the 600 people on campus. That amounts to 10,000 meals per week and catering has always come within budget at year end thanks to prudent housekeeping and the use of a number of local suppliers to ensure the best of quality at the most competive of prices.

They want to take all of this away from local management now and this is very significant and alarming. The small business is being squeezed out and that is bad news for small rural businesses who are providing much needed employment in our localities. The areas to be affected by this include Templemore, Templetuohy, Borrisoleigh, Thurles, Roscrea, Nenagh, Newport and many other towns and villages. We are talking about reputable companies here, all of whom have impeccable records of excellence and the highest of standards. Historical accounting procedures should not be used as a stick to beat the present local management and as a result, local businesses, but that is what's happening. People are shooting off their mouths and jobs will now be lost as a result of this, Deputy Lowry said.
Independent TD Mattie McGrath has said that all of Tipperary can be immensely proud of its young scientists who are about to take part in the 3-day Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin. Deputy McGrath was speaking ahead of the opening of the major annual educational and entrepreneurial event:

Every year I genuinely look forward to visiting the Young Scientist Exhibition.

This year will prove yet again that those who will travel from Tipperary are excellent ambassadors for the county.

Students and their teachers are traveling from Clonmel, Thurles, Borrisoleigh, Roscrea and Thurles, to name but a few.

I have every confidence that they will do themselves and their families and schools proud through the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that they possess.

Each year it is a tonic to see such vision and optimism among so many of our young people and indeed to see the superb collaboration between themselves and the teachers who have inspired them to pursue science with a passion.
Cashel's Halla na Feile is a hive of activity today just hours before the Opening Night of this year's much anticipated production of Cinderella.

Rehearsals are well underway and the cast is gearing up for Cashel Pantomime Society's production of the classic fairytale, kicking off tonight (January 10th) at 8pm .

With a mixture of familiar and new faces, this promises to be an exciting show for all age groups, featuring a great band playing excellent musical scores.

Will Cinderella finally marry the Prince and escape the clutches of her evil stepsisters and stepmother? Come along and enjoy what will surely be a great opening night of fun, comedy, romance and excitement.

Show starts this Wednesday (January 10th) at 8pm with a concession price of 10 for adults & 8 for children.

Thursday Night at 8pm

Adults 15 Children 10

Saturday Matinee at 2pm

Adults 10 Children 8

Sunday Matinee at 2pm

Adults 10 Children 8

Sunday Night at 8pm

Adults 15 Children 10

Cinderella promises to be a great night of singing, dancing & laughing, so come along and join us in Halla Na Feile.

Tickets available from Rossa Pottery, Main Street Cashel 062-65899 or on the door on the night.

This years leading lady is Nicole Kennedy, playing Cinderella, while introducing Shane ODonovan who will be our Prince Charming. Shane is no stranger to the stage having starred in Tipperary Musical Society Productions. We are delighted to have him on board with us this year!

Niamh Browne is this years Baroness Stoney Broke, Cinderellas Wicked Stepmother who will do everything in her power to stop Cinderella from meeting her Prince Charming.

Our King and Queen are Martin Lynch and Joan Kennedy.

This is Martins stage debut and he has taken to acting like a duck to water, and Joan is no stranger to the stage and we are delighted to have her with us this year.

The Ugly Sisters will be played by Ken Whelan and Liam O Mhaoldhomhnaigh, as Salmonella & Influenza!

Esmeralda - The Fairy Godmother - who is destined to get Cinderella to the Ball to meet her Prince Charming is played by the charismatic Lorraine Cormack, and meet Daniel Bowes Dandini the fun-loving Sidekick to Prince Charming.

He is on a mission to find a woman for the Prince, but he may find one or two women for himself along the way!
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed cannot ignore the developing fodder crisis any longer, IFA president Joe Healy has insisted.

Mr Healy called for a further meeting of the Fodder Action Group to be urgently convened to assess the situation and to establish actions required to avoid a crisis this winter.

He said the credibility of the Ministers establishment of the group will be questioned unless he calls a meeting as soon as possible to deliver tangible outcomes.

The IFA president said: A Teagasc survey has clearly established that 85 per cent of farmers affected by fodder shortages in the north-west region have, on average, less than half of the fodder they need for the winter. That is a very stark situation for the farmers affected and the very poor weather of the last number of days will only add to the problem.

Mr Healy said that the Minister had been aware of the situation for some time, and had acknowledged the difficulties farmers were experiencing, but had yet to offer any tangible support. Immediate action is required, he said.

It is very disappointing that the Minister has to date failed to support a meal voucher system, which we strongly believe would have been the best and most efficient solution. We are now seeking a commitment from the Minister to fund the significant cost of transporting fodder to the areas in need, he said.

In response to the crisis, IFA has mobilised its national county and branch network to support those farmers in most difficulty. Counties have been twinned to identify farmers who are in a position to contribute feed that can be transported to areas in need and provided at a reasonable cost.
Walking under the Rock of Cashel over the holiday period something crunched beneath my feet - a dropping of the colour of hay chopped into small pieces.

I was delighted that a couple of pairs of ravens had found a home as confirmed by a recent Birdwatch Ireland survey. The ravens of my youth, soaring above Killough Hill and Cabragh Wetlands had long departed along with the peregrine falcon as their homes were lost to quarrying for road building and national infrastructure. Has there ever been any bird so imbued with a sense of foreboding or so central to peoples mythology and acquired belief as the raven who still stalks the Tower of London today with their clipped wings to warn of danger?

The exile of the sons of Uisneach along with the Children of Lir and the Children of Tuireann are the three sorrowful tales of Ireland. In the Book of Leinster story from the eighth or ninth century, in the time of Conor mac Neasa, high King of Ireland, Deirdre sees her foster mother skinning a calf in the snow and a black raven comes to drink the blood. She immediately decides with predictably tragic results, since she is already promised to the king, that she will only marry a man who has the three colours she sees before her, hair as black as a raven, cheeks red like the blood and skin as white as snow. Many many centuries later, Eamon de Valera would choose a bronze casting by Oliver Shephard of the dead Cuchulainn strapped to a rock with a raven resting on his shoulder as a suitable commemoration of the achievement of freedom and place it in the original doorway of the G.P.O.

Viking mythology has darkened the birds reputation. At the feet of the Norse God Odin sat two wolves who fed him while on his shoulders perched two ravens. This symbol was borne on the standards of his armies. Unfurled on their banners the raven was the harbinger of war. Along with the wolf and the eagle, the raven was one of the beasts of battle, haunting emblems of death and destruction. However, in the early tales of the Desert Fathers whose thinking inspired early Irish Christianity the raven is depicted as bringing a loaf of bread to St. Paul and St. Anthony or removing poisoned bread from the table of St.Benedict.

The raven is the biggest of the whole crow family with a length of 64 cm and a wing span the same size as the herring gull. Its tail is gradually tapered in contrast to the square ended tail of the crow. Ravens are vocal and their deep resonant croak instantly distinguishes them. Ravens are notably acrobatic performers on the wing.

At any time of the year but particularly in late winter and early spring as the breeding season approaches, ravens, which pair for life, often indulge in exciting display flights. The two ravens fly side by side, often at great height, and one of the pair, most often the large male, suddenly rolls upside down and continues gliding in this position for a short distance before righting itself again. Similarly, one of the pair may suddenly close wings and free dive through the sky with impressive power.

The raven is predominantly a carrion eater and they often assemble in large numbers where carrion is available.

They also take small mammals, eggs of other birds, frogs or any other available form of meat. Sheep farmers view the raven with some suspicion accusing it of killing new born lambs and sickly sheep. It is an immensely successful bird throughout the northern hemisphere whether in the frozen north or further south in the hot deserts. It profits from the inevitability of death in the animal kingdom. Nests are built in traditional sites and are enlarged a little each year. They are among the earliest breeders of the year and nest building is well under way in early February and adults will incubate through the very worst of the late winter weather.

So in these quiet days after Christmas, ravens will repay some study-their body language is full of character, their eyes glitter, their heads swivel with curiosity, absolutely territorial, they re-act to every sound and movement and of course they are barbaric-definitely uber-birds.

Dont forget the important talk on climate change at Cabragh on January 13th beginning at 11a.m. and we will throw in a a Cosmic Walk for good measure.

Slan go foill.
NEW YORK  Newly installed FBI Director Christopher A. Wray laid out a forceful case for giving law enforcement agencies privileged access to encrypted devices and communications at the 2018 International Conference on Cyber Security at Fordham University Law School today (Jan. 9).

(Image credit: FBI Director Christopher A. Wray's official Bureau portrait. Credit: FBI)

"In fiscal year 2017, we were unable to access the content of 7,775 devices" that were relevant to criminal cases, Wray said. "That's more than half of all the devices we attempted to access in that timeframe."

He called on technology companies to sit down with law enforcement to devise a workable solution, urging them to "come to the table with an idea of trying to find a solution  as opposed to trying to find a way to build systems to prevent a solution."

MORE: Best VPN Services and Apps

Law-enforcement access to U.S. residents' personal property is routinely and legally granted by court orders or warrants, and has been standard practice in American law for centuries. Likewise, the ability of law enforcement to open mail and listen to conversations, with narrowly targeted warrants, has long been legally sound.

But both practices have become very difficult in the past few years thanks to the virtually unbreakable encryption found in today's smartphones, computers and digital communications.

The FBI calls this sudden lack of access to vital evidence "going dark," and Wray's predecessor as FBI director, James B. Comey, personally stressed the issue during his tenure. Comey oversaw the best-known example of "going dark" when Apple refused to help the FBI in creating software that would break into the San Bernardino terrorist shooter's workplace iPhone.

Many information-security advocates argue that criminals could exploit law-enforcement "backdoors" into encryption standards, and others argue that the math involved rules out the possibility of selectively weakened encryption techniques, but Wray doesn't accept those explanations.

The FBI and other law-enforcement agencies, both in the U.S. and abroad, claim that this lack of access protects drug dealers, kidnappers, murderers and terrorists.

"As horrifying as 7,800 devices in one year sounds, it's going to be a lot worse in a couple of years if we don't find a responsible solution," Wray said. "We need to work fast [and] we need and want the private sector's help.

"We need to have companies comply with lawfully issued court orders," he added. "I just do not buy the claim that it's impossible."

Wray points out that American technology companies have routinely succeeded at overcoming barriers that seemed insurmountable  as long as the will was there.

"If we can develop driverless cars," he said, "surely we should be able to devise devices that both provide data security and permit lawful access with a court order. ... I reject the notion that there could be such a place that no matter what kind of lawful authority we have, we can't protect innocent citizens."

Even though Apple stonewalled the FBI in the San Bernardino shooter's case and others related to encrypted iPhones and iPads, the company has given the Chinese government access to Apple's new data center in that country. Apple has also removed some VPN apps from the iOS App Store in mainland China at government request.

Other tech companies have complied with similarly heavy-handed government demands in India, Russia and the Middle East. Yet those companies resist far less intrusive and more transparent U.S. government requests.

Such governments "operate a little differently than ours, to put it diplomatically," Wray said. "It strikes me as odd that American technology providers would grant broad access to user data to foreign governments that may lack all sorts of fundamental process and rule of law protections, while at the same time denying access to specific user data in countries like ours."

Wray offered an example of a successful compromise in a similar situation. He explained that Symphony, a heavily encrypted secure-messaging platform created and used by large investment banks and financial firms, caused concern for New York state regulators when it debuted in 2015. Symphony guaranteed that messages and data deleted by users would truly be erased from the entire system  and leave nothing for authorities to find.

"The four banks [subject to New York regulations] reached an agreement ... to keep a copy of all communications sent to or from them through Symphony for seven years," Wray said, and to also retain decryption keys for every message in case authorities might need them.

"Let me be clear: The FBI supports information security measures, including strong encryption," Wray said. "But information security programs need to be thoughtfully designed so they don't undermine the lawful tools we need to keep this country safe."

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Saudi authorities are about to acquire Israeli anti-missile system, Iron Dome system, to beef up its defense apparatus.

The news was reported by Swiss media Basler Zeitung, which quoted a European weapon dealer as saying that that Saudis are looking into the purchase of Israeli military ware, such as the Israeli Trophy Active Protection System (APS).

The Israeli technology can intercept missiles and rockets launched into Saudi Arabia with a bust of metal pellets.

The equipment is developed by Israel defense contractors Rafael and the Elta Group division of Israel Aircraft Industries.

Israel boasts that the Iron Dome system was used to intercept Hamas-launched rockets towards southern, central and Northern Israel during the 2014 Israel-Gaza war.

The Swiss media also noted that Saudi military experts tested the equipment in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Saudi kingdom and Israel have been working on rapprochement although there are no diplomatic ties between the two. Both countries have reportedly developed secret ties in the area of security, fight against terrorism and mainly cooperation against Iran that both countries consider their enemy.

The move to buy the Israeli technology comes as Saudi Arabia is under constant threat from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The rebels, who have been fighting the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, have launched several ballistic missiles into Saudi Arabia lately.

Two missiles were launched in November and a third one was launched in December with target set on King Salmans office.
LAS VEGAS - Virtual reality's second act has arrived, and it appears the future lies in self-contained systems. It's Lenovo, not Oculus VR or HTC that's leading the charge.



The company recently unveiled its Mirage Solo headset, the first all-in-one, Google Daydream-compatible VR headset. The device is scheduled to debut during the second quarter of the year, with a target price below $400.



However, Lenovo isn't stopping at the headset. The company also announced the Mirage Camera (Q2 launch, sub-$300 target price), which can capture VR content.

Design

Despite its gleaming Moonlight White plastic body, the Mirage Solo has a similar design to the Lenovo Mixed Reality headset I saw last year. Along the back, you have the large knob, which allows you to adjust the diameter of the headband. If you have big hair like me, be prepared to do some strategic coif maneuvering even on the widest setting.

MORE: Best VR Headsets

The front of the device is made from glossy black plastic from which you can see a pair of Google's WorldSense tracking sensors, which afford the wearer six degrees of motion with a 1.5-meter play area to move around in. They do not, however, act as a set of pass-through lenses, which means you can't look out into the real world.

Putting it on, I found that the headset was comfortably balanced, with the majority of the weight resting towards the front of the device. Although there's a hinge-looking attachment connecting the front part of the Mirage Solo to the headband, it does not have the ability to flip upwards like its mixed-reality counterpart. However, unlike any other headset on the market, the Mirage has a slot for a microSD card, which is intriguing to say the least.

It's What's On the Inside That Counts

Look ma, no phone or wires! The Mirage Solo is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. It's the same CPU that's found in most current flagship Android smartphones. That means you can expect smooth rendering when exploring your virtual vistas with minimal lag.

Speaking of your smartphone, Lenovo claims that the Mirage Solo can last up to 7 hours on a charge, thanks to its 4,000 mAh battery. That's a shorter battery life than most high-end phones, but that means that you can spare your precious handheld the rigors of supporting VR, namely extreme heat and quick battery drainage.

Like the Google Daydream View, the Mirage Solo will run on the Daydream OS, which means you'll be using the Daydream View's controller to help you navigate through worlds. The controls are the same for both headsets, so those familiar with the Daydream View will have no problems with the Mirage Solo.

MORE: 9 Cheap VR Headsets (Under $45) Ranked from Best to Worst

Eyes-on

The Mirage Solo is equipped with a QHD display (2560 x 1440), which rivals a Samsung Gear VR outfitted with a Samsung Galaxy S8+ (2960 x 1440). Both headsets top the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, which have resolutions of 1080 x 1200. That meant when I was watching a video of a child's birthday party, details were sharp enough that I could see little wisps of hair framing the birthday girl's face as she blew out her candles. The color was nice and vivid, especially the light blue balloon that one party guest swatted into my face.

However, without having any of the competitors on hand, I'm not going to make any final judgement. I will say that I'm pleasantly surprised by my initial viewing. I'm also happy to learn that you can cast the content you're experiencing in the Mirage Solo to a compatible television so everyone can get in on the fun.

Mirage Camera

While Google is busy building up its VR library in the Daydream Store, Lenovo wants to give consumers the power to make their own VR movies with the Mirage Camera. On the surface, the shooter looks like some futuristic, yet kitschy point and shoot. The white plastic housing shows off the pair of front-mounted dual 13-megapixel lenses. The two lenses are able to capture stereoscopic images as well as 4K at 30 frames per second. In addition to stills, the shooter has a video mode as well as live broadcasting option.



And just like a regular point and shoot, the Mirage camera deals in simplicity -- so much so that the camera doesn't have a rear viewfinder. That's because the shooter captures everything you see in front of you up to 180 degrees. Just point, shoot and voila! You've got a beautiful photo or video that can be viewed in VR on the Mirage Solo, thanks to the integrated Wi-Fi on both devices. However, with a target price somewhere below $300, there's the potential that the camera could be more expensive than the Samsung Gear VR 360, which is currently priced at $157.99.

MORE: Best 360-Degree Cameras

Final Thoughts

The Lenovo Mirage Solo has potential. You get a VR headset that doesn't rely on a high-end smartphone as the top mobile brands do, and isn't rooted in place by wires as the PC-powered options are. For all intents and purposes, this all-in-one solution offers the best of both worlds, with none of the downsides. I'm particularly hopeful about the battery life, and am excited about expanding the onboard memory via a microSD card. The Mirage Camera is a nice, albeit expensive, peripheral that can add a lot more milage to the headset.

However, I'm not sure if consumers will be ready to plunk down upwards of $400 for the headset, especially now that the Rift is priced at $399 complete with Touch controllers and sensors. The battle will lie in the marketing and convincing consumers that the Mirage Solo offers comparable quality to the competition without the various smartphones and tethers. But I'll reserve final judgment for when I get my hands on a review unit.


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Rumors of a new Bullitt Mustang based on the sixth-generation pony have flying around for a couple of years now, but Ford has yet to confirm such a model. However, various spy shots confirmed its existence since late December. Now, the folks over at the Mustang6G forums have discovered proof that the brand-new Bullitt Mustang is scheduled to break cover next week. Interestingly enough, the unveiling might not take place at the Detroit Auto Show. Instead, the new Bullitt could be revealed at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction on January 19.

The brand-new Bullitt Mustang is scheduled to break cover next week

The upcoming auction will feature a "special new Ford Mustang" according to the Barrett-Jackson website, but the listing lacks photos and a proper description. Part of lot #3006, the "Ford charity vehicle" features a shadowy photo of a first-generation Mustang that looks a lot like a 1968 fastback model, the car on which the original Bullitt was based on. But thats not the only hint. The description also says that car will be sold with "100% of the hammer price benefiting Boys Republic."

A private, all-boys school for troubled teenagers located in Chino Hills, California, Boys Republic is the school that Steve McQueen himself attended at age 16. He graduated in 1946 and was named honorary chairman in 1966. The school still hosts the annual Friend of Steve McQueen Car Show at its campus in order to raise funds, so its safe to assume that this auction is more than just a coincidence. Add the fact that the original Bullitt Mustang turns 50 in 2018 and it makes even more sense. On top of that, Ford has auctioned first production units of new vehicles for charity in the past, including the 2015 Shelby GT350 and the 2015 Mustang GT, so it wouldnt be strange to see the first Bullitt go under the hammer only days after its unveiling.

With the auction set to take place on January 19, its not out of the question for the Bullitt to break cover at the Detroit Auto Show, which kicks off on January 15.

Third Bullitt Model

The 2018 Bullitt will be the third iteration of the famous car that Steve McQueen drove in the 1968 film. The first tribute car was introduced in 2001 as a mild upgrade to the fourth-generation Mustang GT. The coupe had chassis and drivetrain updates, a slightly more powerful V-8 engine, unique wheels, a foglamp delete, and a decklid spoiler.

The Bullitt returned in 2008, four years into the fifth-gen Mustangs production cycle. The package included upgrades similar to the first edition plus Shelby GT500-inspired seats and steering wheel, an open-element air filter, a unique exhaust, and 15 extra horsepower. The bundle added $3,310 to the standard GT Premium model and was kept in production for 2009 too.

References

Read our full review on the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt.

Was a Next-Gen Ford Mustang Bullitt Caught Playing in Chicago?

Source: Mustang6G
Mazda and Toyota just announced that Huntsville, Alabama, has been selected as the location for a new auto manufacturing plant. The two Japanese companies are pooling their resources to build the facility, investing some $1.6 billion with the aim of producing 300,000 units annually.

The Full Story

The joint-venture manufacturing plant will split its 300,000-unit annual capacity evenly between Mazda and Toyota models. Toyota will produce the Corolla, while Mazda will produce an as-of-yet unannounced crossover.

Back in August, Toyota and Mazda announced a partnership to co-develop electric vehicle technology for consumer cars. Now, the two Japanese automakers are once again joining forces, this time to bolster their production power. The joint-venture manufacturing plant will represent investments totaling $1.6 billion split evenly between Mazda and Toyota, with the 300,000-unit annual capacity also split evenly between Mazda and Toyota models. Toyota will produce the Corolla, while Mazda will produce an as-of-yet unannounced crossover.

Mazda President and CEO Masamichi Kogai, as well as Toyota President Akio Toyoda, announced the news today alongside Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

With this announcement, our world changes overnight, said Mayor Battle. Mazda and Toyota, two of the worlds most innovative automakers, have created a legacy project that will provide jobs for decades to come for Huntsville and Alabama.

This will be the eleventh manufacturing facility Toyota owns in the U.S., arriving as a continuation of the companys goals to invest $10 billion in U.S. manufacturing over the next five years. Toyotas facilities are spread across 10 U.S. states, including Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Indiana. The southern U.S. states are seen as particularly favorable for automakers, as they generally provide a solid transportation infrastructure, anti-union policies, and less regulation. Daimler and Honda also operate plants in Alabama.

No doubt, this announcement will prompt a victory tweet or two from Donald Trump, and lend credence to the the Presidents campaign promise to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

The new plant will open in 2021.

References

Read more Mazda news.

Read more Toyota news.
The Consumer Electronics Show is slowly turning into a full-blown auto show, with more and more automakers coming to Las Vegas to showcase their latest technologies and vehicles. Motorcycle and scooter manufacturers are also joining CES with new products and the Ujet, which was just unveiled at the 2018 edition, is proof that scooters can also use state-of-the-art technology.

The Ujet folds up for easy storage so it won't take a lot of space in your garage.

While scooters rarely stand out in terms of design, the Ujet catches the eye thanks to its unique styling. Body panels have been reduced to a minimum in order to save weight, while the orbital wheels are a modern alternative to the classic, stylish, yet somewhat boring multi-spoke design. Its available with either a low or high seat, but its the technology behind it that makes it special.

The Ujet folds up for easy storage so it wont take a lot of space in your garage. Specific dimensions arent yet available, but it should be small enough to fit inside a wagon or crossover trunk when folded. Traveling to Paris and dont want to waste time and gas in heavy traffic? Just leave the car parked outside the city and take the Ujet for an urban tour.

It's designed so that it connects to the owner's smartphone, which is used to unlock the bike, to locate it, and disable it remotely if stolen

Granted, this concept is far from revolutionary, but the Ujet is more than just an electric scooter. Its designed so that it connects to the owners smartphone, which is used to unlock the bike, to locate it, and disable it remotely if stolen. Owners can also use the phone to monitor performance, charge level, mileage, and service issues. These functions are displayed on a pop-up screen thats controlled though buttons on the handlebars. Smartphones can be connected to the bike via either Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or 3G. Pretty cool huh?

But what about performance and range? The Ujet is powered by an in-wheel motor that delivers 5.44 horsepower and 66 pound-feet of torque. It may not sound like much, but with the scooter tipping the scales between 95 to 108 pounds (depending on battery size), its by no means slow. The smallest battery provides about 43 miles of range, while the largest options will return 93 miles. Quite impressive! Making things easier is that the Ujet can be recharged from a normal outlet and that the battery is removable. Yup, you just take it inside and charge it up in just two hours.

The Ujet will go on sale in Europe, the United States, and Asia in the second half of 2018

With a frame made from alloy and carbon-fiber composite, the Ujet is arguably the most modern production scooter out there. The company also uses carbon nanotube technology in the tires, which last longer, provide better traction, and help save energy.

The Ujet will go on sale in Europe, the United States, and Asia in the second half of 2018. Pricing will start from around $9,000 in North America. Granted, its only a couple of grand away from costing as much as a Nissan Versa Sedan, but given all the tech behind it, its not as expensive as it seems.

References

Read more CES news.
At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show today, Kia Motors America (KMA) announced the addition of UVO Agent for compatible Kia vehicles, which allows Kia owners to interact with the Google Assistant on their phones or Google Home to execute a variety of remote commands. The Kia integration with the Google Assistant is now available for use in the following Kia vehicles with compatible UVO hardware; the 2018 Niro PHEV, Soul EV1, Optima PHEV and K9002.

The UVO Agent can be easily set up through the Google Assistant or Google Home app. Simple voice commands are all thats needed to control your compatible Kia model and allows the user to access a variety of functions. Commands include, "Tell UVO to start my Soul EV, or "Tell UVO to lock my Niro." UVO Agent features include Remote Start/Stop Engine, Remote Climate Control, Remote Charge Start/Stop, Remote Horn and Lights and Remote Lock3.

Our customers inspired this latest enhancement to the Kia ownership experience, said Henry Bzeih, director, connected car & mobility services, strategy & planning, KMA. With more people using smart technology at home and work, it was a natural extension to bring this easy to use and widely adapted platform to the drivers seat. With a simple voice command, Kia owners can interface with their vehicles in the same manner they use the Google Assistant in their homes.

The Google Assistant can provide real-time answers, activate streaming music services, smart home devices, and now, smart car and connected car technology allowing for seamless connectivity directly into Kia vehicles. The Google Assistant is available on select Android4 phones, select Apple iPhone5, smart speakers like Google Home and more.
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It will exclude Italian riders certified with FMI from participating in the legendary Isle Of Man TT mountain course or the Macau course in the future. This includes any other road racing events that happen anywhere in the world.

Following the death of Italian rider, 38-year old Dario Cecconi during the 2017 Tandragee 100, the Federazione Motociclistica Italiana (Italian Motorcycle Federation) have henceforth changed their insurance policies included in the federal license.

Unless youve been living under a rock all this while, you mustve seen videos where a bunch of chaps race around a mountain course on a small island near the UK mainland. That, ladies and gents, is the great Isle of Man TT. Where the worlds ballsiest and gutsiest men and women take out their Superstock and Supersports out on narrow public roads and race for the glory.

Unfortunately for the blokes from Italy, the FMI will not provide them a license to race in such events. This is not the first time an international federation has banned its riders from motorsport activities. Back in 1970, the Spanish Federation banned all its future riders from the TT after the death of Santiago Herrero.

The FMI released a statement in this regard:

 following the new insurance policy stipulated with Unipol, participation in speed events abroad, even if it is codified in the International FMI and FIM calendars , are excluded from accident and CR coverage.

For riders who still want to participate in such events will have to independently obtain the certificate of participation issued by the local organizer. Under no circumstances will the IMF be "held liable for the consequences of their participation in the event.

Three Italian blokes are due to participate in the 2018 TT race in Isle of Man: Stefano Bonetti, Francesco Curinga or Alessandro Polita. They will have to participate as a private rider and obtain a private license and certificate from the organizers.
Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The Senate Judiciary Committees top Democrat Tuesday made a unilateral decision to release a transcript of the panels closed-door interview with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, whose company helped compile the now-infamous dossier accusing Donald Trumps presidential campaign of colluding with Russia.



In his interview with lawmakers and their staffs, Simpson insisted its political rhetoric to call the dossier phony".



Upon releasing the 306-page document, Sen. Dianne Feinstein  a California Democrat  said, After speaking with majority and minority committee staff for 10 hours, Glenn Simpson requested the transcript of his interview be released publicly. The American people deserve the opportunity to see what he said and judge for themselves.



Feinstein added, The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice. The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public.



In a statement Tuesday, Fusion GPS praised Feinstein for her courage.



A spokesman for Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Feinstein had overstepped her authority and the transcript release undermines the committee's work.



Steele, a former British intelligence officer, was first hired by Fusion GPS around June 2016, with Simpson asking him to look into Trumps dealings in Russia.



Simpson and Steele had worked together for several years, and he had a sterling reputation as a person who doesnt exaggerate, doesnt make things up, doesnt sell baloney, Simpson told lawmakers. Its political rhetoric to call the dossier phony. The memos are field reports of real interviews that Chris network conducted, and theres nothing phony about it. We can argue whats prudent and whats not, but its not a fabrication.



In fact, Steele was so shocked by what he was hearing after beginning to dig into possible Trump-Russia connections that he contacted the FBI.



Chris said he was very concerned about whether this represented a national security threat and said  he though we were obligated to tell someone in government, Simpson told lawmakers and their staffs. He thought from his perspective there was  a security issue about whether a presidential candidate was being blackmailed.



In the fall of 2016, the FBI contacted Steele, who met with an FBI official in Rome.



They believed Chriss information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing," Simpson told lawmakers and their staffs.



Simpson said Steele and the FBI had a falling out and stopped communicating just before Election Day because Steele felt the FBI wasnt taking his findings seriously enough.



This all comes on the heels of last weeks congressional referral to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution of Steele.



Judiciary chairman Grassley and panel Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sent a letter last week to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is in charge of the special counsels Russia investigation, and FBI Director Christopher Wray asking the DOJ to launch a criminal investigation into whether Steele made false statements about the distribution of claims from the dossier to reporters.



I dont take lightly making a referral for criminal investigation. But, as I would with any credible evidence of a crime unearthed in the course of our investigations, I feel obliged to pass that information along to the Justice Department for appropriate review, Grassley said in a statement released to reporters.



After reviewing how Mr. Steele conducted himself in distributing information contained in the dossier and how many stop signs the DOJ ignored in its use of the dossier, I believe that a special counsel needs to review this matter," Graham said.



Feinstein was not consulted before Grassley and Graham reached out to Rosenstein and Wray, and in a statement said, I think this referral is unfortunate as its clearly another effort to deflect attention from what should be the committees top priority: determining whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the election and whether there was subsequent obstruction of justice.



Joshua Levy, counsel for Fusion GPS, in a statement to ABC News said, After a year of investigations into Donald Trump's ties to Russia, the only person Republicans seek to accuse of wrongdoing is one who reported on these matters to law enforcement in the first place. Publicizing a criminal referral based on classified information raises serious questions about whether this letter is nothing more than another attempt to discredit government sources, in the midst of an ongoing criminal investigation. We should all be skeptical in the extreme.



The unusual, high-profile partisan squabbling in the Judiciary panel has only increased in recent months. Republicans and Democrats parted ways in their investigation, each calling for separate witnesses and documents.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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Saakashvili Denied Refugee Status in Ukraine

By Gvantsa Gabekhadze

(KYIV)--The Kyiv Regional Court did not annul the refusal of Ukraine's Immigration Service to grant Georgias former President Mikheil Saakashvili a status of a refugee or a person who needs additional protection being deprived of the Ukrainian citizenship.Refusing the status means that Saakashvili, Georgias third President and former governor of Odessa, may be extradited to Georgia.Saakashvili, one-time ally of Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko, is expected to appeal the verdict to the Court of Appeals.In early December 2017, a district court in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv rejected a motion by the countrys Prosecutor General to hold Saakashvili in the pre-trial detention and ordered his immediate release.Saakashvili hailed the decision, while claiming he has enjoyed the huge public support that would translate into increased pressure on Ukraines President Poroshenko.Ukraines Prosecutors Office appealed the verdict and the Court of Appeals is scheduled to discuss the case on January 11.Saakashvili served as Georgias President for a decade, but left the country in 2013, as soon as his presidential term expired.In 2015, he was appointed as a governor of Ukraines Odessa region by his then-ally, Poroshenko.The two later fell out amid the accusations by Saakashvili that the presidential administration was intentionally hindering his reform projects and was involved in the widespread corruption schemes connected to organized crime gangs in Odessa and Moscow.Saakashvili resigned from his post in November 2016 and was later stripped by Poroshenko of the Ukrainian citizenship that was granted to Saakashvili by Presidential decree when he took up the post a year earlier. The decision left Georgias third President stateless as his Georgian citizenship was revoked in 2015 due to the violation of Georgias dual citizenship laws by receiving the Ukrainian passport.In Georgia, Saakashvili is accused of the violent dispersal of anti-government mass protests on November 7, 2007; unlawful raiding of the Imedi TV Company by police; illegal take-over of the property owned by the late media tycoon Badri (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvili.If extradited, Georgias former President will face an immediate detention.
One night is too rushed for the GOR.

Phillip Island benefits from staying the night as the penguins only come in at dusk. Can't see Wilsons Prom fitting into the same day.

Is there any reason you want to drive Sydney to Brisbane and drive back? I'm not saying it's not worth it (by two different routes?) but just wondering why you feel it is worth it? 2 days to drive back and see the Blue Mountains won't work.

Why are you thinking of a campervan? For the right reasons and paying for a reliable one, yes. Busy route with no free camping and plenty of accommodation choices, probably no. To save money, no. To have the cliched Aussie 'must do' experience, definitely no.
Look at spending a night at Geelong and exploring the Bellarine followed by a night at Apollo Bay and another at Port Campbell (a small coastal town) or Warrnambool which is a large regional city with a good range of accommodation. Another alternative is one night Apollo Bay one night Port Campbell or Warrnambool and the third night at Ballarat before returning to Melbourne. Be aware that the labour day long weekend is on 10th - 12th March and accommodation will be at a premium.

Re travelling along the GOR its important to factor in extra travel times not only along the GOR but also on the Princes Highway. I was down at the western end of the GOR yesterday and encountered road works as well there are extensive road works due to the upgrade of the Princes Highway between Colac and Winchelsea.

If you are arriving in Melbourne on a long haul flight I would suggest you spend that first night in Melbourne or catch the Gull bus from Melbourne airport to Geelong spend a night there and commence your trip along the GOR from Geelong.

Safe travels enjoy your trip.

Edited: 3 years ago
Couldnt pick 2 more different beach towns in Costa Rica if you tried. Tamarindo is a large beach town on a beautiful surfing beach with lots of activity, restaurants (including fast food) and plenty of lodging options. I would not say local culture is its strength but it does offer lots of creature comforts (AC, swimming pools, direct beach access).

Puerto Viejo on the opposite coast is much smaller & has a sleepy laid back vibe. This is a lush rainforest area with extensive wildlife - very different from Tamarindos drier climate. Most of the lodging in town is for budget travelers & the town is a little scruffy looking with less attractive beaches. Most travelers stay south of town along a road that parallels a string of beaches - Cocles, Playa Chiquita, Punta Uva & Manzanillo where the road ends. Most lodging options are not beachfront but a short walk away. No resorts in this area & AC & swimming pools are hard to find. Lots of small inns and individual bungalows and houses. Playa Chiquita, Punta Uva & Manzanillo are better choices for swimming beaches but they sometimes have large waves. See to see if this area is right for you.

Puerto Viejo makes more sense than Tamarindo for this itinerary to reduce driving time since you are visiting Tortuguero. Manuel Antonio has a setting much like the south Caribbean but with more creature comforts and 10 times the number of tourists. Might be best to make that the 1st stop on your trip.
Re: What are the current ways to travel from Dalat to Hoi An

3. Re: What are the current ways to travel from Dalat to Hoi An

Is the Easyrider option not for you because it is on a bike, or because of the time issue?

If you have the time, then you could consider getting a private car would be an alternative. With a car 5 days sound about right, it could be done in 4 as well.

If it is about the time, then flying from Dalat to Danang is the best option.

If you have 2 days, then doing the half way option of aa private car to Nha Trang, with an overnight stop at Lak Lake, staying one night in Nha Trang and then getting the very early flight to Danang is a nice compromise.

I think the Central Highlands are just stunning, and it would be certainly worth it spending a few days there to explore it.

Here are a few photos from my trip from Dalat to Kon Tum, which is 1 or 2 days short of Hoi An.

Hope it helps a bit.
April is a good time to visit, weather generally good over the whole country,

Where are you flying into and out of, that makes a difference as 2-3 weeks is not enough time to see all of Vietnam. With a young family I would definitely give at least 3 to 4 days in Nha Trang as there is plenty to keep you busy. Plenty of accommodations to suit everyone's needs. Nice beaches and islands to enjoy
For a short holiday I would suggest Bali as it has a lot of stunning scenery, beaches, cultural attractions (it is a gem of an island) in a relatively small area, although beginning of March you will still be getting some rain, especially in the mountains.

Phuket is one of the most expensive destinations in Thailand, a lot more expensive than the current bargain of South-east Asia, Vietnam, but it would rank first in terms of nightlife.

Both the Balinese and the Vietnamese are friendly and welcoming people, while the Thais superficially seem so too , are really among the most xenophobic and mercenary races on the planet.

Vietnam has much to offer, but its attractions are spread out over a wide area.
Hi everyone,

I will be in Japan for this first time at the end of May-early June for about 10 days. Obviously, there's a lot to see in Japan. But I have limited time and am unsure when I'll be able to return. So, my tentative plan is to fly to Tokyo and make that my home base for the first five days and then travel to Osaka and make that my home for the second five. This sounds like a good plan to me -- staying in two different parts of the country and taking a few day trips from there -- but, again, I've never been there and want to make the most of it.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!
Hi bsundar7,

This sounds like a fantastic family trip!

To answer your questions:

1. I think you should be fine with going on Opening Day. The Japanese like to keep to schedules and unless there was a severe weather I think it would open on time. I would recommend checking a couple of days before you plan on going.

2. Two days in Kyoto is a very short time when there are literally thousands of temples to explore. Instead of moving around heaps (esp with a 7-year-old in tow) I would recommend staying in a Ryokan in Kyoto instead. If you're looking for things to do in Kyoto that avoid the crowds can I recommend this?

3. I quickly calculated your costs for a return trip from Tokyo to Kyoto and to Tateyama. You would definitely be better off buying a 7day pass.

I also had a quick look over your intinerary. From Tokyo to Tateyama (alpine route) you are looking at 4 hours one way. Most of your day will be gone just travelling. I'd recommend skipping the half day trip in Himeji and instead look at staying overnight on the Alpine Trail if that's something you really wanted to do?

If your 7-year-old is into this have you thought about visiting Disney Sea when you are in Tokyo for a fun family day out? Disney Sea is the only one in the world, even if you are an adult you will find this place fun? Here's why I like Disney Sea:

Good luck with your trip and I hope you have fun!
20 days in Japan - where to start

20 days in Japan - where to start

Hi I've only started planning a 20 day trip to Japan for May 2018 (after Golden Week) for my wife and me. What's the best place to start? I've read here and there to plan my trips around JR Pass. Is there a guide I can read somewhere? I've been to Japan as a child with tour groups but never been on our own.

We're arriving to and leaving from NRT.

So far, I'm looking at 7 days in Tokyo, 1-2 days in Hakone, 5 days in Osaka (with trips to Kyoto or is it recommended to stay at Kyoto separately?)

Do I have time to visit Hiroshima (Himeji Castle along the way)?

Is Izu Peninsula worthwhile if I'm already visiting Hakone?

We're from Southern California. Is it worthwhile to visit Tokyo Sea and Disneyland. We've been annual passholders to Anaheim Disneyland in the past and have visited Disneyworld last year.

Lastly, I have some free hotel night certificates that I plan to redeem:

4 free nights at Hyatt - Is Park Hyatt recommended over Grand Hyatt

2 free nights at Hilton - I assume Conrad Hilton is best bang for my buck?

I also have some SPG points that I can redeem and hope to take advantage of the book 4 nights/5th night free. Any SPG/Marriott recommmendation?

Is there any other must see sites that I'm missing? Thank you!
Regardless of whether it's 1:00 or 1:30, there's really nothing worth doing during that time period that's a feasible distance away. By the time you deplane, collect your bags, then go to the gate and check in for your flight home, figure it'll be around 11:45 am or so before you're ready to go anywhere. So, let's say you should be back by 1:15 PM (more or less), you'd have 90 minutes to grab a cab, go somewhere, and then come back. There's nothing close enough to LIR to warrant such an excursion. If you had another hour or so, I'd MAYBE suggest Llanos de Cortes waterfall, but even then you'd really be gambling on traffic.
From JFK, tai is a set fare of $52.80; with tip and tolls, figure on $70.

From LGA, taxi is on the meter, so price depends on traffic; guesstimate $40.

Did you mean public transportation? You'd need to be able to manage your luggage.

Check the Top Questions on the right for information about airport transfers.
Successful professionals running high profile careers whether in their own practice or the corporate world have come a long way. A job begins at a lower level, and then an employee climbs the ladder to top positions. Most graduates nationally have had to apply for entry-level jobs or internship jobs in Kenya at one point in their early career lives.

Internships in Kenya: Stepping Stone to Dream Career

That is not to say that all internships are that friendly or that internships are generally a walk in the park. Those applying should expect a few challenges. Most of the work you got to do has a lot to do with real life rather than what you knew in college. Nevertheless, there exists a lot of attachment opportunities in Kenya. In fact, the only thing that is rarely scarce is an internship opportunity.

Unpaid Internships

In Kenya, most companies carry out recruitment of undergraduate internship. That doesnt mean that diploma or certificate levels internships are not available. It only means that significantly more companies do respond to the labor market that has of late flooded with undergraduates. But if you are on the lookout, you will realize internships target just almost all post-secondary qualifications.

From the onset, before you even think of commencing an internship job, you must understand that not all of them will pay. Some interns work for a straight six months in which they work for 40 hours a week without pay.

With the number, those graduating from various levels of studies skyrocketing every year, several players in the labor market are increasingly recruiting interns without pay for short periods. Some offer something meager to keep you going, for example, bus fare reimbursement, and sometimes some house allowance.

READ ALSO: Central Bank of Kenya Internship Jobs  Career Opportunities for Graduates

Best Paid Internships in Kenya

That being said, we still have some of the best-paid internships in Nairobi and other corners of this country. You simply need to sound a bit competitive and aggressive to land on a decent internship opportunity with a multinational corporation like Unilever.

The internship salary for the top paying companies can be extremely enticing and even slightly better than many experienced workers working in some other companies in higher permanent positions better than an internship. In other words, you need to keep your eyes open and be on the lookout.

Only very rarely will you miss an advertisement inviting applications for an internship. As we move forward, internships in Kenya will be more in number considering the political dust has settled down.

Internships in Kenya: Stepping Stone to Dream Career

Better Internship Packages in Banks

It is reasonable now that we look into some of the industries that are most likely to give you some of the best perks as you start your career. Banks have an overbearing presence in this country. Some market analysts have even suggested that the banking sector is the only one that rakes in profits at the end of the day. Internship in Kenya banks opportunities sometimes means you may secure an opportunity to work with the particular bank.

We have seen dozens of people securing long-term contracts with the banks they interned at. The multinational Standard Chartered Bank might be your best bet as far as good remuneration for interns is concerned. Their entry-level jobs include working for some months while undergoing on job training and you could still be earning as high as fifty thousand Kenyan shillings.

The Kenya commercial bank follows in closely with an intern earning not less than fifteen thousand when working in a rural area, and much more in cities and urban centers. I $ M bank is another that rewards handsomely. NIC, CFC Stanbic Bank, Cooperative Bank, Eco Bank, KCB, National Bank of Kenya, and Equity Bank of Kenya are all banks that give their interns an offer to start a career on a financially stable footing.

Internships in Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya

NGO internships in Kenya are another area you need to focus on. Kenya has a huge number of NGOs compared to its neighbors in this part of the universe. International non-governmental organizations, in particular, are interested in having more professionals join the development sector. Serious humanitarian situations around the world demand that more people with experience in the nonprofit sector are produced.

Some of them have quite a strict value system that you must be committed to before an offer comes your way. Some have strict religious values or other societal competencies that you must be genuinely interested in before you can work for them. Nevertheless, most of them will go on to give you reasonable packages that conform to international labor standards. They may easily be the best paying institutions in the country only that so many people have now set their focus on them.

Competition definitely tightens the selection criteria, and that means that you must adequately package yourself competitively to outdo other. There are significant NGOs that encourage graduate recruitment of interns, and the possibility of you being absorbed in the same or similar organization gets higher.

Lucrative Aviation Industry Internship

The aviation industry is another sector you could watch out for as the year kicks in. Internships in Kenya Airways, for example, have become a bit more frequently in the past few months. With the company having been in the mood not to employ too many long-term employees, it has suddenly resorted to offering quite lucrative internships to those who need them most.

While the assumption is that it is an aviation company and therefore needs aviation related courses, it takes almost all courses on most occasions. Ranging from administration interns, legal interns, hospitality interns, to accounts interns. Fill the relevant internship application form, submit, and wait for response.

Internships in Kenya: Stepping Stone to Dream Career

READ ALSO: Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in Kenya

Well-Paid IT Internships

The next big thing is Information Technology internships in Kenya. IT in the country is touted to be the biggest thing in the industry in the next few years since technology is here to stay. Multinational IT companies have set foot, and many more are expected soon.

Companies like IBM, Google, and Safaricom offer some of the best packages in this part of the world. If you think you can be a good developer, then IBM or Google Kenya are the best places to start your internship. The earnings would be incomparable if you were successful here. Several IT companies are also looking for performers while they are still campus students. If you are good here, you will succeed.

Source: Tuko News
- European Union's chief observer Marietje Schaake, read out a report on the elections held on August and October 2017, from Brussels on January 10

- The report included 29 recommendations and highlighted a need for the improvement of the democratic process in Kenya

- Concerns of intimidation by politicians from both political divides on independent bodies and use of excessive force by security forces were highlighted

- The report however, showed vast improvements in the October repeat presidential Election as compared to the August General Election

European Unions chief observer Marietje Schaake, in a televised address on Wednesday morning from Brussels, read the report on the Elections that took place in Kenya in August and October 2017.

The report seen by TUKO.co.ke, was released in Brussels after the Kenyan government stated it was not prepared to receive the Chief Observer in Nairobi at this time.

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The report contained 29 recommendations by her team to Kenya to improve the electoral process.

READ ALSO: Beautiful 4-year-old soul stuck at Kenyatta National Hospital with parents for lack of medical funds

European Unions chief observer Marietje Schaake, in a televised address on Wednesday morning from Brussels, read the report on the elections that took place in Kenya.Photo:Capitalfm

This is one of the very few times that a presentation of an EU mission observation final report takes place here in the European parliament instead of the country where we observed  Kenya, the EU chief observer said.

Some of the key concerns voiced by the observers were violence by opposition protesters and the use of disproportionate force by security forces, attempts at restricting civil society and media, and abuse of state resources by both sides, but mostly to the benefit of the national incumbent.

READ ALSO: Get off our roads, let traffic police work - Uhuru tells NTSA

"Other key concerns are intimidation by politicians from both sides of independent institutions, such as the IEBC and the judiciary and abuse of state resources by both sides but mostly to the benefit of the national incumbent," the report stated.

READ ALSO: Power blackout strikes most parts of Kenya and Uganda

The EU observer group highlighted the intimidation of the judiciary by government officials in high offices and politicians from both the National Super Alliance and Jubilee party. Photo:europa.eu

The EU observer group also highlighted the intimidation of the judiciary by government officials in high offices and politicians from both the National Super Alliance and Jubilee party.

Throughout the electoral process, the judiciary was subject to intimidation. Negative commentary about the judiciary and/or justices was voiced by some politicians at the highest level, Schaak said.

READ ALSO: We will swear-in Raila Odinga whether he likes it or not - Miguna Miguna

Schaake also observed that Kenya still remained divided and stated the need for a better democratic process and national healing.

Kenyans went from high hopes for these elections to many disappointments and confrontations. Kenya remains deeply divided. Our final report and recommendations are intended to contribute to a better democratic process and a restoration of trust," she stated.

It was however, observed that there were slight improvements from the IEBC in the handling of the October repeat presidential election as compared to August General Election.

"The fresh presidential election in October was generally well conducted, with full results data and forms made available promptly," the report remarked.

Source: Tuko.co.ke
- Kenya expressed dismay after the European Union released the report which details there was bribery during the controversial 2017 general election

- The Kenyan embassy in Brussels also condemned EU's Marietje Schaake for releasing the report at the EU Parliament instead of in Nairobi

- Schaake claimed the government of Kenya declined to welcome the EU delegation in Nairobi for the report to be released

- Kenya said the EU representative had contravened an agreement with Nairobi on how the report was to be released

The Kenyan Government on Wednesday, January 10 expressed disappointment after the European Union's (EU) Chief observer in the August and October 2017 election read the election report in a live broadcast from the European Union parliament.

The Kenyan embassy in Brussel claimed that the EU chief had breached the memorandum of understanding signed between the the Kenyan government and the EU.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Wabunge wa Jubilee wamzawadi mwanamuziki na gari mpya

In a press statement seen by TUKO.co.ke, the embassy termed the allegation by EU's Marietje Schaake that Kenya was not ready to receive the delegation in Nairobi as false and dishonest.

Govt strongly protests after EU releases damning 2017 election report. Photo: Marietje Schaake/ Facebook

READ ALSO: DP Ruto rules out possibility of sharing cabinet positions with NASA

The embassy also claimed that the government had, through diplomatic channels, in consultations with the the EU on scheduling for the release of the report in line with the stipulations of the MoU

"The government of the republic of Kenya regrets the unprocedural and premature manner in which the final report of the EU Election Observation Mission, has been released by Hon. Marietje Schaake, MEP. " read the statement.

Her action has breached the terms of Kenya's Memorandum of Understanding on election monitering with the European Union,which called for a structural official process.

READ ALSO: Wiper offers direct nomination to Nyenze's wife in race for Kitui West MP seat

Schaake was also accused of contemptuous political grandstanding by personalising and instrumentalising a tool meant to improve electoral management .

She had included 29 recommendations and highlighted a need for the improvement of the democratic process in Kenya.

In the report, Schaake had among other issues highlighted the paying of people to attend rallies and use of State resources during campaigns.

She had also highlited politicians intimidating key independent institutions and a persistent lack of trust on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

READ ALSO: Baringo Senator Gideon Moi deletes Facebook posts after wishing Raila Odinga Happy Birthday

Schaake also observed that Kenya still remained divided and stated the need for a better democratic process and national healing.

The embassy also confirmed that it had scheduled a meeting with the EU Chief Observer on Wednesday, January 10 to exchange views on final report and logistics of their visit to Kenya.

ALSO WATCH: Kasarani half empty for Jamhuri Day celebrations

Source: Tuko Breaking News
- Annrita Kiriamiti poured cold water on the 'My Life in Crime' movie saying it does not mirror John Kiriamiti's book by the same title

- She claimed her father, John Kiriamiti ,a once most wanted bank robber in Kenya was never consulted in producing the movie

- Annrita questioned why the producers gave the name 'John Kiriamiti' to the main character instead of 'Jack Zollo' as used in the famous 'My Life in Crime' novel

- Kiriamiti now a reformed person signed a deal with a Tanzania producer for the movie production and was promised an unofficial directing role

- Annritta says the producer renegaded on the agreement and ruined the movie

Annrita Kiriamiti,daughter to a once most wanted Kenyan bank robber,John Kiriamiti has poked holes in the 'My Life In Crime' movie,saying it does not reflect her father's book going by the same tittle.

Annrita vehemently condemned the crew ,rather producers behind the movie and held that they did not consult his father,neither did they follow instructions from him before rolling out the production.

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READ ALSO: Wabunge wa Jubilee wamzawadi mwanamuziki na gari mpya

The beautiful lass faulted the movie,and revealed how the producers blundered by using Kiriamiti's real name in the movie,contrary to what was written in the popular book.

READ ALSO: Kenyan mum in Europe blasted for letting son wear top labelled coolest Monkey in the Jungle

Annrita questioned why the producers gave the name 'John Kiriamiti' to the main character instead of 'Jack Zollo' as used in the famous 'My Life in Crime' novel.

Taking to Twitter on Monday,January 8,Annrita revealed how her father was disappointed upon learning about the movie and the blunders made by the producers.

Daughter to Kenya's once most wanted criminal dismisses movie on her father's past bank robberies. Photo:Nation

READ ALSO: Meet the 14 year-old Kenyan boy who makes toys using bottle tops and wires to pay school fees

''Showed dad the trailer and the first thing he says is 'why does it say his name is John Kiriamiti? Nobody in my book has that name' #JackZollo''Annrita wrote.

''If you make a production based on a book, the logical thing to do is use the name of the characters in the book, not the name of the author of the book. Anyone who has read the book is familiar with the name Jack Zollo, it does not need any promo.''she added.

READ ALSO: Move over Joho, Meet former Langata Parliamentary aspirant who is giving Kenyan ladies sleepless nights

As reported by a cross section of the media earlier ,Kiriamiti now a reformed person signed a deal with a Tanzania producer for the movie production and was promised an unofficial directing role.

However,things went south as the producer renegaded on the agreement and ruined the movie.

The trailer for the movie did not only irk Kiriamiti and her daughter but also countless Kenyans who rallied behind them and trolled the prod

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

Kenyans accuse NTSA of incompetence and corruption and want it disbanded:

Source: Tuko.co.ke
- Kalonzo Musyoka's Wiper wants Kathiani MP Robert Mbui to be made Deputy Minority Whip in the National Assembly

- The party also demanded the NASA parliamentary list be submitted afresh in Parliament as it was done when Kalonzo was away

- Wiper deputy party leader Kivutha Kibwana said Suna East MP Junet Mohamed of ODM must relinquish the Deputy Minority Whip job to Mbui

More cracks have emerged within opposition outfit NASA as a section of Wiper Party leaders came up with a proposed list of leaders for various positions in the National Assembly.

One notable position was the Deputy Minority Whip, which Wiper leaders endorsed Kathiani MP Robert Mbui.

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READ ALSO: Wabunge wa Jubilee wamzawadi mwanamuziki na gari mpya

Led by Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana, the leaders demanded for a fresh NASA parliamentary list which incorporated more leaders from across the four NASA-affiliated parties.

Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana. Photo: Wiper/Facebook

READ ALSO: List: How NASA politicians will share positions in Parliament

They particularly had their eye on the Deputy Minority Whip position which is currently being held by ODMs Suna East MP Junet Mohammed.

In September 2017, the National Super Alliance named politicians who would take up leadership positions in both the Senate and National Assembly.

Kalonzo's party kicks storm in NASA, demands plum parliamentary job given to Raila's right hand man. Photo: NASA/Twitter

READ ALSO: Govt strongly protests after EU releases damning 2017 election report

The list included Bungoma Senator/ NASA co-leader Moses Wetangula (Senate Minority Leader) Siaya Senator James Orengo (Deputy Minority Leader) , Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr (Senate Whip) ,Nominated Senator Petronila Were (Deputy Senate Whip) , ODM Chairman/ Suba South MP John Mbadi (Minority Leader) among others.

Kalonzo's party kicks storm in NASA. Photo: Nation

READ ALSO: Kenyan people did not fully enjoy their democratic right in the last General Election- EU election observers

Barely days after the list was released, a section of disgruntled coast leaders threatened to ditch opposition over alleged imbalance in the nominations.

The MPs were angered when they discovered that a number of leaders had been appointed, something they said was done without their knowledge and which isolated MPs from the coast region.

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

Kenyans accuse NTSA of incompetence and corruption and want it disbanded:

Source: Tuko.co.ke
There was a rush for Pfizer vaccines at a couple of sites today, as the roll out of that vac
The Russian Federation will deploy the S-400 missile systems in the occupied Crimea for "protection against air threats from Ukraine."

RIA Novosti reported this with reference to its sources.

"The task of the second division of the S-400 complex is to timely locate and, if necessary, destroy aerial targets on the Ukrainian side which pose a threat to Crimea," the source said.

According to the report, the second division of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system stationed in the occupied city of Sevastopol will primarily control the airspace over Chonhar and Armiansk.

The S-400 Triumph missile systems are designed to hit airborne targets at a range of up to 400km (249 miles) and ballistic missiles at a range of up to 60km, flying at speeds of up to 4.8km per second.

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Two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in eastern Ukraine over the past day.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Spokesperson for ATO Oleksandr Motuzianyk said this at a press briefing on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"Fortunately, no Ukrainian servicemen were killed in enemy attacks. At the same time, two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded near the populated areas of Luhanske and Travneve," Motuzianyk said.

Ha also added that the soldiers were taken to military hospitals where they are provided with the necessary medical assistance.

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A Dutch court has decided to freeze in the Netherlands the assets of System Capital Management, Metinvest and DTEK, which belong to Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov.

The court decision is connected with a long-running $820 million lawsuit, Reuters reports.

"A Dutch court has now issued a provisional ruling to freeze SCM's Netherlands-registered businesses, which include Ukraine's largest steel company Metinvest and largest private power and coal producer, DTEK," the report says.

According to the text of the document, all shares of SCM Management B.V, DTEK Management B.V., DTEK B.V., DTEK Grids B.V., Metinvest B.V., and Premium Household B.V have been frozen.

The press service of the SCM financial and industrial group said that it did not have any information about new claims to the company.

"As far as we understand, this information concerns the formal execution of a Cyprus court order in the territory of the Netherlands," SCM told the 112 Ukraine television channel.

The company said that it was working as usual. The next court hearing is scheduled for February 27.

In October 2017, Kyiv Commercial Court returned the Ukrtelecom stake to state ownership, terminating an agreement on the purchase and sale of Ukrtelecom's shares in March 2011.

A 92.791% stake of the authorized capital of OJSC Ukrtelecom was sold at a privatization competition in 2011. It was bought by ESU, which paid UAH 10.57 billion. In 2013, Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov's System Capital Management completed an agreement to purchase 100% of the shares of UA elecominvest Limited, which owns 100% of ESU.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine is conducting an investigation into the unlawful allocation of UAH 220 million from the state budget on the instructions of former President Viktor Yanukovych and privatization of 93% of Ukrtelecom's shares at a price understated by UAH 1.6 billion.

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A Government delegation of Lithuania during its visit to Ottawa at the end of 2017 touched upon the issue of Canadas joining a multibillion-dollar investment plan for Ukraine.

This is said in the article published by The Globe & Mail.

"Lithuania is urging Canada to sign on to a long-term package of support for Ukraine that would funnel more investment into the Eastern European country and strengthen its ties with the West as Kyiv struggles to fight internal corruption and rebuild its economy despite a war with Moscow-backed militants," reads the article.

The Lithuanian government in concert with Ukraine is championing what is provisionally called a "European Plan for Ukraine" and would disburse an estimated $7.47-billion annually to Ukrainian recipients for a period of 10 years.

It's not clear how much Canada would be asked to make available to Ukraine in the form of loans or donations.

Canada has already lent Ukraine close to three-quarters of a billion dollars in the past decade, including more than $250-million in 2009 to finance a Canadian-built satellite system. Since January, 2014, Canada provided more than $400-million in low-interest loans to help Ukraine stabilize its economy and undertake reforms.

The Lithuanian government delegation hopes that Canada, which will serve as chair of the Group of Seven countries throughout 2018, can make Ukraine a priority for its tenure, the article said.
Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan says that ongoing negotiations with the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair are coming to an end, and the company may enter the Ukrainian market as soon as in January-February 2018.

We are already on the final stage of negotiations with Ryanair. I hope that the company may enter [the Ukrainian market] in January-February. There are technical issues that were completing to discuss, but in general everything is fine. We had no concessions compared to the positions we had last year, Omelyan stated on Ukraine's ZIK TV Channel.

As Ukrinform earlier reported, Ryanair suspended negotiations with Ukraine in early July 2017 due to the lack of agreements with Boryspil International Airport.

Later, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said that Ukraine would resume the negotiation process with Ryanair.

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu will hold a meeting in Chernivtsi on January 11.

This was reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

"The foreign ministers plan to discuss a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation at the interstate and regional levels," the report reads.

The ministers are expected to discuss the provision of the education rights of the Romanian national minority and the implementation of the provisions of the new Law of Ukraine "On Education" taking into account the conclusions of the Venice Commission.

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The year 2017 turned out to be a breakthrough for Ukraine in many respects. We achieved victories on the economic, political, military and other fronts. This productive "series" also went beyond Ukraine, noticeably promoting our relations with many states. One of the best examples is Canada, in cooperation with which Ukraine has made progress in virtually all areas.

Ukrinform spoke with Ukraine's Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko about the results of last year and plans for 2018.

Q: The year 2017 was very rich in events for relations between Ukraine and Canada. What achievements is the embassy proud of?

A: This was really a very powerful year for Ukraine and Canada. I would highlight the biggest results in three areas. Firstly, free trade between our countries started working last year. From the first of August, the absolute majority of goods we sell to each other are not subject to customs duties. This means that conditions for producers in Ukraine and Canada have improved.

The second "main" direction is defense. Last year, we signed a defense agreement with Canada, and we extended for two years a UNIFIER training mission, in which 200 Canadians train Ukrainian soldiers at the Yavoriv shooting range and in Kamianets-Podilsky. In addition, in December, Canada included Ukraine in the Automatic Firearms Country Control List. It should also be reminded that on Ukraine's Independence Day, Canadian military, along with ours, matched along Khreshchatyk Street. In short, we are proceeding to a high-quality brotherhood in arms, the importance of which in conditions of war is impossible to overestimate.

Thirdly, Canada has shown the world a very decent example of consistent pressure on Russia by adopting the "Magnitsky Act." According to this plan, the first 30 Russian citizens have already been subjected to personal sanctions as human rights violators. We hope that in the future we will also be able to fully apply this law against those Russians who persecute Ukrainians in Crimea, Donbas and Russia.

Free trade, Operation UNIFIER, which enables Canadians to acquire the best practices of the modern hybrid warfare, and even the "Magnitsky Act," which helps promote Canadian values in the world, are advantageous not only to Ukraine, but also to Canada.

Q: Could we translate relations with Canada into a more pragmatic plane?

A: The comparison with human relations comes to my mind. There is such a concept as a marriage of convenience. Although it is based on a rational component, it is sometimes filled with feelings. In the situation with Canada we are walking the other way. We have had feelings, great love and serious attachment, but now we also find a very pragmatic convenience in these relations (in addition to wonderful, warm, family components). If this is trade, we find a common benefit in commodity exchange, and if this is defense, we find a common defense interest. If we create a new agreement on audio-visual production, then we know that both countries benefit from this. In 2017, in addition to strengthening relations, we managed to fill them with a very pragmatic mutual benefit.

Q: One more pleasant surprise was Chrystia Freeland's appointment as Canada's foreign minister. How did it influence our interstate relations?

A: The personal factor of Chrystia Freeland as Canada's foreign minister last year was extremely important. It is very symbolic that she made her last visit last year abroad to Kyiv, where she took part in events marking the 100th anniversary of Ukrainian diplomacy. It seems to me that it was important for her during her first year in office to have time to visit Ukraine. We see Chrystia as a very powerful ally and friend. Wisdom, principles, speed, performance, creativity - we can really be proud of her personal contribution as a Canadian of Ukrainian origin to relations between the two states.

Q: What are your plans for this year in terms of interstate relations?

A: Apart from our traditional directions, there are two particularly important ones this year. The first one is Canada's chairmanship of the Group of Seven. We look forward to taking full advantage of Canadian international credibility in the world in support of Ukraine. The second very nice plan for this year is the opening of Ukraine's Consulate General in Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. Ukraine had to make this decision a long time ago, and I very much hope that in 2018 we will witness its excellent implementation. Alberta has more than 300,000 Canadians of Ukrainian descent, and the establishment of a diplomatic mission represents a very symbolic gesture towards our community throughout Western Canada. In addition, it is a critically important region in economic terms (most of Canada's oil is extracted in Alberta). In general, the new Consulate General will substantially increase our presence both in Canada and generally in North America.

Maksym Nalyvaiko, Ottawa
On January 18, the Ukrainian side plans to exchange update information and new lists of hostages with the so-called "LPR / DPR" [Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics].

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska said this in an interview with 112.ua portal.

"Now very important and necessary work is being carried out, when each side again updates its lists. We will meet on January 18 and exchange update information and new lists. After that, negotiations on the next stage will begin," she said.

Lutkovska hopes that the next stage of the liberation will take place in a short time, since there are no questions on how to confirm certain legal facts that occurred on the uncontrolled territory, as well as the territory controlled by Ukraine.

As reported, a large-scale exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and the militants of the terrorist organizations Donetsk Peoples Republic and Luhansk Peoples Republic took place on the demarcation line in Donetsk region on December 27. A total of 73 people were transferred to the government-controlled territory, while 233 supporters of militants went to the temporarily occupied territory.

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Next week, Head of the Support Group for Ukraine Peter Wagner will arrive in Kyiv to discuss further cooperation with Ukraine.

Chairperson of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Foreign Affairs Hanna Hopko said this on the air of 112 Ukraina TV Channel on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Next week, the representatives of the EU, in particular, leader of the Support Group for Ukraine at the European Commission Peter Wagner, will arrive in Kyiv. Together with EU Ambassador to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli, we will hold a meeting with the Committee on European Integration and interested members of the parliament in order to hear their vision of priorities for cooperation with Ukraine," Hopko said.

She adds that it is now important to sum up the results of the last year and to outline priorities for cooperation with the EU. "Further promotion of reforms is one of the key issues," Hopko said.

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that a quick reaction in the search and detention of a suspect in the murder of human rights activist Iryna Nozdrovska is a sign of the effectiveness of the work of the National Police of Ukraine.

He said this at a meeting with the leadership of the National Police, during which he received a report on the investigation into this high-profile murder, the press service of the head of state reported.

"I think that such a quick solving [of Nozdrovska's murder] is a sign of extremely high potential possessed by the reformed National Police," Poroshenko said, adding that the solving of this case "does credit to the staff of the National Police and investigators who were engaged in this case."

The president noted that police investigators worked around-the-clock to solve the case and expressed confidence that the solving of this crime was increasing trust in the authorities and trust in the National Police.

"Our meeting is a sign of very serious evidence gathered by representatives of the National Police and representatives of the prosecutor's office and the absolute absence of any components of political PR in this high-profile case," he said.

He also recalled that the murder of human rights defender Iryna Nozdrovska had caused public outcry both in Ukrainian society and internationally.

"The quick reaction and effective measures in the search and detention of the suspect are a sign of the quality of work of the National Police," Poroshenko added.

At the same time, he said that the same effectiveness should be demonstrated in the investigation into other cases, in particular, concerning the murder of journalist Pavlo Sheremet.

As Ukrinform reported, human rights activist and lawyer Nozdrovska was found dead in Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region, on January 1, 2018. It is known that earlier she was engaged in the case on the death of her sister, Svitlana Sapatynska, who was killed by a car driven by Dmytro Rossoshansky, the nephew of the then head of the Vyshgorod District Court, in the village of Demydiv on September 30, 2015.

On January 8, law enforcement officers detained and handed a notice of suspicion to a man suspected of killing Nozdrovska.

Police have not yet named the detainee. An adviser to the interior minister, Zorian Shkiriak, only confirmed that this was a close relative of Rossoshansky.

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The annual Ukrainian Film Days will be held in Brussels. The festival will be held on January 17-21, 2018.

The event will begin with Sergei Parajanovs film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, own Ukrinform correspondent reports.

On the last day of the festival, the audience will be able to watch The Trial   a film about Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, who is illegally imprisoned in Russia.

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"They [sanctions], according to my observations, have proven to be ineffective, as the price of crude oil fell by more than 70% in the fall of 2014. The weakening of the Russian oil industry, which was suggested on a large scale by the United States, did not achieve its goal: the sanctions simply did not work," Kneissl told Kurier.

Read alsoBulgaria chairing in EU to pursue policy of sanctions against RussiaThe minister did not elaborate whether Austria would support the extension of the sanctions or not.

In her words, Vienna will act in line with European partners.

Kneissl also disclosed her plans to visit Moscow to meet with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, without giving an exact date.
The second division of the S-400 land-to-air missile system, stationed in the occupied port city of Sevastopol, will primarily control the airspace over Chonhar and Armiansk  the two settlements located on opposite sides of the de-facto administrative border between mainland Ukraine and the Russian-occupied peninsula, RIA Novosti wrote.

Read alsoUkraine Def. Ministry vows to strengthen borders in response to Russia's militarization plans"The task of the second division of the S-400 complex is to timely locate and, if necessary, destroy aerial targets on the Ukrainian side threatening Crimea," the source said.

The invaders said that an echeloned air defense system is being formed in Crimea amid Ukraines missile tests conducted in the area recently.
In particular, answering the question if Russia has enemies today, 66% of the respondents answered affirmatively, 21% said no, while 13% of respondents found the question hard to answer.

Among those who believe that Russia has enemies, 68% called their major enemy the United States, 29% - Ukraine, 14% - the European Union, 10% - the former republics of the Soviet Union (the Baltic states, Georgia, etc.), 8% - Poland, 6% % - Germany, 6% - NATO, 6% - UK, and 5% - radical Islamists (IS terrorist organization).

Some 4% of respondents called Russias enemies the countries of the Middle East. At the same time, for 4% of respondents, the enemies of Russia are those "who are in power today (officials, government, "Putin's friends").

Read alsoPoll: Most Ukrainians deem fight against corruption unsuccessfulTerrorism is the main enemy of Russia for 3% of respondents, the countries of the Far East - for 3%, corruption  for 3%, oligarchs and bankers - for 2%, China - for 2%, opposition (the fifth column, Navalny) - for 2%, Russophobes and Westerners - for 1%.

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin and liberals got 1% each on the list of enemies of Russia.
This year, Russian leadership plans to spend RUB 2.7 trillion on defense (in 2017 it was RUB 2.8 trillion), according to the former head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, Mykola Malomuzh, Glavred reports.

Taking into account the completion of the Syria campaign, Russia's defense budget is seeing no reduction but rather an increase in some areas, he believes.

Read alsoMoscow signaling: What stands behind Russias withdrawal from Joint Coordination Centre in Donbas "Russia will be able to conduct special operations of a local nature, in particular, to strengthen militants in the occupied territories of Donbas. We should also be prepared that Russia will deploy additional contingents and increase their offensive capabilities in its western districts, that is, on the border with Ukraine," he said.

Read alsoNo shifts on peacekeepers anytime soon  Ukraine's envoy to UNMalomuzh pointed out that Russia would also be able to obstruct Ukraines attempts to liberate part of its territories now under control of Russia-led forces.

"The Russian Federation will have to use contingents with more manpower, which will require more funding, and it is ensured by their defense budget," he added.
In Shehyni, protesters vow they would until 15:00, they will continue their rally and let only 10 cars pass every 10 minutes, according to Zaxid.net.

The activists stood up against changes to the Tax Code, which came into force from the beginning of the year. Earlier, the protesters announced that on January 10 they would block roads heading to all border checkpoints in Lviv region.

Read alsoUkraine's Cabinet prolongs import duties on Russian goods for 2018Police in another border region, Volyn, also reported on the blocking of traffic toward the Yahodyn checkpoint from 09:00 Kyiv time on Wednesday.

As reported earlier, the changes to the Tax Code stipulate that an individual is entitled to tax-free imports of goods in their hand baggage or luggage worth up to EUR 150 (at airports its up to EUR 1,000) and under 50 kg. However, these rules shall apply to those who have been out of Ukraine for more than 24 hours and are entering the country once in 72 hours or longer. If the 72-hour rule is not met, individuals can import tax-free goods worth only EUR 50.
Presiding judge Vladyslav Devyatko said the move is due to the failure of Yanukovych's defense team to attend.

According to the press secretary of Obolon District Court, Inna Svinarenko, the lawyers, as early as December 29, filed a statement announcing vacation. On the morning of January 19, they submitted another statement claiming they were going on a foreign trip to collect evidence in their client's interests. According to the schedule, the next hearing shall be held January 18.

Prosecutor of the Main Military Prosecutor's Office Ruslan Kravchenko says the questioning of witnesses (whose named he did not specify) by the prosecution has been scheduled for today (Jan 10). At the same time, the prosecutor called today's absence of lawyers a disruption of trial.

Read alsoKyiv's court rules to seize fugitive oligarch Kurchenko's UMH assetsAs UNIAN reported earlier, Yanukovych is charged with treason, complicity with Russian authorities, deliberate actions committed to alter the state border of Ukraine in violation of the Ukrainian Constitution. He is also accused of waging an aggressive war.

The judicial panel of Kyiv's Obolon district court on June 29 granted the prosecution's request to have Yanukovych tried in absentia.
He announced this after Saakashvili was questioned at the main department of the SBU Security Service of Ukraine in the city of Kyiv and Kyiv region on Wednesday, January 10, an UNIAN correspondent said.

Read alsoRFE/RL: Saakashvili says Russia's FSB involved in fabricating evidence against him for Kyiv trial "[We] continue filing claims against the State Migration Service. Today I, as a lawyer, received a ruling by Judge [Tetiana] Skochok, who ruled on January 3 not to satisfy Mikheil Saakashvili's claim for designating him as a person who needs additional protection. We, as the defense, and Mikheil have 30 days to appeal," the lawyer said.

Also, according to him, several lawsuits have been filed against the State Migration Service in other courts, including the district court of the city of Kyiv. "Therefore, we are suing the migration service in further defense, which means there are no legal grounds for the possible expulsion of Saakashvili or his so-called extradition today," the lawyer said.

He expressed the hope that the Ukrainian authorities would not get any grounds for the extradition of his client in future.
In December 2017, the Ukrainian defense trade company Spetstechnoexport announced that it worked with the American company AirTronic, based in Spring Branch, Texas, to supply PSRL-1 (Precision Shoulder-Fired Rocket Launcher, an advanced version of the Soviet RPG-7) weapons systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, DFR Lab wrote.

A contract, as the press release described, was drawn up in 2016 with approval from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.

An October 2016 press release from AirTronic matched the information provided last month by the Ukrainian defense trade company. In this press release, AirTronic described: "A recent $5.5 million contract award originating from an Allied European military customer for their Precision Shoulder-fired Rocket Launcher (PSRL) and system-supporting accessories."

This Allied European military customer was, apparently, Ukraine, the report reads.

Read alsoAzov Regiment already has U.S. weapons  BellingcatTwo weeks ago, Voice of America spoke with the CEO of AirTronic in Texas, who described how the manufacturer is continuing deliveries to Ukraine up to the current moment in very close coordination with the U.S. Embassy, with the U.S. State Department, with the U.S. Pentagon and with the Ukrainian government.

AirTronic did not release specific details on the number of PSRL-1 units delivered to Ukraine, but the leaked contract from Southfront and additional details from Ukrainian journalists filled the information gap.

A shipment of 100 PSRL-1 systems reportedly arrived in Ukraine in April 2017, as confirmed by both the contract leaked by a pro-separatist news outlet and Ukrainian journalist Yury Butusov. According to a Facebook post by Butusov, many of these 100 PSRL-1 systems were sent to military units in the Donbas, including military unit 3057 based in Mariupolmore widely known as the unit made up of soldiers from the Azov Regiment, integrated into the Ukrainian National Guard.

Butusov identified Azov as a recipient of the PSRL-1 systems. On July 10, 2017, Azov was introduced to the new weapons, as their press service stated that they would soon receive the grenade launchers.

Read alsoU.S. company already sells lethal weapons to UkraineOn July 20, 2017, in photographs shared by an Azov website, soldiers wearing Azov insignia tested PSRL-1 systems.

While verified information about the sale of American-made grenade launchers in Ukraine is available, unanswered questions remain. Most importantly, it is unclear how many of these PSRL-1 systems have been sent to the front lines of the Donbas, such as Sektor M near Mariupol where the Azov Battalion is active. Additionally, just how widely, if at all, these weapons have been used in non-training situations in the Donbas.

There have yet to be any confirmed, publicized casualties from the usage of a PSRL-1 in the Donbas, but the first verified incident with one of these weapons is likely to create some turmoil in Washington and Moscow, especially against the backdrop of additional American weapon sales to Ukraine.
In the Luhansk sector, the enemy used infantry weapons near the Svitlodarska Duha bulge. At first, the occupiers fired a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher on the defenders of the village of Luhanske, and later they provoked the defenders of the village of Travneve, using small arms.

Read alsoNo shifts on peacekeepers anytime soon  Ukraine's envoy to UNIn the Donetsk direction, the invaders violated ceasefire in the Mariupol sector. In particular, they opened fire from small arms, heavy machine guns, and launched eight 82mm mines on the Ukrainian fortified positions near the village of Pavlopil.

The Ukrainian military did not succumb to the aggressor's provocations and did return fire.
The weapons used by Ukrainian troops to repel the attack are not banned under the Minsk peace agreements, the ATO HQ said on Facebook in an update as of 18:00 local time on January 10.

Read alsoUkraine says Christmas truce in Donbas lasted almost a day"Units of the Russian occupation forces continue to disregard the ceasefire agreed for the New Year and Christmas holidays and shell strongholds of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, using proscribed mortars," the ATO HQ said.

The hot spot in the Luhansk sector is the Svitlodarska Duha buldge. In particular, the enemy lobbed over thirty 120mm and 82 mm mortar shells into areas near the Ukrainian-controlled village of Novoluhanske. Militants actively used automatic grenade launchers and large-caliber machine guns near that village.

What is more, Ukrainian troops that are defending the village of Luhanske repeatedly came under 82mm mortar fire in the daytime.

The enemy also attacked Ukrainian positions outside the village of Verkhniotoretske in the Donetsk sector, using grenade launchers.
The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement Monday saying that 10 "assault drones" had attempted to attack Khmeimim (Hmeymim) Air Base, the Russian military's primary air base in Syria, CNN said.

Read alsoRussia thwarts drone attack on Hmeimim airbase - BBCThe statement said three additional drones had tried to attack the Russian naval facility at Tartus. Russian troops were able to intercept the drones using electronic warfare jamming and Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missiles, according to the statement, which also said that no casualties or damage to Russian equipment resulted from the attack.

The Russians said an analysis of the downed drones found they were using a "modern GPS guidance system," adding that the drones used technology that may have been supplied by "countries with high-technological capabilities of satellite navigation and remote dropping control of professionally assembled improvised explosive devices."

The statement said the drones "carried explosive devices with foreign detonating fuses," adding that the "usage of strike aircraft-type drones by terrorists is the evidence that militants have received technologies to carry out terrorist attacks."

The Pentagon declined to comment on the nature of the drones involved in the attack on the Russian facilities but did note that U.S. and coalition troops fighting ISIS had faced "commercially available" drones used by the terror group which are "widely available, easy to control and certainly do not require significant technical expertise."

The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement Tuesday slamming the Pentagon's comments.

The Russians also implied that the U.S. may have had a role in the recent attack, saying the technology used in the drone attack "draws attention to the fact that the U.S. Navy Poseidon intelligence aircraft was patrolling between Tartus and Khmeimim over four hours at the altitude of 7,000 meters during terrorists' attack."

The U.S. military rejected the accusation, calling it "utterly irresponsible."

"We do not discuss the disposition of intelligence platforms. Any suggestion that that U.S. or coalition forces played a role in an attack on a Russian base is without any basis in fact and utterly irresponsible," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian Rankine-Galloway said.
In particular, he was asked whether the State Department was still on track for doing its part in implementing sanctions on Russia that were passed by Congress by the end of January.

"That is still the timeframe. Our position has not changed on that," he said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said that sanctions introduced against Russia, aiming mainly at its energy sector, had failed to succeed and turned to be ineffective.
As the citys leading business daily Delovoy Peterburg reports in an investigative article published just before New Year, the 4,000 square meters of their previous address on 55, Savushkina Street have been replaced by 12,000 square meters in St Petersburgs Lakhta business district, according to the Euromaidan Press.

The impressive threefold increase of workspace is a testimony to the success of the factory. As Russian RBC Dailys investigation in April 2017 showed, the trolling activities have now branched out into a conglomerate of at least 16 different online outlets, all of which voice strong support for Kremlins policies, while systematically linking to each others products. At the same time, they carry little or no advertisement.

Read alsoRussian psy-ops campaign paved way for military action in Crimea in 2014 - mediaThe owner of the troll factory, businessman and billionaire Yevgeny Prigozhin, has also become known as Putins chef because of his success in providing catering services for, among other clients, the Kremlin and other branches of the Russian government. Mr Prigozhin has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for providing financial support for Russias military occupation of Ukraine. Delovoy Peterburgs investigation also reveals that the owners of the new premises are contributors to President Putins election campaign.

The infamous Russian troll factory also known as Internet Research Agency (IRA) has been reportedly run by Putins ally Yevgeny Prigozhin in the Russian city of Saint-Petersburg. For years, the agency has been pushing pro-Russian narratives to promote the Kremlins interests in the world attempting to influence domestic policy and public opinion in the EU, U.S., Ukraine, and other countries, or just supporting opposite extreme opinions to sow chaos in target countries.

Read alsoFacebook to let users see if they followed Russian 'troll farm' pages  mediaTo achieve its goals, the troll factory employs fake accounts registered on major social networks, online media sites, and on video hosting services.
The law aims at combatting foreign TV propaganda and refers only to the information, analytic, and military channels. The law will come into force after 30 days from the date of its publishing in the Official Monitor, publika.md wrote.

The law, authored by Vlad Plahotniuc, doesn't mean to shut down TV channels, targeting individual propaganda shows.

The project targets TV stations broadcasting from states that have not ratified the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, such as Russia.

The document provides sanctions between 40,000 and 70,000 lei for violations. In the case of repeated propaganda act by certain TV channels, they will have to pay a fine of up to 100,000 lei.

According to Newsmaker.md, on December 20, an openly pro-Russian Moldovan President Igor Dodon who was initially to seal the bill into law, returned it to the parliament for revision, and on December 22 the deputies passed it again, without introducing any changes. The President refused to promulgate the law after that, citing the "supreme interests of the people", and appealed to the Constitutional Court with a request to consider its constitutionality.

Read alsoMoldovan Constitutional Court suspends Presidents powersOn January 5, the Constitutional Court decided that the bill forbidding the retransmission of Russian news and information and analytical programs in Moldova could be promulgated by Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu or Prime Minister Pavel Filip, instead of a defiant President Dodon. Such a decision was taken after Dodon refused to promulgate the bill twice.

Igor Dodon responded to the warrant by the Constitutional Court with another post on Facebook. "As promised, I will not yield to the regime under any pretext. I will not approve compromised candidates [ministers] and I will not sign laws that contradict the interests of citizens. As for the current actions of the regime with the support of the Constitutional Court, they will not remain without consequences," Dodon threatened.
The suit, filed Wednesday, January 10, in New York state court by Deripaska's Surf Horizon Ltd., claims Manafort and his former associate, Rick Gates, used the investment as "their personal piggy banks," moving funds in and out "without any apparent business reason," Bloomberg said.

Read alsoManafort, Ukraine's MP Artemenko could have contributed to Yanukovychs U-turn on UA-EU deal in 2013 - mediaDeripaska previously sued in courts in Virginia and the Cayman Islands in cases that are no longer pending. The new fraud case relies in part on allegations in a U.S. money-laundering indictment against Manafort and Gates, brought on October 27 by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The case is Surf Horizon v. Manafort, Index No. 650130/2018, New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan).
Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced a nationwide crackdown on bad drivers after spotting motorists heading the wrong way down a street outside his mansion in Phnom Penh.

The premier announced the policy on Facebook, saying that a new road outside his residence, situated adjacent to Independence Monument in the capital, had become an embarrassing road.

He blamed traffic authorities for not installing proper road signs for people to follow.

The crackdown on traffic law offenders this week is my order, the prime ministers order. No-one else, he wrote.

Run Rathveasna, director of the national polices public order department, said driving habits were due to a lack of understanding of basic road etiquette, with motorists routinely ignoring traffic lights and driving on the wrong side of the road. They really dont understand the traffic law. We have been educating them and promoting it ... but they still violate the law.

Ear Chariya, a road safety expert, said the government should continue to promote [the traffic law] because many Cambodians have not fully understood it and, secondly, strengthen the law at every opportunity.

Meas Ny, a social analyst, told VOA Khmer that some high ranking people also flouted the traffic law, setting a bad example for others.

Traffic accidents in Cambodia declined slightly in 2017, according to official figures, but the number of deaths slightly increase, with more than 1,700 people killed on Cambodias roads last year.

Chariya, the road safety expert, said the rise was due to poor law enforcement. Compared to 2016, law enforcement in 2017 was not as good. So thats why the result shows there was an increase in the number of deaths.

Rathveasna, meanwhile, said it was the right time now to act against offenders. We cant let them get away with it easily anymore because we have promoted [the traffic law] since 2016. So its enough time for them to learn and understand it.
Unionists and family members of slain labor activist Chea Vichea, who was gunned down in 2004, will gather in late January to pay their respects to the late labor advocate.

Vichea was killed on January 22, 2004, while he was buying his morning newspaper.

Two suspects, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, were charged with the murder. The duo, who were widely believed to be unconnected to the murder, faced several years in jail before being released in September 2013.

Organizers of the gathering expect some 150 people to show up.

Meng Senghak, one of the organizers, said they would repeat calls for justice in Vicheas case.

We will pay our respects as usual, but we will also call on the government to speed up the investigation process because it has been 14 years, he said.

Gen. Khieu Sopheak, an interior ministry spokesman, said the investigation had determined that witnesses had fled the country, and therefore, there were no further leads.

As the remembrance ceremony gets underway, Vicheas brother, Chea Mony, will appear in court for making calls on the European Union to apply pressure on Cambodia through restrictions on textiles imports.

Pro-government unionists filed a complaint against Mony last month for the comments, which he made during an interview with Radio Free Asia.

Mony could not be reached on Tuesday.

Mann Senghak, however, said Mony had stated a personal opinion during the radio show and had not influenced the EU decision-making.

It was just a personal opinion, Senghak told VOA Khmer on Tuesday. Putting pressure on Cambodia export products or not, it is in the power of the EUs members states alone.
Ambassador of Belarus A.Grinkevich meets the State Counsellor to the Prime Minister of Romania

10-01-2018

On January 10, 2017 the Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to Romania, Andrei Grinkevich met with the State Counsellor to the Prime Minister of Romania, Coordinator of Department for Sustainable Development, Laszlo Borbely.

During the meeting, the interlocutor was given an invitation to a Regional SDG Coordination Forum: Building a Partnership to Underpin National Sustainable Development Solutions, which will take place in Minsk on 21-22 February 2018. L.Borbely expressed intention to attend the event highly appreciating Belarus initiative on establishing cooperation between national institutions and other mechanisms responsible for the SDG implementation in the region.

The parties exchanged information on the activities on the national levels, aimed at SDG implementation, agreed to establish bilateral interaction on this track and discussed a wide range of issues on the international agenda.

The head of the Belarusian diplomatic mission briefly presented the trade, economic, investment, tourism and educational potential of the Republic of Belarus.

   

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Leaders of nations along Southeast Asia's Mekong River gathered Wednesday in Cambodia's capital amid a push by China to build more dams that are altering the water flow and raising environmental concerns.

The meeting was chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who were joined by leaders from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.



The stated goal of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation forum, created by China in 2015, is to promote sustainable development and boost the quality of life for the millions of people living in the Mekong subregion.



Known as the Lancang in China, the Mekong River is vital to Southeast Asia, where more than 60 million people rely on it and its tributaries for food, water and transport.



The world's 12th-longest river, the Mekong runs nearly 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau down into mainland Southeast Asia before emptying into the South China Sea in Vietnam. The river's basin is home to up to 1,700 fish species, making it the most diverse basin after the Amazon and Congo.



Yet the river is also another potential source of regional tensions due to an increasing number of hydroelectric projects that are altering its flow and raising concerns of ecological damage. Vietnam, already locked in conflict with Beijing over territory in the South China Sea, says it is at particular risk of adverse effects.



China is the driving force behind many of the projects, having already built eight dams on the river since the 1990s and is currently building or planning more than a dozen more. Laos is home to most of the dams planned for the river's lower stretch.



China is also seeking to have parts or the river dredged or rapids cleared so that large cargo ships can navigate it. Environmentalists have warned this could have dire consequences on the ecosystem.



In the two years since the forum's establishment, China has set aside billions of dollars to support 45 projects including water resource research centers and cooperation on connectivity projects, industrial capacity, border trade, agriculture and poverty alleviation.



The forum is seen as a rival to the Mekong River Commission, which has existed for more than 60 years but excludes China and Myanmar.
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - In March 2016, while chairing the first summit on the Beijing-initiated Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC), Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, in a speech, cited an anonymous Southeast Asian proverb: "When gentle breezes stick together, they can have the power of a typhoon."

Li addressed leaders of the nations through which the Mekong River flows, setting forth the foreign policy initiatives of the LMC with its objectives to engage and promote cooperation and development among the riverine nations.

Lesser known than another Chinese international development effort, the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing introduced the LMC in 2015, identifying it as "a new type of sub-regional cooperation mechanism" en route to a joint objective of "building a community of shared future among Lancang-Mekong countries."

China's Premier Li Keqiang, center, shakes hands w China's Premier Li Keqiang, center, shakes hands with his counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, second from left, of Vietnam, Prayuth Chan-o-cha, left, prime minister of Thailand, Hun Sen, second from right, of Cambodia, and Thongloun Sisolith, right, of Laos, before an opening of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018. China's Premier Li Keqiang, center, shakes hands with his counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, second from left, of Vietnam, Prayuth Chan-o-cha, left, prime minister of Thailand, Hun Sen, second from right, of Cambodia, and Thongloun Sisolith, right, of Laos, before an opening of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018.

With a second summit of the six Mekong nations  China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam  taking place January 10 and 11 in Phnom Penh to discuss a five-year development plan for the river, the LMC is rolling along. Central to discussions will be the issue of water management, including the development of dams and irrigation infrastructure, which represent control of the Mekong.

Bid to control

Originating in Tibet, the Mekong, known as the Lancang in Chinese, flows for 4,300 kilometers to drain into the South China Sea. Its fish provide livelihoods for an estimated 60 million people, and "as a source of food, touches the lives of more than 300 million from over 100 ethnic groups," according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Any measures to regulate the river's flow  such as dams  have the potential to affect the member nation's economies.

"The LMC is clearly a bid by China to take control of Mekong matters, after having refused to join the Mekong River Commission," said Milton Osborne, a Southeast Asia expert who wrote the 2000 book The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future.

"In doing so it seeks to legitimize its own actions in building dams within its own borders while its state-linked commercial companies are associated with dam building downstream from China," Osborne told VOA Khmer in an email.

FILE - In this June 20, 2016 file photo, a fishing FILE - A fishing boat passes near a construction site of the Don Sahong dam, near the Cambodia-Laos borders, in Preah Romkel village, Stung Treng province, northeast of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 20, 2016. FILE - A fishing boat passes near a construction site of the Don Sahong dam, near the Cambodia-Laos borders, in Preah Romkel village, Stung Treng province, northeast of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 20, 2016.

The LMC represents a sign of the limitations the Mekong River Commission faced in stopping dam projects that could potentially be harmful to the Mekong region, he said.

Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam make up the commission. When it was formed in 1995, China and Myanmar opted out, which meant they could skirt the rule requiring commission members to present dam proposals for discussion.

"I am not optimistic that [the LMC] will play a positive part in addressing the major issues that now confront the environmental challenges aligned to the Mekong: decline in fish stocks, the issues associated with climate change, the particular problems of the Mekong Delta," Osborne said.

Elliot Brennan, an independent researcher on Southeast Asia affairs, told the South China Morning Post that "the Mekong issue had the potential to be the largest China-ASEAN conflict flashpoint after the South China Sea, and that Beijing regarded controlling the river as a strategic objective. If Beijing manages to achieve control of the Mekong's development it would quickly become a crucial artery for China's rise and exportation of influence into ASEAN."

A Chinese embassy spokesman in Phnom Penh could not be reached for comment Monday.

'Remarkable progress'

China has said the LMC initiative is moving forward and making "remarkable progress" since it took place a few years ago, vowing to implement the initiative with "neighborhood diplomacy policy" through the ideas of "amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness."

In the past few weeks, China and member countries Cambodia and Laos moved to forge deals on new funding projects. All six member nations  the Mekong nations  had created secretariats to take charge of LMC matters by the end of December 2016.

Policy research organizations, many of them aligned with the six riverine governments, joined to form the Global Center for Mekong Studies last year to advise LMC member countries on a range of topics from politics to business.

China's Premier Li Keqiang gestures during the ope China's Premier Li Keqiang gestures during the opening of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation forum Leaders Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018. China's Premier Li Keqiang gestures during the opening of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation forum Leaders Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018.

"The [LMC] has grown into a sub-regional cooperation framework with great potential and vitality," Li said in an op-ed published this week in the Phnom Penh newspaper, Khmer Times.

"In the context of rising backlash against globalization and protectionist sentiments as well as lack of momentum in East Asian cooperation, the LMC as a basic component of regional cooperation is not only conducive to narrowing the development gap within ASEAN and advancing ASEAN integration, but also enriches South-South cooperation and efforts to foster a more open, inclusive, and balanced economic globalization that benefits all," Li wrote.

The hosting Cambodian Foreign Ministry announced that the summit, with the theme of "Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development," would discuss ways to fix the development gaps among the downstream nations in support of ASEAN integration and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, and ways to bolster people exchanges.

'Model for multilateral institutionalization'

Po Sovinda, international relations analyst with the East China Normal University in Shanghai, said China, as an upstream country of the Mekong River, likely would use the LMC as a model of Beijing-led multilateral institutionalizations by proving that it would "not seek hegemony." This would also build trust for its larger Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) plan, he said.

Po Sovinda added that China could face a backlash, however, if it mismanages the river by pursuing unilateral decisions, which run contrary to its "'peaceful development' rhetoric."

By excluding China and Vietnam, the other LMC member states are not the claimants in the South China Sea conflict that in the past decade has had impacts on China's soft power engagement, analysts say.

Brian Eyler, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said Beijing could offset its "lack of multilateral engagement" in the South China Sea through its initiation of the LMC, adding that the Mekong engagement also could "shift attention away" from the conflicted sea.

"With the exception of the LMC being a multilateral initiative, China's approach is a continuation of its economic expansion and market dominance in mainland Southeast Asia," Eyler said.

"The LMC will [also] serve as a jumping off point for excess capacity in China's industries such as hydropower, coal, highways, rail, and port development and seek to add a layer of political legitimacy to the offloading of this excess capacity through the Belt and Road Initiative," he added.

Economic engine

A similar multilateral mechanism, the MRC, which is backed by the West, has been criticized for being unable to stop a number of controversial hydropower dams along the Mekong River. Up to 31 hydropower dams are expected to be built on the Mekong mainstream by 2030, according to the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research.

Hydropower Dam on the Mekong River in Xayaburi Pro FILE - A hydropower dam is seen on the Mekong River in Xayaburi Province, Laos, in this undated photo. FILE - A hydropower dam is seen on the Mekong River in Xayaburi Province, Laos, in this undated photo.

That the upstream dams are in China has allowed "water diplomacy" to emerge. In 2016, when downstream countries faced their worst drought in years, environmentalists said the intensity of the drought was caused, in part, by the dams. Vietnam asked China to release water and when China agreed, called the move a "gesture of goodwill."

China is playing a key role in many downstream LMC countries. The largest foreign financier and investor in Laos, China has voiced support for Myanmar in its internationally-condemned treatment of Rohingya.

In Cambodia, China is supporting Prime Minister Hun Sen's crackdown on dissent and Cambodia is supporting China on many regional and international agendas.

Within the LMC structure, China is funding all proposed projects expected to be adopted this week, Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said, adding that each member state is given equal decision-making power through a consensus format.

"This [cooperation] works toward security, sustainable development, and well-being of our people as the most important trios," Phay Siphan said.

"For Cambodia's part, we seek investment on connectivity, irrigation infrastructure, and projects toward lower energy costs that could attract more investments and create more jobs."
TAIPEI - Taiwan's high-level protest to China against a declaration of new civilian flight paths in the contested strait between them is taking relations to a new low.

President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei called a National Security Council meeting Sunday after China opened four routes near Taiwan without notifying her government and began letting civilian aircraft use them the same day, according to a statement by Taiwans foreign ministry. Beijings move violates the results of talks between air transport associations from both sides in March 2015, the ministry said.

Analysts and politicians suspect China knew Taiwan would object and opened the flight paths to continue a two year course of increasing on political pressure on Tsais government.

This is something China did unilaterally, said Raymond Wu, managing director of Taipei-based political risk consultancy e-telligence. It wasnt something that was done through negotiation. It wasnt something that people talked about or reached a compromise or consensus on.

The two sides have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war in the 1940s, when the Nationalists fled China and rebased their government in Taiwan. China insists on eventual unification of the two sides, by use of force if needed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Tai Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou during a summit in Singapore, Nov. 7, 2015. Leaders of political rivals China and Taiwan met on Saturday for the first time in more than 60 years. Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou during a summit in Singapore, Nov. 7, 2015. Leaders of political rivals China and Taiwan met on Saturday for the first time in more than 60 years.

Public opinion surveys show most Taiwanese oppose unification. Tsai, in office since May 2016, rejects Beijings dialogue condition that both sides talk as parts of a single China. Her rejection has irritated Chinese officials.

No more talking

Before the two air transport associations talked in 2015, Taiwans then-president Ma Ying-jeou had consented to Beijings one-China idea for negotiations. The two sides had signed more than 20 other agreements under Ma and lowered overall tensions that had festered for decades.

On Jan. 4 China opened its northbound M503 flight route in the Taiwan Strait and three east-west extension routes for civilian aircraft. M503 had received International Civil Aviation Organization approval and should ease air traffic congestion amid increased flights between Hong Kong and Shanghai, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency reported in 2015.

The north-south route maintains a safe distance from the Taipei region, Xinhua added at the time.

But during talks in 2015, China repeatedly pledged to use the M503 route only for one-way southbound flights and to set aside the east-west extensions pending further negotiations, the foreign ministry in Taiwan said.

Mounting pressure

Taiwanese officials are likely to see the start of new flight routes as another milestone in mounting political pressure from China, experts believe. Beijing wants to make Taiwan feel the impact of Tsais refusal to talk on the one-China condition, they say.

The flight path launches belong to a whole series of actions taken by China, including military actions, ruling party lawmaker Lo Chih-cheng said.

They keep pushing the envelope, he said. They are pushing Taiwan into a corner. They are hoping Taiwan will react or even overreact.

Over the past two years Beijing has passed an aircraft carrier and military planes around Taiwan, established diplomatic ties with a once prized Taiwan ally, Panama, and asked a list of countries to send Taiwanese citizens to China for fraud trials.

Expect no change to Chinas approach toward Taiwan, Wu said.

Tsai said Sunday that Taiwan would increase national security and communicate fully with the international community as Chinas flight path activations severely influenced regional security and flight safety, the ministry statement said.

FILE - Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech during the National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech during the National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017.

Other counties may be preoccupied with the future of North Korea, Lo said, and China is unlikely to answer any direct pleas from Taiwan. North Koreas development of missiles and nuclear weaponry has anchored the Asia agenda of U.S. President Donald Trump since he took office a year ago.

We definitely need to respond very strongly to this unilateral change to the status quo, he said. But obviously China will not respond to any calls from the Taiwan side.

Skirting public outrage

China still hopes to avoid moves that would anger big swathes of the islands public, whose sympathy China considers key to its goal of peaceful unification, experts say. Beijing has both a hard and soft hand in handling Taiwan, said Andy Chang, China studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

The flight paths that China activated Jan. 4 in the 160-kilometer-wide Taiwan Strait do not force Taiwan to change its own aircraft movements, though flights to outlying islands could encounter more traffic from China.

Chinas north-south path falls within a flight information region overseen from Shanghai rather than a military defense zone that would require Taiwan to notify China of its own flights, said Nathan Liu, international affairs professor at Ming Chuan University in Taiwan.

No matter (whether) a civilian flight or a fighter, you need to report to me, things like that -- a flight information region is a different thing, Liu said. This is within Shanghais flight information region.
YANGON - Two years after Myanmars State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi promised to make the countrys 70-year civil war a priority in her leadership, there has been little to celebrate about the peace process.

With the third Peace Conference due to take place within the next month, and amid fresh tensions between the Myanmar Army and ethnic armed groups, few observers are confident any significant progress will be made in the months ahead.

In January 2016, weeks before the National League for Democracy took power from the military-linked government, Aung San Suu Kyi said that her administration would make bringing peace to the country their number one priority.

"The first responsibility of the government is to build peace," she said in a speech made shortly after the NLDs resounding election victory in November 2015. "We will organize an effective peace conference to improve the recent ceasefire agreement and we will urge widespread participation."

The treaty she referred to was the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement signed in November 2015 by eight ethnic armed groups, although not by some of the larger groups operating in the countrys north.

Two peace conferences  labelled the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference  have been held under the NLD, with a third due to take place at the end of this month. But there are questions about how effective the meetings have been.

Neither event has collectively included all of Myanmars ethnic armed groups, and civil society groups have regularly complained that their concerns are not listened to at the conferences.

Perhaps the most substantial process came at the second UPC, held in May 2017, when representatives from the then-recently formed Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee  which rejects the NCA and is led by the United Wa State Army  attended and met with senior government officials.

Since then, there has been little meaningful action on the peace process, and the countrys decades of civil war appears no nearer to being brought to an end.

"As the countrys de facto] leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has a lot of political capital, but both the military and the NLD have to be magnanimous in order to achieve peace," said Yangon-based political analyst Khin Zaw Win. "The military is crucial to the peace process; but I dont think [an end to the process] will happen soon."

The government has said it plans to hold a third UPC in January, but a final date has yet to be confirmed.

"The NCA signatories and government should focus negotiations on the remaining federal principles to have a productive outcome at the next peace conference," Min Zaw Oo, founder of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security (MIPS) and advisor to the government's Peace Commission, told VOA by email. "Both sides need to have a series of pre-negotiation sessions and informal talks before they sit down for actual negotiation."

New conflicts

New fighting, particularly in the countrys restive north, has also raised concerns of ever-growing distrust between the ethnic armed groups operating there and the Myanmar Armed Forces, known as the Tatmadaw.

Conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army, an FPNCC member, continued in December with 14 armed incidents taking place that month, according to data collected by the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security.

The Myanmar Army captured more than a dozen KIA positions between November and January, according to a Tatmadaw news release.

"The Tatmadaws capture of these KIA bases along the Kachin-Shan border will deny the EAO [ethnic armed organization] another valuable revenue resource generated from logging exports to China," MIPS said in a December briefing.

Fresh fighting also broke out between the Tatmadaw and the Taang National Liberation Army, a KIA ally, in December, and MIPS said fighting with the groups is likely to continue this year.

In 2017, it was reported that members of the non-signatory bloc the United Nationalities Federal Council were considering signing the NCA, which the government and military regard as crucial to moving the peace process forward. Among those considered most likely to sign were the New Mon State Party and the Karenni National Progressive Party.

However in December, four KNPP soldiers were killed during a confrontation with Tatmadaw troops. The KNPP has accused the Myanmar Army of executing the soldiers, while the military argues the incident occurred after a gunfight. Earlier this month, local authorities took action against five Kayah youths who held protests about the incident.

Shwe Myo Thant, General Secretary of the KNPP, told VOA the group had still not decided whether it would sign the NCA, or attend the next UPC.

"There can be a lot of impacts on the NCA because of what happened. The peace process is still going on, but there are still many fighting in ethnic areas. We havent decided yet [whether to attend]. Those who havent signed the NCA are not able to discuss, and we dont want to be puppets just sitting there. This problem has had an impact on the peace process."

Aung Naing Soe in Yangon contributed to this report
Human antibodies made in genetically engineered cows have proved safe in an early stage clinical trial, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday, and could be developed into a treatment for the fatal viral disease, MERS.

MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, is a SARS-like viral infection first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012 that has caused deadly outbreaks in the Middle East as well as sporadic cases around the world.

Despite more than five years of waves of infection, no effective treatment or vaccine has been developed against MERS, which has a 35 percent case fatality rate and has so far killed at least 740 people worldwide.

More than 80 percent of MERS cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia, according to the World Health Organization.

FILE - Muslim pilgrims wear surgical masks to prev FILE - Muslim pilgrims wear surgical masks to prevent infection from respiratory virus known as the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. FILE - Muslim pilgrims wear surgical masks to prevent infection from respiratory virus known as the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

In research published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal on Wednesday, scientists found that human antibodies called SAB-301 generated in so-called transchromosomic cattle  animals with human DNA incorporated into their genome  were safe in healthy volunteers.

The antibodies also persisted for more time than the MERS virus typically remains in the body, the study found, with antibodies still detected in bloodstream after 90 days.

This points a way ahead for the antibodies  which offer immunity against an invading infection  to be tested in further trials in people infected with MERS, the researchers said.

"This is the first study to show the safety and immune effects of a potential treatment for MERS," said John Beigel at Leidos Biomedical Research, who co-led the U.S. government-funded study. "The data from our study suggest that SAB-301 is safe, and further research into the treatment is warranted."

The idea of using human antibodies has developed in recent years in a variety of severe and emerging diseases, including flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), MERS and Ebola.

A scientist is testing a sample from the people, w A scientist is testing a sample from the people, who is recently returned from South Korea and suspecting of MERS infection, inside a Sample Preparation lab, at the National Institute of Health Department of Medical Sciences in Nonthaburi. A scientist is testing a sample from the people, who is recently returned from South Korea and suspecting of MERS infection, inside a Sample Preparation lab, at the National Institute of Health Department of Medical Sciences in Nonthaburi.

Blood plasma harvested from people whose immune systems have successfully fought the disease contains the right antibodies and can be given to other patients to help their immune systems fight the virus.

But harvesting human plasma is not always easy or swift when a new disease emerges, so scientists turned to the idea of transchromosomic cattle as a way of manufacturing specific antibodies in larger amounts.

Transchromosomic cattle have human DNA that codes for human antibodies incorporated into their genome. To make SAB-301, they were injected with a part of the MERS virus, stimulating their immune systems to produce antibodies against it. The antibodies were then extracted from the cattle's blood and purified.

"The process of creating antibody treatments by harvesting antibodies from human donors is slow and often small-scale," said Beigel. "However, the cattle-produced antibodies could be created as soon as three months."
LONDON - Britain is making known its hopes to one day join the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP, a free trade agreement currently being negotiated by eleven countries bordering the Pacific and the South China Sea.

The British government hopes trade with fast-growing economies will make up for losses that may occur after it leaves the European Union as scheduled in 2019.

On a recent trip to China, Britain Trade Minister Liam Fox tentatively suggested his country could one day join the TPP.

We don't know what the success of the TPP is going to yet look like, because it isn't yet negotiated. So, it would be a little bit premature for us to be wanting to sign up to something that we're not sure what the final details will look like. However, we have said that we want to be an open, outward-looking country, and therefore it would be foolish for us to rule out any particular outcomes for the future, Fox told reporters during the trip last week.

London sits some 7,000 kilometers from any Pacific coastline. So, does geography no longer matter in 21st century trade? Not so, said Jonathan Portes, an economist and professor at Kings College London.

There has been an argument put forward that particularly as trade in services expands, and as a result of technology, it will matter considerably less in the future, and that seems to make a lot of sense. However, unfortunately, so far at least, the actual data and evidence dont really support this contention. For whatever reason, geography at the moment seems to matter as much as it ever did, he said.

By leaving the European Unions Single Market and Customs Union on its doorstep, Britain will abandon a free trade agreement that accounts for about half of its global trade. In contrast, all eleven countries currently negotiating the TPP combined accounted for less than 8 percent of British goods exported last year.

Portes said it will take decades for other trade deals to make up ground.

Our companies are in many cases very closely integrated with the European Union, meaning that there will be substantial disruption as a result of the likely implications of Brexit.

The countries negotiating the TPP include Chile, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

During his tenure, U.S. President Barack Obama was a driving force behind TPP, but his successor, Donald Trump, pulled the United States out of the deal, claiming it would be bad for America. Negotiations between the eleven remaining countries are progressing slowly.

The TPP, already as a consequence of the U.S. withdrawal, has its own internal problems. And theyre going to have to work out how to get that back on track, said Portes.

But Britains interest in the TPP has been welcomed by some of the parties involved, particularly Australia.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to visit Asia later this year in an attempt to boost ties ahead of Brexit.
WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President Donald Trump says he is open to talks with North Korea at the appropriate time.

In a telephone conversation with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday, Trump expressed his openness to holding talks between the United States and North Korea at the appropriate time under the right circumstances, according to a readout of the call issued by the White House.

"The two leaders underscored the importance of continuing the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea," the statement said.

President Moons office first reported the conversation, which came a day after North and South Korea held their first talks in more than two years. The South Korean readout said Trump had agreed that there would be no military action while any talks were in progress.

Trump and Moon both held news conferences Wednesday at which they spoke about the prospects for a more stable Korean peninsula, where tensions have been at peak levels for months.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news c U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 10, 2018, in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 10, 2018, in Washington.

Peace through strength

Trump, standing alongside visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in the White House East Room, said he was hopeful of an era of peace through strength as he oversees a strengthening of U.S. military forces.

I think were going to have a long period of peace. I hope we do, Trump said. Certainly we have problems with North Korea, but a lot of good talks are going on right now. ... I see a lot of good energy. I like it very much what Im seeing.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in answers reporte South Korean President Moon Jae-in answers reporters' question during his New Year news conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 10, 2018. South Korean President Moon Jae-in answers reporters' question during his New Year news conference at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 10, 2018.

At his news conference in Seoul earlier in the day, Moon credited Trump with helping facilitate Tuesdays inter-Korean talks by increasing pressure through sanctions on the North Korean leadership.

But the South Korean leader said his approach, which entails reducing tensions through dialogue and engagement, differs from Trumps emphasis on pressuring Kim Jong Uns regime with sanctions and the threat of military force.

South Korea, Moon said, wants to pursue denuclearization without risking a devastating war with North Korea that would put at risk millions of Koreans on both sides of the border.

How can we de-escalate these issues and prevent a possible armed conflict, and while doing so bring North Korea to a dialogue? That is our current dilemma, and that requires a prudent approach, Moon said.

Moon described agreements reached during Tuesdays inter-Korean talks as a positive first step that could create a pause in provocations and give momentum to diplomacy.

Trump, at his news conference, spoke of the value of multilateral cooperation in pressuring North Korea toward denuclearization.

We're working with China on North Korea. Were working with various other countries and I think were doing very well, Trump told reporters. We had a great talk as you know this morning with President Moon and I think a lot of things are happening.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, left, shakes hands with the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon after their meeting at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Jan. 9, 2018. South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, left, shakes hands with the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon after their meeting at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Jan. 9, 2018.

Long-term goal

Moon emphasized Wednesday that denuclearization of North Korea is the long-term goal of his efforts to engage with Pyongyang to participate in the upcoming Olympics, and to resume military talks.

What we can do at the moment is improve inter-Korean relations, engage North Korea in dialogue, so that North Korea can return to the negotiation table for ultimately denuclearization, the South Korean leader said.

The White House confirmed Wednesday that Vice President Mike Pence would lead a high-level U.S. delegation attending the Winter Olympics next month in South Korea.

Trump has in the past expressed a variety of opinions about the value of talking to the Pyongyang regime.

In a tweet last October, the president said he had told Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that he was wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man, a nickname he had given to North Korean leader Kim.

But in comments at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, Trump expressed hope for a positive outcome of the inter-Korea dialogue Who knows where it leads? Hopefully it will lead to success for the world. Not just for our country but for the world, he said.

Brian Padden in Seoul and Steve Herman at the White House contributed to this report.
NAIROBI - The European Union's chief observer for Kenya's 2017 elections says the process was far from perfect, singling out, in particular, the country's politicians. The EU mission is calling for Kenya to undertake reforms that will strengthen democracy.

Speaking Tuesday at the European Parliament, the EU chief election observer in Kenya, Marietje Schaake, blamed politicians for problems with the countrys 2017 election.

The Kenyan people, including five million young people able to vote for the first time, did not fully enjoy their democratic rights as legally foreseen for all Kenyans," said Schaake. "The electoral process was damaged by political leaders attacking independent institutions, and by a lack of dialogue between the opposing sides with escalating disputes and violence.

The EU mission chief said the process disappointed voters, leading to political confrontations, and the East African nation remains divided.

In less than three months in 2017, Kenyas electoral commission organized two presidential elections. The first poll in August was nullified by Kenya's supreme court after it found illegalities in the transmission of election results.

At least 15 million Kenyans voted in August, a huge turnout credited in part to technology, as many believed that biometric voter identification and electronic transmission of results would reduce electoral fraud.

FILE - People watch a live broadcast of the announ FILE - People watch a live broadcast of the announcement of the re-election results by Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukat, on TV at a local electrical shop in Kisumu, Oct. 30, 2017. FILE - People watch a live broadcast of the announcement of the re-election results by Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukat, on TV at a local electrical shop in Kisumu, Oct. 30, 2017.

But Schaake says technology did not help Kenya overcome its fears.

Some had hoped the use of advanced technology would increase trust, but technology cannot replace trust, and lack of testing for capacity and security led to concerns that certainly [must] be addressed in the future, said Schaake.

In the repeat poll in October, only about 7.6 million of 19.6 million registered voters turned out. President Uhuru Kenyatta won with 98 percent of the vote, after his main challenger Raila Odinga withdrew from the election.

FILE - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga addre FILE - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga addresses supporters in Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 28, 2017. FILE - Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga addresses supporters in Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 28, 2017.

With the fear of voter apathy in the future, Schaake says Kenya needs urgent reforms.

I urge Kenyan leaders, as well as Kenyas international partners, to prioritize addressing structural issues as well as strengthening principles such as stronger rule of law, separation of powers, respect for independence institutions, and of course the rights and freedom of the people of Kenya, said Schaake.

The EU mission suggested strengthening Kenya's independent institutions, improving the technology used in the elections and also improving the election results mechanism.

In Kenya, the call for leaders to work together and form an inclusive government has been growing, after Odinga and his running mate vowed to swear themselves in as president and deputy president before the end of January.
NEW DELHI - In India efforts to pass a law to make the practice of instant divorce in the Muslim community a criminal offence have become embroiled in controversy amid strident objections from opposition parties who say it could be misused to harass men. But women activists hope political parties will resolve their differences and usher in what would potentially be the first significant reform in Muslim family law.

That we want the law is for sure. This moment has come 70 years too late after independence, says Zakia Soman, of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (Indian Muslim Womens Movement), which was one of the frontline campaigners in a legal battle that resulted in the Supreme Court striking down the centuries-old practice as unconstitutional five months ago.

India is the latest among a number of countries that have outlawed the Islamic practice of allowing Muslim men to divorce their wives by uttering the word talaq thrice.

But saying that the practice continues despite the top courts order, the government has introduced a Bill to make triple talaq a non-bailable offence with up to a three-year jail term. The Bill passed easily last month through the lower house of parliament where the government has a majority.

However it was blocked last week in the upper house of parliament by opposition parties who say that proposing jail time for men who resort to the age old practice to end their marriage overreaches by putting what is essentially a civil contract in the ambit of criminal law. They say that a clause that an offender should continue to support his wife is meaningless since he cannot do so from jail.

Proponents of the bill defend the tough provisions saying that a strong deterrent is needed to stop Muslim men from resorting to instant divorce.

A former minister, Arif Mohammad Khan, who is a vocal supporter of reform of Muslim personal law, is one of the architects of the Bill.

After 2017 judgment more than 100 women have already been turned out of their homes. Are we going to remain spectator while this enormity is happening? he asks. This is not merely question of reform of Muslim personal law. It is question not even of womens rights, it is question of human rights.

Women activists pressing for a divorce law for the Muslim community also want a man to face penal action for trying to end his marriage by using triple talaq but say the bill should be amended so that a man can get bail. If you make it cognizable there are apprehensions that there can be misuse, says Soman. They also want the law to lay down the procedure for divorce among Indias 90 million Muslim women.

Opposition

With the government lacking a majority in the upper house of parliament, it is not clear if it will reach a consensus with opposition parties on the Bill.

There is also strong opposition to the bill from conservative voices in the Muslim community who accuse the right wing Hindu government of interfering in its personal law. This action is absolutely unwanted and it is nothing but a political item (ploy). It will be challenged also obviously but it will not send good signal, says Kamal Farooqui, a founder member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board that wanted to retain triple talaq.

But Muslim women activists remain optimistic that parliament will pass a law to govern divorce sooner rather than later. The reason: despite opposing the bills current draft, the main opposition Congress Party has stressed that it supports the need for a law to protect Muslim women.

All our political class has recognized that the Muslim women have been denied the protection of a law. So in itself it is a very big thing for us, says Soman with a relieved laugh.

However there is uncertainty about the stand the Congress Party, for whom Muslims are a core constituency, will finally take. Analysts point out that 30 years ago, the party was widely slammed for failing women when it passed a law to shift responsibility away from a Muslim man to support his divorced wife after a Supreme Court order to give maintenance to a Muslim woman.

India does not have a common family law for all citizens and allows religious considerations to govern civil issues such as marriage, divorce and property rights. But while Hindus and Christians have laws in matters of marriage and divorce, the Muslim community has no legal cover and women complain of being victims of patriarchal personal laws.

Activists say tens of thousands of Muslim women have been abandoned and forced out of homes with little notice or financial support when men uttered triple talaq and some had even delivered the three words by phone, email or text.
A federal judge in Tampa sentenced a neo-Nazi leader to five years in prison Tuesday for weapons possession.

Brandon Russell, 22, pleaded guilty to the charges in September. He admitted to founding the white supremacist group called Atomwaffen  the German word for nuclear bombs. Before he was sentenced, he apologized to the court for his crimes.

FILE - This photo provided by the Pinellas County FILE - This photo provided by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office shows Brandon Russell, June 7, 2017. FILE - This photo provided by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office shows Brandon Russell, June 7, 2017.



Police were called to Russell's apartment last May to investigate reports of a double murder.

Along with the two victims, allegedly killed by Russell's roommate, the officers found explosives, fuses, neo-Nazi literature and other material belonging to Russell.

They also discovered a framed photograph of Oklahoma City terrorist bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Russell's mother told the court her son is autistic and was always "looking for something to belong to."
Ambassador of Belarus S.Aleinik visits Vatican

10-01-2018



On January 8-11, 2018 the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the United Kingdom and the Holy See non-resident, Sergei Aleinik, is paying a working visit to the Vatican.



The Ambassador attended the New Year's audience with Pope Francis for the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See and had a brief conversation with the Pontiff.



During the visit, S.Aleinik met with State Secretary of the Holy See Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State of the Vatican, Archbishop Paul Gallagher and President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch. The parties discussed further development of bilateral cooperation, cooperation within international organizations, as well as the situation in the region.



Ambassador of Belarus S.Aleinik meets the State Secretary of the Vatican, Cardinal P.Parolin

Ambassador of Belarus S.Aleinik meets the Secretary for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State of the Vatican, Archbishop Paul Gallagher

The Ambassador also met with the Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library, Cesare Pasini. During the meeting, the Ambassador presented the multivolume facsimile edition The Book Heritage of Francysk Skaryna as a gift to the Vatican Apostolic Library from the National Library of Belarus.



   

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KIPIPIRI, KENYA - Sitting on a rickety bench at his home in Kipipiri, in central Kenya, Samuel Macharia pulls a piece of paper from his pocket and proudly points to the signature at the bottom.

"This paper means I get paid on time for my potatoes, even when the weather is bad," he said.

The precious document is a farming contract Macharia signed in March with the East African Potato Consortium. It says he will sell at least two tons of potatoes to food processors each harvesting season for the next two years.

"Thanks to this contract I can earn up to 22,000 Kenyan shillings ($213) per season," he said.

Recurring drought and sudden cold spells have affected the quality of potatoes and other staples across Kenya.

Peris Mukami, a farmer from Timau village, in Meru County, said her potato yields had declined by over 10 percent in the past two years because "it is either too cold or too hot."

"The cold damages potato vines with frostbite while heat makes them wilt," she explained.

To try to fight back, Kenyan potato farmers such as Macharia are increasingly turning to production contracts with food processors  a system known as contract farming  through the East African Potato Consortium.

By working with the consortium, they get access to seeds that better stand up to harsher conditions, as well as better fertilizers.

They also get a guaranteed price for their crop, as long as they produce good-quality potatoes on time, said Wachira Kaguongo, head of the National Potato Council.

Fair Deals

The consortium, which was set up in 2016 by the National Potato Council, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the Grow Africa partnership, aims to increase private investment in agriculture by linking potato farmers with food processors across the country, Kaguongo said.

Each production agreement is reviewed and approved by the National Potato Council, which ensures it is fair to both parties, said Willy Bett, cabinet secretary of the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

"Businessmen will always want to get farmers to sign something that may not be favorable to them," Bett told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "We're trying to prevent that by ensuring that farming activity is done on a contract basis in Kenya."

Contract farming has allowed farmers to sell produce to food giants such as the fast-food chain KFC, formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Macharia's potatoes now fetch 22 shillings ($0.20) per kilo, more than double what he used to get when selling them at the Kipipiri open air market.

"I am paid in cash at my farm," he said. "And I do not have to travel to the market when I don't want to."

So far 5,000 farmers have signed up to the system, with a total of 23,000 expected to have made the switch by 2020, said Kaguongo.

Supply Shortage?

Felix Matheri, a researcher at the International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology, said that while contract farming provides farmers with a steady income, it risks depriving poor families of their food supply.

"Contracts bind farmers to supplying an agreed amount of potatoes, meaning that when the harvest is low farmers are forced to sell all their produce to meet their obligations," he explained.

"But potatoes are rich in starch and a critical source of nutrients -- farmers should save some for home consumption," he said.

Others have concerns about contract farming as well. Louise Wangari, a roadside seller of potatoes in Nyandarua County, said she is worried it might affect the supply she gets from farmers.

"The quantity of potatoes I was getting from farmers was already decreasing due to extreme weather," she said.

"If they start signing contracts with other buyers, then I may be out of business soon, as I can't afford to pay them as much as the food processors."
JAKARTA - For as long as Indonesia has been a country, it has dreamed of moving its capital.

Jakarta, once the seat of the medieval Sunda kingdom and then the Dutch colonial port of Batavia, was absorbed as the de facto capital by nationalist leaders in the 1940s when Indonesia declared independence. But since then it has been an unending logistical nightmare. The worlds second-largest metropolitan region is sinking up to 18 centimeters per year. Its road coverage is much lower than that of other big cities, creating a near-permanent traffic jam. The "price" of this congestion has been estimated to be $11 billion by the Jakarta Transportation Agency.

Still, it is handily the biggest city and source of jobs in the nation, so it remains its economic center. And the slow pace of infrastructure development in the archipelago has led many to doubt that a project as ambitious as transplanting the capital to a different island would ever come to pass.

But 2017 seemed to mark a turning point for the capital relocation project. After years of landmark flooding, President Joko Widodo commissioned a survey from the National Development Planning Agency, or BAPPENAS, to look into sites in Central Kalimantan province on Borneo island. The chief candidate for a new capital is Palangkaraya, a Kalimantan city that even founding president Sukarno once hoped could replace Jakarta as the capital.

Widodo remained tight-lipped about the project but finally admitted on Twitter last year that Discourses about the relocation of the state capital are now still in the analysis phase Deep calculations are necessary so as to guarantee that the relocation will be really beneficial.

Palangkaraya Indonesia

Surveying Kalimantan

We are still carrying out the study on what it would take to relocate the capital, said BAPPENAS Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, in his office last fall. But it would be outside Java for sure.

The island of Java is the economic and population center of Indonesia, somewhat at the expense of all its other islands, which number over 15,000.

Preferably the new capital is in a central location within Indonesia, not too far East or West, said Brodjonegoro, which would seem to rule out Sumatra, the largest island, west of Java, which is home to several important cities and considerable natural resources. And with minimal risk of natural disaster, to the extent that it is possible in Indonesia we are mostly looking in Kalimantan, he admitted.

Although Indonesia is on the so-called Ring of Fire, its Borneo provinces are further from volatile tectonic plates and are thus less susceptible to volcanoes and earthquakes that are a regular feature of life in Indonesia.

A visitor takes photographs of Mount Bromo, an act FILE - A visitor takes photographs of Mount Bromo, an active volcano and popular tourist destination, in Probolinggo, East Java province, Indonesia, April 3, 2016 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. FILE - A visitor takes photographs of Mount Bromo, an active volcano and popular tourist destination, in Probolinggo, East Java province, Indonesia, April 3, 2016 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.

Just last week, the governor of Central Kalimantan, Sugianto Sabran, said that his province is preparing 500 hectares of land in Palangkaraya, Gunung Mas Regency and Katingan in the event that the government moves the needle on relocation in 2018.

Many Precedents

Many countries have moved their capitals throughout modern history, including even the United States, whose first capital, before Washington D.C. was constructed, was in Philadelphia. In Southeast Asia, Myanmar quietly  some say too quietly  relocated its capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw in 2005. Egypt is building a brand-new new capital in the desert outside Cairo.

A police motorcycle approaches the President's Off FILE - A police motorcycle approaches the President's Office in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, Dec. 1, 2011. FILE - A police motorcycle approaches the President's Office in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, Dec. 1, 2011.

But for some critics, the dream to relocate Indonesias capital is more a leftover postcolonial aspiration than a realistic or necessary project.

Among Indonesian nationalists there's a great deal of anxiety because Indonesia punches well below its weight internationally. The reality is in stark contrast to the propaganda which dated back to the Sukarno era that Indonesia is a great nation, perhaps one of the greatest in the world, said the writer Johannes Nugroho. The anxiety explains the current nostalgia for the Sukarno era, which is believed by most Indonesians to be a time when Indonesia was a major player on the international stage, he said. I think the desire to revisit Palangkaraya as a new capital city stems from the same nostalgia, to finish what Sukarno started [Sukarno] probably thought the best solution would be to cut the cord, as it were, with the past and start afresh with a new capital city.

Various costs

There would be great economic and geopolitical costs to moving the capital to Kalimantan. For one thing, Borneo is already shared between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, a fraught balance that would be affected if one of those countries decided to govern from there.

Man in klotok boat navigates through peat swamp ne FILE - Man in klotok boat navigates through peat swamp near Lake Sambujur, North Hulu Sungai, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. (B. Hope for VOA) FILE - Man in klotok boat navigates through peat swamp near Lake Sambujur, North Hulu Sungai, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. (B. Hope for VOA)

Central Kalimantan also has very low sea access for the seat of a nation comprised entirely of islands.

Moreover, political parties would have to move out. Courts and Supreme Courts would also have to move, aside from the president. Military bases would also have to move. There would be hundreds of thousands who would need housing and offices, as Indonesias Vice President Yusuf Kalla said last year.

And finally, developing Palangkaraya or a nearby city to house a new capital would aggravate environmental degradation on Borneo. The biodiverse island has been particularly hard-hit by deforestation due to palm oil and other industries, and it is home to dozens of critically endangered species like the Borneo orangutan.

Jakarta is already something of a lost cause in terms of infrastructure, according to many observers. It is possible, then, that relocating the capital would not just leave one mess behind, on Java, but also create a whole new one in its place in Borneo.
WASHINGTON - Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said the United States would fail miserably if it attempted to interfere in Iranian affairs.

Earlier this week, Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said recent unrest in the country was caused by U.S. interventionist strategies, calling them some of the nations most serious security challenges.

Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speak Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during the Tehran Security Conference in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2018. Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during the Tehran Security Conference in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2018.

'We must listen, we must hear'

Zarif also alleged that foreign powers  including regional rival Saudi Arabia  stirred up unrest. In his latest speech, Khamenei repeated a claim trumpeted by some Iranian officials that the recent protests were not only organized but heavily financed from abroad.

Khamenei acknowledged for the first time that people might have real grievances and concerns, saying, We must listen. We must hear. We must provide answers within our means. But he continued to blame the unrest mainly on foreign intrigues.

Once again, the nation tells the U.S., Britain and those who seek to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran from abroad that youve failed, and you will fail in the future, too, he stated in a tweet Jan. 9.

The United States has rejected Tehrans claims that Washington or U.S. intelligence agencies have been behind the protests.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo speaks during the Foundat CIA Director Mike Pompeo speaks during the Foundation for Defense of Democracies National Security Summit in Washington, Oct. 19, 2017. CIA Director Mike Pompeo speaks during the Foundation for Defense of Democracies National Security Summit in Washington, Oct. 19, 2017.

Internal problems

Talking to Fox News, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said it is Irans internal problems and not the U.S. that triggered the protests.

The economic conditions in Iran are not good.Thats what caused people to take to the streets, Pompeo said.

President Donald Trump has praised what he called the courage of the Iranian demonstrators.

In this July 3, 2017 photo, Yossi Cohen, the head In this July 3, 2017 photo, Yossi Cohen, the head of the Israeli Mossad attends U.S. Independence Day celebrations at the residence of Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. In this July 3, 2017 photo, Yossi Cohen, the head of the Israeli Mossad attends U.S. Independence Day celebrations at the residence of Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.

'Eyes, and ears' in Iran

Yossi Cohen, who heads Israels intelligence agency, Mossad, told a finance ministry convention in Jerusalem Tuesday that the current protests in Iran were unlikely to topple the regime without reacting to Khameneis allegations. We have eyes and ears and more, even in Iran, he added.

In his speech, Khamenei implied that Riyadh had a role in the protests, referring to money that came from a dirty rich country near the Persian Gulf. Riyadh has not yet reacted to the claims.

However, an escalating war of proxies has resulted lately in some diplomatic encounters between the diplomats of the two countries.

After months of harsh tweet exchanges between Zarif and his Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, some media outlets reported tension between the two during the Mediterranean Dialogues summit in Rome in December 2017.

The top Saudi diplomat was quoted as blasting what he called Irans negative influence throughout the region.

Riyadh cut off diplomatic ties with Tehran in January 2016 following angry protests in front of its diplomatic premises in Tehran.
During his first state visit to China this week, French President Emmanuel Macron brought with him two key messages, analysts said.

One message was about the huge possibilities cooperation between China and Europe could bring and his commitment to that effort. The other, a warning to not underestimate growing concern and frustration in Europe  and elsewhere  with what many regard as Chinas unfair trade practices such as investment restrictions in many sectors that are not blocked in countries overseas.

Matheiu Duchatel, deputy director of the Asia and China Program at the European Council of Foreign Relations said President Macrons visit goes beyond France.

He wants to present himself as a leader of the EU, but at the same time, I think he wants to send a signal that Europe and the EU are in better shape than many think in China, Duchatel said.

Despite the Brexit referendum, Catalonias push for independence and the broader rise of populist parties, Duchatel said that now  more than before  governments in Europe are voicing concern about Chinas trade practices.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Daming Palace in Xi'an in northwestern China's Shaanxi province, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018. French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Daming Palace in Xi'an in northwestern China's Shaanxi province, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018.

And it is not just Europe, but the United States and Australia as well, he adds, noting that China now faces a united front from developed countries against its unfair trade practices.

Many are coming to terms with the reality that China is no longer the factory of the world, but it is clearly a country that has very strong ambitions in terms of economic leadership for the world and it is not a market economy, Duchatel said.

Building relationships

In China, President Macron went to great lengths to highlight his desire to meld both the interests of Europe and China, presenting Chinas leader Xi Jinping with a gift of a horse, an eight-year old gelding named Vesuvius.

Macron pledged to visit China at least once every year while in office and said that he is determined to get the Europe-China relationship into the 21st Century. The two signed several major trade deals during the visit, that included fields such as food, nuclear power and aerospace. President Xi said the two countries will deepen their strategic cooperation.

During his first stop in Xian, Macron talked up Chinas massive trillion-dollar trade and commerce project, the Belt and Road initiative, offering Pariss support, albeit with a caveat.

Xian was once the starting point of the Silk Road, ancient trade routes for silk, spices and horses that China seeks to build on adding maritime routes as well. In a speech at Daming Palace, the former royal residence during Chinas Tang Dynasty, Macron noted that the ancient Silk Roads were never only Chinese.

By definition these roads can only be shared, he told an audience of academics, students and business people. If they are roads, they cannot be one-way.

In a speech at a start-up incubator Tuesday, with Alibaba Founder Jack Ma at his side, along with other French and Chinese companies, Macron also talked about the possibilities cooperation could bring and warned about the looming threat of protectionism if adjustments were not made.

"France imports 45 billion from China but only exports 15 billion, so we have access to markets which is unbalanced, unsatisfying. If we don't deal with this responsibly, the first, natural, reaction, the one we've had for too long, will be to close up on both sides," Macron said.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at a press French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at a press conference at the French Embassy in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at a press conference at the French Embassy in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.

Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a political science professor at Hong Kong Baptist University said that in many ways the trip is an effort to not only correct Frances deficit problems, but put relations between China and Europe on more equal footing.

I think the message is clear, France and the European Union want more reciprocity a more balanced relationship, and also want to take advantage of the Silk Road initiative, but there are a lot of questions which are not going to be resolved by this trip, Cabestan said.

Like France, economies across the globe want to do more business in the countrys massive market and have more investment come to their shores, but Chinas pace of adopting reforms to further open up its doors is feeding a global backlash.

The United States and European Union are currently looking at ways to tighten scrutiny of foreign investments and Macron is an advocate of a tighter screening mechanism in Europe for some sectors. A position he did not hide during the visit. But for now, its unclear if anything will change soon.

Some analysts argue that given Chinese President Xi Jinpings frequent stated opposition to protectionism and support for globalization, he has no choice but to press ahead with reforms and soon. Others, however, are not as convinced, noting Xis strong support for state-owned enterprises over the past two years.

Zhang Lun, a political scientist at the Universite de Cergy-Pointoise said that there is still a big push back against western companies gaining a bigger share of Chinas market.

Overall it will be very tough for France to achieve its objective (balancing the deficit), much like (U.S. President) Donald Trump has struggled to balance trade as well. But at the same time, China needs the international market to cope with the growing pressure (to open up more) and its slowing economy, Zhang said.

If China continues to ignore such calls, however, the relationship is likely to only continue to deteriorate.
The Malaysian government has signed a deal with a U.S. exploration company to resume the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai announced Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur that Houston-based Ocean Infinity will search for the missing plane under a "no-find, no-fee" contract, meaning it will only be paid if it finds the Boeing 777 jetliner.

The company will be paid $20 million if the plane is found within 5,000 square kilometers, $30 million if its found within 10,000 square kilometers, and $50 million within a 25,000 square kilometer area. The fee will be $70 million if it finds the missing plane beyond the 25,000 square kilometer area.

Malaysia Airlines MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, carrying 239 passengers and crew.

Malaysia joined forces with Australia and China in a three-year, $160 million search for the jetliner that was called off last January after covering a 12,000 kilometer area.

FILE - A flight officer aboard a Royal Australian FILE - In this March 22, 2014, photo, a flight officer aboard a Royal Australian Air Force plane, searches for signs of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia. FILE - In this March 22, 2014, photo, a flight officer aboard a Royal Australian Air Force plane, searches for signs of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia.

The search was called off in January, with no trace of the plane found, except for three separate pieces that washed ashore at various points along the Indian Ocean.

Ocean Infinity has deployed a search vessel, the Seabed Constructor, to a 25,000-square kilometer area directly north of the original search area. Investigators recommended moving the search efforts to that area, but it was rejected by the three nations because of what they said was a lack of convincing evidence.

The Seabed Constructor is expected to arrive at the new search area in a week. The search is expected to last for 90 days.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has urged Japan to make a "heartfelt apology" to the women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japanese colonial forces.

President Moon told reporters during a televised news conference in Seoul Wednesday that a 2015 agreement aimed at reaching a final settlement over the so-called "comfort women" failed to take into account the feelings and opinions of the victims.

The deal, approved by ousted conservative President Park Geun-hye, called on Tokyo to pay $8 million into a fund to support the victims, along with an apology from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the actions of its troops during Japan's brutal rule of the Korean peninsula between 1910 and 1945.

But Moon has sided with the conclusion reached last week by a special task force he created to study the agreement.

The president said the issue cannot be resolved in a mere "give-and-take manner," and called on Tokyo to "accept the truth" and work with the international community to ensure nothing like that ever happens again.

Despite the president's opposition to the final deal, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Tuesday Seoul will not renegotiate the agreement, as it is "undeniable" that it was a formal agreement between Tokyo and the previous South Korean government.

Instead, Kang said the government will replace the $8 million Japan paid into the victims' fund with money from its own budget.

Moon's displeasure with the agreement has angered Japan. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday the 2015 agreement was the final word on the matter, and that Tokyo will not accept Seoul's demands to do more to compensate the victims

President Moon acknowledged Japan's stance on the issue during his news conference, saying it was important to maintain good diplomatic ties with Seoul, despite their differences.

Historians believe that up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea as well as other parts of Asia, were forced into sexual slavery during World War II.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday he is willing to hold one-on-one talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- but only if certain conditions are met.

President Moon's offer of talks with his North Korean counterpart came a day after diplomats from the two Koreas held their first formal round of talks since December 2015.

The South Korean president told reporters in Seoul that a bilateral summit should be more than just meeting simply for the sake of holding a meeting. Moon said a certain level of success "must be guaranteed" before he sits down with Kim Jong Un.

During Tuesday's summit at the "peace village" of Panmunjom, a neutral site located in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the North and South, North Korea agreed to send a delegation to next month's Winter Olympic Games in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang. The two sides also agreed to hold military talks "to defuse the current military tension."

South Korea also proposed another reunion of family members separated since the 1950-53 civil war that divided the two Koreas, to be held next month during the Lunar New Year, when the Pyeongchang Games will still be taking place.

President Moon also thanked U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday, saying he deserves credit for helping make Tuesday's cross-border exchange possible. He said the U.S.-led sanctions against the regime, along with continued pressure, likely brought Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.

Tuesday's talks broke a long freeze in inter-Korean relations, escalated by North Korea's development of its nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs in defiance of international sanctions and aggravated by belligerent rhetoric between the North Korean leader and the U.S. president.

Kim Jong Un broke the ice in his New Year's Day speech when he offered to send a delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Games.

President Moon, who has sought better ties with the belligerent North, responded by offering talks with Kim's government.
In a rare admission of guilt, Myanmar's military says its security forces were responsible for the deaths of 10 Rohingya found in a mass grave.

Myanmar's Defense Ministry Information office released a statement Wednesday stating its forces had killed 10 suspected terrorists whose remains were found in a mass grave in Inn Din village of Maung Daw Township in the Northern Rakhine State.

The Defense Ministry said it will take action against the perpetrators involved in those killings and those in charge of security forces in the Rakhine State.

The 10 suspected terrorists were arrested following clashes with security forces last September, according to the military statement, which added security forces decided to execute them due to a lack of security and man power at the time.

Min Lwin Oo, legal adviser for Asian Human Rights Commission, told VOA Burmese there is a precedent for security forces committing crimes against ethnic minorities and denying any wrongdoing. But now that the crisis in Rakhine has caught international attention, the military cannot continue to ignore such cases.

If vigilantes and security forces premeditated these killings, they could face death sentences under current criminal laws, Lawyer Network spokesperson Thein Than Oo told VOA Burmese.

An aerial view of a burned Rohingya village near M An aerial view of a burned Rohingya village near Maungdaw, north of Rakhine state, Myanmar Sept. 27, 2017. An aerial view of a burned Rohingya village near Maungdaw, north of Rakhine state, Myanmar Sept. 27, 2017.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International demanded Wednesday that all security forces accused of killing Rohingya be brought to justice.

This grisly admission is a sharp departure from the armys policy of blanket denial of any wrongdoing," James Gomez, Amnesty Internationals Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said. "However, it is only the tip of the iceberg and warrants serious independent investigation into what other atrocities were committed amid the ethnic cleansing campaign that has forced out more than 655,000 Rohingya from Rakhine State since last August."

VOA's Burmese Service contributed to this story.
WARSAW - Poland's ruling conservatives fired several senior government ministers on Tuesday in an apparent move to patch up relations with the European Union strained over accusations that Warsaw is subverting rule of law standards.

Facing unprecedented EU legal action over the alleged politicization of Poland's judiciary, the Law and Justice (PiS) party may want to defuse tensions in other areas such as environment policy and defense, analysts say.

The changes also came with the EU about to embark on negotiations on a new seven-year budget that will decide which member states get what out of the bloc's coffers - with Poland currently the biggest net recipient.

President Andrzej Duda, acting on recommendations of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, dismissed Environment Minister Jan Szyszko, who has spearheaded far-reaching logging in an ancient forest that prompted action by the European Court of Justice.

Also losing their job were Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz, a former anti-communist crusader facing criticism over delays in modernizing the army as well as conflicts with top generals, as well as Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, seen in Brussels as an ineffective diplomat.

The reshuffle removed ministers seen from the EU perspective as combative or ill-informed. It followed the appointment of former bank CEO and finance minister Morawiecki as prime minister, replacing Beata Szydlo, last month at the midpoint of the parliamentary term. PiS faces local elections in late 2018 and legislative and presidential ballots in 2019 and 2020.

"The new (government) should help us build a sovereign Poland within a strong Europe, a Europe of homelands," Morawiecki said after the new appointments were announced.

The feud between Brussels and Warsaw's eurosceptic government has emerged as a central element of mounting tensions between wealthier western EU members and the ex-communist east amid a wider debate over the bloc's future.

Many westerners are keen for EU countries to integrate further in the wake of Britain's shock decision to leave the bloc, but this is strongly opposed by nationalist-minded politicians dominating eastern EU countries such as Poland and Hungary.

Questions Whether Gesture Will Work

It remains to be seen whether Morawiecki will improve Warsaw's relations with EU headquarters in Brussels. He travels there later on Tuesday to meet top EU officials.

Poland could face the suspension of its EU voting rights if it fails to strike a compromise on democracy and rule of law issues with Brussels, although Hungary's like-minded government has threatened to veto such a move.

Judicial reforms at the heart of the dispute with Brussels are seen by PiS as a fundamental element of its efforts to overhaul Poland's democratic institutions.

"The president has already signed judiciary legislation into law so it seems the conflict is irresolvable here," said Piotr Buras, head of the Warsaw office of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

In a sign that policy is unlikely to change, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro kept his job. New rules had given Ziobro powers to appoint the heads of lower-level courts as well as exercise oversight over prosecutors.

The PiS believes reforms are needed because the country has lost sight of its Catholic soul and is steeped in mentality and power structures dating to the post-war communist era. Critics say that the government's efforts to wield control over courts and public media are tilting Poland towards authoritarian rule.

Szyszko had attracted widespread criticism domestically over moves to lift limits on hunting and felling of trees on private property - which led to massive logging in areas of Poland.

Radziwill has struggled to contain widespread protests by medical residents in recent months over working conditions, which have exacerbated staffing shortages in some notoriously underfunded hospitals.

The outgoing defense minister has been the PiS investigator into the 2010 plane crash over Russia that killed President Lech Kaczynski - the twin brother of current PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski - and dozens of senior officials.

Kaczynski and Macierewicz believe the crash may have been caused by foul play and not pilot error, which was the official cause returned by an investigation by the previous centrist government and is believed by the majority of Poles.
Nigeria's president on Tuesday blamed clashes between Muslim cattle herders and Christian farmers on the clamor for land in the face of a population rapidly approaching 200 million people.

At least 83 people have been killed in the communal violence since December 31.

Muhammadu Buhari, who called for calm, has already ordered a heightened police presence in the central state of Benue, where most of the killings took place in the last few weeks, including the relocation of the country's police chief.

Muslim herdsmen, mainly of the Fulani ethnic group, and Christian farmers often clash over the use of land in parts of central Nigeria, known as the Middle Belt.

FILE - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, shown FILE - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2017. FILE - Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2017.

"President Buhari holds the view, as do many experts, that these conflicts are more often than not, as a result of major demographic changes in Nigeria," said an emailed statement issued by the presidency.

"While the land size has not changed and will not change, urban sprawl and development have simply reduced land area both for peasant farming and cattle grazing," said the statement, urging people to remain calm and cooperate with security agencies.

It said Nigeria's population was around 63 million when the west African country gained independence in 1960, compared with a population now estimated at close to 200 million.

The United Nations estimates that Africa's most populous country is set to become the country with the world's third-largest population, behind India and China, by 2050.

The presidency said a conference would be set up in an attempt to identify short- and long-term solutions to the problem of clashes between the semi-nomadic farmers and the mostly settled farmers.

The Middle Belt region is a diverse region in which religious, ancestral and cultural differences have frequently kindled conflict in the last few decades.

Despite the most recent outbreaks of violence, Nigerians, split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims from around 250 different ethnic groups, mostly live peacefully together.
WASHINGTON - Norways prime minister told President Donald Trump on Wednesday that her country remains committed to the Paris climate agreement, making the business case of the green economy to the real estate developer-turned president.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg noted that many Norwegians drive U.S.-made Tesla electric cars and said her country saw tremendous economic and business opportunities as nations around the world fight climate change.

Norway is combatting climate change  its an important issue for us and we are committed to the Paris agreement, Solberg said during a joint news conference with Trump.

Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg arrives to be w Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg arrives to be welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron before a global warming meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Dec. 12, 2017. Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg arrives to be welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron before a global warming meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Dec. 12, 2017.

Paris climate deal discussed

Trump said the planned U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate deal wasnt a major topic during their discussions and repeated his claim that the climate agreement negotiated by the Obama administration and signed by countries around the globe treated the United States very unfairly.

Trump reiterated that the U.S. could conceivably return to the agreement but he added, The Paris accord really would have taken away our competitive edge and we're not going to let that happen  Im not going to let that happen.

Trump, who has previously called climate change a hoax, announced his intent to pull the U.S. out of the deal last year. Solberg, by contrast, cited her support of the agreement, which she said would help American businesses.

An F-35 arrives at it new operational base, Sept. An F-35 arrives at it new operational base, Sept. 2, 2015, at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah. An F-35 arrives at it new operational base, Sept. 2, 2015, at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah.

Norway buys F-35 aircraft

Encouraged by generous government tax credits, about one-third of Norwegians drive zero-emission electric cars  many of them American-made Teslas.

The exchange over the environment  and Solbergs efforts to make the business case for fighting climate change  stood out as the two leaders bonded over economic ties and military might.

Trumps meeting with Solberg was the first foreign leader visit with the president in 2018. Seated in the Oval Office, Trump noted that Norway has been a strong consumer of U.S.-built military equipment, including the F-35 aircraft.

Norway's PM Erna Solberg, British PM Theresa May, Norway's PM Erna Solberg, British PM Theresa May, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, from left, look on as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during ceremony at the NATO summit in Brussels on May 25, 2017. Norway's PM Erna Solberg, British PM Theresa May, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, from left, look on as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during ceremony at the NATO summit in Brussels on May 25, 2017.

'Closest ally'

Solberg said the U.S. was Norways closest ally inside NATO and noted her countrys investments in the U.S., which she said supported 470,000 U.S. jobs.

The conservative prime minister had said before the meeting that shed put climate on the agenda in the bilateral talks.

Norway has sought to be an international leader in efforts to reduce planet-warming carbon emissions. While the Scandinavian country remains a major exporter of oil and gas, the Norwegian government was among the first to sign on to the landmark Paris climate deal, pledging to meet a 40 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
WASHINGTON - Oil prices surged to a three-year high Tuesday on rising expectations that OPEC member countries will comply with oil production cuts to the end of 2018.

Brent Crude prices are headed toward $70 a barrel, West Texas Crude settled at $62.96 bbl, the highest since December 2014. But other factors could derail OPEC member agreement on production quotas, including continued expansion of U.S. shale production and the likelihood of stronger global demand.

Analysts say rapid changes in supply and demand could trigger an early exit or prompt member countries to cheat on production quotas, especially when prices start to rise.

Meanwhile, the United States is increasingly less dependent on foreign oil, thanks in part to the shale boom and the influx of cheap natural gas. U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts U.S. crude oil production will climb to more than 10 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2018, exceeding 11 million bpd in 2019.

The American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. trade group that represents the oil and natural gas industry, boasted Tuesday about helping to create U.S. energy abundance but said the industry was focused on minimizing the harmful effects of greenhouse gases associated with fossil fuels.

In his 2018 State of American Energy address, API president and CEO Jack Girard said it was time to move beyond the debate over climate change.

I think were at the point where we need to get over the conversation of who believes and who doesnt, and move to a conversation about solutions, he said.

The U.S. is now the world's biggest natural gas producer. Despite a 30 percent increase in domestic natural gas production since 2008, Girard says CO2 emissions in the U.S. are near 25-year lows, and key air pollutants have declined 73 percent since 1970.
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani officials say the U.S.-led NATO military coalition in Afghanistan has offered to import vital supplies through the southwestern port of Gwadar, calling it a much shorter and economically viable route into landlocked Afghanistan.

The federal minister for maritime affairs, Hasil Bizenjo, says NATO representatives proposed the idea at a recent meeting he convened with local and international business leaders.

They (NATO) are very interested and we are working on it, Bizenjo told VOA in an interview.

The coalition of about 16,000 troops, known as Resolute Support, mostly consists of Americans advising and assisting Afghan forces in their battle against the Taliban and other militant groups.

The military mission is dependent on ground lines of communication and air lines of communication, known as GLOC and ALOC, through Pakistan for receiving supplies.

Currently, NATO supplies are shipped through the southern Pakistani port of Karachi, where they then are placed on trucks and transported on a week-long journey to neighboring Afghanistan via the northwestern Torkham border crossing.

NATO people told us it would be extremely convenient for them in terms of quick transportation of supplies from Gwadar directly to Kandahar. They are very interested and we are working on it, Bizenjo told VOA in an interview.

A Pakistan soldier stands guard while a loaded Chi FILE - A Pakistan soldier stands guard while a loaded Chinese ship prepares to depart Gwadar port, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) west of Karachi. Pakistan, Nov. 13, 2016. FILE - A Pakistan soldier stands guard while a loaded Chinese ship prepares to depart Gwadar port, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) west of Karachi. Pakistan, Nov. 13, 2016.

The Chinese-built, Arabian Sea port of Gwadar is in the southwestern Baluchistan province adjoining Afghanistan's Kandahar province, which hosts one of the five U.S. military bases in the war-shattered country.

Gwadar port is connected to the Chaman border crossing with Kandahar through a newly constructed highway, enabling truck convoys to reach Afghanistan in fewer than 24 hours.

Pakistani minister Bizenjo said companies dealing in Afghan transit trade also want their cargo to be shipped completely through Gwadar.

Another meeting with Pakistani business and NATO representatives and Afghan transit trade dealers has also been scheduled to further the discussions, Bizenjo said, without saying when.

Pakistan earned the status of non-NATO ally for allowing U.S.-led international forces to use the GLOC and ALOC supply lines to invade Afghanistan in 2001 and oust the Taliban from power for harboring al-Qaida leaders. In return, Islamabad received U.S. security assistance and civilian aid.

The proposal to redirect U.S. and NATO military cargo from Karachi to Gwadar comes as Pakistans traditionally rollercoaster relations with the United States suffer fresh setbacks.

It started with a New Year's Day tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump in which he accused Islamabad of providing havens to terrorists fighting in Afghanistan despite receiving over $33 billion in aid in the last 15 years. Subsequently, the Trump administration suspended security assistance to Pakistan until it takes concrete steps against militant hideouts on its soil.

Islamabad promptly rejected Trumps comments as unwarranted and completely incomprehensible, saying it was being scapegoated for U.S. failures in Afghanistan.

Officials also maintain that Pakistan has received around $14 billion, not as aid, but as reimbursement for money spent on deploying security forces on the Afghan border and conducting counterterrorism operations in support of the U.S.-led mission. They say Washington still owes Islamabad around $9 billion.

The tensions have led to negative public statements coming from both sides; but, Pakistani and U.S. officials have both dismissed the widespread impression that Trumps Twitter comments pushed the relationship to the brink of collapse and that Islamabad intended to shut down the NATO supply lines.

Pakistan blocked the ground lines of communication for months after a 2011 attack by the NATO air force accidentally hit two Pakistani border posts, killing more than two dozen Pakistani soldiers. The lines were restored only after the U.S. military formally apologized for the incident.

A U.S. government source tells VOA a robust ongoing bilateral dialogue is on track between the two countries, particularly their militaries. A U.S. military delegation was in Islamabad on Monday. Late last week, Pakistan's army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had a phone conversation with General Joseph Votel, the CENTCOM commander.

Army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor told VOA the contact helped remove any apprehensions about future cooperation. Cooperation and not coercion is the way forward, Ghafoor said.

Army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor holds a FILE - Pakistani army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor. FILE - Pakistani army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor.

Pakistani Senator Mushahid Hussain, who heads the defense affairs committee of the upper house of parliament, told VOA his country has allowed U.S. and allied forces to undertake more than one million overflights free of charge since 2001 to conduct counterterrorism and other missions.

The U.S. needs Pakistan more than we need it because of our location, because of our role and because of the options (available to Islamabad), Hussain said. He was referring to Islamabad's deepening ties with China, Turkey, Iran and improving relations with Russia.

The senator, however, noted that despite the latest strains in mutual ties, the GLOC and ALOC lines remain operational because Pakistan is committed to supporting efforts to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.

Pakistan is considered the safest and cheapest route to resupply NATO troops. Other possible routes that go through Iran and central Asian countries are more expensive and pass through a region Russia considers its backyard. Tensions between the United States and Russia have been high since Moscow was accused of meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.

Without Pakistani cooperation, our army in Afghanistan risks becoming a beached whale, wrote former U.S. diplomat Richard Olson in an article for The New York Times this week.

"Pakistan has greater leverage over us than many imagine," noted Olson, who served as ambassador to Afghanistan and Pakistan before being appointed as U.S. special envoy for both the countries by the previous administration of President Barack Obama.
ISLAMABAD - Armed men attempted to kidnap a Pakistani journalist early Wednesday on a busy road in Islamabad, but he managed to escape.



Taha Siddiqui, who works mostly with foreign media outlets France 24 and World Is One News (WION), has previously faced harassment and threats related to his work and suspects this was another attempt to silence him.



Enforced disappearances of journalists, activists, and others have been an ongoing problem in Pakistan. Human rights activists have often accused the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, particularly those linked to the countrys powerful military establishment, of being involved in such disappearances.



According to Siddiqui, who held a press conference about the incident, the assailants were well dressed and spoke fluent English. He said he was on his way to the airport in a taxi when armed men in two cars surrounded his taxi after forcing it to stop.

Two men got into the taxi, one taking over the driver's seat. But Siddiqui said he pushed the door open and jumped out into moving traffic.



Eventually he managed to get to a police station. The police later found the taxi, but all his belongings, including his passport and his laptop were missing.



Last year, the Federal Investigation Agency of Pakistan issued a notice to Siddiqui to appear before its counterterrorism wing, allegedly to explain his criticism of the military on social media.



He filed a petition in court that ordered the agency to stop harassing him, but the final decision is pending. Siddiqui told the press conference the FIA deputy director had said in court, You know, and I know, where the pressure is coming from.

Unsolved attacks

Several social media activists have been kidnapped in the past year and later released after a public outcry. None of the perpetrators could be identified, while most of the activists were forced to flee the country after they were accused of blasphemy on social media. In Pakistan, such a charge could cost ones life. Later, some of them said they were tortured. Pakistans military denied it had anything to do with the abductions.



Last month, peace activist Raza Khan, disappeared from his home in Lahore, his family and friends are still protesting for his recovery.



In 2017, three other journalists, Rana Tanveer, Matiullah Jan, and Ahmed Noorani were attacked by unknown assailants. Three years before that, two famous journalists, Hamid Mir and Raza Rumi, narrowly escaped assassination attempts, with Mir suffering six bullet wounds. None of those cases have been resolved, despite the formation of commissions to investigate some of them.

Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir sits in his office FILE - Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir sits in his office in Islamabad, Pakistan. Perhaps the most popular of Pakistan's news anchors, Mir, says both media owners and journalists operate under a cloud of fear, March 14, 2017. FILE - Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir sits in his office in Islamabad, Pakistan. Perhaps the most popular of Pakistan's news anchors, Mir, says both media owners and journalists operate under a cloud of fear, March 14, 2017.

Amnesty International has condemned the attack on Siddiqui calling for an immediate and effective investigation by the authorities.



Pakistani journalists like Taha Siddiqui have a right to carry out their work freely and without fear. Journalism is not a crime but attacking journalists is, the Amnesty press release read.
ASUNCION, PARAGUAY - Authorities in the Paraguayan border town of Ciudad del Este have temporarily closed a shop accused of selling transgender dolls.

Mayor Sandra McLeon justified Tuesday's closure by noting that the city, most widely known as a smuggling and counterfeiting haven, last year declared itself "pro-life and family."

City attorney Christian Cabral said the shop also was closed for failing to pay this year's commercial tax and for selling toys when it's only authorized to sell electronic goods.

The dolls had caused a local media stir after some customers complained. They appear to be standard, old-fashioned baby dolls with a red ribbon around the head, but with male genitalia.

Shop manager Esther Bazan told local reporters that the dolls came from China and said tourists from neighboring Brazil and Argentina had found them funny, but other customers were upset.

Paraguay last year banned educational material about sexual diversity in schools and the education minister volunteered to help burn all books related to the subject.

"We're not going to promote gender ideology," Education Minister Enrique Riera told local media last year. "We're going to base ourselves on what is expressed in the constitution, which says that marriage is between a man and a woman."

Ciudad del Este, on the border with Argentina and Brazil, is a haven for shoppers from all three countries. It has been accused by U.S. and international officials of being a center of drug and counterfeit-goods smuggling.

The U.S. Treasury Department in the past has alleged that some of that smuggling helped finance Middle Eastern terror networks.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence will lead the U.S. delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, the White House said Wednesday.

The vice president will also travel to Alaska to review intercontinental ballistic missile defense systems during his trip, and make a stop in Japan. The White House said Pence will stress to Japanese and South Korean leaders the U.S.'s commitment to stability in the region.

"The Vice President is traveling to the Olympic Games in South Korea to reinforce the strong U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear message of American resolve to the North Korean regime, said Jarrod Agen, Deputy Chief of Staff to Vice President Pence. The Vice President will reaffirm to the leaders of Japan and South Korea the United States' unwavering commitment to our allies and to deter and defend against the North Korean threat. In addition to showing support for our U.S. athletes, the Vice President will show his confidence in and appreciation for our U.S. military stationed in the region.

North Korea agreed Tuesday to send a high-level delegation to the Winter Olympics, which begin February 9 in Pyeongchang.

The offer was made Tuesday during the first face-to-face talks, between the autocratic North and the democratic South, in Panmunjom, the so-called "peace village" straddling the border where the 1953 armistice that ended the fighting in the Korean War was signed

Tuesday's talks broke a long freeze in inter-Korean relations, escalated by North Korea's development of its nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs in defiance of international sanctions and aggravated by belligerent rhetoric between the North Korean leader and the U.S. president.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in thanked U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday, saying he deserves credit for helping make the cross-border exchange possible. Moon said the U.S.-led sanctions against the regime, along with continued pressure, likely brought Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.
Peruvian center-right President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski replaced nearly half of his 19-member Cabinet on Tuesday, after back-to-back crises in his government last month triggered political resignations and protests.

Kuczynski had promised to reveal a "Cabinet of reconciliation" nearly two weeks ago amid an uproar over his Christmas Eve pardon for former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori, whose loyalists in Congress saved Kuczynski from an impeachment bid three days prior.

A 79-year-old former Wall Street banker, Kuczynski has struggled to govern alongside a Congress controlled by Fujimori's sympathizers. At least 19 ministers have left Kuczynski's Cabinet since he took office less than two years ago, including four forced from office by Congress.

However, Fujimori's loyalists have divided the main opposition party and could help Kuczynski govern, possibly offsetting support that Kuczynski has lost from centrists and leftists.

"Despite our differences, I ask you for us to join together to fight the real problems facing our nation: poverty, unequal services and opportunities, the lack of security, corruption," Kuczynski said in a brief speech after swearing nine ministers into his Cabinet.

Kuczynski promoted Deputy Energy Minister Angela Grossheim to become energy and mines minister and kept Finance Minister Claudia Cooper and Trade Minister Eduardo Ferreyros in their posts.

Cayetana Aljovin, the outgoing energy and mines minister and a former journalist and lawyer, was named the foreign minister, replacing Ricardo Luna, who had helped Peru lead regional efforts to demand democratic reforms in Venezuela.

Only three out of the eight new ministers who were sworn in on Tuesday have political experience. The rest mostly worked as career civil servants or in the private sector.

Two of the new ministers were members of the right-wing party, Apra, which is affiliated with former President Alan Garcia. Apra announced on Twitter that it was expulsing both for defying the party's decision to not form part of Kuczynski's new Cabinet.
Two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar have been formally charged with violating the country's Official Secrets Act.

Prosecutors brought the charges against Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo during a brief court appearance Wednesday in Yangon. The pair were arrested December 12 after they were allegedly given classified documents by two policemen over dinner.

The reporters' lawyer says the judge refused his request to have his clients released on bail, but promised to make a decision at the next hearing, scheduled for January 23.

The pair had brief, emotional reunions with their family members after the hearing before they were taken back to prison.

Outside the courtroom, dozens of journalists dressed in black rallied in support of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, some carrying signs proclaiming "Journalism is not a crime."

Both men face up to 14 years in prison if convicted under the Official Secrets Act, which dates back nearly a century ago, when Myanmar was under British colonial rule.

Reuters journalists Wa Lone, left, and Kyaw Soe Oo Reuters journalists Wa Lone, left, and Kyaw Soe Oo, who are based in Myanmar, pose for a picture at the Reuters office in Yangon, Myanmar, Dec. 11, 2017. Reuters journalists Wa Lone, left, and Kyaw Soe Oo, who are based in Myanmar, pose for a picture at the Reuters office in Yangon, Myanmar, Dec. 11, 2017.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo covered the unrest in Myanmar's northwestern Rakhine state, where some 655,000 Rohingya Muslims have been forced to flee into neighboring Bangladesh to escape a scorched earth campaign against them by military forces. Myanmar has been accused of blocking journalists from traveling independently to Rakhine to look first-hand at the crackdown, and to verify refugees' claims of murder, mass rape and burning of villages by security forces.

"It seems to be an effort to disappear the source of the leaks  or at least the people who have taken care of these documents provided by villagers in Rakhine state that would indicate military assaults on Rohingya," Francis Wade, a London-based freelance journalist and author of Myanmar's Enemy Within, told VOA.

"The government and the military feel that their position is being challenged by media reporting on the subject," he added.

The U.S. embassy in Myanmar said it was "disappointed" by Wednesday's decision and called for the "immediate release" of the journalists  calls that were echoed by the U.S. State department.

We echo @USEmbassyBurmas disappointment by the decision to pursue charges against @Reuters journalists in #Burma and call for the journalists immediate release. For #democracy to succeed and flourish, journalists must be able to do their jobs. https://t.co/TiyXBE9hA3  Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) January 10, 2018

Stephen Adler, Reuters' president and editor-in-chief, issued a statement calling the pair's arrest "a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom."

The arrests have created an outcry throughout the international community. The United Nations, the United States, Britain, Sweden and Bangladesh are among those who have called for the release of the two journalists.

James Gomez, Amnesty International's director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said Tuesday the charges against Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are "clearly an attempt by the authorities to silence investigations into military violations and crimes against Rohingya in Rakhine State, and to scare other journalists away from doing the same."

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton issued a tweet Monday calling for the journalists' release.

A free press is critical to a free societythe detention of journalists anywhere is unacceptable. The Reuters journalists being held in Myanmar should be released immediately.  Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) January 9, 2018
ABIDJAN - Gunshots and heavy weapons fire erupted late on Tuesday between rival factions within Ivory Coast's army at military bases in its second largest city, Bouake, residents and soldiers said.

Bouake was the epicenter of several months of army mutinies last year that spread to cities and towns across Ivory Coast, forcing the government to cave in to demands for bonus payments and promotions.

"I'm hearing very intense shooting from machine-guns," said Bouake resident Georges Kouame. "There are also explosions from heavy weapons."

The outbreak of renewed violence follows days of tensions in Bouake between participants in last year's mutinies and members of an elite military unit, known as the CCDO. At least one person died in the wake of clashes there on Friday.

Former mutineers told Reuters they believed the CCDO members had been sent to Bouake to spy on them.

"At the moment we are surrounding the CCDO camp and there is an exchange of gunfire," said one of the mutineers' leaders. "They must leave the city or we will force them to leave."

A regional security source, who asked not to be named, said the government had earlier in the day dispatched around 200 soldiers to reinforce positions in Bouake.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower, has emerged from a decade-long political crisis as one of Africa's fastest growing economies and a darling of international investors.

However, last year's instability laid bare the dangerous divisions that still persist within an army cobbled together from rival rebel and loyalist factions at the end of a 2011 civil war.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The U.N. childrens fund (UNICEF) reports tens of thousands of Rohingya children are living under appalling, prison-like conditions, with little or no access to basic services in Myanmars Rakhine State.

More than 655,000 Rohingya have fled to Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, since the end of August to escape violence and persecution in Myanmars northern Rakhine State. About half of those are children.

UNICEF senior advisor Marixie Mercado recently returned from a month-long visit to Myanmar. She said it was difficult to get a true picture of the children remaining there because of lack of access.

But she was able to obtain, what she calls a deeply troubling view of the precarious existence of children living in central Rakhine State. Mercado said more than 60,000 Rohingya children remain there, almost forgotten and trapped in 23 camps where they were driven by violence in 2012. She described conditions of two camps she visited.

The two camps are below sea level. There is almost no tree cover. The first thing that you notice when you reach the camps is the stomach-churning stench. Parts of the camps are literally cesspools. The shelters teeter on stilts above garbage and excrement. In one camp, the pond where people draw water from is separated by a low mud wall from the sewage, said Mercado.

FILE - A Rohingya Muslim girl carries her baby sis FILE - A Rohingya Muslim girl carries her baby sister as she walks across a stream of drainage water at the Thaingkhali refugee camp on Nov. 22, 2017. FILE - A Rohingya Muslim girl carries her baby sister as she walks across a stream of drainage water at the Thaingkhali refugee camp on Nov. 22, 2017.

Mercado said children walk barefoot through the muck and invariably some of them die from accidents and disease. She said it is extremely difficult for Rohingya to leave their camps for medical treatment. So, people are turning to traditional healers, untrained physicians or self-medication.

She said basic living conditions and access to lifesaving services urgently need to be improved. She said children are also suffering from an inability to get a decent education. She said learning takes place in poorly equipped temporary classrooms, with determined volunteer teachers who have little formal training.
During a surprise visit to Syria in early December, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the defeat of the Islamic State and ordered the withdrawal of a "significant" part of Russian troops from Syria.

"In two years, the Russian armed forces, together with the Syrian army, have defeated the most lethal group of international terrorists," state news agency Tass quoted Putin as saying. "In this regard, I have decided that a significant part of the Russian military contingent in the Syrian Arab Republic is returning home to Russia."

Putin's pledge to withdraw Russian troops after the alleged defeat of IS in Syria came as the Russian military augmented its operations in support of the Syrian government forces, consolidating their control over rebel enclaves in the country.

FILE - A Russian military helicopter flies over a FILE - A Russian military helicopter flies over a desert in Deir el-Zour province, Syria, Sept. 15, 2017. FILE - A Russian military helicopter flies over a desert in Deir el-Zour province, Syria, Sept. 15, 2017.

The increased military intervention by Russia against the Syrian rebel groups contradicted the country's previous announcement that it would withdraw from Syria, some experts charge. They say the declaration by Putin could be aimed at the domestic audience in Russia, as he is bidding for another presidential run in the country's upcoming elections in March.

Political motivation

"I think the announcement was politically motivated and had little to do with the facts on the ground," Frederic Hof, former special adviser for transition in Syria at the U.S. State Department and director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, told VOA.

"What happened in Syria is of enormous domestic political importance to President Putin. Rather than have the Russian electorate focus on massive corruption or on a weak economy, Mr. Putin prefers to have them focus instead on Russia's alleged return to a great power status," Hof added.

Hof said Putin is trying to convince Russian voters that the conflict in Syria and the country's role in it are gradually declining, even as Russian jets increased their support for the Syrian government forces in recent days.

FILE - In this photo made from the footage taken f FILE - In this photo made from footage taken from the Russian Defense Ministry website on Nov. 26, 2017, Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers strike Islamic State targets in Syria. FILE - In this photo made from footage taken from the Russian Defense Ministry website on Nov. 26, 2017, Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers strike Islamic State targets in Syria.

Last week, Russian warplanes conducted dozens of airstrikes in support of Syria's shelling of rebel strongholds in Eastern Ghouta in the capital of Damascus, where approximately 400,000 civilians still live. The aerial support was later extended to targets in Idlib, where the regime is pushing against several militant groups.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitoring group, reported the Russian airstrikes and regime shelling left dozens of people dead and injured in both Idlib and Eastern Ghouta.

The rebel groups responded to the Russian escalation with attacks on Russian targets in Syria, including Khmeimim air base. Multiple media reports indicated that the air base in Latikia had been targeted at least twice since last month.

Prolonged involvement seen

Some experts say the current escalation with the rebel groups shows a prolonged Russian involvement in Syria in favor of the regime, even with IS being in retreat.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "is extremely unpopular. He used chemical weapons twice against his own population, and the Russians are left as the ones backing this fairly odious regime that has become the face of barbarity to the world," Colin P. Clarke, a researcher on terrorism and insurgency at the Rand Corporation, a global policy think tank, told VOA.

"They are trapped, but they still believe that there might be a potential benefit to remain in Syria," he added.

FILE - Participants shake hands after final statem FILE - Participants shake hands after a final statement following talks on Syrian peace in Astana, Kazakhstan, Jan. 24, 2017. FILE - Participants shake hands after a final statement following talks on Syrian peace in Astana, Kazakhstan, Jan. 24, 2017.

While Russia will continue its military intervention, it will at the same time seek a peaceful resolution between the Syrian government and the opposition groups to guarantee its influence in the future of the country, Clarke said.

Syrian peace talks in the past have continuously stalled, mainly because of disagreements over Assad's role in the country's political transition.

Russia acknowledged last month that it was planning to sponsor another round of peace talks between the warring factions in the Russian city of Sochi in late January. Many opposition groups are refusing to attend, citing increased Russian military interference.

Boycott urged

A statement by the Working Group for Syria, the umbrella group of 120 Syrian organizations, criticized Russia's military actions in Syria and urged the U.N. to boycott the meeting in Sochi.

"Russia's military intervention in Syria and its repeated use of the veto at the United Nations Security Council makes Russia a party to the conflict," The Guardian quoted the group as saying. "Given its actions in Syria, Russia cannot be regarded as either a neutral mediator or a fair convener of a national dialogue process."

FILE - This frame grab provided Oct. 5, 2017, by t FILE - This frame grab provided Oct. 5, 2017, by the Russian Defense Ministry press service claims to show a target in Syria being hit by a missile launched from a Russian submarine in the Mediterranean. FILE - This frame grab provided Oct. 5, 2017, by the Russian Defense Ministry press service claims to show a target in Syria being hit by a missile launched from a Russian submarine in the Mediterranean.

According to the Rand Corporation's Clarke, through a military operation and efforts to lead a political transition, Russia ultimately wants to project its influence and compete with the United States, in its NATO role, as a leading power.

The U.S. is supporting a coalition of Kurdish and Arab forces in northern Syria and has said it has shifted its efforts to stabilization after IS was expelled from most of eastern Syria.

"Any NATO gain is seen as a Russian loss, and we started to see the opposite is true, as well, since the Russians and NATO are so at odds these days," Clarke said.
More than 260,000 immigrants from El Salvador are full of anxiety and questions after the Trump administration said it was ending their authorization to stay in the country.

When their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is revoked on September 9, 2019, many will most likely go back to being undocumented migrants and no longer be shielded from possible deportation.

Others with green cards or family-related visas may be allowed to remain in the U.S.

The Salvadorans came to the U.S. with nowhere else to go after two powerful earthquakes devastated their towns and destroyed their homes in early 2001.

The George W. Bush administration granted them TPS as an emergency relief measure.

Los Angeles City Council member Gil Cedillo, far l Los Angeles City Council member Gil Cedillo, far left, speaks following an announcement on the fate of Temporary Protected Status for nationals of El Salvador, in Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2018. Los Angeles City Council member Gil Cedillo, far left, speaks following an announcement on the fate of Temporary Protected Status for nationals of El Salvador, in Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2018.

?Sufficient recovery

Officials must renew a country's TPS every 18 months. The Trump administration has determined that El Salvador has long since recovered enough from the 2001 earthquakes to allow the Salvadorans to return.

Many of the Salvadorans under TPS own their own homes and businesses, pay taxes, are raising families and have relatives in Latin America who rely on money from the U.S.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered state officials to increase access and resources for the more than 16,000 Salvadorans living in New York state who would be affected by the end of TPS.

"The federal administration's decision to tear families apart, disrupt small businesses and lead those who have become part of the American fabric to an uncertain future is disgraceful and unjust," Cuomo said Tuesday.

Donald Kerwin, executive director of the Center for Migration Studies, told VOA the Trump administration's decision "creates nothing but losers."

"El Salvador has said they cannot safely accommodate them. A lot will be victimized if they return [to violence-plagued communities] without good economic prospects," he said.

FILE - El Salvador immigrants Diana Paredes, left, El Salvador immigrants Diana Paredes, left, and Isabel Barrera react at a news conference following an announcement on Temporary Protected Status for nationals of El Salvador, in Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2018. El Salvador immigrants Diana Paredes, left, and Isabel Barrera react at a news conference following an announcement on Temporary Protected Status for nationals of El Salvador, in Los Angeles, Jan. 8, 2018.

?Time for their departure

But Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform said it is time for the Salvadorans to "honor their commitment" and return home. He said the process should not have gone on this long.

"We should not allow that to happen because in the long run, what it is going to do is prevent us from offering similar benefits to other nationalities in the future," Mehlman said.

The Department of Homeland Security said it had considered only the earthquake recovery and not "violence on the ground" when making its TPS determination for El Salvador.

It also delayed the end of TPS until 2019, which will give Congress time to come up with a better solution.

WATCH: U.S. to End Temporary Protection from Deportation for Salvadorans

TPS for those from Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan because of war or natural disasters is also set to expire in 2019.

Six other nations are covered by TPS  Honduras, Nepal, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Announcements concerning them are expected later this year.

VOA's Ken Bredemeier, Victor Beattie and Victoria Macchi contributed to this report.
Somalia's government has launched a digital counter-extremism center that aims to dissuade young Somalis from supporting militant groups such as al-Shabab and Islamic State.



The Somali Ministry of Information says the center will carry out campaigns on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and state-run media designed to promote stability in the Horn of Africa nation, which has seen little peace during the past 30 years.



"The center plans to raise public awareness campaign on countering violent extremism, security and peace building, good governance, civic education, and implementing programs that can provide confidence to the people by discrediting terrorists' narratives of violence and destruction," said Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman.



During the opening ceremony Wednesday, Osman said the center will specifically target al-Shabab "by exposing their brutality, and hence weakening its following and public support."



The al-Qaida-linked militant group has carried out dozens of suicide attacks in Somalia during the past decade, including one in October that killed more than 500 people.



"This will be an opportunity to contribute to the overall peace and stability in Somalia," Abdurahman Yusuf al-Adala, the director general of Somalia's Ministry of Information told VOA. "We will provide accurate and useful information to young people, which in turn helps them to understand the benefits of democratic institutions in Somalia."



The new center was created in response to criticism from moderate Somali clerics who said the government has not done enough fight extremism and violent ideologies on the internet and social media platforms.



Al-Adala said clerics and elders will be given an opportunity to produce video messages for social media. He said young Somalis will have an "open forum" to talk about terrorism and factors that drive youth to join the militants.
WASHINGTON / HARGEISA - The parliament in the self-declared republic of Somaliland has approved a bill criminalizing rape for the first time, and requiring prison terms for individuals convicted of the crime.

The bill, passed Saturday, is the first of its kind in Somaliland criminalizing not only rape but all gender-based violations against women. It lays out a process to investigate the cases and prosecute perpetrators.

The bill now goes to the upper house of parliament and could be the first major legislation signed by President Muse Bihi Abdi who was elected in November.

FILE - Ruling party candidate Muse Bihi Abdi speak FILE - Muse Bihi Abdi speaks to the media after casting his vote in the presidential election in Hargeisa, in the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland, in Somalia, Nov. 13, 2017. FILE - Muse Bihi Abdi speaks to the media after casting his vote in the presidential election in Hargeisa, in the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland, in Somalia, Nov. 13, 2017.

Women's organizations and human rights activists in Somaliland welcomed the passage of the bill, which was approved by 46 of the 51 MPs present.

Among those praising the parliamentary approval was Nafisa Yusuf Mohamed, the executive director of Nagaad, a womens organization based in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland.

We have been working on this bill since 2011. It has gone through different processes, but we are very happy that it has been adopted, she told VOA Somali. The people of Somaliland have welcomed it, we congratulate the parliament for discharging their duties.

Under the bill, an attempted rape conviction would carry a four to seven-year jail sentence. An individual who rapes a victim using force or threats would get 15 to 20 years. If the victim is under the age of 15, the perpetrator gets 20 to 25 years.

Attackers who cause bodily harm or infect their victim with HIV in addition to committing rape would receive life in prison.

An increasing number of reported rape cases are related to gang rape. Gang rape was not mentioned in the existing penal code, but the new bill has a specific provision for gang rape which carries 20 to 25 years imprisonment.

Recently, the Somaliland Human Rights Center said rape is one of the least reported crimes in Somaliland. It said that in 2017, 81 rape cases were prosecuted, a small number compared to the number of alleged victims.

No more mediation by elders

In the past, elders have mediated between the families of the rapist and the victim, often leading to a lack of justice for the victim. In few cases, a victim ended up marrying her rapist under pressure from her family or the elders.

Mohamed Hersi Farah is an elder who performed mediations but says he stopped it in 2006.

Before we intervened in individual cases and we dealt with clans, and there were no laws. But now there are gang rapes with more than 10 people involved [in a case]. We didnt know where to start, Farah said.

The new bill criminalizes mediation and other attempts to solve rape cases outside the courts.

Anyone who attempts or mediate a rape case in this way could go to jail. We hope this will scare those who performed this outside the court who will now realize the government will jail them," says the chairman of the human rights center, lawyer Guled Ahmed Jama.

Jama says he welcomes the fact the bill specifically focuses on rape and gender based violations and empowers law enforcement agencies powers to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators.

This is a modern bill specifically on rape, previously rape was just an article under the penal code; this is a comprehensive bill, he said.

Somaliland declared secession from rest of Somalia in May 1991 but so far failed to gain international recognition.

Barkhad Mohamud Kariye contributed to this report.
On a summer morning in a desolate corner of Iraq's western desert, Jim Mattis learned he'd narrowly evaded an assassination attempt.

A Sunni Arab man had been caught planting a bomb on a road shortly before Mattis and his small team of Marines passed by. Told the captured insurgent spoke English, Mattis decided to talk to him.

After Mattis offered a cigarette and coffee, the man said he tried to kill the general and his fellow Marines because he resented the foreign soldiers in his land. Mattis said he understood the sentiment but assured the insurgent he was headed for Abu Ghraib, the infamous U.S.-run prison. What happened next explains the point of the story.

"General," the man asked Mattis, "if I am a model prisoner, do you think someday I could emigrate to America?"

In Mattis' telling, this insurgent's question showed he felt "the power of America's inspiration." It was a reminder of the value of national unity.

Mattis, now the Pentagon boss and perhaps the most admired member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet, is a storyteller. And at no time do the tales flow more easily than when he's among the breed he identifies with most closely: the men and women of the military.

The anecdote about the Iraqi insurgent, and other stories he recounted during a series of troop visits shortly before Christmas, are told with purpose.

FILE - Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend takes a photo of FILE - Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend takes a photo of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and a dining facility worker at Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 22, 2017. FILE - Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend takes a photo of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and a dining facility worker at Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 22, 2017.

"I bring this up to you, my fine young sailors, because I want you to remember that on our worst day we're still the best going, and we're counting on you to take us to the next level," he said. "We've never been satisfied with where America's at. We're always prone to looking at the bad things, the things that aren't working right. That's good. It's healthy, so long as we then roll up our sleeves and work together, together, together, to make it better."

'Shoot the breeze'

The stories tend to be snippets of Mattis' personal history, including moments he believes illustrate the deeper meaning of military service.

On a trip last month to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and three domestic military installations, Mattis displayed a personal touch in ways rarely seen in Washington, where he has studiously maintained a low public profile. With only one journalist, an Associated Press reporter, in attendance, Mattis made clear during his troop visits that he had not come to lecture or to trade on his status as a retired four-star general.

"Let's just shoot the breeze for a few minutes," he said at one point.

Another time he opened with: "My name is Mattis, and I work at the Department of Defense."

Mattis used stories to emphasize that today's uncertain world means every military member needs to be ready to fight at a moment's notice.

He recalled the words of a Marine sergeant major when Mattis was just two years into his career:

"Every week in the fleet Marine force is your last week of peace," the sergeant major said. "If you don't go into every week thinking like this, you're going to have a sick feeling in the bottom of your stomach when your NCOs [noncommissioned officers] knock on your door and say, 'Get up. Get your gear on. We're leaving.' "

By leaving, Mattis meant departing for war.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, third right, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, third right, walks with U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major David Clark, left, and General Christopher Haas, second right, as he arrives at the Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 24, 2017. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, third right, walks with U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major David Clark, left, and General Christopher Haas, second right, as he arrives at the Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 24, 2017.

A recurring Mattis theme is that the military operates in a fundamentally unpredictable world. He recalled how he was hiking with his Marines in the Sierra Nevada in August 1990 when he got word to report with his men to the nearest civilian airport. Iraq's Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait, and the Marines were needed to hold the line in Saudi Arabia.

In an exchange with Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Mattis recalled sitting in the back of a room at the Pentagon in June 2001 while senior political appointees of the new George W. Bush administration fired questions at a military briefer about where they should expect to see the most worrisome security threats. At one point, Mattis said, the briefer asserted confidently that amid all the uncertainty, the one place the U.S. definitely would not be fighting was Afghanistan.

"Five and a half months later, I was shivering in Afghanistan," Mattis said, referring to his role as commander of Task Force 58, a special group that landed in southern Afghanistan aboard helicopters flown from Navy ships in the Arabian Sea to attack the Taliban in and around Kandahar.

Connecting with troops

Regardless of how much they resonate with his young audience, Mattis' stories illustrate how he sees his military experience as a way to connect with troops who often feel distant from their political leaders. They also are a reminder Mattis' boss is one of the most politically divisive figures in recent history.

Speaking to troops and family members at an outdoor movie theater at Guantanamo, Mattis pointed directly to the political battles.

"I'm so happy to be in Guantanamo that I could cry right now, to be out of Washington," he said, adding jokingly that he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his tenure away from the capital. He said as soon as he gets back in the company of uniformed troops, he is reminded of why the military can set a standard for civility.

"Our country needs you," he said, and not just because of the military's firepower. "It's also the example you set for the country at a time it needs good role models; it needs to look at an organization that doesn't care what gender you are, it doesn't care what religion you are, it doesn't care what ethnic group you are. It's an organization that can work together."
ISTANBUL - Turkey on Wednesday assailed Russia and Iran for failing to stop the Syrian government's ongoing military offensive in Syria's rebel enclave of Idlib, threatening the prospects of Ankara's continued cooperation with Tehran and Moscow in the Syrian conflict.

Reflecting Ankara's growing alarm, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu lashed out, saying, "Russia and Iran must stop the Syrian regime. They should realize their duties as guarantor countries."

Ankara on Tuesday summoned the Iranian and Russian ambassadors and delivered an official protest.

As part of what is known as the Astana Process, Turkey, Iran and Russia agreed to create a "de-escalation zone" in Idlib. As part of the plan, Ankara deployed soldiers in the enclave to monitor a cease-fire between Syrian government forces and rebels. Damascus and Moscow do not consider radical jihadist groups based in Idlib a part of the agreement.

But Idlib borders Turkey, and the Syrian offensive, due to its proximity to Turkish territory, is raising alarm in Ankara.

FILE - A Turkish military armored vehicle patrols FILE - A Turkish military armored vehicle patrols the border line opposite the Syrian town of Atimah, Idlib province, in this picture taken from Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey, Oct. 10, 2017. FILE - A Turkish military armored vehicle patrols the border line opposite the Syrian town of Atimah, Idlib province, in this picture taken from Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey, Oct. 10, 2017.

"When Damascus talks about clearing Idlib, those jihadists will be pushed toward the Turkish border," warned Aydin Selcen, a former senior Turkish diplomat who served in the region. "There [are] also up to two million Syrians in Idlib, and there might be another exodus again [to Turkey], because those living in Idlib now are already the ones who have moved from elsewhere in Syria. They do not have anywhere to go. They also do not look like they have the character to cut a deal with [Syrian President Bashar al-Assad]. That is why there could be an exodus."

Overwhelmed before election

Turkey is already hosting more than three million Syrians. Observers warn that with growing public unease over the current refugee presence, another major influx would be politically damaging to the government and president. Both face re-election battles within the next 18 months.

But Moscow and Tehran have their own grievances with Ankara over its military presence in Idlib in enforcing the de-escalation zone.

"There is a different understanding of the Turkish motives and the expectations of Moscow and Tehran," said Haldun Solmazturk, head of the 21st Century Turkey Institute, an Ankara-based research organization.

Solmazturk says Ankara's priority is using its military presence in Idlib to monitor and apply pressure to the Kurdish militia, the YPG, in the neighboring Afrin enclave of Syria. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist organization linked to an insurgency in Turkey.

Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Uni FILE - Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) monitor troop movements in the area of Afrin, along Syria's northern border with Turkey, June 9, 2017. FILE - Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) monitor troop movements in the area of Afrin, along Syria's northern border with Turkey, June 9, 2017.

"Turkey's primary aim is to control Afrin," Solmazturk said. "I can't see any indication that [the] Turkish government [has] any intention at all to deal with jihadists in Idlib. So from the very beginning, there was a point of conflict between Russia and Turkey. There was already a confidence gap between [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, which is now growing."

Entangling alliances

Tehran and Moscow back rival sides in the Syrian civil war, and questions over the sustainability of Ankara's cooperation with Tehran and Moscow have been frequently raised. Some analysts see the current dispute as the beginning of the end of cooperation on Syria.

"This brings us as if toward the end of this episode of temporary cooperation between Turkey, Russia and Iran," Selcen said.

Ankara's cooperation with Moscow in Syria has given impetus to a deepening of relations among the historical regional rivals. The Turkish leadership's growing ties with Russia have caused increasing unease among Turkey's NATO allies. However, analysts suggest that if there is a breakdown in cooperation over Syria, Ankara will likely act cautiously to try to maintain its relationship with Moscow.

"In terms of Russia, Russia does not treat the countries kindly that leave its orbit," warned analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners, an analysis firm. "We are really dependent on Russia in terms of energy, so there would be a cost involved. I don't see they [Turkish leaders] have that much maneuvering room."

With limited energy resources, Turkey relies heavily on Russian natural gas.

But analysts point out Moscow also has a vested interest in continuing its efforts to maintain its ties with Ankara.

"The disagreement between Moscow and Ankara will become clearer," Selcen predicted. "It's another priority for Mr. Putin to peel Turkey away from the Western coalition of NATO, so it's in Moscow's interest to keep the three capitals, Ankara, Damascus, and Tehran, in the same boat."
BEIRUT - Nearly seven years into Syria's civil war, Syrian refugees in neighboring Lebanon are becoming poorer, leaving children at risk of child labor and early marriage, aid organizations said on Tuesday.

A recent survey by the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, U.N.'s World Food Program, and refugee agency, UNHCR showed that Syrian refugees in Lebanon are more vulnerable now than they have been since the beginning of the crisis.

Struggling to survive, more than three quarters of the refugees in Lebanon now live on less than $4 per day, according to the survey which was based on data collected last year.

"The situation for Syrian refugees in Lebanon is actually getting worse - they are getting poorer. They are barely staying afloat," Scott Craig, UNHCR spokesman in Lebanon, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

FILE - Syrian women prepare food for their family Syrian women prepare food for their family outside their tents, at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, March 29, 2016. Syrian women prepare food for their family outside their tents, at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, March 29, 2016.

Around 1.5 million refugees who fled Syria's violence account for a quarter of Lebanon's population.

The Lebanese government has long avoided setting up official refugee camps. So, many Syrians live in tented settlements, languishing in poverty and facing restrictions on legal residence or work.

"Child labor and early marriage are direct consequences of poverty," Tanya Chapuisat, UNICEF spokeswoman in Lebanon said in a statement to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"We fear this (poverty) will lead to more children being married away or becoming breadwinners instead of attending school," she said.

Children play near stale bread being dried under t Children play near stale bread being dried under the sun at a refugee camp for people displaced because of fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Islamic State militants, in Ain Issa, Syria, Oct. 14, 2017. Children play near stale bread being dried under the sun at a refugee camp for people displaced because of fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Islamic State militants, in Ain Issa, Syria, Oct. 14, 2017.

According to UNICEF, 5 percent of Syrian refugee children between 5-17 are working, and one in five Syrian girls and women aged between 15 and 25 is married.

Mike Bruce, a spokesman for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said without sufficient humanitarian aid and proper work Syrian families would increasingly fall into debt and more could turn to "negative coping mechanisms" like child labor and marriage.

Cold winter temperatures in Lebanon would also hurt refugees, he said.

"Refugees are less and less able to deal with each shock that they face and severe weather could be one of those shocks," said Bruce.
CARACAS, VENEZUELA - Talks to ease Venezuela's dire political and economic straits are scheduled to resume Thursday, even as severe food shortages fuel looting and the president and parliament spar anew over access to humanitarian aid.

"We are on the verge of a social explosion," Jorge Millan, an opposition lawmaker in the National Assembly, said Tuesday in arguing for "palliatives" to the protracted crisis that already sparked four months of near-daily protests last year. The legislature agreed to push President Nicolas Maduro's administration to allow international deliveries of food and medical supplies to ease suffering in the country of 30 million.

Maduro condemned the legislature's move as an attempt to foment foreign intervention.

"It's the same people who want to destroy this country, [who] do not want this country to prosper," he said. "I call upon the Venezuelan people to actively repudiate the National Assembly."

Earlier this week, looters emptied shelves in five stores in Venezuela's southeastern Ciudad Guayana, Reuters news agency reported Tuesday.

Workers repair the fence of a supermarket, after i Workers repair the fence of a looted supermarket in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, Jan. 9, 2018. Workers repair the fence of a looted supermarket in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, Jan. 9, 2018.

Negotiators' goals

To address Venezuelans' desperation, representatives of Maduro's administration and the opposition coalition Democratic Unity Committee (MUD) plan to meet Thursday in the Dominican Republic for two days of renewed talks. On Friday, they're to be joined by international observers: Danilo Medina, the Dominican Republic's president, as well as officials from Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and Nicaragua.

The ruling Social Party's team seeks international recognition of the National Constituent Assembly as well as an end to international economic sanctions that have reduced the debt-ridden country's access to foreign currency. The United States considers the Constituent Assembly  an all-powerful superbody packed with Maduro supporters  to be fraudulently chosen and a threat to the democratically elected National Assembly. Last Friday, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against four more former or current Venezuelan officials.

Opposition representatives  led by the National Assembly's outgoing president, Julio Borges  want the administration to respect that legislature, permit foreign humanitarian aid, release political prisoners and commit to democratic elections.

FILE - Anti-government demonstrators hold the name FILE - Anti-government demonstrators hold the names of people killed during months of deadly protests, gathering at a Caracas park Aug. 30, 2017. More than 120 people died in the protests. FILE - Anti-government demonstrators hold the names of people killed during months of deadly protests, gathering at a Caracas park Aug. 30, 2017. More than 120 people died in the protests.

Sides trade barbs

Maduro, who faces re-election in December, has accused Borges of maligning his administration and exacerbating Venezuelans' hardships.

"Borges is abroad conspiring so that nobody sells a single product to Venezuela, a ship does not arrive and neither do the necessary imports," the president said in a televised address December 29.

Simon Calzadilla, an opposition lawmaker expected this week at the talks in Santo Domingo, said the MUD was negotiating in good faith.

"We are waiting for an agreement to be reached for the good of the country, to get out of this crisis," he said in a phone interview with VOA. " I hope the government understands that its model has failed, that institutions must be restored through a comprehensive agreement that gives good news to all."

Calzadilla would not comment on whether the Maduro administration's December 24 release of dozens of prisoners was in any way linked to negotiations earlier that month. "We have agreed to maintain prudence," he said.

A child looks at a bilingual leaflet in favor of t FILE  A child holds a bilingual leaflet calling for the U.S. repeal of sanctions against Venezuela, in Caracas, April 10, 2015. FILE  A child holds a bilingual leaflet calling for the U.S. repeal of sanctions against Venezuela, in Caracas, April 10, 2015.

Low expectations

Previous rounds of negotiations have left deep fissures in Venezuela's opposition.

The talks are opposed by political leaders such as Antonio Ledezma, the former Caracas mayor who in November fled house arrest for exile in Spain.

"We hope that no one will recognize the National Constituent Assembly or request the lifting of sanctions against individuals accused of corruption and violating human rights," he said on social media last month.

Richard Blanco, a National Assembly lawmaker and head of the opposition group July 16 Fraction, also said last month that he had low expectations for the talks.

"There will be no results of any kind here," he predicted. "Nothing will happen at all."

Possible protests ahead

Juan Andres Mejia, a National Assembly lawmaker and a founder of the opposition party Popular Will, on Wednesday threatened more protests if the talks make little progress  particularly in opening access to aid.

"Venezuelans cannot keep waiting while they watch their children die," Mejia said. " If this negotiation fails, know that this party will be on the street defending the rights of people, fighting for the constitution, fighting for food."

Hundreds of children have died from severe malnutrition since 2014, The New York Times reported in December in an investigation drawing on interviews with doctors in 21 Venezuelan public hospitals.

Jorge Rodriguez, the Venezuelan government's communications minister and its spokesman in the talks, reacted to Meji's comments by questioning the opposition's openness to negotiation. He also threatened a harsh response to protests.

"Jump in the street once and on the street we wait for you," Rodriguez warned. "Then do not say they are political prisoners. They are violent people who promote looting."

This report originated with VOA's Spanish service.
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that it seemed "unlikely" he would need to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller about Mueller's investigation into allegations that Trump's presidential campaign had ties with Russia.

Trump made the comment during a news conference after a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

He reiterated his statement that there was "no collusion" with Russia, adding, "It seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview."

"There is collusion, but it's really with the Democrats and the Russians," he said, adding, "The witch hunt continues."

FILE : Special Counsel Robert Mueller (R) departs FILE - Special counsel Robert Mueller (R) departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2017. FILE - Special counsel Robert Mueller (R) departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2017.

Mueller has reportedly indicated to Trump's attorneys that his team would like to interview the president as part of the investigation. Trump has called the investigation a "Democratic hoax."

So far, the investigation has resulted in the indictment of former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a guilty plea from former national security adviser Mike Flynn.

Mueller's team has interviewed a number of Trump aides, including Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump called the investigation "the single greatest Witch Hunt in American history."

Trump also assailed California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, calling her "sneaky" because on Tuesday she released a transcript of an August interview with the head of a firm that produced a dossier containing allegations about Trump's presidential campaign and Russia. Feinstein is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which received the documents from Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of research group Fusion GPS. Simpson said he gave the dossier about Trump to the FBI because he was "very concerned" about a potential national security matter.

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Dia FILE - Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, arrives for a hearing of the committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 6, 2017. FILE - Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, arrives for a hearing of the committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 6, 2017.

"The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace," Trump said. He called for a "tough primary" election against her, although she is a Democrat and the Republican Trump holds no sway over Democratic political affairs.

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

Feinstein unilaterally released a lengthy transcript of Simpson's testimony without telling the majority Republican bloc on the Judiciary Committee.

Illegal conspiracy'?

Simpson's firm hired Christopher Steele, a former British spy, to produce the dossier, and that research was paid for by Democrats, including the campaign of Trump's election opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

A conservative website had earlier sought information about Trump via Fusion GPS but stopped its investigation of the then-Republican candidate once it became apparent that he would be his party's nominee. Later, a lawyer for Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee began paying Fusion GPS to investigate Trump's past.

"From my perspective there was a law enforcement issue about whether there was an illegal conspiracy to violate the campaign laws," Simpson said.

Trump has dismissed the dossier and repeatedly denied that his campaign colluded with Russia. Trump has contended that the investigations are an excuse by Democrats to explain his upset win over Clinton, a former secretary of state.

Simpson said Steele also told him the FBI believed information in the dossier "might be credible" because they had a source inside the Trump organization who "indicated the same thing."

"It was someone like us who decided to pick up the phone and report something," Simpson said.

FILE - Glenn Simpson, founder of the research firm FILE - Glenn Simpson, co-founder of the research firm Fusion GPS, arrives for a scheduled appearance before a closed House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 14, 2017. FILE - Glenn Simpson, co-founder of the research firm Fusion GPS, arrives for a scheduled appearance before a closed House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 14, 2017.

Setting the record straight

Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Simpson requested that the transcript of his testimony be released to the public and said that the American people deserved the chance to see his words and judge for themselves.

"The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice. The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public," Feinstein said in a statement.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, objected to Feinstein's release of the testimony. A Grassley spokesman, Taylor Foy, called Feinstein's actions "confounding" and said she had undermined the committee's "ability to secure candid voluntary testimony relating to the independent recollections of future witnesses."

The committee is conducting one of several investigations into Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election and possible connections with the Trump campaign.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russia had conducted a campaign targeting the election with the goal of hurting Clinton's chances of winning while boosting Trump's chances. In addition, Mueller is investigating whether Trump obstructed justice by firing former FBI chief James Comey when Comey was heading the agency's Russia probe before Mueller was appointed to take over the investigation.
The head of a research firm that hired a former British spy to investigate Donald Trump during his campaign for president told a U.S. Senate committee that the investigator gave a dossier about Trump to the Federal Bureau of Investigation because he was "very concerned" about a potential national security matter.

Senator Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday released a transcript of closed-door testimony Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee in August.

Simpson's firm hired Christopher Steele to produce the dossier, and was paid for it first by a conservative website and later by Democrats, including the campaign of Trump's election opponent Hillary Clinton.

According to the testimony transcript, Simpson told lawmakers Steele worried a presidential candidate was being blackmailed.

"From my perspective there was a law enforcement issue about whether there was an illegal conspiracy to violate the campaign laws," Simpson said.

Trump has dismissed the dossier and repeatedly denied that his campaign colluded with Russia.

Simpson said Steele also told him the FBI believed information in the dossier "might be credible" because they had a source inside the Trump organization who "indicated the same thing."

"It was someone like us who decided to pick up the phone and report something," Simpson said.

Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Simpson requested the transcript of his testimony be released to the public and that the American people deserved the chance to see his words and judge for themselves.

"The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice. The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public," Feinstein said in a statement.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley objected to Feinstein's move. A spokesman for the Republican, Taylor Foy, called Feinstein's actions "confounding" and said she had undermined the committee's "ability to secure candid voluntary testimony relating to the independent recollections of future witnesses."

The committee is conducting one of several investigations into Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion or obstruction of justice by Trump and his campaign. U.S. intelligence agencies assessed last year that Russia had conducted a campaign targeting the election with the goal of hurting Clinton's chances of winning while boosting Trump.

Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion, and dismissed the so-called Steele dossier as untrue.

The website Buzzfeed published the entire dossier last year amid criticism that it contained unverified information. Ben Smith, the site's editor in chief, wrote Tuesday in a New York Times op-ed that he stands behind that decision and that his organization believed it was in the public interest to release information that Buzzfeed and other outlets were citing in stories.

"A year of government inquiries and blockbuster journalism has made clear that the dossier is unquestionably real news. That's a fact that has been tacitly acknowledged even by those who opposed our decision to publish," Smith said.

One item in the dossier is a claim that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen traveled to Prague to meet with Russian officials.

Cohen denies he made such a trip, and on Tuesday sued Buzzfeed in a New York state court saying the website defamed him and harmed him financially. In a separate defamation lawsuit in federal court, Cohen also sued Fusion GPS.
TUNIS - Tunisian police clashed with anti-government protesters in the capital Tunis and several other towns on Tuesday, residents said, as fresh demonstrations against austerity measures broke out a day after one person was killed in unrest.

Protests erupted in at least 12 towns across Tunisia on Monday, among them the tourist towns of Sousse and Hammamet, against price and tax rises imposed by the government to reduce its ballooning deficit and satisfy international lenders.

In Tunis on Tuesday police fired tear gas in two districts and also fired gas at a crowd storming a supermarket of France's Carrefour, a witness said. No casualties were reported.

Fresh clashes also broke out in Tebourba, a town 40 km (25 miles) west of Tunis where one protester was killed on Monday, witnesses said, and soldiers could be seen there and in Jelma, a central town where clashes were also reported.

The main opposition party had hours earlier called for protests to continue until the government scrapped what it called an unjust 2018 budget including price and tax hikes.

Tunisian riot police officers line up during a pro Tunisian riot police officers line up during a protest against the 2018 budget in Tunis, Jan. 9, 2018. Tunisian riot police officers line up during a protest against the 2018 budget in Tunis, Jan. 9, 2018.

While Tunisia is widely seen as the only democratic success story among the nations where Arab Spring revolts took place in 2011, it has had nine governments since then and none of them have been able to tackle growing economic problems.

Europe is concerned about stability in Tunisia, partly because unemployment there has forced many young Tunisians to go abroad: The number of boats smuggling migrants to Italy has been rising and Tunisia has also produced the largest number of jihadists heading for battlefields in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Public anger has been building since Jan. 1, when the government raised the prices of petrol and other items and hiked taxes on cars, phone calls, internet usage and hotel accommodation as part of those economic reforms.

A year ago, the government agreed to a four-year loan programme with the International Monetary Fund worth about $2.8 billion in return for economic reforms.

Today we have a meeting with the opposition parties to coordinate our movements, but we will stay on the street and we will increase the pace of the protests until the unjust financial law is dropped, opposition Popular Front leader Hamma Hammami told reporters.

Adding to pressure on the government, Nourredine Taboubi, head of the labor union UGTT, demanded the minimum wage and aid for the poor be raised within a week, state news agency TAP said.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis hosted an enhanced ho Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, hosted an enhanced honor cordon for Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed at the Pentagon, July 10, 2017. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, hosted an enhanced honor cordon for Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed at the Pentagon, July 10, 2017.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed called for calm, saying the economy would improve this year. Chahed, who heads a coalition of Islamist and secular parties, has been under constant pressure from labor unions over the faltering economy.

"People have to understand that the situation is extraordinary and their country is having difficulties, but we believe that 2018 will be the last difficult year for the Tunisians," Chahed said.

The 2011 uprising and two major militant attacks in Tunisia in 2015 damaged foreign investment and tourism, which accounts for eight percent of its economic activity.

Sacrificing the poor'

The demonstrations have so far been much smaller than previous protests since the overthrow of autocrat ruler Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

But those confrontations between the government, labor unions, Islamists and secular forces also started on a small scale before escalating.

Analysts say Chahed could amend some of his reforms. Under pressure from unions, officials have already agreed to increase public sector salaries this year and to avoid compulsory lay-offs which could provoke protests.

The government says it wants to cut the public sector wage bill to 12.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2020 from about 15 percent now by offering voluntary redundancies.

But it is also trying to impose higher petrol prices and contributions to social security, which are tough for many people to swallow after years of hardship.

At the time of Ben Ali, which we did not like, I filled my stand with vegetables, fruits and other items with 10 dinars, and now 50 dinars do not fill this gap. The situation has worsened dramatically, said Fatma, a market woman in a Tunis.

The government is sacrificing the poor and the middle class by raising prices and ignoring tax evaders and businessmen, she said.

Separately, a judge ordered the arrest of a finance ministry official on suspicion of graft, another judge said, the first such move against a senior official since Chahed announced a crackdown last year.

The countrys anti-corruption committee says graft is widespread. It has presented cases against 50 state officials accused of corruption.
UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. secretary-general is urging authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo not to further delay general elections but to hold them, as promised, at the end of this year.

"In the current politically polarized climate, there is a real risk that plans for the holding of the long-awaited polls could be derailed once again," Antonio Guterres wrote in his quarterly report to the Security Council on the work of the U.N. stabilization mission in DRC, known as MONUSCO.

The government and opposition signed an agreement Dec. 31, 2016, calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down after elections were held in 2017. But the promised polls have been repeatedly delayed, inciting civil unrest and prompting fears that the 46-year-old Kabila may seek to further extend his 17-year-long rule.

Le prAsident Joseph Kabila de la RDC et le secrA FILE - Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shake hands during the U.N. General Assembly, New York, Sept. 23, 2017. FILE - Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shake hands during the U.N. General Assembly, New York, Sept. 23, 2017.

The elections, which are also to include legislative and provincial contests, have been rescheduled for Dec. 23, 2018.

"The government, the ruling majority, the opposition and civil society, and the Electoral Commission must all play their part in ensuring that electoral preparations proceed in a timely fashion," U.N. Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told a meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday. "Further delays in the electoral process not only risk fueling political tensions, but also compounding an already fragile security situation."

Lacroix's office oversees the MONUSCO mission which, with more than 21,000 personnel and an annual budget of over a billion dollars, is the U.N.'s biggest peacekeeping operation. It recently suffered the loss of 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers in an ambush in the volatile eastern part of the country.

On Dec. 31, state security forces forcibly put down anti-Kabila protests organized by Catholic activists, and at least five protesters were reported killed, further raising concerns.

Des catholiques protestent dans les rues de Kinsha FILE - Catholics take part in a demonstration calling for the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to step down in Kinshasa, Dec. 31, 2017. FILE - Catholics take part in a demonstration calling for the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to step down in Kinshasa, Dec. 31, 2017.

DRC U.N. Ambassador Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta dismissed the allegations, saying the five deaths had nothing to do with the protests and were of separate incidents involving mainly criminal elements. He reiterated the Kabila government's willingness to hold elections.

"While we wait for elections scheduled on 23 of December of this year, the right attitude of all political actors and all the Congolese people should be to do everything possible to prepare for the smooth holding of these elections in a peaceful atmosphere," the envoy said.

Several security council members expressed concern about the security situation, the violation of human rights, and the need for the elections to go ahead as scheduled.

"Credible, transparent and peaceful elections leading to a peaceful and democratic transition are necessary for the stability of the DRC, and indeed the entire region," France's U.N. envoy Francois Delattre told the meeting. He warned that "stagnation in the political process" would only add to the instability threatening the region.

Ivory Coast, which joined the council on Jan. 1 as a non-permanent member, urged all parties to hold the elections on time and expressed concern at the recent violence around the protests.

"My delegation is concerned at the recent protests that led to loss of life, significant material damage and many arrests of protesters," Ambassador Bernard Tanoh-Boutchoue said. He urged all political stakeholders to exercise restraint and avoid violence.

Equatorial Guinea is also a new council member, and its envoy Anatolio Ndong Mba advocated that all stakeholders participate in "transparent, frank and inclusive, and good faith dialogue."

As part of its mandate, the U.N. mission in DRC is supporting the electoral process, and providing logistical and technical support to the Electoral Commission for voter registration and other electoral activities.
The U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Peter Hoekstra clashed with Dutch reporters on his first official day on the job. The clash was over comments he made in 2015 when he said Muslims had created chaos throughout Europe and accused them of "burning cars and politicians" in the Netherlands.



Hoekstra was repeatedly asked Wednesday at a news conference in The Hague about the remarks he made at a conference in the United States that was sponsored by the conservative David Horowitz Freedom Center.



"The Islamic movement has now gotten to a point where they have put Europe into chaos," Hoekstra had said during a recorded panel discussion about migration from Muslim countries.



He added: "Chaos in the Netherlands  there are cars being burned. There are politicians that are being burned. And yes, there are no-go zones in the Netherlands."



Hoekstra's comments were made despite the fact that there are no instances in contemporary Dutch history of politicians being set ablaze, and no areas in the country that are deemed no-go zones.



A former Republican congressman from the Midwestern U.S. state of Michigan, Hoekstra told reporters who were pressing him to clarify his remarks that he would not revisit the issue, thereby angering reporters whose questions were cut off by press officers.



Last month, Hoekstra denied making the remarks. He told a reporter with the the Dutch current affairs program Nieuwsuur that they were "an incorrect statement  fake news."



But he apologized for the remarks in a December 23 tweet, saying he "made certain remarks in 2015 and regret the exchange during the Nieuwsuur interview. Please accept my apology."

Please see my comments regarding recent interview. Thank you. Pete pic.twitter.com/gxQOcZ8Duk  Pete Hoekstra (@petehoekstra) December 23, 2017

?Hoekstra told reporters Wednesday he would strive to strengthen relations between the U.S. and the Netherlands, from which his family emigrated.



President Donald Trump nominated the former congressman as ambassador to the Netherlands last July. He was confirmed by the Senate in November.
CAPITOL HILL - U.S. Senate Democrats on Wednesday warned that Russian operations to undermine democracy extend far beyond U.S. elections and accused President Donald Trump of failing to confront the threat.

Never before has a U.S. president so clearly ignored such a grave threat, and a growing threat, to U.S. national security, said the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin of Maryland, adding that, unless action is taken, Russian interference will mar American elections this year and in 2020.

FILE - Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) speaks at a press FILE - Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) speaks at a press conference on the need for increased government transparency at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 15, 2017. FILE - Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) speaks at a press conference on the need for increased government transparency at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 15, 2017.

Cardin released a report prepared by the committees Democratic staff members that accused Russia of mounting a protracted assault on democracy at home and abroad, and urged a multi-pronged counter-strategy that begins with U.S. presidential leadership.



Putin's regime has developed a formidable set of tools to exert influence abroad" and "appears intent on using almost any means possible to undermine democratic institutions and trans-Atlantic alliances," the report said.



Based on months of research and consultations with foreign governments targeted by the Kremlin, the 206-page report exhaustively documented the full array of tools Russia has wielded beyond its borders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a jour FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a journalist's question during his annual news conference in Moscow, Dec. 14, 2017. FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a journalist's question during his annual news conference in Moscow, Dec. 14, 2017.

Putins asymmetric arsenal ranges from a lethal blend of conventional military assaults, assassinations, disinformation campaigns, [and] cyberattacks in Ukraine to plotting a coup in Montenegro to disinformation and cyberattacks in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and beyond, according to the report.

The document also details years of alleged oppression and violence within Russia against Putins perceived adversaries and critics. The Russian leader, the report said, gained and solidified power by exploiting blackmail, fears of terrorism, and war and combined military adventurism and aggression abroad with propaganda and political repression at home, to persuade a domestic audience that he is restoring Russia to greatness.

This is not a report on the hacking of the 2016 [U.S.] election. Its a report about how Russia operates around the world, said a committee staff members who helped prepare the document, adding that the report is the first from a U.S. governmental entity that spells out the scale and scope of the Russian threat.

Without fully understanding that threat, the staffer said, you cant prevent it from happening again.

The committees Republican chairman did not sign off on the minority report, but did not immediately contest its findings.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said, We [committee Republicans] received a copy [of the Democratic report] on Monday evening. Through a series of public hearings and classified briefings, the committee has conducted its oversight responsibilities related to Russia  and most recently, worked directly with the Senate Banking Committee to expand sanctions against the government of Russia in response to its continued aggression, including its brazen cyber-attacks and interference in elections.

The report detailed steps European nations have taken to combat Russian influence, both individually and within organizations such as NATO and the European Union. The United States, it contended, lags far behind.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during a photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam, Nov. 11, 2017. FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during a photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam, Nov. 11, 2017.

"President Trump has been negligent in acknowledging and responding to the threat to U.S. national security posed by Putin's meddling," the report said. "The president should immediately declare that it is U.S. policy to counter and deter all forms of the Kremlin's hybrid threats against the United States and around the world.  The president should also present to Congress a comprehensive national strategy to counter these grave national security threats."

Establishing a fusion cell

The report recommended establishing an inter-agency task force or "fusion cell" for combating Russian influence modeled on the National Counterterrorism Center. It also recommended designating countries that employ malign influence operations as "State Hybrid Threat Actors", and subjecting them to "a pre-emptive and escalatory sanctions regime."

Minority reports are common on Capitol Hill, and this one came in the context of multiple congressional investigations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election that have increasingly spawned partisan friction on Capitol Hill.

Even so, Cardin expressed hope that Republicans would embrace the documents findings and recommendations.

"There is a long bipartisan tradition in Congress in support of firm policies to counter Russian government aggression and abuse against its own citizens, our allies, and universal values," Cardin wrote in an introduction. "This report seeks to continue that tradition."

Trump has repeatedly insisted that, whatever deeds Russia committed, he did not collude with Kremlin efforts to influence the 2016 race. Putin, meanwhile, has ridiculed any suggestion of Russian meddling outside its borders.
A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to keep in place for now a program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants who entered the country illegally when they were children.

In September, President Donald Trump ended the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and gave congress six months to find a legislative fix for the roughly 800,000 immigrants.

WATCH: U.S. Immigration law

A U.S. District Court judge in the western state of California ruled in favor of a group of individuals and institutions, including the University of California, who sued the government seeking to block the end of DACA. The judge said the program should remain active until the legal challenges are resolved.

The court said the plaintiffs showed "they are likely to suffer serious irreparable harm" and that the public interest will be served if the program continues.

The injunction keeping DACA alive applies nationally, with the court saying the issue touches every U.S. state and territory.

FILE - Demonstrators march during an immigration rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), programs, on Capitol Hill in Washington. FILE - Demonstrators march during an immigration rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), programs, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Tuesday's order specifies that the terms of the DACA program are to be maintained for anyone who was already covered by the program before Trump's September action, and that those people are allowed to renew their enrollments.

But the government does not have to process any new applications for people trying to enroll under DACA for the first time, and remains free to deport anyone it determines to be a national security or public safety risk.

The court order came hours after Trump told key lawmakers he would sign whatever DACA legislation they agree on.

Border security

In an extraordinary televised meeting at the White House, Trump said protection for the immigrants should come first and that comprehensive immigration reforms could be dealt with later. He said that he still believes a wall needs to be built along at least part of the 3,200-kilometer U.S.-Mexican border, but seemed to back off earlier demands that it be funded immediately.

"When this group comes back with an agreement, I'm signing it," Trump said.

Trump normally dismisses reporters, photographers and television camera people from his meetings after perfunctory remarks, but on Tuesday he allowed them to watch the immigration discussions with lawmakers for 45 minutes.

Some of the Republican lawmakers pushed back on Trump's agreement to deal with young immigrants as a first priority. But as the discussion continued, Trump also said border security needed to be dealt with, as he left it up to the lawmakers to work out details.

Kirstjen Nielson, Trump's new Homeland Security chief, told him, "Border security has to be part of this or we'll be back here three, four or five years from now" still dealing with the issue of illegal immigration across the border with Mexico.

FILE - Demonstrators urging the Democratic Party t Demonstrators urging the Democratic Party to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) rally outside the office of California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in Los Angeles, Jan. 3, 2018. Demonstrators urging the Democratic Party to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) rally outside the office of California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in Los Angeles, Jan. 3, 2018.

The United States says Trump's hardline on immigration policies last year sharply cut the number of migrants entering the country illegally from Mexico.

The contentious immigration issue took center stage as Trump and Congress face a January 19 deadline to reach agreement on U.S. government spending through the end of September, after they already were forced three times to agree on temporary budget plans when they were unable to reach a longer-term deal.

But rather than wait another two months to vote on legislation protecting the immigrants in the country under DACA, Democratic lawmakers are pushing to resolve the issue as part of the budget talks.

Trump, even as he ended the DACA program, has occasionally voiced sympathy for the plight of the young immigrants, many of whom only know the United States as their home. On Tuesday, at one point, he said the lawmakers should craft a "bill of love."

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump vowed, to cheers from his political supporters, to build a wall along the southern U.S. border with Mexico and make Mexico pay for it, an idea the Mexican government quickly rejected. At the White House meeting, Trump said a wall was, because of natural geographic barriers, not needed for the length of the border.

FILE - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Dona U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a sign supporting his plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico that he borrowed from a member of the audience at his campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a sign supporting his plan to build a wall between the United States and Mexico that he borrowed from a member of the audience at his campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Last week, Trump called for an initial $18 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding for the wall, a proposal Democrats uniformly oppose, along with some Republican lawmakers.

A compromise  with protection for the young immigrants and some enhanced border security, without construction of the wall  could eventually be reached. But making immigration policy changes has stymied U.S. lawmakers for years.

Ahead of the meeting, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, told reporters Monday, "I think we will" reach an agreement on the young immigrants, mainly because neither Democrats nor Republicans want a partial government shutdown.

She said negotiations will center on what immigration compromises Trump might be willing to make with Democrats because "Republicans will by and large vote for anything the president supports."

A key Senate Republican, Texas Senator John Cornyn, said, "I do want us to get to a solution."
STATE DEPARTMENT, ISLAMABAD - The United States says it has not been officially notified that Pakistan has suspended military or intelligence cooperation with Washington.



A State Department official told VOA on Wednesday "we have not received any formal communication from the government of Pakistan regarding a suspension."



A day earlier, Pakistan's Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said there is "... a wide field of intelligence cooperation and defense cooperation, which we have suspended." He made the statement during a speech Tuesday to the Islamabad-based, government-sponsored Institute for Strategic Studies.



But Khan noted the supply lines for NATO troops in Afghanistan, formally known as the Ground Lines of Communication or the Air Lines of Communication are still open.



The statement comes days after the Trump administration announced the suspension of some $1.9 billion in security assistance to Islamabad, citing what it said was the Pakistani government's refusal to take more decisive action against terrorism.



In Washington, when asked about the defense minister's statement suspending cooperation, the State Department said it hopes Pakistan would understand United States' seriousness and "appreciate the value of this relationship."



"We stand ready to work with Pakistan in combating all terrorists without distinction, and we hope to be able to renew and deepen our bilateral security relationship when Pakistan demonstrates its willingness to aggressively confront the Taliban network, the Haqqani Network, and other terrorist and military groups that operate from its territory," Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steve Goldstein told reporters on Tuesday.



Goldstein added the United States is "hopeful that Pakistan will come back to the table" and assist in U.S. efforts to combat terrorism.



Robin Raphel, a former assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, told VOA on Wednesday Washington and Islamabad's current policy of tit-for-tat will not advance either side's interest.



The U.S. announced last Thursday it would not deliver military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan, suspending the so-called Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Coalition Support Funds (CSF) but not civilian assistance to that country.



Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said the United States had conveyed to Pakistan "concrete steps" to take before the United States would resume hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, which was suspended after U.S. President Donald Trump said Pakistan had lied and deceived the United States while providing safe havens to terrorists fighting in Afghanistan.



Pakistan says the United States is scapegoating it for U.S. failures in Afghanistan.



In his Tuesday speech, Pakistani Defense Minister Khan also reminded the United States it needs Pakistan in its fight against terrorism in Afghanistan.



"A reminder is in order. Logistics trump strategy," he said.

FILE - Afghanistan-bound NATO trucks are parked at FILE - Afghanistan-bound NATO trucks are parked at a roadside as authorities blocked NATO supply line to Afghanistan after NATO allegedly killed three border guards at Pakistani border, at tribal check post of Takhta Beg in Khyber area of Pakistan near Pa FILE - Afghanistan-bound NATO trucks are parked at a roadside as authorities blocked NATO supply line to Afghanistan after NATO allegedly killed three border guards at Pakistani border, at tribal check post of Takhta Beg in Khyber area of Pakistan near Pa

Pakistan blocked the US & NATO troop supply route for months after a 2011 attack by NATO air force accidentally hit two Pakistani check posts, killing more than two dozen Pakistani soldiers.



Pakistan is considered the safest and cheapest route to resupply NATO troops. Other possible routes that go through Central Asian countries are more expensive and pass through a region Russia considers its backyard. Tensions between the United States and Russia have been high since Russia was accused of meddling in the latest U.S. presidential elections.



"We always look at that," said Goldstein when asked if Washington is assessing alternative routes should Pakistan blocks supply routes to Afghanistan. He added that the U.S. is suspending but not cutting off permanently security aid to Pakistan.



But statements from senior U.S. officials indicate that despite these limitations, the administration is serious in its stance that Pakistan needs to change its behavior.



In a Sunday interview with CBS's Face the Nation, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said "the president has made very clear that he needs Pakistan to cease being a safe haven for terrorists that threaten the United States of America. End. Period. Full stop."



Khan said his country wants to keep engagement with the United States open and would use its leverage after the utmost care and deliberation.
Venezuela's opposition-run parliament on Tuesday outlawed a "petro" cryptocurrency promoted by socialist President Nicolas Maduro, calling it an effort to illegally mortgage the cash-strapped country's oil reserves.

Maduro on Friday said his government would issue nearly $6 billion of petros as a way to raise hard currency and to evade financial sanctions imposed by Washington.

Cryptocurrency experts say Venezuela's mismanagement of its own economy, combined with the ruling Socialist Party's historic lack of respect for private property rights, will likely leave investors uninterested in acquiring petros.

"This is not a cryptocurrency, this is a forward sale of Venezuelan oil," said legislator Jorge Millan. "It is tailor-made for corruption."

Legislators warned investors that the petro would be seen as null and void once Maduro, who is up for re-election this year, is no longer in office. They added that the petro issue violates constitutional requirements that the legislature approve borrowing.

The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the IV Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Nov. 24, 2017. FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the IV Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Nov. 24, 2017.

Maduro has routinely ignored the legislature since his party lost control of it in 2016, and the pro-government Supreme Court has shot down nearly every measure passed since then.

In July, the country elected an all-powerful legislative body called the Constituent Assembly, a vote that was boycotted by the opposition.

The government of U.S. President Donald Trump described the new Constituent Assembly as the consolidation of a dictatorship, and issued sanctions barring U.S. financial institutions from acquiring any debt issued by Venezuela after mid-2017.

That has effectively blocked Maduro's government from refinancing its hefty debt burden, and would likely add to investor concern about the petro, although it was not specifically mentioned in the sanctions measure.

Maduro hopes it will serve as a payment mechanism for foreign suppliers and avoid the payments delays that have grown more acute since the sanctions went into place.

The government plans in the coming weeks to issue 100 million petros, backed by 100 million barrels of oil reserves.

The petro's price is initially to be pegged to the value of Venezuela's basket of oil and fuel exports, which last week closed at $59.07.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed the California judge who temporarily blocked the administration from ending the program that protects against the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who entered the country illegally when they were children.

"It just shows everyone how broken and unfair'' the court system is, Trump tweeted.

Trump's ire was aimed at U.S. District Judge William Alsup in California, who ruled in favor of a group of individuals and institutions, including the University of California, who had sued the government to block the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA). The program protects as many as 800,000 young immigrants from being deported.

The judge said the program should remain active until the legal challenges are resolved.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. FILE - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 21, 2017. FILE - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 21, 2017.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said the ruling was not enough to protect the young immigrants from deportation. He said lawmakers and the White House must drive toward a bipartisan deal that would permanently shield them from deportation.

"The iron is hot. We should strike now'' and reach a deal, he said.

Schumer also reiterated the Democrats' position that an immigration deal be attached to must-pass budget legislation that Congress will soon consider. Federal agencies will shut down unless lawmakers pass a bill financing them by January 19.

March deadline

In September, Trump rescinded DACA but gave Congress until March 5 to weigh in on the issue, which Trump debated at length with U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday in an unusual televised White House meeting.

Alsup ruled that those opposed to Trump's action ending the protections against deportation were "likely to suffer serious irreparable harm" if deportations were carried out and that the public interest would be served if the program continued.

Tuesday's order specified that the terms of the DACA program were to be maintained for anyone who was already covered by the program before Trump's September action, and that those people were allowed to renew their enrollments.

But the government does not have to process any new applications for people trying to enroll in DACA for the first time, and it remains free to deport anyone it determines to be a national security or public safety risk.

The court order came hours after Trump told key lawmakers he would sign whatever DACA legislation they agreed upon.

WATCH: Trump Signals Willingness to Compromise on Immigration Reform

In the Tuesday meeting at the White House, Trump said protection for the immigrants should come first and that comprehensive immigration reforms could be dealt with later. He said he still thought a wall needed to be built along at least part of the 3,200-kilometer (1,990-mile) U.S.-Mexico border, but he seemed to back off earlier demands that it be funded immediately.

"When this group comes back with an agreement, I'm signing it," Trump said.

Some of the Republican lawmakers pushed back on Trump's agreement to deal with young immigrants as a first priority. But as the discussion continued, Trump also said border security needed to be dealt with, as he left it up to the lawmakers to work out details.

Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump's new homeland security chief, told him, "Border security has to be part of this or we'll be back here three, four or five years from now," still dealing with illegal immigration from across the Mexico border.

FILE: Prototypes for U.S. President Donald Trump's FILE: Prototypes for U.S. President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico are shown near completion behind the current border fence, in this picture taken from the Mexican side of the border, in Tijuana, Oct. 23, 2017. FILE: Prototypes for U.S. President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico are shown near completion behind the current border fence, in this picture taken from the Mexican side of the border, in Tijuana, Oct. 23, 2017.

Later, Trump said on Twitter, "As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval."

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump vowed  to cheers from his political supporters  to build a wall along the Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it, an idea the Mexican government quickly rejected. At the White House meeting, Trump said a wall was, because of natural geographic barriers, not needed for the length of the border.

Last week, Trump called for an initial $18 billion in U.S. taxpayer funding for the wall, a proposal Democrats uniformly opposed, as did some Republican lawmakers.

A compromise  with protection for the young immigrants and some enhanced border security, without construction of the wall  could be reached. But making immigration policy changes has stymied U.S. lawmakers for years.
A woman serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison for lying about her role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide to obtain U.S. citizenship is working on an appeal.

In August, a federal judge denied an appeal bid from Beatrice Munyenyezi, who was convicted and sentenced in 2013 in the same federal courthouse in New Hampshire where she was granted citizenship years earlier. She's serving a 10-year sentence in Alabama and faces deportation afterward.

Munyenyezi is appealing to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. She says the judge didn't review the stripping of her citizenship.

Munyenyezi was convicted of lying about her role as a commander of one of the notorious roadblocks where Tutsis were singled out for slaughter. She also denied affiliation with any political party, despite her husband's leadership role in the extremist Hutu militia party.
HARARE - Activists in southern Zimbabwe are taking legal action to demand the truth about a series of massacres in the 1980s that targeted perceived opponents of then-president Robert Mugabe.

An estimated 20,000 civilians were killed by North Korean-trained troops under the authority of current President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was minister of security at the time.

The activists have asked Zimbabwe's High Court to compel Mnangagwa's government to release the findings of a commission of inquiry on the massacres.

Dumisani Dube, a lawyer for the pressure group Ibhetshu Lika Zulu, is hopeful despite previous unsuccessful attempts. He says the situation has changed in Zimbabwe since 2013, when a new constitution was enacted.

"In terms of the new constitution of Zimbabwe, section 62, there is a constitutional provision on the right to access to information, which entitles any person the right to any information which is held by the state in the interest of public accountability, fairness, human dignity and justice. So, we are very positive," Dube said.

Ousted president Mugabe is cited in the court application, as it was his government which presided over the massacres between 1982 and 1987.

The atrocities targeted members of the ethnic Ndebele population believed to support former Vice President Joshua Nkomo, then an opponent of Mugabe.

Lawyer Dube said he would serve the papers to the British embassy in Harare for transmission to Theresa May's government in London. The pressure group wants the British government to release classified documents that might have details about the massacres.

Zimbabwe justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said he has yet to see the High Court application.

In a sign of growing tension over the massacres, the army recently detained and assaulted protesters demonstrating against a visit by Mnangagwa to the southern region.

The 75-year-old Zimbabwean leader has yet to comment on the issue since coming to power in November in an army-backed takeover.
HARARE, ZIMBABWE - If Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai were to stand down, as he has hinted he might, the party he founded would face immediate instability and could even split, handing a gift to new President Emmerson Mnangagwa in an election this year.

The most visible opposition figure in the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980, Tsvangirai said Monday it was time for the older generation to make way for younger leaders in the party.

Mnangagwa, 75, rose to power last November after Robert Mugabe stood down following a de facto coup, ending a 37-year reign marked by economic mismanagement, corruption and vote rigging allegations.

Investors and Western governments who cheered the end of Mugabe's rule will be closely watching the election for evidence Mnangagwa can run a free and fair vote and turn a new page in Zimbabwe's history.

It was expected that Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would pose a robust challenge to Mnangagwa's ruling ZANU-PF. But that prospect may now be in jeopardy.

Tsvangirai, who has been battling cancer for several years and looked frail at a meeting with Mnangagwa last week, did not explicitly say he would stand down, and his spokesman said he could not comment further.

Tsvangirai, 65, has three deputies, one who was elected and two others he handpicked in 2016 to help him run the party, a move that still irks some MDC members.

The MDC has known division twice before  in 2005 and in 2014 following a heavy election defeat to the ZANU-PF. And, though analysts said it was good in the long term for Tsvangirai to relinquish the MDC leadership after nearly 20 years in charge, the succession has to be handled carefully.

"Behind the scenes, the three party vice presidents are gladiating to take over from Tsvangirai," said Eldred Masunungure, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.

"It should be a democratic process and not an autocratic change of power. If Tsvangirai takes that route, it will tear the party asunder. It will be a sad day if Tsvangirai's departure means the death of the MDC."

FILE - Officials join hands at the signing of the FILE - Officials join hands at the signing of the power-sharing deal in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sept, 15, 2008. From left: Arthur Mutmbara, deputy prime minster; Robert Mugabe, president; Morgan Tsvangirai, prime minster; and Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's president. FILE - Officials join hands at the signing of the power-sharing deal in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sept, 15, 2008. From left: Arthur Mutmbara, deputy prime minster; Robert Mugabe, president; Morgan Tsvangirai, prime minster; and Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's president.

?'Critical moment'

The MDC has weakened progressively since 2008, when Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in the first round of voting.

After opting out of the runoff, alleging violence by the army against its supporters, the MDC formed a unity government with ZANU-PF that helped stabilize the economy until Tsvangirai was defeated in a 2013 presidential election by Mugabe.

A senior MDC official said Tsvangirai was still considering whether to call for a special leadership congress or have the party appoint a new presidential candidate.

"The MDC is at a very critical moment and the issue of transitioning to a new leader has been weighing heavily" on Tsvangirai, the MDC executive told Reuters, asking for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Tsvangirai, 65, the self-taught son of a bricklayer who worked in a rural mine to support his family, cut his political teeth in the labor movement as a mine foreman, later becoming a top trade unionist.

In 1999 he was elected founding MDC president and built his political career as a one of the only people willing to stand up to Mugabe, making him difficult to replace.

He will have to juggle regional, tribal and gender considerations in looking for a successor.

"Those are salient issues that the MDC cannot run away from," said Masunungure.
South African President Jacob Zuma Tuesday announced a corruption probe into the highest levels of the state, after parliament indicated it would move to impeach him.

On December 13, a South African court ruled that a commission be set up within 30 days to carry out such an inquiry.

"The allegations that the state has been wrestled out of the hands of its real owner, the people of South Africa, is of paramount importance and are therefore deserving of finality and certainty," Zuma said in a statement, the French news agency reported, adding, "I have decided to appoint a commission of inquiry."

Last month, the ruling ANC elected Cyril Ramaphosa as party leader to replace Zuma, who stepped down amid corruption allegations, but will remain South Africa's president until nationwide elections in 2019.
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Homebuilders raced to get Winnipeg projects into the ground before the beginning of the new year to avoid paying the citys new impact fee and the result was the busiest year for Winnipeg homebuilders since the late-1980s.

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This article was published 10/1/2018 (1334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Homebuilders raced to get Winnipeg projects into the ground before the beginning of the new year to avoid paying the citys new impact fee and the result was the busiest year for Winnipeg homebuilders since the late-1980s.

In its year-end preliminary housing start data, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) said solid population gains, a stable economy and good employment growth in the city helped generate 5,024 new starts in the city of Winnipeg proper in 2017  a 39.3 per cent increase from the year before.

But Heather Bowyer, CMHCs senior market analyst for Manitoba, said, "In talking with homebuilders and our colleagues, one of the primary reasons why we have seen such a growth in housing starts this year is that there has been a push forward in housing starts."

Last year, the city introduced a growth or impact fee on new residential projects in new and emerging areas of the city.

The fee of $5 per square foot will add about $9,200 to the cost of a new 1,800-square-foot home in the designated areas. But if builders secured their permit before May 1, 2017, and were in the ground by Jan. 1, 2018, they would be exempt from the fee. The city had originally set the in-the-ground deadline for Nov. 1, but extended it to the end of the year.

Lanny McInnes, president of Manitoba Home Builders Association, said the extension was much appreciated.

"Our builders were really ramping up activity over the summer to make sure they could meet those deadlines," McInnes said. "It was a little trickier for multi-family projects. So we were happy to see the city move on that (extending the deferment). We had quietly asked them to consider it. We were pleased they took that request into consideration."

The frantic pace going down to the wire meant December housing starts in Winnipeg were 119 per cent ahead of the numbers from December 2016.

Only St. John, N.B., and Peterborough, Ont., had larger year-over-year increases in December.

On a year-over-year basis, total actual housing starts more than doubled in December compared to December 2016, with the multi-family sector leading this increase, particularly new apartment projects. Single-detached starts also witnessed strong year-over-year growth.

Province-wide, there were 574 housing starts in December, a 127 per cent increase over December 2016, the largest increase by far of any province, not including P.E.I., where there were only 39 starts in total.

McInnes said there was an understanding that 2017 was going to be a very busy year and that the timing of projects was going to be affected by the impact fee.

"It was nice to see starts being so strong in December," McInnes said.

"It gives us a reason to be optimistic heading into 2018."

Having said that, there is also a general understanding that 2018 will not be quite as strong.

"With that big level of construction we saw this year, we expect a bit of a pull back as the market adjusts to those higher levels," Bowyer said.

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"Because these starts were pushed ahead (to beat the impact fee) we will see a bit of a pull back from that in the following years."

However, favourable housing markets are expected in the coming year in Winnipeg, with balanced market conditions for the resale market and no price accelerations on the horizon, according to Bowyer. Growing numbers of first-time buyers are expected in the 25 to 34 age group along with wage growth and stable employment trends.

McInnes agrees that it is not likely that 2018 will generate the same kind of numbers as the year that just concluded, but he said starts are projected to remain at or above 2015 and 2016 levels, which were themselves relatively strong rebound years.

He said its still too early to judge what effect the impact fees will have on the market going forward.

"In 2018 well see if the market starts looking at surrounding municipalities around Winnipeg or if homeowners will think of it (the impact fee) as just an additional fee that  over the long term of home ownership or the term of a mortgage  will just be included in the overall cost of their budgeting."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
A air force base in Winnipeg is taking part in a literal pilot project: employing commissionaires to take over roles usually staffed by military members.

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This article was published 10/1/2018 (1334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jessica Botelho-Urbanski / Winnipeg Free Press Capt. Ryan Port and Capt. Bettina McCulloch-Drake are excited about a pilot project at 17 Wing.

A air force base in Winnipeg is taking part in a literal pilot project: employing commissionaires to take over roles usually staffed by military members.

Pilots, air combat systems operators and air environment controllers typically work in 17 Wing's 24/7 operations centre. But due to "manning woes" over the last year, the base restructured, shuffling members to higher priority positions and bringing in commissionaires for some desk work, said Capt. Ryan Port, who leads the Winnipeg "ops centre."

Commissionaires are usually ex-Canadian Forces members, police officers or government workers, who provide security services, make identification tags or do background checks.

Tom Reimer, a navy veteran and chief executive officer of Commissionaires Manitoba, said the local chapter specifically chose those with air force backgrounds to help in 17 Wing's new ops-centre roles.

Port said some of his crew was previously working up to 24-hour shifts answering the phone in the centre, before the six new commissionaires arrived. Four full-time and two part-time staff started Nov. 27.

"Because of manning woes I guess you could say... were not getting those backfills that we should," Port said in an interview Monday.

The captain said 17 Wing debated shutting down the 24/7 centre, but that wasn't a popular decision.

"None of us ever want to shut an ops centre down just because of the what if factor. We dont want to fail Canada or Canadians by us not being there, or having an answering machine answer the phone," Port said.

"Were really basically going to do whatever we can to man that position and (hiring commissionaires) is the actual best deal when you think about it. And weve looked at all the courses of action out there. This is the best deal we could do for Winnipeg."

The commissionaires' contract is valid until the end of the base's fiscal year March 31, 2018, at which point 17 Wing will re-evaluate.

"This is a temporary manning challenge," Port said. "Whether it continues on for another 10 years, who knows. Or if it just continues on until we see more military members show up, we dont know. Thats way above my pay grade, I would say."

A 2016 auditor general's report showed the Canadian Forces were short thousands of personnel for at least four years. The forces' target was 68,000 members, but the ranks hovered around 60,500.

At the end of March 2017, about 450 more military personnel were added, representing the first real growth in numbers in several years. Yet officials are unlikely to celebrate, as the military is still short about 2,000 regular-force members and 5,300 reservists.

The Department of National Defence did not return a Free Press request for comment about recruiting strategies.

Christian Leuprecht, a professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ont., expects the Forces will have an even tougher time recruiting amid a steady jobs market. In December, the national unemployment rate was only 5.7 per cent.

"As the labour market tightens, that also means the private sector is going to be looking to pay higher wages. The government has greater difficulty competing there, so were probably going to see more of those shortages," Leuprecht said in an interview Tuesday.

Whether other military bases will also rely on more commissionaires' handiwork remains to be seen, but Leuprecht said he likes the idea.

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"Lots of people talk about, 'We want to have bigger armed forces and we should have more soldiers and what not.' Im actually an advocate of... smaller armed forces, but more specialized," he said.

"Think about all the stuff that we can ditch that were currently doing that maybe we dont really need someone in uniform doing," Leuprecht said. "Do we really need the ops centre staffed by some fit 25-year-old infantry guy, for instance?"

Port said Forces bases across the country are taking notice of what's happening at 17 Wing and considering similar tactics.

-- with files from The Canadian Press

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter:@_jessbu
A dramatic police chase involving a stolen Audi A6 sedan was resolved with the aid of Air-1 and a spike belt on Tuesday night.

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A dramatic police chase involving a stolen Audi A6 sedan was resolved with the aid of Air-1 and a spike belt on Tuesday night.

The vehicle had its keys in the ignition when it was stolen from a residence in the Bridgwater Trails area in south Winnipeg. Police spotted it at Salter Street and Selkirk Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. The pursuit was turned over to the police helicopter when the driver began hitting high speeds.

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"It only took one minute for Air-1 to track the vehicle," said police spokesman, Const. Jay Murray.

About 13 minutes later, on the advice of Air-1, police officers stationed at the intersection of Keewatin Street and Gallagher Avenue West threw a spike belt across the road.

Called a stop stick, it is a three-metre-long, fold-up belt that extends across the roadway containing hollow spikes designed to deflate a tire within 20 to 30 seconds.

"It's not like Hollywood. The tires don't just explode," said Murray.

Instead, the stop stick took out one of the front tires. Within three blocks the vehicle was inoperable and the suspect got out and fled on foot in the 1500 block of Ross Avenue. He was arrested shortly after.

Rolly Allen Baptiste, 22, of Winnipeg, has been charged with vehicle theft and numerous traffic violations.
The chairwoman of the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries board is defending the Crown corporation's decision to employ a senior executive who does not live full-time in the province.

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This article was published 9/1/2018 (1334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The chairwoman of the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries board is defending the Crown corporation's decision to employ a senior executive who does not live full-time in the province.

Polly Craik says Deanne Carson, hired in April as vice-president of marketing and communications, was the best possible person for the job.

"We went through a very thorough process," Craik said Tuesday. "Deanne was absolutely the right selection for the position, and management did the hiring certainly with the support of the board."

Carson, a former vice-president of marketing with the Calgary Stampede, spends her work week in Winnipeg and goes home on weekends to Alberta to be with her family. Liquor & Lotteries -- which regulates gambling and the distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages in Manitoba -- says she pays for her travel back and forth to Calgary.

Craik said she doesn't see a problem with an executive engaging in such a commute.

"Thats just the way of the world these days," she said. "Ive got a business and we have five people on Zoom (video) conference calls every week from all over the place. And its very productive. Its just the way that business works today."

Craik also suggested Carson has Manitoba ties neither she nor the corporation have disclosed.

"I knew that when she was hired that she was already spending summers coming to Winnipeg and spending time out at the lake. So, its not as cut and dry as it seems to look in the article," she said referring to a Free Press report Tuesday.

Asked Tuesday whether Crown corporation executives should live in the province full-time, Premier Brian Pallister chose his words carefully.

"I think the key factor here is that we need to have the best possible people in key roles," he said, while attending an announcement on the expansion of high-speed internet service in northern Manitoba.

"I think we in Manitoba, quite rightly, believe that we have the best place to live and work and raise a family in the country of Canada, so were always puzzled when people choose to live in other places, whether its Calgary or elsewhere," Pallister said.

"That being said, we want the best people possible in key roles within our services. We want that to be the key priority. So, its balancing, I suppose, a number of factors. I expect that the board of Liquor & Lotteries will be taking a look at this issue thats been raised. And I wait to see what their response would be."

A human resources expert who helps corporations attract executive talent told the Free Press earlier this week there are personal and professional pitfalls to long-distance commutes, adding they are rarely successful over the long term.

Manitobans appear divided on whether a person who earns a full-time public-sector paycheque should live in the province full-time -- or whether the over-riding concern be to find the best possible person for the job.

Several readers, commenting on an earlier Free Press story, expressed strong views on the subject in emails and online comments.

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"There is nothing wrong with commuting. It is common nowadays and just part of the 'new normal' in todays smaller world. If she is doing a good job, then leave her alone," one reader wrote.

"Why is commuting so bad?" asked another. "Politicians do it all the time... I, for one, would not like to do that but if she is OK, then who cares? People need to get into the 21st century here. If she shows up for work and does her job, does it really matter where she goes when she leaves for the day?"

One reader said they agreed someone working for a Crown corporation needs "to be invested in the community" and "should live here."

"A key indicator on how invested one is (to me anyway) would be her driver's licence. Is it Manitoba or is it not?" the reader said.

Said another reader: "If you don't live full time in the city where you work full time, (your) head is never here full time. Part of you is always wishing he/she were back home with the family. So no, this situation is not in the best interest of MBLL and the province of Manitoba."

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
City hall plans to ban smoking on outdoor patios at restaurants and bars but its unclear if bars and hotels can continue to operate smoking-only patios for their customers.

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This article was published 9/1/2018 (1334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City hall plans to ban smoking on outdoor patios at restaurants and bars but its unclear if bars and hotels can continue to operate smoking-only patios for their customers.

Councillors on a civic committee Tuesday endorsed an administrative report that calls for an outdoor smoking ban effective April 1.

But the civic official who will be in charge of enforcing the new rules says the intent of the ban applies only to outdoor areas where food and drinks are served.

A spokesman for the hotel industry said how the bylaw is written will determine if the groups members can still keep smoking-only patios.

"Wed like to see an exemption for patios where people go to smoke," Scott Jocelyn, president and CEO of the Manitoba Hotel Association, told reporters following the committee meeting.

Winston Yee, the citys manager of community bylaw enforcement, told reporters the intent of the outdoor ban would be to prevent smoking where food and/or drinks are permitted  whether inside or outside  leaving Jocelyn hopeful smoking-only patios can exist once the ban comes into effect.

"If their occupancy permit is for a dining and drinking establishment, and thats extended to the exterior of the facility, then (smoking) would not be allowed," Yee said. "The difficulty I have right now is I do not want to speculateWhen the bylaw comes forward with legal language and input from our colleagues at planning, property and development, (the bylaw) will be clear, but I cant speculate on any situation before the bylaw is actually created."

Councillors on the protection and community services committee voted 3-1 to endorse the report. The bylaw and rules still have to be written, a process which wont take place until council also approves the recommendation, which is expected to happen later this month.

Only Coun. Ross Eadie voted against the recommendation, explaining he understands the ban would apply to all outdoor patios, but he believes bars should be allowed to maintain smoking-only patios.

The administrative report recommends prohibiting "the use of personal smoking devices (including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, e-cigarettes, water pipes, hookahs and other similar products/devices) on outdoor patios where food and/or beverage service is permitted," with the exception of Indigenous-led ceremonies.

The ban would include cannabis products, Yee said.

While Winnipeg was the first Canadian city to ban smoking indoors in 2003, it will be the last major municipality to ban smoking on outdoor patios.

The administrative report was written following an extensive public-consultation process in the summer and fall.

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The city held stakeholder sessions with local BIZ groups and the Canadian Cancer Society, among others, in August. It followed with an online survey that drew nearly 8,000 responses in September.

Street team members raised the issue with Winnipeggers on their lunch breaks in September, logging 289 interactions in the Exchange District, at The Forks, in Osborne Village and the Corydon area.

The city also enlisted Probe Research to conduct a telephone survey where a random and representative sample of 600 Winnipeg adults weighed in during September and October.

In the end, more than 76 per cent of those surveyed supported a patio smoking ban and 22 per cent opposed the idea.

Most people (58 per cent) said the ban should apply to all public areas, while 34 per cent thought bars and clubs should be exempt. Eight per cent were unsure.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA  The federal Liberals recently dispatched their immigration minister to Minnesota in the hopes of preventing another wave of asylum seekers from crossing into Manitoba this year. The move comes as officials near Emerson prepare for the risk of mass arrivals of border jumpers.

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This article was published 10/1/2018 (1334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  The federal Liberals recently dispatched their immigration minister to Minnesota in the hopes of preventing another wave of asylum seekers from crossing into Manitoba this year. The move comes as officials near Emerson prepare for the risk of mass arrivals of border jumpers.

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen visited Minneapolis to host a town hall-style meeting with African diaspora groups, a roundtable talk with local resettlement organizations, and also discussed the issue with Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton.

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen visited Minneapolis to host a town hall-style meeting with African diaspora groups. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press)

"I went to Minnesota to engage with those communities, to make sure that were still being proactive," Hussen told reporters Tuesday in Ottawa. "Were not taking anything for granted."

Last year, at least 1,000 people crossed irregularly into Canada in the area around Emerson, largely Somali and Ghanaian citizens. Its illegal to enter Canada outside of a border post, but under international law people who cross illegally and file asylum claims are shielded from prosecution.

The immigration minister said he spoke with a variety of African diaspora groups on his visit, the weekend of Dec. 9, 2017.

In August, Conservative MP Ted Falk, who represents the Emerson area, called on Hussen (a refugee from Somalia) to use his language and cultural skills to dissuade possible asylum claimants  as MPs of Haitian and Latin American origin have done in radio shows and newspapers in the U.S.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Hussen also visited the University of Minnesota and spoke to an auditorium about Canadas private sponsorship program.

"Members of the local Somali community, where he enjoys rock-star status, threw him a welcoming reception," the newspaper reported.

Hussen said Tuesday he clarified myths about people with U.S. temporary-stay permits somehow being eligible for residence in Canada, or that the country gives automatic asylum to people from certain countries. "We dont want people uprooting their lives, their deep roots in the United States, based on misinformation."

In August, leaders of west and east African groups in Minneapolis told the Free Press many were pondering making asylum claims in Canada. They blamed the United States winding down its temporary protected status (TPS) permits, which allowed non-criminals to stay in America if their home country is facing war, pandemics or natural disasters.

The decision to end TPS for Haitians led thousands of them to cross into Quebec, while the administration led by U.S. President Donald Trump declared Monday that El Salvadorians would lose TPS validity in 18 months. Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be stripped from the TPS list in May, though Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan remain listed.

Hussen said he doesnt anticipate as many El Salvadorians will cross into Canada because they have stronger community ties in the U.S. than Haitians. He also said there are contingency plans being put in place to avoid the confusion and backlogs that took place when thousands crossed into Quebec.

In a recent interview, Emerson reeve Greg Janzen said the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency were having regular meetings to prepare for the unexpected.

"Were trying to plan for the worse, if we get 100, 200, 300 a day," Janzen said, describing it as "almost like an emergency plan."

"Like: what do we do when we have 100, 200 people coming across when its -20 (C) out?"

Hussen pointed out Emerson crossing numbers are nowhere near as high as last winter. The RCMP intercepted 38 claimants in November, down from the March 2017 peak of 170.

"Even though the numbers are very very low, were preparing officials there for any future influxes, if possible," he said.

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Part of that involves online advertising and targeted internet search-engine marketing for groups in the U.S.

Hussen also said the government has learned from the problems that arose last year. Those lessons include boosting funding to speed up work-permit processing and asylum hearings, as well as keeping provinces in the loop.

In September, Ian Wishart, Manitobas education minister, who is in charge of immigration, lauded Ottawas efforts to curb an uptick in claims, though he called for more federal funding to help the province integrate the hundreds who have already arrived.

On Tuesday, Wishart did not raise concerns with how Ottawa is handling the file.

"This is not a safe time of year to be out in the open and exposed to the elements," he wrote in a statement. "We urge anyone who is thinking about crossing the border between ports of entry to reconsider."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
An Anglican priest who used the church credit card to make $192,000 worth of unauthorized purchases  including two trips to Las Vegas and numerous stays at the prestigious Fairmont Gold in Winnipeg  was sentenced to almost two years of house arrest Tuesday.

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This article was published 10/1/2018 (1334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An Anglican priest who used the church credit card to make $192,000 worth of unauthorized purchases  including two trips to Las Vegas and numerous stays at the prestigious Fairmont Gold in Winnipeg  was sentenced to almost two years of house arrest Tuesday.

Noah James Bernard Njegovan, 35, pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 in Brandon Court of Queens Bench in December for stealing from the Anglican Church of Canada, Diocese of Brandon, between Jan. 26, 2010, and Aug. 27, 2012. He was an executive archdeacon at the time.

It was the guilty plea, a request for mercy from the church and Njegovans parents selling their house to pay the diocese $192,000 in restitution that led to the joint recommendation between the Crown and the defence for a conditional sentence.

"The repayment of at least the amount he stole is significant," Crown attorney Jim Ross told the court. "It saves the victim from what is often a futile effort to collect a restitution order and it at least replaces the funds which were taken."

"If (Njegovans parents) had not done that, we might be in a very different position today," defence lawyer Michael Cook said. "He may have been looking to get on a bus today to Headingley (Correctional Centre), or even Stony Mountain (Institution)."

Over the course of approximately 30 months, more than 800 purchases of personal items were made on the church credit card. A total of $92,000 was withdrawn off the credit card as cash advances from ATMs, Ross said.

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Njegovan racked up $44,000 at bars and restaurants in 389 transactions, including a $740 dinner at Baileys Restaurant & Lounge in Winnipeg on the day of his 30th birthday.

Approximately $23,000 was used for non-business travel, Ross said, sometimes paying for two flights and two hotel rooms for Njegovan and a friend.

Other travel included approximately nine stays at the Fairmont Winnipegs Gold floor, averaging approximately $600 a night, and multiple stays at hotels in Brandon, Ross said.

Njegovan evaded detection by paying the credit card bills online with the dioceses savings account, which he had the authority to transfer money from, Ross said. He repeatedly put off audits supposed to be done by outside accountants and never disclosed his credit card statements or the transfers from the savings account.

"This is a horrible, horrible offence," Justice John Menzies said. "Let me tell you, without question, that without that recommendation from those two counsel, youd be on your way to jail."

 Brandon Sun
A University of Winnipeg student says she had to fight to get out of a vehicle after being attacked and pulled into a car in broad daylight on a walkway near the campus Monday afternoon.

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This article was published 10/1/2018 (1333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A University of Winnipeg student says she had to fight to get out of a vehicle after being attacked and pulled into a car in broad daylight on a walkway near the campus Monday afternoon.

In a statement to the campus community Tuesday afternoon, the university said the student was walking on the Green Corridor near Langside Street at about 1:30 p.m., when she said a green Honda pulled up beside her "and she was grabbed and pulled into the car."

"She fought and was able to escape, however, her backpack and jacket were stolen," the statement said.

The university said the car was last seen heading north on Langside toward Ellice Avenue.

The student has filed a police report. The university did not indicate whether she was injured.

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jay Murray said the investigation is still in the preliminary stages and officers need more information.

"The exact location of the incident has not been able to be determined by investigators," he said.

Murray said the victim reported the incident almost 24 hours after it happened.

Chris Minaker, the university's senior executive officer, said in a statement the school has reached out to the student and is offering support through student services.

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"The safety of all our students, faculty, staff and visitors to campus is of paramount importance to us," he said, noting that since November the university has raised the number of security patrols and also increased its guard complement by one-third during day and evening hours.

Minaker also said the university has just received a campus safety audit it initiated last year and will review it "to determine institutional priorities and next steps to be taken in the coming months.

"We continue to liaise with senior staff at both the Province of Manitoba and Winnipeg Police Service to discuss security issues and resources required."

Laura Elsie Garinger, president of the University of Winnipeg Students' Association, said she meets monthly with the head of the university's security department about safety issues on and around the campus.

"Obviously, this is a huge concern for us," she said. "The UWSA has offered a safe-walk service to students in the evening during its fall and winter terms."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Autoworkers in the Canadian province of Ontario have reacted angrily to new employment standards introduced by the Liberal government of Premier Kathleen Wynne, which exclude them from minimum provisions on sick, bereavement and emergency leave.

On January 1, the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act came into force, which gives workers in Ontario 10 days of personal emergency leave, two of which are paid. In a provision kept secret by the government in the run-up to enactment of the legislation, the act denies all workers in the auto sector those same minimal protections. Instead, autoworkers will be entitled to seven days of sick or emergency leave and three days of bereavement leave, all unpaid. There are about 150,000 union and non-union workers in the auto sector.

Auto industry executives lobbied heavily for the exemption. Shortly after Ray Tanguay, a former Toyota Canada chairman, was appointed as the federal and provincial government auto advisor, provisions were developed to exclude autoworkers from the general standard in the new law.

In defending the two-tier standard, Daniel Bitonti, a spokesperson from the provincial Ministry of Economic Development and Trade admitted that the exemption provision was driven by a desire to further hike the already fat profits of the auto companies. In terms of the auto sector, he said, our approach is to balance the rights and needs of workers with ensuring the auto sector in Ontario remains competitive in whats becoming a fast-changing global economy.

The new legislation is a central element in the big business Liberals efforts to secure reelection in Junes provincial election. Since coming to power in Canadas most populace province in 2003, the Liberals have collaborated closely with the trade union bureaucracy to dress up their right-wing, anti-worker policies in progressive garb. Governments led by Dalton McGuinty and Wynne have taken the axe to public spending, outlawed strikes and other workers job actions, privatized public utilities, and ensured low tax rates for the super-rich.

The unions have poured millions of dollars into Liberal reelection campaigns on the basis of the spurious argument that it is the only way to stop the Tories. They have eagerly applauded their integration into numerous committees and consultative bodies set up by the government, including their own intimate involvement in the consultation process on the misnamed Safer Workplaces Better Jobs Act.

The Liberals, ably assisted by the trade union bureaucracy and their pseudo-left cheerleaders, have singled out a much more heavily publicized element in the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act in an effort to buttress Premier Wynnes uphill battle for reelection. The minimum wagepreviously set at $11.60 (US$9.33) per hourwas boosted to $14 (US$11.26) on January 1, and is scheduled to rise to $15 (US$12.06) next year.

Other provisions in the new employment standards are so weak that small businesses are already moving to counter the wage rise. Hours for minimum wage workers are being cut or jobs shed outright.

In a particularly scandalous move, Ron Joyce Jr. and Jeri-Lynn Horton-Joyce, the owners of two Tim Hortons franchises and heirs to billionaire Ron Joyce Sr., the co-founder of the Tim Hortons coffee shop empire, ordered their workers to sign a document acknowledging their loss of paid breaks, paid benefits and other monetary incentives. Workers at their franchises have calculated that the cutbacksentirely legal under Wynnes new standardswill cost a veteran full-time worker $51 per paycheque which, despite the hike in the minimum wage, means an actual wage cut.

In a shameless display of hypocrisy, executives of Unifor, the union that organizes a portion of auto assembly and auto parts production in the province, denounced the Liberal government for the double standard in the new legislation that impacts not only unionized workers but tens of thousands of non-union employees in the auto sector. Yet Unifor has not only helped prop up the Liberal government for 15 years, but also worked hand-in-glove with auto management for a decade in negotiating and enforcing two- and three-tier contracts for autoworkers.

Despite intense resistance to the institutionalization of multi-tiered pay and benefit schemes by unionized autoworkers, Unifor (and its predecessor the Canadian Auto Workers) has rammed through contracts that provide newly hired workers with a fraction of the wages earned by veteran workers, end defined benefit pensions for these same new hires, reduce other basic benefits and acquiesce to the growth of a third-tier of Temporary Part-Time (TPT) employees who are forced to pay union dues but reap little or no contract protection. Such has been the naked collaboration between Unifor and the auto executives that attempts to unionize large assembly plants at Honda and Toyota have consistently failed as non-union assembly workers see no benefit in paying union dues in exchange for a never-ending stream of concession contracts.

So miserable are the terms of contracts at the Detroit Three assembly plants in Canada that even veteran workers receive no paid sick days.

Unifor, despite its current protestations, has led the way among Canadas trade unions in calling on its members to support Liberal candidates in most federal and provincial constituencies during election cycles. Unifors current president, Jerry Dias, boasts of his access to the federal Liberal government of Justin Trudeau and is leading the way in whipping up Canadian nationalism to divide Canadian workers from workers in the US and Mexico during the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks.

The Chretien-Martin Liberal government implemented the greatest social spending cuts in Canadian history between 1995 and 1997, then in 2000 gifted big business and the rich the largest ever tax cuts. In 2008-09 the Ontario Liberals worked hand-in-glove with the federal Conservative government to extort unprecedented wage and benefit cuts from Detroit Three autoworkers, declaring that any bailout of the industry was conditional on concessions, totaling $19 per worker per hour and a restructuring program that eliminated thousands of jobs.

The support extended to this right-wing bourgeois party by Unifor and the trade union bureaucracy as a whole demonstrates the organic hostility of these organizations to any mobilization by the working class to boost wages and secure better working conditions.

As the Socialist Equality Party wrote in its recent statement on the fight against Trudeau and Trump and the Canada-US alliance, The unions partnership with what has traditionally been the Canadian bourgeoisies preferred party of government is the outcome of a decades-long march to the right on the part of the unions and their allies in the social-democratic New Democratic Party (NDP). The unions have repudiated all traditions of independent working-class struggle, integrated themselves into management and tripartite union-government-company structures, and developed new sources of revenue giving them a direct stake in the exploitation of the working class.

Whenever autoworkers have sought to resist this gang-up of the corporations, big-business parties and union bureaucracy against them, Unifor has worked tirelessly to betray their struggles. Last fall, when CAMI autoworkers in Ingersoll, Ontario waged a determined month-long strike to secure wage increases, expressing their deep hostility to multi-tier contracts, Unifor sabotaged the strike and subordinated it to its campaign over the renegotiation of NAFTA to supposedly secure Canadian jobs.

This reactionary nationalist line isolated CAMI workers from their class brothers and sisters in Mexico, leaving them defenceless when the multi-national GM announced it would move production to Mexico if the strike was not immediately ended. Unifor dutifully obliged, winding up the strike and imposing yet another rotten contract that met none of the workers demands.

The attack on workers wages and conditions is international, as shown by recent events in France, where a union representing chemical workers agreed to a pay deal below the national minimum wage, and in Germany, where the unions are desperately seeking to prevent an explosion of working-class anger against wage stagnation and glaring social inequality.

Workers in Ontario and across Canada must reject the nationalist poison peddled by the unions, and their attempts to subordinate workers to the big business parties. To wage a counteroffensive for secure and decent-paying jobs, well-funded public services and a secure retirement, Canadian workers must adopt an internationalist and socialist program, and unite their struggles with their class brothers and sisters throughout North America and around the world to put an end to the capitalist profit system.
A public school teacher in Louisiana was summarily arrested, manhandled, handcuffed and carted off to jail on Monday, January 8, during a public school board meeting in Vermilion Parish, 150 miles west of New Orleans.

Deyshia Hargrave, an English language arts middle school teacher, was victimized for voicing her opposition to a proposed pay increase for the school superintendent and citing 10 years of pay freezes for school employees.

The entire incident, including teacher Hargraves well-chosen words, was caught on video and has gone viral. (Second comments by Hargrave, which lead to arrest begin a 6:15).

Vermilion Teacher escorted out of school board meeting in handcuffs

The Vermilion Parish school board meeting was packed with schoolteachers opposed to a nearly $38,000 raise for Superintendent Jerome Puyau who already makes $110,190. Teachers in the parish, members of the Louisiana Association of Educators, have not received a raise in a decade.

Hargrave opened her remarks by identifying herself as a teacher at Rene Rost Middle Schools. In a calm and deliberate voice, she stated, I have a serious issue with the superintendent or any person in a position of leadership getting any type of raise. I feel like it is a slap in the face to the teachers, the cafeteria workers and any support staff we have. We work very hard with very little...The last few years, Ive seen class sizes grow enormously.

Referring to claims that the districts improved ratings justify the pay increase, she said, I dont care if the performance targets were met, you are making our job even more difficult. We are jumping through hoops and we are continuously meeting those goalsIt is a sad, sad day in Vermilion Parish We are doing the work, the students are doing the work.

At the topthats not where kids learn. It is in the classroom. And those teachers, like myself, are not getting a dime from that. That is unspeakable.

My second concern is that you are actually taking this vote with a man who just, by chance, knew so-and-so, however that happened. The people didnt put him in. If he wants to run and the people put him in, then you can do your contract and your raises and whatever you deem necessary.

I feel that I am speaking on behalf of more than just myselfMany teachers are scared to speak outI want to use the word absurd to describe even considering giving someone a raise when teachers are working this hard and not getting a dime.

Marhsal throws teacher to the ground

The video indicates that Hargrave indeed spoke for many teachers. In a similar critical vein, another person asked about the superintendents last evaluation, but was shut down by the board President Anthony Fontana, who claimed that questions, rather than comments, were out of order. The board then began the vote to approve Puyaus contract and to discuss the amount of the increase. In the midst of the discussion, a teacher is heard to loudly point out, This is not a democratic government then, to the general agreement of the crowd.

In the course of discussion, Hargrave was recognized again by the chairman. How are you going to give this raise? When I started ELA [English Language Arts] we had 21 kids in a class, and now we are having 29. And we havent gotten raises. You are basically taking our money, the teacher concluded.

Fontana, who voted in favor of Puyaus contract, attempted to prevent further discussion at this point, interjecting, Stop right now, this is not germane to what is on the agenda, he declared to the growing anger of the assembled teachers who shouted, Yes it is!

Whats on the agenda is the superintendents contract, he rejoined, to which the teachers replied, With a raise! I am [speaking to the point], Hargrave adds, still speaking calmly but forcefully. How do you take a raiseyou are basically taking from the teachers, from the employees under you, when you have class sizes that big? That speaks to what you just voted on, she pointed out.

Police mug shot of Deyshia Hargrave

At this point, a uniformed marshal approaches Hargrave threatening, Leave or I will forcibly remove you. The teachers around her shout, She was recognized. And as she is being forced to leave the room, many comments followIts pretty sad, This is the most disgraceful thing I have ever seen.

Shortly later, the room erupts as someone shouts, Theyre putting her in handcuffs. As we see in the video, Hargrave is screaming in horror. The camera shows the teacher laying prone in the hallway being handcuffed, and we hear the deputy stating after the fact, and incredibly, Stop resisting.

Hargrave was carted away in a police car, taken to jail and booked with remaining after being forbidden and resisting an officer. She posted bond as charges were being considered, however, Abbevilles city prosecutor, Ike Funderburk, subsequently stated she would not be formally charged or prosecuted. He attempted to distance the city from the marshal, who is a school resource officer and employed by the school board, claiming he was not acting in any official capacity on behalf of the city of Abbeville.

After Hargrave was removed, the board voted to approve Puyaus new contact and increase his pay from $110,190 to $140,188.

After the meeting Fontana defended his actions, comparing the manhandling and arrest of the school teacher and parent with the removal of an unruly student from a classroom. If a teacher has the authority to send a student, who is acting up and she cant control, out of the classroom to the principals office, under our policy we have the same rules, Fontana said. We have certain rules: three-minute speech, it has to be civilized, it cant get off target, it has to be related to the issue before the board.

The marshal, Fontana insisted, did exactly what he was hired to do...Shes the one who made the choices that got her arrested."

The ACLU of Louisiana released a statement stating, Deyshia Hargraves expulsion from a public meeting and subsequent arrest are unacceptable and raise serious constitutional concerns. The Constitution prohibits the government from punishing or retaliating against people for expressing their views, and the fact that a schoolteacher was arrested at a public meeting of the school board is especially troubling.

The fact that the video immediately went viral is an indication of how widely Hargraves comments resonate among tens of millions of workers who have seen their living standards decline and essential services starved of resources. No matter how small the official institution, its instinctive response to any challenge to inequality is the police baton and repression.
At least 13 people were confirmed dead Tuesday as a result of the first significant rainfall to reach Southern California this season. The rains were the heaviest seen in the region since last February. The multiple deaths were primarily caused by mudslides triggered as the rains fell in areas affected by massive wildfires that engulfed the region only a few weeks before.

One of these fires, the Thomas Fire in Ventura County, grew to be the largest in state history and has been burning since December 4, 2017, although fire officials are allowing the fire to burn at its remaining northeastern flank with complete containment expected by January 21, 2018.

The most severe impact from mudslides and flooding Tuesday occurred, as expected, in the area ravaged by the Thomas Fire. Rains began in the area around 2:30 a.m., causing mudflows in excess of three feet deep. More than five inches of rain poured over thousands of acres of hillsides barren of any vegetation after the fires burned through it all.

Approximately 7,000 residents were evacuated from affected hillside communities according to Santa Barbara County officials. Officials also issued a boil water notice for the entire Montecito Water District on Tuesday afternoon.

While only two individuals were killed directly by the Thomas Fire itself, it can be said that Tuesdays mudslides increased the total to ten, as the danger of mudslide activity would have been sharply reduced if not completely eliminated in the absence of the fires recent devastation. Moreover, officials estimate that the death toll will increase as rescue efforts continue. Well definitely have more [deaths], said Mike Eliason, spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, speaking to the Los Angeles Times.

In addition to the eight dead Tuesday, more than 27 were injured, with one mudslide lifting a home in the Montecito area off its foundations and sweeping a young boy more than half a mile before rescuers found him trapped under a US Highway 101 overpass.

The US Coast Guard sent rescue helicopters into the area Tuesday morning to search for residents stranded on rooftops after mudslides prevented their escapes.

Mudslides and storm runoff led to a 30-mile section of Highway 101 being shut down in both directions. Sections of Routes 33 and 150 were also shut down on Tuesday. Caltrans District 5 reported on its Twitter page that Highway 101 will remain closed until Thursday night to clear massive amounts of mud and debris.

The highway closure, however, is hindering efforts of rescuers which may lead to further deaths and injuries.

Santa Barbara and Montecito along with other surrounding communities are sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean to the south and the Santa Ynez Mountains to the north. The 101 Freeway therefore acts as a transportation bottleneck for the area especially given the fact that other smaller mountain roads are either officially or effectively closed by the mudslides.

Los Angeles County had also been ravaged by wildfires last December and mudslides accompanied the heavy rainfall there as well.

Footage showed vehicles and homes lifted and dragged by storm surges. The force unleashed by a torrent of mud and debris was so great that three fire hydrants in the Burbank area north of Los Angeles were sheared, releasing approximately 130,000 gallons of water into the debris flow. Water pressure was eventually shut off to the affected hydrants; however, nearby residents will likely be without water for another two days or more.

The surge of rain throughout Los Angeles closed sections of the 110 Freeway, and the customs area at the international terminal of Los Angeles International Airport was also flooded, with passengers diverted to adjoining terminals.

Mudslides are also a significant danger in Northern California, where fires burned through more than 245,000 acres last October. The California rainy season typically peaks in January or February, although significant rainfall can last through March and even into April.
Two large ships, the MV Sanchi, an Iranian tanker and the CF Crystal, a bulk carrier, collided on Saturday evening off the coast of China, roughly 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai. The tanker is still ablaze and all its crew members are missing, believed dead.

Chinese authorities fear that the vessel could explode or sink to the seabed, leaking large quantities of crude oil into the East China Sea and threatening widespread pollution of coastal waters.

The incident occurred at approximately 8 p.m. local time. The MV Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of fuel to South Korea, collided with the Hong-Kong registered CF Crystal, which was heading south to Guangdong with 64,000 tonnes of grain from the US. Chinese authorities initiated an investigation but no details of the collision have been released.

According to TradeWinds, a news source for global shipping, the CF Crystal suffered non-fatal damage to its bow, and proceeded with the assistance of a tug to the port of Zhoushan, 150 kilometres south of Shanghai. The 21 mariners on board, all Chinese nationals, were rescued safely.

The MV Sanchi, however, was set ablaze. Poor weather conditions, including strong winds, rain and high waves, along with thick, toxic plumes of smoke from the vessel, have severely hampered search and rescue efforts.

One unidentified body was found in the water near the tanker on Monday. But the fate of the other 32 crew members30 Iranians and 2 Bengalisis unknown. Given the intensity of the blaze and failure to find anyone in the water, it is increasingly likely they are dead.

China sent vessels to try to bring the fire under control and search for survivors, including two law enforcement craft, two rescue boats, three cleaning ships and a high-powered tugboat. South Korea provided a marine police ship and a fixed-wing aircraft for the operation, which was coordinated by the China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre.

The US Navy sent a P-8A fixed-wing aircraft from its Pacific Fleet on Sunday to search for survivors over a radius of 3,600 nautical miles. No one was found.

The Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration has cordoned off a 10-nautical-mile exclusion zone around the Sanchi, and rescue and salvage workers have been provided with protective suits, protective masks and gas testing equipment.

Preventing an environmental disaster depends on putting out the fire and keeping the MV Sanchi afloat.

The ship was carrying an ultra-light version of crude oil called condensate, which is used for jet fuel, petrol and diesel. It is more toxic and combustible than regular crude oil, as well as being almost transparent and odourless.

Authorities are hoping most of the oil will burn off and dissipate. However, should the vessel sink due to secondary explosions, the condensate could leak into the surrounding waters where it would prove difficult to contain and remove.

University of Southampton oceanographer Dr Simon Boxall told the BBC: Potentially the entire load, 136,000 tonnes, could end up in the ocean, and that would put this in the top 10 spills of all time, so it is significant.

Boxall pointed out that condensates, unlike heavier crude oil, could not be picked off the waters surface. Its not like crude [oil], which does break down under natural microbial action; this stuff actually kills the microbes that break the oil down, he warned.

If she sinks with a lot of cargo intact, then you have a time bomb on the sea bed which will slowly release condensate. There could be a long-term exclusion of fishing for many hundreds of kilometres in this area.

According to the BBC, the Sanchis load is equivalent to about 35 million gallons, making the potential leak more than three times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, which is considered one of the worlds worst environmental disasters.

The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), the MV Sanchis owner, has downplayed the risks. NITC managing director Siroos Kianersi said: [D]espite the current state of the ship and the damages to the hull, the possibility of sinking is low.

NITC reported that two of its tankers and a vessel belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) are also taking part in the search. The NITC, Irans Port Maritime Organisation (PMO) and the Panamanian Maritime Authority launched investigations into the cause of the accident, in conjunction with the Shanghai Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC).

This is the second recent collision involving an NITC vessel. In August 2016, one of its tankers struck a Swiss ship in the Singapore Strait. In this instance, both ships were damaged but there were no injuries or oil spill.
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The Bachelors Becca K.s dream date with Arie Luyendyk Jr. is straight out of a fashion fairytale. Not only did she get to play dress up in designer gowns with the help of celebrity stylist and designer Rachel Zoe, but she also got to wear 50 carats worth of Neil Lane diamonds  and even took home some of the swag!

During Monday nights episode, Luyendyk Jr.wanted to pamper the down-to-earth Minnesota-native during their one-on-one date, so he spared no expense. He took Becca to a oceanside Malibu mansion, enlisted Zoe to play Beccas fairy-styling godmother by dressing her up in gorgeous designs and he had the perfect finishing touch for her final look  lots of bling.

It was suppose to be a total surprise, the franchises go-to jeweler Neil Lane tells PEOPLE. Arie wanted to spoil her with the dresses and jewels for their special night. He was so excited to present the jewels to her. He couldnt wait to open the box and show her. She looked gorgeous. It was a Cinderella moment.

Luyendyk Jr. gave his date three different pieces, a diamond necklace, two bracelets and earrings  all designed by Lane himself and totaling 50 carats and worth over $300,000.

The necklace is glittering with over 300 round and baguette-cut diamonds which were each set in its own platinum setting as a way to give the necklace a fluid look where the light would sparkle on them continuously, Lane explains.

The two straight line bracelets are set with about 100 rounds diamonds and the pear-shaped earrings were designed with a faceted pink tourmalines at the center for an accent of color and a feminine shape. The best part? Becca K. got to keep the earrings.

The Bachelor: Arie Luyendyk Jr. Will Be Season 22s Leading Man

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With the help of Zoe, Becca chose a gold off-the-shoulder gold metallic dress (by Zoes own collection) that you can pick up at saksfifthavenue.com for $425.

It was a lot of fun, Zoe told PEOPLE about styling Becca. Arie was very sweet and was a perfect gentleman. I was surprised to see how interested he was in helping Becca pick an outfit, and he was very patient.  She tried a lot on!
Golden Globes: What Tommy Wiseau Wanted to Say on Stage During James Francos Speech

James Franco stopped Tommy Wiseau from having his moment on stage at the 2018 Golden Globes, which left everyone asking: What epic wisdom was he going to share with the world?

Wiseau told the Los Angeles Times that his message would have been simple: If a lot of people loved each other, the world would be a better place to live.

Lastly, he would have wanted to say, See The Room, have fun, and enjoy life. The American Dream is alive, and its real.

Also Read: James Franco Invites Tommy Wiseau Onstage, Won't Let Him Talk

The first person James Franco thanked when he got to the microphone to give his acceptance speech for winning Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical was Wiseau, who made and starred in the infamously bad film The Room, and whom Franco portrayed in The Disaster Artist.

Franco spoke about Wiseaus inspiration: I wont wait for Hollywood, Ill make my own movie, Franco quoted Wiseau as saying 19 years ago.

Also Read: Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room' Finally Gets a Wide Theatrical Release

Francos speech ended up getting cut off before he could hand the microphone over to Wiseau  but Twitter loved the fact that The Room star tried to grab it from Franco. Some were disappointed that Wiseau didnt get a chance to speak.

Wiseau ended up tweeting his statement.

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Why the HFPA President Wore Red to #WhyWeWearBlack Golden Globes
Multiple women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against James Franco in the wake of the actors win at Sunday nights Golden Globes ceremony.

Franco wore one of the Times Up pins donned by many of Hollywoods most prominent names at the Globes as a sign of solidarity against the culture of silence around sexual assault in the industry. However, Francos decision to join in the statement was met with derision by a number of women on Twitter. Actress Violet Paley tweeted during the awards show to remark on what she saw to be the irony of Franco joining in with the movement:

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Paley later clarified that she was an adult at the time of the incident in the car.

Another actress, Sarah Tither-Caplan, called Franco out for his suspect directorial practices on he sets of two of his films. Though she did not specify which movies she was referring to, she does have a role in Francos forthcoming film, The Long Home, which is in post-production.

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Breakfast Club star Ally Sheedy also voiced her disapproval of Francos presence at the Globes. In a set of now-deleted tweets, the actress took a vague shot at Franco, with whom she worked during a 2014 staging of the play The Long Shrift. James Franco just won. Please never ask me why I left the film/TV business, she said. She also said, Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much, and appeared to also call out Christian Slater in a tweet that read, OK wait. Bye. Christian Slater and James Franco at a table on @goldenglobes. #MeToo.

Franco has previously been confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct. In 2014, news emerged that Franco had attempted to proposition a 17-year-old woman on Instagram. Franco admitted to the encounter at the time, saying, In my position, not only do I have to go through the embarrassing rituals of meeting someone, but sometimes it gets published for the world. The incident occurred in New York, where the age of consent is 17.

The actor has yet to comment on the new allegations, as of this articles publication.
Unites States Marshals have captured a Michigan couple accused of torturing and murdering the womans young daughter in Georgia, PEOPLE confirms.

Candice Renea Diaz, 24, and her boyfriend, Brad Edward Fields, 28, were arrested near Lake Park, Georgia, Tuesday after Michigan police announced they were wanted in the death of Diazs 4-year-old daughter.

The child was found severely injured on New Years Day but died later in the hospital, according to the Sumpter Township Police Department. She had severe burns to her extremities and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

On Jan. 3, the Washtenaw County Medical Examiners Office ruled the childs death a homicide, and the medical examiner allegedly found evidence of multiple traumatic injuries and signs of Battered Child Syndrome  meaning the girl had multiple injuries to her body that were sustained at different times.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

From left: Candice Renea Diaz and Brad Edward Fields

On Tuesday, the Wayne County Prosecutors Office announced Diaz and Fields were wanted on charges of murder, second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse and torture.

Fields was also charged as a habitual offender.

 For more compelling true crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard.

It is unclear at this time whether Diaz or Fields has an attorney.
Two months ahead of the series revival on ABC, the cast and producers of Roseanne appeared at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Monday and, much like titular star Roseanne Barr, it was weird and amusing and confounding and frustrating. Here are some quick highlights:

* Barr maintained that Dan did not actually die in the series finale, despite the fact that he, um, did. I think that you should rewatch it, she challenged me, before adding inexplicably, A lot of the reason that I did that was to add another layer of freshness for people who are going to watch the series over and over. Huh?

* Roseanne  and Roseanne Barrs  support of President Trump, which is touched upon in the premiere, led to several tense moments. Barr, as if warned not to address her polarizing political beliefs during the presser, initially deferred to exec producer Bruce Helford when POTUS was brought up. We had a lot of discussions in the very beginning about all of our beliefs, he said. What we really wanted to do was find a way for this particular familyto get that debate going in a very honest way, a very real way. Theres no agenda on anybodys part.  We wanted to get out there and do something that we felt would be valuable toward healing things. Added star/EP Sara Gilbert: We did have a wonderful opportunity to talk about this in the context of a family. People feel like they cant disagree and still love each other and talk to each other.

* When a reporter pressed Barr about why Trumps xenophobia wasnt a red line for the character, who in the original series run was a proponent of acceptance and inclusion, the comedienne harrumphed, Thats your opinion. He says a lot of crazy st. Im not a Trump apologist. There are a lot of things he has said and done I dont agree with, just like there a lot of things Hilary Clinton has said and done that you dont agree with. Nobody is brainwashed into agreeing with 100 percent of what anybody says, let alone a politician or a candidate.

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* The series will acknowledge the tragic death of cast member Glenn Quinn, who played the older brother of Johnny Galeckis David, several times over the course of the nine-episode run. We all missed Glenn so much because he was such a great part of the show, said Barr, and it wasnt something we wanted to gloss over.

* Regarding the absence of Roseannes son Jerry Garcia Conner, Barr said, We do mention [him] in the first [episode]. Hes on a fishing boat in Alaska We had so many stories to tell over the arc of these nine episodes.

Roseanne will return with a special one-hour premiere on Tuesday, March 27 at 8/7c (watch teaser). It will then continue airing Tuesdays at 8, with current time slot occupant The Middle shifting to 8:30 pm as of April 3.

Launch Gallery: <i>Roseanne</i> Season 10 Photos

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One owner has started a Facebook page, Justice for Scruffles, in an effort to get more information from PetSmart about her dog's death

Danielle DiNapoli of Lambertville, New Jersey, started off 2018 in despair.

According to Patch.com, DiNapoli claims that her beloved dog Scruffles died during a grooming appointment at a PetSmart store in Flemington. DiNapoli had used the store before for grooming sessions, so she wasnt concerned when she dropped off her 8-year-old bulldog on Dec. 29 at 9:45 in the morning.

Around 10:30 am, Scruffles owner received a phone call from the store letting her know that the dog had been taken to a local veterinary hospital due to a medical emergency. DiNapoli told Patch.com that even though she raced to the vet, the bulldog was dead when she arrived. She was told by the vet that Scruffles was dead on arrival at the hospital and that CPR attempts by the staff were unsuccessful.

DiNapoli claims that no PetSmart employees were at the veterinary hospital when she arrived and that she has not been able to contact the groomer that cared for Scruffles while PetSmart conducts an investigation into the incident. She and her husband also say that attempts to contact the corporation have been equally frustrating.

Erin Gray, PetSmart senior corporate communications manager, said in a statement that PetSmart is conducting a thorough investigation into the incident and has found, thus far, that the groomers caring for Scruffles followed all policies and procedures and that the company is now waiting on the dogs necropsy. Until the information comes through, Gray told Patch.com, our thoughts and sympathies remain with Scruffles family, and we continue to be in contact with them during this difficult time.

DiNapoli believes this isnt true and has started the Justice for Scruffles Facebook page to combat the lack of information she feels she is getting from PetSmart. On the page, other local dog owners have started to share their experience with the same store, including Tara Fiet, who claims that her dog died on Christmas eve, two days after his visit to the Flemington PetSmart for a grooming session.

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Ranger came home and was very lethargic but I (stupidly) made the assumption that he was tired from the holiday excitement and his grooming. Ranger died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday night. He had no previous health issues and had just been to the vet 2 months earlier, Fiet wrote on the page about her own experience.

In response, PetSmart said that Ranger was fine upon leaving his appointment.

They dont have their facts straight, DiNapoli said about the entire situation. The story keeps changing. We have no closure because PetSmart isnt allowing us to have closure.

She says she is still waiting to hear from PetSmart about what occurred prior to Scruffles death at the store and to see a written report.
Vox Science and Health Editor Eliza Barclay on Saturday floated the idea that President Donald Trump should undergo a medical evaluation of his mental capacity by force if necessary.

There is a growing call from a group of psychiatrists  the best medical experts at interpreting aberrant human behavior  for exactly this: an emergency evaluation of the presidents mental capacity, by force if necessary, she wrote

A Vox spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for clarification about what this force might look like.

Also Read:Vox Co-Founder Compares Trump-Bannon Fight to Nazi Purge

Wall Street Journal Editorial Features Editor James Taranto tweeted that it smelled like an open call for a coup detat.

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The broader piece by Barclay focused on one psychiatrist, Bandy Lee, an assistant professor in forensic psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine.

Last October, Lee published a whole book, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, which called the presidents mental fitness into question.

Lee, who has taken heat from other psychiatric professionals for speculating about Trumps mental health without having done her own examination, offered Barclay a bit of explanation about what forcing Trump into an evaluation might look like.

Also Read:Vox Media CEO: There Are 'Multiple Investigations' After Editorial Director Fired for Misconduct

Those who most require an evaluation are the least likely to submit to one, she said in the piece. That is the reason why in all 50 states we have not only the legal authority, but often the legal obligation, to contain someone even against their will when its an emergency.

This is what we have been calling for with the president based on basic medical standards of care, she added, saying that she and like-minded psychiatrists have so far refrained from taking any active legal steps to avoid the appearance of a coup or fomenting an insurrection.

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Talk of the presidents mental health  always a prominent topic among anti-Trump liberals  received a boost of new currency with the publication of Michael Wolffs explosive new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

Despite its numerous factual errors, Wolffs book quotes multiple White House officials questioning Trumps mental fitness.

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A young woman from Harrisburg, Penn., brought a family painting to Antiques Roadshow and left utterly shocked and much, much richer.

The painting, which she received after her grandmother died, Always hung right above her bed, the owner told the evaluator. She continued, saying, Her dad, Im guessing, wouldve given it to her after she spent the summer at a dude ranch when she was 19, in, like, the 40s. She went on to say that, originally, she wasnt sure if the piece of art was a print or a painting. However, when she got it, there was a mosquito underneath the glass. I took it out to the front yard and I opened it up to get the mosquito out, so I could take it with me to college, and then it kind of scared me a little. I closed it back up immediately because it looked like it might be real. Thank god for that mosquito, said no one ever. Until now.

The evaluator asked the woman if she had ever had the painting appraised before, to which the owner responded, In 1998, it was appraised as a print at $200 and, in 2004, it was appraised at $250.

Fortunately for this young owner, it was a real painting by a French artist named Henry Francois Farny, who became friends with the Seneca and Sioux Indians while living in Pennsylvania in the late 1800s. The evaluator explained that Farny represented Native Americans in a very kind of peaceful, tranquil way, which was visible in the painting. And when it was revealed to the owner that her painting was worth $200,000 to $300,000, she, understandably, freaked out. In fact, the young woman was brought to tears and was at a loss for words.

Antiques Roadshow airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on PBS.

Watch this shocked The Wall contestant let $1.3 million slip through his fingers:



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Black artists have stepped up to create new versions of a racist H&M ad after the brand drew criticism for a photo on its website.

The original photo showed a black boy modeling a green hoodie reading coolest monkey in the jungle. The image drew ire on social media, with celebrities and activists denouncing the brand.

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The Weeknd announced he was ending of his partnership with the brand over the ad. Plies stepped in with a reaction video labeling H&M as shorthand for Horrible Merchandise.

The Swedish company apologized for the ad, saying in a statement to NBC News that it is deeply sorry that the picture was taken.

Amid the backlash, black celebrities and creatives have stepped up to do what they do best: turn a horrible situation into a reason to celebrate. They took to photoshop, sketchbooks and more to reimagine the boy in the photo with crowns and pure black boy joy.

LeBron James posted a new version of the photo with a caption saying, in part, I see a Young King!! The ruler of the world, an untouchable Force that can never be denied! And Diddy joined in, posting on Twitter a reimagined image that in his words put some respect on it.

See more of our favorite remixes of the H&M image below:

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Meghan Markle deleted all of her social media accounts today

With her wedding to Prince Harry just around the corner, Meghan Markle is about to become a member of the British royal family. And today, January 9th, Markle deleted her social media accounts, possibly to prepare for her new life across the pond.

Markle deactivated her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Her dogs and trips around the world were among her favorite subjects to post about. She had almost 2 million followers on Instagram, and her Facebook page had nearly 800,000 likes.

Ms. Markle is grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years, however, as she has not used them in some time, she has made the decision to close them, the Kensington Palace told Us Weekly.

Markles decision to go off-grid isnt entirely surprising. None of the members of the royal family use social media, although official accounts exist for Kensington Palace, Clarence House, and the royal family.

Harry and Markle visited the London neighborhood of Brixton on January 9th in their second official event as an engaged couple, and the removal of Markles accounts was not far behind.

Now, an error message appears when you try to visit Markles Instagram account or any of her former social media pages.

Meghan Markle Instagram

Harry proposed to Markle in November, and the two will get married on May 19th. Their first date was in July 2016. And based on how happy the couple looks in their engagement photos, we can see why Markle might be willing to give up social media for Harry.

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While well miss seeing Markles posts, we understand her decision. And we can still get updates on her and Harrys new life together via the royal familys official accounts. We wish Markle and Harry a lifetime of happiness.
Michelle Williams and boyfriend Andrew Youmans are apparently heating up! Shortly after news of the pairs coupling made headlines, photos surfaced of the pair spending New Years Eve together in the Bahamas.

Prior to Sundays Golden Globe Awards, Williams, 37, was on vacation with Youmans and her 12-year-old daughter, Matilda Ledger. Matilda is the All the Money in the World stars only child with the late actor, Heath Ledger.

The four-time Oscar nominated actress looked happy and relaxed, lounging on the beach with her beau in a red one-piece swimsuit, white sunglasses, and floppy hat. So, who is the actresss new flame?

Youmans is an entrepreneur, investor, and financial consultant in New York. According to his profile for the Handel Group, he graduated Dartmouth College and received his MBA from Harvard.

Williams and Youmans were first spotted together on the streets of Rome in July 2017 as the actress filmed All the Money in the World. That film is now at the forefront of Hollywoods gender pay gap debate as outrage mounts regarding the actresss salary.

While it was first reported in November that Williams was receiving a fraction of Mark Wahlbergs payday for reshoots to replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer, outrage erupted online on Tuesday when the exact numbers were reported.

Per USA Today, Wahlberg received $1.5 million for around 10 days of work while Michelle Williams was paid an $80 per diem totaling less than $1,000. At the time, director Ridley Scott said he, Williams, and the other actors were essentially doing the work for free. The outlet alleges that Williams wasnt told of Wahlbergs hefty fee. Both stars are represented by WME.

Williamss BFF, Busy Philipps, was one of the many actors to tweet their disgust after learning the news.

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The actress has yet to comment on the report, but at least she got a relaxing vacation ahead of the drama.

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Hours after quietly ringing in her 36th birthday, a glowing Kate Middleton was back to her royal duties on Wednesday, promoting mental health awareness at a West London school.

Keeping her burgeoning baby bump under wraps in a royal blue Hobbs peacoat over a Seraphine maternity dress, the Duchess of Cambridge began her first official royal engagement of the year with her best sartorial foot forward. Middleton complemented the elegant pieces with a pair of suede Jimmy Choo pumps and her signature glossy waves.

In between meeting with young students at the Reach Academy Feitham and watching the kids paint and sing, the pregnant princess attended a private briefing where she learned about the mental health work at the West London academy in conjunction with her charity Place2Be.

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Bravo, Kate!
In The Know

Join In The Know Shopping Editor Julia Webb as she shops some affordable back to office styles! Shop with Julia here:https://yhoo.it/2Py0b96 Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the products and deals we love. If you love them too and decide to purchase through the links below, we may receive a commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change.
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Tom Hanks played double duty at the Golden Globes on Sunday. During an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, which airs Tuesday, Oscar royalty and The Post stars Meryl Streep and Hanks recounted their Golden Globes night. For Streep, the night was all about the Times Up movement, for which she wore black and took activist guest Ai-jen Poo, executive director of the National Workers Alliance, as her plus-one. Hanks, like many other men that night, wore a black and white Times Up button to the event, and played the part of attendee just happy to be nominated (Gary Oldman was the winner in his category.) Hanks sat at Steven Spielbergs table with Streep, applauded at all the right jokes, went along with Seth Meyerss casual suggestion of a Winfrey-Hanks ticket, and . . . delivered martinis?

I was told to go get martinis, Hanks told DeGeneres of his most important Golden Globe duty, which was, apparently, a dicey task. But it was like I was one of those truckers on mountain roads with a load full of nitroglycerin. I had never been more nervous carrying something through a crowd.

Hanks brought at least one martini to his director, Spielberg, but mentioned the fact that his co-star Streep could not receive any of the alcohol he delivered because she is on antibiotics, getting over the flu.

He brought four of them, and he brought them under my nose, Streep said, clearly tortured by having to be sober on one of the most famously liquored-up nights in Hollywood. That didn't stop her, though, from flashing Frances McDormand a thumbs-up when the best-actress winner suggested in her speech that she treat all the women in her category to tequila at the bar later.

Though she might have had a tequila and champagne-less night, Streep came to her Ellen show interview with a post-Golden Globes glow, and two embroidered Lingua Franca Times Up sweaters for both the talk-show host and Hanks (yes, the company already has an Oprah for Pres sweater for sale). Streep, already on team Oprah 2020, was still feeling the afterglow of Oprah Winfreys Cecil B. DeMille award speech, which she called a barn burner.

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Where do I send the check? Streep asked. Hanks joked that at the after-party, Winfrey parted the pools water, like Moses reborn.

Jokes aside, Streep is seriously all in for President Winfrey: But you realize how we thirst for that. We really want that kind of elevated, aspirational, can-do, optimistic attachment to the principles of our country.

This story originally appeared on Vanity Fair.

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TEHRAN, Iran  An Iranian reformist lawmaker said Tuesday that some 3,700 people were arrested in the days of protests and unrest that roiled Iran over the past two weeks, offering a far higher number than authorities previously released.

The protests, which vented anger at high unemployment and official corruption, were the largest seen in Iran since the disputed 2009 presidential election, and some demonstrators called for the overthrow of the government. At least 21 people have been killed in the unrest surrounding the protests.

The official news website of the Iranian parliament, icana.ir, quoted Mahmoud Sadeghi of Tehran as saying that different security and intelligence forces detained the protesters, making it difficult to know the exact number of detainees. He did not elaborate, nor did he say where he got the figure.

Previously, authorities have said hundreds were arrested in Tehran alone, not offering a total figure for arrests as the demonstrations spread into the Iranian countryside, including small towns.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has said about 42,000 people at most took part in the anti-government protests. Sadeghis figure of arrested offered Tuesday would mean nearly 10 percent of those who demonstrated were arrested.

On Sunday, Tehran prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said that 70 of the detained protesters have been released on bail during the last 48 hours. He added that there would be more releases from detention, except for the main instigators of the riots who will be dealt with seriously.

Also Sunday, Iranian lawmakers held a closed session in which senior security officials briefed them on the protests and the conditions of the detainees, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian authorities have said that the protests are waning. Thats in part due to the government blocking access to the popular messaging app Telegram, which demonstrators used to share images of the rallies and organize. Authorities also have deployed additional police and members of the Basij, a volunteer organization affiliated with Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

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It remains difficult for journalists and outsiders to piece together whats happening beyond Tehran, as Iran is a vast country of 80 million and travel there is restricted.

In recent days, government supporters have held several mass rallies across the country to protest the unrest.

The United States and Israel have expressed support for the protests, which began on Dec. 28 in Irans second largest city, Mashhad, but deny Iranian government allegations that they fomented them.

U.S. officials and analysts studying Iran say believe conservative opponents of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate within Irans clerically overseen government, started the demonstrations in Mashhad, but quickly lost control of them.

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday also blamed Americans and Zionists for the protests, saying money supporting them came from one of the filthy-rich governments of the Persian Gulf.

Khamenei, however, also stressed that those with legitimate complaints about Irans economy should be heard.

We should differentiate between peoples righteous and honest demands on one side and barbaric and disruptive moves by another group, he said. These should be distinguished from each other.
After a one-year hiatus, Tyra Banks returned to Americas Next Top Model, and this year, theyre doing things differently than in the past. This will be the first season in the shows long history where there will not be an age limit, which opened the door for Erin, a 42-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 3.

When Erin introduced herself she said, My name is Erin. Im this bold, vibrant 42-year-old.

Tyra said shed been frozen in time. But there was one thing about Erin that Tyra didnt like: a wig. Tyra made Erin take off the wig and give it to her. Tyra then put the wig on herself before laying into the modeling industry.

You know what trips me out about age in the modeling industry is I dont know why people are so caught up with a number. To me its how you look, Tyra said.

Of course, ANTM was once caught up with a number, and that number was 27. Until this season, 27 years old was the age limit for the show.

After a fashion show and a night spent at the Model House, it was time for the final reveal. Fourteen girls were moving on, and sadly Erin wasnt one of them  at first. Luckily for Erin, Tyra is quite the prankster. A tearful Erin was all packed up and ready to go when Tyra surprised her at the door and let her know she made it to the next stage of the competition.

Americas Next Top Model airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on VH1.

Watch Ashley Graham share her #MeToo story about being sexually assaulted when she was 17:

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With actors wearing all-black and Times Up pins as a protest against the sexual misconduct and gender inequity in Hollywood and beyond, the Golden Globes red carpet was already one to remember.

But some celebrities took it one step further by highlighting the wage gap, one of the many issues the Times Up initiative aims to take on.

Last month, former E! News anchor Catt Sadler said that she left her job after finding out that she was making significantly less than her male co-host, Jason Kennedy; because E! News handles red carpet coverage, actors like Debra Messing and Eva Longoria used interview time as a way to make a point about giving equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender.

We want intersectional gender parity, we want equal pay, Messing said. I was so shocked to hear that E! doesnt believing in paying their female co-hosts the same as their male co-hosts. I miss Catt Sadler. So we stand with her.

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Sadler also received support online from actors like Brie Larson and Julianne Moore, who thanked her for speaking out about the pay inequality.

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Heres how Sadler responded:
Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa's ruling ANC party met behind closed doors Wednesday as pressure grew on President Jacob Zuma to step down ahead of elections next year when the party risks losing power.

Zuma was replaced as party leader by his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa in December, and analysts predict Ramaphosa faces an uphill task to recover public support ahead of the 2019 vote.

Zuma's future was not on the official agenda at the ANC national executive committee meeting in the port city of East London, but the party is engulfed in a struggle over when he should leave office.

Many ANC supporters want Zuma to resign and Ramaphosa to become president immediately to bring an end to a rule tainted by graft scandals and economic decline.

"We have foreseen Zuma's political downfall on many occasions and he has survived against all odds, however this is time the net is closing," Susan Booysen, politics professor at Wits University in Johannesburg, told AFP.

Zuma's closest allies still hold senior positions in the party, and he could in theory remain president until the 2019 elections that mark the end of his second and final term in office.

But he faces multiple court cases and the threat of criminal prosecution over 783 allegedly corrupt payments he received over an arms deal before he came to power.

- Zuma's power fades away -

His chosen successor -- his former wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma -- also lost out to Ramaphosa in the closely-fought race to be party leader.

"Power is turning against Zuma. On previous occasions, he could count on the support of the ANC," said Booysen. "He can no longer do that."

Zuma on Tuesday announced a probe into corruption at the highest levels of the state, in apparent attempt to buy time.

In 2016 a damning report questioned Zuma's dealings with the wealthy Gupta family, who allegedly were granted favourable government contracts and even allowed to chose ministers.

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With Zuma still the president but Ramaphosa leading the ANC, the two factions within the party could be set for a damaging clash in the coming weeks.

"There are no two centres of power. There is only one centre, and that is the African National Congress," party secretary-general Ace Magashule told reporters outside Wednesday's meeting, denying any friction.

Zuma could leave office either by resigning, through losing a motion of no-confidence in parliament or impeachment proceedings.

He could also be recalled by the ANC, forcing him to step down.

Whoever is president will deliver the state of the nation address on February 8 -- providing one deadline for political manoeuvering.
PARIS (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus said it planned to boost the number of planes it makes in China under a deal signed in Beijing on Tuesday to expand co-operation at its Tianjin assembly plant.

The provisional deal was signed during a state visit to China by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Airbus said the latest Tianjin agreement would result in production increasing to six aircraft per month - up from four at present - at the local final assembly line for the Airbus A320-family of jets.

The industrial ramp-up will target five aircraft by early 2019 and six per month by early 2020, it added in a statement.

A Beijing signing ceremony did not, however, include any deal for Airbus to sell aircraft to China, despite earlier expectations of a contract timed to coincide with Macron's visit.

Industry sources had said Airbus was negotiating to sell around 100 planes to China's state purchasing agency, though a deal had not been flagged as part of the diplomatic preparations for the visit.

New orders for Airbus jetliners have historically featured during such state visits by French leaders.

China regularly splits large orders between Europe and the United States to cope with its fast-expanding airline traffic, but the momentum has recently been with rival Boeing, which sold 300 jets during a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump last year.

China, however, placed a large order for 140 Airbus jets during a visit to Germany by President Xi Jinping last July.

Some sources say Chinese officials are disappointed about a deal last year for Airbus to buy the CSeries jet project from Bombardier, derailing talks with Chinese investors after Ottawa intervened to keep the struggling programme in Western hands.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Writing by Tim Hepher; Editing by Richard Lough and Mark Potter)
By Marion Giraldo

LIMA (Reuters) - Archaeologists have discovered two chambers used for political ceremonies on Peru's desert coast more than 1,500 years ago that had previously only been glimpsed in the illustrations of the ancient Moche people, an archaeologist said on Monday.

The finding, at the ruins of the Limon archaeological complex in the region of Lambayeque, will provide key clues to understanding the Moche's political life before the desert society's sudden decline, said lead archaeologist Walter Alva.

One room features two thrones where a powerful leader and guest likely enjoyed elaborate feasts, said Alva. The other has a circular podium, possibly for making announcements.

The events that took place in the chambers were so important they had been featured repeatedly on Moche ceramics, Alva said.

"These scenes had been depicted in the iconography of the Moche world but we had never been lucky enough to physically find where they took place," he said. "It's a very important finding."

The Moche, one of several complex societies that thrived in Peru long before the rise of the Incan empire, ruled over a vast swath of coastal desert from 100 to 700 AD, thanks to irrigation canals they built to grow crops in desert valleys. The Moche are known for their elaborate gold work and sculptures featuring a wide variety of sexual acts.

Many researchers believe a disastrous climate event, such as the El Nino phenomena that still triggers severe flooding in northern Peru, probably led to the collapse of Moche society.

Alva said construction on part of the recently unearthed chambers appears to have halted abruptly in the 5th century. The rooms were believed to have been used only by the elite, and paintings of fish and sea lions can be seen on the walls.

Women are believed to have held political and religious positions in Moche society. Last year, Peruvian officials and archaeologists unveiled a replica of the face of an ancient female Moche ruler, the Lady of Cao, whose elaborately tattooed body had been buried with weapons and gold objects.

(Reporting By Marion Giraldo; Writing By Mitra Taj; Editing by Paul Tait)
Thailands junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has come up with a novel way to deflect journalists questions: just pass them off to a cardboard likeness.

At a press conference in Bangkok, Prayuth, who serves as prime minister of the countrys military-run government, briefly addressed a crowd of reporters and families, according to the BBC. It appeared as if he was going to finish the event by taking questions, but Prayuth had something else in mind; supervising the installation of a life-sized cardboard cut-out of himself.

If you want to ask any questions on politics or conflict, ask this guy, the Prime Minister said before walking away. Social media users were quick to respond.

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Since Thailands military seized power in a 2014 coup, Prayuth has had an openly antagonistic relationship with the media. In 2015, he boasted that he would execute journalists who did not report the truth about his government, which has often used draconian defamation laws to prosecute critics and activists. Under his tenure the country has restricted media freedoms, forced television networks off the air and dropped from 129 to 140 out of the 180 nations ranked by Reporters Without Borders annual Press Freedom Index.
Michael Cohen, the personal lawyer for President Donald Trump, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Buzzfeed News over its publishing of a dossier containing explosive allegations about Trumps links to Russia, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

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While much of it remains unverified, the dossier has become a key part of the investigation by both Special Counsel Robert Mueller and various Congressional committees into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Cohen is featured prominently in the dossier, named as an individual who helped facilitate communication between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. Specifically, the dossier claimed that Cohen traveled to Prague in August 2016 to meet with Russian officials.

Cohen has strongly refuted the allegations.

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We have not uncovered a single document that would in any way corroborate the Dossier's allegations regarding Mr. Cohen, nor do we believe that any such document exists, Cohens lawyer, Stephen Ryan, wrote in a letter to the House Intelligence Committee last August.

We believe the allegations are so profoundly wrong about Mr. Cohen that the dossier is libelous and any repetition of its allegations by the Committee should be rejected, the letter continued.

Michael Cohen

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

While refuting the allegations made against him, Cohen did not address the wider claims made against his client, the president.

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The findings of the dossier, which was compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele on behalf of Washington-based firm Fusion GPS, was passed onto the FBI and to then President Barack Obama and Trump shortly before his inauguration. Buzzfeed News obtained a copy of the dossier and opted to publish it in January 2016.

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Writing in The New York Times Tuesday, Buzzfeed editor Ben Smith strongly defended the online publication's decision to publish the dossier.

"A year of government inquiries and blockbuster journalism has made clear that the dossier is unquestionably real news," Smith wrote. "Thats a fact that has been tacitly acknowledged even by those who opposed our decision to publish."

The general conclusion of the dossier, that Russia worked to try and elect Trump has been corroborated by U.S. intelligence agencies. However, other claims have been proven unfounded or remain unverified, including the allegation that Trump paid Russian prostitutes to urinate on a Moscow hotel room bed once stayed in by Barack and Michele Obama.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) (AFP) - Equatorial Guinea said Wednesday that an attempted coup against its government was organised in France, amplifying charges that an exile living in Europe was behind the plot.

"The plan was organised on French territory," Foreign Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy told a press conference.

"It has nothing to do with the French government," he said, adding, "we will cooperate with France as soon as we have more information".

Mokuy also said that in the light of the purported coup, his country was suspending participation in a new scheme to allow visa-free travel among six countries in central and western Africa.

Equatorial Guinea is a small, oil-rich state that has been ruled since 1979 by Teodoro Obiang, Africa's longest-serving president.

Critics accuse him of brutal repression of opponents, electoral fraud and corruption. He has faced a string of coup attempts during nearly four decades in power.

The government says that foreign mercenaries mounted an attempted putsch on December 24 but it was thwarted.

Mokuy said 27 "terrorists or mercenaries" had been arrested in a manhunt after the attempted coup, but "around 150" others were still being sought near the border with Cameroon.

Cameroon security sources said that the "mercenaries" arrested by Cameroonian police were Chadian, Sudanese and Centrafricans, as citizens of the Central African Republic are called.

On Tuesday, CAR President Faustin-Archange Touader visited capital Malabo to offer his support to the government.

"We need to know if the Centrafricans that were arrested have real of fake Centrafrican passports," the presidency in Bangui told AFP.

Last Friday, Chadian Foreign Minister Mahamat Zen Cherif said after a visit to Malabo that the author of the coup bid "is believed to be an Equatorial Guinean national living in Europe".

- Visa-free movement suspended -

Foreign Minister Mokuy also said Equatorial Guinea was suspending its part in an agreement with five other francophone states -- Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Gabon and the Republic of Congo -- to allow visa-free movement of their citizens among member nations.

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The bloc, called the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), began negotiations on the scheme more than 15 years ago.

The process was hampered by fears by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon -- oil-rich and relatively sparsely populated -- that they would be swamped by an influx of job-seekers from poorer members.

Negotiations culminated in an announcement at a summit in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena on November 1 that the pact had finally been ratified by all six states.

Mokuy, in Wednesday's press conference, said "free circulation doesn't mean that you can move around as you want".

"You have to have a biometric passport, a CEMAC passport, a secure passport. So long as these conditions are not met, and given what has happened in Equatorial Guinea, we say that in order to travel to our country (people have) to go to our embassies" for a visa, he said.

- Tense relations with France -

Obiang, 75, took power in a coup on August 3, 1979, ousting his own uncle, who was shot by firing squad.

He was re-elected to a fifth seven-year term in 2016, gaining more than 90 percent of the vote according to the official results.

Legislative elections on November 12 last year saw the ruling party win 92 percent of the vote, a result condemned as fraudulent by dissidents.

The small west African nation is one of sub-Sahara's biggest oil producers but a large proportion of its 1.2 million population still lives in poverty.

Relations with France are tense after Obiang's son, Teodorin Obiang, 48, was given a three-year suspended prison sentence by a French court in October for embezzling public funds, money-laundering and corruption and abuse of trust.

The younger Obiang is estimated to have used France to launder 150 million euros ($180 million) in misappropriated funds.

He was also given a suspended fine of 30 million euros. His lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict.
Craig Burns fiance Luke Sullivan

What a way to ring in the new year! A number of same-sex couples in Australia said I do just after midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 9, in celebration of the nations overwhelming Parliamentary vote in December to legalize gay marriage.

In Australia, it is required of all couples hoping to marry to provide one months notice of their intention to marry, making Tuesday the first day that couples could officially exchange vows at the altar.

(The notice period was waived for some couples who have married in recent weeks, on account of exceptional circumstances including a partners terminal illness and overseas-based relatives booking flights to Australia before the official start date for the new law was known.)

Its another way to show your love and appreciation of your partner in front of the people in your life, 29-year-old sprinter Craig Burns told The Associated Press of his wedding to partner Luke Sullivan.

Australian Commonwealth Games sprinter Craig Burns (R) and fiance Luke Sullivan (L) share a moment after signing their marriage certificate after exchanging vows at their marriage ceremony at Summergrove Estate, New South Wales on January 9, 2018.

Australia officially become the 26th country to legalise same-sex marriage after the law was passed on December 9, 2017, with the overwhelming backing of the Federal Parliament. / AFP PHOTO / Patrick HAMILTON (Photo credit should read PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP/Getty Images)

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA  JANUARY 09: Craig Burns and Luke Sullivan celebrate during their wedding ceremony at Summergrove Estate on January 9, 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia. Couples across Australia wed in midnight ceremonies as the Australian Marriage Act legalising same-sex marriage took effect on January 9. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Another couple, Kelly and Sam Pilgrim-Byrne, legalized their 24-year lesbian relationship in a midnight ceremony on the steps of the Western Australia state legislature.

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It was never anything we considered because it was never anything that was available to us, so we never had those dreams about what would our wedding look like, what would we do, who would we invite, where would it bewe never, ever considered it because we never thought that it would happen in our lifetime, Kelly told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA  JANUARY 09: Lisa Goldsmith and Gillian Brady during the wedding ceremony at The Court on January 9, 2018 in Perth, Australia. Couples across Australia wed in midnight ceremonies as the Australian Marriage Act legalising same-sex marriage took effect on January 9. (Photo by Matt Jelonek/Getty Images)

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA  DECEMBER 16: Same-sex couple Amy Laker and Lauren Price say their vows on December 16, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. Lauren and Amy are the first gay couple to be legally married in Australia, after same-sex marriage was legalised on 9 December 2017. The women  who have been engaged for two years  had originally planned on having a civil union, but were granted an exemption to the 30-day notice period to make their union legally binding under the new laws. (Photo by Caroline McCredie/Getty Images)

In November, the government put out a nationwide postal survey asking Australians if they wanted marriage equality; an overwhelming 62 percent majority voted that they did. Australia and Ireland are the only two countries that have put the question of gay marriage up for a popular vote.

For Lainey Carmichael, 51, and Roz Kitschke, 46, getting married at their home in the town of Franklin in the island state of Tasmania before 65 of their closest loved ones made the whole ordeal worth it.

Wedding guest and longtime marriage equality advocate Rodney Croome told NBC News, This mornings wedding marked the start of a new chapter in the lives of the two brides but also a new chapter in the life of the nation.

See the sweet photos above.

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The bitcoin speculation frenzy reached a fever pitch at the end of 2017, and along with interest in the cryptocurrency, people are learning more about the technology behind itand the electricity required to keep it up.

Bitcoin mining guzzles energy, Wired declares. The process uses more electricity than Iceland, Digital Trends says. It consumes more electricity a year than Ireland, warns The Guardian.

Forget for a moment the sudden mass alarm over how much electricity bitcoin mining usesfor a layperson, the very fact that it requires electricity to mine a digital asset may be confusing. Heres how it all works.

How does bitcoin mining work?

Bitcoin runs on blockchain, a public, permanent, decentralized ledger where all bitcoin transactions are recorded in bundles of multiple transactions, called blocks. The blocks are added to the chain (hence blockchain) by miners who mine, or verify, the blocks.

Mining requires large, expensive machines that compete to solve complicated math problems in real time. The computations get continuously harder, and so the machines are getting more advanced to keep up, and more expensive as a result. The best ones cost thousands of dollars.

Mining doesnt require the human being to physically sit and solve those formulasyou can plug it in, download the proper mining software, and let it run; the machine does the work.

As the machines race to do their computations, they burn through a lot of electrical power, make a lot of noise, and generate a lot of heatenough to heat your house in the winter. (Notice how this custom rig comes with seven fans.)

A bitcoin-mining supercomputer (Marko Ahtisaari/Flickr)

The process is called mining because, like the mining of a physical resource such as oil or gold, there is a finite supply: the amount of bitcoins is capped at 21 million. When a miner verifies a block, they receive a tiny amount of new bitcoins as a reward, and that is the only way new bitcoins are created; they cannot be duplicated. So far, 16.8 million bitcoins have been mined, and at the current rate we wont hit the 21 million cap for over 100 years.

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The amount of bitcoin that miners receive as reward also gets halved every four years. That last happened in 2016 and has happened just twice in bitcoins history. The current reward is 12.5 bitcoins per block mined.

Thus the increasing amount of power required to mine cryptocurrency is by design: theres more competition than ever to mine blocks, so the process needs to be competitive to keep the number of newly created bitcoins constant. As more miners join the network, the difficulty of mining increases.

If bitcoin mining is a gold rush, then China, where the majority of bitcoin mining pools are located, is California. And the companies that make the mining equipment are the ones supplying the picks and shovels.

The largest seller of mining equipment is Bitmain, a semiconductor company in China that makes ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) microchips; its cofounder Jihan Wu is a popular figure in the bitcoin world. (Check out Bitmains latest mining device, the Antminer S9, which sells for $7,000 USD.) AMD and Nvidia have also benefited from the bitcoin boom, since their graphics cards are used in mining rigs.

Bitmain Antminer S9 device (Bitmain)

While it is possible to mine bitcoin from a standard personal computer without advanced equipment, as part of a mining pool, it isnt really worth the effort. Yahoo Finances Jared Blikre tried mining bitcoin from his own laptop and found that at his current computing power, it would take him 1,197 years to mine 1 bitcoin. Its simply too inefficient without an ASIC rig.

It isnt just bitcoin that uses mining: Ethereum, a blockchain for smart contracts, works the same way, and Ethereum miners are rewarded in ether coins.

Is the energy consumption a cause for alarm?

Much of the sudden concern around the amount of energy that mining consumes was stoked by a new bitcoin energy consumption index from Digiconomist in December. The index uses the monthly total of terrawatts used to project annual terrawatts used, and shows no end in sight to the upward trend. It currently projects global bitcoin mining at 39 terrawatts per year. The index also compares the numbers to energy use by other countries (bitcoin mining is currently using 60% the amount of energy that the entire Czech Republic uses) and to other payment networks (bitcoin mining energy usage blows the Visa payment network out of the water).

Digiconomist also reports that ethereums energy consumption has reached the point where bitcoin was just one year ago.

And this has all stoked alarm. It led outlets like Newsweek to extrapolate that bitcoin mining is on track to consume all of the worlds energy by 2020.

But experts and scholars have cast doubt on the Digiconomist projections. No one is denying that bitcoin mining sucks up electricityan obscene amountbut the idea that its a harbinger of an energy armageddon is likely a stretch.

Its a complex issue, says Brian Hoffman, founder of OpenBazaar, a peer-to-peer marketplace where buyers pay in bitcoin. Certainly mining consumes massive amounts of energy which may harm the environment depending on how its sourced. But I think energy must be expended in order to be rewarded with value, so this is not wasteful. Everything we do is about expending energy for value, from mowing the lawn to cooking a meal. If no energy is consumed, no value is created.

If the price of bitcoin rises to new heights in 2018, expect the debate over mining to rage on.



Daniel Roberts covers bitcoin and blockchain at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.

Read more:

What is bitcoin?

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Bought bitcoin? You must practice cold storage

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What is litecoin?

Why bitcoin matters

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New York (AFP) - Boeing reported record commercial plane deliveries for 2017 on Tuesday and said cargo and customer passenger trends continued to look strong for 2018.

The gains were fueled by global economic growth of three percent and an increase in overall passenger traffic that has outpaced historical trends, said Boeing vice president of marketing Randy Tinseth.

"It is a very, very strong marketplace," Tinseth said on a conference call with reporters. "We continue to see upward pressure as we look into the future."

Boeing shares jumped 2.7 percent to $318.36 and was the biggest gainer in the Dow in midday trading.

Boeing delivered 763 commercial planes last year, up from the 748 in 2016 and in line with its forecasted amount. Last year's deliveries also topped the prior record of 762 set in 2015.

A blog post by Tinseth highlighted that Boeing deliveries will top those of rival Airbus for the sixth straight year. Airbus is scheduled to report its annual deliveries on January 15.

Boeing's deliveries were again led by its most popular plane, the single-aisle 737, which comprised nearly 70 percent of the total deliveries. It was followed by the 787, which accounted for 136 deliveries.

Boeing has lifted the production rates for both of these planes to meet rising demand. The company remains on track to lift output on the 747 from 47 per month to 52 per month later this year to 57 per month in 2019, Tinseth said.

Tinseth said the strong overall market was due in part to improved airline industry profits, with the earnings over the last three years besting the cumulative earnings from the prior 30 years.

Boeing reported 912 new commercial orders in 2017, up 36.5 percent from the 2016 level and reflecting a total value of $134.8 billion based on listed prices.
London (AFP) - A healthcare crisis put British Prime Minister Theresa May on the defensive at her first weekly parliamentary questions of 2018 on Wednesday following a report about cuts in cancer care.

The questions followed a report in Wednesday's edition of The Times which said a leading hospital was delaying the start of chemotherapy for patients due to a 40-percent shortfall of nurses in the relevant medical unit.

Andrew Weaver, head of chemotherapy at Churchill Hospital in Oxford, is also reportedly considering reducing the number of treatment cycles used to alleviate symptoms, rather than cure patients, due to staff shortages.

The hospital has denied any change in policy.

May dismissed the report but apologised for the postponement of tens of thousands of operations over January due to a surge in demand at the state-run National Health Service during the winter period.

"I fully accept that the NHS is under pressure over winter... I apologise to those people who have had their operations delayed," May said after a barrage of questions from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

"The reality in our NHS is that we are seeing 2.9 million more people now going to accident and emergency, over two million more operations taking place each year," she said.

Corbyn also mocked May over reports that she had intended to sack Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt but was "too weak" to do so in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this week.

NHS staffing levels have been in crisis for months.

There are 40,000 vacant nurse posts in England, according to the Royal College of Nursing, but the numbers applying to study the subject are also falling.

According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, 27 percent more nurses and midwives left the job between 2016 and 2017 than joined.

Numerous doctors have taken to social media in recent weeks to apologise to patients, with one emergency doctor in central England warning of "third-world conditions".

NHS England last week recommended all hospitals defer non-urgent appointments and operations until the end of the month, except for cancer operations and "time-critical procedures".
Havat Gilad (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Israeli forces set up roadblocks and deployed around a major Palestinian city Wednesday in a manhunt for attackers who shot dead an Israeli settler, sparking calls at his funeral for "revenge".

Raziel Shevah, a 35-year-old rabbi, was killed late Tuesday while driving near the wildcat settlement where he lived, Havat Gilad near the northern city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Some 22 gunshots were found in his car, Israel's army radio reported. The gunshots reportedly came from a passing vehicle.

"Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks," the military said in a statement.

"The review of the incident is ongoing. Based on situation assessments, it was decided to reinforce the area with additional forces."

Soldiers checked identification papers and searched cars at checkpoints around Nablus, causing long back-ups. No arrests had been reported.

The area frequently sees tensions between hardline Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

Shevah laid to rest at the wildcat settlement on Wednesday -- the first person to be buried there at the wish of his family.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral, which included cries for "revenge" from youths in the crowd during a speech by Education Minister Naftali Bennett from the far-right Jewish Home party.

Bennett responded by saying the only revenge should be in building more settlements in the West Bank.

- Hardline settlement -

Israeli officials strongly denounced the attack, including those calling for punitive measures against Palestinians, such as the demolition of the homes of the attackers.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, welcomed the shooting.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he ordered his staff to look into how Havat Gilad could be legalised as a settlement.

All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are seen as illegal under international law and major obstacles to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

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Israel however differentiates between settlements it has approved and those it has not.

Those without approval are referred to as outposts and are typically populated by hardline religious nationalists who see the entire West Bank as part of Israel.

Past attempts by Israeli authorities to evacuate Havat Gilad have led to clashes with settlers there. Some 50 families currently live in the outpost.

Around 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank among some 2.6 million Palestinians.

Sporadic unrest has occurred since US President Donald Trump provoked Palestinian anger by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6.

Fourteen Palestinians have been killed since then, with most of them shot dead in clashes with Israeli forces. Shevah is the first Israeli killed since then.

It was unclear if Tuesday's shooting had any link to Trump's announcement.

- 'Look no further' -

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian authorities of "funding and incentivising murder", insisting they "communicate to their people: kill an Israeli and be rich".

US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a supporter of West Bank settlements, said on Twitter: "An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists."

"Hamas praises the killers and PA (Palestinian Authority) laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace."

The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Friedman of a "prejudiced" stance on the conflict, saying he has yet to criticise Israel for settlement building or its 50-year occupation of the West Bank.

Israeli officials have regularly called for a halt to payments of families of Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of attacks, or those killed while carrying out attacks.

They say the payments encourage further violence.

But for Palestinians, such payments are a key source of income for families who have in many cases lost their main breadwinner.

The Palestinians also see them as symbolically important after decades of yearning for elusive statehood and struggle against Israel's occupation.

Israel's defence ministry claimed the Palestinian Authority had paid out 1.2 billion shekels (300 million euros/$350 million), or seven percent of the PA's annual budget, in 2017 as part of the policy.

According to the ministry, a Palestinian sentenced from three to five years in prison receives $600 per month, while those serving 20 to 35 years receive $2,900.

The ministry said it was pursuing legislation that would allow Israel to subtract the amount of those payments from the tax revenue it collects on behalf of the PA and later hands over to it.
Ottawa (AFP) - Canada is bracing for a possible US withdrawal from the tripartite North American Free Trade Agreement, a source said Wednesday, ahead of the next round of negotiations due to start in Montreal later this month.

"The Canadian government is aware of the possibility that President Trump may announce the United States' withdrawal from NAFTA," a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"We're prepared for that possibility."

In the meantime, the official said, the government is moving ahead with plans to host US and Mexican trade negotiators in Montreal January 23-28.

The US, Canada and Mexico previously gave themselves a March deadline to finish talks.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland was in Washington to meet with senior US lawmakers and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Tuesday. Her office was not immediately available for comment.

Reports of NAFTA's possible demise, meanwhile, sent the Canadian and Mexican currencies tumbling, and the US dollar rising from Can$1.2432 at 1200 GMT to Can$1.2554 at around 2030 GMT.

In keeping with his campaign promise, Trump forced Canada and Mexico to sit down and renegotiate the 1994 trade pact, and said if a deal could not be reached he would withdraw the United States from NAFTA.

Since coming to office, the Trump administration has taken an increasingly protectionist stance in dealings with Canada and Mexico, for example, applying anti-dumping duties on imports of Canadian aircraft, softwood lumber and most recently newsprint.

Canada in response has filed a complaint to the WTO accusing Washington of breaching dozens of international trade rules.

The Canadian complaint pointed to a slew of US "measures relating to anti-dumping or countervailing duty investigations, reviews or other proceedings, which are inconsistent with its WTO obligations."

Avery Shenfeld, an economist at CIBC said Wednesday a US withdrawal from NAFTA was a downside for Canada's central bank, which had in its forecasts assumed a status quo in trade relations.
Ottawa (AFP) - An eight-month investigation failed to identify a cause of the mysterious illness that afflicted Canadian and US diplomats last year in Cuba, a senior Canadian government official said Wednesday.

The official said 27 Canadian diplomats and family members were tested after complaining between April and December of dizziness, headaches, nausea, nosebleeds or sleeplessness.

Eight people flew back to Canada for medical care from a group of military doctors, but none were hospitalized and none are believed to have suffered any permanent damage.

Three diplomatic families, however, have chosen not to return to Cuba out of concern for their wellbeing.

People are getting sick and nobody has any idea why, the official said, describing the situation as unique in the world.

However, he said it does not warrant the closure of Canada's mission in Havana.

Ottawa said it also does not believe there are any risks for Canadian tourists in Cuba.

Briefing reporters on the case, the official said a whole-of-government investigation led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in collaboration with US and Cuban authorities was unable to confirm US suspicions of a sonic attack, or even that a single cause was to blame for the symptoms.

Those who were afflicted included global affairs, immigration and national defense staff at the embassy as well as their spouses and children.

The last two cases in August and December involved individuals who claimed to have sensed what they described as waves of pressure.

Unlike their American counterparts who suffered injuries resembling brain trauma, however, no Canadian envoy reported hearing any suspicious sound prior to falling ill. One Canadian described hearing a high pitched noise like a sheet of metal being flexed, but they did not suffer any sickness.

Canadian authorities are currently conducting an environmental assessment that includes air and water tests at its embassy and staff residences in Cuba -- but other leads have gone cold.

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On Tuesday, in a hearing for the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, State Department officials said they would open a review board into their own handling of the case, but offered frustrated American lawmakers little in the way of answers.

Initially US officials suspected the Americans had been targeted by some sort of acoustic weapon, although in public senior officials were more cautious, speaking of "health attacks."

Now, US media reports suggest that FBI agents dispatched to Havana have not been able to find any evidence to support the acoustic or sonic weapon theory.
CES 2018 moved into high gear on the third day of the popular tech convention, which meant spending a lot of time on the crowded showroom floors of the Las Vegas Convention Center exploring new wares from companies around the world.

On the audio front, one of the major themes this year was waterproofing, which included a slew of waterproof Bluetooth speakers from companies such as Sony (SNE), JBL, Altec Lansing, and House of Marley. Sony, for instance, unveiled three new party speakers with a heavy emphasis on bass sound, ranging from $100 to $250. Meanwhile, JBL announced its waterproof Clip 3 Bluetooth speaker, which has better audio than the last model. The speaker also has an echo and noise-canceling feature for folks who want to pair the Clip 3 with their smartphones and make phone calls.

In the headphones department, Danish company Libratone released the slick-looking (and feeling) Track+ Wireless In-Ear Earphones with adjustable noise cancellation for those who prefer wireless BeatsX-style earbuds for fitness sessions. As with Libratones earlier models, you have four levels of cancellation that dictate how much outside sound gets in: You can let in a lot of sound if youre running outside, or shut it out completely if youre commuting on a noisy train. You can also use its microphones to amplify outside sound if you want to hold a conversation. Pretty neat.

One of the more memorable items to emerge from the day was decidedly one of the most low-tech: an exercise bike desk from Chinese company Loctek. While standing desks, and even treadmill desks, have become popular in more recent years, there may also be a niche market for Locteks product, given SoulCycles popularity.

On the automotive side, Honda (HMC) unveiled the adorable 3E-A18 robot, which has a digital face that can smile, shed tears, even doze off, and rolls around on one wheel to move. You can even hug its rubber-like body  something my colleague Dan Howley did, confirming its huggability. Honda envisions the A18 as a guide at airports and shopping malls.

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Yahoo Finances Dan Howley gives Hondas 3E-A18 robot a hug.

Meanwhile, the Toyota (TM) Concept-i is a self-driving car that uses artificial intelligence to recognize your emotions and adjust your experience in the car, accordingly. So, if youre feeling stressed, it will lean your seat back, play soothing music and actually start massaging your back.

Popular audio maker Harman Kardon also showed off Moodscape  a mix of new technology that analyzes your energy level, or mood, and syncs up with your calendar schedule and current location to pipe out a mix of music and sounds that lead up to whichever meeting or appointment you have lined up next. A so-called MoodRoof uses a QLED screen to display different landscapes based on your mood and where youre going.

Futuristic as that may sound, todays highlights are just a fraction of what CES 2018 has to offer. Check back in with Yahoo Finance throughout this week for more of our coverage from the largest tech conference on earth.

JP Mangalindan is the Chief Tech Correspondent for Yahoo Finance covering the intersection of tech and business. Email story tips and musings to jpm@oath.com. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

More from JP:
Beijing (AFP) - China lodged a formal diplomatic protest on Wednesday after a senior Australian minister called Chinese infrastructure projects in the Pacific "white elephants", the latest spat in increasingly contentious relations.

Friction between the two countries grew last month after Australia singled out China as a focus of concern when it proposed laws on foreign interference, drawing a furious response from Beijing.

China has been forging closer links with Pacific island nations, with Australia's Lowy Institute estimating it provided US$1.78 billion in aid, including concessional loans, for projects in the region between 2006-16.

Australian International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said Beijing's influence in the region was "clearly growing", but criticised its development assistance as resulting in "white elephants".

"You've got the Pacific full of these useless buildings which nobody maintains, which are basically white elephants," she told The Australian newspaper.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang slammed the remarks during a regular press briefing, calling them "full of ignorance and prejudice".

"They are also irresponsible, and we have already made representations to the Australian government," he said, adding that Fierravanti-Wells should "engage in self-reflection".

Fierravanti-Wells said in her 24 trips to the Pacific as part of her international development portfolio, she had come across "nonproductive infrastructure" that was not regularly maintained and not used to full capacity.

"I've gone to (the Pacific) islands and you'll be driving along on some back road and all of a sudden you see this Chinese road crew building a road to nowhere and you think 'hmm, what's all that about'," she added.

The minister also warned that unlike loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Chinese financing had less than favourable terms.

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"We don't know what the consequences are when (Pacific nations) have to pay back some of these Chinese loans," she said.

Lu said China "fully respects the will of the Pacific islands' governments and their people".

China's development aid "has brought real benefits to local people," he added, saying that they have been "welcomed by the concerned countries' governments".

China has diplomatic relationships with eight Pacific island nations -- the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

Six other Pacific countries recognise self-ruled Taiwan, which China sees as part of its territory.

The largest amount of aid over 2006-16 -- US$632.46 million -- went to PNG, the Lowy Institute said.
Beijing (AFP) - China raced to contain oil leaking from an Iranian tanker stricken off its eastern coast Tuesday amid warnings the burning ship could spark an environmental disaster.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil when it collided with a cargo ship on Saturday and erupted into flames 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.

If all the cargo from the Panamanian-flagged 274-metre (899-foot) tanker spills, it would be the biggest oil slick from a ship in decades and could kill marine life across a vast area, analysts have said.

The transport ministry said the vessel was still burning on Tuesday. It released a photo of the Sanchi enveloped in smoke and flames.

"With the ship on fire, it is expected that much of this condensate oil will burn off rather than enter the water," Greenpeace East Asia said in a statement to AFP.

"However, if the ship sinks before the oil burns off, the cleanup procedure would be extremely difficult. What is important now is to understand how much of that oil has burned off, and how much is leaking into the sea."

The Chinese foreign ministry said late Monday that cleaning ships had been sent to prevent "secondary disasters".

Authorities widened the search on Tuesday for 31 missing crew members, with 13 search-and-rescue vessels "carrying out an uninterrupted search within 900 square nautical miles" of the tanker, China's ministry of transport said.

The efforts were hampered by poor conditions at sea, it added, with rescuers battered with rain, wind and waves.

The tanker "is in danger of explosion and sinking, and the toxic gas... is very harmful to rescue workers on the scene," authorities warned Tuesday.

A vessel carrying protective suits, masks and gas testing equipment was sent to the scene Monday evening.

The Sanchi was on its way to South Korea when it collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter that was transporting grain.

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The Crystal's 21 Chinese crew members were rescued, but most of the 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis from the Sanchi are still missing.

A "preliminary assessment" by China's transport ministry determined that a body found on Monday with a protective garment on it belonged to one of the Sanchi's crew members.

A US Navy aircraft took part in the search on Sunday, scouring a wide area before returning to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan.

A South Korean coast guard ship was also dispatched.

The Sanchi belongs to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), Iran's petroleum ministry said, and was transporting the oil to South Korea's Hanwha Total. The ship and its cargo were insured, a statement said.

This is the second accident in less than two years involving a tanker owned by the NITC. In August 2016, an Iranian supertanker and a container ship collided in the Singapore Strait, causing damage to both vessels but no injuries or pollution.
Christopher Steele - PA

A figure in Donald Trumps election campaign was so concerned about Russian links that they approached the FBI before the vote, it has been claimed.

The source passed on information that confirmed details in a dossier of lurid claims about Mr Trump compiled by a former British spy, according to a leaked transcript.

The claim was made by Glenn Simpson, the founder of the company which financed the dossier, during a behind-closed-doors interview with a congressional committee.

Mr Simpson declined to name who the Trump source was, citing security and warning that people who get in the way of the Russians tend to get hurt.

However he indicated that the figure came forward voluntarily because they had concerns about national security.

The claim is significant as it undermines Republicans who have attempted to portray concerns about Russia and Mr Trump as being pushed by political opponents.

It emerged as Mr Simpson, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, was grilled about a series of memos provided by Christopher Steele, a former MI6 officer, regarding Mr Trumps ties to Russia.

The dossier, as it became known, contained a series of provocative allegations about Mr Trumps exposure to potential Russian blackmail and was published by Buzzfeed after the election.

Mr Trump has always denied the allegations made in the dossier.

Donald Trump approval rating tracker

A transcript of Mr Simpsons interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee was published on Tuesday and revealed new details about how the FBI came to be aware of the dossier.

Mr Simpson says that Mr Steele became so concerned by his findings that he approached the FBI in the summer of July 2016, when Mr Trump as the Republican presidential candidate.

In September 2016, Mr Steele met with an FBI agent in Rome to fully debrief US intelligence about his findings.

Donald Trump, the US presidet Credit: Carlos Barria / REUTERS

At the meeting he was told some of his information chimed with a Trump source who had separately approached the FBI, according to Mr Simpson.

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Mr Simpson said: "My understanding was that they believed Chris [Steele] at this point, that they believed Chris might be credible, because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization."

Mr Simpson was not able to confirm whether the source was from Mr Trump's election campaign body or his wider organisation.

The Donald Trump campaigns Russia connections

The interview also provided the clearest picture yet about Mr Steele and how he got involved in the dossier, which has become controversial since it came to light after the 2016 election.

Mr Steele had worked with Mr Simpson since 2009 and was described as a boy scout who lived a very modest, quiet life.

Mr Simpsons lawyer is also quoted as saying that somebody's already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier  a new revelation.

Separately, Mr Trump announced he would be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The US president also played down speculation talk-show host Oprah Winfrey could run for president, saying he did not think she would start a campaign.
Bogota (AFP) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced that he had suspended peace talks with National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels in response to what he said were guerrilla attacks earlier Wednesday.

"I have talked with the head of the government delegation in Quito to tell him to return immediately to assess the future of the process," Santos said in a televised address.

Peace talks with Colombia's last rebel group had been set to resume in Quito, the capital of neighboring Ecuador, on Wednesday but a 101-day ceasefire between the government and the ELN rebels expired at midnight without agreement to extend it.

Santos said the ELN had resumed "its terrorist attacks against the civilian population, the armed forces and infrastructure."

ELN commander Pablo Beltran called on the government to reconsider, insisting his side wanted the talks on extending the ceasefire to continue.

"We want conversations to be maintained, and that no incidents lead to them being interrupted, and we call on them to consider their withdrawal from the table," said Beltran.

The standoff comes as UN chief Antonio Guterres travels to Colombia at the weekend "to support peace efforts," his spokesman said.

During a Security Council meeting to discuss Colombia, Britain and Sweden urged Colombia and the ELN to resume ceasefire talks as quickly as possible.

Colombian Vice President Oscar Naranjo Trujillo told the council that "the government is not walking away from peace" and has called urgent talks to salvage the ceasefire.

Although Santos gave no details in his televised address, authorities reported a naval guard post had been hit in a grenade attack in the ELN stronghold of Arauca, on the border with Venezuela. Two servicemen were injured, local media reported.

State oil company Ecopetrol had earlier reported a "possible attack" on a well in the eastern department of Casanare.

"My commitment to peace has been and will be unwavering. But peace comes with a will and concrete acts of peace, not just words," said Santos.

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Both sides have separately said they want the ceasefire to be extended, but an accord has remained out of reach because of mutual accusations of failure to meet commitments.

Both the ELN and the government have accused each other of breaches since the truce began on October 1.

The ELN recently acknowledged the murder of an indigenous governor, for which it has asked for forgiveness.

In turn, the rebels accused security forces of killing seven coca farmers and carrying out military operations in areas of ELN influence.

A pact with the ELN would close the last chapter of a half-century conflict in the South American nation, following a deal struck by Nobel Peace Prize-winning Santos in November 2016 with the much larger FARC insurgents.

Under its peace deal, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has disarmed, demobilized its fighters, and transformed into a political party using the same acronym.

But the UN has expressed concern at the slow pace of reintegration of FARC's 14,000 former combatants into civilian life.

Guterres said in a report to the Security Council last month that a "significant number" of FARC rebels "have joined illegal or dissident groups" as a result of a "growing frustration at the lack of opportunities".

The ELN has an estimated 2,000 fighters in its ranks.

Colombia's long internal conflict created around eight million victims, including those killed, made to disappear and displaced from their homes.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, warns that President Donald Trump could lose conservative support if he backs immigration reforms. (Photo: Drew Angerer via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  During a televised meeting with lawmakers at the White House on Tuesday, President Donald Trump seemed to endorse a number of controversial immigration positions that are giving conservatives on Capitol Hill some cause for concern, particularly a taboo term among Trumps base: comprehensive immigration reform.

If Trump moved forward with just a clean deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows told HuffPost on Tuesday, it would be one of the few ways by which Trump could lose the conservative base.

Its untold damage that it would create among the conservative base, the North Carolina Republican said.

Tuesday night, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) took to the House floor to denounce even the talk of a DACA deal, saying any time people in Washington start discussing amnesty for undocumented immigrants in some form, there is a fresh surge across our border.

Trump being Trump, he didnt quite say he would support a clean DACA deal (one not tied to other immigration issues)  or, if he did, he quickly backtracked.

I think a clean DACA bill, to me, is a DACA bill, but we take care of the 800,000 people, Trump said. But I think, to me, a clean bill is a bill of DACA, we take care of them, and we also take care of security.

What exactly Trump means by clean or security is anyones guess, but lawmakers jumped at the chance Tuesday to define those terms for the president.

Clean DACA meant what he said, which is these three other things, Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), who was at the meeting, said. Trump did mention that, alongside DACA, he wanted border security, the end of so-called chain migration (when relatives legally in the U.S. sponsor family members who immigrate) and the end to the diversity visa lottery program.

Trump also suggested border security didnt just mean more border agents or resources along the U.S.-Mexico border. If you dont have the wall, you cant have security, he said.

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Trump, however, struck a much more conciliatory tone than his campaign rhetoric that had suggested Mexican immigrants were criminals and rapists. On Tuesday, he said he wanted a bill of love.

The White House also tried to clean up some of Trumps remarks later Tuesday, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders telling reporters that the presidents definition of clean would also include closing the loopholes and making sure we have a solution on that front so we dont create a problem and find ourselves right back where we started in one, two, three years later.

But conservative lawmakers couldnt help but notice that Trump was playing fast and loose with a third-rail term in the Republican Party: comprehensive immigration reform.

The word comprehensive  Ive used it  and its like nails on a chalkboard to many conservatives, because it brings up ideas of the Gang of Eight bill in the Senate, Meadows said, referring to a controversial 2013 immigration bill that failed.

The comprehensive immigration reform and what it means to the conservative base, and the context in which the president used it today, are probably not congruent, Meadows added.

Either way, it got the attention of lawmakers.

I dont think he probably realizes what that sounds like to many Americans based on the last big conversation, conservative Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said of Trumps use of comprehensive. So, to him, its just a term that seems to make sense.

Conservative Rep. Walter Jones Jr. (R-N.C.) told HuffPost that Trumps use of that word was very confusing, especially to his base.

With President Trump, until I can read it, I dont know, Jones said. We all have our different definitions.

Immigration activists in Congress, particularly the Republican ones, have learned to avoid phrases like comprehensive immigration reform.

I wont use those terms, because I know that comprehensive is one of those terms, or amnesty, or path to citizenship. You know, we all know what all those are that have different definitions to different people, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), who supports immigration reform, said Tuesday. Remember: The president is not a political animal thats been doing this for a million years.

(Even if Trump hasnt been doing this for a million years, immigration was a signature issue of his year-and-a-half presidential campaign, and, if Trump is so unfamiliar with the meaning of comprehensive immigration reform, its curious that he used that exact phrase.)

Still, Diaz-Balart said no one should get stuck in semantics. He praised the president for holding the meeting, which he called exceedingly helpful.

But its anyones guess how the DACA immigration matter will play out. Labrador, whos been writing a DACA bill in the Judiciary Committee, expects his bill, or legislation like it, to soon come before the House and pass with Republican support. Democrats have little incentive to vote for a measure like the one Labrador is proposing. His bill would end chain migration, which Democrats oppose doing, and institute other changes they dont want.

Democrats believe they have the leverage on the DACA issue, as Republicans still need Democratic help to keep the government open past Jan. 19. Its just unclear whether Democrats are truly willing to enter a government shutdown over DACA. Thus far, Democrats have agreed to a number of short-term spending extensions without a DACA agreement, and the prospect of yet another extension looms large as time runs short.

But as conservatives express some uneasiness over Trumps latest immigration comments, liberals are suddenly expressing cautious optimism.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), perhaps the most pro-immigration Democrat in Congress, had some reluctant praise for Trumps meeting Tuesday.

Im happy it took place. Im hopeful, Gutierrez said.

Elise Foley contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Petra Vodstrcilova and Jason Hovet PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech lower house on Wednesday postponed a confidence vote on Prime Minister Andrej Babis's minority government until Jan. 16 or later as lawmakers tussled over fraud allegations the billionaire politician is battling. Babis's ANO party won an October election by a wide margin but has only 78 seats in parliament's 200-member lower house, and has so far been unable to find coalition partners due to a police probe into whether Babis illegally tapped European Union subsidies as a businessman a decade ago. He denies wrongdoing. The unexpected delay in the confidence vote, which opposition parties sought after 10 hours of debate, puts pressure on a parliamentary committee to make a recommendation whether to lift Babis's parliamentary immunity from prosecution before the chamber votes on confidence. Babis stands little chance of winning backing for his minority cabinet. If he loses, his cabinet will stay in office until a new one is formed. President Milos Zeman has promised to allow Babis a second attempt to form a government. Drawn-out coalition negotiations are becoming more common in European countries, including Germany, as parliaments are increasingly fragmented by the rise of populist, anti-establishment parties. Most parties in the Czech lower house say the government should not be led by a person facing investigation. Some have wider objections to conflicts of interests Babis has as the founder of a $4 billion business empire and a top politician. The subsidy case also involves ANO deputy Jaroslav Faltynek, who denies wrongdoing. "It is logical to first vote on the lifting of immunity of deputies Babis and Faltynek and then return to the vote on confidence," Zbynek Stanjura, deputy head of the biggest opposition party, the Civic Democrats, told reporters. The opposition Pirate Party said forcing a committee and, ideally, full-house vote on immunity prior to the confidence vote would eliminate possible horse-trading on the issue in further coalition talks when the next government is being formed. BABIS STILL POPULAR Babis remains popular due to pledges to weed out political corruption and run government with a businessman's touch. His agenda includes boosting infrastructure investment, reforming pensions and digitalizing the state to make it more efficient. Babis has been charged in the subsidy case and police have requested the lifting of his immunity. He says the allegations against him have been fabricated by political and business opponents. ANO's convincing election victory - giving it three times as many seats as its nearest rival - means any viable government will almost certainly involve the party, with or without Babis. Other parties also want to avoid early elections due to ANO's popularity. The tussle has not so far troubled investors, long used to shaky coalitions. The economy is growing quickly and unemployment is the lowest in the EU. The state has a public sector budget surplus and bond yields are the lowest in central Europe. The crown was steady on Wednesday at 25.56 to the euro. Babis is the country's second richest person through the Agrofert conglomerate, the country's biggest private employer, with interests in food, farming, chemicals and media. He has put his holdings in a trust fund to meet conflict-of-interest laws. He is alleged to have concealed the ownership of a farm and conference center to get a 2 million-euro subsidy earmarked for small businesses when he ran Agrofert. An investigation by the EU anti-fraud office OLAF has found "irregularities" in the subsidy, the finance ministry said in a statement last week. (Reporting by Petra Vodstrcilova and Jason Hovet with additional reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by Jan Lopatka and Peter Graff)
A year into his first term, nearly every one of President Donald Trump's major actions on immigration policy has been battled in court, and a judge's ruling this week against his Deferred Action and Childhood Protection (DACA) withdrawal is just the latest legal blow to his promises for extreme reform.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration cannot end the DACA program until challenges to the Department of Homeland Security brought by the University of California system, 16 Democratic and nonpartisan state attorneys general, and a DACA participant are fully litigated.

Alsup also chastised the Justice Department's reasoning for ending the program,

suggesting U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' claim that the Obama-era program was unconstitutional is a misreading of the legislation:

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On at least four occasions prior to the creation of DACA, immigration officials have extended deferred action programs to certain classes of aliens, none of which programs was expressly authorized by statute.... [By] the time DACA arrived in 2012, deferred action programs had become a well-accepted feature of the executives enforcement of our immigration laws, recognized as such by Congress and the Supreme Court.... In sum, the new administration didnt terminate DACA on policy grounds. It terminated DACA over a point of law, a pithy conclusion that the agency had exceeded its statutory and constitutional authority. An important question now presented is whether that conclusion was a mistake of law.

The Justice Department is expected to appeal the ruling.

RTX3P0GN

REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

Trump fired back Wednesday morning in a tweet, writing: "It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts."

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This is not the first time the Northern District of California court has ruled against Trump's attempted immigration crackdowns. In November, District Judge William H. Orrick in San Francisco issued an injunction to permanently block the president's executive order denying funds to so-called "sanctuary cities" cities that choose to protect undocumented immigrants from federal authorities.

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Trump's travel ban on several majority-Muslim countries also came under intense scrutiny by the courts. In February, Senior District Judge James Robart in Washington ordered the administration to immediately end its travel restrictions on seven Muslim-majority countries.

Trump notoriously slammed Robart's decision on Twitter, writing, "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned! "

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In December, Robart once again ruled against Trump by granting a nationwide injunction that blocks the administrations restrictions on reuniting refugee families. He also partially lifted a ban on refugees from 11 countries, nine of which are predominantly Muslim, for a minimum of 90 days.

Robart's ruling came a day after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stopped the full implementation of Trump's travel-ban for the third time.

Unlike its predecessors, the third version of Trumps executive order sought to block entry into the United States by citizens from eight nations, six of them predominately Muslim. The Supreme Court had allowed the ban to proceed as the legal challenges advance.

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The Ninth Circuit found struck down the ban because the Trump administration failed to prove that allowing immigrants from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, North Korea and Venezuela would inherently be detrimental to the interests of the United States.

The Ninth Circuit stayed its decision, pending review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Federal judges have also been instrumental in preventing the deportations of thousands of unauthorized foreign nationals. District courts in California, Florida, Michigan, and Massachusetts have stayed off the deportations of immigrants from Iraq, Somalia, Indonesia, and Cambodia on immigrant rights and asylum grounds.

Members of the Trump administration routinely deride the courts when judges rule against their interests.

"Today, more and more judges are issuing nationwide injunctions and in effect single judges ... are making themselves super-legislators for the entire United States, Sessions said in October at a speech at the Heritage Foundation. A single judges decision that can enjoin the entire federal government from acting is an extreme step, and too often, district court judges are doing it without following the law."

But immigrant rights' organizations have celebrated the courts' willingness to override the president's orders for drastically changing American immigration laws.

"It's heartening to see the courts stand up and defend immigrant rights," Michael Tan, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Unions' Immigrants' Rights Project told Newsweek on Wednesday.

The Trump administration has tried in its first year to quickly transform the judiciary into a more conservative branch of government. Many of Trump's nominees have been charged with lacking sufficient qualifications for lifetime judicial appointment. Some of the nominees have also been criticized for holding discriminatory views against immigrants and other minorities.

"It's been very troubling to see the administration nominate candidates for the judiciary who have awful civil rights records," Tan said. "It's the courts' fundamental role to defend individual rights, specifically the rights of minority groups. To see this administration repeatedly propose candidates that represent the opposite of that is deeply concerning."

This article was first written by Newsweek

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If Kim Kardashian being tied, bound, and held at gunpoint isnt enough of an impetus for filthy rich celebrities to hire sufficient security, then what will it take? Pretty Little Liars Lucy Hale is the most recent victim to have her home burglarized while she was away, and I cant help but SMH.

Nestled in Californias San Fernando Valley, the 28-year-olds home was robbed of $15,000 worth of jewelry and purses after the robber entered the property by smashing a window. Before Hale, the brand-new $8.2 million Encino, Calif., estate ofRHOBHs Kyle Richards was broken into while her family was traveling to Aspen, Colo. More than $1 million of jewelry was taken from her closet over the holidays.

Richards, of all people, should recognize the precautions required when living in a home filled with expensive jewelry, as she is BFFs with Kris Jenner, who was particularly shaken after her daughters Paris robbery.

Other recent hits include Mariah Carey and Hilary Duff. Mariah freakin Carey needs 24-hour security, and we hope we are not the first people to inform her of this. If youre sleeping comfortably in a diamond necklace, please be sure to staff up accordingly.

Did we learn nothing from Kim? asks Claudia Oshry on The Morning Breath.

The only person who learned something from Kim is Kim herself, who has admittedly subdued her look, has hired 24-hour security detail, and is even storing her jewelry in a storage unit away from her new mansion in Calabasas. Also, word on Rodeo Drive is that Kris Jenner lives across the street from Kim now, which is better security than even the Secret Service can offer.
Elon Musks SpaceX finally launched its mysterious Zuma satellite on Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. To viewers of the live stream, the launch seemed like a success. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying Zuma blasted off and appeared to shed stage one, as planned.

However, cameras did not follow stage two of the rocket, and reports suggest Zuma may not have reached its final orbit.

1_9_SpaceX Zuma Launch

SpaceX/Flickr/Public Domain

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Industry and government officials believe the craft failed to reach its goal, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Zuma may not have separated from the upper part of the Falcon 9 rocket and instead plunged back into the Earths atmosphere.

Originally planned to launch back in November, Zuma had a secret payload for the U.S. government. Aerospace and defense company Northrup Grummanwhich worked on the mission with SpaceX on behalf of the governmenttold Space.com its function was restricted and was being fired into "low-Earth orbit."

Beset by months of delays, the confidential craft was strapped to a Falcon 9 rocket and finally launched on January 7 at 8 p.m. ET. Viewers watched the rocket power up and blast off from its launchpad. As planned, the main engine was cut around two and a half minutes into the launch, and the Falcon 9 split into stage one and stage two.

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Boosters sent stage one back to the ground roughly eight minutes after the launch. A second engine was intended to propel stage twowhich carried Zumainto low-Earth orbit.

Brian Mahlstedt, an automation software engineer at SpaceX, told live-stream viewers: Were not going to show video coverage of it, but we will confirm that the fairings have separated, meaning that Zuma and second stage are the only vehicles continuing on to their final orbit.

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However, it appears that Zuma did not make it into orbit. Staff from the Senate and House have reportedly been briefed on the failure of the mission. According to The Wall Street Journal, industry officials have estimated Zuma cost billions of dollars.

Both SpaceX and Northrup Grumman have refused to comment on the status of the mission.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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President Donald Trump should undergo a psychiatric examination to determine if he's fit to be president, according to a growing campaign from psychiatrists.

"It needs to happen as soon as possible," Yale forensic psychiatrist Dr. Bandy Lee recently told Newsweek.

Trump's annual medical exam is scheduled for Friday and is not expected to include a mental health exam. But Lee and hundreds of other mental health experts with the National Coalition of Concerned Mental Health Experts issued a statement last week calling for an evaluation into Trump's psychological health. Lee also met with several members of Congress last month to discuss Trump's mental status and will attend a town hall with Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin from Maryland, who has introduced a bill that would create a commission to evaluate the president's mental fitness. However, checking a person's mental stability is neither as simple nor as straightforward as it might sound.

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Psychiatrists do have ways to see if someone is fit to make decisionswhether that choice is declining medical treatment or launching a nuclear attack on a foreign country. One tool in a psychiatrist's kit is a capacity exam, which is often used to evaluate a person's ability to make decisions around one particular task like their ability to consent to medical treatment or manage their own bank accounts. The more illuminating assessment in Trump's case might be what's called a "fitness for duty" exam.

"Fitness for duty" exams specifically evaluate someone's psychological capacity to perform a job. These can happen either prospectivelybefore someone starts a jobor after someone has already been hired. There are two basic parts to a fitness for duty exam: A general psychiatric evaluation and a more tailored assessment of how a person's psychological state might be affecting their ability to do their job.

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The first part is simple enough; these evaluations are similar to what psychiatrists do for any patient who walks into their office. But getting at the truth of the second part is more involved.

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"When a psychiatrist does a fitness for duty examwhich are quite commonthe first task really is to understand what the job is," Columbia University psychiatrist and ethics researcher Dr. Paul Appelbaum told Newsweek. For some jobs, this is easythere are specific requirements. (The closest thing to a job description that might exist for the presidency may be Article Two of the U.S. Constitution.) But when explicit criteria don't exist, "it can be a little more problematic," Appelbaum said.

After figuring out what the job entails, psychiatrists rely on people who they call "informants" to suss out what effect a psychiatric condition might have on a person's work. These are often people who are close to the person being assessed, like their supervisors or co-workers. For someone like Trumpsomeone who has no explicit job description and no supervisordoing one of these exams would be extremely difficult. Applebaum noted that the job would be especially hard because the informants speaking to a psychiatrist would almost certainly have motives of their own.

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If an informant's own job depends on a person being able to continue workingor on a person being removed from a positionthen the information they provide might not be entirely accurate or trustworthy. "You can see the complexity, both in the corporate and in the political context," Applebaum said. "It's obvious why people might want to protect the person or occasionally to make the person sound worse than they actually are."

Finally, even if a psychiatrist was able to get reliable information from informants, getting the world to accept the evaluation would likely be extremely difficult. Theres no objective scale, Applebaum said. The results of an evaluation might differ for the same person, and people have found themselves in court over the resultseven in cases when the person being evaluated is not a president.

Indeed, the scenario in which everyone acknowledges that Trump has failed a fitness for duty evaluation might not be a situation Americans want. I could imagine a situation in which a persons mental state is so impaired by the presence of a mental disorder that it would be clear that they would not be able to perform the duties associated with a major executive position," Applebaum said. "If you see clear signs of dementia, if you see clear signs of bipolar disorder, a psychotic disorder, you could imagine in those cases coming up with a fairly clear and unambiguous conclusion.

In 2016, President Barack Obama released some notes from his physical, including a list of vital signs like his weight, resting heart rates and blood pressure. His doctor also checked his neurological system. However, no notes about his mental health or psychological fitness were released. The only information provided was about the physiological performance of the motor and sensory function of his nerves.

It's almost certain a formal fitness for duty evaluation will not be part of Trumps annual check-up, Applebaum guessedwhich White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley confirmed Monday to reporters on board Air Force One, stating the president would not undergo a "psychiatric exam" during his physical.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Moscow (AFP) - Drones that attacked Russian bases in Syria last week were sent from Idlib, a "de-escalation" zone controlled by anti-Damascus fighters, the Russian defence ministry's official newspaper said Wednesday.

Idlib province has been a source of tension between regime-backer Russia and rebel-supporter Turkey, with Ankara accusing the Syrian regime of stepping up its offensive on key rebel-held areas there.

"The drones were launched from the area of Muazzara in the southwestern part of the Idlib de-escalation area controlled by so-called 'moderate opposition' units," defence ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda said.

The ministry has written to the chiefs of the Turkish army and intelligence service to insist that Ankara fully implement a ceasefire in Idlib province, the paper added.

Idlib is one of four de-escalation zones in Syria covered by a deal meant to reduce violence that was struck last year by Turkey, Russia and government-backer Iran.

On Tuesday, Turkey's foreign ministry summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors to Ankara, according to diplomatic sources, after saying the Syrian regime was targeting moderate opposition forces in Idlib near the Turkish border.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said this could torpedo talks aimed at ending the war.

Russia is hoping to hold a Syria peace congress in its Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29-30.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by anti-government forces that are dominated by a jihadist outfit known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

On Monday, Russia said pilotless drones carrying explosives attacked Russian bases in Syria last weekend without causing any casualties or damage.

After two years of Russian military support for the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, President Vladimir Putin announced in mid-December the partial withdrawal of forces from the country, saying their task had been largely completed.

The size of the toal Russian deployment in Syria is not known but independent Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer told AFP that up to 10,000 troops and private contractors could have taken part in the conflict.

More than 330,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Syrian war, which began in 2011 as the regime crushed anti-government protests. Millions have been displaced.
The Duchess of Cambridge visited Reach Academy in West London earlier this afternoon [Photo: Getty]

The Duchess of Cambridge met pupils at the Reach Academy Feltham in West London earlier this afternoon to mark her first royal engagement of the year.

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For the momentous occasion, the 36-year-old dressed her blossoming baby bump in a royal blue coat that appears to be by go-to British high street brand, Hobbs.

But it was Kates 65 maternity dress that caught everyones eye. The Duchess turned to British maternity label Seraphine for her dress, who, handily, have a boutique located a stones throw from Kensington Palace.

The Florrie floral print dress isnt a new addition to Kates wardrobe: The 36-year-old wore it while pregnant with Charlotte and clearly hung on to it for a potential pregnancy number three.

The pregnant royal finished the look with co-ordinating shoes and a suede clutch.

Kate Middleton seemingly sought inspiration from Meghan Markles first royal engagement [Photo: Getty]

We cant help but wonder if the Duchess sought sartorial inspiration from Meghan Markle, who donned a similar aesthetic on her debut royal engagement in Nottingham alongside husband-to-be, Prince Harry.

Meghan donned the double breasted, maxi-length Elodie coat by Canadian designer Mackage for her first public appearance back in December 2017.

Meghan Markle also donned royal blue on a recent public engagement [Photo: Getty]

The West London school that the Duchess visited today works in partnership with Place2Be, a mental health charity of which Kate Middleton has been the patron of since 2013.

The Duchess of Cambridge meets pupils at the Reach Academy [Photo: Getty]

The organisation strives to provide support and training to teachers and staff with the aim to improve the emotional well-being of families and pupils.





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An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 that struck near remote islands belonging to Honduras on Tuesday was felt across northern Central America but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

The quake rattled windows in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa roughly 323 miles (519 km) to the east and was felt at least as far north as the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, but no damage was immediately reported.

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Rodrigo Anaya Rodriguez was in a hammock inside his house near the popular tourist site of Bacalar Lake near Mexicos Caribbean coast when he felt three tremors.

It felt like a bulldozer was driving past, he said. It didnt last long but was very violent.

He ran to his balcony and saw electricity posts and cables swaying.

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In Honduras, firefighters said some residents in southern neighborhoods fled their homes after feeling the shaking.

The country operates a small naval base on Great Swan Island, about 27 miles (44 km) west of the quakes epicenter, but it was not immediately clear how the tremors affected the station.

We have reports that it was felt in the majority of the country, but we dont have reports of damage, said Lizandro Rosales, director of Honduras contingencies commission.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.8, was centered 125 miles (202 km) northeast of Barra Patuca in Honduras and 191 miles (307 km)southwest of George Town in the Cayman Islands.

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The quake was very shallow, at only 6.2 miles (10 km), which would have amplified its effect.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that tsunami waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) above tide level could hit parts of Honduras, Belize and Puerto Rico along with the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

About two hours after the quake, the center said the threat had passed, withdrawing all tsunami advisories connected with the quake.

The tremors were felt in Belizes capital, Belize City, but there were no immediate reports of damage.

Belizes minister in charge of emergency management, Edmond Castro, spoke on local radio to urge people living in low lying coastal areas and islands to stay alert for potentially dangerous waves.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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On Wednesday, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mark Warner (D-Virg.) unveiled a new bill designed to hold credit reporting agencies, companies that help determine consumers creditworthiness by selling data to lenders, to a high standard of security and timely disclosure.

The bill is squarely aimed at the massive data breach credit reporting agency Equifax (EFX) announced in September, which exposed sensitive personal information of over 145 million customers  including Social Security numbers. Despite the egregious security lapse, the company might go about unscathed. (Former executives were under scrutiny for selling shares before the breach was announced for a time, but later were cleared by Equifax.)

The comeuppance for Equifax may only be investor pressure and class-action suits serving as a stick to ward off corporate negligence, unless Equifax quashes class-actions due to forced-arbitration clauses that many consumers have unwittingly agreed to, something the CEO admitted.

Strong, mandatory penalties for negligence

The senators new bill, The Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act, would enact very sharp, mandated penalties against credit reporting agencies (the three main ones are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) when there is a security breach. The penalties proposed in the bill would be $100 per person who has a piece of personal information compromised, and $50 for each additional piece. For Equifax, that would come to $14.5 billion for the Social Security numbers alone. The affected consumers would be entitled to 50% of the penalty as compensation.

The fines, however, would be capped at 50% of the trailing years gross revenue. Given that Equifax only took in about $3 billion in revenue in 2016, $1.5 billion would have been the maximum penalty. But should the company be found having inadequate data safeguards, the bill would double fines, and cap them at 75% of revenue.

Both the fines and the remuneration for consumers would mean an exponential increase in money returned to wronged consumers, who must vigilantly check their credit reports for false activity after this compromise of Social Security numbers, which are typically used for security by banks and other financial institutions and on applications for new accounts and credit cards.

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Today, most class-action suits return only a few dollars per consumer, the senators noted in a statement to Yahoo Finance, making it potentially a sharp difference.

A new regulatory body at the FTC

To oversee this, Warren and Warners bill proposes that the FTC establish an Office of Cybersecurity to perform annual inspections and supervise cybersecurity. Currently, the FTC does not have authority to oversee this industry, and the government has been slow to enact regulations and write laws to deal with the rapidly-changing and critical issues in cybersecurity, data storage, and privacy.

Given that the Democrats dont control Congress or the presidency, and that deregulation is a priority for the Trump administration, its a longshot that the bill will be signed into law. But following the Equifax breach, which affected most of the adults in the U.S., Republicans were as quick to anger at the company as their Democratic counterparts. Consumer advocates often note the power of scandal to affect surprising bipartisan change, and Warren and Warner are betting Equifax has furnished enough gunpowder.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Confidential tip line: FinanceTips[at]oath[.com].

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The unexpected decision by the Republican-controlled body is a blow to the presidents high-profile mission to revive the struggling US coal industry

Donald Trump holds a rally in Huntington, West Virginia, in August 2017. More than 500 coal-generating units were retired between 2002 and 2016 Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

An independent energy agency on Monday rejected a Trump administration plan to bolster coal-fired and nuclear power plants with subsidies, dealing a blow to the presidents high-profile mission to revive the struggling coal industry.

The decision by the Republican-controlled Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was unexpected and comes amid repeated promises by Trump to rejuvenate coal as the nations top power source. The industry has been besieged by multiple bankruptcies and a steady loss of market share as natural gas and renewable energy have flourished.

The energy secretary, Rick Perry, last year proposed fresh government support for coal-fired and nuclear power plants in an effort to slow the rate at which these units are being phased out, stating the output is needed to avoid power outages in times of supply stress such as recent natural disasters.

The US energy secretary, Rick Perry. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The plan would provide a lifeline to many ageing coal and nuclear plants that would otherwise go out of business, primarily due to the abundance of cheap natural gas and the plummeting cost of renewables.

The Department of Energy has noted that 531 coal-generating units were retired between 2002 and 2016, while eight nuclear reactors have announced retirement plans in the past year.

Donald Trump has vowed to arrest this decline and end the war on mining communities by repealing various environmental regulations put in place during the Obama administration.

But non-partisan expert analysis published last month calculated that the plan would cost US taxpayers about $10.6bn a year. And the money would be used to prop up some of the oldest and dirtiest power plants in the country, according to the joint report by research groups Climate Policy Initiative and Energy Innovation.

And in rejecting the proposal on Monday afternoon, the FERC declared that despite claims by the administration to the contrary, there is no evidence that any past or planned retirements of coal-fired power plants pose a threat to reliability of the nations electricity grid.

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The administrations plan was opposed by an unusual coalition of business and environmental groups that frequently disagree with each other. Critics said the plan would distort energy markets and raise prices for customers, especially in the north-eastern and midwestern US. One called it ludicrous and perverse.

Perry thanked the panel on Monday for addressing his proposal, which he said had initiated a national debate on the resiliency of the nations electricity system. The government has not released its own calculation of the cost of the proposal.

What is not debatable is that a diverse fuel supply, especially with onsite fuel capability, plays an essential role in providing Americans with reliable, resilient and affordable electricity, particularly in times of weather-related stress like we are seeing now, Perry said.

A coal-fired power station in Bow, New Hampshire. Photograph: Jim Cole/AP

Perry was referring to his plan to compensate power plant owners that maintain a 90-day fuel supply protected against severe weather and other disruptions, a feature shared by coal and nuclear power but less apparent with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

Energy providers outside of coal and nuclear have warned about interference in the free market and manufacturers with high energy needs said higher prices could be passed on to consumers.

Tech giant Apple weighed in on Monday against the proposal, saying it would inhibit innovation and competition and interfere with plans to increase use of clean energy such as wind and solar power.

In its decision, the five-member energy panel essentially agreed with critics who said there was no evidence of a threat to the grids day-to-day reliability that would justify the emergency action Perry was seeking.

An energy department report last year called reliability adequate, citing significant additions to the grid from natural gas, wind and solar.

The FERC said in its decision that it is launching a new process to evaluate the resilience of the nations electric grid.
By Robin Emmott and John Irish BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - European powers will reaffirm on Thursday their support for the Iran nuclear deal that Donald Trump has rejected, EU diplomats said, on the eve of a deadline for the U.S. president to decide whether to reimpose oil sanctions lifted under the agreement. At a meeting with Iran, Britain, France, and Germany, convened by the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini, the European powers that helped negotiate the 2015 accord will reassure Tehran they remain committed to it. They will also urge Iran to continue to comply with international inspectors, the diplomats said. Tehran has always denied seeking nuclear arms. "The aim is to send a message to Washington that Iran is complying and that it is better to have the nuclear agreement than to isolate Tehran," one diplomat said. A second diplomat said: "The date of the meeting is not a coincidence ... It's a campaign that we have carried on since October," referring to Trump's decision not to certify that Tehran is meeting the terms of a pact to stop it developing nuclear weapons. A spokesman for Iran's atomic energy agency said on Wednesday that a reimposition of sanctions by the United States would be a violation of the nuclear deal and added that the Islamic Republic had the capacity to greatly increase its enrichment of uranium. The foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France as well as Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif, are expected to meet on Thursday morning with Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief. The Thursday meeting in Brussels is part of diplomacy on both sides of the Atlantic before deadlines related to the deal falling this month, including deciding whether to reimpose oil sanctions lifted under the deal. Trump must decide by mid-January whether to continue waiving U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil exports under the terms of the pact. The State Department said on Tuesday the Trump administration was expected to decide on Friday. The decision comes as Iran's government deals with protests over economic hardships and corruption that are linked to frustration among younger Iranians who hoped to see more benefits from the lifting of sanctions. Retired U.S. military officers, members of the U.S. Congress and former U.S. ambassadors were among 52 U.S. national security experts who signed a letter released on Monday urging Trump not to jeopardize the deal with Iran. European countries including France and Italy have benefited from renewed trade with Iran, whose proven natural gas reserves are as vast as Russia's, while Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran following the deal. If Trump reimposes sanctions on Tehran, European powers fear the deal would fall apart. The EU is adamant the deal cannot be renegotiated. (Reporting by Robin Emmott and John Irish; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Lyle J. Goldstein

Security, Asia

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho before their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 50th Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila, Philippines

Beijing is riding the waves of the current crisis and hoping for a soft landing.

The Evolution of the North Korea Crisis through China's Eyes

News of border talks between North Korea and South Korea can only be positive given the dangerous depths that this crisis had plumbed in recent months. That the New York Times greeted the peace overture in a front page editorial of their January 2 edition with deep suspicion as a ploy to break the U.S.-South Korean alliance only suggests how far afield that newspaper has drifted into the hawkish camp on nearly all national security questions. The U.S.-South Korean alliance remains strong and will hardly be jeopardized by border talks. What could break the alliance, however, is the perception growing in South Korea that Americans are willing to flirt with the possibility of initiating (nuclear) war. Such a perception can be dispelled if Americans and their leading newspapers fully embrace negotiationsa stance quite appropriate to the nuclear ageand one wholly consistent with President John F. Kennedys famous dictum that we should never fear to negotiate.

A substantial segment of the ongoing debate about the Korea crisis in the United States has revolved around Chinas role, and this Dragon Eye column has endeavored over the past few years to share a variety of insights from Chinese analysts on the most crucial questions related to the crisis. The tenor of the overall debate in the United States on the question of Chinas role has taken a more urgent and dangerous turn of late. Impatience has given way to disappointment, which is quickly now yielding to anger and accusations, with new threats to punish Beijing now not far behind. However, the mistake in hoping that China would take responsibility for the North Korea nuclear issue was not in overestimating Chinas importance, but rather in believing that this importance somehow absolved the United States of any responsibility to take active steps toward reconciliation. To the contrary, resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue can only come about as a result of a creative and dynamic interaction that involves the the United States, China and both Koreas in a step-by-step de-escalation model that makes full use of carrots as well as sticks to defuse the confrontation.

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Although other players, notably South Korea and possibly also Russia, may now take the lead in trying to broker a peace settlement, Chinas role remains prominent and this column will examine a few additional points on that critical relationship. Many in both the West and in China have read the visit of Song Tao, President Xi Jinpings special emissary to Pyongyang back in mid-November, as an utter failure, since he was refused an audience with Kim Jung-un. Chinese reporting from Global Times [] on November 19 does indeed suggest that Beijing had hoped for such a meeting. During my own visit to Beijing in early December, moreover, I encountered significant disappointment (and even shock) among Chinese specialists that this meeting did not occur.

A November 18 Global Times editorial, however, had made clear that foreign expectations for the Song visit were way too high. This editorial argues that foreign assessments of China-North Korean relations are not necessarily objective or accurate. [, ] Thus, it is explained, they routinely overestimate Chinas capability to influence North Korea. Moreover, it is explained that a miracle[] diplomatic breakthrough of the type hoped for could only be expected when the melon is ripe so it falls from the stem. []. The piece suggests with evident concern that the United States has made the job that much harder by greeting North Koreas two months of all quiet [] on the testing front by placing North Korea back on the list of states supporting terrorism. On the other hand, the same editorial points out that Washington has shown some flexibility, and the counterfactual is even posited about how the situation might be different today if America had articulated its 4 nos [] some years earlier, but for now the outlook perceived by the Chinese is for ever greater pressure. [] As for the Song visit to Pyongyang, the article states that the visit was an important step, but that one could hardly expect the stalemate to be broken by a single visit.

Indeed, a closer reading of Chinese reporting may suggest that the Song Tao visit was not a complete failure. The fact that the visit lasted for four days, and that Song met with both the Secretary of the Korean Workers Party, as well as a former foreign minister, does imply substantive dialogue. Perhaps it is also of significance that Song visited North Koreas largest cemetery of Chinas People Volunteers from the Korean War. Surely, this was intended as a sign from both Beijing and Pyongyang that their security ties have not dissipated entirely. Perhaps a November 20 editorial in Global Times was accurate in asserting that, The relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang is not as good as some optimists think. It is also not as bad as some pessimists believe.

True, that observation did precede the latest round of sanctions (Dec 22), which in turn followed North Koreas latest ICBM test (Nov 29). A relatively comprehensive Chinese language survey of the sanctions issue by Shanghai researcher Hao Qunhuan [] appeared in the October 2017 issue of the journal International Politics []. Raising a number of questions with the sanctions approach, Hao writes that The North Korean economy has on its own capability for resistance and also for rejuvenation. [] He cites North Koreas evident focus on technical education, an obviously improved  electricity situation, and a renewed focus on peoples livelihoods. [] Hao also says that sanctions reinforce unity within North Koreas internal politics. He makes the fascinating observation that Pyongyang is now seeking to cause more North Koreans to believe that Chinas participation in the UNSC sanctions amounts to abandoning China-North Korean friendship, and is a major reason for the deterioration of the North Korean economy. [,] Not surprisingly, he reiterates Chinas long-time stance that Beijing is unwilling to exercise sanctions pressure to the point that such measures endanger North Korean regime stability or threaten peoples livelihoods. He does warn:  sanctions can also cause an aggravation and acceleration of the spiral-type vicious cycle of nuclear and missile testing on the Korean Peninsula. [].

Sanctions may be a useful instrument to pressure Pyongyang to come to the table and make a favorable deal. It is quite plausible that the latest round of sanctions might have caused Kim Jung-un to reevaluate and precipitated the more reasonable position in the New Year, including the potential thaw surrounding the Olympics. Nevertheless, Chinese and American diplomats need to think (together) about carrots as well as sticks. They may follow the advice of Hao Qunhuan discussed above and had better also consider the caution of long-time Korea watcher Andrei Lankov. He warns that the new, much tougher sanctions could indeed prompt revolutionary upheaval in North Korea: If the top leaders start losing the internal war and see themselves as doomed, they may decide to go out with a bang, not whimper  perhaps by using their nuclear weapons to attack neighboring countries and even the United States. He even posits that China  will not be out of harms way, either 

Chinas diplomacy has thus far not succeeded in making a breakthrough in the present nuclear crisis. Beijing has made constructive proposals, such as a double freeze that should be carefully evaluated in Washington and allied capitals. Whatever the outlines of an eventual agreement, China will be able to contribute much to its successful negotiations and implementation. China can offer generous economic assistance and security assurances (up to and including conventional weaponry), as well as crucial experience and technical capabilities with respect to arms control and verification (of proliferation safeguards, for example). While many Chinese strategists may be resigned to riding the waves and thus attempting to minimize the impact of the Korean issue on China. Nevertheless, the global community needs Beijings skilled diplomats to once again intensify their efforts to resolve this crisis in the very heart of East Asia.

U.S. policy should also be cautious and constructive. Keeping in mind, of course, that tweets are wholly inappropriate to a full-blown nuclear crisis, rash criticism of any inclination to negotiate is exactly the opposite of what is needed at this delicate moment. A former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs was quoted in the New York Times on January 4 as suggesting in response to the possibility of inter-Korean border talks that, if the South Koreans are viewed as running off the leash, it will exacerbate tensions within the alliance. Such a condescending and demeaning metaphor comparing South Korea to a dog held by a tether embodies much of what is wrong with the Blob in Washington and their conception of the Korean problem specifically, as well as U.S. strategy more broadly. A more humble approach is now required: one that puts a premium on listening and talking, rather than grandstanding.

Lyle J. Goldstein is Professor of Strategy in the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) at the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI. You can reach him at goldstel@usnwc.edu. The opinions in his columns are entirely his own and do not reflect the official assessments of the U.S. Navy or any other agency of the U.S. government.

Image: Reuters.

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After what looked like a successful launch on Sunday night, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal Monday that the spy satellite known as Zuma had failed to reach orbit and is presumed to be a total loss, after rumors swirled all day that the spacecraft wasnt put into the correct orbit, or perhaps had just failed in some way.

SpaceX spokesman James Gleeson could only release this statement on Monday: We do not comment on missions of this nature; but as of right now reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally.

SpaceX president Gwynn Shotwell went a step further on Tuesday, defending SpaceXs reputation as an aerospace company whose rockets could be trusted.

After review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night, Shotwell says in a statement. If we or others find based on further review, we will report it immediately. Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false. Due to the classified nature of the payload, no further comment is possible.

Shotwell continues: Since the data reviewed so far indicates that no design, operational or other changes are needed, we do not anticipate any impact on the upcoming launch schedule. Falcon Heavy has been rolled out to launchpad LC-39A for a static fire later this week, to be followed shortly thereafter by its maiden flight. We are also preparing for an F9 launch for SES and the Luxembourg Government from SLC-40 in three weeks.

News about a disappearance of a government spacecraft that was already shrouded in secrecy because of its nature is a development sure to stoke the curiosity of conspiracy theorists. For its part, U.S. officials who spoke only on the condition of anonymity are calling the failure a write-off, the WSJ reports.

Northrop Grumman Corporation made the Zuma spacecraft, and it was intended for low-Earth orbit, but thats all SpaceX or the defense contractor had released about the mission, calling Zuma restricted payload.

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Zuma was the third classified mission SpaceX has performed for the U.S. government. (The first was to launch a spy satellite in May and the second was to launch the X-37B spy plane in September.)

The Zuma mission was first scheduled to launch on November 15 and experienced subsequent delays that led to the launch on Sunday.

Written by Nick Lucchesi

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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump addresses supporters during a campaign rally: Scott Olson/Getty Images

The man behind a controversial dossier of information about then-candidate Donald Trump claimed the FBI had a source inside Mr Trump's network during their investigation of his campaign, a newly released transcript has shown.

Glenn Simpson, the founder of research firm Fusion GPS  who commissioned former MI6 officer Christopher Steele to compile the dossier  testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee in August. In his testimony, he suggested that Mr Steele had claimed the existence of a secret FBI source inside the Trump camp.

The so-called "Steele dossier" is known for its shocking claims, including that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia  something Mr Trump has repeatedly denied.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein released a transcript of the interview on Tuesday, after repeated disagreements with Republicans on the committee.

According to the transcript, Mr Simpson told the committee that Mr Steele had reported his suspicions about the Trump campaign to the FBI in July in 2016. When the researcher spoke with the FBI again in September, Mr Simpson said, agents made it clear that they believed at least some of his allegations.

My understanding was that they believed Chris at this point  that they believed Chris might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump Organisation, Mr Simpson said.

Mr Simpson declined to say who he suspected the whistle-blower to be, but did not think it was a source of Mr Steele's.

It was someone like us who decided to pick up the phone and report something, he said, adding that he believed the source was voluntary, and was concerned about the same concerns we had.

A source close to Fusion GPS, however, told NBC that the Trump-team source did not exist. Mr Simpson, this source said, had mischaracterised a tip from an Australian diplomat about Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos.

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Mr Papadopoulos drunkenly told an Australian diplomat during the campaign that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton, according to the New York Times. The diplomat then relayed this information to American officials, sparking the FBI investigation into the Trump campaign.

Mr Simpson also said Mr Steele had cut off contact with the FBI after former agency head James Comey announced he was reopening an investigation into Hillary Clintons private email server. Around the same time, the Times reported that the FBI was investigating Mr Trump and had found no connections to Russia.

I understand Chris severed his relationship with the FBI out of concern that he didn't know what was happening inside the FBI and there was a concern that the FBI was being manipulated for political ends by the Trump people, Mr Simpson said.

Fusion GPS commended Ms Feinstein for releasing the transcript, and said Mr Simpsons lengthy responses to the Senate Judiciary Committees questioning speaks for itself.

Ms Feinstein said she released the transcript with the agreement of the other Democrats on the committee, to combat the "innuendo and misinformation" surrounding it.

"The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public," she said.

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied colluding with Russia during the campaign, and called the entire investigation a witch hunt.

Everything Ive done is 100 percent proper, he said at a press conference last weekend. ...Just so you understand, theres been no collusion, theres been no crime.
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A teenage girl was pulled from the brink of death following Tuesday's tragic flooding and mudslides in Southern California.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department posted a photo of the moment the 14-year-old emerged from the wreckage of her demolished Montecito home, where she had spent hours awaiting rescue.

First responders in the area were overwhelmed following intense rains that left numerous people trapped inside homes and vehicles and more than a dozen dead.

Roads were closed and thousands of people were evacuated across the region as devastating rains turned into rivers of mud that inundated roadways and leveled homes.

"Its going to be worse than anyone imagined for our area," Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason told the Los Angeles Times. "Following our fire, this is the worst-case scenario."

That fire, of course, was the Thomas fire, which just last month burned more than a quarter million acres. Areas affected by fires of less able to absorb water, which makes flooding worse.

About 20,000 people have been ordered to evacuate and at least 50 people have been rescued by helicopters in the area, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.

"It looked like a World War I battlefield," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.

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A worker removes oil from the sand at Refugio State Beach in the Santa Barbara Channel, north of Goleta, Calif., as cleanup continued a month after the May 19 oil spill north of Santa Barbara, Calif. (Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP)

After Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke excluded Florida from his policy opening virtually the entire coastline of the continental U.S. to offshore oil drilling, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., complained that the administration was playing favorites  giving preferential treatment to Florida because, unlike many other coastal states, it has a Republican governor.

Schiff, who represents Californias 28th Congressional District  which includes much of Los Angeles (but not the beach communities)  pointed out that Californias Gov. Jerry Brown also objected to resuming offshore oil drilling but that only Floridas Rick Scott, a Republican who supported President Trump, got his way on the issue.

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In exempting Florida from the Jan. 4 order, which reversed an Obama-era ban on drilling in the Arctic and areas of the Atlantic, Zinke praised Scotts leadership and cited the governors position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver. In a tweet, he added: Local voice matters.

I have witnessed Governor Scotts leadership through hurricane season and am working closely with him on Everglades restoration. He is a straightforward leader that can be trusted. President Trump has directed me to rebuild our offshore oil and gas program in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice. I support the governors position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver. As a result of discussion with Governor Scotts [sic] and his leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.

Trump happens to spend most of his vacation time in Florida. He regularly travels to Mar-a-Lago, the world-famous resort he owns in Palm Beach. He has referred to Mar-a-Lago as The Southern White House.

Scott, whose term ends next January, is not eligible for reelection but has been rumored as a possible Senate candidate for the seat held by Democrat Bill Nelson.

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Schiff was joined by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who said California should be removed from the administrations drilling list immediately. He used Zinkes words to argue that California is also unique and that its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver.

The California coast was the site of one of the nations most disastrous oil spills  off Santa Barbara,  in 1969.

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Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., accused the Department of the Interior of discrimination, calling Zinkes views arbitrary and capricious.

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The Trump administration has long promoted offshore drilling as a way to spur economic growth and secure energy independence. Despite opposition from coastal communities, the Trump-Zinkes five-year plan expanded operations to areas that had previously been protected under President Barack Obama. This includes parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic.

Brown joined Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee  both Democrats  in opposing the political decision the day it was announced. They said it puts the magnificent and beautiful Pacific Coast waters in harms way.

Theyve chosen to forget the utter devastation of past offshore oil spills to wildlife and to the fishing, recreation and tourism industries in our states. Theyve chosen to ignore the science that tells us our climate is changing and we must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. But we wont forget history or ignore science, the governors wrote in a joint statement. For more than 30 years, our shared coastline has been protected from further federal drilling and well do whatever it takes to stop this reckless, short-sighted action.

Many governors along the East Coast also oppose the expansion. This includes democrats like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as well as Republican governors such as Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. Longtime Trump supporter and outgoing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie reportedly opposed this plan as well.

Beachgoers sunbathe behind a wall of hay bales  used to absorb any oil that might come ashore  on Dauphin Island, Ala., on May 11, 2010. (Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Environmentalists unanimously condemned the decision as reckless. Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune argues that Trump and Zinke are listening to the industry thats bankrolled their campaigns and filled their administration, rather than the American citizens they are supposed to represent.

And environmentalist groups were equally unimpressed by the announcement that Florida would be spared when the Trump administration placed it at risk in the first place. The League of Conservation Voters deputy legislative director, Alex Taurel, said, If Secretary Zinke has really turned over a new leaf and decided to listen to local voices, he should listen to the outpouring of opposition coming from communities, businesses, and elected officials from both parties up and down our coasts and promptly withdraw his radical offshore drilling plan.

Greenpeace USA climate campaign specialist Vicky Wyatt said Trump is already backtracking to secure political favor. In a statement, she said Trump is willing to gamble with the livelihoods of coastal communities as long as he doesnt depend on their votes.

Will Secretary Zinke also respect the wishes of the numerous governors who have also opposed drilling off their coasts, too? she asked.

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As drones increase in availability, more organizations and governments are looking for ways to protect assets from nefarious drones. Fortem has developed a system called DroneHunter that, well, hunts drones. Literally. DroneHunter involves detecting and then removing drones by shooting them down or capturing them with another drone. This is dogfighting with drones.

The system uses radar to monitor a designated area and identify potential bad actors. Once a target is identified, a large six rotor drone is deployed that can be equipped with several different takedown devices. This drone then intercepts the rogue drone and shoots a net at the target drone to either cause the drone to crash or tether it to the larger drone. Fortem says this system works with drones traveling up to 100 miles per hour.

As we explained last year, Fortem acquired its core radar technology in 2016 from IMSAR, and over the last year has adapted it so that the system can be exported around the world, leased or purchased outright within the typical security budget for a variety of venues, and can work with any security-grade drones.

The Utah-based startup raised $5.5 million last year to bring this product to market.

This system is now available for purchase at an unnamed cost from Fortem though it seems sales will be limited to defense and federal government customers.
Berlin (AFP) - France's finance minister on Wednesday urged Germany to loosen the purse strings to help boost European growth, reminding Berlin of its wider responsibilities as Chancellor Angela Merkel struggles to forge a new coalition at home.

France has already done its bit by "reducing its public spending and reforming its economy," Bruno Le Maire told Die Zeit weekly.

"We expect Germany to join the movement, by adopting more offensive wage policies and investing more."

The call comes at a sensitive time for Merkel who is trying to renew an alliance with the reluctant Social Democratic Party (SPD) after an inconclusive September election.

Five days of exploratory talks are scheduled to end Thursday evening, when both sides will announce whether they have enough common ground to proceed to formal coalition talks -- with public spending one of the hot-button issues.

The centre-left SPD is demanding more spending to help the disadvantaged, but Merkel's conservatives want to keep the country's budget balanced as they argue that they are saving for the ageing population's future.

"Germany has already taken decisions in the right direction -- a minimum wage was introduced," said Le Maire, referring to a key condition by the SPD during negotiations for the outgoing coalition with Merkel.

"We are now expecting investments in big projects, in innovation, research and infrastructure," the French minister added.

- Macron waiting -

Germany is expected to announce on Friday a budget surplus for 2017 that surpasses 10 billion euros ($12 billion), German media reported, putting pressure on Merkel for greater wealth redistribution in the country.

Germany also regularly comes under criticism over its massive trade surplus, the world's largest which swelled to around 250 billion euros last year.

France, the United States and the International Monetary Fund have long urged booming Germany to spend and invest more to push up consumption and allow other countries to benefit indirectly from its success.

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Le Maire also called for a speedy end to Merkel's lengthy struggle to form a new government, after the chancellor's initial attempt at building a coalition with two smaller parties collapsed in November.

"The sooner we have a stable German government, the better for France," he was quoted as saying.

Merkel has been largely absent from the international stage in recent months as she focuses on her domestic woes, just as a newly confident France is looking for a strong partner in Berlin to help drive President Emmanuel Macron's EU reform plans.

While staunchly pro-EU, Merkel has responded cautiously to some of Macron's more ambitious proposals for a common eurozone budget, parliament and finance minister, ideas more warmly received by the SPD.

Germany's Social Democratic foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel on Sunday said it was time "that we finally support the French in their reform efforts."

Le Maire sought to play down fears of a drastic EU overhaul, saying some of Macron's more controversial plans would be discussed in due time, with tax harmonisation and a banking union first on the agenda.

"The German-French connection has to be renewed, immediately," Le Maire told Die Zeit.

"We need common goals that go beyond our own horizons."
Guatemala City (AFP) - A Guatemalan lawyer is challenging his country's controversial decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, arguing it violates international law.

Marco Vinicio Mejia lodged the complaint with the Constitutional Court on Monday, saying the December 24 announcement of the embassy move went against the principles, rules and practices of international law with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Such a change of policy should have been put to a referendum, he argued.

He also said President Jimmy Morales flouted government standards by making the announcement on his Facebook page rather than leaving it to the foreign ministry to make the announcement through official channels.

The notice makes Guatemala the first -- and so far only -- country to follow US President Donald Trump's lead in saying its embassy will be relocated from Tel Aviv to the holy city.

Israel has long insisted that all of Jerusalem is its capital. But the Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Multiple UN resolutions do not recognize the claim to Jerusalem, and the United Nations General Assembly on December 21 rejected any unilateral recognition of the city as Israel's capital before a peace settlement deciding its status.

Only the United States and eight other countries -- Guatemala among them -- voted against the non-binding UN General Assembly decision.

Morales, in his Facebook announcement, defended the decision to move the embassy by saying Israel is an "ally" and that Guatemala has "historically been pro-Israel."

Guatemala's foreign minister, Sandra Jovel, has denied that her country bowed to US pressure in making its decision.

She added that the date of the embassy move had not yet been defined.
Palestinian militant group Hamas has praised a drive-by shooting that killed a Jewish father-of-six near his home on a West Bank settlement on Tuesday night.

At least one gunman fired shots at Rabbi Raziel Shevach, 35, killing him as he drove on the highway near the outpost of Havat Gilad, close to the Palestinian city of Nablus. No group has claimed responsibility but Hamas, the Gaza-based militant organization that considers Israel to be its arch-enemy, "blessed" the attack.

In a statement to Newsweek, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the attack was "a result of the Zionist occupation and crimes against our people in the West Bank and Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque," referring to the site in Jerusalem that is the third holiest in Islam.

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"The Zionist occupation government bears all the consequences of its extreme racist policies," the statement continued.

It remains unclear how many people were involved in the attack, but they remain at large. The Israeli military has launched a manhunt for those responsible and has imposed roadblocks in and around Nablus.

"A number of actions were decided upon in order to locate the terrorists who committed the shooting attack, including security checks upon entrances and exits to and from the city of Nablus and placing forces and security crossings across the city," the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement.

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Israeli special forces were operating in Palestinian villages overnight as the manhunt for the killer of Shevach intensified. IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot joined the search. The main mission at the moment is to locate the cell, to stop it and to prevent further terror events, and also to prepare for further activity in the area over the weekend, Eisenkot said, according to the Times of Israel.

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01_10_Nablus_West_Bank

Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty

The outpost in question, Havat Gilad, is deemed illegal under Israeli law, but far-right Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that he would look into the possibility of legalizing the outpost in response to the attack. I have also ordered an examination of the possibility of legalizing Havat Gilad," he said of the settlement created in 2002 in memory of the victim of another attack, Gilad Zar.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that Israeli security forces will do everything possible in order to reach the foul murderer, and the State of Israel will bring him to justice.

Hamas has fought three wars with Israel in the Gaza Strip since 2007, the year that Israel implemented a crippling economic blockade on the territory. Egypt also controls a crossing in and out of the coastal enclave.

Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War and maintains a military occupation there. Right-wing Israelis and the Israeli government consider east Jerusalem to be part of their "undivided capital," and refer to the West Bank by the biblical names Judea and Samaria, believing the territories to be the ancient homeland of the Jewish people.

In response to President Donald Trump's recent announcement that he had ordered the relocation of Washington's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Hamas had called for a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in response to the move that Arab leaders had opposed for months.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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SpaceX launched a classified, multibillion-dollar spy satellite for the U.S. government on Sunday  and then something went wrong.

Probably.

Unnamed government officials told Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal that the satellite, built by Northrop Grumman under the code-name Zuma, failed to reach orbit and crashed back into the atmosphere.

Due to the highly classified nature of the payload, however, its unclear what exactly happened. (We dont even know which government agency commissioned Zuma in the first place, which is rare.)

SpaceX declined to comment on the particulars, but in a statement to HuffPost was adamant there was no failure on its end. As evidence, heres the Falcon 9 rockets first stage returning safely back to Earth, as planned, just under eight minutes after launch:

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For clarity: after review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said in a statement emailed to HuffPost.

If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will report it immediately, Shotwell added. Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false. Due to the classified nature of the payload, no further comment is possible.

SpaceX noted it has a number of launches and tests scheduled for the next several weeks, which it would have immediately postponed had something gone wrong Sunday.

Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, notes the rocket seems to have launched something, and that it completed at least one orbit:

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While conspiracy-minded individuals have been quick to note a spy satellite suddenly disappearing seems perfectly in line with what a spy satellite might be designed to do, McDowell says thats unlikely.

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If Zuma did indeed fail, its possible the payload adapter Northrop Grumman built to deploy the satellite from the rocket itself malfunctioned. According to documents obtained by Wired, the company built its own payload adapter instead of using hardware provided by SpaceX.

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That would explain SpaceXs account of a perfect launch, while also squaring with accounts the satellite is a total loss.

Northrop Grumman declined to comment, instead releasing a tight-lipped statement.

This is a classified program, Northrop Grumman Communications Director Lon Rains told HuffPost in an emailed statement. We cannot discuss classified programs.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Budapest (AFP) - A conference sponsored by the Hungarian government has been postponed because of objections over keynote speaker Milo Yiannopoulos, a gay provocateur and former Breitbart editor, organisers said Tuesday.

The three-day "Future of Europe" event had been due to begin on January 23 as part of Hungary's presidency of the Visegrad 4 bloc of central European countries.

But the organisers, a research foundation whose head is close to right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said that the event has "become part of the partisan political struggles" ahead of elections expected in April.

"That makes it impossible for a free debate of differing opinions and outlooks to take place undisturbed," it said, adding that the conference has been moved to May, after the elections.

Yiannopoulos, 33, casts himself as a gay crusader for free speech and an enemy of "political correctness", and has been widely accused of being racist and misogynistic.

The Briton resigned last February from Breitbart, the right-wing news website, and lost a book deal after a video emerged in which he appeared to condone paedophilia.

Other scheduled speakers included Goetz Kubitschek, a figure from Germany's "New Right", and radical Hungarian-born sociologist Frank Furedi.

French philosopher Pascal Bruckner cancelled his attendance saying he did not want to appear alongside "extremist elements hostile to the values of our continent."

Yiannopoulos was due to open the conference, to be attended by Hungary's foreign minister, with a speech titled "Challenges of the Western World".

The postponement followed an outcry from opposition parties and indications that Orban's government, which fiercely opposes immigration, was starting to get cold feet.

A senior member of the Fidesz ruling party said last week that Yiannopoulos's attendance was now "not likely", since the event had "no room for the popularisation of paedophilia".
At least 13 people have died in deadly mudslides in California after torrential rain sent boulders and mud coursing down the slopes above a residential community in Santa Barbara.

The huge rocks and tonnes of fallen mud fell on roads and tore down trees in Californias wealthy Montecito neighborhoods, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Santa Barbara Fire Department was scrambling in the debris and mudflows to recover survivors of the disaster throughout the day.

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Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason said the rainstorm wreaked havoc on the south facing slopes above Montecito in just a few minutes. The heavy rain flooded one creek which opens into the ocean. The excess water dislodged massive boulders that smashed onto the communities below.

The first victims of the disaster were killed after the downpour struck at 2:30 a.m. local time (5:30 EST) resulting in waist-high mudflows.

GettyImages-903086224 (1)

AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck

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The scenes of chaos, which began early Tuesday, were particularly disheartening for the county which only a few weeks earlier had been battling the Thomas fire, the largest wildfire in California in modern history.

According to authorities at least 25 have been injured by the mudslides. Rescue crews were able to save 50 people by air evacuation and dozens more from the ground.

Rescue workers believe they have only just started to uncover the scale of the destruction. "It's going to be worse than anyone imagined for our area," Stanta Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason told the L.A. Times. "Following our fire, this is the worst-case scenario," he added.

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As Tuesday wore on some 300 individuals remained stuck in their homes, trapped by impassable roads which hampered rescue efforts. First responders said they planned to evacuate these individuals, who remain safe in their homes, via the air. The main issue is that eventually they could run out of supplies.

It appears that the recent wildfire in Santa Barbara has exacerbated scale of the mudslides. Burned areas are less able to absorb water which makes them more liable to flooding.

As rescue efforts continue, there is hope further survivors will be found in areas that have been, as of yet, inaccessible.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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If you take a stroll down the magazine aisle in any drugstore or at your neighborhood newsstand, youll probably notice the same black celebrities on the cover of top fashion glossies. Lupita Nyongo, Beyonce, and Rihanna have scored multiple Vogue covers, but the instances are still very far and few between the number of white actresses and entertainers.

Tyra Banks knows exactly where the problem lies.

Banks brought her next-level fierceness to the Build Series in New York City to promote her Americas Next Top Model return. Cycle 24 debuts Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. EST on VH1 and it has the most diverse cast of models in the shows history. However, highlighting diverse beauty has always been a priority for the 44-year-old mogul.

According to Banks, the fashion industry is very cyclical and very focused on trends  and we see this occurring with women of certain races and skin tones being propelled in the spotlight.

She explained, Ohh, its black girl season! Ok and now where are they? Ohh, its a Brazilian season! Ok and now where are they? Ohh, its the Russians! Ohh, now its the Asian girls!

To me, race is not a trend. Your skin is not a trend, Banks told viewers. We are who we are so we should not go in and out of fashion.

Banks has advice for the powers that be in the fashion industry on how to solve this issue: The trend should be what we put on our bodies  not our bodies.

We hope they get the message.

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BOSTON (Reuters) - Richard Hall, who oversaw private equity investing at Harvard University's $37 billion endowment, is leaving the Ivy League school to become the deputy chief investment officer at the University of Texas' endowment.

Harvard's investment chief N.P. "Narv" Narvekar wrote in an email on Wednesday that Hall, a four year veteran at Harvard Management Company, is moving back to Texas for the position at the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO).

At UTIMCO, which oversees roughly $40 billion, Hall will reunite with Britt Harris who previously served as chief investment officer at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and was appointed UTIMCO's chief executive officer and chief investment officer in June. Hall had been head of private equity at Teacher Retirement System of Texas before coming to Harvard.

Narvekar, who came to Harvard in late 2016, has been restructuring how the university manages its money by letting more outsiders do the investing and shutting down its internal hedge funds. As part of the changes, Harvard said in early 2017 that it would lay off roughly half of Harvard Management Company's 230 employees.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Susan Thomas)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Irans atomic energy agency said on Wednesday a reimposition of sanctions by the United States would be a violation of Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, adding that the Islamic Republic had the capacity to greatly increase its enrichment of uranium. U.S. President Donald Trump must decide by mid-January whether to continue the suspension of U.S. sanctions on Irans oil exports under the pact, which eased economic pressure on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear programme. "If the suspension is not continued it's a violation of the (nuclear deal) and the Islamic Republic of Iran will, of course, take the necessary actions," Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said in an interview with state TV. He did not specify what such actions might be. Later in the interview, he said: The capacity exists within the atomic energy agency to speed up nuclear work in various fields, particularly in the field of enrichment, which can be increased several times more than in the period before the nuclear agreement. Enrichment, a process which can produce weapons-grade uranium, is restricted under the terms of the deal. Supporters of the pact insist that strong international monitoring will prevent Iran from developing nuclear bombs. Iran has denied that it wants to acquire nuclear weapons. The American government should think wisely, Kamalvandi said in the interview. Even though they have shown until now unfortunately that they are not thinking or acting wisely. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Monday Tehran might reconsider its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if the United States failed to respect its commitments in the deal. The IAEA, the UNs nuclear watchdog, seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It is scrutinising Irans compliance with the agreement. Majid Takht Ravanchi, a senior aide to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, said on Wednesday Trumps unpredictable personality made it difficult to foresee whether sanctions would be renewed. We are prepared for the worst-case scenario, Takht Ravanchi said, according to state media. Not only in the political field but even on the economic front. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; editing by Andrew Roche)
Tehran (AFP) - Thousands on death row for drug crimes in Iran will escape hanging as a new softened anti-narcotics law is enforced, local media reported on Wednesday.

Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani on Tuesday ordered judges to halt death sentences for concerned convicts and review their cases, the judiciary's Mizanonline news agency said.

The new law retroactively "clarifies the fate of some 5,000 sentenced to death for drug trafficking", the Iran daily newspaper quoted Larijani as saying in a directive.

Most convicts will see their death sentences commuted to jail terms of between 25 to 30 years, he said.

Iran does not provide official figures on executions, but human rights group Amnesty International says it was the world's second top executioner in 2016 after China, with most of its hangings related to drug trafficking.

Parliament passed the amended drug law in August after years of internal debate between police, the judiciary and lawmakers.

The new law raises the amounts that can trigger the death penalty from 30 grams to two kilos for the production and distribution of chemical substances such as heroin, cocaine and amphetamines.

For natural substances such as opium and marijuana, the levels have been raised from five to 50 kilos.

The amendment maintains the death penalty for those who lead drug-trafficking gangs, exploit minors below 18 years old in doing so, or carry or draw firearms while committing drug-related crimes.

Iran's neighbour Afghanistan produces some 90 percent of the world's opium, which is extracted from poppy resin and refined to make heroin.

The Islamic republic, a major transit point for Afghan-produced opiates heading to Europe and beyond, confiscates and destroys hundreds of tonnes of illicit narcotics every year.
The wave of recent protests throughout Iran is the latest sign of Tehrans crisis of leadership. It is a crisis that has indicted all echelons of the state and all the factions that compete for power within it.

For over a week, Iranian protesters, chanting slogans against figures including Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, and Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani, have managed to lay bare the divisions among the Islamic Republics elites  the reformist, pragmatist, and hard-liner factions that have held together since 1979. The protests also highlighted how all those groups now lay on one side of a deepening divide between the Iranian state and society.

This crisis is not unique to Iran. The Arab Spring protests, the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the 2016 Brexit referendum are but a few examples that reflect the global trend of popular protest against status quo politics and an ever-distant political elite. Over the past two decades, Iranians have similarly expressed their growing discontent with the political status quo at the ballot box and in demonstrations. Factional tensions and political competition also accelerated during this time, becoming a defining feature of Irans politics. Different factions thus became the object of popular disproval at different times  neither the centrist and reformist group that controls the elected government nor the hard-line conservatives who dominate the Islamic Republics unelected centers of power were spared.

The 1997 election of President Mohammad Khatami, which brought reformists into government, foreshadowed an accelerating shift toward factionalism among the Islamic Republics political elites. Seeking political, cultural, and economic liberalization of the Islamic government, reformists introduced the idea of change from within, at the expense of conservative elites. Their efforts, despite broad electoral support, were predominantly unsuccessful due to coordinated conservative maneuvering against reform.

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The 2005 election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brought with it a populist wind of change. As a younger-generation revolutionary, Ahmadinejad sought to redress the imbalances of a revolution gone astray. His redistributive policies and confrontational politics upset the domestic balance of power  seen most clearly in the 2009 post-election protests and subsequent government crackdown, which also featured severe criticism of Supreme Leader Khamenei.

The 2013 election of centrist Hassan Rouhani, who campaigned on a platform of pragmatic economic and social reforms, was meant to return balance to the system. There were hopes from within the elite that Rouhani, a quintessential insider, would be able to build bridges between the right and left wings of the political elite while also restoring the Islamic Republics lost popular legitimacy. For the duration of the nuclear negotiations with the United States and other world powers, factional tensions were relatively tempered at Khameneis behest to present a united front.

Once the agreement was sealed in July 2015, however, these divisions aggressively resurfaced as hard-liners sought to discredit Rouhani and his proposed reforms. Like his immediate predecessors, Rouhani rose with the promise of change and is now in the process of falling, because he failed to bridge the very divide of factionalism he used to fuel his rise. He is falling victims to the same cycle of electoral change, unmet policy promises, disappointment, and popular unrest that has defined Irans crisis of leadership for the past 20 years.

Hard-liners and reformists are at odds over not only their place in the political system but also its future. In theory, all factions are united in protecting and preserving the Islamic Republics political system  even if they are divided on how to do so. But pragmatists and reformists support for economic liberalization policies promises to create a more open private sector that hard-liners believe will erode the values of the revolution, and their place in it. Rouhanis attempts to elevate issues of corruption and challenge the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) business interests also represents a threat to the hard-liners economic interests.

It is against this backdrop that the recent protests began in the religious city of Mashhad and spread to over 70 cities, towns, and villages throughout the country. Some reports have suggested that conservative politicians in Mashhad close to Ebrahim Raisi, the hard-line candidate who was defeated in the 2017 presidential election, organized the initial protests to challenge Rouhanis economic policies. From there, the demonstrations spiraled out of control.

Rouhanis recently unveiled budget has drawn much public attention for cutting back spending and criticizing institutionalized corruption. In order to attract foreign investment, Rouhani proposed to cut domestic spending on subsidies and increase fuel prices  moves that could have sparked further discontent. The ever-frustrated Rouhani also drew attention to the large percentage of government funds that were allocated to religious and cultural institutions without any oversight, going so far as to name these organizations, as well as highlighting the $8 billion allocated to the IRGC.

Ahmadinejads role in fanning the flames of popular discontent is also relevant. Whether he too was involved is not yet known, although IRGC officials have implied as much. Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of the IRGC, intimated that This [protest]  is linked to an individual who has opened his mouth in opposition to the values and principles of the system  Security officials are investigating this matter, to see if they see interference by this former official, certainly he will be confronted by law enforcement. Since the end of his presidential tenure, Ahmadinejad continues to be a thorn in the side of the regime, which has made every effort to marginalize him.

The Iranian leaderships response to the protests has been tepid at best and reflects the deep political tensions and competition at the top of the government. President Rouhani has spoken twice since the protests, using the opportunity to set himself apart from his factional opponents. He acknowledged the root cause of the unrest being distance from the younger generation and called for regular access to the internet, government transparency, and the release of detained students. These are the same reforms that Rouhani has been calling for since 2013. It remains to be seen if he has the necessary political strength and courage to demand further change from his hard-line opponents. If he does not, he will ride out his remaining term as a lame duck president.

But its important to note that reformists have also struggled to form a coherent response. As partners of the Rouhani government with many seats in parliament, they are in an awkward position of supporting the government and the rights of the protesters at the same time.

Meanwhile, Khameneis comments have been limited to his usual game of blaming outsiders for their interference. The supreme leader continues to hold fast to a decaying vision of the Islamic Republic that has no meaning or value to many of the countrys citizens; the blame for failing to keep the system in balance ultimately falls on his shoulders. If theres anyone who has been forthright about supporting the right of protests, and effective in acknowledging the publics frustrations, it has been Friday prayer leaders who are ideologically close to the supreme leader and looking to promote their own hard-line populist ties to the people.

If anything, the divergent response to the protests reveals the mirage of political unity within the Islamic Republic. Despite claims of collective support for the Islamic Republic, Irans factions are more vested in preserving their personal power and place in the system than in governing effectively.

In 1858, at the Illinois Republican convention, then-senatorial candidate Abraham Lincoln famously said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. The same can be said of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Without significant reconciliation among the elite and Iranian society at large, the Iranian government faces a perilous and volatile path ahead.
Tehran (AFP) - Iran lashed out at the US House of Representatives on Wednesday after lawmakers adopted a resolution supporting recent anti-government protests in the Islamic republic.

Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi "strongly condemned" what he called "interference" in Iran's internal affairs, Iranian media reported.

"Such resolutions and hostile statements of the US government show the domineering nature of US leaders," he added.

US lawmakers on Tuesday backed the resolution almost unanimously, by a vote of 415 to two.

It said the House "stands with the people of Iran that are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive, corrupt regime," and condemns the government's "serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people".

Violent unrest fuelled by economic grievances erupted in dozens of Iranian cities between December 28 and January 1, leaving at least 21 people dead.

The resolution called on President Donald Trump's administration to issue new sanctions punishing Iran's human rights violators.
Tehran (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday praised a "massive movement of the people against the plots of the enemies", accusing the United States and Israel of inciting anti-government demonstrations.

Pro-government rallies have been held across the country since late December, according to Iranian state media, following several days of opposition protests which sparked violence that left 21 dead.

Such a "popular mobilisation against the enemy's plots targeting the regime... doesn't exist anywhere (else) in the world," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast by Iranian media.

He accused the United States and "the Zionists" of spending months preparing demonstrations in small towns in the hope that they would spread to the capital.

"This will not go unanswered," he said.

"The money came from the rich governments of the Persian Gulf and the perpetrators were the criminal Monafeghin group," he added.

Monafeghin ("hypocrites" in Persian) is a label Iranian authorities use for the People's Mujahedeen of Iran, an outlawed opposition group.

The anti-government protests had used the slogan "no to high living costs", which "pleases everyone", he said.

"But the people, who were not very many, quickly dissociated themselves (from the movement) when they realised the real objectives" of the instigators, he said.

Khamenei said there was a distinction between "the just demands of the people and the wild and destructive actions of this group".

He said protests for rights had nothing to do with "burning the Koran, insulting Islam, insulting the flag and burning mosques".

The anti-government demonstrations were the biggest such movement in the tightly controlled country since protests over a disputed election in 2009.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday he will present for approval a plan to build 1,285 housing units this year in West Bank settlements.

Israel's settlement project in the territories it has occupied or annexed since 1967 is illegal under international law and seen by the international community as a major obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.

"The defence minister will on Wednesday present for approval by the Higher Planning Council an immediate construction plan for 2018 of 1,285 housing units in Judea and Samaria," his ministry said, using the biblical names Israeli authorities use for the West Bank.

Lieberman would also seek to move forward projects for 2,500 additional housing units in more than 20 locations, it said.

The Higher Planning Council meets several times a year to examine and approve settlement construction projects.

According to Peace Now, an Israeli NGO that campaigns against the settlements, 6,742 housing projects were approved in the settlements last year, the highest figure since 2013.

In 2016, 2,629 housing units were approved.

In December, the central committee of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party unanimously adopted a resolution urging its own elected officials "to allow free construction and the application of (Israeli) legislation to all liberated Jewish settlement areas" in the territory.

If such a text were adopted by the government, it would definitively end the "two-state solution" by making a Palestinian state impossible.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas criticised the Likud resolution and the United States' refusal to condemn Israeli "crimes against the Palestinian people".

Abbas said the vote would not have taken place without "total support" from Washington.

About 400,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel for 50 years.

A further 200,000 live in east Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in a move never recognised by the international community.
Jared Kushner received nothing but accolades in a birthday post Wednesday morning from his wife Ivanka Trump, who called him an "amazing" father, husband and best friend.

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But for others special counsel Robert Mueller's team and federal investigators, for exampleperspectives on President Donald Trump's senior White House advisor are less rosy.



Kushner has landed in the news consistently in recent months, often in relation to the ongoing investigation into whether Trump's team colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election outcome.

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The real estate mogul spoke with multiple Russian-linked officials both before and after Trump's campaign, including a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting in New York that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon labeled as "treasonous" in Michael Wolff's new book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, released last week. The meeting, which also included Donald Trump Jr., former campaign manager Paul Manafort and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, among others, was set up with the promise of Trump obtaining damaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

It remained under wraps until mid 2017.

Kushner's communication with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey I. Kislyak, has also raised eyebrows. In addition to at least three previously undisclosed phone calls between April 2016 and November 2016 on improving economic relations with Russia and collaborating to combat Islamist extremism, Kushner also met with Kislyak at Trump Tower in December 2016 with incoming national security advisor, Michael Flynn. During said meeting, Kushner proposed developing a "secret and secure communications channel" between Trumps transition team and the Kremlin via Russian diplomatic facilities, The Washington Post reported.

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Mueller's investigators interviewed Kushner regarding this meeting, which had remained undisclosed until March, in November. The talk reportedly lasted less than an hour.

Trump's son-in-law has also found himself in hot water for failing to disclose financial dealings and potential conflicts of interest.

For example, Kushner failed to disclose ownership of a real estate tech company called Cadre, which is reportedly valued at $800 million, on his initial financial disclosure forms. An amended version in July revealed he valued his interest in Cadre from $5 million to $25 million.

The New York Times also reported earlier this week that prior to Trumps first diplomatic visit to Israel in May, Kushner's family received $30 million in investments from a large Israeli firm, Menora Mivtachim, for 10 Maryland apartment complexes.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Tonya Harding (L) and Nancy Kerrigan (R) at an event one month after the infamous attack on Kerrigan. (Getty)

The recent release of I, Tonya, a biopic chronicling the life and now-disgraced figure skating career of Tonya Harding, has drummed up discussion about Hardings legacy  a legacy youre likely familiar with.

Harding was at the center of one of the most infamous incidents in Olympic history. A month before the 1994 Winter Games in Norway, her main rival, Nancy Kerrigan, was attacked by a man who had been hired by Hardings ex-husband and her bodyguard.

Hardings role in and knowledge of the attack have long been subjects of controversy. She was banned for life by U.S. Figure Skating, which concluded Harding knew about the plot.

She feels shes never been able to adequately tell her side of the story. That, in a way, is what I, Tonya tries to do. And in the minds of some  including former Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir  it misses the mark.

Harding attended the Golden Globes last weekend, and was acknowledged by Allison Janney  who played Hardings mother in the film  during her speech after winning the award for best supporting actress.

Weir took exception to the shout-out, and the general reception of the film, which he called the glamorization of a villain.

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Weirs wrong side of the tracks comment refers to the films portrayal of Hardings rough childhood. She was raised by an abusive mother. Weir is essentially saying that doesnt excuse her.

Weir sent out the tweet after being interviewed by a TMZ reporter at an airport. The reporter also asked Weir about Harding.

She did a horrible, horrible thing, Weir said. So shes a pariah in our sport, and she shouldnt be forgiven for basically, possibly, having the opportunity of ruining somebodys life.

In response to the suggestion that Hollywood seemed to be forgiving her, Weir said: Unless youre a skater or an athlete, you cant really understand.

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Julian Assange may be forced to leave Ecuadors London Embassy, where he has been receiving asylum for the past five years.

The country is pursuing a third partycountry or individualto facilitate Assanges move from the United Kingdom, according to a Tuesday teleSUR report.

The foreign minister of Ecuador, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, said they are seeking the mediation of a third country or personality so that Julian Assange can leave the embassy in London, a teleSUR representative tweeted Tuesday morning of his interview with the foreign minister.

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The move for Assange could reportedly be a result of the WikiLeaks founders involvement in politics.

Ecuadors newly elected president Lenin Moreno issued several warnings to the Australian asking him to refrain from commenting on politics relating to Ecuadors allies.

In a September tweet, Assange responded to the requests, saying, If President Moreno wants to gag my reporting of human rights abuses in Spain he should say so explicitlytogether with the legal basis.

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Since taking over from Rafael Correa in May 2017, Moreno has continued his predecessors stance of defending Assange. I respect the situation he is in, which calls for respect of his human rights, but we also ask that he respects the situation he is in.

Assange has been hiding out in the Ecuadorian Embassy since 2012 when the U.K. said he should be extradited to Sweden, where he faced an allegation of rape. The WikiLeaks founder said he feared being extradited to the United States, where his human rights were under threat of being violated. The charges against Assange were dropped in May 2017, but British officials claim they would arrest him on a different charge, of failure to appear in court.

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WikiLeaks began in 2006 and embodied radical transparency. Assange and his website have leaked information from Guantanamo Bay as well as private emails belonging to 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. And they published an infamous video provided by Chelsea Manningwhose prison sentence was commuted by Barack Obama in 2017that became known as Collateral Murder.

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More recently, in 2016, WikiLeaks released thousands of emails from the Democratic National Committee that were used by critics to portray the committees bias against Bernie Sanders and in favor of Hillary Clinton. The site made its presence felt during the campaign once again, one month before Election Day, by releasing Clinton campaign emails, causing renewed questioning of her private email server and handling of classified documents.

President Donald Trump reacted to the WikiLeaks election interference in October of 2016 by saying, I love WikiLeaks during an appearance in Pennsylvania.

In November 2017, it was revealed that Donald Trump Jr. had communicated with WikiLeaks on Twitter during the campaign. Still, in April, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called Assanges arrest a priority.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Kuwait will host an international conference in February on reconstruction in parts of Iraq devastated by the war against Islamic State, the state-run Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) said on Tuesday. Donor countries and organizations are expected to announce financial contributions at the meeting from Feb. 12 to Feb. 14, it reported. Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah made the announcement at a joint news conference in Kuwait City with the secretary general of the Iraqi cabinet, Mahdi al-Allaq. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last month declared victory in the war against the militants, who controlled as much as a third of Iraq's territory three years ago. Iraq needs at least $100 billion in assistance to rebuild homes, businesses and infrastructure including oil and telecommunications facilities, KUNA quoted Allaq as saying. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; editing by Andrew Roche)
French movie icon Catherine Deneuve thinks the #MeToo movement to hold sexual harassers accountable has gone too far, joining a group of other influential French women arguing that it amounts to puritanism and a wave of purification that has created a climate of a totalitarian society.

The actress was among 100 women  including journalists, filmmakers, writers and intellectuals  who signed the letter, published Tuesday in Frances leading newspaper Le Monde. The missive decried the recent wave of sexual misconduct allegations against powerful men as a witch hunt and a hindrance to sexual freedom.

They claimed that the Weinstein affair, referring to the bombshell stories of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinsteins serial sexual harassment and assault of actresses and employees, has led to unfair punishments in some cases and stems from a hatred of men and of sexuality.

Men have been sanctioned in their professions, forced to resign, etc., when their only wrongdoing was touching someones knee, trying to steal a kiss, talking about intimate things during a professional dinner, or sending messages with a sexual connotation to a woman who wasnt attracted to them, they wrote.

The women went on to suggest that #MeToo has led to a fever to send the pigs to the slaughterhouse  referring to the French version of the social media hashtag, #BalanceTonPorc, which roughly translates to call out your pig.

French acting legend Catherine Deneuve joined a group of influential French women who argue that the #MeToo movement has gone too far. (Photo: Jean-Paul Pelissier / Reuters)

The letter has sparked backlash in France, as the country grapples with its own debate over sexual harassment and assault. On Wednesday, a group of 30 feminist activists published their own letter in response, criticizing the women for trivializing sexual violence and trying to close the lid that we have started to lift.

The pigs and their allies have reason to worry, they wrote. Their old world is disappearing.

Italian actress and director Asia Argento, one of Weinsteins accusers, on Tuesday called the letter deplorable and accused Deneuve and the other signatories of interiorized misogyny.

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In October, Deneuve similarly called the movement excessive, saying it was not the right way to change things.

After calling out your pig, what are we going to have, Call out your whore? she said.

Last year, Deneuve also defended director Roman Polanski, who in 1977 was charged with raping a 13-year-old girl at a party in Los Angeles. He eventually pleaded guilty to unlawful intercourse with a minor, but fled the U.S. in 1978 before he was sentenced for the crime. He has lived in France since then.

I always found the word rape was excessive, Deneuve said.

This article was updated with the activists response on Wednesday.

Also on HuffPost

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Tarana Burke (center), originator of the #MeToo campaign, leads marchers.

Protesters hold up signs denouncing sexual misconduct.

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Protesters hold up signs denouncing sexual misconduct.

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A protester covered her body in messages condemning sexual assault.

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Protesters hold signs as they march through Hollywood.

One woman holds a sign echoing the #MeToo social media campaign.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Vilnius (AFP) - Lithuanian press distributors said Wednesday they had started plastering over alcohol ads in foreign magazines with special stickers under a new advertising ban aimed at curbing some of the world's heaviest drinking.

A blanket ban on alcohol ads, which includes billboards, TV, radio, the printed press and the internet, came into force on January 1 in the Baltic EU state, with no exemptions for foreign media.

Lithuania has also raised the legal drinking age to 20 from 18 years.

"We have people who now review every page, and we cover the ads before we distribute the magazines," said Vigintas Bartasevicius, managing director at Press Express, the largest distributor of foreign papers.

Among those already marked with red stickers explaining the ban are Vogue, Newsweek and Germany's Stern magazine, he told AFP.

Before the stickers were introduced, distributors simply tore pages with the ads out of the magazines, but this practice did not go down too well.

President Dalia Grybauskaite dubbed it a "shameful reminder of medieval times" and called for a change.

Local authorities said they would not impose fines for the time being to allow the market to adjust to the new law.

But critics say the market of 2.8 million consumers is too small to get special editions free of alcohol ads, and opposition lawmakers have tabled a bill to exempt foreign media.

Statistics show that the average Lithuanian over the age of 15 consumed the equivalent of 13.2 litres of pure alcohol in 2016, down by nearly a litre per person compared with a year earlier but still one of the highest levels across the globe.

Fighting alcoholism was among the key campaign promises that gave the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union a surprise victory in the 2016 elections.
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia signed a deal on Wednesday to pay a U.S. seabed exploration firm up to $70 million if it finds the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370 within 90 days of embarking on a new search in the Southern Indian ocean. The disappearance of the aircraft en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 with 239 people aboard ranks among the world's greatest aviation mysteries. Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless A$200-million ($157 million) search of a 120,000 sq. km area in January last year, despite investigators urging the search be extended to a 25,000-square-km area further to the north. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said a Houston-based private firm, Ocean Infinity, would search for MH370 in that 25,000-sq-km priority area on a "no-cure, no-fee" basis, meaning it will only get paid if it finds the plane. "As we speak, the vessel, Seabed Constructor, is on her way to the search area, taking advantage of favorable weather conditions in the South Indian ocean," Liow told a news conference. The search will begin on Jan. 17, said Ocean Infinity Chief Executive Oliver Plunkett, who attended the signing event. Ocean Infinity will be paid $20 million if the plane is found within 5,000 sq km, $30 million if it is found within 10,000 square km and $50 million if it is found within an area of 25,000 square km. Beyond that area, Ocean Infinity will receive $70 million, Liow said. Its priority is to locate the wreckage or the flight and cockpit recorders, and present credible evidence to confirm their location within 90 days, Liow added. "They cannot take forever or drag it on for another six months or a year." 'UNIQUE SOLUTION' Ocean Infinity's vessel carries eight autonomous underwater vehicles that will scour the seabed with scanning equipment for information to be sent back for analysis. It has 65 crew, including two government representatives drawn from the Malaysian navy. The ship could complete the search within three or four weeks, and cover up to 60,000 square km in 90 days, or four times faster than earlier efforts, Plunkett told Reuters. "It was a unique problem that required a unique solution... We looked at it and said, 'Let's do something different than what other people would do,' and that's the essence of our business." Ocean Infinity's core business is in the oil and gas industry, as well as subsea exploration services for tasks such as underwater cabling and seabed mapping, he said. The company's shareholders would bear the upfront costs of the search, Plunkett added. Debris from MH370 could provide clues to events on board before the crash. There have been competing theories that the aircraft suffered mechanical failure or was intentionally flown off course. Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles out over the Indian Ocean. At least three pieces of debris collected from sites on Indian Ocean islands and along Africa's east coast have been confirmed as being from the missing plane. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Jamie Freed and Clarence Fernandez)
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When a New Jersey man wore a T-shirt that appealed for a kidney donor at Disney World, he wasnt expecting the incredible response he received, and now he is on his way to receiving one.

Robert Leibowitz, 60, who has been in need of a new kidney for three years after suffering from chronic kidney disease, visited Disney World in September when a stranger, Rocio Sandoval, snapped a photo of the T-shirt and posted it to Facebook.

Sandoval's photo quickly went viral.

Just months after the post, Leibowitz found a kidney match in a complete stranger who had seen the post.

On Tuesday Juan and I celebrated his birthday at Magic Kingdom. On our way out we saw this man pushing a teenage boy in... Posted by Roco Sand on Sunday, August 27, 2017

Richie Sully, of Indiana, said he saw Sandovals post and knew immediately that he wanted to help Leibowitz.

A friend sent me a link that said, 'This guy needs a kidney,' Sully told InsideEdition.com.

So he reached out to Leibowitz, saying, My name is Richie. I am O positive. I have an extra kidney [and] you are welcome to it.

Although Sully seemed nonchalant about his life-changing offer and mentioning that its just what youre supposed to do, Leibowitz said the offer left him in shock.

I was in disbelief because it took so long because it takes so long," Leibowitz said. "I was so happy.

Sully began the testing process to see if he was a match, and flew out from Indiana to visit Leibowitz and finish testing at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan.

We spent the whole day in the city together," Leibowitz said. "[I] gave him the whole tour. [We] got to know each other, got to bond."

It later turned out that Sully was a match

Leibowitz, a single dad, is still on dialysis three times a week but his surgery is planned for Jan. 18.

I am excited to do it, to break that chain so he doesnt have to be on dialysis, Sully said. Its not about checking a box at the DMV or donating platelets. Its about doing more when you can.

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Leibowitz said he is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming surgery, but is forever grateful to Sully. He predicts the pair will be lifelong buddies.

I cant even put into words the type of gesture, [that] someone would do something like that, Leibowitz said.

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The Duchess of Cambridge visited Reach Academy in West London on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Duchess of Cambridge met pupils at the Reach Academy Feltham in West London on Wednesday afternoon to mark her first royal engagement of 2018.

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For the occasion, the 36-year-old dressed her blossoming baby bump in a royal blue coat that appears to be by go-to British high street brand, Hobbs.

But it was Kates $90 maternity dress that caught everyones eye. The duchess turned to British maternity label Seraphine for her frock, which, handily, has a boutique located a stones throw from Kensington Palace.

The Florrie floral print dress isnt a new addition to the royals wardrobe: The 36-year-old wore it while pregnant with Charlotte and clearly hung on to it for a potential pregnancy number three.

She finished the look with coordinating shoes and a suede clutch.

Did Kate Middleton seek inspiration from Meghan Markles first royal engagement for her look? (Photo: Getty Images)

The duchesss look is very reminiscent of the ensemble Meghan Markle wore on her debut royal engagement in Nottingham alongside husband-to-be, Prince Harry.

Markle sported a double breasted, maxi-length Elodie coat by Canadian designer Mackage for her first public appearance back in December 2017.

Meghan Markle also wore navy blue on a recent public engagement. (Photo: Getty Images)

The school that the duchess visited works in partnership with Place2Be, a mental health charity of which the mom has been the patron of since 2013.

The Duchess of Cambridge meets pupils at the Reach Academy. (Photo: Getty Images)

The organization strives to provide support and training to teachers and staff with the aim to improve the emotional well-being of families and pupils.

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By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Countries along the Mekong River said on Wednesday they would reinforce security, trade and environmental cooperation in the face of concerns over competing demands on its waters, particularly given multiple dams being built by China. The 4,350 km (2,700-mile) long Mekong, known as the Lancang in its upper reaches, flows from China along the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand through Cambodia and Vietnam, where it has supported farming and fishing communities for millennia. Following an inaugural meeting of the Lancang Mekong Cooperation (MLC) forum in 2016, its member countries met for a second time in Phnom Penh at talks chaired jointly by China - an ever more dominant force in the region - and host nation Cambodia. "Political and security cooperation is of crucial importance to the MLC initiative," they said in a statement. Cooperation on trade, transport tourism and environmental protection was also vital. Despite the show of unity between the Mekong leaders, campaign group International Rivers said there were major concerns about the future of the river, with 20 dams planned on the upper Mekong in addition to eight already built. "Over the past two decades, China's upstream dams have altered the river's natural flood-drought cycle and blocked the transport of sediment, drastically affecting ecosystems and fisheries downstream," said Maureen Harris, its Southeast Asia program director. "Effective regional cooperation is urgently needed on the Mekong to ensure its sustainable development and management." Communities in Cambodia are as reliant as any on the river. But the government is a strong backer of China's positions and has won billions of dollars in Chinese aid and investment as well as political support at a time when it is facing criticism from Western donors for eliminating the main opposition party. In an article in the Khmer Times newspaper, Chinese premier Li Keqiang said the Mekong meeting and his official visit on Thursday would further strengthen the relationship. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; editing by John Stonestreet)
A week ago, Randall Hansen's book was languishing in obscurity.

That was to be expected. Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-1945, Hansen's history of the American and British bombing campaign during World War II, was published nearly 10 years ago and caters to the fairly niche group of readers interested in military history. And the academic publishing market is often a bit slow.

"It wasn't selling very well at all," Hansen, a professor of political scientist at the University of Toronto, told Newsweek. "These Amazon bestseller lists, you associate with the early days of a book, when it's fresh off the press and you're doing all the interviews and hitting the TV spots."

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Then, late last week, Hansen was startled to find his book's popularity explode overnight. "Boomit shot right up. The day that [Michael] Wolff's book came out, it was on three Amazon bestseller lists: military history, strategy and aviation."

It did not require advanced detective work to figure out what was happening. Michael Wolff's tell-all account of the Trump presidency, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, attracted such a deluge of interest that people are mistakenly purchasing other books with "Fire and Fury" in the title, to the confusionand delightof their authors.

Hansen is not the only writer whose similarly titled text has seen a spike in sales. T. J. Coles, an English scholar who is director of the Plymouth Institute for Peace Research, is the author of a book called Fire and Fury: How the US Isolates North Korea, Encircles China and Risks Nuclear War in Asia. Coles said that sales of his book have picked up slightly in the U.K. (The book will be published in the U.S. in February.)

Fire and Fury

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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"In sub-categories [such as] peace studies or arms control, it has gone to number one," Coles said. "I think it's a shame that it took a mainstream journalist to get me some inadvertent attention. But it's good that he's getting publicity for his book. I think it's good for both of us."

Hansen is more cheery about his unexpected spike in book sales. He tweeted about the turn of events, musing about whether he will "owe a larger royalty cheque to Bannon & Trump." (Steve Bannon, Trump's former White House Chief Strategist, is quoted extensively in Wolff's book.)

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The tweet went viral, which was more good news for his book: Some Twitter users were inspired to order it after seeing the tweet.

"Several people on [Twitter] told me that they bought it not by accident, but they saw it next to Fire and Fury and purchased it," Hansen said. "A furious Trump supporter told me that he bought the book by accident, which amused me. But mostly the response online has been very warm."

Related: Trump wants to block publication of Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. Is that constitutional?

Hansen is not angry about Wolff's book title since titles cant be copyrighted. He has already ordered Wolff's bookwhich is so popular its publisher can't keep up with the demandand plans to read it soon.

Coles is also interested in the book. "I actually wrote a book about Trump myself, called President Trump, Inc. If I was going to update that, it would be good to look at Wolff's book and see what he has to say."

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Hansen won't know how many people have purchased his book this week until he receives a quarterly statement from his publisher. The percentage increase in sales is a mystery to him.

Donald Trump

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But he hopes his new audience will stick around.

"It will depend on whether the book is being bought by accident only, or because the new press is reaching an audience with an interest in World War II, military history and morality in warfare," Hansen said. "If the latter, there should be an increase in royalties."

Amazon lists several other books with the words "fire" and "fury" in the name. There is a recent Kindle release titled Fire & Fury: Racists In The Hands of an Angry Black God: A Black Lives Matter Novel. (A sample reader review: "Any fool trying to buy Wolff's book mistakenly buy this flim flam yet? LOL.") There is also a fictional, war-themed book Fire and Fury: The Brink of WWIII by Steven Hirschfeld. It's not clear whether these books have benefited from confusion with the Trump book, though the Amazon page for Hirschfeld's book says that it's "frequently bought together" with Wolff's book.

Then there is the romance novel Fury of Fire by Coreene Callahan. Callahan did not respond to an email inquiring about whether the book has seen a spike in sales.

It's not the only novel that could benefit from Wolff's sales trickling down. Lauren Groff, author of the 2015 novel Fates and Furies, joked on Twitter that she hopes some of Wolff's readers might buy her book by mistake.

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Hansen, meanwhile, is pleased his book is getting attention at a time when its subject matter seems freshly relevant.

"I'm gratified that more people will read a book about the horrors of war, what it does to human bodies and the difficulty of even the most well-intentioned leaders (which Trump certainly is not) in maintaining their moral commitments in wartime," Hansen wrote in an email. "With a dangerous, unstable and deranged demagogue controlling the greatest armed forces the world has ever seen, I can think of no better time to reflect on these issues."

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BERLIN (Reuters) - New migrants to Germany must visit Nazi concentration camp memorials to help tackle a perceived rise in anti-Semitism, Germany's Central Council of Jews said on Wednesday, supporting a proposal by a Palestinian-German politician. Anti-Semitism remains a sensitive issue in Germany, one of Israel's closest allies, more than 70 years after the end of the Nazi-era Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were killed. The government decried as shameful the spectacle of the Israeli flag being burned at demonstrations last month against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews expressed support for a proposal by Sawsan Chebli, a Berlin state senator, for mandatory visits by newly arrived refugees to Nazi concentration camps memorials. "People who have fled to us who have themselves had to escape or been expelled, can develop empathy in such memorials," Schuster told Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday. Germany has received well over a million migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. Germany is home today to an estimated 200,000 Jews and has built a reputation in recent decades as a tolerant, safe place for Jews to live - though data shows anti-Semitic crimes reported to the police rose 4 percent to 681 in the first eight months of 2017 from the same period in 2016. "It makes sense for everyone living in this country to be obliged to visit a concentration camp memorial site at least once in their lives," Chebli told Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday when she first floated the proposal. She said such visits, long a staple of high school education in a country determined that the lessons of its history not be forgotten, should also be extended to new migrants, who should make trips as part of their compulsory integration courses. Currently, the integration courses focus on learning the German language and about Germany's history, culture and its legal system Asked about the possibility of mandatory visits to concentration camps, a spokeswoman for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees ministry said the integration course for immigrants already had a module regarding the consequences of the Nazi rule for the people of Germany and Europe. Last month, Germany's justice minister called for more emphasis on the Holocaust in migrants' integration courses. Schuster said everyone who wanted to live permanently in Germany must identify with its history. Such visits, which should be prepared by schools, would show where anti-Semitism and hatred for Jews could lead, he said. (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Alison Williams)
The founder of the Miss Trans America pageant is believed to be 2018s first known victim of deadly violence against a member of the transgender community.

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, 42, was found dead at her home in North Adams, Massachusetts, on Jan. 5, The Berkshire Eagle reported. According to medical examiners who were on the scene, Steele-Knudslien suffered a stab wound to her torso and blunt force trauma to her head. Her body was found wrapped in tarp and bedding and tied up in the basement.

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, 42, was found dead at her home in North Adams, Massachusetts, on Jan. 5. (Photo: Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien/Facebook)

Her husband, Mark Steele-Knudslien, has been charged with her murder. Police told MassLive that the 47-year-old said hed snapped and done something very bad during a Jan. 5 interview, during which he also said he struck his wife with a hammer and stabbed her with a knife.

During a Monday arraignment, Mark Steele-Knudslien pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. Hes set for a pretrial hearing Feb. 7.

Christa Steele-Knudsliens death sent shockwaves through New Englands LGBTQ community. In addition to founding the Miss Trans America pageant, she also helped launch the Miss Trans New England pageant and was one of the organizers of the first New England Trans Pride march in 2008.

Among those who shared condolences was Lambda Legals Transgender Rights Project Director Dru Levasseur, who called Steele-Knudslien a powerful organizer and fierce activist.

I am so sorry to those who were very close to her. We must all support each other in this time of horror and sadness, Levasseur wrote Monday. She deserved better. She deserved life and happiness.

Justin Adkins, a friend of Steele-Knudslien, echoed those sentiments. Her thing was always that transgender women are beautiful and need a venue for trans women to be seen as beautiful, Adkins told the New York Post.

She was memorialized on social media by a number of prominent LGBTQ advocacy groups, including GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign.

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Meanwhile, Adkins has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral costs.

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Also on HuffPost

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1. Defining Transgenderism

The root of the word "transgender" comes from the Latin word "trans," meaning "across." A trans-Atlantic flight goes across the Atlantic Ocean; a transnational issue affects people all across the country; and so on. "Transgender" literally means "across gender." "Transgender" is defined today as an umbrella term with many different identities existing under it. Image via ccharmon on Flickr.com

2. A Few Words Of Advice

When trans people reveal their trans identity to someone, it is a highly personal moment. It takes trust and courage to talk about gender identity or gender transition. The best-case scenario is probably to: 1) ask what questions, if any, are appropriate; and 2) give the trans person an out if he or she feels like you are overstepping your bounds (even though your questions may be born of an innocent curiosity). This makes it easier for a trans person to maintain privacy and integrity.

3. The Gender Binary

The gender binary exists for easy categorization and labeling purposes. For most people, it is something that is taken for granted. Females who identify as women use the women's restroom. Males who identify as men dress in suits and ties or tuxedos for formal events. It is the way it is, and that fits well for many people. But for trans people living in a culture where the gender binary rules all, it is a daily battle. Image via kimberlykv on Flickr.com

4. Gender Expression

Out of the three terms -- "sex," "gender identity," and "gender expression" -- which do you think we notice most about people on a daily basis? If it were a person's sex, then we would have to see under that person's clothes or test his or her chromosomes (and even then we could get a conflicting report). If it were a person's gender identity, we would have to either ask that person how he or she identifies or somehow get inside the brain and find the answer for ourselves. By process of elimination, you guessed it: it's gender expression. Image via MuLaN on Flickr.com

5. Orientation And Gender

If we look at society as a diverse group of individuals where heterosexuality might be the most common sexual orientation but not necessarily normal, then we can more easily see that human sexual orientation varies: some people happen to be straight, some gay, some bisexual, and so on. This does not necessarily have anything to do with a person's gender identity or expression.

6. Coming Out To Oneself

Realization that one is trans can take anywhere from a few moments to several decades. Usually, trans people have an inkling early on in their lives that their assigned gender feels out of sync with their bodies. The self-realization process is extremely complicated. The human mind does its best to help us survive, which can translate into triggering intense denial. Because of societal constraints, it is common for a person to try to ignore signs pointing toward transgenderism, whether consciously or unconsciously.

7. Surgeries

Health insurance covers transgender surgeries in very few cases. Some people have fewer surgeries than they would like because of the high prices. Still other trans people elect not to have surgery at all because they simply do not want to. For a long time, and still in many places today, people refer to some transgender surgery as "sex-change" surgery. Later on came the less-harsh sounding "sex-reassignment surgery." Today, more and more people are realizing that surgery for trans people is not a gender "reassignment" but rather an affirmation of the gender that a person has always been. Gender-affirming surgery seems to be the most accurate reflection of this.

8. Hormonal Transition

For trans women, taking hormones is a two-step process. To help feminize a genetic male, it is very important to suppress production of testosterone. The other step that transgender women frequently take is the administration of estrogen, which is the chief hormone at work in biological females. Unlike their male-to-female counterparts, trans men do not have to take any estrogen-suppressing substances as part of their hormone treatments. Testosterone (called simply "T" in the female-to-male community) is a powerful hormone. The raising of testosterone levels in a trans man overpowers existing estrogen levels.

9. Transgender Children

There can't really be transgender children, can there? Kids can't know for sure how they feel when they're really young, right? Wrong. Gender identity is thought to be solidified by age 6. This does not mean that children absolutely, positively know how they identify by that age. It simply means that their gender identity is there. If it doesn't match up with the sex they were assigned at birth, then that will start to manifest itself in different ways. Image via libertygrace0 on Flickr.com

10. Sex, Gender And Nature

Many plants and animals can be both male and female, biologically speaking, at the same time or at different points in their lives. In a comparison of 34 postmortem human brains, scientists found that the part of the brain comprising a small group of nerve cells thought to pertain to gender and sexuality were similar in trans women and non-trans women. Although the study only had one trans man's brain, it found that group of nerve cells to be similar to that of a non-trans man. Perhaps Dr. Milton Diamond put it best when he said, "Biology loves variation. Biology loves differences. Society hates it."

11. Transgenderism As A Mental Health Issue

Gender identity disorder (GID) appears in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), which is the American Psychiatric Association's official diagnostic book. GID, soon to be changed to gender dysphoria in the DSM 5, is classified as a mental health condition in which a person desires to be the "opposite" sex of that assigned to him or her at birth. Due to its criteria, many trans people fall under this diagnosis. Update: The latest edition of the mental health manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose disorders reveals a change in thinking on gender identity. The perspective change is similar to a decision made in 1973, when the American Psychiatric Association eliminated homosexuality from its disorders' list. See more here.

12. The Bathroom Debacle

Imagine resigning yourself to not ever using the bathroom in a public place. For trans people, this is often a reality. Those who are in transition or do not pass on the outside as "clearly male" or "clearly female" are thrown out of both men's and women's restrooms on a daily basis. Some places provide "unisex" or "family" restrooms, but the majority do not. If a transperson wants to go out and enjoy a concert, sporting event, or simply a day outside the home, he or she must make concessions that most people never have to think about.

13. Lesser-Known Types Of Transgenderism: Genderqueerism

People often find the notion of genderqueerism difficult to understand. They may hear that a genderqueer person is in between male and female, or is neither, but they may continue to ask, "OK, so what sex or gender does that make them, really?" This is where it is perhaps most difficult to live as a genderqueer person. The constant explanations that sometimes get nowhere can be frustrating and disheartening for genderqueer people.

14. Transgender By The Numbers

Unfortunately there is no major consensus on the number of transgender people in the United States or the world today. Hard-and-fast statistics are lacking for a couple of reasons. One is that many trans people are not out and are either living as trans behind closed doors or living stealthily, meaning that people do not know that they were born differently than they appear now. Another reason for the lack of statistics is that so many different varieties of transgenderism fall under the umbrella term that it is hard to discern which subcategories should actually be statistically counted as transgender and which should not.

15. Parting Words

In America we have seen that teenage suicide because of bullying has reached epidemic proportions. Many of these kids are LGBT, and most of them are taunted due to some component of their gender expression. I hope that you will talk to others about what you have learned about transgenderism. No one should have to suffer because of who he or she is, but we know that reality tells us differently. People have been bullied and persecuted for who they are since the dawn of time. But we are not defenseless. The more education that is out there about what is means to be different, the better.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Pictures: Shutterstock

The US Supreme Court has refused to hear a case regarding a Mississippi law that allows people to deny services to LGBTQ people based on sincerely held religious beliefs.

The Mississippi state law went into effect on 10 October 2016 - just a year after the highest court in the country ruled on the legality of gay marriage - after several state court battles by community advocacy lawyers.

Essentially, the law allows state employees to deny LGBTQ couples marriage licenses and offers legal protection for private businesses that choose not to serve LGBTQ customers based on the business owners religious beliefs.

The people being protected, according to a section of the legislation: Mississippians who believe legal, legitimate marriage is only between a man and woman, sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage, and that a persons gender is immutable - determined by anatomy and genetics at time of birth.

Lower courts determined that the immediate challenges to the law were not sufficient enough to overturn it because those suing - including ordained ministers who married same-sex couples as well as LGBT couples seeking to marry - could not show how they would be significantly harmed by the law.

However, an attorney on the opposition side, Beth Littrell of LGBTQ rights organisation Lambda Legal, told The Independent that the move by the US Supreme Court is "absolutely not" an implication that the Mississippi law is constitutional.

She explained that it only allows the lower court, in the Fifth Circuit, ruling to stand. That court "ruled only that the harm identified by the plaintiffs after the law was passed but before it took effect were insufficient to establish standing (the right to challenge the law); it did not rule on the constitutionality of the law."

Another lower court, the district court, ruled the law could be challenged and was unconstitutional but the higher appellate court reversed only part of that decision. The Appellate Court said "that the plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the law, it did not reach the question of whether or not the law was constitutional."

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However, the law goes beyond marriage rights and private services - like the bakery in Colorado that refused to make a gay couple a wedding cake.

It includes access to necessary medical services since doctors and pharmacists with sincerely held religious beliefs are protected.

Also, access is limited or cut off to any other rights afforded to legally married individuals in other states: health insurance, estate planning, tax benefits, custody of children, and adoption to name a few.

Several Christian groups backed the law and fought to keep it on the books.

Governor Phil Bryant told the Mississippi Today: "As I have said from the beginning, this law was democratically enacted and is perfectly constitutional. The people of Mississippi have the right to ensure that all of our citizens are free to peacefully live and work without fear of being punished for their sincerely held religious beliefs.

What the US Supreme Court decision does do is show that that the LGBTQ community must "prove a greater degree of harm than being psychologically harmed before they can file a challenge  they have to suffer and/or point to a more tangible injury," said Ms Littrell.

Lambda Legal has argued that the Mississippi law goes against the the "neutrality toward religion" promised by the US Constitution; what has been shown through precedent in previous federal cases regarding discrimination.

There is a chance the Supreme Court could hear the case at a later date should those opposed to the law be able to come back with complainants who can show concrete and particularized harm, according to Ms Littrell.

She said that LGBTQ rights groups have seen an increase in laws around the country like the Mississippi's which are "masquerading" as protection of religious beliefs since the 2015 US Supreme Court ruling recognising the right to marry.
Nike unveiled its official uniforms for the 2018 Olympics. But is the clothing made in America? (Photo: Nike)

Nike has unveiled the official outfits for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, but people are asking if theyre made in America.

On Tuesday, Nike introduced the Metal Stand Collection, to be worn by medalists in freezing February temperatures in PyeongChang: a Team USA Hypershield Summit Jacket (a removable bomber zip-up), waterproof pants with a cinched waist and ankle zippers, lace-free boots, and touchscreen-compatible gloves. The clothing will be available in stores Jan. 15.

Was this Nike gear made in USA? asked one Twitter user.

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Its a question with a loaded history. Nikes headquarters is in Beaverton, Ore., but the company has faced criticism since the 1970s for child labor practices in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian sweatshops. In the 1990s, Nike was blasted in the media  including a protest at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics  for providing deplorable working conditions, underpaying its employees, and taking jobs from American workers.

According to a timeline by Business Insider, Nike responded by creating a factory code of conduct and the nonprofit Fair Labor Association, and publicizing the factories with which it does business.

Phil Knight, the companys co-founder, pledged to improve Nikes production, but even in 2017 protests against Nikes contracted factories raged on. United Students Against Sweatshops organized demonstrations last August following reports of a manufacturing plant in Vietnam where workers were verbally abused and were kept in 90-plus environments, according to Quartz.

Although many companies produce merchandise overseas, there are strong feelings about outsourcing Olympic uniforms. One example is Ralph Lauren, which came under fire in 2012 when it was revealed its Opening Ceremony uniforms for the London Games were made in China.

I am so upset, Sen. Harry Reid told reporters that year, according to The Hill. I think the [U.S.] Olympic Committee should be ashamed of themselves. I think they should be embarrassed. I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again.

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Reid added, [If] all that they have to wear is nothing but a singlet with USA on it painted by hand, thats what they should wear. We have people in the textile industry who are desperate for jobs.

According to ESPN, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said at the time, They should be wearing uniforms that are made in America. Republican House Speaker John Boehner told reporters, Youd think theyd know better.

And Sen. Bernie Sanders said, There is no reason why U.S. Olympic uniforms are not being manufactured in the U.S. This action on the part of the U.S. Olympic Committee is symbolic of a disastrous trade policy which has cost us millions of decent-paying jobs and must be changed.

The outcry prompted Ralph Lauren to release a statement vowing to do better: Ralph Lauren promises to lead the conversation within our industry and our government addressing the issue of increasing manufacturing in the United States and has committed to producing the Opening and Closing ceremony Team USA uniforms in the United States that will be worn for the 2014 Olympic Games.

Six Democratic senators even passed the Team USA Made in America Act of 2012 requiring the U.S. Olympic Committee to make its uniforms domestically and make publicly available a detailed justification of the reasons the Committee obtained uniforms that do not meet that requirement.

At a time when too many Americans are looking for work and our manufacturers are closing factories, we need to do everything we can to keep jobs in America and not give the work of producing our iconic American uniforms for our Olympians to China, New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez said in a 2012 statement, according to Reuters.

Yahoo Lifestyle could not reach a representative from Nike or the U.S. Olympic Committee for comment regarding the 2018 uniforms.

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Earlier this week, Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai reported a mysterious growth spurt since his arrival at the International Space Station. While growing slightly taller is common in space travel, Kanai reported a massive increase of 3.5 inches in only three weeks.

Now, he says, this surprising growth was nothing more than an measuring error.

1_10_Norishige Kanai

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My heights been measured here in space and somehow, somehow, Ive grown 9cm (3.5 inches)! In only three weeks Ive really shot up, something I havent seen since high school, he originally tweeted.



He joked: This makes me a little worried that I might not be able to fit in the Soyuz seats for our return.

Stretchy spines

On Earth, the force of gravity puts pressure on our spines and makes us shrink very slightly during the day. While we sleep horizontally, our squashed spines can unfurl back to their morning height.

On the International Space Station, the effects of gravity are reduced and the spine can extend further. This usually only accounts for an inch or so of growth, which will return to normal back on Earth.

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Fake news

After an influx of media interestand questions from his captainKanai decided to remeasure himself to find out how tall he had actually become. This time round he was just less than an inch taller than originally believed.

Kanai tweeted: This mis-measurement appears to have become a big deal, so I must apologize for this terrible fake news  It appears I can fit on the Soyuz, so Im relieved.

Kanai still has some time to stretch out in space, however. He is due to return to Earth in April, giving him three months for another spurt.

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Oprah Winfrey is intrigued by the idea of running for U.S. president, but she is not actively considering it right now, her best friend Gayle King said Tuesday.

Winfrey delivered a powerful speech during Sunday nights Golden Globes after earning a lifetime achievement award, prompting several calls around the country for her to a mull a presidential bid in 2020. But the famous television host does not plan to take up the challenge yet, according to King, who was pressed by colleagues on CBS This Morning to say whether she believes Winfrey will run.

No, I absolutely dont think that her position has changed. I dont, King said, adding that she was up late last night discussing the possibility with her close friend. Shes intrigued by the idea. I do think that.

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Three months ago, Winfrey made it clear she had no political ambitions during an October appearance on CBS This Morning. There will be no running for office of any kind for me, the mogul said at the time.

King said Winfrey loves this country and hopes to be of service in some way, without holding the highest office in America.

King appeared certain about Winfreys current feelings but said decisions can always change.

I dont think shes actively considering it at this time, King said. You always have the right to change your mind.
Streets turned to seething rivers. Buildings inundated with debris. The mangled frames of abandoned cars, drenched in mud.

As Southern California takes on the heavy burden of cleaning up from whats become a one-two punch of devastating wildfires followed by heavy rains that caused deadly mudslides, this is some of the detritus left behind.

In addition to the physical damage, the floods have taken a human toll as well. Santa Barbara County officials said Wednesday at least 15 people are dead and 20 injured thanks to the onslaught of mud and water.

The only words I can really think of to describe what it looked [like] was it looked like a World War I battlefield, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Tuesday. It was literally a carpet of mud and debris everywhere.

Here are some photos from the region:

Water, mud and debris engulfed the first floor on the Montecito Inn in Montecito, California.

Emergency personnel carry a woman rescued from a collapsed house after a mudslide.

Mudslides damaged a home on Hot Springs Road in Montecito.

Boulders block a road after a mudslide.

Emergency personnel search through debris and damaged homes.

Two cars washed downhill in a rain-driven mudslide in a neighborhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California.

Mud filled the interior of a car destroyed in Burbank.

Emergency personnel search through debris and mud flow in Montecito.

A section of the Union Pacific Railroad is blocked by mudflow and debris in Montecito.

A man is rescued from flood waters and debris in Montecito.

Emergency personnel escort people from flood waters.

An overturned car is entangled in a tree in Montecito.

Debris floats on the 101 freeway in Montecito.

Abandoned vehicles are mired on the flooded freeway.

Mud and debris clog a road next to the Montecito Inn.

Journalists stand in ankle-deep mud in Burbank.

Firefighters clear debris from a mudslide in Los Angeles.

A resident shovels mud in a Los Angeles neighborhood.

An abandoned car floats along the freeway in Montecito.

A Coast Guard helicopter heads to Montecito as a rainbow appears.

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Australias Parliament voted in December to legalize same-sex marriage, and after a 30-day notice period, the first LGBT couples are tying the knot at midnight on January 9.

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"It's another way to show your love and appreciation of your partner in front of the people in your life," athlete Craig Burns, a 29-year-old sprinter who will compete in the Commonwealth Games on Australia's Gold Coast in April, told the Associated Press. He married his partner Luke Sullivan at midnight near the east coast city of Tweed Heads.

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Burns and Sullivan werent the only two to get married as soon as they legally could. Lainey Carmichael, 51, and Roz Kitschke, 46, married shortly after dawn at their home, according to the AP. Kitschke told the AP it was mainly to take advantage of the weather.

"New day, new era  and we don't like the heat that much," Kitschke said.

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There were just four votes against the bill in the Australian House of Representatives, and the Senate overwhelmingly passed the legislation. Although it took Australia 22 unsuccessful attempts to pass same-sex marriage since 2004, the monumental amount of public supports allowed it to join 25 other countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, including two others that did so in 2017: Malta and Germany.

This belongs to us all, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage, said the day the legislation passed through the Senate. This is Australia: fair, diverse, loving and filled with respect. For every one of us this is a great day.

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This new law expands older Australian legislation that gave same-sex couples government benefits, employment and taxes, but didnt allow them to be married in the same way heterosexual couples could be. The law also changed the definition of marriage from the union of a man and a woman to the union of two people.

This is a big victory, Evan Wolfson, the founder of Freedom to Marry, which led the campaign for marriage equality in the United States, told The New York Times. It is a huge affirmation of the dignity of gay people in yet another country, and that will reverberate in the lives of people across Australia and the world.

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A fashion blogger is calling out Revolve for not inviting a more diverse group to their social media influencer press trip. (Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Revolve)

Brands invite social media influencers to press trips all the time, but a recent one hosted by the fashion brand Revolve that included popular blogger Aimee Song, set plus-size fashion blogger Valerie Eguavoen off.

While scrolling through her Instagram feed, Eguavoen saw a photo from Revolves most recent press junket, to Phuket, Thailand, and noticed that there wasnt a single woman with a dark complexion. To top it off, the caption referenced lyrics from Jay-Zs 99 problems.

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Eguavoen, who has over 11,000 influencers herself, did not hold back her thoughts and shared them in her Insta stories, and later her bog, On a Curve.

Hey @Revolve, while I absolutely love @songofstyle and some of the girls from your crew I have a question. Where is the diversity? You mean to tell me that the lifestyle/beauty/fashion influencers you include in your projects cannot have a certain amount of melanin?

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Eguavoen told Yahoo Lifestyle that she felt Revolve wouldnt address the issue, so she took it upon herself to call them out.

I feel that it is my duty as a member of any society to disrupt any system that normalizes discrimination, she says. I want people to know that this is not just about Revolve, or other fashion brands, this is about a deep-rooted issue of systematic racism that our society has normalized, in many areas including fashion.

People, especially women of color, are denied adequate wages because of the color of their skin, denied equal access to public education, are victims of police brutality, all because of the color of their skin, she adds.

Soon after she criticized Revolve, Song of Style blogger Aimee Song replied to Eguavoen and defended Revolve. Out of all the fashion companies brands Ive worked with, theyre probably one of the most diverse team of people she wrote. She told Eguavoen that this doesnt justify their photo, but speculated that the reason why no women with dark complexions were featured in the photo was because there arent enough known ones.

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Eguavoen was having none of it. She responded to Song, explaining why that isnt good enough. Then she tagged a long list of influencers of color.

I was thoroughly disappointed with Aimees response, especially because she herself is a woman of color, she explained. Aside from her inability to acknowledge that there is an issue here, her comments about the possibility of there not being many known influencers of color was so careless and inaccurate.

Revolve tells Yahoo Lifestyle they are working on a response. A quick scroll of their feed shows that they did feature women of color, but only those with lighter complexions.

The On a Curve blogger said that she created the list to drive home the fact that influencers of color are out there, theyre just overlooked. After receiving a flood of positive responses to her posts, Eguavoen launched the You Belong Now campaign, to help make these women much more visible. Eguavoen wants to play an active role in pushing women of color to the forefront. And she isnt afraid to confront brands to do it.

I want these brand to know that as long as they continue to exclude black women from their campaigns, trips, collaborations, etc., we will continue to speak out about it, she says. It is important, not only because we should be included, but because challenging discrimination is the right thing to do.

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Police in Texas made a terminally ill boy's dream come true when he was appointed their chief for a day.

Officer Rashid Brown met 14-year-old Ayodeji Augustine Adekilekun at his middle school in Dallas and recently learned he was suffering from a brain tumor. Doctors have since told his family that he doesnt have much longer to live.

Brown wanted to do his best to ensure that Augustine and his family felt love and support, so the Dallas Police Department decided to make the teen chief for day while he is in hospice care.

When officers learned that Augustine had dreamed of one day being a junior police officer, Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall showed up to go above and beyond his wish.

What I know is that I saw his eyes just continuously flicker. And he tried to speak. He continued to open his eyes and look up, Hall said after the Jan. 5 meeting.

During the emotional visit, Hall presented Augustine with a medal and certificate. She also prayed for the teen, accompanied by other officers, and held his hand.

This is the reason we became police, Hall said. It truly touched each and every one of us. His mom was so appreciative of us being [there].

The teens mom, Gloria, said she is trusting God, whatever the outcome for her son may be.

Before, I was scared. But, now, I'm not scared, she said.

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Warsaw (AFP) - Poland's new right-wing Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki sacked his defence and foreign ministers in a major cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, as he seeks to mend strained ties with the country's EU partners.

The prime minister held talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker late Tuesday, weeks after the EU launched an unprecedented disciplinary procedure against Warsaw over its controversial judicial reforms, which Brussels says threaten the rule of law.

The pair held "a detailed discussion of questions related to the Rule of Law", according to a statement released by the European Commission following the meeting.

It described the talks as "constructive" and said they also touched on a variety of issues including "the future of the European Union, the Polish position within the European Union" and economic, energy and migration policy.

Ahead of Morawiecki's departure for Brussels, it was announced that defence minister Antoni Macierewicz and foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski lost their jobs along with environment minister Jan Szyszko, among others, at an official ceremony held at the presidential palace in Warsaw.

Interior minister Mariusz Blaszczak took over the defence portfolio, while Jacek Czaputowicz, a deputy foreign minister with centrist views, will serve as foreign minister.

"We don't want to be a dogmatic, doctrinaire or extremist government; we want to be a government that draws together the economy and society, as well as the European and global dimensions with the local level," Morawiecki, who took office just last month, said as he greeted his new cabinet.

Warsaw-based political analyst Eryk Mystewicz described the reshuffle as "a new opening with the EU that gives a strong signal to Europe."

"Morawiecki, Czaputowicz are not people who can be accused of wanting a Polexit," Mystewicz said, adding that Czaputowicz as foreign minister "is a man from the centre who can give a new impetus to relations between Warsaw and Brussels."

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- 'Basic consensus' -

In a major escalation against one of the bloc's biggest states, Brussels last month triggered article seven of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the nation's right-wing government.

Never before used against an EU member state, the proceedings can eventually lead to the "nuclear option" of the suspension of a country's voting rights within the bloc.

The EU gave Warsaw three months to remedy the situation, saying it could withdraw the measures if it did.

But just hours after the EU announcement, a defiant Polish president went ahead and signed the reforms into law and accused the bloc of "lying" about them.

Poland insists the reforms are aimed at banishing the last vestiges of communism from its justice system.

In excerpts of an interview aired Tuesday on German public television, Juncker said he does not want to threaten Warsaw with cutting financial aid.

"I am not in a belligerent mood, I want us to move together with the Poles towards a basic consensus," he said.

- 'Getting better'? -

The row underlines growing east-west tensions within the EU, with former Soviet bloc states like Poland and Hungary refusing to toe the Brussels line on thorny issues including judicial and media independence as well as immigration.

The EU has also taken Poland to court over its refusal to accept refugees under an EU quota system.

In his first interview after being sworn in, foreign minister Czaputowicz told the right-leaning wPolityce weekly that "cooperation with the EU is a very important priority for Poland."

"This is also proven by Prime Minister Morawiecki's visit to Brussels today," he said, adding that "certainly relations with Mr Tusk should be seen in this broader EU context. Nothing prevents these relationships from getting better."

Up to now the the PiS government has had very rocky ties with EU President Donald Tusk, a former liberal Polish premier and PiS arch-rival.

Relations have been so tense that Poland was the only country to vote against his reelection as EU president in March.

Warsaw-based political scientist Stanislaw Mocek told AFP that the new cabinet was "aimed at improving the tarnished image of Poland abroad, especially in its relations with the EU."
Newly-appointed Finance Minister, Teresa Czerwinska, signs during an investiture ceremony with the Polish president - AFP

A number of high-profile ministers in the Polish government have been sacked in a sweeping overhaul of the countrys cabinet seen as an attempt to reform the country's international image left battered by a series of bruising conflicts with the EU.

The ministers of foreign affairs, defence, health and agriculture were among those who lost their jobs in the shake-up, the extent of which caught many Poles by surprise.

It also came just hours before Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister, was due to fly to Brussels to meet Jean Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, to discuss rule of law proceedings against Poland.

This is a new government for a new and better Poland, said Mr Morawiecki when announcing the changes. For us the most important matter is to build a strong and safe Poland, both at its borders and within in borders.

Mr Morawiecki, an English-speaking ex-banker who only became prime minister last month, is also seen as part of a diplomatic offensive to enhance the countrys reputation.

Poland has become the enfant terrible of the EU owing to numerous disputes between it and Brussels on matters such as rule of law, the environment and migration.

The country became the first EU state to face the possible loss of voting rights after the EU triggered Article 7 owing to fears a government overhaul of the legal system threatened the independence of the judiciary. But despite the threats from the EU Warsaw appears happy to defy Brussels in its desire to put what it considers Polands interests first.

Yet the appointment of a new prime minister and Tuesdays cabinet changes appear, in part, to be motivated by a desire to soften and lighten the tone of the Polish government abroad, although few expect its core message to change.

Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki poses with his cabinet after a sweeping reshuffle. A showdown with the EU is looming Credit: AGENCJA GAZETA/ REUTERS

Among those to face the chop was Jan Szyszko, the agriculture minister. Mr Szyszko triggered an international scandal by overseeing increase in logging in the Bialowieza Forest, one of the last significant tracts of primeval lowland forest left in Europe. Despite the threat of financial penalties from the EU if the logging was not halted, and Mr Szyszko persisted with the policy.

He will join Witold Waszczykowski, the former foreign minister, and ex-defence minister Antoni Macierewicz in the political long grass. Mr Waszczykowski had become known as gaffe-prone, while Mr Macierewicz, despite being a fierce ally of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, had clashed with the Polish president over the appointment of army commanders.

Political experts in Poland pointed out that by dismissing the three ministers, Mr Kaczynski had removed figures who had become focal points of opposition criticism. By cutting out apparent weaknesses in the government Mr Kaczynski may also have one eye on the next general election, due in 2019.
Prague (AFP) - Czechs will vote in a divisive presidential election starting Friday, seen as a test for the country increasingly split between the anti-Muslim, pro-Russian views of incumbent Milos Zeman and more liberal currents.

The 73-year-old former communist Zeman is hoping to beat eight other contenders to clinch a second five-year term after his 2013 win in the EU member's first-ever direct presidential vote.

But although polls show him in pole position, the outspoken head of state is unlikely to win an outright majority and will face a run-off round in two weeks.

Jiri Drahos, his most likely opponent in the duel, could not be more different. A liberal centrist, the 68-year-old former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences is staunchly pro-European and has called for Prague to "play a more active role in the EU".

Zeman echoes other populist-minded eastern EU leaders -- especially in Hungary and Poland -- at odds with Brussels over mandatory refugee quotas and various rules they see as attempts by Brussels to limit national sovereignty.

He also has harsh anti-Muslim views, having once called the 2015 migrant crisis "an organised invasion" of Europe and insisted Muslims were "impossible to integrate".

Paradoxically, the country of 10.6 million people has received only 12 migrants under the EU quota system.

"The vote shows a broader conflict, it shows how society is polarised," independent political analyst Jiri Pehe told AFP.

"It is a clash between... the post-communist part of society represented by Zeman and the other part, say, modern, pro-Western, which simply doesn't want this president any more."

A January survey commissioned by Czech Television showed Zeman losing a run-off to Drahos, who beat him with 48.5 percent to 44 percent.

- Liberal democracy under threat? -

No matter who wins, the next president will find himself battling a political crisis with roots in last year's general election.

Story continues

Analysts note that a Drahos victory could upset government-building measures by the populist ANO movement of billionaire Andrej Babis, a Zeman ally who won the October 2017 ballot.

ANO topped the vote, scoring 78 of 200 parliamentary seats campaigning on an anti-corruption and anti-euro ticket.

But the controversial tycoon, who is himself facing police charges over EU funding fraud, has found it impossible to form a majority government after being tapped prime minister by Zeman.

Babis appeared set to lose a parliamentary confidence vote on Wednesday.

Under the constitution, the president has another attempt and Zeman said he would tap Babis again, should he fail to win confidence.

Pehe said Zeman's victory might "pave the way for a deeper alliance with Andrej Babis, which could lead to a change in some basic parameters of liberal democracy in the country".

But the situation could change dramatically if Drahos wins.

"Drahos has made it very clear that a prosecuted man should not be prime minister," Pehe said.

- 'Poor health' -

While Zeman vowed to unite society, his political views have done the opposite.

In China last year, Zeman told his ally Russian President Vladimir Putin that journalists should be "liquidated".

He was also caught on camera verbally threatening to kill a camerman at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg in October.

Zeman has stayed out of all election debates, saying he did not want to attack his rivals.

But Josef Mlejnek, a political analyst at Charles University in Prague, told AFP he believes that "poor health" was the chief reason, as the president suffers from diabetes-induced neuropathy.

Doctors have forced Zeman to curb smoking and drinking, but voters will recall him staggering during a ceremony at Prague Castle shortly after taking office.

And yet, his supporters remain faithful, lavishing praise on the man who beat aristocrat Karel Schwarzenberg in the 2013 run-off.

"If you want to save this country against Muslims, vote Zeman!" voter Marie Kubikova wrote on Facebook.

Zeman's other rivals include ex-gambler and songwriter Michal Horacek, former rightwing premier Mirek Topolanek, and Vratislav Kulhanek, former head of Czech carmaker Skoda Auto.

Polling stations open at 1300 GMT on Friday and close at 2100 before reopening at 0700 GMT and closing at 1300 on Saturday.
Los Angeles (AFP) - Cliven Bundy, leader of a group of armed protesters who led a 2014 confrontation with federal authorities over cattle-grazing fees, was released Monday after a judge declared a mistrial.

His attorney Bret Whipple said Bundy walked free at 11:00 am (1900 GMT) after the prosecution had withheld evidence that might have helped the defendants.

Bundy and four others, including his sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy, were charged with six federal offenses for their confrontation with federal agents in 2014 in Nevada.

Judge Gloria Navarro had declared a mistrial in the case, held in Las Vegas, in December.

Bundy's dispute with authorities had been festering for 20 years before the confrontation.

The government demanded that he pay a million dollars for having illegally used federal land for cattle grazing, which was rejected by the rancher, who claimed that his family had owned that land since the end of the 19th century.

He became an icon for the anti-government rightwing after engaging in an armed standoff with government agents who attempted to confiscate his cattle.

Bundy was also arrested in February 2016 for helping his sons carry out a 41-day siege that once again put the spotlight on a long-running dispute over millions of acres of western public land.

The Oregon takeover ended with the dramatic surrender of four holdouts, including one who threatened to commit suicide in a phone call with mediators that was streamed live.

The question of land rights has been a thorny issue for decades in western US states, where the federal government owns most of the land.

Many conservative politicians and ranchers like the Bundys argue that the land has been mismanaged and should be handed over to states or turned into private property.
The Syrian military and its allies have lunged deep into the northwestern rebel-held province of Idlib, threatening to soon sever the final stronghold of Syria's opposition into two, even smaller pockets of territory.

Related: Russia defends Syria bases from wave of drones supplied by foreign country, Defense Ministry says

"Units of our armed forces, in cooperation with allied forces, continue combat operations against the terrorist organization Nusra Front, regaining control of the villages and towns of Rasem al-Hamidi, Al-Adliya, Waridi, Wadi al-Awja, Tel al-Awja, Burtuqala, Al-Jabriya, Karateen Kabir, Karateen Saghir, Istablat, Serouj Shamaliya, Al-Khurayba, and Rabia Barnan in the southeast countryside of Idlib," the Syrian Defense Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.

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The ministry also noted that the pro-government alliance had retaken the village of Umm Sahraij in neighboring Hama province's northeastern countryside as they "eliminated a number of terrorists and engineering units cleared mines and booby traps that were left behind by terrorists in the area."

Syrian troops began their ongoing offensive in Idlib on Christmas Day, weeks after declaring victory over ISIS in the country's east. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based monitor tied to Syria's exiled opposition, reported Tuesday the Syrian military and its allies "great advancement" in retaking a total of 90 towns and villages formerly under rebel or jihadi control. The monitor also reported a total of 159 deaths of combatants on both sides of the battle and the deaths of around 48 civilians from airstrikes and a yet unclaimed car bomb blast in central Idlib, as well as the displacement of up to 150,000 more civilians fleeing violence in Idlib.

GettyImages-900536726

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images

Story continues

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Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate known later as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has become the most influential organization in Idlib, but it faced competition from rival jihadi group Ahrar al-Sham and other rebels struggling to assert themselves in the shrinking bastion of anti-government control. The embattled Islamic State militant group (ISIS), which once claimed nearly half the country after spreading from Iraq in 2013, also managed to recently reclaim a tiny portion of territory in southeastern Idlib.

The U.S. has labeled ISIS and Nusra Front foreign terrorist organizations and began targeting them with airstrikes in 2014. The following year, Russia intervened at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's request, bombing the two militant groups, as well as other rebel fighters to bolster the beleaguered Syrian military. In December 2016, Russia played a major role in the Syrian government's recapture of Aleppo, widely seen as a turning point in the war.

GettyImages-902612116

STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

Since helping its Syrian ally secure most of the country, Russia has joined fellow Assad ally, Iran, and rebel sponsor, Turkey, in heading peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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WASHINGTON  Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced late Tuesday that at the recommendation of Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R)  whom he called a straightforward leader that can be trusted  he will remove the states coastal waters from consideration for future offshore oil drilling.

The decision came just days after the Trump administration released a sweeping new proposal to open nearly all U.S. waters, including huge swaths of the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans, to oil exploration.

President Trump has directed me to rebuild our offshore oil and gas program in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice, Zinke said on Twitter. I support the governors position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver.

Zinke had flown to Tallahassee on Tuesday to discuss the issue with Scott, a staunch Trump ally, in person.

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Scott had publicly pushed back against the administrations offshore proposal last week  even before there was an official announcement.

I have already asked to immediately meet with Secretary Zinke to discuss the concerns I have with this plan and the crucial need to remove Florida from consideration, the governor said at the time.

The draft plan released last week covers 25 of 26 offshore planning areas and makes available for lease roughly 90 percent of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The administration has identified 47 potential lease sales  the largest number of lease sales ever proposed  including 19 off the coast of Alaska and 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, Zinke said during a call with reporters last week.

If approved, the five-year plan would be in effect from 2019 to 2024.

Scott is expected to make a run for Senate this year, challenging Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), a longtime opponent of offshore drilling. Nelson was quick to dismiss Zinkes decision Tuesday as a political stunt.

I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts, Nelson tweeted on Tuesday. This is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott who has wanted to drill off Floridas coast his entire career. We shouldnt be playing politics with the future of FL.

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Environmental groups also questioned Zinkes motivations.

Sierra Weaver, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center  which led the charge to have Atlantic waters removed from the current five-year leasing plan  said that if the decision had been about anything other than politics, Zinke would have also announced the removal of the waters off Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, where offshore drilling has already been rejected by local and state voices.

The fact is that an oil spill doesnt know or care where one state ends and another begins  and Florida remains at risk, just like all states in the Mid- and South Atlantic, Weaver said in a statement.

But Zinke has not withdrawn any other offshore areas from consideration, despite pleas from governors and lawmakers up and down the Atlantic and Pacific coasts  a point that was also not lost on Democratic leaders from other states.

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(SANTA TECLA, El Salvador)  Being deported to an El Salvador he hadnt seen in more than three decades was a trauma Hugo Castro recalls clearly.

The 51-year-old said Monday that his country must begin preparing now to receive the nearly 200,000 Salvadorans who may have to return following the Trump administrations decision to lift their temporary protected status next year.

The main problem for deportees is that theyre made invisible. Theyre rejected, theres no work. They dont help us, said Castro, who was deported from the U.S. in 2015.

The U.S. announcement brought fears that a major source of income for this poor Central American nation will be cut off and that families could be separated. But there was also a hint of optimism that Salvadorans with many years of experience in the U.S. could bring expertise and investment to spur the economy.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Salvadorans who have stayed in the U.S. with temporary protected status  only a fraction of the estimated 2 million Salvadorans living there  would have to leave by Sept. 9, 2019, unless Congress came up with a solution allowing them to stay.

The temporary protected status program has been offered to citizens from a number of countries fleeing natural disasters or other instability. The affected Salvadorans received the status after earthquakes in 2001 killed more than 1,000 people. Thousands more who arrived in the United States in recent years fleeing gang violence were not eligible.

Castro went to the United States as a teenager to study at a college in Atlanta. During his junior year his family back home lost nearly everything when the bank seized their coffee operation. Dropping out, he worked at a country club and a book store and became manager of a Mexican restaurant. Then a run-in with police led to more than two years in immigration detention as he unsuccessfully fought deportation after living in the U.S. for three decades.

Story continues

His first three months back in El Salvador were the worst, he said. He suffered from depression and didnt want to leave his mothers home. People told him a 49-year-old man should not depend on his mother to support him, so he started looking for work.

I went everywhere, to restaurants. I told them I had a lot of experience and that I spoke English, but they rejected me, he said.

Eight months after arriving, Castro finally found work at the Salvadoran Immigrant Institute. The non-profit group recognized the value of Castros bilingualism and the experience he had gained through the deportation process and it put him to work helping other deportees reintegrate into society.

Castro said programs like his are very limited and more needs to be done for returnees.

The government has to get ready, partner with businesses, with all of society, the nonprofits and create assistance programs, he said.

As an example, he noted that in 2016, the country received 52,000 deportees from the United States and Mexico. Meanwhile, a government program to give small cash grants to allow deportees to open their own businesses has only graduated 140 people, he said.

The biggest worry among many Salvadorans is that their nation of 6.2 million people will see a big drop in the amount of cash sent home by countrymen working in the United States. Salvadorans transferred more than $4.5 billion from the U.S. in 2016, accounting for 17 percent of El Salvadors economy, according to government figures.

Luis Membreno, an economic analyst in El Salvador, said that fear may be overblown. He said Salvadorans who have protected status in the U.S. tend to be more long-standing migrants who have their families there and send less money home. Many more Salvadorans are not in the program, with growing numbers entering the U.S. illegally over the past decade fleeing violence and poverty.

I dont think that family remittances are going to fall in the short term, Membreno said.

He also thinks some Salvadoran families in the U.S. could start sending more money back  something that started when Donald Trump was elected president  so remittance figures could rise.

In addition, he said, many of those eventually returning could be skilled and have money to invest. All of this could generate a certain dynamism in the economy, he said.

Cesar Rios, director of the nonprofit group where Castro works, is less optimistic. Our country is not prepared to receive thousands of Salvadorans, he said.

Deportees are often targeted by gangs, because they believe they have money. Police also target them, because of the stigma that they are criminals.

Theres no work, Rios said. Between 200 and 300 Salvadorans continue leaving every day for the United States.

Ernesto Godoy, standing outside a Western Union money transfer office in San Salvador, said he receives money from relatives with protected status in the United States. He worried the decision could lead to bigger problems in El Salvador.

Its going to affect us, not only me, but on a national level, because here in El Salvador we make ends meet with remittances from the United States, Godoy said.
RIYADH (Reuters) - The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Wednesday it had thwarted an attack on a Saudi oil tanker over the weekend by Houthi fighters near the Red Sea port of Hodeidah. The coalition destroyed a boat carrying explosives as it headed toward the tanker on Saturday, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said. Yemen lies on the southern mouth of the Red Sea, one of the world's most important trade routes for oil tankers, which pass its shores as they head from the Middle East through the Suez Canal to Europe. "There is no doubt that Hodeidah Port has now become a starting point for terrorist operations to threaten the maritime navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab strait," Maliki said. Yemen's armed Houthi movement threatened to block the Red Sea shipping lane on Tuesday if the coalition keeps pushing toward the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah, SABA news agency reported. Maliki said the United Nations should take the initiative and take control of the port from the armed group. U.N. officials have been trying to get the two sides back to the negotiating table after talks collapsed in 2016. Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, is embroiled in a proxy war between the Houthis, who are allied with Iran, and a U.S.-backed military coalition headed by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition has been trying since the start of the war in March 2015 to capture Hodeidah, which receives 80 percent of Yemen's imports, and has in recent weeks launched a ground campaign and intensified air strikes. (Reporting by Sarah Dadouch; Editing by Stephen Kalin and William Maclean)
Brandon Hixon, a former state lawmaker in Idaho, died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, according to a report by the Associated Press. Police identified his body this morning.

Hixon, who had been elected to office in 2012, stepped down following reports that he was the subject of a criminal investigation over sexual abuse allegations.

A detective from the Caldwell, Idaho police station investigated an allegation that Hixon inappropriately touched someone, possibly a child, the Idaho Statesman reported in November, citing a redacted report given to them by police.

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The paper suggested that charges were not brought because the victim involved was not able to provide enough details, based upon the redacted report that they received.

Allegations of sexual abuse have rocked several American institutions in recent months, and the government is no exception. High-profile Democrats like former Senator Al Franken of Minnesota and Michigan Representative John Conyers were forced to resign following allegations of sexual misconduct in late 2017. Doomed Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore lost a run-off election in December, as his campaign was mired in sexual misconduct accusations from several women, including some that were underage at the time that the alleged actions took place.

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Dan Johnson, 57, a Republican lawmaker from Kentucky, also committed suicide in December, following allegations of sexual abuse.

Dustin Hurst, the communications director for Idaho Freedom Foundation, a conservative political action group, wrote on Twitter: Regardless of his sins, Brandon Hixon is a child of God. May he find peace and rest in the next life. 

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Representative Greg Chaney, who serves in Idahos House of Representatives, wrote that he was praying for those left dealing with tremendous pain today as a result of the Hixons death.

Story continues

Hixon, 36, was among the youngest members of Idahos House prior to his resignation. He leaves behind four children, ranging from ages six to 17, according to the AP.

He was divorced from his wife, the Idaho Statesman reported.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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NASA has shared brand new photos of Jupiter taken by the Juno spacecraft, showing the gas giants blue-tinged skies.

The Juno spacecraft takes batches of photos about every 53 days as it orbits Jupiter. NASA researchers uploaded the raw images online last month, prompting several people to process the photos into colorful views of Jupiter, including self-described citizen scientists Gerald Eichstadt and Sean Doran.

Eichstadt and Dorans enhanced images from Junos JunoCam show a beautiful planet of luminous colors, ranging from deep blues and purples to browns and reds  though people should not be fooled by how inviting the planet seems.

As pretty as a planet can get, but get too close and Jupiter will END YOU, Doran tweeted.

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See the stunning images of Jupiter below.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - A senior figure in Palestinian Islamist group Hamas was hospitalised in critical condition Tuesday after suffering a gunshot wound to the head in what officials said was an accident.

Imad al-Alami, a founding member of Hamas and former member of its highest political body, was wounded while "inspecting his personal weapon in his home and is in critical condition", Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum said in a statement.

There was no independent confirmation of that account.

Alami was rushed to hospital in Gaza City, where he was visited by Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar and his deputy Khalil al-Hayya, an AFP photographer said.

Hayya told journalists the version of events described in the statement was based on "testimony of family and witnesses at home".

He said doctors had operated on him but he remained in critical condition.

Alami has for decades been a senior member of Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip.

Israel has accused him of planning multiple attacks.

In 2003 the United States declared him and five other Hamas leaders "specially designated global terrorists".

He lived in exile for more than 20 years but returned to Gaza in 2012.

His home in Gaza was bombed by Israel during the most recent war between the two sides in 2014.

Israel has previously assassinated senior Hamas leaders, including the group's wheelchair-bound founder Ahmed Yassin.

However, radical Islamist groups have targeted Hamas, with an Islamic State affiliate recently calling for attacks against them.

In October 2017 the head of security in Gaza was injured in an apparent assassination attempt, with a small explosion in his car.

In March a senior party leader, Mazen Faqha, was shot dead inside Gaza, with Hamas accusing Israel of responsibility.
President Donald Trumps former chief strategist Steve Bannon was a bad hire, said former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci in an interview Tuesday.

Bannon stepped down from heading the hard-right news website Breitbart News earlier in the day following controversy over his comments about Trump, his administration and the presidents family in the new White House tell-all book Fire and Fury by author Michael Wolff.

Scaramucci, who served for less than two weeks in the White House last summer, said Bannon is not a team player during an interview on CNN with reporter Chris Cuomo.

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Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

I think he was a bad hire, not because he wasn't talented, not because he wasn't smart and quote unquote strategic, he just didn't want to play inside the sandbox with the other people, Scaramucci said.

Bannon was splitting people between nationalism and globalism, and to really understand the president, you know, theres a nuance to him as well. He is a globalist by nature, he added.

Bannon, who headed the Trump campaign from August 2016 to election day, was one of the Trump administration's first hires.

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Scaramucci was removed from the White House last August after he struck out on his own in a blistering, expletive-filled interview with the New Yorker in which he said he wanted to fucking kill all the leakers and accused Bannon of trying to build his own brand off the fucking strength of the President.

His time in the White House, 10 days, came to an end after the appointment of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Bannon's time in the White House also ended last August after Kelly was appointed.

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Read more: Trump's reading skills compared to dyslexic Richard Branson by Anthony Scaramucci

Early this month The Daily Beast reported Scaramucci had privately told friends he and the president still speak regularly on the phone and that he may be re-hired in the administration. In response to the story Scaramucci issued a message stating I have said nothing like that at all.

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Speaking to CNN after Bannon's Breitbart exit, Scaramucci said, You can't say Steve's not a smart guy, you can't say that Steve's not a good writer, you can't say that after Andrew Breitbart's death he didn't help raise the profile of Breitbartnot a super profitable place, but certainly had a very high profile in the last election. So I want to be fair to him, but I also want to be accurate.

Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, was quoted in Wolffs book accusing the presidents eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., of treason for taking a meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer at Trump Tower during the 2016 election after being promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

One of Breitbarts co-owners Rebekah Mercer, who has worked with her billionaire father Robert Mercer to promote Bannons work, said last week that she had stopped supporting him. The Mercers were key in installing Bannon as the head of the Trump campaign in August 2016.

I feel a sense of relief for the President that he can now put this distraction beside him, Scaramucci said Tuesday of the controversy created by Bannons comments, noting Trump now doesnt have to deal with it anymore.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Sweden, a big donor country that has recognized Palestine as a state, warned Tuesday that any US decision to withdraw funds to the UN agency for Palestinians would be destabilizing for the Middle East.

Sweden's UN Ambassador Olof Skoog said he had raised his concerns with US Ambassador Nikki Haley following reports that the US administration had withheld $125 million in funds due on January 1 for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians.

"My concern is that as we talk about regional stability, withdrawing funding for UNRWA would be very negative, both in terms of humanitarian needs of over five million people but also of course it would be destabilizing for the region," Skoog told reporters at UN headquarters.

The Swedish ambassador said he did not rule out raising the issue at the Security Council, which is scheduled to hold its regular meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on January 25.

US President Donald Trump earlier this month threatened to cut US aid to the Palestinians, saying on Twitter that Washington gets "no appreciation or respect" from the Palestinians.

"We pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect," Trump tweeted on January 2.

"With the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?"

In Washington, a senior State Department official said Monday that "contrary to reports that we have halted funding to UNRWA, the decision is under review."

"There are still deliberations taking place, and we have missed no deadline," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sweden was the first EU country to recognize Palestine as a state in 2014 and is among the top 10 donors to UNRWA along with Britain, Germany, the European Union, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth called the US move "vindictive" and a "bullying tactic," as he urged other governments to step in and fill the gap if the United States decides to definitely cut funding.

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UNRWA provides services including schools and health clinics to 5.3 million refugees in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

"It is vindictive for the US government to deprive the UN of money to feed and educate Palestinian children in order to blackmail the Palestinian Authority into rejoining Trump administration-led peace negotiations," Roth said in a statement.

US Vice President Mike Pence will travel to the Middle East next week, with stops scheduled in Egypt, Jordan and Israel.
Tripoli (Lebanon) (AFP) - A Syrian refugee in Lebanon set himself on fire Wednesday outside a UN office in desperation at aid getting cut off to his family, suffering serious burns.

Refugee agency UNHCR and the World Food Programme told AFP that the man -- named by family as 43-year-old father of four Ryad Khalaf Zibou -- "set himself alight" at a UN compound in the northern city of Tripoli.

"This tragic incident underscores the pressures and difficulties facing many refugees, who are becoming increasingly vulnerable and who -- in rare cases -- resort to such desperate acts," the agencies said in a joint statement.

"UN staff attended to the incident, provided first aid support and rushed him to the hospital where he is in a serious but stable condition."

Doctor Gabriel al-Saba told AFP that Zibou suffered third-degree burns over around a third of his body and will require at least two months of treatment.

Zibou's wife Nadia told AFP that the family, originally from the war-ravaged city of Aleppo, has been unable to support itself since UN aid they were receiving was cut off four months ago.

"We don't have money to eat, our debts have accumulated. My husband wasn't working, he spent most of his time looking for a job," she said.

Forced from their homeland by the brutal conflict that has torn Syrian apart, more than half of the roughly one million Syrians registered in Lebanon live in "extreme poverty", according to the UN.

The UN stopped supplying food and financial aid to some Syrian families several months ago to focus funds on the most deprived households.

More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions have been driven from their homes since Syria's conflict erupted with anti-government protests in 2011.
A Louisiana teacher was forcibly removed from a school board meeting and arrested after saying that pay raises for leadership on the board was a "slap in the face" to all teachers.

Deyshia Hargrave, a teacher in the Vermilion Parish School System, asked questions regarding the board's consideration of a $38,000 raise for the superintendent of the school system.

She was taken outside by a police officer, handcuffed, and arrested for resisting arrest.

Ms Hargrave appeared to leave the meeting willingly after the officer approached her and asked her to do so, but in the hallway video showed that she was on the ground being handcuffed and asking "what are you doing?" repeatedly.

When the officer told her to "stop resisting," she responded: "I am not, you just pushed me to the floor...I am way smaller than you."

She is currently out on bond.

The superintendent's pay raise would "basically be taking money out our pockets," she said. Ms Hargrave did not appear to be raising her voice during the meeting.

"A superintendent or any person in a position of leadership getting any type of raise, I feel like it's a slap in the face to all the teachers, cafeteria workers, and any other support staff we have," Ms Hargrave noted.

She was called on twice during the public comments section of the meeting and was told it was not a time for Ms Hargrave's several questions regarding teachers' salaries. Though, after the first time she was called upon, board members did answer some of her questions.

Ms Hargrave told the board: "you're making our job more difficult" by not addressing valid pay concerns.

Superintendent Jerome Puyau told the ABC affiliate KATC that he had called the police afterwards to notify them the school board did not want to press charges for the meeting disruption, but it remains unclear whether the arresting officer was acting under his own accord or at the direction of a member of the school board.

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Mr Payou's contract was extended for three years by the board during that meeting and includes incentives for performance.

School board member Laurie Leblanc did speak out for Ms Hargrave after the incident, saying: "what happened here tonight, the way that females are treated in Vermillion Parrish...I have never seen a man removed from this room. Never."

The problem of education funding is nationwide in the US. According to news site Education Week, "a survey of more than 1,800 public and private school teachers conducted in the 2015-16 school year" showed that the average American educator had to spend $600 of their own money in order to provide adequate school supplies for their students.

The National Education Association reported that Louisiana saw the largest decrease in average public school teacher salary between 2014 and 2015, with the average salary for the 2015-2016 school year coming out to approximately $47,000.
Don't cry me a river. (Photo: Alli Peters for Sunions)

A new food is on the market that can actually decrease the amount of time you spend crying in 2018, so we had to try it for ourselves.

Sunions are the first tearless and sweet onion grown in the U.S., according to a press release announcing their impending arrival in select markets.

Cooks have long struggled with burning eyes from chopping onions, inspiring many bizarre attempts to make those tears subside. The problem is so pervasive that the question how can you cut an onion without crying? produces more than 1.1 million Google search results, and related how-to videos currently total more than 6 million views on YouTube.

The reason you cry when you slice an onion is because it contains volatile compounds that waft up from the onion and react with the natural water in your eyes to form sulfuric acid, which makes your eyes produce tears to reduce the irritant.

Bayer, the company that developed Sunions, says that unlike conventional onions  whose volatile compounds increase while theyre in storage  Sunions volatile compounds decrease over time, so they lose that tear-triggering effect. Sunions testing labs certify that their onions are tearless before releasing them to the market.

Not only do Sunions supposedly cause fewer tears over time, but Bayer also says they become sweeter, delivering a great crunch and consistently delicious flavor that makes them tasty even when eaten raw. (We test this claim in the video below.)

But if Sunions volatile compounds decrease over time, does the flavor weaken, too?

Sunions maintain that onion flavor over time, Lyndon Johnson, the crop sales manager at Bayer, told HuffPost. Its just that aftertaste that really disappears. The flavor experience should be one that has an onion flavor but it doesnt leave that aftertaste on the back of your palate.

Bayer says Sunions are not genetically modified, but were developed through an all-natural crossbreeding program thats taken nearly 30 years to perfect.

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In the 1980s, breeders in Nevada and Washington state began using gas chromatography to identify which types of onions contained the fewest volatile compounds, and those onions were crossbred naturally to isolate those qualities on a consistent basis.

Its very important that these are not genetically modified, Johnson said. We started by planting a source out in the field, and if it produced desirable qualities, which in this case was low pungency, we selected the bulbs that lowered in pungency over time in storage ... And thats how it generated, through traditional selection method.

Sunion has done plenty of its own testing to confirm its product is tearless, but we wanted to see for ourselves. We found three HuffPost editors who typically have a tough time chopping onions without waterworks, and asked each to chop a Sunion. All three succeeded, without a single tear.

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Keep an eye out for Sunions in the coming weeks.

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On Sunday night, SpaceX underwent its first mission of 2018. Elon Musks aerospace company was contracted by the U.S. government to launch a secret spy satellite, known as Zuma, made by the military contractor company Northrop Grumman Corporation, into low-Earth orbit.

Everything seemed to go off without a hitch. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 went smoothly and the rocket booster later landed safely back near Cape Canaveral. SpaceX had apparently completed its third classified mission for the U.S. government, until reports came out Monday saying that Zuma never made it to orbit and is presumed to be a total loss.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that government officials had been briefed about the alleged destruction of the secretive payload. No clear answers were provided, just a lot of vague statements reiterating that this mission was classified. This sparked space enthusiasts across the internet to begin theorizing about what exactly happened to Zuma.

Their resounding answer to a spy satellite estimated to be worth over a billion dollars simply vanishing? Suuuuuuuuure it did.

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Dr. Marco Langbroek, a multidisciplinary scientist based in the Netherlands, started a Twitter thread that refers to evidence that he believes proves the mission was a success. He cites a photograph taken by a Dutch pilot on Monday over Sudan of what appears to be the Falcon 9 upper stage venting fuel ahead of re-entry roughly on schedule in terms of where it was supposed to be.

This shows that the Falcon 9 certainly did reach what appears to be the intended 50 [degree] included LEO orbit [and] did its nominal re-entry burn, tweeted Langbroek. So if anything went wrong at allit is either Zuma being successfully deployed but dead on orbit, or not detaching from the Falcon 9 upper stage.

An image taken by Peter Horstink, the Dutch pilot of a Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft, on January 9.

SpaceX president Gywnn Shotwell sharply defended the aerospace company on Tuesday, stating that their rockets performed as intended.

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After review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night, Shotwell says in a statement. If we or others find based on further review, we will report it immediately. Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false.

If this is true, then Zuma must have suffered damages in orbit causing it to stop functioning. That is the explanation the government and companies involved seem to be pushing, however reddit users on the SpaceX subreddit think something else is going on behind the scenes.

The logic behind their theories is pretty simple, but is all speculative. Zuma is supposed to be a high-tech spy satellite, so wouldnt the government benefit from it more if no one knew where it was or if it even existed?

Redditor laughingatreddit explains that this could be the perfect plot in order to test Zumas stealth capabilities.

This could be the first in the wild test of the new satellite, they write. [The U.S. government] would be listening closely right now to what [sic] every adversary and foreign space agency for any chatter about detecting or tracking Zuma, the enormity of the task made especially difficult with the uncertainty of it even being there This will be the ultimate and only real test of whether its stealth is effective against whatever sensor capability the enemy has.

None of this can be proven with the amount of information that has been given to the press and the public. If fact we might never learn exactly what happened to Zuma after Sundays launch. One thing is for sure, the sudden disappearance of a mysterious spy satellite is enough to raise anyones eyebrow.

Photos via Peter Horstink

Photos via Peter Horstink

Written by Danny Paez

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Niamey (AFP) - A total of 141 civilians in Niger were killed, kidnapped or wounded by the Boko Haram jihadist group last year, a sharp fall compared with 2016, the UN said on Wednesday.

The toll in 2016 was 227 after 214 in 2015, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report.

Boko Haram launched an insurgency in northeast Nigeria in 2009 that in 2015 spilled into Niger. It also affects the country's other neighbours, Chad and Cameroon.

Overall, more than 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million displaced in the conflict.

In Niger, the Diffa administrative region in the southeast of the country, which lies on the frontier with Nigeria and Chad, bore the brunt of the attacks.

The worst-hit district in terms of the number of assaults was Gueskerou, while the highest number of victims was recorded in Kabalewa.

The OCHA report did not detail the number of military casualties.
By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The two top Democrats in the U.S. Congress sent mixed signals on Monday about chances for cutting a deal with Republicans to save the "Dreamer" immigrants from deportation and preventing a federal government shutdown ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline. Nancy Pelosi, leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, held out hope for a bipartisan agreement this month. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also said a deal was possible, but accused the White House of making "unreasonable" demands on immigration. "Hopefully we could come to some agreement within the next week," Pelosi told a small group of reporters in her office. Congress and the White House have been locked in talks on spending and immigration. If they do not make a deal by Jan. 19, when current government spending authority expires, a partial shutdown of the government could follow. Schumer said on the Senate floor that, following an encouraging meeting last week, the White House has issued "a series of unreasonable demands," including calling for $18 billion to fund construction of a wall along the southwestern border with Mexico. Republican President Donald Trump also wants to pump up military spending in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Democrats want any Pentagon spending increase to go with more money for non-defense programs, some of which have been capped. Republicans have majorities in both chambers of Congress, but Democrats are needed to get spending bills past procedural hurdles in the Senate. Democrats want to protect undocumented people who immigrated illegally into the United States as children, known as "Dreamers." Trump in September said he was terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and challenged Congress to come up with legislation to protect around 700,000 Dreamers from deportation. Pelosi said on Monday the budget and DACA issues were linked. "We won't sign off on DACA until we have a caps deal," she said. But she added: "I think the opportunity is there. I do think the president sincerely would like to deal with DACA. I think ... a large number of Republicans would vote for a DACA agreement." (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Marguerita Choy)
WASHINGTON  On Tuesday, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee unilaterally released the transcript of that committees interview with a co-founder of Fusion GPS, the research firm that hired former British spy Christopher Steele to investigate ties between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign.

The Judiciary Committee talked to Fusions Glenn Simpson in August as part of its investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. The interview focused on Fusions work with Steele, who compiled allegations of salacious and corrupt ties between Donald Trump and Russian government officials going back several years. BuzzFeed published the unsubstantiated allegations last January.

Once a bipartisan effort, the Judiciary Committees inquiry has splintered along partisan lines, with Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) working to discredit Fusion by portraying it as a Russian operative.

Simpson answered questions from committee staffers for nearly 10 hours, producing more than 300 pages of transcript. Last week, he accused the committees Republican members of selectively leaking details from the interview to far-right media outlets while refusing to release the transcript in full.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) appeared similarly frustrated with her Republican counterparts. The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice. The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public, she wrote in a statement explaining her unusual decision to bypass the committees chairman in releasing the document.

Here are the top takeaways from the transcript:

Simpson was cooperative.

Grassley told The New York Times that Simpson was uncooperative during the interview. But the transcript shows the former Wall Street Journal reporter providing forthcoming responses to questions about Fusion GPSs work with Steele and Steeles communication with the FBI. Simpson did decline to comment on Steeles sources and the identity of Fusions clients.

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Simpson also answered extensive questions about Fusions work for an American law firm that represented Prevezon, a shell company owned by a Russian business that was accused of money laundering.

Simpson saw Natalia Veselnitskaya the same day she met secretly with the Trump campaign.

Natalia Veselnitskaya was Prevezons lawyer in Russia so Simpson interacted with her when Fusion was working on the Prevezon case. She was also the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort in June 2016 at Trump Tower. The Trump team took the meeting with her under the impression that she would provide damning information the Russian government had acquired about Hillary Clinton.

Simpson saw Veselnitskaya in court for the Prevezon case in New York on June 9  the same day she met with the Trump team. He saw her again on June 10 at a dinner in Washington, D.C., but said they were seated at opposite ends of the table. He first became aware of her role in the Trump Tower meeting when The New York Times broke the story the following year. I was stunned, Simpson told the committee.

Steele sought out the FBI because he was worried candidate Trump was being blackmailed by Russia.

Fusion hired Steele in May or June of 2016, after exhausting open-source methods of investigating Trump, Simpson said. The former spy produced the first of several memos for Fusion in June 2016 and then suggested going to the FBI.

His concern, Simpson said, was whether or not there was blackmail going on, whether a political candidate was being blackmailed or had been compromised.

Simpson signed off on the decision and Steele took his information to someone he knew at the FBI in late June or early July, according to Simpson. Steele traveled to Rome in September to give the FBI a full debriefing.

The FBI thought Steele was credible because they had received a similar tip from a Trump insider.

After briefing the FBI, Steele told Simpson that the bureau had other intelligence about this matter from an internal Trump campaign source, according to Simpson.

My understanding was that they believed Chris [Steele] at this point  that they believed Chriss information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization, Simpson said during his Senate interview. Asked to clarify whether the source was part of Trumps campaign or Trumps business, Simpson declined to comment.

Its possible that Simpson was referring to George Papadopoulos, a onetime foreign policy adviser on the Trump campaign team. Although Papadopoulos didnt go to the FBI, he told an Australian diplomat in 2016 that Russia had dirt on Clinton. The Australian government later passed that information to the FBI.

Steele severed his relationship with the FBI after the Times reported the bureau found no Trump ties to Russia.

On Oct. 31, 2016, The New York Times reported that the FBI had not found any conclusive or direct link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government. Steele, who had been meticulously documenting allegations of ties between Trump and Russia, was taken aback. He stopped dealing with the FBI out of concern that he didnt know what was happening inside the FBI, Simpson told the committee. There was a concern that the FBI was being manipulated for political ends by the Trump people and that we didnt really understand what was going on.

Liz Spayd, then the New York Times public editor, addressed this story last January and implied that the papers reporters were aware of Steeles unsubstantiated findings but werent able to verify them. I have spoken privately with several journalists involved in the reporting last fall, and I believe a strong case can be made that The Times was too timid in its decisions not to publish the material it had, Spayd wrote.

Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of the Steele dossier.

Near the end of the interview, Jason Foster, Grassleys chief investigative counsel for the committee, pressed Simpson on what steps he took to verify the credibility of Steeles sources. Simpson declined to answer. When Foster pushed back, Simpsons lawyer Joshua Levy interjected.

Its a voluntary interview, and in addition to that he wants to be very careful to protect his sources. Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier, and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work, Levy said.

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(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.)  A transgender rights advocate who started a pageant for transgender women in New England was found stabbed and beaten to death in her home, and her husband was charged with her slaying.

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien is the first known transgender person to be killed this year, LGBT organization GLAAD said. She was found dead in her North Adams home on Friday evening. Her husband, Mark Steele-Knudslien, pleaded not guilty to murder on Monday, days after police say he admitted hitting her with a hammer and stabbing her after an argument.

Christa Steele-Knudslien, 42, was well known in the Massachusetts transgender community for her activism and helped launch the first New England Trans Pride event a decade ago, friends said. She and other advocates later started the Miss Trans New England Pageant, which brought together transgender women from across the region, said A. Vickie Boisseau, who officiated at her wedding last April.

Another longtime friend, Justin Adkins, said, Her thing was always that transgender women are beautiful and need a venue for trans women to be seen as beautiful.

Mark Steele-Knudslien, 47, admitted in an interview that he killed his wife, police said in a statement filed in the Northern Berkshire District Court, MassLive.com reported .

The husband said he struck her numerous times with a hammer and then stabbed her in the back with a large knife before wrapping her body in a tarp, police said.

He told investigators they got into an argument and he snapped, adding that she was always belittling him, police said, according to MassLive.com. He turned himself in at the police department on Friday, telling officers he had done something very bad, police said.

He was held Monday without bail. His attorney didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Turns out, former British agent Christopher Steele wasn't the only one who heard about some parts of the famous pee tape dossier.

Steele told the FBI that he believed the Russians would use information to blackmail then-candidate Donald Trumpand later learned that the FBI had heard similar claims from a Trump campaign member, the head of the campaign research firm Fusion GPS told Congress in testimony made public on Tuesday.

Fusion GPS hired Steele, a former British spy, in June 2016 to look into Trump on behalf of clients, co-founder Glenn Simpson told the Senate Judiciary Committee in August, according to a transcript released Tuesday by Senator Dianne Feinstein. Steele produced his first memo in the same month he was hired, and later alerted the FBI about the blackmail possibility, Simpson said.

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Steele apparently made contact with the bureau between June 20 and July 26, 2016.

Related: Trumps Social Media Director Now Part of Russia Probe

In mid-to-late September 2016, Steele told Simpson that the FBI had asked him to provide more information, Simpson testified.

My understanding was that they believed Chris at this pointthat they believed Chriss information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization, Simpson testified.

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Republicans in Congress have claimed that Steele's unverified dossier led the FBI to open its investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign. But Simpsons comments appear to confirm that the FBI did not launch its Trump-Russia investigation just because of the dossier.

In December, The New York Times reported that the FBIs launched the probe after learning of a May, 2016 conversation that Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos had with an Australian diplomat, whose government then alerted the FBI about Papadopouloss comments two months after the conversation. That would put the FBI investigation in July, according to the report.

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01_09_Simpson_Fusion_GPS_Steele

MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty

Because the Times report did not include a specific date that the Australian government contacted the FBI, and Simpsons testimony gave only a one-month timeframe for when Steele alerted the bureau, it is unclear which event occurred first. Former FBI Director James Comey has testified before Congress that the bureau launched its investigation in July, 2016.

Simpson declined to name the apparent campaign source. It was unclear if that source was Papadopoulos. Simpson said only that the person had not been a source of Steeles, and that Simpson believed the person was a voluntary source, someone who was concerned about the same concerns we had. ... It was someone like us who decided to pick up the phone and report something.

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In his testimony, Simpson addressed the point that the information Steele reported might not be factually correct. Steele deals in a very different kind of information, which is human intelligence, human information, he told the panel. The question of whether something is accurate isnt really asked. The question that is asked generally is whether its credible.

Tuesdays transcript release by Feinstein, the Democratic ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, comes after senior Democrats on the panel had urged its chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley, to release it. On January 4, Grassley and Senator Lindsey Graham wrote to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray recommending they pursue charges against Steele for allegedly making false statements. The House Intelligence Committee is also looking into the dossier.

A representative for Fusion GPS did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. A lawyer for the firm also did not respond to a request for comment. Simpson had called for the release of the transcript citing repeated "attacks" against his company by Republicans and Trump.

"In those sessions, we toppled the far rights conspiracy theories and explained how The Washington Free Beacon and the Clinton campaignthe Republican and Democratic funders of our Trump researchseparately came to hire us in the first place," Simpson and co-founder Peter Fritsch wrote in the Times last week.

The pair wanted the testimony released to end a "cynical campaign to portray us as the unwitting victims of Kremlin disinformation."

"The dossier," they added, "was taken so seriously (by the FBI) because it corroborated reports the bureau had received from other sources, including one inside the Trump camp."

This article was first written by Newsweek

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The Trump administration, which has repeatedly warned of the threat of gang violence and specifically of the MS-13 gang, just announced the end of immigration protections for thousands of Salvadorans living in the U.S, which will force many to return to a country where MS-13 is a serious problem.

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that the Trump administration will end temporary protected status (TPS) for about 200,000 Salvadorans living in the U.S. Immigrants from El Salvador had been granted the protections in 2001, after earthquakes devastated the country. Now those individuals  who have been living in the U.S. legally for the past 17 years or more, and many of whom have children who are U.S. citizens  will have to leave by September 2019 or face deportation, if they dont find another way to gain legal status.

Those forced to return will go back to a country with one of the highest homicide rates in the world and a serious gang violence problem. One of the biggest gangs is MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha  a gang started in Los Angeles in the 1980s that then spread to other cities in the U.S. and Central America, namely El Salvador.

President Donald Trump regularly calls out the threat of MS-13 on Twitter and in speeches, often while calling for stricter immigration enforcement.

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Yet the administration is now forcing thousands to potentially have to return to El Salvador, where violence by the gang poses a significant risk to residents.

The Trump administration is on the one hand decrying the danger of gang violence, and on the other sending families who have lived in this country for years back into the arms of those very dangerous gangs, Eleanor Acer, senior director at Human Rights First, told HuffPost on Monday.

Peoples lives are on the line, Acer added. And the administration clearly knows about the grave dangers in El Salvador.

The MS-13 gang poses a significant risk to residents of El Salvador. (Photo: Jose Cabezas/AFP via Getty Images)

DHS officials told reporters in a call on Monday that in making the decision to end TPS, the agency had considered El Salvadors recovery since the 2001 earthquakes. Since that was the reason for the initial designation, it had not considered gang violence as a factor.

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The U.S. government has called MS-13, which has about 30,000 members in the U.S, El Salvador and other countries, one of the most dangerous and rapidly expanding criminal gangs in the world today. Attorney General Jeff Sessions even announced a new designation for the gang last year, to enable a stronger law enforcement response to the group in the U.S.

Ironically while administration officials have repeatedly and very publicly asserted concerns about the dangers of gang violence, theyre certainly not hesitating to put many families who have lived in the U.S. for years, and their U.S. citizen children, at risk, Acer said.

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Salvadorans living in the U.S. under TPS  who have, on average, lived in the country for over two decades and have around 190,000 U.S.-born children  will now join the ranks of about 50,000 Haitians and 2,500 Nicaraguans, who lost TPS protections last year.

These families will have to decide whether to return to their countries with their children  countries some of their kids have never known  or leave them behind.

Were talking about deporting your neighbor, who has lived here legally, has bought a house, is employed or started a business, Human Rights Watch senior researcher Clara Long told HuffPost. Think about how many people who have made lives and contributed to this country are now going to be living in situations of severe vulnerability.

Combined with the almost 700,000 young immigrants who saw their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections ended last year as well, that makes nearly 1 million immigrants who will soon be at risk of deportation.

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WASHINGTON  President Trump told his South Korean counterpart by telephone Wednesday that he is not considering a so-called bloody nose military strike on North Korea, according to a summary of their conversation released in Seoul.

Trump told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that news reports that his administration is assessing such an action are completely wrong, according to a statement from Moons office, quoted by Reuters.

A White House summary of the conversation made no mention of any such assurances.

In December, Yahoo News reported that U.S. officials in Congress and the Trump administration were considering a range of options for ramping up pressure on North Korea, including what one well-placed former official called a bloody nose military strike. Britains the Telegraph was the first to report that such an action was under consideration. The Wall Street Journal reported the same thing this week.

In this 2015 photo, a South Korean Marine, right, and U.S. Marines aim their weapons near amphibious assault vehicles during the U.S.-South Korea joint landing military exercises. (Photo: Lee Jin-man/AP)

Such a use of force could lead to North Korean retaliation, potentially escalating to a catastrophic all-out war that would put millions of lives at risk in South Korea, as well as nearby Japan.

Coming a day after North and South Korea held their first talks in more than two years, the statement from Moons office also said that Trump was open to negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang, under the right circumstances.

Both heads of state forecast the current inter-Korean talks could naturally lead to talks between the United States and North Korea for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and agreed to negotiate closely on the progression of inter-Korean talks, the statement from Moons office said.

President Trump said the United States is open to talks should North Korea want them, as long as the circumstances and timing are right, it said.

The White House summary said that Trump expressed his openness to holding talks between the United States and North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances.

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That echoed Trumps public remarks over the weekend, when he told reporters at the Camp David presidential retreat that he would be willing to hold talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

I always believe in talking, Trump said. Absolutely I would do that. No problem with that at all.

President Trump walks across the South Lawn as he arrives at the White House after traveling from Camp David, Md. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

At the time, Trump also praised North and South Korean discussions about the upcoming Olympic Games to be held in the South as a big start, and took credit for those conversations.

If I werent involved, they wouldnt be talking about Olympics right now. Theyd be doing no talking or it would be much more serious, Trump said.

On Wednesday, Moon himself said Trump deserves big credit for the resumption of North-South talks, linking them to the U.S. campaign for ramping up economic and diplomatic pressure on the secretive Stalinist regime because of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Trumps relationship with Pyongyang has been marked by caustic statements and schoolyard taunts, with the U.S. leader deriding Kim as short and fat.

In the telephone conversation, Trump told Moon that Vice President Mike Pence would lead the delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Read more from Yahoo News:
All presidential candidates should be required to undergo a mental health screening and file a report to the Federal Election Commission in order to attain the nations highest political office, according to newly proposed legislation from a Democratic congressman.

Representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania is expected to offer his Stable Genius Act before Congress Tuesday, according to The Hill, in the wake of President Donald Trumps braggart tweets over the weekend about his intelligence.

The law would require a report to the FEC that certifies a candidate has undergone a medical examination by the medical office under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy.

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In a statement, Boyle clarified the intention of the act. "Before voting for the highest office in the land, Americans have a right to know whether an individual has the physical and mental fitness to serve as President."

He added that what he called Trumps erratic behavior was the reason behind the legislation.

The President believes he is a stable genius. I do not, Boyle said. President Trumps reckless, erratic behavior has exposed a critical flaw in our existing election process."

Given Republicans maintain majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is unlikely Boyles legislation will pass.

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On Saturday, Trump attacked revelations in a new book titled Fire and Fury: Inside The Trump White House, in which author Michael Wolff claimed everyone around the president questioned his mental capacity, ability to read reports, overall intelligence and fitness for office.

The president blamed the media and Democrats for switching the focus from the Trump-Russia investigation to his mental acuity because the probe had been proven to be a total hoax on the American public.

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Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence....., Trump tweeted.

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The president went on in two more tweets: "Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star..... to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!

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Along with Trump, the White House has denied allegations made in the book and decried Wolffs narrative. Wolff has since defended the book, which was published four days ahead of schedule Friday.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's scheduled medical exam this week won't include a psychiatric evaluation, the White House said Monday as questions mount over the US president's mental fitness.

Responding to queries on the subject, spokesman Hogan Gidley said simply: "No."

"He's sharp as a tack," Gidley told reporters on board Air Force One.

Trump, 71, will be examined at the Walter Reed military hospital in a Washington suburb Friday and the results are set to be made public.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump published a letter by his long term doctor Harold Bornstein that stated he was in "excellent physical health."

Bornstein had previously written about Trump's health in glowing terms, stating in 2015 he would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."

Angered by the publication of a bombshell book that raised doubts over his mental faculties, Trump took to Twitter this weekend to describe himself as "a very stable genius" and "like, really smart."
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump is being urged by some top advisers not to bring back U.S. economic sanctions on Iran this week, a move by the president that would effectively end a 2015 deal to limit Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Two senior administration official told Reuters on Wednesday that Trump's top advisers were recommending that he not reimpose sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the agreement between Iran, the United States and other world powers. But Trump, who has previously vowed to scrap the nuclear pact, is privately expressing reluctance to heed the advisers, the officials said. The U.S. Congress requires the president to decide periodically whether to certify Iran's compliance with the deal and issue a waiver to allow U.S sanctions on Iran to remain suspended. The next deadline is Friday. Trump will seek to make a final decision on the sanctions during a meeting with national security aides on Thursday, the senior officials said. If Trump did waive the sanctions, one official said, the administration would nevertheless impose new, targeted measure on Iranian businesses and people. A third U.S. official said Trump was expected by some officials to renew the sanctions waivers but stressed that no final decision had been made. Trump has gnashed his teeth at having to waive the sanctions again, believing his predecessor, Democratic President Barack Obama, negotiated a bad deal for the United States in agreeing to the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Hailed by Obama as key to stopping Iran from building a nuclear bomb, the deal lifted economic sanctions in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear ambitions. It was also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes. It has said it will stick to the accord as long as the other signatories respect it, but will "shred" the deal if Washington pulls out. Trump in October chose not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warned he might ultimately terminate it. He accused Iran of not living up to the spirit of the nuclear agreement even though the International Atomic Energy Agency says Tehran is in fact in compliance. VIOLATION OF DEAL The first official said a decision not to waive the sanctions would leave the United States in violation of the agreement. "You either waive the sanctions or you dont and if you don't you're in breach of the JCPOA," the official said. Congressional hardliners on Iran like Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton have called for the reimposition of sanctions, an end to the nuclear deal and the new sanctions on Iran. But some liberal Democrats who support the deal want to pass legislation that would make it harder for Trump to pull Washington out without congressional consent. Trump and his top advisers have been negotiating with U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill to try to change sanctions legislation so that he does not face a deadline on whether to recertify Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal every 90 days. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker has been working on amending a U.S. law to include trigger points that if crossed by Iran would automatically bring back U.S. sanctions. The trigger points would address strengthening nuclear inspections, Irans ballistic missile program and eliminate the deals sunset clauses under which some of the restrictions on Irans nuclear program expire over time. Corker told Reuters that if Trump does not listen to his team, and pulls the United States out, there is no point in pursuing the legislation. But most of the general view around him, with his team, with all of his foreign policy leaders, his cabinet members, is I think hoping that hell continue to waive sanctions and to try to support what his team has been working with us on for eight or nine months, Corker said. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Arshad Mohammed and Jeff Mason; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Alistair Bell)
President Trump on Wednesday denounced Sen. Dianne Feinstein for releasing the transcript of an interview of a key witness in the Senate Judiciary Committees investigation of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign  and in the process coined a new nickname for the California Democrat, the committees ranking minority member.

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace, Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning, adding that he would like to see her face a primary challenge in 2018. Must have tough Primary!

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On Tuesday, Feinsteins office released the unclassified, 312-page transcript of the interview last August by Judiciary Committee staffers with Glenn Simpson, a founder of the research firm Fusion GPS, which was retained by the Clinton campaign to do opposition research on Trump.

Fusion hired Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, who in turn produced the controversial dossier containing allegations of collusion with the Russian government, along with unsubstantiated claims about the Kremlins efforts to collect compromising information about Trump personally.

Congressional Republicans and the Trump campaign have tried to discredit the dossier as a partisan effort cooked up by the Clinton campaign. Although it contained no bombshells, Simpsons testimony indicates that Steele was so troubled by what he found that he contacted the FBI to alert it to what he considered a possible crime.

The Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley, has resisted calls to release the transcript, so Feinstein did it on her own.

Grassley called the release disappointing and his office put out a statement saying it undermines the integrity of the committees oversight work and jeopardizes its ability to secure candid voluntary testimony.

Story continues

It is unclear what laws Feinstein might have broken or what Trump meant by calling the release possibly illegal. At around the same time as the documents went out to the public, Feinstein was one of a bipartisan group of legislators taking part in a cordial meeting with Trump to discuss immigration policy.

President Trump holds a bipartisan meeting with legislators on immigration reform at the White House on Tuesday. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

In the interview, Simpson was asked if he had taken steps assess the credibility of the sources for Steeles dossier, but he declined to discuss sourcing information. When pressed by the committee, Simpsons lawyer Joshua Levy suggested it would be dangerous to do so.

Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier, Levy said. And no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work.

Trump has repeatedly called the investigations into his campaigns possible collusion with Russia a witch hunt orchestrated by Democrats looking to undermine his presidency. He did so again in a tweet Wednesday while appearing to suggest the GOP ought to help him move past the probes.

The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues, the president tweeted. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!

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Feinstein has never ruled out the possibility of finding collusion between the campaign and Russians, although she said last month that Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is overseeing a separate federal probe, seems to be focusing on building a case of obstruction of justice against Trump for his firing of FBI Director James Comey.

It is my belief that that is directly because he did not agree to lift the cloud of the Russia investigation, Feinstein said on NBCs Meet the Press on Dec. 3. Thats obstruction of justice.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Donald Trump pledged to build a border wall when he announced his candidacy: AP Photo/David J Phillip

Donald Trump may call himself a genius on Twitter, but his spoken statements say otherwise.

An analysis of the President's first 30,000 words uttered in office found Mr Trump speaks at a third- to seventh-grade reading level  lower than any other President since 1929. Mr Trumps vocabulary and grammatical structure is significantly more simple, and less diverse than any President since Herbert Hoover, the analysis found.

The comparison is based on interviews, speeches and press conferences for every president dating back to 1929, compiled by online database Factba.se. Analysts at Factba.se studied the off-script remarks of all 15 men  essentially, everything but their prepared speeches  to compare and contrast their speaking skills.

Analysts ran the records through eight different tests for vocabulary complexity, diversity, and comprehension level. In every single test, Mr Trump scored the lowest.

Mr Trump averaged significantly fewer syllables per word than the last 14 Presidents, and used significantly fewer unique words. The gaps appeared when comparing all available remarks, and when comparing only the first 30,000 words of each presidency. Social media posts were excluded from the data.

Compared to the 14 presidents who preceded him, by every measure, [Mr Trumps] use of words when off script are significantly less diverse, and simpler, than all presidents who preceded him back to Herbert Hoover, wrote Factba.se CEO Bill Frischling.

The topic of Mr Trumps mental acuity has dominated the national conversation since the publication of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, an explosive new book about the Trump administration. The books author, Michael Wolff, claims Mr Trumps family, friends, and coworkers all regularly questioned his fitness to serve.

Mr Trump disputed these claims via Twitter last week, claiming he was a very stable genius and like, really smart. He was supported by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who called questions about the Presidents mental state outrageous.

Story continues

It's absolutely outrageous to make these types of accusations and it's simply untrue, and its sad that people are going and making these desperate attempts to attack the President, she said in an interview on Fox & Friends.

But many Congressional Democrats  and even some of Mr Trumps fellow Republicans  still refute the idea that the President is their intellectual superior. More than a dozen House and Senate Republicans declined to endorse Mr Trumps claim that he was a genius in interviews with CNN on Monday.

Republican Senator Jerry Moran, for example, said Mr Trump was smart and capable at getting himself elected president. But when asked whether he was a genius, Mr Moran replied: Got nothing.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump on Wednesday again insisted the multiple investigations into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia are the single greatest witch hunt in American history and suggested that Republicans take control of the investigations.

At a news conference with Norways prime minister, Trump said it was unlikely that he would give an interview to special counsel Robert Muellers investigators, something that is reportedly under consideration.

Well see what happens, Trump said.

In response to reporters questions, the president insisted multiple times that there was no collusion, claimed without evidence that virtually everybody has proved this, and repeated that Democrats and his presidential campaign opponent Hillary Clinton were the ones who colluded.

The witch hunt continues, he said, echoing a tweet from Wednesday morning, in which he also suggested Republicans should scuttle the investigation.

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Trumps comments came on the same day that Senate Democrats released a report warning of future Russian interference in U.S. elections and chastising Trump for creating a leadership vacuum by repeatedly downplaying the issue.

On Wednesday morning, Trump also lashed out at Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) after she released a transcript of a Senate Judiciary Committee interview with the co-founder of the firm that produced the dossier describing Russian efforts to help the Trump campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

Former British spy Christopher Steele compiled the dossier on behalf of Glenn Simpsons firm, Fusion GPS. Simpson spoke to the Judiciary Committee about the work in August.

Feinsteins decision to make Simpsons testimony public went against the wishes of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who said it undermines the integrity of the committees oversight work.

Trump, who coined the new nickname Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, called the document release underhanded and possibly illegal and a disgrace in a tweet Wednesday. He then suggested that, given no collusion has yet been proven, the Republicans should finally take control.

Story continues

Simpsons testimony didnt offer any additional knowledge about whether collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government did occur. But Trump weighing into the discussion furthers the growing partisan divide around the investigations into election meddling. Republicans have attempted to discredit the dossier as a tool the FBI shouldnt have trusted.

This article has been updated with Trumps comments from a Wednesday news conference.

Also on HuffPost

Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Rico residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan on Oct. 3.

Trump reacts as he sits in a truck on March 23 while welcoming truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting at the White House regarding health care.

Trump registers his surprise as he realizes other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Summit in Manila, Philippines, on Nov. 13.

Trump, along with first lady Melania Trump, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, put their hands on an illuminated globe during the inauguration ceremony of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 21.

Trump looks up toward the solar eclipse while standing on the Truman Balcony at the White House on Aug. 21.

Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May are pictured ahead of a photo opportunity of leaders as they arrive for a NATO summit meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on May 25.

Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing, China, on Nov. 10.

Trump holds up a pen after signing the HBCU executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 28.

Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wait for reporters to enter the room before their meeting in the Oval Office on March 17.

Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7.

Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio to the White House on Sept. 15. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the White House lawn, was invited to work for a day along the National Park Service staff.

Trump and Putin shake hands as they take part in a family photo at the APEC summit in Danang, Vietnam, on Nov. 10.

Trump jokes with French President Emmanuel Macron about their handshakes at the start of the NATO summit at their new headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on May 25.

Trump holds a mechanical tool as he attends a Made in America roundtable in the East Room of the White House on July 19.

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By Tarek Amara and Ulf Laessing TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian police clashed with anti-government protesters in the capital Tunis and several other towns on Tuesday, residents said, as fresh demonstrations against austerity measures broke out a day after one person was killed in unrest. Protests erupted in at least 12 towns across Tunisia on Monday, among them the tourist towns of Sousse and Hammamet, against price and tax rises imposed by the government to reduce its ballooning deficit and satisfy international lenders. In Tunis on Tuesday police fired tear gas in two districts and also fired gas at a crowd storming a supermarket of France's Carrefour, a witness said. No casualties were reported. Fresh clashes also broke out in Tebourba, a town 40 km (25 miles) west of Tunis where one protester was killed on Monday, witnesses said, and soldiers could be seen there and in Jelma, a central town where clashes were also reported. The main opposition party had hours earlier called for protests to continue until the government scrapped what it called an unjust 2018 budget including price and tax hikes. While Tunisia is widely seen as the only democratic success story among the nations where Arab Spring revolts took place in 2011, it has had nine governments since then and none of them have been able to tackle growing economic problems. Europe is concerned about stability in Tunisia, partly because unemployment there has forced many young Tunisians to go abroad: The number of boats smuggling migrants to Italy has been rising and Tunisia has also produced the largest number of jihadists heading for battlefields in Iraq, Syria and Libya. Public anger has been building since Jan. 1, when the government raised the prices of petrol and other items and hiked taxes on cars, phone calls, internet usage and hotel accommodation as part of those economic reforms. A year ago, the government agreed to a four-year loan programme with the International Monetary Fund worth about $2.8 billion in return for economic reforms. "Today we have a meeting with the opposition parties to coordinate our movements, but we will stay on the street and we will increase the pace of the protests until the unjust financial law is dropped," opposition Popular Front leader Hamma Hammami told reporters. Adding to pressure on the government, Nourredine Taboubi, head of the labour union UGTT, demanded the minimum wage and aid for the poor be raised within a week, state news agency TAP said. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed called for calm, saying the economy would improve this year. Chahed, who heads a coalition of Islamist and secular parties, has been under constant pressure from labour unions over the faltering economy. "People have to understand that the situation is extraordinary and their country is having difficulties, but we believe that 2018 will be the last difficult year for the Tunisians," Chahed said. The 2011 uprising and two major militant attacks in Tunisia in 2015 damaged foreign investment and tourism, which accounts for eight percent of its economic activity. 'SACRIFICING THE POOR' The demonstrations have so far been much smaller than previous protests since the overthrow of autocrat ruler Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. But those confrontations between the government, labour unions, Islamists and secular forces also started on a small scale before escalating. Analysts say Chahed could amend some of his reforms. Under pressure from unions, officials have already agreed to increase public sector salaries this year and to avoid compulsory lay-offs which could provoke protests. The government says it wants to cut the public sector wage bill to 12.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2020 from about 15 percent now by offering voluntary redundancies. But it is also trying to impose higher petrol prices and contributions to social security, which are tough for many people to swallow after years of hardship. "At the time of Ben Ali, which we did not like, I filled my stand with vegetables, fruits and other items with 10 dinars, and now 50 dinars do not fill this gap. The situation has worsened dramatically," said Fatma, a market woman in a Tunis. "The government is sacrificing the poor and the middle class by raising prices and ignoring tax evaders and businessmen," she said. Separately, a judge ordered the arrest of a finance ministry official on suspicion of graft, another judge said, the first such move against a senior official since Chahed announced a crackdown last year. The country's anti-corruption committee says graft is widespread. It has presented cases against 50 state officials accused of corruption. (Reporting by Tarek Amara and Ulf Laessing; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, Hugh Lawson, William Maclean)
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey summoned a senior US diplomat on Wednesday to complain about Washington providing training to a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed as terrorists by Ankara.

"We shared our concerns about the US giving armed weapons' training to members" of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party's (PYD) militia with the US charge d'affaires Philip Kosnett, Turkish foreign ministry sources said.

The sources did not give any further detail.

Kosnett is currently the most senior American diplomat in Ankara after the departure late last year of the ambassador, John Bass. His replacement has yet to be named.

While the US views the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) militia as the most effective fighting force on the ground against Islamic State (IS) extremists, Ankara calls it a "terrorist" organisation linked to outlawed Kurdish militants in Turkey.

Turkey claims both the YPG and the PYD are a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is proscribed as a "terror" organisation by Ankara, Washington and Brussels.

Relations between Washington and Ankara have been tense over multiple issues including a US decision last year to deliver weapons to the YPG.

But in November, Turkish officials said US President Donald Trump told them in a phone call that Washington would no longer supply arms to the YPG.

There is also tension over a US failure to extradite the Pennsylvania-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen whom Turkey says ordered the failed coup of July 2016, as well as the US conviction earlier this month of a Turkish banker over a scheme to help Iran avoid US actions.

Gulen denies the charges.
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey on Wednesday warned Iran and Russia to make their Syrian regime ally stop bombing the rebel-held northern Idlib province, as tensions mounted ahead of mooted peace talks later this month.

Ankara has been working closely with Russia and Iran to end the Syrian conflict over the last months but has stepped up pressure on Moscow and Tehran as the bombardments on Idlib intensified amid fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Russia wants to bring all the parties in the Syrian conflict together for a conference in its Black Sea resort of Sochi at the end of this month but the tensions with Ankara are proving a major obstacle.

"Iran and Russia should fulfil their responsibility. If you are guarantors -- and you (Iran and Russia) are -- they should stop the regime," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the official Anadolu news agency.

Cavusoglu said 95 percent of the violations in Idlib were carried out by the regime and the groups backing the regime.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by anti-government forces that are dominated by a jihadist outfit known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) consisting mostly of former fighters from the Al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate.

- 'Sceptical on Sochi' -

Ankara has supported the anti-Assad opposition throughout the almost seven-year Syrian civil war while Russia and Iran have backed President Bashar al-Assad.

However, despite the differences, Turkey had teamed up with the two other powers in a bid to bring a lasting peace to Syria, even though analysts have long warned the three-way alliance is highly brittle.

In the biggest public flare-up of tensions with Moscow and Tehran in months, Ankara summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors over the Idlib bombing.

Assad's forces have upped efforts in the last days to impose control over Idlib and the Eastern Ghouta enclave near Damascus, the two last rebel bastions in Syria.

But in the meantime, Russia is hoping to hold a Syria peace congress in Sochi on January 29-30 with the particular aim of setting up a new constitution for post-war Syria.

Story continues

But Turkey says it will boycott any talks involving Syrian Kurdish militia the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), which controls much of northeast Syria but Ankara views as a terror group and offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

A previous attempt in November to convene talks in Sochi failed due to disagreements between the prospective participants, in particular Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"We have said we will not be in any environment... where the YPG is present," said Cavusoglu. A Turkish foreign ministry official told AFP that Ankara's attendance at the talks had not been decided.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday "intense contacts" were in progress between Russia, Iran and Turkey in order to draw up the list of participants.

With Iran and Russia themselves not always seeing eye to eye, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks Wednesday in Moscow with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Both men emphasised the importance of the Sochi talks, with Zarif saying "we want to move together in the same direction".

"Sochi has failed to land twice and there is still not a lot of clarity about who will go," said one European diplomat, asking not to be named.

"There is a risk it will involve the wrong people at the wrong time," the diplomat added.

Aron Lund, a fellow with The Century Foundation, said: "Russian attempts to smuggle PKK-linked Kurdish groups into the Sochi talks are going to provoke Erdogan, and so he'll push all the buttons he can to stop that".

- 'Letter warning Turkey' -

Alexei Malashenko, Research Director of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute, said that Russia, Turkey and Iran all had different interests in the Syria conflict.

"Yet all three have an interest in a consensus. So they are damned to a consensus," Malashenko, one of the leading Russian experts on the Middle East, told AFP.

Russia is also angered by attacks on the Russian naval base of Tartus and its air base at Hmeimim in Syria last week by drones which Moscow says were sent from Idlib province.

The Russian Kommersant daily said seven military planes were "practically destroyed" but the defence ministry rejected the report.

The ministry has written to Turkish army chief Hulusi Akar and intelligence supremo Hakan Fidan to insist that the terms of a ceasefire are upheld, the defence ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda said.

A likely future sticking point between Russia and Turkey is also the fate of Assad, who Ankara has vehemently opposed throughout the conflict and Erdogan last month described as a "terrorist".
Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey on Wednesday called on Russia and Iran, the two chief allies of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, to halt an air offensive on the rebel-held Idlib province near the Turkish border.

Ankara has been working closely with Russia and Iran to end the Syrian conflict over the last months but has stepped up pressure on Moscow and Tehran as the bombardments on Idlib intensified.

"Iran and Russia should fulfil their responsibility. If you are guarantors -- and you are -- they should stop the regime," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the official Anadolu news agency.

"This is not a simple air offensive. The regime is advancing inside Idlib. They have a different intention."

Cavusoglu emphasised that in efforts to bring peace to Syria, Russia and Iran were the "guarantors" of the regime side and Turkey of the opposition.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by anti-government forces that are dominated by a jihadist outfit known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) consisting mostly of former fighters from the Al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate.

Ankara has already summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors, in the biggest public flare-up of tensions with Moscow and Tehran in months.

It conveyed "uneasiness" to the Russian ambassador Tuesday, calling the strikes a "violation of the borders of the Idlib de-escalation zone" established by Turkey, Iran and Russia, according sources at the foreign ministry.

Cavusoglu said 95 percent of the violations in Idlib were carried out by the regime and the groups backing the regime.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could speak by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation, he added.

"We cannot remain indifferent. We have exerted so many efforts and we cannot waste them."

The escalation comes as Russia is hoping to hold a Syria peace congress in its Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29-30 bringing together all the main parties in the conflict.

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A previous attempt in November to convene talks in Sochi failed due to disagreements between the prospective participants.

But in a major potential obstacle for Sochi, Turkey says it will oppose any talks involving the Syrian Kurdish militia the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror group.

Cavusoglu repeated Turkey's red line over its presence in Sochi by saying that: "We have said we will not be in any environment... where the YPG is present."
By Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Two civilians were killed when officers fired live rounds to disburse crowds that attacked a police station in Pakistan on Wednesday in a protest over the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl. Police recovered the body of Zainab Ansari on Tuesday from a garbage dumpster in the town of Kasur in eastern Pakistan, four days after she was reported missing. It was the twelfth incident of a girl being adducted, raped, and killed in the past year in Kasur district, police say. Residents have been furious at the authorities for what they see as a failure to investigate such cases. The spokesman for Pakistan's Punjab province, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, told Reuters that protesters turned violent and attacked a local police office. "They started throwing stones at the office and some of armed protesters shot bullets at police. In order to stop them, police resorted to aerial firing," Khan said, adding that two people were killed and one wounded as a result. Locals said police responded with undue force. "A peaceful protest was taking place, some students threw stones and police responded by firing at the crowd," Saleem ur Rehman, a resident who was at the protest, told Reuters. "The law and order situation here is really bad and there have been many such incidents. That is what the protest was about." Ansari's parents, who were not in the country when their daughter was kidnapped, returned on Wednesday. "I want justice! I want justice!" Zainab's mother cried, surrounded by reporters at the international airport in the capital Islamabad. Ansari's case has attracted the attention of the country's civilian and military leadership, with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif calling for immediate action. Police in Kasur deny they have been lax in investigating child abductions in the town. Regional police officer Zulfiqar Hameed told Reuters that four kidnappers had been arrested and another killed during an arrest attempt. "Investigations reveal that in each case a pedophile kidnaps little girls, rapes them and kills them," he said. The case of Ansari would soon be solved, he said: "We have got CCTV footage that shows a young man taking her along. We will catch him very soon," he said, adding that 95 DNA samples had been taken from suspects. A number of police officials have been transferred out of the region for failing to investigate complaints of missing children since 2015, when authorities uncovered what they called a pedophile ring linked to a prominent local family. At least two people have been convicted in the case, in which authorities say hundreds of children in the district were abused. (Writing by Saad Sayeed; Editing by Peter Graff)
This week, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts attempted to at clear up any confusion about how his office will prosecute marijuana-related offenses, and it looks like all parts of the marijuana industry in the United States could come under scrutiny.

In 2016, Massachusetts voters legalized recreational marijuana through a state-wide ballot initiative. Medical marijuana has been legal in the state since 2012.

But Attorney General Jeff Sessionss announcement last week that federal prosecutors would be reneging on Obama-era policy that once allowed states the agency to govern marijuana policies on their own terms has put pot back in a legal grey area.

Andrew Lelling, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, said in a statement that he couldnt guarantee that individuals and businesses that were once essentially exempt from prosecution would be anymore.

This is a straightforward rule of law issue, Lelling said. Congress has unambiguously made it a federal crime to cultivate, distribute and/or possess marijuana. As a law enforcement officer in the Executive Branch, it is my sworn responsibility to enforce that law, guided by the Principles of Federal Prosecution.

That being said, Lelling admitted that the choice to prosecute will depend largely on whether it will be worth the use of limited federal resources, and that every criminal case would occur on a case-by-case basis. Its possible that Lellings office will continue to focus on drug trafficking, but the tone and language seem to imply that mom and pop marijuana dispensaries  as well as local growers, and anyone possessing marijuana  is not going to be immune from criminal prosecution.

Last week, following Sessionss publicized plan, Lelling issued a statement that was pretty adamantly anti-weed: As the Justice Department has highlighted, medical studies confirm that marijuana is in fact a dangerous drug, and it is illegal under federal law, he writes. As a result, our office will aggressively investigate and prosecute bulk cultivation and trafficking cases, and those who use the federal banking system illegally.

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Although many studies have also confirmed that marijuana is not a dangerous drug, the message from the Justice Department is loud and clear. We havent seen any actual examples of federal enforcement under Sessionss new plan yet, but if Lellings statement is any signal, Congress will need to put the pressure on for new federal legislation for marijuana, or states could get caught in the crossfire under the DOJ.

Photos via Getty Images / Jeff Vinnick

Photos via Getty Images / Jeff Vinnick

Written by Grace Lisa Scott

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(This January 5 story was corrected to change context of comments by Iran's UN ambassador as referring to "recent violence in Iran" instead of "recent protests in Iran," paragraph 8.) UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday to discuss recent protests in Iran turned into criticism of the United States for requesting to meet on what some member states said was an internal issue for Tehran. France's ambassador to the UN said the protests do not threaten international peace and security, in what may be an implicit criticism of the United States. "As worrisome as they may be, developments in recent days do not pose a threat to international peace and security," Ambassador Francois Delattre said. "We must respond appropriately, that is, with all the vigilance required by the risks of violence against peaceful demonstrators, while avoiding any manipulation of this crisis, which would only reinforce the extremes and thus have the opposite of the effect we are seeking." Demonstrations erupted in Iran over a week ago after the government announced plans to raise fuel prices and cut monthly cash handouts to lower-income Iranians. The unrest spread over 80 cities and towns and has resulted in 22 deaths and more than 1,000 arrests, according to Iranian officials. The U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, said Iran is "on notice," after listing what she referred to as slogans chanted by Iranian protesters. "The Iranian regimes contempt for the rights of its people has been widely documented for many years," said Haley, adding that the United States stood "unapologetically with those in Iran who seek freedom for themselves, prosperity for their families, and dignity for their nation. We will not be quiet. No dishonest attempt to call the protesters 'puppets of foreign powers' will change that." Iran's U.N. Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo told the Security Council that his government has "hard evidence" that recent violence in Iran was "very clearly directed from abroad." Khoshroo also said the United States had abused its power as a permanent member of the Security Council by calling for a meeting to discuss the protests. "It is unfortunate that despite the resistance on the part of some of its members, this council has allowed itself to be abused by the current U.S. administration in holding a meeting on an issue that falls outside the scope of its mandate," he said. Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the United States was abusing the Security Council's platform and the meeting was an attempt to use the current Iranian situation to undermine the Iran nuclear deal, which the U.S. administration opposes. Discussing the domestic situation of Iran at the council "does not help resolve the domestic issue of Iran," said China's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Wu Haitao. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices were joined by liberal Stephen Breyer on Wednesday in signaling sympathy toward Ohio's policy of purging infrequent voters from registration rolls -- a practice critics say disenfranchises thousands of people -- in a pivotal voting rights case. The nine justices heard about an hour of arguments in Republican-governed Ohio's appeal of a lower court ruling that found that the policy violated a federal law aimed at making it easier for Americans to register to vote. The 1993 National Voter Registration Act bars states from striking registered voters "by reason of the person's failure to vote." Indicating he potentially could join the court's conservatives in a ruling upholding Ohio's policy as lawful, Breyer noted that a state needs tools to clean up its voter rolls by eliminating people who have died or moved. "What are they supposed to do?" he asked Paul Smith, the lawyer representing plaintiffs who challenged the policy and argued that voting should not be a "use it or lose it" right. Other liberal justices including Sonia Sotomayor asked questions indicating skepticism toward Ohio's policy. The court has a 5-4 conservative majority. "The reason they're purging them is they want to protect the voter roll," said Justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who often casts the deciding vote in close decisions. "What we're talking about are the best tools ... to implement that purpose," Kennedy added. Ohio is one of seven states, along with Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, that erase infrequent voters from registration lists, according to the plaintiffs. They called Ohio's policy the most aggressive. Registered voters in Ohio who do not vote for two years are sent registration confirmation notices. If they do not respond and do not vote over the subsequent four years, they are purged. The Supreme Court's ruling, due by the end of June, could affect the ability to vote for thousands of people ahead of November's congressional elections. The outcome is particularly important for so-called battleground states like Ohio that often have an outsized influence in presidential elections. The arguments zeroed in on whether a state could send a registration confirmation notice based merely on a person's failure to vote, which the plaintiffs argued is barred by federal law. Conservative Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito suggested that a person's failure to vote could be used as evidence for possible removal from the registration list. "It's not the ground for removal in and of itself," Alito said. 'RIGHT NOT TO VOTE' Sotomayor said the policy could further disenfranchise people who find it more difficult to vote, including minorities and the homeless. She suggested it was unreasonable to use non-voting as a trigger for the voter-purge process, saying, "People have a right not to vote if they choose." The plaintiffs, represented by liberal advocacy group Demos and the American Civil Liberties Union, said purging has become a powerful tool for voter suppression. Democrats have accused Republicans of taking steps at the state level, including laws requiring certain types of government-issued identification, intended to suppress the vote of minorities, poor people and others who generally favor Democratic candidates. A 2016 Reuters analysis found roughly twice the rate of voter purging in Democratic-leaning neighborhoods in Ohio's three largest counties as in Republican-leaning neighborhoods. Sotomayor noted that President Donald Trump's administration had switched sides in the case to support Ohio, breaking with a position held by previous Republican and Democratic administrations. "Seems quite unusual that your office would change its position so dramatically," Sotomayor told U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco. Francisco, arguing for the administration, replied that a separate 2002 law clarified the 1993 voter registration statute and that Ohio's policy is legal. Smith, arguing for the plaintiffs, said the notices the state sends out are typically thrown out by the recipient -- 70 percent are not returned, according to one estimate -- which can lead to a large number of people targeted for removal who should not be. "I confess to doing that sometimes," Breyer said of putting mailings in the trash. Voting rights has become an important theme for the Supreme Court. In two other cases, it is examining whether electoral districts drawn by Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin and Democratic lawmakers in Maryland were devised to entrench the majority party in power in a manner that violated voters' constitutional rights. That practice is called partisan gerrymandering. The plaintiffs in the Ohio case include Larry Harmon, a software engineer and U.S. Navy veteran who was blocked from voting in a 2015 marijuana initiative, and an advocacy group for homeless people. Ohio's policy would have barred more than 7,500 voters from casting a ballot in the November 2016 election had the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals not ruled against the state. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
Tebourba (Tunisia) (AFP) - Fresh scuffles broke out on Tuesday night between Tunisian protesters and police, a day after the death of a man in violent demonstrations over rising costs and government austerity.

Hundreds of young people took to the streets of Tebourba, west of Tunis, pelting stones at security forces who responded by firing tear gas at them, an AFP journalist said.

Similar clashes were seen in the impoverished inland regions of Kasserine and Jelma, near Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the protests that sparked the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. Clashes also erupted in the central town of Gafsa, AFP reporters said.

An autopsy was carried out Tuesday to determine how a man in his 40s died during demonstrations the previous night in Tebourba, but the results were not made public as controversy continued over his death.

The police insisted they did not kill him, and said he suffered from "respiratory problems".

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed decried Monday night's unrest, telling a radio station that "we didn't see protests, but instead people breaking things, stealing and attacking Tunisians".

"The government is ready to listen, but every person wanting to demonstrate must do so peacefully," he said.

Tunisia has seen several days of protests after activists and politicians denounced hikes in value-added tax and social contributions introduced at the start of the year as a tough new budget was implemented.

On Tuesday a peaceful rally of around a hundred people was held in the centre of Tunis calling for the end of austerity measures that are expected to increase the cost of living.

"Poverty and hunger have increased, oh oppressed citizen!" chanted the protesters, most of them young people.

They listed their demands, including the suspension of the 2018 Finance Act and a return to earlier prices for commodities, said Hamza Nasri, of a campaign group leading the protests.

Hundreds of people, many of them very young, also demonstrated in Regueb, in the deprived central part of the country, said an AFP correspondent.

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Finance Minister Ridha Chalghoum said the government intended to stick with its tax rises, but insisted the VAT hike did not impact "basic necessities".

"Among the achievements of democracy is the opportunity to demonstrate, but we also have an obligation to work for a healthy Tunisian economy," he told AFP.

- Public discontent -

Protests are common in the North African state in the month of January, when Tunisians mark the anniversary of the 2011 revolt that unseated dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The country has been hailed for its relatively smooth democratic transition but seven years after the revolution tensions over economic grievances are high.

Overnight Monday police fired tear gas at youths who torched tyres and threw stones in the impoverished city of Kasserine.

Protesters also blocked roads in Sidi Bouzid.

An interior ministry spokesman said at least 44 people had been arrested, including 16 in Kasserine and 18 in working-class areas near Tunis.

A car pound in Kasserine was ransacked, Khalifa Chibani said, and buildings of the security forces damaged in the southern town of Hamma.

The unrest "had nothing to do with democracy or social demands", he told the Shems FM radio station.

National Security agency spokesman Walid Ben Hkima denounced "acts of violence and ransacking".

Tunisia's economy has struggled since the revolution, with growth remaining slow.

January 2016 saw the biggest wave of public discontent since the uprising as the death of an unemployed protester in Kasserine sparked days of unrest.

In December, unemployed protesters and activists marched through the streets of Sidi Bouzid, angry over the lack of jobs and opportunities that continue to plague residents.

The revolution in Tunisia began in the town in December 2010 after street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire and later died in a protest over unemployment and police harassment that spiralled into Ben Ali's overthrow.
Washington (AFP) - The US House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a resolution supporting anti-government protesters in Iran and condemning the regime's crackdown on the demonstrations of recent weeks.

Lawmakers backed the measure almost unanimously, by a vote of 415 to two.

The House "stands with the people of Iran that are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive, corrupt regime," and condemns the government's "serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people," the resolution stated.

Violent unrest erupted in dozens of Iranian cities between December 28 and January 1, leaving at least 21 people dead.

The resolution also called on President Donald Trump's administration to issue new sanctions punishing Iran's human rights violators.

"In standing with the Iranian people, we must explain that they are not the target of our sanctions," House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce said.

"US sanctions target the oppressive, destabilizing regime, not the people of Iran," he added.

Last week Washington imposed sanctions against five Iranian firms alleged to have been working on an illegal ballistic missile program, linking the move to the protests.
Washington (AFP) - US immigration agents raided nearly 100 7-Eleven convenience stores around the country Wednesday, sending a warning to businesses not to hire illegal immigrants, officials said.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 21 undocumented immigrants in the raids of 7-Eleven franchises in 17 states and the capital, they said, amid a broad crackdown by the year-old administration of President Donald Trump.

"Today's actions send a strong message to US businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," said ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan.

"Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet," he said in a statement.

"ICE will continue its efforts to protect jobs for American workers by eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that exploit illegal immigration."

Ninety-eight stores were targeted in Wednesday's raids.

Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. said it was not responsible for the hiring practices of its franchise owners.

"7-Eleven Franchisees are independent business owners and are solely responsible for their employees, including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States," the company said.

"7-Eleven takes compliance with immigration laws seriously and has terminated the franchise agreements of franchisees convicted of violating these laws."

ICE and its sister agency, US Customs and Border Protection, have stepped up arrests and deportations of illegal border crossers since Trump came to power in January 2017.

Trump made cracking down on immigration a key plank in his election platform, cutting back on legal as well as illegal arrivals in the country and promising to build a wall along the Mexican border.

Earlier this week, the government removed special protected status for about 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants living in the United States for at least 17 years, giving them 18 months to leave the country unless Congress says otherwise.
Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican has taken control of a Catholic movement in Peru whose founder is accused of sexual abuse, just days before the pontiff visits the country.

Pope Francis has been "following with concern" developments at the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV) and the investigation into its scandal-hit founder Luis Fernando Figari, the Vatican said Wednesday.

Figari and several other high-ranking figures in the lay organisation have been accused of the psychological and sexual abuse of minors and young adults between 1975 and 2002. In December Peruvian prosecutors called for them to be thrown in jail.

An internal SCV investigation found at least five of the top brass had "sexually abused 19 minors and 10 adults". One of those accused has since died.

"The pope has been particularly attentive to the gravity of the information about the internal governance, formation and the management of economic-financial affairs" at the SCV, the statement said.

Francis has appointed Colombian bishop Noel Antonio Londono Buitrago to take over the movement, which boasts some 20,000 members and has spread to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Italy and the United States.

The move comes a week before Francis heads to Latin America to visit Chile and Peru.

The scandal came to light in an investigative book published in 2015 by two journalists.

Figari, 70, founded the movement in 1971 with the aim of transforming teenagers into "soldiers of Christ". He currently lives in a retirement home in Rome and is forbidden by a Vatican decree from returning to Peru.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. (Getty)

Vice President Mike Pence will lead the United States delegation at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, a White House official said Wednesday.

The Winter Games begin with the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 9. Pence, his wife Karen and the rest of the delegation  which has not yet been officially announced  will attend. They will likely also attend various Olympic events.

Pences presence wont be out of the ordinary. All but one White House Olympic delegation since 2000 has included either the president, vice president, first lady, a member of the presidents cabinet or a former president.

But the 2018 delegation will provide a stark contrast to the White House delegation at the last Winter Olympics, held in Russia in 2014. President Barack Obama did not send a member of the first family, nor Vice President Joe Biden, nor any member of his cabinet.

The 2014 delegation featured a U.S. ambassador to Russia, an Obama assistant (the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy), and the president of the University of California (a former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary). It also featured former figure skater Brian Boitano, a 1998 Olympic gold medalist.

Boitano and Caitlin Cahow, who was part of the U.S. delegation at the closing ceremony, are gay. Boitano came out as gay in conjunction with the announcement that he would be part of the delegation. Their selections were seen by many as Obamas response to the passage of anti-gay laws in Russia.

Pences trip to Asia will include a political purpose, according to a senior White House official. In addition to attending the Olympics, hell also stop in Japan, and will reaffirm to the leaders of Japan and South Korea that the United States is fully committed to stability in the region, per Reuters.

In related news, North Korea and South Korea met for the first time in more than two years about the Olympics, and the North agreed to send a delegation.

President Donald Trump will, unless there is a further announcement, likely not attend the PyeongChang Olympics. Only one standing U.S. president has attended since the Winter Games were held in Salt Lake City in 2002. President Bush was the one. He attended the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Union's fisheries deal with Morocco should be declared invalid because it includes Western Sahara, an adviser to the EU's top court said on Wednesday in the latest legal opinion on trade ties involving the disputed territory. Western Sahara has been contested since 1975 when Spanish colonial powers left. Morocco claimed the territory as it own and fought the 16-year war with the Polisario Front independence movement which established its self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The United Nations says the region has a right to self-determination and campaigners have sought to challenge the EU's trade deals with Morocco in the courts because they include the desert region. Wednesday's opinion by the European Union Court of Justice's Advocate General Melchior Wathelet came in response to British-based campaigners who said Britain was wrong to uphold the EU-Morocco fisheries deal. Britain asked the ECJ for advice. "The fisheries exploitation by the EU of the waters adjacent to Western Sahara established and implemented by the contested acts does not respect the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination," Wathelet said. Wathelet also said his opinion was based on the condition in international law that any wealth gained from exploiting Western Sahara's rich marine life should benefit its people. The sparsely populated stretch of desert has offshore fishing as well as phosphate and possibly oil reserves. The opinion, if followed up by a ruling from the ECJ, is likely reignite a diplomatic dispute between Brussels and Rabat that erupted in 2016 when the lower General Court ruled that the EU trade deals dating from 2000 and 2012 with Morocco were void. Morocco briefly suspended contact with the EU to lodge a legal appeal. The EU's top court later overrode the lower court's decision, saying the trade accords were valid but could not include Western Sahara, appearing to sidestep the issue. But the court still said that some EU fisheries in disputed coastal waters would be in violation of the ruling, as the court signaled deals signed with Morocco could not include Western Saharan resources as its inhabitants had not agreed to that. The court adviser's latest opinion appeared to support that. Wathelet said most of the waters fished in the EU-Morocco trade pacts were along Western Sahara's coast. On that basis Western Sahara should be paid for the fish exported to the EU. "The fisheries agreement does not contain the legal safeguards necessary for the fisheries exploitation to be for the benefit of the people of Western Sahara," he said. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Robin Emmott; editing by Philip Blenkinsop/Jeremy Gaunt)
One Australian couple recently discovered that their how we met story was completely wrong.

Grace Jennings-Edquist and Ben Cerini, who are from Australia and are now based in London, thought they were first introduced when they were both 23. But after Grace made a bizarre discovery of an old childhood photo, she soon realized they had actually met many, many years before.

Thought Id met my husband at 23but I just found this pic showing us both at the same party, she shared on Twitter with a group photo. Thats me, in a white dress, eyeing him off.

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The couple, now both 29, were both extremely confused at their unusual discovery and couldnt quite believe it.

[We] went back and forth a little bit trying to work out how that photo could have been taken, since Ben lived in Adelaide for a bit when he was young, Jennings-Edquist told 9Honey.

It turns out their first meeting was all down to a family friend of Jennings-Edquists who lived on the same street as Cerinis family.

I had known that this family friend once lived on the same street as Bens family when they were young, but we were totally unaware wed actually crossed paths ourselves, she told the publication.

Couple Grace Jennings-Edquist and Ben Cerini thought they first met when they were 23 but were actually kids. (Photo: @gracie_je/Instagram)

At the end of last year she took to Twitter to share her unique discovery of herself eyeing off a boy in an old picture.

The couple originally thought they first met while they were both studying in The Netherlands. They got married in 2015.

It mustve been fate.

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Christa Steele-Knudslien was reportedly murdered by her husband: Facebook/Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien

A transgender woman and LGBT-rights advocate has been killed in what was reportedly the first murder of a transgender person this year.

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, a trans beauty pageant organiser, was stabbed to death by her husband in their Massachusetts home, local police said. Her husband, Mark Steele-Knudslien, pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge and is being held without bail.

Mr Steele-Knudslien turned himself in to police on Friday night, telling them he had snapped after an argument with his wife and done something very bad, according to a police report. Police responded to the couples home and found Ms Steele-Knudsliens body wrapped in bedding and a tarp in the basement.

Mr Steele-Knudslien confessed to striking his wife with a hammer before stabbing her in the back, police said. A preliminary autopsy found Ms Steele-Knudslien had died from loss of blood, as well as multiple blunt force traumas to the head, according to the Berkshire District Attorneys Office.

Mr Steele-Knudslien's pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 7 February.

Ms Steele-Knudslien was known in her community for her transgender rights activism, friends told local news outlets.

A. Vickie Boisseau, a local activist and friend of Ms Steele-Knudsliens, told Mic that the two had organised the first-ever trans pride parade in neighbouring Northampton, Massachusetts. Friends also credited the 42-year-old with helping start the Miss Trans New England Pageant, which brought together transgender women from across the region.

Her thing was always that transgender women are beautiful and need a venue for trans women to be seen as beautiful, longtime friend Justin Adkins told the Associated Press.

LGBT rights organisation GLAAD paid tribute to Ms Steele-Knudslien on Twitter, claiming her death was the first alleged murder of a transgender person in 2018.

Violence against transgender people, especially trans women of colour, must receive more national media attention, the organisation wrote.

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The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a fellow advocacy group, said they were deeply saddened by Ms Steele-Knudsliens death. Lambda Legal Transgender Rights Project Director Dru Levasseur called Ms Steele-Knudslien a powerful organiser and fierce activist.

She deserved better. She deserved life and happiness. Rest in Power, Christa, Mr Levasser said.

HRC documented at least 25 alleged murders of transgender people in 2017, making it deadliest year for transgender people in at least a decade. More than 100 transgender people have been killed in the last five years, the majority of whom were women.
New York City is suing 5 major oil companies, claiming they contributed to global warming

It seems that nowadays the existence of climate change is a never-ending source of controversy. But in the face of years that keep getting hotter, local governments have decided to put a stop to global warming.

Today, January 1oth, the Associated Press reported New York City suing oil companies BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Royal Dutch Shell. The city claims that these five companies contributed to global warming, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is suing for billions of dollars to cover the costs of adapting to climate change.

As climate change continues to worsen, its up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient, de Blasio said in a statement.

In addition, the city plans to sell $5 billion of funds it has invested in fossil fuels. The lawsuit claims that the five companies being sued have produced 11 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions since the Industrial Revolution.

Representatives for Chevron and Exxon spoke out against the lawsuit.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global issue and requires global participation and actions, Exxons statement said. Lawsuits of this kind  filed by trial attorneys against an industry that provides products we all rely upon to power the economy and enable our domestic life  simply do not do that.

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New York is not the first city to sue oil companies over climate change. In September, California cities San Francisco and Oakland filed lawsuits against the same five oil companies under fire in the latest legal development.

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane have been linked to the greenhouse effect, which has been causing climate change to worsen. And the largest carbon dioxide emissions result from burning gasoline or other petroleum products  what oil companies like Exxon and BP produce. Based on this information, its reasonable for New York to argue that these companies have affected global warming.

Despite what some might claim, even on the coldest days, global warming is not a lie.Were glad that NYC is taking a stand against companies that emit these harmful gases. After all, we only have one planet; we need to do our best to protect it.
When it comes to climate change, New York City is bringing the fight to court.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday that the city is suing five oil companies for costs associated with damage inflicted on New York City by the effects of global warming, such as sea level rise.

SEE ALSO: Youth climate trial reaches federal appeals court, as judges signal it's going to trial

The city will also divest the $189 billion NYC pension fund from all companies that own fossil fuel reserves. According to the mayor's office, the plan makes New York the "largest municipality to make the divest pledge." They estimate that the divestment will amount to $5 billion, and DeBlasio suggested that the city will reinvest in "the fuel of tomorrow."

Mayor de Blasio made the announcement in a press conference on Wednesday. He and other speakers invoked the lives lost and billions of dollars of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, and the expectation that New York could face more frequent and damaging floods.

"In this city, we're going to lead the fight against climate change as if our lives depend on it, because they do," Mayor de Blasio said.

The city is suing "the five largest investor-owned fossil fuel companies as measured by their contributions to global warming": BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Royal Dutch Shell.

Based on reports that oil companies knew about the dangers posed by climate change for decades but intentionally misled the public for private gain, the suit contends that the oil companies should pay for damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, which was in part tied to the effects of global warming. Further, these companies should fund building projects and resilience measures that guard against future storm damage, the suit contends.

With the lawsuit, New York joins several California cities taking legal action against oil companies, including San Francisco and Santa Cruz. It's the first legal action of its kind outside of California. And as the largest city in the country, New York City could inspire similar suits across the country.

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De Blasio stated in the press conference that he hopes to lead by example in holding oil companies accountable.

"We will take our own action to protect our people," de Blasio said. "And when we act, we hope others will follow because they see the biggest city in this country decisively moving forward."

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That legal domino effect could very well come to fruition  and, en masse, have an actual impact on climate change policy.

Michael Burger, executive director of Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Law, said that one thing to look out for in the wake of New York's lawsuit is the proliferation of similar suits across the country. Individually, the suits could result in great financial gain for the specific cities that file them. And with the threat of multiple suits, the legal liability and cost could prompt policy change from both energy companies and governments.

"One potential form of impact is that if this type of litigation gathers momentum, and it becomes a big enough risk to the industry, the industry may seek to gather protection from government in some form," Burger said. "It may well be that that requires some actual policy to be developed and implemented to reduce greenhouse emissions."

Still, New York and other cities filing these suits have a long road ahead of them. Burger said it is likely that the oil companies will immediately move to dismiss the case. If that fails, they could potentially take retaliatory legal action, such as blocking these sorts of lawsuits through Congress, or by targeting the people bringing the suits with complaints such as conspiracy and legal abuse.

ExxonMobil is currently pursuing this course of action with a suit, filed in Texas, against individuals in California: They have asked Texas courts for the ability to depose plaintiffs and lawyers filing the California climate change suits, in order to determine whether there is a special interest conspiracy, thereby quashing the climate change lawsuit.

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"As a legal matter, it's very similar," Burger said, comparing the California and New York cases. However, he noted that New York could move the needle on urgency for both sides because New York City has "suffered both very extreme impacts as a result of Sandy, and it has also been out in front in planning for and investing in climate change adaptation and resilience. It's quite possible that the ultimate amount of money at stake here is significantly larger than in any of the other cases that have been brought before."

That potential for financial impact on oil and fossil fuel companies becomes even larger when taken with the divestment action. Comptroller Scott Stringer noted that the city of New York is a major player in the investment world. He plans to wield that power to ensure the financial future of New Yorkers, and to invest in a greener and sustainable future.

"Safeguarding the retirement of our citys police officers, teachers, firefighters, and city workers is our top priority, and we believe that their financial future is linked to the sustainability of the planet," Stringer said. "Our announcement sends a message to the world that a brighter economy rests on being green.

"Today, the biggest city says no more," de Blasio said. "[The oil companies] won't be rewarded anymore. It's time for them to start paying for the damage they've done. It's time for big oil to take responsibility for the devastation they have wrought. And that alone will take us forward in a powerful way, to know that we will use the full power of the court system to get justice."
By Gina Cherelus

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York state lawmaker was charged with 11 counts of fraud and obstruction of justice, accused of defrauding government agencies out of tens of thousands of dollars, including hurricane relief money, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

In four alleged schemes between 2012 to 2016, Assemblywoman Pamela Harris, 57, submitted falsified documents to obtain government funds for personal use, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Harris, who represents a district in New York City's Brooklyn borough, also allegedly defrauded a bankruptcy court and falsely claimed to have been forced out of her residence by Hurricane Sandy to get financial assistance, it said.

She also was accused of obstructing justice after instructing witnesses in 2017 to lie to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents after becoming aware of the grand jury's investigation into her alleged crimes.

Joel Cohen, an attorney representing Harris, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Before and during her tenure as assemblywoman, Harris allegedly went to great lengths to defraud local and federal agencies, FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney said in a statement.

"In fact, at a time when many residents in her district were dealing with the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Harris was busy brewing a storm of her own," Sweeney said.

Harris, whose district stretches through the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Coney Island and Dyker Heights, was arraigned on Tuesday at a U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

In one of the four alleged schemes, between August 2014 and July 2015, when Harris was executive director of a not-for-profit organization in Brooklyn, she is accused of defrauding the New York City Council of $22,800 by falsely claiming the money would go toward rent for a studio art space for community use.

After submitting a forged lease agreement, Harris transferred the funds to her personal checking account and used the money to pay for personal expenses, including monthly mortgage payments, clothing and travel tickets, prosecutors said.

Story continues

In another scheme, she is also accused of defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency of nearly $25,000 in temporary housing assistance by falsely claiming that she had been forced out of her Coney Island residence by Sandy, claiming that it was uninhabitable.

If convicted on all 11 counts, Harris, who was elected in November 2015 in a special election and was re-elected in 2016, faces a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison.

(Editing by Frank McGurty)
Many Israelis waited impatiently for US President Donald Trumps  peace plan ," convinced that the brutal American pressure on decision makers in Jerusalem was right around the corner.

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The White House brat, commentators said, is truculent and will pull out the heavy baton and wave it in front of the terrified eyes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government ministers.

The eager anticipation for Trumps deal grew on the eve of his trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, with a ridiculously short visit to Bethlehem.

Trump and Abbas in Bethlehem. A ridiculously short visit (Photo: AFP)

The rumors and preparations for the upcoming deal didnt quiet down even when it turned out that the president had come and gone empty-handed. On the contrary, they only increased. Look, Trump is sending over his Mideast envoy. Look, hes about to send his omnipotent son-in-law. Look, he posted a vague tweet which may imply that he intends on claiming a price from Israel. But the envoy just went back and forth with nothing to do, the son-in-law got caught up in investigations related to his Russian affair, and the mysterious tweet turned out to be another grammatical error. Trump hasn't mastered his mother tongue and often makes spelling mistakes and uses the wrong tense.

Im not saying Trump didnt do anything in our region. He definitely did something: He got into a major fight with the Palestinian leadership. The rift, which seemed partial and concealed during the quick visit he paid Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, burst forth in all its might later on and is reaching its climax these days.

In his first year as president, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital, exerted financial pressure to prevent an Israeli defeat at the United Nations, removed representatives of the ideological Right with the anti-Semitic flavor from his close circle in favor of his Jewish family, and recently demanded that the Palestinians return to the negotiating table unconditionally, otherwise the US would cut its financial aid.

This threat is substantial: In recent years, the United States has become the Palestinian peoples biggest helper. Directly and indirectly, it transfers to the territories between $800 million to $1 billion a year. Arab states have almost entirely halted their aid to the Palestinians. Over the weekend, we learned that the US had frozen $125 million in funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the agency founded by the UN to provide temporary aid to Palestinian refugees, which over the years became an exclusive supplier of basic welfare service in the refugee camps.

Trumps White House likes to quote President Bill Clintons warning to his successor, George W. Bush: Dont believe a word the Palestinian leadership tells you. Bush likely passed the warning on to Barack Obama, who passed it on to Trump. Obama saw himself as the most significant friend the Palestinians had in the White Housebut their leaders, according to his associates, repaid him with selfishness and foolishness and thwarted his efforts to reach an agreement. Obama was seriously offended.

The rift, which seemed partial and concealed during the quick Bethlehem visit, burst forth in all its might later on (Photo: Reuters)

Trump obviously didnt need his predecessors warnings. His entire conduct vis-a-vis the Palestinians leads to only one conclusion: Trump simply cant stand them. He completely rejects the national Palestinian narrative and is willing to take steps against them that are so radical that even the Netanyahu government has its reservations. The reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas is interpreted by his associates as a Hamas takeover of Fatahthe end of a possible deal.

Trump, let me remind you, isnt any different from most Americans when it comes to this issue: Sympathy towards the Palestinians has hit a low point in US public opinion polls, not just among members and supporters of the Republic Party, but also among members and supporters of the Democrats, although the latter are also demonstrating a considerable drop in sympathy towards Israel.

Its hard to estimate how long Trump will survive in office. Now that journalist Michael Wolffs revealing book Fire and Fury has been published, the American political discourse has begun focusing on the question of his personal performance rather than on his policy. The book also claims, according to Trumps former advisors, that he supports the Jordanian option: Handing sovereignty over the West Bank to Jordan and sovereignty over Gaza to Egyptrather than to the Palestinians.

Even if Trump goes, the deep change he led in the US policy towards the current Palestinian leadership will reverberate for years. That leadership is finished. Its time to replace it, just like its time to replace our own leadership.
The Transportation Ministry announced Tuesday the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem express railway line will commence operations March 30, on the eve of Passover, utilizing an electric train that can reach speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour.

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Furthermore, according to Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz, during the train's first three trial months, passengers will be able to travel on the train cost-free using their Rav Kav transportation cards.

During its first stage of operations, the train will operate on a single track running from the Jerusalem Binyanei HaUma railway station to Tel Aviv's HaHagana railway station. In its first two months of operation, one train will run every hour in either direction, contrary to previous promises of four trains ever hour. The entire journey will take 28 minutes.





The express train between Tel Aviv and the capital will begin running March 30, Minister Katz said (Photo: Yaron Brener)

The Transportation Ministry previously committed to operate the electric line from the Herzliya station to the Jerusalem Binyanei HaUma station by March 2018. Katz's most recent commitment, however, referred only to the train reaching Tel Aviv's HaHagana station.

Effectively, the discrepancy means that travelers heading north will travel on a diesel-powered train to HaHagana station, from which they'll switch to the electric express train to Jerusalem.

The ministry further announced that for the second phase, set to commence operations several months later, two tracks will operate between Binyanei HaUma and HaHagana, with train frequency increasing to three trains an hour in either direction during rush hour, meaning that one train will be leaving to and from Jerusalem every 20 minutes.

In the future, the line's frequency may be expanded to six trains an hour during peak times.

The line is part of a planned transportation hub to include in the future two light rail stations, a taxi station and a "park & go" complex with more than 1,200 parking spaces.

Katz's deadline may pose a challenge to his ministry's operations people due to potential complications (Photo: Avihu Shapira)

The lower level of the Herzliya station is more than 80 meters underground . It is comprised of tunnels and shafts and includes four docks, each 300 meters long. According to the Transportation Ministry, the structure may be used as an atomic bomb shelter in an emergency, sheltering up to 4,000 people at any given time.

The Jerusalem express railway line includes a double track 56km in length and will pass through Ben Gurion Airport, Modi'in and Sha'ar HaGai. The train will make some four million trips its first year of operation.

The estimated cost of the line is NIS 7 billion and particular importance was placed on the national project's realization due to the significantly increased accessibility to the capital.

A source in the infrastructures sector admitted to Ynet that Katz's latest proclamation posed a considerable challenge to the people in his ministry in charge of operations, in light of the many technical issues that might arise.

Information obtained by Ynet also said delay on the project may reach three or four months, a claim the Transportation Ministry denied.
Police obtained new testimony regarding two construction contractors who allegedly transferred funds to MK David Bitan over the past few months, while he was still coalition chairman. The funds reached Bitan through his "personal banker" Moshe Yosef, according to testimony gathered by the police's Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit.

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While it remained unclear which projects the funds were allegedly tied to, testimonies claimed transfers involved tens of thousands of shekels funneled to Bitan through Yosef's furniture store.

At the same time, real estate entrepreneur Dror Glazer, suspected of providing Bitan with NIS 250,000 bribe, recently provided police with key testimony as part of negotiations he is holding with them on a possible state witness agreement, which the State Attorney's Office (SAO) is as yet undecided on, and pushing for a harsher sentence.

MK Bitan is now suspected of receiving bribes from 2 building contractors (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The initial punishment agreed to by the parties was six months of prison time and a NIS 100,000 fine.

Bitan leaving for his investigation last week (:  )

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Despite police being in possession of extensive testimony provided by Yosef, Glazer's testimony could enable investigators to make headway on three fronts. Firstly, he is suspected of transferring NIS 250,000 through Yosef's furniture store to Bitan in return for his help in acquiring building permits on a south Tel Aviv project.

Furthermore, he claims he can provide testimony on officials in the Tel Aviv municipality allegedly also tied up in the affair

Finally, Glazer claims he's able to connect Bitan with an additional construction project in central Tel Aviv, in which he was allegedly involved.

Dror Glazer is currently in talks of signing a state witness agreement (Photo: Shaul Golan)

As part of Glazer's negotiations with authorities, the former received a letter from the attorney accompanying the investigation, Liat Ben Ari, which said his statements will not be admissible against him even if no state witness agreement was signed.

Glazer concluded by providing the main points of his testimony incriminating the other suspects in the affair, but the SAO and police are interested in him receiving harsher judgmentboth in terms of prison time and fineswhich has delayed signing the state witness agreement.

"There are many considerations for either approach," said a law enforcement official.

A simultaneous suspicion is being investigated that the Danya Cebus and Hatzi Hinam companies funneled bribe funds to Bitan through Yosef. Danya Cebus allegedly transferred NIS 300,000 to Yosef, according to information obtained by the police, in return for a fictitious invoice, with the funds then being transferred to Bitan's account.

Police suspect the money was used to promote one of the company's projects in Rishon LeZion. Pursuant to the suspicion, Danya Cebus CEO Ronen Ginsburg was arrested.
IDF forces surrounded a number of towns in the Nablus vicinity, northern West Bank, Tuesday night searching for the terrorist/s responsible for Tuesday night's shooting attack in which Raziel Shevach, a local resident, was killed while driving.

During an arrest in Jericho, an IDF force was met with violent rioting by some 100 Palestinians throwing stones and heavy items and burning tires and trash cans. IDF forces responded with firing at the main agitators.
YANGON - Myanmar prosecutors sought charges on Wednesday against two Reuters reporters under the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, the reporters' lawyer said.

Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were detained on Dec. 12 after they had been invited to meet police officers over dinner. Family members have said the two told them they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some documents by the officers they had gone to meet.

The two had worked on Reuters coverage of a crisis in the western state of Rakhine, where - according to UN estimates - about 655,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from a fierce military crackdown on militants.

Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer representing the two journalists, said the charges being sought came under Section 3 (1)(c) of the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act dating back to 1923 when the country was known as Burma.

Section 3 covers entering prohibited places, taking images or handling secret official documents that "might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy".

Former US President Bill Clinton also urged that they be freed immediately.
Raziel Shevah, who was murdered in a terror attack on Tuesday night, will be buried in the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad in the West Bank on Wednesday at 1pm, his wife said.

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"Raziel asked that if anything were to happen to him, that he be buried in Havat Gilad," Yael Shevah said. "We will honor his request and bury him in the settlement he so loved and was active in. This was his will. I call on and ask the entire people of Israel to come and accompany dear Raziel (on his final journey)."

Rabbi Shevah and his wife Yael have six children: Renana, 10, Naomi, 8, Miriam, 6, Malka, 5, Ovadia, 3, and Benayahu, only 10 months old.

Raziel, who worked as a mohel (who performs the circumcision of babies) and volunteered in Magen David Adom (MDA), was murdered in a drive-by shooting near Havat Gilad. Terrorists shot dozens of bullets from a standard weapon at his car, and took advantage of the dark and the freedom of movement given to the Palestinians in the area to escape. He was rushed to the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, where he was declared dead.

Shortly after the attack, while making her way to the hospital, his wife Yael told Ynet: "He called me and said 'I've been shot, call an ambulance.' I'm still horrified by the ease with which they shoot us like this."

The manhunt for the perpetrators of the attack continued into the night, with IDF troops from the Kfir Brigade's Nahshon Battalion along with other forces searching the area surrounding Havat Gilad, with the search mostly focused on Palestinian villages west of Nablus.

Forces from the Samaria Territorial Brigade, with the help of Special Forces, cordoned off Palestinian villages in the Nablus area and set up roadblocks, conducting random searches of vehicles coming in and out of the villages.

IDF forces searching the area for the perpetrators (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

The army also decided to send reinforcements to the area, deploying forces from the Oz Brigade (known as the Commando Brigade) and the Golani Brigade.

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot arrived at the scene of the attack on Wednesday morning and was briefed by commanders in the area.

IDF Chief of Staff Eisenkot at the scene of the attack (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

"Our main focus at the moment is on locating and arresting the terror cell, and preventing additional attacks alongside making preparations for continued operations in the area," Eisenkot said.

Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu issued a statement vowing Israeli security services "would do everything possible in order to apprehend the despicable murderer and the state of Israel will carry out justice against him."

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman expressed his condolences to the Shevah family on Wednesday, adding he instructed the Defense Ministry to provide aid to the family and to the residents of Havat Gilad. Among other things, he asked ministry officials to examine the option of retroactively recognizing the outpost.

The US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, condemned the attack on Wednesday morning on his Twitter account. "An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists. Hamas praises the killers and PA laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace. Praying for the bereaved Shevah family," Friedman wrote.

US Senator Ted Cruz, a one-time Republican presidential candidate, also condemned the attack. "Rabbi Raziel Shevah, a 35-year-old husband & father of six children who was a volunteer first-responder for Magen David Adom, was murdered in a horrific drive-by shooting attack. My profound condolences & prayers are w/ his family & friends," he wrote on Twitter.

Settler leaders call to legalize Havat Gilad

The head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Lieberman to allow the family to bury Shevah in Havat Gilad, as well as urged them to approve the outline plan for the illegal outpost and officially recognize it.

"On such a horrible day for the family, for the Samaria and for the people of Israel, the right answer to those lowly murdererswho sought to murder a Jew and in effect banish us from the Land of Israelis to announce the approval of the outline plan," Dagan said.

Rabbi Shevah's friends at his gravesite ahead of the funeral (Photo: Eli Mendelbaum)

He called to "remove all political restrictions on construction and announce (the approval of) hundreds of housing units in Havat Gilad. This is the real and true answer; this is what will destroy the motivation for terrorism. They want to hurt us and banish us from our land with terrorism and intimidation, and the people of Israel will grow and build exactly where there was an attack."

Dagan's calls were echoed by the head of the Yesha Council Hananel Dorani, who argued that "legally recognizing the outpost will prove the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel."

The attack on Tuesday night was the fifth in the West Bank and Jerusalem area since US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in early December. Previous attacks ended with no injuries.

Trump's declaration was also accompanied with clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in frictions points in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza border, and the launching of over 40 rockets from the strip to Israel.

In addition, Israeli security forces have been able to foil several plots to attack or kidnap Israelis in the Nablus area.
Elia Kadosh , who orchestrated an assault on security guards at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital, was convicted on Wednesday morning along with her partner David Amouyal and four other accomplices as part of a plea bargain reached with the prosecution.

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As part of the plea deal, Amouyal, 35, and the four others accused of assaulting security guards at the hospital after Kadosh complained of being mistreated there, were convicted of aggravated battery and assault.

Amouyal was also convicted of intimidation, as was 19-year-old Kadosh.

Kadosh in court (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Kadosh was further be convicted of assaulting a police officer, violating a legal order, assault and intimidation in two other cases in which she attacked a taxi driver at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon and a police officer at the Abarbanel Center of Mental Health.

The assault at Ichilov hospital

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The two sides petitioned to send Kadosh for a parole officer's review to examine the option of allowing her to commute her prison sentence to community service.

Amouyal, meanwhile, will serve a 25-month prison sentence, while the other four defendants will be imprisoned for different periods ranging from 17 to 22 months.

The prosecution explained the considerations for reaching a plea deal, citing saving time, avoiding having to expose the witnesses, the defendants' expression of remorse, and the agreement of the victims to the deal.

Amouyal, who fled the country shortly after the assault at Ichilov, apparently "returned from abroad especially to wrap up this case," according to his lawyers Nes Ben-Natan and Oshri Ben-Yisai. He was arrested several weeks ago upon landing at Ben-Gurion Airport.

The five suspected of the assault, including Mouyal, third from the right (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

"The deal is acceptable to us, the defendants did everything possible to wrap up the case," the lawyers said. Kadosh, they added, "is not the same woman today. Today she's someone else. She doesn't even recognize that woman."

Ben-Yishai added the plea deal "is satisfactory in light of the compensations the victims of the offenses will receive and the fact the defendants took responsibility for their actions."

This compensation, according to attorney Livnat Melamed of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, is NIS 120,000 to be divided between the complainants.
The owner of the nightclub where the prime minister's son Yair Netanyahu was recorded talking to friends about his father's natural gas policies and making offensive remarks about women told Channel 2 News on Tuesday that the younger Netanyahu was a regular at the strip club.

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"He would arrive with his security detail, and they were let in through the backdoor He did not pay the entrance fee, only for the alcohol," said the proprietor.

Yair Netanyahu (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The recording, allegedly made by Netanyahu's driver, has caused the Netanyahu family considerable embarrassment. Yair Netanyahu can be heard talking to his friends Ori Maimon (the son of an Israeli tycoon) and Roman Avramov, while visiting a strip club with his security guard and driver in tow.

Yair has since apologized for his "drunken nonsense," saying it doesn't represent who he is and dismissing any claim that what he said regarding the natural gas regulation agreement was anything more than banter.

His father, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also addressed the incident: "My son Yair rightly referred to his comments as 'nonsense.' He did it under the influence of alcohol, and he apologized for it," Netanyahu said at a lunch with NATO ambassadors.

PM Netanyahu (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

"He said these are not the values on which he was raised at home. My wife and I taught our children to respect any man and any woman. This is why I vehemently oppose the exclusion of women and act in many ways to empower women," the prime minister continued. "These are the values we believe in, and these are the values all Israeli children should be taught."

The incident has managed to cause a minor diplomatic incident as Yair mentions "Japanese girls" in the recording. During their drive, Yair received a call from his mother Sara Netanyahu. Yair can be heard saying "it's my mom, what an embarrassment for my mom to call now" Shaking off the embarrassment, he tells his friends: "invite the Japanese girls, bro, come on."

The mention of "Japanese girls" raised some eyebrows at the Japanese embassy in Israel. They looked into whether Yair was referring to Japanese strippers or perhaps the term was a cover story that Yair used when talking to his mother.

The Japanese called several sources in Israel to determine whether any of them knew who the young Netanyahu was referring to.

Yair Netanyahu is scheduled to join his father on a state visit to India on Sunday. If he does indeed travel, it would be his first public appearance since the scandal and is bound to attract a lot of media attention as the story was covered by many world media outlets. Yair appears on the delegation's list and has received an Indian visa. The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on whether Yair will indeed join the delegation.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday cancelled a travel advisory to Israel that was issued following US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The change came after intense lobbying by the Foreign Ministry and the Israeli embassy in Beijing.

The advisory led to the cancellation of several Chinese delegation visits to Israel. Gilaad Cohen, Deputy Chairman of the Asia-Pacific department at the Ministry said that they are working to convince other nations to cancel their travel advisories as wll.
Hundreds are attending the funeral Wednesday of terror victim Rabbi Raziel Shevach who was murdered Tuesday while driving in the West Bank. Shevach will be interred in a special section just now allocated in the settlement in which he lived, Havat Gilaad; he will be the first burial there. MKs and the Chief Rabbi are expected to attend.
The German Foreign Ministry issued a condemnation of Tuesday's terror attack in the West Bank in which an Israeli father of six was killed.

"All those responsible for this attack or those congratulating it are encouraging the violence that makes finding a solution to the conflict in the Middle East through negotiations difficult," they said.
Tuesday evenings deadly terror attack was a planned ambush accomplished with skill. The terrorist cell that murdered Rabbi Raziel Shevah in a drive-by shooting had been alerted about a car leaving Havat Gilad and opened fire from a distance, even before passing by Shevah's car.

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It is still unclear whether the cell that carried out the shooting had also watched the entrance to Havat Gilad, or whether there had been a separate observation point. In any event, the location of the ambush was likely chosen due to its proximity to the city of Nablus and other villages whose residents include many Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters.

Terrorist cell was alerted about a car leaving Havat Gilad (Photo: Meir Lavi/TPS)

Shortly after the attack, Hamas military wing issued a short statement in which it somewhat claimed responsibility. A careful review of the text indicates that this was a murderous operation which Hamas had been planning to execute for a long time, unsuccessfully, likely in a bid to follow through on its threats after US President Donald Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital and after the exposure and destruction of a cross-border Hamas tunnel.

Hamas has in fact been trying to carry out attacks in the West Bank for a long time nowincluding shootings, abductions and explosive devices in Judea and Samariain a bid to continue its terrorist activity against Israel without bringing about an escalation in the Gaza Strip, which could lead to an unrest among the already distressed population and anger the Egyptians. As revealed by Ynet, the attacks are orchestrated by Maher Obeid, likely from Beirut.

Rabbi Raziel Shevah, who was murdered in Tuesdays attack, with his wife

As the Shin Bet and Palestinian Authority have largely destroyed Hamas operational infrastructure in the West Bank in recent years, the organization is operating and funding local cells in a decentralized manner. Terrorists freed in the Shalit deal lead these operations from from the Gaza Strip and from countries abroad, including Turkey.

The shooting was likely carried out with an expensive standard weapon, which serves as further proof that the murderous ambush was carefully planned. Furthermore, the writing was definitely on the wall. It was outlined by Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman at the Knessets Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about two weeks ago, when he said the Shin Bet had thwarted 400 major terror attacks in 2017, most of which were planned by Hamas, including 228 shooting attacks (more than half), eight abductions and 13 suicide bombings.

We shouldnt rule out the possibility, however, that the attack was carried out with the guidance and assistance of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whichas we knowhas a score to settle with Israel, and the perpetrators may have very well acted on its behalf.

Terrorists undeterred by death penalty bill

The main question at this time is how do we prevent more deadly attacks in the near future. As we know, every shooting attack is followed by copycat attempts and leads to unrest among the Palestinian population and among West Bank settlers. This is a dangerous situation, and if it isnt handled in a way that will prevent this unrest, it could lead to a major escalationthe kind we witnessed last year.

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot at the scene of the attack (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

On Wednesday morning, the IDF encircled a number of villages near the scene of the attack and set up roadblocks at the entrances and exits to and from the city of Nablus. This indicates that the Shin Bet and the IDF have no clear lead on the perpetrators at the moment. Nevertheless, the forces on the ground have been reinforced and additional forces will likely be deployed to continue the siege and prevent friction and clashes between vengeful settlers and Palestinians in the area.

In any event, the IDF likely hasnt changed its policy to create a distinction between the terrorists and the uninvolved population, assuming it will prevent additional Palestinians from joining the terror organizations or committing lone-wolf attacks.

IDF forces encircling villages in the area

The IDF tries to avoid closing West Bank roads to Palestinian traffic, after this measure proved to be useless during the second intifada. But after a murderous attack, there is sometimes no choice but to use this measure to pressure the Palestinian population.

In the long run, the Jewish settlers are completely right to demand the installation of security measures in the areacameras and other measures that could deter murderous terrorist cells in the future. We must honestly admit, however, that these measures can only provide deterrence and are incapable of preventing attacks carried out by determined terrorists who have received instructions and money from experienced groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The more efficient measure in the long run is the one proposed by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman: Preventing payments from the Palestinian Authority to murderers jailed in Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is inflaming the situation both through the Palestinian apparatuses and by paying the terrorists families, as well as through his words. Lieberman has suggested deducting the sums from the tax money Israel collects on behalf of the PA, but that is unlikely to deter anyone. Instead, Israel must make sure that these funds do not reach terrorists families individually, which can be done with a little effort.

Speaking of deterrence, a death penalty for terrorists is unlikely to serve as a deterring measure under these circumstances. Tuesday evenings murder proves that there are young Palestinians who are aware of the fact they may get killed before or after carrying out a terror attackand they are willing to take the risk.

The most efficient measure for thwarting terror attacks was and remains Israels intelligence supremacy on the ground, primarily through Shin Bet activities and by giving the IDF operational freedom, along with cooperation between the two bodies and an immediate installment of cameras, fences and other means on the ground that could reduce the likelihood of another terror attack taking place in the West Bank.
Two Molotov cocktails were hurled at a small synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba late Tuesday, setting fire to the building.

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The Molotov cocktails were thrown from the roof into the yard of the synagogue, which is located in al-Hara al-Kabira ("the Big Quarter"). The firebombs hit palm tree leavesapparently leftovers from Sukkotwhich caught on fire.

A reporter at the scene told the AP the synagogue was empty and the fire was quickly extinguished.

Some damage was caused to the structure but no one was hurt, the head of the local Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters on Wednesday.

In recent days, violent protests over price hikes have left one person dead and raised fears of broader unrest in the country that was the birthplace of the Arab Spring, with police arresting more than 200 people, witnesses and the interior ministry said.

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While there were no protests in Djerba, locals said the assailants had exploited the fact that there was a reduced security presence as police were busy combating anti-government protests elsewhere in the North African state.

"Unknown people took the opportunity of the protests and threw Molotov cocktails into the lobby of a Jewish religious school in Djerba," Trabelsi said.

At the time of the attack, violent clashes were raging in some 20 Tunisian cities as people protested against rising prices and new taxes imposed by on January 1.

About 50 policemen were wounded in the clashes, said Interior Ministry spokesman Khelifa Chibani.

"Last night criminals looted and burned security centers, 45 police cars were torched and some government offices were attacked," he said. "They blocked roads and carried out robberies in many cities ... Obviously, these are not protests, but theft and damage to public and private property."

Mainly Muslim Tunisia has a Jewish minority of fewer than 1,100 people, many of them (300-500) in Djerba. Jews have lived in Tunisia for over 2,000 years and Djerba is home to Africa's oldest synagogue, El Ghriba, which was hit by al Qaeda-linked militants in 2002 in a truck bomb attack that killed 21 people including Western tourists.
For the second time in recent weeks Israel has called off a test of an advanced missile defense system, the exoatmospheric Arrow-3, citing a communications malfunction.

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The Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the cancellation of the Arrow-3 trial "has no impact" on already operational Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 missile defense systems.

Arrow-3 test (:  ")

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Another test is scheduled to take place in the coming weeks or months, at Palmahim Air Force Base in central Israel.

In December, 2017, the launching of the Arrow-3 interceptor missile at Palmahim Air Force Base was canceled after the Sparrow target missile, launched into space from an F-15 fighter jet over the Mediterranean Sea, did not respond as expected in the plan.

Arrow-3 test (Photo: Defense Ministry Spokesman)

"The target did not meet the predefined safety standards and the project engineers announced 'no test,'" said a source in the defense establishment. "We will investigate why the target behaved erratically."

Arrow-3 is part of the multi-layered system Israel is developing to defend against both short and mid-range rockets fired from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as Iran's long-range missiles.

The current version of the Arrow 3 is intended to take on long-range ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying nuclear payloads, such as those currently in development in Iran.

It was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and US aviation giant Boeing, and became operational in January 2017.

Moshe Patel, head of Israel's missile defense arm, said that had "an Iranian missile" been launched at Israel, the Arrow-3 system would have still been used to intercept it.
Hundreds of people accompanied Rabbi Raziel Shevah, who was murdered in a drive-by shooting attack near the outpost Havat Gilad, as he was laid to rest on Wednesday afternoon.

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Shevah was buried in a special plot dug for him in the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad and is the first to be buried there.

Education Minister Nafatli Bennett eulogized Shevah. "You had the heart of a husband, a father and an educator. You also had the heart of someone who saved lives. The lighthouse was damaged, but its light has not been put out," he determined.

"You are the pioneers of Havat Gilad, the real heroes who are holding onto the land and building our country. Our enemies think they could make us abandon the land. We crush their hopes by becoming stronger, building communities and having children. You are doing your duty. Now it is the politicians' turn to do ours," Bennett added.

While Bennett was speaking, he was interrupted by Hilltop Youth who called out "revenge!" They were silenced by the head of the Samaria Regional Council Yossi Dagan.

(Photo: Amit Shabi)

In his own eulogy, Dagan spoke of Rabbi Shevah's volunteer work with the community, organizing a Hanukkah competition for children, and with Magen David Adom, saving many lives.

"He was murdered because he was a Jew living in the Land of Israel," Dagan said, vowing that "the people of Israel will never break."

Dagan again called on the government to act. "Mr. Prime Minister, we demand that you fully recognize Havat Gilad as a community in the State of Israel today. Defense Minister, we demand that you approve 1,000 housing units ... here in Havat Gilad. This is what would decrease motivation for terrorism," he asserted.

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel continued in the same vein, saying "Prime Minister, we have the possibility of speeding up these actions, and we must do it today. We shouldn't have gotten to this point. But now that we have, we are all obligated by it."

Jerusalem's Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar praised Rabbi Shevah's life work. "He was involved in a wide range of activity, always smiling and joyous. When you see that, you realize he was an angel coming from the heavens to do holy work," Rabbi Amar said.

"To our enemies I say: don't think you've broken us. We're crying not because we're broken, but because we sanctify life," he added.

Also attending the funeral were former minister Eli Yishai, Israel's Chief Rabbi David Lau and Samaria Rabbi Elyakim Levanon.

Raziel, who worked as a mohel (who performs the circumcision of babies) and volunteered in Magen David Adom (MDA), was murdered in a drive-by shooting near Havat Gilad. He is survived by his wife, Yael, and their six children: Renana, 10, Naomi, 8, Miriam, 6, Malka, 5, Ovadia, 3, and Benayahu, only 10 months old.

Itay Zar, one of the founders of Havat Gilad (which is named after his late brother), told Ynet that Rabbi Shevah has expressed desire to be buried at the outposteven though there is no cemetery there. "His wife Yael decided unequivocally that she wanted him to be buried here. This is where they live, this is their place," Zar said.
The Knesset passed legislation on Wednesday that would allow ultra-Orthodox MK Yaakov Litzman to return to the helm of the Health Ministry as a deputy minister with a minister's powers.

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Litzman was then promptly appointed Deputy Health Minister.

Pleased with his appointment, Litzman said that he is "returning to serve the public full time and with a sense of mission."

MK Litzman (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

But while the bill was approved with a 62-38 majority, the opposition was still able to catch the coalition off guard.

Taking advantage of the fact the coalition did not have a majority in the plenum, the opposition's parties withdrew all reservations to the bill without warning and requested that the voting begin immediately.

Bayit Yehudi's Knesset members were in Havat Gilad, attending the funeral of Tuesday's terror attack victim Raziel Shevah, and Shas MKs were an event celebrating the birth of party leader Aryeh Deri's granddaughter.

The unpleasant surprise, which coalition members dubbed as insensitive, was initiated by head of the Zionist Union faction in the Knesset, MK Yoel Hasson, and Yesh Atid faction head MK Ofer Shelah.

But the opposition's plan was thwarted by independent MK Orly Levy-Abekasis who stalled for time, delaying the vote.

While Levy-Abekasis was speaking at the podium, coalition heads rushed to phone the missing MKs, ordering them to quickly return to the Knesset for the vote. The coalition needed a 61 MK majority to pass the legislation, an amendment to a Basic Law.

Knesset voting board

Litzman resigned as health minister in late November over government-approved train works done on Shabbat, leading to a crisis with the Haredi parties in the coalition.

The bill, which was proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, seeks to resolve the crisis by restoring Litzman to the helm of the Health Ministry as a deputy minister with the same powers and authorities as a minister.

The legislation is the result of a 2015 ruling by the High Court of Justice that determined the arrangement according to which Litzman was able to serve as a deputy minister with ministerial powers was illegal. This left Litzman with no choice but to take on the position of minister.

While Sephardic Haredi government members, such as Shas's Aryeh Deri, have and do serve as ministers, there has not been an Ashkenazi minister in decades, until Litzman's recent tenure.

This was due to a religious decree by leading Ashkenazi rabbis that forbade its leaders from accepting a ministerial position, as it would formally mean they would support and take responsibility for all of the government's decisionsincluding such decisions that go against their beliefs, such as government-sanctioned works done on Shabbat.

MK Litzman speaking with MK Ahmad Tibi ahead of the vote on the supermarkets bill (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

This amendment followed Tuesday's passing of the supermarkets bill, a battle that split the coalition and led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to send a clear message to the ultra-Orthodox partiesand to clarify who he sees as his greatest rival in the next elections.

The process of enacting the supermarkets bill was long and exhausting, lasting through the night and ending only after 7 am the next day.

During this time, Netanyahu tried to advance an amended version of the bill, in order to shorten the process, but the ultra-Orthodox MKs rejected the proposal out of hand.

"You and us are constantly getting bashed over this bill," MK Uri Maklev of United Torah Judaism (UTJ) told Netanyahu. "Let's finish this now and avoid another week of this."

Netanyahu, it seems, has internalized the message well.

"At the end of the vote, he approached our group of Knesset members," a source within UTJ told Ynet. "He looked tired, and angry at the whole process, and told Maklev: 'That's it, we're done with all your bills. You're just strengthening Lapid this way."

But the ultra-Orthodox parties do not intend to accede to Netanyahu's requestand their next goal is to amend the draft law.

"This law is close to our hearts," said the source within UTJ. "We are working on it with full vigor, and we have no intention of abandoning it."
BERLIN - New migrants to Germany must visit Nazi concentration camp memorials to help tackle a perceived rise in anti-Semitism, Germany's Central Council of Jews said on Wednesday, supporting a proposal by a Palestinian-German politician.

Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews expressed support for a proposal by Sawsan Chebli, a Berlin state senator, for mandatory visits by newly arrived refugees to Nazi concentration camps memorials.

"People who have fled to us who have themselves had to escape or been expelled, can develop empathy in such memorials," Schuster told Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday.

"It makes sense for everyone living in this country to be obliged to visit a concentration camp memorial site at least once in their lives," Chebli told Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday when she first floated the proposal.
GENEVA - Syrian government forces and their allies have killed at least 85 civilians since December 31 in stepped-up attacks against the besieged rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, the UN human rights chief said on Wednesday.

Conditions in the enclave, the last major rebel-held zone near Damascus and where at least 390,000 civilians have been besieged for four years, amount to a humanitarian catastrophe, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said.

"Residential areas are being hit day and night by strikes from the ground and from the air, forcing civilians to hide in basements," he said in a statement.

Zeid said warring parties were obliged by law to distinguish between civilians and lawful military targets, and reports from Eastern Ghouta suggested of the attackers were flouting those principles, "raising concerns that war crimes may have been committed."

Among the dead civilians were 21 women and 30 children, Zeid said.
COPENHAGEN - Danish police said Wednesday an object found near the US embassy in Copenhagen did not contain anything suspicious and they had re-opened roads around the embassy.

Police had cordoned off the area earlier on Wednesday and it was searched by a bomb squad after a "suspicious object" was found.
European powers will reaffirm on Thursday their support for the Iran nuclear deal that Donald Trump has rejected, EU diplomats said, on the eve of a deadline for the US president to decide whether to reimpose oil sanctions lifted under the agreement.

At a meeting with Iran, Britain, France, and Germany, convened by the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini, the European powers that helped negotiate the 2015 accord will reassure Tehran they remain committed to it.

They will also urge Iran to continue to comply with international inspectors, the diplomats said. Tehran has always denied seeking nuclear arms.

"The aim is to send a message to Washington that Iran is complying and that it is better to have the nuclear agreement than to isolate Tehran," one diplomat said.
New migrants to Germany must visit Nazi concentration camp memorials to help tackle a perceived rise in anti-Semitism, Germany's Central Council of Jews said on Wednesday, supporting a proposal by a Palestinian-German politician.

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Anti-Semitism remains a sensitive issue in Germany, one of Israel's closest allies, more than 70 years after the end of the Nazi-era Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were killed.

The government decried as shameful the spectacle of the Israeli flag being burned at demonstrations last month against US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital

Illustration photo of migrants in Europe (Photo: AFP)

Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews expressed support for a proposal by Sawsan Chebli, a Berlin state senator, for mandatory visits by newly arrived refugees to Nazi concentration camps memorials.

"People who have fled to us who have themselves had to escape or been expelled, can develop empathy in such memorials," Schuster told Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday.

Germany has received well over a million migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.

Germany is home today to an estimated 200,000 Jews and has built a reputation in recent decades as a tolerant, safe place for Jews to livethough data shows anti-Semitic crimes reported to the police rose 4 percent to 681 in the first eight months of 2017 from the same period in 2016.

Illustration photo (Photo: Getty Images)

"It makes sense for everyone living in this country to be obliged to visit a concentration camp memorial site at least once in their lives," Chebli told Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday when she first floated the proposal.

She said such visits, long a staple of high school education in a country determined that the lessons of its history not be forgotten, should also be extended to new migrants, who should make trips as part of their compulsory integration courses.

Currently, the integration courses focus on learning the German language and about Germany's history, culture and its legal system

Asked about the possibility of mandatory visits to concentration camps, a spokeswoman for the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees ministry said the integration course for immigrants already had a module regarding the consequences of the Nazi rule for the people of Germany and Europe.

Last month, Germany's justice minister called for more emphasis on the Holocaust in migrants' integration courses.

Schuster said everyone who wanted to live permanently in Germany must identify with its history.

Such visits, which should be prepared by schools, would show where anti-Semitism and hatred for Jews could lead, he said.
Residents of the building on 17 Abarbanel Street in Rishon LeZion have been subjected to unrelenting attacks by the criminal underworld, which apparently targets one of the building's residents.

According to police intelligence, one of the building's residents has criminal ties and is suspected of being repeatedly confronted with attempts by criminal elements to threaten and extort him.

On Wednesday, at around 3 am, a police force was rushed to the building for the third time after gunfire was heard coming from the building's entrance.

As in previous incidents, there were no casualties.

It began in late November, when a powerful pipe bomb exploded then near the electrical enclosure in the building.

On December 27 the second incident occurred: this time a bomb exploded in the elevator of the building.

The explosion caused severe damage and put the elevator out of commission. Since then, the elevator has not yet operated, and the tenants of the seven-story building are forced to use the stairs.
Iran's foreign minister is visiting Moscow for talks focusing on the future of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and the situation in Syria, where both nations support President Bashar Assad.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif emphasized the need for close cooperation to safeguard the nuclear agreement during Wednesday's talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

The US has said it would consider scrapping the 2015 deal, in which Iran restricted its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Zarif accused Washington of pursuing "destructive policies." Lavrov vowed that Moscow will defend the deal as a "key contribution to the regional stability and nuclear non-proliferation."

Zarif's trip to Moscow follows a series of anti-government protests in Iran. Zarif and Lavrov did not mention the unrest in their opening remarks.
The US charges d'affaires in Ankara has been summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry over recent developments in Syria, sources in the Turkish foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

They gave no details of Ankara's concerns. Turkey and the United States have been at loggerheads over Washington's policy of support for the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara views as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) waging an insurgency in southeastern Turkey.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take 130 businessmen with him to India next week for trade talks which will also cover defence sales, a senior Israeli official said Wednesday.

Foreign ministry deputy director general for Asia, Gilad Cohen, said the six-day trip starting Sunday was meant to further deepen political, trade and cultural ties.

India's defence ministry announced last week that it would buy 131 surface-to-air missiles from Israel.

The Barak missiles made by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems are to be used for India's first aircraft carrier which is under construction.
The parents of Sgt. Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held by Hamas in Gaza since 2014, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday afternoon to work for the return of their son as if he were his own, while accusing him of systematically failing to support efforts for his body's return to Israel.

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Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Netanyahu, I am permitting myself to tell you that you must act as if Hadar and Oron Shaul are your sons, said Goldins mother, Leah, at a press conference in Ramat Gan, also referencing the same fate that befell Oron Shaul.

Leah Goldin at the UN

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Calling for imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA) for its reconciliation deal with the Gaza-based terror group, members of the Goldin family also highlighted that the UN Security Council and Islamic countries had expressed support for their demands in a discussion on abduction last month.

The state is sending us to return our sons without any support, and we shouldn't ahve to deal with the return of a son who went to battle, Leah lamented.

After decades of Israel being attacked as a state that violates international law, an opposite suggestion has been made in the Security Council that says Hamas and the PA are blatantly violating international law, she continued.

Leah Goldin (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The PA is directly responsible, the family continued, for the barbaric holding onto of Hadar and Oron. We have a case to impose on the PA sanctions in light of its violation of international law and we intend to launch a process in the international sphere without governmental support.

Simcha Goldin, Hadars father, emphasized that his son was abducted during a ceasefire that was in effect during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 between Israel and Hamas that was brokered by the UN and the US.

Hadar is a victim of violation of a ceasefire according to international law. If there was a normal policy, this meeting would take place in Netanyahus office. We expect the government to change its attitude, stand by our side in this struggle and become a partner in our journey, Simcha said.

Hadar Goldin (L) and Oron Shaul

The sanctions being demanded for the Gaza Strip were not intended, the family noted, to harm civilians. We havent asked to hurt the population. We want them to turn to the PA and people involved in the reconciliation who want to reach an agreement, like human rights groups and organizations that promote peace, the family explained.

We want them to return Hadar and Oron, and therefore first of all abide by international law and only after can we pursue peace.

Professor Irwin Cotler, the former Canadian minister of Justice who is assisting the Goldin family in the international arena pointed out that the issue of Hadar Goldin garnered a broad consensus in the UN Security Council.

Professor Irwin Cotler (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Many countries identified with Leah and Simcha, he said. They acknowledged the violation of humanitarian international law and demanded not only what we have asked for, but also acknowledged that the address (for the sanctions) is not only Hamas but also the PA. They are now responsible from a governmental point of view for what happens in the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take 130 businessmen with him to India next week for trade talks which will also cover defense sales, a senior Israeli official said Wednesday.

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Foreign ministry deputy director general for Asia, Gilad Cohen, said the six-day trip starting Sunday was meant to further deepen political, trade and cultural ties.

India's defense ministry announced last week that it would buy 131 surface-to-air missiles from Israel.

PM Netanyahu with President Modi

The Barak missiles made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are to be used for India's first aircraft carrier which is under construction.

But at the same time, Rafael said India had cancelled a separate $500-million deal to purchase Spike anti-tank guided missiles.

"Rafael has received an official statement from the Indian ministry of defense on the cancellation of the Spike missile deal," the company told the Jerusalem Post newspaper last week.

The Post said Rafael executives would be in the trade delegation accompanying Netanyahu.

Cohen declined to answer questions on the subject in his briefing to journalists in Jerusalem on Wednesday

"The prime minister will be talking (to his hosts) on the whole range of issues which make up relations between Israel and India: water, agriculture, energy, culture, innovation, also defense," he said.

"I do not want to elaborate on defense issues."

On Wednesday, Netanyahu spoke at a press conference about his planned trip and commented on the fact that India voted against recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at the UN General Assembly, and the recently cancelled $500-million deal.

Netanyahu at Wednesday's press conference (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

"I would have genuinely preferred another vote, but it did not affect the flourishing relations between our two countries. Everyone can see it," he said.

"We will see an expansion of economic and other ties, regardless of any deal. In time we will see a reflection of this in India's votes in international forums."

Israel is a major weapons supplier to India, selling it an average of $1 billion of military equipment each year.

In April last year the two countries signed a military deal worth nearly $2 billion which includes the supply over several years of medium-range surface-to-air missiles, launchers and communications technology.

Netanyahu's India trip comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July, the first ever by an Indian premier.

A media highlight of that visit was a barefoot stroll though the surf together at an Israeli beach, where Modi got a demonstration of a mobile water desalination unit mounted on a dune buggy.

Netanyahu with Modi, during the latter's last trip to Israel (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Cohen said Netanyahu would present one to Modi during his visit next week.

Hooray for Bollywood

One of Netanyahu's stops on the trip, the first by an Israeli premier since Ariel Sharon in 2003, will be in Mumbai where he will meet on January 18 with stars and executives of India's mammoth film industry.

Bollywood "mega-celebs wield tremendous influence around the world," Cohen said.

Israel wants the Indian movie industry to shoot a film in the Jewish state, he added.

"You can imagine the effect that would have on our tourism, on Israel's exposure."

The visit begins in New Delhi where Netanyahu will have dinner with Modi and meet Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The following day he will call on President Ram Nath Kovind then have more talks with Modi.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu will visit the Taj Mahal and then attend India's annual "Raisina Dialogue" geo-political conference.

January 17 sees him joining Modi on a visit to the Indian leader's home state of Gujarat.

"It's no secret that the two leaders enjoy very clear chemistry, good and intimate relations," Cohen said.

In addition to the Bollywood event, January 18 sees Netanyahu hosting a business seminar then attending a memorial ceremony for Jewish victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

In one of several incidents, Islamic militants stormed a Jewish hostel and cultural centre in the city, killing a rabbi and his pregnant wife and four others.

They were among at least 195 dead and 295 wounded in a 60-hour siege of multiple targets, including luxury hotels and a railway station.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday evening that it is only a matter of time before Israeli security forces lay their hands on the terrorists responsible for Tuesdays murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevah during a drive-by shooting near the outpost Havat Gilad.

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I spoke with the head of the Shin Bet. He updated me regarding the rigorous investigation that is being conducted on the murderous terror attack yesterday. I have no doubt that it is a matter of time before we get to the murderers and I hope that it isn't a lot of time. We are committed to this, Netanyahu said during a press conference at a New Years reception in Jerusalem.

I want to congratulate US Ambassador Friedman, who tweeted the truth, unvarnished, straight forward. He said some important things: Abbass government is supporting murderers who murdered the father of 6, Netanyahu said.

(Photo: Gil Yohanan)

People like this who sit in prison receive 350 million dollars each year. This is unacceptable."

Netanyahus comments were made in reference to a tweet uploaded by Friedman in response to the deadly attack.

An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists. Hamas praises the killers and PA laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace, Friedman wrote on his Twitter account.

Netanyahu then touched upon the subject of American threats to cut funds to the UN agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugeesthe UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Seeking to reassure sceptics, Netanyahu insisted that the move will not bring about the collapse of the Palestinians Authority. The budgets should be put toward agencies that will take care of the real needs of genuine refugees.

Only Palestinians have a special organization that is supposed to solve the problem, but it only perpetuates it, he argued. How much longer will UNRWA survive? For 70 years?

Moving on to his planned trip to India and commenting on the fact that India voted against recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at the UN General Assembly, and then recently cancelled $500-million deal, Netanyahu admitted that he would have liked to see the country back President Trumps decision, but noted that relations would not be compromised.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with PM Netanyahu during visit to Israel (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)

"I would have genuinely preferred another vote, but it did not affect the flourishing relations between our two countries. Everyone can see it," he said.

"We will see an expansion of economic and other ties, regardless of any deal. In time we will see a reflection of this in India's votes in international forums."
Iran says it has arrested dozens on suspicion of "terrorist activities" during a recent wave of protests.

The official IRNA news agency on Wednesday carried a statement from the Intelligence Ministry saying security forces confiscated arms and explosives from "safe houses" kept by the detainees. It says some detainees had filmed the protests.

Demonstrations broke out across Iran last month fueled by anger at the lackluster economy and official corruption. The protests spread to several towns and cities, with some demonstrators calling for the overthrow of the government.

Clashes broke out at some of the protests, and at least 21 people were killed.

Iran has accused the US, Israel and other foreign powers of inciting violence to try and overthrow the Islamic Republic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Argentina's Vice President Gabriela Michetti.

Netanyahu thanked her for Argentina's vote at the UNwhich abstained in a vote against US' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israeland said that relations between the two countries "hold great opportunities."

Michetti added that "we have excellent relations, also with the Jewish community in Argentina."
President Donald Trump is expected this week to extend relief from economic sanctions to Iran as part of the nuclear deal, citing progress in amending US legislation that governs Washington's participation in the landmark accord, according to US officials and others familiar with the administration's deliberations.

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But Trump is likely to pair his decision to renew the concessions to Tehran with new, targeted sanctions on Iranian businesses and people, the six people briefed on the matter said. The restrictions could hit some firms and individuals whose sanctions were scrapped under the 2015 nuclear agreement, a decision that could test Tehran's willingness to abide by its side of the bargain.

The individualstwo administration officials, two congressional aides and two outside experts who consult with the governmentweren't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. They cautioned that Trump could still reject the recommendation from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster and that no final decision had been made. They said heated discussions were going on within the administration and with key Republican lawmakers.

President Donald Trump (Photo: Reuters)

The State Department and White House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump must decide by Friday to extend the nuclear-related sanctions relief for Iran's central bank or re-impose the restrictions that President Barack Obama suspended two years ago.

The old, central bank sanctions largely cut Iran out of the international financial system, and are considered to be the most powerful of the penalties imposed by the US during the Obama era, along with global penalties for buying Iranian oil. Some Iran hawks want to see both sets of restrictions return, but the six people with knowledge of Trump's plans say the president isn't planning to reinstate either at this point.

The individuals said Trump's top national security aides appear to have successfully made a different case to the president: Waiving anew for 120 days the nuclear-linked sanctions while simultaneously imposing new measures to punish Iran's ballistic missile testing, alleged terrorism support and human rights violations.

Such a balance could satisfy Trump's demand to raise pressure on Iran, while not embarking on a frontal assault on the most central trade-offs of the nuclear agreement. While the US and other world powers rolled back economic restrictions on Tehran, the Iranians severely curtailed their enrichment of uranium and other nuclear activity. Trump has complained that many of the Iranian restrictions expire next decade and has vacillated between talk of toughening the deal and pulling the US out entirely.

A senior State Department official told reporters Wednesday that Tillerson and Mattis would be meeting with Trump on the matter before an announcement Friday. Trump, Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence were scheduled to have lunch Wednesday at the White House after a formal Cabinet meeting.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Photo: AFP)

The decision coincides with the administration's efforts to secure a face-saving fix from Congress on the requirement for Trump to address Iran's compliance every three months. In October, Trump decertified the nuclear deal under US law, saying the sanctions relief was disproportionate to Iran's nuclear concessions, and describing the arrangement as contrary to America's national security interests.

Tillerson told The Associated Press in an interview last week that he and others were working with Congress on ways to amend the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, or INARA, to resolve concerns Trump has with the deal. That will be coupled with diplomacy with European government on addressing Iran's missile testing and support for the Hezbollah militant movement, Shiite rebels in Yemen and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"The president said he is either going to fix it or cancel it," Tillerson said of the overall deal. "We are in the process of trying to deliver on the promise he made to fix it."

On the INARA law, it's unlikely Congress could move fast enough to codify changes by Friday. So Tillerson and others are hoping to convince the president there's enough momentum to warrant another extension of sanctions relief and not jeopardizing the entire agreement. The goal would be for Congress to make the changes sometime before May, when Trump is next required to address the sanctions.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the Iran deal, one of Obama's signature foreign policy achievements, as the worst ever negotiated by the US. He has particularly bristled at having to give Iran a "thumbs up" every few months by acknowledging that it is meeting the requirements to invest in foreign banks, sell petroleum overseas, buy US and European aircraft, and so forth.

Iran hawks in Congress and elsewhere worry the changes being discussed don't strengthen the nuclear deal enough.

One would automatically re-impose, or "snap back," suspended sanctions if Iran commits certain actions, possibly including things unrelated to its nuclear program. Currently, Congress must act for the sanctions to snap back.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (Photo: AFP)

Another proposal would require snapback if Iran refuses a request from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's atomic watchdog, to inspect a military site not currently being monitored. Iran hawks worry the IAEA, fearing a confrontation with Iran, won't even ask for such an inspection.

Other debates center on Iran's missile testing. Hardline Republican Sens. Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz want sanctions back if Iran launches any ballistic missiles capable of targeting territory outside of Iran, such as Israel or Saudi Arabia, and not just an intercontinental missile.

Senate Democrats, generally more supportive of the nuclear deal, are pushing their own suggestions. One would let a simple House and Senate majority stop any effort to snap back sanctions, unless the president vetoes the block. While such a mechanism is unlikely to threaten Trump in the short term, some anti-deal Republicans fear it could be used against them under a future Democratic president.
Vandals threw stones and Molotov cocktails at border police forces in the Arab east-Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya.

There were no casualties but several vehicles were damaged.

The police reported that a suspect had been arrested for involvement in the incident.
US Special Representative for International Negotiations and President Trump's Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, denounced Hamas and Fatah for their support of the terrorists who murdered Raziel Shevah in a drive-by attack on Tuesday.

"Palestinian terrorists murdered Rabbi Shevah, father of 6 young children. Hamas & Fatah glorify his murder," Greenblatt tweeted.

This violence & horrific glorification will only incite more attacks & rob Palestinians of the chance for peace. I pray for the Shevach family," he added.
Finance Minister and Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon promised Wednesday that he would not dismantle the coalition following heated arguments between party leaders and ministers surrounding the state budget, which is scheduled to be put before the government for approval Thursday.

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The finance minister is not the treasurer. I have a clear policy and economic policy and therefore I succeeded in promoting the matters I believe in. I will not dismantle the coalition, Kahlon said during a Globes business conference at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem.

Asked about his political relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kahlon responded by saying the two were now on good terms, referencing prior statements in which he announced that disagreements between the two had led to frosty relations.

Minister Moshe Kahlon and Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters)

By contrast, he said that his political relationship with Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay, a former partner in Kulanu, remained icy.

I didnt support the French bill, Kahlon saidregarding a scrapped, controversial piece of legislation that that would have prohibited police investigations against a sitting prime minister.

Just like I passed legislation that part of the coalition doesnt like, they also supported this. As long as I am a member of the coalition, I am obligated by coalition agreements (which areed) things that I can live with.

During the interview, activists from disabled movements, who have staged numerous protests against what they say are meager and insufficient funds for people suffering from disabilities, and activists bemoaning limited funds for the periphery, interrupted Kahlon, silencing him for several minutes.

The protesters called for an increase in public housing budgets and for making disabilities payments equal to the minimum wage in the country as they chanted: Capital, rule, underworld.

The angry members of the audience also waved signs condemning Kahlon that read: Kahlon you are anti-society because there is no budget for public housing.

Unmoved by his critics, Kahlon responded by saying that I see it as a compliment that people demonstrate and come to shout and they are allowed to express their protest.
According to CoreLogics December Hedonic Home Value Index results, national dwelling values fell 0.3% in December, led by falls across Sydney, Darwin, Melbourne, and Perth.

Despite the nations softening housing markets, limited choices and escalating prices are forcing many Aussies to reconsider their options when it comes to choosing a new home and location.

Newly released research from non-bank lender State Custodians Home Loans reveals that more than half (54%) of Aussies who own or are looking to buy their own home say theyre prepared to live in more affordable or cheaper locations, even if its less than ideal.

In contrast, 26% of Aussies say theyre not prepared to sacrifice location or their ideal home, and are willing to take on bigger mortgages, even if it stretches their finances.

About one in five (20%) say theyd rather rentvest (i.e. purchase an investment property in an affordable location and rent in their ideal location) in order to satisfy their lifestyle and location wishes while still growing a property investment.

Joanna Pretty, general manager at State Custodians Home Loans, said the dilemma of location preference versus an affordable home is a growing struggle many Aussies face, particularly those living in big cities.

Often people really have their heart set on a certain area but simply cant afford a home there, she said. For the most part you usually have to compromise in some way when youre buying a property. However, if you really love a particular area, already have friends and family there, along with a number of conveniences such as work proximity, it can be especially wrenching if you have to look further afield due to unaffordability or needing more space for your family.

If your dream location looks unaffordable, there may still be a possibility to live in an area through an alternative strategy such as rentvesting, Pretty added. So many people rent nowadays, its entirely possible to create a beautiful family home in a rental property whilst still keeping an investment ticking over somewhere else. It just may require a little thinking outside of the box.

The study was conducted by Galaxy Research between 12 to 15 October, 2017, and was administered online amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,006 Aussies aged 18 years and older.
A police officer attached to the Diplomatic Unit was Tuesday morning shot dead in Kayole by thugs believed to be members of notorious Gaza Gang.

The officer was shot twice in the head and on his right hand in an incident that left members of the public scampering for safety.

The thugs also stole the officers Jericho pistol.

According to witnesses, the officer was in uniform when he was attacked by three gangsters who were on a motorcycle.

Confirming the incident, Kayole police chief Joseph Gichangi said they were in pursuit of the thugs believed to be members of outlawed Gaza group.

We will get them. They know well what they did, he said yesterday.

The officer who was headed to work succumbed to his injuries while receiving treatment at the Modern Healthcare Hospital.

This is the first police killing to be reported this year. Last year, eight police officers were killed in different incidents with most of them losing their firearms.

According to police statistics, 80 members of the Gaza gang were killed last year alone.
At this rate, it would be unfair not to give it up to Kenya Power for showing consistency in their poor service delivery. Barely a fortnight into the new year, the power supplier has managed to remind us why our country is still a third world country.

This is after an alleged technical hitch plunged most parts of the country into darkness on Tuesday evening.

Coincidentally, a similar power blackout was experienced in most parts of the country on the same date last year.

If that doesnt prove Kenya Powers consistency, I dont know what will!

Last night, many counties or some sections of the counties experienced the blackout which Kenya Power attributed to a power system disturbance.

A similar outage was also reported in Uganda caused by the situation in Kenya.

Simon Kasyate, the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited spokesperson, told Daily Monitor: Because of the interconnection with the Kenyan grid, when the problem happened in Kenya, Uganda had to be affected.

With most Kenyans stuck in darkness for approximately six hours, there was only one way to keep busy and that was by taking to various social networking sites to make light moments of the dark matter (no pun intended) until their phone batteries died.

Kenyans on Twitter, in particular, stole the show with some of the funniest memes and tweets.

We have sampled them below.

I stopped trusting Kenya Power

the moment i saw backup

power generators in their

offices.  Michael Gwei (@michaelgwei) January 9, 2018

Martin Luther.black..

Barack Obama black..

Kenya Power.. black  Cyprian kiprop (@ckcyprian) January 9, 2018

Those working at kenya power to marry those working at NTSA, disappointments on one side! pic.twitter.com/Wfxtuz02tM  Joe Fidel (@SirJoe_254) January 9, 2018

Kenya power just take your time, Dont hurry up. Nimeambia landlord pesa ya rent iko kwa POWER BANK. pic.twitter.com/G6uI7UGVaA  JN SHINE (@jn_shine) January 9, 2018

#KPLCShutdown

I will get home take a shower and finish up that series. Kenya power: pic.twitter.com/rpBELfV79s  Musa the Entertainer (@mosesmutero) January 9, 2018

The last time this happened, Kenya Power blamed it on a monkey. This afternoon, I met a monkey walking around with intent. pic.twitter.com/2T6ISHcQYi  Oliver Mathenge (@OliverMathenge) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power & Lightning Company should be rebranded to Kenya Paraffin Lamps & Candles Company. pic.twitter.com/0KReQZ4uPU  MKALE FLANI  (@MkaleFlani_____) January 9, 2018

Kenyans: We will not stand for this foolishness of backdated powerbills. We will lodge a class action suit.

Kenya Power: You guys are so cure when youre mad. *Flips switch to off*  Farce of Nature. (@Buggz79) January 9, 2018

Live scenes at Kenya power pic.twitter.com/fpwjYhD962  fadhil issa (@fadhil_issa) January 9, 2018

REPORTER: Mr Matiangi whats your take on the countrywide power black out? MATIANGI: It was agreed by Kenya Power that instead of giving Kenyans short power breaks all year long, we combine it all give you in one night and move on, were streamlining the power curriculum.  HAILE (@AdamMaina_) January 9, 2018

This power outage might be a subtle attempt by Kenya Power to remind us that theyre indeed a government monopoly pic.twitter.com/eGoeSERVxo  #BlackMzungu  (@OderoAlulu) January 9, 2018

Tomorrow bloggers be like: Six things you didnt know about Last Nights Blackout. The third one will shock you. Kenya Power.  Paul Osindo (@OsindoPaul) January 9, 2018

When your battery is 1% and you wanted to do Memes here on Twitter concerning Kenya Power blackout pic.twitter.com/EPEdbAYPy9  Korir K Fraizer ?? (@korir_fraizer) January 9, 2018

Caller: Hello,My name is Kamau kutoka Nyeree Presenter: Yes Kamau which song are you requesting tonight? Caller: I would like to request WAKA WAKA BY DIAMOND To go out to Kenya power

????#TrapaDrive NTSA  Kelvin KALZ (@KALZkelvin) January 9, 2018

Vile intern amecause Kenya Power blackout pic.twitter.com/FfRP2j2yAh  Coder Pato (@coderpato) January 9, 2018

Boy child be like.

Kenya Power pic.twitter.com/wI9Lnu6mco  Natasha Nairi (@Maasai_nomad) January 9, 2018

After the Kenya Power black out,you gon hear ksh 4.5 Billion allocated for machine upgrade & purchase. Wait & see pic.twitter.com/RgZAY3EiAs  Egypt? (@Moraa_Esq) January 9, 2018

Na vile mlikua mnataka bullet train ya stima supplied by one and only Kenya Power pic.twitter.com/VmmqIrycuE  Arbakuramah (@Champonyi) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power looking at your battery percentage like #KPLCShutDown pic.twitter.com/p6GvMm90UG  MC Pipita (@mcpipita) January 9, 2018

No matter what, you can never shut down the creativity of Kenyans.#GetTheWholeStory#KPLCShutDown

Kenya Power pic.twitter.com/EwYM7AUZKf  DAUDI (@ItsDaudi) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power, this is the current situation in Eldoret ?? pic.twitter.com/DrnjLGlZpk  Tina (@tinaokore) January 9, 2018

Me: *Got out of job early to to beat traffic and catch Simply Maria*

Kenya Power: Hold my beer.

??? pic.twitter.com/LxcxhT2kjE  Andanje, Sarowiwa ?? (@AndanjeSarowiwa) January 9, 2018

Kenya power press statement be like pic.twitter.com/KAMez1WdHE  lyniet gacheri (@lynsheri3) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power The only power you have is power outage pic.twitter.com/x7IebbYFxZ  erique (@MkayaEric) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power

Slay Queen : Aki phone iko 1% send me some power beb

Me : pic.twitter.com/zwLKwejwNV  Innocenti Innoventi (@Inno254) January 9, 2018

This is why there is no power New Kenya Power Engineers at work.. pic.twitter.com/ip2zCPVKG0  Maina and Kingangi (@MainaandKingang) January 9, 2018

#KPLCShutDown babe lets make love with the lights on Kenya power pic.twitter.com/r4WAOpmMZ6  Tricky (@IzaaqVan) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power should be charged with High treason. Power belongs to the people.  Muthui Mkenya (@MuthuiMkenya) January 9, 2018

Someone tell media houses wasisome NEWS HADI STIMA IRUDI,AMA WARUDIE thereafter ???

Kenya power mnatucheza??  Rasheeed_Kawawa (@Rushwizy) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power Chronicles.

Trying to apply the 844 physics I learnt. Long night today.#KPLCShutDown pic.twitter.com/C6Awu8X9SB  The Patriot 254 (@Henitch) January 9, 2018

If you think Kenya Power is incompetent, wamesema uende Kindaruma ukazungushe turbines mwenyewe.  Nomad ?? (@learnednomad) January 9, 2018

Immediately Kenya Power restores power.

Most people: pic.twitter.com/OvbqRhvP5j  Char-lee Oddie (@Oddcharley) January 9, 2018

And because of the Kenya Power Blackout, everyone in Kenya is feeling the same. From Kisumu to Kiambu. Power sharing is real.  Ahmed Mohamed (@Asmali77) January 9, 2018

Mama Ngina Kenyatta: Hallo DP Ruto whats your plan.

DP Ruto: Let there be blackout

Kenya Power : and there it was pic.twitter.com/bQbnhVqvZJ  HoodBoy Max (@HoodBoy_Max) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power: There is a blackout in Nairobi and its environs.

The rest of Kenya: pic.twitter.com/7XOOWEXtgL  Glad Gladness (@gladgladness) January 9, 2018

New and hot released single

Binguni hakuna Kenya Power pic.twitter.com/HllweFuYxg  . (@mussamutha) January 9, 2018

In Japan the last time there was a blackout was 1973 for only 3 hours, and 3 top officials on energy sector resigned. But in kenya there are always a blackouts and the Energy CS is retained.. #KPLCShutdown, Kenya Power  Elly Kanda (@kendagor11) January 9, 2018

*Kenya power* they have just decided to switch off electricity we as the opposition tomorrow we shall also switch off the sun wakizima power tunazima.  Dan Matiri (@DanMatiri) January 9, 2018

Kenya power engineers right now? pic.twitter.com/FyqcQacHZ2  Ronald rono (@ronaldrono227) January 9, 2018

Wale watu hukuwa na appliance ya kila kitu, Rice cooker, water heater, Wi-Fi, coffee maker, toaster, electric cooker, how is your life this evening? If you had one bullet would you shoot Kenya Power or Kenya Power?  kamuiru wa makumi (@charleskamuiru) January 9, 2018

Kenya Power wameamua form ones waibiwe kila kitu on their first day  Lunatic Greg (@graagc) January 9, 2018

Kenyans: Theres a blackout.

Kenya Power: yes

Kenyans: why?

Kenya Power: because

Kenyans: because what?

Kenya Power: the night is dark and full of terrors.  dennis mwangi (@IamDennisMwangi) January 9, 2018

Kenya power slaying pic.twitter.com/a2O6YYIdOl  Njeru Henry (@NjeruHenry4) January 9, 2018

The whole Family is looking at the sitting rooms Bulb singing Waka waka by diamond platnumz ndio stima zirudi ?

kenya Power do something  Presleyoliech (@presleyoliech) January 9, 2018

Kenya power;

Meanwhile this guy has got the solution to the power outage ???

Uganda#KPLCShutDown pic.twitter.com/Pj3o9VaKRe  Sir. Rop  (@ItsMasterRop) January 9, 2018

Kenya power ndio mtajua hamjui Jimmy Gait does a collabo with Ugandan artist Uganda pale @JimmyGait pic.twitter.com/YQdlhz24W0  Alfred mike omuroka (@mike_omuroka) January 9, 2018

If you come across Kenya power officer near your hood ??@KenyaPower @ntsa_kenya NTSA pic.twitter.com/u8WRU8TFJM  Dainamo (@Kev_Dainamo) January 9, 2018
Baringo South Member of Parliament Gideon Moi has said he would gladly decline a Cabinet position in President Uhuru Kenyattas administration.

Speaking at Parliament buildings on Tuesday after being elected unopposed as the Chairperson of the Senate ICT Committee, Moi said reports circulating in the media that he is interested in a Cabinet post are false and baseless. He said his duty is to serve the residents of Baringo.

I have a role to serve the people of Baringo and I have a commitment that God willing God gives me the time to serve them with all my dedication in the five years that they gave me the mandate to do so, he said.

Gideon, who is eying the presidential seat come 2022, was also quick to deny reports that he is playing a role in the formation of Kenyattas Cabinet in an effort to position himself for the 2022 presidential bid.

I was elected as the Baringo Senator to represent the interest of my constituents. I wish to categorically state that I was not involved in the formation of the Presidents Cabinet and there was no politics involved whatsoever, he said.

The KANU Chairman reiterated that he would turn down a Cabinet slot if he was to be offered one by President Kenyatta.

I would gladly decline the offer because I have a responsibility to deliver to my people in Baringo, he said.
Kitutu Chache South Member of Parliament Richard Onyonka has sensationally expressed his reservations about the planned swearing in of Opposition leader Raila Odinga as the peoples president.

Onyonka, who is allied with the Opposition, said he recognises Jubilee leader Uhuru Kenyatta as the duly elected countrys leader.

Addressing the media Tuesday morning, Onyonka who was elected under the Ford-Kenya party  a National Super Alliance (NASA) affiliate party  said that although he is among those questioning President Kenyattas re-election, the country already has an elected Head of State.

The President of Kenya is Uhuru Kenyatta. Uhuru Kenyatta was legally sworn in as president and handed the instruments of power. He is the one in charge of the police, military, public funds and the entire country, said the MP.

The legislator who re-joined the opposition after briefly decamping to Jubilee before last years General Election added: As an MP from Ford-Kenya, which is in NASA, I have a problem with how the last election was conducted but I cannot say that I dont recognise Uhuru as the president since he was sworn in.

Onyonka, who is also Ford-Kenya deputy party leader, noted that his recognition of Uhuru as President was personal.

While NASA says they would like to swear in Raila Odinga to be the peoples president, I have no problem with that but personally I know the countrys president is Uhuru Kenyatta, said Onyonka.

He was speaking during a press address convened by Kisii leaders to thank President Uhuru Kenyatta for re-appointing Dr. Fred Matiangi to the Cabinet.
Nairobi County Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko can finally heave a sigh of relief after the petition challenging his election collapsed.

This is after the High Court Judge Msagha Mbogholi dismissed the case on Tuesday following an application by the petitioners to withdraw.

The petitioners; Japheth Muroko and Zachaeus Okoth Oliech, made an application on Tuesday for leave to withdraw the election petition citing security reasons.

The shock move came just a day after Japheth Muroko alleged that he had received death threats.

Through his lawyer Anthony Oluoch, Muroko claimed he and his family received the threats on Saturday.

On 7th January, I received a phone call from a number unknown to me, and the caller threatened to murder my wife, family, advocates and myself should I appear in court with my witnesses and advocates to adduce evidence in support of the petition, said Muroko in an affidavit.

The person using the aforestated number threatened me and urged me to withdraw the Instant petition or else he would murder me together with my family and advocates.

The petitioners indicated that they are no longer interested in prosecuting the petition citing security reasons, free will, and own volition.

In his ruling, Justice Mbogholi ordered the petitioners to pay Ksh5 million; Ksh2.5 million to Sonko and a similar amount to IEBC.

The court said the case was struck out for want of prosecution.

After the ruling, hundreds of Sonkos supporters took to the streets to celebrate, chanting Ni maombi si uchawi and tunarusha kura, sio mawe.

On Facebook, Sonko vowed to get down to work writing: If youll keep thanking God in advance, then get ready. God is going to show out in your life. Hes going to take you where you could not go on your own, open doors that no man can shut, connect you to the right people. Hes going to restore what you thought was over and done. Its going to happen suddenly, unexpectedly.#SasaTwendeKazi.
An unknown number of thugs on Sunday stole a police car in Zimmerman, Nairobi before dumping it 20km away in Ruiru Town.

The gang stole the Saloon car outside an apartment in Zimmerman where the officer had parked it on Sunday morning.

The officer, who is attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters, had gone to visit a workmate at about 5 am.

When the officer returned to the vehicle that bore private registration numbers at about 8 am he found it missing and a search was launched.

At about 6 pm, a resident of Ruiru called the police to inform them that a strange car was parked outside his house.

Police who reported to the scene confirmed it was the stolen vehicle.

We believe the thieves realized who the owner of the car was before they decided to leave it there, said a policeman at the scene.

Other officers said the gang may have been on the run and wanted a getaway car to leave Zimmerman when they stumbled on the police car.

Nairoberry in all its glory!!
"As more and more students pay ever-increasing tuition and borrow more and more money to pay for their studies, it's remarkable how little information we have about the wage outcomes associated with different programs," said Mark Schneider, vice president of the American Institutes for Research and one of the authors of the report. "This kind of information is essential for students to have before they enroll and before they borrow tens of thousands of dollars to pay for a degree that is not highly rewarded in the labor market."

One reason graduate school debt has grown is that students have nearly unlimited borrowing capability from federal programs - with few credit checks or examinations of ability to repay, which are required for most other consumer loans. Knowing that, schools have continued to push their tuition up.

While undergraduates don't need to go through a credit check or supply documentation that they can pay back loans, they do face limits in what they can borrow from the federal government - $57,500 over four years.
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Jean Philippe Lassegues, 74, passed away on December 30, 2017. Born in San Francisco, he attended Notre Dame de Victoire, St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School, and The University of San Francisco (USF). At USF he received an MS in Chemistry.

He fell in love with teaching after teaching Nursing Chemistry at USF. His next job was teaching at St. Ignatius. He then moved to Napa where he taught Science at Silverado Middle School and Chemistry, Math, and Physics at Vintage High School.

Jean was hard working and had a variety of interests. He worked his way through high school and college. During ten summers he worked on cattle ranches in Montana and had many fascinating stories to tell about his experiences there. Several summers were devoted to getting a 2nd degree black belt in Aikido. He spent many years working second jobs teaching chemistry and Aikido at Napa College.

He was able to retire at 55 and began growing green garlic and French peppers for local restaurants. He thoroughly enjoyed the hard work it took to raise these crops and meeting with and getting to know chefs in the valley.
19452017

Linda Chipman Burgin passed away peacefully on December 14, 2017 in Spokane, Washington with family by her side after a long battle with cancer. Her husband Bill Burgin died in 1992 following a long illness.

Linda was born in Vallejo, California and was raised on the family ranch in Napa by her parents Art and Dorothy Chipman. Linda is survived by three brothers, Charles, John and Tom Chipman, and one sister, Patty Knudson.

Linda attended Ridgeview Junior High and Napa High School and she was married to her high school sweetheart, William Burgin, in the Chapel of the University of Pacific in Stockton, California. They built their home on the family ranch in Napa, where they raised their two children Tammy and Jeff Burgin.

Linda and her daughter Tammy had a passion for raising and showing champion caliber quarter horses and Welsh ponies throughout her life.

Linda and Bill grew up working in the family business, Chipman Moving & Storage, agents for Mayflower & United in California. In 1982 Linda purchased Chipman Moving & Storage in Spokane, Washington from her family and she and Bill bought a new home on Saxon Drive in Spokane, where she lived for thirty six years.
The California Highway Patrol reported a fatal wreck Tuesday evening on Monticello Road (Highway 121) in rural Napa County. Authorities closed the route in the wake of the crash.

At 5:04 p.m., CHP received reports that a vehicle went off the roadway near Wild Horse Valley Road and tumbled down an embankment into a wooded area, according to the highway patrols online incident log. A witness said a rock struck the vehicle, the website added, although whether the falling rock triggered the crash was not yet clear.

A Napa County Nixle alert announced a shutdown of Highway 121 in both directions at Vichy Avenue, due to the crash as well as a rock slide. Authorities also requested a Caltrans crew to check the stability of a nearby hillside, the CHP website said.

There was no immediate estimate on when Monticello Road would reopen.

No other details were available at press time on Tuesday.
One of the two men convicted in a brazen heist of top-flight wine worth $550,000 from The French Laundry in Napa Valley in 2014 was sentenced Tuesday to more than 3 years in prison.

Alfred Georgis, 53, of Mountain View pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport stolen goods in interstate commerce. San Jose-based U.S District Court Judge Beth L. Freeman sentenced him to 37 months in prison and a restitution payment of $585,715.

His co-conspirator, Davis Kiryakoz, 44, of Modesto, pleaded guilty to the same crime and was sentenced to a 15-month prison term in March.

The two men admitted to conspiring to steal more than $870,000 of wine from The French Laundry, acclaimed chef Thomas Keller's Yountville restaurant, and two other California businesses, according to U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco.

The Yountville heist took place in the early hours of Dec. 26, 2014. Around 110 prized bottles of wine were stolen, including Domaine de la Romanee-Conti worth up to $10,000 a bottle. The restaurant had been closed for renovation and the alarm had been turned off.

The men admitted to selling bottles from their burglaries to a North Carolina buyer, transactions that left a trail for the FBI to follow and led to their arrest in 2016.
They just threw gear in the back of an ambulance, Cuevas said. (It was) something I never saw in my life before.

Fire departments also had motorcycles they would put to use in order to get to the scene of a wreck faster, he said. The motorcycles were equipped with an ax and fire extinguishers.

Cuevas rode along while the firefighters responded to multiple wrecks, some of them fatal.

I got to see a couple dead bodies, he said. Since the firefighters knew whether or not there was a suspected fatality before arriving on the scene, they told him to be prepared for the worst.

It threw me off, of course, but its part of the job, Cuevas said. He said he was able to hit the switch and just focus on the task at hand. It was tough  you just have to keep yourself together.

Many of the wrecks were head-on collisions, he said. Drunk driving and speeding seemed to contribute to the wrecks, he said, which were made worse by people not wearing their seatbelts.

Pretty much everything we learned through the Explorers kicked in, and there, on the spot, a lot of the guys were teaching me, Cuevas said.

Cuevas plans to take some EMT classes this summer while continuing to work with Napa City Fire. He has also applied to be a seasonal firefighter with Cal Fire. He said he will definitely volunteer again next time he is back in Mexico.

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PG&E will be operating a helicopter in the area above St. Helena this week as they work on a transmission line outside of the city.

The helicopter will be in the area between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, said Deanna Contreras, PG&E spokesperson. It will be flying in and out of a secure landing zone along Sulphur Creek in St. Helena, she said.

Customers will be contacted via mail and automated phone messages if service is going to be impacted, Contreras said. Initial letters about the planned work were sent out in September, she said.

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The alt-right is a fringe movement, and it would have stayed on the fringes but for Bannon. Back in the 1960s, William F. Buckley Jr. and his magazine National Review excommunicated the fringe right of his day - the John Birch Society - from the respectable right. But Bannon and his Breitbart News website did the opposite, bringing the alt-right into the political mainstream through his association with Trump.

At the GOP convention that nominated Trump, Bannon declared proudly that he had made Breitbart "the platform for the alt-right." He published pieces that praised, among others, white nationalist Richard Spencer as one of the movement's leaders - the same Richard Spencer who led an alt-right audience (many with arms raised in a Nazi salute) in chants of "Hail Trump!" and helped organize the torch-carrying neo-Nazi mob that descended on Charlottesville in August.

At the White House, Bannon wreaked havoc from within, leaking like a sieve and giving Trump horrible strategic advice. It was Bannon who reportedly urged Trump to double down on his "many sides" equivocation after Charlottesville. And since being fired and returning to Breitbart, Bannon has wreaked havoc from without, backing alleged sexual predator Roy Moore in Alabama and alt-right candidates such as Paul Nehlen - a virulent anti-Semite who refers to his critics as "shekels-for-hire" - to challenge House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Film studios must spend hundreds of millions of dollars to create a major motion picture. Biopharmaceutical companies frequently spend billions to research and develop a single medicine with no guarantee that medicine will ever make it to market. Record companies spend more than a quarter of their revenue on discovering and promoting new artists.

If rivals could swoop in and produce cheap, knock-off copies, after all the hard creative work has been done, there'd simply be no way for the creators and innovators to earn back their investments.

Needless to say, that would cripple significant segments of the American economy. All told, intellectual property-intensive sectors added more than $6 trillion to U.S. Gross Domestic Product in 2014. Together, intellectual property-based start-ups, small businesses, and larger companies support more than 45 million jobs in the United States with workers earning nearly 40 percent more than their counterparts in non-intellectual property intensive sectors.

On top of the many benefits to the United States, the products developed by creative and innovation-based industries are shared around the world. The United States exports roughly $130 billion of intellectual property-intensive products each year.
David Bradshaw, a St. Helena resident and attorney who advocated against over-development and fought a local housing project in court last year, died Jan. 1 of pulmonary issues. He was 72.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, at St. Helena Catholic Church.

Bradshaw was a principal in the law firm Jackson Lewis. According to its website, Bradshaw specialized in employment and labor law.

He and his wife Vickie have been active in St. Helena politics since they moved to town three or four years ago, calling for a moratorium on housing development on the east side of town, suing the city for approving Joe McGraths 8-unit housing project on McCorkle Avenue, and threatening to sue the city in federal court for housing discrimination.

A Napa Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit against the McGrath project in November. Vickie Bradshaw said Wednesday that her late husband had already hired a legal firm to appeal the case, and the appeal will be pursued in accordance with his wishes.

Bradshaw said her husband deeply loved everything about St. Helena.
St. Helena could adopt its long-awaited General Plan update this year, with the City Council hiring a consultant whos offering to review the plans environmental effects on an ambitious timeline.

At its first meeting of 2018 the council approved a $336,880 contract with Dyett and Bhatia, leading a team of consultants who plan to write an environmental impact report (EIR) in time for the city to hold hearings on a draft EIR in May or June and final council hearings in September.

Planning Director Noah Housh called it a very aggressive schedule that could be delayed by a few weeks, but hopefully no longer.

Councilmembers said they want to get the project done as soon as possible, without making too many changes that could cause further delays. The last effort to update the General Plan got sidetracked by a controversial proposal to create a new residential zoning designation, which generated a lot of debate during public hearings and was eventually abandoned.

We have to get this plan done, and we cannot keep adding new pieces to it that are not necessary, said Councilmember Mary Koberstein. We can do that (later) through the amendment process. What we really need to do is reward this community with an adopted plan that we can all live with.
And dont let that endowment fool you into thinking theyre sitting on a bunch of untapped money. Endowments are structured so that a portion of the interest is spent each year, while the principal remains untouched so it can keep growing and generate even more interest next year.

Library Director Chris Kreiden wasnt able to attend our meeting, but weve been impressed so far with her tenure. Even with slightly reduced hours and a smaller budget from the city, shes managed to maintain the librarys stellar level of service.

She rose through the ranks as a librarian, not a bureaucrat, so she understands the librarys status as not simply a book depository  that reductive conception of a library is now outdated  but as a de facto community center that champions cultural enrichment, togetherness, technology, local history, learning and, of course, books.

For example, on that unforgettable Monday after the fires started, when the power was out all over St. Helena, the library was open. Patrons went there to share information, relax, and savor a shred of normalcy as everything seemed to be coming apart.
The proponents for the recall of St. Helena Mayor Alan Galbraith would like to thank Napa County Retired Superior Court Judge, Scott Snowden, for his efforts to successfully mediate a resolution to the recall.

The recall effort was not initiated on the spur of the moment, nor was it an enjoyable task. The proponents, however, felt it was a necessary process to bring awareness to the grievances and frustrations expressed by many city residents concerning the mayor's leadership, judgement, management and voting record.

We're grateful the mayor has agreed to participate in several town hall style meetings, moderated by Judge Snowden. We're also optimistic that taking this action will be far less divisive in our community and save our city the cost of a special election.

The past proponents of the recall are writing this letter to invite and encourage St. Helena residents to attend one or more of the public meetings, with Mayor Galbraith, that will be scheduled during January and February. Come and let your thoughts and interests be heard. Whether you agree with the recall efforts or not, this will be a chance for all of us to speak our minds, share our interests and discuss the direction we envision for our city's future.
[January 09, 2018] Juniper Networks to Present Keynote on Combating Cybersecurity Threats with Behavioral Analytics at ITEXPO Florida Trumbull, CT - January 9, 2018 - TMC (News - Alert) announced that Nick Bilogorskiy, cybersecurity strategist at Juniper Networks, will present a keynote at ITEXPO, which will be held February 13-16, 2018 at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward Country Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ITEXPO (News - Alert) is the leading communications and business transformation event where influential buyers gather to make their purchase decisions. The event will include a robust three days of educational programming, hands-on training, live demos, keynotes, exhibits and networking events. Bilogorskiy's keynote, "Combating Cybersecurity Threats with Behavioral Analytics" takes place at 4:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, February 14, 2018. Here he will take an in-depth look at how organizations can address the security gap by simplifying and accelerating incident response with behavioral analytics. "Cybersecurity threats aren't slowing down anytime soon - in fact, they're only getting smarter, faster and more destructive. Security leaders must evolve from trying to prevent every threat to acknowledging that perfect protection will never be attainable," said Bilogorskiy. "Detection and incident response capabilities are critical, but figuring out how to fill in your organization's gaps can seem anything but simple. In this session I'll discuss how organizations can simplify operations, save time and speed time to remediation with predictive behavioral analytics and how they can incorporate these tools into their own networks." " Juniper Networks (News - Alert) is the type of company that is constantly on the front line of innovation. They are always evolving and working with their customers and partners to create automated, scalable and secure networks with agility and simplicity," said Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) , TMC CEO and conference chairman. "We look forward to the insight that Nick Bilogorskiy will share with ITEXPO attendees at the Fort Lauderdale event." ITEXPO is supported by Diamond Sponsor: Digium; Platinum Sponsors: 888VoIP, Fiber Mountain (News - Alert) , Grandstream, Sansay, Telnyx, Yealink; Gold Sponsors: ABP Tech and Speech Mobility. For more information or to register for ITEXPO, contact events@tmcnet.com. For media inquiries, contact Jessica Seabrook. Companies interested in exhibiting, sponsorship or advertising packages for ITEXPO should contact TMC's Joe Fabiano at 203-852-6800 x132 or Maureen Gambino at 203-852-6800 x109.

For the latest ITEXPO news, updates and information follow the event on Twitter at @ITEXPO. About TMC

Global buyers rely on TMC's content-driven marketplaces to make purchase decisions and navigate markets. This presents branding, thought leadership and lead generation opportunities for vendors/sellers.

TMC's Marketplaces: Unique, turnkey Online Communities boost search results, establish market validation and elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking.

Custom Lead Programs uncover sales opportunities and build databases.

In-Person and Online Events boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads.

Publications, Display Advertising and Newsletters bolster brand reputations.

Custom Content provides expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts.

Comprehensive Event and Road Show Management Services help companies meet potential clients and generate leads face-to-face.

For more information about TMC and to learn how we can help you reach your marketing goals, please visit www.tmcnet.com. Media and Analyst Contact: Jessica Seabrook Marketing Director 203.852.6800 x170 jseabrook@tmcnet.com





Edited by Mandi Nowitz



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Sophia Forest, 12, in downtown Fort Myers. She plays Jenny Gaines in Nickelodeon's "I Am Frankie."

(Photo: Amanda Inscore/SWFL Parent & Child)



The cast of Nickelodeon's "I Am Frankie"



Sophia Forest, left, plays Jenny Gaines in Nickelodeon's "I Am Frankie." (Photo: Special to SWFL Parent & Child)



Sophia, right, with her onscreen mom, Dr. Sigourney Gaines, played by Carrie Schroeder, and Frankie Gaines, played by Alex Hook. (Photo: Special to SWFL Parent & Child)



Sophia Forest plays opposite her TV dad, Michael Laurino. (Photo: Special to SWFL Parent & Child)

"Feels like things are getting real" is the opening line to the catchy theme song for Nickelodeon's hit new show,A budding acting career has definitely gotten real for Sophia Forest, 12, of Fort Myers, Florida who plays the younger sister to teen android Frankie, a top-secret invention adopted into the family to protect it from nefarious forces.I can be sarcastic at times and pretty sassy, Sophia says of her character, Jenny Gaines. My character is pretty smart. She loves to play video games. Thats something me and my character have in common  playing video games, Sophia told SWFL Parent & Child. The 20-episode show launched in September 2017 and has developed a strong following. Sophia heads back to Miami this spring to tape the second season. Its a wild dream-come-true for Sophia, who grew up a big fan of Nickelodeon. When she turned 2, the celebratory cake wasthemed. These days, shes moved on to other Nick offerings:andShe really, really wanted to be on Nickelodeon, says her mother, Gina Forest. Since she was little, thats what she watched and she wanted to be on it.That unexpected reality materialized quickly.Through the years, Gina says, people consistently urged her to guide Sophia into modeling, even as a baby.When she got older  4 and up  she loved singing and dancing around the house, and being the center of attention, including making spy and princess movies with her brother, Gina says.After Sophia turned 9, Gina reached out to a local photographer who was photographing local talent for a modeling manager on the east coast. Gina snapped some photos and submitted them to Soleil Kids in Miami, which immediately wrote me back and picked her up, Gina says. This led to a lot of print work for Sophia, including Walmart, Canadian Tire and the European clothing company, Monsoon.Sophia was booked for several commercials for Michaels craft store and City Furniture, and in print and video promotions for Moon Palace Resort in Jamaica.Acting is what she wanted to do, but when she had the opportunity to model, we thought, Well, this is a start. Lets see where it takes us, Gina says.Acting wasn't far behind. Sophia soon connected with the Stellar Talent Agency in Pembroke Park. After attending a casting call for, Sophia was called in November 2016 to a test that mixed and matched different characters to run through parts to assess the chemistry and composition of the potential cast. Sophia learned a script but was told at the last minute it was being switched. She had to learn the new one on the spot.Innately vibrant, Sophia was excited and confident going into the first round of the audition.I felt like I could get it. I liked this character I was auditioning for, she says.Hopefuls had come from far and wide. The leading role, Frankie, is played by Alex Hook, a 16-year-old from Canada. Yet Sophia had been the only one chosen to test for the role of Jenny. The casting director told me she was impressed with how well she did, Gina says. It all happened pretty fast.During filming, the duo relocated to a condo in Miami for three months. Sophia worked 10-hour days on the 17,000-square-foot studio set at the new state-of-the-art Viacom International Studios, which included squeezing in 15 hours of mandatory schoolwork per week. But she has no complaints.Its really fun because everything is so cool, Sophia says, explaining how the fourth wall is missing to make room for cameras, and that the different sets  home interior, high school  are all side-by-side. I never thought it would be like that, muses Sophia, who was the youngest person on the set and in the building.She learned how to execute a safe slip-and-fall from a professional stunt person. After filming in the day, the cast was given a call sheet detailing scenes for the next days production and new lines to learn, returning to their condo as late as 9 in the evening.I can memorize my lines pretty fast, Sophia says.The demanding schedule meant they turned to P.F. Changs microwavable meals (Sophia's favorite) and other conveniences more often than not.Nobody feels like cooking at 8 at night," Gina says.Sophia is home-schooled and this year is enrolled in Florida Virtual School. She has an older brother, Brandon Dusseault, 14, and little sister, Isabelle Forest, 6. Their father, Mark Forest, held down the fort during the filming. He had flexibility in his sales career to work from home.Marks parents will help while Gina and Sophia are in production for Season 2.While in production this last year, Gina and Sophia often returned from Miami to spend time with the family and mini-pinscher, Monte, at home in the Fort Myers area on weekends. Or Mark and Sophias siblings would take a little trip to the east coast.I honestly think the biggest challenge was being away from my house, family and dog a long time, Sophia says. My little sister always wanted to play with me while I was away filming. It made me sad sometimes.Sophia is bright and outgoing and likes to read action, adventure and mystery books. She readily shares what shes reading these days  the Warriors cat and Serafina series. Shes all about cats, though Gina is allergic to them. Shes also been taking ballet lessons off and on since she was 4.Will acting play a bigger role in her future?I honestly would like to pursue my acting. I hope I can keep it up for years to come, Sophia says. I would like to do movies and things like that.season two is slated to premiere this Fall on Nickelodeon. Fans can watch the first season ofon Nickelodeon, Nick.com/Frankie and on the Nick App.
Billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote has expanded his empire to Liberia, as Dangote Cement Liberia Limited has signed an agreement with the countrys Senate to invest in its cement industry.

Terms of the Agreement

$41 million is expected to be invested by Dangote Cement in Liberia over the next ten years. The company will also be expected to maintain the roads leading to its terminals. The agreement will, however, be subject to review once in five years.

How Both Sides Benefit

For Liberia, the agreement brings in much needed foreign direct investment. In addition to recovering from a civil war, the Liberian economy recently suffered a setback from the Ebola crisis. The host community for the factory also stands to benefit from the companys Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.

Expanding into Liberia also raises Dangotes production capacity drawing it closer to its aim of being the biggest cement producer in Africa. Dangote cement currently produces about 40 million tonnes of cement per annum.

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About Dangote Cement

Dangote Cement Plc was incorporated as a public limited liability company on 4th November 1992 and commenced operations in January 2007 under the name Obajana Cement Plc. The company was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on the 26th of October, 2010. Principal activities of the company are the preparation, manufacture, and distribution of cement and cement-related products.

Dangote cement closed at N234 in yesterdays trading session on the NSE. Year to date, the stock is up 37.94%. For the 9 months ended September 2017, revenue went up from N442 billion in 2016 to N603 billion in 2017. Profit before tax also increased from N148 billion in 2016 to N220 billion in 2017. Profit after tax also increased from N133 billion in 2016 to N193 billion in 2017. Earnings per share also increased from N8.13 in 2016 to N11.30 in 2017.

The company has recently been embroiled in a tussle with BUA Cement over the control of the Abu mines located in Okpella, Edo State.
WITHIN the Nigerian community in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, there is one name that strikes an instant chord in every ear. It is a name that has become a constant refrain on many lips.

The name is Okey Paulicap Okeke, a Nigerian-born writer, theatre artist, clinical social worker and entrepreneur who has been domiciled in the North American country for close to two decades.

But his stay in Canada isnt what makes the name and its owner the major theme in many conversations across that country. Its not even about his book, Biribamba The Lonely Elephant, a childrens storybook published in the United States and over which he is in court with Macmillan Nigeria, a firm that allegedly published the book here without the writers authorisation.

Okeke, an Igbo man whose parents hail from Enugu State, is the president of Ijesa Progressive Association of Canada (IPAC), the umbrella association for sons and daughters of Ijesaland in Osun State living and working in that country.

An Igbo man as leader of an association comprising only Yoruba men and women? That is not only impracticable in Nigeria, it is absolutely inconceivable. Indeed, anyone harbouring such an implausible, far-fetched notion would be seen as suffering from the after-effects of excessive alcoholism, or having been untimely roused from a nightmare-riddled slumber!

But what many would have considered impossible in these shores became a reality in Canada. The Ijesa men and women in that North American country taught millions of their countrymen and women at home some great lessons when, in January 2017, Okeke was sworn in as president of Ijesa Progressive Association of Canada. And since then, he has been steering the ship of that association, alongside his executives.

On Saturday, September 16 last year, IPAC, under Okeke, held its annual Ijesa Night celebrations at the Manhyia Palace Convention Centre on Eddystone Avenue, Toronto. The event, which was chaired by Chief Isaac Ige, Odofin of Atorinland, was attended by many Nigerians, a number of who were there simply to confirm the rumour that the leader of Ijesa people in Canada wasnt a Yoruba man.

At the event, the chairman expressed gratitude to Okeke for his leadership and for taking the group to lofty heights since his inauguration as president.

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This occasion would not have been possible without the efforts of Mr. Paulicap Okeke and his team, and for that I express my very sincere appreciation for the efforts you all have put in since you took over the mantle of leadership of IPAC this past January. You have done marvelously well, the chairman noted.

He asserted that it was Okeke that made the night a hugely successful one: In Jesus name, the glory that God has given you will not be destroyed. For remembering your roots, your foundation will never crumble, he prayed.

But what would warrant an Igbo man to enrol in an association comprising only Ijesa men and women, and eventually become president of the group?

Okeke was in Nigeria recently for the Christmas and New Year holidays. And during the trip, he undertook a tour of Abeokuta alongside two of his friends and classmates at the University of Ibadan, this reporter and Ademola Ojolowo. And, over drinks and pepper-soup, shortly after a pulsating tour of the popular Olumo Rock in the Ogun State capital, Okeke explained how he joined IPAC and later got elected as the groups president.

Born and raised in Ilesa, Osun State, Paulicaps parents, Chief Okeke Chumba and Mrs. Janet Okeke-Chumba, are both from Ndeaboh, a community in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State. Okeke and his siblings attended elementary and secondary schools in Ilesa.

But right from his childhood, Okeke discovered that his dad, a very liberal and totally detribalised Nigerian businessman, ensured that his children had a robust, sophisticated and liberal worldview.

My father was a Christian and an Igbo man, yet he enrolled me in a Muslim school. He believed that the school was good in academics and in sports, and it was also close to our house along the General Hospital Road in Ilesa

My dad was living in Bukuru, near Jos, before the civil war. He had his businesses there. During the war, he left for the East and joined the Biafran Army. After the war, he went back to Bukuru and discovered that all he had there before he left was gone. So, my parents relocated to Ilesa and started again from the scratch. But God favoured them and they prospered.
There were ample reasons why Nigerians should look forward to President Muhammadu Buharis New Year broadcast. They had endured one of the worst Christmas/New Year seasons in their history. Workers in most states were virtually starving and despair was written on many faces. The fuel crisis of the past few weeks had made life difficult for millions while herdsmens rampage continued to cause untold agonies in several states. A word of hope was badly needed. In his address, the president dwelt extensively on infrastructure, outlining his administrations planned road projects across the country. In particular, he expressed the arguably incontestable belief that train services would stimulate economic activities in the Federal Capital Territory and other parts of the country and provide residents with an efficient and safe transport system. To this end, he noted that 12 railway sub-stations around the capital, over a 45.2-kilometre route, would serve as a catalyst and a pull factor to the economy of the area, while the Light Rail System would reduce traffic congestion and carbon emission in line with the administrations policy on climate change.

The president also commendably articulated the administrations embrace of the dialogue option in addressing the Niger Delta issue, while expressing the governments determination to tame the spate of kidnapping in the country. As he noted, with regard to rampant cases of kidnapping, we are taking immediate short-term measures to combat this new evil creeping into our societies. Tighter police methods and swift and severe punishment for those proved to be engaged in kidnapping are on the way. With respect to the Niger Delta, government is still engaging responsible leadership of the communities to help in identifying and addressing genuine grievances of the region. Our clean-up programme in collaboration with the United Nations is making satisfactory progress.

However, the address was, on the whole, far from satisfactory. For instance, although the president acknowledged the pains of the people caused by the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit, he failed to outline workable solutions. He said: I am saddened to acknowledge that for many, this Christmas and New Year holidays have been anything but merry and happy. Instead of showing love, companionship and charity, some of our compatriots chose this period to inflict severe hardship on us all by creating unnecessary fuel scarcity across the country. The consequence was that not many could travel and the few who did had to pay exorbitant transport fares. This is unacceptable given the fact that NNPC had taken measures to ensure availability at all depots. 

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It was indeed very curious that, as the Minister of Petroleum, the president failed to anticipate and catch the saboteurs that he complained about in their game. In reality, however, the government and not Shylock fuel marketers was to blame for the fuel crisis. At the onset of the crisis in November, the Federal Executive Council chose to play politics with the pains of Nigerians, ordering the Minister of State to end the crisis in 48 hours instead of taking proactive steps to address the crisis. Again, if Nigerians expected the president to address the herdsmens menace, they were in for a shock. Although the herdsmen-killers, rated fourth worst on the Global Terrorism Index, had committed atrocities going into the New Year, the presidential broadcast did not mention them. Thus, while no right-thinking Nigerian could begrudge him of his offer of thanks to the armed forces, the police, other para-military forces and traditional authorities who are working round the clock to ensure that you and I go about our normal business in reasonable safety, the presidents averment that his government remained determined to protect all Nigerians in line with our election pledge and promises did not ring true. In fact, it sounded spectacularly false.

But it was in his approach to the most pressing issue in the polity, namely the clamour for the restructuring of the country, that the president shocked and disappointed Nigerians the most. He said: I have kept a close watch on the ongoing debate about restructuring. When all the aggregates of nationwide opinions are considered, my firm view is that our problems are more to do with process than structure. We tried the parliamentary system: we jettisoned it. Now there are shrill cries for a return to the parliamentary structure. In older democracies, these systems took centuries to evolve so we cannot expect a copied system to fit neatly our purposes. As events since these pronouncements have shown, the president could not have been more wrong in his analysis. Amid the barrage of criticisms directed at him, leaders from the Southern states and the Middle Belt, representing four out of the six geopolitical zones in the country, took the president to task, wondering why he felt that the nations founding fathers were wrong in their embrace of a system that cohered perfectly with the global best practices in federal states. Eminent personalities from the North-East also took him to task.

Restructuring, in case the president is still in doubt, is not essentially about opting for a parliamentary or presidential system. It is about allowing the zones making up the country to take charge of their own affairs. This was the basis on which the Nigerian nation was run even in colonial times. For failing to acknowledge this fact, President Buharis New Year address can only be regarded as a travesty.
Joseph Ntung Ari is the Director General/Chief Executive of the Industrial Training Fund, an organisation saddled with manpower development and skill acquisition in Nigeria. In this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO, he speak about his background, migration of Nigerian youths, their enslavement in Europe and other African countries and how to address the problem, among other issues. Excerpt:

Who is Sir Joseph Ari and what is your background like?

I have a very humble background, I am a holder of the West African School Certificate, Diploma in Broadcast Journalism, Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Post Graduate Diploma in Management. I also hold a degree in Law (LL B (Hons.), a Masters Degree in Law LLM, and Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA). My work career spans a period of over three decades, covering different spheres of disciplines and human endeavour.

What are your work experiences, before you got to this level?

For my earlier background in journalism, I started as a broadcaster from the scratch at the Plateau Broadcasting Corporation as a news reporter/presenter; had a stint with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Lagos as a newscaster and subsequently moved over to the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) as a News Editor/Caster. My work career took me to the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria,(NICON) where I was the Public Relations Manager, North. From there I came home and was appointed as the Director of Press and Public Affairs to two Governors of Plateau State before another appointment as the Sole Administrator and later General Manager of the Plateau Publishing Company, (PPC) Jos. Thereafter, I was reassigned to the Plateau Radio Television Corporation, (PRTVC), as General Manager. To date, I remain the first Plateau citizen to have headed the two state media outfits at different times. When I was thinking that I had completed the cycle of public service at the state level, I was appointed Permanent Secretary in charge of Government House Administration; a position I held until the Federal Government appointed me as a Deputy Director in the Department of Public Relations, External Affairs and Publicity of the Industrial Training Fund, ITF, a grade A Federal Government Parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

What are the dynamics and innovations you took into the system, especially on the image of Industrial Training Fund since your primary assignment then was to sell ITF to the world?

As the Head of Public Affairs, I introduced the re-branding philosophy, which saw members of staff re-oriented to provide quality service to clients of the Fund. The policy also engaged external stakeholders, thus paving the way for increased support and collaboration for smooth implementation of the ITF Act. I was also at different times the Director of Administration and Human Resource Department, Corporate Planning Department and the Director Business Training Development Department at the ITF Headquarters. Also a onetime Chairman of the Funds Training and Research Committee, (T&RC) of Management. All these before my appointment in 2017 as the Director General of the Industrial Training Fund. I started as a journalist and still cherish this background, I am still a member of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), a Fellow of the Corporate Administration Institute and a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). Recently, I concluded my two terms as a member of the institutes Governing Council.

One of the mandates of the Industrial Training Fund is to make Nigerians, especially the youths to be self reliant in terms of skills acquisition, but the youths are yet to embrace this concept and many of them are migrating to Europe and other African countries to eke out a living and in the process subjecting themselves to a lot of humiliation, what is your organisation doing to stem this development?

Solution to the rising migration of Nigerian youths lies in skill acquisition, we are disturbed by this ugly trend and reports of mass casualties on the high seas, enslavement and other harrowing misfortunes being experienced by Nigerian youths seeking to migrate to Europe. The ITF is appealing to stakeholders to collaborate with ITF in order to equip more Nigerians with skills for employability and entrepreneurship. Equipping Nigerians with relevant skills is not only in line with the Federal Governments efforts to create jobs, but would stem the current wave of migration, especially by the youths, that has culminated to loss of lives and enslavement of thousands of productive Nigerians. I keep wondering why the mass migration despite the fact that several surveys by the ITF and other organisations have revealed that skills gaps exist that were being filled by foreigners. It is with a view to equipping Nigerians with skills to fill these existing vacancies that the ITF has embarked on a number of initiatives and expanded existing programmes to ensure that more Nigerians are empowered with skills to check unemployment and promote entrepreneurship. Some of the programmes include the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP), Passion to Profession, Training on Wheels Using Mobile Training Units, the Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP), the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) as well as the Vulnerable and Indigent Youth Empowerment Programme (VIYEP)amongst several others.

Can you shed more light on the NISDP?

The ITF has trained over 100,000 Nigerians since it commenced, under the current phase that is ongoing in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the ITF is training 11,100 trainees with skills in welding and fabrication, tailoring, garment making, plumbing and pipe fitting.In the last one year alone, over 70,000 Nigerians benefited from these skills acquisition programmes, and all the beneficiaries were given starter packs to start their businesses. About 90 per cent of the beneficiaries were either currently successful entrepreneurs, or earning livelihoods as paid employees according to the monitoring and evaluation of graduates conducted by the ITF. The State Governments, for instance, could collaborate with the ITF towards the establishment of Industrial Skill Training Centres (ISTCs), which will be managed by the ITF on their behalf.

But from all indications ITF seems to have its hands in so many things, what is the core mandate of the Fund?

The mandate of the Industrial Training Fund imposes on us the responsibility to provide and promote the acquisition of skills in order to generate a pool of qualified Nigerians to man all sectors of the national economy. This is the mandate we have been charged with, and have pursued all through the years of our existence.The MSMEs is one sub-sector that has been given critical consideration in this pursuit. Our emphasis on the development of the MSMEs is premised on the belief that they are the engines of growth of any economy  be they developed or developing. Most of the countries that are today considered part of the first world like Brazil, China, India and Singapore to mention but a few, rode on the back of a vibrant and strong MSMEs sub-sector to be what they are today. In most countries, they (MSMEs) are the highest GDP earners and highest employers of labour.

In Nigeria, for instance, it contributes about 48.7 per cent to the GDP and employs over 59 million Nigerians. It is, therefore, a critical sector that could only be ignored at our own peril, especially now that the country is striving to create jobs and combat unemployment, ensure the environment for inclusive growth and generally diversify the economy.

What is the ITF doing in view of the renewed effort by the Federal Government to unlock the MSMEs sub-sector?

I would say that as the leading capacity building institution in Nigeria, we perhaps had realised the importance of the MSMEs earlier, and commenced a number of initiatives that are targeted at driving the sub-sector. For instance, over the last few years, the fund has been implementing a skills acquisition programme, the National Industrial Skills Development Programme that is targeted at equipping Nigerians with skills for employability and entrepreneurship. Since it commenced in 2012, the programme has trained over 90,000 Nigerians. Another phase of the programme is currently on-going and will train 9,000 Nigerians from 18 states of the federation. A key component of the programme is business education  how to manage your business, how to develop business plans, source finance and basic accounting.

In addition, we encourage states that are benefiting from the programme at the given time, to support their indigenes that are participating in the programme with starter packs. Our target is to ensure that our trainees become entrepreneurs rather than employees.

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Similarly, in the ITF reviewed vision; strategies for mandate actualisation, a home grown 4-year plan that management unveiled on my assumption of duty, the development of MSMEs sub-sector occupy a prominent place. The plan has quick wins, medium and long term goals.

These are efforts that the ITF is undertaking. The presidential charge is, therefore, a validation of our efforts and shall spur us to do more.

Can you throw more light on the ITF reviewed vision especially as it affects the MSMEs?

Like I earlier mentioned, the plan has three phases  quick wins, medium term and long term goals. Under the Quick wins, the ITF intends to implement strategies that will boost job creation, reduce poverty and create wealth. Most of them have strong bearing on the MSMEs. In the area of agriculture, which was the mainstay of Nigeria at independence, and a key component of the economic diversification agenda, for instance, the Fund intends to develop the capacity of Nigerian farmers along the agricultural value chains. Specific areas targeted by the plan include fish farming, poultry production, crop production, Agric-mechanisation, agric-business, post-harvest management, manure production, technology and farm management, and water resource management.

To actualise this, the Fund has concluded plans to commence the training of 17,000 unemployed youths using its Industrial Skills Training Centre (ISTC) in Kano and the Centre for Excellence in Jos and undeveloped lands owned by the ITF in states for the establishment of demonstration farms.

This is even as efforts have been stepped up for the acquisition of land in eight States  Anambra, Benue, Kano, Plateau, Gombe, Oyo, Ogun and Niger for the same purpose. The Fund will actively seek collaboration with states Ministries of Agriculture, existing local farmers, farmers associations like Fadama Project for Farm Equipment, Seedlings and Capacity Building and also explore the possibility of financial grants from International and Local Agencies including Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Central Bank of Nigeria and Bank of Industry amongst others. The emphasis of the plan on agriculture is premised on the conviction that to achieve food security and conserve the huge foreign reserve that is currently expended on the importation of food items; the requisite capacity of Nigerians in this area must be developed.

In addition, in view of the soaring unemployment, especially among the youth; a situation that has been made worse recently by the global economic recession, the ITF plans to implement strategies that will directly lead to jobs. Our disposition is informed by the fact that even in the face of this seeming lack of jobs, several surveys, including those conducted by the ITF have indicated that vacancies still exist in certain sectors that are being filled by people other than Nigerians, because we lack the required technical skills. To this end, the Fund intends to develop the skills of Nigerians in the construction sector and the services industry. In the construction sector, the Fund intends to equip Nigerians with skills in these areas: welding and fabrication, reinforcing metal works, domestic electrical installation, carpentry and joinery, tiling, masonry, block and brick making, plumbing and pipe fitting and plaster of paris (POP) making. According to the plan, this year alone, the ITF will train 18,500 Nigerians in the aforementioned vocational trades and crafts areas using ITF Industrial Skills Training Centres and selected satellite centres. To ensure achievement of this ambition, the Fund will enter into a collaboration with agencies and organisations like Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN), Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), Julius Berger Plc and SETRACO amongst others for technical and financial assistance.

For the services industry, the ITF will build the capacity of Nigerians in 17 vocational trade areas including; GSM repairs, generator repairs, computer hardware repairs, software installation, marketing, catering services, event management, automobile and tri-cycle maintenance and repairs, autotronics, tailoring, air conditioning and refrigeration maintenance and repairs, ICT Web Design, Satellite Dish Installation and maintenance, facility maintenance and repairs and interior decoration. In all, 9,250 Nigerians will be equipped with these skills and may end up as key operators in the MSMEs.

In the medium and long term, efforts are in place for the formal commissioning of the Lokoja ISTC, even as plans will be accelerated towards the establishment of 36 Industrial Skills Training Centres in the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), three automotive parts production and training centres will also be established in Badagry, Nnewi and Kaduna and six Centres of Advanced Skills Training for Employment (CASTE) that will be sited in the six geopolitical zones of the country. In addition, three specialised centres in Oil and Gas will also be established. All these projects will be completed between 2018 and 2020.

What do you consider to be the most significant impediment to a vibrant MSMEs sub-sector?

During the inauguration of the National Council on MSMEs, the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, identified access to finances, access to markets, weak business development, dearth of technical skills, lack of infrastructure and insufficient market information as major obstacles to the growth of the sub-sector. From our interactions with operators, the vice president captured the core of their problems. The questions that immediately come to mind are these: Why does it take so long for a potential operator to secure loans in Nigeria for instance, as compared to his colleagues in other countries? Why is it so difficult for him or her to secure financing or even register their business? These challenges the Federal Government has promised to solve, but what I think is the most formidable obstacle is the absence of the right skills by most operators in the sub-sector. Most of them are poorly educated and lack the basic knowledge of running a business and source financing. Some are even bereft of the skills to keep records.

It is with these in mind that all our training, particularly those targeted at the MSMEs have business management elements. Under the NISDP, a three-month skills acquisition programme that is directly targetted at instilling the youths with skills for employability and entrepreneurship, several weeks of the programme are dedicated to teaching trainees how to develop business plans, source financing, basic accounting and general requirements for management of a successful business. To my mind, this is the reason why most graduands of the scheme today are successful entrepreneurs

Under the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP), which the ITF implements in concert with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) for the training of middle level manpower and potential entrepreneurs, business education is also a significant component of the one year training programme. The same elements have been introduced into other short term technical skills acquisition programmes. This is even as we have stepped up our engagement programmes with MSMEs.

All these are geared towards strengthening the sector as we believe that having access to capital and a bankable proposal are not certainties that you will be successful in your business without the requisite technical and managerial skills.

In the light of the Federal Governments emphasis on MSMEs, do we see the ITF doing more?

Yes, beyond the vice presidents charge, there are obvious problems in the national economy that will be helped, or even perhaps be solved by a vibrant MSMEs sub-sector.

Take unemployment as a case in point, as I had earlier mentioned, the MSMEs are the highest employers of labour in the country even in the state they are today, with the ease of financing, better information systems and the right technical skills, they are likely to employ more. The MSMEs are clearly the most veritable vehicle for job creation, national growth and development.

As an institution vested with the mandate to train Nigerians, we have no choice but to do more. We are beholden. In recognition of this, we have concluded plans to expand our existing initiatives, especially those targeted at capacity building for MSMEs.

The National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) will be rolled-out.in all states of the federation and the FCT at the same time. With time, we may also consider the possibility of running several streams within a single phase so that more Nigerians will benefit.

The Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP) will also be expanded to more centres from its present 16 while stepping up our MSMEs advisory services.

In addition, we have concluded arrangement for the commencement of two new initiatives called Women Skills Entrepreneurship Programme (WOSEP) and the Graduates Re-Skilling Programme. The WOSEP will be flagged-off in June, 2018. The Graduation Re-skilling Programme will follow soon.
Flying in a jet isnt as fun as it used to be. We came to that conclusion after having spending too many hours in airports this past week. My husband, Tom, even went as far to say hed drive to Florida next time rather than fly. Im not going to agree with that statement but it made me think.
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Presidential hopeful and head of the Libyan east-based army has told Paris-based Jeune Afrique that the North African country is not yet ready for democracy as the country marches towards elections later this year in a move to end years of instability.

In an interview with the magazine, Haftar endorsed by the Tobruk-based House of Representative (HoR) expressed hope that the UN-backed elections to take place in the second part of the year will bring an end to chaos in the oil-rich North African country, which has been without a central administration since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The UN in September rolled out a year-plan supposed to prepare the ground for elections in late 2018.

Haftar, whose self-proclaimed Libyan National Army controls vast swathes of the Libyan territory, has given his endorsement to the elections. He is believed to take part in the race. The army commander and Gaddafis former close aid has harbored intentions to rule the country as part of his so-called war against extremists and terror.

He warned in the interview that he would not accept rigged elections and would otherwise militarily take control of the country.

The Libyan rogue figure who has opposed the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) sitting in Tripoli, also slammed the GNA leader Faiez Serraj and Gaddafis son Saif al-Islam.

Haftar argued that Serraj is too weak and lenient and has been unable to control militia in Tripoli. The head of the Libyan National Army on the other hand believes that Saif al-Islam is naive to believe that he could win this year elections because he does not have enough supporters.

The Son of the former Libyan ruler, according to his entourage, is ready to make his political comeback after it was rumored he was to replace his father before the collapse of the regime in 2011.

The UN has announced that all Libyans could run for the forthcoming elections. Saif al-Islam was freed on amnesty granted by the HoR after being arrested and locked up in Zintan.

It is unclear why Haftar laid into Gaddafis son. Analysts believe Haftar probably fears Saif al-Islam has become a serious challenger from the same camp.
Fake news. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

During the 2016 campaign, the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign hired a strategic intelligence firm to dig up dirt on Donald Trump. That firm, Fusion GPS, hired a former member of Britains secret intelligence service  one who had spent years spying on Russia  to investigate possible links between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. That spy, Christopher Steele, found quite a few. Months later, the FBI got wind of the resulting dossier; months after that, America learned that the FBI was investigating ties between Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Since then, the Steele dossier has been an object of bipartisan fascination. For the left, the document told a thrilling  and, at times, filthy  story about how Vladimir Putin turned Trump into his puppet (possibly by capitalizing on the moguls rabid urolagnia). For the right, it represented the rotten core of the Russia probe: proof that the presidents political enemies paid some shiftless ex-spy to first write a bunch of lies about Trump  and then to leak those lies to anti-Trump FBI agents, who proceeded to mount a bogus investigation as means of executing a deep-state coup.

Congress decided to look into the matter. Last August, Fusion GPS founder Glenn R. Simpson gave hours of testimony of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In recent weeks, congressional Republicans have argued that the origins of the Steele dossier  and its relationship to the FBIs investigation into Trump  are deeply concerning matters that the American people deserve more information about. House conservatives have insinuated that the Clinton campaign and Democratic members of the FBI might be involved in a conspiracy against the president so far-reaching, it threatens the survival of rule of law in the United States  and that Fusion GPS is at the center of said conspiracy.

And yet, despite encouragement from their Democratic colleagues, Senate Republicans have refused to release Glenn Simpsons sworn testimony on these subjects.

So, on Tuesday, Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein unilaterally released it for them. And now, its easy to see why the GOP preferred demanding answers over providing them  their alt-collusion narrative does not benefit from sunlight.

Here are three bombshell claims in Simpsons newly released testimony:

1. The FBI was looking into Trumps Russia ties before they got wind of the Steele dossier  because a whistle-blower from the candidates inner circle had already snitched to them.

In June 2016, Steeles sources (allegedly) told him that the Kremlin was regularly passing intelligence on Hillary Clinton to the Trump team through then-campaign manager Paul Manafort  and that Putin might be in a position to control Trump through blackmail material (the pee tape). Steele decided to alert the FBI to this information. When he did, according to Simpsons testimony, the bureau believed Chriss information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing, and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization. Simpson suggested that, in his understanding, this source was moved to share information for reasons of conscience.

However, all available evidence suggests that Simpson made a faulty presumption. Recently, the New York Times reported that the FBI first began investigating the Trump campaign after one of its aides, George Papadopoulos, made a startling revelation to Australias top diplomat in Britain during a night of heavy drinking  Russia had political dirt on Hillary Clinton.

If that reporting holds up, then the human source from inside the Trump organization did not know that he was a human source. Its possible, however, that Simpson was referencing a second, intentional informant.

Regardless, the linchpin in the GOPs conspiratorial case against the Russia investigation is that it was triggered by opposition research funded by Hillary Clinton. Its unclear why this would discredit the investigation, even if it were true  multiple members of the Trump campaign, including the presidents son and son-in-law, have admitted to accepting ostensible aid from the Russian government. But we no longer need to quibble about the implications of the GOPs premise, because that premise is false.

2. Steele stopped cooperating with the FBI in late October, out of fear that the bureau was biased in Trumps favor.

On October 31, 2016, the New York Times published a (now infamous) story, Investigating Donald Trump, F.B.I. Sees No Clear Link to Russia. The fact that the FBI would leak a story so useful to the Trump campaign  despite all of the evidence contradicting its premise  led Steele to feel that he didnt know what was happening inside the FBI and there was a concern that the FBI was being manipulated for political ends by the Trump people and that we didnt really understand what was going on. So he stopped dealing with them, according to Simpson.

The GOPs alt-collusion theory rests on the idea that the FBI and mainstream news media are so biased against Trump, theyve made a mountain out of a molehill. Simpsons testimony suggests that, at least when it really mattered (during the 2016 campaign), the opposite was true.

3. Simpsons lawyer claimed that Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work.

The claim has few implications for the GOPs conspiracizing, and its unclear who, or what hes referring to. But the implication seems to be that a source was killed.
Eighty-five-year-old anti-immigrant firebrand Joe Arpaio looked to be ending his political career with a 2016 defeat and then a pardon from Donald Trump. But now hes back. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

When President Trump pardoned former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio last August for criminal contempt of federal court associated with his defiant pursuit of racial and ethnic profiling in harassing Latinos, the main rationalization was that the old demagogue wasnt in a position to do much more damage. He was 85 years old, and had just been knocked out of the sheriffs office he had held onto for 24 years. Why not let him drift away?

But if there was some memo suggesting that Arpaio would go finally go away after his pardon, he didnt read it. Hes now announced his candidacy for the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. senator Jeff Flake. And his platform is pretty simple: Nobodys going to outdo Sheriff Joe in worshiping the man who kept him out of the pen.

Arpaios main offer to Arizonans: He would support Trump unflinchingly, should he win the nomination and defeat the likely Democratic nominee, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema. Thats not insignificant. Both Flake and McCain have a contentious relationship with the president, and he with them.

More to the point, Arpaio could easily make the GOP primary revolve around his signature law-and-order themes, as applied to the immigrants he thinks should be aggressively vetted for possible illegal status, and to the county prisoners he reportedly (and gleefully) treated brutally as object lessons to anyone living in the shadows.

Since he became sheriff in 1993, Arpaio has exploded the number of inmates in the county  not by jailing dangerous criminals but by imprisoning undocumented workers, most of whom are not yet convicted of a crime but are awaiting trial 

Denigration and mental abuse have  reached new and surreal heights. The best example is the number of occasions on which he has marched hundreds of undocumented migrants, chained together, through the streets and the desert  in front of the media. One time, the sheriff forced a group to march wearing only pink underwear and flip-flops. He also formed female chain gangs.

Sheriff Joe will be tough to ignore. And the first poll of the Republican primary since he entered it shows he could even be a competitive candidate despite his age and disrepute. An Arizona pollster found Arpaio running essentially even with presumed candidate U.S. representative Martha McSally, and a bit ahead of announced conservative firebrand Kelli Ward (McSally had 31 percent, Arpaio 29 percent, and Ward 25 percent).

Ward, a former state legislator who ran a credible if unsuccessful challenge to John McCain in 2016, is the candidate most likely to suffer from Arpaios campaign. And McSally, likely the strongest general election candidate, will in theory have a much easier time winning a primary plurality if Arpaio and Ward split the votes of diehard Trump fans. (Theres even a fringier candidate in the race than either Arpaio and Ward: former revenge porn pioneer Craig Brittain, though hes not being treated as a serious prospect.)

It should be kept in mind that given John McCains health, its entirely possible a second Senate seat will be up in November with no incumbent. That could scramble the race for Flakes seat, and perhaps draw a different field.

Arpaios age will be the real wild card in any race he pursues. He would hardly be the first octogenarian with a chance to win a Senate race, in Arizona or elsewhere. McCain was 80 when he was reelected in 2016, and longtime Arizona Democratic senator Carl Hayden won his last term in 1962 at Arpaios own age of 85. No one older than 76, however, has been popularly elected to the Senate for the first time.

One interested observer of the 2018 Senate race who is not taking Sheriff Joes bid seriously is the man he is seeking to replace, Jeff Flake, who quipped: Write about it fast, because it wont last long.

But its probably a mistake to write off Arpaios campaign as a bad joke. Even if he doesnt win, he can affect the dynamics of the midterm cycle in Arizona and elsewhere. And hes probably got about as good a shot at going to the Senate as his hero in the White House had of becoming the 45th president when he announced his candidacy in 2015. That turned out not to be funny at all.
Im pretty sure I never said that. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As part of his ongoing effort to prove hes a very stable genius and like, really smart following the release of a book that portrays him as the exact opposite, on Tuesday afternoon President Trump held a televised meeting with members of Congress on the topic of immigration.

This did not go as planned. The most notable moment was when Trump responded with enthusiasm to Democratic senator Dianne Feinsteins suggestion that they pass a clean bill making the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program permanent. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy quickly jumped in to remind Trump that Republicans dont want to protect DACA recipients without getting some border-security measures (or maybe even a big, beautiful wall) in return.

But thats not what one might take away from the exchange if, for some reason, they opted to read the transcript released by the White House. The Washington Posts Ashley Parker noticed that the line where Trump agrees with Feinsteins proposal  saying, Yeah, I would like to do it  is curiously missing from the document.

When the Post asked about it, a White House official said that any omission from the transcript was unintentional and that the context of the conversation was clear.

Surely, this was all an honest mistake. Video of the meeting is widely available online, so it would be a bit silly to try to mitigate Trumps mistake in the official record. Plus, theres absolutely no evidence that Trump has ever denied remarks that were caught on tape, or tried to convince people that their memory of something they saw with their own two eyes wasnt accurate.
Moon and Trump. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump deserves big credit for talks between South Korea and North Korea this week, South Korean president Moon Jae-in told reporters Wednesday. I want to show my gratitude, he said.

For the first time since December of 2015, representatives of the governments in Pyongyang and Seoul convened on Tuesday. In the border village of Panmunjom, the two governments agreed to resolve future disputes with dialogue, not military action, and North Korea pledged to send a delegation of athletes and a popular cheerleading squad to the Olympics next month in South Korea.

Moons genuflection toward Trump was seen as a strategic move back home, where some have questioned whether he was bending too much to the will of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whose request for talks was interpreted by some as an attempt to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington, D.C.

But Moon signaled Wednesday that he remains united with the U.S. by agreeing with Trumps own assessment for why the talks happened.

With all of the failed experts weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasnt firm, strong and willing to commit our total might against the North. Fools, but talks are a good thing!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018

He also pledged support for the top U.S. goal in the region, the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

The two issues  improving inter-Korean relations and resolving the North Korean nuclear issue  cannot be separated, Moon said. If the North provokes again or does not show sincerity on revising its nuclear problem, the international community will continue to apply even stronger sanctions and pressure.

Moon is no stranger to lavishing Trump with obsequious praise. When Trump visited in November, Moon threw him a banquet and praised his great progress on making America great again.

Given Moons credentials as a former human-rights lawyer who was elected on a pledge to pursue a less confrontational approach with North Korea, its unclear if he really believes his praise of Trump. But that doesnt matter as much as whether it works. And clearly, it does.

Proof came Wednesday when Trump, who has previously called diplomacy a waste of time, told Moon in a phone call that the U.S. could sit down with North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances. In the same call, Moon thanked Trump for his leadership in making the talks possible.
Former White House chief strategist, and now former Breitbart chief, Steve Bannon. Photo: Bill OLeary/The Washington Post via Getty Images

On Tuesday afternoon, Steve Bannon was forced to step down as the executive chairman of Breitbart News, the far-right political website that used propaganda and misinformation to help elect the man who would ultimately finish him off: President Donald Trump.

Bannons departure concluded a dramatic reversal of fortune for the former chief White House strategist who, in less than two years, vaulted from the irrelevant periphery of American political discourse to its white-hot center before deciding to walk out into the wilderness covered in honey and without any allies. In the end, his fall was a spectacle as strange and confusing as his rise.

Ive never seen a self-immolation like this, a longtime friend of Trumps said. Senior White House officials and other sources close to the president who spoke to New York expressed similar astonishment, as well as rage flecked with a kind of amusement: What, exactly, had Bannon been thinking when he told the author Michael Wolff that Donald Trump Jr.s meeting with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in 2016 was treasonous? Or when he allowed Wolff to hang with him and his tribe of dirtbag hangers-on in the West Wing without supervision? Surely he must know that the publication of Wolffs book, Fire and Fury, would spark an all-out war, and possibly provoke the president into questioning his sanity and giving him a nickname like Sloppy Steve. And Bannon had to see that war with the president of the United States would likely result in his total ruin, driving away his financial backers, pet candidates, and remaining White House friends.

Yet, until the very end, Bannon seemed unable to admit hed so thoroughly fucked himself, and unwilling to believe that even his own had turned on him.

When the president saw Stephen Miller, his senior policy adviser and a longtime ally of Bannons, at Camp David over the weekend, he suggested to him that he appear on the Sunday-morning talk-show circuit, according to a senior White House official, and Miller, whos always eager to be on television, agreed. According to the official, on a phone call to discuss talking points for Millers appearances, Miller said he didnt need any help preparing. He doesnt have any reluctance about attacking Bannon, the senior White House official told me, adding that what Miller said reflects what people here think.

Were all doing it because we believe it, the senior White House official said. This book is bullshit.

It was only a few months ago, in late October, that Bannon introduced Miller to the crowd at a Breitbart Embassy cocktail party as the last man behind enemy lines. But when Miller, twitching but steely eyed, said Bannon was an angry, vindictive person on CNN Sunday Morning, it was clear those lines had been redrawn around a new enemy. Bannon regarded Miller as something of a protege, and he proudly took credit for his success; but Miller has acclimated to the ways of Washington, and easily assumed the role of Cronus, who in Greek mythology is the power-hungry son who castrates his father, Uranus, and tosses his balls into the sea.

A second senior White House official said that after Millers TV appearance  which Trump watched live and then tweeted about  the president said nothing about Bannon, whos essentially now dead to him. However, he praised Miller, asking rhetorically, How great was Stephen? When Bannon was pushed out of the White House, it initially seemed unlikely that Miller  or any of Bannons unruly ideological ilk  would survive White House chief of staff John Kellys West Wing makeover. Around the White House, the pair were once so inextricably linked that they were referred to as the Steves. But now, as a longtime friend of Trump said, Miller has cemented his position in the entourage. The source added, Theres no way in the world that Trump dumps him now.

Bannon, 64, arrived at his career as a political operative via a meandering path: seven years in the Navy, M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, Goldman Sachs, a stint working on a space-colonization experiment in Arizona, then off to Hollywood. He wrote and produced movies with anemic success before finding his niche as a right-wing filmmaker and documentarian. Thats how he met Andrew Breitbart; after Breitbarts death, in 2012, Bannon became Breitbarts executive chairman. But Bannon wouldnt become famous  even in mainstream political circles  until the 2016 election. Overnight, it seemed, his association with Trump turned him into a household name, a figure better known than perhaps any other political staffer in any comparable position on any other presidential campaign.

In a statement published by Breitbart on Tuesday after news of his exit was first reported by the New York Times, Bannon said, Im proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building a world-class news platform. Larry Solov, Breitbarts CEO, called Bannon a valued part of our legacy whose contributions we will always be grateful for.

Even from the earliest days of the administration, Bannons relationship with Trump was doomed. That era was plagued by White House infighting that spilled out into the press; too few accomplishments, for which Bannon was partly blamed; and too much media attention and credit for the election directed Bannons way.

When he left the White House in August and announced plans to assemble a far-right political operation, the perception of Bannons political importance swelled while the presidents patience with his status diminished  even though Trump enjoyed the cat-and-mouse dynamic it created between the Executive branch and the Establishment Republican leadership in Congress. In public statements, the two men seemed to passive-aggressively talk past each other; during his speeches, Bannon stressed that when he signed onto Trumps campaign, he was trailing Hillary Clinton in the polls.

Roy Moores defeat in the mid-December Alabama special election  which embarrassed Trump, who had sided with Bannon by endorsing Moore, despite allegations that Moore had sexually abused teenage girls  was a breaking point for the president. Still, he and Bannon spoke just before Christmas, their relationship having weathered bigger conflicts than the results of someone elses election. But the publication of Fire and Fury pushed Trump over the edge.

He is still furious, the longtime friend of the president said. He has a scorched-earth policy on Bannon.
Eddie Mulholland - WPA Pool/Getty Images(LONDON) -- Duchess Kate, pregnant with her third child, was met by flowers and singing while visiting a school today in Feltham, a suburb of London.



Kate, who celebrated her 36th birthday Tuesday, wore a Seraphine dress over her baby bump as she joined some of the nursery school children in a painting activity.



The school Kate visited, Reach Academy, works in partnership with Place2Be, the mental health charity for which Kate has been royal patron since 2013.



Reach Academy is a college-preparatory school founded on the principles that all students, regardless of their backgrounds or means, can achieve great things and live productive lives.



Kate took a brief tour of the school before sitting down with students, parents and administrators to discuss emotional well-being and support programs, including those for young people struggling with their sexuality in the LGBT community. The decision to highlight programs that support resources for the LGBT community is another example of the young royals modernizing the monarchy.



Kate's mother-in-law, the late Princess Diana, was the first member of the royal family to offer support to the gay community when she helped destigmatize the misconceptions surrounding AIDS and HIV in the gay community.



Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, have vowed to carry on her legacy through their work with the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.



William, 35, has taken over the patronage of Centrepoint, a homeless charity supported by Diana. William is also today visiting Royal Marsden Hospital, a London hospital where he succeeded his mother as president.



Harry, 33, has carried on his mothers work by founding Sentabale, a charity devoted to the vulnerable children of Lesotho and Botswana, many of whom struggle with HIV/AIDS. In December, Harry used his first official royal event with his fiancee, Meghan Markle, to introduce her to the work of the Terrence Higgins Trust, an HIV/AIDS charity with which Diana was closely associated.



Kates visit to Reach Academy today came after a milestone for her daughter, Princess Charlotte.

Kate took Charlotte, 2, on Monday to her first day of nursery school. Kensington Palace later shared new photographs of the toddler shot by Kate.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Mama said thered be days like this. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Steve Bannon, who returned to run Breitbart News after a stint as White House chief strategist last year, said on Tuesday that he was stepping down from his post as the outlets executive chairman.

The move comes as he continues to suffer the fallout from Michael Wolffs explosive book, Fire and Fury, in which Bannon harshly disparaged several members of the presidents inner circle, including Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner.

Since excerpts of the book were published, President Trump and his advisers have all but excommunicated the erstwhile adviser, who helped make Breitbart News a right-wing powerhouse before the 2016 election, then steered Trump to the presidency as head of his campaign.

On Sunday, Bannon offered a quasi-apology for his statements, but it does not seem to have stopped the bleeding. Trump has been asking allies to choose between him and Bannon, and the choice among most has been clear.

The New York Times reports that Bannons departure was forced by Rebekah Mercer, a Republican megadonor whose investment in Breitbart gave her a seat on the board. Bannon liquidated his equity stake in the operation when he left for the White House, leaving him with a greatly diminished say in the matter.

In an article on Breitbart News, the site announced that Bannon and Breitbart will work together on a smooth and orderly transition.
Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

North and South Koreans got together this week to tell Washington, ever so politely, to hold off on the nuclear apocalypse while they get in some ice-skating first. And President Trump, apparently, told South Koreas President Moon that he absolutely was not thinking of a preventive attack on the North  but that he would consider meeting with Kim Jong-un.

But lest you fear that you will have no nuclear drama to go with your ice-skating, Iran has got your back. As the Iranian people continue to stage protests against their government, Washington has manufactured yet more drama with another series of kill the Iran deal deadlines hitting this Friday.

When last we left the debate over the Obama administrations deal with Iran and other major powers to halt Irans nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, President Trump had decertified the deal but not actually moved to reinstate the sanctions that would kill it and give Iran the green light to restart a nuclear-weapons program. Instead, he challenged Congress to come up with a new package of sanctions  and a new procedure to decide whether or not Iran is in compliance with the 2015 deal.

Since then, 90 days have ticked by. Congress does not have a piece of legislation ready, and so the law saying the president must certify every three months that Iran is in compliance with the deal is still in force. Just as was the case three months ago, U.S. and international observers agree Iran is meeting the letter of the deal. Just as was the case three months ago, observers across the political spectrum agree that Iran is supporting extremist groups and destabilizing U.S. allies across the Middle East, from Yemen to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. And just as was the case three months ago, even national-security observers who disliked the nuclear deal when it was signed think that tearing it up now doesnt help address those other regional security challenges.

Of course, Trump still hates the deal.

But one major thing has changed  massive, spontaneous popular protests are continuing to reverberate across Iran. Many of the demonstrators seem to share Washingtons negative view of Irans regional security interventions. Leave Syria and Think of Us was a popular protest sign. However, the demonstrators dont seem to align with Irans prior protest movements, led by urban progressives. Both reformers and conservatives have tried to take advantage of the protests to put more blame on the current government. That government had promised big improvements in the lives of everyday Iranians, improvements it was hoping to pay for through sanctions relief under the nuclear deal.

Although Washington experts have spent a fair amount of time on Twitter fighting about what the protests mean, and what the U.S. should do in response, literally no one has changed his or her opinion about the Iran deal in response to the protests. The conservatives who opposed it before are now sure that getting rid of it could be the blow that brings down the regime. The liberals who favored it believe it is critical to staving off war, regardless of what social change is raging. Perhaps most interesting is that the world leaders who initially opposed it, then accepted it grudgingly as a bulwark of stability still do.

All those signs seem to point to the last 90 days being the new normal. The deal is decertified but still operating. The president can make a fiery speech on Friday denouncing Irans treatment of protesters and its shipment of weapons to Hezbollah and leave every single provision in place. And perhaps  as the AP now reports  he will recertify the deal after doing so. So dont worry about the drama abating  in 90 days well likely get to play the same suspenseful guessing game again.

However, it seems worth learning from the Iranian protesters, brave men and even braver women who didnt listen to the experts and felt they had nothing left to lose. The history of popular uprisings in the last decade should tell us never to count their energy out  and never to assume that we have any idea how, or under whom, popular energy will be channeled. With the Iranian government under siege, and the hardest-line forces one of the possible winners from internal unrest, now is the worst time to send mixed signals, contradictory messages, or frenzied, inflammatory tweets. Getting rid of the 90-day reviews with the deal clearly in place would send an all-too-rare unified message from Washington to Iranians: Americans dont want your government to be spending its resources on nuclear weapons. And were not going to give the bellicose forces in your society an excuse to ramp nuclear spending back up.
Michael Cohen marked the anniversary of the dossiers release with a pair of lawsuits. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

One year ago, CNN reported that President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump had been briefed on allegations that the Russians have compromising information on the latter. A short time later, BuzzFeed published the source of those claims  a 35-page dossier compiled by a former member of Britains secret intelligence service  and the pee tape entered the public imagination.

To mark the anniversary of BuzzFeeds controversial decision to publish the dossier in full, Ben Smith, the sites editor-in-chief, penned a New York Times op-ed titled, Im Proud We Published the Trump-Russia Dossier. A year of government inquiries and blockbuster journalism has made clear that the dossier is unquestionably real news, Smith wrote, arguing that putting forth the unverified document in full gave Americans a far better understanding of the Russia probe and the actions of elected officials.

For all these reasons, the chorus of criticism of our decision to publish has faded. I havent had a single person approach me to say, I wish I hadnt read the dossier, and wish I had less insight into the forces at play in America. Do you feel that way? Does anyone?

The answer came a few hours later, when President Trumps personal attorney, Michael Cohen, announced that he had filed a defamation suit against BuzzFeed, and a separate suit against Fusion GPS, the political intelligence firm that commissioned the dossier. Both suits allege that the dossier contains false and defamatory claims that resulted in harm to Cohens personal and professional reputation, current business interests, and the impairment of business opportunities.

Enough is enough of the #fake #RussianDossier. Just filed a defamation action against @BuzzFeedNews for publishing the lie filled document on @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and me!  Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) January 10, 2018

Cohen has denied the dossiers claim that he met with Russian operatives in Europe, and provided his passport to BuzzFeed in May 2017 in an attempt to dispel the accusations.

It will be proven that I had no involvement in this Russian collusion conspiracy, Cohen told Bloomberg on Tuesday. My name was included only because of my proximity to the president.

BuzzFeed posted the dossier with a note that its allegations are unverified, and the report contains errors. But in the suit filed in New York State court, Cohen claims, Even though Defendant Buzzfeed expressly acknowledged the unverified (and potentially unverifiable) nature of the Dossiers allegations, Defendant BuzzFeed published the un-redacted Dossier and the Article anyway  without attempting to determine the veracity of these reports with Plaintiff himself.

The dossier is, and continues to be, the subject of active investigations by Congress and intelligence agencies, BuzzFeed said in a statement. It was presented to two successive presidents, and has been described in detail by news outlets around the world. Its interest to the public is obvious. This is not the first time Trumps personal lawyer has attacked the free press, and we look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court.

Fusion GPS, which was hired by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee to dig up dirt on Trump, was hit with a federal suit seeking $100 million in damages. The suit alleged that the firm and its founder, Glenn Simpson, recklessly placed [the dossier] beyond their control and allowed it to fall into the hands of media devoted to breaking news on the hottest subject of the day: the Trump candidacy.

Cohens lawsuit is likely to add fuel to Republican efforts to discredit the Russia investigations, though recent reports suggest the dossier isnt what sparked the FBIs interest in Trumps Russia ties. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that was leaked on Tuesday by Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein, Simpson suggested a whistle-blower from the Trump campaign went to the feds (though he may have been referring to adviser George Papadopouloss accidental drunken admissions), and his lawyer claimed, Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier.
Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

In the hope of proving he is not the semiliterate ignoramus numerous media have depicted him to be, Donald Trump held a televised meeting with members of Congress to discuss immigration. It was, the White House told a friendly reporter, the presidents very own idea:

A White House official tells me keeping the press in the room for nearly the entire immigration summit was today 'all the president's idea. This is the president we see every day. He works ridiculously hard, he's laser-focused on getting results, and he knows how to lead people." https://t.co/bbFLv0Lc7j  David Martosko (@dmartosko) January 9, 2018

In some, very superficial aspects, the stunt fulfilled Trumps goals. He was depicted at a table, meeting with important people and talking politics while wearing a tie, as opposed to in bed with a cheeseburger watching cable-news hits. But looking even slightly below the surface imagery, the meeting instead confirmed the very idea Trump had set out to refute. Michael Wolff had reported that Mitch McConnell said of the president, Hell sign anything we put in front of him. (The line, intentionally or not, echoes a joke about Will Ferrells clueless, pompous Ron Burgundy character: Anything you put on that prompter, Burgundy will read.)

During the meeting, Trump put on full display his lack of interest in, or understanding of, public policy. The meeting centered on Trumps signature policy issue, immigration, which his staff no doubt considered safe. (Imagine if they had to talk about something like health care.) At one point, Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein proposes that they pass a bill to formalize deferred action for child arrivals (DACA). Trump gives his enthusiastic ascent:

Here's the incredible moment where Trump initially agrees to Feinstein's suggestion that they do a clean DACA bill, before being corrected by Republicans about what she was actually suggesting. pic.twitter.com/RaXAQAi8JF  David Mack (@davidmackau) January 9, 2018

This promise so alarms his fellow Republicans that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is forced to interject with an explanation that, actually, Trump doesnt like this idea at all.

At another point, Trump echoes McConnells assessment by saying he will sign anything they put before him:

Trump says he will sign ANY immigration agreement Congress gives him



"I'm not going to say 'oh gee I want this or I want that' I will be signing it" pic.twitter.com/M8NccfFYsx  Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) January 9, 2018

When this group comes back with an agreement  Im signing it, he promises. I will be signing it. Im not gonna say, Oh, gee, I want this or I want that. Ill be signing it. Because I have a lot of confidence in the people in this room that theyll be coming back with something really good.

Of course, Trump has made deals like this before. He cut an agreement with Democratic leaders to help the Dreamers last fall. He made an agreement with activists in 2013. Trump wants to be liked, and he fundamentally fails to understand sources of substantive disagreement between the parties. Trump may occasionally appear to be trans-ideological, but in fact he is sub-ideological. His moments of flexibility occur on those occasions when he is in the room with a moderate or a liberal, and lacks the contextual understanding to identify what about their proposals he doesnt agree with.

Every time something like this happens, Trumps interlocutors assume they have won him over to a new, moderate stance. This pattern has happened on immigration, health care, the Paris climate agreement  any time he listens to liberals pitching a bipartisan deal, it sounds good to him. The problem is that he quickly returns back to orthodox conservatism as soon as he is ensconced with his right-wing advisers. You cant pivot if you dont understand that you changed your stance in the first place.
If Trump has his way, Congress could put the pork back into the barrel with spending earmarks. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

In a strange televised bipartisan discussion yesterday that was apparently designed to rebut reports that the president is adrift in swirling seas without a compass or a paddle, Trump earned mixed reviews for his handling of sensitive immigration policy disputes. But for Republicans and particularly the hard-core conservative Republicans who mostly idolize him these days, there was one especially awkward moment when the author of The Art of the Deal waxed nostalgic about the good old days when bipartisanship could be encouraged by the political wealth-sharing device of congressional earmarks. Fox News reported the incident with ill-concealed horror:

Our system lends itself to not getting things done, and I hear so much about earmarks  the old earmark system  how there was a great friendliness when you had earmarks, the president said during a White House meeting on immigration attended by multiple lawmakers.

Earmarks would use taxpayers money to fund projects in lawmakers districts without the need for the competitive process as required for other federal spending.

The practice was banned in 2011 by House Republicans, who said at the time that it corrupts lawmakers and encourages them to support bad legislation just so they could add earmarks and fund projects back at home.

Indeed: for the tea-party movement, earmarks became one of the most popular explanations for how conservatives came to Washington determined to clean up and shrink Big Government, and instead became ensnared in efforts to win reelection by bringing home the bacon. These little political credit trophies were central to what candidate Trump called the Swamp during his 2016 campaign.

Now anybody paying close attention to Washington in the Trump era  with its rampant lobbyists capturing the regulatory structure and rewriting the tax code, augmented by a heavy corporate presence in the administration  will hardly be surprised to discover that the president likes earmarks, too. He clearly thinks Democrats can be lured into cooperating with his agenda if they can share in the big barbecue of associated programs and projects. But his open, public embrace is a real scandal for the ideological commissars of the right.

Heritage Action chief executive Michael Needham said it is nearly unthinkable that Trump would consider reinstating one of the most egregious examples of cronyism on Capitol Hill.

If Republicans bring back earmarks, then it virtually guarantees that they will lose the House, said Club for Growth president David McIntosh, a former congressman from Indiana. Bringing back earmarks is the antithesis of draining the swamp.

Trouble is, Trumps warm praise for earmarks arose just as the traditional guardians of the Swamp, congressional appropriators, are making an effort to bring back the practice.

Trumps two-minute tribute to earmarks gave a boost to a group of Republicans, mainly appropriators who are charged with writing spending bills, who have been lobbying [Speaker Paul] Ryan and other GOP leaders for their restoration  albeit in limited form  for more than a year 

After the appropriators pushed for a change to party rules in late 2016, Ryan prevailed on them to withdraw the effort, arguing it would be unwise for Republicans to bring back earmarks immediately after a drain the swamp election. Instead, he promised the issue would be studied and considered at a later date.

Thanks to Trump, the later date could arrive much sooner. Sometimes its useful to have a party leader who feels no compunction to maintain consistency, or doesnt understand the realities behind his slogans from the get-go.
President Trump meeting with Congress for the cameras yesterday. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Donald Trumps televised See I Am Too a Real President meeting yesterday largely succeeded in its immediate goal: News coverage showed Trump in the act of president-ing with the air of a man who is, if not a stable genius, at least compos mentis. And yet the longer-term goal, to craft an immigration deal, remains elusive. One reason is that the parties have wide substantive policy disagreements. Another is that Democrats have no incentive to make bipartisan deals, which will help Trumps popularity (and therefore hurt Democrats in the midterm elections). But there is also yet another, more unusual reason: Trump is not actually capable of carrying out the role he performed on-camera.

Trump was not pretending when he expressed a desire to make a deal. He truly will sign anything Congress puts in front of him. The Republican Partys de-personing of Steve Bannon reveals how shallow his commitment to nationalist ideology truly runs. Trump likes to talk about the wall and the alleged criminality of undocumented immigrants because it plays well on the stump, but his overwhelming impulse is to cater to whatever audience has his momentary attention.

Trump actually does seem to care about winning bipartisan approval. A little-noticed theme of his interview with Michael Schmidt last month was a longing for Democratic legislative partners. At times he berated Democrats for failing to deal with Trump in a way Trump considered appropriately conciliatory:

[Manchin] talks. But he doesnt do anything. He doesnt do. Hey, lets get together, lets do bipartisan. I say, Good, lets go. Then you dont hear from him again. I like Joe. You know, its like hes the great centrist. But hes really not a centrist. And I think the people of West Virginia will see that. He not a centrist.

At other times, he implored Democrats to join him and predicted they would:

Had they asked, Lets do a bipartisan, Michael, I would have done bipartisan. I would absolutely have done bipartisan 

Now, in my opinion, they should come to me on infrastructure. They should come to me, which they have come to me, on DACA. We are working  Were trying to something about it. And they should definitely come to me on health care. Because we can do bipartisan health care. We can do bipartisan infrastructure. And we can do bipartisan DACA.

SCHMIDT: What are you willing to do on infrastructure? How far are you willing to go? How much money?

TRUMP: I actually think we can get as many Democrat votes as we have Republican 

But the Democrats should come to a bipartisan bill. And we can fix it. We can fix it. We can make a great health care plan. Not Obamacare, which was a bad plan. We can make a great health care plan through bipartisanship. We can do a great infrastructure plan through bipartisanship. And we can do on immigration, and DACA in particular, we can do something thats terrific through bipartisanship.

This does not appear to be mere chatter. Trump apparently recognizes that unified Democratic opposition has taken a toll on his popularity and craves the opportunity to establish his relevance as a bipartisan deal-maker. Yet his ability to carry this off is severely hampered by his allergy to policy detail. It is not only complex or unfamiliar issues like health care that have vexed Trump. Even his policy wheelhouse has proved beyond his command as a policy-maker.

The Washington Post recently reported that Trump has expressed his opposition to funding infrastructure through public-private partnerships. This is a subject Trump has some experience with through his business career, and he is absolutely correct: Giving builders public incentives has not produced the kinds of infrastructure voters want. He doesnt think they will work, a source explains.

And yet, the Trump administration remains in favor of these partnerships anyway. Gary Cohn publicly endorsed public-private partnerships as the way to create more infrastructure. A White House press secretary tells the Post: The Presidents infrastructure vision is very clear and is based around 2 main goals: leveraging federal funds as efficiently as possible in order to generate over $1 trillion in infrastructure investment and expediting the burdensome and lengthy permitting process.

This is quite remarkable. Trump has apparently been overruled by his own administration. The president is one figure jostling for influence over Trump-administration policy, but he has lost out.

The same thing has happened on immigration. Anita Kumar has a detailed report quoting numerous Republican sources on the ways Stephen Miller, the arch-restrictionist White House aide, has subverted deals to protect Dreamers. Its no secret that hes an obstacle to getting anything done on immigration, one Republican House member tells Kumar. The same dynamic occurred last fall, when Trump struck a deal with Democratic leaders, only for the deal to collapse when Miller got involved.

If Miller keeps undermining the deals Trump wants to make, why cant Trump just ignore him? The unstated subtext of the stories blaming Miller is that Trump doesnt understand the policy well enough to do that. He can make a deal with Chuck and Nancy, and it will sound good to him, but then Miller will get face time with Trump, and whatever Miller says will sound good to him, too. As Kumar notes, Millers close relationship to the president, which spans the campaign and transition, means [Republicans] are unlikely to do or say anything to get him out of the negotiations.

Its hard to make a deal with a president if the president doesnt understand anything about the deal beyond his belief that deals are good.
Aaron Baguma

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today dropped murder charges against Aaron Baguma, the former Kampala Central Police Station (CPS) boss.

Baguma and eight others are charged with the murder of businesswoman Donah Betty Katushabe in 2015 and were committed to the High court for trial two years ago.

The case had come up today for mention before justice Flavia Anglin Senoga. But principal state attorney Alex Micheal Ojok, on behalf of the DPP, told court that his boss had decided to drop all charges preferred against Baguma who was in the dock together with his co-accused.

Only Bagumas charges were dropped. The others are businessman Mohammed Ssebuwufu, Godfrey Kayiza alias Godi, Shaban Odutu alias Golola, Philip Mirambe, Stephen Lwanga, Paul Tasingika, Yoweri Kitayimbwa and Damaseni Sentongo. They are also facing charges of aggravated robbery and kidnap with intent to murder.

Citing a communication of the DPP dated December 21, 2017, Ojok said that using his powers buttressed in Article 120 (3) of the Constitution, Mike Chibita, the DPP, had decided to discontinue the charges against Baguma.

Article 120 allows the DPP to discontinue at any stage before judgment is delivered, any criminal proceedings to which this article relates, instituted by himself or herself or any other person or authority.

Ojok didnt explain why it was only Baguma who had been absolved of any wrongdoing. He, however, cited section 134 of the Trial and Indictment Act to which again emphasizes the powers of the DPP to discontinue criminal trials as and when he deems it fit.

Justice Senoga had no option but to let go of Baguma, who was casually dressed in a checkered shirt and jeans.

Basing on Nolle prosequi signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions on December 21, 2017, Justice Senoga ruled, charges against Aaron Baguma have been discontinued.

When contacted to give details as to why Baguma had been set free, Chibita, a former High court judge, said he was too engaged to comment.

EVIDENCE

According to the summary of the case prepared by the DPP, Katushabe purchased a car from Ssebuwufu with a pending balance of Shs 9 million.

After the deceased failed to pay the balance on time, Ssebuwufu instructed Tasingika, a crime preventer, to report a case of theft of the car at CPS.

On 21/10/2015, at around 7am, accused five (Tasingika) in the company of three police officers from CPS left for Bwebajja along Entebbe road where the deceased used to reside to effect her arrest, the case summary reads.

The accused booked at Bwebajja police station under SD reference 03/21/10/15 at 7:29am and then proceeded to Katushabes residence from where they arrested her.

Katushabe was driven to Kampala in a Toyota Premio registration number UAP 155T, which took her straight to Ssebuwufus Pine car bond in Nakasero, instead of CPS.

Here, a stones throw away from CPS, Tasingika handed Katushabe over to Ssebuwufu in the presence of Kayiza, Mirambe, Lwanga, Kitayimbwa, Sentongo and one Sam Kiwanuka alias Damage who is still at large.

Soon after the police officers left, the DPP claims that Ssebuwufu started assaulting Katushabe using a panga, with which he hit her on the back and thighs while saying: If you dont pay the money, you are going to die.

Ssebuwufu was joined by others to beat Katushabe and tear her clothes, the DPP says. The deceased was at one point asked to call her sister to pay up and get her off the hook.

While still talking to her sister, Accused One (Ssebuwufu), took the phone away from the deceased, the DPP says, and told the deceaseds sister that if they wanted her alive, they should pay his money, and he gave her the telephone number of accused five (Tasingika) where the money was to be deposited by way of mobile money.

This, the DPP stated, happened while the deceased was handcuffed. At around 3pm, Baguma arrived at the bond in the company of other police officers aboard a police pickup truck and went straight to Ssebuwufus office. There, he found Katushabe in confinement, tortured.

Baguma went to Accused Ones office where the two held a discussion for about 15 minutes and was seen going out in the company of Accused One [Ssebuwufu] to Accused Ones motor vehicle, where Accused One handed Accused Eight [Baguma] an unascertained sum of money, the DPP states.

Before leaving, Baguma told Ssebuwufu to handle the Katushabe issue and call him in case of anything.

On Bagumas way out of the office, the deceased pleaded with him, being a police officer, not to leave her behind lest Accused One [Ssebuwufu] and his co-accused would kill her, but Baguma did not heed to the deceaseds plea, the DPP states.

Soon after Bagumas departure, the DPP further states, Ssebuwufu and his co-accused became even wilder as they continued to batter Katushabe, who later died from wounds obtained.

The trial of the eight, without Baguma, will start on February 5, 2017, Justice Senoga indicated.

dkiyonga@observer.ug
Skeptics predicted the death of newspapers with the advent of new and social media.

The optimists countered this by reminding them that when radio and later television were invented, similar predictions were made for the newspapers, but it never happened.

Newspapers have grown along with all other forms of media and now they are competing with new media. Perhaps what is more accurate about these predictions is the sure death of quality of information being sent out as news.

We must first agree, social media and its other presences are not journalism, even though some experts have labeled it citizen journalism. Journalism is about context.

Journalism is about depth, research, and responsibility. Newspapers can offer their readers quality information, no matter the subject. Information of quality is the signature mark of a great newspaper. And this may explain why quality is missing.

Some of the sprouting news sites lack defined genres and established editorial policies. So, social media is more about spewing out information as it appears. Some people publish fabricated stories posing as serious stories.

The urge to be the first to publish certain information has compromised quality. There is no context and there are no efforts to cross-check. At times, it is pure gossip or a pure lie. Their information is dubious and you rely on it at your own peril.

But also along the way, some people have decided to become fulltime cyber journalists without making an effort to do what a traditional journalist does: being balanced and endeavoring to be fair and objective in reporting. They have news websites and they try to break the news. Some advertisers have warmed up to new media.

However, in an effort to attract traffic to these online news outlets, reporters have breached various ethics and codes that govern journalists.

Last week, campuseyes.ug ran a story (NBS TV negotiating to buy Observer newspaper in billion shillings deal, January 3, 2018) about The Observer Media Limited (OML), the publishers of The Observer newspaper.

In this story, they alleged that New Media, owners of NBS TV, were in advanced stages of taking over The Observer. They claimed it was no longer news anymore, all that is left is for shareholders of Observer Media to put pen to paper accepting to be acquired by NBS TV under its Next Media Group.

And according to them, this would make Next Media one of Ugandas leading media groups. The story stated that they got their information from a reliable source.

What is certain is that the so-called reliable authority was not from OML because, in the first place, there was no meeting concerning the sale of shares that was ever held between Next Media and the shareholders of OML.

They even claimed that the deal would be sealed on March 16, 2018. They further speculated that NBS would be moving its headquarters to Tagore Crescent in Kamwokya!

In the aftermath of this story, I was inundated with WhatsApp messages and phone calls of people trying to find out whether OML had been sold to Next Media.

I tried to explain to doubting Thomases that everything was still intact. Even some members of staff could not believe my explanations. I was expecting campuseye.ug to call and confirm or clarify what their reliable source had told them. I have not received such calls or emails from them.

The story lacked the voice of Next Media and OML. Even when we issued a statement on our website (www.observer.ug) denying the story in its entirety, Campuseye did not make any efforts to clarify or contact us for a comment.

So, what kind of journalism did Campseye feed its readers with? That is the folly of new media as opposed to traditional media. The quality of journalism has been affected as much as the public has become too lazy to be inquisitive.

For those who might not have read the statement from our website, the position is that there is no such a thing as The Observer being taken over on March 16, 2018.

The writer was such a creative one in that he conjured up quotes from fictitious directors who he alleged were opposed to the sale but the majority and the need for money had made them accept the NBS deal wholesomely.

The OML is still as intact as it has been for the last 13 years. So, the copy you are reading today is still churned out by the same hands.

The author is the business development director at The Observer Media Limited.
At least 10 people were last week arrested by a combined team of Kampala Capital City Authority and Uganda National Bureau of Standards officials following reports that they were using potentially dangerous chemicals to preserve meat and fish on sale.

The issue was immediately picked up on social media with many Ugandans expressing concern about the quality of food they are consuming.

Many people are particularly concerned about the alleged use of formalin, a chemical used in the preservation of dead bodies, to drive away flies in markets across the country.

Some of the suspects have been convicted after they pleaded guilty to these offences. Yet this is not the first time such reports have come up and may not be the last.

In November, similar reports surfaced to the effect that some chemicals were being used to catch grasshoppers (nsenene). Typically, the concerned authorities did not pick this matter up for serious investigation.

It is, indeed, shocking that all this long, authorities have not made it a point to consistently clamp down on unscrupulous food sellers or those who operate in terribly unhygienic places.

Meat, fish and nsenene aside, most foods consumed in Ugandan homes pass through many dirty hands, surfaces and processes.

Cases of contaminated milk are well documented. Tomatoes are doused in chemicals to make them last longer on the shelves. Beans, peas, maize and groundnuts are often treated with unspecified chemicals to drive away weevils and termites.

Fruits are openly displayed on dirty surfaces for sale. Animals for slaughter are transported in the most inhumane conditions, compromising the meat quality in the process. Meanwhile, on the farms, chicken and livestock are subjected to all types of antibiotics to keep diseases at bay.

While some of these chemicals might be harmless, truth is we dont know the short, medium and long-term effect they might have on our health. The food business is too important to be left in the hands of farmers and traders alone, without tight regulation and supervision.

To bear fruit, the recent efforts of KCCA and UNBS should be maintained and amplified. Let this crackdown not be a one-off, but the beginning of a conversation on how we can clean up our food industry for the good of our heath.
I must confess I am not social media savvy. I know little about its full functioning.

Over the years, I have maintained a consistent but modest presence on social media, primarily Facebook. From the outset, I made a deliberate choice to shun WhatsApp, for which I have been universally condemned, although I am not sure exactly what I miss.

A few people have admonished me for not replying their WhatsApp messages, never mind I have no WhatsApp account! I have a Twitter account which I rarely use, and I take months to log into my LinkedIn account. I only hear of Instagram, and I bet there must be innumerable others I dont know about.

The social media bang has been the high point of easily the most important revolution in modern times, the information-technological breakthrough, kick-started by the Internet in the 1970s. This invention is only rivalled by the industrial revolution, 200 years ago, and represents just what human ingenuity is capable of in free environments.

The power of social media, and the technological revolution more generally, cannot be overstated. From democratising the flow of information and hugely reducing the costs of communication, to connecting communities and uniting diverse social groups, social media has been truly revolutionary.

That much is clear. What is not very apparent is the insidious side of social media, especially the extent to which it facilitates sideshows that drive attention away from real issues.

Consider the buzz last week over remarks attributed to Winnie Byanyima, wife to opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye. Byanyima is no stranger to controversy. She has a knack for stirring up controversy through snide and sometimes cynical comments.

In recent years, she has been a vigorous member of the Ugandan Twitter-club. So, last week she called out the practice of women kneeling to greet or for other social gestures.

Even for a mild user of social media in me, I could feel the roof coming down as guns blazed against Byanyima. For starters, Byanyimas caustic comments against kneeling, claiming it humiliates women, were totally misguided.

I have been married for eight years, and the woman who became my wife had been my girlfriend for seven years. During this combined 15 years of love and friendship, she has never knelt to greet me.

But she kneels to greet her mother and my mother because she feels obliged to kneel to greet these two (fellow women) who are our parents. If she wanted to kneel to greet me, that would be her choice; that she doesnt, is of no consequence and hardly ever an issue in our relationship.

For the record, my wife is a Muganda and I am a Mugisu, two ethnic groups whose cultural practices and value systems overlap somewhat except that my in-laws, the Baganda, dread our signature cultural practice of male circumcision.

When she introduced me to her parents as we officially got married, I knelt to request her parents to accept me as their new son. Ordinarily, a Mugisu man does not kneel. Was I humiliated the day I knelt before my in-laws?

Or is my wife humiliated when she kneels to greet my mother?

That Ugandans could spend days arguing whether or not kneeling is a bad thing speaks volumes of just how social media can be utterly diversionary and downright corrosive. Because the mediums are there for easy access and for instant use, we have been driven into frenzies of pettiness and animated but totally unhelpful debates over non-issues.

Our society has enormous social problems. Kneeling is not one of them, nor is it symptomatic of any particularly fundamental problem that we need to confront. Winnie Byanyima, of all people, is well-positioned to know this. How about Byanyima calls out and mobilizes public fury against blatant nepotism that is all over the Ugandan public sector?

The way we relate and communicate shapes the habits we imbibe and the mores we embrace. In this age of social media, we seem to be evolving the knack for jumping to frivolous debates and getting worked up over petty subjects.

By contrast, when issues of substance come to the fore, again social media provides a convenient option of talking much but doing little, if nothing. My experience in the recent years in collective engagements has taught me some hard lessons: talk on social media is cheap and by many, but real public-good work out there is onerous and only for a few.

Unfettered social media space provides the allure for unfocused chattering including insulting without reflecting. In Uganda, the rulers likely see social media as an ally in perpetuating their misrule, never mind its potentially subversive power.

The rulers have previously been quite jittery about the threat of social media, and the man in charge of the communications regulatory authority, Godfrey Mutabazi, with a tsarist mentality, is always on standby. Often, he finds that he lacks the power to effortlessly switch social media off and on. Yet he does not have to. Ugandans on their own do a pretty spectacular job switching off from pertinent issues and digging deep into frivolities.

moses.khisa@gmail.com

The author is an assistant professor of political science at North Carolina State University.
In a major setback, the official launch contract between space start-up TeamIndus' and ISRO has reportedly been cancelled. ISRO is the only organisation that could support a space launch in India, hence, the calling off of the contract is undoubtedly a big blow to TeamIndus. However, investors say that the team has not given up and is looking for support from overseas partners. The deadline set for the Google Lunar XPRIZE is March 31, and things appear challenging for the team.

Here is what you need to know about TeamIndus, its contract with ISRO and what is at stake at the Google Lunar XPRIZE:

What is the Google Lunar XPRIZE?

Google Lunar XPRIZE is competition to inspire engineers, entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world to develop low-cost methods of robotic space exploration. To win the XPRIZE, a privately funded team must be the first to successfully place a spacecraft on the moon's surface that could travel 500 meters and transmit high-definition video and images back to Earth.

Who is TeamIndus?

TeamIndus is a Bangalore-based space start-up which has secured a contract to launch its spacecraft to Moon. It is one of the five teams selected to compete in the 'New Space Race' and successfully won USD 1 million as a prize for landing technology in 2017.

Who are the other participants?

Google Lunar XPRIZE has approved five teams to participate in the million-dollar space race. Apart from India-based TeamIndus, SpaceIL (Israel), Moon Express (US), Synergy Moon (International), and HAKUTO (Japan) are the other teams participating in the space race. SpaceIL was the first team to receive Google's approval for the competition. TeamIndus was the fourth team to receive approval for the Lunar Mission.

What was the TeamIndus-ISRO deal and why it collapsed?

TeamIndus had signed a contract with the Indian Space Research Organization's commercial wing Antrix Corporation to launch the world's first private mission to the moon. Initially, the launch was planned on December 28 of last year, however, it was rescheduled for March 31, 2018. According to reports, the ISRO has cancelled the deal and 'the reason for the cancellation was mostly lack of funding'. The New Indian Express today reported that TeamIndus could not meet its fundraising target of Rs 450 crore and only a little more than half of this amount had been raised till late 2017.
Four witnesses recorded their statements against Nawaz Sharif and family

ISLAMABAD: Four more witnesses recorded their statements on Tuesday in the accountability court hearing the corruption references against Nawaz Sharif and his family members.



After recording the statements, the accountability court judge Muhammad Bashir directed NABs prosecutors to produce three more witnesses at the next hearing. These witnesses are: Umar Daraz Gondal, Afaq Ahmad and Muhammad Junejo.



During the hearing, Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (r) Muhammad Safdar were present in the court.



The prosecution witnesses who recorded their statements are: Sidra Mansoor, a joint registrar of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Muhammad Tasleem, an Inland Revenue Commissioner of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Muhammad Zubair, an employee of a private bank and Uzair Rehan, an official of NAB. Another prosecution witness of Avenfield properties reference Umar Daraz Gondal could not turn up on account of his ailment.



After recording the statements, the witnesses were cross-examined by Khawaja Haris Ahmad, senior counsel for Nawaz Sharif.



Amjad Pervez, counsel for Maryam and Safdar, objected on the absence of NABs fifth witness Umar Daraz Gondal. He stated that he was not told about the absence of Gondal. He asked the NAB prosecutor to present medical certificate issued by a government hospital for the absent witness at the next hearing.



In her statement, Sidra Mansoor stated that she had presented before the NABs investigator the details of Hussain Nawazs shares in Mehran Ramzan Textile Mills Ltd. She said Hussain Nawaz owned 487,400 shares in the Mehran Ramzan Textile Mills.



She stated that on March 27, 2001, the shares were transferred to the trust of the Sharif family as a gift, adding that on March 28, 2008, Hussain Nawaz again owned 100,000 shares in the mills.



Objecting on the statement of Sidra Mansoor, Khawaja Haris argued that the documents presented by her were related to different business concerns, whereas the current proceedings were related to Jeddah based Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment.



Sidra then stated that she was not aware whether the records of Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment were available with the SECP or not.



In his statement Muhammad Tasleem stated that he had presented the record of income and wealth tax of Nawaz Sharif and his children. Muhammad Zubair stated that he had presented the details of bank accounts of Sharif and his children. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till January 16.



The Islamabad district administration and police had made strict security arrangements in and around the accountability court ahead of Nawaz Sharif and his family members appearance.



Nawaz Sharif was received by a number of cabinet members and leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at his arrival at the accountability court.



The Supreme Court in its July 28, 2017 verdict in Panama Papers case had disqualified Nawaz Sharif as prime minister and directed NAB to file three corruption references against him and his family members within six weeks and the accountability court wrap up the proceedings within six months.



Mr Sharif is accused in three references, which include Jeddah based Al-Azizia Steel Mills, offshore companies including Flagship Investments Ltd, and Avenfield properties in London. Maryam and Safdra are accused only in the Avenfield properties reference.
Nawab Sanaullah Zehri resigned from his position

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri on Tuesday resigned from his position after disgruntled Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) legislators as well as opposition parties threatened to oust him through a no-confidence motion in the Balochistan Assembly.



The resignation tendered by Zehri to Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai was immediately accepted. In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause-8 of Article 130 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Governor Balochistan is pleased to accept the resignation tendered by Nawaz Sanaullah Khan Zehri, Chief Minister Balochistan, the 9th January, 2018, read a notification issued by the provincial government. Consequent upon the resignation of the Chief Minister Balochistan, the provincial ministers and advisors to the chief minister Balochistan, shall also cease to hold their offices, with immediate effect, it concluded.



Reports said the chief minister was advised by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to resign after efforts to persuade the opposition a day earlier failed. The resignation came hours before a scheduled Balochistan Assembly session where the opposition was to move the no-trust motion.



In a statement following his resignation, Zehri said that he did not wish to cause problems in the political setup of the province. He added that he was not in the habit of hanging onto the power at any cost.



Speaking to reporters, the former chief minister thanked all coalition parties for supporting him. He said he had ever-lasting friendly ties with all members of the provincial assembly.



Power is a temporary thing we will go to masses again, he remarked, adding that being chief of Jhalanwala tribe was more important to him than the chair of the chief minister.



Former provincial minister Sarfraz Bugti later took to the Twitter to express his joy over the development.



PML-N leader and strong contender for the CM slot Jan Jamali told a private TV channel that the dynamics of the PML-N in Balochistan were different from that in other parts of Pakistan. While responding to a question about the next possible chief minister of the province and role of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in it, Jamali said, We will take the decision ourselves. My ancestors were in the Muslim League way before Nawaz Sharif was.



A no-confidence motion was submitted against Zehri on January 2 by MPAs Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and Syed Agha Raza which had the signatures of 14 provincial lawmakers.



In order to retain his position as chief minister, Zehri required the support of 33 members in a House of 65.



A political crisis developed in Balochistan following the no-confidence motion, with efforts stepped up by the PML-N, which has a government both in the Centre and province, to defuse the situation.



A day earlier, disgruntled PML-N lawmakers as well as opposition members had refused to meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in Quetta. We have decided not to meet the prime minister, Leader of the Opposition Maulana Abdul Wasey had told a private TV channel on Monday, explaining that he and his followers could not ride two boats. We are at the point of no return, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, the former home minister for Balochistan, had said. I have a good relationship with the prime minister, but this is a political decision, he had maintained.
Pakistan suspended defence-intelligence cooperation with US: Khurram Dastgir 10 January, 2018



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Hand Wash and Toiletries in Pakistan And the Role of DUPAS in Reshaping the Industry

Woke Bingo ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan Tuesday disclosed that Pakistan has suspended defence and intelligence cooperation with the United States amid growing tensions over US suspension of military aid to Pakistan.



US officials have said in a series of recent statements that almost all security assistance to Pakistan has been suspended following President Donald Trumps Tweet on January 1, in which he had alleged that Pakistan gives safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help.



He also wrote, United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools.



Pakistani leaders had earlier showed restraint despite allegations by the American leaders and aid suspension but the defence ministers statement could be seen an indication of growing tension.



You see the facilities that we have extended to them (Americans) are still in operation. We have not suspended them. But there is also a wide field of intelligence cooperation and defence cooperation which we have suspended, Dastagir said at a Public Talk on Contours of Security Environment of Pakistan, organised by the government-run Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) under its Distinguished Lecture Series.



An US embassy spokesman did not confirm the defence ministers statement.



We have not been formally notified of any suspension, he said a response to a query late Tuesday.



A press release issued by the ISSI did not mention the ministers remarks on the suspension of the defence and intelligence cooperation; however, an audio clip of the minister is available who offered the comments during question-hour session.



The defence minister also said that the ground and air facilities to the US forces are still open.



Referring to the US suspension of Pakistans aid, Dastagir said, The recent suspension of military aid by the US comes in the wake of a more grave suspension, which is suspension of the strategic dialogue for more than a year between the US and Pakistan, according to the ISSI statement that was also posted on the ISSIs website.



He also complained that the United States has not extended help to fence the porous border with Afghanistan to stop the cross-border movement of the militants.



It is convenient to blame Pakistan for cross-border terrorism, where the US has not lifted a finger to help fence-up the border, Dastgir said. Now all veils are offIt is time for a courteous yet ruthlessly candid dialogue between Pakistan and the United States, he went on to say.



The US has long been alleging that Pakistan is providing sanctuaries to the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network, which are blamed for attacks on the US-led foreign and Afghan forces.



The US leaders have been pressing Pakistan to take action against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network but Dastagir said Pakistan remains adamant that the Afghan war will not be fought on Pakistani soil.



Dastgir succinctly briefed the audience on the security landscape of Pakistan. He started with how the Pakistan Government has not only revitalised long standing relations with both Saudi Arabia and Turkey, but has also made progress with countries like Iran and Russia. About China, he remarked that as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor materializes, relations between the iron brothers are further firming up.



With regard to India, he said that Delhi has an unremitting hostile stance and is a belligerent and highly militarised neighbour.



The Cold Start doctrine against Pakistan has already been confirmed previously by Delhi. The past year was the deadliest yet for Indian violations on the LOC. Justice, the Minister said, cannot be delivered on Mumbai alone, it has to be delivered on Samjhauta Express also.



He stated that for nearly two decades, the United States has deemed India as an ally to counter China and has been trying to convince Pakistan that India is not a threat. However, he said that threat is calculated on capacity, not intent, and both the capacity and intent of India is hostile towards Pakistan.



The minister went on to say that what we need to remember and fully internalise is that todays Pakistan is a post Operation Zarb-e-Azb Pakistan  which is one of the largest anti-terror operations in the world.



The way forward is not through threats, notices or suspensions of supports. This distracts everyone from, the prize, which is sustainable peace in a democratic Afghanistan. While this remains on the highest agenda of Pakistans foreign policy, Pakistan remains adamant that the Afghan war will not be fought on Pakistani soil, he said.



He said Pakistan sees Afghanistan as a sovereign neighbour and wishes to see its neighbour prosper as a democracy.



The recent suspension of military aid by the US comes in the wake of a more grave suspension, which is suspension of the strategic dialogue for more than a year between the US and Pakistan. He ended his speech by stating that we need choose cooperation over castigation and the resilient democracy of Pakistan will continue to rise, he said.



Earlier, Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chairman ISSI, in his remarks said unfortunately President Trump has blamed Pakistan for the United States failure to bring about peace in Afghanistan.



President Trumps outburst has invoked a huge frenzy, and his ill-considered approach toward Pakistan is being criticised within the US as well. As fate would have it, Pakistans geographical location dictates that its security environment is of vital importance to the entire region, he said.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
The mathematical (and other) thoughts of a (now retired) math teacher,
Colombia Hoy



Para nunca olvidar



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'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England



Sin palabras



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LULA y su Pueblo



Bye Bye



Homenaje al genial Quino



Fueron ellos



Una imagen que resume



Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero?



Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante)



Ladrones al poder



Asi mira el perrito a su amo



Crazy



Clamor popular



La nueva inquisicion



Bolivia



Chile Hoy



Eso es todo amigos!



Piensalo!



Pinerachet



No More Trump



Adios Macri, hasta nunca



La Marioneta se desinfla



Asi o mas cinico



Almugre



Mexico en 1794



Mas arrastrado imposible



Hasta cuando!



La pura verdad



Solidaridad con Palestina



Serie Capitalismo



Espejismos de la clase trabajadora



Asi es!



Comerciantes o delincuentes



No pasaran!



Asi es la vida



USA HOY



01/01/1959



La avaricia no tiene limites



AYUDA HUMANITARIA?



Chile Hoy



Asi son las cosas



Mapa Electoral de Venezuela



Patagonia argentina?



Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad



Retrato del franquismo en Espana



Visca Catalunya!



El Chulo de Madrid



Cuando la policia se roba la democracia



Una imagen dice mas que mil palabras



La purita verdad



Asi gobierna la maldita burguesia



Mi pobre clase media



Como Chavez nadie



Comparte La Colmena via twitter Twittear

Programa de la MUD



Asi o mas clarito



Por que Trump no ataco Corea del Norte?



Hace 15 anos Por que la OEA no se pronuncio?



Una verguenza nacional



La luz que nos guia



La Union Europea Premio Nobel de la Paz?



Feudalismo ayer y hoy



Obama, el mentiroso



Curiosa coincidencia



Un mundo de cerdos



No es extrano?



La Marioneta



Los ricos protestan, los pobres celebran



MARICORI Y OBAMA



Cuantas muertes este ano?



USA TODAY



USA HOY 6



USA HOY 5



USA HOY 4



USA HOY 3



USA HOY 2



USA HOY (1)



Insaciable



Cronologia de un agresor



Guarimbear en USA



Mexico hoy



Bolivar y Chavez



Primero Amargado



Dios los cria y ellos se juntan



USA hoy (III)



USA hoy (II)



USA hoy



Mexico hoy



Mexico hoy



Mexico hoy



Obama



La verdad sea dicha



Los ricos



Que no nos vea Obama



Pobre Obama



SOS PALESTINA



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LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



OZ1



OZ2



OZ3



OZ4



Homenaje a Jason Galarraga



La Victoria de Samotracia



Odalisca



Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008



























La Sierra Nevada de Merida



Nuestro precioso Churum Meru



Homenaje a Picasso



Autoretrato



Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola?

La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.

Mi profesion?

Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.

Sal en la Coca Cola?

A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.

De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:

Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto

Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)

azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)

Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas

Mucha Cafeina

Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio

Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe

Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion

El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.

Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.

Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.

En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).

Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.

La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.

Bebidas Light?

Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el

Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.



Publicado por loretahur



En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur

MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina:

1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias.

2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina.

3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard.

4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos.

5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla.

6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos.

Ahora... sobre la margarina:

1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) .

2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias.

3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno).

4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer.

5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna.

6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo.

7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina.

Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas:

* No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo).

* No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!!



No a la guerra, Si a la Paz



Misterios de la ciencia...



Los costos de la guerra



medicos y capitalismo...



Capitalismo...



medicos (2)



Quien educa a nuestros hijos?



Los Medios...



Sin Palabras...



Chistes feministas

- Cual es el problema, Eva?

- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz...

- Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.

- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...

- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.

- Que es un hombre?

- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.

- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.

- Cual es el truco?.

- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.

- Cual?

- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.





Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Ellas...



Ellas (2)...



Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1

Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije:

-Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro.

Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria.

Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre?

-Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa!



VENGANZA NUMERO 2

Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris.

A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita:

- Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!!

Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta.

La mujer paso quince dias en Francia.

El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla.

Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es:

- Y amor me trajiste mi francesita??

- Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina.



VENGANZA NUMERO 3

El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion.

- No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo.

- Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz.

Te quiero confesar algo.

- Esta bien, esta bien. Habla!

- He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga.

- Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!!



machismo y cibernetica



Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston.

-Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide.

-Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!.



.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos.

Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco.

Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas



Gol !!!!



Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso!



Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy!


Perversely, the Obama-era policy allowed Republicans to avoid choosing between alienating middle-of-the-road voters who are clearly increasingly accepting of legalized marijuana and alienating the voting bases of red-state representatives.

In a statement, Sessions said the Obama-era guidance undermined "the rule of law" and the Justice Department's mission to enforce federal statutes. Punishment for drug use is not.

Ferguson said he'll be talking with attorneys general from other states with some form of legal marijuana before settling on a course of action.

And, hopefully, if something does work, it's a chance for the idea to spread. Should the Green Mountain State's leadership move forward as promised, it will mark a huge turning point in the national movement to end the criminalization of marijuana.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said it was too soon to say what the state's legal response would be, but that a team of lawyers in his office is weighing options.

Sessions' decisionsent pot stocks tumbling Thursday, fueling fears it would damage burgeoning marijuana industries in many states.

Texas Tech suffers first Big 12 loss of the year

Coming into the game, the Red Raiders (14-2, 3-1) were limiting opponents to under 60 points a game and just 37 percent shooting. Next up for Oklahoma is a home rematch with TCU, ranked No. 16 this week in the Associated Press Top 25, on Saturday.

Netanyahu's son boasts of father's gas deal at strip club

Yair has attained a reputation for crass and offensive behaviour and is now involved in a lawsuit against left-wing think tank Molad for libel.

Mercedes-Benz GLS SUV receives new top-tier Grand Edition trim level

Despite getting a mid-cycle refresh for 2016, the Mercedes-Benz GLS has been around in its current form since 2013. Mercedes-Benz's largest, grandest SUV gets even more opulent thanks to the all-new Grand Edition trim level.

Sessions' surprise announcement comes only days after California formally legalized the sale of adult use or recreational marijuana starting January 1, an irony not lost on Gov. Asa Hutchinson and others aligned with the upcoming launch of the state's medical pot industry on February 27. These numbers seem likely to increase.

The people have spoken. They should not be overruled by the Justice Department. Among them, Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., accused Sessions of violating promises had made and threatened retaliation. "He said, 'This is just not something that President Trump is focused on.' And apparently, it's not just a focus, it's a primary initiative of the new year. Jeff Sessions told me the policy would not be reversed, and today Jeff Sessions went back on his word", the senator said. Reversing the Obama administration policy against prosecutions suggests that stance is more a matter of convenience.

"I'm interested to see what our state and the other states are going to do, somebody's going to have to make a move", says Barron. The idea that such people might be up on federal charges is dismaying.

It's not as if the Justice Department lacks for things to do. There are many urgent issues it needs to deal with - border problems, terrorism, and civil rights, to name a few.

It's early in the history of marijuana legalization, particularly for recreational purposes, so the jury is out on important questions like the public health impacts and the ease with which minors can access the drug.
"In Connecticut, we refuse to allow federal inaction to endanger the lives of our residents, despite the best efforts of powerful lobbyists from the NRA".

A madman with a legal gun is a danger that, alas, we have to live with. The gunman, Stephen Paddock, killed 58 people and injured more than 500 in just 11 minutes using such a device. The legislation would allow permit holders of "rate of fire enhancements" prior to July 1, 2020 will receive an infraction and be fined $90 for their first offense.

If passed, CT would be the third state in the U.S.to explicitly ban bump stocks. Federal officials also are considering regulating or banning the devices.

Dannel Malloy on Tuesday said the Las Vegas mass shooting in October demonstrated the need for more action.

"While bump stocks don't change the mechanics of the weapon they are attached to, they increase the rate of fire to machine gun-like speeds", says Gov. Malloy.

Traders Sell Halliburton (HAL) on Strength

It is positive, as 77 investors sold T shares while 609 reduced holdings. 127 funds opened positions while 474 raised stakes. The stock of Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) has "Buy" rating given on Monday, October 2 by RBC Capital Markets.

Hallan a cuatro ejecutados dentro de coches en la Mexico - Tuxpan

Los cuerpos fueron encontrados en el kilometro 44 de la mencionada autopista. Las cinco personas tenian lesiones producidas por disparos de arma de fuego.

How Analysts Feel About Plains All American Pipeline, LP (NYSE:PAA)?

The stock of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE: PAA ) has "Outperform" rating given on Thursday, November 5 by Oppenheimer. The stock of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE:PAA) earned "Outperform" rating by Raymond James on Wednesday, August 9.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called these "rate of fire enhancements" "carnage force multipliers" and said they "must be banned in CT and nationwide". "Until Congress acts, states must pass a ban on these risky accessories".

A bump stock essentially harnesses the power of a weapon's recoil to cock it faster and let a semi-automatic rifle - one trigger pull, one bullet - fire like an automatic - squeeze the trigger and the bullets keep coming.

Connecticut's governor says his top legislative priority for 2018 will be to tighten the state's gun laws, outlawing bump stocks and other weapons modifiers.

"Automatic weapons are outlawed for a reason, and bump stocks are a backdoor way to make risky guns even worse".
Director General of the United States Department of the Ministry of Foreign Relations (Minrex), Josefina Vidal, stressed that such allegations are unacceptable for the Cuban Government, adding Palmieri's statements on tuesday's hearing at the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate have no basis at all.

The report has not been released publicly. Jeff Flake confirmed to AP that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had told him about the lack of evidence supporting a sonic attack theory. The June visit by Dr. Jeffrey Chernin of Health Canada revealed symptoms similar to those experienced by US staff in Cuba.

"Various descriptions were given; a high-pitched sound, an incapacitating sound, a buffeting sensation akin to driving with one window open or just an intense pressure in one ear".

The fresh inquiry is likely to strain relations even more between Cuba and the USA after Trump backed away from Obama-era rapprochement efforts, the BBC reported.

In May 2017, Washington expelled two Cuban diplomats from the country in retaliation after the Cuban government failed to keep American embassy workers safe.

Senator Marco Rubio pointed to Russian Federation or groups within the Cuban government itself as possible perpetrators of alleged attacks on diplomatic personnel in Havana, during the first public hearing on Tuesday. Canada is the only other country known to have complained that its diplomats were also affected.

At the end of September 2017, the Department of State ordered the withdrawal of 60 percent of its personnel in Cuba and a little later the White House announced measures restricting individual trips to the island, approved during the government of president Barack Obama (2009-2017).

"Cuba is a security state".

Last Tuesday, January 9, the USA government said Cuban authorities knew what happened during the mysterious attacks but have kept explanations hidden.

Meghan dice adios a sus redes sociales

Pero como llevaba un tiempo sin estar activa en ninguna de las tres, decidio borrarlas, anadio. Meghan Markle cerro ayer por la tarde sus cuentas de Facebook , Instagram y Twitter .

Lennar (LEN) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.21 EPS

ConocoPhillips (COP ) in the last quarter reported its actual EPS of $0.16/share where the analyst estimated EPS was $0.08/share. Wedbush set a $60.00 price target on Lennar and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th.

Corte de Apelaciones cerro caso de CASA 212 sin procesados

Luis Ili, Guillermo Castro, Julio Frias y Cesar Pineda fueron absueltos de los encausamientos por cuasidelito de homicidio .

Rubio also questioned the State Department's performance in handling the alleged attacks and insisted that the agency did not follow the law by taking more time than it should to establish an Accountability Review Board, an internal investigation that must be done in cases in which USA personnel or property overseas have suffered damage.

A total of 24 Americans, including at least one relative of embassy personnel, reported the health problems.

Some reports have emerged that American tourists felt odd symptoms while travelling in Cuba but there have been no similar complaints from Canadian tourists and there is no reason to suggest that travellers should be anxious about their health, the official said. "Ten of the 24 patients have returned to either full- or part-time work, while others continue to receive treatment with an anticipation of return to duty", Rosenfarb said.

In addition to ongoing federal investigations, Palmieri said the State Department will set up an Accountability Review Board, which, as The Hill explains, is a special panel convened when a diplomat sustains serious injury overseas.

Medical experts and FBI agents launched investigations and high-frequency recording devices were installed in diplomatic residences, allowing a mystery sound sample to be captured.

"I'd be intentionally putting them back in harm's way", he said.

More than a year since the first of 24 USA diplomats and family members fell victim to a mystery attack in Havana, the United States is still at a loss to explain what happened.

"That would not be ruled out", Brown said, "it could be a possibility". At this point, they said they haven't ruled out anything, including foul play.
By Rajesh Rajagopalan





Inordinate focus on the military threat obscures the larger political impact of Chinas rise, which will have a bearing on Indias interests and even security. There is greater recognition today in India of the growing power disparity with China and its impact on Indian security and interests. While this much-delayed recognition is welcome, there is still insufficient appreciation of the full effects of Chinas power. Far too often, this disparity is seen only in the context of military security. Though the military power China can bring to bear on India is considerable and it is a real threat to the security of Indias borders, the international political consequences of Chinas growing power is less often recognized.





At some level, this focus on military security is understandable. India does have an unresolved border problem with China and the possibility of a military clash cannot be ruled out. The Doklam crisis last year, which is yet to be fully settled, highlighted the possibility of the two sides stumbling into an actual shooting war. Indias military inadequacies, especially its poor border infrastructure, the glacial pace of its military modernization, its continuing difficulties with generating both inter-service jointness and strategic coordination, contrasts sharply with the rise of Chinas military capabilities in general and in the Tibetan plateau in particular. China has always been better at strategic coordination (even if the objectives of its strategy were sometimes short-sighted), and now has far better infrastructure in the area than India does, and the growing sophistication of Chinas military forces has eliminated whatever limited technological advantage India had. There is no question that these are reasons for worry.





But inordinate focus on the military threat obscures the larger political impact of Chinas rise, which will also have a bearing on Indias interests and even security. There are at least four ways in which this can happen.





The first is that China is likely to garner much greater international political support, especially from the developing world countries of the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. These regions, many with recent experience of colonialism, have traditionally seen multilateral forums as an arena where they could exercise at least a limited amount of influence against the West. The UN General Assembly, for example, was well-known for being both dominated by the developing world and being anti-American in its orientation. This diminished after the end of the Cold War because these countries lost support that the Soviet Union and its allies provided. Consequently, many of these countries were also seeking to curry favor with the US, thus reducing their fervor for symbolic and useless anti-Americanism.

China will find ready and willing support among these countries both because it is now strong enough to stand up to the US and because developing countries now hope China is rich enough to provide the kind of aid and assistance the US is no longer seen as willing or able to provide. And the farther away they are from China, and the less they are subject to direct Chinese pressure, the more likely such sympathies will be. This will quite possibly lead to a new era of activism in multilateral forums, based on Chinas support, with the flipside being an overwhelming pro-China coalition in such multilateral forums.





The world may not yet be fully bipolar in material sense yet, but its effects may anticipate its actual emergence. Of course, these are instincts that closely tracks with the Nehruvian foreign policy approach in India but even Nehruvians will recognize the dangers for Indian interests when China leads such a developing world coalition. In any disagreement or dispute between India and China, New Delhis erstwhile friends in the developing world will either hide under the parapet or side with China. Think of what these friends did during the 1971 war, but consider what the consequences will be when this becomes the rule rather than being limited to one episode.





The second political effect, which we are already witnessing but refusing to acknowledge, is that Russia is increasingly beholden to China. This is not Indias doing, not the consequence of any disloyalty to an old friend, or the consequence of India warming up to the US. It is, rather, the consequence of a combination of a number of other factors: most importantly, Russias own weakness, but also the effect of Putins policies that is leading to greater tensions with both the US and Europe, and of course, Chinas rise, which provides Moscow a way to counter the pressures on it from the West. Whatever the combination of these factors, New Delhi needs to recognize the fact that Chinas rise provides Russia a necessary friend, and a value that India cannot hope to match.





Moscow and New Delhi have shared a relationship of mutual strategic empathy and that makes it difficult for Indian strategists to see the obvious diplomatic trends. There is a whistling-in-the-dark quality to Indias refusal to look at the change in Russias orientation but the danger of continuing to depend on Russia is only going to grow.





A third political effect will be on the various multilateral political groupings such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), RIC (Russia, India, China) and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) that India has invested in. These are already dominated by China, and this will only increase in the coming years. New Delhi should not be foolish to expect that countries like Brazil or South Africa or Russia will side with India in any disagreement that it has with China. India should expect to be increasingly isolated within these bodies, as China seeks to use these to shape its own hegemony. India can, of course, push back either by standing alone and letting the consensus rule scuttle anything unpalatable or by convincing others to stick to non-controversial areas, though the latter would also require Chinas acceptance.





A final political effect, though one that has gained greater attention than the above three, is Chinas capacity to influence Indias neighbors. This should not be a surprise: Indias dominance within the region represents a latent security concern, if not a threat, to the smaller states in the region, much like Chinas power is a threat to its neighbors and to the rest of Asia. There is little that is unnatural about such concerns  or about these countries trying to balance it by seeking the help of powers from outside the region. This will not be the first India is facing this: much to New Delhis resentment, most of Indias neighbors have attempted to do so in the past, though they have rarely been able to attract any consistent partners, with Pakistan being the only exception. India should expect much more of this now because China will be interested in exploiting the natural concern of Indias smaller neighbors in a more consistent manner than other extra-regional powers have been until now.





What these effects suggest is that the question is not just of the disparity of power between India and China but of the consequences of Chinas global power too. Disparity of power is a security issue: the greater the disparity, the greater the security problem. But even substantial disparity in power does not necessarily have to lead to wider political effects if the stronger power is not a significant global actor. But China is, and even without becoming a hegemonic actor, the global effects of its power can impact on India (and Chinas other neighbors) in a manner that needs to be better recognized.




By Dirgha Raj Prasai





Nepal and India are only the two Hindu countries in the world. These Hindu countries are bordered in between Kailash-Mansarowar in north and Hinda-Mahasagar in south, which is popularly known as the original place of Hindu and Hinduism. Hinduism educated us global brotherhood, humanitarian and respectful coexistence among differences. I strongly believe that Hindu philosophy can guide the entire world for humanitarian values and norms. Hinduism is our identity, Hinduism is our dignity, Hinduism is our life. It is the pride that we are part of it. About 950 years ago the Muslims invaded India. Their aim was to conquer, convert, destroy and loot. Due to their notorious attacking they were successful. At that time Muslims burned many Hindus- temples and erected mosques on top of the burned out temples and on other locations also.





In the ruling time of Muslim in India, English imperialist-East India Company invaded India with Christianity. They came first as traders, secondly-Bible and third was sword where they were building their own military force, secretly, to take over India and they were getting help from Great Britain to do so, and they succeeded. In such situation, the King of Gorkha-Prithvi Narayan Shah kept virgin more than 54 small Hindu states unifying Hindu Kingdom Nepal.





The people of Nepal and India always have cordial relations due to the cultural and religious resemblance. They should know that if instability persists in Nepal, it could be a bastion of terrorism posing a threat to the whole world. When in India were more than 25 nations, before Muslim and Britain period, at that time, India was not called 'Hindustan'. Being the majority Hindu people in these Indian states, British named as a 'Hindustan.' But, before 250 years ago, the great King Prithvi Narayan Shah expressed"Nepal is true Hindustan" That is the reality of History.





This year India has witnessed the historical victory of nationalist patriotic power as a democratic practice of worlds largest democracy. We heartily congratulate Prime minister Sri Narendra Modi, a visionary leader. We believe Indo-Nepal relations will find new dimensions with new government of India. We are against any interference. But we always seek positive support and developmental cooperation. At this time, we are in crisis. All Nepali people want India be supportive in reinstating our lost pride-Hinduism and constitutional monarch. The Nepalese monarch always has goodwill with India. The fact is that the Nepalese monarchs held special right for carrying out ritualistic worship in many Hindu shrines and temples in India. Then, India's Hindutwa also can be dignified.





Since 1768, Nepal became a common shelter for all Nepalese people. This is the mother land for all Nepalese people spread around the globe. It was almost 100 years before Germany and Italy was unified and the restoration of the Meiji dynasty was restored that Prithvi Narayan Shah had unified 54 small Hindu states and created Hindu kingdom unifying strong sovereign-Nepal.





The British Empire, spreading in Asia, after getting hold in India had eyed on mountainous region i.e. Nepal. It was not an easy task to fight against the British imperialistic force in the mid 18th century. As, the culture, the religion and the nationality was in a danger, which compelled Prithvi Narayan Shah to unify the Greater Nepal, including the many small Hindu states and protected Buddhism and other religions too. Prithvi Narayan Shah had kept the originality of mountainous Nepal by holding the Moon-Sun depicting flag to wave, which obliged all the Nepalese in the world.





The Gorkha King Prithbinarayan declared 'Kathmandu' as a capital and 'Nepal' as a Kingdom and but not Gorkha. Prithvi Narayan Shah not only brought caste- and ethnicity-based states under the umbrella of Nepal, but also laid a solid foundation for the modern state. Nepal was a yam between two boulders suggesting the need for a delicate balance of relationship between its two big neighbors-China and India.

The historical event says- after the capturing of Kirtipur, an English Platoon of 2,400 under the leadership of Killok was chased away from Sindhuli with the support from Ram Krishna Kunwar and Dev Narayan Magar, Jayanarayan Prasai and others. Then, Prithvi Narayan Shah came to Kathmandu, in course of creating a greater Nepal. After winning Kathmandu he sat on the royal throne at Hanuman Dhoka with the help of Jhyagal Gurung after receiving a 'Tika' from Kumari (Shakya living Goddess). To maintain the pride of this place, he did everything that could be done to create a greater Nepal. With the support of all difference castes Prthvi Narayan Shah contributed to extend this nation-Tista in the East, Kangada in the West and Ganges in the South.





Prithvi Narayan Shah's policy of 'Rights of inheritors over the land'- (Jagga Mathi Raitiko Adhikar) has heralded a tremendous influence over the people. The culture, tradition, religion, religious rituals, language and attires of all ethnic groups of the nation was accepted as a common property for co-existence after the unification. Nepali language had become extensive among people of other castes, so it was transformed as the government's official language and common language of use among the Nepalese. Instead of Gorkha, the name-Kingdom of Nepal was proclaimed. There were no forcible acts to this effect. Prithbinarayan was common leaders of all Hindus and Buddhists, castes and tribes.





The Great King was encouraged to unify the modern Nepal to save Nepal from the Christians at that time. As one after another stated in India was annexed by the British East India Company, the Great King felt a threat to Nepal and thus, had initiated this humble job of unification of the modern Nepal. The Great King had kicked out the Christians as they were campaigning for Christianity in Nepal at that time. Those Christians, who were kicked out from Nepal had sheltered in India and tried to defame the Great King. After the unification of the greater Nepal, the Great King had claimed that Nepal has remained a true Hindustan (the home for the Hindus).





A strong unitary sovereign nation was created with the involvement of the indigenous people. The indigenous people will accept the existence of a unitary state to remain protected from the danger posed by our northern and southern neighbors. The culture remains intact that ties the indigenous tribes together to survive in harmony, and the Nepalese common language which is understood by all. World famous national flag is Nepalese ethnic groups story of pride. From the unification, the attractive national attire is Nepalese peoples identity.





It is notable that the very exercise of Nepal as an independent country was made possible only because of geographical situation of the region by Prithvi Narayan Shah alongside the committed, dedicated and trusted ministers and generals belonging to the various origins.





Very surprisingly, Nepal was able to stand its ground as an independent, unique and powerful multi-ethnics state situated in the lap of the Himalayas, even in such a vulnerable situation where such extreme colonial encroachment in South Asia was rife. People of different ethnic backgrounds seemed to have united under the umbrella of the newly emergent Nepal. In many cases, a practical policy, offering dependent states to smaller friendly principalities was adopted by the great king Prithbinarayan Shah.





We Nepalese people where we are should have to celebrate the Unity Day and the memorial Birthday of the unifier Prithvi Narayan Shah and lets tribute 296th memorial Birthday of the great king Prithvi Narayan Shah in 27th Poush.




Emergency personnel evacuate local residents and their dogs through flooded waters after a mudslide in Montecito, California January 9, 2018. a Reuters

LOS ANGELES, Jan 10  At least 13 people died and thousands fled from their homes in Southern California yesterrday as a powerful rainstorm triggered flash floods and mudslides on slopes where a series of intense wildfires burned off protective vegetation last month.





Heavy downpours struck before dawn on Tuesday after thousands of residents in Santa Barbara County along the Pacific coast north of Los Angeles were ordered to evacuate. But only 10 to 15 per cent complied with mandatory orders, said Amber Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara Fire Department.





Emergency workers, using search dogs and helicopters, have rescued dozens of people stranded in rubble, Anderson said.





The mudslide toppled trees and demolished cars and covered blocks of quiet residential neighborhoods with a thick layer of mud, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a news conference.





The best way I can describe it is it looked like a World War One battlefield, Brown said.





The death toll yesterday surpassed a California mudslide on Jan 10, 2005, that killed 10 people as a hillside gave way in the town of La Conchita, less than 32 km south of the latest disaster.





Television personality Ellen DeGeneres, who owns a home in the upscale community of Montecito where mudslides hit yesterday, posted a photo on Twitter of a roadway choked with mud and brown water.





This is not a river, DeGeneres wrote on Twitter. This is the 101 freeway in my neighborhood right now. Montecito needs your love and support.





The threat of mudslides prompted the county to order 7,000 residents to leave their homes before the rains came and to urge 23,000 others to evacuate voluntarily.





The county set up an evacuation shelter at Santa Barbara City College and also gave residents a place to take their animals. The weather in Southern California was mild this week, so residents who fled their homes did not have to endure the cold snap that has gripped the US Midwest and East Coast in recent weeks.





A neighbourhood in Montecito, where mudslides ravaged homes near the city of Santa Barbara, had not been put under mandatory evacuation orders before mud from a creek cascaded toward homes, Anderson said. She could not immediately say whether any of the fatalities were in the area that was not evacuated.





Mudslides have covered my town. My friends house was completely leveled and everything is gone, local resident Lauren Gibler said on Twitter.





An unknown number of people in the county were unaccounted for, Anderson said, and 25 residents have been injured.





Photos posted by the local fire department showed a teenager covered in black mud being led away from the rubble of a house that had been destroyed by the Montecito mudslide. The girl had been trapped in the home for hours before rescuers came to her aid, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department said on Twitter.





Other pictures showed ankle-deep mud, logs and boulders in residential areas.





Emergency workers, using search dogs and helicopters, have rescued dozens of people stranded in rubble, Anderson said.





Last month's wildfires, the largest in California history, left the area vulnerable to mudslides. The fires burned away grass and shrubs that hold the soil in place and also baked a waxy layer into the earth that prevents water from sinking deeply into the ground.




By NJ Thakuria

Guwahati: A unique weekly healthcare initiative has been taken up by a press club in Assam of northeast India, where practicing physicians are invited to the club premises for free consultations. Often various blood tests are also conducted in these Saturday OPD clinics for diagnosing health status of the journalists and their families.





The next camp, organized under the series of Evening with a Doctor programs of Guwahati Press Club, will be conducted by Dr Madhab Rajbongshi and Dr Hiten Chakrabarty from MMC Panbazar on 13 January 2018 (1 pm to 2 pm), where the member-journalists along with their dependants will get free healthcare consultations from the physicians.





Started with initial support from Dr Jayanta Bardoloi, managing director of Assams well known Dispur Hospital in raising a doctors chamber at the club premises, the series of health camps have already emerged as a healthy hangout for the media persons. The endeavor has also helped diagnosing many journalists and their dependants with alarming high blood pressure, sugar and thyroid disorders. They were accordingly advised by the physicians for follow up action.





Until today, most of the hospitals based in Guwahati, which has slowly turned into a competent healthcare hub in eastern India, have supported the endeavour by sending their practicing physicians in rotation for the media clinics. Professional doctors from Down Town Hospital, GNRC Hospitals, Dispur Hospital, Nemcare Hospital, Hayat Hospital, Ayursundra Hospital, Sun Valley Hospital, Barthakur Clinic, Wintrobe Hospital, Narayana Hospital, Rahman Hospital, Excelcare Hospital, Sight First Eye-Clinic etc have attended the camps.





Even specialist doctors from various distinguished healthcare institutions, based in other parts of the country, like Apollo Hospital (Chennai), SIMS Chennai Hospital, Manipal Hospital (Bangalore), Fortis Hospital (Bangalore), Medanta the Medicity Hospital (Gurgaon) etc have graced the camps. They were simultaneously encouraged by the post-event coverage in both the mainstream and alternate media outlets.




Nepali Congress spokesperson Bishow Prakash Sharma

Kathmandu, Nepal: Newly appointed Nepali Congress spokesperson Bishow Prakash Sharma has said that the party's upcoming central working committee meeting would review the party's unexpected results in the recently held provincial and federal elections.





Various opinions are coming from the leaders after the party faced defeat in the elections, which would be discussed seriously in the coming central working committee meeting, Sharma said adding that making comment or criticizing the leadership for the defeat would be considered as natural phenomenon as Nepali Congress is a democratic party.





During the interaction with the media persons at the party central office on Tuesday after his appointment as the party spokesperson, Sharma pledged to work for ensuring an easy access to party's information to the journalists by working closely with them in the capacity of party spokesperson.




Kathmandu, Nepal: The sixth meeting of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Nepal-India Relations is going to be held in New Delhi of India from January 11 (coming Thursday).





The Nepali EPG delegation led former foreign minister Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, former minister Nilamber Acharya, former secretary and chief commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Surya Nath Upadhyay and former lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai will leave to India on January 10 to take part in the meeting.





Both the neighboring country- Nepal and India- had formed the EPG on October, 2011 with the objective of reviewing the entire gamut of bilateral issues and to recommend ways to improve the bilateral relations.





The agreement was materialized during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nepal in July, 2014 by forming the EPG comparing the experts from both the countries.





However, the EPG has yet to finalize the issues that need to be reviewed the past treaties and agreements reached between the countries even though the issue of reviewing the 1950 Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty has long being parroted to review as per the changing context.





The EPG has to submit a joint document to their respective governments with recommendations over the issues within two years but nothing is finalized yet, thanks to the failure even to enter in the crux issues.




Ukraine to test components of a powerful Indian rocket engine The Yuzhmash production plant in Ukraine prepares to begin a series of firings testing critical parts of a large rocket engine intended for India's next-generation heavy launcher. Although it was built entirely in India, the prospective engine was originally designed in Ukraine under designation RD-810. Previous chapter: Mayak launcher A version of the RD-810 engine circa 2013 designed to gimble around one axis. The RD-810 engine at a glance: Oxidizer Liquid oxygen Fuel Kerosene Thrust at sea level 194.2 tons Thrust in vacuum 211.3 tons Specific impulse at sea level 303.6 seconds Specific impulse in vacuum 330.3 seconds Engine mass 2,350*/2,500** kilograms Number of burns in flight 1 Propellant component ratio 2.65 Combustion chamber pressure 192.7 kilograms per square centimeter Gimbal angle in one or two axis Burn time ~140 seconds Length 4,015 millimeters Nozzle diameter 1,450 millimeters From the publisher: Pace of our development depends primarily on the level of support from our readers! Developing RD-810 The RD-810 was developed at KB Yuzhnoe in today's city of Dnipro, Ukraine, as an equivalent of the Russian RD-191 engine, but using a more conservative engineering approach. Like the RD-191, this one-chamber engine with a thrust of around 200 tons, was intended for the first stage of a new-generation space launcher, however it was designed to operate at a lower, and thus safer, internal pressure than that accepted in its Russian counterpart. The propulsion division at KB Yuzhnoe was able to take on the project of such a scale and complexity thanks to its most recent experience with the engines for the second stage of the Zenit rocket, including the RD-120 and RD-8. The RD-810 belongs to the so-called staged combustion cycle engines, which first ignite their propellant mix inside a special gas generator (also known as pre-burner). The resulting hot gas is used to drive the engine's turbine and then it is directed into the main combustion chamber. The RD-810 was designed for a single firing during the operation of a typical first stage, starting on the ground and lasting slightly more than two minutes. The engine could operate in two modes: burning at full thrust for 135 seconds and then switching to a lower thrust for the final six seconds before the separation of the first stage. (809) In the course of its development, several versions of the RD-810 were designed, with the main difference being its gimbal mechanism with either one- or two-axis steering. Foreign roles for RD-810 Over the years, various roles were proposed for RD-810, including replacing the Russian RD-171 on the Ukrainian-built Zenit rocket and propelling Ukraine's new-generation Mayak launcher. A four-engine cluster, dubbed RD-810M, was designed to fit into the aft section of a potential space booster with a diameter 3.9 meters, matching the caliber of the Zenit rocket. Each RD-810 was expected to gimbal up to six degrees around one axis, allowing the four-engine cluster to fully steer the rocket. Because none of the indigenous programs could be adequately funded, Ukraine sought to bring the RD-810 design to the international market. Along with several other Ukrainian designs, the RD-810 was proposed for the American super-heavy rocket developed under the Space Launch System, SLS, program. However, despite qualifying RD-810 as in high degree of readiness, American space officials did not seriously consider Ukrainian engines for the SLS project. Indian version In 2005, Ukraine agreed to provide India with designs for the RD-810 engine and, on Nov. 20, 2006, the Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, awarded a contract to KB Yuzhnoe for a project code-named Jasmine, which officially started the development of the RD-810. In India, the RD-810-based engine was dubbed SCE-200, which stood for "semi-cryogenic," indicating the use of kerosene fuel, which can be stored at regular temperatures, and liquid oxygen, which requires cryogenic conditions to stay in liquid form. The "200" in the designation denoted its thrust of 200 tons. ISRO planned to install the SCE-200 engine on the modified core stage of the GSLV Mark 3 rocket replacing the older propulsion system. It would boost the payload capacity of the rocket to the geostationary transfer orbit from four to six tons. Later, four similar engines could propel a new-generation rocket, which could deliver up to 10 tons to the same orbit without the help of strap-on boosters. In addition to assisting with the design of the engine, KB Yuzhnoe also advised ISRO on the development of the prospective launch vehicle itself. RD-810 for Antares In September 2013, KB Yuzhnoe proposed the RD-810 engine for the US Antares rocket developed at Orbital ATK. The company promised to begin deliveries of the engine in 5.5 years at a price tug of $500 million. However, Orbital chose the Russian RD-181 engine for the project. As of 2014, KB Yuzhnoe had produced the full set of design documentation required for the production and testing of the RD-810 engine. (809) According to industry sources, India then re-issued the blueprints for the engine according to its own standards and, possibly, introduced some modifications. In the meantime, KB Yuzhnoe decided to stop further development of the RD-810 engine inside Ukraine, focusing instead its limited resources on the more powerful RD-815 design, which could potentially be promising on the US market. Testing RD-810 Aerial view of the propulsion testing facility at the Yuzhmash plant in Dnipro, Ukraine. In 2017, Indian specialists returned to Ukraine to test fire the actual hardware, which had been built in India within the Jasmine project. According to industry sources, the Ukrainian Yuzhmash factory was contracted to test, not the entire engine, but its critical components, including its gas generator and a turbopump, which had all been manufactured in India. If the firings, apparently planned to be completed by 2019, validated the quality of the Indian manufacturing methods, the fully assembled engine, including the combustion chamber and the nozzle, would be tested at the yet-to-be completed bench facility at Mahendragiri, India.

The proposed architecture of the SLS rocket propelled by Ukrainian-built boosters and RD-810 and RD-815 engines. Credit: KB Yuzhnoe The four-engine cluster known as RD-810M could produce 844 tons of thrust. Credit: KB Yuzhnoe Depiction of the RD-810 engine circa 2014. Credit: KB Yuzhnoe RD-810-based SCE-200 engine could eventually propel the core stage of India's GSLV Mark-3 rocket. Click to enlarge. Copyright  2008 Anatoly Zak
Education Reporter

Mathew Burciaga is a Santa Maria Times reporter who covers education, agriculture and public safety. Prior to joining the Times, Mathew ran a 114-year-old community newspaper in Wyoming. He owns more than 40 pairs of crazy socks from across the globe.
 Two notable new additions to the Senate Judiciary Committee that should generally hearten sentencing reform advocates | Main | BJS releases "Prisoners in 2016" reporting another drop in state and federal prison populations in 2016 

January 10, 2018

Interesting report of plans for Prez Trump to hold a "listening session on prison reform" this week

Axios has this notable new scoop about notable White House plans including President Trump under the headline "Scoop: Jared's policy push on prison reform." Here are the details:

President Trump tomorrow will hold a listening session on prison reform, after six months of quiet exploration of the issue by senior adviser Jared Kushner (who turns 37 today). Why it matters: The White House sees this as a conservative issue (save money, cut crime) that could get bipartisan support (spending for workforce development), heading into a midterm election year when it'll be even harder to get congressional accomplishments than it was last year. Under the auspices of Kushner's Office of American Innovation, administration officials have met with faith-based leaders, former inmates who have been rehabilitated, conservative leaders, and experts on the issue.

of Kushner's Office of American Innovation, administration officials have met with faith-based leaders, former inmates who have been rehabilitated, conservative leaders, and experts on the issue. Attorney General Jeff Sessions will join Thursday's session.

will join Thursday's session. Jared and his wife, Ivanka Trump, held a dinner discussion at their home, including Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

Ivanka Trump, held a dinner discussion at their home, including Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) The administration is exploring possible legislative proposals and administrative actions. An early step could include a push for public awareness involving churches.

is exploring possible legislative proposals and administrative actions. An early step could include a push for public awareness involving churches. The issue came up during this weekend's Camp David meeting with GOP congressional leaders. Koch Industries general counsel Mark Holden, a longtime champion of the issue, told me he has been impressed with Kushner's passion, and that the approach the administration is exploring "has been showed to markedly reduce recidivism."

Jared Kushner's interest and "passion" for criminal justice reform is not big or new news, but the direct involvement of President Trump and Attorney General Sessions in talks about possible federal reforms does strike me as big news. It is worth watching as the rest of this week unfolds whether and how the White House or the Prez himself speaks about this planned meeting (either before or after it takes place). I am still not prepared to assert that significant federal statutory sentencing reform is becoming likely, but this reported meeting seems like a good and important sign.

January 10, 2018 at 09:50 AM | Permalink

Comments

Prisoners will become valued rarity, as all pass away on opiates.

If you want to drop crime, promote patriarchal family formation, especially among American blacks. African immigrants have low crime rates, and better economic performance than whites. So melanin skin levels are ot a factor in crime. Africans have intact families, are religious. They appreciate and love this country. They are more likely to vote for the Republican Party.

Stop paying for bastardy by cutting off benefits to females who are married but still poor. Although I believe only in incapacitation as a benefit of the criminal law, a released father, reuniting with his family can prevent his sons from ending up in prison. This is true only if he is now having a regular life, is not using, nor doing crime. If he is using, is doing crime, it is an unmitigated catastrophe for his sons. They are better off without him entirely.

Posted by: David Behar | Jan 10, 2018 10:56:11 AM

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 Taking a close look at the state of women's incarceration in the states | Main | Interesting report of plans for Prez Trump to hold a "listening session on prison reform" this week 

January 9, 2018

Two notable new additions to the Senate Judiciary Committee that should generally hearten sentencing reform advocates

As reported here by the Washington Post, "The Senate Judiciary Committee will welcome its first African American members in this century after Democrats added Sens. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to the panel that handles judicial nominations and appointments to the Justice Department." Here is more:

The Congressional Black Caucus could not be more proud of both of our Senate members and know the experience and expertise they bring to the Committee will be beneficial for all Americans, said Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the CBCs chairman, in a statement. Harris, a former attorney general of California, was seen as a likely candidate to join the committee after Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) announced his resignation late last year. The appointment of Booker was more of a surprise, coming one year after Booker testified against the appointment of then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general, a rare move for one senator to make against another. Sometime after that hearing, Booker learned that he and Harris were second and third in line if openings came up. The Trump administration has repeatedly demonstrated its hostility to the ideals of civil rights and equal justice for all, Booker said Tuesday in a statement announcing his appointment. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will make it my mission to check and balance President Trump and Attorney General Sessions. No African American senator has sat on the Judiciary Committee since the 1990s, when Carol Moseley Braun, a Democrat from Illinois, became the first black woman elected to the Senate. There had been pressure on Democrats to elevate Harris; in the end, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opted to elevate both of the Senates black Democrats. Harriss appointment was possible because Democrat Doug Joness victory last month in Alabama shrank the Republican advantage on two committees. (Republicans now have one-seat advantages on the Judiciary Committee (11 to 10) and Finance Committee (14 to 13); Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who is in his second term, will join the latter committee.)

Senator Booker has been a fairly vocal advocate for sentencing reform since his election to the Senate back in 2013, and he has sponsored bills on a range of criminal justice issues. Senator Harris has worked as a state prosecutor and has expressed support for criminal justice reform in various ways since becoming a Senator just last year. (Conveniently, Mother Jones has this interesting lengthy new profile of Senator Harris, headlined "The Secret to Understanding Kamala Harris: And why its making her a flash point in the Democratic Party," which highlights why some on the left do not see her as a true reform ally.)

Critically, in recent years it has been Senate leadership, not the Senate Judiciary Committee, that has been a roadblock to getting significant statutory sentencing reform enacted. Thus, the addition of Senators Booker and Harris to the Judiciary Committee does not, in and of itself, directly impact in any dramatic way the likelihood of some form of sentencing reform getting passed in 2018. But their knowledge and reform-minded vision could and should impact the Committee's work in various ways in the coming year that should be heartening to advocates of sentencing reform. And their place on the Committee could become a very big deal if the Democrats were able to take back control of the Senate come November.

January 9, 2018 at 09:04 PM | Permalink

Comments

Welcome to Oakland, CA. Welcome to Newark, NJ. Let's take their criminal law policies national.

Posted by: David Behar | Jan 9, 2018 11:49:08 PM

Not sure why having Harris on board is a good sign. Her record of prosecutorial accountability while AG in California is ugly. Just look at the OC snitch scandal and the AGs tepid (being very generous) response as an example. So unfortunately, she is just a politician who is willing to talk but unwilling to walk the walk when she had both the authority and responsibility.

Posted by: Sn | Jan 10, 2018 4:55:28 AM

Cory "T-Bone" Booker is a joke. Harris is a statist witch. Remember she went after donor lists while California AG so as to iintimidate donors.

So a buffoon and a thug. Nice.

Posted by: federalist | Jan 10, 2018 7:32:16 AM

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The visit was made at an invitation of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen.The second MLC Summit was co- hosted by Cambodia and China.Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Summit is held annually once every two years in the member countries under its target of boosting comprehensive cooperation for the regional benefits, raising mutual understanding, regional peacekeeping and stabilization, regional and global comprehensive economic integration, development of neighboring relationshipsVietnam has actively participated in Mekong-Lancang cooperation with effective contributions via proposing projects in the first phase Mekong-Lancang cooperation.Accordingly, the Vietnam delegation consisted of senior leaders as Minister, Chairman of the Office of the Government Mai Tien Dung; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Deputy Minister of Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh; Deputy Minister of Public Security Bui Van Nam; Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh; Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Tran Quoc Khanh; Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong; Deputy Minister of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs Le Tan Dung; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang and Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Huy Hung.

Source: VNA- Translated by Huyen Huong
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on January 10, 2018

2018/01/10

Q: According to reports, on January 9, after the high-level talks, the DPRK and the ROK issued a joint press release, saying that they have agreed to cooperate on the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games and ease military tensions. Some observers believe that this represents a major breakthrough in the ice-cold DPRK-ROK relations. What is your comment?

A: We have noted that the international community has been closely following the recent interactions between the DPRK and the ROK.

According to Chinese folk traditions, the nine times nine or 81 days following the winter solstice is called the "Nines of Winter". Today is the second day of the third Nine. As the saying goes in some places of China, "it is too freezing for people to hold out their hands during the third and fourth Nines". In some colder places, the saying goes that "people even do not dare to take their hands out of the pocket due to coldness during the first and second Nines and they walk on ice during the third and fourth Nines". At the time when the situation on the Korean Peninsula is extremely grave (just like this freezing weather), it is encouraging that the DPRK and the ROK can extend the hands of goodwill towards each other and have a handshake.

The Chinese side welcomes the positive outcomes achieved at the high-level talks between the DPRK and the ROK. As we said many times, as a close neighbor of the Korean Peninsula, the Chinese side welcomes and supports the positive steps taken by the DPRK and the ROK to ameliorate their relations. We hope that the two sides can take the opportunity of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games to improve relations, push forward reconciliation and cooperation and make positive efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and bring the Korean Peninsula issue back to the right track of seeking settlement through dialogue and consultation. The international community should give the two sides full understanding and support.

Q: According to reports, the ROK President Moon Jae-in said at the New Year Press Conference that if conditions are ripe, the ROK-DPRK leaders' summit can be held at any time. What is your comment?

A: My answer to the previous question may have covered yours in part. At the beginning of a new year, the DPRK and the ROK have made some positive moves and demonstrated goodwill on improving relations. The DPRK-ROK high-level talks held yesterday have yielded tangible positive outcomes, which are gratifying and encouraging.

I would like to reiterate that the Chinese side hopes that the DPRK and the ROK can take the opportunity of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games to improve relations, advance reconciliation and cooperation and make positive efforts to bring the Korean Peninsula issue back to the right track of seeking settlement through dialogue and consultation. The Chinese side will offer positive support in this regard.

Q: The Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific was quoted in The Australian, a newspaper in Australia, as saying that Chinese infrastructure projects in the South Pacific are not productive and are giving unfavorable financial terms. What's your response to that?

A: The remarks made by the Australian official show scant regard for the facts and are nothing but irresponsible. The Chinese side has lodged representations with the Australian government on this.

For a long time, on the basis of fully respecting the will of the Pacific island countries' governments and people and taking into full account their development needs, China has offered a great deal of assistance to them. The facts have proven that the assistance provided by China has significantly fueled the economic and social development of these countries and delivered tangible benefits to the local people, which has been warmly welcomed by the governments and people of these countries. No one knows better than the people and governments of these countries on whether China's assistance is productive or not. We hope that certain people in Australia should engage in self-reflection instead of pointing fingers at and making irresponsible remarks on other countries.

Q: According to reports, on January 9, the ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said that the ROK-Japan deal on the comfort women issue cannot really solve the problem. What is your comment?

A: We have taken note of this situation. China's position on the issue of comfort women is consistent and clear-cut. We hope that the Japanese side can take seriously the concerns of its Asian neighbors and the international community and properly handle relevant issue with a responsible attitude. This bears on not only Japan's image but also the historical justice.

Q: It is learned that recently quite a few overseas Chinese fell victim to telecom swindle in the disguise of the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions. The caller claims that he or she is a staff member of Chinese Embassy or Consulate-General, informing the victims that they need to handle a legal issue back home or to renew their passport, and the caller ID shows up as that of the Chinese embassy or consulate. What is your comment?

A: Recently the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in relevant countries have reported back to us these telecom fraud cases. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes this quite seriously and has issued notice and reminders together with the relevant diplomatic and consular missions many times.

I want to remind everyone that Chinese diplomatic and consular missions will not, via phone, ask overseas Chinese to handle cases in China or renew an expired passport or apply for a new one, still less telephone anyone to ask for the information of their bank card or account. The callers have employed technological means to pass for the phone number of a certain embassy or consulate.

Overseas compatriots are kindly reminded to stay on high alert in case of receiving such phone calls or e-mails. You can verify them through the phone number provided on the official website of a local Chinese diplomatic and consular mission or the 12308 hotline of the Global Emergency Call Center for Consular Protection and Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Hello from Linz, Austria! I had a long but mercifully uneventful day of traveling. First flying from SFO to Copenhagen. Next flying from CPH to Munich. And finally securing a vehicle to drive from Munich to Linz. Austria isnt a big country. In the span of 4 hours, you can go from the west to east borders. Ill finish the journey into Slovakia tomorrow afternoon.

I grew up driving a stick, but its been quite a few years before Ive done so. It turns out that pretty much all the rental cars here are manual. That was a little disturbing to me, since its awkward enough to be driving in a foreign nation, but just to add to the sauce, the entire nation seemed to be mired in a thick fog. I obviously made it OK, however, as I drove a couple hundred kilometers and am typing to you right now.

Anyway, Ill try to keep good ol Slope propped up during my travels (which are pretty jam-packed with real-life tasks) until life normalizes next Tuesday/Wednesday. Here are a few extraordinary charts I wanted to share just to show you   as if you needed any more convincing   what bizarre times we inhabit.

https://slopeofhope.com/2018/01/some-extraordinary-extremes.html

Some Extraordinary Extremes

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On the third anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo-HyperCasher terrorist attacks in Paris, which claimed 17 lives, France appears to have learned nothing from these outrages. On the contrary, it seems as though the French have doubled down on the very policies which spawned the attacks.Frances craven foreign policies, motivated in part by greed, appear to be catered toward appeasing Islamic tyrants. The government continues to fund Islamist or anti-Semitic NGOs  like the Association France Palestine Solidarite ( AFPS )  whose radical agenda is guided solely by xenophobia and Islamist supremacism. Its liberal immigration laws and politically correct approach to tackling Islamic extremism have all but transformed France into a bastion of anti-Israel and anti-Western hate.Last week, France had an opportunity to demonstrate to the world that the nation still had some spine by publicly siding with democracy protesters in Iran. Instead, France found itself in the company of democracy stalwarts like Russia, China and Turkey in siding with the repressive theocratic dictatorship.That morally inverted position should come as no surprise. Immediately following the signing of the Iran deal, France dispatched its foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, to Iran to meet with Irans president, Hassan Rouhani, and various Iranian government dignitaries and business leaders in an effort to cash in early on potential business deals. The fact that Iran is the worlds premier state-sponsor of international terrorism had no bearing. In France, morality plays second fiddle to economics. Its the French way of doing things. It is a shortsighted position and one that will come back to haunt the Republic.France continues to be one of Europes top financiers of anti-Israel hate groups. NGO Monitor, a watchdog group that has done a remarkable job in documenting the activities and finances of anti-Western NGO networks provides a detailed list of hate groups on its website which receive substantial financial assistance from the French government. Many of these groups seek to undermine and delegitimize Israel internationally while others call for its outright destruction. Yet France has no qualms about supporting such odious NGOs. In fact, its overt support for such groups further establishes its anti-Israel bonafides in the Muslim world and thats good for business.Since Charlie Hebdo, France has done virtually nothing to prevent Islamic extremism and antisemitism from proliferating throughout the country, a fact underscored by the recent torching of a Jewish-owned supermarket in Creteil (on the anniversary of the HyperCasher terror attack!) and the brutal murder of an elderly Jewish woman, beaten and thrown from a third floor balcony to her death by a Muslim terrorist. The French prosecutors office initially ignored the anti-Semitic nature of the crime and only belatedly acknowledged that her murder was motivated by antisemitism after public outcry.The French governments deployment of thousands of armed troops as part of Operation Sentinelle serves as mere window dressing and does nothing to address the root cause of Frances problems. Islamic terrorists who seek to murder will simply readjust their methods and tactics, and pursue softer targets.This was the case in Marseille when a Muslim man of North African descent arrived at the Saint-Charles station and slaughtered two young women with a knife. And it was the case when two knife-wielding Muslim terrorists, chanting their battle cry of Allahuakbar, burst into a church in the northern French town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray and slit the throat of an 86-year-old priest.The deployment of troops without a concomitant transformative shift in French thinking will do nothing to prevent repetition of Charlie Hebdo-like attacks. France must toughen its liberal immigration laws to exclude the vast influx of illegal migrants. It must enforce stricter border controls and clamp down with a heavy hand on illegal migrants already in the country.France must recognize the symbiotic relationship between criminal behavior and Islamic terrorism. The vast majority of those who committed acts of terrorism on French soil were recidivists. A recidivist who suddenly finds religion is a prime candidate for radicalism. French law enforcement needs to be cognizant of the fact that the prime venue for radical religious indoctrination is in prison and at mosques, where impressionable people, predisposed to violence are exposed to a toxic mix of hate speech and xenophobia. Imams who preach hate and incite to violence need to be imprisoned or deported and their mosques need to be shut down indefinitely. The practice of revolving door justice where repeat petty criminals are simply freed or issued ridiculously light sentences needs to stop.France must also cease funding of NGOs that question the legitimacy of Israel. Lets be perfectly clear, anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Those who espouse such pernicious views are simply masquerading as human rights organizations. The unfortunate reality is that these NGOs care little about human rights. Their sole purpose is to delegitimize and demonize Israel.In parallel to these domestic initiatives, France must dramatically alter its obsequious foreign policies, which cater to Islamic tyrants and gangsters. Sadly, given the current state of affairs in France, none of these recommendations will be pursued and France is destined to irretrievably drift further into the abyss.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
(WB) LGBT rights advocates in El Salvador have sharply criticized the Trump administrations announcement that Salvadorans will no longer receive protected immigrant status in the U.S.

Salvadorans have been able to receive temporary residency permits through the Temporary Protected Status program since two earthquakes devastated the Central American country in 2001.

Up to 200,000 Salvadorans in the U.S. have TPS, which allows people from countries that have suffered war and/or national disasters over the last two decades to receive temporary residency permits. They have until Sept. 9, 2019, to leave the U.S. or face potential deportation.

Following the 2001 earthquake, El Salvador received a significant amount of international aid to assist in its recovery efforts, including millions of dollars dedicated to emergency and long-term assistance, said Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in a press release.Many reconstruction projects have now been completed. Schools and hospitals damaged by the earthquakes have been reconstructed and repaired, homes have been rebuilt, and money has been provided for water and sanitation and to repair earthquake damaged roads and other infrastructure. The substantial disruption of living conditions caused by the earthquake no longer exist.

Nielsen said the 18-month delay in ending TPS for Salvadorans will provide time for individuals with TPS to arrange for their departure or to seek an alternative lawful immigration status in the U.S. and provide time for El Salvador to prepare for the return and reintegration of its citizens.

Only Congress can legislate a permanent solution addressing the lack of an enduring lawful immigration status of those currently protected by TPS who have lived and worked in the United States for many years, she added. The 18-month delayed termination will allow Congress time to craft a potential legislative solution.

Dozens of immigrant rights advocates who gathered outside the White House on Monday sharply criticized the Trump administrations decision. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in a statement said ending TPS for Salvadorans will in no way make Americans safer, stronger or more prosperous.

El Salvador has one of the worlds highest per capita murder rates.

MS-13  which Salvadoran immigrants who fled their homelands civil war in the 1980s formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s  and other violent street gangs operate throughout El Salvador. Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity remains pervasive in the country.

It is important to remember there is a large number of LGBT people who are among the people affected by the cancellation of TPS for El Salvador, Ambar Alfaro of ASPIDH Arcoiris Trans, a trans Salvadoran advocacy group, told the Washington Blade after the Trump administration made its announcement. For LGBT people who return to the country after living in a place with opportunities, it will be like going back 60 years in terms of everything they have achieved.

The United States is a country of opportunity, to develop freely, she added. There are public policies that regulate and support the LGBT community.

Nicolas Rodriguez, executive director of El Salvador G, a gay Salvadoran blog and website, agreed with Alfaro.

The LGBTI community is going to suffer because of the cancellation of TPS, Rodriguez told the Blade on Monday. They will return to a country where a different picture is sold, where there is a different reality where being an LGBTI person can cause them to become victims of discrimination.

Activist: El Salvador must prepare for TPS holders, Dreamers

Mondays announcement is the latest in a series of controversial immigration measures the Trump administration has taken since it took office nearly a year ago.

The Trump administration last November announced it would end TPS for Haitians and Nicaraguans. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has allowed roughly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. and obtain work permits, is set to expire on March 5 unless Congress and President Trump reach an agreement to maintain the Obama-era policy.

Trump has effectively banned the citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries  Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen  and North Korea from entering the U.S. The White House has also proposed cutting the number of legal immigrants to the country by half.

Andrea Ayala, executive director of Espacio de Mujeres Lesbianas por la Diversidad, a Salvadoran advocacy group known by the acronym ESMULES, last September described the Trump administrations immigration policy as dehumanizing. Ayala on Monday cited statistics from the Human Rights Campaign that indicate more than 45 percent of Dreamers who have benefitted from DACA  which includes Salvadorans with TPS  are LGBT or intersex.

This data is relevant, she told the Blade. As a country and state, we must take into account the policies and laws that we must develop to prepare ourselves for their integration into our society. It will be a challenge for everyone since Salvadoran society is one that is used to discrimination.

 Michael K. Lavers and Ernesto Valle

Immigrants rights advocates gather in front of the White House on Jan. 8, 2018, to protest President Trumps decision to end the Temporary Protected Status program for Salvadorans. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) don't just enable data from spacecraft to reach Earth - they provide internet and even telemedicine to researchers at the South Pole.

The South Pole TDRS Relay (SPTR) system turns 20 years old on Jan. 9, 2018.

In the 1990s, the National Science Foundation (NSF) faced a communications challenge with more than a hundred scientists working at their Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica per year to study everything from meteorology to astrophysics to climate. The scientists were completely isolated at the remote station during the winter months from about mid-February to late October every year. Airplanes could not land to transport people or data, in the form of tapes, off Antarctica. Researchers were limited in how they could communicate, relying mostly on high-frequency radio to connect with the outside world or send their research back to the U.S., and it was difficult to do in a timely manner.

Additionally, polar-orbiting satellites used the South Pole Satellite Data Link (SPSDL) to move low volumes of survey mapping data to McMurdo Station, but the flow of data back to the U.S. was nearly impossible with the existing communications systems.

NSF's Pat Smith, technology development manager for the Office of Polar Programs, turned to satellites in high-altitude, high-inclination orbits to solve the problem. Inclination is the angle of an orbit in relation to Earth's equator, which has zero inclination. The higher the satellite, the smaller the angle needed to provide useful communications. Together with a team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, he developed a way to use satellites in geosynchronous orbits (about 22,000 miles above the Earth's surface) that were past their primary missions to provide internet connectivity and file transfer services to the South Pole.

Smith and another team of experts began by adapting older weather satellites and experimental satellites to provide communications services, which gave Antarctica the equivalent of a dial-up connection. However, as data collection continued to become more sophisticated, they needed to transmit and receive more data at a time. In the early 1990s, the team gained access to newer spacecraft, which enabled much better communications to and from the South Pole, but the data rates were still low and services were limited.

That's when Smith heard about TDRS, which were designed to provide communications services to spacecraft. He began working with Mike "NASA Mike" Comberiate from Goddard to determine if the NSF could get access to those resources from a remote location on Earth.

TDRS could provide a much higher data rate than the previous satellites NSF used, meaning more data could be sent at a time. The TDRS system also had multiple systems in place for communications, meaning there were backup options in case any of the systems failed. To make TDRS work for the South Pole's needs, NASA built a communications antenna at the South Pole station and added a new system at White Sands Complex in New Mexico, where the TDRS operations center is housed, to provide this new type of support.

The first signal was sent via the South Pole TDRS Relay system on Dec. 12, 1997, and the system officially became operational on Jan. 9, 1998.

"Given the power of the TDRS satellites, we were able get, out of a little 6-foot antenna, data rates that we could previously only get a fraction of with a big 9-meter antenna," said Smith. A 9-meter antenna equates to about 30 feet, or five times the size of a 6-foot antenna.

Over the next several years, the system was used for numerous purposes besides providing general connectivity to the South Pole. In June 1999, the South Pole TDRS Relay played a critical role in providing telemedicine from the U.S. to the station's physician, Jerri Nielson, who had discovered she had breast cancer while isolated at the South Pole station during the winter. They helped her perform a self-biopsy and administer chemotherapy, saving her life. Doctors leveraged the system for telemedicine again in 2002 to assist in knee surgery for meteorologist Dar Gibson.

Additionally, the system supported news events from the South Pole in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including a live New Year's Eve broadcast from the South Pole in 2000.

"It's hard to enumerate all the current systems that this was the pathfinder for," said Comberiate. "The SPTR system was so far ahead of everything else back then that it was unimaginable."

The system was a game-changer not just for connectivity from the South Pole, but for communications in many remote locations. The use of TDRS for internet connectivity evolved from the South Pole to other ground and ship-based systems for remote science webcasts, such as for eclipses in remote locations. TDRS not only provided data services for these activities, but demonstrated the potential for the use of internet technology to support NASA missions.

This culminated in an experiment, named the Low Power Transceiver Communications and Navigation Demonstration on Shuttle (LPT CANDOS), on the STS-107 space shuttle mission in 2003. LPT CANDOS provided network connectivity to the payload bay of the space shuttle using the same TDRS equipment developed initially for SPTR. Since that time, the ability to use general internet has been added to the International Space Station and the Orion spacecraft. Future exploration and science missions will use a combination of IP and disruption-tolerant networking (DTN) as part of a solar system internet.

Over time, the SPTR system has changed and evolved. The original NASA equipment was replaced with upgraded NSF equipment, which was named SPTR-2 and became operational in June 2009. The SPTR-2 antenna has access to any TDRS spacecraft in view and can also relay science data through the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) network in between TDRS visibility windows. GOES satellites use a different communications system to communicate than TDRS.

Every year, researchers develop instruments that collect even more data at a time and require higher data rates to stay in the forefront of their scientific fields. Astrophysicists working on cosmic background research at the South Pole station expect to collect as much as 300 megabits of data per day in the next few years, so SPTR must continue to evolve with these growing needs.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds and manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), which has three, year-round remote research stations in Antarctica. This partnership between NASA and NSF commissioned a first-of-its-kind satellite communications ground terminal at the NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The South Pole TDRS Relay (SPTR) ground terminal was the genesis of what is today an important data communications link moving high volumes of scientific research data daily from NSF-funded astronomy and astrophysics programs. The partnership for communications, now in its 20th year, continues with long-term TDRS access, enabling science discoveries at the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics, supporting the operations of Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and providing the important connections to family and friends for the isolated scientists and crew.

For more information about NASA's space communications networks, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/index.html

For more information about TDRS, visit: https://tdrs.gsfc.nasa.gov

For more information on USAP, visit: https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/antarct/usap.jsp



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On Thursday, January 11th in Brooklyn at Baby Skips (1158 Myrtle Ave) a new event called I See You is focusing on an oft-neglected segment of the specialty coffee industry. Designed towards uniting and supporting POC baristas & coffee professionals, I See You's tag line is A Conversation For Progress. The event is sponsored by Little Skips, Crop To Cup, and Little MO, and is totally free to attend.

As we go to press here I See You takes place tomorrow nightthat's soon!and to learn more Sprudge spoke with event organizer Ezra Baker, of Share Coffee Roasters.

Hi Ezra! Thanks for talking to us about your event. By way of introduction, how long have you worked in coffee, and where are you working now? Alsowhat's your favorite drink to order in a cafe.

Ezra Baker: Hi Im Ezra Baker and Im from New York NY. Ive worked in coffee for a month shy of 10 years. Im currently the Wholesale Sales and Customer Relations Manager at Share Coffee Roasters out of Hadley, MA. That telecommuting life! My favorite cafe order is what I call the Eric Grimm: iced coffee (not cold brew) extra ice. So much ice that the ice is almost falling out of the top of the cup.

A Conversation For Progressunpack that for us a little bit. Why did you choose that phrase to subtitle this event?

With the Help of Linda Thatch of the Little Skips empire, we came up with this because a bunch of POC coffee professionals all being in the same room is something that doesnt happen. That in itself is progress. I feel like a lot of us have been the only one at our company for the most part. When you know other people are having the same career struggles or struggles with customers that you have, it makes it easier to push through.

Have you ever heard of an event like this before in coffee?

I havent! But I feel like I have talked about something like this for years!

Are there similar events in other worldsart, music, or other beverage industriesthat helped inspire this?

Yes, actually. A friend of mine in publishing is a member of POC in Publishing and Latinx in Publishing. We were having drinks and I mentioned the sort of event or group I wanted to start, and she kinda laid out to me the importance of events like I See You.

What is the event's format like? Is it just a hang or will there be speakers? A Q&A?

Its going to be both. I'm going to lead/moderate a short talk with Linda from Little Skips, as well as and James Simmons from Counter Culture, and then we will open it up to any questions anyone might have. But Im all about the hang just because we never get to do that!

On Facebook you shared something about seeing a friend, who is a prominent pro in the industry now and a POC, working bar at a cafe like 5 years ago, and thinking to yourself (and I quote): Are they treating her okay here? Are they giving her the bar time she needs? Are they paying her the same? Are they saying fucked up shit to her?

I'm curious to know, is this based on negative experiences you've witnessed or experienced personally? And do you think the industry has gotten better in the years since?

Yes totally. There have been some weird moments in my career but with the help of some co-workers I look up to I learned how to navigate a very tricky career path. I want everyone to have that! But its even more cool if that person has had a lot of the same experiences as you.

I dont think the industry has gotten better. Companies have gotten bigger but if you look at upper management its not very diverse at all. There really isnt much representation of any marginalized group.

Why is an event like this crucial right now?

Its always been crucial. I think now I feel like personally Im in a place to do something about it.

Do you hope this becomes a series?

Yes! I would like to throw one in every major city or in conjunction with a big industry event.

Anyone you'd like to thank for help putting this together?

Yes! Huge thanks to Linda Thatch and the Little Skips team, Erika Vonie and Crop to Cup, Tinuade Oyelowo, James Simmons, Liz Dean, and Rihanna Fenty.

Thank you.

The inaugural I See You is Thursday, January 11th at Baby Skips (1158 Myrtle Ave) in Brooklyn. Free to attend, all ages, 7pm.

Jordan Michelman is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.

Photo courtesy of Ezra Baker.
Officials with the Michigan Harness Horsemens Association have announced the 2018 early-closing colt stakes program for Michigan-sired and Michigan-bred horses, which will be contested at Northville Downs and at county fair meetings across the state.



A drone captures the action while high above Northville Downs (Image courtesy Northville Downs)

Northville Downs will host Michigan Sire Stakes and Great Lakes Stakes events for two- and three-year-olds by Michigan sires. Each sire stakes division will carry an estimated $22,000 purse, while the inaugural editions of the Great Lakes Stakes will be worth an estimated $7,000 per division.

Additionally, the Michigan Breeders Stakes and early-closing colt stakes will be open to Michigan-sired and Michigan-bred horses. For the purposes of these events, Michigan-bred is defined as a foal from a mare who was wholly owned or leased by Michigan residents at the time of her conception. The Breeders Stakes will be raced at Northville for an estimated $11,000 per division, while the early-closing colt stakes will carry an estimated purse of $6,700 per division, racing one week at Northville Downs and the remaining seven events to be held at county fairs statewide. The first nomination payment for the early-closing colt stakes program is due February 15.

Nomination forms will be available at mhha.com, as will a complete schedule once the fair schedule and purses are finalized by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

Horsepeople with questions about their horses eligibility are advised to contact the MHHA office via email at [email protected] or via phone at 517-349-2920.

(Michigan Harness Horsemen's Association)
Standardbred horseman Brian J. Kelley, 59, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones on January 3.

Kelley was a fun-loving caring father and grandfather. He was an avid outdoorsman, fisherman and lifelong harness racing horseman. He trained and owned many horses throughout his life, passing his passion for horses down to his family.

He enjoyed reading and watching sports, and was a diehard Seattle Seahawks fan. His biggest joy in life was watching his children and grandchildren grow and succeed, of this he was very proud. He greatly enjoyed spending time with his family, and at the race track.

Kelley graduated from Lawrence High School, class of 1976.

He is survived by his children, Brian J. II (Sherrie), Heather and Eric (partner Jennifer Klinge); grandsons, Dylan and Timietheus Edwards; and granddaughters, Elexis, Sequora and Abriana; and many dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Francis and Lanson; and his brother, Gary.

Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Life from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday (January 14) at the American Legion, 213 Capital St., Augusta, Maine.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Brian Kelley.

(USTA)
The first dash of Buffalo Raceways 2018 season will take place this Friday night (January 12), and it is only fitting that the contest will feature three award winners from the tracks 2017 season.

Empire Earl N, Buffalo Raceway's Trotter of the Year last season, will head the field in the featured $9,500 Open Trot, which is scheduled to head to post at 5 p.m. (the first of nine races scheduled for the card). The 10-year-old gelding is owned by driver Larry Stalbaum and is conditioned by Kim Asher, both of whom captured driver and trainer of the year honours, respectively, last year.

Stalbaum finished the year with 347 victories  193 of which came at the Hamburg half-mile oval. He'll be busy on Friday night, as Stalbaum is slated to drive in all nine races.

Asher had the top UTR rating in the United States in 2017  a .429 mark thanks in part to recording 219 victories from 784 starts. Her stable earned $1,157,977. She had 115 wins at Buffalo Raceway.

Last season, Empire Earl N won four of 11 starts at Buffalo Raceway and banked $32,000 from those starts. He drew many outside posts and was competitive in each appearance. Empire Earl N, who won $75,915 in 2017, has drawn Post 5 for Friday.

The wide open event will also include Northern Matador, Lucky Pablo, Fleet Bumblebee, Kahoku and Lenny Mac.

The Buffalo Raceway driving colony will sport regulars Drew Monti, Ray Fisher Jr., John Cummings Jr. and Shawn McDonough and will be joined by Billy Davis Jr. and Shawn Gray. Monti, Gray, Davis Jr. and Fisher Jr. are down to compete in all nine races as well.

Opening weekend will have free programs on Friday evening along with $3 off the popular fish fry dinner; while on Saturday night, customers will get $3 off the home style turkey dinner in the Winner's Circle Cafe.

Saturday evening also will feature the Lucky Exacta contest where patrons will receive a collectible Buffalo Raceway magnet with an exacta combination on the back of it. Should that exacta come in, winners will get to spin the wheel to collect up to $100 in free wagers. Also, all fans will get $10 in free play at Hamburg Gaming included with the magnet.

The Pick-5 wager will return with the sequence beginning in the second race each night. There's a 50-cent minimum wager and should no one hit it, there will be a carryover into the next night's card.

Post time on Wednesday and Friday evenings will be 5 p.m., while the start time on Saturdays will be 6 p.m.

(Buffalo Raceway)
Jeanne M. Ferland, 83, passed away on December 30, 2017, at her home following a period of declining heath.

She was born October 28, 1934, the daughter of Oscar and Inez (Belanger) Cantin.

Ferland had many talents pertaining to the sport of harness racing. She and her husband Bob were an integral part of racing at the Rochester Fair for more than three decades.

The Ferlands also had an extensive harness racing museum (Rochester Fair Hall of Fame) located in the grandstand at the fairgrounds, but what she will probably be best known for was the way she meticulously recreated miniature racing colours, with her gift of needle and thread, where she memorialized many of the drivers who passed through New England over the years. These miniature colours, numbering in the hundreds, are currently on display in the grandstand at Scarborough Downs in Maine.

She was involved with the New England stakes program and was the driving force behind the Mr. 1,000 Club, which brought together top drivers to compete in many of the New England venues.

She also owned and operated Beauty Bar for 49 years.

She had a great devotion to her church, as she participated in the choir, breakfasts, suppers, and fairs.

Survivors include her husband, Robert; daughter, Robyn Norton; and three grandsons.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on January 8 at St. Ignatius' St. Martin Church. Burial will be at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in the spring.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Jeanne Ferland.

(New England Harness Writers)
Bomb Destroys Persecuted Church

Contact: ChinaAid.org,

432-689-6985,

432-553-1080,

media@chinaaid.org



LINFEN, Shanix, China, Jan. 10, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- An explosion rang through the air early yesterday as authorities bombed and demolished a serially persecuted church in China's northern Shanxi province.



Photo: Golden Lampstand Church after being demolished -- click here to view the church building prior to being demolished



Golden Lampstand Church in Linfen, Shanxi was once a 17 million Yuan ($2,603,380.00 USD) unregistered church, paid for completely by the Christians who attended it. On Jan. 9, Chinese military police detonated explosives situated in underground worship halls beneath the church and proceeded to demolish its above-ground building, leaving it shattered.



China's military police has been under the direct control of the central government since the head of the public security bureau, which previously commanded it, was arrested last year. This indicates that the order to destroy the church came from China's top officials instead of the less-powerful local authorities.



This is not the first time the church has faced persecution, however. China repeatedly cracks down on house churches, which are churches that refuse to register, often to opt out of government monitoring. Officials often prosecute such choices, however, and some of Golden Lampstand Church's leaders have been imprisoned for one to seven years, simply for serving at their church.



The similar demolition of a Catholic church last year is prompting Christians to worry that the central government will begin ordering the mass destruction of church buildings nationwide as new religious regulations go into effect next month. These regulations grant the Chinese Communist Party increased power over religion, paving the way for escalated persecution.



"The repeated persecution of Golden Lampstand Church demonstrates that the Chinese government has no respect for religious freedom or human rights," ChinaAid President and Founder Bob Fu said. "ChinaAid calls on the international community to openly condemn the bombing of this church building and urge the Chinese government to fairly compensate the Christians who paid for it and immediately cease these alarming demolitions of churches."



As the church was being built on Sept. 13, 2009, church members who slept at the construction site were awakened by 400 officials and beaten as the building was razed. 30 of them reached critical condition.



When Yang "Esther" Xue, the daughter of two of the church's pastors, learned of the beatings, she phoned home, but no one answered. Later, she learned that both of her parents had been arrested on Oct. 11, 2009, as punishment against house church leaders. Yang Xuan, her father, spent three-and-a-half years in prison, and her aunt, Yang Rongli, spent seven years incarcerated and received a 30,000 Yuan ($4,594.00 USD) fine. Her mother, Yang Caizhen was sentenced to two years in a re-education labor camp and beaten while incarcerated, while her uncle, Wang Xiaoguang, received a three-year jail term and fined 10,000 Yuan ($1,531.00 USD).



Yang Rongli, who has been under government surveillance since her release in 2016, described the demolition to a ChinaAid reporter, saying, "...the police surrounded the Golden Lampstand Church. Patrol wagons guarded the church. Workers smashed the church's glass. At this point, excavators are digging into the church, but we are not allowed to enter or watch. The village head and the police from the local police station warned all the believers against entering the church. Now, we really have no idea what is going to happen."



ChinaAid exposes abuses, such as those experienced by Golden Lampstand Church, in order to call out China's abuses of Christians and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law.


First Apologetics Curriculum for Tweens to be Released

Contact: Tom Griffin, 770-597-2654, tjgconsult@aol.com



ATLANTA, Jan. 10, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- The toxic effect of the secular university on Christian faith is well known, but the truth is that 84% of youth have doubts about their Christian faith before college.



With so many people falling away from the faith as early as junior high and middle school, what can one do? Tom Griffin, an experienced Christian educator, recognized the need early on. He knew that 'apologetics,' that is, the defense of the Christian faith, was important for this age group. However, he couldn't find any Sunday School curriculum or other materials that was suitable.



So he made it himself. He buckled down and produced "Apologetics for Tweens."



This apologetics curriculum is specifically directed at 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. After a long wait, it will be officially released next week, January 15th.



However, there has already been intense interest in the curriculum. Pastors, Sunday School teachers, and homeschooling parents alike have examined Griffin's materials and declared, "This is exactly what I have been looking for, but there is nothing available."



Why are people having this reaction? Griffin explains, "The need for apologetics has moved downstream even to elementary school. The kids are smarter now than ever before, and with the pervasive influence of the internet and accelerating secular attacks, questions about Christianity and other religions form far earlier."



The curriculum is published through Athanatos Publishing Group, a Christian apologetics ministry that has also been studying the rise in the religiously 'unaffiliated' and has been attempting to meet the challenge.



Athanatos Ministry's Executive Director, Dr. Anthony Horvath, makes the point that Griffin's curriculum is not just for churches, although naturally youth pastors and directors will be very interested. He says, "Given the importance of the family in transmitting the faith, we are making sure that parents and grandparents also know about Griffin's 'Apologetics for Tweens' curriculum."



So, whether you are a pastor or a parent, if you are looking for a way to fortify the faith of middle schoolers, "Apologetics for Tweens" might be just what you're looking for.



Although the curriculum is not officially available until next week, the publisher has authorized a pre-release promotion of 25% off of purchases made through the Athanatos website.



Learn more and order at www.resurgensconsulting.com.

Tom Griffin is available for interviews at tjgconsult@aol.com or 770-597-2654.


Massacre of the middle-aged men shouts todays Daily Mail. Lets leave aside the over-entitled self-pitying here and ask how people can possibly believe such guff.

Whats going on here is an old phenomenon described by Adam Smith:

We frequently see the respectful attentions of the world more strongly directed towards the rich and the great, than towards the wise and the virtuous. We see frequently the vices and follies of the powerful much less despised than the poverty and weakness of the innocent. (Theory of Moral Sentiments I.III.29)

But why do they get such respect, and such sympathy when their rewards fall slightly short of their over-inflated expectations?

Part of the answer lies in an experiment (pdf) conducted by Deborah Small, George Loewenstein and Paul Slovic. They paid people $5 to complete some questionnaires and then invited them to donate to an overseas aid charity. Some were given statistics about millions facing food shortages in Africa, whilst others were shown a picture of a poor girl from Mali and told her name. People were twice as likely to donate after seeing the picture than the dry statistics.

This is the identifiable victim effect. As Dan Ariely says: once we have a face, a picture, and details about a person, we feel for them. (The Upside of Irrationality, p 241).

The mere fact that politicians are in the public eye, therefore, disposes us to sympathize with them. We have the face and the picture.

Yes, I know: replicability blah, blah. But we do have other evidence here. James Andreoni and Justin Rao got subjects to play a dictator game in which some potential recipients could request donations and others couldnt. They found that requests significantly increased donations even if they conveyed no significant information. They conclude (pdf):

Communication, especially the power of asking, greatly influences feelings of empathy and pro-social behavior.

This is consistent with an experiment described in Robert Cialdinis Influence, wherein a woman tries to jump queues to use a photocopier in a university library. When she merely asked to jump in, 60% of people in the queue complied. But when she asked May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies? 93% to agreed. Even a meaningless remark (why else would you want to use the copier?) elicited compliance.

Merely talking to us, then, elicits our sympathy even if theres no meaningful information. And of course, politicians (and the rich generally) do communicate with us.

Theres a flipside to this. If we dont know people or they dont communicate with us we are meaner to them. Experiments by Agne Kajackaite have found just this. She says:

Ignorance may not only reduce altruistic behavior, as found in previous experiments on ignorance in ultimatum and dictator games, but may even lead to anti-social behavior.

From this perspective, reporting of Westminster politics carries an inherent bias. In giving prominence to mediocre middle-aged white men, it invites sympathy for them.

To see this, do a thought experiment. Imagine if news programmes focused heavily upon particular individuals struggling with poverty whilst paying only minimal attention to Westminster shenanigans  that is, if we had more Kate Belgraves and few Laura Kuenssbergs. Research suggests thered be more sympathy for the poor, and less concern about massacres of dullards. Our political culture would then be less inegalitarian.

All this said, there is a massive caveat here. The extensive coverage of the Westminster bubble doesnt actually work very well: most people can name only very few politicians. (Though we might ask why the ones they can name such as Johnson and Farage are disproportionately private-school shysters). However, I suspect that most of us living in comfortable circumstances can name more MPs  and certainly more rich people  than we can name users of foodbanks. And this, I fear, does skew our sympathy. To this extent, even apparently impartial political coverage contains an insidious bias.
In CES 2018, McAfee announced a new identity theft solution that goes beyond traditional antivirus to empower consumers to stay protected in the wake of recent massive data breaches. With McAfee Identity Theft Protection, the company continues to deliver innovative solutions that help make the digital world a safer place to live, work and play. McAfee Identity Theft Protection allows users to take a proactive approach to protecting their identities with personal monitoring, financial monitoring and recovery tools needed to keep identities personal and secured. Additionally, through new partner innovations with D-Link and Samsung, McAfee delivers in the key areas of the connected home, mobile security and privacy.

The rapid evolution of todays threat landscape extends security needs into all facets of consumers digital lives. Realizing this, McAfee understands that consumers need more than traditional antivirus software and has expanded its offerings to protect privacy on the go, connected home devices, family safety and identity from theft or misuse. McAfee Identity Theft Protection, McAfee Secure Home Platform, McAfee Safe Family and McAfee Safe Connect help offer consumers peace of mind in an ever-changing digital world fueled by volume, speed and complexity. With the addition of these products, McAfee has realized growth in customers along with global OEM, TEM, ISPs and telecommunications companies partnering with McAfee to help keep their customers safe.

Data breaches are increasing in volume and therefore calling into question who consumers can rely on to keep their personal information safe, said John Giamatteo, executive vice president, consumer business group, McAfee. Today, McAfee is trusted by 375 million consumers worldwide to protect what matters most  whether that is their devices, their childs online safety, or their identity and privacy. McAfee is a name synonymous with cybersecurity, one that consumers can depend on to continue to evolve and innovate to help put consumer minds at ease when digital security uncertainty is high.

Securing Digital Identity

Identity theft in America is a major concern among consumers with 66% claiming that ID theft is the crime they worry the most about. Despite this concern, only 37% of Americans have signed up for an ID theft protection service. McAfee understands the importance of feeling safe and how that can positively affect peace of mind. With personal monitoring, financial monitoring and recovery, consumers are empowered with the tools they need to help keep identities personal and secured.

Key features include:

Cyber Monitoring  Scans the online black market and the Dark Web and alerts users when their personal information is at risk.

Scans the online black market and the Dark Web and alerts users when their personal information is at risk. Social Security Number Trace  Delivers reports of known aliases and addresses tied to a users Social Security Number so they can review for potentially fake identities.

Delivers reports of known aliases and addresses tied to a users Social Security Number so they can review for potentially fake identities. Credit Monitoring  Sends reports based on lending and credit history, and alerts users to changes to their creditworthiness.

Sends reports based on lending and credit history, and alerts users to changes to their creditworthiness. 24/7 Dedicated Agent Support  Allows users access to agents who can answer questions and provide guidance on topics from using credit responsibly to handling identity theft.

Protecting the Connected Home

As education and awareness rises, individuals and organizations are getting better at protecting against malware like ransomware. Per new McAfee Labs research, this improvement is likely to drive cybercriminals to adjust their tactics and target less traditional, more profitable targets, including high net-worth individuals, businesses and connected home devices.

Together with D-Link, McAfee is helping to secure all connected devices in the home against new threats including viruses, malware, botnet attacks and phishing. The new D-Link AC2600 Wi-Fi Router Powered by McAfee and based on Intels connected home technology provides consumers with a comprehensive solution that automatically increases security for devices on the home network. D-Link and McAfee are collectively delivering on both companies visions to provide security in an increasingly connected world with features like adaptable machine learning, parental controls, protection for IoT devices and more.

@Technuter.com News Service
Astoundingly enough, almost a full seven years after the liberation of Libya by Britain's Head Boy and a few of his chums, there still remains some doubt as to whether the country is ready for elections. As a CIA hireling and hence a "strongman" rather than a terrorist or a suspected war criminal, Khalifa Haftar has demonstrated the expectable degree of commitment to democracy, proclaiming that the forthcoming elections had better proceed to his satisfaction or else. Despite the forward-planning capabilities of the late Head Boy and his chums, Libya remains divided and rudderless, quite unlike other oil-rich states which have undergone the benefits of freedomisation by wog-bombing; and Haftar has made a stab at Tin-Pot Tessie's style of tautological threat by defining "enough" as enough. It remains to be seen how the country will adapt the supreme example of Britain's Mother of Parliaments to its own cruder requirements: whether by gerrymandering like the Bullingdon Club, pandering to extremists like Tumbledown Tessie, or simply executing traitors and citizens of nowhere in the name of Libya First.
'Bangabandhu's Homecoming Day shielded country's independence'



Speakers at a discussion on Wednesday said the historic Homecoming Day of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had shielded the country's independence and sovereignty.

January 10, 1972 was not only Bangabandhu's Homecoming Day, but also shielded the country's independence and sovereignty, they said.

Bangabandhu Parishad organized the discussion at the auditorium of Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) at Segunbagicha here marking the historic Homecoming Day with Awami League Advisory Council Member and Bangabandhu Parishad General Secretary Dr S A Malek in the chair.

President of Bangladesh Economic Association, Professor Dr Abul Barakat, president of Jatiya Press Club Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman, former vice chancellor of Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Dr Mohith-ul-Alam and former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, Khandakar Ibrahim Khaled, among others, addressed the discussion.

Malek said, "The fruits of independence have not yet been reached to the doorsteps of all the people due to assassination of Bangabandhu. Now, Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been giving all out efforts to accomplish the unfinished works of her father."

Bangabandhu, the undisputed leader of the nation and supreme commander of the country's Liberation War, returned to the sacred soil of independent Bangladesh via London and New Delhi on January 10 in 1972, after 290 days of captivity in Pakistan jail.

On the night of March 25, 1971, Pakistan army arrested Bangabandhu from his Dhanmondi residence and sent him to a West Pakistani jail the following day.

Bangabandhu was subjected to inhuman torture in the Pakistan jail where he had been counting moments for the execution of his death sentence that was pronounced in a farcical trial.
Late Justice Murshed: A legendary of the twentieth century

Barrister Nazir Ahmed :

Late Justice Murshed's outstanding legal career and landmark judgments have made him known both within and outside the legal arena. Through his bravery and boldness, he himself placed him in the history. His commitment and determination to liberty, fairness and justice made him spiritually immortal. Hardly any person can go through a legal career in the Indian sub-continent without hearing the name of Justice Murshed.

The full name of late Justice Murshed was: Syed Mahbub Murshed. He was born on 11 January 1911 in one of the most respected and distinguished families in the Muslim Bengal. His parental forbears were Syeds who settled in the district of Murshidabad during the reign of the Mughul Emperor Shahjahan. His father was Syed Abdus Salek who, after completing a brilliant academic career in the University of Calcutta, joined the Bengal Civil Service and served as a District Magistrate in Bogra and Dinajpur. He had an excellent reputation as an honest and expert officer. His mother was Afzalunnesa Begum, the sister of Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Haque, who was the descendent of Khalid-bin-Walid, the 7th century conqueror and one of the greatest Generals in the history of Islam. Late Justice Murshed was married to Mrs Lyla Arzumand Banu, the daughter of Mohammed Zakariah - a prominent Indian nationalist and the then Mayor of Calcutta, in 1939. They have three sons (Syed Marghub Murshed - a brilliant retired civil servant (CSP), Syed Mamnun Murshed - a renowned academic and diplomat, and Dr Syed Mansoob Murshed - an eminent educationalist) and one daughter (Syeda Shaida Murshed). All of Justice Murshed's children are highly educated and well established in the country and abroad.

Justice Murshed completed his matriculation in 1926 securing the first position among the successful candidates who appeared in the Calcutta University Matriculation Examination in that year from the Rajshahi Division. He successfully obtained BA (Hons) from the famous Presidency College of Calcutta in Economics and MA in Economics from the University of Calcutta in 1930 and 1932 respectively. He obtained LLB degree in 1933 from the University of Calcutta securing a First Class. Justice Murshed then went to the UK for higher legal education. He was called to the English Bar in 1939 and was placed first among the candidates from the then British India appearing in the Bar Exams that year.

Besides his studies, Justice Murshed was actively involved in extra curriculum activities. He had taken a keen interest in literature even in his childhood. Whilst at Presidency College in Calcutta, he once edited the College Magazine. He published some articles on issues relating to Palestine and Middle East in a reputable UK daily newspaper, the Guardian. This made him known throughout the Middle East. His critical article on Quad-e-Azam in the Statesman in the 1940s had caused a lot of enthusiasm on Justice Murshed. He later emerged as an excellent orator. He successfully led the Debating Society of the Calcutta University. In student life he had keen interest in sports. He was one of the key organisers of Mohamadan Sporting Club in the 1930s.

Justice Murshed began his legal practice at the Calcutta High Court in the early 1940s. Instead of going to work as an Assistant of his uncle Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Haque, he acted as a junior of the then renowned lawyers Sorot Chandra Boshu and A B Khaitun. He made his mark at the Bar even at an early age. After the partition of the sub-continent, he joined the then Dacca High Court. In early 1955, Justice Murshed was elevated to the Bench of the Dacca High Court. Some of his famous judgements, including the Ministers Case, the Pan Case, the Basic Democracy Case, the Mehmood Case and the Convocation Case, were all landmarks in the constitutional history of Pakistan. He also served as an Ad Hoc Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1962. One of his judgements, delivered, while serving as an Ad Hoc Justice, is considered to be the legal classic. He served as the Chief Justice of East Pakistan from 1964 to 1967 during which he kept the banner of the rule of law alof in both what is now Pakistan and Bangladesh. Because of his bravery and bold judgements, the government was feeling threatened and nervous. As a result, the government did not leave any possible stone unturned to put pressure on Justice Murshed. However, Justice Murshed was a man of principle and conscious. When he thought that he could not be dictated by his conscious, he resigned from the post of the Chief Justice on 16 November 1967. After resigning from the post of Chief Justice, Justice Murshed survived more than a decade, towards the end of which he was having a fragile/ill health. He died on 3 April 1979. On his death, the Indian sub-continent in general and Bangladesh in particular lost a great legal icon, the loss of which has not been replaced yet and the absence of which is still felt.

After resignation, Justice Murshed helped organise the defence of the Agartala Conspiracy Case. He took active part in the 'mass uprising' of 1969. In the roundtable conference called by President Ayub Khan, he advocated for the 11 points of the students of the then Province of East Pakistan. Throughout his eventful career, Syed Murshed was associated with cultural societies and humanitarian activities. He was the founder President of Rotary Club, Lions Club, Pak-China Friendship Association and Bangla-China Friendship Association. He was a life member of Bangla Development Board and Bangla Academy. Justice Murshed was the President of Red Crescent Society in 1956. He established a legal assistance organisation called 'Legal Aid.' This was the first human rights organisation in Bangladesh. The famine of 1943 drew him to the Anjuman-e Mufidul Islam and the cyclones in the 1960s to the Red Cross Society.

Let us see what leading personalities and jurists of the sub-continent had to say about Justice Murshed.

Late President of Bangladesh Justice Abu Syed Chowdhury termed Justice Murshed's judgement in the case of Golam Sarwar Vs Pakistan Western Railway PIDE 1462 SE 42 as the 'legal classic.' According to the former Vice President of Bangladesh late Justice AKM Nurul Islam "whoever came in touch with Justice Murshed - a unique talent of easy, straight and sense of humour - had been attracted to him. Despite having success in each and every stage of life and despite having extraordinary wisdom, he did not have self pride or vanity. In personal life he was simple, kind and caring." Late Justice Abdur Rahman Chowdhury, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, commented on Justice Murshed as "a giant in the legal field, a giant amongst the jurists and a giant in his own right." He further said "his [Justice Murshed] concern for the rights and liberty of citizens were reflected in a number of judgments delivered by him. These were, in fact, so many that it is difficult to enumerate them. Many of his judgments are considered as landmarks in the history of the constitutional law." According to Justice Mustafa Kamal, an eminent contemporary jurist and the former Chief Justice of Bangladesh, "in interpreting the law in fine way and apply it accordingly, Justice Murshed had no equivalent contemporary in Pakistan. It is rare to find such an extraordinary constitutional jurist in the Indian sub-continent."

Late Hussyn Shahid Suhrawardy, an eminent lawyer of the subcontinent and former Prime Minister of united Pakistan, called Justice Murshed as an "unfailing protector of civil liberties in Pakistan." His evaluation of Justice Murshed as a young lawyer in 1937 was "In my opinion he (Justice Murshed) is an exceptionally intelligent young man who will be a credit in our community." An eminent non-Muslim lawyer late Birendranath Sarkar referred Justice Murshed as "the only protector of the minorities of Pakistan during the Ayub-Monaim Era." In praising Justice Murshed, an eminent jurist of Bangladesh, Barrister Syed Istiaque Ahmed said "When history of the twentieth century judiciary of Bangladesh will be written Murshed's name and contribution will be prominent.....for what he showed was possible in defence of the law and the Constitution to push the law in the direction of the 'felt necessities of the time' as he himself put it, and declared a crusade against any transgression of the Constitution." According to Barrister Moudud Ahmed, a renowned lawyer and politician, "through his talent and wisdom, he (Justice Murshed) was able to bridge between the minds of judges with the minds of the general people." An eminent politician of the sub-continent Ataur Rahman Khan commented on Justice Murshed as "Justice Murshed believed democracy was the highest right. He tried to maintain and promote democracy through the legal process."

Justice Murshed was a living legendary in the Indian sub-continent of the last century. He left us 34 years ago leaving behind a legacy for us. That legacy was of his firm commitment to the principles of liberty, justice, rule of law and the ideals of liberalism. The firmness, boldness and strictness of Justice Murshed in ensuring justice and fairness is mostly needed in contemporary Bangladesh where rule of law is being threatened, justice is being politicised and compromised, and liberties have become cheap commodities so easily to be taken away. Contemporary judges and lawyers have lot to learn from the shining and outstanding legal and judicial career of Justice Murshed.

A significant contribution of late Justice Murshed was that he gave the final varnish to the drafting of the six points that was the demand of the then Bengali intelligentsia of all walks of life for provisional autonomy, which Sheikh Mujib politically fought and was jailed for. Justice Murshed, as a promising practicing lawyer in the early 1950s, was among those who drafted the 21 point manifesto of the Jukta-Front government and this was then summarized into the famous six points by him. Again, Mazharul Haq Baki, the then Chatra League President in the late 1966, records that no one except Justice Murshed dared to accept in being the Chief Guest at their Annual Conference, where Justice Murshed like Shiekh Mujib made the clarion call for provincial autonomy for East Pakistan.

During the historical round-table-conference in 1969 and when Ayub was virtually surrendering to the opposition and additionally, with the dissolution of the one unit in West Pakistan, Justice Murshed demanded one man one vote. Prior to this new demand, there was parity of 150 seats each for East and West Pakistan in the then Pakistan National Assembly.

However, it was when Justice Murshed's proposal was accepted, the one man one vote concept resulted in 169 seats for East Pakistan out of 300. In other words, it was Justice Murshed who paved the way as to whoever would be the majority in the East Pakistan, they would obviously form the National government. Therefore, it can safely be said that Justice Murshed was truly the founding father of Bengali nationalism and in conclusion to quote Dr Mizanur Rahman Shelly who said, "Murshed was the man in his life span who was endeavouring in building bridges between the past, present and future and a keeper of national conscience."

11th January 2018 would be the 107th birth anniversary of Justice Murshed. We remember him with utmost respect on the occasion of his 107th birth anniversary. May Almighty grant him the highest place in the paradise.



(The writer is an UK based legal expert, analyst, writer and columnist. He can be contacted via e-mail: ahmedlaw2002@yaho.co.uk))
No deal for Palestine under Trump:Tibi

Al Jazeera News, Jerusalem :

Ahmad Tibi, a prominent Arab member of Israel's Parliament, said a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict under US President Donald Trump would be impossible. Speaking to Al Jazeera from his office in the Knesset, Tibi said there is no political solution in the cards, despite US statements to the contrary.

"There was nothing on the horizon when Trump came to power, and now that he is in power, a solution is impossible," he said. Tibi also dismissed the so-called "deal-of the-century", which, according to media reports offers the Palestinians a state in Gaza and parts of the West Bank, minus Jerusalem.

According to Tibi, Trump and his allies have made a radical departure from previous US policies, especially on the issues of Jerusalem and illegal Israeli settlements.

Prior to Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, US policy considered the city occupied territory and a subject to final status talks between the two sides.

"No doubt that the Trump decision is a complete adaptation of the Israeli narrative about Jerusalem and is a complete departure from the US foreign policy on the Middle East," Tibi said.

In 1947, the UN's partition plan in Palestine envisioned dividing the territory into two separate states, but would have left Jerusalem under an international administration.

However, Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel's minister of regional cooperation, told Al Jazeera that Trump's decision on December 6 should not hinder Palestinian claims to have occupied East Jerusalem as their capital.

"We claim that Jerusalem is our capital and should not be divided, but that's only a claim, not a diktat," Hanegbi, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, told Al Jazeera.

"Palestinians can claim East Jerusalem as their capital and we can negotiate a settlement. Although we annexed East Jerusalem, it is still up for negotiations," said Hanegbi. Jerusalem remains at the core of the perennial Israel-Palestine conflict.

Israel occupied the city's eastern sector in 1967 and proceeded to annex it in breach of international law.

Palestinian leaders want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel insists that the city is its indivisible capital. "Trump changes all that, and gives Netanyahu a gift in the same month he was subjected to a corruption investigation by Israel's Attorney General Office," Tibi told Al Jazeera.

Netanyahu is currently facing criminal proceedings over allegations of corruption and financial improprieties that may threaten his position as prime minister. Trump's move, according to Tibi, disqualified the US as a mediator in the conflict. "The Americans were not honest brokers in general, but at least they were brokers," he said, adding: "Trump instantaneously disqualified himself as a broker by taking Jerusalem off the negotiating table and completely ignoring the Palestinians and his Arab allies."

Tibi dismissed press reports about the so-called "deal of the century", which reportedly enlisted Saudi Arabia to pressure Palestinians into accepting a state in Gaza and parts of the West Bank, minus East Jerusalem.

The purported deal would have given the outlying Jerusalem suburbs of Abu Dis and Silwan to the Palestinians to call it their capital. "This is just not true," Tibi said.

According to discussions Tibi had with high-level Palestinian leaders in Ramallah, Saudi Arabia did not pressure Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas into accepting the "deal". "What has been published about Saudi Arabia pressuring Abbas to accept the so-called deal is not true. On the contrary, the last meeting between (Crown Prince Mohammad) bin Salman and Abbas was very positive, in which the Saudi side has stressed that Jerusalem is a red line," he added. Tibi told Al Jazeera that what White House advisors "have in mind regarding solving the conflict does not even meet the minimum requirements the Palestinians can accept". Tibi attributed what he called Trump's lopsided approach to solving the conflict to advice the president receives from his "hardline Jewish advisors". "Trump is not been advised by liberal Jews, who would be more comparably reasonable in their approach to the conflict, rather by Jewish hardliners," he said.
News In Brief

Catalan separatists agree deal to re-elect Puigdemont



AP, Madrid



Catalonia's main separatist parties said Wednesday they have agreed to re-elect fugitive Carles Puigdemont as president of the region later this month, although how to make that legally possible is still up in the air.

Puigdemont, who has been in Brussels since he was sacked in October over an attempt to secede from Spain, faces immediate arrest if he returns home.



Two Reuters reporters due in court in Myanmar



Reuters, Yangon



Two Reuters journalists detained in Myanmar are due to appear in court on Wednesday, when prosecutors could request that charges be filed against them over an accusation they broke the country's Official Secrets Act.

Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, had worked on Reuters coverage of a crisis in the western state of Rakhine, where - according to U.N. estimates - about 655,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from a fierce military crackdown on militants.



Turkey, US relations may deteriorate



Reuters, Istanbul



Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that relations with the United States were harmed by Washington's refusal to extradite cleric Fetullah Gulen and its provision of arms to the Kurdish militant YPG.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Cavusoglu said that ties between the NATO allies could be harmed further if Washington does not correct its mistakes.



Heavy snowfall in Swiss Alps



AFP, Zermatt, Switzerland



Heavy snowfall has cut off many villages and resorts across the Alps, trapping some 13,000 tourists at Zermatt, one of Switzerland's most popular ski stations, officials said on Tuesday.

Helicopters spent two hours airlifting some of those stranded to nearby villages, while others remained stuck in the resort for a second day running after snow blocked road and rail links.



Indian capital on alert of Swine Flu



Xinhua, New delhi



The local government in Indian capital Delhi has issued an advisory with regard to prevention of seasonal influenza swine flu, officials said Wednesday.

In its advisory, the government said swine flu is also a type of seasonal influenza and is a self- limiting viral disease.

As per advisory publicised through state media in case of mild fever with sore throat with or without body ache, headache, diarrhoea and vomiting, the patient neither requires oseltamivir nor testing.






Two teenage girl 'bombers' shot dead in Nigeria

AFP, Kano, Nigeria :

Two teenage girls wearing explosive vests were shot dead by soldiers in a town in north eastern Nigeria just days after a blast killed 14 worshippers, militia sources told AFP on Tuesday.

Soldiers patrolling the town of Gamboru opened fire after the two girls, strapped with explosives, refused to remove the vests in the early hours of the morning. A third girl was arrested.

"Three teenage suicide bombers were found by soldiers and two of them were killed while the third was arrested with her explosive belt," said Umar Kachalla, a civilian militiaman in the town close to the Cameroon border.

"Two of the girls who were walking together were asked to remove their vests but they refused and were shot dead by troops," he added.

Soldiers spotted the third girl after she abandoned her explosive vest in a nearby empty building, said another militiaman Shehu Mada.

The attempted bombing comes as Nigeria has launched a major offensive against Boko Haram following an escalation in attacks by the jihadist group over the festive season.

Last Wednesday, 14 worshippers were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Gamboru during morning prayers, according to vigilantes and residents.

Boko Haram had previously controlled the town, a trading hub, for over a year after seizing it in August 2014, along with the neighbouring Ngala.

Nigerian troops retook both towns in September 2015 with the help of Chadian forces.

Despite the recapture of the area, Boko Haram fighters continue to launch offensives, ambushing troops and vehicles, and attacking farmers and loggers.

Last week, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released a video message claiming a series of attacks in the northeast, including those in Gamboru.




Airport road crippled

Tabligh faction demo against arrival of top leader from India

Several thousands of people belongings to a faction of Islamic movement \'Tabligh Jamaat\' staged demonstration outside Dhaka Airport area against the arrival of top Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandolvi from India, creating huge traffic congestion on major

Staff Reporter :

A huge demonstration by a faction of Tabligh Jamaat blocked the airport road against arrival of controversial Indian Tabligh leader, Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, causing acute traffic gridlock on Wednesday.

The protesters were demanding to send back Saad Kandhalvi to India for his controversial remarks.

Witnesses said a faction of Tabligh-Jamaat members started the protests from 12:00 Noon.

They blocked the Airport Road totally at 4:00pm after hearing that police convoy has escorted Saad Kandhalvi to Kakrail Masjid, the headquarters in Bangladesh.

As a result huge gridlock stretching from in front of the Airport, Bananai, Tongi Bridge to Gazipur.

Passengers specially returned expatriates of a number of flights those landed at the airport got stranded there for the Tabligh men angry activities.

All the alternative roots also collapsed for the traffic chaos. Saad Kandhalvi reached the Dhaka airport by a Thai Airways flight from Thailand around 12:30pm and later he was taken to Kakrail mosque after noon.

Maruf Hossain Sardar, DC of police Ramna Zone said it to journalists.

Later the Tabligh men organised two groups among them one group started cordon Kakrail Mosque to keep Saad Kndhalvi beleaguered their.

Another group went to Tongi Ijtema field.

They vowed that not to give chance to Saad to enter Tabligh's Ijtema field in Tongi and continue their demonstration until sent back Saad to India.

On the other hand police wiped out the protester Tabligh men beside the Kakrail Mosque in evening.

The police and RAB has taken stand with alert beside the mosque.


Mudslides and flooding kill at least 13 in California

The mudslide toppled trees and demolished cars and covered blocks of quiet residential neighbourhoods

Reuters, Los Angeles :

At least 13 people died and thousands fled from their homes in Southern California on Tuesday as a powerful rainstorm triggered flash floods and mudslides on slopes where a series of intense wildfires burned off protective vegetation last month.

Heavy downpours struck before dawn on Tuesday after thousands of residents in Santa Barbara County along the Pacific coast north of Los Angeles were ordered to evacuate. But only 10 to 15 percent complied with mandatory orders, said Amber Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara Fire Department.

Emergency workers, using search dogs and helicopters, have rescued dozens of people stranded in rubble, Anderson said.

The mudslide toppled trees and demolished cars and covered blocks of quiet residential neighbourhoods with a thick layer of mud, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a news conference.

"The best way I can describe it is it looked like a World War One battlefield," Brown said.

The death toll on Tuesday surpassed a California mudslide on Jan. 10, 2005, that killed 10 people as a hillside gave way in the town of La Conchita, less than 20 miles (32 km) south of the latest disaster.

The threat of mudslides prompted the county to order 7,000 residents to leave their homes before the rains came and to urge 23,000 others to evacuate voluntarily.

The county set up an evacuation shelter at Santa Barbara City College and also gave residents a place to take their animals. Last month's wildfires, the largest in California history, left the area vulnerable to mudslides. The fires burned away grass and shrubs that hold the soil in place and also baked a waxy layer into the earth that prevents water from sinking deeply into the ground.The overnight rains forced road closures, including a 30-mile (48-km) stretch of U.S. Highway 101, essentially cutting off traffic between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties northwest of Los Angeles.
Commuters stranded for traffic jam

Present average speed of vehicles 6.3 kmh, it may fall to 4.7 kph by 2035; Per day waste 90 lakh working hours, estimated loss at 300 crore

Md Joynal Abedin Khan :

The commuters now feel completely helpless to move from residences to offices and other destinations as their transports almost remain stranded on roads and streets during the common traffic congestion across the capital and its entering points.

The sufferings of dwellers of Paltan, Baridhara, Hatirjheel, Gulshan-1, Shantinagar, Kakrail, Rampura, Dhanmondi, Kolabagan areas shelter during the office hours as the traffic system has already collapsed for construction work of roads and flyovers and mismanagement of traffic rules.

The average speed of vehicles is 6.3 kilometers per hour (kph) recently and it was 15 kmp/h in 2003 and 13.7 kp/h in 2010, reports media.

A recent World Bank study shows that Dhaka's average traffic speed has dropped from 21km/h to 7km/h in the last 10 years, slightly above the average walking speed.

Another study conducted by the Copenhagen Consensus Center says that the speed in Dhaka is now 6.4km/h, and if vehicle growth continues at its current pace, without substantial public transport, the average speed may fall to 4.7km/h by 2035.

Traffic gridlock waste 90 lakh work hours per day and its estimated loss is almost 300 crore per day, another statistics report showed.

The traffic jam mainly originated from pressure of excessive vehicles, violation of traffic system, dysfunctional of digital signals, illegal occupying of footpaths, invalid parking, wrong design of roads and sight establishments and expiring time-frame for building or repairing installations.

The traffic suffering also intensified several times than that of normal days if any rally or public gathering or mob demonstrations held and road clearing the smooth plying of cars-convoy for the VVIPs and VIPs blockading the city's roads and intersections.

The road water-logging, street collapsing and other natural climax might be considered as the extra causes of traffic jam in the city.

In this context, Dhaka, a city of 13 million people and only 7.5 per cent road of its total area (for a standard city, the minimum road requirement is 25 pc) of which 30 pc is occupied by hawkers, salesman and shopkeepers, is presumably destined to be a slow city, said the sources of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakha (RAJUK).

After that in year 2004 by the fund of World Bank Dhaka City Corporation has installed four types of traffic signals at 59 intersections along the major corridors in Dhaka. At present there are 70 signalized intersections in Dhaka City, they said.

Currently, around 21,00,000 buses run through Dhaka city on 165 routes and are owned by nearly 2,000 small businessmen. Even around eight lakh rickshaws also plying in the city, DMP source said.

The Dhaka North and South City Corporations are implementing a digital signal system. The project is being implemented under the Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE) project funded by the World Bank.

The traffic police will be given remotes to control the lights under the new system and will be able to decide when they change to green or red.

Water transport

The government has already started the water taxi service in Hatirjheel linking Moghbazar, Rampura and Gulshan. The service will be extended to Gulshan-2 and Baridhara.

The CASE project, currently under implementation, will cost an estimated Tk 15 crore. It includes installation of solar panels where the existing 70 traffic signals are located, with 30 intersections in DSCC area and the rest 40 in DNCC area.

"The government has massive plans for Dhaka city to increase traffic speed and improve living standards in an integrated way," said Road and Bridge Division Minister Obaidul Quader.

Professor Nazrul Islam, Chairman of Centre for Urban Studies, said: "Since urbanisation and traffic management in Dhaka are completely unplanned, the problems are not going to disappear soon. It might get worse in the future if the government doesn't take effective steps for decentralisation."

Prof Shamsul Hoque of Bangladesh University of Science and Technology (BUET and transport expert, said "Even though Dhaka represents only 1% of the country's total area, it contributes over 36% to the GDP and creates 44% of the country's total employment."

"The government has already wasted a massive amount of money by introducing automated signal system, but that did not work because at different times of the day, the traffic varies. So when one side is completely gridlocked, the other side can have very little traffic. The semi-automated remotes can solve these problems.

Professor Dr Sarwar Jahan, Department of Urban and Regional Planning at BUET, said : "If the government doesn't take strict measures for decentralisation, none of the tools like overpass, underpass, elevated expressway and metro rail will produce the desired result in reducing traffic congestion."

"Several meetings were held with the CASE Project and they promise to implement the project soon, but already two years have gone by," said Mosle Uddin, Additional Commissioner of DMP Traffic.

"We have already begun projects to improve Dhaka's traffic gradually. The improvement will be seen within a short time after the completion of the metro rail, Rapid Transit Bus and other projects," he said.

DMP Joint Commissioner (traffic) Mir Rezaul Alam said, it is impossible to control traffic on all Dhaka roads with only lights and timers because all the equipment do not function properly.
Research symposium at DIU

Dr Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Daffodil International University along with other participants of \'19th IAGBT-KIRTI Biannual Conference and Research Symposium\' pose for a photograph at the inauguration session of the research conference

Campus Report :

The '19th IAGBT-KIRTI Biannual Conference and Research Symposium' held on Monday at Daffodil International University (DIU). A total of 51 presenters, including both international and domestic delegates from Bangladesh, China, Korea, Philippines and USA, have presented 27 scientific papers in the Conference.

Dr Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, DIU presented a paper on 'Dynamics of Organizational Change Management' as the keynote speaker on the seminar. Another keynote speaker Chair Prof Ki-Kwan Yoon was also presented a paper titled 'Policy Actions for Bangladesh to Graduate from LDC Status by 2025'.

Presided over by Prof Dr Yousuf Mahbubul Islam, Vice Chancellor, DIU, the seminar was also addressed by Prof Soon-Hwan Jeon, Chairman of IAGBT and President of KITRI, Korea, Prof Chang-Bum Choi, Chung-Ang University, Korea, Prof Gyoung-Gyu Choi, President of APEC Studies Association of Korea, Korea, Prof Julieta A. de los Reyes, Assistant Chancellor of University of the Philippines, Philippines, Prof Rafiqul Islam, Faculty of Business and Economics, DIU, Prof Dr Md. Fokhray Hossain, Director, International Affairs, DIU, Mohammad Masum Iqbal, Dean (In Charge), Faculty of Business and Economics, DlU.

Beside this Prof Dr Engr AKM Fazlul Hoque, Registrar, Mohamed Emran Hossain, Director (Administration), Prof Dr Md Kabirul Islam, Director of Research, Prof Dr Farid A Sobhani, Dean, HRDI, Mohammad Nuruzzaman, CEO, Daffodil Family were also present at the inaugural program with among others.

With the theme of "Sustaining the Momentum of Global Business and Trade Transformation" the 19th IAGBT-KITRI conference was held with association of the International Academy of Global Business and Trade (IAGBT), THE Korea International Trade Research Institute (KITRI), Asian Trade Association (ATA), APEC Studies Association of Korea, BK+Chung-Ang University 'Global Leader Project Team of Next Generation Trade and Logistics', and Daffodil International University.

The objectives of this conference are to share ideas, to engage values, work and the world. Its mission is to act as a forum where academics and researchers from all over the world can meet to exchange ideas on their research and discuss future developments within their disciplines. Dhaka, Bangladesh is chosen as the meeting place because of its long history and vibrant culture.

Md. Sabur Khan said that development of an employee is must for the development of an organization. Mentioning the reference of immediate changes of appointing new CEO in COO in Daffodil Family Sabur Khan said, top leaders should skilled up their subordinates in an institution to accelerate its activities.

Dr Khan said, we would not alive forever in this earth. Today or tomorrow we all have to passes away. So that, in spite of the absence of top leader, for continuation of an organizational structure we have to create leader within the organization.

Dr Khan discussed the importance of change management, and importance of changing mentality of adapting management change etc in the paper presentation session.


NANDAIL ( Mymensingh): A rally and discussion meeting was held on the occasion of 36th founding anniversary of Nandail Press Club in Mymensingh recently.
Barrister Suresh Biddyatan handing over honourary crest to the SS Corporation Chief Md Masuk Ittezam at the annual prize- giving ceremony and cultural function of the school recently.
Dhaka needs to engage Delhi, Beijing on

UNB, Dhaka :

Bangladesh needs to proactively engage the two economic powers - India and China - on trade and investment, said a leading economist on Wednesday.

Policy Research Institute (PRI) Executive Director Ahsan H Mansur also noted that both India and China have very little investments in Bangladesh, which needed to be changed.

"Both BCIM Initiative backed by China and BIMSTEC Initiative backed by India, can serve Bangladesh very well. Bangladesh needs to proactively engage the two economic powers," said the economist.

Mansur made the remarks while presenting a paper on "Economic Development and Bangladesh Foreign Policy" at a seminar titled 'Changing Global Dynamics: Bangladesh Foreign Policy' organized Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in the city.

The economist thinks the steady emergence of India as a regional power and its historical relationship with Bangladesh is also a positive development from economic point of view.

"But this relationship is also complicated by some areas of economic conflicts like sharing of river water and the simmering issue with Muslims in Assam," he observed.

Dr Mansur said, recent experience with the Rohingya crisis is something that Bangladesh must analyze more carefully in shaping our long-term agenda.

"The sad thing was that at the UN and other international forum, none of Bangladesh's regional powers (India and China) stood by our side despite the fact that supporting the Rohingya issue was a very justified cause," he said.

If the Rohingya issue remains unresolved and ignored by the international community, Bangladesh may have to face a ten times bigger problem with potential exodus from Assam, said the economist. Dr Mansur who worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the past said Bangladesh's location in the middle of the two economic powers - China and India - is a great opportunity.

He thinks India's emerging position as a major regional economic power, and its strong strategic alliance with the USA and Japan is also going to make Bangladesh's political and economic diplomacy much more challenging.

Dr Mansur said Bangladesh's stated policy of friendship with all', while still appropriate, may not be easy to manage given the expected growing rivalry between China and India (backed by the USA and Japan).

He said, in this globalized world, Bangladesh's future economic development will critically depend on how it manages its economic policy, supported by economic diplomacy.

Graduation to middle income country status must start with the opening up of Bangladesh economy to intensify domestic competition, much higher levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and strategic investors from regional countries including China, India and Japan.

"Without massive investment in all sectors of the economy, Bangladesh will be trapped in the Middle-Income Trap, like most middle-income countries. Its dream to become a high-income country by 2041 will remain unfulfilled," he mentioned.

Dr Mansur thinks Bangladesh cannot remain one of the most closed economies and cannot remain one of the lowest recipients of FDI among developing Asian countries.

Bangladesh, according to the economist, cannot remain as a country of most unskilled workers, and it cannot remain virtually unconnected to its own region. "A container from Delhi must not go to Mumbai, then to Singapore, then to Chittagong, and finally to Dhaka. It should come to Dhaka in 24 hours."
Woman hacked to death in Comilla

UNB, Comilla :

A woman was hacked to death over land dispute in Mohichile village of Chandina upazila on Wednesday morning.

The deceased was identified as Shilpi Rani Das, 38, wife of Ranjit Das of the village. M Ali Mahmud, officer-in charge of Chandina Police Station, said Shilpi locked an altercation with her brother-in law's son Samir Das over a piece of land. At one stage, Samir hacked Shilpi and her husband Ranjit with a lethal weapon at 8.30 am, leave them critically injured.

Later, they were rushed to Chandina Upazila Health Complex where Shilpi succumbed to her injuries. Locals caught Samir and handed him over to police. A case filing was under process, added the OC.
MP Mahjabeen, her husband sued

Staff Reporter :

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed two cases against five persons, including Jatiya Party lawmaker Mahjabeen Morshed and her husband Morshed Murad Ibrahim for allegedly misappropriating around Tk 275crore of BASIC Bank.

ACC Assistant Director Mohammad Sirajul Huq filed the cases against them with Double Mooring Police Station in Chittagong in this connection on 9-10 January respectively.

The anti-graft body filed two cases against five persons in connection with alleged misappropriation of BASIC Bank fund, said ACC Assistant Director (Public Relations) Pranab Kumar.

Other accused are former Managing Directors of BASIC Bank Kazi Fakurul Islam and AKM Sazedur Rahman and Director of IG Navigation Ltd Sayed Mozaffar Ahmed. ACC filed the first case against JP MP and Managing Director of IG Navigation Limited, Director of the Company Syed Mozaffor Hossain and former BASIC Bank MP Kazi Fakhrul Islam for misappropriating over Tk. 141 crore.

On the other hand, the second case was filed against the MP's husband and Managing Director Crystal Steel and Ship Breaking Ltd Morshed Murad Ibrahim for allegedly swindling Tk. 1.34 billion.

According to the case statements, Mahjabeen Morshed and Morshed Murad Ibrahim in connivance with some bank officials took Tk 275 crore loan for his firms - Crystal Steel and Ship Breaking Ltd - from the bank's Agrabad branch in 2010 preparing forged documents.

Former President of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industries Morshed Murad Ibrahim serves as a Vice President of Jatiya Party central executive body. His wife Mahzabin Morshed is a member of the reserved seats of the Jatiya Sangsad (Female Seven-45).

"They have been sued for misappropriating Tk 275 crore from the bank. Mahjabeen and her husband took the loan from the Agrabad branch of Chittagong but did not pay back," said ACC Assistant Director Mohammad Sirajul Huq.

This loan scam took place from December13, 2010 to November 9 last year.

Managing Directors of BASIC Bank Kazi Fakhrul Islam and AKM Sajedur Rahman have been accused in the cases as they approved the loan misusing power and without covering the credit risk.

MP Mahjabeen and her husband could not be reached for comments.




The SPCA of Brazoria County is clearing space for 20 medium-sized to large dogs that began arriving at its intake facility Friday after they were slated for euthanasia Monday at a nearby shelter, officials said.
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Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad Esco), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), has signed a memorandum of understanding with Talisen International, a leading systems integrator, to licence its Enterprise Sustainability Platform (ESP) solution for the Dubai building retrofit market.

Headquartered in Missouri, US, Talisen Technologies is a global leader of enterprise solutions for organisations with sophisticated networks, applications, and security requirements.

The group's partnership with Etihad Esco comes at a time when the Dubai government has set strategic targets to reduce electricity and water consumption by 30 per cent by 2030.

"Etihad Esco has a responsibility to manage energy conservation projects involving up to 30,000 buildings over the next 13 years. However, it did not have the software solution to manage the data for such a large building retrofit programme. That is where Talisen came in," remarked George Brill, the CEO of Talisen Technologies.

The company had gained some experience in Dubai, just before the 2009 recession. The building market was booming and in need of solutions that could integrate multiple building automation systems. Talisen was on the verge of its first deal there but pulled out of the region when the recession hit the Middle East hard in 2009.

After some market research in 2015, Brill and his business associate Mohan Menon teamed up to form Talisen International. Their plan was to re-enter the UAE and Middle Eastern market by securing a strong and capable licensee.

"Dubai seemed like the best place to start because the emirate had such a well-defined strategy for large-scale electricity and water reductions (Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030). In addition, Etihad Esco, a fully owned subsidiary of the Dewa, appeared to be an ideally placed partner," he stated.

Brill said he was excited about the prospect of being involved in such an innovative project with the Etihad Esco team. The Dubai project, he stated, would be in full swing in the coming days.

"Enterprise Energy Management is a 'team sport'. The ESP platform and Measurement and Verification (M&V) Centre will provide an 'arena' where all stakeholders can come together to realize the best possible savings for each project," noted Brill.

Etihad Esco chief executive Ali Al Jassim said the company was set up in 2013 to create a viable market in Dubai for building retrofits using energy services companies.

"The establishment of the Measurement and Verification centre is a reflection of our commitment to utilising the most advanced and innovative technologies to provide value-added service to its customers," noted Al Jassim.

"While the M&V Centre is an essential expansion of Etihad Esco's services, it will also enable us to utilise Talisen's experience and expertise in large city-wide energy data management and its latest Internet of Things (IoT) enabled technology platform, ESP, to closely monitor the performance of all client assets under its scope," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Conex Banninger, a global leader in the design and manufacture of fittings, valves and accessories, will be showcasing its wide range of product innovations, including >B< MaxiPro, at the HVACR Expo Saudi which kicks off in Jeddah next week.

To be held from January 14 to 16, HVACR Expo Saudi is the kingdom's largest dedicated indoor climate and refrigeration event.

Visitors to stand B41 (Hall 1) will have the opportunity to discover more about >B< MaxiPro, the innovative flame-free press-fit solution for ACR copper pipe joints, said the company in a statement.

The >B< MaxiPro range has been developed specifically for air-conditioning and refrigeration applications and utilises Conex Banningers unique three-point press system to provide a reliable, permanent joint that can be completed more quickly than traditional braze, it stated.

Richard Franks, the business unit director at Conex Banninger for GCC, said: "We are excited on our debut appearance at the show and I am looking forward to introducing my new colleague, Amr Fatouh who will be permanently based in the kingdom, to customers old and new."

"HVACR Expo Saudi is set to be a great platform to showcase our specialised air-conditioning and refrigeration products, particularly our revolutionary >B< MaxiPro, which has been well received in each market we have introduced it into," he stated.

Conex Banninger will also be presenting its larger range of >B< Press copper fittings, >B< Press XL, a versatile press fitting system for use with hard, half hard or annealed copper tube providing a secure, life long, leak-proof joint, he noted.

In addition, the IBP Group company will be highlighting its vast range of valves, said Franks.

The highly accurate and durable range of valves offer solutions in flow regulation, flow restriction, filtering, air release and movement absorption, he stated.

We look forward to meeting existing customers in the Gulf and exploring business opportunities with potential new customers, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The University of Manchester will host a series of three business masterclasses and an information session on the range of part-time masters degrees available in the region for qualified working professionals, in the UAE in January.



All the events will be led by a senior member of the universitys business school faculty. In addition to learning more about specialist subject areas, the sessions are an opportunity for qualified working professionals in the UAE to discuss their career, training and development goals, and to learn more about the universitys part-time masters programmes and shorter executive education courses.



The courses include Part-time Programmes Information Session , Masterclass on 'Interdependence & Competitive Strategy' and Masterclass on 'Mastering the Financial Tools of Effective Business Management'. All events are free to the public.



Randa Bessiso, director - Middle East, The University of Manchester, said: At the start of a new year and in a rapidly changing business environment, working professionals need to understand the increasing complexity of business and be aware of the growing range of high quality business education opportunities available to them in the region.



Our hosted events enable working professionals to gain insights into subject matter and meet our world class faculty, and learn more about business education and related career opportunities in the region.



The University of Manchester Middle East Centre has supported more than 2,200 part-time MBA students based in the region and has graduated more than 1,100 students since opening in Dubai Knowledge Park in 2006, making it the largest and fastest growing centre in the Universitys international network. The part-time study option leads to the award of internationally recognised masters degrees awarded by the University of Manchester.  TradeArabia News Service
HVACR Expo Saudi, the kingdom's largest dedicated indoor climate and refrigeration event, will feature more than 80 exhibitors along with 18 CPD (Continuing Professional Development)-certified and complimentary workshops, and the first high-level EU - Saudi Arabia Energy Efficiency Meeting when it opens its doors in Jeddah.



To be held from January 14 to 16 at the Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events, the expo is likely to attract over 6,000 visitors, said the event oganisers.



Following the success of in the 2017 edition, the event is back with a 20 per cent increase in terms of exhibiting companies, which are more than 80 this year, coming from across the globe to access the lucrative Saudi market, revealed Roni El Haddad, the event director.



With more than 70 per cent of electricity being consumed for air conditioning and cooling in Saudi Arabia, El Haddad sadi: "Today, energy efficiency is a priority for the kingdoms construction and HVAC-R industries, and will take center stage at the upcoming event."



On January 14, the event will feature the first high-level EU - Saudi Arabia Energy Efficiency Meeting, under the initiative of the EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network, and the European Union Delegation to Saudi Arabia, with the participation of Saso (the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization).



Bringing together experts and decision makers, it will address collaboration opportunities between Saudi Arabia and the European Union on HVAC standards, certification and labeling.



Defined as a key initiative in Saudi Arabia by Sasos vice governor of the standards and laboratories, Abdullah Al Gahtani, the crucial EU-Saudi Arabia meeting will facilitate dialogue on energy efficiency strengthening the competitiveness of the Saudi economy.



Moreover, across the three days of the show, industry experts will deliver 18 educational workshops that will promote best practices and innovative solutions for the Saudi HVAC-R industry.



Spanning from the latest solutions for energy optimisation and better IEQ (indoor environment quality), to green technology HVAC systems, and innovative chiller technologies for high ambient conditions, the workshop sessions will be CPD-certified and free to attend for all visitors, said the organisers.



A key platform for HVAC-R industry professionals to network, do business and discover new technologies and trends, the upcoming expo will bring to Saudi Arabia the latest HVAC-R solutions and equipment from local and international manufacturers.



The winner of the Climate Control Awards for GCC Region Manufacturer of the Year, Innovative Manufacturer of the Year (Chillers), and Manufacturer of the Year (Air  Treatment), Carrier, will be also showcasing its latest solutions for the Saudi built environment.



Carrier will be playing a major role as Platinum Sponsor at HVACR Expo Saudi for the third year running.



"The event serves as an exceptional platform for us to discuss major trends and regulations within Saudi Arabias growing HVAC &R market. With a focus on energy efficiency at the forefront in 2018, we are excited to announce our upcoming certified workshop, The Way Forward  Inverter Technology leading the trend of energy saving, taking place on 14th January which will involve active participation from the workshop attendees," remarked Olaf Heynes, a senior official at Carrier Saudi Arabia.



Along with market leaders such as Zamil, Midea, HH Shaker and Johnson Controls., the exhibition will present hundreds of products for the HVAC-R industry, including Ecofrigos refrigerated trucks and containers, Grant Ice Systems flake ice machine, curtain-type fire dampers by J C Cooling and Williams air curtains designed to keep building environments free of airborne contaminants, among many others.-TradeArabia News Service
From subway systems and bus lines to taxi fleets, ride-hailing services and personal vehicles, cities offer lots of ways to get around. This abundance of choice must make life easier, right? Unfortunately, no.



And thats because each mode of transportation has been optimised to work as well as it possibly can on its own, but getting them all to work together hasnt been at the top of too many to-do lists. It would be, though, if more of us involved in the transportation system were focused on optimising mobility for the people in our cities versus the technology itself.



Picture, for a moment, a couple in New York City who has purchased a large area rug and now has to figure out how to get it home. Dragging the rug behind them to a subway station or bus stop is impractical. Finding a taxi or ride-hailing service that can accommodate their purchase is unlikely. Even getting the item delivered to their apartment can be a challenge??they may not be able to be at home during the delivery window that inevitably gets extended when traffic prevents the driver from arriving on time. Or the delivery van may be unable to find easy parking on their busy street, leading to double parking that clogs up traffic even more.



Now, what if this couple had the ability to hail a ride that will fit their purchase? Or what if the stores delivery service was able to assess real-time traffic issues to reach their home at the same time they arrive, having reserved and paid for curbside parking through wireless transactions??all while avoiding any negative impact on other road users and residents?



The way to tackle these challenges is to think of the multiple mobility elements in a city as part of a singular transportation network comprising several layers??the infrastructure, including roads and sidewalks; equipment, such as traffic lights; transportation modes, such as personal vehicles, mass transit and ride-sharing services; and finally, digital interfaces and processes. Individual solutions??electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, ride-sharing services??can all serve a purpose, but they need to act in the context of this system with all the other components, speaking a common language and working together.



So how do we create this smarter system, one that can offset inevitable increases in demand with intelligence and efficiency? Clearly, we cant redesign our cities from scratch or make significant investments in new infrastructure that follows the same models. What we need to do is unleash our creativity to provide innovative solutions to our transportation systems that improve them for the good of everyone using our roadways.



At Ford, were developing solutions that can help synchronise this cacophony of services and functions to orchestrate a safer, more efficient city environment. Advancing our complex urban transportation systems to this level entails the large-scale connection of various, distinct bits of information. Our cities need a platform that can facilitate the flow of information and perform base processes??such as payment methods or identity verification??to support the entire ecosystem. Working with our partners at Autonomic, were developing exactly that with the creation of the Transportation Mobility Cloud??an open, cloud-based platform for mobility services.



With this platform, transportation modes in cities can work together. For example, instead of double parking on an already crowded street, a delivery van could reserve and pay for curbside parking, and the city would be able to tell the next vehicle in line when that same space will be available. With the Transportation Mobility Cloud, residents and businesses could have the information and access necessary to make smarter choices for their schedules, for external factors such as weather, and for their wallets.



Open communication



Optimising at this system level requires the components in the transportation ecosystem be able to communicate??to speak the same language. Thats where technology like cellular vehicle-to-everything can play an important role. C-V2X capability, which were working to validate with our partners at Qualcomm, enables various technologies and applications in a city??vehicles, stoplights, signs, cyclists and pedestrian devices??to speak to each other and share information.



Ford believes C-V2X will enable our cars and cities of the future to share fast, safe, and secure communications. Sharing mobility data amongst communities can help unclog streets and open up curb space, while communications between vehicles and city infrastructure can help optimise traffic flow. Imagine sitting in a vehicle and having the one in front send an alert about a road hazard thats forcing it to make a sudden movement, giving your vehicle a chance to adjust its positioning safely. Consider the benefits of having a stoplight along your commute that sends you an alert about stopped traffic, giving you time to reroute and emergency vehicles a clear path to the accident ahead.



The potential of these two initiatives??our open mobility services platform and participation in a robust communications system??will truly come into its own when self-driving vehicles enter the urban transportation system in high volumes and change the way people and goods get around. We arent interested in developing self-driving vehicles to operate simply as isolated nodes in a massive transportation environment, because that likely wont deliver on the potential the technology can bring about. Inside an efficient, connected and optimised transportation system, this technology holds the promise for a whole new approach to moving goods, distributing content and serving humanity.



We can envision the day when a dry cleaner relies on a self-driving delivery vehicle to smartly and efficiently distribute clean clothes to owners around the community, eliminating the congestion from multiple vehicles parking and double parking, and freeing up valuable time for customers. Perhaps those two curbside spots in front of the cleaners have a future as a parklet, providing the neighbourhood with valuable greenspace.



Efficient city transport



With a system optimised across technologies and transit modes, our cities will be better situated to manage the flow of people and goods, and provide opportunities to return the streets to potentially more valuable uses. Cities with highly efficient transportation systems will have shared modes of transportation operating so efficiently that commuters will be confident choosing them, reducing the number of vehicles using our streets. And in a highly efficient transportation system, cities will be able to provide greater access to mobility for chronically underserved citizens who live in transit, food and healthcare deserts.



As we continue along the path of increased connectivity, these developments should grant us the opportunity to realise great benefits for people everywhere. The ability to better orchestrate our mobility ecosystems can ensure traffic reroutes around accidents or other logjams, and can prevent rush hour from being a nightmare. By understanding how our streets are being used, we can determine the safest pick-up and drop-off spots for ride-hailing services, especially as they add self-driving vehicles to their fleets. And by connecting all our transit modes to one system, we can give people the power to access even better route planning services??either before they leave their home or even in the middle of their trip??so they can determine the best way to get where they want to be.



Our streets are where the world lives, works, moves and connects; they are dominant components of public space, generators of urban economies and social activities, and they should serve the people of our cities, not cars. We can create this kind of space again, freeing up our streets and reassessing the values we want them to reflect by re-envisioning how our transportation systems work at every level, and focusing on the people we are serving versus the technology we have built. Together, we can take back our streets.



About the author



Marcy Klevorn is executive vice president and president, Mobility at Ford.
By Daisy Katta, TwoCircles.net

As combing operations intensifying throughout Maharashtra, Mumbai Police is not far behind. Already, hundreds of youngsters have been apprehended by police and constant surveillance of areas in and around Powai and Chembur is in process.

A young resident of Phule Nagar-Powai, Dilip* said, There are at least 4-5 police vans outside Phule Nagar area. There are also plainclothes policemen right at the entrance of Phule Nagar surveilling the area 24/7. Speaking about the protest, he added, The police were constantly filming the protestors, also there are CCTVs everywhere, the police are questioning almost everyone seen in the videos.

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Many, like Hitesh* are in a state of fear as many of his friends are on a run fearing arrest. Speaking over the phone, Hitesh added, It been three days I have not gone home, I have not even gone to college. The police are roaming around with my photograph in their hands. My parents are very scared, an arrest can be done anytime and any section can be imposed on us. I do not know when I can get back home.

Although youngsters are fearful, they do not think that it is a set back for the youth participation in the Ambedkarite Movement. Speaking about the movement, Hitesh added, Our Movement will not stop, we know the real history of the movement. The government wants us to come on streets and protest because once we are on the streets, the police can easily target us, and that is exactly what has happened. I merely joined in with the slogans, and now the police are searching for me. We dont trust any politicians. They can impose any section on me, and my career would be ruined. I did not commit any crime we only followed Babasaheb we protested thats all. The freedom to protest is rightfully mentioned in our Indian Constitution.

Youngsters like Hitesh are the first generation of people from predominantly Buddhist Colony of Phule Nagar to enter colleges and other higher education institutions. His father is an autorickshaw driver and mother works as a maid who came to Mumbai to make a living from the drought and famine affected area of Vidarbha. They have been residents of Phule Nagar since past 30 years.

Hitesh further added, I have big dreams, tomorrow the police can brand me anything they want, then what can I do?.

Another youngster, Rohit*, who was part of the protest at Powai, said, If nothing would have happened in Bhima Koregaon, nothing would have happened here. Our people left everything and joined the protests, even everyone from my family joined in the protest including my mother.

I think the government has received the message that people will not keep quiet nor will they tolerate injustice anymore. There was a distribution of water and biscuits on the streets done by the youngster for the people who were stuck in traffic at Powai, which saw a protest gathering of about 5,000 people. Youngsters also narrated they asked the shopkeepers to cooperate with the Bandh.

Almost 300 youth have so far been arrested from areas like Vikhroli, Bhandup, and Ghatkopar and mainly implicated under Section 144, which was imposed in Mumbai. Another youngster, Nagesh* who has not been home since last week said, The police should catch the real miscreants, why are they stalking innocent people like us?.

The sense of resentment for Ambedkarite youth all over Maharashtra is largely due to the role of police in controlling the situation at Bhima Koregaon and the general state apathy towards marginalised which has become apparent through the governments reaction towards cases of caste atrocities whether it be Khairlanji or Kharda.

Like thousands of youngsters across Maharashtra, even Nageshs friend was caught by the police. and its been a week and they have not let him off. Nor is anyone from the family aware that what sections have been imposed on him.

People in my family are illiterate, I am the first generation who has attended college. All my college life has stopped since these combing operations began. Even my friends are missing college. All my friends are at different places. Its my last year of college and I have exams after two-three months, Nagesh added.

It must be noted that similar combing operations had taken in Mumbai during the Panther Movement in the 1970s and also during the Ramabai Nagar Atrocity in 1997. During those times, the police apprehended thousands of youth who participated in the protests and put sections on them, and these cases are still going on, a senior Ambedkarite activist added.

*Names have been changed on request
New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS) More pilgrims can now proceed for Hajj this year as Indias quota of pilgrims has been hiked by 5,000 by Saudi Arabia, the government announced on Tuesday.

The decision by Riyadh came days after Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi signed a bilateral annual agreement for Hajj 2018 with Saudi Minister for Hajj and Umrah Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten.

Now, a total of 1.75 lakh Indian citizens can go for Hajj. Last year, Saudi Arabia increased Indias Hajj quota by 35,000, the Minority Affairs Ministry said.

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Giving credit to the hike to Prime Minister Narendra Modis growing popularity and Indias strengthened relations with Saudi Arabia, Naqvi said three years ago this quota was 1.36 lakh.

Saudi Arabia has also given a nod to Indias decision to revive the option of sending Hajj pilgrims by sea. Officials from both countries will soon discuss all the necessary formalities and technicalities in this regard.

About 3.55 lakh applications have been received for Hajj 2018. The Hajj Committee of India will finalise the names of those who can go this year for Hajj through a lucky draw.

However, around 1,300 Muslim women who have applied to go for the pilgrimage without a amehram (male guardian) will be exempt from the lucky draw and all of them will be allowed to go, the Minister said.
Prime Minister Theresa May is facing fresh controversy today following startling claims made by Chris Spivey, prominent writer in the Alternative Media, that shes an imposter, installed in Number 10 Downing Street for evil and nefarious ends.

Battered by claims of a shambolic and botched reshuffle, May finds herself at a centre of a new conspiracy theory that claims she does not exist but is, in fact, a made-up persona, played by at least four different people, one of which is Margaret Thatchers son, Dennis Thatcher.

Fake News

In a world of fake news and computer-generated imagery (CGI), Spivey claims that the worlds One Percent, controls the worlds population by stealth, fear, corruption, bribery and blackmail.

Every single one of us could have a better life if we but knew it. The reason we dont is because we live in a world that is an illusion An act.

All the worlds a stage

Biting at the heels of the worlds most famous conspiracy theorists such as David Icke and Alex Jones, Spivey has been at the centre of controversy himself when in 2015 he found himself in hot water for claiming the Lee Rigby Woolwich murder was a government-sponsored hoax, orchestrated to foster anti-Islamic feelings.

Labelled an Internet Troll by the mainstream media, he was found guilty of harassing the Rigby family across an 11 month period but has since continued to publish controversial articles on his blog which boasts an impressive readership in its millions.

Convinced the world is not what its advertised to be, he blames all the worlds ills on a secret criminal elite, hell-bent on keeping the worlds population in servitude and fear.

Get rid of this 1% and we can all enjoy life as it should be. Without these evil parasites, living off our misery there would be no wars, no starving and no homelessness.

While Theresa May, may have more pressing things to address today, this conspiracy theory is set to run and run.

Truth is stranger than fiction

With more and more people turning to conspiracy theories to explain the world around them, Spivey spearheads a growing number of writers and activists who are disputing the official story being fed to us by the established mainstream media.

Whether the world is flat or round, whether aliens are amongst us or whether man has really been to the moon, the fledgeling Truth Movement continues to be lambasted and persecuted as a minority section of society, derided as Tin Foil Hat Wearers.

But could it really be true that the worlds populace has been lied to on an industrial scale? Only time will tell.
Moon Jae-in, the President of South Korea, has given credit to US President Donald Trump for the recent conversations that have been taking place between the top brass in the South and the top brass in the regime of their volatile, nuke-toting neighbours North Korea. According to the South Korean leader, when Trump warned North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and his regime in Pyongyang that they would receive official sanctions and international pressure if they continued with their regular intercontinental ballistic missile tests, he set the political stage for discussions between the two neighbouring Korean nations to take place.

President Moons speech in which he gave Trump credit for the discussions came just one day after such discussions took place. Officials from both the North Korean and South Korean governmental bodies met yesterday for the first time in over two years. Today, Moon is suggesting that pressures from the United States government over the last twelve months under President The Donald have been what helped to bring them together for diplomatic negotiations.

I think President Trump deserves big credit

Moon said that Trump deserves big credit for being the one who brought together the two sides of Korea for what the South Korean leader called inter-Korean talks, and he said that he wanted to publicly display his gratitude. Moon told a bunch of journalists in his capital city of Seoul that the recent discussions between the North and the South could be the result of Americas sanctions and pressures against Kim Jong-un.

Now, Donald Trump has been commended for something and hes been offered gratitude and hes been given credit for something good that has happened  do you expect him to show some humility? This is President Trump that were talking about, remember? The guy who, just the other day, tweeted that he was a very stable genius who is like, really smart. Its not even like he waited to receive credit before bragging about getting these talks together.

He claimed credit for it long before President Moon gave it to him. Trump said, If I werent involved...theyd be doing no talking.

These talks between the North and South Koreas werent even about anything that could diffuse the nuclear crisis or anything like that. The disarmament of North Koreas nuclear arsenal was not mentioned.

The testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles with the aim of creating a weapon that could destroy a major American city from North Korean soil was not mentioned. It was simply a discussion of whether or not North Korean athletes would be taking part in the Winter Olympics next month. But its a start.

Moon trying to ease US worries about South Korea relationship

There had been fears recently within Washington that the recent discussions taking place between the North and South Koreas would present an obstacle for the delicate relationship between Moons government in Seoul and Trumps in America. So, Moon is kissing Trumps bottom to ease these worries. President Moon is the first South Korean leader in a series of three to be more liberally open to a discussion with North Koreas regime.

The Winter Olympics will open in early February (the 9th, to be exact) in the city of Pyeongchang, and North Korea has, after the discussions in Seoul, agreed to send the Games a large delegation. Another great thing happened at the North/South Korea talks. Theyve agreed to hold discussions about their military forces as a way of trying to avoid any potential accidental conflict on the border between the North and the South.
Sangoma Buys Dialogic CCD

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By Paula Bernier

Executive Editor, TMC By Paula BernierExecutive Editor, TMC

Sangoma (News - Alert) Technologies Corp. today announced it has bought Dialogics Converged Communication Division for $5.7 million in cash. This is the companys sixth acquisition in six years.





This deal should give Sangoma $15 million in additional sales over the next 12 months. It will also provide the company with more recurring revenue, stronger gross margins, more products, and new talent.

It is one more step along the way, as we seek to add scale to our business by augmenting our organic growth with selective acquisitions, during a time of industry consolidation, commented Bill Wignall, president and CEO of Sangoma, which also today disclosed that it has extended its borrowing capability with its current Canadian bank by an additional $4 million. That takes it from $4.5 million to $8.5 million.

Sangoma provides cloud-based and on-premises unified communications to enterprise, OEM, service provider, and small and medium business customers around the world.

Dialogics (News - Alert) Converged Communication Division division is based in Parsippany, N.J., and sells gateways and interface boards. More than 25 percent of its sales come from recurring services revenue. And, noting that strong talent is at a premium, Sangoma is bringing aboard 45 Dialogic employees. (That includes INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine columnist Jim Machi, who had been Dialogics senior vice president of product management and marketing.)

Heres a quick rundown of Sangomas past acquisitions:

 Back in 2001 Sangoma bought U.K.-based VoIP gateway appliance developer VegaStream.

 In January of 2015 Sangoma closed transactions to buy Schmooze Com Inc. and RockBochs Inc. Wisconsin-based Schmooze (News - Alert) developed FreePBX and manages that open source project. RockBochs was a Minnesota-based business offering fax-over-IP services and gear.

 Late in 2016 Sangoma snapped up the telecom assets of Cleveland-based hosted telecom and IT provider Micro Advantage.

 And in June of last year Sangoma announced plans to buy VoIP Supply LLC for $3 million.

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Edited by Maurice Nagle
Elon Musk is the CEO of SpaceX which has established close links with NASA in the field of space research and is associated with the International Space Station ferrying astronauts and equipment to the space lab. The company has earned the confidence of the government and is currently involved in the mysterious Zuma spacecraft.

According to Space, a Falcon-9 rocket is scheduled to launch the secret Zuma from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This will be the third classified launch for the government by Musks firm. The launch has been delayed because of severe weather conditions witnessed in the US East Coast this week.

Importance of SpaceX

NASA is entrusted with the responsibility to carry out space research which requires finance and, when the government axes the budget, many of the planned activities take a beating. In such a scenario, private players enter the scene because they have their own visions and priority. That is how Elon Musk entered with his SpaceX. He began by making regular trips to the International Space Station to transport the crew and equipment to and from the Skylab. He also innovated along the way by introducing the concept of reusable rockets to bring down costs and is now involved in top secret projects.

The latest venture of SpaceX is the mysterious Zuma spacecraft for the government.

Earlier it had handled the secret spy satellite project in May 2017 followed by the X-37B robotic space plane in September and Zuma would be the third. Obviously, he has earned their trust and confidence.

The Sun UK adds that the Falcon-8 rocket is designed and manufactured by SpaceX with the purpose of transporting satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.

It was later given the responsibility of ferrying cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station and back to become the first commercial company to visit the ISS.

Moon mission of SpaceX

Quartz reports that President Donald Trump wants to send humans to the moon to carry out long-term exploration and prepare the groundwork for subsequent missions to Mars and beyond.

Elon Musk could play an important role in this because he wants to design his next rocket for missions to the moon and Mars.

The presence of water on the moon is a major motivation which could pave the way for beginning new activities related to space tourism, asteroid mining or extracting minerals. These would appeal to entrepreneurs because exploiting the natural resources on the moon is certainly an attractive proposition.

Gwynne Shotwell, the president of SpaceX, had indicated in October that it is feasible for the United States to not only have a permanent presence on the moon but also to send Americans to Mars.

Incidentally, other countries also have their eyes on the moon. China plans to send humans there by 2036 while the European Space Agency ESA is keen to promote a lunar village.
It's like a horror movie that has come to life. Gonzalo Montoya Jimenez, a 29-year-old Spanish prisoner, was discovered unconscious in his jail cell on Sunday. It was reported in a local newspaper, La Voz de Asturias, that three different doctors inside the prison medical facility examined his body and determined that he was Dead. To everyone's shock, Jimenez woke up inside the morgue as the mortician was preparing his body for an autopsy. A report by IFL Science presented most of the information used in this article.

The stuff of nightmares

After being Declared dead by three separate physicians, Jimenez's body was bagged and moved to a mortuary in Oviedo known as the Institute of Legal Medicine.

The forensic team was preparing his body for an autopsy when they noticed that he wasn't actually dead. The coroner's guidelines were being drawn on his torso when they realized that everything needed to come to a halt.

Jimenez was immediately transferred to another hospital and is recovering in the ICU. Lack of oxygen to the brain during an event such as this one can leave people with severe brain damage. However, Jimenez is already talking again. His doctor believes that he will make a full recovery and that there is an explanation for why he was declared dead.

Catalepsy

Why would three doctors presume that a man was dead when he was very much alive? Catalepsy may be to blame. This condition is a symptom of epilepsy and can give the illusion of death.

It can be very easy to mistake someone for dead when they are suffering from the symptoms of catalepsy, which include rigidness, loss of muscle control, slowed breathing, and unresponsiveness. It is a nervous disorder which also includes decreased sensitivity to pain regardless of external stimulus. Catalepsy can be brought on by cocaine withdrawal and anti-psychotic medications used to treat schizophrenia.

Jimenez suffers from epilepsy, according to his family. It is unknown whether or not the prison medical staff was aware of his medical condition when they pronounced him dead on Sunday.

Eerily uncommon

Being declared dead when one is still alive might sound like a rare occurrence, but it is not. There have been a few other cases in the recent years when a living person was declared medically dead.

In Poland, a 91-year-old woman was pronounced dead at a hospital in 2014. Doctors took a second look after she woke up in the morgue complaining that she was cold. The same thing happened in Mississippi that year when a 78-year-old man began moving around inside his body bag.
With the Alabama Senate election just a day away, Roy Moore and his campaign are doing their best to push back against the controversy that has surrounded them. In an attempt to prove that Moore isn't prejudice against Jewish people, the candidate's wife had a unique strategy.

Moore on Jewish

Over the last month, the drama surrounding the special election in Alabama has dominated the news coverage. It all started when the Washington Post broke a bombshell story last month that exposed Roy Moore and his alleged history of engaging in sexual activity with underage girls.

The paper used 30 sources, with the testimony of four women to back up their claims. As expected, Moore has denied all the allegations, writing it off as nothing more than an attempted smear job at the hands of the "liberal media." Since then, even more women have come forward, with some accusing Moore of sexual assault. The reaction from the Republican Party was initially mixed, but the party has since gone forward to endorse him, with Donald Trump coming up in fill support, and even recording robocalls to help get him elected over Democratic nominee Doug Jones. As reported by NBC News on December 11, Moore's wife decided to speak out against the media by explaining why her and her husband are not bigots.

Kayla Moore, wife of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, accuses media of painting couple as anti-Semitic. pic.twitter.com/Vcczj6pNPv  NBC News (@NBCNews) December 12, 2017

In addition to the sexual misconduct scandal, Roy Moore has also come under fire for his past remarks about a variety of issues, including where he stands on topics pertaining to African-Americans and Jewish Americans.

Moore's wife, Kayla Moore, addressed a crowd of supporters on Monday night and gave an interesting explanation for why they are not racists and anti-Semitic.

Polls in Alabama are all over the place as Roy Moore and Doug Jones reach the finish line https://t.co/HAg5dywhjw pic.twitter.com/63hIF0f1Fj  Business Insider (@businessinsider) December 11, 2017

"Fake news would tell you that we dont care for Jews," Kayla Moore said.

"I just want to set the record straight while theyre here. Well, one of our attorneys is a Jew," Kayla went on to say. "We have very close friends who are Jewish and rabbis," she noted. Kayla also noted that they were not racists because Moore once hired an African-American.

Next up

While the country waits to see the outcome of the Alabama election on Tuesday night, Donald Trump and been working hard in an attempt to help keep a Democrat out of the Senate in the hopes that his future legislation will be able to pass to his desk. Multiple polls have given conflicting information on how the race might go, with some showing Doug Jones leading by as many as 10 points, and other showing Roy Moore with the lead.
It's no secret that Donald Trump watches a lot of cable news, which is evident in his constant attacks on the media and what gets reported on television. After the New York Times reported that the president watches as much as eight hours of TV a day, Trump decided to give his thoughts on social media.

Trump on TV

Since the start of his campaign for president over two and a half years ago, Donald Trump made it obvious that his reputation and image was important. The former host of "The Apprentice" had been in the headlines for years, and was the host of the top rated reality show on network television.

Since then, Trump has made it a habit to vent on social media over the way he is covered by the media, often calling out cable news networks and reporters who he doesn't agree with, labeling them "fake news" in the process. On Sunday, the New York Times reported that those close to the president say he watching between 4-8 hours of television a day. The report says Trump starts his morning before 6 a.m. with "Fox & Friends," before flipping over to "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. Trump also reportedly "hate-watches" Don Lemon on CNN, while getting more favorable coverage on Fox News to calm him down. In response to the news, Trump fired back during a December 11 tweet.

Another false story, this time in the Failing @nytimes, that I watch 4-8 hours of television a day - Wrong! Also, I seldom, if ever, watch CNN or MSNBC, both of which I consider Fake News. I never watch Don Lemon, who I once called the dumbest man on television! Bad Reporting.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2017

Taking to Twitter on Monday morning, Donald Trump disputed the New York Times report that he binge-watches cable news.

"Another false story, this time in the Failing @nytimes, that I watch 4-8 hours of television a day," Trump tweeted, before adding his signature, "Wrong!"

President Trump watches at least four hours of TV a day, and sometimes eight, associates say https://t.co/ZZ57NEaBHo pic.twitter.com/O5N9eD0cwA  Newsweek (@Newsweek) December 10, 2017

Not stopping there, Donald Trump continued on with his rant.

"Also, I seldom, if ever, watch CNN or MSNBC, both of which I consider Fake News," he wrote. "I never watch Don Lemon, who I once called the 'dumbest man on television!'" Trump said about the CNN host, while concluding, "Bad Reporting." The commander in chief's remarks come just one day after he went on a social media rant about the alleged "fake news." Trump called out several networks for their recent reporting, while accusing the press of ignoring the improved economy in what the president believes is a way to diminish the alleged success of his presidency over the last year.

Moving forward

While Donald Trump is denying the report about his television habits, it appears clear that he is not going to end his war of words with the mainstream media anytime soon. After just a year in office, the rift between Trump and the press is just getting started.
Following the release of Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," Donald Trump gave his first public speech in Nashville, Tennessee. After making several controversial remarks, critics on social media wasted no time firing back at the commander in chief.

Trump in Nashville

While it's only one week into 2018, Donald Trump and his administration have been forced to push back against controversy and scandal. Just after the start of the new year, author Michael Wolff released his new book that exposed potentially damaging information from behind the scenes at the White House.

In addition, on Sunday night Oprah Winfrey made headlines after giving a speech at the Golden Globes that received such praise, with many now pushing for her to run for president in 2020. In the aftermath of his rough start to the year, Trump addressed farmers at the American Farm Bureau Federations annual convention, as reported by NBC News on January 8.

After thanking supporters in Nashville, President Trump rips up his list and throws it behind him: "All right, I've done my job now." pic.twitter.com/1RPmtS1eZ1  NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 8, 2018

On Monday afternoon, Donald Trump made his way to Nashville, Tennessee and spoke at the annual convention for the American Farm Bureau Federation.

After reading off a list and thanking his supporters, Trump proceeded to rip of his list and toss the papers in to the air. "OK, I've done my job now," Trump said. "Did I do a good job?" he asked, before adding, "There's always trouble when you do that. If you leave out one person, for the rest of your life they never speak to you again."

Pres. Trump at farm convention: "Oh, are you happy you voted for me. You are so lucky that I gave you that privilege." https://t.co/gfXNFnzGsM pic.twitter.com/m3edovhwQZ  ABC News (@ABC) January 8, 2018

Moving forward, the commander in chief was quick to highlight some of his favorite aspects of his administration, most notably his Tax Bill.

"Republicans came together and delivered historic relief for our farmers and our middle class," Trump claimed. "Oh are you happy you voted for me. You are so lucky I gave you that privilege," Trump told those in attendance. "The other choice wasn't gonna work out well for the farmers. Or the miners or anyone else," he noted.

Trump later went on to speak about the importance of standing during the national anthem while praising the presidency of Andrew Jackson.

Quick reaction

Following Donald Trump's speech, those who oppose the administration made sure to lash out. "Did someone pick it up from the floor?? I hope they put it back together and screenshot it!!" one tweet read.

His ego is so big its beyond comprehension.  JulianaCCBDM (@JCCBDM) January 8, 2018

He's this close to calling for ritual sacrifices in his honor.  Dan Zinski (@Dan_Zinski) January 8, 2018

Trump needs to be impeached already  Peyton (@Peyton123456879) January 8, 2018

"Or was it a copy of the constitution?" a Twitter user rhetorically asked. "Hes utterly fed up with the job, wants out, and/or expects to be gone soon," yet another tweet stated.

"Oh goody.. another unhinged Trump rant," an additional tweet read.

Or was it a copy of the constitution  Aron (@AronMarks2) January 8, 2018

Did someone pick it up from the floor?? I hope they put it back together and screenshot it!!  OahuShoots (@gilbertsphotos) January 8, 2018

"Worst President Ever @realDonaldTrump he's such a mess, and on so many levels," a social media user wrote. The backlash continued to pour in as the opposition to the president showed no signs of slowing down.
Just one day after allowing cameras into a public discussion between himself and members of Congress on the issue of immigration, Donald Trump brought the media into his latest Cabinet meeting. As expected, the president made several note worthy comments.

Trump at the White House

It's no secret that Donald Trump likes attention which became more than obvious starting with the first day that he announced his campaign for president. Despite this, the former host of "The Apprentice" has engaged in a heated war of words with the media that has only increased during the first year he was in office.

To start off 2018, Trump has taken a different approach, attempting to silence critics who say he isn't accessible to the media, which was evident when he allowed the press to broadcast a live negotiation between republicans and democrats on immigration at the White House. As reported by CBS News on January 10, the president let the press in once again, this time during a meeting with members of his Cabinet.

WATCH: President Trump welcomes press to today's Cabinet meeting: "Welcome back to the studio" pic.twitter.com/hgDBV4VQWc  NBC News (@NBCNews) January 10, 2018

At the White House on Wednesday, Donald Trump met with his Cabinet to discus a variety of issues, and did so with the media in front of him," saying, "Welcome back to the studio." Trump made sure to say a few words and caused headlines in the process.

"2017 was a year of tremendous achievement. Monumental achievement, actually," Trump said of his own administration, before adding, "I don't think any administration has ever done what we have done."

Trump on Media

Donald Trump then made sure to take a shot at the press, predicting that the media will eventually be on his side during his re-election because of the potential for high TV ratings.

"I think that the media will ultimately support Trump in the end because they're going to say, 'If Trump doesn't win in three years, we are all out of business,'" he said.

President Trump on the media: "I think that the media will ultimately support Trump in the end because they're going to say, 'If Trump doesn't win in three years, we are all out of business.'" https://t.co/gVl9GfdM66 pic.twitter.com/3ramUFTCnk  CBS News (@CBSNews) January 10, 2018

Trump on libel laws

Donald Trump also brought up the current libel laws in the country, threatening to made a move to take legal action against those who knowingly push inaccurate information.

"We are going to take a strong look at our country's libel laws so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about some that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts," he said.

President Trump says administration is going to take a "strong look" at libel laws: "So that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts. https://t.co/gVl9GfdM66 pic.twitter.com/asqPsjGdFX  CBS News (@CBSNews) January 10, 2018

Wrap-up

Other topics the president focused on were the ongoing immigration debate and the passing of his tax bill. It was reported as incredibly good, and my performance. Some of them called it a performance. I consider it work," Trump said.
Disaster is following California and the state is now trying to cope with Mudslides that have heaped miseries on the people with at least 13 feared to have been killed. The death toll is expected to rise because rescue in remote and inaccessible areas have been affected due to damaged roads and disruption of normal channels of communication.

Sky News reports that heavy downpours have resulted in Flash Floods and mud, boulders and tons of debris have plummeted down the hills. This has destroyed homes, demolished cars and uprooted trees that have blocked the roads.

Incidentally, these originated in the Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County which was in the grip of wildfires last month.

It is another major disaster

In the opinion of officials, it is difficult to handle such situations where uprooted trees and power lines blocked the debris-filled roads. The authorities have begun searching for survivors and have rescued many people who climbed on the rooftops to escape the fury of the flash floods. Many are trapped in canyons and the US coast guard has deployed helicopters to airlift them to safety.

The wealthy enclave of Montecito is one of the areas in California that has been hit hard by the mudslides. It is home to many celebrities who are trying to come to terms with the reality of the mud and debris that have accumulated on their doorsteps.

Is climate change responsible?

The flash floods are believed to have originated in the mountains that faced the ravages of wildfires recently. That disaster had destroyed vegetation and burnt down the trees leaving the soil charred. The soil had lost its binding properties because it was unable to absorb or store water and became easy prey for flash floods which, in turn, led to mudslides.

It was a manmade recipe for disaster. The death toll has already gone beyond the number of fatalities in a similar disaster in the state in January 2005 and could have been avoided if people had paid more attention to arrest global warming which is responsible for many natural disasters.

According to Vox, the Thomas Fire in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties burned nearly 282,000 acres which add up to nearly 1.6 times the size of New York City.

This was one of several wildfires to hit California and is attributed to a number of factors that have indirect links to global warming. The state had to battle drought and the heat waves played havoc with the environment while strong winds added to the problems. There were apprehensions that the denuded land could face mudslides, and that has actually happened.
Maci Bookout is a very private person when she's not filming "Teen Mom OG." She doesn't use social media to update her fans about her life and she rarely talks about her children on social media. Bookout will use the networks to promote products and do sponsored posts, and sometimes her children are part of these posts. However, she has managed to keep her own drama away from social media, including Ryan Edwards' drug issue and her falling out with his parents. As it turns out, she may have been keeping some baby plans away from "Teen Mom OG" fans as well.

According to social media profiles, none of Maci Bookout's co-stars have said anything about her plans to supposedly adopt a baby. The reports of her adopting a baby with husband, Taylor McKinney, first surfaced last week when she revealed that it was something she and Taylor had talked about. During a conversation with Catelynn Lowell, Maci was told that she would experience a love like never before and it would be a baby. Since Maci is done having children, it appears that she could be planning on adopting a baby sooner rather than later.

Catelynn and Tyler's journey

It's interesting that Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra have not said anything to Maci since the report surfaced. They have given up their daughter for adoption and they are happy that two people were able to provide a life for their daughter Carly that they were not able to.

Maci has also been following Tyler and Catelynn's adoption counselor on social media, so it's possible that they know what is going on. However, Maci may have asked them to keep it to themselves. It's possible that Amber Portwood doesn't know and Bookout doesn't have a relationship with Farrah Abraham.

Money and love to support a baby

It's interesting that she's thinking about this, as her third baby wasn't planned. "Teen Mom OG" fans learned that Maci Bookout was pregnant when she started gaining weight and she felt tired. It was her husband who suggested that she may be pregnant. Luckily for Maci Bookout, she had the funds to support a third child when she learned about Maverick.

Now, she could be thinking about caring for a fourth baby and paying adoption fees. It's good that she continues to film MTV's "Teen Mom OG," so she has the funds to care for a fourth baby, as four children can't be cheap, especially when college comes around.

Do you think Maci Bookout is ready to adopt a baby with her husband, Taylor McKinney?
On Thursday, January 4, Republican Senator Paul Schumacher proposed a constitutional amendment (LR269CA) that would let him give the sovereignty of small, low population parts of Nebraska to companies. A report by the Omaha World-Herald provided many of the details in this article.

If the company was allowed sovereignty they would no longer have to pay city or state taxes or follow state regulations. He believes that throwing out all state laws for companies and helping them avoid their taxes will draw more companies to Nebraska, which might boost its economy.

With this in mind, he is planning on granting sovereignty for areas up to 36 square miles with a population density of, at most, 10 people per a square mile. This means that every time he creates one of these tax evasion sovereignties he grants, up to 360 people could suddenly find that they no longer technically live in their state. The company could hold sovereignty over this area for up to 99 years.

People living in the areas granted to the companies may suddenly find that they must follow company laws

If Senator Schumacher put no thought into the effect this amendment could have on the people living inside the sovereignties, they could not only lose the laws that protect them, but end up forced to follow any laws the corporation decides to create.

As the bill already virtually destroys any laws his citizens have voted on that affect corporations, it doesn't seem like such a stretch to assume that he hasn't considered the citizens of Nebraska at all when writing this amendment. So, as bizarre as it might seem, company made laws could end up affecting members of rural Nebraska.

Anyone who lives in very lowly populated parts of Nebraska should push to destroy this legislature or ensure it protects them before it is passed.

This amendment would also destroy environmental regulations

This amendment doesn't only hurt Nebraska's citizens, it could also harm the environment. They will still have to follow federal laws, like the National Environmental Policy Act, but they don't have to follow any environmental rules created by the state.

This keeps them from needing to follow standards for air quality, water quality, groundwater quality, and waste management. They also wouldn't have to follow Title 200, which makes any company that leaks petroleum reimburse the state for the cost to clean it. This amendment would be a large step backward for environmental regulations.
Stassi Schroeder and patrick meagher have been known to be on and off but after the couple called it quits after four years of dating in August, the "Vanderpump Rules" star was admittedly left in "shock." According to a new interview, the reality star and podcast host recently opened up about the split, revealing that despite the unhealthy pattern of their past romance, she didn't see their latest split coming.

This time was, to me, a shock. Like the real, full breakup, Stassi Schroeder told Us Weekly magazine on December 11. Schroeder went on to reveal that it took her a "few months" to process the breakup but these days, she and Patrick Meagher are back on good terms.

Patrick Meagher and Stassi Schroeder broke up on their anniversary

In August, as the "Vanderpump Rules" star prepared to celebrate what would have been her four year anniversary with Patrick Meagher, Schroeder learned that Meagher hadn't actually got her a thing. So, instead of a happy celebration, Schroeder and Meagher were involved in a fight that ultimately ended their relationship. Days later, Schroeder boarded a plane and headed to Mexico with her friend, Rachael O'Brien, for a romantic vacation she had planned to go on with Meagher.

Months after Stassi Schroeder's split was announced, the trailer for the sixth season of "Vanderpump Rules" hit the web and in the trailer, she was seen in the midst of her romance with Patrick Meagher for the very first time.

And while the scenes will likely be quite difficult for Schroeder to watch back, she and her former boyfriend are now in a good place.

Stassi Schroeder thinks her ex is a 'wonderful person'

According to Stassi Schroeder, she has nothing but good things to say about her former boyfriend. However, when it comes to giving their relationship another try, there doesn't appear to be any such plans in place.

Instead, Schroeder has reportedly realized that after giving her relationship so many chances, she and Meagher simply aren't meant to be together. Following her split from Meagher, Schroeder has been dating on and off but is not currently involved in a serious relationship with anyone.

To see more of Stassi Schroeder and her co-stars, including Patrick Meagher, Kristen Doute, Scheana Marie, Jax Taylor, Tom Sandoval, Lisa Vanderpump, Katie Maloney, Lala Kent, James Kennedy, and Tom Schwartz, don't miss new episodes of "Vanderpump Rules" season six on Mondays at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
While radical feminists continue to call nearly every man in the world a sexual predator and the scandals in Hollywood and the political arena continue to make headline news around the world, French actress, Catherine Deneuve is taking a different approach by saying that men should be free to flirt (Sexual Freedom) with women and women should not be confused and call it a sexual assault. A report by The Guardian presented most of the information used in this article.

Deneuve said that sure, sexual assault carried out by physical force is certainly a criminal act, but the way things are going now, trying to seduce someone, or just innocently playing around, will now lead to the destruction of their male counterparts employment and reputation.

Deneuve and dozens of other females from France, who are employed in media and the arts, penned a letter in Frances newspaper, Le Monde, about the sexual assault cases making the news around the world. In using Harvey Weinsteins alleged sexual assaults as an example, the women state that this is now leading to nothing more than a witch-hunt against all men and that sooner or later, it will lead to a risk of sexual freedom, TheGuardian.org reported.

The #MeToo movement

The letter in-part states, Men have been reprimanded instantaneously, shoved out of their employment when all they did was 'touch' some females kneecap or try to sneak a kiss. Deneuve and the authors of the letter also blasted the feminist social media campaign #MeToo as well as the comparable campaign in France called, #BalanceTonPorc (Call out your swine, pig) and stated that those crusades have turned the seriousness of violent sexual assaults into the same witch-hunt against men.

Deneuve stated that she doesnt think that the campaign is the right method of choice as it has now become extreme, far from what the movement was intended to accomplish. She further said that after French women use the phrase, Call out your swine, pig should those men in return call those females, "youre a wh*re?"

Signatory statements

The signatories of the letter stated that none of these movements by these feminists is helping anyone other than those who are enemies of sexual freedom and the worst type of reactionaries.

They further stated that they do not recognize the movements nor do they support it if it does nothing but use and abuse their power to inspire the hatred of men and their sexuality. The letter goes on to say that women should already know that men have sexual urges, as women have the same urges, but that they should be smart enough to know when a man is "just" interested in them and what a real sexual attack is.

Deneuve, who is 74, is well-known in the international film industry who received an Oscar nomination for acting as a bored wife and played a prostitute in the 1967 motion picture, Belle de Jour.

As I reported on Monday (Jan. 8), a former Army Major Gen. Commander at Ft. Carlson lost his chance at being promoted to Lieutenant General due to an Army Inspector General report that stated that Gonsalves called a female Democratic staffer, a sweetheart.
Harvey Weinstein, who had been one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood for decades, has had quite a year. In October 2017, Weinstein was accussed of sexual harrassment and abuse by over 100 women, many of which were famous Hollywod actresses who kept their secret for years due to fear of speaking out. Several days after the allegations against the producer became public, his wife announced she had filed for divorce.

Sexual harrassment allegations followed by divorce

Georgina Chapman, an English fashion designer and actress, married Weinstein in 2007.

The couple then had two children  a daughter in 2010, and a son in 2013. Chapman is a successful fashion designer, and, together with Karen Craig, she launched the fashion label Marchesa, which was worn by many Hollywood stars on the red carpet.

Weinstein, 65, and Chapman, 41, led an idyllic life until the fall of 2017, when over 100 women finally decided to come forward and tell their stories of sexual abuse and harrassment they had suffered at the hands of Weinstein. The allegations proved to be too much for Chapman to handle  she filed for divorce in October.

Eight figure settlement

The Post reported that Chapman and Weinstein had finally reached a settlement. She will receive a sum between $15 million and $20 million, as per the prenuptial agreement, which stated that the producer must pay Chapman $300,000 in spousal support for every year of the marriage.

The fashion designer herself is reported to have a net worth of $20 million through her own business ventures.

In addition to the settlement, the fashion designer will also receive a part of their mutual assets. The negotiations did not go smoothly, however. Sources claim that the talks nearly collapsed, and that the estranged couple were close to taking their divorce case to court.

Chapman will also receive primary custody of their two children.

Harvey Weinstein is reported to be worth an estimed $240 million. However, since the allegations broke, he has been spending millions of dollars on lawyers, publicists and private investigators. One thing is clear  his career as a movie producer is surely over.

Since a report on his behavior was published in The New York Times, numerous Hollywood actors and casting agencies have denounced him. The allegations against Harvey also sparked the #MeToo movement, which encourages women to speak out against sexual abuse and harrassment.
Jax Taylor admitted to cheating on Brittany Cartwright last May with fellow SUR Restaurant employee Faith Stowers. However, according to a new report, the "Vanderpump Rules" bad boy initially wanted his girlfriend, Cartwright, to take part in a possible threesome with him and Stowers.

During a recent interview, Faith Stowers opened up about her interaction with Jax Taylor prior to their affair, claiming that Taylor confided in her that he and his girlfriend, Brittany Cartwright, were no longer sleeping together. [Jax] was just trying to get the mojo back in the relationship, Faith Stowers explained to Page Six, according to a January 9 report.

Stowers also said that Taylor's girlfriend was in agreement with him that their spark was no longer alive.

[Jax said] wed try to do a threesome with you," Faith Stowers continued. That said, Taylor was reportedly unable to make the necessary arrangements for a potential threesome with Stowers and Cartwright due to their friend and "Vanderpump Rules" co-star Katie Maloney. "[Katie] puts her two cents into [Jax and Brittany]s business, Stowers explained.

Faith Stowers had a pregnancy scare after her hookup with Jax Taylor

As "Vanderpump Rules" fans saw during the first couple of episodes of Season 6, Stowers suspected she may be pregnant and told her friend james kennedy that she had been "late" on her period after hooking up with the SUR Lounge bartender.

That said, a baby bump was never seen and Stowers never gave birth.

Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright are going strong

Jax Taylor may have said on a leaked audio recording that he would never marry Brittany Cartwright but for Cartwright, the cheating and hateful comments weren't enough to push her away. In fact, Cartwright and Taylor recently checked out a potential wedding venue in Kentucky.

That said, while Taylor may be humoring the idea of a wedding venue, Cartwright doesn't appear to be engaged at the moment, nor have they announced any official plans to move forward with their relationship in the near future.

To see more of Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, Faith Stowers, and their co-stars, including Lisa Vanderpump, Kristen Doute, Stassi Schroeder, Lala Kent, Katie Maloney, Scheana Marie, Tom Schwartz, Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval, and James Kennedy, don't miss the new episodes of "Vanderpump Rules" Season 6 on Monday nights at 9 PM. on Bravo Tv.
Ryan Edwards and Mackenzie Standifer are a match made in reality television heaven. Their story garnered a lot of attention earlier this year when Teen Mom OG fans saw a disturbing scene. For months prior to revelations of drug use, Edwards was talked about widely. His behavior was scary, and his disappearing acts were like no other. Standifer stood by her man through it all, but it took a toll on her psyche as well. The two were married in a quickie ceremony back in May, which is when the footage that rocked America was shot. Ryan was driving himself and Mackenzie to their ceremony, and he was higher than a kite.

That was a pivotal moment in their relationship, and shortly after, he entered rehab.

Ryan's drug of choice revealed as heroin

While Ryan Edwards was in rehab, Mackenzie Standifer was with him. They chose a facility in Dallas, and she moved there with him while he sought help. For several weeks after Teen Mom OG aired the footage of Edwards driving high, there were no answers. Initially, it was believed he was addicted to something like Xanax because Standifer mentioned that during the footage that was shown. Unfortunately, it was revealed that Ryan was using heroin and spending upwards of $10k a week to get his fix. There were a lot of questions about how no one noticed that kind of money being taken at that rate, but Standifer still denies any knowledge of Edwards' problem.

According to Radar Online, Mackenzie Standifer is worried about Ryan Edwards relapsing. She revealed on last night's episode of Teen Mom OG that he has been short-tempered with her. This has put some doubt in her mind about whether or not he has the potential to remain sober. Standifer is walking on eggshells so that she doesn't trigger him.

Their marriage has been plagued with heavy issues since the beginning, and now, the fear of a relapse is overtaking Mackenzie's emotions.

The future

Right now, it appears Ryan Edwards and Mackenzie Standifer are doing well. They ended up havng another wedding ceremony, one where their friends and family actually got to be there.

It appears that Edwards has remained sober, though some Teen Mom OG fans aren't sure that is truly the case. In fact, the troubling response he gave to the cameras when talking about Maci Bookout wanting him to take a drug test to see Bentley threw up red flags. Standifer will likely worry about Edwards for several years to come. This is the life she chose, and now, she has to ride it out.
scheana marie's relationship was targeted during Monday night's new episode of "Vanderpump Rules." During the show, while chatting with co-star Kristen Doute, the longtime reality star and waitress of SUR Restaurant was informed that her former boyfriend, Robert Parks-Valletta, who she dated throughout season six, had allegedly cheated on her by kissing another woman at a nightclub.

Although Kristen Doute told Scheana Marie that there were alleged eyewitnesses who saw the betrayal take place, she denied that her then-boyfriend would do such a thing on the show and also took to Instagram to defend the actor.

Along with a photo of herself and Robert Parks-Valletta, Scheana Marie wrote, "This is the most loyal man Ive ever met in my entire life." She then added that during the night of the alleged cheating, Parks-Valletta never left her side.

Scheana Marie has her ex-boyfriend's back

According to Scheana Marie, the truth always comes out and fans will soon be able to watch and see just how loyal her former boyfriend really is. "[Robert Parks-Valletta], I always will have your back!" she added in her caption.

While the reality star is no longer dating the actor, the former couple has remained close and has been known to attend red carpet events together.

That said, there doesn't appear to be room for a reconciliation quite yet as the "Vanderpump Rules" star recently relocated from her apartment in Los Angeles to a new home in Las Vegas, where she is currently starring in the on-stage production of "Sex Tips for a Straight Woman from a Gay Man."

Scheana Marie began dating Robert after announcing her plans to divorce Mike Shay

Scheana was first seen with Robert Parks-Valletta in December 2015, weeks after confirming her plans to divorce her husband of just two years, Mike Shay.

However, she didn't go public with their romance until weeks later at the red carpet premiere of his show "Bronzeville." The reality star then spoke of their romance while filming the reunion special for "Vanderpump Rules" season five.

To see more of Scheana Marie, Robert Parks-Valletta, and their co-stars, including Kristen Doute, Katie Maloney, Lala Kent, Tom Schwartz, Brian Carter, Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix, Lisa Vanderpump, James Kennedy, Brittany Cartwright, and Jax Taylor, tune into new episodes of the sixth season of "Vanderpump Rules" on Monday nights on Bravo TV at 9 p.m.
Scheana Marie told her "Vanderpump Rules" co-stars during last night's new episode (Jan. 8) of Season 6 that her then-boyfriend, Robert Parks-Valletta, couldn't have possibly cheated on her with a kiss because he simply isn't someone who likes to kiss. However, according to the actor himself, he does like to kiss. He just doesn't like to do so in public.

Following last night's new episode of "Vanderpump Rules," Scheana Marie appeared on Andy Cohen's late-night talk show, "Watch What Happens Live," where she opened up about the allegations against her former boyfriend.

Then, during the series' after show later in the evening, the reality star was confronted with a call from Robert Parks-Valletta, who confirmed that he isn't one to kiss in public.

Robert Valletta speaks out about his true feelings on kissing

"I don't like to kiss in public," Robert Parks-Valletta explained, according to a report by TooFab on January 9. "There's a difference," he added. In response, however, Scheana Marie said that he wasn't the biggest kisser in private. "Ehhh, you know..." the actor continued, quickly prompting an awkward pause from host Andy Cohen.

Scheana Marie can't stop talking about getting married

Scheana Marie began talking about marrying Robert Parks-Valletta during the debut episode of the sixth season of "Vanderpump Rules," explaining to the cameras during a cast confessional that she would be legally able to get married for a second time once her split from now-ex-husband Mike Shay was finalized.

Then, during last night's episode of the Bravo Tv reality show, she told Ariana Madix and tom sandoval during a dinner date that she and the actor wouldn't be able to tie the knot until July due to the legal proceedings of her first marriage.

The SUR Restaurant waitress ultimately claimed during Monday night's show that was kidding about getting married to her then-boyfriend last July and now, it's unclear if she will ever make it down the aisle with the actor.

As fans have likely seen, the couple is no longer dating one another and Scheana is currently living in Las Vegas where she is starring in an on-stage production.

To see more of Scheana Marie, her former boyfriend Robert-Parks-Valletta, and their co-stars, including Stassi Schroeder, Lala Kent, Lisa Vanderpump, Kristen Doute, Jax Taylor, Tom Sandoval, Katie Maloney, James Kennedy, and Tom Schwartz, don't miss new episodes of "Vanderpump Rules" Season 6 on Monday nights on Bravo TV at 9 PM.
At a time when Turkeys relations with Europe are believed to be at the lowest level, the visit by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to France gives hope that there is a new opportunity to reverse this trend. Hurriyet Daily News reports in its article Turkeys chance to mend its relations with Europe that President Emmanuel Macron, during a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace on Jan. 5, underlined the common values shared by France and Turkey. He emphasized that those values were based on two pillars: That Turkey is a member of NATO and is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights. This accurate and articulate definition is in full compliance with Turkeys vocation to take its decent and deserved place among the Western community of democratic nations.

Turkey and France have had long and deep-rooted bilateral relations. Those relations have developed on political, economic and cultural spheres and formed a solid basis for further development throughout centuries. It should be kept in mind, however, that those bilateral relations also had ups and downs. France, for example, has been one of the members of the European Union to block five chapters in Turkeys accession negotiations.

Today, with a new vision introduced by the new president of France, strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries is expected to have a positive impact on Turkeys overall integration into Europe. Erdogans visit, from this point of view, has many dimensions. The French president, during the press conference, first underlined the importance of the fight against terrorism which has hit both countries and resulted in tragic losses of lives. Cooperation between the respective agencies of the two countries develops in an exemplary manner. France recognizes the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization and takes all the necessary steps to obstruct its access to funds. In this respect, Macron also underlined that the same level of cooperation exists within territories of Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other related terrorist organizations.

Turkeys agreement to participate in the EUROSAM project also reiterates its commitment to NATO and its enhancement of air and missile defense through cooperation with its European allies. Hopefully, this renewed commitment will neutralize the suspicion over Turkeys willingness to buy S-400s from Russia.

Macrons main message was about the values which has brought Turkey, France and Europe together. These were the principles of the rule of law and democracy, and the fight against terrorism should not undermine those principles. He particularly emphasized that evil forces would like to weaken these principles and draw our countries to their terrain, which is formed of hatred against reason, intellect and liberties.

Turkeys overall relations with Europe, as Macron puts it, are seen from the perspective of the European Convention on Human Rights. To the extent that Turkey maintains full and complete commitment to this convention, which also is a part of its identity, it will have the perspective to see progress on the path to Europe.

Currently, the opening of new chapters and the continuation of Turkeys accession negotiations with the EU do not seem to be on the short-term agenda. Respecting the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights and freedoms seem to be the key to unlock that impasse.
Mass protests have once more broken out in Iran. Whereas ordinary Iranians in 2009 were galvanised by a stolen election and led by intellectuals, these protests are spontaneous, rudderless and consequently more dangerous. Media reports suggesting a rise in the price of eggs was the final straw for a people already impoverished by unrelenting economic sanctions imposed at Washingtons behest. New Straits Times reports in the article Invading Iran will further Inflame the Middle East that Trump immediately attacked Iran for a long list of perceived slights to humanity, and in conclusion insinuated that regime change was imminent and justified. A US-led military intervention to topple the Ayatollahs, however, is a terrible idea and will permanently destabilise the Middle East.

Yet, it is clear the current US president believes modern Iran is both malignant and metastasising across the Middle East with alarming rapidity, to the detriment of American regional interests. Nevertheless, contrary to US anxieties, it is worth examining why Iran is a net positive for the Middle East. First, Trump calls Iran an agent of chaos, yet has selective amnesia about its virtuous military role in the region over the past two years. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) and its affiliated Shia militias, in cooperation with the Russian army, have been instrumental in breaking the back of global terrorists the Islamic State (IS). IS is directly or inspirationally responsible for the murder of thousands of civilians on three continents. Until Iran got serious, the terrorist group kept routing US-armed opposition fighters and was expanding its territory at will. What was Trumps predecessor, Barack Obama, doing at the time? Continually rejecting pleas from Syrian and Kurdish resistance units, besides the Iraqi government, to put US boots on the ground. He valued the Democratic Partys electoral prospects in 2016 far more than saving Arab, Kurdish and Yazidi lives, or restoring regional order. Obamas gamble, we know, backfired spectacularly. The IRGC, on the other hand, walked the talk and built a robust alliance of local militias under the Popular Mobilisation Forces umbrella that, with Russian help, first arrested and later began pushing back the IS advance. Ironically, the reason IS had so effortlessly blitzed the Middle East in the first place was largely thanks to the web of radical thought spun across the region by Saudi Arabia to  surprise, surprise  counter Iran.

From a sociological perspective, regime change in Iran is fraught with risk as the entire state apparatus is controlled by a small status quo. Toppling the Ayatollahs by military means will in all likelihood trigger a monumental insurgency far eclipsing the scale of Iraqs in 2003. Why? Because ordinary Iranians may begrudge the inequalities in their society, but absolutely loathe Washington for systematically starving them of dignity in the comity of nations through unjust sanctions, travel restrictions and polarising rhetoric.

Moreover, it would be one thing if the US had a stellar track record of nation building in the 21st century, but it doesnt. Chaos and bloodbaths have followed every American intervention on foreign soil, from Afghanistan to Iraq to Libya. To make matters worse, terrorist groups ended up filling the sociopolitical space vacated by the usurped status quo  the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and most notably, IS.

Next, there is the perceived threat Iran poses to Israel, that faultless American ally and self-declared lone democracy in the Middle East. Indeed, it is highly unlikely that Ayatollah Iran will ever make peace with Israel for all the reasons the Arab states detest their Jewish neighbour, but decline military confrontation for fear of another crushing defeat. Rarely discussed in the media, though, is the enormous leverage an antagonistic Iran offers Israeli politicians.

As evidenced by cursory research, many religious voices inside Israel remain steadfastly opposed to the existence of a Jewish state without the Halacha (holy law) as its supreme legal doctrine. But Israeli politicians have drastically dampened their impact by hyping Iran as the existential bogey since 1979. They have kept the national agenda focused on the parallels between Adolf Hitler and Ayatollah Iran, specifically how the latter, too, wants to wipe Jews off the face of the earth.

Still, the sabre-rattling nature of US-Iran relations need not be eternal. When Trump begins practising a foreign policy that does not fixate on sharpening contradictions, he will realise the key to reshaping Iran is by empowering its people and not further emptying their wallets while uttering hollow platitudes about freedom and democracy.

An approach akin to the Marshall Plan that won over Japan post-World War 2 through broad reconstruction programmes will yield far better results than habitually threatening Irans sovereignty.

As first steps, Trump should facilitate people-to-people exchanges instead of banning travel. USAID, the international development arm of his government, should post-haste commence programmes aimed at uplifting the quality of life of the Iranian people without preconditions or political agenda.

There are multiple confidence-building measures the US president can employ to thaw the deep iceberg of suspicion and hatred erected by successive generations of Iranian and American leaders. Trump self-admittedly wants to go down in history as a doer. This is his opportunity to forever change the American narrative about Ayatollah Iran and achieve true detente.
Not many people had expected the U.S. to turn to Europe for natural gas this winter. Yet the polar chill that gripped the U.S. East Coast this month, and sent spot prices to records, has led to a tanker loading a cargo of liquefied natural gas in the U.K. for Boston, some of which was likely produced by a project in Siberia targeted by U.S. financial curbs.

Bloomberg reports in its article Siberian Gas by Way of London Rescues Chilly Boston that the Gaselys tanker is due to arrive in Boston on Jan. 22 after loading fuel from storage tanks at the U.K.s Isle of Grain, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The vessel docked at Grain shortly after the terminal near London received the first cargo from the $27 billion Yamal LNG plant in Russias icy north. Gas from anywhere is profitable into that northeastern U.S. gas market as prices are the highest in the world, said Trevor Sikorski, head of natural gas, coal and carbon at Energy Aspects Ltd. in London. The arrival from the U.K. would make it the first LNG reload into the U.S. since a cargo from the tanks of the Huelva terminal in Spain was imported in June 2014, according to data through October from the U.S. Department of Energy. U.S. imports of the super-chilled fuel, mostly into Boston from Trinidad and Tobago, have dropped since exports started from the Gulf of Mexico coast in 2016.

Isle of Grain terminal operator National Grid Plc said it doesnt comment on the intentions of gas shippers using its facilities. Its not immediately clear who owns the cargo.

U.S. domestic demand climbed to a record last week as snow and winds bombarded Americans on the East Coast. Temperatures tonight in Boston may fall to as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 9 degrees Celsius), with a cold outlook persisting through this month, according to AccuWeather Inc.

Yamal LNG, co-owned by Russias Novatek PJSC, Frances Total SA and China National Petroleum Corp., has faced financial sanctions from the U.S. since 2014 because of Russias involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. The market shouldnt see any irony in this cargo going to the U.S., said James Henderson, director of the natural gas research program at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Its a normal trade, he said. LNG is supposed to travel globally to where the demand is.
The attitude of the Armenian population toward Russia is deteriorating, according to the Caucasus Barometer survey carried out by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers: if in 2013, 84% of the respondents called Russia the most friendly country for Armenia, in 2015 their number was already 74%, and last year - only 64%, with the simultaneous growth of positive assessments of Western countries. A member of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, member of the Izborsk club Maxim Shevchenko, told Vestnik Kavkaza why this is happening and how the unsettled Nagorno-Karabakh conflict affects Armenian citizens.

- Maxim Leonardovich, why is there a stable decline in the Armenian population's support for Russia?

- The fact is that there are 2-3 times more Armenians living in Russia than in Armenia, which makes the republic feel that Russia should constantly "caress" Armenia as a state and humble itself before it. Russia, of course, does not intend to do it, it has its own understanding of the strategy and prospects for the development of the Caucasus. It is worth noting that Russian Armenians are great citizens who serve in the army, defend Russia's interests, and at the same time love Armenia. The Armenian issue itself is not an issue of linear relations, but complex and indirect ones, and I am sure that Russia should stop constantly asserting publicly that it has only one ally in the Caucasus - Armenia. It would be nice to reconcile with Georgia, an Orthodox country. Improving relations with it is a very important prospect for us. Azerbaijan is not a foreign country to us at all. It is good that the 1990s propaganda which positioned Armenia and the group of Ossetians as Russia's only allies in the Caucasus, and all the rest as opponents, is a thing of the past. Russian policy has become more rational in recent years, and certain forces in Yerevan do not like this.

- What is the role of Armenia's difficult economic situation and low living standards of citizens, which Yerevan could not improve over the years of integration into Russian projects, in its discontent with Russia?

- Armenia depends on the millions of Armenians living in Russia very much, and the residents of the republic should appeal to them, rather than to the Russian state. Ara Abrahamyan and other Russian billionaires who live in Moscow and care about Armenia, should be asked about Armenia's bad economic situation because they - the respected and worthy people - are the lobbyists of the Armenian policy. As for the Russian state, it has a military base in Armenia, delivers energy resources to the country, supports the Armenian nuclear power plant - at the same time, the republic mainly lives at the expense of Iran and Turkish transit through Georgia. In addition, financially Armenia is more dependent on the West than on Russia, for example, the Armenian diaspora in the United States pays grants to Armenians living in Karabakh. So Moscow is not to blame by the Armenian citizens. Yes, Armenia, as they say, is suspended on the Russian economy, but it seems to me that Moscow demonstrates a fairly balanced approach.

- How do Turkophobic moods in Armenia, caused, inter alia, by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the blockade of the Turkish border, and the import of goods from Turkey fit together?

- No matter what Turkophobic moods Armenia has, imports from Turkey are many times greater than the flow of goods from Russia. Despite the fact that formally the Armenian-Turkish border is blocked, there is a continuous flow of goods from Turkey through Georgian Javakhetia. This is one of the misconceptions that Armenia and Armenians are more dependent on Russia. Cilician Armenians in Turkey prosper, live like lords. Izmir, for example, is predominantly an Armenian city. Turkish Armenians are much richer and, perhaps, have more influence over Armenia than Russian Armenians.

- How do you assess the impact of the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Armenia's social and economic situation?

"With the help of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Yerevan can pump out money from Western sponsors, from Western Armenian diasporas and secure its political and economic support, as if defending Karabakh as an outpost of the Armenian cause. At the same time, the rupture of the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, the termination of the transit of energy resources and the disappearance of Armenians from the Caspian region are a tragedy for the Armenian people. For millennia Armenians lived in Baku, Sumgait, in other prosperous and rich Azerbaijani cities. They carried out a very important trading function in the territory of the former Iranian empire, they had full rights there. For the first time in millennia, Armenians lost this Caspian region during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It did not make things better for sure.

- Will Armenia be able to improve the social and economic situation in the country without resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

- There are no such options. There are no prospects in the situation of the ongoing war with Azerbaijan and the blockade of borders. There is only one way out: withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani regions, restoration of normal economic relations with Azerbaijan, mutual return of refugees and direct discussion of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. After the return of refugees, the unfreezing of the Armenian-Turkish border and the restoration of normal, ancient trade routes that have always passed through the Caucasus, Armenia will be able to improve its internal situation. In the situation of continuation of the conflict, the country will continue to live on grants and gifts from various billionaires who will render humanitarian aid to it, playing the Armenian card in their own interests.

- How should Russia act in that case?

- Russia has been on the right track from the standpoint of Dmitry Medvedev's platform, which was signed by Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, other approaches would be incorrect. The fact is that Azerbaijan is a reliable and good partner of Russia, with which we have a huge border in Dagestan, with a solid bilateral movement of goods and Iranian transit. We are developing Caspian cooperation, in which Armenia does not participate, while Azerbaijan is a key part of it, it provides access to the huge Iranian plateau. And the more Armenia persists, the more it loses its geopolitical significance for Russia. If Russia agrees with Georgia and Azerbaijan, which is very likely, what will Armenia do then? There's no way to predict it. But Yerevan cannot but persist in its unwillingness to resolve the conflict, because it will lose abundant grants from the Armenian Diaspora in the US and France.
Austrian Federal Economic Chamber stated the need for step-by-step lifting of sanctions from Russia, President of the Chamber Christoph Leitl said.

"I think we are all realists. We are in favor of a step-by-step lifting of the sanctions. We should make concessions to each other, build trust," he stressed.

Earlier it was reported that the Kremlin expressed concern about the possible expansion of anti-Russian sanctions, Gazeta.ru recalls.
There have been personnel reshuffle in Azerbaijan Ministry of Taxes: the new minister Mikail Jabbarov dismissed 64 employees of the department yesterday.

In addition, the new minister put his deputy Namik Aliyev on leave. His vacation has started with the first working days of 2018 and it is expected that a new appointment will be made in the near future, the information agency Report writes with reference to a source in the ministry.

The Deputy Minister of Education Metin Eynullaev has already been nominated for this post.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that relations with the United States were harmed by Washingtons refusal to extradite cleric Fetullah Gulen and its provision of arms to the Kurdish militant YPG.

Cavusoglu said that ties between the NATO allies could be harmed further if Washington does not correct its mistakes, Reuters reported.

"The US claims that it is an ally of Turkey and at the same time, is actively arming the PYD and YPG, which pose a threat not only to Turkey, but also to the entire region, the Turkish foreign minister said, speaking to the Anadolu Agency.

He said that Washington should understand that PYD and YPG do not represent all ethnic Kurds of Syria.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold talks with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahceli today at 16:00 local time.

They will discuss the fine details of a possible alliance, the Daily Sabah reported.

Yesterday Erdogan welcomed Bahceli's announcement that his party will support Erdogan in the 2019 presidential election and praised the party for its stance to secure Turkey's national interests.
A Palestinian driver opened fire at an Israeli car in the West Bank on Tuesday night, killing an Israeli man, Israeli officials said.

The incident took place in Havat Gilad, a Jewish settlement near the Palestinian city of Nablus.

An army spokesperson said in a statement that a Palestinian gunman in a passing car opened fire at the driver who was sitting in his car.

The suspect fatally injured the 35-year-old Israeli, and fled the scene, prompting a manhunt, Xinhua reported.

The victim was rushed to the Meir Hospital in central Israel with multiple shots in his upper body, and a hospital spokesperson said he died less than two hours later.

Israel's military added that "troops are searching the area for the suspect."
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continues to negatively affect Armenia's economy, whose own geo-economic conditions do not allow it to develop effectively without cooperation with neighbors, the Russian experts said, speaking with the correspondents of Vestnik Kavkaza about the reasons for the republic's economic failures in recent years and the low living standards of its citizens.

The director of the Institute of Political Studies Sergei Markov first of all drew attention to this: "I think that the unsettled status of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict plays a key role in Armenia's economic problems. If it were not for the conflict, the republic would not be blocked from two sides. Armenia would have developed much better, and therefore the Kazan formula for the settlement of the conflict proposed by Russia is optimal, because it prescribes the liberation of the Azerbaijani regions around Karabakh, which are empty, for which Armenia receives lifting of a blockade in return, it would be a great option for its economic recovery," he said.

The expert noted that Armenia is simply not able to develop normally in the blockade. "Of course, there are examples when countries in the blockade regime achieved certain economic successes, but Armenia is a small country with little economic potential. The republic could benefit from working as an open regional economy, but the conflict deprives it of such a possibility. It can be said that about 90% of Armenia's economic problems caused by the blockade, "Sergei Markov said.

The Associate Professor of the Department of International Security of the Faculty of World Politics of Moscow State University, Alexey Fenenko, explained Armenia's limitations in greater detail. "First of all, Armenia has an unprofitable geographical position: it does not have access to the sea or even a large river, it is away from world trade routes. Armenia also has little to offer to the foreign market: the agricultural markets around it have long been occupied, export of precious stones and rare minerals is limited, it does not have other competitive goods. And this is aggravated by the problem that the republic is closed, especially from Turkey's side," he explained.

At the same time, according to the expert, Armenia is in a stalemate now: the solution of economic problems requires political will in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and its progress can cause a surge of social instability. "I am afraid that in the course of time, anti-Russian sentiments will increase in Armenia, which will be even worse for the republic. I think that the situation will not be corrected even at the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, because there is a very powerful Karabakh clan in the republic that can quickly raise an uprising against any government that will make concessions," Alexei Fenenko pointed out.

The director of the Institute of Contemporary Economics Nikita Isayev, in turn, pointed out the influence of this stalemate on the mood of the population and its attitude towards other countries, including Russia. "Undoubtedly, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the economic blockage is one of the main markers of public sentiment. The Karabakh conflict is perceived as the last frontier for the protection of Armenia's sovereignty, and since international guarantors do not provide the expected support for Yerevan's position, this affects the attitude towards them, including towards Russia," he said.

The expert also noted Armenia's dependence on other states. "Armenia is dependent on foreign policy due to its geographical location and a huge number of conflicts around its perimeter, which, by the way, requires the republic to prevail international policy over domestic policy. Russia has always been a guarantor of security and economic stability for Armenia, but now Russian support is declining, hence there is a decline of pro-Russian sentiments and the formation of Russophobic sentiments in Armenia," Nikita Isaev said.

"People, realizing that Armenia is in the economic and political vector of Russia, and also observing Russia's economic crisis, connect this in many respects with the actions of the authorities, and, of course, blame all their troubles on the Russian Federation," the director of the Institute of Contemporary Economics concluded.
US President Donald Trump reiterated his demands for immigration reform during a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers yesterday.

"We are here today to advance bipartisan immigration reform that serves the needs of the American families, workers, and taxpayers...But I feel having the Democrats in with us is absolutely vital because it should be a bipartisan bill. It should be a bill of love," Trump said.

"During the closed-door portion of the meeting, congressional leaders reached an agreement to negotiate legislation that accomplishes critically needed reforms in four high-priority areas: border security, chain migration, the visa lottery, and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

"These are measures that will make our community safer and more prosperous. These reforms are supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans," President Trump explained.

"So Im appealing to everyone in the room to put the country before party, and to sit down and negotiate and to compromise, and lets see if we can get something done," he concluded.
HA NOI  The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, on Tuesday announced it will provide a loan worth US$15.3 million to DNP Water to expand the use of clean water among households in urban areas.

DNP Water is a member of ong Nai Plastics Corporation. The company plans to upgrade its water treatment and supply capacity by five times by 2025 to reach 1 million cu.metre per day.

With IFCs loan, DNP Water would build two large-scale water treatment plants and buy stakes at equitised water supply companies.

The IFCs lending for DNP Water could amount up to $24.9 million to support the growth strategy of the company.

According to Kyle Kelhofer, IFCs Country Manager, IFCs funding was expected to promote private investment in the water treatment and supply sector of Viet Nam.

By 2020, Viet Nam would need $1 billion each year to invest in urban clean water supply systems to meet demand. Currently, only 35 per cent of the countrys population had access to tap water, according to estimates by the World Bank Group.

With a limited budget, Viet Nam was calling for private investment in producing tap water and expanding the water supply network. - VNS
HCM CITY  Vietnamese enterprises, regardless of size, should use enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to optimise their resources and improve their efficiency, a seminar organised by the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City heard yesterday.

Phi Anh Tuan, deputy chairman of the HCM City Computer Association and CEO of PAT Consulting, said ERP could be used to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities.

The challenge facing wood processing firms is to meet the increasing requirements of buyers in terms of quality, delivery time, and traceability, and cutting costs to improve competitiveness, according to Tuan.

The more orders a company gets, the busier its managers are and they do not have time for planning strategy, considering measures to improve productivity and optimise production.

With ERP, data is easily available and routinely updated and the management can make the best decisions for the company.

They can also get a better overall picture of how the business is operating, which is vital when it comes to responding to changes and improving overall financial planning of the business.

Le uc Nghia, general director of An Cuong Wood Working JSC, said at a time it had 700-800 workers the company had difficulties in managing things. Then its payroll grew to over 1,000 staff and revenues to VN1 trillion, and the company did not know how to manage, and restructuring became the only option, he said.

But then it adopted SAPs ERP, and management had become smooth, he said.

Now it had more than 5,000 workers and revenues of over VN3 trillion, but management was no longer difficult, he said.

Since applying SAPs ERP in January last year, our revenues went up by 40 per cent, and I just need to work five days a week instead of seven as I used to.

The solution allows him to manage his companys resources at any time and from anywhere recognise potential risks, and make decisions at every level quickly and precisely.

The solution is no longer just for large organisations and in fact ERP for small businesses is quickly becoming popular among organisations to look for greater productivity and more streamlined data that is available to all departments at all times.

With proper use, an ERP system can boost productivity, reduce costs, streamline data flow, encourage collaboration, deliver business insights and improve decision-making, according to Tuan.

If they streamline their management, Vietnamese businesses can save up to 76 per cent of administrative costs.

Hoang inh Trong, chairman of PDCA Training Consultants Limited Company, said automation would help liberate top management from mundane tasks to focus on their key mission of planning.

However, the number of businesses embracing automation remains modest in the wood industry because at most companies the managers used to be skilled workers like carpenters who established a company and so sometimes lack management skills, he said.

But many delegates agreed that businesses should definitely adopt appropriate ERP solutions.  VNS
Deputy Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, Nguyen Van Tuan (R) at a meeting with Dragon Joy on Tuesday.  Photo baohaugiang.com.vn

HAU GIANG  Hong Kong-based company Dragon Joy International Engineering is planning to invest in a steel rolling mill project and a solar power project in the southern province of Hau Giang.

Hau Giang Province Peoples Committee on Tuesday discussed the investment opportunities with Dragon Joy.

The steel rolling mill, with a capacity of 150,000-200,000 tonnes per year will produce steel ingots, steel bars and steel wire for the Cuu Long (Mekong River) Delta market.

The solar power project will have an investment capital of VN1.1 trillion (US$48.3 million) and a capacity of 66,000MW per year.

Deputy Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, Nguyen Van Tuan, said the southern province aimed at attracting investments to promote industrial production while protecting the environment.

Tuan said Hau Giang authorities had pledged to create favourable conditions for the investors.

Till date, the province has attracted 489 projects with domestic investment worth VN123.4 trillion and 29 projects with foreign investment worth $809 million.

Dragon Joy has nine subsidiaries and seven joint ventures in four major businesses, including real estate, finance, industry and international trade.  VNS
HA NOI  Several listed companies on the two national stock exchanges have been punished for tax-related violations.They have paid penalties of up to several million US dollars due to an alleged lack of understanding of the regulations.

The biggest listed energy company PV Gas (GAS) on January 3 was told it must pay VN106 billion (US$4.7 million) in tax arrears and administrative penalties for late payment.

The Department of Taxations decision said the company followed improper procedures resulting in the tax obligations and penalties.

Earlier, DHG Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DHG) reported that it had to pay an additional amount of VN30.7 billion to the State budget for understating its income and other tax-related violations.

According to DHGs filing to the HCM Stock Exchange, the underestimate was a common data error by enterprises across the country and were not intentional, but misunderstandings.

Ha Noi Tax Department has also announced penalty of VN210 million for technology firm CMC Corporation (CMG), a VN2.2 billion penalty for Thang Long Investment Group JSC (TIG) and a VN3.3 billion penalty on steelmaker Son Ha International JSC (SHI).

All three companies on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange were penalised for value-added tax arrears, false declarations and late payment.

Nguyen Van Phung, director of Tax Administration, said enterprises did not have a clear understanding of tax regulations in many different situations and were heavily dependent on tax consultants.

Phung said tax authorities had used many communication channels to publicise new regulations to businesses, thus enterprises blaming ignorance were just making excuses.

The majority of tax-related violations is intentional, Phung told vnexpress.net, adding that tax inspectors were actively investigating big companies to detect violations and strengthen law enforcement.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Luong Nhan, managing director of audit company DFK Vietnam, attributed many violations to the negligence of auditing companies.

He said tax was an important part of a financial statement, so if things were not clear, the auditor should always request the business to ask to consult with the tax authority. If violations were detected, the blame could fall on the auditor.  VNS
HA NOI  The southern city of Can Tho will take up a series of activities this year to strengthen cooperation with Japan and attract Japanese investors.

Speaking at a conference of the citys working group on Japan-related issues (Japan Desk) on Tuesday, Nguyen Khanh Tung, director of the citys Centre for Investment, Trade Promotion and Exhibition, said one of the activities was the construction of an ICT Innovation Centre developed by the Brainworks Company.

Other activities will include a trade and investment promotion conference in Japans Hyogo prefecture, a meeting with Japanese investors in Ha Noi and a dialogue with Japanese firms.

In April, Can Tho will launch a model farm project, the first of its kind in the city.

The project is jointly developed by the Can Tho College for Economy and Technology and Japans VAIO Company. The aim is to impart high-quality training to agriculture experts in Can Tho and build facilities to apply agricultural technology similar to Japanese agri-businesses.

A Viet Nam-Japan Industrial Park will also be constructed, Tung said.

Truong Quang Hoai Nam, vice chairman of the Peoples Committee of Can Tho, said many Japanese investors were interested in Viet Nam, but only a few Japanese firms were doing business in the city.

Therefore, he said, Can Tho needed to make a breakthrough in attracting Japanese investments.

According to the Can Tho Centre for Investment, Trade Promotion and Exhibition, by the end of 2017, the city accommodated 77 projects with foreign investment worth US$656 million. Its export and service revenue in the year hit $1.77 billion, exceeding the citys target by 5.9 per cent and representing a year-on-year rise of 13.9 per cent.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam has transformed from a steel-importing country to a producing nation, with the export of 300,000 tonnes of steel billets last year.

This was revealed on Tuesday in a report of the Viet Nam Steel Association on the status of Viet Nams steel manufacture in 2017.

According to the report, Vietnamese steel billets are mainly exported to markets in the Philippines and Indonesia, with the average prices ranging from US$480 to $500 per tonne, depending on the period.

Besides billets, Viet Nam also exported more than one million tonne of construction steel in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 62 per cent.

The total steel consumption in the country in 2017 is estimated at nearly 18 million tonnes, up 20.7 per cent compared to the previous year.

Prior to this, VSA forecast the steel industry to grow by 12-15 per cent in the next five years. Of which, cast iron output is forecast to increase 80 per cent to reach 4.5 million tonnes, while steel billets will jump 47.2 per cent (11.5 million tonnes), finished steel products up 12 per cent (20 million tonnes), cold rolled coils up 13 per cent and steel pipes up 15 per cent.  VNS
HCM CITY  Travel demand for the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday that this year begins on February 16 is expected to increase 20-30 per cent compared to last year.

Tour prices are expected to rise by 5-15 per cent compared to normal days due to higher fees for airfares, hotels and transportation, travel firms said.

Vietravel, one of the leading tour service providers in the country, has sold 65 per cent of its outbound tours and 55 per cent of domestic tours for the period, said Duong Kim Chi, deputy director of Vietravel.

Travellers have planned their Tet trips earlier than in previous years, with a variety of destinations, Chi said.

Trips under seven days such as tours to Japan and South Korea have been fully booked, with only 10 per cent left for sale, she said.

For domestic tours, destinations in the north are popular, followed by those in the central region.

This year, the company is organising overseas tours via air charter from HCM City to Fukushima in Japan, Phuket and Chiang Mai in Thailand, and Ningbo in China, with prices at 30 per cent lower than conventional packages.

The company expects to serve 38,000 tourists, up 20-25 per cent compared to last year.

Tran Thi Bao Thu, director of Fiditours marketing and communication, said the company expected a 30 per cent increase in the number of bookings for Tet tours this year.

The number of bookings reached 75 per cent of the companys tours planned for the new year, Thu said. Outbound tour prices will rise by 5-10 per cent compared to last year.

A representative of Viet Media Travel said outbound tours to Europe, Australia and the US are fully booked.

The company has sold 80 per cent of outbound tours to several Asian countries and domestic tours for Tet.

Outbound tours to Dubai, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Singapore and domestic tours to northern and central destinations have attracted many travellers.

The number of outbound tour bookings at TST Tourist increased 25 per cent year-on-year to reach 2,800 customers, while the number of domestic tour bookings were estimated at 1,500 customers, up 20 per cent year-on-year.

Long-trip tours to Europe, the US and Australia have also attracted a large number of customers. VNS
President Tran ai Quang askes the Supreme Peoples Court to seriously deal with major criminal cases, especially those regarding economic activities and corruption, during a teleconference held in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sang

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HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang asked the Supreme Peoples Court to seriously deal with major criminal cases, especially those regarding economic activities and corruption, during a teleconference held in Ha Noi yesterday.



In his speech, he requested the sector improve quality and speed up the settlement of cases, avoid unjust judgments and work so criminals are brought to justice.



The President suggested that the Supreme Peoples Court should build its image of being friendly and helpful to people; protecting justice, human and citizen rights, socialism, State interests, and the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organisations.



On the occasion, the State leader praised the court sector for working closely with agencies concerned to thoroughly and cautiously consider cases that went on trial years ago and defendants proclaimed their innocence, some of them justified, thus ensuring legitimate rights and interests of citizens.



The court reported that a number of cases were prosecuted promptly and strictly last year.



From October 1, 2016  September 30, 2017, courts nationwide dealt with 438,625 cases, equivalent to 89.3 percent of the total. The number of cases being handled and already handled rose by 8.3 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively. The number of cancelled and revised verdicts accounted for 1.3 percent, meeting the National Assemblys requirement.



Progress was also seen in the settlement of civil and administrative cases. Up to 53.3 percent of civil cases were mediated successfully. VNS
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung (R) receives EIB Vice President Jonathan Taylor in Ha Noi yesterday.  Photo VGP

HA NOI  Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung has called for more support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to Viet Nams projects, including those in transport infrastructure, energy, climate change and sea level rise response.



Dung made the appeal while receiving EIB Vice President Jonathan Taylor in Ha Noi yesterday.



As a developing country, Viet Nam had huge demands for infrastructure development, climate change adaptation, energy security and environmental protection, he said.



Therefore, he noted, the country would need assistance from development partners, including EIB, suggesting Taylor work with Vietnamese ministries and agencies to soon put forward cooperation opportunities.



The Deputy PM took the occasion to thank the bank for its assistance to Viet Nam, particularly its financial support to urban railway projects in Ha Noi and HCM City.



He stressed that the Viet Nam-EU relationship was developing fruitfully, especially in economy, trade and investment, contributing to the development of Viet Nam and EU member countries.



"Once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is approved by member countries, it will facilitate two-way trade," he said.



Agreeing with Dungs proposals, Taylor said they were also priorities in the banks development policy.



He held that the two sides boasted a lot of potential for cooperation, particularly in climate change response, natural disaster mitigation, clean energy development and environmentally friendly transport.



During his stay in Viet Nam, Taylor is scheduled to have working sessions with the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Natural Resources and Environment, and Transport to identify specific cooperation programmes and projects.  VNS
National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) receives new US Ambassador to Viet Nam Daniel Kritenbrink in Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Van iep

HA NOI  Viet Nam wishes to further deepen its comprehensive partnership with the US in a pragmatic and effective manner in order to contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the region and beyond.



National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan made the statement while receiving new US Ambassador to Viet Nam Daniel Kritenbrink in Ha Noi yesterday.



She said Viet Nam, in its foreign policy, always treasures relations with the US.



The top legislator expressed her satisfaction at the growing bilateral co-operation in the fields of politics, economy, trade, science, technology, culture, education, defence and security.



She believes that the administration of President Donald Trump will continue fostering bilateral ties.



Hailing the new and practical progress in defence-security collaboration, NA Chairwoman Ngan said Viet Nam would push ahead with cooperation with the US in non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and cross-border crime combat, and handling of food, energy and water security issues.



She expected the US Congress and Government to back the advancement of Viet Nam-US trade ties and remove the catfish inspection programme of the US Department of Agriculture since its technical barriers could affect the lives of millions of tra fish breeders in Viet Nam.



She called on the US to continue supporting Viet Nam in increasing capacity for Vietnamese marine police and strengthen cooperation in search and rescue, disaster relief, post-war bomb and mine clearance, environmental detoxification, and assistance to people with disabilities.



Welcoming the positive attitude and standpoint of the US Congress and Government towards the settlement of disputes in the East Sea, Ngan said Viet Nam hoped the international community, including the US, would continue consistent messages and policies to protect peace, stability, security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea.



Sharing views with the Vietnamese leader, the US ambassador said the US considered Viet Nam one of its most important partners.



The US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Viet Nam had implemented cooperation programmes to support the Southeast Asian countrys development, he said.



According to the diplomat, the bilateral trade relations are growing strongly with Viet Nam being one of the fastest-growing export markets of the US.



US President Donald Trumps participation in the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in a Nang and his State visit to Viet Nam in November 2017 reiterated the commitment to enhancing the countries comprehensive partnership, he noted.



He stressed his support for stronger cooperation between the two parliaments and affirmed to boost the bilateral comprehensive partnership in all aspects.  VNS
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien (R) receives head of the Economic, Technology and Environment Committee of the Lao National Assembly Bounpone Sisoulath in Ha Noi. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Dan

HA NOI  Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Phung Quoc Hien hosted a reception for head of the Economic, Technology and Environment Committee of the Lao National Assembly Bounpone Sisoulath in Ha Noi.



Hien highlighted Viet Nams consistent policies of treasuring and giving top priority to the preservation and promotion of special ties with Laos, affirming that Viet Nam always strongly supports Laos national reform, defence and construction.



He also lauded the fruitful cooperation between the Economic, Technology and Environment Committee of the Lao NA and the Economic Committee of the Viet Nam NA, stressing that the Vietnamese legislature will work closely with the Lao side to effectively implement their cooperation agreement.



Hien told the guest that Viet Nam is preparing to host the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum from January 17-21 in Ha Noi, and hoped the top Lao legislator and high-ranking delegation will attend the event as significant support for Viet Nam.



For his part, Bounpone Sisoulath, who is on a visit to Viet Nam from January 8-13, said that in 2018, the Lao NA will focus on revising the Land Law and that his visit aims to learn from Viet Nams experience in land management and use.



He also pledged that the Economic, Technology and Environment Committee and the Economic Committee of the Viet Nam NA will continue sharing experience in legislation.



Earlier on Monday, head of the NA Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh held talks with the Lao official, during which the two sides shared experience in building the 2013 Land Law of Viet Nam as well as the new points of the law.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc left Ha Noi on Wednesday morning for Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to attend the second Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Summit.

The MLC is a sub-regional co-operation mechanism that was jointly established in 2016 by six countries along the Mekong River, namely Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.



The biennial event is organised in rotation among the member countries. This years summit is co-organised by Cambodia and China.



The first summit was convened on March 23, 2016, mapping out orientations for the co-operation mechanism, which is promoting comprehensive connection to build a responsible community and common benefit in the Mekong sub-region.



It also aims to consolidate mutual trust and understanding, maintain peace and stability, boost sustainable development, reduce poverty, narrow the development gap, integrate comprehensively into regional and global economies, strengthen the friendship and neighbourliness among the countries.



Viet Nam has constructively participated in Mekong-Lancang co-operation by raising a range of initiatives which have been added in the joint list of the Mekong-Lancang early harvest projects, with the most noteworthy being a project on enhancing coordination in flood and drought management in the Mekong-Lancang valley and another on harmonising standards and procedures between countries in the sub-region.

At the second summit, the member countries are expected to approve the Phnom Penh Declaration and the five-year Action Plan for Mekong-Lancang cooperation in 2018-2022.



With the theme Peaceful river and our sustainable development, the summit will review cooperation among the countries over the last two years, discuss future cooperation orientations, and hear reports from working groups.  VNS
PHNOM PENH - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called on six riparian countries of the Mekong River to increase co-operation in protecting, managing and using sustainably its resources.

Addressing the Mekong-Lancang Co-operation (MLC) Summit that opened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, yesterday, he said initial co-operation priority should be given to sharing of hydro-meteorological information and data, coping with droughts and floods; and carrying out scientific studies to build a mechanism for reservoirs to regulate rivers flow.

He also pointed to the need to develop a complete infrastructure system to link and create favourable conditions for trading activities, services, and transportation of local people; and support all riparian countries to tap opportunities from the 4.0 Industrial Revolution to promote industrialisation of member countries.

At the conference, leaders of member countries approved the Phnom Penh Declaration and a five-year (2018-2022) Action Plan for Mekong-Lancang co-operation.

They agreed to increase co-operation in managing and sustainably using water resources of the Mekong River via many activities including policy dialogue, building and improving a system to supervise water quality, sharing hydro-meteorological information and data, stepping up technical co-operation, improving water management capacity and setting up soon a common hotline for emergencies.

With the theme Peaceful river and our sustainable development, the summit will review co-operation among the riparian countries over the last two years, discuss future co-operation orientations, and hear reports from several working groups.

The MLC is a sub-regional co-operation mechanism that was established in 2016 by the riparian countries of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Meeting with leaders

On the sidelines of the summit, PM Phuc affirmed Viet Nams consistent policy of strengthening good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive and long-lasting cooperation with Cambodia during a working session with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen.

The two PMs agreed to take more effective measures to raise the awareness of the two countries people, especially younger generations, about the bilateral friendship and all-around co-operation founded and fostered by generations of predecessors.

They discussed ways to boost bilateral ties across trade, transport, finance-banking for mutual benefit. They also agreed to speed up the demarcation of land borders and the planting of border markers in order to complete the work as early as possible.

Later yesterday, Phuc met with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulit.

He asked the Lao Government to simplify procedures and reduce costs for getting visas, labour permits and resident status for Vietnamese workers, helping them stabilise their lives and contribute to Laoss socioeconomic development.

The two PMs agreed to direct their ministries, branches and localities to co-ordinate preparations for the 40th meeting of the Viet Nam-Laos Inter-governmental Committee slated for early this year.

They also affirmed that they will continue working to deepen bilateral political relations and collaborate in carrying out drastic and comprehensive measures to strengthen their economic partnership, paying attention to key investment projects and removing bottlenecks for enterprises from both sides.

China ties hailed

PM Phuc also met yesterday with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and highlighted development of bilateral ties in 2017.

He affirmed that Viet Nam places great importance on developing its comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership with China, particularly in economy, trade and investment.

He proposed that the two sides continue promoting regular visits and meetings between leaders and promote co-operation for mutual benefit in agriculture, environmental protection, climate change adaptation and science and technology as well as in finance and transportation.

Li said that China also wished to work with Viet Nam to develop their bilateral comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership in a sustainable and stable manner.

In another meeting with Thai PM Prayut Chan-ocha yesterday, PM Phuc expressed his pleasure at the positive development of bilateral relations. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries reached US$15 billion in 2017, he noted.

The two PMs discussed measures to increase co-operation between the two countries in the coming years.  VNS
HA NOI  SOS Childrens Villages Viet Nam, which provides homes for thousands of orphans and abandoned children nationwide, on Tuesday celebrated its 30th birthday.

In a message of congratulations, president of SOS Childrens Villages International, Siddhartha Kaul, said SOS Childrens Villages Viet Nam was "a fine example of a partnership between an international organisations and a government, where both parties have given their best efforts to serve children who have no one."

SOS is an independent, non-governmental international development organisation that has been protecting the interests and rights of children since 1949. It was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in Imst , Austria .

The Viet Nam operation was established in December 1987 under an agreement between Viet Nam s Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the SOS Childrens Villages International.

The two first villages were opened in HCM City and Ha Noi. After 30 years, there are now 17 villages across the country.

Each village has about 12 to 16 families and each family has eight to 10 children looked after by women. The women are single and voluntarily devote their lives to be "mothers" to the children in the villages.

Director Nguyen Tien Dung told Tuesdays anniversary meeting that for 30 years, the mothers had devoted their lives to not only nurture, but also compensate for the lost affection experienced by the orphans and abandoned children.

Today, there are 17 villages nation-wide nurturing more than 6,000 children. More than 2,800 have grown up and left the villages to integrate into normal life. Another 806 got married.

The children are looked after on a family model based on the principles of mother, brothers and sisters, home, and village.

Most of the children in the villages are provided educational or vocational training.

Besides, the SOS Villages Viet Nam has carried out a programme of providing financial assistance to families who adopt orphans to help the children continue their education and avoid early work and social evils.

At present, 1,634 orphans have been adopted by 1,556 families.

Hermann Gmeiner Schools have also been funded by the SOS Childrens Villages, International.

At present, there are 12 SOS Herman Gmeiner Schools in Viet Nam from kindergartens to high-schools.

Every year, the schools enroll about 13,000 students, 7 per cent of whom are provided full scholarships.

Besides, the SOS Vocational Training Centre in Viet Tri City in Phu Tho Province provides training for more than 1,500 in carpentry, plumbing and electrics.

Every year, SOS Villages Viet Nam and SOS Herman Gmeiner Schools grant monthly scholarships of VN2 million to VN4 million (US$90 to 180) to children to learn in schools or vocational training centres.

During 30 years of operation, the international organisation has given Viet Nams villages a total of $120 million. More than 20 per cent is spent on building facilities and equipment, and the rest on nurturing children and daily expenses.

At present, the villages and other SOS entities nation-wide have 1,300 staff, excluding 500 lecturers and short-term employees.

To mark their success, the SOS Childrens Villages Viet Nam has been given a Labour Order, First Class.

Along with funds from the SOS Childrens Villages International, SOS Villages Viet Nam also receives money from the State Budget, localities and community.

Since 2010, the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs has granted VN18 billion (US$800,000) to the villages to help the programme strengthen families in Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Lam ong, Quang Nam and Nghe An provinces, and a Nang City.

In a message of congratulations, president of SOS Childrens Villages International, Siddhartha Kaul, said SOS Childrens Villages Viet Nam was a fine example of a partnership between an international organisations and a government, where both parties had given their best efforts to serve children who had no one.  VNS
The Supreme Peoples Procuracy yesterday released an indictment of Pham Cong Danh, ex-chairman of the members board, for deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences at the Viet Nam Construction Bank (VNCB). VNA/VNS Photo Hoang Hai

HCM City  The Supreme Peoples Procuracy yesterday released an indictment of Pham Cong Danh, ex-chairman of the members board, for deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences at the Viet Nam Construction Bank (VNCB).

According to the indictment, in 2013 and 2014, the 51-year-old ex-chairman of the VNCB members board and ex-general director of the Thien Thanh Group instructed his staff to use 29 companies which had been set up by Danh to take out loans totalling more than VN6.1 trillion ($274 million) at TPBank, Sacombank and BIDV.

The borrowed money was for Danhs personal use, and he did not repay it.

To guarantee the sum of money, Danh and other defendants used VNCBs money to deposit in the three banks. VNCB had to pay all of the debt of Danhs companies to these banks.

Danh had also instructed his staff to allow his companies to borrow money without a mortgage.

Danh organised and sold bonds of the Thien Thanh Group and Trung Dung Limited Company when financial reports had not been audited and without approval from authorities. These activities caused serious consequences for the bank.

This is the third trial against Danh, who is serving 30 years in jail for wrongdoings at VNCB that incurred losses of more than VN9 trillion (US$405 million) and for other breaches at OceanBank.

Danh and other defendants caused a loss of VN15 trillion ($666 million) for VNCB, which is considered the largest-ever recorded economic loss of any preceding corruption case in the country.

Tram Be, Sacombanks ex-deputy chairman of the board of directors, has been charged with giving approval to Phan Huy Khang, ex-general director of Sacombank, to borrow VN1.8 trillion ($81 million) for Danhs companies.

On April 19, 2013, Phan Huy Khang met Pham Cong Danh and Phan Thanh Mai, ex-general director of VNCB; Mai Huu Khuong, ex-member of VNCBs Board of Directors; and Nguyen Quoc Vien, ex-head of the control board.

Khang instructed Phan inh Tue, Sacombanks ex-deputy general director, to set up a fake financial file about the companies which were borrowing money. No checks were made after the loans were given.

Six days later, Tram Be quickly approved the loan, and one day later, money was sent to six of Danhs companies.

Danh used the money to pay debts for his companies and sent VN166 billion ($7.5 million) to his personal account.

A year later, the six companies could not pay the loan back, and Sacombank took money back from VNCB.

As a result, VNCB lost more than VN1.8 trillion ($81 million).

It is expected that today the court will question defendants in detail about the case.

The court trial is scheduled to last until February 7.  VNS

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HCM CITY  STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is an interdisciplinary and applied approach being used at HCM City schools with effective results.

Two students at Le Hong Phong School for Gifted Students, for example, were honoured by the citys Department of Science and Technology late last year after winning second prize in a contest called Sang Kien Cong ong 2017 (Social Ideas).

The students had developed a watch with four sensors that warn wearers against epilepsy seizures.

Other schools in HCM City have also been encouraging their students to access STEM education via many research programmes.

Teachers and students at Ernst Thalmann High School, for instance, work together to do research, including using waste plastic bottles for lamps for poor residents.

Students at many primary and secondary schools such as Le Ngoc Han and Nguyen Hue have extracurricular programmes on robotics which are part of STEM education.

Schools in rural areas in the country also have students access STEM education.

All students are guided to reuse waste for their research projects and lessons in STEM, thus reducing costs for their activities.

On May 4 last year, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a directive on tackling challenges posed by the fourth industrial revolution, including solutions on enhancing STEM education in high school curricula.

The Ministry of Education and Training was assigned the responsibility of these tasks, but implementation has seen challenges, according to education experts.

Nguyen Thi Thu Ba, of the Institute for Education Research under University of Pedagogy, told Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper that most students at secondary and high schools take subjects that are tested on the national exam for high school graduation and university entrance.

Tests on the exam are designed under a multiple-choice format, while the assessment in STEM education is about students research and products, Ba said.

Tran uc Huyen, former principal of Le Hong Phong School for Gifted Students in HCM City, said that examinations still focused on mostly theory and that students at the school had asked him why their research and products had not also been assessed.

Dr ang Van Son, lecturer at the Ha Noi University of Science, said that STEM education is the most effective when high schools work closely with universities, which can offer professional knowledge for teachers.

Multidisciplinary co-operation between research institutes, educational and scientific organisations, occupational associations and enterprises ensures continuity in implementation, Son said.

Dr Duong Thi Hong Hieu, head of the University of Pedagogys training division, said that universities which train teachers should keep up with the STEM trend and approach.

The university has set up a centre for STEM research and application to give instruction in teaching methodologies for high school teachers, Hieu said. VNS
HA NOI  The monthly basic salary of civil servants and public employees will increase to VN1.39 million (US$61), from the current VN1.3 million ($57), this July onwards.

This was part of a governments draft decree on the basic salary rate for cadres, public employees and members of the armed forces, which has been opened to public opinions.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the basic salary of VN1.3 million per month, applied from July 1, 2017, is only equal to the standard income of the near poor in the urban areas in the 2016-20 period.

It is equal to 41.43 per cent of the minimum wage in 2017 given by enterprises and 60 per cent of the average monthly expenditure per capita in 2016, resulting in the fact that cadres, civil servants, officials and armed forces face difficulties in their daily lives.

Regarding the budget for its implementation, the draft decree clarifies that ministries, sectors and the ministerial-level agencies will ensure that they can balance the demand for expenditure increase, owing to the 2018 basic salary adjustment, within the assigned budget estimates.

The provinces and cities under the central Government will use 10 per cent of the regular expenditures (excluding salaries and salary-based allowances), part of public incomes, 50 per cent of the increased local budget and unused budget for salary reform in 2017 (if any) for the increase.

The collecting of ideas for the draft decree will end on March 3.

Earlier, the basic salary was raised from VN1.21 million ($53) to 1.3 million ($57) per month from July 2017.  VNS
HA NOI People in the northern mountains shivered yesterday as temperature dropped to freezing point - and snow is likely to blanket Sa Pa Township this morning.

On Lang Son Provinces Mau Son Mountain, the thermometer yesterday dropped to minus 0.3 degrees Celsius

Yesterday was the coldest day since the beginning of winter, Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting said.

Data from the centre showed by 6am yesterday morning, the temperature fell to 3.2 degrees in Vinh Phuc Provinces Tam ao District; 3.4 degrees Celsius in Ha Giang Provinces ong Van District; 4.2 degrees Celsius in Lao Cai Provinces Sa Pa District; and 4.8 degrees Celsius in Son La Provinces Moc Chau District.

The centre warned that extreme cold weather was predicted to last until Saturday . It said the temperatures would be 8-11 degrees in delta localities, 5-8 degrees in mountainous provinces and 3 degrees in high mountains. Hai added that the Mau Son area was in the centre of the cold spell.

Luu Minh Hai, director of Lao Cai Provinces Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, said snow was expected to fall on Fansipan Mountain and nearby Sa Pa Town early today.

Ha Noi is also experiencing the coldest weather since the beginning of winter with temperatures of 8-11 degrees predicted until Saturday.

Officials in Lang Son Province yesterday allowed students to take a day off from school due to the extreme weather.

The provincial Peoples Committee ordered relevant agencies to assist local breeders to keep their cows and buffaloes warm. The measures include providing shelters and deep straw and even lighting fires to keep the animals warm.

The provincial agriculture sector dispatched teams to villages to help local farmers protect their crop from the cold.

In Lao Cai Province, chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, ang Xuan Phong, sent an urgent message to all units to help minimise damage to animals and crops.

Phong told the chairmen of Peoples Committees to delay all non-urgent meetings to focus on helping residents.

The Ha Nois Education and Training Department yesterday said that parents should allow their children to take a day off from primary school if the forecast was for temperatures below 10 degrees. If temperatures fell lower than 7 degrees, secondary school students should stay home..

Local schools were told to contact parents to inform them about extreme cold days.  VNS
HCM CITY  Phan Thanh Mai, the indicted former general director of Viet Nam Construction Bank (VNCB), asked the court to reconsider the amount of purported loss on the third day of his trial for deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences at his former bank.

Mai said of the VN6.1 trillion ($274 million) loss, VN4 trillion ($182 million) is still at the bank and had been used to increase its registered capital.

Other assets were also created with the loan of $274 million but were not considered by relevant authorities, he claimed.

He said Pham Cong Danh, 51, the former chairman of VNCB, was not created favourable conditions to recover the losses before the police arrived at the loss figure.

But the judges rejected his claims saying banks cannot legally increase their capital using loans from other banks, and that the State Bank of Viet Nam had expressly rejected VNCBs plan to do so.

The central bank had also confirmed that the sum of VN4 trillion was gone, they said.

According to the indictment, in 2013 and 2014, Danh, who had also then been general director of the Thien Thanh Group, instructed his staff to use 29 companies he ran to take loans worth more than VN6.1 trillion ($274 million) from TPBank, Sacombank and BIDV.

He allegedly spent the borrowed money personally and the loans were not repaid.

They had been guaranteed by deposits VNCB had made in the three banks, and the money had been set off against the debts by these banks.

Tram Be, Sacombanks deputy chairman then, has been charged with approving loans worth VN1.8 trillion ($81 million) for Danhs companies.

Be told the court he had known Danh for five years before giving the loans and had instructed Phan Huy Khang, then general director of Sacombank, to check the application and documents.

The chairman of the juridical council asked Be why he had not insisted on a mortgage, business plan and debt repayment plan as stipulated in the Credit Organisation Law.

Be replied: I considered Danh only as a representative of a company and the council should not consider my private relationship with him as a factor in the violation of State regulations on economic management."

Khang admitted his responsibility in the case though he had only carried out Bes orders, but said my staff did not do exactly [as I said].

The trial is scheduled to last until February 7.  VNS
BEIJING  Chinese authorities battling to prevent an environmental disaster after a collision between an Iranian tanker and a cargo ship said on Wednesday no major oil spill has been detected, but 31 sailors remained missing.

Cleanup and rescue ships have faced toxic fumes, rain and windy conditions as they scrambled to find survivors and avoid a massive oil slick since Saturdays incident.

The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil, has been in flames since colliding with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.

Experts had warned that a spill of the Panamanian-flagged 274-metre (899-foot) tankers cargo could spell environmental catastrophe as authorities said the ship could explode or sink.

But Chinas transport ministry said in a statement that as of 6:00pm Tuesday, "no large-scale oil spills were found on the sea surface" where the search is being conducted around the stricken vessel, which continued to burn.

The oil from the tanker is condensate oil that is expected to quickly evaporate upon hitting the water, with "very little residue on the waters surface", the ministry said.

A simulation test also found that less than one percent of oil content would remain on the sea surface five hours after a condensate oil leak.

Thirteen search-and-rescue vessels are continuing to look for missing crew members within 900 square nautical miles of the tanker, the ministry said.

But weather conditions are unfavourable, with "overcast and rainy weather", strong winds and waves.

Of the 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis on the Sanchis crew, only one body has so far been found.

The oil tanker was on its way to South Korea when it collided with the CF Crystal, which was transporting grain to mainland China. The Crystals 21 Chinese crew members were all rescued.

The Sanchi belongs to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), Irans petroleum ministry said, and was transporting the oil to South Koreas Hanwha Total. The ship and its cargo were insured, a statement said.

This is the second accident in less than two years involving a tanker owned by the NITC.

In August 2016, an Iranian supertanker and a container ship collided in the Singapore Strait, causing damage to both vessels but no injuries or pollution.  AFP
Renzulli's 'Down by the Riverside' Opens at River Discovery Center Jan. 19

"Down by the Riverside" opens to the public on Friday, January 19th and will run through March 1 at the Center, 117 South Water St. in Paducahs downtown. Admission to the exhibit is free. Museum hours are Monday through Saturday 9:30 am-5 pm.



For more information, call the Center 270-575-9958.

PADUCAH, KY - The River Discovery Center will be hosting "Down by the Riverside", the art of William F. Renzulli beginning Friday, January 19th.The exhibit will include Renzulli's portfolio of paintings focusing on the river and Paducah's river industry.
City Leaders to Vote on Discrimination Ordinance

By West Kentucky Star Staff/The Associated Press

PADUCAH, KY - The Paducah City Commission has a vote scheduled for Tuesday night on changes to their anti-discrimination ordinance.The changes introduced at a meeting on December 19 added language to the ordinance to include age, sexual orientation and gender identity. It currently lists race, color, religion, familial status, handicap, sex or national origin as protected classes of people, as protected by state law.The ordinance also outlines the authority given to the Paducah Human Rights Commission, a board appointed by the Mayor. Procedures for how claims or grievances would take be handled have been amended to include the additional classes of people.A release from the gay-rights group the Fairness Campaign says Paducah would become the ninth city in Kentucky with those types of protections if the ordinance passes.The measure would prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.The Fairness Campaign said in a release on the upcoming vote that it has been working with Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky to organize local supporters of the anti-discrimination ordinance. The organization's website and social media accounts are inviting supporters to come to the meeting and speak, and will be at the McCracken County Public Library from 3:30 - 5:00 pm Tuesday to provide help to anyone who needs it before the meeting.The Commonwealth Policy Center held a meeting Thursday in Paducah for opponents of the proposed ordinance, encouraging them to speak at the meeting. Richard Nelson of the CPC says inclusion of these special classes isn't necessary since there have been no discrimination claims to the Human Rights Commission. He cited cases in Kentucky and across the U.S. where Christians have faced fines and legal fees because local commissions said they discriminated by denying some services because of their religious convictions. Separate cases are currently before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Kentucky Supreme Court.The meeting is at 5:30 pm Tuesday at Paducah City Hall. The meeting's agenda and supporting documents can be found at the link below. Documents related to this topic begin at page 28 of the packet.On the Net:
Paducah City Commission Passes Fairness Ordinance

By Leah Long

PADUCAH, KY - Following nearly two hours of debate regarding a change to an anti-discrimination ordinance, it was passed by the Paducah City Commission. It will now include age, gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes of people.The meeting room at City Hall was overflowing with people, and the Fire Marshall made those who were standing around the room go outside onto the second floor balcony. Over seventy citizens signed up to voice their opinions on the matter, with 14 people allowed to speak within a 3-minute time limit. Eight people spoke against the ordinance and six were in favor of it.Proponents of the ordinance described the proposed change as a "fairness ordinance" since it would be more inclusive. Opponents of the ordinance felt everyone was included in existing anti-discrimination law.Resident Thomas Berry spoke out against the ordinance by stating it puts religious freedoms in the cross-hairs and asked the commission to vote it down. Joshua Ayers called it a divisive ordinance, questioning why it was even necessary.Paducah resident and business owner David Tindell spoke out in favor of the ordinance and told the commissioners and audience as a disabled person he has experienced discrimination from businesses in town. He pointed out Paducah's reliance on tourism and said since everyone has smart phones, if a visitor were denied services, it could end up on social media and could be damaging to Paducah's tourism. "Just be professional and treat people equally. I don't think that's asking too much," he said.Once they had heard comments, the commissioners commented on the ordinance often times with commissioners Sarah Stewart Holland and Richard Abraham sparring verbally. Paducah Mayor Brandy Harless emphasizing the Human Rights Commission does not trump federal or state law. "Don't give the City of Paducah more power than what it has," she said, noting the current ordinance has been on the books for 70 years.Commissioner Sarah Stewart Holland stated she was not satisfied with the notion that just because there were no complaints does not mean there is not a problem. She spoke about several personal accounts of discrimination some same sex couples have experienced.Commissioner Richard Abraham introduced an amendment that would exclude business owners from discrimination complaints if they had deeply-held religious beliefs. But the amendment drew some criticism from Holland, who said she understood where Abraham was coming from, noted Kentucky state law trumps the local ordinance. "Knowing that there's already Kentucky state protections in place, I'm opposed to this amendment.""No matter what we pass, we are going to have to get along with each other. We can't escape the person responsibility on either side on how we treat one another," said Abraham.The commissioners wanted clarification on the state law so Paducah City Attorney David Denton said Kentucky's law covers all sorts of human rights issues but does not cover anything about sexual orientation or gender identity. But, state law allows cities to extend protection to certain groups. Kentucky has religious freedom legislation on its books. "It's extremely strong. I haven't surveyed every state, but I can't imagine how you could set the bar higher before a business is actually persecuted by exercising it's legitimate business rights," said Denton.When the commissioner addressed the vote on Abraham's amendment, his was the only one in favor of it. The 4-1 vote killed the amendment, and the "clean" ordinance was passed by the same voting margin. The change in the ordinance also reduced the number of members of the Human Rights Commission from nine to five.Watch the final vote and reaction from those in the Commission chambers below.
Teen Sentenced for Plotting to Kill Mother

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH, KY - A 17-year-old was sentenced Thursday for his involvement in a plot to kill his mother and his girlfriend's parents.KFVS-TV reports Kyle Parrish of Paducah received a 10-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit manslaughter.Hundreds of text messages between Parrish and Zoe Brown were used as evidence in the case. The assistant prosecutor says the couple was upset because they couldn't spend time together, and the texts outlined their plan.KFVS-TV cited court documents showing Parrish took a negotiated deal in November, waiving his rights to be a youth offender. That means he'll be held in juvenile custody in McCracken County until November 26, 2018, and will be re-sentenced as an adult at that time.Brown, who is 16, has an upcoming competency hearing in the case against her, according to the assistant prosecutor.On the Net:
Police Make Meth Arrest in Local Hotel

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MAYFIELD, KY - A Graves County woman was arrested on methamphetamine charges Tuesday.

Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon says drug investigators received a tip of illegal drug activity taking place at a local hotel in Mayfield. Deputies responded to the hotel, and found 42-year-old Brandy Arnett, of Mayfield, inside the hotel room.



Deputies said they saw Arnett try to hide a baggie of methamphetamine under a mattress.

Arnett was arrested and lodged in the Graves County Jail. She's charged with possession of methamphetamine, tampering with physical evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia.
CHARLESTON  A hurdle has been cleared in the development of an underground natural gas liquids storage hub that industry representatives said could create thousands of jobs and encourage billions of dollars of development in Appalachia.

Appalachia Development Group LLC of Charleston on Wednesday announced it has been invited to submit a Part II application under the U.S. Department of Energy Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program to support the development of infrastructure for the Appalachia Storage and Trading Hub. The loan guarantee would be for $1.9 billion from the Department of Energy.

The company in a statement said it recognizes it is the first of several steps in the process to secure a conditional commitment and final loan agreement.

We are pleased to have achieved this major milestone, but we are far from satisfied in our pursuit of a vibrant and growing Appalachia based in sound business principles, said Steve Hedrick, CEO and president of Appalachia Development Group and president and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center.

We are grateful for the collaboration with the states in Appalachia, and industry, legal and financial partners, he said. There is much work to be done to drive this forward, and our team is strong, prepared and highly motivated to move forward. The growth of our business will serve the industry well, and we look forward to the day that the outputs of the ACCs report are enabled as industry grows alongside the hub.

Appalachia Development Group submitted a Part I application in September and has worked with the Energy Department Loan Program Office over the last few months. Appalachia Development simultaneously will work to secure a $1.4 billion equity position in the project, the company said.

Hedrick also cited the help from West Virginia University and the Mid-Atlantic Board of Directors.

Sometimes a goal is bigger than one person, one company or one state, and while we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do, this is a significant milestone along the journey to maximize the Shale opportunity in the Appalachia region, he said.

The proposed hub will be an underground storage facility for natural gas liquids and intermediates. The American Chemistry Council said the development of the hub could encourage $36 billion in petrochemical investments and more than 100,000 new long-term jobs.

Several areas in the region have been described as possible sites for the facility, including at Bens Run near the Tyler-Pleasants counties line.

Were hopeful that the Bens Run run site is going to be the storage facility. We think it would be a great location. It would benefit not only Pleasants and Tyler county, but the entire region, said Jody Murphy, executive director of the Pleasants Area Chamber of Commerce. Were committed to doing whatever we need to do to make this happen.

The project has been supported by members of West Virginias congressional delegation. I have long said that the Appalachian Storage Hub is a vital project that will help us capitalize on our state and regions abundant natural resources, growing infrastructure and innovative spirit, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said. This storage hub will create jobs and develop our economy by attracting significant manufacturing and related investment to West Virginia and our neighboring states. It will also be vital in helping to secure our energy future by providing a reliable affordable supply of natural gas liquids.

Advancing to the second part of the process is a clear indication of the strength of their application, and it demonstrates the departments interest in the transformative job creation and economic growth potential of developing an Appalachian market for natural gas liquids, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said.

This is another step in the right direction, and I will continue working to help make this game-changing idea a reality, she said.

The announcement was exciting news for the entire region, Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., said.

This project will not only transform the region, it will impact the entire country by enhancing Americas energy dominance, he said.

Underground storage of natural gas liquids was part of the agreement announced in November with China Energy Investment Corp. Ltd. to invest nearly $84 billion in shale gas development and chemical companies in West Virginia over the next 20 years.

Gov. Jim Justice also issued a statement on Jan. 3.

Im extremely pleased that the West Virginia Department of Commerce, West Virginia University and the Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center have been able to move the process forward for establishing this storage hub, Justice said. Thousands of potential jobs and numerous downstream businesses could result from development of this project. We are anxious to see it come to fruition over the next several months with the invitation for ADG to now complete part two of the application process and seek the issuing of the loan guarantees.
By BARBARA HARBAC

For the Wetzel Chronicle

During the regularly scheduled Wetzel County Commission meeting on Jan. 2, the commission voted for Commissioner Lisa Heasley to serve as the commissions vice president for 2018. Heasley previously acted as commissioner, while Commissioner Bob Gorby served as vice president. The two have switched roles for the 2018 year, while Larry Lemon has retained his seat as president of the commission.

Heasley was elected to her Wetzel County Commission seat in 2016.

In other news, Heasley informed the commission that The State Work Force, West Virginia office, had been awarded a flood disaster relief grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. This grant was awarded in response to the July 2017 storms that affected 12 counties. Heasley did not know the amount of the grant at this time, but was aware that the grant would be distributed by the State Work Force, West Virginia office.

In other matters, a New Martinsville resident approached the commission regarding the possibility of the commission funding a new police cruiser for the City of New Martinsville. No representatives of the city attended the meeting, preventing the commission from taking any action.
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WEB Notes: In this piece Israel admits to over 100 attacks on the sovereign nation of Syria. Violating a nations sovereignty these days is no longer taboo and perfectly acceptable if a nation is outed as the bad guy.

Israeli jets and ground-to-ground missile attacks on targets in the outskirts of Damascus are a mark of Israels heightened concern as President Bashar al-Assad comes close to winning the civil war in Syria. Israels security cabinet has held meetings several times in recent days to discuss how it should respond to the day-after the war as Syria returns to Mr Assads control and to Irans expanded influence in Syria according to Israeli television reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israels policy was to stop Hezbollah moving game-changing weapons out of Syria into Lebanon. We back it [the policy] up as necessary with action, he added. Israel has carried out more than 100 air strikes against Syrian Army and Hezbollah arms depots and military facilities in the past six years.

Source: Israel air strikes and missile barrage designed to show it is still a player in Syria as Assad nears victory | The Independent
WEB Notes: Let me help them out a bit. It went to protect the poppies and support the terrorists.

The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said that the Department of Defenses program had spent hundreds of millions to revive Afghan economy, but cant provide reliable data on where the money actually went.

A US Department of Defense program called the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) spent $675 million on the Afghan economy from 2011 to 2014, but left few records to show where the money went, a report said.

Source: Pentagon Program to Revive Afghan Economy Failed to Account for $675Mln  Sputnik International
Jan 9, 2018 | By Julia

In exciting news from the biomedical industry, Swedish bioprinting company Cellink has joined forces with CTI Biotech, a medical tech firm based in Lyon, France, that focuses in cancer treatment via tissue production. The new partnership, which was just announced yesterday, is noteworthy from several perspectives: from a business standpoint, the deal makes a clear statement that Cellink is expanding into the world of cancer research; from a tech perspective, the partnership suggests that 3D printing may have a much larger role to play in the fight against cancer than previously realized.



According to the freshly minted deal, Cellink will essentially assist CTI in the production of patient-specific cancer tumor replicas, which will be 3D printed by combining CTIs bioink with a sample of patients cancer cells. The aim is that researchers will then have an advantage in treating specific cancer types, and in the long term, take a serious step forward in the fight towards curing cancer once and for all.



Cellinks founder and CEO Erik Gatenholm breaks down the process as follows: "You will be able to see how a tumor grows and how it would respond to different treatments. It's a very relevant and a realistic model for research," Gatenholm says. CTI Biotech founder Colin McGuckin agrees that the new Cellink partnership will vastly accelerate research, which could mean a substantial breakthrough for the oncology industry.

Erik Gatenholm

If youve never heard of Cellink before, its worth taking a closer look at what exactly sets this company apart from your average bioprinting organization. Founded in early 2016, Cellink is one of the first firms in the world to offer 3D printable bioink, a liquid substance that facilitates the survival and growth of human cells. Of course, were still a ways off from ready to wear bioink, so to speak, but for a company thats only been around for less than two years, Cellinks progress is unparalleled. The company currently bioprints noses and ears primarily for testing cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, but its also a leader in researching and experimenting with cells from human organs such as livers.



What does it all boil down to? Whereas more conventional and generalized cancer treatments such as chemotherapy lead to serious side effects in patients, Cellink and CTIs solution promises to deliver personalized treatments for cancer on a custom, patient-by-patient basis. Another silver lining is more ethical treatments, since Cellinks technique can bypass the need for animal testing entirely.

While attempting to tackle the vexed issue of cancer treatments is ambitious to say the least, Gatenholm notes that his sights were always set high for Cellink. The CEO says that he founded Cellink specifically to change the world of medicine and become a global leader in bioprinting. So far so good: since Cellink entered the industry, the bioprinting market has all but exploded, and is expected to triple between 2016 and 2021.



Meanwhile, Gatenholms company continues to expand, most recently with a new American headquarters near MIT in Cambridge. The bioprinting fim now sells bioink and 3D printers to universities, research institutions and medical companies in 40 countries around the world, meaning a very profitable first year for the Swedish company.

Long term, Cellinks goal is to print real, live human organs. Gatenholm notes that were still 15-20 years away from making that a reality, but at the rate his company is progressing, hes very optimistic. Our vision is to be able to print new human organs. We want to write the history of 3D bioprinting.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Joe London wrote at 1/11/2018 9:25:53 AM:Yeah, saw this article and thought who is this Danny. Also, I can see that he has an MBA, must stand for Mediocre But Arrogant.Paul Roobin wrote at 1/10/2018 8:30:11 PM:Anyone else think that this Erik Gatenholm is just attention seeking? Why the heck would you make a press release and have his ugly mug grinning smugly. I suppose that it is all surface and no feeling.




Jan 10, 2018 | By Tess

As if American gun laws werent convoluted enough, 3D printed firearms, also known as ghost guns, are making regulation policies even more complicated and difficult to enforce.

In a recent development, Defense Distributed, a controversial online organization dedicated to designing and proliferating downloadable and 3D printable ghost guns, has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department to challenge the latters efforts to regulate 3D printed guns and limit how they are distributed.

The suit is seemingly a response to the government requesting that Texas-based Defence Distributed remove a number of files for 3D printable gun parts from its website. The latter is deemed illegal by the State Department under International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

In the United States, however, it is legal for citizens to create their own guns, providing they are for personal use only. On this basis, Defense Distributed believes it has not broken any laws and has not enabled Americans to break the law.

Cody Wilson, founder of Defense Distributed, has partnered with the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun rights advocacy group, to challenge the State Departments decision as being in violation of its First, Second, and Fifth Amendment rights.

While elsewhere in the world, 3D printed guns and firearms are a more or less black and white topicpeople are not allowed to make or own unregistered guns, therefore untraceable 3D printed guns are illegalwithin the U.S. the legality of 3D printed weapons is complicated by the ever-controversial Second Amendment.

Cody Wilson, controversial founder of pro-gun Defense Distributed

Still, the State Department maintains that because Defense Distributeds files could be shared with people in countries where DIY guns are illegal, that the files should be taken down.

Through their suit, Defense Distributed and the Second Amendment Foundation are seeking an immediate injunction which would lift the ban on sharing 3D printable files intended for building weapons.

Presently, the case is being considered within the Texas District court for its merit, but could eventually end up in front of the Supreme Court. It is not clear whether the Supreme Court will consider the case before its merits are determined.

On a broader scale, the situation could establish an important precedent for the U.S. government to regulate and stop the sharing of files and data that might not be illegal in the United States, are illegal elsewhere in the world.

3D printed "Liberator" handgun

There is, of course, also the fear that further government regulation of what is shared on the internet will push people further into the Deep web. In any case, were interested to see how this one turns out.

This is not the first time that Defense Distributed has made legal headlines, as in 2015 Cody Wilson sued the State Department claiming that a 2013 order to remove the designs for the 3D printable Liberator gun was unconstitutional.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Rich wrote at 1/11/2018 7:01:41 PM:where are the comments that have been already posted??Geoff wrote at 1/11/2018 3:43:34 PM:Cody's files and more are on every file sharing torrent site in the world.




Jan 10, 2018 | By David

3D printed ceramics are continuing to develop at a considerable rate, and the technologys improvement is increasing the number of potential applications it has, in a variety of sectors. The latest advance in this field today saw Chinas Porimy 3D Printing Technology Co., Ltd, a start-up offshoot of the Kunshan Industrial Technology Research Institute, announce the launch of an industrial-grade high-performance ceramic 3D printer. The company also released a ceramic slurry material to work with the 3D printer, and it has received the first official medical device registration certificate for 3D printed ceramic dentures.

Founded in July 2008, Kunshan Industrial Technology Research Institute, based in east China's Jiangsu Province, is a state-owned enterprise that conducts research and development for public technology applications. Its 3D Printing Materials and Technology Research and Development Center is currently focused on a range of different projects, including photo-sensitive resin-based 3D printing materials, ceramic-based 3D printing materials such as cobalt oxide ceramic slurry, biological inks, and 3D printing with food ingredients such as chocolate.

Kunshan Industrial Technology Research Institute holds a 40 percent stake in Porimy 3D Printing Technology, and one of the shareholders is Professor Wang Yun Gan, a professor and doctoral tutor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Since the 1990s, Gan has been devoted to rapid prototyping research, and in recent years he has focused on bio-tissue engineering scaffolds and 3D printed dentures.

Back in the 1970s, German company VITA invented In-Ceram technology to create the first ceramic dental fixtures, and since then the strength of the ceramic crown has been greatly improved. Fully ceramic crowns now boasts a realistic aesthetic effect and can be quickly applied in clinical situations. Zirconia teeth are currently one of the most advanced types of ceramic porcelain teeth, with an internal structure that uses zirconia ceramic materials.

Before the invention of 3D printing technology, dentists made use of wax to create molds of patients' mouths and teeth. These molds would undergo several rounds of carving and changes, before being sent to workshops where the false teeth were made. This whole process used to be very long, and the implementation of 3D printing techniques greatly improved its efficiency, saving on materials and costs as well as time.

A quick 3D scan of the inside of a patients mouth, and the generation of a virtual 3D model ready for 3D printing, is all that is required to create an accurate dental mold. In recent years, metal 3D printing technology has gradually been applied for the manufacturing of dental crowns, bridges, stents, etc. However, the 3D printing of ceramic dentures is a more difficult task. The difficulty lies in both the material and the necessary laser curing technology. The material needs to flow consistently but also quickly solidify.

The new ceramic 3D printer developed by Porimy uses laser scanning to cure its own proprietary slurry material, with a high ceramic content. The laser power, spot size and scanning speed are all variable during the 3D printing process. The resulting zirconia ceramic dentures meet the industrys high strength and accurate topography requirements, as well as having a high level of permeability.

Similar dentures are usually made by CNC cutting technology. However, during the cutting stage, many materials can be unnecessarily cut off which results in an inefficient, inexpensive process. This may also cause internal cracks in the denture due to the cutting forces. The 3D printed zirconia ceramic dentures are not affected by these cracks, and the techniques material utilization rate is as high as 90%.

Porimys 3D printed zirconia ceramic denture production line has passed extensive mechanical, property and biological inspections. In October 2017, the company obtained a medical device registration certificate in order to officially release Chinas first 3D printed ceramic denture on to the market.

Posted in 3D Printer

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Ziad Salameh wrote at 2/10/2019 7:46:54 AM:Dear Sir, we are designing a PhD projects on ceramic 3D Printing and we are very interested in collaborating with your company and using your 3D printers. can you kindly communicate with us on: drzsalameh@gmail.com Thanks youJohn wrote at 8/18/2018 10:18:52 PM:Is this approved for the European market? Email at trevlig@gmail.comAbdul mageed nawaz wrote at 8/13/2018 11:20:19 AM:hello Sir, I am interested on making teeth cown making plant small production make some thing like those veeners sold in the retail but made of ceramic or zercon need simple fast process can be managed by one person, so please if you offer the tools and the software needed for such project please send me the list with prices to my email faisalalhelo@gmail.com, thanks.




Moustafa Bayoumi in The Nation:

A lot of Trumps politics runs on his own anti-Muslim guano. In 2015 alone, he endorsed the idea of registering Muslims in a national database, said he would strongly consider closing down mosques in the United States, and campaigned on barring all Syrian refugees. He promoted the batshit theory that a quarter of US Muslims believe that violence against Americans is justified as a part of the global jihad. (In fact, Muslim Americans reject violence against civilians at a substantially higher rate than the general US public, according to the Pew Research Center.) And he called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.

Trumps defenders insisted that this was all just campaign-trail rhetoric, as if exploiting bigotry were any different from bigotry itself. But by the end of 2015, hate crimes against Muslims in the United States had rocketed to what was then their highest point since 2001. Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at the University of California, San Bernardino, told The New York Times that the anti-Muslim violence in this period seemed to escalate immediately following Trumps flamethrowing comments.

And the situation did not ease after 2015; instead, it got substantially worse.

More here. [Thanks to Corey Robin and Najla Said.]
As the cozy season arrives, we have a hankering for warm drinks and fuzzy blanketswouldn't it be nice to camp out in a sweet rustic cabin for the weekend?

Whether you're itching for a by-the-sea escape, an off-the-grid spot, or a redwood retreat, there's a cabin for rent in Northern California to suit every style and occasion.

Serene Redwood Cabin in Mill Valley (Courtesy of Airbnb) Serene Gem in the Redwoods With the original hardwood floors refinished throughout the house, a Kohler farmhouse sink, vintage restored gold-lined bathtub, three outdoor decks, and lavender growing around the property, this gorgeous Mill Valley rental house is magazine-cover-ready. Be sure to bookmark this rental for your next group getawaythe four-bedroom, two-bathroom property can sleep six, and is a peaceful retreat with hikes directly from the house to Mt. Tam and Muir Woods, as well as walking paths to the town square of Mill Valley. // $495/night at Airbnb Plus

Things to Do Nearby Take 7x7's guide to A Perfect Day in Mill Valley for coffee at Equator, a hike or bike ride on Mt. Tam, tacos at Parranga, and shopping at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard.

A Goat Farm Cabin in Big Sur (Courtesy of Airbnb) A Goat Farm Cabin With Ocean Views A goat farm might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a Big Sur getaway, but that's what makes this cozy two-bedroom cabin (sleeps five) so unique. Set on a private working ranch with goats, chickens, horses and cows, the stay provides guests the opportunity to milk the goats and learn how to make goat cheese during their stay. Of course, you'll also enjoy the cabin's sunny reading nook and the ocean view from its spacious decks. // $796/night, airbnb.com

Things to Do Nearby Big Sur is a place of jaw-dropping beauty. Experience it up close with our guide to The Best Hiking, Camping, Beaches, and Waterfalls.

Rustic Creative Cabin in Mendocino (Courtesy of Airbnb) Handcrafted Hideaway Near Mendocino This peaceful refuge in the Mendocino redwoods is perfect for couples looking for some silence in their lives, or for the writers looking to hole away and finally finish that manuscript. This rustic getaway comes with a queen-bed up on the loft, a wood burning stove, a handcrafted oak table designed for your creative juices to flow, and a southern-exposure deck perfect for stargazing at night. All that you'll hear at night is "a breeze in the top branches of the redwoods" or "frogs, an owl, or the red-tailed hawk who soars nearby." // $232/night, airbnb.com

Things to Do Nearby Don't miss our guide to ever-so-quaint town of Mendocino with its charming shops and farm-to-table eats. You can also drive a little further out to the scenic wine country of Anderson Valleywe love the Burgundian-style pinots at Toulouse Vineyards.

Upscale Log Cabin at Mt. Shasta (Courtesy of Glamping Hub) Upscale Log Cabin With Mt. Shasta Views This isn't your run-of-the-mill ole log cabin. This expansive hideaway situated on a two-acre-property facing the Shasta Cascade Mountains comes with a home theater, a sauna, pool table, and a soaking tub for two. Each of the four bedrooms and loft comes with its own TV, guaranteeing you can Netflix and chill after a day of hitting the slopes at Mt. Shasta Ski Park or embarking on an alpine hike. // From $494/night, glampinghub.com

Things to Do Nearby Mt. Shasta is a bit removed, but well worthy as a destination in its own right. Here are 10 reasons to visit Mt. Shasta.

Luxury Cabin with Japanese Teahouse in Guerneville (Courtesy of Glamping Hub) Luxury Cabin with Japanese Teahouse Look no further for a trio couples getaway or trip with the homiesthis two-unit luxurious cabin with three bedrooms comfortably fits up to six visitors. The couple needing to reconnect can have more privacy and stay in the custom-built Japanese teahouse, which comes with a king-sized bed, its own gas fireplace, slate floors, and windows with views of the lush wildlife of Sonoma County. Others can stay in the main cabin, with two bedrooms with queen beds. With a flat-screen TV that comes with cable and a DVD player, a hot tub right in the backyard, and a gas barbecue grill for your alfresco dining desires, it's hard to imagine why you'd ever leave this relaxing haven. // From $333/night with a 3-night minimum stay, glampinghub.com

Things to Do Nearby For terrific restaurants, homemade pie and ice cream, and quirky shops, downtown Guerneville is a must. In warmer months, you can plan a float trip down the Russian River. The Sonoma Coast is glorious year-roundtake our guide to its most scenic hikes and beaches, wine tasting rooms, and restaurants.
In case you haven't heard, Oakland is the new San Franciscoespecially when it comes to restaurants.

That means that this year's Oakland Restaurant Week (Jan. 11-21) is guaranteed to draw foodies from The City to The Town, looking to get a taste of what all the buzz is about. The annual events brings more than 80 restaurants to the table, each serving special prix-fixe menus at killer prices ($10-$50) for brunch, lunch and dinner.

Want to dig in deeper? Head online to Visit Oakland for menus, a list of parties, neighborhood food tours, cooking classes and more. For now, here's a little bite of what's to come, compliments of seven 7x7 Big Eat Oakland restaurants. Bon appetit! // visitoakland.com





(Courtesy of Itani Ramen)

Itani Ramen

If this wet and chilly weather holds, then chef Kyle Itani may have a crowd on his hands. Itani's restaurant week menus will warm any soul with your choiceof ramen, plus potstickers and salad, at lunch ($20) and dinner ($30). The evening meal comes with your a beer, sake, or a day-erasing whiskey highball cocktail.

// Itani Ramen, 1736 Telegraph Ave. (Oakland), itaniramen.com/oakland-restaurant-week





Calavera

Go for the flavors of Mexico in a three-course prix fixe dinner that includes three choices of appetizerincluding a Gulf prawn salad with avocado, fennel and blood orange; or a black bean soup with chorizo verde and queso Oaxacaand entree (pozole verde; grilled chayote squash with confit potatoes, olives and capers)as well as two choices of sweets. The plantain empanadas with guava puree are a must.

// $30 for three courses (dinner only); Calavera, 2337 Broadway (Oakland), calaveraoakland.com





AlaMar Kitchen + Bar

In addition to serving unbeatable deals at lunch ($10 includes an agua fresca and a Caribbean fried chicken sando), brunch ($20 includes a mimosa) and dinner ($30; hello, spicy udon with snow crab!), AlaMar will host a special event on Tuesday, Jan.16th with Foodie Chap Liam Mayclem and wine world maven Leslie Sbrocco in the house from 6 to 9pm. You can see the complete menus on the restaurant's website.

// AlaMar Kitchen + Bar, 100 Grand Ave. (Oakland), alamaroakland.com. For tickets ($40) to the Jan. 16 event, go to eventbrite.com.





Grand Lake Kitchen

We'll take just about any excuse to sink our teeth into this season's foraged bounty. At Grand Lake Kitchen, the $40 prix-fixe dinner includes an entree option of seared king trumpet mushroom with black garlic, kale and cheese potato puff. Each meal is also served with a complimentary glass of sparkling rose or a strawberry shrub spritzer. Don't miss the blood orange tart with hazelnuts, huckleberries and candied Meyer lemon for dessert.

// Grand Lake Kitchen, 576 Grand Ave. (Oakland), grandlakekitchen.com. See the restaurant's full menu at visitoakland.com.





Hopscotch

When the urge for buttermilk fried chicken takes hold, head to Uptown Oakland favorite Hopscotch, which is serving its signature dish both at lunch ($20-$30) and dinner ($40). The chefs here have really gotten into the restaurant week spirit, creating four different menus and even a to-go option (all available on the restaurant's website). Also look out for the popular First Base burger and an ample list of specialty cocktails ($11 each).

// Hopscotch, 1915 San Pablo Ave. (Oakland), hopscotchoakland.com/events.





Mua

Reportedly a favorite of the Oakland A's, the larger than life dining room at Mua is bringing back its restaurant week menu from last year. In case you missed it, go for a dinner ($40) of quinoa salad with goat cheese; no-cheese Mac with butternut squash and cream; chicken Milanese; and bread pudding with raspberry sauce.

// Mua, 2442a Webster St. (Oakland), muaoakland.com





The Cook and Her Farmer

This briny-sweet little oyster and wine bar is ideal for a laid-back seafood lover's lunch. For just $20, you can chow down on an oyster po'boy with housemade chips and a beer. For something heartier, dinner ($30) brings mussels and fries, salad and a glass of vino.

// The Cook and Her Farmer, 907 Washington St. (Oakland), thecookandherfarmer.com
Global Drilling and Completion Fluids Market

Market Research Future published a Half-Cooked research report on Global Drilling and Completion Fluids Market Research Report  Forecast to 2027   Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2027.

Global Drilling and Completion Fluids Market  Overview

Drilling and Completion fluids plays a crucial role in oil and gas exploration activities. Drilling fluids are also called as drilling mud. Mud perform various functions while drilling such as cool the drill bit and lubricate its teeth, carries the drill cutting to surface, maintain the hydrostatic pressure in the borehole and others. Completion fluids are used in completion operations of oil and natural gas wells.

According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global market of drilling and completion fluids is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The Global Drilling and Completion Fluids Market is forecasted to demonstrate an exponential growth by 2027, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a whooping, CAGR during the estimated period (2017  2027).

Global increasing demand for energy cross the globe has resulted in rapid increase in the offshore drilling activities to meet the increasing demand, which ultimately has provided significant boost to the drilling and completion fluids market. Moreover, new oil reserve discoveries increase the drilling and exploration activities in coming years which upsurge the demand for the market. For example, in Liberia, Exxon Mobile Corporation is planning to start oil drilling in its recently found oil reserves by 2018. However, environmental risks and strict government regulations for drilling as well as high capital cost for drilling are the factors may hinder the market growth of the market.

Get Sample of Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1100

Prominent Players

Baker Hughes Inc. (U.S.), Weatherford International (U.S.), Halliburton Company (U.S.), M-I Swaco (U.S.), AkzoNobel N.V. (Netherlands), National Oilwell Varco (U.S.), Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (U.S.), BASF SE (Germany), DuPont (U.S.), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.) and, Scomi Group (Malaysia) among other are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the Global Drilling and Completion Fluids Market.

Global Drilling and Completion Fluids Market  Competitive Analysis

Global drilling and completion fluids Market appears to be highly fragmented and competitive owning to the presence of numerous large and medium players active in regional market. The key strategies traced from the analysis of recent developments of the key players include Product Launch, Agreement & Partnership, Acquisition and expansion. Strategic partnerships between Key players support the growth and expansion plans of the key players during the forecast period. On the product and sales side, companies are investing in innovation/R&D, brand building, and fostering strong relationships with customers to support their competitive position.

Manufacturers operating in the market strive to deliver innovative solutions that improve the design and manufacturing processes of business around the world. Focusing upon the competitive edge, drilling and completion fluids manufacturers strive to develop products that can deliver optimal efficient, convenience and reliability. Utilizing their international and regional presence, these manufacturers assure their customers with the consistency in product & service quality. Manufacturers strive to develop their product portfolio with a wide range of drilling and completion fluids for every application.

Industry News

In May 2017, Newpark Resources, Inc. has entered into an agreement with Baker Hughes to provide drilling fluids and related services in support of the Greater Enfield project in offshore Western Australia. This contract is expected to begin in late 2017 and generate total revenues of approximately USD 20 million over the period of two-years.

In January 2016, Scomi Energy Services Bhd has secured a USD 41.6 million contract from Total E&P Indonesie. Under this contract, the company offered drilling fluids and completions services for a period of one year

Drilling and Completion Fluids Market  Segmentation

Global Drilling and Completion Fluids Market is segmented in to three key dynamics for an easy grasp and enhanced understanding.

Segmentation:

Based on Type, the market has been segmented into Water-Based, Oil-Based, Synthetic-Based, Foams, and others. Water-Based fluid dominates the type segment of global market. Water-based fluids (WBF) are the most commonly used drilling fluid systems. This fluid system is less expensive, requires less chemical treatment before disposal, and their eco-friendly properties are anticipated to fuel the demand of water based fluids during the forecast period.

Based on well type, the market has been segmented land and offshore. Onshore dominates the well type segment of global market. Offshore segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment during the forecast period.

Based on Application, the market has been segmented into Drilling, Completion, and Workover.

Segmentation by Regions: Comprises Geographical regions  North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America.

Access Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/drilling-completion-fluids-market-1100

Global Drilling and Completion Fluids Market  Regional Analysis

North America dominates the drilling and completion fluids market. The U.S. accounts for the largest market share in the North American region. The advancements in unconventional drilling technologies, which have attracted capital for oil and gas drilling projects. Additionally, vast hydrocarbon resources in the U.S. Shale basins and continuous offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico region, are driving the demand of the market.

Asia Pacific and Europe are the other major market for the drilling and completion fluids. Increasing demand for energy due to urbanization & industrialization from the countries such as India, China, and Indonesia among others driving the demand of the market in Asia Pacific region. The Europe drilling and completion fluids market is expected to be dominated by countries such as U.K, Norway and Russia. New discovery of oil has been found in the Laptev Sea offshore Northern Russia and several drilling projects have been approved in the Russian Arctic sea region closer to the North Pole are the factors driving the market in the region. It is expected to contribute significantly during the forecast period.

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Pune, India, 10th January 2018: WiseGuyReports announced addition of new report, titled Netherlands: Country Intelligence Report.

Summary

Netherlands: Country Intelligence Report, a new Country Intelligence Report provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in the Netherlands today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2022. Published annually, the report provides detailed analysis of the near-term opportunities, competitive dynamics and evolution of demand by service type and technology/platform across the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile and pay-TV segments, as well as a review of key regulatory trends.

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Companies mentioned

KPN

T-Mobile Netherlands

VodafoneZiggo

Tele2 Netherlands

Lebara

Canal Digitaal

Online

The telecom and pay-TV services market in the Netherlands will see lethargic growth from 10.2bn in 2017 to 10.6bn by 2022 at a CAGR of 0.6% over 2017-2022 as fixed broadband, mobile data and pay-TV services will sustain total market growth over the forecast period. Mobile voice revenue will decline over the forecast period due to falling voice ARPS. Mobile data revenue will expand at the fastest CAGR of 4.9% in  driven by continued rise in smartphone penetration and consumption of higher-value data-centric plans. The pay-TV market will grow from 1.4bn ($1.6bn) in 2017 to 1.7bn ($2.1bn) by 2022 at a CAGR of 3.3% in  (5.1% in $) driven by an increase in IPTV subscriptions.

The Country Intelligence Report provides in-depth analysis of the following 

 Demographic and macroeconomic context in the Netherlands.

 The regulatory environment and trends: a review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, tariff regulation and more.

 Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, mobile data and pay-TV markets.

 The competitive landscape: an examination of the positioning of leading players in the telecom and pay-TV services market as well as subscription market shares across segments.

 Company snapshots: analysis of the financial position of leading service providers in the telecommunications and pay-TV markets.

 Underlying assumptions behind our published base-case forecasts, as well as potential market developments that would alter, either positively or negatively, our base-case outlook.

Scope

 The overall telecom and pay-TV services revenue in the Netherlands will grow at a CAGR of 0.6% in  (2.4% in US$) during 2017-2022.

 Mobile revenue will account for 46.5% of total telecom and pay-TV services revenue in 2022, driven by increasing adoption of 4G/5G services.

 KPN leads the Netherlands mobile market in terms of mobile subscriptions for 2017, followed by VodafoneZiggo and T-Mobile Netherlands. Major operators focus on LTE network advacements to remain competitive in the market.

Reasons to buy

 This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of the Netherlands telecommunications markets, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies.

 Accompanying Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in the Netherlands mobile communications, fixed telephony, broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares.

 With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality.

 The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decision-makers built around in-depth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in the Netherlands telecommunications markets.

 The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in the Netherlands.

Table of Content: Key Points

Table of contents 3

Market highlights 4

Demographic, macroeconomic and regulatory context 5

Demographic and macroeconomic context 6

Regulatory context 8

Telecom and pay-TV services market outlook 9

Total telecom service revenue 10

Mobile services market 12

Fixed services market 18

Pay-TV services market 22

Competitive landscape and company snapshots 25

Competitive landscape 26

KPN 28

VodafoneZiggo 29

T-Mobile Netherlands 30

Tele2 Netherlands 31

Additional resources 32

Baseline forecast assumptions 33

Data tables 34

Glossary 36

Research methodology 39

Continued

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Board and Executive Changes

Perth, Jan 10, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Intermin Resources Limited ( ASX:IRC ) ("Intermin" or the "Company") wishes to advise that Executive Director Lorry Hughes has tendered his resignation from the Company effective 31 January 2018 to take on an executive position in a new exploration Company.The Company is also pleased to announce the promotion of Grant Haywood to the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) effective immediately.Mr Haywood, the Company's current General Manager - Mining, is a Mining Engineer with more than 25 years' experience in underground and open cut mining operations and holds a First Class Mine Manager's Certificate. He has managed West Australian mining projects from feasibility through to operations for junior and multinational gold mining companies including Gold Fields, Saracen Mineral Holdings and Phoenix Gold.Commenting on the Management changes, Intermin Chairman Peter Bilbe commented:"The Board would like to extend its sincere thanks to Lorry for his significant contribution to the successful growth of the Company to date and wishes him well in his new role. In turn, we are delighted to promote Grant to the position of COO as we continue our successful mining operation at Teal and grow the business through self-funded exploration, completion of mining studies to bolster our development pipeline and pursue further acquisitions."About Horizon Minerals Limited

Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is a gold exploration and mining company focussed on the Kalgoorlie and Menzies areas of Western Australia which are host to some of Australia's richest gold deposits. The Company is developing a mining pipeline of projects to generate cash and self-fund aggressive exploration, mine developments and further acquisitions. The Teal gold mine has been recently completed.

Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline.

Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of Australia providing exposure to Vanadium, Copper, PGE's, Gold and Nickel/Cobalt. Our quality joint venture partners are earning in to our project areas by spending over $20 million over 5 years enabling focus on the gold business while maintaining upside leverage.
Here's a look at Yemen, a country located on the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, sharing a border with Saudi Arabia and Oman.

About Yemen:

(from the CIA World Fact Book)

Area: 527,968 sq km (twice the size of Wyoming)

Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi Aircraft al Qaeda al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Ali Abdullah Saleh Bombings Houthis Middle East Middle East and North Africa Military Military aircraft Sanaa Unmanned aircraft Unmanned military aircraft Unrest, conflicts and war Yemen National security Terrorism Aviation and aerospace industry Business and industry sectors Anwar al-Awlaki Government and public administration International relations and national security Political Figures - Intl Terrorism and counter-terrorism Terrorist attacks Business, economy and trade Fast Facts Muslim extremists Counterterrorism Muslim people Population and demographics Society Embassies and consulates Government bodies and offices State departments and diplomatic services Civilian casualties War casualties United Nations Continents and regions Demographic groups Government departments and authorities Government organizations - Intl ISIS Health and medical International relations Politics Public health Weapons and arms Deaths and fatalities Misc organizations

Population: 28,667,230 (July 2018 est.)

Median age: 19.8 years

Capital: Sanaa

Ethnic groups: Predominantly Arab, also Afro-Arab, South Asian and European

Religions: Muslim (99.1%: an estimated 65% are Sunni and 35% are Shia) and small numbers of Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Baha'i

GDP (purchasing power parity): $73.63 billion (2017 est.)

GDP per capita: $2,500 (2017 est.)

Unemployment: 27% (2014 est.)

Other Facts:

Yemen is part of the Arab League.

Since 2004, a group of militant Shiite Muslims called the Houthis have been rebelling against the Yemeni government. The conflict is both separatist and sectarian. Houthis are from northern Yemen and they are Shiite Muslims in a majority Sunni country. Some Western diplomats have said the Houthi rebellion is supported by Iran while Yemen's government has alleged that the Houthis are backed by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia. In December 2017, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley presented evidence that a missile fired by Houthis at a civilian target was supplied by Iran.

Timeline:

May 22, 1990 - The Republic of Yemen is created from the unification of North Yemen, the Yemen Arab Republic and South Yemen, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

May-July 1994 - A civil war between northerners and southerners begins due to disagreements between supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, from North Yemen, and Vice President Ali Salim al-Baid, from South Yemen. Troops loyal to President Saleh win the war.

September 25, 1999 - Saleh wins the country's first direct presidential election, with 96.3% of the vote. Opposition leaders allege tampering at the ballot box.

September 23, 2006 - Saleh wins re-election to a seven-year term with 77% of the vote.

September 17, 2008 - Ten people, Yemeni citizens and police officers, are killed in terrorist attack on the US embassy in Sanaa.

December 28, 2009 - A Yemen-based arm of al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), claims responsibility for a failed bombing on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25.

January 2, 2010 - US President Barack Obama announces a new counterterrorism partnership with Yemen, involving intelligence sharing, military training and joint attacks.

January 3, 2010 - The United States and the United Kingdom temporarily close their embassies in Sanaa after they receive word that AQAP may be planning an attack on the facilities. The US embassy reopens two days later after Yemeni forces kill two AQAP militants in a counterterrorism operation.

January 2010 - A group called Friends of Yemen is established in the United Kingdom to rally support for Yemen from the international community. They later hold meetings in London and Saudi Arabia.

January 27, 2011 - Protests break out, inspired by demonstrations in neighboring countries. The unrest continues for months, while crackdowns on protesters lead to civilian deaths.

June 3, 2011 - Opposition forces launch missiles at the presidential palace, injuring Saleh and killing several others.

September 2, 2011 - More than two million people demonstrate across Yemen, demanding that the military remove Saleh from power.

September 23, 2011 - Saleh returns to Yemen after more than three months of medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.

September 30, 2011 - Anwar al-Awlaki, spokesman for AQAP, is killed by a CIA drone strike.

November 23, 2011 - Saleh signs an agreement in Saudi Arabia transferring his executive powers to Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, Yemen's vice president, effectively ending his rule.

January 21, 2012 - Parliament approves a law that grants Saleh immunity from prosecution.

February 21, 2012 - Yemen holds presidential elections to replace Saleh. There is only one candidate on the ballot, Vice President Hadi, the acting president since November 2011. Hadi receives 99.8% of the 6.6 million votes cast, according to the government elections committee.

February 25, 2012 - Hadi is sworn in as president.

May 21, 2012 - During a rehearsal for a military parade in Sanaa, a suicide bomber kills more than 100 Yemeni troops and wounds more than 200.

May 23, 2012 - The Friends of Yemen group pledges more than $4 billion in aid to help the country fight terrorism and boost its economy. The amount is later increased to $7.9 billion. There are delays, however, that hold up delivery of the funds, according to Reuters.

December 5, 2013 - Militants attack a Defense Ministry hospital in Sanaa. They ram the building with an explosives-laden vehicle and gunmen battle security forces inside. At least 52 people are killed, including four foreign doctors, according to the government.

December 15, 2013 - Parliament calls for an end to drone strikes on its territory three days after a US missile attack mistakenly hits a wedding convoy, killing 14 civilians.

February 10, 2014 - State news reports that Hadi has approved making Yemen a federal state consisting of six regions: two in the south, and four in the north. Sanaa is designated as neutral territory.

September 21, 2014 - Hadi, Houthi rebels and representatives of major political parties sign a ceasefire deal. The United Nations-brokered deal ends a month of protests by Houthis that essentially halted life in Sanaa and resulted in hundreds of people being killed or injured.

January 17, 2015 - Houthi rebels kidnap Hadi's Chief of Staff Ahmed bin Mubarak in a push for more political power. He is released 10 days later, according to Reuters.

January 20, 2015 - Houthi rebels take over the presidential palace.

January 22, 2015 - President Hadi resigns shortly after the prime minister and the cabinet step down. Houthis say they will withdraw their fighters from Sanaa if the government agrees to constitutional changes including fair representation for marginalized groups within the country. No agreement is reached.

February 11, 2015 - The United States and the United Kingdom suspend embassy operations in Yemen.

March 20, 2015 - Terrorists bomb two mosques in Sanaa, killing at least 137 and wounding 357. ISIS claims responsibility for the attack.

March 22, 2015 - Houthi rebels seize the international airport in Taiz.

March 26, 2015 - Warplanes from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and other countries strike Houthi rebel targets.

December 6, 2015 - The governor of the city of Aden and six bodyguards are killed in a car bombing. ISIS claims responsibility.

December 18-19, 2015 - At least 100 people are killed as violence erupts in the Harath district of Hajjah, a strategic border near Saudi Arabia.

April-August 2016 - Direct peace talks between the warring parties take place in Kuwait, but fail after Houthi rebels reject a UN proposal aimed at ending the war. Yemeni government officials leave the discussions shortly afterward.

November 28, 2016 - The Iranian-backed Houthi movement forms a new government in the capital. Abdul Aziz Habtoor, who defected from Hadi's government and joined the Houthi coalition in 2015, is its leader, according to the movement's news agency Saba.

December 18, 2016 - A suicide bomber strikes as soldiers line up to receive their salaries at the Al Solban military base in the southern city of Aden. The strike kills at least 52 soldiers and injures 34 others, two Yemeni senior security officials tell CNN. ISIS claims responsibility.

January 29, 2017 - US Central Command announces that a Navy SEAL was killed during a raid on a suspected al Qaeda hideout in a Yemeni village. The Navy SEAL is later identified as William Owens. The Pentagon reports that 14 terrorists were killed during the raid. Yemeni officials say civilians got caught in the crossfire and 13 people died, including eight-year-old Nawar Anwar Al-Awalki, the daughter of Anwar Al-Awalki. The raid was authorized by US President Donald Trump, days after he was sworn in as commander in chief.

February 8, 2017 - Two senior Yemeni officials tell CNN that the government has requested that the United States stop ground operations in the country unless it has full approval.

May 15, 2017 - Save the Children reports that 242 people have died of cholera as an outbreak spreads through Sanaa and beyond.

October 16, 2017 - US forces conduct airstrikes against two ISIS training camps in what a defense official tells CNN are the first US strikes specifically targeting ISIS in Yemen.

November 4, 2017 - Houthi rebels fire a missile at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The Saudi government says that their military intercepted the missile before it reached its target. The Saudis carry out airstrikes on Sanaa in response.

November 6, 2017 - Saudi Arabia blocks humanitarian aid planes from landing in Yemen. The move is in retaliation for the attempted missile strike on Riyadh

December 4, 2017 - Saleh is killed by Houthi rebels as he tries to flee Sanaa.

December 6, 2017 - Trump issues a statement that he has directed his administration to call for an end to Saudi Arabia's blockade.

December 21, 2017 - The International Committee of the Red Cross announces that one million cases of cholera have been reported in Yemen since the outbreak began during the spring. More than 2,200 people have died, according to the World Health Organization. It is the largest outbreak of the disease in recent history.

April 3, 2018 - Speaking at a UN Pledging Conference on Yemen, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres notes that, in its fourth year of conflict, more than three-quarters of the population, 22 million, require humanitarian aid. Regarding hunger alone, "some 18 million people are food insecure; one million more than when we convened last year."

August 3, 2018 - The World Health Organizations warns that Yemen is teetering on the brink of a third cholera epidemic.

August 9, 2018 - A Saudi-led coalition bombs a school bus killing 40 boys returning from a day trip in the northern Saada governorate. Fifty-one people are killed in total. Later, munitions experts tell CNN that the bomb, a 500-pound (227 kilogram) laser-guided MK 82 bomb made by Lockheed Martin, was sold as part of a US State Department-sanctioned arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The Saudi coalition blames "incorrect information" for the strike, admits it was a mistake and takes responsibility.

November 20, 2018 - Save the Children says that an estimated 85,000 children under the age of 5 may have died from extreme hunger or disease since the war in Yemen escalated in early 2015.

December 6, 2018 - The opposing sides in Yemen's conflict begin direct talks in Sweden, the first direct discussions between the parties since 2016.
Retired Ambassador Peter Bodde has been tapped to lead the State Department's Accountability Review Board examining the attacks on US diplomats in Cuba, two senior State Department officials tell CNN.

The Accountability Review Board is an internal State Department mechanism to review security incidents involving diplomatic personnel. The most well-known recent review board came after the deadly attack on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012.

Bodde was most recently the US ambassador to Libya between November 2015 and his retirement at the end of last year Officials acknowledged Bodde's panel will have a difficult mission painting a picture of events in Havana

Bodde was most recently the US ambassador to Libya between November 2015 and his retirement at the end of last year. He has also served as ambassador to Nepal and Malawi. He joined the Foreign Service in 1981.

Officials acknowledged Bodde's panel will have a difficult mission painting a picture of events in Havana with little evidence beyond the health problems of the 24 diplomats and their family members affected.

"We don't know what happened, how it happened or who did it," one of the officials said. "All we know are the consequences. It's going to be tricky."

This official said that a debate exists within the US government as to whether technology even exists that can cause the symptoms suffered by the diplomats, but added the fact that only diplomats in certain houses and hotel rooms were affected has left little doubt that the diplomats were targeted.

"Unless aliens beamed in from Venus, they were attacked," the official said.

Officials say the Cuban government has cooperated and with the FBI investigation, with another official describing Havana's cooperation as "forthcoming."

"They did exactly what we would have done in this situation," the second senior State Department official said.

Although the US doesn't believe the Cuban government directed the attacks, the officials said there is a strong suspicion some rogue elements of the Cuban security apparatus must have been involved.

"This took place while people were sleeping," this official said. "Whoever was doing it knows where these people's bedrooms were or what hotel room they were in. But because we can't identify the technique or technology used, it allows the Cubans to say they are not involved and that the Americans don't have any idea what happened."

Indeed, after Tuesday's hearing on Capitol Hill, in which the State Department and federal investigators said have been unable to attribute the source or cause of the ailments, the Cuban foreign ministry issued a statement saying, "months of thorough probes have proven that there has been no attack."

The Department of State has no evidence whatsoever that allows it to affirm that there has been attacks against its diplomats in Havana, or that Cuba could be responsible for or be aware of actions carried out by third-parties wrote Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, Cuba's Director General for US Affairs. "I categorically reiterate that the Cuban government has no responsibility whatsoever in the health conditions reported by US diplomats."

Officials say they suspect if and when the Cubans do find out what happened, they will put a stop to the attacks, but will not tell the US or make the revelations public because they don't want to admit they have rogue elements in the ranks.

"We just have to see a long period of no attacks," the first official said.

Although the last known incident occurred last August, the official noted: "These symptoms sometimes have a period to emerge so we can't say yet that it's over. Until then it would be irresponsible to send our diplomats back."
An alert firefighter hears a faint cry for help setting off a painstaking rescue from a California mudslide.

Crews worked for six hours to free a 14 year-old girl, trapped in what was left of her home in Montecito, near Santa Barbara.

She appears to not have any serious injuries.

Rescuers were checking debris piles in the neighborhood when they heard her muffled screams.

Quickly getting to work, on a very slow process.

Meticulously moving debris, trees, and pieces of her house, one by one.

Trying to prevent anything from shifting and crushing her.
Says his appointment had become a distraction after 200,000 sign petition opposing it Related links West London Free School Toby Young Defends Himself Against Critics of New Job

Participate Sign up for an email newsletter from: ActonW3.com, ChiswickW4.com and EalingToday.co.uk Toby Young has resigned from his role as an advisor on the advisory board of the Office for Students saying the appointment had become a distraction. Over 200,000 people signed a petition calling for him to be removed from the position after attention was drawn to offensive tweets and articles he had written. MP for Ealing Central and Acton Rupa Huq joined the critics and poured scorn on Mr Youngs developmental journey by citing his Spectator column on December 9th 2017. Dr Huq told Parliament: ''I am usually the first to congratulate my constituents on their achievements, but even Toby Youngs Acton address cannot save him on this one. In his column in the Spectator on the 9th of December, not historical, but mere days before his appointment he boasted What a Big Swinging Dick I am. The column was titled The Subtle art of showing off at work. How does that and the fact that his West London Free School has had five teachers in almost as many years make him qualified for this post? '' Mr Young, who also runs the New Schools Network, made an unreserved apology for the comments he made. He had previously deleted 40,00 tweets which included comments on working class students and the size of womens breasts. In an article announcing his resignation he said, "I am a passionate supporter of inclusion and helping the most disadvantaged, as I hope my track record of setting up and supporting new schools demonstrates. "But some of the things I said before I got involved in education, when I was a journalistic provocateur, were either ill-judged or just plain wrong - and I unreservedly apologise." The Prime Minister had defended his appointment while condemning some of his past comments saying that she was not at all impressed. Universities minister Jo Johnson who had advocated Mr Youngs appointment said his resignation and apology "reflects his character better than the one-sided caricature from his armchair critics".

January 10 2018
Some 895m nuisance calls were made chasing an injury claim for an accident that may or may not have occurred, or other insurance-related matter such as pursuing a holiday sickness claim. Nuisance calls chasing an accident claim were the most common concern reported by consumers to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). Those behind cold calling  regardless of the purpose (accident, pension or PPI)  have relentlessly targeted those aged over 65, who received more nuisance calls than any other age group. Nearly one in three (30%) nuisance calls and texts targeted someone 65 or older. MPs are set to debate the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill which proposes the creation of a single financial guidance body. According to the current draft of this new legislation, the guidance body will consider the impact of cold-calling on consumers and can recommend a ban on cold calls to the Secretary of State, who will have the power to introduce such a ban. Aviva is calling for a ban on these cold calls relating to a pension, PPI, insurance claim or similar issue where there is no established relationship with the consumer. Consumers overwhelmingly agree: in a survey of more than 2,000 adults on behalf of Aviva, 85% of consumers said they support a ban on all nuisance calls. Rob Townend, UK Claims Director at Aviva, said, Enough is enough. Nuisance calls are a national epidemic which must be stopped. Whether it is a call chasing an injury you may or may not have sustained in an accident, or a pension scammer attempting to con unsuspecting individuals out of their hard-earned retirement savings, there is no place in our society for them. Aviva is urging the Government to put a swift end to these cold calls. The Financial Guidance and Claims Bill currently before Parliament is a terrific opportunity to ban unsolicited calls once and for all. If the Government is serious about protecting all members of our society, including the most vulnerable, then it should take decisive action and ban them. Were you injured in an accident?

Claims management companies (CMCs) frequently use nuisance calls to target consumers who may have been injured in a car accident. CMCs are attracted to such claims due to the large fees they receive in exchange for passing the claimant to an organisation that can help them pursue their claim. This financial incentive is driving the aggressive calling and texting of consumers, regardless of whether they had an accident or were injured. Aviva is calling on the FCA, which will be the new claims management regulator, to introduce a cap on the fees CMCs can charge for handling injury claims. Preying on Pensioners

In April 2015, the government introduced new pension freedoms, allowing anyone aged 55 and over with a defined contribution pension to take all or part of their retirement savings as a lump sum. Since then, pensions-related nuisance calls are estimated to have increased by around 2.7million, as pension scammers exploit the new rules to con hard-working consumers out of their retirement savings. Government estimates indicate that fraudsters have conned more than 43m from pension pots since 2014****. Aviva is working hard to protect all of its pension customers and their retirement savings. All pension transfer requests are carefully vetted by Aviva, and those which cause concern are investigated further. Aviva is also working to make its customers aware of the potential risks that they face from scammers. Common tactics employed by fraudsters include:

 Aggressive sales tactics, including cold calls

 The promise of guaranteed high returns

 Telling the consumer that their existing arrangement is not performing well

 Overseas investments that are not as advertised and offer no recourse once the consumer invests Consumer anger

For those who receive a nuisance call or text, the question is frequently, how did they get my telephone number or personal data? The value of such data  for example, information relating to an accident which may have resulted in an injury - has created a black market where illegally obtained personal data is bought and sold. There is very strong support for tougher penalties for those caught buying and selling illegally obtained consumer data, with 87% in favour of tougher penalties. While 57% of consumers said nuisance calls were the most annoying thing about owning a phone they were also said to be intimidating (18%) and made them feel anxious (13%). Taking action

Aviva recommends that anyone concerned about the intrusion and threat posed by cold callers, regardless of age, registers with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS)  a free service which allows consumers to opt out of unsolicited sales and marketing calls. Avivas consumer research found that people are more likely to be registered with the TPS the older they are: only 16% of 16  24 year olds are registered with the TPS, while 53% of those over-55 have signed up to the service.  57% of Brits say nuisance calls and texts are the most annoying thing about having a phone

 Over 65s targeted with approximately 30% of ALL nuisance calls and texts

 Nearly 900m calls and texts chasing a personal injury claim or insurance issue

 2.7m more pensions-related nuisance calls since pension freedoms

 As MPs set to debate the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, Aviva calls for a ban on these unsolicited calls; 85% of consumers agree
Adrian Boulding, Director of Policy at NOW: Pensions: The warning from the Government's Actuary Department demonstrates just how precarious the state pension really is. Increasing National Insurance contributions by 5% could go some way to mitigate this issue. But increasing NICs is easier said than done and raises uncomfortable questions around intergenerational fairness. Research* we conducted with millennials revealed one in five (22%) 18  30 year olds are pessimistic about the future of the state pension and dont believe it will exist when they retire. To protect against an uncertain future, having workplace pension savings is essential which is where auto enrolment has the potential to make a big difference. Calum Cooper, Partner at Hymans Robertson: It is not surprising that the Government Actuary Department has reached this conclusion that state pension funding levels are dwindling. The current system is dangerously unsustainable when you consider how technology and rising life expectancy could transform our working landscape over the next decade or two. The UK currently spends 100bn p.a. on the State pension and that this is expected to double over the next 20 years and double again in the following 20 years, it is clear that the current system needs to change. The chances are that our working landscape will look radically different over the next few decades. Life expectancy is continuing to rise faster than the State Pension age meaning many people will feel compelled to continue working well into retirement. In fact, our own longevity analysis found that the state pension age should now be at 74, if it had kept pace with life expectancy from the second world war. However, all of this could be swamped if the predicted potential for technological unemployment by AI comes true. The Bank of England and PwC have estimated that 1 in 3 jobs are currently in danger from automation. Clearly there is a wide range of outcomes but this outcome would be massive and would have a devastating impact not only on NI financing but would cause demands on state support to reach an all-time high. Perhaps its time to think beyond the State Pension and look towards something more age-agnostic.

Government Actuarys Quinquennial Review of the National Insurance Fund as at April 2015
Based in the UK, his role is to head research for the Thinking Ahead Group: the executive team to the Institute. He started on 1 January 2018. Collie has over 30 years of experience in the actuarial, investment and consulting industries. He joins from Russell Investments where he worked for over 20 years, most recently as Chief Research Strategist responsible for the generation, capture and delivery of strategic research to institutional clients in the United States. Prior to this he led Russell Investments London-based consulting practice, covering all EMEA relationships, before which he was a consultant at Mercer Consulting for eight years. Collie has an MA in Mathematics from the University of Oxford and is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Tim Hodgson, head of the Thinking Ahead Group, said: I am very pleased to welcome Bob to the team. He is a highly-regarded author of research covering a wide range of investment topics* and is a proven leader of consulting and research practices. He joins us at a time of accelerating change in the investment industry where our research is gaining traction because it points to a better investment world in which the end saver is prioritised. It is also a time when the Institutes influence is growing as more institutions join our number. In a world first, the Thinking Ahead Institute quantified, and provided evidence for, the size of the long-term investment premium that can be exploited by investors in its research paper The search for a long-term premium. In addition, the Institute recently developed the first sustainability beliefs benchmarking tool to test the relative strength of these beliefs between peers to assess if and where an investment edge can be developed. * Including on corporate pension finance; liability-responsive asset allocation (the earliest description of the de-risking glide path approach); performance measurement during portfolio transitions (the T Standard); and the five tests of an effective ESG policy. Bob Collie also co-authored The Retirement Plan Solution: The Reinvention of Defined Contribution, a book which sets out a vision for a transformation of the DC system, describing opportunities for greater effectiveness in the pre-retirement and post-retirement phases.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Wednesday accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiahs government of being anti-Hindu.

Addressing the Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivartana Yatre in Chitradurga, Shah said, The Siddaramaiah Government is indulging in vote bank politics; it is an anti-Hindu government. They have withdrawn all cases against the SDPI, which is an anti-India organisation.

The state government has withdrawn all cases against the criminals of radical group PFI. The salaries of temple priests have been held for four months now, he added.

Shah further said the Siddaramaiah Government in the state had deprived the people of the state from the benefits of the money that was meant for their welfare.

The Modi Government has increased Karnataka share from Rs 88,583 crore (13th Finance Commission) to Rs 2,19,500 crore (14th Finance Commission), he noted.

Shah also hailed Prime Minister Modis Ujjwala Yojana, adding the Centre had provided free LPG connection to 3.33 lakh poor women of Karnataka.
Middle-class Afghans turned jihadists have assisted the Islamic State groups expansion from its stronghold in Afghanistans restive east to Kabul, analysts say, and helping to make the capital one of the deadliest places in the country.

IS has claimed nearly 20 attacks across Kabul in 18 months, with cells including students, professors and shopkeepers evading Afghan and US security forces to bring carnage to the highly fortified city.

It is an alarming development for Kabuls war-weary civilians and beleaguered security forces, who are already struggling to beat back the resurgent Taliban, as well as the US counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan.

This is not just a group that has a rural bastion in eastern Afghanistan  it is staging high casualty, high visibility attacks in the nations capital and I think thats something to be worried about, said analyst Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center in Washington.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K), the Middle East groups affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, emerged in the region in 2014, largely made up of disaffected fighters from the Taliban and other jihadist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

It claimed its first attack in Kabul in the summer of 2016. Since then the Sunni group has struck at security forces and Shiites with increasing frequency, helped by its growing network in the capital.

There is no shortage of recruits, analysts say.

IS has successfully tapped a rich vein of extremism in Afghanistan that has existed for decades and crosses socio-economic groups  fanned by growing internet access among urban youth.

We are talking about a generation which has been desensitised to different types of violence and violent extremism, said Borhan Osman, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

It should not come as a surprise that some of the youth inculcated in the ideology of jihadism embrace the next version of jihadism, the most violent one.

Members and supporters of IS cells in Kabul hide in the open, living with their families and going to classes or work every day, Osman said.

The militants meet at night to discuss jihad, or holy war, and plot attacks on targets in the city they know well  well enough to adapt to changes, such as tightened security in the wake of a massive truck bomb in May that killed around 150 people.

Its an adaptive structure reacting to the counter measures, a Western diplomat told AFP.

From May to December what we have seen is different types of attacks, smaller attacks that are getting through.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday asked parliamentarians of Indian origin to link the priorities of their countries with Indias development and see how the two can intersect.

Addressing the inaugural session of the international conference of PIO (persons of Indian origin) Parliamentarians here, the president said India offers opportunities for huge investment, trade and development.

The conference is being attended by parliamentarians from 23 nations.

it is important for you to link your individual countrys priorities to Indias development. And to see how these can intersect, he said.

The president called the parliamentarians living bridges who play an important role in enhancing understanding between their countries and the country of their parents and ancestors.

Indians are proud of our democracy, fabric of pluralism and diversity. This is our greatest strength. And the Indian diaspora has carried such liberal and civic-minded values with it, he said.

Instinctively, this has made members of the Indian diaspora contribute to public life in countries that they are citizens of, he added.

For the Indian government, engagement with PIO parliamentarians or with the wider Indian diaspora community is not a transactional relationship or a zero-sum game, Kovind said.

Rather, we look upon the community and look upon you, the PIO parliamentarians and elected and public representatives, as a living bridge, he said.

They can help build economic, people-to-people and strategic connections that will be of benefit to both countries and to all of us, the president said.

Describing India as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, he said the economy will gallop ahead in the next few decades.

We are also at the cusp of a new India that will achieve certain milestones for our people by 2022, also a year when we will celebrate the 75th year of its Independence, the president said.

At such a juncture, India offers huge investment, trade and developmental opportunities, he expressed.

And the development of India will be of benefit to not just the 1.3 billion people of India but will be a voice of hope and prosperity and of peace and stability for our shared world and for all the countries you represent, he said.

He praised the Indian diaspora saying they have risen to appreciable heights in almost all countries where they found a home.

The president gave some examples of the work done by members of the Indian diaspora, like farmers in countries as far apart as Italy, Bolivia and Tanzania.

They (Indian diaspora) are instrumental to the tech start-up ecosystem of Silicon Valley. They form the backbone of the economy of Dubai and other major business cities in the Gulf region. The global financial centres of New York, London and Singapore would simply not be the same without the Indian diaspora, he said.

Kovind lauded the achievements made by the PIOs and other Indians living overseas.

As a country, we are very proud of what our Pravasi Bharatiya brothers and sisters have done. They have embellished the identity of India and of the Indian people all over the world, he said.

They, he said, have remained true to Indian culture and retained a strong and commendable bond with their roots, even when living thousands of miles away.

I would go to the extent of saying that if Indian cuisine and Indian films have a global market today, it is because the diaspora has taken them to distant lands, the president said.

The conference is being hosted by the Antar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad-Bharat along with the PIO Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Three journalists stealing cutlery while accompanying West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during an official tour to London have caused major embarrassment to India and tarnished the reputation of media. Media exercises freedom of speech and expression while reporting news and exposes politicians for any wrongdoings. On the other hand, whenever journalists indulge in unethical acts publication houses try to conceal their names. Why cant these firms act responsibly by naming and shaming the guilty responsible for bringing disrepute to the nation? Instead of becoming the watchdog between leaders and public, media has lost its credibility as it is now being called as bazaru and prestittute? The media house should have taken strict action against erring journalists which would deter them from indulging in such acts in future. Journalist fraternity condemned the cutlery stealing incident and said that journalists have a moral responsibility while going overseas to cover news. They added that journalists are representing their country so they must refuse favours, special treatment while visiting foreign countries. Journalists also added that their counterparts should not commit burglary as it will only malign the reputation of other correspondents and media. As per reports the names of two journalists revealed include Senior Journalist Dipankar Nandi of Aajkal News, Deobash Bhattacharya of Anand Bajar Patrika  ABP NEWS.

Sneha Saha, Copy Editor and Reporter at India Today termed the burglary incident as a shameful act and expressed that it has put the entire media fraternity at stake. She said, Being a journalist, we travel to places to cover events with the baggage of the media origination we are associated with, and incidents like this one, not only downgrades our own reputation but also the companys name. This is no sign of being a responsible journalist. Im definitely glad about the fact that the associate media origination has come forward to accept the journalists fault, but yes, Im also up with the firm for not revealing the name of the journo responsible for this act.

Obviously because, this is a shameful incident and revealing the name of the journalist will definitely affect his/her career in the near future. But, in turn, we as a responsible journalist should keep in mind that masses look up to us  and if we perform acts as shameful as this one, this doesnt just affect them but downgrades all fellow journalists as well, she added.

London authorities had hosted dinner in grand luxury hotel where several politicians, industrialists and journalists from other nations were present. Initially, a senior reporter working with a renowned Bengali publication had stolen a set of desert spoons from the table. Later, other journalists too emulated this act. The entire incident was recorded in CCTV camera but journalists remained unaware about it. A journalist among the three used to regularly accompany Mamata Banerjee for overseas tours.

Soumya Chatterjee, Senior Staff Writer at TheNewsMinute said that this incident will have an adverse impact on the journalist fraternity. He said, Its a very shameful incident for every journalist working in India. This will hurt the image of the entire profession. The damage is irreversible. In any other incident, an accused is also named. Here the journalists were caught in CCTV. Hence, it is not a mere allegation, and their names should be revealed.

K S Aditya Rao, Producer at BloombergQuint said, Linking this issue as a shame for journalism would be incorrect, as this is an act of an individual. One journalists act cant decide the fate of a media house. I believe that maximum action must be taken on the alleged offenders, if proven guilty, but dragging the entire organisation into this issue would tarnish goodwill of the company and other journalists too. Journalism is already going through a tough and transitional phase in India, such issues have to be kept away to save the goodwill of the profession.

A security personnel asked the accused journalists to mend their ways as they returned the stolen items after getting embarrassed. A senior journalist nonetheless claimed that he had not stolen anything and began arguing with security officials. Later staff threatened to hand over him to police as he confessed to committing the crime after paying a penalty amount of 50 pounds.

Alakananda Bandopadhyay, Correspondent at International Business Times India said, Its a little hypocritical, to be honest, because this is no case of sympathy where personal details need to be withheld because of the sensitivity of the issue. If the person or the organisations are concerned with drawing unnecessary flack, they should have considered the possibility of getting caught before they decided to steal something as basic as silverware, just because its from London. These are probably elite journalists in question; if their common sense can dysfunction like that, wonder what ethical grounds they stand on.
After side-stepping questions on film-maker Woody Allen for too long, director Greta Gerwig has finally addressed her relationship with Woody, who she worked with on 2012s To Rome with Love.

In an interview with New York Times, the 34-year-old filmmaker has declared that she will not work with the Midnight in Paris helmer in the future.

The Lady Bird filmmaker expressed her regret for acting in Allens 2012 romantic comedy To Rome with Love.

She also referenced Dylan Farrow, Allens adoptive daughter, who has been outspoken against Allen in recent years and accused him of sexual assault.

She said, I can only speak for myself and what Ive come to is this: If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again.

Dylan Farrows two different pieces made me realise that I increased another womans pain, and I was heartbroken by that realisation.

Farrow has written multiple essays alleging that Woody Allen sexually abused her as a child, and recently criticised some members of the #TimesUp movement for overlooking her accusations.

Allens son, Ronan Farrow, who recently wrote about the sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, supported his sister claims.

Refuting the claims, the 78-year-old American screenwriter lashed out at his former wife Mia Farrow and revealed that he loved her and hopes that one day she will grasp how she has been cheated out of having a loving father and exploited by a mother more interested in her own festering anger than her daughters well-being.
US May Deport 100 Iranian Christian Refugees

U.S. government action could send 100 mostly Christian Iranians stranded in Vienna back to Iran this week, where their return during the harsh government crackdown on dissidents could target them for further persecution, human rights activists warn. The deportation threat looms despite the Trump administration's and Congress's vocal support for protesters in Iran, who are waging the strongest nationwide uprising against the government in Tehran in eight years. "These deportations, during a human-rights crackdown in Iran no less, could be a death sentence for these persecuted Christians and other minorities," Nina Shea, an international humans rights lawyer who directs the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, told the Washington Free Beacon. "They would undermine the important statements against Iran's repression by President Trump, Vice President Pence and U.N. Ambassador [Nikki Haley]." "The administration needs to act fast to stop this travesty," she said, noting that the U.S. government could give the refugees notices denying them entry to the U.S. as early as this week. This would leave the Austrians with little choice but to send them back to Iran. Activists say the timing of the deportation threat is also particularly troublesome for the Trump administration, after the State Department last week designated Iran among 10 countries "of particular concern" for "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom." The Iranian Christian refugees traveled to Vienna in January 2017 under a 27-year-old U.S. law passed by Congress to help Jews escape persecution in the Soviet Union. Under a 2004 update of the law, known as the Lautenberg amendment, the State Department has helped tens of thousands of Iranian Jews, Christians, and Baha'is who were at risk in their home country to resettle in the United States. During the end of the Obama administration, the State Department initially signed off on plans to resettle the latest group of mostly Iranian Christian refugees but then placed a hold on them toward the end of last year before Trump took office, according to Anna Buwalda, executive director of the Jubilee Campaign. The Jubilee Campaign is a nonprofit organization that advocates for religious minorities who suffer persecution in their home countries. Buwalda says she and other human-rights activists don't know why the U.S. appears to be on the brink of denying them entry to the United States, and no one at the State Department or DHS has provided any answers. "This is part of the mystery, and nobody's been able to receive any information to explain it," she said. One-third of the refugees were set to resettle in California, where many of their relatives who have already gone through the refugee resettlement process are located, according to the activists. The Department of Homeland Security, which has an office in Vienna, helped interview and vet the refugees, along with HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit that works with the State Department on Lautenberg program refugee cases, Buwalda said. HIAS referred a request for comment to its partner, the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Neither the State Department nor the DHS provided a response. The refugees, most of them Armenians and Assyrians, have been waiting in Vienna for a year as U.S. courts have weighed in on the constitutionality of the travel ban, and recently were informed they must go back to Iran, according to Shea and Buwalda. It is unclear if the Trump administration is behind the deportation threat or if Austria is becoming impatient with these cases remaining in limbo. Human rights groups are urging the administration to take action and are worried the refugees and other priorities involving religious minorities in hotspots around the world are falling through the cracks as key Trump administration posts remain vacant a year into his presidency. "The U.S. has broken its promise to Iranian religious minorities," Buwalda said. "They traveled to Vienna at the invitation of the United States, with the understanding that they would soon be reunited with their American families. Instead, the groups of refugees have been forced to wait there for more than a year with no explanation. They have no source of income, and many have spent down their life savings." "The U.S. government must solve this situation quickly and humanely," she said. One key post that would normally handle Lautenberg program issues remains vacant. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's nomination to the State Department post of ambassador at large for religious freedom is in limbo after Democrats placed a hold on it late last year and blocked the Senate from approving him. The White House re-nominated Brownback on Monday but has not publicly disclosed whether it intends to expend the political capital to lean on the Senate to quickly confirm him. Senate GOP leaders would have to devote at least three days of precious floor time to hold a floor vote on the nomination if Democrats continue to oppose him instead of passing him quickly by unanimous consent. The White House did not respond to an inquiry into Brownback's nomination. Catholic and other Christian leaders have praised the Trump administration's rhetoric on the issue. They point to the administration's National Security Strategy report, unveiled in late December, and its pledge to "protect religious minorities" abroad. Pence in October received a standing ovation at a dinner devoted to religious freedom issue when he pledged that "help is on the way" to religious minority communities in Iraq struggling to recover from Islamic State genocide. However, Trump also has yet to appoint a special adviser for international religious freedom at the White House's National Security Council and has kept a special envoy for religious freedom post downgraded in power, as it was during the Obama administration. The faith office at USAID also remains without a leader. Update 12:07 p.m.: This post has been updated to remove a line implying the group of 100 individuals were being held up by various court rulings on the Trump travel ban. The holds on this group happened at the end of the Obama administration and are unrelated to the travel ban.
Jonah's Assyrian King

Saba'a Stele. Istanbul Archaeology Museum. ( Marc Madrigal) Adad-Nirari III was king of the Assyrian Empire and reigning roughly from 805-782 BCE. The Saba'a Stele of Adad-Nirari III recording some of Adad-Nirari's campaigns was discovered in 1905 in the Sinjar Mountains of Syria.

The Stele dates from around 800 BCE and provides one of the earliest archaeological records of the name Palestine (Pa-la-as-tu). The inscription mentions an Assyrian raid against the king of Aram and the details of the eventual tribute received. The translation of the stele is as follows:

In (my) fifth year of reign, when I took my seat on the royal throne in might, I mobilized (the forces of my) land. (To) the wide spreading armies of Assyria I gave the order to advance against Palashtu (Palestine). I crossed the Euphrates at its flood. The wide-spreading, hostile kings, who in the time of Shamshi-Adad, my father, had rebelled and withheld their tribute. At the command of the gods Assur, Sin, Shamash, Adad, and Ishtar my allies [terror] overwhelmed them and they laid hold of my feet and I received tribute . I gave the command [to march against Aram] to Mari' [Ishutup] in Damascus,[his royal city]. I received 100 talents of gold and 1,000 talents of silver talents.

The date and content of this Stele contains some interesting parallels with 2 Kings 13. The events recorded in this stele coincide with the reign Jehoahaz of Israel. William F. Albright dates his reign to 815801 BCE. E. R. Thiele suggests 814798 BCE.

In 2 Kings 13:1-5 we read, In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin; he did not turn from them. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. Then Jehoahaz entreated the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. The Lord gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as formerly. (NASB)

It is possible that the unnamed deliverer who saved the kingdom of Israel from the oppression and threat of the Arameans is none other than Adad-Nirari III himself.

The parallelisms between the Biblical text and the reign of Adad-Nirari III do not end here. In 2 Kings 14 we have the first mention of the prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai. The story of Jonah is considered by some scholars as an allegory. Some even reject the historical figure of Jonah himself. Certainly it seems from the text of 2 Kings 14 that Jonah was understood to be a historical figure. Furthermore Jesus' frequent quotes from Jonah seem to suggest that for Jesus, Jonah was a real historical figure also.

In Luke 11:30 Jesus contrasts his generation with the generation that lived in the time of Jonah, For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. (ESV)

2 Kings 14 tells us that Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. William F. Albright dates his reign to 786746 BC, E. R. Thiele suggests that he was co-regent with Jehoash 793782 BC and sole ruler 782753 BCE.

Both of these dates fall within the reign of Adad-Nirari III (805-782 BCE). Although, other candidates for Jonah's king of Nineveh do exist, Adad-Nirari III seems to be an interesting fit due to his little-known monotheistic revolution. For reasons unknown Adad-Nirari III chose Nabu, the Assyrian god of literacy, scribes and wisdom, as the sole god to be worshipped.

In his book titled The Ancient World From c. 1400 to 586 B.C., Francis Nicole makes the following observation: A strange religious revolution took place in the time of Adad-nirari III, which can be compared with that of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ikhnaton. For an unknown reason Nabu (Nebo), the god of Borsippa, seems to have been proclaimed sole god, or at least the principal god, of the empire. A Nabu temple was erected in 787 B.C. at Calah, and on a Nabu statue one of the governors dedicated to the king appear the significant words, 'Trust in Nabu, do not trust in any other god'.

Nicole continues: The favorite place accorded Nabu in the religious life of Assyria is revealed by the fact that no other god appears so often in personal names. This monotheistic revolution had as short a life as the Aton revolution in Egypt. The worshipers of the Assyrian national deities quickly recovered from their impotence, reoccupied their privileged places, and suppressed Nabu. This is the reason that so little is known concerning the events during the time of the monotheistic revolution. Biblical chronology places Jonah's ministry in the time of Jeroboam II, of Israel, who reigned from 793 to 753 B.C. Hence, Jonah's mission to Nineveh may have occurred in the reign of Adad-Nirari III, and may have had something to do with his decision to abandon the old gods and serve only one deity. This explanation can, however, be given only as a possibility, because source material for that period is so scanty and fragmentary that a complete reconstruction of the political and religious history of Assyria during the time under consideration is not yet possible.

Under this scenario, if indeed Adad-Nirari III is the king of Nineveh, it would seem reasonable to conclude that by sending Jonah, the God of Israel was extending a hand of mercy to the very king that had earlier delivered Israel from the oppression of the Arameans.

Jonah's message led the population to repentance and in their turn to monotheism perhaps they identified Jonah's god with Nabu. Although it is difficult to say with precise certainty if this is indeed the nature of the events that unfolded, it nonetheless makes for a compelling possibility!
Tunisia-based Express Air Cargo will add four new aircraft to its fleet this year, allowing it to expand the number of services it offers to African destinations.

Starting in January, the airline will begin to roll out 21 new services to a range of countries in west and central Africa and three new services to cover Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

These new services will be in addition to the three daily services launched in February last year connecting Tunis to France, Germany and Malta.

In order to launch the new services, the company will take delivery of four new aircraft this year, in addition to the three it already operates.

The four new aircraft are expected to join the fleet in the first half of 2018, with the first due to join in January.

Reports suggest the four new aircraft will be 26 ton cargo capacity B737-400s.

In total, Express Air Cargo aims to operate a fleet of 14 aircraft by 2021, said the airlines chief executive Anis Riahi.

As well as the new aircraft and new services, Express Air Cargo is planning to build its own 3,000 sq m cargo facility in Tunis-Carthage and inaugurate a Boeing certified maintenance centre for African airlines.

Riahi said: "The [new services] from Tunis were established as a part of new measures to support the export of Tunisian products and trade with the countries served, which will be operational by the end of this month.

"They are supporting an inter-African logistics network and are strengthening the delivery of parcels to and from European countries.

He added: "A Boeing 737-400 will be deployed from Tunis by the end of January and will make a daily flight to the airports of Central and Western Africa.

"The other three planes will be based, one in Douala Cameroon, and the other two in Guinea Conakry.

"From Douala, itll involve connecting Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo DRC and Brazzaville. As from Guinea Conakry, our planes will cover all the countries of western Africa.

Express Air Cargo thus contributes into making the Tunis-Carthage airport a true hub establishing a bridge between Africa and Europe, but also, the Middle East.

"This triangularization of all cargo Europe-Africa-Middle East, with Tunis for hub, will be a valuable asset for economic development and trade."

Construction on the new cargo centre is due to start imminently and it is also hoped that the centre will eventually achieve CEIV pharma certification.

The Boeing certified maintenance centre, which was first announced in July last year, is due to open in July.

The airlines first flight took place last year, but local reports say a delay in the delivery of aircraft and obtaining traffic rights from certain African countries put plans to launch several new services in 2017 on hold.

In the end, the airline flew around 4,000 tons of cargo last year between Europe and Tunisia.

The airline was originally due to launch in January 2016 and then again in September 2016.

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Nearly a dozen people - the majority of them students - were arrested Wednesday following an incident at Lee High School in Montgomery.

Montgomery Public Schools spokesman Tom Salter said nine students were arrested in connection with the case. He did not release details, and said any specifics on the identities or charges will be released through the Montgomery Police Department.

Police did not immediately respond to a request for information, but the Montgomery Advertiser reported that the students, as well as, two parents were arrested after a fight on campus at noon.

This story will be updated if more information is released.
One Birmingham city councilor wants to modernize the city's parking meters.

"How we do parking in the city of Birmingham is antiquated," said Councilor Darrell O'Quinn, who chairs the council's transportation committee. "We've got to modernize our parking system. It is not a new issue. Constituents have been calling for this situation to be addressed for a long time."

O'Quinn formally started the conversation on Wednesday by bringing in representatives from two leading companies: Paybyphone and Parkmobile, which allow parking to be paid by phone or app.

The councilor said he expected this to be the first of many conversations on the topic.

"These are two of the larger companies that have the technology, the platforms to be able to pay remotely," he said.

O'Quinn said he hasn't discussed the matter with Mayor Randall Woodfin, but he said the mayor's staff appears to be supportive of the change.

During Wednesday's transportation meeting, Councilor John Hillard said this was his first exposure to cashless parking companies. He suspected changing over would likely increase revenues.

"That money will go from that meter to wherever we direct the money," he said.

O'Quinn said the city of Birmingham receives annual revenues of $1.7 million from parking meters.

The operational costs associated with the meters, including parking enforcement and maintenance wasn't immediately available.

Transitioning to a modernized parking system could occur at little or no cost to the city, O'Quinn said.

"If we were ready to pull the trigger on this today Parkmobile could start operations within 30 days with zero cost to the city," he said. "They charge a convenience fee of 35 cents per transaction. There is some flexibility of how the revenue share is done."

Parking enforcement would still be required in order to issue tickets.

A representative from Paybyphone said the cashless system would increase safety because motorists can pay for parking while sitting in their car. She said parking meters may not be required in the future. Motorists can be notified to pay for parking through signage.

Many cities including Knoxville, Chattanooga, Dallas, New Orleans and Lexington, Ky. use cashless parking systems.
Feds in north Alabama say 2017 saw the highest number of charges, and percentage of defendants sent to prison, since 2011.

Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town said priorities of the Department of Justice - reducing illegal gun crimes, reducing violent crime, pursuing criminal immigration matters and aggressively addressing the opioid epidemic in Alabama - all were vigorously pursued and successfully carried out last year.

"More people are being charged, more people are going to prison, more people are being convicted than ever before, and the people that are going to prison are our worst offenders,'' Town said Wednesday. "The purpose of that is to really give neighborhoods back to the law-abiding citizens who, for too long, have had to remain indoors while criminal activity is just outside of their homes."

Last year, the U.S. Attorney's Office criminally charged 540 people, up from 408 in 2016 for a 32.4 percent increase. The number of defendants sent to prison climbed from 283 in 2016 to 325 last year for a 15 percent rise. Town said the 94.4 percent conviction rate is the highest in 13 years.

Of the more than 500 people charged, nearly half - 239 - were for violent crimes. That was a 39.8 percent increase of the 171 charged with violent crimes in 2016.

One of the largest jumps was in the number of people charged with opioid-related crimes - 33 in 2017, up from 20 in 2016 for a 65 percent increase.

Town has previously said the opioid crisis in America is the deadliest in history. In fact, 77 percent of the 64,000 drug overdoses nationally in 2016 were a result of prescription opioids, synthetic opioids like Fentanyl, or heroin. Opioid abuse is the number one cause of death for anyone under the age of 50.

"It's insane, the overdose rates,'' Town said. "One thing the feds can do that the state can't do is if you're involved in the distribution of illegal narcotics or legal narcotics distributed illegally, you can be prosecuted by the federal government. The federal level just has to prove liability - we just have to prove your drug caused the death, and that's a 10-year sentence."

The prosecution of criminal immigration cases saw a 212.5 percent increase, from 16 in 2016 to 50 last year. That is the highest number of defendants charged with criminal immigration violations since at least 2004.

"This is illegal reentry,'' he said. "People whose presence here was a crime."

That doesn't include the number of illegal immigrants who were in possession of a gun. "That would add another half dozen cases,'' Town said. "There are illegal immigrants who committed crimes outside of these 50, but those were (counted) under the illegal firearms numbers."

Illegal firearms prosecutions climbed 36 percent in 2017, from 165 to 225. Those prosecutions were 57.9 percent higher than the average of the previous four years.

The prevalence of gun-involved crimes is no secret and usually linked to the illegal drug trade. "Where you find guns, you're going to find dope and where you find dope, you're going to find guns,'' Town said. "I've never met a nonviolent drug dealer. Nobody has."

"If you look at the state numbers, your homicides and your robberies, probably 90 percent that involve a firearm are going to involve the sale or distribution of an illegal narcotic or it's some get-back for a previous robbery that involved the sale or distribution of an illegal narcotic,'' he said. "Ask any third-shift officer why people are shooting each other, and they will tell you it's about dope. A drug-deal-gone-bad is probably the most common scenario in the United States for a homicide."

"225 is a huge number when you're talking about 540 defendants,'' he said. "The priority of illegal firearms by the department, we executed that very well. I think these numbers will continue to go up."

Town also praised success in number of other areas:

- The number of criminal defendants sentenced to prison increased 15 percent, the highest since 2011.

- The number of White Collar Crime defendants rose 31 percent from 60 in 2016 to 79 in 2017.

- The number of defendants found guilty in cases prosecuted through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force climbed 63 percent over 2016, and 286 when compared to 2015.

- Under OCDETF, the highest number of defendants since 2006 were sentenced to 61 months or more in prison.

- In drug cases not prosecuted through OCDETF, the number of defendants charged rose 49.1 percent, from 57 in 2016 to 85 in 2017. Again, that is the highest number of people charged since 2004.

- The conviction rate in all drug cases was 97.2 percent, also the highest conviction rate since 2004.

- In nearly every category, all judgments handled by the office's Civil Division, after fair and impartial consideration, ended in favor of the U.S.

- 95.4 percent of all civil and criminal appeals also ended in favor of the government.

"One thing I'm trying to instill is that we are all prosecutors. We're all engaged in the same mission. We're one big team working toward common goals and priorities,'' he said. "That is perhaps one of the things I'm most proud of."

In addition to all of the prosecutions, Town said the U.S. Attorney's Office is actively engaging the Northern District communities - particularly in the four major population centers of Birmingham, Huntsville, Anniston and Tuscaloosa. Those efforts include Project Safe Neighborhoods and the Public Safety Partnership, as well as others.

"We have installed, or are installing, violence reduction and community outreach programs that will not only allow us to have better intelligence for law enforcement, targeted enforcement for our worst offenders in our worst areas in those cities, but it will also allow us to engage the community in a meaningful way and restore trust between neighborhoods and law enforcement to the extent that is has suffered at all."

The bottom line, Town said, is this: "So for the bad guys, the worst of the worst, we know who you are and we're coming after you aggressively. All levels of law enforcement."
Representatives from all levels of public education, from pre-K to K-12 to higher education on Monday afternoon answered questions from Alabama lawmakers about why they're asking for more money and how they plan to use it.

Earlier in the day, lawmakers heard good news on the revenue side from Legislative Fiscal Office Director Kirk Fulford who said the cap on spending from the Education Trust Fund in 2019 will be $6.6 billion, $216 million more than legislators appropriated from the ETF for 2018.

Finance Director Clinton Carter told lawmakers the governor's budget proposal includes money for cost-of-living raises for state employees and for education employees. The numbers he presented indicated a proposed raise in the range of 2 to 3 percent, but he didn't give specifics, deferring to Gov. Kay Ivey to do so in her speech Monday night.

First up was Early Childhood Education Secretary Jeana Ross, who addressed the importance of early learning and shared a presentation highlighting the nationally-recognized success of Alabama's First Class Pre-K program.

State-funded First Class Pre-K has grown from serving 1,000 four-year-olds in 57 classrooms in 2006, to serving nearly 17,000 students in 938 classrooms in 2017, with funding growing from $4.3 million to $77.5 million over the same time period.

Even with that expansion, Ross said, only 29 percent of eligible children are enrolled in First Class Pre-K programs statewide.

While state funding provided First Class Pre-K for nearly 17,000 children this school year, more than 30,000 registered to attend, she said.

After the meeting, Ross said they're hoping Gov. Kay Ivey will consider their request for a $23 million increase in pre-K, providing for an additional 200 classrooms statewide.

Next up was interim state superintendent Dr. Ed Richardson, who oversees K-12 education for 730,000 Alabama students.

"The department of education has had its problems," Richardson said, alluding to a year filled with problems from communication to budget issues and the ultimate resignation of state superintendent Michael Sentance barely a year after being appointed by the elected state board of education.

Richardson told lawmakers he expects a new state superintendent to be appointed by April.

Richardson said the department is "dealing" with concerns about excessive salary increases and numbers of highly-paid employees and expects action from the state board of education at the Feb. 8 regular meeting.

Regarding the K-12 request, "This budget reflects high-priority for classrooms and for supporting teachers, and that's where the money ought to be," Richardson said.

Chief State School Financial Officer Andy Craig explained the department's request for an additional $144 million above last year's appropriation, approved by the State Board of Education at their Dec. 14, 2017, meeting.

That increase covers an additional 197 teachers in grades four through six and providing $1,365 in classroom materials and support for all state-funded teachers, a 35 percent increase over this year's $891 per teacher. Increasing funding for transportation and buses is also a priority, Craig said.

Richardson called on two school district superintendents - Conecuh County's Zackeyous Byrd and Russellville City's Heath Grimes - to tell lawmakers that more funding is needed for the Alabama Reading Initiative, the school nurses program, and the Jobs for Alabama Graduates program.

Madison County Superintendent Matt Massey asked lawmakers to consider increasing state funding for National Board Certified Teachers from the current $5,000 each year to $10,000 each year and to consider providing $20,000 each year for board-certified teachers to teach in Title I schools.

Obtaining certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is a multi-year process and is awarded only after rigorous review.

Alabama Community College System Chancellor Jimmy Baker talked with lawmakers about the importance of a strong community college system and said while they are ready to move toward outcome-based funding, all campuses do not currently all use the same types of software or even the same chart of accounts.

Baker estimated it will cost $30 million to get all colleges on the same system and asked the legislature to fund $5 million of that cost for each of three years.

Baker thanked lawmakers for funding scholarships for dual enrollment in recent years, pointing out that students are graduating high school with both their diploma and a two-year associate's degree. He said the system is asking for an increase in funding for workforce training, a raise for employees and full funding for health insurance cost factors.

Jim Purcell, Executive Director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, asked lawmakers for a 4 percent increase for public colleges and universities across the board, asking for $67.3 million in new funds, and bringing the total requested appropriation to $1.67 billion for 2019.

Specifically, he asked lawmakers for an increase in funding for the need-based Alabama Student Assistance Program, saying it is the fifth-lowest funded need-based aid program in the country.

Purcell thanked lawmakers for "jump-starting" a scholarship program for K-12 math and science teachers last year and asked for a $400,000 increase for 2019 and said the Commission is considering other incentives to help attract trained math and science teachers to shortage areas across the state.

Higher education has seen some of the steepest cuts since the recession, a fact Purcell pointed out to lawmakers.

"We're funding higher education at 1967 levels," he said. "There's been a 38 percent cut since 2008." Purcell said Alabama is eighth in the nation in reliance on students for the cost of tuition. Shifting the cost of tuition to citizens because of low levels of state support stifles creativity and hinders innovation, he said.

After the meeting, Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said what he heard from both Richardson and Baker was "refreshing" in that both leaders candidly talked with lawmakers about problems in their respective areas.

"That certainly gives appropriators confidence to know that our educators are seeing the shortfalls and shortcomings and are committed to addressing and fixing it," Orr said.

Orr chairs the Senate Finance and Taxation Education committee, which is responsible for the education budget.

Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, chairs the House Ways and Means Education committee, which is where the education budget starts this year. After the meeting, "I'm generally optimistic relative to the 2019 education budget in Alabama," Poole said.

Poole said it was good to hear directly from educators about their needs, and now it's up to lawmakers to take up Gov. Ivey's budget, which lawmakers will receive on Tuesday morning.

"I want to make sure that our process allows each member's voice to be heard, each area of the state to be heard, each level of education to be heard, and that takes time in the legislative process."

Both Orr and Poole said they support pay raises for educators and are waiting to hear what Gov. Ivey proposes in her budget.
Gov. Kay Ivey is proposing raises for education employees and state employees in her budgets for next year.

And legislators can spend $200 million more from the Education Trust Fund next year than they did this year.

Those are two pieces of information lawmakers heard during reports on the state's financial outlook this morning before they started their annual session at noon.

Kirk Fulford, deputy director of the Fiscal Division of the Legislative Services Agency, made a presentation on issues facing lawmakers and revenue projections for 2019.

Finance Director Clinton Carter, representing the governor's office, also made a presentation.

Ivey gives her first State of the State address at 6:30 tonight.

Fulford had some good news today. Lawmakers planned to carry forward $93 million from the 2018 General Fund budget for contingencies in 2019. Fulford said the carryover amount will actually be $129 million.

On the education side, Fulford said the cap on spending from the Education Trust Fund in 2019 will be $6.6 billion, $216 million more than legislators appropriated from the ETF for 2018.

The cap is set under a law called the Rolling Reserve Act, which limits spending based on a 15-year history of revenues.

Carter said the governor's budget proposal includes money for cost-of-living raises for state employees and for education employees. He did not give a percentage, saying he did not want to steal the governor's thunder in her speech tonight. But the numbers he presented indicated a proposed raise in the range of 2 to 3 percent.

Carter said the governor would propose a budget for 2019 that spends $2 billion from the General Fund, the largest General Fund budget ever and about 1 percent more than this year.

That includes increases requested by the Department of Corrections -- a $30 million supplement to this year's budget and a $50 million increase for next year (a total of $80 million over the two years).

Legislators began budget hearings last week, with presentations from Medicaid, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Mental Health, Public Health and Corrections.

Ivey is proposing a $54 million increase from the General Fund for Medicaid, which is what the agency requested. The governor proposes a $9 million increase for the Department of Mental Health, which Carter said is about 80 percent of the the increase requested by the agency.

Ivey's General Fund budget includes $14.4 million for cost-of-living raises for state employees. Carter said a 1 percentage point increase would cost about $5 million. State employees have not had a cost of living raise since 2009.

Ivey's Education Trust Fund budget proposal includes $92.8 million for cost-of-living raises. Carter said each percentage point raise for education employees costs the ETF about $40 million.
A Limestone County mother is jailed on charges of exposing her children to methamphetamine and cocaine.

Shawna Lois Chambers is charged with two counts of chemical endangerment of a child -- one for her 3-year-old and a second for her 9-year-old child -- court documents show. Chambers was investigated after the Department of Human Resources received complaints alleging the 30-year-old mother was using drugs around her children, according to police records. A DHR case worker contacted Limestone County sheriff's investigators in November 2017, providing copies of drug test results from Chambers and the children.

Chambers tested positive for cocaine and marijuana, as well as benzodiazepines, which are typically known as tranquilizers, Investigator Jamie King wrote in a police report. One child tested positive for methamphetamine; cocaine was detected in the other child's system, King's report states.

The children were sent to live with a relative, and sheriff's investigators got warrants for the mother's arrest. Chambers was arrested on the warrants Sunday afternoon. She's held in the Limestone County Jail with bail set at $10,000.

If convicted, Chambers faces up to 20 years in prison.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced they are searching for a Chunchula teen who was last seen in the area of her home.

Authorities are asking for public assistance in locating 17-year-old Katlyn Sampson. Sampson was last seen on January 5.

She is described as 109-pound white female with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call Mobile County Sheriff's Office at (251) 574-8633.
An Albertville police sergeant is on administrative leave after being arrested on a misdemeanor domestic-violence charge.

David Atwell (Etowah County Jail photo)

Sgt. David William Atwell, a 44-year-old from Altoona, was arrested Tuesday by the Etowah County Sheriff's Office, jail records show. Atwell was released on $1,000 bail just minutes after his arrest.

Albertville police Chief Jamie Smith told AL.com Atwell is on administrative leave. The chief didn't comment further about the matter. Albertville is a city in Marshall County with about 21,000 residents. Marshall County borders Etowah County, where Atwell lives and was arrested.

Details of the arrest haven't been released. A call to the Etowah County Sheriff's Office was not immediately returned.

This is Atwell's second arrest in just over two years. Atwell was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence Nov. 28, 2015. That charge was dismissed after Atwell completed a stress/anger management class, court documents show. Details of the allegations weren't released in court records.

Atwell is amid a contested divorce. His wife also has been arrested twice in just over two years, records show. Rebecca Lynn Atwell, 54, was charged with domestic-violence Nov. 28, 2015, the same day as her husband, records show. Her case also was dismissed after she went to anger management. In a second arrest, the wife was charged with harassment in 2016. That case also was dismissed.

Attorneys for the Atwells did not immediately return calls for comment.
Nine months after abruptly landing in the state's top office, Gov. Kay Ivey tonight delivered an upbeat message with a State of the State address that she hopes will not be her last.

Ivey became Alabama's 54th governor in April, when Robert Bentley resigned amid allegations that he abused his power to cover up evidence of an alleged extramarital affair with an advisor. Ivey was in her second term as lieutenant governor at the time.

"A lot has happened since then," Ivey said. "We have lifted the dark cloud, wounds have started healing, and the people's faith in a government 'for and by the people' is being restored," Ivey said during a 40-minute speech at the State Capitol.

For the first few months as governor, Ivey had said her goal was to "steady the ship of state" in the wake of the year-long Bentley scandal and others.

The governor spent the first part of tonight's speech reflecting on how she believes that has been achieved.

"Over the past nine months, together, we have proven Alabamians seek progress, not stagnation," Ivey said.

Ivey spoke to an audience that included lawmakers and other state officials on the first day of the legislative session.

In September, Ivey announced she would seek a full term, and her campaign has raised more than $2 million as it gears up to face challengers in both parties in this year's elections. The primaries are June 5.

Tonight, the governor talked about Alabama's unemployment rate, which dipped to a record-low 3.5 percent in November.

"The unemployment rate has fallen every month since I became governor," Ivey said.

"What we are doing is working, and as a result, the people of Alabama are working and providing for their families."

Ivey did not mention reports that Toyota and Mazda have picked Alabama as the site of a $1.6 billion assembly plant. The companies have not confirmed the reports.

Ivey communications director Josh Pendergrass said the governor's office does not comment on economic development recruiting efforts.

Ivey did announce that Kimber Firearms will build a $38 million production facility in Troy, bringing 366 new jobs.

The State of the State is traditionally a forum for governors to set their legislative agendas.

Ivey said her budget proposals would include pay raises for both education employees and state employees. Ivey did not specify an amount for the raises, but the numbers in her budget proposal indicate it would be 2 percent to 3 percent.

"Every day, we depend on state employees," Ivey said. "Whether it's a state trooper patrolling our highways, a teacher staying late to help a struggling student, or a social worker rescuing an abused child, quality state employees are essential to good government. It is long-past time for us to honor their service with better pay."

State employees have not had a cost-of-living raise since 2009.

Ivey said her proposed education budget would fully fund the $144 million increase for K-12 requested by the Department of Education.

"I am focused on ensuring all Alabama children get a good start and have the resources they need to complete school, be prepared for the workplace and ultimately succeed," Ivey said.

The governor said she would propose a $23 million increase for Alabama's pre-kindergarten program, called First Class.

The governor talked about her education initiative, which she calls "Strong Start, Strong Finish" and that she says is intended to improve teaching from pre-kindergarten through career readiness or higher education.

"By 2020, 62 percent of all jobs available in Alabama will require some form of postsecondary education," Ivey said. "However, today, only 37 percent of our workforce has achieved such an education. We must ensure that our students graduate high school and then earn a postsecondary certificate or degree."

Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed, R-Jasper, said Ivey's optimistic tone tonight was justified by an improving economy and financial outlook for state government.

"I'm excited to hear the governor talk about things that I already knew were reality for the growth of Alabama's economy," Reed said. "The idea that as we made difficult decisions in the past we have now seen some of those pay off as the economy is continuing to grow in America and Alabama, and now we're beginning to show up in receipts in our budget.

"The idea that we're going to be able to offer opportunities for raises to state employees is certainly popular," Reed said. "You can't always do that but they are the most well deserving folks in government. That's an exciting thing for us to be able to do.

"I think the governor having a broad approach toward education and looking at several of the ideas that work, that we know are working, like pre-K, I think it's very important that we put our resource there."

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, said the governor's approach makes him optimistic that Democratic lawmakers can find common ground to achieve some mutual goals.

"Her message is very similar to the tone and the message that we should have in government," Daniels said. "We've seen how Washington operates. I think this gives me hope. There's some alignments in our platforms. So I'm looking forward to really taking a bipartisan approach and working with her on some items."

Daniels said he was encouraged at Ivey's announcement about the creation of the Alabama School of Cyber-Technology and Engineering, which will be based in Huntsville. The governor said it will be geared to prepare high-achieving students for employment in fast-growing, high-tech fields.

While Daniels liked what he heard in the speech, he said ideas have to be backed by meaningful action.

"For me, it's all about the details and the follow-up," Daniels said. "We talk about all these lofty plans, and I'm looking at the execution piece. And so, for me, I'm not endorsing an idea until we see it to fruition. So I looking forward to working with her on seeing some of those items to fruition because there is some alignment with our caucus agenda."

The governor said Alabama's troubled prison system is "perhaps our state's biggest challenge."

A federal judge has found mental health care in the system "horrendously inadequate," and prisons have been crowded and understaffed for years.

Ivey said plans are in the works to address the problems. Her budget proposal includes more money for the Department of Corrections to improve health care and hire more correctional officers.

"We will no longer guess about possible fixes," the governor said. "Instead, I will present to the people a workable solution to this generational problem. I am committed to meeting this challenge head-on. Together, with the support of the Legislature, we will solve this problem for generations to come. This is an Alabama problem that must have an Alabama solution. Now is the time to act."

Ivey, who is from Camden in Wilcox County, talked about the need to help rural communities, including the need to improve broadband access.

"Though we are almost two decades into the 21st Century, many of our rural communities do not have adequate access to broadband," Ivey said. "Adequate broadband enhances educational opportunities, increases economic development prospects and develops critical communication systems. I strongly support legislation to encourage new broadband investments, and I ask the Legislature to join me in assessing our state's broadband needs, to ensure resources are placed where they are most needed."

She said she would support tax credits for small businesses that hire veterans.

Ivey is the second woman to serve as Alabama. Lurleen Wallace was elected as a stand-in for her term-limited husband George Wallace in 1966 and served until dying of cancer in 1968.

"The ship of state has been steadied," Ivey said. "Together, let's move it in a new direction toward progress and sustainability. I am honored to be at the helm of this magnificent ship we call Alabama, which benefits from a strong and committed crew, the good people of Alabama."
Parties involved in litigation over the nation's opioid abuse epidemic should settle the case rather than battling it out while more people die, a federal judge said on Tuesday.

Nationwide, scores of lawsuits have been filed against companies that make and distribute opioid painkillers. Hospitals, states, cities and county governments charge that they've been saddled with the costs of handling an epidemic of addiction fueled by corporate irresponsibility. A number of Alabama entities have filed such suits, including the cities of Birmingham and Mobile; several counties; and Mobile-based Infirmary Health.

More than 200 such suits, including some of those originating in Alabama, have been consolidated in a multi-district process being overseen by U.S. District Judge Dan A. Polster in Cleveland. News site Cleveland.com reported that in an initial hearing on Tuesday, Polster told more than 100 attorneys that because of the life-and-death stakes, "We don't need a lot of briefs and we don't need trials."

According to the report by Eric Heisig, "Polster said he was particularly troubled by reports that the number of deaths caused by opioids has contributed to an overall decrease in the life expectancy for Americans. He said he believes everybody has some responsibility for the crisis."

Polster reportedly said that if no settlement is reached, more American will die while litigation proceeds. According to the Cleveland.com report, "Attorneys from across the country filled every corner of Polster's courtroom at the federal courthouse in downtown Cleveland, with others either in an overflow room watching a video feed or listening on the phone."

Cleveland.com also published a separate story sharing extensive excerpts from Polster's remarks. Among other things, he said that "what I'm interested in doing is not just moving money around, because this is an ongoing crisis. What we've got to do is dramatically reduce the number of the pills that are out there and make sure that the pills that are out there are being used properly. ... So that's what I want to accomplish. And then we'll deal with the money. We can deal with the money also and the treatment. I mean, that's what -- you know, we need a whole lot -- some new systems in place, and we need some treatment."
A new magnet school focusing on cyber technology and engineering will be established in Huntsville, Gov. Kay Ivey announced during her State of the State address.

"This school will prepare some of our state's highest-achieving students to enter the growing fields of cyber technology and engineering," Ivey said. "Just as Huntsville has always been on the leading edge of the rocket and aerospace industries, the Alabama School of Cyber-Technology and Engineering will ensure that Alabama students are at the forefront of today's emerging technologies."

Initial plans call for the school to begin classes by August 2020. The school will eventually serve more than 300 students from across Alabama in grades 7-12.

The location of the school has not been determined.

The announcement was met with praise by officials in Huntsville.

"We applaud Gov. Ivey's leadership to create the Alabama School of Cyber and Engineering. Gov. Ivey knows first-hand how important education is in shaping young people's lives and helping them to pursue careers that are rewarding," said Mike Ward, Sr. Vice President of the Huntsville/ Madison County Chamber.

Alabama currently has two state magnet schools - the School of Fine Arts in Birmingham and the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science in Mobile.
In November, it was virtually unthinkable that the Mobile City Council would take action on an extension of the city's oft-controversial "penny" before coming to agreement on its own leadership. In January, suddenly it's thinkable.

The ongoing deadlock over who should serve as the council's president wasn't debated by the council on Tuesday, though some members of the public did address it. For the time being, Vice President Levon Manzie continues to lead meetings, with no one able to secure a five-vote supermajority to claim the presidency.

When that impasse first was struck in early November (with Fred Richardson getting four votes and Gina Gregory three), Manzie leaned away from tackling the penny. At the time, it wasn't even clear whether Manzie could appoint committees, let alone lead a potentially fractious discussion of a sales tax extension.

At the time, Manzie said he was "100 percent certain" that the penny wouldn't come up before the presidency was settled.

Yet the stalemate has dragged on into the new year, and the council has gotten somewhat used to handling routine business under Manzie's interim leadership and Manzie appointing ad hoc committees as needed. In the months ahead, the city administration will begin planning its 2018-19 budget, including the Capital Improvement Plan paid for by the dedicated one-cent sales tax - So before long, it'll become pressing to know whether the penny will be extended past its September expiration date.

Amid a larger discussion over studies that will help establish a master plan for the city's parks, Councilman C.J. Small broached the subject.

"I think the CIP is something we need to be ready to look at again," Small said during the council's preliminary organizational session. "We really need to look at that very soon because of the penny."

"I don't disagree with you, Councilman Small," said Manzie. "It might be, as it relates to penny sales tax, an opportune time for us to convene an ad hoc committee to discuss how to move forward."

Manzie suggested Small should chair the committee, and that Councilman Joel Daves and an undetermined third member should serve on it. "Let's move forward and see what we come up with and get that penny extended so we can plan appropriately for the next five years."

The suggestion led to no immediate follow-through, but it also drew no audible opposition from other council members.

Later, at the council's actual meeting, at least two speakers spoke in favor of Richardson as council president, drawing applause from more supporters in attendance.

Kevin Ball said he's sent a letter to council members on behalf of himself and a number of like-minded individuals and wanted to state on the record his full support for Fred Richardson as council president. Richardson thanked those in attendance and told them to "keep hope alive."

"We have parted from a 32-year tradition," he said of the struggle to pick a president. "And yet we still don't know where this path is going to lead us, but we will find a way. And when we find a way, I hope there will be a way of righteousness."

David J. Smith, president of the Mobile County NAACP, said the organization's executive board was very concerned by the situation. "We are forced to look for reasons left unsaid," he said, suggesting that one factor was that the council president is essentially the "mayor in waiting," and will serve to fill in for a mayor who doesn't finish a term. Smith said Richardson's treatment was serious business for the "poor and black community" he had long served. The NAACP will continue to raise the issue, he said.
Recordings of phone calls show how public figures are told by intelligence officers what to say on TV.

The commonly perceived role of a countrys intelligence service is to provide timely and relevant information in order to assist its army commanders in warfare, but for Egypts Mukhabarat Askariya (Military Intelligence) theres a different set of priorities.

Leaked recordings of phone calls made by Captain Ashraf el-Kholi, a mid-ranking officer in the much-feared Military Intelligence (MI) emerged earlier this week.

In them, el-Kholi is heard instructing a number of talk-show hosts and TV personalities on what they must say in the wake of President Donald Trumps controversial Jerusalem decision.

Let the viewers know that concessions must be made he instructs them, if we reach an agreement where Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and Ramallah is the capital of Palestine then so be it.

In a second series of recordings, el-Kholi is heard telling a well-known talk-show host what he must tell his viewers about former prime minister and potential presidential candidate, Ahmed Shafik.

Dont attack him now.but if he (Shafik) doesnt follow our orders, then we will curse his forefathers, el-Kholi said.

Aside from supporting the illegal occupation of Jerusalem and attempting to rig the elections, these tapes give us an insight into the workings of those currently in power in Egypt.

Controlling the media

The fact that a mid-ranking officer is tasked with essentially spoon-feeding TV personalities on what to say and how to say it shows just how tightly Egypts military rulers control the media.

In Abdel Fattah el-Sisis Egypt, its not enough to simply support his policies, or ignore his crimes; public figures are expected to regurgitate his governments propaganda.

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The language used by Captain el-Kholi when instructing those on the other end of the line further enforces this.

The recipients all appear to be subservient; they do not question nor discuss what he asks of them, while el-Kholis words are those of a commander, demanding from his subordinates tasks to be carried out knowing that they will not answer back.

Orchestrating the election

In the second set of leaks, el-Kholi criticises Shafik for thinking for himself. As you know Shafik is acting based on his own thinking, he says, something that is criminal in 2018 military-run Egypt  especially because the country is gearing up for presidential elections.

These tapes are an admission that the upcoming poll is nothing more than a farce. No one is allowed to challenge el-Sisi for the top job, not even a fellow anti-revolution army general such as Shafik.

The language used by el-Kholi is revealing; ignoring any respect for superiority and rank, he refers to Shafik in an extremely disrespectful way that would at any other time or place result in him being court-martialled.

But this isnt any other time or place. In todays Egypt it is the MI who rule supreme, the security apparatus that el-Sisi headed before he took power answers to no one but him, and he, in turn, trusts no one but them.

No honour among thieves

For those who oppose el-Sisis rule, they believe he not only stole power but also robbed them of their freedom gained as a result of the 2011 revolution that did away with Hosni Mubarak.

During Mubaraks time, there was an unspoken but commonly understood division of Egypts power, wealth and resources. At the top of the pyramid sat the president with his army generals; but Mubarak made sure the police, judiciary, intelligence, businessmen and even the Muslim Brotherhood were given a share of the country, whether through construction deals, pay rises, or the token parliamentary seats dedicated to his opponents.

This isnt however how el-Sisi does business, staying true to the old saying of no honour among thieves, several state institutions and security apparatus who have for decades embezzled the countrys wealth have seen their share of the spoils reduced since el-Sisi took power. Shafik and his allies are among them.

The rift between Shafik and el-Sisi is not a political one; both men believe the military should rule, both have worked tirelessly to suppress pro-democracy activists, and both vehemently despise the Muslim Brotherhood.

Their disagreement is centred on their greed and the megalomaniac personality of el-Sisi, who believes that just as God promised Jerusalem to the Jews  its his God-given right to be and remain president.

And while el-Sisi has consolidated his power firmly since 2013, there are elements within the state that are not loyal to him.

According to the leaks, el-Kholi articulately informs us that theres a lot of f**king around by officers in the Mukhabarat Aama (General Intelligence) who support Shafik. Something he says is being dealt with by us, i.e. the MI.

A few weeks after the 2013 military coup lead by el-Sisi overthrew Egypts first ever democratically elected president, then-US Secretary of State Jon Kerry claimed the army was furthering democracy. Since then more than 40,000 political prisoners have been rounded up, dozens of journalists remain behind bars, and not a single free or fair election has taken place.

For millions of Egyptians, the polls that have happened have all been staged, all part of the bigger play orchestrated by those who want the world to think there are democracy and freedom in Egypt.

What these leaked tapes give us is a brief insight into how the puppetmasters go about making this production.
Palestinian refugees express uncertainty over US threats to cut aid to their main source of livelihood.

Bethlehem, occupied West Bank  Palestinians living in refugee camps have expressed deep alarm over US threats to potentially cut funding for a relief agency tasked with providing aid and services to them.

For nearly 70 years, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has been the lifeline to the more than five million registered Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories and neighbouring countries.

It offers support in food supply, access to education, healthcare, social services and employment.

Today, more than two-thirds of refugees are children who go to UNRWA schools. If the schools shut down, there will be a big problem, Salah Ajarmeh, a 44-year-old living in Aida refugee camp outside of Bethlehem, told Al Jazeera.

The refugee issue is a red line.

The US is the largest contributor to UNRWA  in 2016, it donated more than $364m to the agency. It also provides the Palestinian Authority  the governmental body which administers pockets of the West Bank  with some $400m annually.

But on January 3, less than a month after prompting Palestinian anger and international outcry for naming Jerusalem as Israels capital, US President Donald Trump threatened to cut aid to Palestinians.

In a series of tweets, Trump said:  We pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect.

 With the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?

And, at a press conference in New York, Nikki Haley, Washingtons ambassador to the UN, said the US president has decided he would stop additional funding when asked whether her countrys donations to UNRWA would continue.

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While cuts have not been implemented yet, Trumps remarks cast doubt on the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the agency was being told that no decision has definitively been taken.

I believe this uncertainty is likely to continue for a couple more weeks, added Gunness.

Following the US threats, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for UNRWA to be scrapped and accused the agency of helping fictitious refugees.

UNRWA is an organisation that perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem and the narrative of the right-of-return, as it were, in order to eliminate the State of Israel, said Netanyahu.

Al Jazeera visited the Aida and Dheisheh refugee camps in the occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem and asked several Palestinians living there about their reaction to the potential cuts.

Many of them hail from Palestinian villages that were ethnically cleansed during the establishment of Israel in 1948, known to Palestinians as the Nakba  or catastrophe.

Yazan Muhammad Sabri, 18, high school student  Dheisheh camp

Yazan Muhammad Sabri works at his familys falafel shop in the camp [Ibrahim Husseini/Al Jazeera]

I am from Beit Itab, near Batir and Husan.

If the wakala [UNRWA] stopped services, there will be protests. We want services. Let me tell you something  I am a working refugee but others are refugees and poor and their self-esteem is low. I am middle class and I can help them.

But if the wakala shuts down tomorrow, think about the poor.

If the wakala goes away, there will be no education, no healthcare, no sanitation, there wont be anything  everything will disappear.

If there is no refugee, then there is no right of return. The Palestinian refugees are holding on to the right of return more than anything. The Palestinian cause is about the right of refugees to return. This matter connects us to our grandfathers. Inshallah, we will return.

Shukri Ali al-Laham, 24, unemployed  Dheisheh camp

Shukri Ali al-Lahham said he was stopped by intelligence officers when travelling within the Middle East [Ibrahim Husseini/Al Jazeera]

Dheisheh camp has a saying: Always stand against any decision that is against refugees.

As a refugee, I can tell you that we are insulted in everything we do. When I travel, I get insulted because I am the son of Dheisheh camp.

I wanted to change my address so I dont get stopped for hours by the mukhabarat (intelligence agencies). We, Palestinian refugees, suffer everywhere.

There has to be a stand against this decision.

The majority of people dont have [money]. Of course the services are important  there are lots of people that need them.

Theres no work, theres unemployment and poverty.

Salah Ajarmeh, 44, married with four children  Aida camp

Salah Ajarmeh with the iconic key at the entrance to Aida camp, symbolising the Right of Return [Ibrahim Husseini/Al Jazeera]

I am a Palestinian refugee from the village of Ajoor. It is 20km away from Aida camp.

I have lived all my life in this camp. The only times Ive been away from the camp were either when I went to prison or when I was taking part in cultural activities abroad.

UNRWA is the institution that must look after the refugees.

In my opinion, UNRWA is the prime witness of the Palestinian Nakba and must remain until the refugee issue is resolved justly and the refugees return to their original villages.

There has been a scaling down of services since the Oslo agreement [in 1993]. The policy since Oslo has been to scale down services offered to Palestinian refugees. There is a clear deterioration in the service of education and deterioration in healthcare and in sanitation.

At the beginning of the refugee [wave], there were 800 people living here. Now there are some 5,000 living in the same space. Refugees cannot afford to leave the camp.

If UNRWA stops its work, I believe there will be a real revolution against the Palestinian Authority, because, over the past 25 years, it has allowed UNRWA to scale down its services. I predict there will also be an organised movement against the Israeli occupation.

Today, more than two-thirds of refugees are children, who go to UNRWA schools. If the schools shut down, there will be a big problem.

The refugee issue is a red line, it cannot be solved by ending the services [of UNRWA]. There must be a just solution. If the services stop, there will be a revolution. Palestinian uprisings began in the refugee camps in Jordan and Syria, and this will happen again.
Palestinian ambulances can be stopped at any checkpoint, adding to journey times. These delays can be life threatening.

In an ambulance, every second counts.

A patients chances of survival depend on how long it takes an ambulance to respond to a case and transfer the person to the appropriate hospital. In most communities around the world, eight minutes is the recommended response time for urgent cases.

But in Palestine, not even ambulances have freedom of movement. Palestinian ambulances can be stopped at every checkpoint, the vehicle searched and emergency responders interrogated. According to data provided by Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), checkpoints delay ambulances by an average of 15 minutes.

This does not include the time an ambulance spends in traffic leading up to the checkpoints. There is only one lane leading to and from each checkpoint, causing a bottleneck traffic jam that gets especially bad during rush hours.

PRCS ambulances respond to both emergency and transfer cases. In emergency cases, patients can only go to the hospitals in their area of residence, whether it be in the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem.

If the patient requires further treatment not available in their area, they then have to submit a request to Israeli authorities for a transfer.

Every year, thousands of patients from the West Bank or Gaza request transfers to hospitals in occupied East Jerusalem where six Palestinian hospitals have medical specialities not available in the West Bank or Gaza. This includes cardiac surgery, paediatric dialysis and oncology care.

Every year, thousands of patients from the West Bank or Gaza request transfers to hospitals in Occupied East Jerusalem [Hyojin Park/Al Jazeera]

In order to cross checkpoints from the West Bank or Gaza into occupied East Jerusalem, each patient needs to get a security clearance from Israel.

That permit process itself can take weeks, sometimes months, causing the patient to miss their hospital appointment. There are no clear criteria of who is eligible. When a patient gets rejected, often there is no reason given.

In 2016, 217,015 patients from the West Bank and Gaza applied for transfer (WHO). Twenty-two percent were delayed or denied transfer. The World Health Organization (WHO) called the Israeli permit process neither transparent nor timely.

Even after obtaining the permit, transferring Palestinian patients requires careful coordination by the PRCS offices. The patients are only notified the day before that their transfer requests were approved.

It takes 90 minutes or more to coordinate the ambulance trip with Israeli authorities (WHO Access Report). Even with prior coordination, ambulances may get held up at the whim of the soldiers who are manning that checkpoint.

This delay can be life-threatening.

In order to cut down on potential delays, PRCS invented the back-to-back method. Instead of direct transfers with Palestinian ambulances that may be rejected at the checkpoints, a Palestinian ambulance picks up the patient from the West Bank or Gaza and then meets another ambulance (one with a yellow Israeli license plate that can drive around in Jerusalem) at the checkpoint.

The patient has to be moved from the one ambulance to the other. This method, however, can endanger patients by exposing them to potential contamination.

Israel, as the occupying power, is responsible for the health and welfare of the Palestinian population according to international humanitarian law. Access to healthcare for Palestinians is a human rights issue. But Israel often presents it as a security issue.
Mumbai, India  On January 1 each year, members of Indias Dalit community gather to mark the 1818 battle of Bhima-Koregaon

In that fight, two centuries ago, low-caste Dalits sided with the British army to defeat the upper-caste Peshwa rulers.

This years commemoration events, however, were marred by deadly violence after their rally in Bhima-Koregaon, in the state of Maharashtra, was allegedly attacked by members of upper caste Hindus.

Upper caste groups typically resent the celebration of the 200-year-old battle.

The violent attack on the rallies and the subsequent killing of a young man set off a series of protests across Maharashtra  a state with a history of violence against the Dalit people, who have faced centuries of discrimination under the Hindu caste system.

The initial call for bandh, or shutdown, by Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dalit icon Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, was answered by Dalit people across the political spectrum.

The demonstrations shook Indias financial hub of Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, where residents of Dalit neighbourhoods took to the streets to protest against the state government and the dominant castes  as well as the caste system itself.

For two days, protesters blocked highways and stopped local trains, the primary means of transport for residents of the major city. There was also some private and public property destruction.

A Dalit youth was allegedly killed in police firing in Nanded district and several others were wounded during clashes with police. Hundreds of people were also arrested.
On January 3, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn made two major announcements: his government will release political prisoners and close down a notorious detention centre at the heart of Ethiopias capital, widely known as a torture chamber for dissidents and government opponents. Desalegn announced the decision as part of a wider package of reforms aimed at fostering national reconciliation and widening the democratic space.

Rights groups welcomed the announcement as an important step toward ending long-standing political repression and human rights abuse in the country while others saw the move as a significant concession to the relentless protests of the last two years by the Oromos and Amharas  the two largest ethnic groups in the country.

As local and international media began to scrutinise the rationale, implications and consequences of the announcement, most of the commentary focused on Ethiopias perceived admission that there are political prisoners in the country. US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce even issued a statement praising Ethiopia for finally acknowledg[ing] that it holds political prisoners.

Shortly after the announcement, however, the government distanced itself from this interpretation by emphasising the fact that the prime minister never used the term political prisoners in his initial statement.

Indeed, Desalegn only referred to political leaders and individuals whose crimes have resulted in court convictions or have resulted in their ongoing prosecution under the countrys law, in his statement and never gave a clear indication as to which prisoners will be eligible for release.

Ethiopias political prisoners

The Ethiopian government has always denied consistent and widespread reports by human rights groups that it holds political prisoners. Like his predecessor, the late Meles Zenawi, who adamantly denied politicising the legal system to stifle dissent and opposition, Desalegn has also repeatedly dismissed the suggestion that Ethiopia is holding political prisoners.

Shortly after he took power in 2012, Al Jazeeras Jane Dutton asked Desalegn if he intends to confront the legacy of political repression he inherited from Zenawi and take steps to release the thousands of [political opposition] languishing in jail. Desalegn said, There are no political opposition that are languishing in prison.

In May 2015, shortly before the countrys national election in which the ruling party won 100 percent of seats both at the national and regional levels, Al Jazeeras Martine Dennis asked Desalegn about the imprisonment of record number of journalists to which he replied these are not journalists The moment you join a terrorist group, you become a blogger.

There can be no justification to hold some political prisoners or journalists, bloggers and scholars while releasing high-profile leaders of political parties.

No sitting government would publicly admit to holding political prisoners, and  even after last weeks announcement  Ethiopian government still appears to be refusing to do so. But evidence suggests that very few governments in the world today hold more political prisoners than Ethiopia.

Since assuming power, the government frequently used the legal system to lock up members and leaders of the opposition. Indeed, the courts served as potent instruments of repression and power consolidation second only to the military-security apparatus.

Since the early days of the regime and particularly following the adoption of the countrys notorious anti-terrorism law in 2009, there has been a frightening politicisation of the legal system and the administration of justice. With or without disguise, Ethiopia used its courts and other institutions of justice to harass, intimidate, and eliminate political opposition from the political space.

In the early days of the regime, several members of opposition parties have been held in detention centres throughout the country without charges, particularly in the Oromia regional state. Actual or suspected members of the Oromo Liberation Front have been arrested in mass and detained without charges. More than two decades later, the whereabouts of several individuals including prominent Oromo politicians such as Nadhi Gamada and Bekele Dawano are still unknown.

Following the contested election in 2005, the government rounded up leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) who made significant electoral gains that denied the incumbent its majority. Since the government adopted its notorious anti-terror legislation, more than 1,000 people including opposition political leaders, journalists, bloggers, activists, scholars, and religious figures, have been charged with terror-related crimes. It is estimated that tens of thousands of individuals are currently in jail because of the governments intolerance to dissenting views.

What makes these individuals political prisoners is not their innocence or guilt but the fact that their arrest, prosecution, and conviction were purely motivated by political ambitions as opposed to normative concerns with the rule of law and justice. In other words, the legal process is set in motion not for the determination of guilt and innocence but for political expedience, to pursue the dual goal of delegitimising political foes and physically eliminating them from the political space.

While the Ethiopian government still appears to be refusing the mere existence of thousands of political prisoners in the country, last weeks announcement, however incomplete, is a step in the right direction.

The closure of the infamous torture chamber commonly known as Maikalawi is another welcome development that signals a departure from the repressive practices of the past. But it needs to be noted that the prime minister did not admit that his government used the prison as a torture centre. He instead noted that the prison will be closed and turned in to a museum as result of its role in past atrocities.

Yet there are many credible reports (pdf) showing that opposition politicians, protest organisers, journalists, suspected dissenters and other voices critical of the government are taken to Maikalawi and subjected to torture or other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment under the rule of the current regime.

The real reasons behind the announcement

The decision to release political prisoners and close down the detention centre is a compromise between the four political parties that make up the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition. But understanding the political considerations behind the announcement requires a proper understanding and appreciation of the two central issues: the constitutive and operational logic of the EPRDF and the nature of the crisis destabilising the country for well over two years.

EPRDF is the brainchild of the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), a Marxist-Leninist movement that fought to liberate the Tigray ethnic group, which comprise six percent of Ethiopias more than 100 million people. In the final days of Ethiopias civil war, the TPLF orchestrated the creation of three satellite parties  Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), and the Southern Ethiopian Peoples Democratic Movement (SEPDM)  that ostensibly represent their respective ethnic groups.

The TPLF assembled these puppet organisations to consolidate its grip on power. They helped broaden TPLFs appeal beyond Tigray and bolster its political legitimacy while also enabling it to smother real opposition from autonomous parties such as the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the All Amhara Peoples Organization (AAPO).

For 26 years, TPLF used this vassal configuration to dominate all aspects of the countrys political life, while mercilessly muzzling dissenting voices both from within and outside the party. The discontent and suffering that have been simmering underground for decades exploded into the open in November of 2015 when Oromos, the largest ethnic group in the country, took to the streets in protest.

In July of 2016, the Amharas, the second-largest ethnic group in the country, joined the protest, creating a nationwide protest movement that reconfigured the political landscape and brought the government to its knees.

The protests not only exposed the structural anomalies at the heart of Ethiopias political system, but also brought about a significant reconfiguration of the asymmetric relationship between the four parties that make up the EPRDF. TPLF lost its absolute power within the coalition as its junior partners began to reinvent themselves and side with their respective people.

This is particularly evident in Oromia, where the new leadership of the region refused to play second fiddle. OPDO began to flex its muscles, knowing full well that as the party with the most seats in parliament, and the largest population, it can cripple the government. In a major break, the new leaders of OPDO began protesting the disproportionate and indiscriminate policing, harassment, imprisonment, and torture of Oromos by security forces.

In a joint press statement of the four parties that make up the ruling coalition, Lemma Megersa, the leader of OPDO and the president of Oromia regional state, characterised Maikalawi as a site in which our citizens have been castrated for years. Megersa, a transformational figure with a distinct ability to appeal to people across competing nationalist narratives and fault lines that divide Ethiopian politics, went on to argue that while it is one thing to close it down, it is important that we look at the justice sector more broadly, from investigation to prosecution, trial, and sentencing.

While the proposed package of reforms are in the interests of the OPDO and ANDM, it is not clear to what extent the other parties, particularly the TPLF, which still controls the intelligence, the military and the federal police, is genuinely committed to enforcing measures, which, if fully implemented, would ultimately reduce its influence within the coalition, the government and the state more generally.

TPLFs hegemonic status depends on fostering hostility and division, not national reconciliation and democratisation. Indeed, just three days after the announcement, the Federal Police announced a deep investigation into Qeerroo Oromo (Oromo youth) movement, a decision which collides head-on with the partys stated goals of national reconciliation and democratisation.

The government acknowledges the unprecedented nature of the crisis facing the country and rightly identifies national reconciliation and widening the democratic space as two of the most significant policy objectives necessary to save the country from plunging into the abyss. However, the government cannot pursue these goals while at the same time proposing measures in conflict with these imperatives.

The government must come to terms with the transformations of the last two years and open up the political process for all voices that seek a hearing and bodies that seek visibility. This means adopting the broadest possible definition of political prisoners and releasing all those whose arrest, detention, prosecution, and conviction have been driven by political considerations.

There can be no justification to hold some political prisoners or journalists, bloggers and scholars while releasing high-profile leaders of political parties. If there is any lesson the government can learn from the protests of the last two years, it is that more repression will only escalate the crisis, not contain or avert it.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Current Ukrainian leaders ex-financial advisers named as brokers in transactions linked to $1.5bn fraud of predecessor.

A secret Ukrainian court ruling has, for the first time, exposed exactly how former President Viktor Yanukovich stole nearly $1.5bn from the country. It has also revealed that President Petro Poroshenkos former financial advisers played a role in the fraud, embarrassing the government.

Al Jazeeras Investigative Unit on Wednesday released the 95-page document, which was declared a state secret last year.

The court order exposed in graphic detail the intricate company network used to steal the money, naming Investment Capital Ukraine (ICU) as brokering bond purchases made by Cypriot companies worth nearly $1.5bn between November and December 2013, just as Ukraines EuroMaidan uprising was beginning.

ICU has close links with the current government, having advised billionaire President Poroshenko on the sale of his confectionary company, Roshen.

During the time of the Yanukovich fraud, the finance firm was led by Ukraines Central Bank governor, Valeria Gontareva, a close ally of Poroshenko.

A spokesman for the president told Al Jazeera that he strongly supports efforts to fight corruption in Ukraine, while Gontareva added that when the transactions were made, she and ICU saw nothing suspicious. ICU said its role was limited to that of an agent.

Campaign groups called for a thorough investigation into the role of ICU.

Al Jazeeras investigation turns the spotlight again on the thriving international network of money laundering and crime, said Nienke Palstra, anti-money laundering campaigner at Global Witness, an international NGO.

Serious questions need to be asked about why the Ukrainian court ruling was made secret in the first place as well as how other countries  such as Cyprus and the UK  are apparently implicated by facilitating corrupt money flows.

State secret

According to the secret document, released by Al Jazeera on Wednesday, ICU brokered the purchase of dollar-denominated bonds on behalf of eight Cypriot companies.

They were later traced to Yanukovich, who was overthrown in February 2014.

A military court in Kramatorsk city in east Ukraine quietly handed down the secret ruling in March 2017, listing hundreds of companies, some Cypriot, that were effectively a pipeline for syphoning cash out of the country.

The whole financial network was described as a criminal enterprise headed by Party One, Yanukovich, who is self-exiled in Russia.

Also named is the entity: the Secretariat of Sergey Vitalyevich Kurchenko.

Kurchenko is a businessman who emerged aged 27 with a net worth of $400m and a huge oil and gas business. He was considered Yanukovichs chief financial officer.

The prosecutor general only revealed the $1.5bn asset seizure two months later, announcing that the court papers would not be published under state secrecy laws.

The highly unusual move triggered strong opposition from anti-corruption groups who launched a legal challenge.

Badly needed cash

At the heart of the case is $1.5bn in bonds and cash, deemed to be the proceeds of crimes by the Yanukovich clan.

On paper, the money belongs to a shadowy network of Cypriot offshore companies. Prosecutors declared them as a front for Yanukovich and his associates, now in Russia.

Ukraines prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko, had to prove that the money was the proceeds of crime.

That posed a unique legal challenge for Ukraine, because the prime suspects had fled the country. Ukraines legal system is not designed to deal with cases where those charged are absent, effectively putting them beyond the law.

Without a trial, there could be no finding of guilt. Without a guilty verdict, Ukraine had no lawful way to declare the money the proceeds of crime. Without a court judgement, the money was beyond the reach of the state.

The stolen government bonds continued paying a large dividend, meaning the countrys exiled oligarchs stood to profit, funded by Ukraines beleaguered taxpayers.

The secret trial hinged upon a low-profile figure, Arkady Kashkin, who acted as a nominee director for companies belonging to Kurchenko, the man trusted to run Yanukovichs financial empire.

Kurchenko is in hiding in Moscow, protected by Russian special forces. Kashkin was not so lucky. He cut a deal with the prosecutors, declaring that he was the unlikely mastermind of a vast network of more than 400 companies that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars.

With a guilty plea, the government moved quickly to seize the funds. Ukraines economy is suffering as the government funds a war with Russia and props up a state that lost nearly 20 percent of its gross domestic product in 2014. The stolen money was badly needed.

Legal challenge

Anti-corruption groups are deeply worried by the process and are demanding full disclosure of all the court papers. They believe the legal process, behind closed doors and without the representation of the Cypriot companies, is flawed, providing grounds for a legal challenge by the company owners.

That legal battle is already under way, with the Cypriot shell companies filing cases to challenge the secret judgement. Lawyers believe they have a strong case and may yet secure the return of some or all of the nearly $1.5bn.

Ukraines government insists it is fully committed to the fight against corruption.

ICU told Al Jazeera that it carefully complies with all legal and regulatory requirements prior to entering into brokerage agreements with any client.

It added that law enforcement bodies and market regulators have looked deeply at the bond transactions it was involved in, and found ICUs role to be appropriate and above board.

We have all the required anti-money laundering procedures in place, and, in recent years, along with most market players, have taken regular steps to improve our internal processes.

Gontareva said that when the transactions were made, she and ICU saw nothing suspicious.

The state bank involved, she said, confirmed receipt of funds and financial monitoring of non-resident companies, therefore, ICU had no suspicions about these companies, as all documents and extracts from accounts with the State Bank fully complied with the requirements of the current legislation.

The Oligarchs can be viewed on Al Jazeera:

Thursday, January 11  20:00 GMT

Friday, January 12  12:00 GMT

Saturday, January 13  01:00 GMT

Sunday, January 14  06:00 GMT
Libyas navy says up to 100 refugees are missing as it rescues 300 from three boats in the Mediterranean Sea.

Between 90 and 100 refugees are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after their rubber dinghy sank off the coast of Libya.

The inflatable boat was carrying more than 100 people when it went down off the eastern city of Khoms on Tuesday, said Ayub Qasim, a spokesman for Libyas coastguard.

Rescuers found just 17 survivors clinging to the boats wreckage, Qasim said.

Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Libyas capital, Tripoli, said the countrys coastguard also rescued more than 279 refugees from two boats off the western city of Zawiya.

The survivors included 19 women and 17 children. Most of those on the boats came from African countries, he said.

The UNs International Organisation for Migration (IOM) describes the Mediterranean Sea as the worlds deadliest border. Last year, 3,116 people died in its waters while trying to cross from North Africa to Europe by sea, the agency said.

Libya, which was plunged into chaos since the 2011 removal of Muammar Gaddafi, has become the most common point of departure for refugees traveling by sea to Europe.

Italy, their main point of entry, is providing naval support to the Libyan coastguard to stem the flow of people.

Libyas coastguard is badly equipped and they are blaming the European Union for not providing enough resources to combat this crisis, our correspondent said. Officials here also worry that this crisis, if it escalates, could be used for international intervention in Libya.

Over the weekend, 64 refugees lost their lives off of the coast of Libya in what is believed to be the first Mediterranean shipwreck of 2018.

The boat was carrying 150 people when it set off from the eastern town of Garbouli, according to Italys coastguard. Rescuers saved 86 people and recovered eight bodies.

64 migrants lost their life in the shipwreck occured last Saturday.According to testimonies gathered by @OIMItalia staff in Catania, the rubber dinghy, at the moment of the departure, was carrying 150 migrants.Survivors are 86. 8 corpses recovered and probably 56 missing migrants  Flavio Di Giacomo (@fladig) January 8, 2018

Among the survivors was a three-year-old child who clung to her mother as she drowned, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Survivors held on to the wreckage as they waited for a rescue with the bodies of those who didnt make it, including family members, floating around them, MSF said in a tweet.

Some 171,635 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea during that period. That figure is roughly a 50 percent drop from the previous year.
Peace talks with the armed group in trouble as government orders back negotiators following a series of attacks.

Colombia has withdrawn negotiators from Ecuador, bringing an abrupt end to year-long peace talks between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

The move follows a series of attacks on government targets on Wednesday just hours after a ceasefire between the Colombian military and ELN expired.

The Colombian military accused the armed group of responsibility for four different attacks that wounded at least two marines and disrupted an important oil pipeline in the east of the country.





Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos condemned the inexplicable violence at a press conference on Wednesday and restated his commitment to the peace process.

We were always, I repeat, always ready to extend the ceasefire with the ELN and negotiate very quickly a new cycle of talks.

The ELN not only rejected this process but chose to restart their terrorist attacks on the very day that they were obliged to initiate the new round of negotiations, Santos said.

ELN representatives have been in neighbouring Ecuador for months holding talks with Colombian government officials.

In a statement on its website, ELN said the incidents took place within the complex conflict situation in Colombia.

It should not alter the course of the [peace] conversations to reach a political way out of the conflict, it said.

Al Jazeeras Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from the Colombian capital Bogota, said the future of the peace process is now uncertain.

Santos is insisting that this is not a formal suspension of the talks, but it definitely really looks like that, he said.

Analysts were very pessimistic  We can also expect the Colombian military to resume bombing attacks in different areas of the country, and a full-blown return of the hostilities at least for the time being.

Uneasy peace

The ELN began peace negotiations with the government in February 2017 after more than three years of failed attempts.

The rebels are Colombias last violent group after a peace deal was struck in 2016 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

ELN wanted to negotiate a similar agreement as FARC did, which allows rebels to form a political party and avoid jail time in exchange for confessions and laying down arms, however, it has been difficult to reach a consensus.

The talks have been complicated by a lack of confidence between the parties since the beginning of this difficult process and a lack of real results apart from the ceasefire, which [although it] has seen a number of violations, was considered a success by practically everybody inside and outside the country. Everybody here was expecting an extension, said Rampietti.

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The ceasefire began in October and resulted in 102 days without any attacks on the countrys infrastructure or security forces.
Afwerki meets his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo as tension between Red Sea region countries continues to rise.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has met his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo as political tension in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea regions continues to escalate.

The two leaders met on Tuesday to discuss regional and international topics of mutual importance.

A political dispute emerged recently after Sudan signed a deal with Turkey to rebuild Suakin island on the Red Sea coast and a naval dock.

Ankara and Khartoum said the island deal would increase tourism and create a transit point for pilgrims crossing the Red Sea to Islams holiest city, Mecca.

Egyptian and Saudi media slammed the agreement and alleged that Turkey would build a military base on Suakin island harming the security of Arab countries  a claim denied by Sudan and Turkey.

Ties between Turkey and Egypt, an ally of Saudi Arabia, have been frosty for some time.

Ankara strongly condemned Egypts military coup in 2013, which overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Cairo responded to the island deal by sending troops to Eritrea, which has borders with both Sudan and Ethiopia. Khartoum then shut its border with Eritrea. Sudan also recalled its ambassador to Cairo.

Ethiopia, which already has thousands of troops on its border with Eritrea, responded by sending more troops to its border with Eritrea.

Tensions over Nile River water, dam

Political tension between the countries has been rising for years over the use of the water of the Nile River and Ethiopias decision to build the continents biggest hydroelectric dam on the river,

Egypt has been at odds with Sudan and Ethiopia over the $4.8bn dam project, with Cairo fearing that its position downstream may affect its access to water from the Nile River basin, which will feed the dam.

Cairo accuses Sudan of supporting the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project, while Khartoum accuses Egypt of supporting rebels in Sudan.

Meanwhile, Eritrea has fought two border wars with Ethiopia  which has had a decades-long dispute with Egypt over the Nile River water. The border wars left more than 80,000 people dead and the two East African countries are technically still at war.

Afwerkis visit to Egypt comes days after he visited the United Arab Emirates, an ally of Egypt, to discuss military cooperation between the two countries.

The UAE has military bases in Eritrea and Somalia, which also has a long border with Ethiopia.
Palestinian foreign minister blames US for giving green light to Israel to do whatever it wants with Palestinian land.

Israel has approved the construction of more than 1,000 settlement units in the occupied West Bank, the Peace Now NGO has reported.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki criticised the plan, blaming the United States for giving the green light to Israel to do whatever it wants with Palestinian land.

Speaking to the Voice of Palestine Radio, Maliki said that the new settlement units was one outcome of US President Donald Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital.

The Israeli Peace Now organisation, which is opposed to settlements, said the homes would be constructed in 20 settlements.

Earlier, the group announced that 6,742 construction units were approved in the settlements in 2017, the highest since 2013. In 2016, the number was 2,629 units.

Settlements are illegal under international law, and are considered major stumbling blocks to the resumption of negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, which have been stalled since April 2014.

To date, there are 600,000 settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The defence minister will on Wednesday present for approval by the Higher Planning Council an immediate construction plan for 2018 of 1,285 housing units in Judea and Samaria, Israels defence ministry said in a statement, referring to the West Bank, earlier this week.

Avigdor Lieberman, the defence minister, said he will seek the approval of Israeli authorities on building a further 2,500 units in 20 different locations.

The Higher Planning Council meets several times a year to study and approve settlement construction projects.

Last June, Lieberman said that plans in 2017 had been advanced for 8,345 homes in the occupied West Bank, including 3,066 slated for immediate construction.

On Tuesday, an Israeli settler residing in the Israeli settlement outpost of Havat Gilad, near Nablus, was shot in a drive-by shooting.

The settler, a 35-year-old rabbi, later died in hospital in Tel Aviv. The Israeli army declared the area southwest of Nablus a military zone and carried out raids in the Palestinian villages of Tell and Sarra, in search of suspects.
A Myanmar court has charged two Reuters journalists, who were covering the crisis of Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine state, of allegedly violating a national secrecy law.

Myanmar reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were formally indicted by prosecutors in Yangon on Wednesday for breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, which could sentence them to a maximum of 14 years in prison, their lawyer said.

The pair were taken into custody on December 12 after being invited to dine with police officers on the outskirts of Myanmars largest city, Yangon, according to Reuters.

The news agency said that little is known of the accusations against the journalists, other than that they were arrested for allegedly possessing classified documents related to Rakhine state.

A brutal army crackdown in Rakhine has forced almost 650,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

We never made any mistakes, they are trying to stop us and intimidate us, said 31-year-old Wa Lone, as eight police officers ushered him out of the court, his tearful wife still clutching his hand.

We will face the charges filed against us, he added.

A request for bail has been submitted to the court, which the judge will review at the next hearing on January 23, the lawyer said.

Blatant attack on press freedom

Myanmars Ministry of Information said the reporters illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media.

The families of the reporters  both of whom had been working on stories about the militarys clearance operation in Rakhine state  say they were lured into a trap.

We are extremely disappointed that the authorities seek to prosecute Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under Myanmars Official Secrets Act, said Stephen J Adler, president and editor-in-chief of Reuters. We view this as a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom.

Their arrests had been widely condemned by rights groups and media watchdogs.





The proceedings against Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are a transparent attempt to intimidate the media and to prevent coverage of the unfolding tragedy of the Rohingya people in Myanmars Rakhine state, said Steven Butler, Asia programme coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Reporting on the Rohingya crisis has proven difficult for members of the foreign press, who are prohibited from entering the conflict-torn areas of northern Rakhine and rarely granted interviews with top government officials.

Daniel Bastard, Asia Pacific region head for Reporters Without Borders, said the pair were just being used as scapegoats to shut down the mouths of courageous journalists.

There is deep concern and it is very worrying to see that press freedom in Myanmar is really declining, he told Al Jazeera from the French capital, Paris.

Wa Lone arrives at the court in Yangon, Myanmar [Reuters]

On his way out of the courtroom in north Yangon on Wednesday, Wa Lone learned that his wife was expecting their first child.

If found guilty, his first-born would be 14 years old by the time he is released from prison.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are not the first journalists to be charged under a colonial-era law in the last 12 months.

In 2017, 11 journalists and one media collaborator were arrested in Myanmar, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Both the 1908 Unlawful Association Act and 1934 Aircraft Act were employed in 2017 to detain journalists reporting on conflict in Myanmar.

Additional reporting by Katie Arnold: @kate_arno
Analysts say the militarys deadly crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state has led to a demise of press freedom.

Yangon, Myanmar  Burma may have a new name and a democratically elected government, but the oppressive laws introduced by British colonial overlords are again the preferred weapon of choice when dealing with critical journalists.

On December 12, reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo from the Reuters news agency were handed a rolled up document by two police officers. They said they had just returned from Myanmars troubled Rakhine state, where more than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a brutal military crackdown, sparked by a series of rebel attacks on security forces in August.

Upon leaving the restaurant where the four men met, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were promptly arrested by seven policemen, patiently waiting outside.

Myanmars Ministry of Information said the pair illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media. The families of the reporters  both of whom had been working on stories about the militarys operation in Rakhine state  said they were lured into a trap.

The situation for press freedom in Myanmar has got a lot worse since the Rohingya crisis began, said Daniel Bastard from Reporters Without Borders Asia-Pacific desk.





According to its data, 12 journalists were arrested in Myanmar in 2017 compared to just two the previous year.

Shut them up

Myanmars military stand accused of a litany of human rights abuses in northern Rakhine. Graphic reports of rape, murder, and torture have drawn international condemnation and the United Nations says genocide cannot be ruled out.

The case of the two Reuters journalists is very significant in this regard, they were reporting on a village that had been attacked by the military so the authorities are doing whatever they can to shut them up, said Bastard.

On Wednesday, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were marched into a courtroom packed with concerned representatives from the United Nations, European Union, and numerous Western governments. In an appearance that lasted no longer than 12 minutes, the pair were formally charged under section 3.1c of the 1928 Official Secrets Act.

We view this as a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom, said Stephen J Adler, president and editor-in-chief of Reuters.

On his way out of the courtroom, Wa Lone was given the bittersweet news that his wife was expecting a child. If found guilty of the draconian law, his first-born son or daughter will be 14-years-old by the time he is released from prison.

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We never made any mistakes, they are trying to stop us and intimidate us, the stunned journalist said as eight police officers ushered him out of the courtroom, his wife still clutching his hand, tears glistening on her cheek.

Antiquated laws

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are not the first journalists to be charged under a colonial-era law over the last 12 months. Both the 1908 Unlawful Association Act and 1934 Aircraft Act were employed in 2017 to detain journalists reporting on conflict in Myanmar.

Authorities are using antiquated laws to prosecute journalists and to create a climate of fear under the watch of Aung San Suu Kyi. This government is looking increasingly authoritarian by the day, said David Baulk, Myanmar human rights specialist at Fortify Rights.

His thoughts were echoed by freelance journalist Aung Naing Soe, who recently served two months in prison after his colleagues from Turkish news channel TRT World were caught in possession of a drone near the parliament building.

The government are trying to show us that they still hold the power and that we cannot report on whatever we want, even if we are doing the right thing and holding the government to account, he told Al Jazeera, a week after his release.

But if intimidation is the motive, it does not appear to be working. Wednesdays court hearing was attended by an army of local journalists, proudly wearing their new, uniform of solidarity  a black T-shirt with Journalism is not a crime clearly inscribed on its front and rear.

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This is not an issue of free press, it is a legal issue, said government spokesperson U Zaw Htay in a conversation with Al Jazeera. The government is committed to freedom of expression, but another of our priorities is the rule of law and we expect journalists to abide by our laws.

Foreign media bias

Some of the locals tend to agree with him. When U Kyaw Khin first opened his roadside newspaper stall in 1998, Myanmar journalists had to submit their work to the government for pre-publication approval.

The only limitation now is that we cannot insult the government without any proof. The problem with foreign media is that they are biased, they write about whatever they want and they do not speak to people on all sides, said the spritely 67-year-old.

Reporting on both sides of the Rohingya crisis has proven difficult for members of the foreign press who are prohibited from entering the conflict-torn areas of Rakhine state and rarely granted interviews with top government officials.

Their dependency on information gathered from the swelling refugee population in Bangladesh has earned them pariah status in Myanmar, where the Rohingya are widely perceived as foreign terrorists.

More worryingly, it has emboldened nationalist voices who  like the military dictators that terrorised Myanmar  say journalists who challenge the official narrative should be punished for their treachery.

Put them [Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo] in prison for many years so that they will be afraid to betray us again. This is our country, our land!! commented U Min Nwe Win on a local newspapers Facebook page.

With the judicial system as slow as it is archaic, it will likely be sometime before the outcome of this controversial case is announced.

U Min Nwe Win may be mistaken if he thinks the arrests will silence journalists who dare challenge the government. It is not just Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who are on trial, but press freedom in Myanmar itself.
Parents of a seven-year-old girl in Pakistan found dead after being raped seek justice from government and judiciary.

The parents of a seven-year-old girl who was abducted and raped before being murdered in a northeastern Pakistani city have demanded justice, as news of the incident sparked violent protests demanding better policing.

The body of the young girl, Zainab, was discovered in a heap of rubbish in Kasur on Tuesday. She had disappeared on January 4 after leaving her house to go to a tuition centre.

Her parents, who were in Saudi Arabia performing Umrah (holy pilgrimage) at the time of her abduction, returned to Pakistan on Wednesday morning, hours after Zainabs funeral prayers were held.

Upon arrival at Islamabad airport, Ameen Asari, the father of the girl, claimed that the police didnt do anything after his relatives reported the disappearance of his daughter.

My relatives and neighbours told me that the police used to come, have food and leave, he told local media. While they didnt do anything, my friends and family spent day and night looking for my daughter, added Ansari.

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In Pakistan, security is only for leaders and we are just common insects.

Zainabs mother, standing behind Ansari outside the airport, said: I dont know anything. I dont know what happened. I just want justice. I have lost Zainab. I dont have anything to say.

Zulfiqar Ahmed, police chief, told local media that an autopsy had suggested that the seven-year-old was raped before being strangled to death at least five days ago.

The incident led to angry protests in various parts of Kasur on Wednesday morning that resulted in at least two deaths and several injuries.

Local TV footage also showed police officers shooting at protesters to disperse them.

This is what happened in Kasur a while ago, strait firing on protesters by Police and Punjabs Law minister says aap logon ko ishteal dila rahay hain. Im speechless !! #JusticeForZainab #ReportingFromKasur pic.twitter.com/GlGSheU0hn  Iqrar ul Hassan Syed (@iqrarulhassan) January 10, 2018

There have been a dozen similar incidents in Kasur in the past year, in which minor girls were kidnapped, raped and killed, Ahmed, the police chief, said.

Last February, a seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped and strangled to death.

All the cases have resemblances. It looks like a lunatic serial killer is behind these incidents, said Malik Ahmed Ali, provincial government spokesman, citing an initial inquiry.

Pakistani authorities, including the countrys chief justice, chief of army staff and the Punjab chief minister, took notice of Zainabs murder and directed officials to submit a report within 24 hours.

Zainabs murder has sparked outrage around the country. Protesters have taken to the streets demanding #JusticeForZainab and calling authorities to do more following a series of child murders. pic.twitter.com/1vWX5nw6F9  AJ+ (@ajplus) January 10, 2018

In 2015, Kasur was in the international headlines when hundreds of videos of child molestation surfaced, and police later arrested several members of a racket involved in selling child pornography to websites in Europe.

Most of the victims were under 14, including a six-year-old boy, according to officials.

On Wednesday, the hashtag #JusticeForZainab was trending in Pakistan, where large numbers of people were expressing their anger and shock.

Heartbroken to hear about Zainab  a 7 year old child abused and brutally killed in Kasur, Pakistan. This has to stop. Gov and the concerned authorities must take action. #JusticeForZainab  Malala (@Malala) January 10, 2018

Zainab was kidnapped on 4th January, Chief Minister took notice when social media, media, civil society and general public raised voice. #JusticeForZainab  Amir Yusuf Chaudhry (@ThePreEminent) January 10, 2018

Look at Zainab, how innocently she is walking ,holding the hand of that bloody murderer. My heart is sinking.She was just7 #justiceforzainab  Farah Yousaf (@fara_yousaf) January 10, 2018

https://twitter.com/SenFaisalAbidi/status/951106192570503169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Qatar has begun seeking international arbitration in an attempt to end the blockade imposed by three of its Gulf neighbours and Egypt.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Lulwah Al Khater announced the moves on Wednesday, days after a UN investigation said the blockade was negatively impacting the people of the region.

We have already begun moving internationally to seek arbitration or [go to] international courts or UN institutions to end the blockade, Khater said in a press conference in Doha, the Qatari capital. All options are available for us.

In November 2017, representatives from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) visited Qatar, where they met with some 20 governmental and civil society groups, as well as people who had been affected by the blockade.

Following the missions visit from November 17 to 24, OHCHR issued a report and sent a copy to the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar (NHCR).

The report came from a neutral, international point of view and has important points, said Khater, noting that the blockade had caused material and moral damage to Qataris.

Last summer, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Doha and imposed a land, sea, and air blockade on the Gulf state.

The quartet accuses Qatar of funding extremist groups and being too close to its regional rival, Iran, accusations the Qataris vehemently deny.

Earlier this week, Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, head of NHRC, said the OHCHR study was proof the blockade is illegal.

This report shows without a spec of doubt that these procedures undertaken by blockading countries are not mere diplomatic severing of relations, they are not just an economic boycott, he said.

These are unilateral, abusive, arbitrary measures that are impacting citizens and expats in Qatar.
OHCHR highlights torture of prisoners, discrimination against women and treatment of migrant workers in Gulf state.

The UN has painted a grim picture of the human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), raising concern over the torture of prisoners, injustice against foreign workers and discrimination of women in the Gulf state.

A report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has shed light on the suppression of freedom of expression and the undue influence of executive authorities and security services on the judiciary in the Emirati state.

The 13-page report was prepared on January 5 and is expected to be presented at the 29th session of the Human Rights Council, which will run from January 15 to 26.

UAE authorities regularly subject those that violate their restrictions to torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and unfair trial procedures, the UK-based Emirate Centre for Human Rights, wrote on its Twitter page.

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In its report, the UN body expressed regret over the UAEs failure to establish a national human rights institution in accordance with international standards.

The report argued that the justice system in the UAE is complex and impedes migrant workers and the stateless from bringing their grievances to justice.

On free speech, the UN body cited imprisonment and trials for people who had simply expressed their views or criticised institutions.

The commission also condemned arrests and forced disappearances outside the legal framework and the transfer of people to secret prisons under the pretext of being accused of terrorism.

UAE authorities have used torture to force defendants to confess to the charges against them and deprive them of healthcare, the report said.

Activists, women, migrants

Prominent Emirati human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor was detained in Abu Dhabi last year and is accused of using social media to publish false information and rumours and promote sectarianism and hatred.

Mansoor is being held in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer or calls to his family, according to human rights groups.

OHCHR called for the release of Mansoor, as well online activist Osama Najjar, Jordanian journalist Tayseer al-Najjar and academic Nasser bin Ghaith.

After the reports release, rights campaigners protested outside the UAE embassy in London last week to call for the unconditional release of prisoners of conscience.

ICFUAE calls upon the Emirati authorities to abide by its obligations under international law and safeguard the rights of those residing within its borders, said the UK-based group International Campaign for Freedom in the United Arab Emirates, which organised the peaceful demonstration.

#Ahmed_Mansoor has an unimpeachable record as a defender of rights and freedoms, and every day he remains in prison will constitute a black mark on the #UAEs human rights record#FreeAhmed pic.twitter.com/04TAdw8gDi     (@UAE_HumanRights) January 9, 2018

In its report, the UN body also pointed to the lack of transparency and independence of UAEs courts, where judges and prosecutors are often influenced by the executive authorities and state security officials.





In the case of women, the committee was concerned that it was still possible for a husband to prohibit his wife from working and to limit her freedom of movement.

The OHCHR urged the UAE to immediately repeal that restriction and review other provisions that impeded womens free choice of profession and employment.

For migrant workers, the organisation recognised progress was made with the labour law reforms aimed at abolishing the Kafala system.

The work sponsorship system, known as Kafala in the Gulf, currently requires all foreign workers to obtain their employers consent to travel abroad or switch jobs.

However, the UN regretted the abusive work practices, such as confiscating passports, false imprisonment, denied salaries and nonpayment of overtime, that migrant workers face in the country.

The report warned that children continue to be trafficked into the UAE for sexual exploitation or forced begging and then deported without proper identification.
Parents of teenager shot dead by Israeli soldier four years ago continue to wait for sentencing while killer walks free.

Ramallah, West Bank  Nearly four years after Nadeem Nawarah, 17, was killed by a single live round fired into his chest by an Israeli police officer, his family is still relentlessly pursuing justice.

At a court hearing on Tuesday, the prosecutor asked for a 20 to 27-month prison sentence for the officer, Ben Deri, 21 at the time. He has pled guilty to a negligent killing charge, and sentencing is now scheduled for April 26.

The court [hearing] was like a drama. Of course there is no justice, Siam Nawarah, Nadeems father, told Al Jazeera.

Surrounded by large portraits of his son at his Ramallah home, Siam recounted how hope for justice progressively slipped away.

Court hearings were always postponed with no valid reason. If Nadeem had killed Ben Deri, what would have happened? I think the court would have made a decision after two or three weeks and put him in jail, he said.

At one time under house arrest, Ben Deri now walks free.

Stored on his laptop, Siam Nawarah keeps files of every video, article, blog post, and TV news segment that was ever published or broadcast about Nadeems killing. He sold his three hairdressing salons in order to follow the case  and perhaps because they reminded him of the time when most of his customers were Nadeems friends. He travelled to the US to lobby Congress because Nadeem was killed by American weapons.

He later founded an association that offers psychological and legal support to other families who went through the same excruciating experience.

Nadeem Nawaras parents attend the court hearing on Tuesday of the Israeli police officer who shot their son dead [Ylenia Gostoli/Al Jazeera]

Gunned down

On May 15, 2014, Nadeem was shot and killed at a demonstration near the Ofer military prison in the West Bank on Nakba Day, when Palestinians commemorate the displacement of hundreds of thousands in 1948. Another teenager, Mohammad Abu Daher, 16, was shot in the back and killed in exactly the same spot an hour later.

The demonstration evolved into clashes between Palestinian youth and Israeli forces. However, CCTV cameras  as confirmed by witness testimony  show the two boys just walking by the scene, and there appears to be no stone-throwing taking place at the time of the shooting.

Israeli authorities initially denied that live fire had been used, despite medical reports saying the type of wound indicated otherwise.





Forensic video analysis combining CCTV and media footage, as well as an autopsy ordered by Nawaras family on Nadeems body, eventually led to Deri being indicted on a charge of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. The Israeli soldier was accused of knowingly firing live ammunition with the intent of causing serious injury, while foreseeing the possibility of causing his death.

In January last year, Ben Deris defence lawyer cut a plea deal with the prosecution, admitting to having fired a live round, but saying he had not been aware it wasnt non-lethal. The manslaughter charge was dropped, with Deri facing the less serious one of negligent killing.

The family felt betrayed by the prosecution and refused the plea bargain. They took the case to the Supreme Court, but lost the appeal.

When Israel charged Ben Deri, all the journalists in the world said Israel is a state of law, Siam said. But after a month they put him under house arrest, and hes now free.

The case is the last in which an Israeli soldier or border police officer was indicted for the killing of a minor at a demonstration, according to Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability director at Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP), the organisation that first published the forensic video examination.

At least 29 children have been killed in protests in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem since 2014.

Gatherings of 10 or more people for a political purpose are banned in the West Bank. Israeli security forces are legally allowed to use live ammunition only in life-threatening situations. However, Israeli human rights group BTselem says forces on the ground are often given orders that contradict official directives. Crowd control weapons such as rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas canisters have also proved lethal.

More than 2,000 Palestinian children have been killed since the outset of the Second Intifada in 2000, including during military operations, according to a DCIP count.

At least 29 children have been killed in protests in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem since 2014 [File: Darren Whiteside/Reuters]

Culture of impunity

According to BTselem figures, 99 Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank in 2015 (23 by border police and 76 by soldiers) and 17 in East Jerusalem. And yet, only 21 investigations were opened.

Since a policy change in April 2011, the Israeli army is required to open a case automatically for every fatality that occurs outside of combat situations.

We dont know whether they carry out an investigation or not, Abu Eqtaish told Al Jazeera. What were sure about is that there is a culture of impunity and that this year and in the past few years none of the killings led to an indictment.

The case of Mohammad Abu Daher, the teen killed on the same day as Nadeem, is only one example.

We all know he was killed, but its like he doesnt exist, Firas Asali, the Nawarah familys lawyer, told Al Jazeera. No one filed a complaint about him, there was no autopsy, and we dont have any substantial evidence.

It would have made the case [Nadeems] stronger because then there would be evidence there wasnt any negligence, that you have two people dead, not one, Asali said.

In 2014, BTselem stopped filing complaints to the Israeli military on behalf of Palestinians about killings and other types of violations in the West Bank.

We realise the system is not designed to take any action against those responsible for violations against Palestinians, but its a whitewash mechanism that creates the pretence of a legitimate system that is actually looking at the complaints and checking them, Yael Stein, research director at BTselem, told Al Jazeera.

A poster of Ahmad Sharaka, 14, who was killed at a demonstration near the illegal West Bank settlement of Beit El in October 2015 [Ylenia Gostoli/Al Jazeera]

Exception and the norm

In Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah, Hoda and Abdallah Sharaka try and make sense of what happened to them.

In October 2015, their son, Ahmad Sharaka, 14, was killed at a demonstration near the illegal West Bank settlement of Beit El, not far from his home. He was shot with a rubber-coated metal round that struck him behind his left ear.

In a commemorative poster outside his family home, he appears suspended in midair, his gracile body stretched out as he fires a slingshot. The poster calls him the Slingshot Eagle.

While Siam Nawarah knows his sons death is being investigated as an exception, the Sharakas  without any security footage or video  know there is no possibility of seeking justice for their sons death. He is, in their view, another Palestinian martyr  the second in the family.

He was very brave, throwing stones without any fear inside, Hoda Sharaka said, pointing at a version of the same poster inside their modest living room. His mother explained that after Ahmad died, a lawyer visited the family to open an investigation into his case. Palestinians can only file complaints with the help of lawyers or human rights organisations.

We dont know what happened exactly, she came here to talk to us and she said she wanted to help, Hoda said, adding they didnt go to court and theres no longer communication between them.

Al Jazeera asked the Israeli army if an investigation had ever been opened in this case, but a spokesperson wasnt able to find any information by the time of publication.

During the interview with the Sharakas, Abdallah left the room and came back with a bag of clothes his son wore the day he died. The tiny trousers, a T-shirt, green balaclava, black-and-white keffiyeh, and a Fatah flag were then neatly laid out on the floor.

No one will give us back what we lost, Hoda said, no longer able to hold back tears.
Diplomats summoned in Ankara to express Turkeys discomfort about Syrian army attacks in Idlib, Turkish sources say.

Turkeys foreign ministry has summoned Russian and Iranian ambassadors for what Ankara says Syrian government forces escalation of violence in the city of Idlib, diplomatic sources told Al Jazeera.

Russias ambassador to Ankara, Alexei Yerkhov and Iranian ambassador Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian Fard were called in to express Turkeys discomfort about the attacks in Idlib, officials, who asked to remain anonymous, said on Tuesday.

Turkey had previously voiced its discontent to Russian and Iranian officials via military and diplomatic channels about the government forces violations of de-escalation zones, according to the sources.

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Idlib is located within one of the so-called de-escalation zones set up in Syria last September in an effort to scale back the conflict.

However, as the fighting continues, tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing the area, which is home to about two million people.

Believed to be the largest remaining rebel-held area in Syria, hospitals, markets and bakeries across Idlib province have been hit by government air raids.

Guarantor states

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday called on the governments of Iran and Russia to meet their obligations as guarantor states in Syria.

Iran and Russia should fulfil the responsibilities [as guarantor states] in Syria, Cavusoglu said in remarks published by state media.

He said that the Syrian government forces were targeting the moderate opposition groups on the pretext of fighting al-Nusra terrorist group.

If you are the guarantors  yes, you are  you should stop the regime. Its not just a simple air attack. The regime is moving in Idlib. The intent here is different.

Cavusoglu warned that such a move would undermine the peace process in Syria.
Charge dAffaires Philip Kosnett was summoned over Turkeys unhappiness with the US arming of Kurdish fighters in Syria.

Turkeys foreign ministry has summoned a senior US diplomat to express Ankaras discomfort over Washingtons support for Syrian Kurdish fighters, state media reported.

Citing an anonymous diplomatic source, Anadolu news agency said that US Embassy Charge dAffaires Philip Kosnett was summoned on Wednesday, without offering any further details.

Kosnett is the most senior US diplomat in Ankara after the departure Ambassador John Bass in late 2017. His replacement has yet to be named.

The Peoples Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, is seen by the US as the most effective ground partner for the US-led coalition fighting ISIL in Syria.

The YPG has received arms shipments and training from the US, in a move that angered Turkey which considers the Kurdish forces to be a terrorist group that threatens its security.

Ankara says YPG fighters are linked to Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists inside Turkey, who have waged an armed campaign since 1984 that has killed more than 40,000 people.

Wednesdays move was not the first time Turkey has announced its displeasure with the US about the issue. In May 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli called the supply of weapons to the Kurdish forces unacceptable.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also in the past called the US arming of the YPG a mistake.

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In October, the YPG and their allies announced the capture of ISILs self-declared capital of Raqqa in Syria after a four-month operation.

De-escalation zones

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had warned Russia and Iran they should adhere to the joint accord they signed with Turkey last year in which the three countries announced a de-escalation zone in Idlib.

Russias ambassador to Ankara, Alexei Yerkhov and Iranian ambassador Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian Fard were called in to express Turkeys discontent over the continuing attacks in Idlib.

Iran and Russia need to carry out their responsibilities. If you are guarantors, which you are, stop the regime, Cavusoglu said in an interview broadcast on Turkish TV channels.

Violence in Idlib region has recently escalated, with Syrian government forces, supported by Russia, trying to regain control of the rebel-held area.

Cavusoglu claimed about 95 percent of all violations of the joint accord were carried out by the regime and the groups backing the regime.

The de-escalation zones were set up last September in an effort to scale back the conflict.

However, as the fighting continues, tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing the area, which is home to about two million people.
When former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine asked a room of about 20 UF students whether they watched Gov. Rick Scotts final State of the State address earlier that morning, not a single person raised their hand.

Well you didnt miss that much, OK? I can tell you that, Levine said. A lot of things that he didnt say were the things I think were most important to all of us.

Levine, whos running for Florida governor as a Democrat, spoke to students Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Center, located at 2021 NW Fifth Ave., as part of his statewide four-day bus tour, Live! from Floridas Living Rooms.

Students sat on white leather sofas and armchairs that Chabad members and Levines campaign staff had arranged in a circle. Levine stood and spoke for about an hour on a range of issues, from sea-level rise in Miami Beach to making Florida a start-up state for businesses.

For students from low-income families, Levine said as governor he would make college debt-free, on the condition those students work in-state for a certain number of years after graduating.

We want to make sure everyone has the right opportunity to go to college if your parents cant afford it, Levine said. Theres a lot of Einstein's out here, and we dont want them to leave the state of Florida.

During the Q&A session, which lasted more than 30 minutes, students pressed the candidate on his exact plans for issues like homelessness among veterans and investing in poor, rural communities.

When Eric Higbie, a UF political science sophomore, asked Levine exactly how high hed raise the minimum wage, Higbie said he thought of his debt after college and his job as a Jimmy Johns delivery driver. Higbie, 19, makes about $10 an hour, including tips, on a given shift.

Levine said while he wants the minimum wage raised higher than $8.25 an hour, he didnt want to mandate a statewide figure and would rather let locals decide.

Buying a burger in Miami Beach is a lot more money than buying a burger out in Pensacola, Levine said. Let local communities decide specifically how high they want to go.

While Higbie said he was happy to hear Levine is for raising the minimum wage, he said he would have preferred a commitment to $15 an hour.

I feel like a specific number would be better, Higbie said. I look at my schooling and debt afterward; $15 would really help me have extra money in my pocket.

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Contact David Hoffman at dhoffman@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @hoffdavid123.

Levines first-year goals

Raise minimum wage

Ensure every Floridian has health care

Levines positions:

Make Florida a leader in solar energy

Restore voting rights for ex-felons

Invest tax dollars on public education rather than charter and private schools

Improve public transportation between major cities

Florida gubernatorial candidate 55-year-old Philip Levine speaks to students gathered at the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Center in Gainesville as part of his statewide bus tour aimed toward connecting with constituents.
In the first Senate meeting of Spring, SG Senate President Pro-Tempore Janae Moodie resigned and told the chamber her party  Impact  and SG tokenize minorities.

Since October, when Moodie was elected to her leadership position, shes questioned why she serves an organization that doesnt share her values, she said. Moodie has been a senator since Spring 2015, when she was first elected with Swamp Party, according to Alligator archives.

The reality is that there is a diversity problem where minorities are tokenized across the board and not given a proper seat at the table, and even then, their voices are not valued, Moodie said.

When Moodie was elected to her position, alongside Senate President Ian Green, it marked the first time two black students held the highest senate leadership, according to Alligator archives.

As Moodie left the room after her 10-minute speech, senators gave her a standing ovation.

Trevor Schaettle, who will remain Impact majority party leader, disagreed with Moodies point and said SG is diverse.

I believe we all come from different backgrounds and bring different ideas to the table, Schaettle said.

Schaettle said Moodie shared her feelings with him in the past. When he saw Moodie leave, he walked out to hug her.

I personally have been talking with Janae, and the best way was to resign with the way shes been feeling recently, Schaettle said. I know that the Senate and I will miss her very much.

Former Student Body Vice President BJ Jonassaint said Moodies speech reflects what others have said in the past.

I thought her speech was eloquently said and she had a lot of valid points that mirrored past opinions, he said.

Senator Mackintosh Joachim, who said he is one of the three black senators, agreed diversity is an issue in the Senate.

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I look forward to seeing the Spring elections regarding the black population in the Senate, he said.

As of press time, Moodie and Green could not be reached for further comment.

Before Moodies speech, Senate passed two resolutions, one promoting political awareness of the Net Neutrality Act and the other encouraging awareness for the #GATORSFORVZLA, or Gators for Venezuela, by unanimous consent.

Senator Benjamin Lima live-streamed the meeting on his Facebook page after the Live Stream for Accountability Transparency Act was tabled for review by the code revisions committee in December. The bill would require SG to live stream Senate meetings. Limas stream had about 1,000 views.

With Schaettle remaining majority party leader, Inspire Senator Nathan Morse was elected as the new minority party.

Were really excited for this semester to see what we can accomplish in a bipartisan manner, Lima said.

Contact Christina Morales at cmorales@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @Christina_M18.

SG Senate President Pro-Tempore Janae Moodie resigns at Tuesday's Student Senate meeting.
It was only a matter of time before the next chapter in the Joe Arpaio saga came around.

Who is he? To most Floridians, he may not be a familiar figure. But Arpaio, a longtime sheriff in Arizona, had people of Hispanic or Latino descent in Maricopa County living in fear.

He prides himself in the nickname, Americas toughest sheriff. He set up Tent City Jail in Phoenix, where inmates endured the blistering summers in temperatures that surpassed 100 degrees. He had a habit of encouraging his deputies to racially profile and illegally detain Hispanics without evidence that they committed a crime.

His actions were so egregious, the U.S. Department of Justice found he oversaw the worst pattern of racial profiling in U.S. history and subsequently filed suit against him for unlawful discriminatory police conduct. In his 24 years as sheriff, the taxpayer-funded government office paid more than $146 million in fees, settlements and court awards.

Arpaio made headlines again in August when President Donald Trump pardoned him, sparing him a six-month jail sentence, despite the fact that Arpaio had clearly broken the law.

But none of this is new. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported Arpaio would be running for a Senate seat.

The prospect of someone who discriminated against and vilified the very people he wants to represent is shocking.

And even if youre sitting in your apartment thinking this couldnt possibly affect you in Gainesville, it can and will, especially if Arpaio is successful. As a senator, a man who has repeatedly broken the laws he was charged to enforce in Arizona would be in a position to shape legislation enacted across the country. Hed be given a national stage to promote his racist opinions. Hed normalize a tolerance of racism and bigotry in Congress. In a perfect world, elected representatives take all of the opinions and backgrounds of those they represent into consideration. That reality, however, is far from common, and nothing in Arpaio's track record indicates he would so much as listen to the roughly 2.1 million Hispanics he would represent.

Arpaio will never be Floridas senator, but he will still be your senator if elected  one of 535 people in Congress charged with shaping and revoking the laws that dictate your rights, your freedom and your ability to be yourself without living in fear.

While we know you, dear reader, will likely not get a chance to vote in Arizona, we encourage you to stay informed, to challenge hate when you see it and to stand up for others. As our own gubernatorial elections near, we hope you consider all who can be affected by policy changes.

People like Joe Arpaio do not deserve your vote.

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I am conflicted about New Years resolutions. I doubt they do much beyond remind us of how fickle our willpower is. The culture of the new year itself entraps us in a cycle of goals, effort, failure and guilt. Its not the cultures fault, however. The culture is simply a reflection of our society.

There would be nothing to complain about if we could keep our goals, but, as it turns out, such a task is a serious challenge. New year, new me gradually devolves into new year, same me. I want to know why a new, better me has to accompany every new year. If I had kept my resolutions from last year and stayed away from empty carbs, would I have to obsessively drink smoothies and eat kale again? The idea, I presume, is to use each year to improve upon our different weaknesses, not to repeat the same goal. But who actually does that? In reality, I think the path to a better self turns out to be like a treadmill  we get trapped in the same cycle. I also wonder if theres something innately off target about our typical approach to New Years resolutions.

This year I have a resolution in mind that Im actually excited about. Last year, in my opinion, was a historians dream. I predict it will be researched, discussed and debated over like World War II or 1776. Academics in the future will drool over the questions 2017 raised  questions about identity, citizenship, culture and the media.

I think that one of the central, yet latent problems that 2017 revealed was a breakdown of relationships. E pluribus unum might be Americas slogan, but it is not our everyday philosophy. America is a nation with many sub nations that have increasingly lost contact with one another. If you are a Republican, youre probably not interacting much with Democrats, and vice versa. Even in universities, where worldviews collide, they instead segregate.

I grew up in a white, upper-middle class, Christian world, and the majority of people I have met or known in my life have lived in the same or a similar world. A Haitian-American friend of mine told me that he grew up with sparse contact with white people, let alone rich white people. My point is that the many subcultures and worlds of which America consists do not have as many relationships with each other as they should. Consequently, one culture treats another not as fellow citizens who are worthy of hearing and understanding, and who have legitimate reasons for their worldviews. Instead, cultures treat each other as the problem, the infection in the communal body that can only be healed if one repents of his pedagogical sin and believes what we believe. I think America is becoming a nation of strangers, and its my goal this year to try to meet and get to know as many people who are different than me as possible.

I want to do two simple things this year: talk, then listen. I want to talk with and listen to you, the person reading this, and anyone else who is willing to indulge the most sacred of arts, the art of conversation. 2018 will be defined by the quality of our national conversations, but anything national begins locally, in the everyday and with individuals like you and I. We have a part to play in the fate of our nation, a very simple part when you think about it. Talking and listening. Sharing what we believe, why believe it, how we came to believe it, and then listening to someone else do the same thing. Everything turns on our ability to do this, and not just with the citizens of the worlds we were born into.

So if youve read this far, and youre hungry for a good conversation, dont be a stranger. Regardless, I hope that this year will go down in history as the year people began to converse with each other.

Then again, about a month from now Ill probably forget I ever made this resolution.

Scott Stinson is a UF English junior. His column appears on Wednesdays.

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Mark Richardson had a vision of experiencing art in a new way  he imagined a better way to enjoy art than standing in an art gallery with nowhere to sit.

Richardson, the owner of art gallery and wine cafe Somewhere Along The Way, first opened the gallery in Micanopy three years ago. As of 2018, Somewhere Along The Way will relocate to 201 SE 2nd Ave. in downtown Gainesville, with a soft re-opening on Wednesday and a grand re-opening later in the month.

Richardsons motivation is to create an art gallery with a comfortable atmosphere that awakens the senses and allows art to be better enjoyed.

I want people to experience art, and to experience art means it can go beyond the boundaries of its a sculpture or a painting or whatever  it can be a glass of wine with chocolate, Richardson said. To me, thats art.

Richardson said Somewhere Along The Way offers a coffee and espresso bar, a selection of local craft beers and his hand-picked selection of wines, likely to include California reds and Italian whites.

Im an art gallery first, but then I want to make sure that theres something for people to enjoy, Richardson said. If theyre looking at the art they can sit here with a coffee, craft beer or glass of wine, chocolate.

The gallery features diverse artwork, including drawings, paintings, sculptures and mosaics from several regional artists.

There are also regular live music performances from jazz, blues, folk and acoustic artists, including the Damaged Daughters, a favorite American folk group of Richardsons.

Richardson said he first had a vision for Somewhere Along The Way after moving to Micanopy with his wife four years ago. For the 20 years beforehand, Richardson said he was traveling across the country as an information technology consultant.

At the end of the day, most consultants, you know, usually people just go back to their hotel room and go to bed and get up to go to work the next day, Richardson said. Well I would walk around to try and get the feel for whatever place I was in and take pictures.

After moving to Micanopy, Richardson thought about opening his own photography gallery, but thought that only showing his work seemed dull. While antique furniture shopping, he said he found his inspiration for Somewhere Along The Way.

There was a little, tiny red building for lease, Richardson said. So I did, I jumped in.

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Fast forward three years, and Richardson has outgrown Micanopy. Richardson said he had hoped it would grow into a stronger art district, but that his vision was just too much for the quiet town. He added that the move to downtown Gainesville was the next step for his business.

I like the energy here, and living in Boston and traveling usually I would go to larger cities when I was working as a consultant, and I liked the downtown energy, Richardson said. And honestly I kind of missed it.

Bruce MenNe', a featured surrealist wood sculptor in the gallery, has been working with Richardson since the opening of Somewhere Along The Way in Micanopy.

He understands me, and I understand him, MenNe' said. Here Mark understands art  he understands me. I dont know about the other artists, but I have a feeling they feel the same way I do.

A five year retiree from the aerospace industry, MenNe' now has time to pursue his lifelong carving hobby as a part-time job. MenNe' has combined his love for music and passion of carving to create surrealist sculptures of musical instruments out of fine and exotic woods.

Taking Flight, a sculpture of two harps and a violin twisted into the image of a swan, will be on display when the gallery opens Jan. 10.

Its two harps, and its a violin, but the harps and the violin are twisted into different shapes and go different directions, MenNe' said. I affectionately call it a swandelin  thats my pet name for it.

MenNe' said that each musical instrument per sculpture takes about 45 hours to carve. MenNe' said that parting with his sculptures is never an easy thing to do, but that Richardson makes it easier.

And the reason for that is I trust Mark. You know, hes a great guy, MenNe' said. I just get to carve, and hell create the setting.
Fans should expect to bring their warmest ski jackets to High Dive on Friday, where Over Easy Creative will host a concert featuring dynamic electronic music acts MZG and FRQ NCY. With the help of event planners Eclectic Electric, High Dive will be transformed into a retro ski lodge based in the 80s for the show. The event serves as an official precursor to Fractal Beach, a Miami music festival that will take place Feb. 2 to 4.

Les Voss, one of the founders of Over Easy Creative, said the company was created due to the desire to create immersive events that are more than just a DJ or a band in a room.

Our motto is hear, see, feel and we aim to create atmospheres that stimulate all senses, said Voss. We dont want to be a promotion company, we want to be an event curation company. Venues are our canvas and our events are the painting.

Over Easy Creative has been making an impact on Gainesvilles electronic music scene by introducing new, innovative and up-and-coming musical acts to the area over the past few years.

Voss said the 90s were Gainesvilles prime for electronic music and that its been a trek to get back to that legendary status, but by continuing to book more distinctive music acts, he hopes to get there again one day.

I think Over Easy has carved out a special place here, and I keep going knowing that friendships and memories made by our guests could last a lifetime, said Voss.

When picking the music acts that headline their shows, Over Easy Creative hopes their concerts reflect their own tight-knit electronic music community, which is built on devoted friendships and a love for music.

MZG, which is short for Monozygotic, are identical twin brothers based in Florida who are professional DJs and self-taught musicians and producers. Voss said the duo personally played on his birthday at The JAM, a now-closed Gainesville concert venue, two years ago.

FRQ NCY, a bass producer from Atlanta, was handpicked due to a trusted request from a former Over Easy intern, Kole Friese, who Voss said has been begging him to get FRQ NCY to Gainesville for a few months now.

Weve been blessed with some great bookings in the last few years, and when I party in other places, Im always reminded just how special our community is, said Voss.

Julia Lewis, a 21-year-old UF psychology senior, said the fact that Over Easy was hosting the concert confirmed her desire to attend the show.

I love electronic music, and I love heavy bass the most, and Over Easy does a lot of events with those sounds, said Lewis. Im usually down to go to most things they host because its usually good music in general and a little different.

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Lewis, who said shes most looking forward to seeing the supporting act Mystic Grizzly, singles out Over Easy Creative for being one of the main reasons she can find a lot of unique music in Gainesville that she cant find in many other cities.

They bring in really interesting artists, definitely impacting the community, said Lewis. Gainesvilles scene has grown since Ive been here, even though great places close like the JAM and Realm, it still keeps on keeping on.

With great acts like MZG and FRQ NCY keeping Gainesville warm this Friday night, its concerts like these that broaden Gainesvilles electronic music legacy, and Over Easy Creative has been striving to do their part.

Fans can expect a transformed High Dive, with full immersion, great vibes and great friends, said Voss. Two lucky people will be leaving with tickets to Fractal Beach in Miami on February 2 to 4. Lets make some memories.

The 80s-themed ski lodge takeover will be Friday, Jan. 12 at High Dive from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. In addition to MZG and FRQ NCY, supporting acts include Mystic Grizzly, Frostbyte, Dropkick, Rest in Pierce, SIDE TRAKD and Holden Howard. Hard copy and online tickets are $10 at ticketfly.com and $12 at the door.
Local production company Lucid Nightlife will host its fourth biannual Back To School Bash on Thursday at Simons Nightclub with headliner MarSHen and supporting acts YUNG ADAM, KYRO and Acraze set to perform.

Instead of focusing on the headliners this time around, however, the production company chose to emphasize the party by presenting the event with Orlando event planning company Pizza & Champagne.

Matt Collins, CEO and founder of Lucid Nightlife, said the aim of Thursdays event is to create a house party atmosphere in a nightclub setting.

Ive had a lot of people ask when the Back to School Bash is, not even asking whos playing it but when is it, Collins said. We just want to make a crazy kickoff party to set the bar for the semester.

To drive this idea home, Collins teamed up with former business partner and friend Eric Arroyo in Orlando to bring the Pizza & Champagne event to Gainesville.

Arroyo created Pizza & Champagne, a weekly party at Tier Nightclub, in May 2017 with the same idea of emphasizing the party over the headliners. He did this after hosting several successful pop-up parties in Los Angeles where people came for the event rather than the artists performing.

I wanted to bring that concept over to FL because I felt like the scene over here was getting too about who the DJs were, Arroyo said. Everyone was forgetting about the times that wed just go out with our friends and enjoy a fun party.

With dirt cheap ticket and drink prices and, of course, free pizza and champagne, Arroyo said hes seen the event grow over the past eight months. Plus, the performers enjoy the idea just as much as the attendees.

[The performers] like it too because, at the end of the day, theyre always going to play for a fun crowd, Arroyo said. By doing it this way, where its just about the party and less about the artist, people who are going are going to have fun and are going to have the same amount of energy no matter the DJ.

The Pizza & Champagne event has expanded to Jacksonville and San Diego so far, with Gainesville being its third stop outside of Orlando. In addition to helping the event grow into a touring party, Arroyo said that Gainesville hits close to home because he used to throw Thursday night parties at Simons years ago with Collins.

Im very excited about this one in particular because Im going back to my roots, Arroyo said. Im going to bring it extra hard for this one because Gainesville did take a chunk of my heart back in the day throwing those parties.

The 18 and up Back To School Bash will be Thursday Jan. 11 at Simons from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Early bird pre-sales have sold out, with general admission and VIP tickets remaining at eventbrite.com for $7 to $10. Walk-up tickets will be available the night of the show for $10.

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Iran and Daesh Lite in North America

Recent mass demonstrations in Iran, and the government's violent crackdown has been met with a deafening silence by Muslim "civil rights" organizations in the U.S. and Canada. Why have they refrained from supporting the Iranian people's uprising to overthrow the oppressive mullahs? After all, the same organizations have vocally and financially supported the mass demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa that erupted in December 2010 and led to the rise of Egypt's short-lived Muslim Brotherhood government and caused turmoil and destabilized these regions. American and Canadian Muslim organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the U.S. and Canada, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) in the U.S. and Canada, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) (including its Canadian branch), share the similar agenda and boards and serve as umbrellas to many smaller associations and community-based groups. Their charities aim to expand the implementation of their agenda, and a few of them have been identified as unindicted co-conspirator in Islamist terrorist financing trials in the U.S. Their common mission: dedication to "da'wah" (proselytization), building "an Islamic way of life in North America[, and] commitment to Islam as a total way of life" by practicing sharia (Islamic law). This desire to impose any version of Islam on society to establish global Islamic theocracy via political activism, has been accurately described by Prof. Clive Kessler as "political Islam" or "ISIS/Daesh lite."

Political Islam has been successfully enforced by the mullahs in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Over the years, they have increased their efforts to enforce and spread political Islam everywhere. Their efforts did not stop with Shite groups; rather, they extended especially to Sunni Muslim Brotherhood offshoots such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and al-Qaeda. Not surprisingly, the first foreign trip of Egypt's now deposed Muslim Brother president, Mohammed Morsi, was to visit Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood's short-lived government (June 2012-July 2013) has failed because the Egyptian people rejected its oppression early on. The ousting of the M.B. government was followed with banning its activities in Egypt and later in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Syria. But by then, the global Brotherhood's movement has been well entrenched in the West, where their activities are not limited and often encouraged. The leaders of the Islamist movement have doubled their efforts to spread and whenever possible, to enforce political Islam on Muslims and infidels alike. The el-Sisi government, which banned the Muslim Brotherhood and their affiliates, arrested many of their leaders and activists and seized documents, which identify many of their supporters everywhere, including in North America, where political Islam has been gathering force. Followers of the movement in Britain have been recently identified by the Egyptian authorities as funding terrorist attacks in Egypt and the Sinai. A list of such funders was provided by the Egyptian government to law enforcement in England. A similar list of North American M.B. activists and sympathizers and organizations that support them would help curb the expansion of political Islam in the U.S. and Canada. Such information is especially needed because M.B.-affiliated groups in the U.S. and Canada, have recently turned opaque, deleting pertinent information from their websites. Take for example ISNA North America and its Canadian branch. The new executive director of ISNA Canada, Taha Ghayyur, has been active and listed as a board member in several U.S. and Canadian M.B.-affiliated groups who promote political Islam. He has openly spoken about how to gradually implement Islamic law (sharia) in North America. In an article originally published in English by the Young Muslims website and entitled "Understanding Punishment in Shariah," Taha Ghayyur explained the rationale behind the harsh punishments in Islam (execution, stoning, cutting off thieves' hands, etc.) and argued that the Islamic law (sharia) can be implemented in North America. (Detailed information on Taha Ghayyurs involvement with North American Muslim organizations is available here.) The following are excerpts from Ghayyur's article: [If o]ne wonders if [sharia] can be practically implemented in our contemporary North American context[,] ... [t]he principles of [sharia] are universal and are not bound by the limitations of time and culture. Ghayyur argues: It is certainly possible to apply [sharia] in the North American society only if three conditions are fulfilled:  One, when an environment is developed, provisioned with preventative measures, that is conductive to a just and productive lifestyle, which is often not compatible with a consumer lifestyle.  Two, if the [sharia] laws are implemented gradually, accompanied by continuous public education and training on the importance of justice, freedom, and one's purpose on this [E]arth, the way it was revealed and practiced, as a strategy of pre-crime social reform, over a period of twenty-three years at the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the first generation of Muslims.  Three, if the punishments in the [sharia] are given their due place, only to be used as a last resort, and not to be practiced in isolation from the other major objectives of the [sharia]. He then clarifies why it is important to introduce these measures gradually: If a comprehensive approach to [sharia] is not adopted then one may expect to witness horrific images of extremist, selective, and literal application of the Islamic text, the likes of which we have witnessed in recent times. To prevent this from happening, Ghayyur recommends his version of Daesh lite. Nonetheless, Ghayyur is recommended by Toronto's District School Board as a speaker "willing to come to schools" to "create a healthy dialogue in order to build bridges between communities." ISNA's Ghayyur is preaching for gradually enforcing sharia in North America and "commitment to Islam as a total way of life." This is not different from what the mullahs are imposing in Iran. So it is not surprising that none of ISNA- and other M.B.-affiliated groups in North America has expressed support to the Iranians who wish to free themselves from the shackles of the mullahs' version of Daesh lite.
Oprah didn't mention Polanski, or Harvey Weinstein, or Bill Clinton, or why she didn't use the show that made her rich and famous to condemn predators such as these and the Hollywood culture that demeans women and exploits them for fun and profit. If Oprah wants to run for president as a champion of women, she has a lot of explaining to do .

There was Oprah Winfrey at the Golden Globes, with her big glasses and 2020 visions of a presidential run, speaking to the greatest collection of sexual predators and their enablers pontificating about the rights of women in an industry where not long ago these same people, led by the pompous and condescending Meryl Streep, gave a standing ovation and an award to director Roman Polanski, child rapist.

Triggered by remarks made by Oprah Winfrey at the Golden Globes in which she pontificated to women who have been sexually harassed or abused, "You get a voice. You get a voice. Everybody gets a voice," Juanita Broaddrick, who was allegedly raped by former president Bill Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas, and is only now being believed by leftists who were doubtful before, fired back with a blistering pair of tweets. Oprah was quite willing to shill for Bill Clinton; she gave him time on her show to brag how he and Hillary saw a therapist to work out their marital difficulties and also interviewed him for Oprah Magazine in 2004, asking him about how the Monica Lewinsky affair affected him but never asking about the rampant harassment and abuse, not to mention alleged rape, of which he had been accused.

Juanita Broaddrick was never a guest on Oprah's show and noted that Oprah was a willing participant in the "nothing to see here" Clinton cover-up. She also promoted the presidential candidacy of Bill Clinton's enabler, Hillary Clinton, who ignored his predatory activities and covered up his "bimbo eruptions" as she rode his stained coattails to political prominence:

Clinton, who was forced to settle a sexual harassment case with Paula Jones and has been accused of everything from harassment to assault by no fewer than eight women, has a very good friend indeed in Winfrey. Her gauzy interview with Clinton in 2004 was not only an attempt to rehabilitate his image; Winfrey also set up the idea of his chief[] enabler, wife Hillary Clinton, running for president. Worse still, as the Daily Wire points out, the only questions Winfrey asked about Clinton's countless scandals focused on Monica Lewinsky and sounded like this: "What was the most difficult part of that time for you?" Nothing was asked about Broaddrick, Jones, Kathleen Willey, or the near[] half[-]dozen others[.] ... Included with a photo of a chummy Bill and Oprah together, Broaddrick wondered, "Remember this @Oprah You've had so many opportunities to bring up my allegations, which have never been discredited. Why??"

Good question. The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro told Fox News on Monday night about Oprah's sham fight for abused women, especially as it applies to the Hollywood elites, who condemned Bill Clinton's crimes and Hillary Clinton's enabling only when the Clintons were no longer power-brokers:

Shapiro told Fox News'[s] Martha MacCallum: "She was standing in front of an entire town filled with sexual abusers and harassers. She said nothing about it for 20 years; she was being cheered by people who said nothing about it for 20 years, and there she is pretending that she's leading the fight." Oprah did not lead the fight against the culture of sexual misconduct in Hollywood, and she cannot use the excuse of "I was afraid of what it might do to my career," because she is one of the biggest people in media  she has little to fear. Shapiro continued, "Well, I was under the impression that most of us agreed with that stuff when this stuff first broke and she lauded the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Where were they reporting on the sexual harassment and abuse scandal for the last 20 years? It was literally their job to cover Hollywood and yet it took The New Yorker and Ronan Farrow to uncover all this stuff. Where was the Hollywood Press Association that was receiving such plaudits at the hands of Oprah Winfrey, again, a woman who was good friends with Harvey Weinstein, being cheered by Meryl Streep, a woman who gave a standing ovation to Roman Polanski?"

Oprah has had a chummy relationship with predator Harvey Weinstein over the years, being his guest at a number of awards shows and ceremonies. She attended numerous Weinstein Company events and also starred in Weinstein's movies, notably The Butler, about a longtime White House staff member. Yet she counts herself among the Hollywood elites who say they had no idea what Weinstein was up to. Her silence made her one of Weinstein's enablers, as she was with Bill Clinton.

At least one of Weinstein's accusers, Kadian Noble, claims that Oprah was more than that:

An aspiring actress says Harvey Weinstein used Oprah Winfrey and Naomi Campbell to dupe her into thinking he would help her with her career  only to use her for sex. British actress Kadian Noble said Tuesday she was head-over-heels impressed when she first met Weinstein at an event in London because he was hanging out with model Campbell and had megastar Oprah "swinging off his arm." "I thought, obviously, this man has something amazing in store for me," she said during a teary-eyed press conference in Manhattan to discuss the sex trafficking lawsuit she filed a day earlier against Weinstein in Manhattan federal court.

If she runs for president thinking she can ride recent events in Hollywood and politics as a champion of women, Oprah will have to explain why such a powerful and self-made woman at least sat in stony silence as people like Bill Clinton and Harvey Weinstein preyed on the very women she claims to champion.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor's Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Little has changed since, except for the worse. We are on a collision course toward a major war, and nothing short of a miracle will avert it.

In 1969, I was a U.S. Army soldier on foot patrol on the banks of the Im Jin River, just a rifle shot from North Korea. Although the war in Vietnam was raging at the time, getting all the headlines, there were Americans being killed along the supposedly demilitarized zone between the Koreas. Despite the armistice, North Korea was, in fact, in an official state of war with the United States and remains so to this day.

To understand why war is inevitable, we must look at recent history. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is recorded by many historians as a surprise attack, but a great many American leaders were not at all surprised. The famous Army general Billy Mitchell was all but prophetic in his predictions of both where and how it would happen. We can repeat his prognosis as it concerns North Korea.

The reasons for the Pearl Harbor attack are only partially understood, even by modern Japanese scholars. Among the standard explanations are that Japan was emerging from medieval conditions onto the world stage without adequate natural resources to sustain a twentieth-century economy. It needed to go outside its borders to obtain them. Furthermore, having been an ally of Britain and the United States against the Germans in World War I, Japan felt disrespected in the 1920s and '30s, when arms limitations treaties restricted its naval development. Finally, American and European exploitation of Asia was resented by Japan, which felt it had more of a right to establish colonies in China and elsewhere in Asia than did non-Asians.

The final straw was the U.S. embargo on oil to Japan. This was seen as an intolerable threat to Japan's foreign ambitions, since American oil had fueled its invasion of China in the 1930s. The only way for Japan to get oil after the embargo began was to expand its conquest of the Pacific region. The U.S. Navy posed an obstacle to that conquest and therefore had to be sunk. So Pearl Harbor was bombed, with the expectation that the U.S., having lost its naval power, would appease the Japanese much as the British and French had appeased Hitler.

That historical narrative has much to commend it, but it misses the most important point. There is a much deeper reason why Japan embarked on war, and it is the same reason propelling North Korea toward making the same mistake.

From about 1930 onward, the Japanese government had become dominated by unspeakably brutal sociopaths, every bit as vicious in their methods as the Nazis who implemented the Holocaust.

This fact is not a side issue; it is the main issue. It cannot be over-emphasized. Had the Japanese leaders had even a passing sense of compassion  not only for their subjugated populations, but even for their own citizens  they would have sought, and found, better ways to serve their own interests. Instead, they committed atrocities so horrific that no depiction of them can reflect the agony and grief inflicted on millions of innocent men, women, and children.

It is the same with North Korea's leaders. They live lives of luxury at the expense of millions of their countrymen, vast numbers of whom have been starved to death by the Kim dynasty's policies. Kim Jong-un has one goal and one goal only: to preserve his power and perquisites, no matter the cost to anyone else.

Dictators must surround themselves with a ring of sociopathic murderers. Only such people can be trusted to subject mass populations to hunger, disease, and lives of hopelessness. Only such people can carry out the orders that imprison many thousands for the slightest hint of disloyalty and then torture them beyond description.

This inner circle will protect the "dear leader" so long as his ruthless rule benefits its members. Kim knows that. He knows that despite his best efforts to terrorize even those in his inner circle, they will turn against him the moment they perceive him to be too weak to preserve them in their positions.

Therefore, Kim has to bluster and bully the United States, and the threat he poses has to be real. If the leaders fear they are about to lose their power, that threat must be carried out, regardless of the risks. How else can they do that but to wield the threat of nuclear destruction against at least one major American city? There is no other way. The instant Kim is suspected (by his minions) of being willing to give up his nuclear weapons, his death warrant is signed.

Of all this, Kim is fully aware.

Is peace possible? Kim knows that the only way to truly make peace with South Korea and the United States is to do what they have done  to recognize basic human rights, including the right of people to change their governments at will, through a safe and orderly process of honest elections.

The Kim regime will never, under any conditions, do any such thing. Those within it know that a liberated, just, and independent North Korea would try them for their crimes against humanity, convict them, and kill them.

As well they should.
A political prisoner is freed

The federal government charged Cliven Bundy, 71, and his two sons Ammon, 42, and Ryan, 44, with multiple felonies for threatening a federal officer, carrying and using a firearm, and engaging in a conspiracy. This all stems from the family's supposed illegally grazing their cattle on federal land. But on Monday, January 8, U.S. district judge Gloria Navarro, who was nominated to the bench by President Obama in 2010, blew up the indictment. She dismissed all charges due to the government's withholding of critical disclosure information from the defense. In her opinion from the bench, Judge Navarro chastised federal prosecutors, saying their behavior was "flagrant" and "reckless" and that "the universal sense of justice has been violated."

The government claimed that it had to withhold certain information to protect witnesses. The judge wasn't buying it. Among other things, she was troubled by the prosecution's tardiness in providing information about the federal government placing surveillance cameras and snipers outside the ranch. Snipers! This hearkens back to government excesses at Waco (1993) and Ruby Ridge (1992). This recent dismissal was another black eye for the federal government. As the L.A. Times reports: This decision left federal prosecutors swallowing another defeat at the hands of a family whose defiance has become a rallying cry for Westerners who believe [that] the federal government has no business managing public lands. Four times now  in high-profile cases in Nevada and Oregon  the Bundy family and its allies have beaten the federal government in court. Upon leaving court, Cliven Bundy was quoted as saying, "I'm not used to being free, put it that way. I've been a political prisoner for right at 700 days today. I come into this court room an innocent man, and I'm going to leave as an innocent man." The battle over Western land is sure to go on. But with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, as opposed to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, the Washington, D.C. swamp will have a harder time extending its suffocating reach to the West.
There are many of us on the right who rolled our eyes when social conservatives warned that gay marriage would be a slippery slope, and soon liberals would be advocating for pedophilia and bestiality and mercy knows what else.

It would be really great if the activist left would stop working so hard to prove their critics right.

Rumpf, who identifies herself as a conservative who "support[s] gay rights," is complaining about the shocking exploitation of a nine-year-old boy by sexually progressive magazine Teen Vogue.

Described by the magazine as "impressive and magical," nine-year-old Nemis Quinn Melancon Golden has been turned into a drag queen named "Queen Lactatia." Nine years old. Drag queen. That's just half a year older than one of my daughters. This manipulation and corruption of an innocent child is not just sickening; it would be criminal in any sane society. As would the disgusting sexual exploitation of children that takes place regularly at so-called gay pride parades and rallies.

But to Rumpf's original point, there was a great deal of effort put into the marginalizing of us "social conservatives" (read: "Christians") over the marriage issue by leftist progressives who seized upon their media stranglehold to paint us as backward bigots intent on depriving people we "hate" of their "right to be happy."

Certainly, there were those among our number who made that dishonest effort all too easy. That didn't help, nor did the willing capitulation of many other self-proclaimed conservatives, who happily tossed their Bible-believing allies under the bus as narrow-minded Chicken Littles in order to attain some kind of cultural approval as the "reasonable conservatives."

The truth is that for those who understand the reality of God and submit to His moral authority, all this sexualizing of our children was glaringly easy to see coming. God's moral law is just as binding as the physical laws He established for our benefit. He gives them to us not to hurt us or deprive us of happiness; He gives them to us for our own protection. We can rebel and break those laws if we choose, but it's as foolish to say there won't be negative consequences for our morality as it would be to say there won't be negative consequences to walking off the edge of a skyscraper, proclaiming we reject God's physical law of gravity.

When Antonin Scalia wrote his scathing dissent in the Lawrence v. Texas sodomy case, predicting that a tidal wave of sexually immoral permissiveness would follow the ruling, he wasn't just grinding a bigoted axe. He was making a logical deduction  the same logical deduction that many of us "social conservatives" (read: "Christians") made when the Supreme Court did precisely what Scalia had anticipated and effectively "undefined" the institution of marriage in the country.

When you rebel against God, you are rebelling against any firm, logical order for life and morality  including sexual. The consequences are increasingly terrible. They are also predictable.

This isn't a gloating "told you so" rant. There's no point to that. Societally, there is no putting the genie back into the bottle, and we are sentenced now as a people to sleep in the bed that we have made. But what we can do, and should do  and what I implore all people like Ms. Rumpf to do  is recognize what we've done and testify to the better way.

Acknowledge that only in obedience to God can we find freedom from sin and all its ugly consequences, even when those ugly consequences are called "impressive and magical" by those who perish.

Peter Heck is a speaker, author, and teacher. Follow him at @peterheck, email peter@peterheck.com, or visit www.peterheck.com.
"The climate is changing. That's not the debate. The debate is how do we know what the ideal surface temperature is in 2100? ... I think the American people deserve an open[,] honest[,] transparent discussion about those things," said Pruitt, who has frequently cast doubt on the causes and implications of global warming.

EPA chief Scott Pruitt outlined the Trump administration environmental agenda to Reuters . It includes a welcome roll-back in Obama-era carbon and clean water regulations, as well as the novel idea of sponsoring a national debate on climate change.

Pruitt reaffirmed plans for the EPA to host a public debate on climate science sometime this year that would pit climate change[-]doubters against other climate scientists, but he provided no further details on timing or which scientists would be involved. Pruitt said among the EPA's top priorities for 2018 will be to replace the Clean Power Plan, former President Barack Obama's centerpiece climate change regulation which would have slashed carbon emissions from power plants. The EPA began the process of rescinding the regulation last year and is taking input on what should replace it. "A proposed rule will come out this year and then a final rule will come out sometime this year," he said. He did not give any details on what the rule could look like, saying the agency was still soliciting comments from stakeholders. He said the agency was also planning to rewrite the Waters of the United States rule, another Obama-era regulation, this one defining which U.S. waterways are protected under federal law. Pruitt and Trump have said the rule marked an overreach by including streams that are shallow, narrow, or sometimes completely dry  and was choking off energy development.

Rewriting the "Waters of the United States" rules is a no-brainer. Obama issued the regulations in the closing weeks of his administration, and it rapidly became the poster child for massive bureaucratic overreach. It was a power-grab by an agency known for power-grabs.

Ditching the carbon regulations promulgated by the Obama administration is going to be more difficult but is welcome news for energy-producers. The massive paperwork burden of those rules would have added billions to the cost of getting fossil fuels out of the ground.

But it's the idea of holding a national debate on climate change that is perhaps the most original idea that the EPA has come up with in a long time. The question that needs to be asked is whether it's possible for climate change hysterics and climate change skeptics to engage in any kind of dialogue. Given the hostility of the hysterics toward any questioning of their position, a debate would appear to be a useless gesture.

Still, there is growing skepticism among climate change advocates about the pace of global warming and a realization that man's role in the Earth's warming has been overstated. And the global warming skeptics recognize that the Earth is, indeed, warming, although, as Mr. Pruitt suggested, not enough is known about the issue to justify the massive changes suggested by hysterics.

In any national debate, the two sides are likely to talk past each other. But getting them to appear in the same forum is a start and, perhaps, the beginning of a return to sanity in climate science.

The agenda laid out by Pruitt is ambitious and hopefully only the beginning in his effort to rein in an agency that under both Republican and Democratic administrations expanded its reach and power to place unnecessary burdens on the economy and people.
In a ruling Tuesday evening, San Francisco-based U.S. District Court judge William Alsup ordered the administration to resume accepting renewal applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA.

The latest example of how the left never gives up  ever  is a leftist judge in San Francisco who has ordered the "DREAMer" program restarted. President Trump stopped accepting renewals for the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program months ago, on the grounds that the program was not legally created by Obama, since Obama didn't have congressional authorization (you know, what we used to call "laws") to grant a sweeping amnesty to illegal alien children. You would think that since the program is not based on a law, a judge would find no way to reinstate it. But activist judges care nothing for the law. They make the law.

Unless halted by a higher court, the ruling will allow former DACA recipients who failed to renew by an October 5 deadline a chance to submit renewal applications and will also require the administration to allow renewal of applications expiring in the future. The decision does not permit new applications for DACA status. The Trump [a]dministration could seek a stay of the ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.

Don't expect the 9th Circuit to be any help; it's packed with far leftists. Trump would have to appeal this to the Supreme Court.

If the judge's order remains in place, it could also roil ongoing legislative efforts on DACA by undercutting the urgency many advocates have expressed, calling for legislation to be passed before large numbers of [DREAM]ers begin losing their protected status in March.

That's right. Trump is attempting to use DACA as leverage to get a border wall built. But if this decision is upheld, Democrats won't have to make any concessions.

Perhaps Trump won't even appeal the decision. Trump has said he wants "a Bill of Love" to give amnesty to "DREAMers." He has said he wants to pass whatever immigration bill passes Congress, even if he doesn't like it.

Trump said he'd sign whatever immigration bill Congress could send him. "I'm not saying I want this or I want that. I will sign it," he told the group.

Given Trump's flexibility, I would not be surprised to see him fail to appeal this decision. We have an out-of-control court system, a Congress that bows to the minority party, and a president who seems strangely disengaged on the key issue that got him elected president. I thought Republicans won this election at all levels, but it seems as though the Democrats, or at least the Democratic point of view, are still firmly in charge.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com.
President Trump made statements that worry his base, because it appears he is willing to wait on full funding for the wall. He also used the words "border security" instead of "wall" and said he will sign whatever bill Congress drafts.

President Trump met with congressional leaders on January 9 in an extraordinary meeting, open to the public, to negotiate immigration reform, funding of the government, and DACA.

If the base is worried, then President Trump and all Republicans should worry about the elections in 2018 and 2020. Failure to build the wall and enforce our immigration laws will harm President Trump, Republicans, and our country.

The deal seems to be that the president will support a bill granting amnesty to those presently under DACA, which is an executive order by Obama to defer deportation of illegals brought here as minors. The Dems and media refer to them as "Dreamers" (based on the failed DREAM Act legislation) to make it sound as if they are not illegal aliens. Nice public relations gimmick.

In return, the Dems will agree to end lottery immigration and chain migration. But the issue is the border wall. Trump is now talking about "border security" and a down payment on a partial wall.

The Dems do not want a wall because a wall will give Trump a victory, which will help Republicans in the 2018 election and Trump in the 2020 election. Moreover, Democrats believe they will lose the Hispanic vote if they give in on the wall.

Trump cannot compromise on building the wall and cannot settle for something vague such as "border security." The Dems will not support him for giving in on DACA, and the Destroy Trump Media will ridicule him relentlessly for giving up on the wall. For example, immediately following the meeting, Fox NeverTrump Shepard Smith was ridiculing Trump for giving up on the wall.

True, a wall is not required in every section of the border, but it is required on most of the border. The wall is also a symbol of the promise made by Trump to enforce our immigration laws. Republicans are tied to Trump's promise to build the wall.

Trump can use DACA as a bargaining chip to get what he wants, but he must get the wall in addition to ending chain migration and the lottery. The Dems are desperate for a DACA deal and will agree to Trump's demands if he stays true. They will not shut down the government over 800,000 illegal aliens, even if they believe that these 800,000 will eventually vote Democrat.

It seems beyond belief that the most important item being negotiated is amnesty for 800,000 illegal aliens. The sensible approach is to examine each case and judge each on its merits instead of a blanket amnesty. For example, deport those who have criminal felony records. Give amnesty to those who served honorably in our armed forces.

The focus should be on protecting Americans and securing the border, not on helping Democrats recruit new voters.

President Trump should stop taking advice from pro-amnesty Lindsey Graham on immigration. Remember how well Graham did in the 2016 Republican primaries? Or Jeb Bush?

If Trump compromises on the wall, he will be seen the same as George H.W. Bush, who lost in 1992 to Bill Clinton because he reneged on his promise not to raise income tax rates. Bush's broken promise split the Republican Party and brought Ross Perot into the election. Bush's "read my lips" may be the same as Trump's "build the wall."

Remember, Mr. President: "Read my lips."
President Trump on Tuesday appeared open to negotiating a sweeping immigration deal that would eventually grant millions of undocumented immigrants [sic; should be "illegal aliens" ed.] a pathway to citizenship, declaring that he was willing to "take the heat" politically for an approach that seemed to flatly contradict the anti-immigration stance that charged his political rise.

At a meeting to negotiate immigration issues, President Trump made it clear that he agrees with Lindsey Graham and is willing to grant citizenship to "DREAMers."

Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, floated the idea of a broader immigration deal during the meeting in the White House Cabinet Room on Tuesday, making clear that it would have to include a pathway to citizenship for [illegal aliens] already in the country. Mr. Trump replied: "If you want to take it that further step, I'll take the heat. I will take all the heat. You are not that far away from comprehensive immigration reform."

President Trump promised to fight conservatives who object to amnesty:

Mr. Trump's call for a comprehensive solution came just after Mr. Graham had said he was a proponent of "a pathway to citizenship for 11 million people," and then predicted "a drumbeat" of vitriol against such an approach. "Right-wing radio and talk show hosts are going to beat the crap out of us," he said[.] "It's going to be 'amnesty' all over again." Mr. Trump seemed almost to relish such a fight. "My whole life has been heat," he shrugged. "I like heat, in a certain way."

While President Trump wants border security, he is flexible on what that means:

The president said he would insist on strict new immigration limits as part of any such measure, although he seemed to concede that his call for a "wall" might not entail the kind of physical barriers that many Democrats have viewed as a nonstarter.

As Politico reported:

[H]e responded warmly to California Democratic [s]en. Dianne Feinstein's suggestion that he support a "clean" bill on DACA  that is, one without any funding for the border wall Trump has promised since the campaign. "I have no problem," Trump said. "I think a lot of people would like to see that."

Trump promised to sign whatever Congress passes, regardless of whether or not it contains funding for a border wall.

Even by the end of the meeting, Trump seemed to indicate that the border wall isn't necessarily a must-have for him  becoming just the latest iteration in a dizzying series of back-and-forths on what he wants in a DACA deal. "I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with," Trump said. He added: "I'm not going to say, 'Oh, gee, I want this,' or 'I want that.' I will be signing it."

Trump calls the bill giving amnesty to "DREAMers" a "Bill of Love," much as Jeb Bush called illegal immigration an "act of love".

After President Donald Trump referred to a potential DACA deal bill as a "bill of love" in a bipartisan White House meeting, Trump's 2016 presidential opponent and former Florida [g]overnor Jeb Bush tweeted support for Trump's immigration discussions, [writing on Twitter,] "Encouraged the [p]resident is seeking bipartisan solutions to our immigration challenges"

Several things are clear:

1) We don't know what the final scope of the deal will be, but President Trump has clearly said he wants to give amnesty to "DREAMers" and will sign whatever Congress passes, whether he gets a border wall or not.

2) There are enough votes in the House and Senate among Democrats and, yes, liberal Republicans to grant amnesty to "DREAMers."

3) Trump saying he will sign "whatever they pass" gives up all his leverage in negotiations.

4) Trump was obviously not at all truthful as a candidate regarding his positions on immigration.

Remember when he ridiculed Jeb Bush's "act of love" phrase? Now he's using the same language and is being praised by Jeb Bush for it.

Remember when candidate Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the border wall? Now Trump says he can't build the border wall until Congress appropriates money for it. Why does Congress need to do so when Mexico will be paying for it?

Remember when candidate Trump said illegals would have to go back to their countries of origin and reapply to enter America?

For those here illegally today, who are seeking legal status, they will have one route and one route only: to return home and apply for re-entry like everybody else, under the rules of the new legal immigration system that I have outlined above.

President Trump is now talking about giving a blanket amnesty without any such requirement.

Candidate Trump talked about ending birthright citizenship and imposing mandatory E-Verify for employers.

In an August 2015 interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Trump affirmed his position to eliminate birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents living here illegally

President Trump never mentions either topic now.

It was comical watching the press conference where Trump eagerly agreed to Dianne "Frankenfeinstein's" proposal for a "clean DACA" bill, only to be pulled back by House majority leader Kevin McCarthy, who also wants amnesty but wants a fig leaf of "border security measures" to go with it. It became clear, at that moment, that on immigration, Trump is to the left of the establishment Republicans in Congress, who want to give DACA amnesty but are smart enough to demand some face-saving non-substantive concession in return for it, like hiring some more border guards or repairing a few miles of existing fence.

Questions for discussion:

1) If President Trump had run for president promising to give amnesty to "DREAMers," would you still have supported him?

2) What kind of leadership does President Trump show when he says he will sign whatever Congress passes without knowing in advance what it will be?

3) Liberal author Michael Wolff claimed that President Trump is disengaged from policymaking. Do statements from the president like "I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with" tend to support or discredit such a view?

Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com.
But Trump suggested that earmarks are not all bad and that with proper oversight, they could help bring the two sides together.

The Hill:

"Maybe we should think about it," Trump told a group of roughly two dozen lawmakers at the White House. "Maybe all of you should think about going back to a form of earmarks. You should do it."

Former [House] speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) banned earmarks, which have been derided as "pork-barrel spending," after Republicans retook the House in 2010.

But House Republicans are debating whether to bring back earmarks, even as some members blast them as a symbol of the so-called swamp in Washington, D.C.[] that Trump campaigned against.

Trump's remarks Tuesday appeared to give that push a boost.

"We have to put better controls because it got a little out of hand, but that brings people together," the president said.

Trump said the "levels of hatred" among Republicans and Democrats are "out of control" and that earmarks could help solve [the situation].

He recalled a bygone era when members of both parties bonded over meals and late-night talks in the nation's capital.

Trump turned to House [m]inority [w]hip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and asked, "When's the last time you took a Republican out to dinner?"

The president spoke during a bipartisan meeting on spending and immigration. Congress has reached an impasse on the issues ahead of a Jan. 19 government shutdown deadline.

Trump is trying to position himself as a bipartisan leader ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
Posted on: January 10, 2018 11:58 AM

The Bishop of Seoul, Peter Lee, has used a New Year message to his diocese to encourage Christians to change from believers to disciples. Bishop Peter said that he had chosen From believers to disciples! as the motto for his diocese in 2018. We all have to live a life of disciples, he said. The Lord calls us and says, Follow me!

The words that Jesus tells us and the personality and way of life that we showed ourselves must be revealed through us. We cannot expect the growth and development of our church without the desire and determination to be our disciples. Church reform is no different. Only those who are converted into disciples  disciples in personality and in life  will be able to make the church to be a church, and the glory of God will be revealed through them.

In 2016, the Anglican Consultative Council said that it recognises the need for every province, diocese and parish in the Anglican Communion to adopt a clear focus on intentional discipleship. It encouraged them to produce resources to equip and enable the whole church to be effective in making new disciples of Jesus Christ. In addition, it asked the Standing Committee, the Secretary General, and the Anglican Communion Offices mission department to effect a decade-long Season of Intentional Discipleship.

Reform and growth are the most urgent and crucial challenges in this era, Bishop Peter said. Reform and growth must be promoted together as both sides of the coin. The reforms that are not aimed at growth are empty, and the growth without underpinning the reforms is lacking.

He also urged Christians to welcome new believers and to bring the lost sheep back to the Lords bosom.
Posted on: January 10, 2018 2:18 PM

The international Anglican mission agency Mothers Union has released a free Eucharistic liturgy and other resources to help churches mark Mothering Sunday, which this year falls on 11 March. The liturgy has been prepared by students from St Mellitus Theology College, which was established in 2007 by the dioceses of London and Chelmsford, and includes material from the Church of Englands Common Worship book.

The Mothers Union has also released other resources, including a collection of prayers, a structured family service, and a series of activities for children.

Mothering Sunday is a very important day in our calendar at Mothers Union and we provide resources on the website to help church families to celebrate, support and appreciate the role of mothers and all those who play a mothering role in their families and communities, the MU chief executive, Bev Jullien, said.

They are interactive, ranging from fun-packed activities for children and prayers to a beautiful liturgy written by the students of St Mellitus Theology College.

We are very aware that, for some, Mothering Sunday can be a difficult day, and so the liturgy in particular includes material to acknowledge, support and pray for those for whom it may be a painful time.

Traditionally a day on which people would visit their mother church, Mothering Sunday in Europe has become an occasion for honouring mothers in a way that Mothers Day has in other parts of the world.

The Mothers Union has also produced an online catalogue of alternative Mothering Sunday gifts to raise funds for its work around the world. Gifts range in price from 6 GBP for its greater love, which supports projects in the UK that help restore broken relationships in communities; to 100 for its powerful voice, which supports projects designed to give mothers the confidence and skills to speak out against inequality and gender-based violence.

The Mothers Union says that its truly inspiring and empowering Make a Mothers Day gifts will help mothers move from life on the margins right to the heart of their families and communities. Whether thats through enabling a mother to learn to read, become a budding entrepreneur or learn new skills that help her improve her home.

The gifts are, in effect donations and it follows a growing trend of charities offering alternative gifts where money is provided for good causes instead of material goods.
Posted on: January 10, 2018 8:43 AM

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, the Primate of Canada, has announced that he will step down from his role on the final day of the provinces General Synods next meeting, on 16 July 2019. Last year, Archbishop Fred marked 40 years of ordained ministry in the church  23 of them as a bishop and 10 as Primate. In a letter to the Church, he said that he had wondered if I might not be coming very close to the best before date in the leadership I am providing; but said that, after a process of prayer and discernment, he felt more than a little sense of solemn obligation to see General Synod through the next round of conversations over a few very significant matters.

The July 2019 meeting of Canadas General Synod will debate and vote on the second reading of the amendment to the Marriage Canon; and on plans to honour the dream of a truly Indigenous Church within The Anglican Church of Canada. In addition to discussions on tackling human trafficking and climate change, it will now conclude its work with the election of a new primate. It will be a day when I pray we will all say with a resounding heart soul and voice, This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it, Archbishop Fred said, in reference to Psalm 118.

Yesterday (Tuesday), Archbishop Fred invited staff from the Anglican Church of Canadas national office to join him in their chapel, where he read aloud his letter which was later published on the provinces website. The Anglican Journals Joelle Kidd reports that the archbishop paused his speech at times, as he was overcome with emotion. Some staff were similarly upset, and cried at the announcement, while many paused to embrace him as they left the chapel at the end of his announcement. He told staff that expects to return to parish ministry following his retirement.

I have endeavoured to fulfil the duties required of me in the best interests of our Church and its commitment to Gods mission in Canada and as a loyal partner in the life and witness of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Archbishop Fred said in his letter. It has been an enormous privilege and a great adventure with blessings beyond number.

He said: For the decision I have made I ask your understanding and respect. In the work we still have to do together I ask your patience and perseverance. Know that I remain ever grateful for your prayers and for the multitude of ways in which you have and continue to support me in my ministry. Know that my prayers for our beloved Church are very much in accord with the affection with which St Paul held the Church in Philippi.

Archbishop Fred will celebrate his 65th Birthday on 3 December this year. The Anglican Church of Canadas Canons require the primate to hold office until the age of 70, or earlier resignation. In the natural order of discourse around such milestones, questions arise with respect to ones intentions about retirement, he said, as explained the timing of his announcement. I believe it is incumbent upon me to help move us all beyond whispered speculations to clarity about my intentions.
To all the fat nurses everywhere: keep taking the sugar

After a lengthy stay in hospital, I was advised by a charming, caring and professional nurse to go out for ice-cream and champagne. She told me this as we chatted over a huge plate of biscuits and sugary tea. I felt instantly better. But sugar is taboo at an NHS hospital in Greater Manchester. Staff are being weaned off the stuff.

Karen James, Chief Executive Tameside hospital, says: My staff work very hard. Long hours and shift patterns often make it very difficult for people to make healthy choices, so they opt for the instant sweet fixes, which until now have been readily available. These are dedicated healthcare professionals who believe they should be role models for their patients but the food environment has been working against them.

Role models? I just wanted the nurses to give me the right drugs at the right time and stay wake.

Weve taken away the sugary drinks, weve taken sugary snacks out of vending machines, weve taken away cookies and muffins and replaced them with fruit, thunders Amanda Bromley, director of human resources at Tameside Youd go to the till and thered be a Twix and a Bounty bar staring back at you. People are working long shifts and if things are in front of them we know they are going to reach for them. Adding: Nurses and other health professionals need to be leading by example. They need to be role models for patients.

If someone is visibly overweight people dont necessarily trust that advice. The public expect nurses to be role models, says Richard Kyle, of Edinburgh Napier University, who led a recent study to find measurements on people working in health professions, and found them to be as obese as the rest of us. Its a priority of Simon Stevens [head of NHS England] that the NHS should be an exemplar, have a better proportion than the general population.

So the vending machines have been cleansed.

The Times has more:

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, is planning to ban the sale of sugary drinks in hospitals this summer if on-site shops cannot get them down to under 10 per cent of sales.

Maybe the shops can sell other stuff to get the higher-spending punters in, like running machines and cannabis, say.

He is also imposing calorie caps on sandwiches, crisps and chocolate to fight a snack culture that is causing an epidemic of obesity, preventable diseases, tooth decay, heart disease and cancer.

After so much PR guff  and the message to nurses to buy cheaper multi-pack of snacks at the supermarket  one thing is missing for the table: hospital food is disgusting. On my first night on the ward I was fed a baked potato with more eyes than a Piers Morgan column. Thankfully, I had a someone who bring in fresh and edible food. And when I felt like a pick me up, well, the nurse was always there with biscuits. I cant recall her weight, BMI or vital statistics, largely because I didnt give a shit. But next time Ill be sure to check as I seek her views on religion, politics, investment strategies and other things that I need from her to make sense of my own life.

Paul Sorene

Posted: 10th, January 2018 | In: Key Posts, News Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, January 10 - French President Emmanuel Macron is set to arrive in Rome later on Wednesday for talks on a "Quirinal Treaty" on bilateral relations on the model of the treaty France signed with Germany in 1963, Elysee Palace sources said. Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni is working with Macron on the treaty, which will seek to ensure the two countries coordinate with efforts "in a systematic way".

The two leaders are to give a working group the task of drafting the treaty, which is set to be named after the Quirinal Palace, the residence of the Italian president, Italian sources said. The text will be centred on bilateral relations but will also have a strong European orientation to contribute to the renewal of the European Union.


(ANSA) - Milan, January 9 - A 55-year-old Italian manager who went missing from Bellinzona in Switzerland on Christmas Day, Enrico Maccari, was found dead in Milan on Tuesday. The body of Maccari, a manager in a pharmaceuticals firm, was found in an apartment in Via Fratelli Pozzi in the northern Italian city, an area where many sex workers ply their trade in their homes.

There were no signs of violence on the body," police sources said.

His body was lying in the living room of a two-family flat, they said.

Police are trying to trace the owners of the flat.

The Milan flying squad, which is investigating, has ordered an autopsy to establish cause of death. The manager's car was found in the same area on December 29. Police found packets of medicine, his computer and other personal effects in the vehicle - but not his ID documents, credit cards or two cellphones.

Police said they were ready to consider all leads.

It is not yet known why Maccari was in Milan.

Acquaintances told police he did not have any contacts in that area of Milan, on its northern outskirts.

Born in Lecco but resident for some time in Bellinzona, Maccari had recently changed jobs.

His children said he had not shown any signs of concern in the days leading up to his disappearance.

Police said they will try to establish if he fell ill and died, killed himself or was murdered.


(ANSA) - Florence, January 9 - Relaxed elegance plays the lead role in men's wear fall-winter 2018 collections presented by 1,244 international brands at the Pitti Uomo trade fair opening Tuesday through Friday in Florence.

A staple for next winter seen at the leading international fair is the knit blazer, the epitome of comfortable elegance.

Indeed men's wear collections displayed at the Fortezza da Basso are focusing on high-quality classics with a contemporary twist and an eye on sportswear.

The king of cashmere Brunello Cucinelli has opted for a combination of colors and patterns that vie for fresh elegance.

A notable look by tailor Gabriele Pasini for next fall is the grey flannel suit with a fine pink pinstripe to jazz up the look.

Oversized coats and trench coats come with unexpected twists, including a belted jacquard number debuted by Gabriele Pasini, an Italian brand that honors its Neapolitan heritage while paying homage to classic British styles.

Marche tailor Lardini has embraced a soft fit as seen in the brand's interpretation of the knit blazer.

Paoloni has created a line with a vintage taste, including three-piece suits.

Again, knit blazers are playing the lead role both in single and double-breasted designs.

Patterns include pinstripes and glen checks.

Corneliani is presenting classic wardrobe essentials that are functional and perfect for business.

The fine tailoring with colored details, often found in the lining, are designed in a soft silhouette that oozes relaxed elegance.

Neapolitan shirtmakers Finamore, a company founded in 1925 by Carolina and now managed by the third generation, is going for the full look with a collection honoring Finamore's new status as a global brand.

Florentine brand Malo, Italy's oldest cashmere producer, is celebrating its 45th anniversary with an art installation at the city's Limonaia, called Back to the Future, and an exhibit of its finest knits including a fabric in cashmere and vicuna.

Trekking is the inspiration of ZZegna as the brand presents a multifunctional collection with sartorial pieces in comfortable silhouettes with boucle, tweed and checked patterns.

And accessories are key in making the difference, as seen in the cashmere scarves by Lanificio Faliero Sarti, whose artful patterns add a splash of color and edge to fall looks.


(ANSA) - Rome, January 9 - Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan on Tuesday warned voters that not all promises were achievable ahead of Italy's general election on March 4. "We are going into a period of electoral competition," Padoan said at a ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the Italian Constitution. "Each party will try to win the biggest possible slice of support. "They will do so alluding to economic policy choices promising better benefits to their electorate. That is the nature of democracy. "It is the job of the electors to assess the various proposals and to remind themselves that not all promises are achievable.

"It would be opportune for all the parties in the competition to make this job easier for the electors, formulating proposals that are measurable and, therefore, credible". On Monday Padoan blasted the centre-right coalition's election pledge to scrap the 2011 Fornero pension reform, saying this was a pillar of Italy's financial system.


ROME - The fourth summit of southern European countries, taking place in Rome on Wednesday, aims to strengthen the united front on topics such as migration, the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and growth and investments in 2018, considered a critical year for the European Union.

The countries participating in the summit - Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus - represent one-fourth of EU member states and contribute to 41% of the EU's budget.

The countries also share common emergencies such as that of migration, and at the summit are aiming to consolidate their forces ahead of the EU summit in Brussels in March. The leaders of the southern European countries - Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis - are meeting in Rome following the previous three southern European summits, which took place in Athens, Lisbon and Madrid.

This will be Macron's first meeting of the seven leaders, and he will meet on Thursday with Gentiloni at Palazzo Chigi.

Following the meeting, Gentiloni and Italian Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini will accompany Macron on a visit to the Domus Aurea archaeological site.

Palazzo Chigi sources said the summit will be very concrete, focusing on the upcoming "crucial" deadlines for the European Union: reform of the Dublin Regulation by June 2018, Great Britain's exit from the European Union with the subsequent reorganisation of the European Parliament without British representation, and the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union.

The migration emergency will certainly be the main topic for the seven countries, all of whom are affected by it, although to differing degrees.

All of the countries agree that the migration problem must be tackled on a European level, including through the reform of the right to asylum.

Consolidating their common stance on this topic will definitely help the group to face the eastern European countries, in particular the Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), which opposes migrant quotas and a solidarity-based system.

A united southern European bloc could help generate consensus in a moment in which Germany, despite the fact that it supports the need to reform the Dublin Regulation, is heavily weakened, as it is still embrolied in consultations on the formation of the government.
In Tunisia, 206 arrested, 45 agents wounded

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, JANUARY 10 - A total of 206 people were arrested, 49 law enforcement agents were injured, and 45 law enforcement vehicles were damaged during the second night of clashes in cities across Tunisia on Tuesday, according to Tunisian Interior Minister Khalifa Chibani.



The clashes involve groups of young people protesting against government price hikes and against the police.



The arrests were on charges of theft, destruction and looting of government property.(ANSAmed).




TUNIS - Unrest and clashes continued in various cities throughout Tunisia as young people protest against government price hikes and marginalisation. At least 237 were arrested and 49 policemen wounded as violence continued to sprawl through the country for a second night.

On Wednesday Prime Minister of the National Unity government Youssef Chahed was in Tebourba to speak to the people. Terouba is the town where the most violent clashes took place on Monday and a man lost his life.

But incidents occurred on Wednesday in Beja, Testour, Sfax, Meknassi, Sidi Bouzid, Ben Arous, Kebili, and Nefza, where a police barracks was set on fire and looters raided the city council headquarters.

In Sousse, the Bouhsina police barracks was set on fire; in Khezama, police used tear gas to prevent looters from raiding a supermarket; and in Ksar Gafsa, a civil protection agent was injured in clashes.

Tunisian media sources cited an attempt to set a synagogue on fire on the island of Djerba, in the Jewish quarter of El Hara Kebira in the northern town of Houmt Souk, which was stopped by law enforcement and the Tunisian National Guard.

In the capital city of Tunis, neighbourhoods that saw unrest included Intilaka, M'nihla, Jardins d'El Menzah, Zayatine, Ras Rabia, Ezzahrouni and Bouhsesla.

Protests have increasingly degenerated into acts of deliberate violence, including rock-throwing, blocking roads, burned tyres and looting of government and private property.

Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said "violence will not be tolerated" and "the authorities have no other choice but to apply the law".

Tunisian Army troops are working alongside police in many cities across the country to help defend government property.

The grassroots movement #Fech_Nestanew (What Are We Waiting For) protested on Tuesday in Tunis against government price rises and policy, and announced a new demonstration on January 13.

A state of emergency has been in effect in Tunisia since November 2015, following attacks that year at the Bardo Museum and at a tourist resort in Sousse.
Syrian regime continues push into Idlib, civilians flee Forces near airbase lost in 2015

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, JANUARY 10 - Syrian government forces and allied militias on Wednesday continued to advance in the northwestern province of Idlib and are now near the Abu Al-Duhour airbase, which opposition forces have controlled since 2015. The base is considered the main target of this latest offensive, which began in October and which is mainly being fought against opposition forces with links to Al-Qaeda.



The advance has forced tens of thousand of people to flee towards the country's northern border with Turkey, which is closed. The retaking of control of the military facilities would enable government forces to better secure the main road from Damascus to Aleppo. The head of the UN Human Rights Office, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, expressed ''grave concern'' over risks for civilians in this area, which is supposed to be one of the four 'de-escalation' zones agreed between Russia, Iran and Turkey, and where about 2.6 million Syrians live. About 1.1 of the people living in the region have been forced to flee there from other regions. Meanwhile, fighting continues in another of the 'de-escalation zones': Eastern Ghouta, located on the outskirts of Damascus and in opposition hands. Zeid said that at least 85 civilians including 30 under age 18 had been killed since December 31 in government bombing on the area. (ANSAmed).




Catalonian separatists to reelect Puigdemont as leader 'Together for Catalonia' spox says ERC supports him

(ANSAmed)- MADRID, JANUARY - Catalonian separatists have decided to reelect Carles Puigdemont as their regional leader when the new regional parliament meets for the first time on January 17. Puigdemont, who is in Belgium after he was ousted by the Spanish government in October after being accused of holding an illegal referendum, risks arrest if he goes back to Spain. A spokesman from his Together for Catalonia political platform said that Puigdemont has gained the support of ERC separatists as well. The two separatist parties hold the majority in the new regional parliament. The former leader will reportedly be taking part via video in the first session of the parliament - or will have his speech read by an MP - to present his candidature for regional president of Catalonia. (ANSAmed).




Southern Europe summit in Rome on migrants and EU future Ahead of Brussels summit. Macron to meet with Gentiloni Thursday

(ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 10 - The fourth summit of southern European countries, taking place in Rome on Wednesday, aims to strengthen the united front on topics such as migration, the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and growth and investments in 2018, considered a critical year for the European Union.



The countries participating in the summit - Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus - represent one-fourth of EU member states and contribute to 41% of the EU's budget.



The countries also share common emergencies such as that of migration, and at the summit are aiming to consolidate their forces ahead of the EU summit in Brussels in March. The leaders of the southern European countries - Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis - are meeting in Rome following the previous three southern European summits, which took place in Athens, Lisbon and Madrid.



This will be Macron's first meeting of the seven leaders, and he will meet on Thursday with Gentiloni at Palazzo Chigi.



Following the meeting, Gentiloni and Italian Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini will accompany Macron on a visit to the Domus Aurea archaeological site.



Palazzo Chigi sources said the summit will be very concrete, focusing on the upcoming "crucial" deadlines for the European Union: reform of the Dublin Regulation by June 2018, Great Britain's exit from the European Union with the subsequent reorganisation of the European Parliament without British representation, and the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union.



The migration emergency will certainly be the main topic for the seven countries, all of whom are affected by it, although to differing degrees.



All of the countries agree that the migration problem must be tackled on a European level, including through the reform of the right to asylum.



Consolidating their common stance on this topic will definitely help the group to face the eastern European countries, in particular the Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), which opposes migrant quotas and a solidarity-based system.



A united southern European bloc could help generate consensus in a moment in which Germany, despite the fact that it supports the need to reform the Dublin Regulation, is heavily weakened, as it is still embrolied in consultations on the formation of the government.(ANSAmed).




Spain's PP 'to impede Puigdemont investiture' if in Belgium Rajoy's party may claim move is 'unconstitutional'

(ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 10 - Spain's Partido Popular (PP) is ready to "impede by any means at our disposal" a long-distance investiture of Carles Puigdemont at the head of the Catalan regional government.



Puigdemont is in Belgium and is wanted by the Spanish authorities. The announcement was made by PP general coordinator Fernando Martinez Maillo, reports La Vanguardia. Even though the PP will wait to find out details on an agreement between Puigdemont and the ERC separatists, the general coordinator said, constitutionalist parties will come up with a joint strategy to prevent the investiture of the former regional president in self-exile in Belgium. Among the options on the table, La Vanguardia said in citing PP sources, is a possible appeal by the government or a political group against the "unconstitutional" nature of the potential investiture. (ANSAmed).




Turkish FM to meet Austrian counterpart to reduce tension Ankara bid to improve EU relations continues

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, JANUARY 10 - Turkey's diplomatic efforts are continuing in early 2018 to reduce tensions with EU nations after numerous crises over the past year. A few days after a Paris meeting between French president Emmanuel Macron and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that that his Austrian counterpart, Karin Kneissl, would be visiting Turkey on January 25. Kneissl is a member of the new government under Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who as foreign minister had been a leading player in standoffs against Ankara. The meeting between the two, after telephone calls in recent days, will be held on Buyukada, the largest of Princes' Islands just off Istanbul, where Kneissel spent periods during her childhood. "Her desire to restore relations with Turkey seems sincere", Cavusoglu said, who on Saturday went to Germany for another 'detente' visit of a symbolic nature to Goslar, the hometown of his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel. (ANSAmed)
His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA), has officially inaugurated Swiss luxury goods group Richemonts new operations centre, the latest and most advanced facility in DAFZA.

The inauguration event was attended by Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General of DAFZA, the Swiss Ambassador to the UAE Maya Tissafi and Dr. Christoph Thomet, Chief Operating Officer of Richemont Middle East & India, along with senior officials and executives of Dubai Government, DAFZA, Richemont and Richemont business partners.

The Richemont Operations Center (ROC) is a pioneering project, as for the first time, DAFZA has purpose-built a facility based on a client's specific requirements. The unique facility, designed with more than 700 technical specifications and over 2,000 shop drawings, is the result of the close and strategic collaboration between DAFZA and Richemont. It provides key services for the Richemont Maisons including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Montblanc among others, retailing across the Middle East and India region in more than 100 own and partner-operated boutiques.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of DAFZA, commented: We profoundly welcome Richemonts great commitment towards their strategic growth in Dubai, UAE and the region which will further enhance Dubais positioning as the home of the most prestigious luxury brands in the world. Over the last two decades, DAFZA has stood out as being the most preferred free zone for multinational companies, driving and shaping the economic growth of the emirate. DAFZAs constructing a built-to-suit facility for Richemont demonstrates free zones vital role in enabling growth of multinational companies. We praise such collaborations between free zones and highly valued clients such as Richemont.

Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni said, Dubai Airport Freezone is very pleased with the results of working closely with Richemont in the development of this new, technologically advanced facility to meet their growing operational requirements. The highest technology material and latest techniques were utilized in the construction to ensure that every facet of the building conforms to their global standards and international best practices.

Covering a total built-up area of about 4,500 square meters, the three-story, freestanding ROC building in DAFZA enables Richemont to deliver world-class services and is designed for optimal workflows and efficiency to enable shorter delivery times. It comprises a regional logistics facility, Grade A office spaces, a state-of-the-art customer service centre that serve more than 20 countries as well as a regional data centre.

Benefiting from plenty of natural light, the building was designed with a focus on the well-being of Richemont employees. Employee-focused design highlights include an expansive breakout area with an outdoor terrace, as well as various sizes of casual and formal meeting areas to create a collaborative environment. The facility also has a prayer room, providing a dedicated space for prayers.

Dr. Christoph Thomet said, We are delighted to partake in the official opening of our new operations centre in DAFZA under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum and in presence of H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, which marks another milestone in realizing our vision to create a facility of tomorrow. We would like to extend our sincerest gratitude and appreciation to our partner DAFZA for their strong support in making ROC a reality.

The facility, which is constructed in line with green and sustainability standards, features an urban, industrial-chic design with concrete floors, grey slate stones, mat-black metal and natural rustic wood furniture with an open ceiling, providing an open spacious and soothing feel.

Dr. Al Zarooni added, ROC is the best example of what the long-standing partnership between DAFZA and Richemont can accomplish as we strive to achieve our shared goal of driving national growth and prosperity in this complex age of borderless world. As part of our vision of a 'Freezone that goes beyond' and in line with our belief that customer satisfaction and service excellence is the way for our partners growth, DAFZA will continue to extend its support and provide the needed infrastructure and services to all its strategic partners. Richemont is one such valuable partner, where supporting their growth, seamless operations and productivity is paramount for our organisation.
Last month, bank's board had approved raising Rs 8,000 crore through various sources.

The bank, however, did not specify whether the borrowing would be in rupee denomination or dollar.

New Delhi: Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday said it proposes to raise Rs 5,000 crore through long term bonds to fund affordable housing.

The proposed bond raising programme aims at funding infrastructure and affordable housing, SBI said in a filing to stock exchanges.

The bank will seek approval of the board for issuance of long term bonds of Rs 5,000 crore for financing of infrastructure and affordable housing in domestic and overseas market, it said.

The bank, however, did not specify whether the borrowing would be in rupee denomination or dollar. The executive committee of the central board is scheduled to have a meeting on January 17, it added.

On Monday, the bank announced plans to raise up to USD 2 billion (over Rs 12,600 crore) by issuing bonds in US dollar or other convertible currency over two fiscals to fund overseas expansion.

It said the fund-raising will take place through a public offer and/or private placement of senior unsecured notes in US Dollar or any other convertible currency during 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Last month, the bank's board had approved raising Rs 8,000 crore through various sources, including masala bonds, to meet Basel III capital norms.

Masala bonds are rupee denominated specialised debt instruments that can be floated in overseas markets only to raise capital. The bank said it has time till March 2018 to raise the funds.

Banks in India have to comply with the global capital norms under Basel III by March 2019. Internationally agreed time frame for the same is January 2019.
According to Mr Ambani, only few standalone engineering procurement construction players may bid considering the size of the project.

It would be financed through market borrowings, private investments and central road fund. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

MUMBAI: The stringent eligibility criteria prescribed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for its highway monetisation programme according to experts would restrict competition and attract bids only from large and serious players.

In order to increase external funding for the cash-starved highway projects, NHAI has recently invited bids for nine operational highways valued at Rs 6,300 crore.

Considering the high upfront amount involved and strict bidding criteria, the bidding is likely to elicit interest only from serious and large developers. Given the technical and financial prerequisites, competition would be likely restricted. Few road contractors have expressed interest and 7-8 players are likely to bid for this bundle of nine projects, said Amar Ambani, head of research at IIFL.

Under the new toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model, infrastructure players are provided with the right to collect toll for a specific time period against an upfront lump sum payment.

Among the eligibility criteria for bidders include a minimum net worth or assets under management (AuM) of Rs 2,500 crore as at the end of FY17 and an upfront bid security amount of Rs 62 crore.

According to Mr Ambani, only few standalone engineering procurement construction players may bid considering the size of the project.

As per some of the developers, the issue with the project is the tenure which stands at 30 years in this case. The bank funding is available only for a maximum tenure of 20-25 years, which creates a big divide. This issue may have to be resolved either by reducing the tenure or arranging long term funding, he added.

In October 2017, the government approved Rs 7 lakh crore worth of highway projects including the Bharatmala programme under which over 80,000 km of highways would be built over the next five years.

It would be financed through market borrowings, private investments and central road fund.
On Jan 1, a youth was killed in a clash between 2 groups during an event to mark 200 yrs of Bhima-Koregaon battle that took place near Pune.

Taking cognisance of the matter, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had earlier ordered a CID probe into the death and also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased. (Photo: ANI)

Pune: Police have arrested 43 people, including three minors, so far in connection with caste violence that erupted in Pune's Bhima-Koregaon village and engulfed the state of Maharashtra.

All accused were arrested from Pune on the basis of cases registered against them, said Pune police.

On January 1, a youth was killed in a clash between two groups during an event to mark 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon battle that took place near Pune.

The incident led to violent protests across the state, including Mumbai.

Taking cognisance of the matter, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier ordered a Crime Investigation Department (CID) probe into the death and also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased.

In the aftermath, a day-long 'Maharashtra bandh' was also called by various Dalit organisations on January 3.
Indrani also alleged that she suspected Peter created circumstances and framed her, leading to her arrest in the case.

Peter Mukerjea, in a written reply to the special court in Mumbai, said 'Indrani was plotting a sinister conspiracy to drag his name into the murder case.' (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The former driver of Indrani Mukerjea, Shyamvar Rai on Tuesday told a special CBI court that Indrani Mukerjea spoke to Peter Mukerjea on the phone during the recce of the spot where her daughter Sheena Bora's body was eventually dumped.

Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the April 2012 Sheena Bora murder case had in November, 2017, alleged that her husband and former media baron Peter, with the help of accused-turned-approver Shyamvar Rai and other persons had abducted Sheena and caused her disappearance.

Indrani also alleged that she suspected Peter created circumstances and framed her, leading to her arrest in the case.

Indrani had also sought the Call Data Records (CDR) of Peters phone to ascertain if he was in touch with other persons who caused the disappearance of Sheena.

Peter had termed the allegations made by his wife as false and defamatory before a special CBI court.

Peter, in a written reply to the special court in Mumbai, said "Indrani was plotting a sinister conspiracy to drag his name into the murder case."

Soon after Peter's statement, Indrani withdrew her allegations but insisted on getting Peters call data records.

As per the prosecutions case Sheena was murdered on April 24, 2012.

According to the chargesheet, Peter Mukerjea was in London at the time of the incident and Indrani was also in the UK and came to Mumbai a few days before Sheenas murder.

(With inputs from ANI)
Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the increase over the past two years, of nearly 40,000, is a record expansion since Independence.

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday stated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increased Indias Haj quota by 5,000, the second hike in two years, taking the number of pilgrims who can perform Haj from the country to 1,75,025.

Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the increase over the past two years, of nearly 40,000, is a record expansion since Independence. The increase in Indias quota will be effective from Haj to be held later this year. Saudi Arabia last year increased Indias quota by 35,000. In 2017, the Haj quota was 1,70,025.

The minority affairs minister attributed the increase to Prime Minister Narendra Modis growing popularity and Indias improved ties with Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations under his leadership.

It is a record expansion after Independence. The Modi government has been fulfilling the socio-economic, religious needs with honesty, without appeasement politics, Mr Naqvi told agencies.

Three years ago, during the Congress regime, Indias Haj quota was about 1,36,020, which has been increased to a record 1,75,025 in the past two years, he added.

He said about 3.55 lakh people have applied for Haj this year, adding that for the first time Muslim women will go to Haj without Mehram (male companion).

More than 1,300 women have applied to go for Haj without Mehram and they will be exempted from lottery system and allowed to proceed for Haj.
Turki told reporters that his forefathers had migrated from the Kutch region of Gujarat to Tanzania about 185 years ago.

New Delhi: Tanzanian MP of Indian origin Salim Hasan Turki on Tuesday said he had raised the issue of cow vigilantism and resultant danger to Indias pluralist ethos with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in a separate meeting. Mr Turki, who is of Gujarati Muslim origin, participated in the PIO Parliamentarian Conference in the capital, but refrained from mentioning the issue in his address on the dais.

He lavished praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but said he had told Ms Swaraj that cow vigilantism was a nasoor (the Hindi word for a life-threatening situation) for the country.

Speaking later to a few reporters, he said, People are being killed. This is not healthy for the nation. The government is quiet. This is very dangerous for this nation. I raised the issue with Ms Sushma Swaraj one-on-one, the MP said. If my message is reaching the PM, it should be taken very seriously, he added, pointing out that India had always been well-known for the amity in which people of different faiths lived.

The MP said he had, however, been told by the Indian government that India is a tolerant country and that there have been very few cases of cow vigilantism and that the respective governments had acted promptly to punish the culprits. He said he was also told that the situation in this regard is well under control.

Asked why he had not raised the matter from the dais when he was called upon to speak as a delegate, the MP said he did not want to spread negative vibes from the podium and bring a bad name to the countrys image in front of the other delegates. He also made it clear that despite being a Tanzanian MP, he continued to have a strong emotional bond with India as he was of Indian origin.

Mr Turki told reporters that his forefathers had migrated from the Kutch region of Gujarat to Tanzania about 185 years ago.

The Tanzanian legislator also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the various steps taken for the welfare of the country.
The Naga Hoho (supreme tribal council) is an influential, common decision-making platform of the Nagas.

New Delhi: The Naga Hoho has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his help to postpone the forthcoming Nagaland state Assembly polls, saying that the longstanding Naga issue should be resolved first.

In a memorandum written on Monday, the Hoho sought the postponement on the ground of the prevalence of an exceptional situation in the state on account of the ongoing negotiations for a peace accord with the militant group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) (NSCN-IM). The Naga Hoho (supreme tribal council) is an influential, common decision-making platform of the Nagas.

The NSCN-IMs key demand is to integrate Naga-inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur, which is seen as an apparent climb-down from its demand for independence. Stating that the Naga peace accord is more important than polls, the Hoho said in the letter: It has become imperative that the elections to the legislative assembly of Nagaland be deferred for peace and tranquility. Polls are due in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura in March and an announcement of dates by the Election Commission is expected in early February.

The Centre and the NSCN (IM) had signed a framework agreement in 2015 although talks for a resolution of issues had been ongoing since 1997 after the insurgent outfit signed a ceasefire agreement with the government. Reminding the PM about his statement, soon after assuming office in 2014, that the Naga issue would be resolved in 18 months, the Naga Hoho said almost three years have gone without finding any tangible solution.
30 per cent local sourcing norms will be eased for 5 yrs to help MNCs.

The move will allow foreign airlines to bid for a stake in Air India, which the government is planning to divest.

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday allowed foreign airlines to buy a stake of up to 49 per cent in troubled state-run carrier Air India and tweaked the foreign investment rules in single-brand retail, construction and power exchanges.

The move comes shortly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the World Economic Forums annual meeting at Davos, Switzerland, later this month where 60 head of state or government and top global CEOs will be present. The liberalisation in FDI rules is expected to send a message to investors that India is still on the path of reforms despite growth falling to a four-year low in 2017-18 after moves like demonetisation. Mr Modi, who will the first Indian PM in over 20 years to attend the WEF event, will meet around 120 CEOs of top multinational corporations there.

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to bring Air India at par with private airlines operating in the country by allowing foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in the national carrier. However, substantial ownership and effective control of Air India will remain vested in Indian nationals. The move will allow foreign airlines to bid for a stake in Air India, which the government is planning to divest.

The Cabinet allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment in single-brand retail through the automatic route and eased the 30 per cent local sourcing norms for five years, which should help companies like Apple to set shop in the country. Currently, while 100 per cent FDI was allowed in single-brand retail, foreign investment beyond 49 per cent needed government permission.

As per the relaxed sourcing norms, a foreign retailer will be able to get credit from incremental increase in sourcing for its global operations from India towards the 30 per cent mandatory local sourcing requirement.

After the completion of this five-year period, the retailer will be required to meet the 30 per cent sourcing norms directly towards its Indias operation. What the government has said is that single-brand retailers, who are also sourcing from India for their global markets for the incremental increase in their global sourcing, will be given credit for five years, said DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek. The move is likely to help retailers by giving them adequate time to set up their supply chain for local souring in India, said Rajat Wahi, partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

As per the existing procedures, FDI proposals under the automatic route from countries of concern (Pakistan and Bangladesh) are processed by the Unionhome ministry. It has now been decided that such proposals would be processed by the department of industrial policy and promotion. However, cases under the government approval route, also requiring security clearance with respect to countries of concern, will continue to be processed by the concerned administrative department.

The Cabinet decided to clarify that real-estate broking service does not amount to real estate business, and is therefore, eligible for 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route.

Foreign investment rules have also been liberalised in case of power exchanges, an online platform where electricity is traded. Currently, the policy provides for 49 per cent FDI under the automatic route in power exchanges. However, FIIs purchases were restricted to the secondary market only. It has now been decided to do away with this provision, thereby allowing FIIs/FPIs to invest in power exchanges through the primary market as well, said an official statement. The Cabinet also relaxed the FDI policy for medical devices and audit firms associated with companies that get overseas funds.
The police had got a tip-off that Pandey was in the city in connection with his work, he said.

He was handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which probed the case. He will be produced before a court on Thursday.

Ahmedabad: An accused in the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case, absconding for almost 16 years, was arrested in the city on Wednesday, the police said.

Ashish Pandey, one of the five absconding accused in the case, was arrested from Aslali locality by Crime Branch sleuths, a police official said.

A mob had attacked Gulberg Society, a pre-dominantly Muslim colony here, on February 28, 2002, killing 69 persons, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. It was one of the worst incidents of violence during the post-Godhra riots.

Pandey was absconding ever since he was named as an accused in the FIR lodged in 2002 after the incident. He lived in Naroda locality with his family, but had fled to evade arrest and thereafter lived in different cities including Haridwar and Vapi and worked in the transport business, said the official.

The police had got a tip-off that Pandey was in the city in connection with his work, he said.

He was handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which probed the case. He will be produced before a court on Thursday.

A special court for SIT cases had, in June 2016, convicted 24 persons in the Gulberg case, awarding life imprisonment to 11 of them. Thirty-six others were acquitted.

With the arrest of Pandey, four more accused are still at large.
A CID investigation is being conducted in the case.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Centre and Karnataka government for a probe by a special investigation team into the killing of noted scholar M.M. Kalburgi in Dharwad, Karnataka, in August 2013.

A bench of Chief Justi-ce Dipak Misra and Justi-ces A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud also is-sued a notice to the natio-nal investigation team on the petition filed by Umadevi Kalburgi, who alleged that the investigation conducted so far into her husbands killing was in a sorry state. A CID investigation is being conducted in the case.

She sought an investigation by a special team of the Karnataka police, under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court or high court judge. She said that since the three murders  of her husba-nd and activists in Mahar-ashtra, Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar  were inter-connected, a direction should be issued to Maharashtra, Karn-ataka, Goa, the CBI and the NIA to conduct a coordinated probe into Kalburgis murder.

She pointed out that the present probe for the last three years had not yielded any result despite assurances from the state that the biggest manhunt by the state CID was underway. She alleg-ed that the same organisation and the very same shooters behind the murders of activists Govind Pansare on February 16, 2015, in Kolhapur and Narendra Dabholkar on August 20, 2013, in Pune were behind her husbands murder.

All the three were abused, threatened by certain sections of society, she said. She said the same shooters might be involved in the Goa bomb blasts of 2009 and may have already fled the country. She feared that the probe into her husbands murder would casually drift towards its conclusion with the possibility of the offenders going unpunished.

Every offence is a crime against society... yet there are some species of ghastly, revolting and villainous violations of the invaluable right to life which leaves all sensible and right-minded persons of the society shell-shocked and traumatised, she said.
The bench passed its order after going through the report of the supervisory panel it had appointed in August last year.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to appoint a new three-member Special Investigation Team to probe 186 anti-Sikh riot cases that were closed by an earlier government-appointed SIT without any probe.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said the three-member SIT would be headed by a former high court judge and have a former IPS officer not below the rank of IG and a serving IPS officer.

The bench, which also included Justices A.M. Kanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, said it would notify the names of the SIT on Thursday.

The bench passed its order after going through the report of the supervisory panel it had appointed in August last year.

The panel, which included former Supreme Court judges Justice J.M. Panchal and Justice K.S.P. Radhakrishnan, and a retired IPS officer, was asked to scrutinise the decision of the SIT to close 241 cases related to 1984 anti-Sikh riots and submit a report. The panels confidential report was submitted to SC in a leather box with a number lock system.

In its brief order on Wednesday, the bench said the panel has found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation. Therefore, a new SIT was being set up to probe these cases afresh.

A total of 3,325 people were killed in the 1984 riots. Delhi alone accounted for 2,733 deaths, while the rest occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other states.

The reopening of the anti-Sikh riot cases could have political ramifications in the run up to 2019 general elections.

Despite promises made before every election, and at least 12 inquiry commissions and committees, justice hasnt been delivered to the victims of the massacre.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal hailed the Supreme Courts decision and said, Thirty-three years have been lost. Many witnesses have passed away. Many others have become very old and infirm. We must ensure speedy trials to ensure those who perpetrated the anti-Sikh genocide do not escape justice.

The new SIT, he added, should inquire into the functioning of officers of the Delhi Police who are alleged to have deliberately weakened cases against several Congress leaders.

Amnesty India tweeted, Great news! This Supreme Court order rekindles hopes of justice for the 1984 Sikh massacre. The new SIT must not repeat the first teams mistakes. Investigations must be transparent and time-bound.

The Narendra Modi government at the Centre had constituted a committee headed by G.P. Mathur on December 23, 2014, to examine the anti-Sikh cases pending since 1984. On the committees recommendation an SIT was set up on February 12, 2015, comprising IPS officer Pramod Asthana, former district judge Rakesh Kapoor and additional DCP Kumar Gyanesh.

On March 24, 2017, the apex court had asked the Centre to put before it the files pertaining to the cases of the anti-Sikh riots which the SIT had decided to close. It was submitted that so far chargesheets had been filed in only four cases and there was inordinate delay in the probe. Further, 241 out of 293 cases had been closed by the SIT without any justification.

Responding to the petitioners allegation of delay in the probe, the Centre informed the court that the government has all the right intention to render justice to the riot victims as early as possible. Explaining the inordinate delay alleged by the petitioner and consequent weakening of cases, the home ministry admitted that the lapse of 33-years was taking a toll on collection of relevant documents and case files from police stations and courts.

In many cases, documents were in Urdu or Gurmukhi, which delayed their scrutiny, it said.

Nagendar Sharma, media advisor to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, 1984 riots is a clear case of Indias two big parties having worked in tandem to scuttle any serious investigation into the worst riots in Delhis history in which at least 2,800 people were massacred in Delhi alone. You save us in 1984  well save you in 2002.
She urged the youth of Kashmir to shun the path of violence and respect the Indian Constitution and that of the state.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said that the people of the restive state will gain only from India and not from anywhere else, an obvious reference to Pakistan.

If we are not agreeing with the J&K Constitution and Indian Constitution, then what do we believe in? What would you gain from such a stance? she asked while speaking in the state Assembly currently in its Budget Session in winter capital Jammu. Today, I would like to bring on record that the people of the state would gain from only India and not from anywhere else, she said.

She urged the youth of Kashmir to shun the path of violence and respect the Indian Constitution and that of the state. She also said that the state Assembly is the most empowered one in the country.

Ours is the most empowered Assembly in the country. Goods & Services Tax was implemented in entire country at once except J&K where it was implemented only after proper debate in this Assembly, she said.

She said that utmost care has to be taken so that Kashmir issue is not highlighted as a religious one more particularly because the religious diversity is the strength of the people of the state.

She, once again, appealed to India and Pakistan to resume dialogue so that the ongoing bloodshed in J&K comes to an end.

Resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan is the only way forward to end the bloodshed in Kashmir, she said.
BJP president Amit Shah is also expected to attend this meeting.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold a dinner meeting with BJP general secretaries on Thursday where organisation related issues, including partys preparation for the coming Assembly elections in key states, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, could be discussed.

In all, seven states will go to polls this year. BJP president Amit Shah is also expected to attend this meeting. BJP leaders, sources said, could also give their feedback on various organisational related issues to the Prime Minister, as well as about the impact of key schemes of the NDA government.

Under Mr Shahs leadership, BJPs main focus has been on strengthening and expanding the organisation in all states, including the Northeastern and Southern states. All general secretaries were given the charge of few states and were asked to seek feedback from the ground on various issues. Mr Shah himself had visited almost all state units of the party last year for a reality check of BJPs organisational strength ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. General secretaries including P. Murlidhar Rao, Saroj Pandey, Ram Madhav, Bhupendra Yadav, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Anil Jain and Arun Singh are expected to attend the meeting. BJP general secretary (organisation) Ramlal and joint general secretaries V. Satish, Saudan Singh, BL Santosh and Shivprakash are also expected to attend the meeting.
It turns out that American holidaymaker Steve Cho had overdosed on Viagra and had to be stopped by six security guards.

The crazed holidaymaker Steve Cho was eventually restrained by six security guards in the departure hall of Phuket International Airport. (Youtube Screengrab)

In a bizarre incident, an American tourist who had 'taken too many sex drugs' was arrested after rampaging through an airport yelling incoherently and throwing his feces at the staff present there.

The crazed holidaymaker Steve Cho was eventually restrained by six security guards in the departure hall of Phuket International Airport, Thailand, having allegedly overdosed n Viagra.

He was strolling around naked while smashing airport shop goods.

The 27-year-old, from New York, who underwent a psychiatric assessment following his arrest, is said to have told police he had 'taken too many sex drugs' including viagra before the incident which saw him throw his own excrement at terrified travelers.

In an article published in MailOnline, one onlooker Wannee Ming, 28, said that it was the scariest and most disgusting thing she ever saw at an airport.

Cho reportedly apologized for the outburst and agreed to pay any damages.

A statement from Phuket International Airport said that officers had to arrest the man.

Cho was taken to the local police station before officers sent him to a nearby hospital for medical checks and a routine psychiatric assessment.
Videos of people experimenting with this new hair dye which changes colour with a rise or fall in temperature are all over the Internet.

You are casually scrolling through your Facebook feed and something magnificent catches your eye. A woman with a head full of shifting rainbows for hair is running a blow-dryer over it and parts of her hair are changing from royal purple to bright pink or from a vibrant green to lemon yellow. And, before you know it, you are glued to the screen! You start looking for more of these videos, imagining just how amazing it would look on you.

Videos of people experimenting with this new hair dye which changes colour with a rise or fall in temperature are all over the Internet. While it looks stunning, salon professionals as well as dermatologists seem to strictly recommend against it.

Celebrity hair stylist Sachin has an interesting opinion. He says, If you notice, only a minor brand in the US has come out with this product and no world-renowned brand has launched it. Its because they wouldnt want to risk it. If the colour of the dye changes due to temperature, it means the chemical potency of the product is very high. This is the reason why we, even in our salons, dont offer a service like keratin treatment, as a matter of principal. It is very damaging for the hair. So that is why even top brands like LOreal or Schwarzkopf dont have keratin products, and would never introduce such a product, as not much is known about how safe it is.

Dr Rekha Singh, a senior consultant dermatologist at Oliva Skin and Hair Clinics, says, The company itself claims that the dye is less toxic, so it is definitely toxic to some extent.

With just one application it may not do much damage but those who colour their hair, usually have to keep doing it repeatedly. So in the long term, it may not be good at all. Minor absorption through the skin is always possible, even with regular hair dyes. When a person washes their hair, the dye comes on to their bodies and skin, and as a dermatologist, we have had so many cases of pigmentation problems due to hair colour. If regular hair dyes itself are so toxic, something as drastic as one that changes colour with temperature can only be more toxic, she says.

Another celebrity hairdresser from Hyderabad, Vijaykanth Alex, agrees. Chemical processing is 100 per cent there. But also, since this has been made in the US, they would have considered the hair texture and colour of their people. It may be even more detrimental for Indians because our hair and skin differs from them. That is why even shampoos of international companies, when bought here, will differ from the same shampoo bought in another country, explains Alex.

So, would you say nay or yay to rainbow hair?

The chemicals that are there in hair dyes can cause the shaft of the hair to become weak and break. Once the hair colour makes the hair dry, even something as simple as combing or brushing can break the hair

 Dr Anup Kumar,

dermatologist, Apollo Hospitals

There have been studies, not definite but only retrospective ones, which have linked hair colouring to bladder cancer. It isnt a direct study though. They would have taken samples of around 2,000 people who do suffer from bladder cancer and if they see in their history that all of them had coloured their hair, then they conclude it.

 Dr Rekha Singh, Senior consultant

dermatologist
Aam Aadmi Party is trying to create a base in Maharashtra since his inception.

Mumbai: Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal will visit Maharashtra to attend the birth anniversary of Jijabai, the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji, on January 12. The event will be held in Sindkhed Raja, Buldhana where Jijabai was born in late 15th century.

The visit can be looked at as a way for him to kick-start his partys campaign and to make his partys presence felt in the state.

Mr Kejriwal is expected to reach Aurangabad on January 11 late evening and will reach Sindhkhed Raja by road on January 12. Every year, many followers of Shivaji, the 16th century Maratha king and founder of the Maratha Empire, visit the town on the border of Vidarbha to pay homage to Jijabai.

Mr Kejriwal will follow suit. Later, he is scheduled to address a rally in the town.

Preeti Sharma Menon, national spokesperson, AAP confirmed the event and said that many political leaders, including Brigadier Sudhir Sawant, his supporters and former officers will be present for the rally.

We now have presence in 240 of the 288 constituencies in Maharashtra. We are moving fast and people are joining us from all corners. January 12 will be the day we convey it to the state that we are now prepared for joining the battle in the state. We will focus on all elections scheduled in Maharashtra hereafter.

Mr Kejriwal will make important political announcements in this direction, said Ms Menon.

Aam Aadmi Party is trying to create a base in Maharashtra since his inception. But a few years back, the party had to dissolve its entire state body after internal differences came out in public. Now, the party has decided to focus on Maharashtra again as it is believes that the large urban part of the state could prove to be a fertile ground for them to make their party grow.

The event slated for January 12 could be a part of his strategy to gain foothold in the state.
A preliminary probe revealed that Sawant had been involved in a dispute with Jagga, for which the latter threatened him several times.

Mumbai: Sohail Dodhiya and Ganesh Jogadand, the two arrested in the case relating to the murder of former Shiv Sena corporator Ashok Sawant, were remanded on Tuesday to police custody till January 18. The Samata Nagar police at Kandivali made the arrests based on the CCTV camera footage following the murder. Sawant was stabbed to death at the Thakur Complex in Kandivali late on Sunday. The police nabbed two persons following the incident. A murder case has been registered against and further investigation is underway.

Investigators are trying to trace the whereabouts of the three attackers, who hacked Sawant to death. They also include Jagdish Pawar, alias Jagga, who had issued threats to Sawant for unknown reasons. Meanwhile, officials have ruled out the possibility of the murder over a cable business or a redevelopment project. We have secured their further custody and we will lookout for the attackers. The motive is unclear as of now. All accused are known to each other but Pawars arrests is important for clarity on the motive, said a senior police officer.

A preliminary probe revealed that Sawant had been involved in a dispute with Jagga, for which the latter threatened him several times. Sawant had even lodged a complaint regarding this.
HardCastle Restaurants, which runs the McDonald's franchise in Southern and Western states said they are looking into the matter seriously.

According to the Food Safety Standards Act, hotels and restaurants should see to it that the kitchen conditions, as well as the cleanliness and hygiene of the chefs should be of good standard. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: The state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned popular quick service restaurant McDonald's as one of its outlets in the central region of the city has allegedly breached food safety standards.

The FDA had reportedly conducted a "surprise check" on the McDonald's outlet in High Street Phoenix at Lower Parel for alleged violation of the Food Safety Standards Act, by cooking in unhygienic conditions, and for not displaying its licence copy prominently.

They subsequently sent a warning notice to the restaurant chain, saying if the conditions were not improved over the next 15 days stern action will be taken.

HardCastle Restaurants, which runs the McDonald's franchise in the Southern and Western states said they are looking into the matter seriously.

"As a part of a routine investigation we have received some queries from the FDA. We have already submitted our response to the points raised," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the Food Safety Standards Act, hotels and restaurants should see to it that the kitchen conditions, as well as the cleanliness and hygiene of the chefs should be of good standard.
At Juhu Tara Road, a minor fire erupted on the third floor of Suraj Cooperative Housing Society.

Mumbai: The spate of incidents of fire continued unabated on Tuesday, with the city witnessing up to nine such occurrences within a span of 24 hours. However, none of the fires were major and there were no casualties.

A fire broke out at Dockyard Road, gutting seven shops and setting off a chain of similar such incidents elsewhere across Mumbai. The blaze started around 12.20 am in an iron workshop at Shukla Chawl, Jamalia building, and soon spread to nearby shops even as the fire brigade declared it a level II call. Six fire tenders and four jumbo water tankers were pressed into dousing the fire which was brought under control by 1.37am. The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) fire station engine, too, was deployed for the fire-fighting operation. According to the officials, the fire spread to seven godowns and shops situated in the building.

Another fire broke out around 6.25am at Anugrah Hotel, Gokhale Road, Dadar. Officials said that a piece of cloth fell into an utensil kept on heat in the restaurant. Not only did the cloth catch fire, it was chucked into stacks of food grains, causing it to spread across the entire kitchen. No casualty was reported however.

At Juhu Tara Road, a minor fire erupted on the third floor of Suraj Cooperative Housing Society. However, firemen brought it under control immediately using four fire engines.

Minor fires were also reported at Dadar Phool Market, Bhuleshwar, Worli and Kandivali west. Around 5.37pm, a shop located at Amboli Naka on SV Road caught fire.
Baljinder Singh, 43, from Carteret, New Jersey became a naturalised citizen in 2006 after marrying his American wife.

President Donald Trump has stepped up a broader crackdown on illegal immigration since taking office in January 2017. (Photo: AP/File)

New York: A naturalised American from India has been stripped of his US citizenship, the first case under a government initiative designed to clamp down on fraudulent immigration, widened under the Trump administration.

Baljinder Singh, 43, from Carteret, New Jersey became a naturalised citizen in 2006 after marrying his American wife.

But he arrived in the United States in 1991, flying into San Francisco without travel documents or proof of identity, giving his name as Davinder Singh, the Justice Department said.

He dodged a subsequent court hearing and was ordered to be deported in January 1992.

A month later he filed for asylum under the name Baljinder Singh, which he then abandoned after getting married.

Last Friday, a federal judge in New Jersey revoked his naturalisation, reverting him back to lawful permanent resident, which means that he can be subject to removal proceedings.

"I hope this case, and those to follow, send a loud message that attempting to fraudulently obtain US citizenship will not be tolerated," said US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Francis Cissna, a Trump administration appointee.

The Justice Department said it was the first denaturalisation under Operation Janus, a long-running Department of Homeland Security initiative against fraudulent immigration.

Last September the initiative identified 315,000 cases where fingerprint data was missing, raising concerns that at least some may have tried to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in the naturalization process.

The USCIS has plans to refer 1,600 other cases for prosecution.

The government filed the complaint against Singh last September, along with two other cases against Pakistan-born naturalised citizens in Connecticut and Florida.

President Donald Trump has stepped up a broader crackdown on illegal immigration since taking office in January 2017.

On Monday, the US government announced the end of a special protected status for about 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants, which threatens with deportation tens of thousands of well-established families with children born in the United States.
This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.

US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: PTI/File)

Washington: US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his 'America First' agenda with world leaders," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

She said Trump looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen "American businesses, American industries, and American workers".

Details of the president's trip to Davos, including bilateral meetings, are being worked out, Sanders said.

"We're finalising the details on exactly when the president will be there. We don't have any commitments beyond this year at this point," she said, adding that the White House is looking forward to be part of the process.

"The president's message is very much the same here as it will be there; just the same as it was here, as it was when he made many stops in Asia. This is very much an America First agenda," Sanders said.

She said Trump is "still 100 per cent focused and committed' to promoting policies that strength American businesses and the American worker.

"That's going to be the same whether he's in the US or any other place," Sanders said.

Several senior members of the Cabinet and administration will be part of this event, she said.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place later this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World'.

Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two-day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.
The NRP, set to be published by the Pentagon, will be the first update of Americas nuclear doctrine in eight years.

Washington: The Trump administration plans to loosen constraints on the use of nuclear weapons and develop a more usable, low-yield nuclear warhead for US Trident missiles, according a report in the Guardian.

The news report quoted Jon Wolfsthal, a former special assistant to Barack Obama on arms control and non-proliferation, who claimed to have seen a draft of the new Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) that is expected to be revealed sometime after President Donald Trumps State of the Union address in late January.

The NRP, set to be published by the Pentagon, will be the first update of Americas nuclear doctrine in eight years.

The final draft of the key strategy, according to Mr Wolfsthal, is pretty hawkish, despite the fact that some of the more aggressive suggestions from an initial variant have been dropped.

Mr Wolfsthal told the newspaper that he had seen a copy of the final draft of the NPR which proposed the creation of the new weapon as well as revising the terms of use for weapons which would include attacks against national infrastructure or nuclear sites. He also said that earlier drafts of the document had been even more extreme, with plans for the development of hyper-glide missiles that could travel at speeds of up to 25,000kph being dropped.

My read is this is a walk-back from how extreme it was early on. It doesnt have as much terrible stuff in it as it did originally, Mr Wolfsthal told the Guardian. But its still bad.

Since taking office, Mr Trump has been vocal in his support for nuclear weapons, having talked about increasing the US stockpile and also having threatened North Korea with fire and fury like the world has never seen. Mr Trump has also suggested he would build weapons that would breach the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia.
Pakistans economy is currently stable and growing, says senior World Bank economist Muhammad Waheed.

Islamabad: Washingtons freeze on billions in military assistance to Pakistan will have limited impact, thanks to its friendship with China and diminishing importance of aid to the economy, observers say  but there could be trouble if the US calls in its debts.

Exasperated by what it considers Islamabads neglect in cracking down on militancy, Donald Trumps administration last week announced a suspension of the aid, which also also goes towards Afghanistan coalition funding.

They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more! President Donald Trump tweeted on New Years Day.

A senior official told AFP that up to $2 billion of equipment and funding was at stake.

However, with US aid declining significantly in recent years, the economy improving and Beijing just a phone call away, sources told AFP the negative effects would be marginal in the short to medium term.

International aid is not big in comparison with the (size of the) countrys economy, one Islamabad-based diplomat said. Means of pressure are limited.

Former finance minister Hafeez Pasha says after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, aid increased substantially, approaching $3-4 billion annually at its peak in 2010.

From there onwards, its been declining very sharply. Last year, it was around $750 million, he said, a figure that when compared with the economy is not a lot.

But officials in Washington have also hinted to AFP that they have other cards to play  such as calling in vital IMF loans.

Pakistans economy is currently stable and growing, says senior World Bank economist Muhammad Waheed.

But it is also financed through the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank  all institutions to which Washington is a major creditor.

There are structural issues like low tax revenues and growing trade deficit, which government needs to tackle, Waheed added, warning of a looming balance of payments crisis.

Pakistans foreign exchange reserves are sharply down, forcing the country to borrow if it wants to continue to grow, analysts have said.

In December, Islamabad raised $2.5 billion in international bonds, a transaction described as successful by Waheed.

But Washingtons power gives it an indirect weapon to wield over Pakistan, warned security analyst Rahimullah Yousafzai. It can use its influence in the UN Security Council, IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, he said.

The Washington-based IMF has bailed out Pakistan before, with an $11.3 billion loan package in 2008 to stave off a balance of payments crisis in a deal Islamabad abandoned in 2011.

The country received a second $6.7 billion IMF bailout package in 2013.

Pakistan needs the support of the United States... Because the US is a major shareholder of those organisations, agreed Ashfaque Hasan, an economist on Pakistans economic advisory council.

He recalled that in 1998 the IMF imposed a $20 million fine on Pakistan, hit by a credit freeze after its nuclear tests.

But weeks after the September 11 attacks on the US, the IMF released $135 million for Pakistan as it aligned itself as a major ally of Washington ahead of the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Now, however, Pakistani officials appear to believe they also have their long and growing friendship with China to play.

If the US starts to bully, blame, threaten, we have other options, says Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, referring to China, which rushed to defend Pakistans track record on militancy after the US announcement.

Questions remain over how much Beijing, which is already investing some $60 billion in Pakistani infrastructure projects and which has a horror of Islamist militancy on its borders, would be willing to prop up its all-weather friend.

But Sayed was bullish. Suspending aid, he said, is a failed formula.
The meeting came after months of confrontation over North Koreas nuclear and missile tests, with both parties seeking to dial down tensions.

Seoul: An agreement for North Korea to send athletes to the Winter Olympics in the South signals a step change in relations, analysts say, but will do little to curb Pyongyangs nuclear capabilities.

The North and South on Tuesday held their first official dialogue in more than two years, agreeing that Pyongyang would send a large delegation to next months Winter Olympics and promising further high-level talks.

The meeting came after months of confrontation over North Koreas nuclear and missile tests, with both parties seeking to dial down tensions.

Both sides wanted to win and they got it, said John Delury, a professor at Seouls Yonsei University.

Seoul and Olympic organisers have been keen for Pyongyang  which boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in South Koreas capital  to take part in what they have repeatedly proclaimed as a peace Olympics in Pyeongchang.

But the North gave no sign it would do so until leader Kim Jong-Uns New Year speech. It pursued its banned weapons programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions, launched missiles it says are capable of reaching the US, and staged its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

North Koreas participation in the Pyeongchang Games is a tacit guarantee that it will refrain from such provocations during February and March, when the Olympics and Paralympics are held.

Seoul and Washington also agreed earlier to delay their annual joint military drills until after the events.

Go Myong-Hyun, an analyst at the Seoul-based Asan Institute of Policy Studies, said North Korea secured so-called strategic composure  shelter from a possible US military strike which has repeatedly been described as an option on the table by Trump administration officials.

Despite a handful of agreements reached Tuesday, North Korea made no promises on its nuclear and missile programmes and its chief delegate lashed out when the issue was raised.

Ri Son-Gwon told South Korean journalists that denuclearisation was not an issue for the two Koreas to discuss, saying: The target of all our nuclear and hydrogen bombs and ICBMs and all other sophisticated weapons is the US.

There were many problems to settle between the two sides, he added, warning of unexpected obstacles down the road.

Analysts say South Korea could find itself in a tight spot, sandwiched between its desire to improve ties with Pyongyang and to work with Washington to denuclearise the North.

The United States has continuously stressed that the talks should lead to efforts for the Norths complete and verifiable denuclearisation.
The militants meet at night to discuss jihad, or holy war, and plot attacks on targets in the city they know well.

Afghan policemen keeping watch following blasts at a Shia cultural centre in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group in Kabul. (Photo: AFP)

Kabul: Middle-class Afghans turned jihadists have assisted the Islamic State groups expansion from its stronghold in Afghanistans restive east to Kabul, analysts say, helping to make the capital one of the deadliest places in the country.

ISIS has claimed nearly 20 attacks across Kabul in 18 months, with cells including students, professors and shopkeepers evading Afghan and US security forces to bring carnage to the highly fortified city.

It is an alarming development for Kabuls war-weary civilians and beleaguered security forces, who are already struggling to beat back the resurgent Taliban, as well as the US counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan.

This is not just a group that has a rural bastion in eastern Afghanistan  it is staging high casualty, high visibility attacks in the nations capital and I think thats something to be worried about, said analyst Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Centre in Washington.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K), the Middle East groups affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, emerged in the region in 2014, largely made up of disaffected fighters from the Taliban and other jihadist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

It claimed its first attack in Kabul in the summer of 2016. Since then the Sunni group has struck at security forces and Shias with increasing frequency, helped by its growing network in the capital.

There is no shortage of recruits, analysts say. ISIS has successfully tapped a rich vein of extremism in Afghanistan that has existed for decades and crosses socio-economic groups  fanned by growing Internet access among urban youth.

We are talking about a generation which has been desensitised to different types of violence and violent extremism, said Borhan Osman, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

It should not come as a surprise that some of the youth inculcated in the ideology of jihadism embrace the next version of jihadism, the most violent one.

Members and supporters of ISIS cells in Kabul hide in the open, living with their families and going to classes or work every day, Osman said.

The militants meet at night to discuss jihad, or holy war, and plot attacks on targets in the city they know well  well enough to adapt to changes, such as tightened security in the wake of a massive truck bomb in May that killed around 150 people.

Its an adaptive structure reacting to the counter measures, a Western diplomat told AFP.

From May to December what we have seen is different types of attacks, smaller attacks that are getting through.

An Afghan security source previously told AFP that 20 or more IS-K cells were operating in the city.

Osman, an expert on militant networks in Afghanistan, said it was difficult to know how many IS-K fighters were in Kabul but their ranks were constantly being replenished by the groups recruitment efforts on social media as well as in universities, schools and mosques.

You cant say they are all poor  a number of them come from middle-class Kabuli families. Some are university educated. Some have a high school education, he said, adding that most have some religious education as well.

An Afghan security source agreed. The new wave of extremists is not an uneducated farmer. It is mainly people with a good level of education, he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

While the Taliban remains by far the biggest threat to Afghanistans security forces and government, IS-K has dominated headlines in recent months with attacks in Kabul, including three last month alone which killed dozens of people.

Some have come within metres of embassies and Natos Resolute Support mission, a disconcerting reply to vows by the head of US Forces-Afghanistan General John Nicholson to hunt them down until they are annihilated.

Last year the US dropped the so-called Mother of All Bombs, the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat, on ISIS strongholds in Nangarhar. That has been followed by intense aerial bombing by Afghan and US forces.

But analysts point out that the strategy has failed to destroy ISIS  and may have even pushed more militants into Kabul, where using that sort of overwhelming firepower is not an option.

The groups resilience has raised fears that Afghanistan could become a new base for ISIS fighters fleeing the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, where the group has lost swathes of territory.

But the exact nature of links between ISIS in Afghanistan and the Middle East remains unclear.

The Afghan government claims there is no connection. Analysts told AFP there is communication, and AFP reported last month that French and Algerian fighters, some arriving from Syria, had joined IS in northern Afghanistan where the group has established new bases.

Regardless of links, the goals of ISIS in the Middle East and in Afghanistan appear to be aligned: stirring up sectarian violence.

The real game is to provoke a lot of Sunni hatred towards Shias, Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told AFP.

She said she was waiting for an attack on a major Sunni mosque, whether by a frustrated Shia or by ISIS pretending to be Shias in order to inflame Sunni anger.

But, its success in the capital aside, ISIS will struggle to turn Afghanistan into a new sectarian front, predicts Kugelman, who points out that most cleavages in Afghanistan are ethnic, not sectarian.

At any rate, he says, why would you want your new front to be in a place where you have some of the most relentless levels of firepower being used against you?
Sugar down, but will 2018 be the year dairy farmers bounce back?





The dairy cattle farming industry should bounce back tin 2018 says market research firm IBISWorld.

Following a year of low prices and depressed milk production, IBISWorld said conditions have begun to stabilise while demand for domestic dairy products rises.

With the Australian dollar projected to depreciate this year, we anticipate local dairy products will become more competitive in export markets, boosting returns to domestic milk processors, which will then flow through to dairy cattle farmers, said IBISWorld Senior Industry Analyst, William McGregor.

Were also expecting an increase in the size of the national dairy cattle herd, which will drive up milk volumes, and contribute to an expected 8.0 per cent increase in revenue in 2017-18.

Things not so sweet for sugar manufacturers

Although it is expected to be a better year for dairy farmers, IBISWorld says a global oversupply in sugar is predicted for 2018, driving prices down.

Domestic sugar output is projected to decline this year following the bumper crops of 2016-17, and with two-thirds of Australian sugar destined for export markets, global conditions  including consumption not matching production growth  will contribute to revenue declines for local sugar millers, McGregor said.

Pressure on pulses

The value of vegetables grown in 2018 is predicted to slightly increase due to a strong potato and onion output. The industrys overall performance is however expected to dip with revenue forecast to decline by 13.5 per cent because of a likely drop in pulse production.

Record pulse output in 2016-17 means that although 2018s production is still projected to be high, revenue will decline with lower yields hurting pulse growers revenue.

Related articles


(Gudella/Bigstock.com) (Gudella/Bigstock.com)

Australia is set to continue to be a popular destination for visitors from all over the world with the latest figures showing that 40 million people arrived by air in 2017.According to the Australian Border Force that figure was a record and it forecasts that the number of travellers being processed at airports will rise to 50 million by 2020.The figures also show that more than 2.3 million holiday travellers arrived in Australia over the busy Christmas and New Year period.'The first weekend of the year is traditionally one of the busiest periods for our officers and 2018 was no exception, with more than 450,000 people arriving and departing between o5 and 07 January, almost 7% more than the same period last year,' said an ABF spokesman.Between 22 December 2017 and 7 January 2018, a total of 2,370,142 travellers were processed, an average of almost 140,000 per day.Almost a million of those travellers passed through Sydney International Airport, with 458,827 arrivals and 507,946 departures over the period, up 4.6% compared with 2016.A number of other airports also reported increased passenger traffic. There was an 8.7% increase in passengers at Adelaide airport to 62,251 and an 8% increase in Brisbane to 337,649.Passenger numbers at Canberra totalled 6,188 and Townsville 2,557 as both airports saw significantly increased traffic as international services have been boosted.Overall 23 December 2017 was the busiest single day of the year for ABF airport officers with 74,383 arrivals and 79,769 departures across the country. But it is getting faster and easier for visitors with almost 60% of passengers able to quickly self-process through the state of the art SmartGates.Acting Assistant Commissioner, Strategic Border Command, Tim Fitzgerald, said Australians should be assured that the ABF is well placed to deal with increasing passenger numbers and the security challenges these present.'Thanks to our advanced border screening technology, including SmartGates, and the dedication and professionalism of our officers, we are able to efficiently process large volumes of legitimate travellers while also focusing our efforts on those who pose a risk to the border,' he pointed out.'ABF officers play a critical role in identifying and processing individuals who cross our borders to ensure the safety of the Australian community and have access to a range of innovative technologies,' he added.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
A pedestrian was hit and killed while trying to push their disabled car out of the roadway on US 301 Wednesday morning.

Man hit, killed while pushing vehicle off roadway

Honda had mechanical issue while stopped behind school bus

Driver attempted to move it out of road; was hit by a dump truck

25-year-old driver suffered fatal injuries

The Florida Highway Patrol said a Honda was stopped behind a school bus that stopped to pick up kids at US 301 at St. Francis, when the vehicle had a mechanical issue and stalled.

The 25-year-old male driver got out of the Honda and began to push the disabled vehicle out of the road, when troopers said a northbound dump truck, who failed to see the Honda and pedestrian, rear-ended the vehicle.

The dump truck continued forward and collided into a van that was stopped westbound on St. Francis.

Troopers said the 25-year-old driver suffered fatal injuries and died at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills. No other injuries were reported.

Northbound US 301 is partially blocked at McIntosh Road.
Three men from Alabama have been arrested and charged in the Jan. 3 slaying of a Polk City man, a case the Polk County Sheriff said started with a Hurricane Irma damage estimate.

William Reiss shot, killed on Jan. 3; another man injured

3 suspects have been taken into custody, face several charges

At least 20 guns stolen from victims, 'sold on streets'

PREVIOUS: Guns stolen during robbery, murder

Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday that Kenley Campbell and Darril Lamar Rankin Jr., both 22, and Gerjuan Demarcus Jackson, 18, all from Mobile, are in custody.



They were charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of William Reiss and attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Kenneth Maier, who is still hospitalized. The suspects were also charged with armed burglary and grand theft, among other counts.

Judd said Jackson met Reiss while doing a hurricane estimate damage at his home last year. According to Judd, Jackson returned to the home two weeks after the damage assessment and purchased two handguns from Reiss's large collection.

Campbell, Rankin and Jackson then drove to the Berkley Road home on Jan. 3 and, according to Judd, "Jackson admitted he fired several gun shots at Reiss and at Maier."

Reiss was shot in the head four times, Judd said.



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Reiss' gun collection and a flat-screen television were removed from the home and placed in Campbell's vehicle and Reiss' Dodge truck, according to the sheriff.



When they returned to Alabama, Jackson took the victim's truck to a wooded area and set it on fire, Judd said.

Judd said Jackson admitted that about 20-25 firearms were taken from the victim's residence and that many were "sold on the streets."

"Three killers traveled to Polk City all the way from Mobile, Alabama to steal firearms," Judd said. "William Reiss was shot and murdered, and Kenneth Maier was shot and left for death. Maier is currently in the hospital fighting for his life. I can't begin to say how disgusted we are at the depravity displayed by these men."

The suspects were booked into the Mobile County Metro Jail without incident and will be extradited to Polk County at a later date. The investigation is ongoing and further charges may be filed.

Judd thanked authorities in Mobile for their assistance in the investigation and the arrests. He also thanked the State Attorney's Office for working around the clock with them on the investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service for their help in tracking Jackson down.

Reiss's daughter, Katrina Urso, said the new information provided her some comfort and relief.

To be honest, it makes more sense," Urso said. "Because, I'm like, hes a smart man. Hes not just going to let anyone in his house. Hes not going to let a stranger ... 'Here, come look at my guns.' He wouldn't do that. So, it kind've makes me feel a little better to know that piece of the puzzle, it wasnt him."



"It's hurtful," Urso concluded. "There's bad people in the world. Not everyone is bad."


A teen fatally stabbed a 34-year-old man Tuesday after the man broke into his home and attacked the teen's mother.

Teen fatally stabs mother's attacker

Gerald Gay broke into home, attacked the teen's mom

Incident occurred just after midnight on Jan. 9

Tampa police said Gerald Gay, 34, broke into the woman's home early Tuesday in a Tampa neighborhood.

Police said the two had a child together and that he forced his way into the home shortly after midnight on Wednesday, Jan. 9.

Police said the woman's three children  ages 12, 13, and 18  tried to restrain Gay when he attacked their mother.

One of the teens grabbed a steak knife and stabbed Gay several times, according to the report. He later died at a local hospital.

The family has been cooperating with police and no arrests have been made.

Police have not identified which teen stabbed Gay nor the genders of the children.
The three Manatee County men accused of abusing a shark in an incident caught on video have pleaded not guilty.

A hearing was held on Wednesday.

All three men waived their court appearances and entered written not guilty pleas.

The men, Michael Wenzel, 21, of Palmetto, Robert Benac, 28, of Bradenton and Spencer Heintz, 23, of Palmetto are facing charges of animal cruelty. Benac and Wenzel also are facing charges of illegally catching the shark.

Those charges came after a four-month long investigation into the video from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office.

The video went viral upon its release and prompted outrage on social media.

Their next court appearance is scheduled for March 6.
Volunteer Florida has announced the second round of Florida Disaster Fund grant recipients for organizations helping victims of Hurricane Irma.

Volunteer Florida has raised more than $15 million for hurricane relief

Emergency workers estimate long term recovery at 3-5 years

Funds will go to helping storm victims pay rent, mortgage, provide food

Volunteer Florida said the latest grants total $1.21 million, and organizations will receive between $5,000 and $75,000 each.



The Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church is one of the groups that will receive grant money.



"It will be huge," said Pam Garrison with the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. "One of the things we're known for is helping communities transition from response to recovery, so while we're still in that response phase, this money is going to help us do the things we need to do to help the community transition."



A few examples of services provided by some of the organizations that are receiving funding include helping people pay rent, mortgage, utilities, providing food, clothing and replacing household items, doing home repairs and providing counseling for people experiencing psychological distress.

Feeding Tampa Bay is another agency that will receive some of the grant money.



"You know people may have been doing fine before Irma, getting by month to month, but if they have damage to their home or lost all of the food in their pantry, they may not have had that extra money to go out and replace that food or repair their home," said Feeding Tampa Bay spokesperson Jayci Peters.



Emergency workers said this is not a "quick fix." They estimate the long term recovery could take 3 to 5 years.



To date, Volunteer Florida has raised more than $15 million dollars to support those impacted by Hurricane Irma.
What, if anything, happened to the top-secret Zuma payload launched on a SpaceX rocket Sunday?

Zuma payload launched Sunday from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX: Falcon 9 rocket did what it was supposed to do

Reports indicate Zuma payload may have failed to reach orbit

PREVIOUSLY:

Report: Top-secret Zuma mission may have failed; SpaceX says launch went well SpaceX launches mysterious Zuma mission



It was a public launch that lit up the Sunday night sky from the Space Coast, followed by a sonic boom and rocket booster landing that many saw and heard from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

But what we don't know has been the headline of this mission: A classified payload called Zuma, built by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. government, was being delivered to orbit. Very few know what it was.

Now, its fate is also a mystery. Did something happen to Zuma after separating from the rocket's second stage?

Dale Ketcham of Space Florida, the state's aerospace and spaceport development authority, tried to shed some light on the fate of Zuma.



"I don't think we can know," Ketcham said. "It may be doing exactly what it was supposed to, and this is all part of an exercise."

But Ketcham said it's common for launch providers such as SpaceX to supply adapters to custom-fit payloads like satellites.

"In this case, it appears, at least from what we can see on social media, that Northrop Grumman, the builder of the payload itself, may have built the adapter," he said. "And that would put them as responsible on whether it separated from the second stage."

SpaceX released a statement via their president, Gwynne Shotwell, who was adamant the company was not to blame:

"After review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly Sunday night. If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will report it immediately. Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false. Due to the classified nature of the payload, no further comment is possible."

A Northrop Grummam representative said by phone: "This is a classified mission. We cannot comment on classified missions."

The launch broadcast was cut off shortly after the rocket's nose cone separated, which is standard under secret national security missions.

Shotwell said the Zuma mission should have no impact on its upcoming Falcon 9 launch in three weeks or the test launch of the Falcon Heavy.
The Trump administration is backing off oil drilling off the coast of Florida, in an announcement from the Interior secretary and Gov. Scott in Tallahassee.

Zinke said after meeting with Scott Tuesday that drilling would be "off the table" when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.

After talking with @FLGovScott, I am removing #Florida from the draft offshore plan. pic.twitter.com/lZIfdCDNOR  Secretary Ryan Zinke (@SecretaryZinke) January 9, 2018

Zinke announced plans last week to greatly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans. The plan was immediately met with bipartisan opposition on both coasts from governors and from the Congress.

Scott, who is expected to run for Senate this year, came out against the plan when it was first announced last week -- a departure from previous stance on the issue. When he first ran for office in 2010, he came out in favor of offshore drilling, as long as it was done safely.

President Donald Trump, who frequently spends time in Florida, won the state's 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election.

Scott himself has not issued the statement on the move.
Stormy Oregon Coast This Week - Then Sunny, Warm Weekend

Published 01/09/2018 at 6:15 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Oregon Coast)  Some wild swings in weather are headed for the Oregon coast, with a high wind watch in effect on Wednesday and Thursday, some huge waves coming at that time, and all this moving to a mild and sunny holiday weekend.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Portland has issued a high wind watch in effect from Wednesday night through Thursday evening. Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph are expected, with gusts up to 60 mph possible.

The strongest winds will most likely occur between Thursday mid-morning and Thursday mid-afternoon, the NWS said. Isolated power outages and down trees will be possible. A High Wind Watch means hazardous high wind conditions are favorable in and close to the watch area in the next 12 to 48 hours.

The NWS said heavy rains are coming not just for the Oregon coast but for the valley as well, including Portland. Many rivers are expected to rise sharply, but flooding is not likely.

Then, things start to move towards big and sunny skies.

A much stronger system will arrive on Thursday, as a moist front will bring heavy rain and gusty southwest winds, the NWS said. Afterwards, high pressure will build over the region, with dry and mild weather for the coming holiday weekend. The next frontal system is expected early next week.

Friday's coastal forecast is for mostly cloudy but a high in the 50s. Saturday gets mostly sunny with highs near 55, and Sunday is a repeat of that. The NWS said some parts of the Oregon coast could see highs around 60 degrees. Monday  Martin Luther King Day  starts the return to rain and clouds.

On the beaches, the ocean starts to get rather exciting. On Wednesday, wave height is around 12 feet, which isn't much of a big deal on the sand but rocky ledges will be putting on a bit of a show. Thursday climbs to a sizable 17 feet for combined seas, while later that night they will rise to just over 20 feet. Friday they start calming down to around 17 feet again, while Saturday and Sunday see combined seas in the lower teens.

More good stormwatching is in store later next week. (See Oregon Coast Weather)

The break in the weather appears short lived as models suggest additional storm systems will bring a return to periods of stronger winds and higher seas next week, the NWS said.

More stormy Oregon coast below: Oregon Coast Hotels for Stormwatching - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

Above: photo courtesy Seaside Aquarium

















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Oswald West State Park, Suspension Bridge

Rockaway Beach, Manzanita, Wheeler, Nehalem Bay Virtual Tour, Oregon Coast

This sprawling, forested oasis runs along the highway for over five miles, encompassing trails through thick rainforests, headlands, viewpoints, campgrounds and some beautiful beach spots.

There are day-use areas about MP 39 on both sides of the highway. These allow you access to trails to Short Sand Beach and the 5-mile roundtrip hike to Cape Falcon and its viewpoints.

There were a few primitive campsites along some of the trails until recent years, shut down after falling trees posed a variety of dangers in that area.

The Cape Falcon hike is part of the Oregon Coast Trail system, and allows you the option of continuing on to Arch Cape - making a total of an 8-mile-long hike. You begin at a tunnel going under the highway, then wind towards the campground and Short Sand Beach. Instead of taking the beach trail, continue north and keep left, eventually - 2.5 miles later - ending up atop the headland of Cape Falcon and its various dramatic ocean viewpoints.

Or, you can keep going north along the cape, past three cliff-edge viewpoints, and eventually the trail veers inland to meet up with the small footbridge - about a half-mile from Highway 101, outside of the tiny community of Arch Cape.

The park is also the access to Short Sand Beach and Falcon Cove, one of the more popular beaches for surfing on the coast. There's an engaging suspension bridge near the beach.
The Beaumont Community Players will celebrate Valentine's day with "Love Letters at the BCP."

The theater group is asking Southeast Texans to share their best love stories. The most romantic will earn a prize package that includes symphony tickets, massage coupons and more.

Participants can read the letters themselves, or have a BCP company member read it if they're feeling shy.

Local band Book of Days will also perform.

Tickets for the Feb. 14are $35 per couple or $20 per person. Proceeds will benefit BCP's KIDmunity program. It starts at 7 p.m. at the Betty Greenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Make reservations by calling (409) 833-4664 or online at www.beaumontcommuniytplayers.com.
Lamar students will soon have another on-campus option for coffee.

Starbucks will have its grand opening Tuesday.
The family of a man who died in an altercation with police at a Port Arthur hospital in 2016 has sued the Police Department, city and medical center, alleging that their negligence and use of excessive force caused his death.

Manuel Delacruz, 26, checked into the Medical Center of Southeast Texas on Aug. 1, 2016 while suffering from schizophrenia, according to the suit.

His parents allege in the petition that PAPD officers were called "to take control of the situation," which required a court order to have him admitted to the hospital, and accuse PAPD and employees of the medical center of using "excessive force in trying to detain Manuel."

"Defendants ultimately ended in a scuffle with Manuel and forcibly lead Manuel to his death," Houston attorney Joe House wrote in the suit, filed Tuesday in federal court.

In a statement released by the law firm this morning, his parents said police hit and smothered Delacruz and used a Taser to restrain him after he refused to change into a hospital gown. He was taken to the hospital "in the midst of a psychotic episode," the statement said.

The suit alleges that the city of Port Arthur and PAPD administration failed to properly train officers in the use of force and that the Medical Center provided substandard care and failed to train its employees on "adequate safety and security measures."

Three PAPD officers were put on paid administrative leave after Delacruz's death.

A Jefferson County grand jury declined to indict officers Shannon Meaux, Lane Cherry and Reid Rowe on criminal charges related to Delacruz's death in October 2016.

The city of Port Arthur and Medical Center of Southeast Texas could not immediately be reached for comment.
Almost 30 years ago, an English playwright on a bus trip across the southern United States saw three small billboards along westbound Interstate 10 outside Beaumont. They were seared into his brain, and after he became a movie director, supplied inspiration for a major film.

"Vidor Police Botched Up the Case."

"Waiting For Confession."

"This Could Happen To You!"

The billboards were erected by James Fulton, father of Katherine Fulton Page, who was frustrated at the Vidor Police Department's inability to solve his daughter's 1991 murder.

> > BACKGROUND: What happened to Kathy Page?

While Fulton seethed and suffered, his message of grief and anger percolated in Martin McDonagh's memory.

Years later, it drove McDonagh to create the movie "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," which won a Golden Globe Award for best picture earlier this month and was nominated for an Academy Award on Tuesday.

The three billboards in the movie are provocatively similar:

"Raped While Dying."

"How Come, Chief Willoughby?"

"Still No Arrests."

The billboards project a mother's anguish at the local police for failing to solve her daughter's murder.

> > RELATED: Unsolved homicides in Texas

In an interview with a British publication, The Express, McDonagh recalled how the real billboards stunned him.

"It was this raging, painful message calling out the cops about a crime," he said.

"The title came from the concept and the concept came from that image, which stayed in my mind for years," McDonagh said. "What kind of pain would lead someone to do that? It takes a lot of guts - and anger."

According to The Express, McDonagh no longer remembers where he spied the billboards, but Kathy Page's sister, Sherry Valentine, 58, said, "I'd never seen anyone post billboards like that before and ours were the first. It's clear that they inspired this film, and if the movie helps us finally get justice for Kathy, that would be great."

If anything, Fulton's real-life pain surpasses that of the mother in the movie, played by Academy Award-winner Frances McDormand.

> > MOVIE REVIEW: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

"I want people to know it's a sorry city and a sorry police department," Fulton said Tuesday in a telephone interview. He hasn't seen the movie and likely won't, he said.

But Fulton, 86, intends to maintain the last billboard as long as he can.

"I won't last too much longer," he said.

The roadside vigil is a persistent and public reminder of his daughter - and the case's open status.

Fulton said that in the past 25 years, he has spent more than $200,000 on the billboard and on a federal court case.

Grand juries since the murder on May 14, 1991 have declined to indict the main suspect, identified by authorities as Steve Page, Kathy Page's ex-husband.

In 2000, a civil jury found Steve Page liable in a wrongful death suit and awarded her family $150,000. The verdict was upheld on appeal.

Steve Page was also convicted, fined and sentenced to probation after he was seen on a videotape desecrating Kathy Page's grave.

Page left Southeast Texas in 1995 with his two daughters from his marriage to Kathy Page. One daughter took her own life several years ago. Fulton said the other daughter refuses all contact with him.

Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll, observing his first work anniversary as chief, said one of the first things he did after starting was read the investigative file in the Page murder.

"The investigation never closed," Carroll said. "There has always been a person of interest. We need evidence for probable cause. Sometime, someone will grow a conscience and come forward. It's the human psyche."

Carroll said Fulton is mistaken that Vidor PD does not want to solve the case.

"I think every crime is solvable," Carroll said.

That doesn't shake Fulton's belief that Vidor PD "screwed up and did it on purpose."

Fulton said perhaps the movie will renew interest in his daughter's case and bring the suspect to justice.

"I hope it brings in outside people," he said.

Dan Wallach is a freelance writer.
A Vidor man suspected of killing a Silsbee girl he claims he was romantically involved with had marijuana and tobacco in his system at the time of his October suicide, according to his autopsy.

Paul Audrey Adams, 19, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Oct. 2 at a campsite he set up on a secluded stretch of FM 1135 near Vidor. The day before, authorities allege he fatally shot Tristan Dilley, 14, in her Buna bedroom.

In Adams' autopsy, released to BeaumontEnterprise.com Tuesday through a public information request, toxicology screens showed he had enough Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in his system to indicate recent and past marijuana use.

READ MORE: Details emerge in the death of Silsbee cheerleader





Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman said on Tuesday said his department is still awaiting ballistics reports on the .22 caliber Magnum revolver found near Adams' body. Investigators believe it is the same gun used to kill Dilley, he said.

After that report is back, Newman said he expects his department will close the case. Authorities still have not determined a motive for the shootings, he said.

"At this point, I don't think we'll ever know," Newman said.

Three days before Dilley was killed, Adams bought a hatchet, rope, burlap sacks and handcuffs at the Vidor Walmart, according to surveillance video and receipts reviewed by authorities. Those items, along with MREs, some cash and a book on human anatomy were found at Adams' campsite after his death.

"It's easy to assume what he was going to do," Newman said of the items. "We can assume he was jealous or whatever. But it's impossible to know for sure now."

Dilley's 13-year-old brother found her dead, lying face-down on her bed, after her family returned from a shopping trip. The high school freshman was shot twice in the head, Newman said in October.

READ MORE: Police release note left by Silsbee teen's suspected shooter

Before his death, Adams told Texas Rangers in a phone call that he did not kill Dilley, saying he was inside the girl's home on County Road 784 when an intruder broke in and shot the teen.

Text messages saved on Dilley's phone and evidence inside the girl's bedroom led authorities to suspect Adams in her death, Newman said in October.

Dilley had recently told her family she had been talking with a 16-year-old boy named Adam, the sheriff said at the time. When authorities traced the number, they learned it actually belonged to Adams.

Newman said in October he believed Dilley and Adams "were trying to see each other when her mother was gone."

Adams left a suicide note on the hood of his Toyota Corolla, which was parked at the Vidor campsite. In the note, he claimed he and Dilley were romantically involved and that he felt like "a coward" for not doing anything to prevent her death and that he knew he would be mistaken for the killer.

On Tuesday, Newman has said deputies have no reason to believe another person was in the house at the time of Dilley's death and found no sign of forced entry. He maintains that Adams killed Dilley.

READ MORE: Suspect bought hatchet, handcuffs before Silsbee teen's death

MGstalter@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/morgGstalt

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Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai (third from right), speaks to reporters following a signing ceremony in Putrajaya with Ocean Infinity Ltd., a U.S. firm, over an agreement to launch a search for debris from missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, Jan. 10, 2018.

Malaysias government agreed Wednesday to pay an American firm up to U.S. $70 million (280 million ringgit) to find the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, which disappeared four years ago, within an Indian Ocean area ranging to at least 25,000 square km.

The government and Houston-based Ocean Infinity Ltd. signed off on a deal by which the firm agreed it would be paid only if any of its eight high-tech Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) finds the debris field from the missing Boeing 777 or the planes black-box in-flight recorders within three months, starting imminently.

The contract is on a no cure, no fee basis within a 90-day time frame. The search operation is scheduled to commence mid-January 2018, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told reporters after a Wednesday signing ceremony in Putrajaya, Malaysias administrative capital. The agreement states Ocean Infinity will be paid only if it finds the airliners wreckage.

The new search marks the first time in a year that Malaysia is resuming an undersee hunt for the wreckage of MH370, which is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean with 239 passengers and crew on board. It drifted off course during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

In January 2017, Malaysia, China and Australia called off a search for the missing plane after spending nearly three years scouring an area of 120,000 square km (46,332 square miles) in Indian Ocean waters off the western Australian coast. That search area was selected based on satellite analyses of the flights presumed path.

To all the family members and loved ones on board MH370, we are with you during these trying times, the minister told relatives of passengers and crew who were at the ceremony.

The minister said Ocean Infinity would search for the wreckage of flight MH370 within a designated area of the southern Indian Ocean ranging from 5,000 square km (1,930.5 square miles) to at least 25,000 square km (9,652.5 square miles).

Ocean Infinity will take on the economic risk of the renewed search, only receiving payment if the aircraft wreckage is located, the firm said in a statement posted on its website Wednesday.

The flight path of MH370. [AP]

Search to start Jan. 17

Under the terms of the deal, the government will pay the firm $20 million (80.1 million ringgit) if its submersible drones find the debris field within an area of 5,000 square km, or up to $50 million (200.4 million ringgit) within an area of up to 25,000 square km (9,652.5 square miles), officials said.

If the subs find the airliners wreckage beyond a radius of 25,000 square km, Malaysia will pay the firm $70 million (280.6 million ringgit), officials said. Ocean Infinity will be rewarded if it pinpoints the location of the debris field or discovers the planes cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.

As we speak, the vessel Seabed Constructor is on her way to the search area, taking advantage of the favorable weather conditions in the South Indian Ocean, Tiong Lai said, referring to a ship carrying the eight AUVs and operated by Ocean Infinity, a company that specializes in collecting high-resolution geophysical seabed data.

The vessel will have 65 people on board, including two Malaysian government representatives, officials said.

Oliver Plunkett, the firms CEO who attended the signing ceremony, said imaging technology developed by his team, as well as new data on current movements, would aid in identifying the debris field with better accuracy than in previous efforts.

We have eight unmanned underwater vehicles, or underwater drones, that can sweep the ocean floor running at the same time, beaming the information back to onboard ships, he told journalists, adding that the operation would begin Jan. 17.

The eight AUVs are free flying, which means they can travel untethered and can dive to depths of 6,000 meters (19,685 feet), Ocean Infinity said.

Citing discoveries of debris believed to be from MH370 that swept ashore on Reunion Island, a French territory in the western Indian Ocean in August 2015, and new ocean-current patterns, Plunkett was optimistic that his firm could solve the aviation mystery.

We would like to say we are 80 percent confident but we dont want to put a percentage on our chances, Plunkett said. Experts from his company were involved in finding the wreckage of Air France flight 447, which crashed in the Atlantic Ocean while en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, 2009.

In August 2015, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a team of international experts had confirmed that debris found on Reunion were from MH370, and this marked the first physical evidence the plane had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

Of the 239 people on board MH370, 153 were Chinese nationals and 38 were Malaysians.

We just want to know what happened, a closure, a relative of one of the people aboard the doomed flight, told BenarNews, identifying himself only as Nathan.

Its a bit difficult to come to a closure without knowing what happened to our loved ones.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks after being barred from meeting with jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim at a rehabilitation hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 10, 2018.

Malaysian prison authorities barred ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad, the oppositions choice for prime minister should it win this years general election, from meeting Wednesday with jailed de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim at a hospital rehab center in Kuala Lumpur.

Mahathir said police told him at the Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital that he could not visit Anwar because of orders from above.

Which means Minister of Home Affairs? That I am not allowed to visit Anwar, Mahathir told reporters as he left the hospital.

Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said Anwar is a convict and anyone who wanted to visit him must get permission from the Prisons Department.

A convict is not a free man. His life is controlled by the Prisons Department. No one is allowed to meet him other than the family, Nur Jazlan told The Malaysian Insight, a local news website.

On Sunday, Malaysian opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) unanimously selected Mahathir, 92, as its pick for the prime ministers post ahead of the countrys 14th general election. Anwars wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, was nominated as the coalitions choice for deputy prime minister.

If PH wins the election, Mahathir would serve as prime minister until Anwar, who is to be released from prison in June on a sodomy conviction, could take over if granted a royal pardon. Without the pardon, Anwar would be barred from politics for five years.

The general election must be held by August, but Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to call the polls earlier this year. Najibs United National Malays Organization (UMNO) party heads the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has ruled Malaysia for decades.

Return to public service

Mahathir, who used to belong to UMNO, came out of retirement amid allegations that billions of dollars from state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had been misused by Najib and others.

He is a dictator, through his actions, not his words. I was said to be a dictator, say anything you like, but I never did things like this, Mahathir said of Najib after not being allowed to visit Anwar at the hospital.

As Malaysias prime minister for 22 years, from 1981 to 2003, Mahathir developed a reputation as an autocratic ruler, throwing several opposition leaders into jail, including Anwar in the late 1990s.

Anwar is undergoing rehab at the hospital while recovering from surgery on his right shoulder in November for an injury suffered during a car crash involving a Prisons Department vehicle. He is serving a five-year prison term after being convicted of a sodomy charge three years ago.

All I wanted to do was visit Anwar and thank him personally on Pakatan Harapan (PH) reaching a consensus. I feel sad. I just wanted to meet him, to thank him for not objecting, in fact, supporting me as a candidate, Mahathir said.

Arriving at the hospital around 4:30 p.m., Mahathir met with prison officials to seek permission for the visit. About 20 minutes later, he and Anwars daughter, Nurul Izzah, left the hospital and informed reporters the request had been rejected.

I am disappointed that we live in a democratic country but I am not allowed to meet a friend, Mahathir said.

Nurul pointed out that Najib, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Tourism Minister Nazri Aziz had all visited Anwar days after his surgery in November.

When Nazri Aziz visited him, he didnt get approval either. He was just allowed in. So why should this be any different? Nurul asked.

There is no consistency. Mahathir has expressed his intention to visit my father. We informed the authorities, prisons department in Sungai Buloh and headquarters, she said, adding, There was no official response, but word got to us that he would not be allowed to visit.

PH officials told BenarNews this was the first opportunity for Mahathir to visit his once-bitter foe. Their last known meeting was on Sept. 5, 2016, during Anwars challenge of a new National Security Council act.

Anwar has a long history of confrontation with me and its not easy for him to accept the consensus of approving me as the next prime minister should PH win in the coming general election. It is a big thing, Mahathir said.
Fe Lustre sits on a bed in her home in a Manila suburb next to her grandson, Ivan Lustre, 12, who exhibited symptoms of dengue after receiving the Dengvaxia vaccine, Dec. 6, 2017.

The Philippines highest court on Wednesday ordered the health department to answer a petition from parents seeking answers regarding risks associated with a school-based dengue vaccine immunization program that the government suspended last month.

The court gave Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and other government officials responsible for the public release of the vaccine, Dengvaxia, which was developed by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur, 10 days to reply.

The petition, representing at least 70 mothers of children injected with the potentially harmful vaccine, asked the court to compel Sanofi to fund long-term medical consultations and treatment for the estimated 830,000 grade school students vaccinated with Dengvaxia.

The government announced on Dec. 1, 2017, that it had suspended the vaccination program. It also ordered a halt to the marketing and selling of Dengvaxia after Sanofi admitted those injected with it risked having severe dengue if they had no prior infections.

The Philippines, a tropical Southeast Asian country, became the first country in the region where Dengvaxia was publicly released. Then-president Benigno Aquino III approved its release before he stepped down in 2016 and the vaccine was administered to children in public elementary schools.

The health department recently said 830,000 school children ages 9 and older were given the drug, a revision from an earlier estimate of 740,000.

Last month, Aquino defended his governments decision to approve the vaccine during an appearance before a Senate committee investigating Dengvaxia. At that time, Aquino said no one had warned him about the dangers of the vaccine as the country struggled with the rise of the mosquito-borne disease.

He said he acted in good faith when the government approved the release of 3.5 billion pesos (U.S. $69 million) to purchase the drug, which Sanofi had advertised as the worlds first approved anti-dengue vaccine.

Aquino had found an ally in President Rodrigo Duterte, who said he supported his predecessors approval of the drug meant to address dengue, which infects about 200,000 Filipino annually.

Petition

The mothers asked the Supreme Court to order the health department to publicly release its report on Dengvaxia and for those injected with the vaccine be given free medical services until such time that scientific experts declared the threat of the vaccine has been minimized.

Duque said a task force had been created and was monitoring all children vaccinated. In addition, a panel of experts had been set up to conduct additional tests.

An independent review of medical charts of children who may have experience adverse effects or died following immunization is being undertaken to determine if the deaths were directly linked to the drug, according to the health department.

Duque also appealed to the public to be patient as the justice department carries out its own investigation to determine any criminal culpability related to the purchase of Dengvaxia and allow investigators to carry out their work free of criticism and accusations.

No clear mechanisms

Eleanor Jara, co-convenor of the advocacy group Coalition for Peoples Right to Health, said the public should demand full accountability from both the French pharma giant and the government.

Complete accountability must be pursued on Sanofi and all current and former government officials who connived in the planning and implementation of the program, Jara said, arguing children injected with the drug must be accorded free medical health services for a lifetime.

We cannot blame the public if they raise suspicions on the possibility that some national officials profiteering from the transaction, she said, calling the previous government overzealous in closing the deal with Sanofi.

Jara said her group, which was not party to the court petition, was meeting with lawyers to determine potential legal avenues. She added the government has not gone to the grass root level in communities where children were vaccinated to educate people about the potential dangers.

There remains no clear mechanisms and structures set up to support Dengvaxia vaccinated individuals, she said.

Felipe Villamor in Manila contributed to this report.
Thai Security officials inspect the site of a roadside bombing that injured a soldier and five volunteers in Nong Chik district, in the southern province of Pattani, Jan. 10, 2018.

Gunmen killed three relatives of a former defense volunteer inside a house in Thailands insurgency-hit Deep South, police said Wednesday evening, hours after a roadside bombing wounded a soldier and five volunteers.

The gunmen fired into a house in Tung Yang Daeng, a district of Pattani province, killing Hasana Hama, 29, Nusaree Jaemeng, 32 and Yusoh Nilae, 73, authorities said.

According to the initial investigation, four villains came on two motorbikes and started firing inside the house, police Lt. Boonthep Kerdmud said.

Earlier, police Lt. Gen. Thompong Petchpiroon, said a roadside bomb injured the six security personnel who were riding in a pickup truck to a school in Tambon Bang Khao, a village cluster in Nong Chik, another district of Pattani.

The incident occurred while the security officers were on their way to investigate damage to two CCTVs burned down at Ban Sai Mo school, Thompong said. All were taken to Nong Chik hospital.



Col. Komkrit Ratanachaya, who commands the armys ranger unit in the Deep South, said the attack was likely related to insurgency in the area.



They performed a violent act to tell us that they are still here, and hope that we would get into it, but we know their intentions, Komkrit said. More importantly, local people have cooperated with us.

Since 2004, nearly 7,000 people have died in violence associated with the insurgency in Thailands predominantly Muslim and Malay-speaking southern border region.

In 2015, Thailands military-controlled government began peace talks with MARA Patani, a group representing various insurgent groups and factions. However, the Malaysia-brokered negotiations so far have failed to produce a limited ceasefire, which is seen as pivotal to future hopes for settling the long-running separatist conflict.
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BILD talked to Ulrich Spiesshofer (53), head of the biggest European robot manufacturer, ABB.

BILD: Mr Spiesshofer, you are head of the biggest European robot manufacturer. Why are people afraid that machines might take over the world one day?

Ulrich Spiesshofer: Among other reasons, this has got to do with the fact that, in the beginning, many mistakes were made.Robots used to be varnished in alarm colours. In factories, they were, as a precaution, locked in cages. Our two-arm robot Yumi is white and safely cooperates with humans. He doesnt have a human head, but still you almost want to hug him. In Pisa, he recently conducted an opera with Andrea Bocelli.

If robots can already conduct, when will they take away human jobs?

Spiesshofer: Its not about taking jobs away from anybody. On the contrary  technology has always contributed to creating wealth and jobs. In 1990, approximately one third of all people world-wide lived below the extreme poverty threshold. Today, it is less than 10 per cent.

When I came to ABB in 2005, we had 90,000 employees. Today, it is 136,000. Jobs have never developed faster than today  but the uncertainty has also never been higher. Many people do not yet understand what their future role will be. Thats why many people wonder 

 what will become of me?

Auch Interessant



Spiesshofer: Correct! Industrialization has gone beyond the factory, and the work of robots covers all areas. We therefore need a qualification offensive and completely new lines of work. But the robots are not taking anything away from us; they supplement us human beings. Just one example: a client of ABB in China employed 5500 women in his factory to check mobile phones for scratches. At the same time, there was a labour shortage in the region. We have now trained robots to look for scratches  and the employees are doing a higher-value job in the company. Everybody is happy.

Do oral surgeons have better chances of keeping their jobs than, for example, floor tilers?

Spiesshofer: Creativity will be decisive. If we do not consider the floor tiler as someone who simply lays tiles, but as someone who creates great patterns, this job will exist for a very long time. For instance, we just had a robot and a 3D printer automatically construct a bridge over a six-metres-wide stream. One touch of a button  done. However, in order to contract a beautiful bridge that also fits the landscape, we still need humans, of course.

People keep getting older, but hardly anyone wants to nurse them. Will a robot nurse me when Im old?

Spiesshofer: There are many things that people are not  or no longer  able to do when theyre old. Imagine youre 78 at some point, and youre having problems moving or taking care of yourself. A robot can also bring back your dignity and self-reliance. If there should not be enough nurses in the future, robots could also help. Of course, this will only be possible if it is socially accepted.

Politicians are calling for robot taxes on companies that employ more robots than humans.

Spiesshofer: That is certainly not the right way. One should not tax the tools, but the productivity  that is, the product that leaves the factory at the end. After all, nobody has called for a higher tax of those companies that employ fewer secretaries than they used to, because they introduced the computer programme Microsoft Word. It makes much more sense to responsibly tax added value  to skim off a proportion of the added value that was created by robots, so the state can still fulfil its tasks.



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For Immediate Release, January 10, 2018 Contacts: Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project, (520) 623-1878, greta@westernwatersheds.org

Patrick Donnelly, Center for Biological Diversity, (702) 483-0449, pdonnelly@biologicaldiversity.org

Chris Krupp, WildEarth Guardians, (206) 417-6363, ckrupp@wildearthguardians.org

Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, (240) 247-0296, kstade@peer.org Conservation Groups Urge Interior Secretary Zinke to Round Up Bundy's Trespassing Cattle Bundy Court Decision Didn't OK Illegal Grazing LAS VEGAS Conservation groups today called on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to round up and remove the cattle of rancher Cliven Bundy, who has been illegally grazing his livestock on public lands for two and a half decades. U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro on Monday dismissed all charges against Cliven Bundy and his sons related to the 2014 Bunkerville standoff. Navarro, however, did not exonerate Cliven Bundy for his continued illegal grazing on public lands in Nevada, including Gold Butte National Monument. In 2013 a federal judge ordered the Bureau of Land Management to round up Bundys trespassing livestock on public lands within desert tortoise habitat. Today, decades after Cliven Bundy stopped paying his grazing fees and had his permit revoked, the illegal ranching operation continues. Bundy is still an outlaw when it comes to his grazing actions, and the prosecutorial failings in the Bunkerville case do not excuse him from the decades of unauthorized livestock trespass on our public lands, said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project. BLM needs to enforce the law and remove his cattle, which are destroying habitat for threatened species. The court ruled in 1998 and again in 2013 that Bundy or the BLM must round up hundreds of livestock currently roaming 750,000 acres near the Nevada-Arizona line. Much of the land that Bundy illegally grazes on is now protected as Gold Butte National Monument, established by President Barack Obama in 2016. Bundy owes more than $1 million in grazing fees, according to federal officials. The Trump administration is coddling violent zealots and preventing the public from feeling safe to enjoy our new national monument, said Patrick Donnelly, the Center for Biological Diversitys Nevada state director. Zinke needs to stop this illegal grazing, which amounts to theft from the American people and future generations. Our government cant allow Bundy to claim our protected public lands as his personal empire and defend his theft with force and intimidation. Nothing in yesterdays ruling absolves BLM of its duty to protect public lands on behalf of the American people. BLM must remove Bundys trespassing cattle, said Chris Krupp of WildEarth Guardians. We will continue to call for the roundup of Bundys cattle until BLM meets its obligation. The feds shouldnt avoid the chance now to ensure that some justice is served to the American public that is being robbed by this family. Gold Butte and the desert tortoise still deserve protection, said Kirsten Stade of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Click here to view todays letter to Secretary Zinke. Click here to see a chronological factsheet of the Bundys illegal grazing operations and attempts to rein them in.



Click here to read the federal court order directing Bundy to remove his cattle by November 30, 1998. Click here to read the 2013 federal court order entitling BLM to remove Bundys cattle.
For Immediate Release, January 10, 2018 Contact: Blake Kopcho, (805) 708-3435, bkopcho@biologicaldiversity.org San Francisco Passes Resolution Against Offshore Drilling, Fracking Trumps Proposal to Expand Offshore Leasing Meeting Resistance in California SAN FRANCISCO The San Francisco Board of Supervisors last night unanimously approved a resolution opposing new drilling off the California coast and fracking in existing offshore oil and gas wells. San Francisco is the latest of at least 16 California cities to formally oppose President Trumps April 28 executive order urging federal agencies to expand offshore drilling. The vote comes in the wake of the administrations Jan. 4 release of a draft five-year plan that would open federal waters in the Pacific Ocean to new oil leasing for the first time in more than 30 years. That plan proposes new offshore drilling in almost all federal waters, including the currently protected Arctic and Atlantic oceans and eastern Gulf of Mexico. The resolution was sponsored by Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who also serves on the California Coastal Commission. It was supported by the Center for Biological Diversity, which has been organizing a series of California city resolutions opposing offshore drilling and fracking, starting with the Santa Barbara City Councils vote on July 25. Californians must unite in opposition to Trumps reckless assault on our coastal waters. San Francisco and other California cities play an important role in protecting the Pacific from oil industry pollution, said Blake Kopcho, an organizer with the Center. This is moment to pull together and reject the proposal to endanger wildlife and our communities with oil spills and toxic fracking chemicals. The San Francisco resolution calls for: A ban on dangerous fracking and well stimulation in federal and state waters off the California coast; No new federal oil and gas leases in the Pacific, Atlantic or Arctic oceans or the eastern Gulf of Mexico  areas currently protected from new leases. Trumps proposal would sell oil leases through California starting in 2020. There are already more than 30 offshore drilling platforms and hundreds of miles of underwater oil and gas pipelines off Californias coast. Operators want permits to frack offshore wells, using chemicals that are toxic to wildlife. Separate lawsuits filed by the state of California and the Center challenging the federal governments approval of offshore fracking are pending in federal district court. See more on the Centers offshore drilling resolution campaign.
For Immediate Release, January 10, 2018 Contact: Collette Adkins, Center for Biological Diversity, (651) 955-3821, cadkins@biologicaldiversity.org

Nina Bell, Northwest Environmental Advocates, (503) 295-0490, nbell@advocates-nwea.org

Andrew Hawley, Western Environmental Law Center, (206) 487-7250, hawley@westernlaw.org Legal Action Prompts Feds to Stop Killing Oregon Beavers Wildlife Services' Commitment Helps Protect Endangered Salmon, Steelhead PORTLAND, Ore. In response to the threat of litigation by two environmental groups, a federal wildlife-killing program has agreed to stop killing beavers, river otter, muskrat and mink in Oregon. Wildlife Services, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, also agreed to work with a federal agency charged with protecting imperiled animals to analyze the programs impacts on threatened and endangered fish like salmon and steelhead. The feds commitment to stop killing Oregons beavers is good news for beavers, salmon and all of us who care about these animals, said Collette Adkins, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney and biologist. Well keep the pressure on Wildlife Services and make sure that beavers are protected, not persecuted. Numerous studies show that beavers benefit endangered salmon and steelhead by creating ponds that provide fish with food and habitat. Despite these well-established ecological benefits, Wildlife Services killed hundreds of beavers annually with traps, snares and firearms. In 2016 the program in Oregon killed more than 400 beavers  the official state animal. In response to the groups November notice of intent to sue, Wildlife Services agreed to analyze the impacts of its aquatic mammal damage management program through consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Services under the Endangered Species Act. As a first step, Wildlife Services will prepare a biological assessment by Feb. 28. Wildlife Services has agreed to stop all its killing of beaver, river otter, muskrat and mink in Oregon while the consultation process proceeds. Its way past time for Wildlife Services recognize the unique and essential role that beavers play in building habitat upon which so many other animals depend, said Nina Bell, executive director of Northwest Environmental Advocates. We are pleased that Wildlife Services is moving toward compliance with federal law and paying attention to well-established science. It is well established that beavers are critically important to healthy ecosystems, so it makes little sense for Wildlife Services to kill them without understanding the consequences of its actions, said Andrew Hawley with the Western Environmental Law Center. We will continue to pursue the steps necessary to ensure Wildlife Services ends the taxpayer-funded open season on beavers in Oregon. The conservation groups are represented by Collette Adkins of the Center for Biological Diversity and Andrew Hawley of the Western Environmental Law Center.
Nelson Mandela, shortly after becoming the first democratically elected president of South Africa, spoke to both his countrymen and women - indeed, for Africans everywhere - when he declared, "We must work together to ensure the equitable distribution of wealth, opportunity and power in our society."

 delcreations via 123RF

Radical shift

Causes of inequalities

No single solution

As he spoke those words in 1996, South Africa was just emerging from a racist apartheid past in which non-whites, more than three-quarters of the population, were not only denied the vote but also denied land ownership, skilled jobs, and most basic services.The countrys poverty rate, after a brief decline, has been on the rebound since 2015. While millions of South Africans have improved their educational and job prospects, overall income inequality in the country remains stubbornly entrenched.According to a new study by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), South Africa has the highest recorded level of income inequality in the world. And in this, South Africa is not unusual among African nations. Of the 19 most unequal countries in the world, 10 are in Africa, according to the UNDPs Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa, a report released in New York during the opening week of the UN General Assembly this past September.While many countries in the region, such as Cote dIvoire, Mauritius and Rwanda have registered remarkable economic performance over the past decade and a half, lifting millions out of extreme poverty and making schooling and health care available to larger shares of their populations, others have lagged.One obstacle to higher incomes for all has been the regions entrenched economic and social inequalities. The contrast between the visible wealth of elites and the daily misery of most ordinary people makes the disparities seem unjust, driving popular anger and contributing to protest and rebellion.As President Hage Geingob of Namibiaa country that inherited the highest levels of income inequality in Africa when it gained independence from apartheid-era South Africa in 1990told the UN General Assembly, As long as the wealth of the country is disproportionately in the hands of a few, we cannot have lasting peace and stability.Until recently, income inequality received only sporadic attention from development practitioners and policy makers. Before the 1990s they focused mainly on stimulating economic growth. It eventually became clearer that growing markets alone does not necessarily benefit the poor and that excessive liberalization can in fact hurt them.When the international community adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, their focus shifted more towards anti-poverty measures and improvements in social well-being.Poverty subsequently fell in many African countries experiencing economic growth. Yet despite generally robust growth, nearly half the continents people still live on less than $1.25 a day. Studies have shown that where there is less inequality, the benefits of growth reach wider sectors of the population. In more unequal nations, however, the rich garner the biggest share and the poor get little.That realisation underlay the 2015 negotiations over the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The global goals call not only for ending poverty, but also for reducing inequalities within and among nations. The UNDP terms this a radical shift intended to address the last mile of exclusion that prevents many people from improving their lives.In analysing income inequality in Africa, the UNDP report focuses on 29 sub-Saharan countries (which account for 80% of Africas population) for which there is adequate data on household consumption. It shows that between 1991 and 2011, 17 of those countries managed to reduce their degree of income inequality. But the remaining dozen registered an increase in income inequality over the same period.That divergence reflects the historical, economic, social and political factors affecting income inequality in each country.Countries with higherand risingincome inequality are mainly in Southern and Central Africa; they have capital-intensive oil and mining sectors with limited employment or are former settler societies that still have large landholdings.Countries with declining income inequality, most of which are in West Africa, generally started out with lower levels of inequality and have predominantly smallholder agricultural sectors in which many people stand to benefit from improvements in productivity.Income inequalities in different countries differ by degree, but the more important distinction is the factors that shape them. The root causes of inequality are rarely the same from country to country and may include restricted access to land, capital and markets; inequitable tax systems; excessive vulnerability to unfavourable global markets; rampant corruption; and the patrimonial allocation of public resources.Although gender inequalities exist in all countries and are particularly severe in Africa, they are generally underestimated in most standard measures, which rely on household income or consumption data. Such estimates tend to assume equal spending powers among all family members.While some countries have seen efforts to reduce economic disparities, others have been marked by opposition to such efforts by incumbent elites, according to researchers cited in the report.The marginalisation of certain geographical regions or the social and political exclusion of minority ethnic and religious groups can bring especially explosive consequences, the new UNDP report says, contributing to unrest and even armed conflict.Because of the complex, multidimensional factors influencing inequality, There is no one silver bullet to address its challenge, observes Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, UNDPs assistant administrator and director of its Africa bureau. Multiple responses are required.In this issue of Africa Renewal, we examine many existing responses to income inequalities, including inequalities in education, those affecting a vulnerable group (albinos), those relating to business leadership, and those affecting Africas trade with other regions.Whatever a countrys specific history and circumstances, a number of measures have proven especially fruitful in reducing inequalities across the region: increasing productivity among small-scale farmers, ensuring womens access to land, reversing urban favouritism in services and economic opportunities, promoting labour-intensive industries, setting minimum wages, strengthening capacities to keep the wealthy from evading taxes, introducing strong social protection programmes and ending all forms of exclusion.Ultimately, such efforts are intended to ensure that all Africans are able to live productive and fulfilling lives and to uphold the SDGs pledge to leave no one behind.Source: Africa Renewal
Africa has a population of over 1 billion people, 70% of which are youthful, aspirational and passionate about their continent. The proposition 'Africans for Africans by Africans' has become a dominant force with young people in Africa. It is about change and holding businesses, governments and institutions accountable and so ultimately driving transformation.

Nonye Mpho Omotola, business director, Africa at Vuma Reputation Management.

Africa is not a country

Authenticity

Online reputation and social media

Creating shared value

Integrated communications

The continent has so many resources, and is blessed with young entrepreneurs and professionals. They are the hope for future generations, and they want to be considered, governed responsibly and provided with opportunities.Every country in Africa is different. The continent is made up of 55 countries, each with its own government, currency, cultures and legacies. So, when communicating in Africa, brands should ensure that they are aware of local cultures and ways of doing business.There are now several countries that offer a visa on arrival, the opportunity of opening a bank account in 24 hours, or even the chance of registering a new business promptly. Where businesses have a presence across the continent, messaging should be varied according to a particular countrys regulatory environment and language(s). Respect for local content and local people will continue to be key.Damage to reputation has emerged as the main risk facing companies worldwide. Authenticity rules when communicating for brands. Brands that refuse to adhere will be damaged, as evidenced not just on the corporate front, but in political spheres and even with personal brands.Ethical behaviour and corporate governance are critical in defining reputation: what you do must be aligned with what you stand for. Everyone wants a relationship that they can trust, so when a brand betrays this, it ultimately affects the bottom line and ruins the relationship, usually irreparably.2018 will bring an even greater demand for brand reputation management and crisis communications services as companies look to protect brand equity from possible reputational risks.With the ongoing penetration by social media - blogging, influencer posts, videos, twitter, Facebook - online reputation management and the influence of social media will continue to go hand in hand. Most people have more than one phone, with access to different networks, platforms, groups and communities. WhatsApp, for instance, is the number one messaging platform in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.As we know good news travels fast, but unfortunately bad news spreads even faster. There have been several instances of a viral campaign initiated in one region/country and adapted immediately in another. Crisis management plans should be reset for the digital age and companies must adapt to allegations or developments in real time. With digital and online media becoming more accessible on the continent, it is projected there will be a gradual decline in print. An online communications strategy is integral to any communications mix.Other than brands operating for profitability, creating shared value will continue to be critical for business strategy, especially when communicating in Africa. For a continent struggling to ensure it delivers the pillars of sustainable development, businesses can use their competitive advantage for social good, addressing societal needs such as skills development and technology, energy, education and health initiatives.Africa is evolving at a rapid pace, with both technology and consumer behaviour at the forefront of this evolution. It is important that communication and brand specialists adopt an integrated approach to communications in order to remain relevant. Speak to the right audience in the right language in the right way, and media will be a powerful tool for driving change in Africa.
The Swedish clothing giant on Monday apologised and removed the advertisement after the company came under fire on social media.Among those who have expressed their anger and have called for a boycott of the clothing store were rappers, Cassper Nyovest, Reason, Stilo Magolide and Kwesta.Taking to social media, Cassper told fans that they would never see him in an H&M store again. He later posted an edited version of the advert and a lengthy Instagram message hailing black people as "the kings of the world".Kwesta said he planned to burn his H&M clothing in protest. "I, unfortunately have some H&M clothing... that I'm burning in the morning," he wrote on Monday evening.Somizi posted a message on Instagram declaring that he was never a fan of the brand and called for people to not buy from them. "I've never been a fan of H&M since day one they launched in South Africa. First they never had people of colour in their campaigns, even when they came to Africa. Now this. Let's show them the power of monkey rand by not buying ish from the," he said.Minnie Dlamini was a little more blunt in her response to the advert, simply declaring: "F*ck them actually!"Lerato Kganyago lambasted the clothing brand through a series of tweets, claiming that many black people were only brought into companies not to make decisions but to add "ambience".The clothing giant has become the latest in a series of international brands to spark outrage over alleged 'racist' adverts.In October last year, personal care brand Dove came under fire for airing a commercial showing a black woman turning into a white woman after removing her top. Two weeks later beauty brand Nivea was similarly accused of being racist after showing a woman instantly turning lighter when applying the lotion, while claiming that it made her feel younger.
Raise your hand if you feel that visiting an airline website today can be described as a playful experience...

Andy Hedley, GM Southern Africa, Amadeus

...we can expect airlines to start using the digital realm more and more to build emotional connections with travellers and to stand out among the digital noise.

The fight to win and retain customers

What can we expect?

Chances are that reading this statement will have you raise your eyebrows, but not your hand. Airline websites today can be useful and efficient, but fun is perhaps not the most adequate way to describe them.This is about to change. Airlines have never had such access to the brains and feelings of their customers as they do today, according to Amadeus study,. By leveraging this data, airlines will be able to start experimenting with creative and fun new tools, which will allow customers to playfully interact with them.The fourth industrial revolution is definitely knocking at our door and we are entering an exciting era of datafication, constant connectivity and digital workforces. Its a time where we will see more potential than ever for brands to get closer to consumers, understand what the consumer values, and use machine learning to drive better-informed decisions about how to market to each of these customers.Until now, the airline industry has been lagging behind when it comes to understanding retail consumer techniques. Traditional airlines have historically always had a monopoly over regions and routes, and therefore they were under very little pressure to win over travellers or achieve brand loyalty. The story is slightly different with the low-cost carrier business model.Today, however, airlines all face saturated markets, where they have to fight to win and retain customers. Theyve had to up their game when it comes to marketing strategies and need to always be ready to respond with relevant offers that will deliver something of value to the customer, then and there.In the coming years, we can expect airlines to start using the digital realm more and more to build emotional connections with travellers and to stand out among the digital noise. The gap between businesses that are embracing the changes this era will bring and those that are failing to innovate will soon become apparent. This means airlines will need to speed up, put data in the driving seat and find new ways to become even more connected to customers.Airlines will increasingly strive to understand what individual travellers value each time they make a booking, and start bundling or unbundling their offering appropriately to drive a sale. Well see situations where travel behaviour will be analysed to the extent that airlines will be able to predict where customers are going to fly to next.Consumers can also expect airlines to enhance their booking experience, and to follow them through their journey, offering relevant touchpoints and service enhancements along the way. Theyll provide micro-moment information. Do you have a layover of several hours? You can expect the airline to get in touch with you and send you an offer for lounge access. Have you tagged the airline on social media? Theyll wish you a good trip.Airlines will need to be on alert for information overload, though. During the fourth industrial revolution, more information than ever will reach the consumer, making the complexity of choice an obstacle in the decision making process. Customers will only tolerate brands that present them with a relevant, speedy user experience, and will turn away from brands that dont.As well as catering to their customers in the best possible way, and upholding the principles of moment marketing, airlines will therefore also need to factor in the real-time influences on their offering. Technology will be an enabler that will help simplify the airlines offer as much as possible. This will capture the attention of consumers suffering from information overload, and present a much-needed clear path to purchase.The rewards are there to be reaped by those who are willing to embrace the challenge, make brave changes to how they engage with their customers, and have faith in the power of technology. Exciting times are ahead!
We entered 2017 reeling from a series of double-digit medical insurance premium hikes. It was becoming clear that schemes are in trouble; undercut by unregulated, selective insurance products and forced into tighter and tighter modes of managing care delivered. We were facing an affordability crisis then - that, without serious systematic change, schemes will be unable to derail their progression towards shrinking memberships and eventual collapse.

Dr Brian Ruff

Demand will wane, negative sentiment will rise Too few South Africans can afford medical insurance, and those pools are shrinking as a portion of the South African population (now below 16%). Those who continue to purchase cover do so because of the deterioration of public health services or a serious health condition, and they purchase the lowest cost plan available, with hospital only cover. As premiums continue to rise, with the country under serious economic strain, we will see even less demand for scheme cover. Negative sentiment towards medical schemes will grow due to rising premiums, benefit cuts, increasing co-payments and out-of-pocket spend. Many more people will experience failures of the system; such as denial of needed care until the point of hospitalisation. Patients will continue to be frustrated and confused by the very poor communication between their clinicians. Overutilisation will continue to worsen Relative to the stagnant demand for private care, we already have a serious oversupply of hospital beds in South Africa. Yet, investors continue to build new private hospitals and clinics. The structural problems are worsening, not improving. As scheme benefits currently work, many people can only access funding for treatment once they are in hospital. Doctors are happy to admit them, as their claims are then guaranteed to be paid. Too many beds drive a very costly form of overutilisation; every time a service is done in a hospital that could have been done in a doctors room, we spend R100 instead of R10. This pushes scheme premiums up and is a key driver of shrinking memberships and low scheme reserves. Schemes will need to innovate in how they buy care for members The crux of the problem in private healthcare, and what drives the health departments intentions to implement a single National Health Insurance (NHI), is schemes failure to deliver widespread access to quality healthcare. To date, as purchasers of care for their members, schemes have done too little to develop the community-level services that are required to balance the system and achieve better productivity. If schemes are to secure a place in the transition to an NHI and its management, they will need to put their efforts towards developing the supply of affordable care. They will need to dump the fee-for-service model that pays doctors working alone and axe hospital benefits that support over-utilisation, instead giving a solid boost to out-of-hospital benefit packages.

Who will drive needed reforms?

Moving into 2018, schemes reserves are under threat, memberships are stagnant and the system continues, for the most part, to tolerate overutilisation of hospital services while failing to invest in strengthening community-level care. Alternative fee models remain tentative and marginal, neither inspiring nor supporting any structural changes in the fragmented way healthcare services are delivered. In light of this, I predict the following for the coming year:One space in which reform is beginning to happen is amongst groups of practising clinicians, who recognise the fault lines in the current set-up and are seeking better forms of payment; ones that support teamwork and reward outcomes (rather than the number of services performed). This involves forming independent multidisciplinary practices that, with deep knowledge of their communitys health profile, can deliver holistic clinical and social care at the community level. Consulting together and being paid collectively, they can reduce costly hospitalisation by treating their patients in the community and using alternative facilities. As we are seeing in other countries, once these teams and systems mature and grow, they will increasingly demonstrate their value in terms of both reduced cost and better patient health outcomes  giving schemes, businesses and future NHI purchasing committees successful alternatives to the status quo.
The world is currently benefitting from a wave of pharmaceutical breakthroughs including targetted personalised treatment and biologics. In South Africa, which has traditionally lagged behind the rest of the world, requiring five to seven years in the licensing of new drugs compared to 18 months to two years in most western countries, there is cause for optimism on progress in 2018.

Dr Thomas Kowallik

A pharmaceutical revolution

New regulator: new hope of faster time to market

Moves toward an NHI

Patient empowerment

We have entered a phase of pharmaceutical revolution where we are seeing a wealth of innovative and more effective new drugs being licensed globally on the back of massive R&D investments, offering new hope for patients, and the availability of next-generation digital technologies to support research and healthcare delivery.During the past few years, we have seen the hype of the 90s around new drug technologies becoming a reality. If comparing the 2012-2017 timeframe to the years from 2007-2011, the average annual number of new drug approvals in the USA has increased by 46%, showcasing the acceleration in innovation. A significant proportion of new drug approvals have moved from chemical to biological drugs  biotherapeutics - in which drugs are manufactured using a living system such as a microorganism or plant or animal cells.Personalised cell and gene therapies and regenerative medicine are presenting the promise of effective treatment in ways that were never possible before, for example, through immunocellular therapy that uses a patient's own T-cells to fight cancer. Such a therapy received a breakthrough therapy designation by the US authorities this year. Preventative medicine is also an area of rapid development  as researchers uncover biological pathways responsible for debilitating chronic conditions, promising treatments are in development to actually halt the processes involved in disease progression before debilitation sets in. Current examples are biological products for the prevention of migraine, Alzheimers disease and recurrent, major adverse cardiovascular events after initial myocardial infarction.In addition, the digitisation of the industry is helping to drive progress both in R&D and healthcare delivery. Automation and big data analytics are supporting traditional laboratory work; predictive modelling is enhancing the ability to predict outcomes and tailor treatment; and artificial intelligence, internet of things (IoT) technologies and mobile devices are enabling more effective patient monitoring and outcomes assessments. Examples of such developments are smartphone platforms that have been developed by pharma in collaboration with global leaders in artificial intelligence (AI), that are used by community health workers to monitor the general health of whole families, with a referral function to local clinics only when built-in algorithms indicate increased risk. Testing and diagnostic devices for monitoring chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes, that can be plugged into any smart phone to measure lung function or glucose levels respectively, and then transmit data directly to the treating physician are also available. Telemedicine using smartphones plays a role in serving remote areas or providing a link-in to a specialist physician where needed, to ensure optimal diagnosis and treatment. These beyond the pill solutions are emerging in South Africa and are likely to increase their impact over the course of the next year.For South Africans, global pharmaceutical innovation has traditionally arrived late due to backlogs in local medicines approval times. However, there is hope that the situation will change in 2018, bringing advanced new drugs to South Africans, far faster.South African patients will benefit from the arrival of game-changing drugs in their fields, one of which received fast track approval by the MCC due to its breakthrough status which shortened the usual approval times significantly. The new drug reduces the risk of heart failure hospitalisations and cardiovascular deaths following heart failure by 20%; it enables patients to improve their quality of life and represents a new treatment class now available. Another drug under registration is a biological and offers improved psoriasis treatment outcomes with very high skin clearance as well as treating psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.However, thousands of other drugs still await approval by South Africas medicines regulators  a process that has traditionally delayed the arrival of new drugs in South Africa by around five years compared to the rest of the world. Such late approvals obviously delay access to new, innovative drugs for South African doctors and patients.This is especially critical in life-prolonging treatments where delayed approvals have a direct negative impact on patients survival as they cannot benefit from these new drugs while waiting for these treatment options to be approved and become available in South Africa.The formalisation of a new regulatory body  the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), replacing the Medicines Control Council (MCC) with effect from 1 June 2017, and the announcement of the new SAPHRA Board in October this year, may herald the start of change in 2018. In the meantime, the South African pharma sector is committed to the countrys continued participation in clinical trials, ensuring that data from our diverse population contributes to the development of new treatments. SAPHRA could gain confidence on review of registration dossiers from the fact that local investigators (often leaders in their clinical field) have had experience with the product.The industry is cautiously optimistic that the new body may take a new approach to approvals, such as building on reviews by the US FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMA) while upgrading the full-time review capacity at the new SAHPRA. This would enable reduced review times and bring the benefits of these revolutionary drugs to South African patients faster.Another development set to impact health and the pharmaceutical sector in South Africa over the next year is the move towards a National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. Universal access to healthcare is a noble ambition, which we support wholeheartedly. However, it should be noted that such initiatives are most effective and sustainable when thoroughly planned and resourced with strong partnerships in place.While we do not expect to see the implementation of an NHI in 2018, we may well see progress made in planning of the initiative. Key will be the coverage the NHI package will offer, what infrastructure and healthcare staff will be available, and ensuring the health insurance will be based on solid and sustainable financing for many years. The financing will also determine how comprehensive the package offered under NHI can be and will be a key design question of the new insurance scheme. The pharmaceutical sector, in particular innovator companies, has a very proactive approach to the changes and is seeking to partner early on with the relevant stakeholders to ensure patient access to the best treatments in a changing healthcare space.Patient advocacy groups will likely play a role in the development of the NHI, amidst another emerging trend in healthcare: the growing role the patient plays in his or her own treatment. Across the world and in South Africa, the emergence of patient associations, pressure groups and advocacy groups; and patient empowerment through social media and digital channels, is giving the patient a voice and moving the patient to the centre of the treatment ecosystem.These patient groups share learnings and experiences with the disease, and give a feeling of community; and also help the patients families and social environment to take an active role. In a digital age, many patients now educate themselves before going to see a doctor and also use digital media to learn about their disease.The patient also plays a key role in the success of treatment and managing his or her disease. It is known that the adherence rate for many diseases is only in the range of 50-60% (i.e. patients only take half of the pills they are supposed to take according to prescription, leading to suboptimal health outcomes). Here, digital technology can help to remind patients to take their medication and document their health outcomes  and even share them with their treating doctor.With this wave of change and progress underway across the sector, South African patients can start looking forward to improved treatments and enhanced healthcare provision in years to come.
NRD Capital, a US-based private equity firm that specialises in franchise investments, has cemented its entry into the African market with its acquisition of the 45-year-old South African family restaurant chain, Mike's Kitchen. The deal marks the company's first acquisition on the African continent.

With its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, NRD says it occupies a unique niche in the franchisee and franchisor business arena. The company recently revealed its largest investment to date, valued at $335 million (R4.7 billion), with the purchase of the casual-dining chain Ruby Tuesday Inc.Our focus at NRD Capital is to invest in quality brands and provide strategic and operational expertise to create sustainable value, says Aziz Hashim, founder and managing Partner of NRD. With well-established brands that can be differentiated from their competitors, we are able to identify significant growth opportunities, while taking a long-term view of investing in people, product, and the customer experience. Essentially, we acquire equity within both franchise and non-franchise concepts that offer compelling unit economics and solid opportunities for franchisees.Salim Shermohammed, Mikes Kitchens interim CEO and NRDs representative in Johannesburg, says NRD Capital is ecstatic about its acquisition of Mikes Kitchen. ... This iconic brand embodies everything that NRD seeks when it invests in companies. Mikes Kitchen has remained dedicated to the brands core promises  wholesome high-quality food, professional service and a unique family atmosphere.NRDs entry into South Africa forms part of a long-term strategy. Over the next five years, the company says it plans to acquire and develop multiple brands in South Africa, and across the African continent more broadly, creating new jobs and business opportunities, by leveraging the power of franchising.According to the McKinsey Global Institute, consumer spending in Africa is projected to reach $2.1 trillion by 2025, said Shermohammed, and NRD is in Africa for the long haul  to invest and re-invest in solid franchise businesses.
If there's one thing Africa isn't short of it is sunshine. So, it's hardly surprising that solar is making a major impact on increasing the number of people on the continent who have access to power.

Training workers to properly install solar panels at health clinics in Rwanda provides clean energy and creates green jobs. Photo: Walt Ratterman, Sunepi

Tripled capacity by 2022

East Africa leads the way

2

Sun energy is currently leading the race in renewables and for the first time solar photovoltaic (PV) additions surpassed all other fuels including coal. In its latest report on renewables , the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated a continued strong solar PV growth through to 2022, with renewable electricity capacity forecast to expand by over 920GW, an increase of 43%. The amount of power from solar grew by more than 50%, and has officially increased energy output globally at a faster rate than any other fuel.Solar PV is expected to contribute the largest annual capacity additions over the next five years, surpassing wind and hydro. The IEA report tracks off-grid PV applications in sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia for the first time. According to the current curve, solar capacity is set to triple to over 3,000MW in 2022 in these regions, as a result of industrial applications, solar home systems (SHS), and mini-grids driven by government electrification programmes, and private sector investments.The socio-economic impact will be significant, and over the next five years, SHSs  the most dynamic sector in the off-grid segment  are forecast to bring basic electricity services to almost 70-million more people in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. It will also lead to new business players bringing innovative payment solutions that allow low-income populations initial access to electricity services.To date, East Africa has been a main initiator in off-grid solar systems. For example, in Rwanda a solar powered mobile kiosk charges phones and connects communities. Currently, the Tanzanian national grid supplies electricity to less than 20% of the population and in other areas of the country mini-grids are connected to oil-burning or hydroelectric plants. This amounts to only a quarter of Tanzanians having access to power, while only another 8% of majority rural dwellers receive continuous power from solar systems linked to lithium-ion batteries.These private sector innovations supported by Power Africa and funded by OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation) are enabling people to access power in increasingly shorter periods of time through off-grid energy solutions.Populations who are not yet connected to the grid no longer have to wait months, years, or decades to have access to electricity for their homes and businesses. These innovative solutions are having an immediate and practical impact whereby millions of people in Africa will benefit by switching from kerosene and diesel fuels to solar energy, reducing their expenditures on energy while concomitantly and significantly reducing COemissions.
Large companies continue to face an increasing number of sustainability reporting requirements, both internally and externally, every year. And these reporting requirements are only set to increase. Often sustainability professionals are caught in an unending reporting cycle and before they know it are preparing for next year's sustainability report before they have had a chance to do anything else. Below are some of the main reporting trends and some ideas on what companies could do.

Stringent external reporting requirements

Communicating impact

Addressing threat of climate change

Sustainability reporting

Create the right structures so that sustainability is dealt with by the most senior leaders  a senior executive that is empowered to drive change is vital. They need to collaborate and influence in order to change hearts and minds, and provide the support needed for real change to occur.

Focus your reporting on the things that really matter, commonly referred to as the material issues. Consider how your company is contributing to achieving the SDGs and what the actual impact of those positive contributions is and communicate those appropriately.

Systematise your reporting systems to prevent laborious manual capturing and consolidating of data  online, cloud-based systems are becoming more affordable and should be investigated. Having accurate sustainability data is more important now than ever.

Use the data you capture to inform leadership on risks and opportunities and ultimately drive performance improvement. Wherever possible, quantify that data in easy-to-understand financial terms. For example, a consolidated view on energy costs as a percentage of operational costs, rather than gigajoules of energy consumed, will get your CFOs attention.

As the incidents of environmental degradation, social injustice and economic imbalance started to increase and cause significant economic impacts to companies ( BPs Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Marikana tragedy are just two examples), so too did the number of sustainability reporting requirements, as stakeholders demanded more honesty and transparency from companies. These reporting requirements include, for example, the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and more recently the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) . Add on the International Council on Mining and Minerals (ICMM) if you are in the mining sector and suddenly you could be drowning in reporting soup! And thats just the external reporting. Most listed companies produce internal environmental, health, safety and social reports on a monthly or quarterly basis for management.One of the trends we are starting to see is that the external reporting requirements are only going to become more stringent. Governments and stock exchanges the world over are bringing in new layers of regulation for environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure. Voluntary guidelines are now rapidly transitioning into mandatory reporting requirements. For example, the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) is to establish a minimum standard for ESG reporting across the EU. The directive requires the largest companies to report on environmental matters, social and employee affairs, human rights and anti-corruption and bribery issues. National governments transposed the directive into national law in 2016.One of the other major emerging trends is about communicating impact, not just statistics. Stakeholders are starting to ask questions about the impacts your business is having on society and the environment, and how this could impact your business performance in the future. The UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are further driving demands for impact data. Companies need to start understanding and communicating their impacts in relation to the SDGs.South African business face a number of long-term sustainability challenges. Governments and companies globally are facing increasing pressure to address the growing threat of climate change. Carbon pricing in South Africa, through a carbon tax or a budget is inching its way towards implementation. Water management in South Africa, exacerbated by the recent drought, is a looming crisis. And Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment is a non-negotiable.Due to the growing importance of sustainability, most listed companies in South Africa have appointed staff to manage the issue. The problem is when companies dont see the strategic advantage of sustainability and appoint administratively focused staff whose only role is to report. Or senior sustainability staff are appointed, but get bogged down in reporting. As a result, managing and improving the companys actual sustainability performance sadly becomes secondary.Your company absolutely needs someone to manage the sustainability reporting, as communication on your sustainability efforts is vital. But sustainability is also about looking into the future, predicting trends and using these to influence your business strategy for the better. This requires recognition from leadership in the business that sustainability is a strategic imperative and recruitment of different skill sets.What should companies do to embed sustainability into the business and make reporting a value add:Sustainability should never be one persons job. It should be in the lifeblood of the organisation, and inform decision making at all levels. Having the right structures in place to address this properly is vital.
Dr Paul Ilona, the country manager of Harvestplus, an international agriculture organisation, says over one million smallholder farmers grow bio-fortified food crops in Nigeria. Ilona disclosed this in Ibadan on Tuesday during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

auntmasako via pixabay

Naturally produced nutrients

He said that no fewer than six million people consumed more nutritious foods from bio-fortified crops in the country through the efforts of Harvestplus to address malnutrition. "Our on-farm yield increases from bio-fortified crops is estimated at 20% over local varieties, over 8,000 persons are estimated to be employed directly or indirectly by investors in the bio-fortified sector."We trained over 200 extension agents now, continuously rolling out training on good agricultural practices and quality processing of bio-fortified products."We were able to include bio-fortification into four key policy documents of the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Budget and National Planning aimed at creating an enabling environment for investors."Also, bio-fortification was included in budgets of federal and four state governments; over 20 international and local NGOs are mainstreaming bio-fortification into their livelihood programmes," he said.Ilona said that the inclusion of bio-fortified foods into the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) of the government was one of its latest achievements.According to him, Harvestplus developed and released six varieties of vitamin A cassava in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the National Root Crop Research Institute in Umudike.Ilona said that Harvestplus it also developed and released eight varieties of vitamin A maize in partnership with IITA and the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.The country manager said that his organisation released two varieties of orange sweet potato, rich in vitamin A, in partnership with the International Potato Centre (CIP). He said that Harvestplus developed over 25 innovative vitamin A cassava and maize-based food products, 10 of which were now fully commercialised."Our current advocacy efforts are led by 15 advocates in the academia, 17 traditional rulers, 21 women leaders, 25 policy makers and 26 celebrities," he said.Ilona described bio-fortification as a natural process different from food fortification. "Their concepts are similar, but their applications differ. In food fortification, you introduce new essential nutrients into foods, but in bio-fortification, the plant produces its nutrient directly and naturally," he said.NAN reports that Harvestplus improves nutrition and public health by developing and promoting bio-fortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals. It provides global leadership on bio-fortification evidence and technology. The staple crops are naturally bio-fortified and not genetically modified. (NAN)
South African companies face an embattled business environment, especially in the infrastructure space. While there are pockets of growth, South Africa and many other African countries are not recovering as quickly as hoped.

Take an inward look

Meeting Africa's infrastructure needs

South Africa has not recuperated from the world economic collapse and all indicators point to a long road to recovery. The countrys low GDP growth rate speaks for itself and confidence is weak, as recent credit ratings downgrades show. Even though governments have tried to anchor the investment infrastructure through investment programmes, there are limitations to what they can achieve.Major commodities-based markets such as Angola, Mozambique and Nigeria have also been hit.Under these strained circumstances, it is important for engineering practices to take an inward look to improve internal efficiencies, and an outward look at the market. They must look at existing clients, particularly their profitable clients, and ensure they are retained.Another important step is to consider diversification. Are there potential new growth markets? Is the company skills set being used to its full potential or are new skills required?Next, the value chain needs to be scrutinised. Can a traditional consulting practice move up or down the value chain? Can it move closer to client bodies, sharing development risk or developing its own projects?A horizontal view of the business is good for establishing what disciplines can complement and support the engineering practice to increase the value offering to clients.Africa has a growing need for power, transport and water infrastructure. While there are many financiers and enough capital in the market, little is being done to bring projects and financiers together.Financiers look for projects that have been tested for viability. Funding of the feasibility study is a stumbling block for many potential projects. A clever funding model, using the skills within an engineering practice  and working with the right partners  can bridge the gap and make projects bankable and attractive to investors.Ultimately, is the market on the radar a growing market? Are there viable opportunities? If so, it is necessary to work through the due diligence of that market - barriers to entry, existing players and its value offering.The South African engineering industry is in continuous flux, with a changing regulatory environment and shifting market conditions. Engineering practices must identify changes quickly, internalise them and respond.Economic recovery will not happen overnight and engineering companies must find ways to adapt and adjust their businesses to this new reality. Not to do so could have lasting and irreparable consequences.
Photogrammetry, cloud sharing, remote cloud collaboration, laser scanners, 3D printers, capacitive styluses, augmented and virtual reality design tools with immersive presentations, visual programming, building information modelling, parametric design... these all might sound arduous to learn or implement, but they are all fairly new tools and systems that are available, affordable and should soon be adapted by most architectural firms in South Africa. All carry the benefits of saving space and energy, and increasing accuracy and quality of work while contributing and promoting paperless offices and projects.

Equipment | New tools

Graphics tablets or touch screen and stylus (e-pencil) design tools

Stylus and tablet set, Ipad Pro and Pencil, Louis Cottle

Desktop 3D printers

Laser scanners

Photogrammetry

Immersive architectural experiences

Software | BIM

Parametric design and visual programming

Metropol Parasol, Seville, Spain, Frans Bergh

Cloud or online collaboration

Kanban chart with actionable tasks, Louis Cottle

Online BIM collaboration

Cloud | Online business management suites

Conclusion

The following highlighted items is not an attempt to summarisethe new technologies for designers, but rather serves as a brief description of the fairly new developments that are currently accessible and affordable, and should be trending in their applications in architectural firms in the near future.Digital graphic equipment is not new but has yet to be adopted by most designers. Perhaps the lack of accuracy in previous generation styluses stifled the shift, or perhaps it was the pricing, but today, numerous options exist for graphic tablets, accurate capacitive screens and stylus combinations and the benefits outweigh the cost. Many retain that traditional pencil and paper is best, I do think however that it is important to trial and test them. At least in the workflow and design process.Some of the benefits include less paperwork and expedited iterative design processing. It promotes a culture of clear communication by offering quick sketching and effortless sharing of revision notes.The affordable desktop printing market has been growing and this commodity will soon be the technical designers go-to companion for testing and resolving complex components and assemblies. The affordability of the filament plays a key role here but should not hinder firms in purchasing at least one unit for product development purposes. 3D printing technology can potentially have a major disruptive effect in the construction industry.By now most architectural offices should have a small handheld laser-pointing measuring device. Laser scanners work in a similar way, but instead of using one isolated laser, they create a cloud of laser points allowing an entire environment or space to be scanned. This point cloud entails thousands of 'distance measures'. The equipment produces a point cloud file that is directly exportable to compatible BIM software packages.When imported, modelling can now be guided by this scanned survey to an accuracy of 3mm over 70m in some cases. Working with this level of accuracy will allow designers to confidently design and issue construction drawings for off-site assembly in controlled environments. This effectively reduces the construction period and at the same time increases the accuracy and quality of components.The laser scanning arsenal doesnt stop there. There are handheld scanners and aerial scanners available to assist with scanning of all scales, from small items such as cupboards to site topography.Laser scanners are currently priced between R225,000 and R900,000 depending on the radius and accuracy of surveying that is required.If you have a smartphone, you could 3D capture small-scale table top elements by downloading various apps that make use of photogrammetry. The technology is not as accurate as laser scanning, but produces usable 3D models from sequenced photos taken of small to medium sized objects.Virtual and augmented reality, are technological advances that are allowing digital media to engage the user's senses for near real life experiences. Examples of equipment are Google Cardboard or Oculus Rift or even smartphones and tablets.The opportunities and prospects are endless. The client can immerse themselves and interact with designed spaces before construction has even started and constructive feedback processes with consultants can be conducted, reducing the guessing game. This accounts for the process of immersive creation as well. It is much more complex and it is not as developed as immersive experiencing software but hopefully accessible in the near future.The greatest advantage in my view is the promotion of faster iterative design feedback processes that result in quick adaptive changes, greater client satisfaction, and higher end quality product.Building information modelling (BIM) has been available for many years, but the complete implementation from office to projects has been slow in South Africa. Luckily, firms are converting more aggressively and soon this will pressure more clients to enforce BIM compliant projects.BIM compliant projects will ensure clear understanding and usability of project information. Extraction of information by various consultants is faster and more accurate and human error will be reduced to only the amount of drafting and drawing of custom schedules.The increase of 3D guides (through augmented applications for example) will visually assist all parties to better understand what they are about to build. Changes will not be as tedious and iterative design adaptations will be accommodated with less resistance from designers, leading to increase of client satisfaction.This has brought the need for local standardisation of BIM structures and components of which there are a couple of pioneers, one of which is the BIM Institute of South Africa. They have developed a national BIM guide that should be reviewed by all professionals that are trying to implement BIM in office and at project level.Hopefully, in the near future we will see the centralisation of standards and product specific BIM components and assemblies in the context of South Africa on a free platform.Visual programming/computational design is basically encoding new design decisions and requirements with the use of a visual computer language into your current design software. Mostly it manifests itself as an add-on. Think of it as coding with visual diagrams to create complex designs otherwise not possible with current standard design software.This has brought forth a new skill requirement and perhaps a new speciality among designers. Firms will now have access to parametric designs. Parametric design is basically designing structures, components or assemblies using algorithms. This might sound complex and difficult but is quite easy to achieve products through iterative attempts. It increases abstract design and the rationalisation of components and their assemblies. A great advantage of this is possible modular packaging of design components for off-site manufacturing and on-site assembly. This modular production skill has been producing interesting designs, especially if one looks at recent pavilion designs in Seville, Spain.Cloud collaboration software enables teams to achieve goals by collaborating online on common or individual tasks. It helps teams to move away from wall-mounted Kanban charts towards shared action lists on your mobile tablet and pc. There are simplified and fun-to-use versions but there are also advanced systems which will be of no use to an architectural firm in my view.I would like to focus this discussion on the free versions like Trello. At no cost to the firm you can switch from compulsory morning-office-recap-meetings to remote project management in a structured way.The implementation and acceptance of systems within the office is not as easy as one thinks and the culture, if not driven and trained to understand the significance of such a tool, will most probably be resistive and some might prefer to retain their isolated paper systems. The result is a half-baked solution that does not evolve to suit the specific workflow culture of your team. It is therefore imperative to properly understand the significance of online collaboration first and then to educate the team members before activating the system.Once implemented though, the benefits are endless. It creates a system and culture of interdependent task resolving members where nothing is missed and deadlines are clear and met. It is an innovative space as ideas are accessible to all team members that could further develop them. Communication and important comments can be made remotely, relieving team members of the stressing urge or feeling that one has to be at the office to complete work or delegate tasks effectively and accurately.The increase of cloud usage has brought forth ideas and systems to use similar platforms to coordinate construction information among the professional team and contractor. Autodesks BIM 360 suites is a good example of this but custom systems that make use of Dropbox or Google Drive can work just as well at a fraction of the price.The problem lies in convincing a construction team to adapt and accept this system as the preferred form of issuing information. This in itself is a hard enough task but the benefit to the client and project team should be stressed to maintain a positive attitude from everyone working on the project.The architect should take lead in the management of the information structure which will ultimately be used by all team members as an online depository for briefing, concept, tender and construction information. The amount of paper saved for printing and time saved on vast amounts of oversized emails should remain the end-motivation.Keeping track of project cost, time, and debtors and creditors could be a tedious task for some architects and one should not be surprised that online software exists that help you manage it.As time is increasingly becoming our most valuable commodity, more and more architects have come to realise that it is best practise to manage it diligently. Online software suites on the internet allow you to assign time spent on specific tasks and projects which in turn enables the user to extract valuable data at a later stage to help grow and plan your business. Careful management of this data can ultimately help you assess your firm's position regarding the feasibility of projects and assignment of architects.Recently, Fresh Projects has released such a suite which is based on South African regulatory criteria. I think local suites like this should be explored first before international major software companies are considered  such as Workflowmax. These suites will carry a subscription cost but, needless to say, it is a fraction of the cost the firm expends when managing these systems by administrating spreadsheets each month. Principles of firms accustomed to performing these tedious tasks can now focus on more important projects.The additional benefit of new technology and systems mentioned in this article all have the positive characteristics such as increased accuracy, higher quality end product, time- and space-efficient solutions, reduced energy input requirements. Therefore, I have no doubt that the implementation due to its reasonable affordability and accessibility is imminent and of a natural evolvement of the current traditional systems in place. Todays economic pressure on architectural firms is perhaps a force that will expedite the implementation of systems such as those explored above. Early adapters will have the benefit of exploring the next possible use to the benefit of the firm.Areas where I would like to see more development is the online culture of sharing knowledge, specifically local architectural knowledge. A culture like this would vastly speed up critical issues and discussion points  such as electronic council submission or complex questions on contract administration. It will become an innovation hub as current issues and complex challenges are accessible for all to view, assist and resolve.
Helping people to feel good at work goes far beyond achieving work-life balance. It's about creating an environment that enables employees to feel engaged, empowered and fulfilled. Get it right and your workspace will not only be a critical part of the talent attraction and retention equation, but will also have a positive impact on business productivity and profitability.

Make innovative workspace choices

Keep that entrepreneurial spirit alive

Dont worry, be happy

JLL carried out a global research project, Workplace, Powered by Human Experience, to understand the workplace experience and its specific impact on business performance and to decipher how experiences can be shaped by real estate to achieve strategic performance objectives. South Africa was one of 16 countries included in the research and the results have pinpointed a few trends relevant to local corporate occupiers:Employees want more from their office space to help them work more effectively. While over 50% of South Africans now work in an open place office or some kind of shared space, the provision of innovative workplace amenities is generally low. Companies must provide more than just collaborative and convivial space. Co-working, telecentres, and even space for group experiences or hobbies should be considered. There is also a strong desire for more hospitality and lifestyle services close to work, like exercise facilities or childcare provision. A variety of supplementary spaces reinforces workplace effectiveness, team culture and group cohesiveness.It is interesting to note that when in the office, South Africans are less mobile and spend less time in alternative and secondary work areas than their global counterparts. By advancing agile, activity-based and remote working practices, South African employers could not only save on real estate costs, but could also give their workers greater choice about how and where they will work.The clear majority of workers crave a more entrepreneurial setting. This means that large corporates must work hard to foster an entrepreneurial culture to attract top talent. Entrepreneurship can be dramatically enhanced through workplace design and strategy by, for example, offering creative zones, collaborative areas, incubators and a variety of other spaces which give people more freedom to work where they choose. South African employees say that feeling trusted, being able to show more initiative and acting with more autonomy all help create a stronger sense of empowerment at work.Happiness is the number one priority for a positive workplace experience. Nearly 70% of global research participants agreed that happiness at work is the best ingredient to guarantee a unique work experience. Whats more, nine in ten South Africans would like to see their companies appoint someone dedicated to driving experience and wellbeing at work. Think of it as a chief happiness officer!This requires making sure work feels comfortable beyond the surface level of happiness. Employee health needs to be ingrained into the vision of the organisation, and creating positive experiences in the workplace will require companies to rethink their real estate and strategic direction. This should be balanced with rewards and recognition that boost belonging and satisfaction.A place of work is far more than a property. It is a living environment that helps individuals and businesses craft and experience a better fusion of life and work. Engagement must come first, empowerment will drive change and fulfilment is the new happiness. This creative thinking should be at the core of every strategic and operational action in every company.
In a tweet on Tuesday afternoon, the university welcomed her to the team.

Stellenbosch University welcomes Advocate Thuli Madonsela, who started today at our Faculty of Law. pic.twitter.com/mrMqS4b0o9  Stellenbosch Univ (@StellenboschUni) January 8, 2018

The retired pubic protector takes on the position of chair in the social justice faculty.When her appointment was announced in October 2016, she expressed excitement about the new journey."I hope to work with my colleagues at the law faculty to play our part in accelerating the pace of achieving the constitutional promise of an inclusive society based on social justice, shared prosperity, friendship and peace. I am also looking forward to working with young people at the university and beyond on these matters," she said at the time.Madonsela, whose Twitter handle now reads as Prof Thuli Madonsela, took to Twitter to again express joy at the prospects of the new chapter on Tuesday.
2017 was a tough trading year for the commercial property sector. With the uncertain economic climate and chaotic run up to the ANC's elective conference in December last year, politics unfortunately dominated South African headlines for most of 2017 - and the property sector has most definitey been affected.

Lack of strong, ethical leadership

Stifled office market

As property practitioners, were required to present the market to our clients and ensure equitable terms between property users and landlords and developers. In this current less-than-ideal political climate, were finding that real estate decisions are taking increasingly longer to finalise. As a result, lengthy due diligence processes are taking place to assess business, political, economic and social factors associated with operating in South Africa.These dampened commercial real estate prospects and our economy as a whole are likely to continue to negatively impact our industry in 2018. Specifically the low economic growth environment were experiencing looks likely to continue, with private sector confidence at all time lows due to perceived economic uncertainty and a lack of strong, ethical leadership. Jacob Zumas ongoing scandals, the plundering of various state-owned institutions and the blind loyalties of cadres within the ANC are causing structural hurdles that stand in the way of our economy achieving a much-needed higher growth path.As a result, property developers and landlords are working very hard both to get their developments off the ground, and to retain tenants effectively.In this environment, its quite easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless. However, there will hopefully be some much needed change following Decembers ANC elective conference. To build a strong, inclusive economy, policymakers must harness effective growth plans, resources and the skillsets that play to SAs strengths. A major factor to move things in a positive direction would be to appoint ethical leaders who inspire honesty and courage to do whats best for our beautiful country.In terms of specific property sectors, the office market is likely to be stifled in 2018, where vacancy rates will most likely continue to rise. As new developments in prime nodes are being taken up, pressure is falling onto B-Grade offices investors. Driving around the Sandton, Rosebank, Waterfall or Menlyn CBDs admiring new P-Grade office developments on every street corner would suggest our economy is in great shape, however a couple more years of weak GDP growth could have serious consequences for this sector.The industrial property market remains constrained. While there are a number of exciting industrial land parcels ready for development, demand remains low with developers focusing on tenant or owner-occupier driven enquiries. We do anticipate that this sector will improve in 2018 off the back of a successful ANC conference.Whoever takes over from Jacob Zuma in 2019 will need to have a well thought out strategic plan with a capable implementation team at their disposal. Reducing debt and unemployment are two key factors to get South Africa back on track. Unless there is a significant change in the political status quo, coupled with effective measures to improve economic stability and growth, we foresee property as having very limited growth and investment potential in 2018.
Leon Meyer, general manager at The Westin Cape Town shares his top hospitality trends for 2018.

Leon Meyer, GM, The Westin Cape Town

Millennials - generation expectation:

Personalisation - the experience mindset:

Hospitality and technology - where to next:

Balance - health, wellness and well-being:

Employee upliftment - a changing perspective:

Sustainability - a crisis can bring much-needed change:

Let's get straight to the point, millennials are individuals born between 1980 and 2000 and are characterised to have very unique views on life, technology and social interaction. In the hospitality industry, we expect millennials to contribute 50% of our total room nights across all accommodation sectors by 2020. Its therefore of utmost importance that we understand, plan and change accordingly to exceed their expectations if we want to remain competitive.There is a clear global trend that people are looking for experiences and stories to enrich their lives. They want to share those memories instantly through social media, they want to feel valued and appreciated and, more importantly, they want their experience personalised and unique. There have been some great innovations and changes in the hospitality industry, allowing us to provide such personalisation and an entirely new industry has emerged to facilitate experiences that are 100% unique. Its critical we remain focused and challenged to keep innovating and to provide such experiences.In today's information age everything we can and could imagine has been impacted, shaped and transformed to facilitate global communication and data sharing. In the hospitality space we have seen rapid and disruptive innovation and continually invest in more and more technology to ensure we remain relevant to our ever-changing customer preferences and buying patterns.An example would be customer feedback. In 2000, Trip Advisor was created by Stephen Kaufer and has grown from strength to strength with over 500 million reviews. Today it shows customers and the industry how technology would shape our business. We need systems such as Revinate and TrustYou to search and collect reviewed information across more than 200 different review sites available to our local and international customer base. This ensures we remain educated on our customers feedback and more importantly remain engaged with our customers who take the time to provide their reviews. Our review averages determine our market success and play an enormous part in how we run our business.The world has changed. People are more focused and driven in their personal pursuit of achieving a balanced life. These demands have shaped the hospitality industry and today we see more lifestyle hospitality brands than ever before.Companies should put employees first - Richard Branson. At the time of first reading Bransons bold comment, I was slightly unsure if this would be the correct approach to managing a customer-centric business. However, in time it became apparent and logical that these, in fact, are very wise words. The majority of the Best Companies To Work For all live by this concept and have shown with repetitive success that this is indeed a change that is required in many businesses.Bringing it home, as the Western Cape struggles with the worst drought in a century I believe great innovation and sustainable long-term best practices will define Cape Town and the hospitality industry over the next 10 years.The Westin Cape Town as a team has been actively implementing innovative and sustainable solutions to reduce our water usage in the medium to long-term. We can confirm that we are now saving on average 1,000,000 litres of water per month compared to same time last year, and we continue to work with all areas of our business to challenge the status quo without significantly impacting our guests stay.
A dramatic decline in travel freedom

Global trends

Investment migration fast becoming the quickest route to improved mobility

However, it is far surpassed by the Seychelles, which, with visa-free access to 141 countries, is the highest-ranking country in Africa and sits in 27th place on the index. Ranking second in the region and 32nd globally, Mauritius, meanwhile, grants its citizens visa-free access to 134 countries.Globally, Germany holds on to first place for the fifth year running in the 2018 edition of the index. Compared to their African counterparts, citizens of the European country enjoy visa-free access to 177 countries in total.In 2008 and 2009, South Africa reached its highest ranking over the last 10 years when it ranked 35th on the index. Nigel Barnes, managing partner of Henley & Partners South Africa, explains that, when it comes to both travel and settlement freedom, South Africa is lagging behind in its rankings.In fact, of all the continents, Africa as a whole has suffered the most dramatic decline in travel freedom on the 2018 Henley Passport Index, with African countries accounting for 19 of the 27 biggest fallers over the past decade, he says.Sierra Leone, which gained visa-free access to seven countries, and rose eight places to secure 73rd position, is the biggest climber of all African countries on this years index. The Sierra Leonean passport now offers visa-free access to 62 countries globally. Meanwhile, Somalia, Libya and Eritrea, with a visa-free scoring of 32, 36 and 37 respectively, sit at the very bottom of the region in the Henley Passport Index.Global mobility is on the brink of massive change and some of the emerging trends we are seeing, as a result, include travel bans, visa restrictions, Brexit and growing support for nationalisation, says Barnes. Closer to home, credit rating downgrades, the volatile political and social climate, and concerns about the sustainability of sectors such as education are further evidence of increasing uncertainty and the major shifts shaping our world.The biggest movers in this years index were Georgia and Ukraine, which completed the visa-liberalisation process with the EU in 2017 and gained access to 30 and 32 new countries respectively. Georgia was the highest individual mover, climbing 15 places, while Ukraine ascended 14 ranks, clinching first place from the Russian Federation in the Commonwealth of Independent States. China, Sierra Leone, Guinea, the Dominican Republic, and Indonesia also performed strongly this year, each gaining seven or more places compared to 2017.At the other end of the spectrum, 14 countries - Cyprus, Trinidad and Tobago, Sweden, Spain, Greece, Lithuania, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Iran, North Korea, Nepal, Yemen, Antigua and Barbuda, North Korea and Syria - fared equally poorly in terms of downward movement on the index, each losing four places year-on-year. New Zealand descended the most but fell by only two places.Of the 199 countries featured on the index, 143 (including the US) improved their rank over the past year and 41 countries (the Russian Federation among them) maintained their position.In terms of visa-free access, only seven countries saw their level of access reduced over the past year: Azerbaijan, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, Laos, Algeria, North Korea, and Syria all lost visa-free access to a single country. By contrast, 18 countries maintained their level of visa-free access year-on-year, and the remainder of countries (174 in total) saw an improvement in their level of access compared to 2017.More governments than ever are embracingas a means of stimulating economic development and growth, and an increasing number of wealthy and talented individuals are looking to diversify their citizenship portfolios to afford themselves and their families greater international opportunity, travel freedom, stability, and security.Barnes points out that the countries that offer the most credible citizenship-by-investment programmes in the world consistently perform strongly on the Henley Passport Index. Malta offers the top-ranked investment-migration programme globally, and the country also scores very highly on the index, holding the worlds ninth most powerful passport and offering visa-free access to 169 countries. In fourth place, Austria provides access to a total of 174 countries. Cyprus, in 17th place, is another highly sought-after destination and offers visa-free access to 159 counties, he says. Likewise, Caribbean countries offering citizenship-by-investment programmes performed well on this years index.Alternative citizenship represents the most direct route to global mobility, connectivity, and access. Individuals who have multiple passports benefit from each countrys best practices and are less vulnerable to its risks and shortcomings. The Henley Passport Index is relevant to anyone seeking to strengthen their level of international access, as well as to governments trying to understand their passport offering in a global context, Barnes concludes.
Historic industrial revolutions have led to the "silent generation" (the likes of Warren Buffet and the Beatles) bearing witness to both pre- and post- liberated populations.

Benji Coetzee, founder and chief executive officer of EmptyTrips

As transport has a cross-industry impact, the power of blockchain technology for transport and logistics has gained much interest.

More innovators, fewer inventors

The blockchain craze to become the norm

Innovation requires collaboration to be revolutionary.

The powerful impact automation, mass production, globalisation, and digitisation has had on our daily lives cannot be undermined. Anyone can think of a number of innovations that have been revolutionary, e.g. the first plane, the first computer and, of course, the internet.However, currently, we are said to be undergoing the fourth industrial revolution; portrayed by synergistically blending physical, digital, and biological innovations of the past. This promises to further transform the lives of billions of people, offering efficiencies as well as potentially reversing the harm we have selfishly hurled onto planet earth.As a millennial, I find the naming of this revolution to be quite bold. Given that technology constantly evolves by its very nature of being innovative, surely, we are simply contributing to evolution?Lets step back and look at how selective technologies have evolved.From the introduction of the first desktop computer, innovations have largely been driven by digital data. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies, for instance, are a product of the computer, the development of the first information space/World Wide Web and the incremental invention of html code. It is a product of evolution.Blockchain holds much promise across verticals.For many organisations, the ability to more effectively track freight across the supply chain is one of the most appealing benefits of blockchain.Furthermore, seamlessly being able to validate carriers, verify payments/factoring parties, paired with trustworthy load data enables demand forecasting, which could unlock significant savings and reduce wastage of empty hauls and emissions.Blockchain, similar to the innovation of cryptocurrencies, is enabled by the distributed general ledger, and sets the foundation for more novelties in the years to come.We currently have more innovators than any other generation  but far fewer inventors, a sign of evolution. Innovators do not think linearly, nor do they constrain their ideas to past inventions, they adapt and are agile to change. This leads to exponential transformative potential.The craze of blockchain will become the norm over the coming months, as more companies strategically aim to incorporate, or at least understand, the encrypted process and the potential upside (and downside) it can offer to their modus operandi.In South Africa, we are still slow to adapt, but we will follow the global trend into the industry soon enough.The use of blockchain in logistics is growing daily, for example, Emirates Innovation Lab, IBM and flydubai Cargo , has created a new value proposition for cargo service delivery through the use of blockchain technology. This has added value by eliminating redundant data and improve visibility and transparency for all stakeholders.Lastly, Bitcoin would not have reached its $4000+ per coin mark, if there were no collaborative networks giving the innovation traction.For industry, this is a key lesson - we can all play a role in the fourth revolution by collaborating with innovators. This means improving internal cross-departmental collaboration, scouting for smart compliments and engaging with external B2B technologies.This way, all companies (big, small, complex or not) can harness technological innovation for their own evolution.
There's something to be said about sitting with my laptop open, staring blankly at this page, attempting to summon words from the dark corners of my mind. I've committed to writing a piece on creative burnout. Easy, right?

 Pixabay via Pexels

All that is required is rest

Boils down to your companys culture

Not so much.Not when you are in fact in the midst of creative burnout.Its not so easy to string together a thoughtful and insightful sentence when your brain is tired and your creative well is looking rather parched.Ive been told that it is that time of year and that its just one last push. Which are great motivators and sentiments to trope out in an industry where youre not relied on for creative thinking. Burnout in a creative industry is a threat to your livelihood. The Mayo Clinic describes burnout as a special type of job stress  a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion combined with doubts about your competence and the value of your work.All of this makes burnout is a bad enough bogey man to deal with. Creative burnout is its ugly, bigger cousin lurking in doorways and bumming cigarettes off pretty thoughts while accosting creative things.Coping with burnout is easy enough. All that as required is rest.. And more rest. As your body starts to relax, those cortisol levels plummet, and the adrenaline that youve been fuelled by for the last couple of months peters out to be replaced by healthier day to day things like breathing normally and eating lunch (not in front of your laptop). Your mind relaxes. You no longer have to fight the urge to smother your partner in their sleep because their breathing annoys you.Creative burnout is a little trickier. This rather insidious monster digs its tentacles in deep. Rest alone wont evict it. Healthy eating and exercise simply wont cut it. To rid yourself of this beast you need to replenish that creative well. You need to nurture and re-ignite that creative spark. Reading, painting, drawing; all help top that well up. Finding the time and space to let your imagination loose to roam free unhindered by deadlines, CIs, and messaging hierarchies is like the first big thunder storm after a long drought. Slowly those pretty thoughts and creative ideas return as your creative well fills up. Until one day, you sit down in front of your laptop with words spouting and flowing from you, filling up the page.Productivity will return, bringing with it your ability to focus, making meeting those deadlines a breeze. With business boosting side effects like this youd think that more companies would pay closer attention to employee wellbeing, right? A recent survey of 614 HR Chiefs in the USA showed that up to 50% of staff turnover is due to burnout. What can companies do to help their employees slay their burnout beasties?Open door polices are a great start, as they allow your employees to approach you should they need help with anything, including burnout. This way, youre able to fix a problem before it snowballs into a Franken-monster. Another way to avoid burnout is letting your employees feel like they have a say in the decision process. Adam Cronenberg from Alpha1 Garage Service gives more details on how his company helps their employees banish the burnout beastie here Dealing with burnout in all of its ugly forms is ultimately down to your companys culture. Too many companies tend to view their employees as faceless replaceable resources that can be swapped out when needed. They breed it. To combat this scourge, you need to nurture your employees. Give them the resources they need to get their job done. Give them feedback on their work. Let them have a say in their career path and growth.For me, it took a little longer to get rid of that monster than Id care to admit. After months of attempting to write this piece, and being unhappy with the words vomited up by my tired mind, Ive sat down and realised that the creative burnout Ive been plagued with has packed its bags and left. Hopefully, itll be a long while before that beastie decides to visit again.
The full speaker programme for the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity has been announced with top speakers who join a Festival programme comprised of world-leading experts from the international creative communications industry.

Creativity in healthcare communication

Local creativity under the spotlight

Building on the Dubai Lynx tradition of bringing global talent to the Festival, the 2018 programme features speakers from award-winning agencies and brands.Fernando Machado, global chief marketing officer at Burger King was instrumental in steering the global restaurant brand to creative success at Cannes Lions, culminating in the restaurant brand being named Creative Marketer of the Year at the 2017 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. A firm believer in the positive contribution brands can make to society, Machado will address the Dubai Lynx audience on the power of brand purpose for good, and for business.World-renowned creative leader Jose Miguel Sokoloff, president MullenLowe Group Global Creative Council, MullenLowe Group will be joined by Ben Knight, global creative lead at MullenLowe Open to explore how creativity can impact change not simply on a commercial level, but within governments and societies too.As part of the mission to bring fresh voices to the Dubai Lynx stage, Ilkay Gurpinar, chief creative officer at TBWA\Istanbul makes her Festival debut, sharing her expertise in creating cultures that help boost creativity. Other speakers making their first appearance include Chaka Sobhani, chief creative officer at Leo Burnett London and John Mescall, global executive creative director and global creative council president, McCann Worldgroup.Creativity in healthcare communications is a breakout theme of the 2018 programme, mirroring the launch of the specialist Healthcare award category. Bruno Stucchi, consultant creative lead WPP Health and Wellness Italy/Switzerland will help marketers realise the potential of the health-related story thats hidden inside almost every brand.The healthcare narrative continues in sessions from McCann Health, in which Robert Gibbs, creative director McCann Health Dubai, explores design that changed the world, and FleishmanHillard global managing director Anne De Schweinitz is joined by Nadine Fanous, head of communications and government affairs, Bayer Middle East to share examples of how innovation is radically changing the patient journey.Local creativity is under the spotlight on the Arabic Creativity stage, and includes sessions from Nissan Motor Corporation, J. Walter Thompson Amman, and The Classic Partnership. The Arabic Creativity programme also features Dr Hatoon Kadi, writer and host of the critically acclaimed Uturn showThe Festival programme is completed with the Data x Innovation x Tech stage, where ground-breaking digital technology such as AI, VR and voice recognition is explored in sessions from R\GA, Mirum, Serviceplan Group Middle East and BBDO Pakistan.This years programme feels like one of the broadest mixes of speakers and content that weve ever had, and its a genuine reflection of the vibrant energy that runs through the creative industries. The growth of healthcare at the Festival, as well as the participation of some incredible global brands proves that MENA creativity is an exciting force to be reckoned with, and Dubai Lynx is the place to see it in action, said Thea Skelton, festival director, Dubai Lynx.Full programme information can be found here Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity takes place 11-14 March 2018 at the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.
KHARTOUM, Sudan - Eight newspapers have been prevented from publication and distribution by National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), this week, amidst protests against recent austerity measures. Yesterday, the Almidan newspaper was prevented by the NISS from distributing its daily print runs without any rationale.

 skantgarg via 123RF

Altayyar, a traditionally pro-government newspaper.

Almustagila, a traditionally pro-government newspaper.

Algarar, a traditionally pro-government newspaper.

Alsiha, a traditionally pro-government newspaper.

Akhbar- alwatan, affiliated with Sudanese Congress Party.

Almidan, traditionally affiliated with the Sudanese Communist Party.

Yesterday, the Almidan newspaper was prevented from distributing its daily print runs without any rationale

Background

Between 7-9 January 2018, the National Intelligence and Security Services visited Khartoums printing houses and confiscated the entire print runs of six newspapers without giving reasons.On 8 January 2018, the NISS confiscated the daily print-runs of Aljareeda, an independent newspaper and Albaath, a newspaper affiliated with Arabic Baath Party, without giving reasons. The lead story of Aljareeda newspaper which was confiscated covered the student protests that took place in El Geneina, West Darfur, the previous day.On the morning of 7 January, NISS officials prevented six daily newspapers in Khartoum from distributing printed copies with no rationale given. They include:It is very likely that the confiscations relate to their coverage of the peaceful protests against the government that took place on 5 and 6 January in Khartoum, Aljazeera and Kassala states. On 5 and 6 January, Khartoum, Aljazeera, and Kassala witnessed protests against the new increases in the prices of basic commodities, fuel and electricity tariffs.According to reliable sources, on 5 January 2018, the NISS ordered editors-in-chief of the different newspapers not to cover any demonstrations related to the austerity measures or reports on shortage of bread and oil.Censorship is often ramped up around key events with post-print censorship, whereby entire print-runs of daily editions are confiscated prior to morning distribution, at great cost to newspapers, which along with other forms of harassment and intimidation enforces self-censorship as editors are unable to afford to publish opinions that might result in the print run being confiscated.Authorities also tightened restrictions to prevent coverage of the nationwide anti-austerity protests in 2013 ; in April 2015, to prevent coverage of an elections boycott by opposition parties ; and again in November 2016 to prevent coverage of the civil disobedience campaign protesting anti-austerity measures introduced in early NovemberThe African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) reiterates previous calls to the Government of Sudan to immediately end its policies of pre- and post- print censorship of newspapers, which severely circumscribes the availability of information in the public sphere and hinders freedom of expression and access to information: We recommend that the Sudanese Government provide compensation to the various newspapers for financial loss incurred as a result of the confiscations.In recent years, it has become a daily ritual for NISS officers to visit Khartoums printing houses in the early morning hours to seize print runs or prevent the distribution of morning papers without giving any reasons. Post-print censorship is routinely used by the NISS to intimidate editors from publishing on what are often referred to as red line issues, which are issues that the authorities deem sensitive and seek to control in public debate. It is also thought to have the intended impact of causing editors to self-censor to avoid financial losses.ACJPS noted a marked increase in post-print censorship in November and December 2017 with at least six newspapers being constantly targeted over this period. In November 2017, ACJPS documented 5 incidents of post-print censorship carried out by officials of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) against 6 media houses. Four newspapers who had faced repeated prevention from distribution in November continued to suffer post print censorship in December 2017 on more than one occasion.The NISS has increasingly sought to censor not only independent newspapers or those affiliated to opposition political parties, but also those that are traditionally supportive of or affiliated to the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).
PR Newswire

DONGYING, China, Jan. 10, 2018

The Kazakh region's second-in-command leads a delegation to China's Shandong province

DONGYING, China, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A delegation led by Kairat Bekenov, Deputy of Mayor of Aktobe region and Directors of Administrative Activities Department , Ministry for Investments and Development in Republic of Kazakhstan, accompanied by the trade representative of Aktobe region to China, paid a three-day visit to Dongying in Shandong province, China from November 30 to December 1, including a field trip to Kerui Petroleum.

During the trip, the delegation led by the Deputy of Mayor and his entourage, officials from the Dongying Municipal Government and the Dongying Investment Promotion Bureau, as well as executives from Kerui Petroleum and other local oil and gas firms attended a panel discussion. At the session, the representatives from Kazakhstan gave a detailed presentation on current economic trends in the country and the favorable policies for companies that plan to invest in Aktobe Oblast. Following the discussion, the attendees toured Kerui Petroleum where they exchanged opinions with company executives. During the tour, Kerui Petroleum president Wang Haitao reviewed the history of the company's activities in Kazakhstan, while the Deputy of Mayor gave a presentation on the development roadmap for the regional industrial park and invited Kerui Petroleum to tour Aktobe Region with the aim of establishing a long-term partnership with the Chinese equipment manufacturer.
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The indigenously-built carrier of China was launched in April 2017. A Xinhua photo

BEIJING (PTI): China's first indigenous aircraft carrier is expected to conduct its maiden sea trials next month, even as the country's navy began building a third carrier vessel in Shanghai.



China had launched its second aircraft carrier in April 2017 after it commissioned the first carrier the Liaoning, a re-fitted Soviet Union-made vessel in 2012.



"China's first homemade aircraft carrier might conduct its sea trials around Spring Festival in mid-February," Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told state-run Global Times.



He said it was possible the Liaoning could carry training personnel from China's second aircraft carrier for them to study and gain experience.



Taiwan's defence authorities last week in a statement on its website had said that the Liaoning, which passed the west side of the Taiwan Straits, was expected to embark on a long-distance voyage.



China has developed a new jet fighter called J-15 to operate from the decks of its carriers, the report said.



The Liaoning conducted three cross-sea area training exercises in 2013, 2016 and 2017. "Passing the Taiwan Straits is not strange for the aircraft carrier and its naval formation," Li stressed.



He added that this time the Liaoning might go through Miyako Strait to complete another circle of Taiwan.



Last week, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post had reported that China has started building its third aircraft carrier with a hi-tech launch system.



The third carrier, a second home-grown, is being built at the Shanghai shipyard since last year, it quoted People's Liberation Army (PLA) officials as saying.



The Shanghai shipyard is still working on the third aircraft carrier's hull, which is expected to take about two years.



Earlier reports said China plans to have four aircraft carriers by 2030 to operate from the disputed South China Sea as well as Indian Ocean.



"Building the new carrier will be more complicated and challenging than the other two ships," a PLA official told the Post.


Warren Buffett has predicted a bad ending for cryptocurrencies.

Speaking on CNBCs Squawk Box program today the billionaire said he doesnt own a single bitcoin and has no plans of investing in it.

In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending. When it happens or how or anything else, I dont know."

Russia Today have described Buffetts position as the latest in a chorus of other prominent investors who have publically doubted the bright future of cryptocurrencies.

The bitcoin price stopped at $13,907 on Wednesday. The digital currency has gone up 1,500 percent over the last 12 months, reaching a record price of over $17,500 in mid-December.
Irish beverage exports rose by 8% last year to 1.5bn, due to continued demand for premium spirit and liqueur products, according to new figures released today.

The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI), the representative body for drinks manufacturers and suppliers in Ireland, has welcomed the new figures from Bord Bias latest export performance report.

According to the report, Irish beverage exports continue to benefit from the surge in popularity for Irish whiskey in global markets, which recorded almost 20% annual growth to 600m.

Irish cream liqueurs also had a buoyant year, rising 10% overall to more than 300m. This follows a lost decade in which growth stagnated in the category.

In 2017 the top five markets for drinks exports were the United States, UK, Canada, Germany and France.

The Japanese market was the best performing of the Asian countries with sales rising by 30% to 9m.

The report says that export growth in 2018 will be driven by the ongoing growth trajectory of Irish whiskey, the popularity of premium brands and product innovation.

Patricia Callan, Director of Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland said: "A few years ago, there were just four whiskey distilleries and there are now 18, with a further 16 in planning. Additionally, there are now over 100 craft beer brands in the country.

"However, there are challenges ahead. The Bord Bia report identifies Brexit as a threat to Irish food and drinks exports.

"Given that Irelands drinks industry operates on an all-island basis, a resolution to the issue of a trade border between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland is our priority.

Ms Callan also said the federation is worrieed about the "unintended negative consequences" from the advertising and labelling measures being proposed in the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill.

She said: "As we see from this report, smaller and boutique producers are key to drinks export growth, and they need freedom to innovatively market and advertise their products in their home market prior to export.

"Equally, if as now proposed following the Seanad debates, Irish whiskey, gin, beer and liqueurs must carry a cancer label, when our competitors in the rest of the world do not, this will be hugely damaging to our international reputation and our ability to export.

"We want to work with the Government in 2018 to address these issues and to ensure Irish drinks exports continue apace."
Innovation is a key weapon in energising any economy and especially one that is under pressure. In this context, a small but powerful idea that is germinating in an Irish village is one which should be explored across rural Ireland as part of the fight-back against decline and depopulation, writes Joe Gill.

In Louisburgh, Co Mayo, a humble but clever bookshop is helping provide that impetus by connecting a well meaning benefactor with a local community. Books@ one was financially supported by the One Foundation, a charity established by aviation entrepreneur Declan Ryan.

He helped recruit a manager and building for the bookshop; which is really a community hub incorporating books, a film club, hot drinks, poetry, music evenings and other initiatives that help bind and promote local community endeavour.

Of course, this formula is not applicable for every town outside the main cities in Ireland. Many mid-sized towns and villages have private book stores that are struggling against the onslaught of online retailing. Where Books@One could come in to its own is in villages that are really small. Louisburgh has a population under 500 and anyone who has lived in the country or was reared there knows many similar sized locations. I visited two over Christmas to meet relatives. Both had lost their Post Offices. One was losing one of just two shops and the other had seen its last pub close. Morale in these types of villages is under severe pressure and they need help.

The Books@One model works best in a village that has a school willing to support its efforts. Children can provide tremendous energy and having a facility that helps broaden their education is only a good thing. It also needs local community backing as any initiative will fail if the people living in the area do not provide full blooded support.

Book@One also has another ingredient that is not easy to find  a benign supporter. To replicate this template small villages need someone or some organisation to give them the guidance needed to establish such a venture. Not only can these type of initiatives erase the negative energy that flows when a village is in a downward spiral but it might also kick-start the type of investment and thinking needed to make existing infrastructure in rural Ireland part of the solution to overcrowding and overpricing in our capital city.

Joe Gill is director of corporate broking with Goodbody Stockbrokers. His views are personal.

News: 17
A new enforcement body to target white collar crime could finally tackle the apathy around the culture, a legal expert has said, writes Padraig Hoare.

University of Limerick professor Shane Kilcommins was speaking after the Central Bank said it would support the creation of a dedicated division within an existing criminal agency to specifically investigate white-collar crime.

The Central Bank was responding to the Law Reform Commissions paper on regulatory enforcement and corporate offences, saying such a division would allow for more effective investigation and prosecution of white collar offences.

The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) is currently in place to oversee compliance by firms with the Companies Act.

The Central Bank declined to comment on what a new white collar agency would mean for the ODCE but said assistance and sharing of resources could lead to more crimes being prosecuted.

A spokesman for the Central Bank said: There is understandable public concern around the investigation and prosecution of white collar crime. The Central Bank would support the creation of a dedicated division within an existing criminal agency to investigate white collar crime.

He added: These reforms would allow for more effective investigations into white collar offences and, where appropriate, prosecutions taken. Individuals with relevant skills could be seconded to such a division from other agencies in order to provide support in complex areas of investigation and prosecution.

Mr Kilcommins said a division incorporating regulatory expertise with the knowledge to prosecute serious crime would finally tackle a culture of apathy surrounding the crime.

A long-time campaigner for tougher measures against white-collar crime, he said: It would tackle crime in the suites as opposed to crime in the streets, which is just as serious and has a profoundly negative effect on society. We have a long history of failing to deal with white-collar crime, all the way back to 1982 Merchant Bank collapse.

We have been moving in the right direction of late with a whole range of organisations using mostly compliance measures but a new division specifically focused on white-collar crime would allow people with a wider skillset to tackle the issue. It would be very welcome, he said.

Director general of financial conduct at the Central Bank, Derville Rowland said: A well-stocked enforcement toolbox is vital to ensuring the Central Bank can safeguard stability and protect consumers.
Heres whats new on Netflix this week.

This guide is sure to come in handy for those of you off work or school sick...which seems like half the country at this rate!

Sit back, feet up and relax, Netflix has got you covered.

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Available from 12 January)

David Letterman, the longest-serving host in U.S. late night television  the original host of Late Night (NBC) and The Late Show (CBS)  is out of retirement and returning to television with a six-episode, 60-minute Netflix talk show series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.

The first episode will stream on Friday, January 12, and a new episode will be made available each subsequent month in 2018.

Daves lineup of influential guests includes George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai, Jay-Z, Tina Fey, Howard Stern and President Barack Obama. President Barack Obama will be Lettermans first guest on January 12 and the interview will serve as Obamas first television talk show appearance since leaving office.

Produced by RadicalMedia and Lettermans Worldwide Pants, Incorporated, for Netflix, each 60-minute episode of My Next Guest is centred around one extraordinary figure whom Dave finds fascinating.

In interviews that take place both inside and outside a studio setting, the conversations are intimate, in-depth and far-reaching, with the levity and humour Daves fans know and love.

The BFG (Now Streaming)

Ten-year-old Sophie is in for the adventure of a lifetime when she meets the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance).

Naturally scared at first, the young girl soon realizes that the 24-foot behemoth is actually quite gentle and charming.

As their friendship grows, Sophies presence attracts the unwanted attention of Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater and other giants.

After traveling to London, Sophie and the BFG must convince Queen Victoria to help them get rid of all the bad giants once and for all.

Star Trek Discovery (New Episodes every Monday)

Star Trek: Discovery will follow the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new lifeforms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.

Star Trek, one of the most iconic and influential global television franchises, returns to television 50 years after it first premiered with Star Trek: Discovery.

The series will feature a new ship, new characters and new missions, while embracing the same ideology and hope for the future that inspired a generation of dreamers and doers.

New Star Trek Discovery episodes premiere on Netflix at 8am every Monday morning, following the US episode broadcast on CBS.

The Polka King (Available from 12 January)

Local Pennsylvania polka legend Jan Lewan develops a plan to get rich that shocks his fans and lands him in jail.

This exuberant tragicomedy recounts the remarkable but true story of the rise and fall of Polish emigre Jan Lewan (Jack Black), from striving tchotchke shop owner in the 70s to the undisputed King of Pennsylvania Polka in the early 90s.

Lewan pursued the American Dream by any means necessary, fleecing investors and bribing officials to build a personal musical empire in what became the worlds only known Polka Ponzi scheme.

Swept up by Lewans charismatic charm are his devoted wife, Marla (Jenny Slate), and his neurotic sidekick, Mickey (Jason Schwartzman).

Pride (Available from 12 January)

Its the summer of 1984  Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is on strike.

At the Gay Pride March in London, a group of gay and lesbian activists decides to raise money to support the families of the striking miners. But there is a problem.

The Union seems embarrassed to receive their support. But the activists are not deterred.

They decide to ignore the Union and go direct to the miners.

They identify a mining village in deepest Wales and set off in a mini bus to make their donation in person.

And so begins the extraordinary story of two seemingly alien communities who form a surprising and ultimately triumphant partnership.

Tom Segura: Disgraceful (Available from 12 January)

Comic Tom Segura takes no prisoners in his return with his Netflix Original Stand-up comedy special, Tom Segura: Disgraceful.

Filmed in front of a packed audience at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, Segura unapologetically calls it like he sees it as he reflects on the meaning of life, the different ways that fast food chains shame you, and why having a baby is the most selfish thing you can do.

The Jane Austen Book Club (Available from 12 January)

Six Californians (Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, Emily Blunt) form a book club devoted to studying the works of the 19th-century author.

As each deals with lifes assorted challenges, she or he finds unexpected similarities and wisdom within the pages of Austens witty prose.

Crazy Ex Girlfriend Season 1-3 (New Episodes Every Saturday)

Successful and driven, Rebecca Bunch seemingly has it all -- an upscale apartment in Manhattan and a partnership at a prestigious law firm -- but she feels like something is missing.

After a chance meeting with a former romantic interest, Rebecca impulsively decides to give up her life in New York and relocate to West Covina, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb she hopes will be the perfect home base as she embarks on a quest for love, adventure and true happiness.

Star Rachel Bloom also serves as an executive producer.

Disjointed: Part 2 (Available from 12 January)

Pot activist Ruth Whitefeather runs a medical marijuana dispensary while encouraging her loyal patients to chill out and enjoy the high life.

Somebody Feed Phil (Available from 12 January)

The new original documentary series from the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, Phil Rosenthal, takes viewers on a goodwill eating tour of the world (Tel Aviv, Lisbon, Saigon, Mexico City, New Orleans and Bangkok.)

Along for the ride are Phils friends, family and his trademark sense of humour.

Grimm: Season 6 (Available from 10 January)

Following the massacre in Nicks loft, Capt. Renard is hell bent on eliminating him once and for all.

Hank and Wu head back to the precinct to keep an eye on the Captain and help give the gang the upper hand. Meanwhile, Monroe and Rosalee grapple with staying in Portland now that their family will be expanding.

Elsewhere, Eve suffers the side effects of the mysterious sticks healing power.

Dayveon (Available from 11 January)

Struggling with his older brothers death, 13-year-old Dayveon spends the sweltering summer days roaming the streets of his rural Arkansas town.

With no parents and few role models, he soon falls in with a local gang.

Though his sisters boyfriend tries to provide stability and comfort as a reluctant father figure, Dayveon becomes increasingly drawn into the camaraderie and violence of his new world.

No Good Deed (Available from 12 January)

Terri (Taraji P. Henson), a devoted wife and mother of two, lives an ideal life that takes a dramatic turn when her home and children are threatened by Colin (Idris Elba), a charming stranger who smooth-talks his way into her house, claiming car trouble.

The unexpected invitation leaves her and her family terrorized and fighting for survival.

Good Time (Available from 11 January)

After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Constantine "Connie" Nikas (Robert Pattinson) embarks on a twisted odyssey through the citys underworld in an increasingly desperateand dangerousattempt to get his brother Nick (Benny Safdie) out of jail.

Over the course of one adrenalized night, Connie finds himself on a mad descent into violence and mayhem as he races against the clock to save his brother and himself, knowing their lives hang in the balance.

Hostel: Part II (Available from 12 January)

Beth (Lauren German), Lorna (Heather Matarazzo) and Whitney (Bijou Phillips), three young American women traveling abroad in Rome, decide to take a weekend excursion.

Lured from their intended destination by a beautiful acquaintance (Vera Jordanova), the women anticipate a stay at a luxurious spa. Instead, they become pawns in a grisly game designed to entertain wealthy deviants from around the world.

The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin (Now Streaming)

This film celebrates Armistead Maupin, one of the worlds most beloved storytellers, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer whose novels inspired millions to reclaim their lives.

Alien Contact: Outer Space (Available Now Streaming)

Many people think of Space as a quiet and desolate vacuum of emptiness, but new evidence reveals that space is rife with activity beyond our comprehension.

Just as we sent Voyager and Pioneer probes beyond our solar system, Aliens have probes of their own that may have arrived as early as the 1600s.

While Tesla was the first to successfully communicate with neighbouring worlds using radio waves, we have received recent signals from intelligent sources. In 1989, Russian Space Probe Phobos 2 photographed a UFO on the surface of Mars just prior to losing contact.

Scientists have determined that the craft was real and of a thin elliptical shape over 20 miles in length. We are not alone in outer space and while the Aliens may be initiating contact, they could also be here already.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (Available from 13 January)

On Sept. 11, 2012, Islamic militants attack the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith, an officer for the Foreign Service.

Stationed less than one mile away are members (James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Max Martini) of the Annex Security Team, former soldiers assigned to protect operatives and diplomats in the city.

As the assault rages on, the six men engage the combatants in a fierce firefight to save the lives of the remaining Americans.

On Yoga: The Architecture of Peace (Available from 10 January)

ON YOGA: The Architecture of Peace is director Heitor Dhalias new film and his first documentary, it follows photographer Michael ONeill as he talks to the great Yoga masters in India, Tibet and New York.

Spark (Available 11 January)

Spark (Jace Norman) is a wisecracking teenage monkey who lives on an abandoned planet with his friends Chunk (Rob deLeeuw) and Vix (Jessica Biel).

Thirteen years ago, power-hungry Zhong (Alan C. Peterson) seized control of their planet Beta, wiping out Sparks family and sending him into hiding.

Now, Zhong plans to use the deadly space Kraken to destroy the entire universe, and no one but Spark can stop him.

For January highlights, check out this video:
Sinn Fein's continued "eulogising" of the IRA is thwarting efforts to build a shared future in Northern Ireland, Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster has warned.

Mrs Foster delivered a blunt message to the republican party in the wake of a furore sparked when one of its MPs posed with a Kingsmill-branded loaf on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre.

"They have to stop eulogising terrorists," she said.

"They have to stop that, it cannot continue.

"If we are building a new shared future for the people of Northern Ireland, let's build it, but let's move away from the past and move away from the eulogising of terrorists."

The DUP leader claimed the controversy around West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff's social media video was just one of many instances where Sinn Fein members showed disrespect to the victims sector.

Mr McElduff has been suspended by Sinn Fein for three months.

He has insisted the video was not meant as a reference to the republican murders of 10 Protestant workmen at the village of Kingsmill in January 1976 and issued an unreserved apologies to the victims' families.

Mrs Foster was scathing in her assessment of how Sinn Fein has handled the affair as she emerged from her first face-to-face meeting with new Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley at Stormont House.

"It really is time for Sinn Fein to show respect for all of the people of Northern Ireland, it is time for them to understand the hurt they have caused, not just over the incident with Barry McElduff but over a whole range of incidents in relation to innocent victims," she said.

Mrs Foster added: "We have listened to lectures on respect for a whole year and it's very easy to demand respect, but apparently it is not very easy to give respect, and Sinn Fein have not given respect to the victims community here in Northern Ireland and, by definition, the whole wider community in Northern Ireland."

Announcing Mr McElduff's suspension on Monday, Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill apologised to the Kingsmill families.

She said the tweet was "ill-judged and indefensible" but said she did not believe it was intentionally malicious.

In the short video, Mr McElduff, who is known for his light-hearted social media contributions, is filmed walking around a shop with a Kingsmill loaf on his head, asking where the store kept the bread.

It was posted around the 42nd anniversary of the Kingsmill outrage last Friday.

The abstentionist MP has faced multiple calls to resign in the wake of the controversy.

Mr McElduff will continue to be paid during his three-month suspension from party activities.

After Monday's disciplinary meeting in Belfast, Mrs O'Neill said sorry to the Kingsmill families.

"To the Kingsmill families, I as the Sinn Fein leader in the north want to apologise unreservedly for the hurt and pain that has been caused over the course of the last number of days in regard to Barry's tweet," she said.

- PA and Digital desk
Rolex watches, a drone and 4,500 in cash are among the items that have been seized during searches across Dublin.

The Criminal Assets Bureau searched nine homes and businesses in Rialto, Dun Laoghaire, Francis Street and other city centre locations this morning.

No arrests have been made, but officers did seize phones, documents and other items they believe relate to the proceeds of crime.

Officers said investigations are ongoing.

The Rolex watches seized in the raid today. Pic via An Garda Siochana.

- Digital desk
By David Raleigh

An inquest into the death of a DCU lecturer heard she died due to carbon monoxide poisoning during a house fire in Limerick.

Tragic Grace McDermott, (26), had travelled to Limerick from her home in Dublin to take part in the Great Limerick Run on April 30, 2017.

Limerick Coroners Court heard, how, having lost her hotel room keycard, she stayed at a friends house after unexpectedly bumping into him while out socialising after the race.

The fatal fire occurred at The Oaks, Riverbank, Annacotty, in the early hours of May 1, 2017.

The court heard the cause of the fire was likely due to a lamp accidentally falling over onto a couch in the bedroom where Ms McDermott slept.

The lamp, the court heard, was missing its base and was resting against the couch.

Garda Sergeant Dave Bourke, a Scenes of Crime officer attached to Henry Street garda station, said the initial focus of the garda investigation into the fire centred around a laptop charger discovered in the room following the fire, however this was later discounted.

The investigation switched to the lamp, but he added: We found no evidence of a lamp.

It was accepted by all parties the lamp could have been destroyed in the fire, or torn off by the force of water used by firefighters to douse the flames.

Paul Collins, a forensic scientist, who carried out a flammable field test on the partially destroyed couch, agreed under questioning from solicitor Cian OCarroll, representing the McDermott family, that if the sofa had been compliant with the highest fire safety standards, it may not have occurred.

Limerick Coroner John McNamara said the only verdict he could return was an accidental death.

He said a number of unfortunate events had led to Ms McDermott staying at her friends house after she had become separated from another friend whom she had travelled to Limerick from Dublin and had planned to stay with in the hotel.

A series of events transpired which unfortunately led to Grace being in the house where a lamp had fallen over, and it would appear, was the catalyst for the fire, he said.

The room was fitted with a fire-door, the court heard.

Mr McNamara said he intended to contact the Department of the Environment, recommending smoke detectors be fitted in every bedroom of every new home in the future, as a mandatory safety measure.

Colin ONeill, Graces fiance attending the Coroners Court in Limerick today. Pic: Liam Burke/Press 22

I dont know how practical it isbut I dont think it would be a high price to pay to save some lives, he said.

Fire-doors prevent (fires) escaping, but when someone is in the room, its giving them no chance, he added.

Four others were in the house at the time of the fire but all four escaped uninjured.

Cathal Sheridan, a friend of Ms McDermotts, who invited her back to the house, described how he attempted to rescue her but was held back by his fellow housemates.

My abiding memory is roaring Graces name. She was the nicest girl you could ever meet; the smartest, most intelligent girl," Mr Sheridan said.

Ms McDemotts father Robert, and her fiance, Colin ONeill, attended the inquest.

Mr ONeill, from Portmarnock, told the court gardai gave him back the engagement ring he had presented to his beloved wife-to-be, following her tragic death.
Update 8.50pm: The Justice Minister says he would be happy to meet the family of murdered prison officer Brian Stack.

The family of Mr Stack claim the Gardai have had significant information on the murder for 27 years.

His son Austin claims Gardai are protecting an IRA informant.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan says he's been assured by Gardai there's no impediment to the investigation

"I'd be very happy to meet the Stack family again, said Minister Flanagan.

"I've known the Stack family in Portlaoise for decades and again I acknowledge the great level of public service that was given by Brian Stack and of course, he paid for that with his life in very brutal circumstances."

Earlier: Gardai investigating the death of Brian Stack say they are satisfied they have been provided with all the relevant information from within the force.

The statement comes after the family of the IRA murder victim accused gardai of protecting a republican informant at the expense of the investigation.

The prison officer was shot dead in 1983 and his family have accused a section of the Gardai of withholding information about his killers.

"The investigators leading the investigation relating to the death of Mr Brian Stack are satisfied that they have been provided with all the relevant information they require from within An Garda Siochana," the Garda statement read.

"The investigation team is receiving the co-operation of all relevant sections within An Garda Siochana in order to pursue all possible lines of enquiry.

"An Garda Siochana maintains regular contact with the Stack family for the purpose of keeping them informed of any relevant developments in this investigation.

"An Garda Siochana is determined to bring the investigation into the death of Mr Brian Stack to a successful conclusion."

Speaking to Sean O'Rourke on RTE Radio 1 earlier today, Austin Stack, son of the late Brian, claimed that he was approached by a retired senior garda who told him an IRA informant had come to him and given him the names of people involved in the murder of his father.

Austin said that he was already aware of these names, but this third source provided further confirmation.

The retired Garda told him this information had been provided to Gardai in 1990 and was on file.

Austin claims that when he spoke to the Gardai in January 2016, the claim was denied.

Austin Stack

"There was some very parliamentary language used towards us at that meeting and since then my mother has point blankly refused to meet with an Garda Siochana," he said.

"My view is that they are protecting an informant. That's the view that has been put to us by the investigation team.

'In our view, the information that's there could potentially lead to people being prosecuted if it matches up with the work that the Gardai are doing since then'.

When asked by Sean if Austin knew the names of the individuals he was referring to, Austin said yes.

'I do, I know the individual. I'm quite confident that I know the names of the individual who drove the bike, who shot my dad and who sanctioned the murder," he said.

"There was one individual who was living in the 26 counties, another one is living in the United States."

The family sought a meeting with the Garda Commissioner for the last three years, Austin told Sean that they were 'essentially fobbed off'.

Asked have they sought a meeting with an Taoiseach Leo Varadkar or Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, Austin said that they had not of late but that the family would be looking to pursue this now.

"I would be calling on the Taoiseach to keep the promises that his predecessor made to us, and I'd be asking Charlie Flanagan to keep the promises of his predecessor," he said.

'Enda Kenny and Frances Fitzgerald gave us that undertaking, they told us that the full rigours of the State would be put into this investigation and that situations involving an informant would not be allowed to hinder this investigation'.

The family of murdered prison officer Brian Stack says significant information was withheld by a section of the Gardai investigating his killing.

It is claimed the infomation, which had come from an IRA informant and contained details of those responsible, had been on a file in Garda HQ since 1990.

Mr Stack's son, Austin, wants the Taoiseach to demand answers from the Garda Commissioner.

He is also looking for full access to all files.

Brian Stack was shot in Dublin in March 1983 and died 18 months later.
Update 6.45pm: Irish Rail is accusing its own staff of stopping it from introducing more frequent services.

Irish Rail's Barry Kenny says their resistance means the company could be unable to meet growing demand.

"We have record passenger numbers achieved in 2017 matching the previous high," said Mr Kenny.

"Clearly there is a need for us to respond to our customers needs and the needs of the economy by growing the service.

"So unfortunately, this ballot coupled with the last 20 months are restricting that ability."

Earlier: Train drivers have voted by an overwhelming majority to reject a Labour Court recommendation on pay and productivity measures.

The Irish Rail drivers, who are members of the SIPTU union, voted by 83% to 17% against the measures in a ballot counted today.

More than 93% of drivers from the NBRU union also rejected the 1.15% pay rise awarded by the Labour Court.

The 1.15% pay increase was on top of a 2.5% general yearly increase for the next three years for all Iarnrod Eireann staff.

The pay hike would have allowed for driver training which would lead to more frequent services.

NBRU General Secretary Dermot O'Leary said management and unions had to examine why the proposal was rejected.

He also warned that there would be problems if the company "pressed the nuclear button" by unilaterally implementing changes.

- Digital desk
David Drumm, the former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, has pleaded not guilty to being involved in an alleged 7.2bn conspiracy to defraud and to dishonestly providing false information to the market.

A specially enlarged jury of 15 jurors was sworn in today at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in order to try him.

Mr Drumm (aged 51) is charged with conspiring with others to defraud depositors and investors by dishonestly creating the false impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2bn larger than they were.

He is also charged with false accounting, in that he allegedly provided information to the market on December 3, 2008 that used misleading information to give the impression that deposits to the bank for that year were 7.2bn greater than they really were.

Wearing a navy suit and an open-necked pale blue shirt, Mr Drumm stood in court as the charges were read to him at around noon today. The accused, with an address in Skerries, Co. Dublin replied not guilty to both counts.

Judge Karen O'Connor told the members of the jury panel that in order to serve on the jury they must make themselves available for five months.

It then took around 90 minutes to empanel a jury of eight men and seven women after 97 people were called from the jury panel.

Judge O'Connor told the jurors that they should not serve if they held such strong views on Anglo Irish Bank that they did not feel they could deal with the matter fairly.

She warned them they should not sit on the jury if they were shareholders of Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Life and Permanent, Irish Life Investment Managers, or Irish Life Assurance, or were ever employed at those institutions.

Judge O'Connor said jurors should not sit on the jury if they had expressed views in public, on the internet or on social media, on issues relating to Anglo, the banking crisis or bankers in general.

They should not serve if they knew anyone involved in the case or if they had ever worked for the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the Central Bank, the Department of Finance or any other body involved in the financial crisis, she said.

She added that they should not serve if they were a qualified accountant or connected with accountancy firms EY or PWC.

Judge O'Connor also warned the potential jurors not to research any aspect of the case online. She said that doing so could collapse the trial, causing enormous expense and administrative difficulties.

The judge said that material gleaned online could not be checked for veracity and reliability and it would be extremely dangerous to use such matters in this trial.

A list of nearly 100 witnesses was read out to the jury, including around 38 people formerly connected with Anglo.

The list of scheduled witnesses includes former chairman of AIB Dermot Gleeson, former AIB chief executive, Eugene Sheehy, former Anglo chairman Donal OConnor, former Bank of Ireland chairman Richard Burrows and former Bank of Ireland chief executive Brian Goggin.

Judge O'Connor adjourned the case until tomorrow at 10am, again reminding jurors not to carry out any research on the case.

During the jury selection process Judge O'Connor excused over 70 potential jurors from serving after each of these persons approached the bench and spoke in confidence to her. The final juror to be sworn in approached the bench only to tell the judge she had no excuse not to serve before swearing the oath.

One juror asked to be excused after telling the court that her aunt worked in the mint pressing section of the Central Bank. Another juror was excused after he told Judge O'Connor he worked in the Revenue Commissioners and has a policy with Irish Life.

Another man was permitted to serve on the jury after he told the court he had worked in the IT section of AIB in 2013.

Mr Drumm denies conspiring with Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud, by engaging in transactions between Anglo, Irish Life and Permanent and Irish Life Assurance to mislead depositors, investors and lenders about the true value of deposits to Anglo between March and September 2008.

He also denies furnishing false information to the market in September 2008, contrary to section 10 of the Theft and Fraud Act, 2001.
Update 11.59am: A jury is today being sworn in for the trial of the former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, David Drumm.

He is accused of conspiring to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2bn larger than they were.

The 51-year-old, with an address in Skerries in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty.

An enlarged jury of eight men and seven women were sworn in to hear the case and were told they need to be available for five months.

The judge told the jurors they should not serve if they have expressed themselves publicly regarding Anglo, the banking crisis or bankers in general.

Earlier: Jury in trial of David Drumm to be sworn in today

The jury in the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm is due to be sworn in today.

The 51-year-old, with an address in Skerries Co Dublin, faces two charges of conspiring to defraud depositors and investors in Anglo in 2008.

He also faces one further charge related to the EU transparency directive.

The trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court is expected to last between three and five months.

Mr Drumm has yet to enter a plea to the charges.'

- Digital desk
Update 10pm: The Taoiseach is being accused of being out of touch, after he suggested that proposed new abortion laws may go too far.

Leo Varadkar says the Oireachtas committee's recommendation of abortion on request up to 12 weeks, went further than he expected.

Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger was a member of the committee. She thinks the Taoiseach isn't facing the facts.

"The Red C poll that was done in November shows that 60% of people supported this particular demand that Mr Varadkar is so terrified about which is abortion at the request of the person themselves up to 12 weeks," Ms Coppinger said.

Update 7.55pm: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said recommendations to allow abortion without restriction in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy went further than many people expected.

A referendum on the future of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution is due to be held in May, with Mr Varadkar declining to give his opinion on the debate.

After the first cabinet meeting of the year, the Taoiseach said a decision on what question would be put to voters on the contentious issue should be determined by the end of the month.

Concern that abortion proposal a step too far - Varadkar | Read more: https://t.co/UYkqJjimnp pic.twitter.com/TNVRYDFPBN  RTE News (@rtenews) January 10, 2018

"For a lot of people, not just in cabinet, a lot of people in the country, the proposal to allow for the termination of pregnancies up to 12 weeks went further than many people would have anticipated," he said.

"It certainly went further than I would have anticipated a year or two ago."

The planned referendum on the Eighth Amendment followed recommendations in late December by a specially convened Oireachtas committee which found that Article 40.3.3, which gives the mother and unborn child equal right to life, is not fit for purpose.

It called for the amendment to be repealed.

In its 40-page report the committee recommended that abortion should be available up to 12 weeks of pregnancy without a woman having to explain her decision, and that the procedure should be allowed if the life or health of the woman was at risk.

It also called for expectant mothers to be allowed an abortion at any stage of the pregnancy if doctors diagnosed a foetal abnormality that was likely to result in death before or shortly after birth.

The cabinet met for two hours in Government Buildings with the abortion issue top of the agenda.

The Taoiseach said that Government ministers, backbenchers and senators would be free to campaign for or against any reform of the strict limitations on abortion.

"It is, I know, very much a private and personal matter and there is a diversity of views on this matter in the cabinet, in the Oireachtas, in every political party and I think in almost every family or household," the Taoiseach said.

"As far as my party is concerned, the Fine Gael party, I want us always to be a warm house and a big tent for people with a diversity of views on this issue whether pro-life, pro-choice or in that very big grey area in between."

Before a referendum is held the Government is expected to outline how laws will be changed if the public votes in favour of repealing the constitutional limitations.

The committee found that the current laws which allow for a pregnancy to be terminated if a woman's life was at risk have created significant difficulties.

It called for gestational limits for abortion to be guided by the best available medical evidence and be provided for in legislation.

It said at least two specialist doctors should be asked for assessments in relation to the termination of pregnancy where the life or the health of the woman was at risk.

The committee also called for all pregnant women to be given access to scans between the 18th and 22nd week of the pregnancy.

Update 6.30pm: The Taoiseach says he won't reveal his position on abortion until he knows what question will be put to people in a referendum.

Leo Varadkar says there's strong agreement at cabinet that a vote on repealing the 8th amendment take place this year.

He'll reveal his views in the coming weeks and says he will campaign on the issue.

The Taoiseach added that cabinet members will be free to vote and campaign whatever way they see fit.

Mr Varadkar did say, however, that a proposal to allow abortions for up to 12 weeks after inception may be a step to far for the wider public.

Also speaking after a two hour cabinet discussion on the issue the Minister for Communications, Denis Naughten, said he wanted to see proposed legislation on abortion, before making his views on the matter public.

Earlier: Justice Minister says 'I support repeal,' after Cabinet meets on 8th Amendment

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has joined Cabinet colleagues in calling for Ireland's abortion laws to be liberalised in the upcoming referendum later this year, writes Juno McEnroe.

Minister Flanagan said he backed Oireachtas Committee recommendations to repeal the Eighth Amendment, the part of the Constitution that protects the life of the unborn.

His comments come after the Cabinet today discussed the recent committee report, which recommends allowing unrestricted abortions in pregnancies up to 12 weeks.

He said: "I support repeal. I don't believe this is an issue that should be in our Constitution. I want to acknowledge that this has been a very challenging issue, a very sensitive issue over the past 35 years.

"I believe it is important now in the context given in the partnership programme for government that we move on towards the next stage. The Dail and Seanad will be discussing the issue next week.

"I want to hear the views of everybody across government, across parliament. But I believe that we must have this debate carried out in atmosphere of calm, an atmosphere of acknowledging that it is going to be very, very difficult to achieve consensus, that there will be people with differing views, differing opinions."

His colleague, Business Minister Heather Humphreys, said she wanted to consult with her voters in Cavan-Monaghan and particularly women on the matter.

She said: "I continue to consult with the people of my constituency. And I particularly want to consult further with the women because at the end of the day it will be women who are most impacted on this issue."

She paid tribute to the committee who had done the report, saying: "This of course is a very complex and a very emotive issue."

The Fine Gael parliamentary party is to due to debate the abortion referendum and individual views next Monday.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said TDs and senators will be allowed a free vote on the issue. The Government wants to hold the referendum either in May or early June.

- Irish Examiner
By David Raleigh

Gardai have arrested a man in connection with the murder of Limerick man Martin Clancy.

The body of Mr Clancy, (45), who was originally from Moyross, was found by a young female relative, stabbed to death in his flat at Little OCurry Street in the city last Sunday.

Gardai arrested a man in Cork city around 8pm tonight on suspicion of carrying out the murder.

The suspect is aged in his mid 20s and is from Limerick, sources confirmed.

Gardai were earlier today granted a further 48 hours in which to designate Mr Clancys flat a crime scene.

Investigators are utilising the services of an expert forensic scientist, in the hopes of finding DNA belonging to Mr Clancys killer.

The DNA expert, who is attached to Forensic Science Ireland (FSI)  an associated office of the Department of Justice and Equality  arrived at Mr Clancys flat yesterday.

The FSI officer is conducting a full sweep of the property as gardai continue to conduct house to house enquiries in the local community.

Daniel Nedelcu, a neighbour of Mr Clancys, told reporters on Monday that he entered Mr Clancys flat unaware he had been killed, and said he saw what he believed to be blood on a floor and on walls inside the flat.

Mr Nedelcu, a Romanian national who has worked as an interpreter in Limerick, said he then left Mr Clancys flat after feeding the victims pet dog.

Superintendent Derek Smart, leading the murder probe, appealed for anyone who has information about the murder to contact gardai at Henry Street (061-212400), or the Garda Confidential Line (1800-666-111).

Meanwhile, gardai also revealed that a FSI scientist has uncovered DNA which gardai believe belongs to the killer of Limerick pensioner Rosie Hanrahan.

The 78-year olds body was found in her Thomondgate home on December 15th last, after an apparent break-in at the property.

Gardai are now liaising with Interpol in an attempt to find a DNA match after the sample did not get a hit from the Irish DNA database, which is operated by FSI.

In 2016 alone, 9,000 profiles from persons were added to the database, which identified 428 hits, and assisted 625 cases in the same year.

There are close to 100 people working at FSI, including mainly trained scientists and analysts, supported by administration staff.

Originally known as the Forensic Science Laboratory, FSI was established in 1975 to provide a scientific service to the Criminal Justice System by analysing samples submitted from crime scenes and providing expert evidence in criminal trials.
The Government recouped just 3.2m from the sale of more than 40 Garda stations, a total described as derisory, writes Stephen Rogers.

Figures provided by Kevin Boxer Moran, minister of state for the Office of Public Works, reveal that 42 stations were sold between 2014 and 2017, raising a total of 3.228m.

That works out at an average of less than 77,000 per closed station building.

While the most expensive station, Mallow Rd in Cork, sold for 260,000, others sold for a fraction of that price.

Crossakiel Station in Meath sold for 6,000, while Rathowen Station in Westmeath and Ballacolla Station in Laois sold for 15,000 each.

Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim OCallaghan criticised the Governments decision to sell the stations in the first place.

The fact that the Government only secured 3.2m for the sale of closed Garda stations reveals that this was a shortsighted and pointless policy, he said.

The public was told that these Garda stations needed to be closed and sold in order to save costs.

We now see that the financial saving has been derisory, yet the social cost has been enormous.

Mr OCallaghan said the closure of Garda stations, particularly those in rural areas, has had a detrimental impact on local communities and the confidence that people have in their own safety.

The Government needs to reverse this shortsighted policy and stop selling Garda stations that it has closed, he said.

The Department of Justice said the aim of closing Garda stations was to promote the more efficient and effective deployment of resources rather than to secure modest cash savings.

It said Garda management had decided that, in relation to certain stations, resources could be better deployed and more effectively used on the frontline if those stations no longer had to be staffed and maintained.

The 3m made by the Government from the sale of the stations is the same amount as the Government last year committed to putting into rural CCTV cameras to help communities deal with crime.

In recent weeks, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan appeared to admit that the scheme was not working, saying that applications for cameras were well below expectations  just six successful applications as of November.

The Irish Farmers Association said there is a need for a well-staffed, visible Garda force throughout rural areas.

The allocation of gardai to rural areas is important to both tackle crime and to give a greater sense of security to those living in rural Ireland, said IFA national treasurer Jer Bergin.

At the end of 2017, the Garda commissioner recommended six closed Garda stations be reopened on a pilot basis: Ballinspittle, Co Cork; Bawnboy, Co Cavan; Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow; Donard, Co Wicklow, and Rush and Stepaside in Dublin.

The inclusion of Stepaside  which is in Transport Minister Shane Rosss constituency  caused controversy. Assistant Garda Commissioner for Dublin Pat Leahy said it wouldnt have been my number one priority.

Fianna Fail TD Shane Cassells said it was going to cause huge anger in the rest of the country, especially in rural Ireland where 139 stations were closed or scaled down to buzzer boxes and at the same time they see pictures of the smiley head of Shane Ross holding up a poster with his local councillor saying, Ive got you Stepaside reopened.

The fear of crime in rural areas has seen Independent TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim Michael Fitzmaurice suggest that elderly people living in secluded areas be allowed to arm themselves with pepper spray and Tasers.

Muintir na Tire, the National Association for Community Development, has warned that the issue of crime, and particularly the fear of crime, remains a very serious issue throughout rural Ireland.

- Irish Examiner
A picket will take place outside the Housing Agency's HQ later in a protest at the re-appointment of chairperson Conor Skehan.

Mr Skehan has been under pressure since an interview with the Irish Times, during which he stated: "We (ie the Government) unwittingly created a problem by prioritising self-declared homelessness above all other types of housing need, which created a distortion in the waiting list system and may have encouraged people to game the system."

Solidarity TDs are leading today's lunchtime protest at the Housing Agency in Dublin.

Homelessness charities have also criticised Mr Skehan's comments.

"There's no evidence whatsoever to support a claim like this," Niamh Randall, a spokesperson for the Simon Communities.

"And I would be very clear on this, that as the Chair of the Housing Agency, there's a responsibility in relation to what kind of comments you would make and what kind of information you share - and therefore if there was a concern of this nature, then presumably the onus was on the Housing Agency to maybe look at exploring that.

"And that's not what happened here."

The Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy last week reappointed him to the position, despite the comments.

Mr Skehan is reported to be keen to move on from the role, which was due to finish on December 12 and which he has occupied since 2013, but no suitable replacement could be found in recent weeks. The role is unpaid.

The Department of Housing said that Mr Skehan will only stay in the role for up to one more year until a suitable replacement is found.

Mr Skehan, who has also called for performance targets for charities working in the sector, will now continue in the role until the end of this year.
The new Northern Ireland Secretary has stated her determination to overcome the challenges at the heart of the region's powersharing crisis and restore devolved government at Stormont.

On her first visit to Belfast, Karen Bradley said she wanted to work collaboratively with local parties to forge an agreement that will see a coalition executive resurrected.

Her appointment to the role, following James Brokenshire's surprise resignation on health grounds, came as Northern Ireland marked a year since the Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led administration imploded in a row over a botched green energy scheme.

The rift between the two main parties has widened in the intervening 12 months to take in long-standing cultural and legacy disputes.

The prospects of a deal to restore powersharing still appear bleak, with the spectre of a return to Westminster direct rule looming large.

Mrs Bradley met students at Belfast's Metropolitan College in the city's regenerated docklands area on her first official engagement in the region.

Her schedule today also included face-to-face meetings with the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein.

"I want to find a way through this because the absolute priority is to restore devolved government as soon as possible," she said, standing on the Titanic Quarter's fog-shrouded waterfront.

Asked if she intended to adopt a new approach to the faltering negotiation process, Mrs Bradley stressed she was still in learning mode.

Karen Bradley confirms the restoration of power-sharing at Stormont will be her priority during her first working day in Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/bOH5cmoHcX  RTE News (@rtenews) January 10, 2018

"I am here to learn, I am here to find out, I am here to meet all the leaders, I'm here to look at what needs to be done.

"I know there are challenges but I am determined we will find a way through those challenges.

"We need to deliver devolved government to Northern Ireland as soon as possible and that's what I am determined to do."

The Conservative MP said she was also conscious of the need to deliver a Brexit that worked for everyone in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Bradley said she understood the importance of dealing with the legacy of the Troubles and ensuring a safe future.

"My aim is to work collaboratively to find solutions to those issues that are acceptable to everyone," she said.

The former culture secretary said the Irish government would have an "important role" to play in efforts to save devolution.

She is due to meet Ireland's deputy premier and minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney on Friday.
The Health Minister Simon Harris has said he plans to bring a review on bed capacity to government before the end of the month.

Minister Harris is also proposing to advertise for a head of healthcare reform and agree a date for GP pay talks in a bid to solve the trolley crisis.
More than 500 patients are waiting for treatment on trolleys again today in Irish hospitals.

The latest total of 551, supplied by nurses' and midwives' group the INMO, shows the situation is worst in Letterkenny where there are 43 people waiting on a bed.

That is closely followed by University Hospital Galway, where there are 42 patients on trolleys.

It hit a record high of 676 patients waiting on a bed last week - although we have yet to see a peak of the flu season.

Yesterday, it emerged that a 94-year-old man spent more than 10 hours on a trolley at University Hospital Galway.

INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said that a more permanent staffing shortage causing problems also.

"We know that we're 3,000 whole-time equivalents down from what we were in 2007, just before the moratorium on recruitment and promotion was introduced," he said.

"That was the biggest problem we ever had in nursing and midwifery, because in reality nursing and midwifery should have been exempt. They weren't.

"So every post that became vacant wasn't filled."

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has defended the Government, saying that everything that can be done is being done to solve the crisis.

"The Minister for Health is in constant contact with the Emergency Task Force," she said.

"A number of senior decision-makers have now been put on rosters for the weekend and at evening times to make sure that we turn around people and make sure that decisions are being made in a timely fashion and the amount of beds that we have that can be opened are being opened.

"We are currently going through a recruitment process to actually get the staff to open those beds."

- Digital desk
Over 1,000 secondary school students are hoping to impress on day one of the 54th BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition.

The President will kick off proceedings at the RDS in Dublin this afternoon.

Some 550 projects have been submitted, and 60% are from female students.

This year winner(s) of the event, to be announced on Friday, will be presented with a cheque for 7,500, (an increase from 5,000), a trip to the historic Bletchley Park and the BTYSTE perpetual trophy.

The 2018 overall winner(s) will also represent Ireland at the 30th EU Contest for Young Scientists when it is hosted in Dublin in September.

Judging will begin today, with the exhibition open to the public tomorrow.

Managing Director of BT Ireland, Shay Walsh, says he is looking forward to the event.

"It's infectious - the buzz will be absolutely phenomenal here," he said.

"It's going to be fantastic, it's going to be a lively event this year."
Today FM have announced that Muireann OConnell is their new lunchtime presenter, writes Sally Gorman.

The Limerick native will be kicking off her brand new 12-2pm show on January 22.

Were DELIRA to announce @MuireannO_C as the new Lunchtime presenter (12-2) on #TodayFM!



Shell be kicking off the brand new and exciting show on January 22nd! pic.twitter.com/IEFWNyMNoq  Today FM  (@TodayFM) January 10, 2018

OConnell, also a presenter on TV3s Six OClock Show, has been filling in on the national station since Al Porters departure in November.

Porter left the station in the midst of allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Originally from Dooradoyle, Muireann has worked in radio over 12 years.

You may have heard her on Limericks Live 95, Spin South West and 98FM before she replaced Lucy Kennedy in 2016.
A British Army advertising campaign promoting the emotional support available to recruits has been criticised for failing to target those most interested in joining the forces.

The recruitment drive includes a series of films which ask "Can I be gay in the Army?" and "What if I get emotional in the Army?", in a bid to appeal to potential soldiers from different backgrounds.

It comes just weeks after Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson halted plans to scrap the Army's "Be the Best" slogan and historic crest following a public outcry.

The re-branding exercise was reportedly based on market research which found the slogan was considered "dated, elitist and non-inclusive" by key audiences.

The latest campaign, which will be broadcast on television, radio and digital platforms, seeks to address concerns recruits may have about issues including religion, gender and sexuality in the forces.

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said it was "neglecting the main group of people who are interested in joining" and will not solve the "recruiting crisis".

In one animation, which highlights emotional support, a voice-over says: "Man up. Grow a pair. It feels like, as a man, you can never express your emotions. I thought joining the Army would be a thousand times worse. That any sign of emotion would be a sign of weakness. That we'd have it ripped out of us.

"But once you are in, you realise no-one is a machine. The Army is family. I've probably told them things I wouldn't tell my own family. There's always someone there to talk to."

Other videos trailed on YouTube, focusing on "Army belonging" and inclusivity, ask "Can I practise my faith in the Army?", "Will I be listened to in the Army?" and "Do I have to be a superhero to join the Army?".

Colonel Kemp told BBC Breakfast: "The main group of people who are interested in joining aren't worrying so much about whether they are going to be listened to or if there's an emotional issue.

"What they are worried about more is how they are going to face combat and, not only that - they are going to be attracted by images of combat because that's why people join the armed forces."

He added: "This also reflects the fact that the Army, like the rest of Government, is being forced down a route of political correctness.

"What is most important is that the Army recruits and is full of soldiers. It's of secondary importance that they reflect the composition of society."

The campaign comes amid growing concern over recruitment to the armed forces.

In the year to April 2017, 12,950 recruits joined the regular armed forces, but 14,970 service personnel left in the same period.
Two Facebook posts by a British pub have been banned for using Nazi imagery and "trivialising" the Second World War to advertise a German food night.

The Buck Inn in Darlington, County Durham, posted the first ad on September 8 stating that it was holding a German night and using the line: "Don't Mention Ze War!"

The poster showed a black and white image depicting a uniformed Nazi soldier performing a Nazi salute with the right arm and a swastika on the left sleeve, while the text of the headline and the colour scheme resembled the "stylisation and colours typical of Nazi imagery", the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said.

The second post on September 12 showed that the Buck Inn had updated its Facebook profile picture to an image of a newspaper article about the German night poster, which was headlined "Pub's German night 'Nazi' poster criticised."

The pub also "liked" a number of comments, many of which contained jokes and puns in reference to the Holocaust, made by readers in relation to the posts.

Three people complained to the ASA that the ads were offensive.

The Buck Inn said the original post was inspired by an episode of Fawlty Towers and was intended to be lighthearted and humorous.

The pub said the ad was not promoting the Nazi party and was not intended to "mock" the Second World War in any way.

It noted that the ad was seen on Facebook by more than 500,000 people, and said the fact that only three complaints were received indicated that most people had interpreted the ad in the way it had intended.

The ASA acknowledged the phrase "Don't mention the war" was a "fairly well known" quote from Fawlty Towers.

"However, we considered that the use of an image of a Nazi soldier wearing a swastika and performing a Nazi salute to advertise the pub's German cuisine night, in a humorous tone, was inappropriate and trivialised the events of the Second World War and actions of the German Nazi party," the ASA said.

"Furthermore, the ad appeared to link German culture intrinsically with Nazi Germany and the war."

It also found that the pub's "liking" of "distasteful" comments made in relation to the Holocaust by other users on its Facebook page was also likely to cause serious or widespread offence.

It ruled that the ads must not appear again, adding: "We told the Buck Inn to ensure that they did not cause serious or widespread offence by using Nazi references or imagery in their advertising, or by trivialising the events of the Second World War and actions of the German Nazi party.

"We also told the Buck Inn to ensure that comments made by other users on their Facebook page, which in themselves were likely to cause serious or widespread offence, were not 'liked'."

Buck Inn owner Craig Harker said: "This is political correctness gone mad. The world's gone absolutely bonkers if this is deemed offensive. It's a poster for a German night which was hugely successful.

"The regulars laughed it off and took the poster in the lighthearted, fun way that I intended. As long as business is good I'll continue to market my businesses however I see fit and let the PC brigade continue to do their jobs."

- PA
An explosion has rocked a stricken oil tanker off the coast of Shanghai, forcing maritime authorities to suspend firefighting and rescue efforts.

China's ministry of transport said rescue vessels withdrew to a safe distance after the explosion on the Sanchi's bow, the latest setback in the multinational effort to extinguish the burning wreck and find more than 30 missing crew members.

The ship is still on fire, the ministry said.

Chinese officials have previously warned that the tanker could explode and sink, possibly triggering an environmental disaster.

The Sanchi was carrying nearly 1 million barrels of condensate, a type of gassy, ultra-light oil, when it collided on Saturday evening with a freighter 160 miles off the coast and caught fire.

Intense flames, bad weather and poor visibility have hampered rescue efforts.

The entire crew of the Panamanian-registered Sanchi - 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis - went missing after its collision with the Chinese freighter CF Crystal. The cause of the collision remains unclear.

Rescuers yesterday found a body believed to be a sailor from the Iranian-operated tanker, while a search continued for the 31 other missing crew members.

The National Iranian Tanker Company, the Sanchi's operator, said yesterday there was a chance that survivors were trapped in the ship's engine room.

"Since the vessel's engine room is not directly affected by the fire and is about 14 metres (46 feet) under water, there is still hope," NITC spokesman Mohsen Bahrami told The Associated Press.

It is the second collision involving a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Company in less than 18 months.

In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both vessels but causing no injuries or oil spill.

AP
The husband and five-year-old daughter of a shop worker who was murdered in a supermarket in the UK four days before Christmas have led hundreds of mourners at her funeral.

Jodie Willsher, 30, died after she was stabbed in the Aldi store where she worked in North Yorkshire, on December 21.

Today, her husband Malcolm was one of the pallbearers who escorted her coffin into Christ Church, in the town where they married seven years before.

Their daughter Megan followed just behind, holding relatives hands, as the coffin was wheeled up the path past hundreds of friends and family.

Around 250 people - all wearing something pink - packed into the church and more than 150 listened to the service in freezing conditions outside.

Megan wore a pink and grey scarf as well as large pink fabric flower.

Christ Church vicar the Rev Ruth Harris told the congregation: "Jodie was a woman full of fun, life and vitality who was a great colleague, a friend, an adoring mother, a caring daughter, a devoted wife.

Malcolm and Jodie Willsher with their daughter Megan

"Jodie was preparing for Christmas and, through the nature of her work, she was helping others in their Christmas preparations.

"And it was about this work that her life was ended so abruptly, shockingly and with devastating consequences.

"What none could have anticipated was that this Christmas Jodie would be spending it with the angels and Jesus himself."

Speaking before the service, the vicar said: "Jodie was full of life, full of joy, loved her family - Megan and Malcolm - and spent her time with them and with their friends and just enjoyed life to the full.

"Which is why it is such a tragedy that were here for her funeral today and why the family are saying we want to celebrate her life."

She explained that Mrs Willsher was "mad about pink".

"That sums up Jodie, really," she said. "Just the joy of life and pink is such a vibrant colour - a life-giving colour."

The vicar said the town was "in shock and stunned" after what happened to Mrs Willsher.

The Aldi store was closed for the funeral as a mark of respect and to allow colleagues to attend.

In a eulogy read to the congregation, Mr Willsher said his wife and daughter were "more than mother and daughter, they were best friends".

He said: "And the bond was beautiful to see."

Mr Willsher said Megan was "Jodies greatest achievement".

He said the death of his wife had left a "great hole in our lives" and he said he was lucky to have married her.

PA
Malaysia has said it will pay US company Ocean Infinity up to US$70m if it can find the wreckage or black boxes of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 within three months.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said there is an 85% chance of finding the debris in a new 9,653 square mile (25,000 sq km) area identified by experts.
A mob angered by the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl attacked a police station and a nearby government building in eastern Punjab province, triggering clashes that left at least two people dead and several injured.

The violence erupted in the city of Kasur today, hours before the funeral of Zainab Ansari, whose case has drawn wide public outrage.

The girl went missing last week while going to a nearby home for Koranic studies. Her parents, who were away at a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia at the time, returned today, landing at the Islamabad airport.

"We will not bury our daughter until her killers are arrested," said the father, Ameen Ansari, as his wife sobbed.

Zainab's body was found yesterday in a rubbish bin, senior police officer Imran Nawaz Khan said.

Police say she was abducted, raped and murdered. Officer Maqsood Ahmed said six girls were sexually assaulted in recent months in Kasur and that police were probing whether there was a connection in the cases.

Activists on social media have condemned the government for failing to arrest those involved in the crime.

It is impossibl not to cry simply imagining the tragedy of Kasur minor girls rape&murder. Incidents lyk these make u lose faith in humanity & u wish to deal wd the beasts with your own bare hands. Statistics of recordd crimes agnst children r harrowing. https://t.co/uS0tZBQBF5  Syed Talat Hussain (@TalatHussain12) January 10, 2018

Deeply disturbed about the 8yr old girl who was abused & murdered in Kasur. The govt has miserably failed to protect the children of Pakistan. Child abuse is rampant. The perpetrators must be given the severest possible punishment under the law to set an example.  Mohammad Sarwar (@ChMSarwar) January 10, 2018

As the attack on the police station and the subsequent clashes unfolded today, local TV broadcast footage showing police firing shots in the air and towards the stone-throwing mob, trying to disperse it.

In one segment, an officer asks another to hold direct fire, after which the second officer is seen continuing to shoot at the protesters.

#Kasur: 'Don't shoot straight, hey, fire in the air', police officer yells at colleague as he keeps firing straight at the protesters.



Two died on Wednesday in Kasur while clashing with police during #JusticeForZainab protests pic.twitter.com/TaUCkQt1jv  Daily Times (@dailytimespak) January 10, 2018

Also today, the Lahore High Court's chief justice ordered a probe into Zainab's killing.

Zulfiqar Hameed, the police chief in Kasur, refused to say whether the two people killed in today's clashes had died from police gunshots.

One person killed in #Kasur protests against alleged rape and murder of minor girl https://t.co/hJvaPFQmgr  Geo English (@geonews_english) January 10, 2018

Provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah said the police were trying to contain the violence and find and arrest those involved in the girl's murder.

Kasur shop owners shut their businesses on Wednesday to express their anger over Zainab's murder.

Firebrand cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri who took part in the girl's funeral service demanded the local government be replaced, saying it has "no right to remain in power after the killing of Zainab Ansari".

In a speech to thousands of mourners, he blamed the Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, for failing to "protect lives and honour of innocent girls" in the province.

He issued an ultimatum to Mr Sharif and Mr Sanaullah to step down by January 17 to avoid street protests.

The cleric is a staunch political rival of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party and he has led violent rallies in the capital, Islamabad, since 2014 after eight of his supporters were killed in anti-government rallies in Lahore, Punjab's provincial capital.

AP
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With Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia saying that Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movie 'Padmavat' will not be released in her state, the Congress on Tuesday said there was a conflict between the central and state governments on the issue.

"For us, the release of any film means it has been certified by the censor board (Central Board of Film Certification). The government of India should ask Vasundhara ji if she is opposed to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

"The censor board, which comes under the Ministry, has given a certificate to release the film," Congress leader Raj Babbar said.

"Is she not opposing the central government by not allowing the film to release (in Rajasthan)," he asked.

Babbar said: "This is a conflict between the central and state governments. She should reply to this."

Vasundhara Raje on Monday said 'Padmavati', now rechristened 'Padmavat', will not be released in cinema halls across the desert state.
American whistleblower Edward Snowden on Tuesday came out in support of a national daily reporter, who has been booked for exposing alleged flaws in Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) system.

Taking to Twitter, Snowden said instead of an investigation, the journalist needed to be rewarded for exposing that the Aadhar data was not fullproof and could be obtained at a cost of only Rs 500. In his tweet, the former United States government contractor, who has taken an asylum in Russia, also suggested that action should rather be taken against UIDAI, the body that runs ...
Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys chief Narayana Murthy, is among two new Indian-origin MPs to be inducted into the UK government by British Prime Minister Theresa May following the recent reshuffle of her team of ministers.

Sunak, 37, a Conservative party MP for Richmond (Yorkshire), has been appointed the new parliamentary undersecretary of state in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of a New Year reshuffle this week.

Sunak is joined by a fellow pro-Brexit campaigner, Goan- origin Suella Fernandes, who takes charge as parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU).

Sunak and Fernandes, who take charge of their junior ministerial roles as part of Theresa May's team, were among the prominent Indian-origin campaigners in favour of Britain's exit from the EU in the June 2016 referendum, pushing for closer ties with Commonwealth countries like India.

"From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future," said Sunak.

The UK-born son of a pharmacist mother and a Health Service (NHS) general practitioner father is married to Murthy's daughter Akshata Murthy.

The Oxford University and Stanford MBA graduate co-founded a 1-billion-pound global investment firm and specialised in investing in small British businesses before his entry to the British Parliament in the 2015 general election.

Since his re-election in last year's snap election called by May, Sunak was widely tipped for a ministerial role in a government keen to enhance the ethnic mix of its Cabinet.

Sunak believes small businesses in the UK would flourish as a result of Brexit as the "vast majority of British businesses (94 per cent) do not have anything to do with the EU, but they are still subject to all EU law".

Fernandes' political career has had a similar trajectory, having entered Parliament as a Tory MP in 2015 and then re-elected in the June 2017 snap poll.

The Eurosceptic MP for Fareham has been equally vocal in favour of Brexit, which she believes will allow Britain to strike closer bilateral ties with Commonwealth countries like India and enable "qualified doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs from non-EU countries" to make a positive contribution to the UK economy.

Britain decided to leave the European Union after the Brexit referendum on June 23 2016. The country expected to exit the bloc by March 2019.

The resignation of Priti Patel, a high-profile pro-Brexit voice, as international development minister amid controversy over an Israel visit last year had left the top rungs of the UK Cabinet short of many ethnic minority faces.

The addition of Sunak and Fernandes takes the number of Indian-origin MPs in Theresa May's ministerial team to three, with Alok Sharma Conservative Party MP for Reading West



moved from his post as housing minister to employment minister.

He tweeted that he was "looking forward" to his new role in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The British Prime Minister hailed "a new generation of gifted ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK" as part of her New Year reshuffle, seen as slightly chaotic after an incorrect announcement had to be hastily withdrawn earlier this week.

Downing Street said that following this week's reshuffle, there are more women attending UK Cabinet, more female ministers and more members of the government from ethnic minorities.

The number of women who are full Cabinet members has remained the same as before at six but the number of other senior female ministers also attend Cabinet has risen from two to four, taking the total number of women around the table to 10.

Two government departments have been renamed, with Housing added to the title of the Communities Department and the title of health minister Jeremy Hunt's brief now including social care.

The Opposition Labour party dismissed the reshuffle as a "pointless and lacklustre PR exercise", with party leader Jeremy Corbyn saying the governments "big plan for the new year is to dodge the real issues".
Gujarat Dalit leader on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking why atrocities were being committed against Dalits, minorities and farmers in India and charged the BJP and RSS with instigating anti-Dalit violence in Bhima Koregaon in Maharasthra.

"The way in which Hardik (Patel), Alpesh (Thakore) and Jignesh (Mevani) with the support of the youth in Gujarat brought the BJP down from over 150 seats (target set by BJP in Gujarat) to 99 seats... That is the reason we are being targetted," Mevani told his Yuva Hunkar rally in New Delhi.

"And this is the reason why the people of the (Rashtriya Swayamsewak) Sangh and BJP spread violence in Bhima Koregaon," he said, referring to the violence that broke out in Bhima Koregaon near Pune last week in which one person lost his life and several vehicles were damaged.

The rally for which the Delhi Police had originally denied permission was held at Jantar Mantar, a short distance from Parliament House in central Delhi. But Mevani and his supporters shelved plans to take out a procession to the Prime Minister's Office.

The newly elected MLA also said that when he fought elections in Gujarat he always spoke about bringing people together.

"Throughout the election campaign, we said that for 22 years the BJP followed the politics of division, while we always spoke about binding people together," he said. "We don't follow love-jihad."

"We only talk about love and harmony. We will celebrate April 14 and Valentine's Day too," he said.

Referring to the violence that marked the 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle in Pune last week, he asked: "Why the violence took place in Bhima Koregaon?

"I don't have to answer it but you have to answer me... This you have to answer why Rs 15 lakh didn't come in everyone's account, why no jobs to youth? Why farmers were shot dead in Mandsaur? Why no justice to the Una Dalit victims? Why Najeeb Ahmed went missing? Why Rohit Vemula died? We'll ask all these questions from you, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji."

Mevani, who won from Vadgam in Gujarat in Assembly elections, said elected representatives were not allowed to speak and that was Gujarat's model.

Further targeting Modi, Mevani said he supported the government's "Digital India" initiative but asked the Prime Minister to ensure a technology first "so that no one is made to die inside a sewer".

He also sought an immediate release of Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad -- a Dalit leader who has been jailed and the Security Act (NSA) slapped against him for allegdly instigating violence in Saharanpur in June last year.

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar said the rally had been called "to protect the Constitution and not for any religion". He alleged that the BJP was creating communal divisions to rule.

"The BJP does not want 'Ram Rajya'... In the fight between Allah and Ram, the victory will always go to Nathuram (Godse)," said the student leader.

Earlier, scores of people gathered around the barricaded Parliament Street for the protest march planned by Mevani.

"No permission has been given to anyone (to hold a rally)," Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Chaudhary told reporters here.

The Gujarat lawmaker slammed the police and the central government for denying permission to the protest.

"An elected representative is not allowed to speak... This is extremely unfortunate."

Some 1,500 security personnel in riot gear, with tear gas launchers and water cannons, were deployed on Parliament Street. As many as 42 organisation -- parties, associations and student groups -- took part in the rally.
Maharashtra saw violent protests after clashes between Dalits and some Maratha groups in Bhima Koregaon. Dalits had gathered in Pune to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. These clashes and the subsequent protests brought the focus back on Dalit assertion and its conflict with Hindutva politics.

The writer analyses this conflict in this Business Standard Special. The determination and force of the response of the Dalits to the violence at the Bhima Koregaon has unsettled the BJP governments of the state of Maharashtra and the centre. It has also ...

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
It all started off with an advertisement by the income-tax (I-T) department in leading national dailies on Wednesday, sensitising people about the pitfalls of entering into benami property transaction. Many clients have expressed their concern and apprehensions around implementation of the Benami Transactions Act, said a Delhi-based CA, conceding he and his team have received at least a dozen-odd such enquiries in the course of the ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



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Digital Editor
US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be addressing the World Economic Forum which is an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his 'America First' agenda with world leaders," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

"At this year's World Economic Forum, the president looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries, and American workers," she said.

This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World'.

Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two- day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

The large Indian presence will include six Union ministers, two chief ministers, several top government officials and around 100 CEOs (chief executive officers), according to reports.

Modi and Trump met twice last year  in Washington DC and in Manila at the Asean meet.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Donald Trump's former White House strategist Steve Bannon has stepped down from Breitbart News, the conservative news outlet has announced, still roiled in controversy over incendiary remarks about the president quoted in a new book.

The announcement comes just days after the 64-year-old news executive at the provocative right-wing site publicly split with Trump over explosive comments he made about the president's fitness for office and members of his family.

"Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" - which paints the president as disengaged, ill-informed and unstable - has seen Bannon abandoned by financial patrons, condemned by erstwhile allies and ridiculed by Trump himself.

His departure from Breitbart threatens to further isolate the self-proclaimed champion of anti-Washington populism that swept Trump to power and whom Bloomberg once called "the most dangerous political operative in America."



"Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he has helped us to accomplish," Breitbart CEO Larry Solov said in a statement from the company yesterday.

Bannon said he was "proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform."



The New York Times said Bannon's departure was forced by onetime financial patron, Rebekah Mercer.

Breitbart said Bannon and the company will "work together on a smooth and orderly transition," but provided no other immediate details.

Bannon emerged from relative obscurity when Trump picked him as campaign chief in August 2016, just three months out from the presidential election that he was then widely expected to loose against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

He was running Breitbart at the time, a website providing boisterous coverage of the Republican tycoon's rise, where he had served as executive chairman since 2012.

He quickly presided over the brand of economic populism promoted by Trump and was hired as chief strategist for the White House.

For months, Trump allowed Bannon to conduct open war from inside the White House against established party leaders, incumbent lawmakers and other heavyweights Bannon believed were undermining Trump's populist revolution.

After Bannon left the White House in August, he remained on good terms with Trump.

But if he was damaged by the electoral defeat of his preferred candidate, Roy Moore, in Alabama, his fall from grace was cemented by "Fire and Fury."



In the book, Bannon is quoted as saying a pre-election meeting involving Trump's eldest son Donald Jr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer was "treasonous."



Trump said Bannon had "lost his mind" and through Twitter branded him "Sloppy Steve."



He has trashed the book as "fake" and its author, Michael Wolff, as "totally discredited author" and has sought to defend himself as a "very stable genius."



Bannon attempted to walk back from the remarks, telling the Axios news website that "Donald Trump Jr is both a patriot and a good man," but the closest he came to an apology was regretting the timing of his response.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Wednesday promoted two of its top executives, Gregory Abel and Ajit Jain, cementing their widely viewed status as potential successors to Warren Buffett as the conglomerate's chief executive. Abel, 55, was named Berkshire's vice chairman for non-insurance business operations, and Jain, 66, was named vice chairman for insurance operations. Both were also added to Berkshire's board, increasing the number of directors to 14 from 12. Abel is the chairman of the company's Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit, which he joined in 1992, while Jain ...
North and South Korea held their first talks in over two years on Tuesday, which Washington welcomed as a first step to solving the North Korean nuclear weapons crisis, even though Pyongyang said those were aimed only at the United States and not up for discussion. The US State Department said Washington would be interested in joining future talks, but stuck to its insistence that they must be aimed at denuclearisation, showing that a diplomatic breakthrough remains far off. In a joint statement after 11 hours of talks, North and South Korea said they had agreed to hold ...
President Donald Trump's "hasty and unplanned" broadside against Pakistan via a tweet this month that the United States will only offer aid to the latter if it is seen to be acting firmly against terrorists, could result either in a foreign policy success, or may break the US-Pakistan relationship beyond repair while reaping few actual benefits, says an expert on South Asia.

In an article written for and published in The Atlantic, C. Christine Fair, Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor at Georgetown University's Security Studies Program within the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, says, "Well-placed sources involved with calculating the relevant funds have told me that this was not a planned policy and took the other agencies, not to mention the Pakistanis, by complete surprise."

Though she warns that President Trump's statement that the "United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more," could eventually provide Islamabad with a platform to make Washington pay dearly, she adds that Islamabad will tread cautiously, and might just not be successful in calling Washington's bluff.

Fair says that pre-empting a Pakistani reprisal, if any, would entirely depend on the ability of his team to counter it.

Suggesting the potential areas where Pakistan can strike and affect US policy in South Asia and the region beyond, Professor Fair lists them, but also admits that going through with them is the realm of improbability:

Pakistan could close off all ground routes used by America to resupply its troops in Afghanistan as it did in 2011-12. The need to find alternative routes by land and air, including through Central Asia then, ended up costing the Americans about $100 million per month more than the previous arrangement.

Pakistan now says the alliance is over and that it is unwilling to allow a war to be found from its soil to suit the Americans. Close the ground resupply routes apart, Islamabad might consider escalating the differences by closing down its airspace.

Pakistan could get closer to China after declaring its relationship with the US redundant. China's Foreign Ministry has declared that it is "ready to promote and deepen" its cooperation with Pakistan. Fair, however, says that this might not happen as an economically weak Pakistan would not want to lose sovereign rights over territory if put in a position of not being able to pay up such as has happened with Sri Lanka and the Hambantota Port.

"China is not truly a substitute for the United States, and it will take time for China to assemble a suite of programmes to replace US aid," she adds.

Pakistan has cultivated a global fear that it is too dangerous to fail. This is why many Americans have been afraid to break ties with Pakistan and have never encouraged the Monetary Fund and other multilateral organisations to cut off the country and let Pakistan wallow in its own mess.

Pakistan believes it has effectively bribed the community with the spectre that any instability could result in terrorists getting their hands on Pakistani nuclear technology, fissile materials, or a weapon.

It is also conceivable that Pakistan could use funds from a future IMF bailout to service its burgeoning Chinese debt.

America does not have the same leverage that it had post 9/11 to coerce Pakistan to make way for an invasion of Taliban-dominant Afghanistan.

Pakistan has cultivated Islamist militants as crucial tools of foreign policy.

She concludes by saying that "since the early months of the war on terror that began in October 2001, the United States has ultimately swerved when confronted with Pakistani brinkmanship. Pakistan can't count on that this time.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday pushed for merit-based immigration system, saying we should only allow people, having "great track record", to enter the US.

"I would like to add the words "merit" into any bill that's submitted because I think we should have merit-based immigration like they have in Canada, like they have in Australia.

"So we have people coming in that have a great track record, as opposed to what we're doing now, to be honest with you," he said during his meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House.

Trump's comments found support from several lawmakers.

"I want to get a merit-based immigration system to make sure we can succeed in the 21st century, and I'm willing to be more than fair to the 11 million. I just don't want to do this every 20 years," Senator Lindsay Graham said.

When House Majority Leader Congressman Kevin McCarthy said the reform would focus on three pillars - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA, border security and ending chain migration, Trump interrupted, asking him to "add merit" in any immigration legislation.

"I think you should add merit. I mean, if you can, add merit-based. I don't think -- I don't know who is going to argue with merit-based? Who can argue with merit-based?" he asked amid laughter from those present in the room.

A legislation in this regard is expected to be presented in the next few days.

Reiterating his call for border security -- of which a wall along the Mexico border is an integral part -- Trump said it also has to be a bill to end chain migration.

"Chain migration is bringing in many, many people with one, and often it doesn't work out very well. Those many people are not doing us right," he said and called for ending the visa lottery system.

"I'm appealing to everyone in the room to put the country before party, and to sit down and negotiate and to compromise, and let's see if we can get something done," the US president said.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders described the meeting as "successful".

"The president just concluded what we felt was a very successful and productive bipartisan and bicameral meeting on immigration reform," she said.

Sanders said the leadership, during the close-door session, agreed to negotiate and narrow down the focus to four issues -- border security, chain migration, visa lottery, and DACA.

"They all agreed the four things would be part of the negotiation. And beyond that, they could move into additional scope," she said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A bumper groundnut crop in Gujarat has led to a steep fall in prices. Consequently, farmers are holding on to stock, hoping that the government will acquire it at the minimum support price (MSP), which is higher than the market price. This, in turn, has led to a shortfall of raw material for oil mills.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government is acquiring groundnut at Rs 4,500 per quintal; the market price is Rs 3,500 per quintal. Till now, the government has acquired nearly 68,000 tonnes of groundnut, with Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel reiterating its decision to continue with the procurement.



Announced by the government in October last year, the procurement will be done in a staggered manner. Hence, farmers are reluctant to sell at market prices lower than the MSP to oil mills," said B V Mehta, executive director, The Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA).

The SEA has estimated the kharif groundnut production in Gujarat this year is a record of sorts, at 3.14 million tonnes. In the last kharif season, it was 2.94 million tonnes. Of this, roughly 50 per cent of produce has already been sold in the market by relatively small farmers who didn't have enough holding capacity.



Area coverage under Kharif and rabi crop

With the government procurement also being marginal at over 68,000 tonnes, the rest of the produce is still being held by farmers. We hope prices will rise. However, mills have been crying foul that even at such low market rates of Rs 3,500 per quintal, procurement of raw material is hitting their margins, said Mansukhbhai Jamjibhai, a farmer in Rajkot district.

This bumper crop has been cultivated despite the acreage under groundnut production in the state going down marginally to 1.6 million hectares, from 1.64 million hectares last year. The situation for oil mills is likely to improve in the coming days, said SEAs Mehta.

Apart from the bumper crop, there are an estimated 110,000 tonnes of carry-forward stock with Nafed, and about 50,000-60,000 tonnes with farmers and traders in the state.

Moreover, according to industry sources, the export of groundnut is expected to be lesser than last year, despite higher output even as export of groundnut oil might not find the international market due to the disparity.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a re-investigation of 186 cases that were closed earlier by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The Apex Court, which would set up a fresh three-member SIT to look into the matter, will tomorrow pass orders regarding the names of retired and serving Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who could be included in the committee.

The SIT had been constituted by the Union Home Ministry in February 2015 to reinvestigate "serious cases" during the 1984 riots that followed the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi, claiming a total of 2,733 lives in Delhi alone.

Last year in April, the court had reopened five cases in connection with the matter that were closed in 1986.

The CBI had also filed appeals against the acquittal of Kumar and life sentence to ex-councilor Balwan Khokhar.

The Delhi High Court had taken suo motu cognizance as, during the course of the arguments, Kumar's lawyers mentioned these matters as precedents since co-accused Mahender Yadav, Balwan Khokhar and Kishan Khokhar had been acquitted in them.

The court had noted that the eyewitnesses had not been examined in those cases and there was a "travesty" since the investigation was not done properly.

Earlier, the apex court had also directed the Centre to deposit more than 190 files in connection with this case.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had told the Supreme Court that the SIT in as many as 263 cases had no case files and there was no trace of any victim or witness.

On February 20, the Centre had filed a status report in the top court on the investigation conducted by the SIT into anti-Sikh riots cases.

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At least 50 migrants are feared drowned after three ships carrying 300 people capsized off the coast of Libya on Wednesday.

As reported by Sputnik news agency, the Libyan coastguards received a distress call on their SOS devices. By the time, the coast guards came to rescue the migrants, one of the ships had already sunk and only 16 people could be saved.

Quoting the survivors, Italian newspaper Repubblica reported that at least 50 migrants got drowned as a result of the crash. Casualties are feared to rise.

"We found the migrants. Unfortunately, we could not trace anybody or other survivors. Search is still on," said the coast guard commander, Nasr al-Qamoud.

In another incident, on January 6, Libyan coast guards found a shipwreck, where 64 migrants had been drowned.

Also, according to the Italian newspaper, the Libyan authorities have managed to save around 700 people over the past three days.

Europe is experiencing a major influx of migrants who have been trying to cross the continent, mostly through illegal means, since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 and the spate in the violence casued by the terrorist group, the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu wrote a letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley requesting that certain projects be funded in the form of "grant" by the Centre through the Bank For Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD), instead of loans from the external agencies.

Naidu suggested that a "special dispensation amount" be provided to the state for specified projects from the NABARD instead of loans from external agencies.

"It was announced that the special assistance measures for Andhra Pradesh will be given by way of special dispensation in funding of Externally Aided Projects(EAP) and the Central Government will provide Special Assistance Measure (SAM) to Government of Andhra Pradesh, which would make up for the additional Central share the State might have received during 2015-16 to 2019-20, if the funding of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) would have been shared at the ratio of 90:10 between the Centre and the State", the letter reads.

The letter further stated that the special assistance will be provided by way of repayment of loan and interest for the Externally Aided Projects (EAPs) signed and disbursed during 2015-2016 to 2019-20 by the state.

Hence, the Chief Minister requested that special assistance at 90:10 ratios for the Externally Aided Projects as being given to special category states may also be awarded to Andhra Pradesh.

"This should be applied to all the ongoing projects and projects to be signed till 2019-20", he added.

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A student from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, named Mukul Jain, went missing on Monday.

The missing student, from School of Life Science, was last seen when he was going to a lab on the campus.

The police are probing the matter, based on the missing complaint.

During the investigation, some other students informed that Mukul, a resident of Ghaziabad, was undergoing relationship problems.

In 2016, a student named Najeeb Ahmed went missing from the JNU campus.

The Delhi High Court handed over Najib's case to the CBI after his mother, Fatima Nafees, approached it as the Delhi Police failed to trace him.

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The Army will be celebrating the 25th Air Defence Day today.

Ahead of the 25th Army Air Defence Day, Army Air Defence (AAD), Director General, Lieutenant General Parminder Singh Jaggi on Tuesday said he can foresee the Air Defence playing a pivotal role towards winning future wars for India.

Addressing an event on the eve, the Lieutenant General said, "On the momentous occasion of 25th Army Air Defence (AAD) Day, I would like to convey greetings to the entire AAD fraternity. The Army Air Defence is rapidly progressing towards being an effective element of Indian Army's war-waging capability and I can foresee the arm playing a pivotal role towards winning future wars for the country".

He added that the recent developments towards fructification of the envisioned Army Air Defence profile have been encouraging.

"We signed the contract for the first Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) Regiment in July 2017 and other procurement cases are also progressing at a rapid pace. Simultaneously, upgradation of vintage equipment is progressing at a steady pace. In step with the new acquisitions and upgradation, Army Air Defence College has also emerged as a premier establishment in the country and is 'future ready'," he asserted.

The Lieutenant General further said India owes to the grand vision of all the predecessors who have shaped the Corps so that the nation could become a key element of the contemporary battlefield.

"I would also want to put on record the tireless efforts and hard work of all our veterans who led from the front and toiled day and night for the growth of the Arm by putting 'brick over brick' towards achieving what we are today. As we look back with pride and set the ball rolling for the Silver Jubilee celebrations, I would like to call upon all ranks to look at the next 25 years and fully grasp the future warfighting scenarios," he added.

He urged to reach out and strengthen the bonds with the families of all the martyrs, the war disabled and veterans.

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Businessmen, tour operators, the hospitality industry and others involved with the tourism sector in Assam have been invited by the Government of Kazakhstan to explore opportunities for bilateral cooperation in and with various parts of that country, and especially in and with Almaty, the capital.

This invitation to explore bilateral linkages was made by Kazakhstan's Ambassador to India Bulat Sarsenbayev during a five-day official visit to Guwahati.

Inaugurating an interactive session titled "Kazakhstan-India: Cooperation in Tourism", which was organised by the Embassy of Kazakhstan and the Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC), Ambassador Sarsenbayev gave a broad description of the main areas of cooperation between Kazakhstan and India.

He informed participants about his government's aim to create a favourable climate. Details about the current level of cooperation in the tourism sector between the two countries were also provided. The 90-minute presentation included a Q and A session, where the Ambassador gave answers to various queries.

Indian businessmen and women expressed an interest in visiting Kazakhstan. The ATDC said it is willing to organise a presentation of tourism opportunities of Assam in Almaty.

Assam is known throughout the world for its tea plantations, national parks, natural landscape and historical monuments.

Both sides agreed that the Indian side would have an opportunity to discuss future cooperation with Kazakh partners. The ATDC said that it is also ready to host tour operators and media representatives from Kazakhstan.

The moderator of the interactive session from the Indian side was K. Hillaly, Managing Director of the ATDC. The representatives of 10 largest travel companies of the state, such as Networks Travels, Pushpak, Landscape Safari, Natural Holidays and others attended this session.

Additionally, a roundtable discussion with representatives of Indian Tea Association (ITA) and tea producers of Assam was organised. During this meeting, Ambassador Sarsenbayev said that Kazakhstan delivers most of its tea through companies with Russian participation registered in Kazakhstan. He said the tea leaves supplied to Kazakhstan from Russia are long and does not give the so-called "beautiful colour" or sufficient strength when mixed with milk.

ITA Secretary S. Patrahave proposed to conduct the presentation of Assam tea in Kazakhstan. The Ambassador, in turn, recommended the possibility of opening a production unit of tea blending and its packaging in Kazakhstan.

He expressed the view that direct supply of tea from India could significantly affect prices and quality.

Mr. B. Sarsenbayev also spoke about the benefits of the tax system of Kazakhstan for companies and investors. Indian businessmen expressed their interests in such projects.

The senior Kazakh diplomat also called on the Governor of Assam Professor Jagdish Mukhi. During their meeting, issues of possible cooperation between Kazakhstan and Assam were discussed. The ambassador informed Governor Mukhi about Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the UN Security Council, the implementation of strategies and programs in his country and the outcome of meetings with tour operators and tea producers of the state.

Governor Mukhi said he and the state government would provide all possible support to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

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The Baloch Women Forum (WBWF) has squarely blamed the Pakistan Army for encouraging the growth of the terror outfit IS in the country.

Professor Naela Quadri, president of the WBWF, appealed to the community to rein in the Pakistani Army and stamp out the influence of the IS.

Naela Quadri said, "It needs to be understood that the Pakistan Army is trying to kill three birds with one stone. First, they become useful to the community looking for local partners to combat the IS (and that translates as dollars and immunity for the Pakistan Army). Second, they will be able to repackage the Taliban as a "relatively" moderate force that needs to be included in Afghan government to stabilise Afghanistan and combat the IS. Finally, they are mainstreaming terror outfits, but the bulk of the jihadi cadre and foot soldiers need employment."

She maintained that the global community needs to see the Pakistan Army as the root cause of the problem and neutralise it and not focus on its manifestations.

Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) has said in its Pakistan Security Report 2017 that over 150 people were killed in around six terrorist attacks claimed by the IS in the last year.

According to the report, some new challenges such as emergence of self-radicalised individuals and small terrorist cells have raised their heads in the country.

Also, incidence of religious extremism including on educational campuses, and increasing footprints of the IS in parts of the country have also become a problem for Pakistan.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Centre, seeking its response on a plea filed by Umadevi Kalburgi, the wife of scholar M. M. Kalburgi, demanding a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into her husband's murder.

The court has also sought a response from the Investigating Agency (NIA) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Earlier in her petition, Umadevi had said that no agency had carried out a substantial investigation into the case of her husband's murder in 2015. She also claimed that the murders of Kalburgi and Maharashtra-based rationalist Narendra Dabholkar had similar patterns.

Kalburgi was a former vice chancellor of the Kannada University and was known for being a progressive voice who was openly critical of superstitions in Hinduism. Hindutva groups often accused him of hurting religious sentiments.

Two unidentified gunmen shot him dead at his house in Dharwad in Karnataka on August 30, 2015.

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Looks like Ridley Scott pulled veteran actor Christopher Plummer out from retirement.

While speaking in an interview with The Telegraph, the 78-year-old actor admitted he was contemplating ending his career before he got the call.

Plummer said, "I want to keep working in my fifth act, until I drop dead. You know, things were coming to an end, and I thought 'I suppose I've got to retire now', even though I didn't want to. Then Ridley called me. When I read it, it was clear to me that it was a classic role. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it."

The Oscar-winning actor also revealed that unlike Spacey, he did not have to wear any prosthetics for the role but because Getty was a "mysterious recluse" the actor had to use his imagination.

"He was such a mysterious recluse, there's very little on him. So even if I'd had all the time in the world, I wouldn't have picked up anything much. There's very little of it to be heard - just some poor recordings in a monotone. So I had to use my imagination. But I think we ended up getting a pretty close approximation of the character - without wearing ridiculous prosthetics, or anything like that," noted Plummer.

Plummer has been getting praises from all around for his acting in the movie. The actor got nominated in the 'Best Supporting Actor' category at 2018 Golden Globes, but lost to Sam Rockwell ('Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri').

The veteran is also nominated in the same category at 2018 BAFTAs, which were announced yesterday.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked realty company Jaypee Associates Ltd (JAL) to deposit Rs 125 crore by January 25 in connection with a multi-crore debt case.

Failing the same, the JAL officials could face jail, the top court added.

The amount would make a part of Rs 2,000 crore, which the infrastructure company has to deposit with the top court's registry in order to refund money of home buyers of Jaypee Infratech.

The apex court has also sought details of JAL's ongoing housing projects across the country.

The top court also deferred the hearing of a plea filed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which had approached the Supreme Court, seeking to initiate insolvency proceedings against JAL.

The apex court fixed February 05 as the next date of hearing in the matter.

Earlier on October 10, the Jaypee group moved the Supreme Court, seeking permission to sell off its Yamuna Expressway project.

Jaypee Associates told the apex court that it has an offer worth Rs. 2,500 crore and sought permission to "hive-off" the project.

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The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) has established its first food testing lab at its Kharagpur campus.

The agricultural and food engineering department's Analytical Food Testing Laboratory received the Accreditation Board for Calibration and Testing Laboratories (NABL) accreditation, which empowered the IIT Kharagpur to certify food items for their nutritional value and also check for adulteration.

After getting the accreditation, the IIT has already started the process of certification for some Kolkata-based company for fish items and neem oil.

"This is for the first time any lab in any of the IITs or NITs in the country has been given this accreditation. Now, we can go for analysis of any major, macro as well as micronutrients present in the food items. Anyone having any suspicion in their mind of plastic rice, egg, they can bring it here and after analysis and using the most sophisticated high-end equipment, we can tell if there is any adulteration", said Rintu Banerjee, professor of the department of agriculture and food engineering and in-charge of the Analytic Food Testing Lab, IIT Kharagpur.

"My PhD is on protein and the system here is protein sequencer PPSQ31A. This is the only system here in the whole eastern region. The protein in the food items is made of amino acids. Through this system, we can get to know which essential amino acid is present and which is not", Jagriti Singh, a PhD student, told ANI.

She added that this sequencer is qualitative-based and has liquid chromatography. "We can detect pathogenic particles and allergens".

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The Indian Mission to Nepal on Wednesday observed " Hindi Day" with much enthusiasm and fervour by organising a programme in the capital Kathmandu.

Jitendra Narayan Dev, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, who chaired the function, highlighted Hindi as a treasure of knowledge for the globe.

"So far I understand that Hindi is the treasure of knowledge not only for the Indian-sub continent, but for the whole mankind around the I am certain that Hindi is strengthening and promoting the cultural ties between India and Nepal. It unites the two countries. It is a common binding factor of the two nations," Dev said.

The programme, which was held in Hotel Annapurna, Kathmandu, commenced with the recitation of the message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Indian envoy to Nepal, Manjeev Singh Puri.

"The language that we use for the communication and the similarities that exist in between the two, the 'Roti-Beti' relation, the language has been the integral factor amongst them and there cannot be anything more than Hindi. In Nepal, the Maithili, Bhojpuri languages are used; Hindi has its own definition amongst them. As there is the condition like Pan-Indian, the Pan-Nepal is existent here," Puri told ANI.

"We can watch the screening of many Hindi films not only near the Indian territories but in Nepal as a whole. Many people, here, watch Hindi daily soaps. The residents of Nepal understand Hindi and use it," Ambassador Puri added.

The celebration of the Hindi Day dates back to 1975.

"The Hindi language is the bridge which connects the two nations. In fact, the history of Hindi in Nepal is very old. In scriptures, it is stated that the predecessors of Hindi are from Joshmani Sandh Siddh Mahatma, who resided in Nepal. Sindhi started from here which means the Hindi is the language of Nepal too and has started from Nepal. Hindi is the mother-tongue of the Terai region of Nepal," Department Head of the Hindi language in Tribhuwan University, Nepal Sanjita Verma, told ANI.

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United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it was 'unlikely' that he will be required to give an interview in connection with the Russian collusion investigation.

He made this comment during a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

When asked whether he was willing to give an interview to special counsel Robert Mueller, Trump said, "Well, there was no collusion between Russians and the Trump campaign. Democrats are running for office and trying to say things. For 11 months, we have had this phoney cloud over this administration. It does hurt our government. It is a Democrat hoax that was brought up as an excuse for losing an election. There was no collusion, so we'll see what happens."

When Trump was again asked for a specific answer, he said, "When nobody has found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely you'd even have an interview."

Mueller and his team are investigating whether Russia and Trump's Republican campaign co-ordinated to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump worked to obstruct an FBI investigation into his aides.

Earlier CNN had reported that Trump's lawyers are anticipating a request for the President to talk to Mueller.

The United States intelligence community believes that the Russian government was engaged in electoral interference during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A January 2017 assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) stated that Russian leadership preferred presidential candidate Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton and that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered an "influence campaign" to harm Clinton's electoral chances and "undermine public faith in the US democratic process.

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Militants belonging to the so-called Islamic State (IS) destroyed at least 116 villages in Iraq's Kirkuk province in the last three years.

Kirkuk's governor Rakan Saed told Anadolu news agency that the terror group destroyed the villages surrounding Kirkuk between 2014 and 2017. He also expressed concerns that thousands of villagers were still living in tents.

Saed also said that the villages did not have electricity, water, sewage systems, education and health services.

"The villagers cannot return to their homes. It seems impossible for residents to return to the infrastructure that was totally destroyed is reconstructed. For reconstruction, definitely, there is a need for the state's support," added Saed.

In October last year, Iraqi forces captured Kirkuk's Hawija district, located 45-km west of Kirkuk city, which was considered as one of the terrorist group's last strongholds in northern Iraq.

In December, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that Iraq had been 'totally liberated' from the dreaded militant group.

The IS, recently, lost power and suffered a string of major defeats both in Iraq and Syria after security forces recaptured the areas back from them.

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In yet another clampdown by its forces, Israel on Wednesday blocked a major road connecting the country with Nablus in West Bank.

The Wafa news agency reported that Israeli forces closed the Huwwara checkpoint after an Israeli settler was shot dead on Tuesday night.

The closure of the road is forcing commuters to take longer and alternative routes to reach various places in West Bank and Ramallah.

Meanwhile, the Israeli forces carried out more raids in Nablus and other nearby villages, in response to Tuesday's shooting.

Protests and violence erupted in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip after U..S President Donald Trump, last month, announced the relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed 12 Palestinians. Unofficial figures of casualties vary between 30 to 40. At least 2,900 others have been injured and more than 400 arrested so far.

On Christmas eve, Israel also sealed-off the entrance to the West Bank cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh until further notice.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also rejected the American peace efforts and called on the European Union (EU) to take the lead in the Israel-Palestine peace process.

Jerusalem is considered as a sacred place and is home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. However, it is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as the capital of its future state.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday filed an affidavit along with a fresh status report in the Himachal Pradesh High Court on the sensational gang rape and murder of a minor girl in Shimla earlier this year.

The CBI in its reports also expressed displeasure on non cooperation of the state government in the case.

The court has fixed March 28 for further hearing in the matter.

On December 15 last year, the CBI announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakh for providing credible information resulting in the arrest of accused.

The brutal gang rape and murder of a school girl at Kotkhai in Shimla in July created a huge uproar in the state.

The 16-year-old victim was returning back from school when she went missing on July 4. Two days later, police recovered her body from Halaila forests of Kotkhai.

On July 13, six people were arrested on charges of rape and murder.

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After a Milan court acquitted Giuseppe Orsi, former president of Italian defence giant Finmeccanica, and Bruno Spagnolini, former CEO of the company's helicopters subsidiary AgustaWestland, former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief A.P. Singh on Wednesday said the verdict will have an impact on investigations in India.

"I am not aware of the details of the case because I was not there when the case was registered. .. The information also first came from Italy that some bribe has been paid in this deal. Then they were later acquitted and they were being convicted and now they are acquitted again. So, finally the highest court has acquitted them. So, definitely it would have an impact on the Indian investigations because the major part of the investigation was based on the Italian investigation," Singh told ANI.

The former CBI chief, however said that there are two parts to the investigation and the Indian part is still relevant.

"But there are two parts of this investigation. One the Italian authorities have investigated..But there is an Indian part of the investigation, which is relevant and it will still remain relevant that the allegation was that the QRs of the helicopters were changed to favour AugustaWestland. Now, it is up to the investigating authority to prove that this happened," he added.

An Italian court on Monday acquitted two former Leonardo (earlier Finmeccanica) executives in the AgustaWestland case, wherein bribes were paid to secure the contract of supplying 12 VVIP choppers to India.

Giuseppe Orsi, a former president of Leonardo, and the former head of the subsidiary AgustaWestland, Bruno Spagnolini, were acquitted for want of evidence.

The Italian media reported that The Court of Appeal of Milan acquitted the two ex-Leonardo managers since there was no evidence to support the corruption charges.

Orsi and Spagnolini were accused of bribing Indian officials and make false billings, in order to obtain the 556-million euro contract (Rs 3,700 crore) for around 12 helicopters in India.

According to the allegations, Orsi and Spagnolini, who both succeeded in securing the position of managing director of AgustaWestland had bribed S.P.Tyagi, the then chief of the Indian Air Force, to obtain the lowering of the flight quota, by making changes, as indicated in a tender notice.

With the changes made, as suggested by the two, the AgustaWestland would have taken the honours. The Indian government and the Revenue Agency were civil parties at that time in the process.

In April last year, Orsi was convicted for four and a half years and Spagnolini for four years.

Italy's highest court, however, had ordered a new appeal process in December last year. The attorney general had recently asked for confirmation of convictions, regarding the dispute of false invoices. The judges, on the other hand, agreed with the defendants who had asked for an acquittal.

The motivations for the sentence would be announced within 90 days.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), earlier on September 1 last year, had filed a charge sheet against retired Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, former Air Marshal J S Gujral and ten others in the case.

The chargesheet, filed before a special court, also named as accused Air Chief Marshal Tyagi's cousin Sanjeev Tyagi, lawyer Gautam Khaitan, Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke, alleged middleman Christian Michel, former AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini and former Finmeccanica chairman Giuseppe Orsi.

The investigation conducted and various documents collected so far revealed that AgustaWestland International Ltd, UK paid an amount of Euro 58 million as kickbacks through Gordian Services Sarl, Tunisia and IDS Sarl, Tunisia.

These companies further siphoned off the said money in the name of consultancy contracts to the Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Mauritius and others, which were further transferred to UHY Saxena, Dubai, Matrix Holdings Ltd, Dubai and others.

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The police have arrested 43 people, including three minors, so far in connection with caste violence that erupted in Pune's Koregaon-Bhima village and engulfed Maharashtra state.

All the accused were arrested from Pune on the basis of cases registered against them, said Pune police.

On January 1, a youth was killed in a clash between two groups during an event to mark 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon battle that took place near Pune.

The incident led to violent protests across the state, including Mumbai.

Taking cognisance of the matter, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier ordered a Crime Investigation Department (CID) probe into the death and also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased.

In the aftermath, a day-long 'Maharashtra bandh' was also called by various Dalit organisations on January 3.

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Malaysia on Wednesday inked a deal with an American firm to resume the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370 within 90 days.

The agreement was signed by the Malaysian government and Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Plunkett at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, reported CNN.

According to a "no-find, no-fee" contract awarded to the seabed exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, the latter will receive up to 70 million dollars if successful.

The new search zone is an area of approximately 25,000 square kilometers in the Indian Ocean, the report said.

The amount the company will receive depends upon where the aircraft or the parts of the aircraft are found.

According to the reports, Ocean Infinity will command a fee of 20 million dollars, if the debris field (scattered remains of the plane at the bottom of the ocean), cockpit voice recorder or flight recorder are discovered within the first 5,000 sq km.

The fee will rise up to 70 million dollars if any of those items are found outside the initial 25,000 sq km area.

"It is my hope that we will find the answers that we've sought for nearly four years and bring some closure to this unfortunate incident," Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said.

The Malaysia Airlines aircraft disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 passengers and crew.

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Foreign minister of Maldives Mohamed Asim on Wednesday morning arrived in India on a three-day visit.

On Thursday, Asim will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj. He will leave on Friday.

The Maldives foreign ministers' visit to India is of immense significance for bilateral ties that suffered a setback when the Island nation signed a free trade pact with China late last year.

After the signing of the free trade agreement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs had said that the Maldives should be sensitive to India's concerns and keep in mind the "India First" policy.

The visit comes after Maldives' president Abdulla Yameen assured that a free trade agreement would be signed with India first.

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United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Mexico wall is a must for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) approval.

In a tweet, Trump said, "As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval."

His tweet came after he met with Bipartisan Members of the Senate on Immigration. Trump convened a bipartisan group of more than two dozen members of the House and Senate in the Roosevelt Room to discuss a possible resolution for the DACA-the Obama-era protections for 700,000 young immigrants that Trump has said will end in March without congressional action.

The president let the media cameras roll as he negotiated a DACA deal with Congress.

The US media termed the meeting as bizarre and confusing.

"By the time the president finally kicked reporters out of the meeting, he had said yes to everyone while clarifying virtually nothing. And what was undeniably a victory for government transparency had turned into another frustrating experience for Republicans, who repeatedly implored Trump to tell them exactly what he would accept in a DACA bill," The Atlantic reported.

Building a wall on the US-Mexico border is one of Trump's poll promises.

During the presidential campaign in 2016, Trump had said, "I will build a great, great wall on our Southern border and I'll have Mexico pay for that wall."

Mexico has denied paying for the wall.

On Monday, Trump admitted that he did not need a wall on the entire 2,000 miles of the southern border, citing "violent rivers," "nature," and "mountains," that already secure it.

Trump noted that in 2006, the Congress passed a bill for a border fence, although he said it was never completed.

When reporters asked Trump if he would commit to passing DACA amnesty without wall funding, he said that the wall was needed.

"You need the wall. It's wonderful, I would love not to build the wall, but we need the wall," Breitbart News quoted Trump as saying.

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A four-member delegation from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal on Wednesday visited the NHRC, India in New Delhi.

The delegation of Nepal, led by its NHRC Chairperson Justice Anup Raj Sharma and including Commissioner, Mohna Ansari met Justice H.L. Dattu, Chairperson, Ambuj Sharma, Secretary-General and senior officers of NHRC, India and shared the best practices being followed in both the NHRIs.

The Nepal delegation also extended an invitation to Justice Dattu to participate in a South Asia Regional Conference being organised by it in Kathmandu from 9th - 11th April 2018 to facilitate a regional dialogue on identifying challenges in realizing human rights in South Asia.

The Conference also aims at sharing good practices in the promotion and protection of human rights and to create a foundation for strengthening the functioning of NHRIs in the region.

The Nepal delegation requested NHRC, India to extend all possible support to it in organizing this International Conference.

The Conference will have representation from the NHRIs in the SAARC region besides Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, academicians and activists working on human rights.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a new scandal when a new recording emerged, showing his 26-year-old son relaxing and enjoying in a Tel Aviv strip club with his two friends.

The recording, which was aired on Israel's Channel 2 on Monday night, shows Netanyahu's son Yair having a conversation with his friends and making derogatory remarks about the strippers and the waitresses in the strip club in 2015, reported CNN.

In the recording, Yair can be heard demanding money from Ori Maimon, who is the son of the renowned Israeli gas tycoon Kobi Maimon.

"My father did a good deal for you, brother. You have to be good to me," Yair was heard saying this to Ori.

"We fought in the Knesset (Parliament) for it, brother. My father battled for it, I remember," Yair added.

"My dad arranged 20 billion dollars for your dad, and you're whining with me about 400 shekels," Yair continued, referring to money he borrowed in the strip club.

According to CNN, the conversation was about a proposal to split the income of the future natural gas drilling proceeds between private and state companies of Israel. However, political observers have assumed the talks in the recording as an "another case of corruption".

Later, Roman Abramov, another friend of Yair, who joined the two later at the club, said, "This conversation should not get out. God save us. God, if this gets out, it will be hell."

The recordings of Yair's conversation come at a time when Netanyahu himself is embroiled in a controversy regarding the legislation of a newly discovered natural gas deposit in the Mediterranean Sea.

Also, the Israeli Prime Minister is facing probes involving allegations of bribery, corruption and breach of trust. However, he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoings.

Netanyahu's family has denied any involvement of the Israeli Prime Minister and his son in the gas deal. They also blasted Channel's 2 decision to broadcast the recording, saying that Yair was only "joking" and the channel has breached the "privacy of the ruling family".

"Every parent that watched the recording should think how they would react if every false expression of their kids was turned into a headline on Channel 2, and every time they left the house, it was turned into an investigation and every conversation was turned into a hidden recording," a Netanyahu family spokesman said in a statement.

"The PM has no connection with Kobi Maimon, whom he met only once about 10 years ago. The PM brought about the gas protocols because he wanted to encourage competition to the Tamar gas field under the ownership of Kobi Maimon," the spokesperson added.

The recording also showed Yair being accompanied by bodyguards to the strip club and also had a car and driver that was allegedly paid for by using government's money.

Yair also apologised for his statements late on Tuesday. However, he also accused Channel 2 of carrying out a "witch-hunt".

"This evening, I watched the embarrassing 'yellow' report that showed an illegal hidden recording from a conversation that took place two-and-a-half years ago. In a night-time conversation, under the influence of alcohol, I said nasty things about women and other things that should not have been said. These things don't represent the person I am, the values I was educated on and what I believe," said Yair.

In a tweet in Hebrew, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak trashed Yair for his recording and mocked the statement that Netanyahu's family had made.

"Compassion for the son? It is impossible to get him back on the tracks because he was never on track. A narcissist that grew up in the mud of stinking corruption, with kickbacks of billions and grey deals on account of (the people of Israel)," he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

It is not the first time that Netanyahu's son has found himself at the center of a controversy.

In September last year, he posted a meme on Facebook, which targeted his father's political enemies.

However, the meme was widely deemed to have drawn on anti-Semitic imagery and was reposted approvingly by American far-right leader David Duke. Yair deleted the post later on and apologised.

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday urged the people of the state to respect India as a nation and not to distance itself from the rest of the nation.

While addressing the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Mehbooba said that the state's development will be hindered if it did not show faith in the Indian constitution.

While addressing the state assembly here, Mufti asked, "If we don't believe in the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, if we don't believe in the country's constitution, then what do we believe in? Then what are you going to get? Where will you get anything from?"

"Ours is the most empowered assembly in the country. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented in the entire nation at once, except Jammu and Kashmir, where it was implemented only after a proper debate in this assembly", she added.

Mufti further stated that she wants to put it on record that whatever the people of Jammu and Kashmir would get, they would get it only from India and nowhere else.

Mufti's statement comes days after she, in an open plea, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan to bury the hatchet and become friends for the sake of the locals and jawans on the border.

"I request Pakistanis across the border and my country's Prime Minister to help the people of Jammu and Kashmir come out of this mess and protect our jawans by finding solutions, holding dialogues and becoming friends", said Mufti, while addressing a rally in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Sunday.

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At least 21 militants, including Pakistani nationals, have been killed in the latest airstrikes carried out in the western Farah province of Afghanistan.

The Khaama Press quoted the Afghan Ministry of Defense as saying in a statement on Wednesday that the airstrikes were conducted in the vicinity of Khak-e-Safid district.

Several weapons and three vehicles belonging to the militants were also destroyed in the airstrikes.

No insurgent group has commented on the incident so far.

On Monday, at least three terrorists belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group were killed in the airstrikes carried out in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan.

Earlier this week, at least 20 militants affiliated with the IS were killed in an airstrike in the Laghman province.

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Nushrat Qureshi, a political activist hailing from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), has unequivocally lambasted PoK President Masood Khan, for decades of complicity of top politicians in the subjugation of the region.

Addressing an event in Karachi, she not only denounced the repressive measures of Islamabad to keep the region marginalised, but also lashed out at local authorities, who just to gain some political patronage and money, have been working at the behest of Islamabad.

Nushrat reminded the audience of a perpetual political conspiracy being played out by Pakistan to keep the PoK under its illegal occupation.

"The part of Kashmir we live in is called 'Azad Kashmir', so called 'Azad' or Free. I am saying this with great disappointment that this particular word has become an ugly blot for Independence. You can see the freedom of PoK in Act 74. Our Prime Minister is working under the lent officers appointed by Islamabad. Our Supreme Court is under the lent officer", Nushrat said.

"Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistanoccupied Kashmir are divided with an aim to give space to political parties of Pakistan. This is a deliberate attempt by Pakistan to continue its hold on the region illegally. The demography of the region has been changed by Islamabad," she added.

Pakistan has misruled the region for more than seven decades.

There is a Prime Minister and President in PoK, but they are merely stooges who have been helping Islamabad fill its treasuries through economic depredations.

The people of the region have been denied basic fundamental rights and are meted out with severe brutality if they demand for.

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Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) Preeti Saran on Wednesday said that leaders of 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have confirmed their participation in the 2018 Republic Day celebrations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited the ASEAN leaders to be the chief guests.

"The ASEAN India Summit will take place on January 25, followed by the Republic Day celebrations for which all the 10 leaders from the ASEAN countries have confirmed their participation in the commemorative Summit as well as to be guests of honour at the Republic Day", said Saran in a media briefing.

"In the course of last one year, we have been celebrating 25 years of India-ASEAN relations, 15 years of summit partnership and 5 years of our strategic partnership. It began last year in January with the conference, that was held on Cultural and civilisational linkages in Jakarta", she added.

Secretary East also recalled External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's South East Asia visit to Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

"External Affairs Minister had very successful meetings and bilateral discussions in all the three countries. But in the ASEAN context it was significant because Thailand is going to be the country coordinator for India-ASEAN relations from July this year onwards", said the Secretary East.

Yesterday, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Dr H. Wiranto was called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital.

The Prime Minister warmly recalled the successful visit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to India in December 2016, and said that he is looking forward to welcoming the President in India again later this month, when leaders of ASEAN countries will visit the country for the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and will also be the chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations thereafter.

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Russia and China on Wednesday agreed to coordinate efforts to resolve the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

The Russian news agency TASS quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement that, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui today met and discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

"An agreement was reached to continue closely coordinating Russian and Chinese efforts aimed at finding a political and diplomatic solution to the issue," the statement said.

A military hotline between North Korea and South Korea has also been restored after two years, said local media reports.

According to Yonhap News Agency, North Korea made the notification during high-level talks at the border truce village of Panmunjom held to discuss its participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and ways to improve their ties.

The North's delegation said the western military communication channel was restored last Wednesday along with another direct line at the border village, through which the two Koreas arranged Tuesday's high-level talks.

North Korea disconnected both lines in February 2016 in protest at Seoul's shutdown of a joint industrial complex.

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Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Vasily Nebenzya on Wednesday expressed concerns over the humanitarian situation in Syria's Raqqa, adding that the situation had become 'awful' there.

Speaking to reporters of TASS news agency, Nebenzya said: "The humanitarian situation in Raqqa is awful, but everyone is playing it cool. Our American colleagues levelled the city to the ground as they were fighting the ISIS there, and currently, the whole city is rigged with explosives. The region is full of corpses of killed people and is lacking water, electricity and any medical facilities. Nothing is going on, the city is not being restored, people cannot come back. They are living in awful unbelievable conditions in the refugee camps".

According to Nebenzya, he described the situation in Raqqa as "a humanitarian situation close to a humanitarian disaster".

The Syrian authorities earlier on December 31, 2017, unearthed around 115 bodies discovered from a mass grave in Raqqa.

According to Syria's Sana news agency, the bodies were of civilians and soldiers killed by the IS militants, who had been controlling the city before their downfall late this year.

In October last year, the Syrian army and the United States-(US) backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured Raqqa, which was the de facto capital of the IS. Other areas of Raqqa were also recovered from the dreaded terrorist group.

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011. Protesters have been long demanding the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over his autocratic rule.

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Smoking in Delhi is not only causing health problems but is also digging holes in the pockets of those who are being caught lighting up in the public.

During its four-day drive against smoking in public places, the Delhi Police are fining people found smoking in public, under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).

A team of South East District police raided areas like Nehru Place and Lajpat Nagar market and slapped a fine of Rs. 200 on those caught smoking in public areas.

As per the COTPA 2003, smoking in public places is banned.

The COTPA also bans all forms of advertising and promotion of tobacco products. The sale to or by minors and within 100 yards of educational institutes is also prohibited.

The DCP, south Delhi also took to Twitter and said, "11.3%smokers enjoy while othr 88.7% Non-Smokers suffer passive smoking. Exemplary work in enforcement of #COTPA 2 make change in public behaviour,2743 #smokers wr #challaned 4 smoking in public place by #SouthDistrict @DelhiPolice during 4days #DriveAgainstTobacco @sambandhhealth"

So far 4,500 fines have been imposed in South East Delhi.

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The Special Cell of Delhi Police and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), in a joint operation on Wednesday, apprehended a suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist at the Delhi airport for his alleged involvement in 2000 Red Fort attack.

The arrested accused, identified as Bilal Ahmad Kawa, is being questioned.

Bilal was apprehended after the Gujarat ATS got a tip-off regarding his movement from Srinagar to Delhi.

On 22 December 2000, a terrorist attack took place on Red Fort in Delhi, India, which claimed three lives.

Earlier, terrorist Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq, who was convicted in the case, had been awarded death sentence.

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The British Academy of Film & Television Arts unveiled the nominees for the 2018 annual BAFTAs with Guillermo Del Toro's 'The Shape of Water' leading the race with 12 nominations.

Meanwhile, 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' and 'Darkest Hour' received nine nominations each.

Below, check out reactions from nominees like Gary Oldman, Sally Hawkins and Guillermo Del Toro.

Gary Oldman, who recently won a Golden Globe for his acting in 'Darkest Hour', reacted to his nomination by saying that this recognition means so much to him.

He said, "The recognition means so much, and especially more so not merely for the distinguished company I now find myself in with my fellow nominees, but most especially for the privilege of playing Winston Churchill, which it truly was."

Oldman has been nominated in 'Best Actor (Male)' category in this year's event.

Oldman's best supporting actress-nominated co-star Kristen Scott Thomas said she was thrilled to recognised by BAFTA for her role as Clementine Churchill and for "shining a little extra light on a remarkable woman too frequently hidden behind her husband, Winston."

The actor will battle it out against the likes of Daniel Day Lewis (Phantom Thread), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), Jamie Bell (Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool) and Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name).

Meanwhile, Sally Hawkins, who is nominated in the 'Best Actor (Female)' category for her role in 'The Shape of Water', said that her nomination felt like a "gift from my homeland."

"This film, the story, its characters and the great people that were involved in bringing it to the world are unique and very precious to me. I believe this is an important film and it is a deep, deep part of my heart. So to be honored and recognized in such a way, well, yes it is a gift. [Director] Guillermo [del Toro] is a master and visionary. I am very lucky. Thank you with all my heart," noted Hawkins.

The other names in the category include - Annette Bening (Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool), Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya) and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird).

Film-maker Guillermo Del Toro, who finally won his first Golden Globe in a career spanning over 25 years, said that he feels elated to see his name in the nominations.

Del Toro explained, "I am absolutely elated with the Bafta nominations. This is a season in which you hope for the best and the Baftas have a stature and a place in the community and conversation that stands unique and tall. To recognise a movie as personal and as difficult to execute as The Shape of Water is incredibly encouraging for me as a storyteller."

Del Toro is nominated in 'Best Director' category for his cold war fantasy 'The Shape of Water'.

He will go head to head with Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049), Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) and Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri).

The ceremony will be held on February 18 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

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United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he is open to direct talks with North Korea over its nuclear program.

"President Trump expressed his openness for holding talks between the United States and North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances," The White House said in a statement detailing Trump's phone call with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

The two leaders have stressed "the importance of continuing the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea."

"President Trump told President Moon that Vice President Mike Pence would lead the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics," the statement added.

Earlier today, the U.S. asked South Korea to ensure that North Korean participation in Winter Olympics does not violate the UN Security Council's sanction on Pyongyang.

In a statement, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said, "The United States welcomes the January 9 meeting between the Republic of Korea and North Korea aimed at ensuring a safe, secure, and successful Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. The United States remains in close consultations with ROK officials, who will ensure North Korean participation in the Winter Olympics does not violate the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council over North Korea's unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

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Police have arrested one youth in connection with the gangrape of a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint in Muzaffarnagar district's Budhana town.

"The incident came to light on January 5, when the minor along with her younger brother had gone out of the house to run some errands. Two youths, living nearby, then dragged both the brother and sister into a house and committed the crime at gunpoint," said Muzaffarnagar Superintendent of Police Ajay Sahdev on Tuesday.

On the victim's complaint, the police had filed an FIR against the two accused, identified as Babli and Ashish, belonging to the same village as the victim's and had threatened the minor girl and her brother from speaking to anyone about the incident.

But the victim traumatised by the incident finally told her parents who then informed the police and an FIR was registered.

Search for the second accused is on.

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After side-stepping questions on film-maker Woody Allen for too long, director Greta Gerwig has finally addressed her relationship with Woody, who she worked with on 2012's 'To Rome with Love'.

In an interview with New York Times, the 34-year-old film-maker has declared that she will not work with the 'Midnight in Paris' helmer in the future.

The 'Lady Bird' filmmaker expressed her regret for acting in Allen's 2012 romantic comedy 'To Rome with Love'.

She also referenced Dylan Farrow, Allen's adoptive daughter, who has been outspoken against Allen in recent years and accused him of sexual assault.

She said, "I can only speak for myself and what I've come to is this: If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again. Dylan Farrow's two different pieces made me realize that I increased another woman's pain, and I was heartbroken by that realization."

Farrow has written multiple essays alleging that Woody Allen sexually abused her as a child, and recently criticised some members of the #TimesUp movement for overlooking her accusations.

Allen's son, Ronan Farrow, who recently wrote about the sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, supported his sister claims.

Refuting the claims, the 78-year-old American screenwriter lashed out at his former wife Mia Farrow and revealed that he loved her and hopes that one day she will grasp how she has been cheated out of having a loving father and exploited by a mother more interested in her own festering anger than her daughter's well-being.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the implementation of the CCEA decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Limited (TSPL) regarding disposal of its immovable assets. It also provides for getting the name of the company struck off from the Registrar of Companies after setting balance liabilities of TSPL.

It may be recalled that CCEA had approved the closure of the company in December, 2015 after discharging all dues to employees/workers and creditors.

Cabinet approved transfer of MMH Plants to Government of Karnataka along with 20,000 square meter land. Cabinet also approved selling 82.37 acres of land of the Company at Hospet to Karnataka Government for use of the Karnataka State Housing Board. The land is being sold to Karnataka Government at the rate of Rs. 66 lakh per acre offered by them.

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The stock market may see a flat to slightly higher opening amid mixed global cues. Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 6 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed. US equities rose to record highs yesterday, 9 January 2018 as investors remained optimistic about the market heading into the corporate earnings season.

Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 692.83 crore yesterday, 9 January 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 522.90 crore yesterday, 9 January 2018, as per provisional data.

Among corporate news, Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) announced that its board approved investment for transmission system for ultra mega solar power park at Tumkur (Pavagada), Karnataka - Phase-II Part-C at an estimated cost of Rs 92.13 crore with commissioning schedule of 20 months from the date of investment approval. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

The stock market registered small gains in a range bound session of trade yesterday, 9 January 2018. The Sensex had risen 90.40 points or 0.26% to settle at 34,443.19, its record closing high.

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After languishing near the flat line in morning trade, key benchmark indices hit intraday lows in mid-morning trade on weakness in Asian stocks. At 11:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 25.88 points or 0.08% at 34,417.31. The Nifty 50 index declined 12.45 points or 0.12% at 10,624.55. The Sensex had hit a record high in early trade. The movement of key indices was confined to a narrow range around the flat line so far.

Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.11%, underperforming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.02%, outperforming the Sensex.

Overseas, most Asian stocks edged lower. US equities rose to record highs yesterday, 9 January 2018 as investors remained optimistic about the market heading into the corporate earnings season.

Back home, the breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On the BSE, 1,336 shares declined and 1,244 shares advanced. A total of 114 shares were unchanged.

Auto stocks edged lower. Ashok Leyland (down 1.46%), Eicher Motors (down 1.22%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.53%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.29%) and TVS Motor Company (down 0.21%) declined. Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.26%) and Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.23%) edged higher.

Tata Motors was down 0.26% at Rs 435.40. The company said that its global wholesales, including Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), risen 23% at 1.16 lakh units in December 2017 over December 2016. The announcement was made during market hours today, 10 January 2018.

Metal and mining stocks were mixed. NMDC (up 0.91%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.76%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.68%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.68%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.31%) gained. JSW Steel (down 1.38%), Tata Steel (down 1.02%), Nalco (down 0.18%) and Vedanta (down 0.18%) edged lower. SAIL was unchanged at Rs 97.90.

Balasore Alloys jumped 11.03% at Rs 88.10 after the company announced that it shall acquire either by itself and/or through its nominees and affiliates, 70% shares of Zimbabwe Alloys. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

Balasore Alloys said that consequent upon a scheme of arrangement sanctioned by the High Court of Zimbabwe on 20 December 2017 received by the company on 8 January 2018, Balasore Alloys, by virtue of the scheme being approved by the requisite margins of members and creditors of Zimbabwe Alloys (ZAL), shall acquire either by itself and/or through its nominees and affiliates, 70% shares of Zimbabwe Alloys (ZAL), currently under Judicial Management. ZAL holds 19,780 hectares of mining areas in different parts of Zimbabwe, which has proven resources of 72.25 million tones of chrome ore. Zimbabwe Alloys Chrome, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ZAL has a ferro chrome plant.

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Motherson Sumi Systems (MSSL) said that its subsidiary has formed a joint venture (JV) with Ossia Inc. According to the company, its subsidiary Samvardhana Motherson Automotive Systems Group B.V. (SMRP BV) will hold majority share in the joint venture. Globally, the JV will focus on the integration of Cota technology into a wide range of non-military passenger, commercial and public transportation vehicles. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

Power Grid Corporation of India announced that its board approved investment for transmission system for ultra mega solar power park at Tumkur (Pavagada), Karnataka - Phase-II Part-C at an estimated cost of Rs 92.13 crore with commissioning schedule of 20 months from the date of investment approval. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

Infosys announced the successful conclusion of an Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The preliminary discussions with the IRS on the APA were initiated by the Company in 2015, followed by multiple rounds of discussions. Under the APA, the company and the IRS have agreed on the methodology to allocate revenues and compute the taxable income of the company's US operations. This agreement covers financial years from 2011 to 2021. The APA will enhance predictability of the company's tax obligations in respect of its US operations. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

DCB Bank announced that the managing director and CEO in consultation with the chairman and the chief financial officer has approved the issuance of unsecured non convertible tier 2 bonds for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 150 crore on private placement basis. The other terms and conditions of the Issue such as tenor, coupon, maturity, terms of interest payment etc would be decided by the chairman and/or the managing director and/or the chief financial officer. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

Spice Mobility said that its subsidiary Spice Digital (SDL) has divested its entire equity stake in Sunstone Eduversity (Eduversity) pursuant to a share purchase agreement entered into by them. Further, Eduversity has ceased to be an associate of SDL. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

Srei Infrastructure Finance will be in focus. With reference to the recent news item captioned "JSW Infrastructure - Srei to buy Sterling Port in Dahej", Srei Infrastructure Finance clarified that Sterling Port is being acquired by I Log Port (Dahej) in consortium with JSW Infrastructure. I Log Port (Dahej) is wholly-owned by Srei Alternative Investment Trust - Bharat Nirman Fund (BNF), a category I, infrastructure fund registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in which Srei Alternative Investment Managers, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Srei, acts as an investment manager. Srei is only acting as a lender to the above consortium. The clarification was issued after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

Balasore Alloys said that consequent upon a scheme of arrangement sanctioned by the High Court of Zimbabwe on 20 December2017 received by the company on 8 January 2018, Balasore Alloys, by virtue of the scheme being approved by the requisite margins of members and creditors of Zimbabwe Atloys (ZAL), shall acquire either by itself and / or through its nominees and affiliates, 70% shares of Zimbabwe Alloys (ZAL), currently under Judicial Management. ZAL holds 19,780 hectares of mining areas in different parts of Zimbabwe, which has proven resourcesof 72.25 million tones of chrome ore. Zimbabwe Alloys Chrome, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ZAL has a ferro chrome plant. The clarification was issued after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

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Power Grid Corporation of India rose 0.4% to Rs 201.50 at 10:00 IST on BSE after the company announced that its board of directors accorded investment approval for transmission system for ultra mega solar power park.

The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 9 January 2018.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 13.59 points or 0.04% at 34,454.79.

On the BSE, 9,274 shares were traded in the counter so far as against average daily volume of 4.14 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 202 and a low of Rs 200.90 so far during the day. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 226.40 on 8 August 2017. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 185 on 10 January 2017.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 9 January 2018, sliding 1.08% compared with 3.59% gains in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, declining 0.32% as against Sensex's 8.15% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one year, rising 7.76% as against Sensex's 28.87% rise.

The large-cap power distribution company has equity capital of Rs 5231.59 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Power Grid Corporation of India announced that its board of directors at a meet on 6 January 2017, accorded investment approval for transmission system for ultra mega solar power park at Tumkur (Pavagada), Karnataka - Phase-II, Part-C at an estimated cost of Rs 92.13 crore.

The project has commissioning schedule of 20 months from the date of investment approval.

PowerGrid Corporation of India's net profit rose 14.4% to Rs 2141.04 crore on 16% rise in net sales to Rs 7252.84 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016.

The Government of India holds 57.9% stake in the firm as at 30 September 2017.

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The recent price cut by Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJio; 'IND AAA'/Stable) will delay the prospects of a recovery in incumbents' average revenue per user (ARPU) levels, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra). RJio announced an INR50 cut in its existing plans and/or 50% more data per day on plans ranging from INR199-498. The price cut indicates pricing discipline may still be uncertain and highly dependent on consumer behaviour despite consolidation in the industry paving the way for long-term structural improvements.

Two large telecoms registered an ARPU decline of 25% yoy each for 2QFY18. RJio reported a higher ARPU of INR156 for 2QFY18 than the INR84 recorded for the industry for the period, as RJio's entire customer base comprises broadband data subscribers. Meanwhile, broadband data subscribers constitute only 20% of the customer bases of other large telecoms. Non-broadband subscribers are typically low ARPU-generating customers.

According to Ind-Ra, top telecoms would focus more on increasing their subscriber market share than revenue market share during 2018 and the dual sim phenomenon would continue for longer-than-expected, given low customer loyalty and high price sensitivity.

Thus, the industry pricing trend is moving towards competitive pricing on long validity plans (70-90 days) to increase customer stickiness.

Although current competitive tariffs do not seem sustainable, the short-term outlook for the ARPU remains subdued, thus indicating another tough year for the telecom sector. Mounting pricing pressure, debt burden and capital outlay needs led to the exit of small telecoms from the market. Large telecoms have prepared themselves for the continued challenging environment via asset monetisation, which emerged as a key credit theme in 2017, besides industry consolidation.

Ind-Ra previously expected a recovery in ARPU in mid-to-late FY19 in view of a likely stabilisation of industry tariffs at a higher level that would have led to user SIM consolidation. RJio increased pricing by 40% in October 2017. Thereafter, it reduced the validity on the INR309 plan to 49 days from 84 days. However, it has announced cashback offers to ensure customer stickiness.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Some 169 suspected members of the Italian 'Ndrangheta gang have been arrested in Italy and Germany as part of a joint operation, police said.

German police arrested 11 of them in Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, Hessen and North Rhine-Westphalia, the Federal Criminal Police Office said.

The arrested were aged between 36-61, and were allegedly linked to the Farao-Marincola clan from the Calabrian town of Ciro, the Italian police said on Tuesday.

They are one of the most powerful Calabrian mafias in northern Italy, with ramifications in Germany, Efe news reported.

The group has been accused of attempted murder, extortion and money laundering, among other crimes.

The criminal organisation managed to exert an influence on important Italian economic and business sectors, such as the production and sale of fish, wine and confectionery, waste collection and funeral services.

It was capable of managing millions of euros, according to the police.

Assets worth $59.64 million were seized during the police operation, which was coordinated by prosecutor Nicola Gratteri.

The network, whose central operations took place in Ciro and the surrounding area, allegedly invested its profits in northern Italy and Germany.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Leader of the Opposition in Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, on Wednesday condemned violence over an alleged custodial death in Darrang district that left one person dead and several others injured in police firing.

Terming an inquiry ordered by the government as "inadequate", Saikia demanded a judicial inquiry.

The Congress leader said that firing, use of teargas shells and lathi-charge by police had become frequent in the past several months and cited killing of one person in police firing in Goalpara on June 30, 2017 and the lathi-charge on college students in Margherita on September 19, 2017 as well as a similar action against peaceful protesters in Golaghat on December 19, 2017.

Saikia said a belligerent policy adopted by state police was creating concern and outrage among Assam residents.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police officers in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte ended a strike on Tuesday that kept them off the job for 20 days, forcing officials to deploy army troops in the region following a spike in violent crime.

The officers agreed to return to duty after state officials promised to pay some of the salary arrears this week, Efe reported.

The civil police went on strike on December 20, a day after military police officers walked off the job.

On January 2, the military police decided on a gradual return to work once the strike was ruled illegal, while the civil force resolved to continue the stoppage.

Each of Brazil's 26 states has two police agencies, one military and one civil. While military police are responsible for maintaining public order, the civil force investigates crimes.

Officers went on strike to demand payment of salary arrears and better working conditions.

The strike prompted state officials to request the deployment of the army to maintain order, and some 2,800 soldiers have been on patrol in the principal cities of Rio Grande do Norte since last week.

The army plans to continue patrolling cities in Rio Grande do Norte until January 12, but Governor Robinson Faria said on Monday evening that he hoped the soldiers would remain longer.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British Prime Minister Theresa May issued her first statement on Tuesday night after completing a shake-up of her team of government ministers.

Speaking at 10 Downing Street, May commented on the new diversity of her government team, Xinhua reported.

May said: "This Government is about building a country fit for the future -- one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society.

"This reshuffle helps us do just that by bringing fresh talent into Government, boosting delivery in key policy areas like housing, health and social care, and ensuring the Government looks more like the country it serves.

"It also allows a new generation of gifted Ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK."

May faced criticism on the first day of her reshuffle which critics, including some of her own Conservative politicians described as lack-lustre.

Just one big change to her front-row team saw former Education Secretary Justine Greening resigning from the cabinet.

On day two, May first assembled her new line up of ministers at Downing Street, before hiring and firing a number of second-tier ministers.

May even posted a photo on her social media site showing her alongside a line-up of all-female MPs appointed to roles in the party whip's office. Their task is to liaise with MPs in the House of Commons.

May fired four ministers on day-two of her reshuffle as she made way for newcomer to her team.

Among those leaving were education minister Robert Goodwill and Mark Garnier, the international trade minister. John Hayes, the transport minister and health minister Philip Dunne both resigned from the government.

Backbench Conservative MP Philip Davies complained that May's reshuffle has created a "legitimate concern" that white, male ministers have been "hoofed out" to make way for women or minority ethnic MPs "because they are a white male".

Davies said: "Time will tell as to whether these people have got their jobs on merit or whether they have got them on tokenism. It certainly does not do anyone any favours to promote people who are not ready for promotion just because of their gender or race.

"Time will tell whether these jobs were given on merit or not. But obviously any self-respecting Conservative would say that all jobs should be given on merit and we should be blind to people's gender, race or religion."

May finally completed her reshuffle on Tuesday night, moving eight existing members of her government team to new posts. Home Secretary Amber Rudd was also appointed by May as Minister of Women and Equalities.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a move designed to expedite the strategic divestment in Air India, the Cabinet on Wednesday decided to open up the national carrier for foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 49 per cent under the approval route.

The present rules allow foreign airlines to invest under the government approval route in the capital of Indian airline companies up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital, which is, however, not applicable to Air India.

"It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India subject to the conditions that foreign investments in Air India including that of foreign airlines shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly," an official release said here, following a Cabinet meeting.

"Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National," it added.

Currently, a ministerial group -- Air India-specific Alternative Mechanism -- headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is looking into the modalities to divest loss-making Air India. The group has been mandated to decide on key issues such as treatment of Air India's debt and hiving-off of its assets.

Last month, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had announced that British consulting multinational EY has been appointed as transaction advisors to aid the government in the strategic divestment of Air India.

Making the announcement, Sinha said the Air India stake sale would most likely be an offering for an integrated airline through the bidding process "and both domestic and international operations will be divested as one entity".

In September, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management had invited bids for the role of advisors to guide the government on the financial and legal issues associated with the strategic disinvestment.

The airline, which is under a massive debt burden of Rs 50,000 crore, had posted an operating profit of Rs 105 crore in 2015-16, and is expected to report an improved operating profit margin for the last fiscal.

The national carrier got a new lease of life in April 2012, when the then UPA government approved a Rs 30,000-crore turnaround and financial restructuring package spanning up to 2021.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of an agreement between India and Canada to foster cooperation among the research and academic institutions of the two countries, an official statement said.

The MOU approved in the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will support the programme IC-IMPACTS (India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnership to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability), it said.

The programme has been planned to promote multidisciplinary research partnerships between the two nations.

The projects under it will be aimed at accelerating social transformation by providing solutions through application of science and technology, the statement said.

Its participants will include researchers from scientific organisations, academia and research laboratories from India and Canada.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To attract foreign bidders and expedite the strategic divestment of Air India, the Cabinet on Wednesday decided to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 49 per cent in the flag carrier.

Accordingly, the national carrier has been brought at par with other domestic airlines which are allowed to attract foreign capital. The decision effectively expands the "universe of bidders" that the government hopes to attract for the airline's strategic divestment.

The decision to allow FDI into the flag carrier was taken by the Union cabinet in its meeting here that okayed liberalisation and simplification of the FDI policy in several other sectors also.

The present rules allow foreign airlines to invest in Indian airline companies up to a limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital, which is, however, not applicable to Air India.

"It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India subject to the conditions that foreign investments in Air India, including that of foreign airlines, shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly," an official release said here, following the Cabinet meeting.

"Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian national," it added.

Welcoming the decision, industry body CII's Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said: "Foreign airlines have been allowed to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India with approval. This is expected to bring some capital to support a turnaround in the national carrier."

Albert Tjoeng, Assistant Director, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific at International Air Transport Association (IATA), said: "The amendment in the FDI policy is a step in the right direction - it removes the exemption that had been prevalent in the policy which is related to a single airline."

"At the same time, it is important that the government ensures that airlines in India have the most conducive operating and regulatory environment to compete effectively."

Industry observers opined that the move will attract foreign bidders including foreign airlines to the divestment process.

"The decision will bring Air India at par with other domestic carriers which are allowed to attract foreign capital," Dhiraj Mathur, Partner and Leader (Aerospace and Defence) with PwC India, told IANS.

"This will increase competition and the overall participation of bidders in the divestment process. A sensible and welcome decision."

According to Peeyush Naidu, Partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India: "It is a fine-tuning of the FDI policy that extends norms that existed for other players for Air India as well."

"Foreign players can now come in individually or with other Indian partner to participate in the divestment process when ever it takes-off and get a significant stake."

Independent aviation expert Amrit Pandurangi said: "Air India is not an easy transaction... so 49 per cent is good, but may not be good enough to make it attractive."

"They need to first sort out a number of issues on Air India's financial debt, people-related issues."

Currently, a ministerial group -- Air India-specific Alternative Mechanism -- headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is looking into the modalities to divest loss-making Air India. The group has been mandated to decide on key issues such as treatment of Air India's debt and hiving-off of its assets.

Last month, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had announced that British consulting multinational EY has been appointed as transaction advisors to aid the government in the strategic divestment of Air India.

Making the announcement, Sinha said the Air India stake sale would most likely be an offering for an integrated airline through the bidding process "and both domestic and international operations will be divested as one entity".

In September, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management had invited bids for the role of advisors to guide the government on the financial and legal issues associated with the strategic disinvestment.

The airline, which is under a massive debt burden of Rs 50,000 crore, had posted an operating profit of Rs 105 crore in 2015-16, and is expected to report an improved operating profit margin for the last fiscal.

The national carrier got a new lease of life in April 2012, when the then UPA government approved a Rs 30,000-crore turnaround and financial restructuring package spanning up to 2021.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
To attract foreign bidders and expedite the strategic divestment of Air India, the Cabinet has decided to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 49 per cent in the flag carrier.

Accordingly, the national passenger carrier has been brought at par with other domestic airlines which are allowed to attract foreign capital.

The decision to allow FDI into the flag carrier was taken by the Union cabinet in its meeting here on Wednesday that okayed liberalisation and simplification of the FDI policy in several other sectors.

The present rules allow foreign airlines to invest in Indian airline companies up to a limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital, which is, however, not applicable to Air India.

"It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India subject to the conditions that foreign investments in Air India, including that of foreign airlines, shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly," an official release said here, following the Cabinet meeting.

"Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian national," it added.

According to sector experts, the move will attract foreign bidders.

"The decision will bring Air India at par with other domestic carriers which are allowed to attract foreign capital," Dhiraj Mathur, Partner and Leader (Aerospace and Defence) with PwC India, told IANS.

"This will increase competition and the overall participation of bidders in the divestment process. A sensible and welcome decision."

Independent aviation expert Amrit Pandurangi said: "Air India is not an easy transaction... so 49 per cent is good, but may not be good enough to make it attractive."

"They need to first sort out a number of issues on Air India's financial debt, people-related issues."

Currently, a ministerial group -- Air India-specific Alternative Mechanism -- headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is looking into the modalities to divest loss-making Air India. The group has been mandated to decide on key issues such as treatment of Air India's debt and hiving-off of its assets.

Last month, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had announced that British consulting multinational EY has been appointed as transaction advisors to aid the government in the strategic divestment of Air India.

Making the announcement, Sinha said the Air India stake sale would most likely be an offering for an integrated airline through the bidding process "and both domestic and international operations will be divested as one entity".

In September, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management had invited bids for the role of advisors to guide the government on the financial and legal issues associated with the strategic disinvestment.

The airline, which is under a massive debt burden of Rs 50,000 crore, had posted an operating profit of Rs 105 crore in 2015-16, and is expected to report an improved operating profit margin for the last fiscal.

The national carrier got a new lease of life in April 2012, when the then UPA government approved a Rs 30,000-crore turnaround and financial restructuring package spanning up to 2021.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Calling it a "serious matter" for small businesses, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday strongly opposed the approval to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail trading.

Condemning the Modi government's "love for MNCs", CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said the move would facilitate easy entry of MNCs in retail trade and leave a large number of people jobless.

He said in a statement that the CAIT would soon declare a nationwide trategy to oppose the "brutal move" by the government.

"It's a serious matter for small businesses," he said, adding the move was in a violation of the election promise made by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"It is a pity that instead of formulating policies for the welfare, upgradation and modernisation of existing retail trade, the government is more interested in paving the way for the MNCs to control and dominate the retail trade of India," he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Union Home Ministry has sanctioned Rs 226 crore to paramilitary forces for procuring latest equipment and gadgets to strengthen them in view of their responsibility in securing borders as well as internal security, an official said on Wednesday.

The distribution of the sanctioned fund will be done in phased manner to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Sashashtra Seema Bal, said the official privy to the Home Ministry decision.

According to the official, the forces will utilise the fund as per their operational requirements.

The CRPF and the CISF ensure internal security with their deployment in different sectors while the BSF, the ITBP and the SSB are mandated to guard borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal and Bangladesh respectively. The CRPF is deployed in anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir, anti-Maoist operations in central and eastern India, the northeastern states and other internal security duties.

The CISF provides security to 59 airports, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and vital installations, including nuclear plants and several government buildings.

The BSF guards 3,323 km India-Pakistan and 4096 km India- Bangladesh borders, the ITBP 3,488 km India-China border and the SSB protects 1,751 km India-Nepal and 699 km India-Bhutan borders.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress and the CPI-M on Wednesday slammed the Narendra Modi governments move to divest its 49 per cent stake in Air India and allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail.

Congress leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma said the government should come clear on the Air India deal as to whether the national carrier's assets "worth lakhs of crores of rupees" and its route rights would also be transferred to the investor.

Sharma said the UPA government had consciously kept Air India out of the purview of FDI though it had allowed 49 per cent FDI in the civil aviation sector.

"It is true that the national carrier has faced challenges, but so have other airlines. We have to examine the government's decision closely. Whether it also allows foreign carriers (to invest), which presumably is the case, then it raises some fundamental questions," Sharma said.

"Air India has assets worth lakhs and lakhs of crores (of rupees) in India and abroad. The government needs to inform the country what this policy will do. Don't want a situation where Air India is sold for a song and all bilateral route rights are gone with that," he added.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also strongly opposed the decision to allow "foreign airlines" to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India.

"Having taken the decision to privatise Air India, the Modi government is now moving towards handing over Air India to a foreign airline.

"The government should heed the recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, which has asked the government to review its decision on privatisation of Air India and give five years to revive the airline with its debts written off," the Left party said in a statement.

On allowing 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in single-brand retails, it said that the move reflected on the Modi government's intentions of "moving towards allowing FDI in multi-brand retail trade".

However, Sharma termed it just as "a cosmetic change" and "minor tweak" that would not have any significant changes.

"I don't think its going to make much change, because almost all the major brands of the world are already here as 100 per cent FDI was already allowed. This is done perhaps for the Prime Minister to make a statement at Davos," Sharma said.

Till now, FDI up to 49 per cent was permitted under the automatic route, while the government's permission was needed for FDI above that.

Both Congress and CPI-M reminded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that it had opposed as an opposition party the entry of foreign companies into retail trade and that it had now "hypocritically reversed its position".

Modi will be travelling to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum Summit later this month.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leader M.M. Hassan on Wednesday demanded a vigilance case to be filed against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for using cyclone relief funds to pay for his chopper ride to attend a party meeting.

Simultaneously, the Bharatiya Janata Party urged Home Minister Rajnath Singh to see that the central funds given for Ockhi relief should be monitored closely by New Delhi.

In a bid to end the controversy, the CPI-M Secretariat which meets here on Thursday is likely to foot the bill of Vijayan's helicopter ride.

A government order surfaced on Tuesday directing payment of Rs 8 lakh be paid from the Ockhi relief fund for Vijayan's chopper ride on December 26 from Thrissur, where he was attending a Communist Party of India-Marxist meeting, to the state capital to meet a central team that had come visiting from Delhi to study the damage caused by the cyclone on November 30.

After meeting the central government team, Vijayan flew back to Thrissur and his government debited the chopper ride's expenses to the relief fund.

Hassan, the President of Congress in Kerala, told reporters here that this was nothing but corruption.

"He has used public money to pay for his travel to attend party meetings and it's a blatant lie that his office said that no one knew about it. In the government order itself, the name of the Private Secretary of the Chief Minister is mentioned. How can they say they have no knowledge?" asked Hassan.

Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Vijayan should at least apologize to the people of Kerala who generously contributed to the relief fund.

State BJP President Kummanem Rajasekheran said denounced Vijayan.

"Vijayan is blowing up money which should go to the grieving families of the fisherfolks who lost their near and dear ones. Vijayan's attitude towards the weaker section is appalling. He took several days to even go and express his sympathies after the cyclone," he said.

Kerala BJP General Secretary M.T. Ramesh asked Home Minister Rajnath Singh to monitor the cyclone funds.

Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekheran has sought a report from Revenue Secretary P.H. Kurian, who came out with the controversial order.

Meanwhile the Latin Diocese Vicar General Eugene Pereira said all the funds collected and disbursed in the name of Ockhi relief should be made public.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ecuador's Foreign Minister on Tuesday said that Quito may pursue mediation to resolve the standoff between the South American nation and Britain over the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has spent more than five years holed up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

"We have an enormous interest in reaching a definitive solution to the Assange case and to make that happen we are in permanent dialogue with the government of the United Kingdom," Efe quoted Maria Fernanda Espinosa as saying.

"We are also considering and exploring the possibility of mediation," she said, adding that the role of mediator could be played by an individual or a third-country government.

The Australian citizen sought refuge at the Ecuadorian mission in June 2012 after losing a battle in the British courts to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors had been seeking to question him about rape allegations dating back to 2010.

Assange, who denies all the accusations, said that once he was in Swedish custody the US would pressure Stockholm into handing him over for prosecution based on WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents.

Ecuador granted Assange's application for political asylum, but the UK government continues to deny him safe passage to the government, even after Swedish prosecutors' announcement last May that they were closing the original sexual assault investigation.

Asked by a reporter about Assange's health, Espinosa replied: "How would you feel after 5 1/2 years of being in a small office, without being able to enjoy sunlight and without breathing fresh air?"

"Even people in detention centers can go out to the yard, play sports," she said.

The Foreign Minister said that Ecuador remains committed to ensuing Assange's safety.

"We are a country that defends human rights. A country, moreover, that respects international law," she said.

Describing Assange's situation as unsustainable, she said that Ecuador will continue to approach the UK in a "very, very respectful way" to find a solution.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Even as NITI Aayog claims to have found that statistics on lack of employment are overstated, there was consensus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with country's leading economists that employment generation was the key going forward.

At an event organised by the NITI Aayog ahead of the Union Budget, over 40 economists shared their views on various themes such as the macro-economy, agriculture and rural development, employment, health and education, manufacturing and exports, urban development, infrastructure and connectivity.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar told the media after the meeting that employment was one of the key subjects discussed during the meeting.

"NITI Aayog had set up a task force to examine what we call high frequency employment data. The task force has come out with numbers which will be shared later with the public.

"But these number are startling and quite in contrast with Labour Bureau numbers... You will see there is much better news on employment front than what people thought," he said.

Yet there was unanimity among the experts that employment is the key going forward, he added.

Rajiv Kumar said it was also pointed out that educated unemployment among young people in the country may be as high as 20 per cent.

"As you skill more people, you raise aspirations and create situation where aspirations are rising and jobs are not available," he said.

He said another big idea discussed during the meeting was if India can adopt stronger export-driven growth strategy "given the global economy is now in the phase of synchronized expansion".

"So there is a big opportunity here for India. And we need better government capability to target the sectors which are needed to expand exports," he said.

Rajiv Kumar said what emerged clearly out of the meeting was that Prime Minister's call for doubling farmer incomes "is not just a pie in the sky".

"Several speakers said we must shift our focus from increasing agricultural production to increasing incomes. Because increased production doesn't necessarily lead to increased incomes for the farmers.

"So we need to shift our focus to productivity, lowering costs, increasing efficiency, and giving farmers access to markets," he said.

Several presentations were made to the Prime Minister during the meeting after which, he thanked the participants for their suggestions and observations and assured them that the government will consider these.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also thanked everyone for their "thought-provoking suggestions", a government statement said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Shree Rajput Karni Sena on Wednesday asserted that it will not reach a compromise with the makers of "Padmavat", and called for a "janata curfew" whenever the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial is released.

Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi, who is leading the protest against the movie, told media persons here: "We needed one small clarification that time that there will be nothing between Alauddin Khilji and Padmavati... We would have been content with it, but now we will not compromise in any way."

He also called for a "janata curfew" when the movie is released.

The Rajput outfit had first expressed concern after Ranveer Singh -- one of the three lead actors of the movie -- made a casual statement back in July 2016. He was reportedly asked if he was playing the role of a villain in the film, and he had said that he could go two notches beyond playing the role of a villain if he was given two intimate scenes with the film's leading lady Deepika Padukone.

This led to the question whether the movie showcases any intimacy between Khilji and Rani Padmavati. Subsequently, activists of Karni Sena even assaulted Bhansali on the film's set in Jaipur and another set in Kolhapur was vandalised.

Bhansali and Viacom18 Pictures have been facing numerous hurdles in releasing the movie which, the director has said, is based on 16th century Indian sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem "Padmavat".

The censor board gave it the green signal with a U/A certification in consultation with a three-member advisory panel.

Dismissing it as hogwash, Kalvi questioned why it was shown to three people when there was talk about having a nine-member panel.

He said while the Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh governments have decided against the movie's release, he is expecting other states to follow suit.

"I believe Telangana, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh will also make some announcement in a few days," Kalvi said, insisting that the movie should not be released in theatres as it twists and turns history.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
There is a great expansion in the role and responsibilities of modern-day legislators who have to attend to the developmental needs along with legislative duties, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said on Wednesday.

Thus, well-organised research is imperative for them, she said in her keynote address on "Strengthening Parliamentary Research for effective functioning of Legislatures" at the 24th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth here.

"As legislators come from diverse backgrounds and the complexity of issues before them are varied, it is imperative that they are supported by a well-organised and trained research and information service," she said.

Mahajan stressed that the need for a strong parliamentary research service is greater in developing democracies to understand the complexities of issues before the nations.

She highlighted that research needs of Parliamentarians in India is provided by the 'Research and Information Division' and 'Members' Reference Service', which are part of a collective service called LARRDIS (Library and Research, Reference, Documentation and Information Service).

She said that the Indian Parliament has a capacity-building arm in the form of Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training in the Lok Sabha Secretariat which organises orientation and training programmes for Parliamentarians and Parliamentary officials of India and other countries.

--IANS

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"Lady Bird" director Greta Gerwig says she will not be working with veteran filmmaker Woody Allen again.

This comes after Allen came under scrutiny for sexual misconduct allegations as his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a child.

Gerwig clarified her thoughts about working with Allen on his 2012 film "To Rome With Love", reports nytimes.com.

In light of the recent purge of sexual harassers in Hollywood and the #Metoo and Time's Up movements, Allen has come under renewed scrutiny, with some questioning why Allen is still releasing films like this year's "Wonder Wheel".

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In a conversation with the publication, Gerwig said that she was "heartbroken" when she discovered the allegations against the director, yet avoided definitively saying that she regretted working on the film.

"I have been asked about a couple of times recently, as I worked for Allen on a film that came out in 2012. It is something that I take very seriously and have been thinking deeply about, and it has taken me time to gather my thoughts and say what I mean to say," she said.

"I can only speak for myself and what I've come to is this: If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again. Dylan Farrow's two different pieces made me realise that I increased another woman's pain, and I was heartbroken by that realisation. I grew up on his movies, and they have informed me as an artist, and I cannot change that fact now, but I can make different decisions moving forward," she added.

At Sunday's Golden Globes, she was asked about working with Allen, and said she had taken it to heart but was still thinking about how to respond.

Farrow responded to Gerwig's statement on Twitter, thanking her for her words and writing that they are "deeply felt and appreciated."

--IANS

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India is one of the most important markets for Lenovo to not only sell its products, but to develop them, a top official of the Fortune 500 company said.

Yang Yuanqing, Chief Executive Officer of Lenovo, said that given India's population, it remains one of the largest and most important markets, and because of its tech talent, it allows the company to develop products.

"Your skills and market, no matter whether it's for personal computer or smartphones or others, makes it one of the most important markets for Lenovo," Yuanqing, more familiarly called "YY" by colleagues, told a small group of invited journalists from India, Japan and Taiwan, on the sidelines of the largest consumer electronics show (CES) 2018 here.

He said that, when they talk about India, they always discuss the education level of the people.

Fifty-three-year-old Yuanqing had visited India in 2016 and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had urged the CEO to set up a manufacturing base in India under the Make in India programme.

Nick Reynolds, Chief Marketing Officer of Lenovo, who was present at the media interaction, told IANS that Yuanqing would be visiting India again later this year and would possibly bring with him some more initiatives for the country.

He would also likely meet Modi again, Reynolds said.

Asked whether Lenovo, which had set up two manufacturing bases in India for PCs and smartphones, would continue to market itself by its own name or that of Motorola which it acquired, and by which it's better known in most parts of the world, Yuanqing said that the strategy would be decided by the customer.

"If the Indian customer view Moto as a premier product, we will position it as such. But if the Indian customer looks for better priced product, our strategy would be to use Lenovo as brand name," he said.

Asked whether the recent vulnerabilities discovered in Intel, AMD and ARM chips was something that the world should worry about, Yuanqing said that it was an industry-wide issue and what was needed was to fix it.

"We have to explain and look for customer satisfaction. We have to find the issue and fix it. There is no other way. Customers will continue to need computers or tablets or other devices."

Lenovo became the world's largest supplier of PCs in 2016, shipping out some 55.5 million pieces to around 160 countries, dislodging giants such as Dell and HP from the top perch.

Yuanqing said that they hoped to remain number one for the next ten years, but it would not be easy.

"We reached the top by being more efficient than our competition, but nobody can guarantee that. We have to be sensitive to the changing market," he added.

He said they were leading in a large number of segments and would be strengthening their data centre business, aiming to become the top company in supercomputing from being among the top five and look at leveraging every product through artificial intelligence (AI).

He said the company would be investing more than the announced $1.2 billion in the next three years, since every product and solution was AI-defined now.

Yuanqing said AI had changed everything and big data analysis is what large companies depend on.

"Earlier, we used to depend on focus groups to understand customer requirements, but those were not that accurate. Now, we are using big data to forecast demand in our supply chain. We used to depend on deep learning by human beings. Now we depend on the machines. In the past two quarters, the machine forecasts have been more accurate. That's another kind of intelligence," he added.

He said the company needed to strengthen storage and network businesses and provide better server storage for Cloud computing companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook, and provide them different products and skills.

He said Lenovo's main competitor in this area were not multinationals, but Taiwanese companies.

"You must be cost efficient and customerise the solutions. It's not enough to provide the device, but to make money also," he said.

Asked what differentiated the company from other multinationals, Yuanqing said that if you take an American multinational or a Japanese one, all the top executives were from the country where the company had the head office.

"But we have less than half of our top executives from China. We are very unique in that we depend on more international talent. We are not based in one city, but we are in Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney and Chicago, in Milan and the West Coast of the US. That has given us an advantage by using talent from different countries who have knowledge of their key markets," Yuanqing said.

(Hardev Sanotra is in Las Vegas for CES 2018 at the invitation of Lenovo. He can be reached at hardev.sanotra@ians.in)

--IANS

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The Indian Navy urgently requires minesweepers and hence there is an urgent need to re-appoint a new consultant for their aquisition, former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Wednesday.

Parrikar, who is now the Goa Chief Minister, said the urgency came in the wake of a Rs 32,000 crore ($5 billion) Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMVs) project with a South Korean firm falling through.

"We need those minesweepers urgently. So the new consultancy selection has to be done very fast," he told the media at the State Secretariat here.

Media reports earlier this week, quoting top officials of Goa Shipyard Limited, a Defence Ministry PSU, had said that the MCMV manufacturing contract had fallen through after negotiations with the Kangnam Corporation failed.

The contract was the biggest Defence Ministry initiative so far under the 'Make in India' initiative.

Parrikar said that only the South Korean consultant's role had been cancelled but the order to manufacture MCMVs was still on.

"What has been cancelled is the consultant's role. A particular consultant's tender was not as per rules and regulations, so they are re-floating it. What is big in that," he wondered.

"The exercise carried out by Goa Shipyard could not be completed because of certain terms and conditions set by the Korean company, which were beyond the scope of the tender.

"So what do you expect? There has to be retendering. So they have ordered retendering. Now, this has nothing to do with the order," he maintained.

Parrikar said that a delay of six months to one year in a long-tenured contract was absorbable and therefore not a cause for concern.

"It can be minimal. These are projects for eight years, ten years. So they can absorb the delay. A six-month delay can be absorbed. In an 8-10 year contract or a 12-year contract, you can absorb one year (delay). Percentage-wise, it is not very big," he said.

--IANS

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The JNU administration is meting out a "grave injustice" to students by not allowing them a hearing or consultation on various matters, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) said on Wednesday.

Slapped with a proctorial notice for "protesting" at the the administrative block, the union members condemned the administration as "anti-student" and "anti-democratic", saying that the "entire student community" is in distress because of it.

"Right from slapping sedition cases on previous JNUSU representatives and students, to penalising them through heavy fines over past two years only shows how anti-student and anti-democratic the VC and his administration is," the JNUSU said in a statement.

"The entire student community is extremely distressed about these grave concerns and would like to put forward their concerns in front of the head of this institution," it added.

One of the issues that the students are protesting over is the compulsory attendance order issued by the varsity recently. The union has boycotted the decision calling it against JNU culture and citing other practicalities.

The notice was served to the students on Monday accusing them of blocking the administrative block. However, the over 50 students who had gone to meet the Vice Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar on January 4, have maintained that they had gone to the admin block to "meet" the VC and give him a letter opposing the attendance move, signed by "2,500 students" and not for protesting.

The students are required to appear before the Proctorial committee on Thursday.

--IANS

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The Israeli army on Wednesday lifted its complete closure of roads leading to the northern West Bank city of Nablus that had been shut off following the killing of an Israeli settler in the area, although military posts at the city's exit points would remain in place.

A military spokesman confirmed to Efe news agency that the entry of vehicles and people to Nablus was allowed and that departure was also possible, but through security checkpoints.

On Wednesday, the army reported that an extensive security operation was underway in Nablus and nearby villages in response to the fatal shooting on Tuesday night of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, a resident in the nearby settlement outpost Havat Guilad.

Shevach, 35, was buried Wednesday at the outpost where he lived with his wife and six children, who are between the ages of ten months and ten years old.

An unspecified number of attackers opened fire on the vehicle in which Raziel was traveling on Highway 60, killing him with a wound to the neck.

A right-wing member of the Israeli parliament, Bezalel Smotrich, was traveling on the same road at the time and was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the attack and administer aid to the victim.

In a post to Twitter, Smotrich called the attackers subhuman and called on the minister of defense to order security forces to act immediately with a heavy hand and show Palestinians that they will pay a high price for such attacks.

Apparently in revenge for Shevach's killing, Israeli settlers on Tuesday reportedly threw stones at Palestinian residents and vehicles in the area.

--IANS

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JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has softened his stance on bitcoin and regretted calling the digital currency a fraud.

In an interview with Fox Business on Tuesday, Dimon said he regretted making his earlier comments on the cryptocurrency.

The head of the biggest US bank called bitcoin "a fraud" in September 2017 and said the digital currency "won't end well", Xinhua news agency reported.

He also then said that he would not allow JP Morgan traders to trade bitcoin, noting that "it's against our rules and they are stupid".

Bitcoin was trading around $4,200 when Dimon made the comments. Since then, the price of the digital currency has skyrocketed. Bitcoin traded above $14,000 on Tuesday.

Dimon said he personally was "not interested in the subject at all". But he said blockchain, the open-ledger technology that underpins bitcoins, was real.

--IANS

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A mega road show has been planned by the Gujarat government when e Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu visit the state and Ahmedababd on January 17, officials said on Monday.

A high-level meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary J.P. Singh, was convened on Monday at state secretariat to plan for the visit, and the pacts to be signed between the state and Israel during Netanyahu's visit.

The roadshow will be from the Ahmedababd airport to the Sabarmati Ashram, similar to that held during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit. The task of arranging the roadshow and other functions has been assigned to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). Besides the Ashram, the Prime Ministers will also be visiting the 'I-Create' center in Ahmedababd.

--IANS

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The Mexican military said on Tuesday that marines manning a highway checkpoint discovered nearly $1 million in cash hidden on a bus.

The seizure was made on Sunday in the northern state of Tamaulipas during an inspection, Efe news agency reported.

The bus was headed south from Reynosa, just across the border from McAllen, Texas, to the central Mexican city of Puebla.

After noticing "irregularities in the internal structure of the bus", the marines brought in sniffer dogs that led them to 43 plastic packages containing a total of $981,140, the navy said in a statement.

Once the cash was discovered, the bus driver and his assistant admitted that they had been paid to deliver the money to Puebla.

The marines turned over the suspects, the cash and the bus to the Attorney General's Office.

Mexico's drug cartels have taken to using intercity buses to smuggle their product to the US border and carry the proceeds from sales.

--IANS

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump see a possibility for talks between South Korea and North Korea leading to talks between Washington and Pyongyang, multiple local media reports said on Wednesday.

Moon and Trump had a telephone conversation for about half an hour earlier in the day, after South and North Korea held the first high-level talks in around two years in the truce village of Panmunjom the previous day, Xhinhua news agency reported.

Trump said he would be open to talks if North Korea wants it at an appropriate time and under right situations, noting that there would be no military action toward Pyongyang during the inter-Korean dialogue.

--IANS

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The BJP's Madhya Pradesh unit is mulling action against party leader and former legislator Parashuram Mudral, who called Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan a "liar", party sources said on Wednesday.

Talking to a private TV news channel, Mudral said: "His (Chouhan's) government never fulfils the promises it makes. As far as Chief Minister Chouhan is concerned, he has no business other than telling lies."

Mudral, who has been a Bahujan Samaj Party MLA in the past, said if a Chief Minister would tell lies, so would his Cabinet colleagues. "The people of Madhya Pradesh will teach a lesson in 2018 assembly election."

Talking about other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in the state, he said: "I talked to several BJP leaders about the unfulfilled promises, but they all failed to come up with a reply to my queries, including senior party leaders."

Reacting to the controversial statement of the BJP leader, Hitesh Bajpai, the Chairman of Madhya Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation, told IANS that Mudral was a "dissatisfied soul".

"Mudral is out and out a political character. The party has its eyes on him and senior leaders will soon decide on a suitable action against him," he added.

--IANS

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Infosys co-founder N.R.Narayana Murthy on Wednesday declined to comment on his son-in-law Rishi Sunak joining the British cabinet on Tuesday.

"I would not like to comment on a foreign appointment," Murthy told IANS on the margins of an event here.

Sunak, 37, a Conservative Party MP from Richmond, was inducted into Prime Minister Theresa May's government following a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, and appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Sunak married Murthy's daughter Akshata Murthy in 2009.

--IANS

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The Kerala government on Wednesday ordered that henceforth, only laptops and not desktops should be purchased for state-run schools.

The order is in line with a recommendation of the Technical Committee of the Department.

K. Anvar Sadath, Vice Chairman, Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education, the state government body that looks after the ICT needs of the schools, told IANS laptops have numerous advantage including portability, power backup and low energy consumption.

As a result of the order, 45,000 classrooms in close to 4,775 schools would be supplied 60,250 laptops and 43,750 projectors before this fiscal ends on March 31.

--IANS

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The opposition on Wednesday boycotted Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's speech in the Assembly demanding a statement on the killing of a youth in Kulgam district.

After the House met here, members from the National Conference and Congress and some independent legislators created uproar in the House, demanding a statement from the government on the Tuesday killing.

The youth was shot in Khudwani village when a mob clashed with the Army. He succumbed to his injury.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Abdul Rehman Veeri told the House that a magisterial probe had been ordered into the death. "It is a concern for us as well," he said.

But National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said a statement on this sensitive issue should have come from the Chief Minister.

He said the Chief Minister would now deliver a long speech in response to the Governor's address to the Assembly.

As Abdullah was speaking, Mehbooba Mufti came to the House but Abdullah continued to speak and then left. The entire opposition, including the Congress, followed Abdullah.

--IANS

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Film: "Paddington 2"; Director: Paul King; Cast: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin, Hugh Grant, Brandan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Michael Gambon, Simon Farnaby, Tom Conti and Noah Taylor; Rating: ***

Based on the long-running children's book series from renowned author Michael Bond, which was first published in 1957, director Paul King's "Paddington 2" is a charming and narratively more satisfying sequel to the 2014 released "Paddington".

Just like the original film made an impassioned case for accepting and welcoming immigrants, this edition makes a plea for kindness, civility and looking for the good in people. It is every bit as perfectly tuned, cruelty-free funny and kind-hearted film as its earlier edition.

Like its first edition, this chapter of adventures begins by plunging through the cloudy Peruvian jungle giving an insight to Paddington's pre-London days, before settling to the present-day narrative where its predecessor left off with Paddington in the Notting Hill abode of the Brown family, adorably headed by Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville.

Here we see, Paddington, once again voiced impeccably by Ben Whishaw, leading a happy life. Outgoing, adorable and childlike in his directness, he retains his ursine instincts, suddenly slurping at the marmalade-smeared head of a barbershop customer, for example.

He takes up odd jobs at the barbers and cleaning windows in the neighbourhood, in order to collect money for a "popping book" of London, which he intends to buy from the immigrant antique dealer Mr. Gruber (Jim Broadbent). He wants this book to send it as a gift to his Anglophile Aunt Lucy in Peru for her 100th birthday.

But unfortunately, unbeknownst to Paddington, there is someone else who has been eyeing the book. When that person breaks into the shop to steal the volume, Paddington gives a chase astride a trusty Irish wolfhound only to somehow wrongfully land in prison as the suspected thief.

The real thief, the man-of-many disguises, is the Brown's neighbour, the waning West End star Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant). Buchanan pinches the book for clues to a hidden fortune. How Paddington clears his name alongside the Brown family's amateur detective work and the help from his rough but soft-hearted friends from the prison, forms the witty, albeit slender narrative thread.

What is remarkable is the compact and ingenious plotting in director Paul King and his co-screenwriter Simon Farnaby's script. With retro mechanism of coincidences, mysteries and mini-puzzles the plot is a delight. It is further supported by the seamless digital integration of a talking bear into a live-action London jam-packed with even stranger diversions.

The scrambling action scenes are lively, complicated and enjoyable, making it feel that its cinematic universe is a caper.

On the performance front, the actors slip into their roles with apt precision. Apart from Hugh Grant, who plays the self-centred Phoenix Buchanan with elan, it is Brendan Gleeson as the violent cook Knuckles who leaves an impact on screen.

Ben Whishaw's lissome voice-work makes Paddington an utterly engaging character. Equally convincing are Imelda Staunton and Michael Gambon as Paddington's Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo.

Visually, every frame is like an intricate-scaled diorama, a work of art built up from thousands of tiny, thoughtful details that would enthral you over several viewings.

Overall, this film would appeal to children and adults alike.
Women who consume acetaminophen -- also known as paracetamol and widely used to reduce a high fever or relieve pain -- during early pregnancy are six times more likely to see delay in their daughters' language skills, warns a new study.

Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol and hundreds of over-the-counter and prescription medicines.

The maternal intake of acetaminophen saw a reduction in the intelligence quotient level along with increasing language delay, defined as the use of lesser than 50 words, by the kids.

The communication delay affected boys at the same time, but was more prevelant among the girls, the study showed.

"Given the prevalence of prenatal acetaminophen use and the importance of language development, our findings, if replicated, suggest that pregnant women should limit their use of this analgesic during pregnancy," said Shanna Swan, Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, US.

"It's important for us to look at language development because it has shown to be predictive of other neurodevelopmental problems in children," Swan added.

The study, published in the journal European Psychiatry, examined 754 women, who were in eight-13 weeks of pregnancy.

Researchers asked participants to report the number of acetaminophen tablets they had taken between conception and enrollment, and tested the acetaminophen concentration in their urine at enrollment.

Both the number of tablets and concentration in urine were associated with a significant increase in language delay in girls, with a slight decrease in boys.

Previous studies have found that the over exposure to the pain relieving drug during pregnancy also damages the fertility of the daughters.

--IANS

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Riots erupted in Pakistan's Punjab province on Wednesday over police inaction after the body of an 8-year-old girl was found dumped in the trash after being raped multiple times, police said.

Two people were killed and an equal number injured as enraged protesters stormed the Deputy Commissioner's office in Kasur with sticks and stones.

The brutal murder of Zainab has incited anger among residents as it is the 12th such case to occur within a two kilometre radius in the city in the last year. Kasur made international headlines in 2015 when a gang of paedophiles running a child sex ring was busted, Dawn reported.

The gang allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted at least 280 children in the area, had blackmailed the families of the victims since 2009, and even sold video clips and images of the assault.

Zainab was last known to have attended a tuition centre near her house in the Road Kot area last Thursday on January 4, after which she was allegedly abducted.

Her family received footage showing her with a stranger near Peerowala Road, a video which has since gone viral on social media.

On Tuesday, a police constable deputed to trace the girl recovered her body from a trash heap.

Police said the girl seemed to have been killed four or five days ago.

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the prompt arrest of the suspects and said he would personally supervise the progress of the case.

"Just presided over a meeting of police and administration officials. Made it absolutely clear to them that lip service would not work. I want the culprits involved in this heinous crime behind the bars. Those failing in their duties will be proceeded against. Very painful incident!"

--IANS

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Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in Pakistan, toured Britain in the 1990s stirring up Muslim youths to become jihadis years before 9/11, a BBC investigation has found.

Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty on his head for allegedly masterminding the 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, thrilled audiences in packed mosques in cities around Britain by calling for a return to the days when Muslims waged jihad and infidels paid them protection money.

Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has denied involvement in the Mumbai carnage.

A report in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper quoted the BBC as saying that the revelation had come amidst concerns for the British government and intelligence agencies about the large number of Muslims going abroad to fight "holy wars".

The investigation, which was the basis of a 40-minute BBC Radio 4 documentary, was broadcast on Tuesday night. It revealed that the roots of violent religious struggle by British Muslims were laid in the mid-1990s, much earlier than previously thought.

The tour of Britain was chronicled in Mujalla Al Dawah, a monthly magazine published by Saeed's organization, Markaz Dawa Wal Irshad.

According to the articles uncovered during the BBC investigation, Hafiz Saeed arrived in Britain on August 9, 1995 and set about lecturing the youth about jihad. There was silence in Birmingham as he urged his audience to "rise up for jihad" and vilified Hindus.

That address "in real terms laid the foundation of ... jihad in the UK", according to the articles.

In Huddersfield, Saeed said: "In order to defeat infidels, it is our duty to develop all forms of arms and ammunition, including nuclear bomb. That is God's command. We (LeT) have declared jihad and killing as first condition of our belief."

In Leicester on August 26, Saeed spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 people. His address "infused a new spirit in the youth. Hundreds of young men expressed intention to get jihad training".

Summing up the British tour, the author wrote: "A large number of young people want to get jihad training. A group of around 50 college and varsity students has so far finalised its programme... The time is not far off when Muslims will wake up."

Manwar Ali, a computer science graduate from London who became a jihadist but has now renounced violence, told the BBC he persuaded Saeed to visit Britain to rally support for jihad and raise funds.

"Whenever Saeed would come to Green Lane (Birmingham) or Rochdale, Skipton, Rotherham, Birmingham and Leicester, thousands of people would turn up," Ali told BBC.

Each trip raised 150,000 or more. Women removed their gold bangles and earrings in response to his call. Hundreds of Britons went to battlefields in the Philippines, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Bosnia, with some losing their lives.

The LeT was banned by Pakistan in 2002 but shortly before that Hafiz Saeed resigned and formed JuD, which is currently on a watch list but officially not banned. Saeed was confined to his home in Pakistan for several months last year but has been freed since.

--IANS

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Tripoli, Jan 10 (IANS/AKI) At least 90-100 migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Libya's coast, the Libyan Coast Guard said on Wednesday, adding that it had rescued 17 women from the stricken rubber dinghy.

The shipwreck occurred on Tuesday off al-Khoms, east of Tripoli, it said on its Facebook page.

At least 81 people perished in the Mediterranean between January 1 and January 8, compared with 26 known deaths in December, the International Organisation for Migration reported on Tuesday.

--IANS/AKI

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Actors Sonu Sood and Arjun Rampal have joined hands to work on a comedy film titled "Sarvggun Sampanna", which is set in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The movie, directed by Karan Kashyap, will feature Sonu and Arjun in the lead. Kashyap has served as an assistant on films like "Bunty Aur Babli", "Chak De! India" and "Raavan", a statement said.

Sonu, who is also producing the film, had visited Farrukhabad, which is near Lucknow, to inaugurate a gym dedicated to his late mother Saroj Sood. During the trip, he also decided to do a recce of the city and nearby places with the film's director.

"When I was shooting for my first film, all my co-actors would tell me that I was headed in that direction but I never thought it would happen. But I learnt the craft in the course of the 70-80 films I have done across languages and realised that producing films would allow me to tell stories of my choice," Sonu said.

He feels it is easy to act in and produce a film simultaneously.

"That lets you understand the script and the role well and helps design the film accordingly."

Sonu had bonded with Arjun over fitness while shooting for J.P. Dutta's "Paltan" in Ladakh. Produced by JP Films and directed by Dutta, "Paltan" is scheduled for a summer 2018 release.

--IANS

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A team of six students from SR Engineering College, Warangal has bagged a national level award for designing a cost-effective solution for rural toy makers.

The team won the first prize at the community problem solving competition organised by Indo Universal Collaboration for Engineering Education-Student Consortium for Advancement and Learning in Engineering Education, held at Tyagaraja college of Engineering in Madurai from January 5 to January 7.

The award was given to SREC students for developing a cost-effective automated toy making machine that increases productivity fourfold, a SREC statement said.

Entrants from 30 colleges across nation were asked to submit a solution to a specific problem or challenge.

The participants visited a nearby village and identified various problems, and then generated multiple ideas and finally came with a cost-effective solution for toy makers.

The team comprises Paul Vineeth Reddy, K. Enosh, S. Sirihasa, Md Imran Ahmad, K. Sricharan and D. Vinay.

Using a simple low cost "automated machine developed by us, the local toy makers were able to make 40 toys per day boosting their productivity from the conventional manual method that allow them to produce a maximum of 10 toys", said the team.

The automated toy making machine will have a grinder, conveyor belt, rollers, block cutter, die punch and a furnace.

--IANS

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Film: The Post ; Director: Stephen Speilberg; Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys, Alison Brie, Carrie Coon, Jesse Plemons, David Cross and Zach Woods; Rating: ***

Director Stephen Speilberg's "The Post" is a political thriller that documents a moment in history where the scales are tipped toward corruption in the system.

Despite the events in the film taking place nearly five decades ago, it would be irrelevant to go through a full discussion around it without mentioning its relevance and more so its poignancy in relation to the present state of the world and the leaders that are in power who utilise their authority for personal gain and favourable poll numbers rather than in the interest of world peace.

Spielberg makes no direct indication of his intent, the opportunistic quality of the project is enough to suggest as much. It is a wake-up call for the media to remind them that "the press is to serve the governed, not the governors".

The film is also a cleverly made prequel of sorts to director Alan J. Pakula's "All The President's Men", which detailed Washington Post's investigative journalism that uncovered the Watergate scandal.

A couple of years prior to Watergate, after an encounter with the Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood), Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys), a military analyst for The Rand Corporation who travelled to Vietnam as an observer of the war, released The Pentagon Papers to The New York Times, Washington Post and other newspapers.

These top secret documents revealed that the war in Vietnam was manipulated by the American government and it could not be won. Yet, it "sent boys to die" -- this they did largely to avoid the humiliation of the American defeat.

These papers were brought to the attention of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) and its struggling publisher Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), setting off a series of moral, ethical, economic and legal conflicts.

Bradlee and his team of journalists, which includes Ben Bagdikaian (Bob Odenkirk), Howard Simons (David Cross) and Meg Greenfield (Carrie Coon), unearth the remaining Pentagon papers dealing in these Vietnam affairs after the US Attorney General specifically requests The Times to refrain from further publication of these documents.

Then US President Richard Nixon's administration threatens the newspapers with a violation of the Espionage Act, which could send them all to prison, leaving Graham and Bradlee with some tough decisions to make.

Bradlee is pushing to publish the remainder of these papers so as to take The Post from being a local Daily to a National Daily. The tale comes across as a tug of war, constantly keeping the audience wondering if The Post will publish the papers or not.

The narrative in the initial stage is complex, overstretched and a little monotonous at times with the endless discussions occurring either in mansions or newsrooms. And these fine details get a bit tedious to absorb. Once this is ironed out, things get simple. It is easy to digest. There is a sequence late in the film that chronicles the assembly of the next morning's edition that is truly fascinating in that it shows how much things have changed as well as how much work was required in order to make a deadline in those heydays of print.

Hanks and Streep deliver performances we have come to expect from the powerhouses that they are. The supporting cast stands out mostly in scenes where Odenkirk is sent on a mission to recover the papers.

Brie also holds her own in scenes with Streep as they communicate a genuine, but unique mother-daughter relationship. The likes of Jesse Plemons and Zach Woods show up as lawyers on the payroll of The Post to help guide its staff in their efforts to publish a story around these leaked documents that inadvertently causes a fair amount of tension.

Overall, "The Post" is a smart, complex, non-superhero film with a super-hero style tag that is astutely told on a big canvas.
West Bengal Panchayat and Rural Development minister Subrata Mukherjee feels if BJP gets a share of opposition votes in the coming polls in the state, it will only benefit his Trinamool Congress.

"If BJP gets a little share of the opposition votes, it will mean further split in opposition vote share. Therefore, Trinamool Congress will be the biggest beneficiary if you ask me," Mukherjee told reporters here on the sidelines of an event.

He added that while the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M were the main rivals earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party's share in the opposition votes will further blunt their collective case.

"Earlier the Congress and CPI-M were known to be opposition. If BJP takes a slice of that vote, that will benefit us," the senior Trinamoll leader in response to a question about the party making inroads in Bengal.

"BJP is our Goddess Lakshmi if we take that factor into consideration," he quipped.

While the by-election to Uluberia Lok Sabha and Noapara assembly seats will be held on January 29, the panchayat polls in the state are also slated to take place this year.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump is expected to attend the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland, in the coming weeks, an official has said.

In a statement on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said the President was looking forward to attending the gathering of world leaders and business executives, The New York Times reported.

"The President welcomes opportunities to advance his America First agenda with world leaders," Sanders said.

"At this year's World Economic Forum, the President looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries and American workers."

Trump's planned appearance at an event that is synonymous with wealth and elite prestige comes as he enters the second year of a term he won on a message of economic populism.

Presidents have rarely attended the forum in Davos, in part out of a concern that it would send the wrong message to be rubbing shoulders with some of the world's richest individuals.

Trump won the 2016 election in part by attacking elites in the United States and promising to "drain the swamp" in Washington of lobbyists, corporate influence and members of the establishment - the very description of those who regularly attend the Davos forum.

The event in Switzerland is a global symbol of everything that Trump's former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, railed against during the presidential campaign and the first seven months in the administration.

But Trump has also spent a lifetime as a real estate mogul and television personality.

Some of Trump's advisers were befuddled by his planned trip, coming a year after his team decided not to send a representative to the 2017 gathering.

A year into his term, Trump's appearance at the forum is certain to highlight the clash between his America First agenda and the more globalist approach of some of America's closest allies around the world.

Those disagreements have been highlighted during Trump's earlier trips abroad, including arguments with European leaders about the need for action to confront climate change.

Trump's visit to Asia last year underscored his disagreements on trade issues with countries in the region.

The President has claimed credit for the economic improvements during his first year in office, and has predicted that the tax overhaul passed at the end of last year would accelerate those trends.

The annual economic forum takes place in the resort town of Davos high in the Swiss Alps, bringing together more than 3,000 members of the global elite in what has been described as the world's most high-powered networking event.

Founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a German economics professor, the forum has become an annual meeting that includes dinners and over 400 panel discussion sessions, largely about world social and economic trends. Officially, it is an academic conference; unofficially it is a global schmoozefest for the rich and powerful.

The conference is still dominated by corporate executives, but the gathering also now attracts world leaders, some of whom use the venue as a way to hold less formal bilateral conversations.

Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the forum.

--IANS

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The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned Philip Kosnett, the US embassy charge d'affaires, over the current situation in Syria, a source in the ministry said.

The ministry On Tuesday also summoned the ambassadors of Russia and Iran to protest the Syria government's violations of de-escalation zone borders in Idlib, Xinhua reported.

As agreed in Astana talks by Turkey, Russia and Iran, Turkish military is currently deployed in Idlib to set up observation posts and monitor the implementation of de-escalation zones.

Speaking to reporters, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Syria's Assad government of launching attacks on moderate opposition in Idlib, which "could damage the process of political resolution."

Turkey has repeatedly criticised Washington over its support for the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units militia, which Ankara views as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

--IANS

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If US President Donald Trump tweets someone's personal information, Twitter will caution him to remove that tweet, Bruce Daisley, Twitter's VP of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told BBC Radio.

In an interview with host Emma Barnett, Daisley said: "If someone tweets private information ... private address, phone number -- then there are no-go areas where we don't permit that."

"Were he (Trump) to do that, just picking a hypothetical example, then those would be areas" that were grounds for discipline, the Twitter executive added.

"We would caution him to remove that tweet for sure," he said.

The micro-blogging platform has clarified that it will not block world leaders from tweeting.

Although it didn't directly name Trump, in a blog post called "World Leaders on Twitter", the company said that there has been a lot of discussion about political figures and world leaders on the platform.

"Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate," the company said.

"It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions."

Twitter did not block Trump for his "nuclear button" tweet that stormed the social media which, many thought, raised prospect of nuclear war with North Korea.

A number of users reported to the tweet, with the expectation that threatening a war one is capable of starting should violate Twitter's revised "Terms of Service", given the company's recent crackdown on violent threats.

The company said it reviews tweets by leaders within the political context that defines them, and enforces its rules accordingly.

"No one person's account drives Twitter's growth, or influences these decisions. We work hard to remain unbiased with the public interest in mind," it added.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Washington could "conceivably" re-enter into the global Paris climate agreement, from which he announced the withdrawal last year.

At a news conference with Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, Trump said: "We could conceivably go back in."

However, he insisted that Paris Agreement, which the international community signed in 2015 with the aim of combating climate change by limiting global temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius, was "a bad deal" and "very unfair" to the US.

"The Paris Accord really would have taken away our competitive edge, and we're not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let that happen," he added.

Trump's words may mean that his position was actually unchanged from a year ago.

Trump's decision in June last year to pull the United States out of the landmark global accord has sparked a wave of anger and dismay at home and also a chorus of disapproval abroad.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A US judge has ordered President Donald Trump to partially revive the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy.

The judge also ordered to resume accepting renewal applications from undocumented youth migrants or "Dreamers" until all pending legal challenges are resolved in different courts across the country, Efe news reported.

District Judge William Alsup, from the Northern District Court of California, issued his decision on Tuesday in which he described Trump's decision in September 2017 to end DACA and to give Congress until March 5 to resolve the situation of its beneficiaries as "arbitrary and capricious".

Promulgated in 2012 by the administration of then president Barack Obama, the DACA policy protected at least 690,000 "dreamers" -- young people who arrived in the US when they were children, from deportation and granted them temporary work permits.

In the ruling issued on Tuesday, Judge Alsup said the Trump administration has the obligation to re-accept the renewal applications to the DACA from those individuals who had previously received the benefits of this scheme but are now running out of protection.

However, he did not order the Trump administration to accept new applications from young people who had never registered in the DACA programme before.

Judge Alsup also decided that the plaintiffs, including the University of California, have been able to demonstrate that the DACA beneficiaries, their families, schools and communities "were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm" without the programme.

To avoid that, the judge ordered Trump to partially resume the programme until there is a definitive solution in all pending litigation over the scheme.

Among those cases is, for example, the lawsuit filed on September 11 by the states of California, Maryland, Maine and Minnesota, where 238,000 "dreamers" live.

These states argue that the end of DACA will disrupt the lives of their residents, causing great damage to the economies as well as losses to their companies, universities and research centres that employ undocumented youths, who would no longer be able to work legally after the programme's termination.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US has welcomed the first talks held by North and South Korea over the past two years as a positive sign, but "did not voice full-throated support".

The White House on Tuesday welcomed the senior-level dialogue during which the two sides agreed to hold separate military talks, Xinhua news agency reported.

The North also consented to send a delegation to the South Korea-hosted PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.

"North Korean participation is an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearising," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.

"Clearly this is a positive development," US State Department Spokesperson Steve Goldstein has said.

"We would like nuclear talks to occur," said Goldstein, adding that this is "a good first step in that process".

Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump expressed his willingness to talk with Kim Jong-un, top leader of North Korea, and supported the upcoming dialogues.

"I always believe in talking," Trump had told reporters at Camp David when asked whether he was willing to engage in phone talks with Kim.

However, both Trump and other US officials have stopped short of considering a direct talk between the US and North Korea without any preconditions.

Trump said any talk would come with prerequisites.

Experts have urged Washington to further commit itself to the peace-making process and final denuclearization of the peninsula.

American scholar on North Korean affairs John Delury argued that actual negotiations on denuclearisation, arms control and peace mechanisms would require direct US participation.

"The sooner the Trump administration follows (South Korean President) Moon Jae-in's lead in opening a direct channel to Pyongyang, the better," said Delury.

--IANS

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Yemen's Houthi rebels warned of cutting off the Red Sea shipping line if the Saudi-led coalition forces keep advancing towards the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, the media reported on Wednesday.

"We will block the Red Sea international shipping line in the Red Sea if Saudi-led aggression coalition forces keep advancing towards Hodeidah," Xinhua reported citing Saba news agency which quoted Houthi leader Saleh al-Sammad as saying.

The threat was made by al-Sammad, the chief of the Houthi governing body, known as the Supreme Political Council, during his meeting with the visiting UN deputy envoy Maeen Sharim in Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

The warning was a "deterrent step" that aimed to exert pressure on the Saudi-led coalition, as targeting the Red Sea shipping route could have international economic consequences, according to Saba.

Recently, the ground battles backed by the coalition air strikes have intensified around Hodeidah as the coalition forces are pushing towards the rebel-held port city to recapture it.

The US-backed coalition accuses Houthis of smuggling weapons through the Hodeidah port and collecting customs revenues from imported goods to finance the war, which the Houthis have denied.

Hodeidah port city, where 80 per cent of Yemen's food imports arrive, is the only port kept by Houthi rebels after the Saudi-led coalition and the Yemeni government forces recaptured the southern port city of Aden along with other southern governorates in 2016.

Al-Sammad also told the visiting UN deputy envoy their willingness to enter into peace negotiations, but required the coalition to show goodwill by lifting the all-out blockade, including re-opening Sanaa Airport, and stopping air strikes and ground battles.

"Yemen is ready for peace talks if the Saudi aggression stopped," Saba cited al-Sammad as saying during his conversation with Sharim.

The Yemeni war pits dominant Shiite Houthi rebels against the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which is supported by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

The war has so far killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, half of them civilians, and displaced over 3 million others, according to UN humanitarian agencies.

--IANS

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Tech giant Apple and Chinese handset makers like Xiaomi and Oppo could turn out to be big beneficiaries of government allowing 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail under automatic route, say analysts.

Setting up own stores helps brands offer closer engagement with customers, something that will come handy for these global giants seeking to woo customers in the hyper- competitive Indian handset industry.

According to Counterpoint Research Associate Director Tarun Pathak, Chinese players as well as companies like Apple have engaged with customers through multi-brand outlets.

"With their own stores, they can manage the end-to-end experience for the customers," he told PTI.

While the move itself is a positive for handset makers like Apple, pricing of devices will play a crucial role in the success of the brand in the Indian market, Pathak said.

Apple, which plays in the premium category, has its own stores across major cities in the world, including in markets like the US, Australia, China, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Anshul Gupta, Research Director at Gartner India, said that the latest decision "removes systemic friction and will allow global brands to speed up investment to begin operations sooner".

"Easing of norms will definitely excite global brands to enter into India to tap the vast consumer market," he added.

Last year, Oppo Mobiles India had received the nod to undertake SBRT (single brand retail trading) of OPPO brand, in addition to existing business of wholesale.

An industry watcher said many Chinese companies have set up their own stores in China as well that drive strong sales for these brands.

He added that Chinese companies like Xioami and Huawei would hope for a similar outcome in India as well.

Till date, 49 per cent FDI was allowed under automatic route, while beyond that government approval was required.

"It has now been decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under automatic route for SBRT (single brand retail trading)," the government said in a statement.

As part of changes in FDI norms in the SBRT, the government has also relaxed mandatory local sourcing requirement of 30 per cent, which has been a long standing demand from foreign brands.

Under the relaxed norms, a foreign retailer will be able to get credit from incremental increase in sourcing for its global operations from India towards the mandatory 30 per cent local sourcing requirement for its business in the country.

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Former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, who is serving life term in connection with a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, today urged the Delhi High Court not to conduct re-trial in the cases in which he has been acquitted, saying it would affect his entire life.

Khokhar was responding to the high court's March 29, 2017, decision ordering re-investigation and re-trial of five anti-Sikh riot cases against him and others.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra had sought to know from them as to why it should not order re-investigation and re-trial against them as they had faced allegations of "horrifying crimes against humanity".

69-year old Khokhar, who is currently behind bars in another riots case, by way of an affidavit also claimed that he had never indulged in any criminal activity.

"Rather he helped the riot victims at later stage. He had been named by the complainant after a long period which is totally an afterthought. He had no role to play in the riots committed by unruly mob," the affidavit stated. Khokhar was produced before the court from the Tihar Jail here.

It said when a group of 200-500 people attacked a house, it is very hard to recognise a single person in the mob.

"The re-investigation/re-trial of cases in which he had been acquitted by the trial court will affect his whole life. He has already been arrested and sent behind bars and released on bail and thereafter faced the trial and after a long period of 33 years, if the case is reopened, it will affect his whole life," the affidavit said.

Urging the court to take a lenient view, he said no fruitful purpose would be served by reopening old cases which had resulted in his acquittal due to non-appearance of prosecution witnesses.

The high court on its own had issued show cause notices to several accused and complainants seeking their response to "secure ends of justice" after perusing the trial court records regarding the acquittal of accused in 1986 in five different cases.

The riots had broken out a day after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984 and over 2,700 people were killed in Delhi alone.

The trial court records were placed before the high court by the CBI during the hearing of another 1984 riot case in which the acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and punishment awarded to other convicts is under challenge by CBI, the riot victims and convicts.

Besides Khokhar, the high court had issued notices to 11 accused, including ex-MLA Mahender Yadav, on the complaints filed regarding rioting incidents on November 1 and 2, 1984 in Delhi Cantonment area.

Khokhar was convicted in a riots case at Delhi Cantonment in which Kumar was acquitted by a trial court.

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Two Chinese nationals were arrested today for allegedly involving in ATM skimming fraud in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, officials said.

The arrested foreigners were seen suspiciously doing rounds of ATM booths on Karachi's Abdullah Haroon Road.

Local shop-keepers stopped the duo and handed them over to police, Geo TV reported.

Officials also confirmed that the two foreigners have been involved in ATM skimming, it said.

"We have recovered ATM skimming devices from both the suspects," Superintendent of Police Saddar Tauqeer Naeem said.

"They had come to detach skimming devices from the ATM machines," Naeem added.

In March last year, two Chinese nationals were arrested by a Pakistani law enforcement agency for ATM skimming fraud, Dawn newspaper reported.

Fraudsters use different techniques to steal a person's debit card PIN code for accessing the money in an account.

Pakistan has witnessed a rapid increase of Chinese nationals in the country in recent years due to many Beijing- funded infrastructure development projects and joint ventures under the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Some Chinese expatriates, however, have been found involved in criminal activities such as fighting and fraud, Pakistani media reports said in December.

The matter was discussed at a joint working group meeting of the home department of Punjab province and a senior Chinese diplomat in the country in December.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two Chinese nationals were arrested today for allegedly involving in ATM skimming fraud in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, officials said.

The arrested foreigners were seen suspiciously doing rounds of ATM booths on Karachi's Abdullah Haroon Road.

Local shop-keepers stopped the duo and handed them over to police, Geo TV reported.

Officials also confirmed that the two foreigners have been involved in ATM skimming, it said.

"We have recovered ATM skimming devices from both the suspects," Superintendent of Police Saddar Tauqeer Naeem said.

"They had come to detach skimming devices from the ATM machines," Naeem added.

ATM skimming is identity theft for debit cards. Fraudsters use different techniques to steal a person's PIN code for accessing the money in an account.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Over 21,400 hectares of land are under unauthorised occupation of Army and other security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, state legislative assembly was informed today.

In a written reply, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti informed the House that over 18,846 hectares are under authorised occupation of the forces in Kashmir division including Ladakh.

She added that over 2,555 hectares of land are under unauthorised occupation of Army in Jammu division.

The chief minister maintained that this was in addition to thousands of hectares of state, acquired, requisitioned, leased and hired land under the illegal occupation of Army and other security forces in the state.

Mehbooba, who also heads the home portfolio, shared the information in response to a question by National Conference legislator Sheikh Ishfaq Jabbar, who sought district-wise details of land occupied by security forces in the state.

The PDP leader said a major chunk of over 12,940 hectares of land are under the illegal occupation of Army and other security forces in Ladakh region, followed by 5,906 hectares in Kashmir valley and 2,555 hectares in Jammu division.

"Kishtwar in Jammu region is the only district where the Army and other security forces do not hold any unauthorised land," she said.

The chief minister said Leh district of Ladakh was leading the table with over 7,197 hectares of land under the unauthorised occupation of Army and other security forces, followed by Kargil (5,742.9 hectares).

North Kashmir districts of Bandipora and Baramulla together accounted for 3,403.8 hectares of land under the unauthorised occupation of security forces, she said.

In Kashmir division, Shopian district accounted for 31.3 hectares of land under unauthorised occupation of forces, lowest in the division, the chief minister added.

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The owner of a hotel in Pune where David Headley, Pakistani-American member of the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, had stayed, today deposed in a Mumbai court in a case related to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

The trial of Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, an LeT operative and a key plotter of the terror attacks, is currently underway.

Headley, arrested for being part of the conspiracy, was later made an 'approver' (prosecution witness) and his evidence was recorded from a US prison through video link in 2016.

"Hotel owner Paras Bumb deposed today. Headley had stayed at his hotel during his visit to Pune," special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told PTI.

According to police, Headley had conducted a recce for potential terror attack targets in Mumbai and Pune.

A native of Beed district in Maharashtra, Jundal was deported to India from Saudi Arabia in June 2012.

The Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008 had left 166 dead and many more injured.

As per the charge sheet filed by the Mumbai police, Jundal received training in Pakistan and was part of the conspiracy behind the attacks.

During the earlier instalment of the trial, Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist who was caught alive during the attacks, was sentenced to death. He was subsequently executed.

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Four persons, including a woman, were killed and 11 others injured today in two separate road accidents in Rajasthan's Barmer and Hanumangarh districts.

In the first incident, a private bus hit the rear of a truck in Dhorimanna area, killing Prakash Rawal (45) and Alka Ben (35), who were going on a vacation, with other passengers in the bus, to Jaisalmer, investigating officer Rupa Ram said.

The bodies have been kept in a mortuary for post mortem.

"A case has been lodged against the bus driver," Ram said.

The other accident occurred in Goluwala police station area when a state transport bus collided head-on with a trailer, killing bus conductor Raj Kumar (28) and the trailer's cleaner Gulab Singh (35).

Eight passengers in the bus were injured, police said.

"Those injured are undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Sriganganagar and the bodies are at a mortuary of a local hospital," a police official said.

No case has been registered yet, he said.

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No-frills airline AirAsia India plans to come out with its initial public offer and would seek approval at its next board meeting for appointing a banker to start the preliminary process.

The airline -- a joint venture between Tatas and Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad -- commenced operations in June 2013.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes today said that AirAsia India has plans for an IPO.

"Analysts giving zero value to AirAsia India. Not far from 20 planes and a potential IPO," he said in a tweet.

In the Bengaluru-based AirAsia India, 51 per cent is with Tata Sons while the rest is held by AirAsia Berhad.

"AirAsia will be seeking approval at the next AirAsia India board to pick a banker to start prelim process. Very valuable asset with huge growth potential," Fernandes said in another tweet.

The company has already announced its plans to fly overseas from the second half of this year.

Under Indian regulations, a domestic airline should have at least 20 planes before it can start services to foreign destinations.

Currently, it flies to 16 destinations from its three hubs -- Bengaluru, New Delhi and Kolkata -- and has a fleet of 14 Airbus A320 planes.

AirAsia India narrowed its net loss to Rs 16.4 crore in the September quarter this fiscal as against Rs 62.12 crore suffered in the July-September period of the last fiscal.

On an year-on-year basis, AirAsia India achieved 99 per cent growth on passengers carried as well as a 104 per cent rise in capacity in the quarter under review.

Currently, three Indian carriers are listed on the bourses. They are Jet Airways, SpiceJet and IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation.

In another tweet, Fernandes said AirAsia is in the process of appointing a banker to find a partner for its profitable shared services business, AirAsia Global Shared Services Sdn Bhd (AGSS).

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Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari today said India and Iran have resolved all issues related to Chabahar Port and will expedite the development works.

The minister said India has already sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar port



"We have resolved all issues related to Chabahar Port... There were some small problems. We have discussed the issues and there has been a positive approach. Already, we have started export of wheat," Gadkari said after his meeting with Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi here.

On the hurdles with regard to Chabahar Port development, the transport and water resources minister said, "The issues were small regarding port, its operations, regarding how we calculate the profit."



An official privy to the meeting told PTI that all hurdles related to interim operationalisation of the pact have been cleared during the meeting.

India last year shipped its first cargo of wheat to Afghanistan through the Iranian port. India has plans to export 130,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar Port.

Chabahar port, located in the Sistan-Balochistan province in the energy-rich Persian Gulf nation's southern coast, lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India's western coast, bypassing Pakistan.

Gadkari said, "We are supporting developmental issues in Iran and India... . Today's meeting was very fruitful. In due course of time, there will be lots of development in Chabahar."



The minister said there will be a lot of opportunities for Indian businessmen and investors to invest in Chabhar and "at the same time, Iranian investors are also keen to invest in India. It is a win win situation for both the countries. Discussions were very fruitful".

"In due course of time, we will complete the work of the port. It can be a growth engine for India for making our exports to Afghanistan and Russia also. We don't need to go to Pakistan for that. It is a golden opportunity," the minister said.

This will open the gate for investors from both the countries, he said.

Akhoundi said India and Iran should move together to make it more successful.

He said discussions also focused on developing infrastructure, logistic etc.

For greater trade and investment flow with Iran and neighbouring countries, the Cabinet in 2016 had cleared proposals for development of Chabahar port including a USD 150 million credit from Exim Bank.

It had also authorised the shipping ministry to form a company in Iran for implementing the Chabahar Port Development Project and related activities.

As per the MoU signed between the two nations in May last year, India is to equip and operate two berths in Chabahar Port Phase-I with capital investment of USD 85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of USD 22.95 million on a 10-year lease.

Ownership of the equipment will be transferred to the Iranian side on completion of 10 years or for an extended period, based on mutual agreement. The Iranian side had requested for provision of a credit of USD 150 million in accordance with the MoU.

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The Supreme Court today directed the Uttarakhand government to appoint the state ombudsman within three months after the passage of the Lokayukta Bill in the assembly.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the submission of the state government that it has already introduced a new Lokayukta Bill in the assembly whiuch was likely to be cleared in the upcoming session.

The bench asked the state to appoint the Lokayukta after the passage of the new law and disposed of the PIL filed by Delhi BJP spokesperson and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

Upadhyay had said the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Act, 2011 was one of the "best and effective" measures which was unanimously passed by the assembly in 2011.

"This writ petition is being filed...for the implementation of the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Act, 2011. Uttarakhand is without a Lokayukta since September 2013, while more than 700 complaints related to corruption are pending," his plea said.

The apex court had on August 12 last year sought a response from the state government on the PIL seeking a direction to it to appoint the Lokayukta.

The Uttarakhand law brings "the chief minister, all ministers, all legislators and all government servants under the ambit of the Lokayukta with a provision of punishment up to life imprisonment and forfeiture of property", the plea said.

Former chief ministers, ministers, MLAs and retired officials also come under its purview, it added.

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Indian Army soldiers rescued four persons after the car they were travelling in skidded off the road and plunged into a 25-metre gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region, officials said today.

"In a swift and timely humanitarian act, the troops of Ladakh Scouts evacuated four occupants of anill-fated car, which met with an accident at Gupuk (Leh) yesterday while it was on its way from Nimu to Leh," an army spokesman said today.

The car apparently failed to negotiate a sharp turn, skidded off the highway and toppled down a steep slope, the spokesman said.

Four soldiers of Ladakh Scouts Regiment, who were in the vicinity, ran to the accident site, rescued the victims, and rushed them to SNM hospital in Leh assisted by a few local residents, he said.

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The authorities here do not know the meaning of 'disabled access audit' which is needed to ensure that all government offices, public buildings and public transport are disabled friendly, the Delhi High Court said today.

The court directed all government agencies to give a list of the buildings here which are disabled friendly and those where 'disabled access audit' has been undertaken.

They were also asked to indicate the measures taken after the audit was carried out.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice c Hari Shankar said the authorities had filed status reports "without



understanding" the meaning of the 'disabled access audit' and the requirements for making buildings accessible to differently-abled persons.

It directed the authorities to ensure that 'disabled access audit' was done for all buildings under their control.

The observations came after the court perused the East Delhi Municipal Corporation's status report claiming its buildings were disabled friendly as they all had ramps.

"Only ramps? Have you got disability audit done? What will a visually impaired person do with ramps," it asked.

The court also referred to the status report of the central government saying the audit has been done in its buildings but no measures were undertaken therafter.

The bench listed the matter for February 13 and asked the authorities to explain the measures undertaken for physically disabled as well as visually and auditory impaired persons.

It asked the Delhi Police to give status on the audit of its buildings including all the police stations here.

The directions came during the hearing of a PIL filed by 29-year-old Nipun Malhotra seeking directions to make the capital's roads, government offices and public transport friendly for the disabled people.

The plea has alleged that "most public facilities", right from public transportation, sidewalks, roads, footpaths to government buildings, were "woefully equipped" to meet the needs of the disabled.

He has sought a "disability audit" of public transport facilities as well as government buildings in the city.

The government is expected to ensure non-discrimination in public transport, rail compartments, buses, vessels, aircraft and waiting rooms in such a way so as to make them comfortably accessible to the physically challenged persons, the petition has said.

The court had earlier asked the authorities to take care of the comfort of differently abled persons at their buildings, public transport and metro services in the national capital.

It had sought reports from the Centre, Delhi government, civic bodies, colleges, schools, Delhi Metro and the other authorities on the 'disabled access audit' of public buildings in the city.

While referring to its earlier order, the bench had said it had already directed civic agencies to reserve space for the disabled in parking areas across the city and punish errant contractors and attendants.

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The West Bengal government will hold a Youth Summit next year to commemorate the 125th year of Swami Vivekananada's speech at Parliament of World's Religions in Chicago, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said today.

It will hold a 'Subhas Utsav' on the occasion of the birthday of nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose later this month, she said addressing the 'Vivek Chetna Utsab' today to mark the 155th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda which falls on January 12.

"We don't want anyone's mercy for showing respect to luminaries like Swamiji, Netaji, Rabindranth Tagore or Kazi Nazrul Islam ... Unlike some people we don't practice tall talking. We believe in work," she said.

Over one lakh youth will take the oath for character building in Swamiji's name and participate in cultural activities at the summit, she said.

The state government will also form school committee aimed at character building of students in different institutions. Education Minister Partha Chatterjee would be the chairman of the school committee, she said.

The CM said land and money have been given for building the 'Swami Vivekananda Centre of Excellence' at Rajarhat.

Banerjee said as part of 'Vivek Chetana Utsab' functions will be organised on January 10-12 in 341 blocks and 118 municipalities in the state to inspire the younger generation to follow the teachings of Vivekananda.

There will be competitions for character building and fostering communal harmony, she said.

The state would organise 'Subhas Utsab' from January 23-24 in different blocks, she said.

Banerjee said her government has restored the Roy Villa in Darjeeling Hills where Sister Nivedita had died.

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today asked Gangasagar pilgrims to be cautious about attempts to create disturbance during the mela.

She also alleged that the Centre provides a lot of assistance for holding Kumbha Mela but is not doing so for the Gangasagar Mela.

"Some people come to foment trouble as they don't have any other job. Don't do anything which creates an atmosphere of riot. I will give my life but never allow anyone to indulge in wrong doings," Banerjee said at the Vivek Chetana Utsav.

Addressing a gathering of Gangasagar-bound pilgrims at the Utsav here, the chief minister also asked people not to do anything which tarnishes Bengal's image before lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of the country.

She slammed the youth wing of the BJP for organising a motorbike rally travelling from Contai in the southern part of the state to Coochbehar in the north to be organised during the Gangasagar Mela to mark Swamiji's birth anniversary.

The police had not granted permission for the event in view of the Gangasagar Mela and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha moved the Calcutta High Court and secured its nod to hold the rally between January 12 to January 18.

"Can there be a rally when our sole direction should be focused on conducting the Gangasagar Mela successfully?" Banerjee asked.

Stating that no big festival takes place during the Gangasagar Mela, which is attended by lakhs of pilgrims, she said her priority is to ensure protection to these people.

"Some people from Delhi, someone from a party like BJP may utter many things. But don't believe in their words. Why should they take out the rally? Their sole aim is to create disturbance. We want peace and not riots in the name of Swami Vivekananda," the chief minister said.

The central government has not declared national holidays on the birthdays of Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, she said at the programme attended by monks of the Ramakrishna Mission, the Bharat Sevasram Sangha and other organisations.

"Some people are obsessed with plotting conspiracy," she said and asked them to stop dividing people along religious lines.

Stating that Gangasagar Mela is a big congregation after Kumbha Mela, Banerjee blamed the Centre for doing nothing to help improve facilities at this spot.

"The Centre provides so much help for Kumbha Mela but not to Gangasagar. Now the West Bengal government is doing everything possible for the pilgrims by improving amenities," she said.

Besides abolishing a tax collected by the previous Left Front government from Gangasagar pilgrims, the Trinamool Congress regime has arranged for an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh in case of any untoward incident during the three days of the mela, she said.

Lakhs of pilgrims will assemble at Gangasagar Mela on January 14-15 on the holy occasion of Makar Sankranti.

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A plea demanding exemplary compensation for Bilkis Bano, who was gangraped during the 2002 riots in Gujarat, today led the Supreme Court to seek the response of the state government.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the Gujarat government seeking its reply by March 12 on the fresh plea filed by the victim.

Considering the extreme violation of fundamental rights of the victim in the case, the court should revisit its law on assessment of the quantum of compensation to be given to Bano, the plea, filed through advocate Shobha, said.

Bano, who was gangraped in March 2002 when she was pregnant, had lost seven family members in the riots that followed the Godhra carnage.

"The horrendous facts of the present case and extremes of the egregious violation of fundamental rights and human rights of the petitioner would though beseech rather demand the court to raise the bar much higher," the application said.

It also urged the top court to "evolve pathbreaking guidelines by revisiting its own law on assessing quantum of compensation to be granted under public law jurisdiction" and set new parameters to arrive at a figure to compensate such violations.

The apex court had in November last year granted time to the Gujarat government to apprise it on whether any disciplinary action has been initiated against policemen convicted in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gangrape case.

In her application for exemplary compensation, the victim alleged that the state had not only failed to protect her, but rather used all its machinery to protect the perpetrators of the heinous crime against the petitioner, thereby violating her supreme constitutional rights.

"With this backdrop of legal and factual status, the petitioner would submit to this court that (it) may please consider her case for awarding exemplary compensation to be paid by the State of Gujarat in having failed completely in protecting the fundamental rights of the petitioner," it said.

The apex court had on November 24 last year made it clear that the plea seeking enhancement of compensation to be awarded to Bano would be considered at a later stage.

The Bombay High Court on May 4, 2017 had upheld the conviction and life imprisonment of 12 people in the gangrape case, while setting aside the acquittal of seven people including policemen and doctors.

The bench had convicted seven persons, including five policemen and two doctors, for not performing their duties (sections 218) and tampering of evidence (section 201) under the Indian Penal Code.

The convicted policemen and doctors are Narpat Singh, Idris Abdul Saiyed, Bikabhai Patel, Ramsingh Bhabhor, Sombhai Gori, Arun Kumar Prasad (doctor) and Sangeeta Kumar Prasad (doctor).

A special court had on January 21, 2008, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment 11 men in the case. They had approached the Bombay High Court challenging their conviction and seeking quashing of the trial court's order.

The CBI had filed an appeal in the high court seeking harsher punishment of death for three of the convicted on the ground that they were the main perpetrators of the crime.

According to the prosecution, on March 3, 2002, Bano's family was attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village near Ahmedabad during the riots and seven members of her family were killed.

The trial in the case began in Ahmedabad. However, after Bano expressed apprehensions that witnesses could be harmed and the CBI evidence tampered with, the Supreme Court had transferred the case to Mumbai in August 2004.

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The Congress today accused the BJP of adopting "double-speak" on allowing 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail and criticised it for relaxing the 30 per cent outsourcing clause.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said that 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail was notified during the previous UPA government and the only change made is to allow it through the automatic route.

"The prime minister talks of 'Make in India', but now says local sourcing is not required," he said, and asked the the government to clarify its policy on multi-brand retail.

Congress communications incharge Randeep Surjewala alleged that by doing away with the requirement of 30 per cent sourcing through 'Make in India', the prime minister has exposed his duplicity and doublespeak on the issue.

Sharma said the policy on multi-brand retail enumerated by the previous UPA government stands and has not been reversed. He asked the government to clarify on its policy to assure investors as they had earlier threatened to reverse that policy.

"As the BJP government allows 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail by doing away the requirement of 30 per cent sourcing through 'Make in India', the PM and FM's duplicity and doublespeak stand exposed," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has harmed the manufacturing sector and traders, Surjewala alleged.

At the party briefing, Congress spokesperson RPN Singh said when the BJP was in the opposition, they opposed the UPA government's decision. Now when they are in power, they have even dispensed with the 30 per cent sourcing clause while allowing FDI in retail sector.

"During the UPA, we had kept safeguards and made provisions for sourcing within India. Today the prime minister has done away with 30 per cent clause we had kept. Is this 'Make in India'?" he asked.

Foreign players in single brand retail trade will now be able to set up own shops in India without government approval.

This follows a Cabinet decision to allow 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail under automatic route, while also easing local sourcing norms.

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British expatriates based in France have set a new takeaway trend for Indian food by chartering a flight to deliver their curry from the UK.

The flight, dubbed "Curry Air" by local media, will deliver popular dishes from the Akash Tandoori Restaurant in Portsmouth at a charge of around 36 euros per head to Bordeaux on Saturday.

Curry Air is booked to take off from Lee-on-Solent airfield on the south coast of England with Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Balti, Bengal Naga Chicken and Vegetable Paneer Korai, alongside rice and naan.

The six-seater aircraft is scheduled to land at Bordeaux Saucats airfield in the middle of the region's vineyards, where the 50-strong group of British expats and their French friends will dine in a hangar, Portsmouth's The reported.

"Although there are some Indian restaurants in France, the quality of food is nowhere near as good as in England. And this is partly because French people, in the main, are not fond of spicy dishes," explains Roy Buchan, a regular at the Akash restaurant.

He had hit headlines in 2014 when he took curry worth 100 pounds back to Normandy in northern France for his Christmas lunch.

He triggered his latest French takeaway trend by posting an invitation on Facebook along with James Emery, an English expat and pilot who helped put the idea into practice.

"I have been a loyal customer of the Akash for close to 20 years. Every time I popped in for a meal, I would complain about the bland and uninspiring version of Indian food we get in France," Emery said.

Faz Ahmed, the restaurant's manager, said they had overcome significant obstacles to make the takeaway a reality.

"We were initially concerned this idea would not become a reality. But, now I am confident it will be pulled off and cannot wait to see the outcome," Ahmed said.

With James's help, the restaurant was able to contact Iroise Aero Formation, a professional flying school based in Brest, which agreed to provide the use of the TBM700 aircraft.

In the UK, curry houses such as the Akash Tandoori Restaurant have their roots in Bangladesh and Pakistan which create dishes geared to the British palate.

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Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today flagged off free bus services for women employees of the state secretariat, 'Janata Bhawan', and announced to open two creches for their children there.

Providing busses to the women employees was one of the Budget promises and it help them come to work without difficulty, thereby contributing to the overall development of work culture, he said.

"Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off six number of ASTC (Assam State Transport Corporation) buses for women employees of Janata Bhawan under Sustainable Development Goal programme at the premises of Janata Bhawan," an official release said.

Sonowal also announced that two creches for women employees would be opened in Janata Bhawan complex in near future.

One would be for children in the age group between 6 months and 3 years, and the other would be for kids from 3 years to 6 years, he said.

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In big bang FDI reforms ahead of the budget, the government on Wednesday permitted foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in debt-ridden Air India, and eased norms for investment in single brand retail, construction and power exchanges.

The government also relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for medical devices and audit firms associated with companies receiving overseas funds.

The decisions were taken by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

In a move that will give a boost to foreign retailers like Ikea, the government approved 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route for single brand retail trading. Earlier also 100 per cent FDI was allowed in the segment, but it required government approval.

"The Union Cabinet ... has given its approval to a number of amendments in the FDI Policy. These are intended to liberalise and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business in the country.

"In turn, it will lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment," the government said in a statement.

The decision to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India comes in the backdrop of government's plans to disinvest the state-owned carrier.

"Foreign investment(s) in Air India including that of foreign airline(s) shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National," the statement said.

Air India has a total debt of about Rs 48,877 crore at the end of March 2017, of which about Rs 17,360 crore were aircraft loans and Rs 31,517 crore were working capital loans.

The airline is expected to report a net loss of Rs 3,579 crore for 2017-18, as per estimates projected for 2017 -18 from a provisional net loss of Rs 3,643 crore for 2016-17.

Overseas investment policy has also been liberalised in case of power exchanges.

Currently, the policy provides for 49 per cent FDI under automatic route in power exchanges.

However, FII/FPI purchases were restricted to secondary market only.

"It has now been decided to do away with this provision, thereby allowing FIIs/FPIs to invest in Power Exchanges through primary market as well," the release said.

Regarding the liberalisation in the construction development segment, the government has decided to "clarify that real-estate broking service does not amount to real estate business" and is therefore, eligible for 100 per cent FDI under automatic route.

Commenting on the development, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said the government has decided to "remove roadblocks" for receiving foreign investments.

The minister expressed the hope that relaxation of norms would facilitate faster development of the

This is the second major liberalisation in FDI policy by the NDA government in one go after major changes effected in June 2016.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to present the Union for 2018-19 on February 1.
Cable television operators have sought to revise the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to five per cent from 18 per cent.

Cable television services are essential services and should not have 18 per cent GST which is in effect at present. I shall, on behalf of the Cable TV operators, present this with Finance Minister Amit Mitra, who is a member of the GST Council," Cable TV Equipments Traders & Manufacturers Association (CTMA) said quoting state municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim.

He further said with the consent of the Chief Minister of West Bengal, a Cable TV Summit in April 2018 in the city will be held.

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Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California and killed at least 13 people, police said today.

Authorities said the bodies were discovered in mud and debris during rescue operations in Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles.

"We are saddened to report that this incident so far has resulted in 13 confirmed fatalities, as result of the storm that came through our area last night," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told a conference, warning that he expected the death toll to increase.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department said on its Twitter feed it was using dogs to look for victims where multiple homes once stood in Montecito following heavy rain, with more than 20 people reported missing.

The department posted pictures of rivers of waist-high mud flowing through neighborhoods and roads rendered impassable by fallen trees.

"Firefighters successfully rescued a 14-yr-old girl after she was trapped for hours inside a destroyed home in Montecito," it added.

Roads were clogged throughout the region with mudflows shutting down more than 30 miles of the 101 Freeway and knocking a number of homes from their foundations.

Pounding rain weakened south-facing slopes above Montecito and flooded a creek, sending mud and huge rocks rolling into housing areas.

Emergency services told reporters at least "two dozen" people were missing with "several dozen" homes damaged or destroyed. They said they had rescued scores of residents, including 50 airlifted by hoist.

The highest rainfall total was recorded at five inches in Ventura County, according to the National Weather Service Los Angeles.

Much of the affected area is land scorched by the massive Thomas fire last month, where there is no vegetation to soak up the excess water.

About 275 traffic crashes were logged in the California Highway Patrol's jurisdiction in Los Angeles County during the morning commute -- compared with just 30 reported collisions during the same period on Tuesday last week.

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Israeli forces set up roadblocks and deployed around a major Palestinian city today in a manhunt for attackers who shot dead an Israeli settler, sparking calls at his funeral for "revenge".

Raziel Shevah, a 35-year-old rabbi, was killed late yesterday while driving near the wildcat settlement where he lived, Havat Gilad near the northern city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Some 22 gunshots were found in his car, Israel's army radio reported. The gunshots reportedly came from a passing vehicle.

"Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks," the military said in a statement.

"The review of the incident is ongoing. Based on situation assessments, it was decided to reinforce the area with additional forces."



Soldiers checked identification papers and searched cars at checkpoints around Nablus, causing long back-ups. No arrests had been reported.

The area frequently sees tensions between hardline Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

Shevah laid to rest at the wildcat settlement today -- the first person to be buried there at the wish of his family.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral, which included cries for "revenge" from youths in the crowd during a speech by Education Minister Naftali Bennett from the far-right Jewish Home party.

Bennett responded by saying the only revenge should be in building more settlements in the West Bank.

Israeli officials strongly denounced the attack, including those calling for punitive measures against Palestinians, such as the demolition of the homes of the attackers.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, welcomed the shooting.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he ordered his staff to look into how Havat Gilad could be legalised as a settlement.

All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are seen as illegal under international law and major obstacles to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Israel however differentiates between settlements it has approved and those it has not.

Those without approval are referred to as outposts and are typically populated by hardline religious nationalists who see the entire West Bank as part of Israel.

Past attempts by Israeli authorities to evacuate Havat Gilad have led to clashes with settlers there. Some 50 families currently live in the outpost.

Around 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank among some 2.6 million Palestinians.

Sporadic unrest has occurred since US President Donald Trump provoked Palestinian anger by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6.

Fourteen Palestinians have been killed since then, with most of them shot dead in clashes with Israeli forces. Shevah is the first Israeli killed since then.

It was unclear if yesterday's shooting had any link to Trump's announcement.

US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a supporter of West Bank settlements, said on Twitter: "An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists."



"Hamas praises the killers and PA (Palestinian Authority) laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace."The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Friedman of a "prejudiced" stance on the conflict, saying he has yet to criticise Israel for settlement building or its 50-year occupation of the West Bank.

Israeli officials have regularly called for a halt to payments of families of Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of attacks, or those killed while carrying out attacks.

They say the payments encourage further violence.

But for Palestinians, such payments are a key source of income for families who have in many cases lost their main breadwinner.

The Palestinians also see them as symbolically important after decades of yearning for elusive statehood and struggle against Israel's occupation.

Israel's defence ministry claimed the Palestinian Authority had paid out 1.2 billion shekels (USD 350 million), or seven per cent of the PA's annual budget, in 2017 as part of the policy.

According to the ministry, a Palestinian sentenced from three to five years in prison receives $600 per month, while those serving 20 to 35 years receive USD 2,900.

The ministry said it was pursuing legislation that would allow Israel to subtract the amount of those payments from the tax revenue it collects on behalf of the PA and later hands over to it.

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The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) today accused the government of taking "vindictive action" by registering an FIR in connection with a newspaper report on alleged Aadhaar data breach.

"The CITU denounces the Government's move in registering an FIR against the journalist of Tribune, Rachna Khaira, and her sources for exposing the leakage-prone systemic fault in Aadhaar administration," it said in a statement issued here.

The CITU also welcomed rising protests against the "vindictive action" by the Centre.

"Such vindictive action is the reflection of an obnoxious, authoritarian arrogance of the government, as if 'the king can do any wrong'. The CITU welcomes rising protests against such vindictive actions of the government from various organisations and agencies, including the journalists', and the newspaper employees' unions, and urges the government to take a call initiating corrective action," the statement said.

'The Tribune' correspondent Rachna Khaira and her sources were named in an FIR over her report on the breach of one billion Aadhaar cards data.

The journalist should have been "rewarded" for successfully investigating the faults in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) system in respect of protecting individual data for preventing intrusion on peoples' right to privacy, which had been upheld by the Supreme Court, the CITU said in the statement.

Even though the issue was raised in Parliament, the government did not recognise the faults in the system and its fallouts which raised doubts, it claimed.

The CITU has demanded that the government should "withdraw the FIR against the journalist in the interest of fairness and propriety".

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Chinese authorities battling to prevent an environmental disaster after a collision between an Iranian tanker and a cargo ship said today no major oil spill has been detected, but 31 sailors remained missing.

Cleanup and rescue ships have faced toxic fumes, rain and windy conditions as they scrambled to find survivors and avoid a massive oil slick since Saturday's incident.

The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil, has been in flames since colliding with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai.

Experts had warned that a spill of the Panamanian-flagged 274-metre (899-foot) tanker's cargo could spell environmental catastrophe as authorities said the ship could explode or sink.

But China's transport ministry said in a statement that as of 6:00 pm yesterday, "no large-scale oil spills were found on the sea surface" where the search is being conducted around the stricken vessel, which continued to burn.

The oil from the tanker is condensate oil that is expected to quickly evaporate upon hitting the water, with "very little residue on the water's surface", the ministry said.

A simulation test also found that less than one percent of oil content would remain on the sea surface five hours after a condensate oil leak.

Thirteen search-and-rescue vessels are continuing to look for missing crew members within 900 square nautical miles of the tanker, the ministry said.

But weather conditions are unfavourable, with "overcast and rainy weather", strong winds and waves.

Of the 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis on the Sanchi's crew, only one body has so far been found.

The oil tanker was on its way to South Korea when it collided with the CF Crystal, which was transporting grain to mainland China. The Crystal's 21 Chinese crew members were all rescued.

The Sanchi belongs to the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), Iran's petroleum ministry said, and was transporting the oil to South Korea's Hanwha Total. The ship and its cargo were insured, a statement said.

This is the second accident in less than two years involving a tanker owned by the NITC.

In August 2016, an Iranian supertanker and a container ship collided in the Singapore Strait, causing damage to both vessels but no injuries or pollution.

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today batted strongly for political resolution of the Kashmir issue but cautioned that it should not be allowed to be hijacked and turned into a "religious issue".

Mufti said that Jammu and Kashmir had signed its future (with India) and the only thing now possible was that the state becomes a bridge of peace between India and Pakistan.

"A political issue should not be hijacked and made a religious issue because we can address a political issue and can find a way out unlike the religious issue," the chief minister said in her reply to the motion of thanks on the Governor's address in the state Assembly here.

"Pakistan has to understand that that Jammu and Kashmir has written its future and the only thing now possible is that the state can become a peace bridge instead of a bone of contention between the two countries," she asserted.

We don't want to interfere in the foreign policy of our country, but the country has to think and understand, like (former Prime Minister) Vajpayee had, that Jammu and Kashmir is the biggest sufferer because of the animosity between the two countries, she said in a 49-minute address.

The chief minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone to Pakistan but did not get a good response.

Referring to Chinese efforts to build a road to Afghanistan, she asked what was wrong if Jammu and Kashmir becomes the gateway to central Asia.

"America was trying to exploit the mines of Afghanistan and it is China that has built a road and we left behind. Our state is strategically well placed and we should become part of these routes so that an entire world is opened instead of one country (Pakistan)," she said.

We have to go back to the roots and routes as well the roots from where we started, the brotherhood and communal harmony, she said.

Describing the appointment of the Centre's special representative as a major step, she said those who do not want to talk cannot be forced to have dialogue.

"We have to keep the humanity angle in mind while seeking a solution to Jammu and Kashmir and we have to play a bigger role. Sharma was given cabinet secretary status, which is the highest position in the bureaucracy of the country," she said.

"Several months has passed since his appointment but they (separatists) are not coming forward for talks even as bloodshed is continuing. When someone is not ready to talk what will one do," she said.

You can take a horse to a stream but cannot force it to drink, she added.

Mufti said that an all party parliamentary delegation visited the state in 2016 in the midst of the unrest triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani but the separatists did not open their doors to them.

"They (parliamentarians) were not weak. They are towering leaders and came to the doors (of separatists) because they had concern for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. But the doors were not opened," she said.

She said her government would continue its efforts to seek a political solution to the problem and cannot sit idle.

Responding to the former chief minister Omar Abdullah's remarks that there was no clarity on Sharma mandate, she said the appointment order clearly states that the "Government of India representative is to initiate and carry forward the dialogue with elected representatives, various organisations and concerned individuals in the state of Jammu and Kashmir".

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had also made it clear that he would talk to everyone, she said.

Praising Vajpayee for not succumbing to the provocations and initiating steps including boarding a bus to Lahore, she said it was during his period that ceasefire came into effect along the borders in Jammu and Kashmir, cross-border routes were opened for trade and travel and Hizbul Mujahideen were brought to the table despite massacre of seven boys in Rajouri, parliament attack and Kargil war.

Except (hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah) Geelani, everyone else (from the separatist camp) came on board, she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Cold conditions continued to prevail in eastern India today with Daringbadi in Odisha recording the lowest temperature in the region at 3.5 degrees Celsius.

Darbhanga and Bhagalpur in Bihar recorded the lowest minimum temperature at 5 degrees Celsius.

Normal life in Odisha's interior and forested districts continued to be affected as mercury levels dipped below 10 degrees Celsius in most places, the Meteorological office said.

The districts affected by cold conditions are Kandhamal, Koraput, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Angul, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sundergarh, Bolangir, Sonepur and Dhenkanal.

The IMD forecast has said that moderate cold conditions is likely to prevail over some places of Odisha till January 15.

In Bihar, severe cold conditions prevailed in a number of districts across the state such as Patna, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Muzaffarpur, Supaul and Forbesganj.

While the minimum temperature rose slightly in the state capital, from yesterday's 5.5 degrees Celsius to 6.9 degrees Celsius, there was a sharp fall in the maximum temperature from 17.6 degrees Celsius to 13.6 degrees Celsius, which contributed to the day-time chill.

According to the forecast, there would be no respite from chill tomorrow.

The MeT department in Kolkata today warned that cold wave conditions are likely to continue in parts of Gangetic West Bengal for the next two days, as the minimum temperature in Sub-Himalayan West Bengal rose by a couple of notches.

Sriniketan in Birbhum district reclaimed its position in recording the lowest night temperature in the state's plains at 6.6 degrees Celsius, as cold wave conditions in Sub- Himalayan districts of Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar abated to give some respite to people there.

Jalpaiguri, which had on Sunday night recorded 3.8 degrees Celsius, was warmer at 8.5 degree Celsius.

Kolkata was slightly cooler than yesterday at 10.9 degrees Celsius, down from 11.0 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, Ranchi, which experienced a minimum of 7.7 degrees Celsius yesterday, recorded 6.2 degrees Celsius today.

The maximum temperature of the state capital remained 24.8 degrees Celsius, according to the MeT sources.

Palamau, which recorded a minimum temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius yesterday, experienced 5.8 degrees Celsius today.

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Intense cold weather in Nepal has claimed six more lives, taking to 30 the death toll due to severe winter conditions over the past week across the country, according to a media report.

Two persons each died in Rautahat, Parsa and Banke districts over the past 48 hours, according to the police.

Over the week, nearly 14 people were killed from Saptari district while five each in Rautahat and Siraha districts in the Tarai region, it said.

In Saptari district, seven persons, including a 7-month- old child, were killed due to excessive cold in various municipalities.

Life has been severely affected by the cold waves that hit mainly southern Nepal districts over the past one week In Kathmandu the mercury fell to minimum zero degree Celsius in the past two days.

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A branch of the Arctic rescue center will open in the village of Amderma in the Nenets Autonomous Area, Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said on January 6.

"A directive will be signed today for the creation of a branch of the Nenets Arctic Rescue Center in the village of Amderma," Puchkov said, adding that the recruitment of rescue personnel would begin in the next few days.

The branch will have reliable off-road vehicles, including snow mobiles. It will also offer distance learning for rescue personnel.

"The Arctic rescue center's team in Naryan-Mar together with the fire and rescue personnel of the Nenets Autonomous Area as a whole can reliably protect the local infrastructure as well as the economic facilities from various disasters. But we will continue to upgrade their fire-fighting and rescue capabilities," the Emergencies Minister said.

Acting Governor of the Nenets Autonomous Area Alexander Tsybulsky pointed out that the development potential of the rescue centers would promote the economic growth of Russia's northern regions. He also said that "all accidents reported in the Nenets area during the New Year holidays have been promptly contained thanks to the rescue personnel."
The US today expressed hope that Pakistan would "come to the table" and demonstrate willingness to "aggressively" confront terrorist groups that operate from its territory, amid reports that Islamabad has suspended its military and intelligence cooperation with America.

According to media reports, Pakistan's decision to suspend military and intelligence cooperation with America came after President Donald accused Islamabad of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to it.

When asked to comment on Pakistan's reported move, US Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein said: "We're hopeful for future cooperation from Pakistan."



"We stand ready to work with Pakistan in combating all terrorists without distinction, and we hope to be able to renew and deepen our bilateral security relationship when Pakistan demonstrates its willingness to aggressively confront the Taliban network, the Haqqani Network, and other terrorist and militant groups that operate from its territory," he said.

The US has been clear on this issue to Pakistan, Goldstein said.

"We would like Pakistan to come to the table and assist us in this effort," he said adding that the suspension of security aid is not a cutoff and no funds have been reprogrammed.

The US announced on Thursday that it would not deliver military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan.

On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said the US had conveyed to Pakistan to take "concrete steps" against terror groups to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.

Referring to his conversation with the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Goldstein hoped that Pakistan will join the US in its effort with regard to fight against terrorism.

"The Pakistani people have suffered greatly from terrorism, and its security forces have been effective in combating the groups that target Pakistan's interest. So, its to their benefit to join with us in helping resolve this matter," Goldstein said.

"We always look at that; but again, it's a suspension and not a cutoff. We haven't reprogrammed the funds. Were hopeful that Pakistan will come back to the table and do what they told us that they would do," he said.

The US and others have long complained that Pakistan offered safe haven to the Afghan Taliban and their allies, the Haqqani Network, allowing them to carry out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies allegations but President Trump has escalated the criticism against the country since he took office last January.

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The Congress today accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of betraying farmers by not providing them 50 per cent plus minimum support price for their produce and giving loan waivers to big industrialists but not to farmers.

Congress spokesperson R P N Singh said that before coming to power prime minister Narendra Modi and the BJP had promised to give farmers 50 per cent plus MSP but is now dithering from doing so, even after four years in power.

He said the BJP had also mentioned this promise in their manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but has gone back on it.

Singh said that prime minister Modi in 2014, during elections, had made five big promises -- providing two crore jobs each year, giving farmers 50 per cent plus MSP for their produce, depositing 15 lakh into each Indian's bank account after getting back blackmoney stashed abroad, eradicating corruption from the root and taking strong measures at the border to ensure national security.

"Today, four years after he assumed power, the PM has not kept one of the promises...Farmers, who are the backbone of our country, are suffering and are forced to commit suicides after facing apathy at the hands of the BJP government," he told reporters.

Singh claimed that while the average growth in agriculture sector during the 10 years of UPA government was 4 per cent, under the BJP-led dispensation it has shown a growth of only 1.9 per cent in October 2017, as per a government report.

He said that even rural wages that grew 17 per cent during the UPA government were currently growing by 6.5 per cent.

Singh claimed that farmers were suffering as they are either beaten up or fired upon in BJP-ruled states.

The Congress leader also stated that while the prime minister has failed to fulfil his promises made to farmers, he is now talking of doubling farm income by 2022, which he said was aimed at "deceiving" them.

He said that while the UPA gave a farm loan waiver of Rs 77,000 crore that benefited every farmer in the country, the NDA, which is earning 9 lakh crores through tax on petrol/diesel, has waived off 1.53 lakh crore loans of big industrialists but not of farmers.

He alleged that 35 farmers are committing suicide every day in the country and a total of 33,000 farmers have taken their lives due to debts, but the government is not concerned about their welfare.

Singh also termed the liberalisation of the FDI policy by the government a measure that would destroy the small and medium businesses in the country.

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Opposition Congress and BJP today sharpened their attack on the CPI(M)-led Kerala government as an order for payment of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's helicopter ride from the state disaster relief fund kicked off a controversy.

The state government later cancelled the order.

The opposition has alleged misuse of the fund meant for Ochki yclone relief.

The Congress demanded registration of a corruption case over the matter, while the BJP wanted the Centre to monitor utilisation of the Ockhi cyclone relief fund.

The payment to the tune of Rs 8 lakh was for hiring a private helicopter for flying Vijayan from Thrissur to state capital and back on December 26 for a meeting with the visiting inter-ministerial central team, which had come to assess the damage caused by the cyclone which hit the southern coast of the state on November 29-30 last.

Vijayan, also a CPI(M) polit bureau member, was in Thrissur for attending the CPI(M) district conference.

KPCC president M M Hassan said the attempt to divert the state disaster relief fund (SDRF) was not only an irregularity, but amounted to corruption.

He demanded that a vigilance case be registered against the chief minister.

In Kochi, Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala said it was a "serious lapse" on part of the government.

"It is a highly condemnable act," he said.

"The Chief Minister's Office says it was not kept in the loop on the issue. If so, then what is the need for such an office?" Chennithala asked.

Kerala BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan said diverting disaster relief fund was a "heartless" action and a criminal offence.

The chief minister and the CPI(M) cannot absolve themselves now and that it was a "naked misuse of power", he alleged.

Meanwhile, BJP state general secretary M T Ramesh, wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking to monitor the utilisation of Ockhi relief fund, a party release said.

The LDF government also came in for criticism from the Latin Catholic Church, to which most of the cyclone-affected fishermen belong.

Church officials said the controversy was a pointer to the possibilities of Ockhi relief fund getting diverted instead of reaching the deserving persons.

Meanwhile, state Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan said an explanation had been sought from Revenue Secretary P H Kurien, who had issued the order for the payment.

He also said neither he nor his office was aware of the controversial order.

The government, while cancelling the order, had maintained that it was issued without the knowledge of the chief minister or his office.

A statement issued by CMO's office had clarified that the helicopter was hired for Vijayan and other ministers' journey on December 26 for a meeting with the central team.

That was the reason the State Disaster Management Authority issued the order for the payment from the disaster relief fund, it was stated.

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Indefinite curfew was clamped at Dhula in Assam's Darrang district after a man died as police opened fire to control a mob, which attacked a police station alleging death of a person due to torture in custody, senior government officials said.

The mob burnt tyres, blocked NH-15 and gheraoed the Dhula police station during the day, claiming the police picked up one of their co-villagers and that he died due to torture, District Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar Barman said.

They alleged the 37-year-old man was picked up from his home in remote Attakari village number 2 in the district last night. They demanded his body.

Officials said the villager was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal arms.

The protest continued despite suspension of the police station in-charge and assurance of stern action against policemen found guilty.

District Superintendent of Police Sreejith T told PTI the mob brick batted the police station, breaking windows and glass panes of doors. He said seven personnel were injured in the attack, prompting the police to open fire near Kharupetia to control the situation.

One person was killed in the police firing and two others, including a woman, were injured, he said.

Following this, indefinite curfew was clamped in the area under Dhula police station, barring on NH-15, Barman said.

Security measures in the area was also tightened to prevent any untoward incident, he said.

The policemen injured are a deputy sub-inspector (headquarters), the Kharupetia police station officer-in- charge, and three security personnel of the Darrang SP's office and two other constables, Sreejith said.

He said the deceased person and the injured were rushed to the Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

He said the villager was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal arms. As the man was being taken to the police station, he complained of uneasiness and was moved to a hospital, he added.

On being asked if the man died due to police torture as was being alleged by the villagers, the SP said it would be known only after investigation.

He said a physically challenged person who fell down and injured himself while passing through the area during the firing was admitted at Mangaldoi civil Hospital.

The district administration on the instructions of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered a magisterial enquiry by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Law and Order, Naranarayan Nath. He would submit his report within 15 days, official sources said.

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The Saharanpur district administration has asked Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband to obtain permission for the use of loudspeakers in its compound by January 15, an official said.

A notice has been issued to the seminary after the Uttar Pradesh government banned the use of loudspeakers at temples, mosques and other public places without permission. The state government move came after the Allahabad High Court asked it to ensure proper implementation of noise pollution control rules.

The district administration has told the seminary that if it fails to obtain permission by the scheduled date, the equipment would be removed, the official said.

Loudspeakers are used in three mosques at the seminary.

Saharanpur Deputy Superintendent of Police Siddhartha said that similar notices have been sent to all religious organisations.

Darul Uloom Deoband said it was trying to obtain permission from the authorities concerned.

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The Madras High Court has directed the Centre to take appropriate action against CBI officials, who were found to be responsible for destroying primary evidence related to the death of a city-based lawyer's son.

The court's directive came on the recommendation of a court-appointed SIT, probing the death of the lawyer's son. The SIT had made the recommendation in its status report, stating that the officials were also found to be responsible for stalling the investigation.

The special investigation team, headed by former CBI director R K Raghavan, in its report concluded that the case was a homicide.

Sathish Kumar, son of criminal lawyer Sankarasubbu, was reported missing on June 7, 2011. His body was found on June 13, in ICF North Colony Lake.

Sankarasubbu moved court claiming that the little finger of his son's right hand was severed and his toe nails were removed. There were also severe injuries on his hip, back and head.

He had named two police inspectors against whom he had obtained an order for departmental action.

Sankarasubbu alleged that the duo had abducted his son and killed him. Sankarasubbu had said that he had defended a person, who had been detained illegally by the police inspectors, and they killed his son as an act of revenge.

The high court had transferred the investigation to the CBI.

Subsequently, in December 2012, as the CBI failed to bring the case to a logical conclusion, the court appointed an SIT and ordered it to probe the case.

When the plea came up for hearing before the full bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher, G Jayachandran, and N Sathish Kumar yesterday, the SIT submitted a status report concluding that the case was a homicide.

However, the team claimed that despite its best efforts, it could not ascertain, who the real culprit was behind the killing.

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The fire that killed 12 workers at a farsan factory in suburban Sakinaka on December 18 was caused by a defective electric circuit, an inquiry committee set up by the Mumbai municipal commissioner has found.

After going through statements of eye-witnesses and fire brigade officials, observations of investigation officers and circumstantial evidence, the committee concluded that a defective electric circuit was the probable cause, said a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

The report was submitted by Deputy Municipal Commissioner Rambhau Dhas today, he said.

The committee also found that officials of the Building and Factory department did not do their job properly, as they should have kept an eye on illegal construction and flouting of fire safety norms, said the official.

These officials didn't inform the deputy collector about these violations, and the committee has recommended further inquiry against four officials of Building and Factory department, he said.

The report has also recommended suspension of a senior sanitation inspector, as the farsan factory had no license from the health department, nor did it have an NOC from the fire brigade, he said.

Twelve workers who were sleeping inside the farsan (a dry snack) factory were killed in the fire. Nine others managed to escape.

Its owner Ramesh Bhanushali was later arrested under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.

The incident was followed by another deadly fire at two pubs in Kamala Mills compound in the city on December 29 which claimed 14 lives.

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Delhi BJP and its ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today welcomed a Supreme Court order to constitute a new three-member special investigation team to monitor the re-investigation into 186 cases related to the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 which were closed earlier.

Welcoming the decision, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari hoped that the families of the victims will get "justice in a time-bound manner".

He also said that after the Supreme Court's decision, the Congress and other political parties will not be able to raise the bogie of "political vendetta" now.

SAD-BJP MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who also holds the post of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) general secretary, said that finally truth will prevail and Sikhs will get justice.

"The cases will be probed properly and justice will be delivered to the Sikh community that has been waiting for it for more than three decades," he said in a statement.

Large-scale riots had broken out in Delhi in the aftermath of the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by two Sikh security guards on October 31, 1984. The violence claimed 2,733 lives in the national capital alone.

Deciding to set up a new SIT, the Supreme Court today held that the previous SIT had not carried out further probe into the 186 cases in which closure reports were filed.

It said a supervisory body it had appointed found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation.

On August 16 last year, the court had appointed the supervisory panel to examine the SIT's decision to close 241 cases.

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The Delhi government today accused Lt Governor Anil Baijal of "stalling" the constitution of the city's Waqf Board, which was dissolved in October 2016 on charges of "irregularities".

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged Baijal was using a Delhi High Court order as an alibi to not form the seven member-board, elections to which have been completed.

Sisodia went on to question Baijal's motive behind his objection and wondered why successive Lt Governors have shown "undue interest" in the affairs of the Waqf Board, which looks after the Waqf properties in Delhi.

He said the Imams are being deprived of their salaries due to the imbroglio. The Waqf Board comprises four elected and three nominated members.

Sisodia said Baijal had cleared the names of the three nominated members last month and the process for electing the rest was also complete.

"However, the Delhi High Court has ordered that one member, who is to be a Muslim Bar Council of Delhi representative shall not be filled till further directions.

"But nowhere did the High Court say that the formation of the Board has to be brought to a halt. The LG is using that as an excuse to delay the process which is beyond our understanding," Sisodia told a press conference.

The Raj Niwas has not yet responded to the allegations, but the latest spat marks another low in the relationship between the Arvind Kejriwal government and the Lt Governor's office.

The then LG Najeeb Jung had, in October 2016, dissolved the board constituted by the Kejriwal-led government and referred the matter related to "irregularities" in it to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

There were also corruption charges regarding appointments made to the board under the tenure of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan and the city's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had launched a probe into an alleged "recruitment scam" in the body.

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Cracking the whip against public smoking, Delhi Police has fined nearly 3,000 smokers in different areas of the city.

The drive against smokers has been launched under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COPTA).

So far, a total of 2,743 smokers have been challaned and a fine amounting to Rs 5.5 lakh has been imposed in south Delhi areas, police said.

"11.3 per cent smokers enjoy while other 88.7 per cent non-smokers suffer passive smoking. Exemplary work in enforcement of #COTPA 2 make change in public behaviour," Romil Baaniya, deputy commissioner of police (South), said in a tweet.

The drive, launched on Sunday, will continue in the future as well, he said.

Section 4 of the COTPA prohibits smoking at public places and the sale of tobacco products to minors is prohibited by Section 6 of the Act.

"95 percent of the challans have been issued to those found smoking at public places," the official said.

The police has tightened noose around those indulging in smoking at public places and those selling tobacco products near schools and colleges in violation of the norms.

"The four-day drive has helped in creating awareness and it will go on," Baaniya said.

The police has focused in south Delhi areas, including Saket, Safdarjung, Mehrauli, Green Park, among others frequented by people.

The number of offenders caught is likely to go up as public smoking is commonly observed in the city.

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Armenia's ministry of transport, communication and information technologies informs that on January 10, as of 14:30, the Vardenyats Pass is partly covered with clear ice. Clearing operations are underway.

January 10, 2018, 15:44 Stepantsminda-Lars highway open only for light passenger vehicles

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 10, ARTSAKHPRESS:The ministry said that all roads are open in Armenia.

The traffic department of Georgias ministry of infrastructures informs that on January 10, as of 15:00, the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open only for light passenger vehicles. The highway currently is closed for heavy trucks
A city-based elderly couple has made a heart-wrenching plea to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking permission for active euthanasia or "assisted suicide" as they feel they are of no use to the society or themselves.

Narayan Lavate (88) and his wife Iravati (78), who have no children and say their siblings are also no more, are of the view that keeping them alive against their wishes is a "waste of the country's scarce resources as well as theirs".

The couple, residing at Charni Road in South Mumbai, has sought the president's intervention as they feel it is unfair to compel them to wait to die till they are afflicted by any serious ailment, and to make theirs as an exceptional case of "active euthanasia".

"The president has the powers for showing mercy to those on death row. We are serving a life imprisonment and the president can show us mercy by allowing us to end our lives," Narayan Lavate, who retired from the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) in 1989, told PTI.

Explaining his unusual plea, Lavate said if he and his wife, a retired school principal, decided to commit suicide by jumping from a terrace or hanging themselves, there was no guarantee they would die.

"In Switzerland, there is an organisation called Dignitas for those who wish to end their lives. Qualified doctors who assist them in the process are not charged for abetment to suicide. We became members of the organisation but cannot go there since I don't have a passport," Lavate said.

"Our aim of writing to the president is to make us an exceptional case for active euthanasia," he said.

In his petition dated December 21, 2017, Lavate said he and his wife are in a reasonably good health and not suffering from any serious ailment.

He said it is unfair to compel them to wait till they contract some serious ailment or deformity.

"We are of no use to the society or ourselves. Our siblings have passed away and we have no children. Keeping us alive against our wishes is wasting the scarce resources of the country as well as ours," the octogenarian said.

"We have already committed to donate our bodies after death and whatever little wealth we have, to the state treasury," Lavate said.

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The Delhi government has directed all schools in the national capital to maintain a minimum of 220 working days for upper primary classes in an academic year.

"All the head of schools are directed to adhere to the provision laid down in the Right to Act (RTE) in respect of mandatory 220 working days in an academic year," the Directorate of (DoE) said in a communication sent to school principals.

"It is the responsibility of the respective school managements to ensure that the schools under their control must observe minimum working days and holidays in the academic calendar are approved beforehand," it added.

The school heads have also been asked to furnish an undertaking to the department that the directive will be complied with.

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Former managing director of Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation (ASDC) Shravan Bawane, arrested in connection with a scam in the state-owned corporation, was today remanded to police custody till January 18 by a court here.

The Pune CID, probing the alleged multi-crore scam, had arrested Bawane from Rajkot in Gujarat in December last year.

He was absconding for almost around three years and is wanted in 11 cases along with the multi-crore scam in the corporation.

Bawane was presented before sessions court judge Vaid Pathak today who remanded him in police custody for eight days, said special public prosecutor Pravin Chavan.

One of the FIRs was registered against Bawane in Jalna in connection with the alleged scam, he said.

The cases were also registered against him in various cities like Bhandara, Hingoli, Buldhana, Parbhani, and Beed.

The kingpin of the scam, Ramesh Kadam, a sacked legislator of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is in jail.

According to prosecution, Bawane has been accused of colluding with Kadam.

Some of the major cases against Bawane include a case at Borivali police station with regard to syphoning of Rs 312 crore.

A similar case at Bhandara of Rs 27.65 crore, case at Buldhana (Rs 12 crore). Another case at Jalna of Rs 11 crore, besides some more cases at Beed, Parbhani, and Hingoli.

There are some more cases of car distribution as well as misappropriation of Rs 5 crore.

The government had earlier said in the state Assembly that multi-crore worth funds were embezzled from the ASDC by Kadam who had allegedly gifted luxury cars to some office- bearers of his party by diverting funds meant for purchasing vehicles for financial wellbeing of candidates from the weaker sections of the society.

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Former Calcutta High Court judge C S Karnan, who was released recently after serving a prison term for contempt of court, today arrived here.

He arrived here by a private carrier flight, nearly three weeks after his release from the prison.

When asked by reporters at the airport whether he will pen a book on his prison experience, Karnan said he will consider it.

Karnan, a native of Tamil Nadu, was released from jail on December 20 after serving a six-month sentence for contempt of court awarded by the the Supreme Court on May 9 last year.

He was a serving judge of the Calcutta High Court when the court sentenced him, a day after he defiantly ordered eight apex court judges to be put behind the bars.

Karnan was arrested from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu on June 20 after he had evaded the police for over a month.

He became the first sitting high court judge to have been sentenced to a prison term.

Karnan, who had enrolled himself as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in 1983, was appointed a judge of the Madras High Court in 2009. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on March 11, 2016.

He was transferred from the Madras High Court for his repeated allegations against and run-ins with the then chief justice and fellow judges of the court.

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In big bang reforms ahead of BJP government's last full Budget, foreign airlines were today allowed to buy up to 49 per cent stake in Air India while easing FDI rules for several sectors including single brand retail and construction.

In a bid to boost growth and improve ease of doing business, the Union Cabinet allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail and construction development under the automatic route.

It permitted foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under the approval route in the debt-ridden, loss making national carrier, said an official statement issued after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Cabinet also allowed foreign institutional and portfolio investors to invest in power exchanges and relaxed FDI policy for medical devices and audit firms associated with companies receiving overseas funds.

Besides, the clarification that real estate broking service will not amount to real estate business has addressed the issue being faced by such firms. It is therefore, eligible for 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route.

The decisions came ahead of Modi's participation in World Economic Forum at Davos this month where he is likely to hard sell India as an attractive investment destination.

They also came weeks before the BJP government presents its fifth and final full year budget on February 1 before general elections next year.

"By permitting FDI up to 100 per cent under automatic route in single brand retail trading, the government has eliminated the time lag for foreign investor to set up a single brand retail operations in India," said Dev Raj Singh, Executive Director, Tax & Economic Policy Group, EY India.

The changes will give a boost to FDI inflows, he said.

In a move that will give a boost to foreign retailers like Ikea, the government approved 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route for single brand retail trading. Earlier also 100 per cent FDI was allowed in the segment, but it required government approval.

The amendments are intended to liberalise and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business. "In turn, it will lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment," the government said in a statement.

The decision to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent would pave away for global airlines to bid for government stake when it is put for sale.

"Foreign investment(s) in Air India including that of foreign airline(s) shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National," the statement said.

Air India had a total debt of about Rs 48,877 crore at the end of March 2017, of which about Rs 17,360 crore was aircraft loan, and Rs 31,517 crore for working capital. It is expected to report a net loss of Rs 3,579 crore for 2017-18.

Overseas investment policy has also been liberalised in case of power exchanges, an online platform where electricity is traded. Currently, the policy provides for 49 per cent FDI under automatic route in power exchanges.

However, FII/FPI (foreign portfolio investors) purchases were restricted to secondary market only.

"It has now been decided to do away with this provision, thereby allowing FIIs (foreign institutional investors/FPIs to invest in power exchanges through primary market as well," the statement said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said the decisions would help "remove roadblocks" for receiving foreign investments and expressed the hope that relaxation of norms would facilitate faster development of the economy.

"The move will not only attract additional foreign capital into the country, but will also provide an impetus to the retail industry growth, at a time when organised and retail is already seeing strong growth over the last 12 months," said Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India.

"Global brands across different categories, from apparel to electronics to accessories will be aided through this, providing further options to Indian consumers and improving Indias ranking in ease of doing business," he added.

This is the second major liberalisation in FDI policy by the NDA government in one go after major changes effected in June 2016.

Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek said the move would help further improve investment climate in India.

The government also said that issue of shares against non-cash considerations like pre-incorporation expenses and import of machinery will now be permitted under the automatic route in case sectors do not require government nod.

Relaxing a procedural requirement, the government said it has now been decided that for investments in automatic route sectors, requiring approval only on the matter of investment being from country of concern (that is Pakistan and Bangladesh), FDI applications would be processed by the DIPP for government nod.

Cases under the government approval route, also requiring security clearance with respect to countries of concern, will continue to be processed by concerned administrative department or ministry.

Earlier the applications were processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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A 23-year old Finnish woman tourist was found dead in a hotel here today in a case of suspected drug overdose, police said.

Helea Nea-Emilia along with her boyfriend Palomaki Alekesi Joel Santeri from Finland have been touring the country since November last year and arrived here a couple of days ago, they said.

"They were staying at a hotel and we got a call that the Finnish woman was lying dead," a police official told PTI.

A case has been registered and her boyfriend was being questioned as part of the investigations, he said.

It was suspected that the woman might have consumed excessive alcohol and taken some drug also, but a clear picture on the cause of the death would emerge only after an autopsy, he added.

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A minor fire broke out on- board warship INS Shivalik here this evening during welding work but no casualty or damage was reported.

The fire broke out in the stationery compartment of the stealth warship at the naval dockyard, a spokesman for the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) told PTI.

The ENC is headquartered in this Andhra Pradesh city.

The vessel was anchored at the dockyard for periodic maintenance, he said.

"Sparks flew while welding works were going on, igniting the fire. But it was very minor inside the stationery compartment and the fire was extinguished within a short time.

"There was no damage to property or injuries to any person," the spokesman said.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident, he added.

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French beef producers have hailed a deal reached by President Emmanuel Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to end China's 2001 embargo on French beef.

The accord, which would allow French producers back into the huge Chinese market within six months, came as Macron made a three-day visit to the country, his first destination in Asia as France's leader.

The ban was imposed over a decade ago as Beijing started closing off its markets to all European and later US beef imports in the wake of the "mad cow" disease scare.

Paris has been working for years to promote the safety of its meat and open new markets for its ranchers, who were hit hard by the "mad cow" scare of the 1990s.

"Our beef currently has no access (to China) for sanitary reasons. But with French beef consumption falling five percent a year, we have to find new markets," said economy minister Bruno Le Maire, who is travelling with Macron.

"It will allow for higher prices that will better compensate cattle ranchers," he said.

Beef is rapidly becoming more common on Chinese tables as the middle class expands, with imported meat particularly prized.

"Excellent for France's beef producers, who consider the potential of the Chinese market a strategic opportunity," the Interbev producers' association said in a statement yesterday.

Its president, Dominique Langlois, is part of the delegation of about 50 business leaders who joined Macron for his trip.

Interbev said China is the second-largest importer of beef, at nearly 1.1 million tons a year.

The average inhabitant eats four kilogrammes (8.8 pounds) each year, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Ninety per cent of China's imports currently come from Brazil, Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand.

Several countries have dropped their import bans against French beef in recent years, including the United States, which again opened its market last year after imposing a ban in 1998.

French producers could nonetheless find China a tough market to crack.

"There is market share for France to take in China," said Jean-Marc Chaumet, an economist who specialises in China at the French Livestock Institute in Paris.

"But it won't be an Eldorado. It will be hard and take time, because France will be entering a very competitive market already open to the US, Uruguay, Canada and Australia," he said.

"And they'll need to invest, because the Chinese don't know about French beef," Chaumet added.

Beyond beef, French officials said talks were continuing about China's ban on French poultry, imposed in 2015 after an outbreak of bird flu.

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Goa will celebrate January 16 as 'Asmitai Dis' (Identity Day) to mark a referendum in 1967 when people of the then Union Territory opted not to merge with Maharashtra.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar made the announcement today.

The referendum on whether to merge with neighbouring Maharashtra was held on January 16, 1967.

"The government has decided to celebrate the opinion poll day as Asmitai Dis. This was the only referendum held in Independent India," Parrikar told reporters, adding that due to its outcome, Goa kept its separate identity.

"Therefore the day has to be recognised and also the people who were involved with it," he said.

Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule in December 1961.

When the referendum was held, the then ruling party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), was in favour of becoming a part of Maharashtra. But several leaders, led by Jack Sequeira of United Goans party, were opposed to it.

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The security solutions division of Godrej & Boyce is targetting the home segment to increase the vertical's turnover in the next three years, a top official said today.

The turnover of the security solutions division of the company was the third largest which was Rs 750 crore at the moment, Mehernosh Pithawalla, VP and global head (marketing, sales and innovation) of the security solutions division said.

Pithawalla said the banking security business was not growing as the expansion of bank branches was not there now like before.

The company provides lockers, strong rooms and safes meant for providing security at the bank branches.

"Owing to this, we are targetting the home security segment, particularly the residential complexes across the country," he said.

He said that in India, the home security market was at a nascent stage at the moment.

"The total size of the market in the home security segment is around Rs 155 crore now," he said.

In the next three years, the company is targetting to double the revenue from this segment, presently at Rs 280 crore.

The company today announced the launch of 'Eve' brand of WiFi-enabled home security systems and video door phones.

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Customs officials today seized gold totally worth Rs 88.5 lakh from two passengers at Chennai and Kochi airports.

While gold worth Rs 52 lakh was seized from a passenger who arrived in Chennai from Sharjah, Customs sleuths recovered 1.2 kg of the precious metal valued at Rs 36.42 lakhfrom a man who landed in Kochi from Delhi, officials said.

Both the passengers were arrested.

In Chennai, Customs officials also seized foreign currency worth Rs 4.3 lakh from a Colombo-bound passenger last night, a Customs release said.

Officials acting on a tip-off, examined the baggage of Syed Ibrahim Kuddus, which led to unearthing of the gold kept concealed in a multimedia speaker system.

The gold was of 24-carat purity and valued at Rs 52 lakh, the release said adding the passenger was arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.

In Kochi, Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said officers of AirIntelligence Unit at the international airport there effected the seizure of six cut pieces of gold bars totally weighing 1,202 gms valued at Rs 36.42 lakhfrom the passenger.

The passenger, a native of Thane in Maharashtra, was found carrying the gold bars in the pocket of his trousers, he added.

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The Congress and the CPI(M) today strongly opposed the government's decision to allow 49 per cent FDI in the civil aviation sector and accused it of handing Air India over to foreign players.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma asked the government to come clear on whether Air India's assets worth lakhs of crores of rupees would be given to foreign players.

He said the previous UPA government had relaxed FDI norms for foreign players but had kept Air India out of its ambit because of its status as the national carrier.

"The government should be careful in allowing FDI in Air India, which is a national carrier. It should not do anything in stealth," Sharma said.

The former Union minister said the carrier had assets worth lakhs of crores of rupees and had a large number of route permits as a result of bilateral agreements and these would be greatly affected by the government's decision.

"The government should clarify whether the ownership and control of Air India would be handed over to foreign players and whether its assets would also be handed over, as well as on the monetisation of routes," he said.

Sharma said the UPA government had consciously kept Air India out of the purview of FDI when it allowed 49 per cent FDI in the civil aviation sector.

Saying that the party would examine the government's decision, he sought answers from it on how its policy would affect the national carrier.

The CPI(M) also opposed the decision and accused the government of moving towards handing Air India over to a foreign airline.

"The politburo of the CPI(M) strongly opposes the decision to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India," it said in a statement.

"Having taken the decision to privatise Air India, the Modi government is now moving towards handing (it) over ... to a foreign airline," the party said.

The Left party advised the government to pay heed to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture that had asked it to review its decision on the privatisation of Air India.

The CPI(M) also criticised the decision of the Cabinet to allow 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in single- brand retail trade.

"Though FDI up to 49 per cent was permitted under the automatic route (till now), this decision to liberalise FDI in retail trade will have harmful consequences for domestic retail traders and shopkeepers," it said.

The government today allowed foreign airlines to own up to 49 per cent stake in national carrier Air India at a time when the process for the strategic disinvestment of the debt- laden airline is on.

While allowing foreign investors, including foreign airlines, to have a stake in Air India, the government also made it clear that the national carrier's substantial ownership would remain with an Indian national.

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The government's focus on all- round development of the northeastern region will help the BJP emerge victorious in the poll-bound states of Tripura and Meghalaya, Union minister Jitendra Singh said today.

Singh, who holds the independent charge of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, said the region's journey has been from "neglect to high priority" under the BJP-led NDA government.

He cited a number of measures taken by the Centre, including amendment to the Forest Act to exclude bamboo from the definition of trees, which will boost economy in states like Tripura.

The amendment of the forest act has been welcomed by tribals especially in Tripura as it would improve their earnings. With this amendment now felling and transit of bamboo grown in non-forest areas will not be restricted, he told reporters.

This could have been done a few decades ago, but no government has been as sensitive and concerned towards the Northeast as the Modi government is towards the region, he said.

Sharing various another steps taken by the Centre for the development of the region, Singh said the government is all set to inaugurate an airport at Sikkim and is in process of upgrading the airport in Shillong in Meghalaya.

Similarly, land for an airport has been identified in Arunachal Pradesh, he added.

To make the region easily approachable and more accessible, the government has already working overtime to spread the rail network in the region, he said, adding that many new rail lines have already been approved in last three years.

He also informed that Arunachal Pradesh will have the second Film and Television Institute of India after Pune.

It will give a boost to the employability of Northeast youth and open avenues for exciting career choices in various domains of media and filmmaking, he added.

Noting that the region is on top of the Modi government's development agenda, Singh said every fortnight one union minister visits one state in the region.

The government is also considering running helicopter- based OPD to far-flung areas of the region, he said.

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Actor-director Greta Gerwig has said she regrets working with Woody Allen in his 2012 film "To Rome With Love".

In wake of the sexual harassment scandal in Hollywood, many top stars, including Kate Winslet, Blake Lively and Gerwig, have been questioned for working with Allen, who has been accused of molesting his and former wife, Mia Farrow's adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, over 20 years before.

In an interview with the New York Times, the "Lady Bird" director was asked about the future for filmmakers such as Allen or Roman Polanski, who is also accused of rape, in Hollywood.

"I have been asked about a couple of times recently, as I worked for (Allen) on a film that came out in 2012. It is something that I take very seriously and have been thinking deeply about, and it has taken me time to gather my thoughts and say what I mean to say," Gerwig said.

"I can only speak for myself and what I've come to is this: If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again," she added.

Gerwig also said that she was "heartbroken" when she discovered the allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse against Allen.

"Dylan Farrow's two different pieces made me realise that I increased another woman's pain, and I was heartbroken by that realisation. I grew up on his movies, and they have informed me as an artist, and I cannot change that fact now, but I can make different decisions moving forward," Gerwig said.

Dylan Farrow responded to Gerwig's interview on Twitter, saying, "Greta, thank you for your voice. Thank you for your words. Please know they are deeply felt and appreciated.

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Gujarat, which houses a rich population of lions, will now see an exercise to find out if tigers also inhabit the state.

The last time a tiger was spotted in Gujarat was way back in 1985. Now, over three decades later, a census has been planned next month to ascertain the presence of the striped animal in the forest of Dang district.

The state forest department earlier sent a proposal to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for the census after some media reports suggested the presence of tigers in Dang, which is full of green forests.

The proposal was approved by the NTCA, a statutory body under the Union Ministry of and Forests, Gujarat's principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), G K Sinha, said.

Till the early 80s, there were tigers in Gujarat, mainly inhabiting the forests of Dang, Narmada and Sabarkantha districts, he said.

"The last tiger died in a road accident in Dang in 1985. No tiger was seen in the state after that. Locals generally confuse hyenas with tigers and that is how they assume there are tigers in Gujarat forests," Sinha said.

"We requested the NTCA to include Dang in the tiger census because there are some reports in the media about tigers having been sighted in the area. Some villagers also say they saw tigers," he said.

The state forest department sent a team in July last year to survey the area to ascertain the presence of tigers but the report was negative.

"Our surveys have shown a negative possibility of tigers in the state, but to put the debate to rest, we decided to include the area (Dang forests) in the census. If there is any such possibility, the census will bring it to its logical end," Sinha said.

After the NTCA agreed for the tiger census in Dang, three officials of the state forest department were sent for training in Assam for the purpose, he said.

The counting exercise in Dang will be a part of the nationwide tiger census being conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India on the directions of the NTCA, the official said.

Notably, Gujarat boasts of a sizable population of lions, which are a major tourist attraction.

As per the last census conducted in 2015, there are about 650 lions, mainly inhabiting the forests of Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts in Saurashtra region of the state.

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An alleged gun runner was arrested near Sangam Vihar area in south Delhi and 14 "sophisticated" pistols were seized from him, police said today.

Iqbal was arrested from M B Road on Monday evening after the police was tipped-off about his presence, Romil Baaniya, DCP (South) said.

"Iqbal's search led to recovery of 14 sophisticated, .32 bore pistols, carried by him in a bag. A case was registered at the Sangam Vihar police station and investigation has been taken up," Baaniya said.

The arrest came as part of a Delhi Police investigation to bust illegal arms ring in Delhi-NCR.

During interrogation, Iqbal told the police that he was introduced to the illegal arms ring by Mufeed, a resident of his native village in Mathura district.

Iqbal admitted that he was sent by Mufeed to deliver the pistols to a contact in Delhi, the senior officer said.

The accused was paid Rs 1,000 for each illegally smuggled firearm, Baaniya said.

He visited Sendhwa city in Madhya Pradesh on Mufeed's orders, and there he bought guns from local contacts to supply them to criminals operating in Delhi-NCR, he added.

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Pakistan national Asif Karadia is all of 52 years of which he has spent over 50 in India on a long-term visa but without a passport.

His wife and three children are Indian citizens, he pays taxes, has documents like Aadhaar card, ration card, PAN card and even voter ID card, and wants his application for Indian citizenship, pending for the last seven years, accepted.

Coming to the aid of Karadia, the Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra government to help him with his pending application for Indian citizenship.

A bench of justices R M Borde and Rajesh Ketkar asked the state government to file an affidavit in two weeks giving details of the procedure that Karadia has to follow to get his application processed.

Karadia told the court he was born in Karachi and brought to India by his mother when he was only a few days old and has lived here ever since, without a Pakistani passport. His parents, he said, were born in Gujarat before partition.

Karadia, who works at a restaurant, said his citizenship application was pending with the Union government for over seven years now.

He approached the high court through his lawyers Ashish Mehta and Sujay Kantawala to seek a stay on the deportation notice against him. He also prayed for his long-term visa to be extended till the government decided on his application for Indian citizenship.

In 2016, another bench of the court had denied him any interim relief, observing that even if a person is entitled to Indian citizenship, he or she cannot "at any given time, be authorised to reside in the country without valid papers".

The bench had also ordered an inquiry into how the central government has been issuing him long term visa for so many years when Karadia does not have a passport.

In January 2017, a division bench led by Justice S C Dharmadhikari observed that Karadia's case was "unique", and in an interim order, directed the state and the Centre not to take any coercive action against him.

Yesterday, the bench led by Justice Borde took note of the submission by Karadia's lawyers that the authorities were making him run from pillar to post for the last several years and not deciding on his citizenship application.

Justice Borde directed the state to submit a timeline of the documents it had forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs to help process Karadia's application.

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In a relief to a Pakistani national who has been living in India for over 50 years but did not have a passport, the Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government to help him with his pending application for Indian citizenship.

A bench of justices R M Borde and Rajesh Ketkar asked the state government to file an affidavit in two weeks giving details of the procedures that the petitioner, 52-year-old Asif Karadia, has to follow to get his application processed.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs, meanwhile, told the court today that it has extended Karadia's long-term visa (LTV) till December to ensure he isn't deported to Pakistan.

Karadia had approached the high court in December 2016 when his previous LTV expired and the authorities refused to extend it unless he produced a Pakistani passport.

Karadia told the court he did not have a Pakistani passport or any other identity document issued by the Pakistani government because he was born in Karachi but brought to India by his mother when he was only a few days old and has stayed here since.

His parents were born in Gujarat before Partition, and his wife and his three children are Indian citizens.

He said he has been living in India, working at a local restaurant, paying taxes, and has Indian ID proofs such as an Aadhaar card, a ration card, a PAN card and even a voter ID card, though he has no passport.

His citizenship application has been pending with the Union government for over seven years, he said.

He approached the HC through his lawyers Ashish Mehta and Sujay Kantawala, seeking that the deportation notice against him be stayed and his LTV be extended till the government decides on his citizenship application.

In 2016, another bench of the court had denied him any interim relief, observing that even if a person is entitled to Indian citizenship, he or she could not "at any given time, be authorised to reside in the country without valid papers".

The bench had also ordered an inquiry into how the central government has been issuing him long term visa for so many years when Karadia doesn't have even a Pakistani passport.

However, in January 2017, a division bench led by Justice S C Dharmadhikari observed that Karadia's case was "unique", and in an interim order, directed the state and the Centre not to take any coercive action against him.

Yesterday, the bench led by Justice Borde took note of the submission by Karadia's lawyers that the authorities were making him run from pillar to post for the last several years and not deciding on his citizenship application.

Justice Borde had yesterday directed the state to submit a timeline of the documents it had forwarded to the MHA to help process Karadia's application.

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The Madras High Court today directed police to register an FIR on a land grabbing complaint against Panruti MLA P Sathya, if prima facie case is made out.

Justice M S Ramesh gave the direction while disposing of a criminal original petition from one R Varaaki, a city resident.

In his petition, Varaaki alleged that one K Kasthuri had encroached upon the Odai Poromboke land on Hospital-Cuddalore Road in Panruti in December 2000.

He contended that the ruling AIADMK MLA Sathya and her husband P Panneerselvam, who was the former chairman of Panruti Town Municipality, illegally got transferred the land measuring little over six cents on the Odai Poromboke in the name of Kasthuri, misusing their official positions.

The petitioner said he lodged a complaint with the Inspector, District Crime Branch (Land Grabbing Cell) in Cuddalore on December 16 last year.

As there was no progress in the matter, he said he moved the High Court with the present petition.

The judge also passed a similar order on another petition from Varaaki praying for a direction to Panruti Police to register a case on his complaint dated December 13, 2017 alleging that the MLA and her husband had used their influence to change the date of birth of their daughter-in-law Hasina Begum.

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The Kerala High Court today granted anticipatory bail to actor and BJP MP Suresh Gopi in a case related to alleged forging of documents to get his two luxury cars registered in Puducherry to evade vehicle tax in the state.

Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan directed the Rajya Sabha MP to execute a bond of Rs 1 lakh along with two sureties of the like amount.

He also directed him to appear before the investigating officer on all Saturdays.

Gopi had filed the anticipatory bail plea on December 12.

Last week, the court had directed the police not to arrest Gopi for a further period of 10 days in the case.

The prosecution had alleged that Gopi was using the cars in the state after evading payment of tax.

Earlier, following the court direction, Gopi had appeared before police in connection with the probe.

The police had registered an FIR against the actor on December 5, charging him with falsifying and fabricating documents by showing an address in the Union territory and getting the vehicles registered there, causing revenue loss to the Kerala government.

The FIR is pending before the chief judicial magistrate court, Thiruvananthapuram.

In his plea, Gopi said the allegations prima facie were false.

The actor said he had chosen to register the two vehicles in Puducherry where he owns agricultural land which was being looked after by family members, including his brothers.

The actor said he has a house in Bengaluru and his brothers have residences in Coimbatore and Tuticorin, so the vehicles were frequently used to ply within these states.

Police have alleged that the actor-turned-politician used a fake residential address to register his luxury vehicles in Puducherry to evade the 20 per cent tax in Kerala on luxury cars costing Rs 20 lakh and above.

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The Delhi High Court today sought the response of the AAP government and a civic body on a plea alleging that a BJP MP has been distributing metal tokens to unauthorised street vendors as a licence to operate in his constituency.

The high court issued notice to the Delhi government, North MCD, Delhi Police and BJP MP Udit Raj from Northwest Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, asking them to file their replies on the petition by a local resident.

The court sought to know from the authorities the steps they have taken, if the assertions are true.

"North MCD shall inform and place on record the manner in which it issues licences to street vendors," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said.

It asked the civic body to disclose on its website the list of street vendors who have been given licences to sell goods.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by Parveen Kumar, a resident of Rohini in north west Delhi, alleging that the parliamentarian was distributing metal tokens to unauthorised street vendors as a licence to operate in the area.

The petition sought that the MP be prohibited from doing such activities and legal action be taken against him.

It said the authorities should be directed to make public places including markets free from encroachments.

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The National Green Tribunal today reiterated its earlier order directing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to issue a circular to all airlines operating at IGI airport here to ensure that they do not empty toilet tanks mid-air.

A bench headed by acting Chairperson Justice U D Salvi said that as per its December 20, 2016 order, the aviation regulator should inform all airlines that they will have to pay Rs 50,000 as environmental compensation for any violation.

The tribunal's direction came while disposing of a plea filed by Lt Gen (Retd) Satwant Singh Dahiya alleging that aircraft were dumping human waste from air before landing at the IGI Airport here.

The ex-army officer's had told the NGT that his South Delhi house was allegedly splattered with faeces before Diwali this year and the previous year.

"We dispose of this application with the reiteration of our December 20, 2016 order. The direction shall be complied without default," the bench said.

The green panel also directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to submit the analysis report of the excreta sample collected from the ex-army officer's house within four weeks and submit a copy to the applicant.

The tribunal had earlier constituted committee comprising representatives from the DGCA, Central Avian Research Institute and CPCB to collect samples from the house of Dahiya.

The committee members were directed to send the samples for tests to ascertain whether it was human or bird excreta.

The NGT had earlier directed the CPCB to take a clear stand whether it can differentiate between human excreta and bird poop.

Aviation regulator DGCA had maintained that it was impossible to dump human waste mid-air from aircraft toilet, and bird droppings had landed on the complainant's house, after which the green panel had ordered testing of the excreta samples.

The CPCB had said that there were traces of faecal coliform in the samples, indicating presence of human waste.

The tribunal had in 2016 held that if "any aircraft, airlines and the handling services of registered aircraft" were found to be dumping human waste from air or toilet tanks were found to have been emptied before landing, they shall be subjected to environmental compensation of Rs 50,000 per case of default.

The NGT had also asked the DGCA to carry out surprise inspection of aircraft landing at the airport to check that their toilet tanks are not empty while landing and prevent waste from being splashed over residential areas and any other place before landing.

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Saif Ali Khan's film is one of the first releases of the year but the actor is more nervous and excited about daughter Sara's debut in "Kedarnath".

The 47-year-old actor said he shares the anxiety of a newcomer when it comes to Sara's film, which is slated to release in December.

"Sara has her whole life ahead of her. It feels like it is my debut film that's up for a release. It's her dream and I hope all her dreams come true," Saif said in a press conference here.

The actor is equally excited and scared for wife Kareena Kapoor Khan's much-awaited "Veere Di Wedding" but said it would be wrong to call the film her "comeback".

It would be Kareena's first film after son Taimur's birth in December 2016.

When someone called the film Kareena's comeback, Saif quipped, "Had you asked this question to her, she would have probably thrown something at you, like a shoe, maybe. As according to her, she has always been around."



The actor praised Kareena's dedication to her work.

"She's a great artiste and I have seen how well she has concentrated n her health and fitness," he added.

Asked about the Supreme Court's decision that playing of national anthem in cinema halls before a film's screening is no longer mandatory, the actor said he has always supported the administration but urged the government to look into the Section 377, which criminalises homosexuality.

"The government knows what's better. I have always supported the administration. But there are also many other things that need attention. Please also take a look at (Section) 377," he said.

Saif, who was in the capital to promote "Kaalakaandi", faced some bizarre questions at the press conference but ever the gentleman, he replied to each one of them.

He, however, looked exasperated when someone pointed out that cuss-words in films leave a negative impact on children.

"This is a wrong question. We will not answer this. It is not our job. Our job is to just make films," he said.

The actor said he did not mind the film getting an 'A' certificate from the censor board as the subject caters to an adult audience.

"The film getting an 'A' certificate is justified as sometimes the children should not watch certain films. I agree with the censor board. I don't want my children to listen to abuses," said the actor on a question that the film had received multiple cuts because of expletives.

The movie is directed by Akshat Verma of "Delhi Belly" fame and releases this Friday.

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The Income Tax Department today conducted country-wide searches at over 100 stores and other premises belonging to two major south-India based jewellery chains on charges of alleged tax evasion, official sources said.

The action is being carried out against Kerala-based jewellery group Joyalukkas and Manjali jewellers, I-T sources said.

"The searches are in progress," a senior official said tonight.

The raids began early morning at130 premises of the two business houses in the cities of Chennai, Hyderabad, Thrissur and other locations in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal, the sources said.

The action, they said, is aimed at checking alleged tax evasion, following demonetisation, in the two firms.

Sources said the taxman was investigating the "business" links between the two groups also, as part of the action.

Tax sleuths had allegedly detected huge cash deposits and sale figures of gold, diamond and jewellery in their accounts.

The Chennai wing of the department is coordinating the nation-wide action, involving over 100 tax sleuths and a number of police teams, sources said.

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A 26-year-old PhD student of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) here, has gone missing from the JNU campus, police said.

Mukul Jain, enrolled in IGNOU's Life Sciences course, has been missing since January 8, they said.

He was not a registered student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and had gone to meet his research adviser in the JNU campus, and later went missing, police said.

Earlier in the day, police had said, Jain was a student of the JNU.

Director of Research Unit of IGNOU, Kaustuva Barik confirmed that, "Jain was a PhD scholar of the open university whose first supervisor was from the IGNOU, and a co-supervisor from the JNU."



"His first supervisor informed me that the student went missing from the JNU campus, the day before yesterday. He had told his friends that he was going somewhere. We will offer all kind of assistance needed (to trace him)," Barik said.

A missing report was registered in the evening of January 8. It is suspected that he was having some problems in his relationship, said a senior police officer from the South-west District.

Till now, no foul play has been suspected, police said.

Incidentally, the prestigious JNU has been in the for last one year or so for the disappearance of Najeeb Ahmed.

Najeeb, a JNU student, went missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of the university on October 15, 2016, following a scuffle with some other students, allegedly affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the previous night.

Over a month after the incident, his mother moved the Delhi High Court, seeking directions to the police to trace her son.

The high court on May 16 last year handed over to the CBI the investigation into the disappearance of Najeeb, a student of M.Sc in Biotechnology.

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India and Malaysia today discussed cooperation in the field of traditional systems of medicine and the establishment of an Ayurveda Chair at a private university in Malaysia, the AYUSH ministry said here.

As part of an agreement signed in 2010, the two countries held the fifth bilateral technical meeting on cooperation in the field of traditional systems of medicine in New Delhi.

Officials from the two countries discussed several issues, including the setting up of an Ayurveda Chair in University of UTAR in Malaysia and professional training in Panchakarma therapy for Malaysian experts in India, said the statement.

They also discussed the evaluation of safety and efficacy of combining Ayurvedic and traditional products for clinical trials, a bilateral MoU between National Medicinal Plants Board under the AYUSH ministry and Malaysia for cooperation in the field of medicinal plants and registration of homeopathic practitioners and their capacity building module in Malaysia.

The Malaysian side briefed their Indian counterparts on recent developments in traditional medicine in their country.

"They expressed their keen desire for capacity building programmes for their experts in India to understand analytical parameters with regard to Indian medicine and for Panchkarma courses being conducted in India," the statement said.

The AYUSH ministry highlighted the registration of AYUSH practitioners and products in Malaysia and expressed desire to enhance cooperation for designing and developing strategies in the field of traditional medicine in Malaysia, it added.

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Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning expects India to be its third largest market by 2021 on the back of expansion of its product portfolio and sales network.

The company is also aiming to double its India sales to around Rs 4,000 crore in three years.

Currently, India is its fourth largest market, behind China, North America and Japan.

"India is the fourth biggest current market for us...it's growing very fast here and our ambition is to bring that to number three," the firm's VP Global Sales, Marketing and Channel Development Howard Lang told PTI.

Asked by when he expects India to be its third biggest market, he said, "At the growth rate which has been presented, we would see India probably number three by 2021."



The company, a JV between US-based Johnson Controls and Hitachi, Japan, looks at India as an important market, where it is the third most selling AC brand.

"India is a big market for us and we would continue to invest here in manufacturing, sales and marketing," the company's COO Shinichi Iizuka said.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India, which reported a turnover of Rs 1,971.58 crore in 2016-17, is expecting to double the figure to around Rs 4,000 crore by 2021-22.

"We have a growth target of roughly 15 per cent this year but till 2021 we target to reach double of our sales," Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Managing Director Gurmeet Singh said.

The company aims to sell 6.5-7 lakh units this season, he added.

It is also working to enhance its sales network and aims to be available at around 11,000 outlets.

"We are available at 8,500 outlets today and we aim to go to around 11,000 by the end of this year," Singh said.

Presently, tier-I cities contribute around 65 per cent of its sales, while the rest 35 per cent is from tier II and III markets.

"But going ahead, in next two years, it would be 50:50," he added.

The company has a plant in Kadi, Gujarat which has an installed manufacturing capacity of 600,000 room ACs per annum.

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Indian bowler Axar Patel celebrates with teammates after dismissing Australian batsman David Warner during the 5th ODI cricket match at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur on Sunday. (File Photo: PTI)

India will tour Ireland, their first visit to the country since 2007, for a couple of T20 Internationals in June before the full series in England from July to September



The T20 matches will be held in Dublin on June 27 and June 29, the BCCI announced on Wednesday.

India last toured Ireland in 2007 when they played an ODI at Belfast, which the visitors won by nine wickets (via D/L method).

India have played Ireland just once in the T20 format when the two sides met in Nottingham during the 2009 World T20.

The two matches will precede the long tour of England comprising five Tests, three ODIs and as many T20s.

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India said today it will positively engage in the negotiations of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade deal but wants it to be equitable and mutually acceptable, a senior official said today.

The RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement between the 10 ASEAN nations - Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei - and Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

Twenty rounds of negotiations for the deal have concluded, but the 16 participants are yet to resolve issues, including on reaching the final number of goods on which taxes will be eliminated and on matters pertaining to the services sector.

"In any negotiation, we must remember that it has to be equitable and mutually acceptable. We participated in RCEP negotiations in the hope of a balanced and equitable outcome - where there is positives on both sides. We will remain positively engaged in the negotiations and hope for a positive outcome," Preeti Saran, secretary (east), in the Ministry of External Affairs told reporters here.

Talks for the pact had started in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh in November 2012.

India has already implemented a free trade agreement with the ASEAN grouping, Japan and South Korea. And, it was negotiating similar agreements with Australia and New Zealand.

Saran said India will be happy to review the free trade agreement with ASEAN in the next round of discussion.

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Mobile advertising platform InMobi today announced the acquisition of Los Angeles-based AerServ for USD 90 million in cash and stock.

"This acquisition fits in perfectly with our global strategy to bring next generation platforms for premium publishers," InMobi founder and CEO Naveen Tewari said in a statement.

Also, two profitable companies are combining forces to cement leadership position in mobile video advertising, he added.

InMobi, founded in 2007, is backed by Japanese conglomerate, SoftBank.

The combined platforms will bring next-generation mediation capabilities to premium publishers and establish the first programmatic video exchange in India and China, Tewari said.

"Over the next three years, we expect to increase our brand programmatic revenue tenfold with this acquisition and continue our investments in that direction," he added.

Programmatic advertising refers to usage of software to buy advertising, rather than a manual process.

Two-thirds of the world's digital display advertising is expected be traded programmatically by 2019 and advertising sold programmatically will increase from USD 57.5 billion to USD 84.9 billion over the next two years, growing at an average rate of 21 per cent a year, the statement said.

Josh Speyer, Chief Executive Officer at AerServ, said the move will help build a strong business in previously untapped markets such as China and broader Asia Pacific region.

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Innovator and educationist Sonam Wangchuk, the real life Phunsukh Wangdu of Aamir Khan-starrer '3 Idiots', aims to set up a skill-based university at a cost of Rs 800 crore in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

After setting up SECMOL, a non-traditional school which brought in educational reform in the region and improved the number of students clearing exams up to intermediate level, Wangchuk is planning something bigger this time which he believes would help students earn bread and butter income.

The engineer-turned educationist told PTI that he plans to set up a university, Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh, over 200 acres in Phyang Valley. The land has been allotted by the Ladakh Hill Council, he said.

To fund his one-year old idea, Wangchuk has joined hands with crowdfunding platform Milaap to raise initial funding.

"In the first phase, we look to start our first course of integrated mountain development from March-April 2018 for which we need Rs 14 crore. Rs 7 crore will be raised through crowd funding ... on Milaap by January 26, 2018 and another Rs 7 crore is to be collected from corporate CSR to take the plan forward," he said.

The crowd funding campaign has also seen some unthinkable volunteers, he said.

Arjun Rajawat, an 8th grade student from Ridge Valley School, Gurgaon, raised Rs 1 lakh through a campaign of his own among his school friends and relatives. Similarly the Singapore International School, Mumbai raised Rs 2 lakh through various activities done by its students.

"I gave up everything for the people of this far-off region. I myself have given Rs 2 crore ... I invite investors to come to Ladakh and see what are the issues from to basic lifestyle here and help me in this dream," Wangchuk said.

When asked about degrees to be offered to students, he replied there will two models of eduction -- one will be a recognised course and the other will be more a "non-degree skill-based" programme.

The certified course will be paid and students of the skill-based courses will be paid by the university. Teachers can be anyone from the field of agriculture, business, tourism. They must have practical knowledge than just a degree with high marks, he said, adding talks are on with the Jammu and Kashmir government for certification.

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Middle-class Afghans turned jihadists have assisted the Islamic State group's expansion from its stronghold in Afghanistan's restive east to Kabul, analysts say, helping to make the capital one of the deadliest places in the country.

IS has claimed nearly 20 attacks across Kabul in 18 months, with cells including students, professors and shopkeepers evading Afghan and US security forces to bring carnage to the highly fortified city.

It is an alarming development for Kabul's war-weary civilians and beleaguered security forces, who are already struggling to beat back the resurgent Taliban, as well as the US counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan.

"This is not just a group that has a rural bastion in eastern Afghanistan - it is staging high casualty, high visibility attacks in the nation's capital and I think that's something to be worried about," said analyst Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center in Washington.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K), the Middle East group's affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, emerged in the region in 2014, largely made up of disaffected fighters from the Taliban and other jihadist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

It claimed its first attack in Kabul in the summer of 2016. Since then the Sunni group has struck at security forces and Shiites with increasing frequency, helped by its growing network in the capital.

There is no shortage of recruits, analysts say. IS has successfully tapped a rich vein of extremism in Afghanistan that has existed for decades and crosses socio-economic groups - fanned by growing internet access among urban youth.

"We are talking about a generation which has been desensitised to different types of violence and violent extremism," said Borhan Osman, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

"It should not come as a surprise that some of the youth inculcated in the ideology of jihadism embrace the next version of jihadism, the most violent one."



Members and supporters of IS cells in Kabul hide in the open, living with their families and going to classes or work every day, Osman said.

The militants meet at night to discuss jihad, or holy war, and plot attacks on targets in the city they know well - well enough to adapt to changes, such as tightened security in the wake of a massive truck bomb in May that killed around 150 people.

"It's an adaptive structure reacting to the counter measures," a Western diplomat told AFP.

"From May to December what we have seen is different types of attacks, smaller attacks that are getting through."



An Afghan security source previously told AFP that "20 or more" IS-K cells were operating in the city.

Osman, an expert on militant networks in Afghanistan, said it was difficult to know how many IS-K fighters were in Kabul but their ranks were constantly being replenished by the group's recruitment efforts on social media as well as in universities, schools and mosques.

"You can't say they are all poor - a number of them come from middle-class Kabuli families. Some are university educated. Some have a high school education," he said, adding that most have some religious education as well.

An Afghan security source agreed. "The new wave of extremists is not an uneducated farmer. It is mainly people with a good level of education," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

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The Bombay High Court said today it was time the Maharashtra government took note of the poor condition of roads in the state and the failure on part of the civic corporations and district councils to fix potholes.

A division bench of justices A S Oka and P N Deshmukh made the observation while hearing suo motu a public interest litigation on pothole-ridden roads and the increasing number of accidents because of them.

"The time has come for the state government to step in and start monitoring the issue. The state government is not powerless. If local authorities and bodies are not doing anything then the state has powers to take action," Justice Oka said.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation informed the bench that till December 31, 2017, it had received 239 complaints related to potholes in the city, of which 157 were resolved.

A court official told the bench that in rest of the state, 555 complaints were received, of which 477 were yet to be resolved.

The court also sought to know if the traffic police department can help in the issue.

"The traffic police is fully aware of potholes on each and every road... Potholes lead to traffic congestion. They can give a feedback and help local bodies," the court said.

The bench posted the matter for final hearing on January 19.

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Italy's Five Star Movement, which promised supporters a referendum on the euro, has had a change of heart, insisting it can win concessions from Europe to ease eurozone fiscal rules instead.

When in 2013 the anti-establishment party urged a vote on the single currency, "Germany had a monolithic government, the French-German axis was very strong, Britain was still fully involved," Five Star (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio said today.

"It was very difficult to negotiate. Today, everything has changed," he told TGCOM24 television.

"Germany has been struggling for 90 days to put a government together, Spain has a minority government, France's traditional parties are weaker than ever.

"It's time to change the rules on the euro, not leave the euro," he added.

The movement has been steadily distancing itself from the idea of a referendum as it gears up for its first run at national leadership at the March 4 general elections.

Founded in 2009 and the leading single party in opinion polls, M5S supports a hotchpotch of policies from across the political spectrum.

Popular with younger voters in particular, it is accused by critics of being too immature to take over at the helm of the eurozone's third largest economy.

Di Maio, 31, said yesterday a vote on the euro "would be an 'extrema ratio'," a Latin term for the last possible solution.

The euro has become a hot topic in the campaign. Former three-time conservative prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday that Italy could not afford to leave the single currency -- but his centre-right coalition partner contradicted him immediately.

"(Northern League head Matteo) Salvini has changed his mind on leaving the euro, he has understood that it would be untenable for our economy," Berlusconi told Radio Capital.

But Claudio Borghi, the anti-immigrant party's head economist, said that "the moment the League gets into government it will make all the necessary preparations for monetary sovereignty".

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Former Delhi University academic G N Saibaba's life is in danger because of lack of medical care in prison, his wife Vasantha Kumari said today.

Saibaba, who taught English at Delhi University's Ramlal Anand College, was last year sentenced to life imprisonment for Maoist links and is at present lodged in the Nagpur Central Prison.

Speaking to reporters here at the Press Club of India, Kumari said even though he suffered from 19 ailments, he did not have access to proper medical care.

"He is even finding it difficult to pass stool and urine," she said.

She alleged that the prison authorities censored his letters and held back or denied him sweaters and other items that she sent him.

"Things like sweaters, magazines and blankets were given to him after a month. Some went undelivered. They are not even allowing him to see my child's assignments," she said.

Kumari, who has maintained that Saibaba's conviction was erroneous, demanded that he be granted bail on medical grounds.

The wheel chair-bound lecturer, who is 90 per cent disabled, should else be immediately shifted to a jail in Hyderabad, where Saibaba's mother and other relatives live, she said.

Kumari said she had met Union Home Minister Rajnath seeking his intervention in the case last year. The minister had assured her that Saibaba would get adequate medical treatment, she added.

Former Delhi University Teachers' Association president Nandita Narain, who also took part in the press meet, said chances of Saibaba surviving in the present condition were feeble.

"It looks like the authorities have planned to let him die a slow death. This is just murder. Why has he been denied his right to life," she asked.

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JNUSU office bearers have been called for proctorial enquiry after they, along with students, tried to meet the VC to revoke compulsory attendance decision, which the varsity termed as a "protest demonstration" in "violation" of a Delhi High Court order.

Last year, the Delhi High Court ruled that students cannot protest within 100 metres of the administration building on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

On January 4, a large number of students, led by the JNU Students Union, had gone to meet the vice chancellor to submit a memorandum, carrying over 2,000 signatures, against the compulsory attendance move by the university.

The notice issued by Chief Proctor Kaushal Kumar Sharma to JNUSU central panel comprising President, Vice President, Joint Secretary and General Secretary termed it a "protest demonstration" that "violated" the Delhi High Court order.

"This is in reference to the incident dated January 4, which pertains to a protest demonstration by a gathering of about 50 persons (including yourself) around 11.30 am near the staircase leading to the administrative block. This act is in violation of the HC order," the notice said.

"You are directed to appear for hearing before the proctorial committee on January 11 to explain your position in this regard," it said.

The chief proctor was not available for comments.

JNUSU President Geeta Kumari said, "JNU VC through the proctor's office is misinterpreting JNUSU's presence with students to meet the VC as protest! The fact is, VC refused to meet while student waited. However, the Union left ad bloc upon receiving appointment from VC.

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Members of Koli community from various states today expressed the resolve to strengthen their organisation so as to "effectively negotiate" better representation in the BJP and the Congress during elections.

Representatives of the community from 15 states assembled in Ahmedabad today to demand better representation of their MLAs in both the parties in Gujarat and to chalk out a strategy for states which will go to polls in coming months.

"In Gujarat, the community is aggrieved with both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress for not allotting senior Koli leaders the posts they deserved," said Gujarat chapter of Akhil Bharatya Koli Samaj president Chandravadan Pethawalla after the meeting.

As many as 33 MLAs in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly are Kolis, who accounts for around 24 per cent of the state population, he said.

Among the 33 legislators, 11 are from the BJP and 12 from the Congress, Pethawalla said.

"This was significantly higher than the 17 Koli MLAs who were elected last time," he said.

Pethawalla said despite being a numerically significant community, Koli MLAs are not getting the posts they deserve in the BJP as well as the Congress.

He said the Congress "ignored" the demand of the Koli community to make senior MLA Kunwarji Bavaliya as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Gujarat.

"Similarly, the ruling BJP did not give five-time MLA Purshottam Solanki a Cabinet rank (in the Vijay Rupani government)," he said.

Both Bavaliya and Solanki had recently staked claims for LoP and a Cabinet portfolio, respectively.

"While the Congress picked Paresh Dhanani as the LoP, the BJP assured Solanki that it would consider his demand. However, his demand is not met yet," Pethawalla said.

Despite Bavaliya being a senior leader and the national secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Koli Samaj who had worked hard for the Congress to perform well in Saurashtra region, he was not given the position he deserved, he claimed.

Pethawalla said the Koli community was "hurt" because of the manner in which political parties are treating their leaders.

"At 26 per cent, we form a significant chunk of population across the country. We today resolved to strengthen our political position so that we could negotiate better with political parties during elections," Pethawalla said.

He said the organisation would write to the BJP and the Congress at national level and seek appointments from their top brass to put forward demands of the community and to express grievances.

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Three persons were today arrested from Ahmednagar district by Pune Police in connection with the killing of a 30-year-old man during the caste clashes near Koregaon Bhima on January 1.

Rahul Phatangale was killed allegedly during the violence near Koregaon Bhima in Pune district. A case against unidentified persons had been registered.

Phatangale was allegedly assaulted by a group of people when he was on his way home.

"We have arrested three persons from Ahmednagar and all of them have confessed to attacking Phatangale with stones and sticks," said Superintendent of Police Suvez Haque.

Police have withheld the identity of the three accused.

An officer of the local crime branch said the police had obtained video footage of the attack on Phatangale.

"Faces of some of the attackers were clearly seen in the footage, and based on the video, these three persons were tracked down," said the officer.

More people were involved in the incident and police were trying to identify them, he said.

The violence occurred during the bicentennial event to commemorate the Koregaon-Bhima battle in which British imperial forces comprising Dalits had defeated the army of Peshwas.

Dalits view the historic battle as the defeat of "casteist" Peshwas who had represented the Maratha empire.

On January 1, several vehicles, shops, houses were vandalised and torched by mobs in areas near Koregaon Bhima.

Lakhs of Dalits visit the Koregaon Ranstambh (victory pillar) every year to commemorate the Koregaon Bhima battle.

It is seen as a symbol of Dalit assertion against upper- caste rulers, but some pro-Hindutva organisations had opposed celebration of the British victory against a native army.

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The four government mints in Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida and Hyderabad have stopped production of coins owing to a glut in the market and lack of storage space, government sources said today.

State-run Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), which runs the mints, had in a directive yesterday said the "production of circulation coins is being stopped with immediate effect".

The notice added that the mints will continue to function during normal working hours "without any overtime for staff".

RBI sources said the calibration of coin production needs to take place from time to time based on an assessment of the coins in circulation and storage space. Right now, there is no space with banks or the RBI to store the coins.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) picks up the coins from the mints for circulation in the market.

The banks have run out of storage space mainly because of the junked banknotes deposited with them following demonetisation in November 2016.

As the monetary authority, the RBI reviews the supply and usage of coins on a regular basis and informs the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), which then communicates with SPMCIL.

The RBI sources added that these are temporary exercises and are undertaken regularly in order to ensure smooth supply of coins to the public.

"If such an exercise is not undertaken, there can be a backlash or push-back from the public, wherein it will stop accepting that denomination of coin of which there is an excess," a source said.

The SPMCIL notice also said that as on January 8, 2018, there was an inventory of 2,528 million pieces of circulation coins lying in the government mints.

The decision to halt coin production has not got down well with employees of mints as their pay is likely to get affected following the move.

There are around 1,400 employees at the Kolkata mint who agitated during the day condemning the move.

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Lieutenant General Yenduru Venkata Krishna Mohan today took over as the 13th Corps Commander of the Rising Star Corps from Lt Gen S K Saini.

A highly decorated soldier of the 7th Battalion the 11th Gorkha Rifles, Lt. Gen. Mohan has had an illustrious career during which he commanded an Infantry Brigade in High-Altitude Area and a Mountain Division along the China frontier, a defence spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that Lt. Gen. Mohan has excelled in various professional courses during his service.

Lt. Gen. Mohan is a graduate of the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, and has studied at the Royal College of Defence Studies, London.

The 9 Corps, also known as the Rising Star Corps, was raised in 2005 and is the Indian Army's youngest corps. It is based in Yol cantonment town in Kangra Valley, southeast of Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.

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A powerful and shallow 7.6- magnitude earthquake has hit the waters off the coast of Honduras, triggering tsunami threats and advisories for nearby Caribbean shores, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake struck at 0820 IST late yesterday and its epicenter was located some 27 miles (44 kilometers) east of Great Swan Island, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). It was provisionally considered to be shallow.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said authorities had activated the country's emergency system, but urged people to "please remain calm."



"Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1,000 kilometers of the earthquake epicenter," the US National Weather Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Tsunami advisories, which are a level below "warnings" were issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Belize and Jamaica meanwhile were issued "threat" warnings of waves between 0.3 to one meter (a foot to 3.3 feet) high.

The USGS's PAGER algorithm assigned the event a "green alert," meaning a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

"Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist," it said.

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With no secrecy of personal data in the age of social media, the institution of marriage is turning into a threat, Delhi High Court judge Hima Kohli has said.

Justice Kohli, who was delivering a keynote address at a seminar on 'Mirage or Marriage: destined marriage and forethought divorce', expressed serious concerns over the growing nuisance related to marital relationships in India.

"In today's age of social media, there is least or no secrecy in terms of sharing of personal data. In these circumstances, the wonderful institution of marriage is almost turning into a threat, as old cultural values and respect for life partner gets dissolved with each passing day," she said.

The judge also said in family courts, numerous cases related to domestic violence or marital rapes are pending.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, who also addressed the event said that marriages should evolve to become more dynamic in nature.

"The new indulgence of people into planning their divorces to curb the rights of their spouses is creating a sense of insecurity among the society at large," Luthra said.

The event was recently curated by Amritam Charitable Trust and jointly organised at the Indian Habitat Centre here and prominent members of the legal fraternity.

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Mathura refinery has decided to go for innovation and revamp of its two units to meet the challenge of 100 per cent production of BS-VI grade fuel by 2020, a director said.

"With the addition of third reactor in series to the existing two reactors and furnace, Prime G (gasoline de- sulphurization) unit of Mathura refinery is being revamped for ensuring BS-VI petrol with sulphur content 8ppm (wt)," Mathura Refinery's Executive Director Larry Wright Khongwir told reporters yesterday.

He added both the revamped units are expected to be commissioned by September 2019.

India plans to leapfrog to BS-VI fuel norms, which are equivalent to Euro-VI norms, by April 2020 directly from current BS-IV norms. However, the government has advanced implementation the BS-VI fuels in the National Capital from 2018 to curb emissions.

Khongwir said the biggest target for the refinery this year is to supply BS-VI high speed diesel (HSD) to Delhi NCR.

Since the targets for BS-VI fuels to Delhi NCR has been revised, it has decided to go for some innovations also.

So far BS-VI compliant HSD has been supplied to major automobile giants like Mahindra & Mahindra, JCB India Limited, Bosch Limited, Honda Motors, and Daimler India Commercial & Atlas Copco, he said.

Mathura refinery has maximum production potential of 50 thousand metric ton per month (TMTPM) of BS-VI MS (petrol) and 140 TMTPM of BS-VI HSD.

To meet the National Capital's requirement, Mathura refinery is required to supply 20 TMT of BS-VI MS & 50 TMT of BS-VI HSD.

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US President Donald Trump today claimed the media will ultimately support him, as otherwise their ratings and businesses would be impacted.

Trump said this a day after he opened to the press almost his entire meeting with the Congressional leadership on immigration.

For this they got great ratings and reviews.

Trump told his Cabinet colleagues that he received letter of congratulations from anchors.

"Then, after that, they were called by their bosses for saying, 'Oh, wait a minute'. And, unfortunately, a lot of those anchors sent us letters saying that was one of the greatest meetings they've ever witnessed. And they were great. For about two hours, they were phenomenal. And then they went a little bit south on us, but not that bad. It was fine," Trump told his Cabinet colleagues.

They probably wish they didn't send us those letters of congratulations. But it was good. I'm sure their ratings were fantastic; they always are -- which is why I think the media will ultimately support Trump in the end, because they're going to say, if Trump doesn't win in three years, they're all out of business," Trump said amid laughter from his Cabinet members.

"You guys will be out of business. But the boom holders are still going to be there, so that's good. Those are the people I like," Trump said referring to the media present in the room.

Trump has a love-hate relationship with the media ever since he started his presidential election campaign.

He often attacks the mainstream media and has branded some of them as "fake news" including CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Next week, he is planning a Fake Award for the media outlet he dislikes the most.

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The Union Home Ministry has sanctioned Rs 226 crore to the paramilitary forces for procurement of telecommunication equipment and some other gadgets, an official said.

The sanctioned amount of Rs 226 crore is being given to the CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB and the forces will utilise the fund as per their operational requirements, the official said.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is mostly deployed in anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir, anti-Naxal operations in central and eastern India, the Northeastern states and other internal security duties.

The Border Security Force guards the Indo-Pak and Indo- Bangla borders, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police protects the Sino-Indian border and the SSB is deployed along the Indo- Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) provides security to vital installations, including nuclear plants and airports.

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Former defence minister Manohar Parrikar today said the consultancy deal with a South Korean firm for building minesweepers for the Indian Navy could not be finalised because its tender didn't meet the prescribed terms and conditions.

A dozen mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs) or minesweepers were to be built at the Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) in collaboration with the South Korean firm Kangnam Corporation.

The GSL was given the Rs 32,000-crore project when Parrikar was the defence minister.

However, negotiations with Kangnam hit a dead-end and the government has now decided to start a fresh process to procure minesweepers.

Responding to a question at a press conference here, Parrikar said only the role of the consultant in building these vessels has been cancelled by the defence ministry, and not the order given to the GSL, a Public Sector Undertaking.

"What is cancelled is the role of a consultant. (That) particular consultant's tender was not as per the rules and regulations. So they (the defence ministry) are re-floating it," he said.

"The exercise carried out by the Goa Shipyard (to finalise the deal) could not be completed because of certain terms and conditions by the Korean company," he said.

To build minesweepers, one requires certain technology as the boats are built with fibre glass or non-metallic substance, said Parrikar, now the chief minister of Goa.

"That technology is not available with India," he said



"What is cancelled is the process to select the collaborator. It is consultant's tender which is being re- floated and not the order given to the Goa Shipyard.

"We need those minesweepers urgently and selection of the new consultant has to be done very fast," he said.

On suggestions that a delay in finalising the new contractor would prolong the construction of minesweepers, he said, "These are projects which are drawn over 8-10 years and they can absorb this kind of delay. The delay of up to one year can be absorbed."



Two days back, GSL Chairman, Rear Admiral (retd) Shekhar Mital had told PTI, "We will issue fresh EoI (Expression of Interest) for the project very soon. It will be issued this month."Sources have said the GSL had to call off the negotiations with Kangnam following differences over a host of issues including terms and conditions for technology transfer.

The EoI is likely to be issued to a number of foreign defence majors which build minesweepers.

According to original understanding, the GSL and Kangnam were to build 12 minesweepers under the 'Make in India' initiative of the government. However, both sides struggled to finalise various key aspects of the project.

The minesweeper ships detect and destroy underwater mines and are considered vital for keeping the critical sea lanes safe.

The Navy badly needs the minesweepers to guard India's critical sea lanes in the backdrop of China's growing naval might in the Indian Ocean region.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said the government was planning a law to create a separate category for orphans appearing for various competitive exams.

Citing a case of an orphan girl who cleared the state Public Service Commission (MPSC) examination, Fadnavis said the government was mulling a law creating a separate category for orphan candidates.

"Recently, an orphan girl who passed the MPSC exam met me. The issue is if an orphan candidate like her is put in general category, she is not on merit list. If she is in SC/ST or OBC category, she is in the merit (list).

"Since she is an orphan, her caste is not known. To resolve this issue we plan to enact a law where orphans appearing for competitive exams will be in a separate category," he said.

Fadnavis was speaking at a function where awards were distributed to journalists.

The event was organised by the Mantralaya and Vidhimandal Vartahar Sangh at Raj bhavan.

The CM said the government accorded an in-principle approval for pension to journalists and the final decision will be taken soon.

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Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, toured the UK in the 1990s to incite Muslims to become jihadis, according to a media report.

A BBC investigation has said that Saeed, one of the world's most wanted terror suspects, who now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) group in Pakistan, had toured British mosques in 1995 and his visit was recorded in a magazine published by the LeT at the time.

During the tour, Saeed spoke in Birmingham where he denounced the Hindus and urged his audience to "rise up for jihad". In Leicester, he spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 young people, according to the BBC Radio 4 documentary, titled 'The Dawn of British Jihad', aired last night.

"There is non-stop talk about jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him," Sajid Iqbal, one of the programme's producers, told BBC Scotland.

While in Glasgow, Saeed addressed a large gathering at the Central Mosque and claimed Zionists were using billions of dollars to "kill the spirit of Jihad" or the Holy War among Muslims.

"They are trying to entice Muslims to the politics of power through democracy. They are also using the interest- based economy to keep Muslims in debt," Saeed told his audience.

The documentary's producer said he was surprised that Glasgow Central Mosque had opened its doors to a "known militant" because it is run by Deobandi, a different denomination of British Muslims to Saeed's Ahl-e-Hadith community.

"Even in 1995, he was a known militant, active in Kashmir," said Iqbal.

Glasgow Central Mosque has not commented on the report.

Lashkar-E-Taiba, promoted by Hafiz Saeed on his tour of Britain, was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Home Office in March 2001.

On November 26, 2008, the Pakistan-based group was linked with the deadly wave of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai lasting four days, which claimed 166 lives and injured hundreds others.
Naga people from various states of the country and Myanmar came together today to observe the Naga Day here to commemorate submission of the memorandum on the Naga rights to the Simon Commission in 1929.

The theme of the programme organised by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) was "Nagas without borders



Nurturing cooperation taking steps to Naga unity".

"Nagas live in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Burma and by coming together we demonstrate our collective desire to live as one people," FNR Convener Rev Wati Aier said.

An 18-point declaration was adopted at the programme on issues concerning issues such as Naga Reconciliation, Naga Political struggle and Naga Day.

"As Nagas we say sorry to each other for the hurts we have caused to one another in words, attitudes and actions thus provoking the worst in each other and damaging ourselves," the declaration on Naga Reconciliation read.

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Seeking to attract more Dutch visitors to India, a holiday fair showcasing major Indian tourist destinations is being held in the Netherlands' city of Utrecht.

Mayor of Utrecht, Jan van Zanen inaugurated the 'Incredible India' and Kerala tourism exhibitions yesterday, a statement by the Indian Embassy here said.

Among the attractions, is a virtual reality tour of India's select tourism spots for visitors to the 'Vakantiebeurs' fair.

The mayor was the first to view major Indian tourist attractions in 'virtual reality' - a novel initiative by the Indian mission in collaboration with India's tourism department, it said.

As a special attraction, visitors also had an opportunity to take pictures of themselves with monuments such as the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar among others as well as wildlife and natural landscapes, the statement said.

Virtual reality offers immersive, 3-D experiences via videos with 360-degree perspectives through which visitors are able to enjoy the experience of visiting the Qutub Minar, Amer Palace, Khajuraho, Nalanda, Kailashnath Temple, Athirappiliy waterfalls, Alappuzha backwaters and various other cultural and natural landmarks in India.

The stalls were inaugurated with the mayor and India's Ambassador to the Netherlands Venu Rajamony lighting the traditional Indian lamp.

'Vakantiebeurs' or holiday fair, is held every year in Utrecht in the heart of the Netherlands and attracts a large number of visitors.

There has been a steady increase in the number of tourists from the Netherlands to India with approximately 21,000 electronic visas issued in 2017.

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"By effectively eliminating this deduction, the new federal tax law unfairly punishes families living in states that send money to the federal government than we get back in federal investments," Lowey said. "This is unacceptable, and our bill is a necessary step to providing tax relief  not more burdens  for New York families."

The Lowey-King bill received support from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has spoken out against the GOP tax plan.

Cuomo opposed the tax law mainly due to the changes to the state and local tax deduction. He has threatened to file a legal challenge against the tax plan. But he lauded King and Lowey for working together to advocate for the restoration of the deduction.

"These members are doing what they were elected to do  protect New Yorkers," Cuomo said. "They showed that New York won't take this assault sitting down, and I will continue to do everything possible to right this economic injustice."

The House is unlikely to consider the bill. While Democrats and a small number of Republicans would support the proposal, there may not be enough votes to pass the measure.

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Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Health and Medical Education Bali Bhagat today said the government has accepted most of the demands of National Health Mission staff in the state and their demand of regularisation of job is being looked into.

During the Zero Hour of the Assembly, he said a four- member committee constituted by the government to look into the demands of the National Health Mission (NHM) employees in the state has presented its report and the recommendations are under consideration.

Bhagat said the panel has presented a detailed report on the strength of NHM employees in the state, financial implication, regularisation of service and other issues.

The minister was responding to concerns expressed by MLAs Satpal Sharma, Er Abdul Rasheed, Pawan Kumar Gupta, Yawar Ahmad Mir, Rajiv Jasrotia, R S Pathania and M Y Tarigami over problems being faced by patients due to prolonged strike of NHM staff in Jammu and Kashmir.

Bhagat said in its report, the committee has put the number of NHM employees in the state at 8,402 and their regularisation in one go would have a financial implication of Rs 224 crore on the state exchequer.

The minister said the panel has recommended phased regularisation of the employees starting with 1,020 staff which would involve financial implication of Rs 27.41 crore.

However, the minister said, the government has met several other demands of NHM employees.

He said earlier, maternity leave for three months without salary had been granted for the staff, but now they can avail the leave along with perks.

The staff are also entitled to EPF, accident insurance and other incentives, Bhagat said.

The minister praised the contribution of NHM employees and appealed them to resume their duty.

More than 11,000 NHM employees have been on strike since December 20 in support of their various demands, including regularisation of jobs.

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Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world worth more than USD 1 trillion, wants to be able to invest in companies that are not listed on the stock market, it said in a letter published today.

Intended to finance Norway's welfare state when the country's oil runs dry, 65.9 per cent of the fund is currently invested in equities, 31.6 per cent in bonds and 2.5 per cent in real estate.

The Norwegian central bank, in charge of managing the fund, is always on the look-out for ways of diversifying its investments and maximising its profits.

In the letter to the finance ministry, the bank recommended investing in unlisted groups, citing historical data which suggested they could offer a "slightly higher" return than listed companies.

The number of listed companies appears to have declined in recent decades, the bank argued, pointing to a nearly 50- per cent drop in the number of American companies listed in the United States since 1996.

In practise, the bank recommended starting with investing in or alongside private equity funds.

It is now up to the finance ministry to review the recommendation before submitting a proposal to the parliament, which has the final say.

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In a bid to prevent PILs by fictitious persons, the Madras High Court has directed its registry to collect the litigants' Aadhaar card copy along with other documents at the time of filing.

A division bench comprising justices M Sathyanarayana and R Hemalatha gave the directive, saying instances of PILs being filed by fictitious persons had been brought to the notice of the court.

In future, the registry should ensure that it collects Aadhar card copy from the petitioners. In case if any petitioner had not yet applied for Aadhar, a copy of the ration card or voter identity card should be taken, the bench said.

The court was dismissing a petition filed by Kandhasamy seeking to quash the notice issued by the Revenue Inspector of Kariapatti for removing the encroachment made by him in front of his house.

The judges said the petitioner, who had filed a PIL earlier for removal of encroachments, had himself encroached and had not come with a clean hand.
Making a U-turn on Mahadayi river water sharing issue, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today said that ongoing dispute with Karnataka will be fought before the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal.

Parrikar, who has been facing flak over his letter on the dispute to Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa last December, today blamed the media for "making an issue out of a non-issue".

In his missive sent to Yeddyurappa, Parrikar had said Goa could share the river water with Karnataka for drinking purposes and expressed his willingness for bilateral talks.

The letter created a controversy as it was addressed to the BJP leader instead to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who represents the state government.

The letter, which was viewed as a political gambit by Parrikar ahead of assembly polls in the Congress-ruled southern state, had evoked a sharp reaction from Siddaramaiah and various opposition parties.

Mahadayi river riparian states Karnataka and Goa, besides Maharashtra, have been locked in a bitter dispute over sharing of the water.

While addressing media persons today over his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, Parrikar blamed media for blowing the Mahadayi issue out of proportion.

"Mahadayi issue is created by you (media) for the sake of The fight over distribution of Mahadayi river water is before the tribunal and we will fight it there," he said when asked if the issue came up for discussion during his meeting with the prime minister.

The Mahadayi (called Mandovi in Goa) originates in Karnataka and flows to Goa and Maharashtra.

The water sharing issue is politically sensitive one, especially in five north Karnataka districts.

The southern state is going to polls later this year.

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Admissions to the entry-level classes in Delhi under the economically weaker section and disadvantaged group categories will begin from January 22, with the Delhi government issuing guidelines for the process.

While those belonging to families with annual income less than Rs 1 lakh can seek admission under the economically weaker section (EWS) category, the disadvantaged group (DG) category applicants include -- SC, ST, OBC, non-creamy layer, physically challenged, orphan and transgender and all children living with or affected by HIV.

"Admissions of the EWS and DG category shall be made through computerised lottery system in the said schools against 25 per cent seats reserved," a notification by the Directorate of (DoE) said.

The application process for the two categories will begin on January 22 and will conclude on February 21. The first list will be displayed on March 7 and subsequent lists will come out during the month, it said.

The DoE has asked each participating school to upload the details of residential areas falling in its neighbourhood till January 15 and for the subsequent three days suggestions will be taken from schools regarding residential areas in the neighbourhood by a team set-up at the zonal-level for further streamlining of details.

The nursery admission process for approximately 1,600 private schools in the national capital began on December 27, with the government deciding not to impose any upper age limit this year.

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The local civic body has received applications from 14 entities to set up rooftop restaurants after it unveiled a policy in this regard in November but only one of them has got the nod so far, a civic official said.

Interestingly, '1Above', the high-end pub in the Kamala Mill Compound, where a devastating fire killed 14 people on December 29, is among the applicants, but its plea is still under process.

In November last year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) came up with a rooftop restaurant policy. It put in place guidelines and riders for granting licences to start rooftop restaurants in the metropolis.

"We have received 14 common business applications so far from the owners of hotels and restaurants, seeking permission to run rooftop eateries in night.

"Only one of them has been accorded the permission," BMC executive health officer Padmaja Keskar told PTI today.

The entity which has received the approval is Hotel Four Season, while the others applications are being processed, she said.

'1Above' had started its rooftop pub despite not getting formal approval from the civic body, another senior official, seeking anonymity, said.

The eateries which have filed applications for approval to set up rooftop restaurants include London Taxi, Hotel St Regis, Hotel Shisha and Sky View Cafe.

Among the 13 pending applicants, a few have been found ineligible to start such outlets and their applications may be rejected, the official said, but did not reveal their names.

The BMC came out with the policy with an aim to boost the hospitality industry and revive Mumbai's night life.

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The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was today rocked by Opposition protests over the killing of a civilian in south Kashmir.

As the House assembled, members of National Conference (NC), Congress and CPI(M) stood up from their seats and raised slogans against civilian killings in the state.

According to reports, the civilian was killed during protests in south Kashmir's Kudwani region yesterday.

The united opposition sought a statement in this regard from the state government. They walked into well of the House and raised banners of 'Stop Civilian Killing'.

The opposition parties also disrupted the assembly proceedings and later staged a walkout.

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Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan today said coming together to ensure consolidation of the 69 per cent of votes which went against the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections is the challenge Opposition is facing.

"It's a tough challenge, and we are working on it. The BJP got 31 per cent of votes in 2014 and no way the figure would increase in 2019. The Narendra Modi government has one year to stop making tall promises, event management and sloganeering and to fulfil the expectations it raised," Chavan said.

The former Maharashtra chief minister was addressing a meet at the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) here.

The Modi government's claim that demonetisation will destroy black money and corruption had proved to be completely unfounded, he claimed.

Chavan also said that had the Congress and NCP not split up before the Assembly polls in Maharashtra in 2014, they would have had 35 per cent vote share together, and the election result could have been different.

The BJP-led Union government has not taken the agrarian crisis seriously, he said. The state government has not fulfilled its promise to enact a law to ensure that farmers get Minimum Support Price (MSP), he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised remunerative prices for farm produce during the election campaign, Chavan pointed out.

If farmers' income is protected despite losses in production and or price drop, there will be no demand for loan waiver, he said.

"Hopes were raised but promises were not fulfilled," he said.

Chavan also demanded that the Modi government explain the provisions of Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) bill to people.

"The bill may be necessary to address bankruptcy issues. But there is lot of scare among depositors about its provisions which need to be addressed....The government had failed to address the GST issues and it shouldn't repeat the mistake with the FRDI bill," he said.

Demonetisation and poor implementation of the Goods and Services Tax damaged the growth rate, he said.

He also pointed out that the economy wasn't attracting private investment.

Modi government's thrust on bullet trains was misconceived as the stress should be on indigenously-built high-speed trains, he said.

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Pakistan today claimed that India was "distracting" it from counter-terrorism efforts as it briefed foreign diplomats on the country's credentials amid criticism by the US for providing safe havens to militants.

Ambassadors and Heads of Mission of resident Missions in Islamabad were briefed by the Foreign Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chief of General Staff (CGS), Director General Military Operations (DGMO) and Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Foreign Office said that the diplomats were told about Pakistan's "achievements and challenges" in counter- terrorism efforts and combating violent extremism.

"Details were also provided on how Indian belligerence and unhelpful posturing is distracting Pakistan's counter terrorism efforts and how an active RAW/NDS nexus is verifiably working to undermine Pakistan's internal stability," the FO said.

The envoys were provided details about the success of military operations which had eliminated terrorist presence in Pakistan.

They were also briefed about the terrorist threat emanating from the safe havens and sanctuaries in Afghanistan, which is resulting in loss of human lives and damage to infrastructure in Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif stated that the briefing had been arranged to inform the diplomatic corps about the massive counter-terrorism efforts that Pakistan had undertaken in the last 16 years and the developments in the last four years.

The briefing comes as the US in recent days stepped up efforts to put pressure on Pakistan to do more to combat terrorism.

The Trump administration last week suspended nearly USD 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan for its failure to take decisive action against terror groups like the Taliban and the Haqqani Network.

The members of the diplomatic corps condoled the loss of human lives in the terrorist attack in Quetta yesterday.

A suicide bomber yesterday blew himself up near Pakistan's Balochistan Assembly, killing six persons including four policemen and injuring 18 others.

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A prominent Pakistani journalist, a vocal critic of Pakistan's powerful military, today said he was beaten and threatened with death by nearly a dozen unidentified armed men who tried to abduct him.

Taha Siddiqui, the Pakistani bureau chief of Indian television channel WION, said he was attacked by 10-12 men while he was going to the airport in Rawalpindi but managed to escape before being kidnapped, suffering minor injuries during the struggle, Dawn reported.

Siddiqui recounted the details of the kidnapping attempt in a series of tweets.

"I was on my way to [the] airport today at 8:20 am when 10-12 armed men stopped my cab [and] forcibly tried to abduct me," Siddiqui, the winner of France's highest journalism award - The Albert Londres Prize, said in a tweet.

"Saale ko goli maaro (shoot him)," the men, who Taha said were armed with Kalashnikovs and pistols, shouted.

In his post, Siddiqui further said that he had managed to escape the kidnapping attempt and that he was "safe and with the police now".

"Looking for support in any way possible," Siddiqui added, ending his tweet with the hashtag #StopEnforcedDisappearances.

Superintendent of Police Mustafa Tanveer confirmed that Siddiqui, who is the Pakistan bureau chief at World Is One News, approached police soon after the incident.

Tanveer said that Siddiqui was in a private taxi when he was stopped by armed men.

Islamabad Police has began investigating the case.

Siddiqui was "beaten [and] threatened with death", said journalist Asad Hashim in a tweet.

In May last year, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had issued a notice to Siddiqui, known for posting comments on social media against the military, and asked him to appear before its counterterrorism wing.

The Pakistani military has so far denied playing a role in any enforced disappearances, as has the civilian government. Militants have also targeted journalists in the past.

Siddiqui had filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court alleging that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had harassed him over the phone.

In his petition, Siddiqui had alleged that a man named Noman Bodla, who identified himself as a member of the Counter Terrorism Department of the FIA, had called him and attempted to pressure him into appearing for an 'interrogation' at the FIA headquarters.

He had added in his petition that Siddiqui mentioned that he "was reluctant to go to the FIA Headquarters on the basis that there have been several reports in the press where such phone calls are made and once the person who is to be interrogated sets out to the FIA Headquarters, he is either picked up and disappeared or detained illegally."



On May 24, the IHC had asked the FIA to stop harassing the journalist.

Incidents of enforced disappearances have been reported with alarming frequency in Pakistan.

In November, the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, placed Pakistan among the most dangerous countries for journalists.

Pakistan was ranked 139th out of 180 countries.

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Auburn Junior High School is competing with schools across the state to win a $25,000 grant for state-of-the-art outdoor fitness equipment, indoor fitness equipment, on-site training with a Project Fit America trainer, and more! The four schools with the most votes will each receive a $25,000 grant.

The community can help by voting every day from now through Jan. 31 at http://danimalsshopriteschoolcontest.young-america.com. Eligible voters can vote every day, but they must be 13 years of age or older and a resident of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania to vote. There is a limit of one vote per participant/email address per day.

Another way to help is to enlist as many people to be voting ambassadors as you can  family, friends, neighbors, and anyone who lives in the states above. Ask businesses you frequent to promote voting for Auburn Junior High School with their customers. Posters to display in storefronts are available to download at ajhs.auburn.cnyric.org. Follow the district on Twitter and Facebook (@AuburnECSD), and share the posts about the contest.
A prominent Pakistani journalist and a vocal critic of Pakistan's powerful military, today said he was assaulted and threatened with death by nearly a dozen unidentified armed men who tried to abduct him.

Taha Siddiqui, the Pakistani bureau chief of Indian television channel WION, said he was attacked by 10-12 men while he was going to the airport in Rawalpindi but managed to escape before being kidnapped, suffering minor injuries during the struggle, Dawn reported.

"It is a miracle that I am still alive...But I am in deep shock," he told reporters.

He said the taxi-driver was an eyewitness to the entire scene and police should trace him to verify the account.

Siddiqui said the attackers were well informed about his travel plans as they knew that "I was going to the airport".

He said he feared for his safety and asked the Islamabad police chief to provide security to him and his family.

Siddiqui recounted the details of the kidnapping attempt in a series of tweets.

"I was on my way to [the] airport today at 8:20 am when 10-12 armed men stopped my cab [and] forcibly tried to abduct me," Siddiqui, the winner of France's highest journalism award - The Albert Londres Prize, said in a tweet.

"Saale ko goli maaro (shoot him)," shouted the men, who Siddiqui said were armed with Kalashnikovs and pistols.

In his post, Siddiqui further said that he had managed to escape the kidnapping attempt and that he was "safe and with the police now".

"Looking for support in any way possible," Siddiqui added, ending his tweet with the hashtag #StopEnforcedDisappearances.

"Finally reconnected on social media & got new phone. Thank u all for support. I shall not be silenced," he later tweeted.

Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has taken notice of the attack on the journalist and has asked Islamabad police to brief him about the incident and the investigation, according to an official of his ministry.

Superintendent of Police Mustafa Tanveer confirmed that Siddiqui, who is the Pakistan bureau chief at World Is One (WION) approached police soon after the incident.

Tanveer said that Siddiqui was in a private taxi when he was stopped by armed men.

He said the investigation has been launched and police are trying to get the footage of the security cameras.

"Initial probe showed that registration number of one the vehicles was fake," he said.

The attack on Siddiqui came just months after investigative journalist Ahmed Noorani was badly thrashed in a car in Islamabad by unknown armed men.

Reacting to the incident, 'World Is One News's Editor- in-Chief, Sudhir Chaudhury said, "We now expect the government of Pakistan to ensure Taha Siddiqui's safety and security and get to the bottom of these dastardly attacks, intimidation, assaults and threats to our colleague".

"Despite the shocking attack on WION's Pakistan Bureau Chief, Taha Siddiqui, WION remains committed to pursue fearless journalism from the soil of Pakistan. We will continue to report, expose and comment on events in that country," Chaudhury said in a statement in New Delhi.

Noted anchor Hamid Mir who himself survived a brutal gun attack in 2014 tweeted, "Journalist community must condemn the kidnapping attempt of @TahaSSiddiqui with full unity no compromise on harassment of media".

Deputy South Asia Director at Amnesty International Omar Waraich said, "What journalist Taha Siddiqui has experienced needs to be condemned by not only all journalists but everyone -- you should not have to fear for your life and personal safety for doing your job".

Recently, Siddiqui criticised the Pakistani press' treatment of Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav's mother and wife who were visiting him.

"Somedays we do a story that disgusts us. Today was one such day. But it was not because of what I covered. Rather it was because of how my fellow journalists behaved with the mother and wife of #KulbushanJadhav when they left FO (Foreign Office) building. They shouted taunts. It was very shameful," Siddiqui tweeted on December 25 after Jadhav met his family in Islamabad.

"Many of these journalists are familiar faces at Foreign Office briefings and have a number of years of experience before being allotted such an important news beat to cover. And yet on Monday, when they were covering the meet-up, they seemed to have lost all sense of ethics when it comes to reporting," Taha had written in an article in 'World Is One News'.

When Kulbhushan Jadhav's family visited in Pakistan, Taha was the only media professional to criticise the ill behaviour given to his family and got trolled on social media by fellow Pakistani journalists, WION said in the statement.

In May last year, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had issued a notice to Siddiqui, known for posting comments on social media against the military, and asked him to appear before its counterterrorism wing.

The Pakistani military has so far denied playing a role in any enforced disappearances, as has the civilian government. Militants have also targeted journalists in the past.

Siddiqui had previously filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court alleging that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had harassed him over the phone.

On May 24, the court had asked the FIA to stop harassing the journalist.

Incidents of enforced disappearances have been reported with alarming frequency in Pakistan.

In November, the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, placed Pakistan among the most dangerous countries for journalists.

Pakistan was ranked 139th out of 180 countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Palestinian government attacked comments today by the US ambassador to Israel blaming it for the failure of peace efforts, after an Israeli settler was killed in the occupied West Bank.

In the latest tensions between them, the Palestinian foreign ministry accused US ambassador David Friedman of a "prejudiced and selective attitude" towards the conflict.

It comes a month after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, angering the Palestinians.

"An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists," Friedman said on Twitter Wednesday after a 35-year-old was killed near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

"Hamas praises the killers and PA (Palestinian Authority) laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace."



Friedman, a supporter of West Bank settlements, was referring to payments to the families of imprisoned Palestinians, including those who have carried out attacks against Israelis, and to those killed while carrying out attacks.

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group, praised the attack.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Friedman's comments reflected his "prejudiced and selective attitude towards the occupation, settlement construction, and the Palestinian just and legitimate national rights."



It pointed to Friedman's silence over what Palestinians say was the killing by Israeli forces of a disabled Palestinian man during recent protests and clashes on the Gaza border and other killings as evidence of his bias.

"Friedman's remarks and positions further complicated the road towards the peace process and the resumption of negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, specifically after President Donald Trump's declaration on Jerusalem," the statement added.

Trump's December 6 announcement that he would move the US embassy from Israel's commercial capital to Jerusalem enraged the Palestinians.

They said they will no longer engage with the Trump administration's push for fresh peace talks.

Israeli officials say payments to the families of attackers encourages further violence and have regularly called for a halt to them.

Yesterday the Israeli Ministry of Defence said the Palestinian Authority had paid out 1.2 billion shekels (USD 350 million) last year in such payments.

For Palestinians, such payments are a key source of income for families who have in many cases lost their main breadwinner.

Qadura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, did not dispute the figures but said that the Palestinian people overwhelmingly supported the payments.

"We stress the commitment of the Palestinian people to the prisoners and families of the prisoners. This is a legal, moral and humanitarian obligation.

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Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today said he flagged issues concerning the coastal state during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on January 8.

He said the prime minister told him that the issues would be discussed with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Parrikar didn't divulge the content of his meeting and said the discussion between him and the PM was for "personal consumption".

"There were certain issues pertaining to Goa which I flagged with him (PM) and those (issues) will be raised with (Union) finance minister," Parrikar told reporters here today.

Parrikar visited Delhi on Monday to attend a government event when he met with the PM.

The chief minister said he invited Modi to Goa for inaugurating a third bridge on Mandovi river and laying the foundation stone for the proposed Convention Centre at Dona Paula.

He said the PM has given his 'in-principle' nod though the specific dates are being worked out.

The events are likely to be held in August this year, he said.

"The prime minister inquired about the progress of the works related to upcoming Mopa greenfield airport, the Convention Centre and 7-8 other infrastructural projects," Parrikar said, adding that they also discussed the current political scenario in the country.

When asked about the specific issues raised by him with the PM, Parrikar said, "What is discussed between me and the prime minister is confidential and it is for one-to-one consumption".

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The Press Council of India (PCI) today sought a report from the Unique Identification Authority of India over filing of an FIR in connection with a newspaper report on alleged breach of Aadhaar card data.

A correspondent with 'The Tribune' and her sources were named in an FIR by the UIDAI recently over her report on the breach of Aadhaar data.

"Taking suo motu cognisance of the issue under the direction of PCI Chairman Chandramauli Kumar Prasad, UIDAI, New Delhi, has been issued notice for its reply statement along with a comprehensive report on facts of the case," the PCI said in a release.

Prasad has "viewed with concern" the reports of registration of the FIR in the case, it added.

Earlier, the Delhi Police registered an FIR on a UIDAI official's complaint over The Tribune report on data breach of more than one billion Aadhaar cards, naming the reporter behind the story.

The police was informed by the UIDAI official that the correspondent, posing as a buyer, had purchased the details.

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Allowing foreign airlines to own up to 49 per cent stake in Air India is a "considered decision" and will send out an important message to global investors, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

Against the backdrop of the government working out the contours for disinvestment in debt-laden Air India, the official also said that no overseas investor has so far expressed formal interest in the national carrier.

Soon after the Cabinet cleared the proposal to permit foreign carriers to have up to 49 per cent stake in Air India, a senior civil aviation ministry official told PTI that it was a "considered decision".

"It is a considered decision of the government that we can tweak FDI norms so that some degree of foreign investment is allowed," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The decision would send out an important message to global investors, he added.

The Cabinet today gave its approval to a number of amendments in the FDI policy, including those pertaining to Air India.

Now, foreign airlines have been allowed to have up to 49 per cent stake under the approval route in Air India subject to certain conditions, an official release said.

Foreign airlines were allowed to invest under government approval route in the capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital.

The provision was however not applicable to Air India.

"It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India...," the release said.

Foreign investments in Air India, including that of overseas airlines, should not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly.

"Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian national," the release said.

Regarding possible bidders for the national carrier, the official said that so far no foreign investor has expressed formal interest in Air India.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) would have to notify the decision to allow foreign airlines to own stake in the national carrier, the official added.

Without providing any specific date, the official said expression of interest from bidders with respect to Air India stake sale could possibly be issued by month-end.

On Tuesday, sources had said that expression of interest for Air India is likely to be issued by the government this month, possibly on January 25.

"The process of disinvestment is proceeding expeditiously," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey had said.

His comments came amid likelihood of a Parliamentary panel telling the government that Air India should be given at least five years to revive.
The West Bengal government today told the Calcutta High Court that a PIL challenging Calcutta University's decision to confer honorary D.Litt to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was politically motivated.

Calcutta University is slated to confer the degree to Banerjee, an alumnus of the university, at its convocation tomorrow.

Advocate General Kishore Dutta submitted before a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice J Bhattacharya and Justice Arijit Banerjee that the decision to confer the honorary degree was taken by the syndicate and senate of the university and there was no sufferance of public interest.

Dutta claimed that as such it should not be treated as a PIL and the petition should be dismissed.

Petitioner Ranjugopal Mukherjee, a former professor of the university, claimed that the decision to confer the award was arbitrary and opaque.

His counsel Bikas Bhattacharya submitted that university issues and itself are of public interest and as such the petition was justified to be a PIL.

He submitted that the syndicate or senate decision did not attribute any reason for conferring the award on Banerjee.

Claiming that the senate members were nominated by the state, Bhattacharya submitted that "here the nominated persons are nominating the nominator."



He also claimed that no incumbent chief minister has been conferred with the honorary degree by Calcutta University.

However, the AG said there was no bar on awarding the honorary degree to an incumbent chief minister, and submitted that Pranab Mukherjee was conferred the degree when he was the president of the country.

Claiming that the petition "is out and out in political interest," Dutta submitted that "except character assassination, nothing is there."



Appearing for the university, counsel Saktinath Mukherjee submitted that the petition lacked "justifiability" and should be rejected at the outset.

Hearing on the PIL was adjourned for the day and will be taken up again tomorrow morning.

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A play revisits the incredible story of anthropology enthusiast Ursula Graham Bower, who lived among the Zeme Nagas in the Northeast, stood with them against the Japanese forces during World War II and went on to attain a goddess-like status.

"Ursula: Queen of The Jungle" by Chris Eldon Lee saw a remarkable solo performance by Joanna Purslow, who played more than 10 characters including Bower's daughter Catriona Child and Naga revolutionary Rani Gaidinliu who took on the British.

The 90-minute play was enacted in the national capital this Monday at the India Habitat Centre.

Bower, the aunt of veteran journalist Mark Tully, landed in Laisong village in Assam in 1939. A native Naga named Namkia went on to become her interpreter and guide. Namkia addresses Bower as Saipui or female warrior. She became the favourite of the villagers with her personality and also with her occasional doctor-like service, thanks to her picnic basket of medicines.

When the Japanese forces advanced towards India in 1944, she led the Army's V Force, a group of scouts comprising local youths, and carried out ambushes.

Bower also found her life partner during the turmoil. She married young British intelligence officer Lieutenant Colonel Tim Betts.

After the war ended, she and her husband settled in Scotland. Bower died in 1988.

According to Child, Lee made a remarkable effort to bring the story of her mother on stage.

The play was first written for a Shrewsbury school.

Purslow comes up with a spirited performance. If at one moment, she is doing a Namkia, the next second she is an American journalist and the very next a British officer fighting against the Japanese.

She says playing the part of Namkia was the toughest.

The play was also staged at Laisong village in Dima Hasao district of Assam on December 30.

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A Delhi court today granted bail to two govt officials in a case of alleged corruption in the Rs 2,150 crore project to revamp the ITPO Complex at Pragati Maidan here.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar granted relief to the public servants, Pradeep Mishra and Akashdeep Chouhan, on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each and a surety of the same amount.

NBCC chairman-cum-managing director Anoop Mittal has also been made an accused in the case.

The court has already granted bail to Sanjay Kulkarni, the managing director of Capacite Structures and suspected middleman, Rishabh Agrawal, in the case.

It had on January 5 reserved its order on the bail applications of Kulkarni and Agrawal after hearing arguments from defence advocates and the CBI.

The agency had booked Mishra and Chouhan in the case on December 22, 2017 for allegedly delivering the bribe.

It alleged in the FIR that the contract to redevelop the prime land at the Pragati Maidan exhibition complex was awarded to Shapoorji Pallonji and Co. Pvt. Ltd. and Shapoorji Pallonji Qatar WLL for Rs 2,149.93 crore by NBCC.

Mumbai-based Capacite Structures was trying to get that work from Shapoorji Pallonji on sub-contract.

Kulkarni had approached Agrawal, the suspected middleman having good contacts with public servants, for getting the sub-contract in favour of the company, the CBI had alleged.

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The Bihar government today gave its approval for setting up of a technical university in Vaishali district named after Nobel Prize winning physicist C V Raman.

At a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, nod was given for the proposed "C V Raman University" which will be financed by All India Society for Electronics and Computer Technology, Brajesh Mehrotra, Principal Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat Department, told reporters here.

He said the proposed university will come up in Bhagwanpur block of Vaishali and the cabinet has given its go-ahead for running the university out of a rented building for a period of two years.

For hostels run by the state's minorities welfare department, a total of 37 posts of wardens were approved by the cabinet, which would cost the state exchequer Rs 1.46 crore annually, he said.

Nod was also given for handing over of more than five acres of land in Aurangabad district to the National Highway Authority of India for the six-laning of NH-2, Mehrotra said adding that no charges will be levied by the state government for the land transfer.

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Qatar today said a Saudi-led boycott, now in its eighth month, amounted to "economic warfare" as Doha plans to seek compensation for those hit by the sanctions.

"This is economic warfare," foreign ministry spokeswoman Lulwa al-Khater said at a press briefing.

Khater said the energy-rich emirate would "not leave a stone unturned" in legally pursuing claims for businesses.

Tensions have escalated in the Gulf since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all ties with Qatar in June, largely isolating the emirate in the oil-rich Gulf.

The four countries accuse Doha of supporting Islamist extremists and of being too close to Shiite Iran, Saudi Arabia's arch-rival.

They have banned all flights to and from Doha and cut off most trade links.

Qatar denies the allegations, arguing the bloc aims to incite regime change in Doha.

The Gulf emirate says the sanctions have hit companies as well as citizens and expatriates.

It has set up a committee to pursue claims, which Doha says are potentially worth billions of dollars.

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AUBURN  The Auburn Enlarged City School District is waiting for further word on a court case small-city school districts have against the state.

Auburn superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo talked about the case at a board of education meeting at Auburn High School Tuesday night.

Pirozzolo discussed Maisto vs. New York, in which parents and students representing eight small-city school districts  including the Utica City School District  argue the state is not giving the districts sufficient aid to provide students a sound basic education, as stated in the state constitution. The districts argue they have been underfunded for years. The case dates back to 2009, when it was known as Hussein vs. New York.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Kimberly OConnor presided over a trial on the case in 2015 and ruled against against the districts the next year. The districts appealed, and an appellate court reversed the decision in October 2017.

Pirozzolo said he will be heading to Albany on Thursday with other members of the New York State Association of Small City School Districts to lobby the state Senate Finance Committee to pass some bills. He said he hopes to hear more about the case and if Auburn would receive more funding if there were was no further litigation.
Congress leader Ashok Gehlot today alleged that Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was doing extended tours of Ajmer and Alwar ahead of January 29 Lok Sabha bypolls there, but was not concerned about the people there for last four years.

Addressing a rally in Ajmer after Congress candidate Raghu Sharma filed nomination for the bypoll, Gehlot claimed that people would be surprised, if details of Raje's helicopter tours to New Delhi and Dholpur were revealed.

"After becoming the chief minister, Raje had said she would live a simple life, but she kept on doing helicopter tours," he said.

"The chief minister was not concerned about the people for the last four years and now doing extended tours in the poll-bound constituencies. People are wise enough to understand the reasons," the Congress leader alleged.

Taking a jibe at the BJP, the former chief minister said, it was a party of "empty rhetoric" whereas Congress made big sacrifices and takes people of all religions and castes along with it.

Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot alleged that people talk about the developmental works carried out by previous UPA government, but the BJP dispensation in the state worked to stall the development projects.

He accused the saffron party of misleading people by making tall promises and said the BJP "did not honour" the mandate that the people of the state had given it.

Rajasthan has regressed on the development path in the last four years and tours of Raje and her ministers ahead of the bypolls indicate that they want to remain in power anyhow, Pilot claimed.

Bye-elections will also be held in Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha constituencies, and Mandalgarh Assembly segment the same day. The bypolls are being held due to deaths of Ajmer MP Sanwar Lal Jat, Alwar MP Chand Nath and Mandalgarh MLA Kirti Kumari (all of BJP) last year.

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A Rajput group protesting against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film 'Padmavati', retitled 'Padmavat', today threatened that it will impose a "public curfew" in theatres if the controversial movie is released.

The Rajput Karni Sena reiterated its demand for a "complete ban" on the film. Its leader Lokendra Singh Kalvi alleged that history was being tinkered with and there was no room for a compromise with the filmmakers on the issue.

The film was previously scheduled to release on Dec 1.

But the outfit protested against the film's release in Rajasthan and other parts of the country over the portrayal of queen Padmini in it. The group alleged the movie "distorted" history even though historians are divide on whether the queen actually existed.

The filmmakers, too, have denied the allegations.

The film seems set for a January 25 release, according to sources in Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the production house behind the film. An official announcement is yet to be made.

"The film should be canned and thrown into the flames of Jauhar. We have heard that it is releasing on January 25 and if so happens we will take to streets and appeal our youths to hold public curfew at cinema halls," Kalvi told reporters.

He claimed that a three-member panel that was shown the movie has opined that it should not be released, adding that the film is likely to be shown to another six persons.

"All this should end now and the film should not be allowed to be released to hurt the sentiments of people who are agitating against it," Kalvi said.

He claimed that six states have announced a ban on the movie. "I will hold discussions with Delhi government in this regard."



The period drama features Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in lead roles.

On December 28, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) decided to give the film a U/A certification along with some modifications and suggested that its title be changed to "Padmavat" to befit the source material, Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic of the same name.

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In a joint operation, the Delhi Police and Gujarat ATS today detained a man, suspected to be involved in the 2000 Red Fort attack, here, police said.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism squad informed the Delhi Police today that one Bilal Ahmed Kawa, who had been declared a proclaimed offender in the case, was travelling from Srinagar to Delhi, they said.

Kawa was detained in the evening from the Delhi Airport and his questioning is underway, the police said.

A senior officer from the Special Cell confirmed that a man has been detained but said that they are verifying whether he is Kawa.

Three people, including two Army jawans, were killed in the December 22, 2000 Red Fort attack.

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama today said that religion is a "personal business" and should not be used to "mobilise" people on religious lines.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of inauguration of National Teachers Congress, organised by MAEERs MIT World Peace University and MIT School of Government here.

Replying to a question on what message he wants to give in the wake of violence at Koregaon Bhima in Pune district on January 1, the spiritual leader said, "Religion is a personal business. Whether you follow this religion or that religion, it is personal matter. We should not mobilise...as we Buddhist, we Hindus, we Muslims. That is not good."



Dalits visiting a war memorial at Koregaon Bhima were attacked here on January 1 that led to a state-wide shutdown in Maharashtra two days later.

In his speech at the conference, the Dalai Lama hailed the Indian society for accommodating diverse religious faiths. "The largest democracy in the world, India is young and yet a complicated nation. The country has remarkable tolerance when it comes to safeguarding religious faiths of different religions," he said.

He also said that Indians should preserve their ancient knowledge and traditions. "We kept the Nalanda tradition...but you Indians forgot. Indians should pay more attention to this Indian ancient knowledge and through rigorous study, they should revive these things," he said.

Addressing the teachers community, he said the present educational system gives more importance to material values and not "inner values".

"Today, the world is facing emotional problem and it can be only tackled by education and not religious faiths," he said.

"The 21st century should be the century of dialogue.... For building a better world, one needs to think about oneness of human beings," said the spiritual leader.

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The government's 2.52 per cent stake sale in state-owned miner NMDC saw robust response from investors with the retail portion getting over-subscribed by 5.40 times today.

The two-day offer for sale (OFS) opened for retail subscription today. Over 8.58 crore bids came in for 1.59 crore shares reserved for them, representing 5.40 times over- subscription, according to the NSE data.

Institutional investors had yesterday put in bids for over 6.36 crore shares -- 1.68 times of the 3.79 crore shares reserved for them.

The sale of 2.52 per cent in NMDC at a floor price of Rs 153.50 per share will fetch about Rs 1,200 crore to the exchequer.

The government had originally planned to sell 1.5 per cent stake in the company, with a green-shoe option to retain an equal quantum.

Based on the response from institutional buyers, the government decided keep the issue size at 2.52 per cent.

Shares of NMDC closed at Rs 155.30, up 0.45 per cent, on BSE.

The government has already raised over Rs 52,500 crore in the current fiscal through stake sale in PSUs, including listing of insurance PSUs and exchange traded fund.

It has set an ambitious target of raising Rs 72,500 crore for disinvestment in the current fiscal. Of this, Rs 46,500 crore is to be raised through minority stake sale in PSUs and Rs 15,000 crore from strategic sale. Another Rs 11,000 crore is to come from listing of insurance companies.

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Generic drug makers Biocon and Mylan today told the Delhi High Court that Swiss pharma major Roche's civil suit, challenging DCGI approvals granted to them for marketing and selling their version of breast cancer medicine Trastuzumab, was not maintainable.

The submission by the two companies was made before a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Deepa Sharma, which is hearing their appeals as well as that of Roche and the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) against a single judge order which had placed restrictions on Biocon and Mylan with regard to packaging and labelling their medicines.

As the single judge had not set aside the approvals granted by DCGI to the drugs of Biocon and Mylan, Roche had challenged the order of April 25, 2016.

Roche, which had innovated Trastuzumab, had claimed that the two firms had not carried out all the required tests prior to manufacture and sale of their medicines, as was done by it.

Biocon and Mylan have appealed against the single judge order as restrictions were imposed on the use of clinical data in the package insert of their drugs, Canmab and Hertraz, respectively.

DCGI, on the other hand, is aggrieved by the single judge's direction to it that before granting approvals in future, it shall take into consideration the guidelines as well as the findings arrived at by the court.

Reliance, represented by advocate Bitika Sharma, which also makes a generic version of Trastuzumab is also before the high court seeking parity with Biocon and Mylan.

An earlier division bench, in an interim order of March 3, 2017, had allowed the two firms to sell their version of Trastuzumab for two kinds of breast cancer and metastatic gastric cancer in view of the DCGI approvals granted to them.

During the hearing today, senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Mylan, said that the approvals granted to the companies by DCGI cannot be challenged in a civil suit.

DCGI, represented by central government standing counsel Amit Mahajan, told the court that the "approvals were validly granted".

Sibal argued that once DCGI has approved the drugs of Biocon and Mylan, Roche cannot oppose it on the ground that the authority did not appropriately follow the regulations while granting the approvals.

He said that DCGI was the appropriate authority to decide which tests or trials need to be done before granting approval and its decisions cannot be challenged in a civil suit.

The court, however, said that a relief which can be sought by a writ petition can be asked for through a civil suit as well.

The issue raised in the appeals before the court is with regard to marketing and sale of generic breast cancer drugs, of Biocon and Mylan, which are claimed to be biosimilar to the Swiss company's Trastuzumab sold under the name of Herceptin.

It is Roche's contention that Biocon and Mylan cannot term their medicine as merely Trastuzumab and ought to call it Biocon's Trastuzumab or Mylan's Trastuzumab as these companies have not followed the entire protocol of tests and studies, as was done by it.

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Customs officials at the airport here have recovered gold and foreign currency totally worth Rs 56 lakh in two separate seizures.

The gold worth Rs 52 lakh was seized from a passenger, who arrived from Sharjah today while US dollar worth Rs 4.3 lakh from a Colombo-bound passenger last night, a Customs release said.

Officials acting on a tip-off, examined the baggage of Syed Ibrahim Kuddus, which led to unearthing of gold kept concealed in a multimedia speaker system.

The gold was of 24-carat purity and valued at Rs 52 lakh, the release said adding the passenger was arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.

In the second haul, officials recovered USD 6,900 from 55-year-old Sundareswaran Palaniyandi, who was bound for Colombo by a private airliner last night, the release said adding further investigation was on.

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The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today hailed the Supreme Court's decision to constitute a fresh Special Investigation Team (SIT) to monitor a probe into 186 anti-Sikh riot cases.

The victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots were unable to get justice for 33 years, SAD president and former deputy CM Badal was quoted as saying in a statement released here.

It was of utmost importance to speed up the investigation and bring the guilty to books, Badal said.

"Thirty-three years have been lost. Many witnesses have passed away. Many others have become very old and infirm. We must ensure speedy trials to ensure those who perpetrated the anti-Sikh genocide do not escape justice," he added.

The new SIT should inquire into the functioning of officers of the Delhi Police who were alleged to have deliberately weakened cases against several Congress leaders, Sukhbir said.

The Supreme Court today said it would constitute a fresh three-member SIT, to be headed by a former high court judge, to monitor probe into 186 anti-Sikh riot cases, that followed the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, in which investigations were closed.

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An associate of French politician Nicolas Sarkozy was granted bail today by a British court, after his arrest on charges linked to a probe into financing the ex-president's election campaign.

French businessman Alexandre Djouhri appeared at a London court after being detained on Sunday at Heathrow airport on a European arrest warrant.

The judge ordered a 1 million pound bail be paid to secure the 58-year-old's release.

Wearing a dark suit with a white shirt, frequently tightening the knot on his dark blue tie, Djouhri was ordered to stay at his daughter's home in the British capital.

Embroiled in an investigation into the suspected Libyan financing of Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign, he has refused to respond to summons for questioning in Paris.

Well known among France's rightwing political establishment, Djouhri is facing fraud and money-laundering charges and will next appear in court for an extradition hearing.

The Swiss resident has been a focus of the inquiry opened in 2013 by judges investigating claims by former Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi and his son Seif al-Islam that they provided funds for Sarkozy's election effort.

French investigators are examining Djouhri's alleged involvement in the 2009 sale of a villa in the French Alps, for around 10 million euros, to a Libya investment fund managed by Bashir Saleh.

Djouhri is suspected of being the true owner of the villa, which was sold at a "very inflated" price, a source close to the inquiry told AFP.

Both men failed to heed summons for questioning issued by the anti-corruption investigators in September 2016.

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The Supreme Court today said it would constitute a fresh three-member SIT, to be headed by a former high court judge, to monitor probe into 186 anti-Sikh riot cases, that followed the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, in which investigations were closed.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the Centre to suggest names today itself for its consideration and appointment in the proposed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The bench, also comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said the proposed committee will be headed by a former high court judge and consist of one retired and one serving police officer.

It also made it clear the retired police officer shall not be below the rank of DIG at the time of superannuation.

The apex court said a supervisory body, appointed by it has found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation.

The apex court today perused the report of the supervisory body which was submitted before it in a leather box with number-lock system.

The supervisory body, which had submitted the final report, comprised former apex court judges Justice J M Panchal and Justice K S P Radhakrishnan.

On August 16, last year, the apex court had appointed the supervisory panel to examine the SIT's decision to close 241 cases in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots matter and asked it to submit report in three months.

The Centre had earlier said that out of the 250 cases which were investigated by the SIT, closure reports were filed in 241.

It had said that nine cases were still being investigated by the SIT, while two are being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The apex court had on March 24, 2018, asked the Centre to place before it the files pertaining to the 199 cases of the anti-Sikh riots which the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Home Ministry had decided to "close".

The SIT is headed by Pramod Asthana, an IPS officer of 1986 batch, and has Rakesh Kapoor, a retired district and sessions judge, and Kumar Gyanesh, an additional deputy commissioner of Delhi Police, as its members.

The anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi claimed 2,733 lives in Delhi alone.

The government had earlier filed a status report on the probe conducted by the SIT in the cases.

Petitioner S Gurlad Singh Kahlon had earlier told the bench that a total of 293 riot-related cases were taken up for scrutiny by the three-member SIT and it had decided to close 199 of them after scrutiny.

Kahlon, a member of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, had sought the court's direction for setting up an SIT to ensure speedy justice to riots victims.

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State police in Onondaga County will be among the first in New York to utilize drones to support law enforcement missions, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.

According to a press release from the governor's office, the new State Police Unmanned Aerial System program will provide aerial drones to four state police troops: Troop A, Troop D, Troop F and Troop G. Onondaga County  along with Jefferson, Lewis, Herkimer, Oneida, Onondaga, Madison and Oswego counties  is part of Troop D.

The drones will be used to support disaster response and traffic safety missions, according to the release. The unmanned aerial system can document and reconstruct motor vehicle crashes in less time than current methods, resulting in shorter road closures and fewer impacts on motorists. The drones can also be used in dangerous situations, including natural disasters, to keep troopers safe. Investigators will also use the aerial drones to document and photograph crime scenes.

Additionally, unmanned aerial systems will "provide a significant cost savings" over manned aircraft, according to the release, while reducing response times and making operations more efficient and cost effective.
After Maharashtra, BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha has now landed in another party-led state, Madhya Pradesh, to take up the cause of farmers.

The former Union minister is scheduled to take part in a farmers' protest tomorrow against an upcoming power project at Gadarwara area of Narsinghpur district.

He will participate in the protest along with Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh president Shivkumar Sharma, popularly known as Kakkaji, who is a former RSS ideologue.

"Just now, I received him (Sinha) in Jabalpur," Sharma told PTI by phone.

"After night stay at Jabalpur, we are going to leave for Narsinghpur tomorrow morning," he added.

"Sinhaji is going to address the farmers squatting at Gadarwara since December 22," Kakkaji said.

Former Union minister Sompal Shastri, too, will take part in the protest, he said.

Narsinghpur SP Monica Shukla told PTI, "Adequate police arrangement has been made at the protest site where Sinha and Shastri are going to address the protesters. We are keeping a watch."



Kakkaji said farmers, whose lands had been acquired for the NTPC's coal-fired project at Gadarwara, are demanding jobs in the central PSU.

NTPC has promised them jobs while acquiring their agriculture lands, he added.

In early December, Sinha led a farmers march in Akola district of Maharashtra and later staged a sit-in to protest the BJP-led government's "apathy" towards the cultivators of the Vidarbha region.

The 80-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician has also been critical of the economic policies of the Modi government.

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Sri Lankan lawmakers on Wednesday exchanged blows inside Parliament during a special session convened to debate the commission of an inquiry report on an alleged bond scam in the country's central bank.

The Opposition members trooped into the well of the chamber to protest while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was speaking on the alleged corruption in a bond issue, which has dented his government's reputation.

The premier had called the special session on Wednesday, ahead of its scheduled sitting after the New Year recess on January 23, to debate the report of the presidential commission of inquiry which was released last week by President Maithripala Sirisena.

The Opposition demanded the 1,200-page report be tabled in parliament before the debate.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that Sirisena's office had conveyed to him that the report could only be made available in a week. The Opposition demanded Jayasuriya to act fast to obtain the reports.

Members form both the sides came to blows as brawl erupted when the opposition demanded that Wickremesinghe should not be allowed to speak without the report.

The report had called for criminal as well as civil action against individuals connected to a central bank primary dealer firm linked to the son-in-law of the bank's former Governor Arjuna Mahendran, who was hand-picked for the post by Wickremesinghe.

The company was accused of making huge profits through illegal means.

The Opposition had called for Wickremesinghe's resignation taking responsibility to the appointment of the former governor, who was later sacked by Sirisena.

The report, however, had exonerated the Prime Minister from the scam.
Concerned over malpractices by unregistered agents who dupe people under the pretext of foreign jobs, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today told states that it is incumbent upon them to take stringent and punitive action against them to abate this menace.

This was conveyed by Swaraj during a meeting with NRI Affairs Ministers of States/UTs here on the subject of promoting safe and legal migration overseas.

The meeting was attended by 12 state ministers, including Chief Minister of Haryana M L Khattar, and 31 senior officials of 25 States, an external affairs ministry release said.

Swaraj impressed upon the need of curbing the malpractices perpetrated by unregistered agents who dispatch innocent people abroad on false pretext of overseas employment and thereafter abandon them. They are left in the lurch in foreign land, penniless and the government is hard pressed to secure their rescue and repatriation.

"She exhorted that since these agents function from the States' jurisdiction and law and order being a State subject, it is incumbent on the state government to take stringent and punitive action against them which would abate this menace," the ministry said.

Though there are no official figures of those duped but according to the ministry data, lakhs of poeple go to a number of countries every year and out of these almost 7-8 lakh emigrants go to countries which are notified as 'Emigration Check Required' (ECR) nations, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Swaraj further outlined the four point agenda of the government on rescue or repatriation of distressed workers abroad to include free repatriation on government cost in case of war, natural calamity and in case of company closure of legally migrated persons.

"In case of illegal migration, the emigrant would be brought back only once the state lodges FIR against the illegal agent and cost would be recovered from the said agent. If a person goes illegally in the second instance, cost would be recovered from the person and his passport would be suspended for five years," the release said.

Swaraj also asked the states to launch a media campaign to promote safe and legal migration and ensure that the potential migrants are adequately skilled.

During the meeting, state ministers and representatives gave their inputs and agreed to proactively curb the activities of these illegal agents, the release said.

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Syrian pro-government forces reached the outskirts of a sprawling rebel-held air base today, the target of a wide-ranging offensive in the northwestern Idlib province.

Recapturing the Abu Zuhour air base, which the rebels took in 2015, has been one of the main goals of the government offensive launched in late October. The operations also aim to secure the road linking the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said troops are fighting al-Qaida-linked militants and other insurgents in different areas near Abu Zuhour. It said troops approaching from the south are now 2 km away from the base.

The government offensive has displaced tens of thousands of people, who have fled toward areas close to the Turkish border.

The push into Idlib province, which is mostly held by rebels, is the deepest by the government since it lost much of the area three years ago.

The province is covered by a de-escalation agreement reached last year between Russia and Iran, who back President Bashar Assad, and Turkey, which supports the opposition.

The UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein expressed "grave concern" over the situation in Idlib, which is home to more than 2.6 million Syrians, including more than 1.1 million who fled fighting elsewhere in the country.

Zeid also condemned the upsurge in civilian casualties in the eastern suburbs of Damascus known as eastern Ghouta, stressing that all parties are obliged under international law to distinguish between lawful military targets and civilians.

Today, more than two dozen people were killed in the government bombardment of eastern Ghouta and rebel shelling of the capital itself.

"The suffering of the people of Syria knows no end," Zeid said in a statement about eastern Ghouta, where nearly 400,000 people are living under government siege.

"In Idlib, ground attacks and airstrikes have escalated as a rapidly-moving government offensive gains momentum, jeopardizing the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians," said Zeid.

He said that at least 85 civilians, including 21 women and 30 children, have been killed and at least 183 injured in eastern Ghouta since December 31.

The push toward Abu Zuhour came as the opposition's Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported several explosions in the coastal province of Latakia, an Assad stronghold. The Observatory said the blasts were the result of explosions in an arms depot east of Latakia.

State media did not report any blasts in the area.

In Moscow, the Russian military urged its Turkish counterparts to tighten monitoring of the opposition in northern Syria in the wake of a drone attack on Russian military bases in the country.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces repelled a series of drone attacks on Saturday, adding that out of the 13 drones involved, seven were shot down and six were forced to land without inflicting any damage.

The official military daily Krasnaya Zvezda said the ministry sent letters to the Turkish military asking it to deploy observers to Idlib to ensure that rebels don't launch more attacks.

Russia entered the civil war in 2015 to bolster government forces, helping them to secure a series of victories against the Islamic State group as well as mainstream rebels.

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Former Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman said there was an "orchestrated campaign" to malign

He was reacting to the filing of an FIR on The Tribune newspaper report relating to data breach.

"There is hundred per cent an orchestrated campaign to see how gets maligned, yes absolutely," Nilekani told ET Now on the sidelines of the Science Foundation Award here.

Delhi Police had on Monday registered the FIR on a complaint by an official following the newspaper report on data breach of more than 1 billion Aadhaar cards, naming the journalist behind the story.

The police was informed by the official that the correspondent, posing as a buyer, had purchased a service being offered by anonymous sellers over WhatsApp that provided unrestricted access to details of Aadhaar numbers.

Nilekani said the issue has been blown out of proportion as Aadhaar have built far too many security layers and it is not possible to randomly pore it.

Further referring to FIR filed in the Tribune case, he said negative views on Aadhaar will have negative reactions and hence, it would be better for people to have a constructive view on it.

"If you are just taking a negative view, and not a constructive view, then you also have other (negative) reactions. I think, everybody has to accept Aadhaar is here to stay," The former chief said.

The Aadhaar is here to stay because as many as 119 crore people have it, 550 million have linked the numbers to their bank accounts and Rs 95,000 crore transferred into DBT accounts, he added.

Nilekani said he was very confident of the upholding Aadhaar under the fundamental right of privacy because it meets the test of the law being proportionate and reasonable.

Replying to a query, he welcomed putting in place a two- layer security to reinforce privacy protection for Aadhaar ID number holders by the

"I think this is a very significant announcement by UIDAI and in some sense it really makes the case against it go away," he said.

The former UIDAI chief said it has introduced a virtual identification for ID holders so that the actual number need not be shared by the people to authenticate their identity.

Simultaneously, it has further regulated the storage of the Aadhaar number within various databases, he added.
The Delhi Police in a joint operation with its Kerala counterparts has arrested three men here in connection with two dacoities in Kochi last year, a top official said today.

The dacoities took place on December 15 and 16 last year in separate houses in Kochi. In both cases, eight-nine men broke into the houses and looted jewellery, cash, mobile phones and laptops, after attacking the occupants, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar said.

Some of the looted gold jewellery was recovered from the accused, he added.

Acting on a tip-off that one of the accused in the robberies was hiding in Seemapuri, a crime branch team of the Delhi Police, along with their counterparts from Kerala, swung into action and arrested Arshad (21) yesterday, Kumar said.

Arshad, a native of Kolkata, was living in a jhuggi in Seemapuri. He was the "kingpin" of the gang, he said.

"After sustained interrogation, he confessed his involvement in both the cases and at his instance, two other co-accused, Shahzad, alias Bihari, (30) and Roni (18) were also arrested. Gold ornaments were also recovered from them," the officer said in a statement.

Both Shahzad and Roni were living in Pappu Colony of Sahibabad (UP), the JCP said.

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Three persons allegedly part of a gang involved in a robbery at a house near here, have beenarrested in New Delhi, the police said today.

They were arrested in a joint operation conducted by the police from Kerala and Delhi.

The gang broke into the house of one Ananda Kumar during night in mid-December last year and made away with 400 grams of gold ornaments and Rs 20,000.

The gang had attacked the family members including Kumar's mother, wife and two sons and locked them in different rooms while committing the crime.

Kumar, who tried to prevent the robbery, was brutally attacked.

He was admitted to a hospital with severe head injuries.

The police team have also recovered some ornaments stolen from the house.

The arrested persons are expected to be brought to Kerala on Sunday, the police said.

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Three persons including two polytechnic students were killed while 30 others were injured when a private bus they were travelling in collided with a tractor near Aruppukottai in the district today, police said.

The injured have been rushed to Aruppukottai government hospital for treatment, they said.

Investigation is on, police said.

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A tiger fell into a canal while chasing prey today and was rescued by forest officials who lowered a ladder into the water, ending his around two-hour long ordeal.

The three year-old male tiger, named T-5 by the forest officials but popularly called Jaichand, clambered atop the ladder and the net lowered into the canal and sprinted in the forest, an official said.

He disappeared from the view in seconds, to the relief of onlookers who had gathered on the banks of the Gosekhurd canal in Bhandara district, where the drama unfolded.

Jaichand is the offspring of the iconic 'Jai' tiger and tigress Chandi, a forest official said.

When 250 kg Jai named after Amitabh Bachchans character from Sholay went missing in Vidarbha region last year, it led to a massive outcry with fears that the tiger, the largest in India, may have been poached.

Dada Raut, Range Forest Officer of Umred Pauni Karandhala Wildlife Sanctuary, told PTI that Jaichand probably fell into the canal while chasing prey at around 2 pm today.

"A farmer alerted us and the forest department team reached the spot within 15 minutes. The tiger was finding it hard to come out due to the slippery portions along the canal," Raut said.

"Our team immediately moved into action and put a ladder and other items, to help it come out," he said.

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A case of treason has been registered against newly-elected chairperson of Nawabganj nagar palika parishad Shehla Tahir, her husband and 500 others after pro-Pakistan slogans were allegedly raised in her victory procession.

A complaint in this regard was filed by Akhilesh Gangwar, chairman of VHP Nawabganj unit, police said here today.

He alleged that Shehla, her husband Mohd Tahir and 500 unidentified persons raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans during the victory procession on December 23.

The CD of the procession, which had gone viral, has been sent for forensic examination to Lucknow in which the charges were found to be true, and a case was lodged with the Nawabganj police yesterday, SSP Joginder Kumar said.

District Magistrate incharge O P Verma said additional forces have been deployed to maintain law and order.

Shehla, who won the Nawabganj nagar palika parishad elections in November, had arrived here on December 23 after getting a stay from the high court over her arrest in connection with a case against her during polling, police said.

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Our representative, John Katko, frequently says he keeps our views in mind when he casts votes in the House. And those votes have turned out to be closely aligned with his party and the president. One website asserts that he has voted with the president almost 90 percent of the time, though the 24th Congressional District voted blue in 2016.

Now we need to know his position before he votes. The producers of the infamous Steele Dossier, Fusion GPS, spent 21 hours testifying before Congressional committees about the origins of their work and the evidence of Donald Trumps extensive business ties with Russia, Putin and the oligarchs. And they spelled out some of their testimony in the New York Times. They do not paint a pleasant portrait of Mr. Trump. But for some unspecified and unknown reason, Mr. Katkos party doesnt want us to see that testimony  doesnt want to make public transcripts of that testimony.

Before the Republican majorities of those committees try to shut down the investigations, we need an answer from Mr. Katko whether he thinks we should see that testimony. We need to know whether he will continue his 90-percent support of his bully-buddy in the White House or stand up for the majority of central New Yorkers who want the truth and transparency.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he is open to talks with North Korea but at the appropriate time.

Trump said this in a telephonic conversation with the South Korean President Moon Jae-In during which the latter briefed him about his country's talks with the North Koreans.

"President Trump expressed his openness to holding talks between the United States and North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances," the White House said in a readout of the call.

Briefing reporters on his phone call, Trump said he had a good conversation with the South Korean leader.

"I just spoke to President Moon. He's very thankful for what we've done. They're having talks with North Korea. We'll see how that happens. He felt that the original -- that the initial talk was extremely good. Had a lot of good comment," he said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

"We had a very, very good conversation, and we'll see where it goes. He's very thankful for what we've done. It was so reported today that we were the ones -- without our attitude, that would have never happened. Who knows where it leads," he said.

"Hopefully, it will lead to success for the world -- not just for our country, but for the world. And we'll be seeing over the next number of weeks and months what happens," Trump said.

Moon also briefed Trump on his government's talks with a delegation from the North which resulted in Pyongyang agreeing to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea next month, both sides said.

According to the White House, Vice President Mike Pence would lead the US delegation to the Winter Olympics.
UN and WHO today agreed to a new collaboration to accelerate action to curb environmental health risks that cause an estimated 12 million deaths a year, mostly in developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The agreement will step up joint actions to combat air pollution, climate change and anti-microbial resistance, as well as improve coordination on waste and chemicals management, water quality, and food and nutrition issues.

Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO, signed the agreement in Nairobi, according to a WHO statement released in New Delhi.

The collaboration also includes joint management of the 'BreatheLife' advocacy campaign to reduce air pollution for multiple climate, and health benefits.

"There is an urgent need for our two agencies to work more closely together to address the critical threats to environmental sustainability and climate which are the foundations for life on this planet. This new agreement recognises that sober reality," Solheim said.

This represents the most significant formal agreement on joint action across the spectrum of and health issues in more than 15 years.

"Our health is directly related to the health of the environment we live in. Together, air, water and chemical hazards kill more than 12.6 million people a year. This must not continue," Tedros said.

"Most of these deaths occur in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America where environmental pollution takes its biggest health toll," he added.

The statement said the new collaboration creates a more systematic framework for joint research, development of tools and guidance, capacity building, monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals, global and regional partnerships, and support to regional health and environment fora.

"The two agencies will develop a joint work programme and hold an annual high-level meeting to evaluate progress and make recommendations for continued collaboration," it said.

The priority areas of cooperation between WHO and UN Environment include more effective air quality monitoring, including guidance to countries on standard operating procedures, more accurate environment and health assessments, including economic assessment among others.

On the climate front, it would give priority to tackling vector-borne disease and other climate-related health risks.

The WHO-UN Environment collaboration comes after a ministerial declaration on health, environment and climate change called for the creation of a global Health, Environment and Climate Change Coalition, at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change-COP 22 in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2016.

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Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar today said "trade unions are our eyes" who bring the real facts before the law enforcement agencies.

He was speaking after inaugurating the newly constructed auditorium of the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) on the occasion of its 117th Foundation Day in Dhanbad today, the labour ministry said in a statement.

Gangwar said 44 labour laws have been compiled and four Codes -- on wages, industrial relations, social security and working condition and occupational health and safety -- have been framed for simplifying the complicated procedures.

He lauded the DGMS for keeping constant vigil on the hazardous process of mining and advising management to take safety measures for the benefit of workers.

Replying to queries raised by various trade union leaders relating to closure of DhanbadChandrapura railway line, he said the matter has been decided by a high-powered committee and the PMO is following it up.

He stated that wherever public safety is involved, no chance would be taken even if there is a risk of 0.1 per cent.

Gangwar also met with mine workers, trade union representatives and mine officials to understand mining culture, methods, and issues related to occupational health and safety.

He also visited Moonidih underground coal mine of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL).

He inaugurated a 'Bolter Miner Machine' which deals with coal cutting, including roof bolting for roof support system in below-ground workings.

While interacting with trade union representatives, the minister stated that "trade unions are our eyes" who bring the real facts before the law enforcement agencies for suitable action.

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A former Chief Medical Officer Dr Pawan Kumar Srivastav, who was an accused in the alleged NRHM scam during the earlier BSP regime, was found dead today in what the police believe to be a case of suicide, officials said.

Srivastav committed suicide by shooting himself from his licensed pistol at his residence in the Gorakhnath area here, a police official said.

Srivastav retired in 2010 and used to appear before the CBI court in Delhi every month and was lately depressed over the ongoing proceedings, his daughter-in-law Ekta Srivastav said.

He was to appear before the CBI court again on the 15th of this month and this was disturbing him, she said, adding that Srivastav, a former CMO at Kushinagar and Sitapur, retired from the post of director in Uttar Pradesh health services.

"Prima facie it appears that the retired CMO, Dr Pawan Kumar killed himself with his licensed pistol in his room. His body has been sent for post-mortem examination and the investigation is underway," SSP Satyarth Anirudh Pankaj said.

His family members told us that he was depressed due to the CBI case, an officer at Gorakhnath police station said.

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The result of the Civil Services (Main) examination was declared on Wednesday by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), an official statement said.

The Main examination was conducted between October 28 and November 3 last year.

The Civil Services examination is conducted by the annually in three stages -- preliminary, mains and interview -- to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The roll numbers of the candidates, who cleared the mains examination were made available on the commission's website-- www.upsc.gov.in -- it said, without mentioning the total number of successful candidates.

Personality test or interview of the selected candidates is likely to commence from February 19, the said.

The e-summon letter for the personality test of candidates called for interview may be downloaded from the commission's website from January 18, it said.

The mark sheets of candidates, who have not qualified, would be put on UPSC's website within 15 days from the date of publication of the final result (after conducting the personality tests) and would be available on the portal for a period of 60 days.
The US on Wednesday issued a new travel advisory for countries including India, which its officials said is "user friendly" as it is based on ready-to-understand level of advice ranging from one to four.

India has been ranked Level 2 (exercise increased caution) while Pakistan has been places in Level 3 (reconsider travel).

Level 1 advises travllers to exercise normal precaution, while Level 4, which has countries like Afghanistan, recommends "Do Not Travel".

Now every country has a travel advisory based on this system, which has replaced all the previous such advisories.

"These improvements will provide US citizens with clear, timely, and reliable safety and security information worldwide," the State Department said.

Placing India on Level 2, the State Department identified "crime and terrorism" for Americans to exercise increased caution. However, it asks Americans not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir, except for eastern Ladakh and Leh and not to venture within 10 miles of the India-Pakistan border due to the "potential for armed conflict".

The State Department explained that while it will issue an overall travel advisory level for every country, levels of advice may vary for specific locations or areas within a country.

"Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India.Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations," the new India travel advisory said.

Terrorists or armed groups are active in east-central India, primarily in rural areas, it added.

"Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities," it said.

Ranking Pakistan on Level 3, the State Department asked Americans to reconsider travel to this country due to terrorism.

It advises Americans not to travel to travel to Balochistan province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) due to terrorism.

Americans are also advised not to travel to Pak-Occupied Kashmir due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.

"Over the past six months, there have been at least 40 significant terrorist attacks across Pakistan, resulting in over 225 deaths and 475 wounded, most of which occurred in Balochistan, KPK, and the FATA. In the past, there have been large-scale terrorist attacks resulting in hundreds of casualties," it said.
A powerful Republican lawmaker who gave sleepless nights to Indian IT companies in the US, because of his tough legislative proposals, on Thursday announced his retirement as an elected politician.

Congressman Darrell Issa is the author of the 'Protect and Grow American Jobs Act', which is seen by Indian IT companies as a business killer.

Issa announced that he will not seek re-election from the 49th Congressional district of California, which he represented for 18 years.

He is the second top Republican lawmaker in the Congress to have announced his retirement, which some media outlets said is an indication of a Democratic wave for the upcoming November mid-term election.

Issa has been known for introducing and pushing Congressional legislation that specifically targets Indian IT companies, especially those that use H-1B visas.

"We're going to close the loopholes, stop the outsourcing of American jobs and get our broken H-1B system back to what it was intended to be," Issa said in a tweet.

His Bill, which has already passed the House Judiciary Committee, is now gaining momentum in the House and might come up for vote soon.

"Unfortunately, loopholes in the programme have allowed a small handful of employers to game the system to displace American workers and crowd out others who legitimately need the limited slots available to recruit individuals with unique skill sets not available here at home," Issa said.

Issa had just managed to win in the 2016 general election with just half a percentage point.

"Throughout my service, I worked hard and never lost sight of the people our government is supposed to serve. Yet with the support of my family, I have decided that I will not seek re-election in California's 49th District," he said in a statement.

Early this week, Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, had also announced his retirement. Royce is also from California.
Under Opposition fire over the government's "tough posturing", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said today that even though the situation cannot be set right by the use of police and security forces alone, things were improving in the state.

She also asserted that it was India alone that could address the issues facing the state.

"I am alive to the situation for the past couple of years...the situation is limping back to normal but is still grave. I am not saying the situation has returned to normal," the chief minister said.

She added that the situation cannot be set right by the government alone and all stakeholders had to come together to set it right through the political process.

"We cannot set it right through the use of police and security forces," Mufti said in her reply to the motion of thanks to the Governor's address in the state legislative Assembly here.

She said it was only India that can address the issues facing the people of the state.

"The people of Jammu and Kashmir, whether in mainstream or outside, should understand that whatever we will get, we will get it from this country alone and not from anywhere else...Honorable position, life with dignity, opening of (cross-LoC)routes, taking trade to another level, or ending bloodshed to start dialogue. This will not be done by any other country but our own," she said.

Apparently referring to the repeated disruption of the House by opposition over killings of innocents and human rights violations, she said "the House has a genuine concern over the prevailing situation and primarily it should be because whether on borders or in the hinterland our people are getting killed, whether it is a fidayeen attack or an IED blast".

We should be concerned and the entire house is concerned over the situation, she said adding that when there is an attemptto disturb peace, other issues take a backseat.

Mufti said the J&K state legislature was the most empowered in the country but added "we have to safeguard its statusto become truly the crown of this country".

GST was passed in the country but we passed it after discussion and implemented when we decided, she said. It demonstrates theempowerment of our legislature, Mufti said.

(Former Chief Minister) MuftiMohammad Sayeed used to say that the state has got from thecountry its own constitution, separate flag and residencypowers. We have to safeguard it as this is big treasure, she said.

"If we will say we do not accept theConstitution of the state and the country then what we will getand from where," she added.

The people of the country need to think whatwas the reason for the present situation, she added.

"We, including the people of the country, need to think what happened after Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim majority staterejected religious partition and became part of the biggestand secular nation. I have heard that Jawahar Lal Nehru having said that Jammu and Kashmir will be a showcase window for thewhole world to gaze at. We have to think where the mistake happened," she said.

Mahatma Gandhi had seen a ray of hope in Kashmirbecause of the peaceful atmosphere and harmony, she said. Where that lighthas gone? she asked.

Expressing displeasure over the absence ofopposition members who boycotted her address overthe law and order situation, she said this was a prolonged problem.

"Jammu and Kashmir is faced with a situation where fidayeenattacks, IED blasts, cross firing and border firing is going onfor a long time. I am pained when it is proudly said that we areconstructing 14000 bunkers for border residents instead ofensuring good hospitals, good schools, job opportunities foryouth and tourism initiatives.

"Our people (on the borders) are afraid andfrightened. We will construct bunkers for their safety butI want to ask the people of my country what about the educationof our children who got dislocated and are living inrehabilitation camps for the past six months," she said.

She said National Conference president Farooq Abdullah had repeated what her father used to say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the potential to address the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The problem (of Kashmir) is there but its solution lies in humanity. When anyone is getting killed or martyred, heis a resident of the state, except those being pushed from across the border," she said.

"I am talking about our civilians,yesterday our youth was killed and earlier such incidents happenedin Shopian, Handwara, where a driver was killed," she added.

She listed the work her government was doing to improve the conditions of the people.

"We have launched various welfare schemes but because the discourse is something else, so many people are killed in attacks, our good work and major initiatives could not be projected," she said.

She said the government had money but was not able to spend it because of the situation. "Big contractors are not willing to come here and localcontractors do not qualify for major projects," she said.

She said the alliance stitched (with the BJP) by her father and formerchief minister has resulted in harmony and brotherhood.

"It is heartening to see the bells of temples, call for prayers from mosques and prayers from gurdwaras vibrate in the air as was once the case in Kashmir," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Premier of Australia's state of Victoria Daniel Andrewswill seek extradition of an Indian driver, who allegedly killed a student and injured another in a hit-and-run case here about ten years ago, during his visit to India next week, his office has said.

The then 19-year-old Puneet Puneet was in an inebriated state and speeding along Southbank in Melbourne when the crash happened on October 1, 2008.

Nursing student Dean Hofstee, 19, was killed and the 20- year-oldClancy Coker was seriously injured in the accident. The victims were students from Queensland.

Puneet was on bail and awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to culpable driving when he fled to Indiain 2009 using a friend's passport. He was arrested on November 29, 2013 from Punjab after a four-year long manhunt.

"This is not about forgiveness, this is about justice and peace for the families," thepremier's office said in a statement.

"Premier Daniel Andrews will be visiting India next week. He'll be conveying this directly to the Indian government - this individual must face justice and he must face justice in Australia," it said.

Puneet who who had gone to Australia to study hospitality, hasbeen fighting extradition.

He says he would face extreme racism and violence if he is transferred to an Australian prison.

The next hearing is scheduled for February 2.

Under Australian law, the offence committed by the accused entails a punishment of up to 20 years of imprisonment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Enforcement Directorate today told a special court that a woman director of two Dubai-based firms, accused in a money laundering case connected with the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, might not return to face trial if granted permission to go abroad.

The agency told special judge Arvind Kumar that Shivani Saxena, an active director of Dubai-based M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings, should not be granted the relief as there were high chances of further diversion of the funds.

The court will pronounce its order on the application tomorrow.

Special piblic prosecutor N K Matta also said that Shivani's husband Rajeev Saxena was evading the probe and a non-bailable warrant has already been issued against him.

The ED had on September 13 last year filed a charge sheet against Shivani and others. The final report had also named Rajeev Saxena though he is not yet arrayed as an accused.

In her application, Shivani Saxena submitted that she needed to go to Dubai on January 14 to 29 for business purposes.

She was arrested by the ED on July 17 from Chennai in Tamil Nadu last year and was granted bail by Delhi high court on December 15, 2017 with various conditions, including that she will not leave the country without the court's nod.

Shivani and her husband Rajiv are residents of Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, an archipelago which is home to most expensive properties in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ED's special public prosecutor N K Matta had told the court.

The agency alleged that the two Dubai firms were the entities "through which the proceeds of crime have been routed and further layered and integrated in buying the immovable properties/shares, among others" in this case.

It claimed that its probe had found that AgustaWestland, United Kingdom, had "paid an amount of Euro 58 million as kickbacks" through two Tunisia-based firms.

"These companies further siphoned off the said money in the name of consultancy contracts to M/s Interstellar Technologies Limited, Mauritius and others which were further transferred to M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings Ltd, Dubai and others," the ED had alleged.

The agency had also arrested Delhi-based businessman Gautam Khaitan who is currently out on bail. It had registered a PMLA case in 2014 and named 21 people in its money laundering FIR.

On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks of Rs 423 crore paid by it to secure the deal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP West Bengal unit today hailed the Calcutta High Court order permitting the party's youth wing to conduct a bike rally to begin from January 12 from the southern tip of the state to its northern end.

The police had not granted permission for the 7-day rally in view of the Gangasagar Mela.

"This is not the first time they have done such thing. Every time we have to move court to get permission for a rally. The state government should take lesson from these verdicts and stop creating hurdles," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

Ghosh said the ruling Trinamool Congress is scared of the BJP's growth in Bengal and has been using the police against it and its various wings.

The High Court today allowed the motorbike rally named 'Pratirodh Sankalpa Abhiyan' organised by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) to mark Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary. The rallyists would travel from Contai in East Midnapore district to Coochbehar in the north.

BJYM state president Debjit Sarkar alleged that the police had denied permission for it at the last moment with the sole intention of stopping it from conducting the rally.

Sarkar said the West Bengal Police had sent him a mail yesterday night saying that the BJYM won't be allowed to hold the rally as large number of police personnel would have to be mobilised from all over the state for maintenance of law and order and smooth organisation of the Gangasagar Mela.

"The state government has taken a selective approach while granting permissions. This is completely unacceptable in democracy. The police administration should function impartially," Sarkar told PTI.

The annual Ganga Sagar Mela is held from January 12 to January 15 at Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district on the occasion of Makar Sankranti at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal. Lakhs of pilgrims congregate from different parts of the country to take the holy dip there.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Panchayat and Rural Development and Public Health Engineering minister Subrata Mukherjee today said the state government has launched a water ATM project to provide bacteria-free drinking water in schools.

The government is setting up water ATMs in the city and suburbs and the machines are made in Germany, he told reporters on the sidelines of an award programme here.

"If someone can prove the presence of harmful bacteria in any such water ATM, he will be given Rs 2 lakh. We will be setting up 50 such water ATMs in Kolkata. Our main focus will be schools as well as hospitals in suburbs," Mukherjee said.

He said this was a novel project and the pilot has already begun in some areas of Kolkata.

"Arsenic contamination was most alarming in 90 blocks of seven districts but we have been able to contain it by 61 per cent and we are working to contain it fully," he said.

"This has been possible with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank," he said adding the government is drawing water from perennial sources of water like river through pipes.

The minister was present at the Royal Excellence Award 2018 function - an Award to recognise the achievements of social entrepreneurs in different walks of life.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rahi Masoom Raza had initially declined B R Chopra's request to write for his TV adaptation of "Mahabharat" citing time constraints.

But, when piqued by some self-styled protectors of Hindu faith, the Urdu poet not only came on board the mega TV project but also penned dialogues that are now considered masterclass.

The anecdote finds mention in Poonam Saxena's English translation of "Scene 75", a novel in Hindustani language by Raza which was first published in 1977.

In her notes in the book, Saxena quotes a memoir by Kunwarpal Singh, the legendary poet and screenwriter's close friend and colleague at the Aligarh Muslim University, to narrate the tale.

"When filmmaker B R Chopra requested Rahi sahib to write the dialogues, he declined, saying he didn't have the time. But B R Chopra went ahead and announced Rahi sahib's name at a press conference anyway.

"In no time letters of opposition from self-styled protectors of the Hindu faith arrived: Were all Hindus dead that Chopra had to give this task to a Muslim?" it says.

"Chopra promptly forwarded the letters to Rahi sahib. Ever the champion of India's syncretic culture, Rahi sahib called Chopra the next day and said, 'Chopra sahib! I will write the 'Mahabharat'. I am a son of the Ganga. Who knows the civilisation and culture of India better than I do?" according to the book.

In an interview to India Today magazine in 1990 when Raza was asked about the opposition from Hindu fundamentalists groups, he answered: "I'm hurt and amazed at the furore created about a Muslim writing the script. Am I not an Indian?"



These words came from the heart of Rahi sahib, who always identified himself as a "Ganga-Putra", a "Ganga Kinarewala", Saxena recalls in her notes in "Scene 75", published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Born in 1927 in Ghazipur in eastern Uttar Pradesh on the banks of the Ganga, Raza, best known for his novels "Aadha Gaon", "Dil Ek Saada Kaghaz" and "Topi Shukla", studied at Aligarh Muslim University.

In 1967, he moved to Bombay, as Mumbai was then known, to try his luck in Hindi films and worked there until his death in 1992.

During his work in Hindi films, he wrote script and dialogues for over 300 films including hits such as "Mili" (1975), "Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki" (1978), "Golmal" (1979), "Karz" (1980), "Lamhe" (1991) and many others.

"Scene 75" is short novel set in the Bombay of 1970s. A kaleidoscope of stories within stories, it traverses the life of a young writer, who is trying to cut his teeth on the glamorous world of Hindi films, his three friends and their struggles in the city.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The work related to 2021 census, covering the country's entire 1.30 billion population, will begin this year, the Home Ministry said today.

The issue and the road map for undertaking the census in 2021 were discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh here.

With regard to the census 2021, the activities required to be undertaken in 2018 were discussed at the meeting, a statement issued by the ministry said.

These include firming up the design, stakeholders meeting and pilot exercise in selected states.

The home minister also discussed the progress in updating National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, completion of the activities relating to National Population Register, measures to improve and strengthen the civil registration system.

In regard to the update of NRC in Assam, it was informed that the part draft list covering 1.9 crore applicants, in respect of whom the process of verification has been completed, has been published on December 31, 2017 as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

Another draft list comprising remaining applicants will be published subsequently after completion of their verification, the statement said.

The process is being undertaken in a fair and objective manner and under monitoring of the Supreme Court and after the publication of the complete draft NRC, claims and objections will be invited, it said.

The home minister was informed that the works relating to National Population Register updated in 2015 have been completed in most of the states.

The meeting was informed about that the progress of civil registration system and it was brought out that registration level of birth is 88 per cent and death is about 76.6 per cent at an all India level.

The Vital Rates for 2016 under Sample Registration System have been released recently according to which the birth rate at all India level is 20.4 and death rate is 6.4 and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is 34.

The need to have geo referenced map pertaining to all villages and town was also highlighted by the home minister.

The Registrar General and Census Commissioner also briefed about the other functions of the organisation relating to language, social studies and map divisions.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officers of the RGI and home ministry were also present in the meeting.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nearly 4,000 workers of about 860 fireworks units in and around this town today intensified their stir by observing fast over their demand of exemption of fireworks from the ambit of the Environment Protection Act.

The units had remained indefinitely closed since December 26 over their demands which also includes early hearing of a case in the Supreme Court related to nationwide ban on sale, possession and bursting of crackers to prevent air pollution.

Addressing the agitators today, the manufacturers said they wanted to familiarise the Centre with their plight.

Due to the Supreme Court case, traders have not been placing orders and paying advance, which used to help the fireworks units as working capital.

There is no possibility that the case would be heard in immediate future and the only option open is to exempt the industry from the Environment Protection Act, they said.

The striking workers urged the central government to make a small amendment in the Act, just as they did to allow jallikattu (bull-taming).

The apex court had, on October 9 last year, said no firecrackers would be sold in the Delhi-NCR during Diwali that year while banning its sale till November 1.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Xi Jinping has ordered the armed police force to uphold the "absolute leadership" of the ruling Communist Party of China as the force has been brought under the CPC's command for the first time.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) - the overall high command of the 2.3 million-strong military, made the remarks at a ceremony by the CMC to confer a flag on the armed police force.

Recently the armed police was ordered to function under the CMC which in turn functions under the CPC. Since 1982 the armed police force which focussed on law and order functioned under central cabinet known as state council.

Previously disgraced top officials like Zhou Yongkong, who headed the internal security under former president Hu Jintao, were rumoured to have made use of it to attempt a coup against the central leadership.

After Xi came to power in 2013, Zhou has been prosecuted for corruption and misuse of power and jailed for life.

Now the armed force functions directly under the CMC which means Xi will have a strong grip over the force.

Observers here said the move is aimed at consolidating Xi's leadership as he began his second five-year tenure in October, emerging as the most powerful Chinese leader in recent years.

Xi asked the armed police force to resolutely follow the CPC's instructions and fully implement the CPC's thought on building a strong army in the new era, state-run Xinhua agency reported today.

He stressed the significance of placing the armed police under the unified leadership of the CPC and the CMC.

The adjustment in the leading and command system of the armed police force is "an important political decision" the CPC made to fully realise the absolute leadership of the Party over all armed forces and to develop "a socialist military system with Chinese characteristics," Xi said.

"The move has vital and profound effect on building a strong military for the new era and modernising the country's system and capacity for governance," he said.

In accordance with a statement by the CPC Central Committee released last month, the armed police force would be put under the command of the CPC Central Committee and CMC from January 1 and would no longer be under the authority of the state council.

Stating that the armed police force is an important part of the people's armed forces led by the CPC, Xi said the force bears major responsibility in safeguarding national security and social stability, as well as protecting people's lives.

"The armed police force plays an important role in safeguarding political security, especially the security of the political power and system," Xi said.

He asked the armed police force to accelerate its integration into the joint combat system of the armed forces, enhance reform and innovation, and strive to build a strong and modern armed force.

The armed police force must focus on real combat training and readiness for war, remain on high alert as always, and better deal with emergencies and terrorism.

Xi also stressed the importance of discipline, demanding increased efforts to contain corruption and purify the political ecology of the armed police force.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury today alleged that BJP was supporting vigilantist groups for "communal polarization" with an aim to divert resentment of people against economic decisions taken by the NDA government.

Addressing a public meeting at District Board ground here, Yechury said BJP was apprehensive that resentment of people against economic decisions might take shape of a national agitation against the government.

So it is promoting vigilantist groups harassing people in the name of 'Gau Raksha' and 'Romeo squad' to divert attention from real issues the country was facing, he alleged.

CPI-M general secretary was accompanied by Politburo member Brinda Karat to attend conference of Jharkhand unit of the party.

Yechury said BJP had strongly opposed FDI in retail sector when Manmohan Singh government had brought the bill but, when the saffron party came in power it has passed the legislation.

He also charged that leaders of opposition parties were harassed by trumping false corruption charges but, at the same time inquiry is not being conducted against ruling party leaders and his family members.

"Why the PM is mum on charges against Amit Shahs son while he is claiming himself Chaukidar of country"?, he questioned.

Yechury accused the BJP-led government of trying to destablise Left-ruled Kerala and Tripura state governments as CPI-M is only opposition party which is resisting wrong policy of central government.

"There are 100 MPs of BJP who came from Cong. Had not they joined BJP, the saffron party would have never been in the power", he said.

Politburo member Brinda Karat and state secretary Gopikant Baxi also addressed the public meeting.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An organisation representing the Bahai community in India has urged the Union government to intervene after, it said today, a court in Yemen sentenced to death a member of the religious minority because of his faith.

There are about two million followers of Bahai faith in India.

The body - The Bahais of India - condemned the death penalty given to Hamed bin Haydara, a Bahai living in Yemen, according to a statement issued by its National Spiritual Assembly.

Haydara was arbitrarily arrested at his workplace in December 2013, and was given the death sentence on January 2 this year, it said adding the verdict requires the execution, the date of which is not yet known, be carried out in public.

Haydara was taken into custody in Yemeni capital Sana'a.

Over several months, he was subjected to torture, forced to sign papers blindfolded and denied visitors, including his wife and daughters, according to the statement.

An appeal has been made to the Indian government to urge Yemeni authorities to repeal the court sentence and release all Bahai prisoners, it said.

Nilakshi Rajkhowa, Director of the Bahai Office of Public Affairs of the assembly, said the Indian Bahai community is deeply saddened by this



"We call upon the non-governmental organisations and people of good conscience in India to raise their voices in support of Haydara and all Bahai prisoners in Yemen," she said.

"The various forms of persecution experienced by Yemeni Bahais bear a striking resemblance to what the Bahais of Iran have experienced in their country, such as the baseless accusation, used when Bahais are arrested, that they are somehow a threat to national security and are spies of Israel," the organisation added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Malaysia-based carrier AirAsia Bhd's India unit is looking at a potential initial public offering, the group's chief executive, Tony Fernandes, said on Wednesday. The company will seek approval at AirAsia India's next board meeting to pick a banker to start the preliminary process for the IPO, Fernandes said on Twitter. "Analysts (are) giving zero value to AirAsia India. Not far from 20 planes and a potential IPO," Fernandes tweeted. Analysts giving zero value to airaosa india. Not far from 20 planes and a potential IPO  Tony ...
By Terje Solsvik and Joachim DagenborgOSLO (Reuters) - Hexagon's chief executive, Ola Rollen, was cleared of insider trading charges by an Oslo court on Wednesday in a unanimous verdict.Norwegian prosecutors had asked for an 18-month prison term for Rollen's 2015 purchase of shares in Norway's Next Biometrics , a company not connected to Hexagon.One of Sweden's best known business leaders, Rollen had maintained his innocence throughout the trial and continued to run the company he has led since 2000."I remain committed to serving as CEO for Hexagon for as long as the Board and shareholders ...
By Andrew TorchiaDUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's stock exchange is adjusting its rules to make it easier for foreign investors to trade - steps that may help the bourse absorb a huge IPO by oil giant Saudi Aramco this year, the exchange's chief executive said on Wednesday."These changes are required by the growth of the market and what international institutions tell us," Khalid al-Hussan said in a telephone interview from Riyadh.Trading limits will be made more flexible for the exchange's independent custody system, Hussan said. The system allows foreign investors to use a global custodian ...
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand weakened as much as 1.7 percent in midday trade on Wednesday to its worst in nearly three weeks after the ruling African National Congress said an early exit for President Jacob Zuma had not been discussed at a party meeting.Initially hit by softening demand for emerging market assets as global bond yields picked up, the rand's losses accelerated to a session-low 12.55 shortly after the ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule told reporters Zuma's removal was not on the agenda of a meeting of the party's top decision-making body.At 1100 GMT the rand ...
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement with workers on closing its inhaler factory in Jerusalem by the end of 2019, ending weeks of labour unrest at the facility.The plant is slated to be shut as part of a global restructuring in which the world's largest generic drugmaker will cut more than a quarter of its workforce, or 14,000 jobs.Since the cost-cutting plan was announced last month, workers from the inhaler plant have been disrupting operations.Under the agreement reached between Teva, the Histadrut labour federation and ...
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has written a fresh letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, requesting that certain projects be funded in the form of "grant" by the Centre through NABARD, instead of loans from external agencies.

The state government had earlier expressed inability to spend a quantum of funds under the Special Assistance Measure (SAM) announced by the Centre within the stipulated five years.

The chief minister had told the state Assembly during the winter session that his government saw "no immediate benefit" from the SAM under externally-aided projects (EAPs) after the Centre turned down the state's plea to let it use the money to clear outstanding loans.

Naidu wrote a letter afresh to Jaitley on January 5 stating that the AP government expected to receive Rs 16,447 crore under the SAM from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

"AP Government has sent proposals for various projects to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the EAP.

"I would like to mention that projects under the EAP will consume a lot of time for grounding and completing, considering the elaborate procedures involved in getting clearance and approval from external funding agencies," the chief minister said in the letter.

"The state government will not be in a position to consume the entire special assistance amount within the five-year period ending 2019-20, including (that for) ongoing projects signed after 2015-16," he added.

Therefore, Naidu suggested, a "special dispensation amount" be provided to Andhra Pradesh for specified projects from National Bank For Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) instead of loans from external agencies.

"It should be disbursed as a grant from the Government of India so that this will not form part of the state FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Management) limits. This will facilitate the state government for early commencement of projects and to avail of the SAM announced to our state," the chief minister said.

In his letter, Naidu listed six projects that require a total funding of Rs 16,725 crore.

Of these, the DEA has already approved the AP Roads and Bridges Reconstruction Project and AP Mandal Connectivity and Rural Connectivity Improvement Project (Rs 3,200 crore each) with a proposed loan from Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB).

The Rs 4,500 crore AP Rural Water Supply Project, with a loan from AIIB, has not been cleared by the DEA yet.

The cost of another project - Construction of Residential School Buildings - which too is pending approval of the DEA, has increased from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,341 crore as per the latest estimate submitted by Naidu. This was also supposed to be taken up with a loan from AIIB.

Now, the state government is seeking funds for these projects as a grant from the Centre and not through loans from foreign banks.

The state government has also submitted two new projects - Amaravati Greening Development (Rs 1,484 crore) and AP Backward Area Rural Development Project (Rs 1,000 crore) to the Centre for funding through NABARD.
At present, there is nil export duty on ore with up to 58 per cent ferrous content. Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (Fimi) and Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association have both sought the duty abolition. In a presentation to the central government, Fimi has said: Since there is no domestic demand for iron ore up to 62 per cent Fe, the only alternative is to export. Due to slowdown in the steel industry, ...

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It is now increasingly looking unlikely that the Centre will be able to meet its targets for key macroeconomic variables for 2017-18, as detailed in the medium-term fiscal road map last year. This, in turn, will impact the governments ability to meet the 2018-19 targets as well.

First, economic growth has dipped in the current financial year. It is unlikely to pick up sharply in FY19, as the economy struggles to deal with the twin shocks of demonetisation and the goods and services tax (GST). Second, a sluggish economy, coupled with the uncertainty under the new indirect ...
The downward spiral of the commodity cycle and the crash of steel and power businesses have broken the back of many billionaires and corporate houses across the world. But the industrialist Naveen Jindal has many more reasons for his slip from the peak. The coal scam and the burgeoning debt of Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) halted the mercurial rise, until 2012, of Jindal- the youngest son of industrialist-turned-politician OP Jindal. The profits started falling in the next two years, before sinking into losses from financial year 2015. The consolidated losses ballooned to Rs 2,540 crore in the last financial year--- compared to losses of Rs 2,000 crore in the previous year--- on a revenue of Rs 22,700 crore.

But it looks like the tide is finally turning in Jindal's favour. The share price, which fell over 90 per cent in the four years until mid-2016, has picked up steam and climbed 63 per cent in the last 25 days to Rs 262.35 (January 10 closing price) and analysts cite reasons for further uptick. Another reason behind the price rise of the shares is JSPL's capital expenditure cycle which is on the verge of completion. With the commissioning of the company's 2.5 million tonne (MT) Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) at Angul in Odisha, the crude steel capacity has risen to 8.6 MT. In addition, the monetisation of assets and equity raising are also on cards to reduce the debt of Rs 45,300 crore in FY2017.

IDFC analysts said in a recent report that higher volumes from enhanced capacity of JSPL along with the estimated firm steel prices and positive free cash flow will result in superior financial performance. "We expect JSPL to report consolidated net profit of Rs 880 crore in FY19 and increase it further to Rs 2,040 crore in FY20," report said. They expect the consolidated net debt to reduce to Rs 38,400 crore by FY20 from Rs 45,300 crore.

"JSPL is likely to monetise Jindal Shadeed's (Oman subsidiary) assets by listing it on the Oman exchange, thus unlocking value to shareholders," report said. On Monday, JSPL stock rose up to 13 per cent in the morning trade following reports of its plan to raise Rs 1,000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) route in February. The company informed the stock exchange that it's "merely an intent" in accordance with the ongoing commitment to its bankers.

Improvement in domestic demand--- thanks to the upcoming low cost housing and rail and infra projects --- and the imposition of anti-dumping duty are the supporting factors for the company's steel business. Nearly 75 per cent of JSPL's product mix comprises long steel while the rest is hot rolled plates. At present, the domestic steel prices are at 10 per cent discount to the landed cost of imports.

Besides, Naveen Jindal and others were granted bail by a special court in September last year in a case related to the allocation of a coal block in Madhya Pradesh. In its charge sheet, the CBI has alleged that JSPL misrepresented the equipment purchase orders and misled the coal ministry. Jindal is also facing trial in a case pertaining to the allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. The CBI on Wednesday told the special court that the charge of bribery be framed against Jindal and others in the case pertaining to irregularities in the allocation of Jharkhand coal block.

The first spike of JSPL shares, which was at Rs 50, triggered in August 2007 and it rose by 340 per cent in five months. The global financial downturn had briefly pulled down JSPL's prices in 2008, however, it started picking up from November 2008 and it rose by six times to its peak of Rs 745 a share by end of 2009. The journey was peaceful until FY 2012--- when the company reported its highest profit of Rs 2,110 crore on a revenue of Rs 13,300 crore. Starting from 2012 until mid-2016, the share price slipped by over 90 per cent to Rs 50-60--- which was the 2006-level.

In 2010-11 and the previous year, Jindal was the highest paid corporate head in the country with a compensation of around Rs 70 crore. In lieu with the company's performance, his remuneration also fell down to Rs 7 crore in the last financial year.

The market now hopes of an uptick in JSPL's performance.
News of a Jet Airways hostess who was arrested while trying to smuggle USD 3.21 crore to Hong Kong, wrapped in foil, emerged yesterday. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested 25-year-old Devshi Kulshreshtha, who had already made multiple trips to Hong Kong and had successfully smuggled forex before she was eventually caught on Monday. Investigating officers found that she was working with a hawala operator, Amit Malhotra, a resident of Delhi's Vivek Vihar. According to reports about new developments, Kulshreshtha has named two more people from Jet Airways.

Kulshreshtha was allegedly paid Rs 1 lakh for every trip. According to a report in Times of India, she had recently been charging a rupee for every dollar. Her husband, who works in a placement agency, would deposit her money in the bank but she had not revealed the source to him. Even he claimed innocence but DRI officials are looking at his involvement and are reluctant to believe that he had no idea where so much money was coming from.

A tip-off led DRI officials to check her luggage before the Delhi-Hong Kong flight's takeoff, where they found the wads of cash.

Impressed by her hospitality, Amit Malhotra, who has also been arrested, befriended Kulshreshtha on a flight to Delhi six months ago. The two exchanged numbers after he spun a story about being a business tycoon, as a report in Times of India mentions.

They later met after Malhotra sent her a text asking if they could meet. Malhotra revealed his grand plan to her during that meeting, asking her to be a part of it. Kulshreshtha was supposed to carry some cash for his "business associates", the TOI report mentions.

Although Kulshreshtha initially refused, Malhotra managed to convince her. She would wrap bundles of cash in foil, put them in her bag and cover it with her clothes and makeup kit. Kulshreshtha would pass off the wrapped up-cash as chocolates. Once in her hotel in Hong Kong, she would message Malhotra, who would send someone to pick the cash from her.

While checking her luggage, DRI officials found 32 bundles of notes in her check-in baggage and 16 more in her hand baggage.

Kulshreshtha and Malhotra have been sent on a two-day judicial custody, and they will be produced by the DRI before concerned metropolitan magistrate on January 11.
Six hours ago, a jubilant Vijay Shekhar Sharma tweeted that he was "Very happy to publicly unveil @PaytmMoney today!...Timely upgrade of my business card." With this new launch, Sharma, the founder and CEO of Paytm, India's largest mobile commerce platform, has added yet another notch in his belt. "We started as a payments platform and expanded customer offerings to deposits with Paytm Payments Bank. Today, with Paytm Money, we have taken the next logical step in the direction of wealth management," said Sharma.

So what is Paytm Money? This new entity will focus on investment and wealth management and it hopes to launch its products in the first quarter of 2018. Parent company One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, will reportedly invest close to $10 million upfront to get it going.

"India's wealth management services market has so far focussed mainly on the urban segment leaving a huge chunk of the market untapped," said Pravin Jadhav, who has been roped in to lead this new venture. Paytm Money Ltd, reportedly in the process of seeking regulatory approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, plans to start out by offering mutual funds. "India will be a mutual-funds first market; we are in discussions with leading AMCs to offer mutual fund investments in Direct Mode for our users," he added.

In an interview to YourStory, Jadhav claimed to be in discussions with "almost all 40 Asset Management Companies (AMCs) in the country" but initially, the platform will be available with around 10-12 AMCs, covering close to 70-80% of the industry money. According to him, there are only about 15 million mutual fund investors in the country. So Paytm Money, leveraging on Paytm's nearly 300 million strong customer base, is hoping to expand the pie significantly. "We ultimately want to be the Charles Schwab of India with a zero-fee brokerage," Sharma told Mint in another interaction.

The daily also quoted Sharma saying that Paytm could end up creating a money market fund in the long term just like Ant Financial in China. The latter, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's financial affiliate, set up its Yu'E Bao fund about five years ago and it is now one of the biggest money market funds in the world. Incidentally, both Ant Financial and Alibaba have invested in Paytm.

With this new company Paytm will also be able to help out its in-house payments bank (PB). The main difference between PBs and traditional banks is that the former cannot directly sell any financial products to customers. But nobody has banned cross-selling financial services in partnership with third-parties, and that's where Paytm Money will enter the picture. A handy source of revenue, we say.

Based out of Bengaluru, the newly-launched venture currently has 40 employees on its rolls but is reportedly planning to go on a hiring spree to take the number up to 200 within the next six months.

It is indeed fascinating how Paytm is evolving so rapidly. From being a pioneer in digital payments, in a short span of time, it is on its way to becoming a full-stack financial services company offering banking, lending, insurance and payments
On 28 November 2017, the Bharat 22 ETF made its debut and after 29 trading sessions the ETF seems to be losing its sheen with the asset under management (AUM) falling over 40 per cent following profit booking by investors to Rs 8,539 crore as on 31 December 2017 from Rs 14,500 crore garnered from the new fund offer (NFO). The ETF that had seen 3.35 lakh applications during the NFO in which retail investors were issued ETF at 3 per cent discount in price compared to the rest of the investors is trading 5.6 per cent higher than its offer price of Rs 35.97 per unit. While the investors didn't make exponential return in the ETF it's a great way to own state-run companies and play the PSU disinvestment story.

With the follow-on offering round the corner, Business Today's Mahesh Nayak met up with Nimesh Shah, MD & CEO at ICICI Prudential AMC to understand why the AMC which has been in managing active money ventured into passive fund management.

Edited Excerpts:

1. What is the reason to launch Bharat 22 ETF?

The Hon. Union Finance Minister announced BHARAT 22 ETF as a part of Government's disinvestment initiative, wherein ICICI Prudential AMC has been appointed to launch and manage the ETF consisting shared of listed CPSEs and other corporate entities.

In the past Government of India has disinvited its holding in select companies through various routes such as Initial Public Offering, Offer for Sale and Institutional Placement Programme.

Also, through this ETF, retail investors who wish to invest in the India growth story get the opportunity to take exposure passively.

2. In the past the mutual fund industry has not had a great experience with ETF so what will be the new strategy by the AMC to keep the interest and momentum going for the new Bharat 22 ETF?

ETFs have been present in the market for over a decade but the investor interest in this segment has been miniscule. Now with the increasing interest in financial assets, many investors who wish to passively take exposure to equities are opting for index ETFs. This is coming at a time when investors have had good investment experience in the past through the previously launched CPSE and gold ETFs.

But, when it comes to Bharat 22 the underlying universe is very unique. Spread across six sectors are the 22 names which stand to benefit from the various reforms initiatives announced by the Government. This makes for an interesting investment proposition.

3. There is a feeling that the rising valuation is restricting the AMC from selling active funds so Prudential AMC have chosen ETF as a new route to keep the business live and active. What is your view on the same and why? Or is the AMC of the view that 5 to 10 years from today ETF will be future as seen in the global market?

India is one the fastest growing economies with interesting opportunities available in the market. The inflows into mutual funds have been robust over the last two-three years, with retail investors preferring financial assets over physical assets, in India. This can be seen through the steadily growing SIP book of the industry. Above all this, the investment experience has been good.

As an AMC we are of the view, that there is still room to generate considerable alpha through active investing. Over the last three years, we have been recommending dynamic asset allocation funds such that new investors are guided to make the most of the market opportunities, even at expensive valuations.

However, as the market matures, say in another decade or so, passive investing may become a viable option for investors, as was the case seen during the evolution of mutual fund industry in advanced economies of the world.

4. How do you see the AMC business in India? Does everyone has a place in this industry? Do we see consolidation or do we see a shake-out in the AMC industry where smaller players will get marginalized and die its own death and why?



As of FY16, mutual funds account for just 2.10 per cent of the household savings pie. This clearly shows that there is enough room for mutual funds to expand its footprint in the country. Also, there is room for new players to take root in the Indian AMC universe. Even in the past we have seen niche players making a mark with their offerings. We believe there is room for serious players in the industry.

5. Do you see you basket of products being complete or do you still see scope for new product launch especially in the equity and fixed income space?

We believe there is room for new products in the industry, both in equity and fixed income space. But surely the launch of these products will happen slowly as the industry evolves. When the financial savings culture in the country improves, the need for more sophisticated products is likely to emerge. When compared to global markets, Indian basket of products is hardly a fraction of the offering in advanced markets.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked directors of Jaiprakash Associate Limited to submit the details regarding the company's ongoing housing projects in the country. With the current order, the apex court seems to be taking steps to ensure the beleaguered company does not make any excuse to deposit the assured money of Rs 125 crore, the deadline for which was extended till January 25 from December 31 last month. However, the counsels representing Jaypee assured the SC bench that they had sold some company properties and the loan restructuring process was on.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra reiterated its earlier order, and refrained the company directors from selling their personal assets. It said the Reserve Bank of India's request for nod on filing insolvency proceedings would be considered later. Besides, the bench exempted the company directors from appearing on every hearing on the grounds of their old age, as requested by the counsel of the company's independent directors. To protect the interest of buyers, the bench has asked amicus curie Pawan Shree Agrawal to set up a portal where all grievances of home buyers would be noted. The step would help keep a tab on number of complaints against Jaypee facing insolvency proceedings.

On the request of senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, who appeared for the independent directors of JAL, the SC bench exempted them from appearing for every hearing but reiterated they could not leave the country without the apex court's permission. The bench also said they couldn't sell off their personal assets or create third-party interest. The top court had earlier said any violation of its directive would hold them liable for criminal prosecution and contempt action.

The Supreme Court had passed an interim order in September 2017 directing JAL to deposit Rs 2,000 crore with the court registry in relation to the insolvency proceedings pending against its subsidiary, Jaypee Infratech Limited. The top court, however, had given the company the option of depositing the above amount in instalments. So far, the company has deposited only Rs 450 crore with the court.

Flat buyers, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of 2016, do not fall in the category of secured creditors like banks and hence can get back their money only if something is left after repaying the secured and operational creditors, reported PTI. Considering the law - which seems to be first securing the investments made by secured creditors like banks - over 32,000 homebuyers who had also invested in the company by buying Jaypee flats could lose money.

IDBI Bank, the largest creditor of Jaypee Infratech Ltd and the leader of the consortium of lenders to the Jaypee Group, had dragged to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on August 10, 2017, to initiate the insolvency proceedings to recover its Rs 546 crore loan. Later, several homebuyers had moved the Supreme Court against the company to get back their money. Hence, the top court had put a stay on the insolvency proceedings on September 4, 2017.

With PTI inputs
LOGAN  Police are investigating the death of a man, whose body was found outside an apartment complex Tuesday morning.

Logan City Police Capt. Curtis Hooley said police were called to The Factory, a student housing complex west of Utah State University, at 11 a.m. An individual had found the mans body lying on the ground, south of the apartments parking garage.

Officers and medical personnel responded to the scene and located the individual and determined that he was deceased, said Hooley. An investigation ensued to try to determine what the causation of his death was and the circumstances.

The man, whose identity is not being released, is from California but has grandparents who live in the area.

Hooley said investigators believe the man died from blunt force trauma to the head, after falling from the upper level of the parking garage.

It appears from video, you cant see where he goes off the edge but you can see the video before 6 a.m., of him entering the parking complex and going through different levels of that complex. He is by himself and at some point he comes off the edge.

Investigators are unsure if the man was having some sort of psychological issue or was suicidal before falling.

Hooley said USU police assisted investigators and were able to determine that the man does not appear to be associated with the university.

We did have the University Police do a search and they were not able to locate him as a student, either currently or in the recent past. At this point we dont believe hes a student.

Police are still trying to determine why the man was wandering around the apartment, near 900 N 600 E.

<hr /><p style=text-align: center;>will@cvradio.com
FILE PHOTO: David Etheridge II, a vehicle inspector at DEQ, is shown during a tailpipe emission Thursday, June 22, 2006, in Hillsboro, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

In Cache County vehicles are not required to have emissions testing during the first five model years. Vehicles that are six or more model years old must obtain smog certification every other year. Vehicles in Cache County have emissions test exemption status if they were manufactured in or before 1968.

A report from the Weber-Morgan health department late last year indicated about 19 percent of diesel vehicles  almost one in five  had failed emissions tests.

The numbers are similar in Cache County.

One of the groups of diesel vehicles that we test actually failed at about an 18 percent rate as well, said Josh Greer, Environmental Scientist at the Bear River Health Department. We do two types of testing of diesel vehicles. For older ones from 1998 to 2006 we do a tampering-based inspection and then 2007 and newer were actually plugging in and communicating with the on-board computer to verify it has passed its emissions test.

Greer said emissions testing, which started back in 2014, is making a difference in Cache County.

I believe were cleaning up vehicles. We are cleaning up the air. We talk a lot about the inversion and how it traps pollution. And we know anything we can do, especially with our vehicles, to reduce the amount of pollution they are putting into that inversion, is going to help us, and I believe it has.

Greer said the Bear River Health Department has secured funding from the EPA to create a Vehicle Repair Assistance Program.

For vehicles that have failed testing, we are able to offer money to help get those vehicles repaired in order to pass the testing.

The Bear River Health Department tests vehicles up to 14,000 pounds, mostly passenger vehicles.
On November 11, a consignment of 15,000 tons of wheat arrived in Afghanistan from India via Irans Chabahar port. This is an important milestone for the three countries as it marks the operationalization of the transit trade agreement they signed in 2017. In addition, the first phase of the development of Chabahar port has been completed. It is expected to energize Irans economy and provide India with a gateway for overland access to Afghanistan and the Central Asian states. Importantly, landlocked Afghanistan now has another outlet to the sea, reducing its dependence on Pakistani ports. This will reduce Islamabads influence over Afghanistan.

BACKGROUND: Iranian President Mohammed Khatami mooted the topic of India developing Chabahar into a trade and transshipment hub during his visit to New Delhi in 2003. India at first embraced the idea enthusiastically but then its interest waned. It was concerned over the projects economic viability, especially in the context of international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. Under pressure from the US to distance itself from Iran, India dragged its feet on the Chabahar project.

Indias interest in Chabahar port revived from 2012 onwards. US-Iran relations were improving and with nuclear-related sanctions on the Iranian economy being lifted in January 2016, the ports economic prospects brightened. Indias ambitions to expand trade with and influence in Afghanistan and Central Asia had grown but Pakistan refused India overland access to Afghanistan. Consequently, Indian investment in Chabahar ports development as a gateway for overland trade to and through Afghanistan became necessary.

Importantly, Chinas presence in the region has grown remarkably over the past decade. Not only has Beijing funded, built and begun to operate Gwadar port in Pakistan, but is also financing and constructing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a trade corridor linking Gwadar with Chinas Xinjiang province. Worryingly for India, Chinese naval ships have docked at Gwadar.

Moreover, Beijing also demonstrated an interest in developing Chabahar port and Iran was not averse to this prospect. Concerned of being edged out of the project, Delhi expedited its participation in the Chabahar project. In May 2016, India signed an agreement with Iran to build and operate Chabahar port for ten years. New Delhi agreed to invest US$ 500 million in developing two terminals and cargo berths as well as other related infrastructure. A trilateral agreement signed by India, Iran and Afghanistan provided for transit trade through Chabahar.

The plan is for shipments from India to be offloaded at Chabahar port, where the cargo would be loaded on to trucks and trains heading to Zahedan near Irans border with Afghanistan and onward to Zaranj in Afghanistan (the distance between Chabahar Zahedan and Zahedan  Zaranj are 1,380 km and 200 km, respectively). Similarly, Afghan goods reaching Zahedan would be transported overland to Chabahar from where ships would carry the cargo to India and other countries.

IMPLICATIONS: Chabahar port has immense strategic value. Its location outside the Strait of Hormuz reduces the Iranian economys vulnerability to a blockade of the Strait by hostile powers. Situated on the Makran coast, it gives Iran direct access to the Indian Ocean.

Chabahar port is Irans only deep-sea port. Its development will enable Iran to receive high tonnage ships, which was not possible in the past, forcing Iran to route such ships to Dubai. Most international shipping is conducted via high tonnage cargo vessels and Chabahar can henceforth expect to benefit from the docking of these vessels, especially once Chabahar is linked to the International North-South Transport Corridor. Industrial development in and around the port complex is also likely to strengthen the Iranian economy and boost employment in Sistan-Baluchistan, Irans least developed province, where Chabahar is located.

For India, which has so far been denied overland access to Afghanistan and Central Asia by Pakistan, Chabahar port opens up enormous opportunities as it will function as a gateway to overland trade corridors linking India to resource-rich Central Asia and European markets.

Delhi has so far been airlifting cargo to Afghanistan, constraining its role in the war-torn countrys reconstruction. With overland routes from Chabahar to Afghanistan opening up, this is poised to change. In 2009, India completed the construction of a 215-km-long highway linking Zaranj with Delaram and several other cities on Afghanistans Garland Highway. This road network will multiply Indias access to Afghanistan and subsequently to Central Asia, and expand its influence in the region.

For Afghanistan, access to the sea via Chabahar port will ease its dependence on Pakistani ports, which are an uncertain option given the unstable relations between Islamabad and Kabul. This will reduce Afghanistans vulnerability to Pakistani pressure.

Afghan traders complain of harassment from Pakistani officials as their trucks are often prevented from crossing into Pakistan, and say that customs tariff rates are increased without warning. Overland routes via Iran to Iranian ports are safer, they argue, and more cost-effective than the routes to Karachi port.

Indeed, Afghan traders have in recent years opted to trade via Irans Bandar Abbas port. In 2008-09 nearly 60 percent of Afghan imports were transited through Pakistan. In 2016 this figure dropped to less than 30 percent. Afghan trade through Iran increased from 15-20 percent to 37-40 percent during the same period. Afghan trade via Pakistan can be expected to drop further when Chabahar port becomes operational.

According to Indian analysts, Pakistans main concern in light of these developments is losing its leverage with Kabul, rather than losing Afghanistans transit trade to Iran. Kabul is likely to gain greater confidence in dealing with Pakistan on the issue of transit trade and could, for instance, decide to deny Pakistan overland access through Afghan territory to Central Asia. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has repeatedly articulated this threat in recent years in response to Pakistans refusal to allow Afghanistan-India overland trade via Wagah.

Importantly, Chabahar could have a substantial impact on Gwadar port, just 72 km away. Gwadar is far more developed than Chabahar; it has a head-start of at least ten years. Transport links between Gwadar and Xinjiang are progressing and CPEC will also hook up with the network of the Belt and Road Initiative. These advantages notwithstanding, Gwadar needs to accommodate more trade than CPEC will bring  it also needs to transit cargo to and from Central Asia. Pakistan will need Kabul on its side to make this happen. The question is whether Kabul, newly freed from its dependence on Pakistani ports, will oblige.

CONCLUSIONS: The start of transit trade through Chabahar port is a momentous event. It is expected to pave the way for Indias increased trade with and influence in Afghanistan and Central Asia as well as Irans rise as a global transshipment hub. However, the most significant change it will bring is in Afghanistans relationship with Pakistan. By providing Afghanistan with another outlet to the sea, Chabahar reduces Kabuls dependence on Pakistan. Indeed, it could provide Kabul with new confidence, even leverage in dealing with Pakistan, especially on trade matters.

AUTHORS BIO: Dr. Sudha Ramachandran is an independent researcher / journalist based in India. She writes on South Asian political and security issues. Her articles have appeared in publications such as Asia Times Online, The Diplomat, and China Brief. She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .





Image source: By Alireza numberone - Own work, via Wikimedia Commons, accessed on 1.10. 2018
From Jordan Rappaport, Senior Economist at the Kansas City Fed: Pent-Up Demand and Continuing Price Increases: The Outlook for Housing in 2018 An excerpt on inventory:



The low rate of residential construction has been contributing to the tight supply of existing homes listed for sale. New construction provides liquidity to local housing markets, where households are often both buyers and sellers. With fewer new homes from which to choose, many homeowners considering upgrading have instead chosen to remain in their current homes and so have not listed them for sale. As a result, the number of existing homes for sale has decreased as well, dissuading other homeowners from upgrading and further dampening sales listings. This vicious circle has limited the efficacy of rising sales prices in eliciting more listings. Since early 2015, the number of single-family homes listed for sale has steadily declined (Chart 2, blue line). Correspondingly, the ratio of listed homes to monthly sales, also known as months supply, fell to 3.8 in November, its lowest value since 1982, the earliest date for which data are available (green line).

Click on graph for larger image.

Limited new construction and sales listings of low-end single-family homes have similarly dissuaded many younger households from leaving their apartments to purchase homes, thereby depressing the number of vacant apartments available for potential new households.

There is much more in the Fed article.CR Note: Two of the key reasons inventory is low: 1) A large number of single family home and condos were converted to rental units. In 2015, housing economist Tom Lawler estimated there were 17.5 million renter occupied single family homes in the U.S., up from 10.7 million in 2000. Many of these houses were purchased by investors, and rents have increased substantially, and the investors are not selling (even though prices have increased too). Most of these rental conversions were at the lower end, and that is limiting the supply for first time buyers. 2) Baby boomers are aging in place (people tend to downsize when they are 75 or 80, in another 10 to 20 years for the boomers). Instead we have seen a surge in home improvement spending, and this is also limiting supply.
| BY Ricki Green |

PR, social and content agency Sling & Stone has officially opened a new office in Los Angeles.

Following a successful expansion to New Zealand, Sling & Stone is launching in the United States to help more of the worlds brands tell their stories to global audiences. Sling & Stone will also support entrepreneurial Aussie and Kiwi brands looking to expand into the US.

In Australia Sling & Stones clients include Twitter, Nest, Zillow, Slack, Goose Island, and Stripe.

Says Vuki Vujasinovic, CEO, Sling & Stone:  Unlike big agencies, we are built from the ground up to suit the needs of high-growth brands  from the earliest startups to established innovators. Designed for agility and speed, we run on the best technology, and work more closely with our clients.

We are doers, not just talkers. Most importantly, we have deep experience in translating and telling stories of change and innovation for audiences across a wide range of industries  from space-tech, to the retail industry, and just about everything in between.

Vujasinovic will lead the expansion and head the US operation, splitting time between Sydney and Los Angeles. Dominique Koudsi returns from a year in Australia with Sling & Stone to her hometown of Los Angeles to join Vujasinovic, and Kimberly Lorman joins the team, from Brew PR.

Says Vujasinovic: 2017 was a breakout year for Sling & Stone  in terms of scaling our incredible team, opening our first overseas office, and doing more impactful work for the clients we partner with.

The US has always been in my sights since founding the agency seven years ago, and I am very proud that were taking this leap. Having worked with so many incredible US brands, helping them launch and grow in Australia, we have a strong sense of how they operate and what they need.

Were not a run of the mill agency, and I believe what weve built both organically and deliberately in Australia will be a genuinely fresh approach in the US PR market.

Weve built Sling & Stone by getting behind challengers, while having a knack for helping both the early stage underdog and the established big-thinkers.

Los Angeles was a natural choice for our first US office. The energy in the creative, technology, and startup communities here is electric. While well work with brands from all over the US, we are very excited to become a part of the LA innovation network.

Were excited to take the best of what weve created in Australia across the Pacific, and show the US what weve got.
| BY Lynchy |

Imagination China has announced their future leadership structure.

Current Operations Director Lee Wateridge has been promoted to General Manager for the Greater China region. Wateridge (pictured left) has been with Imagination for over 20 years in a variety of senior roles including Global Production and Operations Director for Shell, working across Europe, USA and Asia.

Joining Wateridge and to further accelerate the growth of their business in China, Imagination has also kicked off a search for senior local talent to be part of the new leadership team.

Imagination Group CEO, Patrick Reid, said, As we continue to invest in China, we are seeking the best local talent to serve our growing portfolio of Chinese and global clients.

Gary Siow also joins the leadership team in the role of Finance Director for Imagination China. Siow has over 20 years experience in the industry and previously worked for Ogilvy Beijing where he held the position of Head of Commercial Service, and before that has held senior finance roles at Razorfish and Quais Consulting.

Current Managing Director for Imagination China, Alistair Wilson, has been promoted to lead the agencys Ford Motor Company Account from Detroit and join Imaginations global management board. Given the significance of Imaginations Ford Motor Company relationship in China, Wilson (pictured left) will remain actively involved to support the continued success of the partnership in the region.

Over his past three years in Shanghai, Wilson has spearheaded significant growth in Imaginations China business, with revenue growth of 50 percent in the past 24 months alone. Wilson will relocate to the USA in early July 2018.

In addition Imagination China is expanding its leadership team in China with the following changes to its client service team:

Julien Dupuis has been promoted to Business Director for Connected Experiences having been instrumental in the development of an industry leading WeChat experience for Lincoln Motor Company in China. Todd Bokin has been promoted to Business Director responsible for Automotive & Emerging Opportunities. Todd recently led Imaginations Effie Award winning work for Jaguar.

All China changes were effective as of January 1st.

The announcement of a new leadership team caps off another successful year for Imagination China, following the win of a prestigious Effie and a number of high profile client wins including Vivo, Carlsberg and 2 startup Electric Vehicle brands.

Commenting on the shape of the new leadership structure, Imaginations Group CEO Patrick Reid praised the strength of the entire Imagination China team. We are proud to be expanding our leadership team in China, and growing our local talent base to continue our ambitious drive to be Chinas authority in connected experiences.

At the same time it is with pleasure I welcome Gary to Imagination, and to promote so many of our loyal and innovative team who make a massive contribution everyday to our clients.
Five things youve probably never done in Jasper

You may have hiked the Old Fort Point Loop Trail in Jasper National Park, but have you cooked and eaten a gourmet meal at the top? Last October, I stood on top of Old Fort Point gazing out at an incredible view while I made homemade cheese using a camping stove at a real table. Making cheese is something I never imagined myself doing. Having a gourmet cooking lesson on a mountaintop was even more inconceivable.
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The owners of the Curtin shops promised to shut the building down if planning officials stood in the way of their high rise redevelopment. This week, they made good on their word. The standoff between the Haridemos family and the community has escalated, after 44 Curtin Place was fenced off on Tuesday. The owners had threatened to hoard up the building indefinitely if their bid to transform into a six-storey building, with three basement levels, ground floor retail and five levels of units was knocked back. Hundreds of people signed a petition last January in protest of the redevelopment, as it was not compatible with the rules of the Curtin Group Square draft master plan and would overshadow the town square. Accused of "hardball" tactics, the owners claimed they could not afford to maintain the 50-year-old building any longer. But ACTPLA still refused their application as the proposed height was "not consistent with the existing lower rise character of the Curtin shops", then chief planner Dorte Ekelund said. Curtin Residents Association president Chris Johnson said the community would have readily accepted two storeys, or even four storeys if the owners made the case for it. But late last year, tenants were turfed from the building when their leases expired, and the building was fenced off on Tuesday. Asked on Wednesday what they now had planned for the building, the Haridemos family's spokeswoman Tania Parkes said "the owners are considering their options". The building had seven tenants - a takeaway fish shop, a milk bar, a green grocer, a Nepalese restaurant, a chemist, a bottle shop and a book store. Supermarket Coles, a bakery and several cafes remain open around the square. Capital Chemist moved across the square to share space with the post office earlier this month and green grocer Choku Bai Jo will move into the former coffee roasters' shop on Carruthers Street. But most affected businesses have been forced out of the area or to shut down entirely, leaving locals frustrated and confounded by the actions of the owners. Ninety-three year old Yvonne Scales has lived in Deakin for about 50 years, but always travels to the Curtin shops because it's easy to get a park. She would be happy if a smaller redevelopment went ahead and described the current situation as "terrible". "It's such a pity. It's always the developers who show up, do what they want and leave you with the mess," Mrs Scales said. Bella Walters recalled bringing her infant daughter to Curtin Square 46 years ago, and dancing in the Beyond Q bookshop when musician played there. "I felt so sad to hear how the shops were told to move to leave an empty building there," Ms Walters said. "It's uncalled for. To me this is greed." Elaine Ennett described the actions of the owners as "unacceptable". "It needs development but it needs to be sympathetic redevelopment," she said. "The fact they're allowed to [leave it like that], I question. There seem to be one set of rules for certain people, and another for everyone else." Mr Johnson said it was time the developer "proposed something acceptable". "We want him to get on with putting in a proposal that meets planning requirements," Mr Johnson said. The traders still open around Curtin Square include: Benson's Hairdresser; Capital Chemist; Choku Bai Jo; Coles Supermarket; Curtin Bakery; Curtin Barber; Curtin Community Bank; Curtin Dental; Curtin Medical Practice; Curtin Optical; Curtin Physio; Curtin Post Office; Curtin Vet; Deli Cafe; Downtown Duty Free; Ivy Flowers; Nunie and Yu Ladies Fashion Boutique; Peter Blackshaw Real Estate; Programmed Recruitment; Red Brick Cafe.

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The laws governing P-platers can be confusing when it comes to differences between NSW and the ACT, and which ones apply where. Both NSW and ACT provisional drivers are subject to a zero blood alcohol limit, must display p-plates, and are bound by the respective state and territory road rules. But that is where the similarities end. ACT P-platers driving in NSW are not bound by that state's stricter rules on provisional drivers. The Canberra Times reported this week that the rules governing territory P-platers are the most relaxed in the country, despite the over-representation of young people in crashes. And even as the Australian Medical Association calls for national action in the wake of a horror holiday road toll, the ACT's police union says the ACT government has been "asleep at the wheel" on road safety. But that could all change after an ACT government spokeswoman confirmed a review would take place this year. In both NSW and the ACT, ACT P-platers Whereas NSW P-platers in NSW The differences exist because NSW road rules, including those governing P-platers, apply to only NSW P1 and P2 drivers, rather than provisional drivers more generally. Police will enforce the conditions relevant to the person's driver licence, whether it is from NSW or the ACT, the NSW Roads and Maritime Services website says. Centre For Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlos said all licence conditions and restrictions that apply to NSW learner and provisional drivers also apply when they drive outside of NSW in all Australian states and territories, including novice driver speed limits. The 2018 road toll currently stands at one for the ACT. On January 2, the 24-year-old son of long-time Canberra Liberal politician Bill Stefaniak died in a crash in Hughes. In NSW, the 2018 road toll is at 10.

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Cape Coral City Council filled three vacanies on its Budget Review Committee Monday.

Bill Osborn, Michael Botkin and Beatrice Jacquet-Castor were named to the advisory panel. Gary Eidson was named the alternate, as Osborn had been an alternate before being elevated to a member in full standing.

All members were voted in unanimously.

The vacancies are the result of resignations. Joe Coviello was elected mayor in November, Jennifer Nelson was elected to the District 4 City Council seat and Jeff Green also resigned.

In other business:

* Councilmember Rick Williams said he would no longer be serving as chairman Municipal Planning Organization as of the end of the month, citing other commitments.

Williams asked to be moved to the alternate position on the MPO, flopping positions with Councilmember Jessica Cosden, who was the alternate. Council approved the request.

* Councilmember Jessica Cosden had several items in her closing remarks, including State House Bill 30-71, an appropriations request sponsored by State Rep. Dane Eagle from a group called Family Initiative, which is looking to open a center for autism in the city.

The organization is requesting $102,000 from the state legislature. Cosden asked Council to support the proposal, as there are few, if any, services in Cape Coral.

Councilmember Williams suggested Council pass a resolution to give the proposal more teeth, which the board indicated it is prepared to do at its next meeting on Jan. 22.

* Councilmember Marilyn Stout brought forward a resolution concerning offshore drilling. Council agreed to send a letter to U.S. Rep. Frances Rooney showing the citys support for a continued moratorium on oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Coviello will sign a letter.

Rooney had expressed concerns, in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, related to a draft proposal that would open up the eastern gulf. The area is under a drilling moratorium until 2022.

Rooney said the area is a crucial military training area and also cited Southwest Floridas reliance on tourism.

* Council voted to consider its code of ordinances regarding stormwater management to amend definitions; to clarify calculations of stormwater user fees for multi-family and undeveloped property and to eliminate retroactive corrections, adjustments, or exemptions.

* Council voted to approve the voluntary annexation of a 9.72-acre parcel at 2915 SW Pine Island Road.

All motions were approved unanimously.

* Mayor Joe Coviello announced that all the remaining debris on Skyline collected in the wake of Hurricane Irma had been cleared before the Christmas holiday.
Its that time of year again, Floridas dry season, and Cape Coral residents are being reminded by the city to follow its lawn watering schedule to avoid water shortages and drought.

The city of Cape Coral mandates how and when you are allowed to water your landscape, as lack of rainfall during the dry season affects the citys water supply.

While our canal levels are better than at this time last year, our residents need to remember the supply is not unlimited, Utilities Director Jeff Pearson said in a prepared statement released by the city. The two-day watering schedule provides residents with two days each week, four hours each day to water their lawns, which is more than enough to maintain landscaping.

During the winter, lawns do not require as much water as the summer months, officials said.

In fact, setting automatic timers to water 20-30 minutes in each zone should provide adequate irrigation for residential lawns, the release states. Hand watering also is allowed at any time. Residents who need help setting their timers can call 3-1-1, and the City may be able to provide assistance.

Robert Weller, founder of Coalition for Cape Coral Canals and a resident whose backyard is a tidal canal, supports the restrictions.

I have no dispute with the watering schedule, it should be enforced as long as it helps with water shortage, he said.

The two-day watering schedule applies to all property owners whether they use the Citys dual-water system or private wells for irrigation. The watering days and hours depend on the last number of the home address.

The two-day schedule, which is in effect year-round for all of Cape Coral is:

* Monday and Friday:

Midnight to 4 a.m. for addresses ending in 0

* Monday and Friday:

4 a.m. to 8 a.m. for addresses ending in 1

Wednesday and Saturday:

Midnight to 4 a.m. for addresses ending in 3 and 5

* Wednesday and Saturday:

4 a.m. to 8 a.m. for addresses ending in 7 and 9

* Thursday and Sunday:

Midnight to 4 a.m. for addresses ending in 2 and 4

* Thursday and Sunday:

4 a.m. to 8 a.m. for addresses ending in 6 and 8

* Non-residential, duplexes and other multi-family units can water on Monday and Friday from midnight to 8 a.m.

If conditions worsen and canal levels continue to decline, the city of Cape Coral can restrict watering to only one watering day per week. if things become dire, the city also has the right to restrict irrigation completely.

Cape Coral residents and business owners found to be non-compliant are subject to penalties. First-time violators get a courtesy warning. Second-time violators are subject to $100 in fines, third-time violators are subject to $200 in fines, and fourth and subsequent violators are subject to $400 in fines, disconnection from water supply and an $80 reconnection charge.

Avoiding drought

Cape Coral reminds residents and businesses to comply with the current watering schedule so the city can, hopefully, avoid moving into stage 1 and 2 of its water shortage plan  once a week watering, or a complete ban. Last year Cape Coral faced one of its most historic water shortages, and City Manager John Szerlag put Stage 1 of the water shortage plan into effect. The mandatory one-day watering schedule was accompanied by a burn ban, which temporarily prohibited outdoor barbecues and fire pits due to low canal levels that are connected to emergency fire hydrants. Stage 1, or the one day only watering mandate, lasted two months from April 21, 2017 to June 9, 2017. City officials are hoping to avoid stage 1 this year by encouraging cooperation with the current, two-day watering schedule.

A Solution to Water Shortages

Meanwhile, Cape Coral is working with Florida legislators to introduce effective solutions to the ongoing water shortage issue. According to the Florida Legislature website, State Rep Dane Eagle filed HB 3075 in the house on Nov. 20, 2017 requesting $1,115,000 in state funding for the Cape Coral reservoir pipeline project. The project entails building a pipeline from the existing reservoir in lower Charlotte County (Southwest Aggregates Mine) to the City of Cape Coral Gator Slough the citys northernmost feeder canal. The bill is now pending review in the 2018 legislative session.

Such legislation, however, would not directly impact restrictions.

While the reservoir will help provide irrigation water as needed, the City would not eliminate the water schedule,said city spokesperson Connie Barron. South Florida Water Management District rules require limits on the days for irrigation usage. The rule promotes conservation, and there are two-day limits (with some exceptions) on use of reclaimed water.
UPDATE:

The Florida Department of Health in Lee County is removing its advisory regarding high bacteria levels at Tarpon Bay Beach.

Tests completed today for Enterococcus bacteria in water samples taken Jan. 8 showed levels under the maximum contaminant level.

Enterococcus bacteria normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and animals. The presence of an elevated concentration of the bacteria is an indicator of pollution, which may come from storm water runoff, pets, wildlife or sewage.

Elevated levels of Enterococcus bacteria have been associated with an increased risk of swimming-associated gastroenteritis illness  diarrhea and abdominal pain.

For more information, call 239-274-2200.

Tarpon Bay Beach is at 111 Tarpon Bay Road, Sanibel.

Source: Florida Department of Health in Lee County

..

ORIGINAL (1/5/18):

The Florida Department of Health in Lee County is advising the public not to enter the water at Tarpon Bay Beach due to high levels of bacteria identified in routine testing, according to the city of Sanibel.

Tests completed Friday indicate that the water quality at the Tarpon Bay Beach does not meet the safety criteria for Enterococcus bacteria recommended by the Florida Department of Health. Water contact may pose an increased risk of disease, particularly for susceptible individuals.

No wading or swimming at Tarpon Bay Beach is recommended.

Enterococcus bacteria normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and animals. The presence of an elevated concentration of these bacteria is an indicator of pollution, which may come from storm water runoff, pets, wildlife or sewage.

Elevated levels of Enterococcus bacteria have been associated with an increased risk of swimming-associated gastroenteritis illness (diarrhea and abdominal pain).

The advisory will continue until bacteria levels are below the accepted health level. New test results should be available for Tarpon Bay Beach on Jan. 9.

For more information call 239-274-2200 or go to lee.floridahealth.gov.

Tarpon Bay Beach is at 111 Tarpon Bay Road, Sanibel.

Source: Florida Department of Health in Lee County
Last month the Sanibel Sea School treated elementary aged children to Bunche Beach Preserve as an extension of what they learned in the classroom, complete with hands-on experiences.

We reached out to The Heights Foundation to forge a new partnership within out landlocked program. We recognized that there was a need for ocean education with the kids in the Harlem Heights community. Many of the children do not have the means to visit the ocean that they live so close to, let alone have a quality education about it. We believed that we could fill this need within the community and inspire the young kids to conserve and protect the ocean, Nicole Finnicum, Sanibel Sea School director of education, said.

Marine Science Educator Shannon Stainken began working with the Heights Foundation in October after she joined the Sanibel Sea School team last year. She works with two groups of students, kindergarten through second grade, and third through fifth grade.

Before the 5 to 11 year olds are treated to a day in the ocean, Stainken visits them in the classroom for an hour.

The lesson plans are similar to our day classes, focusing on either a specific sea creature, habitat, or physical component of the ocean. I try to bring live creatures, or an interactive activity each month to incorporate some hands-on learning, she said. Plus, I absolutely love to see the students faces light up when we see and interact with a sea creature theyve never seen before.

After a visit in the classroom with kindergarten, first and second grade students, the youngsters went to Bunche Beach Preserve on Dec. 20.

For the classroom visit I brought a live Florida fighting conch and bivalve shells. During the lesson we discussed how shells are skeletons of once living mollusks and the differences between bivalves and gastropods, Stainken explained. I focused on the fact that gastropods make their own shells and cannot leave their shells and stay alive.

The classroom visit resulted with the students having an opportunity to hold the fighting conch and observe the animal.

Once the students arrived at Bunche Beach, Stainken provided a refresher of what they learned during her recent visit to their classroom. The review was followed by a walk down the beach exploring tide pools for creatures, specifically gastropods.

The students were so excited to find sea creatures, especially the kings crown conchs she said.

Stainken confessed that although she has only worked with the students from the Heights Foundation for a few months, they have already stolen her heart.

They are so eager to learn about and experience the ocean. I love to see their faces light up when I bring a new creature to the classroom and better yet, when they discover something new on their own at the beach, she said. I think what I enjoy most is their excitement for the field trip. On this past visit to the ocean, it was one of my students first time going to the beach. She was so excited afterwards and couldnt stop saying the ocean is awesome! Being able to share that experience with her was truly magical.

Stainken said she believes the adults and chaperones from the Heights Foundation also enjoy the classroom visits and field trips.

The feedback I receive is always very positive, she said.
Subaru has given the Viziv Concept a more aggressive stance, and probably some changes beneath the skin, as theyre now going to unveil it at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon, later this week.



Named Subaru Viziv Performance STI Concept, it features a more aggressive front end, a muscular hood, wide wheel arches, large rear wing, red accents, and an STI badge on the front grille.

Its unknown at the moment what engine it carries, but since its expected to preview the next generation WRX STI, which is due in a few years, its likely powered by a new boxer engine, smaller than the current 2.5-liter unit that makes 305hp.

Subaru Tecnica International (STI) will also have a couple of other hot cars on display in Tokyo, from January 12, such as the Levorg STI Sport and BRZ STI Sport. These will be joined by the BRZ GT300 2017, WRX STI NBR Challenge 2016, Legacy RS 1993 New Zealand Rally, and Impreza 555 1996 San Remo Rally racers.

The WRX STI S208, a track-ready version of the car aimed solely at the Japanese market, will sit under the spotlight of the event as well.

PHOTO GALLERY
The police thought they had their man when 24-year-old Nathan Fahl was charged last month with various crimes after a paper carrier was struck by a speeding vehicle involved in a high-speed chase with police.

Now, it appears he may not have been the driver and in turn was released from jail following a bail hearing in Kelowna on Thursday.

In a case that Judge Ellen Burdett believed would be circumstantial, she let Fahl out on bail despite a prior criminal record she referred to as horrendous. It contains 36 convictions, including previous ones for dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and flight from a peace officer -- Fahl also faces charges of impaired driving causing bodily harm, failure to stop at the scene of an accident, operating a vehicle while disqualified and use of a weapon (the vehicle).

Bail was opposed by Crown counsel David Grabavac who argued that Fahl was indeed the driver of a black Eagle Talon that blew through an RCMP road check during the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 2013 on Springfield Road. The car was coming from a house party in the Rutland area at the time.

Photo: Facebook Nathan Daniel Fahl, 24, was let out on bail Thursday in Kelowna. He was the alleged driver who struck a paper carrier while in a high speed chase with police.

When an RCMP officer walked towards the car around 12:25 a.m., Grabavac says the vehicle lurched towards the officer  who was forced to dive out of the way  before racing through Rutland and coming to a crashing halt after striking a fire hydrant and a pedestrian.

Steve Kania was seriously injured in the crash and had to be put into an induced coma and airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital. He is now back in Kelowna, at the intensive care unit of KGH and still suffering from memory and vision issues.

Three people were arrested at the scene: Fahl, Donald Brodie and a female passenger who officers found in the backseat of the vehicle. But the question still remains, who was driving the car? The woman has told police that Fahl and Brodie were strangers and did not say who was driving. Police later learned that all three are connected on Facebook.

Both men told police at the scene they werent behind the wheel, with Brodie saying he wanted to get out, but couldnt open the passenger door.

What was I supposed to do? I wanted out. I wasnt driving, he allegedly told police.

The court also heard that officers at the scene said Brodie showed genuine concern for the victim and his injuries, and later gave a detailed statement to police.

Grabavac says the statement was 34 pages long, and on one particular page, Brodie is quoted as telling officers that he wasnt the driver seven different times, adding that he doesnt even know how to drive standard.

Brodie also gave his account of the impact with the victim, saying the mans head came through the windshield, almost into his lap. This is consistent with evidence from the scene, where investigators found the impact to be on the passenger side of the windshield, and injuries sustained by Brodie due to broken glass.

Another witness that was forced to swerve out of the way on Baron Road says she saw the black car barreling towards her in the wrong lane driven by a male with brown or sandy blonde hair. Pictures taken of both men following the incident show Fahl with dark brown hair, and Brodie with a short buzz-cut or shaved head and various tattoos on his face.

Meanwhile Fahl told officers he wasnt driving because he was g-holed or too messed up on GHB and unable to drive at the time. He also told police he was in the backseat, which was inconsistent with what cops saw at the scene and officers at the checkpoint who said there were two men in the front seats of the vehicle.

Photo: Facebook Donald Brodie is said to have confessed to police that he was driving the car when Steve Kania was struck and seriously injured.

An RCMP drug specialist inferred that Fahl was impaired by a central nervous system depressant and marijuana. He had no alcohol in his system and results of a urine test have yet to be completed. The specialist also noted Fahl had bloodshot eyes, a do-not-care attitude, and spoke in a fast and broken speech pattern.

At the courthouse to corroborate what Fahl told officers was Dillon Sams, who was at a party with the others and followed them through the roadblock in his own vehicle. A statement taken from other people at the party say Sams came back later that same morning and told at least one person, Nate blew a checkstop.

Sams refutes that claim and testified that it was Brodie driving the car and that Fahl was sitting in the passenger seat. Prior to getting in the car, Sams said Fahl was nearly passed out at the party and incoherent.

Admitting that he also has a criminal record, Sams told the court he was on the stand because he didnt want to see an innocent man go to jail. That was followed by Grabavac pointing out that it took him 33 days to come to that conclusion and that he had been convicted of obstructing an officer last year, by lying to police and providing a false name.

Further adding to the confusion, Brodie denied being the driver on multiple occasions, but never specifically told police that Fahl was behind the wheel in his original statement. After being picked up on another unrelated matter on Dec. 21, Brodie admitted to police that he was in fact the driver that night. The court also heard that a letter reportedly signed by Brodie, but not authenticated by police, was given to the RCMP by Brandi Fahl, Nathans sister.

Michael Newcombe, Fahls lawyer, wrapped things up by maintaining that there wasnt enough evidence to detain his client. He acknowledged his client's extensive criminal history, but noted that Fahl had never failed to appear in court and had a job waiting upon his release.

This is such a weak case, said Newcombe. There is not enough evidence to convict him.

Fahl was very vocal throughout the proceeding. He interrupted numerous times by breathing heavily into his microphone or by making comments under his breath, and had to be quieted by Judge Burdett on more than one occasion.

In her decision, Burdett stated that serious, serious circumstances surrounded the bail hearing, but Thursdays ruling was based on whether the Crown was able to prove that Fahl was the driver of the vehicle beyond a reasonable doubt.

She felt that had not been accomplished and although Fahl did have a significant criminal record, he should be released, but with extremely strict bail conditions that include a no contact order with anyone else involved in the events that night, abstain from alcohol and drugs, and no driving.
How did the federal government get into such a mess? Did we not have a working payroll prior to the Phoenix system? How was the old system so flawed that we had to have a new system? Who recommended the Phoenix system to the government, was it a lobbyist? Someone that could spread some money about the offices in Ottawa to facilitate the new system, Phoenix, to be purchased?

Is this as bad a purchase as the 4 submarines from the UK? Many large companies have huge payroll systems, do they use Phoenix? How much more money will we have to add to this new system to put out the fire that is spreading? Is there no check and balance when we have to purchase something new for so much money? Who said that we needed to purchase 4 new to us, used submarines that the UK did not want to put into service? Who were the lobbyist or salesmen involved? Did they also have a Phoenix system to get rid of?

We, as tax payers need to see the inside stories of who is lobbying and for what. Too many expensive bad deals made behind closed doors and no one is fired for making these deals. It is okay to steal or cheat the government, they have so much money. It is not really stealing or cheating as long as we do not get caught, right?

Jorgen Hansen


Photo: Contributed

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen wants to help its residents get active.

A new physical activity trailer will bring trainers and equipment to areas around the South Okanagan that may not have ample access to such resources.

"A lot of our communities don't have facilities or recreational coordinators," said Amanda Murai, regional recreation coordinator with the RDOS. "The idea is to help promote different ways and easy activities to be active."

Murai also said they hope to leave some equipment behind for the communities to continue to use as well.

The 6x10-foot vehicle will roll out on Mar. 10 at the Okanagan-Similkameen Healthy Living Fair in Penticton, with equipment and instructor demonstrations.

Its pilot year will see the truck touring around over 30 communities and exercising with over 10,000 residents from March to October.
Photo: File photo Kerry Klonteig

A former West Kelowna assistant fire chief is seeking more than $150,000 from the District of West Kelowna after he was fired for drinking and driving in the chief's truck in 2013.

Kerry Klonteig's wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the District of West Kelowna began in Kelowna Supreme Court this week.

Klonteig worked as a firefighter and assistant fire chief at the Kelowna Fire Department for 13 years, before getting the assistant fire chief position with West Kelowna in 2008. Fire Chief Wayne Schnitzler called him a strong leader who brought a wealth of knowledge and understanding of fire service" when the hire was made.

In 2013, Klonteig was making an annual salary of $101,581, plus performance bonuses and benefits.

On the evening of Oct. 6, 2013, Klonteig and his wife went to dinner at Kelowna's Lake City Casino, where he says he drank 12 ounces of wine, half an ounce of liqueur, half an ounce of rum and 36 ounces of beer over dinner and while gambling afterwards.

Klonteig chose to drive home, in Schnitzler's truck, which was owned by the District of West Kelowna.

I had felt OK, I had a meeting the next day, and we didn't have a vehicle of our own and I didnt feel comfortable leaving the chief's truck, that particular vehicle, downtown, Klonteig said in court Tuesday. So we made the decision to drive home.

Just before 2 a.m., Klonteig was pulled over by an RCMP officer while crossing the William R. Bennett bridge, and failed two breathalyzer tests, blowing over 0.08 per cent blood alcohol content.

I admit I made a mistake, Klonteig said.

On Oct. 9, two days after Klonteig was handed a 90-day driving suspension and a 30-day impoundment of Schnitzler's truck, Klonteig was fired.

In his notice of civil claim, filed against the District in May 2014, Klonteig argues his employer failed to implement alternative disciplinary actions and says they should have given him 18-months of notice prior to his firing.

Klonteig is seeking more than $152,000 in damages from the District, plus other special damages to be determined by the court, for what he feels was a wrongful dismisful.

On Tuesday, Klonteig told the court he has since applied for assistant fire chief positions and fire chief positions in Kamloops, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, White Rock, Nelson and Kimberley, and applied for a firefighter position in Kitimat. No fire department has hired him.

He now works at Superior Fire Control, an industrial fire protection company in Northern B.C., on a fracking site.

Klonteig says he had a clean 23-year record in the fire service before the 2013 drinking and driving incident.

The letter of termination the District sent to Klonteig states: This is simply unacceptable for someone in your position whose job is to protect the public safety and this incident also reflects poorly on our department and the District.

Klonteig argued the incident did not reflect poorly on the fire department.

This was an individual incident that happened as a mistake on my personal off-duty time, he said. It's a reflection on myself and the bad decision that I made at the time.

The trial is expected to conclude Friday.
Photo: Google Maps

Penticton city council has formally approved the move of Travel Penticton to 888 Westminster Ave, the same city-owned space it occupied before moving to where the casino sits today.

As a part of the deal, the city will reimburse the BC Wine Authority  the spaces current tenant  with $19,000 for moving expenses in exchange for breaking the existing lease.

The city had already budgeted $30,000 to make the space available for Travel Penticton, including minor renovations such as a bathroom upgrade and exterior lighting.

Travel Penticton initially requested $300,000 from the city for an entirely new building on the SOEC campus, but were turned down by councillors because the property is being considered for a new arena.

Travel Penticton will pay the City of Penticton $20,566 per year in rent during the new five year lease effective Jan. 1.
Photo: Contributed

The South Okanagan General Hospital's emergency department is in line to receive "high priority" upgrades this year.

In a letter from Interior Health's president and CEO Chris Mazurkewich, read out during Oliver's council meeting on Monday, the health agency said they plan to create a new waiting and triage area and a new separate entrance for the emergency department, as well as relocate admission services.

The renovations were approved by IH's board of directors in December, which they have "identified as a high priority."

Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes echoed the need for improvements at the SOGH, adding the emergency room there serves a large population.

"These physical improvements they're talking about, people have been speaking about them for years  to make the emergency room that much more effective and make a better working space for physicians, nurses, hospital staff and patients." he said.

According to Mazurkewich, the next step is to receive support from the Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital District, which would pay for 40 per cent of the project.

"Once funding sources are confirmed we will be in a position to start this project... and are confident that it will result in improved healthcare delivery to the residents of Oliver and the surrounding area," Mazurkewich said.

Among many issues at the SOGH last year, there were multiple closures at the emergency room due to doctor shortages and the hospital's top doctor resigned in protest over a potential loss of beds.
Photo: Colin Dacre

A Penticton man who admitted to operating a pair of child porn websites on the dark web was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday.

Tyler Walker, 21, pleaded guilty to importing and distributing child pornography in connection to an investigation conducted by the RCMP, US Homeland Security and Toronto Police.

With credit for time served, he will spend another 45 months behind bars, the court registry confirmed.

Justice Gale Sinclair's decision comes after a sentencing hearing in December where prosecutors argued for six to eight years, while the defence asked for less than two.

Walker was arrested at his Penticton home in March 2017, where he lived with his mother who was completely unaware what he was doing.

He initially posted, shared and commented on videos of girls as young as two being sexually abused by older men on a dark web site called Gift Box Exchange in 2015.

The dark web is a anonymous part of the internet accessible only with special software.

Walker went on to collaborate with other users to launch a new site, Childs Play, in 2016.



To join Childs Play, users were required to submit a photo of their child with a sign containing the website name, date and desired username.



Within two weeks of launch, more than 2,500 users had registered and were swapping child pornography.

This is how child pornography gets created and distributed in large numbers, Crown counsel Andrew Vandersluys said at the sentencing hearing, telling the courts Walkers websites enabled the sexual abuse of children.

Walker was also caught online discussing the the development of a dark-web site dedicated to child porn where the child is subjected to significant violence or distress, eventually dubbed Hurt Meh.

Once released, Walker will be registered as a sex offender for 20 years.
Photo: Castanet Staff

The City of Penticton has deemed a pilot project on mobile retail vending a success and will keep the program in place for 2018.

Just one truck, Chic Mobile Boutique, signed up with the city in 2017. The truck rotated between two locations at Power Street and within Gyro Park.

Based on the response from the vendor; they were seen as being successful, a staff report states.

Council agreed with a staff recommendation Tuesday to cap the program to three trucks across three locations; Power Street, Gyro Park and Skaha Beach.

Coun. Judy Sentes spoke about her previous opposition to the concept, saying she thought it was an unfair advantage against brick and mortar merchants.

A location for 12 months is on a different playing field than the truck vendors that are just picking the cream of the crop in terms of the months of operation.

However, Im respectful of the pilot and the success that it has produced, she said, adding she was satisfied with the one truck per location plan presented to council.

I would hate to see us overrun by truck vendors, she said, echoing concerns voiced by the Downtown Penticton Association.

Director of development services Anthony Haddad noted that Chic Mobile Boutique has used its success as a mobile vendor to set up a permanent location on the 400 block of Main St.

Haddad said they will be reviewing the program participants on an annual basis.
Photo: File photo The 58th annual Vernon Winter Carnival is just around the corner and time is running out to get a float into the popular parade.

The 58th annual Vernon Winter Carnival is just around the corner and time is running out to get a float into the popular parade.

The parade attracts thousands of people every year and anyone hoping to take part must register by Friday, Jan. 12.

The parade is held on Feb. 3 and kicks off the 10-day long festivity.

We have about 60 people who have already registered, 60 businesses and organizations, but usually we see around 100 so we are expecting a lot more entries to come in, said Vicki Proulx, executive co-ordinator, Vernon Winter Carnival at public meeting with the board of directors Tuesday.

The theme of this year's event is Carnival in Wonderland.

Four events are already sold out, but there are numerous other events to attend, including 14 new activities.

There are also 50 free events at carnival, which runs from Feb. 2-11 this year.

More information on the carnival events and how to register can be found online.

- with files from Josh Winquist
Photo: Air Canada

A court has dismissed a claim by a woman seeking compensation for being denied boarding an Air Canada flight with her young children as she moved across the country from British Columbia.

Adjudicator Augustus Richardson says in the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court decision that Nicole Paine did not prove she was not able to board because the flight on Dec. 16, 2016, was overbooked.

Nicole Paine, who was with her infant, three-year-old daughter and mother, says she was heading to Nova Scotia on a 1 p.m. flight from Vancouver that connected in Toronto when she was told the gate was closed even though they had arrived on time.

Court heard that the family arrived in Toronto on a later flight, but were told would have to sit separately on their connecting flight to Nova Scotia.

Richardson says Paine, who was helped in her $2,400-suit by passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs, failed to prove that she was unable to board in Vancouver because the flight had been oversold.

He says Paine did not seek records or proof from the airline that could have shown the flight was overbooked, which is restricted under an Air Canada rule and can provide compensation for displaced passengers who have confirmed reservations.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A Nova Scotia man has been brought out of an induced coma, two days after a fast-moving house fire killed most of his young family, including a three-month-old baby, a relative says.

"He was in pretty rough shape," said Ervin Olsen of Yarmouth, N.S., the great-grandfather of two of the four youngsters killed in the blaze early Sunday in rural Pubnico Head.

The father, local fisherman Phil Prouty, came out of the coma late Monday and was speaking, but his prognosis remained unclear, Olsen said in an interview Tuesday.

His granddaughter, Emma Kennedy, has stayed by her common-law partner's side in a Yarmouth hospital, mourning the loss of their blended family and a cousin as he struggled to survive, he said.

"I think he had taken in a whole lot more smoke than my granddaughter," Olsen said. "I don't know whether he still needed assistance with his breathing. It's a hopeful sign, but that's about all we can say."

Kennedy appears to be in good health, though she remains distraught about her family's devastating loss, he said.

"She is not leaving him, and she is staying there all the time, until he gets better," he said. "That's all she has left. It's him."

A relative in Newfoundland who has launched a fundraising campaign for the family has said the victims ranged in age from an infant to a seven-year-old and included a cousin who was at the home for a sleepover.

Olsen identified his great-grandchildren as three-month-old Winston and four-year-old Jayla. He said he couldn't offer details about the two other children who died in the blaze, out of respect for the other families involved.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but the RCMP have ruled out foul play. The Medical Examiner Service is now leading the investigation.
Photo: Google Maps

RCMP say a man and two women have been found dead in a car in Northern Alberta.

Mounties say the 29-year-old driver and his two female passengers, ages 21 and 22, were found unresponsive on an access road near Conklin over the noon hour on Tuesday

Emergency medical responders were called but all three were declared dead at the scene.

The cause of death has not been determined.

Police say all possible factors are being investigated.

Conklin is about 360 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
Photo: CTV

Canada has launched a wide-ranging complaint against the United States over its trade practices. It had asked the World Trade Organization to examine the American use of punitive duties, alleging that they violate international law for five reasons.

The complaint was filed last month but was released today, with some coincidental timing: the U.S. has just announced duties as high as nine per cent on Canadian paper.

This follows a series of similar penalties as the U.S. alleges unfair trade practices from Canada in softwood lumber and Bombardier subsidies.

The Canadian complaint alleges that American use of anti-dumping and countervailing duties violate global trade rules.

It says the U.S. levies penalties beyond whats allowed by the WTO, improperly calculates rates and unfairly declares penalties retroactive, while also limiting evidence from outside parties, and has a voting system in trade panels that's biased against foreigners.

More Coming
Photo: CTV

A pilot's decision to continue with an unstable approach to landing was the key factor in a plane crash that killed former federal cabinet minister Jean Lapierre and six other people, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Wednesday.

The March 2016 accident claimed the lives of seven people  the two pilots as well as Lapierre, his wife and three of his siblings.

They were aboard the Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 aircraft that slammed into the ground as it approached the airport in Iles-de-la-Madeleine.

"The pilot continued an unstable approach and experienced an aircraft upset at an altitude too low to prevent impact with the ground," TSB chair Kathy Fox said at a news conference in Montreal.

The TSB said the type of plane in question is a high-performance aircraft and is challenging to fly  particularly at low speed during sudden applications of engine power.

Fox said the pilot was juggling multiple tasks as he tried to reduce his speed, altitude and rate of descent while readying the plane for landing.

The report suggests the pilot was "reacting to the situation instead of controlling events in a more deliberate, measured manner" and didn't opt for a go-around: abandoning the landing attempt and climbing to a safer altitude to figure out a new plan.

"With his situational awareness reduced by the high workload, the pilot would have been less likely to recognize the deteriorating circumstances and the need for a go-around," Fox said. "As a result, he continued with the unstable approach."

Unstable approaches are on the TSB's watchlist of key safety issues.

The TSB said its probe was aided by the lightweight recorder installed by the pilot that provided cockpit audio and acceleration and GPS data  even though the data recorder wasn't required.

Fox said the TSB often runs into a lack of information in such crashes where there are no witnesses or survivors and the plane is too badly damaged.

The Lapierre family was en route to attend to the funeral of Lapierre's father, Raymond Lapierre, who'd died a day earlier.

Jean Lapierre, 59, was a longtime Liberal and Bloc Quebecois MP who quit federal politics in 1992 but returned after Paul Martin became Liberal leader in late 2003. He served as transport minister between 2004 and 2006.

He left politics in 2007 and soon became a popular pundit on the airwaves in Quebec.

Those killed along with Lapierre were his wife, Nicole Beaulieu; his sister Martine Lapierre; brothers Marc and Louis Lapierre; and the two pilots, Pascal Gosselin and Fabrice Labourel.
Photo: Contributed A local Vernon Search and Rescue volunteer had his truck broken into and camera gear stolen.

A local videographer and Vernon Search and Rescue volunteer is hoping someone can help recover some stolen equipment.

Trevor Honigman has been active with VSAR for a number of years and he also runs Beacon Studio, and on Tuesday someone smashed into his vehicle and stole equipment, his wallet and a passport.

Yesterday at noon, my truck was parked beside my studio across from Polson Park when the passenger window was smashed and a thief stole my DSLR camera bag and wallet, along with other gear from my truck. My passport was in the camera bag, said Honigman.

A witness startled and briefly spoke with the individual nearby shortly afterwards, but hadnt realized that a robbery had occurred. The suspect is an approximately 50-year-old Caucasian male, 56, reddish unkept hair, dark hat, dark jacket, baggy jeans, and brown hiking shoes that had a pattern on them.

Honigman uses the equipment to shoot search and rescue videos.

The camera bag is a black National Geographic Explorer, across-the-shoulder sling-type bag with a very thin yellow edging stripe. The camera is a Sony A-77 with Alpha lenses, and the rear screen has distinctive marks on it.

Police have been informed of the crime and Honigman has the serial numbers of all the stolen equipment.

If any of the ID pops up, that's what I need the most. I need my driver's license, passport and birth certificate. Those are the most important here, said Honigman, adding some of his ID was found by an observant citizen.

Anyone with information on the theft is asked to contact the RCMP.

- with files from Josh Winquist
Photo: Surrey RCMP

Surrey RCMP put the cuffs on 19 bad guys over a 20-day period in December.

In an operation dubbed Project Grinch, police targeted shopping malls and surrounding areas, on the lookout for property crime offenders.

Their efforts paid off with numerous arrests, 18 charges and 13 stolen vehicles being recovered.

Several police agencies worked together on the crime-fighting blitz.

Surrey RCMP volunteers were also involved, helping raise awareness about theft from vehicles through the Lock Out Auto Crime program.

I think most people would be surprised to hear in Surrey the rate of theft from vehicles is fairly steady throughout the year, said Cpl. Scotty Schumann. That said, thanks in part to the publics co-operation in keeping valuables locked away out of sight and intelligence led enforcement by the Surrey RCMP, many property crime offenders got a lump of coal for Christmas.
Photo: Thinkstock.com

A bad guy in Nanaimo picked the wrong granny to mess with.

The woman in her late seventies was confronted by a masked man in her home Monday night, who demanded her purse and wallet.

But the feisty senior wasn't about to be a victim  she fought back until the intruder fled.

The woman told police she stepped outside to close the gate to her Winchester Avenue home when she was confronted by the balaclava-clad intruder.

The suspect pushed her into the nearest bedroom and demanded her purse. She refused to hand it over and pushed back, said Const. Gary O'Brien. "After more pushing and yelling, she ran to her neighbours and called 911."

Officers with police dogs were on scene within four minutes, but were unable to locate the suspect.

"The senior had some bumps and bruises, but overall was no worse for wear given what she had been through. She also refused to leave her home which she has lived in for the past 50 years," said O'Brien.

RCMP Victim Services is assisting the woman.

This was the second incident in the past week at the home. On Saturday, the woman called police to report her jewelry box had been emptied. No suspects have been identified in that incident.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The Justice Department is asking Canadians to think beyond their preconceived notions about crimes  and the people who commit them  as the Liberal government readies long-promised reforms to the criminal justice system.

The interactive online consultation includes a survey asking participants to weigh in on a number of stories, such as one about a young single father caught stealing $800 from his employer, resulting in a criminal record that makes it harder for him to find a job.

The survey notes that theft under $5,000 makes up a quarter of all Criminal Code offences and asks participants to consider whether the judge should have considered another option, such as being required to pay the money back or attend a community-based program where he would get support.

Another section of the consultation lets Canadians watch a video of a personal story, such as a family affected by court delays following the homicide of their son, and take part in an online discussion, where the opinions are wide-ranging.

Steve Mihorean, the senior civil servant overseeing the review, says they wanted to allow people to share their perspectives on these issues while also arming them with knowledge that might not be as widely known by average Canadians.

The online consultation ends Jan. 15.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A Kamloops man is fighting for his life after the federal government declared him dead twice following a bureaucratic mix-up.

The trouble began last October when Bryan Kupiak, who is in his mid-60s, received an old age security statement addressed to his estate.

Kupiak says the government had mistakenly put his social insurance number on the death certificate for his mother, who had passed away a month earlier.

The error meant he was temporarily cut off from all of his benefits, including his pension, but he was brought back to life a week later with the help of his member of Parliament, Cathy McLeod.

Kupiak says he thought the matter had been settled, until Kupiak's wife received a letter from the government on Sunday that described her as a widow.

Kupiak says dealing with the administrative error is too much to handle for the second time, especially while he is still grieving the death of his mother.

"I figure, okay we're good, and then now my wife's a widow. That means I'm still dead," Kupiak says.

He says he intends to contact McLeod's office once again for help.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The parents of a man shot dead by Calgary police have lost a bid to have a judicial review of the decision not to lay charges in the case.

Anthony Heffernan was holding a syringe in a hotel room in 2015 when an officer shot him four times  twice in the head.

Police had been called after the 27-year-old failed to check out of his room.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team initially found there were grounds to charge the officer with a criminal offence.

But the Crown later determined a conviction was unlikely and no charges would be laid.

A Court of Queen's Bench judge says there is no evidence to support the parents' allegation that there was an abuse of process by the Crown.
Photo: The Canadian Press Defence lawyer Tonii Roulston

Two men have been found guilty of first-degree murder for shooting one of the men's parents and sister on a Central Alberta farm.

Jason Klaus and Joshua Frank sat silently with no expression as the verdicts were read.

Justice Eric Macklin told court in Red Deer, Alta., that both men repeatedly lied about what happened to Klaus's family and their stories were full of inconsistencies.

Gordon Klaus and his daughter, Monica, were found in their burned-out farmhouse near Castor, Alta., in December 2013. Sandra Klaus was never found, although police believe her body was also in the house.

During their trial, Klaus and Frank each blamed the other for the murders and gave different versions of what happened.

"I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of the guilt of Jason Klaus and the guilt of Joshua Frank on all of the respective charges against them of first-degree murder," Macklin said.

"Together they planned and carried out the three murders. Each one played a crucial role in executing the plan."

Macklin said the two men's confessions fit together like a puzzle and together they form the big picture.

"Mr. Frank intentionally shot Gordon, Sandra and Monica Klaus on Dec. 8, 2013, and set the house on fire to conceal the crime. Mr. Frank knew exactly what Mr. Klaus expected of him and he carried out the murders in accordance with their plan," Macklin said.

"Mr. Klaus did not actually shoot the Klaus family members. However, the Crown has established beyond a reasonable doubt that he planned and deliberated the murders."

Macklin wanted to move immediately to sentencing arguments, but the defence requested more time because the Crown is seeking no chance of parole for 75 years.

Life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years is automatic for first-degree murder, but there are provisions in the Criminal Code to have sentences served one after the other for multiple murders.
Photo: Google Street View

The City of Prince George is cracking down on nuisance properties.

Councillors are moving forward with plans to charge landlords for the cost of police responding to repeated calls to the same residences.

Coun. Brian Skakun proposed the idea in 2016 after learning RCMP had visited the Connaught Motor Inn 750 times over 18 months.

He says Prince George residents are tired of subsidizing bad behaviour.
Photo: B.C. Lottery Corp

New rules are being brought in for big-spending gamblers at British Columbia's casinos.

The B.C. Lottery Corp. now requires anyone spending $10,000 or more at casinos within a 24-hour period to prove the source of their funds.

The change was prompted by recommendations from former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German, who was appointed by the province to review policies on money laundering prevention.

The review was launched by Attorney General David Eby after a report was released saying the River Rock Casino in Richmond had accepted $13.5 million in $20 bills within one month, which police said could be proceeds of crime.

The corporation says the new procedure applies to all cash, bank drafts and certified cheques used for buy-ins and the gambler must show a receipt of the transaction from the financial institution where the money was taken.

It says the player must also sign a source of funds declaration form, and if any information appears suspicious or is missing, casinos must refuse the transaction and set off an investigation.

German released a series of interim recommendations in December, ahead of his full report due at the end of March.

The corporation says it is also supporting another recommendation to have investigators on site at high-volume casinos in the Lower Mainland at all times.
Photo: Royal LePage Timberlea Birch apartments.

A condo owner has been ordered to stop using his property for business purposes  including alleged "prostitution related activities"  after his neighbours went to court armed with evidence they put together through their sleuthing.

Court documents say residents of the building in Burnaby, B.C., started raising concerns in August 2015 about visitors and disturbances at a unit owned by Christopher Nino Diopita.

In a petition filed with the Supreme Court of British Columbia, neighbours reported hearing sounds of alleged physical violence and "hysterical screaming" coming from the unit as well as seeing women letting men into the building.

They also found similarities in the decor of a real estate listing for the condo with ads for escort services in Burnaby, highlighting the same wooden pillars on a bed.

The petition filed by the condo board says the property manager spoke with Diopita about the concerns and he said his girlfriend was operating a tattoo business.

Diopita, who could not be reached for comment, did not reply to the petition in any court filings.

The condo board sent Diopita letters asking him to stop the alleged commercial activities and issued fines, but the court documents say he did not respond so in November it asked a judge for an order banning him from the property and forcing him to sell his unit.

The judge issued an order Tuesday that says Diopita cannot use his condo for any kind of business, including "prostitution related activities," and bans him from causing or allowing unreasonable noise in the unit.

He has not been banned from the property or forced to sell the unit.
Photo: Flickr/ScarletPeaches

Victoria police are issuing a public warning after a woman was pricked by a syringe, the second person to be injured by a hypodermic needle in the past few days.

Police say the woman was walking her dog on Tuesday night when the animal investigated a bag next to a garbage can.

When the woman grabbed the bag away from the dog, she felt a prick and when she looked inside, she found several capped and uncapped syringes.

On Monday, police say a three-year-old child began crying while at a McDonald's restaurant, and when the child's parents investigated they found an uncapped syringe.

Both the woman and child were taken to hospital to be treated for their injuries.

Police say anyone using needles needs to properly dispose of them in puncture-proof containers.
The Ventricle of Memory: A memoir

by Shelagh Duckham Cox



Born just prior to WW2, the author starts her story with her early memories of growing up then having to be evacuated to North Wales as the attacks on Britain escalated.

There she spent the rest of the war until in 1945, with her family, she sailed to America where her Father was employed. She describes the wonder of America after the austere years of the war in Britain and then their return to Britain in 1950 where rationing was still in effect and the country still looked drab and bleak.

In a time when few British fathers envisioned a higher education for their daughters the author studied at St Andrews and describes the life as a student and the freedom within the constraints of social propriety of the time.

Marriage followed, with a rather disastrous honeymoon in a small hotel and I was rather surprised to read about the unwritten rule that a new bride must talk to no one but her husband till after the honeymoon.

The author describes her relationship with her beloved mother and father throughout the book and analyses the social norms of the time that made their interactions so very different from today. Even during her mothers terminal illness there were constraints that left a lot unsaid, but emotions were still felt very deeply.

Work brought her family of now 3 children to New Zealand as part of the 10 pound Pom programme. They settled in Levin and the comparisons between her old life and the new are descriptively written.

The book is beautifully written throughout as the author remembers and describes small events in her life with great clarity and this increases the richness of the reading.

She describes historical events that were familiar to me, but living in New Zealand with a more carefree life, they did not have the same impact, apart from the sinking of the Wahine. I felt the horror of that day as I was transported back to where I was and how it affected me, my friends and colleagues as we huddled around the radio and TV listening for updates throughout the day.

Any reader will love this book as they read the authors memories of a lifetime of living in very different lands.

Review by Merilyn Mary
The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development today released its 2018 Official Tennessee Vacation Guide. The cover features an inspiring, artistic rendering of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along with the Lorraine Motel, the site of his assassination, which is now home to the National Civil Rights Museum.

Fifty years ago, Dr. King was in Memphis, where he marched with striking sanitation workers who demanded safer working conditions and fair pay, and carried signs declaring, I AM A MAN, which are featured prominently on the cover. While in Memphis, King delivered his famous Ive Been to the Mountaintop speech.

Dr. Kings legacy continues to inspire our nation and the world as his dream lives on in Memphis, said Commissioner Kevin Triplett, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. Fifty years is a poignant time to honor that legacy while celebrating those who have used that inspiration to make a difference. The world-class National Civil Rights Museum commemorates the 50th anniversary while telling the full story. The dream also lives on in The Orpheum, Beale Street, Clayborn Temple, Stax Museum of American Soul Music and iconic Memphis murals including I Am a Man, Memphis Upstanders and The Sound of Music. All of those were catalysts for growth. The National Civil Rights Museum helped bring resurgence to a neighborhood that has seen people and businesses moving in. That kind of excitement is happening all over Memphis. From the Pyramid and the Pinch District, Midtown, Shelby Farms, to the tremendous development in Whitehaven around Graceland. Through all of that and more, visitors can embrace the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock n roll and enjoy some of the best barbecue in the country in a vibrant city.

The National Civil Rights Museum continues its year-long MLK50 commemoration with exhibits showcasing four decades of Civil Rights stories, educational seminars and live performances. On April 4, 2018, all eyes will turn to Memphis, Tennessee and the National Civil Rights Museum to remember the tragic event that occurred 50 years ago. Communities across the nation and world will reflect on the life and impact of one of historys greatest peacemakers and humanitarians, said Terri Lee Freeman, National Civil Rights Museum President.

The Tennessee Vacation Guide also spotlights other Civil Rights sites across the state, including Green McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton and Woolworth on 5th in Nashville.

Additional highlights include Whats New across the state like Anakeesta Aerial Adventure Park in Gatlinburg and the 2018 opening of the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville, as well as milestones like Tennessee Theatres 90th Anniversary in Knoxville. The guide puts a spotlight on Tennessee music attractions including Elvis Presleys Memphis at Graceland, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Songbirds Guitar Museum in Chattanooga, and Nashvilles famous Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium. There are also recommendations from Tennessee celebrities including music artists Kelsea Ballerini, Drew Holcomb, Kane Brown, Old Crow Medicine Show and Valerie June along with Nashville Predator P.K. Subban and pitmaster Larry Proffitt.

Tennessees scenic beauty, creative spirit, unique experiences, culinary excellence, and history are all highlighted in the guide, as well as The Discover Tennessee Trails & Byways and the Tennessee Whiskey Trail. Stunning photography and noted writers profile the places, people and events that attract more than 110 million visitors to Tennessee each year. Annual events, regional overviews, maps and destination listings round out the content featured in the guide.

More than 550,000 guides are available to inspire guests to book a trip filled with genuine, authentic experiences that are part of The Soundtrack of America. Made in Tennessee.

The 2018 Vacation Guide is available FREE of charge at any of Tennessees 15 Welcome Centers or by calling 1-800-GO2-TENN (462-8366), and can also be ordered or downloaded online at www.tnvacation.com/guide . A digital version of the guide is also available.

For more information, contact Jill Kilgore, public relations media manager for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, at 615 927-1320 or by email at Jill.Kilgore@tn.gov.
With the help of electronic microcopy, scientists have managed to track defects in the surface of two-dimensional photonic crystals, but there was a problem with bulk photonic crystals. There was no way for scientists to research the inner parts of these unusual crystals, in which the order occurred at a tenth of a nanometer, or even in substances -- the order arose at a tenth and a hundredth of a nanometer. Hence, scientists have been searching for a method to better measure these crystals for some time.

"Ilya Besedin, an engineer from the NUST MISIS Laboratory of Superconducting Metamaterials, jointly with a group of scientists from Germany, the Netherlands, and Russia, for the first time, has demonstrated that there is a method of non-destructive analysis of the inner structure of the substance, which cannot be seen with the use of conventional X-rays. The new system will help to create microprocessors for optical computers. It`s not a coincidence that the work was published in Small journal, one of the most cited journals in the field of biotechnologies, biomaterials, and interdisciplinary engineering", said Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISIS.

As Ilya Besedin stated, their research group led by Professor Ivan Vartanyants from MEPhI has applied the recently developed method of ptychographic to photonic crystals. The method's essence is that the substance is illuminated by x-ray radiation of an exactly defined wave (coherent). Sources of such radiation are called synchrotrons, and their experiments were conducted during the third generation synchrotron commissioned to research particle physics in Germany (DESY).

"With conventional x-rays you can scan either macroscopic or very ordered structures. In our case, for structures of polystyrene spheres of an almost micron size, the accuracy of the image will be even worse than in fluoroscopy. At least, it won`t be possible to discern a single object [smaller] than a micron", said Ilya Besedin.

Comparing fire and led is a good analogy to understand the difference in the quality of conventional x-rays and synchrotron. Fire ignites in a wide range of frequencies while led ignites on a strictly determined frequency and in a given direction. Thanks to such a high quality x-ray, Ilya Besedin and his colleagues have managed to "observe" through the mesoscopic structure the structures of substances where the sequence is found only at a distance of tens and hundreds of nanometers. Most importantly, scientists have managed to identify internal defects of mesoscopic structures.

As Ilya Besedin explained, if the crystal is perfect, the beam can pass through or be reflected. However, because of defects, the beam might deviate from a straight line.

"By knowing information about packaging defects, we can understand the logic through which the beam changes its direction. This means we can try to collect logical designs based on photonic crystals. Another thing is that we are not able to control the formation of these defects, we can only try to reduce [the defects] at the macro level", explained Besedin.

"A photonic crystal is like a waveguide for the light, only better. The waveguide is almost impossible to bend, and it's impossible to create photonic microchips on waveguides. A photonic crystal is most suitable for the creation of integral optical microchips where the light can spread where the developers need it to", noted Ilya Besedin.

According to him this is why the main value of this work is in the analysis of photonic crystals` inner structure with the help of ptychography.

"We have shown that now, with the help of x-rays, we can observe defects in periodic mesoscopic structures. The next stage of specification is to expose these structures to radiation with an x-ray laser. This can give a more accurate picture of the internal structure, but there are also some difficulties. The laser beam is, by definition, more powerful than just an outgoing one from synchrotron. While increasing the power, the probability of destroying the investigated structure increases significantly, which is not [good]. Ptychography also allows researchers to study the inner structure of a crystal without destroying it. That is why such a method will definitely find its application", Besedin concluded.
Supervisors approve major residential, retail project near Westchester The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors unanimously approved last Wednesday night a major residential and retail project that could significantly reshape the countys northwestern corridor. The proposed development at the intersection...

School system hustles to address bus driver shortage with pay raise, bonuses Alongside members of the Board of Supervisors, the Chesterfield County School Board held a press conference Monday to announce an increase in school bus driver pay and incentives to address...
Voice of the People Recently four members of Porter County Board of Zoning Appeals approved to give an Iowa company special exceptions and variances to build a THIRD gas station at U.S. 6 and Indiana 149, on the northwest corner adjacent to Liberty Township. In this growing age of...

Voice of the People We havent betrayed the Afghan people; they betrayed us. Monday morning quarterbacks criticizing our government and military are nothing more than cheap shot malcontents. Id like to see or at least hear how, under these same circumstances, they could do better. Joel Sutlin Chesterton September...

Voice of the People Chesterton needs an Italian beef place like Portillios or Pops. Next to the new Aldi would be a great location. Please and thank you. Linda Williams Westville

Monitor childrens online activity to prevent exploitation Now that the new school year has begun and notwithstanding the increase of in-person classes, our children will likely continue to use their various devices with access to the internet. By doing so, they can unknowingly become the target of online human traffickers and predators,...
Even with the Academy, we always talked about what it means to represent the Chicago Fire and wear the badge. To be able to do it now at the senior level and in front of hometown fans is an unbelievable honor.
Vincent has made one appearance with the senior team, in February in a friendly against Canada. Polster has yet to earn his first cap after being part of the under-23 national team.
The Marts occupancy was 98 percent for the showroom and retail space and more than 99 percent for the office space, Vornado executive David Greenbaum said in the real estate investment trusts most recent earnings call with analysts, according to a transcript. As a result, we are in the process of taking back an additional 40,000 square feet of showroom space from the apparel tenants on the ninth floor in order to create more best-in-class office space, he said.
Before choosing Wisconsin-based Lands End, which is also making uniforms for Delta Air Lines, American sought proposals and conducted site visits domestically and abroad, executives at American and union leaders said Tuesday in a letter to employees. Members of the uniform committee and union leaders will begin making fabric and color choices, and the airline expects to begin testing the clothing as early as October.
Burger Antics does not have a federally registered trademark, but it alleges common law trademark infringement in its lawsuit, as well as violations of Illinois consumer fraud law and other regulations. It is seeking to stop DoorDash from using its logo and menu on its website and delivering its food, in addition to damages to be determined at trial. The lawsuit says at least six other restaurants in the Brookfield area also have showed up on the delivery service without their knowledge or permission.
Filament LEDs could also solve a problem for policy makers who have long desired to ban inefficient incandescent bulbs, over the objections of consumers who prefer the old-style look. Almost a third of British people who voted to leave the European Union in 2016 said they wanted to see the return of the old bulbs that were banned by Brussels bureaucrats, according to a YouGov poll. Even Donald Trump wrongly warned in 2012 on Twitter that energy-saving bulbs can cause cancer because of the miniscule amounts of ultraviolet rays they give out.
The job of dentist, which has frequently topped the annual ranking over the past decade, was No. 2 this year followed by physician assistant at No. 3 and nurse practitioner at No. 4. Health care jobs, including nurse practitioners and physicians, usually dominate the list, but this year marks first time since 2015 that a health care practitioner has not topped the list. Orthodontist, which held the top spot last year, came in at No. 5.
Wisconsin is hoping the Brown Line  which, along with the Purple Line, is one of only two CTA lines that run through the Loop but not through the citys South or West sides  will reach the very specific target audience it is seeking.
The visiting and local group members also walked through Pilsen to see the neighborhoods gentrification and connect what was occurring with other global movements. Defend Boyle Heights captured the tour in a Facebook live video, captioned with the hashtags #GentrificaionIsViolence and #gentrificationiswhitesupremacy. Two blocks in, they approached the brightly lit, whitewashed brick walls of S.K.Y. restaurant. Some group members gestured obscenely through windows at workers preparing for a pre-opening test dinner; one wrote FU on breath-steamed glass. Restaurant general manager Charles Ford walked outside, then asked, Is there anything we can do to help? The person recording the video repeatedly replied, Get the f*** out! After three minutes, Ford reached for his phone. The group believed he was calling the police, derided him, then left. They walked across the street toward Thalia Hall, where Duseks is located; the video shows that one of the group members slapped the buildings stone and said, The No. 1 gentrifying f****** place in Pilsen right now!
When we made Heavyweights, being around Joe Miller was pure joy, Judd Apatow, a writer and producer of the film, told the New York Post in a statement. We could not have loved spending time with him more. He made everyone around him so happy. What a terrible loss. Co-star Aaron Schwartz also remembered Miller in an Instagram post.
Malkovich is no newcomer to the classical music arena. In January 2015 he began touring worldwide with Report on the Blind, a mixed-media performance that combined the actors reciting excerpts from a novel by Argentinian writer Ernesto Sabato with a score by Russian composer Alfred Schnittke.
My dad was a total audiophile, and he always used to have amps and cool sound systems. On my birthday he gave me a pretty nice sound system, and he said, If you can set this up by the end of the day, then you can have it. I was probably 6 or 7, and thats where it all started for me. I had two older brothers and they were always listening to hip-hop and Wu-Tang, and you know Wu-Tang is completely ninja-based. Where Im at now is an amalgamation of all that.
Surges also washed out Topanga Canyon Boulevard north of Pacific Coast Highway, and sections of the 110 Freeway were closed because of flooding. The Los Angeles Fire Department had to launch a swift-water rescue to aid a man and a dog trapped in rising water near the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, and a Los Angeles police cruiser became mired in a debris flow on La Tuna Canyon Road, according to authorities. The officer was uninjured and walked out of the vehicle. The cruiser was in the process of being dug out of the mud with a backhoe early Tuesday.
Level 4 - Do Not Travel: This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or leave as soon as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.
He continued: So, youve got to stay in the pocket. Because I think everybody in here knows dads who get out of the pocket. And theyre trying stuff that they cant really pull off.
Riveras move to an influential role overseeing day-to-day CPS operations was one of several moves announced Wednesday as Jackson takes over from former CEO Forrest Claypool, who resigned in December after accusations that he lied to undermine an ethics investigation by the district inspector general. Jackson, the districts chief education officer, was named interim CEO, and the school board is expected to vote her in as full-time chief at its meeting later this month.
Gosia Labno, 26, who to came to the U.S. at the age of 9 from Poland, says she is unsure what the government is going to do about DACA recipients like herself, but hopes something comes out of this latest conversation between President Trump and members of Congress. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)
The Des Moines Register reports that a judge issued the ruling last week for 31-year-old Ieisha McDuffy. Judge Health Lauber says McDuffy suffers from a disorder that prevents her from appreciating the charges against her or aiding her lawyer. Lauber ordered McDuffy to be treated while in state custody so her mental competency for trial can be restored.
The men drove to the 3100 block of North Keating Avenue in the Kelvin Park neighborhood, where they committed an armed robbery and fled, police said. Officers saw the car speeding away and crash into a building in the 3000 block of North Laramie Avenue in the Craigin neighborhood, police said.
The man who first implicated Kluppelberg recanted and said in a sworn statement that he had lied to get leniency in his burglary case. And Kluppelberg's attorneys alleged that authorities had concealed information about a woman who admitted setting a fire to a home on the same night about a block away. The woman, who was convicted of that arson, told officials she had been too drunk to remember whether she had set the fire blamed on Kluppelberg.
Plus, the signs companies already have to post to let drivers know they could be booted for parking there improperly would need to be put next to the entrances and exits of the lots. And the companies would need to establish 24-hour complaint hotlines, as well as provide formal training so workers understand drivers rights. Employees installing the boots would be required to wear uniforms.
Rickert served in Rauners administration for just over a month after he parted ways with top staff after lawmakers in both parties voted to override his veto of a major income tax hike and budget. Rickert was one of several employees Rauner brought in from the Illinois Policy Institute, a libertarian-to-conservative think tank to which he donated more than $500,000 before becoming governor.
As the hearing was underway, Rauner was in the midst of an extended stay at the Quincy home in what his team has described as an attempt to learn more about the problem. The governor has defended his administrations handling of the outbreak, and his Twitter account on Tuesday repeated many of the arguments made by Shah and Jeffries during the hearing. Hes expected to leave the home Wednesday and speak to reporters, a spokeswoman said.
A commission was formed last year to look into best practices for legalization and another bill is expected to be debated this legislative session. Supporters in the state say it is missing out on tax dollars that are being raked in by other New England states such as Massachusetts and Maine that have recently legalized.
Yet the president's plans were so nebulous that as the confab wrapped up, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, was still pressing for more specifics. "You want $18 billion for a wall, or else there will be no DACA. Is that still your position?" she asked. "And can you tell us how many miles of wall you're contemplating? Whether it's $17 million or $13 million or whatever is - can you tell us?"
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at a federal judge who's temporarily blocked him from ending protections for nearly 800,000 young immigrants. The Senate's top Democrat said that despite the ruling, lawmakers and the White House must drive toward a bipartisan deal that would permanently shield them from deportation.
This is going to create chaos in the dozens of states whose voters have chosen to regulate medical and adult use (of) marijuana rather than leaving it in the hands of criminals, said Neill Franklin, executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, which favors legalization. The Drug Enforcement Administration could raid dispensaries that states have allowed, as it did under President George W. Bush and even under Barack Obama.
Benjamin E. Park is an assistant professor of history at Sam Houston State University and author of the new "American Nationalisms: Imagining Union in the Age of Revolutions, 1783-1833."
Third, the pharmaceutical industry has a massive lobbying presence, consistently spending over $200 million a year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. It has more than two lobbyists for every member of Congress and spends tens of thousands of dollars per election cycle. That type of investment is only undertaken when there is a significant return expected. For example, Congress placed a provision in the 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit that prohibits Medicare from negotiating with drug companies on pricing. Now thats a return on lobbying costs!
Suburban officials testified about a multitude of water problems but either shifted the blame or said there was little they could do without more money. Roughly half of the water pipes in the towns surveyed were at least 40 years old, the Tribune found. In the past year alone, towns lost more than 25 billion gallons of water through leaky pipes at a cost of $44 million to the areas residents.
The third and final chapter of the Maze Runner series, in which hero Thomas (Dylan OBrien) and a band of Gladers are forced to break into the most treacherous maze yet in order to find a cure for a lethal disease. Go if you know what Gladers are, because that means youve probably seen the first two movies (might as well finish at this point).
"Everybody wants to support victims' rights and be there standing with the victim in their time of need," he said. "It's a lot harder to actually put money behind that and provide those services on a day-in and day-out basis. This office has done that remarkably well for more than 20 years. I am very disappointed with the decision of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to eliminate the funding."
"We need to not be afraid to bring people from across the world into our fold. I am a big believer if you ask people and let them get comfortable (that) you can be trusted, you can be loyal, if you do business with them  they are a lot less likely to fight you or be in conflict with you," Perry said.
By the time the steam fire engines America and Little Giant arrived, the blaze that would become the Great Chicago Fire was well on its way to ravaging the city. But it was only a matter of days after the flames subsided that an enterprising real estate developer would start the process of rebuilding.
"He said I had to open a restaurant in Buffalo Grove, and I listened to him. We opened in 1995," Panayiotou said. "Buffalo Grove is mostly a Jewish community, and they like to go out and eat. We make the best matzo ball soup in the northwest suburbs."
Logistics: Located at 3335 W. 111th St. in Chicago's Mount Greenwood neighborhood, Bacon & Jam is open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. The diner is closed on Monday. Parking is available behind the building and immediately to the west. Street parking is also available. Information is at 872-356-5400 and www.facebook.com/Baconandjam/
"There's nothing in the school code that says that a board member can be stripped of their title or be removed from holding one of their offices, but there's also nothing in the code that says they can't do it, either. So, the code is silent," said Vanessa Kinder, regional superintendent for South Cook Intermediate Service Center, the regional office of education whose territory encompasses District 132.
In a statement, Liz Harwell, director of merchandise for national chain Barnes and Noble, said: "Fire and Fury became an instant hit, with customers rushing to order the book in stores and online. At the moment we're fulfilling reservations, and we expect to receive inventory every day this week to begin meeting the demand as quickly as possible in our over 630 stores and online."
"I'm disappointed that knowing that you've affected so many people that have bills to pay that you wouldn't even attempt to address the issue," she said Tuesday. "There were a lot of employees who we asked to come out hoping that we would get some information or some type of communication to let us know what happened or if it can happen again and no explanation or anything was given.
About two dozen Canada geese found refuge in a still flowing middle portion of the creek in the distance as Harrison carefully made his way down the bank to a spot along the water's edge, avoiding several leafless branches.
Mt. Greenwood Community Church: 3509 W. 11th St.  The Father Perez Knights of Columbus Council No. 1444, Southside Pregnancy Center and Parkwood Baptist Church will sponsor the Fourth Annual Southside Rally "Standing for Life, Family and Faith" from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 18 at Mt. Greenwood Community Church. The event will include a celebration of student essay and video contest winners. The topic is "Why is Every Human Life Important?" Essays are due Feb. 25 and videos are due March 6. Complete details about entry submission and prizes are at www.southsiderally.weebly.com The event will also include a legislative update on issues central to the event's mission. Information: call Joe O'Connor at 773-238-4456.
Challenging petitions is a bit of a cottage industry in state politics. There are lawyers who specialize in the trade. I'm all for following the rules, but I think at times the process is shamefully abused. Don't ever let anyone tell you that Republicans are the only ones who engage in voter suppression tactics.
Among the changes is a proposal to add Hebrew and Mandarin classes for middle schoolers, who can already take French or Spanish, said Anthony McConnell, the district's assistant superintendent for teaching, learning and innovation. The expanded offering means students will have access to the same selection of language classes offered at Deerfield High School, he said Jan. 8 at a Committee of the Whole meeting. The presentation at Shepard Middle School, attended by more than 120 people, was the board's first look at the proposed curriculum changes.
"It's a relief," West Dundee Police Chief Andrew Wieteska said. "The parents have been asking for it. We supported the light. It's good to finally see. Anytime you have to put a police officer on a busy highway to direct traffic there's obviously inherent dangers in that."
The move is meant to help Spanish speakers get better at English and it's an attempt to get native English speakers to be truly fluent in Spanish. Ultimately the dual language courses would be offered through fifth grade and the language ratio would even out for each subsequent grade, so at last the class would be 50/50 English and Spanish.
Florip said the investigation shows that Prado arrived the night of Dec. 26 at the Police Department in a stolen vehicle, went up to an officer and demanded his firearm. Florip said Prado then pointed what turned out to be a BB gun at the officer and the officer shot him.
"My husband said he was sorry for everything that happened, but he wanted to thank all the people that reached out with information and helped in the search (last Sunday)," she said. "We want justice."
They include the 34-year-old public works facility, where roof leaks are occurring "quite a bit in certain places"; the former city hall and fire station that was turned into the Waukegan police station in the 1980s; and the city's parking garage at County and Clayton streets, which has been leaking into the Urban Edge Gallery on the southeast corner and has masonry issues.
The 6-0 vote kicks off a 35-day window for appeals to be filed, Kresch said. After that, US HealthVest would take ownership of Vista West and begin engineering and design work at the Washington Street facility, which first opened in 1929 as St. Therese Hospital and was taken over by Vista Health in the early 2000s.
Of course, 2018 has the chance to match 1968 for blows to the body politic. There's 11 months until 2019, when at holiday parties yet to be planned, folks will gripe about what's in store for the new year and how terrifying they might become with another year of the Trump era under our collective belts.
This week, we speak with A.J. Saldivar, 25, sous chef at Hugo's Frog Bar in downtown Naperville, who started his career as a prep cook at age 16 for a restaurant in his Warsaw, Ind., hometown. After three years, he moved to the kitchen at Maggiano's Little Italy in Oak Brook and, after four years there, joined the staff at Devon Seafood and Steak in Oakbrook Terrace.
"This means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you are sick, as well as while you are sick. In addition, some people can be infected with the flu virus, have no symptoms and still spread the virus to others," Patel said in a statement.
In phase two, the company plans to move into the building built in phase one, tear down its current building and add another 5,440-square feet onto the new phase one building, according to the report. Phase two is projected to be completed in the fall of 2019, it said.
According to Oak Park police, the three, one armed with a handgun, entered the 7-Eleven at about 11:30 p.m. Dec. 11. The store's clerk, who had a valid firearm owner's identification card, shot one of the three, officials said. The clerk told police at least one of the people who entered the store displayed a weapon and demanded cash. The other two fled the store after the shooting, according to police.
"We have some celebrations for our kids to enjoy, but nothing like this. It's so different here," Andres said, as her sons lined up to make the New Year's bubbly drink. "I'd like to see something like this back home. I'm definitely going to mention this to someone."
"Everybody knows what was reported and documented, but you actually get to see it live on stage and have the emotional connection right there in the moment," said Charlie Misovye, Theatre for Young Audiences coordinator. "It's quite moving. It's a compelling dramatization of his life and times. I think that a lot of the time history comes to life on stage."
"Buncich recognizes and appreciates that for the purposes of sentencing the court must accept the verdicts of the jury," Truitt wrote. "At the same time, he adamantly and resolutely maintains his innocence. Buncich will speak further at sentencing, but he knows in his heart that he did not sell his office or defraud the citizens of Lake County."
"My purpose is to engage them as much as possible," said Hinckley. "While it may be faster to just appoint someone, I'm not sure that's representative of democracy. What we're trying to do is be respectful of their role as elected officials, but comply to the law."
Double Standard? I think not. While there are similarities between Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey  both are both billionaires, TV personalities, and have tremendous name recognition  Oprah is literate, speaks in complete sentences, able to control her emotions and has an inclusive, kind and generous nature. While there are numerous people I can think that are more qualified than Oprah to be president, there is no one less qualified than Donald Trump.
"We are asking for (people) to either come before us and justify it or give us the reply we want by our next board meeting or we have instructed our attorney to take further legal action," he said.
Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate three people from the back seat of the Hyundai, Hinsdale firefighter and public information officer Steve Tullis said. The driver and four passengers in the Hyundai were taken to area hospitals with injuries of varying degrees, Tullis said. He believes they were college students on their way to the airport to return to school.
By Alexander Chipman Koty and Zhou Qian

Shenzhen has implemented a new rule requiring all businesses in the city to register key tax personnel with the local tax bureau. The move aims to enhance businesses commitment to comply with tax-related laws by registering and verifying the individual personnel responsible for such issues.

Tax authorities in Shenzhen implemented the rule for newly set up companies as of July 1, 2017, and then expanded them in November to include all taxpayers. Guangdong province, as well as many other regions in China, began implementing this rule in 2016, but Shenzhen was excluded from the initial rollout.

The originally determined deadline for businesses in Shenzhen to register their real name authentication has been postponed from December 31, 2017 to February 28, 2018. Despite the change in deadline, businesses that have not yet done so are advised to register as soon as possible to avoid disruption of tax-related business activities. Businesses located elsewhere in China should ensure that they are up to date with the implementation of the rule at the local level.

Real name authentication registration process

According to the real name authentication rules, key tax-related personnel in every company have to register with the local tax bureau.

Personnel in the following tax-related positions are required to conduct real name authentication:

Legal representative (//);

CFO ();

Tax operator/handler (/);

Other tax personnel authorized by the legal representative ().

Based on a new document released by the Shenzhen tax bureau on December 28, 2017, legal representatives satisfying one of the following conditions can be exempted from the real name authentication requirement:

The legal representative is from an enterprise categorized as a Class A taxpayer in credit evaluation; or

The legal representative is from an enterprise recognized by the tax bureau in charge.

To register, the relevant personnel must provide the tax bureau with the following documents:

ID certificate (such as a valid ID card, temporary ID card, Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macau Residents, Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents, passports for foreign nationals, and/or Permanent Residence Certificate for foreign nationals);

Certificates with a unified social credit number (if the company has not obtained a certificate with a unified social credit number, then the tax certificate should be provided instead);

Real name authentication information collection form; and

Tax agent agreement.

Local personnel can register online or in-person; however, foreign personnel have to apply in-person as a Chinese ID card number is required for the online registration.

In-person applicants can apply at either a national tax office or a local one. If the real name authentication is conducted with a local tax bureau, applicants that manage issues related to the national tax office need to also register their photo and facial information with the national tax office.

Tax Compliance Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Amber Liu, Senior Accounting and Tax Manager at Dezan Shira & Associates Shenzhen office, said, Unfortunately, there is no online channel for foreigners to complete this authentication process, which means that foreigners have to go to the tax bureau counter in-person to register. As most foreign businesses have a foreigner appointed as a Legal Representative or Finance Manager/CFO, they need to physically go to China to visit the tax bureau.

Liu continues, Alternatively, foreign businesses can change their CFO to a local staff member who can visit the tax bureau in-person, or enlist a third party firm to handle their tax and accounting matters.

If the registration is successful, the tax bureau will record the following information of the personnel:

Name;

ID number;

Photo and facial information; as well as

Mobile phone number.

Notably, the exact positions requiring registration and the documents needed for registration vary depending on the region.

Moreover, if a business key tax personnel changes or the personnels information changes (such as their phone number), the real name authentication information should be changed with the bureau accordingly.

With the rules, only personnel registered with the tax bureau are able to carry out various day-to-day tax activities in-person, such as purchasing special VAT fapiao. Those who have not registered are unable to carry out these activities. However, those with an active online account with the local tax authorities will still be able to carry out activities online.

Liu warned, Failure to register real name authentication will cause great inconvenience on a companys normal tax-related operations. If one fails to register, their ability to conduct regular tax activities will be impeded, including being unable to purchase VAT fapiao, correct electronic tax returns, reset the online tax bureau login password, and increase monthly VAT fapiao quota, depending on their location.

RELATED: Did Xi Set a New Direction for Tax Reform in China?

Real name authentication implementation timeline

The real name authentication requirements were first announced in 2016, and have been rolled out across the country at various stages.

The rollout has proceeded as follows:

SAT announcement in 2016 introduces real name authentication;

All provinces and regions (excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) fully or partially rolled out the new rule in 2016 (though regions each had different timelines for full implementation);

Guangdong province launched pilot programs for implementation in 2016 (which excluded Shenzhen);

Shenzhen started to implement the rule for newly set up companies as of July 1, 2017 and expanded implementation to essentially all companies in November.

The stipulated transition period was originally set to end on December 31, 2017, but has been extended to February 28, 2018. After that, tax personnel without registering their real name authentication will not be able deal with tax matters at the tax office.

The main purpose of real name authentication is to verify the key personnel in charge of tax matters to enhance their commitment to comply with tax laws. However, according to Liu, it is also designed to improve the quality of government tax services, as a tax certificate copy or ID certificate copy will no longer be required every time one deals with tax issues at the bureau.

Businesses in Shenzhen that have not yet registered should do so before the February 28 deadline. Investors located elsewhere in China that have not yet registered are advised to liaise with the local tax bureau to inquire whether it is required to do so in that region.

If you and your business require further advice regarding this compliance requirement, please contact our office in Shenzhen or any of our other offices in China.

This article was originally published on December 18, 2017 and has been updated with the latest regulatory changes.



About Us China Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, including ASEAN, India, Indonesia, Russia, the Silk Road, and Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here, and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here. Dezan Shira & Associates is a full service practice in China, providing business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax, IT, HR, payroll, and advisory services throughout the China and Asian region. For assistance with China business issues or investments into China, please contact us at china@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2017

This Dezan Shira & Associates 2017 China guide provides a comprehensive background and details of all aspects of setting up and operating an American business in China, including due diligence and compliance issues, IP protection, corporate establishment options, calculating tax liabilities, as well as discussing on-going operational issues such as managing bookkeeping, accounts, banking, HR, Payroll, annual license renewals, audit, FCPA compliance and consolidation with US standards and Head Office reporting.

Managing Chinas Financial System

Foreign investors often find Chinas financial system to be one of the most difficult areas to navigate when establishing or growing their presence in the country. Navigating Chinas tax system, and its complexities, requires time and commitment. In this issue of China Briefing magazine, we look at the factors that make Chinas tax system unique, and identify steps foreign investors can take to manage its challenges. We first examine the issues that most commonly disorient foreign investors. We then discuss the importance of pre-investment capital planning, within the context of tough foreign exchange controls, before examining the ever-maturing regulations for the transfer pricing system.

Dezan Shira & Associates
A company in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has overcome a long-time technology barrier and developed a unified input method in the Mongolian language.

Developed by Inner Mongolia Delehi Information Technology Co. Ltd., the input method contains 16 fonts. It enables people using the Mongolian language to communicate smoothly online, which was almost impossible before.

There are currently dozens of input methods in the Mongolian language, but each is coded differently and most are incompatible with one another. Previously, messages written in one input method may be have been unreadable when opened with another. The new input method has overcome that obstacle.

"Now we can communicate on WeChat and text each other freely. It is as easy as typing in Mandarin," said a Mongolian journalist.

Efforts to set up a coding standard for Mongolian began in 2012. The company has partnered with Microsoft to develop seven information technology products in Mongolian.

Born in the period of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, the Mongolian language has a history of over 700 years. The language is written vertically and has various dialects, making it hard to encode with a unified standard.

There are about 6.5 million Mongolians in China, mainly in Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Gansu, Xinjiang and Qinghai.
Facebook and Xiaomi will release a virtual reality headset in the Chinese mainland market even though the US-based social giant's service is not accessible in the mainland.





The VR device, Mi VR standalone, will be the first Facebook device officially sold in the mainland market which has the world's biggest number of Internet users. The device will feature both Xiaomi and Facebook's Oculus logos in China. It's the Chinese version of Facebook's Oculus Go, which costs US$199 in the US market.





Both sides, which announced the VR device today, declined to reveal more information like revenue sharing or price and timetable of the release domestically.





The standalone headset doesn't require a personal computer or mobile phone to work with.





Meanwhile, Facebook is also actively seeking opportunities to expand in China, and Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of the company, has visited China several times in recent years to talk with government officials, academic researchers and business leaders.





Globally, 5 million VR devices will be sold 2018, up from 3.7 million units last year. Sony, Oculus and HTC Vive are the top three players, according to researcher TrendForce.




U.S. President Donald Trump [Chinanews.com]

What are the possibilities for peace in the Middle East?

The perennial question beckons once again, even more so since U.S. President Donald Trump's Dec. 6, 2017 announcement that he views Jerusalem as belonging to Israel, plus his authorization of the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the long-disputed territory.

The decision sparked outrage worldwide and has reignited Arab passions to an unprecedented degree, with countless results and pending implications.

This action not only effectively rules out the U.S. role as a mediator between the Palestinians and Israelis, but has also triggered a consolidation of overall support for the Palestinian cause.

However, the decision opened the way, too, for divided factions in Ramallah and Gaza to come to talks quickly, to make genuine political peace and forge a practical unity between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas.

The Israeli government was the main benefactor of the decision, but it also isolated the U.S., with all the other members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council and an overwhelming majority in the UN General Assembly rejecting it outright.

The decision opened the way for the PLO to go on the international circuit in search of new partners for peace.

The Trump position, bad as it was, continues to have both intended and unintended effects.

As intended, Israel was assured it has the current U.S. president's full support of its unilateral claim on all of Jerusalem. UN member-states, including Washington's traditional allies, were forced to take a position; those that didn't vote with the U.S. were told they would pay a heavy price  especially those receiving U.S. aid. The UN itself was also clearly warned it could see a reduction of the U.S.'s annual financial contribution.

But despite the loud threats, the vast majority of nations voted with their consciences. The unintended effect was that the rest of the world, with insufficient exceptions to make a difference, has taken a principled position and reiterated their support for a two-state solution for Palestine.

The decision has also given voice to the previously quiet debate on whether the UN headquarters should remain in New York and whether the host country will link its own membership in significant organizations and its financial obligations to the voting of member-states on related issues.

Meanwhile, the mechanics of implementing the U.S. Embassy's relocation will take many years, and Guatemala  one of the few countries having voted with the U.S. on the matter  may be the first to do so.

Peace in the Middle East and a two-state solution for Palestine may be as far away as ever. However, the Palestinians ended 2017 and begin 2018 with greater global support for their cause  and the Trump decision may in actuality have trumped its maker.

Earl Bousquet is a contributor to china.org.cn, editor-at-large of The Diplomatic Courier and author of an online regional newspaper column entitled Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler.





Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.




 Flash

The majority of Egyptian parliament members, some 74 percent, signed on Tuesday a recommendation form urging President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to run for a second presidential term.

The form recommending Sisi was signed by Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal and 463 other lawmakers, as the parliament's general secretariat dedicated 12 committees for lawmakers to recommend presidential hopefuls until the candidacy period for the 2018 presidential elections is over.

Egypt will hold its 2018 presidential race from March 26 to 28, the 10-day candidate registration will start on Jan. 20, the electoral campaigns will kick off on Feb. 24, and the result of the first round will be announced on April 2, according to the country's National Election Authority.

The parliament's recommendation is based on an article in its regulations that allows each parliament member to recommend only one candidate for the post of president.

Only those presidential candidates getting at least 20 recommendations from lawmakers are granted a recommendation paper from the parliament that they can include among their registration papers.

A pro-Sisi non-official campaign called "So That You Can Build It (Egypt)" said last December that it collected over 12 million signatures of Egyptians, more than 11 percent of the population, supporting Sisi to run for a second presidential term.

Sisi took office in mid-2014, a year after he led the ouster of his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against Morsi's one-year rule and his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Sisi said in November 2017 that he will not seek to change the constitutional limit of two four-year presidential terms, thus ruling out a third presidential term for himself after a possible second one.

Although he has yet to formally announce his candidacy for the 2018 election, Sisi is widely expected to do so and to earn a landslide victory due to the absence of competitive challengers in the presidential bid.

Egyptian rights and opposition lawyer Khaled Ali announced in November last year his intention to join the presidential race. However, there is a possibility for Ali's disqualification as he had received a suspended three-month jail term earlier in September over an obscene hand gesture he reportedly made after winning a court order challenging the government.

On the other hand, former Air Force Commander and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, who fled Egypt after narrowly losing to Morsi in the 2012 elections, announced from the United Arab Emirates his intention to run for president.

However, Shafiq came back to Egypt last December and announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on Sunday.
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Over 107 Boko Haram fighters have been killed in an ongoing operation by the Nigerian military, an army spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.

The "Deep Punch 2" operation is aimed at routing the remnants of the terror group in Nigeria's northeast region, Sani Kukasheka Usman, the army spokesman, said in a statement.

According to him, more than 50 Boko Haram fighters were killed around the Lake Chad General Area, near the northern Borno State, where arms and ammunition of the group were also captured and destroyed on Monday.

On the same day, over 57 others were killed during the same operation in Metele area of Borno, he said.

He said four Nigerian soldiers and a member of the civilian volunteer group were killed by a vehicle operated by Boko Haram.

The vehicle, laden with improvised explosive devices, rammed into an MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle of the military, injuring nine of the troops, he added.

Nigeria has made a considerable gain on the Boko Haram front, with its security forces having dislodged Boko Haram fighters from the Sambisa Forest, their last enclave in the country.
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At least six people were killed and 17 others injured in a blast targeting a police vehicle in Quetta, captial of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, on Tuesday evening, local media reported.

The incident happened about 300 meters away from provincial assembly building of Balochistan, and the targeted policemen were deployed at the security of the assembly, Samaa News reported.

The nature of the blast has not been officially confirmed yet, but local media quoted unidentified security sources as saying that a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the truck in the high security Red Zone area of the province.

The report added that the bomber wanted to enter the Balochistan assembly where an important meeting regarding the resignation of the chief minister of Balochistan was being held, but changed his plan and targeted the police, owing to high security near the assembly building.

The killed people included five policemen and a civilian who was passing by the blast site when the explosion happened.

The injured people including policemen and civilians have been shifted to civil hospital Quetta, where a state of emergency has been imposed.

Hospital sources said that at least six among the injured people are in critical conditions.

A van and two cars, which were passing by the police truck, also got damaged in the explosion.

No group or person has claimed the attack yet.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and directed best available medical treatment to the injured.
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China on Wednesday hailed the positive outcome of talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Republic of Korea (ROK).

"It is encouraging that the two sides show each others' goodwill and shake hands at a time when the situation of the Korean Peninsula is quite tense," spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing.

The talks, the first of their kind in two years, saw agreement reached, including cooperation on the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and holding military talks to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"China, as a close neighbor of the Korean Peninsula, welcomes and supports the moves taken by the DPRK and the ROK to thaw their relationships," Lu said.

He called on both countries to take the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as an opportunity to improve ties and advance cooperation, and made positive efforts to ease tensions on the peninsula and push the peninsula issue back to the right track of settlement through dialogue and consultation."

The international community should fully understand and support such efforts, Lu said.
The Catholic Church in Scotland has drawn criticism for its failure to meet with victims and survivors of clergy sexual abuse more than two years after the head of the Scottish bishops' conference offered a public apology over the issue.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland's former moderator, Rev. Andrew McLellan, said he was "disappointed" by how long it was taking the bishops to meet with sex abuse victims and survivors. He said although the Archbishop of Glasgow, Philip Tartaglia, issued a very good apology, the intervention that came after that was not enough, Crux relayed.

"After Archbishop Tartaglia's public apology, which he did so well, there was a long hard silence, and I was very disappointed in terms of the progress the bishops were making," Rev. McLellan told Scottish newspaper Sunday Herald.

McLellan previously chaired a commission which examined the issue of child protection in the local Catholic Church. In the group's report, which was published in 2015, he outlined eight policy recommendations that included prioritizing support for the abuse survivors and the revision of the "Awareness and Safety" manual on preventing abuse, which was introduced in 2007.

McLellan also highlighted the importance of serving justice to both the victim of abuse and the perpetrators. He added that there must be regular training on safeguarding against clerical abuse.

The Scottish bishops had intended to carry out the said recommendations by the latter part of 2017. A representative from the Catholic Church said at the time that they were "close" to fully putting into practice the proposals given and that they were continuing to meet with the abuse survivors.

In September last year, a BBC News investigation revealed that what was believed to be the mass grave of at least 400 children was discovered in Lanarkshire in southern Scotland. The children used to be residents of a Catholic-run care home. The discovery had sparked a Child Abuse Inquiry into the former residents of the home.

In the wake of the discovery, many abuse allegations at the care home have surfaced. These included accounts of children being subjected to beatings, public humiliations, and psychological abuse by the nuns that ran the facility. The nuns issued a statement saying they were cooperating with the ongoing inquiry.
First Baptist Church pastor Robert Jeffress has defended U.S. President Donald Trump against a controversial expose by Michael Wolff, saying Americans are glad that their leader is not "normal."

Appearing on Fox News on Jan. 5, Pastor Jeffress criticized Wolff's book titled "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" and denied the author's charges that Trump did not care for winning in the U.S. elections and that his wife had been upset when he was elected. However, the Dallas-based pastor agreed with the book's account about Trump's not being "normal," Dallas News relayed.

"If there is a kernel of truth in this book, it is the charge that President Trump is not 'normal.' He isn't normal, which is why the American people put him in office to begin with," Pastor Jeffress said on Fox. "The American people were tired of a normal that said we ought to accept subpar economic growth, that we ought to accept ISIS as continuing reality, that our best days were behind us."

In addition, Jeffress said there were more Americans now who are thankful that their national leader is not "normal."

Earlier this month, Jeffress criticized the people who said Trump had caused a division among the evangelicals. He told American Family Radio that evangelicals who claimed that their values prohibited them from supporting Trump were hypocritical, saying personal piety had never been an indication of which presidential candidate a person was going to vote for, One News Now reported.

Moreover, Jeffress said Trump was not the cause of the evangelical divide, but he was only the one who exposed it. The pastor said the chasm between Christians who take Bible teachings seriously and their co-believers who do not has been growing.

In an interview on "Janet Mefferd Live," Jeffress mentioned that a lot of evangelicals had supported Ronald Reagan even though the latter had been married twice and was pro-abortion. The Dallas pastor called these people the "evangelical elite" who do not really embrace Christian values and were more concerned about immigration issues rather than the life of the unborn.
The Epiphany celebrations in a town in Portugal have once again sparked backlash from the public after photos emerged of parents urging their children as young as 5 years old to smoke cigarettes.

The people of Vale de Salgueiro have a centuries-old tradition during the annual Epiphany festival in which parents offer their children cigarettes and let the kids puff away at the tobacco products. Although only those 18 years old and above are allowed to buy tobacco in Portugal, youngsters are permitted to smoke cigarettes during the special occasion, The Sun detailed.

Each year, the Epiphany --- otherwise known as the King's Feast --- sparks backlash from outsiders because of this tradition that encourages children to smoke. Despite the regular criticism they receive, parents still continue practicing it.

There is no law in Portugal which prohibits parents from giving cigarettes to their kids. Authorities in the country also do not do anything to stop the practice.

"I don't see any harm in that because they don't really smoke, they inhale and immediately exhale," said local coffee shop owner Guilhermina Mateus.

Jose Ribeirinha, who wrote a book on the Portuguese town's festivities, suggested that the smoking tradition may have something to do with honoring the rebirth of nature and human life. He explained that Vale de Salgueiro is located in a region that still practices pagan traditions and where villagers used to do extraordinary things during the winter solstice period, Fox News reported.

Aside from the smoking, the Epiphany celebrations in Portugal also include selecting a King who would be in charge of organizing all the village's celebrations. The streets of Vale de Salgueiro are filled with singing, dancing, and smoking during the annual festival.

The essence of the smoking tradition in Portugal is still unclear, and nobody knows what the practice symbolizes. The Epiphany commemorates the day that John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ.
The French prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into an alleged cover-up by police involving a 2016 case where an Islamic extremist murdered a priest in the middle of Mass at a church in Normandy.

According to a judicial official, the preliminary investigation stemmed from concerns that a police intelligence note had been altered to hide the authorities' failure to intervene against extremist Adel Kermiche. Investigative publication Mediapart revealed that the note, which was allegedly post-dated, would have been instrumental in preventing the murder of 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel in the village of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, The National relayed.

Father Hamel was killed when two 19-year-old terrorists slit his throat in the middle of a Mass. The pair was fatally shot by police as they left the church. The Islamic State took responsibility for the priest's death.

The origin of the note, the office of the Paris police chief, issued a statement denying what Mediapart said. The statement added that soon after Hamel's murder, the officer who wrote the note "immediately made the link with the individual he had identified."

In addition, the statement said the Paris police intelligence arm had written another note on July 26, 2016, the day that the church was attacked. The initial note was dated July 22, but Mediapart said it was actually dated July 21.

In April last year, the Archbishop of Rouen, Dominique Lebrun, announced that their diocese had launched the canonization Cause of Fr. Hamel. While a five-year waiting period is required for the Cause to begin, Pope Francis has already allowed this particular case to proceed, The Catholic Herald reported.

During a Mass dedicated to Fr. Hamel, Pope Francis hailed the slain priest as a martyr. In his homily, the pontiff said the French priest was part of the chain of Christian martyrs who chose not to deny Jesus Christ rather than commit apostasy.
The installation of a red "Lucifer" statue called the Phylax at a local square in Athens, Greece, has prompted more than 100 Christians including their priest to march in protest and demand that the sculpture be taken down.

On Dec. 5, the Phylax sculpture by artist Kostis Georgiou was put up near the Palaio Faliro marina in Trokadero in between the Agios Georgios and Agia Skepi chapels. The statue, which was commissioned by the Martinos shipping family, has stirred division among Greek scholars and church officials over what it stands for, Neos Kosmos reported.

The Palaio Faliro Municipality, to which the Phylax statue was donated, named it the "guardian-angel" of the South Athens suburb. However, Mayor Dionysis Hatzidakis and the council have already clarified that the sculpture does not represent the guardian angel of the Christian faith.

According to some locals, the red naked man with wings symbolizes Lucifer. However, Georgiou defended his artwork, telling Greek Channel Skai TV that the color red was not exclusive to Satan and that there were angels that sported wings and hair of the similar color.

Georgiou also pointed out that a similar artwork was installed in Mykonos this past summer, but it sparked no such reactions. He denied that the sculpture was satanic and anti-Christ, The Greek Reporter relayed.

Last week, around 100 parishioners marched from Panagia Myrtidiotissa church to the Phylax statue. Their local priest scattered holy water on the statue in an act of exorcism.

"The sculpture is a demon and a soldier of Satan that, instead of being honoured, must be despised as blasphemous to the holy trinity," said parish priest Patapios Argyros in an open letter to Mayor Hatzidakis. "It is an affront to Orthodoxy and the Christian faith."

The Phylax sculpture has already been vandalized twice after it was installed. Vandals had flung red paint on the structure, and the power that kept it illuminated at night was cut. Residents have also launched a signature campaign in a bid to have the offending structure taken down.
Thousands of Catholics from several churches in Garo Hills joined together in prayer in a day of protest against the increasing atrocities on Christians and other minorities in North India in the hands of right wing groups.

During the sermon on Jan. 7, the day of protest, priests from the five districts of Garo Hills called on Catholics to continue praying for Christians in India and for the attacks against them to stop. They also discussed the recent attacks on believers in Madhya Pradesh, where right wing groups assaulted seminarians for holding Christmas Carol activities, The Shillong Times detailed.

"Such cases of attacks on Christians are worrying. We need to be cautious and concerned," said Fr. Theodore Sangma during his sermon at the Sacred Heart Church Shrine in Tura. "We must all stand together and pray for peace and harmony in our country."

In addition, Fr. Sangma called on the faithful to pray for Christian persecutors as well that they may experience true peace in God.

Washington-based persecution lobby group International Christian Concern has documented at least 23 religiously motivated attacks on believers in India during this recent Christmas period. The group said several Christians were injured, hospitalized, or jailed as a result of these attacks, Christian Today relayed.

On Dec. 20, Catholic Bishops' Conference of India president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis said the trust of Christians in the Indian government has been marred because of the recent string of attacks on them. ICC regional manager William Stark said the holiday persecution of believers shows how radical Hindus in the country disregard its own constitution, which supposedly guarantees citizens' freedom of religion.

Moreover, Stark noted that Hindu nationalists have become bolder in their attempts to stop Christians from celebrating Christmas. He marked last year's Christmas season as one of the most violent in the recent history for believers in India.
In 2020, we were the church on our heels. A global pandemic shut down much of our world. But the church has been on the move since it was birthed; it will continue to be on the move until God makes all things new.
After two decades as president of one of Americas largest charities, Richard Stearns has announced his plans to retire from World Vision at the end of 2018.

I feel privileged to have had this opportunity to serve with some of the most amazing faith heroes on the planetmy colleagues all across the world, tweeted Stearns, who has led the prominent Christian relief organization since 1998. Thank you Lord!

World Vision has launched a national search to select its new CEO, and Stearns will continue at the helm until the organization has brought in his successor, according to a statement.

Rich Stearns put compassion over career, leaving business leadership to serve the poor and vulnerable, Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, told CT. His Christian faith has been strong and practical from the board room to backwaters of the world. Truly a man of world vision.

During Stearnss time as CEO, World Visions annual revenue grew to more than $1 billion, and the ministry reports that it is on track to serve more than 30 million children by 2022. During his tenure, World Vision has responded to global poverty, human trafficking, the refugee crisis, water sanitation, famine, and dozens of natural disasters.

Rich was a pioneer. He helped World Vision evolve in both growth and scale without losing its values and focus, said former World Relief president Stephan Bauman. They really stayed anchored in the gospel.

When World Vision speaks, people listen, he said, adding that this sentiment only increased during Stearnss time there.

Prior to World Vision, Stearns had little experience in the humanitarian or parachurch world. Instead, he spent 23 years in corporate leadership, serving as the CEO of Parker Brothers Games (maker of Monopoly) and Lenox (the fine china and crystal company).

Stearns acknowledged that he felt unqualified to accept the position back in 1998.

I said, Youre looking for somebody whos part CEO, part Mother Teresa, and part Indiana Jones. I dont think thats me, said Stearns on CTs podcast The Calling last year. But it was almost as if God was saying, I got this. You were obedient. Im going to work this. Watch and see what Im going to do with your obedience.

His tenure was not controversy-free. In 2014, Stearns announced that World Vision would hire gay Christians in same-sex marriages. Within 48 hours, the organization reversed its decision after intense criticism from conservative evangelicals.

Rather than creating more unity [among Christians], we created more division, and that was not the intent, Stearns told CT at the time. Our board acknowledged that the policy change we made was a mistake  and we believe that [World Vision supporters] helped us to see that with more clarity  and were asking you to forgive us for that mistake.

In recent years, largely through his book The Hole in Our Gospel, Stearns urged the American church to greater action. He also spoke out about the AIDS crisis and, in more recent years, the Syrian refugee crisis.

People often see organizations like World Vision and World Relief as competitors in the same field, but Ive always thought we were different players on the same team, with different but complementary strengths, striving towards the common goal of assisting the poor while challenging the church to be and do better, said Jenny Yang, World Reliefs vice president of advocacy and policy. World Visions work and voice under Richards leadership created room for us all to be better and do more for the Kingdom.

Compassion International president and CEO Santiago Jimmy Mellado called Stearns a key leader in awakening the church to love and care for those suffering from the HIV and AIDS pandemic, multiple refugee crisis, and relief and recovery from countless disasters.

Rich leaves an immense leadership legacy of kingdom service that will surely be felt for generations to come and into eternity, Mellado told CT.

Last year, Stearns was a guest on CTs news podcast, Quick to Listen, and wrote for CT about why Christians should stop caring about so many causes as well as why churches should remember that churches and relief organizations dont share the same call.

CT accompanied Stearns to South Sudan in 2015 to see why World Vision still had hope for the worlds most fragile state. In 2013, CT reviewed his book Unfinished.
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Image: Open Doors

For decades, North Korea has clearly been the worlds worst persecutor of Christians. But now, another nation nearly matches it.

Open Doors released today its 2018 World Watch List (WWL), an annual ranking of the 50 countries where it is most dangerous to follow Jesus. Approximately 215 million Christians now experience high, very high, or extreme levels of persecution; that means 1 in 12 Christians live where Christianity is illegal, forbidden, or punished, according to Open Doors researchers.

Kim Jung-uns country hasnt moved from the No. 1 spot on the list for 16 years in a row. With more than 50,000 in prison or labor camps, such a ranking is little surprise for the totalitarian regime that controls every aspect of life in the country and forces worship of the Kim family, Open Doors reported.

But rivaling it this year is Afghanistan, which ranked No. 2 by less than a point. North Koreas total score was 94 (on a 100-point scale), pushed above Afghanistans 93 by a 0.6 difference in their violence rating. In the other five categories measuredprivate life, family life, community life, national life, and church lifeboth countries received the worst scores possible.

Never before have the top two countries been so close in incidents, Open Doors USA president and CEO David Curry stated. Both countries are extreme in intolerance and outright persecution of Christians in every area Open Doors monitors.

The rising persecution in Afghanistan is a tragedy considering the efforts being made by the international community to help rebuild Afghanistan are failing to ensure freedom of religion, stated Curry. Reports of violence and human rights atrocities from North Korea are pervasive, while the situation faced by Christians in Afghanistan may be underestimated. It is hard for Westerners to imagine a second country could nearly meet the levels of persecution seen in North Korea, but Afghanistan has reached that level this year.

Afghanistan has almost always been in the top 10, marked the fifth worst overall over 25 years of Open Doors research. Over the past several years, the majority-Muslim country has been inching its way up from No. 6 in 2015 (81 points) to No. 4 in 2016 (88 points) to No. 3 in 2017 (89 points).

Where Is Persecution the Most Violent?

Trailing a few spots behind at No. 5, Afghanistans neighbor Pakistan recorded the most violence against Christians last year. The country also scored the highest in church attacks, abductions, and forced marriages, according to Open Doors.

It also recently drew the ire of President Donald Trump, who last week cut off Pakistans military aid over frustrations with alleged Pakistani assistance given to terrorists in Afghanistan. The same day, the US State Department announced the addition of Pakistan to a new special watch list of governments or entities that engage in or tolerate severe religious freedom violations, yet arent bad enough to be named a country of particular concern.

Nigeria (No. 14), where Boko Haram operates, and the Central African Republic (No. 35) ranked second and third for violence. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended that the State Department add Pakistan, Nigeria, and the Central African Republic to its list of countries of particular concern. (So far, they have not been added.)

Image: Open Doors

Whats the Biggest Threat to the Persecuted Church?

Rounding out the top 10, following North Korea and Afghanistan, are Somalia (No. 3), Sudan (No. 4), Pakistan (No. 5), Eritrea (No. 6), Libya (No. 7), Iraq (No. 8), Yemen (No. 9), and Iran (No. 10).

Its not a coincidence that all of these countriesexcept North Korea and Eritreaare predominately Muslim. In fact, Islamic extremism remains the global, dominant driver of persecution, responsible for initiating oppression and conflict in 35 of the 50 countries on the list, Open Doors stated.

The Islamist movement is the part of Islam which embraces a clear political agenda for bringing nations under Muslim domination and shariah law, according to Open Doors. The movement has three parts: individuals and networks that use violence to advance their political goals; those who reject any system based on non-Islamic law but who arent violent; and those who interact with society by voting or campaigning for Islamic law.

The Islamist movement manifests itself in Muslim-majority countries by trying to radicalize society, and in Muslim-minority countries by radicalizing Muslim communities, Open Doors stated.

One example: Every day six women are raped, sexually harassed, or forced into marriage to a Muslim under threat of death due to their Christian faith, Open Doors reported. This number is likely low, since it includes only reported incidents. It also points to the double persecutionfor both their gender and religionthat Christian women face in much of the world.

The majority of the countries on the list saw an overall increase in persecution from 2016 to 2017 (30 of 50). Five of the six countries where persecution increased the most were majority-Muslim, with the notable exception of India, which moved from No. 15 in 2017 to No. 11 in 2018.

Whats the Newest Threat to the Persecuted Church?

Radical Hinduism and Indian nationalism are driving factors in the increasing levels of unrest and instability Christians face, Open Doors reported. In 2014, India scored only 55 points, while during the 2018 reporting period, [WWL] researchers assigned 81 points to the nationone of the fastest and most intense increases seen.

Indias Hindu nationalism has been growing since the election of nationalist Narendra Modi to prime minister in 2014, and was highlighted by the election of nationalist president Ram Nath Kovind last summer.

Under Modi, religious freedom violations against Christianssuch as social exclusion, abuse, and imprisonmenthave spread unchecked. In 2017, Open Doors counted more than 600 persecution incidents, though most cases actually remain unreported, so the true number is much higher, the organization said. (At the same time, Compassion Internationals 589 Indian centers serving 145,000 children were shut down without explanation.)

Indias religious nationalism has swelled over its borders, spilling into neighboring Nepal and catapulting that country onto the listand halfway up it, at No. 25. In October, Hindu-majority Nepal took aim at evangelism by criminalizing religious conversion; the Pew Research Center has noted increasing social hostility there as far back as 2015.

Buddhist nationalism in countries such as Sri Lanka (No. 44), Bhutan (No. 33), and Myanmar (No. 24) is less obvious but still there. Parents have to send their children to Buddhist schools, where children must learn about Buddhism and participate in its rituals, Open Doors said. And Christians often are refused permits to rent a place to hold worship services.

Nearby Vietnam (No. 18) and China (No. 43) can also be hard places for Christiansnot because of religious nationalism, but because Communism sees religion as an opium for the masses that should be eliminated.

In Vietnam, levels of violence dropped, but that didnt lead Open Doors to optimism. While it is good that no Christians died for their faith in Vietnam, the authorities continue to crack down on ethnic minority Christians and will start implementing a new law on religion in 2018 for all Christians.

Any Good News for the Persecuted Church?

In addition to Nepal, Azerbaijan joined the list this year (No. 45). They replaced the sub-Saharan African countries of Comoros and Tanzania, which ranked No. 42 and No. 33 respectively in 2017.

Tanzania is the most eye-catching example of a country where the situation for Christians considerably improved, Open Doors said. The majority-Christian country was struggling against a Muslim minority that was growing more radical when President John Magufuli was elected in 2015.

His administration made serious work of cracking down on radical Islamic groups, Open Doors said. Many leaders were caught and others went into hiding. The violence against Christians decreased a lot.

Tanzania was the best case of improvement. Though scores in Ethiopia (No. 29) and Kenya (No. 32) both dropped due to Muslims and Christians finding common ground in politics, both nations also saw more violence.

Ethiopias violence was directed against both Muslims and Christians who were protesting the government, asking for more democracy and an end to corruption. In Kenya, the radical al-Shabaab Islamist group killed more than 30 Christians, beheading many. This seems to be a new tactic to instill fear in the Christian community and get them to flee en masse, Open Doors noted.

Syria is another country where fewer reports of violence against Christians were hardly cause for celebration. While it dropped from No. 6 to No. 15, and while ISIS has lost most of its territory, accurate persecution numbers are hard to get from the war-torn country. In addition, many of the countrys Christians have already fled.

Anti-Christian violence has not disappeared, Open Doors said. There were still Syrian Christians being abducted, physically and sexually abused, fleeing their homes and country.

Open Doorss rankings came out a week after the State Department released its list of countries of particular concernthose that have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

Like Open Doors, the State Department tagged mostly Middle Eastern and Asian countries: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Its list was the same as last years.

CT previously reported the WWL rankings for 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012, including a spotlight on where it's hardest to believe. CT also asked experts whether the United States belongs on persecution lists, and compiled the most-read stories of the persecuted church in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
First Apologetics Curriculum for Tweens to be Released



ATLANTA, Jan. 10, 2018 /



With so many people falling away from the faith as early as junior high and middle school, what can one do? Tom Griffin, an experienced Christian educator, recognized the need early on. He knew that 'apologetics,' that is, the defense of the Christian faith, was important for this age group. However, he couldn't find any Sunday School curriculum or other materials that was suitable.



So he made it himself. He buckled down and produced "Apologetics for Tweens."



This apologetics curriculum is specifically directed at 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. After a long wait, it will be officially released next week, January 15th.



However, there has already been intense interest in the curriculum. Pastors, Sunday School teachers, and homeschooling parents alike have examined Griffin's materials and declared, "This is exactly what I have been looking for, but there is nothing available."



Why are people having this reaction? Griffin explains, "The need for apologetics has moved downstream even to elementary school. The kids are smarter now than ever before, and with the pervasive influence of the internet and accelerating secular attacks, questions about Christianity and other religions form far earlier."



The curriculum is published through Athanatos Publishing Group, a Christian apologetics ministry that has also been studying the rise in the religiously 'unaffiliated' and has been attempting to meet the challenge.



Athanatos Ministry's Executive Director, Dr. Anthony Horvath, makes the point that Griffin's curriculum is not just for churches, although naturally youth pastors and directors will be very interested. He says, "Given the importance of the family in transmitting the faith, we are making sure that parents and grandparents also know about Griffin's 'Apologetics for Tweens' curriculum."



So, whether you are a pastor or a parent, if you are looking for a way to fortify the faith of middle schoolers, "Apologetics for Tweens" might be just what you're looking for.



Although the curriculum is not officially available until next week, the publisher has authorized a pre-release promotion of 25% off of purchases made through the Athanatos website.



Learn more and order at

Tom Griffin is available for interviews at



Share Tweet Contact: Tom Griffin, 770-597-2654, tjgconsult@aol.com ATLANTA, Jan. 10, 2018 / Christian Newswire / -- The toxic effect of the secular university on Christian faith is well known, but the truth is that 84% of youth have doubts about their Christian faith before college.With so many people falling away from the faith as early as junior high and middle school, what can one do? Tom Griffin, an experienced Christian educator, recognized the need early on. He knew that 'apologetics,' that is, the defense of the Christian faith, was important for this age group. However, he couldn't find any Sunday School curriculum or other materials that was suitable.So he made it himself. He buckled down and produced "Apologetics for Tweens."This apologetics curriculum is specifically directed at 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. After a long wait, it will be officially released next week, January 15th.However, there has already been intense interest in the curriculum. Pastors, Sunday School teachers, and homeschooling parents alike have examined Griffin's materials and declared, "This is exactly what I have been looking for, but there is nothing available."Why are people having this reaction? Griffin explains, "The need for apologetics has moved downstream even to elementary school. The kids are smarter now than ever before, and with the pervasive influence of the internet and accelerating secular attacks, questions about Christianity and other religions form far earlier."The curriculum is published through Athanatos Publishing Group, a Christian apologetics ministry that has also been studying the rise in the religiously 'unaffiliated' and has been attempting to meet the challenge.Athanatos Ministry's Executive Director, Dr. Anthony Horvath, makes the point that Griffin's curriculum is not just for churches, although naturally youth pastors and directors will be very interested. He says, "Given the importance of the family in transmitting the faith, we are making sure that parents and grandparents also know about Griffin's 'Apologetics for Tweens' curriculum."So, whether you are a pastor or a parent, if you are looking for a way to fortify the faith of middle schoolers, "Apologetics for Tweens" might be just what you're looking for.Although the curriculum is not officially available until next week, the publisher has authorized a pre-release promotion of 25% off of purchases made through the Athanatos website.Learn more and order at www.resurgensconsulting.com Tom Griffin is available for interviews at tjgconsult@aol.com or 770-597-2654.


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Across our London, New York and Paris salerooms, Christies offers decorative arts from antique to modern, in curated sales designed to appeal to both new and seasoned collectors. These include The Exceptional Sale, presenting museum quality pieces; The Collector sales, offering a tailored selection of works of art, porcelain, silver, gold boxes, portrait miniatures and furniture for connoisseurs; Interiors sales in New York, featuring contemporary and classic pieces for the home; Private Collection sales, showcasing the collecting passions of iconic figures, tastemakers, private collectors and interior designers; and Art of China online sales that include select groups of Chinese ceramics and works of art made for the export market at accessible price points appealing to new and existing collectors.





Please do not hesitate to get in touch to discuss buying or selling within this category at Christies.



Explore all Decorative Arts >
As the global market leader for Post-War and Contemporary Art since 2010, Christies now presents the category as part of its innovative 20/21 sales format, featuring works of the 20th and 21st centuries.



Our regular Post-War and Contemporary Art sales in London, New York and Paris celebrate leading masters active from 1945 to 1970, including Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon and Louise Bourgeois alongside contemporary luminaries such as Jeff Koons, Mickalene Thomas, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Gerhard Richter.



In a break with our traditional auction categories, our reimagined 20/21 sales series reflects evolving market demands and collecting habits, featuring increased diverse representation of artists of colour and female artists, and cutting-edge contemporary art such as digital works and NFTs. Christie's introduced NFTs onto the global auction market stage in March 2021, and as the first international auction house to sell an NFT of a purely digital work of art by the artist Beeple we continue to lead and expand this exciting new collecting category. Christies continues to showcase works by emerging artists in our popular First Open sales, which attract new and seasoned collectors alike.



In addition to auctions, Christies organises selling exhibitions and private sales of paintings, drawings, photographs and installations by a wide range of artists and schools from early Abstract Expressionism through to the present day.



Our global team of specialists is always available for free and confidential valuations of individual works or collections. Please do not hesitate to get in touch to discuss buying or selling at auction, online or through Private Sales.
Collecting Guide: Key periods of American furniture

Cant tell a Federal chair from a Classical chest of drawers? Heres our expert guide, illustrated with lots from Important American Furniture, Folk Art and Silver on 24 January

1

William and Mary

This is the earliest style of furniture to have been produced natively, with pieces generally dating from around 1680 to 1730. The period is named after Englands late-17th-century co-regents, William III of Orange and Mary II; during their reign, many craftsmen emigrated to England from Williams native Netherlands, fashioning a new Anglo-Dutch style that was an amalgamation of the tastes of both countries.



In the newly-established colonies a variation on this Anglo-Dutch trend developed, characterised by a Baroque aesthetic that featured elaborate turnings, severe curves, contrasts of colour, as well as case pieces with simple flat surfaces and architectural trim. Commonly used materials included indigenous walnut, oak, pine and maple woods.



Furniture from this period is scarce, both because of its significant age, and because production at the time was limited  the result of a relatively small population.

2

Queen Anne



This style followed the William and Mary period and is named after the English monarch who reigned from 1702 to 1714. Popular in the American colonies from approximately 1730 to 1760, furniture of this era is characterised by a sophisticated fluidity, achieved through the use of the newly introduced cabriole leg, curving chair crests, and decorative shells and volutes, or scroll-like forms.



The expansion of urban centres during the period led to the appearance of strong regional traits. The most celebrated and accomplished furniture was produced in Newport, Rhode Island and Philadelphia, where dense mahogany was used to produce expertly carved chairs, tea tables and high chests of drawers for the emerging elite.





3

Chippendale

Chippendale furniture, produced from around 1755 to 1780, represents a natural evolution of the Queen Anne style, with many of the pieces based on the designs in Thomas Chippendales The Gentleman and Cabinet Makers Director, first published in England in 1754.



The style combined decorative elements from three distinct sources: French Rococo, Chinese ornamentation and Gothic architectural details. Overall, Chippendale is characterised by a profusion of carving, predominantly on mahogany, with features including acanthus  an ornament resembling foliage  opposing C scrolls, and ruffled, rocaille motifs on the splat (the central support panel of a chair back), knees and skirts (or horizontal facades) of chairs and case pieces, which frequently sit on ball-and-claw feet.



On pieces from Philadelphia, Newport, Boston, New York and Connecticut, regional traits became more pronounced. In these urban centres, the rise of the upper class had led to the emergence of sophisticated cabinetmaking workshops, employing highly skilled carvers, often trained in England. In Newport, three generations of members of the Goddard and Townsend families produced furniture of exceptional quality and artistry. In Philadelphia, cabinetmakers including Thomas Affleck, Benjamin Randolph, Thomas Carteret and Henry Clifton worked alongside carvers such as Hercules Courtenay, Nicholas Bernard and John Pollard to create extensive suites of furniture for the citys mercantile elite.

4

Federal

The Neoclassical style, introduced in England by Robert Adam, George Hepplewhite and Thomas Sheraton, flourished in America from around 1780 to 1820, during what has come to be known as the Federal period.



Furniture produced during this time evolved greatly, both in style and form. Cabriole legs, shaped in two curves, gave way to simplified, straight legs and various inlays, which were favoured over carved ornament. Dressing tables and high chests of drawers disappeared, while new forms such as the sideboard, tambour desk (with desktop-based drawers and pigeonholes) and worktable were introduced.



Motifs and forms inspired by contemporary discoveries of ancient Greek and Roman architecture were widely favoured, and included urns, circular paterae (shallow bowls), swags or garlands, cornucopias (goats horns) and columns  the form and styles of the period giving an overall sense of elegant lightness. Notable cabinetmakers working during this time included the Boston-based father/son partnership of John and Thomas Seymour, Duncan Phyfe and French emigre Charles-Honore Lannuier in New York, and Edmund Johnson and Samuel McIntire of Salem, Massachusetts.





5

Classical

The Classical style is the last traditionally collected by Americana collectors, and flourished from 1820 to 1840. Works from the period were typically greater in size, with makers favouring undecorated, veneered surfaces, which drew inspiration from furniture of the French Restoration period.



Case pieces were often constructed using S and C-scroll pillars. The most important centre of production was New York, where established maker Duncan Phyfe now competed with emerging firms including Joseph Meeks & Sons.

6

Egyptian Revival

While it is tempting to think of the 19th century as the Victorian century, as far as furniture is concerned it in fact reflected the changing technology of the time. The country grew from a small, mostly agrarian society to an international industrial powerhouse. As the century progressed, furniture was increasingly produced by means of the machine, and not by hand. Revival styles of the 1860s and 1870s marked the first period in which fine designs were used for mass-produced furnishings.



The Egyptian Revival style emerged in popularity around the time of the Civil War (1861-1865)  a period when American tastes increasingly drew inspiration from Classic and Romantic periods of the past. Major motifs of Egyptian art such as obelisks, hieroglyphs, sphinxes and pyramids were used in various creative ways.



Ebonizing, elaborate carving, elegant detailing and ormolu mounts became the height of furniture fashion, particularly among the firms working in New York, as exemplified in the above Egyptian Revival suite, attributed to renowned New York cabinetmakers Pottier and Stymus. Pottier and Stymus (active 1859-1910) specialised in a variety of revival forms, and provided furniture and interiors for William Rockefeller, Leland Stanford and the Grant White House.

7

Renaissance Revival

The last half of the 19th century reveals an even further expansion of revivalism. The Renaissance Revival style (1850-1885) appeared as early as 1850.



Inspired by Renaissance architecture, the furniture from this movement was characterized by massive square architectural forms, broken pediments, applied medallions, acorn trim and tapering baluster-turned legs. Porcelain, bronze and mother-of-pearl plaques were popular embellishments. Walnut was the most popular wood, with some veneer introduced as surface decoration. Light woods were favoured in reaction to the prevailing dark woods of the Empire and Rococo Revival styles.



Well-known cabinetmakers of this period include George Hunzinger, German by birth, who was working in New York by the 1860s and whose work shows remarkable mastery of the Renaissance design vocabulary. Other influential makers were John Jelliff in Newark, whose designs included sofas and chairs carved with male and female busts. Daniel Pabst, in Philadelphia, frequently collaborated with architect Frank Furness on many of his high-styled pieces to create elaborate and often architectural pieces. And Thomas Brooks, a Brooklyn native, is known for his extraordinary designs of tables, bedroom suites and hall stands.



8

Aesthetic Movement
Collecting guide: Old Master drawings

Seven expert tips on collecting Old Master drawings, whether you seek affordable works on paper or a museum-quality masterpiece. Illustrated with upcoming works at Christies

Writing on the importance of drawing, Tintoretto once proclaimed: Beautiful colours can be bought in the shops on the Rialto, but good drawing can only be bought from the casket of the artists talent with patient study and nights without sleep. In the Early Modern period, aspiring artists were expected to spend their formative years practising drawing from the live model. French and Italian artists travelled to Rome to ape the Old Masters and the ancients, while Dutch artists also headed to Italy, but mainly to draw inspiration from the landscape of the Roman campagna and the incomparable light. Draughtsmanship was the basis of much creative production whether the artist worked in clay, paint or metal. Its often said that drawing is the thought of the artist. The painting on the wall is the finished article, but to arrive at this final state, the artist usually has to draw.

1

Delve into history Whats most fascinating about a drawing is that, on a blank sheet of paper, the artist reveals himself before your very eyes. In just a few lines, you can see (hopefully!) when  and where  he or she is from. Old Master Drawings are often intricately linked with the history of the country in which they were produced: in the 17th century, for example, the Netherlands was an iconoclastic Protestant country, so there were almost no commissions for religious paintings  and, with no real aristocracy, King or court, most art was bought privately. Drawings of landscapes or genre scenes were often viewed not as sketches but as highly finished works of art. Most of these drawn works tended to feature the artists signature.

In 2018 Christies sold a rare figure study by the Dutch artist Lucas Van Leyden for 11,483,750, making it the third most expensive drawing ever seen at auction.

Lucas van Leyden (1489/1494-1533), A young man standing. 11 x 5 in (27.9 x 13.2 cm). Sold for 11,483,750 on 4 December 2018 at Christies in London

Italian drawings, however, show the influence of the Church, which played a huge role in artistic patronage. The important commissions given by the Church required extensive preparation, and a significant number of Old Master drawings from Italy are in fact studies of figures and compositional sketches for larger works. The same is often true of French drawings, although in the 17th century the discipline of French Classicism meant that drawings in that tradition were less Baroque than their freer Italian counterparts, which conveyed a greater sense of movement.

2

Familiarise yourself with artists preferred techniques Typically, 16th and 17th-century artists would begin a larger work by quickly sketching their intended composition in pen and ink, often over unobtrusive indications in black chalk. Drawings made with a rapidly wielded pen were ideal for exploring an initial idea. For greater precision, artists used chalk to more carefully depict individual figures, and to study the fall of light and shadow. Blue paper worked well with chalk  with artists often choosing two shades from black, white or red, and sometimes all three.

Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570), Polymestor killing Polydorus (or King Priam and Sinon). 10 x 6 in (25.3 x 16.4 cm). Sold for $187,500 on 31 January 2019 at Christies in New York

Once these initial sketches had been made an artist would move on to the modello, a finished study close to the final composition, and this would often be submitted to a patron for approval. These were sometimes squared, like the above example by the Italian artist Primaticcio, in order to allow the artist to transfer a composition to canvas more easily  or, in the case of a fresco, to the wall.

In the field of Italian drawing, most collectors look for depictions of the figure, while, for Dutch drawings, landscapes tend to be most popular.

This isnt always true, however: Rembrandts wonderful figure drawings, for instance, are highly sought after. When looking at a drawing, consider its quality, not its adherence to a particular theme.

3

A drawing can be more important than the artist who made it We once sold a drawing of a cavalier by Pieter van Bloemen, a rather minor Dutch artist of the 17th century (see below). Everyone who saw it loved it. Everything was perfect in condition and composition; it had a special kind of charm. It sold for 253,250, well above its estimate of 3,000 to 5,000. The record price for a van Bloemen before then was around 4,000 and similar drawings have since sold for less than 10,000, but this one was special.

Pieter van Bloemen, called Standaart (1657-1720), A mounted cavalier, seen from behind. 10 x 7 in (26.5 x 19 cm). Sold for 253,250 on 8 December 2011 at Christies in London, South Kensington

4

Old Masters can be affordable The works we have sold range in price from 700 to 29,000,000. Yet more than 90 per cent of drawings have a market value of less than 10,000  only a very small proportion are worth a fortune. It is absolutely possible to find very good drawings from good, well-known artists for 4,000 to 5,000. You can find a perfectly nice little drawing executed by Jean-Baptiste Huet, such as his study of a dog (see below), for less than 5,000.

Jean-Baptiste Huet (1745-1811), A dog. 4 x 8 in (10.9 x 20.8 cm). Sold for $3,750 on 31 January 2019 at Christies in New York

5

Look out for suspicious signatures The signatures you see on drawings can be inauthentic, or misleading, later additions to the works. The number of drawings attributed to Raphael or Michelangelo is enormous. That is where a connection to a finished painting is important, and you should be ready to pay something of a premium where the attribution is beyond doubt. We use our eyes, consult literature and ask the opinions of external scholars.

The confident attribution of the signatures on the Caspar David Friedrich drawing above helped to push its price to 212,500, more than three times its lower estimate, when it sold at Christies in 2018.

6

Store drawings with care The value of a drawing can decrease tenfold if its condition is poor. Exposure to sunlight leads to fading and discolouration of the paper, and the ink tends to sink in to the paper and damage it. This used to mean a collector could not always enjoy a collection on his or her walls. But today there are ways to avoid damage from the light such as the use of UV-resistant glass, even though one must always treat them with care. Drawings can also suffer from insects such as silverfish that eat the paper. Depending on the medium, humidity can also be a problem. For others, it is storage that has been an issue: drawings can be found folded, or with smudged portions, having been left unframed and unprotected. But lets not paint too gloomy a picture  most drawings have survived the test of time surprisingly well. We have worked with some extraordinarily well-preserved works, such as Raphaels Head of a Muse. This direct study  or cartoon as we call it  for the Parnassus, one of the artists great frescoes in the Vatican, would be a highlight of any collection. We sold it in 2009, exactly 500 years after it was made. Since it had always been kept in great collections such as those of Sir Joshua Reynolds and William II, Prince of Orange, it has probably always been cherished.
100 art-world Instagram accounts to follow right now  Artists

Heres our selection of the 100 accounts you need to know about, in five handy instalments. First up, the artists

1

Cai Guo-Qiang @caistudio The Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang, best known for his use of fireworks and gunpowder, has managed to circumvent Chinas social media censorship via his studio in New York. He provides daily updates on his continuing fascination with explosions in art, as well as logging the occasional gallery visit and fishing trip.



2

Banksy @banksy

The anonymous Bristol-born street artist Banksy  creator of a grotesque, short-lived theme park, proprietor of a controversial hotel and star of global auction rooms  has an Instagram account with more than 10 million followers that is as unpredictable as his art. New projects appear unannounced, each laden with socio-political food for thought.

3

Daniel Arsham @danielarsham

A rising star of the contemporary art world, Daniel Arsham uses his account to chart his search for inspiration, as well as to post images of his faintly sinister eroding sculptures of everyday objects. He also has an enviable sneaker collection.

4

Simon Berger @simonberger.art In February 2021, Swiss artist Simon Berger made headlines when he unveiled Glass Ceiling Breaker, a six-and-a-half-foot-high shattered-glass portrait of US Vice President Kamala Harris which celebrates her pioneering achievements. His feed is full of photographs and videos of other works he has produced in this dazzling medium.

5

Jenny Saville

@jenny_saville_art

Like a digital catalogue raisonne, Jenny Savilles account is dedicated to the large-scale paintings of female nudes she has spent the past three decades making. She also occasionally uploads a photograph of the studio where she works on her huge canvases.

6

Cindy Sherman @cindysherman The queen of conceptual portrait photography Cindy Sherman uploads examples of her work (sometimes experimenting with the apps built-in filters), alongside images of her visits to exhibitions and walks on the beach.

7

Julie Curtiss

@julietuyetcurtiss Julie Curtiss offers a window into the life of a globetrotting millennial painter, sharing her jam-packed roster of exhibitions and the latest works she is hoping to show post-pandemic. She also highlights her current interests outside art  including snowmen and quilts  and posts regularly about visiting other artists to watch them at work.

8

Jeff Koons @jeffkoons

Jeff Koonss account reveals a refreshingly human side to one of the worlds most successful living artists. Between images of his favourite works  each supplemented with a short explanation  the family snaps remind us that he is also a devoted husband and father.

9

Jenny Holzer @jennyholzerstudio

American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer uses Instagram to share her hypnotic, text-based protest pieces. Most recently, they have taken the form of red, white and blue LED signs and public projections that address social and political injustices.

10

Takashi Murakami @takashipom

Takashi Murakami was the inventor of the term superflat, which is used to describe post-1990s Japanese Pop art. His Instagram feed is a show reel of his cartoon-like works, latest brand collaborations and selfies with celebrity friends  including two of his biggest fans, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

11

Damien Hirst @damienhirst

The British artist Damien Hirst has recently taken to uploading short videos to his account. In some he offers up the stories behind his most famous works, while in others he answers questions submitted in the comments on a variety of topics, ranging from his snooker skills to whether he prefers Picasso or Bacon.

12

Kara Walker @kara_walker_official

The New York-based painter, sculptor and shadow-puppet maker Kara Walker uses her account to present what lies behind her work, which addresses race, gender, violence and sexuality. Recent posts document how her commission for Tates Turbine Hall came together  and how it featured in a music video by the singer FKA Twigs.

13

Amoako Boafo @amoakoboafo From art fairs to auction rooms, the Ghanaian painter Amoako Boafo has garnered a lot of attention lately. His portraits, which have been compared to the work of Egon Schiele, have been known to sell for more than 20 times their estimate. His Instagram account has updates on his latest works and his recent collaboration with Dior.

14

George Condo @artistgeorgecondo

Between images of his neo-Cubist paintings of figures with bulging eyes and under-bites, the American painter George Condo also shares pictures of his ginger cat, his collection of jazz records and the changing seasons.

15

Peter Doig @peterdoig

Have you ever wondered what the painter Peter Doig, whose works have sold for record-breaking sums, does in his free time? According to his Instagram feed, he listens to calypso records, strolls around Tokyo and goes canoeing in Trinidad. He also uses his account to share some of his destroyed works, as well as to track down others that have gone missing.

16

KAWS @kaws

The Instagram account of American visual artist Brian Donnelly, or KAWS as he is better known, flicks between pictures of his latest mutant-toy artworks and snaps of his family and friends.

17

Lorna Simpson @lornasimpson The New York photographer Lorna Simpson came to prominence in the 1980s with pictures that juxtaposed text with staged images. Her Instagram account shares her latest work, including the Essence magazine cover featuring Rihanna that recently went viral.

18

Rashid Johnson @rashidjohnson Rashid Johnson is at the forefront of a new generation of African American abstract painters making waves. He uses social media to promote his work, exhibitions, media interviews and fellow artists. He also celebrates his heroes, including the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant and rapper MF Doom  as well as his mother.

19

Ai Weiwei @aiww

Having been imprisoned in his native China in 2011, and barred from leaving the country until 2015, Ai Weiwei seems keen to make up for lost time: he is one of the most prolific Instagram users on this list. His account is a digital diary of his travels as he opens exhibition after exhibition around the world.

20

Doug Aitken @dougaitkenworkshop

As the American video and performance artist Doug Aitken gears up for his late-2021 show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, he uses Instagram to share the works he has been making during the global lockdown. Two themes prevail: debris and dance.
The Houston bar scene is full of personalities  bar stars, if you will. Each week in Preview, we'll feature one of these mixologists. Get to know the person behind the pour.

Know a bartender who deserves the spotlight? Email joey.guerra@chron.com.

Length of time working at current place?

Twenty-five wonderful years. In March, I'll commence my 26th year.

Lamest pickup line you've heard at the bar?

"Baby, I know you're an angel. Now, tell me, where are you hiding your wings?"

Most famous person you've ever served a drink to?

There have been several. But I guess it's a toss-up between William Shatner and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Becoming friends with customers: yes or no?

Margie Beard Find her behind the bar at: Luling City Market Barbeque & Saloon, 4726 Richmond Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday See More Collapse

Yes! Besides my family, my long-term, regular customers are my best friends.

Most common customer complaint?

Since we're primarily a BBQ restaurant, we typically close at 9 p.m., and my customers wish we were open a little later. However, I do make exceptions when it's a major sporting event or a special occasion.

Song you've gotten sick of at work?

"You Never Even Called Me by My Name," David Allen Coe

What's the sloppiest, drunkest thing you've ever seen on the job?

One of our customers walked next door to order a pizza to be delivered to an address in Bellaire. He told the manager to have the driver come next door to tell him when he was going to leave to deliver the pizza. The driver came in and told the customer he was getting ready to head out and deliver the pizza. The customer said, "Wait a minute! I'm riding with you!"

What's the most outrageous request you've ever gotten?

During Tropical Storm Allison, several customers got trapped and couldn't leave due to the high water and flooded streets. Everybody was getting situated to go to sleep by pulling tables and chairs together to lay down. One customer yelled out, "Hey Margie, can you bring me a pillow?"

Best tip you've ever received?

$1,000 on a $100 tab.

What's your specialty drink, and how do you make it?

One of the many drinks that my customers enjoy is my special recipe Bloody Mary. It's made with Clamato juice, a dash of Luling's signature BBQ sauce and other special ingredients, then garnished with a celery stick and olives.

What's something your customers may not know about you?

One of my hobbies is working in my yard. It's really nice to spend a few hours outdoors after being inside during the week. Working with plants is almost therapeutic and rejuvenating.
It's enough to make me wanna stop, drop and tooch.

"America's Next Top Model" returns at 7 tonight on VH1. And most importantly, Tyra Banks is back, y'all.

Tyra! It's got me feeling some kind of way.

Banks returns after passing the reins to Rita Ora for one season cycle. I wasn't mad at Ora, who did a fine job hosting.

But she's not La Tyra.

No one is.

Where else are we going to get classic phrases like Pot Ledom? Booty tooch? Smize? H-to-T? Dreckitude? No-neck monster?

And those classic/cringe Tyra moments?

I am so ready.

The new batch of hopefuls is again all women after two previous co-ed cycles. (No Houstonians in the mix, boo.) Tyra says the show has "changed the definition of beauty and empowered women when they needed it the most." To that end, the new episodes includes women of all sizes, and Tyra has dropped the age limit. The oldest model is 34, though most are in their 20s.

That's all great. Really! But it's also where this has happened.

And this happened.

Annnd. This.

Judging by previews, there's lots more fun to be had. There are dramatic makeovers and tears, of course. Shouting matches. Attitude. And appearances by "RuPaul's Drag Race" contestants (Valentina! Manila Luzon!), previous winner Eva the Diva and noted fashion photographer Nigel Barker.

In case that isn't enough, Tyra has added a new twist. Any model can be eliminated at any time if the judges don't feel they're "next level fierce."

Oh boy.

Click through above to see the new faces competing and every previous "ANTM" winner.

"America's Next Top Model" airs at 7 p.m. Tuesdays on VH1. Come back after every episode for Joey Guerra's GIF-filled recaps.
Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

President Donald Trump's mental fitness, or perceived lack thereof, may be an enduring topic in many circles, but the American Psychiatric Association has had enough.

In a statement Tuesday, the organization called for an end to psychiatrists providing professional opinions in the media about public figures whom they have not examined, whether it be on cable news appearances, books, or in social media.
As some Houston-area residents prepare for upcoming road construction delays in 2018, others are getting ready to breathe a sigh of relief in coming months, when local projects start wrapping up.

In Houston's fast-growing areas, like Montgomery County, roads are being widened as quickly as possible to accommodate residents who don't like sitting in endless lines of cars.
A mild-mannered Brit, mistaken identities and a briefcase filled with cash lead to mayhem in "Funny Money," playing through Jan. 28 at Bay Area Harbour Playhouse in Dickinson.

"The real star of the show is the money itself," said director Mike Fabion of Friendswood. "Audiences are fascinated by the authentic-looking British bills, which we got off eBay, out of Hong Kong."

"We have a big briefcase full of it," he added. "When it's opened, the audience members lean in to get a good look."

Ray Cooney's 1994 farce is performed in BAHP's intimate, upstairs "Top Side Theatre," said leading man Christopher Lowe of Webster.

"The audience is right there," Lowe said. "If you choose to sit on the front row, you are 5 to 10 feet from the stage. If people in the audience whisper to each other, the actors can hear it."

As dimwitted Vic Johnson, Houston actor Brandon Allen might learn something by listening to the audience. Otherwise, said Allen, "Vic is clueless, which is a lot of fun to play."

"He's a little slow on the take," agreed Heather Green, who portrays Vic's sexy wife, Betty Johnson.

"Vic is very much the comic relief of the play," said Lowe, who plays Harry, the accountant who mistakenly picks up a briefcase that obviously contains mob money; so he doesn't feel bad about plotting to flee the country with it.

All of the actors said they enjoy speaking in British accents.

"It's funnier than what you hear every day," said Allen, who graduated from Dickinson High School in 1997 after getting his start at BAHP by playing trombone in a 1996 production of the musical "Camelot."

In 1997, Allen returned to BAHP as an actor, playing a witch boy in "Dark of the Moon" and Sam Craig in "Our Town."

Other parts followed, culminating in the starring role of Tom Wingfield in "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams.

Allen, who is 38 and single, was a voice major for two years at San Jacinto College in Pasadena. He is studying online toward a degree in nursing.

Green, a science manager at the Living Materials Center at Seabrook Intermediate School, began acting in campus productions while studying at Texas A&M University at Galveston.

At BAHP, Green has portrayed Bernice Roth in "Musical Comedy Murders of 1940," Belinda Blair/Flavia Brent in "Noises Off" and Felicia Dantine in "I Hate Hamlet."

Rounding out the cast of "Funny Money" are Bonnie Reichel, Damarcus Gray, Jason Barron, Sam Kee and Ajay Vakil.

Everyone onstage vies for attention with the briefcase filled with money, which is understandable, said Allen.

"It is very colorful," he said. "It reminds me of money you would find in a pirate's chest."

"Funny Money" will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sundays at the playhouse at 3803 Texas 3 in Dickinson.

Tickets begin at $12 with discounts for seniors, military, students, and groups of 10 or more.

For further information, call 281-337-7469 or visit www.harbourtheater.com

Don Maines is a freelance writer who can be reached at donmaines@att.net
This year may be anything but staid for the oil market as Citigroup Inc. predicts wildcards including war, Middle East tensions, Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un driving crude toward $80 a barrel.

After prices were boosted by OPEC's output curbs in 2017, the U.S. President has shifted the focus to geopolitical risks, with his pursuit of sanctions on Iran and North Korea potentially having significant consequences, the bank said. That's in addition to political disturbances in some OPEC members like Iraq and Libya that could see crude supplies decline, boosting oil to levels between $70-$80, it said in a Jan. 9 report.

"Many of these uncertainties have significant consequences for commodities," Citigroup analysts including Ed Morse wrote in the report titled Wildcards for 2018: Trump looms large along with systemic risks. "It is not a surprise that our list of potential wildcard events in the year ahead retains a focus on the United States."

The decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia to curb production and drain a global glut helped oil rally for a second year in 2017. From a market-fundamentals perspective, investors are now watching to see whether the U.S. continues to expand its output, a threat which has rocked the oil industry in the past few years.

However, the most wide-ranging systemic risk to commodities this year could be President Trump disturbing the political world order, Citigroup said. Brent crude, the benchmark for half of the world's oil, traded at an average price of $54.75 a barrel last year. Front-month futures were at $69.05 while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $63.38 as of 10:09 a.m. London time on Wednesday.

Re-imposing of U.S. sanctions on Iran, the third-biggest OPEC producer, is likely to dislocate at least 500,000 barrels of the Middle Eastern nation's oil exports, resulting in a $5 price increase to oil, the bank said. Hard liners in the Islamic Republic may also seek to break a nuclear agreement with global powers including the U.S., while Congress may consider new sanctions against the Mideast producer, Citigroup said.

The rhetoric from and toward North Korea has also escalated in the past few months, carrying the "non-negligible risk" of turning into a military conflict, according to Citigroup. Stockpiling of strategic goods such as crude may accelerate with the risk of war.

The disturbance in Iran, as well as supply disruptions in Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela could see global oil supply drop by more than 3 million barrels a day this year, Citigroup said. Over-tightening of environmental regulations in China, overshooting or underperforming shale production in the U.S., as well as a major escalation in trade frictions between Trump's administration and China are other risks to oil, the bank said.


The Trump administration is ruling out plans to sell new drilling rights off the coast of Florida, including eastern Gulf of Mexico waters coveted by oil companies, amid pressure from Republican Governor Rick Scott.

The about-face came just five days after the Interior Department said it was considering selling oil and gas leases in more than 90 percent of U.S. coastal waters, including on all sides of Florida -- the straits in the south, the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Scott had angrily denounced the plan, suggesting last week that it could jeopardize Florida's natural resources. He demanded an immediate meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to argue against the proposal.

RELATED: Trump proposal would open most of U.S. coastline to drilling

Zinke announced the change in a post on Twitter, saying it followed a meeting with Scott. Florida's senators -- Bill Nelson, a Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Republican -- as well as other lawmakers from the state joined Scott in raising concerns.

"President Trump has directed me to rebuild our offshore oil and gas program in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice," Zinke said in an emailed statement.

"I support the governor's position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver. As a result of discussion with Governor Scott's and his leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms," Zinke said.

Nelson, who has long fought efforts to drill near Florida's coasts, suggested the move was politically motivated, and designed to allow Scott to claim a victory in a potential campaign for the Senate seat Nelson now occupies.

"I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts. But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida's coast and four days later agrees to 'take Florida off the table,'" Nelson said in an emailed statement. "I don't believe it. This is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott, who has wanted to drill off Florida's coast his entire career."

Scott, who cannot run for governor again this year because of term limits, is expected to challenge Nelson, but has not announced his candidacy. His representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump compelled the Interior Department to develop a new five-year plan for selling oil and gas leases in U.S. coastal waters last April, with an eye on auctioning rights chiefly in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Federal law lays out eight factors the Interior Department must consider when developing those leasing plans, including the views of local officials and residents.

The administration's master plan -- which is likely to shrink further over the coming year as a final leasing blueprint is developed -- has stoked opposition from coast to coast. More than 140 municipalities on the East Coast have already lodged their opposition to new drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. And the three governors representing the states on the West Coast also say they will fight efforts to sell new drilling rights in the Pacific Ocean.

More than three dozen Democratic senators asked the administration Tuesday to abandon efforts to rewrite and replace its 2017-2022 offshore leasing plan, which schedules 11 auctions, including 10 of territory in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska's Cook Inlet.

The eastern Gulf of Mexico was believed to be the most tempting new prospect for oil companies in the expansive Trump administration draft, because it is close to existing pipelines and processing facilities -- not to mention the refineries in Texas and Louisiana.

There's also little mystery about whether those eastern Gulf waters contain oil and gas. Energy companies already discovered a jackpot of natural gas roughly 30 years ago -- at least 700 billion cubic feet and as much as 3 trillion cubic feet -- in the Destin Dome, located about 25 miles south of Pensacola, Florida. And the same geological trends that have yielded major oil discoveries in other parts of the Gulf could be replicated in its easternmost reaches.

But opposition from Florida politicians concerned about oil spills fouling beaches as well as crippling the state's tourism economy helped put that area off limits long ago, and a federal law now blocks new leasing through 2022.

Attached Media
Skanska/Owner / President

Crossmark Global Investments, a longtime Houston investment manager that got a new name last year, will move its headquarters to Skanska's recently completed West Memorial Place campus in the Energy Corridor this year.

The company, which provides investment strategies for financial advisers and institutions, has leased 16,000 square feet at West Memorial Place I, 15375 Memorial Drive, just west of Terry Hershey Park. Founded in 1987, Crossmark Global Investments changed its name from Capstone last year. Its current offices are at 3700 W. Sam Houston Parkway in Westchase.
Melanie Feuk

HUMBLE - The annual Awards Extravaganza presented by Stander and Company will honor area citizens for their work in the community and with the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Jan. 19, from 11 a.m. at The Overlook, at 20114 Pinehurst Drive in Atascocita.

Brandi Smith, reporter for KHOU and a Harvey Hero will emcee the event. Smith joined KHOU in 2017 after getter her start in news when she applied for an internship at a TV station in Roseburg, Oregon, and the general manager ended up offering her a job instead. From there, she moved to Eugene, Oregon, to complete her degree at the University of Oregon and worked as a reporter, producer and anchor all over the Northwest before moving to Houston in 2015.
Goat yoga is a thing in northwest Houston, and yes people are doing it with real goats.

Kimberly Brooke, a certified yoga instructor, invites people to join Goat Yoga Texas to reconnect with nature, increase their awareness of the moment, and make some goat friends while they are at it. The little friends are Nigerian Dwarves and Nigerian/Pygmy mixes. The organization uses those types of goats because of their small stature and gentle nature.

Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. Some benefits of yoga include increased flexibility, increased muscle strength and tone, and improved respiration, energy and vitality.

"Goat yoga is literally the peanut butter and jelly of happiness. You come out and (do) a relaxing yoga class with the sweetest little baby goats giving you kisses," Brooke said. "It fixes everything, and it doesn't matter what kind of news you've got yesterday or last week. When you are out here in the yoga crowd with the babies everything is ok."

Goat yoga is becoming a national trend. The animal yoga classes can be found across the U.S. in states such as Arizona, New Hampshire, Oregon, and California.

In the Houston area, several goat yoga programs launched last year.

Brooke became a yoga instructor in 2012, and the next year she and her husband found themselves being goat owners. In early 2017 Brooke started receiving Facebook messages from people about goat yoga because they knew she was a yoga instructor who owned goats.

She was skeptical at first, but later that year Brooke taught her first goat yoga class, and as they say, the rest is history.

"I got kind of snooty about it because I was like, that's not yoga. It is gimmicky," Brooke said. "I ended up teaching a goat yoga class, and when I saw the change that came over people's faces, the calm, and healing that people were feeling, I was sold on it."

Brooke brought Goat Yoga Texas to northwest Houston in September of 2017. Classes cap at 16 participants and tend to sell out often.

Ten of Brooke's 15 goats are used as therapy animals for yoga. Brooke teaches a breath-centered, meditative Hatha class, which is ideal for beginner Yogis or those familiar with the practice.

"I heard about goat yoga online, and I was looking for one in Houston, but I didn't want to drive that far. I found this one and decided to try it," Morgan Martinez said. "I love that goats are playful and funny. I think people should just try it. It's not going to hurt to just try anything once. I think the fun of it is because is kind of ridiculous, and I think it would get more people to do yoga."

The goats do not bite, do not have top front teeth, and are handled daily, so they are used to being picked up.

At the most, the goats will weigh 40 to 60 pounds as adults. Several of the goats came to the organization as Hurricane Harvey rescues, and they are all wethers (neutered males) and females. The goats of Goat Yoga Texas are not slaughtered or de-horned.

The goats, who are mostly a few months old, aren't nameless animals either. To name a few, the yoga goats in the group include Sundance Kid, Jesse James, Frank James, Annie Goatley, Calamity Jane, and Billy the Kid. It's a real goat gang.

Throughout class, yogis can be seen stretching with goats on their mat, snuggling with their new goat friends, or even having a goat on their back. It's a sight to see.

"About 85 percent of the people who come here have never done yoga before. We find that when they leave they are surprised how spiritual it is and how grounded and centered you feel," Brooke said. "I had one gentleman that told me he felt like he was getting connected with his ancestors after class. It's really an amazing thing."

Also, anyone afraid of a little bit of poo-pellets should steer clear of practicing yoga with goats. The friendly little friends are not shy about their natural bodily functions. Goat Yoga Texas has paper towels available to quickly clean off any dirty mats.

The classes are one hour and fifteen minutes long. The first 45 minutes is dedicated to yoga, and the last 30 minutes are for taking photos and fun with the goats.

"I came back because I love it so much. I love that it can be a time to focus on your breathing and stretching, but it can also be a time to just chill with animals that you are not really use to seeing," Lindsay Barnhill said. "It gets you out of your comfort zone and your bubble if you have never been around animals like this, and they are so friendly. Everyone should do goat yoga."

Classes are held at Murdoch's Backyard Pub in Cypress on Saturdays and Sundays.

Once the goats get older and bigger, up to Brooke's discretion, there are adoptions and one of Brooke's friends owns a petting zoo, so the goats have a safe place after their yoga days.

Brooke shares the Micro Farm with her husband in Magnolia with their gang of goats and chickens. Goat Yoga Texas is mobile and available to travel to Houston and surrounding areas for private events, birthday parties, and home therapy visits.

At Goat Yoga Texas they welcome all who are curious and wanting to be in nature with goats while doing yoga. Participants come for the yoga, but Na-a-amaste for the goats.

"This is a legitimate animal therapy, and we think that the more people that can do goat yoga the better," Brooke said. "It's literally the therapy you don't know you need."

Want to know more?

Goat Yoga Texas

https://www.goatyogatx.com
A man is behind bars after accusations he shot a gun out a car window on Snapchat last month and that he committed two armed robberies, police said.

Mason Kirby Gray, 20, is charged with two aggravated robberies stemming from two incidents in 2017. A judge set bond at $120,000, or $60,000 for each case in a hearing at 4 a.m. Wednesday.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said deputies had received information from a tipster that Gray was at home in west Houston. They arrested him about 6:45 Tuesday evening after what HCSO called "an extensive media campaign" over the last month seeking information about Gray's whereabouts.

Gray is accused of robbing two Valero corner stores on Franz and Fry roads on March 1, 2017. The store clerk in the store on Franz told investigators that Gray entered the store to browse the cold drink aisle, only to leave shortly thereafter and return about two minutes later. At that time, he pulled a gun and demanded money from the clerk, who gave him $125, the clerk said.

Later that night, another Valero store clerk would tell police that a man, later identified by police as Gray, entered his store to buy tobacco products--only to again return about two minutes later with a gun and demand money, according to the criminal complaint.

After releasing the surveillance footage to the media and Crime Stoppers, police say they received various tips all naming Gray as the suspect.

Then came the Snapchat video.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office received and posted to its YouTube page a video of a man they say is Gray gleefully firing a gun out of a moving car window.

Laughing, the person sticks his arm out the window and fires randomly.

On January 2, the sheriff's office put out a news release, identifying Gray as the Snapchat shooter and saying they needed help locating Gray.

He has not been charged in the alleged Snapchat incident.
Two victims are in the hospital following a double shooting Richmond.

Richmond Police Department officers responded about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3, to the TCR Apartments at 2110 Dowling in Richmond.

According to the initial report, shots were fired in an apartment. Responding officers discovered two victims had been shot inside one of the apartments. Witnesses stated there were four men inside the apartment at the time of the incident.

Allegedly an unidentified female knocked on the door of the apartment about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night. When the door was opened two black males and the female entered the apartment and shot two of the four people inside. There was nothing taken from the apartment during the incident. Police are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting.

The two shooting victims, 40 and 50 years of age, were flown to Memorial Hermann in the medical center where one is listed in stable condition and the other still in critical condition. There was no description of the suspects given at the time of the incident other than black males. The female who knocked on the door was described as possibly mixed race. The suspects were last seen leaving the complex on foot in an unknown direction.

The identity of the victims will not be released at this time as the investigation is still ongoing.

To report any information on this incident, call the Richmond Police Department at (281) 342-2849.
A Houston woman was jailed this week after allegedly stabbing her husband, according to police.

Rosa Marie Olvera was charged with aggravated assault of a family member after a Monday morning outburst of violence in the 8400 block of Park Place.
Emergency alerts warning of flooding, tornadoes or other looming disasters could be targeted to specific neighborhoods under proposed upgrades to the nation's emergency alerts system, filling a gap exposed during Hurricane Harvey.

The proposed changes, announced Tuesday by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, would allow officials to use "device-based geo-targeting" to send alerts to all the cellphones in areas as small as one-tenth of a mile in radius. The current Wireless Emergency Alerts system only allows officials to target all cellphones in a county.

"If adopted, it will be the single most important improvement to the nation's alerts and warnings infrastructure in years," said Francisco Sanchez, Harris County's deputy emergency management coordinator.

RELATED: Volunteers, neighbors use social media as lifelines during Harvey

He said that the current system's lack of precision was particularly problematic during Hurricane Harvey, which battered all 1,700 square miles of Harris County for days on end, overwhelming 911 systems and forcing officials to use mobile applications like Nextdoor to communicate with residents in dangerous areas.

As controlled releases began upstream of Buffalo Bayou, for example, Sanchez said OEM had two choices: send evacuation alerts to every cellphone in the county, possibly pushing tens of thousands of people out of their safe homes and into deadly floodwaters, or hope that thousands of people along the bayou would check social media during the night.

"I would have loved to have been able to draw a polygon around Buffalo Bayou and say, 'Hey, water is being released, expect water to rise,'" Sanchez said. "But because I didn't have that granularity, that message would have gone countywide."

The 49-page proposal unveiled by Pai largely mirrors suggestions from some of the nation's largest public safety organizations. If approved at the FCC's Jan. 30 meeting in Washington, the recommendations also would also require the upgrades happen before November 2019  years earlier than had been requested by companies including AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

MORE: Harris, Montgomery counties target San Jacinto River for flood study

Such changes have long been opposed by the nation's top telecommunications companies, which argue that the upgrades would be expensive and could potentially overload their networks.

The FCC in 2016 quadrupled the maximum length of a wireless alert to 360 characters and pushed for more alerts in Spanish. But wireless carriers do not currently have to assist with narrowing alert targeting to specific neighborhoods, and have lobbied heavily against any such requirements.

But emergency management officials say those concerns should be secondary to the safety of Americans.

In a Friday letter to the FCC, leaders from five of the nation's largest public safety groups said the technology for implementing more precise alerts is already in place.

"Phones are capable of precise geo-targeting today and WEA must have access to these capabilities," the group wrote. "Without the ability to geo-target our alert originators will continue to use WEA sparingly or not at all."

"This is a shame," the letter continued. "An effective WEA can literally mean the difference between life and death."

That sentiment has been shared by a bipartisan group of representatives from disaster-prone areas around the country. After officials from Sonoma County, California cited lack of precision as one of their reasons not to deploy WEAs during historic wildfires last year, California Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris wrote a joint letter to the FCC stressing the need for upgrades.

Texas Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, voiced similar concerns in the wake of Harvey.

MORE: Corps studied flood warning system for dams, but dropped idea

"Almost 11 years (after Hurricane Katrina), we continue to witness event after tragic event where an effective and reliable emergency alert system could have saved lives," he wrote in a Sept. 27 opinion column for the Houston Chronicle. "As we are in hurricane season and face more natural and man-made disasters in our future, our citizens deserve and need a device-based public alert system now that will deliver timely and accurate information to those who find themselves in harm's way."

Hamilton Bean, a University of Colorado-Denver professor who's studied WEAs extensively, said Tuesday that the recommendations were "a step in the right direction."

Bean, however, said that until more precise technology is officially adopted, emergency managers will have to be careful with when or how they deploy alerts.

"It is a dilemma: Risk sending WEAs to the wrong people, prompting them to opt out of the notifications altogether, or delay sending potentially life-saving alerts for a year or two until precision improves," he said. "I do not envy any emergency manager who has to make that kind of cost-benefit calculation."
Drivers in northwest Houston may encounter construction crews regularly over the next year as various roadway improvement projects are underway.

Construction will begin soon on the $9.4 million project to widen Gosling Road at Mossy Oaks Road and West Rayford Road.

In addition, Grant Road between Old Kluge Road and Spring Cypress Road is being widened to a four-lane boulevard. The $13 million project will be complete in a year.

And Holderrieth Road, between Calvert Road and Texas 249, will be widened to a four-lane road. A $6 million construction contract was awarded in November.

Telge Road Bridge will be widened to four-lanes over Little Cypress Creek. The $6.6 million project is a joint roadway improvement project with Harris County Precinct 3 and Precinct 4. The project is expected to be complete in June.

"Improving transportation conditions boosts the local economy and revitalizes the area by giving residents better access to jobs and commercial areas," said Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner R. Jack Cagle.

The last several years of business growth and mobility improvements have brought a population boom to the region. The opening of the northern segments of the Grand Parkway has already helped reduce the area's growing traffic problems.

Other projects include widening Treaschwig Road B to a four-lane road from Birnam Wood Boulevard to Cypresswood Drive The $9 million project is expected to be complete in May.

A section of Hufsmith-Kohrville Road will be widened to a four-lane boulevard from Willow Creek Estates Lane to FM 2920. The $4.6 million project was awarded in September.

In addition, the Harris County Commissioners' Court recently awarded a $2.6 million contract to expand Huffmeister Road from West Road to Texas 6. The project is expected to be complete in May.

"These traffic improvements will provide faster, safer routes for constituents as Precinct 4 continues to grow," Cagle said.

Wilson Road from Beltway 8 to Atascocita Road will be widened to a four-lane boulevard as well. The project will cost $9.9 million.

Woodland Hills Drive has been expanded to four lanes from Sunset Breeze Drive to Woodland Path Drive and a bridge has been built over Williams Gully. The $6.6 million project, expected to open Jan. 10, was a joint effort by Harris County Precinct 2 and Precinct 4.

And area residents are already seeing results from roadway improvement projects.

The new Kuykendahl bridge across Spring Creek opened July 6. The project, which connects Harris and Montgomery counties, helps reduce traffic congestion, said Pamela Rocchi, director of the Harris County Precinct 4 Capitol Improvement Projects Division

The new bridge will double traffic capacity on Kuykendahl Road, according to Harris County Precinct 4.

The $7.05 million project was funded by both Harris and Montgomery counties, including, in part, by The Woodlands Road Utility District No. 1

Road construction:

Construction will begin soon on the $9.4 million project to widen Gosling Road at Mossy Oaks Road and West Rayford Road.

Grant Road between Old Kluge Road and Spring Cypress Road is being widened to a 4-lane boulevard. The $13 million project will be complete in a year.

Holderrieth Road, between Calvert Road and Texas 249, will be widened to a four-lane road. A $6 million construction contract was just awarded in November.

Telge Road Bridge will be widened to four-lanes over Little Cypress Creek. The project is expected to be complete in June.

Treaschwig Road B will be widened to a four-lane road from Birnam Wood Boulevard to Cypresswood Drive The $9 million project is expected to be complete in May.

A section of Hufsmith-Kohrville Road will be widened to a four-lane boulevard from Willow Creek Estates Lane to FM 2920. The $4.6 million project was awarded in September.

Huffmeister Road will be widened from West Road to Texas 6. The project is expected to be complete in May.
Fort Bend Community Action Network will host a Bi-Partisan Congressional District 22 Panel at Brazos Hall at the University of Houston at Sugar Land, 14000 University Blvd., Sugar Land, from 6-8 p.m. Jan. 31.

All candidates were invited to attend, both Republican and Democrat, including the incumbent, U.S. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land.
Although widely condemned as ugly and offensive, signs on a Groves resident's property that prod at sensitive subjects like race and religion are protected by the First Amendment, city police and legal experts say.

The black signs with white block lettering are posted along the fence and the entrance to the driveway of the man's Taft Avenue home. They cover a variety of topics, from Catholicism to Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

> > RELATED: LeBron James, Diddy join criticism of H&M over sweater ad

One sign, which includes a swastika, reads, "The Third Reich: Big Benefactors were Catholics." Another states, "If black folks were good looking - hate would evolve into envy."

A photo of the sign about blacks was shared on social media over the weekend, sparking anger and criticism that the signs draw negative attention to Groves.

City Marshal Norman Reynolds said on Monday his officers have monitored the man's signs for several years.

"Sometimes we drive by after lunch to see if there's anything new," Reynolds said. Some of the signs stay out for several weeks, others are changed out daily, he said.

> > PHOTOS: Racist, controversial moments of Texas in 2017

While residents have complained to the police department and city manager's office, Reynolds said the man isn't breaking any laws.

"He's not a dangerous person," Reynolds said. "He would have to threaten someone or post something really profane of vulgar; that's when we would step in."

No one answered the door at the home on Monday afternoon when an Enterprise reporter knocked.

Groves City Manager D.E. Sosa said officials investigate each complaint about the signs. He has even asked the FBI to review the signs.

"We always take it seriously and we try to do everything reasonable to ensure safety of the public, but you can't abridge someone's freedom of speech just because you don't like it," Sosa said.

H.W. Perry, a professor of law and government at the University of Texas at Austin, said there are only a few ways in which someone's freedom of speech on their private property can be challenged.

"Provocative, insulting speech is allowed and is protected unless it poses a direct and specific threat that was aimed at a particular person or situation," said Perry, an expert in free speech case law. "It would have to be a one-on-one threat, and obnoxious or hateful speech does not rise to that threat level."

The signs would have to incite someone to break the law or cause a certain person to feel immense fear, Perry said.

Profanity and sexually explicit language are also protected speech, especially since there is a precedent for judges being stricter on depictions rather than words, Perry said.

"It's rarely written language that's restricted," Perry said. "It's almost always visual."

There is little a city can do to prohibit freedom of speech on private property, as long as it's not creating traffic jams or violating zoning restrictions, he said.

Zoning restrictions, for example, "prevent someone from putting up a 100-foot billboard," Perry said.

While the First Amendment protects the Groves man's speech, Perry said, it also allows for others to be vocal in their disapproval.

"You have the right to say things, but others have the right to call you a bigot," Perry said. "You don't have the right to say anything you want without facing some consequences."

Tory Stoneking, who owns a construction company and was working at a site down the street on Monday, drove to the house to take pictures of the signs.

"I had to see if with my own two eyes," said Stoneking, who lives in Nederland. "I had to see if bigots like this still exist."

MGstalter@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/morgGstalt
Juan Rodriguez went to the Immigration and Customs Authorities headquarters in Houston this morning for an appointment, prepared to be deported.

Instead, the undocumented Salvadoran father, was granted an extension to stay in his Houston home with his wife and three daughters, all American citizens, until the Board of Immigration Appeal rules on his request for asylum.

Rodriguez became caught up in the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented immigration in February 2017, when he went to his regular check-in ICE. He'd done it 25 times before, the beneficiary of "prosecutorial discretion" granted by immigration officials to many of the undocumented who have no criminal record. But this time, Rodriguez was told he would be deported because "the rules have changed" under Trump.

He pleaded at the time for an extension so that he could watch his eldest daughter graduate from high school. When the Chronicle began telling his story in a series, "Out of Time," the city's Hispanic Bar Association came to his aid and succeeded in winning him further reprieves.

But it was not clear what would happen Wednesday morning when Rodriguez arrived at ICE headquarters in Northpoint with his family at 8 a.m. He was also accompanied by his lawyers, Carolina Ortuzar-Diaz and Jacob Monty, both partners in Monty and Ramirez LLP, a law firm specialized in immigration law.

They presented a request for a stay so that Rodriguez's request for asylum could be ruled upon by the appellate board. They had reason to believe some extension would be granted.

Last week, in anticipation of Wednesday's check-in, three lawyers from the Hispanic Bar Association met with lawyers in the Department of Justice and received indications that the Trump administration would not insist on Rodriguez's immediate deportation, according to one of the three lawyers, former Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina.

Medina was expecting that Rodriguez would receive at least a 30-day extension on Wednesday.

A New America Keep up with the latest immigration coverage here. To see more stories about the Rodriguez family, go here. And to see what the Rodriguezes are going through in photos, go here. See More Collapse

Instead, he and his colleagues were surprised that ICE granted an extension with no specific end date, lasting until the appellate board rules, which could take six months or more.

"This is great news," said Juan Vazquez, another of the Hispanic Bar Association lawyers.

While they await the board's ruling, Rodriguez's attorneys will pursue a parallel process in which he is claimed as a husband for citizenship by his wife, Celia, via the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

oliviaptallet@chron.com

Twitter: @oliviaptallet

***

OUT OF TIME: Candidate Donald Trump inspired anti-immigration fervor across the country - and created panic at Juan Rodriguez's home. His family felt that Juan, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who had been regularly checking in with ICE, would be in danger of deportation. Soon after the election, he was told that he wasn't "a priority for this country anymore." An immigration lawyer came to his defense, and three high-profile attorneys signed on to assist Juan's wife, a U.S. citizen, and their three American daughters in the legal battle.
Houston prides itself on being the most diverse metro area in the country, but you wouldn't think so when visiting some of the city's schools.

A recent Vox report broke down elementary school attendance by race, showing how the nation's shameful past of segregation continues into the new millennium.
Gov. Greg Abbot seems to be loosening up his views on marijuana.

During Sunday's debate with Democratic challenger Lupe Valdez, the governor said he would be open to reducing the penalties of people found in possession of under two ounces of weed.

It's a good sign, especially considering we are being outclassed by our neighbors; Almost every state surrounding Texas from New Mexico to Louisiana has more relaxed marijuana laws than the Lone Star State.

Putting politics aside, do we really want to be in the same marijuana-restricting boat as Oklahoma?

Our pride is at stake here, folks.

READ MORE: Abbott, Valdez clash on arming teachers, Hurricane Harvey, pot

Amusingly, even if our laws don't reflect it, Texas is already a cultural hub for weed. There's a strain of pot named Willie Nelson. Likewise, interacting with anyone under the age of 30 in Austin is interacting with a high person.

There's some serious wasted potential here, and not just revenue-wise, like Colorado's half a billion in collected taxes and fees since legalization. We're talking about cultural potential.

Texas is just so damn good at making everything Texas-y, and pot would be no exception.

To see what the future holds in store, Chron.com put together some fake but real-sounding marijuana strains that would no doubt come to fruition if pot was legalized.

Above: See what Texans would name their marijuana strains if pot was legal.
Three men crashed a truck into a convenience store in a failed attempt to steal the ATM machine, Houston police said.

About 3:30 a.m., an overnight clerk at the adjacent Burger King, at Fannin and South Loop, called police to say he was in the back office when he saw the pickup truck drive through the glass of the shop next-door, said Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Waco siege, a 50-day conflict between the Branch Davidians and U.S. and Texas law enforcement agents.

The Davidians, a splinter group of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had attracted the attention of law enforcement following allegations of polygamy, sexual abuse and possession of illegal weapons.

THEN & NOW: Check back in with the ATF agents involved in the first raid on HoustonChronicle.com

Following the Waco Tribune-Herald's coverage, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sought and obtained search and arrest warrants for David Koresh and his followers at the Mount Carmel Center.

On February 28, ATF agents assembled to raid the facility. What followed was a fierce gun battle that resulted in the deaths of four agents and five Branch Davidians.

From that day until April 19, federal and state law enforcement agents were engaged with the Branch Davidians in a tense standoff. Despite weeks of negotiations, Koresh and his followers refused to budge from their compound.

CURE-ALL? Houston cult says sodium chlorite is an elixir

Finally, on April 19, then-President Bill Clinton signed off on Attorney General Janet Reno and the FBI's recommendation to assault Mount Carmel.

The FBI bombarded the compound with numerous tear gas rounds in an attempt to flush the group out of the facility. During that time, there were reports of Branch Davidian members igniting fires around the building.

Eventually, those fires multiplied and engulfed the entire site. At the end of the day, 76 Branch Davidians died. Autopsy results showed some of the victims had been shot and stabbed, likely as a mercy killing or suicide attempt. FBI investigators said one of Koresh's aides shot and killed him.

SAD TOKENS: ATF agents get back their bullet-ridden gear

The assault and its aftermath became one of the most controversial moments in American history, and would later serve as the impetus of the far deadlier Oklahoma City Bombing.
RALEIGH, N.C. - Federal judges ruled Tuesday that North Carolina's congressional district map drawn by legislative Republicans is illegally gerrymandered due to excessive partisanship that gave GOP a rock-solid advantage for most seats and must quickly be redone.

The ruling marks the second time this decade that the GOP's congressional boundaries in North Carolina have been thrown out by a three-judge panel. In 2016, another panel tossed out two majority black congressional districts initially drawn in 2011, saying there was no justification for using race as the predominant factor in forming them. The redrawn map was the basis for a new round of lawsuits.
The admissions from a Starbucks employee were apparently too revolting not to share. Spitting in a woman's coffee, sprinkling dog feces in a child's hot chocolate, mixing blood into jam - all were disgusting acts, presumably committed by a black woman, Shanell Rivers, targeting white customers in the Atlanta area and detailed on Facebook for the world to see.

By Sunday night, as images of the post mushroomed on social media, Starbucks was trying to reassure customers that the post was a fake that was "maliciously" created. But that was after a store's phone started ringing in an Atlanta suburb, with threats coming from the other end of the line.
NASA's brand new, $8.8 billion telescope will leave Johnson Space Center in February, headed to the West Coast for its next round of testing.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, has been under development for decades and is projected to launch in late spring, early summer 2019.

But NASA officials said Wednesday that it first must go through additional testing at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, Calif.

BOLDLY GOING: New mission to study boundary between Earth and space

The telescope spent most of 2017 at the Houston center, where it underwent about 100 days of cryogenic testing to ensure the best telescope functions as intended in an extreme cold and airless environment.

The telescope "exceeded all its requirements," said Jonathan Homan, project manager for the telescope's Chamber A (the massive chamber where the cryogenic testing took place) Test Team at Johnson. "It seemed like every day was a huge celebration ... all the objectives were exceeded."

Bill Ochs, telescope project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said Wednesday that the testing at Johnson has been "outstanding," and they've been able to perfectly verify the telescope's image quality.

"I worked on Hubble for 20 years and we should have done this level of testing on Hubble," Ochs said.

In California, the telescope will be "integrated with the spacecraft" and go through even more testing -- "the last exposure to a simulated launch environment before flight and deployment testing on the whole observatory," according to a Nov. 20 NASA update -- before it is put on a ship to Kourou, French Guiana, for launch.

NEW DISCOVERY: NASA finds eighth planet in distant solar system

Its mission is expected to last five to 10 years.

Although the expected launch still is more than a year away, NASA already is lining up scientists to conduct experiments with Webb when it's launched in less than two years. University of Texas-Austin astronomers will be among the first in the world to use the telescope after they were included in 13 projects tapped by the Space Telescope Science Institute, the science operations center for the Hubble and Webb telescopes, in Baltimore.

The Webb telescope is named after James E. Webb, NASA's second administrator who lead the Apollo space missions that landed the first humans on the moon.

Unlike Hubble, which launched 27 years ago and orbits the Earth, Webb will orbit the sun 1 million miles away from Earth. Hubble mainly observes visible light, while Webb will operate in the infrared, enabling it to study some of the faintest, youngest galaxies.

It is an international project lead by NASA in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
News reports of a Texas woman who contracted flesh-eating bacteria and died after eating raw oysters in Louisiana took the internet by storm this week -- but the facts are a little more nuanced than that.

Jeanette LeBlanc's death, which occurred in October, was first was reported by Louisiana's KLFY last week. Her wife, Vicki Bergquist, told the station that LeBlanc and a friend purchased raw oysters at a New Orleans market. About 36 hours after eating them, a rash appeared on LeBlanc's legs.

Doctor's told Bergquist that her wife had vibrio, which she called a "flesh eating bacteria." But vibrio is not Necrotizing fasciitis, the very rare fleshing-eating disease that fewer than 20,000 people in the U.S. contract each year.

Vibrio is actually a much more common bacteria found in coastal waters, which can cause a human illness called vibriosis when a person eats raw or undercooked shellfish, especially oysters, or gets seawater in an open wound. Weakened immune systems also make people more susceptible, according to the CDC.

Microbiolgist Gabrielle Barbarite told USA Today that vibrio isn't exactly a flesh-eating bacteria because "it doesn't degrade skin on contact."

"You have to have a pre-existing cutor you have to eat raw, contaminated seafood or chug a whole lot of contaminated waterfor it to get into your bloodstream," Barbarite told the paper.

Most cases of vibriosis resulting from the consumption of raw oysters clear up in a few days, the CDC states, after diarrhea and vomiting. There are about 58,000 cases resulting from seafood consumption in the United States each year. It is impossible to tell if an oyster is bad just by looking at, the CDC says, and the only way to kill the bacteria is to thoroughly cook them.

But a much more serious and very rare strain of vibriosis, called Vibrio vulnificus, can cause wound infections or primary septicemia, a bloodstream infection characterized by blistering skin lesions and fever, the CDC reports.

People with vibrio vulnificus may need intensive care or limb amputation. Only about 205 infections are caused by this strain in the U.S. each year, and only 25 percent of them result in death, according to the CDC. It's not clear if LeBlanc had vibrio vulnificus.

A Jacinto City man in 2016 had to have a portion of his leg amputated after contracting vibriosis through an open would while wading on a western Galveston Island beach.

Alex Stuckey covers science and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
Over 1 million New Yorkers may be under-represented in the state Legislature for the foreseeable future. There are currently 11 vacant seats  nine in the Assembly and two in the state Senate  due to legislators leaving office after being elected to different state and local positions in November. With the indictment of Assemblywoman Pamela Harris on Tuesday, her potential resignation could increase the number of vacant seats to 12.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not said when special elections for these seats might occur, leaving voters in those districts without a timeline for when they will be represented again in Albany. Here are answers to the most pressing questions about these special elections, including what state law says about filling vacant seats and the effect vacant seats may have on the political balance of the state Legislature.

How many people in New York live in districts with vacant seats?

Nearly 1.8 million residents live in districts without a current Assembly member or state senator, according to a fact sheet from Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. Each of the nine vacant Assembly districts (5, 10, 17, 39, 74, 80, 102, 107 and 142) represent more than 120,000 people. State Senate districts 32 and 37, which each contain more than 300,000 residents, are currently without state senators.

Is the governor required to call a special election?

No. Cuomo has the sole power to call a special election through a proclamation, according to election law attorney Sarah Steiner. By contrast, in New York City, the mayor is required to proclaim the date of a special election within three days of a vacancy.

The contrast is stark, that the governor has control over this, Steiner said, comparing state law to New York City law.

Cuomo can be challenged in court if he does not proclaim an election when there is a vacant congressional seat. In 2015, a federal judge ruled that the governor had to set a special election date after Rep. Michael Grimm resigned. Steiner said Cuomo was obliged to set a special election date for a congressional seat under federal law, but state law allows the governor to set one for a state legislative vacancy at his discretion, so a court challenge might not be successful.

RELATED: Cuomo snubs ethics, voting reforms in State of the State

How long after a special election is proclaimed must an election be held?

Section 42 of the New York Public Officers Law states that a special election shall be not less than seventy nor more than eighty days from the date of the proclamation.

What happens if a special election is not called?

The seat remains vacant through the remainder of the legislative term. In Novembers general election, citizens would vote to choose a new legislator who would be seated in January, unless the state Legislature decided to seat the winning candidates earlier.

Although a special election has not been called, Westchester County Democratic leaders are acting on the assumption that one will be proclaimed in Senate District 37. Party leaders plan to meet Tuesday night for a mini-convention to designate a candidate for the state Senate seat vacated by George Latimer, who was elected Westchester County executive. Which brings us, and the optimistic Westchester Democrats, to the next question 

What happens if a candidate is chosen by county party leaders as their nominee for a special election, but no special election is called?

Nothing. They would have designated somebody for their endorsement, but there never would be the election, so nothing would happen, Steiner said. The party favorite would have to slum it in the official primary in September.

What are the arguments in favor of calling special elections?

According to Horner, there are 1.8 million reasons to call special elections for the vacant seats.

We live in a representative democracy, and the governor and the Legislature are going to make a decision on $160 billion-plus of public monies, he said, referring to the state budget. We think everyone should have a seat at the table through their representatives, and thats not going to happen if there arent specials called soon.

RELATED: 4 big takeaways from the State of the State

What are the arguments against calling special elections?

On Dec. 13, Cuomo told reporters that he would make the decision to hold special elections in January. However, he also indicated that he may wait until after the state budget deadline of March 31.

Because you need to get a budget done also, right? And some would argue that politicizing the budget isnt the best idea, Cuomo said, suggesting that holding special elections would distract from the budget negotiations.

Steiner referred to the delicate balance of power in the state Senate, where Republicans hold a slight majority due to the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of eight breakaway Democrats who caucus with the Republicans, and Sen. Simcha Felder, who  although he is not allied with the IDC  also caucuses with the Republicans. Latimers seat is considered to be contested, Horner said, and could fall into Republican hands.

If the special elections turn into a fight over the majority, with Cuomo perhaps forced to take a more bullish stance on Democrats gaining seats in the state Senate, it could upset his negotiations with the state Legislature.

Theres certainly no benefit for millions of people to have no person representing them in the Legislature, Steiner said. But there may be a perceived benefit of calling or not calling an election, depending on who you are, and whether you want to control the Legislature in a certain way.

There is also the question of cost, said election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder, special counsel for Stroock.

Theres a school of thought that says special elections can be costly if theyre on their own day as opposed to a day when there are other elections going on, he said, due to the costs of opening and staffing polling places. Goldfeder also referred to a New York Post editorial that denounced special elections for circumventing the primary process, allowing county leaders to choose their nominees without input from voters.

Are there precedents for not holding special elections?

Yes. In 2014, Cuomo chose not to call special elections for 10 seats that were open at the beginning of the year, and another that was vacated later in the year, leaving them vacant through the general election. That year, Cuomo cited the high cost as a reason not to hold special elections.

When are the (non-special) election days scheduled for 2018?

The federal primary is on June 26. The state and local primary is on Sept. 11. The general election for federal, state and local races is on Nov. 6.
New York is facing a major state budget shortfall this year, no matter whether it ends up being $1.7 billion, $4.4 billion or even a whopping $6.8 billion.

Just like the wide range of figures put forth by budget experts to quantify the projected budget gap, theres a variety of opinions among politicians as to how bad the states fiscal situation truly is.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been running with a flat $4 billion figure, which he cited several times during his State of the State address last week. Exacerbating the states troubling financial situation, he said during his speech, was another $2 billion in federal health care cuts  and thats not even getting into the long-term fiscal impact in New York of the new federal tax law, or other looming cuts proposed by Republicans in Washington, D.C.

We have federal and economic challenges never experienced before, Cuomo said. They threaten the essence of our economy. Short term, a $4 billion deficit and $2 billion in cuts in federal aid. Even more challenging, long term, our federal government has hurt our states economic position, both nationally and internationally, by taxing our state and local taxes. They made us less competitive and they are helping other states at our expense.

However, if the state maintains the practice of keeping overall spending increases at 2 percent, this years shortfall would be an estimated $1.7 billion, according to the Cuomo administration's own budget projections.

There are obviously some difficult choices to be made because of the budget deficit, state Sen. Phil Boyle, a Long Island Republican, said on Tuesday at City & States annual State of Our State event in Albany to kick off the 2018 legislative session. But I do not believe it is as bad as we have seen in the past. Weve had much greater deficits, and everyone keeps saying, oh, $4 billion-plus. If we stay within the 2 percent cap that weve had for a number of years now, its $1.7 billion.

A gap of that size, Boyle continued, is not good but would be manageable as long as elected officials make the right spending choices and spread cuts across the entire state budget.

But lawmakers like Assemblyman Richard Gottfried say even a $1.7 shortfall is pretty scary. The Manhattan Democrat noted that Medicaid spending, which makes up close to half of the state budget, is projected to continue to grow at a rate capped at 4 percent per year.

So keeping a program of $60 billion-plus a year, that ordinarily grows at 4 percent, to a 2 percent limit is a pretty heavy hit, Gottfried, the longtime chairman of the Assembly Health Committee, said during the panel discussion at City & State's event. And even $1.7 billion in a deficit, if you think back over previous years, is a pretty extraordinary quantity to deal with.

The other major chunk of the state budget is education, which could also be a political minefield for anyone seeking cost savings. Gottfried said that school aid, which makes up about 40 percent of the state budget, is an area where nobody in their right mind would propose cuts.

Our annual discussion about school aid is whether the increase in the state school aid budget should be twice what the governor proposed, or maybe a little less than twice what the governor proposed, Gottfried said. And I say this having served with eight governors. This is nothing new.

So where will state officials look as they try to identify areas to make cuts? Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to release his executive budget proposal this month, which will spell out in detail how he is hoping to balance the upcoming budget.

In the meantime, Boyle, the lone Republican on the panel, said calls by education officials for an increase in school aid in the range of $2 billion or more is simply unrealistic.

Thats not going to happen, he said. We have to be realistic. I think were going to have more money put into education and health care  those two areas that have increased the last few years where other agencies have stayed level  thats going to have to come way down. Were going to try to be a little more across the board, but nowhere near $2.5 billion for education.

Other state lawmakers appear to be deferring to the governor and waiting to react to his spending plan.

How were going to deal with it? I dont know, Gottfried said. Well get through this somehow. My bet is we will not get through this budget without doing significant damage to some important things.
AKRON, Ohio - Three high-level, appointed staff positions were cut this week at Akron City Hall in a move Mayor Dan Horrigan says is purely economic.

Akron Director of Human Resources Don Rice issued a message to city staffers on Monday announcing the positions that will be eliminated, effective March 31:

* Terry Albanese, assistant to the mayor for education, health and families, employed since 2014;

* Christine Curry, director of communications, employed since 2016;

* Billy Soule, assistant to the mayor for community relations, employed since 2004.

Albanese, Curry and Soule could not be reached for comment.

The layoffs were triggered by lower-than-expected 2017 revenue combined with growing expenses, particularly related to personnel costs like health care, said city spokeswoman Ellen Lander-Nischt.

Eliminating the positions will save the city annually about $309,000 in salaries, or about $429,000 with benefits.

Horrigan said he's been looking at every department, except fire and police, for ways to cut costs, in addition to reducing staffing in his own cabinet.

"If I'm going to ask the departments to tighten their belts, I needed to start at the top," he said. "Part of the point is that the capacity of each department didn't need a cabinet-level position."

But making the cuts wasn't easy.

"All three were tough decisions," he said." They're all very good people and good public servants who served the city and their community very well."

According to the memo, over the next few months Horrigan will undertake a strategic review to determine which initiatives under the eliminated positions will continue, which will be carried out in partnership with other agencies and which will be discontinued.

As for additional layoffs, Horrigan is not prepared to commit either way.

"I can't make any promises," he said. "The city is a large operation and with the departments and their complexity, I'm very comfortable with the senior-level executive staff."

In November, Akron voters approved a city income-tax increase, bumping the tax from 2.25 to 2.5 percent, which will bring the city an additional $16 million annually. The revenue generated will be used for police, fire and road improvements only.

Want more Akron news? Sign up for cleveland.com's Rubber City Daily, an email newsletter delivered at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday ordered the state's utilities to start setting aside the estimated savings from a reduction in federal corporate taxes from 35 percent to 21 percent.

Those savings, the commission reasoned, should go to utility customers because by state law, the PUCO allows the regulated companies to "recover" expenses, including federal taxes, from their customers.

"Broadly speaking, the Commission authorizes utilities to recover expenses from their customers, including federal tax obligations," said PUCO Chairman Asim Haque after the vote. "If that federal tax obligation is reduced, then utility rates should also be reduced, creating savings to customers."

As with most business before the commission, determining those savings won't be quick. And maybe not easy.

The commission's

is technically "an investigation," and the order gives the utilities and other interested parties until Feb. 15 to file comments about how much is being saved, what the utility's revenue requirements are, how the utility collected past taxes and whether it had accumulated "deferred" income taxes.

In other words, don't be surprised if this simple gesture by the commission turns into a months-long legal battle, complete with expert witnesses.

Ohio Consumers' Counsel Bruce Weston was first to offer a comment, though not in the official docket rather via an emailed statement.

"The PUCO made a good start today for reducing Ohioans' utility bills as a result of the federal corporate tax cut," he said.

"Hopefully the utilities will be on board with rate reductions when they respond to the PUCO in February. We look forward to utility consumers seeing rate reductions for a change instead of rate increases."

In unrelated action, the commission approved a 10-year discount electric rate that AEP Ohio has negotiated with Amazon subsidiary Vadata, Inc. Vadata operates the company's data centers.

"This arrangement recognizes the unique electric load profile of data centers and could represent a new era of economic development in Ohio," said Haque. "It is important to note that consumer bills will not increase as a result of the commission's approval today."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A longtime Cleveland federal judge presiding over more than 200 lawsuits filed over the opioid epidemic made a series of pointed comments Tuesday as he urged lawyers for Big Pharma and government entities to craft a sweeping resolution to help quell the nation's worsening overdose rate.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster made the statements to attorneys from across the country who flooded into his courtroom in downtown Cleveland, as well as those watching a video feed in an overflow courtroom and those listening on the phone.

A judge since 1998, Polster has long shown a proclivity to settle litigation. But the opioid epidemic -- which has hit the Cleveland area, where he lives, as hard as anywhere in the country -- and his social responsibility clearly weighed heavy on his mind.

He said he had thought about a large settlement that involves more than money, but rather real solutions that will help abate the number of overdose deaths the country sees on a daily basis. He would also would like to see the settlement touch on other state and federal cases not included in the multi-district litigation he presides over.

The lawsuits allege drug manufacturers overstated the benefits and downplayed the risks of addiction when treating pain with opioids, and that distributors failed to properly monitor suspicious orders of prescription painkillers.

It remains to be seen whether such a settlement can be reached, but attorneys on both sides showed Tuesday a willingness to at least discuss what can be done about the opioid epidemic.

Below are a few statements Polster made during Tuesday's hearing. The full quotes come courtesy of a court reporter's transcript.

(You can read the full transcript of the hearing here or at the bottom of this story.)

Here's Polster on who's to blame for the opioid crisis:

In my humble opinion, everyone shares some of the responsibility, and no one has done enough to abate it. That includes the manufacturers, the distributors, the pharmacies, the doctors, the federal government and state government, local governments, hospitals, third-party payers and individuals. Just about everyone we've got on both sides of the equation in this case.

The federal court is probably the least likely branch of government to try and tackle this, but candidly, the other branches of government, federal and state, have punted. So it's here.

The judge said he accepts some responsibility too:

I read recently that we've managed in the last two years, because of the opioid problem, to do what our country has not done in 50 years, which is to -- for two consecutive years, reduce, lower the average life expectancy of Americans. And if we don't do something in 2018, we'll have accomplished it for three years in a row, which we haven't done since the flu epidemic 100 years ago wiped out 10 percent of our population.

And this is 100 percent manmade. Now, I'm pretty ashamed that this has occurred while I've been around. So I think we all should be.

Here's the judge on what he would like to see a settlement cover:

The resolution I'm talking about is really -- what I'm interested in doing is not just moving money around, because this is an ongoing crisis. What we've got to do is dramatically reduce the number of the pills that are out there and make sure that the pills that are out there are being used properly. Because we all know that a whole lot of them have gone walking and with devastating results. And that's happening right now.

So that's what I want to accomplish. And then we'll deal with the money. We can deal with the money also and the treatment. I mean, that's what -- you know, we need a whole lot -- some new systems in place, and we need some treatment.

Here's Polster on why he thinks the litigation is useless in the public's eye:

I don't think anyone in the country is interested in a whole lot of finger-pointing at this point, and I'm not either. People aren't interested in depositions, and discovery, and trials. People aren't interested in figuring out the answer to interesting legal questions like preemption and learned intermediary, or unravelling complicated conspiracy theories.

Polster said if a settlement can't be reached, he'll preside over litigation, but doesn't think it will do anything to help the epidemic.

I'll turn the plaintiffs loose on the defendants; I'll turn the defendants lose on the plaintiffs. You'll, you know, tear each other up way down ... for discovery. You can go after the federal government, full discovery there, too.

You know, FDA, DEA, have at it, and in 2019, I'll try the Ohio case myself and see what happens, after dealing with whatever motions, and I'm sure some of the claims and theories are going to be knocked out and some will survive. ...

What that will accomplish, I don't know. But I'd rather not do that.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Federal prosecutors accused a North Royalton man of creating a malware program named "Fruitfly" that he used to worm its way into thousands of computers nationwide, according to a news release.

Phillip Durachinsky, 28, used the malware to steal people's personal information, including usernames, passwords, financial records, medical records, photographs, internet searches and things that might be considered embarrassing, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland. Fruitfly was able to alert Durachinsky if an infected computer's user typed words associated with pornography.

It also allowed Durachinsky to turn on an infected computer's microphone and cameras and record people, according to court filings.

(You can read Durachinsky's indictment here or at the bottom of this story.)

Fruitfly has been on the radar of cybersecurity analysts for a while. It caught their attention because, in addition to puncturing the security systems on computers with Microsoft operating systems, it could get into Apple computers, according to an article on Forbes' website.

Durachinsky began hacking in 2003, when he was a teenager, and authorities say he has been able to access the computers of companies, schools, a police department and other government entities, including a subsidiary of the Department of Energy, authorities say.

The FBI arrested Durachinsky in January 2017 after agents determined that hacked into the computer system at Case Western Reserve University, where he attended college. The university identified more than 100 computers that were infected with Durachinsky's malware, and an FBI review showed that the computers "had been compromised for several years," according to a criminal complaint.

They found that an IP address, a number that identifies its location on the internet, associated with the malware had been used to access Durachinksy's Case Western alumni email account, the complaint states.

A grand jury charged Durachinsky Wednesday with Computer Fraud and Abuse Act violations, Wiretap Act violations and aggravated identity theft. He is also charged with production of child pornography from 2011 until his arrest.

He is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Thomas Conway, Durachinsky's attorney, declined comment.

Fruitfly gave Durachinsky the ability to control a computer by accessing stored data, uploading files, taking screenshots, logging keystrokes, as well as turning on a camera and microphone. Durachinsky used stolen login credentials to download information from websites, including photos and emails, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Durachinksy saved millions of images onto his own computer systems and kept detailed notes of his observations.

The FBI seized laptops, hard drives and vaults from Durachinsky that had more than 20 million files, according to a court filing from Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Reidl. It found thousands of potential victims during the past year.

The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County voters will be asked to approve a four-year renewal of a health and human services tax on May 8.

The resolution was introduced in County Council Tuesday and referred to committee.

The 3.9-mill tax was last approved by voters in November 2013 for five years.

The county opted to go with a four-year renewal and not seek an increase, despite the growing need for funds by agencies funded by the levy to fight the opioid crisis.

Last November voters in a dozen Ohio counties agreed to pay more taxes for children's services and health and human services to fight the fallout from the opioid epidemic. Lake County voters approved a 0.7-mill renewal and an 0.4-mill increase by a wide margin.

The county is "facing our challenges and tackling them head on," County Executive Armond Budish told council. "It means we will work even harder to do more with what we have, to continue the services and supports for children, for seniors and anyone in the county who may need help. The people of Cuyahoga County have demonstrated their compassion and generosity by supporting the levy for years, assuring that anyone in any municipality, within any zip code, of any race, religion or gender, has access to the services that strengthen our residents and prepare people to support themselves and their families. "

The tax is one of two that fund health and human services, including foster care, services at the MetroHealth System, support services for those suffering from mental illness and programs for senior citizens.

Voters in 2016 approved a renewal of the 4.8-mill tax for eight years. The same tax was approved in 2008 and 2012. Officials did not seek an increase and said at that time they felt a longer term would decrease the number of times the county would have a proposed tax before voters.
EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio - No one was harmed in a Wednesday morning fire that destroyed a home that displaced an East Cleveland family, the president of the city's firefighters' union said.

Two parents and three children were not at home when the fire started just after 6:30 a.m. on Lakeside Avenue near East 133rd Street, but the home was destroyed in the blaze, East Cleveland Firefighters Local 500 president Thomas Buth said in a video posted on Facebook.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Buth posted the Facebook video to request donations for the family.

"They lost everything. Everything from Christmas ... [they're] just starting over again," Buth said in the video. "We need to try to see if we can come up and try to do something for them as a community."

The firefighters' union is asking for clothing and electronics, such as video games and tablet computers, for the three children.

The children wear the following sizes, according to the firefighters' union:

13-year-old girl: medium shirts, size 11-12 junior pants, and size 7.5 shoes.

11-year-old boy: youth large shirts, size 14 youth pants and size 7 boys' shoes.

2-year-old boy: size 3T shirts, size 3T pants and size 8 toddler shoes.

Donations should not be taken to the East Cleveland Fire Department, Buth said. Donors should instead contact the union through its Facebook page for more information.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - It's the rare sequel that is better than the original. "The Godfather: Part II." "The Dark Knight." "Toy Story 3." "Nymphomaniac Vol. II."

Add "Paddington 2" to the list. The follow-up to the 2015 movie based on author Michael Bond's classic books about the marmalade-loving bear from "darkest Peru" who travels to London when his home is destroyed, is a smart, charming and kindhearted treat. It's also the rare film that is as entertaining for adults as children.

Three years after the original, Paddington has settled in nicely with the Brown family in their enchanting London townhouse -- quirky mother Mary Brown (the divine Sally Hawkins), dorky risk-analyst father Henry (Hugh Bonneville), teenage Judy (Madeleine Harris) and tween Jonathan (Samuel Joslin).

Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is part of the neighborhood now, making friends and helping out anyone who needs it. He also gets into more than a fair bit of innocent trouble -- he STILL doesn't know what toothbrushes are for -- in a series of very funny gag sequences.

Paddington wants more than anything to send a nice gift to his aunt Lucy back in Peru. When he stumbles upon an antique "popping book" of London sites at Mr. Gruber's curiosity shop, he is smitten. But Paddington isn't the only one after the book. After sharing news of his find at a fantastic old steam-punk circus with thespian Phoenix Buchanan (a wonderfully campy Hugh Grant, who ALMOST steals the film from the furry star), it's taken.

What follows is a hilarious and wonderfully whimsical movie filled with fanciful Wes Anderson-worthy sequences and heartfelt goodness -- even when it is set in a dank Victorian prison. Marmalade-loving Paddington will sweeten the day of anyone, young or just young at heart, in this delightful sequel.

REVIEW

Paddington 2

Who: Directed by Paul King. With Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Ben Whishaw.

Rated: Rated PG for some action and mild rude humor.

Running time: 105 minutes.

When: Opens Friday

Where: Area theaters

Grade: A
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A mother whose 4-year-old son died in a car crash after she asked a drunken friend to take her children to daycare was sentenced Tuesday to probation.

Davina Hurt, 26, stood in the courtroom Tuesday as both a mother grieving the loss of her child and a defendant who stood to lose her freedom for her role in her son Bryce Hurt's Sept. 7 death.

The driver who crashed, Mario Wiley, is set to be sentenced Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and drunken driving.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of child endangering last month, third-degree felonies that left it entirely up to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Hollie Gallagher to decide whether to send the mother to prison.

The case was a tragedy that stuck Gallagher at a crossroads, Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Jennifer Driscoll said.

"'What do I do with a child who's dead and how do I help a mother move forward without her child, and also make her pay for what she did?'" Driscoll said, mimicking the question Gallagher had to pose to herself.

Gallagher ultimately opted against sending the mother to prison and instead placed Hurt on three years of probation, with a year of intensive outpatient treatment for substance abuse, daily AA meetings and parenting classes.

Hurt must fully complete the program, or face up to three years in prison and the potential of the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services taking custody of her other son, who is 2 years old.

The crash happened about 7:45 a.m. at the intersection of Broadway and Baxter avenues in the city's Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood, according to police.

Wiley sped southeast in his 2002 Ford Explorer on Broadway and swerved around an RTA bus, according to court records. He hit a curb and crashed into a tree.

Randal Thomas, who said he witnessed the crash, said he and another bus rider pulled the two boys out of the car while a woman talked to 911 dispatchers. He said the driver, later identified by police as Wiley, asked him not to call 911.

Along with the two children, Wiley and another adult were also injured. All four were taken to MetroHealth for treatment.

Bryce was not wearing a seatbelt, according to court records. He died on Friday, according to Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner records.

Wiley was arrested and charged that day.

Investigators sought charges against Hurt when they learned that she had asked Wiley to drive her children to daycare after a night of drinking, Driscoll said.

Hurt sought to separate herself from Wiley, reading from a written statement in which she said she had tried to stop Wiley from taking her children because he was "a non-driver." She said she instead asked another friend to take her children.

In response, Driscoll read from a police report that said Hurt told officers that she knew both Wiley and the other man had been drinking. The officer asked why she would entrust her children in the car of a driver who had been drinking, and she said she wanted to get some sleep, the report said.

Hurt told Gallagher she was addicted to alcohol, used marijuana frequently and had started using cocaine before the crash that took her child.

But since the accident, she had been clean, living in a sober facility and in treatment, her lawyer, Regis McGann, said.

"I would give anything to bring my son back, but since I cannot make that so, I am determined to improve my circumstances and provide for and keep [her other son] safe," she said.

The other child is currently staying with Hurt's mother.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A suspected Cleveland gang member charged in connection with a midday shootout at a Collinwood gas station that injured a 25-year-old man shot the same again on Sunday, police say.

No arrests have been made in the case and no formal charges have been filed.

But Clarence Moore III, 25, told police that one of the three men who ambushed him and a friend Dec. 19 at the Sunoco gas station on East 156th Street and Waterloo Road in Collinwood's Waterloo arts district is the same man who shot him on Sunday, according to police reports.

The Sunday shooting happened about 8 p.m. behind the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Lake Shore Boulevard between Marcella Road and East 174th Street, police reports say.

Moore told police he was getting out of his car, when the man he recognized from the gas station shooting and three others ambushed him, according to police. Moore said the gunman shot him twice, police reports say.

He jumped in another car and the driver took him to Euclid Hospital. Doctors transferred him to MetroHealth by helicopter. Police found Moore's car, which was reported stolen. The car had a bullet hole in it, police reports say.

Moore told investigators that the man who shot him was the 18-year-old man who was part of the group that shot him on Dec. 19. The 18-year-old man is free after posting 10 percent of a $100,000 bond.

Moore was shot during the daytime shootout at the gas station weeks earlier.

Moore was in the passenger seat of his friend's SUV when a group, somewhere between four and seven men, carried out the ambush-style robbery on Moore's friend Deangelo Billingsley, according to police.

The shootout involved an automatic rifle, and dozens of shots were fired as Moore tried to run away. One of the robbers used Billingsley as a human shield as he fired shots at Moore, according to police. Moore fired back, shooting 27-year-old Stefone Black, according to police.

A 7-year-old girl sitting in her father's car was grazed in the hand by a stray bullet, police said.

Six men, including Moore, are charged in connection with the shooting, including the 18-year-old man suspected of shooting Moore again. Moore was initially charged in the case after police reported finding drugs and a handgun in his pockets. He faces charges of possessing a weapon as a felon and improperly handling a gun in a car.

A sixth man, Devonn Black, 25, was later charged in connection with the incident.

To comment on this story, please visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments page.
MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio - Maria Rodgers, a math teacher at Milkovich Middle School, was awarded a $25,000 Milken Educator Award on Wednesday - which is considered by educators to be the "Oscar" of teaching.

Rodgers was presented with the award during an assembly in a gym filled with students, peers and officials, including Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction Paolo DeMaria.

See the video of the award announcement.

She is among 44 honorees to receive the national recognition this academic year, and the only one from Ohio.

Rodgers, who has taught for 12 years in Maple Heights, has been known to coordinate her lesson plans with her outfits, coming in one day as a drill sergeant and running a "boot camp" complete with games and learning stations to prepare students for a state assessment, according to a news release.

"No matter what or where you may be in life, one constant remains: Math is all around us," Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation, said in the news release. "Maria Rodgers illustrates the practical applications of math every day and ensures her students have those skills necessary to excel."

For 30 years, the Milken Educator Awards, an initiative of the Milken Family Foundation, have honored top educators. The awards target early-to-mid career education professionals for their achievements and the promise of what they will accomplish in the future.

More than 2,700 awards have been given out totaling $68 million. Milken Educators also are given access to networking and development tools throughout their careers.

Rodgers has inventiveness, a talent for making learning fun, the professional range to teach many kinds of students, and leadership skills that promote high performance and community engagement in her school and district, DeMaria said in a statement.

In addition to teaching, Rodgers also serves on committees for both instruction and day-to-day school operations. She speaks at school board meetings, is developing performance-based assessments and mentors new teachers.

Rodgers earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Akron.
MENTOR, Ohio -- The city's school district will close two elementary schools while also reconfiguring the use of other buildings in an attempt to cut costs, the superintendent announced Tuesday.

Brentmoor and Garfield elementary schools will be closed after this school year concludes, while Ridge Middle School will be turned into an elementary school.

Students in sixth to eighth grade will attend either Shore or Memorial middle schools. (See a map here.)

In a video statement posted on the district's website, interim Superintendent Bill Porter said the moves come after "careful consideration and months of discussion."

"I understand that this may not be easy news to hear," he said.

All students attending Brentmoor will attend Ridge next year, while students Garfield will be split among Hopkins, Fairfax or Ridge, Porter said.

The district also is redrawing the attendance boundaries for its elementary buildings, meaning some students will go to different buildings next school year. (See a map here.) Some current Hopkins students could be sent to Ridge and some Fairfax students will attend Orchard Hollow.

Parents should receive notification of what school their children will attend within the next few weeks, Porter said.

The district is planning to place administrators and teachers from the closed buildings into the other positions "as the reassignment of students and retirements allow."

"I know this is a lot of change and I certainly realize that change can often be difficult," Porter said. "Please know that this decision was not made lightly."

Porter said the changes are expected to save the school district $7 million over the next five years.

The district is scheduling informational meetings for parents from schools affected. The Fairfax meeting is 5:30 p.m. Thursday; Brentmoor is 5:30 p.m. and Ridge 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16; Garfield is 5:30 p.m. and Hopkins is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17.

All of the meetings are at the Paradigm Center, 6465 Center St.

The changes brought sad reactions from parents on social media:

Not happy at all that my 6 year old is upset and crying her school is closing... especially since the entire reason I purchased my home in the first place was because her schools were 1 minute from my house... thanks for nothing.  Melissa (@amelissaflammia) January 10, 2018

Same here, I live right next to wildwood and could walk to Hopkins but they feel Ridge is where she should go. Such crap.  David Spivack (@spivdw) January 10, 2018

Very saddened to hear about the upcoming closure of Ridge, Garfield and Brentmoor. It's sad to see three of our schools to be closed. It won't be easy to watch buildings that have been apart of Mentor Schools for years go away in the coming months. #OnceACard  Dylan Morgan (@dylmorgano) January 9, 2018
CLEVELAND, Ohio --More than 200 people in Northeast Ohio were indicted on federal gun charges in 2017 representing close to double the number of similar cases from the previous years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland.

The majority of the 202 indictments came through the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland. The office saw 116 indictments in Cleveland; 35 in Akron; 27 in Youngstown and 24 in Toledo, prosecutors in a news release.

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said Tuesday during an interview with cleveland.com's editorial board that officials are working to intercept guns from being trafficked and supplied.

"Usually the way that these cases are built is that you have to start with the gun on the street," he said. "So, the gun that was used in a crime, the gun that was possessed illegally by someone, the gun that was stolen in a burglary. You have to start with the firearm itself."

The numbers released Tuesday shows prosecutors indicted 105 people in 2016 -- 97 less offenders than in 2017. Officials indicted 126 people in 2015 and 167 in 2014.

A graphic of how many people have been indicted in the last 10 years can be found below:

One of the most notable cases was that of Cody Coats, of Cleveland, who faces at least 20 years in federal prison after a grand jury charged him with stealing a car with a sawed-off shotgun

Coats, 25, stole a man's 2005 Chrysler Crossfire outside a bar in Euclid on Aug. 14. He fired the gun during the robbery and was later arrested after he crashed the car on East 222nd Street near Lakeshore Boulevard as police were chasing him.

A shotgun and 20 12-gauge shells were also found in the car, authorities have said. Coats is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

To comment on this story, please visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments page.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State lawmakers would still draw congressional districts, but would need bipartisan support to approve a map under a GOP proposal unveiled Wednesday morning.

Sen. Matt Huffman, the Lima Republican behind the proposal, said requiring minority-party votes and setting new rules for how districts could be drawn are improvements over the current process.

But Democrats and redistricting-reform advocates say the plan still allows for too much political maneuvering by the majority party. The Fair Districts = Fair Elections coalition plans to move forward with its proposed constitutional amendment.

"What we heard, unless it's significantly modified, is worse than we currently have in terms of protection of the rights of citizens of Ohio to be fairly represented," said Richard Gunther, an Ohio State University political science professor emeritus who drafted the amendment.

Congressional and Statehouse districts are redrawn every 10 years following the U.S. Census. Ohio is expected to go from 16 to 15 congressional districts when maps are redrawn next in 2021.

Democrats and Republicans have been working behind the scenes to hammer out redistricting reform that is palatable to both parties by the end of January. The House and Senate must approve legislation by Feb. 7 to put it on the May ballot for voter consideration.

Huffman presented the Republicans' plan before the House and Senate committees that would review legislation reforming the process. He plans to introduce legislation next week with input from Democrats.

Huffman's proposal

Step one: The General Assembly would draw maps and need a three-fifths vote of each chamber and one-third of the minority party to approve a map.

Step two: If lawmakers don't approve a map by Sept. 30, the seven-member redistricting commission in charge of legislative districts will draw and approve a congressional district map. The commission is composed of the governor, secretary of state, state auditor and four legislative appointees including two appointed by the minority party. If the commission approves a map without two votes from minority party members, the map is good for four years instead of 10.

Step three: The General Assembly then has the option to make the commission's map good for 10 years with a simple majority vote, including one-fifth of the minority party's votes. A vote has to take place by Oct. 31.

Mapmakers would have to follow new rules that limit the ways a county or district could be split. Most of those limitations would only apply to all but the five or 10 largest counties.

The maps would not be subject to a citizen-initiated referendum nor need the governor's signature.

Huffman's case

Huffman said the plan keeps the process in the hands of the legislature and gives the minority party some weight by requiring one-third of minority legislators to vote for a plan.

"There's an opportunity for both majority and minority involvement on a continual basis," Huffman said of the new plan. "Now, the majority draws maps, and the minority party can try to referendum it if they want."

Huffman said the rules he's proposing would eliminate districts that unnecessarily stretch along several counties, such as Ohio's 9th, dubbed the "snake on the lake." Huffman said too many rules would make it difficult to draw sound districts.

Early criticism of the plan

Gunther and Democrats who have been involved in redistricting discussions say the plan does nothing to address the politics of mapmaking and it would be easy for the majority to create 12 districts out of 15 to favor the majority party.

Sen. Vernon Sykes, an Akron Democrat, said the requirement for minority-party votes was created to siphon off votes from black lawmakers to pass a gerrymandered map.

"It divides the minority party along racial lines -- it's distasteful," said Sykes, who is African-American. "It's been used in the past to pack districts so minority candidates might be more probable to win, but that's not in the best interests necessarily of the total population."

Huffman's proposed rules would keep small counties whole within congressional districts, but the rules would not apply to larger counties such as Cuyahoga and Summit, which are each currently carved into four districts. The proposed constitutional amendment would limit the number of times counties, cities and villages could be split.

"The plan prevents certain types of arrangements... but you'll still be able to construct 12 of 15 congressional districts in your favor," Sykes said.

What's next?

Huffman said the Senate needs to pass the legislation by Jan. 24 to give the House at least one to review the proposal and vote ahead of the Feb. 7 deadline.

Democrats said they would prefer the measure appear on the November ballot, when turnout is greater and more independent voters are likely to cast ballots.

"They are rushing it," Rep. Jack Cera, a Bellaire Democrat, said. "Our thoughts are to continue to have discussions and let the discussions determine the timeline and come up with a good proposal that thousands of Ohioans are asking for and then we can go to the ballot in November with something that is agreed to."
LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- The nation's largest animal rights group lent its support Monday to Lakewood's pit bull ban. The move should come as no surprise as PETA has for years resisted calls to oppose such bans.



The group, known for its celebrity endorsements and aggressive tactics, has long advocated that people not breed and sell any type of dogs while there are so many in animal shelters awaiting adoption.

PETA says it is for pit bulls but not against rules that limit the number of dogs bred for sale. In the case of pit bulls in particular, the dogs are often bred for fighting or end up in the hands of abusive owners, the group says.

In an email to Lakewood Mayor Mike Summers, Teresa Lynn Chagrin, animal care and control issues manager for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said the organization wanted "to express our support of pit bull-specific laws and regulations" and proposed that any new ordinance require dogs be spayed and neutered and "require owners to keep pit bulls indoors unless they're being walked by a trained adult with a leash and secure harness."

"Many people are surprised to learn that PETA supports laws that strictly regulate pit bull ownership," Chagrin wrote in Monday's email. "We do so in the interest of protecting these dogs, other companion animals, and the community at large. Our office receives calls every day about pit bulls who have been neglected or abused, many of whom--not surprisingly--retaliate by attacking, injuring, or sometimes even killing humans and other animals."

Lakewood officials sent out a news release Tuesday acknowledging PETA's letter.

Chagrin's email also included a 2011 study by University of Texas Health Sciences Center, in which researchers who studied 15 years of medical records on dog bites found pit bull attacks were responsible for higher risk of death, medical costs and caused serious damage compared to attacks by other breeds.

Lakewood's pit bull ban came under fire last year after a pit bull mix named Charlie was ordered to leave Lakewood, despite his owner, Jennifer Scott, previously receiving permission from the city's animal warden to bring the dog home.

Last week the city council introduced a new ordinance that would replace the city's current breed-specific ordinance. The new ordinance would require owners of pit bulls to muzzle and place the dog on a leash no longer than six-feet long, pay a fee and carry liability insurance. The ordinance was sent to committee before it can be officially voted on.

Many opponents of the Lakewood ordinance are troubled on how the city determines which dogs are genetically more than 50 percent pit bull. In the past, some Lakewood dogs have been classified as "pit bull" based on appearance, not DNA testing. The issue is complicated by the fact that many experts say "pit bull" is not an actual dog breed, but rather a generic term used to describe dogs with physical traits sometimes found in dogs such as the American Staffordshire Terrier or American Bully.

Owners also oppose the proposed changes voted on last week saying the legislation reeks of breed-specific discrimination.

In a news release, Summers said PETA's email was the first time the city has heard from an expert about pit bulls and their impact on public safety.

"The safety of our community comes first," he said. "I am determined to protect the safety of our residents. We have proposed legislation that would allow pit bulls in our city, while providing protections that avoid jeopardizing the safety of all of us. What we have further learned from PETA is these same regulations serve to protect pit bulls from abuse and irresponsible pet owners as well."

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A fight involving 12 juvenile inmates that caused a SWAT team to respond Monday to the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center sparked renewed calls for changes to be made in regards to how the county handles juvenile inmates.

The inmates caused an estimated $200,000 in damage to a housing pod, then fought with each other until a SWAT team broke up the fight. An inmate and a Cuyahoga County Sheriff's deputy suffered minor cuts in the incident.

The juvenile detention center has been a target of reform efforts since the facility opened in 2011. Cuyahoga County Councilman Michael Gallagher on Tuesday said he's once again focusing on ways to make the detention center safer, including asking the county sheriff's department to take over running the facility. Administration of the facility is current overseen by the juvenile court judges.

"We're going to have to sit down and figure this thing out," Gallagher said. "Things are dangerous over there and things have to be fixed."

Gallagher said he spoke with Cuyahoga County Juvenile Administrative Judge Kristin Sweeney, Sheriff Clifford Pinkney and county prosecutor Mike O'Malley and planned to meet with them sometime this week to discuss the best ways to reform the detention center.

O'Malley said on Tuesday that he supports the Cuyahoga County sheriff running the juvenile detention center, if the county is able to give the sheriff more money to hire more staff and train more jail guards.

"That facility is clearly understaffed, has been poorly managed and the county sheriff needs to be the operator of that facility," O'Malley said.

Sweeney, through a court spokeswoman, declined an interview. Sweeney, as the administrative judge, oversees the jail, unlike the Cuyahoga County Jail that houses adult inmates and is run by the sheriff.

Juvenile court spokeswoman Mary Davidson released a brief statement, saying that 15 juvenile inmates are facing murder charges and that there has been a 325 percent increase in juveniles charged with murder since 2011.

"Perhaps this incident can serve as a call to action concerning violent juvenile crime," Davidson's statement said.

Sweeney, in an October budget hearing, expressed concerns about the safety and security of the detention center.

"The two areas that scare me the most continue to be the juvenile detention center," Sweeney said at the time. "We continue to have problems in there, and we while we continue to work to address those problems, while those problems are being fixed, our overtime budget is higher than we want to be."

Karen Lippman, the court's deputy director of fiscal resources, said at the budget hearing that they've had issues with the security system, including security cameras and locks on the doors, and their detention management system.

Sweeney asked for an increased budget in 2018 and 2019 and county council recommended an additional $4.8 million to the juvenile court's budget.

"I don't want to come back here in a year in an emergency situation," Sweeney said during the budget meeting. "So those things do scare me because those things are like trying to nail down a wave on a beach. We can't necessarily pin down exactly what's going to happen in the court."

Gallagher, who spearheaded an initiative in 2014 that proposed allowing the sheriff to take over the detention center, said he's going to talk to members of the law enforcement community to see what they feel is best.

Gallagher said one of the ideas he had was again proposing the sheriff take over the jail, but that would require the juvenile court judges to relinquish control.

"We brought that up in the past, but again we've been told bureaucratically the rules and regulations are in place," Gallagher said. "I haven't heard any of the judges say they'd be willing to relinquish control."

Another ideal involves housing some of the most violent juvenile offenders in the adult county jail, but separated from the adults. Such a dramatic proposal would require a change in Ohio law.

On Monday night, six juvenile inmates who participated in the fight were taken to the Cuyahoga County Jail and separated from the adult population, a county spokeswoman said.

But they were returned to the juvenile detention center later on Tuesday because state law does not allow juvenile inmates to be held in an adult jail without a judge transferring their case to adult court, O'Malley said.

Gallagher also said the judges could separate the most violent juvenile offenders from the less violent ones should they stay in the juvenile detention center

"This isn't juvenile detention of the old days," Gallagher said. "These are hardened street criminals that we're dealing with. Yesterday was bad, but it could have been worse."

cleveland.com reporter Cory Shaffer contributed to this report.

To comment on this story, please visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments page.
WASHINGTON, D. C. - The nation's highest court on Wednesday weighed the legality of Ohio's process for ensuring the accuracy of its voter registration rolls as challengers of the law claimed the process casts too broad a net in eliminating hundreds of thousands of people from the voter rolls.

Failure to cast a ballot for two years triggers Ohio's removal process. Notices are sent to voters whose registration is flagged. Registration is canceled if there's no response to the notices, no votes are cast during the next four years and the voter's address isn't updated.

Challengers say the procedure is illegal under the National Voting Registration Act of 1993, which forbids states from using voter inactivity to spark removal from the rolls.

Justices Elana Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor tag teamed in grilling Ohio Solicitor General Eric E. Murphy on whether Ohio's procedure discriminates against people who find it difficult to vote and those who decide not to vote as a First Amendment issue.

Sotomayor asked whether it was reasonable to interpret failure to vote as evidence that someone has moved, when it can be hard for people who are homeless, low income, or work long hours to make it to the polls.

"Places like Cleveland have very, very, very long lines," to vote, she observed, suggesting that other ways of determining whether voters have changed their address would be more effective than people's failure to vote.

Murphy argued that failing to vote is not the sole basis for removing voters from Ohio's rolls, and that voters must ignore notices they're sent before they're dropped.

The attorney representing the law's challengers, Paul M. Smith, argued that 70 percent of voters disregard the notices along with other junk mail so the system comes up with many "false positives," unfairly ensnaring many people who haven't moved. He said many of those dropped from the rolls first learn they're not registered when they show up to vote and are turned away.

Justice Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts asked Smith to suggest more appropriate criteria to remove voters from the rolls.

He said it might be more appropriate to use driver's license and post office change-of-address information, non-forwardable mail, and databases that show whether people have moved to other states.

"There are strong arguments on both sides," Alito said, suggesting his decision will come down to interpreting the language of the statute.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted - who administers Ohio's voting laws - argues that the process is needed to remove dead people from the rolls and resolve the cases of voters who have multiple registrations. He says that proper maintenance of voter rolls means more ballots are counted and fewer Ohioans have trouble casting votes. The process has been in place for more than 20 years and has been administered the same way by both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, Husted has said.

"I thought the Justices asked a great series of questions," Husted said in an interview after the court's hour-long arguments. "What we do in Ohio is to follow the law."

Heather C. McGhee, who heads Demos, one of the public policy groups that challenged Ohio's law, said she was "very pleased" with how the arguments went, and believes a majority of the court will agree with her group that Ohio's law should be changed.

Lawyers for the organizations that challenged the policy said a particularly aggressive round of purging in 2015 triggered the lawsuit. Ohio had record voter turnout in 2008, and many voters who first registered to vote in that year's presidential race were purged in 2015. Stuart Naifeh, an attorney for Demos, said Ohio also eliminated same-day registration for early voting in 2014, which ended an opportunity that voters previously had to correct erroneous removals and cast ballots.

In 2016, a federal court ruled that Ohio's policies violated the law, and allowed 7,500 purged voters to cast ballots in that year's election. Husted appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.

A decision upholding Ohio's law would pave the way for more aggressive vote-purging efforts in Ohio and other states, while striking down the law would "send a strong signal that the federal government and the National Voter Registration Act place important limits on what states can and can't do with their voter rolls," says Dale Ho, who heads the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project.

Ho said that Georgia, Montana, Oregon, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma also have a culling process that's triggered by inactivity, but Ohio's two-year trigger is the shortest of any state. Because a large proportion of voters only vote in presidential years, he said they have to miss just one presidential election to be kicked off its rolls.

The case is the latest episode in a nationwide partisan war over ballot access. Republicans say voter rolls need scrutiny to prevent fraud and promote ballot integrity, while Democrats insist the efforts are meant to reduce turnout from Democratic-leaning groups such as racial minorities.

An analysis by Reuters found the policy favors Republicans in the state's largest metropolitan areas by removing voters from the rolls in Democratic leaning neighborhoods at roughly twice the rate as in Republican neighborhoods.
BROADVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio - Vatterott College has suspended enrollment and will close in October.

The for-profit college, located in a building on East Royalton Road, currently enrolls 73 students and employs nine full-time and 12 part-time staff and instructors, according to a release.

Most students will be able to graduate by October, according to a notice to students. Students who don't graduate from the career college will receive help to transfer to another school. The college will not offer repeat courses and any student who withdraws will not be able to re-enroll.

The school offered degree and diploma programs in building-maintenance technology, electrical technology, environmental systems technology, carpentry, electrical mechanics, and heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics.

After the school closes, all student records will be transferred to a secure location in St. Louis, Missouri, Vatterott's headquarters, and can be requested by calling 314-264-1500.

Vatterott offered classes in nine schools in six states, including the one school in Ohio. The company filed for receivership last July, saying it planned to seek a buyer for its chain of vocational schools.

Several of the campuses are closing following Vatterott's acquisition by Education Corporation of America. The Alabama company announced Jan. 4 that it had planned to buy most of the campuses.
AKRON, Ohio - Democrats Richard Cordray, the ex-director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton announced Wednesday that they - like the top two Republicans - will join together on a single ticket in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. John Kasich.

Cordray will remain the candidate for governor while Sutton will drop out of the race to serve as his running mate. The Cordray-Sutton ticket does for Democrats what the political marriage of Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted did for Republicans: provide a top-tier ticket meant to unite the base through what could be a grueling primary process.

Cordray and Sutton were at the top of the Democratic field before they announced the ticket.

"This is just our first step to building a larger team that will be a leadership team for the future of Ohio," Cordray said at a diner in Akron. "It will not just be Betty and me, but others who will join us to fulfill the high expectations of all Ohioans."

Sutton, who had been campaigning around the state for months, did not elaborate on why she thought Cordray was the better candidate, but did praise Cordray for his time in state government and at the CFPB.

"The truth of the matter is that nobody has done more to stand up for everyday Ohioans than Rich Cordray, and we are not afraid to take on the tough fights," she said. "We'll take on the special interests that have been running things too long in Columbus."

Both are associated with the President Barack Obama faction of the Democratic Party, something they hope to capitalize on in a state that went for Obama twice before breaking for Republican President Donald Trump in 2016.

The move also consolidates support geographically. Cordray, while known around the state, hails from the Columbus area while Sutton is from Northeast Ohio. Both areas are traditional strongholds for Democrats.

Cordray and Sutton are also strong with labor, a key component of the Democratic base.

The joinder winnows the Democratic field. But unlike the Republicans, Democrats still have multiple options, including state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, former state Rep. Connie Pillich and Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill. Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich also filed paperwork designating a treasurer on Monday for a potential run, but said Tuesday he is not currently a candidate.

Other candidates will likely face pressure to drop out of the race. In a crowded primary, a candidate could win with 30 percent of the vote, leaving an opening for some of the more fringe elements in the party. Some Ohio Democrats worried Wednesday this would pave the way for O'Neill or Kucinich, neither of whom are popular with party insiders, to pull off an upset win.

"I think people will start saying if Republicans are going to have more of a consolidated ticket, we can't have a seven-way primary if we really want to win in November," said one Democratic strategist familiar with the race.

The union could irritate some Democrats who were hungry for a more competitive primary, especially after a disastrous 2014 and 2016 elections where the Ohio Democratic Party anointed candidates for governor and senate, respectively, and lost both contests.

Dave Wondolowski, an influential labor leader in Cleveland, said other candidates need to do some "soul-searching" and decide whether they want to continue in the race. Wondolowski is the executive secretary of the Cleveland Building & Constructions Trades Council, which had endorsed Sutton before she dropped her gubernatorial bid.

"I think my thing is that I'm hopeful that for once in a long time, that our state party chairman [David Pepper] will get involved and get behind Rich Cordray here and start to help clear the field," he said.

However, some said they think the field will narrow naturally, particularly with the Jan. 31 campaign finance deadline coming up.

"I do think that on a statewide race like this, that the natural selection process kind of works its way through," said Alan Melamed, a Cleveland-area Democratic political consultant. "And there may be a couple candidates who stay in in a quixotic kind of way, but I think whoever surfaces with the money and the major endorsements is the one who's going to win."

Pepper said the party still has no plans to endorse.

Also unlike the Republicans, Democrats, including Sutton, lack fundraising support. While campaign finance reports have not been filed for the most recent six-month period, Sutton posted low totals in her July filing.

During the same period, Husted outraised the entire Democratic field by himself. Husted most recently reported having $9 million cash on hand for the race.

Increased name recognition inside the state and interest from donors outside the state could change that. Individual Democratic candidates in special elections elsewhere in the nation have posted record contribution totals in recent months.

Cleveland.com reporter Andrew J. Tobias contributed to this story
The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments today on the faulty way Ohio has removed "inactive" voters from its list of registered voters. But more is needed than a simple yea or nay ruling in this case.

Should the high court agree that Ohio's so-called Supplemental Process wrongly undermines the right to vote by creating a presumption of ineligibility for a voter who hasn't voted for two years, saying so will not be enough.

The high court also must offer clear guidance on a remedy, given Ohio's recent partisan tussles in key election years that too often result in confusing last-minute changes in voting rules right before elections.

This fall's Ohio elections are too crucial for that to happen again. Ohioans will elect a governor, U.S. senator and a panoply of other public officials. For voters and candidates alike, the aim should be robust competition - not more litigation.

Under Ohio's Supplemental Process for updating voting rolls, if a voter fails to vote for two years, that voter's registration is canceled unless he or she responds to a notice sent through the U.S. mail or engages in "voting activity" at least once in the next four years. Besides filing a change of address, "voting activity" includes voting absentee; casting a provisional ballot; or voting on Election Day.

A big problem in this method is highlighted by a plaintiff in the case, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless: "Because the homeless do not reliably receive mail, the ... process penalizes them, making it even less likely they will be able to vote. This is neither sensible nor just; it is cruel."

But Ohio also is one of just a handful of states that use failure to vote as the trigger for removal from the voting rolls.

And as an amicus brief in which the League of Women Voters of Ohio joined argues, "Ohio is the only state that commences such a process based on the failure to vote in a single federal election cycle."

In June 2016, U.S. District Judge George C. Smith upheld the Supplemental Process. But later that year, a panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati sided 2-1 with the challengers.

Appellate Judges Eric L. Clay (a Bill Clinton appointee) and Julia Smith Gibbons (appointed by George W. Bush) wrote that, "under the Supplemental Process, a voter is purged from the rolls after six years of inactivity - even if he or she did not move and otherwise remains eligible to vote."

Ohio's chief elections officer, Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted, argues the state needs to be able to keep its voting rolls up to date, and is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the 6th Circuit.

Given the partisan stakes, however the high court justices rule in this case, they must offer clear constitutional guide posts on how states may purge voters from their voting rolls.

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SANIBEL ISLAND, Florida - I am not a collector, except on Sanibel.

I have plastic bins in my basement and garage, filled with shells collected over the years on the beaches of this barrier island. Some are pristine, others less so, mementoes of hours spent trolling the sands of Southwest Florida.

It's a low-maintenance hobby, requiring only leisurely strolls on the beach.

I decided to ratchet it up a bit on my most recent trip to the island and learn more about these creations, both decorative and practical, which have overtaken my storage space.

I signed my family up for an hour-long Beach Walk, offered daily by the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum. The nation's only museum devoted to shells has offered these guided nature strolls since 2014.

The walk leaves at 9 a.m. from the Island Inn, located on the Gulf of Mexico at Sanibel's midpoint, with about 6 miles of uninterrupted sand on either side.

Our guide: Austin Salender, a marine scientist and recent graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, who described Sanibel as one of the "shelliest" places on earth. Among the reasons why: its east-west orientation. Unlike most other barrier islands, which run parallel to the Florida peninsula, Sanibel juts out perpendicular to the mainland.

"It essentially acts as a scoop for all the currents going by," he said.

He reminded us of the best times to hunt for shells:

* an hour before or after low tide

* after a storm

* in the winter, when winds from the north or northwest can uproot shells and wash them ashore.

Most of my trips to Sanibel have been during early spring, so I was eager to see what treasures the winter weather might yield. But first: I had to bundle up for my walk on the beach.

Temperatures were well-below normal, topping out on several days in the low 50s, with overnight temperatures in the low 40s. Cold sand be damned, we slipped off our shoes and explored.

On the first two mornings of our visit, we discovered hundreds of starfish on the sand during low tide. They were surrounded by thousands of tiny sand dollars.

Salender speculated that the cold water may have stunned the starfish and washed them ashore, most of which were lifeless by the time we walked by. Too delicate to pick up, we tiptoed past the mesmerizing creatures, in search of more wonder.

I told Salender that I always feel a bit guilty as I walk the beach, crushing shells underfoot.

"You are technically walking on a graveyard," he replied, reminding me that all shells used to host live animals (and many still do).

Removing a live shell from the beach on Sanibel has been illegal since 1995, and throughout all of Lee County since 2002. (I remember as a kid in the 1970s, inadvertently taking live shells back to Ohio from Fort Myers Beach; boy, did they stink.)

After a short introduction about the importance of staying off the dunes - home to endangered plants and delicate sea turtle eggs -- Salender dispatched us on the beach, directing us to come back with anything unusual. He reminded us of the two main kinds of mollusks: bivalves (with two connected shells, as in a clam) and gastropods (with one shell, as in the Florida fighting conch).

Our walk was at low tide, so it wasn't difficult to find lots of interesting specimens. We found:

* Turkey wings and angel wings, bivalves both, the latter of which is delicate and rare.

* Lettered olives, apple murex and pen shells ("big and ugly, they stick out of the sand like a pen," said Salender).

* Jingle shells, which "jingle in your pocket," said Salender, and are also known as mermaid money.

The holy grail of Sanibel shelling is the junonia, a smooth, spotted, deep-water shell that is not particularly rare in other parts of the world, but is highly coveted here. In two years of beach walks, Salender has never found one. He found a piece once, which two guests fought over - so he kept it himself.

Salender said there are numerous factors that determine what shows up on a beach on any given day - tides, currents, winds and more. "Each day the beach is different. If you're looking for a certain type of shell and you're not finding it, your best bet is to pick up and go to the next beach."

After our hour of exploration was up, we headed to the museum to put our shell hunt in context.

Museum volunteer Tom Annesley was leading a Live Tank Talk when we arrived, suggesting that many Florida shells are much more sophisticated than we realize. Scallops, for example, showcase a complex system of camouflage, with a colored shell on top and a white shell on the bottom; most gastropods are born with trapdoor-like devices called an operculum, which protect them from predators.

He went on to explain why the museums houses its live shells in three separate aquariums. "What do mollusks eat?" he asked. "They eat each other. When I say it's a shell-eat-shell world out there, it really is."

Every shell, he said, whether alive or long-vacant, has a story to tell. "My goal is to have you never look at a seashell the same way again."

Determined to discover a few more of those stories, I headed back to the beach outside my hotel -- where thousands of tales stretched out for miles. Several dozen of them made the trip home with me.

Related: Sanibel and Fort Myers: What to do when the weather doesn't cooperate

Sanibel Island: If you go

What: The 12-mile-long barrier island is off the coast of Fort Myers. Southwest Florida International Airport is the closest airport.

Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum: Guided beach walks are offered daily and depart at 9 a.m. from the Island Inn, 3111 West Gulf Drive (not the museum). Price is $10 ($7 for ages 5-17). Participants get half-off admission to the museum, which is nearby at 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road. Advanced reservations for the walk are required; space is limited and many walks sell out in advance.

Where to stay: Most overnight options on Sanibel are condominiums, rented by the week. I tried a new (to me) place on this visit, the lovely Sanibel Inn, which allows rentals by the night. Overnight rates for a two-bedroom condo with a gulf view in early January were about $300 a night, and included bicycle and paddleboard use. Peak season rates in February and March are higher.

Where to eat: New on the island is Sanibel Fresh, featuring healthy salads, sandwiches and vegan/vegetarian-friendly cuisine. The restaurant takes the place of Bennett's Fresh Roast, 1020 Periwinkle Way, a coffee and doughnut shop that closed last spring. Sanibel Fresh is owned by the couple who own the adjacent Lazy Flamingo, a long-time Sanibel eatery.

Information: sanibel-captiva.org, fortmyers-sanibel.com
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Market Overview:

Crop protection is the practice of managing weather, weeds, pests, and diseases that damage or inhibit the growth of fruit, vegetable and other horticultural crops. Crop protection chemicals assist in these functions and promote plant growth. The most common types of crop protection chemicals include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and others. There are different formulations for application of crop protection chemicals such as emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powder, soluble powder, suspension concentrate, capsule suspensions, and others.

Crop protection chemicals are used to promote plant health and increase agriculture productivity. They are applicable to oilseeds & pulses, cereals & grains, fruits & vegetables, and others. The continuous rising population is increasing the demand for high agricultural productivity and driving the growth of global crop protection chemicals market.

Change in farming practices and technology leading to increasing acceptance of modern farming and protected agriculture is boosting the growth of the crop protection chemicals market. Moreover, limited availability of cultivable land due to increasing soil erosion and land pollution is further boosting the need for crop protection chemicals to increase farm productivity. However, several environmental and health hazards caused due to crop protection chemicals is restraining the growth of the market. Nevertheless, the market for natural crop protection chemicals can act as an opportunity for crop protection chemicals market.

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Key Players:

Some of the key players profiled in the global Crop protection chemicals market are BASF SE (Germany), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), Monsanto Company (U.S.), FMC Corporation (U.S.), Bayer AG (Germany), Agrium Inc. (Canada), Syngenta AG (Switzerland)

Key Findings:

Bio based crop protection chemicals are expected to offer huge growth opportunity in North America and Europe.

Synthetically produced crop protection chemicals are gaining popularity globally owing to low cost and higher efficiency

Market Segments:

Crop protection chemicals market is segmented on the basis of a type such as herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and others. Among them, the herbicides segment is dominating the market followed by the fungicides market. The high utility of herbicides for destroying various herbs and unwanted weeds to minimize the crop loss is driving the growth of this segment.

Based on the formulation, the crop protection chemicals market is segmented into emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powder, soluble powder, suspension concentrate, capsule suspensions, and others. Among all, the suspension concentrate is anticipated to grow substantially over the forecast period owing to reduced or no use of hazardous solvents and improved stability.

On the basis of the method of application, the crop protection chemicals market is segmented into foliar, soil treatment, seed treatment, and others. The foliar applied crop protection chemicals are dominating the market and are expected to grow substantially over the forecast period.

Based on the application of the crop protection chemicals, the market is segmented into oilseeds & pulses, cereals & grains, fruits & vegetables, and others. Among all, the fruits and vegetable segment is dominating the market. However, the segment cereals and grains are expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period.

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Regional Analysis:

The global crop protection chemicals market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world (RoW). Asia Pacific dominates the market and is projected to continue growing over the estimated period. India and China, two of the largest countries in terms of population are majorly contributing to the growth of crop protection chemicals in this region.

North America is the second largest consumer of crop protection chemicals. However, stringent environmental regulations in the developed economies of North America and Europe have expected to restraint the market growth in these regions. In rest of the world, South America is dominating the market.
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Global Bioenergies used its sugar-based isobutene to develop Clariants new ingredient, which is a rheology modifier impacting formulation viscosity and attaining specific sensorial and texturizing properties for creams and lotions.

The bio-based polymer contains more than 50% renewable carbon and as a result meets the ISO 16128:2016 standard for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products.

Additionally, the ingredient proved to not change properties of an application, which offers formulators a direct 1:1 alternative to petroleum-based equivalents.

The collaboration is working toward producing more volumes of Clariants new cosmetics ingredient, as it is currently being developed on a small scale at Global Bioenergies demo plant in Leuna, Germany.

Supporting our customers in the personal care industry with sustainable, bio-based ingredients is a key priority for Clariant, said Ralf Zerrer, head of strategic marketing and innovation, business unit industrial and consumer specialties at Clariant. The demand for ingredients based on renewable resources is here to stay and will become the norm among brands in the very near future. With our new polymer, we are delighted to expand current limited opportunities for formulators looking to improve the sustainability of their formulations, letting them make an immediate switch without compromising application properties or performance.

Renewable isobutene is a widely used building block for cosmetic applications and we are excited by the opportunities it presents for new bio-based ingredients to address the needs of niche markets, added Marc Delcourt, CEO of Global Bioenergies. Our relationship with Clariant is strengthening and we expect to continue building our network of partners as we prepare for larger capacities.
Johnson & Johnson announced a number of new collaborations to help impact patients lives in health and skin care with the development of new solutions.

The latest partnerships focus on advancing science and technology to address medical needs such as exploring the role of the microbiome in sleep, harnessing bacteria to fight skin disease, preventing psoriasis and improving skin biopsies.

Our highest priority is to improve the health of people around the globe and each collaboration announced represents a unique opportunity to explore novel therapeutics, medical devices and consumer health solutions, said Paul Stoffels, M.D., executive vice president and chief scientific officer, Johnson & Johnson. By advancing transformative health care innovations together with entrepreneurs, academic centers and institutions, we are one step closer to addressing many pressing global health care challenges.

Microbiomes Role During Sleep

Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. and Janssen Research & Development, LLC collaborated with Holobiome Corporation, a developer of microbiome therapeutics to establish research in treating diseases of the central and enteric nervous system.

With the examination of a consortium of bacteria, the partnership will research creating a probiotic or an OTC offering to address sleeplessness in addition to other potential conditions.

Binding Bacteria to Fight Skin Disease

Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. collaborated with JLABS at San Diego resident Dermala Inc. to develop treatments derived from the microbiome for skin conditions.

Dermala uses technology to bind the beneficial function of good skin bacteria to eliminate the bad bacteria and balance the microbiome.

Stopping Psoriasis

Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC and Janssen Biotech Inc. partnered with Monash University to research the causes of psoriasis and to find possible new treatments, preventing future incidents of the disease, which affects millions of people worldwide.

Skin Biopsy Improvement

Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC and Janssen Biotech Inc. partnered with Mindera, a JLABS at South San Francisco resident company. The collaboration is working to progress a minimally invasive microneedling device for better research, diagnosis and treatment of molecular-level inflammatory diseases.
World wars, serial killers, that brief and terrible window when Robin Thicke was everywhere -- the past is full of harrowing, nightmarish things. But today we go even deeper, looking into already-nasty historical events ... that hide even darker underbellies. Like a Kinder Surprise, if the chocolate was horror and the surprise was even more horror.

4 The Unabomber May Have Been The Product Of A Brutal Psychological Experiment

Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, is one of the most famous murder-hermits of all time, and that's saying a lot. He is generally perceived to be a violent, paranoid schizophrenic, and rightfully so. But there are parts of his story many don't know.

Kaczynski was messed up, sure, but he was also brilliant. He attended Harvard in 1958, when he was only 16. Impressive as that may sound, it may also very well have been the start of his spiral into madness. In 1959, a group of psychologists from Harvard's Department of Social Relations apparently decided that they hadn't quite filled their evil science quota. So they got a group of 22 students, young Ted among them, to enlist in a blatantly torturous psychological experiment.

Harvard University "Are you sure you want to do this, Ted?"

"What's the worst that could happen?"

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First the test subjects were tasked with writing an essay that would reveal their personal beliefs -- the values and tenets they held most dear. Students were then supposed to debate their beliefs with a fellow undergraduate. But the "debate" consisted of being covered in electrodes, then sitting in a bright room facing a one-way mirror, while a law student who had been specifically prepped to verbally abuse the subjects tore their ideas and values apart. Then, after the participants had been ridiculed and humiliated to the verge of extreme anger, they were called back to watch the recordings of the procedures. They had their very world torn apart, then had to sit down and watch how stupid they really were on TV. It'd be like signing up for a charity run, then finding out you'd been pressed onto Jersey Shore.

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The experiments were conducted between 1959 and 1962, and headed by Professor Henry A. Murray, who was already somewhat (in)famous for his work with the OSS and the CIA. They took place in a mansion/laboratory known as the Annex, because clearly, no one here was even remotely interested in pretending they weren't supervillains. Our first piece of evidence: The researchers gave all their subjects bizarre code names. Ted's was, ironically, "Lawful."
Kevin Murai, the long-time president and CEO of Synnex, is stepping down from his post to become the distributor's chairman of the board.

Taking over for Murai is Dennis Polk, who currently serves as Synnex's chief operating officer, the company reported Tuesday.

Murai joined Synnex as president and CEO in March of 2008 after a stint of almost 20 years at rival distribution heavyweight Ingram Micro before he left that company in late 2007 as president and chief operating officer.

[Related: Synnex's Varnex Community Evolving To Meet New Digital Economy, Other Customer Initiatives]

Murai presided over significant changes at Synnex and in the distribution business during his decade with the company. In particular, he led Synnex's $830 million acquisition of Westcon Americas, adding about $10 billion to Synnex's total addressable market.

Murai, in a prepared statement, said that he had enjoyed an incredible decade with Synnex.

"My time at SYNNEX has been an incredible journey, working with remarkable people, and achieving great things together. I am excited to continue to serve SYNNEX as Chairman of the Board of Directors," Murai said.

Synnex was not available to provide further comment on the CEO transition.

Bruce Enright, president of Lenexa, Kan.-based Synnex partner Tallgrass Technologies, praised Murai's accomplishments as the chief executive, calling him the best business partner he could imagine.

"He was incredibly good at studying market trends that made an impact on our businesses," Enright told CRN. "He had a strong grasp on technology, but he had a good way with his team to make it executable at a partner level. It was special because it's hard to have a vision and strategy, but also make it digestible and implementable for solution providers like ourselves. He cared about our success in implementing those visions."

Polk started with Synnex in early 2002 as senior vice president of corporate finance, and later that year became the distributor's chief financial officer. He became the chief operating officer in 2006. He has been on Synnex's board of directors since 2012.

"[Murai] has left huge shoes to fill, but I think he has also surrounded himself with a pretty excellent team, at least on our side of the fence," Enright said. "Peter Larocque [president of Synnex North American technology solutions] has no equal, either. He is incredibly strong. They will absolutely need to fill Kevins shoes, but Kevin has left a strong leadership team in place."

Synnex on Tuesday also reported its fourth fiscal quarter and the full fiscal year 2017 financials. For the year, the company reported revenue of $17.0 billion, up 21.2 percent from fiscal 2016's full-year revenue of $14.1 billion.

Income on a GAAP basis for all of fiscal 2017 was $301.2 million, or $7.51 per share, up from last year's $234.9 million, or $5.88 per share. On a non-GAAP basis, income for the year was reported at $355.6 million, or $8.86 per share, up from $281.2 million, or $7.04 per share.

Alec Shirkey, Associate Editor, contributed to this report.
10th Magnitude, a solution provider specializing in Microsoft Azure hybrid cloud infrastructure, is boosting its DevOps capabilities and its geographic reach with the acquisition of Northwest Cadence.

The acquisition by 10th Magnitude, a Chicago-based solution provider and Microsoft's 2017 hybrid cloud and infrastructure partner of the year, of Bellevue, Wash.-based Northwest Cadence gives the company a huge step up in bringing Azure to business clients, 10th Magnitude founder and CEO Alex Brown said.

The kind of DevOps and data analysis expertise Northwest Cadence has developed are essential to helping customers with their digital transformation plans, Brown told CRN.

[Related: WWT Adds Software Development To Infrastructure With Asynchrony Acquisition]

Brown said his concept of digital transformation is all about automating the IT to enable businesses to run in the cloud as a way for them to focus their IT staff on developing their own intellectual property. "Digital transformation unlocks the ability to move quickly so IT is no longer a drag," he said.

That places DevOps and data analysis front and center when it comes to helping businesses in their move to the cloud, Brown said.

"We're trying to deliver agile IT to customers, and DevOps is a critical part of that story," he said. "As we deliver automation in Azure, DevOps also delivers automation in application development."

Northwest Cadence brings advanced skillsets in DevOps, analytics and artificial intelligence, and application modernization, Brown said.

"Prior to the acquisition, we had core capabilities in all these areas," he said. "Northwest Cadence will help us extend our lead and go to a much deeper level of expertise."

Brown admitted that 10th Magnitude could have deepened those skills organically rather than through acquisition. "But Northwest Cadence's skills are truly world-class," he said. "Building that expertise is long and difficult. We needed to move much faster."

Also important is Northwest Cadence's focus on Azure, Brown said. "They have a very complementary understanding of the Microsoft ecosystem," he said. "Overnight, we expand our Microsoft Azure capabilities."

The acquisition gives 10th Magnitude its first West Coast presence, Brown said. The company had offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Tulsa, Okla. "So now we have a nationwide presence," he said. "We are working with a Fortune 1000 customer set. It's important that we have a nationwide presence."

Northwest Cadence was founded in July of 2007 by Lori Borg, CEO of the company, who told CRN that digital transformation was not really a trend at that time.

"We always focused on helping software companies improve their software and their delivery," Borg said. "We focused on helping software companies leverage better tools to bring out better software."

However, as the company grew, the focus shifted in part to modernizing applications with cloud, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and DevOps, Borg said.

"We did DevOps since the beginning," she said. "If you think of an application on your smartphone, you have a phone that is very different from five years ago. If an application today does not utilize the cloud and have intelligence, it's not a modern app. There will be a day when very few apps do not have intelligence built in or do not utilize the Microsoft cloud for performance and security."

Like 10th Magnitude, Northwest Cadence has a solid focus on the Azure cloud, Borg said.

"We as a company since the beginning have always been a Microsoft partner," she said. "We have an affinity for Microsoft technology because we feel they offer the best technologies. So our services revolve around Microsoft. We have no plans to work with AWS or Google Cloud."

Borg said Northwest Cadence could have continued as an independent company, but to succeed in helping customers succeed with their digital transformation plans would have required the solution provider invest heavily in services.

"Services is a big part of digital transformation," she said. "What we do can be expanded with 10th Magnitude. When we met with Alex [Brown], we realized they have a huge focus on digital transformation with a hole in business that our technology could fill."

With the acquisition, Borg will take over as 10th Magnitude's vice president of marketing, while her husband Steve Borg, currently Northwest Cadence's co-founder and strategist, will serve as vice president of 10th Magnitude's newly-formed Innovation Institute.

"Steve has a uniquely vision for the technology," Brown said. "He will continue to focus on customer innovation."

Terms of the acquisition, which was 10th Magnitude's first, were not unveiled.

However, Brown said, funding came from a 2017 equity investment that Charlotte, N.C.-based Pamlico Capital made in 10th Magnitude aimed at fostering and accelerating its growth, Brown said. "We are evaluating additional acquisitions," he said. "But we can't say where yet."

Brown did say that, as demand for cloud technology grows, 10th Magnitude is seeing growth of 40 percent to 50 percent every year. That is pushing a need to hire more people to build on that demand.
Lenovo North America Channel Chief Sammy Kinlaw is leaving the company for a position as vice president worldwide channel and OEM sales at Lexmark, the printing power said.

The jump to the printer manufacturer comes as Lexmark prepares to do battle with industry leaders like HP Inc. and Xerox. Lexmark was acquired in late 2016 by a group of investors led by China-based Apex Technology Co. in a deal that took the Lexington, Ky., company private. Kinlaw begins the new job Feb. 1, Lexmark said in a statement.

"Obviously, [Lexmark] is looking to drive their channel presence and channel programs, and Sammy is really great on that account," said Michael Goldstein, CEO of LAN Infotech, a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., solution provider that works with Lenovo. "He has that channel focus, and Lexmark has broad appeal and a big name. It's good to see his skills utilized with someone already in the channel."[

[Related: Lenovo North America Interim President On The Change In Channel Chief, Resolving Pricing Concerns And Channel Investment In 2018]

Lexmark launched its Connect partner program in early 2016, and has been putting pressure on printing sector rivals like HP Inc., Xerox and others with a powerful stable of A4, laser and industry-specific printing and imaging solutions aimed at the health care and banking sectors. The company named IBM, Nokia, Toshiba and Phoenix Technologies veteran Richard Geruson CEO last October.

Lexmark's go-to-market strategy is led by Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Brock Saladin.

The idea was floated by analysts in late 2014 that Lenovo could make a play to acquire Lexmark, which manufactures Lenovo-branded printers.

Lenovo, based in Beijing, China, announced Kinlaw's departure Sunday, saying the 13-year company veteran would leave his position as vice president North America Channel and U.S. SMB Jan. 19 for an unspecified opportunity outside the copmany. Kinlaw became Lenovo North America channel chief in April 2015.

Last October, Kinlaw made what he called a "drastic change" to the structure of Lenovo's channel program in an attempt to make pricing and rebates more equitable for resellers. However, partners said the changes would cut into margins significantly and drive buyers to competitors like HP Inc. and Dell.

Lenovo said it has appointed Rob Cato, executive director for public sector, workstation and OEM, to serve as interim North America channel chief while the company searches for a permanent replacement.

Kinlaw began his career at Lenovo in 2005 as director of distribution sales, and was later promoted to executive director of channel sales before becoming North America channel chief. Kinlaw was at IBM for 12 years before joining Lenovo when the company acquired IBM's PC business.

Kinlaw is the latest in a line of executive departures at Lenovo, including North America President Emilio Ghilardi, who stepped down last August after less than 18 months in that position.

Lenovo in recent months has lost ground in the hotly contested PC market. The company's U.S. PC market share slid to fourth place behind HP, Dell and Apple in the third quarter of 2017 while shipments declined 25 percent, according to data from research firm Gartner Inc.
Teismann On The Record

It's been a busy week for Lenovo on several fronts. The company unveiled an array of new devices, including refreshed a ThinkPad X1 lineup and new smart devices, at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. Lenovo also disclosed that Sammy Kinlaw is departing as vice president and channel chief for Lenovo's North America PC business as of Jan. 19. Lenovo has appointed a veteran of the company -- Rob Cato, executive director for public sector, workstation and OEM -- to serve in Kinlaw's role on an interim basis as Lenovo looks for a permanent channel chief.

Christian Teismann, who is the interim president for Lenovo North America, told CRN this week that Kinlaw's upcoming departure "doesn't change our commitment to the channel." Teismann also said that initial blowback from some partners about pricing changes in the fall has not persisted, now that contract pricing has been restored by Lenovo for partners on a case-by-case basis. "So far the feedback we have gotten after we worked through [the issues] with the channel partners is, in most of the cases, actually not as negative as sometimes it was portrayed to us," Teismann said.

Teismann discussed the latest channel changes, as well as investments and opportunities for Lenovo partners in 2018, with CRN during CES 2018. What follows is a portion of the conversation.
If you still have the desire  at age 70  to do what you have loved all your life, why not continue to do it?

Thats the bottom line for Jon Bowzer Bauman, who says he is not only physically fit, he is continually energized by audiences who still enjoy the type of music he and many pals perform.

Plus, its lots of fun, said Bauman in a recent telephone chat from a California vacation home, where he and wife, Mary, were hosting holiday gatherings (where the guest of honor was their 3-year-old granddaughter).

An American pop-culture icon, the Brooklyn, N.Y.,-born Bauman is perhaps best known as the character Bowzer  a greaser in a muscle shirt  that he created while in the doo-wop group, Sha Na Na, from 1969-1983, and as a host of the popular television game show Hollywood Squares.

Bauman brings his Bowzers Rock N Doo-Wop Party Volume XVII to Mohegan Sun to perform some of the best hits from the 50s and 60s on Sunday, Jan. 14. Highlighting the concert will be members of the Original Comets.

We love Mohegan Sun; this will be our 17th year in a row that well be there. We love the venue, the area and the audiences, said Bauman, who, unlike his Bowzer character, was quite the academic, studying piano as a youth at Juilliard School and graduating from Columbia University (as did both his son, Eli, and daughter Nora), both in Manhattan.

Bauman said he will sing and play the piano with Bowzer & The Stingrays, as well as act as host.

I love live performances ... and the instant feedback that comes from being on stage, he said. Its a feeling thats hard to describe when you look out (from the stage) and see 7,250 people obviously having fun. There are also many opportunities to hook up and spend time with old friends and fellow musicians, creating moments that you will remember for the rest of your life, he added.

In addition to his growing family, Bauman has much to keep him busy when hes not touring. His production company, for example, produced The Golden Age of Rock n Roll, a 10-hour series for the A&E Network.

A longtime supporter of the Democratic party and advocate for the rights of senior citizens and anti-poverty programs, Bauman said although hes interested in politics, hes too long in the tooth to run for office.

pasboros@ctpost.com; Twitter: @PhyllisASBoros
A dental management company that has a clinic in Bridgeport has agreed to pay nearly $24 million to settle false claims allegations, according to the Department of Justice.

Benevis LLC  formerly known as NCDR LLC  provides business management and administrative services to its affiliated dental clinics, Kool Smiles.

Under the agreement, Benevis and its affiliated clinics will pay $23.9 million, plus interest, to settle allegations that the company knowingly submitted false claims for payment to state Medicaid programs for dental services deemed medically unnecessary. The false claims involved children insured by Medicaid.

When health care providers put vulnerable patients at risk by performing medically unnecessary procedures to achieve financial goals, we will take action, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Departments Civil Division.

There is a Kool Smiles clinic in the 100 block of Boston Avenue in Bridgeport. At least four lawsuits were filed in Connecticut relating to these false claims.

Court documents indicated that from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2011, Benevis and Kool Smiles clinical throughout 17 states knowingly submitted false claims to Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary pulpotomies (baby root canals), stainless steel crowns and tooth extractions.

There were also claims submitted for pulpotomies that were never performed.

The government accused Kools Smiles clinics of routinely pressuring dentists to meet production goals through a system that would discipline dentists considered unproductive. Those considered productive would received substantial cash bonuses.

Kool Smiles clinics allegedly ignored complaints from their own dentists about their actions.

With the settlement, the federal government will receive $14,244,073.49 (plus interest) and a total of $9,655,926.51 (plus interest) will be returned to individual states whose state Medicaid programs were impacted by the false claims.

The allegations in these cases are particularly egregious because they involved medically unnecessary dental services performed on children, said U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John H. Durham. Exploiting needy children for financial gain is inexcusable.

The governments investigation into the claims was initiated by five separate lawsuits filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The act allows private citizens to file suit on behalf o the U.S. for false claims and share in a portion of the governments recovery.

Four of the cases filed are currently pending in the District of Connecticut and one is pending in the Western District of Texas.

Three of the whistleblowers  who the DOJ said were former Kool Smiles employees  will receive payments of more than $2.4 million from the federal share of the settlement.
MILFORD  Jose O. Guadarrama, 31, was sent to prison Monday for the sexual abuse of a child who is a relative.

He took away my childhood, the victim told Superior Court Judge Frank Iannotti.

The abuse was almost daily, she told the judge, and started when I was 5.

Guadarrama, of West Haven, was sentenced to serve 18 years, suspended after eight years, with five years mandatory minimum, and 20 years of probation.

He risks having to serve the full 18 years if he violates the conditions of his probation after his release.

Milford States Attorney Kevin D. Lawlor praised the victims courage for standing up to the defendant and facing the judicial process.

She gets all the credit in the world for being so intelligent and so brave for going forward, Lawlor said.

Guadarrama subjected the girl to a multitude of sexual acts and twice took her to the Econo Lodge in West Haven, Lawlor said.

He was arrested in 2017 by West Haven police detectives with the Special Victims Unit, after a four-month investigation, the Register reported at the time.

New Haven police initially had alerted West Haven of incidents in both cities, and West Haven detectives got the arrest warrant, the Register reported.

Guadarrama will be labeled a sex offender for the rest of his life, Iannotti said.

He entered court Monday with guilty pleas, and with no explanation.

Guadarrama said he sincerely apologizes for the wrong he had done. No words, no actions can fix the damage, he told the judge.

I hope and pray she moves forward. I deserve this punishment ... and vow never to repeat this.

Victim, mother speak

The victim stood at the prosecution table facing the judge. Her mother and the states victim advocate were on each side, hugging her.

Quietly, slowly, she read from a prepared statement. Guadarrama had told her he was attracted to smaller children.

Im not the only one, the girl said.

Her mother told Iannotti that Guadarrama is a monster. He robbed her of her childhood and he took her innocence.

To Guadarrama, without looking at him, she said, I cannot forgive you for what you have done and needless to say I cannot forget. You are no longer my (relative.)

Sentencing

West Haven police charged Guadarrama on Feb. 21, 2017, with two counts of first-degree sexual assault on a child less than 13 years, from incidents in 2014.

She had been abused from age 5 to 12, Lawlor said.

Lawlor said he was kind of dumbstruck the defendant would not participate in the pre-sentencing investigation.

The defendant presented no information that could lead to a lesser sentence, Lawlor told the judge. This is a person who we now know nothing about.

Without a pre-sentencing report, Iannotti told Guadarrama, the only credit he has earned is the guilty plea, sparing the young woman the torture of the trial.

Youve got a long way to come back, Iannotti said. Guadarrama had inflicted tremendous hurt on the girl, Iannotti told him. I hope the young lady can get beyond it.

Its going to affect her forever, he told Guadarrama. Thats a choice you made.

Guadarramas attorney, Angelica Papastavros of New Haven, explained his decision concerning the pre-sentencing investigation: He acted on advice of counsel.

He wanted to save the young lady from testifying at trial. He wanted to spare his family the pain.

Hes always acted younger than his years, she told the judge.

As background, she said her client had finished technical school, was working at Yale University, and helping around the house.

His remorse is beyond what the family actually believes, Papastavros said. She asked the judge to impose a six-year sentence as her client took responsibility for this actions.

The terms of his probation include: no contact with the victim or the victims mother; no contact with minors, including family members; and sex offender treatment.

Guadarrama had been held at Cheshire Correctional Institution since his arrest in lieu of $450,000 bail and listed on the Connecticut VINE, victim information and notification service.
Roughly 50 people evacuated a Zurich Apple Store Tuesday morning after an overheated iPhone battery began emitting smoke, police said.

Seven people received medical attention at the scene, including an Apple Store employee who sustained minor burns while removing the overheated battery, the Zurich Police Department said in a statement. No one at the scene required hospitalization.

"Staff responded well and correctly," police said, by sprinkling quartz sand over the battery to contain the smoke and immediately ventilating the store.

The Zurich Forensic Institute is currently examining the battery in question to determine the cause of overheating.

Representatives from the Zurich institute and Apple Inc. did not immediately return SFGATE's requests for comment.

Apple iPhone batteries became the center of a controversy in December when the company admitted to secretly slowing down older iPhone models.

Many customers suspected the slowdowns were a ploy to spur demand for newer iPhone models, but the company said the slowdown was necessary to avoid unexpected shutdowns from battery fatigue.

"We apologize," the company said on its website. "We have never  and would never  do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades."

Apple cut the price of a battery replacement from $79 to $29 through 2018.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
Volocopter

With every passing year, we grow more disappointed by the fact that science fiction hasn't come true, and we still aren't riding around in flying cars. But maybe it's time to re-evaluate what a flying car would actually look like.

German startup Volocopter (formerly E-Volo) has been developing drone-like VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) vehicles for the better part of a decade, and this week at CES, the electric-powered Volocopter 200VC took its first autonomous flight in North America at CES in Las Vegas. During Intel CEO Brian Krzanich's keynote address, Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter joined him onstage to announce a partnership between the two companies and kick off the flight demonstration.
Someones always gotta try and ruin a good party. Last week it was Jeff Sessions.

Californians were granted the long-awaited right to possess cannabis for both medical and now recreational purposes and the world watched vicariously for a whole four days until someone knocked over the punchbowl.

Jeff Sessions announced a suspension of the Obama-era Cole memo granting states a reprieve from Federal interference in state cannabis laws. Sessions, against all scientific evidence, asserted that "Marijuana is a dangerous drug and... marijuana activity is a serious crime."

Thats akin to flipping on the lights and queuing up your turntable with Dust in the Wind by Kansas five minutes after midnight -- it doesnt necessarily end the party, but it gives people time to step away from the dancefloor long enough to consider going home early.

And thats precisely what some investors are doing.

While many are running, however, doing so may be unnecessarily reactionary. There are a variety of reasons for holding tight or even growing investment in U.S. cannabis stocks and companies.

Related: You Can Legally Buy Marijuana in California But Selling It Legally Is Tricky

Bipartisan backlash

This White House has made a host of arguably questionable moves in its first year that, for the most part, congressional Republicans have overlooked. But this move is generating bipartisan rebuke.

Advocates and Democratic leaders from states that have legalized marijuana, in particular California and Colorado, unabashedly voiced their dismay at the news. In addition, some Republican lawmakers are joining suit, claiming Sessions rescinding the Cole Memo is in direct contradiction with promises he made to them before being confirmed as Attorney General and that Trump made while campaigning for the presidency.

We'll give Jeff Sessions our legal pot when he pries it from our warm, extremely interesting to look at hands. https://t.co/LF0RpdCiHG  Colorado Senate Dems (@COSenDem) January 4, 2018



Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado called the Sessions move a trampling of Colorados rights.

"Why is Donald Trump thinking differently than what he promised the people of Colorado in 2016?" Gardner said in a speech Thursday on the Senate floor, evoking Trumps campaign promise to leave the issue of marijuana legalization to states. "Thousands of jobs at risk, millions of dollars in revenue, and certainly the question of constitutional states rights -- very much at the core of this discussion."

In Nevada, a state that legalized recreational cannabis in 2017, Governor Brian Sandoval said, I believe Nevada's marijuana industry is a model for other states. My staff and I will review the memo that was released this morning and our state options. I look forward to the appointment of the new Nevada United States Attorney and further guidance that will be provided by the Department of Justice.

Related: California Unleashes a Massive Market for Legal Cannabis

In Alaska, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said the suspension of the Cole memo contradicts previous statements by candidate Trump, but at the same time, could drive Congress to no longer ignore finding a permanent solution for states that have chosen to regulate marijuana.



Republican legislators like Gardner, Sandoval, and Sullivan are putting voters rights before party allegiance because support for legalization has been strong across the country and in their states. "Regardless of Sessions idiotic and antiquated views, better than 60 percent of Americans support cannabis legalization, Tim McGraw, CEO and founder of cannabis real estate development and property management company, Canna-Hub shared in a written statement.

McGraw believes states will continue to pass laws that remove barriers to the worlds safest and most effective medicine but advises, Investors should take the necessary precautions to ensure they are aligning themselves with sophisticated operators who are compliant with state law, McGraw continued. As long as companies remain compliant they should be safe from federal interference."

Theres also the little-known but bipartisan Rohrabacher-Blumenauer (formerly Rohrabacher-Farr) amendment that forbids the Justice Department from using any resources to interfere with the provision of medical marijuana in states that have legalized it, and has to be included in federal spending proposals when being considered for law.

If Congress doesn't include it in future federal spending bills, the DOJ would be free to use federal dollars to prosecute marijuana businesses. But its expected to be renewed in January, further protecting states.

Jeff Sessions's next #cannabis target: Kill RohrabacherBlumenauer Amendment (formerly Rohrabacher-Farr).



This Congressional language protects medical #marijuana patients in legal states.



Congress faces Jan. 19 deadline to renew Rohrabacher protection as part of budget.  Michael Pollick (@MichaelPollick) January 5, 2018



My hunch is conservative legislators, acutely aware of the laws intent to preserve the cannabis industry, are unwilling to argue against it. By several accounts, this bipartisan cohesion will necessarily elevate cannabis criminalization from a state conversation to an openly federal one.

Whats going on right now is going to accelerate further reform...The public is behind us, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat representing Portland, Oregon, told Politico last year. Both chambers of Congress are behind us, and if they choose to make it a partisan issue, it wont go well for them.

"I don't believe many people in government have an appetite to resume the war on drugs when it comes to cannabis, explained Jamie Warm, CEO and co-founder of Mendocinos premium cannabis grower, Henry's Original in an email interview. Revenue is being generated, and local and state government institutions are now becoming reliant on that revenue.

His company produces Clean Green Certified products including pre-rolls, pre-packaged flower, and bulk flower throughout California dispensaries.

I believe now is actually the best time for people to invest if they find the appropriate investment," Warm wrote. "Looking for the appropriate investment is key, especially for companies that touch the plant. Pre-money companies are a greater risk and need to navigate a legal landscape that is expensive and full of landmines. Investors will need to find companies that have already done the work last year. And its imperative companies are positioned well with local governments, be in good standing, and have established political capital.

Related: The Year Ahead: Cannabis Legalization in 2018

Tight budgets and low incentives to enforce.

By revoking the Justice Departments previous guidance on marijuana, Sessions merely invited federal prosecutors to decide a legal course of action in cannabis-legal states. They may choose not to do anything.

It is becoming clear that states are tired of helping the federal government enforce outdated and harmful marijuana policies and are ready to make this legal for adults, Matthew Schweich, interim executive director for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement.

Legal experts do not expect a flood of new cannabis prosecution cases, as resource-limited prosecutors could decide against seeking criminal charges against cannabis companies or consumers that abide by established state regulations

There are higher priorities: terrorism and opiates to start with, said Rory Little, a former prosecutor and a professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law. You also have to draw the jury pool from the local people, who appear to generally support the state policy. Youre not going to waste your resources on cases you cant win or cases your community is against.

If state and local communities dont direct their resources to a new war on cannabis, federal reach will only exacerbate the illicit market. States and localities wont stand for that.

Key analytic point about Sessions's attempt to roll back the Cole Memo:

4000 DEA agents can't do the job of half a million state and local cops.

DoJ could destroy state-legal cannabis sales,

but without local enforcement the illicit industry would just run wild.  Mark A.R. Kleiman (@MarkARKleiman) January 5, 2018



Related: Canada Is Creating a Multi-Billion Dollar Legal Marijuana Industry

Medical realities and revelations.

The evidence of a multitude of medicinal uses for cannabis is now widely available and undeniable. This is expected to continue to drive consumer demand for cannabis products regardless of political threats. States like Florida where medical marijuana laws have passed are experiencing strong consumer growth from new and emerging audiences now seeking alternative medicines.

Related: Doctors and Patients In Florida Are Embracing Medical Marijuana

"It's still a good time to invest in cannabis because the consumer demand will only get stronger, Sari Gabbay, owner of Redefining Cannabis and Cannabliss Retreats asserted in a written interview. The more people learn the truth about cannabis backed by research, the more the public will seek out the benefits of cannabis. The cat is out of the bag, and Sessions just fueled the fire even more."

Researchers Amazed by Cases of Cannabis Helping Children Failed by Conventional Medicine by @SocialMktgFella https://t.co/COLT29qxpK  Entrepreneur (@Entrepreneur) May 4, 2017



I have seen a great deal of compliance between state regulatory agencies and legal commercial cultivators to provide safe, well-managed cannabis crops to suffering people, Marco Hegyi, CEO of GrowLife, Inc. related to me. His company, a recognized leader in hydroponic systems and supplies, knows these stringent compliance requirements first hand and understands the importance of meeting them.

I believe the State governors from the 30 medicinally legal states will voice their concerns over the possible withdrawal of the Cole memo, Hegyi wrote me. If the White House Administration and US AG Sessions wish to help stabilize this industry, I believe solving the banking problems and the IRS 280e would be a better use of their resources.

Related: The $5-Billion Challenge Medical Marijuana Poses to Big Pharma

Risk is ultimately met with reward.

According to some, cannabis investors have already, and inherently, factored risk into their investment activities. And those whove ridden out this sudden blip in their portfolio have quickly seen it recover. A day after the Sessions announcement cannabis markets rebounded and rallied.

As evidenced by the immediate drop and then nearly full rebound of cannabis-related stocks after Sessions announcement, the market seems to feel that the actual risk of the DOJ enforcing the federal laws against the will of the people is small, Ruth Epstein, partner at business and financial advisory firm, BGP Advisors relayed to me.

The fact of federal illegality has been something that investors have historically factored into their decision-making, and it is unlikely that the Attorney General codifying his well-known desire to prosecute state legal cannabis enterprises will have a material impact on investor interest, Epstein believes.

Dr. Stuart Titus, CEO of Medical Marijuana Inc. agrees low stock prices offer a prime time for investors to get into the countrys fastest growing market. His company was the first publicly traded cannabis company in the United States.

"Historically the market for cannabis stocks has been very volatile. Investors have done well to buy stocks when they are relatively out of favor (ie. this week) and sell when there is good news or cannabis legalization movement (ie. last week)," Titus said. "Overall if we ever got full cannabis legalization for medical usage (like Canada), we believe there would a huge rally in cannabis stocks. With Jeff Sessions' recent remarks and the opposition to his stance growing in Congress as well as in various States--like the remarks of Gavin Newsome, Lt Governor of CA--we are actually moving closer toward to legalization of cannabis for medical usage nationwide.

Positive public stock earnings may further reassure cannabis investors in the strength of their portfolios. Stock prices would presumably rally in February when many of the companies begin reporting their fourth-quarter earnings which should include the build up to the legalization of Californias adult-use marijuana market. Debra Borchardt, Co-Founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of Green Market Report explained. When those positive earnings are made public stocks will begin to recover.

The Sessions move may serve to strengthen the evolving cannabis industry as a whole. This development will undoubtedly have an at least temporary chilling effect, particularly on new investment and banking, Nathaniel Gurien, CEO of FINCANN said. However, it is also likely to drive marijuana-related businesses to higher levels of accountability and compliance, making their businesses less susceptible to targeted enforcement and overall more sustainable in the long run and this would be a positive outcome.

This is to be expected from an emerging industry Glenn Ballman, CEO of duber Technologies told me in an email.

Ultimately things will have to normalize or the retailers will start to fail en masse... but by that time national brands will dominate and the hedge funds will be rolling up retailers and processors and producers - consolidating supply and following the normal trends that every new industry experiences," Ballman wrote. "For entrepreneurs that are acutely aware of this life cycle there are opportunities at every level - from little to no investment - gig economy work (home delivery drivers); to micro operations with small capital investment (ex., single vehicle couriers); to storefront retail operations and private label processing and packaging. The opportunities to become involved in the supply chain are too numerous to count.

The investors who can find California companies that are legally compliant and well-positioned in the market will see huge revenues in 2018 and 2019. And those companies will be poised for expansion as they consume market share, Henrys Original CEO, Ward concludes.

"Ill bet Bayer-Monsanto and Phillip-Morris are thinking twice about how deep they want to get in now. The rest of us arent going anywhere." #cannabishttps://t.co/vne07NnGSZ pic.twitter.com/MynKdoO6ja  Andre F Bourque ? (@SocialMktgFella) January 7, 2018



Former Wall Street stock and institutional equity derivatives broker turned cannabis industry consultant, Jackie McGowan may have summarized it best.

"This industry is not for the faint-hearted entrepreneur. If you're looking for a mentally stable investment, then this sector is not for you," McGowan said. "Each time this new administration steps in the way of the fastest growing industry in this country, investors pull out. This is nothing new. Every time this occurs it essentially creates a buyers market for those with a healthy risk appetite, and that is exactly what this is right now. There are some very attractive deals out there and it's exciting to offer these opportunities to a new round of capitalist cowboys that are ready to tame the wild west of cannabis. Now is the time to accelerate investment and capture market share.

Related:

To the Surprise of Nobody, Nevada Marijuana Sales Hit $126 Million In 4 Months

Why Jeff Sessions' New War on Marijuana Hasn't Frightened Investors or Cannabis Entrepreneurs

You Can Legally Buy Marijuana in California But Selling It Legally Is Tricky



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


Notorious female serial killer Aileen Wuornos took the lives of her victims as violent revenge for the horrific sexual abuse she suffered as a child, a new documentary claims.

Wuornos, a prostitute, was sentenced to death after being convicted of the murder of six men who she picked up on the highways of Florida in 1989 and 1990, each of whom she shot multiple times before dumping their bodies.

Police believe she was also responsible for the deaths of two further male victims.

The murderer, dubbed the Damsel of Death, initially claimed she had acted in self-defence, but later admitted she did it simply because she hated men and wanted to steal their money.

Now criminal experts have re-examined audio recordings of Wuornos to offer fresh insight into the motives for her crimes.

Speaking on CBS documentary Voice Of A Serial Killer, they explain how they believe Wuornos was 'projecting' on to her victims the sense of 'anger' she had harboured since she was abused by her grandfather as a young girl.

Sordid: Prostitute Aileen Wuornos, pictured, was sentenced to death after being convicted of the murder of six men who she picked up on the highways of Florida in 1989 and 1990

Traumatic: Wuornos (pictured as a child) was sexually abused by her grandfather, who pimped out his pre-pubescent granddaughter to his friends. She started selling herself for sex aged 11

Wuornos was born to an unstable mother and a child molester father who spent much of his life in prison, before being sent to live with her grandparents, where she was sexually abused and pimped out by her grandfather.

Commenting on how her 'disturbing' early experiences shaped the rest of her life, forensic psychologist Mike Berry explained: 'I think without a doubt she projected on to these men her sense of betrayal, her anger, at being abused.

'They were the men, the [men in their] 50s and 60s, they were the age group who abused her earlier in her life. Whether they actually abused her or not is debatable, but we're looking at her perception.

'Her perception was that these are abusers: ''I need to protect myself'' and at the same time, get revenge on society for what society's allowed to happen to her as a child.'

Chilling: Wuornos was executed by lethal injection in a Florida prison in October 2002

Violent revenge: A gallery of Aileen Wuornos's six male victims Aileen Wuornos was convicted of the murders of six men - Richard Mallory, David Spears, Charles Carskaddon, Peter Siems, Troy Burress, Charles Humprheys and Walter Jeno Antonio - in Florida between December 1989 and November 1990, making her one of America's first known female serial killers. Her first victim was Richard Mallory (left) who was found dead in December 1989 after being shot several times. Her second was David Spears (right), in May 1990 Wuornos' third victim was Charles Carskaddon (left) who was found in June 1990 after being shot nine times. Fourth was Troy Burress, right, in August of that year Former chief of police Charles Humphreys, left, was found dead after he was shot six times in September 1990. Right, trucker Walter Jeno Antonio was killed in November Advertisement

Wuornos became one of America's first known female serial killers when she was convicted of the murders of six men - Richard Mallory, David Spears, Charles Carskaddon, Peter Siems, Troy Burress, Charles Humprheys and Walter Jeno Antonio - across Florida between December 1989 and November 1990.

Each of the men were shot multiple times and their bodies dumped. Police believe she might have been responsible for the deaths of two more men.

At the time Wuornos was working as a prostitute to support herself and girlfriend Tyria Moore.

Remorseless: Wuornos (pictured on trial in 1992) initially claimed the murders were carried out in self-defence but later admitted she simply had a deep-rooted hatred of men

Hollywood film: Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her portrayal of Wuornos in 2004's Monster

Wuornos, dubbed the Damsel of Death by tabloids, first claimed she had killed all of her victims in self-defence after they assaulted her, but later admitted she lied. Her only motive was robbery and a loathing of men, she said.

Murders that sparked a media frenzy The sordid story of Wuornos' life and crimes captivated the media in the early 1990s and has gone on to inspire films, books and songs. In 2004 actress Charlize Theron won a Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Wuornos in film Monster. The murders and subsequent trials have also been the subject of a number of television documentaries. Advertisement

She was put to death by lethal injection in October 2002 after volunteering for execution and waiving all appeals. Her story was told in 2003 film Monster, for which Charlize Theron won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Wuornos.

The new documentary explains how Wuornos was abused by her father from early childhood.

She and her siblings were abandoned by her mother when she was just four-years-old, and sent to live with their grandparents. Her father took his own life in prison.

Wuornos' grandfather was also sexually abusive and even 'rented' her out to his friends.

Aged just 10 or 11 Wuronos started to prostitute herself to local boys for money to buy cigarettes, which led to her becoming pregnant and giving her child up into care.

Confession: Girlfriend Tyria Moore, pictured, testified against Wuornos in 1992

Wuornos, seen testifying in Florida in 1992, lost track of her 'moral compass', experts say

Speaking on the documentary, criminologist Wensley Clarkson claims these horrific early experienced led to Wuronos having a 'warped' sense of morality.

Clarkson explains in the show: 'It's horrific stuff and very disturbing for a child, and without doubt it warped her mentality.

'It made her lose track [of] any moral compass whatsoever, and possibly with reality because her life was horrendous.'

After her grandfather kicked her out of home as a teenager Wuornos moved to Florida, where she met Tyria Moore, and went on to kill.

Voice of a Serial Killer continues on Wednesday on CBS
There's been a rise in the number of women asking for a 'Meghan Markle' smile, according to a top UK plastic surgeon.

The former Suits star, 36, who's set to wed Prince Harry in May, has become the latest inspiration for people looking for the perfect pout.

Meghan, who spent yesterday afternoon on an official royal engagement with Prince Harry in Brixton, has, according to a leading cosmetic consultant 'ideal lips' including the coveted 'cupid's bow'.

Scroll down for video

A pout like Meghan please! Top surgeon Dr. Tijion Esho says Ms Markle is the latest 'social influencer' when it comes to cosmetic surgery

Perfect proportion: Meghan's has the ideal lip dynamic according to Dr Benji Dhillon

Dr. Tijion Esho, based in London, told W magazine that he currently sees 15 to 20 patients a day, many of whom are asking for lips like Meghan Markle.

He said: 'I have about 20-30 clients a week who will show me images of influencers, or celebrities on social channels and want me to recreate their look for them.

'Popular celebrities that my clients seek to emulate are Michelle Keegan, Emily Ratajkowski, and, more recently, our new royal-to-be Meghan Markle.'

Dr Benji Dhillon, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, explained to Femail exactly why Meghan's lips are most-wanted.

Lip service please! People are requesting fillers that show 'a lower lip that is slightly larger than the top', which Meghan has

The royal bride-to-be also has a perfect cupid's bow: the 'm' shape that sits beneath the nose

He said: 'Meghan Markle has beautifully shaped and proportioned lips, which demonstrate features of the "ideal lips": a lower lip that is slightly larger than the top as well as having the upper lip sloping gently down towards the corner of the mouth is desirable.

He explains that 'a well-defined Cupids bow (the M under the nose)' also add to desirability' before continuing: 'In addition and very importantly, her lips look even nicer due to them being in proportion with the rest of her face - they do not over dominate other features such as her nose or eyes, but balance them.'

Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers are a way of mimicking the look, says Dr Benji

Regal smile! Meghan's lips don't over-dominate either, being in perfect proportion with the rest of her face

According to Dr Dhillon, Dermal fillers are the most well-known and accepted method to gently shape and re-proportion the lips.

He says: 'Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers which integrate with your lips to achieve a soft and natural enhancement to the lips are the most ideal filler and often last 9 to 12 months.

'It is essential that the procedure is performed by a medical professional with experience, and if performed correctly can be made to look like you never had any "treatment".
A mummy blogger has revealed how giving birth to twins has taught her to finally accept her body.

Trudi Eade, from Brisbane, said she is 'at peace' with her 'saggy stomach' and stretch marks after welcoming Jada and Marley, now two, into the world.

Sharing a photograph of her postpartum figure, she explained how she now refuses to 'hate [her] body' after 28 years, adding that 'motherhood has really put things into perspective'.

Trudi, who runs The Twin Mama Diaries blog, said she has learned to accept 'every flaw, every scar, every stretch mark', urging others to be 'kind' to themselves.

Mummy blogger Trudi Eade, from Brisbane, has revealed how she has finally come to accept her body after giving birth to her twins

The mother-of-two, who posts on Instagram under the username twinmamadiaries, explained how she hated her body as a teenager and decided that she needed to lose weight when a family friend told her she was fat.

'I cried for hours after I heard those words, but I turned that sadness into motivation and went on to lose 35kg (5st 7lbs),' she recalled.

'I am extremely proud of myself for that weight loss. I worked damn hard to achieve it.'

However, she admitted that she was still 'obsessed' with her weight for years after that and 'so self conscious' about what others thought.

The mother-of-two, pictured with her partner and twins Jada and Marley, explained how 'motherhood has really put things into perspective'

In her post, Trudi said she has learned to accept 'every flaw, every scar, every stretch mark'

Trudi said it was giving birth to her twins that finally helped her come to terms with her body.

'My saggy stomach? It held and grew two babies. My scar? Its how my children were brought safely into this world,' she said.

'My slightly uneven boobs? They fed and nurtured twins.'

She continued: '28 years and two babies later...I simply refuse to hate my body anymore. I accept it. All of it. Period.'

The mother previously shared another snap of her stomach, along with a quote reading: 'For every woman unhappy with her postpartum marks, is another who wishes she had them

The mother-of-two previously shared a similar picture of the stretch marks on her stomach, along with a quote reading: 'For every woman unhappy with her postpartum marks, is another who wishes she had them.

Other social media users have heaped praise on Trudi, thanking her for her 'honesty'.

One wrote: 'You should be proud of yourself and your body. This is such a good example of how to love every bit of yourself.'

Another added '[W]ell said! You look incredible', while one posted: 'You are AMAZING.'

Trudi admitted she was 'obsessed' with her weight for years, after having poor self esteem when she was teenager

Other Instagram users have praised Trudi for her post, saying she should be proud of her body
In a further sign of how Meghan Markle has thrown herself into British life since moving to London ahead of her marriage to Prince Harry, the royal bride-to-be wore Marks & Spencer for the couple's visit to Brixton on Tuesday.

Meghan, 36, wore a 45 black jumper with bell sleeves from the high street stalwart to visit the studio of Reprezent 107.3 FM in south London, teaming it with black trousers by the British label Burberry and a coat from the Canadian brand Smythe.

And in a clear demonstration of the style influence she already wields, the affordable knit had sold out on the store's website within hours of her stepping in front of the cameras on the arm of her Prince.

A 45 black jumper worn by Meghan Markle during her visit to Brixton on Tuesday has completely sold out online

The wool blend jumper from Marks and Spencer was available to buy online on Tuesday morning, but hours after Meghan was pictured wearing it was out of stock in every size

Despite being in stock on Tuesday morning, the wool blend jumper had sold out in every size by 6pm as royal fans scrambled to emulate the bride-to-be.

In a further nod to the British high street, Meghan wrapped up in a scarf by Jigsaw.

Designer labels made up much of the rest of her casual yet stylish look for the high-profile visit.

She completed the look with a 600 coloured coat from Canadian brand Smythe - a nod to Meghan's former home in Toronto.

This is not the first time that Meghan's style choices have proven popular among Brits with Tuesday just one of the examples of the new phenomenon that has already been dubbed the 'Markle Effect'.

A handbag made by the little-known Scottish label Strathberry sold out shortly after Prince Harry's future wife chose to carry the fashion item on her first royal engagement.

She was also seen wearing a 600 coloured coat from Canadian brand Smythe - a nod to Meghan's former home in Toronto

Casual chic: Meghan teamed her high street knit with Burberry trousers and a fitted coat by the Canadian brand Smythe

Meghan carried a 455 Strathberry tri-colour leather midi tote with dual top handles during the couple's visit to Nottingham on Friday.

Strathberry is based in Edinburgh and was founded just four years ago by husband and wife team Guy and Leeanne Hundleby.

A Strathberry spokeswoman said at the time the brand was 'thrilled and honoured'.

Meghan, who has moved from Toronto to be with her future husband in London, chose Canadian brand Mackage for their first official engagement together

Shortly after the news of the royal engagement was announced, according to Canadian Jeweller Jewlr three diamond stone rings in a gold setting were highly sought after, after Meghan flashed her own bespoke, three-stone sparkler designed by Harry himself.

She had joined her husband-to-be at an event in Pop Brixton, a market to meet presenters and staff at a youth station Reprezent Radio.
He is known for his down to earth approach to royal engagements, so it was no surprise to see Prince Harry attempt to learn a new handshake on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old was joined by fiance Meghan Markle, 36, in Brixton today where they visited a local radio station, Reprezent.

Upon meeting the royals DJ Remi Aderemi couldn't resist the opportunity to teach the prince a very special handshake.

With Meghan watching on Harry seemed keen to master the complicated handshake and after a shakey start appeared to master the greeting.

His efforts certainly seemed to impress Aderemi who gave the prince a hug as a way of congratulations.

Aderemi, 24, said: 'It just came, I wanted to do it. He's cool, he's just a smooth guy and he was willing.

'He joked and said to me "that's between us".'

The hilarious exchange was captured on camera and shared on Twitter by Kensington Palace where it received almost 70,000 views.

But while the royal was able to impress with his hand shake it seems he was left a little red faced when it came to his music knowledge.

A hilarious video captures the moment that Brixton's DJ Remi Aderemi attempted to teach Prince Harry a new hand shake

Following their handshake Aderemi could be seen congratulating Harry with a hug

DJ Jeremiah Asiamah took to Twitter to reveal that the prince was unfamiliar with British rapper Giggs, assuming the DJ was referring to gig concerts.

In a tweet Asiamah wrote: 'So basically I asked Prince Harry... does he know about Giggs ... he said what events... Fair enough'.

Harry and Meghan, who announced their engagement in November, were also given some street-level tips for their wedding music during their visit pioneering radio.

On their second official royal outing together, the couple were greeted by large crowds when they visited the Reprezent radio station in Brixton which was set up in 2008 as part of a response to a rise in knife crime among young people.

Prince Harry and fiance Meghan paid a visit to radio station, Reprezent during the second public engagement together

The royal couple met with DJs at the station where they learned about The Reprezent training programme was established 10 years ago in response to the rise in knife crime

The station trains hundreds of young people each year in media and employment skills. It offers training in topics ranging from audio and radio production and editing to communication skills and work experience.

It also runs programmes supporting youngsters with specific issues like mental health challenges, a cause dear to Harry's heart.

Presenter Gloria Beyi, 17, said the couple showed a keen interest in the station's music.

'The main thing I observed is they go quite well together,' she told Reuters. 'This is genuine - this is real stuff. Having both of them in one room trying to talk to you and having interest in the station, how it works, the relationship between everyone, itas just so amazing.a

The station trains hundreds of young people each year in media and employment skills and were seen posing with the newly engaged couple

Asked about possible wedding music recommendations, she said: 'A little bit of house, a little bit of hip-hop, cos Harry did say that he is interested in hip-hop and house.

'So, that mixed together at a wedding? Then you're pretty good. Those two genres if they're there, you're pretty sorted for your wedding.'

The mixed-race actress was thought to be making her first visit to Brixton which is traditionally considered the home of London's Caribbean community after some of the West Indian immigrants, who arrived on Empire Windrush in 1948, settled in the area.

When the couple met two groups of young people who have been supported by the radio station Meghan was hugged by Reprezent DJ Azadi, 22, who also helps produce Gal-Dem, an online and print magazine for women of colour.

After the bride-to-be was presented with a copy of the publication the DJ said the US actress knew about the magazine and had asked to meet them.

She said: 'She was asking for us and she was like "I'm really excited to see the work that you guys do", it's really crazy that she was taking an active interest in what we're about and what we do.

'She said she was really excited to read the magazine and she was happy we had given her a copy - the hug just came naturally.'
Brides often like to hold onto their wedding dresses so they can reflect back on their special day... but what happens when the marriage doesn't work out?

One woman from Masterton in New Zealand has left people in stitches with her ad on Trade Me for her 'worn once by mistake' wedding dress.

'Please help remove this dress from my life, it no longer means anything to me,' the witty post began.

'It is in excellent condition - unlike my marriage - pretty much brand new and ready for a legit wedding after a practice run back in 2013.'

One woman from Masterton in New Zealand has left people in stitches with her ad on Trade Me for her 'once worn by mistake' wedding dress

Although the former bride wanted to part ways with the dress and her husband she wanted to give someone else the opportunity to find a happy marriage.

'This stunning off-white gown would fit a 12-16 as it has a lace up back so very versatile it comes with a certificate of authenticity and I have personally hand-washed the bad luck out of it!' She continued.

The woman said that the chiffon, A-line style dress with side ruffles was stunning to wear but that didn't stop her from making fun of the ill-fated union.

Although the former bride wanted to part ways with the dress and her husband she wanted to give someone else the opportunity to find a happy marriage

'This stunning off-white gown would fit a 12-16 as it has a lace up back so very versatile,' the woman advertised

'It looks stunning on, enough so that it will distract you and your guests from the fact that you are marrying a compulsive liar,' she wrote.

'I would ideally like over $300 for this dress, as this would pay for over a years gym membership for me to lose the kilos I put on from such a miserable marriage - either that or a decent night out on the wines.'

At the time of righting there has been two bids, the latest sitting at $305.

The New Zealand woman ended the listing with one final jab at her former partner: 'Apologies for the photos, some of these I have lost around 90 kilos of baggage'.

I would ideally like over $300 for this dress, as this would pay for over a years gym membership for me to lose the kilos I put on from such a miserable marriage

This isn't the first time that a bride has tried to sell their wedding dress online with a tongue-in-cheek advert.

One woman from Newcastle, New South Wales, known only as Lauryn, previously posted a hilarious advert on Facebook for her dress where she also wrote was 'worn once by mistake'.

She posted the ad on a local buy-swap-sell page which sparked a huge response on the social networking site.

The New Zealand woman ended the listing with one final jab at her former partner: 'Apologies for the photos, some of these I have lost around 90 kilos of baggage'

'Please help remove this beautiful Maggie Sottero dress from my life,' she said.

'It looks stunning on, enough to distract you from the fact you are entering into a marriage with a compulsive liar.'

Lauryn explained that the gown is in 'excellent condition, unlike my marriage', and adds that it comes in a size AU 6-8.

It is being sold for $350, though it came for $3,100 new.

This isn't the first time that a bride has tried to sell their wedding dress online with a tongue-in-cheek advert as one woman from Newcastle, New South Wales previously posted a hilarious advert on Facebook

'It would look great while you are... standing in line at Service NSW to do a name change because looking at the name you took on makes you feel nauseated and filled with more regret than a drunken one night stand you had in '07,' she explained.

Since the mother-of-one posted on Facebook, she was then spurred on to set up a GoFundMe page to try and pay for her divorce.

'What's the worse that can happen?! Even if I only get $1, it will still be less of a failure than my marriage,' Lauryn wrote on the GoFundMe.

She almost doubled her goal of reaching $420, receiving $755 worth of donations.
Ikea has gone above and beyond in order to attract parents-to-be with a new ad that doubles as a pregnancy test.

Swedish agency Akestam Holst came up with the unusual promotion, which urges women to urinate on it in order to reveal a discount code.

'Peeing on this ad may change your life,' reads the ad, which showcases Ikea's Sundvik crib and features technology similar to that of a pregnancy test  but with a twist.

For real? Ikea is urging women to urinate on it's new ad. If they are pregnant, it will reveal the company's family discount for a crib

If a woman urinates on the paper ad while she is pregnant, it will reveal the company's family discount for the crib.

According to Ad Week, the ad was created in collaboration with Mercene Labs, which had to make 'several technical advancements' in order for the coupon to work.

'The pregnancy test strip was used as a starting point, which relies on antibodies that bind to the pregnancy hormone hCG, resulting in a color change,' the agency explained.

'For scaling up of this technique and adopting it to the physical format of a printed ad, Mercene Labs has used their experience in development of surface active materials for microfluidics and medical diagnostics.

'Careful selection of materials, together with a controlled capillary flow have been crucial for the success of this project. Technical advancements made during the work with this campaign have the potential to improve medical diagnostics.'

Next level: 'Peeing on this ad may change your life,' reads the ad, which features technology similar to that of a pregnancy test

Technology: Women will know they are pregnant if Ikea's family discount shows up in read

Too weird? Many people can't get past the fact that women are actually being encouraged to urinate on the ad

No need: Dylan Speed noted that pregnant women are usually 'pretty easy to spot'

Good point: Someone else joked that there are plenty of ads you'd love to pee on, but Ikea may be the only company encouraging you to do so

The ad is being featured in the Swedish women's magazine Amelia, but it's unclear how many people will be willing to try it out and bring the ad into the store when they're finished.

Of course, the cost of buying multiple pregnancy tests can quickly add up, and some people may be happy just to have the free test  although it has not been endorsed by any official medical bodies.

The ad has already started to create some buzz on Twitter, but many people can't get past the fact that women are actually being encouraged to urinate on the ad.

'Has no one at Ikea seen a pregnant woman before? Theyre pretty easy to spot without having them pee all over everything,' Dylan Speed tweeted.

'Sure, there are lots of ads youd love to pee on. But in this case, Ikea actually wants you to do it,' someone else added.
This year is already off to a good start for Zara and Mike Tindall who are looking forward to the birth of their second child in the summer.

And now the couple have something else to celebrate after a horse Mike has a share in sold for $170,000 (98,000) at the annual Magic Millions yearling sale on the Gold Coast.

His syndicate Redwall Bloodstock paid $80,000 for the bay filly, named Tindall, after Mike accidentally bid on it at a charity auction in the UK.

They put a reserve price of $120,000 on the horse for the auction, but ended up making an extra $50K.

'I don't know why,' the former England rugby player told Mercury. 'But I have a lot of my mates who are in the syndicate and as well so you want to text them and say it went well.'

Pregnant Zara, 36, who dressed down in a casual grey shirt and white jeans looked delighted with her husband's good fortune as they posed for a photo with the new owners.

Mike Tindall and his wife Zara Phillips pose for a photograph beside Tindall who sold for $170000 at the Magic Millions Yearling Sales at the Gold Coast

Mike Tindall (right), wife Zara Phillips (centre) and Horse Blood stock manager Hannah Wall (left) look on during the sale of Tindall's horse

Zara is no stranger to the Magic Millions polo match on the Gold Coast, which is held each January.

She is patron of the event's Racing Women, an initiative promoting racehorse ownership among women.

Last year, the equestrian champion took a tumble while playing in the match herself.

And while the equestrian champion has made her return, there is no question of pregnant Zara getting into the saddle in 2018.

Delighted Zara was seen celebrating Mike's good luck after his syndicate's horse sold for $50K above the reserve

Mike (right) and his wife Zara (left) pose for a photograph with the new owners of Tindall, Christine Cook (2nd left), Helen Page (3rd left) and Francis Cook (2nd right)

News of Zara's pregnancy came just over a year after the royal couple suffered the heartache of a miscarriage on Christmas Eve 2016.

This means that the Queen will become a great-grandmother twice this year, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also expecting their third child.

The Tindall baby will be born in the summer, about three months after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child is due, sources claim.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'The Queen and members of the royal family were very pleased.'

The couple, who have just sold TIndall, are looking forward to the birth of their second child in the the summer

With Prince Harry due to marry fiancee Meghan Markle on May 19 at Windsor Castle, it will be a joyous year for the 91-year-old monarch and her family.

The new arrival will provide a sibling for three-year-old Mia, who was born in an NHS hospital in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire - where it is expected Zara will also give birth to her second child.

Zara, Mike and Mia Grace have recently spent Christmas in Sydney, before they descended on the Gold Coast this weekend for the Magic Millions horse racing carnival.




It is a story worthy of a Hollywood rom-com.

An American teenager on a school trip to Paris meets a handsome stranger on top of the Eiffel Tower and they share a romantic kiss before parting ways.

Moments later the love-struck girl realises that she felt a connection with this mystery man, but it's too late - he's disappeared into the crowd of tourists. The only details she has is his home state, Texas, and his first name - Gavin.

Desperate, she takes to Twitter to try and find him and, with the help of thousands of fellow social media users, tracks him down just days later.

Only this isn't the plot of a film, this is the story of Juliana Corrales, of Chino Hills, California, who launched the worldwide search for the mysterious Gavin this week.

Scroll down for video

Romantic moment: Juliana Corrales kissed stranger Gavin on top of the Eiffel Tower last week

Teenage dream: Juliana had longed to kiss someone at the landmark and was delighted when Gavin agreed to help her dream come true. Her friends filmed the romantic moment, above

Desperate search: Juliana took to Twitter on Sunday to try and track down the mystery man

And it doesn't have the happy ending followers were hoped to read. For it turns out the 'gorgeous' Gavin might actually have a girlfriend.

The romantic saga has kept thousands of people gripped as it played out on Twitter over the last 24 hours.

It started when Juliana shared a video of her kissing Gavin in Paris over the weekend, along with the post: 'Kissed this great guy on the top of the Eiffel Tower, biggest regret is that I didnt get his number, Twitter can ya help a girl out?'

The post took hold on the social network and has since been shared 18,000 times and viewed more than 1million times.

Overwhelmed: Juliana, pictured, could not believed the report she received on Twitter

Unfolding drama: The teenager revealed how the kiss had occurred in a string of tweets

Responding to widespread interest, Juliana later explained that she had a dream of kissing someone on top of the Eiffel Tower, and did everything in her power to make it happen when she visited Paris on a school trip.

She wrote: 'I went on a school trip to Paris for 12 days with my 3 best friends, ever since my amazing parents surprised me with the news, I made a pact with myself that I would kiss someone on the Eiffel Tower.

'So it was the final day of the trip, the 6th of January, and we were on the top of the Eiffel Tower, and I was looking for someone to kiss. Unfortunately there wasnt many options because there was no one my age who didnt come with their girlfriend.

Captivating: The story gripped Twitter followers who launched a search for Gavin

'But luckily my friend saw Gavin and we followed him around the top level and she tapped on his shoulder and then backed away to let me speak. Somehow I managed to make concise sentences and I asked him if he wouldnt mind kissing me.I explained to him about my pact , and to my dismay he actually agreed to kiss me

'So we kiss and it was pretty cool and my friends were all cheering and we were all laughing, and then his mom yells  thats my son, kiss again so I can get a picture and of course I happily oblige because he is GORGEOUS and then we kissed again.'

It was only after the romantic moment that Juliana realised she had no way of contacting Gavin and took to Twitter to ask for help.

Support: Women around the world urged Juliana to find Gavin and offered their help

Kind-hearted well-wishers from around the world sprung into action, trawling Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to track down Juliana's Gavin.

However they were heartbroken when it emerged that he might have a girlfriend, with dozens sharing posts about their disappointment.

Despite the initial excitement, Juliana took the plot twist in her stride and thanked Twitter for their kindness, adding: 'So I saw that u guys found Gavin hahah and whether he has a girlfriend or not, I would just like to thank everyone for finding him and being so supportive. If you guys wouldnt mind please to not bother him or his mom, I would hate to disrupt their lives too much.'
She recently enjoyed a sun-filled holiday in her native Australia.

But it was back to business for Crown Princess Mary as she attended a new year concert at Copenhagen City Hall on Tuesday night.

The mother-of-four looked radiant in a floral dress as she was presented with a bunch of posies by a youngster on arriving at the event held by the Home Guard.

The Danish royal, 45, completed her stylish look with a chic black coat over the top, along with a brown clutch bag and black heels.

Crown Princess Mary looked stylish in a floral dress as she attended a new year concert at Copenhagen City Hall

The royal, 45, was seen speaking to a youngster who presented her with flowers at the event

Wearing her glossy tresses down over her shoulders, she showed off her glowing complexion with a subtle make-up look.

Mary looked in good spirits as she stopped to speak to a young boy who presented her with flowers.

The concert, which has been held annually for the past decade, was attended by members of the the Home Guard, a voluntary military organisation.

It has been a busy start of the year for Mary, who celebrated the birthday of her and Prince Frederik's twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine on Monday.

The mother-of-four completed her stylish ensemble with a chic black coat and matching heels

Wearing her glossy tresses down over her shoulders, she showed off her glowing complexion

Mary looked to be in high spirits as the little boy was seen running into the concert hall

To mark the occasion, the Danish royal family released four new photos of the pair, who are now seven.

The royals recently returned from a relaxing Christmas break in Australia, where the family were seen hitting the beach.

Shortly after returning to Denmark, Mary and her husband joined Queen Margrethe for the traditional New Year reception at Christiansborg Palace.

The crown princess stunned in a fitted burgundy dress paired with a matching cape, which added a touch of drama to her ensemble.

The annual event is held for members of the Danish parliament, top officials and court management.

The Australian-born royal posed for a picture with the youngster and a member of the Home Guard, a voluntary military organisation

The concert at the City Hall has been held annually for the past decade by the Home Guard

Mary was seen flashing a big smile as she followed the little boy into the concert hall

It has been a busy start of the year for the Crown Princess, who recently returned from a Christmas break in her native Australia
A woman who claims she lost three babies to 'baby snatchers' linked to the Catholic church has penned a book about her harrowing ordeal.

Mary Creighton was just 15 when she first fell pregnant in 1967 and was placed in a home for unmarried mothers run by nuns in Castlepollard, County Westmeath.

Unlike most, Mary managed to 'escape' with her baby daughter Catherine [not her real name] - but later lost her to social services, setting her on a destructive path.

She lost two further daughters under similar circumstances - again linking them to the involvement of nuns.

Now, against the backdrop of a major inquiry into the running of former mother and baby homes in Ireland, the 65-year-old has written a heartbreaking account of her experience called The Baby Snatchers.

Heartbreak: Mary Creighton, now 65, was just 15 when she first fell pregnant and was placed in a home for unmarried mothers run by nuns in Castlepollard - later losing all three babies

'Shamed' by an unplanned pregnancy

Mary was an Irish Catholic and found herself pregnant out of wedlock at 15. Her mother, shamed by the unplanned pregnancy, 'colluded' with a local nun to put Mary in a home for unmarried mothers before leaving for America - leaving her daughter to her own fate.

'Together they decided itd be for the best if I was taken to a mother and baby home in Westmeath called Castlepollard,' Mary said.

'I was stripped of my clothes and my identity. It was the beginning of my nightmare.

'I soon discovered the unmarried mothers of Castlepollard were expected to work 12 hours a day. Wed even have to put in an hours work before Mass at 8am.

Mary (left, with her first baby Catherine and her aunt) managed to 'escape' with her daughter - but later lost her to social services, setting her on a destructive path

'The priest would preside over his congregation of "fallen women" and tell us wed "spawned the seed of Satan" and were "nothing".

'We were treated like an underclass, hidden away from what he called "decent people", who we "werent fit to breathe the same air as".'

'We were beaten for being pregnant': Shocking treatment at Castlepollard

'In a shocking case of double standards, and in a country where family life is considered paramount, we were worked and beaten just for being pregnant,' Mary recalled.

'The nuns of the Sacred Heart would punish us. We were starved of food, whilst our babies were force-fed from six weeks in a bid to "fatten them up" for adoption.'

Mary says mothers were made to give up their children for adoption into wealthy families.

Mary (pictured in Rome aged 22) later married - though later divorced - and went on to have two further daughters, who she is still in touch with, after moving to Liverpool

In later life, while searching for her lost children, she discovered the Facebook group Banished Babies, where many members were former illegitimate children from Castlepollard.

Truth behind harrowing ordeal of Castlepollard mothers

It has since been alleged that 2,500 babies from this home were put forward for adoption, and that an estimated 500 died and are buried there.

The Irish government recently agreed to give the Commission Of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, set up to look at 14 former mother and baby homes, an extra year to complete its report - now set to be published in February 2019.

Despite her chaotic start in life, Mary later married - though later divorced - and went on to have two further daughters.

Recalling the heartbreak of losing her first child in her new book, Mary said: 'Babies were routinely ripped from their mothers arms and put up for adoption.

Mary with her new book, The Baby Snatchers. In later life, while searching for her lost children, she discovered the Facebook group Banished Babies, where many members were former illegitimate children from Castlepollard

'Fearing for my child, I decided to escape. Although my mother had disowned me, a kindly neighbour not only took me in but "bought" both Catherine and I our freedom.'

A horseshoe nail for every young life lost

During the hellish year she spent at Castlepollard, Mary would often hear the intermittent sound of workmen banging nails.

She later learned that every time a baby died, the workmen would hammer in a horseshoe nail into the perimeter wall to mark the death of a child buried in the grounds.

'Babies "disappeared" on a regular basis,' Mary said. 'The workmen showed those children more respect in death than the nuns had ever showed them in life.'

Fearful for her baby's safety, Mary fled to Edinburgh but claims that the social services later took both Catherine and the second child she had since given birth to.

New beginnings: Following her ordeal, Mary fled to Liverpool where she gave birth to two more daughters and went on to live a happy family life

'I realised that once youd been labelled a "bad mother" it was almost impossible to convince people otherwise,' she said.

'I fought to get my children back. One had already been fostered, so I fled to Ireland with Catherine, but she was taken from me again. With both girls gone, I hit the bottle and fell into a spiral of depression.'

Fleeing to Liverpool after loss of her third baby

'I found myself pregnant again, but the nuns became involved and I was sent to a notorious "Magdalene laundry" - where I was forced to work. I was told to sign over my baby, who they took from me following her birth.

'After signing, I changed my mind and became hysterical. The nun called a doctor, and I was locked inside a mental hospital with other unmarried mothers.'

On Mary first weekend visit, instead of heading home, she caught a boat and fled to Liverpool - vowing to one day find her daughters again.

Years later she managed to track down one of them, but she decided to cut contact with her mother.

Shocking discovery at Castlepollard

Mary has since made a devastating discovery after a mass grave was found at the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway.

After it was alleged up to 800 children died, a judicial inquiry was ordered by the Irish government into 14 mother and baby homes. Castlepollard is one of them.

'In March last year, survivors from Castlepollard released the names of everyone known to have died there. There were 203 registered deaths, but ledgers are either missing or did not exist, so the true figure may never be known, but is thought to be between 400 to 500.

'The Castlepollard babies are buried in a small Angels plot that is a quarter of a mile from the main manor house. Today, the surrounding wall is said to have over 100 horseshoe nails in it. I went on to give birth to two more daughters, who I love more than life itself.'

Starting afresh: Mary's new life in Liverpool

Following her ordeal, Mary fled to Liverpool where she gave birth to two more daughters and went on to live a happy family life.

'Liverpool offered me a sanctuary - a place to bring up a family without having to look over my shoulder. If all cities in the world were like Liverpool then it would be a much happier place,' she said.

The Baby Snatchers (7.99, Blink Publishing)
First dates can be painfully awkward, so how about if you could go on them without realising that's what you're doing?

This is the premise for new ITVBe reality show Secret Dates, which sees an unwitting singleton filmed by hidden cameras as they meet four potential suitors chosen for them by their closest friends.

The singleton is then introduced to each match in a carefully orchestrated meeting disguised as a chance encounter - a handsome stranger at a coffee shop, for example. They do not realise that their every move is being caught on camera - and their matchmaking friends are watching the action behind-the-scenes.

However the first episode of the TV experiment, which aired last night, almost ended in disaster when Emma, 28, from London, stormed out after it was revealed the meetings with the four men had in fact been carefully planned - and filmed for TV.

Emma, who has been single for three years, was left mortified when her four matches - Jonny, Chris, Sam and Adam - walked into the restaurant where she believed she was having a birthday lunch with her childhood friends.

Emma was stunned to learn she had been on a hidden camera show without her knowledge after being set up by her friends

She was confronted by four potential suitors that she had unknowingly met over the course of two weeks in what she believed were chance encounters

Overwhelmed with the revelation that had been set up by her friends Emma stormed out. She dashed to the toilets to calm herself down

'I literally feel sick about this,' she cried before storming away from the table.

Her friends panicked when Emma dashed to the toilets in shock, worried they had risked their 20-year friendship.

Fortunately Emma soon came round and agreed to go on a 'real' date with one of the matches, business development manager Jonny, 21.

Desperate to help Emma meet Mr Right, her friends Georgia, Lauren, Emma L and Gemma took control of her dating destiny and arranged four secret dates for her over two weeks.

Emma's friends (L-R) Gemma, Georgia, Lauren and Emma L, were all in on finding a man for her to date, choosing four men

Jonny was first up, he was told to pretend he was helping his friend out on his art gallery opening - the pair giggled over the artwork and appeared to hit it off

They scoured the streets of London to find four potential suitors before they then played a live version of Tinder, discarding unsuitable men in favour of Jonny, Chris, Sam and Adam.

First up was Jonny, 21, who Emma met while attending an art gallery opening with friend Georgia.

Unaware she was being filmed, Emma immediately connected with Jonny, who pretended he was at the gallery to help out a friend.

Next Emma met Chris, 29, a recruitment officer, on a helicopter ride that friend Lauren claimed she had won in a work raffle.

Chris was up next joining Emma on a helicopter ride where they took selfies and pictures of the London skyline

Sam was third, but his poor jokes didn't go down well with Emma, who found him quirky during their flower arranging date

Banker Adam wooed Emma during a trip to a cafe with Georgia where he gave her free cake and pretended he had invested in the cafe when he hadn't

They took selfies as they flew over London with Emma later posting them to her social media with the hashtag 'helicopter hottie'.

She met student Sam, 28, who her friends labelled a 'wild card', at a flower arranging masterclass all manufactured by her Lauren and Emma L.

And she still didn't suspect anything enthusiastic banker Adam, 25, while she was having coffee at a cafe with friend Georgia.

Single Emma was mortified with embarrassment at finding out the chance encounters had all been a rouse for the ITV show

She overcame her shock to pick her first match Jonny and they went on a dinner date together afterwards

Despite the meltdown over the big reveal, Georgia eventually decided to go on a date with Jonny.

The pair hit it off over dinner and made plans to see each other again.

The big reveal sent Emma into meltdown but she recovered enough to make her decision to pick Jonny, and they went on a real dinner date where they hit it off and made plans to have another.

Secret Dates is available to watch on ITVplayer
A lesbian couple who decided to get married in every country where same-sex marriage is legal have had their dream cut tragically short, after one of them was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Artist Fleur Pierets, 44, and her Belgian partner Julian P Boom, 39, who live in Los Angeles, began their globe-trotting romantic journey in September 2017 after they were married in New York.

However, the couple received the devastating news that Belgian-born Julian had just months to live in December, shortly after they wed again - their fourth marriage - in France.

Fleur Pierets and her partner Julian P Boom, from Los Angeles, revealed how their plan to wed in 22 countries around the world to highlight marriage inequality has been tragically cut short

The couple, both artists, shared their love story on Instagram before they received the devastating news at the end of last year

Belgian-born Julian, left, was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the brain and heart after she fell ill in December

The couple were four weddings in to their global matrimonial tour when Julian, who had previously battled breast cancer, began fainting in France, where she currently remains because she's too ill to fly home

Nuptials: The happy couple were wed in France, where Fleur's mother lives, at the end of 2017, unaware of the tragedy they were about to face

Now, Fleur has revealed that her wife is too ill to travel and the couple remain in France, where Julian was diagnosed with tumours in her brain and heart.

Fleur told the Mirror the way their adventure had been cut short was a 'terrible shock' as she explained how the illness has quickly taken hold.

She said: 'Things are going really fast now; she has already lost her memory completely and is unable to move her limbs. Her brain "forgot" that they are there.'

Fleur and Julian first met at a party in Amsterdam in 2011 and quickly fell in love, working on multiple artistic projects together.

Fleur and Julian were on their fourth wedding and hoped to travel to many more countries before fate tragically changed their course

After surviving breast cancer, Julian, 39, is now seriously ill in France, reveals Fleur

Their latest venture looked set to be their most important collaboration as they embarked on a tour of 22 countries in a bid to shine a light on marriage inequality around the globe.

The website the couple set up around the project explains what they were trying to do: '22: The Project is an art project that speaks of evolution and optimism. A time capsule that instantly refers to the possibility of change. That captures the zeitgeist of a world in the midst of change when it comes to gender equality and human rights.

'It celebrates the places that legalised gay marriage, and highlights the work that still needs to be done in the 170 countries that dont.'

The pair met in Amsterdam seven years ago and have collaborated numerous times on artistic projects, with their global wedding their most ambitious yet

The pair had been followed by international media on their journey and hoped they would highlight marriage inequality around the globe with their story

Friends of the couple have are now raising funds to help with Julian's palliative care

However, their adventure will end in France, where Julian is being cared for at Fleur's mother's house.

Fleur said the last few weeks following the diagnosis had been a 'nerve-wracking nightmare' in which she has watched her partner deteriorate and fears she may not wake up every time she goes to sleep.

She said: "Since they couldnt do anything for her anymore in the hospital, and she was too sick to repatriate, I took her back to my mothers house here in France, where Im currently taking care of her.'

A fundraising campaign has been set up to help the couple pay for care that isn't covered by insurance.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were all smiles Wednesday as they posed together for a pretty social media snap on his 37th birthday.

The First Daughter, 36, posted a tribute to Twitter later in the evening with the caption: 'With the birthday boy on his 37th birthday! Heres to many more great days, years and decades to come with my love!'

The parents-of-three appeared fresh-faced while Ivanka seemed ready for spring, as she modeled pastel colors and floral details for the special day.

She was spotted departing her Washington, D.C. home this morning wearing light hues from pale pastel purple to bright white.

She donned a $695 Altuzarra crew neck sweater with bell sleeves and a flower embellishment, paired with a pencil skirt tied at her waist with a belt.

Ivanka Trump shared a special snap on social media Wednesday in honor of hubby Jared Kushner's 37th birthday

Spring-themed: Ivanka was seen this morning leaving her house in Washington, D.C. wearing light hues from a pale pastel purple to a bright white

Outfit: The First Daughter, 36, donned a $695 Altuzarra crew neck sweater with bell sleeves and a flower embellishment, paired with a pencil skirt tied at her waist with a belt

Ivanka finished off her outfit with olive green pumps and a white coat, which she carried on her arm while walking from her house to her parked Secret Service car.

She wore her long hair down in a blowout, letting her eye-catching earrings peak out from under her blonde locks.

Jared Kushner was also seen leaving about 15 minutes before his wife and fellow White House adviser.

Sticking to his classics, he stepped out in a suit and tie and smiled as he walked to the Secret Service vehicle waiting for him.

A little later this morning, Ivanka took to Instagram to wish her husband of eight years a happy birthday, along with a gushing tribute to him.

'Happy birthday, Jared! Thank you for being the most amazing father, husband, and best friend I could have dreamed of. Here's to you!' Ivanka wrote.

She chose to post her message next to a throwback picture of herself with Jared, back when she was pregnant with one of their three children.

Wishes: This morning, Ivanka took to Instagram to wish her husband of eight years a happy birthday, sharing a throwback photo of herself with a baby bump during her third pregnancy

Ivanka can be seen in the photo, dressed in a pale pink sundress, cradling her baby bump and resting her hand on Jared's shoulder.

The First Daughter originally shared the snap in January 2016, when she was pregnant with her and Jared's third child, Theodore, now one.

Her decision to share the image now, however, confused some of her followers, who thought she was announcing a fourth pregnancy and even congratulated her.

Ivanka cut a more wintery silhouette on Sunday when she stepped out with her three children, all bundled up to fend off the cold D.C. weather.

The mother was first seen arriving home with son Joseph, four, who was wearing a Paddington Bear-style coat.

Later in the day, she emerged from the house with Joseph and her other two kids, one-year-old Theodore and Arabella, six.

Details: Ivanka wore her long hair down in a blowout, letting her eye-catching earrings peak out from under her blonde locks

Colors: The adviser finished off her outfit with olive green pumps and a white coat

Duties: Ivanka later attended a cabinet meeting at the White House along with the White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly, and Jared

Audience: The first daughter looked on as her father held the cabinet meeting today

Ivanka looked ready for the weather in a double-breasted navy coat, jeans and black boots.

Along with Joseph in his stylish blue jacket, Ivanka's other two children sported stylish little parkas and hats, with one-year-old Theodore's sweet pom pom beanie hat also including a set of attached mittens.

Ivanka appeared happy and carefree despite her husband Jared Kushner's real estate company coming under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its use of a federal program that grants visas to wealthy foreigners investing in the United States.

The news, reported by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, sees Kushner Cos asked by the SEC for information on its use of a visa program known as EB-5 in May 2017, according to a person the Journal said was familiar with the matter.

The EB-5 visa is a method for eligible immigrants to become lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, by investing at least $500,000 into a business in the United States that will employ 10 or more American workers. Most holders are wealthy Chinese individuals.

Ready for work: Jared, who turned 37 today, was also seen leaving about 15 minutes before his wife and fellow White House adviser

All ready to go: Ivanka cut a more wintery silhouette on Sunday when she stepped out with her three children, all bundled up to fend off the cold D.C. weather

The Journal said the company also received a separate request from New York federal prosecutors in the same month for information on development projects financed in part by the EB-5 program.

The latest revelation involving Kushner's firm came after Michael Wolff claimed in his new book, Fire and Fury, that Trump was considering his son-in-law as Secretary of State.

The book depicts Ivanka and Kushner as virtually at war with Steve Bannon inside a tumultuous White House.

Ivanka herself was also the subject of shock revelations this weekend as it was revealed that her contact with a Russian attorney and a lobbyist in 2016 has attracted the attention of Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

The president's daughter reportedly came into contact with Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and the lobbyist, Rinat Akhmetshin, while they were exiting the building during a brief elevator ride.

A person familiar with the encounter told the Los Angeles Times that while the exchange consisted of pleasantries, investigators want to know every interaction Trump's family members and inner circle had with them.

The report also says that one participant in the meeting with the Kremlin-connected attorney has been recalled for questioning.

It is believed that Mueller's focus specifically on President Trump's misleading claim that the meeting had to do with Russian adoption, and not with the goal of obtaining damaging information on Hillary Clinton, could indicate that investigators are looking at obstruction of justice by the president and several close advisers - as opposed to collusion with the Russians.

The meeting, during the height of the presidential race, was between his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his campaign manager, Paul Manafort, along with Veselnitskaya and Akhmetshin.
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Prince William has followed in his late mother's footsteps as he joined medical professionals at the Royal Marsden hospital in Chelsea on Wednesday.

The prince donned nurses scrubs and a medical mask during his visit emulating the late Princess Diana who acted as patron to the charity from 1989 and paid the hospital in Chelsea regular visits until her death in 1997.

The Duke of Cambridge, President of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, visited the Trust's facilities where he viewed two pioneering robotic surgeries.

William learned how The Royal Marsden, the first hospital in the UK to introduce da Vinci robotic surgery in 2007, is revolutionising the way cancer patients are treated.

The 35-year-old royal joined Professor Vinidh Paleri and his team in theatre as they perform minimally invasive robotic surgery on a patient with adenoid cystic carcinoma.

The Duke of Cambridge emulated his late mother as he joined surgeons in an operating theatre at the Royal Marsden to watch a robotic surgery on Wednesday

Like her son Lady Diana Spencer acted as patron to Royal Marsden from 1989 until her death in 1997. Diana is pictured here witnessing a heart operation at the Harefield hospital in Middlesex in 1996

Robotic surgery offers patients less invasive and shorter operations when compared to open surgery, with fewer scars, and faster recovery.

The Royal Marsden has the largest and most comprehensive programme of robotic surgery for cancer in the UK, treating urological, gynaecological, head and neck, gastrointestinal and colorectal patients.

The hospital has a poignant significance for William as it was the place Princess Diana visited on her first solo engagement in 1982.

William became President of the Royal Marsden in 2007, taking over the Presidency from his mother who held the role from 1989 until her death in 1997.

The Royal Marsden is the largest cancer centre in Europe, treating over 50,000 NHS and private patients every year.

Today saw the future king, dressed in a blue top, trousers and cap, and wearing a pair of slip-on foam rubber Crocs, taken into the operating theatres of the Royal Marsden Hospital to watch tumours being removed from patients with the help of the machines.

He could be seen admiring the work of the Da Vinchi robot - allowing surgeons to remotely cut away the cancerous growths as they operate two handheld controls

Ditching his formal wear the future king was dressed in blue scrubs and a pair of Crocs as he entered the operating theatre

William compared the high-tech Da Vinchi robots to a computer game commenting 'it's the same as Playstation gear'

Prince William paid a visit to Royal Marsden hospital in Chelsea on Wednesday where he was seen chatting to patients including Vusof Omar who is being treated on the Burdett-Coutts Ward

The Da Vinci robot allows surgeons to remotely cut away the cancerous growths as they operate two handheld controls connected to a 3D monitor located a few feet away from the patient.

Dexterous consultants have been taught the skills needed to handle the robot which allows them to operate without resorting to major invasive procedures and William watched with fascination as Anne White, 67, from Newton Abbott, Devon, had a tumour cut away from her tongue.

He peered at the 3D monitor as lead surgeon Professor Vin Paleri talked him through the procedure and then later watched another operation to remove a tumour from the base of 63-year-old Charles Ludlow's oesophagus.

William talked about the skills of the surgeon when he met cancer patient Joe Omar, 63, and his wife Lynn, 59, and their daughter Leila, 27.

Prince spent time learning about invasive robotic surgeries and was seen getting to grips with a robotic consoles

He peered at the 3D monitor as lead surgeon Professor Vin Paleri talked him through the procedure and then later watched another operation to remove a tumour from the base of 63-year-old Charles Ludlow's oesophagus

The Da Vinci robot allows surgeons to remotely cut away the cancerous growths as they operate two handheld controls connected to a 3D monitor located a few feet away from the patient

The Duke joked with the 63-year-old comparing the Da Vinci robot to a computer game, saying: 'It's the same as the Playstation gear.

'You can see all the doctors have done Playstation. They let me watch but not to have a go.'

Mr Omar, a retired anaesthetist from Sutton, south London, worked at the Royal Marsden in the 1980s where he met his radiographer wife, and was having tests after a tumour was removed from his bladder.

William told him: 'It's fascinating watching the robot work, it's so precise, you see it up close and you can really see how the human body is and how it works.

'You're literally going right into the tumour so you see exactly with precision where the tumour is - it's incredible - I was really, really impressed with it.'

Today is not the first time that William has entered the operating theatre as he is believed to be the first royal to witness surgery at Marsden during a visit back in 2013.

The visit closely matched a 1996 visit by Princess Diana to Harefield Hospital in Middlesex, where she too donned surgical clothing to watching a heart operation on a small boy from Cameroon.

Today is not the first time that William has entered the operating theatre as he is believed to be the first royal to witness surgery at Marsden during a visit back in 2013

'It's fascinating watching the robot work, it's so precise, you see it up close and you can really see how the human body is and how it works,' Prince William said of the technology

The hospital holds great significance for William as it was where his mother had her first solo engagement in 1982. Diana is pictured here with a patient during a visit in 1993

The Duke first met with Professor Vinidh Paleri, Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon, and his team as they performed minimally invasive robotic surgery on a patient with adenoid cystic carcinoma.

His Royal Highness will later join Mr Asif Chaudry, Consultant Upper GI/Oesophagogastric Surgeon, as he performs a robotic oesophagectomy, a procedure only available at The Royal Marsden.

During the visit, The Duke will also learn more about the UK's first ever robotic fellowship programme, funded by the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, which trains surgeons from other Trusts across the UK.

William will later join staff, volunteers, and supporters of 'Campaign Against Living Miserably' (CALM), a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, to lend his support to their 'Best Man Project'.

THE RISE OF THE ROBO-SURGERIES Since the first surgical robot arrived at St Mary's Hospital, London, in 2000, the number of them in UK hospitals has multiplied rapidly. Most common is the da Vinci robot, a set of three or four robotic arms controlled by a human surgeon sitting a few feet away. The surgical systems undertake operations for a variety of common complaints, from the removal of kidney and bladder cancers to basic heart surgery - though their main use is in surgical removal of the prostate gland and surrounding tissue in men with prostate cancer. In 2012, 1,595 of these operations were carried out using robots - 29 per cent of the total performed. In 2014 Bristol Royal Hospital for Children used a Neuro-Mate robot to drill into the brain of a teenager with epilepsy and implant electrodes to detect the area triggering his seizures. Once located, this scrap of tissue was removed. But safety concerns have been raised in the US, where several lawsuits have been filed against Intuitive Surgical, which makes the da Vinci robot. Advertisement

Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge speaks to patient Will Cowell during his visit to The Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea

The Duke of Cambridge, President of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and was delighted to meet those who benefit from its work

The father-of-two spent time chatting to those in care and their families during his first engagement of the day. Here he is pictured with Will Cowell

The father-of-twowill meet with volunteers and staff from CALM at High Road House, Chiswick, before joining a group of men who are taking part in filming 'Best Man Project' videos where they chat about the importance of friendship and issues around mental well-being.

As well as the volunteers taking part, The Duke will meet Rio Ferdinand and his friend Jamie Moralee, who took part in the Heads Together campaign, musician actor Loyle Carner, and radio and TV presenter Roman Kemp.

CALM is one of the main charity partners of Heads Together, the campaign led by The Duke of Cambridge alongside The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

Male suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK. CALM delivers services for men in crisis or distress, supporting the people around them and those bereaved by suicide. They also campaign for long-term culture change to redefine and open up masculinity, so that over time fewer men will need support at crisis point.

CALM recently launched the 'Best Man Project' to promote the idea that you don't have to wait for a wedding to be a great friend, and because male friendships can be instrumental in men looking after their mental health.

During the visit, The Duke learned more about the UK's first ever robotic fellowship programme, funded by the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, which trains surgeons from other Trusts across the UK

The Duke joked with the 63-year-old comparing the Da Vinci robot to a computer game, saying: 'It's the same as the Playstation gear

William joined staff, volunteers, and supporters of 'Campaign Against Living Miserably' (CALM), a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, to lend his support to their 'Best Man Project'
While her resemblance to the Queen has been well-documented, some royal fans believe Princess Charlotte is beginning to look a lot like her late grandmother - Princess Diana.

Portraits of two-year-old Charlotte, taken by the Duchess of Cambridge on her first day at nursery, show her beaming adorably as she poses outside Kensington Palace in a cute burgundy coat.

Now, royal watchers have suggested the youngster bears a striking similarity to photographs of the late Princess of Wales when she was a child.

A black-and-white snap of Diana, who was aged seven at the time, shows her with the same almond-shaped eyes as Charlotte, as well as sporting a similar hairstyle.

Royal fans have suggested that Princess Charlotte, two, bears a resemblance to a young Princess Diana in snaps of her taken on her first day at nursery

A picture of Diana aged seven shows her with the same almond-shaped eyes as the youngster

A number of social media users have commented on the similarity between grandmother and granddaughter, with one writing: 'OMG Charlotte looks like Diana'.

Another royal watcher tweeted: 'At aged just 2,similarities to her sorely missed nan #PrincessDiana are evident.'

And one fan added: 'She is her grandmother['s] twin.. god bless her'.

It comes after it was noted that the new pictures of Charlotte show her looking like her great-great-grandmother, the late Queen Mother, as well as her own mother the Duchess of Cambridge at the same age.

A number of royal watchers have taken to social media to comment on the resemblance between granddaughter and grandmother

One described how similarities between Charlotte aged two and Diana are already evident

Royal watchers have also commented on how much young Charlotte looks like the Queen, following the release of the Cambridge's Christmas card in December.

And it's not just members of the royal family that Charlotte has been compared to - with some social media users spotting an uncanny resemblance to TV presenter Kirstie Allsop.

The princess will be a full-time pupil at the Willcocks Nursery School near Kensington Palace, which charges fees of just over 3,000 a term for pupils attending its Monday to Friday morning school, and employs lots of play as children learn.

Charlotte is seen beaming adorably in portraits taken by the Duchess of Cambridge outside Kensington Palace

The striking similarity between Charlotte and the Queen Mother as a young girl (pictured) has previously been noted

At her nursery school, the little Princess will enjoy pottery and poetry classes at the sought-after nursery, which is rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted and located next to the Royal Albert Hall.

Before starting officially, she would have been invited with her parents for a short 'stay and play'.

Kate and William would then have been asked to leave to see if Charlotte was happy to be left alone.

Palace sources said Charlotte would attend the school 'full time' but declined to elaborate on whether that was for either morning or afternoon sessions, or both.

The resemblance between young Charlotte and the Queen has also been well documented
Peta has accused British Vogue of letting the 'cruel' fur industry 'slink in through the back door' after a full-page advert for a fur brand appeared in the latest edition of the magazine.

The animal rights organisation slammed the fashion bible, now under the helm of editor Edward Enninful, for including the International Fur Institute ad - said to be worth between 12,000 and 20,000 - in its February edition.

Many readers were also angered, taking to social media to express their outrage at what they'd seen.

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Angry readers took to social media to slam British Vogue for printing an ad for the International Fur Foundation in its February edition

 Ambzii_For_Animals called the ad 'shameful': @BritishVogue pretty disgusted to find an advert for FUR in your magazine. Was a dedicated @GlamourMagUK reader and will now cancel subscription. In Veganuary too! Shameful.'

@KapeabilityLtd wrote: 'way to go; 45 pages in and you're actively promoting fur. Utterly disgusted.'

@Clarebyatte raged: 'WTF Cancelling Vogue subscription immediately. I don't support the fur trade in any form! Disgusted that my subscription includes this s***'

The ad, which included models wearing fur coats and boots, promotes the International Fur Federation, which was established in 1949 to represent the international fur industry and regulate its practices and trade.

A statement on its website says: 'The federation promotes the business of fur, establishing certification and traceability programmes on welfare and the environment. It is also committed to supporting young designers and retailers who intend to go into fur and fashion.'

PETA Director Elisa Allen told Femail that many consumers and designers, including Gucci and Vivienne Westwood, had shunned real fur and highlighted some of the cruel practices that are used on fur farms.

She said: 'The British Fur Trade Association (IFF) is trying in vain to stop the tide, like King Canute, and paying to save its clients' own skins.'

A new direction? Vogue editor Edward Enninful took over in April last year although it's unlikely the fashion guru controls the advertising arm of the fashion bible

Alexandra Shulman, who edited British Vogue for 25 years, rarely featured fur but acknowledged that she took a 'common sense' approach to its inclusion and would occasionally wear fur herself

'British Vogue has a long-held ban on using fur in its photo shoots, and we'll appeal to the magazine not to let this cruel industry slink in by the back door through advertising.

Allen continued: 'Today, anyone who doesn't live in a cave knows that animals on fur farms are confined to tiny, filthy wire cages and killed by painful electrocution or drowning or even, in the case of those in China and South Korea, by being skinned alive.

'And the public is growing increasingly aware that steel-jaw traps, which have long been illegal in the UK, crush the limbs of coyotes and other wild animals, who often languish for days before a trapper returns and stamps the life out of them.'

Anyone who doesn't live in a cave knows that animals on fur farms are confined to tiny, filthy wire cages and killed by painful electrocution or drowning... PETA Director Elisa Allen

Although it's unlikely editor Edward Enninful has complete control of how commercial space is sold in the magazine, fur rarely appeared on the pages under Alexandra Shulman's reign.

It's a different story across the pond though, with American Vogue editor Anna Wintour regularly including fur in photoshoots.

Speaking to the Guardian in 2009, Shulman said that 'broadly speaking' British Vogue didn't feature fur although it advertising wasn't under remit.

She said: 'There is an element of common sense to my policy on this which dictates that since we are there to report on fashion trends, if those trends include fur we will, for instance, show catwalk images that include fur. We do carry some skins like sheepskin, and occasionally a fur trim creeps in.'

A spokesperson for Conde Nast told the MailOnline: 'From an advertising perspective, it has always been the commercial policy to accept fur advertisements as long as they strictly respect British and European Union legislation.'
For any devoted mother with a baby who suffers from colic, its a familiar ritual. After every feed, Gina Hodgkins would sit her newborn son Teddy on her lap to rub his back and release any trapped wind causing him discomfort.

She supported his floppy head by gripping him under his chin, with her finger and thumb resting on his cheeks.

So far, so normal. But what happened to Gina, Teddy, his dad and big sister as a result of this entirely innocent routine will strike horror into the hearts of parents everywhere.

Ginas sturdy grip left marks on Teddys cheeks which were exacerbated by an underlying genetic condition few people have heard of. It resulted in two small bruises on his cheeks, which had Gina, and Teddys dad Joshua, labelled as abusive parents.

After they were reported by a health visitor, seven police officers arrived at the door to forcibly remove the sleeping baby from his mothers frantic grasp. Both Teddy and his sister Amelia, then six, were taken into emergency foster care. It took another five months for their innocence to be proved.

Gina Hodgkins, 25, (pictured centre with her daughter Amelia and son Teddy) was accused along with her son's father Joshua of abusing their son Teddy

And, as we will hear, Ginas story is unlikely to be an isolated case. Every year, scores of parents have their babies taken away from them after being accused of shaking them so violently that they are left with bruising, broken bones and bleeding on the brain.

Some are convicted of the crimes and jailed. But evidence is emerging that some of these children are not mistreated.

They might, like Teddy, have been born with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a gene mutation that affects the bodys connective tissue, making it fragile and stretchy. One of the symptoms is that the skin bruises more easily. It is known as an invisible disability and affects up to one in 5,000 babies.

Campaigners increasingly believe that EDS may account for some of the estimated 250 court cases involving shaken baby syndrome every year in Britain, according to doctors who specialise in child abuse.

Its a difficult line to tread. If the police and health and social work professionals dont investigate bruising and injuries in children, it could end in tragedy. Few can forget the terrible case of toddler Peter Connelly, known as Baby P, who died in 2007 at the hands of his mother, her abusive boyfriend and his brother.

Yet the other side of the story could be the unimaginable horror of innocent children being unjustly removed from their families.

Gina, 25, and her partner Joshua Sparkes, 22, an online retail worker, fear they will never recover from those lost five months. Gina says: My son and daughter were taken away from me when I did nothing wrong. I lost five months bonding during a formative time in their lives. I can never get that back.

The couple met and fell in love more than two years ago and moved to Leatherhead, Surrey, with Ginas daughter Amelia from a previous relationship. They were both excited when Gina discovered she was pregnant with a baby boy. We painted Amelias room yellow and decorated one side with his name, Teddy, just for him, says Gina.

A health visitor reported Gina to social services and the police after noticing bruises on her son Teddy (pictured)

The birth at Epsom General Hospital, on July 9, 2016, with both Joshua and her mother Pauline in attendance, was quick and easy, and Teddy arrived a healthy 7 lb 8 oz.

Nevertheless, Gina suspected something wasnt quite right: When my mum took him for a cuddle, she said he looked a bit bruised. There were marks on his arms as well.

The nurse reassured me it was normal, and was a result of him getting a bit squashed during delivery. But it hadnt been a forceps birth, so I was surprised.

Back home, over the next few weeks, most of the marks faded. But there were two that never went  bruises on the lower part of both his cheeks. I was taking him to be weighed at six weeks old and the health visitor asked if I had any concerns. I showed her the bruises and she said: Yes, I was about to ask you what they were. 

And so the nightmare began. The health visitor went to make some calls, then said shed contacted social services and the police. Gina was told to go home and wait. Frightened  but knowing shed done nothing wrong  Gina did as she was told. Joshua came from work and met her at home.

Gina was arrested on suspicion of ABH after seven plain-clothed police officers and a social worker came to take Teddy (pictured) away

An hour later, two social workers and seven plain-clothed police officers were at the door. When they arrived, I was on the sofa with Teddy on me, asleep. The female officer asked me to turn him round, so she could see him. As soon as she saw his face, she told me she was arresting me on suspicion of ABH.

Joshua got upset and tried to intervene. I was hugging Teddy to my chest as they were coming closer. I didnt want to let go of him, but when they told me they had arrested me and I had to come with them, I agreed to strap him into his car seat. They said if I came nicely, they wouldnt handcuff me.

We didnt want to cry in front of the children, but when they left, we blubbed our eyes out

I cried all the way to the police station. All I could think was: What the hell is going on? 

Teddy was handed to a social worker and taken to Epsom General Hospital for further examination. Bruises on his legs and wrists were taken as possible evidence of abuse. Joshua, whod accompanied his son to the hospital, tried to explain how the baby had always seemed to bruise easily. He said: I told them Teddy was born with red marks covering his limbs and that he had a bleed on the eye when he was born  another symptom of easy bruising  but they didnt listen.

An hour later, Joshua was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his baby. They put me in handcuffs in the hospital and walked me out through A&E. It was horrible. People were staring at me. In the police car back to the station, I was shaking with anger and shock.

Joshua and Gina were released at 3am, by which time Teddy and Amelia were in foster care, seven miles away in Reigate. Joshua says: We just started crying and hugging. We hoped wed wake up in the morning and be told it was a mistake.

Strict bail conditions meant that, for the first fortnight, Gina and Joshua were banned not only from seeing Teddy and Amelia, but also being near any child under 16, including their nephews and nieces.

Gina (pictured left with her children and partner Joshua) feared Teddy wouldn't recongise her after he and her daughter were taken into emergency foster care

After that, they were allowed to see the children once a week for an hour, under strict supervision.

It was awful, says Gina. We didnt want to cry in front of the children, but when they left, we blubbed our eyes out. I was always worried Teddy wouldnt recognise me the next time he saw me, and Amelia would kick and scream when it was time to go.

Teddy was then placed in the care of a relative, Ginas sister, Alex, who lived a mile from their house, after lawyers made representations for an interim supervision order. At this point, Amelia was allowed home, having spent five weeks in care. But the loss of her children, and the fear she would lose them for ever if they were found guilty, took its toll.

Every night when Gina went to sleep, she looked at Teddys empty cot and wondered if hed ever come home. Joshua had no choice but to return to work, but worried about leaving Gina alone: There were a couple of times I had to ask her mum to come round and calm her down because she had become hysterical.

She would say: I cant do this any more. I cant live without my children. Shed recently given birth and now her baby had been wrenched away from her.

Trying to explain to Amelia why she couldnt come home was very hard. We just said the authorities had to find out where Teddys bruises came from and when they found out, shed be able to come home.

Gina's mother Pauline pushed for Teddy (pictured) to be returned after highlighting their family history of others being diagnosed with EDS

Yet Gina might never have got her children back if it were not for her mother, Pauline, reminding them there was a family history of bruising, which had led to other family members being diagnosed with EDS. Pauline remembered how Gina and her three siblings also bruised easily  so much so that they had blood tests and were found to have the condition.

Symptoms can vary and, in their cases, it manifested more as joints that easily dislocated, weak teeth and poor blood clotting.

However, because it was genetic, she reminded them that Teddy could also carry it. The family passed the information on to their lawyers.

When Teddy came back, I didnt know his routine

Yet, frustratingly, they had to wait for the first court hearing three weeks later in September 2016 to persuade the judge to let them present the new piece of information and get genetic tests done on their son.

Joshua observed that no one in the hearing seemed to have heard of EDS  and says he saw some of the professionals in the case Googling it.

Finally, on Christmas Eve, four months after Teddy had been taken into care, the genetic report came through. A Harley Street doctor confirmed that both Teddy and Gina were likely to carry the EDS gene.

All the couple could think of was getting their baby back. It would take another four weeks for Surrey County Council social services to drop the case against them.

Finally, Dr Kathryn Ward, a consultant paediatrician at Airedale General Hospital, concluded that the most plausible explanation for Teddys bruising was that Gina had gripped his face during winding. His EDS gave him an increased predisposition to bruising, she wrote.

Gina claims the only apology the family received was from the judge, five months after Teddy was taken away

In the final hearing on January 25, social services dropped the case. Finally, five months after they were taken away, Gina and Joshua got their family back.

Yet the question still remains how many other parents have had their baby wrongly taken away from them for similar reasons.

EDS affects around one in 5,000 people worldwide, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Research published earlier this year found that in 93 per cent of cases where abuse was alleged after infants broke bones, there was EDS in the family. Most accused parents were not aware they had it, according to the study in the Journal of Dermato-Endocrinology.

William Bache, a lawyer who specialises in defending parents accused of physical abuse, but who did not represent Joshua and Gina, believes the couples case may be the tip of the iceberg.

Mr Bache thinks EDS could offer another explanation for what is known as the triad of symptoms that many experts believe all but proves an infant has been forcibly shaken for a prolonged period: brain bleeds, retinal bleeding and brain swelling.

Yet the medical profession leads the charge of the ignorant on this because, as soon as they see what they consider to be evidence of the triad, they condemn everybody and stop looking, he says.

Last year, Mr Bache represented another couple, Carla Andrews and Craig Stillwell, who faced a similar nightmare when their baby daughter, Effie, suffered a bleed on the brain and was taken away for nine months. In April, after it emerged that Effie had EDS, a family court judge ordered that she be returned to her parents, saying the forced separation had caused them unimaginable horror.

Dr Waney Squier, a consultant paediatric neurologist who has acted as an expert witness in shaken baby cases, both for the prosecution and defence, says there are bound to be many cases of innocent parents wrongfully accused of harming their babies.

These cases are by no means easy, she says. Doctors are all too aware of the dreadful reality of child abuse and need to protect vulnerable babies. Doctors need to be more aware of these alternative diagnoses, to be open-minded and unafraid to challenge dogma.

Asked about Teddys case, a Surrey County Council spokesman said: Any case like this is really difficult, but we can have only one thing in mind and thats the welfare of the child. This case was based on medical evidence provided to us and examined by a family court, which decided it was right for the child to be removed from his parents, and also considered new information when it came to light.

When she finally got Teddy home, Gina said the only apology she received was from the judge.

Teddy is now 18 months old and thriving, although for his parents, the memories are still very raw.

Amelia remembers it all, but doesnt like to bring it up, and, mainly at night, still gets scared she might get put into foster care again, says Gina.

When Teddy came back, I didnt know his routine. It took a while, but we found it again together. Hed got used to a different mum putting him to bed, another voice tucking him in and saying: Good night. I dont think Ill ever truly recover from that.
As many of us know by now, not everything we see on Instagram is realistic - in fact, many people use certain tricks to present themselves a particular way.

And although Australian bikini designer and CEO of Moana Bikini, Karina Irby, works hard to have the incredible figure that she has, there are still tools she implements to achieve the perfect Instagram shot.

The 27-year-old from Port Macquarie recently revealed her number one trick for getting a flattering shot, and ridding yourself of cellulite, explaining that it's all about flattering afternoon light.

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Although Australian bikini designer, Karina Kirby, works hard to have the incredible figure that she has, there are still tools she implements to achieve the perfect Insta shot (pictured)

'Afternoon light is basically trick photography,' she wrote in the caption of her photo.

'Remember, lighting plays a HUGE part in how images come out.

'Direct light on the body hides cellulite and lady lumps whereas when the light is above you it highlights.... well... everything.'

The designer is a huge fan of shooting her photos in the afternoon, and posts many snaps to highlight this from the beach where she lives in Port Macquarie.

To illustrate her point the 27-year-old from Port Macquarie shared a photo on Instagram of her behind and used flattering light to make her cellulite disappear

'Afternoon light is basically trick photography,' she wrote in the caption of her photo

In a previous image, Karina stressed how important it is to ensure that young women are aware that the images they see aren't a true representation of reality.

'Every day I see overly edited images from personal pages and business pages,' she said.

'Along with those "perfect" images comes a flood of women comparing themselves to a retouched image and tagging friends.

'From time to time I go out of my way to read these comments and go as far as visiting those girls' profiles who are putting themselves down.

'They are always such beautiful, unique women and I wish that they would see that too.'

'Direct light on the body hides cellulite and lady lumps whereas when the light is above you it highlights.... well.... everything,' she said

Accompanying this caption was a post of two side-by-side images: one that was completely unedited and the other that she Photoshopped so she could look 'perfect'.

Karina also explained the lengths it took to achieve the final product, where she had to airbrush out her cellulite and eczema scars, smoothe her skin, lift her bum, narrow her shoulders and pull in her waist.

Her thighs, arms and neck were also thinned, her jawline sculpted and a couple of 'glowing filters' were added.

Karina previously posted this Instagram comparison snap to show the difference between natural (left) and edited (right)

Her thighs, arms and neck were also thinned, her jawline sculpted and a couple of glowing filters added

'Let's play a game. It's called reality vs Instagram,' Karina wrote - she said that every time she saw 'Insta girls' snaps, they were always attracting young girls' comments such as 'GOALS'

'Let's play a game. It's called reality vs Instagram,' she wrote in the caption to the comparison shot.

'Every morning I wake up and scroll through my personal Instagram feed and spy "Insta girls" posting unrealistic images of themselves.

'The girls I follow that portray these images have big followings, often with hundreds of thousands of young girls looking up to them as a role models.'

She explained that the truth is these girls don't look like this, they look like everyone else.

'The truth is these girls don't look like this. They look like you, like everyone,' the 27-year-old (pictured) wrote

'Every morning I wake up and scroll through my personal Instagram feed and spy "Insta girls" posting unrealistic images of themselves,' Karina began her now-viral post

The 27-year-old then explained that she had 'gone ahead and copied the classic "Insta Girl Edit" in my second image' and listed what she did to get the perfect social-media ready snap.

What Karina Irby did to her edited photo * Full body skin smooth * Enlarged my booty * Sucked in my tummy * Sucked in my back * Thinned out my arms * Thinned out my quads * Made my neck a tad skinnier * Got rid of my scars and cellulite * Made my breast rounder * Lifted my booty Advertisement

'Full body skin smooth, enlarged my booty, sucked in my tummy, sucked in my back, thinned out my arms, thinned out my quads, made my neck a tad skinnier, got rid of my scars and cellulite, made my breast rounder, lifted my booty,' she explained.

'After all these little tweaks, can you notice how my horizon is warped? So many girls are so into how their Insta image is going to be portrayed that they don't even notice they have warped the background!'.

Karina concluded the post - which quickly racked up more than 25,000 likes - by writing that she is 'not here to play mean girl towards others':

'I simply want you to love yourself and stop comparing yourself to unrealistic images online'.
Most weight-loss regimes forbid your favourite foods, such as hearty meat pie or yummy pudding.

But Weight Watchers Flex is different. Because its ingenious SmartPoints system means that virtually nothing is off the menu  even those winter staples of puddings and pies.

All in all, this is Weight Watchers most flexible programme yet. Follow it, and you can lose up to a stone in just eight weeks.

As well as SmartPoints making weight loss a breeze, youre less likely to feel hungry, too, as more foods than ever before now have a SmartPoints value of zero  so you can eat whole meals without your budget.

Our exclusive recipe series, which continues today, gives you lots of ideas  and shows even the most indulgent foods are very much on the menu . . .

Dinner - Chicken and leek pie: 8 SmartPoints

Serves 6

1 tsp olive oil

700g chicken breast fillets, skinless, diced

3 leeks, trimmed and thickly sliced

2 tbsp plain flour

400ml chicken stock, made with 1 stock cube

2 tbsp half-fat creme fraiche

1 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped

60g frozen peas

1 sheet light puff pastry

Skimmed milk, to glaze

Using the oil, fry the chicken over a medium heat for around 5 minutes, or until it turns golden. Add the leeks and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and continue to cook for another minute before gradually adding the stock, stirring continuously. Bring to the boil for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for around 8 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Stir in the creme fraiche, tarragon and peas and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200c, fan 180c, gas mark 6. Spoon the chicken mixture into a 2-litre pie dish. Unroll the pastry and drape over the top of the pie. Press the edges down to create a seal and trim any excess pastry from around the edges. Make a couple of slits in the top to allow steam to escape, then brush the milk over the pastry. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden.

Breakfast - Banana and berry drop scones: 6 SmartPoints

Serves 4

125g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

2 tsp caster sugar

1 egg

150ml skimmed milk

250g blueberries

Calorie-controlled cooking spray

2 bananas, sliced

150g strawberries, quartered

200g fat-free natural yoghurt

4 tsp honey, to drizzle

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl with the salt, then stir in the sugar. Make a well in the middle and break in the egg. Gradually whisk in the egg and the milk to a thick, smooth batter. Stir in 100g of blueberries. Spray a non-stick frying pan with cooking spray. Drop in 4 spoonfuls of the batter and cook for about 1 minutes each side over a medium heat. Keep cooked drop scones warm as you make 3 more batches, to give a total of 16. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the blueberries with the sliced bananas and strawberries. Serve 4 drop scones each, topped with fruit, yoghurt and honey.

Lunch - Hawaiian tortilla pizza: 7 SmartPoints

Serves 1

1 soft flour tortilla

3 tbsp tomato passata

40g light mozzarella cheese

30g wafer thin ham, cubed

2 rings of canned pineapple in juice, drained

Small handful rocket leaves

Preheat the oven to 200c, fan 180c, gas mark 6. Put the tortilla on a large baking sheet and spread it with the passata. Scatter the mozzarella, ham and pineapple on it and then season. Cook for 5 minutes or till it is hot through. Serve pizza with the rocket scattered over.

Dinner - Italian-style hasselback chicken: 7 SmartPoints

Serves 4

500g baby potatoes, halved

 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves

4 x 165g skinless chicken breast fillets

2 tbsp lighter green pesto

250g reduced-fat mozzarella, cut into 14 equal slices

4 large vine tomatoes, cut into 14 equal slices

300g green beans, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal

Preheat the oven to 200c, fan 180c, gas mark 6. Put the potatoes in a large roasting tin and drizzle with half the oil. Add the garlic, season, and roast for 30-35 minutes until golden. Meanwhile, line a second roasting tin with baking paper. Make 7 deep cuts in each chicken fillet, about three-quarters of the way through, and transfer to the prepared tin. Spread a little pesto into each cut. Cut each slice of mozzarella and tomato in half (so you have 28 of each) and tuck a slice of each into the cuts. Bake for 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and mozzarella is melted. Meanwhile bring a pan of water to the boil, add the beans and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain and serve with the chicken and potatoes.

Dinner - Tikka-spiced salmon with pilaf: 6 SmartPoints

Serves 4

40g tikka paste

30g low-fat natural yoghurt

4 x 110g skinless salmon fillets

300g cauliflower, cut into florets

Calorie-controlled cooking spray

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

1 cinnamon stick

6 cardamom pods, crushed

1 tsp turmeric

10g toasted flaked almonds

40g raisins

250g pouch ready-cooked basmati rice

100ml vegetable stock made with  cube

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

200g young leaf spinach

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 200c, fan 180c, gas mark 6. Mix the tikka paste and yoghurt together, rub it all over the salmon, then place onto a foil-lined baking tray and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the cauliflower for 5 minutes, then drain and set aside. Mist a pan with the cooking spray, cook the onion for 5 minutes over a medium heat, then add the garlic and spices, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the almonds, raisins, rice, cauliflower and stock. Cook, while stirring, for a few minutes or until the stock has been absorbed. Stir in the coriander and spinach to wilt, then season. Serve with the salmon and lemon wedges.

How Weight Watchers Flex works In simple terms, all food and drink has a SmartPoints value, one easy-to-use number based on four components: 1. CALORIES establish the baseline of how many SmartPoints the food is worth. 2. SATURATED FAT and SUGAR increase the SmartPoints value. 3. PROTEIN lowers the SmartPoints value  the more protein, the fewer the SmartPoints. In this series, you have a wide array of meal options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts and snacks, which all come with different SmartPoints values. Stick to 23 SmartPoints a day and you are certain to lose weight. Weight Watchers also gives you a personalised SmartPoints budget* based on your age, weight, height and gender, to match your specific needs. This includes a tailor-made weekly allowance to use on treats, bigger portions or nights out. And theres even more flexibility, because you can roll over a maximum of four unused SmartPoints into your weekly total. Plus, more foods than ever before have a SmartPoints value of zero. So you need never go hungry  and theres plenty of inspiration here for mouthwatering meals to make. All this, combined with Weight Watchers Connect in the Weight Watchers app**  which can put you in touch with a supportive and inspiring community of other members, and 24/7 support from online coaches who have been in your shoes  means theres everything here that you need to achieve your weight-loss dream. * To get your personalised SmartPoints budget, join a Weight Watchers group, or subscribe online. Go to weightwatchers.com/uk. ** Weight Watchers Mobile app available to Meetings + Online subscribers. Advertisement

An exotic pie for zero SmartPoints - Moroccan-style Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Weight Watchers have made their weight-loss plan even more flexible, thanks to a bigger than ever list of foods that are zero points. On this new and improved programme, you can eat more than 200 foods in portion sizes that suit you, without using up a single point from your budget  from succulent chicken to fresh fish, super-filling eggs to fat-free yoghurt, and nearly every kind of fresh fruit and vegetable going. Weve been showing you all week the astonishing variety of delicious meals you can create from your zero Points foods  and theres more to come as our series continues. Today, why not try this hearty zero Points dinner?

Serves 4

1 large butternut squash, halved and deseeded (about 1kg prepared weight)

Calorie-controlled cooking spray

1 onion, finely chopped

2 large carrots, finely diced

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

 tsp chilli flakes

400g tin green lentils in water

400g tin chopped tomatoes

250ml vegetable stock, made with  stock cube

Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 200c, fan 180c, gas mark 6. Mist the butternut squash with cooking spray and put on a baking tray, cut-side up. Season and roast for 1 hour or until tender. Set aside to cool slightly and reduce the oven temperature to 180c, fan 160c, gas mark 4. Once cool, scoop out the roasted flesh and mash until smooth, seasoning well. While the squash is roasting, mist a large non-stick frying pan with cooking spray and cook the onion, carrots and celery over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms, garlic and spices, then cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in the lentils (include the water from the tin), chopped tomatoes and stock. Season, bring to the boil then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer the lentil mixture to a 20cm square pie dish. Spoon over the butternut mash, making sure none of the lentil mixture is visible. Cook for 25 minutes until piping hot. Let rest for 10 minutes then serve garnished with the parsley.

Cottage pie with sweet potato topping: 10 SmartPoints

Serves 4

Calorie-controlled cooking spray

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery sticks, chopped

2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked

500g 5% fat beef mince

230g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

550ml hot beef stock, made with 1 cube

800g sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tbsp skimmed milk

150g frozen peas

Mist a large pan with the cooking spray and fry the onion over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the carrots and celery, then season and cook for 5-6 minutes. Add the thyme and the beef mince, using a wooden spoon to break it up. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the mince has browned all over. Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced. Preheat the oven to 200c, fan 180c, gas mark 6. Boil the sweet potatoes for 15 minutes. Drain, mash with the milk, then season. Stir the peas through the mince, then spoon into 4 individual pie dishes. Top with the mash and bake for 20-25 minutes until the topping has browned.

Hot chocolate puddings: 9 SmartPoints

Serves 4

Calorie-controlled cooking spray

40g caster sugar

80g self-raising flour

2 heaped tsp cocoa powder

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 tbsp skimmed milk

4 tsp sunflower oil

40g white chocolate, grated

Preheat the oven to 190c, fan 170c, gas mark 5. Mist 4 x 100ml ramekins with the cooking spray to coat.

Put the sugar in a mixing bowl and sift in the flour and cocoa powder.

Make a well in the centre, then beat in the eggs, milk and oil to make a smooth batter.

Spoon the batter between the ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, until risen and just firm.

Sprinkle over the white chocolate and serve.

Fruit crumble: 7 SmartPoints

Serves 4

200ml apple juice

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunky wedges

3 pears, peeled, cored and cut into chunky wedges

4 plums, stones removed and cut into quarters

4 figs, quartered

150g blackberries

30g porridge oats

60g plain flour

20g brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

50g low-fat spread

4 tbsp 0% fat natural Greek yoghurt

In a saucepan, heat the apple juice, cinnamon stick and star anise until it starts to simmer. Add the apples, pears, plums and figs. Simmer for around 20 minutes, adding the blackberries for the last 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200c, fan 180c, gas mark 6. Transfer the fruit from the pan to a 20cm x 22cm dish, using a slotted spoon. Continue cooking the liquid until it reduces to a sticky syrup. Remove the cinnamon stick and star anise, then pour the syrup over the fruit. Meanwhile, mix the oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Rub in the spread using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Scatter the crumble over the fruit and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Serve topped with 1 tbsp yoghurt each.
An 11-year-old boy suffering from a rare and incurable disease has to undergo surgery every two to three months to find which foods are causing his severe allergic reactions.

Caleb Hoshaw was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis after constant vomiting, originally misdiagnosed as acid reflux, turned out to be severe inflammation in his esophagus.

Doctors discovered that any one of the foods Caleb had been eating his entire life were causing a build up of acid that destroyed parts of his esophagus and the nerves in his throat, making him unable to feel when he's choking on something.

Now the only way for the fifth grader from Kansas to know which foods are triggering his illness is by process of elimination: Caleb has to eat only meals from one food group at a time for nine to 12 weeks until his doctors have determined which of the eight groups is making him sick.

At the end of each three month period, doctors have to biopsy his esophagus, stomach and small intestines to see if the most recent food group damaged them - a process that could take more than two years.

Caleb Hoshaw, 11, was diagnosed with a rare and incurable condition called eosinophilic esophagitis in December 2016

For nine to 12 weeks he will introduce one new food group ending in a surgery to learn if that one food is a trigger - then he will start the process again

Caleb's mother Linda Hoshaw told Daily Mail Online that her son showed signs of this condition from infancy when he could not tolerate formula and had issues swallowing.

He was diagnosed with acid reflux and has been on medication to control it his whole life.

'From the time he was born until four years old he had a swallowing issue so we pureed some things he ate and drank,' she said.

This is why when Caleb experienced sporadic episodes of vomiting Linda attributed it to the acid reflux and dehydration from sports.

However, in the fall of 2016 Linda took son to specialists when the vomiting became more frequent and Caleb complained of food feeling stuck in his chest.

By December of that year, biopsies of his throat determined that Caleb suffered from eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE), a chronic allergic and immune condition that causes inflammation of the esophagus.

Those who suffer from EOE have a large number of eosinophilsa type of white blood cell that is normally found in small numbers in the blood.

The disorder affects one to four in 10,000 people in the United States.

WHAT IS EoE? EoE is an allergic inflammatory condition of the esophagus, the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach. The condition is caused when a type of white blood cell (an eosinophil) builds up in the esophagus as a reaction to foods or allergens. They attack the foods, rather than allowing them to be ingested. As they build up, the eosinophils can inflame or injure the tissue, causing swallowing problems. It can be treated with modifying the diet to exclude certain foods, by taking steroid medications to reduce the swelling or by mechanically widening the esophagus. EoE was only discovered in recent years so little is known about its exact cause. Advertisement

Doctors told the family that Caleb was born with the condition and years of acid build up had burned the nerves in his esophagus so badly that he now has no feeling in his throat.

'He doesn't have the feeling of knowing he's choking,' Linda said.

Choking is one of the symptoms of the disease, but went undetected due to the affected nerves.

The fifth grader learned that the foods he loved - pancakes, eggs, french toast - had all been eroding his esophagus over the year.

There is no cure for this condition, only treatment to find out which foods trigger the increase in white blood cells that will let Caleb know which to stay away from for the rest of his life.

The treatment includes eliminating common food groups, known as 'The Top 8' for nine to 12 weeks.

Those foods include wheat, milk, egg, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.

He has eliminated all of those and will only reintroduce one of the food groups at a time for a nine to 12-week period.

At the end of the two to three months, he will have surgery of about 17 biopsies of his esophagus, stomach and his small intestines to see if the foods have triggered the disease in any of those areas.

His mother Linda Hoshaw told Daily Mail Online that her sign was likely born with the condition and was misdiagnosed with acid reflux his entire life

The condition means most of the food Caleb ate his whole life caused inflammation in his esophagus making him vomit and has eroded parts of his throat

So far Caleb has passed the wheat test, meaning he now can enjoy bread and biscuits.

However, another three-month test found that dairy is a trigger, meaning he can no longer eat ice cream and cheese without ruining his intestines.

While there should be nearly no eosinophils in the tissue of the esophagus, biopsies found Caleb had 225 of the white blood cells due to dairy.

The diagnosis has been a big lifestyle change for Caleb and his family that includes his mother, father and 12-year-old sister.

She added the birthdays, school lunches and family holidays such as Thanksgiving are difficult for her son.

Cross-contamination of foods is a big worry for the family because if Caleb 'cheats' and accidentally eats food from one of the other eight groups, he has to start the nine to 12 week process from scratch.

Right now Caleb is limited to eating all fresh foods including fruits, vegetables and meats.

Linda said his 'go-to's' are spaghetti and tacos.

Next Caleb will introduce egg for three months before having the biopsy to reveal how his body reacts to the foods.

'We're going to do eggs next because he wants those brownies and breakfast back,' said Linda.
The predominant strain of flu sweeping the US is very similar to the deadly Aussie flu, and will undoubtedly continue to wreak havoc on Americans' health this season, but are more immune and may fare better, a National Institute of Health expert says.

The US, the UK and Australia are all being inundated with a notoriously aggressive strain of flu called H3N2.

The Australian vaccine was estimated to be only about 10 percent effective, and the government there only advises the shot for the most vulnerable populations, whereas the US CDC suggests immunization for everyone over three months old.

The H3N2 virus also struck the US in the previous flu season, stretching from 2015 to 2016, which may give a small portion of the population some leftover immunity.

Broader vaccination, previous exposure and more effective flu shots should help Americans fare better against the same strain of flu that has ravaged Australia, but we're in for a bad season no matter what, expert says (file image)

The flu came early to the US this year and is already widespread in 46 states, and it's only going to get works, says Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and infectious Disease.

'H3N2 is almost by definition a bad actor,' he says.

'It's a more serious disease and it generally spreads in a way that doesn't respond as well as vaccines' as other variations.'

Flu, like all epidemics, moves in patterns, and Dr Fauci says this one is following a similar pattern to the 2014-2015 season, 'which was bad.'

But it was particularly bad for Australians.

'The flu that's circulating in Australia now, H3N2, they didn't have much of last year, so they're pretty immunologically naive to it,' says Dr Fauci.

If you are exposed to a particular strain of the virus, rather through the vaccine or from getting sick, your body remembers the disease and can fight if off more effectively if you encounter it again.

The second factor working against the Australians is their own vaccine, he says.

The preventative shot is 'an accidental mismatch,' Dr Fauci explains.

Most flu vaccines are made by choosing a virus strain or strains that a given region thinks will be the predominant ones in the next flu season, then growing copies of that virus in chicken eggs.

'In order to adapt itself to more efficient growth in eggs, [the virus] mutated, which is not the end of the world, but it meant that the virus that went out in the vaccine was not the one that was put in' during its development,' Dr Fauci says.

So between its inexperience with H3N2 and its egg-corrupted vaccine, Australia had 'a double whammy,' he adds.

'So the efficacy of their vaccine is only about 10 percent, which is dreadful,' says Dr Fauci.

Unfortunately, the vaccine in the US is very similar, so much so that they are essentially the same, says Dr Fauci.

But the US government urges a far wider group of people to get the vaccine than does the Australian government, where it is only suggested for vulnerable groups like the elderly, the chronically ill, pregnant women and some infants.

In the US, where everyone over the age of three months is supposed to get vaccinated, even if the shot has efficacy - estimated at around 30 percent - the flu should spread more slowly in a population where more people have at least some immunity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's map shows that the flu had reached widespread status (brown) in all but six states in the US as of the week of December 31

Dr Fauci admits that: 'Thirty percent doesn't sound very good, but even with a moderately effective vaccination, it's always better to get vaccinated than to not.'

However, less than half of all Americans got a flu shot last year, according to a report released in September for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

Americans' previous exposure will bolster our immunity to some degree, proportional to the 15-20 percent of the population that catches the flu each year.

However, 'since influenza changes so much from season to season, getting infected or vaccinated the previous year doesn't help all that much,' says Dr Fauci.

Each year the flu vaccine is mass produced - almost entirely in eggs, where it is liable to mutate - based on the changing components of the virus, not the ones that say stay the same.

According to the NIH specialist, 'the overwhelming majority' of vaccines are made in eggs.

The alternative is to develop the vaccine in animal cells, but, in fact only one such vaccine is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and that shot, called Flucelvax, costs more than twice what egg-based shots do, at $220 each before insurance.

Cell-based vaccines can be altered more easily and the virus is less likely to mutate because the animal cells are more similar to those of fully developed humans than to developing chicken embryos.

'The real problem is that change, and I've been saying for years that we really, definitely need a universal flu vaccine,' he adds.

'There are other parts of the virus that don't change, but unfortunately the body doesn't like to have a response to that, it likes to respond to the part that changes,' says Dr Fauci.

So the medical field is always playing a catch up and a guessing game at the same time.

'It's a scientific hurdle, but one I believe one we are able to improve upon.

'I can't say if we can make it perfect, but we need to do better, because even in a good year, it's only about 60 percent effective, and never approaches the degree we see against other disease like measles or polio,' Dr Fauci says.
Dr Adaora Okoli was once all but dead, and now she is considered a 'hero in the field' by Bill Gates, who gave her the distinction last Thursday for not only being one of the few survivors of the Ebola virus, but for dedicating her life to fighting it.

When she recovered from Ebola in 2014 and was able at last to leave the isolation ward in Lagos, Nigeria, Dr Okoli felt reborn with a purpose.

Dr Okoli was infected while treating one of the first Nigerian cases of the deadly virus, which killed more than 11,000 people, and she has since moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to study epidemiology at Tulane University.

She made headlines when her story emerged in 2014 and Gates said of her on his blog: 'Her courage and her optimism are inspiring.'

When she graduates in May, Dr Okoli, now 31, plans to continue her research in infectious diseases and eventually return to Nigeria to educate her fellow doctors on how to more effectively treat and understand diseases as public health issue.

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After surviving the Ebola virus, Dr Adaora Okoli can now be found strolling the campus of

The stress that Dr Okoli underwent the week of July 20 2014 would be enough to make anyone feel ill.

That's just what she thought her sore throat and body aches were, at first: stress.

Her week had been a whirlwind.

A diplomat from Liberia, where the Ebola outbreak had begun six months earlier, came into Dr Okoli's hospital, First Consultants Medical Center, with symptoms that made her colleagues think he might have malaria.

Dr Okoli was on call, and came to the diplomat's room when he asked for a doctor.

He had had to make several trips to the bathroom with diarrhea, so she asked a nurse, who was eight weeks pregnant, to help him to the bathroom and temporarily remove the IV.

When the nurse tried to replace the IV, the patient 'got very upset and yanked the IV from his hand. The nurse had blood splashing all over her and the sheets,' Dr Okoli says.

She was immediately concerned, and became more so when the man's lab results revealed liver abnormalities.

'That's one of the organs that Ebola attacks, and I told the nurses I suspected he might be a case of Ebola,' and she instructed the nurse to be particularly careful to wash her hands and wear gloves, Dr Okoli says.

'We didn't have personal protective equipment that was adequate, we just had what we had, and had to do our best and use that.'

Dr Okoli sits with her colleagues from First Consultants Medical Center in Lagos, Nigeria, where she was a resident and contracted the Ebola virus from a patient

Three weeks after she left the isolation ward, Dr Okoli celebrated her recovery by taking this studio photo

Proper protective gear covers the clothing, skin and any mucous membranes, such as the eyes. Dr Okoli and her team had only masks and rubber gloves.

It took three days for the World Health Organization to confirm the that the diplomat had ebola, and during that time he was agitated, threatening to leave, which would have put the entire town of Lagos at risk, but Dr Okoli and her colleagues kept him in place, and stayed to treat him.

Three days later, the diplomat was dead, and the hospital was shut down.

That's when Dr Okoli started to feel sick with a sore throat, but assumed it was stress and treated herself with antibiotics.

At home, her family continued to assure her she couldn't have Ebola, even as Dr Okoli became more convinced.

'I isolated myself, and kept them at arms length,' and called the newly-established local health line to send someone to test her for the disease.

Two days later, she got a strange call back.

Dr Okoli poses for a World Health Organization photo campaign shortly after her recovery from Ebola in 2014 (left) and with her two-year-old daughter, Valerie (right) in New Orleans

'He was stumbling, and he said "we're sorry, there was a mix up, we have to take you to the hospital to take a sample,"' Dr Okoli recalls.

Ever the professional, she remained calm even when the health official came to her house and loaded her into an ambulance.

She wasn't taken to First Consultants, but five hours away to another hospital, and when the ambulance doors opened again, everything had changed.

'I'm sorry, your test was positive, you have Ebola,' a health official told her.

'I called my mother, told her to lock my bedroom door from the outside, and that she shouldn't worry, I don't know how, but I'm going to survive,' Dr Okoli says.

She was sealed into an isolation ward with five other female patients.

There is no known cure for Ebola, and in Nigeria, no access to ZMapp, the experimental treatment.

'It's just a matter of let's see if your immune system can fight this. If it can, "yay," if it can't, we're sorry, but at least you didn't infect anyone else,' says Dr Okoli.

Medical personnel had to wear full body protective gear to guard themselves from infection during Nigeria's 2014 Ebola outbreak, but Dr Okoli did not have access to such equipment

At 28 years old, she found herself sitting in the isolation ward, in the bed next to the pregnant nurse who had had the diplomat's blood spattered all over her.

'But I said "I know this is not the end for me," Dr Okoli says.

She remembered opening the Bible at random three years prior, when her eyes fell on a verse: Jeremiah 29:11.

'"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

The moment stuck with her, and Dr Okoli meant to see that promise kept.

'I thought to God, "this is what you told me," so when I was sitting in the isolation ward in August 2014, I had to remind God of what he said, that he is not a liar and he has plans for me.'

So she fought.

Dr Okoli used her clinical skills and treated herself as her own patient. She researched Ebola obsessively until she found a deadly symptom she could treat: dehydration.

'If you can stock up on fluids, you might have a chance before multi-system shut down....because you're fighting against a virus that is replicating every single second,' she says.

Dr Okoli now speaks to groups of students about her experience and aspirations of changing approaches to how we treat infectious disease outbreaks

Dr Okoli carefully monitored her own body - changes in her urine color and the consistency of her nearly constant diarrhea - treating herself with high doses of water.

Finally, she began to get her appetite back, and not just for anything, but for bananas.

'The problem with persistent diarrhea is that you lose a lot of potassium and risk going to cardiac failure, which can lead to death,' she explains.

By the nurse's bed next to Dr Okoli's, 'I saw that her fiance had brought her all these bananas and she wasn't eating them, but I had this urge to eat all the bananas.

'I don't know if it was divine or coincidence, but i happened to have bananas when I need them most,' she says.

Dr Okoli got stronger, and started helping tend to and counsel the other disheartened patients on the ward.

Fourteen days later, her blood was ebola-free.

Leaving the isolation ward bordered on a religious, ritualistic experience, Dr Okoli says.

She bathed in chlorine and changed into fresh, uncontaminated clothes her parents had brought her, carefully making sure they didn't touch the ground.

As she approached the door, 'I was given a pair of scissors and cut the red tape that was separating the isolation ward from the rest of the world.'

When she cut that tape, 'I felt like I'd been reborn, and something had died in that ward when I was there.

'The new me was someone that had decided not to be rebuked, to be a doctor, to help people.'

After watching one poorly-equipped doctor try to take care of her entire ward with two visits a day, and nearly dying herself, Dr Okoli left behind her dreams of endocrinology and dedicated herself to a new mission: treating infectious diseases as a public health issue.

'Doctors need to know how to handle Ebola. It should arise not just out of someone who knows infectious disease but a public health concern.

'Ebola thrives in impoverished areas, in countries suffering in the aftermath of war and bad governments...it's not just about treating patients,' she says.

Dr Okoli applied - and was accepted to - a master's program at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Diseases in New Orleans.

She has since excelled in her studies there, given birth to a daughter, Valerie, now two, and will graduate in May.

Her plan is to spend a year conducting research on the pattern of epidemics, not just Ebola, before returning to Nigeria to help treat and educate others, even in the face of the threat of contracting another life-threatening disease.

'My uncle says I'm crazy,' Dr Okoli told Daily Mail Online, but she just shrugs that off.

'I have fear, but... If I had died in that isolation ward, I wouldn't even have the opportunity to talk about or consider infectious disease, so I make the most of whatever time I have, to affect path for others.

'Everyone has a story...something that resonates with them, and whatever you have in your hand...use that to possibly make change that affects more people positively,' Dr Okoli says.
Dr Anita Grigoriadis, pictured, led researchers who discovered the breakthrough which could save some women from the trauma of chemotherapy

Women with breast cancer could be spared gruelling chemotherapy thanks to a new test.

Scientists used a computer to come up with an algorithm that predicts whether patient lives are threatened by the disease spreading to their organs.

The test is for women with breast cancer which has spread to their lymph nodes  the first sign of which is often a lump they discover under their armpit.

A study suggests a quarter of women with this type of breast cancer will not see it reach their organs within the next decade.

The algorithm, which analyses 40 distinctive patterns in their cells, is hoped to single these patients out so that they can be spared powerful chemotherapy drugs and the sickness and hair loss they cause.

Dr Anita Grigoriadis, who led the research from Kings College London, said: By inspecting more features of the lymph node, we can separate the lymph-node positive breast cancer patients into a group who will develop distant metastasis quickly, and identify those patients who have very little risk of getting secondary cancers. We can therefore provide crucial information and might identify low-risk patients among a high-risk group.

Breast cancer is no longer the death sentence it was decades ago, with more than 78 per cent of women surviving a decade later.

Around half of women whose cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under their arm will survive a decade after surgery and radiotherapy. However their odds are slashed if the cancer spreads to the organs  usually the lungs and liver. Only close to one in seven women in this position survive after five years.

Researchers created the test to determine which women were in danger of cancer spreading through their body, using lymph nodes and tumours removed in surgery.

Looking at samples from 309 breast cancer patients, treated in London between 1984 and 2002, they found around 40 patterns of cells. Five were important, they discovered, based on how the cancer had behaved in the women they looked at afterwards.

The researchers examined samples of some 309 women treated for breast cancer in London between 1984 and 2002 when they made the major breakthrough

These patterns are easily spotted under a microscope and include the cluster of immune cells which can be seen around tumours.

However tell-tale patterns also occur, it was found for the first time, in lymph nodes which are unaffected by cancer and were also removed from women.

These lymph nodes appear rather like opened umbrellas, with circular germinal centres on each panel of the umbrella.

But in women with cancer, the circles got larger and moved more to the centre  a sign that the nodes, which are glands that fight infection, were being called into action.

The five patterns, taken together, now help form a test which could be used, following larger studies, in hospitals to detect the women at risk of their cancer spreading.

The study, funded by Breast Cancer Now, is published in The Journal of Pathology: Clinical Research. Baroness Delyth Morgan, the charitys chief executive, described the study as highly exciting.
An ultra-rare pain disorder causes a graduate so much discomfort she has to shower 'like a starfish' to avoid water touching her skin and even a light breeze leaves her in agony.

Abi Harmer, 22, from Whitstable, Kent, mysteriously woke one day with such sensitive skin she is unable to sleep and has to use crutches to get around.

After months of doctors being clueless as to what was causing Ms Harmer's agonising discomfort, with some even suggesting it was psychological, she was eventually diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) while still at university.

She said: 'I usually tell my friends it feels like the affected area is in a bucket of ice-cold water.

'But, instead of moving it, when you can't stand it any longer, you just have to keep it there.

Despite her ordeal, Ms Harmer graduated from Canterbury Christ Church university last September and is slowly reintroducing the sensation of fabric and water on her skin.

She is speaking out to raise awareness of the condition and support other sufferers.

Abi Harmer (pictured on her graduation day) suffers from an incurable rare pain disorder that leaves her in agonising discomfort every time she washes or gets dressed

Ms Harmer (pictured right) woke one day with such sensitive skin she is unable to sleep

Ms Harmer endured months of excruciating pain before eventually being diagnosed, with doctors initially thinking her discomfort may be psychological (pictured in hospital)

WHAT IS COMPLEX REGIONAL PAIN SYNDROME? Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) usually occurs after injury and affects one limb. It is believed to be caused by damage to, or malfunction of, the nerve signals from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. CRPS' main symptom is constant pain, which may feel like burning, pins and needles or as if the sufferer is being squeezed. Other symptoms include change in skin temperature and colour, as well as limb swelling. CRPS' cause is usually trauma, such as fractures and sprains. Treatment includes rehabilitation, psychotherapy and medication. Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Advertisement

'I get two-to-five hours sleep a night because of the pain'

Ms Harmer woke one morning in January 2015 to find she had completely lost the use of her left hand.

She first noticed something was wrong in the beginning of the year when she experienced what felt like water trickling down the inside of her arm and hand.

Ms Harmer initially put it down to the cold weather, however, on January 27, she woke with a burning sensation in her arm.

Her GP referred her for an urgent MRI scan at Kent and Canterbury hospital to check whether she was suffering from trapped nerves.

Yet, the results suggested there was nothing to be concerned about, with certain doctors even questioning whether the pain was psychological.

A frustrated Ms Harmer said: 'It was getting worse and worse and I developed a skin sensitivity that was so bad, I couldn't even stand my clothes touching it. Any sensation at all was awful.

'I usually tell my friends it feels like the affected area is in a bucket of ice-cold water.

'But, instead of moving it, when you can't stand it any longer, you just have to keep it there.

'When I wash, I have to try to keep my foot and arm out of the water because it's so painful. I have to hold them out and my body is in a star position.

'My sleep is one of the things that is affected the most. I get about two-to-five hours a night because of the pain. I struggle to get to sleep and then if my limbs rub against the sheets or the pillow, it wakes me up again.'

Over the next four months, the pain grew steadily worse until, eventually, Ms Harmer struggled to stand and had to use crutches with just one hand.

In May, Ms Harmer saw a physiotherapist to try to regain movement. After explaining her condition, he said she may have CRPS, which Ms Harmer researched online and found the symptoms matched her own.

In mid-August, she had an appointment to see a specialist at central London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, who officially diagnosed her.

Ms Harmer woke in January 2015 to find she had completely lost the use of her left hand

The pain is so severe Ms Harmer is forced to walk with a crutch using just one hand

'I was scared I wouldn't ever be able to walk again'

After months of uncertainty, Ms Harmer was relieved to finally be told what was causing her symptoms, but is aware some sufferers never improve.

She said: 'I was only in my 20s and still at uni, so I was scared because I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to walk or use my hand properly again.

'I was left-handed, so it meant I had to learn to do all sorts of things again. I had to learn to write with my right hand, eat and even do stupid things like brush my teeth.

'My parents Claire and Mark, both 50, have had to help me wash as I can only use one hand now. I couldn't do it without them.'

'It looks like I have been burnt'

Despite her ordeal, Ms Harmer finished her religion, philosophy and ethics degree.

She has also been working to desensitise the areas affected by CRPS.

Ms Harmer said: 'I can't let any chemicals touch my skin or it comes out in a rash that looks like I have been burnt.

'I have been introducing water and I have little patches of fabric that I have slowly introduced, which means now I am able to wear clothes over it. It means I can go out more as I can protect it from things like the wind or rain that cause a lot of pain.

'My parents are amazing at looking after me and taking me anywhere I need to go, but it's difficult to do things like going out with my friends.

'My pain is really unpredictable and I don't want to take so many strong painkillers that I don't know what is going on.'

Ms Harmer is managing her pain using ketamine infusions but doctors are considering whether to try spinal stimulation, which sends electrical impulses into the spine.

Ms Harmer likens the pain to putting her hand in ice-cold water without ever removing it

Her skin is so sensitive even rubbing it against bed sheets causes her to wake up in agony

Despite her ordeal, Ms Harmer (pictured left) graduated from university last September, and is slowly reintroducing the sensation of fabric and water on her skin

'Even medical staff don't understand the condition'

The graduate is now speaking out to raise awareness of the condition, even among doctors.

Ms Harmer said: 'I don't think people, even medical staff, really understand the condition.

'For me, it was hard because I didn't have any sort of injury, which is quite unusual, and it took a while to get a diagnosis.

'I've met a whole community of people online with the condition and we all support each other. It's great to have people out there who really understand the level of the pain.'
A courageous man outed himself as HIV positive in a public post on Facebook in a bid to show having the virus is not a death sentence.

After taking a test as a precaution at the start of a new relationship, Andrew Gamez-Heath was shocked to be told he had the virus just 60 seconds later.

Many of the 34-year-old's friends did not even know he was gay  yet his attempt to reduce the stigma surrounding the condition on social media was praised and the post has been shared thousands of times.

Andrew is now is happily married to nurse Ricardo Gamez-Heat, 33  who has stuck by him despite knowing him for just a few weeks when he received the news.

Diagnosed in November, 2014, while living in Balham, south west London, Andrew's illness is well-controlled and, thanks to daily medication  which he says he suffers no side effects from  the virus is now undetectable in his body.

Andrew Gamez-Heath (left), pictured with his now husband Ricardo (right) took a test as a precaution at the start of their relationship

He was shocked to be told by nurse he was positive just 60 seconds later

Andrew's Facebook post has been shared thousands of times and has been praised

Writing on Facebook six weeks ago, he said: 'People are living with this virus like it's shameful. I'm no different from when I didn't have HIV.

'In fact, I'm happier and healthier than ever. It's made me grow as a person and I'm able to do a job that changes perceptions.

'HIV does not define who I am and never will. No more than me having green curtains in my lounge would define me.

'But if people don't talk about being HIV positive and the facts about the virus then the stigma will continue. I'm happy, healthy, my virus is undetectable, and I can't pass it on. My life is no different from yours.'

'The bottom fell out of my world'

Just two months earlier, Andrew, from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, who then was working at London's celebrated Savoy Hotel had a another HIV test had been clear, making the positive result all the more unexpected

He explained: 'I was living in London and had gone for a routine sexual health screen at Dean Street Express in Soho.

'I took the test because I'd only just started seeing Ricardo and I wanted to make sure I was healthy.

Many of Andrew's friends did not even know he was gay when he shared the post

His illness is incredibly well-controlled and virus is now undetectable in his body

'People visit the dentist and I don't see getting tests for STIs any different to that. I viewed it as the same.'

Andrew, who now works for Positive Health, a sexual health charity in Lincoln which aims to raise awareness of HIV, burst out crying when he found out he was positive.

'Not for one minute was I worried about the result. For me, it was just a routine check and I would be in and out in five minutes.

'The nurse told me, "Okay, so this test has come back reactive," he explained. 'She went on to say it meant I was HIV positive.

Andrew, originally from Whitby, North Yorkshire, admits 'the bottom fell out of his world.'

He said: 'I heard the words, 'HIV positive', and I just crumbled. 'I immediately wanted to know how accurate the test was.

'When they said it was more than 99 per cent accurate, I knew I had it.'

Despite having only known Ricardo, who he met through friends, for a few weeks, he asked staff to call him.

'As Ricardo arrived, I was told I could leave Dean Street,' he explained. 'I didn't want to. If I left it would be real.'

'It was suspected I had a virus'

Over the next few days, he frantically tried to figure out who had given him HIV, but admits he still does not know.

He recalled being off work with severe flu-like symptoms a few weeks before the diagnosis and now thinks this was seroconversion occurring.

According to the Terrence Higgins Trust, this occurs up to six weeks after infection. It's a sign that their immune system is reacting to the presence of the virus in their body.

Ricardo has stuck by Andrew despite knowing him for a few weeks when he was diagnosed

'HIV does not define who I am and never will,' says Andrew who works for sexual health charity Positive Health

Seroconversion is also the point at which the body produces antibodies to HIV. Once this has has happened, an HIV test will detect antibodies and give a positive result.

Seroconversion illness happens to most  but not all  recently infected people. It can be severe enough to put someone in hospital or so mild that it's mistaken for something like flu  although a blocked or runny nose is not usually a symptom.

'At the time, I felt awful,' he explained. 'I actually went to the GP and was referred for blood tests, but they showed nothing, so it was suspected I had a virus.

'The illness cleared and I got on with things.'

In the days after his positive test, Andrew was referred to another NHS clinic, 56 Dean Street, for blood tests, to discuss medication options and to be referred for counselling.

He says that 'if people don't talk about being HIV positive and the facts about the virus then the stigma will continue'

Tests showed his viral count was very high, meaning the illness had been very caught early.

Andrew continued: 'I thought, 'It's the end, it's over, I'm dying.'

'Then, I met a counsellor and they said, "Do you know anyone with HIV?"

'I said, "no" and they said, "Well you do now. I was diagnosed 14 years ago."

'It made me realise that people could survive.'

Within four weeks he had started medication and the drugs began to work.

'I had to take just one tablet a day, that was all I had to do,' he explained. 'The level of virus began to drop very quickly and within a couple of months it was undetectable.

'My consultant explained that once the virus was undetectable in my blood, my immune system was no longer compromised and was actually very strong anyway. Not only that, it meant I couldn't pass the virus on to anyone. I was and still am un-infectious.'

'I don't know what I would have done without him'

Still Andrew decided not to tell many people  keeping his diagnosis from his mother, Ali Thomson, now 61, and father, Les Heath, now 74.

It was not until around 18 months later that he broke the news to his shocked mum.

'Initially, she was terrified, as she had only heard terrible things,' he said. 'But I was, by that point, very well educated and told her it wouldn't affect my life span, if I continued to take medication as I was doing.'

Les, who lives on a barge in Leicestershire, was relaxed about it, when he found out just a few months ago.

Andrew says he doesn't know how he'd have coped with the support of Ricardo

A WEEKLY HIV PILL MAY BE ON THE WAY A new weekly HIV treatment was shown to work in animals in a new study  prompting its manufacturer to begin development of a pill for humans. HIV medications can now keep levels of the virus so low in people with the disease that they are undetectable and cannot be transmitted. But most current HIV treatments require a daily pill or regular injections. Massachusetts-based drug manufacturer Lyndra's most recent test of its treatment found that effective, oral doses of three HIV-fighting compounds could stay in the systems of animals for sustained periods of time, as proof of concept for the drug they are developing. But, even as life spans continue to stretch for HIV positive people, the disease remains incurable, requiring a lifetime of treatment. The development of a single pill that combines the three key drug compounds used that combat the virus has been a big development. Advertisement

'He knew about HIV through my job,' said Andrew. 'This meant he understood it was no longer a death sentence.'

Andrew, who married Ricardo in September 2016 at a hotel in Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire, finally took the brave decision to go public on Facebook, hoping to dispel all the misinformation surrounding HIV.

He said: 'Through all of this, my boyfriend, now husband, gave me more support than anyone and to this day I don't know what I would have done without him.

'But, one thing that struck me when I was diagnosed was that I knew nothing about HIV, and the stuff I did know was so outdated that it was actually wrong.

'For me, it was so important that I get the correct info out there and try and set the record straight for everyone living with the virus.'

According to Andrew, the most difficult thing about living with HIV has remained the stigma surrounding it.

He said: 'Here I am doing this job and trying to change perceptions and yet I was keeping my own status a secret.

'So, after three years, I've decided to come out of the 'viral closet' and talk openly about my diagnosis.
Three GPs a day are seeking help for 'meltdowns' as they struggle to take on the workloads of growing doctor vacancies.

Some 981 GPs referred themselves to the GP Health Service, which was set up to help doctors suffering from stress or burnout, between the end of November and the service's launch on January 30 2017.

'Practice meltdown' is the most common reason for self-referral, according to the service's chief executive Lucy Warner.

GPs are making themselves ill by being too eager to take on the workloads of unfilled positions, causing them to buckle under the pressure, General Practitioners Committee chairman Dr Richard Vautrey said, describing the situation as a 'baptism of fire'.

Research carried out last year revealed nearly 12 per cent of GP positions are vacant in the UK, up from 6.4 per cent in 2014.

Three GPs a day are seeking help for 'meltdowns' as they struggle to cope with their workloads

COMPUTERS COULD REPLACE DOCTORS IN AS LITTLE AS 10 YEARS TIME, JEREMY HUNT SAYS Patients may one day be diagnosed by computers, not doctors, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said last September. Artificial intelligence could help in diagnosing patients by analysing X-rays and samples to determine conditions such as cancer, according to NHS England bosses. Mr Hunt said: 'So what might medicine look like when the NHS is 80 [in 2028]? Well, the first thing is we may well not be going to doctors for a diagnosis, we might be going to computers instead'. In as little as a decade's time, patients may even be diagnosed with disorders before they develop symptoms as DNA screening is set to become accessible to the masses, he added. The future will also see patients being able to declare their wishes about sensitive subjects such as organ donation and end-of-life care through apps, Mr Hunt added. Advertisement

'Doctors should look after themselves to look after their patients'

According to Dr Vautrey, newly-qualified GPs are being put in situations experienced doctors would struggle to cope with.

He added the use of the GP Health Service highlights the need to address workload pressures so doctors can practice safely without putting themselves or their patients at risk.

Ms Warner told GP Online: 'Ultimately, our advice to doctors would be to look after themselves in order to be able to look after their patients.

'If doctors cared for themselves and their colleagues and followed the same advice they would give to their patients they would seek help sooner.

'Doctors make excellent patients and excellent recoveries with the right support.

Younger GPs are needing help

Other reasons GPs are seeking help include receiving official complaints or discovering they have made a mistake as result of their own mental health problems.

Younger GPs are also requiring assistance as they generally struggle to cope with the workloads and pressures of the job.
Frozen embryos are just as likely to result in a successful pregnancy as fresh ones, a landmark new study suggests.

Researchers discovered the technique, considered 'controversial', was slightly more effective in terms of live birth rates.

The new results, set to be published in The New England Journal of Medicine, were drawn from a trial of nearly 800 infertile women.

Frozen embryos resulted in pregnancies for 36 per cent of women - compared to 35 per cent in the fresh group, the 'reassuring' study found.

They were also more likely to result in children being born alive, with 34 per cent in the frozen group compared to 32 per cent in the fresh.

The 'important' findings dispute Government figures from 2010 that revealed frozen embryos were 10 per cent less likely to result in pregnancy.

Researchers discovered the frozen embryo technique, considered 'controversial', was slightly more effective in terms of live birth rates

An array of evidence has emerged in recent years to show that those embryos which have been thawed are 'arguably better'.

The latest findings, led by Australian and Vietnamese researchers, offer more hope of making it the main option for IVF treatment in future.

Professor Ben Mol, co-author, based at the University of Adelaide, described the study as 'important news for infertile women worldwide'.

He said: 'Our key finding is that freezing embryos for IVF is not harming a couple's chances of having a baby.

'After the first fresh embryo transfer, it will be possible to freeze the remaining embryos and transfer them one by one, which is safe and effective.'

However, skeptics have repeatedly warned that if the method was more widely used it would lead to less pregnancies.

Aileen Feeney, chief executive of Fertility Network UK, welcomed the findings.

She said: 'One of the big questions for couples experiencing IVF is whether there is any difference in the chance of having a healthy baby if they use fresh embryos or ones that have been previously frozen.

FROZEN EMBRYOS: THE FACTS Often in IVF, women have good quality embryos leftover which they cant use. Instead of discarding them, they have the option to freeze them to use in the future. Not all embryos are suitable for freezing so only good quality embryos will be chosen to freeze. Embryos can be frozen at different stages of their development  when theyre just a single cell, at the two to eight cell stage or later in their development - the blastocyst stage. The embryos will be put in a special substance, which replaces water in their cells. This will protect the embryos from damage caused by ice crystals forming. Theyll then be frozen, either by cooling them slowly or fast freezing (vitrification) and stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen until youre ready to use them. Source: HFEA Advertisement

'This study, although small, offers a measure of reassurance that there appears to be no significant difference in success rates between fresh and frozen embryos when using this particular freezing method.'

Professor Luciano Nardo, clinical director at Reproductive Health Group based in Daresbury, Cheshire, said: 'Techniques to freeze embryos have been evolving at such a rate they are now lightyears ahead of where we were just a decade ago.

'As techniques have evolved, the success rate has also risen, and were now at a stage where frozen embryo transfer cycles are as good, if not better, than fresh transfer cycles.

'This research will no doubt reassure women worldwide about the effectiveness of using frozen embryos. It will also serve as an important reminder for couples suffering from infertility that there is hope.'

The majority of IVF clinics in the UK rely on the fresh embryo technique, when eggs are taken, fertilised soon after and then implanted.

Figures suggest just one in five cycles of IVF use the frozen technique - when 'spare' embryos from a previous attempt are kept frozen.

Clinics have moved towards the latter in recent years amid the recent studies which have proven freezing embryos is just as effective - but fears still exist.

Figures also suggest a fresh cycle is three times more expensive than a frozen one, suggesting price is also stopping some from making the transition.

Dr Lan Vuong, lead author, based at My Duc Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said: 'Frozen embryo techniques are growing in popularity in fertility clinics worldwide.

'This is one of the reasons why our research is important for fertility clinicians and researchers, and of course couples who are hoping to have a child.'

In the UK, women can store their embryos for 10 years by law. Those with certain circumstances can keep them for 55 years.

None of the women in the study suffered from polycystic ovarian syndrome - which is estimated to be responsible for almost a third of all infertility diagnoses.

One cycle of IVF was given to all. Success rates for the fertility treatment vary, with a steep decline for women over the age of 34.

The women were then given either a transfer of fresh embryos or those which had been thawed without the use of controversial IVF drugs.

Studies have repeatedly highlighted the dangers of the drugs used, with Swedish experts finding they can raise the risk of fatal blood clots in 2013.

The researchers warned the results of this latest trial on frozen embryos are specific to a common freezing method called Cryotech vitrification.

It is considered to be the 'most effective, easiest and safest method' of preserving oocytes and embryos of any developmental stage.

The findings may not apply to all the embryo freezing techniques currently being used, Dr Vuong also warned.
Organ donations from deceased people exceeded 10,000 in 2017, breaking previous records and continuing a years-long trend, the United Network of Organ Sharing reports.

Donations increased by 3.1 percent over 2016's numbers, helping to make the 34,768 life-saving transplants that occurred last year possible.

However, shortages continue to plague the transplant community, with deficits far out pacing donations for the last 25 years.

Incremental improvements seen in the last several years are due in part to changes in standards giving recipients the option to consent to 'higher risk' organs, including those from people who died of opioid overdoses.

Organ donations were up 3.1 percent in 2017, an increase fueled in part by the opioid epidemic

Transplants have been performed in the US since 1954, when a donor kidney was placed in an American man for the first time.

Yet, in spite of years of practice, the procedure remains tricky and time sensitive.

In order for a person's organ to be viable after death, oxygen-rich blood has to continue to flow to that part of their body, but only about three in every 1,000 people in the US die in a way that makes this possible, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The list's length peaked in 2015, but as of August of last year, 116,000 Americans were waiting for transplants - nearly 10 times the number of organs donated over the course of the year.

As a result, each day, 20 people on transplant lists die before an organ becomes available.

Americans tend to be in favor of organ donation as a matter of policy, but only about half of the population is registered to give their own after death.

In response, there has been a push in recent years to investigate just where, exactly, the bar is to make an organ viable, and even when death occurs.

On the heals of this research, the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) slackened its clinical requirements.

In 2017, more donations were accepted from people who were not yet brain dead, but whose circulatory systems had stopped functioning, had died from drug overdoses, were over 50 or were at risk for blood diseases.

'That includes some donors that are, unfortunately, dying in the opioid crisis these days,' says Dr David Klassen, chief medical officer for UNOS.

After careful screening for any infection, 'those donors are excellent donors, [in part because] they are often younger, which is good from an organ donor perspective,' he says.

Transplant centers must inform potential recipients of all potential risks under guidelines introduced in 2013, but now a broader range of organs can be considered.

'As we increase our understanding of medical criteria that contribute to successful transplantation, donation and transplantation professionals have been able to use organs from a wider set of potential donors,' said Dr Klassen.

Organ shortages have decreased slightly since the peak in 2015, but there are still 10 times as many people on the transplant waiting list as gave organs last year

'In doing so, we continue to carefully balance the opportunity for transplantation with a commitment to maintaining patient safety,' he added.

Still, in 2017, the same year that organ donations broke 10,000, shortages had increased by 20 percent over the rates from five years prior.

Currently, organ donors have to opt in when they get their driver's licenses,

A 2012 Stanford University study found that most Americans saw organ donation as extremely charitable, likening the act more closely to giving 50 percent of an inheritance to charity than five percent.

The researchers recommended that the 'opt in' approach be exchanged for an active decision to opt out of organ donation, a method of 'presumed consent' that hs been adopted by 25 European countries.

States including Connecticut and Texas have proposed legislation that would make organ donation the default status of their citizens.

Currently, organ donors have to opt in when they get their driver's licenses, but so far the no legislative changes have been made.
Three film greats unite for the first time for this sharply dressed, timely newsroom drama, writes Pippa Bailey

Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star as newsroom big-shots Ben Bradlee and Kay Graham

Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep: three titans of film so lauded that the poster for, well, The Post features only the surnames of its leading actors. With a list of names like that, you expect a certain calibre, and The Post doesnt disappoint. This a sharply dressed and stirring film  a gorgeous 70s vignette of wood-paneled boardrooms, frantic typewriters and smoking in lifts  with the kind of performances that appear completely effortless.

Its 1971 and the US has been increasingly embroiled in the war in Vietnam for 16 years. A disillusioned former military analyst, Daniel Ellsberg, sends the top-secret pages of a government study detailing, among other things, that the government has deceived the American public about the futility of the war (a conflict that by its end had cost 58,000 American lives) to the The Times. But when an injunction from the White House prevents the paper from publishing the full story, the race is on for The Washington Post to get its hands on the document and prove its mettle. Ultimately the decision as to whether to publish could lead to the financial ruin of the paper and put its key players in prison.

The person tasked with this unenviable choice is Streeps Kay Graham, the USs first female newspaper publisher, landed with her position by the suicide of her husband. It is a role  we are told by the way she knocks over a chair in a restaurant with her overstuffed briefcase and nervously clutches at her glasses throughout  for which she feels unprepared. In a world in which women retire to the drawing room after dinner and make sandwiches for the busy men, Kays story is equally about holding her own against the condescension of the grey-suited, middle-aged men that surround her as about taking on the government. Relatably, she spends as much of the film in a tizzy of self-doubt as she does leading with courage and clarity. The moment around which the plot turns, when Kay decides to publish the papers (history, here, is the ultimate spoiler), is a charmingly on-the-spot, dithering decision that has a touch of quickly before I change my mind about it.

The film charts The Washington Post's decision about whether to publish the revealing Pentagon Papers

Hanks joins the fray as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, by contrast a slightly irascible, impatient old-boy journalist who spends a lot of time with his arms crossed and will fight to the end to protect the noble free press, consequences be damned. Streep and Hanks have five Oscar wins and a further 20 nominations between them, and yet somehow this is the first time they have shared the big screen. The pair inhabit their roles with ease; neither performance appears a stretch, but both are certainly a joy.

And yet one of The Posts most rousing scenes doesnt involve either: I defy anyone not to get goosebumps as the printing presses roll out thousands of front pages in direct defiance of the government. From opening in a battery of bullets in Vietnam to the flurries of paper and multiple nearly-getting-hit-by-a-car-because-Im-in-a-rush scenes of the US, Spielberg keeps up the pace, not allowing the film to breathe out until the final five minutes. The camera doesnt settle in one place for long and favours wide angles that at times feel dizzying. This is a story with high stakes and an Impending Deadline.

Its a classic tale of first-amendment rights and government corruption, and a timely one for today. The Washington Post is, after all, the paper that brought down a presidency with Watergate (as documented in the journo-genre great All The President's Men; indeed its opening scene is cleverly mirrored at the end of The Post). Highly principled and told without a hint of irony, The Post at times feels a little too right-on; we arent so much gently revealed its rousing moral as bashed round the head with it.

The Post is a gorgeous 70s vignette of wood-paneled boardrooms, frantic typewriters and smoking in lifts

It loses its way slightly, too, in Streep and Hanks final scene, in which the fluorescent strip lights take on an unlikely romanticised glow and the dialogue slips into cliche (Journalism is the first draft of history, says Kay), but these are small missteps in an otherwise strong film.

If anything, The Posts main flaw is that it is exactly what you would expect from a Spielberg x Hanks x Streep project  there are no great surprises here. But then, when what you expect is a expertly crafted, magnificently acted film, thats high praise.
Western Union fraud victims are being urged to claim compensation

More than 22,000 people scammed after sending money through Western Union are being urged to claim compensation.

Action Fraud, part of City of London Police, is writing to tell UK victims they have until February 12 to apply for part of a 437million fund secured by U.S. regulators.

Anyone tricked into giving money to fraudsters via the international money transfer service between January 1, 2004, and January 19, 2017 can apply.

Scams included crooks on dating websites tricking lonely people into handing over cash, and begging emails that appear to come from relatives abroad.

Apply at actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040. It is free to claim, so don't pay any firm offering to do it for you.
Balance transfer deals are the cheapest theyve been in a decade

Borrowers who are struggling to pay off their hefty Christmas credit card bills should consider .

Balance transfer deals are the cheapest theyve been in a decade, according to figures from personal finance data provider Moneyfacts.

The average fee to move a balance is now 2.03 per cent, down from 2.29 per cent a year ago.

The longest 0 per cent balance transfer deal is currently 38 months with Barclaycard, giving you more than three years to get on top of your debt while saving on those interest charges.

There is a 1.4 per cent fee  so, 35 on a typical 2,500 balance. MBNA also has a 38-month offer with a 1.44 per cent fee.

If you dont need quite as long to clear your balance, Lloyds has a 33-month deal with an even lower fee at 0.57 per cent, or 14.25. Some banks reserve their longest 0 per cent offers for those with a strong credit rating.

It means that you may get a shorter deal than the one you applied for or you could be rejected altogether.

Be sure to repay your debt within the offer period or switch your balance to another deal when it ends or youll pay interest at around 20 per cent. And beware, if you miss any payments your bank may cancel your deal early.

Borrowers tend to remain indebted for longer than was previously thought, Bank of England research has found.

It says 89 per cent of outstanding consumer debt in November 2016 was held by people who also owed debt two years earlier.

l.milner@dailymail.co.uk
Governor material: Andrew Baileys doctorate is in economic history not economics

Financial Conduct Authority boss Andrew Bailey, 58, is seen as the likely choice for the Bank of England Governorship when Mark Carneys successor is announced later this year. Any obstacles in his way?

My man in the pink tailcoat whispers: Just one. Previous governors have had a PhD in economics. Baileys doctorate is in economic history.

'Mandarins are sniffy about this sort of thing.

Interestingly, bookies have installed as favourite deputy governor Sir Dave Ramsden, 53, a modest ex-civil servant who some Treasury colleagues say has much to be modest about.

More misery for Markus Jooste, 56, South African chief of Poundland owner Steinhoff whos quit amid an investigation into financial irregularities.

His racehorse Legal Eagle has triumphed in Cape Towns prestigious Grade 1 race the Queens Plate, weeks after his financial woes forced him to sell it for 190,000.

Beleaguered Joostes fall from grace, I am told, remains gleefully discussed among the Capes waspish glitterati.

The appointment of former City lawyer David Gauke as Lord Chancellor makes him the first legally qualified MP to yank on the ceremonial tights in five years. Presumably thats a cause for celebration among the legal industry.

Not quite. Lantern-jawed Gauke, 46, wants rid of the Human Rights Act, which has been keeping money-grubbing lawyers in silk stockings for years.

Deutsche Banks 5.2million-a-year Fuhrer John Cryans future is the subject of fevered speculation after he admitted the troubled bank is likely to report a loss this year.

His replacement will likely be a straight shoot-out between Deutsches whippet-thin investment banking chief, icily named Dr Marcus Schenck, 52, and commercial banking head Christian Sewing, 47, depending on whos performed better. Sounds a proper nest of vipers.

Goldman Sachs employees are complaining of suffering from investment bankers neck, an arthritis doctors say is caused by spending hours gawping at computer monitors.

Handily, Goldman keeps an array of medical staff in-house, including a dermatologist, a gynaecologist and an orthopaedist, to spare its hard-ridden workforce time-consuming trips to the clinic.
Horse sale: Steinhoff ex-chief Markus Jooste

Poundland owner Steinhoff, whose ex-chief Markus Jooste, 56, I reported is offloading his collection of thoroughbred racehorses, is selling its Gulfstream G550 private jet for 18million.

A recent accountancy scandal has left the once-mighty South African company struggling to stay liquid after 10billion was wiped off its value.

The writer Robert Louis Stevenson claimed sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.

Offcuts from yesterday's Dominic Chappell/BHS trial: Porky Dominic arrived without a tie  no way to impress a judge.

A farcical moment occurred when he appeared not to know his own age. After stating he was 50, he then said: 'I'm terribly sorry. Birthdays don't mean much to me. I am actually 51.'

Berkshire Hathaway's appointment of Ajit Jain as vice-chairman is seen as further evidence Warren Buffett views his Indian-born insurance operations chief as his successor.

Like Buffett, 11million-a-year Ajit, 66, is surprisingly parsimonious. Unlike cousin Anshu, 55, who as boss of Deutsche Bank travelled on a 6,000-an-hour jet and lavished staff with Aston Martins.

Business minister Greg Clark's meeting with Peugeot over job cuts at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant yesterday hardly inspired confidence.

When they met last year, Clark declared discussions, Neville Chamberlain-style, 'constructive and reassuring'. Some 650 jobs swiftly went.

Jeremy Hunt's refusal to budge during this week's Cabinet reshuffle meant that the Prime Minister was forced to keep hapless Gregster in his post. Might Larry the Downing Street Cat have been preferable?

Donald Trump's attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos in a fortnight usurps France's president, Emmanuel Macron, 40, as the star draw.

We must hope Trump is not accompanied by his pouty wife, Melania, 47, whose stylish presence threatens to overshadow France's evergreen first lady, Brigitte, 64. Otherwise baby-faced Macron may find himself banished to his room, sans diner.
HM Revenue & Customs wrote to me in November 2016 saying I had a National Insurance contributions shortfall of 1,456  722.80 from the 2014/15 tax year and 733.20 from 2015/16.

This was due to me taking a great deal of time off work to care for my daughter, who had cancer and needed surgery and chemotherapy.

I phoned and was told that paying this amount would increase my state pension to 155.65 per week.

I paid, but a few months later, realised it would make no difference to my pension  so, in March, I wrote to HMRC for a refund. I heard nothing, so wrote again in May.

I then received a letter saying Class 3 National Insurance contributions are voluntary and refunds are only made in very specific circumstances.

C. B., Crewe, Cheshire.

Taxing her patience : HMRC took 1,456 from one reader after informing her it would boost her pension - but has since refused to refund her when she realised it would make no difference

This seems like an open-and-shut case, so I was surprised you'd received such a dismissive response.

The letter sent by HMRC on December 1, 2016, confirms: 'We previously wrote to tell you that there was a shortfall in your National Insurance contributions record.

It appeared you hadn't paid or been credited with enough NI contributions for the tax years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 to count towards your state pension. Thank you for your payment of 1,456.'

So that proves you only made the payment because HMRC highlighted a shortfall.

Then the Department for Work and Pensions wrote on March 13 this year, telling you: 'The 1,456 you paid to buy back the two years' shortfall as laid out by HMRC has not had any effect on your state pension.'

HMRC now admits it got it wrong. In fact, your circumstances are unusual because they relate to state pension rights you derived from your ex-husband.

You paid the married woman's reduced rate of National Insurance, commonly known as the 'small stamp', which ceased for new applicants in 1977.

Your National Insurance record was not completely up-to-date, but HMRC has made sure it is now accurate.

The upshot is that HMRC will refund your 1,456. There are two other points worth making. First, yours is a completely different kettle of fish to the other National Insurance refund cases Money Mail featured last year.

Second, it's always worth taking impartial advice before making voluntary Class 3 payments, because there is no general right to ask for them to be refunded.

YOU HAVE YOUR SAY Every week, Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some from our report about how desperate homeowners are raffling homes  and how they could be jailed if they botch the draw... I am not accusing these people of anything, but I wouldn't trust a raffle where I couldn't turn up to watch the winning ticket being drawn. It would be too easy to fudge. If the draw was public, I'd feel better about it. W. S., Chatham, Kent. You have to ask why these people can't sell their homes on the open market. There must be a reason people aren't interested. That's what would put me off. S. T., Leeds. I've seen a mansion being raffled in Scotland. The closing date was December 1. Then it was pushed back to December 20, and now March 31  probably because it costs 5,000 a year to maintain. T. S., London. The only reason you would raffle your home is to try to make much more than you would by selling it the traditional route. But what happens if you buy one of these homes and find a massive problem? Buyers are taking more of a gamble than they think. T. L., London. The Government should make it easier for people to sell their homes via raffle if that's what people want. Of course, there have to be checks, but it seems to be too difficult at the moment. P. D., Grimsby, Lincs. I don't see anything wrong with this  it's a chance to win a home that most would be unable to afford otherwise. People don't complain about the lottery. S. T., Newcastle. Be careful. We got stung by a house raffle years ago. The house never got sold  instead, a small cash prize was given away. It left a bad taste in my mouth. J. K., Birmingham.

I took out a 20-a-month contract with Vodafone in December 2015. Unfortunately, rather than replacing it, this was added to the old one, which cost 35.73 per month.

I made a 50-minute phone call to Vodafone, during which I was assured the situation would be remedied and a refund paid.

I've now been presented with a final demand for an amount plucked from the sky, with the threat of debt collection. Could you get it off my back?

D. F., East Lothian.

No one could say you haven't tried to sort this out for yourself. You included several letters that you had sent to Vodafone, along with its responses, some of which were only semi-literate.

Try this: 'As per the contract terms and conditions, when the contract commitment will get over, the contract will start rolling over on every month.'

Vodafone executives should be ashamed it is sending this kind of gibberish to customers.

The result is that, nearly two years after you changed contracts, you received a debt collection letter demanding 44.61.

Vodafone has apologised and sorted out your contract. It says the appropriate refunds have been made and has also offered a goodwill payment of 100 as a more substantial apology.

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT Can I throw old pound coins into the Metro Bank coin-counting machine, or do I need to pay them in separately now that they are no longer accepted in shops? V. J., London. Metro Banks so-called Magic Money Machines have been updated and will only accept new pound coins. But you can still pay in old pound coins over the counter at any bank of which you are a customer. *** I read in Money Mail that TSB offers a personal loan rate of 2.9 per cent, meaning someone borrowing 10,000 over five years would repay 10,755 including interest. I recently took out a 10,000 loan with Lloyds TSB and must repay 12,353 over five years. Why am I paying more?

K. H., Suffolk. If you took out a loan recently, it was likely with Lloyds, rather than Lloyds TSB. TSB is no longer part of Lloyds Bank. The group split in 2013, and Lloyds and TSB offer different products and rates. *** When I tried to pay for car hire at Malaga airport, my Tesco credit card was declined  despite being nowhere near my limit. I had to pay 470 for extra insurance so the company would accept a different card to the one with which I booked. When I rang Tesco Bank, I was told it didnt like dealing with that car hire firm. Is that why my card was rejected? J. N., Newport. Tesco Bank says that your card was not declined, but referred. This means the merchant needed to call for an authorisation code. If it had done so, the payment would have gone through. Tesco Bank says the comments made by its employee do not reflect the companys view, and it is offering you 235 as a gesture of goodwill. *** My wife cancelled a phone contract with iD Mobile in April. It sent a final bill for 11 and I sent a cheque by recorded delivery, as she has been in and out of hospital being treated for cancer. But iD continues to send letters claiming she owes money and threatening legal action. Ive called many times, to no avail. R. B., Poole, Dorset. iD Mobile, part of Carphone Warehouse, apologises for its errors and the time taken to resolve the matter. You dont owe any money and it is giving you 50 as a gesture of goodwill, which you wish to donate to Poole Hospital Cancer Treatment Trust.

I inherited two Barclays Isas from my late wife.

On August 8, I sent a completed additional permitted subscription form, an expression of wish form and grant of probate to Barclays to transfer these Isas to me. I'd sent the death certificate earlier.

As I did not get a reply, I sent a reminder on September 24 and a further one on October 17. I've still not had a response.

M. S., Hampshire.

Money Mail takes a particularly dim view of firms that create problems for bereaved people. So we gave your letter the priority Barclays clearly had not.

A spokesman has apologised that your initial documents were not dealt with more swiftly.

However, they say they did not receive the reminders you sent.

I pointed out this was another way of saying they'd been lost internally, as I find it unlikely the Post Office would have failed to deliver two letters.

Barclays has now transferred your Isas and sent you a luxury hamper and a 200 goodwill payment.

A spokesman says: 'While we always strive to deliver the highest quality of service, it is clear our standards fell short on this occasion. We are very sorry for the inconvenience, particularly during this difficult time.'
Holidaymakers who are victims of theft can get four times as much by claiming on their home insurance rather than a travel policy.

Many have no idea they can use home contents insurance to claim for luggage and valuables lost or stolen overseas, and rely on travel insurance instead.

But baggage cover offered by travel insurers isnt very generous. There are often strict limits on how much you can claim for valuables, cash and individual items plus deductions for wear and tear, and hefty excess payments.

Smart move: Many holidaymakers have no idea they can use home contents insurance to claim for luggage and valuables lost or stolen overseas, and rely on travel insurance instead

Money Mail research found that if a couples hotel room was ransacked and thieves made off with 2,000 worth of possessions, they would typically get back just 515 from their travel insurer.

By comparison, a good home insurance policy would cover the full claim minus an excess of about 100, so 1,900  almost four times as much.

However, it is still vital to purchase travel insurance to cover medical expenses or if you cancel your holiday.

Brian Brown, head of insight at data analysts Defaqto, says its usually better to submit a claim for lost or stolen items to your home insurer.

He says: Most travel insurers offer baggage cover because their customers expect to see it but if you are taking anything worth more than a few hundred pounds you could end up seriously out of pocket.

About half of the 932 travel insurance policies analysed by Defaqto limit the amount you can claim for valuables to just 250.

You are almost always responsible for paying part of any claim  the excess  typically of about 75.

So in reality the most you will get back is 175. Roughly half of policies also cap claims for single items at 250. Three in ten will pay out up to 500.

Also, 83 per cent of insurers charge a separate excess for each section of cover, the Defaqto figures reveal.

The vast majority of travel insurers will also make a 50 per cent deduction for wear and tear on all items. So if it cost 430 to replace your iPad, you would only be able to claim up to 215

So if you claim for valuables, luggage and cash, for example, you would pay three 75 excess payments  a total of 225.

The vast majority of travel insurers will also make a 50 per cent deduction for wear and tear on all items.

So if it cost 430 to replace your iPad, you would only be able to claim up to 215.

By contrast, home insurers typically only reduce a payout for wear and tear on claims for clothing  even then nearly half of policies offer new for old cover. You would also only pay one excess per claim  typically 100  and you usually benefit from far higher limits.

Nine in ten policies will pay out more than 1,500 for individual items and more than half will pay out 1,500 or more just for mobile phones.

However, these overall limits will apply to the whole family. With travel insurance each person insured gets their own limit.

In our scenario, we assumed thieves had stolen an iPhone, iPad and camera, which would cost a total of 1,320 to replace. They also took clothing worth 500, a 50 handbag, 30 suitcase and 100 in cash.

If the couple each had a 250 limit on their travel cover for valuables, they would be able to claim up to 350 between them after each paying the 75 excess.

They would then have a separate limit for baggage and clothing, typically of 1,500, and another for cash, which is usually 100.

Home insurers typically only reduce a payout for wear and tear on claims for clothing  even then nearly half of policies offer new for old cover

The baggage claim would come under the limit but the travel insurer would deduct 50 per cent for wear and tear, so the couple could claim a maximum 290.

After each paying a 75 excess for the baggage claim and a 75 excess for the 100 cash claim, they would be left with 165. In total, they would get back 515.

If they claimed on their home contents insurance, on the other hand, they would get back 1,900 after paying a 100 excess.

Or if their home insurer reduced their clothing claim by 50 per cent for wear and tear they would get back 1,650 after paying the excess.

Roughly eight in ten policies offer customers the option of paying a little extra to cover their belongings outside of the home, including on trips overseas.

Another 14 per cent provide this cover as standard, according to the research by Defaqto.

Cover should be worldwide but check the small print to be sure. Some insurers will cover your belongings all year in the UK, but for only a limited time (typically 30 or 60 days) in the rest of the world.

You should also realise that if you make a claim, your home insurance premiums will likely increase the following year.

The size of the rise will depend on how big your claim is and whether you have a no claims bonus that you stand to lose.

Holidaymakers should not ignore travel insurance altogether. It is vital for covering medical bills should you fall ill. In countries such as America, an overnight stay in hospital can cost thousands of pounds. It is also important in case you need to cancel your trip unexpectedly.

Some insurers will reduce your travel insurance premium if you forgo baggage cover. How much you save will depend on factors such as your age and destination.

For example, a 55-year-old travelling to the United States will pay 81.55 for a single trip policy with baggage cover with Churchill or 69.32 without it  a 12.23 saving.

However, the baggage limit could be useful for smaller claims where it might not be worth risking an increase in your home insurance premiums.

Claims for items lost overseas should be treated in the same way as any home contents claim. In the event of theft youd need to provide a police report and proof of ownership for valuables  receipts or photographs.

An Association of British Insurers spokesman warned that people should think carefully before taking valuable items away with them in the first place.

v.bischoff@dailymail.co.uk
A ruthless reshuffle at Glaxosmithkline has seen boss Emma Walmsley replace nearly half of her senior executives in less than a year.

The radical overhaul of the top tier of Britains eighth biggest company has seen Walmsley, 48, replace 50 of the 125 top managers in just 283 days in charge.

It is the biggest shake-up at the pharmaceutical giant in years, as the most powerful woman in British business transforms the firm into a global pioneer of drugs research.

It is part of plans set out by Walmsley, who took over as chief executive last April, to shift Glaxos focus back towards making blockbuster drugs.

Ruthless: Glaxosmithkline boss Emma Walmsley has replaced nearly half of her senior executives in less than a year

She has said its pharmaceuticals arm and research and development are top priorities as it seeks to build a pipeline of new medicines.

A source close to the company yesterday said Walmsley was seeking to bring in talent and ideas from world-leading firms to boost sales, development technologies and utilise new ways of using reams of clinical data.

High profile hires from outside the FTSE 100 giant include former Walmart chief information officer Karenann Terrell, Google digital chief Marc Speichert, Unilever executive Tamara Rogers and Novartis finance chief Tobias Hestler.

She also poached GSKs global pharmaceuticals president Luke Miels from arch-rival Astrazeneca and appointed Tony Mills, from Pfizer, as her head of platform technology and science.

Meanwhile, she has also promoted internally, with Kate Knobil going from chief medical officer of pharmaceuticals to chief of the entire group.

US commercial chief Deborah Waterhouse is also boss of ViiV, Glaxos HIV business.

The reshuffle comes after Walmsley vowed to make major changes last year.

At the time she said up to 200 bosses at the company could be changed. So far the company has confirmed 40 per cent of a 125 subset of that number have been replaced. Further changes are seen as likely. The overhaul is the latest example of Walmsley putting her own stamp on Glaxosmithkline.

In July she revealed plans to jettison 30 clinical trials and 130 non-core brands, re-focus the companys attention on the US, embark on a 1billion cost-cutting drive and plough 80pc of spending into four areas of research.

She said the business had previously spread itself too thinly and should focus on researching respiratory, HIV, oncology and immune-inflammation drugs.

We need to bring more edge, more of a performance focus, more accountability, more pace into our decision making and definitely more cost and cash consciousness, she said.

We need to have the right kind of discipline on whether something is truly going to be competitive and bring in a commercial voice much earlier than we have done before.

Ahead of a new pipeline of medicines the firm hopes will come through in the 2020s, Walmsley has said a vaccine for shingles, a three-in-one inhaler for chronic lung disease and a two-drug treatment to combat HIV will be Glaxos main focus in the next few years.

Shares fell 0.5 per cent, or 6.6p, to 1346.8p.
Arrivals: Eurostar has appointed the boss of delivery firm Yodel as its chief executive

NEW BOSS Cross-Channel rail operator Eurostar has appointed the boss of delivery firm Yodel as its chief executive.

Mike Cooper will join on March 12 replacing Nicolas Petrovic, who is to become chief executive of engineering and technology company Siemens in France.

Cooper has also led Arrivas European transport business and held senior positions at airline EasyJet.

BARGAIN HUNT More Christmas shoppers hunted for bargains over the festive period as sales at the Oxfam online shop soared by 33 per cent.

Vintage and designer clothes topped the charity shops online search terms, with brands Burberry, Barbour, Gucci, Whistles and Boden particularly popular.

STORE WARS Discounters Aldi and Lidl submitted a combined 128 planning applications across the UK last year as they look to snatch more market share from the Big Four supermarkets.

Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons and Asda submitted a total of just 20 planning applications in comparison, according to figures from construction information service, Barbour ABI.

PITCH BATTLE Wall Street behemoths Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are among global banks battling to oversee the 1.5 trillion float of state oil firm Saudi Aramco.

Leading staff from both lenders have been invited to pitch for the work at Aramcos Gulf headquarters later this month, along with German rival Deutsche Bank.

A location for the stock market listing has not yet been decided but London and New York are thought to be leading the pack.

PROFITS SOAR Partners at Grant Thornton pocketed 407,000 each last year  up 7 per cent on 2016.

The firms profits were up 10.3 per cent to 75million as it seeks to challenge the so-called big four players, Ernst & Young, PwC, Deloitte and KPMG.

CHINESE BOOST Businesses that bank with Santander UK are being given the chance to sell into the Chinese market.

The lender has teamed up with Chinas biggest retailer, JD.com, to let customers sell through its delivery network. JD.com has more than 266m customers.

RETAIL SPREE Insurer Legal & General is continuing a real estate buying spree with the 36.8million purchase of the 102,060 sq ft Riverside Retail Park in Stafford from LXB Retail Properties.
Sainsbury's has upped its annual profit forecast after enjoying strong sales over the crucial Christmas period.

The supermarket's like-for-like sales increased by 1.1 per cent in the 15 weeks to 6 January, with revenues up 2 per cent and grocery sales up 2.3 per cent.

While remaining 'cautious' about the consumer environment, the company has boosted its full-year profit forecast to around 559million.

Bumper sales: Sainsbury's has upped its annual profit forecast after enjoying strong Christmas sales

Shares in Sainsbury's are up 1.71 per cent to 252.65p.

The group, which is the UK's second-biggest supermarket behind Tesco, saw sales in its smaller convenience stores rise by 73 per cent, while online sales increased by 8.2 per cent.

Half of the 185 new products the supermarket launched over Christmas were in its premium Taste the Difference range.

The group said it enjoyed strong sales across its premium ranges over the period, adding that customers were also snapping up its 25p vegetable products.

On Friday 22 December, the supermarket said it had its strongest day of store sales and delivered an online grocery order to a customer every second.

Mike Coupe, Sainsbury's chief executive, said: 'We are pleased with our performance across the group this quarter. We had a strong Christmas week with record sales, over 340,000 online grocery orders and stellar growth in Argos Fast Track delivery and collection.'

The supermarket, which owns Argos, also reported Argos enjoyed record sales over the Black Friday period.

Premium products: Sainsbury's enjoyed strong sales across its premium ranges

With electronic items proving particularly popular, Argos' online sales grew by over 8 per cent during the period.

Over 50 new Argos outlets opened in Sainsbury's stores over the period, bringing the total to 164.

Across Sainsbury's Bank operations, the number of customers increased by 8 per cent year-on-year.

October was the supermarket's best ever month for home insurance sales, while November saw record car insurance sales.

For the year ahead, the group aims to save 185million. In October, the supermarket announced it was cutting 2,000 staff from its human resources team in bid to cut costs.

The supermarket said it planned to make 1,400 payroll and human resources clerks redundant and other changes would see a further 600 posts axed.

Last week, Aldi emerged as one of Christmas winners as shoppers in search of fancy foods pushed UK sales 15 per cent higher during December than the same month last year.

Demand for Aldi's premium food selection over the festive period helped total sales in the UK and Ireland smash the 10billion barrier for the first time.

The update form Sainbury's follows a strong update from Morrisons, the UK's fourth biggest supermarket, which sold 2.8 per cent more in the 10 weeks to 7 January than it did for the same period a year earlier, not including new store openings.
Lidl has been branded the 'fastest growing supermarket' in the UK, after seeing sales rocket 16 per cent over the crucial Christmas period.

The German-based supermarket group, which does not publish industry-standard like-for-like sales figures, said the week before Christmas was its strongest ever sales period.

Speaking on a BBC radio show, Mike Coupe, the boss of Sainsbury's, which also published its Christmas figures today, said: 'Their [Lidl's] sales growth is driven largely by new space, but again it shows the nature of the competitive market we operate in.'

Sales boost: Lidl saw its sales over the Christmas period rise by 16 per cent

Researcher Kantar Worldpanel said the sales figures made Lidl the UK's fastest-growing grocer in December.

Lidl sold 600 tonnes of sprouts, 17 million mince pies and and over 800,000 litres of champagne and procsecco over the period.

Strong sales of its Birchwood Farm whole fresh turkey contributed to a 10 per cent increase in sales of the bird. In total, sales of fresh meat and poultry rose by 17 per cent.

The German supermarket's boss, Christian Hartnagel said: 'Lidl UK has had a fantastic 2017 and this was capped by our strongest Christmas trading period to date.

'Customers came into our stores to buy more of their Christmas items, knowing they could find high quality products at market-leading prices.

'We look forward to bringing the Lidl offering to more communities across the UK, as we continue our rapid expansion plan this year.'

Ever keen to expand, Lidl opened nine new stores in December, bringing its total across the UK to 693.

Earlier this week, the supermarket said it will open five new stores in London and build its biggest ever UK warehouse in a move that the supermarket says underlines the 'scale' of its expansion plans in Britain's capital.

Openings: Ever keen to expand, Lidl opened nine new stores in December

On the up: In the 12 weeks to the end of December, Tesco saw sales rise by 3.1 per cent

In the past year, Lidl has hired 2,500 people to keep up with its expansion. Across the UK the supermarket now has roughly 9,000 staff.

Last week, Aldi announced its sales were 15 per cent higher last Christmas than the previous year, pushing their total sales over the 10billion mark for the first time.

In the 12 weeks to the end of December, Tesco, which is ramping up its recovery following 2014's accounting scandal, saw sales rise by 3.1 per cent, Kantar figures suggest.

Morrisons, which is the UK's fourth biggest supermarket, sold 2.8 per cent more in the 10 weeks to 7 January than it did for the same period a year earlier, not including new store openings.

Meanwhile, like-for-like sales at Sainsbury's increased by 1.1 per cent in the 15 weeks to 6 January.
Goldmans European leader Richard Gnodde meets the PM and Chancellor today

A top Goldman Sachs banker meets the Prime Minister and Chancellor today  after months of opposition to Brexit by his boss.

Goldmans European leader Richard Gnodde will be among 15 City leaders to sit down with Theresa May and Philip Hammond to discuss Londons future outside the EU. It is likely to be a difficult meeting because of the implacable opposition to the referendum result by Gnoddes boss, Lloyd Blankfein.

Goldmans Twitter feed was more conciliatory last night, saying: Pleased to see the PM and hear her views on how we can keep the City a vibrant centre of finance.
A British high-risk loans firm backed by the owner of Poundland wrote off almost 70million of losses, accounts reveal.

An investigation by researchers Viceroy has discovered that the company that provided credit to businesses run by billionaire Christo Wiese, 76, took a hit of 69million during 2015 and 2016.

Southern View Finance UK (SVF) was backed by Wiese who ran Steinhoff, the giant behind Poundland, Pep & Co, Harveys and Bensons for Beds.

At one point, the SVF group, whose parent company was in Bermuda, is believed to have made 200,000 loans a month.

It is thought that many were used to keep sales at Steinhoff firms booming, allowing Wiese to go on a spree, snapping up companies across the globe.

An investigation by researchers Viceroy has discovered that the company that provided credit to businesses run by billionaire Christo Wiese, 76, took a hit of 690m during 2015 and 2016

However, this rapid growth has collapsed amid an accounting scandal in South Africa.

Wiese and chief executive Markus Jooste, 56, have been forced out, and Steinhoff shares have fallen more than 90 per cent. Wiese has seen more than 2.5billion wiped off his fortune.

Now questions are being raised about how the UK loans arm booked vast losses on its accounts, without running into trouble earlier.

The futures of Poundland and the other UK firms owned by Steinhoff are in the balance, despite the firms being given a loan.

However, it is thought the chain is still up for sale. It comes as Steinhoff fights for its life after revealing accounting irregularities and delaying financial results.

It is already under investigation in Germany over whether it inflated earnings. And the scandal has raised fears Poundland, with 900 stores and 18,000 staff in the UK, may be sold as Steinhoff tries to boost its finances.

The investigation by Viceroy Research Group, renowned short-sellers, highlights how SVF UK wrote off 37.7million in loans in 2015, and 31.4million in 2016.

It claims accounts show the firm was issuing as many new loans as it was writing off, allowing it to have a stable balance on in its accounts.

Funds for the business were made available from other Steinhoff companies, accounts show. At the end of 2016 it is thought SVF had 87million of loans outstanding.

Steinhoff did not have direct ownership of SVF UK until March last year. But accounts show Wiese was behind companies with stakes in SVF, which owned SVF UK until July 2015 when it was taken over by Fulcrum.

He is also behind Brait Mauritius, which guaranteed SVF UK until the same date.

Fulcrums parent company Campion is registered under the name of Siegmar Schmidt, a former Steinhoff Europe chief executive, and two others.

SVF UK was then taken over by Steinhoff UK last year. Steinhoff also owned another lender, South Africa-based JD Consumer Finance, which had around 137million losses when Steinhoff sold it to Fulcrum in 2012.

As well as the accounts probe and delayed results, Steinhoff may need to restate financial statements from previous years.

Last month credit ratings agency Moodys downgraded Steinhoff for the second time in weeks and said it risked running out of cash to sustain European operations.

Steinhoff did not comment on the accounts.
Online Orders in November were 32 per cent higher than a month later

FRIDAY FIESTA Black Friday discounts saw November overtake December as the biggest month of the year for online sales in 2017, according to data by Optimove.

Orders in November were 32 per cent higher than a month later.

GOLD PRODUCTION Gold miner Centamin produced 544,658 ounces of gold during 2017, above guidance of 540,000 ounces.

POWER DEAL Fuel cell maker Ceres Power has signed a deal with an unnamed manufacturer to develop power systems that generate low-carbon power on-site, cutting reliance on infrastructure networks. It is Horsham-based Ceres' fifth partnership in two years.

LICENCE OK Miner Bacanora Minerals' German subsidiary has been granted an exploration licence covering 295 hectares of a previously mined lithium deposit.

TRADING APPOINTMENT Tesco's former head of clothing, Richard Jones, has joined Debenhams as its trading director.

DATING SWOOP China tech firm Kunlun Group has bought gay dating app Grindr. It already owned 60 per cent, and reportedly paid 112million.

SWISS BLISS The Swiss central bank made a 41billion profit last year thanks to its investments in foreign stocks and bonds  more than the profits at tech titan Apple and equivalent to 8 per cent of the country's total economic output.

TITAN RECORD Investors have poured a record 200million into the Octopus Titan fund, the biggest sum raised in one go by a venture capital trust, taking its total value to more than 600million.

INSURER BACKED Insurance market Lloyd's of London is set for a boost as broker Peel Hunt said it has 'turned a corner' and should do well when business policies come up for renewal in the US.

PENSIONS GROWING Pension funds have clocked up six straight years of growth thanks to surging markets, according to research done by the Moneyfacts website.

The average retirement scheme rose 10.5 per cent last year, after growth of 15.7 per cent in 2016.

SAVINGS SURGE Savers are piling into City stock-pickers  Liontrust has banked 571million in the last quarter of 2017, and rival Premier Asset Management sucked in 236million in the same period.
A Chinese couple who have saved many lives working in the hospital might not be able to save their own son because they couldn't afford the medical bills.

The father Yuan Guohui, a doctor, and the mother Dai Qixia, a nurse, are asking the public to help them as they try to raise funds for their 14-month-old son, nicknamed An An.

Born in October, 2016, in Chengdu, south-west China, An An has Marble Bone Disease, a rare congenital bone disease, and is given only months to live.

Yuan Guohui (right) and his wife Dai Qixia (left) are pictured with their elder son, who holds a sign reading 'little brother, we wait for you to come back safe and sound'. The Chinese couple are both medical professionals, but they can't afford the medical bills for their younger son

14-month-old An An (pictured) has Marble Bone Disease, a rare congenital bone disease. An An's doctors in Beijing told Mr Yuan that An An is not likely to live past the age of two

Mr Yuan waits outside An An's hospital ward. The man has saved many lives working in an orthopaedics hospital in Chengdu, but now he is forced to see his own son dying

Tiny An An was diagnosed with the condition at the end of last year, according to Chinese news site Eastday, citing Chengdu Business Daily.

WHAT IS MARBLE BONE DISEASE Marble Bone Disease is a more malignant variant of Osteopetrosis, a congenital skeletal disorder which affects 1 in every 200,000 individuals. Marble Bone Disease can cause short stature, cerebral calcification and mental retardation. Osteopetrosis happens when the patient's osteoclasts, a type of bone cells, fail to resorb immature bone. It results in abnormal bone marrow cavity formation and bone marrow failure. Eventually the bones would become extremely dense, hard, and brittle. The disease is usually diagnosed shortly after birth and the patient's life span is usually two years. Osteopetrosis congenita is almost always fatal. Source: American Family Physician, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children Advertisement

Prior to the diagnosis, his parents, who have two sons in total, already spent 10 months seeking medical attention for An An after realising the boy's eyes couldn't follow moving objects.

Initially, some doctors in Chengdu thought An An suffered from damage to the optic nerve, and claimed the baby would go blind when he grew up; others claimed An An suffered from cerebral palsy.

In order to clarify his son's condition and treat his son, 35-year-old Yuan quit his job at the Department of Physiatry at an orthopaedics hospital in Dayi County, Chengdu, reported Yitu Media.

The man and his wife took An An to different hospitals in Chengdu, a provincial capital, and finally to Beijing, the capital city of China.

During the ordeal, the couple spent all of their savings, which was said to be 200,000 yuan (22,360).

Eventually, doctors at the Beijing Children's Hospital confirmed that An An has Marble Bone Disease, but by then Mr Yuan and Ms Dai couldn't no longer afford expensive treatment.

According to Chengdu Business Daily, An An's doctors told Mr Yuan that An An is not likely to live past the age of two.

Dai Qixia, a nurse, holds her son An An in her arms as she looks after him in the hospital. Ms Dai and her husband have spent all their savings travelling around China to treat their second child

Ms Yuan has decided to donate his own bone marrow to An An as a half-match donor in order to save the child under limited time. However, the operation and treatment costs over 113K

An An just celebrated his first birthday not long ago (right), but shortly afterwards the boy was diagnosed with Marble Bone Disease, a congenital disorder that causes bone marrow failure

The couple were apparently told to prepare themselves for bad news in the next three to six months.

The doctors also said the only way to save An An is to have bone marrow transplant.

As the time left for the family to find a fully matched donor was limited, Ms Yuan decided to donate his own bone marrow to An An as a half-match donor.

However, the couple were then told the cost for the transplant and follow-up treatment would amount more than one million yuan (113,600).

Family members even told Mr Yuan to give up on An An, but the father refused.

Ms Dai and her husband reportedly spent all of their savings, which was said to be 22,360, as they took An An around China for medical attention in the space of 10 months last year

The Chinese public have teamed up to save the toddler who needs a bone marrow transplant

He reportedly said: 'How can I see my child turning into a marble without doing anything?'

The couple made pleas of help to the public. Volunteers from the Big Tree Charity Organisation in Shanghai have set up a crowdfunding page for An An on Tencent, one of the largest internet portals in China.

As of writing, the family have received 386,342 yuan (43,896) of donations.
UKIP leader Henry Bolton is facing an investigation as senior officials decide his future in the partys top job after he ditched his wife for a glamour model.

Mr Bolton, 54, left 42-year-old Tatiana Smurova - who gave birth to their second daughter at Londons St Pancras Station in 2016 after going into labour on a train - and is now in a relationship with 25-year-old UKIP supporter Jo Marney.

He insists the relationship did not begin until after his separation, but his controversial private life sparked a backlash among some party activists.

Mr Bolton has begun a relationship with Jo Marney, left, leaving wife Tatiana Smurova, pictured right with her daughter Victoria, angry that he did not spend Christmas with his children

But Russian-born Tatiana Smurova questioned his decision not to spend Christmas with his family.

'What kind of person runs away to sleep with another woman, leaving their two small children over Christmas?' she said.

In a letter to members, party chairman Paul Oakden said the National Executive Committee ruling body had agreed to discuss the issue at a special meeting in 10 days.

Henry Bolton hit the headlines last week when it emerged he left his wife Tatiana Smurova - mother of his small two children - over Christmas to be with Jo Marney, who he is pictured with

'Both the committee and the Leader understand the strength of feeling on this coverage and are keen to work collectively in finding a resolution that best protects the future prospects of UKIP,' he wrote.

Jo Marney has begun a relationship with Mr Bolton, who insists it only began after he had split from his wife and mother of his two children

UKIP-supporting glamour model Jo Marney's relationship with the party leader has prompted questions from activists

Henry Bolton is pictured with Jo Marney, leaving her family home in Maidstone, Kent

'Due to the short time between the publishing of these reports and our meeting today, the committee agreed that it was not in a position to full discuss all the evidence and appropriately agree on a way forward.

'Further investigation of these matters is required.'

Mr Bolton was elected Ukip leader last September. Bookmaker Coral slashed the odds of Nigel Farage returning as leader to just 3-1.
Christa Steele-Knudslien, 42, a transgender rights advocate who started a pageant for transgender women in New England, was found dead in her Massachusetts home Friday

A transgender rights advocate who started a pageant for transgender women in New England was found stabbed and beaten to death in her home, and her husband was charged with her slaying.

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien is the first known transgender person to be killed this year, LGBT organization GLAAD said. She was found dead in her North Adams home on Friday evening.

Her husband, Mark Steele-Knudslien, pleaded not guilty to murder on Monday, days after police say he admitted hitting her with a hammer and stabbing her after an argument.

Christa Steele-Knudslien, 42, was well known in the Massachusetts transgender community for her activism and helped launch the first New England Trans Pride event a decade ago, friends said.

Christa Steele-Knudslien was well known in the Massachusetts transgender community for her activism and helped launch the first New England Trans Pride event a decade ago

She and other advocates later started the Miss Trans New England Pageant, which brought together transgender women from across the region, said A. Vickie Boisseau, who officiated at her wedding last April.

Another longtime friend, Justin Adkins, said, 'Her thing was always that transgender women are beautiful and need a venue for trans women to be seen as beautiful.'

Mark Steele-Knudslien, 47, admitted in an interview that he killed his wife, police said in a statement filed in the Northern Berkshire District Court, MassLive.com reported.

Her husband, Mark Steele-Knudslien, (pictured left on their wedding day) pleaded not guilty to murder on Monday to her murder

The husband said he struck her numerous times with a hammer and then stabbed her in the back with a large knife before wrapping her body in a tarp, police said.

He told investigators they got into an argument and he 'snapped,' adding that she was 'always belittling him,' police said, according to MassLive.com.

He turned himself in at the police department on Friday, telling officers he had done 'something very bad,' police said.

He was held Monday without bail. His attorney didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The German edition of Playboy magazine says it will feature a transgender model on its cover for the first time.

Editor-in-chief Florian Boitin said Tuesday that putting Giuliana Farfalla on the cover - topless, as is customary for such magazines in Germany - was in line with Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's tradition of being 'resolutely opposed to all forms of exclusion and intolerance.'

Boitin says the 21-year-old Farfalla is a 'wonderful example of how important the fight for the right to self-determination is.'

Giuliana came to prominence with the show 'Germany's Next Topmodel' during a fashion show in Berlin

The model drinking a coffee before the shoot for the German edition of Playboy

Giuliana said aged eight she felt trapped in the wrong body and underwent gender reassignment surgery aged 16

Playboy edito Florian Boitin said putting Giuliana on the cover was in line with Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's tradition of being 'resolutely opposed to all forms of exclusion and intolerance.'

Farfalla, born Pascal Radermacher in southwestern Germany, is already well-known in the country as a contestant last year on Heidi Klum's 'Germany's Next Topmodel' television show.

She said that early in her childhood she felt she was in the wrong body and underwent gender reassignment surgery at the age of 16.

Last year she told Bild: 'When I was seven or eight years old, I told my mother that I would rather be a girl. She took it seriously, sought help, consulted doctors and at some point we just took the steps. '

In an interview with Playboy she said after the first picture was taken: 'Oh, now everyone can see me like this.'

On Instagram, Farfalla said she was 'super proud' of the magazine, which will be available on newsstands on Thursday.

U.S. Playboy featured a transgender 'Playmate of the Month' last year.
Huma Abedin was seen basking in the sun during a Hawaiian escape this weekend as it was revealed classified emails were found on her pervert husband Anthony Weiner's laptop, DailyMailTV can disclose.

The former political aide, 41, who has been accused of backing up copies of her emails while working in the State Department, was spotted at the Four Seasons Hotel Hualalai in Kona, Big Island on Friday.

DailyMailTV revealed the exclusive photo as it emerged Abedin withdrew her divorce petition in a Manhattan court on Wednesday.

Abedin was photographed wearing a white coverup dress over a yellow one-piece and a floppy black sun hat and sunglasses to conceal her face as she sunbathed in the lounge area.

A stay in the five-star hotel, which boasts two-story bungalows, state-of-the-art spas, and an adult sanctuary, can start at $1,000 a night.

Previous guests include former Spice Girl Mel B, who stayed at the resort during a vacation with her daughters last October.

It is also the same hotel where then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spent Christmas in 2011 and stayed in a $10,000-a-night luxury suite. She reportedly spent two consecutive Christmases in the resort. The leading liberal is now House minority leader.

Basking in the sun: Huma Abedin was seen vacationing in Hawaii on Friday in an exclusive photo by DailyMailTV. The former Clinton aide wore a white coverup dress over a yellow one-piece and donned a floppy black sun hat and sunglasses to conceal her face

Luxury: Abedin stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel Hualalai in Kona, Big Island (pictured). A stay in the five-star hotel, which boasts two-story bungalows, state-of-the-art spas, and an adult sanctuary, can start at $1,000 a night

Celebrity stomping grounds: Previous hotel guests include Mel B, who stayed at the resort last October. She is pictured above with close friend and hairdresser Gary Madatyan

Abedin was seen vacationing on the island after it was revealed that the FBI had, in fact, found additional classified work-related content in her husband's laptop weeks before the presidential election.

Authorities made the discovery while searching through Weiner's computer after DailyMail.com revealed he was sexting a 15-year-old girl, an offense for which he is now behind bars.

Abedin filed for separation shortly after in May, however, she has opted to settle the divorce out of court, PageSix reported on Wednesday.

In a statement, Abedin's lawyer states the decision was made 'to reduce any impact of these proceedings on their child.'

Abedin was present at Weiner's trial last year and asked the judge for the sentencing not to have 'negative impact' on their six-year-old son Jordan.

The judge sent Weiner to prison for 21 months and he is now at the Federal Medical Center, Devens, a federal prison in Massachusetts.

The FBI sought permission to review the laptop's other contents when they realized that the laptop contained not just evidence of his perverted grooming of a minor, but emails from the notorious Clintonemail.com server.

Abedin's troubles worsened this Monday when a close examination by DailyMail.com showed that the messages, which were released at the end of December, had been put on Weiner's laptop by Huma using a BlackBerry archiving program - contradicting evidence she gave to the FBI and on oath in a deposition.

The emails were discovered by the FBI just weeks before the 2016 presidential election when the agency seized Weiner's laptop after DailyMail.com revealed he was sexting a 15-year-old girl

The messages were archived from 'BBB Backup' and 'LoaderBackup' from a BlackBerry Bold 9700 in February 2013 - weeks after Huma and Hillary left the State Department

Huma had told the FBI that she did not have a way of preserving the messages she exchanged with her boss and said those conversations were 'left on the system'

Abedin had told the FBI in a formal interview that she had not backed up her email messages after leaving the State Department and told the same thing in a deposition to Judicial Watch, the conservative group which has pursued Clinton's emails.

A tech expert told Dailymail.com that Abedin would have to have activated the backup program and may well have plugged her device into the laptop - raising further questions over her testimony to the FBI.

Comey sent shockwaves through the election when he revealed that the Clinton email probe had been renewed in October because of the discovery of emails on Weiner's laptop.

Abedin was Clinton's deputy chief of staff at the State Department and remains her closest aide. Like Clinton, she was cleared by then FBI director James Comey in the wake of the investigation into the former Secretary of State and her staff's handling of classified material.

That revelation is still cited by Clinton as one of the biggest causes of her defeat in November by Donald Trump. Abedin could have expected a senior White House role if her boss had won. She remains employed by the Clintons.

Since then legal action by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch has forced the release of hundreds of emails, including a latest tranche at the end of last week.

What is unclear is whether the FBI agents who examined the emails found in Weiner's laptop in October appreciated that their presence there contradicted Abedin's evidence to them and a deposition she made under oath.

Abedin had told FBI investigators that she did not have a method of preserving the emails she exchanged on a private server with Clinton.

The FBI found thousands of emails exchanged between Clinton and Abedin (pictured together above) while searching Weiner's laptop

Last year marked a scandalous time for Abedin who had been roped into her husband's sexting trial and saw her cousin Omar Amanat (right) be convicted of fraud in December

'Abedin stated that she lost most of her old emails as a result of the transition [from the State Department].

'She had only accessed clintonemail.com through a web portal and did not have a method for archiving her old emails prior to the transition,' said notes taken during an FBI interview of Huma Abedin on April 5, 2016.

Abedin gave a similar response when she was deposed under oath by attorneys from Judicial Watch on June 28, 2016.

'With respect to those State Department work-related emails on the Clintonemail.com accounts, what did you do, if anything, to preserve those emails?' asked an attorney with Judicial Watch, according to a transcript of the deposition.

Abedin responded that she 'did not do anything to preserve those emails'.

'The instances where it was Clintonemail to Clintonemail, there were instances where the content of those emails had personal matters in there, and there may have also been State Department matters in there, too.

'It was a - a combination. But I did not - I did not preserve those emails,' added Abedin.

Abedin and other members of Clinton's inner circle at the State Department used multiple email addresses  including one official State Department account, and another on Clinton's private email server located at her home.

Abedin testified that she left all of her emails from her Clinton server account in her inbox after leaving the State Department. She said she did not delete any emails.

'I just left everything on what - on the system, I guess,' she said during her deposition.

Last year marked a scandalous year for Abedin who had been roped into her husband's sexting trial, and in December it emerged that Abedin's cousin Omar Amanat was convicted of fraud and is now facing more than 10 years in prison.

Amanat was found guilty of cheating investors out of millions and artificially inflating the company's revenue, according to PageSix.

The jury was not told of his link to Abedin who the crook called his 'closest cousin'. Their respective mothers are sisters.
A father has broken down in tears as his son was taken away by police and charged with stabbing of his neighbour.

Robert Strucelj, 46, was arrested for the murder of the 32-year-old man who was believed to be making noise with a group of people out the back of the accused's home.

Mirko, the father of Robert Strucelj, spoke to 9 News about the moment police arrived to arrest his son.

The father of Robert Strucej, Mirko (pictured), broke down in tears as his son is charged with stabbing of his neighbour

Robert Strucelj (pictured) was arrested at the scene and is being interviewed by police

'There were two police  Robert, he had handcuffs,' he said yesterday.

'How would you feel if your son or daughter was arrested, if you don't know anything.'

On Monday morning the victim was found with wounds to his upper-body and neck at the Williams Road property.

Emergency services were called to the scene in Strathmerton, around 240km north-east of Melbourne near the New South Wales border, after reports a man had been stabbed in the neck.

Police discovered the 32-year-old at the Williams Rd property in Strathmerton, in country Victoria, about 1.40am on Monday.

On Monday morning the victim was found with wounds to his upper-body and neck at the Williams Road property

Police are investigating the fatal stabbing of a man at his property in Strathermerton overnight

Mr Strucelj has been charged with one count of murder, and has appeared in an out of sessions court hearing in Shepparton.

Homicide squad detectives worked at the scene and are now building a case to pinpoint the circumstances surrounding the death.

Anyone with information about the incident is being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Summer may be here but cooling off in the ocean may not be an option as toxic sea creatures the size of a $2 coin flood our beaches.

A number of extremely venomous Irukandji jellyfish were found off the Queensland coast earlier this month.

Surf Life Saving Queensland found the species of box jellyfish at Fraser Island prompting a warning for swimmers to stay out of the water to avoid deadly stings.

A number of extremely venomous Irukandji jellyfish (pictured) were found in Queensland

Surf Life Saving Queensland found the species of box jellyfish (pictured) at Fraser Island prompting a warning for swimmers to stay out of the water to avoid deadly stings

'We're urging everyone to stay out of the water entirely on that western side of the island while conditions are hot and humid,' Surf Life Saving Queensland regional manager Craig Holden said.

There are fears the tiny jellyfish may be heading south towards the Sunshine Coast as the ocean warms up, News Corp reported.

James Cook University Professor Jamie Seymour told ABC News being stung by a Irukandji jellyfish would leave someone with '10 out of 10 pain' that would last 'probably six to 12 hours'.

'There's usually severe vomiting, nausea, stomach cramps and about 10 to 15 per cent of patients end up with cardiac problems,' he said.

The dangerous jellyfish were found during a daily stinger drag which will continue until January 21.

Swimmers are advised to take a bottle of vinegar to the beach to use to treat stings.

Last year, thousands of blue jellyfish infested Queensland beaches (pictured), leaving more than 20,000 people reportedly stung by the creature

Covering the sandy shores like 'bubble wrap across the beach', the blue jellyfish take over Deception Bay every year (pictured)

Last year, thousands of blue jellyfish infested Queensland beaches, leaving more than 20,000 people reportedly stung by the creature.

Covering the sandy shores like 'bubble wrap across the beach', the blue jellyfish take over Deception Bay every year.

'There's never been this many ... I spoke to someone who's been researching them for 25 years and she's never seen anything like it,' Charlotte Lawson told Daily Mail Australia at the time.
A British woman who fantasised about killing for years before she tortured and murdered an autistic teenager in Australia kept a set of sharp knives by her computer and decorated her home with horror film paraphernalia.

Pictures have revealed the inside of the house Jemma Lilley, 26, shared with her bondage-loving housemate Trudi Lenon, 43, which she nicknamed 'Elm Street' after the 1984 movie 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'.

Lilley, originally from Stamford, Lincolnshire, murdered 18-year-old Aaron Pajich with the help of Lenon in June last year.

The pair stabbed the teenager to death in a secret room with various blades before they buried his body under a patio in the backyard of their home in a suburb in Perth, West Australia.

Inside the house of horrors, a block of knives can be seen on what appears to be a kitchen counter, sitting next to a 'Chucky' with a sharp knife in its hand.

A British woman who fantasised about killing for years before she tortured and murdered an autistic teenager in Australia decorated her home with horror film paraphernalia (pictured)

Pictured is a large saucepan containing moulded meat police suspect was used in an experiment with hydrochloric acid

Jemma Linney was obsessed with serial killers and wrote a novel about a sadistic killer called SOS, which she later used as an alias and wore a similar lead mask

Lilley, originally from Stamford, Lincolnshire, murdered 18-year-old Aaron Pajich (pictured) with the help of her housemate in June last year

Pictures show the squalid conditions the pair lived in, including a large saucepan containing moulded meat police suspect was used in an experiment with hydrochloric acid.

Lilley's motorcycle, parked in the house's garage, can be seen with a number plate reading '1SOS1'.

SOS is the main character in the 26-year-old's horror novel.

She would pretend to be SOS - which she later adopted as an alias - and would even wear a lead mask like the sadistic killer she had created.

Lilley wrote: 'I feel I can't rest until the blood of a fresh, screaming, bleeding victim is gushing out and pooling on the floor'.

Her stepmother Nina, 48, who still lives in the UK, said: 'She had always had an obsession with serial killers. I always felt on edge with her. I always felt unnerved by her. I don't think she did have empathy'.

Linney had built up a collection of knives and scalpels and a bone saw (pictured) which she used to stab Aaron Pajich

Linney and fellow killer Trudi Lenon, who became obsessed with the Briton, had a secret locked room where they tortured and killed their victim

A shallow grave was then dug and then he was buried under this patio in Perth, Western Australia

The pair buried Pajich's body in a shallow grave covered over with concrete and tiles

She also read Lilley's 'disturbing' horror novel 'Playzone', which is a window into the killer's twisted mind.

Linney in her garden in Lincolnshire, her stepmother says she became obsessed with serial killers as a teenager and serious mental health problems

She said: 'The book was a big problem with me. At the beginning I was, 'fair enough you want to write a horror story' bit I didn't like the contents of it, it was all about torture and very violent and no empathy for the victims, which I found very disturbing'.

The killer would write the novel every day in her bedroom.

Nina said she left the family home because she could not bear living with Jemma, who she believed was a psychopath and possibly had bipolar depression.

She said she was receiving psychiatric treatment depression herself but the horrific book made her mental health worse.

'It seemed to escalate before she left for Australia she got so obsessed by it and even preparing to go to another country get sidelined,' said Nina.

'She wanted to get it published, that's what she wanted because it was her ambition to be a horror writer. She didn't see it as a problem, she didn't see it as a bad thing, she assumed people would want to read it and it's not nice to read.

'I always felt on edge with her, I always felt unnerved by her, she seemed to find it funny that they said, 'you need to see somebody', she always found that amusing but in the end I left the relationship - she was one of the biggest reasons'.

Nina was shocked to find out Lilley was in a relationship with a woman and added she had told her that she had a boyfriend.

She added: 'She was immature for her age, she just had a few friends, she was very tomboyish.

'I regret I wasn't more forceful in getting her to get help. I should have said, 'no if you're not going to get her to get help I will' but I had my own mental health to think of as well.

'She was clever, a bright girl, that's what's so frustrating because she was clever but she seemed not to have common sense.'

Jemma Victoria Lilley (left) and Trudi Clare Lenon (right) have been found guilty of killing 18-year-old Aaron Pajich at their Perth house

A giant square of carpet was removed from Lilley's room, which police was put under Aaron before he was killed

Lenon pushes a trolley laden with Hydrochloric acid as Lilley stands at the counter waiting to pay

Bondage obsessive Lenon had become obsessed with Lilley and had her alias 'SOS', a killer she created for a book, tattooed on her arm

Aaron Pajich's body was found in a shallow grave and covered with concrete and tiles on June 13 last year.

Lilley, who moved to Australia six years ago, had a 'life's ambition' to kill someone by the time she was aged 25, a West Australian Supreme Court jury heard.

State prosecutor James McTaggart told the jury: 'At the time of the murder, she was a person obsessed with violence and all kinds of unquestionably cruel manifestations of torture and was writing about it'.

There was 'no doubt' Mr Pajich had been murdered with fatal knife wounds to his chest and neck, the jury heard.

There was also no doubt he was buried in the backyard of the pair's Perth home, a place where a security camera showed the two of them and Mr Pajich on June 13, the last time he was seen.

'Between them, they did all that was necessary to cause Aaron Pajich's death,' Mr McTaggart said.

Lilley was reportedly so 'full of herself and euphoric' after committing the murder, that she could not help boasting about killing someone to one of her colleagues.

She also left incriminating voice messages to her 'obsequious and sycophantic' fellow murderer Lenon, talking about how excited she was experiencing things 'she had not felt before'.

Evidence of Lilley and Lenon's guilt could be found in a series of phone messages, where they were discussing killing someone while referring to each other by their bizarre names SOS and Corvina.

They had also bought cleaning products and concrete to cover up the murder, Mr McTaggart said.

Lenon blames Lilley for the murder, but admits to being an accessory.

Lilley's father Richard Lilley, who flew from England to watch his daughter being convicted, said nothing as he left the court building.

Lilley denied knowing how Mr Pajich died and claimed to have been asleep when he was last seen with Lenon.

Lilley and her housemate Trudi Lennon are accused of murdering 18-year-old Mr Pajich (pictured), who has been described as autistic but 'high functioning'

Sharon Pajich, mother of Aaron, leaves court after the guilty verdict on Wednesday

Mr Pajich was last spotted on June 13 on CCTV cameras at the Rockingham Shopping Centre taxi rank
Several students involved in a wild initiation party have been banned from university after shocking video emerged showing their 'sadistic' antics.

Students at the University of Otago in New Zealand were filmed in their underwear as they were vomited on and covered in a green goo poured from a wheelie bin.

There were also reports a student urinated on another's face during the annual initiation, which unfolded in the backyard of a property in September last year.

Other pictures shared on social media showed students with a strip shaved down the middle of their heads slamming down drinks until they vomited.

'I mean you already know you're going to get initiated when you go to it, so it's a choice,' one student told TVNZ at the time.

'There's a lot of gross stuff going on, but it's just tradition... If you don't want to do it you don't have to do it. And you know there's going to be gross stuff.'

But a number of students have this week been suspended for breaching the Student Code of Conduct, a University of Otago spokeswoman told Stuff NZ.

'Some students may appeal the decisions. No further comment can be made until the appeals process is complete,' the spokeswoman said.

Several students involved in a wild initiation party have been banned from university after shocking video emerged showing their 'sadistic' antics

The suspension period is just one semester, the publication understands.

Proctor Dave Scott said the university 'is not opposed to good fun' but said there is risk of 'serious mental and physical harm' through such events.

'For this reason the university will do everything in its power to keep students safe, while providing them with a world class education,' he said.

He said the university began work to address the issue last year and would continue to so in 2018.
A mystery man spent his Tuesday night diving into an icy cold river to save the life of a young woman.

Police were called to the King Street Bridge in Southbank, Melbourne, about 8.30pm after an 18-year-old woman was seen jumping into the Yarra River.

Her fall was seen by a 21-year-old man, who immediately followed her into the mucky water to rescue her.

A 21-year-old man dived into the Yarra River on Tuesday night to rescue an 18-year-old woman who had jumped from the King Street Bridge (pictured right)

An eyewitness reported seeing two fire trucks, an ambulance, police and a boat attend the scene, and personnel staring into the water.

Following her recovery, the woman was transported to St Vincent's Hospital for assessment.

Her saviour was uninjured in the incident.

A spokeswoman for Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia officers are aware of the man's identity, though it has not been released.

The woman was seen jumping into the icy water about 8.30pm, and was taken to hospital for assessment




The day brought two controversies about the treatment of women. First, with tremendous flapping of wings, came an Urgent Question about how much (or how little) the BBC pays women.

The victim here was the Beebs China editor Carrie Gracie, who has been paid 135,000 a year but wants the same as certain men who are on even more. The nation will no doubt feel the poor sparrows deprivation keenly.

The second Commons event was a Statement by new Justice Secretary David Gauke about the early release of rapist John Worboys, 60. He is being freed by the independent, liberal-leaning Parole Board after just nine years in prison, though it is believed he committed about 100 attacks.

The row over BBC presenter Carrie Gracie's pay and the release of rapist. John Worboys were both discussed in the Commons yesterday, but more precedence appeared to be given to the pay row. Pictured right is new Justice Secretary David Gauke, who delivered a statement

No one said so on Tuesday but his release flows from a lighter sentencing policy devised by the lawyers of the Blair era.

Which of these matters more: Pay for big-wonga Beeboids or public confidence in rape sentences? From the grandstanding, you would have said the Beeb hoo-hah took precedence. Harriet Harman (Lab, Camberwell & Peckham) hailed Carrie Gracie as a heroine for resigning her editorship in protest at the BBC gender pay gap. Ms Harman wanted regulatory intervention and more state money for that.

Labour frontbencher Tom Watson came over all creepy, referring to Ms Gracie only as Carrie (are they really that close?). New Culture Secretary Matt Hancock beat his breast and said the BBC should represent the values we hold dear.

Today programme presenter John Humphrys should have his pay chopped in half, averred Labours Chris Bryant (Rhondda). Comrade Bryant did not mention the c.300,000 given to ex-Labour MP James Purnell to be a BBC suit.

Labour frontbencher Tom Watson came over all creepy, referring to Ms Gracie only as Carrie during his statement

Various MPs preceded their ventilations by saying how dearly they loved the BBC  yet the failure to give Ms Gracie more money was a disgrace, a human-rights atrocity, etc, and just showed what the Establishment thought of womens emancipation. On it went, Hon Members straining for the soundbite that might earn applause on Facebook and Twitter. No one pointed out that the surest way to secure a raise in journalism is to tell your bosses youve been offered a bigger job elsewhere.

Forgive me if I genuflect insufficiently to laffaire Gracie but I found the later Statement on the Worboys case more worrying and of greater substance.

Yet the House was somewhat less unanimous and theatrical in showing displeasure at the early release of a rapist.

Philip Hollobone (Con, Kettering) did say we were far too soft in punishing sex offenders  none of them serve their sentences in full and many go on to reoffend once they have been released. Mr Gauke claimed rape sentences had risen by 30 per cent since 2010.

Philip Davies (Con, Shipley) noted that for years he had been a lonely campaigner against soft sentences. Was it not a nonsense that criminals were released halfway through their sentences? Mr Gauke, in his reply, tried to belittle Mr Davies.

Sir Desmond Swayne (Con, New Forest W) asked: Did Worboys acknowledge his guilt? The minister did not know. Perhaps the Parole Board will tell us, but dont count on it. Julian Lewis (Con, New Forest E) asked: What happened to the concept that the punishment should fit the crime? Even Anna Soubry (Vaguely Con, Broxtowe) thought the Parole Board had made a mistake  rapists like Worboys, she said, were often extremely cunning. Chris Matheson (Lab, Chester) conceded that Worboys original sentence had been slightly derisory.

Philip Davies, left, noted that for years he had been a lonely campaigner against soft sentences while Jacob Rees-Mogg said the early release of offenders should be approved by politicians

Jacob Rees-Mogg (Con, NE Somerset) said the early release of offenders should be approved by elected politicians, not by unaccountable bureaucrats. Such decisions, he said, were not scientific. They were simply an opinion. Mr Gauke (he is a lawyer) disagreed with The Mogg but did not explain why.

And so, on the say of three obscure parole bods, a rapist has been given back his liberty while the women he attacked will shiver in fear. That is surely a worse scandal than any pay differentials for rich radio presenters.
For more than a century it has educated generations of girls.

But one of the country's top-performing state schools has baffled parents by informing them its staff will in future use 'gender-neutral language' when talking to or about children.

Altrincham Grammar School for Girls in Manchester fears that using the 'g-word' could result in pupils who are changing sex being 'misgendered'.

Pupils are likely to be addressed as 'students' instead.

However despite the ban, the 1,350-pupil school has no plans to drop the term from its name.

Altrincham Grammar School for Girls fears that using the 'g-word' could result in pupils who are changing sex being 'misgendered'

In a letter to parents, principal Stephanie Gill said the rethink came in response to 'the challenges facing our students who are questioning their gender identity or who do not identify as girls'.

Despite the fact the school does not admit boys, she added that parents 'may have noticed that we have moved to using gender neutral language in all our communications with students and parents'.

She added: 'We are working to break ingrained habits in the way we speak to and about students, particularly referring to them collectively as 'girls'.'

The letter goes on to say that 'for many transgender students being misgendered can be very hurtful' and undermines efforts to demonstrate that 'everyone is welcome' at the school.

'Staff have embraced these changes and are doing their best to implement this new policy,' she concluded.

Altrincham Grammar in Greater Manchester is sixth in the Sunday Times list of best state schools in the country, with all of its students being awarded A*-C grades in last year's GCSE exams. But it could face a backlash over its decision.

One parent, who asked not to be named, said: 'When I opened the letter I wasn't sure if it was a joke or not. It seems a bit potty to me.

'They are talking about diversity, but it's a girls only school. How does that work?'

A local resident told the BBC: 'It's ridiculous. We live in an age where we have to respect people's views and if people have issues around gender and sexuality we have to understand that. But girls should be referred to as girls.'

Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, described the move as 'complete folly'.

'The intentions are good, but children who have issues over their gender identity can be treated with respect without the English language being altered to accommodate them,' he said.

'Instead, this kind of move risks leading to more bullying of transgender pupils who may wrongly be blamed for this move.'

Former Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson, who played Jim McDonald, was among those to mock the change in policy.

He said: 'Teachers in a girls school down the road told not to call children 'girls'.

'God give me friggin' strength.'

Lance Spencer also took to Twitter to poke fun at the school, saying: 'Altrincham Grammar School for Gender Neutrals doesn't quite have the same ring to it.'

And photographer Ian Charles said: 'Going to be confusing as the sign outside says 'Altrincham Grammar School for Girls'.'

Anita Wood also derided the school's choice of direction, saying: 'The world has gone mad - top grammar school Altrincham girls not allowed to call the students girls anymore.'

But some defended the move, including Cambridge undergraduate and Manchester resident Hannah Dawson.

Miss Dawson, who was the former editor of The Tab student newspaper at the college, said: 'God forbid teachers actually respect their students gender identity - people getting her up about the news need to calm down - it takes very little effort to change language for teachers but such effort could mean the world to a trans student.

'I went to the other girls grammar in Altrincham and honestly would be proud if they did the same thing.'

But the member of staff in charge of the school's Twitter account does not appear to be on board with the idea.

Nine hours ago the official account posted using the hashtag 'Alty Girls', which also appears in the username.

The move comes following official advice to primary school heads to include books featuring transgender parents on the curriculum and asking schools to ensure uniform rules 'avoid gender stereotypes'.

In November, former Government former mental health tsar Natasha Devon told the Girls' Schools Association teachers should avoid calling female pupils 'girls' because it reinforces gender stereotypes and may upset transgender children.

A statement issued by the school said: 'It's important our students feel comfortable and able to bring their true selves to the learning environment.

'We welcome and celebrate diversity at our school and we will look at any measure, however small, to ensure the wellbeing of our staff and students.'
On January 8, Viridiana Ramos (pictured) was once again arrested after a second student came forward alleging he received inappropriate pictures from the teacher

A teacher in New Orleans who had been previously arrested for sending lewd photographs to a middle school student was once again placed into custody on Tuesday after a second student came forward with similar allegations.

Viridiana Ramos, 30, of Marrero, was arrested in November for allegedly sending nude pictures of herself to a 13-year-old boy, according to NOLA.com.

Ramos was a teacher at L.W. Ruppel Academy for Advanced Studies in Gretna, where the teenager studied at the time of the arrest.

On January 8, Ramos was arrested once again when another pupil at a different school came forward with similar accusations.

The second known victim, who reportedly attended Fisher Middle-High School in Lafitte, contacted the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in December to report that Ramos had sent nude pictures of herself using the social media app Snapchat in 2016.

Ramos was a teacher at L.W. Ruppel Academy for Advanced Studies (puictured) in Gretna, where the teenager studied at the time of her first arrest in November

Spokesman for the department, Lt. Jason Rivarde, said the boy was 14 at the time of the incident. It remains unclear if Ramos directly taught the students making the accusations.

She is currently being held without bond at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna, NOLA.com reported.

Lt. Jason Rivarde (pictured) said the boys were 13 and 14, respectively, at the time of each incident

According to Jefferson Parish Public Schools officials, Ramos worked as an itinerant band teacher for talented arts students at five schools before her first arrest late last year.

Ramos was suspended without pay on November 17 after the Ruppel student alerted the principal of the school about the inappropriate pictures along with lewd text messages.

Investigators say that Ramos and the young teenager started exchanging messages in October, holding at first regular conversations.

But authorities say that Ramos soon turned more flirtatious, eventually 'sending him photographs of her breasts, buttocks and vagina,' Rivarde said.

The boy asked Ramos to stop sending the photographs and messages shortly thereafter, saying he was afraid that they would get caught.

'Wouldn't I be the one that gets in trouble?,' Ramos responded, according to Jefferson Perish Police.

Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call Det. Scott Bradley with the Sheriff's Office investigations bureau at (504) 364 - 5300.
Not everyone was fawning over Oprah Winfrey's barnstorming speech from Sunday's Golden Globe Awards

Juanita Broaddrick, who has alleged that former President Bill Clinton raped her during his 1978 campaign for Arkansas governor, called out the media mogul for addressing the #MeToo movement during her speech.

Broaddrick, 75, tweeted on Monday morning: 'Hey @Oprah #GoldenGlobes. Funny I've never heard you mention my name. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Guess not. My rapist was/is your friend, Bill Clinton.'

The tweet was particularly poignant as Winfrey's speech decried sexual misconduct and abuse by men in powerful positions as she accepted the Cecil B DeMille Award.

'For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men,' she said. 'But their time is up. Their time is up.'

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Juanita Broaddrick (pictured, October 2016), who has alleged that former President Bill Clinton raped her during his 1978 campaign for Arkansas governor, called out Oprah Winfrey for addressing the #Me Too movement during her Golden Globes speech

'For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up,' WInfrey said as she accepted the Cecil B DeMille award on Sunday (pictured)

Broaddrick slammed the media mogul in a series of tweets posted Monday morning

Broaddrick then pointed to an interview the 63-year-old talk show host conducted with the 71-year-old former president in August 2004.

When Winfrey questioned Clinton about his sex scandal involving former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, she simply asked: 'What was the most difficult part of that time for you?'

Broaddrick tweeted: 'Remember this @Oprah, You've had so many opportunities to bring up my allegations, which have never been discredited. Why??'

In 1999, after years of staying silent, Broaddrick, the woman known in government documents only as 'Jane Doe No 5' decided to come forward about her allegation that Clinton sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in April 1978 (Broaddrick, far right, and Clinton, second from left, April 1978)

In 1999, after years of staying silent, Broaddrick, the woman known in government documents only as 'Jane Doe No 5' decided to come forward about her allegation that Clinton sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in April 1978.

'It was a horrible, horrible experience and I just wanted it to go away,' she told The Washington Post at the time.

The Clinton legal team has denied Broaddrick's allegations, labeling them as 'false and outrageous'.

'Any allegation that the president assaulted Ms. Broaddrick more than 20 years ago is absolutely false,' Clinton's personal attorney, David E Kendall, said in a statement released by the White House in 1999. 'Beyond that we are not going to comment.'

On Tuesday, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said that many Democrats have told him privately they believe Clinton raped Broaddrick.

Scarborough brought up topic while discussing GOP Senorita Lindsey Graham's appearance on the View remarking that he had previously called Trump a 'xenophobic, race-baiting religious bigot' but that he was also doing a lot of good things 'on multiple fronts' as president.

The Clinton legal team has denied Broaddrick's (pictured, left, in 1992 with her husband, David) allegations, labeling them as 'false and outrageous'

On Tuesday, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough (pictured, September 2017) said that many Democrats have told him privately they believe Clinton raped Broaddrick

'How do you split the difference? And I'll make Democrats uncomfortable and make them hate me too, because I want to be an equal-opportunity offender,' Scarborough said.

'How did Democrats split the difference on Bill Clinton when they knew, or many believed and would tell me off the air that he raped Juanita Broaddrick? How do you split the difference to move your political agenda forward?'
African-Australians have reclaimed the hashtag #AfricansGangs, using it to post positive photos of themselves and their families.

The hashtag has been hijacked from those who were using it to post about African youth crime in Melbourne in recent weeks.

Members of African-Australian communities around the country have used it alongside graduation photos, baby photos, and pictures of themselves and friends.

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The hashtag has been reclaimed from those who were using it to post about African youth crime in Melbourne in recent weeks

Members of African-Australian communities around the country have used it alongside graduation photos, baby photos, and pictures of themselves and friends

'Thanks mom for instilling #AfricanGangs values in me, been at my current employment for 7 years, run my own business and in the final stages of a double degree. #AfricanAustralian,' wrote one user

The social media trend comes as police confirmed Victorian Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton will meet with Melbourne African community leaders

'Another great addition to the growing number of #AfricanGangs,' wrote one Twitter user in the caption of a photo of a newborn baby.

'Two #AfricanGangs graduate with a degree in Crime,' said the caption to a graduation photo.

Others posted photos of friends hanging out, students holding degrees and awards, and of family members with politicans, using it as a 'badge of honour'.

'Tony Abbott touring troops in Afghanistan. That's my brother on the right. #AfricanGangs,' accompanied a picture of the former prime minister.

African-Australians have reclaimed the hashtag #AfricansGangs, using it to post positive photos of themselves and their families

'Tony Abbott touring troops in Afghanistan. That's my brother on the right. #AfricanGangs,' accompanied a picture of the former prime minister

Twitter users decided to take the hashtag as a badge of honour and even rename their profiles

'Thanks mom for instilling #AfricanGangs values in me, been at my current employment for 7 years, run my own business and in the final stages of a double degree. #AfricanAustralian,' wrote another.

The hashtag hijacking met with widespread approval on social media, accompanied with accusations media and political coverage of Melbourne crime is racist.

'Absolutely loving seeing all these gorgeous, strong young Australians in #AfricanGangs! I'm so glad you're all a part of our community,' said one.

'Loving all the awesome #AfricanGangs popping into my feed right now. More please!' said another.

The hashtag hijacking (pictured) met with widespread approval on social media, accompanied with accusations media and political coverage of Melbourne crime is racist

The social media trend comes as police confirmed Victorian Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton will meet with Melbourne African community leaders.

The reclaimed hashtag is the second to be aimed at Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton over Melbourne's gangs crisis.

After comments from Mr Dutton last week that Melbourne residents were afraid to go out to dinner, social media users started the #MelbourneBitesBack hashtag.

'People don't see this in NSW, in Queensland, but the reality is people are scared to go out at restaurants of a night time,' Mr Dutton said.

Many social media users posted photos of university graduations to counter negative portrayals of the African-Australian communities

The reclaimed hashtag (pictured) is the second to be aimed at Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton over Melbourne's gangs crisis

'Because they're followed home by these gangs, home invasions, and cars are stolen.'

Hundreds of residents hit back at Mr Dutton on Twitter by posting images of themselves dining out accompanied by the hashtag.

Mr Dutton was responding to a series of reports of crimes committed by African gangs Apex and Menace to Society.

The Turnbull Government and the State Opposition have been critical of the Victorian Government's handling of the crisis, saying more needs to be done.

Mr Dutton has said the law applies equally to all Australians regardless of background, and blamed the Andrews Government's 'political correctness' for the crisis.
Palloma Lima (pictured), 18, died on Monday night shortly after being abandoned critically injured at a hospital in Gama near the Brazilian capital Brasilia

The boyfriend of a teenage girl has been arrested after allegedly shooting her dead during a game of Russian roulette.

Palloma Lima, 18, died on Monday night shortly after being abandoned critically injured at a hospital in Gama near the Brazilian capital Brasilia.

The white Fiat Palio car she is said to have been shot in during the deadly game had several bloodstains in it when it was stopped by police in the nearby area of Santa Maria.

The driver reportedly told police he was planning to help Palloma's unnamed 27-year-old boyfriend go on the run by dropping him off at a safe haven after they fled Gama Regional Hospital.

Another couple said to have witnessed the killing have also been questioned by police.

Police told local media they suspected Palloma had died during a game of Russian roulette, in which players risk their lives with a revolver with a single bullet by taking turns to put the muzzle against their heads and pull the trigger.

The full circumstances of the teenager's death were not made immediately clear on Tuesday as detectives continued to search for the gun that killed her, with one local report claiming the suspect was contradicting the police assertion the notorious game was to blame for her death and insisting Palloma had died by accident.

One of the two witnesses to the death have also been arrested after drugs were found in their house during a subsequent search.

The unnamed 27-year-old boyfriend is pictured here with his head down and his hands clasping his knee

The full circumstances of the teenager's death were not made immediately clear on Tuesday as detectives continued to search for the gun that killed her, with one local report claiming the suspect was contradicting the police assertion the notorious game was to blame for her death and insisting Palloma (pictured) had died by accident.

The white Fiat Palio car she is said to have been shot in during the deadly game had several bloodstains in it when it was stopped by police in the nearby area of Santa Maria. The driver reportedly told police he was planning to help Palloma's unnamed 27-year-old boyfriend go on the run by dropping him off at a safe haven after they fled Gama Regional Hospital (pictured)

A court in Montreal, Canada yesterday sentenced a man to 13 years in jail for killing his best friend while they played a drug-fuelled game of Russian roulette.

Toru Syed, 30, was first arrested for having killed his friend, 20-year-old Rakib Ullah Mohammed, in August 2011.

Syed shot the victim after both had consumed drugs and alcohol inside his pal's apartment.

He was initially charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in 2016.

Three violent burglars were said to have played Russian roulette with terrified British expats when they raided their home in May 2013.

The trio put a gun to the head of their female victim and told her it had three bullets in it before apparently pulling the trigger twice in a sadistic bid to force the couple into telling them where they kept their money.

They struck as her 70-year-old husband was smoking a cigarette on his doorstep.

They forced him inside and bound him and his 66-year-old wife before putting the gun to her head.

Their terrifying ordeal happened at the couple's expat home in Santa Cristina D'Aro on the Costa Brava, a 20-minute drive north of Tossa de Mar.

The woman OAP, who was notnamed, told a local paper at the time: 'Twice they put the revolver against my head and twice I heard a click.

'I think they had the situation under control and weren't turning the barrel round because no bullets came out, but I was terrified.'
The boss of one of Britains biggest builders has seen his bonus swell by more than 200,000 a day in recent weeks as the company cashes in on Help to Buy.

Jeff Fairburn, the chief executive of Persimmon, is in line to collect shares in the company worth 131million on the back of soaring profits.

The value of the windfall has increased by 8.5million since the start of December  or 212,500 a day  and by 45million since the start of last year, when he was nicknamed Mr 100million. In his first interview since the scale of the bonus was announced, Mr Fairburn insisted the payout must be taken into context of what has been achieved.

Jeff Fairburn is in line to collect shares in the company worth 131million on the back of soaring profits

Persimmon has built more than 80,000 new homes since the bonus scheme was approved by shareholders in 2011

'Of course Im responsible at the end of the day, and the business has done very well, he told The Guardian. Weve worked very hard as a team to get to where we are now. Mr Fairburn, 51, is not the only senior figure at the company set to benefit. In total, 140 Persimmon managers are set to share stock worth nearly 650million in what is thought to be the biggest bonus scheme in British corporate history.

The payouts were branded obscene at a time when many families struggle to get on the property ladder because of a chronic shortage of homes and rising prices.

Critics argued that the bonus pot has been inflated by the Governments Help to Buy initiative, which they said had pushed up house prices and offered builders a taxpayer subsidy. More than half of Persimmon homes are sold through Help to Buy. Persimmon has also benefited from the sale of leasehold homes  a practice due to be outlawed following a series of exposes by the Daily Mail.

Last month, Nicholas Wrigley quit as chairman of Persimmon as the row over the bonus plan exploded into the open. But Mr Fairburn yesterday defended it, saying it has done exactly what it set out to do by boosting the number of homes the company builds.

Cranfield School of Management finance expert Ruth Bender said that Persimmon and Mr Fairburn had a huge dollop of luck from Help to Buy

Since the bonus scheme was approved by shareholders in 2012, Persimmon has built more than 80,000 new homes, with annual production up 70 per cent. We have made a significant contribution to increasing UK housing supply, the company said.

Mr Fairburn admitted demand has been created through the Help to Buy scheme that offers families taxpayers cash so they can get a mortgage. We are looking to meet that demand, he said.

His comments came as Persimmon revealed that revenues rose 9 per cent to 3.42billion last year. It sold 16,043 newly-built homes  an increase of 872 or 6 per cent on the previous year  and the average selling price rose 3 per cent to 213,300.

Shares in the company have risen by more than 200 per cent since the schemes launch in 2013  pushing up the value of the bonus pot.

Mr Fairburn has been entitled to collect 40 per cent of the shares since January 1 but has yet to do so. The rest of the shares will be paid if certain targets are hit.

Ruth Bender, professor of corporate financial strategy at Cranfield School of Management, said Persimmon and Mr Fairburn had a huge dollop of luck from Help to Buy. She added: There is obviously an element of good management, but they would have never made those good results without the regulation.

Paula Higgins, of the HomeOwners Alliance campaign group, said: It is absolutely shocking. These bosses are getting huge windfalls because the Government is subsidising the housebuilders through Help to Buy.
James Kauffman (pictured) and a member of the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang were charged in the May 2012 shooting death of radio host April Kauffman

A New Jersey doctor running an illegal prescription opioid drug ring with a motorcycle gang had a member hire someone to kill his wife after she threatened to expose the scheme while trying to force him to agree to a divorce, authorities said Tuesday.

James Kauffman and a member of the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang were charged in the May 2012 shooting death of radio host April Kauffman.

Another six people connected to the gang were charged with racketeering in the drug ring, which prosecutors said continued until last summer, when Kauffman was arrested at his office while brandishing a gun.

Kauffman 'was intent to have her killed, as opposed to losing his financial empire,' Atlantic County prosecutor Damon Tyner said.

Ferdinand Augello, 61, the Pagan charged with finding someone to kill April Kauffman, also was charged Tuesday with trying to have James Kauffman killed, authorities said.

James Kauffman, 68, and Ferdinand Augello are charged with Murder in connection with the death of April Kauffman, in addition to racketeering, related to the illegal distribution of narcotics through Kauffmans former medical practice.

The others charged in the crime include Joseph Mulholland, 52, Beverly Augello, 47, and Glenn Seeler, 37, who are charged with first degree racketeering.

Paul Pagano, 61 and Tabitha Chapman, 35, were charged second racketeering.

Joseph Mullholland, left, was suspected of carrying out the shooting. He was found dead from a drug overdose a year after the killing. Glen Seeler, 37 and Ferdinand Augello, 61, right, were charged with racketeering

Paul Pagano, 61, left, Tabitha Chapman, 35, center and, Beverly Augello, 47, right, were charged with racketeering

James Kauffman, 68, April's husband whom she was attempting to divorce was charged with 1st degree racketeering

Kauffman has long maintained his innocence and denies any involvement in his wife's death, his attorney Ed Jacobs told Philly.com. It wasn't immediately known if Augello or any of the other defendants had lawyers to represent them.

April Kauffman's daughter, Kimberly Pack, who had long alleged that her stepfather killed her mother, said the death 'forever changed my life.'

'I have been waiting patiently for justice, and today I was lucky enough to be granted justice,' Pack said. 'I think for the first time, today I can actually breathe.'

Pack had earlier fought a legal battle against her stepfather sparked by his attempts to claim April Kauffman's two life insurance policies.

His claim was turned down because prosecutors couldn't provide a letter saying he wasn't considered a suspect.

Kim Pack, daughter of murder victim April Kauffman, poses with a photo of her late mother, talk-show host April Kauffman

April Kauffman was a local businesswoman who hosted weekly talk shows and advocated for military veterans. She had received a governor's award for outstanding community service a few days before her death.

Prosecutors said James Kauffman gave free prescriptions to people sent by Augello and Augello would receive $1,000 per script or a number of pills after the script was filled. Those who received them either used the drugs or sold them, authorities said.

In the summer of 2011, April Kauffman wanted a divorce and after James Kauffman objected she threatened to expose the drug ring, Tyner said.

Tyner said that Kauffman told Augello about his wife's threats and solicited him to have her killed.

The casket of April Kauffman is carried from Beth El Synagogue, in Margate, N.J., after the funeral service Monday May 14, 2012

Police work the scene of the fatal shooting of April Kauffman, a local radio talk show host, businesswoman and community volunteer found dead in her Linwood, N.J.

Another six people connected to the gang were charged with racketeering in the drug ring, which prosecutors said continued until last summer. Kim Pack, daughter of murder victim April Kauffman is pictured

After about a year, a man who agreed to do it, Francis Mullholland, was driven to the home, where the doors were left open, and was given a gun, authorities said. April Kauffman, 47, was shot twice, and her body was found by a handyman.

Tyner said Mullholland, who said he got about $20,000 in cash, was later found dead of a drug overdose.

Mullholland originally was identified as a cousin of a member of the motorcycle gang, but a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office later said that was incorrect. She declined to release more details about him.

Prosecutors said the drug empire lasted until June, when Kauffman was arrested on weapons charges at his Egg Harbor Township office.

Authorities said he brandished a handgun as agents executed a search warrant and said, 'I'm not going to jail for this!' A hostage negotiator persuaded him to surrender.
At midnight on New Year's Eve, Brad Cardno, 31, was sitting with his partner, his hand on her pregnant belly, waiting for his unborn daughter to kick.

Mr Cardno had been eagerly awaiting the birth of his third child, the sixth to join the family he had established with partner Abigail Sims, The New Zealand Herald reported.

On the evening of January 1, the devoted family man took his own life.

The New Zealand man's death sent shock waves through his family and friendship groups, who had seen him joyously post to Facebook just hours before.

Brad Cardno, 31, committed suicide on New Year's Day, leaving his family and friends shocked

Hours before his death, he shared a joyous post to Facebook, celebrating the impending arrival of his daughter (pictured)

'As the clock strikes 12 and the fireworks go off with people celebrating the New Year, I lay there listening to it all with my hand on my partners stomach, trying to feel my daughter kick, thinking this is the deal right here,' he wrote at 12.09am on New Year's Day.

On New Year's Eve, Mr Cardno (left) was sitting with his partner Abigail (right), his hand on her belly, waiting for his unborn daughter to kick

Mr Cardno's post was a prime example of why those he left behind were so confused in the wake of his passing.

His friend Jean-Pierre Bouchet, who has set up a fundraising page to help raise money for the man's funeral, told the Herald his friend had seemed 'so fine' recently.

'That's why we're all so surprised. It's something we're finding very hard to understand,' he said.

When Mr Cardno first got together with Ms Sims, eight years ago, he had been battling depression.

She told the paper even she had no idea her partner had started to struggle again, and said he had seemed content with his life up until his death.

Ms Sims, who is five months pregnant, believes her partner could have been helped, had he just opened up about his inner battles.

'He was a fiercely proud man and didn't want people to see he was struggling or had any weakness. He wanted people to see him as a strong man and father,' she said.

'It's an old fashioned thing not to talk about your problems, you don't cry. But it's something you need to do.

'If you don't talk, people don't know you need help.'

If you are in need of support, you can call Lifeline on 131 114 or beyondblue on 1300 224 636.

You can also visit lifeline.org.au or beyondblue.org.au
Gareth Morgan's father has told of the heartbreaking moment he learnt his son had been killed in a seaplane crash in Sydney.

Dudley Morgan was at home with his wife in British Columbia, Canada, when the dreadful news arrived.

'One New Year's Eve at eight o'clock in the morning there was a knock on the door of our home...' Mr Morgan told mourners at his son's memorial service.

'There were two police officers standing there.

'And they told my wife Orlis and I that our son Gareth had been killed in a float plane crash on the Hawkesury River near Sydney.

'Our beloved 44-year-old son was no longer with us on this earth.'

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Mourners (pictured) gathered in Sydney to remember sea plane pilot Gareth Morgan

About 200 mourners filled the Jubilee Church at Waverley in Sydney's eastern suburbs

Mr Morgan (pictured) was killed when the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver he was piloting crashed into the Hawkesbury River at Jerusalem Bay, north of Sydney, on New Years Eve

About 200 mourners filled the Jubilee Church at Waverley in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Wednesday to farewell the pilot who was killed with his five passengers.

'This is totally back to front,' his father told those gathered.

'A child is supposed to give a eulogy at their parent's funeral, not the other way around.

'We cannot understand it.'

Mr Morgan was killed when the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver he was piloting crashed into the Hawkesbury River at Jerusalem Bay, north of Sydney, on New Years Eve.

Also killed were his five passengers: English businessman Richard Cousins, 58, his fiancee Emma Bowden, 48, her daughter Heather, 11, and his sons Ed, 23, and William, 25.

The family had taken the flight from Rose Bay, in Sydneys eastern suburbs, to the Cottage Point Inn on the Hawkesbury River for lunch.

The crash is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and its cause is still unknown.

Friends and family were seen bringing bouquets of flowers to the funeral for Mr Morgan

Mr Morgan regularly attended services at Jubilee Church (pictured), where family and friends had gathered on Sunday to remember him

Friends described Mr Morgan as a gentleman who never had a bad word to say about anyone

Hundreds farewelled the pilot on Wednesday who was killed along with his five passengers

Friends have described Mr Morgan as a gentleman who never had a bad word to say about anyone and did not even tell crude jokes.

He was studying to fly larger planes and wanted to work for Qantas. Mr Morgan lived with three flatmates at Enfield, in Sydneys inner-west.

Mr Morgans parents flew into Sydney from Toronto with their other son Dallas and daughter Cydane on January 5 when they released a statement about their loss.

We would like to thank the police and emergency services for their great diligence at this tragic time, the statement read.

We would also like to give thanks to the civilians that tried to assist in the immediate aftermath of the accident and also Gareths friends and colleagues in Australia who have helped us through the last few days.

Gareth was a wonderful and caring son and brother who never ceased to make us proud. His loss is devastating.

Mr Morgan's father, Dudley, said 'a child is supposed to give a eulogy at their parent's funeral, not the other way around'

Also killed were his five passengers: English businessman Richard Cousins, 58, (left) his fiancee Emma Bowden, 48,(right) her daughter Heather, 11, and sons Ed, 23, and William, 25

Mr Morgan regularly attended services at Jubilee Church, where family and friends had gathered on Sunday to remember him.

'Gareth was a devout Christian and loved God,' his father said.

'And we can find solace that he is now with God and at peace.

'While our hearts are broken we know that Gareth would want us to cherish his memory and celebrate his life.'

The pilot was born at Paddington in Sydney but grew up in Canada and went on to travel the world, flying float planes for almost 25 years from the arctic to the tropics.

'He perished within 50 kilometres of where he was born,' Mr Morgan said.

'Gareth, our son, we will miss you terribly but take joy in our memories of the life you lived.'

Gareth's mother spoke of a man who seemed happiest when flying.

'He was a devout Christian,' Mrs Morgan said.

'And I also believe that being in the air made him feel closer to God.

Family and friends described Mr Morgan's, who was studying to fly larger planes, tragic death as 'devastating'

Pastor Fini de Gersigny, who co-founded the church (pictured) with his wife Isi, described Mr Morgan as a gentleman of the skies

'After more than 20 years flying float planes in the far corners of the earth, you have come home.

'There aren't enough words in the English language to describe the depth of his soul, the warmth of his smile, and the clear blue of his eyes.

'Gareth, our beloved son and brother, you have come home.'

Pastor Fini de Gersigny, who co-founded the church with his wife Isi, has described Mr Morgan as a gentleman of the skies.

'He would always come to church on Sunday when he wasn't working, dressed immaculately, and he loved wearing smart, shiny shoes,' Mr de Gersigny said last weekend.

It's been very difficult for us, Gareth was a man of the church for five or six years and was always offering his support to those in the church who needed it.

The de Gersignys founded Jubilee Church 21 years ago in response to a vision from God to move to Sydneys Eastern Suburbs, according to their website.

Sydney Seaplanes, which operated the plane in which Mr Morgan died, has been supporting his family since their arrival in Sydney.
Virgin Trains was involved in a censorship row last night after stopping the sale of the Daily Mail on its trains.

The decision was announced in an internal memo leaked to the Aslef trade union's journal.

The memo said 'considerable concern' was raised by staff about 'the Daily Mail's editorial position on issues such as immigration, LGBT rights and unemployment'.

Virgin Trains was involved in a censorship row last night after stopping the sale of the Daily Mail on its trains

Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors, said he was 'concerned' by the decision. 'It smacks of censorship and, regardless of whatever publication is being targeted, this is the start of a very dangerous slippery slope,' he said.

'Although Virgin Trains has every right to decide what products it wishes to sell, it's clear that there are motives of censorship behind their decision which is to be deplored.'

The decision to stop selling the Mail and giving it away in first class was taken by the company in November. Virgin Trains only sold around 70 copies a day, and at the time it told the newspaper that it was a routine review and they were reducing the number of titles sold for space reasons. Last night a spokesman for the Daily Mail said the move was 'an attack on free speech'.

'It is disgraceful that, at a time of massive customer dissatisfaction over ever-increasing rail fares, and after the taxpayer was forced to bail out Virgin's East Coast mainline franchise, a decision strongly criticised by the Mail, that Virgin Trains should now announce that for political reasons it is censoring the choice of newspapers it offers to passengers,' he said.

'It is equally rich that Virgin chose to launch this attack on free speech in the Aslef trade union journal. For the record, Virgin used to sell only 70 Daily Mails a day.

'They informed us last November that to save space, they were restricting sales to just three newspapers: the Mirror, FT and Times.

'They gave no other reason, but it may be no coincidence that all those titles, like Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson, are pro-Remain.'

Tory MP Nadine Dorries said: 'It is very sad that a company is seeking to trample on free speech just because some of its staff do not agree with the paper.'
Suella Fernandes (pictured) said leaving the EU without a deal would be 'great' for the UK

The Brexit Department has been beefed up with the appointment of a leading Eurosceptic who says leaving the EU without a deal would be 'great' for Britain.

Fareham MP Suella Fernandes, a former barrister, is chairman of the influential European Research Group of pro-Brexit backbench Tories.

Her promotion to a junior ministerial post marks a meteoric rise for the 37-year-old, who was elected to Parliament in 2015.

A daughter of immigrants from Kenya and Mauritius, she has previously declared her determination to make Britain a 'fully sovereign trading nation' once again after Brexit.

She grew up in Wembley, North London. Her mother was a nurse who worked in the NHS for 45 years and her father worked for a housing association.

She won a scholarship to an independent school and studied law at Cambridge where she was chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association.

Miss Fernandes says that in 15 years, Brexit 'will be seen as the best thing that has happened to our country'.

She added: 'In the event of no deal, that's great as well for us.

'The ideal is a free trade agreement but in the event of that not working, no deal is something we will capitalise on using our strengths and the opportunities that brings.'

In her maiden speech to the House of Commons, Miss Fernandes said it was 'a stroke of luck to be born British, and my indebtedness goes to the heart of why I am a Conservative'.

Ms Fernandes has joined the Department for Exiting the European Union, which is led by David Davis (pictured)

She added: 'Our party rewards endeavour, enables compassion and liberates people from the shackles of the State. Our party says, 'It doesn't matter where you start. You can make your life and that of others better by taking responsibility and through self-empowerment and generosity'.'

The Department for Exiting the European Union  known as DExEU  which is led by David Davis, now has three junior ministers in the Commons  Miss Fernandes, Robin Walker and Steve Baker.

At the end of her reshuffle, Theresa May had carefully preserved the balance within Cabinet of Leavers and Remainers. The new Work and Pensions Secretary, Esther McVey, backed Brexit.

Two pro-Remain MPs, Claire Perry and Caroline Nokes, will also attend Cabinet.

The most eye-catching promotion on Monday was of David Liddington, a former Europe minister and Remainer, who takes Damian Green's Cabinet Office job, but without the First Secretary of State title. He is seen as a like-for-like replacement. However, there was no job for Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent Eurosceptic.

Theresa May carefully preserved the balance within Cabinet of Leavers and Remainers

Contrary to one report, there was no evidence of the appointment of a 'minister for no deal'. On Monday it was suggested the reshuffle would involve a Cabinet-level appointment of a 'no deal' minister to deal with preparations for the collapse of talks. As well as attending Cabinet the minister would 'control a significant budget', the Daily Telegraph reported.

In June, Miss Fernandes succeeded Mr Baker as chairman of the ERG, the main Eurosceptic group of Tory MPs. At the time, she said: 'The next two years will be crucial in the transition of the UK into a fully sovereign trading nation. I don't believe in a 'hard' Brexit or a 'soft' Brexit; I am passionate about a pro-business and jobs-led Brexit which will increase our country's prosperity.'

The group has played a key role in organising Eurosceptic MPs to get behind the Government.

Jeremy Corbyn has infuriated Remainers in his party by reminding them that Britain voted to quit the single market.

Leading Europhile MP Chuka Umunna walked out of a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party in disgust as the Labour leader unveiled his vision.

Mr Corbyn told pro-EU Labour MPs at the meeting on Monday night that he would not support their bid to keep Britain in the single market because that was not what voters wanted.

It is the latest clash between the hard-Left Labour leadership, which is known to be lukewarm towards the EU, and most of the party's MPs and members who want continued close co-operation.

One MP told Sky News: 'Jeremy said that when people voted to leave the EU, they voted to leave the single market. Single market membership requires us to be members of the EU.'

Blazing a trail... women who won promotion

MARGOT JAMES

The new number two in the culture department was the first openly lesbian MP in the Conservative Party. Miss James, 60, had set up the consultancy Shire Health before being elected in 2010. Previously minister for small businesses, she now takes the lead on digital.

CLAIRE PERRY

The MP is given a beefed-up role as minister for climate change and industry, taking charge on renewables. Under David Cameron, Mrs Perry, 53, campaigned for blocks on online porn, and the former banker was appointed as government tsar on the sexualisation of children.

HARRIETT BALDWIN

Ex-investment banker Mrs Baldiwn, whose husband is a TV producer, moves from defence minister in charge of procurement to minister of state for Africa. Mrs Baldwin, 57, will be attending Cabinet for the first time.

Left to right: Margot James, Claire Perry, Harriett Baldwin, Caroline Dinenage and Caroline Nokes

CAROLINE DINENAGE

TV presenter Fred Dinenages daughter has been promoted to minister for social care. Miss Dinenage, 46, who ran her own firm before becoming MP, will be in charge the drive to overhaul elderly care.

The mother of two, who married Tory MP Mark Lancaster in 2014, takes a step up from her Department of Work and Pensions role in charge of family support.

CAROLINE NOKES

Former National Pony Society chief Mrs Nokes moves from the Cabinet Office. The 45-year-old, who entered the Commons in 2010, will also attend Cabinet for the first time, as the minister of state for immigration.
An Australian man discovered a large, 'aggressive' spider crawling on his front lawn overnight.

Terrified, yet intrigued by the furry black arachnid, the man posted a photo of the spider on Facebook with the hope someone would be able to identify it.

'Anyone know this spider? Aggressive. Cannot find a match through Google,' Paul Cooper said.

An Australian man discovered a large, 'aggressive' spider crawling on his front lawn overnight (pictured)

Commenters were quick to point out that it is a trapdoor spider (pictured), often confused with funnel web spiders

Commenters were quick to point out that it is a trapdoor spider, often confused with funnel web spiders.

Griffith University spider researcher Jeremy Wilson, of the Australian Rivers Institute, told Daily Mail Australia the spider was a male.

'Male mygalomorph spiders leave their burrow to look for a mate around this time of year,' he said.

'They are commonly called 'wishbone spiders' because they make a side-tunnel in their burrow which makes the overall shape of the burrow look like a wishbone.'

'Other people call them 'open-holed trapdoor spiders' because they generally don't have a lid on their burrow.'

Mr Wilson said trapdoor spiders were found throughout Australia.
Millions of workers face higher National Insurance bills to fund state pensions, the government's own analysts have warned.

The Government Actuary Department (GAD) said NI rates may have to go up by as much as 5 per cent to maintain the stability of the pension fund.

This would mean an annual increase of 120 on the average worker's tax bill  and a 138 increase for their employer.

Last night experts said the shocking projections underlined the depth of Britain's pensions crisis.

The warned ministers may be forced to increase the state pension age yet further, or even reduce pension payments, to avoid putting up tax.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) must carry out drastic reforms if the state pension is to be kept functioning

Any NI hike would be hugely controversial because it would see younger workers forced to pay extra to fund the pensions of those who have already retired.

This is because people's NI contributions do not pay for their own future pensions but the pensions of people who have already retired.

In addition, pensioners pay no NI at all  adding to many young people's sense of intergenerational unfairness.

The findings were contained in a report by the Government Actuary's Department, which provides projections for ministers.

They warned that Britain's ageing population meant that changes to the tax regime may be required to make the National Insurance Fund  most of which goes towards pensions  sustainable.

They say that unless action is taken, the Fund will be exhausted by 2033.

The projections are disappointing for the government because recently-announced reforms  including raising the state pension age  were supposed to have sorted the issue out.

GAD's report said the NI Fund could be made to break even in future years but only with if rates are 'around 5 per cent higher than the current rates'.

'Substantial increases in National Insurance contribution rates would both be particularly politically sensitive and would again require primary legislation,' it said.

'These potential resolutions to the lack of long-term sustainability are all difficult and require viewing the Fund in the wider context of public finances.

'Regular monitoring, with suitable actions taken as a result, should ensure that additional funds are found in time to ensure that people continue to receive the State Pensions they expect and thus promote the intergenerational trust on which the system depends.'

Steven Cameron, director at pensions firm Aegon, said failure to act on Britain' s unsustainable pensions system would 'store up extra costs for younger generations in future'.

'There won't be enough coming in from National Insurance to cover the cost of paying the state pension,' he said.

'To stop that happening, NI contributions have to go up or the government will have to make changes to the state pension or the age it is paid from.'

Ministers announced last year that the state pension age would rise to 68 over two years from 2037  nine years earlier than originally planned.

At present, the NI rate for most employees is 12 per cent on earnings above 8,164. A 5 per cent increase would put this up to 12.6 per cent.

Aegon said that a worker on 28,000 pays around 2,400 in NI a year. The increase would see this increase by 120 to 2,520.

For the average employer, the NI rate will go from 13.8pc to 14.5pc, pushing its bill of 2,760 up by 138.

For someone earning 45,000, the increase would see their bill go up by 221 to 4,645  while their employer would face a bill of 5,345, an extra 258.

Mr Cameron added: 'What many people may not realise is there's no big pot of money set aside to pay future state pensions.

'Instead, they are funded on a 'pay as you go' basis meaning future state pensioners are reliant on the NI contributions of future workers to pay their pensions, creating the potential for intergenerational tension.

'There's always a trade-off to be made between state pension age, the yearly amount of state pension paid out, other benefits NI pay for such as the current hot topic of social care, and at what rates NI contributions need to be set to cover these costs.'

Former pensions minister Baroness Altmann warned that the rising population will also lead to vastly increasing sums spent on social care.

'The Government Actuary is warning that National Insurance contributions are not high enough to cover future state pension costs,' she said.

'This is worrying because the new State Pension system, which has only just started, was supposed to ensure future state pension costs would be sustainable.

'This still takes no account of the cost of providing care for increasing numbers of older pensioners in future. The UK pension crisis rumbles on.'

AJ Bell senior analyst Tom Selby told the Financial Times that the increases paint a 'grim picture for the future of the state pension'.

'The harsh reality is that, as demographics bite and the Baby Boomers floor towards retirement, the cost of the state pension will inevitably boom,' he said.

Younger people will be required to pay more taxes to keep the state pension alive

'The options open to policymakers to plug the funding gap are not attractive. The Government Actuary reckons a 5 per cent increase in NICs would do the trick - hardly a realistic route for any politician wanting to maintain a grip of power.

'Alternatively, the state pension age could rise further, the value of the payment could be cut or other departments could have their budgets drastically reduced.'

Last night a Treasury spokesman admitted that the ageing population would provoke a 'challenge' for the public finances.

'We expect the fund to have a surplus for the foreseeable future,' he said.

'In the long run, life expectancy and demographic trends will continue to pose a challenge for the public finances.

'That is why we are committed to improving productivity, reducing the deficit and building an economy fit for the future.'
One-eyed truck driver Trevor Vale has blasted a Sudanese mother who blamed Australia's 'failing' social support system on her son's involvement in gang crime.

In an open video addressed to immigrant families, the disgruntled truckie encouraged those who had a problem with the Australian way to 'go home'.

'If it's so bad in this country go home, it's as simple as that. But you won't go home because you know how damn good it is in this country,' he said.

Mr Vales stern message followed Asha Awur's appearance on A Current Affair Monday night, after her son was imprisoned for his involvement in gang activity.

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One-eyed truck driver Trevor Vale (pictured) blasted a Sudanese mother who blamed Australia's 'failing' social support system on her son's involvement in gang crime

She said men who fled traumatic upbringings in places like Sudan felt 'isolated and frustrated' by their new lives, and often turned to crime as a way of supporting themselves.

Ms Awur believed those who came from overseas countries were not given enough support to establish themselves in Australia.

She also said her children relied on her for extra money, and hypothesised they turned to crime when she couldn't provide enough.

Mr Vale offered no sympathy to the struggling parent, saying the answer was in either 'buggering off' or better disciplining her children.

'This is Australia. We live the way we live. If you don't like it, bugger off. Simple as that.'

Sudanese woman Asha Awur said a lack of employment opportunities is the driving force behind the wave of gang crime

'You come over here, take our money, take our jobs...do you know how many Australians are on the unemployment benefits? Crikeys, don't go there.'

'The simple fact is, you try to make excuses for your kids, but how about being a better parent and discipline? Discipline goes a long way.'

He conceded he was unfamiliar with how children were brought up in Ms Wur's native culture, but urged that she swiftly change her opinion.

'By Christ if you don't like our country, p*** off somewhere else,' he concluded.

Mr Vale's rant won him praise for speaking out on the controversial topic, with the video being viewed more than 13,000 times in less than a day.

'By Christ if you don't like our country, p*** off somewhere else,' an angry Mr Vale said

A similarly peeved social media user agreed with his opinion, writing: 'If there not happy and dont want to comply to living in our country Im sure we could send them back from whence they came no problem at all.'

Another thought Mr Vale would make a worthy politician, calling for him to throw his hat in the ring for a shot at Prime Minister.

'Well spoken. ...i agree if they don't like p*** off.. (this good guy should be prime minister he would sort these pick out),' they wrote.

Not everyone agreed with him however, as some pointed out that parents had limited control over their children.

'Oh and also.. discipline isn't always that easy dad. Not every child listens to their parents no matter how much the parents try.'

Mr Vale first raised eyebrows when he uploaded a video of himself complaining about an 'a**hole' police officer who he claimed insulted him for having one eye and driving a truck.
President Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen is suing Buzzfeed for publishing the infamous Russia dossier last year.

The dossier, which alleged collusion between Trump staff including Cohen and Russian agents, was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.

The ex-MI6 agent produced the file for Fusion GPS, a strategic intelligence firm which has links to the Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

The dossier included salacious and unproven 'golden shower' claims about Donald Trump's conduct in a Moscow hotel room during a Miss Universe pageant.

Legal: Michael Cohen has launched a lawsuit in NYC against Buzzfeed for publishing the infamous Russian dossier

It also contained 'allegations that the Russian government has been cultivating, supporting and assisting (then) President-elect Donald Trump for years and had gained compromising information on him'.

Cohen says in his lawsuit that the dossier painted him as having an inappropriate and possibly criminal relationship with the Russian government facilitated by his wife's links to a property developer.

His wife was born in the Ukraine.

Cohen says that none of these allegations are true and that his father-in-law is not a leading property developer in Moscow.

Cohen also refutes in the lawsuit claims in the dossier that he met with Russian officials in the Czech Republic in August 2016 at the height of the election campaign.

He maintains that he has never been to the country and he tweeted a photo of his US passport last year with the caption: I have never been to Prague in my life. #fakenews.'

Buzzfeed published the dossier report with the headline: 'These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia' in January last year

The lawsuit was filed in New York City on Tuesday - almost a year to the day that Buzzfeed published the report about the dossier

The dossier, which alleged collusion between Trump staff including Cohen and Russian agents, was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele

In the lawsuit, Cohen dubs the Buzzfeed report a collection of 'muckraking statements' that have harmed his reputation.

The lawsuit was filed in New York on Tuesday - almost a year to the day that Buzzfeed published the report with the headline: 'These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia.'

Cohen maintains that he has never been to the country and he tweeted a photo of his US passport last year with the caption: I have never been to Prague in my life. #fakenews.'

It names Buzzfeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith and the authors of the report published in January 2017 as the defendants in the case. Buzzfeed's report from January 10 was made up from the 35-page dossier put together by Christoper Steele.

The lawsuit states that 'even though Defendant Buzzfeed expressly acknowledged the unverified and potentially unverifiable nature of the dossier's allegations, Buzzfeed published the un-redacted dossier anyway.'

According to Bloomberg, Cohen is also suing Fusion GPS and their founder and former Wall Street Journal reporter Glenn Simpson.

The lawsuit against Fusion states that the strategic intelligence firm 'recklessly placed [the dossier] beyond their control and allowed it to fall into the hands of media devoted to breaking news on the hottest subject of the day: the Trump candidacy.'

Cohen is also suing Fusion GPS and their founder and former Wall Street Journal reporter Glenn Simpson (above). The ex-British spy produced the file for Fusion GPS

In a New York Times op-ed on Tuesday, Buzzfeed's Ben Smith defended the decision to publish the dossier 12 months ago.

Smith wrote that publishing the dossier was the right decision because of the role it has played in the investigations into Russian election interference.

'Without the dossier, Americans would have found it difficult to understand the actions of their elected representatives and government officials. Their posture toward Mr Trump was, we now know even more comprehensively than we did in January 2017, shaped by Mr Steele's report,' Smith wrote.

'The Russia investigation, meanwhile, didn't turn out to be some minor side story but instead the central challenge to Mr Trump's presidency.'

Smith said Buzzfeed didn't discount the arguments against publishing and that they understood why Trump's supporters were still furious about it.

'We strongly believed that publishing the disputed document whose existence we and others were reporting was in the public interest,' Smith wrote.

'... the chorus of criticism of our decision to publish has faded. I haven't had a single person approach me to say, 'I wish I hadn't read the dossier, and wish I had less insight into the forces at play in America.'

BUZZFEED'S RESPONSE TO DOSSIER LAWSUIT Buzzfeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith wrote an op-ed in the New York Times on Tuesday defending the publication of the dossier: Exactly one year ago BuzzFeed published what's now known simply as 'the dossier': a set of reports put together by a former British intelligence officer named Christopher Steele during the 2016 presidential campaign. Without the dossier, Americans would have found it difficult to understand the actions of their elected representatives and government officials. Their posture toward Mr. Trump was, we now know even more comprehensively than we did in January 2017, shaped by Mr Steele's report. The Russia investigation, meanwhile, didn't turn out to be some minor side story but instead the central challenge to Mr Trump's presidency. We strongly believed that publishing the disputed document whose existence we and others were reporting was in the public interest. For all these reasons, the chorus of criticism of our decision to publish has faded. I haven't had a single person approach me to say, 'I wish I hadn't read the dossier, and wish I had less insight into the forces at play in America.' Advertisement

News of the lawsuit comes after a newly released Senate committee transcript revealed that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson was disposed to believe the salacious golden showers claim in the dossier because Russians have cameras in 'all the luxury hotel rooms.'

But he took efforts during testimony to protect sources for the dossier, and his lawyer claimed during his client's testimony that a source had been killed as a result of publication.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California on Tuesday unilaterally released the previously sealed transcript of Simpson, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who spoke to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Simpson relayed how he came to hire former British intelligence officer Chris Steele, with whom he had worked previously  and said it was Steele's decision to bring material he uncovered to the FBI in the summer of 2016.

He told investigative lawyers that he found Steele's memos 'really serious and really credible' both because of Steele's reputation and his own prior reporting on the Russians and their work with western lobbyists.

With respect to the salacious and unproven claim about Donald Trump's conduct in a Moscow hotel room during the Miss Universe pageant, Simpson said he didn't have any 'additional facts' beyond what Steele included in the dossier without verification.

'I mean, it's probably in here somewhere actually, but it's well known in intelligence circles that the Russians have cameras in all the luxury hotel rooms and there are memoirs written about this by former Russian intelligence agents I could quote you,' Simpson told the committee.

'So the problem of kompromat and kompromating is just endemic to east-west intelligence work. So that's what I'm referring to. That's what he's referring to,' he said.
Theresa May faced growing pressure to outlaw smacking yesterday as Welsh politicians took the first steps to criminalise corporal punishment of children.

The move means that smacking is now likely to be banned in both Wales and Scotland by the end of the year, leaving the English law which permits slapping looking increasingly isolated.

A three-month consultation was launched in Wales on a law which would remove the longstanding legal defence for parents which says they can use reasonable force to punish their children.

Welsh politicians are considering banning parents from smacking their children

Theresa May, pictured with her newly reshuffled cabinet at 10 Downing Street yesterday is coming under increasing pressure to ban smacking across England

The Scottish Government has thrown its weight behind a similar move in Scotland.

In England Mrs Mays ministers continue to hold out against a chorus of complaints over the legal right to smack from pressure groups, charities and Childrens Commissioner for England Anne Longfield, who two years ago joined a protest to the UN calling for a ban.

Parents in England have the right to administer reasonable punishment to their children under Victorian laws last updated by Tony Blairs government in 2004. The current law says parents can use corporal punishment and cannot be convicted of common assault as long as they do no physical or mental harm  usually taken to mean they must not cause bruising or any other injury.

Advocates of the right to smack accuse campaigners for a ban of making false comparisons between parental discipline and child abuse. They also warn that any law against smacking would be an intrusion into family life that could be used to criminalise ordinary loving parents.

There are signs that the rights of parents in England are already under pressure in civil Family Courts. In one case late last year two parents described as loving and caring by a judge lost their children to adoption after a plank of the case against their right to keep their children was that they used smacking to punish them.

Welsh minister for children Huw Irranca-Davies said: We want parents in Wales to be confident in managing their childrens behaviour without feeling they must resort to physical punishment.

If there is any potential risk of harm to a child then it is our obligation as a government to take action. Legislation was introduced many years ago to stop physical punishment in schools and childcare settings - now is the time to ensure it is no longer acceptable anywhere.

Mr Irranca-Davies said he was aware there were differing views on the legislation and that the consultation would provide everyone an opportunity to have their say.

He added: As a parent of three boys myself, I know being a parent can sometimes be a challenging experience. Children do not come with an instruction manual and sometimes parents need guidance and support to help them raise healthy and happy children.

But, he said, physical punishment could have negative long-term impacts on a childs life chances and was in any case ineffective.

In Edinburgh Green MSP John Finnie has introduced a Holyrood bill to remove the defence of justifiable assault from Scottish law. Late last year Nicola Sturgeons Scottish administration said it would ensure the proposals become law.

Opponents of a ban in England urged Mrs May to resist pressure to follow the Scottish and Welsh direction.

Author on the family Jill Kirby, a former head of the Tory-leaning Centre for Policy Studies think tank, said: The Government should resist this attempt to intrude further into family life.

Critics of smacking talk about parents hitting children, but that misrepresents what parents do, and wrongly confuses the difference between discipline and child abuse. There is a danger that good and well-meaning parents who, for example, smack a child on the leg in public to stop it doing something dangerous, will be dragged into the criminal courts. The focus of the courts should be on real abuse.

The Department for Education in Whitehall has said there are no plans to outlaw smacking in England, and officials have maintained that it is wrong to turn good parents into criminals. They have also said that it is highly unlikely that the courts would ever allow a child abuser to get away by claiming reasonable punishment.

However it was Tory ministers in Westminster who opened the door to a smacking ban in Wales last year by transferring powers to legislate on parental discipline to the Welsh Assembly.

The Governments response to developments in Wales and Scotland will now be in the hands of a new Education Secretary, Damian Hinds.

The rule of reasonable chastisement was set down by Lord Chief Justice Cockburn in 1860 in a case in which a school principal was convicted of manslaughter for beating a boy to death. The judge said a parent may for the purpose of correcting what is evil in the child, inflict moderate and reasonable corporal punishment.

The principle was made into statute in 1933 by the Children and Young Persons Act.

Smacking has remained legal in Scotland following a 2003 law which banned punishment by hitting children on the head, shaking or hitting with a belt or cane.
A smiling Justine Greening was photographed on a run yesterday morning

Two years ago, Justine Greening seconded Theresa May's application to be Tory leader. At the time, the MP for Putney had good reason to be grateful to her.

In 2005, she secured the nomination as Tory candidate in Putney with the help of pressure group Women2Win, which was launched to push more females into winnable Conservative seats. One of its founders was Theresa May.

But the pair's relationship has crumbled during the past year as the Prime Minister tired of Greening's tone of voice in Cabinet meetings, described by one observer as often 'patronising and supercilious'.

For all that, the PM's advisers were hopeful, when Greening arrived in Downing Street for a reshuffle meeting just after 5pm on Monday, that she would not only agree to be moved from education but relish the alternative offer of Welfare Secretary.

'It is the biggest-spending department in the Government. It definitely was not a sideways move,' says one Whitehall source.

'We thought it was a good fit for Justine. She did not agree.'

In a tense, almost hour-long meeting in the Cabinet room, with May and her chief of staff Gavin Barwell, Greening  who came out last year as a gay woman  complained bitterly about being labelled 'dead wood', apparently by an unnamed Downing Street figure, in a Sunday newspaper.

She was also enraged by other briefings over the weekend that education was the key policy area that cost the Tories their overall majority at the last general election.

The teaching unions had produced information naming schools whose budgets were being cut across the country, with accompanying letters sent to parents.

In the bruising exchange with the Prime Minister as winter gloom descended outside, an indignant Greening claimed that it was unfair to make her the scapegoat, and insisted that the Treasury had cut her budget with the approval of No 10.

'It got very ugly between them,' says another source.

Greening was holed up in Downing Street for the best part of two hours as the Chief Whip Julian Smith joined the increasingly frantic efforts to persuade her not to leave the Cabinet.

Ms Greening was pictured leaving No 10 after resigning as the Health Secretary on Monday

But her mind was made up, and she has been replaced by the former Cheshire grammar school boy Damian Hinds.

Now, ironically enough, she is expected to join forces on the backbenches with other rebel Remainers led by Nicky Morgan, whom Greening replaced as Education Secretary in the summer 2016 reshuffle.

While the conversations with Greening were the most acrimonious, the first sign that the reshuffle was going to be another public relations disaster came earlier in the day.

The replacement of Sir Patrick McLoughlin as Tory party chairman should have been a formality. Yet on Monday morning there was last-minute speculation that Chris Grayling, the lugubrious Transport Secretary, was being teed up for the role.

When the BBC incorrectly reported that Grayling was to be the chairman, a tweet was sent at 11.43am from Conservative Central Office by Iain Carter, the party's political director.

'Congratulations to Chris Grayling following his appointment as Conservative Party chairman #Cabinetreshuffle.'

The same message was sent to Tory MPs on their WhatsApp message service. Twenty-seven seconds later, the tweet was abruptly deleted.

After that debacle, the actual new party chairman Brandon Lewis went into Downing Street at 11.57am and left nearly an hour later, in time for a photo opportunity outside No 10 with the Prime Minister and nine new party vice-chairmen.

The photograph had been intended to convey to the world a new, no longer, pale and male line-up  more ethnically diverse and with more women.

But the blunder over Grayling took the gloss off the occasion.

In a day of increasing farce, the Conservative Party website then collapsed because the party had failed to upgrade its software.

Brandon Lewis (pictured yesterday) was made the new Conservative Party chairman, replacing Sir Patrick McLoughlin

As the afternoon unfolded, Mrs May prepared to welcome Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, who for weeks had been tipped as the new First Secretary of State  the de facto deputy prime minister.

When Hunt walked into Downing Street at 2.51pm, there was a conspicuous gap on the lapel of his suit where he usually sported an NHS badge.

When he left, with a broad smile at 4.37pm, the badge was back in its usual place.

Mrs May, who has a good relationship with Hunt, never had any intention of promoting a potential leadership rival to the role of First Secretary of State.

But bizarrely Downing Street had allowed the speculation to run when a simple denial would have put a stop to it.

It's now clear that this meeting went badly, too.

The PM told Hunt that she wanted to move him to the more junior post of Business Secretary, but Hunt flatly refused.

For an hour he argued with the PM about why he should not just stay at health, but also take the responsibility for social care.

He emerged victorious just before five o'clock.

By the end of one of the most chaotic reshuffles in recent history, the Cabinet, which was supposed to look more diverse, had no new black or ethnic faces  and the only gay woman had quit. Not quite the New Year relaunch the Tories had been hoping for.
This is the mother who gave birth to three premature babies in three years, and prepared to say goodbye to her youngest child five times.

Brisbane mother Jodie Hollis-Tobin, 21, told Daily Mail Australia she gave birth to her son Hudson when she was just 23 weeks into her pregnancy.

Now seven-months-old, Hudson is one of the youngest surviving premature babies in Australia.

'My first cuddle after 21 days': Brisbane mother Jodie Hollis-Tobin, 21, gave birth to her son Hudson when she was just 23 weeks into her pregnancy

Now seven-months-old, Hudson (pictured in hospital) is one of the youngest surviving premature babies in Australia

Ms Hollis-Tobin was given the good news she could take Hudson home from hospital on October 14, aged 18-weeks-old, but revealed they have been in-and-out of hospital since.

Hudson has endured three surgeries, suffered ongoing issues with his eyes, bleeding on the brain and lung difficulties.

He also contracted meningitis and life-threatening sepsis when his bowel started to die, the ABC reported.

'After 3 surgeries, a lot of times being told to prepare to say goodbye and 132 days he finally got to come home on 14th October,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

When Hudson was diagnosed with septicaemia in July, Ms Hollis-Tobin was told his chance of survival was 'slim'.

'I'm holding onto hope, but my heart is so broken. I wish I could change things but unfortunately I can't. He's a fighter and he will fight until he can't fight no more,' she said at the time.

Ms Hollis-Tobin was given the good news she could take Hudson home from hospital on October 14, aged 18-weeks-old, but revealed they have been in-and-out of hospital since

When Hudson (pictured) was diagnosed with septicaemia in July, Ms Hollis-Tobin was told his chance of survival was 'slim'

Hudson was similar in size to a coca-cola bottle while he was in hospital and hooked up to life support

Ms Hollis-Tobin said Hudson grew so sick she came to grips with the probability he would die.

'I was too scared to get too close to him because I just didn't think he was coming home,' she told the ABC.

'His father and I started picking out a little angel gown to bury him in and we were asked to pick out songs and I contacted a company to see if we could get his feet cast.'

In the past seven months, Ms Hollis-Tobin and her ex-partner Joshua Meehan prepared to say goodbye to Hudson five times  each time harder than the last.

While Hudson was Ms Hollis-Tobin's most premature child, he was not her first.

Nicola Brander Photography captures Ms Hollis-Tobin's son Hudson who was born at 23 weeks

Ms Hollis-Tobin (left) credits Tim Donovan (right) for saving her youngest son Hudson's life

All three of Ms Hollis-Tobin's children were born premature. Her daughter Ariella (right) was born at 33 weeks in 2015, and her eldest son Tobias (centre) was born at 25 weeks in 2016 and Hudson (left) at 23 weeks in 2017

All three of Ms Hollis-Tobin's children were born premature. Her daughter Ariella was born at 33 weeks in 2015, and her eldest son Tobias was born at 25 weeks in 2016.

Despite being born early, Ariella and Tobias grew up to be healthy and happy children.

Ms Hollis-Tobin said the past three years were overwhelmingly emotional.

'Some days I have my moments, but then I look at the three of them and they've come so far, especially when the doctors said to me that Hudson just wouldn't come home,' she said.

Ariella (pictured with her mother) spent 26 days in hospital and 'thankfully didnt need any breathing assistance just needed to learn how to grow and feed and came home on Australia Day'

Ms Hollis-Tobin with Hudson on his first Christmas - which he spent at home with his family

'Dads first cuddle after 53 long days': Hudson with his father Joshua Meehan, while he was still in hospital hooked up to life support

Nicola Brander Photography captures Ms Hollis-Tobin's son Hudson who was born at 23 weeks

Ms Hollis-Tobin revealed she had an incompetent cervix, which means she has weak cervical tissue that can begin to open too soon into the pregnancy.

She admitted she was targeted by critics who questioned her for having three children with the condition.

Hitting back at her critics, Ms Hollis-Tobin said 'certainly if I knew I had an incompetent cervix things would've been different'.

'I actually was on contraception when I fell pregnant with Hudson and as I was in labour I was being prepped for an emergency rescue stitch,' she said.

'Some days I have my moments, but then I look at the three of them and they've come so far, especially when the doctors said to me that Hudson just wouldn't come home,' she said

'I was three cm dilated and Hudson (pictured) was footling breach so I was rushed for an emergency C section,' Ms Hollis-Tobin said

'But I was three cm dilated and Hudson was footling breach so I was rushed for an emergency C section.'

With her three children at home, Ms Hollis-Tobin said she was 'so proud of my children and the awesome journey they have endured to be here'.

'Yes I'm young, but I'm a good mother to my babies and nobody will tell me any different,' she said.
The stakes could not be higher. The North Koreans will soon have the capacity to attack the U.S. with a missile tipped with a nuclear warhead.

America needs to stop that happening. But any military exchange involving North Korea could kill millions and threaten a world war.

Surely this is a moment for steady, wise, clear-headed leadership. Fine. Except that the leaders in question are, on the one side, a narcissistic and power-crazed fantasist. And on the other, North Korea's President Kim Jong-un.

For better or worse, the biggest nuclear standoff since the Cuba missile crisis has come to a head on Donald Trump and Kim's watch. And neither man appears to be endowed with the wisdom of Solomon.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are involved in the biggest nuclear standoff since the Cuba missile crisis. But could the President's unpredictability be key to unlocking the crisis?

So how frightened should we be? More pertinently, is the more powerful of the two men, Donald Trump, the right person for this job?

On the face of it the answer is pretty obvious. The 45th President is incapable of the tact required and the kind of high-pressure decisions he has to make.

An explosive new book about Trump's White House by journalist Michael Wolff has suggested his own staff think he is incompetent and possibly mad.

His foreign policy views are described as 'random, uninformed, and seemingly capricious'. He does not read. He knows no history. His tweet last week boasting that his nuclear button is 'much bigger and more powerful' than Kim's apparently sums up the depths of the man.

And yet another view is emerging. A view that doesn't seek to invest the President with hidden powers but simply suggests his unpredictability, recklessness and yes, even madness, could actually be the key to unlocking this crisis. A view that says perhaps, just perhaps, the maelstrom presidency of Donald J. Trump is going to save the world from nuclear disaster.

News this week that the North Koreans are sending athletes to the winter Olympics in South Korea next month could be a sign Donald Trump is winning his bizarre and scary war of words with Kim Jong-un.

The decision by the North Koreans to meet officials from the South, pictured, and send athletes to next month's winter Olympics could be a sign Trump is winning his war of words

The North Koreans, in other words, have blinked.

Yesterday the two countries held their first formal talks for more than two years and agreed to military talks in the future as well as the restoration of a 'military hotline' that's been closed since 2016. It is a dramatic and sudden change of tone from Pyongyang.

Power

Trump has been quick to take credit, of course. He tweeted that it would not have happened without him being 'firm, strong and willing to commit our total 'might' against the North'.

But the interesting thing is that it is not just Trump saying this. A calmer, more thoughtful voice is also suggesting it.

The North and South have restored their 'military hotline' in a dramatic change of tone from Pyongyang. Pictured is the Demilitarized Zone

John Everard, a former British Ambassador to North Korea, told CNN President Trump's unpredictability may have contributed to Pyongyang's decision to resume relations with the South.

'When United Nations Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman visited Pyongyang last month,' he explained, 'the North Koreans asked him repeatedly how decisions were made in Washington.

'They are nervous that the United States is now behaving in ways that they cannot predict and are probably anxious at President Trump's talk of military action.'

Moderate speech: Kim Jong-un made a statement that was shorter than usual recently, prompting questions that an attack on United States was cut at the last minute

Michael Wolff's book, with its title Fire And Fury reminding the North Koreans of the threat Trump made months ago to unleash America's military power on their heads, will only have compounded the sense of unease.

Everything in it suggests Donald Trump is deeply unpredictable. Capable of doing anything.

Former ambassador Everard makes the point that North Korea's economy is tottering and is affected by U.S- inspired sanctions.

He believes this, combined with Trump's bellicosity, might be getting to Kim Jong-un, who made a speech recently about the crisis that was more moderate and much shorter than usual, prompting Everard to wonder: 'were condemnations of the United States cut at the last minute?'

Having spent time in South Korea last year I am very aware this might be wishful thinking. The wonderful, vibrant South Korean capital of Seoul is a 40- minute drive from the border with North Korea. Pyongyang's field guns are pointed at its heart and ready to fire in minutes. On the Seoul tube there are emergency bunkers and first aid kits.

Impulsive

And since everyone knows war with the North would cause tens of thousands of deaths, it feels as if a threat from the U.S. to unleash that war could only be a bluff. The grim reality of mass casualties (including many Americans who live in Seoul) would surely stay the hand of any American president.

But in President Trump's case, maybe it wouldn't. And it's the 'maybe' that counts. For years America's North Korea policy  under Obama and under George Bush  was serious and stable. When I was based in Washington for the BBC I remember being lectured by the highly educated Obama state department team about how delicate a matter North Korea was. They would proceed with great caution, they said. At the time it felt impressive. But let's be honest, it was a disastrous failure.

North Korea developed its nuclear weapons programme while Barack Obama was the US President, not Donald Trump, suggesting a calm guy doesn't always get things right. Pictured are test lauches of the Hwasong-12, left, and Hwasong-14 missiles

Like so much of Obama's foreign policy it looked sophisticated and wise but fell apart in the real world.

It was under Obama, not Trump, that North Korea developed its weapons technology. Just as Syria went to hell under Obama. And relations with Russia collapsed. And Libya was ripped apart.

The calm guy doesn't always get things right. Rashness is not always the enemy of foreign policy success. When President Assad of Syria used chemical weapons against civilians Obama threatened action, then thought about it, then did nothing.

Trump  faced with the same thing last year  blasted an airfield with cruise missiles. People were terrified. What would happen next? What would Syria's allies, the Russians, do?

Donald Trump threatened action in Syria if President Assad used chemical weapons against civilians and followed his word. Since then the government has made no further large-scale chemical attack

It turns out the Russians did nothing and the Assad government has made no further large-scale chemical weapons attack.

Trump gets no credit for this but if you were his enemy, you would feel discomfited by his impulsive behaviour. Which is no bad thing.

The British historian Niall Ferguson points out that Donald Trump is oddly like a president the liberal Left have long believed to be a demi-god, an icon of fine judgment and decency  John F. Kennedy.

Seriously? Wasn't Kennedy brilliant and handsome? Well, yes. But he was also a serial abuser of women, a man with connections to organised crime, a man who hid his medical problems even when they affected his mental state.

A British historian has said that Donald Trump's foreign policy is similar to that of John F Kennedy

And in foreign policy, Ferguson points out, 'Kennedy combined callousness with recklessness. His questionable interventions ranged from an abortive invasion of Cuba to a bloody coup d'etat in South Vietnam. On his watch, the Central Intelligence Agency sought to assassinate Fidel Castro using Mafia hit-men'.

It makes Trump look almost tame.

Missiles

Of course the Cuba missile crisis  when U.S. ships blockaded Soviet-occupied Cuba to stop the Soviets' plan to place nuclear missiles there  ended with the world still in one piece. But only after risks were taken and war narrowly averted.

I accept that just because brinkmanship worked then, does not mean it will work now. It could have gone wrong under Kennedy and let's be blunt, it could go wrong under Trump.

But what if it goes right? If there are talks between North and South Korea that eventually broaden out to include China, the U.S. and Russia, and reach some kind of arrangement that buys off the North Koreans and reduces the threat to America?

What if Trump and Kim Jong-un sit down together to see who really is crazier. What if they actually got along?

A joint Nobel peace prize: Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump. Don't rule it out. The modern world is a strange and unpredictable place. And the alternatives to a peaceful outcome are too terrible to think about.
Lord Lawson has scored a victory against the BBC, after it was forced to admit that it distorted the facts when it claimed that reindeer are dying out because of global warming.

The BBC2 travelogue, Russia with Simon Reeve, claimed that reindeer populations across the north of the country were in steep decline because of climate change.

However, Lord Lawson, the former Tory Chancellor and renowned climate change sceptic, complained to the broadcaster  pointing that 17 out of 19 types of Eurasian Reindeer are now either stable or increasing in numbers.

The admission comes less than three months after the BBC issued a formal apology for a Today programme interview with Lord Lawson (above), during which he claimed there had been no confirmation that 'extreme weather events' were on the rise.

The BBCs claim is a distortion of known facts and constitutes a serious factual error, he wrote. Given that climate change is such a controversial subject, extra care should be taken.

The BBC stopped short of issuing an apology, but has admitted that it should have been clearer.

This programme suggested that many reindeer populations are in steep decline because of climate change. It would have been more accurate to say that many reindeer populations are threatened by it, it said.

The admission comes less than three months after the BBC issued a formal apology for a Today programme interview with the renowned climate change sceptic.

Lord Lawson, who is chair of the Global Warming Policy Foundation, claimed on the August broadcast that there has been no confirmation that extreme weather events are on the rise. He also said - inaccurately - that global temperatures have slightly declined over the last decade.

The Today programme criticised Lord Lawsons views on air the following day, and the GWP followed suit a few days later.

However, senior BBC bosses decided that that was not enough and chimed in with a formal apology.

Lord Lawson pointed out that 17 out of 19 types of Eurasian reindeer were either increasing in numbers or stable (file image)

The public display of hand-wringing sparked criticism from climate change sceptics and free speech advocates, who branded green campaigners as the book-burners of our age.

Simon Richards, chief executive of libertarian lobby group The Freedom Association, said: Global warming snowflakes are determined to silence Lord Lawson for daring to question their views. They are the book-burners of our age.

Frank Furedi, a sociologist at the University of Kent, added that the BBCs culture of apology is insidious.

Yesterday, the BBC declined to comment but insiders said that Lord Lawson had been relying on 2012 research.
Customers have slammed Just Eat for tacking a service charge onto every payment.

The online takeaway firm was due to have its card transaction fee banned by a European Union directive.

But just three days before the ban came into effect, the company introduced a 50p fee whether buyers pay using cash or card.

Just Eat customers have shared their outrage after the firm introduced a new 50p service charge on both cash and card payments days before the card payment fee will be scrapped

The move - which allows the company to recoup the 50p card charge that was set to be banned on January 13 - has seen Just Eat accused of 'dodging' EU rules.

Some of the company's 9million customers called for a boycott, while others simply deleted their phone apps.

Just Eat - a company worth about 5.4bn - was likened to a legendary English highwayman by one Twitter user, who wrote: 'At least Dick Turpin wore a mask.'

The FTSE 100 firm insists the fee 'ensures fairness for all' because it sees everyone paying the same rate, whether they pay using a card or not.

Card surcharging was branded a 'rip-off' and 'unfair' by the Treasury and revenue generated from such charges raked in about 13 per cent of Just Eat's total 2016 revenue.

The Treasury warned some companies would recoup the money they stood to lose by raising prices or changing fee names and Twitter user Hollie Borland branded Just Eat's move a 'sneaky way of getting around the ban on service charges for card payments'.

Fees on credit card payments will be scrapped, but Just Eat has introduced a service charge that applies to all payments

Chris Allen tweeted: 'It just feels youre blatantly and deliberately forcing everybody to pay an additional 50p to cover the fact you cant charge those by card 50p.'

Just Eat forecasts its revenue for 2017 at between 500million and 515million, figures which suggest the loss of the card fee would have cost the company more than 50million.

Because the new charge applies to both cash and card purchases, however, the company could generate even more revenue than if they'd been allowed to keep their card fee.

In a statement, Just Eat said: 'As of 8 January 2018 we have made a change to the way restaurants are charged to process Just Eat orders  a 50p service charge will be implemented for all orders.

'The 50p charge simply means that along with our restaurant partners, we can continue to deliver the best possible takeaway experience.'

Just Eat jumped into the top flight of the FTSE Index in November.

The firm has seen shares jump 37 per cent over the past year, with relentless revenue growth and a string of deals keeping its stock in demand.

Investor appetite for the company has helped push its stock market value beyond supermarket giant Sainsbury's.




Book stores are having a hard time keeping the explosive expose, 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,' on shelves, as the publisher rushes to get another 1million copies printed.

The tome, which was originally due out on Tuesday, was bumped up to this past Friday for official release after the president threatened to stop it becoming publicly available with a cease and desist to the publisher, Henry Holt.

The threat of legal action had the reverse effect, sending demand into overdrive.

Holt had initially printed around 150,000 of the books by Michael Wolff for the previously scheduled Tuesday release, but they now have orders for over 1million copies.

They say the demand was so high, stores sold out before the end of Friday's sale.

Scroll down for video

Flying off the shelves: Fire and Fury has a remarkable release with the original 150,000 printed copies sold in the first days with the publisher having orders in for 1million more copies

An attorney for President Trump tried to block the publication of author Michael Wolff's (left) tome with a cease and desist, but the publishers responded by releasing it days early

Meanwhile Amazon is out of stock on hardcovers and offers shipping times from two to four weeks out.

The New York Times reports 'hundreds of thousands' of ebooks have already sold with sales of the audiobook 'in the low six figures.'

John Sargent, chief executive of Henry Holt's parent company Macmillan, told the Washington Post: 'We have multiple printings at multiple printers now and all of our suppliers are doing a remarkable job of getting books into the marketplace. They all realize the importance of this book as a commercial success, but they also recognize the huge importance of reading a book the government is trying to stop.'

In an email to his McMillan staff Monday, Sargent wrote of the 'clear effort by the president of the US to intimidate a publisher into halting publication of an important book on the workings of the government' and called the move 'flagrantly unconstitutional'.

An interesting ripple effect has brought a 2008 book with the same title back to the top of sales charts.

Some, confused by the title 'Fire and Fury,' must have missed the subtitle that differentiates it: 'The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-1945.' While some purchased it in error, others who came upon it looking for Wolff's work thought it was worth a read.

People stand in line, waiting for the 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House' book, at Kramerbooks and Afterwords in Washington, D.C.

Fire and Fury: Michael Wolff's bestselling release has had the unexpected effect of bumping Randall Hansen's 2008 book of the same title up Amazon's best seller chart

The author, Randall Hansen, a Canadian professor, spoke to The Guardian explaining 'I haven't seen this level of interest since the book first came out.'

He logged into his own Amazon account Friday night and saw his book appeared on the site's top three bestseller categories.

While Hansen appreciated the unexpected bump in sales, his Fire and Fury reference is about the consequences war holds for civilians, whereas Wolff's reference relates to Trump's threat of war against North Korea. He says he is just glad to be brought into part of the current conversation.

'And we're talking about that at a moment when we have this warmongering, unstable, deranged demagogue in the White House,' Hansen said. 'So that coincidence actually makes me happier than the sales.'
A six-year-old New Zealand boy has died in his parents' arms after suffering from a series of seizures.

Elias Buchanan, from Tauranga, east of Auckland, died on Thursday, two weeks after his parents found him convulsing in his bed.

Kurt and Rebecca Buchanan said they were trying to wake up Elias on December 20 when they noticed something was terribly wrong.

'I went to wake him and get him out of bed, and he was already having a seizure, so we quickly called the ambulance and he was rushed to Tauranga Hospital,' the couple said on Givealittle.com.

Elias Buchanan (pictured), six, has died in his parents' arms after suffering from a series of seizures

After he was rushed to the hospital, Mr and Mrs Buchanan learned their son was suffering from enterovirus and mycoplasma pneumonia.

Elias continued to suffer from multiple seizures once arriving at Auckland Starship Children's Hospital and was placed in an induced coma.

Despite being administered anti-seizure medication and undergoing surgery to help relieve swelling on his brain, Elias died on January 4.

'Our hearts are extremely heavy and we are obliviously very sad but we are thankful he is no longer in pain or distress and he passed on peacefully in our arms,' Mr Buchanan wrote on Facebook.

Pictured is Elias' funeral service on January 8. Donations from the community helped fund the service

'We got to spend two weeks singing over him, talking to him, writing him notes, laughing and crying with him and all his family, although a really tough time it was time...and that was really precious.'

A crowd-funding website has been established for the devastated family, so far raising more than $7,500.

The donations helped pay for Elias' funeral on Monday.
The Trump administration is being accused of making nuclear war more likely with plans to introduce lower-yield nuclear weapons with reduced destructive capability that would diminish the psychological bar for using them.

A former US official who claims to have seen a draft of the plans told the The Guardian on Tuesday that the Pentagon is spearheading the initiative ordered by the White House.

Jon Wolfsthal, who was special assistant to Barack Obama on arms control and nonproliferation, said security officials envision a more versatile program by applying a modified nuclear warhead to the Trident D5 submarine.

The Trump administration is planning to make nuclear weapons easier to use and more readily an option in case of a conflict, according to one former Obama adviser; Kim Jong-un, pictured right, has boasted of his country's nuclear attack readiness

Jon Wolfsthal claims the defense department is spearheading the plan that aims to deter hostile actors from attacking US interests, including Russia (pictured Vladimir Putin)

An unarmed Trident II D5 missile launches from the Ohio-class fleet ballistic-missile submarine USS Maryland

The White House, Wolfsthal said, is also attempting to loosen constraints that guide first-strike protocols, in what he described as a decidedly more hawkish posture that breaks away from historical precedent.

The aim of the new policy is to deter Russia from using tactical warheads in a possible conflict with Eastern Europe, according to The Guardian. The program also seeks to reign in other state actors that may threaten US interests.

'What I've been told by the people who wrote the thing was what they were trying to do was to send a clear deterrent message to Russians, the North Korean and the Chinese,' Wolfsthal told the publication.

'And there is pretty good, moderate but strong language that makes clear that any attempt by Russia or North Korea to use nuclear weapons would result in a massive consequence for them and I think that's actually moderate, centrist and probably very much needed.'

Wolfsthal also noted that plans are in motion to apply lower-yield 'tactical' nuclear ballistic missiles to the military's new Columbia-class submarines.

'Where (the administration) go overboard, is where they say... the US needs to develop two new types of nuclear weapons,' Wolfsthal said.

The plan breaks with the previous administration's goal of reducing nuclear weapons in US defense strategy.

Jon Wolfsthal (pictured) said security officials envision a more versatile program by applying a modified nuclear warhead to the Trident D5 submarine

Security experts, however, have voiced concern with the policy, arguing that constructing more 'usable' nuclear weapons increases the likelihood of their use.

They claim that President Donald Trump's volatility, along with his recent hostile rhetoric directed towards North Korea, presents an unpredictable element in the nuclear equation.

Last week, Trump fired off a warning tweet to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, taunting leader who said in his New Year speech that Americans should be aware he has a 'button' for nuclear weapons.

Trump warned the hermit country: 'North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un just stated that the ''Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.'' Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!'

America's Largest Nuclear Bomb: B-83 Name: B-83 Payload: 1.2 megatons of TNT Blast Radius: 20 miles Service: 1983- Present Advertisement

America's Smallest Nuclear Weapon: M-28 Davey Crockett Name: M-29 Davey Crockett Payload: 10 and 20 tons of TNT Blast Radius: 500-1000 feet Service: 1961-1971 Advertisement

The White House plans to reveal its nuclear posture review (NPR), the first in eight years, during the President's State of the Union address at the end of January.

Wolfsthal described the modified Trident warhead as 'totally unnecessary,' as the US already as a diversified weapons arsenal including low-yield weapons, B61 gravity bombs and air-launched cruise missiles.

The ex-Obama adviser called the strategy 'pretty dumb,' pointing out that launching an attack with a significantly smaller nuclear pay-load would inflict negligible damage while giving away a submarine's position.

'We spend $5bn per submarine to make it invisible and we put a lot of warheads on each submarine and so what they want to do is take one missile, put one small warhead on it and launch it first, so the submarine is vulnerable to Russian attack.' Wolfsthal said. 'That strikes me as being unsustainable from a naval strategy point of view.'

The theory behind the White House plan assumes that if Russia attacks NATO forces on its eastern flank, the Russians would use a tactical nuclear weapon early on, to compensate for their relative weakness in conventional arms, the Guardian notes.

The Russians, the theory argues, would then expect to US to back down, believing it would be reluctant to use a massive nuclear weapon.

Military experts say that such a scenario would be unlikely.

'It assumes that the intelligence community has determined that one or several adversaries out there are gambling that the US would be self-deterred from using a ballistic missile warhead because they have larger yield,' Hans Kristensen, the director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists, told the Guardian.

'That's just not the case. We have never, ever heard anyone say that is so.'

The largest nuclear weapon currently in America's is the B83, with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons of TNT. The B83 is said to be 75 times stronger than 16 kt yield of the atomic bomb 'Little Boy' dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.

The M-28 Davey Crockett was America's smallest nuclear capable weapon, with a yield between 10 and 20 tons TNT equivalent.
Fallen AFL premiership player Ben Cousins has been released from prison 10 months into his one-year sentence for stalking and repeatedly breaching a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner.

The 39-year-old former West Coast Eagles captain and Brownlow medallist was jailed in March for causing 'ongoing terror' to Maylea Tinecheff, with whom he has two young children.

Ms Tinecheff has had a restraining order placed on Cousins since May 2016, preventing her former partner from coming within 50m of her.

Cousins, who has struggled with drug addiction, was picked up by his father Bryan from Acacia Prison on shortly after 8am on Wednesday and taken to the family home in Bicton.

Former AFL star Ben Cousins has been released from prison after breaching a restraining order taken out by his former partner

He was jailed for a year in March 2017, but has been released 10 months into his sentence (pictured during court case in January 2017)

Maylea Tinecheff, Cousins' former partner, Maylea Tinecheff, has had a restraining order against him in place since May 2016

His early release came as the Prisoners Review Board decided the release of Cousins 'would not present an unacceptable risk to the safety of the community'.

As part of his parole conditions, he must stay away from Ms Tinecheff, attend counselling, and submit to random urine tests.

The father-of-two was jailed in March 2017, after he flooded his former partner's phone with more than 2000 texts and calls in January-February.

Cousins also turned up at Ms Tinecheff's church, home and the school their two children attended.

In November, the former Eagles player tried to contact his former partner 542 times, with 103 of those attempts taking place on the same day.

When Cousins was initially arrested, police found eight grams of methamphetamine, which his lawyer Michael Tudori told the court at the time would only last four days.

The father-of-two was jailed in March 2017, after he flooded Ms Tinecheff's phone with more than 2000 texts and calls over two months

Cousins, 39, was fined $2400 for drug possession and driving without a licence.

During his time behind bars, Cousins was involved in a minor scuffle but was not injured.

In September, Cousins faced court over drug-driving charges, after crashing into a truck while high on methamphetamine in 2016.

His license was disqualified and he was fined $1200. He was also ordered to pay $2295 in chemical analysis fees from the crash.

During this appearance, his lawyer, Michael Tudori, told the court Cousins had 'taken and embraced' a job offer from his old employer but would not elaborate when quizzed by reporters.

Michael Tudori, who served as a lawyer for Cousins in September, at the time told the court the former West Coast Eagles player had 'taken and embraced' a job offer from his old employer

Cousins would live with his parents when he was released, the lawyer said.

It comes after Cousins had his potential release delayed in August, when results of a failed prison drug test came back just two weeks before he was eligible for parole.

As such he cannot be released until he completes rehabilitation courses which Mr Tudori said had taken too long to start.

Despite the incident, his lawyer said at the time that the disgraced former sportsman was 'drug-free and in positive spirits'.

Before his imprisonment, Cousins was involved in many bizarre incidences, including a spate in 2015 when he led police on a slow-speed car chase, breached security at an SAS base, drove erratically outside a Sikh temple he had just photographed, and climbed onto the roof of a two-storey home.

In 2016, he was spotted behaving erratically on a Perth highway where he appeared to be directing traffic.
Roger McNamee, the former mentor of Mark Zuckerberg, has hit out at Facebook and demanded that the company change its ways.

In an essay for the Washington Monthly, McNamee outlined the problems he saw with the social network, saying that 'third parties' had been exploiting the 'unguarded' platform.

He says discriminatory advertisers, firms selling data of Black Lives Matter activists and Russian hackers had all helped warp the minds of its users.

'It reads like the plot of a sci-fi novel: a technology celebrated for bringing people together is exploited by a hostile power to drive people apart, undermine democracy, and create misery,' he writes in his essay, describing what happened during the 2016 US election.

Roger McNamee (pictured, Agust 2016), the mentor of Mark Zuckerberg, has hit out at Facebook and demanded that the company change its ways.

In an essay for the Washington Monthly, McNamee outlined the problems he saw with the social network, saying that 'third parties' had been exploiting the 'unguarded' platform (Pictured, Zuckerberg, April 2017)

McNamee says that, along with journalists, he began noticing problems on Facebook's platform prior to the election.

He said he first went to Zuckerberg and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, both of whom he calls friends and whom he says he greatly admired.

But he says they told them: 'We appreciate you reaching out; we think you're misinterpreting the news; we're doing great things that you can't see.'

He says they connected him to Facebook executive Dan Rose who told him that Facebook 'was not a media company and therefore was not responsible for the actions of third parties'.

Although he tried to ignore, McNamee says that after the election he started actively campaigning in Washington to address the platform's 'detrimental' role in society.

Following the election, Facebook and its leaders have revised their stance about the company's responsibilities, particularly with regard to Russian meddling in US politics.

McNamee has outlined eight steps to fix Facebook (pictured, logo at Silicon Valley headquarters) which includes banning digital bots that impersonate humans, and platforms being transparent about who is behind political and issues-based communication and algorithms

McNamee (left) also adds that the platforms must protect consumer data, and that the chief executive officers of Facebook (right, Zuckerberg), Google, Twitter, and others must testify before congressional committees in open session

ROGER MCNAMEE'S EIGHT STEPS TO FIX FACEBOOK 1. Banning bots that impersonate humans 2. Platforms not making acquisitions until they assess damage caused 3. Platforms being transparent about who is behind political and issues-based communication 4. Platforms being transparent about their algorithms 5. Platforms should be required to have a more equitable contractual relationship with users 6. A limit on the commercial exploitation of consumer data by internet platforms 7. Consumers, not the platforms, should own their own data 8. Increasing awareness of the threat posed by platform monopolies Advertisement

McNamee has outlined eight steps to fix Facebook which includes banning digital bots that impersonate humans, platforms not making acquisitions until they assess damage caused, platforms being transparent about who is behind political and issues-based communication and algorithms.

He also adds that the platforms must protect consumer data, and that the chief executive officers of Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others must testify before congressional committees in open session.

Internet platforms have been able to enjoy unprecedented freedom because because of the US government's 'laissez-faire' approach, McNamee says, but that has to change.

'No one stopped them from using free products to centralize the internet and then replace its core functions. No one stopped them from siphoning off the profits of content creators,' he wrote.

'No one stopped them from running massive social and psychological experiments on their users. No one demanded that they police their platforms. It has been a sweet deal.'

He previously hit out at the social network for advertising business models that cause social media addiction.
Tosten Walsh Lommen of Santa Cruz, California has been arrested after a South Dakota chase

A California man has been charged with murder after the body of his mother was found in the trunk of his SUV after a high speed police chase.

Tosten Walsh Lommen was charged on Monday in Riverside County, South Dakota, in the death of his mother, 58-year-old Michelle Walsh.

On Tuesday, an arrest warrant stated Lommen was interviewed and admitted to choking his mother to death.

Police say he killed her sometime around December 30 in her Palm Spring's home, according to The Rapid City Journal.

Investigators found bleach on the carpet and blood stains at the home which is in the upscale Escena Country Club. Lommen later told a detective that he 'freaked out and attempted to clean up the crime scene with bleach'.

Police believe he then fled California to South Dakota with his mother's dead body in the trunk.

The drunk man was then stopped by South Dakota troopers two days later after leading them in a chase on Interstate 90, police say.

Trooper Jeremy Biegert said in a court affidavit that Lommen then attempted to flee on foot before getting pulled from a chain link fence and handcuffed on the ground.

According to Biegert, Lommen smelled of alcohol, and a breath test found he had a blood alcohol level of 0.142, which is above the DUI threshold of 0.08.

Tosten Walsh Lommen was charged on Monday in Riverside County, South Dakota, in the death of his mother, 58-year-old Michelle Walsh, pictured, who he choked to death

Officials also allegedly found a jug that smelled of alcohol as well as prescription bottles in the SUV.

Lommen was first spotted in Lawrence County driving the car, which is registered to someone else, allegedly at more than 100mph.

A trooper tried stopping the speeding vehicle on eastbound I-90 near Spearfish around noon on New Years Day, but Lommen allegedly refused to stop.

The pursuit continued for nearly 50 miles and reached speeds of 118mph before officers used spike strips to disable the vehicles tires.

Investigators found bleach on the carpet and blood stains at the home of the mother and son in Escena Country Club (pictured here)

Lommen later told a detective that he 'freaked out and attempted to clean up the crime scene with bleach,' in the house in Escena, Palm Springs (pictured here)

Officers found his mother's body in the rear of the vehicle wrapped in a blanket after arresting the man.

Police said they were familiar with the property and had been there about six times in the past for a welfare check, a domestic disturbance and even an investigation into an assault and battery.

Lommen remains jailed in South Dakota on charges of eluding authorities and drunken driving.

The Pennington County Clerk of Courts office says Lommen's bond has been set at $2.5 million.

California authorities plan to seek Lommen's extradition. It's unclear if he has an attorney who could comment.

Walsh had moved to Palm Springs in recent months after living for decades in Santa Cruz.

According to his Facebook page, pictured, Lommen previously worked as a kayak and stand-up paddle board instructor and tour guide in Santa Cruz. Now he's listed his current occupation as 'Being a Good Son'

Lommen petitioned to change his name in 2016, stating that he wanted a 'fresh start.'

According to his Facebook page from 2008 to 2011, he worked as a kayak and stand-up paddle board instructor and tour guide in Santa Cruz. Now he's listed his current occupation as 'Being a Good Son.'

This isn't the first time Lommen has run into trouble with the law. Records show that in 2015, his then-girlfriend received a domestic violence restraining order against him.

She claims he threw her down the stairs, which broke her collar bone and he also held guns to her head and doused her in gasoline.

Santa Cruz County court records show he had previously been arrested for vandalism and petty theft also.
A school principal has been disciplined following a review into an incident where a teacher's aide was accused of showing a naked photo of himself to students.

The parents of the three Year 4 boys who were allegedly shown the explicit image at their primary school in Northern Queensland, are outraged more action was not taken.

An Education Department letter informed the parents of the disciplinary action as a part of a review conducted by their ethical standards unit.

A school principal has been disciplined following a review into an incident where a teacher's aide was accused of showing a naked photo of himself to students (stock image)

The principal is believed to have retained his position despite employing the accused teacher's aide without a blue card, The Townsville Bulletin reported.

The teacher's aide, 25, was accused of showing the boys a nude photo of himself on October 19 last year.

He did not have a blue card, which is used in Queensland to assess and monitor people working with children.

The punishment doled out to the principal is believed to be a result of employing teacher's aide without a blue card, but parents say there are unanswered questions.

The parents of the three Year 4 boys who were allegedly shown the explicit image at their primary school in Northern Queensland, are outraged over the decision (stock image)

'Why weren't the police called straight away, why weren't we called straight away? ' One father demanded to know.

'Why was this teacher's aide allowed to stay at the school for the remainder of the day when the incident happened at 1pm?'

Although they say they were told by an Education Department employee the school dealt with the incident adequately, the parents are unsatisfied with the review.

'How can it be adequate if the principal has received disciplinary action?' the mother of one of the students asked.

Education Department acting Director General Annette Whitehead said in the letter the department would review the blue card process.

Annual child protection training will be reviewed, and on-site training to principals will be increased, she said.

Daily Mail Australia contacted the Queensland Education Department for comment.
A pervert who raped a young child will remain behind bars after his appeal to shorten the prison sentence failed.

The elderly man was jailed last year for sexual assault towards a 13-year-old girl who then had his baby, WA Today reported.

Between 1998 and 2000, the now 86-year-old man paid the young girl for sex on a 'number of occasions'.

A pervert has failed in appealing to shorten his jail sentence for raping a young girl two decades ago who then had his baby in 2000 (stock image)

A DNA test proved the child the young teenager gave birth in 2000 to was the elderly man's, according to the publication.

The child rapist was jailed in February 2017 and sentenced to four years and six months prison.

The 86-year-old appealed to have his sentence shortened but the WA Supreme Court Judge Linda Petrusa denied the request.

The court heard the man's crimes were 'so serious that it would be inappropriate to interfere with the total effective sentence imposed'.

The 86-year-old previously told police he believed the young girl was older.

The man will be 90-years-old when released from prison if he serves the full sentence.
The Gold Coast mayor has been slammed on social media after being caught parking in an surf lifesaving emergency zone while he attended a social event.

Gold Coast resident Tania Thompson took to the internet on Tuesday to post a photo of Mayor Tom Tate's $200,000 Range Rover in a parking spot reserved for surf lifesaving vehicles.

'No respect for the law whatsoever. We watched him drive along and park straight opposite the venue and right into the space left vacant for surf lifesaving vehicles/ emergency vehicles,' she said.

Gold Coast resident took to the internet to post this photo of Mayor Tom Tate's $200,000 Range Rover in the parking spot

Councillor Tate reportedly parked in the space on Tuesday night to attend a horse racing event on the beach across the road.

A 'no standing' sign was clearly visible at the parking space, which is controlled by the Gold Coast Council.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, a Gold Coast Council spokeswoman said the mayor's vehicle 'had appropriate permission to park in this spot at the time'.

She said Mayor Tate was a full member of the Surfers Paradise Surf Lifesaving Club which gave him permission.

She confirmed he was attending Magic Millions - a horse racing event on the beach - and parked in the space to gain quick access.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, a Gold Coast Council spokeswoman said Mayor Tate's (pictured) vehicle 'had appropriate permission to park in this spot at the time'

Soon after the photo was posted online, angry residents hit out at the mayor and accused him of abusing his privileges.

'Public servant privileges... disgusting,' one man said.

'He is above the law, he's Tom Tate,' another critic said.

'He has his own rules, maybe he was looking for valet to park it,' a third said.
African thugs armed with hammers and knives robbed two Melbourne petrol stations, hitting one of the cashiers in the face.

Four men smashed their way into a service station on the corner of Wood Street and Dalton Road in Thomastown about 4.45am on Wednesday.

They stole cigarettes and cash from the register while the attendant locked himself in the back room, before fleeing in a 4WD.

African thugs armed with hammers and knives robbed two Melbourne petrol stations, hitting one of the cashiers in the face

Minutes later, two men armed with a hammer and a knife entered another petrol station on Dalton Road and Keon Parade in nearby Keon Park.

The pair jumped over the counter and demanded the cashier open the register, before slapping him about the face several times.

Six other African youths then walked in and stole cash and cigarettes and drove off in a black sedan.

Two men armed with a hammer and a knife entered this petrol station on Dalton Road and Keon Parade in nearby Keon Park

The pair jumped over the counter and demanded the cashier open the register, before slapping him about the face several times

'He's quite distraught,' Detective Senior Constable Mark Mulvany told the Herald Sun about the Keon Park shop's condition.

'The victim was slapped a number of times to the face during the ordeal and physically moved around he store but he did not sustain serious injuries.'

Police were investigating whether the two robberies were a coordinated strike, days after African gangs made headlines for a string of violent incidents.
A woman who narrowly escaped an abusive relationship with her life has used her trauma as a vehicle to raise awareness and encourage other women to speak out.

Angela Jay was viciously stabbed in her Port Macquarie home on the NSW North Coast on November 3, 2016 by a man she had met three weeks earlier on Tinder.

Despite her attacker, Paul Lambert, 36, being shot dead on the scene by police, the doctor, 28, was left permanently physically and emotionally scarred.

In a defiant move against letting her life be ruined by the traumatic experience, the young woman made it her mission to help others trapped in abusive relationships.

Tinder stabbing survivor Angela Jay (pictured) embarked on a grueling five-day trek through the Australian outback to raise money for domestic violence prevention programs

As an ambassador for White Ribbon, Dr Jay embarked on a grueling trek into the Australian outback to raise money alongside other domestic violence sufferers.

She spent fives days living off grid in September last year as one of a large group of survivors hiking 65 kilometres on the Northern Territory's Larapinta Trail.

The group collectively raised $219,824 for domestic violence prevention programs, with Dr Jay personally raising $80,000.

In a preview for her appearance on this week's Sunday Night program, Dr Jay says its important she uses her survival for something positive.

Through tears, the emotional doctor recalls the moment she realised her attacker wanted to kill her.

The young woman has made it her mission to help others trapped in abusive relationships

She then goes on to explain how she believes there's an important reason she survived the ordeal.

'I didnt die for a reason,' Dr Jay says.

The woman has previously spoken out about the deep emotional impact the event had on her life.

All it takes is a man to walk past her on the street wearing her attacker's cologne to send her spiraling into anxiety and bring on a crippling attack of PTSD.

'Even though my attacker is no longer here, the memory of him and what he did terrifies me every day,' Dr Jay told Daily Mail Australia.
Netflix customers have been warned not to fall for a sophisticated new scam targeting subscribers to the video streaming service.

New South Wales Police alerted social media users on Wednesday, posting a screengrab of a fake email used in the scam.

The email is sophisticated and well-designed, and aims to fool Netflix customers into handing over their credit card details.

Netflix customers have been warned not to fall for a sophisticated new scam (pictured) targeting subscribers to the video streaming service

The image posted by the police highlights the fake email address used by the scammers, which does not resemble an official Netflix email.

The text of the email reads: 'We attempted to authorize the Amex you have on file but were unable to do so.'

It then prompts the receiver of the email to provide their credit card information by clicking a bright red 'update payment' button.

New South Wales Police alerted social media users on Wednesday, posting a screengrab of a fake email used in the scam (pictured is the fake Netflix site used by the scammers)

But the button is a phishing site with fake Netflix branding, where the scammers harvest victims' payment information.

The clever site even redirects users to the real Netflix site after they enter their details so they will not suspect they have been scammed, according to Mailguard.

This latest scam follows a similar phishing attempt detected by Mailguard on November 3.

'Netflix has become a favourite vehicle for email fraudsters,' said the Melbourne-based email security firm.

'Their large customer base makes them a valuable target for brandjacking - cybercrime that exploits the trademarks of well-known companies to deceive victims.'

Phishing describes attempts by scammers to trick people into handing over private information by pretending to be a trusted company, enterprise or organisation.
One of the actresses who has accused Craig McLachlan of sexually inappropriate behaviour says she has been viciously trolled since coming forward with her story - including one person saying they 'hope she gets raped'.

Christie Whelan took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to share some of the most common attacks she has received.

'The people who have tweeted me to say they hope I get raped, hope I never work again and that they wish to spit in my face are incredibly hard to ignore,' she wrote on her Twitter page.

Christie Whelan, the actress who has accused Craig McLachlan of sexually inappropriate behaviour, says she has been viciously trolled since coming forward with her story

Christie Whelan took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to share some of the most common attacks she has received

But the actress, who played Janet alongside McLachlan's Frank N Furter during the 2014 production of Rocky Horror Picture Show, says she has also received a lot of love.

While her trolls were 'hard to ignore', Ms Whelan said the amount of love she has received 'is drowning them out'.

'So thank you. Rising above is hard, but I'm trying.'

Ms Whelan told ABC's 7.30 the former soap actor ran his finger along her underwear during one scene of the sexually-charged musical where he was directed to kiss her body underneath a bed sheet.

She said 52-year-old McLachlan had traced the outline of her vagina as she froze in front of a packed out crowd.

'One night when he was down in the bed he traced the outline of my vagina with his finger and I slapped his hand away,' she said.

Ms Whelan said the former soap actor ran his finger along her underwear during one scene of the sexually-charged musical where he was directed to kiss her body underneath a bed sheet

Ms Whelan is one of three women who have come forward about McLachlan's behaviour in the 2014 production of the popular musical

Ms Whelan is one of three women who have come forward about McLachlan's behaviour in the 2014 production of the popular musical.

She is joined by Angela Scundi, who claims he threatened her backstage after refusing to cooperate with an overly salacious kiss.

Erika Heynatz, who also acted in the show, is also accusing McLachlan of sexual harrassment and bullying.

McLachlan has fiercely denied the allegations, describing the claims of the three actresses as 'baseless'.

But the 52-year-old has stepped down from his role as Frank N Furter in the current production of the musical, as the production company behind it, the Gordon Frost Organisation, completes a 'full internal investigation'.

Formal complaints have been lodged with Victoria Police, who are investigating the claims.
A six-year-old girl from Queensland has become the latest victim of a popular sunscreen spray - breaking out in blisters just one minute after it was applied.

The young girl's mother, Vanessa Munroe, from Broadmere, was told the painful blisters spread across her daughters face were the result of chemical burn.

Ms Munroe had been routinely applying Banana Boat's SPF 50+ sunscreen spray to both her daughter, Ruby, and 11-year-old-son, Wade, during their weekend getaway.

Six-year-old girl from Queensland, Ruby, (pictured) has become the latest victim of a popular sunscreen spray - breaking out in blisters just one minute after it was applied

But the problem-lotion proved to leave both her children worse for wear - her daughter unable to sleep and her son becoming covered in painful welts.

She said Ruby had been kept 'up all night', with the blisters so big big 'they'd pop themselves', Yahoo7 reports.

Ruby broke out in blisters on her lips, chin and under her eyes, and her lips were turned a 'yellowy colour'.

Meanwhile, her son's skin had also been badly burnt beneath the spray, despite frequent re-applications.

Her mother, Vanessa Munroe, from Broadmere, was told the painful blisters spread across her daughters face were the result of chemical burn from Banana Boat sunscreen

Meanwhile, her son's skin had also been badly burnt beneath the spray, despite frequent re-applications

'I followed the instructions and put the sunscreen on him every two to three hours during the day and he got badly sunburnt,' Ms Munroe said.

'I knew they were swimming so I'd get him out every few hours and make him sit down and put it on.'

The company that manufacturers the sunscreen said it was impossible the reaction was the result of a chemical burn.

'All Banana Boat sunscreen products undergo rigorous testing and meet the high Australian standards as administered by the Therapeutic Goods Association,' a spokesperson for Edgewell Personal Care Australia said.

'A chemical burn is a serious condition and the substances that cause such burns are not present in sunscreens.'
The millionaire socialite daughter of a former Washington Redskins owner insists she is the victim after she became embroiled in an alleged anti-Semitic assault and bashed someone over the head with her $300 glass purse.

Jacqueline Cooke, 29, is accused of hurling anti-Semitic slurs at a 77-year-old grandmother before attacking the woman's son outside a New York City restaurant on New Year's Eve.

Cooke was arrested and charged with assault following the shocking confrontation in the swanky Upper East Side restaurant Caravaggio.

She got into the physical confrontation with personal injury attorney Matthew Haberkorn, 52, outside the restaurant moments after Cooke allegedly yelled an anti-Semitic slur at the man's mother outside the cloakroom.

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Jacqueline Cooke, 29, (pictured in court last week) is accused of hurling anti-Semitic slurs at a 77-year-old grandmother before attacking the woman's son outside a New York City restaurant on New Year's Eve

Cooke was arrested and charged last week (pictured above in cuffs) with assault following the shocking confrontation in the swanky Upper East Side restaurant Caravaggio

Cooke was waiting in line behind Haberkorn's mother when she allegedly said: 'Hurry up Jew, I got places to be.'

Her boyfriend allegedly chimed in with his own nasty remarks, telling Haberkorn's daughters: 'Happy bat mitzvah, girls.'

Haberkorn claims that when he confronted Cooke outside the restaurant, she beat on the head with her Lulu Guinness Chloe Mirrored Perspex Box clutch.

Cooke, who made a brief court appearance last week, claims she was misheard, according to Page Six.

'We had a really nice dinner and were rushing to go to a friend's apartment before the clock struck midnight. We were right behind Mr Haberkorn's family in the line, but they were taking a really long time looking for their tickets, so I -ticket in hand -told his mother, 'Excuse me I have to get through',' Cooke told the publication.

'She clearly didn't hear what I said and immediately screamed at the top of her lungs, 'She called me a Jew!'.'

Cooke, who says she didn't know they were Jewish, claims she immediately tried to diffuse the situation but the rest of Haberkorn's family started yelling at her.

New year tear: Haberkorn's bloody gash (left) after he was hit by Cooke (right on the ground in video filmed by Haberkorn's daughter)

She claims she fled the restaurant but Haberkorn, who had been in the bathroom at the time, confronted her outside.

'He came out in a rage,' Cooke said. 'Mr Haberkorn tried to push my boyfriend around, and I didnt know what to do, so I hit him with my purse. I was defending my boyfriend, I was frightened, I was scared, but I never intended to hurt Mr Haberkorn.'

Footage taken by one of Haberkorn's four daughters showed the attorney bleeding from the head just moments after the alleged assault.

Cooke meanwhile could be seen lying on the ground and struggling to stand.

'You called me a f***ing bitch, you called me a c**t,' Cooke can be heard shouting in the video.

Haberkorn could then be seen looking at Cooke and shouting: 'You called me a f***ing Jew.'

The video ended after Cooke appeared to try to tackle Haberkorn, but fell to the sidewalk yet again. The couple then ran away as Cooke could be heard claiming 'self-defense' and 'you harassed me' over her shoulder as she fled.

Weapon of choice: Cooke (above with Amanda Hearst) can be seen carrying the same Lulu Guinness Chloe Mirrored Perspex Box purse at an event last year

Cooke is the daughter of the late Jack Kent Cooke (above in 1994) who owned the Redskins and Los Angeles Lakers and Kings

Crime scene: The incident spilled out onto the sidewalk outside of Caravaggio (pictured), where Haberkorn confronted the socialite over her alleged slurs

Cooke is the daughter of the late Jack Kent Cooke, who owned the Redskins, along with the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings.

She was arrested on January 3 and spent the night in a holding cell before appearing in Manhattan Criminal Court for a pre-arraignment deposition.

Cooke appeared entirely disinterested in the proceedings and showed no emotion in the courtroom despite the fact that she is facing up to seven years in prison.

She was released on her own recognizance and is due back in court next month, with an order of protection put in place requiring her to stay away from her alleged victim.

Cooke previously worked for shoe designer Isa Tapia as the director of PR and marketing.

Her mother Suzanne was the third of Jack Kent Cooke's four wives, marrying the millionaire businessman when she was 31 and he was 74 in 1987.

The two divorced after just 72 days, and Suzanne later gave birth to Jacqueline.
American Staffy puppy Coco has spent five nights trapped between two garage walls after being spooked by illegal fireworks.

Coco's family was away on holiday on January 2 when nearby fireworks scared her to the point she backed herself into a small gap between two walls at her family's home in Victoria.

When her pet sitter came to see her and couldn't find her at the house, the woman sounded the alarm.

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American Staffy puppy Coco (pictured) has been rescued following a five-night ordeal trapped between two garage walls at her family's home in Victoria

The beloved family pet endured scorching 42 degree weather after she backed herself into a small gap while her family was on holiday on January 2

From her holiday in New South Wales, Coco's owner Lara Fullford said she organised an emergency search party.

'We had a lot of people in the area looking for her  we had people driving around and looking in the property and nobody could find her,' Ms Fullford told Nine News.

Five days after Coco 'went missing', a family friend discovered her stuck between the walls at the back of the house.

Emergency services were called to help free the 11-month-old dog and a vet was also called to help hydrate her.

During the five days Coco spent wedged between the walls, temperatures reached a top of 42 degrees. Without water or food, she grew very weak.

Five days after Coco 'went missing', a family friend discovered her stuck between the walls at the back of the house

Emergency services were called to help free the 11-month-old dog and a vet was also called to help hydrate her

Fire fighters from the Dromana Fire Brigade lubricated Coco until she could be pulled from the tight space

Ms Fullford said she believed Coco only survived because she was so 'defiant'

'She's fairly stubborn and I think that helped. I don't think she wanted to give up. [CFA officers] were saying they didn't know if she would make it and, as they said that, she stood up as if she was saying 'I'm going to stick around' she said.

Fire fighters from the Dromana Fire Brigade lubricated Coco until she could be pulled from the tight space.

When she was freed, Coco was discovered with severe cuts and scrapes to her body and legs.

Coco spent two days recovering at a vet clinic and was released on Tuesday.

While her legs remain swollen and badly cut, she is expected to make a full recovery.

When she was freed, Coco was discovered with severe cuts and scrapes to her body and legs
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation.

US District Judge William Alsup granted a request on Tuesday to prevent President Donald Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program while their lawsuits play out in court.

DACA has protected about 800,000 minors who were brought to the US illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. It includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.

Alsup said the administration must resume accepting renewal applications from individuals who were already enrolled in the program

The Trump administration announced in September, however, that it would cancel the program, citing a threat from a coalition of 10 states, led by Texas, to challenge the programs constitutionality.

Trump earlier in the day suggested a wall must be part of a deal that would include a legislative fix for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants affected by the Obama-era program.

'As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval,' he tweeted.

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A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program protecting young immigrants from deportation (Pictured, Trump, Tuesday)

Trump told a group of 20 legislators from both parties at the White House that he could get behind a two-step process that would save the Dreamers from deportation and beef up border security that's followed by a total immigration overhaul.

'My positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with,' Trump at one point said. 'If they come to me with things I'm not in love with, I'm gonna do it, because I respect them.'

The assertion was a 180 from Trump's earlier stance that immigration legislation must include funding for the border wall and radical changes to the visa process in addition to the safety measures Democrats are pursuing for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

President Donald Trump introduced chaos into immigration negotiations on Tuesday when he said he'd accept whatever compromise that Congress comes up with so long as he gets his border wall

Trump had steadfastly said that he would not approve legislation that legalizes DACA unless he gets the wall, additional border security resources, the elimination of the visa lottery system and and an end to chain migration at the same time.

He confused his position in the meeting, leaving Democrats who were present clear as mud about the president's definition of border security and comprehensive immigration reform.

'There was no agreement on that, and we're going to be working on that,' House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said of border security differences at a news conference outside the White House.

At the presser, Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, noted that Trump said he would sign the bill that lawmakers deliver to him.

'That tells me that we can deal with potential poison pills and other issues and leave comp immigration reform for another day,' she asserted. 'So I'm encouraged and ready to do that work.'

As confusion over his position reached a high point after the remarkable meeting with lawmakers, the White House said that the wall was only one component of border security. Trump also wants technological upgrades to areas of the border.

The president's spokeswoman said that nothing had changed in the president's position, and Trump still believes that the four pillars of his immigration policy must be addressed in any bill that goes before Congress.

Sen. Lindsey Graham had mentioned a pathway to citizenship as part of comprehensive immigration reform in his remarks at the meeting, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that was not something the president was interesting in pursuing at this point in time.

'Right now our focus is on the four things I laid out,' she said.

As confusion over his position reached a high point on Tuesday after the remarkable meeting with lawmakers, the White House said that nothing had changed. Trump still believes that the four pillars of his immigration policy must be addressed in the first bill that Congress passes, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said

None of that was what Trump said in the portion of the meeting that aired on television, though.

'Were going to come out with DACA and then we can start immediately on phase two, which would be comprehensive immigration reform,' he said.

The president said Tuesday that a 'clean' DACA bill to him was Dream Act protections plus border security. Other aspects of immigration reform that he and GOP lawmakers in the room like Graham had been pursuing could be part of a companion bill that would be brought to the floor later that day.

Trump was adamant about one thing and one thing only: Congress has to fund his border wall as the first prong of immigration reform.

'I'd love not to build the wall, but we need the wall,' Trump said. 'If you don't have the wall, you cannot have security.'

After a lengthy discussion with lawmakers in the room that Trump allowed to play out on camera, providing an inside look at the bipartisan negotiations, the president said it was clear to all that he was on a 'similar page' with legislators present.

'We have something in common. We would like to see this get done,' he said.

Graham told the former businessman point blank that he needs 'to close the deal' as Trump took a backseat position to the lawmakers in the room.

The South Carolina senator noted that he'd been assigned a list of derogatory nicknames over his support for immigration reform such as Lindsey Grahamnesty and Lindsey Gomez.

'I've had my head beat out a bunch. I'm still standing,' he said. 'I've been for a pathway to citizenship for 11 million people because I have no animosity for them.'

The GOP senator told the room, 'I don't want crooks, I don't want bad hombres. I want to get a merit-based immigration system and to make sure we can succeed in the 21st Century.

'I'm willing to be more than fair to the 11 million,' he said. 'I just don't want to do this every 20 years.'

Trump confused his position in the meeting at the White House leaving Democrats who were present clear as mud about the president's definition of border security and comprehensive immigration reform

Graham predicted that the right-wing would go bonkers over the deal that's in the works and characterize it as amnesty.

Trump insisted that an agreement would sell itself, though, and said the lawmakers could put any heat they take over the compromise agreement on him.

'My whole life has been heat,' Trump said. 'I like heat in a certain way.'

Democrats had been refusing Trump's demands for a border wall and a total immigration overhaul, leading Sen. Chuck Grassley, who attended the Tuesday meeting, to declare the negotiations 'doomed to failure' yesterday on the Senate floor.

White House senior adviser for strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp positively told Fox this morning, however, 'The president will deliver.'

Trump half-jokingly told legislators at the White House on Tuesday, 'Maybe at some point I'll just lock the doors and I won't let anyone out.'

Tuesday's meeting was invite-only but Lujan Grisham, head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, successfully crashed it after being told there was 'no space' for her at the table, according to Politico. She came to the White House with Hoyer and left optimistic that Republicans and Democrats could reach a deal.

GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham, David Perdue, Jeff Flake and Tom Cotton were among those participating from Trump's party. Flake is seen here during the meeting that surprisingly took place while cameras were rolling

The Republican president who led a lucrative business before he was elected brought lawmakers together to personally make his case for a revamp today in a White House meeting that was attended by immigration reform advocates in the House and Senate from both parties.

'I feel having the Democrats in with us is absolutely vital because it should be a bipartisan bill. It should be a bill of love. Truly,' Trump said. 'It should be a bill of love. But it also has to be a bill where were able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. A lot of people coming in that we cant have.'

A statement provided to DailyMail.com before the meeting said: 'The Trump Administrations immigration priorities are clear: securing the border with a wall, closing dangerous enforcement loopholes; eliminating the visa lottery program and ending chain migration.'

Sanders said after that the White House felt the meeting was 'very successful' and 'very productive.'

GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham, David Perdue, Jeff Flake, Grassley and Tom Cotton were among those participating from Trump's party. Democratic legislators included Sens. Dick Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dianne Feinstein and Bob Menendez, along with Hoyer and Lujan Grisham, both of whom are in the house of representatives.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy represented GOP leadership in the meeting along with Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The meeting followed on Durbin's declaration on Friday that Trump was making 'outrageous' demands that 'would undercut months of bipartisan efforts' to protect Dreamers.

Durbin accused Trump of 'trying to put its entire wish-list of hardline anti-immigrant bills - plus an additional $18 billion in wall funding - on the backs of these young people.'

'President Trump has said he may need a good government shutdown to get his wall. With this demand, he seems to be heading in that direction,' Durbin said.

Trump told Democrat Dick Durbin on Tuesday that he now believes a DACA fix could be separate legislatively from other immigration reforms he's pursuing, like an end to chain migration and an end to the diversity lottery

Trump told Durbin on Tuesday that he now believes a DACA fix could be separate legislatively from other immigration reforms he's pursuing.

'I really agree with Dick,' Trump said. 'I think we get the one thing done and then we go into comprehensive the following day. I think it will happen.'

Trump said in the long meeting, 'I think well do DACA, and we can certainly start comprehensive immigration reform the following afternoon.

'Well take an hour off and then well start. I do believe that,' Trump added.

Trump had said Saturday during a presser at Camp David that Congress must fund the border wall he promised on the campaign trail or there would be no agreement.

'The wall is going to happen or were not going to have DACA. You know, we want to get rid of chain migration. Very important. And we want to get rid of the lottery system,' he said.

Trump also said that Democrats must approve his spending request for additional border security personnel, as well, and restructure the visa system.

'We all want DACA to happen. But we also want great security for our country. So important. We want to stop the drugs from flowing in. Very important,' he said Saturday.

Trump has claimed numerous times that visa lottery awardees are bottom-dwellers who are intentionally displaced by their home countries.

'They give us their worst people, they put them in a bin, but in his hand, when hes picking them is, really, the worst of the worst. Congratulations, youre going to the United States. Okay. What a system  lottery system,' he said recently.

He made a similar claim on Tuesday, wrongly asserting that 'countries come in and put names in a hopper.'

'Theyre not giving you their best names  common sense tells you theyre not giving you their best names. They give you people that they dont want, and then we take them out of the lottery,' he said in his meeting.

'When then do it by hand, put the hand in a bowl, and whats in the hand are the worst of the worst. They put people that they dont want in the lottery, and the United States takes those people.'

In reality, it's the State Department who picks diversity lottery awardees, and they are selected at random. State heavily vets them before they are allowed into the U.S.

Trump wants to move to a merit-based immigration system, nonetheless, in which high-skilled visa applicants would be prioritized.

'Theyre not sending us their finest, okay. When somebody gets picked in the lottery, were not getting their best people,' he said Saturday. 'So we have to get rid of the lottery system, we have to get rid of chain migration, and we have to have a wall.'

The president told a reporter then that he expects all of the immigration reform components he's demanding to be included in the compromise bill. He also said it's still his belief that Mexico will pay for the border wall.

Last week Trump had a Republican-only meeting at the White House to discuss immigration. His Tuesday gathering included top Democratic voices on the issue like Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois.

The meeting came less than a day after Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said in a floor speech that immigration talks have stalled because of Democrats' unwillingness to compromise.

'Unfortunately, this body still isnt closer to a legitimate and fair deal that promotes and protects the interests of the American people in a lawful immigration system, and provides a fair and equitable solution on DACA,' he said.

'As the Democrats see it, its take it or leave it, their way or the highway. That isnt good faith. That isnt negotiation. And that approach is doomed to failure.'

Trump said during a Saturday presser at Camp David that Congress must fund the border wall he promised on the campaign trail or there would be no agreement

Schlapp, a senior communications official in the White House, subsequently lambasted Democrats as 'hypocritical' in a Tuesday morning appearance on Fox & Friends for backing away from border security measures after voting for the Secure Fence Act in 2006.

'They were the ones in 2006 who basically supported these physical border barriers,' she exclaimed. 'It's time for them to come to the table. Let's strike a deal. The president wants to strike a deal with the Democrats, and the time is now to do it.'

Durbin, notably, did not vote for 2006 legislation. Feinstein, however, did.

The Illinois senator and Hispanic Democrats in the House are hoping to use a must-pass spending bill to force Trump's hand on DACA this month.

The continuing resolution that's keeping the government up and running expires on Jan. 19. Democrats said in their press conference outside the White House that they consider that the DACA deadline even though safety measures do not expire until March 5.

A memo that progressive group Center for American Progress is circulating that was obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday described the DACA standoff as a 'moral imperative' for Democrats that is 'critical' to their success at the ballot box.

'If Democrats dont try to do everything in their power to defend Dreamers, that will jeopardize Democrats electoral chances in 2018 and beyond,' the memo warns. 'In short, the next few weeks will tell us a lot about the Democratic Party and its long-term electoral prospects.'

Schlapp told Fox on Tuesday that Democrats would be jeopardizing national security by holding up military funding if they go the shutdown route.

'I think the Democrats are really running a very big risk if they go in this direction,' she said. 'And here is a president saying come over to the White House, let's talk, let's get this done.'

The American people want the homeland protected and real immigration reform, she asserted. 'That is why the president was elected,' Schlapp said. 'And the president will deliver.'
The New York Times has cancelled a talk by James Franco hours after the actor denied allegations of sexual harassment on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

Franco was asked by Colbert about allegations of sexual misconduct being made by a number of woman on Twitter in the wake of his Best Actor win at Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards.

'The things I heard are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out because they didn't have a voice for so long. I don't want to shut them down in anyway. I think its a good thing and I support it,' Franco told the host.

He then added, however, that he had not read the actual accusations.

'There were some things on Twitter, I haven't read them. I've heard about them,' Franco added.

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Tense: James Franco appeared on the 'Late Show' with Stephen Colbert and denied allegations leveled against him during the Golden Globes Sunday by women who have worked with him

On Wednesday, the New York Times pulled the plug on a TimesTalk event with Franco and his younger brother Dave.

The two were due to discuss their award-winning movie The Disaster Artist.

'The event was intended to be a discussion of the making of the film, The Disaster Artist. Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, we're no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein,' a Times representative said in a statement.

Bratpack star Ally Sheedy was the most notable name to call out Franco on Sunday, doing so in a series of tweets throughout the Golden Globes.

'Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much. Nite love ya,' wrote Sheedy at the start of the telecast.

'Ok wait. Bye. Christian Slater and James Franco at a table on @goldenglobes #MeToo,' she continued.

And in her final tweet, posted right after Franco's victory in the Best Actor category, she said: 'James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business.'

Sheedy later deleted the tweets, but soon after she posted a number of women began to speak out against the actor.

James with brother Dave Franco (left) following Sunday night's Golden Globe win. Actress Ally Sheedy (right with Franco) lodged complaints against him during the show over Twitter

Franco admitted to reading Sheedy's tweets: 'I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy. I have total respect for her. She took the tweet down, I can't speak for her.'

'I can't live if there's restitution to be made. If I've done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to. I don't know what else to do. As far as the bigger issue of how we do it, I really don't have the answers. I think the point of this whole thing is that we listen. I'm here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it's off. I'm completely willing and want to.'

The under-fire actor also commented on the experience of being at the Globes this year, which focused largely on the issue of sexual assault and support for victims.

'Look, I was so excited to win but being in that room that night was incredible. It was powerful. I support change,' Franco said.

Several women took to Twitter after the Globes as well as Sheedy.

Many focused on his admission back in 2014 that he pursued a relationship with a 17-year-old student after he was exposed on Instagram.

But others had allegations of their own.

Allegation: 'Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis,' wrote actress Violet Paley (above)

Violet Paley, an actress, writer and director living in Los Angeles, tweeted: 'Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?'

She later clarified her tweet by writing: 'Just to be clear I wasn't 17, I was an adult.'

The age of consent in both New York and California is 17.

Paley also posted just before Franco's appearance on Tuesday, claiming the actotr had called her to apologize late last year.

'A couple weeks ago, James offered me & a few other girls an overdue, annoyed, convenient phone apology. I dont accept, but maybe some other peoples lives would be made easier if he donated all of his earnings from The Disaster Artist to @RAINN,' wrote Paley.

Accusation: Paley said: '& that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?'

James Franco along with brother Dave Franco, were supposed to hold a TimesTalk Wednesday- the event was cancelled as the New York Times cited 'recent allegations' against James (both pictured Tuesday at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala in New York)

Talent: Tither-Kaplan (left) has been appearing in short films with Franco for over three years after enrolling at Studio 4, the actor's comedy and improv school

Allegation: Sarah Tither-Kaplan claimed that she was forced to do 'exploitative' scenes with 'full nudity' in two of Franco's films while being paid just $100 (tweets above)

Spot the fully clothed man: The film Tither-Kaplan seems to be referencing in these tweets is The Long Home (cast photo above), which is directed by Franco

Actress Sarah Tither-Kaplan was also among those who publicly denounced Franco's behavior, with the actress going after Franco for his alleged mistreatment of actresses on his sets.

'Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes, remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn't exploitative because I signed a contract to do it? Times up on that!' wrote Tither-Kaplan.

The actress and comedian has been appearing in short films with Franco for over three years after enrolling at Studio 4, the actor's comedy and improv school.

Studio 4, which had outposts in New York and Los Angeles, closed its doors back in October without warning or explanation.

Tither-Kaplan expounded on her tweet about exploitative nudity by writing: 'Hey James Franco, now that you have a Golden Globe why don't you give speaking roles that don't require nudity in your upcoming films to the dozens of women who have done full nudity + sex scenes in your indie films and art projects?'

The film Tither-Kaplan seems to be referencing in these tweets is The Long Home, which is directed by Franco and stars an eclectic cast of actors including Ashton Kutcher, Courtney Love, Robin Lord Taylor, Annaleigh Tipton, Josh Hutcherson and Oscar-winner Timothy Hutton.

No more: Studio 4, which had outposts in New York and Los Angeles, closed its doors back in October without warning and with no explanation for the sudden decision

'It's ... rich of James Franco to be wearing a Time's Up pin,' tweeted writer Doree Shafrir.

'Still remember that time James Franco grossly tried to pick up a teenager off Instagram. #TimesUp' wrote Samantha Grasso.

Winner: Allegations against Franco gained notice in the wake of his Golden Globe win (above)

'Remember when James Franco tried to solicit a teenager on Instagram? But he was still honored at the Globes. LOL. But yes, Time Is Up, y'all,' read a tweet from the account #blackwomandirectors.

The incident these tweets apparently reference happened back in 2014 when the actor began corresponding with a Scottish teenager.

Lucy Clode, who was 17 at the time, had gone to see Franco on Broadway in Of Mice and Men, and posted a photo to Instagram of herself and the actor taken while he signed autographs that night.

Franco then reached out to Lucy and, after learning she was just 17, began to exchange a number of suggestive messages before asking her what hotel she was staying at in the city.

'Your single? What's the hotel? Should I rent a room?' wrote Franco to the teenager in one rapid-fire exchange.

And writer and comedian Miel Bredouw asked: 'When is the time up on James Franco.'

Boy's club: Franco hosted a dinner for the other male actors nominated in the film categories at Sunday night's Golden Globes earlier in the week (l to r: Armie Hammer, Timothee Chalamet, Michael Stuhlberg, Richard Jenkins, Tom Hanks, Hugh Jackman, Gary Oldman, Ansel Elgort, James Franco, Daniel Kaluuya and Sam Rockwell)

Strong tweets: 'Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much. Nite love ya,' wrote Sheedy, 55, at the start of the telecast (Sheedy's three tweets above)

When she then responded by saying she did not think he was the real James Franco, the actor took a photo of himself waving and sent it to the young tourist.

He then wrote: 'It's me. Yes or no? Tomorrow or Thursday?'

Franco's persistence was later revealed when Clode posted the exchange on her account, forcing the actor to address his pursuit of the teen.

He addressed the controversy during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Michael.

'It's the way that people meet each other today, but what I've learned- I guess because I'm new to it- is you don't know who's on the other end,' said Franco.

'You get a feel for them, you don't know who you're talking to.'

He then added: 'I used bad judgement and I learned my lesson.'

Franco did not at any point mention the fact that Clode was just 17 and a tourist.
Footage has emerged showing the moment a brown snake was pulled out of the footwell of an unsuspecting construction worker's ute.

The catcher was called out to capture the deadly snake after it slithered across the worker's arm while he was driving in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Both the driver and snake received 'massive frights' from the shock encounter, which led to the reptile retreating behind the driver's seat.

Footage has emerged showing the moment a deadly eastern brown snake was captured from an unsuspecting construction worker's ute in Brisbane on Tuesday

A snake catcher was called out to capture the deadly reptile after it slithered across the worker's arm while he was driving

The final moments of an hour-long battle to remove the eastern brown was captured by Brisbane Snake Catchers.

In the video, the long-haired catcher is seen gripping the snake with his left hand while reaching into the ute's footwell with a hook.

The catcher's assistant moves the seat on the passenger's side back, saying: 'Should happen now, without getting bitten.'

'That's the idea, hopefully,' the catcher casually replies, as he hooks the snake with the catching tool.

The catcher then swiftly pulls out the writhing snake from the ute to concerned cries from his assistant, who asks if he wants a bag.

He holds up the snake for a photo, before diffusing any danger by wrapping it up in the purple bag.

The final moments of an hour-long battle to remove the eastern brown was captured by Brisbane Snake Catchers

The catcher swiftly pulled out the writhing snake from the ute to concerned cries from his assistant, who asked if he wanted a bag

The video's description explains that the snake had made its way underneath the ute's dashboard when the catchers arrived.

'After an hour on site we managed to gain access through a small spacing around the handbrake, as it had gone deep under the centre console of the vehicle,' Brisbane Snake Catchers said.

'With a bit of patience and persistence we got there in the end. Just goes to show you, even in a high risk situation like this, it simply wanted to retreat and avoid conflict at all cost.'

The company explained the snake most likely made its way through the ute's window while trying to escape the heat.
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Millions of red crabs have shut down beaches and closed roads across Christmas Island as they make their way back to the jungle after mating season.

A crimson tide of the near-threatened crustaceans is so thick it can be seen from Google Earth and looks like a river of blood slowly moving across the remote island in the Indian Ocean.

The migration begins at the start of the wet season in October or November when adult crabs leave their burrows in the dense jungle and walk to the beach, dipping in the ocean to replenish body salts.

Male crabs dig burrows in the sand which they defend from other crabs while they try to mate with the females, then migrate back home while the females stay with their eggs.

After 2-3 weeks, the female crabs put their eggs into the ocean and start their own return journey while the eggs hatch into the water as larvae.

Some years very few or none of the baby crabs will emerge alive from the ocean about four weeks later, but this week millions of tiny crabs made it and swarmed onto the beaches.

The tiny creatures turned beaches red before slowly progressing across the island, crossing roads and meandering around houses until they link up with the adults.

Four years later the crabs are ready to make their own migration to the beach to mate and begin the lifecycle all over again.

All phases of the migration are popular tourist attractions with visitors timing their travel to coincide with it to see the unique sight, as the crabs only live on Christmas Island.

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Millions of red crabs have shut down beaches and closed roads across Christmas Island as they make their way back to the jungle after mating season

Millions of baby red crabs walk across a beach on Christmas Island towards the jungle after hatching - See more photos of the migration on Blue Crust Productions Facebook and Instagram

A beach on the island turns blood red and millions of the crabs emerge from the ocean across the sea floor

A zoomed-out shot of the beach shows millions of crabs having emerged from the water and having almost made it to the tree line

The crabs walk over every surface they come into contact with, be it the underwater floor of rock pools or the rocks above

This beach is completely covered by the tiny crabs that then climb up a sheer rockface into the vegetation beyond

The crabs transform the island into an alien landscape resembling the surface of Mars

A different species of crab stands out like a sore thumb as the baby red crabs swarm past it

So many rise from the ocean at once they walk over each other to the point where rocks appear as giant crab balls

A crimson tide of the near-threatened crustaceans is so thick it can be seen from Google Earth and looks like a river of blood slowly moving across the remote island in the Indian Ocean

Some years very few or none of the baby crabs will emerge alive from the ocean about four weeks later

Unlike other years, this week millions of tiny crabs made it and swarmed onto the beaches, covering rocks and sand alike

The tiny creatures turned beaches red before slowly progressing across the island, walking over anything in its path

These rocks are littered with baby crabs that emerged from the ocean earlier this week and slowly but surely migrated

The crafty crabs pour over all kinds of rock faces in their millions as they flee the sea for the trees

Crabs emerged from the water and crawl over rock pools, beaches and anything else to make it to their parents

This metal boat ramp was completely covered by the crustaceans who had an earlier time than those who had to cross a beach

The baby crabs are so small, dozens if not hundreds can fit in the palm of your hand and don't bite

A man puts his hand among the crabs to show just how many of them there are on this one part of the beach

Four years later the crabs are ready to make their own migration to the beach to mate and begin the lifecycle all over again

The migration begins at the start of the wet season in October or November when adult crabs leave their burrows in the dense jungle and walk to the beach

Male crabs dig burrows in the sand which they defend from other crabs while they try to mate with the females

After 2-3 weeks, the female crabs put their eggs into the ocean and start their own return journey

All phases of the migration are popular tourist attractions with visitors timing their travel to coincide with it to see the unique sight

Roads across Christmas Island were shut down this week ton protect the baby crabs as they made their way home

The seasonal event means the island has put up permanent signs to tell residents which roads are clsoed
A skydiver has been rushed to hospital and a search is frantically underway for another after a tandem jump went awry with both landing in a lake.

Emergency services were called to the accident at Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island at 1.42pm on Wednesday.

New Zealand Police said the jump involved two men, and one person has been recovered from the water and taken to hospital with minor injuries.

A search is now underway for the second man, involving the Coastguard, Harbourmaster, water taxis and helicopters.

Emergency services were called to the accident at Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island at 1.42pm on Wednesday

The water and air search was suspended at 4.40pm NZT, while a search of the shoreline will continue until 6.30pm.

New Zealand Police said they will 'make an assessment on the situation' at 9am on Thursday.

The company which carried out the jump - NZONE - suspended operations following the incident.

An NZONE spokesman told Stuff a 'highly-experienced instructor, who had completed thousands of jumps' was finishing a tandem jump with a customer and landed in the water.

The company which carried out the jump - NZONE - suspended operations following the incident (stock image)

'Appropriate authorities are conducting an investigation.'

NZONE is the New Zealand operating arm of Experience Co, an Australian adventure tourism company.

They were involved in a triple-fatality in October 2017, when Kerri Pike, 50, her tandem dive instructor Peter Dawson and solo jumper Toby Turner plummeted to their deaths in Mission Beach, Queensland.




A local council in North Melbourne has come under fire after asking residents to foot the bill to rebuild a playground destroyed by vandals.

Eltham North Adventure Playground was left in ruins after vandals set fire to the park in December, just days before Christmas.

And now, Nillumbik Shire Council has asked local residents to dip into their own pockets to help pay for a new playground, leaving many asking about insurance.

Nillumbik Shire Council has angered local residents after asking for donations to help rebuild a beloved playground (pictured: the playground before it was destroyed)

Eltham North Adventure Playground was left in ruins after vandals set fire to the park in December, just days before Christmas

Resident Nicole Brittain told 3AW's Nick McCallum she was 'shocked' at the request, given the playground was insured.

'[We're] a little bit shocked to find they are asking for donations,' Ms Brittain told the radio host.

According to the council's Facebook page, the playground was insured 'for its value at the time of the fire'.

'Given it was over 20 years old, the cost of building a replacement to meet modern playground standards (disability access etc) and the community expectations is likely to be far in excess of the value of the old asset,' a council worker wrote on the page.

The council admitted the were 'out of pocket somewhat' and teamed up with a Community Bank to match donations.

'Extra funds raised will enable Council to improve on what was already a much loved community playground.'

According to the council's Facebook page, the playground was insured 'for its value at the time of the fire'

The playground was largely built with the help of volunteers and fundraising by local community members 22 years ago

Ms Brittain said many were still left asking questions: 'It's just not making sense, we're not really getting any clear answers.'

However, residents are angry the council are asking them to pitch in, given Nillumbik Shire has some of the highest council rates in the country.

'How silly of me to think a council who charges some of the most expensive rates in Australia could rebuild a playground which was clearly stupidly under insured without asking residents for donations,' one resident wrote.

The playground was largely built with the help of volunteers and fundraising by local community members 22 years ago.
Former Army commanders have criticised a new 1.6million diversity campaign telling new recruits it is OK to cry, have feelings and pray.

Military officials have launched a series of YouTube videos to encourage recruits from different backgrounds, genders, sexualities and faiths.

The scheme, which will see a series of adverts broadcast on television, radio and digital platforms, is titled 'This Is Belonging 2018'.

But Colonel Richard Kemp, who led British troops in Afghanistan, claimed today that it shows how the Army 'is being forced down a route of political correctness'.

And retired Army officer Major General Tim Cross said it is important for people to know 'we are not going to be soft and we are not going to be nice to people'.

Another of the animations released on YouTube is called: 'What if I get emotional in the Army?'

One of the other frames from the advert which asks 'What if I get emotional in the Army?'

A third frame from the 'What if I get emotional in the Army?' recruitment advert released

The drive includes a series of animations on social media, among them films that ask: 'Can I be gay in the Army?' and 'What if I get emotional in the Army?'.

Other videos ask: 'Can I practise my faith in the Army?', 'Will I be listened to in the Army?' and 'Do I have to be a superhero to join the Army?'.

One medic describes wanting to join the Army after his brother served in Afghanistan.

'I was really worried about whether I would be accepted, but within days I was more than confident about being who I was,' he says.

'I'm not afraid to talk about having a boyfriend. I thought I'd have to hide it, but once you've done it you think: 'Why did I have to make it such a big thing for so long?''

But retired Army officer Major General Tim Cross said he was in favour of recruiting from a broader base to boost the number of soldiers, but stressed they must be able to deliver high-intensity fighting power capable of 'duffing up the Queen's enemies'.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The concern, I think, for a lot of people - and it's an understandable concern and to some degree I have some concern as well - is that you end up with an Army that's not capable of doing what you want to do and when you send it away on operations it's not able to deliver.

'So we must ensure that we reach out to people, we must ensure that everybody knows that they have an opportunity of joining the British armed forces and joining the Army in particular, but we are not going to be soft and we are not going to be nice to people.'

The drive includes a series of animations on social media, including: 'Can I be gay in the Army?'

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, told BBC Breakfast that he did not 'subscribe to the view that the British Army is 'going soft''.

Major General Cross warned against discouraging Christians or people from other faiths amid reports that one advert was focused on showing Muslims they could practise their religion while serving as a soldier.

'It happens to focus on the Muslim community; my point is we have Gurkhas, we have Sikhs, all faiths represented in the British Army, and what we don't want to be doing is isolating other people by focusing on these particular communities,' he said.

Major General Cross, who retired in 2007, added that the Army was 'really struggling' with its recruitment and insisted it should not try to be 'jolly nice to people'.

Also today, Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, told BBC Breakfast that he did not 'subscribe to the view that the British Army is 'going soft''.

But he said the ad campaign was 'neglecting the main group of people who are interested in joining' and will not solve the 'recruiting crisis' facing the armed forces.

He said: 'Unfortunately, I think it's on the wrong lines, is my view. What it clearly is doing is appealing, trying to appeal, to a series of minorities who may or may not be interested in joining the forces.

'And by doing that, it's almost neglecting the main group of people who are interested in joining. And the main group of people who are interested in joining aren't worried so much about whether they're going to be listened to, or those emotional issues.

'What they're worried about more is how they're going to face combat. And not only that, they're going to be attracted, I think, by images of combat, because that's why people join the armed forces.

'Can I practise my faith in the Army?' Military officials have launched a series of YouTube videos to encourage recruits from different backgrounds, genders, sexualities and faiths

A retired Army officer warned against discouraging Christians or people from other faiths amid reports that this advert called 'Can I practise my faith in the Army?' was focused on showing Muslims they could practise their religion while serving as a soldier

'So I think in a way by doing this they're missing out on the vast majority of people who want to join, and therefore it will not  in my opinion, unfortunately  solve the recruiting crisis that the Army faces.'

He added: 'This also reflects the fact that the Army, like the rest of Government is being forced down a route of political correctness.

'What is most important is that the Army recruits and is full of soldiers. It's of secondary importance that they reflect the composition of society.'

However, a former soldier and academic said suggestions that new recruitment adverts portray the Army as 'soft' are 'completely ridiculous'.

Dr Mike Martin, a former officer and Afghanistan veteran, said both old and new campaigns shared status and belonging as motivations for signing up.

He said: 'What Karmarama (the company behind the adverts) is trying to do is tap into the two things that subconsciously motivate people to fight, even when there is a risk of dying. Those two things are status and belonging.

'Even the war-fighting adverts are doing that because they focus on belonging, as often the activities shown are done in teams, and status as well, as for young people there's that sense of cool.

'I don't see these new adverts as a particular diversion from that, but a lot of people have painted these adverts as 'Well, what we did before was war-fighting and now it's all soft and cuddly and about belonging'.'

Mr Martin, who is also a visiting research fellow at King's College London's War Studies Department, said his personal experience, particularly in Afghanistan, was that the Army was '100 per cent a place where you could belong because you had teams working under pressure'.

Military officials have released a video asking: 'Do I have to be a superhero to join the Army?'

A frame taken from the recruitment ad asking: 'Do I have to be a superhero to join the Army?'

He said: 'People only cared about whether you were able to keep your people alive, or whether you were able to deliver whatever your job was, not what particular flavour of human you were.'

He added: 'I find that the criticism from outside of the Army is often unknowing of the realities (of Army life).'

Questioning the 'non-argument' of a 'soft' Army, Mr Martin pointed to the thousands of troops currently deployed in places like Somalia and Nigeria as well as the Army's 15-year role in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He said: 'Even people who criticise this approach because it's soft would accept that the most important part of fighting power is the teams that you generate to deliver that fighting power.

'That's what military training is all about. It's about creating robust teams that don't fall apart when they are under extreme pressure.'

Speaking about the drop in enlisting numbers, Mr Martin said: 'It's pretty simple. If you look at the economy and the employment rate in the UK over the last 30 years and peg that against Army recruitment, you'll see a very close relationship.

'Secondly, we're not fighting any wars at the moment. Young people ... want to fight in wars. So when Iraq and Afghanistan were on, people joined the Army because they wanted to fight.

One clip released by the Army addresses the question: 'Will I be listened to in the Army?'

Colonel Kemp said of the video: 'The main group of people who are interested in joining aren't worried so much about whether they're going to be listened to'

'That's why I joined the Army. I wouldn't have joined a peacetime Army. I joined because I wanted to go to Afghanistan. That's really why recruitment is suffering at the moment.'

In the videos, during an animation discussing emotional awareness, a voice says: 'Once you're in, you realise no one is a machine. The Army is family. I've probably told them things I wouldn't tell my own family. There's always someone there to talk to.'

In another clip in the new campaign, the voice says: 'I grew up with brothers and I always played sports, but I always thought the Army was dominated by men and it wasn't for me. I decided to get a normal job, but men at work would often talk over me.

'I felt like I didn't have a voice, so I decided to join the Army. It was totally different, all that matters is that you're good at your job.'

The campaign's release comes weeks after the Army faced an outcry over reported plans to scrap its 'Be the Best' slogan and historic crest.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was forced to intervene and halt the re-branding exercise, which had reportedly been based on market research that found the slogan was considered 'dated, elitist and non-inclusive' by key audiences.

The latest public relations exercise focuses on inclusivity, ending with the phrase: 'Find where you belong'.
An indigenous town councillor from Alice Springs says activists who want to change Australia Day are emotional and need to grow up.

Jacinta Price is the face of a campaign to keep the national day on January 26, to commemorate the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.

The daughter of a former Northern Territory government minister claims activists want to change Australia Day because they are 'offended' by the British landing at Sydney Harbour.

Alice Springs councillor Jacinta Price says Australia Day critics have emotional, anger issues

'If people feel angry, do we encourage people to act on that impulse of anger? If people have anger management issues, we tell them to get help to deal with that particular emotion because it's their responsibility,' she told the ABC's The Drum program.

'It's not the rest of us to change to suit that person's emotion.

'I just would like us to grow up as a nation a little bit and be more responsible in that regard, responsible for our own feelings.'

The councillor from central Australia has teamed up with former federal Labor leader Mark Latham as part of a 'Save the Date' television campaign.

Jacinta Price says Australia Day activists care more about 1788 than indigenous people in 2018

The Alice Spring local government politician says activists had chosen to be offended

She accused Australia Day activists of being obsessed with what happened 230 years ago while indigenous people in remote communities lived in abject poverty.

'It's a choice to be offended. I don't think people feel pain as a result of this,' she said.

'The people living in pain and crisis are living it silently in remote communities of Australia and they're being completely disregarded.

'Their issues are being placed to the side because other people have claimed offence and claimed pain. It's an emotion they claim to feel.'

The new television ad features an Orwellian future where Australia Day is moved and hidden cameras monitor anyone who secretly celebrates the arrival of the First Fleet.

It shows a young girl handing an Australia Day card to her mother.

Alarmed, the woman takes the card to a shredder in the kitchen of the family home and destroys it.

In other scenes, two elderly men at a nursing home hide an Australian flag, and wave it at an authoritarian nurse behind her back, while a woman buying chops pretends she isn't commemorating 1788.

Mr Latham said the campaign ad was right to compare the campaign to change Australia Day with George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

In the 'Save the Date' ad a girl hands her mother a card with 'Australia Day' written on it

However in the Orwellian future, the mother shreds the Australia Day card out of fear

Mark Latham has launched a full-scale advertising campaign which he dubs 'Save the Date'

'In an environment where you've got so much political correctness, I think the Big Brother approach, a dystopian theme, is very appropriate,' he told reporters on Wednesday, adding the 'bludgers' who wanted to change the date would still have the day off.

Ms Price says in the campaign ad that not all indigenous people felt they were victims of Australia's history, with critics describing Australia Day as 'Invasion Day'.

Five local councils across Australia have already voted to abstain from celebrating Australia Day on January 26 while Triple-J has moved its Hottest 100 countdown following a poll of its listeners.

'If we change the date, there will be another demand,' Ms Price told the ABC.

'Once these particular issues gather momentum it's just gone ridiculous.'

Mark Latham and Jacinta Price says Australia Day is worth celebrating on January 26
Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured in Downing Street yesterday) will tonight use a speech in Berlin to demand the EU sets out what it wants from a Brexit trade deal because it 'takes two to tango'

The Chancellor will tonight use a speech in Berlin to demand the EU sets out what it wants from a Brexit trade deal because it 'takes two to tango'.

Philip Hammond, who is in Germany with Brexit Secretary David Davis today, is addressing German business leaders later.

In extracts of his remarks to the Die Welt summit, Mr Hammond said Brussels kept complaining Britain had not said what it wanted from the talks.

But he blasts: 'In London, many feel that we have little, if any, signal of what future relationship the EU27 would like to have with a post-Brexit Britain.'

Mr Hammond and Mr Davis used their visit today to demand the City of London be included any future trade deal.

They warned if Brussels refuses to do it could cause a global economic crash because London is such a major financial centre for international banks.

The demand is at the centre piece of Britain's vision, which appears to be a Canada-style trade deal that allows access for goods without demanding specific rules and regulations from Europe be implemented.

Crucially, the model agreed with Canada does not include financial services - the mainstay of the British economy.

In his speech tonight, Mr Hammond will say: They say ''it takes two to tango'': Both sides need to be clear about what they want from a future relationship.

WHAT BRITAIN WANTS FROM A BREXIT DEAL Chancellor Philip Hammond tonight challenged the EU to spell out what it wants from a Brexit trade deal. But Britain has been criticised for not having decided what it will ask for. Brexit Secretary David Davis has suggested Britain seeks a deal similar to Canada's trade deal but with additional elements. Most importantly, this means adding financial services to the deal to ensure banks in the City of London can keep trading in euros as it does today. If the EU agreed it would mean Britain would have to follow broad standards on goods but not have to implement specific EU laws enforced by the EU court. Advertisement

I know the repeated complaint from Brussels has been that the UK 'hasn't made up its mind what type of relationship it wants'.

'But in London, many feel that we have little, if any, signal of what future relationship the EU27 would like to have with a post-Brexit Britain.

'Since the referendum in the UK, there has been a marked asymmetry between the enthusiasm expressed by certain third countries to pursue future trade deals with the UK and the relative silence, in public at least, from Europe on what the EU wants our future relationship to look like.'

Mr Hammond will say he is worried EU 'opinion formers' believe the shape of the future arrangements was a question only for Britain to answer.

But he warns: 'By signalling a willingness to work together in a spirit of pragmatic cooperation on a future, mutually beneficial, partnership, based on high levels of access for goods and services the EU will send a message to the British people which will resonate as they consider the options for their future.

'And that is my challenge to you.'

There are signs that Angela Merkel (file picture) is gearing up to play hardball in the looming Brexit talks

In their intervention this morning, Mr Hammond and Mr Davis warned the 2008 credit crunch had demonstrated how easily 'contagion' could spread between economies if financial regulation was not coordinated between major nations.

But there are signs that Angela Merkel is gearing up to play hardball in the looming talks - with claims she will block a UK plan for different levels of regulatory alignment in different sectors of the economy.

Officials in Berlin are said to regard the proposals as the latest incarnation of Britain's effort to 'have its cake and eat it'.

The trip to Germany by the two senior ministers is being seen as part of a drive to go over the head of EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and mobilise wider support in the EU for a good trade deal.

Mr Barnier caused anger in the UK recently by urging European companies to start preparing for increased 'friction' in trade.

Mr Hammond is due to address an economic summit in Berlin on Wednesday while Mr Davis will meet chief executives in Munich.

In a joint article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, the ministers said: 'The economic partnership should cover the length and breadth of our economies including the service industries - and financial services.

'Because the 2008 Global Financial Crisis proved how fundamental financial services are to the real economy, and how easily contagion can spread from one economy to another without global and regional safeguards in place.'

'As two of Europe's biggest economies, it makes no sense to either Germany or Britain to put in place unnecessary barriers to trade in goods and services that would only damage businesses and economic growth on both sides of the Channel.'

David Davis and Philip Hammond, pictured left and right respectively in Downing Street this week, are embarking on a Brexit charm offensive in Germany today

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier (pictured in Brussels yesterday) caused anger in the UK recently by urging European companies to start preparing for increased 'friction' in trade

The Government wants a bespoke trade deal covering both goods and services after Brexit, with the UK leaving the single market and customs union.

Mr Davis has previously told MPs that he wants the deal to deliver the 'exact same benefits' that the UK has as a member of the EU.

In the joint article the two Cabinet ministers acknowledged that Germany and other EU members want to protect the integrity of the single market 'and that without all the obligations of EU membership third countries cannot have all the benefits'.

But they insisted that 'those priorities are not inconsistent with ours, a deep and special partnership with our closest trading partners and allies'.

There were still 'important choices to be made' about the new relationship and 'we should not restrict ourselves to models and deals that already exist', they said, rejecting the EU's view that a Canada-style free-trade deal was the only option open to the UK outside the single market.

The Daily Telegraph reported that German Chancellor Mrs Merkel is strongly opposed to the UK plan for so-called 'managed divergence' from EU rules after Brexit.

A senior official working on preparations for the next round of EU negotiations told the paper that the plan was viewed as the 'latest episode in the 'cake and eat it' sitcom series' and Germany viewed it as a 'serious risk to the integrity of the EU and its single market'.

Theresa May (pictured at PMQs today) is pushing for a trade deal with the EU that includes financial services

Mr Hammond and Mr Davis said they wanted financial services to be covered by the new 'economic partnership', with a deal that 'supports collaboration within the European banking sector, rather than forcing it to fragment'.

The UK and EU should 'maintain our common principles' and continue the 'intelligent co-operation of our regulators', the pair said.

In a speech in Brussels on Tuesday, Mr Barnier warned that, while a trade deal could include regulatory co-operation on financial services, the EU would not be willing to give up the Single Rulebook drawn up in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Rejecting any suggestion that he was seeking 'punishment or revenge' of the UK, he said: 'A country which withdraws from this very specific framework and from its consistent application by national authorities takes on the ability to diverge, but at the same time loses the benefits of the single market.

'Its financial services providers will not be able to benefit any longer from a passport into the single market, nor from a system of general equivalence of norms.'

The EU will have the power to deem UK regulations 'equivalent' to its own if it is confident they do not threaten financial stability, said Mr Barnier.
A 26-year-old man has been arrested in Melbourne, after allegedly dousing his car with petrol before throwing fireworks inside to set it alight.

The man was filmed on CCTV arriving in a black Holden Commodore at the Braeside service station, on Boundary Road, around 5.30am on Wednesday.

He was caught filling the car with fuel before allegedly lighting a number of fireworks and throwing them into the car, 9 News reports.

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A 26-year-old man has been arrested in Melbourne, after allegedly dousing his car with petrol before throwing fireworks inside to set it alight

Emergency services were called to the service station, which was shut down for more than three hours as detectives searched the car

Emergency services were called to the service station, which was shut down for more than three hours as detectives searched the car.

The man had fled the scene with his dog and was later spotted allegedly driving a stolen car in Mordialloc, a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

'The 26-year-old Frankston man was arrested by police shortly after on Chute Street and is assisting with their enquiries,' police said.

Shirtless and in handcuffs, the man was taken to Moorabbin Court where he was charged with 16 offences including theft of a motor vehicle, reckless conduct endangering life and use of unauthorised explosives.

While the car did not catch fire, the noise of the exploding fireworks caused many neighbours to believe they were gunshots.

While the car did not catch fire, the noise of the exploding fireworks (pictured) caused many neighbours to believe they were gunshots

'We weren't sure what it was - gunshots or what - but it was loud and concerning at that hour of the morning,' neighbour Ricci Trower told 9 News.

Another resident, Marius Bryck, described the arrest as 'manic'.

'He was screaming and shouting and ran away before police caught him before,' he said.

The 26-year-old reportedly made no application for bail and admitted to coming off a drug dependence, before apologising profusely to the court.
A dramatic video has emerged of an elephant charging at forest rangers in India.

The shocking clip was recorded when forest rangers were trying to push back a group of elephants that had strayed into in a village in search of food and water.

The animals, who came from the Marudamalai forest, charged at the team when they tried to chase the elephants away.

The shocking clip shows an elephant, which came from the Marudamalai forest in India, charging at forest rangers

There were three elephants involved in the altercation, two adults and a calf.

The video shows a visibly irritated elephant running towards the jeep to attack the forest personnel.

It comes dangerously close to the patrol vehicle as it were to trample the jeep.

The three elephants (two adults and a calf) had entered a village in search of food and water

But the giant changed its mind in the nick of time.

The alert vehicle driver immediately reversed the jeep and moved away from the spot.

Rangers successfully drove back the elephants into the forest area after a few hours.
A pub landlord who has come under fire by advertising chiefs for a provocative social media post which used Nazi imagery said he will not stop his controversial marketing ploys.

Craig Harker said controversial posts promoting The Buck Inn, in Sadberge, County Durham, were 'tongue in cheek, a bit of fun' and that he would continue to market 'in the way we do' as long as people kept visiting his pubs.

It is not the first time the 30-year-old has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), following a complaint regarding an advert for another of his venues which asked customers 'would you punch your ex in the face for a parmo' was upheld last year.

Craig Harker, 30, said he will not be deterred from using controversial techniques to promote his business in the future

In September, his controversial Facebook post for a 'German Grub Night' featured the phrases 'Graham Ze Chef', 'Don't Mention Ze War' and also showed a black and white cartoon soldier wearing a swastika and performing a Nazi salute, the ASA ruled.

The Buck Inn defended the post, claiming it was a quote from hit TV series Fawlty Towers and was intended to be 'light hearted and humorous' - and not promoting the Nazi party' or mocking the history of the war in any way.

Harker told the Gazette: 'It was all tongue in cheek, a bit of fun - these are things I grew up watching, things like 'Allo 'Allo.

'They asked me why I liked comments left by people about it, but we like all comments on the page.

'The night was a massive success, everyone was dressed up like Oktoberfest.

One such controversial post included an advertisement for its German night which used Nazi imagery

The pub also used the phrase 'Don't mention ze war', which it claimed was a reference to the TV show Fawlty Towers

'On the night, I dressed up as Hitler. The locals loved it.

'The Bratwurst curry went down really well, everyone loved the German food.'

His pub's social media post advertising a parmo night also angered domestic violence groups last year.

Harker added: 'I wasn't surprised there were complaints, it always upsets someone when we do a bit of marketing.

'Hundreds of thousands of people saw [the Buck Inn] post, and there were three complaints.

The Buck Inn, in Sadberge, County Durham, has used controversial marketing techniques in the past

'The [George] post was seen by 6.5 MILLION - and we only got one complaint.

'Both pubs are doing well.

'As long as people keep coming here, we will keep marketing in the way we do.'

The young landlord said he has 'transformed' the Buck Inn and that he plans to open more venues in the near future, and he has already opened Oscar's Gin Bar in Stockton's Regent Quarter.

The ASA has ruled in favour of the three complaints which were made against his German night advertisement, ruling they must not appear in their 'current form' again.

The board acknowledged the phrase 'Don't mention the war' was associated with Fawlty Towers, they said the use of Nazi imagery trivialised the Second World War.

They ruled: 'Furthermore, the ad appeared to link German culture intrinsically with Nazi Germany and the war.

'We therefore considered the advert was likely to cause serious or widespread offence

'In particular we considered that the Buck Inn's 'liking' of various comments by other users on their Facebook page, many of which contained distasteful jokes and puns in reference to the Holocaust, was also likely to cause serious or widespread offence.'
Malaysia's government has offered a U.S. company $70 million if it can find missing flight MH370 or its black boxes, in a renewed bid to solve the plane's disappearance nearly four years ago.

Seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity will be working on a 'no find, no fee' basis as it scours a new 9,653 square miles area identified by experts as the possible site of debris.

The Texan company has three months to complete the task, but Malaysia's Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said there is an 85 per cent chance of finding the debris in the new search area.

Still missing: A board bearing solidarity messages for the 239 people still missing after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 nearly four years ago

The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 disappeared enroute to Beijing on March 8, 2014, and the fate of its 227 passengers and 12 crew is still a mystery.

The government signed the deal with Ocean Infinity, a year after the official search by Malaysia, Australia and China in the southern Indian Ocean was called off.

'The primary mission by Ocean Infinity is to identify the location of the wreckage and/or both of the flight recorders ... and present a considerable and credible evidence to confirm the exact location of the two main items,' he told a news conference.

If the mission is successful within three months, payment will be made based on the size of the area searched.

Liow said the government will pay Ocean Infinity $20 million for 1,930 sq. mile of a successful search, $30 million for 5,790 sq. miles, $50 million for 9,653 sq. miles and $70 million if the plane or recorders are found beyond the identified area.

Signed, sealed: Director General of Civil Aviation Malaysia, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, left, shakes hand with CEO of Ocean Infinity Limited, Oliver Plunkett, right, during the signing ceremony of the MH370 missing plane search operations

Promise: CEO of Ocean Infinity Limited, Oliver Plunkett, right, speaks at a press conference during ceremony in Putrajaya, Malaysia

Ocean Infinity Chief Executive Oliver Plunkett said the search vessel Seabed Constuctor, which left the South African port of Durban last week, is expected to reach the southern Indian Ocean by January 17 to begin the hunt.

He said eight autonomous underwater vehicles, which are drones fitted with high-tech cameras, sonars and sensors, will be dispatched to map the seabed at a faster pace.

Plunkett said the underwater drones can cover 463 sq. miles a day and complete the 25,000 square kilometers within a month.

'We have a realistic prospect of finding it,' he said. 'While there can be no guarantees of locating the aircraft, we believe our system of multiple autonomous vehicles working simultaneously is well suited to the task at hand.'

The official search was extremely difficult because no transmissions were received from the aircraft after its first 38 minutes of flight. Systems designed to automatically transmit the flight's position failed to work after this point, said a final report from Australian Transport Safety Board last January.

Still missing: The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777, not pictured, disappeared in March nearly four years ago and the fate of its 227 passengers and 12 crew is still a mystery

'I feel very happy but at the same time very panicky whether it can be found or not. Now it's back to four years ago where we have to wait everyday (to find out) whether debris can be found,' said Shin Kok Chau, whose wife Tan Ser Kuin was a flight attendant on MH370.

Underwater wreck hunter David Mearns said the new search takes into account oceanographic models used to drastically narrow the possible locations of the crash and deploys state-of-the art underwater vehicles that will allow the company to cover far more seabed at a faster pace.

'There are no guarantees in a search of this type. However, notwithstanding that uncertainty, this upcoming search is the best chance yet that the aircraft wreckage will be found,' said Mearns, director of Blue Water Recoveries Ltd.

When the Australian-led hunt was suspended last January, it sparked criticism from families of those on board and some experts that it was called off too soon.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in its final report in October that it was 'inconceivable' for a large commercial aircraft to vanish in the modern era, but they now had a better understanding of where it might be.

Only three fragments of MH370 have been found on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.
A magazine has featured Craig McLachlan on its front cover amid allegations from multiple women of sexual misconduct.

Life Begins At is a Queensland-based publication aimed at discussing health, lifestyle and travel for retirees.

The 2018 summer edition of the quarterly glossy displays the actor on the front cover, referencing his return to the stage as a part of the Rocky Horror Show.

'The music loving actor is back as our favourite doctor from Transsexual, Transylvania,' the cover reads.

Life Begins At, a publication aimed at discussing health, lifestyle and travel for retirees, has featured Craig McLachlan on the cover of its summer edition

The 2017/18 summer edition of the quarterly glossy displays the actor on the front cover, referencing his return to the stage as a part of the Rocky Horror Show

Christie Whelan Browne alleges Craig McLachlan touched her inappropriately on stage

The Life Begins At website only has one image of the McLachlan cover on the home page, a small link halfway down the page promoting the issue.

A search of his name produces no results.

Magazines work to deadlines when publishing stories, pictures and front covers, and it's understood publication of the magazine preceded publication of the allegations against McLachlan.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Life Begins At for comment.

The former Neighbours and Home and Away star has gone to ground since three former cast members of the musical accused him of indecent assault during the 2014 tour of the play.

McLachlan had recently reprised his role as transvestite mad scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter. He stepped down for the recent Adelaide leg of the tour.

Craig's list: McLachlan's pulled out of The Rocky Horror Show following a series of allegations

Christie Whelan, the actress who has accused Craig McLachlan of sexually inappropriate behaviour, says she has been viciously trolled since coming forward with her story

Erika Heynatz, Angela Scundi and Christie Whelan Browne have accused McLachlan of sexual assault and bullying, allegations the Australian actor says are 'entirely false'.

Scundi said McLachlan kissed her passionately onstage even after she had asked that it not be done.

She said when she confronted him about the unwanted kiss, he abused and threatened her.

'I said: ''Don't you kiss me. Don't you do that ever again'' and he turned. I haven't felt that terrified ever in my life, or ever again,' she told the ABC.

'He was just a different person. He said: ''You are nothing. Don't you dare talk to me like that. I will end you.'' And in that moment, I believed him.'

Christie Whelan Browne, the third woman to make the allegations, also appeared in Channel Ten program The Wrong Girl alongside McLachlan in 2016 and 2017.

She starred in Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door in 2015 and 2011's Winners and Losers.

Whelan Browne told the ABC she was dismayed when she learned McLachlan had been cast for The Wrong Girl but felt she had to continue to have a civil relationship with him for the sake of her career.

She said his behaviour towards her on that program was appropriate.

But she said during Rocky Horror McLachlan, who played the transvestite Frank N Furter to her Janet, said he indecently assaulted her on stage during a sexual scene.

Ms Whelan said the former soap actor ran his finger along her underwear during one scene of the sexually-charged musical where he was directed to kiss her body underneath a bed sheet

Whelan said she was dismayed when she learned McLachlan had been cast for The Wrong Girl but felt she had to continue to have a civil relationship with him for the sake of her career

The three women said they had asked the production company, GFO, for an independent investigation into their claims, but that fell through.

In a statement, GFO said managing director John Frost was not available for an interview and the company declined to make any comment on the record.

McLachlan has vehemently denied the allegations put forward by the three women.

In response to the claims, the 52-year-old told The Sydney Morning Herald via e-mail: 'I have NEVER done anything like this.'
Junior doctor Lauren Fowler, 25, who was arrested twice for drink-driving, has avoided a jail sentence. She is pictured leaving Stockport Magistrates' Court, where she appeared on Monday

A Cambridge-educated junior doctor who was arrested twice for drink-driving has avoided jail after claiming she had developed an addiction due to the 'stress' of studying.

Dr Lauren Fowler, 25, graduated from Imperial College London - one of the world's most prestigious universities - last year with a degree in medicine.

But the medic - who attended Clare College at Cambridge before enrolling at Imperial in 2014 - drank heavily during her studies at the research university and said did not know who to turn to for help.

Appearing at Stockport Magistrates' Court, the 25-year-old broke down in tears as she was told that her offending had 'crossed the custody threshold'.

The court heard she drank white wine after lunch with friends last October, before purchasing another bottle from an off licence.

She knocked back the alcohol before crashing her Ford Ka in an area busy with pedestrians.

Fowler was so drunk that she was barely able to speak when police arrived at the scene, where officers found an empty wine bottle in the footwell of her car.

She was bailed but was stopped again less than two months later after she had drunk half a bottle of vodka before getting behind the wheel.

Fowler drove around a hotel car park near her family's luxury home near Wilmslow, Cheshire. Tests showed she was more than three times over the drink-drive limit.

Mitigating, Helen Turner said that her client had been diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was only 15 years old that was 'more-or-less cured'.

Ms Turner added: 'She flourished in her exams whilst this was going on and has flourished in her first year as a Junior doctor.

The court heard Fowler drank wine with friends last October before purchasing another bottle and getting behind the wheel of her Ford Ka. The young medic is pictured left in January last year and right graduating in October last year

'It is insurmountable the amount of work she does. She works 48 hours during the week, and she works overtime, and also volunteers at the weekend.

'You can't deny the dedication she has for her career. She has already made steps to making sure this never happens again.

'She has given up alcohol completely. She has removed all temptation to ever get behind the wheel by selling her car.

'She has been seeing an addiction counsellor every week. She has shown an incredible amount of remorse for her actions. Her character references indicate that this isn't the kind of thing you would expect from her.

'She reported herself to the GMC. She has been completely transparent with her employer and the GMC and she knows this will massively impact her career.

Less than two months after her first arrest, Fowler drank half a bottle of vodka and drive around a hotel car park near her family's luxury home near Wilmslow, Cheshire. She is pictured in June last year

'She has made a hill for herself to climb and I can only ask that you don't make this a mountain, as she has already punished herself enough.'

Fowler had pursued her career in medicine after she excelled at Stockport Grammar school where she was senior prefect and attained two A* grades and an A at A Level.

She was also shortlisted for a UK Scientist of the Year award for a research project she carried out at Manchester University in 2011.

Fowler attended Imperial College which was founded by Prince Albert in 1845, ranks eighth in the Times Higher Education World University list, and where the Latin motto 'Scientia imperii decus et tutame' means 'Knowledge is the adornment and protection of the Empire'.

The court heard within days of her graduation ceremony, Fowler went out for lunch in Manchester during which she shared a bottle of wine with friends - and then drank more wine whilst at the wheel of her car.

Prosecutor Joseph O'Connor said: 'Police attended a minor road traffic collision and met the defendant who was clearly intoxicated.

'She was swearing and slurring her words and they could smell intoxicants on her breath.

'When they tried to speak to her they had trouble understanding what she was saying, she was incoherent and the officers assumed she was drunk.

'As she was arrested she admitted that she had drunk two bottles of wine and was taken to the police station.

'She was described as acting very emotionally and she failed to provide a specimen of breath because she was so upset.'

The court heard that Fowler was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was 15 but that it was 'more-or-less cured' before she 'flourished' in academia. She is pictured left and right in 2015

She was bailed to face court but was held again on December 9 after being caught drinking driving at the Stanneylands boutique hotel in Wilmslow.

Mr O'Connor added: 'She collided with another car whilst trying to leave the car park of the Stanneylands Hotel.

'When the police arrived they tried to speak to her, but they noticed a smell of intoxicants on her breath and she was slurring her words.

'She was taken to the police station and gave two samples of breath. In interview she made admissions and told then she had drunk half a bottle of vodka before deciding to go to the gym.

'She accepts she shouldn't have driven. The second offence was committed whilst she was on bail, which is an aggravating factor. She was inebriated during the accident.'

Tests showed Fowler had 112 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Defending, Helen Turner said her client now faces a disciplinary investigation by the General Medical Council.

She added: 'This is somebody who was arrested for the first time in their life, she has never been to a police station before, she didn't know what to expect.

JP Martin Drake told Fowler that her offending crossed the custody threshold handed down a suspended sentence. She is pictured leaving Stockport Magistrates' Court on Monday

'She tried to provide two samples of breath but found the experience incredibly upsetting and struggled to provide the samples.

'She was catching her breath because of how upset she was. She did successfully provide a sample of breath, but it was not enough.

'Regarding the drink drive offence, this was committed whilst she was on bail. She has an addictive behaviour, she admits this. She has a very stressful lifestyle.

'This would be her very first blemish, she knows she made a mistake. The area was only a few hundred metres from her house. It only a minor collision and nobody was injured.'

Fowler admitted drinking driving and failing to provide a breath specimen.

A probationary statement read out in court said: 'On the October 21 the defendant had gone to meet friends for some lunch.

'She shared a bottle of wine with them before getting in her car and driving to the shop to purchase a bottle of wine.

'She drank this wine in the car and drove. It was her intention to drive. It was a Saturday early evening, there were pedestrians and it was busy.

'Police officers found an empty bottle of wine in the footwell of her car.

'On December 9 she admits she didn't know where she was going at the time. Another empty bottle of wine was found. She doesn't know why she was drinking.

'She drank at university to cope with the stress and she didn't know who to go to for help with her addiction. She admits this is a massive wake up call for her.'

Fowler was sentenced to eight weeks' jail suspended for a year, ordered to complete 40 hours of unpaid work and was banned from driving for three years.

Her father John, 65, who runs a management training company watched from the public gallery and said 'Oh my god' as sentence was passed.

JP Martin Drake told her: 'We have considered all the facts of this case and there are aggravating features, the first offence was committed during the day when there were pedestrians around and the second offence was committed on bail and it was a very high reading.

'This does cross the custody threshold but the sentence will be suspended and this mean you will not be going to prison today.

'However, if you commit any offence during the next 12 months, another judge has the right to activate that sentence and can send you to custody.'

Fowler was also ordered to pay 200 court costs.
Black cars are being impounded in Turkmenistan's capital because the country's president considers white to be lucky, local media have reported.

For the last few weeks, dark-coloured vehicles have been seized by police in Ashgabat and their owners told they must pay to have them repainted silver or white.

The capital, known as the 'City of White Marble', holds the world record for the highest concentration of white marble buildings.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov - around whom a personality cult has grown - is a known lover of white, living in a white palace and travelling in white limousines.

The capital, known as the 'City of White Marble', holds the world record for the highest concentration of white marble buildings. Pictured: Tukmenistan Independence Day celebrations with convertible white cars

Berdymukhammedov's Oguzkhan Presidential Palace is almost entirely white, in line with his belief the colour brings good fortune

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (pictured) - around whom a personality cult has grown - is a known lover of white, living in a white palace and travelling in white limousines

For the last few weeks, dark-coloured vehicles have been seized by police in Ashgabat (pictured) and their owners told they must pay to have them repainted silver or white

But his passion for pale is causing huge financial strain on owners of black cars, who face enormous costs for paint work.

It comes as women have reportedly been banned from driving in Turkmenistan because they have been accused of causing most car accidents.

One man who drives in the capital told Radio Free Europe he was quoted a price of 7,000 manats (1,500) for a paint job - in a country where the average salary is about 250 a month.

He added: 'My salary is 1,000 manats (210), so even if I don't spend any money anywhere, I will be forced to hand over pretty much my entire annual salary just to repaint.'

Two years ago, Turkmenistan banned the import of black cars, according to RIA Novosti.

President Berdimuhamedov also reportedly outlawed imports of coupes, personalised number plates and tinted windows.

He is also believed to have forced apartment buildings to remove their air conditioning units to guarantee the pure appearance of his shining white capital.



Human rights groups and opponents of the president have long accused him of repression since he came to power in 2007.

The country also recently banned women from driving, according to local media.

Female drivers have reportedly been stopped by police and told not to drive or face a fine.

President Berdimuhamedov also reportedly outlawed imports of coupes, personalised number plates and tinted windows. Pictured: Traffic in the capital

The country also recently banned women from driving, according to local media. Pictured: The white-and-gold Oguzkhan presidential complex in Ashgabat

Some women say their licences and even their cars have been confiscated.

One female resident of the capital, who did not wish to be named, told local press: 'At first, I thought this was a joke - until I was stopped. Now women are afraid to drive and ask their husbands to drive them to and from work.'

Other reports said that state employers had made women employees sign statements promising not to get behind the wheel.

The odd legislation is said to have been enacted after Minister of the Interior Isgender Mulikov told President Berdimuhamedow that almost all car accidents in the country were caused by women.
Dale Aubrey Evans(seen in an undated photo) accepted a friend request from a former pupil, 17, who went to a school where he had previously worked

A music teacher who sent a photo of his bottom to a former pupil after engaging in sexual conversations by text faces being struck off.

Dale Aubrey Evans, 33, was a teacher at Cardiff High School when he accepted a friend request from a former pupil, 17, who went to a school where he had previously worked.

An Education Workforce Council (EWC) Fitness to Practice hearing held in Cardiff heard that the then 17-year-old, known as pupil A, told Mr Evans he was gay and the teacher responded by giving him his personal telephone number.

Evans began texting what he thought was pupil A's number but it belonged to a younger boy, referred to in proceedings as person C, who sent Mr Evans a photoshopped picture of a pornographic image with pupil A's face on it.

In response, Mr Evans sent photos of himself bending over a bed with his bare bottom on show, which was subsequently shared on Snapchat by person C, pupil A and another former pupil, referred to as pupil B, who Mr Evans had also been messaging on Facebook.

It is alleged that Mr Evans' conduct was sexually motivated and constituted 'unacceptable professional conduct'.

A police investigation took place after a complaint was made against Mr Evans but they found no criminal behaviour had taken place.

The former teacher has denied his actions were unacceptable and claims he was a victim of 'discriminatory and homophobic' treatment by the former pupils, as they lied to him in order to out him as a gay man.

Case presenter Cadi Dewi told the hearing Mr Evans had taken up a position of head of music at Cardiff High School when the allegations surfaced.

Ms Dewi added: 'Mr Evans accepted friend requests from two former pupils at his previous school. Pupil A said he engaged in conversation with Mr Evans who became flirty.

'Pupil A messaged Mr Evans telling him he was gay and Mr Evans sent his personal phone number. He passed that number to person C who messaged Mr Evans pretending to be pupil A.

'Whilst representing Cardiff High School at a conference in Manchester, Mr Evans sent text messages of a sexual nature to person C believing him to be pupil A.

'They became explicit, pictures were sent and a photograph was widely shared across the Cardiff area of school pupils.

'The former pupils said they pretended to be gay for their own amusement and sent a photoshopped photo of pupil A.

'After receiving the photos from Mr Evans, the three individuals blocked him and no further messages were made.

'The counsel's case is Mr Evans in sending messages as an adult and registered teacher amounted to gross misconduct and the fact they were the same age of those he continued to teach amounts to unacceptable professional conduct.'

Cardiff High School's alumni include BBC broadcaster John Humphrys and author Jon Ronson. Its headteacher, Stephen Jones, appeared at the EWC hearing to give evidence.

He said he was telephoned by a safeguarding officer on December 7, 2015, to say an allegation had been made against Mr Evans regarding sexual messages to a former pupil.

The pupil, known as Pupil A, told Mr Evans he was gay and the teacher responded by giving him his personal telephone number. Pic: Stock photo Cardiff High School, where Mr Evans worked

The same day, Mr Evans requested a meeting with Mr Jones and told him he had done 'something stupid' and had made a 'cock up' by sending an explicit picture of himself to a former pupil.

Mr Jones said Mr Evans 'repeatedly' offered his resignation but he would not accept it having not heard the full facts.

After taking advice from relevant agencies, the school suspended Mr Evans and he was dismissed from his position following a disciplinary hearing.

In a statement read out to the committee, Mr Jones said: 'An image was described to me of Dale Evans showing his bum while bending over the bed.

'You could see part of his face and he was wearing a hoodie with Mr Evans written on it. I found the image shocking and extremely unprofessional.'

Mr Jones also said he had seen a message of an explicit sexual nature from Mr Evans to the person he believed was pupil A.

He added: 'Mr Evans actions brought the school into disrepute and were incompatible with the schools ethos.

'There has been an irreparable breakdown in trust between Mr Evans and the school.'

Representing Mr Evans, Colin Adkins said the facts of the case had been 'distorted' and his client was the true victim.

He said: 'These pupils were intent on outing a gay teacher. A teacher coming out should be a matter of their own choosing.

'This can only be a vicious act for children to consider outing a teacher in that way. If this happened to a child it would be the subject of a child protection issue and when it happens to a member of staff the school should discipline those pupils.'

He added: 'Mr Evans engaged in sexual activity with someone he believed to be 17 going on 18. There's nothing inappropriate about that whatsoever.'

The hearing continues.
UKIP leader Henry Bolton is battling to stay in the top job as party officials investigate him after he dumped his wife for a 25 year-old former glamour model.

The ex Army officer has faced a major backlash among party members after he left his wife Tatiana Smurova, 42 - mother of his two young children - for Jo Marney.

Mr Bolton, 54, has insisted he never cheated on wife but the scandal has sparked concern and party officials met on Monday night to discuss his future.

He told fellow Ukippers he will not resign as he is 'convinced another leadership contest would 'cripple the party'.

Party officials will hold a special NEC meeting in eight days time which is expected to decide his fate.

Mr Bolton has begun a relationship with Jo Marney, left, leaving wife Tatiana Smurova, pictured right with her daughter Victoria, angry that he did not spend Christmas with his children

Henry Bolton hit the headlines last week when it emerged he left his wife Tatiana Smurova - mother of his small two children - over Christmas to be with Jo Marney, who he is pictured with

Ukip has raced through leaders since Nigel Farage quit from the helm, with Mr Bolton becoming the party's fourth chief in just over a year when he was elected in September.

And bookmaker Coral slashed the odds of Mr Farage making a dramatic return as leader to just 3-1 amid the latest episode of party turmoil.

In a letter to members, party chairman Paul Oakden said the National Executive Committee ruling body had agreed to discuss the issue at a special meeting in 10 days.

He wrote: 'Both the committee and the Leader understand the strength of feeling on this coverage and are keen to work collectively in finding a resolution that best protects the future prospects of UKIP.

'Due to the short time between the publishing of these reports and our meeting today, the committee agreed that it was not in a position to full discuss all the evidence and appropriately agree on a way forward.

'Further investigation of these matters is required.'

Mr Bolton's Russian-born wife has hit out at her husband for leaving her and their children over Christmas.

She has said: 'What kind of person runs away to sleep with another woman, leaving their two small children over Christmas?'

Jo Marney has begun a relationship with Mr Bolton, who insists it only began after he had split from his wife and mother of his two children

UKIP-supporting glamour model Jo Marney's relationship with the party leader has prompted questions from activists

Ms Marney, who has posed in topless modelling shoots, has expressed toxic political views online, insisting a decision to offer Grenfell victims residency was 'disgusting'.

In a Facebook post beneath a news article, she wrote: 'That entire tower was a nest of illegal immigrants of all varieties.

'Thats [sic] why they can't Identify most of them. Meanwhile, British families wait on the Council Housing list for years.'

When challenged about their relationship on Facebook, Ms Marney insisted: 'He was in an unhappy marriage and was estranged from his wife. He started dating me and we found that we made each other happy. What's your issue?'

When further challenged by a critic, she hit back: 'So in your world, no one is allowed to split from their partner? Or is this all because I am young and good looking?'
A married GP is accused of intimately massaging a male patient's bottom and groin during an appointment for a bad back.

Farouk Patel, 35, allegedly asked the man to 'relax and pull your top up' as he lay on the examination couch.

The patient claims Patel then began to massage his buttocks and touch him intimately before fondling him and performing an act upon him.

The doctor denies any wrongdoing in his role as a practitioner at Belgrave Medical Centre in Leicester.

Farouk Patel, 35, allegedly asked the man to 'relax and pull your top up' as he lay on the examination couch

Patel has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assaults and causing him to engage in sexual activity without consent in July 2016. He is currently on trial at Leicester Crown Court.

Adrian Langdale, prosecuting, claimed the doctor masqueraded as a happily married heterosexual family man during his police interview.

But scientific evidence of DNA from Patel and four unknown males, detected in the rooms of two surgeries where he worked, indicated 'risky' homosexual activity had taken place in the doctor's consulting rooms, it was claimed.

The consultation with the alleged victim was scheduled for five minutes, but took 30 minutes, Mr Langdale told the court.

The patient immediately tried to complain, telling a receptionist he had 'concerns', said Mr Langdale. When told he could not speak to the practice manager at that time, he went to Mansfield House Police Station in the city centre.

Mr Langdale told the jury the patient went to the front counter and said: 'How do I report I've been molested?'

Having described the allegation to an officer, he said: 'I don't believe this. What's my wife going to say? This is going to cause me so many problems.'

In a police video played in court, the alleged victim said: 'I've just gone to my doctor to get my back checked and this happened.'

He described being sexually abused and 'feeling weird'.

He said: 'This was a person I trusted. I started feeling uncomfortable, but then I was thinking, "He's the man in charge, he's the doctor, he knows what he's doing".'

'All the time he was touching me I was uncomfortable, I was tense,' the alleged victim added.

'It was sexual.'

The man said: 'He told me, "Just relax and pull your top up"

Gesturing pulling his T-shirt over his face, he said: 'He covered my face like that but I could still feel him.

'I just did what he told me - he went for that (intimate) area straight away.

'I'm shocked about what's happened.'

He said the 'whole ordeal was, like, half an hour'.

During the recorded police statement the patient paused on occasions, holding his head in his hands.

The trial continues.
The BBC could be facing legal action for its Christmas episode of Doctor Who as chiefs at the broadcasting company allegedly did not seek permission to create a relative of Nicholas Courtney's iconic character Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.

The episode, which was Peter Capaldi's last as The Doctor, co-starred comedian Mark Gatiss as Archibald Lethbridge-Stewart, who was unveiled as the grandfather The Brigadier.

Speaking at the preview screening, Gatiss praised the character, saying: 'To end up being the Brigadier's grandfather, I couldn't have imagined anything more brilliant.'

The Brigadier first appeared in the historic series back in 1968, and starred in a further 22 episodes throughout the 1970s and 1980s. His last appearance came all the way back in 1989.

Peter Capaldi (right, starring as the Doctor) and Mark Gatiss (left, starring as the Captain) in the Christmas special of Doctor Who

He appeared with the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton, with his final appearance coming with the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy.

Yet the estate of Mervyn Haisman, one of the creators of the original Lethbridge-Stewart who died is 2010, is said to be contemplating legal action for the creation of the new character, known as The Captain.

The creative director of the Haisman Estate, Andy Frankham-Allen, was quoted in the Mirror saying: 'Characters are considered creative works and are protected by copyright law.

'As such, we reserve the right to determine what is officially part of our intellectual property.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) and the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) during a 1970 episode of the original Doctor Who

'If derivative works are created without our permission, then we will determine if/how they fit into our IP. We reserve the right to accept or reject any additions to our intellectual properties.'

A BBC spokesman said: 'This claim is without foundation. There has been no breach of copyright.'

The Christmas special marked a new era for Doctor Who, with the thirteenth generation of The Doctor appearing as a woman for the first time in the show's history.

Peter Capaldi regenerated at the end of the Christmas special, where it was unveiled that Jodie Whitaker would be the new star of the show.
CCTV images showing a former British Army soldier fleeing his apartment in a fresh change of clothes after a Thai prostitute fell to her death from his balcony during 'extravagant sex' have emerged.

Waitress Wannipa Janhuathon, 26, had been working at a bar in party city Pattaya, Thailand, for several months while helping to support her family.

She was found dead at 5.30am on Saturday morning after falling from a fifth floor balcony, having last been seen with ex-squaddie Reece Vella, 25, from Birmingham.

Now previously unseen CCTV stills have been released showing Reece and Wannipa holding hands as they enter his apartment building at 3.11am.

He can then be seen fleeing his rented room some time later in what appears to be a different T-shirt and pair of shorts.

Reece Vella, 25, and Wannipa Janhuathon, 26, can be seen arriving at his rented room at 3.11am before leaving in what appears to be a different-coloured T-shirt

Previously unseen CCTV stills have been released showing Reece and Wannipa holding hands as they enter his apartment building at 3.11am

Mr Vella can then be seen leaving his rented room in what appears to be a different T-shirt

Surveillance images released yesterday show the pair walking next to each other before arriving at the Cosy Beach View condominium at 3.13am - some two hours and 15 minutes before she mysteriously fell to her death

Left: Thai bar girl Wannipa Janhuathon, 26, posing on the beach in Pattaya on October 26 - just weeks before she fell to her death. Right: Wannipa with her best friend, Tmod Om, in the autumn of last year

Wannipa, in black shorts and white top, is seen standing, bent forward slightly, in a lift looking up at the number display as Vella. wearing a black shirt, army pattern shorts and trainers, stands behind her

Pictured left: Thai bar girl Wannipa Janhuathon just weeks before plunging to her death. Right: Arrested British tourist Reece Vella served as a private in the Royal Logistics Corps, headquartered at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey, until he left nearly five years ago

British tourist Reece Vella, 25, is interviewed by Thai police today after being arrested over Wannipa's death

Other heartbreaking pictures show Wannipa just weeks before plunging to her death - shopping, posing in make-up and fooling around with friends.

Pictures of Vella partying on Christmas Day at the 69ers bar in Pattaya have also emerged.

Devastated friends led tributes to the petite bar girl - nicknamed Joy - as CCTV images emerged of her final moments - walking next to Vella, towering over her tiny frame after paying around 1,500 baht (34) to have sex with her for the night.

Surveillance images show the pair walking next to each other before arriving at the Cosy Beach View condominium at 3.13am - some two hours and 15 minutes before she mysteriously fell to her death.

Wannipa, in black shorts and white top, is seen standing, bent forward slightly, in a lift looking up at the number display as Vella. wearing a black shirt, army pattern shorts and trainers, stands behind her.

Hours later she was dead, having suffered severe head injuries after falling alongside a packet of sex drugs while Vella fled on a motorbike allegedly with her phone.

Police are still investigating the exact circumstances surrounding the fall, with Vella - who had been staying illegally in the country on an expired visa - facing up to ten years in prison or a fine of 200,000 baht (4,580) on a charge of causing death by negligent or reckless behaviour.

Police claim that the reckless and negligent behaviour was the sex on the balcony that directly caused her death.

Wannipa (left) on December 28 with bar owner Gaz Hart (right) and friend James Potterton. Hart, boss of the Sky Bar on the city's Soi 6, said all the staff had been devastated by the loss as Wannipa 'was part of the family'

Hart added: 'I keep trying to remember this happy girl. Her smile and attitude always made me happy even when I 'yak yakked' at her'. Left and right: Wannipa in October

Wannipa (right) joking with friends in late October, just months before she fell to her death

Officers also claim that Vella had used a motorbike as a getaway vehicle having fled the room in panic and that he had been staying in the country illegally for 59 days after his visa had expired.

He was arrested on Sunday afternoon at 4pm at a nearby bar and admitted having sex with with Wannipa in the bedroom and on the balcony. But Vella denies that he was having sex on the balcony when the girl fell.

A police source close to the investigation said yesterday: 'The area that's being investigated more is what happened that caused Wannipa to fall.

'Was she alone or was she having sex at that moment. We think that this kinky sex on the balcony caused her to fall. This is what we are trying to build the evidence to prove. The suspect then ran away.'

As officers continued to question Vella while gathering evidence, heartbroken friends paid tribute to Joy who was 'the sweetest angel who was always smiling'.

Vella has been arrested after a prostitute fell five floors to her death as they had 'very strange, extravagant sex' on a balcony at a Thai hotel

Video of Wannipa shows her playfully dancing, hiding in the supermarket and pouting as she puts on make-up. While at work with friends she poses in Halloween costume and cheekily slaps her friend's bottom while they go out shopping together.

Tmod Om, 18, said: 'Joy was my best friend. We had so many good times together. So many memories. She was so happy, so lovely, such a beautiful, fun, person.

'It hurts so much. I miss her so badly. I just can't accept it and I want her back so much. I wish that right now she can know how much we love her and miss her.'

Gaz Hart, boss of the Sky Bar on the city's Soi 6, said all the staff had been devastated by the loss as Wannipa 'was part of the family'.

He said: 'I keep trying to remember this happy girl. Her smile and attitude always made me happy even when I 'yak yakked' at her.

'I just couldnt be angry with her even when I wanted to be. I had to try my best not to laugh and be serious but she could see I was holding my smile back so hard and it made her laugh more.

'My last memory of her is her running over to me laughing, giving me one of the 20 big Joy hugs she gave me every day and yelling 'Gazzzzzzz what youuuu doooooo!'

'And showing me a picture of her I posted that she didn't like while laughing her head off. Myself and the Sky Bar family will truly miss her. And it wont be the same without her here.

'I cant imagine how her family are feeling right now. A beautiful happy young girl's life taken too soon.'

Reece's family, meanwhile, said they were 'extremely upset' following his arrest in Thailand, saying he had left Britain months earlier after suffering from PTSD.

The family were concerned for his health, revealing the 25-year-old had not had anything to eat or drink since he was taken into custody.

The former soldier, who followed his two older brothers into the military, quit the army after suffering from PTSD.

Vella served for one year and three months as a private in the Royal Logistics Corps, headquartered at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey, and was medically discharged in 2011. During his service, his brother Andrayoss claimed he was one of the top 100 shots in the British Army.

Andrayoss said after leaving the army, he suffered with depression and 'fell into the wrong crowd', serving a stint in prison.

Vella, from Birmingham, West Midlands, was arrested yesterday (pictured) afternoon at the nearby Route CC Roadhouse bar. The former soldier, who followed his two older brothers into the military, quit the army after suffering from PTSD

But it has transpired this stretch was for the rape of a teenage girl he was convicted of in 2012.

Vella was jailed for four years and nine months after he admitted common assault and rape in Worcester, having punched her twice in the face and hit her with a bin lid.

He has also appeared at Worcester Crown Court accused of two counts of being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine.

He was due to appear on October 12 last year - but he failed to turn up.

An outstanding bench warrant for his arrest was issued and, according to the Crown Prosecution Service, it is still outstanding.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: 'Our staff have offered support to a British man following his arrest in Thailand, and are in contact with the Thai authorities.'

Reece was briefly allowed to make contact with his family yesterday and, according to Andrayoss, said he was being asked for 12,000 to ensure he is given food and water.

Reece also claimed he did not steal a motorcycle, as the police said, but that he had hired it and was due to return it on the day he was arrested.

Andrayoss said: 'I was able to speak to him very briefly. He obviously very stressed. The authorities are going to transfer him to the city's main jail soon.

'When you are in the military you have a family around you to support you, and when he left he fell into the wrong crowd. He was exploited really.'

He also said his brother had struggled with drugs in the past and had served a stint in prison.

'But he had turned his life around,' he added. 'He was going to Thailand to make a fresh start.'

The prostitute suffered severe head injuries and multiple fractures after falling naked along with a half-empty packet of sex drugs from an apartment in the notorious tourist resort.

In custody: Vella, 25, is interviewed by Pattaya Police Chief Apichai Krobpetch, far right, after the incident on Saturday morning

Police searched the empty room - finding clothes and used condoms - then began a manhunt for the Briton amid suspicions that he had fled the scene.

Vella, from Birmingham, West Midlands, was arrested yesterday afternoon at the nearby Route CC Roadhouse bar and was filmed in possession of two mobile phones - one of which police claim was Wannipa's handset.

He moved from the semi-detached family home in Worcester to Thailand to start a new life four months ago.

Vella's brother Andrayoss said his family had been devastated by the news and were sure he was innocent.

'We are in pieces. Extremely upset. My gran is terrified, mum has been crying and dad can't bring himself to talk about it.

'He was in the military for a while. All three of us were. He did service for his country.

The bar girl, also known by the nickname Joy (pictured), had moved from her home town in Sakon Nakhon province, and was working at Sky Bar in the city's bustling Soi 6 street which is lined with hundreds of prostitutes working in bars and massage parlours

'When he left he had some mental health issues and so he fell in with the wrong crowd here in England. He got into a bit of trouble.

'He didn't have anything to do and people were talking in his ear when he was just sat around.

'Reece decided to move to Thailand to start a new life. He's not a bad character, he just made some mistakes.

'He was a great, loving guy to have around in our family. We are very close and he would take my son to play in the park.

'He wanted to get away from here. He was going to train in Muay Thai and sort his head out.

Reece flew to Thailand for a new start four months ago, they said. His family rarely heard from him.

'It was a horrible shock when we were told he had been arrested.

'It was an accident. We know it was. People said he ran away after the crime but we don't know anything about that.

'We feel really sorry for the girl and her family. What has happened is horrible.

'What we are going through is horrible too. We face losing Reece. That's something that could happen.

'We haven't been able to speak to him yet, but we have been told he has not had any food or water since he was arrested. He is starving and we have been asked for money to make sure he is fed. It's awful.'

In footage from the arrest, the tourist - who arrived in Thailand between three and four months ago - is heard asking to be un-cuffed before laughing as he says: 'Can I have a cigarette now?'.

The prostitute suffered severe head injuries and multiple fractures after falling naked along with a half-empty packet of sex drugs from an apartment in the notorious tourist resort. Paramedics arrived and performed CPR on Wannipa - who was still alive - but she was later pronounced dead in hospital

In footage from the arrest, the tourist - who arrived in Thailand between three and four months ago - is heard asking to be un-cuffed before laughing as he says: 'Can I have a cigarette now?'

Thai police said that Vella arrived at the venue earlier in the evening before agreeing a fee of around 1,500 baht (35) then leaving with Wannipa (pictured) and going to a room at the nearby Cosy Beach View condominium block

He later admitted to police that he had taken the prostitute back to his rented room and 'had sex in the bedroom then on the balcony before she fell'.

He then said he was 'distraught' and returned to a different hotel.

Police Lieutenant Narong Chantra, deputy head of investigations at Pattaya Police, said Vella had been arrested on suspicion of 'negligence causing others to die' and fled the scene knowing that he was staying in the country illegally on an expired visa.

He said: 'CCTV from the incident was examined and after checking evidence at the hotel the suspect was found to be Mr Reece Vella, a British citizen, aged 25 years.

'An arrest warrant was issued after evidence was presented to the court. The police case is that on the day of the incident Mr Vella visited the bar and paid to take Miss Wannipa away.

'Miss Wannipa and Mr Vella were having very strange, extravagant sex on the balcony until she fell down below and died.

'Mr Vella was in shock and knowing that he had overstayed his visa ran away and kept her mobile phone in his bag and left the room.

Vella was filmed in possession of two mobile phones - one of which police claim was Wannipa's handset

Police claim Vella (pictured on his arrest) and Wannipa had been having what translates as 'fancy or extravagant' sex on the balcony before she fell to her death

But police claim that the pair had been having what translates as 'fancy or extravagant' sex on the balcony of the hotel (pictured) before Wannipa fell to her death

A packet of a Viagra-related gel was found next to Wannipa Janhuathon, 26, after she plunged five floors from a hotel balcony

'Mr Vella has been arrested on suspicion of negligence causing others to die, overstaying his visa in excess of 59 days and stealing a motorcycle at night.

'The foreign suspect will be processed and prosecuted in accordance with the law.'

The bar girl, also known by the nickname Joy, had moved from her home town in Sakon Nakhon province, and was working at Sky Bar in the city's bustling Soi 6 street, which is lined with hundreds of prostitutes working in bars and massage parlours.

Thai police said that Vella arrived at the venue earlier in the evening before agreeing a fee of around 1,500 baht (35) then leaving with Wannipa and going to a room at the nearby Cosy Beach View condominium block.

But police claim that the pair had been having what translates as 'fancy or extravagant' sex on the balcony before Wannipa fell to her death - along with a packet of Kamagra oral jelly which was found next to her body at around 5.30am local time.

Sources close to the investigation said that the packet of Viagra-related gel which fell along with her body, gave them the first clue that Wannipa had not been alone - and had actually been mid-way through sex when she plunged naked to the ground.

The building's security guard Kriengsak Khamchachai, 23, described hearing a 'loud crash' as Wannipa hit the floor. Pictured: The Cosy Beach View apartment block

The building's security guard Kriengsak Khamchachai, 23, described hearing a 'loud crash' as Wannipa hit the floor. He then walked over and saw her body in a pool of blood before raising the alarm.

Paramedics arrived and performed CPR on Wannipa - who was still alive - but she was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Devastated staff at the venue said Wannipa was one of the 'happiest, friendliest girls anybody could wish to meet'.

They added in a statement: 'As many of you know we lost our beautiful Joy [on Saturday] morning.

'The place will not be the same without Joy's big cheeky smile and sense of humour.

'She really was a very special girl and left a lasting impression on all of us. She will remain in our hearts forever.'
An online shop owner in east China has travelled over 530 miles to attack a female customer who complained about his service.

Xiao Die, the customer, was beaten into a concussion by the seller after she complained to an e-commerce site that her purchase had not arrived.

She was hit in the face, body and pushed onto the floor by the man who claimed he had travelled a day and night to teach the woman a lesson.

Mr Zhang meets Xiao Die in at the pickup collection point but he punches her in the face

He said to have travelled over 500 miles to pay revenge on Xiao Die's complaint to his shop

According to Zhengzhou Evening Post, Xiao Die purchased 300 yuan (34) worth of clothes on December 20 from Alibaba's Taobao, a Chinese online shopping platform, and noticed the order has not been dispatched after three days.

The assault took place at a delivery pickup point in Zhengzhou, Henan Province on December 27.

Nearby surveillance camera footage captured the moment a man approached to Xiao Die with a bag and soon beat the woman up on the street.

An onlooker can be seen standing close and watching the incident, however he did not stop the attack.

Xiao Die believed man to be Mr Zhang, the online shop owner, who has been sending harassing messages to her.

She received a message stating 'I can destroy you' on December 23, shortly after she filed a complaint to Taobao.

She also received anonymous call from Suzhou in east China, claiming himself to be a seller.

Xiao Die suffered concussion, fractures in her left elbow and light injuries over her face and body after the attack.

Xiao Die files a complaint to Taobao for a delay in delivery of her 34 purchase in December

She is found to have several injuries over her body and also a broken elbow

The man told her that she had travelled a day and a night to Zhengzhou and he did not mind the complaint.

Erlijiang Police from Zhengzhou managed to track down to the seller's address and travelled 860km (534 miles) to Suzhou.

They brought Mr Zhang back to Zhengzhou and arrested him on January 6.

Spokesperson from Taobao told the reporter that it was the year-end clearance when Xiao Die made a purchase from Mr Zhang's shop.

'Mr Zhang's ratings was deducted 12 points after Xiao Die's complaint,' said the spokesperson.

Mr Zhang received a 10-day detention and his online shop account was deleted by Taobao after the incident.

Xiao Die is found to have several minor injuries on her chin, under the eye and knees. She also has fractures on her left elbow.
A Russian man was so desperate for a bottle of wine he hijacked an armoured vehicle and rammed it into a supermarket window.

On the way, he lost control and smashed into a Daewoo car in the Arctic city of Murmansk.

The man hopped out of the Soviet-era multi-purpose fully amphibious auxiliary armoured tracked vehicle and grabbed the wine from the supermarket shelf.

The man hopped into the tank in order to go to the supermarket to buy some wine

The desperate drinker didn't park his unusual choice of transport in the car park

Instead, he took a more direct approach, driving the vehicle through the front of the shop

The armoured vehicle, which is known in the West as an M-1970, was left in front of the shop

On his way to the supermarket, the driver of the tank managed to destroy this car

The wine he was so desperate to buy is from the Crimea, an area annexed by Vladimir Putin in 2014

The incident involving the armoured vehicle happened in the in the Arctic city of Murmansk

Police say the man stole the vehicle from a local military training organisation in the city

Patriotically, he took a bottle of red from Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed from Ukraine by Vladimir Putin in 2014, it is understood.

Then he ran off, but was swiftly detained by police.

The armoured vehicle - known in the West as an M-1970 - was left in front of the shop.

Police said he stole the snow-covered military vehicle from a local military training organisation in Murmansk.
Ms Sherawat is often described as a multi-millionaire and was renting the flat with her French husband Cyrille Auxenfans

Bollywood star and international model Mallika Sherawat and her tycoon husband have been evicted from their luxury Paris apartment because of 70,000 rent arrears.

Ms Sherawat, 41, often described as a multi-millionaire, and Cyrille Auxenfans, 47, rented the 6000-a-month flat all last year, but beyond an initial payment of 2400 they reportedly paid nothing.

The star was tear gassed and beaten up by three masked intruders at the apartment in 2016, just a month after reality TV star Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in a neighbouring flat.

Despite documents filed in the 16th arrondissement district court in the French capital being shown to news agency AFP, Ms Sherawat today tweeted that the allegations were all fabricated.

She stated: I hv said it before & I am saying it again, I DO NOT OWN or RENT any apt in Paris! I have been in Los Angeles and India since last 8 months, I DO NOT live in Paris, ps do not spread false rumours!

Nobody can be kicked out of property during the winter months in France, but efforts are already being made to seize the couples furniture, following the court ruling against Ms Sherawat and Mr Auxenfans, a well-known and highly successful Paris businessman.

At a hearing in November, the couples barrister David Honorat told the court: My clients are in a difficult financial situation, but not irremediable.

The Bollywood star angrily denied that she has been evicted and insisted she is living in Los Angeles and India

At a hearing in November, Ms Sherawat's lawyer said her and her husband are in a difficult financial position

The owner of the flat said the couple were acting in bad faith, and that Ms Sherawat had earned tens of millions during her highly successful career

Ms Sherawat was with her husband (pictured) when she was tear gassed and beaten up at the apartment

The incident happened just a month after reality TV star Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in a neighbouring flat

She is an actress. He no longer has a job. There are dependent children. He lives thanks to advances.

He pays support for his two children and pays a compensatory allowance to his ex-wife. He is waiting for his parents inheritance.

Mr Honorat added: My clients do not dispute the amount of debt and are determined to repay what they owe.

In turn Olivier Mayrand, the owner of the flat, said the couple were acting in bad faith, and that Ms Sherawat had earned tens of millions during her highly successful career.

At the end of 2016, Ms Sherawat and her French husband allegedly suffered a mysterious attack in the flat, which is across the river Seine from the Eiffel Tower.

They said they were tear gassed and beaten up by three masked intruders, who then ran away before police arrived.

A criminal investigation was launched, with detectives working on the theory that the still unidentified assailants were attempting a robbery.

Ms Sherawat, whose real name is Reema Lamba, has achieved success in Hollywood, as well as Bollywood.

She was in the 2010 film Politics of Love, which is about a campaign team getting involved in romances during Barack Obama's presidential run-in.




The boss of the Rocky Horror Show production company has admitted he 'cannot remember' any allegations involving Craig McLachlan, after three women claim they were sexually harassed by the star in 2014.

John Frost, managing director of the Gordon Frost Organisation, apologised to Christie Whelan Brown, Angela Scundi and Erika Heynatz in a statement released on Wednesday.

However, while Mr Frost said he remembers speaking to Ms Brown, he could not remember speaking about McLachlan as he spoke to 'many people backstage'.

'I cannot remember any discussion around Craig. I can only explain this by pointing out that I speak to many people backstage across many productions and have little time to spend with each person,' Mr Frost said.

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Three women have made allegations against Rocky Horror Picture show star Craig McLachlan, accusing the actor of sexual misconduct

John Frost, managing director of the Gordon Frost Organisation, said he 'can't remember' discussing claims of inappropriate behaviour by McLachlan

Christie Whelan Browne said that during Rocky Horror in 2014, McLachlan, who played transvestite Frank N Furter to her character Janet, indecently assaulted her on stage

His comments come after two more women claimed the actor sexually harassed them.

A runner on a TV drama, who was 22 at the time, says McLachlan made lewd remarks about her breasts while she was driving him to the airport in 2008.

Meanwhile a tanning salon worker says he tongue-kissed her without her permission in 2004, Fairfax Media and the ABC reported.

'He walked around the reception desk to where I was sitting, he grabbed my face in both hands and passionately kissed me, tongue included,' she told the ABC.

'It certainly shows that his behaviour towards the other women that have come out, that it's not about the role he was playing, it's not about that he was just taking his character [in Rocky Horror] a little bit too far.'

The reports come after Ms Browne, Ms Scundi and Ms Heynatz, who appeared in the 2014 production of the Rocky Horror Show, said McLachlan inappropriately touched them or exposed himself.

McLachlan has not spoken publicly since the original allegations were raised, but has described them as 'baseless' and 'inventions' in a statement.

McLachlan has withdrawn from the current production of The Rocky Horror Show amid allegations he sexually harassed and bullied his former co-stars

At least two more people have complained to police about Craig McLachlan's behaviour in the wake of allegations he sexually abused and intimidated his former colleagues, which he vehemently denies

Whelan Browne (pictured) said McLachlan indecently assaulted her on stage during a sexual scene

The cast of The Rocky Horror Show, led by Craig McLachlan, are pictured in Perth in 2014

Erika Heynatz (pictured left) and Christie Whelan Browne (right) are among the women to make allegations against McLachlan, who says the accusations are 'baseless'

Actor Adam Rennie will replace Mclachlan as the lead role in the Rocky Horror Show's Brisbane and Perth seasons.

Mr Frost said he's glad the three women came forward so their claims can be properly investigated.

Ms Browne said she spoke to Mr Frost at the time of the alleged incidents, indicating she was scared of McLachlan.

'Christie has told the media I responded with words to the effect that what she was feeling was not good and that I gave her my phone number and asked her to call me,' Mr Frost said.

'She has confirmed that she did not take up that offer.'

Mr Frost said his company had never had an incident of this nature before and complaints of any type of bullying or harassment were very rare.

'These allegations are ALL made up,' McLachlan said. One of his accusers Erika Heynatz is pictured

Erika Heynatz is among the women to allege McLachlan of inappropriate behaviour

Actor Adam Rennie (pictured) will replace Mclachlan as the lead role in the Rocky Horror Show's Brisbane and Perth seasons

He said the fact the three women did not feel they could report their concerns in 2014 was 'concerning and distressing'.

'And, I sincerely apologise to them for this,' he said.

'Our company is responsible for sometimes hundreds of people across many productions at any given time, and we do have very strict policies and procedures in place when it comes to reporting of allegations of this nature.

'We had those same policies in place in 2014.

'Over the past few days, we have spent time reinforcing those policies and assuring all employees across all productions that any reported incident will be treated seriously and promptly with sensitivity to all parties concerned.'

Ms Browne also took to Twitter on Wednesday to respond to online criticism.

'The people who have tweeted me to say they hope I get raped, hope I never work again and that they wish to spit in my face are incredibly hard to ignore,' she said.

'But the amount of love is drowning them out. So I thank you. Rising above is hard, but I'm trying.'
A mother and her boyfriend wanted for torturing and killing her four-year-old daughter have been arrested after a nationwide manhunt, it has emerged.

Gabby Barrett was found with scald wounds all over her body New Year's Day at her family's mobile home in Sumpter Township, Michigan and later died from her injuries.

A police hunt was launched for her mother Candice Diaz and the 24-year-old's boyfriend, Brad Fields, 28. They have now been arrested after they were seen driving in southern Georgia.

They were apprehended by U.S. Marshals Service in Macon and the Lowndes County Sheriff's Department, according to CBS News, and have been charged with murder, child abuse and torture, CBS Detroit reported.

Federal authorities had joined the hunt and released images of the vehicle they were believed to be driving.

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Wanted: Police in Michigan have arrested Candice Diaz, 24 (left), and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Brad Fields (right), in connection to the death of the woman's daughter

Victim: Gabby Barrett, 4, passed away on January 1 after suffering from scald burns on much of her body

Police were called to this trailer home in Sumpter Township, Michigan, on New Year's Day on receiving a report of an unresponsive child

Police officers found the toddler with 'obvious' burns on her arms and legs at about 11am on January 1.

According to investigators, the mobile home that housed Barrett, her mother and the woman's boyfriend was littered with animal waste and contained guns and drugs.

Gabby was rushed to St Joseph Mercy Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Two days later, the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner ruled the child's death a homicide with evidence of multiple traumatic injuries and signs of Battered Child Syndrome.

On Monday, arrest warrants were approved by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office charging Diaz and Fields, with second-degree murder, felony murder, first-degree child abuse and torture, reported WDIV.

The pair were believed to be traveling in a 2002 Chevy Cavalier with the Michigan license plate DTR1854.

Local police had some past experience with Candice Diaz. In May 2016, SWAT officers were called to the trailer home after the woman reported that her boyfriend had attacked her, shot her dog and then himself.

House of horrors: Police say the mobile home was covered in animal waste and contained guns and drugs

Gabby's family members (grandparents pictured left) say Diaz had custody of the toddler (left and right) at the time of her death

Gabby is pictured with her biological father, Kyle, who is not connected to her death

The man was later arrested and charged with domestic violence.

Diaz eventually pleaded guilty to weapons charges and was sentenced to probation.

On Sunday night, some of Gabby's family members, including her biological father and her grandparents, gathered in Sumpter Township for a candlelight vigil honoring the deceased four-year-old girl, reported Fox 2 Detroit.

According to the family, Gabby's mother had custody of the girl at the time of her passing on New Year's Day.

Her parental grandmother, Deborah Barrett, described Gabby as a 'ball of joy' who loved to play and run around the house, while her paternal grandfather, Jerry Barrett, said he misses the child very much.

Diaz and Fields were in custody late Tuesday afternoon in Lowndes County, Georgia, near the state's border with Florida.
James Daunter was jailed for 19 months at Cardiff Crown Court

A chef who flew into a jealous rage and threatened to stab a colleague with kitchen knives after suspecting him of having an affair with his girlfriend, has been jailed.

James Daunter, 42, accused fellow cook William Troubridge of being in a relationship with his partner of four years, 32-year-old waitress Katie McDonald.

Daunter stormed into the Brewers Fayre restaurant in Abergavenny in Gwent, south-east Wales where the trio worked together and threatened Mr Troubridge.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Daunter had been drinking heavily November 28 when he barged into the restaurant screaming: 'I'm going to kill him' as diners ate their meals.

He was asked to leave but later returned through the kitchen door, where he picked up three large knives.

Terrified staff fled in panic and Ms McDonald and Mr Troubridge were forced to lock themselves in an office fearing for their lives.

CCTV captured Daunter entering the premises to carry out his terrifying assault

Daunter suspected his partner of four years, 32-year-old waitress Katie McDonald (left), was in a relationship with fellow cook William Troubridge, 36 (right)

Prosecutor Chris Evans told the court Daunter walked into the restaurant on November 28 shouting 'Where is he? I'm going to kill him'.

Ms McDonald raised the alarm with her manager who asked Daunter to leave the premises.

Mr Evans said: 'He starts walking towards the kitchen and Ms McDonald goes to block him from entering. Other members of staff tried to assist.

'He then pushed Ms McDonald against the door and moved her away to gain access to the kitchen. She was left with bruises and scratches.'

Mr Troubridge fled through the back door while Daunter stormed towards the restaurant counter and smashed the hotplate during the busy mid-evening service.

Daunter left before coming back two hours later through the kitchen's rear door.

Mr Evans said: 'The kitchen manager felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see the defendant with two carving knives and a kitchen knife held above his shoulder towards him.

'The manager ran out of the kitchen and shouted to the remaining staff to get out.'

Other kitchen staff ran across the road to a nearby Premier Inn as Mr Troubridge and Ms McDonald locked themselves in the office.

Ms McDonald (pictured) said: 'I feel frightened to return to my flat that I had shared with the defendant previously because of the bad memories. I was mostly a social drinker before but since the incident I now drink to feel numb'

The trio worked together at this Brewers Fayre restaurant in Abergavenny in Gwent, south-east Wales

An intoxicated Daunter then ran into the reception to find panicked members of staff and was later arrested on a nearby road.

Daunter and Ms McDonald had been in a relationship for four years and shared a house together.

In a statement Ms McDonald said: 'I feel frightened to return to my flat that I had shared with the defendant previously because of the bad memories. I was mostly a social drinker before but since the incident I now drink to feel numb.'

Mr Troubridge said the affair allegations were 'completely untrue' and was left 'greatly distressed'.

Ros Rutter, defending, said Daunter stood by his claims of an affair, adding it had caused problems in work but was 'horrified' when he was shown the CCTV.

'This caused tension between the two of them and Daunter asked for his shifts to be swapped around so he didn't have to work alongside him,' she said.

Katie McDonald and James Daunter had been in a relationship for four years before the incident

She said: 'He saw how frightening an experience it would have been for all the people that were present. This was completely out of character.

'Since being in custody he has undergone anger management classes as he recognises that he doesn't not know how to control his anger.'

Cardiff Crown Court heard Daunter, who has two children from previous relationship, has also been diagnosed with depression.

He pleaded guilty to breaching public order, assault by beating, criminal damage, affray, a threat with a bladed article and possession of cannabis.

Jailing him for 19 months, Recorder Peter Rouch QC labelled Daunter's behaviour 'unpleasant and disturbing'.

He said: 'Those staff and members of the public must have found it very, very frightening indeed.

'This comes especially after the events in London last year, with public perception of people waving knives around at its highest.'

A restraining order was put in force to stop Daunter making contact with Mr Troubridge and Ms McDonald.
A Luton nursery manager is the first person to unwrap one of Cadbury's sought-after white Creme Eggs  scooping 1,000 in prize money.

Natasha Bream, 30, purchased three Creme Eggs while on her lunch break from a Tesco Express in the town.

She was astonished to unwrap a prized white version after opening her first egg.

She told MailOnline she was: 'Very excited  and a little shocked. It was quite bizarre as we had just been talking about it at work so we knew what it meant.

Luton nursery manager Natasha Bream was shocked to unwrap one of Cadbury's coveted white Creme Eggs, which is worth 1,000

'She [my colleague] thought I was joking!'

Natasha had happened up one of just 34 eggs distributed across Britain, each worth 1,000.

She dialled the helpline number marked on the inside of the wrapper and was then told the was one of the few lucky winners.

The nursery manager said she still hasn't quite decided what to spend her winnings on  but that booking a holiday was high on her list.

The limited edition goodies were revealed by Cadbury's last week with 350 to 400 white chocolate eggs hidden in normal Creme Egg wrappers

How can you get your hands on a winning Creme Egg? There are believed to be 371 winning Creme Eggs on the shelves across the country. Cadbury have distributed 34 eggs each worth 1,000 in prize money, while according to The Sun one is worth a staggering 2,000. As the white chocolate treats have the same packaging as the classic Cadbury treat it's impossible for shoppers to know if they've won until they've unwrapped them. The eggs could be hidden inside single wrapped eggs, which have an RRP of 58p, or in five packs which cost 2.85. Co-op also has 90 more winning eggs which will let lucky shoppers take home 200. There are 14 eggs worth 1,000 in branches of Sainsbury's and 84 worth 100. There will be one winning egg worth 1,000 a week from the 14 weeks from the start of the year until April 1 when the eggs come off the shelves. Tesco have a total of 7 eggs worth 1,000 and 84 more worth 100. Independent retailers - such as corner shops - have 13 winning eggs on their shelves worth 1,000 and 78 more worth 100. One egg worth 1,000 will be put in an Independent shop somewhere in mainland UK over 13 weeks. There are 500 million Creme Eggs produced a year and about 333 million of those are sold in the UK, meaning shoppers will have about a 1 in 850,000 chance of winning a prize Advertisement

The limited edition goodies were revealed by Cadbury's last week with 350 to 400 white chocolate eggs hidden in normal Creme Egg wrappers.

Lucky buyers could be in with a chance of winning up to 2,000 and, thanks to a sneaky find, can now tell if they've got the special egg by just looking at the ingredients list.

The list, on the back of every Creme Egg, usually includes milk chocolate as an ingredient.

However, the special version replaces the milk chocolate with white chocolate, according to Metro.

This one key change is a tell-tale clue to work out if you're Creme Egg is a special one - and you don't even have to take off the wrapper.

The special promotion, which delighted fans, is reminiscent of Willy Wonka and his five golden tickets hidden in chocolate bars in the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate factory.

The news of the trick will be a relief to supermarkets and shoppers all over the country after Creme Eggs everywhere were hit by eager hunters.

The new trick will come as a relief to shoppers and supermarkets with customers opening Creme Egg wrappers and returning them to the shelves

Shoppers have been tweeting images of rewrapped Creme Eggs and accusing shoppers and staff of unwrapping the chocolate and putting them back on the shelf

Shoppers took to Twitter to share photos of Creme Eggs that had been opened and then put back in the hunt for the elusive white eggs.

Ryan Reeves, from Essex, tweeted a picture of pile of tampered with eggs and said '@sainsburys The search for a white chocolate creme egg has gone to your employees heads clearly'.

Another shopper found unwrapped Creme Eggs in a Tesco Express in Essex.

'I opened one of the other boxes that was stacked in the store and they were the same. I can't see how that could have been done by shoppers!' he told The Sun.

Another user tweeted: 'This white creme egg thing just means every single creme egg has been unwrapped and touched by some randoms in tesco'

Shoppers across the country have shared pictures of the Creme Eggs on social media, saying people are unwrapping sweets in the store in the hope of winning a white chocolate treat

Paul Lang said he initially thought there was a production problem with the Creme Eggs, but later realised it was due to people searching for the 2000 prize
Fallen AFL premiership player Ben Cousins has been offered a job with his former club just hours after his release from prison.

Cousins was released from prison 10 months into his one-year sentence for stalking and repeatedly breaching a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner.

The 39-year-old former West Coast Eagles captain and Brownlow medallist was jailed in March for causing 'ongoing terror' to Maylea Tinecheff, with whom he has two young children.

Looking shaggier than his playing days with long hair and a bushy beard, Cousins was reunited with the two children at his parents' home in Bitcon on Wednesday.

In a statement, his old club have offered him a part-time job working in their Community and Game Development department.

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Fallen AFL premiership player Ben Cousins has been offered a job with his former club just hours after his release from prison

Cousins was released from prison 10 months into his one-year sentence for stalking and repeatedly breaching a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner

The 39-year-old former West Coast Eagles captain and Brownlow medallist was jailed in March for causing 'ongoing terror' to Maylea Tinecheff

He was reunited with his two children at his parents' home in Bitcon on Wednesday

'The West Coast Eagles is pleased with the news that former captain Ben Cousins has been released from prison today.

'This has been a particularly hard time for Ben and his family and we look forward to him beginning the next phase of his life.

'He has been offered part-time employment by the club, working with our Community and Game Development department, which we believe will have mutual benefits for both parties.'

Ms Tinecheff has had a restraining order placed on Cousins since May 2016, preventing her former partner from coming within 50m of her.

Cousins, who has struggled with drug addiction, was picked up by his father Bryan from Acacia Prison on shortly after 8am on Wednesday and taken to the family home in Bicton.

In a statement, his old club have offered him a part-time job working in their Community and Game Development department

He was jailed for a year in March 2017, but has been released 10 months into his sentence (pictured during court case in January 2017)

Maylea Tinecheff, Cousins' former partner,has had a restraining order against him in place since May 2016

His early release came as the Prisoners Review Board decided the release of Cousins 'would not present an unacceptable risk to the safety of the community'.

As part of his parole conditions, he must stay away from Ms Tinecheff, attend counselling, and submit to random urine tests.

The father-of-two was jailed in March 2017, after he flooded his former partner's phone with more than 2000 texts and calls in January-February.

Cousins also turned up at Ms Tinecheff's church, home and the school their two children attended.

In November, the former Eagles player tried to contact his former partner 542 times, with 103 of those attempts taking place on the same day.

When Cousins was initially arrested, police found eight grams of methamphetamine, which his lawyer Michael Tudori told the court at the time would only last four days.

The father-of-two was jailed in March 2017, after he flooded Ms Tinecheff's phone with more than 2000 texts and calls over two months

Cousins, 39, was fined $2400 for drug possession and driving without a licence.

During his time behind bars, Cousins was involved in a minor scuffle but was not injured.

In September, Cousins faced court over drug-driving charges, after crashing into a truck while high on methamphetamine in 2016.

His license was disqualified and he was fined $1200. He was also ordered to pay $2295 in chemical analysis fees from the crash.

During this appearance, his lawyer, Michael Tudori, told the court Cousins had 'taken and embraced' a job offer from his old employer but would not elaborate when quizzed by reporters.

Michael Tudori, who served as a lawyer for Cousins in September, at the time told the court the former West Coast Eagles player had 'taken and embraced' a job offer from his old employer

Cousins would live with his parents when he was released, the lawyer said.

It comes after Cousins had his potential release delayed in August, when results of a failed prison drug test came back just two weeks before he was eligible for parole.

As such he cannot be released until he completes rehabilitation courses which Mr Tudori said had taken too long to start.

Despite the incident, his lawyer said at the time that the disgraced former sportsman was 'drug-free and in positive spirits'.

Before his imprisonment, Cousins was involved in many bizarre incidences, including a spate in 2015 when he led police on a slow-speed car chase, breached security at an SAS base, drove erratically outside a Sikh temple he had just photographed, and climbed onto the roof of a two-storey home.

In 2016, he was spotted behaving erratically on a Perth highway where he appeared to be directing traffic.
The British woman sentenced to three years in a notorious Egyptian jail will have to bribe inmates to get a bed and will only be allowed out of her cell twice a week, according to a former inmate.

Pete Farmer, 45, was locked up in the cockroach-infested Al Qanater prison for two years before his release in November.

Tourist Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, was moved to the Cairo prison to begin her three-year jail term on Saturday after she was arrested for carrying 290 banned painkillers.

Pete, from Essex, said she will be forced to sleep on the floor in a crowded cell - or rent a bed from a 'lifer' for up to 400 illegal smuggled cigarettes a month.

Tourist Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, was moved to the Cairo prison to begin her three-year jail term on Saturday after she was arrested carrying 290 banned painkillers. A fellow Briton who spent time in Al Qanater said Laura will be forced to sleep on the floor and bribe other inmates for a bed. Left and right: Pictures from inside the shabby jail

Pictured: Women prisoners look out a barred window of Al-Qanater prison in Cairo. The notorious jail is said to be overcrowded and cockroach-infested

Laura (left) will have to buy the protection of the guards or other prisoners to ensure her safety, and won't be allowed any visitors for the first 15 days, Pete claims. Right: The drinking water tap located just above the hole in the floor toilet, in a typical cell of the Al Qanater prison

He said she'll only be allowed out of her cell for an hour or two every three days, and will have to wear a long white dress with an Islamic head covering.

She'll have to buy the protection of the guards or other prisoners to ensure her safety, and won't be allowed any visitors for the first 15 days, he claims.

Speaking from Essex, where he is staying with family, Pete said: 'The worst bit of her entire time, she might well have just endured during the transfer there.

'It will have been eight to ten hours in the back of a baking hot lorry with no stops.

'There will have been 30 others stuffed in, with all the heat and all the sweat and urine, trapped in this metal box.

'If someone throws up it just runs all over the floor for the rest of the journey.

Pete explained: 'As a foreigner, she won't be allowed to work because she hasn't got a work visa, so she will have to rely on outside donations.' Pictured: The shower and bunks in the prison

'And that's before she even gets there.

'It has been said there are 1,000 women in the prison. It's more like 5,000.'

He said she will spend her first ten days in an 'entry section' where prisoners are kept to prevent weapons being smuggled in, before she is assigned a cell.

He added: 'She'll have to rent a bunk bed because there are so many women, there just aren't enough beds to go round.

Pete Farmer inside the prison at al-Qanater in Egypt

'It will be 200 to 400 cigarettes a month. The lifers control the beds. It's their way to get an income.

'It will be that or sleep on the floor.

'As a foreigner, she won't be allowed to work because she hasn't got a work visa, so she will have to rely on outside donations.

'Any money her family brings in she can put on her account to buy things from the canteen.

'She will be able to buy water, little bottles of coke, biscuits, things like that, but the prison food is terrible. It's rice, rice and rice.

'Cigarettes are the real currency.

'The prison is so corrupt and certain prisoners somehow get enormous amounts of cigarettes in, and the guards are paid a cut to turn a blind eye while they sell them or trade them.

'Someone in there will have a freezer and they will rent out a space for around three Egyptian pounds a day.

'She will be given minimal clothing - a long white dress and head covering too.

'She can pay to have someone to watch the door while she's in the bathroom, or whenever, and even the guards to not give her so much of a hard time.'

Pete added: 'She will be able to buy water, little bottles of coke, biscuits, things like that, but the prison food is terrible. It's rice, rice and rice.' Pictured: Inside the cells at the prison

Pete, from Essex, said Laura (centre alongside her sisters) will be forced to sleep on the floor on a crowded cell - or rent a bed from a 'lifer' for up to 400 illegal smuggled cigarettes a month

Laura was arrested after bringing 290 Tramadol pills into Egypt. She said they were for her Egyptian boyfriend, Omar (left), who suffers from back pain

He said the British Embassy visit once every three months and her cell will be subject to regular unannounced searches.

'They just destroy the place and then throw everything into a pile,' he said.

He claims no letters or post are permitted to be delivered in or out of the prison, but inmates can deliver post internally, via the prison pastor.

He said disease is rife and added: 'Scabbies is very common, as are bed bugs and lice.

'I really feel for her. It really is impossible to put into words how horrific the conditions are.

'Nobody deserves to endure that. It's not prison - it's hell.'

Pictured: Pete Farmer inside the prison at al-Qanater in Egypt

He said Laura's family plan to try and visit her with a solicitor this week.

Pete, a DJ, moved out to Egypt in 2004 to work as a club DJ, and also ran a radio station and record label.

He was on a night off in November 2015 when he claims a drawstring bag - identical to one he and thousands of tourists had out there - was placed at his feet.

Mistaking it for his own, he picked it up and headed home, but was awoken by the police knocking on his door, he said.

They accused him of robbery and after checking the bag he realised his mistake and handed it back.

But police took him to the station, charged him with the crime, and after around three months he was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison.

He said he has been supporting the family of Laura Plummer by telling them what she can expect, and offering advice.

'I've told them she'll have to toughen up and put her best front on,' he said.

'She will get flack from prisoners because she has been in the papers.'
These shocking pictures show how burglars ransacked every room in an elderly couple's house when they had popped out for some groceries.

Kathleen Reid, 69, and her husband Keith, 72, were stunned when they returned home after an hour to find intruders had broken into their semi-detached home in Atherstone, in Warwickshire.

The thieves used a spade to smash in the couple's patio door before rampaging through their house, hunting for valuables.

A 1,500 ruby and diamond engagement ring was stolen, as well as a pair of Tiffany earrings and an antique charm bracelet which had belonged to Mrs Reid's late mother.

The devastated couple believed the thieves watched and waited for them to leave their three-bedroom property before breaking in around 11am on Friday January 5.

Mrs Reid, a retired carer, said: 'It's left me terrified, especially because we had locks on both the gate and back door.

'We did everything we could to keep people out...and they still got in.'

A couple were devastated when they returned home to find their home in Warwickshire had been ransacked by thieves

Keith and Kathleen Reid said they had been left 'totally violated and heartbroken' and terrified to leave their home after the theft

The thieves used a spade to smash in the couple's patio door before rampaging through their house, hunting for valuables

The grandmother-of-two added: 'It's horrific, every single room aside from the little bathroom has been completely ransacked.

'We had only gone out to the town to very quickly get some groceries, and it was in the middle of the day, so the fact that they've been able to break in is inconceivable.

'Keith and I think they must have earmarked our property and were waiting for us to go out.

'It's chilling to think they were watching us as we went out. They must have known they only had a short time. They must have broken in moments after we left.

'I imagine that because we're older people, they would have thought we'd have our items left out on counters and in drawers.

'They really turned the place upside down. There were things that I didn't even know that we had anymore that were strewn all over the place.

'They were very clever because they didn't take any electrical items which can obviously be traced.

The couple said they would now have to move out the property as they felt frightened about leaving their home

'The only things that they took were jewellery, around 6,000 worth. It's really hard to take, because these are the sorts of things that are priceless and irreplaceable.

'I'm now terrified to ever leave the property, in case they or someone else breaks in again.

'We've been living here for such a long portion of our lives - our children were raised here - and now we're facing possibly having to move out.

'I don't want to do that, but it's hard to imagine us staying here after this has happened to us.

'We're going to install alarms and look at what else we can get to stop there being a repeat, but the damage is more psychological than anything.

'We feel totally violated, heartbroken and will never be the same again now this has happened, I am shaking like a leaf.'

The thieves smashed through the French windows in the property before ransacking the house

The couple had only popped to the shops for an hour but returned to find their house had been turned upside down by the thieves.

Describing that moment Mrs Reid said: 'Our mouths dropped as everything was everywhere and I nearly had heart failure as I went upstairs as all the bedrooms had also been ransacked.

'We only have a rough idea about what has been taken as we can't touch anything until the police forensics have been in.

'My Tiffany earrings given to me by my daughter from New York have gone and my mother's charm bracelet full of sixpennies has also been taken.

'These are irreplaceable and cost up to 6,000. The worst part about this for me is the damage they have caused and the mess they have made.'

Mr Reid, a retired engineer, added: 'We feel totally vulnerable, it makes you think there is no point in locking anything up or away because these thieves will find a way through.

'I just hope the police can find those responsible so it doesn't happen to anybody else.'

The couple had 6,000 worth of jewellery taken from their house in Atherstone, Warwickshire

The couple's courier son, Andrew, 47, said: 'This is just shocking and I cannot believe it has happened.

'You can't trust anyone these days and it makes you think that people are watching you all the time as they were only out for an hour.

'My mum and dad are devastated and have been in tears because of it.

'I can't say what I would say to those responsible. It has happened at the worst time just after Christmas.'

A spokesman for Warwickshire Police told MailOnline: 'Police are continuing to investigate a burglary at a property in Lister Road, Atherstone, that was reported to have happened between 11am and 12.15pm on 5 January.

'Several thousand pounds worth of jewellery is believed to have been taken and officers are continuing to appeal for anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in the area at the time, or anybody who has information, to call 101 and quote incident number 133 of 5 January.'
Detectives investigating a pub brawl which left EastEnders star Jessie Wallace 'shaken up' have released CCTV images of two men they want to speak to.

The 46-year-old soap actress was at The Partridge pub in Bromley, south London, on December 7 last year after a pantomime when the attack took place.

She was accompanied by two friends, including Jason Sutton, who played the dame called Nurse Nancy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Churchill Theatre.

Police investigating a pub brawl which reportedly left EastEnders star Jessie Wallace 'shaken up' have released CCTV images of two men(pictured) they want to trace in relation to the incident on December 7

When the EastEnders star - who plays Kat Slater in the BBC soap - refused to pose for a selfie with two drunk men, one of them allegedly punched Mr Sutton in the face before the other man picked up a glass and threw it at him, leaving Mr Sutton needing stitches.

It was reported that Jessie Wallace's 13-year-old daughter Tallulah Lilac was also present at the Bromley pub during the attack.

On Tuesday this week, the Met Police released two CCTV images of two men they want to speak to in connection with the attack.

A spokesman said: 'Detectives from Bromley CID who are appealing for information about an unprovoked assault in a pub have released CCTV stills of two men they want to trace.

Wallace,(pictured on TV this week) who played Kat Slater in EastEnders, had been starring in a Christmas panto version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at the time

'On Thursday, 7 December, the victim, a 49-year-old man, was sat at a table with two women in a pub in High Street, Bromley when they were approached by a man who started talking to them before punching the man in the face, causing a cut above his eye and bruising.

'A second man then threw a drink at the victim during the altercation.' The spokesman added: 'Officers were called to the scene at around 8.20pm.

'Bromley CID lead the investigation and are now releasing CCTV stills as they seek the public's help in identifying the two men.

'Both men are described as white and are thought to be in their late 30s or early 40s.

'Suspect 1 was described as being of big build and wearing a white T-shirt, and Suspect 2 was described as being of slimmer build and wearing a blue T-shirt.'

Detective Constable Francesca Bruni said: 'This was a violent unprovoked assault on the victim who was left shaken after the incident.

'To assist the investigation, we are keen to identify and speak to the two men in the CCTV stills. If you recognise either or both of these men, please get in touch.'

Officers from Bromley CID are leading the investigation into the fight at The Partridge pub and ask anyone with information to call 101. File photo

Speaking in December, witness Lesley Ashmall said: 'There was a nice atmosphere until these two drunks were hassling Jessie for a photograph.

'She said no because they were too drunk. They smashed the actor who was playing Nurse Nancy.'

If you have any information, please call Bromley CID on 0208 284 8811 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


A pregnant woman in China gave birth so quickly her baby was already in her trousers when she pulled them down.

Ms Yang, who was 38 weeks pregnant, suddenly went into labour as she was walking in the lobby of a hospital.

Footage has emerged showing about seven onlookers, including on-duty nurse and doctor, rushing towards 32-year-old Ms Yang after seeing her pulling down her trousers.

Ms Yang goes into labour unexpectedly while walking in a hospital lobby in central China (left). She has to take off her trousers to make sure her baby does not slip onto the floor (right)

The incident happened on the morning of January 9 when Zhu Jili, a nurse, was on her way to work at the Changsha Central Hospital in Hunan Province.

'I heard a woman shouting in the lobby and blood was dripping from her trousers, so I went to offer help,' Ms Zhu told Law and Legal Channel.

CCTV footage shows the 38-week pregnant Ms Yang taking off her trousers and struggling to stand still.

It's said Ms Yang had given birth once before and this is her second baby.

Her husband rushed to help while carrying a big bag.

Rao Lijuan, a passing gynaecologist called for other medical staff to help. Together, the doctors put Ms Yang onto a stretcher.

Ms Yang's husband rushes in the hospital to help out while carrying a big bag on his back

Hospital staff bring over a stretcher and send Ms Yang and her newborn girl to gynaecology

The newborn girl reportedly showed symptoms of cyanosis and her lips had turned purple, a sign of lack of oxygen, when the doctors took her over.

She was sent to neonatology for treatment and observation.

Ms Yang said she had a smooth labour for her first child.

Doctor Tan Jianfu, a gynaecologist from Changsha Central Hospital, said pregnant women who had previously given birth would usually experience a shorter delivery due to the flexibility of the vaginal wall.
Esther McVey (pictured in Downing Street yesterday) has been subjected to a tide of abuse since her appointment as Work and Pensions Secretary last night

Emily Thornberry today refused to condemn John McDonnell for branding Esther McVey a 'stain on humanity'.

Ms Thornberry declined to comment on Mr McDonnell's bitter attacks on Ms McVey, in which he was said 'lynch the b****'.

Mr McDonnell's furious attacks in November 2014 have been widely reported and condemned as an example of abuse and harassment in politics.

He has repeatedly refused to apologise but insisted he was only reporting calls for the MP to be lynched not demanding it himself.

Ms Thornberry left herself open to an hypocrisy charge as her refusal to comment came as she condemned Tory appointee Toby Young as a 'horrible man' with a 'disgusting attitude to women' on the same programme.

New work and pensions secretary Ms McVey has been subjected to a tide of abuse since being promoted to the Cabinet late on Monday night.

The shadow foreign secretary was challenged to condemn Mr McDonnell's attacks on Ms McVey, made during her last spell in Government as employment minister, on Radio 5Live's Emma Barnett today.

She insisted 'I don't the context of this' and refused to comment.

Ms Thornberry said: 'You can pull out quotes from colleagues of mine from the last 5, 10, 15 years and take them out of context - if I've not heard them before I am not in a position to be able to help you.

'You can carry on asking me but I ain't going to comment.'

Following Prime Minister's Questions, a spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn denied Mr McDonnell had himself called for Ms McVey to be lynched but was reporting was a party member had said.

Asked if Mr Corbyn himself thought Ms McVey was a 'stain on humanity', the spokesman said: 'Jeremy is highly critical of her record. Her appointment is a cause for alarm to disabled people in particular and people across the country.'

In a separate clash, Debbie Abrahams, the shadow work and pensions secretary, appeared shocked when confronted with Mr McDonnell's comments on BBC 2 Daily Politics today.

She said the remarks seemed to be 'out of character' for the shadow chancellor.

Ms McVey was on the front bench for PMQs today (right) after her surprise promotion in the reshuffle

Asked about Mr Young, Ms Thornberry said she was one of the women who had been abused by the Tory activist on Twitter.

She said: 'I don't remember what he was saying. It was a couple of years ago and I remember Tweeting at him he should crawl back under the stone from which he came.

'I don't normally block people, so it was pretty bad. He's horrible and his attitude to women is disgusting. I'm not the only woman MP he abused and I'm not the only woman he abused.

'The idea of this guy having any responsibility for equality work, trying to get a broad scope of people into universities is laughable.'

Emily Thornberry (file image) refused to condemn John McDonnell for his bitter personal attacks on Esther McVey today despite speaking out against Toby Young

Ms Thornberry refused to comment on John McDonnell (file image) branding Ms McVey a 'stain on humanity' and was accused of calling for her to be 'lynched'

Ms McVey is a hate figure on the left following her last spell in Government, as Iain Duncan Smith's deputy during the coalition.

Ms McVey lost her seat at the 2015 General Election but after taking over George Osborne's seat last June was restored to the political front line last night.

Mrs May brought her back into Cabinet at the last moment on Monday night when Justine Greening refused to take the welfare portfolio.

A petition calling for her to be sacked has already collected over 9,000 signatures.

Twitter user Aaron Broome branded her the 'vilest of all career politicians' and claimed: 'Esther Mcvey disabled hater, votes for more or less every cut to the vulnerable.

'Spanked in the election and then shoehorned into Gideon's old constituency, Tory cronyism at its worst, this party really makes me sick.'

Sebastian Vulva told the minister: 'You are evil personified.'

Labour MPs were quick to condemn her appointment, with UNISON union worker Mark Ferguson calling it 'perverse', saying it will 'end disastrously'.

He tweeted: 'I have rarely seen a Minister so readily and callously disregard the impact of their actions as Esther McVey did when she was last at DWP.

'Putting her in charge of the department is perverse and will end disastrously.'

Labour MP for Cardiff South and Penarth posted: 'Extraordinary decision to make Esther McVey DWP Secretary of State - was heartless and ideological DWP Minister in past so does not bode well. Hugely worrying decision for vulnerable in this country.'

Twitter user Aaron Broome branded her the 'vilest of all career politicians' in a tirade on Twitter

Mark Manning said Ms McVey was an 'awful human being' who was voted out of her original Wirral constituency for being 'out of touch and heartless'

Max Hood told her: 'Kill as many disabled as you want, you're in charge. Try to beat the quiet man's tally.'

'Studs' said it was a 'disgraceful' appointment and said: 'A very bitter and dangerous woman responsible for callousness in her last post.'

WHY DO PEOPLE THINK ESTHER MCVEY IS 'DANGEROUS'? McVey is pictured leaving No 10 Downing Street Before entering politics Esther McVey was a TV presenter and businesswoman. She stood as the Conservative candidate for Wirral West in Merseyside in 2005 but lost out to Labour MP Stephen Hesford by just over 1,000 votes. Winning the seat for the Tories in 2010, she was then made Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions under Iain Duncan Smith in 2013. During her time at the DWP she cut the Disability Living Allowance because she believed the 'system was being abused', accusing several disabled people of 'not being disabled'. The change meant 300,000 people with disabilities had their benefits cut, triggering mass criticism. She was also a champion of the controversial 'bedroom tax', which saw social tenants' benefits cut if they had spare rooms. The Tory MP said it was a way of 'tackling overcrowding' and would mean a 'better use of the housing stock'. McVey also caused outrage on home turf in Merseyside when she sent a party-political tweet out during the memorial service for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster in 2014. As then shadow health secretary and now Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham gave an emotional speech, the MP tweeted: 'Wirral Labour Party can't be trusted'. She was slammed for not showing respect to those who died and their families. McVey later apologised but maintained the tweet was not sent by her. She lost her seat in the 2015 election but returned to politics when Theresa May called a snap election in 2017, taking former Chancellor George Osborne's place as MP for Tatton. McVey quickly became a hate figure for the left after starting at the DWP, with Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell once branding her a 'stain of inhumanity' Advertisement

Dan Carden, Labour MP for Liverpool Walton said her appointment will 'put fear in the hearts of the vulnerable and disabled'

He added: 'The last time McVey was at DWP she was rightly ejected from parliament by the voters of Wirral West not least for her callous attitude to claimants.'

John Woodcock MP, chairman of Labour's backbench foreign affairs committee, added: 'The DWP has a huge impact on millions of lives and demands a leader with compassion, empathy and an eye for complex detail.

'Esther McVey has yet to show any of these qualities.'

'Studs' said it was a 'disgraceful' appointment and said: 'A very bitter and dangerous woman responsible for callousness in her last post.'

Max Hood told her: 'Kill as many disabled as you want, you're in charge. Try to beat the quiet man's tally.'

Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured with her Cabinet today) brought Ms McVey back into Cabinet at the last moment when Justine Greening refused to take the welfare portfolio

Mark Manning said Ms McVey was an 'awful human being' who was voted out of her original Wirral constituency for being 'out of touch and heartless'.

He said: 'Rewarded for her failure with a safe seat and ministerial position.'

Ms McVey was embroiled in a series of heated clashes with John McDonnell, now Labour's shadow chancellor, during her first spell in Parliament.

Mr McDonnell was instrumental in campaigns to dislodge her from Parliament in 2015 and branded her a 'stain on humanity'.

He was accused of calling for Ms McVey to be 'lynched' but insisted he was only quoting other campaigners.

Downing Street today today demanded abuse of Ms McVey stop.

Mrs May's official spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister has been clear that nobody seeking to do their job should be subjected to harassment or abuse.

'That applies public life, including in Parliament.'

A petition calling for McVey to be sacked has already collected over 9,000 signatures

PM hails the 'fresh talent' in her team as she axes 'Grey Tory' middle ranking ministers to promote women and ethnic minority MPs as she battles to show reshuffle is NOT a damp squib despite Cabinet shambles

Theresa May hailed the 'fresh talent' in her team tonight after she culled 'Grey Tories' to promote women and ethnic minority talent.

The Prime Minister fought to quell criticism that her reshuffle is a damp squib today as she ejected a series of middle-aged men from government.

Despite a storm over her top-tier changes, Mrs May pressed ahead with a shake-up of the lower ranks - sparking complaints that people were not being treated on their merits.

Trade minister Mark Garnier - who was recently cleared by a sleaze probe of breaking the ministerial code - was among those axed by the premier.

Meanwhile, Caroline Dinenage, Harriet Baldwin and Margot James were promoted, while highly-rated Sam Gyimah has become universities minister.

Caroline Dinenage has been promoted to health minister as Theresa May reshuffles the second tier of government today

Margot James is the new digital minister (pictured outside Downing Street today)

Ex-defence minister Harriet Baldwin (pictured today) has been moved to foreign minister,

Six women - Kelly Tolhurst, Mims Davies, Amanda Milling, Jo Churchill, Wendy Morton and Nusrat Ghani - were all added to the whips office in what will be seen as a response by Mrs May to the harassment scandal.

The changes came after senior Tories urged the premier to bring through more fresh blood in the wake of her bungled Cabinet overhaul.

In her first comments on the reshuffle tonight, Mrs May said: 'This Government is about building a country fit for the future  one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society.

'This reshuffle helps us do just that by bringing fresh talent into Government, boosting delivery in key policy areas like housing, health and social care, and ensuring the Government looks more like the country it serves.

'It also allows a new generation of gifted Ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK.'

Senior Tories branded the Cabinet reshuffle - which was derailed when ministers simply refused to be shifted - 'embarrassing' and too cautious. Grandee Sir Nicholas Soames said simply: 'Is that it?'

Rising star Sam Gyimah (pictured) has been promoted to universities minister in the Prime Minister's shake-up

As the shambles unfolded yesterday, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt refused to be moved to the business department  forcing Mrs May to back down.

After three hours of discussions, Ms Greening then resigned instead of leaving her education brief to take the work and pensions job.

The meltdown left Mrs May scrambling after weeks of briefing that she would carry out a major overhaul to make her team less 'pale and male'.

In the end just one woman - Esther McVey - was made a full member of the Cabinet, balancing out the departure of Ms Greening.

Two more female MPs, immigration minister Caroline Nokes and business minister Claire Perry, will attend Cabinet meetings.

Transport minister John Hayes (pictured left) and trade minister Mark Garnier (pictured right) have left the government as Mrs May launches a clearout of the older guard

Ms Greening, who is in line for a 17,000 severance payment, was seen out for a jog near her London home today as she took advantage of her new found freedom.

Mr Garnier lost his job as trade minister just weeks after being cleared by an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female member of staff, including asking her to buy a sex toy. No 10 sources insisted the incident had nothing to do with his departure.

Long-serving ministers John Hayes, Robert Goodwill and Philip Dunne have also been ejected from office.

Justice minister Dominic Raab, who has been tipped for the Cabinet, was today elevated to housing minister - a key policy area for the government.

He took the job of Alok Sharma, who was shuffled to become employment minister. Jo Johnson - brother of Foreign Secretary Boris - has gone from universities minister to cover transport, with speculation he might be paying the price for rows over tuition fees and the abortive appointment of Toby Young to a new education regulator.

Theresa May held the first meeting of her 'revamped' Cabinet team in Downing Street this morning

Ms Dinenage moves from the junior ranks at the Department for Workand Pensions to become a minister at the Department of Health and Social Care. Ms James moves from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to become digital minister, and Ms Baldwin has been made a Foreign Office minister.

Tory backbencher Philip Davies, who sits on the Commons Women and Equalities committee, said there was 'a legitimate concern that some people may feel they have been hoofed out or not promoted simply because they are a white male'.

'It certainly does not do anyone any favours to promote people who are not ready for promotion just because of their gender or race,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

But Downing Street rejected the criticism, saying it was 'absolutely not' the case that ministers were being chosen for the axe because they are male and white.

Mrs May's official spokesman said: 'This is about the Prime Minister putting in place the right team to tackle the challenges the country faces, whether that is on housing, improving school standards or the NHS.'

Brexit Secretary David Davis has been kept in the same job in the bungled reshuffle. Jeremy Hunt refused to be moved from Health Secretary

Following Mr Hunt's reported refusal to move from health to business, the spokesman described him as 'a long-serving and hard-working Health Secretary who has helped deliver an NHS which has been rated the best in the world', adding: 'He has been doing a good job and will continue to do so.'

The Cabinet shake-up started shambolically yesterday when Conservative HQ wrongly tweeted that Transport Secretary Chris Grayling had been made party chairman.

A subsequent tweet had to be deleted because of a spelling error and then the Tory website was taken offline because of a security problem.

Mrs May had already backed away from plans to shift Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Chancellor Philip Hammond for fear of destabilising her top team.

Her reshuffle, which was supposed to increase the Government's 'diversity', also left the gender and ethnic make-up of the Cabinet virtually unchanged and led to the departure of Britain's first openly lesbian Cabinet minister, Miss Greening.

One senior Tory said: 'Far from asserting her authority, it's just highlighted how weak she is.'

Another MP told the Guardian Mrs May had 'given into the boys' while sacking a 'woman born raised in Rotherham who went to the local comprehensive' - pointing out that Ms Greening also 'happens to be in a same sex relationship'.

Former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith, who has been strongly supportive of Mrs May, admitted No10 had blundered by talking up the prospects of a major overhaul.

'I don't think there was ever an intention to make a big, cabinet reshuffle. The intention was to have a very big ministerial shake-up which will happen over the next 24 hours,' he told Sky News.

'That is the key to what then happens to the Cabinet in about nine months' time when I think there will be bigger changes in cabinet.'

But new Tory chairman Brandon Lewis insisted the party is 'not quite' in a mess.

'What we have seen yesterday is a real influx of new talent, not just my position itself, obviously,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Pressed on whether the party is in a mess, Mr Lewis replied 'not quite' but admitted there was a 'job of work' to be done.

The problems yesterday overshadowed a relaunch designed to focus the Government's efforts on domestic priorities such as housing, social care and schools.

CABINET RESHUFFLE: WINNERS AND LOSERS IN Tory Chairman: Brandon Lewis Culture Secretary: Matt Hancock Education Secretary: Damian Hinds Work and Pensions Secretary: Esther McVey Immigration minister: Caroline Nokes (attends Cabinet) Business minister: Claire Perry (attends Cabinet) STAYING Home Secretary: Amber Rudd Chancellor: Philip Hammond Brexit Secretary: David Davis Housing and Communities Secretary: Sajid Javid Foreign Secretary: Boris Johnson Health Secretary: Jeremy Hunt Business Secretary: Greg Clark Defence Secretary: Gavin Williamson Trade Secretary: Liam Fox Transport Secretary: Chris Grayling Aid Secretary: Penny Mordaunt Environment Secretary: Michael Gove Lords Leader: Natalie Evans Scotland Secretary: David Mundell Wales Secretary: Alun Cairns Commons leader Andrea Leadsom Attorney General: Jeremy Wright QC MOVED Cabinet Office Minister: David Lidington Justice Secretary: David Gauke Northern Ireland Secretary: Karen Bradley OUT Patrick McLoughlin James Brokenshire Justine Greening Advertisement

The reshuffle followed the sacking of Mrs May's deputy, Damian Green, last month over sleaze allegations.

The Prime Minister appointed former justice secretary David Lidington as her new right-hand man. He will deputise for Mrs May at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, but he will not inherit Mr Green's grand title of first secretary of state.

Former immigration minister Mr Lewis and rising star James Cleverly were drafted in to breathe new life into the Tories' moribund campaign machine.

And Mrs May appointed a string of young MPs as party vice chairmen to help revive the Tory grassroots.

Veteran party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin stepped down following criticism of his handling of last year's disastrous snap election at which the Tories lost their majority.

The annual conference was also calamitous, with the PM's speech being interrupted by a prankster and letters falling from the party slogan behind her while she spoke.

The Prime Minister will try to salvage the situation today with sweeping changes to the lower ministerial ranks.

Toby Young RESIGNS from new universities regulator just eight days into role as he apologises 'unreservedly' for his 'ill-judged or just plain wrong' offensive tweets

Toby Young has announced he is standing down from the universities regulator

Toby Young has announced he is standing down from a new universities regulator after just eight days, saying his appointment has 'become a distraction'.

His position on the board of the Office for Students (OfS) watchdog was put into jeopardy after criticism over a string of sexist and obscene tweets, including a sick sexual 'joke' about starving children on Comic Relief.

Announcing his resignation this morning, the right-wing journalist apologised 'unreservedly' for his past remarks, labelling them 'ill-judged or just plain wrong'.

It comes two days after Prime Minister Theresa May voiced her 'distaste' for Mr Young's online posts.

His 'misogynistic' Twitter messages had threatened to undermine Mrs May's attempts to rebrand the Tories as a women-friendly Party with the promotion of several female MPs to the Cabinet yesterday.

She had been under growing pressure to scrap Mr Young's appointment, with two senior female Conservative MPs saying his position was 'untenable'.

And a petition calling for Mr Young to be sacked from the board of the OfS attracted nearly 220,000 signatures.

Writing for The Spectator today, Mr Young said: 'I have decided to stand down from the Office for Students. My appointment has become a distraction from its vital work of broadening access to higher education and defending academic freedom.

'The caricature drawn of me in the last seven days, particularly on social media, has been unrecognisable to anyone who knows me.

'But some of the things I said before I got involved in education, when I was a journalistic provocateur, were either ill-judged or just plain wrong  and I unreservedly apologise.

'I would like to thank the Prime Minister for standing by me, and drawing a distinction between my earlier life and my subsequent record in education.'

Mr Young  a close friend of Cabinet Ministers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove  was a self-confessed pornography addict who had watched thousands of adult films.

But his tweet 'joking' about performing a sex act over scenes of starving African children in a BBC Comic Relief segment fronted by Simon Cowell proved to be the final straw for some.

Before his announcement this morning, former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: 'In continuing to defend Mr Young when the Party needs to appeal to women and young people, we risk alienating those we need to re-engage with to win the next Election.'

Fellow Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the Commons Health Select Committee, added: 'I feel deeply uncomfortable about someone who says things like this being appointed to a high profile public role.'

The tweet that threatened to end Mr Young's appointment stemmed from 2009, when Cowell was filmed in Kenya with children scavenging from a rubbish dump to survive. The pop mogul called it 'hell on Earth'.

A female Twitter user tweeted she had 'gone through 5 boxes of Kleenex' watching the harrowing scenes. Minutes later, just after midnight, Young tweeted a sarcastic and sick response, saying: 'Me Too, I havn't [sic] w***** so much in ages.'

Mr Young told The Mail on Sunday he had 'no recollection' of posting the tweet.

Some of the tweets which sparked calls for Toby Young to step down from his role

He said he had been a 'provocative journalist' for 30 years, whose stock in trade was saying 'controversial, sometimes outrageous things' so it was no surprise people were able to 'dredge up' material to embarrass him.

All the offending messages date back at least five years and most much longer. Mr Young insisted he was a changed man, saying: 'I'm a more serious person now.'

He spent three months in Kenya in 2013 to help a friend who was trying to establish a primary school and added: 'I've helped set up four free schools and have been running a charity for more than a year, helping other people set up schools.'

If 'anyone who has said anything offensive on Twitter' was to be banned from public life, it would 'become even more homogenous and anaemic than it is at present,' said Mr Young.

But Ms Morgan disagreed, saying Mr Young seemed 'determined to live up to the title' of his comedic memoir, How To Lose Friends And Alienate People.

She said: 'More seriously, many people will find it hard to understand how someone who expresses the kind of views in Mr Young's tweets can be appointed to a body responsible for universities.

'There must be someone else better suited to the position.'

Ms Wollaston added: 'Initially, I thought this was a confected explosion of rage against Toby from people opposed to him for political reasons over free schools. But it is increasingly clear that someone did not do due diligence when they appointed him to this post.

Former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said Mr Young's appointment risked alienating voters

'His Trump-esque tweets are wholly inappropriate.'

Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: 'These tweets are revolting and impossible to defend. But I am a huge admirer of Mr Young's pioneering work in free schools and do not believe he is unsuitable to work with young people in universities.'

Education select committee chairman and Conservative MP Robert Halfon, who has cerebral palsy, attacked the 'dark' and 'dangerous' articles written by Mr Young in the past during an urgent debate in the Commons on the issue.

He said: 'What I'm more concerned about is some quite dark articles where he talks about the disabled, where he talks about the working classes, and much more significantly in 2015 - and I have the article here - on what he calls progressive eugenics.

'Now, I find this incredibly dark and very dangerous stuff.'

Mr Young's resignation from the newly-created post of universities regulator - much like his appointment - quickly provoked debate among senior politicians.

Mr Halfon said Mr Young had 'done the honourable thing' in quitting.

But shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: 'The Toby Young saga has cast great doubt on the judgment of the PM, who failed to sack him in the first place.'

Universities minister Jo Johnson, who was forced to defend him in the Commons on Monday night, stood firm in his support of Mr Young, who is a champion of free schools, which were introduced by David Cameron's administration.

Mr Johnson, who is Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's brother, dismissed Mr Young's detractors as 'armchair critics'.

He wrote on Twitter: 'Toby Young's track record setting up & supporting free schools speaks for itself.

'His decision to stand down from the OfS board and repeat unreserved apologies for inappropriate past remarks reflects his character better than the one-sided caricature from his armchair critics.'

Minister who clung to his job despite sending his secretary out to buy sex toys is finally SACKED in the reshuffle

Trade Minister Mark Garnier was sacked today just weeks after he clung to his job in the aftermath of it emerging he sent a secretary to buy sex toys

Trade Minister Mark Garnier was sacked today just weeks after he clung to his job in the aftermath of it emerging he sent a secretary to buy sex toys.

Mr Garnier was cleared by a lengthy inquiry into his conduct because his actions took place before he was a minister.

It meant he kept his job on December 21 but Theresa May brought his career to an abrupt halt today.

Mr Garnier lost out in a reshuffle of the Government's middle ranks and was one of more than half a dozen ministers to be kicked to the backbenches.

In a tweet on Tuesday morning, Mr Garnier said: 'Very sad to have lost my job at @tradegovuk but looking forward to supporting @theresa-may Government from the backbenches.'

After the conclusion of a Cabinet Office investigation into the allegations last month, Mrs May had said that 'a line should be drawn under the issue'.

In the aftermath of the inquiry, Mr Garnier wrote to former secretary Caroline Edmondson apologising for his actions following the end of the Cabinet Office inquiry.

The allegations emerged when Ms Edmondson told the Mail on Sunday that International the wealthy ex-banker called her 'sugar t*ts' in front of witnesses.

She said he gave her cash to buy two vibrators at a sex shop in Soho  and stood outside the store while she bought them.

Mr Garnier confirmed his dismissal on Twitter today less than a month after he clung to his job following a marathon sleaze inquiry

At the time, a No 10 spokesman said the investigation had primarily considered Mr Garnier's behaviour as a minister. The incidents themselves occurred before he was appointed.

Ms Edmondson taunted the MP last month, sending a Christmas card with her partner, Sky News's Jon Craig, featuring her holding icing sugar up to her chest.

He is stirring a bowl of kitchen mix above the caption: 'Let's cause a stir this Christmas.'

Mr Garnier allegedly told her that one of the sex toys was for his wife, also called Caroline, while the other was for a female assistant in his Wyre Forest constituency office in the West Midlands.

In a cheeky Christmas card snap, Caroline Edmondson pokes fun at Mr Garnier who called her 'sugar t**s' by holding up a box of icing sugar to her chest with the caption 'let's cause a stir this Christmas'

He has not denied the claims. After they first emerged, he told his local newspaper The Kidderminster Shuttle they had been taken 'outside the context and circumstances in which they occurred'.

The Wyre Forest MP said: 'The events of 2010 concerning myself and a former member of staff have been reported outside the context and circumstances in which they occurred.

'At the time we were friends, and I want to be clear that I did not force or pressure her into doing anything.

'It is right that the public expect high standards of behaviour from their elected representatives, and I apologise to my constituents that this situation has occurred.'
Tim Pearson, 44, (pictured, with Britney Spears) has denied five counts of sexual assault at Guildford Crown Court

A former guitarist for Britney Spears and Michael Jackson is facing jail after being accused of sexually assaulting two women.

Tim Pearson, 44, from Cranleigh in Surrey, said he was 'quite a touchy-feely person' as he denied five counts of sexual assault at Guildford Crown Court.

The guitarist to the stars is alleged to have attacked his victims between August 2014 and May 2016.

Pearson is accused of touching one of the women on the bottom and genitals as well as groping his other victim's breasts.

He was also alleged to have blown a raspberry on the lips of one of the women.

Pearson trained as a hairdresser after leaving school but was drawn to the music industry and he became lead guitarist for Boyzone in 1996.

He went on to tour with Robbie Williams, Blue, All Saints and Elvis Costello, and also performed at the Royal Variety Show in London.

After 10 years of touring he returned to Cranleigh and set up Timothy Pearson Hairdressing in 2006.

Simon Shannon, prosecuting, told the court that Person had turned to drink at the time of the offences, following the breakdown of his marriage.

'It is easy to see how that could lead to a downward spiral,' said Mr Shannon.

After 10 years of touring Pearson returned to Cranleigh (pictured) and set up Timothy Pearson Hairdressing in 2006

'His behaviour was worsening every day. Finding himself in that situation, he behaved as he pleased.

'His behaviour stepped over the line into criminal behaviour. Not banter, not touchy-feeliness, but criminal behaviour.'

Although admitting touching one of the women on the buttocks, the former musician said this was not sexual but a 'friendly' attempt to move her out of the way.

'I come from Rotherham and a lot of people do that, it's my personality,' he told the court.

Pearson (pictured) said he did not sexually assault the two women but was 'quite a touchy-feely person', at Guildford Crown Court

'I am quite a touchy-feely person, I treat men and women the same.'

He insisted the other allegations were untrue.

'I would never get up and touch a woman's genitals. I would never do that', Pearson said.

Heather Oliver, defending, told the court friends and clients described the defendant as 'charming and respectful' to women.

She said: 'Have they had the wool pulled over their eyes? The prosecution has offered no explanation as to why this man of effective good character would suddenly change his ways.

'He might have been a bit tactile, might have given hugs and kisses but never crossed that line.'

The trial continues.
A worried Chinese son who discovered his dementia-suffering mother missing eventually found the 80-year-old woman by his later father's grave.

Elderly Wu, a grandma, was sweeping snow off her husband's tomb when her son and policemen saw her late at night on January 4.

Wu had gone missing in the snow for hours at the rural Shanshui Village of Congyang County in Anhui Province.

The grandmother, who suffers from dementia, went missing in heavy snow in a Chinese village

According to Wu's son, Wu left home in the afternoon and didn't return when the night fell; he began to feel worried so he went to the local Hengbu Police Station for help at around 7pm, reported Yitu Media.

Wu's son said Wu suffers from dementia and has disabilities in her legs.

The report claimed that the police station quickly formed a team of officers and helpers to search for the elderly woman.

They spent around two hours searching for Wu in heavy snow, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Zuo Yucai, the deputy director of the police station, decided to ask for information about Wu's husband.

A Chinese officer takes Wu home after finding the 80-year-old woman by her husband's tomb

Police station formed a team of helpers to search for Wu after her son asked them for help

Searchers spent hours looking for Wu and finally found her at the other side of their village

Zuo found out Wu's husband passed away a few years ago and was buried at the other side of the village.

Searchers decided to head over to the graveyard in a hope of finding Wu.

When they arrived, Wu was seen sweeping the snow and clean the dirt off her husband's tomb. Her walking stick was found next to the tomb.

She was said to be soaked when people found her.

Policemen and Wu's son immediately brought Wu back home.

Wu's son said ill Wu had been missing her late partner. He suspected Wu went out to visit his tomb, but didn't know how to get home after nightfall.

No injuries was found on Wu.
A distraught mudslide survivor has told how he pulled a baby from under four feet of debris.

Berkeley Johnson and wife Karen fled on to their roof in the early hours of the morning as mud, rocks and debris destroyed their home in Montecito, California.

Once the flood had subsided, the couple climbed down and heard the cry of a baby coming from a neighbor's property.

Mr Johnson fought back tears as he described digging down four feet through mud before finding the tiny child among some debris. They scooped mud out of the baby's mouth before the unnamed child was taken to hospital for treatment.

Berkeley Johnson (left) and wife Karen (right) fled on to their roof in the early hours of the morning as mud, rocks and debris destroyed their home in Montecito, California

A car is piled up in debris after a mudslide trapped it after heavy rains in Montecito, California

An aerial view of Montecito, California, shows homes and roads completely washed away by mudslides that hit the area on Tuesday

Mr Johnson told KSBY: 'We don't know where it came from but we got it out, got the mud out of its mouth. I'm hoping it's okay, they took it right to the hospital.

'It was just a baby four feet down in the mud in nowhere - under the rocks. I'm glad we got it out but who knows what else is out there.'

The condition of the baby is not yet known.

The couple themselves had a narrow escape after hearing the rumbling of rocks and mud approaching.

They ran into their house moments before mud crashed through the house, ending up 8ft up their staircase. They escaped through a window on to the roof.

Santa Barbara County Firefighters work amid flood waters and debris flow during heavy rains in Montecito, California, on Tuesday

'I heard the rumbling of the rocks and I looked up and the river and the trees were coming down like chum, chum, chum. We ran into the house and right then the boulders busted through our house.

'The house was just wiped out - it took everything out.'

Authorities in Santa Barbara County were still trying to reach new areas and dig into the destruction to find dead, injured or trapped people after a powerful mud flow swept away dozens of homes.

At least 13 people were confirmed dead Tuesday, at least 25 were injured and at least 50 had to be rescued by helicopters.

Those numbers could increase when the search is deepened and expanded Wednesday, with a major search-and-rescue team arriving from nearby Los Angeles County and help from the Coast Guard and National Guard along with law enforcement. They'll focus first on finding survivors.

Heavy rains overnight combined with large areas burned by the Thomas Fire combined for flash flooding and mudslide risk. Pictured above, a debris cluttered street in Montecito

A car remains stuck in the mud as a cleanup crew work to clear mud beside a closed off section of US Hwy 101, flooded after mud and debris broke through an embankment along the freeway near the San Ysidro exit in Montecito

The search for the missing - whose numbers are uncertain - will continue through the night and then intensify after daylight Wednesday, authorities said.

Most deaths were believed to have occurred in Montecito, said Santa Barbara County spokesman David Villalobos.

The wealthy enclave of about 9,000 people northwest of Los Angeles is home to such celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres,

Winfrey's home survived the storm and slides. In an Instagram post she shared photos of the deep mud in her backyard and video of rescue helicopters hovering over her house.

'What a day!' Winfrey said. 'Praying for our community again in Santa Barbara.'

A mud-caked 14-year-old girl was among the dozens rescued on the ground Tuesday. She was pulled from a collapsed Montecito home where she had been trapped for hours.

At least 25 people were injured in the mudslides and others were unaccounted for as of Tuesday. Pictured above, emergency personnel rescued a young woman from a collapsed house in Montecito

Firefighters rescue a 14-year-old girl who was trapped for hours inside a destroyed home in Montecito on Tuesday. Rescue crews worked for six hours using the jaws of life and other tools to free her from the mangled wreckage, but she walked away

'I thought I was dead for a minute there,' the dazed girl could be heard saying on video posted by KNBC-TV before she was taken away on a stretcher.

The mud was unleashed in the dead of night by flash flooding in the steep, fire-scarred Santa Ynez Mountains. Burned-over zones are especially susceptible to destructive mudslides because scorched earth doesn't absorb water well and the land is easily eroded when there are no shrubs.

The torrent arrived suddenly and with a sound some likened to a freight train as water carrying rocks and trees washed away cars and trashed homes.

The first confirmed death was Roy Rohter, a former real estate broker who founded St. Augustine Academy in Ventura. The Catholic school's headmaster, Michael Van Hecke, announced the death and said Rohter's wife was injured by the mudslide.

Montecito is beneath the scar left by a wildfire that erupted Dec. 4 and became the largest ever recorded in California. It spread over more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers) and destroyed 1,063 homes and other structures. It continues to smolder deep in the wilderness.
An Australian man who had to have his arm amputated after a flesh-eating disease devoured the flesh in his torso has returned to work after lifesaving surgery.

Doctors discovered that Craig Huddleston, who lives in Western Australia, had necrotising fasciitis after operating on him to repair a torn pectoral muscle.

The rare flesh-eating disease occurs when bacteria enters the body through a break in the skin, like an open cut.

In order to treat it, doctors often have to remove the infected tissue, resulting in amputation.

Scroll down for video

Australian man Craig Huddleston, 48, lost his left arm after doctors discovered he had necrotising fasciitis, flesh-eating and sometimes deadly disease

Mr Huddleston was eager to get back to work, even after undergoing 11 surgeries. He has to have a mirror next to him to 'trick' his brain into thinking his left arm is still there

Mr Huddleston woke up two weeks after the pectoral operation last July, having undergone 11 surgeries, to find he had lost his left arm and most of the muscles on that side of his torso.

Speaking to The Project, the 48-year-old said he was keen to get back to work despite still getting phantom pains where his arm used to be.

'When I'm at my desk I'll have a mirror next to me so it appears that I've got a left arm,' he said.

'Apparently that helps your brain to understand that that part of you is missing. Yeah because it feels...my nerves think they're still connected there.'

Mr Huddleston has to wear a burn suit 23 hours a day, after skin grafts were taken from his thighs to cover the wound on his torso.

The burn suit will be a part of Mr Huddleston's life for the next two years, and his partner, Lisa, has since become his carer.

'On my chest you can see my ribs, you can see my heart beating and basically I've got to hold everything up with one half of my body,' Mr Huddleston said of his injuries

Mr Huddleston has to wear a burn suit 23 hours a day and his partner, Lisa, has become his carer

'So on my chest you can see my ribs, you can see my heart beating and basically I've got to hold everything up with one half of my body, which is quite a challenge,' Mr Huddleston told the program.

What is necrotising fasciitis? Necrotising fasciitis is most commonly caused by an infection with group A Streptococcus. They infect layers of membrane known as fascia, which are connective bands of tissue that surround muscles, nerves, fat, and blood vessels. The infection also damages the tissues next to the fascia. Sometimes toxins made by these bacteria destroy the tissue they infect, causing it to die. When this happens, the infection is very serious and can result in loss of limbs or death. Advertisement

The disease affects around 400 Australians each year, with the key to survival being early detection.

Alfred Hospital's Head of Plastics, Dr Frank Bruscino-Raiola, said early surgical intervention was the best chance those affected had of losing as little tissue as possible, and staying alive.

Despite his pain, Mr Huddleston has been determined to live an independent life and was able to get his driving license back.

However, as he went back to work, Mr Huddleston is not eligible for government funding.

The 48-year-old, who was an avid motorbike rider before losing his arm, wants to get his motorbike license back and convert his beloved Indian motorcycle to allow him to ride with one arm.

A fundraising page has already raised close to $6,000 to help cover Mr Huddleston's medical costs and go towards converting his motorcycle.
The leader of the far-right Britain First group will plead not guilty to charges of inciting hatred during a speech, his lawyer said today.

Paul Golding, 35, is accused of using threatening, abusive or insulting words at a Northern Ireland Against Terrorism rally outside Belfast City Hall last August.

His barrister Richard McConkey confirmed Golding, of Anerley, South East London, denied the charges during a brief appearance at Belfast Magistrates' Court.

Britain First leader Paul Golding (right) arrives with the far-right party's deputy Jayda Fransen (left) for an appearance at Belfast Magistrates' Court this morning

Golding arrives with Fransen and a group of supporters at Belfast Magistrates' Court today

Golding will plead not guilty to charges of inciting hatred during a speech, his lawyer said

Britain First posts anti-Islamic videos on social media. Its deputy leader Jayda Fransen, 31, faces separate charges relating to the same demonstration.

The organisation has enjoyed added prominence after US President Donald Trump retweeted three unrelated anti-Muslim videos posted by Fransen.

It has since boasted that it received hundreds of new membership applications and its Facebook posts were reaching hundreds of thousands more users.

Fransen and Golding's Twitter accounts have been suspended. Prime Minister Theresa May has said Mr Trump was wrong to retweet the videos.

Golding spoke only to confirm he understood the charges during his brief court appearance. He wore a dark jacket as he stood in the dock in the city centre court.

Golding is pictured at the Northern Ireland Against Terrorism rally in Belfast last August

Golding and Fransen are pictured at the rally outside Belfast City Hall on August 6 last year

Britain First has enjoyed added prominence after US President Donald Trump (pictured at the White House yesterday) retweeted three unrelated anti-Muslim videos posted by Fransen

He faces two charges of using words which were threatening, abusive or insulting and likely to stir up hatred or arouse fear or which were intended to do so.

He addressed a rally organised on the day Irish republican protesters paraded in Belfast to mark the anniversary of internment - detention without trial - being introduced during the Northern Ireland conflict.

A number of police officers provided extra security outside the court.

The case will be reviewed on January 26 and Golding's trial is due on April 6, the same date Fransen will be tried, district judge Fiona Bagnall said.

Britain First is planning to hold a 'Rally for Trump' outside the US Embassy in London when the president holds a working visit to the UK next month.
A teacher is facing 16 counts of raping two students from an all-boys school more than 20 years ago.

Gaye-Lee McKeown was 27 in 1997 when she allegedly sexually assaulted the students from Birrong Boys High School in Sydney's south-west.

The 47-year-old suspended teacher briefly fronted Bankstown Local Court on Wednesday to face 16 counts of aggravated sexual assault and five indecency charges, adding up to 21 charges, Nine News reported.

Suspended teacher Gaye-Lee McKeown was 27 when she alleged raped two boys in 1997

Police allege she sexually abused the boys at the school and in the Sydney suburbs of Picnic Point, Panannia, Yagoona and Ryde, along with Wollongong and Gerroa on the South Coast.

During separate encounters, she told the boys 'you're so hot' and 'show me how you use it', Seven News reported.

The court proceedings were over in a matter of seconds and she did not enter a plea, before leaving the building wearing dark glasses and avoiding the media.

The New South Wales Department of Education said the suspended teacher would not return to teaching duties until the 'conclusion of criminal proceedings and the department determining appropriate action'.

The case was adjourned to March 14 when it will be heard at Burwood Local Court.

The 47-year-old suspended teacher is facing 16 counts of aggravated sexual assault
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A homeowner fears she might lose the house of her dreams as a part of Devon teeters on the brink of environmental disaster with only one barrier left between flood water and a nearby village.

A sea wall protecting Braunton in Devon was breached in November before it was widened even further by Storm Eleanor, leading to dramatic flooding of marshlands surrounding the village.

The Environment Agency says it will not pay for repair work because it believes no homes are at risk but Maranda Coleman's 340,000 property sits perilously close to a sea wall which many experts believe could be breached at the next high tide.

Ms Coleman's family has lived at the property since 1962 but she faces being forced out by the rising waters.

The 69-year-old told MailOnline: 'We're going to live here as long as we can. We'll just have to see what happens. We have plans to install a bank to protect the house, but it's not just about protecting the house.

Maranda Coleman's home is located perilously close to the rising flood water, with local residents claiming the sea could overcome the local area at the next high tide

'The sea water could damage the toll road which is our only access to the village. If that happens we'll have no access.'

Ms Coleman has so far spent 10,000 trying to fend off the sea water, including on two generators that are her only source of power.

The water could spill into the land near her house every time there is a high tide and Ms Coleman fears the foundations of her home are being eroded.

Speaking on the moment she discovered the rising waters, Ms coleman added: 'I opened the door of my home and there was a massive volume of water which filled the whole garden and was unbelievable.

Maranda Coleman, who lives in the white house located next to the sea wall, said the flooding had left her wondering if she can carrying on living in the home

Homeowner Maranda Coleman revealed how she opened her front door to find 'a massive volume of water which filled the whole garden'

'I had thought the next generation might have a problem with water covering everything. But for it to happen now when you're not prepared for it makes you think can we live here any more?'

There have been calls for urgent action to protect the landscape, which was reclaimed from the sea 200 years ago. A group fighting to save the marsh has attracted 4,200 members in just five days.

It is concerned the marsh's wildlife is under serious threat, listed buildings are being left to rot in flood water and if left unchecked the water could threaten the village of Braunton and its 7,000 residents.

One of the group's leaders, Piers Cooke, said: 'The whole story started about three or four years ago. The area used to be farmland.

'If it rained the water would escape through a drainage pipe into the mouth of the River Pill. About three years ago the flap on the pipe, which stops tidal water coming back up the pipe, broke.

'It slowly got worse and now the tunnel has been destroyed and the sea wall has since eroded. Which has caused the most recent influx of water.

'We're expecting a second breach at the next big high tide which could cause much more devastation. The inner flood defences were never designed to cope with continual flooding.'

There are calls for urgent action to protect the landscape, which was reclaimed from the sea 200 years ago. A group fighting to save the marsh - what it calls a hidden asset - has attracted 4,200 members in just five day

A sea wall (shown right) protecting Braunton in Devon was breached in November but recently Storm Eleanor widened the breach, leading to dramatic flooding of marshlands surrounding the village

Fears are growing that a part of Britain is on the brink of environmental disaster with only one barrier left between flood water and a nearby village (pictured: Ms Coleman's house sits perilously close to the storm-hit sea wall)

Brad Bunyard of Braunton Parish Council added: 'This is ancient farmland, it's a Site of Special Scientific Interest for habitat and species that live here.

'So for biodiversity it's an incredibly important place. There's a rich vein of wildlife and a lot of history here that's very much worth saving.'

Much more is at stake including 1,300 acres of marsh grazing land, the Toll Road which is the only vehicle access to Crow point for tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Horsey Island, land reclaimed from the sea centuries years ago, is now regularly flooded with every tide following a breach to an outer embankment.

The group, Friends of Braunton Marsh, are collecting signatures for an online petition which it intends to send to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove and the Environment Agency.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: 'The village of Braunton is not at risk of flooding as a result of the breach at Horsey Island  it is located a mile inland and protected by separate defences.

'The flood defences at Horsey Island are privately owned and any repairs would need to be made by the landowner.'

The Environment Agency says it will not pay for repair work because no homes are at risk, however residents expect another breach at the next high tide to cause much more devastation to the area
A bungling trio have been caught on camera trying to get a broken-down car on to the back of a van - using scaffolding poles.

Two men push the clapped-out Ford Fiesta towards the 'rescue' vehicle while a third is in the driver's seat aiming for the scaffolding poles which act as a ramp in the hilarious video shot in Leeds.

But the inevitable happens when the car comes into contact with the poles, which immediately buckle before the Fiesta smacks into the back of the van.

In stitches: One of the group was doubled over laughing after the scaffolding collapsed under the weight of the Ford Fiesta

The bizarre video was filmed last week in a residential street by Sarah Young.

Two men, wearing high visibility vests, are shown running alongside the motor in the rain pushing the car.

The driver can be seen trying to aim the vehicle's wheels at the thin metal poles laid between the road and back of the van.

As the poles bow under the weight of the car, a loud thud can be heard as the front of the Fiesta is bashed in.

The trio were attempting to load the clapped out Ford Fiesta onto a van using scaffolding poles as a ramp in the comical video filmed in Leeds

Debris from the car is shown falling into the road and the three men can be seen bursting into laughter at their failure.

Throughout the 15-second-clip, Sarah can be heard struggling to contain her laughter at her friends' ineptitude.

Posting the clip to social media she wrote: 'F****** divs. Told you it wouldn't work.'

The clip has since attracted over 223,000 views and thousands of comments from humoured social media users.

Oliver Hill wrote: 'Did these guys actually try to load a car up using scaffy poles?'

Josh Laycock said: 'I'm ashamed of the human race.'

Stephen Hargadon wrote: 'C**ts canny be that stupid.'

And Konrad J Kleczkowski said: 'All of them are morons.'

Speaking today Sarah, who shared the video, said: 'What a set of idiots. It was going for scrap so it's all good.

'They towed it in the end.'
A British accountant obsessed with gambling fiddled 1.3million from the Bermuda Government to fund their luxurious lifestyle, a court heard.

Jeffrey Bevan, 50, and his former headmistress wife Samantha, 52, are accused of laundering $2.4million in stolen cash to buy expensive cars and properties across the UK.

A court heard qualified Bevan, originally from south Wales, began illegally taking taxpayers' money after moving to sunshine island for an 80,000-a-year job for the Accountant General of Bermuda.

Bevan, who is currently on trial at Cardiff Crown Court alongside he wife, was described as a gambling addict with a fascination with racehorses this afternoon.

Pictured: Jeffrey Bevan (left), 50, and wife Samantha (outside court, right), 52, allegedly managed to transfer the money from the official Bermudan government account to their own

A judge was told how Bevan made thousands of bets during the time he was working for the Bermuda Government but lost more than 500,000 with one bookmaker over six years.

Prosecutor Tim Evans said: 'Mr Bevan took a massive gamble with high stakes and has been caught.

'He is well used to it. Indeed the Prosecution suggest he is in reality a gambling addict.'

Mr Evans said two witnesses will 'lift the lid on his fascination with taking risks hoping to win big.'

The court heard Charles Lee, owner of Byerley Racing Limited in Dublin, will tell the jury about the money Mr Bevan has 'invested in racehorses, and bet on races over a significant period'.

Stephen Hadfield, Managing Director of bookmakers Paddy Power, produced a report which details that Mr Bevan between the 1st November 2008 and the 9th May 2014 made 18,853 bets.

Mr Evans said: 'He made 2094 deposits in totalling 2,031,474, and over the same period took out on only 494 occasions 1,539,400, half a million pound difference. The balance as at the 9th May 2014 was zero.'

Cardiff Crown Court heard most of the Bermudan money was transferred to Britain to a Barclays account in the name of JCB Accountancy Services. The married Bevan couple were joint signatories.

Mr Evans said: 'That money was then dishonestly laundered through the purchase of properties.'

The court heard he invested some of the laundered money is nine different properties for rent around Britain.

Their friend Joel Ismail (pictured left), 42, and financial advisor Paul Charity (right), 52, are also in the dock accused of taking part in the fraud

Bevan is accused of making more than 50 bogus payments to himself before illegally transferring the money back to Britain in the name of the respectable married couple.

But he then quit his job after less than three years to move back to Wales - after having bought luxury Mercedes cars and a series of property investments around Britain.

Proseuctor Tim Evans said: 'Mr Bevan was dishonestly involved in the fraudulent transfer of nearly two and half million dollars of money belonging to the Bermudan people, which had been covered up by being in the names of other organisations.'

The court heard the Bevans and their two children moved to Bermuda in January 2011 - with former headmistress Mrs Bevan starting as a teacher in a Bermuda school.

Bevan quit in May 2013 to return to Britain blaming his mother's poor health and the children's schooling as the reasons for his resignation.

But an investigation in Bermuda uncovered a series of bogus payments including $89,000 (dollars) to Chevron International and another for $71,000 (dollars) to the Sylvia Richardson Care facility.

Pictured: The idyllic North Atlantic island of Bermuda, where the couple are accused of laundering money from

Mr Evans said: 'Mr Bevan had gone by then. He went because he knew that he was about to be rumbled for a massive fraud.'

It showed payments had been made into the Bevans HSBC account in Bermuda.

Mr Evans said: 'Alarm bells obviously rang. They thought they had better contact Mr Bevan who they had worked with for over two years and trusted.'

Cardiff Crown Court heard the investigation showed 52 bogus payments made to Bevan's account in Bermuda before being transferred to Britain.

Father-of-two Bevan claimed the payments to him were for overtime while working for the Bermuda government - saying he did up to 50 hours extra on top of his 35-hour week.

Mr Evans said: 'His defence will be that every cent of the $2.4 million was effectively overtime, over and above his basic and overtime hours, presumably tax free, and paid voluntarily and legitimately by the Bermudan Government.'

The court heard he claimed he was on $400 per hour working 50 hours a week on top of his basic week.

Mr Evans said members of the Bermudan Government would give evidence against Bevan 'about how ridiculous his claim is.'

Cash transferred from the government account was allegedly used to buy Mercedes Benz cars and properties in Newport, Swansea, Glasgow and Nottingham.

The married couple are also accused of using money to pay off their 140,000 mortgage.

Mr Evans said his wife must have realised something was going on by seeing the money pour into their join account.

He said: 'She must have known from money flowing through accounts as well that their lifestyle that this family were not just about managing on their salaries.

The couple were arrested following a four-year international police investigation, involving the Bermuda (island pictured) Police Service and Regional Organised Crime Unit

'She is an intelligent woman who had been headmistress. Her husband had amassed large amounts of money and she must have at the very least suspected that it was the proceeds of dishonest criminal conduct.'

Mr Evans told the jury he was being prosecuted in the UK because 'put simply, he is over here. Bermuda cannot prosecute.'

'Given that the original crimes alleged against him were on Bermuda soil he cannot be prosecuted for those back in the UK either.

'It is a criminal offence to move the proceeds of a crime between bank accounts. Of the $2.4 million that went into their bank accounts in Bermuda, $441,995.63 appears to have been spent over there.

'Of the balance of about $2 million it was transferred into UK bank accounts. 1,325,477.39 found its way to the UK. That is a criminal offence.'

Their friend Joel Ismail, 42, and financial advisor Paul Charity, 52, are also accused of taking part in the fraud.

Mr and Mrs Bevan, of Cwmbran, near Newport, South Wales, collectively deny thirteen counts of converting criminal property and three counts of transferring criminal property.

Ismail and Charity, both of Leicester, deny converting criminal property. Charity also denies perverting the course of justice.

Charity allegedly deleted e-mails to conceal them from the police investigation.

All four were granted bail. The trial, expected to last eight weeks, continues.
A furious mother has hit out after being told she must pay up to 140 to make sure she can sit next to her toddler on a 10-hour flight.

Joanne Curren, 44, and her three-year-old son Noah are going on a two-week trip in July, travelling from Manchester to Los Angeles International Airport to visit her parents in California.

Ms Curren, from Sheffield, booked the 1,600 British Airways return flights through Thomas Cook.

But the operator had charged the pair an extra 25-35 per seat on each leg of the journey to ensure they sit together.

Joanne Curren, 44, and her three-year-old son Noah may be forced to sit apart on the long-haul flight

The mother-of-one claims her son will not remain in his seat if he is not next to her, and could disrupt other passengers.

However, Ms Curren has now been told by Thomas Cook she will not have to pay extra to sit next to her three-year-old son.

Ms Curren, who works in a school kitchen, said she and her son travelled to America last year with BA without paying extra or pre-booking.

She added: 'He will have just turned four when we go - he won't stay in his seat if I'm not next to him. What I really want to know is what will Thomas Cook do about the safety aspect.

'Surely the plane won't be able to take off if he is getting out of his seat? That would mean they would get fined if it has to stay on the runway.

'What if there is turbulence over the Atlantic? How will that be dealt with, will the person who is sitting next to him have to fit his mask in the event of an emergency?

'Are they going to be happy sitting next to a four-year-old for ten hours?

'He is not confident enough to sit on his own so he won't stay in his seat, he'll be running up and down the aisle. He'll probably be kicking the seat in front as well.

Ms Curren, who works in a school kitchen, said she and her son travelled to America last year with BA without paying extra or pre-booking

The mother-of-one said: 'I feel like they are holding people to ransom so pay extra just to sit next to family members'

'I feel like they are holding people to ransom so pay extra just to sit next to family members.

'Disabled people automatically get seated next to carers, they don't have to pay extra - young children should be in the same category.

'It would be fine if he was seven or eight, but he'll only be four.'

In reply to her concerns, a Thomas Cook representative said on Facebook that the company do their best to sit families together but cannot guarantee it.

The message read: 'We always try to sit families together where possible.

'However, due to other customers pre-booking seats, we aren't able to guarantee that there will be seats available together at check-in.

'The only way we can ensure you're sat together would be by pre-booking your seats.

A Thomas Cook representative said the company do their best to sit families together but cannot guarantee it

'We would do everything we can to put you together.

'Once the plane is booked up and there's not enough room to seat all the family members together, the only option would be for cabin crew to politely ask people who've booked their seats to move.

'However, passengers who have pre-booked their seats can refuse. The best and only way to ensure you are all sat together is pre-book your seats so that this doesn't happen.'

The Thomas Cook spokeswoman said: 'For those who haven't paid to pre-book a seat, their seat is allocated at check-in.

'When check-in opens 24 hours in advance of the flight and the customer checks in, the system will know how many people are in a specific party - as long as they've booked together. The system will then try to seat customers together.'

She added: 'We always give seating priority to families flying with children to make sure that at least one accompanying adult is always seated with a child, if seats haven't been pre-booked.

'As this booking is with one adult and child only, the child would not be sat away from their accompanying adult.'

A British Airways spokesman said: 'Were disappointed to hear about this, as were very clear that customers on all our standard fares are able to select their seats for free 24 hours before their flight.

'British Airways is a family friendly airline, and actively prioritises seating families travelling with children together for free, which is organised a few days before online check-in opens. We will always make sure than any child under 12 is seated with an adult from their group. Wherever possible we will also seat groups together.'
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The fascinating story of the first British murderers to be convicted using fingerprint evidence is revealed in a new book about some of the country's most notorious killers.

Forensic science was used to help convict brothers Alfred and Albert Stratton of bludgeoning Thomas Farrow, 71, to death during a break-in at his paint suppliers in Deptford, South East London, in February 1905.

Fingerprints on a cash box matched those of Albert, a petty criminal, held at Scotland Yard's developing new bureau in the capital, and the brothers were convicted of the murder at the Old Bailey in May that year.

A feature on Albert and Alfred Stratton, the first murderers to be convicted on fingerprint evidence, in the Illustrated Police News on May 27, 1905). Forensic science was used to help convict the brothers of bludgeoning Thomas Farrow, 71, to death

Jose Waldberg (left) was one of the first spies to be executed under the Treachery Act 1940. Mary Ann Cotton (right) was a mass murderer commonly called the 'Dark Angel of the North' who was hanged for the murder by poisoning of her stepson

A sketch of the devastation after the Clerkenwell Outrage in the Illustrated Police News on December 21, 1867. The blast saw the Irish Republican Brotherhood plant a bomb at the jail in an attempt to free one of their members, but it left 12 dead

The murder of Isaac Gold on the Brighton railway line, as featured in the Illustrated Police News on July 9, 1881. He was slayed by fellow passenger Percy Lefroy Mapleton on board a 2pm train from London Bridge to Preston Park station

Henry Pierrepoint executed both later that month at HMP Wandsworth in South London, with witnesses recording that Albert's death was instantaneous while his elder brother displayed 'some muscular movement afterwards'.

Pierrepoint, father of famed hangman Albert Pierrepoint, noted in the executions on May 23 that Alfred was 22, 5ft 6in and 147lbs; while his brother was 20, 5ft 8in and 172lbs. Both men were also listed as having 'strong necks'.

The case is one of those covered in a new book, 'Convicted: Landmark Cases in British Criminal History', by former police detective Gary Powell, which details some of the most notorious British murders of the last 150 years.

Photographs from the book reveal sketches from intense interviews with Albert and Alfred Stratton, as well as a portrait of Jose Waldberg, one of the first spies to be executed under the Treachery Act 1940.

The key characters in the Great Detective Case of 1877, which saw four officers charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Three were found guilty and one was acquitted following an investigation into a scam involving horse racing bets

Daniel M'Naghten (left) murdered Edward Drummond after mistaking him for then-prime minister Robert Peel in 1843. John Tawell (left) killed his mistress Sarah Hart, and was caught after a telegram was sent to a train station with his description

Dr William Palmer, the 'Rugeley Poisoner', was a notorious Victorian doctor who was alleged to have been responsible for up to 15 murders, including that of his wife. He was hanged at Stafford Prison in front of 35,000 spectators in June 1856

The series of pictures reveal details of some of the most dangerous characters to walk on British soil, including Mary Ann Cotton, a mass murderer from County Durham who was commonly called the 'Dark Angel of the North'.

She was hanged for the murder by poisoning of her stepson Charles, but was suspected of murdering three of her four husbands for insurance. It is thought that she murdered as many as 21 people, including 11 of her 13 children.

Other photos show notable locations from across Britain, such as Drummonds Bank in London's Charing Cross, where Edward Drummond emerged moments before he was murdered by Daniel M'Naghten in Whitehall.

Other photos show notable locations from across Britain, such as Drummonds Bank in London's Charing Cross, where Edward Drummond emerged moments before he was murdered by Daniel M'Naghten in Whitehall in 1943

Also pictured is the Calthorpe Arms Public House on Gray's Inn Road in Central London where PC Robert Culley was stabbed in the chest during the Coldbath Field Riots in May 1833. The pub on the fringes of Bloomsbury is still open nowadays

The property of 4 Burgh Street in Islington, North London, where businessman James Cameron was murdered in October 1970. His was the first murder to be solved using a police photo-fit, which led to the conviction of John Ernest Bennett

Antique shop assistant Elsie Batten, 59, was stabbed to death in March 1961 at Cecil Court on Charing Cross Road in London. Her murderer was identified as Edwin Bush and caught within days after the circulation of Identikit pictures

James Blomfield Rush shot dead Isaac Jermy and his son Isaac Jermy Jermy at Stanfield Hall in Norfolk in 1848. He was a farmer on the estate and had borrowed money, but killed them to avoid repaying it and was hanged at Norwich Castle (above)

How fingerprints convicted the Strattons The use of fingerprint evidence in British murder cases has its origins in the Stratton convictions of 1905. Shopkeepers Thomas and Ann Farrow, were found badly bludgeoned at their home in London, with Thomas already dead. Ann died four days later. Police believed robbery to be the motive because the cash box where the Farrows stored their receipts was found to be empty. They found one print on the box did not match the victims or any of the small file of prints possessed by police. A local milkman said he had seen two young men around the Farrow house on the day of the murders, and they were soon identified as brothers Alfred and Albert Stratton. Authorities tracked down the Stratton brothers and fingerprinted them, discovering that Alfreds right thumb was a match for the cash box print. This evidence became cruicial when the milkman could not positively identify the Strattons, and the brothers were convicted and hanged in 1905 Fingerprint evidence was first used in an English court in a petty theft case three years earlier. Advertisement

Also pictured is the Calthorpe Arms Public House on Gray's Inn Road in Central London where PC Robert Culley was stabbed in the chest during the Coldbath Field Riots in May 1833.

Mr Powell, who worked as a detective on Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch and on various murder and terror investigations, told how it was fascinating to follow the constant evolution of the justice system over time.

He said: 'Great Britain has one of the oldest judicial systems in the world.

'Our common law can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and at its cornerstone is the jury system, with the basic tenet that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

'The law, of course, cannot stand still and has to move with the times to be fit for purpose in relation to Britain's ever-changing social and economic traits, even to the point of questioning the effectiveness of the jury system in some cases.

'This book reflects on those changes and the landmark cases throughout our criminal history that have strengthened this country's reputation for fairness and justice.

'Starting as far back as the late eighteenth century, the examination and preservation of crime scenes had become ever more important, coinciding with the emergence of specific forensic methods and sciences.

'Fingerprinting, entomology, ballistics, facial reconstruction, forensic dentistry/odontology and of course DNA, to name some but not all, have aided the police in their ultimate aim to convict those guilty of some of the most horrendous crimes imaginable.'

Convicted: Landmark Cases in British Criminal History will be published by Amberley Publishing on Monday.
The five Islamic fanatics accused of masterminding 9/11 complained in a military court on Monday that they are being sexually harassed at Guantanamo Bay.

The men were appearing before a military judge for a pretrial hearing at the Guantanamo Navy Base when they made the complaint, echoing the cries of Hollywood starlets and women around the world who have spoken out recently in unison as part of a growing movement against sexual violence.

The alleged terrorists' claims were not treated with the same sympathy as other accusers, however and they were announced somewhat out of the blue.

The first mention of the alleged assaults came from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who, in broken English, blurted out: 'We be under sexual harassment today for search in being here.'

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (left) and Ramzi Bin Al Shibh (right) led the complaints at a pretrial hearing on Guantanamo Bay on Monday, claiming the groin searches are subjected to by guards is tantamount to sexual harassment. Both men are pictured before they were captured by the CIA in 2003

He had been asked by judge Army Col. James Pohl if he understood that he did not have to attend the hearings when he made the remark.

Mohammed's claim was repeated by Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, 45, later in the proceedings

Their complaint is the hands-on groin searches that are performed by guards on the men. Al Shibh said they amount to 'sexual harassment searches'.

Their three co-defendants, Walid bin Attash, 38, Ammar al Baluchi, 40, and Mustafa Ahmad al Hawsawi,49, said they supported their accusations.

Al Hawsawi was so irate he asked to leave the hearing upon mention of them, The Miami Herald reported.

The physical searches are new - until Monday, guards at the prison had been using body scanners to search inmates' private parts.

Prosecutors did not have an immediate explanation for the change on Monday. Col. Pohl instructed them to bring a witness to court to explain it this week.

It is likely the accused, who are all kept at Guantanamo's Camp 7, are aware of the ongoing national conversation about sexual harassment and assault given that they have limited access to free news channels.

Anmar al Baluchi, Mustafa Ahmad al Hawsawi and Walid bin Attash were all in court on Monday but did not speak. Al Hawsawi was so upset by the mention of the alleged sexual harassment that he demanded to leave the courtroom, according to court reporters

Until this week, guards at Guantanamo (shown above in a file image) have been using body scanners to conduct the groin searches. The alleged plotters' judge has asked the prosecution to present witnesses who can explain the change to manual searches

Monday's hearing was the first of the year for the accused.

Their cases are still to be heard, seven years after they were charged and 17 after the attacks.

The men are accused of helping the 19 hijackers who took control of planes on September 11, crashing them into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, killing almost 3,000 and injuring countless more.

They were all arrested in 2003 and held captive in secret, CIA locations overseas until 2008 when they were finally met with charges from the US government.

A series of legal decisions has delayed their trial.

In 2010, all charges against the five men were withdrawn without prejudice. Unlike having the charges against them dropped, it allowed prosecutors in civilian court rather than in military court to try the case.

All five men are awaiting trial for conspiracy and murder charges relating to allegations they helped plot the 9/11 attacks. They have been in the custody of US officials since 2003 and are still awaiting trial at the Cuba prison. All five are shown above in a court sketch from one of the dozens of hearings they have attended. The trial is not due to begin until 2019

Officials fought to have the case tried in New York but they were met with fierce opposition.

In 2012, the case was taken back up by the military and it has been stalled by pre-trial hearings at Guantanamo ever since.

Monday's hearing was the first of seven this week.

In July last year, prosecutors asked for jury selection to begin in early 2019. They estimate that the trial will last two months after that.
About half of American voters believe Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe will end in 2018 without ensnaring Donald Trump.

A new Morning Consult poll conducted for Politico found 49 per cent say it's 'likely' the president will be exonerated of any wrongdoing.

That's compared with just 37 per cent who disagree.

Mueller is helming an investigation into as-yet unproven allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians to swing the 2016 election in his favor.

Forty-nine per cent of U.S. voters told pollsters last week that President Donald Trump will likely be cleared of all wrongdoing in the special counsel's Russia probe

Mueller is helming an investigation into as-yet unproven allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians to tilt the 2016 election

Trump has insisted repeatedly that 'there was no collusion,' privately blaming the mess on Democrats and reporters who are intent on throwing a monkey-wrench into his administration.

He has also faulted Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia probe  giving his political opponents a reason to insist on a special counsel to run the probe.

Wednesday's poll comes at a high-stakes political moment when Mueller is shifting his attention toward members of the president's inner circle.

He and his staff have already interviewed White House communications director Hope Hicks, former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former press secretary Sean Spicer.

Former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort faces federal charges for money laundering and conspiracy against the United States, the highest-profile Trump insider charged to date

And reports have Trump's own lawyers negotiating with the special counsel's office about the terms of a future sit-down with the president himself.

Voters are split along party lines about Trump's legal prognosis.

'Democrats and Republicans have drastically different views on whether Trump will be cleared of wrongdoing in the Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller,' Kyle Dropp, Morning Consult's chief research officer said Wednesday.

'Three in four Republicans, 74 percent, say it's likely Trump will be cleared of wrongdoing in the Russia probe this year. But only 32 percent of Democrats say the same.'

Former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort already faces federal charges for money laundering and conspiracy against the United States.

Manafort's deputy Rick Gates was also indicted at the same time. Former campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the probe.

The Politico/Morning Consult poll was conducted on January 4-5, among 1,988 registered voters, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
House Republicans unveiled a $30 billion bill on Wednesday that would fund President Trump's wall and enhance border security.

GOP lawmakers are proposing a tech upgrade along the southern border, including a modernization and expansion of the country's ports of entry. They also want approval to hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents and 5,000 more Customs and Border Patrol officers.

A compromise provision makes beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals for a three-year renewable legal status. It does not give them indefinite permission, however, to remain in the United States or provide the kind of pathway to citizenship that would have conservatives screaming amnesty.

House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Reps. Raul Labrador and Martha McSally will introduce the bill today, following on a meeting yesterday at the White House with President Trump, where he outlined his priorities in immigration reform.

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House Republicans unveiled a $30 billion bill on Wednesday that would fund President Trump's wall and enhance border security. Trump is seen meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday at the white House to discuss immigration reform

GOP lawmakers are proposing a tech upgrade along the southern border, including a modernization and expansion of the country's ports of entry. Seen here is the Nuevo Laredo port of entry

A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the U.S.-Mexico border on January 5, 2017 near McAllen, Texas. Trump said yesterday that there could not be an agreement with out the wall

Trump said he must have at least some of his border security requests met, including his wall, to sign legislation that protects Dreamers. He said he'd also like the legislation to switch the U.S. to a merit-based visa system

Trump said he must have at least some of his border security requests met, including his wall, to sign legislation that protects Dreamers. He said he'd also like the legislation to switch the U.S. to a merit-based visa system.

But he also said, 'What I approve is going to be very much reliant on what the people in this room come to me with. I have great confidence in the people. If they come to me with things that Im not in love with, Im going to do it because I respect them.'

Goodlatte and McSally, both of whom attended the meeting that played out publicly, came forward on Wednesday with Labrador to present legislation that tackles Trump's key requests and then some.

The legislation introduces a mandate on employers to use the E-Verify system to confirm workers' immigration statuses and criminal history. It also targets 'sanctuary cities' that harbor illegal immigrants, formally authorizing the Department of Justice to withhold grants from localities that refuse to comply with federal immigration laws.

And it notably ends two visa initiatives that Trump has said are deal-breakers to any agreement: the Diversity Lottery and chain migration.

The diversity lottery program would be wiped out. In addition, extended family members of citizens and visa holders would no longer be able to ride their relatives' coattails into the country.

'The U.S. is the most generous and welcoming nation in the world, accepting on average more than a million new immigrants every year,' the lawmakers behind the legislation wrote this morning in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. 'But a steady influx of low-skilled labor has depressed wages for workers here at home. That is not putting America first. These programs have opened our doors to terrorists.'

Republicans also also want approval to hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents and 5,000 more Customs and Border Patrol officers. ICE officials are pictured above at an immigration faciliy

Their bill could graze through passage in the House, but it will have difficulty getting the 60 votes it needs in the U.S. Senate, where the GOP now controls just 51 seats.

Senator Dick Durbin, a leading Dream Act advocate and the No. 2 Democratic lawmaker in the upper chamber, told Trump yesterday, 'We can agree on some very fundamental and important things together on border security, on chain, on the future of diversity visas.'

If the bill becomes too much of a behemoth, though, it will take months to sort through. The Dreamers, who are due to start losing their statuses on March 5, don't have that kind of time.

Trump told the Illinois senator, 'There should be no reason for us not to get this done.'

'When this group comes back  hopefully with an agreement  this group and others from the Senate, from the House, comes back with an agreement, Im signing it. I mean, I will be signing it,' the president promised. 'Im not going to say, Oh, gee, I want this or I want that. Ill be signing it, because I have a lot of confidence in the people in this room that theyre going to come up with something really good.'

Trump told the group of more than 20 legislators from both parties at the White House that he could get behind a two-step process that would save the Dreamers from deportation and beef up border security that's followed by a total immigration overhaul.

'My positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with,' Trump at one point offered.

The assertion, delivered during unusual negotiations that were mostly open to the cameras, introduced chaos into the process as lawmakers attending walked away with different interpretations of what Trump wanted.

Trump had steadfastly said that he would not approve legislation that legalizes DACA unless he gets the wall, additional border security resources, the elimination of the visa lottery system and and an end to chain migration at the same time.

He confused his position in the meeting, leaving Democrats who were present clear as mud about the president's definition of border security and comprehensive immigration reform.

'There was no agreement on that, and we're going to be working on that,' House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said of border security differences at a news conference outside the White House.

At the presser, Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, noted that Trump said he would sign the bill that lawmakers deliver to him.

'That tells me that we can deal with potential poison pills and other issues and leave comp immigration reform for another day,' she asserted. 'So I'm encouraged and ready to do that work.'

As confusion over his position reached a high point after the remarkable meeting with lawmakers, the White House said that the wall was only one component of border security. Trump also wants technological upgrades to areas of the border.

The president's spokeswoman said that nothing had changed in the president's position, and Trump still believes that the four pillars of his immigration policy must be addressed in any bill that goes before Congress.

Sen. Lindsey Graham had mentioned a pathway to citizenship as part of comprehensive immigration reform in his remarks at the meeting, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that was not something the president was interesting in pursuing at this point in time.

'Right now our focus is on the four things I laid out,' she said.

As confusion over his position reached a high point on Tuesday after the remarkable meeting with lawmakers, the White House said that nothing had changed. Trump still believes that the four pillars of his immigration policy must be addressed in the first bill that Congress passes, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said

None of that was what Trump said in the portion of the meeting that aired on television, though.

'Were going to come out with DACA and then we can start immediately on phase two, which would be comprehensive immigration reform,' he said.

The president said Tuesday that a 'clean' DACA bill to him was Dream Act protections plus border security. Other aspects of immigration reform that he and GOP lawmakers in the room like Graham had been pursuing could be part of a companion bill that would be brought to the floor later that day.

Trump was adamant about one thing and one thing only: Congress has to fund his border wall as the first prong of immigration reform.

'I'd love not to build the wall, but you need the wall,' Trump said. 'If you dont have the wall, you cannot have security. You just cant have it. It doesnt work.'

After a lengthy discussion with lawmakers in the room that Trump allowed to play out on camera, providing an inside look at the bipartisan negotiations, the president said it was clear to all that he was on a 'similar page' with legislators present.

'We have something in common. We would like to see this get done,' he said.

Graham told the former businessman point blank that he needs 'to close the deal' as Trump took a backseat position to the lawmakers in the room.

The South Carolina senator noted that he'd been assigned a list of derogatory nicknames over his support for immigration reform such as Lindsey Grahamnesty and Lindsey Gomez.

'I've had my head beat out a bunch. I'm still standing,' he said. 'I've been for a pathway to citizenship for 11 million people because I have no animosity for them.'

The GOP senator told the room, 'I don't want crooks, I don't want bad hombres. I want to get a merit-based immigration system and to make sure we can succeed in the 21st Century.

'I'm willing to be more than fair to the 11 million,' he said. 'I just don't want to do this every 20 years.'

Trump confused his position in the meeting at the White House leaving Democrats who were present clear as mud about the president's definition of border security and comprehensive immigration reform

Graham predicted that the right-wing would go bonkers over the deal that's in the works and characterize it as amnesty.

Trump insisted that an agreement would sell itself, though, and said the lawmakers could put any heat they take over the compromise agreement on him.

'Ill take the heat, I dont care.' Trump said. 'My whole life has been heat. I like heat, in a certain way.'

Democrats had been refusing Trump's demands for a border wall and a total immigration overhaul, leading Sen. Chuck Grassley, who attended the Tuesday meeting, to declare the negotiations 'doomed to failure' Monday on the Senate floor.

White House senior adviser for strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp positively told Fox on Tuesday morning, however, 'The president will deliver.'

Trump half-jokingly told legislators at the White House on Tuesday, 'At a certain point, maybe I'll just lock the doors and I won't let anybody out until they come and agree.'

The Republican president who led a lucrative business before he was elected brought lawmakers together to personally make his case for a revamp Tuesday in a White House meeting that was attended by immigration reform advocates in the House and Senate from both parties.

'I feel having the Democrats in with us is absolutely vital because it should be a bipartisan bill. It should be a bill of love. Truly,' Trump said. 'It should be a bill of love. But it also has to be a bill where were able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. A lot of people coming in that we cant have.'

Sen. Jeff Flake is seen here during the immigration meeting on Tuesday that surprisingly took place while cameras were rolling

Sanders said after that the White House felt the meeting was 'very successful' and 'very productive.'

The meeting followed on Durbin's declaration on Friday that Trump was making 'outrageous' demands that 'would undercut months of bipartisan efforts' to protect Dreamers.

Durbin accused Trump of 'trying to put its entire wish-list of hardline anti-immigrant bills - plus an additional $18 billion in wall funding - on the backs of these young people.'

'President Trump has said he may need a good government shutdown to get his wall. With this demand, he seems to be heading in that direction,' Durbin said.

Trump told Durbin on Tuesday that he now believes a DACA fix could be separate legislatively from other immigration reforms he's pursuing.

'I really agree with Dick,' Trump said. 'I think we get the one thing done and then we go into comprehensive the following day. I think it will happen.'

Trump said in the long meeting, 'I think well do DACA, and we can certainly start comprehensive immigration reform the following afternoon.

'Well take an hour off and then well start. I do believe that,' Trump added. 'If its done properly, we have taken a big chunk of comprehensive out of the negotiation, and I dont think its going to be that complicated.'

Trump had said Saturday during a presser at Camp David that Congress must fund the border wall he promised on the campaign trail or there would be no agreement.

Trump told Democrat Dick Durbin on Tuesday that he now believes a DACA fix could be separate legislatively from other immigration reforms he's pursuing, like an end to chain migration and an end to the diversity lottery

'The wall is going to happen or were not going to have DACA. You know, we want to get rid of chain migration. Very important. And we want to get rid of the lottery system,' he said.

Trump also said that Democrats must approve his spending request for additional border security personnel, as well, and restructure the visa system.

'We all want DACA to happen. But we also want great security for our country. So important. We want to stop the drugs from flowing in. Very important,' he said Saturday.

Trump has claimed numerous times that visa lottery awardees are bottom-dwellers who are intentionally displaced by their home countries.

'They give us their worst people, they put them in a bin, but in his hand, when hes picking them is, really, the worst of the worst. Congratulations, youre going to the United States. Okay. What a system  lottery system,' he said recently.

He made a similar claim on Tuesday, wrongly asserting that 'countries come in and put names in a hopper.'

'Theyre not giving you their best names  common sense tells you theyre not giving you their best names. They give you people that they dont want, and then we take them out of the lottery,' he said in his meeting.

'When then do it by hand, put the hand in a bowl, and whats in the hand are the worst of the worst. They put people that they dont want in the lottery, and the United States takes those people.'

In reality, it's the State Department who picks diversity lottery awardees, and they are selected at random. State heavily vets them before they are allowed into the U.S.

Trump wants to move to a merit-based immigration system, nonetheless, in which high-skilled visa applicants would be prioritized.

Last week Trump had a Republican-only meeting at the White House to discuss immigration. His Tuesday gathering included top Democratic voices on the issue like Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois.

The meeting came less than a day after Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said in a floor speech that immigration talks have stalled because of Democrats' unwillingness to compromise.

'Unfortunately, this body still isnt closer to a legitimate and fair deal that promotes and protects the interests of the American people in a lawful immigration system, and provides a fair and equitable solution on DACA,' he said.

'As the Democrats see it, its take it or leave it, their way or the highway. That isnt good faith. That isnt negotiation. And that approach is doomed to failure.'

Grassley said Tuesday at the White House meeting that he believes it would be 'pretty darn tough' to meet the filibuster-proof, 60-vote threshold in the Senate.

'You know, I would vote for a path to citizenship, which isnt very easy for me, but I would do it just as an effort,' the Senate Judiciary chairman said of the Dreamers. But there are certain things that we got to guarantee that were going to do.'
A star student athlete has been granted bail just hours after he was sentenced to nine months' jail for a coward punch attack.

Joshua Robert Billington, 21, was released from jail on Wednesday so he could return to the United States to study at Ivy League college Princeton University, 7 News reported.

The talented sprinter had been jailed earlier in the day for punching Mitch Davis, 21, in the side of the head outside Niche Bar in Leederville, in Perth's inner west, on August 18.

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Coward punch attacker Joshua Robert Billington (pictured), 21, was released from jail on Wednesday so he could return to the United States to study at Ivy League college Princeton University

The talented sprinter had been jailed earlier in the day for punching Mitch Davis (pictured), 21, in the side of the head outside Niche Bar in Leederville, in Perth's inner west, on August 18

Billington (pictured) was sentenced to nine months in jail on Wednesday for the attack

CCTV footage released by the courts shows the moment Billington knocked out Mr Davis with a single, sickening blow.

The video shows the 21-year-old's friend harassing Mr Davis and his girlfriend in the club's car park.

The woman repeatedly pushes the man away, before Billington purposefully strides up to Mr Davis - a man with whom he had no prior interaction with.

He then delivers Mr Davis a powerful right-handed punch that knocks him unconscious and sends his limp body to the pavement.

Billington fails to show any remorse by calmly walking away from the scene with only a swift glance over his shoulder.

Magistrate Elizabeth Woods said the CCTV footage showed Mr Davis's girlfriend being pursued, but did not show anything to indicate Mr Davis was threatening anyone.

'The complainant had no reason to do anything, to think that the complainant wanted to fight the accused,' she said.

CCTV footage released by the courts shows (pictured) the moment Billington knocked out Mr Davis with a single, sickening blow

The video shows Billington delivering Mr Davis a powerful right-handed punch that knocks him unconscious and sends his limp body to the pavement

Mr Davis (pictured after the attack) had no interactions with Billington before the attack took place

'It (CCTV) shows him rush in and punch the complainant with speed and force, without any opportunity to protect himself.'

Billington pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm in the Perth Magistrate's Court.

However, Ms Woods, who described his actions as a 'coward's punch', was scathing of Billington for leaving the scene without showing concern for an unconscious Mr Davis.

'There was a casual glance, he knew what he had done, the possible consequences and what might have been the outcome,' she said.

Billington (centre) has been released to return the United States where has has a scholarship at Princeton University

The attack happened outside Niche Bar (pictured) in Leederville, in the city's inner west

Billington (pictured) pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm in the Perth Magistrate's Court

Billington is a star student athlete at US Ivy League college Princeton University (file image)

'He showed a callous disregard and lack of remorse.'

She said the community's values and expectations were for punishments that would deter 'young intoxicated men from resolving issues with violent unprovoked attacks on unsuspecting persons at the end of the night'.

Ms Woods rejected Billington's lawyer Tom Percy's request for a fine and spent conviction, and jailed him for nine months.

He will be eligible for parole in half that time and Mr Percy said outside court he would appeal over the sentence.
Greens senator Sarah-Hanson Young took four months to pay a $1,234 hire car bill - despite being given 30 days' notice.

The 36-year-old former bank teller from Adelaide was given the invoice in July last year.

However she left it unpaid for 129 days despite being required to reimburse taxpayers the $1,234.90 tab within a month, freedom of information documents obtained byThe Australian show.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young took 129 days to pay a $1,234.90 car hire invoice

Sarah Hanson-Young (pictured centre with party leader Richard Di Natale and her former media adviser Robert Simms) holds the finance portfolio which covers politicians' perks

This isn't the first time Senator Hanson has fallen foul of the rules, despite holding the Greens' finance portfolio which is charged with scrutinising the entitlements of politicians.

In 2015, she was billed $15,186.34 for overspending on staff travel and needed a year-long repayment plan.

A year later, she was invoiced $20,460.76 for again blowing the staff travel budget, leaving that tab unpaid for 355 days, the newspaper recalled.

The left-wing politician, who was Australia's youngest senator when she took her seat in 2008, has a base salary of $199,000 and regularly campaigns against cuts to university education.

She also receives a $32,000 electoral allowance as a senator for South Australia.

A spokesman for Greens leader Richard Di Natale told The Australian he backed Senator Hanson remaining in the finance portfolio, noting she had paid her car hire invoice.
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Six months after its liberation, the streets of Iraq's second city are still littered with corpses, many of its buildings are little more than rubble and families freeze in their homes.

Mosul residents have gone from euphoria at the city's rescue after three years of jihadist rule to uncertainty over when rebuilding will start in earnest.

Iraqi forces defeated ISIS in Mosul in July 2017 after months of intense urban battles that reduced the historic Old City to ruins.

 Slide me  Left: Members of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) cheering as they carry upside-down a black flag of ISIS. Right: Two men walking in the same place on January 8

 Slide me  Left: A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) advances towards the Al-Nuri mosque in the Old City of Mosul during fighting on June 29 last year. Right: A man walking past the wreckage of a car in the same street on January 8

 Slide me  Left: Smoke billowing from Mosul's Old City during fighting on July 09, 2017. Right: The same view on January 8, 2018, six months after Iraqi forces seized the country's second city from ISIS terrorists

 Slide me  Left: A member of the Iraqi forces pointing a rifle from behind a small wall as smoke billows following an airstrike by the US-led international coalition on the Old City of Mosul on July 9 last year. Right: The same view on January 8, showing the small wall used as protection six months ago now mostly destroyed

 Slide me  Left: Mosul's Old City during fighting on July 9 last year and the same view on January 8 after the liberation of the city by Iraqi security forces

 Slide me  Left: Members of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) gathering outside the destroyed gate of the Al-Nuri Mosque in the Old City of Mosul on July 2. Right: A member of the security forces standing at the same place on January 8

 Slide me  Left: A boy carrying a young girl on his shoulders while fleeing from the Old City on July 5 last year. Right: A car driving at the same place on January 8

 Slide me  Left: Iraqis fleeing the Old City of Mosul during fighting on June 30. Right: The same street on January 8, six months after the city's liberation

Pounded by constant shell fire from the jihadists and air strikes from the international coalition trying to free them, most of Mosul's residents fled during the battle.

Human remains befoul even the area around the city's proud and ancient Al-Nuri mosque.

The building, denuded of its iconic minaret and largely reduced to ruins by ISIS, was the site of the only known public appearance by terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi following the group's declaration of a caliphate in 2014.

The few souls who venture into the debris-strewn alleyways of Mosul say their future is precarious.

Some never made it out.

Mosul residents have gone from euphoria at the city's rescue after three years of jihadist rule to uncertainty over when rebuilding will start in earnest. Pictured: A view of the still severely damaged city showing the scars of bullets and bombs

Iraqi forces defeated ISIS in Mosul in July 2017 after months of intense urban battles that reduced the historic Old City to ruins. Pounded by constant shell fire from the jihadists and air strikes from the international coalition trying to free them, most of Mosul's residents fled during the battle. Those who remain struggle for food and electricity supplies

The few souls who venture into the debris-strewn alleyways of Mosul say their future is precarious. Some never made it out. Asma Mohammed's father and husband were accidentally killed in an air strike then hurriedly buried, like several of their neighbours, in improvised cemeteries on a vacant strip of land. Mohammed said the strike missed its target, hitting civilians rather than the murderous jihadists occupying the nearby buildings

An Iraqi man stands near wrecked vehicles in a debris-strewn alleyway in Mosul's Old City. The United States-led coalition against ISIS in Syria and Iraq has admitted to mistakenly killing 817 civilians over three years of battling the tyrannical terrorist group

Sitting at a historic trading crossroads close to Syria and Turkey, Mosul has long thumbed its nose at authorities in Baghdad. But traders say working with the authorities is essential to ensure ISIS does not return. Pictured: A rubble-filled alleyway in the Old City of Mosul

A general view of Mosul, which was mostly destroyed by the ISIS occupation and the resulting battles to free it from jihadist tyranny

Human remains befoul even the area around the city's proud and ancient Al-Nuri mosque. The building, denuded of its iconic minaret and largely reduced to ruins by ISIS, was the site of the only known public appearance by terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi following the group's declaration of a caliphate in 2014

Only one other family has returned to this part of the Old City - that of Ansam Anwar, 30, who headed back just days ago with her husband and their five children. In small whitewashed rooms around the inner courtyard of their house, the cold is biting. The utilities have been cut off and electricity metres torn from the walls. Pictured: A general view of the destroyed city

Workers clean up debris from a street in Mosul's Old City - six months after Iraqi forces seized the country's second city from ISIS terrorists

Asma Mohammed's father and husband were accidentally killed in an air strike then hurriedly buried, like several of their neighbours, in improvised cemeteries on a vacant strip of land.

Mohammed said the strike missed its target, hitting civilians rather than the murderous jihadists occupying the nearby buildings.

Iraqi authorities 'say they need to investigate before issuing death certificates', she said, sitting in her modest Old City house, itself damaged during the violence.

She is one of many Mosul residents who count family members among those accidentally killed in air strikes.

The United States-led coalition against ISIS in Syria and Iraq has admitted to mistakenly killing 817 civilians over three years of battling the tyrannical terrorist group.

An Iraqi man walks past the destroyed Al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul's Old City. ISIS terrorists destroyed much of the mosque in the final days of the battle to liberate the city

Mozhar Abdel Qader, a 48-year-old trader, cautioned against celebrating too quickly. The conditions that allowed IS to recruit en masse in Mosul still exist, he said. 'There is unemployment, injustice. People don't have enough to eat. So when you give them $100 (70) to plant a bomb, they do it,' the father of five said. Pictured: An Iraqi policeman walks in a debris-strewn alleyway

Even before ISIS launched its lightning takeover of a third of Iraq's territory and large parts of Syria in 2014, extremist groups had taken control in some areas in Mosul, placing them off limits to Iraqi forces. The authorities at the time blamed Al-Qaeda 'sleeper cells' - a phrase many use today to refer to the remnants of ISIS

One resident, Ansam, said: 'There is still no water or electricity, my children are still deprived of school. Even the smell of rotting bodies continues to suffocate us'

But according to sources in Mosul, some 2,000 civilians were killed in fighting in the city alone.

Since her parents died, Asma and her two children have survived day-to-day on donations from friends and neighbours.

When she thinks of the future, she begins to cry.

Only one other family has returned to this part of the Old City - that of Ansam Anwar, 30, who headed back just days ago with her husband and their five children.

In small whitewashed rooms around the inner courtyard of their house, the cold is biting. The utilities have been cut off and electricity metres torn from the walls.

Ansam's husband, a labourer, has yet to find work in the largely deserted Old City.

Pictured: An improvised grave for a resident killed during the fighting after ISIS occupied Mosul

'There is still no water or electricity, my children are still deprived of school. Even the smell of rotting bodies continues to suffocate us,' Ansam said as she moves away dust and debris covering the ground.

The alley outside is partially blocked by wooden furniture.

Further down the street, Abu Qutayba al-Attar, 59, walks through the once crowded alleys of the historic market, a traditional keffiyeh scarf around his head and a long robe reaching his feet.

His father's shop, where he spent his days 'from the age of six onwards', was destroyed in the carnage.

After the fighting reached his neighborhood a year ago, he said he remained 'shut up at home in a state of depression'.

But now he has started working to rebuild the shop at his own expense.

Now that 'security has returned', the economy must follow, he insisted.

Sitting at a historic trading crossroads close to Syria and Turkey, Mosul has long thumbed its nose at authorities in Baghdad.

But traders say working with the authorities is essential to ensure ISIS does not return.

'Now, we must cooperate with the security forces that have liberated us and inform on anyone who seems suspicious, rather than remain passive,' one said.

After their invasion of Iraq in 2003, American forces took huge losses in Mosul and the surrounding region, from which many of former dictator Saddam Hussein's army officers originated.

Even before ISIS launched its lightning takeover of a third of Iraq's territory and large parts of Syria in 2014, extremist groups had taken control in some areas, placing them off limits to Iraqi forces.

The authorities at the time blamed Al-Qaeda 'sleeper cells' - a phrase many use today to refer to the remnants of ISIS.

'For the time being, the residents are cooperating completely and informing us when they see strangers in their neighbourhoods,' said a police officer, who asked to remain anonymous. Pictured: The city's mosque seen through a hole in a building

A member of the Iraqi forces stands outside the destroyed Al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul's Old City with an assault rifle and balaclava

Mozhar Abdel Qader said: 'If we feed everyone and find work for young people, you can be sure that everyone would protect the country even better than the security forces'

Reconstruction is still in its early stages in Mosul, which was pounded by constant shell fire by the jihadists and also the air strikes sent destroy them

A general view shows debris and ammunition cartridges in Mosul's Old City. Mozhar Abdel Qader added: 'There is unemployment, injustice. People don't have enough to eat. So when you give them $100 (70) to plant a bomb, they do it'

'For the time being, the residents are cooperating completely and informing us when they see strangers in their neighbourhoods,' said a police officer, who asked to remain anonymous.

'We hope that will continue - if not, everything could change and a new ISIS could emerge.'

Mozhar Abdel Qader, a 48-year-old trader, cautioned against celebrating too quickly. The conditions that allowed IS to recruit en masse in Mosul still exist, he said.

'There is unemployment, injustice. People don't have enough to eat. So when you give them $100 (70) to plant a bomb, they do it,' the father of five said.

He said he regularly returns to examine his house in the Old City, riddled with bullets and shells.

He stood in the rubble of the Al-Nuri mosque, now a cemetery of burnt cars.

'If we feed everyone and find work for young people, you can be sure that everyone would protect the country even better than the security forces,' he said.
An open letter signed by actress Catherine Deneuve attacking the #MeToo movement has been denounced by French feminists.

The letter, signed by more than 100 people in creative industries, attacked the 'puritanism' sparked by recent sexual harassment scandals declaring that men should be 'free to hit on' women.

In response, more than 30 activist signed an open letter of their own, strongly criticizing the original.

French actress Catherine Deneuve and the others who signed the letter attacking #MeToo were compared to 'the annoying uncle who doesn't understand what's happening'.

'This letter, it's a bit like the awkward work colleague or annoying uncle who doesn't understand what's happening', they say.

Italian actress Asia Argento, who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in the 90s, sarcastically tweeted that 'interiorized misogyny has lobotomized them [Deneuve et al] to the point of no return'.

Legendary actress Deneuve was one of around 100 French female writers, performers and academics who jointly deplored the wave of 'denunciations' that followed claims Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein raped and sexually assaulted women over decades.

The women claimed that the 'witch-hunt' that has followed the accusations now threatens sexual freedom.

'Rape is a crime, but trying to seduce someone, even persistently or cack-handedly, is not - nor is men being gentlemanly a macho attack,' explained the letter, which was published in the daily Le Monde.

Legendary star Catherine Deneuve (pictured) said 'trying to seduce someone' is not a crime

'Men have been punished summarily, forced out of their jobs when all they did was touch someone's knee or try to steal a kiss,' said the letter, which was also signed by Catherine Millet, author of the hugely explicit 2002 bestseller 'The Sexual Life of Catherine M'.

Men had been dragged through the mud, they argued, for 'talking about intimate subjects during professional dinners or for sending sexually charged messages to women who did not return their attentions.'

The letter attacked feminist social media campaigns like #MeToo and its French equivalent #Balancetonporc (Call out your pig) for unleashing this 'puritanical... wave of purification'.

It claimed that 'legitimate protest against the sexual violence that women are subject to, particularly in their professional lives', had turned into a witch-hunt.

'What began as freeing women up to speak has today turned into the opposite - we intimidate people into speaking 'correctly', shout down those who don't fall into line, and those women who refused to bend' to the new realities 'are regarded as complicit and traitors.'

The signatories - which included a porn star-turned-agony aunt - claimed they were defending sexual freedom, for which 'the liberty to seduce and importune was essential'.

Oscar-nominated Deneuve, 74, is best known internationally for playing a bored housewife who spends her afternoons as a prostitute in Luis Bunuel's classic 1967 film, 'Belle du Jour' (pictured)

The letter attacked feminist social media campaigns like #MeToo and its French equivalent #Balancetonporc (Call out your pig) for unleashing this 'puritanical... wave of purification'. Pictured: Deneuve in 1968

Oscar-nominated Deneuve, 74, is best known internationally for playing a bored housewife who spends her afternoons as a prostitute in Luis Bunuel's classic 1967 film, 'Belle du Jour'.

Deneuve has made no secret of her annoyance at social media campaigns to shame men accused of harassing women.

'I don't think it is the right method to change things, it is excessive,' she said last year, referring to the #MeToo hashtag.

'After 'Calling our your pig' what are we going to have, 'Call our your whore?'' she said.

'Instead of helping women, this frenzy to send these (male chauvinist) 'pigs' to the abattoir actually helps the enemies of sexual liberty - religious extremists and the worst sort of reactionaries,' the collective of women who signed the letter said.

'As women we do not recognise ourselves in this feminism, which beyond denouncing the abuse of power, takes on a hatred of men and of sexuality.'

They insisted that women were 'sufficiently aware that the sexual urge is by its nature wild and aggressive. But we are also clear-eyed enough not to confuse an awkward attempt to pick someone up with a sexual attack.'
An elderly California couple arrested in Nebraska last month for carrying 60 pounds of marijuana they described as family Christmas gifts have been arrested again, this time on suspicion of carrying drug money.

Patrick Jiron, 80, and his 70-year-old wife, Barbara, were arrested Tuesday along Interstate 80 in northeast Nebraska, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.

Their daughter, 42-year-old Mariah Jiron, was driving the truck. She was let off with a warning.

Law enforcement officials said that they stopped the couple in their black Toyota Tacoma at around 9.42am for following too closely.

Patrick Jiron and his 70-year-old wife, Barbara, were arrested Tuesday along Interstate 80 in northeast Nebraska

Their daughter, 42-year-old Mariah Jiron, was driving the truck. She was let off with a warning

The driver of the truck was their daughter, 42-year-old Mariah Jiron. She was asked by a deputy to step out of the car and sit in a deputy cruiser.

'During this time, reasonable, articulable suspicion was obtained that criminal activity was afoot,' the deputy wrote in the report, though it did not specify what the suspicion was.

The deputy then asked Patrick and Barbara Jiron, who were passengers, for permission to search the car. The couple refused.

A drug-sniffing dog then alerted the deputies to suspected contraband in the rear of the vehicle.

That led deputies to search the truck. They eventually found a duffel bag full of $18,000 in cash as well as notes consistent with marijuana sales in the cargo area.

The deputies then did field tests of the money, during which they found traces of cannabis.

In the back of the truck, deputies found an oversized garbage bag that was later found to contain residue of marijuana, according to the police report.

The couple was arrested last month along the same roadway - in the same vehicle - just two counties west.

Last month, they were arrested for carrying about 60 pounds of marijuana in their pickup truck. The high grade marijuana had an estimated street value of $336,000

When the Jirons were arrested in York County on December 19, they said they didnt know it was illegal to transport marijuana through Nebraska.

Online court documents dont list attorneys for the Jirons.

On December 19, authorities found large quantities of marijuana stashed in the back of the Toyota Tacoma pickup belonging to Patrick and Barbara Jiron.

The high grade marijuana had an estimated street value of $336,000, according to the sheriff's office.

The elderly couple told officers they were on their way to Vermont from their home in Clearlake Oaks, California.

Last month, the Jirons told authorities that they were not aware that possession of marijuana is illegal in Nebraska. Patrick Jiron (above) was charged with felonies

California legalized recreational use of marijuana last year, as did Massachusetts. The state legislature in Vermont is planning to consider legalizing marijuana consumption.

They added that the marijuana was for Christmas presents.

The couple were initially stopped when officers spotted their pickup driving over the center line and failing to signal.

Deputies said they could immediately smell the strong odor of raw marijuana when they approached the truck.

They searched the vehicle and found the drugs stored in the pickup's topper.

The couple were taken into custody on charges of possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and no drug tax stamp.

The Jirons told authorities that they were not aware that possession of marijuana is illegal in Nebraska.

Patrick Jiron was charged with the felonies, while his wife was let off with a citation.

Days after their previous arrest last month, it was learned that Patrick and Barbara Jiron are the parents of a top prosecutor in Vermont.

The Jirons are the parents of Justin Jiron, the chief deputy state's attorney for Chittenden County, Vermont's most populous county.

The county seat is Burlington, which is The Green Mountain State's largest city by population.

'Justin is in no way connected to this allegation other than by relation,' his boss, Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George, told the Burlington Free Press last month around the time of their first arrest.

'Justin is and has been a dedicated public servant for over 15 years, and I assure you he is as surprised and upset about these allegations as anyone.'

Days after their previous arrest last month, it was learned that Patrick and Barbara Jiron are the parents of a top prosecutor in Vermont - Justin Jiron, the chief deputy state's attorney for Chittenden County

Authorities in Vermont say there is no indication that Justin Jiron is linked in any way to his parents' alleged crime

Authorities in Vermont say there is no indication that Justin Jiron is linked in any way to his parents' alleged crime, according to the Free Press.

'I don't think he knew anything about what his parents were bringing over or what they intended to do with it,' said John Campbell, the executive director of the Vermont Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs.

'From what I understand, this is as much as a shock to him and a surprise that it is to anyone else who has heard about it.'

'Justin, I can say, is one of the most upstanding prosecutors I know and also one of the most upstanding human beings,' Campbell said.

'He's also an officer of the court, and I would assume that if he was asked by his employer if he had any knowledge or involvement that she obviously is satisfied with his response.

'If she's satisfied, I'm certainly satisfied, because she works with him every day.'

Justin Jiron refused to comment on his parents' arrest.

In January, he became chief deputy under George. Before that, he worked for TJ Donovan, who is currently Vermont's attorney general.

Jiron is considered a rising star in the state attorney's office. He has handled a number of high-profile criminal prosecutions in Vermont.

He prosecuted Brian Rooney for the 2006 abduction, rape, and murder of a 21-year-old college student, Michelle Gardner-Quinn.

Jiron also handled the prosecution of Christopher Williams, who killed two people in Essex, Vermont after going on a shooting spree in 2006.
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A crocodile is still living painfully with a scooter tyre around its neck two years after it was first spotted with it in a river in Indonesia.

The poor reptile was first spotted by locals in Palu in 2016 when it had headed to the riverbank with the scooter tyre around its neck, gasping for air.

The now 13-feet crocodile, believed to be the nearly 'virtually extinct' Siamese crocodile, was again spotted two weeks ago by locals when it had come to the riverbank, peeking out of water helplessly for air.

The reptile was first spotted by locals in Palu in in 2016 when it had headed to the riverbank with the scooter tyre around its neck, gasping for air

The now 13-feet crocodile was again spotted two weeks ago by local, its head peeking out of the water, also gasping for air

The reptile is believed to be the nearly 'virtually extinct' Siamese crocodile and its head is now bigger than the tyre trapped around its neck

Seven volunteers are working to help the crocodile, supervised by Central Sulawesi Natural Resource Conservation Agency but their attempts have gone into vain.

Several attempts to lure the crocodile to come onto the dry land have failed as it shows lack of interest in its bait-chickens.

Wildlife officials now worry that with its growing size the crocodile might die if the tyre, thought to be of a Vespa scooter thrown into the estuary, is not removed urgently.

Mr Mulyadi, an official with Indonesia Conservation Board said: 'We have made a crocodile trap but cannot use it because we lack technical force capable of controlling wild crocodiles.

Unusually for a crocodile, the reptile appears not to be tempted by the raw meat left out for it

'We have tried to lure it with chicken or meat but it never touches it.

'This crocodile has grown to 4 meters in length and its head is about 40 centimeter long. Its body is getting bigger and the tyre which should be 14 inches, is stifling it.

'If the tyre is not removed immediately, it will strangle the crocodile in next few months because of its growing body.'

In the visuals, a crowd of agonised locals is seen helplessly looking at the large crocodile as it struggles and nods head for breath.
A murder trial is under way in Oklahoma for a mother accused of killing her 33-year-old daughter by brutally beating her and shoving a crucifix and a religious medallion down her throat because she believed the victim was possessed by Satan.

In her opening statement on Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Lavenue likened the crime scene inside Juanita Gomez's home on North McKinley in Oklahoma City to a 'horror film'.

The defendant, now aged 51, is being tried for first-degree murder in the August 27, 2016, slaying of her daughter, Geneva Gomez.

The lead prosecutor recounted for the jurors how the victim was found by her boyfriend on the floor of her mother's home badly bruised and bloodied, with a crucifix resting on her chest.

Mother on trial: Juanita Gomez, 51 (left), is being tried in Oklahoma for the August 2016 murder of her daughter, 33-year-old Geneva Gomez (right), who was beaten and had a crucifix shoved down her throat during a failed exorcism

Geneva's boyfriend walked into Juanita's home in Oklahoma City (pictured), only to find the woman he loved lying on the floor, beaten beyond recognition with a crucifix on her chest

The boyfriend, Francisco Merlos, later testified how he could not recognize Geneva's face when he came by her mother's house looking for her, only to find her sprawled out on the floor with her arms in the shape of a cross, reported NewsOK.

Merlos said when he asked Juanita Gomez why she did not seek medical help for Geneva, the woman 'kept mumbling about "devil and money,"' and told him Geneva was 'possessed,' he told the court.

When Merlos tried to leave, he said Juanita put him in a headlock, but he was able to free himself from her grasp and call police.

Following her arrest, Juanita told police that her daughter had been speaking in tongues in a demonic voice the night before her death, that her eyes rolled back in her head and that she had threatened to kill her mother.

She also reported hearing a demonic voice coming from her television while trying to watch a Christian channel.

Gomez also said that the bruises on her arms and hands were from her daughter resisting her attempts to exorcise Satan from her body.

Disturbing details: Juanita (pictured) told police that her daughter had been speaking in tongues in a demonic voice

During a preliminary hearing last July, a police officer who responded to Juanita Gomezs home testified that the woman told him she tried to clear her daughter after the killing because she did not want evil blood in the house.

The mother has pleaded not guilty to the murder count against her. Initially, her defense team had signaled their intent to present an insanity defense at trial, but later scrapped that plan.

A court-appointed forensic psychologist who examined Gomez found her competent to stand trial and concluded that she was feigning mental illness so she would be deemed incompetent.

In his opening statement, Gomez's attorney Nick Southerland urged the jury to pay attention to the actual evidence in the case, 'not just the accusations'.

Day two of the trial concluded with the prosecution displaying for the jurors a crime scene photo of Geneva Gomez, lying beaten on the floor with a large crucifix on her chest, according to News9.

Juanita Gomez reportedly broke down in tears at the sight of her deceased daughter.
The daughter of a serial killer has revealed how she helped police bring her father to justice - and the mix of emotions she's felt for turning him in.

April Balascio, 48, the eldest of Edward Wayne Edwards' five children, told her story to People magazine.

Growing up, she says her handyman father moved the family around often, about every six months to a year. The moves would happen without notice, sometimes in the middle of the night. Whenever they asked their father why they were moving, he would say it was for work.

Even as a kid, Balascio says she was suspicious of her father's obsession with collecting news clippings about the local murders that seemed to happen wherever they moved.

'I always had my suspicions. You grow up and you realize this is not normal,' she said.

April Balascio, 48 (left), turned her father, Edward Wayne Edwards (right), into police in 2009, when she suspected he was responsible of a 1980 double murder

But it wasn't until she was an adult, married with kids of her own, that she finally dived into her father's past.

In the spring of 2009, Balascio started doing some online research, looking up cold case murders in every town they lived in growing up.

She already knew her father's past wasn't squeaky-clean. In the 60s, Edwards landed himself on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list for a string of robberies and subsequently spent five years in jail.

When he was paroled in 1967, he claimed to have reformed his ways and even started working as a motivational speaker.

Soon after, he married Balascio's mother, Kay, and the family grew up thinking his life of crime was far behind him.

Once in police custody, Edwards (pictured in court in 2010) confessed to three more murders

Edwards was sentenced to two life sentences and the death penalty in one case, but died of natural causes in jail in April 2011 at the age of 77 (pictured left in 2009, right in mugshot from his younger years)

While Balascio hoped she wouldn't find anything in her online research, all that hope was drained when she came across articles on the 1980 'sweetheart murders' in Watertown, Wisconsin, where she had lived when she was 11.

The double murder involved Tim Hack and Kelly Drew, a couple who went missing after leaving a wedding reception at Concord House.

'I was literally shaking. I suddenly remembered everything,' Balascio recalled.

Balascio remembered that her father worked as a handyman at Concord House, and that they moved in a rush just days after the couple went missing.

A few months later, the couple's decomposing bodies were found in some local woods.

Hack had been stabbed in the back and chest, while Kelly had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

'Suddenly all hope was gone. My dad was the horrible, horrible person I'd always suspected,' she said.

In this photo from October 20, 1980, authorities removed the body of Timothy Hack from the field near Ixonia, Wisconsin where it was found. The body of Kelly Drew, who along with Hack had been missing since Aug 9, 1980, was found the day before in nearby woods

Balascio helped police connect her father to the 1980 murder of Tim Hack and Kelly Drew

Once in police custody, Edwards admitted to shooting dead Billy Lavaco (left) and Judy Straub (right) in 1977

Edwards also admitted to shooting dead his adopted son Dannie Boy Edwards (pictured) in 1996 to collect on a $250,000 insurance policy

Balascio immediately called up police in Watertown, and spoke to Det. Chad Garcia of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office - who worked on the original case.

He revealed to Balascio that her father had been interviewed at the time of the couple's disappearance because he worked at the venue.

The two discovered that Edwards left town the day after being interviewed.

A few weeks later, police had enough evidence to arrest Edwards, and DNA later confirmed he was a killer.

Once in custody, Edwards not only confessed to the sweetheart murders, but to being behind three other murders as well.

Edwards admitted to fatally shooting Billy Lovano, 21, and Judy Straub, 18, in a Norton, Ohio Park in 1977.

Balascio, who was eight at the time of the double murder, remembers her father taking the family to the park and them stumbling across the bodies.

As a young man, Edwards was on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list for a string of robberies. When he left prison in 1967, he wrote a book (pictured) about how he had reformed his life

'My dad took us kids and my mom for a walk though that very park. He took us through the weeds, and I remember he was shouting something to my mother. The next day I knew, there were ambulances and sirens everywhere...he'd taken us to where their dead bodies were,' she said.

Returning to the scene of the crime and even pretending to discover bodies is a pattern noticed in some serial killers.

Edwards also admitted to the 1996 murder of his adopted son Dannie Boy Edwards, a soldier in the Army.

He said he took the 25-year-old, who he adopted as an adult in his early 20s, to some woods in Troy, Ohio and shot him twice at point blank range in order to collect on the young man's $250,000 life insurance plan.

The victim's body was found about four months later in a shallow grave just a mile from the Edwards family home.

Edwards was sentenced to two life sentences for the two double murders, and was given the death sentence for killing his adopted son.

In April 2011, a month after he was given the death sentence, Edwards died of complications due to diabetes while jailed in Columbus, Ohio.

Balascio never spoke to her father again after his arrest, but she says she regrets not asking him why he did it.

'I want to know "why". But I think I know...It was a cat-and-mouse game with him. It was always a thrill for him to one-up the police,' she said.

Today, Balascio is working as a personal trainer in Kingsville, Ohio, where she lives with her husband Michael, who works at a chemical plant, and their three kids.

In the aftermath of her father's arrest, she says she's been emotionally torn.

'I live with two kinds of guilt. Not reporting him sooner and possibly saving lives, and the guilt of turning in my own father. They're both strong,' she said.
Bahram Hekmat has been jailed for trying to get a 13-year-old girl into his car before blowing kisses at her as she travelled on a bus

A 43-year-old man who blew kisses at a schoolgirl before following her home has been jailed for stalking in what police believe is a legal first.

Bahram Hekmat pulled up at the bus stop where the 13-year-old was waiting to get home from school, and beckoned for her to get in his car.

When the girl refused, he then followed her bus and blew kisses at her for 15 minutes.

Hekmat was jailed for nine months at Wood Green Crown Court after he was found guilty of stalking involving serious alarm or distress.

Police believe it is the first case of its kind as the stalking took place within 15 minutes - unlike most instances of the offence, which involve multiple incidents over a longer period of time.

The terrified girl boarded a 279 bus in Enfield, north London, before Hekmat followed the bus and parked when it stopped.

Hekmat continued blowing kisses at her before threatening to continue following her if she didn't return his advances.

When the girl alerted a member of public around 4pm on September 24, 2016, he sped off.

The incident happened when the schoolgirl was waiting for, and then travelling on, a 279 bus

After the victim's mother called police, Scotland Yard's Roads and Transport Policing Command identified Hekmat from his car registration that had been captured on the bus CCTV.

They believe that the prosecution is now likely to become a stated case for future reference.

Hekmat was also issued with a 12-month supervision order today and an indefinite restraining order in the area of the offence.

Detective Constable Darren Barlow, of the Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: 'This sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence committed - a disgusting act of public indecency which has left a young girl shaken and very upset.

Stalk case is legal first Police say the conviction is believed to be the first of its kind because the stalking took place within 15 minutes, unlike other incidents where it occurs on at least two separate occasions and is a pattern of incidents. Despite the short time window, the courts have decided that this incident constituted stalking and prosecutors believe it is likely to become a stated case for future reference and guidance in court. Advertisement

'The effects of Hekmat's behaviour continue to have a detrimental impact on the victim who at the time of the offence was just 13 years old.

'If you commit an offence on London's transport network, we will pursue and arrest you. I urge anyone who experiences unwanted sexual attention to report it to police.'

He added: 'Sexual offences are always taken very seriously and reports of incidents of this nature are investigated thoroughly.'

Siwan Hayward, Transport for London's Head of Transport Policing, said: 'Everyone has the right to travel without fear or intimidation and alongside the police we will eradicate unwanted sexual behaviour from public transport in London.'

She added: 'This case sends a clear message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated and that offenders will be caught and brought to justice.'
Jacob Rees Mogg today urged the Prime Minister to enlist the help of I'm a Celebrity winner Georgia Toffolo, 23, to reach out to young voters after meeting the star in Parliament.

The Tory darling said Downing Street would be 'very wise' to use the reality TV star as their new poster girl as she understands 'how to reach a bigger audience'.

And Mr Rees-Mogg revealed that Ms Toffolo bashfully apologised for hailing him a 'sex God' after she was crowned Queen of the Jungle last year.

The Made In Chelsea star, who has been a Conservative Party member since she was a teenager, spoke to a string of top Tories as she visited Westminster today to film a show about Winston Churchill.

Mr Rees-Mogg told Mail Online: I would certainly encourage the Conservative Party to benefit from her appeal as far as possible and take all the advice she is willing to give.

'I think she has two million followers on Instagram and that is rather more than the Conservative Party sadly  indeed it is probably about 100 times what the Conservative Party has.

Queen of the Jungle Georgia Toffolo has met a string of top Tories in Parliament and was pictured outside No10 in Downing Street today as the Conservative try to reach out to younger voters

Ms Toffolo also chatted to new Tory MP Ben Bradley, who was yesterday made the party's new youth Tsar, during her visit this morning.

And she made a trip to Downing Street - although she did not go into No10 or speak to the Prime Minister.

The law graduate has been a member of the Conservative Party since she was a teenager and reportedly has set her sights on entering politics and being an MP one day.

And she threw her support behind Mr Rees-Mogg - backing him as a future Tory leader and hailing him a 'sex God' - when she left the jungle last month.

Mr Rees-Mogg said the reality star - who he was meeting for her programme on Winston Churchill - apologised for giving him the title as they met in the Palace of Westminster.

Asked about her colourful endorsement, he said: She did mention that today, it was the first thing she said  she said Im sorry for calling you what I called you.

I assured her that I was very flattered, it was a most unexpected thing to be called.

As I said at the time, she should have gone to Specsavers.

Mr Rees-Mogg said that while the world of politics and celebrity appeared to be very different, MPs can actually learn a lot from television stars.

And he said he would 'definitely' encourage No10 to pick up the phone and get some tips from Ms Toffolo.

The 'I'm a Celebrity' winner was spotted filming with leading Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg - who she has hailed a 'sex God' - in the Houses of Parliament today

He said: Downing Street would be very wise to seek her thoughts because she is clearly very professional.

'You dont get two million Instagram followers by chance and she has done Made in Chelsea and the I'm a Celebrity programme with great panache.

She has had an appeal to a wide range of people in both of those programmes and although politics and celebrity is very different, understanding how to reach a bigger audience is important.

Mr Rees-Mogg said he thanked her for her 'staunch support' of the Conservative Party.

He said: She has got the courage of her convictions and is extremely popular, and it is very important that the Conservatives have a broader appeal than we had in the last General Election.

And so I think her support is enormously welcome and valuable and something that Conservatives should be grateful for.

She was also snapped chatting to new Tory MP Ben Bradley, who was yesterday made the party's new youth Tsar after younger voters deserted them at the last election.

Meanwhile, she also had a brief chat with Mr Bradly, 28, who yesterday was promoted by the PM to become the party's new lead on engaging young voters.

Mr Bradley, 28, who was elected MP for Mansfield in the June election, told Mail Online he went over to talk to Ms Toffolo in the hope she may work with him to help the Tories reach out to voters.

He said: I just wanted to collar her about engagement with the party really  I know she has been involved as a member and activist for a long time and having been given my new role in the party for youth engagement I think she could play a role in that.

I just wanted to introduce myself and talk about it.'

He said he and his wife are 'huge fans' of I'm a Celebrity and were regular viewers of the last season.

He added: 'She obviously has a huge platform and a great deal of popularity and we need those people in that regard.'

Young voters deserted the Tories at the last election and have thrown their support behind Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party.
Murder squad detectives hunting the killer of a shopkeeper beaten to death outside a convenience store have issued CCTV stills of two youths they want to trace.

Vijay Patel, 49, died in hospital two days after he was brutally attacked in front of the shop in Mill Hill, north London, on Saturday.

A 16-year-old boy appeared in court today charged with Mr Patel's murder.

Vijay Patel (left, on the night he was killed), 49, died in hospital (right) two days after he was brutally attacked in front of the shop in Mill Hill, north London, on Saturday

He had been at work in the store on the evening he was confronted by three teenagers, police said.

The boys had tried to buy some items including cigarette papers, but were refused service because they could not provide ID.

The group were then said to have become aggressive, before threatening to vandalise the shop.

Mr Patel, from Colindale, north London, and a colleague went outside after them to ensure no damage was done to the store, but the pair were savagely attacked.

The Metropolitan Police want to speak to these two teenagers in relation to Mr Patel's death

The Metropolitan Police are looking for two black male teens in relation to the incident.

One was wearing a red sweatshirt, black jeans and white trainers, and the other was wearing a dark coloured hooded sweatshirt or jacket with dark jeans and a Nike rucksack.

Detective Inspector Ian Lott, of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: 'We are releasing CCTV images of two male youths who were in the shop during the initial dispute and were outside at the time Vijay Patel was assaulted.

'This was an unprovoked and wholly unnecessary attack on a man who was just trying to do his job.

'It is vitally important that these two males are traced as they undoubtedly have information that could assist our investigation.

Mr Patel was working at the convenience store on the night he was brutally attacked (pictured)

'While one male has been charged with Vijay's murder, I still need the public's help to ensure all those who were involved in this incident are identified and held to account for their actions.'

Mr Patel's post mortem is scheduled to take place at Northwick Park Hospital, north London, on January 11.

A 16-year-old boy who allegedly attacked Mr Patel appeared before Willesden Magistrates' youth court this morning.

The teen , who cannot be named for legal reasons, wore a grey prison issue tracksuit with a matching grey jumper draped casually over his shoulders while flanked by two security guards.

A mourner lays a floral tribute in memory of Mr Patel who died in hospital on Monday

Miss Benjamin, prosecuting, said: 'Madam as you are aware this charge is of murder the crown are asking for it to be passed onto the Central Criminal Court.

'It is an allegation of violence, murder and I would ask for him to be remanded in youth detention.'

The teenager, of Willesden, north London, sat quietly during the short hearing and did not react when the charge of murder was read out.

He is due to have a bail application on Friday and appear at the Old Bailey on January 24 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.

District judge Joanna Brown said: 'We are going to remand you in youth custody accommodation. Your next hearing will be a bail application hearing on Friday.

'You may want to be produced for that hearing which may be via live video link or in person.

'Your first proper hearing will be on 24 January.'
Switzerland has banned citizenship to anyone who has lived on welfare in the country in the previous three years unless they pay back the money they received.

An earlier law made it possible for migrants to apply for citizenship provided they were not on state handouts when they made their application.

But the rules have since been tightened as part of a new civil rights act which came into effect on January 1.

Switzerland has banned citizenship to anyone who has lived on welfare in the country in the previous three years unless they pay back the money they received. File picture shows the Swiss resort of St Moritz

The new legislation also requires applicants to prove a greater level of integration if their bid is to be successful, according to Kronen Zeitung.

As part of the new criteria they must show they have 'cultivated contacts' with a number of Swiss people.

There are also new language requirements, which vary depending on the canton they are living in.

Although not part of the European Union the Swiss Government has pledged to play its part in resettling families fleeing Syria.

In 2016, they announced they would take 3,000 asylum seekers from the war-torn country.

It was reported at the time that the country also aimed to settle up to 50,000 asylum seekers who had managed to make their way across the border and into Switzerland, mostly by crossing from with Italy following a perilous journey.
A Catholic priest faces charges of child pornography and possession of methamphetamine after an anonymous tipster alerted police.

Gerald R. Hechenberger, 54, was arrested after a dawn police raid Monday morning on the rectory of the Holy Childhood of Jesus parish in Mascoutah, Illinois, a town 30 miles east of St. Louis.

He is charged with eight counts each of possession and dissemination of porn depicting a child under 13, and one count of possessing meth under five grams.

Hechenberger is an associate pastor at Holy Childhood, as well as at nearby parishes St. Pancratius Parish in Fayetteville and St. Liborius Parish in St. Libory.

Detectives in the Belleville Police Department initiated the investigation into Hechenbacher several weeks ago after receiving an online tip through the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force reporting line.

Gerald R. Hechenberger, 54, is charged with eight counts each of possession and dissemination of child porn, and one count of possessing meth under five grams

He was arrested after a dawn police raid Monday morning on the rectory of the Holy Childhood of Jesus Catholic Church (pictured) in Mascoutah, Illinois, a town 30 miles east of St. Louis

Investigators built the case through 'multiple search warrants, online investigative techniques, and surveillance details', the department said in a statement.

The investigation culminated in a raid on Holy Childhood on Monday at 7am, with cops seizing multiple devices.

Police confirmed that Hechenbacher was the only person under investigation at the church.

Parents of students at the parish's attached Catholic primary school received an email from Principal Claudia Dougherty on Monday morning, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.

'Good morning, Father Jerry is under investigation. We will share more information when we have it. Your children are safe and sound  primary children are enjoying lunch! Blessings, Claudia,' the email read.

It is unknown whether Hechenbacher produced any of the alleged child porn himself, or whether he had any inappropriate contact with parish members or students.

'Although Belleville Police do not have knowledge of any additional victims, we release this information and encourage parents to speak to their children if they had any contact with Hechenberger,' police said in a statement.

Hechenberger is seen in a vacation photo. Police do not believe there are additional victims but have asked parents of children who may have had contact with him to speak to their kids

'At this point, the diocese has no reason to believe that any parishioners are affected by this matter,' Bishop Edward K. Braxton said in a statement to the News-Democrat.

'The diocese is awaiting an update on information from the civil authorities, and has assured them of the dioceses full cooperation,' he said. 'This is a very serious matter for Father Hechenberger.'

In 2011, Hechenberger took a leave of absence from St. John the Baptist Parish in Smithton due to 'very serious personal, pastoral and legal challenges', a diocesan letter said at the time.

The letter from Rev. John McEvilly, vicar general of the Belleville Diocese did not offer specifics but did state: 'In the present climate, it is important for you to know that the serious matters we are addressing do not involve the abuse of a minor.'

Hechenbacher wrote in a statement on the church's website at the time that he was struggling with depression and that 'some days it is a struggle to just get out of bed' due to the medication he was taking.

He is currently being held pending bail of $2million.

Court records do no list an upcoming appearance date for Hechenbacher and indicate a grand jury action is pending in his case. He could not be reached for comment.
Donald Trump unleashed a new attack on the federal courts Wednesday after a judge blocked his decision ending a program that protects some illegal immigrants from deportation.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted a request on Tuesday to prevent the administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program while lawsuits play out in court. He also ordered the administration to resume accepting renewal applications from people already enrolled in the program

While the White House objected Wednesday to the substance of Alsup's injunction, the president tweeted about where it took place  the famously liberal Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.

'It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts,' Trump wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had said in a statement that '[w]e find this decision to be outrageous, especially in light of the President's successful bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members at the White House on the same day.'

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President Donald Trump (pictured Tuesday at the White House) complained Wednesday on Twitter after a federal judge blocked him from ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama-era program that protects some illegal immigrants from deportation

The federal court system is 'broken and unfair,' Trump said, pointing to the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco as fertile hunting ground for liberal partisans seeking friendly rulings

The DACA program has pitted immigrants' rights groups against conservatives who voted for Trump because of his promise to get tough on immigration

'An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process. President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration,' she said.

Trump has drawn criticism in recent years for his attacks on judges who issue rulings that displease him. He branded one a 'so-called judge' after the first version of his nation-specific travel ban was ruled unconstitutional.

In another case during the presidential campaign, he claimed a Mexican-American judge's ethnicity rendered him unable to rule fairly in the Trump University case.

DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. It includes many college-age residents.

The Trump administration announced in September that it would cancel DACA, citing a threat from a coalition of 10 states, led by Texas, to challenge the program's constitutionality.

Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez lashed out at Trump on Wednesday, saying that his move to rescind DACA 'was never about the rule of law. It was about deporting Dreamers and using them as bargaining chips in future political negotiations while holding their futures hostage.'

Trump suggested Tuesday that his plan to build a wall on America's southern border must be part of any deal that would restore the Obama-era DACA program.

'As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval,' he tweeted.

Trump introduced some chaos into immigration negotiations on Tuesday when he said he'd accept whatever compromise Congress comes up with  as long as he gets his border wall

A wall along the 1,989-mile U.S.-Mexico border has been the one constant in Trump's immigration policy demands

Trump told a group of 20 legislators from both parties at the White House that he could get behind a two-step process that would save DACA recipients from deportation and beef up border security  followed by a broader immigration policy overhaul.

Trump had previously said he would not sign legislation that legalizes DACA unless it also included the wall, additional border security resources, the elimination of the diversity visa lottery system and an end to 'chain migration' permissions at the same time.

He confused his position in the meeting, leaving Democrats confused about the president's definitions of 'border security' and 'comprehensive' immigration reform.

Trump was adamant about one thing and one thing only: Congress has to fund his border wall as the first prong of immigration reform.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday morning that the judge's decision was 'outrageous, especially in light of the President's successful bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members at the White House on the same day'

'I'd love not to build the wall, but we need the wall,' Trump said. 'If you don't have the wall, you cannot have security.'

Trump had said Saturday during a presser at Camp David that Congress must fund the border wall he promised on the campaign trail or there would be no agreement.

'The wall is going to happen or were not going to have DACA. You know, we want to get rid of chain migration. Very important. And we want to get rid of the lottery system,' he said.

Trump also said that Democrats must approve his spending request for additional border security personnel, as well, and restructure the visa system.

'We all want DACA to happen. But we also want great security for our country. So important. We want to stop the drugs from flowing in. Very important,' he said Saturday.
Ronan Farrow has revealed that he was forced to move out of his Manhattan apartment while working on his explosive expose of Harvey Weinstein because the threats against his safety became so severe.

In a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter which was published on Wednesday, Farrow, 30, eschewed credit for the MeToo movement as he reflected on his painstaking in New Yorker investigation into Weinstein and his alleged sexual misconduct.

Repeating earlier claims that editors, particularly at NBC, tried to pull him off the project as it intensified, he told how he became aware of mysterious men following him and recalled the threatening phone calls he received before the piece was published.

Mia Farrow, his actress mother, said she feared for his life as he persevered.

'He shared enough of what he was uncovering for me to be increasingly concerned for his safety.

Ronan Farrow revealed in an article on Wednesday that he was forced to move out of his Columbus Circle apartment while pursuing the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct story because of threats. He also acknowledged for the first time his relationship with rumored boyfriend Jon Lovett (above together last New Year's Eve) saying the pair had been 'close in recent years'

'But he knew and I knew that it was a moral issue. He had to continue, even when that meant putting a lot on the line.'

Farrow has sought no glory in the risks he took in pursuing the piece and emphatically gives all the credit for his reporting to his 'brave' sources given the opportunity.

Wednesday's article is one of many he has participated in since the Weinstein scandal erupted, thanks in part to his piece and to The New York Times, in October.

It was however the first time he addressed his personal life and relationship with Jon Lovett, a former Obama speechwriter with whom he has been romantically linked for years.

Farrow acknowledged that the pair 'have been close in recent years' but would not explicitly label Lovett his partner.

The pair are currently traveling around Scandinavia together and Farrow spent his recent birthday in Los Angeles, staying at Lovett's home.

By the time Farrow's article was published by The New Yorker on October 10, it had been a long time in the making.

He had been working on it for 10 months with the intention of publishing his findings in a different format with NBC.

The journalist's famous actress mother Mia said she was concerned for his safety throughout 2016 and 2017 as he worked to publish the accusations against Weinstein

Lovett and Farrow have pictured together for years at social events (shown above in 2013). In the past, they have referred to one another as friends

What exactly stopped the network from printing his reports before he took them to the The New Yorker remains disputed.

NBC has insisted unequivocally and repeatedly that it did not block the report in order to protect Weinstein, as alleged by sources.

President of NBC News Noah Oppenheim has stated in the past that what appeared in The New Yorker was not what he and NBC editors were presented with by Farrow and that they insisted on doing more fact checks and legal assessments of what he had uncovered before taking it to air.

Sources however told The Hollywood Reporter this week that Farrow was 'told to stand down'.

Farrow said on Wednesday there were 'many people' who tried to stop him from publishing his expose on media mogul Weinstein

He did not go on record to say as much. He did however name his former agency, CAA - which represented many of Weinstein's accusers when they were allegedly assaulted by him at meetings they are blamed for setting up - among people who tried to stop him from pursuing the story.

Brian Lourd, a partner at the agency and the former partner of Carrie Fisher, tried to set a meeting for Farrow and Weinstein to discuss the piece, he claimed.

'There were a number of people who did tell me, "Look, you've got to drop this, this is causing too many speed bumps for you,"' Farrow said.

'Harvey Weinstein reveals how the most powerful men in this country have tendrils into every kind of institution. That is one reason why I switched agencies,' he added.

In the interview, Farrow also revealed that he could not remember the last time he spoke with is father Woody Allen.

'I don't actually know the answer to that. We have had contact over the years, but he is not someone that I keep up with regularly,' he said.

He dodged questions on whether his father ought to be ex-communicated by the Hollywood community over allegations made by his sister Dylan that he sexually molested her as a child.

'It's not for me to say what Hollywood will or won't do. I will say that in every industry there are still powerful men facing credible allegations of wrongdoing who continue to evade accountability.

'As empowering a moment as this moment is, there's still a long way to go,' he said.

Allen has denied Dylan's accusations for years. It has not discouraged her from repeating them on social media.

Lovett, her brother's rumoured boyfriend, is among those who routinely supports her on social media in her pleas for Hollywood to finally turn its back on the director.

Farrow is working on another piece, the subject of which he would not reveal. In December, he balanced his birthday celebrations with speaking to sources for it.

He has also rumored to be in talks for a deal with HBO which would give him a multi-part documentary series.
President Donald Trump blasted California Democrat Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday for releasing the sealed transcript of an opposition research boss' testimony to a Senate committee.

The transcript revealed that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson was disposed to believe the salacious golden showers claim in the Trump dossier because Russians have cameras in 'all the luxury hotel rooms.'

Trump said in morning tweet that Feinstein may have broken the law when she made the transcript public yesterday, bucking Republican leadership.

'The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace,' Trump said. 'Must have tough Primary!'

President Donald Trump blasted California Democrat Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday for releasing the sealed transcript of an opposition research boss' testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Feinstein is pictured yesterday at the White House in a meeting with Trump

Trump said in morning tweet that Feinstein may have broken the law when she made the transcript public yesterday, bucking Republican leadership

The transcript the president is so upset about revealed that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson was disposed to believe the salacious golden showers claim in the Trump dossier because Russians have cameras in 'all the luxury hotel rooms'

Trump in a second tweet defended himself against allegations of collusion with Russia that have dogged him since his surprise electoral victory in November of 2016.

'The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes,' he said. 'Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!'

Feinstein, who's up for reelection this year in liberal California, unilaterally released the transcript of Simpson, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, on Tuesday.

Simpson had asked that Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican head of the Judiciary Committee, approve the release as he worked to clear his name in the scandal. Grassley instead invited him to testify publicly.

Feinstein said in a statement as she released the Judiciary Committee transcript that 'the innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice.'

'The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public.'

Commenting on the debacle on Wednesday, Grassley said, 'These transcripts would have been released eventually anyway.

'Obviously I was a little disappointed because I had an understanding ahead of time that itd be released when we both agreed to release it.'

Grassley worried that the way it was handled 'may make a lot of people a little more reserved whether or not they want to cooperate, including in regard to Jared Kushner.'

Kushner is 'not at all' off the hook, Grassley said in the interview with CNN.

The senator said he was confused by Trump's tweet saying that Republicans 'should finally take control.'

'I dont know what the president has in mind, and I dont think I better comment until I have a discussion with the president on that point,' Grassley said.

Trump in a second tweet defended himself against allegations of collusion with Russia that have dogged him since his surprise electoral victory in November of 2016

Simpson (pictured) had asked that Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican head of the Judiciary Committee, approve the release as he worked to clear his name in the scandal. Grassley instead invited him to testify publicly

A spokesman for Grassley charged in a statement yesterday that Feinstein's action was 'totally confounding,' however, and that it 'undermines the integrity of the committees oversight work.'

'Chairman Grassley has said on many occasions that he wants to be as transparent as possible,' said Senate Judiciary Committee Press Secretary Taylor Foy. 'He is committed to making information public at the appropriate time, and would welcome Mr. Simpsons testimony before a public hearing, as he did last July.

In the testimony that Feinstein released, Simpson relayed how he came to hire former British intelligence officer Chris Steele, with whom he had worked previously  and said it was Steele's decision to bring material he uncovered to the FBI in the summer of 2016.

The former reporter took efforts to protect sources for the dossier in the conversation, and his lawyer claimed during his client's testimony that a source had been killed as a result of publication.

He told investigative lawyers that he found Steele's memos 'really serious and really credible' both because of Steele's reputation and his own prior reporting on the Russians and their work with western lobbyists.

With respect to the salacious and unproven claim about Donald Trump's conduct in a Moscow hotel room during the Miss Universe pageant, Simpson said he didn't have any 'additional facts' beyond what Steele included in the dossier without verification.

'I mean, it's probably in here somewhere actually, but it's well known in intelligence circles that the Russians have cameras in all the luxury hotel rooms and there are memoirs written about this by former Russian intelligence agents I could quote you,' Simpson told the committee.

'So the problem of kompromat and kompromating is just endemic to east-west intelligence work. So that's what I'm referring to. That's what he's referring to,' he said.

Simpson defended the dossier in the private testimony and was asked about a portion relating to Donald Trump's trip to Moscow

About nine hours into Simpson's grilling, his attorney, Josh Levy, objected to questioning about a source  and said that someone had been 'killed' because of the dossier that Buzzfeed published in January of 2017.

'It's a voluntary interview, and in addition to that he wants to be very careful to protect his sources. Somebody's already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work,' Levy said.

Earlier, Simpson expressed his own concerns about revealing information that could endanger someone.

'There are some things I know that I just don't feel comfortable sharing because obviously it's been in the news a lot lately that people who get in the way of the Russians tend to get hurt,' he said.

Neither Simpson or his lawyer offered any information during the testimony on a specific person who had been killed as a result of the dossier.

One salacious and unverified claim dealt with Donald Trump's alleged conduct in a Moscow hotel room

The unverified incident described in the dossier was at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow

There were reports in 2016 about a string of Russian diplomats who turned up dead, including ambassadors to Greece and India and Russia's ambassador to the United Nations. A diplomat at the Russian consulate in New York was found dead on election day.

At another point, when asked about which employees and associates of the firm worked on researching Trump, Levy said he would convey the information but did not want it to be part of a transcript.

'I just want to make sure that employees involved in this matter are protected. We've had death threats come to the company,' he said.

Simpson said it was Steele's idea to bring what he found to a contact he had at the FBI.

'He said he was professionally obligated to do it. Like if you're a lawyer and, you know, you find out about a crime, in a lot of countries you must report that. So it was like that,' Simpson said.

'Chris said he was very concerned about whether this represented a national security threat and said he wanted to -- he said he thought we were obligated to tell someone in government, in our government about this information,' Simpson said.

'He thought from his perspective there was an issue -- a security issue about whether a presidential candidate was being blackmailed.'

After a delay of months, Steele heard back from the FBI, meeting with an agent in Rome.

Fusion GPS hired ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to put together the dossier

Simpson defended the credibility and reliability of ex MI6 agent Christopher Steele

Simpson says Steele told him the FBI had a source within the Trump campaign.

'Essentially what he told me was they had other intelligence about this matter from an internal Trump campaign source and that - that they -- my understanding was that they believed Chris at this point -- that they believed Chris's information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization,' he said.

After the Oct. 31 publication of a New York Times story which stated the FBI had not proved any collusion with the Trump campaign, Steele backed off his cooperation, Simpson said.

'Sometime thereafter the FBI -- I understand Chris severed his relationship with the FBI out of concern that he didn't know what was happening inside the FBI and there was a concern that the FBI was being manipulated for political ends by the Trump people and that we didn't really understand what was going on. So he stopped dealing with them,' he said.

Simpson had done previous work reporting on Paul Manafort's work on behalf of a pro-Russia Ukrainian president. Manafort went on to chair Trump's presidential campaign

On Wednesday, Feinstein put out the transcript without the consent of Grassley, who last week, with fellow Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina provided a criminal referral of Steele matter to the FBI for prosecution. Both actions highlight the breakdown of bipartisan cooperation on the panel.

Grassley's spokesman, Foy, said in a statement that Feinstein's action jeopardized the committee's ability to secure 'candid voluntary testimony relating to the independent recollections of future witnesses' such as as the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also serves as a senior adviser to the president.

'Neither the special counsel, nor any other congressional committee, has released transcripts of private interviews in the course of their investigations,' Foy said. 'Even the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has questioned the wisdom of releasing this transcript, because it might impugn further witnesses from coming forward. '

Sen. Mark Warner told CNN last week that the committees 'don't normally release prior testimony' for that reason.

Feinstein had the support of Democratic colleague Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island senator who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, for putting out the transcript on Tuesday, however.

Whitehouse said she made the right call 'under the circumstances' considering that there for months 'has been a campaign to discredit Christopher Steele and cast doubt on the FBIs investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.'

'The American people should have the opportunity to see the full transcript and judge for themselves,' he said. 'I hope the Committee will renew its focus on obstruction of justice, highlighting Russias tools of election interference, and legislation to defend the 2018 American election.'

Trump's spokeswoman did not have an immediate response to Feinstein's rogue action on Tuesday, leaving Trump to fire back at the California senator who has just been his guest at the White House for an immigration meeting yesterday.

He called the Russia probe a 'witch hunt' in an angry tweet that challenged his party's lawmakers to 'take control' of the investigation.

Simpson says Steele decided to bring his findings to the attention of the FBI. Former FBI director Robert Mueller was later named special counsel and picked up the bureau's Russia probe

Simpson has found himself caught in the crosshairs as Republican congressional committees probe the origins of the dossier and his firm's role in its creation  in addition to simultaneously representing other clients like a Russian lawyer who attended an infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr.

The dossier compiled by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele remains an area of intense scrutiny in Congress.

Republicans want to know if it formed the basis of the FBI's Russia probe, although there have been reports that it was other strands of information that got things started, including information revealed by a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign about Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton that made its way back to the FBI.

Even with all the unwelcome attention, Fusion GPS' work on Russia work continues, the New York Times reported. The paper wrote that it continues to explore ties between Trump and Russia, citing several people briefed on its research.

Simpson's firm began conducting opposition research on Trump after getting hired by the conservative Washington Free Beacon.

After Trump won the Republican primary, it took payment from the Perkins Coie law firm on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

The dossier, which Simpson has described as more of a series of memos, went on to describe a web of relationships between Trump associates and Russians, as well as an infamous unverified passage about Trump's supposed conduct in a Moscow hotel room.

Fusion attorney Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. says the firm now has a legal defense fund and that its legal fees have spiraled.

Fusion, in a statement to the Times, defended the firm's work  which anti-Putin crusader William Browder has described as smears for hire.

'We collect facts,' Fusion said in a statement. 'Occasionally, the facts turn out to be helpful to people we deplore, like Vladimir Putin, or undermine people for whom we have considerable sympathy, like William Browder,' who pushed for the Magnitsky Act sanctions.

Said Browder of Simpson: 'Hes a professional smear campaigner and liar for money. The credibility of anything that he does is in question.'
Broadcasting legend Desmond Carrington left an estate worth more than 720,000, it has emerged.

The BBC Radio 2 stalwart passed away aged 90 in February last year following a long battle with cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

He had only hung up his microphone a few months before after a remarkable 70-year career which began in 1945 as a professional actor.

He was best known for his weekly evening show The Music Goes Round, which he presented from a converted barn on his farm near Dunning, Perthshire.

Broadcasting legend Desmond Carrington left an estate worth more than 720,000

His recently published will has revealed he had an estate valued at 724,866 at the time of his death.

Carrington's wealth included a half-share in his 700,000 property in Perthshire and shares and dividends in his own media company worth around 100,000. The veteran DJ also had more than 200,000 held in bank accounts.

After leaving gifts totalling 10,000 to friends and relatives, Carrington instructed that the remainder of his estate should go to his long-term partner Dave Aylott, who was also the producer of his show.

Carrington's first stint on the radio was in 1946 as a member of the BBC's Drama Repertory Company, and he also began producing programmes for Radio Luxembourg and the BBC.

Carrington also appeared in stage shows, TV plays and in films, including one entitled Calamity The Cow alongside a then-teenage Phil Collins before he joined Genesis.

But it was The Music Goes Round that made him a household name as he entertained his listeners with music spanning every genre.

Carrington's first stint on the radio was in 1946 as a member of the BBC's Drama Repertory Company, and he also began producing programmes for Radio Luxembourg and the BBC

Desmond Carrington pictured as Dr. Chris Anderson, with Jill Browne as Nurse Carole Young, in a scene from the medical drama Emergency Ward 10

Every Friday at 7pm, he would open the show by saying: 'Evening all, from home in Perthshire.'

An hour later, after an eclectic, handpicked selection of tracks from the 1920s to the present, his 710,000 listeners would hear him sign off with his catchphrase: 'Bye just now.'

Carrington famously broadcast the show live from his home on August 31, 1997 - the day Princess Diana died - because the pre-recorded effort would not have been appropriate for the events that had occurred.

In 2016, Carrington announced he would be stepping down from hosting his popular show, which he had fronted since 1981, due to ill health.

Carrington was best known for his weekly evening show The Music Goes Round, which he presented from a converted barn on his farm near Dunning, Perthshire

He told listeners: 'I wasn't too well after my 90th birthday and it has been a bit difficult to carry on with the 36 happy years I've had making 'the music go round', so reluctantly I'm going to hang up my headphones at the end of October.

'Seventy years on the air since 1945 isn't a bad record, and it is now time to welcome someone younger.'

Following his death, Bob Shennan, director of BBC Radio and BBC Music - and former controller of BBC Radio 2 - said: 'Desmond was a warm, caring and generous man who was much loved by the Radio 2 audience and all those who had the pleasure of working with him during his illustrious career.

'He was a natural broadcaster and a key part of the BBC Radio family. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this very sad time.'
A woman shamelessly walked into a Los Angeles Costco last week to demand a refund for her 'dead' Christmas tree.

Customers at the Costco were so blown away by the woman's actions that one man decided to call her out on Facebook.

'I can't make this stuff up,' he wrote. 'Woman in line at Costco, totally nonchalant, to return her Christmas tree "because it is dead" on January 4.'

A woman (right) shamelessly walked into a Los Angeles Costco last week to demand a refund for her 'dead' Christmas tree. Customers at the Costco were so blown away by the woman's actions that one man decided to call her out on Facebook

'I can't make this stuff up,' he wrote. 'Woman in line at Costco, totally nonchalant, to return her Christmas tree "because it is dead" on January 4'

The man even took a photo of the woman and posted it on social media. The photo shows the woman and the large dead tree next to her as she stood in line at Costco.

Apparently the woman, was upset that her once lively tree had died after weeks of being in her home.

Surprisingly, the woman actually got her money back for the tree, according to Facebook post.

The post said the woman was questioned about the purchase and Costco employees made sure to verify the purchase on her account. She was also shamed a little by the store and other customers, according to the post.

'But I don't think it fazed her because she had no conscience,' the man wrote on Facebook.

The woman has not been identified, but she did give shoppers a new idea to keep in mind for next year.

Apparently the woman, was upset that her once lively tree had died after weeks of being in her home. Surprisingly, the woman actually got her money back for the tree, according to Facebook post
Christopher O'Neal Eakes, 41, allegedly stole an eight-week-old Yorkie puppy

A North Carolina man has been arrested after he allegedly stole an eight-week-old Yorkie puppy from his stepdaughter on New Year's Day.

Christopher O'Neal Eakes, 41, is believed to have traded the dog in order to pay for meth.

The dog was then sold to another family, who was unaware it was stolen, according to WNCN.

'We've heard of loved ones selling stuff from other family members and or friends, but as far as a dog or a pet, this is my first case,' Wayne County Detective Scott Peele said.

The victim told the station she saw the dog advertised for sale on Facebook by the man she believes her stepdad traded the dog to.

The pup was then sold and the victim decided the animal was with a good family and allowed them to keep the dog

The sheriff's office found the dog, but the victim decided the animal was with a good family and allowed them to keep the pup.

Detectives arrested Eakes on Monday and charged him with larceny of a dog.

He was booked under a $2,500 unsecured bond.
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From soaring skyscrapers to wide open parks and majestic rivers, New York is perhaps the most recognizable city anywhere in the world.

But you might struggle to pick out some of the city's landmarks in these pictures by Humza Deas, 21, after he managed to get a fresh perspective on the Big Apple.

Deas captured images of Grand Central, the Flatiron Building and the Chrysler Building from a bird's eye view.

Humza Deas, 21, made some of New York's most famous landmarks unrecognizable by photographing them from above. Left is the Chrysler Building and right is Grand Central

Deas made his name climbing skyscrapers to get his shots, but has now switched to flying above the city instead. Left is the Flatiron Building and right is the Port Authority Bus Terminal

Stuyvesant Town, in lower Manhattan, forms a mesmerizing series of geometric shapes from the air that is not immediately obvious from the ground. Right is Central Park looking downtown with the Empire State Building visible

Deas hit the headlines before when he was just 17 when he was climbing to the top of bridges and some of New York's tallest buildings to capture the perfect photo.

At that time, he spoke with New York Magazine about the growing popularity of urban exploration, the drive to take the perfect photograph of New York City, and about receiving death threats for speaking with the media.

He got the idea to start climbing earlier that year, while watching a viral video of two Russian daredevils scaling the 2,073-foot Shanghai Tower, still under construction in China.

The first-person video was so intense that his hands began to sweat as he held his phone.

'I was like, damn, this is so dangerous,' he told New York Magazine

Then he saw the otherworldly scenes they captured while clinging to a crane at the top, where skyscrapers poked out of a sea of clouds.

'I'm thinking, hey, they're in China, they're not in New York,' Deas said. 'I can show New York this kind of photography.'

Union Square Park (left) shows off its fall colors while Washington Square Park is tricky to recognize from the air, with its signature arch and fountain obscured from view

Tiny figures are just about visible left as they play on a basketball court at Queensbridge Houses, overlooking the Queensborough Bridge, while the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge is seen right above an autumnal Astoria Park

Residents of the Lower East Side of Manhattan gather for a game of basketball in Tompkins Square Park, watched from above by photographer Humza Deas
A Nigerian man has caused outrage by posting graphic images of young girls being subjected to brutal female genital mutilation on Facebook.

Alhaji Adebayo from Ilorin, Kwara State, central Nigeria, uploaded the images to his social media account in a post advertising free circumcision for children.

Adebayo, reportedly a building contractor, promised an eight-day 'bonanza' of free female FGM being carried out at his home, stating 'come one, come all'.

Shocking: Alhaji Adebayo posted graphic images of a young girl being subjected to female genital mutilation on his Facebook

Horrifying: The images posted by Adebayo show a young child being held down by two men while one of them appears to be performing FGM on her

FGM 'bonanza': In the post, Adebayo offered free FGM at his 'residence' for eight days

The images posted by Adebayo show a young child being held down by two men in front of a small crowd, while one of them appears to be performing FGM on her.

'Bonanza! Bonanza! Bonanza!!! Free of Charge 8 days, Yearly opportunity has come again [sic],' Adebayo wrote in a now-deleted post, directing anyone interested in having their child circumcised to come down to his house.

Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is banned in Nigeria, but despite this, it is still practiced in some areas.

Several people commented on Adebayo's post, trying to educated him about the barbaric and illegal practice.

Adebayo is reportedly working as a building contractor and appears to have been organising free or subsidised circumcisions as charity work

Banned: A local UNICEF campaigner said local families had paid Adebayo 1 per FGM

He defended himself, claiming that he was providing a service to the local community and that those who wished to take their child to hospital to perform circumcision had their hospital bill paid.

Another person asked Adebayo why he posted such graphic images of young children, to which he responded that it was not possible to identify them, accusing the commentator of blackmailing him.

It has since emerged that Adebayo had been organising FGMs on several occasions, running an unofficial charity to provide cheap circumcisions for low-income families, CNN reports.

In the past, parents had paid him 'as little as 500 naira (1)', a local anti-FGM campaigner told CNN.

Critique: Some of the comments on the original post, which has since been removed, criticise Adebayo and FGMs

Missing the point: Adebayo defended the initiative, claiming that if some wanted to have FGM performed in hospital, his 'organisation' had paid the bill

Disrespectful: Adebayo also defended his right to post graphic images of an exposed young child being subjected to FGM

After being visited by a UNICEF-linked anti-FGM campaigner and the local Child Protection Network, Adebayo removed the post and claimed he would stop the practice.

In another Facebook post he writes that after a discussion with the representatives he had been educated about the 'disadvantages and implications' of FGM.

He added: 'In view of this, I urge every parents to put an end to the Female Mutilation for their Female children because of d problems that might come out from there later in the future. [sic]'.
A 15-year-old Massachusetts girl sold drugs to customers from her bedroom window at home  all with her mothers blessing, police allege.

Investigators in the rural town of Haverhill say they discovered marijuana, cocaine, the opioid fentanyl, and two unlicensed handguns with ammunition.

Police also seized $1,069 in cash which are believed to have been obtained by selling drugs, according to the Eagle Tribune.

The mother, Heather Vittorioso, 37, was arrested and charged with a number of crimes, including possession of a firearm without a license, unlicensed possession of ammunition, reckless endangerment to a child, drug possession, cocaine trafficking, and conspiracy to violate drugs laws.

The 15-year-old girl faces a number of charges in juvenile court in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Heather Vittorioso, 37, was arrested and charged with drug possession, reckless endangerment of a child, and conspiracy to violate drugs laws. She told police she knew her 15-year-old daughter sold weed, but insists she did not know of any other drugs sold

Vittorioso's 15-year-old daughter allegedly ran a drug-selling operation in which she took money from customers who knocked on her third-floor bedroom window in exchange for marijuana, cocaine, and fentanyl

The 15-year-old girl faces a number of charges in juvenile court in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Vittorioso told detectives that she knew her daughter was selling weed, but insisted that she was not aware of the other narcotics, according to Fox 25 Boston.

Neighbors said that they heard people walking up the steps of the multi-family home at all hours of the night, even as late as 3am.

Police said Cameron Dawson, 18, who is said to be dating Vittoriosos daughter, has also been charged with drug possession and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Dawson is also said to be living with his girlfriend in her bedroom.

The girls father, Demetrius Tragiou, was arrested in September and charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault in connection with a stabbing that took place in Haverhill, according to the Eagle Tribune.

Police also seized $1,069 in cash which are believed to have been obtained by selling drugs

The drug transactions allegedly were conducted through the 15-year-old girl's bedroom window (seen above)

Neighbors said that they heard people walking up the steps of the multi-family home at all hours of the night, even as late as 3am

A judge at Haverhill District Court ordered Vittorioso held on $3,000 cash bail. Dawson was ordered held on $1,000 cash bail.

If they post bail, they would be required to abstain from drugs and alcohol. They would also be barred from taking medical marijuana.

The landlord of the third-floor apartment where Vittorioso, her daughter, and Dawson live filed a request for an emergency eviction because of the alleged drug sales.

That request will be taken up by a local court on Monday.

Local police filed a report with Haverhill District Court on Friday.

According to the report, officers executed a search warrant for Vittoriosos apartment.

They discovered Vittorioso wrapped in a towel. They also found Dawson and Vittoriosos 15-year-old daughter in bed in a bedroom.

We only sell weed, the young couple allegedly told police when officers informed them why they were searching the home.

Police also found two boys aged 16 and 18 in the living room of the home. The 16-year-old told police he just spent the night in the home.

The girls father, Demetrius Tragiou, was arrested in September and charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault in connection with a stabbing that took place in Haverhill

The 18-year-old was identified as Vittoriosos nephew. He told police he had just arrived at the home and was planning to go to a court hearing in the case of Demetrius Tragiou and his girlfriend, Lisa Lavoie, who were indicted in a separate stabbing case.

Police found that the 18-year-old boy had $750 in his pockets. The boy said he earned the money working for his father.

Both boys were permitted to leave the apartment.

Police then began to search the bedroom where Dawson and the 15-year-old girl were living.

They say they found four bags of cocaine and a bag of marijuana.

Investigators then said that during the course of their search they learned that the girl sold drugs to customers who walked up the back deck and knocked on the window.

She then would allegedly hand the customers drugs in exchange for cash.

Police also said they found other drug-related paraphernalia including digital scales, a drug ledger, $439 in cash, and a can of Comet cleaner that was used to store drugs.

The ledger is alleged to have included the names of customers as well as the amounts of drugs purchased and the money that was paid for them.

A search of a bedroom where Vittorioso said her 16-year-old son sleeps turned up a backpack that contained two pistols  a silver Bryco .380 and a Heckler & Koch P30L 9-milimeter, according to police.

Investigators said they also found loaded magazines and a box of ammunition.

The backpack is also alleged to have contained 21 grams of cocaine as well as bags of fentanyl.
A transgender teen from Wisconsin has won an $800,000 settlement after he said school administrators monitored his trips to the boys' bathroom and made him wear a bracelet to single him out.

Ash Whitaker, 18, filed a lawsuit against the Kenosha Unified School Board in 2016 claiming school officials were discriminating against him because he's transgender.

Whitaker, who was born a female, identifies as a male.

In the suit, Whitaker said administrators would monitor him whenever he used the boys' restroom and made him wear a bright green bracelet so teachers and other students could identify him, the Kenosha News reports.

Ash Whitaker won an $800,000 settlement after his school monitored his use of the boys' bathroom and made him wear a green bracelet to single him out

The 18-year-old filed the suit in July 2016 after his repeated requests to use the boys' restroom were denied

Whitaker said the discrimination took place during his senior year at Tremper High School. He graduated in June

The district 'strongly denied' the allegations.

On Tuesday, more than a year after the suit was filed, the school board settled and Whitaker was awarded $800,000.

I am deeply relived that this long, traumatic part of my life is finally over and I can focus on my future and simply being a college student, the now-college student said in a statement.

Winning this case was so empowering and made me feel like I can actually do something to help other trans youths live authentically. My message to other trans kids is to respect themselves and accept themselves and love themselves. If someones telling you that you dont deserve that, prove them wrong.

Whitaker graduated from Tremper High School in June. He now attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he plans to major in biomedical engineering.

Under the settlement, the district will withdraw a petition it filed to the US Supreme Court asking that it overturn a ruling which allowed Whitaker to use the boys' bathroom during his senior year at the school.

The settlement also allows the teen to use the men's restroom whenever he returns to the Kenosha Unified campus as an 'alumnus or community member, which the district had done while he was a student'.

The agreement does not apply to other transgender students beyond Whitaker, according to Kenosha News.

'This settlement sends the clear message to all school districts that discriminating against transgender students is against the law and harms students who simply want to go to school, Whitakers lawyer Joseph Wardenski told the outlet. We are pleased that KUSD decided not to endlessly drag this case through the courts any further, to compensate Ash for the concrete and avoidable harms he suffered and to finally allow Ash to move on from this painful chapter of his life.

Whitaker, who was born a female, came out as transgender to his family in middle school. Whitaker is pictured here with his mother, Melissa

The teen told his peers and school teachers in his sophomore of high school that he was a boy and wanted to be referred to using male pronouns

According to the district's attorney, $650,000 of the settlement will go towards attorney fees. Whitaker is expected to get the balance.

Whitaker previously made headlines when he challenged his school's decision that he could not run for prom king. After he and 7,000 people signed an online petition and more than 70 of his peers staged in a sit-in at the school, administrators reversed their decision.

The teen lived as a girl until middle school, when he realized that he was a boy, according to the Washington Post. Under the guidance of doctors and therapists, he transitioned to living as a male and came out as transgender to his family.

During his sophomore year of high school, he told his teachers and peers that he was a boy and asked that they use male pronouns when addressing him. He also asked the school's permission to use the boys' bathroom, which was denied.

He was told to either use the girls' restroom of the single-stall bathroom in the school office. Whitaker began secretly using the boys' bathroom without any problems, until February 2016 when a teacher alerted school administrators. He filed his lawsuit in July of that year.
Two dogs who are best friends have found a happy new life together after being discovered deeply malnourished and abandoned in Oregon.

The dogs, Phillip a white poodle mix and Dade a chocolate Great Dane, were discovered tied to a fence post in south east Portland in desperate need of medical attention.

Phillip, the eight-year-old poodle mix, was severely underweight, had a dislocated knee joint and was suffering from a dental disease, according to officials at nonprofit DoveLewis, KHOU reported.

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Two dogs, who are best friends, were found deeply malnourished and abandoned in Southeast Portland, Oregon. However, after lots of treatments they have now been adopted (pictured)

Due to his severely matted fur, Phillip had to have his fur shaved off.

Dade, the six-year-old Great Dane, was also very malnourished weighing only 50 pounds, causing his ribs, hip bones and shoulder blades to stick out.

While the dogs were being treated at DoveLewis, an animal hospital in Portland, staff workers noticed they had an inseparable bond.

Even during treatments the dogs would be side by side and could not be separated.

While the dogs were being treated at DoveLewis, an animal hospital in Portland, staff workers noticed they had an inseparable bond

Apparently even during treatments the dogs would be side by side and could not be separated

'I get teary just thinking about Dade's worried expression when he walked in the room looking for Phillip,' Lorri Schinderle, a technician assistant at DoveLewis said.

'They were so attached. You can tell that they were meant to be together. Dade didn't leave Phillip's side, and he wouldn't stop kissing him and loving him.'

According to Dr. Becca Falender, the dogs were so concerned about one another. 'They were just so worried about each other - even when we separated them across the room, Falender said, KOIN6 reported.

Apparently the dogs were completely attached to one another and wouldn't leave each other's side

It is very rare for dogs of varying sizes to be adopted at the same time, however due to their special connection and story they were adopted together

Phillip and Dade were transferred to Multnomah County Animal Services after being cared for at DoveLewis.

The dogs were still in need of treatment at this facility, however once they were healthy enough, they were ready to be adopted.

It is very rare for dogs of varying sizes to be adopted at the same time, however due to their special connection and story they were adopted.

'We were so hopeful that they would find a home together. It feels good to know that we treated them, shaved years of mats off Phillip and gave them hope,' said Schinderle.

'It makes me so happy to know that someone is going to love them and they will have a new life together.'
Ethiopia has banned the adoption of children by foreigners amid fears some are facing neglect and abuse in their new lives abroad.

Politicians in the east African country say orphans and vulnerable youngsters should be cared for and protected through local support systems rather than risk uncertain futures overseas.

The ban came about amid outrage after an Ethiopian girl was starved to death by a US couple in 2011.

Thousands of Americans have adopted children from Ethiopia - among them Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt who adopted daughter Zahara Marley from the country in 2005.

Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are among the thousands of Americans who have adopted children from Ethiopia. Jolie is pictured with their daughter Zahara Marley in 2015

Actor Brad Pitt is pictured holding Zahara Marley at Tokyo International Airport in 2005 - the year the youngster was adopted from Ethiopia

Legislation was passed in Ethiopia's parliament despite concerns over the availability of local adoption facilities.

Between 1999 and 2016, there were more than 15,000 adoptions from Ethiopia to America, according to the US Department of State.

But this practice was put under the spotlight after a US couple were of convicted of manslaughter in the gruesome starvation and hypothermia death of a teenage girl they adopted from Ethiopia.

Manslaughter: Larry (left) and Carri Williams react in a Washington court as a jury read their guilty verdict. The couple were guilty of manslaughter in the death of their 13-year-old Ethiopian adopted daughter

A jury found Larry Williams, of Sedro-Woolley, guilty of first-degree manslaughter, while his wife, Carri Williams, was found guilty of homicide by abuse as well as manslaughter.

Hana Williams died in May 2011 in the backyard of the couple's home, where she was forced to stay as part of a strict system of child-rearing outlined in a Christian parenting book.

An autopsy showed that Hana died of hypothermia that was aggravated by chronic gastritis and malnutrition.
President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has spent six months quietly working on prison reform, Axios has learned.

The culmination of that effort will take place tomorrow, as President Trump holds a White House listening session on the issue, the website said.

For Kushner, the topic hits home, as his father Charles spent 14 months in a federal prison in Montgomery, Alabama, for tax evasion and other crimes.

President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner (pictured), a senior adviser to the president, has quietly been working on the issue of prison reform through his Office of American Innovation

The topic is personal for Jared Kushner (right), as his father Charles (left) served 14 months in a federal facility in Montgomery, Alabama for tax evasion and other crimes

Prison reform  or more broadly, criminal justice reform  has brought together strange bedfellows in Washington over the past few years.

That hasn't changed in the Trump era.

Axios reported that a handful of Democrats attended a dinner discussion on prison reform at the home of Kushner and his wife, first daughter Ivanka Trump, also a top White House aide.

Attendees included Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, along with Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, also joined.

Using his Office of American Innovation, Kushner and administration officials have also met with faith-based and conservative leaders, former inmates and other experts on the issue, Axios learned.

The White House views prison reform as an issue that could be a bipartisan win, that will please fiscally-concerned conservatives and those wanting to reduce crime.

For instance, Republican super-donors, the 'Koch Brothers' feel strongly on the issue.

In the past, various criminal justice reform bills have seen pairings of Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and strong voice on the issue, with Democrats including Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California.

Axios reported that the White House is looking into both administrative and legislative actions, with an early step being a public awareness push involving churches.

At tomorrow's meeting, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has used his post to push for harder sentencing and to more strictly enforce federal marijuana laws, will also attend.
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British war graves in Mosul have been found destroyed six months after the city was liberated from ISIS fanatics by Iraqi security forces.

Iraqi forces defeated ISIS in the city in July 2017 after months of intense urban battles that left much of its buildings little more than ruins.

Pounded by constant shell fire from the jihadists and air strikes from the international coalition trying to free them, most of Mosul's residents fled during the battle.

Meanwhile Mosul War Cemetery, which is about a mile west of the now-ruined Old City and contains hundreds of burials from the First and Second World Wars, was desecrated by jihadists.

Iraqi forces defeated ISIS in the city in July 2017 after months of intense urban battles that left much of buildings little more than ruins. Now some of the British Commonwealth war graves destroyed by the fanatics have been revealed. Pictured: The smashed gravestone of, Watkin Hugh Price of the South Wales Borderers, who died aged 31 in 1942 before being buried in Mosul

Pounded by constant shell fire from the jihadists and air strikes from the international coalition trying to free them, most of Mosul's residents fled during the battle. Mosul War Cemetery, which is about a mile west of the now-ruined Old City, contains hundreds of burials from the First and Second World Wars. Pictured: What remains of the headstones there

Of the graves identified, 75 of them are British, 74 are Indian, two Australian and one Canadian, while 129 belong to the Army and 23 to the RAF. Pictured: A Christian cross on a wrecked gravestone in Mosul

Among those buried are 191 servicemen from the First World War, 145 from the Second World War and 13 non-war consular graves.

Of the graves identified, 75 of them are British, 74 are Indian, two Australian and one Canadian, while 129 belong to the Army and 23 to the RAF.

The British Empire fought in Iraq during the First World War against the Ottoman Empire, which headquartered its Sixth Army in Mosul.

After fierce fighting, the city was occupied by Commonwealth troops on November 3, 1918 when Ottoman forces agreed to an armistice.

It then became a medical centre and was later at the heart of the so-called 'Mosul Question', a dispute over which power would control the oil-rich province of what is now northern Iraq.

The city ultimately went to Iraq - then administered by the British Empire - but 10 per cent of all oil royalties had to go to Turkey for 25 years.

During the Second World War, Mosul once again played an important role in fighting.

It was occupied by Commonwealth soldiers from June 1941 until the end of the war, despite Iraq having been given independence from the British Empire in 1932, following a pro-Nazi coup in Iraq orchestrated by Rashid Ali, who had the backing of several senior Iraqi military officers.

After fierce fighting, the city was occupied by Commonwealth troops on November 3, 1918 after Ottoman troops agreed to an armistice. It then became a medical centre and was later at the heart of the so-called 'Mosul Question', a dispute over which power would control the oil-rich province of what is now northern Iraq. Pictured: A smashed tombstone at the cemetery

British Empire troops based in Mosul helped fight Vichy French forces in Syria and Lebanon as well as assisting in the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia in 1941. Pictured: An Iraqi man stands amid the remains of the British Commonwealth cemetery in Mosul

After the Second World War, Iraq returned to independence under the auspices of the British Empire until a republic was declared in 1958. In 1979, Saddam Hussein took power, leading ultimately to Iraq's confrontation with the West, his dictatorship's collapse and the rise of ISIS, which seized Mosul in 2014 and set about destroying the British war memorials. Pictured: Some of the destroyed tombstones in Mosul

Much of Mosul was destroyed during intense fighting against ISIS fanatics occupying the city. Pictured: A view of Mosul on January 8 showing the level of destruction

He was defeated in the Anglo-Iraq War of May 1941, during which at least 60 British Empire servicemen were killed alongside 500 Iraqi fighters.

During the subsequent occupation, a military formation known as 'Iraqforce' was created, with all members who died in the unit buried in Mosul and nearby Kirkuk.

British Empire troops based in Mosul helped fight Vichy French forces in Syria and Lebanon as well as assisting in the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia in 1941.

After the Second World War, Iraq returned to independence under the auspices of the British Empire until a republic was declared in 1958.

In 1979, Saddam Hussein took power, leading ultimately to Iraq's confrontation with the West, his dictatorship's collapse and the rise of ISIS, which seized Mosul in 2014 and set about destroying the British war memorials.
A brawl between three women erupted on the Hong Kong subway yesterday during evening rush hours all because of a seat.

Three women were seen being tangled up as they fought on a train from Mei Foo to Tuen Mun on the MTR West Rail Line.

All of the three woman have been arrested after police officers arrived at the Tsuen Wan West station at around 6pm, according to hk01.com.

A video of the scene, believed to be filmed by a passenger on the platform, has been widely shared on social media.

In the video, which runs more than a minute and half, one woman who was sitting down could be seen pulling the hair of two women next to her. One of the pair was sitting down and other standing.

The first women then started kicking the two women one by one in the head.

The other passengers on the train failed to separate the trio.

Three women were said to be brawling on a subway train from Mei Foo to Tuen Mun in Hong Kong yesterday evening. They were said to be fighting over seats and couldn't be separated

In a viral video, one woman who was sitting down could be seen pulling the hair of another woman who was standing up; she then kicked the head of a third woman who was also sitting

According to HK01, the police have identified the three women as 54-year-old Lau, 49-year-old Zhang and 24-year-old He.

All of them were detained by the police.

Lau, from Hong Kong, is said to suffer injuries on the neck, face, mouth, chest and hands and needed medical attention.

Zhang and He, who are said to be mother and daughter from mainland China, allegedly refused to be taken to the hospital.

Criminal Investigation officers of Tsuen Wan are investigating the case further.
If the 2020 election was held today, talk show host Oprah Winfrey would beat President Trump by 10 points, a new poll found.

Rasmussen Reports found that Winfrey attracts 76 per cent of Democrats, 44 per cent of unaffiliated voters and even 22 per cent of Republicans to rout Trump from the White House 48 to 38 per cent. However, 14 per cent of the electorate was undecided.

Trump had boasted, 'Yeah, I'll beat Oprah,' when asked about a potential Winfrey run on Tuesday, but the poll shows he'd only receive 66 per cent of support from Republicans, along with 38 per cent from unaffiliated voters.

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Oprah Winfrey (left) would beat President Trump (right) by 10 points if the 2020 presidential election was held today, a Rasmussen Reports poll found

Oprah Winfrey attracts 76 per cent of Democrats, 44 per cent of unaffiliated voters and even 22 per cent of Republicans, the poll found

The president (left) loses his edge with white voters if Winfrey enters the race and is only supported by 66 per cent of his own party

Twelve per cent of Democrats told pollsters they'd support the Oval Office's current occupant.

Among ideological lines, 69 per cent of self-identified conservatives said they'd choose Trump, while 80 per cent of liberals voter for Winfrey, along with 58 per cent of moderates.

Additionally, a majority of all the likely voters surveyed viewed Winfrey favorably.

Fifty-give per cent of respondents viewed Winfrey favorably, with 27 per cent indicating they viewed her as 'very favorably,' the poll found.

Another 34 per cent said they held an unfavorable host of the media entrepreneur  who would most likely run as a Democrat  while 18 per cent of respondents had a 'very unfavorable' view of Winfrey.

The poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Monday and Tuesday of this week, on the heels of Winfrey's impassioned Golden Globes speech, which was what initially sparked presidential rumors.

Winfrey's best friend Gayle King, one of the hosts of CBS This Morning, tried to tamp down the fervor on Tuesday by explaining that while Winfrey is now 'intrigued' by the idea, she's not 'actively considering' a run.

King also explained that Winfrey's longtime partner, Stedman Graham, misheard a question posed to him by a Los Angeles Times reporter the night of the Globes, telling the scribe, 'It's up to the people' and 'She would absolutely do it.'

'He thought the reporter was saying would she be a good president,' King explained to her CBS co-hosts, who challenged her because Graham's answer sounded so definitive.

King added, 'He is nothing but supportive, [but] he would never throw it out there like that.'

While boasting that he would win, Trump said he didn't believe Winfrey would run.

'I know her very well. I did one of her last shows ... I like Oprah,' the president said, during his bipartisan meeting with lawmakers on the topic of immigration Tuesday.

The voters who preferred Winfrey tended to be black, female and young  though the talk show queen bested Trump among white voters too, a feat that Democrat Hillary Clinton couldn't accomplish in 2016.

In 2016, 58 per cent of white voters selected Trump, while 37 per cent chose Clinton.

Winfrey's widest margin of victory, however, comes from African-American voters.

Black voters heavily supported Clinton too, giving the Democratic nominee an 80-point advantage, 88 per cent to 8 per cent, over Trump on election day, but it wasn't nearly as much support as the voting bloc gave President Obama in 2008 and 2012.

In 2008 95 per cent of black voters chose Obama, over just 4 per cent who selected Republican Sen. John McCain.

In 2012, 93 per cent of African-American voters went for Obama, while just 6 per cent went for Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

Voters under 40 were far more likely to choose Winfrey than Trump, mirroring recent trends of young voters preferring Democratic candidates.

Gender also comes into play with 52 per cent of women preferring Winfrey over Trump, compared to 43 per cent of men, the Rasmussen survey found.

Before Winfrey's Golden Globes speech, Democrats most-preferred 2020 presidential candidate was President Obama's veep, Joe Biden.

2016 Democratic contender, Sen. Bernie Sanders came in a distant second, in a Rasmussen survey taken in mid-November 2017.
US immigration agents have descended on dozens of 7-Eleven stores in pre-dawn enforcement raids targeting illegal hiring practices.

Agents targeted about 100 stores nationwide in a crackdown Wednesday morning, broadening an investigation that began with a 4-year-old case against a franchisee on New York's Long Island.

Though agents arrested 21 people suspected of being in the country illegally during Wednesday's sweep, the action was aimed squarely at company management.

The agents opened employment audits and interviewed workers in what officials described as the largest operation against an employer under Donald Trump's presidency. The audits could lead to criminal charges or fines over the stores' hiring practices.

In Los Angeles' Koreatown, seven agents arriving in three unmarked cars closed a store for 20 minutes to explain the audit to the only employee there, a clerk with a valid green card.

Federal agents serve an employment audit notice at a 7-Eleven convenience store Wednesday in Los Angeles. The pre-dawn raids targeted about 100 stores nationwide

Though agents arrested 21 people suspected of being in the country illegally during Wednesday's sweep, the action was aimed squarely at company management

Agents, wearing blue jackets marked ICE, told arriving customers that the store was closed briefly for a federal inspection. A driver delivering cases of beer was told to wait in the parking lot.

The manager was in Bangladesh and the owner, reached by phone, told the clerk to accept whatever documents were served. Agents said they would return Tuesday for employment records they requested.

The enforcement action appears to open a new front in Trump's sharp expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40 per cent increase in deportation arrests and plans to spend billions of dollars on a border wall with Mexico.

Immigration restrictionists have been pressing for a tougher stance on employers, who they say attract illegal immigration and undercut American workers with lax verification policies.

Derek Benner, a top official at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Associated Press that Wednesday's operation was 'the first of many' and 'a harbinger of what's to come' for employers.

He said there would be more employment audits and investigations, though there is no numerical goal.

Christopher Kuemmerle, a group supervisor for ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit, watches as agents serve an employment audit notice at a 7-Eleven convenience store

'This is what we're gearing up for this year and what you're going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters. From there, we will look at whether these cases warrant an administrative posture or criminal investigation,' said Benner, acting head of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, which oversees cases against employers.

'It's not going to be limited to large companies or any particular industry, big medium and small,' he said. 'It's going to be inclusive of everything that we see out there.'

7-Eleven Stores Inc., based in Irving, Texas, with more than 8,600 stores in the US, didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Illegal hiring is rarely prosecuted, partly because investigations are time-consuming and convictions are difficult to achieve because employers can claim they were duped by fraudulent documents or intermediaries. Administrative fines are discounted by some as a business cost.

George W. Bush's administration aggressively pursued criminal investigations against employers in its final years with dramatic pre-dawn shows of force and large numbers of worker arrests. In 2008, agents arrived by helicopter at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, and detained nearly 400 workers.

Last month, Trump commuted the 27-year prison sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, former chief executive of Agriprocessors, once nation's largest kosher meatpacking operation.

Barack Obama's administration more than doubled employer audits to more than 3,100 a year in 2013, shunning Bush's flashier approach.

HSI agents gather before serving a employment audit notice at a 7-Eleven convenience store before dawn on Wednesday in Los Angeles

John Sandweg, an acting ICE director under Obama, said significant fines instilled fear in employers and draining resources from other enforcement priorities.

Trump is pursuing 'its own kind of unique strategy' tied to its broader emphasis on fighting illegal immigration, including enforcement on the border, Benner said.

Some workers may get arrested in the operations but authorities are targeting employers because they are job magnets for people to come to the country illegally, he said.

'We need to make sure that employers are on notice that we are going to come out and ensure that they're being compliant,' Benner said 'For those that don't, we're going to take some very aggressive steps in terms of criminal investigations to make sure that we address them and hold them accountable.'

'Just as the IRS performs audits of people all the time of their tax returns, the same purpose here is to ensure a culture of compliance in this area,' he said.

The 7-Eleven stores served on Wednesday will be required to produce documents showing they required work authorization, which Benner said will become more common. Audits may lead to criminal charges or administrative penalties.

Wednesday's operation resulted from a 2013 investigation that resulted in charges against nine 7-Eleven franchisees and managers in New York and Virginia. Eight have pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in back wages, and the ninth was arrested in November.

In the 2013 investigations, managers used more than 25 stolen identities to employ at least 115 people in the country illegally, knowing they could pay below minimum wage, according to court documents.

The documents say 7-Eleven corporate office does automated payroll, requiring franchisees provide employee names and Social Security numbers to pay workers through direct deposit or check.

Neither 7-Eleven nor was its parent company, Seven & i Holding Co. based in Tokyo, was charged in that case.
A New York prison guard has been accused of repeatedly raping a female inmate, forcing her to perform oral sex on him then smuggling her the morning after pill.

Lt. Carlos Martinez is on trial for the alleged rape of an inmate, named only as Maria, who says he attacked her repeatedly at the Metropolitan Detention Center between December 2015 and April 2016.

The woman, 31, testified on Tuesday that Martinez, 47, made her perform oral sex on him and raped her on a desk in an abandoned office inside the central Manhattan prison.

She was incarcerated on drug trafficking charges at the time but has since been released.

Carlos Martinez, 47, allegedly raped a female inmate repeatedly between December 2015 and April 2016 repeatedly

On Tuesday, she wept in court as she relived the alleged abuse.

According to AM NY, which attended the trial, the woman was too traumatized to look at Martinez in person and identified him from a photograph.

Quivering, she told the court: 'It was the worst thing that ever happened to me.

'He killed me inside.'

She alleges that Martinez told her not to report the alleged assaults and said she would be given more time in jail if she did.

The woman was serving a three-year sentence at the time.

'I didnt want any problems. I didnt want to be there a single day longer... He's a man who has a certain position.

'Whos going to believe a person whos a criminal versus a person who has a position, a life,' the woman said.

The woman, named only as Maria, was serving a three year sentence at Manhattan's Metropolitan Detention Center when she says Martinez attacked her

She alleged that Martinez told her not to worry about falling pregnant because he had had a vasectomy.

Nonetheless, he still allegedly brought her a morning after pill in prison.

Martinez (shown above in his mugshot) was arrested after the woman was released and came forward with accusations

The woman said she tried to confide in fellow female inmates but that they were unsympathetic and told her she was lucky to be having sex while incarcerated.

Martinez does not deny that the pair had sex but has pleaded not guilty to rape charges.

His lawyer slammed the woman's credibility on Tuesday and said she only came forward with the allegations while facing deportation to her native Dominican Republic.

She also is said to have filed a $20million lawsuit against the Department of Corrections which he said undermined her motives.

Martinez is one of several guards from the prison who are accused of misconduct.

Accusations against the others are being heard separately.


John McDonnell will head to a glittering summit of bankers and world leaders in Davos for the first time, it emerged tonight.

The shadow chancellor, who has publicly scorned the global elite who attend the summit for his entire career, has accepted an invite to attend later this month.

A spokesman said he lecture the World Economic Forum about the need to 'rewrite the rules of the global economy' and outline Labour's alternative approach.

The invite to Mr McDonnell is a signal world leaders and the business community is taking Jeremy Corbyn and Labour more seriously.

But senior Tory Michael Fabricant predicted Mr McDonnell would be politely listened to while he quotes Karl Marx's Das Kapital and then be ignored.

John McDonnell (file image) will head to a glittering summit of bankers and world leaders in Davos for the first time, it emerged tonight

The invite to Mr McDonnell is a signal world leaders and the business community is taking Jeremy Corbyn (pictured today at PMQs) and Labour more seriously.

Prime Minister Theresa May made a major speech at the summit last year and is expected to attend again when the annual event convenes from January 23 and 26.

A spokesman for Mr McDonnell said: 'The Shadow Chancellor has been invited by the Word Economic Forum to attend their annual meeting this year in Davos.

'John McDonnell has accepted, and will use the opportunity to set out why it is vital we rewrite the rules of the global economy.

'He will further explain Labour's vision for an alternative economic approach to replace the current model of capitalism that has failed the many; and led to an unsustainable concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few.'

The spokesman said Mr McDonnell would take the opportunity to raise 'issues facing working people in this country'.

He will also spell out the need for greater cooperation on climate change and inequality across the developed world.

The spokesman added: 'The shadow chancellor will also call for... countries and corporations to work closer together to clamp down tax avoidance and evasion.'

Prime Minister Theresa May made a major speech at the summit last year (pictured) and is expected to attend again when the annual event convenes from January 23 and 26

Senior Conservative Michael Fabricant told MailOnline: 'I am sure that world economic leaders will listen to John McDonnell very carefully as he quotes from Chairman Mao's little red book and Karl Marx's Das Kapital and then ignore him.'

If Mrs May does attend the event this year it will speculation she could have a meeting with Donald Trump for the first time since a summit in New York in September.

If he attends, Mr Trump would be the first sitting US president to attend the summit in person since Bill Clinton in 2000.
A 65-year-old Maryland man with dementia who wandered away from his wife at a Costco store last week and went missing in the bitter cold has been found dead, it was reported on Wednesday.

Prince George's County police said Daniel DeHaven was found Tuesday night in a wooded area near Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport by a person out for a walk.

His wife told police he disappeared on January 2 while she went to get a shopping cart at a Costco in Prince George's, according to The Washington Post.

She said she turned around to fine him gone.

Daniel DeHaven (above), a 65-year-old Maryland man with dementia who wandered away from his wife at a Costco store last week and went missing in the bitter cold, has been found dead

Prince George's County police said DeHaven was found Tuesday night in a wooded area near Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport by a person out for a walk

The recent bitter cold temperatures prompted intense efforts to find him, including the use of helicopters and bloodhounds.

His body was found about 20 miles from the Costco store. Police said there are 'no suspicious factors' in his death.

DeHaven was described as non-verbal.

He was last seen on January 2 at the Costco on Baltimore Avenue near Beltsville, Maryland.

At around 11:30am on that day, his wife had gone to get a shopping cart. When she turned around, he was gone, according to authorities.

At the time of his disappearance, the temperature in Prince George's County was 27 degrees.

From the time that he disappeared on January 2 until this past Sunday, the temperature never exceeded 23 degrees.

His wife told police he disappeared on January 2 while she went to get a shopping cart at a Costco in Prince George's County, Maryland (seen above)

The temperatures grew more milder on Monday - with highs in the mid-to-high 30s - and Tuesday. The high temperature in Prince George's County on Tuesday was 52 degrees.

The first week of 2018 saw the Northeast in the grip of an Arctic cold spell with low temperatures reaching the single digits and wind chills dipping below zero.

On Sunday, Prince George's County police said that DeHaven may have been picked up by a motorist.

The police said on Twitter that the motorist could have picked him up on Route 1 and then dropped him off in neighboring Anne Arundel County near Gambrills.

Gambrills is about halfway between where DeHaven went missing and where his body was found.

DeHaven's son, Kevin DeHaven, said that his father was confused and 'out there somewhere, probably cold and probably hungry.'

When learning of his disappearance, the police exerted great effort to track him down due to the severity of the weather.

Their search, however, was made more difficult by the fact that Daniel DeHaven was unable to speak.

That mean he could not tell anyone his name or his home address.

Daniel DeHaven was also a physically fit man who walked three miles a day.

Authorities have yet to say where they found DeHaven's body. They also have yet to reveal when they believe he died.
Students at a Colorado middle school returned from their winter break on Monday to heartbreaking news.

According to Aurora Public Schools, teacher Wendy Welch was killed in a car accident last weekend during a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Welch taught Spanish at Aurora Hills Middle School.

A GoFundMe account set up to help with funeral cots and transporting Welch's body back to Colorado said she died on New Year's Eve.

Tributes left on the fundraising page described her as an 'endless fountain of love and support' and a 'solid rock'.

Wendy Welch, from Colorado, was killed in a car accident on New Year's Eve while vacationing in Mexico

Welch taught Spanish at Aurora Hills Middle School

Her family and friends set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses

'Wendy Welch was a beautiful soul, a solid rock for those who knew her, an endless fountain of love and support,' the crowd-funding page read.

'In wake of this terrible event, we would like to get together to raise money as a community and family to show her family the support she always showed us and help alleviate the cost of funeral services and bringing her back home.'

The family hopes to raise $10,000 to cover funeral expanses. Any extra money will be donated to Rainbow Sandals, a California shoe company that donates and raises funds for disadvantaged people.

Students were informed of the death when they returned to school on Monday from winter break

Former students said Welch was a loving person who had a big impact on their lives

A cause of death for the middle school teacher has not been revealed

Welch's death is a big loss to the school. Many people told Fox 31 that she 'had a big impact on students'.

'For her to be gone is really heartbreaking to me,' former student Zanovia Paris said.

'She was always there for us and told us, even after you go into high school, I'm still here to talk,' another former student Katharine Hopkins told the outlet. '

A date for the funeral has not been set.

'Our thoughts are with Ms Welch's family during this difficult time,' the school district said.

'We have offered condolences and support to her family on behalf of the APS community. We have had and will continue to have counselors available at the school for those who may need support.'
David Hickling, 46, pictured outside court today, has been spared a driving ban which would have cost him his job after he admitted speeding

A hero ambulanceman who was first at the scene at the Grenfell Tower tragedy has escaped a driving ban and the loss of his career after he was caught speeding in Wales.

David Hickling, 46, admitted driving at 116mph on a motorway but a court this evening took an exceptional course and decided not to ban him.

Hickling had been the bronze commander for the ambulance service, and in charge of the emergency response and first on the scene at the Grenfell Tower disaster. He had also been involved in the Westminster Bridge attack.

His barrister Phil Williams told a court this afternoon that if he was banned from driving, then his client, who had received The Queen's Award for long service and good conduct, would lose his job.

Hickling, a father of one said to be going through 'a messy divorce', admitted breaking the 70mph speed limit but told Flintshire Magistrates' Court at Mold that a driving ban would mean the end of his career of 22 years.

The defendant, who already had six penalty points, received a further six points but magistrates accepted that to ban him would cause exceptional hardship.

Hickling, of Oakwood Close in South Benfleet, Essex, was off duty and driving to a terrorist related training course when he was clocked on the A55 near Caerwys in Flintshire, Wales, in July, three weeks after the tower inferno when he took part in the search and recovery of bodies with his colleagues.

He was suspended from the London Ambulance Service where he worked as the hazardous response team emergency manager after he was caught speeding.

Hickling attended Grenfell Tower while the fire was raging and was involved in the difficult and demanding work of searching and recovering bodies, the court heard.

'Notwithstanding everything, the dozens of dead bodies he had seen and people dying he wanted to continue because of his public duty,' said Mr Williams.

Chairman Terry Eastham said a ban would not only lead to a loss of employment but the loss to the community of an essential emergency service person.

Hickling admitted breaking the 70 mph speed limit but told Flintshire Magistrates' Court at Mold that a driving ban would mean the end of his career of 22 years

Mr Eastham said: 'You hold a hugely important senior post with the London Ambulance Service and you have attended recent events of worldwide significance and interest.

'Society is grateful for such people and the personal cost involved can never truly be known.

'The court today primarily has a case before it of speeding  116mph in a 70mph limit area clearly is totally unacceptable and puts other road users at incredible risk.

'Normally the driving speed on this occasion would incur a ban but we have read extensive extenuating documents on the defendant's life and career.

'The defendant is a valued and talented member of the ambulance service and society should be grateful that such people exist.'

Hickling was fined 500 with 85 costs and was ordered to pay a 50 surcharge.

Prosecutor Brian Robertson said Hickling was driving a Volvo XC60 towards Rhuallt when it was caught by a prolaser device operated from a police car on the Caerwys slip road.

The court heard that Hickling (left) had suffered 'exceptional stress' after he was first on the scene amid the tragedy at Grenfell Tower (right)

Traffic was light and it was a dry sunny day, he said.

Hickling told the court that he had been informed that if he received a ban then 'I will no longer be able to carry out my work.'

His barrister said that the exceptional hardship caused by a ban would be to the public at large because of the loss of such a man.

A psychotherapist's report showed the exceptional stress that Hickling, who has also served in the Army, was under at Grenfell Tower.

Hickling has been in his present role in the London Ambulance Service for the last eight years.

He had triaged most of the casualties at Westminster Bridge and was the bronze commander at Grenfell Tower.

Hickling was the clinical leader for the hazardous area emergency team who was in charge and first at the scene at Grenfell Tower

It had affected his mental health but Hickling had been determined to remain on duty because of his great sense of responsibility towards his team and he did not want to let anyone down, the court heard.

Mr Williams said that his client did not seek sympathy or make excuses but he was in a highly pressurised job which he carried out with honour.

He had shown courage and determination during his long career and had been commended by the Queen, the court was told.

He was 'extremely sorry' and embarrassed for the offence and the difficulty he had placed himself and the ambulance service in.

It was ironic after everything that he had been through that he was frightened in court because of the fact that a ban would mean that he would let down the people he was in charge of, the court heard.
The president's son-in-law is 'not at all' off the hook in the Russia probe, a Republican lawmaker leading Senate investigation into election meddling said Wednesday.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNN that Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to President Trump, is still under scrutiny by the panel that's came under fire today from the president after a rogue Democratic lawmaker released sealed testimony from a blockbuster witness.

Commenting on the debacle, Grassley said, 'It may make a lot of people a little more reserved whether or not they want to cooperate, including in regard to Jared Kushner.'

'But well continue to move forward,' he said.

The president's son-in-law is 'not at all' off the hook in the Russia probe, a Republican lawmaker leading Senate investigation into election meddling said Wednesday. Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to President Trump, is still under scrutiny by the Senate Judiciary panel, he confirmed

President Donald Trump had blasted California Democrat Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday for releasing the sealed transcript of an opposition research boss' testimony to a Senate committee.

The transcript revealed that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson was disposed to believe the salacious golden showers claim in the Trump dossier because Russians have cameras in 'all the luxury hotel rooms.'

Trump said in morning tweet that Feinstein may have broken the law when she made the transcript public yesterday, bucking Republican leadership.

'The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace,' Trump said. 'Must have tough Primary!'

Trump in a second tweet defended himself against allegations of collusion with Russia that have dogged him since his surprise electoral victory in November of 2016 and demanded that his party 'take control' of the investigations.

'The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes,' he said. 'Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!'

Grassley's panel came under fire today from the president after a rogue Democratic lawmaker released sealed testimony from a blockbuster witness

President Donald Trump blasted California Democrat Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday for releasing the sealed transcript of an opposition research boss' testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Feinstein is pictured yesterday at the White House in a meeting with Trump

Trump said in morning tweet that Feinstein may have broken the law when she made the transcript public yesterday, bucking Republican leadership

The transcript the president is so upset about revealed that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson was disposed to believe the salacious golden showers claim in the Trump dossier because Russians have cameras in 'all the luxury hotel rooms'

Feinstein, who's up for reelection this year in liberal California, unilaterally released the transcript of Simpson, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, on Tuesday.

Simpson had asked that the Judiciary Committee approve the release as he worked to clear his name in the scandal. Grassley instead invited him to testify publicly.

Feinstein said in a statement as she released the Judiciary Committee transcript that 'the innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice.'

'The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public.'

Commenting on the debacle on Wednesday, Grassley said, 'These transcripts would have been released eventually anyway.

'Obviously I was a little disappointed because I had an understanding ahead of time that itd be released when we both agreed to release it.'

The senator said he was confused by Trump's tweet saying that Republicans 'should finally take control.'

'I dont know what the president has in mind, and I dont think I better comment until I have a discussion with the president on that point,' Grassley said.

Trump in a second tweet defended himself against allegations of collusion with Russia that have dogged him since his surprise electoral victory in November of 2016

Simpson (pictured) had asked that Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican head of the Judiciary Committee, approve the release as he worked to clear his name in the scandal. Grassley instead invited him to testify publicly

A spokesman for Grassley charged in a statement yesterday that Feinstein's action was 'totally confounding,' however, and that it 'undermines the integrity of the committees oversight work.'

'Chairman Grassley has said on many occasions that he wants to be as transparent as possible,' said Senate Judiciary Committee Press Secretary Taylor Foy. 'He is committed to making information public at the appropriate time, and would welcome Mr. Simpsons testimony before a public hearing, as he did last July.

In the testimony that Feinstein released, Simpson relayed how he came to hire former British intelligence officer Chris Steele, with whom he had worked previously  and said it was Steele's decision to bring material he uncovered to the FBI in the summer of 2016.

The former reporter took efforts to protect sources for the dossier in the conversation, and his lawyer claimed during his client's testimony that a source had been killed as a result of publication.

He told investigative lawyers that he found Steele's memos 'really serious and really credible' both because of Steele's reputation and his own prior reporting on the Russians and their work with western lobbyists.

With respect to the salacious and unproven claim about Donald Trump's conduct in a Moscow hotel room during the Miss Universe pageant, Simpson said he didn't have any 'additional facts' beyond what Steele included in the dossier without verification.

'I mean, it's probably in here somewhere actually, but it's well known in intelligence circles that the Russians have cameras in all the luxury hotel rooms and there are memoirs written about this by former Russian intelligence agents I could quote you,' Simpson told the committee.

'So the problem of kompromat and kompromating is just endemic to east-west intelligence work. So that's what I'm referring to. That's what he's referring to,' he said.

Simpson defended the dossier in the private testimony and was asked about a portion relating to Donald Trump's trip to Moscow

About nine hours into Simpson's grilling, his attorney, Josh Levy, objected to questioning about a source  and said that someone had been 'killed' because of the dossier that Buzzfeed published in January of 2017.

'It's a voluntary interview, and in addition to that he wants to be very careful to protect his sources. Somebody's already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work,' Levy said.

Earlier, Simpson expressed his own concerns about revealing information that could endanger someone.

'There are some things I know that I just don't feel comfortable sharing because obviously it's been in the news a lot lately that people who get in the way of the Russians tend to get hurt,' he said.

Neither Simpson or his lawyer offered any information during the testimony on a specific person who had been killed as a result of the dossier.

One salacious and unverified claim dealt with Donald Trump's alleged conduct in a Moscow hotel room

The unverified incident described in the dossier was at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow

There were reports in 2016 about a string of Russian diplomats who turned up dead, including ambassadors to Greece and India and Russia's ambassador to the United Nations. A diplomat at the Russian consulate in New York was found dead on election day.

At another point, when asked about which employees and associates of the firm worked on researching Trump, Levy said he would convey the information but did not want it to be part of a transcript.

'I just want to make sure that employees involved in this matter are protected. We've had death threats come to the company,' he said.

Simpson said it was Steele's idea to bring what he found to a contact he had at the FBI.

'He said he was professionally obligated to do it. Like if you're a lawyer and, you know, you find out about a crime, in a lot of countries you must report that. So it was like that,' Simpson said.

'Chris said he was very concerned about whether this represented a national security threat and said he wanted to -- he said he thought we were obligated to tell someone in government, in our government about this information,' Simpson said.

'He thought from his perspective there was an issue -- a security issue about whether a presidential candidate was being blackmailed.'

After a delay of months, Steele heard back from the FBI, meeting with an agent in Rome.

Fusion GPS hired ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to put together the dossier

Simpson defended the credibility and reliability of ex MI6 agent Christopher Steele

Simpson says Steele told him the FBI had a source within the Trump campaign.

'Essentially what he told me was they had other intelligence about this matter from an internal Trump campaign source and that - that they -- my understanding was that they believed Chris at this point -- that they believed Chris's information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization,' he said.

After the Oct. 31 publication of a New York Times story which stated the FBI had not proved any collusion with the Trump campaign, Steele backed off his cooperation, Simpson said.

'Sometime thereafter the FBI -- I understand Chris severed his relationship with the FBI out of concern that he didn't know what was happening inside the FBI and there was a concern that the FBI was being manipulated for political ends by the Trump people and that we didn't really understand what was going on. So he stopped dealing with them,' he said.

Simpson had done previous work reporting on Paul Manafort's work on behalf of a pro-Russia Ukrainian president. Manafort went on to chair Trump's presidential campaign

On Wednesday, Feinstein put out the transcript without the consent of Grassley, who last week, with fellow Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina provided a criminal referral of Steele matter to the FBI for prosecution. Both actions highlight the breakdown of bipartisan cooperation on the panel.

Grassley's spokesman, Foy, said in a statement that Feinstein's action jeopardized the committee's ability to secure 'candid voluntary testimony relating to the independent recollections of future witnesses' such as as the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also serves as a senior adviser to the president.

'Neither the special counsel, nor any other congressional committee, has released transcripts of private interviews in the course of their investigations,' Foy said. 'Even the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has questioned the wisdom of releasing this transcript, because it might impugn further witnesses from coming forward. '

Sen. Mark Warner told CNN last week that the committees 'don't normally release prior testimony' for that reason.

Feinstein had the support of Democratic colleague Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island senator who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, for putting out the transcript on Tuesday, however.

Whitehouse said she made the right call 'under the circumstances' considering that there for months 'has been a campaign to discredit Christopher Steele and cast doubt on the FBIs investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.'

'The American people should have the opportunity to see the full transcript and judge for themselves,' he said. 'I hope the Committee will renew its focus on obstruction of justice, highlighting Russias tools of election interference, and legislation to defend the 2018 American election.'

Trump's spokeswoman did not have an immediate response to Feinstein's rogue action on Tuesday, leaving Trump to fire back at the California senator who has just been his guest at the White House for an immigration meeting yesterday.

He called the Russia probe a 'witch hunt' in an angry tweet that challenged his party's lawmakers to 'take control' of the investigation.

Simpson says Steele decided to bring his findings to the attention of the FBI. Former FBI director Robert Mueller was later named special counsel and picked up the bureau's Russia probe

Simpson has found himself caught in the crosshairs as Republican congressional committees probe the origins of the dossier and his firm's role in its creation  in addition to simultaneously representing other clients like a Russian lawyer who attended an infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Donald Trump Jr.

The dossier compiled by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele remains an area of intense scrutiny in Congress.

Republicans want to know if it formed the basis of the FBI's Russia probe, although there have been reports that it was other strands of information that got things started, including information revealed by a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign about Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton that made its way back to the FBI.

Even with all the unwelcome attention, Fusion GPS' work on Russia work continues, the New York Times reported. The paper wrote that it continues to explore ties between Trump and Russia, citing several people briefed on its research.

Simpson's firm began conducting opposition research on Trump after getting hired by the conservative Washington Free Beacon.

After Trump won the Republican primary, it took payment from the Perkins Coie law firm on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

The dossier, which Simpson has described as more of a series of memos, went on to describe a web of relationships between Trump associates and Russians, as well as an infamous unverified passage about Trump's supposed conduct in a Moscow hotel room.

Fusion attorney Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. says the firm now has a legal defense fund and that its legal fees have spiraled.

Fusion, in a statement to the Times, defended the firm's work  which anti-Putin crusader William Browder has described as smears for hire.

'We collect facts,' Fusion said in a statement. 'Occasionally, the facts turn out to be helpful to people we deplore, like Vladimir Putin, or undermine people for whom we have considerable sympathy, like William Browder,' who pushed for the Magnitsky Act sanctions.

Said Browder of Simpson: 'Hes a professional smear campaigner and liar for money. The credibility of anything that he does is in question.'
President Donald Trump is expected this week to extend relief from economic sanctions to Iran, citing progress in amending U.S. legislation that governs Washington's participation in the nuclear deal.

That's according to six people familiar with the administration's deliberations.

But they say Trump's renewal of the U.S. concessions will likely be accompanied by new, targeted sanctions on Iranian businesses and people. Some of those targeted may include firms and individuals whose sanctions were scrapped in the landmark 2015 nuclear accord.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, right, listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump must decide by Friday to extend the sanctions relief. Otherwise, it could jeopardize the nuclear agreement.

The six people spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly. They cautioned Trump could still reject the recommendation of his top security aides.

Trump has repeatedly spoke out against the deal, made by the Obama administration, European countries and Russia with the Iranian regime, and called it 'the worst ever'.

European powers were reaffirming on Thursday their support for the Iran nuclear deal, EU diplomats said, on the eve of a deadline for the U.S. president to decide whether to reimpose oil sanctions lifted under the agreement.

At a meeting with Iran, Britain, France, and Germany, convened by the EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini, the European powers that helped negotiate the 2015 accord will reassure Tehran they remain committed to it.

They will also urge Iran to continue to comply with international inspectors, the diplomats said. Tehran has always denied seeking nuclear arms.

'The aim is to send a message to Washington that Iran is complying and that it is better to have the nuclear agreement than to isolate Tehran,' one diplomat said.

A spokesman for Iran's atomic energy agency said on Wednesday that a reimposition of sanctions by the United States would be a violation of the nuclear deal and added that the Islamic Republic had the capacity to greatly increase its enrichment of uranium.

In charge: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was seen in Tehran on Wednesday after protests against his regime had roiled the country. he claimed the 'plot of enemies' was over

The foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France as well as Iran's Mohammad Javad Zarif, are expected to meet on Thursday morning with Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief.

Trump's October decision not to certify that Tehran is meeting the terms of a pact to stop it developing nuclear weapons went against world powers China, Russia, Europe and members of the U.S. Congress.

The Thursday meeting in Brussels is part of diplomacy on both sides of the Atlantic before deadlines related to the deal falling this month, including deciding whether to reimpose oil sanctions lifted under the deal.

Trump must decide by mid-January whether to continue waiving U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil exports under the terms of the pact. The State Department said on Tuesday the Trump administration was expected to decide on Friday.

The decision comes as Iran's government deals with protests over economic hardships and corruption that are linked to frustration among younger Iranians who hoped to see more benefits from the lifting of sanctions.

Retired U.S. military officers, members of the U.S. Congress and former U.S. ambassadors were among 52 U.S. national security experts who signed a letter released on Monday urging Trump not to jeopardize the deal with Iran.

European countries including France and Italy have benefited from renewed trade with Iran, whose proven natural gas reserves are as vast as Russia's, while Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran following the deal.

If Trump reimposes sanctions on Tehran, European powers fear the deal would fall apart. The EU is adamant the deal cannot be renegotiated.
President Donald Trump introduced chaos into immigration negotiations on Tuesday when he said he'd accept whatever compromise that Congress comes up with so long as he gets his border wall.

Trump told a group of 20 legislators from both parties at the White House that he could get behind a two-step process that would save the Dreamers from deportation and beef up border security that's followed by a total immigration overhaul.

'My positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with,' Trump at one point said. 'If they come to me with things I'm not in love with, I'm gonna do it, because I respect them.'

The assertion was a 180 from Trump's earlier stance that reform must include funding for the border wall and radical changes to immigration first and foremost in addition to safety for participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Trump had steadfastly said that he would not approve legislation that legalizes DACA unless he gets the wall, additional border security resources, the elimination of the visa lottery system and and an end to chain migration at the same time.

As confusion over his position reached a high point on Tuesday after the remarkable meeting with lawmakers, the White House said that nothing had changed. Trump still believes that the four pillars of his immigration policy must be addressed in the first bill that Congress passes.

Sen. Lindsey Graham had mentioned a pathway to citizenship as part of comprehensive immigration reform in his remarks at the meeting, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that was not something the president was interesting in pursuing at this point in time.

'Right now our focus is on the four things I laid out,' she said.

Sanders clarified that the wall is just one component of the border security measures that Trump is insisting on. He also wants technological upgrades to certain areas.

On one point, though, Trump was adamant: Congress has to fund his border wall.

'I'd love not to build the wall, but we need the wall,' Trump said. 'If you don't have the wall, you cannot have security.'

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he'd accept whatever immigration compromise that Congress comes up with so long as he gets his border wall

After a lengthy discussion with lawmakers in the room that Trump allowed to play out on camera, providing an inside look at the bipartisan negotiations, the president said it was clear to all that he was on a 'similar page' with legislators present.

'We have something in common. We would like to see this get done,' he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham told the former businessman point blank that he needs 'to close the deal' as Trump took a backseat position to the lawmakers in the room.

The South Carolina senator noted that he'd built up a list of derogatory nicknames over his support for immigration reform such as Lindsey Grahamnesty and Lindsey Gomez.

'I don't want bad hombres,' he proclaimed. 'I don't want to do this every 20 years,' he said.

Graham predicted that the right-wing would go bonkers over the deal that's in the works and characterize it as amnesty.

Trump insisted that an agreement would sell itself, though, and said the lawmakers could put any heat they take over the compromise agreement on him.

'My whole life has been heat,' Trump said. 'I like heat in a certain way.'

Democrats had been refusing Trump's demands for a border wall and a total immigration overhaul, leading Sen. Chuck Grassley, who attended the Tuesday meeting, to declare the negotiations 'doomed to failure' yesterday on the Senate floor.

White House senior adviser for strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp positively told Fox this morning, however, 'The president will deliver.'

Trump half-jokingly told legislators at the White House on Tuesday, 'Maybe at some point I'll just lock the doors and I won't let anyone out.'

Tuesday's meeting was invite-only but Michelle Lujan Grisham, head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, successfully crashed it after being told there was 'no space' for her at the table, according to Politico.

She came to the White House with House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer.

GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham, David Perdue, Jeff Flake and Tom Cotton were among those participating from Trump's party. Flake is seen here during the meeting that surprisingly took place while cameras were rolling

The Republican president who led a lucrative business before he was elected will personally made his case for a revamp today in a White House meeting that was attended by immigration reform advocates in the House and Senate from both parties.

'I feel having the Democrats in with us is absolutely vital because it should be a bipartisan bill. It should be a bill of love. Truly,' Trump said. 'It should be a bill of love. But it also has to be a bill where were able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. A lot of people coming in that we cant have.'

A statement provided to DailyMail.com before the meeting said: 'The Trump Administrations immigration priorities are clear: securing the border with a wall, closing dangerous enforcement loopholes; eliminating the visa lottery program and ending chain migration.'

GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham, David Perdue, Jeff Flake and Tom Cotton were among those participating from Trump's party. Democratic representatives include Sen. Dick Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dianne Feinstein, and Bob Menendez.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy represented GOP leadership in the meeting along with Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

The meeting followed on Durbin's declaration on Friday that Trump was making 'outrageous' demands that 'would undercut months of bipartisan efforts' to protect Dreamers.

Durbin accused Trump of 'trying to put its entire wish-list of hardline anti-immigrant bills - plus an additional $18 billion in wall funding - on the backs of these young people.'

'President Trump has said he may need a good government shutdown to get his wall. With this demand, he seems to be heading in that direction,' Durbin said.

Trump told Democrat Dick Durbin on Tuesday that he now believes a DACA fix could be separate legislatively from other immigration reforms he's pursuing, like an end to chain migration and an end to the diversity lottery

Trump told Durbin on Tuesday that he now believes a DACA fix could be separate legislatively from other immigration reforms he's pursuing, like an end to chain migration and an end to the diversity lottery.

'I really agree with Dick,' Trump said. 'I think we get the one thing done and then we go into comprehensive the following day. I think it will happen.'

Trump said in the long meeting that broadcast for nearly an hour, 'I think well do DACA, and we can certainly start comprehensive immigration reform the following afternoon.

'Well take an hour off and then well start. I do believe that,' Trump added.

Trump had said Saturday during a presser at Camp David that Congress must fund the border wall he promised on the campaign trail or there would be no agreement.

'The wall is going to happen or were not going to have DACA. You know, we want to get rid of chain migration. Very important. And we want to get rid of the lottery system,' he said.

Trump also said that Democrats must approve his spending request for additional border security personnel, as well.

'We all want DACA to happen. But we also want great security for our country. So important. We want to stop the drugs from flowing in. Very important,' he said Saturday.

Trump has claimed numerous times that visa lottery awardees are bottom-dwellers who are intentionally displaced by their home countries.

'They give us their worst people, they put them in a bin, but in his hand, when hes picking them is, really, the worst of the worst. Congratulations, youre going to the United States. Okay. What a system  lottery system,' he said recently.

He made a similar claim on Tuesday, wrongly asserting that 'countries come in and put names in a hopper.'

'Theyre not giving you their best names  common sense tells you theyre not giving you their best names. They give you people that they dont want, and then we take them out of the lottery,' he said in his meeting.

'When then do it by hand, put the hand in a bowl, and whats in the hand are the worst of the worst. They put people that they dont want in the lottery, and the United States takes those people.'

In reality, it's the State Department who picks diversity lottery awardees, and they are selected at random. State heavily vets them before they are allowed into the U.S.

Trump wants to move to a merit-based immigration system, nonetheless, in which high-skilled visa applicants would be prioritized.

'Theyre not sending us their finest, okay. When somebody gets picked in the lottery, were not getting their best people,' he said Saturday. 'So we have to get rid of the lottery system, we have to get rid of chain migration, and we have to have a wall.'

The president told a reporter that he expects all of the immigration reform components he's demanding to be included in the compromise bill. He also said it's still his belief that Mexico will pay for the border wall.

Last week Trump had a Republican-only meeting at the White House to discuss immigration. His Tuesday gathering included top Democratic voices on the issue like Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois.

The meeting came less than a day after Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said in a floor speech that immigration talks have stalled because of Democrats' unwillingness to compromise.

'Unfortunately, this body still isnt closer to a legitimate and fair deal that promotes and protects the interests of the American people in a lawful immigration system, and provides a fair and equitable solution on DACA,' he said.

'As the Democrats see it, its take it or leave it, their way or the highway. That isnt good faith. That isnt negotiation. And that approach is doomed to failure.'

Trump said during a Saturday presser at Camp David that Congress must fund the border wall he promised on the campaign trail or there would be no agreement

Schlapp, a senior communications official in the White House, subsequently lambasted Democrats as 'hypocritical' in a Tuesday morning appearance on Fox & Friends for backing away from border security measures after voting for the Secure Fence Act in 2006.

'They were the ones in 2006 who basically supported these physical border barriers,' she exclaimed. 'It's time for them to come to the table. Let's strike a deal. The president wants to strike a deal with the Democrats, and the time is now to do it.'

Durbin, notably, did not vote for 2006 legislation. Feinstein, however, did.

The Illinois senator and Hispanic Democrats in the House are hoping to use a must-pass spending bill to force Trump's hand on DACA this month.

The continuing resolution that's keeping the government up and running expires on Jan. 19.

'I will certainly vote against it, and I know most Democrats will vote against it,' Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro told MSNBC on Sunday evening.

Castro said he can't see his side accepting the border wall in exchange for Dreamer protection.

'Well, I don't see -- I think that's gonna be a very tough deal for the president to make. We don't want to trade the lives of 800,000 people for a wall across the United States,' Castro stated. 'DACA should be handled with a clean Dream Act. And that if there's elements of border security that President Trump and Republicans want to pursue, that they can pursue that in separate legislation.'

A memo that progressive group Center for American Progress is circulating that was obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation on Monday described the DACA standoff as a 'moral imperative' for Democrats that is 'critical' to their success at the ballot box.

'If Democrats dont try to do everything in their power to defend Dreamers, that will jeopardize Democrats electoral chances in 2018 and beyond,' the memo warns. 'In short, the next few weeks will tell us a lot about the Democratic Party and its long-term electoral prospects.'

Schlapp told Fox on Tuesday that Democrats would be jeopardizing national security by holding up military funding if they go the shutdown route.

'I think the Democrats are really running a very big risk if they go in this direction,' she said. 'And here is a president saying come over to the White House, let's talk, let's get this done.'

The American people want the homeland protected and real immigration reform, she asserted. 'That is why the president was elected,' Schlapp said. 'And the president will deliver.'
Tortured to death: An autopsy report on Erica Parsons has concluded that the 13-year-old died of 'homicidal violence of undetermined means'

An autopsy report on a disabled 13-year-old girl whose skeletal remains were found in the woods in North Carolina in 2016 showed she was malnourished and had broken bones all over her body.

Parson's adoptive parents, Sandy and Casey Parsons, are currently serving time for fraud and will likely face charges in Erica's death in the coming months, according to law enforcement officials.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh has concluded that Erica Lynn Parsons died of 'homicidal violence of undetermined means,' having been unable to determine the exact cause and manner of death due to the level of decomposition.

The report, which was issued on January 3 and released to media outlets on Tuesday, said fractures in various stages of healing were found in the teenager's nose, jaw, upper right arm, nine ribs and several vertebrae.

Parsons may also have had an untreated infection, sepsis, renal failure or poisoning, all of which could have resulted in her death.

Citing the child's 'history of physical abuse,' the medical examiner has not excluded a terminal blunt force injury, suffocation or strangulation as possible causes of death.

Her smaller than normal, low-density bones showed a growth deficit consistent with malnourishment, according to the report.

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Sandy (left) and Casey Parsons, pictured speaking to Dr Phil about Erica's disappearance in 2013, are serving time in federal prison for fraud

uthorities searched the home of Erica's adoptive parents after she was reported missing (pictured), uncovering signs of foul play

The remains of Erica Parsons were discovered in the Pageland Mount Croghan area of Chesterfield County, South Carolina, in 2016

Erica's adoptive father, Sandy Parsons, led authorities to her remains in Chesterfield, South Carolina, in October 2016.

The child's skull and bones were found by detectives in a shallow grave in the Pageland Mount Croghan area, not far from where Sandy Parson's mother lived.

It is not known what prompted him to begin working with the authorities after years of denying anything to do with his adoptive daughter's disappearance.

He and his wife Casey are in prison on fraud convictions for accepting $12,000 in federal benefits for the girl after she went missing.

Carolyn Parsons, Erica's birth mother (pictured), put her up for adoption at birth because she had no money to raise her

The adoptive parents were arrested in 2014 and found guilty the following year. Sandy Parsons is serving eight years in a federal prison in Michigan and Casey Parsons is serving 10 years in a federal prison in Florida.

Casey Parsons, Erica's uncle, and his wife took in the disabled child when she was five months old and adopted her in 2000. Her birth mother, Carolyn Parson, told the Charlotte Observer she had no money to raise her and did not want her to be in foster care.

Erica was reported missing from the Parsons' household in Salisbury on July 30, 2013, by a young relative who said she had been missing since December 2011, when she was reportedly sent to live with her biological grandmother, Irene 'Nan' Goodman, according to the report and previous media coverage.

An investigation was launched and attempts to locate the grandmother and child were unsuccessful. Several family members later came forward claiming that Erica was subjected to persistent physical and emotional abuse by her adoptive parents.

The developmentally disabled, malnourished girl was reportedly beaten with a belt buckle that broke her skin, was choked and thrown to the ground, had her hand slammed in a door, was forced to sleep in a closet and fed dog food.

The report mentions instances in which her fingers were belt all the way back and one episode in which her tooth was knocked out. At another time, the report states, her arm was fractured and a homemade cast was applied to avoid seeking medical attention, as a result of which the limb never healed properly.

Battered: An autopsy determined that Erica (left and right) had fractures in various stages of healing in her nose, jaw, upper right arm, nine ribs and several vertebrae

There were other children in the home, but none of the other children were subjected to this treatment, the documents state.

A review of medical records revealed that Ericas last visit to a pediatrician was when she was six years old, at which time the doctor expressed concern for her poor growth.

A week before her disappearance in 2011, her siblings described her as looking grey with sunken eyes, smelling bad with open, oozing cuts, very weak and complaining of not being able to breath, the report stated.

The Rowan County Sheriff's Office says Casey and Sandy Parsons will likely face additional charges in Erica's death, but it could take up to several months.

'I want to see them get the death penalty,' Erica's biological aunt Teresa Goodman told WSOC-TV following the release of the graphic autopsy report. 'That's what I want because that's what they deserve.'
The bodies of two British men killed in Syria after they went to support the Kurdish fight against Islamic State have been repatriated to the UK.

Sniper Jac Holmes and Oliver Hall, both 24, died one month apart last year while serving with the Kurdistan People's Protection Units (YPG) in Raqqa.

Their bodies were welcomed by Kurds and grieving relatives after they were flown into Heathrow Airport this afternoon, following a day-long delay due to paperwork issues.

Jac Holmes, left, and Oliver Hall, right, died while clearing bombs in Syria after going to join the Kurdish fight against Islamic State

As they left in private ambulances, a main road was closed briefly to allow the families and members of the Kurdish community to hold a pause for silence, pay their respects, lay flowers and make speeches.

Mr Hall had been serving with the YPG for almost four months when he died on November 25 after being fatally injured in an explosion.

His mother, Jane Lyndon, and his stepfather, Gary Lyndon, said the 'headstrong' 24-year-old had 'found his calling' and that they had 'not seen him this happy in a long time' when he was out fighting.

Kurds raised their hands in respect and gave speeches to honour the two British men who died while serving in the resistance

Jac Holmes's parents Peter and Angie, left, are pictured with Ollie Hall's mother, Jane, and his stepfather Gary Lyndon at the repatriation

The 24-year-old, from the Portsmouth area, had travelled to Syria on August 18 and spent five weeks in an academy in Rojava, northern Syria, without his family's knowledge.

Mrs Lyndon said she last saw him when he dropped her off at work one morning.

She said: 'He took me to work and was supposed to be picking me up but said he couldn't because he was going to the cinema, and then at half 11 that night, he texted me and said he was in Germany and (would be) working in a refugee camp for two months.

Kurds welcomed the bodies of the two British men home as they were repatriated at Heathrow Airport today

Angie Blannin, front, touches the private ambulance as it passes during today's repatriation

'Then I had another text at four, five in the morning to say he was leaving the airport and he would message me when he could, and it was about four days later when he messaged me and said he was in northern Syria.'

A tearful Mrs Lyndon added: 'The light went out of my eyes the day that he went.'

She said she wanted her son to be remembered as a 'brave, courageous young man who was headstrong but followed his calling'.

The coffins of both men were carried away in private ambulances after today's repatriation, where Kurds offered speeches to commemorate the two

Ollie Hall - an untrained soldier - is pictured after he went to join the YPG in Syria, where he died clearing mines

Mr Holmes, from Bournemouth, died in October while clearing mines in Raqqa just after it had been liberated from IS control.

The war-ravaged Syrian town had served as the headquarters of the so-called IS caliphate since 2014.

His mother, Angie Blannin, previously said: 'He stood up for what he believed in and he had the courage of his convictions to go out and do something where he thought that the West were not doing enough.'

Ollie Hall's mother, Jane, and his stepfather, Gary, place flowers on the private ambulance carrying his body

The body of Ollie Hall is carried away in a private ambulance as mourners gathered to mark his death

Mark Campbell, co-chairman of the Kurdistan Solidarity Campaign, described Mr Holmes as 'thoughtful, intelligent', and a 'well-researched young man' who grew up during his time in Syria.

He added: 'He was involved in some incredible encounters with Isis and he really wanted to be involved in the liberation of Raqqa.

'It was such a cruel twist of history that right at the end, it was the day after the liberation of Raqqa, that he was clearing a house for civilians and was killed in an IED explosion.'

Mr Hall (front left, wearing a hat) became the seventh British fighter to be killed by Islamic State

Mr Hall travelled to Syria, via Iraq, and took part in a training academy with YPG armed units, according to his friends

Jac Holmes posted pictures of the Black Stadium online, an underground network of tunnels which included prison cells and torture chambers

Mr Holmes had completed three tours in Syria since joining the YPG in January 2015.

Mr Campbell, who was involved in the repatriation of Mr Holmes and Mr Hall, said the gathering was an opportunity for 'closure'.

Mrs Lyndon said the 24-hour postponement in their return was 'the worst day of her life'.

Mr Campbell described the repatriation process as 'difficult' as the bodies travelled through northern Syria and Iraq, before going to Jordan and then flying to London.

The YPG is mostly made up of around 50,000 Kurdish men and women fighting against IS in northern Syria.

The other British fatalities fighting against IS are Mehmet Aksoy, 32, Luke Rutter, 22, Ryan Lock, 20, Dean Evans, 22, and Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, 25.
A woman was attacked and killed by a pit bull at a pet boarding facility in Louisiana.

A spokesman for the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office says the incident happened about 11pm Tuesday at the Happy Hounds Hotel in West Monroe.

Glenn Springfield says deputies found a severely injured woman who later died from her wounds.

On Wednesday, Springfield confirmed reports by multiple news outlets identifying the victim as Laura Williams Ray, of West Monroe.

Laura Williams Ray, a mother-of-three, was killed by a pit bull in Louisiana on Tuesday night

The incident happened about 11pm Tuesday at the Happy Hounds Hotel in West Monroe

Ray was the mother of three children and her family has asked for privacy as they grieve, according to Nola.com.

Springfield says he didn't know whether the woman worked for the business or if she was visiting an animal being housed there.

A message left at the business Wednesday wasn't immediately returned.

The dog was released to Ouachita Parish Animal Control. Springfield didn't know the animal's status and the investigation is continuing.
A Louisiana school board's office went on temporary lockdown after getting death threats from around the world in response to widely viewed video of a teacher screaming while being handcuffed at a school board meeting.

The threats have come from as far away as South America, Australia and England, as well as other U.S. states, Vermilion Parish School Board President Anthony Fontana told The Advertiser. He said they've been reported to the FBI and local police.

Middle-school English teacher Deyshia Hargrave was removed from Monday night's meeting, forcibly handcuffed and jailed after questioning pay policies during a public comment period.

Deyshia Hargrave addressed the board during a public comments section of the meeting about teacher salaries and pay raises

Hargrave was removed from the room in handcuffs and then forced to the floor

She was heard telling the board that it was a 'slap in the face' for the school superintendent to be handed a new contract that entitles him to performance-based pay rises.

'For a superintendent or any person in a position of leadership getting any type of raise, I feel like it's a slap in the face for teachers, cafeteria workers and any other support staff we have.'

'We work very hard with very little to maintain the salaries we have. I don't care if the performance targets are met  you're making our jobs even more difficult. We're meeting those goals, while someone in that position is getting a raise? It's a sad, sad day to be a teacher,' Hargrave said to board members.

'When I first started teaching there was like 20 kids in a class and now there are 29 kids in a class, and we have not have been given raises. How are you going to take that money? It's basically taking it out of our pockets,' she continued.

A middle school language arts teacher in Louisiana was forcibly removed in handcuffs from a school board meeting

The arts & language teacher earns around $50,000 and hasn't had a payrise for 10 years

The teacher's union and the ACLU are now investigating and two board members are complaining that the board treats women unfairly.

A video obtained by KATC shows Hargrave complying with a city marshal's orders to leave the Vermilion Parish School Board meeting in Abbeville, west of New Orleans.

Next, she is seen on the hallway floor, screaming as the marshal handcuffs her hands behind her back.

'Stop resisting,' the marshal says, hustling Hargrave toward an exit after lifting her to her feet.

'I am not, you just pushed me to the floor,' Hargrave responds as she is handcuffed.

'What are you doing?' she yells as he restrains her.

'Sir, I am way smaller than you' she cries as he pushes her out the door of the building.

In the hallway the officer then forces Hargrave to the ground and handcuffs her

Board president Anthony Fontana has said that Hargrave was out of order

Hargrave later bonded out of the Abbeville jail on charges of 'remaining after being forbidden' and resisting an officer, according to KATC.

Ike Funderburk, the prosecutor and city attorney in Abbeville, later told the station Hargrave won't be prosecuted.

Fontana had ruled Hargrave out of order for asking questions during a time reserved for public comment and said that it was not a question and answer session.

Later in the same meeting, she spoke again in response to a question from the board and was confronted by the marshal despite objections from the audience. 'She was recognized!' several people said.

'This is the most disgraceful and distasteful thing I have ever seen,' another audience member said as Hargrave made her way out.

Women have several times been told to leave meetings, while men who speak out have not been removed, board member Laura LeBeouf told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday.

'Sir, I am way smaller than you' she cries as he pushes her out the door of the building

'When she realized she had to get out, she picked up her purse and walked out,' LeBeouf said. 'Women in this parish are not getting the same treatment.'

'What happened here tonight, the way that females are treated in Vermilion Parish.I have never seen a man removed from this room,' Lebeouf said.

The board's other woman member expressed similar sentiments.

'No reason for anyone to be treated this way. So far in three years, only women have been removed from board room meetings,' Sara Duplechain wrote in an emailed response to AP's questions.

It remains unclear why Hargrave was handcuffed. In a longer video posted on YouTube by a reporter for the Abbeville Meridional, the officer is heard telling Hargrave outside the building that he had given her 'many lawful orders to leave.'

'And that's exactly what I was doing,' Hargrave insists.

Neither the board president nor Superintendent Jerome Puyau returned phone calls or emails seeking comment.

Puyau told media in southwest Louisiana that the school system would not seek to have Hargrave prosecuted.

Longstanding divisions on the eight-member school board preceded the meeting, according to LeBeouf and board member Kibbie Pillette, both of whom said that a new contract for Puyau give him the opportunity to earn as much as $38,000 more per year on top of his $110,000-a-year salary.

The board hasn't raised teacher salaries in more than a decade which remain stuck at around $49,000.

'It was time that we brought to the board a salary that's commensurate with what superintendents are making,' Puyau said to CBS News.

Pillette said he wouldn't be surprised if teachers decide to walk out to protest Hargrave's treatment, although they were at work Tuesday.

Other board members either declined comment or didn't respond to queries Tuesday.

The Louisiana Association of Educators has a lawyer for Hargrave.

'As an organization that advocates for the dedicated school employees of Louisiana, we firmly denounce the mistreatment of Ms. Hargrave, a loving parent and dedicated teacher serving the students of Vermilion Parish,' the union's statement said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana said it was investigating as well.

'Deyshia Hargrave's expulsion from a public meeting and subsequent arrest are unacceptable and raise serious constitutional concerns,' the organization said in an emailed news release.

Teachers in the district plan to hold a rally supporting Hargrave on Thursday night.
Governors from coastal states issued public calls to get their own carve-outs from a new administration policy opening up coastal waters around the country for offshore oil drilling.

The push came after Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott, a favorite of President Donald Trump, secured a special waiver for his state from Interior secretary Ryan Zinke.

The Interior Department overseas vast federal lands and resources and oversees leases to private drillers.

'New York doesn't want drilling off our coast either,' New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted Wednesday. 'Where do we sign up for a waiver @SecretaryZinke?'

The Trump administration last week gave the okay to oil and gas drilling off U.S. coastal waters, though many coastal governors balked

'We cannot afford to take a chance with the beauty, the majesty and the economic value and vitality of our wonderful coastline,' said South Carolina's governor Henry McMaster.

The administration will not allow drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Florida after urging from the state's governor, Zinke said on Tuesday.

'I support the governor's position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver,' Zinke said in a statement. 'As a result of discussion with Governor (Rick) Scott and his leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.'

President Trump owns the Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

President Donald Trump makes opening remarks as he holds a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on January 10, 2018 in Washington,

Impact: A worker uses a suction hose to remove oil washed ashore from the Deepwater Horizon spill, in Belle Terre, Louisiana

The Trump administration last week proposed opening nearly all U.S. offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, a move aimed at boosting domestic energy production and which sparked protests from coastal states, environmentalists and the tourism industry.

The administration's decision on Tuesday removes from consideration a portion of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, an area that oil drillers have said they are interested in exploring - but not all of it.

Florida state waters extend 3 nautical miles from the shore on the Atlantic, and 9 nautical miles on the Gulf side, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Scott last week announced his opposition to the drilling plan and said he had asked to meet with Zinke.

Zinke's decision to exempt Florida from offshore drilling leaves the door open for other governors opposed to offshore oil and gas development to seek a similar prohibition for their states.

Oceana, an environmental lobby group, said it was pleased that Zinke had removed Florida from areas open to drilling.

'Such a quick reversal begs the question: Will the Trump administration give equal consideration to all the other coastal Governors from both parties who overwhelmingly reject this radical offshore drilling plan?' Oceana campaign director Diane Hoskins said in a statement.

Expansion: Drilling is already happening off the California coast, including at Refugio State Beach in Goleta, but federal waters would see drilling permitted under the plan

On Twitter, several governors, attorneys general and lawmakers representing coastal states asked Zinke to extend the exemption for Florida to their coastal waters. The governors of New York and Oregon and the attorneys general of Maryland and California were among those who called on Zinke to ban offshore drilling.

Environmental groups Greenpeace and the League of Conservation Voters called the move to protect Florida a political ploy meant to bolster the governor who is reportedly planning to run for an open U.S. Senate seat.

'President Trump has directed me to rebuild our offshore oil and gas program in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice,' Zinke said in Tuesday's statement.

Zinke said last week that the department's draft National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2019 to 2024 would make over 90 percent of the outer continental shelfs total acreage available for leasing to drillers, a national record.

That would reverse the Obama administration order placing 94 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf off limits to drillers. Obama's 2017-2022 plan would be replaced by the new program when it is finalized.

The effort to open previously off-limits acreage in the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans comes less than eight years after BP Plc's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico - the largest in American history. The disaster caused billions of dollars in economic damage and led the Obama administration to increase regulation of the industry.

The Defense Department has also raised concerns about opening drilling that had been banned off the eastern Gulf of Mexico, where military exercises are held. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Writing by Eric Walsh; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford is ready to get married again.

Nearly eight years after divorcing then-Gov. Mark Sanford, who had publicly admitted to an affair with a woman in Argentina, Jenny Sanford announced she is engaged.

She posted a picture Tuesday of herself with her fiance, Andy McKay, on Instagram with the caption '...Yes!'

Jenny Sanford, 55, told The Post and Courier of Charleston she will marry investment banker McKay this spring. She says they have dated for 15 months.

Former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford is engaged to investment banker Andy McKay. She announced in an Instagram post Tuesday

The news comes eight years after Jenny Stanford (shown outside the Charleston County Courthouse in South Carolina in February) divorced from then-Gov. Mark Sanford, who admitted to having an affair

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford arrives with his then-wife Jenny at a White House dinner held by U.S. President Barack Obama in this file photo taken February 22, 2009

Jenny Sanford says they bought a ring and got engaged Monday after last week's East Coast snowstorm delayed McKay's trip to Charleston.

Several of her social media followers chimed in to congratulate the happy couple after.

One said: 'So so thrilled!!! He is a lucky, lucky man!' While another added: 'So happy for you!! You deserve all the happiness in the world!!!'

Mark Sanford admitted in the summer of 2009 he had an affair with lover Maria Belen Chapur

She says her sister introduced them and McKay is a kind man who gets along with her four grown children she had with Mark Sanford, who is now a U.S. House member.

Following his mysterious disappearance, Mark Sanford, now 57, finally admitted in the summer of 2009 he had an affair with Maria Belen Chapur.

The pair got engaged in 2012, but broke it off in September 2014.

He resigned from his position as chairman of the Republican Governors Association after.

Mark Sanford is shown with Argentinian lover Maria Belen Chapur (standing behind him in 2013 in Washington DC)
Three men and a woman have been arrested after allegedly breaking into a high-end designer store and making off with thousands of dollars worth of stock.

The men are accused of raiding the shop in the Sydney suburb of Rosebery and escaping with Camilla and Marc clothing in the early hours of December 29.

Police will allege in court that after the break-in, the clothing was being sold online through a marketplace at low prices.

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Three men and a woman were arrested on Wednesday after allegedly breaking in to a designer clothing boutique and making off with thousands of dollars worth of stock

Police also allege the same group were involved in a break and enter at a mechanic garage in Matraville, where a car was stolen

Pictured: Camilla and Marc dresses. Left is the Morpheus Midi, worth $750 and right is the Rein Midi, worth $599. It is not known if these are the dresses which were stolen

Pictured: CCTV footage allegedly showing the Sydney boutique being robbed

Police also allege the same offenders were involved in a break and enter at a mechanic workshop in Matraville before the incident, during which a car was stolen.

Three properties at Redfern, Marrickville and Surry Hills were searched on Wednesday and three men aged 21, 22 and 23, and a 19-year-old woman were arrested.

The men face multiple charges including aggravated break and enter, stealing, dealing with the proceeds of crime and other outstanding offences.

The group were arrested during raids on three properties in Sydney on Wednesday in Redfern, Marrickville and Surry Hills

The men face multiple charges including aggravated break and enter, stealing, dealing with the proceeds of crime and other outstanding offences

Pictured: The Melody Mini Dress, worth $1,000 and the Grazia Gown, worth $699. It is not known if these are the dresses which were stolen from the boutique

The 19-year-old woman was conditionally bailed to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on February 5, while the 22-year-old man also was granted conditional bail to appear in the same court on January 29.

The 21-year-old and 23-year-old men were refused bail and are due to appear at Central Local Court on Thursday.

Some of the clothing has been recovered and police have appealed for anyone being offered Camilla and Marc items at suspiciously low prices to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

During the heist, it is alleged the group stole thousands of dollars worth of Camilla and Marc clothing

Some of the clothing allegedly stolen from the Sydney boutique has been recovered by police
A fourth woman has filed a lawsuit against financier Howard Rubin (pictured), saying he raped her in a penthouse sex dungeon in November 2015

A former investment fund manager for George Soros has been hit with a new rape allegation, from a fourth woman who says he beat and sexually assaulted her in his penthouse sex dungeon.

Howard Rubin first made headlines in November, when three women banded together and filed a $27million lawsuit against the financier, accusing him of similar allegations.

No one answered when DailyMail.com called his Manhattan apartment for comment on the latest allegations on Wednesday, or about the first lawsuit back in November.

Rubin, 62, has been married since the 1980s to his former Harvard Business School classmate Mary Henry. They have three children together.

The latest lawsuit involves an unnamed 20-year-old woman who says she met Rubin through a friend in November 2015, according to the New York Post.

She was told that she would be paid $2,000 to get dinner and drinks with Rubin, after which she would not be required to have sex with him.

The two met for drinks at the Russian Tea Room, where Rubin allegedly bought her expensive glasses of Don Julio 1942 Anejo tequila.

At the restaurant, the woman says that Rubin handed her a non-disclosure agreement, which said he could sue her for up to $1million if she revealed their relationship.

After she signed the document, the two went to Rubin's apartment in the luxury Metropolitan Tower, where he fixed her another drink - one she now believes was drugged.

The unnamed 20-year-old said she first met with Rubin at the Russian Tea Room (pictured) where he had her sign a non-disclosure agreement

During drinks at the tea room (interior pictured above), the woman says Rubin plied her with expensive tequila

The two then moved to a 'dungeon-like "toy room"' - a 300-square-foot space filled with 'ropes and toys to tie people up with, and electrocuting devices,' according to the suit.

Rubin is said to have tied up the woman's wrists with her consent after he 'explained that he would go easy on her'.

They also agreed on a safe word: 'pineapples'.

'Rubin instructed plaintiff to say pineapples if she got uncomfortable, or if anything became too much for her,' the suit says.

But she says Rubin ignored her when she shouted 'pineapples' after he hit her hard across the face.

She continued to beg for him to stop, yelling the safe word, as he proceeded to beat rape and her, the suit says.

Rubin then brought the woman back to his apartment in the luxury Metropolitan Tower (pictured), where he proceeded to bind and rape her, the suit says

The woman claims that he anally raped her first, using a 'big black dildo', then vaginally raped her with his penis.

'When Rubin concluded, he told [her] that she was a "whore" and to "clean" herself up,' the suit says.

He then kicked her out of his apartment, saying he had to meet his wife and kids for dinner.

When she told the friend who set them up what had happened, the friend warned her not to go to police because Rubin 'was extremely wealthy and powerful, and would destroy her life,' the suit says.

She changed her mind and decided to sue after attempting suicide.

The $7million lawsuit was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

The initial $27million lawsuit filed against Rubin is being dealt with in Brooklyn federal court.

The thee women in that case say they were also lured to an S&M dungeon, where they were brutalized by Rubin.

Rubin, a notorious Wall Street trader who is blamed for incurring $377million of losses at Merrill Lynch in 1987 and who is featured in Liar's Poker, is named alongside associates Stephanie Shon, Jennifer Powers, and lawyer Yifat Schnur in the first lawsuit.

The lawsuit describes four different incidents in 2016. The women sometimes traveled to meet him in pairs and on other occasions they went alone, they said.

Each claimed they returned after the first violent encounter because they needed money.

All say they were first contacted by Rubin's staff on Instagram through its direct messaging function.

The 62-year-old has been married to his wife Mary Henry since 1985. The couple have three children

Rubin is seen here with his eldest daughter at her debutante ball in a throwback photo she posted to wish him a happy Father's Day

Rubin's associates Stephanie Shon and Jennifer Powers, a former model herself who claimed to have slept with Rubin before starting to work for him, allegedly offered them thousands of dollars and free flights to New York to appear in photo-shoots and offer him 'companionship'.

Once they were in the city, they say they were took cabs to the penthouse from the airport and were met by his employees who forced them to sign NDAs before they could meet him.

The women say they then went to a nearby bar for dinner and drinks then returned to the apartment where they claim Rubin drugged, beat and raped them before leaving 'to go home to his wife and kids'.

Once in the penthouse, the women say Rubin turned on them and had violent sex, often beating them so severely that they required medical treatment.

His associates then offered them more cash in exchange for their silence and paid their medical bills, they claim.

One alleged victim says he once beat her so badly that her breast implant 'flipped'. Another says he once threatened: 'I'm going to rape you like my daughter.'

The view from Metropolitan Tower in Manhattan where all four women say the abuse took place

After raping the first three women who sued Rubin, they said he often left to meet his family at their Upper East Side home (the apartment building pictured above)

Rubin began his career in mortgaged-backed securities at Salomon Brothers in 1982.

He joined the Mortgage Department at Bear Stearns, becoming a Senior Managing Director and head of the CMO Trading Desk before retiring in 1999 as one of the most-respected men on Wall Street.

In 1987, Rubin caused historic losses at Merrill Lynch through a series of unauthorized trades which cost the company $250million. The figure was later reported by The New York Times to be as high as $377million.

At the time, Wall Street insiders told how he bought billions of dollars worth of mortgage bonds without receiving approval from his seniors.

When the market plummeted, he was unable to sell them off and incurred astronomical losses for the company.

He was fired and the matter was turned over to Wall Street watchdogs but Rubin was never criminally prosecuted.

Despite the loss, he was appointed Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns, where he ran the Collateralized Mortgage Obligations desk from 1987 to 1999.

In 2008 he came out of retirement to manage a Mortgage-Backed Securities Fund for financier George Soros, run by Soros Fund Management, LLC. He quit the firm in 2015.

Two of the women say they met with Rubin for dinner and drinks first at the Viceroy Central Park (above)

Another says Rubin took her to Tao Uptown (above) before bringing her back to the 'penthouse' to rape her

Rubin has been married to philanthropist and fellow Harvard Business School graduate Mary Henry since 1985.

Before attending Harvard Business School, he attended Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.

The couple raised their three children in New York on the Upper East Side and also have a house in the Hamptons.

They have two daughters and a son. The oldest child just graduated college.

Jeremy Saland of The Law Office of Crotty & Saland, who is representing the women, told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'While arrogance and self-import may convince certain men otherwise, neither money nor power gives any person the right to victimize a woman.

'It is our collective responsibility to ensure that victims voices are heard, and that abusers positions of privilege do not exempt them from the grasp of justice.'

John Balestriere of Balestriere Fariello, another of the women's lawyers, added his fear there were other victims. 'We implore other victims of the Enterprise to contact us,' he said.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he doesn't see why he'd be asked for an interview from special counsel Robert Mueller because investigators have not found any evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Trump signaled that he'd be open to it but did not have any reason to think he'd be called in for questioning.

'We'll see what happens. Certainly I'll see what happens. But when they have no collusion and nobody's found any collusion at any level it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview,' he said at a news conference.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he doesn't see why he'd be asked for an interview from special counsel Robert Mueller because investigators have not found any evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia

Trump made an example of Hillary Clinton, his former political opponent, who was not placed under oath when she was interviewed by the FBI in the summer of 2016 in her email case.

President Trump's legal team is anticipating an interview request from Bob Mueller (pictured) before the conclusion of the Russia probe

'They didn't take notes. They didn't record, it was done on the Fourth of July weekend. That's perhaps ridiculous, a lot of people looked on that as being a very serious breach and it really was,' he said.

The president punted to his lawyers to decide what he should do.

'I'll speak to attorneys, I can only say this, there was absolutely no collusion,' the president stated.

Trump said the allegations have been a 'phony cloud' over his administration since he took office.

'It has hurt our government. It does hurt our government. It's a Democrat hoax that was brought up as an excuse for losing an election that frankly the Democrats should have won because they have such a tremendous advantage in the Electoral College,' he said.

'But it has been determined that there is no collusion by virtually everybody so we'll see what happens.'

Mueller and his team of investigators have reportedly said they want to interview President Trump in person as they move forward with the Russia probe  and Trump's lawyers are said to be reaching out for ways to protect the president by limiting the inquiry.

It has long been understood that investigators would seek answers from the man who presided over the campaign and White House that has been probed over issues ranging from any collusion to possible obstruction of justice and other matters.

Trump's lawyers in and outside the White House met with Mueller's team before Christmas where they raised the issue, having already charged Trump associates with lying to the FBI and extracted guilty pleas from others.

Prosecutors have indicated they will likely seek an interview with Trump, the Washington Post reported. Such a preference would be in keeping with standard prosecutorial strategy to talk to everyone who might have knowledge of a situation under investigation.

The push was confirmed by people close to the president.

'This is moving faster than anyone really realizes,' a source close to the president told the paper. It could include an interview on a defined are of inquiry.

The person said the president is comfortable participating and that it would put to rest questions of collusion  something Trump has repeatedly denied in public, although not under oath as he would have to with the FBI.

Asked about a meeting with Mueller on Saturday and whether he would still be willing to that, as he said he would over the summer, Trump said, 'Yeah.'

'But theres been no collusion. Theres been no crime. But we have been very open. We could have done it two ways. We could have been very closed and it would have taken years. But you know, its sort of like, when youve done nothing wrong, lets be open and get it over with,' Trump said.

'Because, honestly, its very, very bad for our country. Its making our country look foolish, and this is a country that I dont want looking foolish. And its not going to look foolish as long as Im here. So weve been very open and we just want to get that over with.'

The president punted to his lawyers: 'I'll speak to attorneys, I can only say this, there was absolutely no collusion'

WHY WOULD HE WANT TO DO THAT? Trump signaled that he would be open to it but said he did not have any reason to think he'd be called in for questioning

Trump invited questions on Russian collusion again on Wednesday morning as he prepared to hold talks and a joint news conference with the prime minister of Norway

In limited circumstances, this has even brought presidents to be deposed  as President Bill Clinton was required to do in special prosecutor Ken Starr's Lewinsky probe, where his videotaped statements got used against him.

Investigators have already interviewed key figures throughout the White House and has indicted former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and his former deputy Rick Gates.

Trump's White House lawyer Ty Cobb told DailyMail.com that 'the White House does not comment on communications with the [office of special counsel] out of respect for the OSC and its process,' and repeated its 'full cooperation' with the investigation on Monday.

A spokesman for the special counsel's office declined to comment.

Trump is experienced in litigation from his career as a real estate mogul.

But a look at his past appearances reveals what his legal team must be mindful of: interviewed directly under oath, Trump has had to acknowledge past misstatements that he was unable to defend.

In his 2007 deposition in a libel lawsuit, he got asked about his note to a reporter where he claimed he owned a 50 per cent stake in a real estate project.

'I own 30 percent,' he testified under oath. 'And I've always felt I owned 50 percent,' he tried to explain, since he didn't put up his own money on the deal. 'The 30 percent equates to much more than 30 percent.'

A KREMLIN STATE OF MIND: Norway shares a small portion of its border with Russia, making the Kremlin a hot topic at a joint news conference after the leaders' meeting. Both leaders were asked about Russia - and this Trump tweet

NO COLLUSION: Trump said the allegations have been a 'phony cloud' over his administration since he took office

Again and again, lawyers for the reporter, Tim O'Brien, grilled Trump, as the Washington Post recounted during the campaign.

Then he got asked about saying publicly he was paid 'more than a million dollars' for a speech.

Under questioning, he revealed he got paid 'approximately $400,000.' The balance was for the promotion of the event, which he considered 'of great value.'

The president's legal team is seek to mitigate the risk by various means, from trying to have him answer questions in writing to limiting the scope of the questioning.

If no deal gets negotiated, Mueller's office could subpoena Trump. He has the option of pleading the Fifth Amendment, but failing to answer questions could carry major political consequences, as Trump has said he has done nothing wrong.

Trump invited questions on Russian collusion again on Wednesday morning as he prepared to hold talks and a joint news conference with the prime minister of Norway.

He said once again that the election meddling probe was a 'witch hunt' as he proclaimed in a tweet that there was 'no collusion.'

'Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!' he said.

Norway shares a portion of its border with Russia, making the Kremlin a hot topic at a joint news conference after the leaders' meeting.

Trump said he believed it is 'a lot better to work with' countries like Russia than not to as he mused that Vladimir Putin must be discontent with the military build-up he's pursuing.

'Putin can't love that,' he said.
The bomb squad has carried out a controlled explosion on a pipe bomb found in a stolen car, as police hunt a man who fled the vehicle.

The Mountain Highway in Melbourne's east was shut down after the Bomb Response Unit was called in to deal with the explosive device.

A Toyota Echo with false licence plates was seen by police parked on the side of the highway at 2.30am on Thursday.

Scroll down for video

The bomb squad (pictured, left, right) has carried out a controlled explosion on a device similar to a pipe bomb found in a stolen car

A Toyota Echo (pictured) with false licence plates was seen by police parked on the side of the highway at 2.30am on Thursday

The bomb squad could be seen searching the stolen car after the controlled explosion

Police searched the vehicle and are hunting for a man seen inside before officers arrived

A man and a woman had fled when police returned to investigate, and the Bomb Response Unit was called soon afterwards.

'Police searched the vehicle and located an explosive device similar to a pipe bomb, as a result we cordoned off the area,' a spokesman said.

The woman was arrested after being caught nearby, but a male suspect remains on the run.

Mountain Highway is closed between the High Street and Scoresby Road intersections, and drivers are asked to avoid the area.

The bomb squad (pictured) was called in to investigate 'suspicious items' found in a stolen car

A Toyota Echo with false licence plates was seen by police parked on the Mountain Highway in Bayswater, in Melbourne's east, early on Thursday (pictured is the bomb squad)
This is the horrifying moment a stuntman broke his back after falling off a giant pole at a festival.

In the footage, which was caught in Taraza, in the northwestern Colombian department of Antioquia, 25-year-old Harold Alexis Garcia can be seen atop the pole as two other men begin to climb it.

The pole starts to sway as all three men are on it and it crashes to the floor, leaving Mr Garcia with a broken back and needing 20 stitches in his face.

In the footage, which was caught in Taraza, in the northwestern Colombian department of Antioquia, 25-year-old Harold Alexis Garcia can be seen atop the pole as two other men begin to climb it

He was taking part in the event, named the 'vara de premios', which translates to 'awards stick' which sees participants climb the long and high wooden stick to get as high as possible.

The video shows Harold at the top when the stick starts to wobble under the weight.

Ironically, the announcer during the spectacle is heard shouting, 'If we have an accident, remember you are under your own responsibility' just seconds before it collapses with Harold still near the top.

He was taking part in the event, named the 'vara de premios', which translates to 'awards stick' which sees participants climb the long and high wooden stick to get as high as possible.

Mr Garcia suffered a nose and spine fracture and needed 20 stitches to his face and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment

He suffered a nose and spine fracture and needed 20 stitches to his face and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Doctor Lucia, who attended him, said he was in a 'serious' but 'stable' condition.

The two other men escaped without injury.
Infecting yourself with microscopic worms could be the cure to diabetes.

In a world-first trial, Australian researchers are looking for young overweight women to test the effectiveness of hook worms on Type 2 diabetes.

James Cook University scientists found the tiny parasites were able to control inflammation and stomach bacteria in mice and they are hoping it will have the same affect on young women.

In a world-first trial, Australian researchers are looking for young overweight women to test the effectiveness of hook worms on Type 2 diabetes (stock image of hook worm)

James Cook University scientists found the tiny parasites were able to control inflammation in mice and they are hoping it will have same affect on young women (stock image)

During the trial, a patient will be given a dose of hookworm larvae followed by regular testing throughout a two year period, according to Cairns Post.

The researchers are looking for women aged 18-44 years old who have a waist circumference of more than 90 centimetres and if successful, using worms to treat diabetes could become common practice.

'There is no danger associated with this, just getting over this initial yucky factor,' researcher Dorris Pierce told 7 News.

Dr Paul Giacomin told News Corp the trial was critical in determining whether a drug would be produced to prevent the chronic disease.

Diabetes Australia statistics show Type 2 diabetes makes up for 85 per cent of all diabetes nation wide and is increasing faster than other chronic diseases.

The hookworm trial received a share of $135,000 worth of grant money from the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
Amanda Schweitzer, 37, is being sued by the parents of an alleged victim

A number of lawsuits have been filed against a middle school teacher from Missouri after she allegedly had sex at the school with three teenage boys.

Amanda Schweitzer, 37, a former North Middle School teacher is being sued alongside the Joplin School District.

Schweitzer was charged with child kidnapping, first-degree statutory rape and first-degree statutory sodomy in two counties in April 2017.

In both lawsuits, three students are mentioned as having received various unwanted sexual advances from Schweitzer.

In a second suit against the school district, it's alleged Schweitzer began 'grooming' the three underage male students in early 2017.

She is alleged to have sent them suggestive and sexual texts and social media messages.

Schweitzer is accused of having sex with three students at the Missouri school she taught at

The Globe reveals how in one incident at the school Schweitzer allegedly 'ran her hand through the student's hair and nibbled on his ear'.

She then apparently messaged him via Instagram and to ask him if he enjoyed it.

The lawsuits details numerous other incidents of alleged sexual misconduct by Schweitzer with the three former North Middle School students all of whom were younger than 15 at the time of the offenses.

The lawsuit against the school district lawsuit cites the Missouri Human Rights Act, alleging the district 'failed to take steps to prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment by its faculty.'

The lawsuit details how she nibbled on a students ear and send suggestive messages through social media apps

The mother of two of the ex-teacher's alleged victims brought the lawsuit against Schweitzer.

Matthew Wilson, a Springfield attorney representing the school district, told the Joplin Globe that the district had no knowledge of Schweitzer's alleged conduct before receiving a complaint.

Shweitzer was immediately placed on leave and the school began an internal investigation.

Criminal charges against Schweitzer are still pending.
A family was terrified when a shot was fired into their house in a brazen drive-by shooting on the Gold Coast.

A dark coloured car pulled up to the house on Tiger Drive in Arundel about 9.25pm on Wednesday and two men got out, police said.

One of them fired a single shot into the front window, shattering it, before they both jumped back in the car and drove off.

Wednesday night's shooting was three days after a man was shot in the arm and chest with a shotgun in his front yard (pictured) on the Gold Coast

Detectives believed the men were known to the victims and were investigating the shooting, which is the third on the Gold Coast little more than a week.

A man was shot in the arm and chest with a shotgun about 4pm on Monday and was still in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

The 44-year-old was confronted by a three men and a woman armed with a gun and a metal pole in the front yard of his home on Plateau Crescent in Carrara.

An argument erupted which led to the shooting, after which the four assailants fled the scene before heavily-armed police arrived.

A woman and a child who were also at the Carrara home when the shooting occurred weren't hurt

The group went to a Carrara home about 4pm on Monday, armed with a gun (victim pictured)

A woman and a child who were also at the home when the shooting occurred weren't hurt. Police scoured the area but have not yet made any arrests.

Last Wednesday Scott James Morrison, 46, was allegedly shot dead by his girlfriend of six months Paanice Lawrence in her home.

The 39-year-old called triple-0 about 2am after Mr Morrison was allegedly shot metres from her young son, but paramedics couldn't revive him.

Lawrence was charged with murder and faced Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday morning and had her case adjourned until Friday.
A dead koala has been found screwed to a pole at a park north of Brisbane, in an act that has left wildlife rescuers feeling sick to the stomach.

Koala Rescue Queensland responded to a report of a koala climbing a wooden gazebo but on closer inspection they found the koala dead and screwed in place at Brooloo Park Lookout, near Gympie on Wednesday.

'I feel sick, like throwing up,' Koala Rescue Queensland spokesman Murray Chambers said on Thursday.

A dead koala was discovered screwed to a pole in at Brooloo Park lookout, north-west of the Sunshine Coast, on Wednesday (pictured)

He said the attack on a 'vulnerable' and 'innocent' animal showed no respect for Australian wildlife.

'What sort of people do this?' he asked.

The rescue team was headed to the park on Thursday to conduct tests and determine if the male koala was dead or alive when it was placed there.

Unfortunately the incident is not a one-off with the team often faced with distressing acts such as koalas being shot or beheaded.

Fellow team member Ray Chambers said there was a need for stronger penalties for animal cruelty to stop this 'horrid' behaviour.

'The whole thing is just wrong,' he said.

'We want answers.'

Koala Rescue Queensland is a 24-hour rescue service run by volunteers across the state.
On Monday morning, Justine Greening was a member of the Cabinet. On Monday night, she was given the heave-ho. On Wednesday, she sat on the backbenches in the top corner of the Chamber, surrounded by pro-EU Tory rebel plotters who have made that part of the House their area.

How they treated her like a princess! Pats on the arm. Solicitous expressions. Sad smiles and doleful nods of the head as they attempted to feel her pain.

We love you, Justine! We want you! I should perhaps clarify that second one. We want you to join our little group and help try to block Brexit and thus topple your new enemy, Mrs May, might be more accurate. Miss Greening (Putney), a Yorkshirewoman, was once thought solidly Eurosceptic. She was certainly content to let that impression spread.

Justine Greening was relegated to 'Remainer Corner' alongside Nicky Morgan, Anna Soubry and Dominic Grieve as Theresa May took on Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs on Wednesday

Justine Greening (left) spent the first Prime Ministers Questions of 2018 nustling up to that bespectacled Che Guevara of Tory Remoaners, Dominic Grieve (right)

Mr Cameron and George Osborne would not have taken kindly to Miss Greening supporting Leave

I had a cuppa with her at the Tory Party conference in October 2015 and she was sphinx-like when I asked how she would vote in the EU referendum.

Even as late as December 2015, when she was in David Camerons Cabinet, she was described by The Guardian newspaper as a probable Brexiteer. In the event she supported In, arguing that for me, it boils down to opportunity and influence.

For her, that may well have been true. Mr Cameron and George Osborne would not have taken kindly to Miss Greening supporting Leave.

I may be doing her a disservice. She may have supported Remain simply on the principles of the argument. But it helped Messrs Cameron and Osborne that she  youthful, urban, zippy, with minorities reach  decided to back their side.

When Theresa May became PM, Miss Greening (who had been one of the May candidacys two proposers) was promoted. She found it possible to adapt her views and support Brexit means Brexit. Loyalist that we must presume she was, she was no doubt as infuriated as the rest of the Government when Tory rebels such as Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield) and Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) helped to defeat Mrs May in a Commons vote at the end of last year.

Miss Greening (Putney), a Yorkshirewoman, was once thought solidly Eurosceptic

But that was then and this is now. Mrs Mays people stupidly put it about that Theresa thought Justine a bore, and they have made an enemy of her. So it was that Miss Greening settled her fragile bones where she did in the Chamber yesterday, and that she spent the first Prime Ministers Questions of 2018 nustling up to that bespectacled Che Guevara of Tory Remoaners, Monsieur Grieve.

Le Grieve! You should see, these days, how this once nerdish Herbert stretches his limbs and splays wide his groin. He was taking up two seats by the end. Quite the buck, he has become.

As he listened to Jeremy Corbyn attack Mrs Mays health policies, a smile colonised his face. From time to time he turned to Miss Greening and vouchsafed some drollery, perhaps in French, in which he is fluent. By the end he had her smiling.

Layla Moran was unable to raise a health question in parliament

It is hard to believe that Miss Greening  who is, as I say, a Yorkshirewoman  could find it in her soul ever to be quite so devoted to the European project as M. Grieve, who belongs to Frances Legion dHonneur; but imagine the satisfaction to be had, the visceral revenge, were she so to assist the Grieve tendency that it managed to torpedo our nations independence from the European Empire.

PMQs itself? Over-long. Mrs May and Mr Corbyn spent 20 minutes on their exchanges. The most informative moment perhaps came when Mrs May entered the Chamber and there was a cool lack of enthusiasm on the Tory benches.

In points of order, Layla Moran (Lib Dem, Oxford W & Abingdon) complained that she had not been able to raise some health problem in her constituency. Speaker Bercow said she had herself to blame. He was going to call her but she failed to stand, and thus signify her desire to speak. Oxford surely deserves a slightly brighter MP.
James Damore isn't the only white male in tech who feels discriminated against.

A Pew Research Center survey released on Tuesday found that 13 per cent of white workers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields report experiences of racial discrimination at work.

Among the male STEM workers surveyed, 19 per cent felt that they had experienced some kind of gender-based discrimination in the workplace.

Although responses for the white male demographic were not specifically broken down in the published results, the inclusion of anonymous comments from respondents offered a clear picture into the minds of some white men in STEM.

'It is OK to tell me "you are a blue eyed white heterosexual Christian male, you don't stand a chance and there is nothing you can do about it",' said one civil engineering inspector, 49.

He continued: 'I have heard this or [a] variation over and over with two different government employers. They are always looking over me to hire or promote minorities.'

James Damore (above) isn't the only white male in tech who feels discriminated against. A new survey finds 13 per cent of white workers say they've experienced racial discrimination at work

Thirteen per cent of white workers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields report experiences of racial discrimination

One engineer, a 47-year-old white man, said: 'Today the white male is the enemy. I've seen too many qualified white males passed over for promotions or advancement in favor of a woman and/or minority. Qualifications don't matter these days, rather your gender and race matter.'

Another white male engineer, 58, said: 'Reverse discrimination is still present in the workforce today. People with the same skills and experience, but different ethnicities, have different opportunities. A person formally classed as a minority will get preference over a white Caucasian.'

'As a white male nothing is a given now, you have to fight harder to overcome institutional and government reverse discrimination,' said one 55-year-old industrial and medical engineer.

'White males are an undesirable classification currently in environments seeking the managed utopia of balance and 'diversity',' a white male computer worker, 52, said.

The survey noted that although the share of blacks working in STEM jobs has gone from 7 per cent in 1990 to 9 per cent today, blacks are still underrepresented, making up 11 per cent of the total US workforce.

Hispanic share of STEM employment has gone up from 4 per cent to 7 per cent, while their share of the US workforce has grown from 7 per cent in 1990 to 16 per cent today.

The survey, conducted in July and August, comes as debates over diversity in the tech fields have reached a new fever pitch.

Former Google employee Damore filed a class-action suit against the massive company on Monday, claiming he and other white and Asian men at the company had been targeted for belittlement in a quest for workplace diversity.

Google 'openly shames managers of business units who fail to meet their [diversity] quotasin the process, openly denigrating male and Caucasian employees as less favored than others,' the suit claims.

The complaint continues: 'Not only was the numerical presence of women celebrated at Google solely due to their gender, but the presence of Caucasians and males was mocked with "boos" during company-wide weekly meetings.'

'We look forward to defending against Mr. Damore's lawsuit in court,' Google said in a statement.

Damore was fired in August, after a controversial memo about numerical disparities between male and female employment in engineering went viral.

The memo posited that differences in average inclinations and aptitudes between men and woman were responsible for the underrepresentation of women in the field.

He accused the company of maintaining 'a politically correct monoculture that maintains its hold by shaming dissenters into silence.'
A Californian tourist has died after taking a wrong turn while hiking a popular trail in the Australian outback.

The 33-year-old, who has not been identified, was found dead less than a mile from a parking lot after taking a wrong turn in searing 108F (42C) heat.

Police did not give a cause of death, but said he had a 'limited water supply' and that heat had been a 'contributing factor'.

A 33-year-old overseas tourist has died while hiking the popular Larapinta Trail, west of Alice Springs, after taking a wrong turn (pictured is Mount Sonder)

Officers said the man had been hiking with a 40-year-old companion but the pair were separated after the 33-year-old ran ahead on the trail.

'His partner made it back to the Redbank Gorge carpark and raised the alarm, but unfortunately the 33-year-old didn't arrive,' Northern Territory Police Superintendent Rob Burgoyne said.

The man was reported missing around 2pm and was found dead shortly after 5pm.

'His body was eventually located about 400 metres down the track where he'd turned the wrong way,' Supt Burgoyne added.

The man's 40-year-old hiking companion told police the 33-year-old had run ahead of him as they descended the mountain and made a wrong turn

The Larapinta Trail is a bushwalking track which runs west from Alice Springs to Mount Sonder along the West MacDonnell Ranges.

Temperatures topped out around 108F (42C) in Alice Spring on Wednesday.

'We do know he had water with him, but he did do a very foolish thing in that he apparently ran away from his companion after the descent,' Supt Burgoyne said.

'It wouldn't be a terribly advisable thing to do in 40-degree heat - to actually sprint away.'
Users of cannabis, cocaine and heroin are victims of discrimination and should no longer be called druggies or junkies, an international drug legalisation pressure group declared yesterday.

It called for an end to negative language for drug users and their habits in order to ensure their human rights are respected.

As part of the drive to persuade people to think differently about drugs, the words addict and even drug user must be thrown out, a report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy said.

It urged newspapers and broadcasters to encourage more positive attitudes by calling a drug user a person who uses drugs.

Users of cannabis, cocaine and heroin are victims of discrimination and should no longer be called druggies or junkies, a drug legalisation pressure group declared yesterday

Instead of calling someone addicted to heroin a junkie, they should be said to be someone who has a heroin use disorder.

A recreational drug user should be referred to as a person with non-problematic drug use and a former addict should not be described as clean, it said.

Even the word addict itself should go, to be replaced by phrases such as person with substance use disorder, the report said.

The Commission, launched six years ago by financier George Soros with the aim of legalising drugs, has British members who include former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg and Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson.

Publication of its report, Countering Prejudices Against People Who Use Drugs, was Sir Richards second intervention in the drugs debate within a week.

Last Friday Sir Richard posted a message on the Virgin website calling restrictive moves on cannabis law by Donald Trumps administration a throwback to the worst days of the failed war on drugs.

The Commission report said: Commonly encountered terms such as junkie, drug abuser, and crack head are alienating, and designate people who use drugs as others  morally flawed and inferior individuals.

Such stigma and discrimination, combined with the criminalization of drug use, are directly related to the violation of the human rights of people who use drugs in many countries.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy, launched six years ago, has British members such as Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson (left) and former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg

Therefore, in order to change how drug consumption is considered and how people who use drugs are treated, we need to shift our perceptions, and the first step is to change how we speak.

Laws banning drugs make users scapegoats for wider societal problems, the report said. Crime, it added, is not a result of drug use, but when users get criminal records for drugs it makes the illegal market and criminal activity among their only means of survival.

It added that individuals with problematic drug use often cannot afford the drugs they need without resorting to crime themselves.

The Commission report follows figures published by the Office for National Statistics last summer that showed seven out of 10 of a record number of deaths in England and Wales from drug poisoning in 2016 were caused by illegal drugs.

The ONS said the high death toll was a result of a fashion for heroin in the last decades of the 20th century, and heroin users often have a range of complex physical illnesses as a result of long-term drug use, which may make them particularly vulnerable to death from drug misuse.

The past few years have also seen a flood of scientific reports which have established links between cannabis and serious mental illness and violent crime, and pointed to the reality of a gateway effect onto harder drugs for cannabis users.

Anti-drug campaigners warned against efforts to change the way people think about drugs by sanitising the way people talk about them.

Kathy Gyngell, a fellow of the Tory-leaning Centre for Policy Studies think tank, said: This attempted manipulation of language reveals the Commission for the control freaks they really are.

This is an Orwellian newspeak strategy to disguise what every parent or child of a drug addict knows is a very unpleasant and destructive reality.
A four-year-old Michigan girl who died after allegedly being tortured by her mother and boyfriend had been so badly burned that her big toe fell off and melted skin was found in the bathtub.

The gruesome details surrounding Gabby Barrett's death emerged after the little girl's mother Candice Diaz, 24, and her boyfriend Brad Fields, 28, were captured by police on Tuesday.

The couple had sparked a nationwide manhunt after going on the run from Sumpter Township on New Year's Day after Gabby died.

They were arrested 792 miles away in southern Georgia.

The gruesome details surrounding Gabby Barrett's death emerged after the little girl's mother Candice Diaz, 24, and her boyfriend Brad Fields, 28, were captured by police on Tuesday

Washtenaw County Medical Examiner called Gabby's death the 'worst child death case' he had seen in his 30 years of being a doctor.

Horrific details of her injuries were included in court documents obtained by the Detroit Free Press.

Police said they had found the girl's melted skin in the drain of the bathtub and that she was missing her toe due to her burns.

'Gabrielle had burns all over her body and bruising to her entire body,' the document stated.

According to court documents, Diaz told authorities that Gabby had burned herself after running her own bath on New Year's Eve.

The mother said Gabby then wanted to take another bath the following day. Diaz said she left her daughter alone in the bathroom and went to make pancakes.

Candice Diaz, 24, and her boyfriend Brad Fields, 28, were arrested Tuesday after going on the run from Sumpter Township in Michigan on New Year's Day after Gabby died

Police said they had found Gabby's melted skin in the drain of the bathtub and that she was missing her toe due to her severe burns

When she returned, Diaz said Gabby was submerged under the water and she called her partner for help.

Gabby was found by police on New Year's Day inside the mobile home where she lived with both Diaz and Fields.

Investigators say the home was littered with animal waste and contained guns and drugs.

Gabby was rushed to the nearby St Joseph Mercy Hospital but she later died from her injuries.

Diaz and Fields were both charged with felony murder, second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse and torture after they were captured.

Court documents reveal that both Diaz and Fields have 'severe mental illnesses' which they admitted to not treating.

Diaz claims she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. Fields said he has schizoaffective disorder, social anxiety, agoraphobia and post-traumatic stress disorder.
A sexual predator dubbed 'the M25 rapist' is being considered for release even though he is serving seven life sentences for a string of attacks on woman and girls.

Antoni Imiela, 63, has served fewer than 14 years for nine assaults but, like vile taxi driver John Worboys, could soon be free to walk the streets.

Family of Imiela's victims, which included girls as young as 10, are said to be 'horrified' at the thought of him being released.

Imiela was dubbed 'the M25 rapist' due to his propensity to use the motorway to flee the scene of his violent attacks, carried out across the Home Counties.

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Antoni Imiela, 63, has served less than 14 years for attacking nine women but, like vile taxi driver John Worboys, could soon be free to walk the streets

A sexual predator dubbed the M25 rapist (pictured) who was handed seven life sentences in 2014 for a string of horrific attacks is being considered for parole, it has been claimed

Antoni Imiela, then 49, of Appledore, near Ashford in Kent, is pictured at Folkestone Police Station

He would snatch his victims where they were walking, drag them into a secluded area and rape them.

Imielas merciless Christmas Day attack on Sheila Jankowitz in 1987 was the precursor to a series of violent rapes that he committed more than a decade later.

A spokesman for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm that the Ministry of Justice has referred the case of Antoni Imiela for a parole review.

'The review is following the standard six-month process for all indeterminate sentence prisoners and will be reviewed on the papers in the first instance.

'The review may be concluded on the papers or alternatively it may be directed to an oral hearing.'

The Old Bailey back in 2012 heard that he knew he was facing a lengthy jail sentence for armed robbery when he attacked Mrs Jankowitz in the early hours of Christmas Day 1987.

Two weeks later he handed himself in to police for the robbery spree and was eventually jailed for 14 years.

He was released in 1996, and five years later began a terrifying campaign of rapes across the south of England on victims as young as 10.

Rapist John Worboys (pictured) could be freed in a matter of weeks. His victims' lawyer has blasted parole bosses for keeping them in the dark over his release

Born in Lubeck, West Germany, in 1954 to a Polish father, a soldier, and German mother, Imiela spent part of his early childhood in a displaced peoples camp as his parents were both refugees.

The family moved to the UK in 1961 and spent time in Worthing, West Sussex, before eventually settling in the north east.

But his life spiralled out of control and he was first sent to Borstal at the age of 15 when he was locked up for robbery.

He had a child but his relationship with his partner came to a turbulent end in the mid 1980s.

In February 1987, after Imiela lost his job as a plasterer, he began his series of armed robberies across the country before he raped Sheila Jankowitz.

After his release from prison in 1996, he tried to build a new life in the south of England with another woman.

Christine, who was just recovering from a turbulent relationship with another man, married Imiela in 1997 and the couple moved into an old council house in the village of Appledore in Kent.

Imiela tried a string of odd jobs, including running a 'bric-a-brac' stall in nearby Rye, East Sussex, before finding work on the railways.

Colleagues recalled that he would brag to them about his use of prostitutes - although it later emerged that some of the stories might actually have been about rape victims.

Richard Scorer, a specialist abuse lawyer from Slater and Gordon, represented 11 of the rapist's victims and said they had been treated with 'the utmost contempt' by the justice system

Pictured: The taxi driven by John Worboys where he tricked women into drinking spiked champagne before sexually abusing them

One colleague said that shortly before Imielas arrest for the seven rapes, he saw him at St Pancras railway station in London, where he boasted that he 'went with this young girl and she looked only about 12'.

A few days earlier, Imiela had driven to Birmingham and kidnapped a 10-year-old girl at knifepoint before putting her through a five-hour sex ordeal in his car.

He also suggested to another colleague - who had no idea his fellow railway worker was the rapist - that the little girl might have 'deserved it'.

The shocking news comes as a lawyer who represented several of Black cab rapist John Worboys' victims today accused parole bosses of treating his clients with 'the utmost contempt' after revealing they had not been consulted on the sex attacker's licence conditions.

Former stripper Worboys, 60, was jailed in 2009 for 19 sex offences, including rape, with many believing he would die behind bars.

But there has been outrage after it emerged he could walk free in a matter of weeks.

A meeting will take place tomorrow to finalise the conditions of Worboys' release - but his victims have been kept in the dark.

Richard Scorer, a specialist abuse lawyer from Slater and Gordon, represented 11 of the rapist's victims and has demanded Worboys is barred from Greater London.

In a statement, he said: 'It is unbelievable that Worboys' victims have not been consulted on their attacker's licence conditions when they are living in fear of his release.

'Considering the shambles of this sorry episode so far it is inexcusable that all victims have not been asked to make representations about his restrictions.

Ex-stripper Worboys, 60, was jailed in 2009 for 19 sex offences, including rape, with many believing he would die behind bars. Pictured right: Evidence seized by police on Warboys' arrest

'Our clients already felt betrayed by the way they have been treated by the criminal justice system; they now feel like they are being treated with the utmost contempt.

'This is an absolute disgrace and we demand that all victims  those involved in the criminal trial and those who were not  are consulted before Worboys' licence conditions are finalised.'

The taxi driver would pick his victims up in his London cab, giving them spiked champagne after claiming he had won the lottery.

A total of 102 women accused Worboys of sex attacks and police suspected him of claiming more than 500 victims.

During the police investigation in 2008, files relating to 83 women were referred to the CPS, but they only took 14 cases forward as the others 'did not pass the evidential test'.

Yet 26 women picked out Worboys as their attacker to police.

Some of the women whose cases were dropped were told that there was 'no point' putting him on trial a second time as it was thought Worboys would never be released having been given an indeterminate sentence for public protection in 2009.

Several women are now crowdfunding to raise cash to launch fresh action against Worboys.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'The licence conditions for John Worboys have not been finalised, and he will not be released until victims have had an opportunity to make representations to the Parole Board on his licence conditions.
Residents of the plush neighborhood of Montecito were suffering 'evacuation fatigue' from last month's deadly wildfires when they chose to ignore orders to leave their homes as deadly mudslides threatened them.

It is one of the reasons why at least 16 people are dead and another 24 are missing as a result of the floods in Southern California, according to locals.

NBC cited officials who said they feared earlier in the week that residents in the plush, 9,000-person population enclave would not listen to their warnings.

As predicted, many did not anticipate how severe the mudslides would be and chose to stay at home on Monday night.

The Californian town of Montecito on Tuesday morning after devastating mudslides

They awoke to their homes being swept away by mud and water.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued for part of the enclave, which is home to nearly 9,000, on Monday night.

Those areas were further from the coast and closer to the hillside areas which were entirely ravaged by the Thomas wildfire last month.

Authorities have said it is still too early to say whether the mandatory evacuation order zone is worse affected than the voluntary zone.

'This isnt an exact science in terms of defining where [a mudslide] is going to "happen,". 'A lot depends on Mother Nature. This was their best guess estimate of where things were going to occur, and as it turns out, they were exactly right,' Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said on Tuesday.

Brown added that it was 'impossible' to say exactly where the mudslides have destroyed as they continue to work through the chaos.

Experts had been working 'feverishly' since the wildfires to avoid the very scenario they now face.

The county's Public Works Department deputy director said his team had done 'everything' they could to prevent it before the storm hit.

Now, they are focusing on clearing the debris and restoring the creeks to put back in place their crucial storm systems before more storms hit.
August 2010: An arrest warrant is issued for Julian Assange after his trip to Sweden.

Two allegations - rape and molestation - are made against him. Assange denies both.

February 2011: Judge rules WikiLeaks founder should be extradited to Sweden to face charges.

November 2011: Assange fails in his appeal to the High Court against the decision to extradite him .

June 19, 2012: Seeks political asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

August 16, 2012: Ecuador grants Assange political asylum.

August 19, 2012: Assange makes his first public appearance in two months from the balcony of the Embassy.

He make a speech, calling for the government to 'drop the witch-hunt against WikiLeaks.

June 2013: After a year at the Embassy, Assange fears there are fresh moves being put in place to extradite him.

July 2014: Assange, 46, loses his appeal to have the Sweden arrest warrant thrown out.

December 2014: Appears on the balcony of the Embassy again to greet Noam Chomsky and John Cusack.

August 13, 2015: Swedish prosecutors drop some of the allegations against Julian Assange.

The rape allegations case remains open and active.

August 21, 2015: Civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson visits the Embassy.

October 12, 2015: Metropolitan Police end the 24-hour guard at the Embassy.

November 14, 2016: Assange is questioned again over the sex crime allegations.

January 17, 2017: Barack Obama, in one of his final acts as President of the US, decides to free whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

This sparks speculation that Assange is about to end his self-imposed exile.

March 9, 2017: Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage is spotted leaving the Embassy.

April 21, 2017: US Attorney General states that Assange's arrest is now a US 'priority'.

May 19, 2017: Swedish prosecutors announce the investigations have been discontinued.

June 19, 2017: Assange cancels a 'special announcement' he had planned for the fifth anniversary of his stay at the Embassy.

December 21, 2017: Ecuador allegedly issue Assange with a passport.
Around 99 per cent of newly hatched green sea turtles at one of the biggest sea turtle nesting sites in the world are female.

Scientists say warming temperatures are to blame for the lack of male babies in the north Great Barrier reef.

The temperature at which eggs incubate determines the sex of the eggs, and warmer nests, which are dug into beaches, mean more females.

The population of about 200,000 nesting females in the northern Great Barrier Reef could crash without more males, according to the report.

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The vast majority of green sea turtles in the northern Great Barrier Reef are female because of warmer temperatures due to climate change, which influences their sex during incubation, researchers said. Pictured is an adult green sea turtle being released

WHAT DID THEY FIND? The population of about 200,000 nesting females in the northern Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest in the world, and could crash without more males, according to the report. After collecting 411 for analysis and release, they found a 'moderate female sex bias' in turtles from beaches in the cooler, southern Great Barrier Reef, where about 65-69 percent were female. But those in the warmer, northern Great Barrier Reef were 'extremely female-biased,' at 99.1 percent female among juveniles and 99.8 percent for those between juveniles and adults. A total of 86.8 percent of adult-sized turtles from the area were female. Advertisement

The vast majority of green sea turtles in the northern Great Barrier Reef are female because of warmer temperatures due to climate change, which influences their sex during incubation, researchers said.

Scientists are concerned populations of these animals - as well as alligators and crocodiles - could turn almost completely female.

'With average global temperature predicted to increase 4.7 Fahrenheit (2.6 Celsius) by 2100, many sea turtle populations are in danger of high egg mortality and female-only offspring production,' said the report in the journal Current Biology.

Since figuring out the sex of buried eggs is too difficult, researchers decided to catch sea turtles and use genetic tests to find out where they'd come from.

They worked in an area where two different populations of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) forage - one from a warmer area and the other from a cooler area.

After collecting 411 for analysis and release, they found a 'moderate female sex bias' in turtles from beaches in the cooler, southern Great Barrier Reef, where about 65-69 percent were female.

The trend of producing more females in warm areas has been ongoing for more than two decades, researchers suggest. Pictured are young green sea turtles being released off the Great Barrier Reef

The population of about 200,000 nesting females in the northern Great Barrier Reef could crash without more males, according to the report

But those in the warmer, northern Great Barrier Reef were 'extremely female-biased,' at 99.1 percent female among juveniles and 99.8 percent for those between juveniles and adults.

A total of 86.8 percent of adult-sized turtles from the area were female.

The trend of producing more females in warm areas has been ongoing for more than two decades, according to lead author Michael Jensen, from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The study 'provides a new understanding of what these populations are dealing with,' he said.

'Knowing what the sex ratios in the adult breeding population are today and what they might look like five, 10 and 20 years from now when these young turtles grow up and become adults is going to be incredibly valuable.'

Experts say there are strategies that could help, including erecting shady tents over beaches where turtles nest to keep them cool.

Green sea turtles are considered endangered throughout much of the world, under siege from coastal debris, loss of habitat, fishing nets and pollution, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Robotic suitcases that follow you wherever you go are taking over CES this year.

Chinese firm 90Fun has unveiled its Puppy 1 suitcase equipped with a custom auto-following chip and Segways self-balancing technology to prevent falling over.

In a demonstration at CES, 90Fun showed off how it can drive around either controlled by a human, or all by itself.

Segway Ninebot also displayed its adorable Loomo robot and the autonomous delivery version, Loomo Go, which appears a cross between a rideable hoverboard and a friendly robotic companion.

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Chinese firm 90Fun has unveiled its Puppy 1 suitcase equipped with a custom auto-following chip and Segways self-balancing technology to prevent falling over. In a demonstration at CES, 90Fun showed off how it can drive around either controlled by a human, or all by itself

Puppy is an RF remote control auto-following suitcase with built-in positioning radar.

Users can command its movement using a joystick, or summon it within 20 meters to have it drive to you by itself.

It has bi-directional intelligence, meaning it can go back and forth.

Puppy 1 is equipped with multiple assistant modes for different types of travel. It can climb a slope of up to 30 degrees, and traverse a bumpy road.

And, its got 6-inch all-weather tires.

The auto-following suitcase drives at about 5 kilometers per hour (3mph)  but, it could go as fast as 18km/h (11mph).

Puppy is an RF remote control auto-following suitcase with built-in positioning radar. Users can command its movement using a joystick, or summon it within 20 meters to have it drive to you by itself

It can also be used as a regular, non-smart suitcase.

But, it appears it wont hold very much.

Puppy 1 has a 20-inch cabin, and can hold about 30 liters. The suitcase is also equipped with a back storage bin, which can hold small items.

Segway Ninebot also displayed its adorable Loomo robot and the autonomous delivery version, Loomo Go, which appears a cross between a rideable hoverboard and a friendly robotic companion

MEET LOOMO, SEGWAY'S NEW HOVERBOARD ROBOT Segway Ninebot has revealed its adorable Loomo robot and the autonomous delivery version, Loomo Go, which appears a cross between a rideable hoverboard and a friendly robotic companion. Loomo is designed to be both a mini personal transporter and an intelligent robot. It uses Intels Realsense camera, giving it the power of depth-sensing, facial recognition, and person tracking. And, with a self-balancing hoverboard-style base, you can even ride it. Segway also demonstrated the Loomo Go  an autonomous delivery robot designed for carrying small loads in indoor spaces. Advertisement

It also has a security fingerprint lock, with the ability to remember 5 fingerprint records.

According to 90Fun, the auto-following suitcase will go on sale in 2018.

Puppy 1 was demonstrated alongside Segways Loomo robots.

And, with a self-balancing hoverboard-style base, you can even ride it. Segway also demonstrated the Loomo Go  an autonomous delivery robot designed for carrying small loads in indoor space

Loomo is designed to be both a mini personal transporter and an intelligent robot.

It uses Intels Realsense camera, giving it the power of depth-sensing, facial recognition, and person tracking.

And, with a self-balancing hoverboard-style base, you can even ride it.

Segway also demonstrated the Loomo Go  an autonomous delivery robot designed for carrying small loads in indoor spaces.

Loomo is designed to be both a mini personal transporter and an intelligent robot. It uses Intels Realsense camera, giving it the power of depth-sensing, facial recognition, and person tracking

It can hold up to 50kg in its detachable delivery box, and can deliver for up to 8 hours.

Loomo Go can avoid obstacles and even ride the elevator by itself, and provide real-time delivery updates.

It uses advanced sensors and visual SLAM technology to efficiently navigate autonomously through busy urban environments, including: shopping malls, office buildings, airports, parking lots, etc, according to Segway Robotics.

And, with precise 3D mapping technology, itll never get lost.
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Robots are just about everywhere you look at CES, from humanoid assistants to tiny AI characters that can sit on the countertop.

Customer service and assistance robots were on display across the Las Vegas Convention Center showfloor, with life-sized bots from Sanbot and FURo among the popular personalities.

Educational robots also made a major appearance, including Robokinds autism therapy bot, and IooBots table-top lineup that you can control with your thoughts.

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IooBots showed off a line of robots the firm says are controlled by your brainwaves. At CES, the robots could be seen rolling around on their small displays. In order to control it though, you really have to concentrate, the firm said

By putting on a small headband, and IooBot owner can control its movements with brainwaves.

But, you really have to concentrate, the team told Dailymail.com

The robot could be seen toppling over on its small display and apparently raising itself back to a standing position just in the nick of time, before it could plummet off the side.

The adorable home robot, Kuri, also made an appearance at CES.

Exhibitors showed off the $899 robot at the Unveiled event earlier this week, before heading to their official booth.

FURo showed off a whole line of robotic assistants, including its life-sized Furo-D customer service robot. The robot is being incorporated into setting such as airports, the firm explains

One IooBot could be seen toppling over on its small display and apparently raising itself back to a standing position just in the nick of time, before it could plummet off the side

FURo displayed a slew of robotic assistants at CES, including an adorable prototype with cat-like ears (pictured above)

Kuri can act as your eyes when youre away from home, the creators explain.

It can record what it sees throughout the day, and send special moments to you.

Over time, it will learn your preferences to get more accurate.

You can even use it to spy on your pets  and scold them if theyre misbehaving.

FURo displayed a slew of robotic assistants at CES, including an adorable prototype with cat-like ears.

Customer service and assistance robots were on display across the Las Vegas Convention Center showfloor, with life-sized bots from Sanbot and FURo among the popular personalities. FURo showed off standing and desktop robots (pictured)

Educational robots also made a major appearance, including Robokinds autism therapy bot. Robokinds bot, unlike the others, relies on a more realistic human-inspired face instead of the cartoonish designs common among others

The adorable home robot, Kuri, also made an appearance at CES. Exhibitors showed off the $899 robot at the Unveiled event earlier this week, before heading to their official booth

Robokinds bot, unlike the others, relies on a more realistic human-inspired face instead of the cartoonish designs common among others.

This is because it is designed to be used in therapy sessions to help children with autism learn about social interactions, the team explained.

It has changeable facial expressions, and can be operated by a therapist to control its motions and reactions.

The iPAL smart A.I. robot from Avatarmind Incorporated was among the many robots shown at CES inside the Las Vegas Convention Center

The ever-popular Sanbot lineup made an appearance at CES in Las Vegas again this year
An ancient mouth harp belonging to the Huns that dates back to around 1,700 years ago has been unearthed in Siberia - and it is still capable of making music.

Also known as a jaw or 'Jew's harp', the reed is placed in the performer's mouth and plucked with the finger to produce the note.

The instrument - 4 inches in length - was made by a craftsman from the ribs of a cow or horse and dates from the time the nomadic Huns controlled southern Siberia 1,580 to 1,740 years ago.

An ancient mouth harp belonging to the Huns, dating back around 1,700 years, has been unearthed in Siberia - and it is still capable of making music

THE MOUTH HARP The ancient harp is known as a jaw or Jew's harp. The reed is placed in the performer's mouth and plucked with the finger to produce the note. The ancient craftsmen used the middle of the rib, splintering it into two parts. Such harps are among the world's most ancient musical instruments. Jew's harps are widely distributed in Oceania and Asia - particularly in tribal cultures. The non-European ones are often cut from a single piece of bamboo or wood. European ones generally have a pear-shaped metal frame with a metal tongue. The instrument, despite its name, has no connection with Jews or Judaism. Advertisement

The instrument was found at an archaeological site in the Altai Mountains.

Another similar harp, less well preserved, was found alongside it at the Cheremshanka site, and three more unfinished instruments were discovered at a nearby archaeological dig called Chultukov Log 9.

Specifically the instruments belonged to Maiminskaya cattle breeders, part of the vast warrior empire of the Huns, a nomadic community originating in Central Asia.

The finds were announced by Professor Andrey Borodovsky, of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, part of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

'One of the harps is so perfectly preserved that you can play it', said Dr Borodovsky.

'But there will be slight sound distortion because a tiny part was damaged', he added.

The ancient craftsmen used the middle of the rib, splintering it into two parts, he told The Siberian Times.

Such harps are among the world's most ancient musical instruments.

Also known as a jaw or Jew's harp, the reed is placed in the performer's mouth and plucked with the finger to produce the note. Other finds (pictured) were made at two sites - Chultukov Log 9 and Cheremshanka in Altai Republic

The instrument - four inches in length - was made by a craftsman from the ribs of a cow or horse and dates from the time the nomadic Huns controlled southern Siberia 1,580 to 1,740 years ago

THE HUNS The Huns were a nomadic community originating in Central Asia. They travelled to Europe and threatened what was left of the Roman Empire. It is likely they fled from a dry period in Asia. Searching for food and water, they conquered as they went. By 216 A.D. - when their territory was split into five successor states - the Huns had extended their area of control north to Siberia, south to Tibet, east to the Pacific Ocean and west to the Caspian Sea. The herders' diet was high in meat and fish. The Hun also ate lots of millet, which has a distinctive chemical signature that can be identified in human bones. The wandering Huns grew millet as it it grows in a few short weeks. 'Romans had a big problem with the Hun, they weren't engaging with agriculture, they were constantly moving around', said Dr Susanne Hakenbeck from Cambridge's Department of Archaeology. 'Because agriculture was considered the foundation of Roman civilisation, coming across these people that weren't doing that was really awful from a Roman perspective'. Advertisement

Jew's harps are widely distributed in Oceania and Asia - particularly in tribal cultures. The non-European ones are often cut from a single piece of bamboo or wood.

European ones generally have a pear-shaped metal frame with a metal tongue.

It could have been spread by the Huns who travelled to Europe and threatened what was left of the Roman Empire.

It is likely they fled from a dry period in Asia. Searching for food and water, they conquered as they went.

The instruments belonged to Maiminskaya cattle breeders, part of the vast warrior empire of the Huns, a nomadic community in Central Asia. Pictured is a Jew's harp being used

The ancient craftsmen used the middle of the rib, splintering it into two parts. Such harps are among the world's most ancient musical instruments

The instruments, found in the Altai mountains (pictured), were announced by Professor Andrey Borodovsky, of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, part of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

By 216 A.D. - when their territory was split into five successor states - the Huns had extended their area of control north to Siberia, south to Tibet, east to the Pacific Ocean and west to the Caspian Sea.

The herders' diet was high in meat and fish.

The Hun also ate lots of millet, which has a distinctive chemical signature that can be identified in human bones.

The instrument, despite its name, has no connection with Jews or Judaism.

The instrument was found at an archaeological site in the Altai Mountains. Pictured is Chultukov Log where three more unfinished instruments were discovered
Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that Earth will become unbearably hot, hellish world if global warming continues.

The physicist has previously said President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement has doomed our planet.

Now Hawking has reiterated his prediction, saying Earth will one day look like the 460C (860F) planet Venus if we don't cut greenhouse gas emissions.

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Professor Stephen Hawking has warned our planet will one day look like Venus (left) with surface temperatures of 460C (860F) if global warming continues. Venus, the second closest planet to the sun, was much like Earth 4 billion years ago (artist's impression right)

HOW DID VENUS GET SO HOT? Venus, the second closest planet to the sun, was much like Earth 4 billion years ago, according to Nasa. The planet was habitable for around 2 billion years, with water at its surface and mild temperatures similar to Earth's. A build up of greenhouse gases in the planet's atmosphere turned it into the scorching hot celestial body we see today. Rising temperatures caused water to evaporate from the planet's oceans, which amassed in the atmosphere and trapped ever more heat. This feedback loop eventually burned off Venus's oceans, with the planet's surface temperatures now reaching 460C (860F). Advertisement

In the second episode of his Emmy-winning series 'Favourite Places', which is available to stream worldwide through the website CuriosityStream, Hawking visits the planet Venus via a series of CGI backdrops.

Venus, the second closest planet to the sun, was much like Earth 4 billion years ago, according to Nasa.

The planet was habitable for around 2 billion years, with water at its surface and mild temperatures similar to Earth's.

A build up of greenhouse gases in Venus's atmosphere burned off its oceans and turned it into the scorching hot planet seen today, with winds of up to 180mph (300km/h).

Venus is an example of runaway greenhouse warming, Hawking says, something that could happen on Earth if greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reach extreme levels.

'Next time you meet a climate change denier, tell them to take a trip to Venus. I will pay the fare,' Hawking says.

Hawking has previously warned that planet Earth will soon become inhabitable if climate change continues.

He has slammed US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement last year.

In 2015, around 195 nations signed the agreement which set measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent temperatures rising by more than two degrees in the next 50 years.

Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that Earth's oceans will burn up as it becomes an uninhabitable hotpot if we don't cut our greenhouse gas emissions

But Trump announced in June 2017 the start of a three-year process to pull out of the pact, arguing that it would put the US at an economic disadvantage.

In response, Hawking said: 'I am not denying the importance of fighting climate change and global warming, unlike Donald Trump, who may just have taken the most serious, and wrong, decision on climate change this world has seen.'

The comments were made at the Starmus Festival celebrating science and the arts, in Trondheim, Norway, in June.

Hawking added that humanity must find a new home in space in the next 200 to 500 years if we are to survive.

He called for leading nations to send astronauts to the Moon by 2020 in a bid to re-ignite space exploration.

They should also aim to build a lunar base in 30 years' time and send people to Mars by 2025, he said.

'Spreading out into space will completely change the future of humanity,' he said.

'I hope it would unite competitive nations in a single goal, to face the common challenge for us all.

'A new and ambitious space programme would excite (young people), and stimulate interest in other areas, such as astrophysics and cosmology'.

He revealed his hope nuclear fusion-powered ships propelled by light or another energy form will guide us to our new home.

'The Earth is under threat from so many areas that it is difficult for me to be positive,' he admitted.

Hawkings (file photo) has previously warned that planet Earth will soon become inhabitable, claiming last year that we must find a new home in space in the next 200 to 500 years if we are to survive

'The threats are too big and too numerous.

'Our physical resources are being drained, at an alarming rate. We have given our planet the disastrous gift of climate change.

'Rising temperatures, reduction of the polar ice caps, deforestation, and decimation of animal species. We can be an ignorant, unthinking lot.'

Professor Hawking is working with Russian billionaire Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Starshot project to send a fleet of tiny 'nanocraft' carrying light sails on a four light-year journey to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth.

'If we succeed we will send a probe to Alpha Centauri within the lifetime of some of you alive today,' he said.

'It is clear we are entering a new space age. We are standing at the threshold of a new era. Human colonisation and other planets is no longer science fiction, it can be science fact.'
The Google Doodle for January 9 celebrates Farouk Shousha, the Arabic poet and radio host, on what would have been his 82nd birthday.

Shousha is most famous for hosting the longest-running and most popular programmes on Egyptian State Radio called ' ' which can be translated to 'Lughatuna Al-Jamila' or 'Our Beautiful Language'.

Who is Farouk Shousha?

Farouk Shousha was born on the January 9, 1936 in the Egyptian port city of Damietta, where he attended an Islamic 'kuttab' school that was attached to a mosque. The 1930s cholera epidemic resulted in his confinement at home and he started to read Arabic poetry at his local library. Shousha then started attending an institution that taught Islamic and modern secondary education, otherwise known as a Dar al-Uloom.

The latest Google Doodle celebrates the life of renowned Arabic poet Farouk Shousha

It is here that he first recited one of his early poems, Ila Musafirah (For a Woman Going), in the 1950s and in 1963, he became the first radio announcer to be sent to Kuwait for training. During his time in Kuwait, Farouk Shousha resided with Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayab and later described this period of his life as 'the most important year of his life'.

His poetry has often been described as emotional because he regularly wrote about the subject of love.

In an interview, Shousha said that his 'relationship with women starts with my mother, who encouraged me to read and write poetry [...] A poet who lives without a woman, is a poet who is divorced from the universe. In the absence of women, there is no real life, only a desert.'

Farouk Shousha's first volume, Shousha's Collected Poems, was published in 1985 and the second much later in 2007. He also authored 13 poetic anthologies and won the Nile Prize for Literature in 2016. However, as well as writing poetry, Shousha also worked as a radio presenter on his show ' ', which can be translated as 'Lughatuna Al-Jamila' or 'Our Beautiful Language'. Here, he recited and dissected Arabic poetry but in turn, popularising the art form to the masses.

Early concepts of the Farouk Shousha Google Doodle show how the illustration developed

He also worked as a professor of Arabic literature at Cairo's American University and was quoted saying to a student who questioned the difference between the image of Arabs in literature and in the media to 'always believe the writer, not the announcers'.

In 2006, Shousha became the Arabic Language Academy's secretary-general, an institution described by Al-Ahram Weekly as 'the guardians of language'.

What is a Google Doodle?

The latest Google Doodle of Farouk Shousha celebrates what would have been his 82nd birthday and depicts him as he would have looked on set at the Egyptian radio station.

Google Doodles were created Sergey Brin and Larry Page to inform others that they would be attending a Burning Man Festival. After a positive response from users, Google's logo has been changed regularly to mark cultural events or celebrations of famous people's lives.

Recent Google Doodles have celebrated Har Gobind Khorana, Fearless Nadia and Max Born.
The Google Doodle for January 11 pays tribute to Alan Paton, the South African author and anti-apartheid activist, on what would have been his 115th birthday.

He is renowned for protesting against racial segregation in person and in his books during pre-Apartheid in South Africa.

Who was Alan Paton?

Alan Paton was born on January 11, 1903 in the Natal province of South Africa, in what is now called the KwaZulu-Natal province. His father was strict and used corporal punishment to control Paton and his brothers, which is thought to have influenced Alan's opposition to authoritarianism and physical punishment. Despite this, Paton's father also introduced him to literature and sparked a love of nature in his son that was later showcased in his books.

South African author and activist Alan Paton is marked in the Google Doodle for January 11

Paton had been a teacher before his appointment as Principal of the Diepkloof Reformatory for Young Offenders led him to work with black youths and this had an impact on his political development.

He then wrote his most famous book,Cry, the Beloved Country, which was published in 1948, the year apartheid was formally established and when the four decades of racial segregation began in South Africa.

Paton's most famous work Cry, the Beloved Country was published in 1948 and has sold more than 15million copies

As the Google Doodle describes: 'His magnum opus is a moving tale of racial injustice, human suffering, and redemption, as two fathers come to terms with the loss of their sons - one an accidental murder and the other, his unfortunate victim.'

The book was considered revolutionary by many white South Africans, sold more than 15 million copies, inspired two films (in 1951 and 1995) and is renowned for expanding knowledge of apartheid on a global scale.

After the success of Cry, the Beloved Country, Paton resigned from his post at the Diepkloof and dedicated his life to the pursuit of writing. He published 19 books between 1948 and 1989, helped found the Liberal Party and was elected party leader in 1955, succeeding Margaret Ballinger. Paton remained in this post until 1968 when the party was dissolved after a legislation passed banning multiracial political parties.

Alan Paton continued writing and fighting for the right for the human principles of love, non-violence and family. In 1988, he was diagnosed with inoperable throat cancer and died in Durban on April 12 that year.

What is a Google Doodle?

The latest Google Doodle depicts Alan Paton on a train ride, where he is thought to have been inspired to write Cry, the Beloved Country and celebrates his 115th birthday imagining the author and activist as a visionary.

Google Doodles were first created by co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to inform others that they would be attending the Burning Man Festival that year and would be out of the office. Since then, Google's logo has been transformed on a more regular basis to celebrate famous people and mark cultural events around the world.

Previous Google Doodles have celebrated Chinua Achebe, Vladimir Dal and Christian Doppler.
Legendary investor Warren Buffett has warned Bitcoin backers face disaster  and suggested the online currency craze will come crashing down.

Bitcoin surged as much as 1,900 per cent last year before moving sharply lower again.

But regulators, bankers and experienced traders have warned it is a toxic bubble that will eventually ruin many people involved.

Buffett  known as the Sage of Omaha for his incredible moneymaking skills  said: 'In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending.'

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Legendary investor Warren Buffett has warned Bitcoin backers face disaster  and suggested the online currency craze will come crashing down

WHAT IS BITCOIN? Bitcoins are generated by using an open-source computer program to solve complex math problems. This process is known as mining. Each Bitcoin has it's own unique fingerprint and is defined by a public address and a private key - or strings of numbers and letters that give each a specific identity. They are also characterized by their position in a public database of all Bitcoin transactions known as the blockchain. The blockchain is maintained by a distributed network of computers around the world. Because Bitcoins allow people to trade money without a third party getting involved, they have become popular with libertarians as well as technophiles, speculators  and criminals. Advertisement

Cryptocurrencies are the internet's version of money - a unique pieces of digital property that can be transferred from one person to another, of which Bitcoin is one of the most well-known.

'When it happens or how or anything else, I don't know', he said in an interview with CNBC's 'Squawk Box'.

The Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway refused to take a short position on Bitcoin.

'We don't own any, we're not short any, we'll never have a position in them,' he said.

'I get into enough trouble with things I think I know something about', he said.

One Bitcoin is currently worth 10,460 ($14,437), according to CoinDesk.

It is up more than 1,500 per cent in the last 12 months despite a recent decline.

Bitcoins are generated by using an open-source computer program to solve complex math problems. This process is known as mining.

Last week the price increased by 13.5 per cent to $15,017 (11,071) after a report found billionaire Peter Thiel, an early investor in Facebook and co-founder of Paypal, had heavily invested in the cryptocurrency.

Thiel's venture capital firm, Founders Fund, bought around $15 to $20 million (11 - 14.7m) in Bitcoin in mid-2017, the report said.

Bitcoin bought by Thiel's firm are now believed to be worth hundreds of millions after the currency's surge last year.

Most mainstream investors have not bought large sums of Bitcoin over fears about cybersecurity and liquidity.

Buffett's cryptocurrency warning came as it was revealed he had set up two top lieutenants to one day take over his 56-year-old business empire Berkshire Hathaway.

He has given board seats to long-serving executives Gregory Abel and Ajit Jain, in a move that will see them take on responsibility for day-to-day running of the business.

Buffett said that one of the pair will eventually take over as chief executive of Berkshire  but insisted he has no plans to step down.

Bitcoin is what is referred to as a 'crypto-currency'. It is the internet's version of money - a unique pieces of digital property that can be transferred from one person to another

PETER THIEL AND BITCOIN Last week the price increased by 13.5 per cent to $15,017 (11,071) after a report found billionaire Peter Thiel, an early investor in Facebook and co-founder of Paypal, had heavily invested in the cryptocurrency. Thiel's venture capital firm, Founders Fund, bought around $15 to $20 million (11 - 14.7m) in Bitcoin in mid-2017, the report said. Bitcoin bought by Thiel's firm are now believed to be worth hundreds of millions after the currency's surge last year. Most mainstream investors have not bought large sums of Bitcoin over fears about cybersecurity and liquidity. Advertisement

The 87-year-old said: 'I will be as interested as ever, there's not a drop of Berkshire blood that's leaving my body.

'I'm at the office on Saturday every Saturday I'm home, unless there's something unusual going on.

'I couldn't have a better job than the one I have.'

Asked if he might stay on for another decade, Buffett hinted that might be too long.

However, he stressed he remains in good health and does not intend to leave any time soon.

Indian-born Jain, 66, has worked for Berkshire since 1986 and runs its insurance businesses.

Buffett has lavished him with praise over the years, describing Jain's importance as 'impossible to overstate'.

The chief executive once said that if the pair were in a sinking boat together and shareholders could only save one of them, they should pick Jain.

He said that Jain and 55-year-old Abel, who runs Berkshire's energy businesses and has a reputation as a ferocious dealmaker, 'would probably be under-described as world-class'.

Although Jain has perhaps been feted more over the years, Wall Street consensus is that Abel will win the tussle because he is younger and his rival has such an irreplaceable grasp of the specialist, complex insurance industry.

Both men will now assume the title of vice chairman  the sale role held by Buffett's long-time business partner Charlie Munger, 94.

Although it sets the pair up for a protracted scrap over who will one day run the business, Buffett insisted he does not expect any trouble.

'There will be no horse race,' he said.

'These two fellows know each other well, and they like each other.

'They're really of pretty equal importance.'
They have mystified astronomers for more than a decade, but the source of repeating 'alien signals', known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), may finally have been found.

The incredibly strong pulses seem to come from a black hole or an orbiting neutron star with unprecedented power three billion light-years from Earth, experts say.

Scientists believe the findings suggest the discovery of an 'extreme' environment, which is among the most highly magnetised regions of space ever observed.

However, experts are still not ruling out more unorthodox explanations such as signals coming from an alien civilisation.

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The source of repeating fast radio bursts generated by the object known as FRB 121102, picked up by telescopes here on Earth, may come from a black hole or neutron star with unprecedented power three billion light-years away (artist's impression)

FAST RADIO BURSTS Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are radio emissions that appear temporarily and randomly, making them not only hard to find, but also hard to study. The mystery stems from the fact it is not known what could produce such a short and sharp burst. This has led some to speculate they could be anything from stars colliding to artificially created messages. The first FRB was spotted, or rather 'heard' by radio telescopes, back in 2001 but wasn't discovered until 2007 when scientists were analysing archival data. But it was so temporary and seemingly random that it took years for astronomers to agree it wasn't a glitch in one of the telescope's instruments. Advertisement

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief, bright pulses of radio emissions from distant but so far unknown sources.

They were first detected in 2007 by astronomers scouring archival data from Australia's Parkes Telescope dating back to 2001.

The 64-metre (200 foot) diameter dish is best known for its role receiving live television images from the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.

But the antenna's detection of the first FRB, and the subsequent confirmed discovery of more than two dozen of the powerful radio pulses across the sky, left astrophysicists baffled.

The catch with FRBs is that they are mostly random and they last for only a few milliseconds - too fast to routinely detect or conduct follow-up observations with radio and optical telescopes.

Only one FRB has been found to repeat, an object known as FRB 121102 in a galaxy about three billion light-years away.

More than 200 high-energy bursts have been observed coming from FRB 121102, since it was first detected in 2012.

An international team of researchers, which included the Breakthrough Listen search for extra terrestrial intelligence (SETI) team at the University of California, Berkeley, used the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia to study FRB 121102.

They found that the electromagnetic waves that make up the bursts generated by the object conform to a highly unique pattern.

This means they came from somewhere with an incredibly strong magnetic field, like that found around a black hole or neutron star.

Such patterns have only ever been seen in radio emissions from the extreme environments around massive black holes, such as those at the centres of galaxies.

Victoria Kaspi of McGill University, who was part of the study, said: 'I had to read my email a few times to really digest it.

'I kept thinking, "No way, that can't be right".'

'We found something that is clearly in an extreme place and the extreme location may create a phenomenon that is one of the biggest astrophysical mysteries of recent times.

'If you have an extreme object in an extreme environment, is that just a coincidence?

'FRBs have these huge explosions in radio waves and we don't know why that occurs.

'Maybe this is a clue to the mechanism that produces these explosions.'

The findings confirm observations by another team of astronomers from the Netherlands, which detected the polarised bursts using the William E. Gordon Telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

The Dutch and Breakthrough Listen teams suggest that the FRBs may come from a highly magnetised rotating neutron star - known as a magnetar - in the vicinity of a massive black hole that is still growing as gas and dust are sucked into it.

UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow Vishal Gajjar of Breakthrough Listen said: 'At this point, we don't really know the mechanism.

'There are many questions, such as, how can a rotating neutron star produce the high amount of energy typical of an FRB?'

Another possibility, though remote, is that the FRB is a high-powered signal from an advanced civilisation.

Hence the interest of Breakthrough Listen, which looks for signs of intelligent life in the universe, funded by US $100 million (75 million) over ten years from internet investor Yuri Milner.

The incredibly strong pulses may come from a black hole or neutron star (artist's impression) with unprecedented power three billion light-years from Earth, experts say

Dr Gajjar added: 'We can not rule out completely the ET hypothesis for the FRBs in general.'

The short bursts, which range from 30 microseconds to nine milliseconds in duration, indicate that the source could be as small as six miles (ten km) across - the typical size of a neutron star.

A neutron star is the collapsed core of a large star which had a total of between 10 and 29 solar masses before it collapses.

They are the smallest and densest stars known to exist.

A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field.

Experts say that other possible astronomical sources for the FRBs are a magnetar that is interacting with the clouds of particles it shed when the original star exploded to produce it.

The could also be produced by a magnetar interacting with highly magnetised winds produced by a rotating neutron star or pulsar.

Breakthrough Listen has so far recorded data from a dozen FRBs, including FRB 121102, and plans eventually to sample all 30-some known sources of fast radio bursts.

ALIEN EXPLORERS COULD BE BEHIND MYSTERIOUS FRBS Mysterious signals coming from distant galaxies could be evidence of deep-space explorers billions of light-years from Earth, a new study has claimed. Researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics claim a solar-powered transmitter using sunlight cast on an area twice the size of Earth could generate enough energy to be 'seen' by far away viewers. And, a water-cooling system would allow a device of this size to withstand the extreme heat. The researchers argue that the most plausible use for this tremendous amount of power would be to drive interstellar light sails. The light sail would rely on a steady beam from the transmitter. While this would always be pointed at the sail, observers on Earth would see it as a brief flash, as the sail, its host planet, its star, and the galaxy all move relative to us. This would cause the beam to sweep across the sky, only pointing at Earth for a moment. Advertisement

The project allotted tens of hours of observational time on the Green Bank Telescope to recording radio emissions from FRB 121102, and last August detected 15 bursts over a relatively short period of five hours.

They analysed the two brightest to make the discovery about the FRBs unique orientation.

Now the team plans more observations of FRB 121102 before moving on to other FRB sources.

Dr Gajjar said that they want to observe at higher frequencies - up to 12 gigahertz - versus the present Green Bank observations in the four to eight GHz range, to see if the energy drops off at higher frequencies.

He believes that this could help narrow the range of possible sources.

He added: 'We want a complete sample so that we can conduct our standard SETI analysis in search of modulation patterns or narrow-band signals - any kind of information-bearing signal emitted from their direction that we don't expect from nature.'

The full findings are detailed in a combined paper published online by the journal Nature.

Scientists believe FRBs occur much more frequently than they have been observed.

Some estimate that there are as many as 10,000 FRB events per day coming from all directions in the sky.

Experts found the FRBs generated are nearly 100 per cent 'linearly polarised'. Such a pattern has only ever been seen in radio emissions from the extreme magnetic environments around massive black holes, such as those at the centres of galaxies (artist's impression)

Last August, Breakthrough Listen detected 15 bursts over a relatively short period of five hours. This animation shows 14 of the 15 bursts in succession, illustrating their dispersed spectrum and extreme variability

The mystery stems from the fact it is not known what could produce such a short and sharp burst.

If the mysterious phenomena is indeed a sign of intelligent life in the universe, the latest findings could suggest it is far more widespread than previously thought.

Researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CFA) have estimated how many FRBs should occur over the entire observable universe.

Their work indicates that at least one FRB is going off somewhere every second.

When FRBs were first detected, astronomers had never seen anything like them before.

Since then, they have found a couple of dozen FRBs, but they still don't know what causes these rapid and powerful bursts of radio emission.

Scientists searching for fast radio bursts (FRBs) that some believe may be signals sent from aliens may be happening every second. The blue points in this artist's impression of the filamentary structure of galaxies that extends across the entire sky are signals from FRBs

Anastasia Fialkov of the CFA, who led the study, said: 'If we are right about such a high rate of FRBs happening at any given time, you can imagine the sky is filled with flashes like paparazzi taking photos of a celebrity.

'Instead of the light we can see with our eyes, these flashes come in radio waves.

'In the time it takes you to drink a cup of coffee, hundreds of FRBs may have gone off somewhere in the Universe,' added study co-author Avi Loeb.

'If we can study even a fraction of those well enough, we should be able to unravel their origin.'

To make their estimate, the scientists assumed that FRB 121102, a fast radio burst located in a galaxy about three billion light years away, is representative of all FRBs.

Because this FRB has produced repeated bursts since it was first observed in 2002, astronomers have been able to study it in much more detail than other FRBs.

If the mysterious phenomena is indeed a sign of intelligent life in the universe, it could suggest it is far more widespread than previously thought. Data from the FRB 121102 was gathered using the Green Bank Telescope (pictured)

WHY STUDY FRBS? Researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics point out that FRBs can be used to study the structure and evolution of the universe whether or not their origin is fully understood. A large population of faraway FRBs could act as probes of material across gigantic distances. This intervening material blurs the signal from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the left over radiation from the Big Bang. A careful study of this intervening material should give an improved understanding of basic cosmic constituents, such as the relative amounts of ordinary matter, dark matter and dark energy, which affect how rapidly the universe is expanding. FRBs can also be used to trace what broke down the 'fog' of hydrogen atoms that pervaded the early universe into free electrons and protons, when temperatures cooled down after the Big Bang. Advertisement

Using that information, they projected how many FRBs would exist across the entire sky.

While their exact nature is still unknown, most scientists think FRBs originate in galaxies billions of light years away.

One leading idea is that FRBs are the byproducts of young, rapidly spinning neutron stars with extraordinarily strong magnetic fields.

Fialkov and Loeb point out that FRBs can be used to study the structure and evolution of the Universe whether or not their origin is fully understood.

A large population of faraway FRBs could act as probes of material across gigantic distances.

This intervening material blurs the signal from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the left over radiation from the Big Bang.

A careful study of this intervening material should give an improved understanding of basic cosmic constituents, such as the relative amounts of ordinary matter, dark matter and dark energy, which affect how rapidly the universe is expanding.

FRBs can also be used to trace what broke down the 'fog' of hydrogen atoms that pervaded the early universe into free electrons and protons, when temperatures cooled down after the Big Bang.

It is generally thought that ultraviolet (UV) light from the first stars traveled outwards to ionize the hydrogen gas, clearing the fog and allowing this UV light to escape.

Studying very distant FRBs will allow scientists to study where, when and how this process of 'reionization' occurred.

'FRBs are like incredibly powerful flashlights that we think can penetrate thise fog and be seen over vast distances,' added Dr Fialkov.

'This could allow us to study the 'dawn' of the universe in a new way.'
Officials have said the billion-dollar spy satellite plummeted into the Indian Ocean and failed to remain in orbit

Within two minutes of the launch the ship disengaged its rocket booster which then returned to the station

A secret satellite codenamed Zuma lit up the Florida sky as it traveled to an unknown destination

Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 8pm Sunday

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A top secret billion-dollar spy satellite plummeted into the Indian Ocean after a SpaceX mission over the weekend, but Elon Musk's company has insisted they are not to blame.

The satellite, codenamed Zuma, launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Sunday night, but it reportedly failed to remain in orbit, officials said Wednesday.

The classified intelligence satellite, built by Northrop Grumman Corp, failed to separate from the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket and is assumed to have broken up or plunged into the sea, said two officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

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A top secret billion-dollar spy satellite plummeted into the Indian Ocean after a botched SpaceX mission over the weekend, but Elon Musk's company has insisted they are not to blame. In this image made with an 8-minute long exposure, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral and lands as seen from from the Ocean Club Marina in Port Canaveral

The satellite is assumed to be 'a write-off,' one of the officials said.

The presumed loss of the satellite was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Northrop Grumman built the multibillion-dollar satellite, code-named Zuma, and was responsible for choosing the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, both officials said.

An investigation is under way, but there is no initial indication of sabotage or other interference, they said.

Lawmakers and congressional staffers from the Senate and the House have been briefed about the botched mission, some of the officials told the Wall Street Journal.

It claims the payload was 'an expensive, highly classified U.S. spy satellite.'

SpaceX's president Gwynne Shotwell defended the company's rocket performance launch of Zuma, saying that the Falcon 9 rocket 'did everything correctly' and suggestions otherwise are 'categorically false'.

The satellite, codenamed Zuma, launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Sunday night, but it failed to remain in orbit

Northrop Grumman  which provided the satellite for an undisclosed US government entity  said it cannot comment on classified missions.

The company chose SpaceX as the launch provider, noting late last year that it took 'great care to ensure the most affordable and lowest risk scenario for Zuma'.

The name refers to a Malibu beach in Southern California. This was SpaceX' s third classified mission for the US government, a lucrative customer.

It was so shrouded in secrecy that the sponsoring government agency was not even identified, as is usually the case.

SpaceX's president Gwynne Shotwell defended the company's rocket performance launch of Zuma, saying that the Falcon 9 rocket 'did everything correctly' and suggestions otherwise are 'categorically false'. This photo shows the launch of the Falcon 9 on Sunday

The Falcon's first stage completed its job, lifting the rocket off the pad and toward space, then separated and landed back at Cape Canaveral.

But second-stage information was kept to a minimum because of all the secrecy surrounding the flight.

The rocket's second stage propels the satellite into orbit; however, an official confirmed to ABC News that the satellite was unable to stay in orbit.

The Wall Street Journal quoted unidentified congressional officials who were briefed on the mission as saying the satellite apparently did not separate from the second stage, and plunged through the atmosphere and burned up.

Originally scheduled for a November launch, Zuma was delayed by potential concern about another mission's payload fairing, the shell on top that protects a satellite during launch. The company later said it had cleared the issue.

Shotwell said in a statement that since no rocket changes are warranted for upcoming flights, the company's launch schedule remains on track.

If additional reviews uncover any problems, she said, 'we will report it immediately'.

On Sunday, SpaceX launched a secret satellite codenamed Zuma on its first flight of the new year

The Falcon's first stage completed its job, lifting the rocket off the pad (pictured) and toward space, then separated and landed back at Cape Canaveral

Experts claimed the satellite was 'dead in orbit' - but say the information blackout around the launch means we may never know its fate.

Peter B. de Selding, a spaceflight reporter for'Space Intel Report' claimed a source told him the satellite 'may be dead in orbit after separation'.

'Info blackout renders any conclusion - launcher issue? Satellite-only issue? - impossible to draw.' he added.

SpaceX told Selding: 'We do not comment on missions of this nature; but as of right now reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally.'

Photos and video show the launch of Zuma lighting up the Florida sky but the exact position of its orbit was kept a secret.

The ship launched in an orbit less than 1,200 miles from Earth and within two minutes disengaged its rocket booster, which then traveled back to and landed right at the Air Force Station.

Much of the trip was kept secret and it was not revealed where the ship traveled to in the atmosphere.

Selding said the lack of information was an issue.

The launch is seen from Viera, Florida. SpaceX launched its mission - a secret satellite codenamed Zuma - at 8pm on Sunday

Pictured is another view made with a long exposure. The ship launched in an orbit less than 1,200 miles from Earth and within two minutes prepared for its rocket booster to land right back at the Air Force Station, which it did

'Distasteful to announce this stuff without beyond-reasonable-doubt certitude,' he tweeted.

'But if those in the know refuse to speak publicly, we all abhor the vacuum; the facts will emerge one way or another.'

The launch was broadcast on SpaceX's website but the entire mission was not live-streamed. What the ship is made out of, among other questions, has not been revealed to the public.

Previous reasons given for the delay in its launch were further testing being necessary and weather-related conditions.

Musk, meanwhile announced on January 4 that SpaceX will launch 'the world's most powerful rocket' later this month with his own electric car on board.

The Falcon Heavy 'megarocket' will fire beyond orbit from the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad at the Kennedy Space Centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Musk said the launch vehicle will blast off at the 'end of the month' on an unmanned mission with a unique payload - the billionaire's cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster, which will be fired toward Mars.

The rocket will use 27 engines and three separate re-usable cores that will return to Earth after liftoff during the test flight, which is set to be one of the firm's most technically complex challenges to date.

Elon Musk has announced SpaceX will launch 'the world's most powerful rocket' later this month with his own electric car on board. The Falcon Heavy 'megarocket' (pictured) will fire beyond orbit from the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad at the Kennedy Space Centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida

FALCON HEAVY LAUNCH If all goes according to plan, the Falcon Heavy will lift off and enter Earth's orbit, before two of its booster rockets separate off and return to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings. The rocket's central core will then separate from the main module, containing Musk's car, and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on the firm's 'Of Course I Still Love You' drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. The main module will continue its trajectory into 'deep space', the billionaire said, with a destination set for the orbit of Mars 140 million miles (225 million kilometres) away. According to SpaceX founder Elon Musk: 'Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn't blow up on ascent.' Advertisement

Before the maiden launch, a full test firing of the rocket's engines is expected, Musk said.

'Falcon Heavy now vertical on the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad,' he wrote on Instagram on Thursday.

'At 2,500 tons of thrust, equal to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle, it will be the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two. Excitement on launch day guaranteed, one way or another.

'Hold-down test fire next week. Launch end of the month.'

When it lifts off for the first time in late January, the Falcon Heavy will become the most powerful rocket in the world thanks to its 5.1 million pounds of thrust generated through 27 Merlin engines.

The vast rocket, which is ultimately three Falcon 9 rockets linked together, will have the combined thrust to eventually launch 140,000 pounds (63,500kg) of cargo into orbit.

The mission marks SpaceX's most ambitious project to date.

Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, with the aim of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonisation of Mars.

The 46-year-old South African is also the CEO of Tesla, and predicts Falcon Heavy's payload will stay in deep space for a while.

A photo of the unusual cargo - Musk's cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster - was released last month.

Images released by SpaceX show an original Roadster perched on a large cone inside the Falcon Heavy on what appears to be a secure mount to keep it stationary as the rocket makes its maiden flight.

'Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring,' Musk said in December.

If all goes according to plan, the Falcon Heavy will lift off and enter orbit before two of its booster rockets separate and return to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings. The centre core of the rocket will then separate from the main module, containing Musk's car, and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean

Musk said the launch vehicle will blast off at the 'end of the month' on an unmanned mission with a unique payload - the billionaire's cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster, which will be fired toward Mars. Pictured is the car strapped into the Falcon Heavy's main module

THE FALCON HEAVY Height: 70 meters (229.6 feet) Stages: 2 Boosters: 2 Cores: 3 Engines: 27 Payload to LEO: 63,800kg (140,660 lb) Payload to Mars: 16,800kg (37,040 lb) Total width: 12.2m (39.9 ft) Mass: 1,420,788kg (3,125,735 lb) Total thrust at lift-off: 22,819 kilonewtons (5.13 million pounds) Advertisement

'Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel.

'The payload will be an original Tesla Roadster, playing Space Oddity, on a billion year elliptic Mars orbit.'

If all goes according to plan, the Falcon Heavy will lift off and enter Earth's orbit, before two of its booster rockets separate off and return to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings.

The rocket's central core will then separate from the main module, containing Musk's car, and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on the firm's 'Of Course I Still Love You' drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.

The main module will continue its trajectory into 'deep space', the billionaire said, with a destination set for the orbit of Mars 140 million miles (225 million kilometres) away.

Musk has said the payload 'will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn't blow up on ascent.'

In a Washington, D.C., speech last July the Tesla founder which said Falcon Heavy is one of the most difficult and technically complex projects SpaceX has ever undertaken.

'There's a lot of risk associated with Falcon Heavy,' he said during the 2017 International Space Station Research and Development Conference.

The rocket will use 27 engines and three separate re-usable cores that will return to Earth after liftoff during the test flight, which is set to be one of the firm's most technically complex challenges to date

'Real good chance that the vehicle doesn't make it to orbit. I want to make sure to set expectations accordingly.'

Musk has spent the proceeding months building up hype for the historic launch with a series of social media posts.

Last month he posted an image to Twitter of people stoof next to a landed Falcon Heavy rocket to give an idea of the vehicle's scale.

He tweeted: 'Falcon Heavy launching from same @NASA pad as the Saturn V Apollo 11 moon rocket.

'It was 50% higher thrust with five F-1 engines at 7.5M lb-F.

'I love that rocket so much.'

He also confirmed the rocket will have a 'max thrust at lift-off is 5.1 million pounds or 2300 metric tons,' adding the first mission will run at 92 per cent capacity.

'Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape.

'Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another,' Musk originally posted.
It is the biggest consumer technology show in the world - but not even CES is immune to technical problems.

The power went out at the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center Wednesday morning, leaving major brands including LG, Panasonic, and Bosch in the dark.

The outage lasted for two hours, during which thousands of attendees were asked to leave the hall as organizers shut it down.

Officials blamed condensation from heavy rainfall, causing 'a flashover on one of the facility's transformers.'

It was raining in Las Vegas on Monday and Tuesday  rare for a desert city.

The central hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center is evacuated after a power outage during CES leaving the booths dark.

Attendees were forced to use the mobile phone flashlights to find their way around

Exhibitors now face the massive task of switching their electronics back on again after the issue.

'There is an isolated power outage at the Las Vegas Convention Center,' the @CES Twitter account tweeted.

'We are working hard to resolve this and appreciate your patience.

'While we work through this isolated power outage feel free to visit our exhibitors in South Hall and North Hall.

'Also get outside on this beautiful Las Vegas day and check out Central and South Plaza.'

The outage lasted two hours, at which point @CES tweeted: 'Power has been fully restored.

'We are opening Central Hall. Again, thank you for your patience during this time.'

Thousands of attendees wait for central hall inside the Las Vegas Convention Center to open up after lights went out at CES in Las Vegas, Nev., on January 10, 2018.

When the lights go out... the main hall of CES was plunged into darkness ans the convention center suffered a massive power cut today

The massive illuminated stands were been dark for over an hour after a massive power cut plunged the center into darkness.

It follows heavy rain yesterday, which saw some booths flooded.

Thousands of people including media and analysts filed into the crowded halls just before 11:30 am, as security said they are investigating the matter.

The massive illuminated stands at the show were left in darkness, before organisers shut the main hall down, asking attendees to leave

The North Hall, on the other hand, still has power.

It is believed heavy rain and flooding earlier in the week could be behind the issues.

A storm system that dumped more than half as much rain as the Las Vegas Valley saw all of last year also brought with it the wettest January day on record.

From midnight to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the valley saw 1.33 inches of rain, the weather service said.

Attendees were asked to leave the main hall following the outage. Thousands of people including media and analysts filed into the crowded halls just before 11:30 am

Many took to their phones to keep people updated on the power issues

The previous record was set on Jan. 21, 2010, when the valley had 0.89 inches of rain.

The weather service began recording the statistic in 1937.

Exhibitors posted their own pictures of 'dark' stands at the show

The valley had about 2.4 inches of rain in 2017. The average rainfall for the valley is 4.2 inches, the weather service said.

CES, formerly The International Consumer Electronics Show, showcases more than 3,900 exhibiting companies, and boast more than 170K attendees from 150 countries.
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Archaeologists have uncovered the 250-year-old kitchen of Thomas Jefferson's enslaved chef, James Hemings, who introduced mac and cheese and meringues into US culture.

Hemings became the property of Thomas Jefferson in January of 1774 when he was just nine years old.

His younger sister is Sally Hemings, who had six children believed to have been fathered by Jefferson after the death of his wife Martha Jefferson.

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Archaeologists have uncovered the 250-year-old kitchen of Thomas Jefferson's enslaved chef, James Hemings, who introduced mac and cheese into US culture.

Growing up, Hemings was one of Jefferson's favorite servants and even accompanied him to Paris, France, in 1784.

In France, Hemings learned the art of French cookery and upon their return to America, he introduced creme brulee, meringues and continental European-style macaroni and cheese to American cooking.

Hemings became one of the most masterful chefs in the US and prepared dishes for the future president and his guests in the kitchen of Jefferson's Virginia plantation, Monticello.

Archaeologists recently discovered the remains of the stoves used by Hemings until 1796, when he was finally freed by Jefferson.

'His trajectory was pretty extraordinary,' Fraser Neiman, the director of archaeology at Monticello, told Live Science.

The discovery of the stoves is one of the 'really rare instances where we can associate a workspace and artifact with a particular enslaved individual whose name we know', Neiman added.

THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF THE HEMINGS FAMILY James Hemings' inventory list (pictured) first lists 19 copper stew pans and 19 covers for those pans. The list was written in 1796 James Hemings became the property of Thomas Jefferson in January of 1774 when he was just nine years old. He grew up serving Jefferson as a house servant, messenger, driver, traveling attendant, and eventually became his chef. He was one of twelve children of Elizabeth (Betty) Hemings. His younger sister was Sally Hemings, who had six children believed to have been fathered by Jefferson. In 1784, when Jefferson was appointed minister plenipotentiary in Paris by Congress he wrote to his future secretary William Short that he wished to take his servant James with him to France 'for a particular purpose'. That purpose was to have James trained in the art of French cookery. When they arrived to Paris in 1784, James trained under Jefferson's female cook, and also a pastry chef, as well as with a chef of the Prince de Conde. He learned quickly and in 1787 became the chef de cuisine at the Hotel de Langeac,which was Jefferson's private residence on the Champs-Elysees. Technically free in France, James was paid a wage as he worked as the head of the kitchen at Jeffersons residence in Paris. Hemings returned to slavery in America, bringing with him revolutionary changes to American cuisine. The chef introduced meringues, creme brulee, and macaroni and cheese to US culture. Hemings was freed by Jefferson in 1796 and died five years later, an apparent suicide. He leaves as his only material legacy an inventory of kitchen utensils and four cooking recipes. His sister, Sally, was the mother of six of Jefferson's children while she was enslaved at the Monticello estate. According to her son Madison Hemings, her father was Thomas Jefferson's father-in-law, John Wayles. One of the few accounts of her by an enslaved blacksmith named Isaac Granger Jefferson said that Sally Hemings was 'mighty near white...very handsome, long straight hair down her back.' James Hemings became the property of Thomas Jefferson in 1774. Hemings is the older brother of Sally Hemings (right, from a description), who had six children believed to have been fathered by Jefferson after the death of his wife Martha Jefferson While this has been subject to debate, a 1998 DNA study genetically linked Hemings' male descendants with male descendants of the Jefferson family. Sally Hemings became Thomas Jefferson's property as part of his inheritance from the Wayles estate in 1774 and came with her mother Elizabeth Hemings in 1776. As a child, she was probably a nursemaid to Jefferson's daughter Maria, as enslaved girls from the age of six or eight were childminders and assistants to head nurses on southern plantations. Sally served as an attendant to Maria Jefferson, as well as Martha Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson's wife, accompanying them on various trips to Paris. After her return to Virginia in 1789, Sally Hemings remained at Monticello and worked as a household servant. Sally's son Madison recalled that one of her duties was 'to take care of [Jefferson's] chamber and wardrobe, look after us children, and do light work such as sewing.' While Hemings was never technically a free woman, she was allowed to leave Monticello following Thomas Jefferson's death to live with sons Madison and Eston Hemings in Charlottesville. Source: Monticello.org Advertisement

Not much is known about Hemings' life beyond a few recipes for desserts like 'snow eggs' and a written inventory of utensils from the kitchen that dates back to 1796.

Archaeological field research manager, Crystal Ptacek, explained their findings in a March 2017 video.

In the video, Ptacek explains the discovery of Monticello's first kitchen, which remained a kitchen between 1770 and 1808.

Her team discovered the base of stew stoves, which are the equivalent to modern-day stove tops or cooking ranges.

'Hemings would have put coals onto a grate on each of these compartments,' Ptacek says as she points to the stew stove.

She then shows where charcoal and ash would've fallen through clean-outs on the stew stove. 'The actual stoves would have been about waist-high,' Ptacek said

The stoves were unearthed in a cellar at Monticello's South Pavilion, the first brick building constructed on the estate, where Jefferson and his wife, Martha, lived while the main mansion was under construction

According to Live Science, the cellar had been off-limits to archaeologists for over a half century because it had been repurposed as visitor bathrooms.

The managers of Monticello had feared that hordes of tourists would come to the site for the Bicentennial events of 1975 and 1976, Neiman said told the site.

'That was, in retrospect, a boneheaded decision,' Neiman said.

According to Ptacek, the team of archaeologists had to dig through three feet of dirt from the kitchen yard that was used to bring up the floor level of the cellar when it was converted to a washhouse in 1809.

THE STEW STOVE USED BY JAMES HEMINGS TO PREPARE THOMAS JEFFERSON'S FINEST MEALS Stew stoves (pictured) were common in Europe but relatively rare in the United States Stew stoves were common in Europe but relatively rare in the United States. This precursor of the kitchen range had charcoal fires in grated cast-iron openings and could be regulated more precisely than a roaring fireplace. James Hemings used a stew stove to prepare meals for Thomas Jefferson. The kitchen would include an eight-hole stew stove as well as a set kettle, another built-in convenience which provided constant hot water. At the hearth is a clockwork spit-jack for roasting meats. And on the dresser were gleaming copper saucepans and fish kettles, representing the over sixty pieces of copper cookware that Jefferson had shipped back from France in 1790. Stew stoves were essential for making dishes that required slow heating and multiple pans. Ptacek, who presented their discovery at the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology last week, said once they had completely dug through (pictured is area before it was completely uncovered), they found evidence of a fireplace and the original brick floor of the kitchen. Right is the location of the kitchen on a blueprint of the area. The stew stove is represented in the bottom left corner Source: Monticello.org Advertisement

Along the way, they found thousands of artifacts, including toothbrushes, broken ceramics, fragments of glass bottles and beads.

Ptacek, who presented their discovery at the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology last week, said once they had completely dug through, they found evidence of a fireplace and the original brick floor of the kitchen.

Enslaved cooks, including Hemings, worked in the cellar and would make food to be delivered to the Jeffersons in the top story.

Hemings became the property of Thomas Jefferson in January of 1774 when he was just nine years old. Growing up, Hemings was one of Jefferson's favorite servants and even accompanied him to Paris, France, in 1784

The remains of the fireplace and the foundations of four stew stoves were also intact.

Stew stoves were common in Europe, but not so much in the US.

The charcoal fires used for these stoves were regulated more precisely than a roaring fireplace.

The stoves were essential for making dishes that required slow heating and multiple pans.

And that became important during the Renaissance when the cuisine of the rich in Europe involved heavy use of imported spices.

The new type of cuisine required most of the sauces to be slowly heated for multicourse meals.

Jefferson became more familiar with this style of cooking when he served as the US minister to France from 1784 to 1789.

After accepting his position, he wrote to his future secretary William Short that he wished to take his servant James Hemings with him to France 'for a particular purpose'.

The purpose Jefferson had in mind was to have Hemings trained in the art of French cookery.

According to Live Science, the archaeologists at Monticello think the stew stoves were likely part of a kitchen upgrade Jefferson made when he returned from Paris.

When they arrived to Paris in 1784, James was apprenticed to a caterer named Combeaux who provided Jefferson's meals during the first year of his stay in Paris.

Hemings trained under Jefferson's female cook, and also a pastry chef, as well as with a chef of the Prince de Conde. He learned quickly and in 1787 became the chef de cuisine at the Hotel de Langeac,which was Jefferson's private residence on the Champs-Elysees.

Technically, while Hemings was in France, he was a free man. He was paid small wages and used part of his earnings to hire a French tutor.

The archaeologists at Monticello think the stew stoves were likely part of a kitchen upgrade Jefferson made when he returned from Paris

It is still unclear why Hemings and his sister, Sally Hemings, who was also in France at the time, didn't initiate the legal process toward freedom.

Some historians believe Hemings staying in France would have cut Hemings off from the rest of his family in Virginia.

Hemings returned to Virginia enslaved, but he was freed at the age of 31 by Jefferson in 1796.

The chef passed on his training in French cooking to his brother Peter before he left Monticello.

In 1801, Hemings returned to Jefferson's kitchen, this time though, it was in the White House when Jefferson became president.

But weeks after he left, Hemings died from an apparent suicide in Baltimore.

This summer, a new exhibition is set to open at the South Pavilion so that visitors can see the remains of the kitchen used by Hemings to help revolutionize American cuisine.
Most airline pilots stick to talking about the flight time, weather and altitude when making announcements to their passengers.

But some like to use the intercom to practise their comedy skills, as an internet forum has revealed.

Flyers contributing to the discussion have recounted tales of pilots joking about their total lack of experience and making sarcastic remarks about the steps not being brought out.

Most airline pilots stick to talking about the flight time, weather and altitude when making announcements to their passengers. But some like to use the intercom to practise their comedy skills, as an internet forum has revealed (file picture)

The discussion on Quora began after a user posed the question: 'What is the coolest line a pilot has said to the passengers?'

And it seems that some airline pilots can't help but break the ice with passengers after they've experienced a rough landing.

Passenger Jan Gregory recalled taking a bumpy flight from Paris to Zurich where the captain had to battle bad weather and a big crosswind.

And he revealed the pilot said on landing: 'This is the captain speaking. And now you know why they pay me the big bucks.'

Passenger Marshall Karp also had a bad experience while landing at New York in inclement weather on a flight from Houston.

But he says his mood was lifted when the pilot said: 'Ladies and gentlemen, at Eastern Airlines we have to earn our wings every day.

Flyers contributing to a forum discussion have recounted tales of pilots joking about their total lack of experience

'And let me tell you folks, some days are a hell of a lot tougher than others.'

And Bruce Parson says that after a 'frighteningly bone-jarring' landing at Midland Airport in Ontaria, the pilot lightened the mood by saying: 'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Midland airport. I will be taking whats left of the plane to gate two. Have a nice evening.'

Other passengers recalled how the pilots used their announcements to get people on board to comply with their rules.

Shubham Monndhara revealed how she was on a flight from Mumbai to Delhi when two passengers started fighting.

She explained: 'Once we were airborne and cruising, the pilot came online and said Ladies and Gentlemen, hope you are having a good flight.

"'As we were readying for takeoff, I hear that there was a fight between two passengers. This is not healthy at all. I would like to remind you all that once the aircraft doors are closed, only one person gets to keep their ego and thats me. For the rest of you, please keep your egos away when flying.'

While Ankita Gupta added: 'On a late night flight to Charlotte from Newark, on United Airlines, the captain announced, Please check if someone lost their wallet. Now that I have your attention and your hands are around your pockets, please fasten your seatbelts.'

While Dave Samwell added: 'I was flying into an airport somewhere in Germany (forget where now) and when we landed the captain came over the intercom and said: Apologies for the delay ladies and gentlemen, but these f*****g idiots have forgotten to bring the steps out AGAIN.'

And it seems some pilots like to wind up nervous flyers - by pretending they have a total lack of experience.

The discussion on Quora began after a user posed the question: 'What is the coolest line a pilot has said to the passengers?'

Passenger Abhishek Anand recalled: 'On the way to Paris on an early flight, BA pilot announces good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to inform you that this is my first flight... [long pause while passengers look at one another]... of the day. Cue relief all round.'

Tony Tessier added: 'Flight in the early 80s from Washington National to New York Laguardia on New York Air.

'We readied for take off on time but then taxied to a holding spot where we were parked for what seemed like 15 minutes, with no announcements.

Finally, the captain came on and said in a Grandpa Walton voice: Well folks, I been settin here watching they planes a-takin off for a whiles now and I reckon I got the hang of it, so lets go! And so we did!'

And Julio Preuss says an ominous announcement on a Trans-Atlantic flight filled the passenger with fear.

He explained: 'Midway through a flight over the Atlantic, the cabin lights turn on and the pilot announces in a stern voice: Dear passengers, I regret to announce that, due to a mechanical failure"

'There was a long pause and he added "in our coffee makers, we are not going to serve hot coffee this morning".'
Nicole Richie looked stunning at the 2018 NBCUniversal winter press tour in Pasadena, California on Tuesday.

The former Simple Life star had on a lovely satin dress with blue, yellow and orange colors swirled together for a pretty pattern.

This sighting comes after she was seen giving her pet reptile a bath in a cooking pan on her kitchen counter top.

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Yellow is mellow: Nicole Richie was all smiles at the 2018 NBCUniversal Press Tour in Pasadena, California on Tuesday

Heels: The Simple Life star added pointy black pumps to add to her petite frame

Richie wore a yellow floral-print blouse with a black skirt, black pointed heels, black and yellow earrings, and a black and yellow necklace.

The actress made an appearance at the Langham Huntington as part of her involvement with NBC's sitcom, Great News.

The sitcom series was created by Tina Fey protege Tracey Wigfield and premiered last April.

Photo op: The daughter of Lionel Richie is seen with John Michael Higgins

A vet: Higgins, 54, is best known for Best In Show and Pitch Perfect

Gorgeous: Kelly Clarkson stepped out to the event in an elegant black dress

In Monday's Instagram video, the Candidly Nicole actress was seen dancing in the kitchen as she looked down at her pet reptile.

She captioned the clip, 'Speedy had his 1st bath this weekend & it was a blast... even in a room full of haters.'

As Richie hovers over Speedy, she bobs her head to Bobby Darin's song Splish Splash before immediately breaking into a frenzied dance.

Crouching Richie, swimming dragon: A screengrab of Richie's Instagram video shows the Hollywood socialite hovering over her pet as he sits in an aluminum oven pan converted into a lizard tub

Splish Splash: The Simple Life star shows her excitement as her bearded dragon sits in his tub

The Hollywood socialite dances and enjoys this moment at home in casual attire consisting of a loose dark sweater, and blue sweat pants.

The New York Times best-selling author continues to shake wildly when her daughter chimes in to say, 'Mommy, Speedy's embarrassed.'

The actress is married to Joel Madden and together they have kids Harlow and Sparrow.
Ashley Graham has been vocal in the past about her experience with sexual assault, and today she opened up about her frightening experience during a visit to The View.

The model, who has covered Vogue and Sport's Illustrated magazines, spoke candidly with the women of the panel about a scary situation that occurred when she was only 17-years-old.

The 5'9' brunette sat with the ladies after greeting fans outside ABC studios while wearing a sheer top and black velvet pants in New York City on Tuesday.

Outspoken: Ashley Graham shared a new story of sexual assault while visiting The View on Tuesday

'Come here, I want to talk to you,' Graham said during her appearance on the show that aired on Tuesday.

'He lured me into this hallway, pushed me into a closet. He exposed himself and he said, 'Look at what you did to me all day long. Now touch it.'

Luckily she was able to escape but she admitted she never formally complained to higher ups about the incident.

All smiles: The America's Next Top Model judge met fans she's inspired with her bravery

Honesty: 'He lured me into this hallway, pushed me into a closet,' she said on the show

Had the situation happened to her today, she says she would've handled it all very differently.

'If I knew what I knew now and all these women were standing up and saying 'me too,' I would have smacked that guy,' she said.

She added, 'I probably would have started screaming, called my agency.'

True blue: Had the situation happened to her today, she says she would've handled it all very differently

Her truth: She first opened up about a sexual assault when she was only 10-years-old in her 2017 book

Graham first detailed her story of sexual assault in her book A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like in 2017.

She was just 10-years-old when a family friend's son made her tough his penis which she says left her 'with so many lingering questions.'

The Nebraska native is currently promoting her stint as a judge on America's Next Top Model.
Sunday night's Golden Globes in Beverly Hills saw the majority of guests wearing black in support of the Time's Up movement.

And it appears that Hollywood's stance against sexual harassment and assault during awards season may continue in Australia.

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!'s Tegan Martin told Yahoo the Logies would be the perfect place for local stars to show their solidarity.

Taking a stance: Tegan Martin (pictured) told Yahoo the Logie Awards would be the perfect place for local stars to support the Time's Up movement by wearing black on the red carpet

'Every single woman deserves the right to feel safe in the workplace,' she said.

'What better way to encourage awareness and create change than to have some of the most powerful men and woman in the world come together to take a stance.

'I wholeheartedly support the Time's Up campaign,' she concluded.

Model and actress Laura Dundovic also said she would like to see celebrities wearing black on Australian TV's night of nights.

'It's a wonderful opportunity to open a dialogue': Laura Dundovic (pictured) also said she would like to see celebrities wearing black on Australian TV's night of nights

Statement: Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards saw the majority of guests wearing black in support of the Time's Up movement. (L-R: Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Samara Weaving)

'It's a wonderful opportunity to open a dialogue,' Laura said, adding that it would 'ignite a sisterhood'.

It comes after Studio 10's Jessica Rowe and The Real Housewives of Sydney star Lisa Oldfield called the red carpet protest 'dumb'.

Jessica said: 'It is wonderful women are finding their voice, that we are speaking up, but to me it is dumb to wear black on the red carpet.

'To me, it is tokenistic': It comes after Studio 10's Jessica Rowe (pictured) and The Real Housewives of Sydney star Lisa Oldfield called the red carpet protest 'dumb'

'Such lame tokenism': Lisa Oldfield shared the same view as Jessica, later taking to Instagram to share her thoughts

'They're still going to be wearing designer black, they're going to still be looking gorgeous and wonderful.'

Jessica added: 'To me, it is tokenistic and it's not a good way of sending the right message.'

Lisa shared this view, later taking to Instagram to share her thoughts.

'I'm with Jessica Rowe on this one,' she wrote.

'Such lame tokenism - but a good choice for all those stars that have porked up over Christmas and New Year.'
Hailey Baldwin is probably wishing she was still soaking up the sun on the beaches of Miami.

Baldwin and her best friend Kendall Jenner got caught in a rare Los Angeles rainstorm on Monday.

The pair looked casually chic during a visit to a lawyer's office in Santa Monica.

Baldwin had her abs on full display in a crop top sweater while Jenner looked ready for a trip to the gym in leggings and a long-sleeve black top.

Rainy daze: Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin get caught in the rain on Monday

Hailey paired her brightly colored top with a pair of rolled up jeans and combat boots. She also carried a small, silver wristlet featuring her initials.

Kendall accessorized her laid back look with a pair of high top Adidas sneakers and oversized sunglasses.

The models are longtime friends and count fellow runway stars Gigi and Bella Hadid as part of their inner circle.

Delays: The model duo were attended Golden Globe parties together the night before

Umbrella please: Hailey quickly returned to her car without an umbrella

Both Kendall and Hailey hit the town on Sunday to celebrate the 75th Annual Golden Globe awards.

The ladies had dresses in the color of the night, black, in solidarity with the Time's Up movement. Kendall's gown was by Alexandre Vauthier and Hailey's by DSQUARED2.

'My eyes were opened and my heart is full seeing all of the men and women who were a part of this vital change! i too stand with all women,' Jenner posted to Twitter.

Solidarity: Both supported the Times Up movement by wearing black

Jenner was criticized on social media for having acne while on the red carpet. She's no stranger to the blemishes and has always been open about having them.

She took to Twitter to blast those who tried to insult her.

'Never let that s**t stop you,' she said.
She's the former Bachelor star known for her surgical enhancements.

And on Tuesday, Kirralee 'Kiki' Morris proudly showed off the results of her recent Brazilian butt lift while on holiday in California.

The former glamour model 30, flaunted her VERY pert derriere while posing outdoors in a revealing G-string leotard.

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Bachelor booty: On Tuesday, Kirralee 'Kiki' Morris proudly showed off the results of her recent Brazilian butt lift while on holiday in California, USA

'Finally a bit of sun after a very wild storm,' she captioned the racy photo of herself at a hotel in Santa Barbara.

'Last few days of this amazing vacation, thanks for the memories @jembanks,' she added, tagging her boyfriend Jeremy.

Standing on her tiptoes and slightly arching her back, Kiki made sure her perky posterior was the centre of attention.

Beauty secret: While Kiki is known for her fit, healthy lifestyle, she admits that surgical and non-surgical enhancements help her achieve a perfect body

While Kiki is known for her fit, healthy lifestyle, she admits surgical and non-surgical enhancements help her achieve a perfect body.

In particular, she likes to get regular 'Brazilian butt lifts', and even booked in a session just days before flying to the US with her boyfriend.

In an Instagram video posted recently, Kiki is shown receiving the beauty treatment during an appointment with booty expert Sophie Kalantzis.

Pals: Kiki likes to get regular 'Brazilian butt lifts', and even booked in a session with booty expert Sophie Kalantzis (left) just days before flying to the US with her boyfriend

Peachy! In an Instagram video posted recently, Kiki is shown receiving the beauty treatment

Despite feeling body confident today, Kiki previously admitted she got breast implants because she felt insecure in high school.

'I used to get teased for being flat-chested,' Kiki told OK Magazine.

The former reality TV star has also undergone lip fillers and muscle relaxant injections.
She missed out on a coveted golden statue at the 75th Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night.

But Margot Robbie was again recognised for her acting efforts during the 71st British Academy Film Awards nomination announcement on Monday night.

The 27-year-old star was nominated in the Best Actress category for her role in I, Tonya.

Earning more nominations! Margot Robbie has received a Best Actress BAFTA nominiation for her role in comedic biopic I, Tonya

Margot plays abused and disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding in the film.

Other actresses nominated in her category are Annette Bening for her role in Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri star Frances McDormand , Sally Hawkins from The Shape Of Water and Lady Bird star Saoirse Ronan.

Margot, who acted and produced her role in I, Tonya, was up for the Best Actress In A Musical Or Comedy Movie category at Golden Globes this week, but was beaten by Lady Bird's Saoirse Ronan.

WINNER: Margot was beaten by Lady Bird's Saoirse Ronan in her categorty at this week's Golden Globes

Saorise is also up for the same BAFTA category as Margot, with the winners to be announced next month.

I, Tonya is also up for four other BAFTA Awards, including Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Costume Design and Makeup and Hair.

The BAFTAs will be held on February 18 at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Headed for Oscars glory? Margot has also received nominations from the Screen Actors Guild Spirits and the Film Independent Spirit Awards and there's even talk of Oscars recognition

Margot has also received nominations from the Screen Actors Guild Spirits and the Film Independent Spirit Awards and there's even talk of Oscars recognition.

The Suicide Squad star recently revealed how 'emotionally traumatic' it was to play disgraced figure skater Tonya in the darkly comedic biopic.

The 27-year-old talked about reliving the 'abuse' the athlete suffered in a cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, in which she appeared with Tonya, 47.

The native Australian told the former figure skater she'd 'found it emotionally traumatic to put [herself] in the mind-set of someone who's in an abusive relationship.'

The biopic tells Tonya's rise and fall surrounding the infamous 1994 attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan before the Winter Olympics.

'Emotionally traumatic': The biopic tells Tonya's rise and fall surrounding the infamous 1994 attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan before the Winter Olympics




It's a shaky start to the year for Rich the Kid and his team.

A road manager for the New York City native, 25, was taken into custody at LAX airport on Tuesday in connection with misdemeanor criminal threats in the wake of a skirmish that took place when his American Airlines flight landed in Los Angeles, TMZ reported.

The rap artist, who was inked last year to Interscope Records, was headed to the restroom on an American Airlines that had just landed, but hadn't yet approached the gate.

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Headache: Rich the Kid, 25, said he was racially profiled when he was detained with his road manager, who was arrested following a flight at LAX Tuesday after officials said he made criminal threats to staff

Flight attendants warned the Rich the Kid, whose real name is Dimitri Leslie Roger, to get back in his seat, but he declined, the outlet reported.

At that point, his road manager intervened on Rich's behalf, and bickered with the plane staff, at one point telling them, 'I will cut your head off.'

Law enforcement was waiting for Rich and his manager, detaining both men in the wake of the run-in.

Rich the Kid subsequently recorded a clip that was posted on TMZ, in which he said he'd been 'racially profiled,' which the airline denied to the outlet.

Ascending: Rich the Kid was inked to Interscope Records last summer

Upset: The rap artist called for his fans to boycott American Airlines in the wake of the incident

In the clip, he showed off a diamond-encrusted watch as he told an officer he had been 'racially-profiled' because he's black. He said, 'I wanted to use the restroom ... I wanted to use the restroom, and they said the plane ...'

At that point he focused on a shot of his manager talking to officials.

'Do not ride American Airlines: This is Rich the Kid speaking and I want to let you know American Airlines will racially profile you, racially profile.'

He told the officer he has 2.1 million social media followers, 'and they will all see this.'

'I got to let all my followers know what's going on,' he told the officer, who asked him to put away his phone.

Rebuttal: The airline denied to TMZ Rich the Kid's accusations of racial profiling
British films and actors are leading the way with nominations ahead of the 2018 British EE British Academy Film Awards next month - while English icon Joanna Lumley is set to host the ceremony.

Whilst the ceremony typically favours Hollywood heavyweights and Tinsletown's finest, three films with UK elements have made the Best Film shortlist - a diversity that has not been seen at the awards for more than three decades.

Wartime epics Dunkirk and Darkest Hour have received nods, as well as black comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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Icon: British films and actors are leading the way with nominations ahead of the 2018 British EE British Academy Film Awards next month - while English icon Joanna Lumley is set to host

Dunkirk - written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan - depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II and stars the likes of Harry Styles, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy and Mark Rylance.

Meanwhile, Darkest Hour a 2017 British war drama film directed by Joe Wright and written by Anthony McCarten stars Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, and follows his early days as Prime Minister, as Hitler closes in on Britain during World War II.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - which follows a mother who purchases billboards draw attention to her daughter's murder - may feature a predominately American cast, yet was written and produced by Irish director Martin McDonagh.

Between the three films, they have scored 26 nominations.

Best of British: Dunkirk - written, directed, and produced by Christopher Nolan - depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II and stars the likes of Harry Styles, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy and Mark Rylance (pictured: Fionn Whitehead)

British talent is also well represented by individuals also, with four out of the five Best Actor nominees - Daniel Day Lewis for Phantom Thread, rising star Daniel Kaluuya for Get Out, Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour and Jamie Bell for Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool.

The remaining nominee is American actor Timothee Chalamet for Call Me By Your Name.

In total, eight out of the 20 acting nominees are British, whilst UK films Paddington 2 and Film Stars Dont Die In Liverpool have been honoured.

However, Sally Hawkins was the only Brit to receive a nod in the leading actress category, for her turn in The Shape Of Water.

She will compete against Three Billboards' Frances McDormand, Annette Benning (Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool), Margot Robbie (I Tonya) and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird).

BAFTA CEO Amanda Berry revealed to Screen Daily that the organisation receives more British film entries each year.

English rose: , Sally Hawkins was the only Brit to receive a nod in the leading actress category, for her turn in The Shape Of Water

Meanwhile, Joanna Lumley is set to make history as the first woman to host the awards alone.

Fans have already expressed their delight that the quintessentially British star will be taking on the reigns following the exit of esteemed host Stephen Fry after 12 years.

Speaking about her new role she said: 'Honestly, how exciting is this? It's just so unbelievably thrilling. Who thought I'd turn into Stephen Fry?

'I want to thank Bafta so much for asking me to do this. I said yes indecently quickly.'

Gone down a treat: The public was delighted to learn Joanna Lumley will be hosting

Whilst British films have been well represented in the awards, it was Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape Of Water, starring Octavia Spencer, that earned an impressive 12 nominations to lead the amount of nods.

Nominations for the 71st annual ceremony were revealed by Game Of Thrones star Natalie Dormer and Black Mirror's Letitia Wright from London on Tuesday morning.

The two films will compete against Call Me By Your Name, Darkest Hour and Dunkirk in the coveted Best Film category.

Also proving major contenders are Winston Churchill biopic Darkest Hour, which also scored nine nominations, while World War II epic Dunkirk received a total of eight.

Top contenders: The Shape Of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri look set to sweep the board at The 2018 British EE British Academy Film Awards next month, with The Shape Of Water's Octavia Spencer (left) nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Three Billboards' Frances McDormand (right) competing for Best Actress

Best director: Golden Globe winner Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) - pictured with his prize on Sunday - will be facing off against Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards) in the Best Director round, alongside Denis Villeneuve for Blade Runner 2049, Luca Guadagnino for Call Me By Your Name and Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk.

Frances will go head-to-head with The Shape Of Water's Sally Hawkins for Best Actress in a Leading Role, as well as Annette Benning (Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool), Margot Robbie (I Tonya), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird).

Meanwhile, The Shape Of Water's Octavia Spencer has received a nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category, alongside Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Kristen Scott Thomas (Darkest Hour) Laurie Metcalfe (Lady Bird) and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread).

Three Billboards has earned an impressive two Best Supporting Actor nods for both Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell, who have been nominated alongside Christopher Plummer (All The Money In The World), Hugh Grant (Paddington 2) and Willem Defoe (The Florida Project).

Golden Globe winner Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) will be facing off against Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards) in the Best Director round, alongside Denis Villeneuve for Blade Runner 2049, Luca Guadagnino for Call Me By Your Name and Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk.

Three Billboards has also been nominated for Outstanding British Film alongside Darkest Hour, The Death of Stalin, Gods Own Country, Lady Macbeth and Paddington 2. The film is also in the running for Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Editing.

Top prize: Three Billboard's Frances McDormand (pictured) is the hot favourite for the Best Actress gong

Top contender: The Shape Of Water earned an impressive 12 nominations

The Shape Of Water is competing for Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Music, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Editing and Best Special Visual Effects.

Facing off in the all important Best Actor category are Daniel Day Lewis for Phantom Thread, rising star Daniel Kaluuya for Get Out, Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour, Timothee Chalamet and Call Me By Your Name and Jamie Bell for Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool.

Following the announcements on Tuesday, BAFTA was criticised about the absence of women making this years Best Director shortlist.

Greta Gerwig, director of Lady Bird, was notably absent from the shortlist despite the film receiving nominations for Original Screenplay, Leading Actress and Supporting Actress and winning two Golden Globes last week.

Angelina Jolie also failed to make the cut for directing First They Killed My Father, nominated for the category of Film Not in the English Language. Other female directors left off include Lucy Cohen, who directed Kingdom of Us, and Rungano Nyoni for I Am Not A Witch  despite both having made it into the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer category.

Of all the 2018 Bafta Film nominees in non-gender-specific categories, only around 20 per cent are women.

Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman in history to win the Best Director award  for The Hurt Locker in 2010. Bafta boss Amanda Berry told yesterdays BBC Radio 4 Today programme: Well, I have to admit there are no female directors in the director category, but there are five female directors nominated elsewhere.

British movies such as Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool and Paddington 2 have received more attention than at the big US ceremonies.

One category not announced was the EE Rising Star Award, voted for by the public, which will be a battle between Daniel Kaluuya, Florence Pugh, Josh OConnor, Timothee Chalamet and Tessa Thompson.

Drama: Also proving a major contender is Winston Churchill biopic Darkest Hour

Fan favourite: Christopher Nolan's World War II epic Dunkirk received a total of eight nominations

In the running: Margot Robbie (pictured) and Allison Janney have both earned nods for their roles in ice skating drama I, Tonya

The 7,580 members of the British Academy of Film and Television Academy have been voting for the nominations since December 15. The BAFTAs will take place in London on February 18.

This comes just two days after the Golden Globes, which saw Big Little Lies take home the most awards on the night with Frances McDormand and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri taking top honours in the film category.

The film won the final (and arguably biggest) award of the night: Best Motion Picture - Drama.

The Shape Of Water follows the story of Elisa, a mute cleaning lady who works in a high-security government Laboratory in Baltimore in 1962.

Announcement: Amanda Berry, Natalie Dormer, Joanna Lumley, Letitia Wright and Jane Lush attended the EE British Academy Film Awards nominations announcement at BAFTA HQ in London

Taking to the stage: Game Of Thrones star Natalie was charged with revealing this year's nominations

Rising star: She was joined by Letitia Wright, who is set to front upcoming superhero film Black Panther and impressed fan in the new series of Black Mirror

When she discovers a top secret from the lab her life changes forever, as she finds a creature from South America living in a tank after which she bonds and develops a special relationship with the mystery entity.

She learns the fate of her new friend and that its survival is in the hands of a marine biologist and government agent.

Three Billboards focuses on devastated mother Mildred Hayes, who is forced to take extreme measures when months pass without a culprit in her daughter's murder.

She makes a shock move by painting three signs leading into her town with a message aimed at William Willoughby, the well-respected chief of police in the town. When another policeman on the force - a violent mother's boy - becomes involved the battle worsens.

Chic: Natalie was smartly clad in an off-the-shoulder top and velvet leggings

Chic: Letitia was rocking a smart dress with green embroidery, set off with T-bar heels

Joining forces: The BAFTA bosses joined the leading ladies for the announcement

Meanwhile, Joanna Lumley was announced as the new host for the upcoming ceremony was also announced following Stephen Fry's decision to step down from the role after fronting the event 12 times.

She declared: 'Who thought I'd turn into Stephen Fry - thrilling! I've been voting for BAFTA for so long.

'I want to thank BAFTA so much for letting me do this. I'll see you on the night!'

Fry's affectionate and occasionally innuendo laden teasing of celebrities as well as his unique humour had become a fixture at annual awards.

Hostess with the mostess: Joanna Lumley was announced as the new host for the upcoming ceremony was also announced following Stephen Fry's decision to step down from the role after fronting the event 12 times

Stepping down: Fry's affectionate and occasionally innuendo laden teasing of celebrities as well as his unique humour had become a fixture at annual awards

Announcing his stepping down he said: 'Every one of the 12 Bafta film award ceremonies that I had the privilege of hosting has a place in my memory.

'The mixture of glamour, glory, drama and - occasionally - embarrassment and hiccup holds a unique place in the British film calendar.

'Over the last two decades I have especially loved watching the emergence of new young film talent behind and in front of the camera. But after so long a time I felt it only right to stand down and let others take the Baftas on to new heights and greater glories.

'I want to thank all the production staff, Amanda Berry and her wonderful Bafta colleagues, the BBC and all those who helped make every year so enjoyable.

'I reserve especial gratitude and imagination for Ivor Baddiel and Phil Kerr, whose work on the scripts was so skillful it made people think I'd written every line myself.

'What fun it will be to watch Bafta 2018 without my heart hammering, mouth drying and knees trembling.'
Morena Baccarin and ex-husband Austin Chick have divided up their property following their divorce.

The Gotham star kept their homes in Brazil and Los Angeles, but handed over their home in New York, according toTMZ.

The former couple recently settled on a custody agreement over their four-year-old son Julius, after Chick agreed to move to NY where Baccarin and her new husband and co-star Ben McKenzie live.

Split: Morena Baccarin and ex-husband Austin Chick have divided up their property following their divorce

The 38-year-old actress agreed to split her future residuals, which include Gotham, Homeland and Deadpool, with him, as well as handing over a once-off check for $406,000.

She got to keep their 2001 Lexus, the site reported.

According to the court documents, Morena currently makes more than $90k a month, compared to Austin's $1,375 a month.

Divided: The Gotham star kept their homes in Brazil and Los Angeles, while she handed over their home in New York

The agreement also stipulates neither can bad mouth the other in front of their child, while they will split custody.

In their custody settlement, Baccarin had already agreed to pay an extra year of $5,000 a month spousal support, in addition to the $3,500 she pays in child support.

Initially Chick had demanded their son remain in Los Angeles, where he and Baccarin lived during their failed marriage.

Moved on: The former couple recently settled on a custody agreement over their four-year-old son Julius, after Chick agreed to move to NY where Baccarin and her new husband and co-star Ben McKenzie live

Baccarin married Chick in November 2011 and gave birth to their only child in October 2013.

He filed for divorce in July 2015, around the time she fell pregnant with Gotham co-star McKenzie's daughter, the now one-year-old Frances.

Baccarin wed McKenzie in the summer of 2016.

Brazilian-born, Baccarin was raised in New York where she attended the famed LaGuardia High School, before the Juilliard-grad relocated to Los Angeles in 2001.

Agreement: Baccarin married Austin Chick in November 2011 and gave birth to their only child in October 2013; the two are pictured in 2014

The actress has worked steadily since being cast in a recurring role in Josh Whedon's TV series Firefly in the early 2000s and has had recurring roles in TV series Stargate SG-1, Heartland and The Good Wife.

But it was her role as Jessica Brody, the wife of Marine and POW Nicholas Brody (Lewis), in Showtime's Homeland that brought her to prominence.

The part earned her an Emmy nomination and led to her being cast in the TV series Gotham and in the movie Deadpool opposite Ryan Reynolds.
Little Hunter Curtis came face-to-face with his first ever deadline on Wednesday.

Pictured outside the private campus in Sydney he will attending for pre-school this year, Roxy Jacenko's son was forced to brush up on the strict dress code.

Upon returning from the three-year-old's first visit to his new school for a uniform fitting, the Sweaty Betty PR founder told Daily Mail Australia he could be in trouble already.

Wish him luck! Roxy Jacenko's son Hunter Curtis (pictured) has been forced to brush up on his new private school's dress code following the three-year-old's uniform fitting on Wednesday

In a snap shared to Roxy's Instagram, Hunter was seen posing in front of a sandstone school gate alongside his older sister Pixie, six.

'Wowee where did time go! Hunty at his new school for his uniform fitting,' proud mum Roxy wrote in the caption.

And while it was all smiles on Wednesday, Hunter is secretly hoping for some miracle hair growth before his first day later this month.

'Hunter is really excited about his new school. This morning he just kept saying, "I am going to be a big boy now",' Roxy told Daily Mail Australia.

That's not a regulation haircut, Hunter! While it was all smiles on Wednesday, Hunter is secretly hoping for some miracle hair growth before his first day of school later this month

'The only thing we are hoping is that his fade and speed stripe grows extremely fast as the (school) minimum for haircuts Is a 4  Hunty has a 1!'

It seems the trendy go-getter with his own Instagram page and brand endorsements may, quite literally, be at risk of being too cool for school.

That wouldn't be a good start for the soon-to-be private schoolboy, who could well be completing his entire education at the facility.

Hair-raising! 'The only thing we are hoping is that his fade and speed stripe grows extremely fast as the (school) minimum for haircuts Is a 4  Hunty has a 1!' Roxy told Daily Mail Australia

The selective school offers classes from pre-school all the up way to Year 12.

Having already completed his shoe fitting last week, Hunter is now finally ready to begin his formal education.

It's unclear whether he'll be attending the same school as his older sister Pixie.

Stylish tot: It seems the trendy go-getter with his own Instagram account and brand endorsements may, quite literally, be at risk of being too cool for school
She is known for laughing off parking tickets after being served multiple fines for various vehicle infringements last year.

And on Wednesday, Roxy Jacenko was spotted sweet talking a parking inspector in Sydney as she returned to her parked car.

The 37-year-old was all smiles as she conversed with the uniformed parking ranger, driving away without a ticket in sight.

Talking your way out of a ticket? Roxy Jacenko enjoys a friendly chat with a Sydney parking ranger... after she illegally stopped a truck in Bondi

Roxy was returning to her luxury vehicle with a friend after having breakfast nearby in the area.

The chat began with a tense-looking inspector pursing his lips and pointing towards Roxy's pal.

The blonde bombshell's friend held her hands on her hips as the high-vis vested officer listened to the ladies.

Is everything FINE? Roxy was spotted speaking to a parking inspector in Sydney as she returned to her parked car on Wednesday, with the officer looking tense as her friend stood with her hands on her hips

Having a laugh! The mood appeared to lighten, with Roxy bursting into laughter and the officer following suit with a cheery grin

'Let me know that I could get 15 minutes grace from the ticket machine If I was unloading': Roxy told Daily Mail Australia that the inspector was a 'lovely chap' who did not issue her with a ticket

The mood appeared to lighten, with Roxy bursting into laughter.

Following suit, the parking inspector cracked a smile alongside the Sweaty Betty owner.

The pair were also spotted near Roxy's car, with the parking ranger giving Roxy the thumbs up before she vacated the area.

Casual stroll: Roxy was returning to her luxury vehicle with a friend after having breakfast nearby in the area

Stunning! The well-known publicist cut a casual-yet-chic figure in a white Supreme T-shirt and red and white pleated culottes

Glam! She accessorised her look with metallic sandals and black aviator sunglasses

Nice to see you! Roxy hugged and kissed her pal goodbye, with her friend wearing a white T-shirt, activewear leggings and sneakers

Roxy confirmed to Daily Mail AU that she did not have a ticket waiting for her on Wednesday morning, but joked: 'theres still time!!!'

'The officer was a lovely chap whom I had a chat to who let me know that I could get 15 minutes grace from the ticket machine If I was unloading!' she also said.

The well-known publicist cut a casual-yet-chic figure in a white Supreme T-shirt and red and white pleated culottes.

Accessories, accessories: The Sweaty Betty owner chose to head out without her usual luxury handbag or clutch accessory, instead holding onto her phone, card purse and keys in her hand

All smiles: Her makeup appeared flawlessly applied as she flaunted her petite figure during the public outing

She accessorised her look with metallic sandals and black aviator sunglasses.

Roxy's luscious blonde locks were slicked back from her face and placed in a messy ponytail.

Her makeup appeared flawlessly applied as she flaunted her petite figure during the public outing.

'There's still time!!': Roxy confirmed to Daily Mail AU that she did not have a ticket waiting for her on Wednesday morning, but joked the day was still young

On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph published pictures showing the starlet alongside husband OIiver Curtis with a campaign truck squarely parked in a 'No Stopping' zone at Sydney's Bondi Beach over the weekend.

When asked by The Telegraph about the parking violation, which she did not get ticketed for, Roxy didn't deny breaking the law, cheekily replying: 'I am such a naughty girl aren't I [sic]'.

The pictures were snapped on Sunday, when Roxy was in the midst of a PR activation campaign for upmarket fast food franchise, Chargrill Charlie's, with the publication labeling Roxy's move 'brazen' given it occurred while she was conducting business.

Near miss: On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph published pictures showing the starlet alongside husband OIiver Curtis with a campaign truck squarely parked in a No Stopping zone at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday

It's certainly not the first time the PR princess has parked where she wasn't supposed to, although she usually commits her traffic offences in far more glamorous vehicles.

On social media last year Roxy laughed about gaining a $257 parking fine.

'And here's me thinking the no stopping sign was merely a suggestion' the blonde beauty captioned on a photo showing a parking ticket beneath the windscreen wiper of her luxury automobile.

In a separate incident back in March of that year, Roxy took to social media to showcase another fine after spilling coffee all over her fresh white sneakers.

In May, the social media enthusiast was also caught out with two tickets within three days.
Delilah Hamlin admitted to learning oral sex technique at age 12 from her mother Lisa Rinna's book during Tuesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills.

The 19-year-old model made the revelation during dinner in Tokyo with her 54-year-old mother, model sister Amelia, 16, and Erika Girardi, 46.

The conversation started with Delilah still wearing bright set makeup and her sister Amelia recounting their photoshoot.

Candid conversation: Delilah Hamlin during a dinner in Tokyo revealed that she learned sex tips at age 12 from her mother Lisa Rinna's book

Erika told how she enjoyed traditional delicacies during a day trip with their mother.

Delilah then shared how she watches YouTube sensation Trisha Paytas, 29, engaging in eating challenges sometimes for hours.

'I need to show you. ...There's 300 pizzas in there,' Delilah said as Amelia held up a video of the YouTube star.

Erika admitted to camera that she doesn't understand the younger generation's obsession with watching people eat.

Graphic tips: Lisa Rinna read oral sex tips out loud from her 2010 book Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life

'Maybe I'm old,' she mused.

'I like watching her because she doesn't care,' Delilah said of the Los Angeles actress who has more than 4 million subscribers on YouTube.

'It's weird you guys,' Lisa said while admitting there was a lot of shame around food consumption.

Set makeup: Delilah was still wearing her set makeup during dinner after a busy day in Tokyo

Food challenge: Amelia held up a video of YouTube sensation Trisha Paytas eating

Pizza time: Trisha was shown in a video eating pizzas

Generation gap: Erika Girardi admitted that she didn't understand the obsession with watching people eat

Erika asked if they ever watched porn instead of people eating as Delilah giggled.

'Maybe I don't want to know about that yet. Maybe I'd just rather not know,' Lisa interjected.

'I know about you watching porn,' Delilah said to her mother.

Sex book: Delilah revealed that she knew her mother watches porn and also that she learned sex tips from her 2010 book when she was just age 12

Awkward silence: Erika looked over at Lisa as a brief awkward silence ensued

'I'm not going to lie, but like your sex book taught me...,' Delilah said.

"Oh my god,' Erika said as Lisa laughed and Amelia stayed glued to her cellphone.

'It just teaches you. I don't do that... And I was like 12 when I saw this. It literally teaches you how to give head,' Delilah said.

Very precisely: Amelia chimed in that her mother's oral sex advice 'very precisely' gave instructions

'Very precisely,' added Amelia.

'If you're gonna learn you better learn it right,' Rinna said.

'I don't know if I wanted to learn it from you because now...,' Delilah said before bursting into laughter.

Close knit: Delilah was comfortable talking to her mother and Erika about food videos and sex

Rinna during a confessional then read some of her oral sex tips out loud from her 2010 book Rinnavation: Getting Your Best Life Ever.

'How can I put this in a book?,' Lisa said cracking up.

Lisa earlier during a traditional Japanese dinner confided to Erika that she was 'terrified' about her girls growing up.

Great dinner: The dinner group clinked glasses at the end of their meal

Motherly advice: Lisa laughed at the life lessons she inadvertently taught her daughters

She said that she never endured sexual harassment during her Hollywood career but worried about her daughters.

Lisa invited Erika to Tokyo to help her chaperone the girls as they participated in two store openings, a commercial and a photoshoot for Vogue Taiwan.

Paparazzi and adoring fans met Delilah and Amelia at the airport after their long flight.

Warm welcome: Delilah and Amelia were met by paparazzi and fans as they landed in Tokyo

Lisa noted how her girls were the latest 'millenials who are children of famous people' giving the Kardashians credit for opening the window for new stars such as Gigi and Bella Hadid.

The episode also featured Lisa Vanderpump inviting newcomer Teddi Jo Mellencamp, Dorit Kemsley and Kyle Richards over for lunch at her Villa Rosa estate.

Kyle during the lunch invited everyone plus their husbands over to her house for a renovation party while her floors were being redone.

Busy stars: Erika caught up with Delilah and Amelia ahead of their photoshoot for Vogue Taiwan

Public speaking: Amelia was composed while speaking during a store opening

Traditional outing: Lisa and Erika enjoyed traditional delicacies and entertainment in Tokyo

Teddi was surprised by how much the women were gossiping about Lisa Rinna behind her back.

'There are two sides to Dorit. The fun girl I can have a laugh with and the trash talker,' Teddi said to the camera.

Teddi told the women that everyone had been nice to her so far, but added, 'I'm sure one of you will turn on me soon enough'.

Lunch party: Lisa Vanderpump meanwhile invited Dorit Kemsley, Kyle Richards and newcomer Teddi Jo Mellencamp to lunch at her Villa Rosa estate

Gossip girl: Dorit continued badmouthing Lisa Rinna behind her back as Teddi listened

Voice of reason: Teddi was shocked about how much the women were talking about Lisa Rinna

The daughter of rocker John Mellencamp was shown going hiking with husband Edwin and their five-year-old daughter Slate and three-year-old son Cruz.

'I was nine when my parents got divorced, so I want my kids to have the childhood that I didn't have,' Teddi said.

Lisa Vanderpump also recruited Dorit for a last-minute photoshoot for Beverly Hills Lifestyle magazine.

Family outing: The daughter of rocker John Mellencamp and husband Edwin went on a strenuous hike with their daughter Slate and son Cruz

Dorit complained endlessly about not having her own hair and makeup team for the photoshoot.

Kyle hosted her party despite a power outage and Dorit complained again about the 100-degree temperature and lack of electricity.

Dorit who likened the party to being in the desert vowed to drink to get through the evening and lived up to her word.

Constant complaining: Dorit was recruited for a last-minute photoshoot by Lisa Vanderpump and complained constantly about not having her own hair and makeup team

Drinking up: The mother of two vowed to drink during the party to cope with the power outage

She got sloppy quick and said Kyle was a 's***ty' best friend while trying to rile up Lisa Vanderpump.

Camille Grammer invited her new boyfriend David to the party and Dorit seemed to single her out.

Dorit declared that she was the one person not afraid of Lisa Vanderpump and joked about creating a new strap-on line and calling it 'The Camille'.

New boyfriend: Camille Grammer invited her new boyfriend David to the party

Singled out: Dorit singled out Camille and drunkenly called her a 'stupid c***'

'Camille, you're a stupid c***,' Dorit then yelled out from the table.

'Dorit,' said her husband Paul 'PK' Kemsley quietly in an attempt to hush her.

Dorit kept it up prompting Kyle's husband Mauricio to ask her to quiet down.

The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills will return next week on Bravo.
She confirmed her split with girlfriend Coby Boatman earlier this week.

But it looks like Brynne Edelsten won't be single for long.

The ex-wife of businessman Geoffrey Edelsten looked sensational in a bikini during a trip to Melbourne's St Kilda Beach on Tuesday.

Look away now, Cody! Newly-single Brynne Edelsten (pictured) stripped down to a skimpy bikini during a trip to Melbourne's St Kilda Beach with her pet dog Juddy on Tuesday

Brynne, 34, was joined by her faithful dog Juddy as she splashed in the waves.

She wore a pair of designer sunglasses and several items of jewellery, including earrings and a 'Brynne' necklace.

Despite her heartbreaking split, the socialite looked happy and confident.

(Wo)man's best friend! Brynne was joined by her pet dog Juddy as she splashed in the waves

It comes after Brynne spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her split with Cody.

'I actually broke up with Cody and moved out late last year,' she said. 'I wish her the best but have nothing to do with her.'

Brynne declined to provide details on the split, but admitted 'something specific (had) happened' to trigger the breakup.

'I don't like speaking badly about people and would prefer to keep (the details) private': It comes after Brynne spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her split with Cody Boatman (left)

She added: 'I don't like speaking badly about people and would prefer to keep that private.'

Only four months earlier, Brynne spoke excitedly about her first same-sex romance on The Kyle And Jackie O Show.

She even admitted to having a 'girl crush' on Cody for a while before they decided to become a couple.
It's another busy awards season for Tom Hanks.

The actor, 61, could be on track for his sixth Oscar nomination and third best actor win for his role as newspaper editor Ben Bradlee in The Post.

And after attending the Golden Globes in Los Angeles on Sunday, he hopped on a plane with his wife Rita Wilson and walked another red carpet in New York Tuesday night.

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Busy awards season: Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson walked another red carpet in New York Tuesday night as they attended the National Board Of Review Awards Gala

The couple, who married in 1988, put on another display of devotion as they arrived for the National Board Of Review Awards Gala.

Rita, 61, looked stylish in a white frock with sheer patterned overlay.

She paired it with a white coat that had fur trim on the collar and added a pair of white stilettos.

Tom was dapper in a black suit with a gray shirt and a polka dot tie.

Red carpet ready: Rita, 61, looked stylish in a white frock with sheer patterned overlay. She paired it with a white coat that had fur trim on the collar and added a pair of white stilettos

Star power: Tom was dapper in a black suit with a gray shirt and a polka dot tie as he arrived to pick up the NBR's best actor award

Raconteur: Tom had tales to tell as he took the stage Tuesday night at the event held at Cipriani 42nd Street

Meanwhile, Tom garnered lots of praise Sunday for being able to navigate the celebrity packed ballroom at the Beverly Hilton while carrying a tray of martinis.

He was snapped playing waiter during the Golden Globes telecast and in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres that aired Tuesday, he joked he had 'never been more nervous' than he was in that moment.

He'd gone to get the cocktails after Steven Spielberg and others at his table had requested the drinks.

'So what I did was, coming down  it was like I was one of those truckers on mountain roads with a load full of nitroglycerin,' he told Ellen.

Waiting gig: On Sunday, the Hollywood star made headlines after he was spotted delivering a tray of martinis to his table during the Golden Globes telecast in LA

Tom stars opposite Meryl Streep in The Post that tells the story of the decision by Washington Post published Katharine Graham to publish the Pentagon Papers during the Watergate scandal.

Streep plays Graham in the drama directed by Spielberg.

The National Board Of Review publishes its award winners ahead of time and both Hanks and Streep won top acting honors for their performances.

Mighty trio: Tom stars opposite Meryl Streep in the Steven Spielberg-directed drama The Post. The trio are pictured at the Palm Springs International Film Festival earlier this month

Real life role: He plays newspaper editor Ben Bradlee in the story of the decision by Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham to publish the Pentagon Papers
She is about to kick booty on the big screen as Proud Mary.

And Taraji P Henson was killing it in the fashion stakes too on Tuesday as she rocked a pair two distinctive looks.

The 47-year-old first made a stop into GMA studios to discuss her new role in comfy tear away track bottoms, trainers and a red sweater.

Proud wear-y! Taraji P Henson rocked two different outfits as she hit the promo trail in New York City on Tuesday

Prepped for New York's chilly weather, she complimented the outfit with a heavy red and plaid plaid twill coat.

Later on the actress dropped by the Build Studio to further chat about the action flick, which goes on release this Friday.

There she rocked a sexy black dress with thigh-high black boots.

'I'm really proud of this movie because we haven't seen an African-American woman starring in a role like this,' she told GMA.

Promo: The actress dropped by the Build Studio to further chat about action flick Proud Mary, which goes on release this Friday

Hot: There she rocked a sexy black dress with thigh-high black boots

'We've seen badass sidekicks but not the star of the show, headlining.'

Proud Mary is a successful hitwoman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely shifted when she crosses paths with a young boy left orphaned after a botched hit.

'I don't think people realize how much work goes into an action film. It's so physical," Henson said, adding that at the end of a long working day, pulling off those huge dangerous stunts can prove tricky.

Chill: The 47-year-old first made a stop into GMA studios to discuss her new role in comfy tear away track bottoms, trainers and a red sweater

Proud Taraji: 'I'm really proud of this movie because we haven't seen an African-American woman starring in a role like this,' she told GMA

Star: 'We've seen badass sidekicks but not the star of the show, headlining,' she said

'Sometimes it's fatigue that steps in and you take a misstep and it can go bad, like the time I crashed a Maserati,' she said, laughing.

She claimed the characters sexy outfit made her feel like 'black Laura Croft.'

'I had the ponytail and the combat boots ... a navy blue motorcycle jacket and motorcycle pants and I just felt like, "Dang, I could really hurt someone".'
Despite the title of the show, there was no place to hide for this bad guy.

Jaimie Alexander and Sullivan Stapleton were spotted filming dramatic scenes for Blindspot on Tuesday.

The co-stars worked in tandem to track down a ne'er-do-well through Astoria Park in Queens.

In action: Jaimie Alexander and Sullivan Stapleton were spotted filming dramatic scenes for Blindspot on Tuesday

The 33-year-old actress was dressed head to to in black, wearing heavy boots, jeans jacket and gloves, covering up the mysterious tattoos that distinguish her character Alice Remi Kruger AKA Jane Doe.

Her partner was similarly dressed, while both stalked their quarry with handguns drawn.

After being spotted the target made a dash for it across the open field, only to be caught and dragged to the ground by Stapleton, who plays Kurt Weller in the hit show.

Dark horse: The 33-year-old actress was dressed head to to in black, wearing heavy boots, jeans jacket and gloves

Inkling: She covered up the mysterious tattoos that distinguish her character Alice Remi Kruger AKA Jane Doe

Ambush: She hunted through Astoria Park in Queens with guns drawn

Pointing the gun in his face, he barked off some questions that looked likely to be answered.

The show, currently in the middle of its third season, tells the story of a woman who was found naked in Times Square with no memory and covered in tattoos, who must then work with the FBI to decipher them.

I love that Jane has a sense of vulnerability whilst maintaining a deep inner and outer strength. I love playing a layered female  I love the realness,' Jaimie recently told Schon!

Teammate: She was working in tandem with Kurt Weller, played by co-star Stapleton

There he is! After being spotted the target made a dash for it across the open field

Busted: But he was caught and dragged to the ground by Stapleton

Interrogation: Pointing the gun in his face, he barked off some questions that looked likely to be answered

Its important to remain a strong female whilst embodying these characters. Ive always been a strong woman, she said.

'Ive always tried to do the right thing and to help others. Its important I dont lose sight of what really matters. I bring that into the characters I play  the sadness, the struggle, the vulnerability, the power, the realism.

Alexander is currently dating the show's head fight choreographer and stuntman Airon Armstrong, whom she has been seeing since September.
The Dancing With The Stars pro and her husband Robert Herjavec are expecting twins this year.

And Kym Johnson, 41, dressed her blossoming baby bump in a grey sweatshirt on Tuesday in Beverly Hills, California.

The Australian ballroom dancer appeared radiant as she headed to the gym in leopard-print leggings.

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Bumping along nicely! DWTS star Kym Johnson flaunts her burgeoning belly in sweater as she heads to gym... as it's revealed she is pregnant with husband Robert Herjavec's twins

Holding a Maltese dog under her arms, Kym glowed with a happy smile as she head towards the building.

Covered from head-to-toe, the mother-to-be appeared to keep cosy in the cold weather, by adding a coat to her ensemble.

Ready for a workout, she also wore sneakers and placed her brunette locks up into a messy top bun.

Stylish mama! Covered from head-to-toe, the mother-to-be appeared to keep cosy in the cold weather, by adding a chic coat to her activewear ensemble

Keeping fit: Ready for a workout, she also wore sneakers and placed her brunette locks up into a messy top bun

Kym announced last month that she was expecting twins, with a source alluding to People that it was something the dancer had wanted for some time.

The insider said: 'Kym has wanted to be a mom for a long time. Theyre both so happy.'

As the talented dancer married the 55-year-old entrepreneur last year after appearing on the ABC reality competition show in 2015, the two have certainly moved on fast.

Coming soon: In December Dancing With The Stars pro Kym announced that she and husband Robert were expecting twins

The Australian dancer and her husband Robert confirmed in December that they were expecting twins.

She and her Shark Tank star husband told People that there are having two babies.

'We waited so long that we decided to double up!' the excited couple told the magazine. 'We are very grateful for the blessing of twins.'

Doubling up: Kym and her Shark Tank star husband Robert confirmed to People Tuesday that they are having two bundles of joy, as they are pictured together in September

Kym broke the news of her pregnancy by posting her sonogram to Instagram.

The image until now had been thought to show just one baby.

The couple met and fell in love while partnering each other on the ABC reality competition in 2015 and tied the knot in 2016.

Robert, 55, already has three children from his first marriage.
The 'pun king' really did it this time.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Bachelorette beauty Georgia Love revealed she'd heard pun too many terrible gags from boyfriend Lee Elliott.

The joke was on him in the end, seen getting kicked off the bed and desperately trying to fix the date night he appeared to have jeopardised.

'The mountain between us': What did 'pun king' Lee Elliott do to Georgia Love to get kicked out of bed and ruin date night?

In the social snap, Georgia, 29, was pictured in a cute floral nightie, sitting up with a laptop in front of her.

She'd intentionally angled the screen away from Lee, who'd seemingly ruined his chance at watching the rest of their date night movie.

The downtrodden hunk was pictured leaning on the floor, trying to see over a makeshift border wall his girlfriend had built with pillows.

'Youve got to choose your words wisely when you live with the pun king,' she lamented in the caption.

Not laughing anymore! Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Bachelorette beauty Georgia Love revealed she'd heard pun too many terrible gags from boyfriend Lee Elliott

'When I said The Mountain Between Us in bed was the perfect date night, this is not what I meant!'

Clearly only fake-angry, Georgia's caption implied that Lee had misinterpreted her request to watch the The Mountain Between Us starring Kate Winslet.

The tongue-in-cheek suggestion was that her beau hadn't heard of the movie, and instead naively created a physical pillow mountain between them.

Given the boot! 'When I said The Mountain Between Us in bed was the perfect date night, this is not what I meant!' a displeased Georgia wrote in the caption

Turns out the pair had likely collaborated on the cringe-worthy joke in order to promote the film, with Georgia providing a download link in her bio.

In fact, the image proved that Georgia and Lee are actually more in-sync than ever.

The evidence was clear on New Year's Day, the pair sharing a snap showing them dancing like nobody else was watching.

'We were so drunk (in love) at @onenyd when we walked across the dance floor to get another drink we won the dance competition,' read the pun king's caption.

Swing and a miss! Clearly only fake-angry, Georgia's caption implied that Lee had misinterpreted her request to watch the The Mountain Between Us starring Kate Winslet
His latest film Call Me By Your Name is on every shortlist this awards season.

So it was another ceremony on the trail for Armie Hammer on Tuesday night as he arrived at the National Board of Review Awards in New York.

The 31-year-old was accompanied by his gorgeous wife Elizabeth Chambers to the Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street.

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Gorgeous pair: Armie Hammer and his wife Elizabeth Chambers cut a handsome couple at the National Board of Review Awards on Tuesday night

The actor looked razor sharp in a charcoal grey suit, opting for a polo shirt instead of the usual button-down.

His 35-year-old missus meanwhile looked fabulous in a black floor-length strapless gown.

Unlike most award ceremonies, the National Board Of Review gongs are assigned well ahead of time.

Hot: The actor looked razor sharp in a charcoal grey suit, opting for a polo shirt instead of the usual button-down

Fab: His 35-year-old missus meanwhile looked fabulous in a black floor-length strapless gown.

Among the winners was Armie's young co-star Timothee Chalamet for his Breakthrough Performance.

Call Me By Your Name was also named in the Board's top ten films of the year.

The coming of age drama missed out on the three awards is was nominated for at Sunday's Golden Globes, including best Drama, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for Chalamet and Hammer, respectively.

Crush: Among the winners was Armie's young co-star Timothee Chalamet for his Breakthrough Performance

The romantic film, directed by Luca Guadagnino, is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Andre Aciman.

It is the third and final installment in Guadagnino's thematic Desire trilogy, following I Am Love (2009) and A Bigger Splash (2015).

Set in Northern Italy in 1983, it chronicles the romantic relationship between Elio Perlman (Chalamet), a 17-year-old living in Italy, and his father's American assistant, Oliver (Hammer).

Hit: Call Me By Your Name is on every shortlist this awards season

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW: 2017 AWARD WINNERS BEST FILM The Post BEST DIRECTOR Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird BEST ACTOR Tom Hanks, The Post BEST ACTRESS Meryl Streep, The Post BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Foxtrot BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Coco BEST DOCUMENTARY Jane BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, The Disaster Artist BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT Jordan Peele, Get Out BEST ENSEMBLE Get Out BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name SPOTLIGHT AWARD Wonder Woman: Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot NBR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION First They Killed My Father NBR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992 TOP FILMS Baby Driver Call Me By Your Name The Disaster Artist Downsizing Dunkirk The Florida Project Get Out Lady Bird Logan Phantom Thread TOP TEN INDEPENDENT FILMS Beatriz at Dinner Brigsby Bear A Ghost Story Lady Macbeth Logan Lucky Loving Vincent Menashe Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer Patti Cake$ Wind River TOP 5 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS A Fantastic Woman Frantz Loveless Summer 1993 The Square TOP 5 DOCUMENTARIES Abacus: Small Enough to Jail Brimstone & Glory Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars Faces Places Hell On Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS Advertisement
He recently returned from a Hawaiian vacation with new girlfriend Darcie Lincoln.

But Jeremy Piven seemed to have move on from the relationship while spotted on a date with Liana Mendoza on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

The 52-year-old actor puffed away on an electronic cigarette as the duo left the Catalina Bar and Grill weeks after the Entourage vet was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women.

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New love? Jeremy Piven seemed to have move on from the relationship while spotted on a date with Liana Mendoza on Tuesday night in Los Angeles

Jeremy sported a dark green bomber jacket worn on top of a crisp white T-shirt, which he later gave to Liana to keep warm in the chilly weather.

When not puffing away on his e-cigarette, Piven kept his hands in the pockets of his dark pants, which he teamed with grey and white trainers.

He donned a navy blue cap and thick black frames over his eyes while walking side-by-side with the brunette beauty.

The 52-year-old actor puffed away on an electronic cigarette as the duo left the Catalina Bar and Grill weeks after the Entourage vet was accused of sexual harassment by multiple women

Liana showed some leg wearing a strappy black dress complete with lace paneling around her ample assets in addition to thigh-high slits on her skirt.

She donned a pair of towering platform heels and wore her chocolate brown hair straight past her shoulders.

His latest show Wisdom of the Crowd was canceled shortly after allegations surfaced that Piven had sexually abused or harassed multiple women, which he has since denied.

An industry insider told DailyMail.com earlier this month that Piven had been an 'emotional wreck' since the allegations surfaced and that he broke down in tears while filming his series.

Jeremy sported a dark green bomber jacket worn on top of a crisp white T-shirt, which he later gave to Liana to keep warm in the chilly weather.

Piven was accused on Twitter of sexual harassment and assault by 38-year-old actress Ariane Bellamar at the end of October who claimed the star groped her twice, once in his trailer on the Entourage set and the other at the Playboy mansion.

That was followed by actress Cassidy Freeman who said on her Instagram page that Piven engaged in 'predatory behavior' towards her when she was 'far too young.'

And then two more women have since come forward accusing the Emmy winning actor of sexual assault and harassment.

Washington-based advertising executive Tiffany Bacon Scourby, 39, and Hawaii-based porn star Isis Taylor both say Piven attacked or harassed them.

Anastasia Taneie has also come forward saying she was working as a 23-year-old background actress on Entourage in 2009 when Piven, then 44, cornered her in a darkened corridor and groped her breasts and genitals.

Piven has denied all allegations of sexual assault saying they 'are absolutely false and completely fabricated.'
She's been in a blissful union with Quade Cooper, since starring on 2015's I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

And Laura Dundovic proudly revealed to Instagram on Wednesday, that she and her rugby player beau have finished their home renovations.

The 30-year-old beauty shared with her fans of the Bulimba property, in Brisbane, Queensland: 'RENOVATIONS FINISHED. Now time to furnish.'

Home, sweet home! Laura Dundovic, 30, and her rugby player beau Quade Cooper, 29, celebrated the completion of their renovated property on Wednesday

Taking to Instagram, Laura shared a snap of her and Quade standing in their newly renovated kitchen.

The television personality cut a casual figure in a yellow T-shirt tucked into distressed Daisy Dukes, as she gazed fondly at her athlete partner.

Quade, 29, perched on the countertop, wore a khaki tank that showed off his bulging biceps, teamed with black workout shorts and a green cap.

The newly renovated kitchen features a colour palette of matte black and ice white, with mahogany wood carpentry and state-of-the-art appliances.

Aesthetic: Taking to Instagram, the television personality shared a snap of her and Quade standing in their newly renovated kitchen, featuring a colour palette of matte black and ice white, with mahogany wood carpentry and state-of-the-art appliances

Ecstatic: Laura captioned the image: 'RENOVATIONS FINISHED. Now time to furnish @quadecooper. After months of living in one room through our renovations with no kitchen, or lounge and only takeout and movies on the laptop we are finally done!'

Laura captioned the image: 'RENOVATIONS FINISHED. Now time to furnish @quadecooper. After months of living in one room through our renovations with no kitchen, or lounge and only takeout and movies on the laptop we are finally done!

'Loved it so much and wanting to do it all over again now! Still obsessing over our Silestone Lagoon Suede benchtops.'

The Courier Mail reported early last year that renovations on the home, purchased for $1.845 million in 2015, would include a new facade, observation deck and pool.

Off-the-market: The brand ambassador went public with their relationship with Quade in 2015, after signing up to take part in the Network Ten reality show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

Private: Keeping coy on specifics, Laura told The Daily Telegraph in 2016: 'I've travelled to the most amazing places and met incredible people and none of it could have been planned or predicted'

Laura and Quade went public with their relationship in 2015, after signing up to take part in the Network Ten reality show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

Keeping coy on specifics, the former Miss Universe Australia told The Daily Telegraph in 2016: 'I've travelled to the most amazing places and met incredible people and none of it could have been planned or predicted.'

'I always say to people, you never know what life has in store for you so just enjoy the ride,' Laura added.
The former wife of Kiosk Keith actor Raymond Grant has denied her ex-husband is a sexual predator following his controversial sacking from Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Here!

Grants departure from the long-running show was confirmed by ITV on January 5 after he allegedly slapped a female co-workers bottom while under the influence of alcohol.

But the 52-year old builders ex-wife Linda has dismissed claims of sexual harassment, insisting the incident  which reportedly took place while crew members were travelling to a wrap party in December  was initially taken in good spirits.

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Get out of here: Raymond Grant, the man responsible for playing notoriously gruff recurring character Kiosk Keith on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here, has reportedly been fired for slapping a female crew members bottom while under the influence of alcohol

She told The Sun: 'Im not condoning that he slapped her on the bottom. No one wants that. But hes being made out to be this horrible man when he really isnt.

'Weve had a lot of differences over the years but hes not a sexual predator. He has a 24-year-old son. He has an 18-year-old daughter. He is not like that and never has been.'

Grant's 15-year association with the show ended following the alleged incident, which is thought to have taken place following the shows 17th series.

Linda added: There was nothing sinister in it but he shouldnt have done it. He was sacked afterwards  from his role as Kiosk Keith and from his job helping to build sets on the show.'

Hitting back: But the 52-year old builders ex-wife Linda has dismissed claims of sexual harassment, insisting the incident  which reportedly took place while crew members were travelling to a wrap party in December  was initially taken in good spirits

All over: Grant, 52, is understood to have ended his 15-year association with the show following the alleged incident, which is thought to have taken place following the shows 17th series (Pictured, with Carol Vorderman and Sam Quek)

An ITV spokesperson previously confirmed that Raymond had been sacked and will not appear on screen again as Kiosk Keith.

They told MailOnline: 'Ray is no longer under contract on the show. There are no plans for him to return this year.'

Raymond had been due to appear on the German version of the popular show - which launched on January 7.

Gruff: The builder is best known for running the camp shop, and delighted viewers with his grumpy exterior when stars approach him to collect their prizes for the Dingo Dollar challenges

He had been a firm favourite with fans and even has his own Twitter page, which claims: 'Aussie LAD born and bred. Employee of the month at The Outback Shack. I'm the biggest Celebrity in I'm a Celebrity.'

The builder is best known for running the camp shop, and delighted viewers with his grumpy exterior when stars approach him to collect their prizes for the Dingo Dollar challenges.

Raymond started off on the show as a labourer in 2002, when he helped to build the show's set, and was scouted by bosses to star as the silent shopkeeper.

However, his ex-wife Donna revealed Keith is not a full time job, and Raymond is simply called away from his artistic duties when they want to film scenes at the Outback Shack.

She also went on to shock fans by revealing he is not paid any extra for the on-screen role, despite his huge popularity.

ITV declined to comment further when approached by MailOnline.
He's the Bachelorette reject who has been announced as the latest contestant to appear on US spin-off The Bachelor Winter Games.

And so it's no wonder Courtney Dober has been keen to make the most of his second chance at fame, having treated fans with a sizzling beach-side snap this Wednesday.

Brandishing his muscle-bound torso and blulging biceps while posing in nothing but a pair of board-shorts Courtney wrote: 'Time to take the plunge!! 2018 you've started with a bang and I'm excited. #newyear #newbeginnings.'

'Time to take the plunge!! 2018 you've started with a bang and I'm excited': Courtney Dober has been keen to make the most of his second chance at fame, having treated fans with a sizzling beach-side snap this Wednesday

Fans were titillated by the flesh-baring snap, with one commenting: 'That back, though.'

'Was a shirtless photo really necessary?' another fan thoughtfully queried.

Indeed 2018 is shaping up to be a big year for Courtney, who will appear alongside a slew of international reality stars including Tiffany Scanlon, on The Bachelor Winter Games.

New role: The line-up of American spin off series The Bachelor Winter Games was announced this week - including familiar international stars. Pictured: Tiffany Scanlon and Courtney Dober

He and Tiffany will compete against the likes of The Bachelor New Zealand stars, Lily McManus and Ally Thompson, as well as season two leading man Jordan Mauger.

The Bachelor Winter Games, which premieres on ABC in the US on February 13, sees American and international Bachelor stars compete in 'winter-themed challenges'.

And, like other shows in the global Bachelor franchise, producers will be hoping the genetically-blessed contestants find love on the slopes.

A second chance at love? Australian Bachelor fans will remember Courtney Dober (pictured) as the likable, albeit rather indecisive, aspiring TV presenter from The Bachelorette season two

Claim to fame: Tiffany's stint on The Bachelor 2016 was forgettable, but she later made global headlines for her relationship with co-star Megan Marx (left), which fizzled out in a few months

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Tiffany and Courtney for further comment.

Australian Bachelor fans will remember Courtney Dober as the likable, albeit rather indecisive, aspiring TV presenter from The Bachelorette season two.

Georgia Love was clearly attracted to Courtney, but he wasn't able to fully commit and she grew tired of his 'ambiguity'. He was sent packing late in the series.

Making a comeback: Three former stars from The Bachelor New Zealand are also representing their country in the Winter Games. Pictured: Lily McManus (right) and Ally Thompson (left)

Meanwhile, Tiffany Scanlon had a blink-and-you'll-miss it role in The Bachelor 2016, after being dumped relatively early in the competition by Richie Strahan.

But she later made global headlines after beginning a same-sex relationship with her female co-star, Megan Marx, which fizzled out after a few months.

Three former stars from The Bachelor New Zealand are also representing their country in the 'International' category in Winter Games.

Last year's Bachelor runner-up Lily McManus is confirmed, as well as English-born yoga instructor Ally Thompson from the same season.

Will he flip a coin again? But it's the inclusion of Jordan Mauger (pictured) - New Zealand's controversial Bachelor from 2016 - that will almost certainly raise eyebrows

But it's the inclusion of Jordan Mauger - New Zealand's controversial Bachelor from 2016 - that will almost certainly raise eyebrows.

Jordan infamously revealed he couldn't decide between his final two women - Fleur Verhoeven and Nazanin 'Naz' Khanjani - so literally 'flipped a coin'.

Unsurprisingly, his relationship with the 'lucky' winner, Ms Verhoeven, didn't last.
She is currently enjoying a well-deserved break away from her busy working schedule.

And making the most of her sun-drenched getaway to Tulum, Mexico, Tara Reid was seen in high spirits as she enjoyed an outing at a beach bar with a girl pal on Tuesday.

The actress, 42, slipped into a bronzed bikini, sporting a pair of frayed denim shorts over her swimwear.

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Beaming: Tara Reid was seen in high spirits as she enjoyed an outing at a beach bar with a girl pal on Tuesday, while continuing her break in Tulum, Mexico

Her beach attire paired together a triangle bikini top, that framed her assets, and a pair of matching briefs, that tied together in bows at either side.

Tara continued her vacation, with the beauty sporting glamorous make-up that came complete with a dramatic smokey-eye and a rose pink lipstick across her lips.

The Sharknado star wore her blonde tresses down to fall past her shoulders in beachy waves, that were parted in the middle.

Appearing perfectly at ease and relaxed, as she took some time out of her working commitments to catch up with friends, Tara was spotted beaming from ear-to-ear while chatting with her female friend.

Time out: The actress, 42, slipped into a bronzed bikini, sporting a pair of frayed denim shorts over her swimwear, as she enjoyed a break from her busy schedule of late

She appeared to be without her new boyfriend, successful tech entrepreneur, Ted Dhanik. The duo had first sparked romance rumours back in September, when Ted had accompanied Tara to her pal Christina Milian's birthday party.

Since then, Tara and her beau have kept their blossoming relatively low-key, claiming that they were 'casually dating' when news emerged of their romance several months ago.

Their relationship comes as Tara is enjoying something of a comeback, with several movies on the way, including three that are currently in post-production.

The America Pie actress has just landed a movie role opposite John Travolta that is scheduled to film in Europe early this year.

Her success follows a tough summer for Tara, who admitted in July that she has suffered at the hands of bullying and online trolls.

In demand: Tara's getaway comes as she is enjoying something of a comeback, with several movies on the way, including three that are currently in post-production

Starring in upcoming release Worthless, that tells the story of a successful woman who is forced to face the repercussions of her bullying ways, Tara reflected on her own experiences while promoting the film, as she claimed she is mainly targeted for her weight.

In an interview with E! News, the star said: 'I've definitely felt bullying in my life. With... just different things in my life. People always say I don't eat. I eat all the time.'

'They call me "scary skinny"... Everyone knows I eat more than anyone, I'm just a thin girl,' she asserted.

Exciting: The America Pie actress has just landed a movie role opposite John Travolta that is scheduled to film in Europe early this year

Tara continued: 'The body shaming that is going on right now is to a degree that is so bad for girls and I really relate to that and I understand that, so this movie meant a lot to me.

'Bullying is such a big deal these days and it's something I, very much, personalized with. In my life, I've had a lot of bullying and I know what that feels like and how much it hurts.'

Tara added that she hopes her movie Worthless will help put a face on the problem and encourage people to think differently. She said: 'I think this movie could affect a lot of people and [make you] really think twice before you have something negative to bully on someone.'
He left millions swooning when he made his debut as the kinky Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey.

And Jamie Dornan appears to be the gift that just keeps on giving as the handsome actor has also unveiled his impressive singing voice after lending his vocals to the Fifty Shades Freed compilation.

The 35-year-old star proved himself to be a man of many talents with his rendition of Paul McCartney's 'Maybe I'm Amazed'.

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Man of many talents! Jamie Dornan appears to be the gift that just keeps on giving as the handsome actor has also unveiled his impressive singing voice after lending his vocals to the Fifty Shades Freed compilation

Serenading his legions of admirers with his dulcet tones, he croons: 'Maybe I'm amazed by the way you love me all the time/Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you.'

Extreme Jamie fans will no doubt be aware that The Fall star has a musical history, having performed in band Sons of Jim before turning to acting.

The Irishman follows in the footsteps of Beyonce, who sung a haunting rendition of 'Crazy in Love' for Fifty Shades of Grey.

Is there anything he can't do? The 35-year-old star proved himself to be a man of many talents with his rendition of Paul McCartney's 'Maybe I'm Amazed'

Huge shoes to fill! The Irishman follows in the footsteps of Beyonce, who sung a haunting rendition of 'Crazy in Love' for Fifty Shades of Grey

Taylor Swift and Zayn Malik took charge of the Fifty Shades Darker title track with 'I Don't Wanna Live Forever', with Rita Ora - who plays Christian Grey's sister Mia in the steamy flick - performing Kiss Me for the same album.

The final film in the Fifty Shades trilogy features Dakota Johnson's character Anastasia marrying Christian Grey (Jamie) as she uncovers new secrets and fights new foes.

The latest trailer - which was released on New Year's Day - ended with the 28-year-old actress looking surprised with her mouth agape as a woman's voice off screen states: 'It seems you're pregnant, Mrs. Grey.'

Plot: The final film in the Fifty Shades trilogy features Dakota Johnson's character Anastasia marrying Christian Grey (Jamie) as she uncovers new secrets and fights new foes

Fifty Shades of Grey - based on the Twilight fan fiction novel of the same name by E.L. James - made over $500 million in 2015.

The sequel Fifty Shades Darker debuted in 2017 and grossed over $380 million.

Fifty Shades Freed will open on February 8.

Talented bunch: Jamie isn't the only talented singer on the bill as Rita Ora lent her vocals for Fifty Shades Darker

Dancing queen: The singer recently shared a clip of herself singing and showing off her moves on social media

Starring role: Rita plays Christian Grey's sister Mia in the flick




An explosive new trailer for Coronation Street has teased that the start of 2018 will be far from dull for the residents of the cobbles.

And the biggest plot twist looks to feature nasty Pat Phelan - who seems to have set his sights on his next victim.

But, while he eyes up someone else to focus his evil attentions on, Anna Windass could be about to expose him for who he is.

Dark times: Villainous Pat Phelan sets his sights on a new victim in explosive new teaser... but an appearance in court by Anna Windass looks to FINALLY bring him to justice

Having killed Luke Britton, Pat juggles the task of keeping his crimes hidden with finding someone else to hone in on.

But Anna Windass appears in court charged with the attempted murder of Seb Franklin - and seems to have found an ally in Eileen Grimshaw, who has made a shocking discovery about Pat.

Before the trial, Anna is visited by Eileen, who is looking for answers.

Warning Eileen about her husband, Anna says: 'My case goes to trial next week, your husband is trying to stitch me up.'

New target: Having killed Luke Britton, Pat juggles the task of keeping his crimes hidden with finding someone else to hone in on

Fresh blood: And the biggest plot twist looks to feature nasty Pat Phelan - who seems to have set his sights on his next victim

This places a seed of doubt into Eileen's mind, who asks: 'If he's lied to me about that, what else has he lied about?'

Pat attends Anna's court case, with Eileen by his side; but as Gary rages about the man who raped his mother, Pat's actions might be exposed sooner than later.

Gary says: 'Now everyone sees how much youve lied. The police are coming after you next. Once they start digging who knows what theyll find.'

Meanwhile, newly returned Carla Connor is suffering from liver failure and is in urgent need of a transplant.

Trouble for Carla? She's seen bidding Roy Cropper goodbye as she is taken off for life threatening surgery

Back on? Kate Connor returns to the soap to reignite her affair with Rana Nazir after Luke's death

She is seen collapsing in the street, with time running out on the transplant deadline.

She's seen bidding Roy Cropper goodbye as she is taken off for life threatening surgery.

Having faked her pregnancy after discovering ex Aidan Connor's infidelity, Eva Price discovers that she is expecting a baby.

Seen in the trailer reading from a positive pregnancy test, it's not known who the father is - leaving fans to wonder if it's recently Aidan or Adam Barlow.

Eva says: 'I don't feel nothing, not love not happiness, just nothing. I wish it never happened.'

Uncovered: It seems that the truth will soon be out - and exposed by Zeedan Nazir of all people

The girl who cried wolf? Having faked her pregnancy after discovering ex Aidan Connor's infidelity, Eva Price discovers that she is expecting a baby

Craig Tinker discovers he's dating a lap dancer - Bethany Platt.

The shock reveal happens in the club, when he discovers her there in a raunchy dancers outfit.

Explaining that it gives her a feeling of power over men, she says 'no one touches me, no one hassles me. I'd be in more danger on a night out in town'.

Craig is disgusted, but she tells him to accept it or be dumped.

Shocking find: Craig Tinker discovers he's dating a lap dancer - Bethany Platt

He'll do whatever it takes: Daniel Osbourne looks to be hellbent on stopping the wedding between Sinead Tinker and Chesney Brown

The uninvited: A surprise guest at the ceremony looks to put a halt to proceedings

Kate Connor returns to the soap to reignite her affair with Rana Nazir after Luke's death.

It seems that the truth will soon be out - and exposed by Zeedan Nazir of all people.

Meanwhile, Daniel Osbourne looks to be hellbent on stopping the wedding between Sinead Tinker and Chesney Brown.

A surprise guest at the ceremony looks to put a halt to proceedings.

Coronation Street continues on Wednesday on ITV at 7.30pm.

Sidestepping the drama: Coronation Street's Kym Marsh was seen leaving a spa on Tuesday evening
She is one of the world's top supermodels often courting attention for her stunning good looks and high fashion photoshoots.

Yet Kendall Jenner turned heads for wholly different reasons on Tuesday when an Instagram account shared an image of a young Ricky Martin - which social media users pointed out bore an uncanny resemblance to the reality star.

Taking to the comments section, stunned fans wrote: 'I thought that was Kendall Jenner!!... Kendall Jenner?' while another user was claiming the She Bangs hitmaker, 46, looked like Romeo Beckham, 15, in the shot.

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Is that you? Kendall Jenner turned heads for wholly different reasons on Tuesday when an Instagram account shared an image of a young Ricky Martin - which social media users pointed out bore an uncanny resemblance to the reality star

Ricky looked worlds away from his hunky self in the youthful snap, shared on nostalgic Instagram account 90s.coma, as he posed with a shaggy fringe while also sporting extremely retro over-sized sunglasses.

The caption on the shot read: 'Young Ricky Martin, Puerto Rico, 80s', however it was the handful of fans who were more stunned at his likeness to modern days stars who took to the comment section to this point out.

Atop supermodel Kendall, it was also David and Victoria's offspring who caught the eye, with the similarities in their features instantly recognisable.

The hilarious likeness comes after Kendall's appearance hit headlines after she was ridiculed for not having perfect skin as well as attending the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Uncanny! Taking to the comments section, stunned fans wrote: 'I thought that was Kendall Jenner!!... Kendall Jenner?' while another user was claiming the She Bangs hitmaker, 46, looked like Romeo Beckham, 15, in the shot

Stunner: Ricky looked worlds away from his hunky self in the youthful snap, shared on nostalgic Instagram account 90s.coma, as he posed with a shaggy fringe while also sporting extremely retro oversized sunglasses

One day later, Kendall slammed her critics on her Twitter account after a fan applauded her for hitting the carpet with visible blemishes.

The 22-year-old model and reality star tweeted 'never let that s**t stop you!' with a sunglasses-covered emoji and a star.

The defiant words comes after a fan tweeted her support: 'Ok but @KendallJenner showing up and strutting her acne while looking like a gorgeous star is what every girl needs to understand.'

Another lookalike! Atop supermodel Kendall, it was also David and Victoria's offspring who caught the eye, with the similarities in their features instantly recognisable

Nowadays: Ricky has been in the spotlight for decades with the fan account sharing images of the young star

Star power: The hilarious likeness comes after Kendall's appearance hit headlines after she was ridiculed for not having perfect skin as well as attending the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles

Kendall, who has been open about her struggles with acne, posed up a storm despite acne visible on her face. In her now-shut down website, Kendall discussed her acne and how it affected her self-confidence.

The runway star wrote in the October 2015 post: 'Where it really impacted me was how self-conscious I became about it. It completely ruined my self esteem.'

Adding that she felt like 'such an outcast' and covered her face when she spoke so as to not draw attention to her face.

Following her red carpet appearance, Dr Daron Seukeran, Group Medical Director for the UKs leading skincare clinic group, sk:n, told MailOnline: 'Acne is something that can effect everyone at some point in life  even A list celebrities like Kendall Jenner, such as seen at this years Golden Globes.

She's got style: The defiant words comes after a fan tweeted her support: 'Ok but @KendallJenner showing up and strutting her acne while looking like a gorgeous star is what every girl needs to understand'

'Being a young woman, a time in life when we can be more susceptible to acne, it is not surprising that she may be struck with an outbreak of acne. Acne is caused when the hair follicles of the skin become blocked by Sebum, an oily substance that lubricates the hair follicles and skin to stop it drying out.

'This excess sebum mixes with dead skin cells, which together form a plug in the follicle. In combination with bacteria this leads to inflammatory spots.

'As a role model for so many, it is great to see Kendall embracing her skin with such a confident response, because for many acne can have a real impact on the way they feel. There is a wealth of options available to address acne that can help to boost confidence'
She made history last year when she became the first transgender woman to be signed to elite modelling agency Ford models.

And Andreja Pejic stripped down during her first time at a nudist beach, on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old, who is currently in Melbourne with family, took to Instagram to post the snap of herself completely naked.

'Those lucky onlookers!' Andreja Pejic has stripped off all of her clothes for her first time at a nudist beach, on Wednesday The 26-year-old took to Instagram to post the snap of herself completely naked, she is currently in Melbourne with family

Wearing only a pair of sunglasses, she posed with her hands up in the air, as she strategically covered her modesty.

With only a blue butterfly edited over her breasts to cover up her nipple, Andreja captioned her photo: 'My very first time at a nudist beach.'

Her followers gushed over the snap, with one fan writing: 'Those lucky onlookers! Damn you got a nice body!'

'I love your confidence,' another complimented the blonde beauty.

Stunner: Her followers went into meltdown with her very candid, yet stylised nude photo shoot, including one who wrote: 'Those lucky onlookers! Damn you got a nice body!'

Another added: 'I can't wait until I'm comfortable enough with my transition to do this. You're an inspiration!'

This comes she recently signed to Ford Models New York, joining an elite roster of models including Brooke Shields, Naomi Campbell and Elle Macpherson.

Speaking to Forbes, she talked about her history making success with transgender awareness in the fashion industry.

Inspiration: A fan wrote, 'I can't wait until I'm comfortable enough with my transition to do this. You're an inspiration!'

Joining the ranks: This comes she recently signed to Ford Models New York, joining an elite roster of models including Brooke Shields, Naomi Campbell and Elle Macpherson

'On a personal level, three years ago, I was dropped by a modelling agency after I came out publicly as transgender,' the Melbourne-raised beauty told the magazine.

'It feels good to go from not even knowing if I would have a future in the modelling business to joining forces with one of the biggest names in the industry,' she added.

The blonde stunner was first discovered as a male 16-year-old working behind the counter at a McDonald's restaurant.
She recently made her modelling return after welcoming her first child with long-time partner Jason Statham six months ago.

And Rosie Huntington-Whiteley proved she's back and better than ever as she sizzled in a number of behind-the-scenes Instagram stories shared on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old beauty posted a combination of sexy clips and pictures, which depicted the stunner modelling an array of stylish swimwear.

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Beach babe: Model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley proved she's back and better than ever as she sizzled in a number of behind-the-scenes Instagram stories shared on Wednesday - six months after welcoming her first son, Jack

The first clip saw Rosie stroll along the white shores of Miami in a plunging black bikini, while her preened beachy waves cascaded around her face.

Protecting herself from the rays, the Mad Max: Fury Road star clutched at a pretty straw umbrella as she posed up a storm for the camera.

A second clip showed the mother-of-one stroll along the same sands in a tropical bandeau two-piece and cool, retro shades.

Sizzling: The 30-year-old beauty posted a combination of sexy clips and pictures, which depicted the stunner modelling an array of stylish swimwear

Life's a beach! The first clip saw Rosie stroll along the white shores of Miami in a plunging black bikini, while her preened beachy waves cascaded around her face

Upping the ante, Rosie's third post saw her reveal serious cleavage as she sat in hair and make-up, where her blonde locks were styled into an edgy top knot.

Later revealing her svelte bikini body in all its glory, the fashion favourite reclined on a sun lounger on what appeared to be a deserted strip of beach.

Playing up to the camera, Rosie seductively ran her fingers through her damp curled locks as she modelled a trendy black two-piece.

Marks & Spencer lingerie model and designer Rosie has been dating action star fiance Jason, 50, for seven years, but they have yet to tie-the-knot after getting engaged in January 2016.

Exotic: A second clip showed the mother-of-one stroll along the same sands in a tropical bandeau two-piece and cool, retro shades

Not wasting any time! The beauty has snapped back into shape since welcome her son with long-time partner Jason Statham

Sight for shore eyes! Rosie's third post saw her reveal serious cleavage as she sat in hair and make-up, where her blonde locks were styled into an edgy top knot.

Being a new mum hasn't slowed the former Victoria Secret Angel down as she landed in fifth places on Forbes' annual list of the world's best-paid supermodels in November, with earnings of a staggering $9.5 million in just 12 months.

Despite her growing success, the star previously said being based in Los Angeles 'weighs heavily' on her because she misses her family.

Speaking to Harper's Bazaar magazine in November 2016, the Devon native said: 'The one big downside is not having my family within reach.

'I would love to be able to invite them over for a roast dinner, or be able to say to my brother or sister, "Why don't you pop over for a glass of wine tonight?" but I can't and it weighs heavily on me.'

She introduced baby Jack into the world via her Instagram feed in December, which she appeared to jet off with the newborn in toe, captioning the darling snapshot with a simple: 'Happy Holidays' and a waving hand emoji to bid farewell.

One of the best! Being a new mum hasn't slowed the former Victoria Secret Angel down as she landed in fifth places on Forbes' annual list of the world's best-paid supermodels in November
She spent the first two years of marriage separated from husband Luke Hunt while he was in prison.

And now, more than a year after her partner's release, Samantha Harris revealed to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, that their future looks bright.

While promoting her role as a Priceline sister at the Pharmacy's Kooyong Classic, the 27-year-old gushed: 'I'm very happy!'

'I'm very happy!' Model Samantha Harris, 27, opened up on marriage and babies with Luke Hunt, in an interview with Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday

Samantha opened up on her marriage to Luke, telling Daily Mail Australia: 'No (plans for) babies at the moment, but things are going really well, so (I'm) very happy.'

The Indigenous model secretly married Luke in 2014, two months before he began serving a a prison sentence for his involvement in a fatal car crash that killed a 78-year-old man.

Luke was behind the wheel in a tragic accident that killed grandfather Kenneth Lay in May 2012.

Content: Samantha opened up on her marriage to Luke, telling Daily Mail Australia: 'No (plans for) babies at the moment, but things are going really well, so (I'm) very happy'

Private: The brunette beauty secretly married Luke in 2014, two months before he began serving a a prison sentence for his involvement in a fatal car crash that killed a 78-year-old man

The couple's Commodore crashed into Kenneth's Hyundai Lantra in Narraweena, on the Northern Beaches, when Luke was driving above the speed limit and changing lanes.

Samantha only revealed they were wed in April 2016, after her husband had finished serving his term out of respect for the crash victim's family.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that the brunette beauty has shared details on life with Luke, following his release.

Respectful: Samantha only revealed they were wed in April 2016, after her husband had finished serving his term out of respect for the crash victim's family

In August last year, Samantha told Daily Mail Australia at the Myer Spring Social that she couldn't be any happier with married life, gushing 'It's great!'

She added: '[We will have kids] one day, not anytime soon, [there's] no rush.'

Samantha rose to fame after placing second in Girlfriend magazine's model search in 2004.

She has since gone on to feature in campaigns for David Jones and Miu Miu, along with her ambassador role for Priceline Pharmacy.
They both auditioned for a role in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, that eventually saw Ewan McGregor cast.

And in an interview with GQ, published in Thursday's The Daily Telegraph, Jake Gyllenhaal opened up about his friendship with the late Heath Ledger.

The 37-year-old recalled a conversation where the actor turned down the lead in Baz's Australia, out of respect: 'He said...'I just wanted you to know, I f**king turned it down'. So that was how much Heath loved me.'

'That's how much he loved me': Jake Gyllenhaal (L), 37, revealed in an interview with GQ, published in Thursday's The Daily Telegraph, how the late Heath Ledger (R), TURNED DOWN a film offer from Baz Lurhmann, out of respect

Jake said: 'Heath called me and was like, 'Hey mate, I got some news for you'. I said, 'What?' He said, 'Baz just offered me his next movie. I just wanted you to know, 'I f**king turned it down'. So that was how much Heath loved me, you know.'

Prior to starring together in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, Jake and Heath went through an arduous process auditioning for Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge.

'I was auditioning for Moulin Rouge - Baz Luhrmann had chosen three actors. It was Ewan (McGregor), it was Heath, and me. And we auditioned with many different actresses, it was a long process,' Jake detailed to the publication.

Jake told GQ Australia: 'Heath called me and was like, 'Hey mate, I got some news for you'. I said, 'What?' He said, 'Baz just offered me his next movie. I just wanted you to know, 'I f**king turned it down'. So that was how much Heath loved me, you know'

Controversial film: Prior to starring together in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, Jake and Heath went through an arduous process auditioning for Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge

The Hollywood A-lister added: 'They would literally put me in a room and lock the door and Heath would come in and then Heath would be shuffled through the door.'

Heath made his mark in a succession of movies including The Patriot, The Four Feathers, Monster's Ball, and as Ennis in the controversial 2005 gay love drama Brokeback Mountain, opposite Jake.

His streak was tragically cut short in January 2008, when he was found unconscious in his New York apartment.

Arduous: 'I was auditioning for Moulin Rouge - Baz Luhrmann had chosen three actors. It was Ewan (McGregor), it was Heath, and me. And we auditioned with many different actresses, it was a long process,' Jake detailed to the publication

Moulin Rouge: The audition process eventually saw Baz (L), 55, choosing Ewan (R), 46, as the male lead, opposite Nicole Kidman

Heath went into cardiac arrest, brought on by an accidental prescription drug overdose.

The Perth-born entertainer left behind ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams and their daughter Matilda, aged two at the time of his death.

A few months prior to his passing, Heath filmed The Dark Knight, in which he received several posthumous awards.
She is known for her debut acting role in blockbuster The Sapphires, a 2012 film backed by Harvey Weinstein.

And Australian actress Shari Sebbens, 32, has broken her silence about her encounter with the disgraced producer, claiming that she wasn't shocked when women began to come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct last year.

Speaking to Confidential this Thursday, the actress recalled the moment she and her Sapphires co-stars Jessica Mauboy, Miranda Tapsell and Deborah Mailman crossed paths with Harvey, 65, in Cannes.

'I wasn't shocked': Australian actress Shari Sebbens, 32, has broken her silence about her encounter with Harvey Weinstein, claiming that she wasn't shocked when women began to come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct last year

'I wasn't shocked, and we only met him once. Women have instincts and we catch vibes, it wasn't a surprise. I had heard rumours,' Shari told Confidential this Thursday.

'I remember texting Miranda at the time and saying 'how vile'. It reinforces to you as a woman how fragile your position is in the world and how unlucky you can be to be around that behaviour,' she said.

Shari also weighed in on the Time's Up and #MeToo movement and the dangers of advocacy falling into the trap of 'white feminism.'

Speaking to Confidential this Thursday, the actress recalled the moment she and her Sapphires co-stars had crossed paths with Harvey in Cannes (pictured L-R: Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Miranda Tapsell and Shari Sebbens)

'It's also a time to constantly remind and ask ourselves 'are we always fight for all women' because it can be very easy for what they call 'white feminism' to take over,' she explained.

'And you forget to take your indigenous women and women of colour along with you when you're speaking from a position of privilege.'

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Harvey Weinstein for comment.

'It can be very easy for what they call 'white feminism' to take over': Shari also weighed in on the Time's Up and #MeToo movement and the dangers of advocacy falling into the trap of 'white feminism'

Prior to his recent downfall, Harvey was known as a champion of Australian actors, distributing Down Under-made films including the Academy Award-winning film The King's Speech.

Now, more than 80 women have come forward to accuse Harvey of sexual misconduct.

The scandal prompted the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) to rescind an award that had been offered- but never presented- to Harvey in 2013.

A statement released by AACTA last November said: 'We have now officially rescinded the offer of the award and stand with our associates, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in America, in exploring what we can do to further protect both our members and those in the wider screen industry.'
Jennifer Lopez has collaborated again with legendary Italian shoe designer Giuseppe Zanotti after a successful line together last year.

The 48-year-old Shades Of Blue actress went the extra mile on Wednesday to promote the new collection as she stripped down to a black bathing suit to get her message across.

In a quick video shared to Instagram, the Bronx beauty was seen in various skimpy outfits as she modeled the sexy shoes that had rhinestones on them.

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New: Jennifer Lopez has collaborated again with legendary Italian shoe designer Giuseppe Zanotti and on Wednesday she shared a sexy clip to promote the brand

Tops: The 48-year-old actress wore a black bathing suit as she posed on a diving board

Now a look at the shoes: Her designs have very high heels and are studded with crystals

Now with a pink tint: The clip was both moody and sexy as it harked back to the Eighties

The girlfriend of Alex Rodriguez captioned the clip, #giuseppexjennifer #guiseppezanotti, oddly spelling his name wrong in her second hashtag.

Set to moody music, J-Lo is seen in a black on piece as she sits on the diving board of a large swimming pool in the backyard of a luxury estate.

The cover girl is also seen in a colorful mini dress with fringe as she plays with the pool water and then does a dance, reminding fans she was once a Fly Girl.

Haute stuff: In another set up she has on a black and white bikini as she stands next to a palm tree and pouts

A 10: Lopez looks younger than her years with her long blonde locks down and her body in perfectly toned shape

Oh la la: The Second Act actress gives off plenty of sexy attitude

Arty: SOme of the images are blurred and are seen in both color and black-and-white

The tree gets in the way: Jenny gets upstaged by a plant in this snap

In another set up she has on a black and white bikini as she stands next to a palm tree and pouts.

Later she poses with Zanotti as they laugh together.

Mark Seliger appeared to be the photographer but his credit can only partially be seen.

Chic look: The cover girl is also seen in a colorful mini dress with fringe as she plays with the pool water

These shoes were made for talking: The heels she created are far from modest

Dance again: And then does a dance, reminding fans she was once a Fly Girl

That lusty look: The World Of Dance host gave good face in this snap

The shoot seemed to done in the hills of Palm Springs.

Lopez looks younger than her years with her long blonde locks down and her body in perfectly toned shape.

In July Lopez told People: 'This collection is a natural evolution from last seasons debut.'

The shoes range in price from $1,495 to $2,795.

Italy meets the Bronx: Later she poses with Zanotti as they laugh together

'The fall 17 capsule embodies the same unique style but developed further. All the important projects in my life are deeply intertwined.

'For spring, each style was named after people who have a special place in my heart.

'For fall, I wanted to pay homage to some of my favorite roles from my performances in television and film.'

So Like A Virgin: On Tuesday Jennifer shared this image with the caption, 'I got a new pair of socks today... #guccigang'

One is called Marisa in honor of her character Marisa Ventura in Maid in Manhattan.

Another is Harlee, her Shades of Blue character Harlee Santos.

And then there is Gertie, her character in Jersey Girl.

'Designing shoes requires a lot of discipline. You have to obsess over every single detail to make the perfect shoe. I enjoyed working with Giuseppe, who has a natural talent and a breadth of experience in fashion.'

She also said: 'I was happy with the outcome of the line, and it was a rewarding experience for me to see such a positive reaction to the shoes.'

With her man: Over the weekend, the stunner went to Puerto Rico to raise money for those affected by the hurricane in 2017; she also wore black for Time's Up
She set tongues wagging when she changed her profile picture to show a mystery man.

And Stephanie Davies' new boyfriend has now been unveiled as long-haired hunk Jacob Gill, who she has been friends with for 'a while', according to The Sun.

The former CBB star has remained coy about her reported new romance, keeping her man's identity under wraps despite fans pleading with her to tell them.

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Moving on: Stephanie Davies' new boyfriend has now been unveiled as long-haired hunk Jacob Gill, who she has been friends with for 'a while', according to The Sun

A source told The Sun Online: 'Its early days but Steph is really happen.

'Shes known Jacob for a while, hes a good man.'

Jacob's own profile picture on Instagram shows the pair cuddling up together, with Stephanie planting a kiss on his forehead as he flashes a beaming smile.

Stephanie has been single since ended her turbulent relationship with jailed ex Jeremy McConnell, with whom she shares baby son Caben-Albi.

MailOnline has contacted Stephanie's representatives for comment.

It's official: Jacob's own profile picture on Instagram shows the pair cuddling up together, with Stephanie planting a kiss on his forehead as he flashes a beaming smile

Cryptic: Updating her account on Monday evening, the former Hollyoaks star shared an untitled Crush Quote with her 825,000 followers, detailing the heady impact of speaking to someone you are instantly attracted to

Updating her account on Monday evening, the former Hollyoaks star shared an untitled Crush Quote with her 825,000 followers, detailing the heady impact of speaking to someone you are instantly attracted to.

So theres this boy, and the way he laughs makes me smile, it read. And the way he talks gives me butterflies, and everything about him makes me happy.

Tellingly, the actress also changed her Instagram profile to an indistinct black and white image of an unidentified man lounging on a sofa with a phone pressed to his ear.

Fans were quick to comment on her latest post, with one writing: Awwww so this is where youve been! So happy for you and what a turnaround.

Another wrote: So happy for you Steph your and Caben deserve the best love you. (sic)

Curious: Tellingly, the actress also changed her Instagram profile to an indistinct black and white image of an unidentified man lounging on a sofa with a phone pressed to his ear

Special boy: Some fans suggested her latest post was in fact a reference to 11-month old Caben Albi, her only child with convicted criminal McConnell, who celebrates his birthday in February

However others suggested the post was in fact a reference to 11-month old Caben Albi, her only child with convicted criminal McConnell, who celebrates his birthday in February.

Im guessing that boy calls you mumma, wrote one, while another added: U haven't put any pics on of yr son lately? (sic)

A third commented: Awww missed you posting but just want to say Happy Birthday to Caben-Albi!

Pretty sure she is talking about her little man, what a fantastic mumma keep doing what you are doing girl, wrote another.

Not true: Stephanie recently denied reports that she is 'extremely upset' following McConnell's release from prison after serving 34 days behind bars for missing community service

Stephanie recently denied reports that she is 'extremely upset' following McConnell's release from prison after serving 34 days behind bars for missing community service.

In a message shared on Twitter via her representatives, she wrote: 'A source close to Steph denied she was upset and said: She has no thoughts or feelings regarding him and has not made any such comment to anyone so whoever has said that is untrue'.

McConnell, who had an 18-week suspended sentence activated after breaching the 200-hour community service handed to him for assaulting Stephanie, is said to be in 'good spirits' and has even commented on 's**t prison food'.

Upbeat: McConnell, who had an 18-week suspended sentence activated after breaching the 200-hour community service handed to him for assaulting Stephanie, is said to be in 'good spirits' and has even commented on 's**t prison food' (the former couple are pictured in February 2016)

The Irish model had been given the suspended sentence after a high-profile trial where he was found guilty of attacking Stephanie at her home in Rainhill, Merseyside in March.

During proceedings in August, a judge said Jeremy had shown no remorse for the attack on his ex-girlfriend or the impact it must have had on their son, Caben.

He then missed eight work appointments in the 200-hour order and the court activated the sentence for failing to comply with his punishment.

Sentencing him at Liverpool Magistrates Court, District Judge Wendy Lloyd said she tried to rehabilitate McConnell with a suspended sentence to protect women from future violence.

She added: 'Your enthusiasm for co-operation has been short lived and there's nothing to show in the future things will change. '

MailOnline has contacted Stephanie's representatives for further comment.
He picked up his first ever Golden Globe for best actor in Beverly Hills on Sunday.

Now Gary Oldman is shooting for his first Oscar for his role as WWII British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.

And the 59-year-old couldn't have looked happier as he posed with director Joe Wright at a special Focus Features reception for the drama in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening.

Their bromance: Gary Oldman, who won his first Golden Globe on Sunday playing wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, posed with director Joe Wright at a reception for the movie in Los Angeles on Tuesday

It was hosted by Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley and NBCUniversal vice-chairman Ron Meyer with producers Douglas Urbanski and Lisa Bruce also enjoying the fun.

The movie didn't have a splashy Hollywood premiere, choosing to celebrate in London on December 11 after opening at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado on September 1.

It also screened soon after at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, followed by a limited U.S. release on November 22 and a general release a month later.

So the team looked happy to reunite to celebrate the movie's success at Tuesday's bash.

In character: It took five hours every morning to transform the 59-year-old actor into the iconic leader for Darkest Hour

Gary wore a black suit with a white shirt unbuttoned at the neck

Joe, 45, donned a longer-line grey jacket, black shirt and trousers and topped it all off with a flat cap.

On Sunday night, Gary said he was 'very humbled and surprised' to accept the award for Best Actor In A Drama - despite receiving rave reviews for his portrayal of Churchill.

Man to man: The 59-year-old actor held director Joe's hands as they chatted

Cuddling up: The two men embraced at the Focus Features bash hosted by Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley and NBC Universal vice-chairman Ron Meyer

And he first thanked the highly skilled make-up and technical staff on set, who spent a whopping five hours transforming him into the politician every morning.

Gary beat Daniel Day-Lewis in Phantom Thread, Timothee Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name, Tom Hanks in The Post and Denzel Washington for Roman J. Israel, Esq. in the category.

The star has been put forward for one Academy Award in the past, for his role in 2011 espionage drama Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But he lost to The Artist's Jean Dujardin.

Darkest Hour will be released in the U.K. on Friday.
Cindy Crawford has a habit of posing for Instagram photos inside her luxurious Malibu mansion.

And Tuesday was no different as the 51-year-old supermodel shared an image outside her front door.

The mother-of-two posted a boomerang on Instagram showing off her rainy gear as she weathered a recent storm. In the photo, Crawford is twirling her pink and black patterned umbrella while wearing a long navy blue trench-coat.

Model in the rain: Cindy Crawford posed for the camera while twirling her umbrella outside her Malibu mansion in this Instagram image shared Tuesday

The look: The 51-year-old is twirling her pink and black patterned umbrella, while wearing a long navy blue trench-coat

All month Cindy has been posting photos of herself taken inside her home.

In another photo from Monday, Crawford takes a mirror selfie while wearing a jean jacket, a light green shirt, white pants, a brown leather belt, and brown heel boots.

Hanging from her green top are a pair of wide aviator-style sunglasses.

Casual chic: The former Playboy model posted this mirror selfie from her home and describes her outfit as 'casual'

Other posts showing off the model in her home include a bathtub shot and an image of Crawford lounging on her upper deck patio.

Crawford captioned the bathtub shot, 'Bathtub reading and relaxing  hoping to do more of this in the new year. Check out my stories all week long to see my 2018 intentions...'

The starlet can be seen resting her head on a white rolled up towel while reading a book. Her tub is surrounded by white flowers and a portrait of a model in a bathtub.

Bath time for the model: The starlet shows her Instagram followers how she likes to relax

Bliss by the water: Crawford smiles while perched on her porch in the early morning

The former Versace model grins while looking off camera and holding a white coffee mug.

While relaxing on her upper deck patio, Crawford wears a beige cotton hooded sweatshirt and skinny blue jeans.

These images come just after it was revealed her daughter Kaia had made the cover of French Vogue at the tender age of 16.

Her offspring: These images come just after it was revealed her daughter Kaia had made the cover of French Vogue at the tender age of 16

The American catwalk star - who made her Paris Fashion Week runway debut in September - has managed to trump her mother agewise to landing her first Vogue cover - Cindy appeared on the front of American Vogue in 1986 then aged 20.

Owning her solo cover moment, Kaia - who has previously had the cover of sister publication Teen Vogue - donned billowing hot pink Saint Laurent mini dress complemented with a pair of velvet high-waisted shorts.

Gerber wrote on Instagram: 'I MUST BE DREAMING. to @vogueparis and everyone who made this cover possible. THANK YOU! and to @emmanuellealt, you made me the happiest girl in the world. SO MUCH LOVE'.
She turned 20 on Tuesday, celebrating with a trip to the gym.

And Lottie Moss' unforgiving fitness regimen seems to explain her stunning figure, as she poses in new snaps from her recent trip to the Bahamas.

The little sister of supermodel Kate Moss oozed glamour in a risque vintage one-piece as she proudly flaunted her incredible frame against the backdrop of a wind-swept shoreline.

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Buxom blonde: A sun-kissed Lottie then showed off some serious under-boob as she slipped into a vintage print swimsuit

The sumptuous swimsuit featured an intricate print design, with a sun-kissed Lottie showing some serious under-boob.

The busty blonde appeared a little windswept as she seductively paraded her ample assets in the skimpy ensemble, turning slightly away from the camera and showcasing her supple thighs.

The model showed off a glimpse of her butt cheek, showing off the tattoo she has on it.

The inking reads 'Not yours', which seems to be a defiant nod to female empowerment.

Idyllic holiday: On Sunday, she slipped into a tiny white two-piece as she posed against a backdrop of clear blue waters during her Bahamas getaway

Teasing a glimpse of her ample cleavage, the fashionista showed off her model prowess as she seductively gazed down the camera lens.

She styled her long blonde locks in sweeping curls, which cascaded over her shoulders and accentuated her striking looks with a soft pink lip and a sweep of mascara.

She also slipped into a tiny white bandeau two-piece as she posed against a backdrop of clear blue waters in Green Turtle Cay.

The blonde looked thoroughly relaxed as she flaunted her washboard abs in the sizzling shot.

The striking model was in the Bahamas after a warm festive holiday in Miami.

Happy birthday to her: Lottie's birthday was marked with an Instagram snap from best pal and Made In Chelsea star Emily Blackwell

And Lottie has been commanding a strong social media presence during her idyllic getaway, sharing a plethora of bikini-clad snaps via her Instagram page.

Lottie is known for previously dating Alex Mytton from reality series Made In Chelsea, but their on and off nine-month romance came to an end in July last year.

Following their split, the model has since moved on from her heartache as she has been romantically linked to rugby player Elliot Clements.

The gorgeous model was scouted for her first modelling agency at the tender age of 13 and first courted the attention of the modelling world when she attended her older half-sister Kate's wedding to her ex-husband Jamie Hince in 2011.

Sussex native Lottie has gone onto land campaigns with Calvin Klein and Bulgari, as well as fronting the cover of Vogue Paris in 2016.
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Rosie Huntington-Whiteley took her top off on Tuesday for a photo shoot on the beach in the Bahamas.

The stunning 30-year-old supermodel looked comfortable as she showed off her slender post-baby body in tiny bikini briefs as she adjusted her suit then later cradled her chest.

The Burberry spokesperson made her return to work just six months after welcoming her first baby, a boy named Jack, with long-time partner Jason Statham.

Carefree: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley took her top off on Tuesday for a photo shoot on the beach in the Bahamas

A lot of help: The 30-year-old siren was surrounded by crew members including three men and two women

Now covered up: The stunning supermodel looked comfortable as she showed off her slender post-baby body in tiny bikini briefs as adjusted her suit, then later cradled her chest

Rosie was surrounded by male and female crew members as she sat on the beach with no top on.

The 5ft9in star was later seen walking on the beach again with no top on, but this time with her hands and arms preserving her modesty.

The British siren was flaunting an impressive figure with a flat belly as well as toned legs and arms. She wore her hair in messy low pig tails and had on plenty of flattering makeup.

The shoot was for a line of bathing suits.

Modest: The star was later seen walking on the beach again with no top on, but this time with her hands preserving her modesty

Let's hope she doesn't sneeze: There also appeared to be a video crew along as Rosie held onto her body

Her first suit was black with pastel colored palm tree leaves over it. The top was a cinched bandeau with straps and the briefs had wide sides.

Later the cover girl changed into a black bikini with grommets and ties in front that fit her just right.

Earlier this week Rosie proved she's back and better than ever as she sizzled in a number of behind-the-scenes Instagram stories shared on Wednesday.

The beauty posted a combination of sexy clips and pictures, which depicted the stunner modelling an array of stylish swimwear.

The first clip saw Rosie stroll along the white shores of Miami in a plunging black bikini, while her preened beachy waves cascaded around her face.

Now with her top on: The catwalk queen pouted just so as she looked off in the distance while on the pristine beach

Feeling good: The beauty looked at ease as she splashed around in the surf with her hair down, left, then back, right

It feels good to be back: The star has been modeling for 15 years and only took a break to welcome son Jack

Giving her best face: Huntington-Whiteley smiles as she walked up to the camera man and his assistants

Getting wet: After a dip in the warm waters, the Dolce & Gabbana model had a laugh and pulled back her mane

She shines: Large gold earrings made a statement as the head-turner looked back at her crew

Protecting herself from the rays, the Mad Max: Fury Road star clutched at a pretty straw umbrella as she posed up a storm for the camera.

A second clip showed the mother-of-one stroll along the same sands in a tropical bandeau two-piece and cool, retro shades.

Upping the ante, Rosie's third post saw her reveal serious cleavage as she sat in hair and make-up, where her blonde locks were styled into an edgy top knot.

New look: Later the cover girl changed into a black bikini with grommets and a tie in front that fit her just right

Glow for it: The Plymouth, United Kingdom native wore a gold necklace and earrings with a bangle

Her story: Her first modelling session was for a Levi's jeans commercial at the age of 16. She has since worked for Victoria's Secret, Givenchy, Burberry, Oscar De La Renta, Valentino, Michael Kors, Roberto Cavalli, Balmain and Louis Vuitton

Acting: In May 2010, it was announced that Huntington-Whiteley would become the new female lead in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, replacing Megan Fox. She had previously worked with the film's director, Michael Bay, on a Victoria's Secret commercial

The leader of the back: The Mad Max: Fury Road star walked on the beach as four women followed close behind

Another dip: Later the Harper's Bazaar cover girl walked back into the ocean for another swim

Getting her hands dirty: Rosie leaned down to feel the water as she was hit by wave after wave

Later revealing her svelte bikini body in all its glory, the fashion favourite reclined on a sun lounger on what appeared to be a deserted strip of beach.

Playing up to the camera, Rosie seductively ran her fingers through her damp curled locks as she modelled a trendy black two-piece.

Marks & Spencer lingerie model and designer Rosie has been dating action star fiance Jason, 50, for seven years, but they have yet to tie-the-knot after getting engaged in January 2016.

That's all folks! At the end of the shoot, the pinup put a white towel on her head and one around her body

Being a new mum hasn't slowed the former Victoria Secret Angel down as she landed in fifth places on Forbes' annual list of the world's best-paid supermodels in November, with earnings of a staggering $9.5 million in just 12 months.

Despite her growing success, the star previously said being based in Los Angeles 'weighs heavily' on her because she misses her family.

Beach babe: Huntington-Whiteley proved she's back and better than ever as she sizzled in a number of behind-the-scenes Instagram stories shared on Wednesday

Sizzling: The 30-year-old beauty posted a combination of sexy clips and pictures, which depicted the stunner modelling an array of stylish swimwear

Speaking to Harper's Bazaar magazine in November 2016, the Devon native said: 'The one big downside is not having my family within reach.

'I would love to be able to invite them over for a roast dinner, or be able to say to my brother or sister, "Why don't you pop over for a glass of wine tonight?" but I can't and it weighs heavily on me.'

She introduced baby Jack into the world via her Instagram feed in December, which she appeared to jet off with the newborn in toe, captioning the darling snapshot with a simple: 'Happy Holidays' and a waving hand emoji to bid farewell.

One of the best! Being a new mum hasn't slowed the former Victoria Secret Angel down as she landed in fifth places on Forbes' annual list of the world's best-paid supermodels in November
Doutzen Kroes' three-year-old daughter Myllena Mae was 'fascinated' by her pregnant pal Candice Swanepoel's 'growing belly' while vacationing on a Brazilian beach in Bahia on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old IMG Model - who boasts 13.2M social media followers - called it a 'special moment' while clad in a grey underwire bikini from her upcoming swimwear collection, TropicofC.

'Myllena is amazed by the fact that there is a baby growing in Candice her belly,' the 32-year-old Dutch model explained on Instagram.

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'Special moment!' Doutzen Kroes' three-year-old daughter Myllena Mae (L) was 'fascinated' by her pregnant pal Candice Swanepoel's (R) 'growing belly' while vacationing on a Brazilian beach in Bahia on Tuesday

'So am I, it's always special and empowering to see a pregnant woman but to see the way she carries amazes me every time I see her! Bless you and the baby, sweet Candice!'

The South African stunner has been on holiday with Doutzen - who also has a son Phyllon Joy, nearly 7 - and her husband of seven years, DJ Sunnery James.

That same day, Kroes shared a snap of herself and Candice lounging in their bikinis captioned: 'Enjoying the sun with this gorgeous soul!'

That same day, the 32-year-old Dutch model (R) shared a snap of herself and the 29-year-old IMG Model lounging in their bikinis captioned: 'Enjoying the sun with this gorgeous soul!'

  [ @jeromeduran] A post shared by Sunnery James (@sunneryjames) on Jan 7, 2018 at 2:28pm PST

Swanepoel fears that her second child will be a 'terror' because she had such an easy time with her 'sweet' 15-month-old son Anaca.

'Everybody is like, "You're so blessed with a good baby." I feel like the next one will be a terror just to remind me,' the Victoria's Secret Angel admitted to People last August.

'If I had a daughter and felt that she could [model] really well it would be fine. I don't think I would want her to get into it unless I knew she would do really well. Because it's amazing, but it's not super easy.'

'Everybody is like, "You're so blessed with a good baby"': The South African stunner fears that her second child will be a 'terror' because she had such an easy time with her 'sweet' 15-month-old son Anaca (R)

12 years strong! It's unclear when Candice plans on walking down the aisle with her fiance, Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli (L), who popped the question way back in August 2015

It's unclear when the 5ft10in catwalker plans on walking down the aisle with her fiance, Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli, who popped the question way back in August 2015.

Candice - who announced second pregnancy on December 15 - was only the tender age of 17 when she met her 35-year-old babydaddy in 2005 while on assignment in Paris.

Incredibly, Swanepoel was pregnant during her last gig strutting her stuff down the runway of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Arena on November 20.
He admitted to feeling anxious he might embarrass himself ahead of stage shows scheduled for 2018 because of his various ailments.

Yet 72-year-old guitarist Eric Clapton looked happy and healthy as he presented a new biographical film about his legendary musical career on Wednesday night, with the full support of his ex-wife Pattie Boyd.

One day after admitting that he was going deaf and could 'just about' use his hands, Eric proudly stepped out for the premiere of Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars at BFI Southbank in London.

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Looking good: Eric Clapton looked proud to premiere a new movie about his life on Wednesday night in London

The musician looked sharp in a dark suit and light shirt and was joined by his ex-wife for the event.

She beamed with pride as she prepared to watch her memories about her life with her ex-husband.

Eric married Pattie, the ex-wife of his good friend George Harrison, in 1979 after receiving the Beatles star's blessing.

Showing her support: Eric's ex-wife Pattie was also at the event, showing her support

Throwback: Eric was previously married to Pattie (right, together in 1993) after getting the blessing of his best friend George Harrison (to whom she was also previously married)

Picture of health: Eric and Pattie were married for nine years, before splitting in 1988

The musician was said to be infatuated with Pattie, inspiring many of his greatest love songs, but they split in nine years later.

On the red carpet, Eric also posed with filmmaker Lili Fini Zanuck, who has combined the lowest points of Clapton's addiction to drink and drugs with the extreme highs of his musical career in the new film.

Eric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars, which hits cinemas on Friday, features interviews with the musician played over photographs, historic footage and alongside audio.

The making of: Eric was accompanied by filmmaker Lili Fini Zanuck, who made the film

Looking sharp: The musician presented Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars after saying that he was going deaf on Tuesday

At 72 years old, Eric is due to return to the stage at London's Hyde Park later this year and seems adamant about continuing to work.

But he revealed in a radio interview on Tuesday that he's anxious about the forthcoming shows.

He admitted he was worried about being able to play the instrument and sing 'proficiently' due to the ailments he has including tinnitus, a ringing coming from inside the ear.

In an interview with Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 Eric shared: 'I am still going to work. I am going to do a show at Hyde Park [British Summer Time Festival] in July.

Losing his touch? Eric Clapton (here in September 2017) has admitted his fears that he will embarrass himself at 2018 shows, after revealing he is going deaf and has tinnitus

World's greatest guitarist: The rocker (here in 1975) spoke about his former demons, after spending most of the 60s and 70s under the influence of alcohol and drugs until his sobriety in 1987

'The only thing I am concerned with now is I am going deaf, I've got tinnitus, my hands just about work.

'I mean, I am hoping people will come along and see me, me more than I am a curiosity. I know that is part of it, because it's amazing to myself that I am still here.'

Of his biographical film, he admitted: 'It's difficult to sit through because it goes on so long about the difficult part of my life.

'I think it's important for people to see that there is a happy ending, it's like a redemption concept. If you are going to go and see it, be prepared for a heavy ride.'

The 'Layla' hitmaker revealed last year that he's been in pain after damaging his nervous system, which is why he's finding it hard to perform, however, he's 'come to terms with it'.

He said at the time: 'I've had quite a lot of pain over the last year. It started with lower back pain, and turned into what they call peripheral neuropathy.

'[It's] hard work to play the guitar and I've had to come to terms with the fact that it will not improve.'

Clapton, who spent most of the 60s and 70s under the influence of alcohol and drugs until his sobriety in 1987, had said that he would limit the number of concerts he does to avoid 'embarrassing himself'.

The line-up: He was also accompanied by John Battsek, Jools Holland and Chris King for the film premiere

Sharing a laugh: Eric was in particularly high spirits as he premiered the new film

He said: 'What I'll allow myself to do, within reason, is carry on recording in the studio. I don't want to go off the boil to the point where I'm embarrassing myself.'

Last March, Eric was forced to pull out of two gigs in Los Angeles at short notice because of 'severe bronchitis'.

The 71-year-old star, lauded by many as one of the world's greatest guitarists, said he was 'very sorry' for having to postpone the shows following doctor's orders.

'Due to severe bronchitis and under doctor's advisement, Eric Clapton is rescheduling this weekend's two shows at The Forum in Los Angeles,' read a statement released on the Tears In Heaven hitmaker's behalf.

Doesn't want to embarrass himself: Clapton was forced to pull out of shows last March due to illness

During Tuesday's interview, he admitted at the height of his alcoholism he would drink a self-made potent cocktail to mask just how much booze he was sinking.

The 72-year-old music legend managed to kick his addiction to drink and his abuse of prescription drugs, cocaine and heroin many years ago and in 1998 he founded the Crossroads Centre on Antigua, a medical facility for recovering addicts.

Clapton openly admits his binge drinking at its worse was out of control and he would often mix super-strength Carlsberg Special Brew lager with spirit vodka creating a strange brew to satisfy his insatiable thirst for alcohol.

He shared: 'For at least 20 years I was a basket case, and that is putting it lightly. I drank more than you can imagine, a Special Brew with vodka. It looked like you were just drinking larger, but in fact, you weren't.'

However, the 'Layla' hitmaker believes his battles with substance abuse were beneficial to his blues inspired rock music as he was able to channel his struggles and pain into his songs.

Clapton - who is a three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a solo artist and as a member of The Yardbirds and also Cream - added: 'There is no doubt. I went into a cave of self-pity and despair and the only thing that was the light at the end of the tunnel was this music.'
She's the glamorous host of Today Extra and The Voice Australia.

But Sonia Kruger was still in holiday mode on Sunday, as she enjoyed a family day at the beach in Sydney with her daughter Maggie, two.

The TV personality looked fabulous at 52 after stripping down to a yellow bikini during the weekend heatwave.

Fabulous at 52! Today Extra host Sonia Kruger (pictured) was still in holiday mode on Sunday, as she enjoyed a family day at the beach in Sydney with daughter Maggie, two

Sonia looked happy and confident soaking up the sun at Balmoral Beach, Mosman.

The Channel Nine star couldn't stop smiling as she flaunted her toned, age-defying figure in a skimpy two-piece.

She also made sure to protect herself against the sun's rays with a 2XU visor and dark sunglasses.

Beach babe: Sonia looked happy and confident soaking up the sun at Balmoral Beach, Mosman

Sizzling! The Channel Nine personality looked fit and fabulous after stripping down to a yellow bikini during the weekend heatwave

Family: Sonia is clearly enjoying motherhood after welcoming her first child at age 49

During the trip, Sonia headed out for a relaxed ocean swim with daughter Maggie, who turns three this month.

The Strictly Ballroom star kept a close eye on her toddler, who clutched onto a bright pink inflatable.

Later, Sonia was spotted sunbathing on a beach towel, with her impressively lean figure on display.

Hot mama! Later, Sonia was spotted sunbathing on a beach towel, with her impressively lean figure on display

Scorcher: She protected herself against the sun's rays with a 2XU visor and dark sunglasses

Good times! Sonia couldn't stop smiling as she flaunted her toned, age-defying figure

Ageless! Sonia has said she is often mistaken for Sophie Monk, who is 14 years her junior

Mummy duties! Sonia was also pictured in the ocean with her two-year-old daughter Maggie

It's not the first time Sonia has made headlines for her remarkably youthful appearances.

Speaking on Today Extra last year, she confessed that fans often confuse her with 38-year-old Sophie Monk.

She said: 'I got into an elevator as I was leaving (the ARIAs) and this guy in the elevator goes "Oh Sophie!", and I went, "Um no, Sonia!"'

Doting mother: The Strictly Ballroom star kept a close eye on her toddler, who clutched onto a bright pink inflatable

Sun safe! Sonia dressed Maggie in a pink sun hat during the scorching Sydney temperatures

Surf's up! After her dip in the ocean, Sonia covered up in a loose black dress
Craig McLachlan's understudy Adam Rennie has officially taken over the leading role of Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show after three women came forward accusing the former Neighbours star of sexual misconduct.

Producers announced on Thursday night that Adam will appear in the Brisbane and Perth seasons of the show.

Adam performed the leading role on stage on Tuesday evening in Adelaide to 'rapturous applause', after McLachlan stepped down from the musical.

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Craig McLachlan's understudy Adam Rennie takes over the leading role in The Rocky Horror Show... after three women come forward accusing the veteran actor of sexual misconduct

It was announced on Monday that McLachlan, 52, withdrew after a mutual agreement between the star and producers.

The Gordon Frost Organistion said they spoke with the actor and agreed that it was not appropriate for him to continue in the production.

'We will be conducting a full internal investigation and will cooperate fully with authorities,' they said in a statement on Monday.

Making headlines: Craig (pictured) stepped down from the role after three women came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct

Stepping down: On Monday, it emerged that Craig, 52, had withdraw from the current production of the show in light of the allegations

McLachlan has gone to the ground since three former cast members accused him of indecent assault during the 2014 tour of the play.

Erika Heynatz, Angela Scundi and Christie Whelan Browne have accused Craig of sexual assault and bullying, allegations the actors says are 'entirely false.'

Scundi alleged that McLachlan kissed her passionately onstage even after she had asked that it not be done.

Speaking up: Erika Heynatz, Angela Scundi and Christie Whelan Browne (seen) have accused Craig of sexual assault and bullying, allegations the actors says are 'entirely false'

She said when she confronted him about the unwanted kiss, he abused and threatened her.

'I said: "Don't you kiss me. Don't you do that ever again" and he turned. I haven't felt that terrified ever in my life, or ever again,' she told the ABC.

Whelan Browne appeared in The Wrong Girl alongside Craig in 2016 and 2017.

Claims: Scundi (pictured) said McLachlan kissed her passionately onstage even after she had asked that it not be done

She told the ABC she felt dismayed when she learned he had been cast for The Wrong Girl but felt she had to continue to have a civil relationship with him for the sake of her career.

She said his behavior towards her on that program was appropriate, but said during the Rocky Horror show, said he indecently assaulted her on stage during a sexual scene.

Heynatz meanwhile according to the Herald, alleges that she 'experienced unwanted sexual advances from the star.'

Among other claims, she said on one occasion he straddled her on a lounge in a green room and kissed her without permission.

Craig has vehemently denied the allegations put forward by the three women.

In response to the claims, the 52-year-old told The Sydney Morning Herald via e-mail: 'I have NEVER done anything like this.'
He spends his weekdays alongside famed blonde bombshell, Holly Willoughby.

Yet Phillip Schofield was out with his favourite female companions as he joined his family for the Cirque du Soleil OVO premiere at Royal Albert Hall in London on Wednesday.

Beaming broadly, the 55-year-old silver fox walked the red carpet with his stunning wife of 24 years Stephanie, and glamorous daughters Ruby, 21 and Molly, 24.

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Family affair: Phillip Schofield joined his wife Stephanie Lowe (2R) and daughters Molly (L) and Ruby (R) for the Cirque du Soleil OVO premiere at Royal Albert Hall in London on Wednesday

The This Morning host looked pleased as punch as he draped his arms around the stunning ladies in his life whilst looking dapper in a fitted black fleece.

The family seemed to have colour coordinated for the outing, with all the Schofield's wearing black whilst Stephanie and Ruby injected some colour with pale pink accents.

Phillip also posed at the event with Only Fools and Horses star, David Jason and one of the performers on the night.

Fantastic four: The This Morning host looked pleased as punch as he draped his arms around the stunning ladies in his life whilst looking dapper in a fitted black fleece

Phillip's most famous blonde companion is his presenting partner Holly Willoughby, who he joins most days on This Morning. The pair also reunited for the Dancing On Ice reboot.

Things may soon be tense, however, as they are set to face off against each other for Best Presenter at the National Television Awards.

As well as each other, the pair will go head-to-head with ITV pals Ant and Dec in the presenting category, a win that has been scooped by the I'm a Celebrity hosts for the past 16 years.

Loving life: Phillip also posed at the event with Only Fools and Horses star, David Jason as we;; as one of the performers who donned stilts on the night

What's so funny? Something appeared to tickle the pair as they arrived at the green carpet together and happily posed for pictures at the event

Despite his hectic work schedule, Phillip is a family man at heart and lives in Henley-on-Thames with Stephanie , who he wed in March 1993, and their daughters

Speaking about his wife, the star previously said on Lorraine: 'She worked in television years ago, that was how we met, so she can do it [television], she just doesn't want to these days.

Stephanie met Phil when she worked as a BBC production Assistant and he was working for the BBC Childrens television.

He said at the time: 'You'd have thought someone wouldn't be attracted to a man with a puppet and dodgy jumpers!'

Last year the pair teamed up to film Schofields South African Adventure, and the presenter said he was so pleased she joined him for filming.
He's set to become a father for the second this in a matter of weeks.

Despite the impending pitter-patter of tiny feet, Brendan Cole and pregnant wife Zoe Hobbs stepped out on Wednesday for a fun-filled date night as they attended the launch of Cirque Du Soleil's OVO at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Radiant Zoe highlighted her blossoming baby bump in a stomach-hugging glittering grey mini dress for the star-studded evening.

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Blossoming: Brendan Cole and pregnant wife Zoe Hobbs stepped out on Wednesday for a fun-filled date night as they attended the launch of Cirque Du Soleil's OVO at London's Royal Albert Hall

Her long-sleeved lurex garment skimmed her statuesque frame and accentuated her glowing complexion as she posed with her Strictly pro husband in a pair of red over-the-knee boots.

Second time mother-to-be opted to kept her beauty look natural while leaving her shoulder-length tresses loose in a straight style.

Complementing his glowing other half, Brendan cut a stylish figure in his favourite shirt and knit combo while donning a pair of dark wash denims and navy blazer.

The professional dancer paired his look with a navy scarf and a pair of camel-coloured suede Chelsea boots.

Glowing: Radiant Zoe highlighted her blossoming baby bump in a stomach-hugging glittering grey mini dress for the star-studded evening

Radiant: Her long-sleeved lurex garment skimmed her statuesque frame and accentuated her glowing complexion as she posed with her Strictly pro husband in a pair of red over-the-knee boots

Brendan had married model Zoe back in 2010, with the pair welcoming their first child, Aurelia, two years later.

They had announced they were expecting another baby in September following a trip away to Mallorca, where the couple own a holiday home.

Sharing their exciting news via Instagram, Brendan had shared a Boomerang clip of his wife clutching onto her baby bump, while Zoe shared a sweet photo of the pair to her own page.

Pointing at her stomach, Zoe was flanked by Brendan, who appeared to be pulling a funny face alongside her, and penned: 'Yes it's true! Came back from Mallorca recently with a little excess baggage!'

Mane attraction: Second time mother-to-be opted to kept her beauty look natural while leaving her shoulder-length tresses loose in a straight style

Picture perfect: Complementing his glowing other half, Brendan cut a stylish figure in his favourite shirt and knit combo while donning a pair of dark wash denims and navy blazer

She drew further laughs by adding the hashtags: '#whathavewedone #babyonboard #excitedandscared #parents #ourfamily #morejunkinthetrunk'.

Before their relationship, he was engaged to fellow dancer Camilla Dallerup, with whom he performed on Strictly's long-running predecessor Come Dancing.

However, their engagement ended after Brendan was partnered with Natasha Kaplinsky on the inaugural season of Strictly - which they won.

He is currently starring on the current series of the show, airing on BBC One, and had been partnered with Good Morning Britain presenter Charlotte Hawkins before they became out of the crashed out in the third week.

Style savvy: The professional dancer paired his look with a navy scarf and a pair of camel-coloured suede Chelsea boots

Expecting: Brendan had married model Zoe back in 2010, with the pair welcoming their first child, Aurelia, two years later

His smiling appearance comes after he denied speculation that he was getting cosy with fellow pro Nadiya Byckkova, 29, after the series wrap party.

The professional dancers left the bash in December together at BBC studios in Elstree, with a source telling The Sun the couple were seen getting close.

A source has reported that 'Brendan could not keep his hands off Nadiya' following Saturday night's final. Commenting on their 'obvious chemistry,' the insider added: 'Nadiya is stunning so it's no surprise he finds her irresistible.

Nadiya is engaged to Slovenian footballer Matija Skarabot, with whom she has daughter Milo, one.

Stepping out: Alexandra Burke, 29, looked relaxed as she showcased her eye-catching sparkler on her ring finger while attending Cirque Du Soleil's OVO at London's Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday

Suit you: Strictly finalist Alexandra highlighted her sensational figure in a pair of high-waisted flares which drew attention to her taut midriff with its gold button detailing

A spokesman for Brendan Cole denied the allegation to MailOnline and said the pro dancer was 'totally in love' with his wife.

'Brendan Cole wishes to make it absolutely clear that he and Nadiya Bychkova are Strictly just friends.

'Brendan is totally in love with his wife Zoe. Furthermore Nadiyas fiance Matija was also at the series wrap party where the published pictures were taken and everyone was simply having fun.'
He's the cowboy who starred as the all-round good bloke on Nine's controversial dating series Married At First Sight last year and she is racing royalty.

And Sean Hollands rubbed shoulders with Zara Phillips Tindall while attending Magic Millions racing carnival on the Gold Coast this week.

Sean, 35, took to Instagram on Thursday proudly posting a picture with the popular royal, writing: 'Nice to meet you Zara.

Making new friends? MAFS cowboy Sean Hollands rubs shoulders with racing royalty Zara Phillips at Magic Millions Racing Carnival

The Queensland-based star had a huge grin as he stood tall alongside the British equestrian star, who is also the second-eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II.

Sean met Zara at the Magic Millions barrier draw on Tuesday, of which Zara is an official ambassador for the company.

The country lad wore his signature Akubra hat as he wrapped his arm around Zara.

Having a good time! The country lad wore his signature Akubra hat as he posed with other stars during his visit (Pictured with international jockey Hugh Bowman)

Sean added to his casual look by wearing jeans, a big belt buckle and a Cowboys team T-shirt.

Pregnant Zara looked a vision in white, wearing white jeans, a loose blouse and a broad-brimmed hat.

The horse riding ambassador also posed with other stars during his visit, including international jockey Hugh Bowman and professional polo player Ignacio Figueras.

Keeping it casual! Sean added to his laid-back look by wearing jeans, a big belt buckle and a Cowboys team T-shirt (Pictured with professional polo player Ignacio Figueras)

Unlucky-in-love! Sean failed to make it work with 'TV wife' Susan Rawlings on Married At First Sight last year

Meanwhile, Sean appears to have found love after he failed to make it work with 'TV wife' Susan Rawlings on Married At First Sight.

In December, the reality star announced on Instagram that he was giving romance another chance.

The 35-year-old shared a snap of himself embracing a mystery brunette, including the hashtag 'in love'.

He is yet to disclose who his lady love is.
He has suffered from poor health in recent years, and was even pictured arriving in a wheelchair to the Australian Music Vault launch last month.

But Molly Meldrum was back on his feet last Thursday, when he was seen shopping at his local Coles supermarket in Richmond.

The former Countdown host, 74, swapped his signature cowboy hat for a Melbourne Storm beanie and dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts.

Stocking up: Music legend Molly Meldrum (pictured) was back on his feet last Thursday, when he was seen shopping at his local Coles supermarket in Richmond

Molly was spotted strolling through the supermarket aisles and pushing a trolley filled with groceries.

After paying at the checkout, a woman helped him load the bags into the back of a vehicle in the parking lot.

The music legend, who was the subject of acclaimed TV mini-series 'Molly' last year, has suffered from poor health in recent years.

Essentials: Molly, 74, was spotted strolling through the supermarket aisles and pushing a trolley filled with groceries

Keeping it simple: The former Countdown host swapped his signature cowboy hat for a Melbourne Storm beanie and dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts

In December 2011, Molly suffered life-threatening injuries after he fell from a ladder at his Melbourne home.

He fractured his skull, punctured his lungs and broke his ribs in the accident.

In January 2016, he slipped outside a hotel in Bangkok and dislodged a vertebrae, requiring emergency surgery.

Last month, Molly was photographed arrived at the Australian Music Vault launch in Melbourne in a wheelchair.

Assistance: After paying at the checkout, a woman helped Molly load the bags into the back of a vehicle in the parking lot

Health problems: The music legend, who was the subject of acclaimed TV mini-series 'Molly' last year, has suffered from poor health in recent years

Molly made headlines at the 2017 Logie Awards in April after interrupting Samuel Johnson's acceptance speech.

Samuel had won the Gold Logie for his performance as the TV legend in 'Molly'.

But his delivery was cut short when the real-life character took over the microphone for a rambling performance.

Molly later apologised, telling News Corp: 'I got a bit caught up in the moment.'

Accident: In December 2011, Molly suffered life-threatening injuries after he fell from a ladder at his Melbourne home. He fractured his skull, punctured his lungs and broke his ribs

Another fall: In January 2016, he slipped outside a hotel in Bangkok and dislodged a vertebrae, requiring emergency surgery
Canberra has accused the Northern Territory government of short-changing students in the bush by diverting federal funds intended for remote education.

Visiting Gunbalanya School in Arnhem Land on Tuesday, federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion said he was concerned the Gunner government wasn't doing enough to address dismal attendance rates, which fall as low as 30 per cent in some schools.

"The Northern Territory government may well now have a policy, that whilst the Commonwealth pay them on the basis of enrolment ... they're actually paying the schools on the basis of attendance," he said on Tuesday.

"I'll be speaking to the chief minister about ... where the money has actually gone."

Senator Scullion says the Territory receives a significantly higher bulk of GST cash than the rest of the country based on disadvantage and remoteness or what he calls "the poverty index".

He called for greater funding transparency to allow the public to make better decisions at the ballot box and ensure the NT government doesn't forget the bush.

"And frankly, they have," Senator Scullion said.

Almost half of NT students live in remote or very remote locations, with many speaking English as a second language and performance rates are woefully below national standards.

Senator Scullion played truancy officer in Gunbalanya on Tuesday morning, roundly up sleepy children for class as part of the Remote School Attendance Strategy.

Local community members in 78 remote schools across the nation support 14,500 students to attend school under the scheme.

At the end of semester one last year, about half of RSAS schools had higher attendance when compared with the same time in 2013.

Gunbalanya School co-principal Sue Trimble says the approach is making a difference, stating the current 58 per cent attendance rate has improved by 13 per cent since 2016.

"It's not just beating down the door to get kids to school, it's about selling a good message and a purpose," she said.

The school, near the edge of Kakadu National Park, becomes completely isolated by monsoonal rains during the wet season and flexible term dates have helped attendance.

Senator Scullion says they drop because of increased mobility in the dry season, dysfunctional households, overcrowding and unemployment.

"The biggest factor is the deterioration of cultural authority," he said.

"Without an education, people don't have much of a chance. These children need the same opportunity as everyone else."
A service station attendant has been hit in the face and another forced to lock himself in a back room in separate armed robberies in Melbourne's north.

One worker was struck after masked offenders armed with hammers and a knife jumped the counter of a Keon Park service station early on Wednesday morning, police say.

Around the same time, another attendant at nearby Thomastown was forced to lock himself in the store's back room when masked thieves smashed their way inside with a hammer. Police are investigating whether the incidents are linked.
A 46-year-old woman has been fined nearly $3000 after allegedly sparking fires with her discarded cigarettes as she walked through a property near the northern NSW hippie town of Nimbin.

Emergency services were called to a fire near Arkinstall Road at Tuntable Creek on Tuesday morning.

The woman was walking to Nimbin when she discarded cigarettes without extinguishing them, causing three separate fires that damaged several hectares, a NSW police spokesman told AAP on Wednesday.

The woman was issued with infringement notices and fined $660 for discarding cigarettes and an additional $2200 for causing a fire on the property of another.
If you think searching for a needle in a haystack sounds difficult, try looking for a priceless ring on the bottom of Sydney Harbour.

That's the kind of task relished by a rare breed of "beachcombers".

Beachgoers often leave the surf or sand feeling refreshed but missing a piece of jewellery or a set of keys.

For beachcombers like Sydneysider Michael Oliver, a subsequent desperate phone call is when the treasure hunt begins.

Oliver, 33, first used a metal detector when he was 10 years old. Since then he's scoured beaches, lakes and rivers to help retrieve lost treasures.

Two years ago he turned his hobby into a part-time business and now he finds objects for a fee.

Rings, watches and coins are the main items he recovers. He's located an 18-carat gold ring and a gold-plated pocket watch from the 1920s but also stumbled across bullet shells and old cast iron toys.

"Every time I go out, I find something, especially when I go scuba diving," Oliver told AAP.

"When you start finding that stuff, you just have to keep working the area, you call that a honey hole."

Oliver combs beaches across Sydney and has gone as far north as ther Central Coast to help a beachgoer find a lost item.

Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach is the biggest treasure trove, followed by Shark Beach on the harbour.

"For me, it's a hunt, I love the hunt," he says.

"If you tell me you've lost a ring and given me an approximate location, I basically don't give up until I get frostbite."

The 33-year-old recently found someone's $50,000 engagement ring.

As well as rediscovering treasures he also comes across a lot of trash.

At Little Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs, he estimates he's picked up at least 50 kilograms of waste.

Nick Richards scours beaches in northern NSW and helps people who've found him via theringfinders.com.

He too says beaches end up a lot cleaner after he's scoured them.

"Treasures go in my left pocket and trash in my right - my right pocket always ends up fuller than my left," he told AAP.

Richards has been beachcombing for 20 years and says it's an amazing feeling to find something someone thought was lost.

He doesn't charge but instead asks people to donate to a charity.

He's been asked to find boat propellers and even boats themselves.

"It's mainly jewellery but I've also found sets of teeth, pre-decimal coins and toys," he says.

Richards claims he won't stop searching for something until it's found - which has seen him scuba dive 30 metres down in Sydney Harbour to successfully retrieve a platinum wedding ring.

If Richards and Oliver aren't called to retrieve lost belongings on NSW beaches then it's likely local councils are.

Northern Beaches Council workers have come across everything from a barnacle-covered turtle and green algae balls to coconuts and pumice stones from an underwater volcanic eruption.

South of Sydney, Wollongong City Council lifeguards have discovered life-jackets, an esky containing beer and a shipping container.

Twenty years ago, a VW Kombi van that had been swept into a creek ended up on North Wollongong beach a few days after huge floods destroyed the region, a council spokeswoman told AAP.

Dead animals have also been found on beaches over the years including two whales, dolphins, sharks, seals, dogs, cats, a deer and a cow.

But, sadly, spokeswomen for both councils concede the most common item retrieved by lifeguards is rubbish.
Thousands have paid tribute to the former face of Akubra Hats, "Dolly" Amy Jayne Everett, who took her own life at just 14 after being bullied.

Father Tick Everett used Facebook to describe his grief, saying his beloved daughter felt she had no other option to "escape the evil in this world".

Akubra Hats has also posted a moving tribute, which has been shared more than 11,000 times, honouring the girl who was the face of their past Christmas advertisements.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
The minister in charge of Australia's aid program has hit out at China's assistance to tiny Pacific island nations for building "white elephants" and "roads to nowhere."

International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells also has concerns about the sustainability of China's loan arrangements with Pacific islands nations.

"Burdensome debt can divert scarce public resources from more important needs such as health and education," Senator Fierravanti-Wells told ABC Radio.

In 2009 Tonga's debt to China was $US100.4 million ($A132.9 million), which was equivalent to one-third of its national income.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells attacked "white elephant buildings" and "roads to nowhere" that have been built with Chinese money.

"We don't want buildings in the Pacific that do not have some productive outcome that doesn't provide some sort of economic benefit," she said.

"We just don't want to build something for the heck of building it."

The Lowy Insitute has estimated China has poured $2.3 billion in aid to the South Pacific since 2006.

The Institute's Pacific Islands program director Jonathan Pryke said the senator had made a legitimate point but the value of projects had to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

"It's a bit dangerous to say they're all bad or they're all good. It's much more complicated than that," he told AAP.

"I'm not sure how productive it would be for our ongoing relationship with China in the Pacific to be so negative and black and white."

There was scope for China and Australia to increase cooperation on foreign aid projects, Mr Pryke said.

In Papua New Guinea the two countries had worked together on a small program to prevent the spread of malaria.

Chinese government officials argue the policy is been driven by demand from local governments keen to improve the living standards of their people.

"We're trying to share some of our good experience," one official told a delegation of Australian journalists recently.

The tiny islands nation of Micronesia was a beneficiary of that approach, following its president's visit to China.

In discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Peter Christian noted that coconut plantation production in Hainan Province far outstripped that of his own farmers.

Beijing stepped in to offer technical assistance, in the belief that it was "better to teach people how to fish, instead of giving them fish".

* Richard Lawson visited China as part of a media delegation sponsored by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs.
Australian filmmaking couple Sean Meehan and Sam McGarry would like to find a time machine to fast forward their lives to January 23.

On that date, at the crack of dawn in Beverly Hills, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce if their acclaimed film Lost Face is one of this year's Oscar nominees.

"We are dying a little death every day," Meehan, describing their nervous wait for the Oscar nomination ceremony, told AAP.

"Nervous?" McGarry deadpanned.

"We're trying not to take up day drinking."

The Los Angeles-based writer-director Meehan and producer McGarry have a great chance of hearing their names called out in the live action short film category.

The Academy confirmed just before Christmas the 14-minute long Lost Face was one of 10 films still in contention in the category from a record list of 165 entries.

Meehan and McGarry were in Lisbon, Portugal, about to go to bed in their hotel suite after a long day shooting a TV commercial for a multinational corporation when the Academy announced they made the short-list.

"I had taken two Melatonin because I was so over the day we just had and I quickly checked my emails and there was the email," McGarry said.

"Sean said, 'We have to go to the bar!'

"I said, 'I've just taken two Melatonin!'"

At the January 23 Academy nomination ceremony the 10 will be cut to the five that will compete at the March 4 Oscars.

The back story to how Meehan and McGarry made Lost Face is almost as compelling as the the film's plot.

The couple, who have a 10-year-old daughter Ruby, took a major gamble by pouring $A100,000 of their life savings into the film that was shot entirely outdoors in minus 14C weather at the snow-laden base of the Canadian Rockies.

Based on author Jack London's short story of the same name, the film is set in the mid-1800s and follows the plight of Russian fur thieves captured by members of a North American tribe.

It also had the tightest of tight schedules, with only enough money for a three-day shoot and because it was winter there were only seven hours of daylight each day.

Lost Face has won 46 awards at film festivals around the world.

The couple has carved out careers making TV commercials across the globe for corporations including McDonald's, Volkswagen and Samsung, but they hope an Oscar nomination will help Hollywood studios and actors give them a shot at making feature films.

"The main reason we did the short in the first place was to use it as a vehicle to show actors we can do something that is longer than 30 seconds," McGarry said.
Fallen AFL premiership player Ben Cousins has reportedly been released from prison 10 months into his one-year sentence for stalking and repeatedly breaching a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner.

The 39-year-old former West Coast Eagles captain and Brownlow medallist was jailed in March for causing "ongoing terror" to Maylea Tinecheff, with whom he has two young children.

Cousins, who has struggled with drug addiction, was reportedly picked up by his father Bryan from Acacia Prison on Wednesday morning and taken to the family home in Bicton.
The haunting eyes and the jutting ribs of Somalian children are among the most vivid memories from Paul von Kurtz's time in Somalia.

Wednesday marks the 25th anniversary of the start of Australia's contribution to peacekeeping operations in Somalia amid civil war and famine.

Mr Von Kurtz, from Townsville, was a platoon sergeant in the Army's first battalion (1RAR) and was among the first to touch down in the lawless capital Mogadishu.

"We were all very green.. it was very much an eye-opener," he told AAP.

Among their duties, Australian troops went on nine-day patrols to protect the convoys of aid groups distributing food.

"What we were doing was having a great effect," he said.

"Towards the end, the kids were putting a bit more meat back on their bones and you saw them playing and there were smiles back on their faces."

Mr von Kurtz served in Somalia for about five months and laments it wasn't longer because the Australian troops were making a significant difference.

The deployment was physically challenging.

Mr von Kurtz weighed 75kg at the start but a lack of fresh food meant his weight dropped to 52kg by the time he left.

The Australian Defence Force learned important lessons about ensuring soldiers have adequate food which it's implemented on deployments since then.

Mr von Kurtz recalled it had been an uphill battle for Australians to build trust with Somalians because in the past the country had experienced a lot of foreign interference from the Italians, British, Russians and Americans.

There were some initial rock-throwing incidents and when the Australians arrived at Baidoa they were shot at on the first night, he said.

Australian Federal Police superintendent Bill Kirk also served in Somalia on a secondment with the United Nations and helped to restore the rule of law.

Mr Kirk said it was very difficult to operate on the ground and personnel could only leave compounds with bodyguards.

"You would think, why are we here? They don't even like us," he told AAP.

He recalled shark nets being put up at the beach in Mogadishu because some UN peacekeepers had been attacked while swimming.

"I thought sharks were the least of the worries," Mr Kirk said.

The Somalian conflict received the Hollywood treatment in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down which was based on a true story. But that incident with the US special forces happened before the Australians arrived.

More than 1500 Australian defence personnel served in Somalia from 1992-94, four were injured and there was one death, Lance Corporal Shannon McAliney.

The Australian navy sent HMAS Tobruk and HMAS Jervis Bay to Somalia and the air force conducted regular resupply missions and personnel served as air traffic controllers at the airport.

Federal Labor frontbencher Mike Kelly and NSW Governor David Hurley both had military deployments to Somalia.

*1RAR is having a reunion of Australian veterans of Somalia on May 15 in Townsville.
Another person has been charged over a large brawl in Perth during which a 17-year-old boy was killed when he was struck by a car.

The brawl erupted outside McDonald's at Livingstone Marketplace in Canning Vale on December 7.

A 29-year-old Canning Vale man has been charged with unlawfully wounding a person with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

A 35-year-old man, two 14-year-old boys and two 16-year-old boys were previously charged with several offences, including aggravated bodily harm and disorderly conduct.

Jacob Cummins was among a group of teenagers hit by a car on a nearby street shortly after the incident.

Aya Hishmeh, 20, has been charged with Jacob's murder.
Only one "target" shark was caught in new nets deployed off the NSW North Coast in the first five weeks of their trial, while 53 other animals became entangled in the mesh.

New data, released by the NSW government on Wednesday, showed only one bull shark was caught in the nets off five beaches within the boundaries of Richmond Valley Council.

Meanwhile, 41 rays of different species were caught in the new nets, with 16 of them dying, as well as four turtles, two of which died.

The second shark meshing trial, which began in November 2017, is using different types of netting at different heights to the first trial in order to reduce by-catch.

"The second North Coast Net Trial is using different net designs and operation to try and reduce the amount of by-catch in the nets," a Department of Primary Industries spokeswoman previously told AAP.

In the first trial, which ran from December 2016 to May 2017, 275 animals were caught in the netting, nine of which were target sharks - a strike rate of three per cent.

The government considers tiger, white and bull sharks as target species.

Five fewer animals were caught in the new nets over a four week period compared to a similar time frame in December last year during the first trial.

Greens MP called on the government to scrap the "ineffective" netting.

"This report is yet more evidence that the shark netting program in NSW does little to keep people safe in the water but takes a terrible toll on local marine life," Mr Field said.

"A recent Senate report found people are 100 times more likely to drown at the beach than to be killed by a shark in Australia. The risk is infinitesimally small."

The DPI has been contacted for comment.
A student athlete who was studying at a US ivy league university is now in a Perth jail over a one-punch attack.

WA-raised Joshua Robert Billington, 21, had been competing as a 100m runner and studying commerce at Princeton University in the US for three years.

However on a night out in Perth in August last year he punched Mitch Davis, 21, to the side of the head outside the Niche Bar in Leederville.

Billington's male friend had been talking to and harassing Mr Davis's girlfriend after the intoxicated man had been asked to leave a bar.

She repeatedly told him she was not interested and to leave her alone before pushing him away.

At that moment CCTV footage showed Billington rushing in and punching Mr Davis in the head, despite neither of them having spoken or being involved in the interaction between the other two.

Magistrate Elizabeth Woods rejected Billington's defence in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday that he thought his friend was in danger from Davis.

She said there was no evidence of that and he had acted impulsively and unprovoked.

However Ms Woods, who described his actions as a "coward's punch" against someone unable to protect himself, was scathing of Billington, saying he was fortunate Mr Davis was not more seriously injured.

The footage shows him looking over his shoulder as he quickly leaves where Davis is lying, bleeding, having been knocked unconscious.

"There was a casual glance, he knew what he had done, the possible consequences and what might have been the outcome," Ms Woods said.

"He showed a callous disregard and lack of remorse.

"The accused had no reason do do anything. At no time does the complainant do anything to suggest he is going to fight the accused's friend."

Billington pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm.

His lawyer Tom Percy urged Ms Woods to impose a fine and spent conviction.

He said in court last week Billington - who is still listed as a member of Princeton's track and field team - was "at a crossroads" and his highly prized scholarship was in jeopardy.

But Ms Woods imposed an immediate jail term of nine months and said community expectations were for punishments that would deter young, intoxicated men from resolving issues with violent, unprovoked attacks.

Mr Percy said he would appeal the sentence.

The court heard Mr Davis had suffered physical and psychological distress including a large visible scar on the back of his head, his hair had not grown properly over it, he had suffered brain bleeding, was anxious and his own studies were damaged.
The deadly Irukandji jellyfish is moving south along the coast of Queensland and with warming sea temperatures it may become a regular at beaches as far south as the Gold Coast.

Toxicologist, Associate Professor Jamie Seymour from James Cook University, has "little doubt" Irukandji will end up at the popular beach after a stinger was found at Fraser Island on Sunday.

Their southerly migration, Prof Seymour warned, would force beach closures and could "collapse tourism."

But Queensland Tourism Industry chief Daniel Gschwind dismissed Prof Seymour's concerns.

"We are concerned about any potential risk but there is no need to be alarmed at this point," he said.

Fears about Irujandji come after one was caught on the western side of Fraser Island on Sunday, which prompted a warning for swimmers to stay out of the water.

There were 10 suspected Irukandji stings on the western side of Fraser Island between December 22, 2016, and January 5 last year, while a boy was stung on Mooloolaba Beach in early 2017.
A public service will be held in the Northern Territory in memory of the 14-year-old former face of the Akubra Hats brand, who took her own life last week after being bullied.

Father Tick Everett took to social media to describe his grief over the loss of "Dolly" Amy Jayne Everett, saying his beloved daughter felt she had no other option.

"I know for some suicide is considered cowardly but I guarantee those people wouldn't have half the strength that my precious little angel had, Doll had the strength to do what she thought she had to do to escape the evil in this world," he wrote on Facebook.

"However, unfortunately, Dolly will never know the great pain and emptiness left behind.

"If we can help other precious lives from being lost and the suffering of so many, then Doll's life will not be wasted."

Akubra Hats posted its own tribute, shared more than 11,000 times, honouring the girl who was the face of their previous Christmas advertisements.

"To think that anyone could feel so overwhelmed and that this was their only option is unfathomable," the company wrote.

"Bullying of any type is unacceptable. It is up to us to stand up when we see any kind of bullying behaviour.

"Our hearts go out to her family and friends."

The service will be held on Friday at the Casuarina Street Primary School in Katherine East.

Friends and family are asked to wear blue, which was Dolly's favourite colour.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.

MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.

Multicultural Mental Health Australia www.mmha.org.au.

Local Aboriginal Medical Service details available from www.bettertoknow.org.au/AMS

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25).
Victoria's most senior police officer has declared the state one of the world's safest places amid fiery debate over the so-called African youth gang crisis.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton on Wednesday launched a community task force aimed at preventing youth violence and easing racial tensions in Victoria.

It comes after a series of recent high-profile crimes involving youths of African appearance.

Debate has swelled in recent days after federal immigration minister Peter Dutton said some Melburnians were afraid to go out to dinner because of gang-related crime.

Others have suggested the concern is overblown, saying incidents involving African youths get more media coverage and have become a political tool.

The commissioner did not wish to enter the political debate but shot down suggestions the state was unsafe.

"I've heard people say that Victoria is not a safe place to live ... that's complete and utter garbage," he said.

"There are people who have been affected by crime and that's the case in every city in Australia and every city in the world.

"Victoria is one of the safest places in the world to live."

He followed up by asking one journalist, "how long since you've been out for dinner?"

Prominent community leaders backed the new task force and stressed the vast majority of the African-Australian community were law-abiding citizens.

South Sudanese leader and solicitor Kot Monoah said members of the community had been unfairly threatened and racially vilified.

"We have a number of people obviously impacted and racially profiled in shopping centres, parks, and this is not a good thing," he said.

The new task force will support police by providing information on emerging issues and hot spots, improving communication on crime prevention and reporting racial vilification.
Sydney's new rail timetable will be reviewed after passengers endured two days of delays and cancellations which the government admits has been "a mess".

Rail bosses have so far blamed driver sickness and lightning for the meltdown, which saw frustrated commuters stranded on platforms across the city on Tuesday.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance apologised for the debacle but said passengers wouldn't be getting refunds because the government needed to fund services and pay staff.

The head of Sydney Trains, Howard Collins, and Transport Secretary Rodd Staples will report back to Mr Constance within a fortnight on how the network can better recover from major incidents.

Mr Collins denied the new timetable, introduced in late November, was rolled out too early due to government pressure.
Three men and a woman have been charged over a break and enter at a high-end fashion designer store in Sydney's inner south last month.

Three men allegedly broke into the Rosebery premises just after midnight on December 29, escaping with Camilla and Marc outfits worth thousands of dollars.

CCTV footage supplied by police shows the men using a sledgehammer to smash in the front glass door before racing in and grabbing armfuls of clothing from the racks.

Police will allege in court the clothing was being sold online through a marketplace at low prices.

The same offenders were also allegedly involved in a break and enter at a mechanic workshop in Matraville before the incident, during which a car was stolen.

Three properties at Redfern, Marrickville and Surry Hills were searched on Wednesday and three men aged 21, 22 and 23, and a 19-year-old woman were arrested.

The men face multiple charges including aggravated break, enter and stealing, dealing with the proceeds of crime and other outstanding offences.

The 19-year-old woman was conditionally bailed to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on February 5, while the 22-year-old man also was granted conditional bail to appear in the same court on January 29.

The 21-year-old and 23-year-old men were refused bail and are due to appear at Central Local Court on Thursday.

Some of the clothing has been recovered and police have appealed for anyone being offered suspiciously cheap Camilla and Marc items to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A woman has been arrested and a man is on the run after suspicious items were found inside a car in Melbourne, prompting a response from the bomb squad.

Police say they spotted the pair's Toyota Echo, which had false number plates, left vacant on the Mountain Highway at Bayswater just after 2.30am on Thursday, with a "number of suspicious items" inside.

The woman was later found and arrested, while a man is still on the run, and the Mountain Highway remains closed between Scoresby Road and High Street as the bomb squad investigates.
Thousands of NSW Ausgrid workers have voted to strike next month in the peak of summer heat after negotiations over pay and career progression soured.

The Electrical Trades Union says after more than three years of pay freezes along with nearly 2000 job losses during the same period, workers have no choice but to take action.

Workers are seeking a pay rise of three per cent a year.

"During this same time, Ausgrid executives awarded themselves pay increases averaging 5.3 per cent a year, while they also enjoyed average bonuses of more than $50,000 each in 2014, 2015 and 2016," ETU organiser Mark Buttigieg said in a statement on Thursday.

More than 93 per cent of about 2800 Ausgrid members, made up of four unions, supported industrial action including work stoppages, refusing to do overtime and callouts.

Workers will decide on what specific actions to take on January 31.

In an official statement, Ausgrid, which is jointly owned by the NSW Government, Australian Super and IFM Investors, said it was "disappointed" at the proposed union action.

"We believe we have achieved in principle agreement on virtually all of our proposal," Ausgrid CEO Richard Gross said in a statement.

"If the unions elect to take industrial action, Ausgrid will ensure there is minimal impact on energy supply to our customers."
China has lodged an official complaint with Australia after a Turnbull government minister attacked Beijing's aid program in the Pacific.

International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells criticised China's assistance to tiny Pacific island nations for building "white elephant" projects and "roads to nowhere".

She also expressed concerns about the sustainability of China's loan arrangements with the island nations.

In 2009 Tonga's debt to China was $US100.4 million ($A132.9 million), which was equivalent to one third of its national income.

The Chinese foreign ministry defended the aid program, saying it respected the will of Pacific island governments and the development needs of their people.

"The remarks made by the Australian official show scant regard for the facts and are nothing but irresponsible," a spokesman said.

"The Chinese side has lodged representations with the Australian government on this."

He said assistance China provides has significantly fuelled the economic and social development of the countries and was warmly welcomed.

Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the comments demonstrated the government's clumsy approach to foreign policy.

The Lowy Insitute estimates China has poured $2.3 billion in aid to the South Pacific since 2006.

The Institute's Pacific Islands program director Jonathan Pryke said the senator had made a legitimate point but the value of projects had to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
A central Queensland family has accused a funeral home of switching a grandmother's $1700 silk oak coffin for a cheap pine box just prior to her cremation.

Janice Cecilia Valigura, 74, was farewelled in Rockhampton on Monday, but her family told the Morning Bulletin she was removed from her casket, wrapped in plastic and placed in a cheap box prior to her cremation, while letters written by her grandchildren and placed on her heart were thrown away.

The funeral home, Harts Family Funerals, declined to comment when contacted by AAP but Queensland Police say they are investigating the matter.
South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon (2nd R) greets North Korean chief delegate Ri Son-Gwon (2nd L) before their meeting at Panmunjom

North and South Korean officials exchanged warm greetings amid light flakes of snow on the world's last Cold War frontier Tuesday, in contrast from previous frosty gatherings.

The delegates shook hands and even cracked a joke as they posed for photographers at the border truce village of Panmunjom, before starting talks focused on the North's participation at next month's Winter Olympics in the South.

"We have to curry favour with them," the North's chief delegate Ri Son-Gwon quipped as he shook hands with his Southern counterpart Cho Myoung-Gyon for a second time at the request of photographers.

The pair broke the ice with small talk about meteorological conditions.

"Despite the cold weather, the people's burning desire to see inter-Korean dialogue and rapprochement are like streams flowing beneath the ice," said a poetic Ri.

Ri, the head of the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, and his colleagues walked across the concrete blocks that delineate the Military Demarcation Line at Panmunjom.

South Korean troops stood aside as they crunched over the gravel that separates the zone's emblematic blue huts.

Ri donned civilian clothes for the meeting -- and, in keeping with social norms in his country, a lapel badge depicting the North's founding father Kim Il-Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong-Il.

Ri is said to be close to Kim Yong-Chul, another top North Korean military official and former director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the North's spy agency, who is blacklisted by South Koreas unilateral sanctions.

In the past Ri has worn military uniform for talks. He angrily stormed out of one meeting minutes after it began, denying any role by his country in the 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship with the loss of 46 lives.

But on Tuesday he suggested the talks be fully opened to the media, "in light of the great expectations and huge interest from here and abroad in these talks".

Cho Myoung-Gyon, the leader of the Seoul's delegation -- who wore a badge with the South Korean flag -- demurred.

The two five-strong delegations sat opposite each other at a long table in the Peace House, the talks venue on the southern side of the Demilitarised Zone that splits the peninsula.

Cho, the South's Unification Minister in charge of relations with the North, is a veteran cross-border negotiator who has taken part in talks with the North since the 1990s, including their second and last summit in 2007.

"It looks like North Korea is exuding a lot of confidence," said Koo Kab-Woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"I can't say exactly where that confidence stems from but it has so far been positive," he told AFP.

It was a markedly different atmosphere to the last talks between the two Koreas in December 2015, observers said. The mood then was grim and tense before the encounter even got under way. Talks broke down with the two sides failing even to agree on further meetings.
Sumo's three grand champions hope to turn the page on a scandal-hit 2017

Sumo's three grand champions clapped their hands and stamped their feet in a traditional New Year offering to the Shinto gods Tuesday, as the sport seeks to turn the page on a scandal-hit 2017.

Wearing just their traditional white knotted belts -- or "kesho-mawashi" -- with colourful aprons, the "Yokozuna" champions performed the ritual in front of an appreciative crowd of hundreds of fans.

Hakuho, Kisenosato and Kakuryu were flanked by a traditional sword-bearer and another attendant whose job is to walk ahead of the champions parting the crowds.

The rite took place at Tokyo's Meiji Shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji, the great grandfather of reigning Emperor Akihito, making explicit the links between the sport and the Shinto tradition in which it is steeped.

The "ring-entering" ceremony is also performed at the start of each day in sumo's top-division tournament.

Japan's ancient sport is keen to start afresh after an annus horribilis in 2017, culminating in the resignation of one of its top champions in disgrace.

Harumafuji, 33, was charged and fined 500,000 yen ($4,400) for a brutal assault on a rival wrestler while out drinking in an incident that has rocked the sport to its core.

Yokozuna are expected to be beyond moral reproach, but the writing was on the wall for Harumafuji after he confessed to hitting fellow wrestler Takanoiwa for texting his girlfriend.

Mongolian Harumafuji, who reached sumo's hallowed rank five years ago, admitted punching his fellow countryman Takanoiwa and bashing him with a karaoke remote control.

The scandal mirrors that of another Mongolian star, Asashoryu, who stepped down in 2010 after being accused of breaking a man's nose in a drunken brawl outside a Tokyo nightclub.

Another embarrassment hit the sport early into the new year when reports emerged that the top-ranked referee had sexually harassed a teenage trainee.

According to public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, Shikimori Inosuke, 58, drunkenly molested his male junior by kissing him and touching his chest at a hotel in Okinawa, where sumo wrestlers were on a winter tour.

- 'Break records' -

Fans at the shrine on Tuesday said they hoped the sport could put the embarrassments behind it.

"I would like the sumo world to put an end to the recent scandals. I want them to be the people that children can get excited about and respect," said 42-year-old hairdresser Yukiko Akiyama.

"Hurting somebody physically and mentally is not tolerated in today's world," said another sumo fan, 30-year-old Yuki Ujiie, an orthopaedist.

After the unwelcome distractions outside the ring, the man-mountains will get back to the business of pushing, shoving and throwing each other around at the first tournament of the year in Tokyo on January 14.

Hakuho said his goal for the year was to "break records one by one."

He said he was aiming to secure his 1,000th win in the top division and complete his 63rd tournament as a Yokozuna, which would also be a record.
US lawmakers backed the measure to support anti-government protesters in Iran by a vote of 415 to two

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a resolution supporting anti-government protesters in Iran and condemning the regime's crackdown on the demonstrations of recent weeks.

Lawmakers backed the measure almost unanimously, by a vote of 415 to two.

The House "stands with the people of Iran that are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive, corrupt regime," and condemns the government's "serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people," the resolution stated.

Violent unrest erupted in dozens of Iranian cities between December 28 and January 1, leaving at least 21 people dead.

The resolution also called on President Donald Trump's administration to issue new sanctions punishing Iran's human rights violators.

"In standing with the Iranian people, we must explain that they are not the target of our sanctions," House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce said.

"US sanctions target the oppressive, destabilizing regime, not the people of Iran," he added.

Last week Washington imposed sanctions against five Iranian firms alleged to have been working on an illegal ballistic missile program, linking the move to the protests.
Migrants are pulled from the Mediterranean Sea by members of German NGO Sea-Watch in this November 6, 2017 file photo

Between 90 and 100 migrants were missing after their makeshift boat sank in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, the country's navy said late Tuesday.

The inflatable boat was carrying more than 100 people when it went down, according to navy spokesman Ayoub Kacem, who said rescuers had saved just 17 people, including some women.

Survivors clung to the vessel for hours before help arrived.

The boat sank off the city of Khoms, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the Libyan capital, Kacem said.

In another incident, the Libyan navy said it had also rescued 267 migrants of various African nationalities, off Zawiya to the west of Tripoli.

Women and 17 children were among those rescued, said Kacem, who added that bad weather had hampered the operation.

Over the weekend, 10 migrants died and dozens of others, including children, went missing off the Libyan coast, according to aid organisations.

Since the 2011 fall and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a key launch pad for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe, often on unseaworthy vessels.

Last year alone, 3,116 people died attempting the crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), including 2,833 from Libya.

But there has been a sharp drop in crossing attempts since the summer of 2017 following efforts by Italy to discourage migrants from trying to make the journey.
Donald Trump will be the first US president to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos in nearly 20 years

Donald Trump will take his populist message directly to the world's political and business elite later this month, becoming the first US president to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos in nearly 20 years.

Trump -- who ran for president on a nationalist "America First" platform -- will mingle at the annual Alpine festival of globalism in Switzerland, and perhaps offer a few views of his own, the White House said.

"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his America First agenda with world leaders," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

"At this year's World Economic Forum, the president looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries and American workers."

A string of US presidents have avoided attending the annual upscale event, fearing a sojourn to a European ski resort would make them look out of touch.

The last president to go was Bill Clinton, who attended in 2000.

The gathering might seem antithetical to Trump's brand of politics, but the White House insists his message will be the same surrounded by chalets as it would be in Washington.

- Looking to make his mark? -

Trump, a real estate mogul-turned-president, has rarely shied away from the rich and famous, but may have additional geopolitical incentive to attend.

Last year, the forum was dominated by the appearance of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping was the first Chinese leader to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, delivering his speech on the opening day of the event in January 2017

Xi became the first Chinese leader to go, picking up the mantle of defender of free trade and globalization in the face of Trump's protectionist rhetoric.

"No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war," Xi warned, fueling a sense of rapidly growing China stepping into a space vacated by the United States.

During a decades-long spending spree, China has bankrolled infrastructure projects from Sri Lanka to Zambia, often earning political influence in the process.

Last year, the Trump administration was represented by informal emissary Anthony Scaramucci, who challenged Beijing to match words and deeds.

Firms were also quick to point out the gap between Xi's rhetoric and the realities of doing business in China, which is a frequently tortuous affair.

- 'America First' -

But it is unclear how Trump's pitch for "America First" trade will play among the disciples of a global rules-based order.

"The question appears to be whether he'll play to the global Davos audience or use his speech to shock the crowd with the anti-globalization rhetoric he loves to use back home," said Scott Mulhauser, former chief of staff at the US Embassy in Beijing.

"The two sides of Trump stand in particular contrast on trade and globalization and may even both appear in the same speech," added Mulhauser.

"So this one should be fascinating -- and the signals he sends will be heard at home and across the globe."

Since coming to office in January 2017, Trump has ripped up or sought to renegotiate a series of trade pacts that underpin global commerce.

Former US vice president Joe Biden spoke at last year's forum in Davos

A series of investigations into Chinese trade practices have put his administration on a collision course with Beijing.

This year's Davos gathering takes place January 23-26, with a theme of "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World."

It is not yet clear when precisely Trump will attend.
"Look how much I've grown!" Norishige Kanai claimed he had grown 9 centimetres in space

A Japanese astronaut has sparked hilarity back on Earth after he claimed to have grown nine centimetres in space, making him worried he would not squeeze into the capsule home.

Norishige Kanai, who is aboard the International Space Station, tweeted: "We had our bodies measured after reaching space, and wow, wow, wow, I had actually grown by as much as 9 centimetres (3.5 inches)!"

"I have grown like a plant in just three weeks," he said, adding that he had not experienced a growth spurt like this since high school.

"I'm a bit worried whether I'll fit in the Soyuz seat when I go back," he said, prompting tens of thousands of reactions on social media.

One Japanese Twitter user identified as @KakeruTokyo said: "Can somebody please take me to space? I want to grow taller (sobbing)."

Another user, @junnu_pana6mana, tweeted: "Mr. Kanai, I envy you. I wonder if I could have had a different life if I were 10 centimetres taller?"

Standing 1.80m tall on Earth, Kanai is already considerably taller than the average Japanese man, who is 1.71m in height according to the latest official statistics.

Astronauts' spines can extend in the zero-gravity environment of space, making them slightly taller. This returns to normal when they go back to Earth and its gravitational field.

However, Kanai re-measured himself after a Russian colleague told him a nine-centimetre growth spurt was unlikely and had to correct his tall tale after finding he had only grown by two centimetres.

He later tweeted apologies for what he described as "fake news".

"I'm a bit relieved as I'll probably fit into the Soyuz back home," he said.
White nationalists clash with counter-protesters during a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in August

A neo-Nazi who created a terror cell called "Atomwaffen" and kept a framed picture of the Oklahoma City bomber in his bedroom was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for possessing an explosive device and material.

It was the latest in a recent string of cases linked to right-wing extremists, after it emerged that a white man who attended last year's "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville was charged with terrorism for attempting to wreck an Amtrak train in rural Nebraska.

Brandon Clint Russell, 22, of Tampa, Florida had pleaded guilty to keeping illicit explosives on September 27, 2017.

Russell's cache was discovered when officers from the Tampa Police Department responded to a double homicide at an apartment where he had been living with the alleged shooter, Devon Arthurs, and the two deceased victims, according to prosecutors.

Officers discovered a cooler in the garage containing the explosive HMTD (Hexamethylene Triperoxide Diamine), along with various other explosive precursors, multiple pounds of ammonium nitrate, nitro-methane, empty shell casings, fuses and electric matches in close proximity.

In his bedroom, "officers found neo-Nazi and white supremacist propaganda, including a framed picture of Timothy McVeigh on his dresser," the statement added.

McVeigh was executed in 2001 for carrying out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people and injured more than 600 others, and has been something of a hero for right-wing extremists since that time.

Russell's closet also contained his own military uniform, firearms and ammunition, and camouflage military-type gear containing the name and symbols of "Atomwaffen," the group he was said to have created with his roommates.

His sentencing came days after a court unsealed documents that showed 26-year-old Taylor Michael Wilson of Missouri, a white supremacist who attended a rally in Charlottesville last year in which one protester was killed, had been charged by the FBI with terrorism for attempting to wreck an Amtrak train.

He "breached a secure area of the train and triggered an emergency stop control panel, applying the emergency brakes and causing the train to stop in an expedited(emergency) fashion," according to the court documents, adding that he had a loaded gun on his person.

Wilson was initially released on bond but a further search warrant and investigation from the FBI led to the discovery of a stash of firearms at his residence and connections to neo-Nazi groups and had expressed an interest in "killing black people."

The attempted train attack took place in October -- the same month another white suspect left a jar full of explosives at an airport in North Carolina because he wanted to "fight a war on US soil," according to court documents.

A recent report by the US Government Accountability Office found that violent extremists carried out 85 attacks between September 12, 2001 and December 31, 2016, killing 225 people.

Of the victims, 106 individuals were killed by far-right violent extremists in 62 incidents, while 119 people were killed by radical Islamist extremists in 23 incidents.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has ruled over the Central Asian country with very little opposition since before independence from the Soviet Union in 1991

US President Donald Trump will host his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev at the White House next week, according to a statement.

The visit, which is set to take place on January 16, will include talks on "regional security issues and economic cooperation," the White House said.

"The presidents will also discuss Kazakhstan's leadership on several international challenges, particularly Afghanistan, during its presidency of the United Nations Security Council."

Nazarbayev has ruled over the Central Asian country with very little opposition since before independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Mosul's Old City remains devastated months after Iraqi forces seized the country's second city from Islamic State group jihadists

Along the waterfront of the Tigris river in Iraq's war-torn Mosul, gaping holes in hotel walls reveal little but enormous heaps of rubble.

Six months since Iraqi forces seized the country's second city from Islamic State group jihadists, human remains still rot in front of the Al-Nuri mosque.

The building, denuded of its iconic minaret and largely reduced to ruins by the fighting, was the site of the only known public appearance by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi following the group's declaration of a "caliphate" in 2014.

Mosul residents have gone from euphoria at the city's "liberation" after three years of jihadist rule to uncertainty.

The few souls who venture into the debris-strewn alleyways say their future is precarious.

The Al-Nuri Mosque was largely reduced to ruins by the fighting

Iraq forces defeated IS in Mosul in July 2017 after months of intense urban battles that reduced the historic Old City to ruins.

Pounded by international coalition air strikes and constant shell fire by the jihadists, most of Mosul's residents fled.

Some never made it out.

Asma Mohammed's father and husband were killed in an air strike then hurriedly buried, like several of their neighbours, in improvised cemeteries on a vacant strip of land.

Mohammed said the strike missed its target, hitting civilians rather than jihadists occupying the nearby buildings.

Destroyed buildings are seen next to the Tigris river in Mosul on January 9, 2018

Iraqi authorities "say they need to investigate before issuing death certificates", she said, sitting in her modest Old City house, itself damaged during the violence.

She is one of many Mosul residents who count family members among those killed in air strikes.

The United States-led coalition against IS in Syria and Iraq has admitted to killing 817 civilians over three years of battling the group.

But according to sources in Mosul, some 2,000 civilians were killed in coalition air strikes and fighting in the city alone.

Since her parents died, Asma and her two children have survived day-to-day on donations from friends and neighbours.

When she thinks of the future, she begins to cry.

- Biting cold -

Only one other family has returned to this part of the Old City -- that of Ansam Anwar, 30, who headed back just days ago with her husband and their five children.

In small whitewashed rooms around the inner courtyard of their house, the cold is biting. The utilities have been cut off and electricity metres torn from the walls.

Authorities are struggling to clear debris from the streets, months after the city was seized by Iraqi forces

Ansam's husband, a labourer, has yet to find work in the largely deserted Old City.

"There is still no water or electricity, my children are still deprived of school. Even the smell of rotting bodies continues to suffocate us," Ansam said as she moves away dust and debris covering the ground.

The alley outside is partially blocked by wooden furniture.

Further down the street, Abu Qutayba al-Attar, 59, walks through the once crowded alleys of the historic market, a traditional kuffiyeh scarf around his head and a long robe reaching his feet.

Reconstruction is still in its early stages in Mosul, which was pounded by international coalition air strikes and constant shell fire by the jihadists

His father's shop, where he spent his days "from the age of six onwards", was destroyed in the carnage.

After the fighting reached his neighborhood a year ago, he said he remained "shut up at home in a state of depression".

But now he has started working to rebuild the shop at his own expense.

Now that "security has returned", the economy must follow, he insisted.

- 'We must cooperate' -

Sitting at a historic trading crossroads close to Syria and Turkey, Mosul has long thumbed its nose at authorities in Baghdad.

But traders say working with the authorities is essential to ensure that IS does not return.

"Now, we must cooperate with the security forces that have liberated us and inform on anyone who seems suspicious, rather than remain passive," one said.

Iraq forces defeated IS in Mosul in July 2017 after months of intense urban battles that reduced the historic Old City to ruins

After their invasion of Iraq in 2003, American forces took huge losses in Mosul and the surrounding region, from which many of former dictator Saddam Hussein's army officers originated.

Even before IS launched its lightning takeover of a third of Iraq's territory and large parts of Syria in 2014, extremist groups had taken control in some areas, placing them off limits to Iraqi forces.

The authorities at the time blamed Al-Qaeda "sleeper cells" -- a phrase many use today to refer to the remnants of IS.

"For the time being, the residents are cooperating completely and informing us when they see strangers in their neighbourhoods," said a police officer, who asked to remain anonymous.

"We hope that will continue -- if not, everything could change and a new IS could emerge."

Mozhar Abdel Qader, a 48-year-old trader, cautioned against celebrating too quickly. The conditions that allowed IS to recruit en masse in Mosul still exist, he said.

"There is unemployment, injustice. People don't have enough to eat. So when you give them $100 to plant a bomb, they do it," the father of five told AFP.

He said he regularly returns to examine his house in the Old City, riddled with bullets and shells.

He stood in the rubble of the Al-Nuri mosque, now a cemetery of burnt cars.

"If we feed everyone and find work for young people, you can be sure that everyone would protect the country even better than the security forces," he said.
The Reuters reporters were held incommunicado for two weeks without any access to lawyers, family or colleagues

Two Reuters journalists were due in a Myanmar court Wednesday where they could be charged under a secrecy law that carries up to 14 years in jail, as calls escalate for their release.

Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were arrested a month ago after receiving documents from two policemen during a dinner in Yangon.

They were detained under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act after they left the restaurant for alleged possession of classified documents obtained "by deception".

The pair had been reporting on the military campaign in Rakhine state that has forced some 655,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee over the border to Bangladesh since August, violence the UN has condemned as ethnic cleansing.

The issue is highly sensitive inside Myanmar.

Reuters insists their reporters have done nothing wrong, while their families have suggested the pair were set up.

The US and EU have led global calls for the journalists to be freed, while Amnesty International late Tuesday repeated its appeal for their immediate release.

"They have done absolutely nothing but carrying out their legitimate work as journalists," said James Gomez, Amnesty International's Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Former US president Bill Clinton also weighed in on the issue.

"A free press is critical to a free society-the detention of journalists anywhere is unacceptable," he tweeted on Monday.

"The Reuters journalists being held in Myanmar should be released immediately."

The case has cast a spotlight on Myanmar's troubled transition to democracy after nearly five decades of military rule.

It touches on both slumping press freedom and the Rohingya crisis, two issues that have raised questions over the country's ability to shake off the legacy of junta rule.

Much of the Buddhist-majority population supports the army in what it calls a legitimate campaign against Rohingya militants after attacks against border guard police killed about a dozen.

The military has severely restricted access to northern Rakhine state to journalists, aid groups and observers.

The Reuters reporters were held incommunicado for two weeks without access to lawyers, family or colleagues before a brief court appearance to extend their remand for a further two weeks.

They must either be charged at Wednesday's hearing or released.

Reuters has vociferously denied any wrongdoing on behalf of their reporters, defending their right to report on an issue of global significance.

A slew of legal cases against journalists have compounded disappointment among those hoping the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi would usher in a new era of freedom.

Her administration shares power with an army that still controls all security policy and other key levers of government.

Suu Kyi's time in office has also been dominated by the Rohingya crisis, with criticism pouring in from around the globe over her refusal to denounce the army's crackdown and allow in international investigators.
The abrupt reversal came days after officials announced a proposal to allow drilling in virtually all coastal waters

The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would not allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida after pressure from the state's Republican governor.

The abrupt reversal came days after officials announced a proposal to allow drilling in virtually all coastal waters, drawing immediate criticism from environmentalists.

Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida was among the early critics of the plan that is part of President Donald Trump's "energy dominance" focus, saying oil drilling threatened Florida's natural resources, an issue that has long had bipartisan support.

Interior secretary Ryan Zinke announced the move on Twitter, saying: "I support the governor's position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver.

"As a result... I am removing Florida from consideration from any new oil and gas platforms."

The program "proposes the largest number of lease sales in US history," and opens 98 percent of recoverable oil and gas reserves in federally-controlled waters to development, according to the Interior Department.

While offshore drilling is defended as a vital source of jobs and economic development in a few states like Texas and Louisiana, many other parts of the country have vigorously fought drilling due to environmental hazards and the importance of tourism to their local economies.

Republican governors including Maryland's Larry Hogan and South Carolina's Henry McMaster have balked at offshore drilling, while the practice is anathema in Democratic-leaning California and northeastern states.

California's attorney general Xavier Becerra immediately demanded a similar exemption for his state.

"California is also 'unique' & our 'coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver.'" he tweeted.

"Our 'local and state voice' is firmly opposed to any and all offshore drilling. If that's your standard, we, too, should be removed from your list. Immediately."
Afghan Shiite men carry a wounded friend near the site of an Islamic State suicide attack on a mosque in Kabul last August

Middle-class Afghans turned jihadists have assisted the Islamic State group's expansion from its stronghold in Afghanistan's restive east to Kabul, analysts say, helping to make the capital one of the deadliest places in the country.

IS has claimed nearly 20 attacks across Kabul in 18 months, with cells including students, professors and shopkeepers evading Afghan and US security forces to bring carnage to the highly fortified city.

It is an alarming development for Kabul's war-weary civilians and beleaguered security forces, who are already struggling to beat back the resurgent Taliban, as well as for the US counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan.

"This is not just a group that has a rural bastion in eastern Afghanistan -- it is staging high-casualty, high-visibility attacks in the nation's capital and I think that's something to be worried about," said analyst Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center in Washington.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K), the Middle East group's affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, emerged in the region in 2014, largely made up of disaffected fighters from the Taliban and other jihadist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

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It claimed its first attack in Kabul in the summer of 2016. Since then the Sunni group has struck at security forces and Shiites with increasing frequency, helped by its growing network in the capital.

There is no shortage of recruits, analysts say. IS has successfully tapped a rich vein of extremism in Afghanistan that has existed for decades and crosses socio-economic groups -- fanned by growing internet access among urban youth.

"We are talking about a generation which has been desensitised to different types of violence and violent extremism," said Borhan Osman, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

"It should not come as a surprise that some of the youth inculcated in the ideology of jihadism embrace the next version of jihadism, the most violent one."

Members and supporters of IS cells in Kabul hide in the open, living with their families and going to classes or work every day, Osman said.

The militants meet at night to discuss jihad, or holy war, and plot attacks on targets in the city they know well -- well enough to adapt to changes, such as tightened security in the wake of a massive truck bomb in May that killed around 150 people.

"It's an adaptive structure reacting to the counter-measures," a Western diplomat told AFP.

"From May to December what we have seen is different types of attacks, smaller attacks that are getting through."

An Afghan security source previously told AFP that "20 or more" IS-K cells were operating in the city.

- 'Hunt them down' -

Osman, an expert on militant networks in Afghanistan, said it was difficult to know how many IS-K fighters there were in Kabul. But their ranks were constantly being replenished by recruitment efforts on social media as well as in universities, schools and mosques.

"You can't say they are all poor -- a number of them come from middle-class Kabuli families. Some are university educated. Some have a high school education," he said, adding that most have some religious education as well.

An Afghan security source agreed. "The new wave of extremists is not an uneducated farmer. It is mainly people with a good level of education," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Afghan Shiite mourners attend a burial ceremony for the one of the 41 victims of an Islamic State bomb attack on a Shiite cultural centre

While the Taliban remains by far the biggest threat to Afghanistan's security forces and government, IS-K has dominated headlines in recent months with attacks in Kabul, including three last month alone which killed dozens of people.

Afghan and Western sources told AFP the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, which was blamed for last year's truck bomb, was involved in at least some of the Kabul attacks claimed by IS.

Some of the assaults have come within metres of embassies and NATO's Resolute Support mission, a disconcerting reply to vows by the head of US Forces-Afghanistan General John Nicholson to "hunt them down" until they are "annihilated".

Last year the US dropped the so-called Mother of All Bombs, the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat, on IS strongholds in Nangarhar. That has been followed by intense aerial bombing by Afghan and US forces.

But analysts point out that the strategy has failed to destroy IS -- and may have even pushed more militants into Kabul, where using that sort of overwhelming firepower is not an option.

- New IS base? -

The group's resilience has raised fears that Afghanistan could become a new base for IS fighters fleeing the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, where the group has lost swathes of territory.

But the exact nature of links between IS in Afghanistan and the Middle East remains unclear.

The Afghan government claims there is no connection. Analysts told AFP there is communication, and many of the claims for the Kabul attacks come via IS's propaganda arm, Amaq.

AFP reported last month that French and Algerian fighters, some arriving from Syria, had joined IS in northern Afghanistan where the group has established new bases.

Regardless of links, the goals of IS in the Middle East and in Afghanistan appear to be aligned: stirring up sectarian violence.

"The real game is to provoke a lot of Sunni hatred towards Shias (Shiites)," Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told AFP.

She said she was "waiting" for an attack on a major Sunni mosque, whether by a frustrated Shiite or by IS pretending to be Shiites in order to inflame Sunni anger.

But, its success in the capital aside, IS will struggle to turn Afghanistan into a new sectarian front, predicts Kugelman, who points out that most cleavages in Afghanistan are ethnic and not sectarian.

At any rate, he says, "why would you want your new front to be in a place where you have some of the most relentless levels of firepower being used against you?"
While Washington has frozen military aid to Pakistan, the importance of the countributions to the country have dimished as the economy improves, while it can also call on China

Washington's freeze on billions in military assistance to Pakistan will have limited impact, thanks to its friendship with China and diminishing importance of aid to the economy, observers say -- but there could be trouble if the US calls in its debts.

Exasperated by what it considers Islamabad's neglect in cracking down on militancy, Donald Trump's administration last week announced a suspension of the aid, which also also goes towards Afghanistan coalition funding.

"They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" President Donald Trump tweeted on New Year's Day.

A senior official told AFP that up to $2 billion of equipment and funding was at stake.

However, with US aid declining significantly in recent years, the economy improving and Beijing just a phone call away, sources told AFP the negative effects would be "marginal" in the short to medium term.

"International aid is not big in comparison with the (size of the) country's economy," one Islamabad-based diplomat said. "Means of pressure are limited."

Former finance minister Hafeez Pasha says after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, aid increased substantially, approaching $3-4 billion annually at its peak in 2010.

"From there onwards, it's been declining very sharply. Last year, it was around $750 million," he said, a figure that when compared with the economy "is not a lot".

- Indirect weapon -

But officials in Washington have also hinted to AFP that they have other cards to play -- such as calling in vital IMF loans.

Pakistan's economy is currently stable and growing, says senior World Bank economist Muhammad Waheed.

But it is also financed through the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank -- all institutions to which Washington is a major creditor.

US aid to Pakistan

"There are structural issues like low tax revenues and growing trade deficit, which government needs to tackle," Waheed added, warning of a looming balance of payments crisis.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves are sharply down, forcing the country to borrow if it wants to continue to grow, analysts have said.

In December, Islamabad raised $2.5 billion in international bonds, a transaction described as "successful" by Waheed.

But Washington's power gives it an indirect weapon to wield over Pakistan, warned security analyst Rahimullah Yousafzai. "It can use its influence in the UN Security Council, IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank," he said.

The Washington-based IMF has bailed out Pakistan before, with an $11.3 billion loan package in 2008 to stave off a balance of payments crisis in a deal Islamabad abandoned in 2011.

The country received a second $6.7 billion IMF bailout package in 2013.

- The China card -

"Pakistan needs the support of the United States... because the US is a major shareholder of those organisations," agreed Ashfaque Hasan, an economist on Pakistan's economic advisory council.

He recalled that in 1998 the IMF imposed a $20 million fine on Pakistan, hit by a credit freeze after its nuclear tests.

But weeks after the September 11 attacks on the US, the IMF released $135 million for Pakistan as it aligned itself as a major ally of Washington ahead of the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Now, however, Pakistani officials appear to believe they also have their long and growing friendship with China to play.

"If the US starts to bully, blame, threaten, we have other options," says Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, referring to China, which rushed to defend Pakistan's track record on militancy after the US announcement.

Questions remain over how much Beijing, which is already investing some $60 billion in Pakistani infrastructure projects and which has a horror of Islamist militancy on its borders, would be willing to prop up its "all-weather" friend.

But Sayed was bullish. Suspending aid, he said, is "a failed formula".
Novak Djokovic, chasing a record seventh Australian Open crown, had pulled out of a warm-up Abu Dhabi tournament, raising concerns he would be fit enough

Novak Djokovic made a resounding return on Wednesday after six months out with an elbow injury, declaring he felt "great" after beating world number five Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 at the Kooyong Classic.

The Serbian 12-time Grand Slam winner was in good form, and full of optimism, after his first competitive outing since losing a Wimbledon quarter-final to Tomas Berdych last July.

"I feel great, I was eager to get onto the court," he said after playing with a flesh-coloured sleeve on his right arm.

"I had a great opponent, it was a test for me to see where I am, how the work we did pays off on court. It worked pretty well."

The former world number one, who will be chasing a record seventh Australian Open crown next week, had pulled out of a warm-up Abu Dhabi tournament, raising concerns over whether he would be fit enough to play at Melbourne Park.

"There was a doubt, especially after I pulled out of the first week of the year," he admitted.

"I personally didn't know what's going to happen. We did some treatment and obviously gave it a lot of thought. Luckily for me I'm here and so I'm hoping in the next four, five days everything will go well and I'll be ready for the Open."

Dominic Thiem of Austria, who only arrived in Melbourne Monday night after four days in bed with a virus, presented only a minimal challenge to Novak Djokovic at the Kooyong Classic

While pleased at his progress, Djokovic, who has dropped to 14 in the world, admitted he still had work to do ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the year.

"I don't want to be over-confident, but I'm very, very happy with how it went today," added the 30-year-old.

"I don't say I'm at 100 percent, I can only say that when I get the feel of a tournament. Ideally I would have had another tournament before the start of the Open, but it was not meant to be.

"I'll take whatever I can -- one or two matches here will be good preparation."

Thiem, who only arrived in Melbourne on Monday night from Doha after four days in bed with a virus, presented only a minimal challenge to the recharged Serb.

"I'm free of fever and healthy again," the Austrian said. "I'm still jet-lagged and was slow at the beginning of the match. I'll sleep, eat and train and not do too much. I'll be fine for the Open."

Australian Matthew Ebden, back on court after an injury-marred 2017, defeated Marin Cilic 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 7-5 in another match at the exhibition tournament.

World number six Cilic won the opener but found his game not quite up to competitive level as Ebden sneaked out the second set and then won a tight third.

Cilic, last year's losing Wimbledon finalist against Roger Federer, heads into his final practice days for the Australian Open content with his form.

"The most important thing is to feel the conditions, to get comfortable," he said. "It's important to find a good rhythm.

"Overall, I'm quite happy with my level. I was feeling the ball well and hitting cleanly from both sides."
The Reuters reporters were held incommunicado for two weeks without any access to lawyers, family or colleagues

Two Reuters journalists were formally charged by police in a Myanmar court Wednesday with breaching a colonial-era secrecy law that carries up to 14 years in jail, provoking a barrage of calls for their immediate release.

Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were arrested a month ago under the Official Secrets Act after they were allegedly given classified documents by two policemen over dinner.

The pair had been reporting on the military campaign in the northern state of Rakhine that has forced some 655,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee over the border to Bangladesh since August.

The UN and US have condemned the violence as ethnic cleansing.

The issue is incendiary inside Myanmar, where authorities deny wrongdoing and say the army was cracking down on militants from the Muslim minority.

A district judge said police charged the pair under a section of the Official Secrets Act which punishes anyone who "obtains, collects, records or publishes... any official document or information" which could be "useful to an enemy".

The pair will return to court on January 23 for legal arguments, when the bench will decide whether to accept the case under Myanmar's arcane legal system.

There were emotional scenes in the Yangon courthouse, with family members in tears and the reporters making desperate pleas before being led back into detention after they were denied bail.

"Please tell the people to protect our journalists!" Kyaw Soe Oo shouted to the court.

His colleague Wa Lone said his wife was pregnant, adding: "I'm trying to be strong."

Their families have suggested the pair were set up, saying the arrests took place immediately after leaving the restaurant where they dined with the two policemen.

The officers are also under arrest but did not appear in court on Wednesday.

The case against the Reuters journalists has shocked Myanmar's embattled press corps.

Reporters covering Wednesday's proceedings wore black in protest against their arrest and carried banners proclaiming "Journalism is not a crime".

Reuters said it was "extremely disappointed" that the authorities were seeking to prosecute.

"We view this as a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom," said Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler.

-'Travesty of justice' -

The US Embassy in Myanmar led reaction to the court decision, expressing disappointment and calling for the "immediate release" of the reporters.

"For democracy to succeed and flourish, journalists must be able to do their jobs," the embassy statement added.

Reporters Without Borders said the two reporters were being used as "scapegoats" to intimidate journalists, as rights groups condemned their continued detention.

"These charges are a travesty of justice and should be dropped," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

The case has cast a spotlight on Myanmar's troubled transition to democracy after nearly five decades of military rule.

It touches both on shrinking press freedom and the Rohingya crisis, two issues that have raised questions about the country's ability to shake off the legacy of junta rule.

Much of the Buddhist-majority population supports the army in what it calls a justified campaign against Rohingya militants, after their attacks on border guard police killed about a dozen people last August.

The military has severely restricted access to Rakhine to reporters, aid groups and observers.

Several legal cases against journalists have disappointed those hoping the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi would usher in a new era of freedom.

Her administration shares power with an army that still controls all security policy and other key levers of government.

Suu Kyi's time in office has also been dominated by the Rohingya crisis, with criticism from around the globe of her refusal to denounce the army's crackdown and allow in international investigators.

burs-rs/apj/qan
China has been forging closer links with Pacific island nations

China lodged a formal diplomatic protest on Wednesday after a senior Australian minister called Chinese infrastructure projects in the Pacific "white elephants", the latest spat in increasingly contentious relations.

Friction between the two countries grew last month after Australia singled out China as a focus of concern when it proposed laws on foreign interference, drawing a furious response from Beijing.

China has been forging closer links with Pacific island nations, with Australia's Lowy Institute estimating it provided US$1.78 billion in aid, including concessional loans, for projects in the region between 2006-16.

Australian International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said Beijing's influence in the region was "clearly growing", but criticised its development assistance as resulting in "white elephants".

"You've got the Pacific full of these useless buildings which nobody maintains, which are basically white elephants," she told The Australian newspaper.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang slammed the remarks during a regular press briefing, calling them "full of ignorance and prejudice".

"They are also irresponsible, and we have already made representations to the Australian government," he said, adding that Fierravanti-Wells should "engage in self-reflection".

Fierravanti-Wells said in her 24 trips to the Pacific as part of her international development portfolio, she had come across "nonproductive infrastructure" that was not regularly maintained and not used to full capacity.

"I've gone to (the Pacific) islands and you'll be driving along on some back road and all of a sudden you see this Chinese road crew building a road to nowhere and you think 'hmm, what's all that about'," she added.

The minister also warned that unlike loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Chinese financing had less than favourable terms.

"We don't know what the consequences are when (Pacific nations) have to pay back some of these Chinese loans," she said.

Lu said China "fully respects the will of the Pacific islands' governments and their people".

China's development aid "has brought real benefits to local people," he added, saying that they have been "welcomed by the concerned countries' governments".

China has diplomatic relationships with eight Pacific island nations -- the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

Six other Pacific countries recognise self-ruled Taiwan, which China sees as part of its territory.

The largest amount of aid over 2006-16 -- US$632.46 million -- went to PNG, the Lowy Institute said.
Catholic devotees jostle for position as they try to touch the life-size statue of the Black Nazarene as it arrives at the Quiapo Church in Manila

One devotee died and more than 800 people were injured in the Philippine capital when millions joined a religious procession featuring a blackened image of Jesus, officials said on Wednesday.

The annual feast of the Black Nazarene, one of the world's largest Catholic festivals, drew 3.5 million barefoot devotees on Tuesday in what police described as a "generally peaceful" event despite crowds jostling to touch the icon.

However a former jail officer died of a heart attack after joining the scramble to climb onto the carriage bearing an image of the centuries-old Black Nazarene on Tuesday morning, city officials and police said.

People in the mainly Catholic Asian nation risk life and limb to kiss or touch the icon with towels, believing the Black Nazarene to possess miraculous powers.

Two people died during the 2016 event.

More than 800 people were hurt in this year's procession, including one who sustained a suspected neck and spine injury in a fall, according to the Philippine Red Cross.

The procession began before dawn on Tuesday and ended after midnight, some 22 hours later.

During the parade police shut down mobile phone signals in many areas of Manila to prevent potential terror attacks on the procession.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in had lambasted the "comfort women" agreement on the campaign trail

South Korean President Moon Jae-In on Wednesday called for a "heartfelt apology" from Japan to the victims of wartime sex slavery, condemning a 2015 agreement as a "wrongful" solution.

Seoul said this week that it would not seek to renegotiate the deal, as it had been agreed by both Tokyo and the previous South Korean government.

But it said it would no longer use Japanese money to compensate the survivors.

The issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops in World War II has roiled relations between the neighbours -- both of them US allies and both threatened by nuclear-armed North Korea -- for decades.

The deal on the so-called "comfort women" should not have been struck without the involvement of the victims, Moon told a New Year press conference.

"This issue cannot be resolved through a give-and-take deal between governments struck over the victims' head," he said.

"A wrong knot has to be untied. Japan should accept the truth, make a heartfelt apology to victims."

Doing so would enable the survivors to forgive it for its past wrongs, he added.

The agreement was finalised by now-ousted president Park Geun-Hye under pressure from Washington in the face of mounting security threats from North Korea.

Under the deal, South Korea promised not to raise the issue again and Japan transferred 1 billion yen (now $8.9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

Tokyo has reacted angrily to comments on the issue this week by Seoul.

Yoshihide Suga, the top Japanese government spokesman and the Chief Cabinet Secretary, said Wednesday: "Japan can never accept it if the South Korean side demands we take further measures despite the agreement that confirmed the final and irreversible solution on the issue."

Moon had lambasted the agreement on the campaign trail and was elected president in May after Park was impeached and jailed over a massive corruption scandal.

But he said Wednesday: "The fact that there was an official agreement between Korea and Japan cannot be denied. It is also important to deal with Korea's relationship with Japan carefully."
In some remote areas of Nepal menstruating women are forced to sleep in a hut away from the home

A young Nepali woman has died of suspected smoke inhalation while she was banished to a shed for menstruating under an ancient tradition banned more than a decade ago, police said Wednesday.

Many communities in Nepal view menstruating women as impure and in some remote areas they are forced to sleep in a hut away from the home, a practice known as chhaupadi.

Gauri Bayak, 21, was found dead by her neighbours inside a smoke-filled hut on Monday morning in a village in the western district of Achham.

"She had lit a fire to keep herself warm and we suspect she suffocated and died of smoke inhalation," local police chief Dadhi Ram Neupane told AFP.

Police are waiting for the results of a postmortem to confirm the cause of death.

Chhaupadi is linked to Hinduism and considers women untouchable when they menstruate, as well as after childbirth.

Barred from touching food, religious icons, cattle and men, they are banished from the home and forced to sleep in basic huts.

The practice was banned in 2005 but is still followed in parts of Nepal, particularly in remote western regions.

Last year a teenager died after being bitten by a snake while sleeping in a shed and in 2016 two women died in separate incidents while following the ritual.

Last year Nepal passed a new law criminalising chhaupadi. It will come into effect in August, when anyone forcing a woman to follow the custom faces a three-month jail sentence and a 3,000 rupee ($30) fine.

Manju Mahat, a district women's rights official, said chhaupadi was "a clear violation of our human rights" and urged women's families to "take responsibility and stop this practice".
Israeli forces close a road on January 10, 2018 in the area where a 35-year-old Israeli rabbi was killed the previous day while driving near the wildcat settlement where he lived, near the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank

Israeli forces set up roadblocks and deployed around a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday in a manhunt for attackers who shot dead an Israeli settler.

Raziel Shevah, a 35-year-old rabbi, was killed late Tuesday while driving near the wildcat settlement where he lived, Havat Gilad near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Some 22 gunshots were found in his car, Israel's army radio reported. The gunshots reportedly came from a passing vehicle.

"Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks," the military said in a statement.

"The review of the incident is ongoing. Based on situation assessments, it was decided to reinforce the area with additional forces."

The area frequently sees tensions between hardline Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

Palestinian security sources said they were not aware of any arrests yet, but added that Israeli settlers in the area had thrown stones at Palestinian cars.

Military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot visited the site of the shooting on Wednesday.

Shevah was being buried at the wildcat settlement on Wednesday -- the first person to be buried there at the wish of his family.

Israeli officials strongly denounced the attack, including those calling for punitive measures against Palestinians, such as the demolition of the homes of the attackers.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, welcomed the attack.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he ordered his staff to look into how Havat Gilad could be legalised as a settlement.

All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are seen as illegal under international law and major obstacles to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Israel however differentiates between settlements it has approved and those it has not.

Those without approval are referred to as outposts and are typically populated by hardline religious nationalists who see the entire West Bank as part of Israel.

Past attempts by Israeli authorities to evacuate Havat Gilad have led to clashes with settlers there. Some 50 families currently live in Havat Gilad.

Sporadic unrest has occurred since US President Donald Trump provoked Palestinian anger by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6.

Fourteen Palestinians have been killed since then, with most of them shot dead in clashes with Israeli forces. Shevah is the first Israeli killed since then.

It was unclear if Tuesday's shooting had any link to Trump's announcement.

US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a supporter of West Bank settlements, said on Twitter: "An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists."

"Hamas praises the killers and PA (Palestinian Authority) laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace."

Some 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank among some 2.6 million Palestinians.
Philippine soldiers on patrol in Mindanao in May 2017 after attacks on BIFF fighters

Muslim militants who pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group have killed a soldier and wounded three civilians in bomb attacks in the southern Philippines, the military said Wednesday.

Security forces on the main southern island of Mindanao have been pursuing pro-IS armed groups following a five-month battle with militants for the city of Marawi last year that left more than 1,100 dead.

The soldier was fatally hit Tuesday while his unit was tracking Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) gunmen on a mountain trail near the town of Datu Unsay, regional military spokesman Captain Arvin Encinas told AFP.

"The dead soldier was involved in a clearing operation (against the BIFF)," Encinas added.

A roadside bomb apparently intended for a military convoy in the neighbouring town of Datu Hoffer wounded three civilians instead, Encinas added.

He said both military units were pursuing BIFF members who had clashed with security forces in the same region on Saturday, a firefight that left a soldier and five militants dead.

He said some members of the BIFF had been trained in making improvised explosive devices by Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian killed in a police operation in the same region two years ago.

"These are students of Marwan. There's quite a few of them," Encinas said of the bomb makers, referring to Zulkifli's alias.

The Muslim minority of the mainly Catholic Philippines considers Mindanao as its homeland. Decades of armed rebellion in the region have claimed more than 100,000 lives according to official estimates.

Sporadic fighting has continued despite the defeat of the Marawi militants and a 2014 peace treaty signed by the main Muslim guerrilla group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
A live broadcast of South Korea's President Moon Jae-In delivering his New Year's address is displayed on television screens at an electronics mall in Seoul

An agreement for North Korea to send athletes to the Winter Olympics in the South signals a step change in relations, analysts say, but will do little to curb Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities.

The North and South on Tuesday held their first official dialogue in more than two years, agreeing that Pyongyang would send a large delegation to next month's Winter Olympics and promising further high-level talks.

The meeting came after months of confrontation over North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, with both parties seeking to dial down tensions.

"Both sides wanted to win and they got it," said John Delury, a professor at Seoul's Yonsei University.

Seoul and Olympic organisers have been keen for Pyongyang -- which boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in South Korea's capital -- to take part in what they repeatedly proclaimed as a "peace Olympics" in Pyeongchang.

But the North gave no sign it would do so until leader Kim Jong-Un's New Year speech. It pursued its banned weapons programmes in defiance of United Nations sanctions, launched missiles capable of reaching the US and staged its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

North Korea's participation in the Pyeongchang Games is a tacit guarantee that it will refrain from such provocations during February and March, when the Olympics and Paralympics are held.

Seoul and Washington also agreed earlier to delay their annual joint military drills -- which Pyongyang views as a rehearsal for invasion -- until after the events.

Go Myong-Hyun, an analyst at Seoul-based Asan Institute of Policy Studies, said North Korea secured so-called "strategic composure" -- shelter from a possible US military strike which has repeatedly been described as an "option on the table" by Trump administration officials.

"Washington can't take any military action against the North during inter-Korean talks because it doesn't want to be blamed for any hiccups," Go said.

But what happens when the lights are turned off at Pyeongchang and geopolitics returns to normal on the peninsula?

- Moon's dilemma -

"Whether this opening can be exploited to promote peace and security beyond the term of the Olympics games themselves... remains to be seen," wrote Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Despite a handful of agreements reached Tuesday, North Korea made no promises on its nuclear and missile programmes and its chief delegate lashed out when the issue was raised.

Ri Son-Gwon told South Korean journalists that denuclearisation was not an issue for the two Koreas to discuss, saying: "The target of all our nuclear and hydrogen bombs and ICBMs and all other sophisticated weapons is the US."

There were "many problems" to settle between the two sides, he added, warning of "unexpected obstacles" down the road.

Analysts say South Korea could find itself in a tight spot, sandwiched between its desire to improve ties with Pyongyang and to work with Washington to denuclearise the North.

The United States has continuously stressed that the talks should lead to efforts for the North's complete and verifiable denuclearisation.

"We all know the motive behind North Korea's sudden willingness to participate in the Pyeongchang Olympics," said an editorial in South Korea's mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

"It is to divide the South Korean government, which wants inter-Korean talks, and the US government, which wants the denuclearisation of the North," it said.

President Moon Jae-In has long supported engagement with the North to bring it to the negotiating table over banned weapons programmes that have alarmed the US and the global community, and have seen Pyongyang subjected to multiple sets of United Nations sanctions.

But the US has said the regime must stop nuclear tests in order for negotiations with Washington to take place.

"At some point, South Korea will face a dilemma between pushing ahead with inter-Korean ties or joining Washington's efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear programmes," said Kim Hyun-Wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

Doveish President Moon may not easily give up on the progress with Pyongyang, Kim said, "which is bound to create noise in the alliance".
Tunisian protesters are seen in the Djebel Lahmer district of the capital Tunis early on January 10, 2018 in a second night of unrest driven by anger over austerity measures

More than 200 people were arrested and dozens hurt during clashes in several parts of Tunisia, the interior ministry said Wednesday, after a second night of unrest driven by anger over austerity measures.

Ministry spokesman Khalifa Chibani told local radio that 49 police officers were wounded during clashes across the country and that 206 "troublemakers" were arrested.

Properties were damaged, he said, including a branch of the Carrefour supermarket chain in the suburbs of Tunis that was looted.

Police and army forces were deployed in several cities during the night, including in Tebourba 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of the capital Tunis, where hundreds of young people took to the streets after the funeral of a man in his 40s who died in unrest on Monday night.

Police have insisted they did not kill the man. The results of an autopsy have not been made public.

Tunisian police track down protesters in the Djebel Lahmer district of the capital Tunis early on January 10, 2018 after austerity measures ignited protests in the North African country

Unrest was also reported in the southern city of Gafsa, in Kasserine in central Tunisia and in Sidi Bouzid, the cradle of the protests that sparked the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

Tunisia has seen several days of demonstrations after activists and politicians denounced hikes in value-added tax and social contributions introduced at the start of the year as a tough new budget was implemented.

Protests are common in the North African state in the month of January, when Tunisians mark the anniversary of the 2011 revolt that unseated dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The country has been hailed for its relatively smooth democratic transition but seven years after the revolution tensions over economic grievances are high.
Only three confirmed fragments of flight MH370 have been found

Malaysia signed a deal with an American firm on Wednesday to resume the search for MH370 almost four years after the plane disappeared, with the company to receive up to $70 million if successful.

The new hunt, which will last 90 days, is expected to start in mid-January when a high-tech vessel leased by the seabed exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, reaches a new search zone in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people -- mostly from China -- on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, triggering one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.

No sign of the plane was found in a 120,000 square kilometre (46,000 square mile) search zone selected by satellite analysis of the jet's likely trajectory.

The Australian-led sea search, the largest in aviation history, was suspended in January last year.

But three firms submitted bids to resume the hunt privately and after lengthy negotiations, the Malaysian government agreed to engage Ocean Infinity on a "no find, no fee" basis.

"I would like to reiterate our unwavering commitment towards solving the mystery of MH370," Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Wednesday at a signing ceremony for the deal.

The new search zone is an area of approximately 25,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean.

If the company finds the Boeing 777, the amount they are paid will depend on where it was located, said Liow.

If it is found within the first 5,000 square kilometres, they will receive $20 million. The amount rises gradually to a maximum of $70 million if the jet is found outside the 25,000 square kilometre search zone.

Relatives of MH370 passengers welcomed the decision.

"We are grateful the Malaysian government is resuming the search for MH370," V. P. R. Nathan, whose wife Anne Daisy was on the plane, told AFP.

"We do not know what happened, we need to know what happened before we can get closure."

The ship that will conduct the hunt is a Norwegian research vessel named Seabed Constructor, which is carrying 65 crew members and set off from South Africa in early January for the search zone.

It is carrying eight autonomous drones, equipped with sonars and cameras, that will scour the waters in the hunt for the wreckage and can operate in depths up to 6,000 metres (20,000 feet).

Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in December announced the partial withdrawal of his forces from Syria in December

Drones that attacked Russian bases in Syria last week were sent from Idlib, a "de-escalation" zone controlled by anti-Damascus fighters, the Russian defence ministry's official newspaper said Wednesday.

Idlib province has been a source of tension between regime-backer Russia and rebel-supporter Turkey, with Ankara accusing the Syrian regime of stepping up its offensive on key rebel-held areas there.

"The drones were launched from the area of Muazzara in the southwestern part of the Idlib de-escalation area controlled by so-called 'moderate opposition' units," defence ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda said.

The ministry has written to the chiefs of the Turkish army and intelligence service to insist that Ankara fully implement a ceasefire in Idlib province, the paper added.

Idlib is one of four de-escalation zones in Syria covered by a deal meant to reduce violence that was struck last year by Turkey, Russia and government-backer Iran.

On Tuesday, Turkey's foreign ministry summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors to Ankara, according to diplomatic sources, after saying the Syrian regime was targeting moderate opposition forces in Idlib near the Turkish border.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said this could torpedo talks aimed at ending the war.

Russia is hoping to hold a Syria peace congress in its Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29-30.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by anti-government forces that are dominated by a jihadist outfit known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

On Monday, Russia said pilotless drones carrying explosives attacked Russian bases in Syria last weekend without causing any casualties or damage.

After two years of Russian military support for the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, President Vladimir Putin announced in mid-December the partial withdrawal of forces from the country, saying their task had been largely completed.

The size of the toal Russian deployment in Syria is not known but independent Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer told AFP that up to 10,000 troops and private contractors could have taken part in the conflict.

More than 330,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Syrian war, which began in 2011 as the regime crushed anti-government protests. Millions have been displaced.
At least 11 journalists were arrested in 2017 in Myanmar and dozens of non-media workers have been charged with online defamation since the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi took office

Myanmar's media has long been on the rack. On Wednesday the situation worsened markedly when police formally charged two Reuters reporters with breaching the Official Secrets Act.

The case against Myanmar nationals Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, follows their work on the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Hopes of a new dawn for free speech under the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi have been dashed.

At least 11 journalists were arrested in 2017 and dozens of non-media workers have been charged with online defamation since she took office the year before.

At the same time, rights groups say the Rohingya crisis has created a toxic atmosphere of self-censorship among the media.

Here are some of the other prominent legal cases involving the media and freedom of expression in recent months in Myanmar, which ranked 131st out of 180 countries in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index.

- Jailed for flying drone -

In October three journalists and their driver were arrested for flying a drone near parliament while working for Turkish broadcaster TRT.

The reporters, Myanmar national Aung Naing Soe, Malaysian journalist Mok Choy Lin and Singaporean cameraman Lau Hon Meng, were later jailed for two months along with their driver Hla Tin for violating a colonial-era aircraft act.

They were released in December shortly before finishing the sentence.

Observers linked the case to antipathy towards Turkey after its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

- Facebook status -

Investigative journalist Swe Win was arrested at Yangon's airport in July and charged under the notorious 66(d) statute, which covers online defamation.

His case stemmed from Facebook comments in which he criticised a nationalist monk. Swe Win was released on bail but the case is continuing in the city of Mandalay.

Scores of writers, poets, journalists and civilians have been subject to 66(d) complaints, which have soared under Suu Kyi's administration.

Complaints have been filed against critics of both Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing.

- Drugs coverage -

Three Myanmar journalists from the Irrawaddy and the Democratic Voice of Burma were arrested in June after reporting on a drug-burning ceremony.

The event took place in territory controlled by the rebel group the Ta'ang National Liberation Army.

The reporters were charged with unlawful association, a law used against supporters of Myanmar's many ethnic armed organisations fighting for autonomy in border areas.

The case was eventually withdrawn but the reporters spent more than two months in jail, in what was seen as a warning against giving publicity to rebel groups.

- Self-censorship? -

Pre-publication censorship was abolished in 2012. But articles critical of the security forces and senior officials still give editors reasons to be afraid.

Sometimes this reaches absurd heights: a satirist from the Voice newspaper was arrested in June along with his editor for publishing an essay gently mocking Myanmar's failed efforts to make peace with ethnic armed groups.

Charges were eventually dropped against both of them.

Allegations of atrocities by security forces in Rakhine state also pose acute problems for Myanmar-based media.

They fear a backlash from the government and the Buddhist-majority public, who consider condemnation over the Rohingya crisis unfair and one-sided.

Several staff members at the Myanmar Times quit in protest at the firing of a colleague who had raised allegations of sexual assault against security forces in Rakhine.
Italy went from large-scale arrivals in the first six months of 2017 to a sharp drop-off, thanks to controversial agreements in Libya.

The heads of seven southern European states gather in Rome on Wednesday to tackle one of the most stubborn thorns in the EU's side: flows of migrants from war-torn and impoverished countries.

The leaders of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain will meet in the Italian capital for a short meeting at 7 pm (1800 GMT), followed by a joint press conference and a working dinner.

It will be the fourth meeting of the "Southern Seven" since Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras launched the initiative in September 2016. The group met twice last year, in Lisbon and Madrid.

Issues on the agenda are expected to include the future of the eurozone and efforts to propel growth, employment and investment, as well as preparation for the 2019 European Parliament elections.

But from overcrowded reception centres on Greek islands to packed boats heading for Spain, the hottest topic is bound to be migrants.

Trend in number of migrants who have arrived each year in Spain, Italy and Greece, 2014 - 2017

For Italy, 2017 was a turning point: the country went from large-scale arrivals in the first six months to a sharp drop-off, thanks to controversial agreements in Libya.

Some 119,000 people landed in Italy last year, down 35 percent on 2016.

For its part, Spain saw a notable increase in Algerians and Moroccans sailing in, from 6,000 attempting the crossing in 2016 to nearly 23,000 picked up last year.

In Greece, an accord struck between the EU and Turkey limited the number of arrivals to 28,800 -- six times fewer than in 2016 -- but it did not solve the problem of caring for those who had already made the journey.

- Under pressure -

The toll of dead or missing in the Mediterranean dropped from nearly 5,000 during crossings in 2016 to 3,116 in 2017, mostly off the coast of Libya.

But the start of 2018 has seen some grim statistics.

A controversial migrant relocation scheme was agreed by the EU in 2015.

Between 90 and 100 migrants were missing after their makeshift boat sank off Libya, the country's navy said late Tuesday. Ten migrants also died last weekend and dozens more are missing after their boat sank.

But apart from rescues at sea, asylum applications -- and the inevitable delays and lengthy appeals -- have placed great strain on some countries.

Greece is struggling to deal with more than 50,000 migrants and refugees, 14,000 of whom are crammed into tents or centres on overcrowded Aegean islands.

In Italy, the authorities have stopped providing details on the number of asylum seekers housed in its reception centres, with the last available figures showing there were nearly 200,000 last spring.

Despite a proliferation of small structures aimed at improving integration, tens of thousands of people are still forced to idle away their days in large centres as a climate of mistrust and racism grows ahead of Italy's general elections on March 4.

Spain has faced a backlash over the state of the detention centres where migrants are held before being expelled.

Anger was fuelled in December after the suicide of an Algerian who was locked up in a prison in the southern region of Andalusia along with nearly 500 other migrants for lack of space elsewhere.

- Humanitarian corridors -

Italy's Interior Minister Marco Minniti has urged the EU to follow the country's lead on humanitarian corridors

The southern European countries have urged time and again for the migrant burden to be shared across the EU.

"Italy can no longer continue to pay for everyone, in financial terms as well as in terms of political effort," Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said Monday in Brussels.

Interior Minister Marco Minniti -- the man behind the Brussels-backed deal with Libya to block migrants from setting out for Europe -- has urged the EU to follow Italy's lead on humanitarian corridors.

Three days before Christmas, Rome welcomed a group of 162 Ethiopian, Somali and Yemeni refugees who flew directly in from crisis-hit Libya.

Some 10,000 refugees are expected to follow in 2018, Minniti said -- provided they are spread across the EU.

With France also facing a record increase in asylum applications, the migration issue is also expected to figure at a bilateral meeting Thursday between President Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
Ankara has stepped up pressure on Moscow and Tehran as the bombardments on Idlib intensified.

Turkey on Wednesday called on Russia and Iran, the two chief allies of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, to halt an air offensive on the rebel-held Idlib province near the Turkish border.

Ankara has been working closely with Russia and Iran to end the Syrian conflict over the last months but has stepped up pressure on Moscow and Tehran as the bombardments on Idlib intensified.

"Iran and Russia should fulfil their responsibility. If you are guarantors -- and you are -- they should stop the regime," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the official Anadolu news agency.

"This is not a simple air offensive. The regime is advancing inside Idlib. They have a different intention."

Cavusoglu emphasised that in efforts to bring peace to Syria, Russia and Iran were the "guarantors" of the regime side and Turkey of the opposition.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by anti-government forces that are dominated by a jihadist outfit known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) consisting mostly of former fighters from the Al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate.

Ankara has already summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors, in the biggest public flare-up of tensions with Moscow and Tehran in months.

It conveyed "uneasiness" to the Russian ambassador Tuesday, calling the strikes a "violation of the borders of the Idlib de-escalation zone" established by Turkey, Iran and Russia, according sources at the foreign ministry.

Cavusoglu said 95 percent of the violations in Idlib were carried out by the regime and the groups backing the regime.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could speak by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation, he added.

"We cannot remain indifferent. We have exerted so many efforts and we cannot waste them."

The escalation comes as Russia is hoping to hold a Syria peace congress in its Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29-30 bringing together all the main parties in the conflict.

A previous attempt in November to convene talks in Sochi failed due to disagreements between the prospective participants.

But in a major potential obstacle for Sochi, Turkey says it will oppose any talks involving the Syrian Kurdish militia the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror group.

Cavusoglu repeated Turkey's red line over its presence in Sochi by saying that: "We have said we will not be in any environment... where the YPG is present."
The US Commerce Department says Canadian paper producers receive unfair subsidies which give them an advantage in the US market, and imposed import tariffs of up to 10 percent on the paper used to print newspapers and books

The United States hit Canada with yet another round of punitive import tariffs, this time for as much as 10 percent on paper used to print newspapers and books.

The US Commerce Department said in a statement late Tuesday night that the tariffs on uncoated groundwood paper came after an investigation launched in August found Canadian producers receive subsidies giving them an unfair advantage in the US market.

"Todays preliminary decision allows US producers to receive relief from the market-distorting effects of potential government subsidies while taking into account the need to keep groundwood paper prices affordable for domestic consumers," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

This is the latest in a series of trade actions by President Donald Trump's administration, including several against Canada and China, as part of his "America first" policy.

The announcement comes as negotiators are set to begin the sixth round of talks later this month in Montreal, aimed at revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement that links the US, Canadian and Mexican markets.

The preliminary decision in this latest dispute hits Canadian companies with tariffs ranging from 4.42 to 9.93 percent on exports of the paper, which in 2016 were estimated at $1.27 billion, the Commerce Department said.

Canadian officials called the move "unjustified" and vowed to defend the industry.

"We are deeply disappointed with the unjustified preliminary countervailing duty rates," Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said in a statement.

And they warned that "Any duties will have a direct and negative impact on US newspapers, especially those in small cities and towns, and result in job losses in the American printing sector."

The Commerce Department will announce a final decision on the paper imports in late May, which must then be reviewed by the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

The investigation was launched after a complaint from North Pacific Paper Company, which alleged that Canadian products had sold from between 23.5 percent and 55 percent below market rate.

The Trump administration already has slapped tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber and aircraft as part of a trade conflict between the neighboring countries.

The Commerce Department said that from January 20, 2017 it has initiated 82 antidumping and countervailing duty investigations -- a 58 percent increase from the previous year.
The ABA Blogs Most Popular Posts of 2017

Before we rush headlong into 2018 I want to make a small acknowledgement of the year that was, one that saw a lot of changes at the ABA, from the official inclusion of Hawaii to the official announcement of new big year records to a heckuva lot of rare birds. Thanks to readers, commenters, guest authors, and everyone whom makes this website hum. We couldnt do it without any of you.

The following are the 10 most popular posts published on this blog, determined by raw traffic, for the year 2017. This may or may not inspire readers to head back into the archives for some of our more fascinating contributions, but more likely will provide a peek into what drove the online bird conversation this past year.

10) #ABArare  Swallow-tailed Gull  Washington  Nate Swick

Rare birds always drive a lot of attention our way, and there were few more spectacular than the ABAs 3rd Swallow-tailed Gull that showed up in Seattle, Washington, this past fall. Unlike the ABAs 2 previous records, this bird stuck around for many days, even if it wasnt always the easiest bird to find.

9) 2017 AOS Classification proposals, Part 2  Nate Swick

If theres one thing that is certain to get birders hearts racing, its the potential for new birds via splits or birds taken away via the lump. As such, our annual run-down of the American Ornithological Societys proposals always get a lot of eyes. This second batch, however, was the lightest of the three, likely because it did not contain the exciting proposals the others did.

8) New and Noteworthy: Swarovskis BTX Provides an Eye-opening Scope Experience  Jeffrey Gordon

Early in 2017, ABA President Jeff Gordon was part of a contingent of bird industry folks who headed over to Austria to have a look at an innovative new piece of equipment from Swarovski. The new BTX scope module marked an interesting direction from the optics heavy-weight, and Jeff shared his review on the blog.

7) 2017 AOS Classification Committee Proposals, Part 1  Nate Swick

The first set of proposals from the AOS Classification Committee contained a handful of expected split proposals including the long-anticipated and not-realized split of Yellow-rumped Warbler and Willet. In this batch, though, we were first introduced to the Cassia Crossbill, the Idaho endemic newly elevated to full species status last year.

6) Chandler Seymour Robbins: 1918-2017  Ted Floyd

2017 saw the passing of a legend in the birding and ornithology communities. Chandler S. Robbins was known to many of us as the primary author of the ground-breaking Golden Guide, but there was very little of birding culture that he didnt touch in some way. He left an enormous legacy but, as Ted Floyd wrote, what stood out the most was his extraordinary kindness.

5) #MySantaAna: What Birders Can Do Right Now  Ellen Paul

The proposed border wall across the levee at Santa Ana NWR in south Texas mobilized a great many birders and refuge advocates to take action. As of yet, nothing more than preliminary surveying has taken place, but the threat is still real. Take this as another opportunity to remind your Representatives and Senators that birds and birders matter to the economic welfare of the Rio Grande Valley, and these problems require solutions that dont destroy one of the jewels of the National Wildlife Refuge system.

4) 2017 AOS Classification Committee Proposals, Part 3  Nate Swick

What was it about the 3rd installment of the AOS Committee proposals that got more attention than the others? Was it the proposed split of Brown Creeper and Nashville Warbler? Or was it the sordid tale of the proposed lump of Iceland and Thayers Gull? Good-bye Thayers Gull, we barely knew ye.

3) 2016 ABA Big Year Results  Nate Swick

2016 was a very big year for four birders, all of whom passed the previous record set by Neil Hayward in 2013. It came down to the wire between John Wiegel and Olaf Danielson with Weigel just surpassing Danielson at the end of the year.

2) #ABArare  Black-backed Oriole  Pennsylvania  Nate Swick

One of the most unlikely occurrances of 2017 had to be the discovery of a Black-backed Oriole, a mostly sedentary Mexican endemic, at a feeder in eastern Pennsylvania. The bird became quite a celebrity, and was visited by hundreds, if not thousands, of birders during the weeks it visited the feeder. What becomes of the record now is an open question, with Pennsylvanias bird records committee deliberating on it, but regardless of whether it is accepted or not it was still a pretty wild ride.

1) 2017 AOS Supplement is Out!  Michael Retter

For the second year in a row, the most popular post of the year at The ABA Blog is Michael Retters comprehensive account of the American Ornithological Societys classification supplement, and it should come as no surprise with the attention given to the posts simply covering the proposals. This year was a big one, with the anticipated splits to Yellow-rumped Warbler and Willet not materializing and the Thayers Gull being subsumed into Iceland Gull. Its hard to say whether 2018 will see the same sort of high-profile votes, but were looking forward to it all the same.

Thanks, everyone, for a great 2017. Happy new year!
Vice President Mike Pence will head the US delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea

Vice President Mike Pence will head the US delegation to the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, a White House official told AFP Wednesday.

The Pyeongchang "peace" games have taken on extra political meaning with the participation of North Korean athletes amid tensions on the peninsula.

On the trip the US vice president will also "review ICBM defense systems" in Alaska, and visit allies in Japan.

Pence "is attending to reinforce the strong US presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear signal to the North Korean regime," a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The full US delegation has yet to be announced.

North and South Korea held their first official dialogue in more than two years on Tuesday.

In a modest diplomatic breakthrough Pyongyang -- which boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul -- plans to send a large delegation to the February 9-25 Games.

North Korea and the Trump administration are in a standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un indicated that he wants to marry those two deadly technologies, producing a nuclear warhead capable of reaching almost anywhere in the continental United States.

This will be Pence's second trip to South Korea and Japan since becoming vice president one year ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will lead a delegation of 130 businessmen to India next week for talks on agriculture, energy and defence, among other things

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take 130 businessmen with him to India next week for trade talks which will also cover defence sales, a senior Israeli official said Wednesday.

Foreign ministry deputy director general for Asia, Gilad Cohen, said the six-day trip starting Sunday was meant to further deepen political, trade and cultural ties.

India last month voted for a resolution at the UN General Assembly opposing US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Israel has lobbied hard for support from countries such as India at the UN, but Netanyahu said Wednesday he did not envision any setback in relations over the vote.

"I would have preferred another vote, to be frank," Netanyahu told journalists.

"But I don't think it materially changes the tremendous flowering of relations between India and Israel."

India's defence ministry announced last week that it would buy 131 surface-to-air missiles from Israel.

The Barak missiles made by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems are to be used for India's first aircraft carrier which is under construction.

But at the same time, Rafael said India had cancelled a separate $500-million deal to purchase Spike anti-tank guided missiles.

"Rafael has received an official statement from the Indian ministry of defence on the cancellation of the Spike missile deal," the company told the Jerusalem Post newspaper last week.

The Post said Rafael executives would be in the trade delegation accompanying Netanyahu.

Cohen declined to answer questions on the subject in his briefing to journalists in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

"The prime minister will be talking (to his hosts) on the whole range of issues which make up relations between Israel and India: water, agriculture, energy, culture, innovation, also defence," he said.

"I do not want to elaborate on defence issues."

Israel is a major weapons supplier to India, selling it an average of $1 billion of military equipment each year.

In April last year the two countries signed a military deal worth nearly $2 billion which includes the supply over several years of medium-range surface-to-air missiles, launchers and communications technology.

Netanyahu's India trip comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July, the first ever by an Indian premier.

A media highlight of that visit was a barefoot stroll though the surf together at an Israeli beach, where Modi got a demonstration of a mobile water desalination unit mounted on a dune buggy.

Cohen said Netanyahu would present one to Modi during his visit next week.

- Hooray for Bollywood -

One of Netanyahu's stops on the trip, the first by an Israeli premier since Ariel Sharon in 2003, will be in Mumbai where he will meet on January 18 with stars and executives of India's mammoth film industry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to India next week comes after Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in July

Bollywood "mega-celebs wield tremendous influence around the world," Cohen said.

Israel wants the Indian movie industry to shoot a film in the Jewish state, he added.

"You can imagine the effect that would have on our tourism, on Israel's exposure."

The visit begins in New Delhi where Netanyahu will have dinner with Modi and meet Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The following day he will call on President Ram Nath Kovind then have more talks with Modi.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu will visit the Taj Mahal and then attend India's annual "Raisina Dialogue" geo-political conference.

January 17 sees him joining Modi on a visit to the Indian leader's home state of Gujarat.

"It's no secret that the two leaders enjoy very clear chemistry, good and intimate relations," Cohen said.

In addition to the Bollywood event, January 18 sees Netanyahu hosting a business seminar then attending a memorial ceremony for Jewish victims of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

In one of several incidents, Islamic militants stormed a Jewish hostel and cultural centre in the city, killing a rabbi and his pregnant wife and four others.

They were among at least 195 dead and 295 wounded in a 60-hour siege of multiple targets, including luxury hotels and a railway station.
US ambassador David Friedman visits the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on May 15, 2017

The Palestinian government attacked comments Wednesday by the US ambassador to Israel blaming it for the failure of peace efforts, after an Israeli settler was killed in the occupied West Bank.

In the latest tensions between them, the Palestinian foreign ministry accused US ambassador David Friedman of a "prejudiced and selective attitude" towards the conflict.

It comes a month after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, angering the Palestinians.

"An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists," Friedman said on Twitter Wednesday after a 35-year-old was killed near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

Mourners attend the funeral of 35-year-old Israeli settler Raziel Shevah in Havat Gilad in the West Bank on January 10, 2018

"Hamas praises the killers and PA (Palestinian Authority) laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace."

Friedman, a supporter of West Bank settlements, was referring to payments to the families of imprisoned Palestinians, including those who have carried out attacks against Israelis, and to those killed while carrying out attacks.

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group, praised the attack.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Friedman's comments reflected his "prejudiced and selective attitude towards the occupation, settlement construction, and the Palestinian just and legitimate national rights."

It pointed to Friedman's silence over what Palestinians say was the killing by Israeli forces of a disabled Palestinian man during recent protests and clashes on the Gaza border and other killings as evidence of his bias.

"Friedman's remarks and positions further complicated the road towards the peace process and the resumption of negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, specifically after President Donald Trump's declaration on Jerusalem," the statement added.

Trump's December 6 announcement that he would move the US embassy from Israel's commercial capital to Jerusalem enraged the Palestinians.

They said they will no longer engage with the Trump administration's push for fresh peace talks.

Israeli officials say payments to the families of attackers encourages further violence and have regularly called for a halt to them.

On Tuesday the Israeli Ministry of Defence said the Palestinian Authority had paid out 1.2 billion shekels ($350 million) last year in such payments.

For Palestinians, such payments are a key source of income for families who have in many cases lost their main breadwinner.

Qadura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, did not dispute the figures but said that the Palestinian people overwhelmingly supported the payments.

"We stress the commitment of the Palestinian people to the prisoners and families of the prisoners. This is a legal, moral and humanitarian obligation."
Refugees who have fled in their hundreds of thousands to neighbouring Bangladesh have given consistent accounts of massacres, rape and torture by Myanmar security forces flanked by ethnic Rakhine mobs

Myanmar security forces took part in a massacre of 10 Rohingya in September, the army chief's office said late Wednesday, as it admitted for the first time abuses during a crackdown that sparked a mass exodus of the Muslim minority.

The massacre took place on September 2 in the village of Inn Din in Rakhine state, the Facebook post said, as tensions escalated pitting Rohingya against security forces and ethnic Rakhine locals following the killing of a Rakhine man.

"Some villagers from Inn Din village and security members confessed they killed 10 Bengali terrorists," the office said in its post, using a pejorative term for Rohingya and blaming militants for causing the unrest in the village.

The post also gave the first confirmation of a mass Rohingya grave inside Rakhine state following an army-led crackdown on militants from the minority group in late August.

Map locating Inn Din village in Myanmar

Refugees who have fled in their hundreds of thousands to neighbouring Bangladesh have given consistent accounts of massacres, rape and torture by Myanmar security forces flanked by ethnic Rakhine mobs.

Those allegations, which have been cross-checked by media and rights groups, have seen Myanmar accused of ethnic cleansing by the US and UN and prompted questions over whether the crackdown may have amounted to genocide.

But Myanmar's army has until now staunchly rebutted allegations of misconduct, clearing itself of any wrongdoing in an internal probe.

In its account of the Inn Din massacre the army chief's office said security forces captured 10 Rohingya militants before killing them as violence engulfed the village and its surrounding area.

"Action will be taken according to the law against villagers who were involved and security members who broke the Rules of Engagement," the post added.

- 'Striking acknowledgement' -

Until now Myanmar authorities have only blamed Rohingya militants for causing a human catastrophe that has left 655,000 of the minority in squalid camps in Bangladesh

Myanmar's army chief Min Aung Hlaing as well as the country's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi have repeatedly promised to punish anyone found guilty of abuses.

But until now Myanmar authorities have only blamed Rohingya militants for causing a human catastrophe that has left 655,000 of the minority in squalid camps in Bangladesh.

"This is quite a striking acknowledgement by Myanmar's military of wrongdoing," said political analyst Richard Horsey.

He tweeted "it may not be a coincidence" that this admission came on the same day as two Reuters journalists were formally charged by police in court with breaching a colonial-era secrecy law.

If convicted, Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, could face up to 14 years in jail.

They were arrested a month ago under the draconian Official Secrets Act after they were allegedly given classified documents by two policemen over dinner.

The pair have widely covered the military campaign in Rakhine although Reuters has declined to comment on whether they were specifically reporting on the mass grave in Inn Din.

The journalists' families have suggested the pair were set up, saying the arrests took place immediately after leaving the restaurant where they dined with the two policemen.

The charges against them have sparked outrage around the world with rights groups and diplomats calling for their immediate release.

Myanmar accused of ethnic cleansing by the US and UN and prompted questions over whether the crackdown may have amounted to genocide

"These charges are a travesty of justice and should be dropped," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

The reporters will return to court on January 23, when the bench will decide whether to accept the case.

Much of Myanmar's Buddhist-majority population supports the army in what it calls a justified campaign against Rohingya militants, after their attacks on border guard police killed about a dozen people last August.

burs-rs/apj/fa
Voters at a polling station in Virginia on November 7, 2017

Failure to show up at the polls comes at a dire price in Ohio, where state authorities can take away the right to vote from those who don't exercise it.

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday examines the practice in the Republican-ruled state, which deprived hundreds of thousands of people of the right to choose their elected leaders in 2015 alone, in the name of updating voter rolls.

Voting restrictions are an especially heated topic with the approach of November's mid-term elections, seen as a key test of public satisfaction with President Donald Trump that will determine whether his Republican party retains control of Congress.

The high court's ruling could have broader implications for a series of cases pitting Republicans, seeking to root out alleged voter fraud, against Democrats who claim minorities and the poor -- who tend to lean left -- are having their voting rights suppressed.

According to current rules in Ohio, anyone who does not vote for two years receives a notice from voting authorities requesting an address confirmation.

If the recipient fails to respond, or continues to not vote for four years, they will be removed from voter rolls.

In addition to Ohio, six US states have drawn up plans to purge their voter lists: Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Twelve other states, including California and New York plus the US capital Washington, have presented arguments to the Supreme Court seeking to ban the practice.

Trump's administration has backed the state of Ohio, taking a stance diametrically opposed to that of former president Barack Obama.

- Abstention problems -

The United States has a generally low voter turnout rate, especially during mid-term elections when only about 40 percent of eligible Ohio voters go to the polls, giving more weight to each individual ballot.

In an effort to boost voter participation, former president Bill Clinton signed into law the National Voter Registration Act, or Motor Voter Act.

The 1993 measure allows people to register to vote at the same time that they apply for or renew a driver's license, or try to obtain public assistance.

"For over 20 years since the motor voting law was passed, the DOJ (Department of Justice) has consistently enforced the NVRA to prohibit purges of this nature," said Dale Ho of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project.

The Trump administration has made a "radical break from a very consistent position that the DOJ has had," Ho added.

Rights groups like the ACLU consider the right to vote -- or not to vote -- to be a fundamental right.

- Millions of votes at stake -

"The ability to vote is the foundation of our democracy," said the Demos organization, a plaintiff in the Ohio case.

"The practice of purging voters for failing to meet arbitrary and unreasonable requirements is a direct assault on fundamental rights and represents one more step toward dismantling our democracy."

Veterans returning from missions far from home are especially at risk of losing their vote under Ohio's rules, along with people impacted by unexpected economic hardship and others among the most vulnerable segments of the population.

"The right to vote should not distinguish between rich and poor, but the supplemental process appears to do just that: targeting the most vulnerable," said the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, which is among the plaintiffs.

The high court's decision could determine whether or not millions of potential voters can cast their ballots in Ohio and the other states concerned.

In the coming months, the black-robed justices are also expected to rule on the practice of setting inequitable voting districts known as gerrymandering.

Wednesday's hearing comes a day after a federal ruling found that a congressional map drawn up by Republicans in the state of North Carolina was unconstitutional because it was designed to the conservatives' political advantage.

Judge James Wynn Jr found that Republicans in the state legislature were "motivated by invidious partisan intent" and called for a new congressional map by January 24.
Israeli mourners attend the funeral of 35-year-old rabbi Raziel Shevah in the West Bank wildcat settlement of Havat Gilad near the northern West Bank city of Nablus on January 10, 2018

Israeli forces set up roadblocks and deployed around a major Palestinian city Wednesday in a manhunt for attackers who shot dead an Israeli settler, sparking calls at his funeral for "revenge".

Raziel Shevah, a 35-year-old rabbi, was killed late Tuesday while driving near the wildcat settlement where he lived, Havat Gilad near the northern city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Some 22 gunshots were found in his car, Israel's army radio reported. The gunshots reportedly came from a passing vehicle.

"Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks," the military said in a statement.

"The review of the incident is ongoing. Based on situation assessments, it was decided to reinforce the area with additional forces."

Soldiers checked identification papers and searched cars at checkpoints around Nablus, causing long back-ups. No arrests had been reported.

The area frequently sees tensions between hardline Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

Shevah laid to rest at the wildcat settlement on Wednesday -- the first person to be buried there at the wish of his family.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral, which included cries for "revenge" from youths in the crowd during a speech by Education Minister Naftali Bennett from the far-right Jewish Home party.

Bennett responded by saying the only revenge should be in building more settlements in the West Bank.

- Hardline settlement -

Israeli officials strongly denounced the attack, including those calling for punitive measures against Palestinians, such as the demolition of the homes of the attackers.

Israeli soldiers search a car at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus on January 10, 2018 in a manhunt for attackers who shot dead an Israeli soldier

Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, welcomed the shooting.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he ordered his staff to look into how Havat Gilad could be legalised as a settlement.

All Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are seen as illegal under international law and major obstacles to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Israel however differentiates between settlements it has approved and those it has not.

Those without approval are referred to as outposts and are typically populated by hardline religious nationalists who see the entire West Bank as part of Israel.

Past attempts by Israeli authorities to evacuate Havat Gilad have led to clashes with settlers there. Some 50 families currently live in the outpost.

Around 400,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank among some 2.6 million Palestinians.

Sporadic unrest has occurred since US President Donald Trump provoked Palestinian anger by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6.

Fourteen Palestinians have been killed since then, with most of them shot dead in clashes with Israeli forces. Shevah is the first Israeli killed since then.

It was unclear if Tuesday's shooting had any link to Trump's announcement.

- 'Look no further' -

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian authorities of "funding and incentivising murder", insisting they "communicate to their people: kill an Israeli and be rich".

Hundreds of Israelis attended the funeral of rabbi Raziel Shevah, which included cries for "revenge" from youths in the crowd

US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a supporter of West Bank settlements, said on Twitter: "An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists."

"Hamas praises the killers and PA (Palestinian Authority) laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace."

The Palestinian foreign ministry accused Friedman of a "prejudiced" stance on the conflict, saying he has yet to criticise Israel for settlement building or its 50-year occupation of the West Bank.

Israeli officials have regularly called for a halt to payments of families of Palestinian prisoners, including those convicted of attacks, or those killed while carrying out attacks.

They say the payments encourage further violence.

But for Palestinians, such payments are a key source of income for families who have in many cases lost their main breadwinner.

The Palestinians also see them as symbolically important after decades of yearning for elusive statehood and struggle against Israel's occupation.

Israel's defence ministry claimed the Palestinian Authority had paid out 1.2 billion shekels (300 million euros/$350 million), or seven percent of the PA's annual budget, in 2017 as part of the policy.

According to the ministry, a Palestinian sentenced from three to five years in prison receives $600 per month, while those serving 20 to 35 years receive $2,900.

The ministry said it was pursuing legislation that would allow Israel to subtract the amount of those payments from the tax revenue it collects on behalf of the PA and later hands over to it.
Hector Timerman, pictured in 2015, had obtained a permit from Argentina's justice ministry to travel to New York for cancer treatment

Former Argentine foreign minister Hector Timerman, who is being treated for cancer, was released from house arrest Wednesday, the official Telam news agency reported.

The prosecution had previously rejected his request for release, but substitute judge Sergio Torres granted his release "on humanitarian grounds," the agency said.

The move comes after Timerman was prevented from boarding a flight to the United States late Tuesday after his visa was rejected.

Timerman -- a member of ex-president Cristina Kirchner's government from 2010-2015 -- was placed under house arrest in December accused of covering up Iranian involvement in a deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center.

The 64-year-old former minister had obtained a permit from Argentina's justice ministry to travel to New York for treatment for cancer, which has confined him to a wheelchair.

But according to Argentine press reports, when his visa was checked at Buenos Aires' Ezeiza airport late Tuesday he was prevented from boarding the flight.

Kirchner's parliamentary group reacted angrily to the incident. "Timerman cannot enter the United States because his visa was revoked because of the preventive detention," the head of the bloc, Agustin Rossi wrote on Twitter.

He said Claudio Bonadio, the judge prosecuting Timerman, Kirchner and others for the alleged cover-up, was responsible.

Timerman was sentenced to house arrest rather than jail because of his health.

Kirchner herself enjoys parliamentary immunity from preventive detention through her senate seat.

"I have asked to be judged as quickly as possible. Preventing me from getting timely medical attention is like condemning me to death," Timerman wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times on December 20, in which he described himself as a "political prisoner."

"Argentina's Constitution does not permit the death penalty. But with a judge like this, that is little guarantee."

Bonadio believes Timerman, Kirchner and others covered up alleged Iranian involvement in the bombing by pushing for the signing of a pact with Iran, under which suspects could be questioned in Iran and not brought to Argentina.

The plan was formally approved by both houses of the Argentine Congress, but never ratified by Iran.

Nobody has been tried for the bombing, which killed 85 people.

Timerman, a former ambassador to the US, lived for more than a decade in the United States where one of his daughters was born.
President Donald Trump says the US is open to talks with the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un "at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances"

President Donald Trump is open to talks between the United States and North Korea, while remaining determined to apply "maximum pressure" over Pyongyang's nuclear program, the White House said Wednesday.

During a phone call with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-In, Trump expressed his openness to holding talks with Pyongyang "at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances."

"The two leaders underscored the importance of continuing the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders added in a statement that confirmed a South Korea account of the phone call.

Moon briefed Trump on his government's talks with a delegation from the North on Tuesday, which resulted in Pyongyang agreeing to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next month, both sides said.

Trump also told Moon that Vice President Mike Pence would lead the US delegation to the Olympic Games, the White House said.

Pence "is attending to reinforce the strong US presence on the Korean peninsula and send a clear signal to the North Korean regime," a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On the trip, the US vice president will also "review ICBM defense systems" in Alaska, and visit allies in Japan, the official said.

North and South Korea held their first official dialogue in more than two years on Tuesday.

In a modest diplomatic breakthrough, Pyongyang -- which boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul -- plans to send a large delegation to the February 9-25 Games.

North Korea and the Trump administration are in a standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

This will be Pence's second trip to South Korea and Japan since becoming vice president one year ago.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) is using his government to attack democracies in Europe and meddle in US elections, according to a blistering report released by a Democratic US Senator

Russia's Vladimir Putin employs corruption, military invasions in Europe and sprawling disinformation campaigns in attempts to undermine democracies, and US President Donald Trump has been "negligent" in countering the threats, a Senate Democratic report warned Wednesday.

A searing assessment released by Ben Cardin, top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, documented the extent of the Kremlin's "malign influence operations" including President Putin's meddling in the 2016 US election and western democracies.

Putin has spent some 20 years consolidating power, enriching himself and a tight circle of loyalists, and challenging European democracies and the foundation of the transatlantic US-European alliance, the report noted.

"Mr. Putin's Kremlin employs an asymmetric arsenal that includes military invasions, cyberattacks, disinformation, support for fringe political groups, and the weaponization of energy resources, organized crime, and corruption," Cardin wrote in a letter introducing the 200-page report.

"If the United States fails to work with urgency to address this complex and growing threat, the regime in Moscow will become further emboldened," he added. "It will continue to develop and refine its arsenal to use on democracies around the world, including against US elections in 2018 and 2020."

But it also levels fiery criticism at Trump, saying he is not committed to addressing the crisis.

"Never before in American history has so clear a threat to national security been so clearly ignored by a US president," the report stated.

"President Trump has been negligent in acknowledging and responding to the threat to US national security posed by Mr. Putin's meddling."

The report recommends actions Washington should take to neutralize Kremlin aggression, such as creating a high-level "fusion cell" to counter the threats, funding pro-democracy organizations in eastern Europe, expanding sanctions and freezing Kremlin-linked "dirty money."

The report was produced by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Democratic staff.

US Senator Ben Cardin is a persistent critic of the Russian government and the nation's president, Vladimir Putin

The panel's Republican chairman Senator Bob Corker was aware that the minority report was being drafted but was not involved in its creation, his office said.

- 'No consequences' -

The report landed at a time of heightened tensions in Washington over the ongoing investigation into Moscow's interference in US elections, and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the presidential race.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, is heading up an independent probe, but the White House recently declined to say whether Trump would agree to be interviewed by Mueller about possible links between Russian activities and the Trump campaign.

While congressional Republicans remain hostile to Putin, they appear loathe to antagonize the commander in chief, who brands as "fake news" any accusations of collusion.

Instead they express support for the three ongoing congressional probes that were launched last year.

Democrats have expressed frustration at the slow pace of the work, and concern that Russia may seek to meddle in this year's party primaries and the mid-term elections that follow in November.

"A year has gone by, and there have been no consequences whatsoever for those who attacked American democracy," Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, complained on Tuesday.

One theme that threads through the report is that European nations, notably the Nordic states and France, are countering Russian aggression more forcefully than the United States.

"France and its new president Emmanuel Macron -- himself a target of cyber hacking and disinformation -- are emerging as strong voices against Russian government interference and have played a leading role in Europe to resist Kremlin meddling," the report states.
A picture taken on January 10, 2018, shows Ryad Khalaf Zibou, a 43-year-old Syrian refugee, receiving medical attention at a hospital in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, after he set himself on fire outside the UNHCR office

A Syrian refugee in Lebanon set himself on fire Wednesday outside a UN office in desperation at aid getting cut off to his family, suffering serious burns.

Refugee agency UNHCR and the World Food Programme told AFP that the man -- named by family as 43-year-old father of four Ryad Khalaf Zibou -- "set himself alight" at a UN compound in the northern city of Tripoli.

"This tragic incident underscores the pressures and difficulties facing many refugees, who are becoming increasingly vulnerable and who -- in rare cases -- resort to such desperate acts," the agencies said in a joint statement.

"UN staff attended to the incident, provided first aid support and rushed him to the hospital where he is in a serious but stable condition."

Doctor Gabriel al-Saba told AFP that Zibou suffered third-degree burns over around a third of his body and will require at least two months of treatment.

Zibou's wife Nadia told AFP that the family, originally from the war-ravaged city of Aleppo, has been unable to support itself since UN aid they were receiving was cut off four months ago.

"We don't have money to eat, our debts have accumulated. My husband wasn't working, he spent most of his time looking for a job," she said.

Forced from their homeland by the brutal conflict that has torn Syrian apart, more than half of the roughly one million Syrians registered in Lebanon live in "extreme poverty", according to the UN.

The UN stopped supplying food and financial aid to some Syrian families several months ago to focus funds on the most deprived households.

More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions have been driven from their homes since Syria's conflict erupted with anti-government protests in 2011.
 Vox: Israeli-Arab Conflict One of World's "Most Violent" Disputes | Main | Al Jazeera: Haifa in 'Northern Occupied Palestine' 

August 28, 2017

Palestinian Leader Promises to Pay Terrorists Until My Dying Day



Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the head of the Fatah movement that dominates it, has vowed to pay terrorists until my dying day.?

Abbas remarks were highlighted on a special banner that was posted on Fatahs official Facebook page on Aug. 26, 2017, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a non-profit organization that monitors Arab, Russian and Iranian media. That banner, MEMRI noted, said:

"I will never stop [paying] the allowances to the families of the prisoners and released prisoners, even if this costs me my position and my presidency. I will pay them until my dying day."

As CAMERA has highlighted, many Western news outlets frequently refer to Abbas as a moderate.? However, the Palestinian leader has rejected U.S. and Israeli offers for a two-state solution,? including a 2008 offer that would have given Palestinians more than 93.7 percent of the West Bank and a Palestinian state with a capitol in eastern Jerusalem.

More recently, Abbas refused then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerrys 2014 framework to restart negotiations and then-U.S. Vice President Joe Bidens March 2016 offer. Insteadand in full violation of the 1990s Oslo accords under which the PA was created and fundedhe has refused to resolve outstanding issues with Israel in bilateral negotiations,? and has even denied the Jewish states right to exist.

Yet, as CAMERA has pointed out, major U.S. news outlets, such as The Washington Post, failed to detail either the March 2016 rejection or recent June 2017 revelations that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had acceptedand Abbas had rejectedthe 2014 framework ("50 Years of Palestinian Rejection," Commentary, June 8, 2017).

Indeed, an Aug. 25, 2017 Post story (U.S. calls Kushners Mideast talks productive, doesnt commit to two-state solution?) on U.S. efforts to restart negotiations completely omitted this history of Palestinian rejectionism.

MEMRI noted that Abbas stated commitment to funding terror was a response to these recent U.S. efforts. As a May 17, 2017 CAMERA Op-Ed in The Hill detailed, Palestinian law stipulates terrorists and their families be paid for acts of anti-Jewish violence (How the Palestinian Authoritys social safety net encourages terrorism?).

Posted by SD at August 28, 2017 12:04 PM

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host 10 Southeast Asian leaders as guests of honour at India's Republic Day celebrations as New Delhi seeks to blunt China's influence in the region.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been aggressively showcasing India as an alternative to China through his "Act East" policy, pursuing closer trade and cultural ties with the bloc of nations to counter the influence of its regional rival

India will host the leaders at a commemorative summit on January 25 to mark a quarter century of ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Traditionally just one foreign dignitary is feted as guest of honour at the Republic Day parade where India showcases its military might with a procession of troops and weaponary.

But this year the leaders of Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei will be given the honour, the first time such a bloc has attended, India's foreign ministry said.

"We are delighted and honoured that all the 10 Asean leaders have confirmed their participation," said Preeti Saran, a top foreign ministry official.

Modi has been aggressively showcasing India as an alternative to China through his "Act East" policy, pursuing closer trade and cultural ties with the bloc of nations to counter the influence of its regional rival.

The prime minister will meet with the leaders for "free and frank" discussions during the two-day visit where regional maritime security will feature strongly on the agenda, officials said.

It is unclear whether this will include discussions of China's large-scale land reclamation around disputed reefs and shoals in the South China Sea where some ASEAN nations have overlapping claims.

"India is consolidating itself as an alternative to China and showcasing itself as an investment destination," Jayshree Sengupta, a researcher with Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation, told AFP.
Sikh survivors of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, relatives and supporters participate in a protest march near parliament in New Delhi on October 31, 2012

India is to reopen nearly 200 unsolved cases associated with a frenzied massacre of Sikhs in 1984 that left nearly 3,000 dead, mainly in the capital New Delhi.

The Supreme Court said Wednesday it would task a new three-member panel with "reinvestigating" 186 cases previously closed by police into the deadly mob violence directed against the Sikh minority.

The carnage erupted just hours after then prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, and lasted three days with Sikhs raped and murdered, and their homes and businesses torched.

Few have been brought to justice over the massacre, with government-appointed commissions in the past failing to prosecute more than a handful of minor cases.

Gandhi, also the Congress leader at the time, was shot dead after ordering Indian troops to storm the Golden Temple -- Sikhism's holiest shrine in northern Punjab state -- to flush out separatists from the minority faith holed up inside.

Sikh leaders say the death toll from the pogrom that followed far exceeded the official figure of 3,000, and accuse Congress leaders of fanning the violence that saw Sikhs dragged from their homes and burned alive.

The new investigative panel will be headed by a retired high court judge and assisted by former and serving senior police officials.

The decision to reopen the historic cases was "good news for the victims who have been waiting for justice for the last 33 years," said lawyer HS Phoolka, representing the victims.

India's top investigating agency had blamed senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar for inciting the mobs, but he was acquitted by a court in 2013.
Displaced Syrians who fled the fighting in Idlib province's southeastern town of Sinjar drive on a road in a rebel-held area near the city of Saraqib on January 7, 2018

Nearly 100,000 people have been displaced since early December by fighting in northwestern Syria, where the regime is waging an offensive against jihadists, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

Russian-backed regime forces launched an offensive at the end of 2017 on the edge of Idlib province, the last in the country still fully outside the government's control.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by a jihadist outfit known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) consisting mostly of fighters from a former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

The fighting has seen 99,569 civilians flee southern Idlib as well as north and northeastern parts of neighbouring Hama province between December 1 and January 9, said the UN's humanitarian coordination office UNOCHA.

"Heavy bombardment on many communities in southern and southeastern rural Idlib continued unabated, causing casualties and displacement among civilians and destruction of vital infrastructure," UNOCHA said in a statement.

The UN agency said the situation in Idlib was "extremely chaotic" with newly displaced people reportedly scattered across open areas.

"Due to the large numbers of people moving, many are left with no shelter, which could expose them to various risks, especially as the winter temperatures continue to drop," it added.

Ninety-six civilians, including 27 children, have been killed in Syrian or Russian air strikes on Idlib province since the start of the offensive, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The regime's goal is to retake the southeast of Idlib province in order to secure a route between Damascus and second city Aleppo, both under its control, according to the Observatory.

Its forces are now close to the military air base of Abu Duhur, their next target, the war monitor said.

More than 340,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Syrian war, which began in 2011 as the regime brutally crushed anti-government protests. Millions have been displaced.

On his first visit to Syria, UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock met with Syrian authorities and travelled to the central city of Homs on Wednesday to see the impact of the conflict on civilians for himself.

"In 2017, the United Nations, through our appeal, raised $1.7 billion to help meet the needs of people all over Syria," he told reporters in Homs.
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has not yet said if he will seek a second five-year term

A regional bank official and the head of an African tech initiative both announced candidacies for the Malian presidency on Wednesday, as the 2018 race for the troubled Sahel nation heats up.

Modibo Kone, a rural development expert at the West African Development Bank, and Hamadoun Toure, who runs the "Smart Africa" initiative to drive development on the continent via technology, said the country had suffered poor leadership.

They are hoping to unseat President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has not yet said if he will seek a second five-year term, though he is widely expected to do so.

The state is still absent from vast swathes of its northern territory where in 2012 jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda mounted an insurgency on the back of a separatist uprising.

Mali's army, French soldiers and a UN mission (MINUSMA) still have little control despite chasing the jihadists out of key cities, and the spread of unrest has prompted the G5 regional forum to deploy more troops in the country and some of its neighbours.

Kone, 57, said he wanted to "fight poor governance" with a programme that would show "our country has all it needs to succeed," he told AFP.

Meanwhile Toure, 64, known for his close relationship to Rwandan President Paul Kagame and time as former secretary-general of a telecoms union, said his international experience would help his country shake off its problems.

"I have a programme for Mali, and I want my country to benefit from it," he told AFP, adding in its current trajectory the nation was "heading for disaster".

Two other candidates, Malian army general Moussa Sinko Coulibaly and Kalifa Sanogo, the mayor of Mali's second-largest city, Sikasso, have also announced their bids.

Keita has said that legislative and presidential elections will go ahead in 2018 despite delays to regional and municipal elections in recent months over security concerns.
Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang, shown in this September 21, 2017 file photo, is Africa's longest-serving president and has faced a string of coup attempts during his decades in power

Equatorial Guinea, amplifying charges that an attempted coup was orchestrated by an exile in Europe, said Wednesday the plot had been hatched in France.

"The plan was organised on French territory," Foreign Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy told a press conference.

"It has nothing to do with the French government," he said, adding, "We will cooperate with France as soon as we have more information."

Mokuy also said that in the light of the purported coup, his country was suspending participation in a new-born scheme to allow visa-free travel among six countries in central and western Africa.

Equatorial Guinea is a small, oil-rich state that since 1979 has been ruled by President Teodoro Obiang. Critics say his rule has been tarred by brutal repression, corruption and electoral fraud.

The government says that foreign mercenaries mounted an attempted putsch on December 24 but this had been thwarted.

Last Friday, Chadian Foreign Minister Mahamat Zen Cherif said after a visit to Malabo that the author of the coup bid "is believed to be an Equatorial Guinean national living in Europe."

Mokuy said 27 "terrorists or mercenaries" had been arrested in a manhunt after the attempted putsch, but "around 150" others were still being sought.

Mokuy also said Equatorial Guinea was suspending its part in an agreement with five other francophone states -- Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon and the Republic of Congo -- to allow visa-free movement of their citizens among member-nations.

The bloc, called the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), began negotiations on the scheme more than 15 years ago.

The process was hampered by fears by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon -- oil-rich and relatively sparsely populated -- that they would be swamped by an influx of job-seekers from poorer members.

Negotiations culminated in an announcement at a summit in the Chadian capital of N'Djamena on November 1 that the pact had finally been ratified by all six states.

- String of coup attempts -

Mokuy, in Wednesday's press conference, said "free circulation doesn't mean that you can move around as you want."

"You have to have a biometric passport, a CEMAC passport, a secure passport. So long as these conditions are not met, and given what has happened in Equatorial Guinea, we say that in order to travel to our country (people have) to go to our embassies" for a visa, he said.

Obiang, 75, is Africa's longest-serving president. He has faced a string of coup attempts during his decades in power.

His country is one of sub-Sahara's biggest oil producers but a large proportion of its 1.2 million population still lives in poverty.

Relations with France are tense after Obiang's son, Teodorin Obiang, 48, was given a three-year suspended prison sentence by a French court in October for embezzling public funds, money-laundering and corruption and abuse of trust.

The younger Obiang is estimated to have used France to launder 150 million euros ($180 million) in misappropriated funds.

He was also given a suspended fine of 30 million euros. His lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict.
US congresswoman Jackie Speier is leading an effort to get lawmakers to wear black at President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in solidarity with the anti-sexual-harassment movement

Several Democratic US congresswomen will wear black to President Donald Trump's upcoming State of the Union Address in solidarity with the "MeToo" movement opposing sexual harassment, a female lawmaker said Wednesday.

Democrat Jackie Speier tweeted that she and other Democratic women in the House of Representatives were calling on lawmakers from both parties "to wear black to this year's #SOTU in solidarity w/ survivors of sexual harassment/violence in Hollywood, politics, the military, academia, etc."

Trump is scheduled to deliver his first State of the Union Speech on January 30 before a joint session of Congress, an opportunity for him to explain his priorities for the coming year.

But with Hollywood declaring war on the film industry's culture of sexual harassment and abuse after the downfall of mogul Harvey Weinstein, and stars of media and politics also rocked by similar scandal, the reckoning appeared set for a moment of further exposure on Capitol Hill.

Last Sunday, many A-list actresses dressed in black at the Golden Globes award ceremony as a sartorial protest against sexual harassment.

US lawmakers have been grappling with the issue. Several members have been forced to resign recently, including senator Al Franken and longtime congressman John Conyers, after being accused of misconduct.

A record 89 women are now serving in the 435-member House of Representatives. Sixty-six of them are Democrats.

Last month, nearly 60 female Democratic lawmakers demanded that Congress investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump.

Some 20 women have publicly accused Trump of misconduct. The White House has maintained that the women are lying.

Last year Speier acknowledged that she was a victim of sexual assault on Capitol Hill when she was a young congressional aide.

Speier's call to wear black at Trump's State of the Union earned support from top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

"Thanks to the brave women of the #MeToo movement, we are at a watershed moment in the fight against sexual harassment," Pelosi tweeted. "Know that we are with you every step of the way. #TimesUp."
Voters at a polling station in Virginia on November 7, 2017

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday weighed the right of American states to strike large numbers of people from their electoral rolls for failing to show up at the polls, a contested practice which critics say unfairly targets poorer, left-leaning voters.

The case before the court centers on Republican-ruled Ohio where, under current law, state authorities can take away the right to vote from anyone who fails to show up at the polls for several years in a row.

In 2015 alone, hundreds of thousands of people were deprived of the right to choose their elected leaders under the practice, which officially aims to keep voter rolls up to date and combat fraud.

One of them was Larry Harmon, a US Navy veteran who discovered to his dismay in November 2015 that he had been struck from the electoral roll, despite the fact that he had not moved in 16 years.

Harmon, a plaintiff in the case before the high court, had simply chosen not to vote four years in a row -- because he was unhappy with the candidates.

"You have the right not to vote," said Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who directed a volley of critical remarks at Ohio's attorney Eric Murphy.

The left-leaning justice, whose family is Puerto Rican, underscored that Ohio's purging of voter lists had mostly affected people from ethnic minorities and from the poorer segments of society.

"Across the country, they are the people who vote the least," she said.

- Low turnout -

Voting restrictions are an especially heated topic with the approach of November's mid-term elections, seen as a key test of public satisfaction with President Donald Trump that will determine whether his Republican party retains control of Congress.

In addition to Ohio, six US states have drawn up plans to purge their voter lists: Georgia, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Twelve other states, including California and New York plus the US capital Washington, have presented arguments to the Supreme Court seeking to ban the practice.

Trump's administration has backed the state of Ohio, taking a stance diametrically opposed to that of former president Barack Obama.

The United States has a generally low voter turnout rate, especially during mid-term elections, when only about 40 percent of eligible Ohio voters go to the polls, giving more weight to each individual ballot.

In an effort to boost voter participation, former president Bill Clinton signed into law the National Voter Registration Act, or Motor Voter Act.

The 1993 measure allows people to register to vote at the same time that they apply for or renew a driver's license, or try to obtain public assistance.

"For over 20 years since the motor voting law was passed, the DOJ (Department of Justice) has consistently enforced the NVRA to prohibit purges of this nature," said Dale Ho of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project.

The Trump administration has made a "radical break from a very consistent position that the DOJ has had," Ho added.

- Millions of votes at stake -

According to current Ohio rules, anyone who fails to vote for two years receives a notice requesting an address confirmation. If they fail to respond, or fail to vote for four consecutive years, they are removed from voter rolls.

The problem -- according to Paul Smith, who is representing Ohio civil groups in the case -- is that most people simply toss the notice "into the waste basket."

"The failure to vote during two years tells you almost nothing if the person has moved," he argued.

Veterans returning from missions far from home are especially hard hit under Ohio's rules, along with people facing economic hardship -- or who work long and tiring hours.

The high court's decision could determine whether or not millions of potential voters can cast their ballots in Ohio and the other states concerned.

In the coming months, the black-robed justices are also expected to rule on the practice of setting inequitable voting districts known as gerrymandering.

On Tuesday, a federal court found that a congressional map drawn up by Republicans in the state of North Carolina was unconstitutional because it was "motivated by invidious partisan intent," calling for a new map by January 24.
Asylum seekers make their way towards the US-Canada border near Champlain, New York on August 6, 2017

Fall and winter saw a big drop in the number of asylum seekers from the United States crossing farmers' fields and dense forests on foot to reach Canada, officials said Wednesday.

The northbound wave of migrants came after US President Donald Trump announced the end of special protections for Haitians and other groups.

Nearly 21,000 asylum claims were made in 2017 by border jumpers, most of whom went to Quebec province, the immigration ministry said.

But over the past four months, as a frigid winter cold set in, the pace of arrivals slowed to a trickle and by year's end, fewer than 50 migrants were showing up at the border daily -- down from several hundred per day in July and August.

In the first week of January, Quebec province welcomed only 85 asylum seekers from the United States.

The end of special protections in the United States next year for 60,000 hurricane-impacted Haitians and 200,000 Salvadorans had raised concerns in Canada that a flood of migrants would overwhelm its immigration and refugee system.

To try to stem the flow, Ottawa sent several ministers to the United States to conduct outreach with the diasporas, to warn of the perils of illegally crossing the border and to say that showing up and simply filing a refugee claim is "not a free ticket" to Canada.

"Our message is not only a deterrent message, it's also a humanitarian message because we don't want people uprooting their lives, their deep roots in the United States (to come to Canada) based on misinformation," Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussein said Tuesday.

"While the number of irregular border crossings have dramatically decreased over the last four months, we know that our work is not done which is why... we continue to make this issue an ongoing priority," he added.

A total of 41,355 refugee claims were made in Canada last year, including by the border jumpers and by people who arrived at land border checkpoints, or at airports.

The figure is nearly double the number of claims made in 2016.
Members of Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate and its allies sit on top of a former Syrian army MiG-21 fighter jet at the Abu Duhur airbase in this September 9, 2015 file photo

Syrian regime forces were locked in a fierce battle Wednesday for an airbase in Idlib province after breaching the defences of jihadists at the strategic military facility, a monitor said.

Regime forces backed by Russian warplanes launched an offensive on December 25 in Idlib province, the last in the country that remained fully outside the government's control. They have recaptured dozens of villages.

Idlib province is almost entirely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist outfit dominated by Al-Qaeda's former Syrian affiliate.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said regime forces were able to enter Abu Duhur airbase under air cover and were engaged in fierce fighting with the jihadists.

The airport, which straddles the border between the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, has been under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham since September 2015.

If it is recaptured, the airport will be "the first military base in the hands of the regime in Idlib province," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Since losing the airbase in 2015 following a two-year jihadist siege, the Syrian government has only had control of two villages in Idlib province: Fua and Kafraya.

The regime's goal is to retake the southeast of the province in order to secure a route between Damascus and second city Aleppo, both under its control, according to the Observatory.

More than 340,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Syrian war, which began in 2011 as the regime brutally crushed anti-government protests. Millions have been displaced.
After the arrest of 21 undocumented immigrants during national raids of 7-Eleven stores, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Deputy Director Thomas Homan said ICE agents will "continue its efforts to protect jobs for American workers"

US immigration agents raided nearly 100 7-Eleven convenience stores around the country Wednesday, sending a warning to businesses not to hire illegal immigrants, officials said.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 21 undocumented immigrants in the raids of 7-Eleven franchises in 17 states and the capital, they said, amid a broad crackdown by the year-old administration of President Donald Trump.

"Today's actions send a strong message to US businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," said ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan.

"Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet," he said in a statement.

"ICE will continue its efforts to protect jobs for American workers by eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that exploit illegal immigration."

Ninety-eight stores were targeted in Wednesday's raids.

Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc. said it was not responsible for the hiring practices of its franchise owners.

"7-Eleven Franchisees are independent business owners and are solely responsible for their employees, including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States," the company said.

"7-Eleven takes compliance with immigration laws seriously and has terminated the franchise agreements of franchisees convicted of violating these laws."

ICE and its sister agency, US Customs and Border Protection, have stepped up arrests and deportations of illegal border crossers since Trump came to power in January 2017.

Trump made cracking down on immigration a key plank in his election platform, cutting back on legal as well as illegal arrivals in the country and promising to build a wall along the Mexican border.

Earlier this week, the government removed special protected status for about 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants living in the United States for at least 17 years, giving them 18 months to leave the country unless Congress says otherwise.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - In an odd twist, fellow hosts of "CBS This Morning" turned to their colleague Gayle King - famous friend of Oprah Winfrey - for an interview Tuesday about whether her pal would run for president.

If a Winfrey candidacy moves beyond idle chatter, one of the leading figures on a CBS News show that prides itself on hard-nosed journalism would have a conflict of interest on a major story.

King attended the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday and said on "CBS This Morning" that she spent several hours with Winfrey after the speech that fueled political speculation. King said her friend is intrigued by the idea of a candidacy, but didn't think she was actively considering it.

FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2018, file photo, Gayle King arrives at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. If Oprah Winfrey runs for president, CBS News faces a potential conflict of interest with its morning show host King, famously Winfrey's best friend. Her colleagues on "CBS This Morning" interviewed King on Tuesday's show about what her friend was thinking. CBS says it has been transparent about the relationship and said it would address a potential conflict if one arises. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

CBS' Norah O'Donnell and Jeff Glor considered King's close relationship with Winfrey such common knowledge that they didn't even explain it before asking questions on Tuesday's show. The two women have been good friends since they both worked at a Baltimore television station in their early 20s.

Watching the interview was weird, CNN's Dana Bash said on that network about an hour later.

If the candidacy becomes real, "Gayle's gotta leave," responded CNN's morning host, Chris Cuomo.

Then, perhaps remembering that his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has been mentioned as a 2020 presidential candidate, Cuomo quickly switched gears.

"I have the right to change my opinion," he said. "Does she have to leave? Maybe she does. I guess they could do the coverage in a way where she never handles it. But it would raise questions with people."

CBS will address the issue if and when it becomes one, CBS News President David Rhodes said. The network has always been transparent in letting viewers know that Winfrey and King are friends, he said. Winfrey also works for CBS News; she does occasional stories for "60 Minutes."

Rhodes praised King for how she handled the on-air discussion with O'Donnell and Glor.

"It's difficult to be part of the news when you cover the news and she helped people understand what was going on with the story," Rhodes said.

King's insight is useful as long as chatter about Winfrey's candidacy is a parlor game and not reality, said Al Tompkins, an instructor in broadcast journalism for the Poynter Institute.

"The relationship between King and Winfrey is well known and viewers can filter what they hear from Gayle through that filter," Tompkins said. "If Oprah did run, it would be a tougher relationship to navigate ... Today, with so many people being so skeptical or cynical of what they see, hear and read in journalism, the cleaner we can keep the lines between journalists and politicians the better."

Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, said CBS News would have to take King off campaign stories is Winfrey were to run. That could be awkward for the show's format; the three hosts often sit at a table and discuss stories or interview newsmakers together.

"The public needs to be assured that the news they get is as objective as humanly possible," Feldstein said. "That obviously is not the case if an anchor is reporting on a close friend."

King was quoted after Winfrey's speech as saying it gave her "goosebumps." She said on the air Tuesday that it was "electrifying. It was the right person giving the right speech at the right time."

The danger of such words of praise is they can become weapons in a political environment, by people who are looking for signs of bias.

Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative watchdog Media Research Center, said King's job "is like having an Oprah press spokesperson on staff. She's helping Oprah milk the speculation for all it's worth."

Some have interpreted King's comments on Tuesday as dampening that speculation. Rhodes said he'd heard no complaints about the language that she used and called concerns about it hypothetical.

After speaking on the issue Tuesday, King told viewers, "no matter what happens, I will be at 'CBS This Morning.'"
NEW YORK (AP) - Domino's Pizza says CEO Patrick Doyle will leave the company at the end of June, after eight years running the pizza chain.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company did not give a reason for the departure. He'll be replaced on July 1 by Richard Allison, who currently oversees the company's restaurants outside the U.S.

Domino's has performed well of late, and has benefited from making ordering easy. It takes orders from tweets, text messages and voice-activated devices, such as Amazon's Echo.

Shares of Domino's Pizza Inc., which are up 26 percent in the last year, fell 2.8 percent to $201 in after-hours trading Tuesday.
LIMA, Peru (AP) - President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski swore in new Cabinet ministers Tuesday, saying he will seek to bring reconciliation in Peru following his close brush with impeachment and controversial pardon of a former president convicted of human rights abuses.

The embattled president replaced nearly half of his 19-member Cabinet with new leaders from the public and private sector, though no one was named from the opposition party that spearheaded the impeachment campaign in December.

"Perhaps reconciliation is a difficult objective to achieve, but I promise I will not cease for one second in my efforts to obtain it," Kuczynski said in a speech following the swearing-in ceremony.

Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, left, laughs with new Foreign Minister Cayetana Aljovin, center, during the swearing in ceremony for Kuczynski's new cabinet, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Kuczynski has named a new "cabinet of reconciliation" following his close brush with impeachment and controversial pardon of a former president convicted of human rights abuses. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

The new appointments come during one of this Andean nation's most politically turbulent moments in nearly two decades.

Kuczynski narrowly escaped impeachment after opposition lawmakers revealed that his private consulting business had received payments from the Brazilian construction company at the center of Latin America's largest corruption scandal while he was as a high-ranking Cabinet minister. Days later he gave a medical pardon that freed former President Alberto Fujimori less than halfway through his 25-year prison sentence, sparking nationwide protests.

Kuczynski announced in late December that he would name a new "Cabinet of reconciliation," though one analyst said Tuesday that the new appointments were more like an "emergency Cabinet."

"There is a lot of uncertainty," political scientist Fernando Rospigliosi said. "What everyone hopes is that the new Cabinet has an objective to achieve. And in this case that does not exist."

The deeply unpopular president's government is considered highly vulnerable, burdened by a low approval rating, a criminal investigation into his connections with the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and a credibility crisis following his pardon of Fujimori on Christmas Eve. Lawmakers in congress have vowed to renew their efforts to impeach him.

Kuczynski announced he was pardoning the 79-year-old Fujimori on humanitarian grounds three days after the impeachment vote in which 10 members of Fujimori's party unexpectedly abstained. Polls say a majority of Peruvians believe a behind-the-scene deal was struck between Kuczynski and Fujimori's lawmaker son, though the president's allies have denied there was any deal.

Several prominent members of Kuczynski's Cabinet resigned after the impeachment vote and the pardon, making some of the new appointments forced replacements.

Fujimori's pardon reopened old wounds from a bloody period in Peru's history. The former strongman was convicted for his role in the killings of 25 people, including an 8-year-old boy, during his decade-long rule. He was also later found guilty of having had knowledge of the existence of death squads financed with public money that killed civilians accused of being Shining Path members.

Some Peruvians credit Fujimori with stabilizing the economy and defeating the country's Maoist guerrillas, but others condemn him for permitting widespread human rights violations.

Human rights organizations have decried his pardon.

Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski stands before a swearing-in his new cabinet, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2018. Kuczynski has named a new "cabinet of reconciliation" following his close brush with impeachment and controversial pardon of a former president convicted of human rights abuses. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Trump administration said Tuesday it would not allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said after a brief meeting with Scott at the Tallahassee airport that drilling would be "off the table" when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.

The change of course - just five days after Zinke announced the offshore drilling plan - highlights the political importance of Florida, where President Donald Trump narrowly won the state's 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encouraged Scott to run for Senate.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott delivers his State of the State Address in the House chambers on the opening day of the legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Tallahassee, Fla. (Hali Tauxe/Tallahassee Democrat via AP)

The state is also important economically, with a multibillion-dollar tourism business built on sunshine and miles and miles of white sandy beaches.

Zinke said Tuesday that "Florida is obviously unique" and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott.

Zinke announced plans last week to greatly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans, including several possible drilling operations off Florida, where drilling is now blocked. The plan was immediately met with bipartisan opposition on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Scott, who is expected to run for Senate later this year, came out against the Trump administration plan when it was first announced, saying his top priority is to ensure that Florida's natural resources are protected.

Other Republican governors also oppose the plan, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker.

"For Floridians we are not drilling off the coast of Florida, which clearly the governor has expressed that's important," Zinke said, adding that he knew when he announced the drilling plan last week that it would spark discussion across the country.

"Our tactic was open everything up, then meet with the governors, meet with the stakeholders so that when we shaped it, it was right," he told reporters at a news conference Tuesday night. "The president made it very clear that local voices count."

When asked what caused the administration to change its position on Florida drilling, Zinke said bluntly, "The governor."

Scott said he was pleased at the administration's change of heart.

"It's a good day for Florida," he said, adding, "I think it's very important to continue our efforts to take care of our environment."

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said the meeting with Zinke was "a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott," who Nelson said has long wanted to drill off Florida's coast.

"I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts. But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida's coast and (five) days later agrees to 'take Florida off the table'? I don't believe it," Nelson said in a statement. "We shouldn't be playing politics with the future of Florida."

Zinke said last week that the drilling plan called for responsible development that would boost jobs and economic security while providing billions of dollars to fund conservation along U.S. coastlines.

The five-year plan would open 90 percent of the nation's offshore reserves to development by private companies, Zinke said, with 47 leases proposed off the nation's coastlines from 2019 to 2024. Nineteen sales would be off Alaska, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, nine in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific, including six off California.

Industry groups praised the announcement, the most expansive offshore drilling proposal in decades. The plan follows Trump's executive order in April encouraging more drilling rights in federal waters, part of the administration's strategy to help the U.S. achieve "energy dominance" in the global market.

A coalition of more than 60 environmental groups denounced the plan, saying it would impose "severe and unacceptable harm" to America's oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.

___

Daly reported from Washington.
Federal officials are looking into whether any airlines will be fined over long tarmac delays that occurred over the weekend at New York's Kennedy Airport.

By one estimate, there were a dozen or more international flights that landed at JFK and sat on the tarmac for at least four hours, the point at which the airlines could be subject to huge fines.

An Obama-era regulation was intended to curb such long delays by threatening the airlines with fines that could run into the millions.

Consumer advocates say the rule has worked to reduce delays, although some think airlines caught breaking the rule don't get punished enough.

Meanwhile, the airline industry is trying to tweak the rule to get more time before fines kick in.
TOKYO (AP) - North Korea is starting off the year with a fresh diplomatic initiative aimed at wooing South Korea ahead of its hosting of next month's Winter Olympics. But it's sticking to a decidedly harsh - and familiar - message for President Donald Trump: back off and let Koreans solve their own problems.

North Korea's state-run media have been hitting the "one Korean nation" theme hard since leader Kim Jong Un struck a surprisingly conciliatory tone toward Seoul in his New Year's address. And as high-level negotiators from both sides met Tuesday for the first time in more than two years, the North amped up its anti-Washington, anti-Trump criticism.

It's a tack North Korea has taken many times in the past. But it generally hasn't gotten far.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, left, shakes hands with the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon after their meeting at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. The rival Koreas took steps toward reducing their bitter animosity during rare talks Tuesday, as North Korea agreed to send a delegation to next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea and reopen a military hotline. (Korea Pool via AP)

The North's hopes for reunification negotiations that favor its position while excluding or minimizing the role of the United States are a tough sell in the South, which has a strong military alliance with Washington, benefits tremendously from being a trusted and close trading partner with the U.S. and has good historical cause to be wary of the North's bait-and-switch tactics.

With that backdrop, Tuesday's talks were by design incremental and exploratory. It's hard to imagine any major breakthroughs or policy shifts by the South on the biggest issues - denuclearization foremost among them - without U.S. consultations. So Washington probably didn't have much to worry about.

The two Koreas agreed in a joint statement to hold future talks on reducing military tensions along their border and "actively cooperate" in the Olympics, with North Korea sending a delegation.

But the chief North Korean delegate complained bitterly about South Korean media reports that they had discussed the North's nuclear disarmament. Those reports were far-fetched because "all of our state-of-the-art strategic weapons like atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles are targeting the United States, not our compatriots" in South Korea, Ri Son Gwon said.

As Tuesday's meeting started, the North's ruling party made a point of slamming Trump by name in its daily newspaper, calling his claim to have set the stage for the talks with his strong position on sanctions and pressure a "ridiculous sophism."

"It is very deplorable to see the U.S. politicians boasting of their diplomatic failure as 'diplomatic success,'" it said.

"North-south relations are an internal affair of the Korean nation," the North's official news agency said in a report on the eve of the talks that stressed how Koreans north and south must not allow outsiders' "interference and tyranny" to keep the Korean nation divided.

In a separate article, it called Trump a "lunatic" and said the U.S. needs to accept North Korea is now a nuclear power.

As a first step after Kim's speech, South Korea agreed to postpone military exercises with the U.S. until after the Winter Olympics and Paralympics end. That paved the way for the negotiators to meet and discuss a proposal by Kim to send a delegation of officials, athletes and supporters to the Pyeongchang Olympics. They also talked about other bilateral matters.

While the North's strategy of focusing on ethnic pride and unity is also a clear attempt at prying Washington and Seoul apart, it does have an emotional appeal that resonates on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone.

The Korean Peninsula was divided after it was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Splitting the Koreas along the 38th parallel was the idea of U.S. military planners to limit the influence of the Soviet Union and approved without a Korean presence at the 1945 Potsdam Conference.

The two sides fought the Korean War in 1950-53, with China and the Soviet Union supporting North Korea and U.S.-led United Nations forces backing the South. The war ended with a truce, not a peace treaty, and tens of thousands of U.S. troops continue to be stationed in South Korea. There are no foreign troops based in North Korea, but China continues to be an essential trading partner and political buffer in international forums.

It remains unclear exactly how Washington views the recent moves by the two Koreas and how involved it is.

Trump had previously scoffed at the futility of talking with the North, but when the dialogue was proposed last week tweeted: "Sanctions and 'other' pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. ... Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for the first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not - we will see."

The next day, he fired off another tweet, seeming to take credit for the whole thing: "Does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasn't firm, strong and willing to commit our total 'might' against the North. Fools, but talks are a good thing."

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, had both said they believed the talks would be limited to the Olympics, a position that didn't jibe with what Seoul was saying. When the officials actually sat down, they discussed a range of issues that included reuniting families divided by the Korean War.

"Is this the beginning of something?" Tillerson said in an interview in Washington with the AP last week. "I think it's premature."

Possibly. But for now, at least, it appears the two Koreas have taken the reins.

___

Talmadge has been the AP's Pyongyang bureau chief since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @erictalmadge.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, right, and the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon arrive to hold their meeting at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. The rival Koreas took steps toward reducing their bitter animosity during rare talks Tuesday, as North Korea agreed to send a delegation to next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea and reopen a military hotline. (Korea Pool via AP)

FILE - In this image made from video released by KRT on Jan. 1, 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks in his annual address in undisclosed location, North Korea. North Korea is starting off the new year with a fresh diplomatic initiative aimed at wooing South Korea ahead of its hosting of next month's Winter Olympics. But it's sticking to a decidedly harsh _ and familiar _ message for U.S. President Donald Trump: back off and let Koreans solve their own problems. (KRT via AP Video)
DETROIT (AP) - The Motown Museum's expansion plans have received a little more horsepower with a gift from the Detroit Auto Dealers Association.

The Detroit museum on Tuesday announced a $75,000 donation from the organization. It will officially present the gift Jan. 19 during the North American International Auto Show's Charity Preview.

The event is scheduled to feature a performance by the Four Tops, one of Motown's earliest and best-known groups.

The $50 million expansion will be built around the existing museum, which includes the original studio and famed "Hitsville U.S.A." sign.

The museum is located where company founder Berry Gordy - a former auto plant worker - launched his music empire. The label started in 1959 and scores of stars and hits were created before Motown relocated to California in 1972.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Nevada rancher who led a 2014 armed standoff with government agents spoke Wednesday saying that it's up to people in states, not the federal officials, to manage vast expanses of rangeland in the U.S. West.

To conservative followers, the plainspoken 71-year-old Cliven Bundy is an icon. He told them he's angry after spending nearly 23 months in jail before and during a trial that ended in mistrial three weeks ago. He was freed Monday.

But conservation advocates characterized Bundy as an outlaw who escaped justice, and called for federal land managers to again round up and remove Bundy cattle from what is now Gold Butte National Monument.

Rancher Cliven Bundy speaks at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters two days after federal charges were dismissed against him in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

"The Trump administration is coddling violent zealots and preventing the public from feeling safe to enjoy our new national monument," said Patrick Donnelly, Center for Biological Diversity director in Nevada.

Leaders of a coalition of public lands supporters said separately that they believe people are afraid to visit the national monument near the Bundy homestead outside Bunkerville.

"The Bundys used guns to express their displeasure with the government," said Ralph Williamson, senior pastor at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in North Las Vegas and leader of the local Faith Organizing Alliance.

Williamson called Bundy's release without a jury decision "the exact opposite of safety and a clear lack of justice."

Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed the criminal case against Bundy, his two sons and a Montana militia leader. The judge cited what she called flagrant misconduct by federal prosecutors who failed to fully share evidence with defendants.

The Bureau of Land Management began rounding up Bundy cows in April 2014 after obtaining court orders against Bundy for 20 years of failure to pay grazing fees and penalties to the federal government.

"Bundy is still an outlaw when it comes to his grazing actions, and the prosecutorial failings in the Bunkerville case do not excuse him from the decades of unauthorized livestock trespass on our public lands," said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project.

To cheers from supporters outside Las Vegas police headquarters, Bundy said that if the U.S. Bureau of Land Management comes again for his cattle, he'll ask the Clark County sheriff to protect his life, liberty and property.

"I graze my cattle only on Clark County, Nevada, land," he said, using what he has dubbed his 15-second defense. "I have no contract with the United States government."

Sheriff Joe Lombardo, the elected head of the Las Vegas police department, didn't meet with Bundy personally.

Lombardo issued a three-sentence statement saying he respected Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro's decision.

"Mr. Bundy has his own beliefs and has the right to express his opinion," the sheriff said, adding that Las Vegas police "will continue to follow the law."

Some Bundy case analysts think his states' rights message could find support from President Donald Trump, who has moved to open public lands to industry, than it did under former President Barack Obama.

Ian Bartrum, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law professor who has been writing about the Bundy case and federal land policy, said he sees a blend of beliefs between Trump supporters and Bundy backers.

Bartrum noted that Trump dramatically reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah and that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is recommending downsizing Nevada's Gold Butte and Oregon's Cascade Siskiyou monuments.

But Bundy said this week he doesn't recognize federal authority, no matter who is president.

Advocates who fought for years to protect habitat for threatened species including the desert tortoise are angered that Bundy cattle are still grazing in Gold Butte. Obama declared the sprawling and scenic range 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Las Vegas a national monument in December 2016.

Ryan Bundy, son of rancher Cliven Bundy, listens to his father speak at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters two days after federal charges were dismissed against both of them in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Rancher Cliven Bundy talks with supporter Shawna Cox at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters two days after federal charges were dismissed against him in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Rancher Cliven Bundy holds his copy of the U.S. constitution after speaking at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters two days after federal charges were dismissed against him in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Rancher Cliven Bundy speaks with supporter Annette Walker-Goggins after addressing supporters and journalists at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters two days after federal charges were dismissed against him in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

Cliven Bundy hugs Maysoun Fletcher, an attorney for his son Ryan, after holding a press conference in front of Metro Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (LE Baskow /Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Supporters came from Montana and other places to support Cliven Bundy as he holds a press conference in front of Metro Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (LE Baskow /Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Ryan Bundy relays some Nevada history to his father Cliven Bundy who holds a press conference in front of Metro Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (LE Baskow /Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Cliven Bundy refers to his U.S. Constitution while making a point to a reporter following a news conference in front of Metro Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Attorney Larry Layman stands by client Cliven Bundy and his wife Carol as he holds a press conference in front of Metro Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (LE Baskow /Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Cliven Bundy is all smiles as he welcomes everyone for a press conference in front of Metro Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (LE Baskow /Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Cliven Bundy makes a call prior to holding a press conference in front of Metro Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Bundy, the Nevada rancher and states' rights figure who was freed after federal charges were dismissed in a 2014 armed standoff with government agents says the county sheriff and the governor are the only authorities he recognizes. (LE Baskow /Las Vegas Sun via AP)
CHICAGO (AP) - A Cook County judge has resentenced a man to 75 years in prison for the 2007 shooting death of a high school student on a Chicago bus.

Judge Matthew Coghlan on Tuesday resentenced 27-year-old Michael Pace, who was originally sentenced to 100 years after pleading guilty in the death of Blair Holt, the son of a Chicago police officer.

An appeals court tossed the initial sentence saying a previous judge made inappropriate comments during sentencing about Pace's character and Chicago gun violence.

Holt was fatally shot while shielding a friend.

Coghlan said Pace's actions were evil, cold and calculated "with the specific intent to kill." Pace's lawyer had argued Pace could be sentenced to as few as 32 years. However, Coghlan said Pace hasn't tried to change his behavior, citing tickets for disciplinary problems while behind bars.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Free-agent catcher Rene Rivera and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a $2.8 million, one-year contract.

Rivera has played for six teams over nine seasons in a major league career that began with Seattle. He split last season between the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, batting .252 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs in 74 games.

The 34-year-old Rivera has a strong arm behind the plate, throwing out 36.8 percent of attempted base-stealers.

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2017, file photo, Chicago Cubs' Rene Rivera is shown during the third inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, in Chicago. Free-agent catcher Rene Rivera and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a $2.8 million, one-year contract, the Angels announced Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Rivera has played for six teams over nine seasons in a major league career that began with Seattle. He split last season between the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, batting .252 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs in 74 games. The 34-year-old Rivera has a strong arm behind the plate, throwing out 36.8 percent of attempted base-stealers. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski, File)

He is likely to compete for the Angels' backup job behind Gold Glove winner Martin Maldonado, who is eligible for arbitration after appearing in 138 games last season.

Rivera's base salary is guaranteed, and he can earn $200,000 in performance bonuses for games started at catcher: $50,000 each for 45, 50, 55 and 60.

In another move Tuesday night, Angels left-hander Nate Smith was designated for assignment. Smith is a longtime Angels prospect. He won't pitch in 2018 after having shoulder surgery last month.

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More AP baseball: www.apnews.com/tags/MLBbaseball
FOXBOROUGH -- The New England Patriots had nearly perfect attendance at practice on Tuesday ahead of their Saturday playoff matchup with the Tennessee Titans, with only running back Mike Gillislee absent.

Gillislee, who hurt his knee ahead of the Patriots' Week 17 matchup against the Jets, did not practice last week either.

Meanwhile, Tom Brady was not listed on the injury report, while Malcolm Mitchell was not listed either. Mitchell was not spotted at practice during the media available portion of the session, but he is not required to be listed on the injury report. He is designated for return off of the IR, but does not have to be activated until Friday at 4 p.m. if he is going to return.

Here's a look at the full Patriots injury report.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

RB Mike Gillislee (knee)

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

DL Alan Branch (knee)

RB Rex Burkhead (knee)

WR Chris Hogan (shoulder)

DL Eric Lee (ankle/finger)

LB Kyle Van Noy (calf)

RB James White (ankle)
Trump suggests 2-phase immigration deal for 'Dreamers'

WASHINGTON (AP) - Searching for a bipartisan deal to avoid a government shutdown, President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that an immigration agreement could be reached in two phases - first by addressing young immigrants and border security with what he called a "bill of love," then by making comprehensive changes that have long eluded Congress.

Trump presided over a lengthy meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers seeking a solution for hundreds of thousands of young people who were brought to the U.S. as children and living here illegally. Trump last year ended the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shielded more than 700,000 people from deportation and gave them the right to work legally. He gave Congress until March to find a fix.

The president, congressional Republicans and Democrats expressed optimism for a deal just 10 days before a government shutdown deadline. Trump said he was willing to be flexible in finding an agreement as Democrats warned that the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrants hung in the balance.

"I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with," Trump said during a Cabinet Room meeting with a bipartisan group of nearly two dozen lawmakers, adding, "I am very much reliant upon the people in this room." A group of journalists observed the meandering meeting for an extraordinary length of time - about 55 minutes - that involved Trump seeking input from Democrats and Republicans alike in a freewheeling exchange on the contentious issue.

"My head is spinning from all the things that were said by the president and others in that room in the course of an hour and a half," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "But the sense of urgency, the commitment to DACA, the fact that the president said to me privately as well as publicly, 'I want to get this done,' I'm going to take him as his word."

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13 dead in Southern California as rain triggers mudslides

MONTECITO, Calif. (AP) - At least 13 people were killed and dozens of homes were swept away or heavily damaged Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.

Helicopters were used to pluck more than 50 people from rooftops because downed trees and power lines blocked roads, and dozens more were rescued on the ground, including a mud-caked 14-year-old girl pulled from a collapsed Montecito home where she had been trapped for hours.

"I thought I was dead for a minute there," the dazed girl could be heard saying on video posted by KNBC-TV before she was taken away on a stretcher.

Most deaths were believed to have occurred in Montecito, a wealthy enclave of about 9,000 people northwest of Los Angeles that is home to such celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres, said Santa Barbara County spokesman David Villalobos.

Twenty people were hospitalized and four were described as "severely critical" by Dr. Brett Wilson of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

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10 Things to Know for Wednesday

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday:

1. TRUMP SEEKS BIPARTISAN IMMIGRATION DEAL

The president, reaching across the aisle, suggests a two-phased immigration approach - first by addressing young immigrants and border security, then by making comprehensive changes that have long eluded Congress.

2. HOW TRUMP DOSSIER WOUND UP AT FBI

The founder of a firm that commissioned the dossier says its author took it to the agency because of a concern about "whether a political candidate was being blackmailed."

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President Winfrey? No way, says Trump: "I'll beat Oprah"

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Winfrey? No way, says political prognosticator Donald Trump.

"I'll beat Oprah," the president declared flatly at a White House meeting Tuesday - though he quickly added, "I don't think she's going to run."

Asked about all the presidential speculation suddenly swirling around Winfrey, the typically pugilistic Trump steered clear of nasty nicknames and colorful insults while sizing up such a potential celebrity showdown.

"Oprah would be a lot of fun," said Trump, who added that he knows her "very well."

Trump appeared on Winfrey's long-running talk show in 1988 and again with his family in 2011, during her final season.

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S. Korea's Moon wants more talks to resolve North nuke issue

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's president said Wednesday he's open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if certain conditions are met, as he vowed to push for more talks with the North to resolve the nuclear standoff.

President Moon Jae-in spoke of a potential summit a day after the two Koreas held their first high-level meeting in about two years and agreed to cooperate in next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea. They agreed North Korea will send a delegation of officials, athletes and others to the Feb. 9-25 Games and they plan talks later on reducing tensions along their border.

"I keep myself open to any meeting including the summit (with North Korea) if it's helpful for an improvement of South-North relations or a settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue," Moon told reporters in a televised news conference. "But to have the summit, some conditions must be established. I think a certain level of success must be guaranteed."

Moon described the North's Olympic participation as "very desirable," saying he will push for more talks and cooperation with the North.

Tuesday's accord was reached after Kim Jong Un made an abrupt push for improved ties with South Korea following a year of escalating tensions with the outside world over his expanding nuclear and missile programs. Critics say Kim may be trying to divide Seoul and Washington in a bid to weaken international pressure and sanctions on the North.

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Bannon to exit Breitbart News Network after break with Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is stepping down as chairman of Breitbart News Network after a public break with President Donald Trump.

Breitbart announced Tuesday that Bannon would step down as executive chairman of the conservative news site, less than a week after Bannon's explosive criticisms of Trump and his family were published in a new book.

A report on the Breitbart website quotes Bannon saying, "I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform."

Trump lashed out at Bannon for comments made in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which questions the president's fitness for office. As Trump aides called him disloyal and disgraceful, the president branded his former chief strategist on Twitter as "Sloppy Steve," an apparent reference to Bannon's often unkempt appearance, and declared that "he lost his mind" when he was pushed out of the White House last August.

The president was livid about Bannon's remarks - not just at the insults about his family, but also at his former strategist's apparent intent to take credit for Trump's election victory and political movement, according to a White House official and two outside advisers not authorized to speak publicly about internal conversations.

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Author of Trump dossier had concerns about Russian blackmail

WASHINGTON (AP) - The former British spy who compiled a dossier of allegations about Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia brought the document to the FBI in July 2016 because he was worried about "whether a political candidate was being blackmailed," according to a congressional interview transcript released Tuesday.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, revealed the transcript from an August closed-door interview with Glenn Simpson, a co-founder of the political opposition research firm Fusion GPS. The firm commissioned the dossier, which was initially paid for by a conservative website and then later by Democrats, including Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Feinstein made the transcript public over the objections of Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who called the move "confounding" in a statement shortly after Feinstein made it public. Grassley said the release could undermine attempts to interview other witnesses in the committee's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

In the transcript, Simpson said Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote the dossier, took it to the FBI and said his concern was "whether or not there was blackmail going on, whether a political candidate was being blackmailed or had been compromised."

The dossier is a compilation of memos written by Steele during the 2016 campaign that contained allegations of connections between Trump and Russia, including that Trump had been compromised by the Kremlin.

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Trump administration says no oil drilling off Florida coast

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Trump administration said Tuesday it would not allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said after a brief meeting with Scott at the Tallahassee airport that drilling would be "off the table" when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.

The change of course - just five days after Zinke announced the offshore drilling plan - highlights the political importance of Florida, where President Donald Trump narrowly won the state's 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encouraged Scott to run for Senate.

The state is also important economically, with a multibillion-dollar tourism business built on sunshine and miles and miles of white sandy beaches.

Zinke said Tuesday that "Florida is obviously unique" and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott.

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Magnitude 7.6 quake hits in Caribbean north of Honduras

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between the coast of Honduras and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday night.

There were no early reports of damage on land. Tsunami warning centers said no tsunami waves had been confirmed but stress that people in Puerto Rico, other Caribbean islands and the coast of Central America should be alert to the danger of possible tsunami.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 7.6. The tremor struck in the sea about 125 miles (202 kilometers) north-northeast of Barra Patuca, Honduras, and 188 miles (303 kilometers) southwest of George Town, Cayman Islands. The tremor occurred about 6 miles (10 kilometers) below the surface.

The northern coast of Honduras closest to the quake's epicenter is sparsely populated, with much of it covered by nature reserves. Some people in the capital of Tegucigalpa said they did not feel the tremor.

President Juan Orlando Hernandez via Twitter said that Honduras had activated its emergency system and asked people to remain calm.

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Source: Alabama picked for new Toyota-Mazda factory in works

DETROIT (AP) - Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda have chosen the state of Alabama for a $1.6 billion joint-venture auto plant that is to begin operating by 2021 and eventually employ about 4,000 people, a person briefed on the decision said.

The manufacturing plant is to be built in the Huntsville area in Limestone County, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous because the site hasn't been officially announced. Officials in the Southern state said Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is to make a major economic development announcement on Wednesday, but they declined to elaborate.

Alabama and North Carolina apparently were finalists for the huge factory, which is expected to begin operating in 2021. It is to be able to build 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda, the companies have said.

Toyota and Mazda are forming a capital alliance and splitting the cost for the plant equally. The Huntsville area already has a Toyota engine factory that employs nearly 1,500 people. The decision to pick Alabama is another example of foreign-based automakers building U.S. factories in the South. The companies have located there due largely to lower wages and to avoid the United Auto Workers union, which is stronger in Northern states.

After reassessing the market, Toyota Motor Corp. has changed its plan to make Corollas at a plant in Guanajuato, Mexico, now under construction, and instead will produce Tacoma pickups there, Toyota has said.
BANGKOK (AP) - Prosecutors in Myanmar formally charged two journalists from the Reuters news agency on Wednesday with violating the Official Secrets Act, signaling the case will go forward despite international condemnation.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested Dec. 12 after police accused them of violating the colonial-era law by acquiring "important secret papers" from two policemen. The police officers had worked in Rakhine state, where security forces are blamed for rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims that sparked the exodus of some 650,000 people to Bangladesh.

Dozens of journalists wearing black waited outside the court Wednesday to protest the arrest of their colleagues, who were led into the court smiling and giving the thumbs up sign despite heavy handcuffs on their wrists.

Reuters journalist Thet Oo Maung Maung, known as Wa Lone, is escorted by police upon arrival at court Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, outside Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

"This is unacceptable," Wa Lone said from the back of a police truck after the brief hearing. "I want to tell you that that they are charging us like this to stop us finding the truth. Their actions are wrong and unfair."

The journalists' lawyer, Than Zaw Aung, said the prosecutor formally indicted the pair and they now face up to 14 years in prison if convicted.

Than Zaw Aung said he appealed for the two to be immediately released on bail, but the judge said he would review that request and rule at the next hearing on Jan. 23.

"We are still far from the verdict," he said.

Rights and media groups have criticized Myanmar's new civilian government led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for continuing to use colonial-era laws to threaten and imprison journalists. Such laws were widely used by the military junta that previously ruled the country to muzzle critics and the media.

Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said he was "extremely disappointed" by the charges and again called for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to be released immediately.

"We view this as a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom," Adler said in a statement. "Our colleagues should be allowed to return to their jobs reporting on events in Myanmar."

Their detention has caused an international outcry. After they were detained, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the arrests showed how press freedom was deteriorating in Myanmar, while U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for their immediate release.

"The United States is deeply disappointed by today's court decision," the State Department said Wednesday as it reiterated that call. "The media freedom that is so critical to rule of law and a strong democracy requires that journalists be able to do their jobs."

The Committee to Protect Journalists also condemned Wednesday's decision to charge the journalists.

"These criminal charges represent a giant step backward for press freedom in Myanmar," said Shawn Crispin, the group's senior Southeast Asia representative. "The jailing of journalists shows that Aung San Suu Kyi's government, despite its democratic mandate, is following in the repressive footsteps of her military government predecessors. And by targeting a high-profile news organization like Reuters, it shows no journalist is safe to report on sensitive stories in Myanmar."

Reuters journalist Wa Lone is escorted by police as he leaves court Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, outside Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Reuters journalist Wa Lone speaks to media cuffed from the back of a police truck as he leaves court Wednesday, Jan.10, 2018, outside of Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo, in handcuffs, talks as he leaves court Wednesday, Jan.10, 2018, outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Reuters journalist Wa Lone is escorted by police from the court Wednesday, Jan.10, 2018, outisde of Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Journalists stage a rally during the trial of two Reuters journalists near the court Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. Prosecutors in Myanmar formally charged two journalists from the Reuters news agency on Wednesday with violating the Official Secrets Act, signaling the case will go forward despite international condemnation. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Journalists gather for a rally during the trial of two Reuters journalists at the court Wednesday, Jan.10, 2018, on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. Prosecutors in Myanmar formally charged two journalists from the Reuters news agency on Wednesday with violating the Official Secrets Act, signaling the case will go forward despite international condemnation.(AP Photo/Thein Zaw)

Journalists release black balloons as they protest during the trial of two Reuters journalists near the court Wednesday, Jan.10, 2018, on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. Prosecutors in Myanmar formally charged two journalists from the Reuters news agency on Wednesday with violating the Official Secrets Act, signaling the case will go forward despite international condemnation. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
Lawmakers see boost for immigration deal after Trump remarks

WASHINGTON (AP) - Backed by the White House, Democratic and Republican lawmakers dug into a politically fraught search for compromise on immigration Wednesday, seeking to take advantage of a window of opportunity opened by President Donald Trump. They're under pressure to find a breakthrough before a deadline next week that could lead to a government shutdown neither side wants.

Democrats want urgent action to stave off deportation of some 800,000 immigrants currently protected by an Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Trump still wants his border wall, though he's toned down what that means. Conservatives are watching with a wary eye, fearing he will strike a soft compromise that could infuriate their - and his - political base heading into this year's elections.

The No. 2 lawmakers of each of Capitol Hill's quadrants of power - Republicans and Democrats in both House and Senate - touched gloves Wednesday afternoon, deputized for action at what appears to be a moment of genuine opportunity to break Washington gridlock.

"Everybody wants to find a deal there, myself included," said Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, chairman of the stoutly conservative House Freedom Caucus. "It better be good, because that particular issue is really one of the issues that got this president elected. He can't afford to make a mistake."

The Democrats talk most about DACA, the program protecting immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and are now here illegally. Many have only known America as their home and are viewed sympathetically in opinion polls and among most lawmakers.

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17 dead in California mudslides, more than a dozen missing

MONTECITO, Calif. (AP) - Anxious family members awaited word on loved ones Wednesday as rescue crews searched for more than a dozen people missing after mudslides in Southern California destroyed an estimated 100 houses, swept away cars and left at least 17 victims dead.

"It's just waiting and not knowing, and the more I haven't heard from them - we have to find them," said Kelly Weimer, whose elderly parents' home was wrecked by the torrent of mud, trees and boulders that flowed down a fire-scarred mountain and slammed into the coastal town of Montecito in Santa Barbara County early Tuesday.

The drenching storm that triggered the disaster had cleared out, giving way to sunny skies, as hundreds of searchers carefully combed a landscape strewn with hazards.

"We've gotten multiple reports of rescuers falling through manholes that were covered with mud, swimming pools that were covered up with mud," said Anthony Buzzerio, a Los Angeles County fire battalion chief. "The mud is acting like a candy shell on ice cream. It's crusty on top but soft underneath, so we're having to be very careful."

Buzzerio led a team of 14 firefighters and six dogs in thick debris. They used long-handled tools to search the muck in the painstaking task.

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10 Things to Know for Thursday

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Thursday:

1. WHERE COMPROMISE IS IN THE AIR

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, backed by the White House, reaches for a deal on a tangle of spending and immigration issues.

2. TRUMP SEES LITTLE NEED TO TALK TO MUELLER

The president says it "seems unlikely" that he'll give an interview in the special counsel's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

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Dems say Trump action on Florida drilling guided by politics

WASHINGTON (AP) - Opposition to the Trump administration's plan to expand offshore drilling mounted Wednesday as Democrats from coastal states accused President Donald Trump of punishing states with Democratic leaders and a second Republican governor asked to withdraw his state from the plan.

Democrats said Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke were being hypocritical by agreeing to a request by Florida's Republican governor to withdraw from the drilling plan, but not making the same accommodation to states with Democratic governors.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California said on Twitter that his state, "like Florida, has hundreds of miles of beautiful coastline and a governor who wants to keep it that way. Or is that not enough for blue states?"

"If local voices matter why haven't they excluded Virginia?" asked Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. "Is it because the governor of Florida is a Republican and the Virginia governor is a Democrat?"

The complaints came as South Carolina's Republican governor said Wednesday he is seeking an exemption from the proposed drilling expansion, a move that will test the relationship between Trump and one of his earliest supporters.

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Louisiana teacher speaks out after arrest at board meeting

ABBEVILLE, La. (AP) - The Louisiana teacher who was ejected from a school board meeting and handcuffed after speaking out about salaries - a video-recorded arrest that sparked outrage - said Wednesday her treatment was appalling and encouraged others to speak out.

The fallout from Deyshia Hargrave's arrest Monday night was wide-ranging, with school district officials receiving death threats and the governor saying it "cast a negative light" on the state. Video of the arrest was shared widely online.

"By taking away my voice they've taken away - or tried to take away - my First Amendment rights to speak," Hargrave said in a video posted on the Louisiana Association of Educators' Facebook page . "And I'm appalled at this, and you should be too."

She expressed gratitude for support from students and parents in Vermilion Parish - about 150 miles west of New Orleans. "Go to your local school board meetings," Hargrave said. "Speak out. Be vocal."

Gov. John Bel Edwards, who is married to a teacher and gets support from teacher unions, said he "didn't see anything that warranted that type of action."

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Trump says it 'seems unlikely' he'll give Mueller interview

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump said Wednesday that it "seems unlikely" that he'd give an interview in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Trump said "we'll see what happens" when asked if he'd provide an interview to Mueller's team.

"When they have no collusion and nobody's found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview," Trump said during a joint news conference with the prime minister of Norway.

The special counsel's team of investigators has expressed interest in speaking with Trump, but no details have been worked out. Trump's lawyers have previously stated their determination to cooperate with requests in the probe, which has already resulted in charges against four of Trump's campaign advisers.

Trump called the investigation a "phony cloud" over his administration.

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Immigration agents descend on 7-Eleven stores in 17 states

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Seven immigration agents filed into a 7-Eleven store before dawn Wednesday, waited for people to go through the checkout line and told arriving customers and a driver delivering beer to wait outside. A federal inspection was underway, they said.

Within 20 minutes, they verified that the cashier had a valid green card and served notice on the owner to produce hiring records in three days that deal with employees' immigration status.

The well-rehearsed scene, executed with quiet efficiency in Los Angeles' Koreatown, played out at about 100 7-Eleven stores in 17 states and the District of Columbia, a rolling operation that officials called the largest immigration action against an employer under Donald Trump's presidency.

The employment audits and interviews with store workers could lead to criminal charges or fines. And they appeared to open a new front in Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40 percent increase in deportation arrests and pledges to spend billions of dollars on a border wall with Mexico.

A top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the audits were "the first of many" and "a harbinger of what's to come" for employers.

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Cold snap exposes cracks in upkeep of timeworn schools

BALTIMORE (AP) - The recent spell of cold weather exposed the poor state of school buildings in many big-city districts, including Baltimore, where the failure of heating systems closed dozens of institutions after children were left shivering in frigid classrooms.

Schools were challenged in other cities affected by the cold snap, including Philadelphia and Bridgeport , Connecticut's largest city, as pipes burst, heating units froze and other pieces of decades-old infrastructure gave out under the strain of record-breaking cold.

It's no wonder; investment in school construction and maintenance has been falling steadily since the recession, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Experts who have been sounding alarms about the state of many public school buildings say the problems that struck last week are a direct result of years of inadequate funding for basic upkeep. The need is especially great in urban centers where older buildings serve poorer children and maintenance is often put off until it becomes an exponentially more costly emergency repair, said Mary Filardo, executive director of the nonprofit 21st Century School Fund, which advocates for better facilities.

"The systems are vulnerable because they're old and they're well beyond their useful life, and so they fail," Filardo said.

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Thieves raid jewelry boutique at Paris' famed Ritz Hotel

PARIS (AP) - Armed thieves entered the luxury Ritz Hotel and stole valuable jewels and other goods from a hotel boutique Wednesday, carrying out an unusually brazen heist in one of the world's most prestigious neighborhoods.

Three suspects were quickly arrested near the chic Place Vendome in central Paris, but at least two others got away, a police official said. No one was injured.

None of the jewels or other items had been recovered so far, said an official familiar with the investigation. Both officials were not authorized to be publicly named.

French media estimated the stolen merchandise as worth at least 4.5 million euros ($5.4 million). Police could not confirm the sum.

One official said some of the thieves apparently had guns, but could not confirm reports that they used hatchets to smash the glass.

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Diet Coke gets new look, new flavors amid sinking sales

NEW YORK (AP) - Diet Coke is getting a makeover to try to invigorate the sugar-free soda's slumping sales.

Coca-Cola Co. said Wednesday it's adding a slimmer 12-ounce Diet Coke can, updating the logo and offering the 35-year-old drink in four new flavors, including mango and ginger lime. The taste of the plain Diet Coke will stay the same, the Atlanta-based company said.

Diet Coke sales have fallen as more people switch to other low-calorie drinks, such as flavored fizzy water. In fact, Coca-Cola said the new slim 12-ounce cans are the same ones used for its Dasani sparkling water. Diet Coke will still come in standard 12-ounce cans, as well as other sizes, such as bottles and mini cans.

"We're maintaining the essence of Diet Coke while modernizing the brand to invite a new generation of drinkers to try it," the company said in a post on its website.

Coca-Cola said the new flavors and look - with a different color vertical stripe for each flavor and red for plain - are aimed at appealing to millennials. It spent two years on the makeover, and tested more than 30 flavors before settling on the four, which also include cherry and blood orange.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The Iranian company whose oil tanker burst into flames after a collision in the East China Sea says there is still hope of finding survivors.

Mohsen Bahrami, a spokesman for National Iranian Tanker Co., said late on Tuesday that rescuers would "likely" find survivors as "the engine room is not directly affected by the fire and is about 14 meters (yards) under water."

He added: "There is still hope."

Mohsen Bahrami, a spokesman for National Iranian Tanker Company, NITC, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the headquarters of the NITC, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. The Iranian company whose oil tanker burst into flames after a collision in the East China Sea says there is still hope of finding survivors. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The body of one of the 32 crewmen has been recovered, while the other 31 are missing.

The tanker was carrying 136,000 metric tons (nearly 1 million barrels) of condensate when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal late Saturday. The 21 members of the Crystal's all-Chinese crew were rescued.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the collision.

Mohsen Bahrami, a spokesman for National Iranian Tanker Company, NITC, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the headquarters of the NITC, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. The Iranian company whose oil tanker burst into flames after a collision in the East China Sea says there is still hope of finding survivors. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Mohsen Bahrami, a spokesman for National Iranian Tanker Company, NITC, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the headquarters of the NITC, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. The Iranian company whose oil tanker burst into flames after a collision in the East China Sea says there is still hope of finding survivors. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Novak Djokovic played his first competitive match in six months on Wednesday, a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic. He couldn't have been happier - or more impressive.

It was apparent early on that Djokovic was back to full court fitness. He stopped quickly, abruptly changed directions and stabbed at a full-stretch volley that whizzed past Thiem for a winner.

He then turned and beamed. Djokovic was back after the longest injury layoff of his career and he was clearly enjoying himself on the court again.

FILE - In this July 12, 2017, file photo, Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns to Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych during their Men's Singles Quarterfinal Match on day nine at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. Djokovic is back after the longest injury layoff of his career and he's clearly enjoying himself on the court again. Wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm to protect his troublesome elbow, Djokovic dominated the fifth-ranked Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in an exhibition match at the Kooyong Classic, a key tune-up event for next week's Australian Open. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

Wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm to protect his troublesome elbow, Djokovic dominated the fifth-ranked Thiem in an exhibition match at the Kooyong Classic, a key tune-up event for next week's Australian Open.

Still smiling afterward, Djokovic said he'd had doubts whether he'd be ready to play the first Grand Slam of the year, but the win over Thiem was a major confidence boost.

"Obviously, I was waiting for this moment for six months to get out on the court and play a match," he said. "Also, I got a great opponent today, the No. 5 in the world, so it was a fantastic test for me to see where I am."

Djokovic, who had been sidelined with the elbow injury since a quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon last year, initially planned to play in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and then a tournament in Qatar to start the season, but withdrew from both due to lingering pain in his elbow.

He still traveled to Melbourne hoping to be fit to play in the Australian Open, where he's won six of his 12 career Grand Slam titles. Despite playing pain-free on Wednesday, he said he's still taking it "day by day."

"I don't want to be over-confident," he said. "Obviously, I'm very, very happy with the way it went today, but I don't want to say it's 100 percent. I'll say that when I start a tournament and when I get to actually feel that it's 100 percent. For now, I'm in the (Australian Open) and let's hope with God's grace that everything will be fine in the next five days."

Djokovic displayed few signs of rust after his lengthy time away from the game, hitting penetrating groundstrokes deep into the corners, moving extremely well and volleying with precision.

He also unveiled a more compact service motion intended to put less pressure on his elbow that resulted in three aces in a single game against Thiem in the first set.

Perhaps the biggest change was his more relaxed mood on the court - a major contrast to his demeanor during his recent slump from late 2016 to mid-2017 when he struggled in the majors and lost his No. 1 ranking.

Freshly confident, Djokovic will now head to Melbourne Park with the aim of replicating Roger Federer's feat at last year's Australian Open, when the Swiss star returned from his own six-month injury layoff and surprisingly won the title.

"Luckily for me, I'm here," Djokovic said. "So glad to be back and so nice to start in a country and a city where I have the greatest memories."
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) - Two Molotov cocktails have been thrown at a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, setting fire to the building.

The president of Djerba's Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the attack was perpetrated by two people on a motorbike. He said the synagogue suffered no damage.

"The perpetrators want to sow dissension between Jewish and Muslim communities living in harmony on the island for many years," Trabelsi said.

A reporter at the scene told the AP the synagogue was empty and the fire was quickly extinguished. The reporter couldn't be identified in accordance with her company's policy.

Djerba is home to Tunisia's main Jewish community. The 2,500-year-old Ghriba synagogue, which was targeted in a 2002 extremist attack, is located on the island.

Tuesday's fire was at a smaller prayer site.

In recent days, violent protests over price hikes have left one person dead and raised fears of broader unrest in the country that was the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
MOSCOW (AP) - Iran's foreign minister is visiting Moscow for talks focusing on the future of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and the situation in Syria, where both nations support President Bashar Assad.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif emphasized the need for close cooperation to safeguard the nuclear agreement during Wednesday's talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

The U.S. has said it would consider scrapping the 2015 deal, in which Iran restricted its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif smiles as he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, arrive for talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Zarif accused Washington of pursuing "destructive policies." Lavrov vowed that Moscow will defend the deal as a "key contribution to the regional stability and nuclear non-proliferation."

Zarif's trip to Moscow follows a series of anti-government protests in Iran. Zarif and Lavrov did not mention the unrest in their opening remarks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif smiles as he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, arrive for talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif listens to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, during their talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, 2nd left, gestures whilst talking to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, 2nd right, during their talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the Olympics-inspired diplomatic opening with North Korea, telling South Korea's leader Wednesday that the U.S. was open to talks with Kim Jong Un's government under the right circumstances.

A White House statement said Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in still agreed on the importance of continuing the "maximum pressure" campaign against North Korea over its development of nuclear weapons - the U.S.-led barrage of international sanctions that is starting to bite the North's meager economy.

But South Korea's presidential office also said Trump told Moon to let North Korea understand that there will be no military action of any kind while the two Koreas continue to hold dialogue, the Yonhap news agency reported. On Tuesday, the two Koreas held their first talks in two years and agreed on the North's participation in the Winter Olympics being held in the South next month.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, listens to President Donald Trump speak during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The prospects of resolving decades-old tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula remain deeply uncertain. North Korea has shown no willingness to discuss its nuclear weapons which pose an emerging threat to the American mainland, and it has stuck to its tough stance toward Washington while it tries to woo the South. The newspaper of the ruling party on Tuesday called Trump a "lunatic" and said the U.S. needs to accept North Korea is now a nuclear power.

But the thaw between North and South, which have also restored a military hotline, provides a diplomatic opening after months of escalating tensions that have fueled fears of war.

"President Trump expressed his openness to holding talks between the United States and North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances," the White House statement said.

Trump also told Moon that Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence will lead the U.S. delegation to the Winter Olympics, scheduled for Feb. 9-25 in Pyeongchang. Pence will stop in Alaska to review intercontinental ballistic missile defense systems and in Japan, stressing the U.S. commitment to stability in the region.

Speaking later Wednesday, Trump claimed his administration's pressure campaign had prompted the North Koreans to negotiate with the South, and recounted Moon as telling him the initial meeting was "extremely good." He voiced cautious hopes for diplomatic success that would benefit not just the United States but the wider world. He played down fears of war.

"We have certainly problems with North Korea," Trump said at a news conference. "A lot of good talks are going on right now. A lot of good energy. I see a lot of good energy. I like it very much what I'm seeing ... hopefully a lot of good things are going to work out."

Moon has been supportive of the pressure campaign but has long advocated engagement with Pyongyang. He told reporters in Seoul Wednesday that he's open to meeting with Kim to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff, although he said the success of such a summit must be guaranteed before the meeting can be realized.

Trump has previously scoffed at the futility of talking with the North, but when the inter-Korean dialogue was proposed last week he claimed credit and declared in a tweet, "talks are a good thing." The White House said Moon had briefed Trump on the outcomes of the North-South talks on Tuesday, and "thanked President Trump for his influential leadership in making the talks possible."

A National Security Council spokesman, who was not authorized to be quoted by name and requested anonymity, said Trump assured Moon that press reports suggesting the U.S. was considering imminent, unilateral military actions against North Korea were false. Yonhap reported that Moon's chief press secretary, Yoon Young-chan, said Trump also offered assurance that military force would not happen while the two Koreas continue to talk.

The U.S. retains 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the adversaries in a state of war for the past six decades.

The prospect of military confrontation has been magnified in the past year as Trump and Kim have traded bellicose rhetoric and crude insults, as the North has conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear detonation and three tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that now put the U.S. mainland in North Korea's range.

Resorting to force is widely viewed as very risky. A pre-emptive U.S. attack could provoke a devastating retaliation by North Korea against the South, whose capital Seoul lies with the range of North Korean artillery and rockets.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - A Los Angeles man accused of making a hoax emergency call that led to the fatal police shooting of a Kansas man is charged with making a similar call in Canada days earlier.

Police in Calgary said in a news release that warrants have been issued for 25-year-old Tyler Barriss. He's accused of calling authorities Dec. 22 and claiming that he had shot his father and was holding his mother and younger brother hostage. Officers were evacuating apartments when a woman called police and said she believed she was the victim of a bogus "swatting" call.

A similar claim on Dec. 28 led police in Wichita, Kansas, to rush to a home where 28-year-old Andrew Finch was fatally shot. Barriss is charged in Kansas with making a false alarm.
Rana Mitter, the Professor at Oxford Universitya rational Indian British scholar

Frank Jan. 9, 2018 in Canada

April 1 2017, the link http://english.pku.edu.cn/News_Events/News/Focus/2800.htm visited my blog - Notebook of Frank and leads to the article 2009 Beijing Forum - Interview with Prof. Rana Mitter, and started at that day, the visitors to this Blog was soaring from less than 150 daily to over 600.

According to Rana Mitter - Wikipedia, Mr. Rana Shantashil Rajyeswar Mitter FBA (born 1969) is a British historian and political scientist of Indian origin who specialises in the history of republican China. He is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University, Deutsche Bank Director of the Dickson Poon China Centre, and a Fellow and Vice-Master of St Cross College. His 2013 book Chinas War with Japan, 1937-1945: The Struggle for Survival (titled Forgotten Ally: Chinas War with Japan, 1937-45for publication in the US), about the Second Sino-Japanese War, was well received by critics.

He is also a regular presenter for Night Waves (now known as "Free Thinking") on BBC Radio 3.

Mitter was educated at King's College, Cambridge, where he received both his MA and PhD; in 1991 he was elected President of the Cambridge Union. He was also a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard University. On 16 July 2015, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA).

I appreciate the rational attitude on China of Prof. Rana Mitter as same as that of Prof. Martin Jacques.

Prof. Rana MitterPhoto was from video Rana Mitter: 'my first trip to China'

Rana Mitter

The Smart Historian - 43 years | Oxford

June 17, 2013

At age 43, Rana Mitter is acknowledged as one of the worlds leading scholars on modern China, having authored several critically acclaimed books on the countrys history, culture and society. In fact, his book A Bitter Revolution: Chinas struggle with the modern world won a number of awards and was named a must-read on China by the Foreign Affairs journal.

A professor at only age 38, he teaches history and politics of modern China at Oxford University. Last year, he was nominated as the director of the institutions prestigious China Centrean assignment that he takes up in August.

Son of academic parents from Calcutta, both of whom left the city for further studies and subsequent careers at Oxford, Ranas fascination for China began at an early age. As a young boy, Chinese to him seemed to be the most unusual language he could imagine. It was that curiosity which led him to study the language at university. When I started studying Chinese more than 20 years back, it was Japan and not China that was rising, says Rana.

As a young boy, Chinese seemed to Rana the most unusual language he could imagine. That started an eternal romance.

One of the earliest books he read on Chinese history was Jonathan Spences The Gate of Heavenly Peacethe story of a generation of Chinese intellectuals making their way through Chinas violent 20th century. That was perhaps part of the reason why he revisited the most traumatic of moments for Chinaits epic and destructive war of resistance against Japanin his new book, Chinas War with Japan from 1937 to 1945: the Struggle for Survival.

Rana is also a well-known broadcaster and regular presenter of Night Waves, BBC Radio 3s art and ideas magazine. My parents were also always great lovers of classical music as were my grandparents in Calcutta from their earliest days, says Rana. When I was young, the sound of Mahler was often ringing through the houseand my tastes have remained modernistShostakovich, Janacek, Britten etc.

His main focus now is to turn the China Centre, which will be home to all of Oxfords Chinese expertise and will be located in a $34.2 million new building, part-funded by a Hong Kong businessman, into an institution of reckoning. Oxford has the largest single grouping of people working on China anywhere in Europe and one of three or four anywhere in the Western world, says Rana. Unfortunately, it is still not perceived in the same top league as Harvard or Berkeley. We are hoping that the new building will crystallise that fact.

Some of video of Prof. Rana Mitter on youtube.

Prof. Rana Mitter: "Modern China" | Talks at Google

Chinas War with Japan, a Conversation with Prof. Rana Mitter

Professor Rana Mitter: "China's Wartime History and Contemporary East Asia"

Professor Rana Mitter on How China's Wartime Past is Changing its Present - and Future

China's War with Japan, 1937-1945 - Rana Mitter

China's Forgotten War: An introduction from Professor Rana Mitter

Professor Rana Mitter: Why Study the Nanjing Atrocities?

The Crisis of Global Modernity: Asian traditions and a sustainable future

The making of modern Chinese nationalism

Europaeum Summer School 2016 - introductory talk by Professor Rana Mitter

Merton Conversation: China and The West - Culture and Society

Rana Mitter - Modern china: A Very Short Introduction

Prof Rana Mitter - Director of Oxford's China Centre

China under Trump: Clashing politics

Chinas War with Japan, a Conversation with Prof. Rana Mitter

Professor Rana Mitter on How China's Wartime Past is Changing its Present - and Future

Prof. Rana Mitter: "Modern China" | Talks at Google

Rana Mitter: China in a new international order

Prof. Rana Mitter: "Modern China" | Talks at Google

Rana Mitter: 'my first trip to China' (Mandarin)

Rana Mitter on China's Victory parade CGTN America

Bright Hong Kong in dialogue with Prof. Rana Mitter (7th of Dec. 2017)

'Chongqing in darkness and light', the CUH Lecture 2017

Oxford professor hails China's role in WWII

World War II: China's Forgotten War | PBS America

Rana Mitter: China in a new international order (Mandarin)

The End of the Asian Century? East-West Relations in the Age of Trump

The legacy of the Sino-Japanese war: The unfinished business of 1945

Today, I reproduce 2009 Beijing Forum - Interview with Prof. Rana Mitter to _Frank on http://blog.wenxuecity.com.

2009 Beijing Forum - Interview with Prof. Rana Mitter

http://english.pku.edu.cn/News_Events/News/Focus/2800.htm

Rana Mitter is a Professor of History and Politics of Modern China at Oxford University. Prof. Mitter has published on the political and cultural history of twentieth-century China, and is currently working on the connections between war and nationalism in China from the 1930s to the present. His interests include the Republican period (1912-1949), the Cold War and Sino-Japanese relations.

On the afternoon of Nov 7, Prof. Mitter presented his paper "Learning from Wartime: The Lessons of China's Experience of World War II in the Global Context of the 21st Century." Andrew Yang, reporter of PKU English News Website, was able to interview Prof. Mitter.

A  Andrew

M  Prof. Mitter

A: What do you think is the most important lesson China has learned in the wartime and post-war period of World War II?

M: I think World War II has changed its meaning for China over the last 60 years. But I think one of the most important things that have happened in recent years is that China has become more aware that it was part of a world war.

For a very long time, the story that was told about China during that period was a story we know very well - the story was about Yan'an, about the rise of Mao Zedong, and about the way in which China pursued policies like self-reliance (Zi Li Geng Sheng) because of what it learned from being besieged by both the KMT and also the Japanese during the war.

Of course these are, historically, very important lessons. But the nature of the historical understanding in China has changed in the last 20 years. That is largely because of changes within China itself, and is mostly not to do with foreigners or international trends, but changes in China about how it looks at its own history. And I think, in the last 20 years, because China has been famously taking part in the reform and opening up, being part of a wider world in terms of trade, culture and economics. That's also begun to happen for history. The aspect of China's international experience during the war that has now become much more stressed is that it is part of a world war, so it was an ally of the US, the Soviet Union and of course with Britain. We tend to forget it now because Britain is no longer as major a power as it was. These were the four major allies in World War II, a situation that is now understood again by historians in China, perhaps better than in the West. Because I'm afraid in the West a lot of people have forgotten that China was a major ally during World War II.

At the same time, I think there's also a wider message that comes from this, as commonly found in China today. That is a message not about conflict in war, but about cooperation. In other words, one lesson that I think has been learnt and put forward to the rest of the world is this: 60 years ago, China took part in an anti-Fascist coalition, in cooperation with other countries, Britain, the Soviet Union and US, to fight against Japan and Germany, and operated on the Allies' side in World War II. Today, China also wants to be seen as a power that has a strong role in the international community where it also has a cooperative role. I think that the Chinese government and Chinese people know that it's still quite recently that the rest of the world has got to know China, and a lot of people are worried about the country. I think that it's wrong to be worried about China, but it's a fact that some people are. Using the memory of the wartime period is one of the things that perhaps China is trying to do to remind people that China has, in the past, also cooperated in the international community for a very good purpose. And if people knew more about that history and understood why it was important, maybe they will be less worried about China today. So I think that lesson about international cooperation is one of the ways in which China is trying both to learn about its own past, and use that past to project a more cooperative image of itself in the international community.

A: How can China use its wartime experience to help to deal with the current financial crisis, or even to take the opportunity to become a "responsible great power" economically and politically?

M: The lessons of wartime, in one sense, are very specific to that period, and we have to remember that period was very different from the present day in various ways. In 1930-40s, you could argue that in some important ways China was quite weak, whereas today it's pretty strong - It has great financial power; its borders are safe; and it clearly has a very respected place in the international community. Those things were not true in quite the same way back in the 1930s. So it's important to remember that the two periods are not the same.

Having said that, there are some things I think that are parallels with the period of World War II and now. One of the big opportunities the rest of the world took, including China, after 1945, after victory over the Japanese and Germans, was to remake the world order. And amongst the parts of the world order that were remade in 1945 and afterwards was the financial world order. Many people know the famous Bretton Woods Agreement in which a lot of the financial structures of the whole postwar period were put into operation. And the predecessors of Mao Zedong were involved in those negotiations. One great mistake that was made in that period, which was that very shortly afterward the world soon divided into two during the Cold War, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. There is an opportunity now to learn from the mistakes of that period. We have gone through big crises, and I'm glad to say that the financial crisis is clear that it's nothing like as bad as during the period of World War II. The situation looks better now even than one year ago. So we are hoping that, maybe thanks to the international cooperation in which China is an important part, we have avoided a really major world crisis.

But something else of the earlier period from 1920s to 1940s tells us that it's very dangerous to have a world that splits up, either ideologically between different types of politics, or financially in terms of protectionism or economies withdrawing into their own borders and refusing to trade with the rest of the world. It seems to me that it is not about to happen right now; I don't think any major economy anywhere in the world is looking to undertake those kinds of solutions. But it's very important, relevant and positive that one of the things China has done is to assure the rest of the world and assure its own people that it will continue to be part of that world political structure - the UN, WTO, IMF and so on, at the same time asking to have greater influence and power in those organizations.

Now I think, partly because people don't know enough history, that maybe policy-makers don't think that much about the parallel period of the World War II. But if they do think about it a bit more, it may give them a useful guide-path as to what might be worth trying now, partly because of some of the developments after the War. It's a good idea to remember the reconstruction of the financial order, the economic reconstruction of much of Asia and Europe, but also to remember the mistakes that we made during that time and to make sure that even if the political situation globally becomes difficult again, we won't fall into the same traps. So I would say it's not just the lessons of the war, but also of the postwar.

A: What do you think has changed in China during World War II became the impetus of China's attempt to boost its status into one of the "Big Four" in the postwar world order?

M: I think China had wanted for a very long time to become a major power in the world, not in terms of wanting to invade or occupy anywhere, but in terms of wanting to have a role in the international system. But for most of the late 19th and early 20th century, the Qing dynasty and the Republican period, this was very difficult because China's position was weak. For example, the students from Peking University during the May 4th Movement talked about the need to oppose warlordism from within the country and imperialism from outside. China had always a sovereignty that was quite heavily compromised, that suffered a great deal because it didn't have equal treaty rights during that period.

World War II in a sense provided an opportunity for the Chinese government of the time as China became very important to the allied powers in the fight against Japan. It was said by everyone from President Roosevelt onwards that it was really important to keep China in the War. This for the first time (in modern history) gave China a high status within an alliance. Never before had China been allied with powers like the US or Britain. And it was not a very easy alliance because the old attitudes, the imperialist attitudes, and racially prejudiced attitudes continued amongst many quite senior people in both countries (US and Britain) even during the wartime period. But at the same time, they were forced to recognize that China had a major role in the wartime period and when war was over, they could no longer go back to the old system where they had special imperialist powers and extraterritorial rights.

In 1943, new treaties were signed, finally giving China equal status with any other power. So 101 years after the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, China finally got its equal status. That was the reason that it was able to rise even higher, and for instance, immediately after the World War II, it became one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. This was, in some sense, a reward for China's contribution to the wartime effort to fight against Japan, with the fact that 800,000 to 1,000,000 Japanese troops were kept bogged down and pinned down in China by the Chinese forces of both parties during that time.

The previous government was quickly defeated by the CPC in the civil war four years later, so they did not actually have very long to exercise that new sovereignty, but for a short number of years, from 1945 to 1949, the previous government was finally in a position to be sovereign. That was something essentially the wartime period, the war against Japanese, enabled them to do because it (the war) forced the rest of the world into acknowledging China's contribution and also giving China an equal status.

A: Do you think China's particular role in this financial crisis will encourage people from outside China to form a different understanding or a renewed understanding of China's wartime experience? And how will this different understanding be a potential building block to bind China into the international community and change its current role?

M: I hope people who have recognized that China now has a major role in the world's financial system will be encouraged to learn more about China's politics and history. I'm not sure that we will necessarily see a direct connection between the current crisis and the past history. But people have come to realize that you can't fully understand how any major power in the world operates without knowing anything about its history. Therefore I hope that Chinese history and politics, both of which are still not very well understood in the West, get further exposure. For instance, people will perhaps buy more books or see more TV programs. They will try to absorb a bit more of an understanding of what's happening in China.

There are also some good signs. For instance, at Oxford University, where I teach, courses in Chinese history and Chinese politics were only introduced less than ten years ago. But they've become very very popular. Each year, many undergraduates want to study Chinese history and Chinese politics. And I suspect the fact that China is so much more in the news on these questions means that the numbers will just keep growing and growing year by year. So I think as the next generation in the West comes to maturity, they are going to understand a lot more about Chinese history, and how it relates to contemporary politics. I think the wartime period will be part of that.

A: Will a wider project of educating the citizenry about the significance of World War II in China give rise to increasing patriotism as well as protectionism or even xenophobia?

M: I don't think there's any reason why learning more about your own history should necessarily make you xenophobic. I don't think the two have to be linked at all. Of course it's possible, but I hope it wouldn't be the case. Sometimes I look at blogs and websites, and it's clear that there are some Chinese websites that are very hostile, saying pretty nasty things about the Japanese. But I know there are blogs in probably every country that have some unusual or even crazy things and China is not any different there. I think there are also a lot of very thoughtful blogs that think a lot about the history, debating questions, not just general questions about the war, but also quite specific things like "what actually happened in the battle of Tai'erzhuang," or "should Peng Dehuai have acted differently in the 100-Regiment Campaign," or "could the government in Chungking have done something different about the Da hongzha (the air raids)." These are clearly people who read a lot of history and use the Internet to think about these questions. So I think it's making them patriotic, but also quite thoughtful and quite informed about what's happened in their own history.

I think that understanding your own history is a very important part of being patriotic  understanding where you come from, the background. But the most patriotic people are those who also ask questions about history. They don't just hear a story from anyone and say "that's the way it was and I believe it without questioning it at all." Instead, it's always important to try to find out "why did these things happen," "how did they happen," "could we think about them in a different way." When you understand those things, then it gives you a more complex understanding of your own history and a greater understanding of why it's important. So I think that it's quite likely that as China learns more about its past during the wartime period, it will encourage a sense of patriotism, but I hope it will also encourage a critical and questioning approach to the past in general.

Transcript by: Jacques Edited by: Andrew Yang

Oxford China Academics





A closer look at Oxford academics  tutors, lecturers, researchers  who have a personal connection to China and what its like to live and work in Oxford University today.

Oxford In China > Oxford China AcademicsA closer look at Oxford academics  tutors, lecturers, researchers  who have a personal connection to China and what its like to live and work in Oxford University today.

Barend J. ter Haar

Run Run Shaw Professor of Chinese

Faculty of Oriental Studies

? Run Run Shaw Professor of ChineseFaculty of Oriental Studies Troy Sternberg

British Academy

Post-doctoral Research Fellow

School of Geography British AcademyPost-doctoral Research FellowSchool of Geography

Peter Frankopan

Research Fellow at Worcester College,

Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research



Research Fellow at Worcester College,Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research Rosemary Foot

Emeritus Fellow, St Antony's College

Former Professor of International Relations and John Swire Senior Research Fellow Emeritus Fellow, St Antony's CollegeFormer Professor of International Relations and John Swire Senior Research Fellow Derek Siveter

Senior Research Fellow

Oxford University Museum of Natural History?





Senior Research FellowOxford University Museum of Natural History? Zhou Xunyu

Statutory Chair of Mathematical Finance





Statutory Chair of Mathematical Finance

Xin Lu

Professor of Cancer Biology and Director of the Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research Eric Thun

Peter Moores Associate Professor of Chinese Business Studies





Karl Gerth

Tutor in China History at Merton College Linda Yueh

Director of the China Growth Centre and Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall

Rana Mitter

Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China and Fellow of St Cross College

Fu Xiaolan

Director of the Technology and Management for Development Centre, Professor of Technology and International Development and Fellow of Green Templeton College



Linda Scott

DP World Chair for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Said Business School



Mark Williams

Professor of Psychology and Director of the Oxford Mindfulness Centre
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Immigration advocates are joining with business and religious leaders in Reno to condemn the Trump Administration's revocation of Temporary Protected Status for El Salvador.

Claudia Castaneda-Flamenco, an immigration organizer for the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, says termination of the status for Salvadorans is another assault on families who are deeply rooted in the United States. She says Monday's decision by the Department of Homeland Security goes against American values.

Castaneda-Flamenco says there are 3,800 U.S.-born children in Nevada who have Salvadoran parents with protected status. She says they face deportation, regardless of the dangers they face in El Salvador or the contributions they've made to the U.S.

She's citing a study by the Center for American Progress that says Nevada will lose more than $250 million from the state Gross Domestic Product annually without protected Salvadoran workers.
TORONTO (AP) - Canada has launched a wide ranging attack on U.S. trade practices with an international complaint over Washington's use of punitive duties. The U.S. called it ill-advised.

The complaint, which was filed last month but not released until Wednesday, ramps up tensions amid talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement by the three member countries - the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

A senior government official said Canada is under no illusion that there is a risk President Trump might pull the U.S. out of the trade agreement, while another senior official said the government is prepared for that possibility while not being certain it will happen. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Canada is asking the World Trade Organization to examine the use of duties in the United States, alleging they violate international law. Canada cited 122 cases in which it says the U.S. unfairly imposed duties on foreign countries, not just Canada.

The U.S. just announced duties of up to 9 percent on Canadian paper. It follows a series of similar penalties as the U.S. alleges unfair trade practices by Canada in the form of softwood lumber and Bombardier subsidies.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement that Canada's complaint is a "broad and ill-advised attack on the U.S. trade remedies system." He said it would damage Canada's own interest and only benefit China.

"Canada's claims are unfounded and could only lower U.S. confidence that Canada is committed to mutually beneficial trade," Lighthizer said. "Even if Canada succeeded on these groundless claims, other countries would primarily benefit, not Canada. For example, if the U.S. removed the orders listed in Canada's complaint, the flood of imports from China and other countries would negatively impact billions of dollars in Canadian exports to the United States."

Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said Canada's complaint might have been made public Wednesday because Canada could be signaling to the Canadian public not to expect anything from the coming round of NAFTA talks in Montreal later this month, which he says may well be the last round.

"I think Trump will give the six-month notice required under NAFTA because he will see it as a negotiating tactic," Wiseman said. "Trump prefers bilateral negotiations with each of Canada and Mexico."

The U.S. and Canada typically enjoy a friendly trade relationship, but things have soured this year as Trump has demanded big changes to NAFTA, which is in its 24th year.

Trump's demands, which range from requiring that more auto production be in the U.S. to having more government contracts in the NAFTA bloc go to U.S. companies, will likely be unacceptable to Canada and Mexico.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - An Arizona man celebrated for the humanity that was showcased in his photographs of people across the Colorado Plateau and the world has died.

John Running died Sunday of complications from a brain tumor at his Flagstaff home, said his daughter, Raechel Running. He was 77.

His love of people, places and their cultures took him down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, to Mexico to photograph the Tarahumara and across the U.S. to highlight what he saw as injustices against Native Americans. He photographed children near the sea in Trinidad and honored another photographer with pictures of farmers, fishermen, homemakers and children in Scotland.

This 2012 photo provided by Raechel Running shows her father, photographer John Running, left, with Jones Benally at their family photo studio in Flagstaff, Ariz. Running died Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, of complications from a brain tumor, said his daughter Raechel. He was 77. (Raechel Running via AP)

Running briefly aspired to be a geologist before pawning a 12-gauge shotgun his father gave him on his 12th birthday to buy a camera while working in the New Mexico oil fields. He honed photography while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, developing photos under the cover of a blanket in his bunk. He analyzed lunar images with the U.S. Geological Survey, produced training films for astronauts and in 1967, won a photography contest in Flagstaff, where he had moved with his first wife, Helen. The two met while Running was stationed in Trinidad and had two children - Raechel and John Paul.

Throughout decades, Running mentored aspiring photographers at his downtown Flagstaff studio, which closed a few years ago. He was known for intimate portraits of Navajos and Hopis who were displaced from each other's land in one of the largest relocation efforts in U.S. history. He saw a similar story line in the Israel-Palestinian conflict and traveled there with Sue Bennett, a photographer who became his romantic partner, to document people's lives.

Running's photos also became album covers for Canyon Records, an independent label specializing in Native American music. Owner Robert Doyle said Running was the only photographer he would hire for more than 15 years because he was confident Running understood tribal culture and reservation life, he was generous and people felt comfortable around him.

"Part of the Canyon mission was to present our artists not as ethnic artists but as human beings, for people to take away their ethnic lens," Doyle said. "That's one thing I learned from John was to discard the ethnic lens, to see people, the humanity, the individual."

Born in Buffalo, New York, in 1939, Running made his first trip to the Southwest as a Boy Scout in his teenage years. He later graduated from Northern Arizona University in 1969 with an anthropology degree.

His photos of cowboys, women body builders, corporate executives and pow wows landed in annual reports, calendars, advertisements, magazines and books. Running donated his collection to Northern Arizona University's Cline Library in 2014 - some 20 million images, archivist Jonathan Pringle said. Some of the collection is digitized, including a timeline of Running's life and journal entries.

The library is hopeful the collection will give people a glimpse of the work that went into Running's photos.

"I'm always really optimistic that they want to dig a little deeper and learn about the context," Pringle said. "And there is such strength in his pictures."

Navajos from Big Mountain who have resisted efforts to relocate from Hopi land were among Running's most consistent subjects. Percy Deal grew up there and said Running and his first wife were interested in Navajo women's connection to sheep, wool and weaving.

But as they learned more about an inter-tribal land dispute that forced thousands to be displaced, Running photographed the families through generations - some of whom would show up in Running's downtown Flagstaff studio looking for him or images of relatives - and became family. The studio also hosted Navajo weaving workshops.

Raechel Running said her mother's own heritage, gentle nature and a shared vision for cultural diversity, environmental stewardship and understanding helped her father in tribal communities. The couple split when Running became involved with Bennett, who died in 2003.

John Running married jeweler and rock climber, Shelley Claude, in 2012.

No formal memorial services are planned. Doyle said he plans to honor Running's work by adding it to a traveling museum exhibit on Canyon Records.

Raechel Running said she was in a thrift shop in Tucson the day before her father died when she spotted a book with a photo of a Hopi maiden on the binding. She knew immediately it was her father's for the same reasons she recognized a photo of a Navajo woman at an anti-war demonstration in San Francisco years ago - "the light in the eyes, the dignity of the people."

"In death we get to reclaim his light," she said.
LOGAN, W.Va. (AP) - A former coal company CEO who went to prison is hosting a town hall meeting for voters next week as he revs up his U.S. Senate candidacy.

Ex-Massey Energy boss Don Blankenship's campaign said in a news release Wednesday the meeting will be Jan. 18 at the Chief Logan Lodge, Hotel and Conference Center in Logan.

Blankenship will face U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in the May 8 GOP primary. Democrat Joe Manchin is seeking re-election.

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2015, file photo, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship walks out of the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse after the jury deliberated for a fifth full day in his trial in Charleston, W.Va. Blankenship, a former coal company CEO who went to prison, is hosting a town hall meeting for voters next week as he revs up his U.S. Senate candidacy. Blankenship's campaign said in a news release Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 the meeting will be Jan. 18 at the Chief Logan Lodge, Hotel and Conference Center in Logan. (AP Photo/Chris Tilley, File)

"I am looking forward to hearing from voters in the greater Logan area and to explaining why I am the best candidate for U.S. Senate," Blankenship said in the statement.

Blankenship said President Donald Trump "needs more than just another vote. He needs input as to how West Virginia can improve its citizens' quality of life."

The 67-year-old Blankenship was released from a federal prison in California last year after serving a one-year term related to the deadliest U.S. mine explosion in four decades. He is serving one year of supervised release scheduled to end on May 9 - one day after the primary.

Blankenship received approval last August to have his supervised release transferred to federal officials in Nevada, where he has a home in Las Vegas.

Blankenship was sentenced in 2016 for a misdemeanor conviction of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards at Massey's Upper Big Branch Mine in southern West Virginia, where 29 workers died in a 2010 explosion.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Blankenship's bid to appeal. He has insisted he's innocent, and that natural gas and not methane gas and excess coal dust caused the explosion. He has blamed Manchin for helping create the public sentiment against him and challenged the senator to a debate.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's media regulator says it has lifted a fine imposed last month on a private American-owned television broadcaster.

The fine by the National Broadcasting Council had drawn criticism, including from the U.S. State Department, which said it undermined media freedom in Poland. The decision Wednesday seemed to seek to avert that image.

The council fined TVN nearly 1.5 million zlotys ($420,000) in December, for what it alleged was unfair reporting during 2016 streets protests. The broadcaster protested, saying the penalty was unfair.

The regulator said on its website Wednesday that council president Witold Kolodziejski rescinded the fine after hearing the broadcaster's explanations and consulting with others.

TVN was bought for $2 billion by Scripps Networks Interactive, making it the largest U.S. investment ever in Poland.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island rapper whose songs include "Sell Drugsz" has been sentenced to three years in prison for doing just that.

Federal prosecutors say 30-year-old Michael Persaud, of Johnston, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Providence for trafficking heroin and fentanyl. His stage name is Montana Millz.

Prosecutors say an East Providence undercover detective bought nearly three-quarters of an ounce (22 grams) of fentanyl and a small amount of heroin from Persaud over a four-month period beginning in October 2016. Authorities also say they seized 1 ounces (44 grams) of fentanyl from his home.

Persaud's lawyer, Matthew Smith, calls the sentence "fair and just." Prosecutors had asked for a six-year prison term.

Persaud also awaits sentencing in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, where a jury convicted him of drug charges.
The leader of the far-right Britain First group will plead not guilty to charges of inciting hatred during a speech in Belfast, his lawyer said.

Paul Golding, 35, is accused of using threatening, abusive or insulting words at a Northern Ireland Against Terrorism rally outside Belfast City Hall on August 6 last year.

His barrister Richard McConkey confirmed he denied the charges during a brief appearance at Belfast Magistrates Court.

Leader of Britain First Paul Golding (Ben Stevens/PA)

Britain First posts anti-Islamic videos on social media.

Its deputy leader Jayda Fransen, 31, faces separate charges relating to the same demonstration.

The organisation has enjoyed added prominence after US President Donald Trump retweeted three unrelated anti-Muslim videos posted by Fransen.

The group has since boasted that it received hundreds of new membership applications and its Facebook posts were reaching hundreds of thousands more users.

Fransen and Goldings Twitter accounts have been suspended.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said Mr Trump was wrong to retweet the videos.

Golding, from Beeches Close in Anerley, south-east London, spoke only to confirm he understood the charges during his brief court appearance.

He wore a dark jacket as he stood in the dock in the city centre court.

He faces two charges of using words which were threatening, abusive or insulting and likely to stir up hatred or arouse fear or which were intended to do so.

He addressed a rally organised on the day Irish republican protesters paraded in Belfast to mark the anniversary of internment  detention without trial  being introduced during the Northern Ireland conflict.

A number of police officers provided extra security outside the court.

The case will be reviewed on January 26 and Goldings trial is due on April 6, the same date Fransen will be tried, district judge Fiona Bagnall said.

Britain First is planning to hold a Rally for Trump outside the US Embassy in London when the president holds a working visit to the UK next month.
Police have launched an investigation into how a British woman came to possess strong painkillers which led to her being jailed in Egypt.

Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, was sentenced to three years in prison for taking 290 Tramadol tablets into the country.

The shop worker told the court she had got the tablets for her Egyptian partner, Omar Caboo, who suffers from severe back pain, and she had no idea what she was doing was wrong.

(Family handout/PA)

She said she obtained the drugs, which were in her suitcase, from a friend in the UK.

Now the British authorities have started an investigation into how she got hold of the prescription medication.

Detective Inspector Jon Cross, of Humberside Police, said: Following the arrest and subsequent conviction of Laura Plummer, we are looking into the circumstances of how the prescription drugs came to be in her possession and if any further individual has committed any offences.

This investigation is still ongoing.

If you have information you believe could assist us in this inquiry, please call 101.

Ms Plummer was arrested at Hurghada airport on October 9 when she flew into the Red Sea resort.

It is thought she will appeal against her sentence and supporters have said the Tramadol was not hidden in her luggage.
Firefighting vessels have resumed attempts to put out a blaze aboard an oil tanker in the East China Sea, according to media reports.

The reports on Thursday follow an explosion aboard the Sanchi, whose 32-member crew is still mostly missing.

Photos on the Ministry of Transportations microblog showed thick black smoke pouring out of the ship on Thursday morning.

(PA Graphics)

Rescuers on Tuesday found a body believed to be a crew member from the Iranian-operated tanker but there has been no sign of survivors.

Chinese officials have warned the tanker could explode and sink, possibly triggering an environmental disaster.

The Sanchi was carrying nearly one million barrels of condensate  a type of gassy, ultra-light oil  when it collided on Saturday evening with a freighter 160 miles from Shanghai and caught fire.

It is the second collision involving a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Company in less than 18 months.

In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both vessels but causing no injuries or oil spill.
The Met Office has issued a yellow fog warning for large parts of the UK for Wednesday evening and Thursday.

(PA Graphics)

Much of the South West and large parts of Wales could be affected, along with areas in the North West.
Some Kentucky public schools are offering Bible-literacy classes that are in violation of the U.S. Constitution, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Last year, Kentucky lawmakers passed House Bill 128, allowing public schools to offer Bible-literacy classes as an elective. Other states, such as Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, have passed laws that support the creation of Bible-study courses, while some others have debated the idea, as Jackie Zubrzycki reports in this blog .

A 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirmed that, while public schools cannot teach devotional practices, they can teach the Bible when it is presented objectively as part of a secular program of education.

But the Kentucky ACLU argues in a letter to the states department of education that the Bible-literacy courses it has reviewed through an open-records request of all 173 school districts are anything but objective. In the letter, the groups interim legal director, Amy D. Cubbage, enumerates violations that are not academic and neutral, but rather present the Christian Bible as the only Biblical text and Christianity as the one correct religion.

The letter argues that the courses proselytize and even ask students to proselytize. One assignment instructs students who have visited the South Central Kentucky Cultural Center to write to a family member and persuade him or her to visit the center. The writing prompt reads:

Devote your writings to an item or items of interest in the religious exhibit relating to faith and religious heritage. Discuss why the reader needs to appreciate this.

Other assignments described in the letter include a worksheet on the Book of Proverbs that asks students, How are the virtues praised by the Book of Proverbs important character traits for society today? Students in the same class were encouraged to turn to the Book of Philippians as a way of alleviating anxiety. You can read a full list of assignments from Bible-literacy courses that the ACLU reviewed here .

Far from encouraging academic and objective study of the Bible and its historical context or literary value, the letter reads, it is clear that the coursework in these Bible Literacy classes often resembles Sunday School lessons. The letter also points out that course assignments often prompt students to do rote memorization, which the ACLU argues is a tactic better suited to religious study than to academic and secular study of the Bible.

In the end, the ACLU argues that religious education is best left to parents and not schools. But the group expressed hope that, in light of legal protections for Bible-literacy classes in public schools, the department of education will develop standards to provide guidance to teachers.

Education department spokeswoman Rebecca Blessing told the Courier Journal that the department is working on statewide academic standards for Bible-literacy classes. Until these standards are finalized and further guidance is provided by the department, it is up to each public school district to ensure the curriculum used in any classes allowed under HB 128 abides with the letter of the law and the tenets established by constitutional law, she said.

Image: pixabay.com

Related stories:
Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said he raised the case of imprisoned British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe during a recent visit to Tehran.

Mother-of-one Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in 2016 during a holiday visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents.

The 39-year-old, from Hampstead, north London, is currently serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

Jack Straw

Speaking to the Press Association after returning from the visit, Mr Straw said the meetings he had in the Iranian capital were very cordial.

He added: We made strong representations about the need for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, and another gentleman, to be released on compassionate grounds.

Pressed on how their representations were received, Mr Straw said he was told by the Iranians that they are considering this option.

The important thing is that both of these people are released as soon as possible, Mr Straw added.

During the three-day trip to Tehran, he was accompanied to the Middle Eastern country by Lord Norman Lamont, the UKs trade representative to Iran, and former ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott.

Mr Straw said they had been invited to attend the Tehran security conference but during their visit also held meetings with members of the Iranian government  attended by Nicholas Hopton, the British ambassador to Iran and his officials.

This included Irans vice president and chairman of the Iranian atomic energy organisation Ali Akbar Salehi and Javad Zarif, the countrys foreign minister.

Mr Straws visit follows one made by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson last month, who said he had forthright discussions with president Hassan Rouhani about the case of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Suggestions that new recruitment adverts portray the Army as soft are completely ridiculous, a former soldier and academic has said.

The Army has faced criticism over the campaign, which is centred on the concept of inclusivity and seeks to address concerns recruits may have about issues including religion, gender and sexuality.

But Dr David Martin, a former officer and Afghanistan veteran, said both old and new campaigns shared status and belonging as motivations for signing up.

The Armys new recruitment campaign has said there is a place for emotion in the forces (PA/MOD)

From #sniper to #medic, the Infantry offers a whole range of specialisms to get your teeth into #ArmyJobs https://t.co/2hYnBiWMJa pic.twitter.com/EmATi4gMok  Army Jobs (@armyjobs) December 29, 2017

He said: What Karmarama (the company behind the adverts) is trying to do is tap into the two things that subconsciously motivate people to fight, even when there is a risk of dying. Those two things are status and belonging.

Even the war-fighting adverts are doing that because they focus on belonging, as often the activities shown are done in teams, and status as well, as for young people theres that sense of cool.

I dont see these new adverts as a particular diversion from that, but a lot of people have painted these adverts as Well, what we did before was war-fighting and now its all soft and cuddly and about belonging.

Dr Martin, who is also a visiting research fellow at Kings College Londons War Studies Department, said his personal experience, particularly in Afghanistan, was that the Army was 100% a place where you could belong because you had teams working under pressure.

He said: People only cared about whether you were able to keep your people alive, or whether you were able to deliver whatever your job was, not what particular flavour of human you were.

He added: I find that the criticism from outside of the Army is often unknowing of the realities (of Army life).

Questioning the non-argument of a soft Army, Dr Martin pointed to the thousands of troops currently deployed in places like Somalia and Nigeria as well as the Armys 15-year role in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He said: Even people who criticise this approach because its soft would accept that the most important part of fighting power is the teams that you generate to deliver that fighting power.

Thats what military training is all about. Its about creating robust teams that dont fall apart when they are under extreme pressure.

Speaking about the drop in enlisting numbers, Dr Martin said: Its pretty simple. If you look at the economy and the employment rate in the UK over the last 30 years and peg that against Army recruitment, youll see a very close relationship.

Secondly, were not fighting any wars at the moment.

Young people  want to fight in wars. So when Iraq and Afghanistan were on, people joined the Army because they wanted to fight.

Thats why I joined the Army. I wouldnt have joined a peacetime Army. I joined because I wanted to go to Afghanistan. Thats really why recruitment is suffering at the moment.
By Heba Kanso

BEIRUT, Jan 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly seven years into Syria's civil war, Syrian refugees in neighbouring Lebanon are becoming poorer, leaving children at risk of child labour and early marriage, aid organisations said on Tuesday.

A recent survey by the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, U.N.'s World Food Programme, and refugee agency, UNHCR showed that Syrian refugees in Lebanon are more vulnerable now than they have been since the beginning of the crisis.

Struggling to survive, more than three quarters of the refugees in Lebanon now live on less than $4 per day, according to the survey which was based on data collected last year.

"The situation for Syrian refugees in Lebanon is actually getting worse - they are getting poorer. They are barely staying afloat," Scott Craig, UNHCR spokesman in Lebanon, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Around 1.5 million refugees who fled Syria's violence account for a quarter of Lebanon's population.

The Lebanese government has long avoided setting up official refugee camps. So, many Syrians live in tented settlements, languishing in poverty and facing restrictions on legal residence or work.

"Child labour and early marriage are direct consequences of poverty," Tanya Chapuisat, UNICEF spokeswoman in Lebanon said in a statement to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"We fear this (poverty) will lead to more children being married away or becoming breadwinners instead of attending school," she said.

According to UNICEF, 5 percent of Syrian refugee children between 5-17 are working, and one in five Syrian girls and women aged between 15 and 25 is married.

Mike Bruce, a spokesman for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said without sufficient humanitarian aid and proper work Syrian families would increasingly fall into debt and more could turn to "negative coping mechanisms" like child labour and marriage.

Cold winter temperatures in Lebanon would also hurt refugees, he said.

"Refugees are less and less able to deal with each shock that they face and severe weather could be one of those shocks," said Bruce. (Reporting by Heba Kanso @hebakanso, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit www.trust.org)
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Stoke City may have sacked manager Mark Hughes at the weekend but on Tuesday they signed one of his transfer targets, Austria right back Moritz Bauer.

The 25-year-old defender has joined the club from Russian team Rubin Kazan on a 4-1/2 year deal for 5.5 million pounds ($7.44 million), the struggling Premier League club announced.

Bauer agreed terms and had a medical last week but has now completed the move to Stoke, who sacked Hughes on Saturday after a shock FA Cup third round defeat by fourth-tier Coventry City.

"Moritz is a player we have been trailing for some time and was someone Mark Hughes wanted to bring into the club," Chief Executive Tony Scholes said on the club's website (www.stokecityfc.com).

"Moritz came over to England last week to undergo his medical and discuss terms and we have now been able to conclude his transfer."

Stoke are in the relegation zone with 20 points from 22 matches and visit Manchester United on Monday. They will hope Bauer can help tighten up a defence that has by far the worst record in the Premier League this term with 47 goals conceded.

Although Bauer represents Austria, he was born in Switzerland and started his career with Grasshoppers Zurich, making more than 90 league appearances.

He joined Rubin Kazan in 2016 and played 37 league games for the Russian Premier League side.

($1 = 0.7392 pounds) (Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)
WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the White House on Jan. 16, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

It said the two leaders "will discuss ways to strengthen and enhance our strategic partnership on regional security issues and economic cooperation."

They will also talk about several international challenges, including Afghanistan, that Kazakhstan will face during its tenure as president of the U.N. Security Council.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh)
By Rajendra Jadhav and Ruma Paul

MUMBAI/DHAKA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - India's rice exports likely jumped 22 percent in 2017 to a record 12.3 million tonnes as neighbouring Bangladesh ramped up purchases after flooding hit its crops, industry officials told Reuters.

The boost in shipments from the world's top exporter of the grain is set to extend into 2018 as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka continue to buy aggressively amid depleting inventories in No.2 exporter Thailand, the officials said.

"Bangladesh was actively buying throughout 2017. It offset the impact of slightly weaker demand from African countries," said M. Adishankar, executive director at Sri Lalitha, a leading rice exporter located in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Bangladesh's purchases likely lifted India's non-basmati rice exports by 38 percent in 2017 to 8.4 million tonnes and total exports to 12.3 million tonnes, the officials and exporters said. That would surpass 2014's record of 11.5 million tonnes.

They based the 2017 export figures on their estimates for December shipments plus previously issued government data for January to November. Government numbers for December are expected to be released around the start of next month.

India exports non-basmati rice mainly to African and Asian countries and premium basmati rice to the Middle East, the United States and Britain.

Traditionally the world's fourth-biggest rice producer, Bangladesh emerged as a major importer of the grain in 2017 after floods damaged crops and pushed domestic prices to record highs.

Bangladesh sourced more than 80 percent of its 2017 imports of 2.4 million tonnes from India, said Badrul Hasan, head of Bangladesh's state grains buyer.

The South Asian nation's overseas rice purchases are likely to remain robust until supply rises after its summer crop, also known as Boro, in May, Hasan said.

Boro contributes more than half Bangladesh's typical annual rice output of around 35 million tonnes.

Last year Bangladesh reduced import taxes on rice to boost private buying. It also bought rice from India in state-to-state deals to quickly raise supplies and try to rein in prices.

But rice prices stayed high in Bangladesh despite the largest imports in nearly two decades, which will encourage farmers to expand the amount of land used to cultivate the staple crop, Hasan said.

NON-BASMATI

India's rice exports in 2018 depend largely on non-basmati shipments as basmati exports are likely to remain more-or-less steady at around 4 million tonnes, said Vijay Setia, president of the All India Rice Exporters' Association.

"Non-basmati exports depend on stock positions in importing countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka," Setia said.

African nations stepped up buying from Thailand last year, but that could ease in 2018 as state stockpiles are depleted in the Southeast Asian country, potentially boosting appetite for Indian supply, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

"For key markets like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, India has freight advantage over Thailand. This will help even in 2018," the Mumbai-based dealer said.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai and Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Editing by Joseph Radford)
By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Turkey called on Russia and Iran on Wednesday to pressure Syrian authorities to halt a military offensive in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, which Damascus launched despite an international deal to reduce hostilities there.

As pro-government forces pressed the assault, the Russian defence ministry's newspaper said Moscow had asked the Turkish military to tighten control over armed groups in Idlib. It said militants had used the province as the launchpad for a drone attack on two Russian bases in the last week.

Idlib has become a focal point of the Syrian war as government forces and allied militia have thrust towards an insurgent-held air base. Idlib, bordering Turkey, is the largest single chunk of Syria still under the control of rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed grave concern for an estimated 2 million people in the Idlib region, where the population has grown as Syrian rebels and civilians fled government advances in other areas. Fresh conflict could trigger more displacement on Turkey's southern border.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Russia and Iran must fulfill their duties under a joint accord reached with Turkey last year in which the three countries announced a "de-escalation zone" in Idlib.

He said advances by the Syrian army and allied forces into Idlib could not have taken place without the support of Moscow and Tehran, which have both backed Assad in the war.

"Iran and Russia need to carry out their responsibilities. If you are guarantors, which you are, stop the regime," Cavusoglu told the state-run Anadolu news agency in an interview broadcast on Turkish television channels.

Cavusoglu's ministry summoned the Iranian and Russian ambassadors on Tuesday to complain about violations of the Idlib de-escalation zone, and he said President Tayyip Erdogan might call Russia's Vladimir Putin on the issue.

Turkey, which has been fiercely opposed to Assad, has recently been working with his allies Russia and Iran for a political resolution to the conflict. But Cavusoglu said the Idlib offensive was endangering those efforts.

"This isn't a simple air strike, the regime is advancing into Idlib. The goal is different here," he said. "If the aim here is to make some unwilling opposition groups go to Sochi, it will backfire," he added, referring to Russia's plans to host a congress on Syria at the end of this month.

In the first attack of its kind, Moscow said on Monday militants had used drones to attack its naval and air bases in the nearby provinces of Tartus and Latakia. The Russian defence ministry's newspaper said on Wednesday the drones had been launched from the south-western part of the Idlib de-escalation zone held by "moderate opposition" armed groups.

60,000 DISPLACED

Syrian government forces have taken scores of villages in recent weeks near the provincial border between Idlib and Hama, with the help of Iran-backed militias and Russian air power. They have progressed towards the Abu al-Duhur military airport, where rebels completely ousted the army in 2015.

The forces had advanced to within 3 km of the air base on Wednesday, said a military media unit run by Lebanon's Hezbollah, which fights on the Syrian army's side.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army and allied militias captured 16 villages and positions on Wednesday. They clashed with Tahrir al-Sham fighters around the airport, the Britain-based war monitoring group said.

The combatants also battled from another direction along a front south of Aleppo city, near the border with Idlib.

Tahrir al-Sham, spearheaded by al-Qaeda's former Syria branch is now the dominant insurgent force in the northwestern province of Idlib.

Rebel groups seized Idlib, which borders Turkey, in 2015 and it has since become the only Syrian province fully under insurgent control.

Fighting and air strikes have forced more than 60,000 people to leave their homes since Nov. 1, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"What I am seeing here is the use of the presence of al Nusra and HTS as an excuse to attack civilians and moderate oppositions," Cavusoglu added.

Under last year's deal with Iran and Russia, Turkey says it has deployed troops to observation points in northern Idlib, about 60 km (40 miles) north of the latest Syrian army offensive.

Cavusoglu said Ankara would host a meeting on Syria with like-minded countries after the summit in Russia's Sochi.

With Russian and Iranian backing, government forces have recovered large swathes of territory from rebel factions and Islamic State militants over the past year.

Assad and his allies now command the single largest chunk of Syria, followed by U.S.-backed Kurdish militias who control much of the north and east Syria and are more concerned with shoring up their regional autonomy than fighting Damascus. (Additional reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut, and Olzhas Auyezov, Tom Miles in Geneva; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans/Mark Heinrich/Tom Perry)
By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Iraq has approved the sale by Royal Dutch Shell of the company's 20 percent stake in Iraq's West Qurna 1 oilfield to Japans Itochu Corp, a senior Iraqi oil official said on Wednesday.

The deal comes as the Anglo-Dutch company agreed to exit the Majnoon oil venture, one of the largest fields in OPEC member Iraq, and hand over its operation to the state-run Basra Oil Co. (BOC) by the end of June 2018.

"Shell sold its stake in West Qurna 1 to Itochu and the oil ministry approved it. We met with Itochu and discussed the required financial investments and operations at the field," Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, the head of state-run BOC, told Reuters in an interview.

The West Qurna 1 oilfield, operated by Exxon Mobile, currently produces around 405,000 barrels per day.

Shell and Itochu were not immediately available for comment.

Abdul Jabbar also said BOC had reached an agreement with KBR Inc, a U.S. engineering and construction firm, to help manage projects to develop production capacity at the Majnoon field.

Iraq is still in talks with another foreign engineering firm to operate the energy facilities at Majnoon and a deal is expected before June, said Abdul Jabbar, without naming the company.

"We are targeting to cut the cost of the projects' development by 30 percent this year," said Abdul Jabbar, adding the development cost for Majnoon set by Shell in 2017 was $1 billion.

Shell has said it is still committed to producing gas in Iraq, focusing on developing and expanding the Basra Gas Company, which processes gas from the Rumaila, West Qurna 1 and Zubair fields. It has a 44 percent stake in the joint venture.

Shell is now is giving advice to the Majnoon managing teams on the tendering process and how to maintain normal operations at the field, said Abdul Jabbar.

He said the associated gas extracted from Majnoon stood at around 130 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d) and only 70 mcf/d was processed and utilised, with the rest flared. (Additional reporting and writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Mark Potter)
By Nita Bhalla

NAIROBI, Jan 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Somaliland has passed its first law against rape, in a bid by the new government of the breakaway region to crack down on violence against women, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Rape is not a criminal offence and perpetrators do not face any penalty in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, a conservative Islamic region in the Horn of Africa.

Instead, victims' families are paid off or they are forced to marry their rapists to avoid public shame. The new law will punish rapists with up to 30 years imprisonment.

Ayan Mahamoud, Somaliland's representative in Britain, said the law passed by the lower house of parliament on Monday still needed approval from the more conservative upper house.

"The bill had been languishing for some years and the newly elected government, which is very serious about tackling violence against women, saw it as a priority to bring it before parliament," Mahamoud told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"It is however possible that it will face resistance when it comes before the House of Elders in the coming weeks, as members in the upper house tend to be more traditional."

Somaliland - with a population of about 4 million - declared independence from Somalia in 1991 following a bloody civil war, but is not internationally recognised as a country. Somalia does not have any legislation against sexual violence.

Mahamoud said President Musa Bihi Abdi's government, which came to power in November, was shocked by reports of gang rape and wanted to take action against it.

He refuted claims the move was part of a strategy to show Somaliland as a functioning democracy with the aim of gaining recognition on the global stage.

The United Nations hailed the law as a milestone, but said much more needed to be done.

"Once it is signed into law, there is need to develop the capacities of the national justice and security actors, non-state actors and service providers and to create awareness among the public," said Fadumo Dayib, head of UN Women in Somalia.

"Every woman and girl has the right to live her life without the threat and fear of violence. This law will make a substantial contribution in curtailing sexual violence against women and girls." (Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Katy Migiro. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
OSLO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Donor nations for the Palestinians will meet in Brussels on Jan 31 as part of efforts to revive peace talks with Israel, meeting chair Norway said on Wednesday.

"There is an urgent need to bring all parties together to discuss measures to speed up efforts that can underpin a negotiated two-state settlement," Norway's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington later on Wednesday for talks that she says will include Middle East peace, climate change and trade.

The ministerial-level meeting in Brussels would be hosted by European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and chaired by Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide.

The 15-member International Donor Group for Palestine, including the United States, usually meets at ministerial level once a year, with the most recent session in September. (Reporting By Alister Doyle Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
As school districts weigh the impact of losing assurances of net neutrality, a professional organization is encouraging them to protect themselves up-front against a potential decline in the speed and quality of their web access.

The Consortium for School Networking on Tuesday released a tip sheet for district officials on content-delivery practices they should require in contracts with internet service providers.

The consortium, which represents K-12 technology officers, concedes that the document is premised on some speculation and guesswork.

Thats because its unclear how school systems internet access will be affectedif at allby last months closely watched and divisive policy change approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

I dont think were saying we have a magic bullet in a post-net neutrality world, said Keith Krueger, the consortiums CEO. We want to provide practical advice to districts. Are there things they can do, are there protections they can put in place?

Net neutrality is the idea that internet service providers should not be allowed to treat web traffic differently, slowing some content and prioritizing other material based on an organizations ablity to pay for faster service or other factors.

Guarantees in Writing

Like many ed-tech organizations, COSN has argued that the FCCs Dec. 14 vote to dismantle Obama-era net neutrality protections was a mistake that could potentially hurt schools.

That policy decision, championed by Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, reversed a two-year old order designed to protect net neutrality. The earlier order forbade internet service companies from blocking or throttling contentbasically degrading or impairing the flow of trafficor engaging in paid prioritization of content.

Pai has argued that the 2015 policy was federal overreach that has stymied innovations by internet service providers that could benefit web users. He says fears that the companies will engage in bad practices are overblown.

Some school leaders and librarians, however, fear that the FCCs change will result in slowing the flow of educational content such as videos, games, and curriculathat teachers and students rely on.

Others worry that without net neutrality, internet service providers will give preferential treatment to the wealthiest companies and education content providers, while slowing online resources created by small, potentially innovative businesses.

COSN advises districts to take the following steps to protect themselves:



They should closely review their service-level agreements with vendors and make sure they include specific metrics on internet performance. The metrics should include the entire complement of internet traffic, regardless of what internet protocol, or network delivery system, is used by the district.



They should ask their ISPs for written assurances that there will be no preferential treatment for content, based on site origination or destination, internet protocol, and other factors.

Overall, district tech leaders should not hesitate, when negotiating with internet service providers, to ask them point blank: What is your policy on this? said Marie Bjerede, the principal of leadership initiatives for COSN.

The Right to Ask Tough Questions

One lingering question for K-12 officials is how easily they would be able to determine with any certainty that their online content was being slowed or throttledor if the traffic flow is slowing down for another reason, related to a website, network, or capacity problem.

Ron Reyer, the director of technology services for the Bethel Park School District in Pennsylvania, said answering those questions is far from simple. But K-12 officials have the right to ask internet service companies to provide details on their performance in ensuring fast delivery of content, said Reyer, who worked with a group of school officials who contributed ideas for the COSN document.

The goal should be to engage vendors, content providers, and [districts] in a three-way conversation on How are we going to solve our problem?  Reyer said.

Fred Campbell, the director of Tech Knowledge, a free-market think tank and a supporter of Pais policy, said he saw no harm in COSNs advice to districts. But he also does not believe that internet service providers are about to change their practices in ways that will undermine schools. Districts are enterprise customers, and internet service providers have an incentive to make them happy.

Id be very surprised if it is ever necessary, Campbell said of the COSN document. I see very little to be gained [for those companies] in blocking that content.

COSNs document notes that a consortia of districts will have more leverage with internet service providers in negotiating contract provisions than individual school systems. Districts that have a choice of more than one provider will have that leverage, too, said Krueger.

But many districts have few options, he noted: 43 percent of district technology officials surveyed by COSN last year said they have only one internet service provider available to them.

Were not as concerned about places with competition, Krueger said. But if youre in a place with no competition, theres no recourse if your provider doesnt want to do this.

See also:
WINDHOEK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Namibian government has provisionally banned the import of all perishable food, fish, fruits, unprocessed food and water from neighbouring Zambia, which has been hit by a cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 60 lives so far.

The ban came into effect on Monday and will stay until the situation in Zambia returns to normal, an official from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, who did not want to be named, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Zambia is one of Namibia's top four trading partners and its exports to Namibia totalled around $322 million in 2016, the latest available data.

Zambian media reported on Monday that cases of cholera continued to rise and the number nationwide stood at about 2,600, with 66 fatalities.

The Zambian government has banned all public gatherings in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly disease.

The Zambian High Commissioner and trade attache to Namibia were not available for comment when contacted by Reuters. ($1 = 12.4410 Namibian dollars) (Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; Editing by Susan Fenton)
By Mubasher Bukhari

LAHORE, Pakistan, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Two civilians were killed when officers fired live rounds to disburse crowds that attacked a police station in Pakistan on Wednesday in a protest over the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl.

Police recovered the body of Zainab Ansari on Tuesday from a garbage dumpster in the town of Kasur in eastern Pakistan, four days after she was reported missing.

It was the twelfth incident of a girl being adducted, raped, and killed in the past year in Kasur district, police say. Residents have been furious at the authorities for what they see as a failure to investigate such cases.

The spokesman for Pakistan's Punjab province, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, told Reuters that protesters turned violent and attacked a local police office.

"They started throwing stones at the office and some of armed protesters shot bullets at police. In order to stop them, police resorted to aerial firing," Khan said, adding that two people were killed and one wounded as a result.

Locals said police responded with undue force.

"A peaceful protest was taking place, some students threw stones and police responded by firing at the crowd," Saleem ur Rehman, a resident who was at the protest, told Reuters. "The law and order situation here is really bad and there have been many such incidents. That is what the protest was about."

Ansari's parents, who were not in the country when their daughter was kidnapped, returned on Wednesday.

"I want justice! I want justice!" Zainab's mother cried, surrounded by reporters at the international airport in the capital Islamabad.

Ansari's case has attracted the attention of the country's civilian and military leadership, with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif calling for immediate action.

Police in Kasur deny they have been lax in investigating child abductions in the town. Regional police officer Zulfiqar Hameed told Reuters that four kidnappers had been arrested and another killed during an arrest attempt.

"Investigations reveal that in each case a paedophile kidnaps little girls, rapes them and kills them," he said.

The case of Ansari would soon be solved, he said: "We have got CCTV footage that shows a young man taking her along. We will catch him very soon," he said, adding that 95 DNA samples had been taken from suspects.

A number of police officials have been transferred out of the region for failing to investigate complaints of missing children since 2015, when authorities uncovered what they called a paedophile ring linked to a prominent local family. At least two people have been convicted in the case, in which authorities say hundreds of children in the district were abused. (Writing by Saad Sayeed; Editing by Peter Graff)
By Kizito Makoye and Nita Bhalla

DAR ES SALAAM/NAIROBI, Jan 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - C ampaigners on Wednesday condemned authorities in Tanzania for arresting five schoolgirls for being pregnant, saying they should have arrested the men who impregnated them instead.

The girls - aged between 16 and 19 - were arrested by police in the southeastern town of Tandahimba over the weekend. They have been released on bail and are currently with their parents.

"Prosecuting girls who are victims of sexual exploitation and violence, whilst allowing adult perpetrators to go free, sends out the wrong message," said Christa Stewart, a lawyer with the charity Equality Now.

"In a misguided attempt to prove that they take sexual violence seriously, the Tanzanian government is infringing on the human rights of adolescent girls and this is unacceptable. Arresting victims is never the solution."

President John Magufuli caused an outcry among campaigners in June when he voiced support for a ban on pregnant girls and teenage mothers in state schools, which dates back to 1961, describing their behaviour as "immoral".

The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights said the arrests were "unacceptable" and called for the men to be arrested, while Sabrina Mahtani of the rights group Amnesty International said the arrests were illegal.

Tanzania has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the world, with widespread sexual violence and many girls exchanging sex for school fees, food and shelter, says the United Nations.

Tandahimba's district commissioner Sebastian Waryuba last month ordered the arrests of 55 other girls who gave birth over the past two years and their parents.

He said the arrests would deter other students from getting pregnant, and will also serve as a lesson to parents to stop their children engaging in "reckless" sexual relationships.

A district education official said that police were also looking for the men who impregnated the students, and that they would be charged with rape as the most of the girls were minors.

"They will be charged for rape because our law is very clear that sex with someone below the age of 18 is rape," said Sosthenes Luhende, an education officer in Tandahimba.

In December, Magufuli pardoned two convicted child rapists for raping 10 primary school girls after serving 13 years of their life sentences. (Reporting by Kizito Makoye in Dar es Salaam and Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla in Nairobi, Writing by Nita Bhalla, Editing by Katy Migiro. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
By Dave Sherwood

SANTIAGO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Chileans protesting Pope Francis's 2015 appointment of a Roman Catholic bishop accused of protecting an alleged pedophile threaten to cast a shadow over the pontiff's visit to South America next week.

Parishioners in Osorno, a small city 800 kilometers (497 miles) south of the Chilean capital, say Vatican representatives denied their requests to meet with Francis. They plan to protest every day of the Pope's Jan. 15 - 18 stay in Chile.

Pope Francis, who hails from neighboring Argentina and once briefly lived in Chile, has defended Osorno Bishop Juan Barros and says allegations that he covered up abuses by one of Chile's most notorious sexual predators were unfounded.

Planned demonstrations in Chile, a staunchly Catholic country, have rekindled accusations Francis has not done enough to root out sexual abuse in the Church, especially holding bishops accountable for covering up or mishandling sexual abuse.

"We believe the victims of sexual abuse have been marginalized (by the Church)," said Juan Carlos Claret, a spokesman for Osorno parishioners. "It's a reality that we in Osorno have been living with for almost four years and we plan to keep the issue alive."

Protests will kick off during the Pope's public appearances in the Chilean capital on Tuesday, dimming the gleam of the first leg of his return to Latin America, where he is especially popular. The trip will also take him to neighboring Peru.

"This is an otherwise remarkable pope who has obviously done a tremendous amount of good in the Catholic Church. But when it comes to the issue of child sexual abuse, he is as recalcitrant as any old-school bishop," said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of Boston-based research group BishopAccountability.org.

A database compiled by the group and published on its website Wednesday lists nearly 70 Chilean priests, deacons, religious bothers and a nun who have been accused of molesting children, including some that remain in active ministry.

While other groups are likely to protest during the Pope's trip, particularly indigenous Mapuche in central Chile who criticize the church for visiting ancestral lands they say were confiscated, the Osorno critique and the focus on sexual abuse is lobbied directly at Francis.

In 2015, the Pope inflamed tensions and shocked even his many admirers, when he told a group of tourists at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City that the community of Osorno "suffered for being dumb." He said the accusations against Barros had been cooked up by leftists.

'BETRAYED BY THE CHURCH'

The accused priest, Father Fernando Karadima, has denied allegations of abuse and the bishop said he was unaware of any wrongdoing.

A 2011 Vatican investigation found Karadima guilty of abusing teenage boys over many years and ordered him to retire to a "life of prayer and penitence."

Barros has long drawn suspicions from many Chileans because of his close links with Karadima. Both were members of a priestly society in Santiago and Karadima served as Barros' mentor during the bishop's youth.

At least one of Karadima's alleged victims has said that Barros was present during the sexual abuse.

Claret said Barros, who continues to serve as Bishop in Osorno, surrounded by volcanoes and lakes in a remote region of northern Patagonia, has divided the community and made healing for abuse victims impossible.

"Within our group, there are victims of sexual abuse. They feel betrayed by the Church," Claret said.

Claret said that his group had sold empanadas, a traditional Chilean pastry, since August to help pay for as many as 30 parishioners to go to the Santiago protests.

For Doyle, who plans to attend the demonstrations, the Chile situation is unique in the context of the global sexual abuse crisis that enveloped the Church for nearly two decades.

"I have never seen a reaction as powerful and anguished as the people of Osorno against this bishop," she said. (Additional reporting by Antonio De la Jara; Editing by Caroline Stauffer, Philip Pullella and Andrew Hay)
By Terje Solsvik and Joachim Dagenborg

OSLO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Hexagon's chief executive, Ola Rollen, was cleared of insider trading charges by an Oslo court on Wednesday in a unanimous verdict.

Norwegian prosecutors had asked for an 18-month prison term for Rollen's 2015 purchase of shares in Norway's Next Biometrics , a company not connected to Hexagon.

One of Sweden's best known business leaders, Rollen had maintained his innocence throughout the trial and continued to run the company he has led since 2000.

"I remain committed to serving as CEO for Hexagon for as long as the Board and shareholders will allow," he said in a statement following the verdict.

Rollen's lawyer argued during the trial that his client did not possess privileged information at the time of the share purchase and that the transactions he made were motivated by his own independent analysis of Next Biometrics.

"I am relieved by the court's verdict, confirming what I and my lawyers have stated from the beginning; that I did nothing wrong," Rollen said.

The case dates back to Rollen's purchase of Next shares on October 6 and 7 2015 on behalf of Greenbridge, an investment firm he co-founded. Prosecutors said this was illegal because Greenbridge was involved in talks to take a larger stake in Next at a higher price.

The maximum sentence the prosecution could have asked for was six years in prison.

Rollen took to Twitter after the verdict, writing "From Oslo with love" and posting a photo of himself pointing to a text that read "if all else fails, try common sense!"

As Hexagon CEO, Rollen has helped transform a sprawling conglomerate with a market value of a few billion crowns in 2000 into an $18 billion technology market leader following a stream of acquisitions and high growth.

Hexagon's shares fell 10 percent following news of the accusations in October 2016 but the stock is up 25 percent over the last 12 months after reports last June that Hexagon had held talks on a possible sale to a U.S. or European rival.

Norway's white-collar crimes unit now has two weeks to decide whether to appeal the verdict to a higher court, prosecutor Marianne Bender told Reuters.

"We'll carefully consider the verdict and whether to file an appeal," Bender said.

Trading in the shares of Hexagon and Next Biometrics had ended for the day before the verdict was released. (Additional reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord in Oslo and and Johannes Hellstrom in Stockholm; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
By Sarah N. Lynch

Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort faced a new legal headache on Wednesday after a Cyprus-based company tied to a Russian oligarch sued him and his business partner Richard Gates over allegations they committed financial fraud by misappropriating millions of dollars.

Surf Horizon Limited, a company linked in corporate filings to ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin named Oleg Deripaska, accused Manafort and Gates of misappropriating more than $18.9 million that the company had invested in Ukrainian telecom companies known collectively as the "Black Sea Cable."

Manafort and Gates are already under criminal indictment by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who has accused them of failing to register as foreign agents, conspiring to commit money launder and conspiring to defraud the United States.

Wednesday's lawsuit, brought against the pair in a New York state trial-level court, marks the second time now that the Deripaska-linked company has sued them along with Pericles Emerging Market Partners, an investment management firm controlled by Manafort and Gates.

In August 2015, the company also filed a parallel case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, seeking documents and depositions in connection with the alleged missing money.

Lawyers for Manafort and Gates could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Manafort and Gates had testified under oath in 2015 that they did not know whether Surf Horizon still owned any stock in the Black Sea Cable, even though Surf claims had paid one of their affiliated companies $7.35 million in management fees.

The lawsuit says Manafort and Gates said in sworn testimony they did not know what happened to more than $26 million had gone missing from the investment.

In May 2017, however, one of Surf's affiliates, known as Adoptol Limited, brought legal proceedings in Cyprus and unearthed documents which show that Manafort and Gates had "siphoned off for themselves millions of dollars" from Surf's investment, the lawsuit said. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by John Walcott and Warren Strobel; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
By Lisandra Paraguassu and Ricardo Brito

BRASILIA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The United States is the largest source of guns entering Brazil that end up in the hands of armed bandits and drug traffickers, according to a Brazilian Federal Police report seen by Reuters.

Roughly 1,500 guns originated in the United States out of a study of more than 10,000 arms seized by police since 2014, mostly in Rio de Janeiro, the December 2017 report said, although the guns often traveled through a third country before arriving in Brazil.

Guns from the United States tended to be assault rifles and higher caliber handguns, while guns already circulating in Brazil or arriving from other countries skewed toward smaller handguns.

"The US continues to be the largest indirect source of illegal handguns and assault rifles as a result of unrestricted sales in stores and fairs in American cities," the report said.

Violence fueled by illegal guns has spiked in Brazil as a deep recession from 2015 to 2017 led to funding cuts for many police forces around the country. The federal government sent troops to Rio de Janeiro and other areas last year to quell violence generally related to the drug trade.

The report calls for international bodies such as the United Nations and the Mercosur trade bloc to offer more support to stop illegal arms trafficking, as well as for more bilateral agreements such as a 2006 deal between Brazil and Paraguay to cooperate in combating the arms trade.

Eight foreign stores are named selling the most high caliber guns that ended up in Brazil, with five located in Florida, although a store in Paraguay was the largest individual seller.

Guns from the United States generally enter Brazil through direct shipments of assembled weapons, shipments of gun parts or indirect shipments through a third country, with Paraguay being the top intermediary.

Outside the military, Brazilians can legally own guns only if they meet a series of stiff checks and even then can buy only small caliber weapons. In these instances, guns are allowed for rural residents who need them for daily subsistence, hunters and those who can prove they need a gun for self-defense.

While laws on gun purchases in the United States vary from state to state and also depend on the type of weapon being sold, it can be a fairly simple process to buy a gun, or to acquire one that was legally sold to another person.

While the overwhelming majority of guns entered over land, the report detailed an instance of 22 assault rifles sent to Brazil in a shipment of furniture, having been sewn into mattresses, with most ending up in Sao Paulo and Rio.

In another incident, 60 assault rifles that originated in Miami were discovered inside pool heaters in a cargo shipment at a Rio airport.

The entry of high caliber arms into the country is associated with gangs carrying out robberies of banks, ATMs and armored cars as the criminals want to guarantee they will have superior fire power in a confrontation with the police or armed guards, according to the report. (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Ricardo Brito; Writing by Jake Spring; Editing by Frances Kerry)
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Vermont senate passes bill to legalize marijuana use

Vermont's senate on Wednesday passed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana use, which would make the state the first in the nation to do so through the legislative process rather than a ballot initiative. Republican Governor Phil Scott is expected to sign the bill, which passed the Democratic-controlled Senate by a voice vote. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed the measure last week. Although Vermont is one of the most politically liberal states, it is also one of 23 in the nation that do not allow ballot initiatives.

Japan reports first suspected bird flu case in poultry this winter

Japan's agriculture ministry on Wednesday reported a suspected case of bird flu in Kagawa prefecture, western Japan, potentially marking the country's first bird flu outbreak in poultry this winter. The ministry said chickens at a farm in the area of Sanuki city in Kagawa tested positive in a preliminary examination on Wednesday for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The government may order all 100,000 chickens at the farm to be culled if the results of genetic tests confirm the infection later in the day.

Namibia resumes poultry imports from Belgium

Namibia has lifted a ban on poultry from Belgium after outbreaks of the highly contagious H5N8 bird flu in the Western European country caused trade to be suspended in June, the government said on Wednesday. Namibians, who consume an estimated 2,500 tonnes of chicken each month, have only one commercial supplier able to supply between 1,800 and 1,900 tonnes and the country relies on imports to meet demand.

Namibia bans food imports from cholera-hit Zambia

The Namibian government has provisionally banned the import of all perishable food, fish, fruits, unprocessed food and water from neighboring Zambia, which has been hit by a cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 60 lives so far. The ban came into effect on Monday and will stay until the situation in Zambia returns to normal, an official from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, who did not want to be named, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Bayer, J&J win reversal of $28 million verdict in Xarelto lawsuit

A Pennsylvania state court judge on Tuesday overturned a $27.8 million jury award to an Indiana couple who accused Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson of failing to warn of internal bleeding risks of their drug Xarelto, the companies said. Judge Michael Erdos, in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, ruled following a hearing on the drugmakers' motion to reverse the December verdict, which was their first trial loss in litigation over the blood thinner, the companies said.

Judge deals setback to Cherokee Nation lawsuit over opioids

A federal judge in Oklahoma has dealt a blow to a Cherokee Nation lawsuit seeking to stop the flow of addictive opioid painkillers in its territory by issuing a preliminary injunction to prevent the case from being heard in tribal court. In a decision late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terence Kern ruled the tribal court lacked jurisdiction because the lawsuit involving six wholesale drug distributors and pharmacy operators does not directly concern tribal self-government.

Canada says no conclusion on cause of unusual health issues in Cuba

Canada has not been able to identify what is behind unusual health symptoms, such as nausea and nosebleeds, reported by some diplomatic personnel and their family members in Cuba, a senior Canadian government official said on Wednesday. The U.S. State Department said in August Americans linked to its embassy in Cuba had experienced physical symptoms caused by unspecified "incidents" starting as far back as late 2016. On Tuesday, it said investigators were looking at a range of theories, including the possibility of a "viral" attack.

Many women uninformed about breast cancer surgery options

Women with breast cancer often feel rushed to make a decision about surgery, and some of them might benefit from more time and better educational materials to inform their treatment choices, two recent studies suggest. One study surveyed 487 women after they underwent either a lumpectomy that removes malignant tissue while sparing the rest of the breast, a mastectomy that removes the entire breast, or both procedures.

College students see drowsy driving as legally safe

Although driving while sleepy is as dangerous as driving while intoxicated, college students may see it as unavoidable and not legally risky, a small study suggests. In the U.S. alone, drowsy drivers are involved in nearly 300,000 car crashes each year, including 6,400 that result in deaths, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Moms age at birth linked to daughters later childlessness

Moms who have children later in life are more likely to have daughters who dont have kids, according to a new study. Compared with women born to 20- to 24-year-old mothers, daughters born to mothers in their mid-20s or 30s were more likely to be childless, the study authors report in the journal Human Reproduction.
DailyMirror sat with former Education Minister, UNP strongman and current ambassador to Sri Lanka in China, Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku for an interview during a visit to the island.

Dr. Kodituwakku spoke about Sri Lanka-China relations, Chinese investments in the island and politics. Following are excerpts of the interview done with Dr. Kodituwakku.

I am aware that the Chinese Government provided financial grants worth RMB 600 million in the year 2017

We must understand the reality  that our capacity to invest is limited

Today, China is a US$ 12 trillion GDP economy and Sri Lanka is still a US$ 85 billion GDP economy

When the value of an investment is huge, it is natural that any investor would demand a long lease.

Whenever a new project or a policy is introduced, a common feature in Sri Lanka is that some people tend to imagine its negative

Q China has become the biggest donor and investor in Sri Lanka. How do you see this development?

Yes, with the two mega investment projects of leasing the Hambantota Port and the ongoing Port City Project in Colombo in addition to other medium and large investment projects involving China in tourist-related and other industrial investments, China emerged as the largest foreign direct investor in Sri Lanka during the year 2017.

However, I dont know the exact figures with regard to China being a donor. Donations normally include financial assistance grants, which are not loans, and loans that are given on concessionary terms -having very low interest compared with the prevailing market rate- long grace periods to commence repayments and a longer period for full payment to be made, etc.

I am aware that the Chinese Government provided financial grants worth RMB 600 million in the year 2017 to build a Kidney Hospital in Polonnaruwa. This grant was given when President Maithripala Sirisena made an official visit to China and assured a further RMB 2 billion during 2018 and 2019 when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met the Chinese President in May 2017.

In China, no one is above the law. Our problem is that the majority of our people are not committed to observing the law. Discipline is the foundation for a peaceful society.

Q But the joint Opposition always has something negative to say about this close cooperation, friendship and help extended towards Sri Lanka by China. Your comments?

Since I am giving this interview as the Ambassador representing Sri Lanka in China, I do not wish to respond to the views of the joint Opposition (JO). However, I would like to comment on the negative views expressed with regard to Chinas involvement going by what I have seen in media.

Whenever a new project or a policy is introduced, a common feature in Sri Lanka is that some people tend to imagine its negative possibilities rather than its positive impact. I would like to quote an interesting story that was related to me by a senior member of a leftist party in Sri Lanka who visited China a few months ago. He told me that when economic reforms were introduced in China by the late Deng Xiaoping in late 1970s, they were very critical and considered those reforms to be as reactionary as well as counter-revolutionary. I told him that such irrational critics were fortunately in Sri Lanka and not in China. That is why today, China is a US$ 12 trillion GDP economy and Sri Lanka is still a US$ 85 billion GDP economy.

Since you mentioned about the JO, I would like to invite them to read the agreements signed by the two Foreign Ministers of China and Sri Lanka when the Chinese President visited Sri Lanka in 2014. The President of Sri Lanka at that time was the current JOs leader when Mahinda Rajapaksa led the regime. In those agreements, the two countries have clearly agreed to operate the Magampura / Hambantota Port Project jointly. Therefore, it would be better to study those agreements before anyone makes further comments.

Q Did Sri Lanka actually sell the Hambantota Port, a portion of reclaimed land of the Port City, and vast extent of land in Hambantota for an investment zone as conditions of the various development agreements that were signed between the two countries in the recent past as claimed by the JO?

In addition to the agreements signed in the recent past, there were agreements that were signed in 2014. As far as I am aware of, the agreements signed recently have given land and the Sea Port on long lease because no investor will invest further if there is no guarantee for a long period of lease.

When the value of an investment is huge, it is natural that any investor would demand a long lease. Do not forget that the investment that was already made was huge and that that investment in addition to the due interest must be paid on time to retain the credit worthiness of Sri Lanka. In addition to that, the next stages of the Hambantota Port must be built because otherwise what we have already invested with credit facilities will be a waste.

The conditions of the agreements between the two countries have been honoured in the past as far as China is concerned. Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 after 150 years since the Opium War days. Similarly, Macau was returned to China after 500 years by the Portuguese.

The Hambantota Port agreements signed recently have given the land and the Sea Port on long lease because no investor will invest further if there is no guarantee for a long period of lease

Q How will these negative comments by the JO affect Sri Lanka  China relations?

Naturally, when negative comments are made, any investor would think about them. However, fortunately, most Chinese investments are made with the blessings of the relevant Government agencies, both national and provincial. Therefore, I do not think they would change their mind due to such negative comments. Chinese investors consider the advice given to them by their Government agencies.

Q Do you think Chinese investors will think twice before investing in Sri Lanka because of these negative comments by the JO?

The only comment I would like to make again on the same subject is that we have missed many opportunities since Sri Lanka introduced reforms in 1977 due to this kind of irresponsible comments and the armed rebellions we have had in the past. No country can develop in isolation. The message I would like to convey here is that China has repeatedly given two fundamental reasons for its economic success: (a) the economic reforms introduced in1978 (In fact, this year, China is making arrangements to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the introduction of these economic reforms) and (b) the joining of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, which paved the way to export Chinese products to almost all the countries in the world, making the China the worlds factory.

Q As an economist and diplomat, what do you think Sri Lanka must do to attract more Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)?

What we must do with regard to attracting FDI is to speak to the world in one voice, regardless whether you belong to the Government, opposition or function in any other capacity. We must understand the reality  that our capacity to invest is limited. All the countries that developed rapidly during the past 5 to 6 decades did it through FDIs. As the second-largest economy in the world today, China did it over the past 4 decades with the support of FDIs.

South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, which are known as economic Tigers, achieved rapid development with FDIs. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, which followed the economic Tigers, did it in the same way with FDIs. Our largest neighbour, India, did it as well starting as early as in the 1990s with the blessings of FDIs.

China introduced economic reforms in 1978 and within two decades, Chinas GDP more than quadrupled. Without innovations and experiments that are based on tested policies, no country can move forward

Q China was considered a poor third world country in the 70s. During my visit to China last November, I witnessed an unbelievable industrial, IT and infrastructural revolution taking place in China. How did the Chinese people achieve this development in such a short period of time?

Yes, you are correct. When the Chinese Communist partys political leadership, headed by Deng Xiaoping, decided to introduce economic reforms in 1978, the whole party machinery and bureaucracy collectively supported and backed the reforms. These reforms were first introduced on the basis of a pilot project in Shenzhen, the fishing village close to Hong Kong. In fact, it is one of the first projects that was implemented by the China Merchant Group, which leased out the Hambantota Port, in addition to their terminal in Colombo Port.

This is why some analysts in China claim that Chinas economy is now transitioning from being a World Factory to a World Market. The strength of Chinas consumer market would be US$ 9 trillion by 2030. That is why more and more countries want to sign FTAs with China.

Q One of the rare setbacks in the Chinese society I witnessed was the poor knowledge of a second language or that of a another global language which creates a communication gap. Do you agree?

China has 1.4 billion people and out of them the majority use only their mother tongue. However, there are more and more people communicating in English, particularly students in universities and employees in the corporate sector. They are now using foreign languages and not only English, but other languages such as Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Korean, etc. Young people are very keen on learning English and whenever they need to understand better, they simply touch their smart phones to access the correct understanding in Chinese.

What we must do to attract FDI is to speak to the world in one voice, regardless of whether you belong to the Government, Opposition or function in any other capacity. We must understand the reality  that our capacity to invest is limited

Q One of the biggest differences between Sri Lanka and China that I have observed was the lack of discipline among Sri Lankans while the Chinese are an extremely disciplined and law-abiding nation. Your comments?

Yes, you are correct. In China, no one is above the law. Our problem is that the majority of our people are not committed to observing the law. Discipline is the foundation for a peaceful society.

Q You have served the country for nearly four decades as a politician (Education Minister), an academic (Vice Chancellor) and a diplomat (Ambassador to Japan, South Korea and China). Dont you have any intentions of re-entering politics, contesting the elections and becoming a Minister in a future UNP Government?

Diplomacy is international politics. A unique aspect in the various roles of my career has been the fact that I was entrusted to do jobs I never expected. I became a Vice Chancellor not because I wanted it, but the then Higher Education Minister President Jayewardene asked me to take over that position due to the troubled situation that prevailed at the Sri Jayewardenepura University in 1982. I was appointed as Ambassador to Japan, again by President Jayawardenes Government, in 1987 due to the unsettled situation that prevailed in the country. At that time, even Vice Chancellors were being assassinated.

Then President Premadasa, who became the President in 1989, appointed me to South Korea as the Ambassador there. Then in 1993, the then President D. B. Wijetunga asked me to be his Governor of the North Western Province, again without any request being made by me. Then I contested and was elected to Parliament in 1994, as I wanted it at that time. That was a unique opportunity I got as I expected. However, although I never dreamed of being the Education and Cultural Affairs Minister, I was given these portfolios by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. I am an Economist so I expected a portfolio that was relevant to my professional background.

Then again in 2015, I did not expect to be a diplomat again, but it was my destiny, and that is why I am here. Therefore, I do not know what my next responsibility may be. My past experience has been that I was given what I did not expect.Therefore, I leave the rest also to my destiny!

The Hambantota Port agreements signed recently have given the land and the Sea Port on long lease because no investor will invest further if there is no guarantee for a long period of lease

Q You took the initiative to arrange the marriages of 50 young Chinese couples in Sri Lanka in a glittering ceremony at the Town Hall Grounds in Colombo. Could you briefly enlighten our readers as to what was the procedure adopted to select the bride and groom, and whether this is going to be an annual feature in Sri Lankas tourism calendar as well as who funded the event?

For this initiative, the Embassy of Sri Lanka facilitated the Chinese promoters by giving the Embassy premises to establish their credibility among Chinese parents and couples. Here, I must record that the initial concept came from John Amaratunga, the Minister of Tourism, when he visited China in 2016. He convinced the Chinese promoters. We, the Embassy, moving beyond conventional diplomatic duties, facilitated and encouraged them continuously. That is why it became a grand success. We have already received sufficient publicity in the Chinese media for this event. I have no doubt that this is a very positive marketing event as far as tourism promotion is concerned. The future would depend on the business viability of the project concerned for the relevant

business entities.

Finally, I would like to say a few words about the responsibility of the media, which has an enormous responsibility in nation building. Although I am a trained academic professionally, I have no intention of teaching anyone, but rather wish to stress the importance of understanding the critical responsibility of the media profession when communicating with the masses. It is easy to inflame, but it is not that easy to prevent a fire spreading when it becomes a wildfire. Finally, the whole society will pay for it. Sri Lanka has already paid heavily for the fires that have been inflamed by some since independence.
IFC to provide technical support to CB for countrys first National Financial Inclusion Strategy

Sri Lanka joins more than 30 countries that have launched similar projects





From left: CBSL Regional Development Department Director Sriya Dayawansa, Assistant Governor Asoka Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Deputy Governor K.D. Ranasinghe, IFC Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives Amena Arif, IFC Senior Financial Sector Specialist Rathnija Arandara and IFC Financial Sector Specialist Shanuki Gunasekera at the signing and exchange of the agreement

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to develop the countrys first National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) to promote a more effective and efficient process to improve financial inclusion across Sri Lanka.



IFC, over the course of the project, will provide technical assistance to CBSL to develop the NFIS, via an extensive development process involving consultations with members of the public sector, private sector, civil society organizations, and academia.



The process provides an important opportunity to introduce an evidence-based, prioritized, better resourced, and more comprehensive approach to expanding access to financial services.

CBSL has identified the need to develop a strategy for Financial Inclusion at the national level to achieve sustainable development and create a conducive financial environment to bring under-served segments of society to the formal financial sector, said CBSL Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.



It will provide guidance on the directions for the country to achieve an inclusive financial system where people have effective access to a range of affordable financial services, he added.



The development of the strategy will be led by CBSL with the support of the National Policies and Economic Affairs Ministry, Finance & Mass Media Ministry, IFC and all financial sector stakeholders.



Financial inclusion is a priority for the World Bank Group for achieving universal financial access by 2020, IFC Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives Amena Arif, said.



This National Financial Inclusion Strategy will not only improve access to, and usage of, financial services, but will also contribute to overall inclusive growth in Sri Lanka, she added. By embarking on the development of this strategy, Sri Lanka is moving towards joining more than 30 countries that have launched similar strategies.



Sri Lanka is a priority country for IFC. IFCs committed portfolio in Sri Lanka covers projects across a range of sectors, including infrastructure, tourism, renewable energy, finance, and healthcare.



IFC also provides advisory services to promote sustainable growth among small and medium enterprises by facilitating access to finance and by offering capacity-building and training opportunities.
President Donald J. Trump signed on Monday two orders aimed at improving internet speeds in some of the countrys hardest-to-connect areas, a move he described as the first step to expand access to broadband internet in rural America.

The first executive order aims to make it easier for internet service providers to locate broadband infrastructure on federal land and buildings in rural parts of the country. The order notes that one of the consequences of slow, expensive internet service is that it hinders schools ability to enrich student learning with digital tools.

The second presidential memorandum directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan to support rural broadband development and adoption by increasing access to tower facilities and other infrastructure assets managed by the Department of the Interior.

Those towers are going to go up, and youre going to have great, great broadband, Trump told an audience of about 5,000 farmers gathered at the American Farm Bureau Association convention in Nashville, Tenn., where he signed the orders.

But the White House itself described the moves as incremental and noted that outside experts have estimated that truly expanding high-speed broadband internet in rural America could cost as much as $80 billion, according to the Washington Post .

And John White, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach in the U.S. Department of Education, said the new executive orders likely wont amount to much by themselves.

The orders dont adequately address the need for rural broadband, said White, who now heads a communications firm focused on rural-education issues. Minor increases in expensive mobile internet access dont solve the problem and so far, the Administration hasnt proposed a large enough investment to reach many rural areas that are disconnected and disadvantaged.

Rural schools, in particular, have faced steep challenges in finding affordable high-speed internet connections. One of the biggest reasons: The combination of difficult, expansive terrain and low-population density make it hard for internet service providers to earn a profit by running expensive fiber-optic cables to hard-to-reach locales.

An overhaul of the federal E-rate program in 2014 included measures to help fund the construction of new fiber-optic lines to rural schools, but applications seeking to take advantage of those rules have frequently been delayed or denied by the Federal Communications Commission under Trump appointee Ajit Pai, who now chairs the commission.

The new executive orders emerged from recommendations made by the federal Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, chaired by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

To increase access to broadband in rural areas, we must incentivize private capital investment, including the use of public-private partnerships, Perdue wrote in an op-ed published by CNN. We must also invest in making high-speed internet infrastructure more attractive by streamlining arduous review, approval, and permitting processes.

Photo: President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order and a memorandum on rural broadband access at the American Farm Bureau Federations Annual Convention on Jan. 8, in Nashville, Tenn.--Mark Humphrey/AP

See also:

for the latest news on ed-tech policies, practices, and trends.
I first met D. Eassuwaren at the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka in 1993 and since then, up to his demise a few days ago, I had been associating him very closely.



He, in various capacities such as a successful businessman, a president of a leading trade chamber in the country and a social worker, contributed immensely towards the socio-economic development of Sri Lanka in a variety of ways.



Being Chairman of one of the world-class tea exporting companies, he exposed to the world the quality of Sri Lankan teas.The late Eassuwaren never confined his efforts to earn profits at the expense of employee welfare. He motivated his employees not by way of warning and punishing but by keeping them happy, the wise and decent way of motivating employees.



Eassuwaren, who was very generous and kind hearted, always made it a point to see that anyone who works for him was happy and comfortable. Being a highly respected businessman, he never confined his association to a particular class or society. Eassuwaren rendered a yeomen service to the Sri Lankan business community when he was the president of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka. One of the historic events under his presidency was to popularize and publicize the Sri Lankan Ayurvedic medical system locally and internationally through Ayrveda International Exhibitions and Symposia, which was his brainchild. The first-ever Ayureda 2007 International Exhibition And Symposium  Natures Gift for Better Health was held in Colombo by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka together with the then Indigenous Medicine Ministry.



The event was a great success with the participation of many exhibitors and participants from countries such as India, Myanmar, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Japan and many other Western countries that could see the Sri Lankan expertise in indigenous medical sector and exchange their knowledge with their Sri Lankan counterparts.



His efforts to match make the local agricultural producer and Colombo buyer became successful through the agriculture exhibition Wellassa Krushi Udawa, held in Buttala in the Moneragala District in 2008 by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka in association with the then Agriculture Ministry. This became a platform for the local producer and Colombo buyer to meet each other for mutual benefits. His successful efforts to support the regional small and medium enterprises in his capacity as President of the National Chamber cannot be forgotten. Eassuwaren was soft spoken and not driven by anger. Having believed that anger was an evil to society, he even conducted seminars to the business community on how to control anger. Though a Hindu devotee, he respected every religion. This was well proved by his contribution and commitment in creating the large rock Buddha statue in the Monaragala temple in Rambodagalla, a few miles away from Kurunegala. The late Eassuwaren was a role model for the present businessmen who neglect their employees in the race of profits earning or for that matter for everyone in present days society.



May he attain the supreme bliss of nibbana!

(E.M. Wijetilleke is Immediate Past Secretary General/CEO of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka)
Supply chain logistics provider Eagle Logistics stepped into express business this week under the brand name of Eaglex.



Eagle Global Express (Pvt.) Ltd will be the new entity for Eaglex which will be operated from five locations in Sri Lanka having the head office at Colombo 01.

Eagle Global Express is an Eagle Logistics company with a vibrant group of individuals with profound familiarity in express business and they will be offering international courier services in Sri Lanka from and to any part of the world.



Managing Director Asanga Weerackody said that delivering the goods on time is one of the biggest challenges in e-commerce business, and e-commerce is one of the fast developing buying patterns in the world. So due to this reason all the companies look forward to improve their supply chain process by reducing cost and the time in logistics while controlling the inventory. We, being a logistics company who understand supply chain management, decided that express business is one of the top requirements in the current marketplace. This is the reason we decided to expand our business in to express courier trade. Also, he mentioned that Eaglex will be headed by Rienzie Johar, who has been in the express business for last 13 years and he has got the right experience take the company to a higher place and that their aim is to become Sri Lankas most professional logistics company for digital commerce.
Hayleys Energy Services, the pioneer in Oil and Gas support services in Sri Lanka, announced that it had successfully completed the offloading of the Semi-Submersible oil rig Olinda Star at the Trincomalee Port Anchorage recently. This deep-water rig is capable of drilling at water depths of up to 3,600 feet and has a drilling depth capacity of up to 24,600 feet.

The company was appointed as the exclusive service provider and Sri Lankan representative for the handling of the rig by the Brazilian Oil and Gas exploration and drilling services company, Queiroz Galvao Oleo Gas S.A.s (QGOG).

The rig was being dry towed from Rio, Brazil to Trincomalee Anchorage, Sri Lanka aboard Dockwise Mighty Servant 1, one of the worlds largest heavy lift carriers.The Trincomalee Port Anchorage was selected for its ideal stable and safe sea conditions for offloading and loading such large Oil Rigs with the much needed deep sea depths, sheltered-calm waters and swing radius. Upon completing the safe and incident free offloadingof the Oil Rig Olinda Star, the rig was towed from Trincomalee Port, Sri Lanka to Kakinda, India.

QGOG had contracted Hayleys Energy Services (HES)to manage all aspects of this Rig Offloading project in Sri Lanka, where HES had to coordinate and handle the project in close liaison with the Deputy Harbour Master of Trincomalee Port and Port Officials throughout this complex and challenging operation.

Speaking about the project, Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hayleys Energy Services, Chas Charles said, Our experts have handled complex rig moves around the world as a 100% Sri Lankan Company since its inception, and it is indeed a noteworthy track record to see yet another safe and smooth rig offload carried out in Sri Lanka adhering to the industry safety standards and delivering timely results.

The wide end-to-end service range provided by Hayleys Energy Services as a one-stop-shop, included the provision of three Tugs and supply vessels owned by Sri Lanka Shipping Company (a subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis Limited), coupled with the supply of bunkers & fenders, vessel provisions, crew transfer boats, unlashing/welding & engineering work, hospitality services, emergency response services and project management for the entire operation in Trincomalee.

Our teams knowledge and expertise in the Oil & Gas domain, clearly gives us a distinct edge over the rest in Sri Lanka and has today earned a renowned name for carrying out complex integrated Oil and Gas logistics services and projects with a 24/7 personal commitment to ourinternational clientele. It is indeed a landmark moment for us at HES to successfully conclude yet another incident free rig offload meeting the clients expectations. We would like to thank QGOG for placing their trust in us and also appreciate the assistance offered by all stakeholders including the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Sri Lanka Customs, Department of Immigration, Sri Lanka Navy and all other regulatory bodies in making this project a success, said Ricky Barnett, General Manager of Hayleys Energy Services.

Meanwhile the Managing Director of Hayleys Advantis Limited,Ruwan Waidyaratne said, I would like to commend the Hayleys Energy Services team on the completion of this monumental rig offloading project. This is yet another testament to the ingenuity and tireless efforts of our teams who continue to take on ever more complex projects and deliver beyond clients expectations time and time again.

QGOG, a subsidiary of QGOG Constellation is a market leading provider of oil and gas drilling and FPSO (Floating Production Storage Offloading) services in Brazil, who is considered as one of the ten largest drilling companies globally, based on drilling rigs in operation. QGOG Constellation is equipped with a premium fleet of Oil Rigs with a proven track record and world class QHSE standards. The modern fleet of QGOG includes ultra-deepwater rigs, deepwater rigs, midwater rigs, onshore rigs and FPSOs.

Hayleys Energy Services is a subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis Limited, the transportation and logistics arm of Hayleys PLC. Through the wider logistics offering of Hayleys Advantis Limited, the Group caters to diverse logistics needs of its clientele. The company has provided logistics services for several projects in the Oil & Gas sector both locally and internationally including supply base management services, seismic & metocean surveys, exploratory drilling, rig repairs&servicing, duty free storage of drill rigs& transportation and loading & unloading of rigs.
Indias Supreme Court is to consider scrapping a colonial-era law upheld in 2013 that criminalises same sex relationships.



In a victory for equal rights campaigners, the court said a larger group of judges will re-examine the constitutional validity of Section 377 - a law that prohibits carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal - which has been widely interpreted to refer to gay sex.

What is natural to one may not be natural to others, the top court said on Monday.



A section of people or individuals who exercise their choice should never remain in a state of fear.

Lawyer Anand Grover, who appeared for five members of the LGBT community who had petitioned the court seeking a review of the ban, said: It is a big relief and a primary step taken by the Supreme Court to review its earlier order.



The petitioners had told the court they were living in constant fear of police action because of their sexual orientation.



Indias Supreme Court had in a surprise ruling in 2013 reinstated a ban on gay sex after a four-year period of decriminalisation that had helped bring homosexuality into the open in the socially conservative country.

India, (Daily Mail), 9 January 2018 -
Sri Lankas strategic location, astride the main shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, has kept in the gaze of the world powers more and more. The latest example of such attention turned out to be the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono to Sri Lanka last Thursday just for a couple of days, for the first time in 15 years.

During his meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his counterpart Tilak Marapana, the Japanese Minister laid emphasis on what he called Open Indo-Pacific Policy.

Amidst this increasing tussle among the international players to secure strategically important projects, Japan moves in to court Sri Lanka as the environment has to be conducive here for it to engage transnational business through the sea lanes straddling Sri Lanka

The latest attempt by Japan to court Sri Lanka comes in the context of Sri Lanka leasing out the Hambantota Port for development by China Merchants.

In aftermath of the conclusion of the visit, Japans Deputy Press Secretary Toshihido Ando who accompanied the Minister, said that Japan valued to its relations with Sri Lanka, a country located in a strategic point on the Indian Ocean sea lanes. He said Japan sought to enhance further relations.

The latest attempt by Japan to court Sri Lanka comes in the context of Sri Lanka leasing out the Hambantota Port for development by China Merchants

China and India, as the leading economic powerhouses of the world, place the greatest demand in the world for energy sources

This remark shed light on Sri Lankas importance to the international community in terms of its positioning. No matter what, any power, be it India, Japan, China or the United States, is not ready to let go of Sri Lanka

Minister Marapana expressed appreciation for Japans assistance to date and expressed his hope for further assistance in various areas

Besides, a leading Japanese Business delegation is slated to arrive in Sri Lanka soon to explore opportunities. There are as many as 130 Japanese companies which are involved in business activities here

This remark shed light on Sri Lankas importance to the international community in terms of its positioning. No matter what, any power, be it India, Japan, China or the United States, is not ready to let go of Sri Lanka.

China has already invested in great volumes in Sri Lanka. India, apart from its current component of investment here, seeks to infuse more money into strategic projects such as seaport and airport developments in Sri Lanka.

Amidst this increasing tussle among the international players to secure strategically important projects, Japan moves in to court Sri Lanka as the environment has to be conducive here for it to engage transnational business through the sea lanes straddling Sri Lanka. A bulk of oil trade in the world takes place in this part of the Indian Ocean.

China and India, as the leading economic powerhouses of the world, place the greatest demand in the world for energy sources. With their economies rising further, the demand is bound to increase by leaps and bounds in the years to come.

This remark shed light on Sri Lankas importance to the international community in terms of its positioning. No matter what, any power, be it India, Japan, China or the United States, is not ready to let go of Sri Lanka

Not only oil the trade, but also international dealings in other consumer goods and commodities also happen through the same shipping lanes with the involvement of the countries such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore etc.

Against this backdrop, press secretary Ando, quoting his Minister Kono, said Japan stood for Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy. According to him, his Minister emphasized the need to further enhance cooperation in the areas of maritime, security and defence with Sri Lanka, which is at the centre of the strategy.

A news item posted on the website of the Japanese Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Minister stated that Japan seeks to further promote infrastructure development cooperation to strengthen connectivity of ports and emphasized the importance of openness, transparency and economic viability, as well as financial soundness of the recipient country in the area of infrastructure development. In response, Minister Marapana stated that under the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy proposed by Japan, it is important to ensure freedom of navigation and Sri Lanka seeks to further promote cooperation with Japan in the areas of maritime, security and defence,.

It said, Minister Kono stated that Japan will enhance cooperation towards the improvement of social infrastructure, including in the areas of environment, terrestrial digital broadcasting and the national reconciliation process. In response, Minister Marapana expressed appreciation for Japans assistance to date and expressed his hope for further assistance in various areas. Minister Kono explained the importance of maximizing pressure on North Korea, including through the full implementation of relevant UNSC resolutions, and the early resolution of the abductions issue. Minister Marapana stated that Sri Lanka supports Japans position on North Korea and will implement relevant UNSC resolutions.

Apart from courting Sri Lanka in this regard, Japan also sought Sri Lankas assistance to apply pressure on North Korea by implementing the resolution of the UN Security Council. During the meeting, Sri Lanka has pledged full support for Japans position and agreed to implement the resolution in full.

In 1970s, some Japanese nationals were abducted by North Korea. Japan called the resolution of this abduction issue by allowing the remaining Japanese nationals to return.

Many in 1970 were abducted by North Korea. Only five returned. We want the remaining ones to return. They have not returned. In terms of North Korea, we have nuclear issues. They have tested and missiles have been launched, he said.

Besides, a leading Japanese Business delegation is slated to arrive in Sri Lanka soon to explore opportunities. There are as many as 130 Japanese companies which are involved in business activities here.

Apart from courting Sri Lanka in this regard, Japan also sought Sri Lankas assistance to apply pressure on North Korea by implementing the resolution of the UN Security Council. During the meeting, Sri Lanka has pledged full support for Japans position and agreed to implement the resolution in full

Asked whether Japan would increase the presence of its maritime self-defence force here, he said Japan was keen on the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Policy. He said it was based on the promotion and establishment of rule of law, promotion of free navigation, economic prosperity, peace and stability.

We believe in the rule of law. We believe in a peaceful maritime order, he said.

Asked about the leasing out of the Hambatonta Port to a Chinese company, he said any infrastructure development project, be it port or whatever, should have international standards.

Any infrastructure project conforms to the international standards such as openness, transparency, financial soundness, viability, fiscal viability of the recipient country, he said.
A delegation from the Nagano Employers Association in Nagano Prefecture, Japan visited the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) with the objective of increasing awareness on Sri Lankan key export products and services.



The delegation was led by Hachijuni Bank Ltd Chairman and Nagano Employers Association Representative Yoshiyuki Yamaura and Fujikoshi Machinery Corporation President/CEO and Nagano Employers Association Deputy Representative Koichiro Ichikawa.



There were 17 delegates representing sectors viz. constructions, electronic and electricals, machinery and equipment, broadcasting services, petroleum products, fine ceramics, moulding aluminum, labour saving equipment, dry foods, geological and environmental survey, airline, etc. and the Japanese government institutions such as Nagano Economic Research Institute, Nagano Techno Foundation and Nagano Prefectural Government Industry and Labor Department.



EDB Chairperson and Chief Executive Indira Malwatte chaired the meeting and the EDB officers who expertise with the respective product sectors discussed the opportunities and the potentials of increasing trade between the two countries.



The product sectors viz. electrical and electronics, rubber-based products, tea, coconut-based products and services viz. constructions, ICT/BPO were the more focused sectors during the discussion. Both parties agreed to take measures to enhance trade relationship between Sri Lanka and Japan, especially with the business community in the Nagano prefecture.



The delegation is interested in starting import, export businesses as well as investment, especially technology transfer via starting joint ventures with the Sri Lankan business community. In the way forward, the EDB is planning to organise an inward delegation from Japan in the third quarter of the year 2018.



The meeting was coordinated by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Colombo, the Japanese government-related organisation that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. Resident Representative Kazuhiko Obama and Chief Director Akiko Okumura represented the JETRO.



A four-member Iranian delegation also visited the EDB to discuss the potential of re-exporting dehydrated grapes to the Middle Eastern market.



Malwatte expressed the conducive business environment prevailing in Sri Lanka for investments and re-exports. Further, she stated that two free trade agreements (FTA) Sri Lanka has with and several FTAs which are under discussion stage with Asian countries. Thereby Sri Lanka is becoming a centrally located strategic hub for re-exports and investments.



The delegates wished to establish a joint venture partnership with a Sri Lankan packaging plant as the initial step to pack the dehydrated grapes. They also showed interest in Ceylon Tea and rubber-based products.
Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Amari Wijewardene initiated a high-powered parliamentary delegation from the UK to Sri Lanka on the invitation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently to further strengthen the bilateral relationships between Great Britain and Sri Lanka.



The five-member delegation to Sri Lanka, headed by All Party Parliamentary Group-SL, UK Chairman Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena MP, had Michele Donalan MP, Chris Green MP, John Lamont MP and Parliamentary Secretary of Chairman Clemency Eleanor Huggins. The delegation met the president, prime minister and speaker and called on the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka.



The main objective of this delegation was to develop stronger economic, trade, cultural and educational relationships with Sri Lanka.



Further, during the visit, the delegation met the chairmen of the Board of Investment, Export Development Board and Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. They were facilitated to visit London Stock Exchange Group Technology and Colombo Port City.

The delegation visited Galle to meet the governor and chief minister of the Southern Province. In Jaffna they met the Northern Province governor. During the visit to Jaffna they met the commander of the security forces in Jaffna. The delegation paid a visit to the Dalada Maligagawa in Kandy and Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil in Jaffna as well.



Wijewardene has initiated many successful measures to promote Sri Lanka in the UK and has been able to build strong relationships with key British parliamentarians, important economic institutions, key ministries in the UK and other key diplomatic missions for the benefit of Sri Lanka.



A few of the key initiatives made on the social aspect could be identified as promoting cultural ties and the creative harmonious relationships with all communities and successfully organising events to bind all Sri Lankan communities in the UK.



The Vesak, Deepavali, Ramazan and Christmas celebrations were attended with unprecedented participation and also her efforts have been commended by participants.



Her effort in promoting tourism with the tourist board in the UK has resulted in Sri Lanka being voted as the number one travel destination amongst the British. Sri Lanka was also awarded as the winner of The Family Traveller Award for the best long travel destination.



David Pittaway QC treasurer of the Inner Temple was also invited to Sri Lanka on her initiative to help to expedite and improve the judicial system. Many events were felicitated to commemorate 150 Years of History of Ceylon Tea in the UK. The Independence Day celebrations of 2017 were carried out very successfully and plans are underway with the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry and British and Commonwealth Office for yet another successful 70- year Independence Day celebrations and CHOGM 2018.



All activities have been made with the concurrence of the Foreign Ministry in Sri Lanka.
Company asked to halt construction of connecting pipeline of US $ 80mn LPG import-export terminal without any explanation

This has been done unofficially. We didnt get any written document,- Laugfs Gas Chairman

Htota port was given on 99-year lease to a Chinese firm for US $ 1.12bn and port operations were handed over to them last month

By Chandeepa Wettasinghe

Construction of the connecting pipeline of the US$ 80 million LPG import-export terminal of Laugfs Gas PLC in the Hambantota port has been unofficially halted without further explanation, according to the companys head.



We were asked to stop construction of the pipeline, and when we inquired from the official in-charge at Hambantota Port, he said that his superiors asked him to do this, Laugfs Gas PLC Chairman H. K. Wegapitiya told Mirror Business yesterday.



A handful of news websites had reported that the entire terminal construction had been halted, which was inaccurate, according to him.



However, he said that without the pipeline and access to load and offload LPG from the jetty, both of which are now unofficially restricted, the project would become unviable. This has been done unofficially. We didnt get any written document. But, we have all the rights for this project. We have brought this to the notice of the President, Minister Malik Samarwickrama and the Board of Investment, Wegapitiya added.

He refused to speculate on who could have been responsible for creating pressure to halt the pipeline.



The Hambantota Port was given on a 99-year lease to the Chinese state-owned China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPort) in mid-2017 for US$ 1.12 billion and CMPort took over operations of the port last month, which is strategically-important to Chinas One Belt One Road initiative.



CMPH effectively controls 70 percent of the port through two joint venture companies with the Sri Lankan state-owned Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), which controls the remaining stake in the port.



SLPA Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake and SLPA Managing Director H. D. A. S. Premachandra could not be reached despite numerous attempts to contact them to obtain a comment on the development.



Ports and Shipping Ministry Secretary L. P. Jayampathy chose to stay out of the issue by stating that the Ministrywhich owns SLPAis only involved with policy making, and not operational aspects.



Laugfs is the only local company to set up major operations in the port, which is situated less than 20 kilometres north of the east-west sea lane, which connects the Far East with the Middle East and Europe, and along which over 200 vessels travel daily.



China built, and later invested in the port due to its importance in Chinas future energy security and geopolitical interests.



Phase one of the storage facility, worth US$ 51.5 million, will be operational this April, since 80 percent of the construction is complete, according to Wegapitiya.

The first phase adds a 30,000 metric tonne storage capacity. The second phase, worth US$ 28.5 million, will add another 15,000 metric tonnes of capacity.



This will be able to contribute 6 percent towards the governments US$ 50 billion export target for 2020. We will be exporting 80 percent of the gas to Africa, India, Bangladesh, Myanmmar, and other parts of the region, Wegapitiya said.



The tank farm, coming under the Laugfs subsidiary Laugfs Terminals Ltd., is being financed through equity and corporate guarantees provided by Laugfs.
South and North Korean delegations attend their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea.

REUTERS, 09th JANUARY, 2018

North and South Korea on Tuesday agreed on negotiations to resolve problems and military talks aimed at averting accidental conflict, after their first official dialogue in more than two years, as Pyongyangs nuclear weapons program fuels tension.



In a joint statement after the 11-hour talks, the North pledged to send a large delegation to next months Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South, but made a strong complaint after Seoul proposed talks to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.



South Korea asked its neighbor to halt hostile acts that stoke tension on the peninsula, and in return, the North agreed that peace should be guaranteed in the region, the Souths unification ministry said in a separate statement.



The talks had been closely watched by world leaders keen for any sign of a reduction in tension, as fears grow over the Norths missile launches and development of nuclear weapons, in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Pioneering quality fitness equipment in Sri Lanka, Quantum Fitness has since 1998 continued to grow and evolved in to the premier supplier of state-of-the-art exercise equipment.



Further cementing its position as a market leader in the fitness industry, Quantum today declared open their fourth branch in the cool hills of Kandy.



The grand opening took place under the patronage of Quantum Fitness Chairman Nomal Wijeyaratne, Chief Executive Officer Chandima Udabage, Director Dr. P.L. Suren Peter and Sales and Marketing Assistant General Manager Thushara Kumarasinghe.



Speaking at the opening ceremony Wijeyaratne said: Since the birth of Quantum Fitness, the company has played a vital role in the health and fitness industry in Sri Lanka. We have been recognised as the premier supplier of home and public gym equipment with our islandwide delivery network. This new branch in Kandy is a step in a direction to further serve our customers in closer proximity and extend our superior sales and after sales services to the people in this historic city and surrounding.



The entire spectrum of Quantum Fitness products will be available at the latest Kandy Showroom including cardio, strength training, abdominal, wearables and accessories. Situated in close proximity to the Kandy City Center, this branch will cater to homes, hotels, schools and gyms not only in the Kandy town but also to surrounding towns.
UPDATED

A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the Trump administrations efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for undocumented immigrants, the Associated Press reports.

On Tuesday, Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California in San Francisco ruled that the Department of Homeland Security must allow former DACA recipients who failed to renew their status by an October 5 deadline a chance to submit renewal applications for the program, which grants work permits and protection from deportation for 700,000 immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

The ruling also requires the agency to allow renewal of applications expiring in the foreseeable future. However, the Trump administration does not have to process new DACA applications for immigrants who have not previously applied, Alsup ruled.

The Trump administration announced plans to sunset DACA last fall, calling on Congress to find a legislative fix by March. Lawmakers and the White House are in the midst of negotiations toward a January 19 deadline for government funding with the fate of DACA linked to the negotiations.

Republicans and Democrats are searching for a way to allow DACA recipientsknown as Dreamersto remain in the United States while also addressing border security concerns.

In a statement issued today, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders called Alsups decision outrageous.

President Trump is committed to the rule of law and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution, Sanders statement read in part.

It is not clear how the court order will affect the ongoing negotiations. Some immigration advocates are concerned that nothing will happen before the March 5 cutoff.

Meanwhile, immigration advocates celebrated Alsups ruling.

Since President Trump rescinded DACA, weve been fighting on every front to ensure that immigrant youth have a secure future in this country, which is their home, said Karen Tumlin, legal director at the National Immigration Law Center.

This victory should make it even more clear that Congress must act now. Dreamersand our nationdeserve more than temporary relief from the courts; they deserve a bipartisan Dream Act, Tumlin said. The American people, a majority of Congress and the President all want to see it happen. Its time for Congress to get it done.

Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for more restrictive immigration policy, criticized the decision on Twitter, citing Alsups ruling as further proof of a lawless judiciary.

Related Stories

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The governments latest efforts in import substitution through the establishment of a pharmaceutical manufacturing zone will see 60 percent of the demand for pharmaceutical tablets and pills being met by locally made drugs by 2020, in furtherance of the vision of the late Pharmacologist Professor Senaka Bibile.



Currently, two billion units are being produced locally, which is about 12 percent of the market.

State Pharmaceutical Corporation already has plans to increase it up to four billion and the aim of the zone is to increase the local supply market share to 60 percent, National Chamber of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers of Sri Lanka (NCPM) President Dr. Lohitha Samarawickrema said.



Inti Kemuncak Sdn Bhd, an investment vehicle of the Sultan of Johor, will invest in US $ 10 million Pharma Zone (Pvt.) Ltd to create the 50-acre pharmaceutical manufacturing zone in Welipanna in the Kalutara District.



Already, 17 NCPM members have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with State Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Corporation (SPMC) to set up factories, each with an investment of US $ 4 million upwards, in two to four-acre slots in the zone, according to Dr. Samarawickrema.



The annual drain on foreign exchange due to pharmaceutical imports to Sri Lanka is US $ 400-500 million, according to SPMC Chairman Dr. Sayura Samarasundara.



Import substitution is the vision of the government and our minister, Dr. Samarasundara said.

In order to make import substitution a success, the government has signed MoUsincluding the 17 signed for pharma zoneto buyback the tablets and pills produced by these 38 factories and others to supply state hospitals, according to Health and Indigenous Medicine Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne.

Thirty eight MoUs have been signed between SPMC and 31 companies. Another 18 companies have also come in independently. We have offered a 15-year buyback guarantee at unit cost plus 20 percent for the companies that have signed MoUs with SPMC. For those who want to remain independent, a 10-year buyback guarantee is provided, he said.



He added even under the payment arrangement, the Sri Lankan government would pay less for the drugs compared to importing them and that after more pharmaceutical export zones come online, the companies can sell the excess production to the private sector or export them.



The government also imposed price controls on dozens of essential drugs in 2016 by slashing prices by 85 percent or more and had banned doctors from prescribing specific branded pharmaceuticals, which has been received positively by pharmaceutical retailers and importers, Dr. Senaratne said.

Although their prices are lower, their sales volumes have increased by 30 percent and they tell me that this is fair. Also, the agents here have informed of the price cuts to their foreign principals and they have started selling drugs at lower prices to Sri Lanka, with the packaging saying only for sale in Sri Lanka, he said.



He added that owing to this policy and improvements at SPMC, its profit increased from Rs.400 million in 2014 to Rs.1.89 billion last year.



We are following Prof. Bibiles vision, Dr. Senaratne said.



Prof. Bibiles 1971 National Drug Policy restricted the importation of drugs by multinational pharmaceutical corporations, which he accused of deriving unjust profits by selling branded pharmaceuticals at higher prices.



However, Dr. Senaratne said that importation would not be fully restricted by the government.
A knitting factory in Bangladesh brings together the past, present and future. On one floor, workers knit by hand. On another, people and machines do the work together. And on a third floor, there are only robots.



This building might seem like an anachronism, given the accepted wisdom that robots will replace humans in textiles and many other industries. But it is actually a savvy response to how the Fourth Industrial Revolution will likely play out in Asia. As is the case elsewhere, technological advances are rapidly transforming industries and economies, by blurring the boundaries between the physical, digital and biological worlds.



And yet much of Asia isnt ready for robots, for reasons that go beyond fears of mass unemployment. In 2014, China had just 11 robots per 10,000 employees in non-automotive industries and just 213 per 10,000 employees on automotive assembly lines. That is hundreds fewer than in Japan, the United States or Germany.



Although China is closing the gap by increasing its spending on robots, poorer countries face significant barriers to adopting new technologies. Moreover, the regions lower wages give firms an incentive to retain human workers. At the factory in Bangladesh, human workers can step in if power outages or equipment failures knock the machines offline. At the same time, having a fully automated section allows production to continue if workers go on strike.



Conventional wisdom decrees that this dual-track approach isnt sustainable and that low- to middle-skilled workers will eventually make way for robots. A landmark 2013 study by Carl Frey and Michael Osborne of Oxford University suggests that in the coming decades, 47 percent of total US employment will be at risk of automation. Similarly, the International Labor Organisation (ILO) has warned that 56 percent of total employment in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam is at high risk of displacement due to technology over the next decade or two.



But these grim predictions ignore the fact that most jobs comprise a bundle of tasks, some of which cannot be automated. According to a 2016 OECD study that breaks down occupations by task, only 9 percent of jobs on average across 21 OECD countries are really at risk.



The same logic applies to Asia. In Vietnam, for example, the share of jobs at risk falls from the ILOs predicted 70 percent to just 15 percent when the countrys large informal economy is taken into account. Street sweepers in developing countries are arguably less threatened by automation than their counterparts in developed countries because their jobs are less mechanized and lower paid.

Still, robots are gaining a foothold in the region, particularly in economies such as China and South Korea. In 2015, robot sales in Asia increased by 19 percent  the fourth record-breaking year in a row. When less-developed Asian countries eventually join the technology bandwagon, layoffs will inevitably ensue.



To soften the blow, governments urgently need to pursue labour-market reforms and overhaul their education systems, starting with technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Although TVET is becoming increasingly popular in Asias developing economies, its quality is often poor. Governments should ensure that TVET courses focus on more relevant skills, while remaining flexible so that students can study without sacrificing income.



One option is to expand the availability of modular short courses, which take less time, train for specific tasks rather than entire jobs and are more manageable for entrants who need, first and foremost, to earn money. In Myanmar, for example, the government has launched a pilot programme to target the countrys missing million students who drop out of school each year. The programme offers short courses on welding and other skills needed to repair rural machinery.



Competency-based assessment systems could also be particularly useful, given Asias large informal workforce. Programmes offering skilled workers a chance to earn certifications based on their work experience would allow for, say, uncertified electricians to find formal employment in robotics.



The private sector can also help produce more graduates with job-ready skills. Asian countries should take a cue from Indias National Skill Development Corporation, which works with private training firms to match skills curricula with industry needs. So far, Indias programme has helped train more than 63,000 people.



Furthermore, governments should offer subsidies or tax incentives to companies that invest in the skills that humans master better than machines, such as communication and negotiation. They will also have to adopt more flexible labour regulations because firms wont hire skilled workers who cost too much. At the end of the day, Asias developing countries need policies that support workers, rather than jobs. All parties can benefit from flexible contracts and lifelong learning and retraining opportunities.



Retraining is particularly important because automation will create entirely new industries and occupations. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that automation could boost global productivity growth by 0.8-1.4 percent annually, generating large savings and performance gains for businesses. Improving access to training and certification would help countries capitalize on these advances and ensure more equitable growth, by giving workers the skills needed to handle the new jobs.



That outcome would be good for workers and for Asian economies. It would mean that businesses like the factory in Bangladesh could operate solely with robots, while its former workers would be gainfully employed elsewhere, most likely in jobs that dont even exist yet.

(Stephen P. Groff is Vice-President (Operations 2) of the Asian Development Bank)
Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry yesterday opened a two-day roundtable investment forum in Colombo with several top sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in Asia and the Middle East.



The roundtable was an initiative by Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama following his visit to the Global Investment Forum in Dubai during November 2017 and is jointly hosted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Board of Investment.

He met several of these funds in Dubai and they were enthused by the potential of Sri Lanka as an investment destination.



The ministry said the fact that so many SWFs accepting the invitation to participate in the roundtable at short notice was a validation of Sri Lankas value proposition and its increasing attractiveness due to the current economic policies under adoption.



The SWFs in attendance at the roundtable included the Investment Corporation of Dubai, Kuwait Investment Authority, Khazanah Nasional Berhad Malaysia, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Temasek of Singapore and Korean Investment Corporation.



SWFs are entities that manage the national savings for the purposes of investment. Some of the countries that use SWFs have economies that are heavily reliant on one source of income, for example the oil revenues in the Middle East.



The investments made through the SWFs are effectively a way for those countries to diversify and become less reliant on a single stream of income. Other SWFs manage the income from taxes and state-owned enterprises for the benefit of the future generations. SWFs often have US $ 100-300 billion of capital under management.



We have seen considerable recent investment commitments by the Chinese and it is encouraging to embark on this journey with other nations. We have always had strong trade relations with our friends in the Middle East and South East, Samarawickrama said.



It is opportune timing to have GIC and Temasek visit Sri Lanka ahead of the execution of the FTA with Singapore later this month, he added. Investment Corporation of Dubai Senior Advisor Dr. Chang commented, Weve been to many such forums and not a single emerging country has been able to attract such a strong representation of global investors.



This is a reflection of both the trust in the future of Sri Lanka and the competence and capability of the current government. The forum will lead to a mutually beneficial long-term relationship.



The roundtable programme includes presentations on the Central Banks sovereign bond programme, Colombo International Financial City, public-private partnership programme and Western Region Megapolis.
After growing up in Nova Scotia, Daniel Kerr made the expensive decision to attend college in Maine. To pay off some of his student debt, Kerr took a teaching post in Abu Dhabi for the attractive salary and housing stipend. During his first break, he realized that international travel was a big bonus of teaching at an international school.

Kerr met a counselor in Abu Dhabi, who ironically was from the same part of Nova Scotia, who became his wife. They accepted positions at the Jakarta International School, a well-regarded school where they taught for seven years.

In Jarkarta, Kerr met Tim Stuart (featured in this report on the Singapore American School , now head of school in Addis Ababa), and learned about the importance of professional learning communities.

Now a decade into his teaching career, Kerr was hooked as an international educator. He accepted a leadership role at a large middle school in the heart of Shanghai, a diverse and inclusive school with students from 65 countries.

Check out Dans Shanghai Tedx Talk on Living a Life Well Lived .

After four years in China, Kerr took the opportunity to lead an intermediate school in Quito, Ecuador. And after three years there, he became lower school director at the American School of Paris (ASP).

Sound crazy? Kerrs journey is not unusual for an international educator. Each post was an important developmental stage, an opportunity for growth and contribution. Like the intentional leadership development in the military--each stage added breadth and responsibility. Kerr (@DanKerr1 ) speaks five languages. His children, age 10 and 12, have visited two dozen countries. He is a thoughtful educator and citizen of the world.

American school, an international community

Mark Ulfers leads the first American school in Europe. The American School of Paris (@ asparisofficial ), founded in 1946, serves 780 students ranging from preschool through 12th grade.

About four in 10 students are children of US expats. The rest are international students and children of French parents interested in attending a US university.

The leadership team is adopting broader measures of success, supporting more student-centered learning experiences, and striving to make the campus even more inclusive.

Middle School Director Jeff Lippman (@jefflippman ) showcases design studios and projects in 1:1 classrooms that promote creativity, innovation and connected learning. Middle-grade students are beginning to build portfolios and lead parent conferences.

Kerr observed creativity, imagination and problem solving during a third-grade lesson on invisible forces.

He explained: design challenges plus projects plus maker plus service learning prepare young people to be citizens of the world.

Three new buildings expand student opportunity this year on the ASP campus, and a new high school features an IB Diploma Programme.

In addition to being a pathway to American universities, ASP offers a more progressive option than the very traditional French schools. Lippman admits that the master schedule offers challenges like design studio versus choir. Balance is key, he adds.

Kerr is only six months into the lower school assignment. He is supporting professional learning communities. He writes thoughtful reflections in his Monday Musings Blog and contributes to The International Educator .

Key Takeaways:

[2:09] Daniels background: where he went to school, how he got to Abu Dhabi, how he made the move from Abu Dhabi to Jakarta and met his wife, meeting Tim Stuart, his first school leadership role in China, and his move to Ecuador.

[7:29] The languages Daniel has basic proficiency in and what life is like as an international educator.

[8:59] The opportunities presented to Daniels kids as an international educator.

[10:00] Where Daniel calls home.

[10:25] Daniel describes some of the best teaching conditions hes seen in international schools.

[12:00] Goals and challenges in international learning.

[14:50] What it is like leading an international school; the turnover rate and creating a cohesive plan and team.[16:18] The education needed for the parental community.

[18:45] What the American School of Paris is trying to improve on.

[21:03] What the ASParis design thinking labs are about.

[21:54] Their goals, curricular wise.

[22:19] What American educators should know about international educators.

[23:52] What Daniel has learned about America.

For more see:



Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update .
American taxpayers spent close to $649 billion on its K-12 schools in 2015. Thats according to a new survey released by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Thats up 3 percent from the $628 billion the country spent in fiscal year 2014, according to the Jan. 9 report (that does not include facilities costs).

Education Weeks Research Center put together a searchable database to help you find out how much your state spends (scroll to the bottom).

While that may sound like a lot of money, local school district officials frequently complain that its still not enough to cover the increasing day-to-day expenses of operating schools. That includes paying for qualified teachers, extracurricular activities, and technology, all the things parentsand colleges admissions officersdemand today . And this year, even though many states are proposing to keep statewide school spending steady or even increase it, many local districts will see budget cuts, a phenomenon I wrote about in 2016 in a profile of an urban superintendent in Iowa.

Interesting fact: America spent $601 billion on its military in 2015.

NCES surveyed all 50 state education agencies to gather detailed inforfmation about school revenue. Among its findings:



State and local governments provide the bulk of education K-12 funding. In 2015, state and local governments spent $594 billion, or 91 percent of all K-12 revenue.

States spent on average $12,903 per student. But that ranges dramatically. New York spends on average $20,744 per student, while Utah spends $6,751.

Schools biggest costs were salaries and wages. In 2015, states spent $459 billion, or 80 percent of its money, went to paying pensions and salaries.

The graphic below, compiled by the Education Week Research Center, gives more-detailed information about local, state, and federal education spending.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogans call for a state investigator general to probe corruption, mismanagement, and ineptitude in Maryland school districts makes him the latest in a list of governors and officials in other states who are demanding that school district spending be more closely monitored.

After a series of school spending controversies, including a school heating crisis in Baltimore, Hogan, a Republican, proposed that the state hire an investigator general to investigate corruption, mismanagement and ineptitude in Maryland school districts, according to local reports .



Our children need someone to fight for their civil rights, Hogan said Monday. Theres not enough accountability.

Hogan joins a growing list of governors and legislatures who are demanding that school district spending be more closely monitored as states pick up the majority of K-12 costs, academic gains stall, and states look to upend their long-standing funding formulas .

Washingtons legislature, as part of its new funding formula, tasked its state department of education with monitoring district spending in order to assure that the money is going to teacher salaries and other statewide initiatives.

Oklahoma Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, attempting to close a $110 million budget deficit, last month signed an executive order requiring the states board of education to parse out districts administrative costs and instructional costs.

Kansas Republican-controlled legislature, has commissioned a $485,000 study to scrutinize the cost of providing constitutionally adequate school funding in Kansas.

All of this extra scrutiny comes as states face new requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act that they begin parsing out school-by-school spending , which is bound to bring even more public backlash.

Local district officials have argued that spending decisions are best made by school boards and superintendents and that the money states provide still isnt enough to pay pension and salary costs.

In Maryland, Hogans proposed state investigator would be tasked with, among other things, investigating procurement, ethics, graduation requirements, illegal conduct and school budgets. The state spends $6 billion of its $43 billion budget on K-12 schools, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore schools made headlines last week after classroom temperatures in some schools dipped into the 30s when furnaces went out. The school district returned $60 million for new HVAC systems to the state because the money had not been spent in a timely manner. Hogan has also attacked Howard County Schools for an ongoing mold problem, and cited a grade-tampering scandal in Prince Georges County.

Marylands Democratic legislators say the proposed position would be more beuracracy (Marylands state superintendent Karen Salmon told Education Week late last year that the department has lost 250 people in the last decade).

I believe education dollars are best spent educating kids and least effectively used building out further education bureacuracy, said state Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Democrat from Baltimore.

Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics.
On Monday, a Louisiana teacher stood up at a school board meeting and questioned why the districts superintendent was receiving a pay raise when teachers in the district had not gotten a raise in years. Within minutes, she was told to leave the room by a marshal, handcuffed while she was lying on the floor, and put into a police car.

The teacher has been identified by news outlets as Deyshia Hargrave, an English/language arts middle school teacher in the Vermilion school district in Abbeville, La. A 12-minute video posted on YouTube shows part of the school board meeting and her arrest.

At the meeting, the school board was considering the renewal of the superintendents contract, which included a $38,000 raise, according to the news site WGNTV .

Hargrave stood up and said the raise was a slap in the face to teachers and other school support staff members. At the top, thats not where kids learn, its in the classroom. And those teachers, like myself, are not getting a dime from that, and that is unspeakable, she said.

After the board approved the raise, Hargrave raised her hand to speak again and the superintendent recognized her.

How are you going to take a raise, when I first started teaching ELA, there was like 21 kids in a class and now there are 29 kids in a class ... and we have not gotten raises. How are you going to take that money, because its basically taking our money ... " Hargrave said. She was then cut off by a school board member, who told her to stop bringing up the issue of teacher pay since it wasnt on the agenda.

Hargrave continued, speaking to the superintendent: How are you taking the raise when youre basically taking from the teachers and employees under you, when you have class sizes that are that big? This directly speaks to what you have just voted on.

Then, the marshal approached her and told her to leave the room. Is it against policy to stand? Hargrave said, before the marshal tried to grab her arm.

Hargrave left the roomand then the video showed her on the floor, with the marshal handcuffing her. As he walked her outside, telling her to stop resisting, Hargrave cried out, I am notyou just pushed me to the floor. I am way smaller than you.

According to KATC, the local ABC affiliate station , no charges will be filed against Hargrave, although she was booked into the city jail for remaining after being forbidden and resisting an officer. The city attorney said he talked with the attorney for the school board, who said the board does not wish to pursue any charges against the teacher. The marshal who arrested her is an attorney for the school board, according to the news site.

According to the New York Times , Hargrave won a teacher of the year award at her school in 2016.

The state teachers union, the Louisiana Association of Educators, released a statement condemning the arrest : We firmly denounce the mistreatment of Ms. Hargrave, a loving parent and dedicated teacher serving the students of Vermilion Parish. It is every citizens right to speak up for their beliefs. Any action that infringes upon this right is unlawful and unacceptable.

The ACLU of Louisiana is investigating the incident. The Constitution prohibits the government from punishing or retaliating against people for expressing their views, and the fact that a schoolteacher was arrested at a public meeting of the school board is especially troubling, the ACLUs statement said.

Last year, several teachers in North Carolina were arrested for protesting the former governors education policies.
Baca is exploring the connection between Rite of Spring and World War I. PC Rachel Neville, Courtesy Baca

This Iraq Veteran Turned Choreographer Is Making Provocative Dances About War
British luxury marque revealed its first EV concept, the 102 EX, which was was based on the Phantom VII.

Rolls-Royce has confirmed its plans to build an electric vehicle (EV). The luxury carmaker has said that it will focus its attention towards dealing with the issue of range anxiety in EVs instead of taking interim steps by building a hybrid.

Back in 2011, the British luxury marque revealed its first EV concept, the 102 EX, which was was based on the Phantom VII. After showcasing the concept, the manufacturer never followed it up with a final product as it was not received well by customers due to its low range of 200km.

In a recent interview, Peter Schwarzenbauer, a board member of BMW responsible for Rolls-Royce, said that the luxury carmaker has already started asking its customers about what they would like to have in an EV. The most common answer, he said, was that the car should have a range of 500-600km. Given the seriousness with which Rolls-Royce takes its customer feedback, the carmaker would want its upcoming electric vehicle to meet this expectation.

To start with, Rolls-Royce will use a a major adaptation of the Phantom VIIIs aluminium spaceframe platform as it is not capable of accomodating an electric powertrain. As of now, only the Phantom VIII and the upcoming Rolls-Royce SUV are based on this platform. Schwarzenbauer says that the updated platform will specifically underpin Rolls-Royce EVs only, and wont be used by BMW.

Given that the Phantom VIII is already 5762mm long, there appears to be enough space to accommodate batteries to push the range to over 500km. However, Rolls-Royce might as well get to use the solid state battery technology that BMW is working on for its EVs.

What else can we expect from Rolls-Royces first electric vehicle?

Rolls-Royce is known to be very sensitive about noise insulation, so much so that the latest Phantom carries as much as 130kg of insulation material! Replacing the V12 engine on the Phantom with an electric motor will help the marques case of making one of the worlds most silent car even more silent!

Talking about the design, Schwarzenbauer said that since there will be a lot of EVs in future, itll be ordinary to drive an electric car, so there wont be a need to make the RR EV look different. However, he did mention that the iconic Pantheon grille on the EV will probably look different. If youre already wondering how Rolls-Royce could change the design, Schwarzenbauer has something to say, You can have a very interesting design for electric cars and we have shown it in the electric Mini. I think it looks extremely sleek. I am confident our design team will find a great solution.

It was not until 2016 that RR reconsidered building an EV when it showcased the Vision 100 concept, which was codenamed 103EX. It also provided a glimpse of Rolls-Royces future in building autonomous cars with Level 5 autonomy. Talking about autonomous driving, Schwarzenbauer said that Rolls-Royce wont be coming up with a fully-autonomous car for at least the next 10-15 years.

Rolls-Royces plan of launching an EV could also align with its parent BMWs plan of launching 25 electrified vehicles by 2025.

Source: CarDekho.com
India has the world's fastest growing passenger airline industry, expanding at an annual rate of around 20 per cent.

New Delhi: Foreign airlines will be able to buy up to 49 percent of Air India under new rules approved by the government on Wednesday to boost the debt-laden flag carrier.

Once the country's monopoly airline, Air India has slowly lost market share to new low-cost private players in one of the world's fastest-growing airline markets.

The government said last June it was open to selling a stake in the state-owned airline, which has developed a reputation for delays, cancellations and poor service.

On Wednesday the cabinet rubber-stamped plans to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India, subject to government approval.

That was part of a series of moves to relax restrictions on foreign investment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing government has sought to encourage foreign companies to invest in India since coming to power in 2014.

The cabinet also cleared plans to automatically allow 100 per cent foreign investment in single-brand retailers. Previously, this required special government approval.

Air India ran losses for nearly a decade after a botched merger in 2007 and has debts of around $7.67 billion according to government figures.

It has received a $5.8 billion in bailout funds from the government but still needs more working capital to turn it around.

India has the world's fastest growing passenger airline industry, expanding at an annual rate of around 20 per cent.

Experts say India's aviation sector holds vast untapped potential, with just 100 million of its 1.2 billion people taking to the skies in 2016.
Infosys said it expects its overall effective tax rate to be lower by about 100 basis points for future periods covered under the APA. (Photo: AFP)

New Delhi: IT major Infosys on Tuesday said it has signed an Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) with the US revenue department, which will result in reversal of tax provisions of about USD 225 million.

The reversal of the tax provisions will have a positive impact on its consolidated basic earnings per share (EPS) for the December, 2017 quarter by approximately USD 0.10, Infosys said in a statement.

"In accordance with the APA, the company expects to reverse tax provisions of approximately USD 225 million made in previous periods which are no longer required (both under International Financial Reporting Standards and Indian Accounting Standards)," it added.

Under the APA, Infosys and the US Internal Revenue Service have agreed on the methodology to allocate revenues and compute the taxable income of the company's US operations, it said adding that the agreement covers financial years from 2011 to 2021.

The preliminary discussions with the IRS on the APA were initiated by Infosys in 2015, followed by multiple rounds of discussions.

"We are glad that the APA has been executed in one of our key markets. The APA provides greater predictability of our taxes and minimises uncertainties," Infosys CFO M D Ranganath said.

Infosys said it expects its overall effective tax rate to be lower by about 100 basis points for future periods covered under the APA.

"Further, in line with the APA, the company expects to payout about USD 233 million due to the difference between the taxes payable for prior periods as per the APA and the actual taxes paid for such periods," it said.

This amount is expected to be paid over the next few quarters, it added. The APA will enhance predictability of the company's tax obligations in respect of its US operations, Infosys said.
The relaxation of policy is aimed at providing investor friendly climate to foreign players and in turn attract more FDI to boost economic growth and create jobs. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: In big bang foreign direct investment (FDI) reforms ahead of the Union Budget 2018-19, the government on Wednesday permitted foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in debt-ridden Air India, and eased norms for investment in single brand retail, construction and power exchanges.

The government also relaxed FDI policy for medical devices and audit firms associated with companies receiving overseas funds.

The decisions were taken by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital.

In a move that will give a boost to foreign retailers like Ikea, the government approved 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route for single brand retail trading. Earlier also 100 per cent FDI was allowed in the segment, but it required government approval.

"The Union Cabinet ... has given its approval to a number of amendments in the FDI Policy. These are intended to liberalise and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business in the country. In turn, it will lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment," the government said in a statement.

The decision to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India comes in the backdrop of government's plans to disinvest the state-owned carrier.

"Foreign investment(s) in Air India including that of foreign airline(s) shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National," the statement said.

Air India has a total debt of about Rs 48,877 crore at the end of March 2017, of which about Rs 17,360 crore were aircraft loans and Rs 31,517 crore were working capital loans.

The airline is expected to report a net loss of Rs 3,579 crore for 2017-18, as per budget estimates projected for 2017-18 from a provisional net loss of Rs 3,643 crore for 2016-17.

Overseas investment policy has also been liberalised in case of power exchanges.

Currently, the policy provides for 49 per cent FDI under automatic route in power exchanges.

However, FII/FPI purchases were restricted to secondary market only.

"It has now been decided to do away with this provision, thereby allowing FIIs/FPIs to invest in Power Exchanges through primary market as well," the release said.

Regarding the liberalisation in the construction development segment, the government has decided to "clarify that real-estate broking service does not amount to real estate business" and is therefore, eligible for 100 per cent FDI under automatic route.

Commenting on the development, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said the government has decided to "remove roadblocks" for receiving foreign investments.

The minister expressed the hope that relaxation of norms would facilitate faster development of the economy.

This is the second major liberalisation in FDI policy by the NDA government in one go after major changes came into effect in June 2016.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to present the Union Budget for 2018-19 on February 1.
According to the statement, the scheme would entail an annual allocation of Rs 3,950 crore and a total outlay of Rs 11,850 crore over the next three years.

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal to continue the MPLAD Scheme beyond the 12th Plan period (2012-17) up to March 31, 2020, an official statement said on Wednesday.

Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CCEA has given its approval for the continuation of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) till the term of the 14th Finance Commission, March 31, 2020, it said.

The scheme enables MPs to recommend works for creation of durable community assets based on locally felt needs to be taken up in their constituencies. The areas covered by it include drinking water, education, public health, sanitation and roads. It is governed by a set of guidelines which were last revised in June, 2016.

MPLADS has resulted into creation of various assets which have impacted the social, cultural and economic life of the local communities in one way or the other, the statement said, adding that the entire population across the country stands to benefit through them.

According to the statement, the scheme would entail an annual allocation of Rs 3,950 crore and a total outlay of Rs 11,850 crore over the next three years with an additional annual allocation of Rs 5 crore per year for monitoring through independent agency(ies) and for capacity building/ training to State/District officials to be imparted by the ministry.

The MPLADS funds are released to the nodal District Authorities on receipt of requisite documents and as per the scheme's guidelines. The central sector scheme was launched in 1993-94. Since its inception till August 2017, 18,82,180 works for Rs 44,929.17 crore have been sanctioned from MPLADS fund.
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Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are gearing up for the release of 'Padmavat'.

Mumbai: Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh might never have publicly owned up to being together, but their relationship is an open secret within the industry and among fans.

While Ranveer and Deepika were recently snapped getting cosy during the latters birthday by the paparazzi, Ranveer had also graced an event where Deepikas father, former badminton star Prakash Padukone had launched his joint collaboration with Rahul DravidAmid news of such familial bonhomie emerging, the latest rumour says that Deepika had gone to visit Ranveers ailing grandmother.

The couple, whose latest film Padmavat has been ridden by the biggest controversy the industry has seen in a couple of years, are gearing for the films long due release, on January 25. Padmavat is slated to clash with Akshay Kumars Padman during the Republic Day weekend.

Ranveer, meanwhile, has been preparing for Zoya Akhtars Gully Boy, all guns blazing.
New Delhi: Actress Anushka Sharma's upcoming horror mystery film 'Pari' will release on the Holi weekend.

The 29-year-old took to her Twitter handle and shared the teaser.

It was captioned, "Sweet dreams guys... #HoliWithPari"'.

This movie, which is Anushka's Sharma's third venture as a producer, also stars Parambrata Chatterjee, Rajat Kapoor & Ritabhari Chakraborty.

Previously, the actress shared the first look poster of 'Pari'.

The film marks the debut of Prosit Roy.
Mumbai: Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotras on and off relationship seems to have completely come to an off mode. While it has been long since the two were spotted together, Alia has been reconciling with her ex Ali Dandekar, calling him her BFF. The two were going to attend a wedding, but that did not happen before Alia posted this Instagram story with Ali:

Alia Bhatt with Ali Dandekar clicked before a wedding.

In fact, she was recently spotted with a mysterious guy, who much looked like Ali. The two were travelling in the same car. Whats more? Alia kept smiling throughout the journey. That definitely raises some speculations now. Heres one photo of her and the mysterious guy:

Alia spotted with a mysterious guy.

Alia, who had reportedly taken a break and visited Bali to get over Sid, flied down a day earlier to attend Alis birthday. Not only that, she seemed to have fun at the party, as she can be seen getting cosy with the BFF anyway.

So will it be right to say that the sparks within Ali and Alia have reignited?
Washington: At least 3 out of 5 people who try a cigarette become daily smokers, suggests to a study.

The findings from over 215,000 survey respondents provide strong support for prioritising efforts to reduce cigarette experimentation among adolescents. Lead researcher Professor Peter Hajek from Queen Mary said: "This is the first time that the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience has been documented from such a large set of data.

"In the development of any addictive behaviour, the move from experimentation to daily practice is an important landmark, as it implies that a recreational activity is turning into a compulsive need. We've found that the conversion rate from 'first time smoker' to 'daily smoker' is surprisingly high, which helps confirm the importance of preventing cigarette experimentation in the first place.

The researchers searched the Global Health Data Exchange for relevant surveys that included questions about ever trying a cigarette and ever smoking daily. Data sets from eight surveys were found from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand, and the survey methods were found to be on par with best practice. Data were analysed to calculate the conversion rate from ever trying a cigarette to ever smoking daily.

The team calculated that 60.3 per cent of respondents had said they had ever tried a cigarette, and among those, an estimated 68.9 per cent said they had progressed to daily smoking. The different surveys used different methodologies and yielded different results, so the estimated 68.9 per cent 'conversion rate' from experimentation to daily smoking has a margin of error (between 60.9 and 76.9 per cent).

Given the high conversion rate found in all existing surveys, the researchers suggest that at least some of the reduction in smoking prevalence observed over the past 20 years is likely due to reduced experimentation with cigarettes among adolescents.

Professor Peter Hajek added: "Concerns were expressed that e-cigarettes could be as addictive as conventional cigarettes, but this has not been the case. It is striking that very few non-smokers who try e-cigarettes become daily vapers, while such a large proportion on non-smokers who try conventional cigarettes become daily smokers. The presence of nicotine is clearly not the whole story."

The findings have been published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.
The crazed holidaymaker Steve Cho was eventually restrained by six security guards in the departure hall of Phuket International Airport. (Youtube Screengrab)

In a bizarre incident, an American tourist who had 'taken too many sex drugs' was arrested after rampaging through an airport yelling incoherently and throwing his feces at the staff present there.

The crazed holidaymaker Steve Cho was eventually restrained by six security guards in the departure hall of Phuket International Airport, Thailand, having allegedly overdosed n Viagra.

He was strolling around naked while smashing airport shop goods.

The 27-year-old, from New York, who underwent a psychiatric assessment following his arrest, is said to have told police he had 'taken too many sex drugs' including viagra before the incident which saw him throw his own excrement at terrified travelers.

In an article published in MailOnline, one onlooker Wannee Ming, 28, said that it was the scariest and most disgusting thing she ever saw at an airport.

Cho reportedly apologized for the outburst and agreed to pay any damages.

A statement from Phuket International Airport said that officers had to arrest the man.

Cho was taken to the local police station before officers sent him to a nearby hospital for medical checks and a routine psychiatric assessment.
The full circumstances of the teenagers death were not immediately clear as detectives continued to search for the gun that killed her. (Photo: Pixabay)

An unfortunate teenage girls boyfriend was arrested after allegedly shooting her dead during a game of Russian roulette.

18-year-old Palloma Lima died on Monday night shortly after being abandoned while she was critically injured, at a hospital in Gama near the Brazilian capital Brasilia.

The white Fiat Palio car she is said to have been shot in during the deadly game had several bloodstains in it when it was stopped by police in the nearby area of Santa Maria.

Interestingly, the driver reportedly told cops he was planning to help Pallomas unnamed 27-year-old boyfriend go on the run by dropping him off at a safe haven after they fled Gama Regional Hospital.

Another couple who witnessed the killing have also been questioned by police who told local media they suspected Palloma had died during a game of Russian roulette, in which players risk their lives with a revolver with a single bullet by taking turns to put the muzzle against their heads and pull the trigger.

The full circumstances of the teenagers death were not immediately clear as detectives continued to search for the gun that killed her.
MANGALURU: A MCom student, who is also the district secretary of Students Federation of India (SFI), has alleged that photos of her with her friends is being circulated and trolled in the social media by right wing activists.

The student, Madhuri Bolar, has registered a complaint with the cyber crime police and met the City Police Commissioner at his office on Tuesday morning.

About a year ago the girl had been to a conference with her fellow activists. The friends had clicked the photo which was also shared on Facebook. However miscreants, allegedly from right wing, have copied this photo and it is making rounds on WhatsApp as one among the fellow activist Hamza Kinya was a Muslim.

She alleged that messages were making rounds that Hamza was seen with Hindu girls and Hindus have to keep an eye on him. "I am disturbed by this," the girl stated.

She also brought to police that the activists had harassed a girl in Mudigere which lead to her suicide.

Madhuri's mother Bharathi who too had come to Commissioner's office was angry on those who were responsible for the incident.

"Who are they to tell what my daughter should do. Let them come before me. I would give them a befitting reply. We wont sit quiet," she warned.
The person received another call after half an hour saying that the Aadhaar-linking process had been completed and that he could verify the same by the code sent to him.

Kochi: Online bank fraudsters devised a new method of cheating gullible persons under the guise of helping to link Aadhaar with their bank accounts.

Another modus operandi is to make a call and ask for the code, similar to the one-time password (OTP) used in online transactions, that has been sent as an SMS in the mobile number of the person and then use the same to withdraw the money from the account.

In the first incident, a retired bank employee lost nearly Rs 1 lakh from his account after a caller claiming to be from the Reserve Bank of India offered to link his Aadhaar and bank account numbers. The person received another call after half an hour saying that the Aadhaar-linking process had been completed and that he could verify the same by the code sent to him.

The complainant, who doesnt want to be quoted, gave the code when the bank official said the same was needed for sending the document in this regard to his account. Soon he found that Rs 99,000 had been withdrawn from his account. A case was lodged with the Alappuzha cyber cell.

Mr Mohan Manga-ttusseril, a native of Chittoor in Ernakulam, has lodged a complaint with DGP Loknath Behera seeking a probe into the fake calls received by him and his brother claiming to be a bank employee alerting them about the expiry of the credit card and issuance of a new card.

According to Mr V.K. Adarsh, a bank employee and commentator on cyber matters, Such codes are actually OTPs by which fraudsters can make online purchases. In certain cases, the data regarding the victims debit cards like card number and CVV number are leaked while making purchases. When a credit or debit card is swiped through a skimmer, the device captures and stores all the details stored in the card's magnetic strip. Thieves use the stolen data to make fraudulent charges either online or with a counterfeit credit card.

Cases are being reported of the victims who havent shared the OTPs, Mr Adarsh said. Spy mobile software will get automatically downloaded along with ads when we use certain applications. The racket could take all details from mails and message boxes of the mobiles, including the OTPs and card details, he said.

The only solution is tight vigil and caution by the people, he said. People shouldnt share anything about their financial transactions while responding to calls, especially internet calls. Instead, toll-free number of banks should be used to clear doubts. Technically speaking, the linking Aadhar with mobile numbers is one of the solutions, he said.

According to Mr Mohan, his brother received a call from a person introducing him as an executive from the SBI saying that his card would expire soon and that the bank would issue a new card. The call was made to confirm the card details and mobile number. For the same, he wanted to know a code that the bank had sent to his mobile number. As all the information/details matched with the card and what the caller briefed, his brother divulged the code. But he soon alerted the bank and blocked the account.

In a similar incident, Mr Mohan received a call from a woman claiming to be from the SBI saying that a new card with his photo embedded had been dispatched through the courier and that she wanted to know the consignment number sent as an SMS. As I am cautious about such frauds I declined to give the number and the lady threatened to block my card before ending the call.

Mr Mohan submitted the details of the phone number from which he and his brother received the calls and the screenshots of the SMS messages.
Hyderabad: The Special Operations Teams of Madhapur on Wednesday conducted a raid at a brothel, Rain Spa, in Ayyappa Society and rescued two girls and took three persons into custody. Officials seized cash, mobile phones and a swiping machine from the place. The arrested were identified as Sunil Naik, 22, K. Prathap, 48, and Abhishek Jain, 24. The owners of the spa and organisers, Vishnu and Abhi, are absconding.

We conducted the raids based on a tip-off on Wednesday. The organisers have set up a spa board and were running a brothel. We rescued two victims from Mumbai and Gujarat and sent them to rescue home, said SOT inspector S. Gangadhar.

The arrested were handed over to the Madhapur police and a hunt is on to nab the main organisers.
The apex court on Wednesday perused the report of the supervisory body which was submitted before it in a leather box with number lock system. (Photo: PTI/File)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed a re-investigation of 186 cases closed earlier by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The apex court said it would constitute a fresh three-member SIT, to be headed by a former high court judge, to monitor probe into the cases, that followed the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra asked the Centre to suggest names on Wednesday itself for its consideration and appointment in the proposed SIT.

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, said the proposed committee will be headed by a former high court judge and consist of one retired and one serving police officer.

It also made it clear that the retired police officer shall not be below the rank of DIG at the time of his superannuation.

The apex court said the supervisory body, appointed by it has found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation.

The apex court on Wednesday perused the report of the supervisory body which was submitted before it in a leather box with number lock system.
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Bengaluru/Mangaluru: The Mudigere unit of the Bajrang Dal has reportedly warned on WhatsApp that "whoever (Hindu girl) is found in the company of a Muslim (boy) will be made to pay as it is their duty to save Hinduism," even as a second girl has gone missing from Bantwal on Tuesday in less than a week following a visit to her home by a group of Bajrang Dal activists, who warned her parents against the perils of allowing their 20 year old daughter to go out with a non-Hindu.

Bajrang Dal activists further upped the ante in Bantwal rural where a group of four led by Umesh, his brother Rajesh, a man named Ramesh and one other, barged into the home of an SC woman, pushed her and other family members around and warned her to stop her daughter from speaking to Muslims or be evicted from the village.

This is the third case of alleged moral policing. The first had tragic consequences, when four days ago, 20 year old Dhanyashree, a B.Com student committed suicide in Mudigere in Chikamagaluru district after five BJP Yuva Morcha members arrived at her doorstep and warned her against befriending Muslims.

During a conversation between Dhanyashree and her friend Santhosh over the futility of caste and communal violence, the young woman had texted her friend that she loved Muslims. The distraught girl left a suicide note behind stating that she was unable to cope with the harassment at the hands of the alleged Hindutva group and was taking her own life.

Chikmagaluru police have arrested BJPs Yuva Morcha President Anilraj and are looking for the four others who accompanied him to the suicide victim's home.

In Bantwal, the police are in the process of registering a missing complaint by the girls parents. We need to verify the details, said an official source.

Cases of communal violence and moral policing are on the rise in coastal Karnataka in the run up to Assembly elections in May.

On Monday night an alleged rowdy sheeter Bharath - complained to the police that he had escaped a fatal attack in Suratkal by four men from the minority group, who had accosted him with the intention to kill him.

Violence in the region is premeditated and is being instigated by vested interests. It is getting out of hand because of the involvement of the extortionists and street thugs in either camp. The communal campaign on both the sides  the PFI and Hindutva brigade has been taken over by extortionists, who are out of their control and extorting money from helpless people," a source said.

"Saffron and green flags hog public spaces in Dakshin Kannada district to mark their territories by BD, Hindu Jagran Vedike and their arch rivals - Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political arm  the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). Theres growing mistrust among the two communities and communal violence is becoming a daily affair. The police have to act ruthlessly against the perpetrators, whoever they are before the fire goes out of hand and spreads to other districts of Karnataka, said an official source.

The PFI has suffered a major setback with the arrest of its top cadre members, who were allegedly involved in the murder cases of Bajrang Dal and anti cow slaughter activist - Prashanth Poojary - in October 2015 in Moodbidri and RSS member R. Rudresh in Bengaluru in October 2016. The NIA has chargesheeted all the five accused in the Rudresh murder case stating that the PFI has been selectively targetting the RSS and like-minded organizations to strike terror among their cadre. They are now reportedly hiring small time workers like mechanics, auto-rickshaw drivers and petty shop owners to run their communal agenda. There are similar elements in the BD and HJV. Both the camps are highly radicalized. The underworld, which is also divided on caste lines, is also trying to stake claim in communal politics. The politicians across party lines are adding fuel to the fire by making provocative statements, the officer added.

The biggest problem is that the police, tasked to maintain the peace are unable to gauge the situation because of frequent transfers of senior officers and at the police station level. There is no stability of tenure, whether it is the IGP (Western Range) or Commissioner, Mangaluru City; transfers are the order of the day. An otherwise beautiful range, no officer likes to get posted here because he knows he will be shunted out in less than a years time and also branded as either pro-Congress or pro-BJP, said another senior officer on condition of anonymity.

The moral policing epidemic

An MCom student who is also the district secretary of Students Federation of India (SFI) Madhuri Bolar has alleged that photos of her with her friends, including Hamza Kinya, who is a Muslim are being circulated and trolled in the social media by right-wing activists. Madhuri alleged that the messages were making rounds that Hamza was seen with Hindu girls and Hindus have to keep an eye on him.

Mangaluru City North constituency BJP leaders have filed a defamation case of Rs 1 crore against JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy. The case was filed a day after HDK alleged that a BJP leader was behind the murder of Deepak Rao.

Moral cops warn woman, daughter

In a third case of moral policing in the district, four people from right wing outfits barged into a house in Bantwal and warned a woman to stop her daughter from talking to Muslims. The incident took place in Bantwal Rural police limits.

The four trespassed into the house of the woman, who belongs to the SC community, and warned her that her daughter should not speak to Muslims. They also pushed the woman around, and had a fight with the family members. They told the family to get out of the village if they want to continue with such activities, SP Sudheer Kumar Reddy said.

A case was registered and two accused, Umesh and Ramesh, were arrested. Umesh's brother Rajesh and another accused are absconding.
All in all, improved labor market reforms, education and health reforms as well as relaxing investment bottleneck will help improve India's prospects, the director said. (Photo: File | AP)

Washington/New Delhi: With an "ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms", India has "enormous growth potential" compared to other emerging economies, the World Bank said on Wednesday, as it projected country's growth rate to 7.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.5 for the next two years.

India, despite initial setbacks from demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST), is estimated to have grown at 6.7 per cent in 2017, according to the 2018 Global Economics Prospect released by the World Bank in Washington on Wednesday.

"In all likelihood India is going to register higher growth rate than other major emerging market economies in the next decade. So, I wouldn't focus on the short-term numbers. I would look at the big picture for India and big picture is telling us that it has enormous potential," Ayhan Kose, Director, Development Prospects Group, World Bank, said in an interview.

He said in comparison with China, which is slowing, the World Bank is expecting India to gradually accelerate.

"The growth numbers of the past three years were very healthy," Kose, author of the report, said.

In 2017, China grew at 6.8 per cent, 0.1 per cent more than that of India, while in 2018, its growth rate is projected at 6.4 per cent. And in the next two years, the country's growth rate will drop marginally to 6.3 and 6.2 per cent, respectively.

To materialise its potential, India, Kose said, needs to take steps to boost investment prospects.

There are measures under way to do in terms of non-performing loans and productivity, he said.

"On the productivity side, India has enormous potential with respect to secondary education completion rate. All in all, improved labor market reforms, education and health reforms as well as relaxing investment bottleneck will help improve India's prospects," Kose said.

Noting that India has a favourable demographic profile, he said it is rarely seen in other economies.

"In that context, improving female labour force participation rate is going to be important. Female labour force participation still remains low relative to other emerging market economies. Bringing force right now idle outside of the productive activities will make a huge difference," he said.

Reducing youth unemployment is critical, and pushing for private investment, where problems are already well-known like bank assets quality issues...If these are done, India can reach its potential easily and exceed, Kose asserted.

"In fact, we expect India to do better than its potential in 2018 and move forward," he said.

India's growth potential, he said, would be around 7 per cent for the next 10 years.

The Indian government is "very serious" with GST being a major turning point and banking recapitalisation programme is really important, Kose said.

"The Indian government has already recognise some of these problems and undertaking measures and willing to see the outcomes of these measures," he said.

"India is a very large economy. It has a huge potential. At the same time, it has its own challenges. This government is very much aware of these challenges and is showing just doing its best in terms of dealing with them," the World Bank official said.

The latest World Bank growth estimate for 2017 is 0.5 per cent, less than the previous projection, and 0.2 per cent less in the next two years.

"It is slightly lower than its previous forecast, primarily because India is undertaking major reforms," Kose said.

These reforms, of course, will bring certain policy uncertainty, he said, "but the big issue about India, when you look at India's growth potential and our numbers down the road 2019 and 2020, is that it is going to be the fastest growing large emerging market."

"India has an ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms. GST is a major reform to have harmonised taxes, is one nation one market one tax concept. Then, of course, the late 2016 demonetisation reform was there. The government is well aware of these short-term implications," Kose said.

He said there might have been some temporary disruptions but "all in all" the Indian economy has done well.

"The potential growth rate of the Indian economy is very healthy to 7 per cent. I think the growth is going to be at a high rate going forward," the World Bank official said.

The big question is whether Indian policymakers would, under the necessary reforms, push its potential growth up, Kose said.

"So far we have seen ambitious policy initiatives and implementation like GST. And we have all the reasons to expect this government to continue economic policies to create friendly environment for businesses and push its growth potential up," he said.

In a South Asia regional press release, the World Bank said India is estimated to grow 6.7 per cent in fiscal year 2017-18, slightly down from the 7.1 per cent of the previous fiscal year.

This is due in part to the effects of the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, but also to protracted balance sheet weaknesses, including corporate debt burdens and non-performing loans in the banking sector, weighing down private investment, it said.
Kalburgi's wife, in her petition, alleged that no substantial probe has been done so far in the murder case of her husband. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the response of investigative agencies NIA and CBI and the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka on a plea seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the murder of famous author and rationalist M M Kalburgi in 2015.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud took note of the petition filed by Uma Devi Kalburgi, wife of the slain author, and sought the response of the investigative agencies and the two states within six weeks.

Kalburgi's wife, in her petition filed through Krishna Kumar, alleged that no substantial probe has been done so far in the murder case of her husband. She had claimed that there is a similar pattern in murders of her husband, Pansare and Dabholkar and that the SC should direct an SIT probe in the case

Kalburgi, the former Vice-Chancellor of Hampi University and a well-known scholar and epigraphist, was shot dead at his residence in Kalyan Nagar in Dharwad, Karnataka, on August 30, 2015. He was 77 years old.

Kalburgi was a Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer of old Kannada literature. He was born in Yaragal village in Vijayapura district of north Karnataka in 1938.
BJP President Amit Shah also hailed Modi's 'Ujjwala Yojana', adding the Centre had provided free LPG connection to 3.33 lakh poor women of Karnataka. (Photo: ANI)

Chitradurga (Karnataka): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Wednesday acccused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's government of being anti-Hindu.

Addressing the Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivartana Yatre in Chitradurga, Shah said, "The Siddaramaiah government is indulging in vote bank politics; it is an anti-Hindu government. They have withdrawn all cases against the Social Democratic Party of India, which is an anti-India organisation."

"The state government has withdrawn all cases against the criminals of radical group PFI. The salaries of temple priests have been held for four months now," he added.

Shah further said, the Siddaramaiah government in the state had deprived the people of the state from the benefits of the money that was meant for their welfare.

"The Modi Government has increased Karnataka share from Rs 88,583 crore (13th Finance Commission) to Rs 2,19,500 crore (14th Finance Commission)," he noted.

Shah also hailed Modi's 'Ujjwala Yojana', adding the Centre had provided free LPG connection to 3.33 lakh poor women of Karnataka.
Rice available through the public distribution system (PDS) is meant for the poor and supplied through ration shops at just Rs 1 per kg.

Hyderabad: Rice available through the public distribution system (PDS) is meant for the poor and supplied through ration shops at just Rs 1 per kg. But, instead, much of it is feeding beer companies in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu who use it to manufacture beer.

Instead of purchasing rice in the open market for a higher price of Rs 50 per kg or more, beer manufacturers buy the PDS rice from brokers for Rs 30 per kg. Ration dealers, civil supplies godowns and rice millers are complicit in this illegal diversion of subsidised rice.

Raids carried out by vigilance teams of the civil supplies department recently on rice mills in Nagarkurnool revealed how large quantities of PDS rice was being diverted to beer manufacturers.

It was also revealed that PDS rice is making its way to poultry farms and poultry feed manufacturers.

The government has decided to attach the properties of the rice millers found to be engaged in this activity by invoking RR Act (Revenue Recovery Act), and recover the losses caused to the government.

Criminal cases have been filed against two rice mills in Nagarkurnool  Srinivasa Rice Mill and Venkateshwara Rice Industries.

Civil Supplies Commissiner Mr C.V. Anand, who ordered the raids, said, After the E-PoS system was introduced on a pilot basis in all ration shops in Hyderabad last year, it became difficult for dealers to divert PDS rice. We are extending this facility to all districts. Anticipating trouble on account of E-PoS system, unscrupulous elements are trying to divert the stocks from godowns and rice mills. We received confidential information on these irregularities. Vigilance teams were rushed to districts to conduct raids, which caught the scamsters red-handed.

Some millers went to the extent of changing the name of their mills to confuse the authorities.
The prayer has been sung in more than 1,100 such schools across the country. (Photo: Representational/File)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to examine whether the Hindi prayer sung in Kendriya Vidyalaya schools propagates Hinduism and violates the Constitution.

"It is a serious constitutional issue," the court was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The court was acting on a petition which argued that the Hindi prayer sung in the morning assembly propagated a particular religion and that it was in violation of the Constitution.

The petiton was filed by a lawyer whose children also studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya.

All the students irrespective of their faith and belief, have to compulsorily attend the morning assembly and recite the prayer, the petition read according to a report in Hindustan Times.

The prayer has been sung in more than 1,100 such schools across the country.

The bench headed by Justice RF Nariman issued a notice to the Central government on the matter.

The apex court also demanded a response why the school prayer in Kendriya Vidyalayas should be allowed.
The sculpture that has been kept in the Archaeology Museum in New Delhi.

HYDERABAD: Art and culture lovers have appealed to the governments in the two Telugu speaking states to bring back centuries-old sculptures that were stolen or smuggled out of the country and are now displayed in museums across the world.

For example, a 1800-year-old stone sculpture depicting the life of Lord Buddha was stolen from Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh.

Under the India Pride Project, Singapore-based Anuraag Saxena and his team, who are dedicated to bringing back Indias lost treasures, traced it to an Australian museum.

The sculpture was sold to the National Gallery of Australia for $6,00,000 in 2005. After a decade-long effort, the Australian government returned the priceless sculpture to Union minister for culture Dr Mahesh Sharma, in 2016.

But the sculpture has been kept in the Archaeology Museum in New Delhi and Anuraag Saxena has urged the Chandrababu Naidu led government in Andhra Pradesh to bring it back to the new capital he is building. He said a delegation of art lovers will try to meet Mr Naidu in this regard.

An artefact from the Nizams era is also in the Australian museum, Mr Saxena said. We urge the Telangana government to take up the issue with the Centre so that it can be returned.

Dr C.S. Rangarajan, hereditary priest of the famous Chilkur Balaji Temple, says that five utsav murthis were stolen from the temple in 2000, so we know the agony.

He said, Idols and artefacts are priceless things and price cannot be fixed on them.

Heritage activist Anuradha Reddy points out that Amaravati has a Buddhist museum showcasing many ancient relics, paintings and manuscripts and it would be appropriate for the Buddha statue to be brought back to its original location.
Chabahar port, located in the Sistan-Balochistan province in the energy-rich Persian Gulf nation's southern coast, lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India's western coast, bypassing Pakistan. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said India and Iran have resolved all issues related to Chabahar port and will expedite the development works.

The minister said India has already sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar port. "We have resolved all issues related to Chabahar port... There were some small problems. We have discussed the issues and there has been a positive approach. Already, we have started export of wheat," Gadkari said after his meeting with Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi in New Delhi.

On the hurdles with respect to the Chabahar port development, the transport and water resources minister said, "The issues were small regarding port, its operations, regarding how we calculate the profit."

An official privy to the meeting said that all hurdles related to interim operationalisation of the pact have been cleared during the meeting.

India last year shipped its first cargo of wheat to Afghanistan through the Iranian port. India has plans to export 130,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan through Chabahar port.

Chabahar port, located in the Sistan-Balochistan province in the energy-rich Persian Gulf nation's southern coast, lies outside the Persian Gulf and is easily accessed from India's western coast, bypassing Pakistan.

Gadkari said, "We are supporting developmental issues in Iran and India... Today's meeting was very fruitful. In due course of time, there will be lots of development in Chabahar."

The minister said there will be a lot of opportunities for Indian businessmen and investors to invest in Chabhar and "at the same time, Iranian investors are also keen to invest in India. It is a win-win situation for both the countries. Discussions were very fruitful".

"In due course of time, we will complete the work of the port. It can be a growth engine for India for making our exports to Afghanistan and Russia also. We don't need to go to Pakistan for that. It is a golden opportunity," the minister said.

This will open the gate for investors from both the countries, he said.

Akhoundi said India and Iran should move together to make it more successful.

He said discussions also focused on developing infrastructure, logistic etc.

For greater trade and investment flow with Iran and neighbouring countries, the Cabinet in 2016 had cleared proposals for development of Chabahar port including a USD 150 million credit from Exim Bank.

It had also authorised the shipping ministry to form a company in Iran for implementing the Chabahar Port Development Project and related activities.

As per the MoU signed between the two nations in May last year, India is to equip and operate two berths in Chabahar Port Phase-I with capital investment of USD 85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of USD 22.95 million on a 10-year lease.

Ownership of the equipment will be transferred to the Iranian side on completion of 10 years or for an extended period, based on mutual agreement. The Iranian side had requested for provision of a credit of USD 150 million in accordance with the MoU.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh continues to reel under the impact of a severe cold wave and more than 40 persons have reportedly died due to the extreme weather conditions in the past 24 hours, taking the total toll to 143.

A six-year-old boy Satyam, who had gone to school in Barabanki, started shivering and died, due to cold, said sources.

Deaths have also been reported from Kanpur, Fatehpur, Kannauj, Pilibhit, Moradabad, Sambhal, Amroha, Rampur, Hamirpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur and Ballia.

Dense fog continues to disrupt road, rail and air traffic in the state and the number of accidents on highways has registered a rise.

While the state government has ordered closure of primary schools and changes in timings, most of the private schools have not complied. Officials said around 700 stray animals, mostly cows and dogs have died in the state capital alone due to the cold.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to appoint a new three-member Special Investigation Team to probe the 186 anti-Sikh riot cases that were closed by an earlier government-appointed SIT without any probe.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said the three-member SIT would be headed by a former high court judge and have a former IPS officer not below the rank of IG and a serving IPS officer.

The bench, which also included Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, said it would notify the names of the SIT on Thursday.

The bench passed its order after going through the report of the supervisory panel it had appointed in August last year.

The panel, which included former Supreme Court judges Justice J.M. Panchal and Justice K.S.P. Radhakrishnan, and a retired IPS officer, was asked to scrutinise the decision of the SIT to close 241 cases related to 1984 anti-Sikh riots and submit a report. The panels confidential report was submitted to SC in a leather box with a number lock system.

In its brief order on Wednesday, the bench said the panel has found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation. Therefore, a new SIT was being set up to probe these cases afresh.

A total of 3,325 people were killed in the 1984 riots. Delhi alone accounted for 2,733 deaths, while the rest occurred in UP, Haryana, MP, Maharashtra and other states. The reopening of the anti-Sikh riot cases could have political ramifications in the run-up to 2019 general elections.

Despite promises made before every election, and at least 12 inquiry commissions and committees, justice hasnt been delivered to the victims of the massacre.

Akalis welcome reopening of probe in anti-Sikh riots

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal hailed the Supreme Courts decision and said, Thirty-three years have been lost. Many witnesses have passed away. Many others have become very old and infirm. We must ensure speedy trials to ensure those who perpetrated the anti-Sikh genocide do not escape justice.

The new SIT, he added, should inquire into the functioning of officers of the Delhi Police who are alleged to have deliberately weakened cases against several Congress leaders.

Amnesty India tweeted, Great news! This Supreme Court order rekindles hopes of justice for the 1984 Sikh massacre. The new SIT must not repeat the first teams mistakes. Investigations must be transparent and time-bound.

The Narendra Modi government at the Centre had constituted a committee headed by G.P. Mathur on December 23, 2014, to examine the anti-Sikh cases pending since 1984. On the committees recommendation an SIT was set up on February 12, 2015, comprising IPS officer Pramod Asthana, former district judge Rakesh Kapoor and additional DCP Kumar Gyanesh.

On March 24, 2017, the apex court had asked the Centre to put before it the files pertaining to the cases of the anti-Sikh riots which the SIT had decided to close. It was submitted that so far chargesheets had been filed in only four cases and there was inordinate delay in the probe. Further, 241 out of 293 cases had been closed by the SIT without any justification.

The Centre told the court that the government has all the right intention to render justice to the riot victims as early as possible. Explaining the inordinate delay and consequent weakening of cases, the home ministry admitted that the lapse of 33-years was taking a toll on collection of documents and case files from police stations and courts.
100118CHURCH WILL DO ITS PART TO PREPARE THE PEOPLE SAY BISHOP

By Aloysius Laukai



The Head of the Catholic Church on Bougainville, BISHOP BENARD UNABALI says that the churches will do their part in preparing their faithful for the coming referendum.

He made these remarks at the Opening of the Bougainville YUMIWAN festival in Buka today.

His Lordship BISHOP BENARD UNABALI says that by March he will make an announcement on setting prayer groups all over Bougainville to have special prayers for the referendum and also what would happen after the Referendum.

He said he will be talking with the newly ordained Bishop of the United Church, BISHOP ABRAHAM TOROI so that the United Church and other church followers can do the same in their churches.

The Bishop said that the people need to pray for Peace and harmony before and after the referendum in 2019.



Ends






Hyderabad: State governments have been given more powers to issue environmental clearances for their own hydel power, irrigation, mines and township projects by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change.

For medium-sized irrigation projects, power projects under 50 MW capacity, and mining over less than 100 hectares, states need not apply to the Centre to get environmental clearances, but can decide on these permissions itself, a notification issued by the Union ministry said. This will come into force from February 16, 2018.

The Central government has established an Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) in every state. But the states have limited powers in giving clearances to projects within the state and have to send the proposals to the Union ministry. State governments complain that the proposals are kept pending with the Union ministry for months together. When this happens in the case of mining activities, for example, the state government is not able to earn royalties.

5,000 mining proposals of AP pending

There are 5,000 proposals for mining projects pending from Andhra Pradesh and if the permissions come through, the state will earn Rs 1,000 crore in royalties.

At present, state bodies can give environmental clearance for non coal mine leases of below 50 hectares.

The area has now been increased to 100 hectares. For coal mines, the area has increased from 100 hectares to 150 hectares.

State bodies are currently empowered to give environmental clearances for irrigation projects of 10,000 hectares of cultivable command area. Now that has increased to 50,000 hectares, which is the size of all medium irrigation projects.

Hydel power projects of upto 50 MW can now be cleared by the states. Townships and area development projects of up to 1.5 lakh square metres or 50 hectares can get environmental clearance from the state
Police quoted the doctors in the hospital as saying that the woman had died of drug overdose after consuming over 20 pills.

Chennai: A 22-year-old Finnish national was found dead in a hotel room in Triplicane during the early hours of Wednesday. Police suspect drug overdose as the reason for her death. Her male friend who was staying with her has been detained and is being treated in a hospital, also for drug overdose.

The deceased woman, Nea Emilia Helea, and her friend, Aleksi Joel Santeri Palomaki (27), both Finnish nationals have been on a tour in India since November 22, police said. After visiting Goa and Puducherry, they checked into Hotel Himalaya Residency in Triplicane on Tuesday evening. They had booked the hotel room online while in Puducherry, according to the hotel staff.

On Wednesday morning at around 7 am, the man rushed into the reception, crying, much to the shock of hotel staff. When he calmed down, he said that he didnt know what to do, hotel staff said. When they went to check the room where they were staying, the woman was lying unconscious with blood oozing out of her mouth. Triplicane police rushed to the scene on information and moved the woman and her male friend to the government multispeciality hospital nearby where the woman was declared brought dead.

Police quoted the doctors in the hospital as saying that the woman had died of drug overdose. She seems to have consumed more than 20 pills. There were no external injury marks on her. But what triggered her death will be known only after autopsy, a senior police officer said. The man is also being treated at the hospital, police said.

Triplicane police have registered a case under section 174 CrPC (unnatural death) and are investigating. Police have also made contact with the Finland embassy and have informed them about the death of the woman.
Chennai: In a bid to mollify striking transport employees, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday told the Assembly that the government would release arrears towards retirement benefits to the tune of Rs 750 crore before Pongal festival and renewed his appeal to them to return to work. Making a statement under rule 110, Palaniswami said his government has been providing financial assistance to the transport department to keep it afloat.

Senior counsel Prakash said advocate general is trying to create an impression that he will give an undertaking that the 2.44 percent wage hike will be implemented as if the government was magnanimous when major trade unions did not participate in the negotiations.

Advocate general said 23 sittings were held and in all the sittings, all the trade unions participated, but the CITU and LPF did not sign and they walked out. Now, the settlement was over. If they did not agree with the settlement, they can adjudicate the matter. The government was ready to adjudicate it. He can prove by records the unions, which have signed the settlement has a strength of 70 percent of the total workers, he added.

The bench posted a pointed question as to whether the trade unions want the dispute to continue, or want to serve the public in view of the Pongal festival. Resume the work tomorrow. Other disputes can be decided on January 17, the bench added.

Senior counsel Prakash said no organisation shall function without self-respect. Now the AG claims the majority of the trade union signed the settlement. By obtaining signatures from 34 smaller unions and without holding negotiations with major unions, the government claims that the settlement has been arrived at. Therefore, the workers were agitated and as a last resort, they indulged in a strike.

The law does not say they should not strike. The strike will always cause inconvenience. It was not the intention of the workers to cause inconvenience. But for compulsion, they resorted to strike, he added.

The bench said it was clear from the union leaders, who were present in the court and giving instructions to their counsels that unless the government come forward and decide the issue, they will not withdraw the strike. A larger public interest should be taken into account. Everybody should not be affected, including the workers. At least for five days during Pongal, they could ply the buses. The issues relating to negotiations and settlements could be decided on January 17. We are making this suggestion in the larger interest of the public. Till Pongal festival public should not suffer. We leave it to your conscience, the bench added.

Senior counsel Prakash and advocate Prasad said they will inform the decision on the suggestion to the court Thursday.
Hyderabad: Industries and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao on Wednesday asked the Centre for National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) status for Hyderabad Pharma City. He also requested Rs 1,500 crore for setting up a comm-on effluent treatment plant at Pharma City.

During a meeting with Union commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu, Mr Rao urged the Centre to release Rs 20 crore towards Nizamabad Spice Park.

Mr Rao said, We appealed to the Centre to allocate funds for the Hyderabad-Warangal, Hyderabad-Ramagundam and Hyderabad-Bengaluru industrial corridors.

Following bifurcation, the mega leather park has been allocated to AP and Mr Rao sought a similar establishment in the sttate.

Mr Rao said the government had invited Mr Prabhu to participate in the Bio-Asia Conference to be held in Hyderabad on February 22 and 23.
Chennai: A major controversy broke out on Wednesday after Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami tabled a bill in the Assembly that paves way for almost doubling the salary of MLAs, evoking Opposition from DMK, which questioned the timing citing the ongoing strike by transport employees.

Activists and political analysts were unanimous in saying that the timing of tabling the Bill was quite bad since it has been introduced in the midst of a strike by transport employees. The bill also brought the DMK and independent MLA TTV Dhinakaran who also joined ranks with the principal Opposition party in opposing the Bill.

The Tamil Nadu Payment of Salaries (Amendment) Act, 1951 proposes to increase the salary from Rs 55,000 to 1.05 lakh a month costing an additional Rs 25.32 crore per year to the exchequer. Once passed, the bill will come into effect retrospectively from July 2017.

When Palaniswami introduced the Bill in the Assembly, DMK member Sakkarapani opposed the timing and connected it with the transport strike.

Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly,

Opposition Leader M K Stalin said the government should have avoided tabling the Bill during the session as it has admitted on the floor of the House that it has no money to pay the striking transport employees.

What is the need to hike the salary now? People will laugh at this hike when transport workers are on strike for a salary hike. Our MLA Sakkarapani opposed the Bill at the introduction stage itself and the DMK will oppose the Bill, he said.

AIADMK rebel and independent MLA Dhinakaran also spoke on similar lines saying he would oppose the Bill once it comes for passage.

Salary hike for the MLAs is needless when the government has no money to pay transport workers. I would oppose the amendment tabled in the assembly, he said.

Tamil Nadu MLAs' pay is much lower than that of MLAs in many other states. So hiking their pay is fine. Issue is the timing. When transport workers are demanding their arrears, some from 2013, why introduce this pay hike bill? Could it not have waited 1 month for Budget session of Assembly? political commentator Sumanth C. Raman wrote on his Twitter page.
Though the government is actively distributing the sheep, there is no proper monitoring.

Hyderabad: The sheep distributed under the Telangana governments flagship scheme are being sold by the beneficiaries to Andhra Pradesh-based agents, who later sell them back to the Telangana government to be distributed to the beneficiaries again.

Though the government is actively distributing the sheep, there is no proper monitoring. With the police now increasing vigil on the borders, the illegal business has shifted to waterways. Two days ago, two boats, ferrying the sheep, were caught in Nagarjunasagar. The forest department chased them. However, the suspects escaped, leaving the boats.

A few agents were also caught at the check-post in Jogulamba Gadwala, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Mahabubnagar and other bordering districts. There are many takers for the sheep in Guntur and its surroundings. Besides, there is a complaint that the sheep brought from the northern states are unable to adapt to the local weather conditions and are falling sick. Fearing loss, shepherds are disposing them of.

According to the scheme, any adult belonging to the shepherd community is eligible for the scheme. Taking advantage of this, people who are working as daily wage earners, auto drivers, kirana store owners and even students have enrolled for the scheme and received the sheep from the government. Till date, around 10 lakh beneficiaries have been identified.

Some people are even pursuing it as a vocation. However, there are others who dispose of the sheep for a bargain as they can double their investment in a short period, sources said. The applications are vetted at the grama sabha by villagers who are supposed to report any violation. But due to fear, villagers seldom speak.

Officials blame it on black sheep

Officials said that the sheep scheme is being implemented with positive results with 90 per cent beneficiaries. However, a few officials were found violating the law. Some of the officials, who were found careless, were suspended. With reports of selling the sheep to agents, we have requested the police to book cases, said Dr V. Lakshma Reddy, MD of TSS GDCFL.

He said that genuine beneficiaries are already reaping rich dividends. Meanwhile, the Nalgonda district collector had instructed officials to take action against the beneficiaries who are found selling the subsidised sheep.

Before the launching the scheme, official had requested the government to implement a one-year locking period, prohibiting the beneficiary to sell the subsidised sheep. But the government turned down the proposal.

However, after reports of illegal trade by beneficiaries, the police, animal husbandry and the revenue departments have swung into action.

Telangana State Sheep and Goat Development Cooperative Federation (TSSGDCFL) MD Mr V. Lakshma Reddy said that they have started working in coordination with other departments and have begun booking cases against violators.

Dr Ch. Ramesh, joint director for animal husbandry, Nalgonda, said that they have issued strict guidelines against selling the subsidy sheep.

Lack of laws hit court cases against agents

The cases against the agents are stuck in legal tangles with the courts reprimanding officials for not formulating proper guidelines for the scheme. As per the instructions from the revenue department, the police are booking cases against the agents.

The police said that there are no proper sections under the IPC to book cases. The courts are finding fault with police and the animal husbandry department.

Majority of these cases may not stand in the court. Unless the government makes amendments, there wont be much change, an official said. In a recent case, when the suspects were produced before the court, the magistrate reprimanded officials for not formulating proper guidelines. All these concerns have been taken to the government and we are expecting a solution soon he added.
Kozhikode: A clinic claiming to be a naturopathic maternity centre was sealed on Wednesday by district medical authorities after a 23-year-old mother died.

The Sprouts International, Naturopathic Maternity Studio at Manjery was embroiled in controversy after the death of a woman from Athavanad early on Tuesday.

The maternity clinic was functioning inside Ernad hospital in Manjery claiming to provide ground birthing and water birthing facilities.

According to deputy DMO, Dr R. Renuka, the mother died due to bleeding and the naturopath doctors did not consult the the gynaecologist at Ernad hospital even at a critical stage. A stitch could have saved her life. The centre is being run by BNY (Bachelor of Natur-opathy and Yoga) qualified doctor couple. However, as per our information, BNY holders are experienced in handling labour room and no other BNY doctors took care of delivery, she told DC.

Curiously, relatives of the deceased had no complaint. It was Gods decision, they said.

According to sources, the same doctor had to shut his clinic at Venniyur near Kottakkal last year after a few notorious cases including the death of a newborn occurred.

The DMO team went there as a part of maternal death auditing. There was no record of the admission of the deceased. Everything was maintained in a clandestine manner and BNY holders are neither qualified nor permitted to handle delivery cases, said DMO Dr Sakeena K. She said the DMO report will be handed over to the district collector.

However, a woman, said to be a BNY doctor at the clinic told DC over phone that the death was not due to bleeding and the deceased had a family history of such deaths.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan on a PIL challenging the Revised Education Code of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan mandating students to recite Hindu slokas in the morning prayer across all Kendriya Vidyalayas in the country.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud while issuing notice on a PIL filed by Veenayak Shah, whose children studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya said, It is a serious constitutional issue and would examine whether such prayers in Sanskrit and Hindi violated the fundamental rights of the Constitution.

The petition questioned Article 92 of Chapter 10 of the Revised Education Code for Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, in so far as it relates to the common prayer prescribed.

According to this code, the morning assembly shall begin with the common prayer in Sanskrit and Hindi, and all the students irrespective of their faith and belief have to recite the prayer in a respective manner by closing their eyes and folding their hands.

All the students irrespective of their faith and belief, have to compulsorily attend the morning assembly and recite the prayer.

The petition said Kendriya Vidyalayas are a system of Central government schools in India that were instituted under the aegis of the ministry of human resource development.

The network expands to a massive 1,125 schools in India, ensuring a uniform curriculum and syllabus all over India, thus making it one of worlds largest chain of schools.

The schools have been operational for over 50 years.

It said parents and children of the minority communities as well as atheist and others who do not agree with this system of prayer such as agnostics, sceptisists, rationalists and others would find the imposition of this prayer constitutionally impermissible.

The impugned Article 92 requires the teachers to guide and supervise the prayer. In case a student does not stand with his palms folded and does not recite the prayer then the teacher is expected to bring the student on the stage to correct him in public.

Prayer based on Hindu religion

Similarly if the teacher does not enforce the folding of the palms and the chanting of the prayer, then the principal is expected to reprimand the teacher. This is happening in schools throughout the country.

The petitioner said, a perusal of this prayer showed that it is based on Hindu religion and it is very different both in substance and form from the prayers of the other religious/ non-religious orientations mentioned above. The issue that arises therefore is whether the state may impose the common prayer on students and teachers throughout the country.

He contended that no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds.

The petitioner submitted that the above common prayer is a religious instruction within the meaning of Article 28 of the Constitution and should therefore be prohibited.
New Delhi: The work related to 2021 census, covering the countrys entire 1.30 billion population, will begin this year, the home ministry said today.

The issue and the road map for undertaking the census in 2021 were discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by home minister Rajnath Singh here.

With regard to the census 2021, the activities required to be undertaken in 2018 were discussed at the meeting, a statement issued by the ministry said. These include firming up the design, stakeholders meeting and pilot exercise in selected states.

The last census was undertaken in 2011. According to the census reports of Indian Census 2011, the population of India was 1,210,854,977.

The minister also discussed progress in updating National Register of Citizens in Assam.
Mysuru: With the assembly polls fast approaching, the rival parties are clearly raising the tenor of their attacks on each other. If BJP national president, Amit Shah was harsh on the "corruption " in the Congress on his visit to the state on Wednesday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too was sharper than usual, calling the RSS, Bajrang Dal and BJP men "terrorists" while speaking to reporters in Nagavalli, Chamarajnagar district.

Responding to a question on his arrival at the helipad, on the saffron parties' claim of the Popular Front India ( PFI) being involved in the murder of a Hindu activist, Rudresh, he assured, "We will examine the documents we have and take necessary action." But not stopping there, he hit out at the saffron outfits, saying, "They themselves are all sorts of terrorists. The RSS, Bajrang Dal and BJP are terrorists. Whichever organisation it may be, whether SDPI, PFI or RSS , Bajrang Dal or Vishwa Hindu Parishat, our government will not tolerate it if anyone indulges in terrorism and communalism and tries to disrupt the harmony in society."

Later, speaking at Hanur, he once again declared, "The entire BJP is communal. The RSS, Bajrang Dal and VHP are also communal. There is no doubt about it. We are not afraid of calling the BJP a communal party."

Speaking to reporters before boarding a helicopter at Madikeri helipad Wednesday morning, he said he did not have any information about the alleged threat received by Minister Tanvir Sait from gangster, Ravi Poojari. "I will speak to him (Sait) and ask the police too to investigate if it was a fake call or for real," he added.

Asked if the snake found at the resort where Mr Amit Shah had stayed was an auspicious or inauspicious sign, he shot back, "I don't believe in such things, so will not react to this."

The CM who created history by visiting the jinxed backward district of Chamarajnagar for the 23rd time and Chamajnagar town for the tenth time, said he would become CM again. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating developmental projects in Chamarajnagar, he said: "Rs 4000 crores has been released to Chamarajnagar district in four years. We should not use religion and caste for politics. Humanity matters. Sab ka saath sab ka vikaas should not be restricted to words. No government has kept its word so far. But we have kept our word. Our government has functioned as per the philosophies of Buddha and Ambedkar. We have spent Rs 66,000 crores for Dalits. BJP leaders are involved in a drama by visiting Dalits houses."

Gundu Rao: If you ban PFI, ban BJP & RSS too

Upping the ante against the Sangh parivar, KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao demanded a ban on the BJP and the RSS along with the Popular Front of India (PFI) if it was a terrorist organisations.

Addressing a dharna organised by the Youth Congress to protest against the suicide of a girl following alleged harassment by Bajrang Dal activists in Chikmagaluru district, he backed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's statement in Chamarajnagar comparing the Sangh Parivar to militant organisations. He said Hindu outfits were terrorizing people in the name of Hindutva thus spoiling peace and harmony. The BJP leaders who raised a hue and cry over the murder of Deepak Rao in Mangaluru last week, had maintained a stoic silence on the girl's suicide. The government must ban both BJP/RSS along with PFI to restore peace, he added.
100118NAKIN SUPPORTS FESTIVAL

By Aloysius Laukai



The national member for North Bougainville, WILLIAM NAKIN has also praised the organizers of the Bougainville YUMI WAN festival.

Speaking at the Official opening ceremony, member NAKIN said music and arts was one sure way of getting the message across to the people and this was other avenue we can tap on to.

The member said that since his election five months ago he has initiated many programs that will help create economic activities in North Bougainville to also contribute to preparing our people for the referendum.

The member said that he was working on establishing one or two beach-de-mer hatcheries that will provide Beach-de-mer farming in these constituencies around North Bougainville to start on some economic activities.

The member also pledged TEN THOUNSAND KINA to support the YUMI WAN FESTIVAL.



Ends


The year 2018 has started on a hopeful note. Amid the avalanche of bad news, there was one that cheered. The Supreme Court said this week what needs to be said, and internalised, again and again  the miniscule matters.

The courts decision to revisit its own 2013 verdict upholding the constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is great news.

For those unfamiliar or vaguely familiar with the context, heres a brief recap. The infamous Section 377 IPC goes back to colonial times  1861, to be precise. Modelled on the Buggery Act 1533, it was introduced by the British, and criminalises sexual activities against the order of nature. These include homosexual sex, but are not confined to it. This archaic, regressive, colonial-era law treats a same-sex relationship as an unnatural offence punishable by a jail term of up to 10 years. In July 2009, the Delhi high court in a pathbreaking order decriminalised this section, with respect to sex between consenting adults. But in four years that judgment, which brought hope to so many people within the country, was overturned by Indias highest court which held that amending or repealing Section 377 should be left to Parliament, not the judiciary.

In the years that followed, there have been many who have worked hard to end this discrimination, spoken out passionately against the re-stigmatisation of same-sex love and worked hard for justice. Last August, the Supreme Court raised hopes hugely when it ruled that the right to privacy was a fundamental right, and stated that the protection of sexual orientation lies at the core of the fundamental rights.

This Monday, a three-judge Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, reaffirmed the spirit of the 2017 ruling by referring to a Constitution Bench a petition seeking to repeal Section 377. The petition had been filed by five prominent Indians who are also members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBTQ) community.

Two nights ago, I celebrated the courts decision by drinking a glass of the finest Merlot in a restaurant in my neighbourhood. It happens to be owned by one of the petitioners, restaurateur Ritu Dalmia.

I was alone and in a festive mood not only because the courts latest ruling brings cheer to Indias LGBT community but also because this reaffirms the individual, even if s/he is in part of a miniscule minority.

The spirit of what the Supreme Court said this Monday lies in its 2017 ruling on the right to privacy. In that judgment, Justice Chandrachud had said: That a miniscule fraction of the countrys population constitutes lesbians, gays, bisexuals or transgenders (as observed in the judgment of this court) is not a sustainable basis to deny the right to privacy. The purpose of elevating certain rights to the stature of guaranteed fundamental rights is to insulate their exercise from the disdain of majorities, whether legislative or popular. The guarantee of constitutional rights does not depend upon their exercise being favourably regarded by majoritarian opinion.

In other words, an idea or an act doesnt become illegitimate simply because it fails the test of popular acceptance. This might appear to be a commonsense view in a democracy. But when words, worldviews or actions are sought to be discredited simply because they dont have the backing of numbers, and when an individual can be lynched simply because of his/her culinary preferences, it bears repeating.

An individual matters  an individual has a right to privacy. As Indias top court has told us, privacy includes at its core the preservation of personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home and sexual orientation. It also implies a right to be left alone. Personal choices lie at the core of privacy.

How a woman or a man lives, loves, recreates, whom s/he wants to spend her/his life with, what books and films s/he prefers, what s/he eats is of no concern to anyone else. As long as we are not breaking the law, we are not obliged to seek validation for our personal choices from others. And we dont have to accept the general publics acceptance or rejection of our choices as the defining principle of our lives. Some of us seek public acceptance more than others. That is perfectly understandable, but eventually adults should be left to lead their lives as they choose, provided one takes responsibility for ones choices.

An idea can be potent even if initially it has few takers. when someone uses the argument of numbers to make his/her point, you know s/he doesnt have an argument because even the miniscule minority matters, as the Supreme Court affirms.

Individual choice is not just about the individual. It is also about society. If the West, with all its flaws, is ahead in innovation, its at least in part because it values the individual and individual choice with its attendant promises and pitfalls.

As a child growing up in a progressive Bengali family and whose formative values were shaped by enlightened parents, I realise that I am extremely privileged. Many women  and men  that I have met are not allowed to have choices. Things are changing, but millions in this country still dont get to decide till what stage they will study, what they will study, who they will love and share their life with, and what they do in their leisure hours. They live in fear of majority mores. Such fear disempowers and the marginalised lead sub-optimal lives, impacting the nation as a whole.

If you are a heterosexual, ask yourself what it must mean to be gay in a milieu that vilifies and criminalises same-sex desires? How would it feel if your emotional and sexual attachments could get you beaten up and put behind bars?

One needs to engage with the debate on Section 377 irrespective of ones sexual orientation because its a window not just to the LGBT world but because it triggers questions about exclusion in its myriad forms.
The fate of the AgustaWestland case  the purchase of a dozen helicopters from an Italian company with British involvement for VVIP use under the last UPA government, the order for which was cancelled by that government itself in 2013 when a cloud of corruption came to hover over it following Italian media reports  has been thrown in doubt. An Italian court of appeals pronounced on Monday that there wasnt sufficient proof of corruption.

The Milan appeals court acquitted the chief executive of the Italian state-controlled defence group earlier known as Finmeccanica and the head of its helicopter unit AgustaWestland. The court found no evidence of corruption, or passage of funds to Indian entities as regards kickback allegations, or the allegation of manipulation of the tender by Indian officials. Among the accused was the then Indian Air Force head, Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi. This was one of the important corruption cases against its predecessor that the Modi government had taken keen interest in, with the CBI doing the spadework on the Indian side. The case became a political hot potato when it opened in 2012.

A separate investigation into suspected corruption and money-laundering in the so-called AgustaWestland affair remains alive in India. After the Italian courts dismissal of corruption charges, a CBI spokesman said in New Delhi: They (Italians) have secured conviction earlier (at the trial stage) and have doors open for appeal in a higher court. CBI is investigating this case independently. We have a very strong case. This, of course, will be put to the test in due course.

The record of the CBIs thoroughness in investigations isnt too inspiring. This was shown recently in the so-called 2G spectrum scandal under the UPA, where the CBI special judge threw out corruption charges against UPA-era high officials, including then communications minister A. Raja, and some businessmen, in December, causing considerable embarrassment to the Narendra government. The government is yet to file any appeal against the trial courts verdict, though it was expected that it would in order to salvage its image.

The Bofors case of the Rajiv Gandhi era, and now the allegations in respect of the Westland deal, suggest that the CBIs chargesheets have broadly been derivative in nature, relying greatly on the media reporting overseas without the CBI having autonomous process-related findings of its own that would stand up in a court of law. Though vanquished, the village school master, in Oliver Goldsmiths famous poem, could argue still. The CBI must put its best foot forward to avoid that fate. Its action in the AgustaWestland case will be keenly watched.
The world can breathe just a little easier as geopolitical tensions in the Korean peninsula seem to have eased. The first formal talks in two years between Seoul and Pyongyang were held in the demilitarised zone, when the North agreed to send athletes to the Winter Olympics in the South next month. South Koreas President Moon Jae-in has said hes willing to sit and talk with Kim Jong-un. Its a truism not only of modern diplomacy that direct talks are the best way to solve any tangle. Kim, who may be seen as an arrogantly isolationist figure responding only to China, has come down a step, and South Korea, facing the most immediate threat, has every reason to believe a summit is possible.

No matter how successful these talks may be in arriving at some kind of accord on defusing hostilities, the American factor will still sit heavily on ally South Korea. Mr Kim may talk peace with Seoul, but hell be unwilling to discuss his nations rising nuclear capabilities which include the power to fire an ICBM that can reach the American mainland. Having underestimated North Koreas nuclear capabilities and misjudged the pace at which it developed its missile technology, the US will be more worried about containing the missile programme. The talks may be tricky for

Mr Moon as he has agreed with Donald Trump to continue maximum pressure on the North to complete and verifiable denuclearisation. The Trump factor is another unknown: will the US President ease off on nuclear bluster and allow the two Koreas to make peace first?
After privacy ruling, the path is clear

Bishwajit Bhattacharyya

On August 24, 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court protected the right to privacy as an intrinsic part of right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. The SC observed ones sexual orientation is undoubtedly an attribute of privacy. The word undoubtedly is loud and clear. This has a direct bearing on the sanctity/ legality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises carnal (sexual) intercourse against the order of nature with any man/ woman. The freedom of privacy and that of sexual orientation now stand guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution. Thus, Section 377 IPC cannot now survive in its present form. The constitutional issue has been settled already.

Earlier, on July, 2, 2009, the Delhi high court had decriminalised Section 377 IPC. The Delhi HC had declared Section 377 IPC unconstitutional in so far as it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private. This view of the HC did not find favour with the SC.

On December 11, 2013, a two-judge bench of the SC upturned the HC verdict with the observation/ reasoning that only a miniscule fraction of countrys population constitutes lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans-genders.

The SC bench held that there cant be any basis for declaring Section 377 IPC ultra-vires of provisions of the Constitution.

It is evident that after the August 24, 2017 nine-judge bench judgment of the SC, the two-judge bench judgment of the SC that fastened criminality under Section 377 IPC cant be sustained.

The matter has just been revived and a three-judge bench of the SC has referred the issue to a five-judge bench. In my view, every bench of the SC (other than an 11-judge bench) is bound by the interpretation of the Constitution given by a nine-judge bench. The five-judge bench is now expected to complete the formality of pronouncing the constitutional issue of criminality in compliance with the nine-judge bench.

The need to refer the matter to a five-judge bench of the SC arises out of Article 145 (3) of the Constitution which stipulates that the minimum number of judges who are to sit for the purpose of deciding any case involving a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution shall be five.

In my opinion the Aadhaar verdict, pending before a five-judge bench, although in a different context (with facets pertaining to privacy), will also have to comply with the nine-judge bench verdict of the SC.

In the teeth of an interpretation given by a nine-judge bench of the SC on any constitutional issue, no litigation should be permitted to be procrastinated on the same issue. The question may also arise: If the Constitution has already been interpreted on a substantial question of law by a nine-judge bench, is it really necessary to refer the same constitutional issue again to a five-judge bench? The words used in Article 145 (3) are: The minimum number of judges.. shall be five. So, a nine-judge bench verdict of the SC is already in compliance with Article 145 (3).

While interpreting the Constitution, can a five-judge bench of the SC take a different view on an issue already decided by a nine-judge bench of SC? If so, will there be another round of litigation of review petition, followed by a curative petition against the five-judge bench? These questions continue to haunt me.

The judicial time of the SC is very precious. And the moment a nine-judge bench decides a constitutional issue, both Article 144 (all authorities, civil and judicial in the territory of India shall act in aid of the Supreme Court), and Article 141 come into play (the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India).

The words shall act, and shall be binding fasten constitutional obligations on the executive and the judiciary respectively. The five-judge bench of the SC may perhaps rule: the word courts in the Article 141 includes the SC and thus in view of Articles 141 and 144,the constitutionalism of criminalisation of Section 377 of IPC has already been decided by a nine-judge bench.

The writer is former additional solicitor-general of India and senior advocate, Supreme Court

Its immoral, and also a health hazard

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay

I support criminalisation of unnatural sex and homosexuality because I believe that it is not only an abnormal and aberrant act but also unethical and immoral, particularity in the context of our country. Homosexuality is completely against the culture of our nation. It is a social evil and therefore the government has the power to contain it. I feel homosexuality leads to diseases like AIDS and HIV and also various mental disorders.

Homosexuality would lead to a big health hazard and degrade moral values of society. Homosexual relationships have no biological purpose because they cannot result in the birth of children. If everyone were homosexual, the human race would perish. It is dangerous and positively linked with a number of social pathologies. It is deviant, perverted, disgusting and just plain wrong.

It is sad to note that the culture of homosexuality, which is a form of sexual perversity, has enveloped our country and has become a canker eating into the very fabric of the society, leaving in its trail tales of woes as it has negatively impacted the lives of not only those involved in the act but has brought about a negative image for Indian culture, which is supposed to be the harbinger of hope for the world.

Interestingly, India is enmeshed in a series of contradicting controversies, which has dented the image and as such, losing grip over the essential responsibility. Consequently, issue of homosexuality has become a cancer that is eating into the lives of many families with the recognition given to these people by various non-government organisations.

As one of the basic human rights, the right to privacy is not treated as absolute and is subject to such action as may be lawfully taken for the prevention of crime, disorder, protection of health, morals, protection of rights and freedom of others. There are two possible theories for protecting privacy of home. The first: activities at home harm others only to the extent that they cause offence resulting from the mere thought that individuals might be engaging in such activities and that such harm is not constitutionally protective by the state. The second: individuals need a place of sanctuary where they can be free from societal control. The importance of such a sanctuary is that individuals can drop the mask, desist for a while from projecting on the world the image they want to be accepted as themselves, an image that may reflect the values of their peers rather than the realities of their nature. The right to privacy in any event will necessarily have to go through a process of case-by-case development. Therefore, even assuming that the right to personal liberty, the right to move freely throughout the territory of India and the freedom of speech create an independent right to privacy as an emanation from them which one can characterise as a fundamental right, we do not think that the right is absolute.

Right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution includes the right to live with human dignity and all that goes along with it, namely, the bare necessaries of life such as adequate nutrition, clothing and shelter and facilities for reading, writing and expressing oneself in diverse forms, freely moving about and mixing and commingling with fellow human beings.

Of course, the magnitude and content of the components of this right would depend upon the extent of the economic development of the country but it must in any view of the matter include the right to the basic necessities of life and also the right to carry on such functions and activities as constitute the bare minimum expression of the human self. However, every act, which offends against or impairs human dignity, would constitute deprivation of this right to life and it would have to be in accordance with reasonable, fair and just procedure established by law which stands the test of other fundamental rights. Hence, any form of inhuman or degrading treatment would be offensive to human dignity and constitute an inroad into this right to live and it would, on this view, Section 377 of IPC is balanced and must not be reviewed or repealed.

The writer is a BJP leader and a SC lawyer
The year 2018 is special. Unlike other years that the UNO assigns for specific global causes to arouse awareness and action, 2018 is earmarked for: nothing! Well, not really; since the Lets Do It Foundation, networking in 150 countries, has petitioned UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to declare 2018 as the Year of a Clean, Healthy Planet. Great!

December-end, I participated in the 1oth World Confluence of Humanity, Power, and Spirituality organised by SREI Foundation of the Dr. H.P. Kanoria family, engendering discussions on spirituality and its significance for society, ecology, business, politics, etc. Former-President of India Pranab Mukherjee, two governors and a rainbow of religionists contributed their mite to explore initiatives for a cleaner, greener earth.

At an interfaith session Spirituality and NatureClimate Change, anchored by Sir Mark Tully, ex-Bureau Chief of BBC, Pujya Swami Chidananda Saraswatiji and Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji represented Hinduism, Dr. Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz presented the Islamic view, and I added a Christian perspective.

Yeh man mange more Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji said, Is the root of climatic crises. Mans mind is a wellspring of needs and desires. Our materialistic more, more mantra can only be satisfied by manufacturing more. This results in pollution, felling of trees, industrial wastages, etc. She advocated a change of mindset with meditation and a lifestyle embracing vegetarianism.

Pujya Swami Chida-nanda Saraswatiji stre-ssed that in Hinduism: (a) every yag?a symbolizes divine benevolence and human surrender; (b) its more important to be than to have, and, (c) purity creates balance; pollution, imbalance. He added: Our shelves are full (of goods) but selves are empty.

Dr. Parvaiz said: Three important commands of the Quran to care for the environment are: (a) we, human beings, are created as trustees of creation. (b) Earths resources are for all people. (c) Allah expects humankind to restore balance in creation by being charitable and equitable in all our relationships.

Reiterating the Christian viewpoint that God created all creatures to be interconnected and interdependent, I said climate change could be countered only if I/We change. (a) C for Cleanup of our environs, (b) H seeking Harmony of the divine-human-cosmic; (c) A anchoring to our Absolute Aadhaar: God; (d) N for Networkingwith all peoples; (e) G for Global Goodwill and (f) E ensuring eco-friendly environs for everyone.

Sir Mark Tully opined: Religious worldviews can stall climate change because they acknowledge that our world and all that is in it is sacred. They demonstrate that care for nature has to be an essential factor in the way we live our lives. If religious leaders spoke in one voice they would protest with unique power. Lets do it, together! In 2018, lets work for a clean, healthy home: our common homeland, mother earth.
The Falcon's first stage completed its job, lifting the rocket off the pad and toward space, then separated and landed back at Cape Canaveral. But second-stage information was kept to a minimum because of all the secrecy surrounding the flight. The rocket's second stage propels the satellite into orbit.

SpaceX defended its rocket performance during the weekend launch of a secret US satellite, responding Tuesday to media reports that the satellite codenamed Zuma was lost.

Company President Gwynne Shotwell said the Falcon 9 rocket "did everything correctly" Sunday night and suggestions otherwise are "categorically false."

Northrop Grumman - which provided the satellite for an undisclosed US government entity - said it cannot comment on classified missions. The company chose SpaceX as the launch provider, noting late last year that it took "great care to ensure the most affordable and lowest risk scenario for Zuma." The name refers to a Malibu beach in Southern California.

This was SpaceX' s third classified mission for the US government, a lucrative customer. It was so shrouded in secrecy that the sponsoring government agency was not even identified, as is usually the case.

The Falcon's first stage completed its job, lifting the rocket off the pad and toward space, then separated and landed back at Cape Canaveral. But second-stage information was kept to a minimum because of all the secrecy surrounding the flight. The rocket's second stage propels the satellite into orbit.

The Wall Street Journal quotes unidentified congressional officials who were briefed on the mission as saying the satellite apparently did not separate from the second stage, and plunged through the atmosphere and burned up.

Originally scheduled for a November launch, Zuma was delayed by potential concern about another mission's payload fairing, the shell on top that protects a satellite during launch. The company later said it had cleared the issue.

Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who catalogues launches worldwide, said an object the size of a second stage re-entered Earth's atmosphere over Sudan some two hours after the launch. That would have been about 1 ? orbits and normal for a second stage. He said a number designation was assigned by federal space trackers, but that doesn't mean there is anything still in orbit.

SpaceX's Shotwell said in a statement that since no rocket changes are warranted for upcoming flights, the company's launch schedule remains on track. If additional reviews uncover any problems, she said, "we will report it immediately."

Last year was a banner year for the private space company with 18 launches. It's shooting for even more flights in 2018.

SpaceX's new, powerful rocket, the Falcon Heavy, was at its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, awaiting an engine test-firing sometime this week. The California-based company aims to launch the Heavy by month's end, making its debut with chief executive Elon Musk's own personal Tesla Roadster on board. Another Falcon 9, meanwhile, is scheduled to fly in three weeks with a communication satellite for Luxembourg.

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Mobile health apps today play a big role in helping people suffering from chronic diseases. Thanks to the advances in mobile technologies and the wide availability of smartphones, sufferers can monitor their own condition and allow doctors to see the data and intervene when necessary. In the year just gone by, people downloaded 3.7 billion health apps, most of them for Android devices.

According to a global study last month, by Berlin-based Research2Guidance entitled "Top 3 therapy fields with best market potential for digital apps", diabetes remains the leading area of for mobile health solutions accounting for 68% of mHealth apps. This is followed by obesity with 35% and depression with 28%. Ailments such as Alzheimers disease, cancer, chronic pain, neurological disorder and Asthma are likely to remain niche markets for the next 5 years.

Recent months have seen many advances in medical devices that allow users to harness their smart phones to help monitor many conditions at home and avoid visits to a clinic unless really warranted. Studies show that 85% of the world's population -- or some 450 million -- suffer from diabetes. Millions of sufferers prick themselves for a home sugar test. But those whose condition calls for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), an elegant solution called the Libre Pro Flash glucose monitoring system is now available from Abbot. A doctor applies a small round sensor costing under Rs 2000, the size of a Rs 10 coin as a patch on the patient's arm and it measures and records glucose levels with a tiny filament under the skin for up to 14 days. The data is read by the doctor with a reader that is priced around Rs 5000. The latest version currently launched in the US, called Freestyle Libre, lets patients use their own reading device.

The trend in 2018 is apparent: More health monitoring at home, fewer visits to the doctor! A Healthy New Year to you!

Portable fertility monitor:

This is the first of many tests supported by the Inito diagnostic device

When alumni Aayush Rai and Varun A.V. from IIT Roorkee and IIT Madras respectively set up medical tech startup Inito in Bangalore, they worked on one premise: the average Indian had more than one medical need. DIY home kits were great, but would be greater if they shared the same device. So their team developed a sort of universal kit for home diagnostics. The first test just launched is for fertility monitoring kit for women. The test strips are dipped in urine and inserted into the device, which is then attached to the phone and the Inito app displays the result. It is said to understand cycle variations and give highly accurate results unique to every individual womans cycle, identifying six fertile days. It costs Rs 3,195 from the company's website www.inito.com and a pack of 6 strips costs Rs 895. The beauty is that later this year, the same instrument can be used for monitoring diabetes, thyroid and Vitamin D tests, with different strips to be launched.

Cardiac monitoring via smartphone:

Physician can continuously track patient's heart activity via Bluetooth.

The Insertable Cardiac Monitor or ICM has become a popular solution for patients whose heart condition needs constant monitoring for an early diagnosis of dangerous rhythm problems. Now thanks to an invention at healthcare company Abbot, such monitoring can be done easily with the world's first smartphone-compatible ICM.

Once implanted under the skin in the chest, the Abbot ICM, as small as two paper clips, transmits data to a smart phone via an app that allows patient to track symptoms and sync them with their doctor. Patients can also record their symptoms like fainting spell or palpitations to supplement the data from the implant. It has been recently launched in India.

 IndiaTechOnline

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President Donald Trump has stepped up a broader crackdown on illegal immigration since taking office in January 2017. (Photo: AFP | File)

New York: A naturalised American from India has been stripped of his US citizenship, the first case under a government initiative designed to clamp down on fraudulent immigration, widened under the Trump administration.

Baljinder Singh, 43, from Carteret, New Jersey became a naturalised citizen in 2006 after marrying his American wife.

But he arrived in the United States in 1991, flying into San Francisco without travel documents or proof of identity, giving his name as Davinder Singh, the Justice Department said.

He dodged a subsequent court hearing and was ordered to be deported in January 1992.

A month later he filed for asylum under the name Baljinder Singh, which he then abandoned after getting married.

Last Friday, a federal judge in New Jersey revoked his naturalisation, reverting him back to lawful permanent resident, which means that he can be subject to removal proceedings.

"I hope this case, and those to follow, send a loud message that attempting to fraudulently obtain US citizenship will not be tolerated," said US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Francis Cissna, a Trump administration appointee.

The Justice Department said it was the first denaturalisation under Operation Janus, a long-running Department of Homeland Security initiative against fraudulent immigration.

Last September the initiative identified 315,000 cases where fingerprint data was missing, raising concerns that at least some may have tried to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in the naturalization process.

The USCIS has plans to refer 1,600 other cases for prosecution.

The government filed the complaint against Singh last September, along with two other cases against Pakistan-born naturalised citizens in Connecticut and Florida.

President Donald Trump has stepped up a broader crackdown on illegal immigration since taking office in January 2017.

On Monday, the US government announced the end of a special protected status for about 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants, which threatens with deportation tens of thousands of well-established families with children born in the United States.
US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: File | PTI)

Washington: US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his 'America First' agenda with world leaders," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

She said Trump looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen "American businesses, American industries, and American workers".

Details of the president's trip to Davos, including bilateral meetings, are being worked out, Sanders said.

"We're finalising the details on exactly when the president will be there. We don't have any commitments beyond this year at this point," she said, adding that the White House is looking forward to be part of the process.

"The president's message is very much the same here as it will be there; just the same as it was here, as it was when he made many stops in Asia. This is very much an America First agenda," Sanders said.

She said Trump is "still 100 per cent focused and committed' to promoting policies that strength American businesses and the American worker.

"That's going to be the same whether he's in the US or any other place," Sanders said.

Several senior members of the Cabinet and administration will be part of this event, she said.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place later this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World'.

Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two-day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.
US Special counsel Robert Muellers team wants to question US President Donald Trump as part of the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, media reports said on Tuesday.

Washington: US Special counsel Robert Muellers team wants to question US President Donald Trump as part of the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, media reports said on Tuesday. Mueller is trying to determine if Trumps campaign advisers colluded with the Russian government to influence the election. The investigation also reportedly involves a probe into whether the President obstructed ju-stice when he allegedly asked ex-FBI director James Comey to drop an inquiry into former Na-tional Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Flynn pleaded guilty in December to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador, becoming the first senior White House official to cut a cooperation deal in Muellers inquiry. Now Trumps legal team is pushing for a written question and answer, multiple media reports said. There was no comment from Mul-lers office.

The White House and Trump has been saying that he is ready to cooperate as he has nothing to hide. Mr Trumps lawyers are expected to try to set ground rules for any int-erview or provide answ-ers to written questions. If Mr Trump were to refuse outright to cooperate, Mr Mueller could respond with a grand jury subpoena, The New York Times said.

The Wall Street Journal said some members of Trumps legal team believe a meeting between the president and Mueller would be gratuitous.

The White House does not comment on communications with the Office of the Special Counsel out of respect for it and its process. The White House is continuing its full cooperation with the Office of the Special Counsel in order to facilitate the earliest possible resolution, an attorney, who heads Trumps private legal team, said.

The possibility of Muller seeking to interview Trump, another media outlet said is an indication that the investigation is entering its final phase. This is moving faster than anyone really realises, a source told The Washington Post. So far, Mueller has interviewed several top present and former White House officials.
100118YUMI WAN FESTIVAL OPENED

By Aloysius Laukai



The Four-Days Bougainville YUMI WAN Festival was officially opened by the ABG President Chief DR. JOHN MOMIS at the BEL ISI PARK in Buka town this afternoon.

The festival which started last year aims to unite the people of Bougainville through music and Arts and Crafts and prepare them for the upcoming Bougainville Referendum.

In His Opening remarks ABG President Chief DR. JOHN MOMIS congratulated organizers of the festival for their contribution to preparing artists a musicians for the Referendum.

He said that unity and solidarity is what Bougainville will need as we prepare for the Referendum.

President MOMIS said despite our differences, we must remain united to make sure that the outcome at the end will make the people of Bougainville happy.

He said Bougainvilleans need to know exactly what they want in the future and after the referendum.

The ABG President said that Bougainville has this one off Referendum that must be taken with full conscience as this will settle for once and for all the cries of our forefathers for self-determination.



ENDS






Taha Siddiqui, who reports for France 24 and is the Pakistan bureau chief of Indian television channel WION, said the attempted abduction took place while he was being driven by taxi to the airport serving the capital Islamabad and the neighbouring, larger garrison city of Rawalpindi. (Photo: Twitter | @TahaSSiddiqui)

Islamabad: A Pakistani journalist, known for criticising his countrys military establishment, said on Wednesday he had narrowly escaped being kidnapped by armed men, in an incident that came months after he complained of being harassed by the security services.

Taha Siddiqui, who reports for France 24 and is the Pakistan bureau chief of Indian television channel WION, said the attempted abduction took place while he was being driven by taxi to the airport serving the capital Islamabad and the neighbouring, larger garrison city of Rawalpindi.

I was on my way to airport today at 8:20 am when 10-12 armed men stopped my cab & forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now, Siddiqui tweeted from a friends Twitter account early in the morning.

Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances, he added in the same tweet.

Taha Siddiqui, a Pakistani journalist, was beaten and threatened, and only escaped by running through oncoming traffic. pic.twitter.com/odsasHDa85  Asad Hashim (@AsadHashim) January 10, 2018

Rights groups have denounced the kidnappings of several social media activists over the past year as attempts to intimidate and silence critics of the Pakistans security establishment.

Last year, five Pakistani bloggers went missing for several weeks before four of them were released. All four fled abroad and two afterwards told media that they were tortured by a state intelligence agency during their disappearance.

The military has staunchly denied playing a role in any enforced disappearances, as has the civilian government. In the past, militants have also targeted journalists.

Siddiqui spoke to Reuters from a police station where he was filing a report on the incident, and described how his taxi was stopped on the highway when another vehicle swerved, and braked suddenly in front of it.

About a dozen men armed with rifles and revolvers pulled him out of the cab, beat him and threatened to kill him.

They threw me in the back of the vehicle in which I had been travelling, but the door on the other side was open, Siddiqui said.

I jumped out and ran and was able to get into a taxi that was nearby, whose driver then floored it.

When the taxi stopped, Siddiqui hid in a ditch for a while, he added.

In 2017, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, Pakistans Federal Investigation Agency should stop harassing Taha Siddiqui, referring to the civilian agency that began a crackdown on online criticism of the powerful military in 2017.

Siddiqui, in 2017, filed a court petition to stop the agency from harassing him.

Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer who works with Human Rights Watch, said Siddiquis kidnap attempt was worrying development and added that violence and the threat of it are not legitimate means to deal with dissenting voices in the country.
Islamabad: A Pakistani journalist, working for an Indian media house, said on Wednesday he had narrowly escaped being kidnapped by armed men.

Taha Siddiqui, who reports for France 24 also, said the attempted abduction took place while he was being driven by taxi to the airport in Islamabad. I was on my way to airport at 8:20 am (on Wednesday) when 10-12 armed men stopped my cab and forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape Safe and with police now, Mr Siddiqui tweeted from a friends account.

Rights groups have denounced the kidnappings of several social media activists over the past year. Last year, five Pakistani bloggers went missing for several weeks before four of them were released.

Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer who works with Human Rights Watch, said Mr Siddiquis kidnap attempt was a worrying development.
The Telecom Commission (TC) on Tuesday approved the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)'s recommendation to relax spectrum holding limits, which will ease the merger and acquisition process among telecom firms and sale of radio waves by debt-hit companies.



TC, the highest decision making body headed by Department of Telecom Secretary, agreed with the TRAI suggestion to lift the ceiling on spectrum held by mobile operators within a particular band. The regulator also suggested a 50% cap on combined radiowave holding in efficient bands like 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz.

According to current rules, no mobile service provider can hold more than 25% spectrum in a circle and more than 50% in a frequency band.

Payment window

The Commission has also approved the Inter Ministerial Group (IMG)'s suggestion for extension of the time period for payment for spectrum bought in auctions by operators, to 16 years from the current 10 years.

The Commission's decision along with IMG recommendations on providing relief package, will be sent to the Union Cabinet for approval, a senior government official said.

The latest decision of TC would remove the hurdles for merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. It will also benefit Reliance Jio to mop up more airwaves in the 850 MHz band from Reliance Communication.

Telecom industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) welcomed the decision. "We welcome the decision to increase the overall spectrum cap as it will facilitate mergers and acquisitions in the sector," said Rajan S Mathews, director general, COAI.
Primary and secondary education minister Tanveer Sait has lodged a complaint with the DG-IGP stating he received threat messages and calls on his mobile phone from a caller claiming to be an associate of underworld don Ravi Poojary.



The calls came through to the minister's phone while he toured Sira, Tumakuru district, and was returning to the city on Saturday.

The caller demanded a ransom of Rs. 10 crore to be handed over to don Ravi Poojary and threatened to shoot Sait dead if the money was not paid.

The minister brought this to the notice of Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy and DG-IGP and asked for higher security cover.

Sait has been given additional security (including gunmen) and his mobile phone is presently answered by his secretaries.

The minister's personal secretary Ravi Kumar and Firoze, a senior official from Tanveer Sait's office have lodged a complaint with the state police chief on Tuesday.

They have produced the Call Detail Records (CDRs) of the minister's mobile phone. The international calls were Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VOIP) based. Investigations are on.
Andhra Pradesh, which is in the process of modernising and digitising teaching in all its government schools, is considering enacting a bill which makes it compulsory for the children of elected representatives to study in government schools.



The law will make it mandatory for MLAs and ministers to enroll their kids in government schools.

According to state Tourism Minister Bhooma Akhila Priya, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is very keen on bringing the change and wants to start the change from home, by enrolling grandson Devansh in a upgraded government school.

Akhila Priya, addressing a public gathering in Nandyala, has said the chief minister discussed the move at a cabinet meeting and has asked officials to prepare the draft order for its implementation.

"This shows our chief minister's commitment to provide quality education for all," Akhila, the youngest minister in Naidu's cabinet said.

The state government has already embarked on digitising 5,000 government schools by the end of this year with the help of funds provided by NRIs.

Last year, the state education department had issued an order for closing around 9,000 primary and upper primary schools across 13 districts of state citing poor strength of pupils.

There has been a debate that government schools became victims of neglect, as elected representatives, officials and public servants never send their children to government educational institutions.




Asserting that H-1B visa holders drive innovation and help build and strengthen the American economy, top US lawmakers today hailed the Trump administration's decision that it was not considering any proposal which would force such people to leave the country.

"The Trump Administration's decision to back off this counterproductive proposal is a positive step forward," said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans.

Her statement came a day after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it was not considering any proposal that would force H-1B visa holders to head back towards their respective countries.

"H-1B visa holders, many of whom become small business owners and job creators, drive innovation and help build and strengthen our economy," Gabbard said.

The announcement follows the reports that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of 7,50,000 Indians.

"While it remains a priority to invest in training and create a pipeline of skilled American workers, we must continue to leverage the talent and expertise of the hundreds of thousands of H-1B visa holders to fill the gaps in our domestic workforce," Gabbard said.

Last Friday, Gabbard and Congressman Kevin Yoder, member of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian- Americans, sent a letter to US President Donald Trump urging him to reject the proposal to deport H-1B holders awaiting permanent residency processing.

Soon after, along with mounting pressure from businesses and political leaders, the Trump administration reportedly backed off from the counterproductive proposal, the two lawmakers said in a statement.

"I have seen personally how high-skilled immigrants have helped my community and so many others across the country by filling critical labour shortages in specific industries, preventing employers from fleeing overseas to fill them," Yoder said.

"These are the people who have helped America grow and thrive as a nation of immigrants and we need to make sure our system continues to value those who are following our laws and doing the right thing," he added.

Every year, the US grants 85,000 H-1B visas to highly skilled applicants, including roughly 70 per cent for Indians, seeking employment and educational opportunities.

According to the National Foundation for American Policy, more than half of privately-held companies worth USD 1 billion or more in the US had at least one immigrant founder, with many entering into America on an H-1B visa, including the CEOs of both Microsoft and Google.

"America has provided me and many hundreds of thousands of folks on H1-B an opportunity to further our careers in education.

"It also taught us that if you are determined and hard working and follow the established process, there are opportunities for everyone," said Alok Madasani, an H-1B visa holder and survivor of last year's shooting in Olathe, Kansas.

"There are folks who moved here decades ago and have kids going to school here, the place they call home. Every process can be improved continuously for maximum output and the current H-1B process can also be improved but eliminating it on a whole affects the much larger audience," he said.

Madasani said he was "grateful" to the administration for reconsidering the changes to H-1B extensions for persons with pending green card applications.
The Mangaluru police have taken on the arduous task of foraging the Netravathi river for the lethal weapons used to kill Abdul Basheer.



The expert divers hired by the police are searching the depths of the Netravathi near the bridge on highway number 66.

The accused arrested by the police in connection with the murder have revealed, that after killing Basheer, they disposed the swords in the river, by the bridge.

Akashbhavan resident Ahmed Basheer was hacked to death on the night of January 3, at Kottara Chowk, Mangaluru city in retaliation to the murder of BJP activist Deepak Rao earlier that day.

Police informed that they have arrested P K Srijith, Dhanush Poojary, Kishan Poojary and Sandesh Kotyan in connection with the murder.

The accused accompanied the police to the spot where they had thrown away the weapons. The hunt for the weapons is being led by ACP Valentine D'Souza.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought to know from the Centre why there should be a morning prayer based on Hinduism in Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country.



A bench of Justices R F Nariman and Navin Sinha admitted a PIL filed by Madhya Pradesh-resident Vinayak Shah that questioned the practice of forcing all students, irrespective of their faith and belief, to recite a prayer in schools funded by the Central government.

The petition argued by advocate Pallavi Sharma contended that the practice of prayer created obstacles in developing scientific temperament among students as the whole idea of God and religious faith is given immense priority and instilled as a thought-process among the students.

This affected the spirit of enquiry and reform. Besides, it was constitutionally impermissible as it was being enforced on children of the minority communities as well as atheists and others, the petitioner stated.

Shah relied upon Article 28(1) of the Constitution that said no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds.

He said the common prayer is a "religious instruction" within the meaning of Article 28 of the Constitution and should, therefore, be prohibited.
The Indian Army killed 138 Pakistan Army personnel in 2017 in tactical operations and retaliatory cross-border firings along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, government intelligence sources said today.



The Indian Army lost 28 soldiers during the same period along the LoC, the sources said.

The sources said the Pakistan Army usually does not acknowledge the deaths of its personnel and shows them as civilian casualties in certain cases.

The Indian Army has been adopting a "tough" approach in dealing with ceasefire violations and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir in the last one year.

The Pakistan Army has suffered 138 fatal and 155 non- fatal casualties in tactical operations and retaliatory cross-border firings along the LoC in 2017, the intelligence sources told PTI.

A total of 70 Indian Army personnel were injured during cross-border firings and other incidents.

Asked about the fatalities on the Pakistani side, the Army refused to comment. However, Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand said India has been effectively retaliating against all ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army and will continue to do so.

According to official figures, 860 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were reported in 2017 as against 221 last year.

It seems the Pakistan Army has a policy of not acknowledging the killing of its personnel, the sources said. They also referred to the Kargil war when Pakistan had declined to accept casualties despite proof given by India.

The sources also cited an incident on December 25 when a group of five Army commandos crossed the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and killed three Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistan Army had posted a tweet that day acknowledging the deaths but later deleted it.

The Pakistan Army's spokesperson two days later rejected reports that Indian commandos selectively targeted a post across the LoC and killed three of its soldiers.

The intelligence sources said Indian Army killed 27 Pakistani soldiers in sniper firing last year while seven of its soldiers lost their lives in Pakistani sniper firing along the LoC.

As part of its policy of "hot pursuit", the Indian Army has been carrying out tactical operations to foil Pakistan Army's support to terrorists.

In May last year, the Indian Army had said it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across the LoC, inflicting "some damage", days after two Indian Army personnel were beheaded.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to form a fresh special investigation team to be headed by a retired high court judge for carrying out a further probe into 186 anti-Sikh riot cases.



A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud relied upon a report filed by a supervisory committee - comprising former apex court judges Justices J M Panchal and K S Radhakrishnan - to conclude that as many as 186 cases were not further investigated by a SIT formed by the Union government in 2015.

"Regard being had to the nature of the case, we think it appropriate that a fresh SIT should be constituted for carrying on the further investigation," the bench said.

The court asked Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand and senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for petitioner S Gurlad Singh Kahlon, to suggest names of a retired judge as chairman and two others - one retired IPS and another serving - to be part of the SIT. The court would consider the matter on Thursday.

The court, however, clarified that the cases in which acquittals have taken place, would not be considered.

The Centre had earlier told that out of the 250 cases which were investigated by the SIT, closure reports were filed in 241. It had said that nine cases were still being investigated by the SIT, while two cases are being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The SIT, formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in February 2015, has scrutinised records of 293 of the total 650 cases registered by the police in connection with the anti-Sikh riots, that took place after assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In the remaining cases, charge sheets were filed by the police, and they have been either decided by trial courts or await final decisions.
The chairperson and the members of the board of the National Trust, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, will now have a three-year fixed term in office.



The Union Cabinet, at its meeting on Wednesday, approved a proposal to amend the National Trust for the Welfare of Person with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999 to fix the term of its chairperson and the members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired the meeting.

At present, Section 4 (1) of the National Trust Act, 1999 provides that the chairperson or a member of the board of National Trust would continue in office beyond the prescribed term of three years until his successor is appointed by the government.

In case of resignation of the chairperson, section 5(1) of the act provides for him to continue in office until his successor is appointed by the government.

"The wording of the above provisions of the act in its present form has resulted in the continuation of a chairman for an indefinite period as no suitable successor could be found eligible for appointment," the government said in a statement after the Cabinet approved amendments to the National Trust Act to rectify this anomaly.

The proposed amendments to the National Trust Act seek to avoid "such a situation" and will thus eliminate "any chance of prolonged continuation" in the same post by any incumbent, it said.
The BJP on Wednesday mounted an attack on the ruling Congress, with party chief Amit Shah coming down heavily on the Siddaramaiah government for being "anti-Hindu."



"The countdown for the exit of this government has begun," Shah said, addressing a large gathering at BJP's Navakarnataka Nirmana Parivarthana Yatra. It was Shah's first election speech outside Bengaluru.

"As many as 23 RSS and BJP workers have been killed in the last three years, but this government has failed to even launch an investigation. The moment BJP comes to power, it will ensure the culprits are behind bars," Shah said.

Life had become a struggle for Hindus under the Congress regime, he claimed. "To erect a pandal during the Ganesha festival, one has to furnish a

Rs 10-lakh bond. The police are not allowed to sport vermilion on their forehead. Salary of temple priests has not been paid for the last four months. This government, which indulges in vote-bank politics, should be rooted out," Shah said. At this point, Shah asked the crowd, Should this government continue? A chorus screamed back "No." Shah dubbed the Congress rule "the most corrupt government."

The BJP-led Centre has sanctioned Rs 2.19 lakh crore under the 14th Finance Commission plus an additional

Rs 79,000 crore to Karnataka, he said. "Modiji has sent you so much money. Aapko mila kya?," he asked the crowd. "The money has been eaten up by this corrupt government."

Shah recounted Siddaramaiah's Hublot watch controversy, Arkavathy Layout land denotification, Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya's wife allegedly taking bribe, the Bengaluru steel flyover row, the I-T raid on Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, the Solar power project, the Malaprabha irrigation project and said even the Anna Bhagya scheme had not been spared from corruption. "I can go on, but it's a long list. It'll be a Bhagavata Saptaha," he quipped.

BJP state president and chief ministerial face B S Yeddyurappa promised that if the BJP was voted to power, the Upper Bhadra project "that the Congress government has stalled" would be completed to ensure availability of water to the entire Chitradurga district. He also promised inclusion of Hatti Golla and Kaadu Golla communities in the Scheduled Tribes list.
Tamil Nadu government today said Karnataka has so far released 111 tmcft of Cauvery water of stipulated 192 tmcft annually (April-May) and steps were being taken to get the remaining quantum.



Chief Minister K Palaniswami, referring to the 2007 tribunal award on the Cauvery water sharing dispute, said Karnataka has to annually release 192 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water to Tamil Nadu.



"Till date (this year), (Karnataka) has given only 111 tmcft. The rest 81 tmcft has to be provided before May 2018," he said in the Assembly, while responding to DMK member Durai Chandrasekar, who raised the issue of irrigating crops in some parts of Cauvery delta districts of the state. To ensure that Tamil Nadu realised the rest of its share of water from Cauvery, the state was insisting Karnataka on the same, directly, as well as through the Centre, Palaniswami said.



"Steps are being taken to ensure relief from the Supreme Court also," the Chief Minister added. He also pointed out that the apex court yesterday indicated it would deliver within a month its verdict on the decades old dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. "Enough of confusion has been there for past two decades. Any forum can touch the matter after the verdict is delivered in the issue. We will give the verdict in four weeks," a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud had said on Tuesday.
A girl was stabbed to death on Tuesday by her colleague in a shopping mall after having been spurned by her.



The girl, identified as Bonu Janaki (25), is a native of Guyyannavalasa in Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh. She succumbed to her wounds during the early hours of Wednesday.



According to Circle Inspector Vadde Prasannakumar of Kukatpally police station, Anantappa, alias Anand, a native of Marepalli village of Rangareddy district in Telangana, who is also working at the Dimart store in Kukatpally, was pestering Janaki and fought with her while on duty many times.



"Janaki was getting engaged soon and was supposed to leave for home for Sankranti festival," the officer said, adding that Anand may have committed the crime when Janaki's roommate Roopa was not with her in the room that they shared.

Roopa, who found Janaki in a pool of blood, immediately shifted her to a local hospital in the Moosapet area and then shifted her to a corporate hospital in Kukatpally, where she died.



"Janaki has been living in our house for the last four years. She was a very simple and sincere girl who always minded her business. It is very unfortunate that she is no more," Venkatesh, the owner of the house she stayed in, said, adding that Anand had threatened Janaki and even broke her phone in a fit of anger recently.

None of the other tenants in the residence heard any noise. The police have registered a case and are on the lookout for Anand.
Tackle BJP's communal politics: This was the brief Congress president Rahul Gandhi gave to the party as it looks to retain power in Karnataka after of the Assembly polls.

"The party's central leadership saw it coming that the BJP would resort to communal politics," AICC national spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi told DH. "Accordingly, our brief is to tackle the BJP's agenda."

Chaturvedi, who is also convenor of the AICC communications department, has camped in Bengaluru to recruit "secular and liberal men and women" as the party's spokespersons. The drive has received as many as 980 applications via email alone, she said.

"If the BJP's star campaigner for the Karnataka election is somebody like (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath, one can imagine on what lines they want to fight this election," she surmised.

The party high command is keen on extolling a new narrative - the Karnataka model of governance. "This narrative came naturally after the Gujarat elections, where we fought against the famed Gujarat model on the back of which the BJP formed a government at the Centre. We are now saying, here's a model in Karnataka that is inclusive and that needs to be replicated at the national level," she said.

Chaturvedi said there was nothing wrong about schemes rolled out by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the party's face for the upcoming polls, catering to the Ahinda (minorities, backward classes and Dalits) communities. "It is the responsibility of the government to uplift weaker sections of the society much as it may be criticised."

She rejected the notion that Siddaramaiah suffered from a poor urban image. "I can tell you on the basis of my interactions with the urban public that there seems to be a consensus that the Congress is the way forward," she said.
One of the key effects of the end-Permian mass extinction, 252 million years ago, was rapid heating of tropical waters and atmospheres.

How this affected life on land has been uncertain until now.

In a new study published today, Dr Massimo Bernardi and Professor Mike Benton from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol show how early reptiles were expelled from the tropics.

Geologists had already shown that ocean temperatures rose by 1015 degrees centigrade as a result of global warming triggered by massive volcanic eruption.

The huge volcanoes erupting in Siberia belched thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, setting off a chain reaction that involved global warming, acid rain, and loss of oxygen from the sea bed.

Together, these environmental crises led to the death of 95 percent of species.

Ten main lines of reptiles survived the crisis and re-populated the Earth in the subsequent Early Triassic time. However, they avoided the tropics, as did fishes and other animals in the oceans. The tropical clear-out was understood to have lasted several million years, but the new work shows that is not the case.

Dr Bernardi, the lead author, now Curator for Palaeontology at MUSE Science Museum in Trento, northern Italy, said: "We thought of using all available data to make our study as comprehensive as possible.

"Up to now, people used only the skeletons of the early reptiles from before and after the crisis, but these are found only in Russia and South Africa, so it is impossible to document any latitudinal shifts.

"We had been building a huge database integrating both skeletal and footprint data, and this allowed to fill a lot of the gaps, over Europe and North America for example."

Co-author, Professor Benton, added: "Our analyses show that the land reptiles moved north by 10 or 15 degrees to escape the tropical heat.

"The footprint and skeleton data agree in this, but we had to consider how the geographic distributions of fossils matched available land masses and the availability of rock. After all kinds of checking for possible errors, we are clear this is a real effect."

As the turmoil in the Early Triassic settled down, reptiles moved back to the tropics, but also maintained their temperate faunas. The turmoil then had a stimulating effect, and many new groups came on the scene, including the first dinosaurs.

Dr Bernardi said: "This was an important time in the history of life. It marks the end of ancient kinds of animals in the oceans and on land, and the beginning of the modern-style faunas we see today.

"What we have done is to try to dig deeper into our understanding of the exact consequences of rapid global warming during a well-documented historical event. This might be helpful in understanding what might happen in the future as we undergo more global warming today."
Shri Rajput Karni Sena has given a call for a nation-wide "public curfew in cinema halls" to block the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmavat.



At a press conference here on Wednesday, the outfit's founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi expressed his distrust with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) which cleared the film with UA certificate along with recommendations for "some cuts" on December 30.



He claimed that that all three "eminent persons" who recently watched the movie on a request from the CBFC have opined that it's public screening should not be allowed "at all," accusing the board's chief Prasoon Joshi of "trying to clear the film under a conspiracy" ignoring their suggestion.



Kalvi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must intervene on the issue and ban the release of the film, saying as many as eight states including Rajasthan have already banned screening of the film and many more state governments are expected to follow the suit.



"I am confident that governments of Karnataka and Telangana will also issue ban orders very soon. I demand that our Prime Minister Narendra Modi also ban the film under Section 6 of the Cinematograph Act," he said.



Kalvi, who was here to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking his support, reiterated his outfit's vow that it will not allow public screening of Padmavat in cinema halls "at any cost" unless the "entire plot of the story along with references of Padmavati, Allauddin Khilji and others is completely removed from it."



"You (producers) keep fixing date of the release of the movie as January 25, 2018 or 2025, it doesn't matter. I want to make it clear that film will not be allowed to release in this country at any cost. You (producers) can get it released in Pakistan or Afghanistan," he said.



Noted art historian Chandra Mani Singh, a senior faculty from the Indira Gandhi National Open University Kapil Kumar and Arvind Singh from the Mewar royal family in Rajasthan watched the film at a special screening organised by the CBFC last month.



"All of them, after watching the film, said it should not be cleared for release in the country," Karni Sena's founder claimed.



Kalvi held Bhansali "responsible" for a "nation-wide protest" against his film, promising that Karni Sena would teach him "a lesson" by causing him a huge financial loss.



"We will hit him with a silver shoe this time which means we will cause him huge financial loss. People across the country understand our sentiments and I appeal to them to ensure clamping of a public curfew in cinema halls to block the release of the film on Padmavati," he said.


Even as the lawyers of RJD chief Lalu Prasad are gearing up to move Jharkhand High Court for his bail, the incarcerated leader, now lodged in Ranchi's Birsa Munda Jail, may have to spend some more time behind bars.



A CBI court in Ranchi, hearing one of the five fodder scam cases, on Wednesday decided to pronounce its judgement in the Chaibasa treasury case on January 24.

This decision was arrived at after the arguments in the fodder scam case 68A/96, related to the illegal withdrawal of Rs 37.6 crore from Chaibasa treasury (now in Jharkhand), was over.

Lalu is already in jail after being sentenced to 3.5 years of imprisonment in the fodder scam case RC 64A/96, which is related to the illegal withdrawal of around Rs 90 lakh from Deogarh treasury.

Lalu was produced in three different fodder scam cases in Ranchi on Wednesday.

Lalu, who is an accused in five fodder scam cases in Jharkhand and one in Bihar, could not be produced in the CBI court in Patna on Wednesday.

The CBI court had earlier issued a production warrant and asked Lalu to appear before it in connection with the trial in the Bhagalpur treasury case on January 10.

Lalu is one of the accused in the illegal withdrawal of Rs 45 lakh from the Bhagalpur treasury between 1990 and 1994.
While BJP leaders are leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum gathering at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foundation stone laying ceremony for Barmer refinery on January 16, the Kharwal community has decided to boycott the event.



As a mark of protest, the Kharwal community has threatened to hoist black flags atop their houses on the day. The community has been into salt extraction at Pachpadra (Barmer refinery site) for the last six centuries. They cited obliteration of the salt industry as the reason for boycott.

"We have informed the administration about the protest. We will hoist black flags atop our houses in Pachpadra and we will burn the effigy of revenue minister Choudhary for cheating us", Rakesh Kharwal, secretary of the community body, said.
Several prominent Muslim clerics in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday demanded the dismissal of Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi for his controversial remarks on madrasas.



They also threatened to launch an agitation if their demand was not conceded by the Yogi Adityanath government in the state.

Rizvi had written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief minister seeking the closure of all the madrasas in the country and converting them into "secular" public schools, saying madrasas receive funding from Bangladesh and Pakistan and promoted terrorism.

Prominent Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad said that Rizvi should be arrested for his "provocative" remarks and be sacked immediately.

"We will be forced to take to the streets if Rizvi is not dismissed," Jawwad said.

He said such remarks could result in violence in the state.

All-India Shia Personal Law Board spokesman Maualana Yasoob Abbas also criticised the remarks.

"We cannot call for shut down of all madrasas if one or two persons turn to terrorism after receiving education there," Abbas said.

Another prominent Muslim cleric said Rizvi was making such remarks to "please" the BJP.

"Rizvi wants to please the BJP and that is why he has been making controversial remarks on Muslim issues," the cleric said.

Rizvi had said madrasas "run through charity... they radicalise children and promote terrorism".

Rizvi had incurred the wrath of Muslim outfits earlier by offering to hand over the disputed site at Ayodhya to the Hindus for the construction of the Ram Temple.
As the NDA liberalised FDI policy, Congress on Wednesday dug out Narendra Modi's speech and comment as chief minister of Gujarat opposing the introduction of FDI single brand retail by the then UPA government.



The Congress also accused the Modi government of diluting the safeguards the then UPA government had introduced to protect domestic manufacturing by asking global investors to source 30% of their inventory from local sources.

At the daily briefing, the Congress played old speeches of Modi attacking the then UPA government for allowing FDI in single brand retail. "Congress is giving nation to foreigners. Most parties opposed FDI but due to sword of CBI, some didn't vote and Congress won through back door," Modi had said on Twitter on December 5, 2012.

Congress is giving nation to foreigners. Most parties opposed FDI but due to sword of CBI, some didn't vote & Cong won through back door!  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 5, 2012

"As BJP Govt allows 100% FDI in Single Brand Retail by doing away the requirement of 30% sourcing through 'Make in India', PM & FM's duplicity & doublespeak stand exposed," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

Congress spokesperson R P N Singh also attacked the Modi government for allowing foreign airliners to pick up stake in national carrier Air India. "The UPA had allowed 49% FDI in airline sector but had exempted Air India to ensure that Indians continue to run it," Singh said.

The Congress also dug out statements made by BJP leaders including Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, opposing FDI in single-brand retail when it was introduced by the UPA in 2012.

"The BJP takes one stand while in opposition and do exactly the opposition after voted to power," Singh said.
Ways to mount pressure on Pakistan to make it act against terrorists unselectively and effectively may dominate the brief meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have with American President Donald Trump in Davos later this month.



Prime Minister and American President are likely to have a brief interaction on the sideline of the World Economic Forum(WEF) at Davos, Switzerland, in the fourth week of the month.

This is going to be the first meeting between the two after Washington DC suspended all security assistance to Islamabad, alleging that terrorist organizations, like Taliban and Haqqani networks, continued to get safe havens in Pakistan.

Modi will visit Davos to attend the World Economic Forum from January 22 to 23. Trump will also visit the Swiss Alpine city to attend the annual conclave.

Sources in New Delhi told the DH on Wednesday that Indian and American diplomats were in touch to schedule the bilateral meeting.

They could also have a brief "pull-aside" talks if a formal bilateral meeting could not be scheduled due to time constraints, the sources said.

If the two leaders finally meet in Davos, Modi is likely to use the opportunity to convey to Trump that US administration's move to suspend security assistance to Pakistan in fact vindicated what India had since long been arguing.

Prime Minister may reiterate New Delhi's position that international community must mount pressure on Islamabad to drop selective approach in combating terrorists as well as to deny safe havens to certain terror organizations and use them against India, sources told the DH.

New Delhi has been accusing Islamabad of misutilizing the US aid for funding anti-India terror organizations like LeT and JeM instead of combating terrorists like Al Qaeda and Taliban.

Modi, himself, raised the issue with Trump when they met at White House in Washington DC in June last year.

The Haqqani Network was held responsible for terror attacks on Embassy and Consulates General of India in Afghanistan in the past. The JeM and LeT carried out several attacks in India.

Modi and Trump may also discuss India-US strategic cooperation, particularly in Indo-Pacific.

Prime Minister may once again extend an invitation to American President to visit India.

While the US Administration had earlier conveyed to New Delhi that Trump might come to India in 2018, the meeting between the two leaders on the sideline of the WEF in Davos would add fresh momentum to efforts to schedule the visit, sources said.
Indian Navy's stealth frigate INS Shivalik caught fire on Wednesday while undergoing a refit at the Eastern Naval Command headquarters in Visakhapatnam.



The fire that broke out in the frigate's engine store room was doused after nearly six hours.

"The fire was controlled in time. There was no damage to men or material. An inquiry into the incident has been ordered," a navy spokesperson said here.

Asked why it took six hours to put out the flames, he said the delay happened because of the smoke which made it difficult for the fire fighting team to identify the seat of fire.

The indigenous frigate was commissioned in April 2010. It was built under the Rs 8,100-crore Project-17 in which three stealth warships - INS Shivalik, INS Satpura and INS Sahaydri - were constructed at the Mazgaon dock in Mumbai.

The frontline warship participated in the Malabar 2017 naval exercise involving US and Japanese navies.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday decided to provide a gas agency to a 16-year-old pellet gun victim to ensure her a livelihood, a day after she cleared 10th standard board examination.



Insha Mushtaq - whose wounded face sparked an outcry against the use of pellets in the valley - studied music after she lost her sight in the summer agitation of 2016 while she was standing by a window in her house, watching the demonstrators outside.

"Insha (Mushtaq), who cleared her matric examination yesterday (Tuesday), will be provided a gas agency," Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said in her reply to the motion of thanks on the governor's address in the state Assembly.

The girl, who comes from a remote village in south Kashmir's Shopian district, was among the 43,000 students who passed the examination.

The pellets ruptured the retina and the optic nerve of Insha's eyes and the damage could not be undone even after six operations conducted at some of the top eye-care hospitals.

"Besides the gas agency for Insha, 12 others were provided jobs so that they do not face any problem or remain dependable on anyone," Mehbooba said, adding that the rest of the victims are minors and would be rehabilitated properly.

The 2016 stir was triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by the forces.
Posted 1/10/18

In 2012 the Dallas County R-1 School Board of Education established the Dallas County R-1 Schools Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is designed to recognize outstanding alumni, former staff or 
The Bar Council of India on Wednesday sought comments from the Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies, who practiced as advocates, on a plea to debar them for allegedly violating the law.



Acting on a representation made by lawyer and Delhi BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the BCI's three-member committee sought response from lawmakers who doubled up as advocates.

The committee a comprising D P Dhal, B C Thakur and R P Shah a gave one week's time to the elected representatives and posted the matter for final decision on January 22.

The decision could decide the fate of several former Union ministers, including Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram, who practice in courts as senior advocates while remaining Members of Parliament. Among others, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi and Congress MP Vivek Tankha also donned the black robes as advocates.

In his plea, Upadhyay contended that the provisions of the Advocates Act and the rules framed by the regulator must be given due effect as legislators enjoyed salary, allowance and post-retirement benefits.

Allowing people's representatives to practice would go against the spirit of Articles 14 (equality) and 15 (no discrimination) of the Constitution, as those in other professions and jobs are not allowed to practice in courts, he said.

Immoral, unethical

He cited the apex court's three-judge bench ruling on April 8, 1996, in 'Dr Haniraj L Chulani versus Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa' case, that a person who is qualified to be admitted as an advocate but is in either full-time or part-time service or employment or is engaged in any trade, business or profession, shall not be admitted as an advocate.

Detailing roles played by legislators, he said they were expected to render full-time service to the people and their constituents disregarding their personal interests, but many of them hold corporate retainership and defend their "lawbreaker clients" in the court of Law, which amounts to conflict of interest. "It is not only immoral and unethical but also violation of Rule 49 of the BCI Rules," he said.
Former MP and JD(S) leader A H Vishwanath on Wednesday criticised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for allegedly misusing taxpayers' money for reaping political benefits.



Vishwanath said that he has written a letter to Karnataka Chief Secretary (CS) and Chief Election Commissioner in this regard.

In a press conference here Vishwanath said that Siddaramaiah is misusing people's money to hold achievement rallies (Sadhana Samavesha) of the Congress party. "In government programmes, the CM and the party leaders, have been campaigning for the Congress party and are urging people to support the Congress in the upcoming general election. This is a violation of the election model code of conduct. So, I have filed a complaint with the CS and Election Commissioner," Vishwanath said.

'Relaunched old schemes'

"The government has spent Rs 1,300 crore for the publicity purpose. As the general election is nearing, the Congress government is launching a variety of programmes. It has renamed old programmes and is relaunching them for publicity. What is the achievement of the government in the last four and a half years? What measures has the government taken to address, farmers issues, Mahadayi and Cauvery River water-sharing issues?" he asked.

"Corruption is rampant in all government departments and the officials are being misused for the poll purpose. While 465 employees are working at the Chief Minister's office, 15 people are working at the office of CM's Media Advisor Dinesh Amin Mattu. But the CM has failed to give good governance," he said.

Highlighting the Karnataka poll survey by C-Voter, Vishwanath said that the survey has turned into 'Cash for Survey' and it has no significance. "What is Siddaramaiah's contribution to Mysuru. Siddaramaiah visits Mysuru often only to meet Congress party leaders Marigowda and Mariswamy. Siddaramaiah has diverted the powers of the local body members to MLAs and has given all Bhagyas, except Makkala (child) Bhagya," Vishwanath said.

Revenge politics

"Siddaramaiah is playing revenge politics. After Periyapatna MLA K Venkatesh was nominated as Chairman for Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA), the CM transferred my son-in-law, who was Superintendent Engineer in BDA, and did not show him any post for a year," said Vishwanath.
Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested an accused in 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case after he was absconding for about 15 years.



The accused, Ashish Pandey, one of the five absconding in the case, was arrested from Aslali locality on a tip off. Pandey had been absconding after being named in the FIR. A resident of Naroda locality, Pandey had been on the run, living in different cities to evade arrest, the police said.

A mob had attacked a pre-dominantly Muslim colony - Gulberg Society - in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. As many as 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed in the attack. The incident was recorded as one of the most violent during the communal conflagration witnessed by the state post Godhra train burning a day earlier.

A special court had in June 2016 convicted 24 people in the Gulberg case, awarding life imprisonment to 11, 10-year term to one of the accused, seven-year jail term for 12 and acquitting 36 others. Five of the accused were declared absconding. With the arrest of Pandey, four more accused still remain at large.

Pandey has been handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the case and is expected to be produced before the court on Thursday.
American President Donald Trump may be right that his country has "foolishly" given $33 billion in aid to Pakistan in the last 15 years, but he is wrong when he says that America has not got anything in return. Pakistan offered bases for the US military to operate from.



Trump is unnecessarily harsh when he says that his country got nothing in return except lies and deceit and also referred to his predecessors in the White House as fools. During the Cold War when the world was divided into two blocs, Pakistan was on the side of America. Rawalpindi was a part of the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO), an alliance of unlikely allies like Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

The purpose of CENTO was similar to that of the much better known, and far more successful, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) - mainly to contain the Soviet Union and prevent its expansion into the Middle East. Treaty members had to agree to mutual cooperation and protection. But, perhaps most interestingly, given the then political situation many of these countries found themselves in, they also had to agree not to interfere in each other's internal affairs.

As the group's original name - Baghdad Pact a suggests, its first headquarters was in Baghdad. However, an Iraqi military coup in 1958 resulted in Iraq's withdrawal from the group which, in turn, resulted in a name change to CENTO and the headquarters shifted to Ankara, in a less fundamentalist Turkey. The organisation stayed out of the Six-Day and the Yom Kippur wars, although Iraq was an active belligerent in the former and provided combat support in the latter. However, it had pulled out of the organisation at that time.

CENTO also did not intervene in the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 or 1971, saying that it was an anti-Soviet pact, not an anti-India one. The organisation was finally disbanded in 1979 after it was unable to prevent the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1978.

Justifiably, Pakistan could not accept Trump's tweet and it immediately reacted when Foreign Minister Khwaja M Asif tweeted: "We will respond to President Trump's tweet shortly Inshallahawill let the world know the truthadifference between facts and fiction." Soon after, Pakistan's foreign ministry issued a statement: "Pakistan rejects such unfounded accusations that belie facts on ground and trivialise Pakistan's efforts for fighting terrorism and our unmatched sacrifices to promote peace and stability in the region."

China, which had long been waiting in the wings, made the most of the situation and stepped in to defend Pakistan by saying that the world community should acknowledge its all-weather ally's "outstanding contribution" to counter terrorism.

Showering praise on Pakistan, Beijing said that Islamabad has made enormous efforts and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and has made an outstanding contribution to the cause. "The international community should acknowledge that," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. He also added that China was glad to see Pakistan engaging in international cooperation, including on counter-terrorism, on the basis of mutual respect, so as to contribute to regional peace and stability.

"China and Pakistan are all-weather partners. We stand ready to promote and deepen our all-round cooperation so as to bring benefits to the two sides," China said. It was expected, because China is currently investing heavily in Pakistan as part of the $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) over which India has raised objections as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. During the first-ever trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan recently, Beijing announced plans to extend the CPEC to Afghanistan, which shares close ties with India.

US-regional coalition

However, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai has welcomed Trump's outburst and called for establishing a joint US-regional coalition to pressure the Pakistani military establishment to bring peace to not just Afghanistan but the entire region. Afghanistan, too, had accused Pakistan of sheltering Taliban militants, leading to a long-running spat between the two countries. China is seeking to mediate between the two neighbours through the trilateral mechanism.

Yet, analysts point out that the US was mounting pressure on Pakistan as it has firmed up an alliance with Beijing by allowing heavy Chinese investments in the strategic CPEC corridor providing China access to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

But with common interests, it was natural for China and Pakistan and lately Afghanistan, to enhance communication and exchanges. After all, China believes that Pakistan and Afghanistan are closely linked geographically. Understandably, the three reached consensus on several issues, including enhancing cooperation on counter-terrorism and fighting against terrorism in all forms and manifestations.

It was expected that India would welcome Trump's tough message to Pakistan on terrorism. "The Trump administration's decision has abundantly vindicated India's stand as far as terror is concerned, as far as the role of Pakistan is concerned in perpetrating terrorism, because at the end of the dayaterror is terror, and it does not spare any single nation, any single country, any single region," Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said.

It is apparent that Trump is unfolding a new American policy, on that is far-right compared to the policies of any previous US president. The old values are no longer relevant. Eventually, India's own interests and policies may come into conflict with Trump's.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether or not Pakistan can sustain itself without American aid. Islamabad has said that it is computing the total aid received from the US so as to return the amount. But it is obvious that Pakistan cannot.
The BJP has coined the slogan 'Ee Baari BJP Sarkara' for the coming Assembly elections in the state, on the lines of the party's "Abki Bar Modi Sarkaar" slogan of the 2014 Labha polls.



BJP national president Amit Shah is learnt to have directed the state unit leaders to have the slogan painted at five places in every booth limits. There are about 56,000 polling booths, covering 224 Assembly constituencies.

Shah said this while addressing state MPs, legislators, district presidents, heads of various morchas, office-bearers, constituency incharges at a private resort here on Tuesday evening. The BJP president is said to have given a 19-point programme to the state leaders to prepare for the elections.

The main focus will be on booth-level management a setting up booth committees, page pramukhs, appointing an incharge for every five booth committees and creating WhatsApp groups of all these committees.

"I know the task assigned to you is tough. But let me assure you, effective implementation of this strategy will ensure the party's victory," he is learnt to have said. After appointing page pramukhs (a leader for every page of voters' list at the booth level), Shah has received reports from 180 of the 224 constituencies through email.

He asked those incharge of other constituencies to expedite the process and complete the task in a week's time, party sources said.

This apart, the party has decided to classify 224 constituencies into five parts and assign responsibility of overseeing the election campaign to five leaders a Union Minister for Human Resouces Development Prakash Javadekar, Minister for Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal, BJP national general secretary incharge of Karnataka P Muralidhara Rao, BJP Karnataka incharge D Purandeshwari and party's national joint organising secretary B L Santosh.

The five leaders will directly report to Shah. He has also asked the state leaders to expose cases of corruption in the Congress government.
A 30-year-old cab driver, based in the UAE, was arrested for murdering his girlfriend and mother of two children at her house in the city on December 26, 2017, after she refused to marry him.



The Kamakshipalya police tracked the accused, Mohammed Mubeen Sheikh, who was on the run, in Karwar.

The police said the victim, Taslima Banu, and Sheikh are from the same village near Sirsi and they were in a relationship before her marriage. But Sheikh was arrested and sent to judicial custody in 2006 in a land dispute case. Taslima was married to her distant relative and moved to Bengaluru.

According to the police, Sheikh, after his release from jail, went to Dubai to work as a driver, but continued to be in touch with Taslima over the phone and would even meet her whenever he came to Bengaluru. He also gave her costly gifts, including jewellery.



Problems arose after he asked her to marry him. She avoided Sheikh, saying she would consider the proposal, the police said.

On December 20, Sheikh came to Bengaluru and visited Taslima's house on December 26 when she was alone. He asked her to marry him. But when she rejected him, he got angry and stabbed her repeatedly, killing her on the spot. He escaped with all the valuables and gifts he had presented her.
Two days after five employees of a bar were suffocated to death in a fire, a police inspector attached to the Kalasipalyam station was suspended on Wednesday for dereliction of duty.



Ramalinga Reddy, while taking charge as the home minister in March last year, presented a 30-point agenda to the police force, one of which was strictly ensuring the stipulated closing hours of liquor outlets in the city.

Following the incident, Reddy, along with Bengaluru Development Minister K J George, visited Kalasipalyam and learnt from the locals that several bars were open through the night for labourers at the market. Local residents, including a corporator, told Reddy about the 'window sales' at night, home department officials said.

Reddy then directed City Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar to conduct an inquiry and take appropriate action against the errant officials. The commissioner found the police inspector guilty of dereliction of duty and suspended him.

'Was made scapegoat'

According to sources in the police department, the inspector was made a scapegoat for the fire accident. They also rubbished the allegations of round-the-clock liquor sales and called it baseless.
A couple bullied and assaulted a woman ticket inspector for slapping a fine on them when they entered the City Railway Station without a platform ticket.



They also threatened to book her under the Prevention of Atrocities Act and falsely accused her of demanding a bribe.

Around 7 pm on January 2, deputy chief ticket inspector B Lalitha (47) stopped a couple walking near the footbridge and elevator at the City Station without platform tickets. Lalitha slapped a fine of Rs 310 each on the couple.

The angry couple demanded to see the orders. Claiming not to have the money to pay the fine, they handed one of their PAN cards and walked away, muttering they would deal with her later.

They returned the following day with four more people and assaulted Lalitha. "They accused me of demanding Rs 1,000 bribe and dragged me to my seniors at the station director's office," the inspector told DH. "Once inside, they again threatened to book a case of atrocity against me."

No one at the office, including her colleagues, came to Lalitha's defence as the couple argued. They eventually walked away without paying the fine. Colleagues took an injured Lalitha to the railway hospital, after which she filed a complaint.

On Tuesday, the City Railway Police booked a case against the couple for criminally assaulting a public servant. They are yet to arrest the couple and maintain that a probe into the incident is on.
Posted 1/10/18

Yesterday while waiting for my doctors appointment, I overheard a conversation between two old friends. They were talking about the weather, and the woman said she was a winter person, but this 
Overall crime in Encinitas, Del Mar and Solana Beach was down or stayed about the same in 2017 compared to 2016, according to the San Diego County Sheriffs Department North Coastal Station.

However, Captain John Maryon warns that the cities top problems  property thefts and burglaries  have persisted since he joined the department in 1996.

Maryon said such crimes of opportunity can stem from people leaving their garages open or leaving items on their car seats, for example. Most property theft or burglary suspects are from out of town, he added.

Criminals know this is a more affluent area, so theres going to be more valuables in garages or sitting in car seats, he said, adding that someone stealing from a garage in any capacity is burglarizing the property. Maybe in another town they might not have had a $7,000 Louis Vuitton sitting on a passenger seat. That makes for a quick window smash.

As a way to remedy the problem, the captain recommended residents and business owners look into alarm systems that immediately alert the authorities, rather than ones that first alert the alarm companies then the authorities.

In Encinitas, the number of calls for burglaries increased by 18 occurrences, theft decreased by 127 occurrences and auto theft decreased by 12 occurrences, according to a sheriffs report written in mid-December and acquired by the Union-Tribune Community Press.

In Del Mar, the number of calls for burglaries decreased by 14 occurrences, theft decreased by two occurrences and auto theft remained the same.

In Solana Beach, the number of calls for burglaries increased by three occurrences, theft increased by three occurrences and auto theft decreased by one occurrence.

Maryon explained the calls for burglaries in the cities included a combination of commercial and residential thefts.

Commercial burglaries have increased, he said. We started a loss prevention working group with the large box stores in Encinitas, so that should help reduce them.

Calls for violent crime  including homicide, rape, robberies and aggravated assaults  was up by five total occurrences in Encinitas, up by one occurrence in Del Mar and down by four occurrences in Solana Beach.

The captain said the lower crime in Encinitas  particularly downtown  can be attributed to a sheriffs substation near the La Paloma Theatre that opened earlier in 2017.

He said the addition of the substation, as well as ridesharing programs like Lyft and Uber, have also contributed to the reduction of DUIs and public intoxication.

Its getting better, but obviously were not past it since weve had a couple hit-and-run crashes that involved possible alcohol, he said.

Maryon said he is thankful that crime has been down overall, even with the number of people that visited the cities over the year.

The City of Encinitas last year estimated that one million extra people visited their beaches, he said. Thats a lot of people to add into a city of 64,000. I think Del Mar may have estimated another three million that came in through their area, which do trickle into Solana Beach and Encinitas as well. Its a lot of people, but weve been pretty fortunate to keep crime down and get the word out.
What do you get when you combine a mom with a passion for fashion design with a son whos a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at UC San Diego?

In the case of family entrepreneurs Rachel Merrill and Devon Merrill of San Diego, you get Lighted Clothing, a new company that is pushing boundaries in the field of illuminated fashion.

Since they started their collaboration about 18 months ago, the Merrills have co-created five fashion pieces that incorporate LED lights, fiber optics, hidden batteries and tiny computers that create streaks of lightning on a dress, moving bands of color and pictures on a vest and waves of glowing light on a skirt that grow brighter whenever its wearer moves.

Last month, the Merrills won a national Textiles in Technology award in the Surface Design Associations Future Fabrication: Exhibition in Print 2017. They were among seven winners chosen from a field of 250 entries by jurors Richard Elliott, a textiles expert and professor at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, and Cathryn Hall, from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

Elliott said the concept of illuminated clothing has been around for at least five years, but the Merrills have taken the technology up a notch in a visually striking way.

Their work really exemplifies the optimal combination of sheer fabric to diffuse the light, so its not so gaudy and bright, and the element of motion that mimics the movements of the wearer, Elliott said. Whats fascinating about their collaboration is that its cross-generational. I havent seen that before and their abilities are so compatible with one another.

Rachel Merrill  a retired biotechnology acquisitions attorney who lives with her husband, Lex, in Carmel Valley  said shes enjoyed finding a new way to express her creativity. But shes most happy about collaborating with her 29-year-old son.

I feel like its a gift, she said. Not many parents have an opportunity to do something with their grown children thats so creative and that draws so completely on their different interests and skills. Its precious time.

Rachel and Devon Merrill both come from crafty backgrounds, but illuminated fashion wasnt on either of their radars until 2016.

Rachel taught herself to sew in her mid-20s by bringing home Vogue patterns and learning to make clothes by trial and error. Devon developed a love for tinkering from his dad, Lex, whose hobby is rebuilding antique radios. By the time he was at Torrey Pines High School, Devon was soldering his own home electronics and writing computer code.

One hobby the family shares is hiking. When Rachel retired in 2012, she spent four months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, eventually logging more than 2,000 miles. But injuries forced her to give up the sport three years ago and she went looking for a more sedentary hobby. She found it when she signed up for a fashion design class at San Diego Mesa College in spring 2016.

One of her first fashion ideas was Starlight, a hand-dyed blue silk dress with a mesh liner interwoven with 700 strands of illuminated superfine filament. There was just one problem. She had no idea how to work with fiber optics, electronic circuits or computer code.

So she asked Devon  who lives in the UTC area with his girlfriend Enjoli Gomez  to teach her about lights, soldering and building circuits. After she finished weaving the fiber liner for Starlight, he built the computerized controller and wrote the code that creates subtly moving waves of white light.

This sounds easier than it is. The reason illuminated clothes arent on every store shelf is the danger factor. A miswired circuit could mean a very real risk of fire.

Ive burned myself a few times, he said, but I havent had a model spontaneously combust yet.

After Starlight won best of show in Mesas 2016 Golden Scissors Fashion Show, the colleges department chair, Susan Lazear, invited Devon to begin teaching a seminar class every semester on wearable technology.

During the first seminar session, the Merrills co-created their next project, Wearlight. Rachel designed the black cotton/polyester zip-up vest and Devon implanted it with 96 hidden fully programmable LED 2-inch pixels that can create millions of colors, patterns and pictures. It won two awards at Mesas next fashion show.

Last spring, they created Lightning, a lavender sheath dress implanted with four branched channels of light that create the illusion of a moving lightning storm.

Their biggest project to date was Light Dance, a haute-couture dress built for last falls Women & Science fashion gala at the Salk Institute. Rachel was tasked with creating a dress inspired by the work of now-former Salk researcher Hermina Nedelescu, who studies the neural pathways in the cerebellum.

Microscopic photos of cells and neurons in the cerebellum were printed on the dress bodice and decorated with pearls and fine silver chain. The skirt was made with undulating layers of fabric that resembled the folds of the brain.

Devon designed the computer controller which was hidden in a cerebellum-shaped plastic headpiece he created on a 3D printer. It was connected to the dress via a cable that ran down the models spine, the same way the cerebellum sends neural signals to the body. The movement-sensitive cerebellum controller caused the dress lights to glow brighter whenever the model turned her head or walked.

Their most recent project is Illumination, a denim vest with a quilted fabric panel designed by Rachels sister. Its computer controller shifts the light around to different sections of the artwork in a pattern.

Devon said working over the past 18 months on these projects has been illuminating in more ways than one. Besides teaching at Mesa, he also teaches the wearable fashion technology to freshman computer students at UCSD. He sees vast differences between the students educational and socio-economic backgrounds and their abilities to learn the technology.

To help close that learning gap, he recently launched the Gadgetron Robot Factory (robots.gadgetron.build), a drag-and-drop website where people can learn how to build circuits and electronics without any fiery mistakes.

Through their website (lightedclothing.com) the Merrills hope to attract some commissions so they can work together again soon.

Were both taking it in the directions we want to, she said, and somehow were doing it together.

--Pam Kragen is a writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune
The California Coastal Commission has agreed to give Solana Beach a 12-month extension to respond to the state agencys proposal for how much the city should charge blufftop homeowners for permits to build and upgrade seawalls along beaches below their homes.

The Commissions unanimous approval on Dec. 13 sets the table for planners, attorneys and coastal engineers to hash out the long-contested science that underpins the states Public Recreation Impact Fee. The fee is meant as compensation for recreational opportunities lost to seawalls, which accelerate beach erosion and cover a portion of the sand. The fee is determined in part as a percentage of the annual wages of Solana Beachs beach visitors and the size of the available beach.

Not setting the fee has prevented Solana Beach from certifying its Local Coastal Program, which would allow the city to make planning and development decisions on its own without seeking approval from the Coastal Commission. Without a certified LCP, property owners have to get Coastal Commission approval  rather than city staff  for a wide array of relatively minor improvements and additions.

Solana Beach started its study to determine the fees more than a decade ago. In the interim, the city has charged $1,000 per linear foot for seawall permits revenues that are set aside for sand replenishment, stairways, parking lots and other projects that make the beach more usable.

City staff and a team of economists, planners and scientists spent two years collecting data on beachgoers and released the fee study in 2010 for public comment. It was revised three times over the ensuing six years, largely from input gathered over seven public hearings. The citys most recent revision came in April 2016, to which the Coastal Commission responded a year later with 16 suggested modifications. Solana Beach supported all but the first two modifications, which are based on the wages of people who visit the citys beaches and the size of the beach itself.

The Coastal Commission wants the fee based on 67 percent of wages while the citys proposal is based on 33 percent of wages. At 33 percent, the fee last year would have been $385 per foot of seawall, increasing to $610 by 2026. At 67 percent, the fee would have been $754 last year increasing to $1,192 by 2026.

At 33 percent, Solana Beach would charge the second-lowest fee in the state, while 67 percent would still be below most coastal cities.

The other point of contention is that neither party agree on how much beach Solana Beach has. The city says its available public beach is 18.8 acres, based on LiDAR data and on-site surveys conducted from April 2008 through December 2009. The Coastal Commission, meanwhile, points to LiDAR data from 1998-2015 that say Solana Beach has 15.2 acres of beach.

After the Coastal Commission issued its suggested modifications in May, city officials complained that the suggestions were introduced at the 11th hour, in a letter less than two weeks before the Coastal Commissions May hearing. At that hearing, the Coastal Commission gave Solana Beach six months to respond.

Days from that deadline, the city council on Nov. 1 balked on a decision in order to ask for the extension. City officials maintain that the fee, which is at play in a handful of lawsuits in state court, can be reached in compromise.

Julia Chunn-Heer, policy manager for the Surfrider Foundations San Diego chapter, took issue with the citys characterization that it was caught unaware. A June 2015 letter expressed concerns that were very similar to the April 2016 modifications, she said.

Given that Solana Beachs LCP was proposed in March 2012 and the city was given 18 months to finalize it, the seawall fee needs to be resolved with all due haste.

Its our intent to keep this moving forward, she said. Weve been promised these fees since as early as 2007.

When the city council declined on Nov. 1 to rule on the Coastal Commissions modifications, the council also decided to separate the bluffs into its own planning area so that the remainder of the city can proceed toward a certified LCP, unencumbered by the seawall fee dispute.

Chunn-Heer urged the commission to approve the time extension, but warned that Solana Beachs moves imply the city is leaning away from the states recommendation.

By bifurcating, it seems that the city is trying to keep the fee as low as possible, she told the Coastal Commission on Dec. 13. We feel that if thats the case, they should definitely accept the changes that you offered in May.

Several communities in the San Diego region have divided their planning areas into separate segments, albeit for other reasons. Staff-level discussions on the bifurcation are already underway between the city and Coastal Commission, and the proposal could reach the Coastal Commissions board of directors by the end of this year.
A series of phone calls from a sheriffs detective has rekindled tempers over the alleged wrongdoings of Del Mars former chief lifeguard, with a group of longtime residents calling on the city to back off from the criminal probe into the longest-serving employee Del Mar has ever had.

Pat Vergne, the citys former director of Community Services, was fired along with two of his subordinates in August after a four-month investigation brought to light a range of practices that allegedly cost the city more than $200,000 between 2015 and 2017, primarily in discounts for renting the Powerhouse Community Center.

Months of relative calm came to an end last month when Vergne filed a $5 million claim for damages against the city. Nerves flared again last week when a detective from the San Diego County Sheriffs Department called multiple Del Mar residents and asked about their purchase of parking passes and Powerhouse rentals  functions that both fall under the purview of the Community Services Department Vergne worked in for nearly 40 years.

Reached this week, the San Diego County Sheriffs Department said its investigation is, so far, looking into misdemeanor charges.

We can confirm there is an active, on-going criminal investigation for misdemeanor larceny charges, however, charges might be changed and/or additional charges may be added as the investigation continues, Lt. Karen Stubkjaer wrote in a Jan. 9 email to this newspaper.

After firing Vergne, city officials gave the sheriffs department various documents from the citys internal investigation and then backed away, but last weeks calls from the detective spurred questions over the citys role in the criminal investigation.

Mayor Dwight Worden responded with a memo explaining that the criminal investigation is being driven solely by police and prosecutors, with the citys involvement limited to handing over the documents last summer. Del Mar is not conducting an audit of parking passes or Powerhouse rentals, he said, nor has the city asked police to do so.

The questions being asked by Del Mar citizens about what this is all about are understandable, Worden wrote in the memo. The facts are important. Based on my review with city staff and having reviewed input from the sheriff office, here are the key facts. The sheriffs office, on its own, decided to make these calls apparently as part of its ongoing investigation. The city did not direct or ask for these calls to be made.

Those assertions did little to dissuade Vergne supporters from taking the city council and City Manager Scott Huth to task at the councils Jan. 8 meeting, where they argued that the city manager has final responsibility for approving permits and rentals, and that the city council, in turn, is responsible for overseeing the city manager.

Yet all of you are collectively piling on to Mr. Vergne, attempting to shift the blame for your failures to the most loyal and beloved employee in Del Mar, said Pam Slater-Price. In my 21 years in Del Mar, I have never seen such a poorly run city government. It will be remembered in November, trust me.

The whole thing sounds very fishy, said Zelda Waxenberg, one of the residents called by the detective. I just find the whole thing very disturbing, that theres things going on with the city that are not up front and open and clear.  Please back off this investigation.

The crux of their argument is that a 2009 ordinance spells out that the city manager is ultimately responsible for approving permits to use public facilities. Huth has rebutted those claims, pointing to a section of the ordinance that says the city manager can delegate the responsibility. When he designated Vergne with the duty, Huth says he did not give authority to allow discounts.

But Vergnes supporters point to other sections of the same ordinance that give the city manager final say on approving permits.

If he had done his job, none of us would be here today and you wouldnt be facing a $5 million lawsuit  being handled by one of the best attorneys probably in the United States, said Gay Hugo-Martinez, a former councilwoman and former federal prosecutor.

The city has until the end of next week to respond to Vergnes $5 million claim. If a settlement isnt reached, the claim could then move into state court.

But regarding the criminal charges, that decision falls solely to police and prosecutors, not the city, Worden said.

The sheriff and [San Diego District Attorney] have authority to investigate and decide if a crime was committed independent of what the city wishes or requests, Worden wrote in an email to this newspaper. Thats how it should be; Del Mar runs a city, the sheriff and DA decide matters related to investigating and prosecuting crimes, especially relating to public monies and assets. Our situation is not the same as a private crime where the private victim has some discretion whether to pursue charges. Here, if there is a victim, its the public represented by the sheriff and DA.
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HBB Landscape Architecture

Thompson

Oviir

Dotson

Seattle-based HBB Landscape Architecture expanded its ownership team with Rachel Dotson, Merit Oviir and Monica Thompson, who join president Juliet Vong in leading the firm. Dotson has experience on parks and recreation, civic, mixed-use, education and military projects. Oviir designs parks and public spaces, streetscapes, trails and multimodal transit corridors. Thompson works on waterfront, parks and recreation, education and transportation projects. HBB has 15 landscape architects, urban designers and planners.




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The road would connect the communities of King Cove and Cold Bay, which has an all-weather airport needed for emergency medical flights.



By DAN JOLING

Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska  The Interior Department will explore a land exchange that could lead to construction of a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska.

An agreement expected to be signed this month calls for the King Cove Corp., an Alaska Native village corporation, to identify up to 0.8 square miles (2 sq. kilometers) of its land that could be swapped for equal-value land within Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.





. . .
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NEW YORK (AP)  Domino's Pizza says CEO Patrick Doyle will leave the company at the end of June, after eight years running the pizza chain.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company did not give a reason for the departure. He'll be replaced on July 1 by Richard Allison, who currently oversees the company's restaurants outside the U.S.





. . .
Passengers on Canada-bound flight told to delete videos or face arrest

Passengers on a Canada-bound flight were made to sit on the tarmac at Boston Logan International Airport for around two hours and were forced to delete videos of the incident from their phones by an airline staff member, who also threatened to have them arrested if they failed to comply.

After would-be passengers of the Toronto-bound Porter Airlines flight learned about the cancellation of their flight due to a mechanical malfunction on the aircraft, they were ordered to leave the plane and wait in the terminal building.

"There was a problem with the latch door to the luggage compartment and when it passed 10 o'clock apparently the crew couldn't fly anymore because in their words, they would turn into pumpkins," Toronto resident Kira Wegler, returning home from a Florida vacation with her family, told Canadian television network Global News.

Porter Airlines attributed the delay to a "bomb cyclone" that hit Boston and other parts of the East Coast on 5 January.

After being informed that the gate's public address system was non-functional, passengers had to line up to get information individually from Porter staff.

Out of frustration passengers started pulling out their phones and video-recording Porter staff delivering information, which angered the staff.

"At that point, the personnel came from behind the desk and started threatening us, to call the police if we don't delete the videos off of our phones and show evidence that it's gone from our trash bin," said Wegler.

Porter Airlines offered an apology after Global News asked for an explanation.

''In this particular case, there was a misunderstanding by the team member involved that taking video at this particular airport beyond the security checkpoint was not permitted,'' said Brad Cicero, spokesperson for Porter Airline.

''In fact, the prohibition applies to secure airport areas and security screening. He didn't realise the distinction at the time, but we have advised the team members involved for future reference. While the request to stop filming or delete footage was incorrect, the intention was only to try and enforce what was believed to be an airport policy,'' said Cicero.
Posted 1/10/18

Fondly I recall winter evenings of long ago on the farm when were warmed to the bone by a roaring fire in the old woodstove.

More vividly, though, I recall the harsh realities of winters when 
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. ALFONSO THOMPSON, Defendant - Appellant. No. 17-2011 Decided: January 09, 2018

Before LUCERO, BACHARACH, and MORITZ, Circuit Judges.

ORDER DENYING A CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY *

Alfonso Thompson seeks a certificate of appealability (COA) to appeal the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C.  2255 motion. He claims that his sentence, imposed under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C.  924(e), is unconstitutional in light of the Supreme Court's invalidation of ACCA's residual clause. See Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551, 2563 (2015). We deny a COA and dismiss the appeal.

I

In 2014, Thompson pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C.  922(g)(1). He was sentenced under ACCA, which requires a minimum fifteen-year sentence for a defendant who violates  922(g) and has three previous convictions  for a violent felony or a serious drug offense.  924(e)(1). Thompson had two convictions for attempted first-degree murder, each with a firearm enhancement, and a conviction for attempted aggravated battery against a household member with a deadly weapon.

ACCA defines a violent felony as any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year that: (1) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another; (2) is burglary, arson, or extortion, [or] involves use of explosives; or (3) otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.  924(e)(2)(B). In Johnson, the Supreme Court invalidated the third portion of this definitionknown as the residual clauseas unconstitutionally vague, but left the remaining clauses untouched. 135 S. Ct. at 2557, 2563.

After the Supreme Court made Johnson retroactive to cases on collateral review, see Welch v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 1257, 1265 (2016), Thompson timely filed a  2255 motion to vacate his sentence. In his motion, he argued that neither of his convictions for attempted first-degree murder qualified as a violent felony. A magistrate judge recommended that the district court deny Thompson's motion and refuse a COA. After considering Thompson's objections, the district court adopted the magistrate judge's recommendation.

II

To obtain a COA from this court, Thompson must make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, 28 U.S.C.  2253(c)(2), by demonstrating that jurists of reason could disagree with the district court's resolution of his constitutional claims or that jurists could conclude the issues presented are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further. Buck v. Davis, 137 S. Ct. 759, 773 (2017) (quotation omitted). We decide whether Thompson has made this showing by a preliminary, though not definitive, consideration of the merits of the issues on which he seeks a COA. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 338 (2003).

A

Both of Thompson's prior convictions for attempted first-degree murder with a firearm enhancement are based on N.M. Stat.  30-2-1(A) (first-degree murder),  30-28-1 (attempt to commit a felony), and  31-18-16 (use of a firearm). The district court found, and Thompson does not dispute here, that he was convicted in both cases of attempted willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing as defined in  30-2-1(A)(1). The firearm enhancement for this offense indicates that the jury separately found that a firearm was used in its commission.  31-18-16(A).

The question before us is whether reasonable jurists could debate that attempted first-degree murder with a firearm under New Mexico law is a violent felony within the meaning of ACCA's elements clause, which includes any felony that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. 18 U.S.C.  924(e)(2)(B)(i). We employ the categorical approach, which requires us to examine only the elements of the crime of conviction, not the particular facts. See United States v. Harris, 844 F.3d 1260, 1263 (10th Cir. 2017). We look to New Mexico law to define the elements of the offense. Id. at 1263-64.

Under N.M. Stat.  30-28-1, an attempt to commit a felony consists of an overt act in furtherance of and with intent to commit a felony and tending but failing to effect its commission. The New Mexico Court of Appeals has stated that slight acts in furtherance of [the] intent [to commit the crime] will constitute an attempt. State v. Trejo, 494 P.2d 173, 174 (N.M. Ct. App. 1972). Thompson argues, based on this language, that attempt crimes in New Mexico cannot qualify as a violent felony because the state allows conviction for taking steps in preparation for the crime that need not involve the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. 18 U.S.C.  924(e)(2)(B)(i).

If New Mexico law allowed felony attempt convictions for preparatory or other attenuated steps, Thompson's contention might be debatable. See Montoya v. United States, No. 1:16-cv-00084-TC, 2016 WL 6810727, at *7 (D. Utah Nov. 17, 2016) (holding that Utah's attempted murder statute does not require proof of force as an element because it allows conviction for preparatory steps); United States v. Rucker, No. 16-cv-01148-PAB, 2017 WL 1246465, at *3 (D. Colo. Apr. 5, 2017) (holding that an attempted assault conviction did not qualify as a violent felony under the elements clause because Colorado law allowed conviction based on preparatory activities); cf. United States v. Fell, 511 F.3d 1035, 1038-41 (10th Cir. 2007) (discussing precedent holding that attempt crimes do not qualify as violent felonies under the residual clause because relevant state law permitted conviction based on preparatory conduct or any act directed at the commission of the substantive crime). Reasonable jurists would agree, however, that this is not the law in New Mexico.

In the same decision cited by Thompson regarding slight acts sufficing to prove attempt, the New Mexico court expressly stated that the overt act required must be more than preparation; it must be in part execution of the intent to commit the crime. Trejo, 494 P.2d at 174. In another case, the New Mexico Court of Appeals further explained that the overt act

must not be merely preparatory, and it need not be the last proximate act to the consummation of the offense attempted to be perpetrated. However, it must approach sufficiently near to it to stand either as the first or some subsequent step in a direct movement toward the commission of the offense after the preparation or solicitation is made.

State v. Stettheimer, 607 P.2d 1167, 1171-72 (N.M. Ct. App. 1980) (quotation omitted). Thus, in order to support an attempt conviction under New Mexico law, slight acts will suffice only if they are in a direct movement towards the commission of the felony offense. See id. New Mexico's uniform jury instructions indicate that the defendant must have beg[u]n to do an act which constituted a substantial part of the [crime]. N.M. R. Ann., Crim. Unif. Jury Instr. 14-2801 (2017).

Adding in the firearms enhancement, Thompson's attempted murder convictions required that he began to do an action, using a firearm, that is a substantial part of the crime of deliberately killing another person. See id. 14-2801, 14-201; N.M. Stat.  31-18-16(A). In United States v. Maldonado-Palma, 839 F.3d 1244 (10th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 1214 (2017), we held that [e]mploying a weapon that is capable of producing death or great bodily harm or inflicting dangerous wounds in an assault necessarily threatens the use of physical force, i.e., force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person. Id. at 1250 (quotation omitted). Reasonable jurists would agree that using a firearm in an act that is a substantial part of the crime of deliberately killing another also at least threatens the use of physical force.

B

Thompson's conviction for attempted aggravated battery on a household member with a deadly weapon is based on N.M. Stat.  30-3-16(C) (aggravated battery on a household member) and  30-28-1 (attempt to commit a felony). In his application for COA, filed by newly appointed counsel, Thompson argues that this conviction does not qualify as a violent felony under ACCA. Thompson did not make this argument in the district court.

It is the general rule, of course, that a federal appellate court does not consider an issue not passed upon below. Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 120, (1976). Although we have discretion to depart from this rule, we exercise that discretion only in the most unusual circumstances, such as where the proper resolution [of the issue] is beyond any doubt or where injustice might otherwise result. Lyons v. Jefferson Bank & Tr., 994 F.2d 716, 721 (10th Cir. 1993) (quotation omitted). We are not persuaded such circumstances exist here.

III

For the foregoing reasons, we DENY a COA and DISMISS the appeal.

Entered for the Court

FOOTNOTES

. After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.

. [R]elief under Johnson is only available if [the defendant's] enhanced sentence is supported, at least in part, by the now-unconstitutional residual clause of the ACCA. United States v. Pam, 867 F.3d 1191, 1203 (10th Cir. 2017). Thompson correctly notes that it is unclear from the record whether the sentencing court relied on the residual clause in enhancing his sentence under ACCA. In this circumstance, we have recognized that the relevant background legal environment at the time of sentencing can sometimes help us determine that a sentencing court did not rely on the residual clause. United States v. Snyder, 871 F.3d 1122, 1129 (10th Cir. 2017) (quotation omitted). We have yet to decide whether uncertainty that cannot be resolved in this or some other manner is sufficient to establish constitutional error under Johnson. See Pam, 867 F.3d at 1199 n.6. For purposes of determining whether to grant Thompson a COA, we need not address this question, and will instead assume that the district court relied at least in part on the residual clause in sentencing Thompson.

. New Mexico's murder statute is divisible, in that it recognizes two other forms of first-degree murderfelony murder and depraved mind murder. See N.M. Stat.  30-2-1(A)(2), (A)(3). Attempted first-degree murder, however, can be based on only willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder, see  30-2-1(A)(1), because the state does not recognize attempted felony murder or attempted depraved-mind murder. See State v. Price, 726 P.2d 857, 860 (N.M. Ct. App. 1986) (refusing to accept attempted felony murder as a crime); State v. Johnson, 707 P.2d 1174, 1177 (N.M. Ct. App. 1985) (holding that attempted depraved-mind murder is a logical impossibility).

. Use in this context means that the firearm was employed in the commission of the felony, not that it was merely in the possession of the defendant at that time. See State v. Chouinard, 603 P.2d 744, 746 (N.M. Ct. App. 1979); see also United States v. Maldonado-Palma, 839 F.3d 1244, 1250 (10th Cir. 2016) (finding that use of a deadly weapon under New Mexico law, in accordance with the ordinary meaning of the word, requires that the weapon was employed in committing the offense), cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 1214 (2017).

Carlos F. Lucero Circuit Judge
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Jason SMATHERS, DefendantAppellant. Docket No. 16-2394 Decided: January 09, 2018

Before: KEARSE, CABRANES, and WESLEY, Circuit Judges. ANDREW THOMAS, Assistant United States Attorney, New York, New York (Joon H. Kim, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael Ferrara, Assistant United States Attorney, New York, New York, on the brief), for Appellee. SUSAN C. WOLFE, New York, New York, for DefendantAppellant.

Defendant Jason Smathers, who was convicted in 2005, following his plea of guilty, of conspiring, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  371, to misappropriate and sell property of America Online (AOL), and was ordered to, inter alia, pay AOL restitution in the amount of $84,000, appeals from a June 22, 2016 order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Alvin K. Hellerstein, Judge, denying his motion, made pro se, for a reduction of his remaining restitution obligation by amounts recovered by AOL in civil litigation against other persons. The district court ruled that Smathers failed to show that those amounts recovered by AOL were compensation for the same loss caused by Smathers or that AOL has been fully compensated for the loss caused by Smathers. On appeal, Smathers, represented by counsel, contends principally that the district court erred in imposing on him the full burden (Smathers brief on appeal at 26) of proving that AOL's recoveries were for the same loss caused by Smathers and that the court clearly erred in finding that the losses were not the same. He also complains that the district court denied his motion without a hearing. Concluding that his contentions lack merit, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

The record of Smathers's prosecution, United States v. Smathers, S.D.N.Y. No. 04CR1273, shows the following. In 2005, Smathers, represented by counsel, pleaded guilty to conspiring from about April 2003 through about April 2004, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  371, to affect interstate commerce by relaying and retransmitting deceptive emails in violation of the CANSPAM Act, 18 U.S.C.  1037, and to transmit in interstate commerce a stolen list of AOL customer names, having a value of $5,000 or more, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  2314. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Smathers, an employee of AOL, misappropriated an AOL customer list containing approximately 92 million screen names. Smathers sold that list (the Smathers List) to Sean Dunaway for $28,000; Dunaway sold that list to Braden Bournival; Bournival used it to send to AOL customers between three and seven billion unsolicited email advertisements (or spam, see The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language at 1678 (5th ed. 2011) (defining spam as, inter alia, [u]nsolicited email, often of a commercial nature, sent indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups)). AOL estimated that the cost of processing those spam emails was about 10 cents per 1,000 emails, amounting to $300,000$700,000.

Smathers was sentenced principally to 15 months' imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution to AOL. In determining the amount of Smathers's restitution obligation under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), see 18 U.S.C.  3663A and 3664, the district court noted that Smathers's plea agreement stated that the loss to AOL was $300,000; but the court declined to order Smathers to pay restitution in that amount because, inter alia, some portion was overhead rather than out-of-pocket expense, and it thought that ordering him to pay $300,000 would give AOL a windfall. Instead, trebling the $28,000 that Smathers had received for selling the AOL list, the court ordered Smathers to pay restitution in the amount of $84,000. The judgment so ordered but stated that the Total Loss was $300,000. Judgment, August 17, 2005.

A. Smathers's First Attempt To Reduce His Restitution Obligation

In March 2007, Smathers's attorney sent a letter to the district court stating, inter alia, that AOL had commenced a civil suit, America Online, Inc. v. Hawke, 04-259-A (E.D. Va.) (Hawke Litigation), against Davis Wolfgang Hawke, Bournival (who had purchased the Smathers List from Dunaway), and others. (See Letter from Susan C. Wolfe to Honorable Alvin K. Hellerstein dated March 26, 2007 (2007 Wolfe Letter), at 3.) The letter stated that the Hawke Litigation docket indicated that AOL had reached an undisclosed settlement with Bournival and had obtained a $12,834,553.82 default judgment against Hawke and two others; and that various internet news sources stated that AOL had collected some $95,000 and a Hummer vehicle in that litigation. (Id.) Smathers contended that the $95,000 alone exceeded his entire restitution obligation (see 2007 Wolfe Letter at 3) and asked the court to determine the full amount of AOL's recoveries and to determine whether or to what extent his restitution obligation should be modified pursuant to 18 U.S.C.  3664(j)(2).

In response, the court gave Smathers permission to file a motion for appropriate relief based on affidavits and competent proof. Order dated March 26, 2007 (2007 Order). No such motion was forthcoming.

B. Smathers's Subsequent Requests for Reduction

Eight years later, Smathers sent a pro se letter to the district court request[ing] a status conference regarding the restitution ordered in [ ]his case. (Letter from Jason Smathers to Honorable Alvin K. Hellerstein dated March 2, 2015 (Smathers 2015 Letter), at 1.) He stated that restitution payments had been made by Dunaway in Dunaway's criminal case and that payments had been made by Bournival in AOL's civil litigationreferred to in the 2007 Wolfe Letter. He stated that those payments were for the same loss that he had caused (see Smathers 2015 Letter at 1 n.1) and that he believed that the restitution ordered in [ ]his case had therefore been collected in full already through third party payments (id. at 1).

The district court responded that a status conference was not appropriate because there were no ongoing proceedings before the court. It stated that any request for relief should be made by motion, showing the court's jurisdiction and the reasons supporting the relief requested.

Nearly a year later, Smathers brought his present pro se Motion To Compel Proper Enforcement of Restitution Order and Injunction, filed February 24, 2016 (2016 Restitution Reduction Motion), repeating his contention that the restitution payments made by Dunaway and the payment by Bournival in settlement of AOL's civil suit were for the same loss caused by Smathers and were sufficient in amount to extinguish Smathers's restitution obligation. No details were cited, and no affidavits or other evidentiary materials were submitted. Instead, Smathers argued that the government should  have access to the sealed documents in the AOL civil litigation, should be in the position to determine all payments made for the same action and reduce the restitution amount by these third party payments, and should be ordered to reduce [Smathers's] restitution amount by the amounts paid by Dunaway and Bournival. (Id. at 2; see id. at 3.)

The district court ordered the government to respond to the motion and to make timely appl[icatio]n  to unseal any relevant case files or orders. Order dated February 29, 2016.

The government did not seek the unsealing of any documents in AOL's civil litigation. Rather, it responded to Smathers's 2016 contention that the payments to AOL by Dunaway and Bournival reduced or eliminated Smathers's restitution obligation by noting, in part, that

Smathers made the same argument in a March 26, 2007 letter to the Court. At that time, the Court ordered the defendant to file a motion for appropriate relief, based on Affidavits and competent proof  (Dkt. No. 40). Smathers never did so. Rather, Smathers's most recent application simply posits he is entitled to relief unless the Government proves otherwise. He is not.

Unless and until Smathers comes forward with proof, the Court should deny Smathers's motion.

(Letter from Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Thomas to Honorable Alvin K. Hellerstein dated April 11, 2016, at 1 (emphases ours).)

The government argued, inter alia, that while Smathers declare[d] that the moneys received by AOL were for the same loss that Smathers caused, he had not presented any evidence to support either that proposition (id. at 2) or the proposition that the amounts received by AOL totaled the $300,000 listed in the Judgment against Smathers as AOL's total loss (see id. at 1).

Smathers filed a reply memorandum arguing, inter alia, that $300,000 should not be considered the amount of AOL's loss, that the district court determined this amount was not sufficiently proven and instead used $84,000, and that AOL should be considered fully recovered when it has recovered $84,000 from any source. (Smathers's Reply to Government's Opposition to Defendant's Motion To Compel Proper Enforcement of Restitution Order and Injunction at 1.) He reiterated assertions made in the 2007 Wolfe Letter that news reports said AOL had collected more than $84,000, plus a Hummer. (See id. at 4.)

Smathers argued that the government is in a position to verify the facts alleged in [his] motion and should do so instead of continuing to pursue collection of restitution without taking any steps to verify if any or all of the restitution has been recovered. (Id. at 2.) And Smathers argued that if $300,000 is the correct loss number, the government should be required to provide an accounting of the victim's recovery from all sources to see if this amount has been paid. (Id. at 3.) He also asked the court to appoint counsel for him and provide instruction as to how to proceed. (See id. at 5.)

C. The District Court's Decision

In an order dated June 22, 2016 (June 2016 Order), the district court denied Smathers's motion. While noting that at Smathers's sentencing it had expressed discomfort with [$300,000] as the loss amount, id. at 2, the court in ruling on Smathers's motion for restitution credit pointed out, inter alia, that AOL [had] placed a value of $300,000 on the lists of customers that defendant and others stole, id., and that Smathers had signed a plea agreement by which he had agreed that the intended loss to  [ ]AOL[ ] was $300,000, id. at 1. In addition, the court stated that a customer list is

[a]n asset of [a] sort [that] cannot readily be measured, for the theft of personal information has significant consequences beyond the names on the list. The value of the loss to AOL is much beyond the profits gained by the criminals who stole the names and sold them into the black market for assets of this type. In sentencing Smathers, I considered values relevant to sentencing, including that it would be impossible for defendant to pay. See U.S.S.G. 5E1.1. I defined the loss he intended as approximately equivalent to the profit Smathers gained, trebled$84,000. I considered it fair not to place values on intangibles for purposes of mandatory restitution, even if those values might be considered reasonable in the commercial market.

June 2016 Order at 2 (emphases added).

Rejecting the request that Smathers be given credit for restitution payments made by Dunaway, the court noted that Dunaway and Smathers had paid AOL only $6,219.92 and $5,894, respectively, towards their restitution obligations, see id. at 2, and thus, jointly and severally, ha[d] not come anywhere close to compensating AOL for its loss caused by their criminal scheme, id. at 3. And after noting the contentions as to AOL's settlements and default judgments in civil litigation, see id. at 23, the court rejected Smathers's claim for restitution credit on that basis, finding that

the recoveries by AOL in those cases were not necessarily, and do not appear to be for the same loss caused by Dunaway and Smathersnothing in the complaints in those cases suggests a connection between Dunaway and Smathers and the other individuals The fact that AOL has recovered from other spammers does not reduce Smathers' obligation, and his motion is denied.

The clerk shall mark the motion (Doc. No. 44) terminated.

Id. at 3 (emphasis added).

II. DISCUSSION

On appeal, Smathers, represented by counsel once again, contends principally that the district court (a) erred in imposing on him the full burden of pro [ving] that AOL's civil litigation recoveries were for the same loss that he caused (Smathers brief on appeal at 26), and (b) clearly erred in finding that the losses were not the same. For the reasons that follow, we find no basis for reversal.

The general goal of the MVRA, which is codified largely at 18 U.S.C.  3663A and 3664, is to provide full compensation to victims of certain types of crimes. It provides, inter alia, that a defendant who is convicted of specified categories of felonies, including crimes against property in which an identifiable victim has suffered a pecuniary loss, shall, in addition to receiving any other penalty, be ordered to make restitution to the victim of the offense. See 18 U.S.C.  3663A(a)(1), 3663A(c)(1). However, the MVRA is interpreted as not authorizing a victim's recovery of more than the amount of its loss. See, e.g., United States v. Nucci, 364 F.3d 419, 42324 (2d Cir. 2004); United States v. Elson, 577 F.3d 713, 73435 (6th Cir. 2009) (Elson); United States v. Stanley, 309 F.3d 611, 613 (9th Cir. 2002); United States v. Dawson, 250 F.3d 1048, 105051 (7th Cir. 2001).

The conclusion that the MVRA does not authorize a victim to recover more than its total loss is based in part on  3664(j), which states that

[a]ny amount paid to a victim under an order of restitution shall be reduced by any amount later recovered as compensatory damages for the same loss by the victim in

(A) any Federal civil proceeding; and

(B) any State civil proceeding, to the extent provided by the law of the State,

18 U.S.C.  3664(j)(2) (emphasis added). It is on this provision that Smathers principally relies.

In general, we review an MVRA order of restitution deferentially, and we will reverse only for abuse of discretion. United States v. Boccagna, 450 F.3d 107, 113 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted). An abuse of discretion exists if the challenged ruling rests on an error of law, a clearly erroneous finding of fact, or otherwise cannot be located within the range of permissible decisions. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Where there are challenges to the court's findings of fact, we review for clear error; insofar as the order rests on interpretations of law, we review those interpretations de novo. United States v. Reifler, 446 F.3d 65, 120 (2d Cir. 2006).

A. Appealability of the Denial of a Motion for Reduction

Before reaching the merits of Smathers's MVRA contentions, however, we consider the matter of appellate jurisdiction. With exceptions not pertinent here, federal courts of appeals have jurisdiction to entertain appeals only from final decisions. 28 U.S.C.  1291; see generally Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541, 69 S.Ct. 1221, 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949). An order in a postjudgment proceeding is not necessarily a final decision simply because it follows the entry of judgment. United States v. Yalincak, 853 F.3d 629, 636 (2d Cir. 2017) (Yalincak). Generally, a final decision is one that ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

In Yalincak, we analyzed the finality of a district court order that, in 2007, haderroneously, see id. at 635granted the defendant's postjudgment motions under  3664(j)(2) to reduce his remaining restitution obligation by crediting him with certain funds recovered by a trustee in bankruptcy proceedings. Whether that 2007 grant of restitution credit was a final decision became an issue when the district court vacated it in 2015, invoking the court's inherent power to grant relief from erroneous interlocutory orders, 853 F.3d at 632 (internal quotation marks omitted); the defendant appealed from the 2015 order, contending that the prior order was a final decision that the district court had no power to alter. We agreed that the court lacked the authority to vacate its 2007 order because an order granting a motion for credit under 18 U.S.C.  3664(j)(2) is final and thus appealable when it conclusively determines a defendant's entitlement to credit under  3664(j)(2) for particular funds, 853 F.3d at 63233; and the court had conclusively, and unconditionally grant[ed] Yalincak's motions for credit, id. at 633, 640.

In the present case, the district court's June 2016 Order was a final decision on Smathers's 2016 Restitution Reduction Motion. The court's dismissal of Smathers's claim for credit, as presented in 2016, was based on Smathers's failure to present proof either that AOL's civil litigation recoveries were for the same loss caused by Smathers or that AOL had recovered sums compensating it for the total amount of loss caused by Smathers. This decision stands in clear contrast to the court's reaction to Smathers's 2007 quest for restitution credit for those AOL recoveries, as set out in the 2007 Wolfe Letter. In 2007, the district court did not decide whether or not Smathers was entitled to credit; rather, it gave him leave to pursue such credit by presenting competent supporting evidence. The June 2016 Orderentered after Smathers formally requested restitution credit (again without evidentiary support) and replied to the government's oppositiondenied Smathers's motion because of lack of proof, and terminated the motion. June 2016 Order at 3. That unconditional dismissal of Smathers's claim for credit as unsubstantiated was a final decision, appealable pursuant to  1291.

B. Allocations of the Burden of Proof Under the MVRA

Smathers contends principally that the district court erred in placing on him the burden of proving that AOL's recoveries in civil litigation were for the same loss he caused, 18 U.S.C.  3664(j)(2), and that those recoveries equaled or exceeded the loss he caused. We disagree.

The MVRA states that [a]ny dispute as to the proper amount or type of restitution shall be resolved by the court by the preponderance of the evidence, 18 U.S.C.  3664(e), and provides for various allocations of the burden of proof:

The burden of demonstrating the amount of the loss sustained by a victim as a result of the offense shall be on the attorney for the Government. The burden of demonstrating the financial resources of the defendant and the financial needs of the defendant's dependents, shall be on the defendant. The burden of demonstrating such other matters as the court deems appropriate shall be upon the party designated by the court as justice requires.

Id. (emphasis added). Thus, as to issues other than the amount of the victim's loss and the finances of the defendant and his dependents, the MVRA entrusts allocation of the burden of proof to the district court's discretion.

As a general matter, the burden of proof as to a given issue is normally placed on the party that has an affirmative goal and presumptive access to proof. See, e.g., United States v. Technodyne LLC, 753 F.3d 368, 380 (2d Cir. 2014); 9 J. Wigmore, Evidence  2486 (Chadbourne rev. 1981). With respect to requests by defendants for credits against their restitution obligations, this principle has been applied to place the burden of proof on the defendant, whether the payments to the victim were made by the defendant himself, see, e.g., United States v. Sheinbaum, 136 F.3d 443, 449 (5th Cir. 1998) (the burden of proving an offset should lie with the defendant because the defendant should know the value of any compensation he has already provided to the victim), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1133, 119 S.Ct. 1808, 143 L.Ed.2d 1011 (1999); United States v. Malone, 747 F.3d 481, 486 (7th Cir. 2014) (the defendant is in the best position to know what he has returned to the victim and has the strongest incentive to litigate the issue), or were made by other persons, see Elson, 577 F.3d at 734.

In Elson, the defendantin a direct appeal from the restitution portion of his sentence for conspiracy to obstruct a grand jury investigation by concealing assets from creditors, his ex-wife, and the governmentchallenged the denial of restitution credit for a civil lawsuit settlement payment to a victim by one of Elson's coconspirators, and for the transfer of property to the government by another coconspirator. The court of appeals, noting that the MVRA allocates the burdens of proof as to various issues to the parties who are best able to satisfy those burdens, stated that [t]he burden of proving an offset should lie with the defendant. 577 F.3d at 734 (internal quotation marks omitted). The court concluded that Elson had not carried that burden.

As to the settlement payment received by one victim from a coconspirator, Elson was held not entitled to restitution credit for the entire loss because he ha[d] not shown that, the victim had actually received compensation for that entire loss. Id. at 734; see also id. at 735 (funds the victims have not received cannot reduce or offset the amount of losses the defendant is required to repay (emphasis in original) (internal quotation marks omitted)); Yalincak, 853 F.3d at 635 (credit inappropriate until the offsetting funds are actually received by the victim); United States v. McGinn, 787 F.3d 116, 13031 (2d Cir. 2015) (same). As to the property that Elson's coconspirator turned over to the government, the court noted, inter alia, that Elson had not shown that that was the same property of which the victims had been defrauded, see Elson, 577 F.3d at 73435, and that Elson ha[d] not met his burden of showing that the government  collected on the returned [property] and distributed the proceeds to the victims, id. at 735.

In the present case, Smathers unquestionably has the strongest incentive to establish that he is entitled to a reduction of his remaining restitution obligation. And as the government was not a party to the civil litigation on which Smathers relies, the government has no greater access than Smathers to the records in that litigation. We see no abuse of discretion in the district court's determination that justice required that Smatherswho caused injury to AOL and seeks credit for payments to AOL by other personshave the burden of proving that recoveries by AOL in civil litigation were for the same loss that he caused and that AOL has been compensated in full for the loss he caused.

C. Other Contentions

Smathers also contends, inter alia, that the district court's refusal to find that the AOL recoveries were for the same loss caused by Smathers was clearly erroneous, and that the court improperly denied his motion without a hearing. His contentions are meritless.

Smathers's argument that AOL's Hawke Litigation complaint itself showed that any recovery in that case compensated the same loss that was caused by Smathers is far wide of the mark. In so arguing, he quotes an allegation in that complaint that the defendants conspired [] with one another and third parties to intentionally exceed authorized access to AOL's Protected Computer Facilities by harvesting and collecting AOL Member e-mail addresses. (Smathers brief on appeal at 16 (internal quotation marks omitted).) But the individual defendants in that case were Hawke, Bournival, and 50 JohnDoe defendants whose names were not then known to AOL (see Hawke Litigation complaint  1, 12); and Smathers cannot point to anything in the complaint that mentions his name. Further, given the quoted allegation's reference to plural third parties, nothing implies that the defendants obtained stolen AOL customer lists only from Smathers.

Nor do we see any error in the district court's conclusion that Smathers's remaining restitution obligation should not be reduced by restitution payments made by Dunaway. The court found that the restitution payments made by Smathers and those made by Dunaway do not total as much as $84,000, a finding that is not challenged. And the Judgment against Smathers stated that AOL's total loss was $300,000the amount of loss that Smathers's plea agreement stated was intended.

To the extent that Smathers contends he has been denied a fair hearing, his contention is meritless. As described in Part I above, despite being informed by the district court's 2007 Order that any motion for restitution credit should be accompanied by affidavits or other competent proof, Smathers has repeatedly argued only that the burden should be on the government to disprove assertions as to which he has presented no competent evidence. The court heard those arguments; no further hearing was required.

CONCLUSION

We have considered all of Smathers's contentions on this appeal and have found them to be without merit. The June 2016 Order of the district court is affirmed.

KEARSE, Circuit Judge:
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ANDRE S. LEWIS, Appellant No. 16-4378 Decided: January 08, 2018

Before: SHWARTZ and ROTH, Circuit Judges, and PAPPERT, District Judge.*

OPINION**

Andre Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of unarmed bank robbery and two counts of attempted unarmed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  2113(a), and was sentenced pursuant to the career offender guideline, U.S.S.G.  4B1.1. Because Lewis's bank robbery convictions and prior conviction for aggravated assault under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  2702(a)(4) are crimes of violence under  4B1.1, and because he also had a prior drug conviction, he was properly sentenced under the career offender guideline, and we will affirm.

I

In June 2015, Lewis entered a Wells Fargo bank in Philadelphia, displayed the handle of a firearm, and passed the teller a note stating: I know where you live. Dn't make any funny movements or us an your coworkers are fuckin dead hand over cash. The teller handed Lewis $1,740.25, and Lewis left the bank. Over the next month, Lewis twice attempted to rob another Wells Fargo bank using similar demand notes but left with no money. Lewis pleaded guilty to bank robbery and attempted bank robbery in violation of  2113(a).

The United States Probation Office prepared a Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) recommending that Lewis be sentenced as a career offender under  4B1.1. Under that provision, a defendant qualifies for the career offender enhancement if, among other things, he is convicted of either a controlled substance offense or a crime of violence and has at least two prior convictions falling within those two categories. U.S.S.G.  4B1.1(a). According to the PSR, Lewis was convicted of bank robbery, which the PSR stated was a crime of violence, and had prior drug and aggravated assault convictions.

Lewis objected to the career offender designation on the ground that his prior aggravated assault conviction did not qualify as a crime of violence. The District Court rejected that argument, departed downward from the applicable career offender Guidelines range of 151 to 181 months, and sentenced Lewis to 120 months' imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. Lewis appeals.

II 1

Lewis argues that his unarmed bank robbery conviction and his prior Pennsylvania aggravated assault conviction are not crime[s] of violence under U.S.S.G.  4B1.2, and therefore, it was error to sentence him as a career offender.

Whether a  conviction constitutes a crime of violence for purposes of the career offender Guideline is a question of law over which we exercise plenary review. United States v. Brown, 765 F.3d 185, 188 (3d Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted). However, where a defendant fails to preserve his objection in the District Court, we review for plain error. United States v. Russell, 564 F.3d 200, 203 (3d Cir. 2009); see also Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b) (A plain error that affects substantial rights may be considered even though it was not brought to the court's attention.). In the District Court, Lewis argued only that his prior aggravated assault conviction is not a crime of violence under the career offender provision. Thus, the District Court's application of the career offender sentencing guideline is subject to plain error review with respect to Lewis's bank robbery conviction and plenary review with respect to Lewis's aggravated assault conviction.

Regardless of the standard of review, each issue raised on appeal requires us to consider whether a particular offense constitutes a crime of violence under  4B1.2. A crime of violence is defined as any offense under federal or state law, punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. U.S.S.G.  4B1.2(a)(1). [P]hysical force under  4B1.2(a)(1) means violent force, which is a force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person. Johnson v. United States, 559 U.S. 133, 140 (2010) (interpreting physical force as used in the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C.  924(e)(2)(B)(i), whose language is identical to  4B1.2(a)(1)). In addition, the use of physical force must be knowing or intentional; recklessness or gross negligence are insufficient. United States v. Chapman, 866 F.3d 129, 133-36 (3d Cir. 2017); United States v. Otero, 502 F.3d 331, 335 (3d Cir. 2007).

To determine whether the crime of conviction is a crime of violence, courts typically apply the categorical approach, which compares the elements of the statute under which the defendant was convicted with the definition of a crime of violence. Chapman, 866 F.3d at 133-34 (citing Descamps v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2276, 2281 (2013)). Specifically, we ask whether the use or threat of physical force is an element of the [statute] under which the defendant was convicted. Id. at *4. This requires us to ascertain the least culpable conduct hypothetically necessary to sustain a conviction under the statute. United States v. Dahl, 833 F.3d 345, 350 (3d Cir. 2016) (internal quotation marks omitted). In making this determination, we look only to the statutory definitionsi.e., the elementsof a defendant's  offense, and not to the particular facts underlying the conviction. Chapman, 866 F.3d at 134 (internal quotation marks, alterations, and emphasis omitted). That crime is then compared to the crime of violence definition described above. Id. at 133-36.

With this background, we will consider whether unarmed bank robbery under  2113(a) and aggravated assault under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  2702(a)(4) are crimes of violence.

III

A

Section 2113(a) provides, in relevant part:

Whoever, by force and violence, or by intimidation, takes, or attempts to take, from the person or presence of another, or obtains or attempts to obtain by extortion any property or money or any other thing of value belonging to, or in the care, custody, control, management, or possession of, any bank, credit union, or any savings and loan association. 

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

18 U.S.C.  2113(a). The elements of the crime are: [1] taking, or attempting to take, [2] anything of value, [3] by force and violence, by intimidation, or by extortion from a financial institution whose accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. United States v. Askari, 140 F.3d 536, 548 (3d Cir. 1998) (en banc), vacated and superseded on other grounds on reconsideration, 159 F.3d 774 (3d Cir. 1998); see also 18 U.S.C.  2113(f) (defining bank). Thus,  2113(a) bank robbery is committed by force and violence, or by intimidation or by extortion. The least culpable conduct for which a defendant can be convicted under the statute is taking money or property by intimidation. We must therefore assess whether intimidation necessarily includes a use of physical force, meaning force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person, Johnson, 559 U.S. at 140, and if so, whether the intimidation must be intentional or knowing.

To intimidate under  2113(a) means to cause fear of bodily injury. Askari, 140 F.3d at 541; see also United States v. Ellison, 866 F.3d 32, 37 (1st Cir. 2017) (concluding that proving intimidation under  2113(a) requires proving that a threat of bodily harm was made); United States v. McBride, 826 F.3d 293, 296 (6th Cir. 2016) (observing that [r]obbery by intimidation involves the threat to do immediate bodily harm) (alterations, internal quotation marks, and emphasis omitted). Causing a fear of bodily injury in the context of a bank robbery necessarily requires a threat of physical force. As the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently observed, [t]he kind of intimidation that suffices to put a victim in fear of bodily injury during the course of a bank robbery  is the very sort of threat of immediate, destructive, and violent force required to satisfy the crime of violence definition. United States v. Brewer, 848 F.3d 711, 715 (5th Cir. 2017) (internal quotation marks omitted); cf. Chapman, 866 F.3d at 135 (concluding that a threat to injure another necessarily threatens the use of physical force). Thus, robbery by intimidation under  2113(a) necessarily includes the use or threatened use of physical force. Brewer, 848 F.3d at 715-16; Ellison, 866 F.3d at 35-38; McBride, 826 F.3d at 296; United States v. McNeal, 818 F.3d 141, 153 (4th Cir. 2016). Therefore,  2113(a)'s intimidation element satisfies  4B1.2(a)(1)'s use or threatened use of force requirement.

Section 2113(a) also satisfies  4B1.2(a)(1)'s scienter requirement even though  2113(a) lacks explicit scienter language. The Supreme Court has held that  2113(a) requir[es] proof of general intentthat is, that the defendant possessed knowledge with respect to the actus reus of the crime (here, the taking of property of another by force and violence or intimidation). Carter v. United States, 530 U.S. 255, 268 (2000) (emphasis omitted). Thus,  2113(a) has an implicit scienter requirement of intent or knowledge as to the taking of property by intimidation, which forecloses Lewis's argument that a defendant could be convicted under that statute for mere reckless or negligent conduct. See Ellison, 866 F.3d at 38-40 (noting Carter requires proof defendant knowingly took property and knew that his actions were objectively intimidating); McNeal, 818 F.3d at 155-56 (same); McBride, 826 F.3d at 296 (observing Carter requires prosecution to prove that defendant at least kn[e]w that his actions would create the impression in an ordinary person that resistance would be met by force).

Therefore, because federal bank robbery by intimidation necessarily involves the use or threatened use of physical force and proof of the required mental state, it qualifies as a crime of violence within the meaning of  4B1.2, see Ellison, 866 F.3d at 35 (holding that 18 U.S.C.  2113(a) is a crime of violence under the force clause of  4B1.2); Brewer, 848 F.3d at 716 (same); McBride, 826 F.3d at 295-96 (same), and the District Court did not err in so finding.

B

Lewis also argues that the District Court erred in finding that his prior conviction for aggravated assault under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  2702(a)(4) constitutes a crime of violence. To evaluate his claim, we must determine whether the elements of  2702(a)(4) necessarily include a use of physical force under  4B1.2(a)(1)'s force clause and proof of intent or knowledge.

Section 2702(a)(4) punishes a person who attempts to cause or intentionally or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  2702(a)(4). The provision explicitly requires intent or knowledge, thereby satisfying the force clause's required mental state. See Chapman, 866 F.3d at 135-36; Otero, 502 F.3d at 335. Thus, we must determine whether  2702(a)(4)'s element of caus[ing] bodily injury with a deadly weapon requires use of physical force under  4B1.2(a)(1), meaning a violent force that is capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person, Johnson, 559 U.S. at 140 (emphasis omitted).

To determine whether the crime includes that sort of violent force, we must examine two terms in the statute: bodily injury and deadly weapon. Pennsylvania defines [b]odily injury to mean an impairment of physical condition or substantial pain, and [d]eadly weapon to include any  device or instrumentality which, in the manner in which it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to produce death or serious bodily injury. 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  2301. Aggravated assault under  2702(a)(4) therefore requires intentional or knowing conduct sufficient to cause bodily impairment or substantial pain by means of a device that is calculated or likely to produce death or serious injury. Because it is impossible to cause bodily injury without applying force, Castleman, 134 S. Ct. at 1415, conduct causing bodily impairment or substantial pain necessarily involves a use of a force. Moreover, the force under  2702(a)(4) necessarily includes physical force within the meaning of  4B1.2(a)(1) because  2702(a)(4) requires use of an object calculated or likely to produce death or serious injury. Hence, the offense requires proof of violent force capable of causing physical pain or injury, required by Johnson, 559 U.S. at 140 (emphasis omitted). United States v. Whindleton, 797 F.3d 105, 114 (1st Cir. 2015) (explaining the dangerous weapon element imports the violent force required by Johnson into the otherwise overbroad simple assault statute); see also Johnson, 559 U.S. at 140-41 (suggesting that the ACCA's force element would be satisfied by crimes characterized by extreme physical force, such as murder, forcible rape, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon) (internal quotation marks omitted). As a result, aggravated assault under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  2702(a)(4) qualifies as a crime of violence under  4B1.2(a)(1), and the District Court was correct in so finding.

IV

For the foregoing reasons, Lewis was properly designated a career offender under  4B1.1, and we will affirm.

FOOTNOTES

. The District Court had jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C.  3231. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.  1291 and 3742.

. Lewis does not dispute that his drug conviction is a qualifying offense under the career offender provision.

. To establish plain error, Lewis must demonstrate: (1) an error; (2) that is clear or obvious; and (3) that affects his substantial rights. Gov't of the V.I. v. Mills, 821 F.3d 448, 456 (3d Cir. 2016). If all three prongs are satisfied, then our Court has discretion to remedy the error only if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Id. at 457 (internal quotation marks and alteration omitted).

. The word use in the force clause of  4B1.2(a)(1) means the intentional employment of  force, generally to obtain some end. Tran v. Gonzales, 414 F.3d 464, 470 (3d Cir. 2005).

. Although Johnson involved a sentencing enhancement under the ACCA, our Court has extended that analysis to  4B1.2. E.g., United States v. Chapman, 866 F.3d 129, 132 n.3 (3d Cir. 2017); Brown, 765 F.3d at 189 n.2; United States v. Hopkins, 577 F.3d 507, 511 (3d Cir. 2009).

. If a statute is divisible such that it list[s] elements in the alternative, and thereby define[s] multiple crimes, then courts use the modified categorical approach, which allows a court to consider certain limited documents to determine what crime, with what elements, a defendant was convicted of. Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243, 2249 (2016).

. Our concurring colleague, relying on United States v. Robinson, 844 F.3d 137, 141 (3d Cir. 2016), says that we need not resort to the categorical approach to determine whether the instant conviction (as opposed to a prior conviction) constitutes a crime of violence because the record of all necessary facts [concerning the offense] are before the District Court. After Robinson, however, our Court issued Chapman, in which it applied the categorical approach to determine whether the instant offense there constituted a crime of violence under  4B1.2, see Chapman, 866 F.3d at 131-34, even though the Court had the facts before it and could have reviewed the record to evaluate whether the offense was a crime of violence. We are bound to follow Chapman and not Robinson. First, like this case, Chapman assessed whether a conviction constituted a crime of violence under the career offender sentencing enhancement and the conviction was based on a plea rather than a trial. In contrast, Robinson concerned whether a post-trial conviction for Hobbs Act robbery qualified as a crime of violence for purposes of a conviction under 18 U.S.C.  924(c), which punishes brandishing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. 844 F.3d at 139-40. Second, the Chapman panel was aware of Robinson and chose not to apply it, see, e.g., 866 F.3d at 136 (Jordan, J., concurring) (citing Robinson). Moreover, four other circuit courts have similarly applied the categorical or modified categorical approach to assess whether an instant offense of federal bank robbery was a crime of violence under the career offender sentencing enhancement. See United States v. Harper 869 F.3d 624, 626-27 (8th Cir. 2007); UnitedStates v. Ellison, 866 F.3d 32, (1st Cir. 2017); United States v. Brewer, 848 F.3d 711 (5th Cir. 2017); United States v. McBride, 826 F.3d 293 (6th Cir. 2016). As a result, we have applied Chapman because that is what the precedent requires.Our application of the precedent, however, does not mean that our concurring colleague and the courts whose opinions she cites lack a well-founded concern. In fact, we agree with the observations of these jurists concerning the practicalities (or put differently, the lack of reality) sometimes associated with the categorical approach. Thus, contrary to the concurrence's characterization, we are not closing our eyes to the facts or even the well-placed criticism of the categorical approach. Rather, we are applying the approach required by the current, albeit criticized, precedent.In any event, whether or not we apply the categorical approach, the result is the same because Lewis's unarmed bank robbery conviction constituted a crime of violence under the enumerated offenses clause of  4B1.2. In the context of the Sentencing Guidelines, generic federal robbery is defined  without the requirement of more than de minimis force. United States v. Graves, __ F.3d __, 2017 WL ______ (3d Cir. Dec. 13, 2017). Robbery by intimidation under  2113(a) requires at least de minimis force and therefore is consistent with the generic crime of robbery referenced in  4B1.2's enumerated offenses clause. For this additional reason, it qualifies as a crime of violence.

. Lewis's argument that intimidation in the form of a threat to cause bodily injury can occur without the use of physical force, such as through a threat to release poison or a hazardous substance, was rejected in United States v. Castleman, where the Supreme Court stated that poisoning does constitute a use or attempted use of physical force even though the force is applied indirectly. 134 S. Ct. 1405, 1415 (2014) (explaining that the use of force is the act of employing poison knowingly as a device to cause physical harm and that the fact the harm occurs indirectly, rather than directly (as with a kick or punch), does not matter); see also Ellison, 866 F.3d at 37-38 (rejecting same argument raised by Lewis). Although Castleman involved the application of the force clause in 18 U.S.C.  921(a)(33)(A)(ii), our Court has explicitly extended Castleman's analysis of the use of physical force to the use of physical force clause under  4B1.2(a)(1). Chapman, 866 F.3d at 132-33; see also Ellison, 866 F.3d at 37-38 (same).

. Even before Johnson's interpretation of physical force under the ACCA, courts of appeal held that  2113(a) bank robbery was a crime of violence under  4B1.2. See United States v. Wright, 957 F.2d 520, 521 (8th Cir. 1992); United States v. Jones, 932 F.2d 624, 625 (7th Cir. 1991); United States v. Selfa, 918 F.2d 749, 751 (9th Cir. 1990); United States v. Davis, 915 F.2d 132, 133 (4th Cir. 1990); United States v. Maddalena, 893 F.2d 815, 819 (6th Cir. 1989).

. The parties do not dispute that Pennsylvania's aggravated assault statute is divisible, meaning the modified categorical approach applies, and that Lewis was convicted under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat.  2702(a)(4).

. Lewis's reliance on Commonwealth v. Thomas, 867 A.2d 594, 597 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005), which affirmed the aggravated assault conviction of a mother who neglected and starved her child to death is misplaced because that case involves a different provision of Pennsylvania's aggravated assault statute. Moreover, our Court has rejected the argument that causing bodily injury or death does not necessarily require a use of violent force. Chapman, 866 F.3d at 135-36.

SHWARTZ, Circuit Judge.
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. CARLOS ALBERTO PAREDES-RIVEROS, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent No. 17-1695 Decided: January 09, 2018

Before: AMBRO, KRAUSE, and RENDELL, Circuit Judges

OPINION*

Carlos Paredes-Riveros, a native and citizen of Peru, petitions us to remand to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) his second motion to reopen his removal proceedings. In March of 2009 an Immigration Judge (IJ) ordered Paredes removed to Peru after finding him ineligible for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Paredes appealed, and the BIA affirmed. Fifteen months later, he filed a motion to reopen his removal proceedings; the BIA denied that motion and entered its final order of removal. Paredes petitioned us to review the BIA's decision, and we dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Years later, in November of 2016, he filed a numerically barred and untimely motion with the BIA asking that it reopen his case on its own motion. 8 U.S.C.  1229a(c)(7)(A) (An alien may file one motion to reopen proceedings. ); id.  1229a(c)(7)(C)(i) ( [T]he motion to reopen shall be filed within 90 days of the date of entry of a final administrative order of removal.); 8 C.F.R.  1003.2(a) ([The BIA] may at any time reopen  on its own motion any case in which it has rendered a decision.).

Paredes sought sua sponte reopening so that he could apply for an adjustment of status under 8 U.S.C.  1255(a) through his daughter, a recently naturalized U.S. citizen, and ask the Department of Homeland Security for a Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds (TRIG) exemption. Based on allegedly changed conditions in Peru, he also sought reopening to reapply for asylum under 8 U.S.C.  1158(a), withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C.  1231(b)(3), and CAT protection. The BIA denied the motion in its entirety. In his petition for review, Paredes argues that the BIA erred by basing its decision not to reopen sua sponte on an incorrect legal premise and abused its discretion by failing to consider his arguments and evidence of changed conditions in Peru.

The BIA had jurisdiction over Paredes's motion to reopen under 8 C.F.R.  1003(2). While we have jurisdiction over petitions for review of BIA final orders under 8 U.S.C.  1252(a)(1), we have repeatedly held that the BIA has unfettered discretion to decline to sua sponte reopen.  Chehazeh v. Att'y Gen., 666 F.3d 118, 129 (3d Cir. 2012) (quoting Calle-Vujiles v. Ashcroft, 320 F.3d 472, 475 (3d Cir. 2003)). Therefore, we generally cannot review its denial of sua sponte reopening. See Sang Goo Park v. Att'y Gen., 846 F.3d 645, 651 (3d Cir. 2017).

One exception, argued in this petition, is if the BIA relie[d] on an incorrect legal premise in denying [the] motion. Id. That did not occur here. The BIA found that even if [Paredes were] granted [a TRIG] exemption, his [b]ecoming potentially eligible for [a family-based visa] after a final administrative decision has been entered is common and does not, in itself, constitute an exceptional circumstance warranting sua sponte reopening. See Chehazeh, 666 F.3d at 128 ([T]he BIA views its authority to reopen as being limited and only available in exceptional situations' ). Contrary to his briefing, this determination addressed the TRIG exemption arguments and is outside our jurisdiction to review.

Paredes's abuse-of-discretion arguments also fail. To overcome the time and numerical limits for filing his motion to reopen, Paredes needed to demonstrate an adverse change in conditions in Peru, 8 U.S.C.  1229a(c)(7)(C)(ii); 8 C.F.R.  1003.2(c)(2), which the BIA held he did not. He asserts that the BIA failed to address each argument he raised regarding changed conditions and gave insufficient consideration to the evidence.

The BIA abuses its discretion when it fails to consider and appraise the [arguments and] material evidence before it. Shardar v. Att'y Gen., 503 F.3d 308, 315 (3d Cir. 2007) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Fei Yan Zhu v. Att'y Gen., 744 F.3d 268, 272 (3d Cir. 2014) (defining the abuse-of-discretion standard as whether the BIA meaningfully considered the evidence and arguments  presented). But while it may not ignore evidence favorable to Paredes, it need not expressly parse each point or discuss each piece of evidence presented  Fei Yan Zhu, 744 F.3d at 272. Rather, the BIA must simply provide an indication that it considered such evidence, and if [it] is rejected, an explanation as to why it was rejected. Id.; see also Filja v. Gonzalez, 447 F.3d 241, 256 (3d Cir. 2006) (The BIA need not write an exegesis on every contention raised, but merely  consider the issues raised, and announce its decision in terms sufficient to enable a reviewing court to perceive that it has heard and thought and not merely reacted.).

Here, the BIA indicated that it had considered Paredes's evidence and arguments and explained why it found them insufficient. Citing specific exhibits Paredes included in his motion, the BIA found that the background evidence reflects that Peruvian authorities have long combated [the] Shining Path, and that, while [it] continues to target individuals and the Peruvian military, substantially similar conditions existed at the time of [Paredes's] 2009 hearing. Therefore, the BIA was not persuaded that conditions in Peru are materially different with respect to the [Paredes's] claim for future persecution or alleged fear of torture. Neither the BIA's decision nor its reasoning show an abuse of discretion.

We therefore must deny the petition to remand.

FOOTNOTES

. Without a TRIG exemption, Paredes could not be eligible for an adjustment of status. Following his March 2009 hearing, the IJ found that he had provided material support to Shining Path, a designated foreign terrorist organization. An alien who provides material support to a terrorist organization is inadmissible, and therefore ineligible for adjustment of status. 8 U.S.C  1182(a)(3)(B)(i)(VII), 1225(a).

. The ninety-day limit to file a motion to reopen does not apply to motions for asylum relief based on changed country conditions [,] proven by evidence that is material and was not available and would not have been discovered or presented at the previous proceeding. 8 U.S.C.  1229a(c)(7)(C)(ii).

. We further note that even if the BIA had found Paredes's recent eligibility for adjustment of status to be an exceptional situation, the presence of an exceptional situation does not compel it to act; the BIA may still decide against reopening. Sang Goo Park, 846 F.3d at 650.

AMBRO, Circuit Judge
The Holy See recently rebranded its media outlets under the Vatican News logo and it has announced it has a community that exceeds 4 million users on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

The Vatican's Secretariat for Communication said on Jan. 9 the is due to an ongoing reform of Vatican communications launched in 2014 by Pope Francis and his nine cardinal advisors.

They make up the Council of Cardinals, which meets every few months to discuss the ongoing reform of the Roman Curia according to Catholic News Agency.

The launch of a Global Page on Facebook, brought together more than three million followers, who can now consult the pages of the six languages currently available (English, Italian, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese).

To map out what a possible reform of Vatican communications, the Pope in 2014 established an international commission headed by British Lord Chris Patten to study the current process and provide suggestions.

Francis then established the Secretariat for Communications in June 2015, naming Italian Monsignor Dario Vigano as its first head, with its focus on consolidation and increasing the news service's presence in the digital world.

The secretariat oversees all of the Vatican's communications offices, including Vatican Radio, L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican Television Center, the Holy See Press Office, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Vatican Internet Service, the Vatican Typography office, the Vatican's Photography Service, and the Vatican publishing house.

At the Council of Cardinals' most recent meeting in December, Vigano unveiled the new logo and design for the Vatican News website.

This consolidated the Vatican's former news and radio pages into a new multimedia hub, which features audio, text, video and graphics, available in multiple languages.

The Vatican's YouTube channel, which offers viewers live coverage of the Pope's activities, has also been rebranded with the same new logo and given the "Vatican News" title.

Social media for Vatican News is managed by the Secretariat for Communications' Editorial and Theological-Pastoral departments. The secretariat also manages the Pope's social media accounts in collaboration with the Secretariat of State.

Pope Francis has a high number of followers on his various social media accounts, which include his "@Pontifex" account on Twitter.

This has more than 44 million followers in 9 languages, and his "@Franciscus" Instagram account, with more than 5 million followers on its one multilingual channel
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. BAY MILLS INDIAN COMMUNITY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. RICK SNYDER, Governor, Defendant-Appellee, SAGINAW CHIPPEWA INDIAN TRIBE OF MICHIGAN, Proposed Intervenor-Appellant. No. 17-1362 Decided: January 09, 2018

BEFORE: CLAY, GIBBONS, and BUSH, Circuit Judges.

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan (Saginaw) appeals the district court's denial of its motion for permissive intervention under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(b). Saginaw alleges that the district court erred in finding that it did not share a common question of law or fact with the main action. Saginaw further claims that the district court abused its discretion in denying permissive intervention because the district court incorrectly imposed requirements necessary for mandatory intervention onto its permissive intervention analysis.

We hold that the district court did not err in denying Saginaw's motion for permissive intervention. Even if there was a common question of law or fact, Saginaw's motion for intervention was not timely and the district court did not abuse its discretion. We therefore affirm.

I.

Saginaw is seeking to intervene in a dispute between the Bay Mills Indian Community (Bay Mills) and the state of Michigan (represented by its governor, Rick Snyder). The dispute arose in 2010 when Bay Mills began operating a casino in Vanderbilt, Michigan. Michigan v. Bay Mills Indian Cmty., 134 S. Ct. 2024, 2029 (2014). Michigan sued Bay Mills one month after the casino opened, alleging that the casino violated Bay Mills's compact with the State and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), 25 U.S.C.  2701 et seq. Id. Under both the state compact and IGRA, Bay Mills was only permitted to open casinos on Indian lands. Id. Bay Mills defended that the Vanderbilt land was Indian land because it was purchased with accrued interest from a federal appropriation under the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act (MILCSA), which states that any land acquired with the appropriated funds shall be held as Indian lands are held. 111 Stat. 2652  107(a)(3); Bay Mills Indian Cmty., 134 S. Ct. at 2029.

The district court issued a preliminary injunction against Bay Mills, but this Circuit reversed, holding that tribal sovereign immunity barred the state from suing Bay Mills. Bay Mills Indian Cmty., 134 S. Ct. at 202930. Instead, Michigan could only proceed against individual defendants. Id. The Supreme Court granted certiorari and affirmed this Circuit's finding of sovereign immunity. Id. at 2039. In accordance with that decision, the case was remanded to the district court and Michigan amended its complaint to drop the claims against Bay Mills and to plead claims against the current members of the Bay Mills Executive Council and Bay Mills Gaming Commission. The case is now known informally as Glezen, after the first defendant named on the pleadings after remand.

Concurrently to Glezen, in 2011, Bay Mills filed another lawsuitthe instant caseseeking a declaratory judgment that the Vanderbilt land was Indian land and that the casino was not in violation of the state compact or IGRA. This declaratory judgment suit was stayed pending the Glezen decision. In 2015, after the remand, Michigan and Bay Mills entered into stipulations to coordinate both Glezen and this case. In part, the stipulations required Michigan to file a dispositive motion raising the sole issue of whether lands purchased with funds from the MILCSA were Indian lands, before proceeding on any other dispositive motions or discovery.

A day before Michigan was due to file its dispositive motion on the MILCSA issue, Saginaw moved for both mandatory and permissive intervention as a defendant. The district court denied the motion. It found that Saginaw did not have a sufficient legal interest in the suit to warrant mandatory intervention, nor did Saginaw have the common question of law or fact necessary for permissive intervention. Saginaw now appeals only the denial of permissive intervention under Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 24(b). Both Michigan and Bay Mills oppose Saginaw's proposed intervention.

II.

We review the district court's denial of a motion for permissive intervention for abuse of discretion. Coal. to Defend Affirmative Action v. Granholm, 501 F.3d 775, 784 (6th Cir. 2007). Under this deferential standard, the court should revers[e] only if left with the definite and firm conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment. Serv. Emps. Int'l Union Local 1 v. Husted, 515 F. App'x 539, 541 (6th Cir. 2013) (quoting Granholm, 501 F.3d at 784).

A district court has discretion to grant permissive intervention on a timely motion to anyone who has a claim or defense that shares with the main action a common question of law or fact. Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(b)(1)(B). In exercising its discretion, the district court must also consider whether the intervention will unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the original parties' rights. Id. 24(b)(3).

Here, Saginaw argues that it does share a common question with the dispute between Bay Mills and Michigan. It mainly relies on the fact that its responses to Bay Mills's amended complaint substantially mirror the positions advanced by Michigan. However, Saginaw cites no precedent to support the idea that pleading similar responses necessarily indicates a common question of law or fact. Indeed, if that were true, any party wishing to intervene to support one side of a lawsuit could simply reiterate the pleadings of that side and thus meet the common question requirement. Permissive intervention cannot be interpreted so broadly.

Saginaw further argues that this case involves an interpretation of IGRA, which governs all Indian tribes, including Saginaw; therefore, this IGRA issue fulfills the common question requirement. However, the district court correctly held that the real issue in this case does not involve interpreting IGRA, but rather the MILCSA. IGRA provides a framework for regulating gambling activity on Indian lands. Bay Mills Indian Cmty., 134 S. Ct. at 2028. Pursuant to IGRA, Bay Mills and Michigan entered into a compact in 1993, which allowed Bay Mills to operate casinos on Indian lands. Id. at 2029.

Separately, under the MILCSA, Congress appropriated certain funds to go into a land trust for Bay Mills, and earnings from that trust were to be used to improve or purchase property. Id. The MILCSA also stated that any land so acquired shall be held as Indian lands are held. 111 Stat. 2652  107(a)(3). Based on this MILCSA language, Bay Mills and Michigan contest whether the Vanderbilt land, which was purchased with MILCSA funds, constitutes Indian land. Thus, as the district court correctly noted, the court is actually interpreting MILCSA, not IGRA. Since Saginaw is not a party to the MILCSA, nor to the Bay Mills-Michigan compact, it does not share any common questions with this case.

Saginaw points out that since Bay Mills is arguing that the Vanderbilt land is Indian land, the district court's decision will inevitably impact what Indian land means under IGRA. However, the case is mainly focused on the language in MILCSA, not IGRA, and any effect on the interpretation of IGRA would be a mere side effect. Allowing this to fulfill the common question requirement would mean that any Indian tribe would be able to intervene whenever IGRA is implicated in any wayor, to analogize, it would allow any employer to intervene in any Title VII suit. Such an interpretation would be much too broad. Accordingly, the district court was correct to find that Saginaw does not meet the common question requirement for permissive intervention because it is not a party to MILCSA.

III.

Additionally, Saginaw's motion for intervention was not timely. When considering whether a motion to intervene is timely, the court should consider all the circumstances, including:

(1) the point to which the suit has progressed; (2) the purpose for which intervention is sought; (3) the length of time preceding the application during which the proposed intervenors knew or should have known of their interest in the case; (4) the prejudice to the original parties due to the proposed intervenors' failure to promptly intervene after they knew or reasonably should have known of their interest in the case; and (5) the existence of unusual circumstances militating against or in favor of intervention.

Jansen v. City of Cincinnati, 904 F.2d 336, 340 (6th Cir. 1990). Here, these factors point to a finding of untimeliness. First, Saginaw filed its motion to intervene more than five years after this suit was initiated in 2011. Second, Saginaw admits that it has known about this litigation since the case began. And third, this dispute has been to the Supreme Court and back, and there has been much discovery and negotiation between the original parties.

While Saginaw is correct is noting that there is no absolute amount of time that makes a motion untimely, Stupak-Thrall v. Glickman, 226 F.3d 467, 475 (6th Cir. 2000), and that a court can still allow intervention even when a case is well advanced, In re Telectronics Pacing Sys., Inc., 221 F.3d 870, 88182 (6th Cir. 2000), the factors here indicate that Saginaw should have filed a motion to intervene earlier. Accordingly, we hold that Saginaw's motion to intervene was untimely.

IV.

Lastly, even if Saginaw's motion was timely and did share a common question with the main litigation, the district court still has discretion to decide whether or not to grant permissive intervention. Here, the court was reasonable to conclude that the circumstances of this case did not warrant an intervention by Saginaw. The district court pointed out that Michigan has filed a summary judgment motion representing Saginaw's view that the Vanderbilt land is not Indian land simply because it was purchased with MILCSA funds. The fact that Saginaw's position is being represented counsels against granting permissive intervention. See Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. Thompson, 164 F.R.D. 672, 678 (W.D. Wis. 1996.) Additionally, the long history of the dispute and the extensive litigation that has already occurred between Bay Mills and Michigan also suggest that intervention would not be appropriate.

Saginaw argues that the district court imposed the requirements of mandatory intervention in its analysis of permissive intervention. However, the district court did not do so; instead it merely considered some of the mandatory intervention factors when evaluating whether permissive intervention was appropriate in light of all the circumstances. District courts can consider such factors when evaluating permissive intervention motions. See Granholm, 501 F.3d at 784 (affirming district court's denial of motion for permissive intervention and noting that the district court had properly considered the lack of a substantial legal interest and adequate representation by the existing parties). Thus, the district court was well within its discretion to deny Saginaw's motion to intervene.

V.

For the forgoing reasons, we affirm the district court's denial of permissive intervention.

FOOTNOTES

. An amicus brief would have been more appropriate in this situation and, in fact, Governor Snyder suggested that Saginaw file an amicus brief in this case, but it did not do so.

JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge.
Schools across Australia will soon be able to provide greater support to students after the government earmarked $110 million for youth mental health.Announced this week, the major investment aims to tackle youth depression and anxiety which impact a combined total of around 400,000 under-18s every year."We know that around 4 million Australians experience a mental health condition every year," said health minister Greg Hunt. "People of all ages can be affected, either directly themselves or because someone close to them might be suffering and even young children can be deeply affected.Hunt also confirmed that $46 million of the funding will be dedicated to teaching students about good mental health throughout early learning, primary and secondary schools.The new national program will not only encourage good mental health and wellbeing practices for Australian children but it will also give school principals access to a range of face-to-face or online mental health programs.Jason Trethowan  CEO of mental health initiative Headspace  said the funding for school-based programs was particularly welcome as educators dont always know the best way to help a student who may be suffering from a mental illness.When students are feeling a little bit down or have issues at home, often they go to a teacher for support, he told ABC. We will be there on the front line, working with those school communities to help them work with those young people and families.Digital mental health services  such as Kids Helpline and ReachOut  have also received a significant funding boost and are set to share an extra $1.8 million over two years."Programs for beyondblue, Headspace, Origin and Kids Helpline and Reach Out and others are all about ensuring that we provide assistance before the problems emerge and when they do emerge there are avenues for treatment and avenues for people to seek emergency help, said Hunt.
Taiwans government is actively promoting energy transition. Will this policy intensify power supply and move up electricity rates? The Bureau of Energy from Ministry of Economic Affairs (BOE, MOEA) recently expressed that it has already carefully calculated whether the electricity supply in Taiwan will be stable and how much electricity will cost in the process of energy transition. Electricity rates depend on fuel prices and on whether power generation technology is mature. According to BOE, Taiwans electricity rates are the 7th lowest worldwide; even if its electricity rates rise in the future, the industries and households are expected to be able to afford the price rise.

BOE stressed that the goal of energy transition policy by 2025 is to make Taiwan nuclear power free, ensure that renewable energy will account for 20% of all power generation, gradually reduce the dependence of coal, and increase the portion of natural gas power generation. The plan will help reduce air pollution.

MOEA states that the Financial Times (FT) has recently acknowledged Taiwans ambition to raise its energy transition efforts and to promote the development of renewable energy. Meanwhile, it also acknowledged that there will be difficulties during the transition. FT interviewed international renowned NGOs, industrial representatives and foreign business consultants. This piece of news is thorough and not biased.

For the most part, FT's news positively affirms the Taiwan government efforts to push for energy transition and stabilize its power supply. However, some domestic media in Taiwan have partially quoted FT's news report in a misleading way. Although the MOEA responded with a thorough explanation, the domestic media has not used MOEA's latest updates.

In response to the Financial Times article, MOEA said that Taiwans energy transition is a long term process. The government will absolutely ensure the stable power supply in the process, according to MOEA. In the future, when approving major investment plans or calculating electric vehicle policy's power demand, the government's core principle will be stable power supply.

In order to maintain operating reserve rate at above 6% in 2018 and keep operating reserve above 10% from 2019 to 2025, MOEA will pay attention to the following tasks. First, it will maintain and repair the existing power generation units and power transmission and distribution systems. Second, it will begin upgrading Taiwans power plants. Third, it will plan for natural gas terminal and renewable energy station construction. Fourth, it will manage all of the risks associated with these operations. If there is any anomaly in an ongoing project, such as an engineering project falling behind schedule, MOEA will trigger a forewarning and deal with the issue instantly.

MOEA further expressed that while the initial investment of renewable energy projects in Taiwan might be high, according to the international energy industry's learning curve, costs of offshore wind power generation is lower than that of coals. On the other hand, cost of solar power generation is competitive to that of natural gas.

So as to lower future energy costs in Taiwan and enhance energy security of Taiwan, a critical measure would be to actively develop renewable energy. As renewable energy is domestically generated, the cost will be stable in the long term and is expected to fall gradually. On the other hand, imported fossil energy price can be easily affected by international affairs and its price is likely to steadily rise in the long term.

Using offshore wind power generation as an example, MOEA pointed out two notable progresses in Taiwan. First, by the end of April 2017, two companies had finished setting up demo wind turbines and successfully began to operate them commercially, despite typhoons, earthquakes and Northeast monsoons. Meanwhile, offshore wind farm projects with accumulated capacity of 10GW have passed environmental impact assessment reviews. Thus, eventually, 3GW wind farm projects are expected to get accomplished by 2025, and the power capacity could even surpass 5.5 GW, which would be higher than the original goal.

The government has been actively adjusting its mindset of renewable energy. Rather than considering it as cost, renewable energy is being viewed as a method to attract investment, increase exports, provide job opportunities, upgrade the industry, and transform the industry. There are many companies investing in and developing the renewable energy businesses. Offshore wind power generation and solar power generation are expected to be worth trillions of NT dollars in Taiwan in the future.

MOEA announced in the past that households whose monthly electricity usage is below 330 kWh will not experience electricity rate rise, so people can rest assured.

On a whole, on the absolute premise of stable power supply, the MOEA will lead energy transition in Taiwan, reduce air pollution emission, and achieve the energy transition goal on time.
To dispel skepticisms on the 5+2 Innovative Industries strategy (also known as the 5+2 Plan) and the latest renewable energy initiatives, Taiwans Bureau of Energy (BOE) released a press release on 7 January to explain the governments progress. BOEs statement emphasizes that the government is taking concrete actions to make its rhetoric into reality, as seen in implementation of the Two-Year Solar Promotion Plan, the Green Energy Roofs Project, and the Four-Year Wind Power Promotion Plan. BOEs statement also asserts that the green energy sector is the engine that will be powering the transformation of Taiwans manufacturing and service sectors under the 5+2 Plan. BOE, which is an administrative agency of Taiwans Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), predicts that the island in the future will become a major green energy service hub that connects Asia to the international market.

Since Taiwan imports 98% of its energy needs and has an independent grid system, the government must pursue energy self-sufficiency and diversification of the islands energy portfolio. The renewable energy initiatives  including those under the 5+2 Plan  are steps to realize these goals and take advantage of the current worldwide transition towards a greener economy. These initiatives furthermore are based on the action plan passed by the governments Executive Yuan on 27 October 2016. The action plan calls for increasing the share of renewable energies in the islands energy mix to 20% in 2025. To fulfill this target, the government of Taiwan will support the growth of domestic demand for renewable energies. A healthy and growing domestic market for renewable energies in turn will attract large-scale domestic and foreign investments as well as expanding employment opportunities.

BOEs statement describes the approach to developing Taiwans green energy sector as integrated with focuses on energy generation, energy conservation, and energy storage. The development of the green energy infrastructure will proceed together with the promotion of renewable energies. The government moreover encourages cooperation between domestic and foreign companies in areas such as power generation, distribution, and consumption. With practical expertise from foreign markets, Taiwans green energy sector will be able to develop solutions for end systems, industry applications, and the wider environment.

According to the press release, the target of supplying 20% of Taiwans energy needs with renewable generation by 2025 will generate 32,000 new jobs between 2016 and 2025. During the same period, investments in the domestic green energy sector is forecast to reach a cumulative total of TWD 1.8175 trillion.

In terms of the overall progress, BOE through the press release reports that the local and central governments are marshalling resources and coordinating actions to expand the installation of solar PV systems in accordance with the Two-Year Solar Promotion Plan and the Green Energy Roofs Project. With the combined efforts from all levels, Taiwans solar PV capacity will likely reach 3 gigawatts in 2020  five years ahead of the original target. Furthermore, the government of Taiwan is in the process of setting up a window agency for processing solar project applications and related inquiries. The Energy and Carbon Reduction Office, which was established by the Executive Yuan in 2016, is presently responsible for coordinating various government departments and expediting administrative works related to renewable energy projects. Going forward, there will be a fully developed window agency that also serves as an information and referral platform assisting individuals, businesses, and government. Such an agency will be dealing with applications for solar projects and other related issues (e.g. regulations, taxes, technical matters, and etc.).

BOEs statement points out that different ministries and agencies have already come to agreements on how to resolve some of the main obstacles to developing solar PV in Taiwan. With regard to the land use conflict, the government has now made more than 25,000 hectares of agricultural and public land available for solar projects that will be commissioned within the medium and long term. Local governments have also been asked to streamline the application process for solar projects that are under 500 kilowatts in scale. As for feed-in tariff, Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) has developed a 10-year plan to effectively incorporate solar energy into the islands grid.

With regard to the development of offshore wind farms, BOEs press release says that the government of Taiwan will take a gradual, phased approach. Project developers will first set up demonstration wind turbines in selected coastal areas. After these turbines have shown their generation potentials, project developers will then be permitted to take over the designated coastal sections for their wind farms. Based on this approach, Taiwan aims to raise its cumulative offshore wind capacity to 520 megawatts in 2020 and then to 3000 megawatts in 2025. BOE believes that Taiwans offshore wind power market will see more domestic and foreign investments in the future as it continues to grow steadily. Additionally, involvement of major multinational groups in the building of wind turbines near the islands shores will also introduce foreign expertise into the domestic wind industry. On the whole, the governments support for offshore wind farm will allow domestic suppliers to gain onsite experience and technical capabilities.

According to BOE, forming a local supply chain of offshore wind turbines will have a positive transformational effect on numerous industries in Taiwan. The domestic manufacturing sector will obtain know-how on underwater construction, installation of turbine towers, and building of offshore generation infrastructure. The domestic service sector on the hand can use the wind power market to develop high-value businesses such as engineering consultancy, maritime services, and financial planning for renewable energy projects.

BOE reports that China Steel Corp. (CSC) and CSBC Corp., which are respectively Taiwans domestic steel manufacturer and ship builder, have formed two separate industry alliances to bring wind power technologies from abroad. CSC leads the Wind Team that is composed of 16 domestic manufacturers, while CSBC leads the Marine Team that is made up of 20 domestic firms specializing in marine engineering. The Wind Team is interested in supplying parts for wind turbines, whereas the Marine Team is interested in having its members jointly acquire crane vessels and win bids for building offshore wind farms. Both alliances have been formed in response to governments policies and are seeking opportunities in the huge market of wind power generation and its affiliated services.

BOE in its press release says that the growth of the green energy sector is a future trend in the global economy and will bring enormous opportunities for Taiwan. The island therefore has to effectively utilize its niche advantages in solar PV and offshore wind generation to build up an internal market for renewable energies. The latest initiatives from the government are expected to create sufficient domestic demand so that the renewable industries at home will later have the resources to innovate and become more competitive. This strategy of supporting gradual and steady expansion of the green energy sector ultimately will ensure energy security, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability for the island.

(The following article is based on the content of the press release issued by Taiwans Bureau of Energy on 7 January 2018. The photo at the top of the article comes from Pixabay.)
The Hunter Museum of American Art will present two exhibitions exploring technological breakthroughs in art over two centuries and how those advances have altered the way society depicts and interprets the world. Under the Mexican Sky: A Revolution in Modern Photography examines artistic innovations in photography that blossomed in Mexico just after the end of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. New Media, New Millennium: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation considers the growing importance of electronic media in art.

Review for the exhibits:

Under the Mexican Sky: Revolution in Modern Photography, Feb. 2April 22

The exhibition at the Hunter Museum presents rare early 20th century photographs by acclaimed international photographers to explore the important role Mexico and Mexico City played in the development of international modernism, an art movement characterized by experimentation in materials, techniques, and subject matter. Featured photographers include Los Angelino Edward Weston, Hollywood silent film star-turned-photographer, Tina Modotti, New Yorker Paul Strand, Frenchman Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Mexicos Manuel Alvarez Bravo.

From the collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg. Organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions.

New Media, New Millennium: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation, Feb. 9April 29

In a world increasingly driven by digital content, New Media, New Millennium seriously considers artists who have put aside the traditional tools of art making for new onescoding algorithms, screens, and LEDs instead of paint, canvas, and brushes. The root of much digital work goes back to photography and its reliability in our age. The thirteen artists in the exhibition  including Jim Campbell, Leo Villareal, and Jennifer Steinkamp - explore our ever-changing relationship with the digital world through a variety of approaches that not only raise challenging issues, but also engage and enlighten.

Drawn from the collection of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation.

To highlight these special exhibitions as well as a current permanent collection photography exhibition, the Hunter is hosting a childrens contest. Snapshot of My World, a photography contest for school age kids, from Jan. 1-March 15. Complete contest rules and submission details are available at http://www.huntermuseum.org/photo-contest.

General admission to the Hunter Museum, including this special exhibition, is $15 for adults and free for youth 17 and under. As always, members are admitted free. To learn more about membership, visit www.huntermuseum.org/memberships.






In the wake of the Time's Up campaign, more celebrities are accused of sexual abuse. Marvel comic book fans will be disappointed to know that Stan Lee, has reportedly been accused of sexual misconduct.

According to the Daily Mail, Lee is currently in a legal dispute with a nursing company that claims he asked for oral sex in the shower and to be "pleasured" in his bedroom.

The nursing company has stated that Marvel legend has harassed every single nurse that has come to his Hollywood home.

"He's also very handsy and has groped some of the women, it's unacceptable behavior, especially from an icon like Stan," a source said.

Nurses have also claimed that the 95-year-old has walked around naked in front of them and yelled out inappropriate words while they were in his presence.

Fans of Lee found it interesting that these allegations would happen a month before one of Marvel's highly anticipated films is set to release.

As previously reported, Marvel's, Black Panther hits theaters on Feb. 16 and is the second most anticipated film in 2018 behind Avengers: Infinity War.
CBS News has announced that a familiar face in the television news organization will join Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell on CBS This Morning.

Enter John Dickerson

Face the Nation anchor John Dickerson is expected to join King and O'Donnell on CBS's morning news show. Dickerson is a familiar face to the CBS audience as he entered the network in 2009 and spent his time working on the politics beat, where he covered several presidential campaigns and moderated two presidential debates for the network. Dickerson slowly worked up the ranks until he replaced legendary reporter Bob Schieffer as the moderator of the CBS's Sunday current events program in 2015.

"John's impressive track record and strong all-around journalism extends our commitment to real news coverage every morning at CBS News," said David Rhodes, president of CBS News.

Rhodes continued to praise King and O'Donnell's leadership on CBS This Morning and believed that the trio would continue to deliver CBS's brand of excellent journalism to the audience every day on the morning news program. King and O'Donnell also released statements revealing their excitement to welcome Dickerson to the team.

Bye, Bye Charlie And Steve

Dickerson replaces founding CBS This Morning co-anchor Charlie Rose. The broadcast icon was terminated by CBS News after The Washington Post revealed that Rose had multiple accounts of sexual misconduct. King and O'Donnell announced the anchor's termination from the network on Nov. 21, 2017. Months after Rose's departure from the network, CBS News also fired former political director Steve Chaggaris from the network. The decision came after an investigation found that Chaggaris violated company policy. CBS News has not announced a replacement for Chaggaris.

The Familiar Replacements

CBS News's decision to hire Dickerson comes one week after NBC News made a prolific replacement announcement. On Jan. 2, NBC announced live on the air that Today veteran Hoda Kotb would officially join Savannah Guthrie at the show's anchor desk. In addition to her work with Guthrie and weatherman Al Roker during the newscast's first two hours, Kotb also kept her fourth-hour duties as she continues to celebrate life with BFF Kathie Lee Gifford.

Dickerson also joins veteran broadcaster Christiane Amanpour in the elusive Charlie Rose replacement club. The Public Broadcasting Service hired Amanpour to serve as Rose's replacement and the decorated journalist's show Amanpour on PBS has taken Rose's former time slot.

Dickerson is expected to continue his duties as Face the Nation moderator.
Prince Harry and his soon-to-be wife Meghan Markle made their first public appearance of the year on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

The Prince and his fiancee were greeted by hundreds of elated fans as they arrived in the south London neighborhood of Brixton to visit a community radio station called Reprezent 107.3 FM.

Prince Harry, 33, and the Suits actress, 36, looked all "loved up" as they walked hand-in-hand, smiling, waving and even shaking hands with the crowd of well-wishers who lined up to meet and greet the royal couple.

Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Visit Reprezent 107.3 FM

The engaged couple was scheduled to meet volunteers and young people working at the radio station, which provides training to the youth in the field of radio and broadcasting.

The radio station, which was set up in 2011 after a spurt in the number of knife attacks across London, also campaigns for issues that affect young people, including "domestic violence, unemployment, and more."

The station is supported by one of the charitable organizations of Prince Harry, brother Prince William, and his wife, Duchess Kate of Cambridge. Markle will also be a part of the foundation once she ties the knot with Harry at the Windsor Castle on May 19.

Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle arrive at POP Brixton to visit @ReprezentRadio pic.twitter.com/NsxphnLDod  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 9, 2018

Hundreds of fans showed up on the streets of Brixton and started cheering the couple as soon as they arrived. Station founder and CEO, Shane Carey, also said that news of their visit had led to "massive excitement" in the neighborhood.

This marks the couple's second public appearance since the announcement of their engagement. On Dec. 1, 2017, Harry and his bride-to-be paid a visit to the Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair to meet representatives from organizations that help HIV/AIDS victims in Nottingham.

Markle Deletes Social Media Accounts

Shortly after their appearance, Markle deleted all of her social media accounts. The actress and UN ambassador used to be quite active on Twitter and Instagram but seems like she's preparing for life as a member of the royal family.

"Ms Markle is grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years," Kensington Palace said in a statement. "However, as she has not used these accounts for some time, she has taken the decision to close them."
Tennessee Environmental Council is promoting the need to plant 250,000 trees this Feb. 24, alongside 25,000 volunteers of all ages. Tennessees growing population equates to more consumption and deforestation. The Councils Tennessee Tree Project was created to plant one million native trees across the state. The organization has planted more than 360,000 trees since 2007 fulfilling its mission to educate and advocate for the conservation and improvement of Tennessee's environment, communities, and public health.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are collaborating with the Council on this statewide event. We could not host this successful event without our collaborative partners and sponsors," said John McFadden, CEO of Tennessee Environmental Council. "We are grateful for the hard work of our volunteers and distributors throughout all 95 counties."

Trees help protect our states most important natural resources, said Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau. They are vital for maintaining water quality, healthy air, flood prevention, wildlife habitat and healthy communities.

In 50 years one tree provides $130,750 in total benefits including oxygen, air pollution control and stormwater drainage.

The U.S. Forest Service found that more than two million acres of Tennessees native forests were cut and more than 500 thousand acres of forest were converted to other uses.

Visit the 250K Tree Day website for details, registration, and updates.

250K Tree Day is a project of Tennessee Environmental Council. Special thanks to sponsors and partners who make this historic event possible.
Actor Michael Douglas has preemptively denied sexual harassment allegations against him in an interview with Deadline published on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Michael Douglas

Douglas, 73, decided to come forward after being told that The Hollywood Reporter and Variety were running a story relaying allegations of sexual harassment made by a female employee who worked under the actor more than three decades ago.

The Ant-Man actor said that the abovementioned publications reached out to him for a comment with regard to the woman's claims. The actor stated the alleged woman that he used lewd and dirty language in front of her, masturbated in her presence and also blackballed her from the industry after getting rid of her.

Veteran Actor Denies Accusations

I felt the need to get ahead of this," Douglas told Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr, about preemptively denying the woman's claims. "This is a complete lie, fabrication, no truth to it whatsoever."

Douglas pointed out that the woman in question worked for his production company in New York and let her go because he wasn't happy with her level of productivity. He said that when people from the industry contacted him to ask about her, he would tell them the truth but never tried to blackball her.

The Oscar winner also admitted to using dirty language in front of her and apologized for the same but noted that none of it was aimed at her. He said that it is possible that she may have overheard his private conversations with her friends. However, if she was so offended by his language, she was free to excuse herself.

The veteran actor referred to the accusations as "extremely painful" and said that he was extremely hurt when he had to share these allegations with his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones and their two children, Dylan, 17, and Carys, 14. He stated that his wife has been his pillar of support during this ordeal, which he referred to as an utter "nightmare."

The #MeToo Movement

The actor vehemently denied behaving inappropriately toward or in front of the female employee or any other woman over his 50-year career and voiced his support for the #MeToo movement.

The #MeToo movement urges dozens of men and women to come forth with their allegations of sexual assault against high-profile men in the industry, including Harvey Weinstein, Dustin Hoffman, and Kevin Spacey.

"I hope this movement continues to grow, but that there is care shown in who is accused and how the accusation is handled," he added.

This comes two days after the Golden Globe awards, where celebrities wore black in solidarity with the Time's Up movement against sexual harassment in the industry.
AMSTERDAM, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

/OFF HOLD OFF HOLD OFF HOLD -- DFFRNT Media, PIV898654 The following release: "DFFRNT Media Raises Growth Capital Through Two New Minority Shareholders: Media Entrepreneur John de Mol's Talpa Network, and tcc global" is now OFF HOLD. Distribution time: 10 Jan 2018 07:00 GMT

Both investors clearly see the powerful potential in combining unique content

experiences with next generation tech platforms for the future of marketing

DFFRNT Media, pioneers in digital media specialised in next generation tech platforms, today announced that international marketing loyalty business, tcc global, and Talpa Network, the multimedia company of entrepreneur and creator of Big Brother and The Voice, John de Mol, have each acquired a minority interest in the business.

As part of the DFFRNT Media investment, John de Mol also financially builds on Talpa Network's 'media for equity' strategic pillar, further substantiated and complemented by an additional investment in Fitchannel.com, the fast-growing personalised online home-fitness platform.

tcc global and DFFRNT MEDIA in turn consolidate a collaboration that aspires to transform traditional marketing models by combining the worlds of digital IP development, media, retail and loyalty. In a step-change that heralds the marketing company of the future linked to the emerging platforms under the celebrated GAFA economy (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon), the partnership will operate at a unique intersection of content, data and technology, creating a model that enables a more content-centric and meaningful approach to consumer engagement.

The investors foresee an acceleration of more sophisticated new initiatives and highly targeted tech platforms and immersive media like virtual reality and augmented reality to drive sales growth and brand equity for businesses around the world.

The Founders of DFFRNT MEDIA, said:

"We are moving towards a platform economy in which success is defined by the ability to engage people in a relevant and meaningful way. We are proud to bring two such international powerhouses on board within 12 months after the start of our company. Such investments will give us the ability to play on a global level. We will be able to move into new markets, attract top talent, develop new digital IP and help clients with their digital transformation at the highest possible level. "

Julian Rivas Toro, tcc global Executive Vice-President of Innovation and Business Design said:

"The platform economy demands transformation when it comes to engendering true loyalty from customers in terms of repeat behaviour and customer retention across all categories. This move will enable us to complement, curate and deliver the best, increasingly personalised content, to the right audiences, across the best possible technology platforms. Not only does this mean a more enriched customer experience, it creates new ways for businesses and brands to connect with customers whilst driving value in the process. This new commercial proposition will help us deliver new loyalty models and platforms to increase the lifetime value of 'connected' customers."

Set to disrupt existing marketing models in attracting, engaging and retaining customers whilst driving competitive advantage for businesses, tcc global and DFFRNT MEDIA have already been collaborating on augmented and virtual reality platforms for future-orientated customer experiences in retail across European markets, and due soon globally. Futhermore, it follows the more recent and promising launch of Fitchannel.com in The Netherlands and with global expansion plans, as a platform that aspires to transform the way in which people experience and achieve their fitness. The collaboration will fuel and find a strong hub in tcc global's brand new Innovation and Business Design Centre, just launched in Amsterdam and led by Julian Rivas Toro.

The team behind DFFRNT Media and its international network are recognised internationally as using content + technology to deliver a positive impact on people's lives. This also extends to helping businesses drive digital innovation and transformation to prepare themselves for the future.

International loyalty marketing company, tcc global, specialises in the use of data, insights and creativity to deliver tailor-made solutions which engage and reward loyalty from customers whilst driving sustainable growth to clients. Recognised as an industry leader, it already works with an enviable portfolio of clients and brand partners including Tesco, Burger King, Carrefour, Red Bull Racing, MasterChef, Universal and Warner Brothers.

For more information about DFFRNT Media, tcc global and Talpa Network please visit:

http://www.dffrntmedia.com

http://www.tccglobal.com

talpanetwork.com [https://talpanetwork.com ]

Press contacts: Susie Dullard E: susie@eulogy.co.uk +44-020-3077-2000
Hey everyone,New here and first time posting so be gentleSo I am originally from the UK growing up and living in Kent by the coast! I met my partner many years back who is Canadian born but had been living in the UK for 2 years teaching at the time we met.So life moves on and children arrive, our son is now 15 and I have every grey to prove!!Anyway in 2011 we as a family decided that a move to Canada is what we wanted and in particular Saskatchewan which is where my partners family are from and where we had spent many a vacation.We actually started the sponsor ship program in 2010 and by August 2011 we were all set to go. We moved on August 18th, we initially stayed with family for 3 months until we purchased a property and I had secured work, My partner started work immediately within the family business, our son started at a local school, made friends quickly and made light work of the transition.To date I can report life is good, We have a nice home, we both have good jobs, We have plenty of freedom with lots of opportunity! My son is doing good in school, he has made lots of friends.All this i know makes me sound completely ungrateful/selfish and crazy at the thought of wanting to go back to the UK.Saskatchewan is a beautiful province however the winters do get me down a little, not just because they are cold and occasionally brutal and 6 months long! and yes there is plenty to do in winter if you wrap upNot living by the coast which I thought would not be an issue actually bothers me greatly!I miss the sea and the rugged coast line, walking through the quirky little town and having the convenience and ease of having family/friends living close by and i mean 5 minutes down the road.The town i lived in had many small independent stores selling local produce and everything you needed was close at hand and it did not require the 1 hour commute we have now to the nearest store!Yes i know it sounds like i am complaining and i don't mean it to be that way, i am just finding it very hard to settle!Of course my partner settled in right away being Saskatchewan born and raised but for myself I find it hard even after 6 years.I have joined lots of groups that are directly involved in our small community such as becoming a volunteer fire officer for our local department, I joined the school council and town committee in hope I would make friends like i had back home.Yes I have made friends but its completely different to those I had back home or at least it feels that way. Here we seem to socialize at the local bar or ice rink or if we bump into each other while collecting the mail.I feel like I am at the point where I want to go back to the UK but of course my partner or our son does not. Whenever i approach the topic of moving back to the UK i get instantly shot down with "think about how good we have it here" or "Think about our child's future rather than your own" Believe me i do noting but think about my kids future and whats best for him.I don't really know why I wrote this blog except I felt i needed too! I am interested to hear from anyone really good or bad hahahaMany thanks to all.. Gareth


A lack of highly skilled professionals is a real threat to business growth in New Zealand and they will need to recruit more from abroad, with shortages particularly hitting the IT sector, a new report suggests.Businesses will struggle to grow to their full potential if highly skilled candidates are not actively recruited, but an expected tightening of immigration rules may hinder them from looking overseas.According to Shay Peters, country manager for international recruitment firm Robert Walters, the IT sector is particularly weak at the moment in terms of being able to attract the best talent. One solution may be to attract New Zealand expats back home.The firms annual salary survey shows that in New Zealand employees are still very much in the driver's seat with more than 80% feeling confident of plentiful job opportunities this year driven by a thriving economy and large Government project roll-outs.The feedback from employers, however, not only from the survey but also from our day-to-day engagement with them, is that there is an increasing lack of highly skilled candidates. This coupled with the Government indicating a tightening of the immigration policy poses a real concern for businesses, Peters said.Kiwi companies are going to have to really tailor their pitch to entice expats back here. Theyll have to upsell the lifestyle balance that New Zealand offers and be prepared to offer salaries in line with those in the UK, the US and Asia, he pointed out.The fallout from Brexit, combined with the perceived political instability in the United States, is making New Zealand an increasingly attractive option for many Kiwi expats. This trend will assist in meeting the high demand for skilled professionals in New Zealand, he added.Peters also pointed out that due to the persisting pressure of a shortage of candidates, salaries will increase for many professionals, leaving some in a powerful position to negotiate with the employers.In 2017, salaries rose for nearly 60% of professionals, according to the survey, and 74% of professionals expect their salaries to rise in 2018 and Peters said that job seekers could be in a position to negotiate extra benefits such as flexible working conditions and health and wellbeing programmes.The salary survey, which covers a range of professions, also found that the job market is exceptionally busy, and infrastructure, technology, and large scale retail will be the big drivers of growth in the main centres. The Government has committed to a broad ranging programme of infrastructure projects in housing and education, and major road projects in Wellington and Auckland.These projects will see the creation of many jobs and salaries will rise for civil engineers, construction workers, procurement, legal and finance professionals who work on these developments, said Peters.Telecommunication companies, banks, and utilities will invest in differentiating themselves through their customer experience and digital transformations. Large business transformation projects in the public sector will require IT professionals with skills in specialist areas such as big data, analytics, UX and UI, he explained.There will be intense competition between organisations for IT professionals and remuneration will likely rise for permanent and contract technology roles, he added.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg has appointed more than 20 San Antonio community and industry leaders to assess the citys air travel needs over the next 50 years  including whether San Antonio could get another airport.

The group, dubbed the Airport System Development Committee, will study the capacity at San Antonio International Airport, along with air travel assets at Stinson Municipal Airport and Port San Antonio, Nirenberg said in a news release Tuesday.

The committees mission is to answer the question: Is the San Antonio International Airport the right place for investments to properly position the citys air service for the next 50 years or go with another local option? Nirenberg said.

Nirenberg added, This will be a data-driven and future-looking analysis of our transportation needs. There have been many proposals floated over the past 30 years about the airport. This committee will be the citys guide for how it makes strategic decisions in this area.

John Dickson of The Denim Group will head the 21-member panel of executives spanning multiple industries. They include Paula Gold-Williams of CPS Energy, Casandra Matej of Visit San Antonio, Mike Gibbs of Whataburger, Todd Piland of H-E-B and Aviation Director Russ Handy.

More Information Airport System Development Committee members John Dickson, principal at The Denim Group John Agather, broker at KW Realty Jorge Canavati, principal at J. Canavati & Co. Brian Conklin, USAA senior vice president of government and industry Dirk Elmendorf, Rackspace co-founder Mark Fessler, Million Air San Antonio president Marina Gavito, USAA's Innovation Team Mike Gibbs, Whataburger senior vice president and general counsel Paula Gold-Williams, CPS Energy CEO and president Russ Handy, San Antonio aviation director Harvey Howell, H.H. Howell Inc. president Raul Lomeli, Saber Es Poder chairman Kim Lubel, former president and CEO of CST Brands Inc. Casandra Matej, president and CEO of Visit San Antonio Gabriele Niederauer, Blue Grass Vascular CEO and president Jim Perschbach, Port San Antonio executive vice president of business development H-E-B Executive Vice President Todd Piland Air Force Gen. Edward Rice Maj. Gen. Angie Salinas, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas CEO Rosa Santana, Santana Group founder and CEO Randy Smith, Weston Urban president See More Collapse

The group will collect data to determine whether aviation officials should expand operations at San Antonio International Airport or consider building a new airport, Nirenberg said after he announced the initiative in October. The goal, Nirenberg said at the time, is to make San Antonio a competitive, long-term air option.

Aviation officials have been pursuing new air service, adding at least 20 flights within the past 18 months. By July, the San Antonio airport will have 43 nonstop routes. Nirenberg, along with other elected officials and business leaders, have in the past cited a general lack of nonstop routes as obstacles to attracting new companies and talent to the city.

San Antonio International Airport just recorded its 17th straight month of passengers growth, with more than 810,000 travelers landing at or catching flights out of the airport in November. Nearly 8.3 million passengers had passed through the San Antonio airport year-to-date as of the end of November, according to the latest available figures.

Joshua Fechter is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | jfechter@express-news.net | @JFreports
DALLAS  Despite opposition from some minority rights advocates, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday he is looking forward to being honorary grand marshal of the Martin Luther King Jr. parade in North Texas and that he wants to ensure Texans know hes governor for all of them.

Some, including the Arlington NAACP, oppose Abbotts participation in the Toyota North Texas Martin Luther King Jr. Parade in Arlington because they say his record doesnt warrant the honor.

They say its inappropriate for him to have a role in the event honoring the slain civil rights leader because measures he has supported  including sanctuary cities legislation he signed into law last year, voter identification requirements and changes in legislative and congressional districts  have harmed minorities.

It is the firm opinion of the Arlington NAACP that the selection of Gov. Greg Abbott as honorary grand marshal of any event honoring Dr. King stings with hypocrisy. As we review his career and public service, it is fair to say that Greg Abbott has done more to damage and undermine African-American and Latino civil and voter rights, educational opportunities and economic empowerment than any other modern-day Texas governor, the Arlington NAACP said in a statement posted on Twitter, along with a request for Abbott to decline the parade invitation.

It referred to his record as state attorney general and as governor.

The NAACP was responding to an Abbott tweet saying he was looking forward to being honorary grand marshal of the parade that is a joint effort by multiple counties.

Abbott posted another tweet after concerns were raised saying, Im a Christian, Ive committed my life to ensuring justice, I come in peace.

Some community activists, including pastors, have said they support a boycott of the parade.

Asked about the issue at an event at the Dallas Police Association, where the governor announced the distribution of funding for rifle-resistant vests under a measure he signed into law, Abbott said he is honored to participate in the parade.

Obviously, MLK was one of the most dynamic, influential Americans who ever lived, and his legacy lives on, and its right for all of us to come together and to celebrate that legacy and to remind all Americans about the dream that MLK talked about and to ensure that we strive every single day to live up to that dream, Abbott said.

Also, I want to make sure that, by being involved in the MLK parade, that I am making clear that as governor, I represent every Texan, Abbott said. It doesnt matter who you are, where you live, what your background is, Im going to be representing you, coming to you and your community, letting you know that I am here for you to support you any way I can.

Winsor Barbee, spokeswoman and executive producer for the parade, said Abbott was invited because of his position and because of his North Texas ties as a graduate of Duncanville High School.

He is the governor of the state of Texas. It never was about a political party, or his political thoughts and views or initiatives, or anything that hes doing with his political agenda, Barbee said. He is our highest-ranking state official for the state of Texas, and hes from North Texas.

Barbee said that civil rights leader L. Clifford Davis, a retired African-American judge who is the parades grand marshal, thought it was great to have the governor in the parade in the honorary role.

Its a regional parade, and its about inclusiveness, Barbee said. People all have differences but we all have to be able to come together.

Barbee said people with different viewpoints should talk and figure out a way to move forward.

When youre boycotting and theres no action on the end, what is the purpose? she said. Youre just a bunch of people getting together, making a bunch of noise.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, was at the Republican governors event Tuesday as author of the legislation creating the rifle-resistant vest funding.

West, who is African-American, declined to weigh in on the controversy other than to say: The community has a right to voice their opinion.

Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, who is part of a crowded field vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge Abbott, told the San Antonio Express-News she was the wrong person to answer the question about the parade controversy.

I think you should be asking the African-Americans. You shouldnt be asking me, Valdez said. You shouldnt be asking a politician. You should be asking the people that it truly affects.  This is not about always being political. Its about doing what is right for the people involved.

Another Democratic candidate, Houston businessman Andrew White, said: It's hard for me to see Gov. Abbott, a staunch Trump supporter, as a friend to the African-American community  so his invitation to an MLK Day parade is strange, to say the least. As a common-sense Democrat, I stand against Trump/Abbott extremism and stand for fairness and equality for all Texans.

Peggy Fikac is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | pfikac@express-news.net | @pfikac
MISSION  Immigrants caught illegally crossing the Southwest border in December climbed for an eighth consecutive month, reaching the highest point since President Donald Trump took office a year ago, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

A total of 40,513 immigrants entering illegally or seeking asylum were apprehended from California to Texas in December, compared with a total of 39,006 apprehended in both categories in November.

Families and minors fleeing high levels of violence and poverty in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico made up more than a third of all apprehensions since October, most of them arriving in the Rio Grande Valley.

For October, November and December, a total of 13,491 unaccompanied children were apprehended trying to cross illegally plus seeking asylum. Another 31,685 adults and children came in as part of families.

The significant increase over the last month in the number of family units and unaccompanied children coming across the border illegally highlights the dire need for Congress to immediately adopt responsible pro-American immigration reforms, Tyler Q. Houlton, the Department of Homeland Securitys acting press secretary, said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended 303,916 people along the border with Mexico during the 2017 fiscal year, a precipitous drop compared with the 408,870 apprehensions recorded in fiscal year 2016, the lowest level in 45 years, the agency noted.

Immigrants considered inadmissible for humanitarian protection at international ports of entry, including families and children unaccompanied by a parent, fell from 150,825 in fiscal year 2016 to 111,275 in the 2017 fiscal year.

Houlton said Tuesday the 40 percent decrease in apprehensions during the 2017 fiscal year, compared with the last year of the Obama administration, prove that Trump is having an impact on reducing illegal crossings, but he noted that policy changes are needed to further secure the border.

Current loopholes in our immigration laws have created an incentive for illegal immigrants who knowingly exploit these same loopholes to take advantage of our generosity, Houlton said.

The latest data comes as Trump met Tuesday with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to negotiate a deal on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and immigration reform. Late last year Trump said in exchange for any deal to protect Dreamers, as the recipients of DACA are known, he would demand that loopholes and outdated laws and easily exploited vulnerabilities in the immigration system be addressed.

The loophole in question is migrants right to apply for asylum and get a hearing before an immigration judge, said Adam Isacson, an expert on regional security with the Washington Office on Latin America. Its really troubling to see this coming out of CBP.

Isacson said while some migrants probably exploit the so-called loopholes in the immigration system, there is no evidence of widespread abuse.

Without such evidence, the reference to them here as illegal is especially offensive, Isacson said. There is nothing illegal about petitioning another country for protection if you believe your life to be at risk.

anelsen@express-news.net | Twitter: @amnelsen
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump told a bipartisan congressional delegation Tuesday that he will sign any legislation sent him to protect so-called Dreamers and eventually would back a deal that gives millions of undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship.

In a meeting at the White House that produced notable contradictions, the president appeared to back off demands for spending $18 billion on a border wall and other hard-edged security provisions in return for protecting some 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

It should be a bill of love, truly, it should be a bill of love, Trump said during a 55-minute meeting with about two-dozen Republicans and Democrats from Congress that was televised by several news outlets.

We dont need a 2,000-mile wall. We dont need a wall where we have rivers and mountains and everything else protecting. But we do need a wall for a fairly good portion, he said.

The White House said later the president and congressional leaders had reached an agreement to negotiate short-term legislation in four areas: fixing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy; border security; the State Departments Visa Diversity Lottery program; and so-called chain migration.

Seated between two veteran Democrats, Trump displayed unexpected flexibility by saying repeatedly that he would sign any legislation Congress agrees on.

He called for a two-phase approach, first to take care of DACA and then to take up broader immigration legislation.

My positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with, he said. If they come to me with things Im not in love with, Im going to do it because I respect them.

Addressing Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., an immigrants advocate seated to his right, the president also appeared to endorse broader reforms that yield a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.

You want to know the truth, Dick, if we do this properly, DACA, you're not so far away from comprehensive immigration reform. And if you want to take it that further step, I'll take the heat. I don't care, Trump said.

The presidents remarks surprised and confused Republicans, who reminded him of extreme difficulties Congress experienced when tackling comprehensive solutions to immigration.

Democrats reminded Trump of the urgency in fixing DACA and the dangers of moving to broader issues with protections expiring for DACA recipients March 5.

Nonetheless, Trump insisted Congress could achieve the DACA agreement and then move to the broader immigration negotiations the next afternoon.

The White House willingness to allow nearly an hour of back-and-forth suggested an effort to present a substantively engaged president amid the recent public debate on his fitness for office. Trump listened agreeably to frank talk, particularly from Republicans.

You have created an opportunity here Mr. President and you need to close the deal, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Graham, a sponsor of Dream Act legislation to restore DACA protections, spoke of perils to Republicans.

Right-wing radio and TV talk show hosts are going to beat the crap out of us because its going to be amnesty all over again, he said. I dont know if the Republican and Democratic party can define love, but what we can do is what the American people want us to do.

Laredo Democrat Henry Cuellar, one of three House Democrats in the meeting, told the president that roughly 40 percent of the nations undocumented immigrants became illegal because of visa overstays.

You can put the most beautiful wall out there and its not going to stop them, he said.

Afterward, Cuellar said he is confident that moving forward, the president will be more open to working with us proactively at finding solutions that will not require wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on a giant concrete wall on the southern border.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the Senates No. 2 Republican, wanted further assurance from the president that he would accept a combined DACA fix and border security legislation that Congress passes.

Part of my job is to count votes in the Senate, Cornyn said, recalling GOP leaders assertions at Camp David last weekend that they wouldnt proceed with legislation absent the presidents blessing.

So, that's I think the picture that we need to be looking through, the lens we need to be looking through, not only what can we agree to among ourselves on a bipartisan basis, but what will you sign into law. Because we all want to get to a solution here and we realize the clock is ticking. Cornyn said.

The presidents lack of emphasis on the wall contrasted with a report Tuesday that his administration would delay or cut money for border security measures such as radar, patrol boats and a remote video surveillance system in the Rio Grande Valley while seeking $18 billion to build the border wall.

Citing an internal budget document, the New York Times reported that the administrations request for wall funding represented more than half of the administrations $33 billion spending plan for border security over the next decade.

In the White House meeting, Trump deflected a question about whether hes committed to spending $18 billion to build the wall.

We can do it for less, he said. We can build the wall in one year and we can build it for much less money than theyre talking about.

Among mixed signals in the meeting, the president said he expected legislation that will be introduced shortly by Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte, known as a hardliner on immigration, will be the basis of negotiations.

A more moderate approach is new legislation co-sponsored by San Antonio Republican Will Hurd that also could draw support, particularly from Democrats, as Congress races to find a DACA fix and finish must-pass spending legislation by Jan. 19.

blambrecht@express-news.net
St James Baptist Church will host the Martin Luther King Birthday Party Celebration on Sunday from 4-6 p.m., at 1916 Duncan Ave.

Sponsored by the Unity Group of Chattanooga, the program will focus on children who were directly involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

This year, we really wanted to highlight the roles that children played in the fight for equal rights and access to equal opportunity, said Unity Group past chairman Quenston Coleman. Martin Luther King is the most famous face of the movement, but our children need to know that there were kids just like them who were on the front lines marching with him so that they could one day achieve the American dream.

The celebration will feature music, poetry, and a special memorial tribute to the Woodmore Elementary School bus crash victims.

Along with cake and ice cream, attendants can expect to see local children playing leadership roles in the program. Mr. Coleman started the birthday party to give Hamilton County students an opportunity to participate in the Unity Groups annual Martin Luther King Week activities.

I started this over 20 years ago because we didnt have any scheduled events for our youth to get actively involved in, he says. It is important for the voices of the children to be heard across the nation. They have their own struggles and if we are going to do whats in their best interest, we need to learn how to define those struggles from their point of view.

For more information contact Nicole Coleman, MLK Birthday Party coordinator, at ncoleman729@yahoo.com or 314-6245; St James Baptist Church, 698-7239; or Unity Group of Chattanooga, unitygroupofchattanooga.com, 364-3501.




A San Antonio police officer who was fired last year for dating a woman convicted of prostitution was investigated for possible criminal acts, including possession of child pornography and a possible illegal substance, according to records obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.

The documents, which describe interviews by internal affairs investigators with multiple official and unofficial sources, portray former Officer Mark Walaski as a man who used his job as a police officer to control his then-girlfriend, check on her whereabouts, and possibly try to thwart an investigation of his actions.

Walaski, who had been with the department for nearly 22 years, has appealed the firing, which was effective in June. His employment record shows an earlier suspension, for three days in April, for lesser infractions.

The Internal Affairs investigation that led to his firing began in March last year after the police department received an anonymous tip. The tipster was concerned Walaski was targeting Haven for Hope, approaching women and offering help, the records state. Walaski, a patrol officer in the Central District, had a permit to work off-duty at Haven for Hope, the citys biggest shelter for people who are homeless, since 2014.

For the last three years, court records show, Walaski has been the caretaker for a different ex-girlfriends 17-year-old daughter, and she was living at his house at least as of last fall. He tried to informally adopt the girls younger sister, but Child Protective Services denied the request.

Contacted by investigators, Walaskis girlfriend, the one who was busted for prostitution, told them that Walaski had watched through a hole in a wall in his house while the teenager showered. She also said he stored child pornography on his private computer and had a plastic bag of what could be an illegal powder.

She also alleged that Walaski had hit her twice.

Walaski denied the allegations during interviews with internal affairs investigators. When San Antonio Police Chief William McManus indefinitely suspended Walaski in June, these additional allegations were not cited as reasons for his termination. It is not clear why.

Walaskis lawyer from CLEAT, a state police union, did not respond to a call seeking comment.

The investigators with Internal Affairs based their report on interviews with Walaski, two fellow police officers, the woman, the womans mother and sister, a CPS caseworker and two Center for Health Care Services employees.

They describe how Walaski met the woman while on patrol in mid-2016, then appeared at her home a few hours later and gave her money and his phone number.

According to Walaski, he went to her home because she told him to stop by and he wanted to try to get the woman help.

About that same time, the womans mother got a call from Walaski telling her he was taking care of her daughter. He told the mother to no longer give her daughter money and that he would call occasionally and provide updates, the records state.

After their first conversation, the mother said she called Walaski several times but he never answered.

When Mark had finally returned one of her calls, (the mother) said he told her, Im taking care of her and thats all you need to know,  the records state.

In October 2016, after their relationship grew intimate, Walaski said the woman admitted she had two warrants out for her arrest. He said and he encouraged her to turn herself in. He paid her $530 bail, records show.

The woman, meanwhile, began seeing Sonya Ramos, a peer support specialist at the Center for Health Care Services. Ramos said the woman began expressing concerns about her boyfriend, a San Antonio police officer who had recently become more controlling.

The woman described the relationship as controlling and abusive, reporting he has left bruising on her on multiple occasions and choking her on another occasion, Ramos said in a statement.

The woman began receiving in-patient treatment at the center. Caseworkers there said Walaski would continually call asking if she was staying in the facility.

On March 8, Walaski leased an apartment for six months where the woman could stay, the records state. It was around that same time that Internal Affairs employees began their investigation.

Roughly a month later, Walaski contacted Haven for Hope and asked an employee if they could admit the woman to the departments Wellness Program for mental health services.

The employee said she would help, but the woman didnt show up to several appointments.

On April 12, the woman spoke to internal affairs investigators. She was distraught and afraid for her life, the report states. She gave a statement to investigators, who then transported her to a shelter and checked her in.

Two days later, police were called to Walaskis home for a disturbance around 11:30 p.m. When police officers arrived, the woman told them: He just wants me to go into Haven (to) avoid talking to Internal Affairs.

She also told police Walaski warned her if she said anything, she could get him in trouble.

He later denied making those statements.

Emilie Eaton is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | eeaton@express-news.net | @emilieeaton
A package sent to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus resulted in a response from the bomb squad.

Though no explosive was found, authorities arrested Ricardo Gil, 48, on suspicion of causing a bomb hoax.

On Jan. 4, San Antonio police received the suspicious package, according to an arrest affidavit.

An officer opened the box and found a pair of shoes and paperwork. The officer noted the package felt heavy, so he called the bomb squad, authorities said.

RELATED: Officer's Association president calls for SAPD chief to be placed on leave over human smuggling case

The box was X-rayed, and once the package was deemed safe officers continued inspecting the box.

Underneath the soles of the shoes, officers found several batteries wrapped in aluminum foil, according to the affidavit.

The box also contained a printed emailed response to an application sent by Gil for administrative assistant job with the police department, officials said.

Toward the bottom of the sheet, there was a handwritten note addressed to McManus.

"Chief, place insoles in boots. If a person places boots on feet one can feel the person or sense the person," the note reportedly read.

Causing a bomb hoax is a Class-A misdemeanor. Gil's bail was set at $5,000, according to jail records.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA
I doubt there has ever been any congressional legislation that satisfied everyone. People line up by political party to espouse their opinions. Many regurgitate general talking points they read, hear or see from the media. With the new tax bill, the talking point is that it is for the rich, resulting in people dying.

Democratic heroine Nancy Pelosi calls it Armageddon. However, one of your letter writers who attacked the bill actually presented the facts about it, describing the cuts as permanent for corporations and temporary for individuals (Easily duped, Your Turn, Jan. 2). Although Congress can change that down the road, on the surface that does not seem fair.

It is also not fair, however, to label the bill just for the rich. Doubling the child credit is big for low-income families, doubling the standard deduction is huge for the working class, and another positive is not forcing young healthy people to pay a fine if they do not buy health insurance they do not need.

Corporations committing to raise wages and/or pay $1,000 bonuses, thus bringing billions of dollars back to the U.S., cannot be overlooked.

So, when you discuss the tax bill, it is OK to provide negative facts, but if you really believe in fairness, include the positive facts, too.

Fred Martin, Fair Oaks

Liberals biased?

Re: Solid research behind bias study, Rogelio Saenz, Another View, Jan. 2:

This column, supporting the research of professor Carlos Berdejo that whites are treated more leniently than blacks in minor criminal cases, supplies an important fact, namely that the research is based on cases from Dane County, Wisconsin.

Why is this fact important? It is important because Dane County, Wisconson, is the home of Madison, the state capital, and the University of Wisconsin. Having the state government and the university makes Dane County by far the most liberal county in Wisconsin and, in fact, one of the most liberal counties in the country.

Assuming that professor Berdejos research is accurate and that the data are from Dane County, one can easily conclude that liberals are more racist.

Interesting, very interesting!

Richard McDonnell

Feeding nanny state

Re: Texas schools have means to fight hunger, Bob Sanborn and Jenny Eyer, Other Views, Jan. 1:

There has been a school lunch program for as long as I remember. Then a school breakfast program was added, since it would be hard for children to learn on an empty stomach. Then a summer meals program was introduced, even though schools were closed. And this opinion piece advocates the need for an after-school supper program.

One question: What is the role of parents in caring for their children? Or should they just procreate so someone else can take care of them in our growing nanny state?

Ken Valentine, New Braunfels
Following Christopher Nolans epic Dunkirk, Joe Wrights Darkest Hour further illuminates that massive evacuation in 1940, utilizing a dazzling performance by Gary Oldman as that plummy wordsmith, Winston Churchill. Actually, the films are complementary.

Within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill was faced with the choice of negotiating a peace treaty with Adolf Hitler, whom he considers a madman, or standing firm, engaging his nation in World War II to fight for freedom from tyranny.

As Nazi Germanys troops rolled across Western Europe, invading France, encircling and pushing 400,000 Allied troops into the sea at Dunkirk, Churchill found himself coping not only with his own cabinet and the pacifist Parliament plotting against him but also skeptical King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn).

When the King asks, How do you manage drinking during the day? Churchill curtly replies, Practice.

Supported by his devoted wife, Clementine (Kristin Scott Thomas), yet wracked by depression and self-doubt over the defeat at Gallipoli, Churchill duly considers appeasement but, ultimately, defies former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) and Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax (Stephen Dillane) and does what he thinks is right.

How many more dictators must be appeased before we learn? You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!

Scripted by Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything), its inventively directed by Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice, Anna Karenina), who previously staged the Dunkirk scenes in Atonement (2007).

Admittedly, the simplistic yet superbly structured scene of Churchill going out to meet the working people in Londons Underground is fictionalized. Added for dramatic purposes, its remarkably effective.

Although veteran actor Gary Oldman has only been nominated once, for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, he will probably walk off with the Academy Award as Best Actor. Propelled by incredible, almost manic, energy, both mental and physical - augmented by jowly makeup and padding - he transforms himself into the pugnacious 20th century icon.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Darkest Hour is a suitably stylish 7, emerging as a career-defining Oscar-vehicle for Gary Oldman.
FAIRFIELD  Sen. Chris Murphy was blunt when he addressed a forum on the new GOP tax law impacts on the states residents

It was designed to hurt our state, Murphy told a gathering of real estate professionals and residents at the Berkshire Hathaway offices on the Post Road on Jan. 5. I hate to say that, but its the truth.

As a Democrat, Murphy said he fought against the new tax bill, but admitted there were some things positive things to come out of it.

But, he said, its the changes to tax laws that place a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions on federal tax returns that are most damaging to state residents.

The bill imposes a new $10,000 cap on the federal deduction that millions use in connection with state and local income, property and sales taxes. The deduction is especially vital to residents of high-tax states like Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and California.

Companies, on the other hand, will continue to be able to deduct their state and local tax payments as normal business expenses.

There is no doubt there are people in Connecticut who will benefit from this bill, Murphy said, however, with almost half of the states residents itemizing their federal tax bill, this will mean a higher tax liability.

That, he said, could slow down the states real estate market, which he said helps drive Connecticuts economy.

Ridgefield realtor Art Meyer said here in Connecticut there is a general perception in border towns that people move here from New York because of lower property taxes. That incentive to come over is not going to be as strong anymore, Meyer said.

He said California is thinking about creating a way for its residents to donate their state taxes in order to allow them to reap the full deduction. Meyer asked whether that was something Connecticut officials were considering, and also chastised politicians in Washington, D.C., for forgetting they work for their constituents, and not their political party.

Murphy agreed there is a more partisan atmosphere than there was 20 years ago, and said the tax bill was a perfect example of that. However, he said, there are major differences in economic philosophy between the two parties.

They really do believe in trickle-down economics, Murphy said, and that the projected deficits wont materialize.

Despite Republican talk of fiscal discipline, the legislation is projected to add $1.46 trillion to the nation's $20 trillion debt over a decade. GOP lawmakers say they'd expect a future Congress to continue the tax cuts so they won't expire.

The word on the street is nobody wants to retire in Connecticut because nobody wants to die in Connecticut, Wilton real estate broker Donna Karnes said. Karnes said reductions in corporate taxes are what can entice businesses to the state after Murphy said he thinks the state needs to address its infrastructure.

Companies are relocating to New York City, Murphy said, because thats where their young employees want to live. Connecticut, he said, has to stop looking at cities like Stamford, Norwalk, and Bridgeport as liabilities and instead treat them as assets.

The commute to New York, he said, has gotten longer from places like Fairfield and Westport, and Connecticut needs to work on a regional basis with other New England states to upgrade the infrastructure because the federal government will not.

Weve got to solve this problem ourselves, Murphy said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ecocert is the largest organic certification body in Canada

By Farms.com

Producers looking to certify their farms as organic can turn to Ecocert.

The companys primary business is to ensure the organic industry follows necessary protocols. And the organization itself is also monitored by other agencies to ensure its doing its job properly.

Were credited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the (Committee on Accreditation for Evaluation of Quality) in Quebec, Eric Payseur, an Ontario representative with Ecocert, told Farms.com. Were audited just like we audit farmers and processors dealing with organic food products.

Ecocert can also assist greenhouse growers in achieving more sustainable operations.

If youre looking to reduce your carbon footprint and want to establish a plan to do that, we can verify and certify that you are indeed taking those measures, Payseur said.

Ecocert can also assist manufacturers in achieving organic status through its crop input approval process.

Companies that produce compost products or foliar sprays can contact us and get their product reviewed and approved for use in organic production systems. Payseur said.

Ecocert also entered into new partnerships in 2017 that can help organic producers.

In August, Ecocert partnered with Demeter Canada, an organization that coordinates all biodynamic certification in Ontario. The partnership allows Ecocert to manage and perform Demeter Canada inspections, Payseur said.

Payseur and other members of the Ecocert team will be at the Guelph Organic Conference to meet with producers and answer any questions they may have about organic certification.
The Tennessee Auctioneers Association, at its yearly convention in Murfreesboro, named Marc Gravitt as the newest member to the Tennessee Auctioneers Hall of Fame.

Vice President Bobby Colson from Nashville presented the award to Rep. Gravitt saying, this award is presented to a man that has dedicated his life to service, both in his professional career and in his public service career.

Rep. Gravitt served six years in the U.S. Army, afterward he began his professional career in the family business as an auctioneer and real estate broker. In 1996 he graduated from the Certified Auctioneers Institute held at Indiana University. Additionally, he has received the Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate and Graduate Personal Property Appraiser from the National Auctioneer Association.

I nominated Rep. Gravitt because he has not only shown leadership and professionalism in our industry, but also Rep. Gravitt has dedicated his life of giving back to his community," said Mr. Colson. "He served in the U.S. Army, served as president of two 501c6 and one 501c3 non-profit organizations, has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for area non-profits, as well as having served as an elected official. Tonight, we honor a man that has served our country, our state and our profession honorably."

In 2012, Rep. Gravitt was elected to the East Ridge City Council, serving as vice mayor the last two years of term, during which the East Ridge has seen vast improvements. In 2014 Rep. Gravitt was appointed by the Hamilton County Commission to the 108th General Assembly as State Representative for the 30th District which is the south-east parts of Hamilton County. He has subsequently been re-elected to the 109th and 110th General Assembly. During Rep. Gravitts first term, he was awarded the Legislator of the Year award from the Tennessee Assessors Association.

Rep. Gravitt becomes only the second person from the Chattanooga area to receive this honor. The first was his father, Ken Gravitt, inducted in 2008, who first entered the real estate and auction professions in 1972.






THERE were positive signs for the live cattle trade out of WA in 2017 and it looks set to continue this year despite its challenges.

The Mid West Ports Authority came aboard as a long-term player for the live export trade, having installed five Shore Tension Units to assist in safe and successful moorings at the Geraldton Port.

Exporters have already shipped 5755 cattle to mainly Vietnam and South East Asia from Geraldton and that is set to grow in the coming year.

Exports resumed at Port Hedland with two shipments to Indonesia  including 500 breeder heifers  as part of the Indonesian 1-5 breeder-feeder program.

The outcome of the Indonesian breeder-feeder program is uncertain but so far it doesnt appear to have worked to build the herd to the desired level.

Frontier International also made a historic shipment when it entered the sea freight trade with 1726 slaughter cattle sent from Fremantle to China last month.

With the success of the voyage the company is hoping to expand on that in the coming year.

WA also saw the expansion of the Bluetongue Virus (BTV) Zone in July, which encompassed the Broome Port.

While another challenge, it has had little effect to the overall trade as most of the live cattle exported from the State went to Indonesia.

The BTV sensitive countries are China, Turkey and Israel  however exporters have found a way around the issue by sourcing stock from the southern end of Australia.

Producers have also transported their cattle south out of the zone to feedlots for the required 90 days prior to shipment in order to meet the quarantine standards.

The Pilbara Ports Authority installed a new loading ramp at Port Hedland  worth about $300,000  which it hoped would provide exporters with an alternative to access the BTV sensitive markets.

With more contracts looming, WA cattle producers can plan for the future with confidence that markets will still need the quality, clean and safe meat that they provide.

ABARES forecasts that export earnings will increase for live feeder/slaughter cattle by five per cent though the prices are forecast to fall.

Despite the positive signs there are still challenges for the industry.

Australia typically averages about one million head per year exported live worth $1.35 billion  however in 2017 only 800,000 head were expected to be shipped.

This was due to a reduction in herd size and drier seasonal conditions.

The live export trade makes up more than 50pc of incomes for northern cattle producers.

The issues facing the industry were highlighted at the LIVEXchange 2017 conference in Perth during November.

The depleted herd size and its need for a rebuild was mentioned alongside high costs of transport and freight, compliance issues and government red tape.

WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan also set her sights on the need to replace old livestock vessels to improve animal welfare standards on board  especially for longer voyages.

For government to make a difference in helping Australia be more price competitive it needs to look at reducing transport costs  which make up about 40pc of the live export costs.

Because of the high costs of doing business, Australia expects a higher price for its produce, which is affecting market share  which can be seen in the rise in the demand for cheaper Buffalo meat in Indonesia, as well as less expensive imports into China from Brazil and Uruguay.

Though experts predict that because of the high standard of product coming out of Australia, market expansion is still occurring and demand will continue as income levels in the developing world rise over the next 10 to 20 years.

Meat & Livestock Australias data for the previous 12 months to October shows that nearly 70pc of live cattle exports were feeders, of which the bulk (556,094) went to Indonesia.

Turkey took 36,555 feeders and Israel 27,797.

Twenty per cent exported were slaughter cattle and 10.5pc were breeders.

WA beef cattle producers generated about $857 million in slaughter sales in 2015-16.

The State has a beef cattle herd of about 1.9 million head, distributed across about 2600 properties, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

About 50pc of all Australian agriculture businesses profit from the cattle trade  thats about 43,000 farms across the country  with a herd size of about 25m head.

The top 20pc of this group, according to Resource Consulting Services general manager David McLean, managed to increase profit, while at the same time reduce costs and expenses during 2017.

The cost of production has slightly declined while it is still high compared to before 2015 figures.

Mr McLean said although his research was mainly data from the northern beef producing businesses the trend was across all cattle producers.

He said the survival base cost for producers was $1.84 per kilogram, so in order to cope with market variations they would need to keep operating margins high.

According to MLAs Australian Cattle Industry Projections 2017 October Update, the adult cattle slaughter market had a slow start to the year but it ramped up since June.

It said there had been a focus on males in order to preserve the breeding herd.

Male slaughter numbers were up 2pc against last year, while female slaughter was down 8pc over the corresponding period.

The female proportion of cattle slaughter for 2017 is anticipated to be 45pc of the total adult kill, which would be the lowest level since 2012, MLA said.

MLA suggests that many producers appear to be increasing female herd numbers, which have been at historically low levels  the lowest since the early 2000s.

While the final figures were not in yet, adult slaughter numbers appeared to be on track to reach 7.25m head, which would be down slightly on 2016 numbers.

Below-average rainfall across much of the country during winter gave many producers little option but to turnoff stock  but that is not expected to increase at this stage.

While the rainfall outlook for the end of the year is more positive, further dry weather could derail the broad industry rebuild that is underway and challenge many producers with some tough decisions.

The WA cattle market has followed the trend of the Eastern States and is projected to improve depending on seasonal conditions.

The number of cattle in feedlots across the country has been at record levels in 2017, with just under 1.1m head on feed at the end of the June quarter.

The turnoff rate declined slightly from the March quarter to 74pc.

This meant there were more grainfed cattle being processed as a proportion of adult cattle slaughter and cattle were staying on feed for longer, which contributed to the rise in average carcase weights.

The large numbers on feed have been caused by strong grainfed beef demand from Japan and Korea, historically low grain costs and deteriorating pasture conditions.

Lower feeder cattle prices have also assisted in recent months.

Australian adult cattle carcase weights have held up well in 2017, with the national average hitting a record monthly high in April to 299.2 kilograms.

They also averaged a record 296.5kg for the year to August  10kg or 4pc higher than the same period last year.

Typically, prolonged dry conditions saw carcase weights fall, underpinned by a greater proportion of females making up the kill and producers finishing cattle to lower weights.

Carcase weights have bucked that trend in 2017 which has been largely due to the female herd already being at a historical low, having not yet recovered from the previous drought-driven destocking phase.

Nationally, adult female cattle carcase weights averaged 260.3kg for the year to August, while adult males averaged 327.2kg  both up 3pc from 2016.

There has also been more cattle on feed this year than ever before and cattle have been retained on feed for longer, producing more beef per beast.

Despite being a predominantly grass-based industry, finishing more cattle on feed has offset the impact that poor pasture conditions would normally have had on average carcase weights.

This has pushed the 2017 forecast for the national average adult cattle carcase weight to a record 297.4kg, which represents a 3pc or 9.2kg increase from the record reached in 2016.

Heavier carcases have seen beef and veal production also revised slightly higher to 2.18 million tonnes cwt  up 3pc from last year.

Australian exports to Japan and Korea have also been put under pressure by increased United States exports  which has seen export figures drop over the past nine months to the lowest level in five years.

While Australia remains the larger of the two suppliers in both markets, the loss in market share has shifted entirely to the US.

WA has also seen cattle transfer numbers to the Eastern States fall below what they were at the same time last year  which could hint at a possible herd rebuilding across the State.

Between January and November last year, 11,400 cattle moved east through Ceduna (northern cattle transfers excluded), compared to 19,100 at the same time last year.

This is a decrease of 40pc year-on-year.

While relatively high compared to recent years (except 2016), numbers are well below those levels in 2010-2011 when 129,200 cattle left in 2010 and 48,900 in 2011.
There has been criticism from some grower-led research groups that there was not enough consultation with grass roots growers before the plan was created, but Grain Producers Australia chairman Andrew Weidemann said he felt most growers were happy with the direction GRDC was taking.

I would say the investment process is not too bad from growers perspective at present, Mr Weidemann said.

The GRDC is currently implementing its five-year plan and there are several key themes emerging.

It is the start of the cycle and they are processing what people feel should be the research priorities and getting that mix right.

Mr Weidemann said making sense of farm data was a new area that farmers were looking at and welcomed GRDCs commitment to digital agriculture.

Earlier in the year GRDC managing director Steve Jefferies said with the fast-evolving nature of technology in agriculture, digital ag would be a research priority.

Mr Weidemann said farmers had also conveyed a number of agronomic priorities to him.

Over the past couple of years there have been a number of devastating frosts and people are very keen to see further research in terms of frost tolerant varieties, he said.

Grass roots participation in advising the GRDC of research priorities has come under question from some grower-led research groups who have said growers need more input in terms of research priorities.

There are several other key areas Mr Weidemann said had been identified by growers.

Pulses, which have become one of Australias most important crop exports in recent years, were highlighted as an area needing more research dollars.

He said finding the best way to create alignments between grower groups, consultants and researchers would be important in GRDC delivering the best possible services.

A lack of consultation has concerned some grower groups in spite of the organisation citing a number of opportunities for growers to have their say regarding its future direction.

Damien Scanlan, chairman of the Grains Research Foundation (GRFL), a Queensland-based grower research group, said he was unhappy with the level of engagement shown when developing the strategic plan.

If you compare what they said they did to what happened in terms of getting grass roots growers involved, it was not the same, Mr Scanlan said.

He said while the GRDC received grower input via the two ROs, more interaction with the production sector was needed.
Earth Sustaining Sciences Group founder and chairman Wayne Sampey at Vanapa Farm in Papua New Guinea.

AFTER 25 years of self-funded research and development Earth Sustaining Sciences Group (ESS) founder and chairman Wayne Sampey has created what he said was the worlds first all-natural, economically viable, environmentally and societally sustainable bio-desalination process.

Dr Sampey said help from WA farmers led to the accomplishment, which will benefit producers  particularly in a broadacre system where a lot of clean, usable water is needed to improve crops  and reduce soil salinity.

He said the system was immediately applicable to any specific location, providing cost-effective, sustainable, disturbed land and water remediation and rehabilitation and concentrated upon minimal change for maximum benefit.

The outcomes are rapid advancements in commercially prosperous agriculture tailored to co-exist with environment and society, Dr Sampey said.

The process utilises locally-sourced, natural micro-ecologies that are cultivated within the farming system and applied in a full-cycle, sustainable process with minimal waste.

He said even the effluent from the soil treatment was immediately useful and superior to most bore and irrigation waters experienced in Wheatbelt and orchard areas.

Dr Sampey said the Wheatbelt Soil and Water Salinity Solutions Project started through interest from the farming community for rapidly deliverable, cost-effective solutions to the soil and water issues on which agriculturalists, governments, universities and private groups have, for over many years, expended large amounts of resources and funds to minimal or no avail.

The project has three locations  in the Dongara, Corrigin and Hyden areas  which were selected according to geography.

In combination, they demonstrated both similar and varied complexity issues and have receptive, solutions-seeking communities and pastoralists.

With work continuing, we can report excellent results in primary solutions designs  all world-firsts and the current world-leading science and sustainable, cost-effective practical delivery in desalination and full-cycle soil solutions, which is affordable to all farmers, Dr Sampey said.

He said the ESS Groups Symbiotic Aquatic Bio-Reactor Bio-organic Desalination Solution (SABRBODS) had delivered greater than 95 per cent desalination in raw seawater, up to 66pc desalination in mine water (with laboratory trials improving the existing field results to 90pc) and up to 99pc desalination in agricultural water and soils salinity.

Development is progressing towards commercial agricultural solution delivery trials.

Dr Sampey said the situation was so bad that if something was not done to improve water quality in WAs agricultural regions it could be economically disastrous for agriculture.

Salinity is an accepted part of the Australian landscape which occurs naturally across many environments, he said.

Immense stores of salts have accumulated in the soil, ground and surface waters through the long-term influence of natural processes.

Over hundreds of thousands of years, the Australian native vegetation evolved according to rainfall and salinity levels characteristic to their environment.

Dr Sampey said the past 60-120 years of human activities, including dramatic land clearing and monoculture saturations of the landscape with shallow-rooted crop species had, in many areas, dramatically disrupted the natural hydrological balance.

This has had significant consequences for the distribution of salt in the landscape and severe dilapidation of natural and agricultural environments, Dr Sampey said.

Australia is facing an environmental problem that could and very likely will, bring our economy to its knees, if we continue to ignore it the way we have in the past.

We have known about it since 1924, but only since the 1970s have we seriously tried to understand and combat it.

Albeit, without measurable success considering the vast time and funds applied to the issue.

Dr Sampey said current information indicated that in WAs Wheatbelt alone, between 0.9 and 1.1 million hectares were severely affected, between 2.8-4.5mh were at immediate risk, productivity losses were more than $344 million per annum and potential losses are estimated at more than $1.3 billion per annum.

The salinisation of the land and water, seen as a significant threat to Australias soil, vegetation and water resources, is a great risk to the well-being of the agricultural industry, community livelihoods, GDP and the environment, he said.

The total area of land affected by human-induced salinity in Australia is expected to increase dramatically over the next few decades unless effective solutions are developed and immediately implemented.

These solutions will require significant changes to our present systems of land use and management, along with a major shift in approach, from a focus on the symptoms of salinisation to applied solutions.

Dr Sampey said ESSs micro-ecological Symbiotic Aquatic Bio-Reactor (SABR) process of soil and water lifecycle solutions was available to help resolve the issue.

The desalination process was developed from acid mine drainage, caustic industrial waste and effluents management processes.

The SABR process, which relies on a managed micro-ecology of locally occurring natural and non-modified bacteria, has been highly successful in managing pH and stripping metals and metalloid contaminants from mining and industrial water in conditions of 0.5pH to 14pH.

The ESS Group has built upon this foundation to develop stable systems to biologically remove salinity (bio-desalination).

The system is functional in two complementary modes of implementation - one allows sustainable low-cost delivery of freshwater from seawater or brackish sources, while the second can desalinate soil to enhance fertility and arability.

The ESS Group has reduced seawater salinity from 35,000ppm to below 2000ppm and salt-lake and saline agricultural soils and water from 27,000ppm to less than 50ppm.

The ESS Groups goals are to utilise the SABR processes to facilitate ecosystem-stable bioremediation and desalination of sea and surface waters for agricultural and human use and the bioremediation, desalination and reinvigoration of saline soils for agricultural use, in a commercially effective, sustainable manner.

The ESS Group SABR processes reduce and control agricultural and natural environment loss through salinity and mitigate the growing intergenerational societal risks that water and soil contamination present, Dr Sampey said.

To the best of our knowledge, this is a world first.

ESS Group are aware of numerous university and industry research groups have been working on this general type of process for some years without success.

Dr Sampey said ESS has expressions of interest from pastoral groups and individual farmers to advance the Wheatbelt Soil and Water Salinity Solutions Project trials as a commercially-viable practice.

All properties will, with an appropriate agreement, provide land for commercially-oriented trials.

There are also discussions for the development of an ESS Institute research, education and demonstration farm and plans to unite the ESS Institute with a major delivery facility in WA.
A suspect burst into tears after he got his head wedged between the bars of his cell.

Man gets head stuck in prison cell

A man got himself in a fluster in at a police station in China after he rammed his head through the iron bars to shout at officers before realising he was stuck.

Two policeman tried to pull the bars apart in order to push the man's head back through but it wasn't successful and the suspect - whose name isn't known - breaks down in tears as an onlooker filmed the incident on their mobile phone.

An officer then tried to push his head back through but he screeched: ''Don't push, it hurts!'' before he begins to shout at them for holding an ''innocent'' man ''unfairly.''

His anger then increases and he begins to shout names at the officers but they don't retaliate and continue to push his head back through the bars.

The footage ends there but, according to Chinese media, the man was eventually freed, although it's not known whether he suffered an injuries.
Greta Gerwig regrets working with Woody Allen.

Greta Gerwig

The 'Lady Bird' director starred in Allen's 2012 film 'To Rome With Love' and in the same year co-wrote and starred in 'Frances Ha', a movie heavily influenced by Allen's work.

Greta, 34, was asked by the New York Times about the issues of whether artists accused of sexual misconduct - naming Kevin Spacey, Roman Polanski and Woody Allen - should be allowed to continue to work in Hollywood.

Greta replied: "I would like to speak specifically to the Woody Allen question, which I have been asked about a couple of times recently, as I worked for him on a film that came out in 2012.

"It is something that I take very seriously and have been thinking deeply about, and it has taken me time to gather my thoughts and say what I mean to say.

"I can only speak for myself and what I've come to is this: If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again."

And Greta admitted she was "heartbroken" when she realised the impact her collaboration with the 82-year-old filmmaker had had on Dylan Farrow, Woody's adopted daughter who has accused the director of molesting her when she was a child.

She added: "Dylan Farrow's two different pieces made me realise that I increased another woman's pain, and I was heartbroken by that realisation. I grew up on his movies, and they have informed me as an artist, and I cannot change that fact now, but I can make different decisions moving forward."

Dylan, the adopted of daughter of the 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' filmmaker and his ex-wife Mia Farrow, thanked Greta for her new stance.

She tweeted in response: "Greta, thank you for your voice. Thank you for your words. Please know they are deeply felt and appreciated."
Duchess Catherine celebrated her birthday with a party of just eight people on Tuesday (09.01.18).

Duchess Catherine

The 36-year-royal is said to have enjoyed a "low key" affair at her and Prince William's home at Kensington Palace, but she couldn't drink because she is expecting the couple's third child.

A royal source told the Daily Star Online: "Catherine has got a small birthday party of eight today.

"But she is not drinking any alcohol and she is being careful with her food too.

"It will be quite a low-key party."

The royal couple's pals Guy Pelly and Elizabeth Wilson, and the duchess' friend Sophie Carter - a godmother of their two-year-old daughter Princess Charlotte - are thought to have been invited to the intimate event.

It's not known whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in attendance but they were in nearby south London yesterday carrying out their second official engagement since confirming their intentions to marry.

This comes just days after Catherine - who also has four-year-old son Prince George with William - took pictures of their daughter Charlotte on her first day of nursery on Monday (08.01.18).

The pictures were posted on the Kensington Palace official Twitter account and captioned: "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share two photographs of Princess Charlotte at Kensington Palace this morning.

"The images were taken by The Duchess shortly before Princess Charlotte left for her first day of nursery at the Willcocks Nursery School."

Charlotte is attending the Willcocks Nursery School in London.
Fergie and Josh Duhamel would have celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary today so we reflect on their time as husband and wife with some things you might not know about the former couple.

Fergie and Josh Duhamel (Famous)

1. Stacy Ann 'Fergie' began dating Josh Duhamel in September 2004.

2. This was following a cameo Black Eyed Peas performance in Duhamel's show Las Vegas.

3. They got engaged in December 2007.

4. The couple married in a Catholic ceremony on 10th January 2009 at the Church Estate Vineyards in Malibu, California.

5. The ceremony was allegedly so private that the guests were not told the location until the morning of the wedding.

6. They spent their honeymoon at the One and Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives for a week and then moved to the One and Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island in the Bahamas for their second week.

7. Fergie legally changed her surname to Duhamel in 2013.

8. They now have a son together called Axl Jack, born on 29th August 2013.

9. They are both Catholic and attended church together.

10. They were reportedly avid juicers when they were together- Fergie allegedly introduced juicing to her husband with the book The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder.

10. Duhamel's take on marriage is that; 'You have to like the person that you are with, not just love them, but actually really like them. I really do like my wife a lot. She's funny. She's fun. She's very kind, very generous and thoughtful - all those things that you hope for. I think that we both grew up with similar backgrounds, believe it or not. Our parents are both former teachers, Catholic. We didn't have a lot growing up. I don't think either one of us takes our lives, our blessings, for granted.' (IMDB)

11. On September 14, 2017, Fergie and Duhamel announced that they had separated earlier that year.

Source: IMDB and Wikipedia.

by Lucy Moore for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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The coalition of East Tennessee district attorneys general that brought an October lawsuit against several prescription opioid producers has filed an amended complaint in Campbell County Circuit Court.

The complaint now includes an additional plaintiff, District Attorney General Jimmy Dunn, who represents Tennessees Fourth Judicial District and the counties of Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier. District Attorney General Dunns involvement raises the number of districts participating in the suit to six, and the number of counties represented to 19.

The initial lawsuit against Purdue Pharma L.P. and its related companies, along with Mallinckrodt LLC, Endo Health Solutions Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. was originally filed by the district attorneys general of Tennessees Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Judicial Districts. The lawsuit named two plaintiffs, known collectively as Baby Doe, by and through their Guardians Ad Litem. Additional defendants named in the filing include the (now-dissolved) Tennessee Pain Institute, two former TPI employees and a convicted drug dealer.

The amended lawsuit alleges that:

The producer defendants directed their opioids to the 19 East Tennessee counties of the states Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Judicial Districts, while the criminal defendants participated in the illegal opioid drug market throughout the same judicial districts along the Interstate 75 corridor;

Purdue Pharma embarked on a fraudulent campaign to convince physicians that OxyContin created minimal risk of addiction;

As Purdues marketing efforts demonstrated success in the form of rapid increases in opioid prescriptions, Mallinckrodt, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals and other opioid producers joined Purdue in its fraudulent scheme;

Purdues efforts and those of the other defendants to mislead doctors and the public about the need for, and addictive nature of, opioid drugs led to an opioid epidemic, created an environment for thousands of individuals in Tennessee to become addicted to opioids, and fueled a dramatic increase in Campbell County, Tennessee, and other East Tennessee counties in the number of individuals exposed and addicted to OxyContin, Roxicodone, Opana ER and other opioids, and;

The producer defendants knew their products were being diverted to the illegal drug market, but did nothing to stop it  choosing profit over people.

The lawsuit demands judgment against the defendants for damages resulting from breaches of statutory and common law, seeks to award restitution to the plaintiffs, and requests an injunction to stop the flood of opioids to the region. The suit was the second complaint filed in Tennessee last year against Purdue Pharma and additional pharmaceutical companies. The first was filed in June 2017 in Sullivan County Circuit Court in Kingsport.

Background information, including complaint documents and media coverage of this issue, is available on www.tnbabydoe.com. This site serves as an information portal and is updated frequently.
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / January 9, 2018 / In a recent op-ed, DNotes Global Inc. co-founder and CEO Alan Yong addressed the issues surrounding initial coin offerings (ICO) and the Securities and Exchange Commission's role in protecting investors. In his remarks, he explained why ICOs have presented such a challenge for regulators.

The SEC was created by an act of Congress, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. That act was designed to restore investor confidence in the aftermath of the Great Crash of 1929. In the nine years prior to that crash, an estimated $50 billion had been raised through the sale of new securities, and roughly half of them were rendered worthless after the crash.

The SEC's mandate was to protect investors and maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets that could facilitate capital formation. To accomplish those multiple missions, the SEC established rules and guidelines that required securities to be registered or exempted by the SEC before they can be legally sold. The SEC uses registration as its primary means for obtaining and maintaining full disclosure of all essential information investors need to make an informed decision before investing.

Alan expressed the harsh reality facing initial coin offerings: 'I wish that ICOs could be structured and conducted in ways that meet existing security laws, either through registration or exemption. Unfortunately, without significant changes to existing laws, it is simply not possible. To date, the issuers of ICO tokens are exclusively decentralized entities without any central authority. Moreover, the money collected goes to individuals, partnerships or incorporated companies that claim to be working on some great ideas presented in a white paper. Meanwhile, the investors have no ownership or voting rights in the private entity that received the investment.'

Mr. Yong suggested that the conundrum is clear, and not at all surprising. Technologies often get ahead of regulations. In the case of ICOs, the technologies have gotten way out in front of the regulations, and in a massive way. Over $4 billion has been raised worldwide with no sign of slowing down - and none of those ICOs have been registered with the SEC. Unlike corporate shares, there are no provisions, existing rules, or regulations governing decentralized entities. Worse, the SEC does not have the means of obtaining and maintaining full disclosure of the essential information investors need to make an informed decision.

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton recently said, 'Investors should understand that to date no initial coin offerings have been registered with the SEC.' https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2017/12/125792-sec-chairman-jay-clayton-issues-statement-initial-coin-offerings-cryptocurrencies

In the same article, Clayton added, 'Specifically, we concluded that the token offering represented an investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others.'

In other words, with no known exception, tokens are securities. Since it is illegal to sell securities that are not registered or exempt with the SEC, this confirmation from the SEC Chairman is very troubling. The Chairman went on to explain that, 'Tokens and offerings that incorporate features and marketing efforts that emphasize the potential profits based on the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others continue to contain the hallmarks of a security under U.S. law.'

For honest companies that want to do things the right way, all of this can be very frustrating. ICOs have proven to be extremely effective options for raising capital. As Yong notes, though, there may be no legitimate way to conduct an initial coin offering that properly complies with current laws and regulations.

Yong suggested that DNotes Global Inc. would take a different path to capital formation, to ensure that it avoids the ICO conundrum.

'The good news is that ICOs are not the only way to raise the funds needed to advance project goals. For DNotes, we believe that Reg. A+ Mini-IPO Title IV Tier 2 is a superior option, and one that won't run afoul of current laws or SEC regulations. That's why this capital formation option has been a part of our planning process for more than two years.'

According to Yong, DNotes has traditionally taken a different path than most other cryptocurrencies. With DNotes Global Inc.'s plan to raise capital using Reg. A+ Mini-IPO Title IV Tier 2, the company continues to chart its own unique course to a more inclusive financial future for people everywhere.

About DNotes and Alan Yong:

DNotes co-founder Alan Yong is a well-regarded visionary who established Dauphin Technology in 1988. He is the author of the book 'Improve Your Odds: The Four Pillars of Business Success,' and is well-regarded as a 'thought leader' in the cryptocurrency industry.

DNotes is a digital currency noted for its consistent and reliable growth and innovative initiatives that actively engage women, young people, small businesses, workers, and others - effectively inviting the world to participate in the digital currency revolution. DNotes Global, Inc. has plans to launch DNotes 2.0 in early 2018, with improved features and functionality.

For more information please visit: http://dnotescoin.com

Media contact

Name: Alan Yong

Email: Contact@DNotescoin.com

SOURCE: DNotes Global, Inc.
Hitachi's AutoMobili-D Booth (AD01a)Autonomous Driving Community - PlanetM at Cobo Center



Hitachi Ltd Corporate Communications Tel: +81-3-3258-1111

Detroit, Michigan, Jan 10, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. has announced the Company's renewed Official Sponsorship of the 2018 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), to be held at Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan from January 14-January 28.http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_HitachiAutoMobili.jpgHitachi's AutoMobili-D Booth (AD01a)Autonomous Driving Community - PlanetM at Cobo CenterHitachi returns for the second year of the show's AutoMobili-D exhibit to feature the Hitachi Group's Social Innovation Business and advanced mobility technologies at booth number AD01a within PlanetM's Autonomous Driving community. The Company will take advantage of this year's extended AutoMobili-D schedule to connect with job seekers during the Future Automotive Career Expo (FACE) held inside PlanetM (formerly Hall E) during the first two days of the NAIAS Public Show: Saturday, January 20 and Sunday, January 21.Hitachi leadership will share Company updates and advancements in automotive mobility technologies during a press conference on Tuesday, January 16 at 12:05 PM at the PlanetM Theater. Hitachi's press conference will be livestreamed on the North American International Auto Show Facebook page via Facebook live.The Hitachi Group will also host two AutoMobili-D symposiums during Industry Preview on the Cobo Center Atrium Stage. Industry experts will join Hitachi leadership to discuss "How AV Requirements Are Driving Vehicle Electrical Architecture Innovations" at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, January 17, and "Contribution to Social Innovation through Mobility Service Business" at 2:00 PM on Thursday, January 18."With the speed that the mobility industry is changing, it is critical for traditional automotive suppliers like Hitachi to have a forum to share information and ideas with industry leaders, technology innovators, and connect with future technical talent," said John Nunneley, senior vice president of engineering for Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas. "The NAIAS and AutoMobili-D provide us this forum in our own backyard," he added.About Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc.Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. manufactures, remanufactures and markets a wide range of automotive systems including engine management systems, electric power train systems, drive control systems and car information systems for all major automotive original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket customers worldwide. The company provides regional leadership in the Americas within the global operations of Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. and has sites throughout North America with sales and engineering in Michigan, its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Kentucky, and additional sales and manufacturing facilities in Kentucky, Georgia, California and Mexico. Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd. For more information, please visit www.hitachi-automotive.us.About Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2014 (ended March 31, 2015) totaled 9,761 billion yen ($81.3 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes power & infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Contact:Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
SAN RAMON, California, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WANdisco (LSE: WAND), the live data company, announced today that Envestnet | Yodlee, a leading data aggregation and data analytics platform powering dynamic, cloud-based innovation for digital financial services, used live data platform, WANdisco Fusion, to perform a live upgrade of major releases from Cloudera: CDH 4.4 to CDH 5.7.

Envestnet | Yodlee evaluated several leading market solutions for an external upgrade service and found WANdisco Fusion was the only solution that would enable an upgrade with no downtime, no business disruption and guaranteed data consistency. WANdisco ensured their existing CDH 4.4 environment stayed fully operational during the upgrade to CDH 5.7 enabling the validation of all existing customizations and thorough testing prior to going live.

Jeff Schulte, Vice President of Operations at Envestnet | Yodlee said:

"We deal with over 80 million financial transactions a day with over 20 million active users. Our customers expect their data to be accurate and always available. WANdisco Fusion was the only solution that made this possible when we upgraded to a new version of our Cloudera production system. WANdisco Fusion works flawlessly on Cloudera. It was a very stress-free process."

David Richards, CEO and Co-Founder of WANdisco said:

"Our work with Envestnet |Yodlee demonstrates that with our patented technology our customers can upgrade and migrate systems seamlessly while maintaining strict service level agreements across operations. This reinforces our belief that our live data platform is the only solution that can enable organizations to move large volumes of critical data without any data inconsistencies, downtime or service disruption - something many thought was impossible."

About WANdisco

WANdisco is shaping the future of data infrastructure with its groundbreaking Live Data platform, enabling companies to put all their data to work for the business - all the time, at any scale.

WANdisco makes data always available, always accurate, and always protected, delivering hyperscale economics to support exponential data growth with the same IT budget. With significant OEM relationships with IBM and Dell EMC and go-to-market partnerships with Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle and other industry titans - as well as hundreds of customers among the Global 2000 - WANdisco is igniting a Live Data movement worldwide.
LONDON, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Almost half of students want a job that lets them give something back to the world

A third are looking for a role where they can t hink creatively

Over one third believe employers expect them to have strong digital skills and a global mindset

New research is shining a light on the changing face of graduate jobs, revealing that four in ten (39%) students leave their studies wanting a purpose-led career that lets them give something back to the world. A massive 78% also believe that they'll face more competition than their parents' generation when it comes to getting graduate jobs.

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626679/Shell_Ideas360.jpg )



The research, commissioned by Shell Ideas360, a programme fostering innovation, spoke to more than 1,100 UK university students. The results showed that nearly a third (30%) of them want their chosen job to support sustainability, creativity (30%) and innovation (25%).

Yet despite these positive expectations, students are feeling the pressure from the other side of the interview table too. Thirty five percent believe employers now demand strong digital capabilities, including skills in coding, app development and software programming. A quarter (26%) expect to have to demonstrate a global mindset - a sharp contrast to the expectations placed on their parents' generation.

Commenting on the findings, Jeroen de Weerd, Vice President of Recruitment at Shell, says: "This research shows that having a good CV is just the beginning for today's graduates. Students set to enter the jobs market in 2018 and beyond have clearly defined expectations of their own careers. However, they are also aware of the need to display a more diverse skillset than any other generation in history."

One way for students to rise to this challenge and compete in the modern job market is by taking part in global programmes like Shell Ideas360. It invites them to think about ideas to help solve the world's future water, food and energy supply issues. Crucially, the programme is designed to help participants acquire real-world skills that can help them succeed in their current studies, thrive in interviews and build the future career they want.

Daniel Lee, a former Shell Ideas360 participant and current Shell employee, says: "Shell Ideas360 was a lifechanging journey - it opened my eyes to the urgency and complexity of the energy challenge, and challenged me to think creatively, critically, and with a global mindset. Give this programme a go, it's an experience that will enable you to find your 'why' and a meaningful job that fits your sense of purpose."

For more information, including how to apply and terms and conditions, visit: http://www.shellideas360.com.

About Shell Ideas360

Now in its fifth season, Shell Ideas360 is a programme of innovation, learning and discovery for university students of all disciplines. It challenges them to develop and collaborate on their ideas for meeting the future energy, water and food needs of a growing global population. The programme offers participants career advice and mentoring from Shell employees, and teaches practical skills to help them succeed in their studies, enhancing their career prospects. A series of webinars, career advice and mentoring from industry experts, helps students hone their abilities in areas like entrepreneurship, innovation, collaboration and creativity. University students can enter Shell Ideas360 individually or in teams of up to three, until January 19, 2018

Research

The research was conducted by Shell in November 2017 on a national sample of 1,102 current UK university students across course years 1, 2, and 3+. The full research findings are available at request.
comforte is pleased to announce that Bankart, a Slovenian leader in clearing house and payment processing services, has chosen SecurDPS to bolster its data protection.

In the finance and banking industry, data security is a top priority. Bankart takes every measure possible to protect the customer data that they are entrusted with and a sound and reliable data protection platform is an essential element of this effort. Bankart's dedication to data security has enabled them to establish themselves as a serious player in the industry and has contributed to their growth as a company. This recent enhancement of their data protection capabilities will allow them to maintain their reputation as a reliable clearing house.

Gregor Pirc, IT Manager at Bankart, d.o.o, involved in the project had this to say:

"What made the difference for us was finding a solution that not only offered state-of-the-art data protection, but also provided application transparency that meant the solution could be integrated seamlessly into our existing applications."

comforte's data protection suite, SecurDPS, is a robust technology designed to secure sensitive information via tokenization and encryption. The suite ensures that sensitive data in files or databases is of no use to potential attackers.

SecurDPS allows implementation either with a classic approach using an API or via transparent application integration without any code changes. Using transparent application integration, implementation is completed within weeks rather than months and at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional means of integration.

Michael Deissner, CEO at comforte added:

"More and more consumers and companies are shifting away from traditional payments towards digital alternatives. Bankart is now better equipped than ever to facilitate secure digital payments so that this growing market can enjoy the convenience of digital transactions and rest assured that their data is properly protected and kept safe."

SecurDPS's patented, highly efficient tokenization algorithm is stateless (aka vaultless), scales linearly and has been vetted by independent cryptologists who are well recognized in the industry. If you'd like to know more, please see our product info page.

About Bankart

Bankart is the leading clearing house and payment processor in Slovenia with 95% market share, with some banks extending to the Balkan region. They provide best-in-class card and ATM processing services to the majority of Slovenian banks. Additionally, Bankart is a leading provider of electronic invoice exchange, making them a key industry player in Eastern Europe.

About comforte

comforte is a leading provider of data protection digital payments solutions. Today, more than 500 Enterprises worldwide rely on comforte to secure the sensitive data that they have been entrusted with.

With more than 20 years of experience in data protection and connectivity of truly mission-critical systems, comforte is the perfect partner for organizations who want to protect their most valuable asset: data.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180109006539/en/

Contacts:

comforte

Thomas Stoesser

Direktor Marketing

+49 611 9319903

t.stoesser@comforte.com


SCHIPHOL-RIJK (dpa-AFX) - China will finalize orders for 184 Airbus SE A320 aircraft soon, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly said after talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.



Xi has pledged to keep Airbus order volumes in the years ahead, Macron said in Beijing Wednesday. China will maintain parity on orders with Airbus and its American rival Boeing Co., Macron said. The French president also said that discussions were held on sales of Airbus A350 and superjumbo A380 models.



In the presence of visiting French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Airbus said Tuesday that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Development and Reform Commission of China or NDRC on the further development of industrial cooperation in Tianjin. The agreement was signed by He Lifeng, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission or NDRC of China and Fabrice Bregier, Airbus COO and President Commercial Aircraft in Beijing today. Both sides agree to further enhance their industrial partnership in Tianjin and strengthen the cooperation with regards to technical innovation, engineering capabilities and supply chain expansion.



Airbus and its Chinese partners have also signed a framework agreement on ramping up its A320 production rate at its Final Assembly Line in Tianjin to six aircraft per month.



This industrial ramp-up targets five aircraft per month by early 2019 and six per month by early 2020. Since its inauguration in 2008, the Final Assembly Line in Tianjin has assembled a total of 354 A320 Family aircraft (by 31st December, 2017). Deliveries to Chinese customers and to operators throughout the Asia-Pacific region included the first A320neo in the second half of 2017.



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LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Taylor Wimpey Plc. (TW.L) said that it will report fiscal year 2017 results in line with expectations, and expects to achieve further growth and performance improvement in 2018.



For fiscal year 2017 the Group will deliver an improved operating profit margin of about 21.2% and a return on net operating assets of over 32%. It will pay a total dividend in fiscal year 2018 of 500 million pounds, subject to shareholder approvals, and reiterate intention to make further material capital returns in 2019 and beyond, with details to be provided at our Strategy Day scheduled for the first-half of 2018.



Pete Redfern, Chief Executive, said, 'We go into 2018 with positive momentum and expect to achieve further progress against our medium term targets. Our focused strategy of managing the business through the cycle, while also driving further operational improvements, will enable us to continue to deliver long term value for shareholders.'



In the UK, total home completions in fiscal year 2017 increased by 5% to 14,541, including joint ventures. During 2017 wit e delivered 2,809 affordable homes, including joint ventures, equating to 19% of total completions.



The short term land market continued to be positive in 2017. The company operated at broadly replacement levels given landbank is around optimal scale.



The Spanish market remained strong in 2017. The company completed 301 homes in 2017 at an average selling price of 352k. The total order book as at 31 December 2017 stood at 329 homes (31 December 2016: 293 homes). It expects to report a significantly improved operating profit for the Spanish business in 2017, compared to 20.6 million pounds operating profit in 2016. The business is well positioned for further growth in 2018.



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FRANKFURT, Germany, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --It is just over one year since BASF's Coatings division acquired Chemetall, a leading global surface treatment supplier. Being well-known within the industry for its high-quality products and solutions, Chemetall will operate as a brand of the Surface Treatment global business unit of BASF's Coatings division. During festive events at its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany and facilities worldwide, the new brand image of Chemetall was officially introduced. Martin Jung, Senior Vice President, Surface Treatment, BASF's Coatings division, recognized this milestone: "One plus one is greater than two! Our new brand image reflects the impressive know-how of BASF in chemistry and coatings applications with the market-leading expertise in applied surface treatment from Chemetall. Together, the businesses will offer unmatched solutions competence to customers."

BASF has long been recognized as a global innovation leader. Chemetall enjoys a great history of global recognition for providing its customers with high-performance products and individual solutions. The combination of expertise and innovation power of two global market leaders will accelerate innovation and drive even more customer success.

Julia Murray, Global Marketing Communications Surface Treatment, said: "The Chemetall brand is recognized for its technology leadership, and we take a great deal of pride in our customer-focused and customer-centric approach, locally and globally. Being part of BASF's Coatings division creates opportunities to increase customer benefits from our combined expertise and commitment to continuous innovation. We expect to further advance our customers' access to best-in-class technologies, systems, and solutions across the value chain, always with the goal of enhancing efficiencies and value for our customers."

Under the Chemetall brand, BASF develops and manufactures customized technology and systems solutions for applied surface treatment. The products protect metals from corrosion, facilitate forming and machining, allow parts to be optimally prepared for the painting process and ensure proper coating adhesion. These products are used in a wide range of industries and end-markets, such as automotive, aerospace, aluminum finishing, and metal forming.

About BASF's Coatings division

The Coatings division of BASF is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings, as well as decorative paints. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners' needs all over the world. BASF shares skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific. In 2016, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about 3.2 billion.

In 2016, BASF acquired Chemetall, a leading global supplier of applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries and end markets. With this expansion in portfolio, BASF becomes a more complete solution provider for coatings.

Solutions beyond your imagination - Coatings by BASF. For more information about the Coatings division of BASF and its products, visit www.basf-coatings.com.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about 58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626792/Chemetall_BASF_Logo.jpg
Professionals representing educational and nonprofit organizations, serving the cradle to career pipeline for the English Language Learner (ELL) community, gathered last month at Chattanooga State Community College to discuss the challenges immigrants in Hamilton County face on their path to citizenship and career development. During the evenings program, Chattanooga State announced progress from the inaugural year of its Bridges to Success 2.0 program, an early postsecondary initiative providing ELL high school juniors a career pathway.BTS 2.0 is based on the successful model of Bridges to Success 1.0, which is a partnership with the City of Chattanooga and Chattanooga State to provide pathways to education and workforce development for our local immigrant community, says Gladys Pienda-Loher, director of International Community Outreach at Chattanooga State. "During the event, we learned Hispanic students account for roughly 10 percent of the student body in Hamilton County, with close to six percent having limited English proficiency.Based on achievement data from the TN State Report Card, ELL high school students are under-served in Tennessee and Hamilton County. For example: in high school English, only 5.5% of ELL students in our county scored proficient or advanced in the 2016 Tennessee Department of Education Report Card."It is not surprising that these early opportunity gaps create barriers for Hispanics in areas of postsecondary access and completion. Nearly half of the 11.2 percent of residents 25 years of age or older who fall into the category labeled 'Less than High School' are Hispanic residents. By race, Hispanic residents have the lowest combined percentage for postsecondary achievements in Hamilton County and fall a full percentage point behind Blacks and American Indians for residents attaining a 'bachelors degree or higher.'"BTS 2.0 brings access and opportunity for high school students of color, specifically within the ELL community. As part of the expansion of Bridges to Success, Chattanooga State is partnering with HCDE, and specifically Howard School, to create a career pathway for a cohort of 17 ELL students who are taking high school and college classes simultaneously. After two years, these students will have earned both their high school diploma and a postsecondary credential as a Computer Support Technician."Zac Brown, HCDE director of Opportunity Schools, was in attendance for the celebration and captured the spirit of the evenings discussion, We want all of our students to walk across the stage at graduation. Programs like Bridges to Success give students hope that they will be able to overcome challenges.Hamilton County schools have seen a significant growth in Hispanic and English Learner populations, directly mirroring the growth across the state.When I think about the role in which I have the privilege of serving, the one thing that I can do is to make sure that schools, leaders and teachers have the resources necessary to ensure that our ELL community as a whole are supported., stated Dr. Bryan Johnson, Hamilton County Department of Education superintendent. We need to be very intentional about supporting our ELL population as it continues to grow in Hamilton County.The work of Hamilton County schools, Chattanooga State and its partners in the Bridges to Success program go hand-in-hand with the goals of other efforts being done across the state with Drive to 55 and locally with Chattanooga 2.0."Chattanooga State Community College has created an innovative hybrid program for English Learners to have increased access to early postsecondary opportunities. With support from key leaders and partnerships, Bridges to Success will play a critical role in bridging the opportunity and achievement gaps that ELL students face in Hamilton County and, in return, increase economic stability for the entire community," officials said.One of our 2.0 goals is to double the number of graduates. That's all students, not just native speakers of English," said Chattanooga 2.0 Executive Director Jared Bigham. If we're going to say all, then all means all.
Together with management and technology consultancy BearingPoint, Emmi launches a grand redesign of its business process landscape, netting millions in projected future savings

Swiss dairy giant Emmi is expecting a positive influence on long-term growth after harmonizing a crosshatch of processes and systems with a customized IT platform.

In recent years, a bold agglomeration strategy has helped Emmi move into the club of companies dominating one of Europe's most valuable food sectors. However, along the way, the dairy producer amassed a plethora of processes that was weighing it down. Among the challenges were barriers to communication, duplication of work and sub-optimal reporting. By drawing upon BearingPoint's large-scale IT integration and change management expertise, Emmi was able to see how a single, unified IT platform via OneERP would not only rationalize its operations, but enable it to take advantage of the new synergies.

Lars Machler, Head of Corporate Development, Emmi, said: "BearingPoint succeeded in reconciling the various parties and perspectives involved and did so in a complex project environment, thus providing critical help in driving the progress and the success of the project."

Getting this core business management system right had assumed outsized importance as competition was heating up.

BearingPoint's Business Transformation Framework proved critical in defining the company strategy, which informed and structured the IT. With these key principles and priorities in hand, the design work and organizational change requirements proceeded apace. In scope were all processes in the areas of finance and controlling, master data management, sales, planning, purchasing, quality management, production and logistics. Additionally, a business process management organization was defined and rolled out in stages, utilizing a mix of prototype and agile project methods.

Asked about the Emmi project, Matthias Gortzen, Partner at BearingPoint, said: "A project of this magnitude hinges on cultural sensitivity as much as it does on technical ability. Emmi had great leadership and employee buy-in and was able to realize a business transformation, which is really outstanding in the market."

The industry bodies have also recognized the team, with the Emmi project scooping up multiple laurels, including a 2017 SAP Quality Award in gold for "Business Transformation," as well as the ASCO award in 2016. Importantly, Emmi is powered by a cutting-edge IT platform. This has increased transparency and efficiency while reducing not only the company's risk exposure but also its costs with savings projected in the two-digit million francs range. Emmi is well-placed to look to new horizons. With this project, Emmi has served notice that it is well-prepared for the future.

For more information, please also read our client story: https://www.bearingpoint.com/en/our-success/client-stories/reorganization-business-processes-emmi/.

About BearingPoint

BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consultancy with European roots and a global reach. The company operates in three units: Consulting, Solutions and Ventures. Consulting covers the advisory business; Solutions provides the tools for successful digital transformation, regulatory technology and advanced analytics; Ventures drives the financing and development of start-ups. BearingPoint's clients include many of the world's leading companies and organizations. The firm has a global consulting network with more than 10,000 people and supports clients in over 75 countries, engaging with them to achieve measurable and sustainable success.

For more information, please visit:

Homepage: www.bearingpoint.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/bearingpoint

Twitter: @BearingPoint

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180110005450/en/

Contacts:

BearingPoint

Alexander Bock

Manager Communications

Tel.: +49 89 540338029

Email: alexander.bock@bearingpoint.com
WARSAW, Poland, January 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

In just seventeen months - from August 2016 until December 2017 - Polish Oil and Gas Company has delivered over 1 bcm of natural gas to the Ukrainian market. PGNiG's supplies of gas to Ukraine have doubled in 2017 reaching over 700 mcm a year.This confirms the Company's increasing role on the gas market of Central and Eastern Europe.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/625669/PGNiG_Logo.jpg )

"These results are very satisfying. The sales of gas to the Ukrainian market is successful thanks to our proficient and flexible price policy," commented Maciej WoAniak, Vice-President of PGNiG. "Our supplies are attractive, because they are not only competitive, but also reliable and secure which is of a great importance to Ukraine. Portfolio of gas in our offer is well diversified: it comes from our domestic production in Poland and from various import directions. In the first three quarters of 2017, 12 percent of our total import came via LNG terminal in Swinoujscie (South-West Baltic Sea coast) mainly from Qatar, Norway and the USA. We do not plan to import natural gas from Russia after 2022 - the expiration date of the current long term contract with Gazprom. For PGNiG energy security is a priority and it means diversified supplies of gas from different geographical directions at competitive prices, while supplies from Gazprom do not fulfill these conditions," Maciej WoAniakadded.

PGNiG started delivering gas to Ukraine in August 2016 via a direct interconnector. Maciej WoAniak declared: "We are able to further strengthen our contribution to the Ukrainian diversification policy with increased gas exports. Unfortunately we have to wait for the expansion of the physical capacity of the Polish-Ukrainian interconnector. The existing cross-border capacity could be used for additional services like the virtual reverse flow, starting tomorrow. However, this option is being continuously blocked by Gazprom in the very same way it was blocked on the Ukrainian-Slovakian interconnector - through preventing access to respective shipper codes to Ukraine".

In October 2017 the Company signed framework agreements with the Ukrainian gas system operator Ukrtransgaz for gas storage and transmission pipeline capacities in Ukraine. This has opened new trade opportunities for PGNiG.

According to Argus data, in Q3 of 2017, PGNiG was the 9th biggest gas exporter to the Ukrainian market and the biggest Polish gas exporter to the neighboring country. The Company's strategy includes further development of commercial activity on the European markets.

Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) is the leader of the Polish natural gas market. The company's core business includes exploration and production of natural gas and crude oil. Its subsidiaries import, store, sell and distribute gaseous fuels. They also generate and trade heat and electricity. PGNiG holds stake in 30 companies including entities that provide professional geophysical, drilling and maintenance services. PGNiG holds exploration and production licenses in Norway and in Pakistan. One of its subsidiaries PGNiG Supply & Trading GmbH with a seat in Munich deals with gas trading in Western Europe and established its London international LNG trading office.
GUILDFORD, SURREY -- (Marketwired) -- 01/10/18 -- ANGLE plc (AIM: AGL) (OTCQX: ANPCY)

For Immediate Release 10 January 2018

ANGLE plc

("ANGLE" or "the Company")

Notification of Interim Results and Webcast

ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, will be releasing its interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2017 on Wednesday 31 January 2018.

A meeting for analysts will be held at 10.30am on 31 January 2018 at the offices of FTI Consulting, 200 Aldersgate, Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HD.

A live webcast of the analyst meeting will also be available on ANGLE's Investor Centre page, http://www.angleplc.com/investor-information/investor-centre/. Please log on to the web address approximately 5 minutes before 10.30 am on the day of the results.

A recording of the webcast will also be made available on ANGLE's website, www.ANGLEplc.com, following the results meeting.

For further information:

ANGLE plc +44 (0) 1483 343434 Andrew Newland, Chief Executive Ian Griffiths, Finance Director finnCap Ltd (NOMAD and Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 7220 0500 Corporate Finance - Adrian Hargrave, Simon Hicks, Kate Bannatyne Corporate Broking - Alice Lane, Nikita Jain WG Partners (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 203 705 9330 Nigel Barnes, Nigel Birks, Andrew Craig, Chris Lee FTI Consulting Simon Conway, Mo Noonan, Stephanie Cuthbert +44 (0) 203 727 1000 Kimberly Ha (US) +1 212 850 5612

For Frequently Used Terms, please see the Company's website on http://www.angleplc.com/the-parsortix-system/glossary/

Notes for editors

About ANGLE plc www.angleplc.com

ANGLE is a world leading liquid biopsy company with sample to answer solutions. ANGLE's proven patent protected platforms include an epitope-independent circulating tumor cell (CTC) harvesting technology and a downstream analysis system for cost effective, highly multiplexed analysis of nucleic acids and proteins.

ANGLE's cell separation technology is called the Parsortix system and it enables a liquid biopsy (simple blood test) to be used to provide the cells of interest. Parsortix is the subject of granted patents in Europe, the United States, Canada, India, China, Japan and Australia and three extensive families of patents are being progressed worldwide. The system is based on a microfluidic device that captures live cells based on a combination of their size and compressibility. The Parsortix system has a CE Mark for Europe and FDA clearance is in process for the United States.

ANGLE's analysis technology for proteins and nucleic acids of all types is based on a patented flow through array technology. It provides for highly multiplexed, rapid and sensitive capture of targets from a wide variety of sample types. A proprietary chemistry allows for the capture and amplification of over 100 biomarkers simultaneously in a single reaction. These technologies can be combined to provide fully automated, sample to answer results in both centralized laboratory and point of use cartridge formats. It is ideal for measuring gene expression and other markers directly from Parsortix harvests.

ANGLE has established formal collaborations with world-class cancer centres. These Key Opinion Leaders are working to identify applications with medical utility (clear benefit to patients), and to secure clinical data that demonstrates that utility in patient studies. Details are available here http://www.angleplc.com/the-company/collaborators/

The analysis of the cells that can be harvested from patient blood with ANGLE's Parsortix system has the potential to help deliver personalised cancer care offering profound improvements in clinical and health economic outcomes in the treatment and diagnosis of various forms of cancer.

The global increase in cancer to a 1 in 3 lifetime incidence is set to drive a multi-billion dollar clinical market. The Parsortix system is designed to be compatible with existing major medtech analytical platforms and to act as a companion diagnostic for major pharma in helping to identify patients that will benefit from a particular drug and then monitoring the drug's effectiveness.

As well as cancer, the Parsortix technology has the potential for deployment with several other important cell types in the future. ANGLE biomarker analysis platforms are adaptable to measure protein and nucleic acid biomarkers across the full spectrum of disease applications.

ANGLE stock trades on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AGL and in New York on the OTC-QX under the ticker symbol ANPCY. For further information please visit: www.angleplc.com

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Contacts:

RNS

Customer

Services

0044-207797-4400

rns@londonstockexchange.com

http://www.rns.com




SHENYANG, China, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China's Brilliance Auto Group recently entered a deal with the Renault Group to set up the Renault Brilliance Jinbei Automotive Co., Ltd., a joint venture to manufacture light commercial vehicles (LCVs) under the three brands of Jinbei, Renault and Huasong, with an aim to sell 150,000 such vehicles a year by 2022.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626919/Brilliance_Auto_Renault.jpg

It took Brilliance Auto Group only one year to successfully partner with the Renault Group and establish a new mode of cooperation: for the first time in the new era of Chinese automobile industry, the same joint venture will design and produce vehicles of both foreign brands and domestic brands, which will be a world-class platform for developing commercial vehicles.

Brilliance Auto Group Chairman Qi Yumin said that in the past, such a joint venture used to operate a foreign brand and the Chinese side could only use the profits to support the development of its own brand. Now, through the joint venture, the three brands, namely China's Jinbei and Huasong, as well as France's Renault, can advance side by side, which is conducive to a rapid development of China's own brands.

It is worth mentioning that the cooperation between Brilliance and Renault will bring together advanced technologies and experiences from both sides in their respective fields and the two companies will both contribute products and technologies to the joint business. Brilliance can take full advantage of the platforms, technologies and advanced management concepts introduced by Renault, and realize its own transformation and upgrading. This will add a heavy weight to Brilliance's presence in overseas markets which it has tapped into for many years.

It is understood that Brilliance is among the first batch of Chinese car-makers which adopted a plan to march into overseas markets. Up to now, Brilliance's overseas distribution network has covered more than 100 countries and regions in Africa, Central and South America and Asia Pacific, and the total number of its dealerships reached nearly 400. With the sound implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, Brilliance aims to design a more sustainable strategy to open up overseas markets for its own brands in the future.

Image Attachments Links:

http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=304523
SAN FRANCISCO, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The globalfood preservatives marketis expected to reach USD 3.2 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Fast-paced working lifestyle of consumers in North America and Asia Pacific has led to increased demand for ready-to-eat food. As a result, to prevent food spoilage and increase their shelf life, demand for food preservatives has increased.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160524/371361LOGO )

Food preservation is a traditional method used to store and keep food safe from contaminants for longer duration. With time, preservation methods have evolved from culinary salt and sugar to chemical types. Globalization has led to increased demand for synthetic preservatives. Usage of preservatives in various applications such as processed meat, bakery, and dairy is expected to foresee a substantial growth over the forecast period.

Food preservatives are categorized into two types: natural and synthetic. Natural types include rosemary extracts, vinegar, and natamycin whereas propionates, benzoates, and sorbates are the most preferred synthetic variants. Ill effects associated with synthetic preservatives, coupled with growing health consciousness among consumers, is driving demand for natural preservatives.

Functionally, anti-microbial preservatives are estimated to dominate the market in terms of revenue owing to an increased demand for anti-microbial agents in the processed meat and beverage industries.

Browse full research report with TOC on "Food Preservatives Market Analysis By Type (Natural, Synthetic), By Function (Anti-microbial, Anti-oxidant), By Application (Meat & Poultry, Bakery, Dairy, Beverages, Snacks), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/food-preservatives-market

Further Key Findings From the Report Suggest:

Asia Pacific is expected to witness fastest growth with a CAGR of 5.0% over the forecast period owing to factors such as increase in population, consumer willingness to pay premium price for organic products, and consumer preference for ready-to-eat meals

is expected to witness fastest growth with a CAGR of 5.0% over the forecast period owing to factors such as increase in population, consumer willingness to pay premium price for organic products, and consumer preference for ready-to-eat meals North America was the largest regional market in terms of revenue in 2016 and is estimated to be valued at USD 1.04 billion by 2025. Players such as Bavaria Corporation International, Biosecur Lab, Inc.; Prinova Group, LLC, Kalsec, Inc.; and DowDuPont, Inc. operate in North America and provide natural as well as chemical preservatives

was the largest regional market in terms of revenue in 2016 and is estimated to be valued at by 2025. Players such as Bavaria Corporation International, Biosecur Lab, Inc.; Prinova Group, LLC, Kalsec, Inc.; and DowDuPont, Inc. operate in and provide natural as well as chemical preservatives Asia Pacific is the most attractive market for manufacturers owing to significant growth in application sectors such as bakery, beverages, confectionery, processed meat, poultry, and seafood. This region is also expected to exhibit the fastest growth rate over the forecast period

is the most attractive market for manufacturers owing to significant growth in application sectors such as bakery, beverages, confectionery, processed meat, poultry, and seafood. This region is also expected to exhibit the fastest growth rate over the forecast period The U.S. food preservatives market was valued at USD 350.30 million in 2016 and is estimated to reach USD 455.78 million by 2025. Manufacturers in this region are shifting from synthetic to natural types of preservatives

in 2016 and is estimated to reach by 2025. Manufacturers in this region are shifting from synthetic to natural types of preservatives Key players such as Galactic S.A.; Kemin Industries, Inc.; and Prinova Group, LLC have made a successful entry in the market whereas manufacturers such as Royal DSM N.V.; Akzo Nobel N.V.; BASF SE; Celanese Corporation; and Cargill Inc. have a prominent and established presence in the global market.

Browse related reports by Grand View Research:

Food Safety Testing Market - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/food-safety-testing-industry

Food Enzymes Market - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/food-enzymes-market

Poultry Meat Processing Equipment Market - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/poultry-meat-processing-equipment-market

Meat Processing Equipment Market - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/meat-processing-equipment-market

Grand View Research has segmented the global food preservatives market on the basis of type, function, application, and region.

Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Natural Edible Oil Rosemary Extracts Natamycin Vinegar Others Synthetic Propionates Sorbates Benzoates Others

Function Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Anti-microbial Anti-oxidant Others

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) Meat & Poultry Products Bakery Products Dairy Products Beverages Snacks Others

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Mexico Europe Germany U.K. France Asia Pacific China India Australia Central & South America Brazil Middle East & Africa South Africa



Read Our Blog By Grand View Research: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/blogs/food-and-beverages

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. Thecompany provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc

Phone: +1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com



Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com
LONDON, KY / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2018 / Puissant Industries, Inc. (OTC PINK: "PSSS") ("Puissant") (Corporate Website: psss.co), a publicly traded energy rich company that uses its resources to develop or acquire high growth companies in industries where maximum profitability can be generated, announces that it will begin Cryptocurrency Mining Operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, American Crypto Mining, Inc. ("American Crypto").

American Crypto's first Cryptocurrency Mining Farm (the "Farm"), estimated to be 50% and 100% operational by the first and second quarters of 2018, respectively, will be equipped with SHA 256 double round hash verification processes and scrypt to validate Bitcoin transactions and provide security for the public ledger of the Bitcoin/Lite coin network. The Bitcoin/Litecoin networks compensate miners for their computational power by releasing newly issued Bitcoin and Litecoin, in addition to transaction fees from validation processes -- the more computing power a Farm contributes to the networks, the greater share of its compensation.

With Bitcoin mining measured in hashes per second, American Crypto's first Farm will have an initial hashing scrypt capability at 56,448 Mh/s and Sha-256 at 1,512,000 Gh/s hashing ability, permitting it to mine across a broad spectrum of cryptocurrencies and conduct Bitcoin/Litecoin mining at competitive levels. Puissant's excess electrical capacity of $0.03 per kilowatt hour will provide American Crypto with comparatively low operational/breakeven costs, which Puissant plans to use, in addition to at least 50% of American Crypto's revenues, to construct multiple Crypto Mining Farms.

Mark Holbrook commented, "We are pleased to expand our operations with Cryptocurrency Mining. Based on the current market for hashing ability as of January 8, 2018, scrypt in Litecoin at 10000 Mh/s pays $10,000 month and Sha-256 in Bitcoin at 100,000 Gh/s pays $5,600 month. You can see our first Farm's capability will have a hashing rate of 5.6448 times theses scrypt rates and 15.12 times the sha-256 rates. Puissant's excess electrical capacity alone could enable American Crypto to construct up to 5 more Crypto Mining Farms."

About Puissant Industries, Inc.

Puissant Industries is a multifaceted energy company that utilizes energy produced from a variety of energy sources to generate the maximum profitability of its assets. The Company seeks to expand into selective fast growing industries where the benefits of is multiple energy resources can make a significant impact on short and long term growth. This includes American Crypto and other industries under evaluation.

About American Crypto Mining, Inc.

American Crypto Mining, Inc. (a Kentucky corporation ) is Puissant Industries' wholly owned subsidiary. Currently constructing and equipping its first Cryptocurrency Mining Farm, American Crypto plans to pursue the construction and operation of multiple farms through revenue reinvestment and excess electrical capacity.

Contact:

James Painter, Emerging Markets Consulting LLC

(407) 340-0226

SOURCE: Puissant Industries, Inc.
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

EQT Mid Market acquires Candidator, a Swedish managed IT services provider with capabilities for full IT outsourcing in Sweden and Norway

EQT Mid Market is committed to drive continued growth and further strengthen Candidator's service offering both organically and through add-on acquisitions

Potential to further consolidate the fragmented Nordic managed IT services market

The EQT Mid Market Europe fund ("EQT Mid Market") today announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire Candidator Holding AB ("Candidator" or "the Company") from the private investment company Sobro and minority owners.

Established in 1997, Candidator is a managed IT services provider with capabilities for full IT outsourcing, providing its clients with mainly contractually recurring services, including cloud, hosting and application management. The Company has approximately 300 employees in Sweden and Norway with annual sales of around EUR 45 million. Candidator has managed to build strong customer relationships within the SME segment by combining customer focus with high quality IT solutions.

EQT Mid Market will support the continued development of Candidator's growth strategy while strengthening its platform and developing its service offering, both organically and through acquisitions. The Company is expected to benefit from strong underlying secular trends, including increased share of IT outsourcing and growing cloud adoption.

"EQT has monitored the Swedish managed IT services market for a long time and identified Candidator as an attractive platform to drive the consolidation. We are impressed by Candidator's strong financial performance and industry-leading customer satisfaction, successfully built by the founders and management. EQT's expertise within the TMT and Services sectors, coupled with a strong network of Industrial Advisors will support Candidator's further growth and development", says Johan Dettel, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market.

"We are excited about welcoming EQT as our new majority owner. Candidator is entering the next stage of growth in the Nordic managed IT services market and EQT will enable us to continue to develop our platform as well as future-proof our customer-centric service offering. Working together with EQT will empower us to build a leading Nordic managed IT services group", says Johan de Verdier, CEO of Candidator.

HDR Partners served as M&A advisor to EQT Mid Market, White & Case as legal advisor, Bain as commercial consultant and KPMG as finance and tax advisor. All parties have agreed to not disclose the transaction value.

About EQT

EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 38 billion in raised capital across 25 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Candidator

Candidator AB has offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, Vara, Skovde, Bergen, Oslo and Alingsas, where the company has four modern data centers that deliver stable and efficient IT operations around the clock to the company's approximately 400 contracted customers. Since the start in 1997, Candidator has shown strong growth and they currently have approximately 300 employees. The company's strategy is to build long-term relationships with its customers by combining high levels of service with effective IT solutions that provide clear business benefits.

More info: www.candidator.se

CONTACT:

Johan Dettel, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market, +468-506-55-350

EQT Press Office, +468-506-55-334

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/eqt-ab/r/eqt-mid-market-acquires-managed-it-services-provider-candidator,c2428880

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Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will present a 45-minute talk at Moccasin Bend National Archeological District discussing Dragging Canoe, one of the Cherokee resistance leaders to encroachment on Cherokee lands, on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 2 p.m.

Parking for the program will be at the Gateway Site off Hamm Road (10 Hamm Road in Chattanooga). Special Event signs will also be posted along Manufacturers and Hamm roads to help guide visitors to event parking.



"Tsiyu Gansini, or Dragging Canoe as he was known to English speakers, was the dynamic leader of a faction of the Cherokee who became known as the Chickamauga. Born during the tumultuous cultural clash between English colonists and the Cherokee in the mid-1700s, Dragging Canoe became a respected and feared leader who sought to save his people. This talk will explore the world in which Dragging Canoe lived and the one he crafted under the shadow of Lookout Mountain and along the banks of the Tennessee River," officials said.



For more information about upcoming programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military

Park, contact the Lookout Mountain Visitor Center at 423-821- 7786, the Chickamauga

Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866- 9241, or visit the parks website at www.nps.gov/chch.
NEW YORK, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Entering a new year is exciting, especially when the future holds the promise of expanding marketplaces and business opportunities. From growers and processors to the essential support services and an increasing number of retailers, cannabis companies are looking at 2018 as a breakout year for unprecedented growth. California's launch of legal marijuana for adult recreational use kicked off January 1, and Canada is set to follow the same path in July 2018. An article in Newsweek reveals at least 12 states are poised to consider legalizing some form of marijuana in 2018 (http://nnw.fm/1ETMq), marking the latest in a quick volley of changes being implemented by lawmakers and the public as more than 60 percent of Americans say they support legalization for adults (http://nnw.fm/pFa4w). Companies nimble enough to take advantage of these promising changes include DOJA Cannabis Company Ltd. (CSE: DOJA) (OTC: DJACF) (DJACF Profile), Growlife, Inc. (OTC: PHOT), United Cannabis Corp. (OTC: CNAB), Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (TSX-V: CBW) (OTC: CBWTF) and Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc. (TSX-V:FIRE) (OTC: SPRWF).

Acquisitions, deal-making, and expansion plans are on the minds of many in the cannabis sector as 2018 enters the world. A new Viridian Cannabis Deal Tracker report states the amount of financing raised in 2017 to support the coming cannabis boom is a staggering $2 billion in Canada alone, according to an article in the Financial Post (http://nnw.fm/Lxo1J).

"While the medical market is expected to continue to grow over the next several years, the size of the coming adult-use market is expected to far exceed that of the medical side," said Harrison Phillips, Vice-president at Viridian, told the Financial Post. "Companies have been raising significant amounts of capital, primarily to increase capacity to satisfy the coming surge in expected demand."

For DOJA Cannabis Company Ltd. (CSE: DOJA) (OTC: DJACF), 2017 was full of progress and the development of several successful ventures that will help the company gain a secure foothold in the recreational cannabis market in the new year. DOJA CEO Trent Kitsch in the company's 3rd Quarter 2017 report (http://nnw.fm/Uv2Dv) praised the company's team effort to make 2017 a banner year, stating, "I am very proud of our team's year-to-date accomplishments. We have reached a number of milestones in less time and for less investment than originally budgeted."

DOJA is a premium cannabis lifestyle brand featuring the highest quality handcrafted strains in Canada. DOJA's wholly owned subsidiary, Northern Lights Marijuana Company, is a Health Canada licensed cannabis producer located in Kelowna within the heart of British Columbia's picturesque Okanagan Valley.The company recently harvested and cured its first batches of premium handcrafted cannabis flower, requested a pre-sales license inspection from Health Canada, and began construction ofthe FUTURE LAB's 22,580-square-foot state-of-the-art extraction facility and lab that can support greatly increased production capacity - all impressive milestones for a company committed to establishing itself as Canada's leading lifestyle cannabis brand (http://nnw.fm/qXT1m ).

"We know that iconic brands are backed by iconic products, so our attention has been placed firmly on the art of growing, trimming and curing to ensure the quality and consistency of our handcrafted cannabis flower," Kitsch said. "Looking to the future there are a number of initiatives that we plan on executing that will further differentiate the DOJA brand and create value for our shareholders."

Underpinning that statement, DOJA on December 21 revealed its binding letter of intent with Tokyo Smoke to acquire all of its issued and outstanding shares http://nnw.fm/9ON1k). The proposed merger will create a unique cannabis company - to be named Hiku Brands Company Ltd. - that combines a retail-focused cannabis company with DOJA's specialty cannabis flower production facilities. The company also announced a strategic equity investment of approximately $10 million into the newly-combined company by Aphria Inc. The combination of cannabis production, retail footprint and a portfolio of cannabis brands is expected to provide the newly formed company the opportunity to realize the significant value of complete vertical integration.

In October the company announced its plan to expand its production capacity with the build-out of its new, much larger growing facility.

"The Acquisition is a game changer for DOJA, it allows us to expand our production capacity by almost 8 times, diversity our strain production, integrate a world class extraction lab and leverage the economies of scale that come from a larger growing space," Kitsch said in a news release (http://nnw.fm/rWR4Q). "Our strategy has always been to reach 5,000 kg of cannabis production per year by the end of 2018, with the addition of FUTURE LAB we project we will reach our goal in less time and for less capital investment than previously budgeted. The FUTURE LAB has 325 feet of highway frontage which will be utilized to promote DOJA's cannabis lifestyle brand to the 1.9 million-plus visitors to the Okanagan each year and the 40,000 commuters that drive past the facility each day."

Expanding DOJA's cultivation capacity and scale provides a near-term supply source for dried cannabis flower that is grown, trimmed and cured in a premium fashion at a price per gram that is within the company's control - ensuring DOJA remains competitive on a national level. DOJA's FUTURE LAB state-of the-art extraction lab will drive innovation in the cannabis concentrates and edibles sector, which company officials expect will overtake cannabis whole flower sales in the future.

Closing out 2017, the company recently finalized a previously announced bought deal private placement of convertible debenture units, raising $17.25 million to be used for capital projects and general corporate purposes (http://nnw.fm/WcBi8) as it continues its pattern of growth.

Growing healthy and productive cannabis isn't done without a great deal of help from Mother Nature and a host of specialty support services. As a nationally recognized cultivation brand for the cannabis industry, Growlife (OTC: PHOT) provides world-class hydroponic equipment, lighting, nutrients, media, and other cultivation supplies to commercial and urban operations. Based in the state of Washington, GrowLife has added an all-in-one home cultivation system called"GrowLife Cube Pro"to its product offerings. The company is introducing the product as a way to service the exploding recreational cannabis markets in California and other states where adults will be permitted to cultivate up to six plants per adult under local law (http://nnw.fm/B33cS ).

Denver-based United Cannabis (OTCQB: CNAB) is constructing a state-of-the-art industrial hemp processing plant that will include extraction, purification, testing and processing equipment, as well as packaging, fulfillment and secure storage capabilities, according to a news release (http://nnw.fm/klBB1). The company, which provides consulting services, proprietary products and licenses its intellectual property to businesses in the cannabis industry, is branching out to provide contract manufacturing to farmers working under the 2014 Federal Farm Bill and Colorado's Department of Agriculture's Industrial Hemp Program. Farmers in the program will be able to convert harvested industrial hemp plants into a range of products, from simple extracts to capsules to sublingual drops, and have them packaged for resale, the company states in the press release.

Cannabis Wheaton Income (TSX-V: CBW) (OTCQB: CBWTF) is also advancing its footprint in the cannabis sector by entering into a letter of intent with FV Pharma Inc. Under the agreement, Cannabis Wheaton will develop all aspects of FV's cannabis cultivation facility in mutually agreed staged phases, creating the largest indoor cannabis cultivation and processing facility in the world. A joint press release states (http://nnw.fm/l6wmD). The FV facility, located one hour east of Toronto, Canada, is an existing 620,000 square feet of building space once used by KRAFTas a food manufacturing facility.

Another Canadian company committed to becoming a leading cultivator and distributor of specialized cannabis is Supreme Cannabis Company (TSX-V: FIRE) (OTC: SPRWF), which recently changed its name from Supreme Pharmaceuticals Inc. The company's 7ACRES subsidiary is a federally licensed producer of medical cannabis with a 342,000-square-foot hybrid greenhouse facility in Kincardine, Ontario. The recent purchase of six acres adjacent to this facility is expected to produce high-quality "California-Style" cannabis for the premium product segment once construction of an indoor cultivation facility is completed, the company stated in a news release (http://nnw.fm/Y9Ira ).

2018 may certainly turn out to be a rollercoaster for the cannabis industry, with more participants than ever punching a ticket to ride. But there are ample opportunities for growth in various sectors of a global industry that Grand View Research, Inc. expects will reach $55.8 billion by 2025 (http://nnw.fm/LuR6w). Other industries such as marketing, software, packaging, energy, banking, blockchain technology and biotechnology are also taking notice and seeing opportunities in the burgeoning field as marijuana continues its transformation from a hidden, underworld product to a massive economic force.

For more information on DOJA Cannabis Company, visit DOJA Cannabis Company Ltd. (CSE: DOJA) (OTC: DJACF)

For a more in-depth look into DOJA Cannabis (CSE: DOJA) (OTC: DJACF), view the full report on Microsmallcap.com .

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NEW YORK, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

A recent report released by the U.S. government has identified as many as 23 minerals that are 'critical to the national economy and national security' of the nation. Immediately following the report, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to urgently reduce foreign dependence on these minerals and ramp up domestic production. One critical metal of heavy emphasis on the list is lithium, which the U.S. is currently importing 50% from abroad. This presents an unprecedented opportunity for a country that has so much undeveloped lithium reserves but previously chose to mostly bypass domestic mining in favor of imports. This executive order now changes everything, and with the global demand for lithium used in electric car batteries rising at an unstoppable pace, the global lithium supply landscape is set for a shakeup. Companies poised to lead in the supply of lithium include Standard Lithium Ltd. (OTC: STLHF) (TSX-V: SLL) (FRA: S5L) (STLHF Profile), Liberty One Lithium Corp. (TSX-V: LBY) (OTC: LRTTF) (FRANKFURT: L1T), Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), Lithium X Energy Corp. (TSX-V: LIX) (OTC: LIXXF) and Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX: NMX) (OTC: NMKEF) (FRANKFURT: N0T).



The world is moving fast towards "electrification" of the auto industry to reduce global emissions and pollution. For this, lithium has become a hot commodity for its role as a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries. The global EV revolution, first started by Tesla, is now getting bigger and more influential than ever. Carmakers like General Motors and Volvo have pledged to end production of gas-powered vehicles altogether in the future (http://nnw.fm/HuFx7). Volkswagen is even willing to thrust $40 billion into EV development by 2022, just to name a few.



This means lithium is going to keep its status as an in-demand critical commodity for a while. According to data from Global Market Insights, Inc., the worldwide market for Li-ion batteries alone is set to exceed USD $60 billion by the year 2024 (http://nnw.fm/Y84e0). It is estimated that one lithium mine needs to be brought on line each year through 2025 to meet its fast-growing demand. With Trump's new executive order in effect, the next lithium mine could well be in the U.S.



While U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data reveal that continuing exploration has increased global lithium resources worldwide (http://nnw.fm/CRs1v), lithium producers will have their hands full in meeting rampant demand. Lithium companies like Standard Lithium Ltd. (OTCQX: STLHF) (TSX-V: SLL) (FRA: S5L) are wasting no time to get operations in order to potentially cash in on this EV-driven lithium boom and embrace the U.S. government's new policy to expand lithium production.

Based in Vancouver, B.C., Standard Lithium stands out as a premier lithium developer focused on the production of high-quality lithium at a low cost. The company is engaged in unlocking the value of large-scale lithium brine resources that are already in existence in the United States and can be quickly brought into production.



Standard Lithium's approach is based on its stance that new lithium production can be rapidly brought on stream through minimizing project and process risks and through leveraging advances in lithium extraction technologies and processes.



Exploration and Development



Standard Lithium recently announced the expansion of the lithium brine project at its Bristol Dry Lake property in California's Mojave Desert, where six new evaporation ponds have been installed (http://nnw.fm/9LBwK). The company is taking advantage of record-high evaporation rates in this region to pre-concentrate brines produced from the project, which will then be shipped to its testing and processing facilities at three North American campuses.



Standard Lithium is also in the midst of drilling work at its Bristol Dry Lake property and has completed four exploration boreholes, with two more planned. Preliminary results have equaled and exceeded historic data, and full QA and QC results are scheduled to be released during the first half of 2018.



The Bristol Dry Lake project encompasses an area spanning more than 33,000 acres, including both patented and placer mineral claims and private property. Geophysical data that was recently acquired indicates the basin is deep and expansive, and historical drill samples have shown lithium contents of more than 100mg/l over the drilled interval. Bristol Dry Lake is an established mining area with world-class infrastructure at the project as well as paved road and rail access and water and electricity.



Standard Lithium has forged agreements with National Chloride Corporation of America and TETRA Technologies (NYSE: TTI), two of the established brine producers in this region, to explore and develop the area for potential lithium production. Under the agreements, the company can conduct exploration, brine sampling, extraction, evaporation and process testing.



In order to advance the project, Standard Lithium has amassed a strong team of scientists and process engineers who are applying a hybrid approach that utilizes both conventional and modern extraction processes.



The company has additionally entered into an agreement to explore highly promising brines covering an area of about 30,000 acres in the Smackover Formation, which extends across Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. This presents a low-risk investment with promising potential returns in a region with well-understood geology that further has a lengthy history of brine production and infrastructure for profitable mineral extraction. In historical analysis of the Arkansas Smackover Formation, a lithium content of 365mg/l was shown.



Potential Industry Comparables



Another Canada-based player looking to help meet the growing global lithium demand is Liberty One Lithium Corp. (TSX-V: LBY) (OTCQB: LRTTF) (FRANKFURT: L1T). Headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., Liberty One currently has plans underway to examine a short list of prospective lithium properties in Latin American and the continental U.S. during Q1 of 2018. The company also recently announced plans to commence an evaluation of its North Paradox property during 2018. Liberty One's North Paradox property consists of 233 placer claims encompassing 4,480 acres in the Paradox Basin of Grand County, Utah. Liberty One seeks out regions that are ideally situated for lithium brine production via low-cost and well-proven evaporation methods and which are adjacent to functional infrastructure and an experienced labor force.



One of the biggest producers of lithium raw material in the world is Albemarle (NYSE: ALB), which is based in Charlotte, NC, and is a global market leader for lithium compounds. In Q3 2017, Albemarle logged net sales of $343.6 million for lithium and advanced materials, representing a year-over-year increase of 42.9 percent. This is clear evidence of the potential for lithium producers to profit hugely in the face of increasing prices and demand.



Growing global interest in lithium's rising star is also evidenced in recent acquisition activity. Lithium exploration and development company Lithium X Energy (TSX-V: LIX) (OTCQX: LIXXF) recently entered into a definitive agreement with Nextview New Energy Lion Hong Kong Limited, through which Nextview will acquire all of Lithium X's issued and outstanding common shares and warrants. Lithium X has two lithium projects in the prolific "Lithium Triangle" in the Salta province of Argentina and also has ownership interest in Pure Energy Metals, which is developing a lithium project in Nevada.



Another Canada-based player that is specifically focused on serving as a supplier for the lithium battery market is Nemaska Lithium (TSX: NMX) (OTCQX: NMKEF) (FRANKFURT: N0T). Nemaska Lithium is developing a key spodumene lithium hard rock deposit in Quebec, Canada, that is being touted as one of the most important spodumene lithium hard rock deposits in the world, both in terms of volume and grade. The spodumene concentrate that is produced at the company's Whabouchi mine will be shipped to Nemaska Lithium's lithium compounds processing plant, which is planned to be built in Shawinigan, Quebec. This facility will transform spodumene concentrate into high-purity lithium hydroxide and carbonate using the company's proprietary methods, for which Nemaska Lithium holds nine issued patents and various patent applications that are pending in different countries.



The growing value and importance of the lithium market are clear, and companies like those named are primed for profitability as EV dominance blazes forward and lithium demand increases to keep pace. Li-ion manufacturers and end-users of Li-ion batteries, including car manufacturers, are increasingly motivated to ink multiyear deals with lithium producers to spur them to greater and faster investment and production. While the earth's supply of lithium is plentiful, processing capacity remains an issue-which will continue to spell motivation for end users and profit for lithium producers.



For more information on Standard Lithium, visit Standard Lithium Ltd. (TSX-V: SLL) (FRA: S5L) (OTCQX: STLHF)



For a more in-depth look into Standard Lithium (TSX-V: SLL) (FRA: S5L) (OTCQX: STLHF) you can view the full report on Streetsignals.com.



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This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and NNW and FNM undertake no obligation to update such statements.



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CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar declined against its major opponents in the European session on Wednesday, following a media report that China is considering slowing or halting new Treasury purchases for foreign reserves.



Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials are reviewing their stand on investment in U.S. government debt, given trade tensions between Beijing and Washington as well as relatively lower attractiveness for U.S. treasuries than other assets.



U.S. treasury yields spiked up following the news, with the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries rising to a 10-month high of 2.588 percent in European trading.



China is the largest foreign investor in U.S. government debt, holding U.S. securities worth $1.1892 trillion as of October, 2017.



The currency was higher against its major rivals in the Asian session, with the exception of the yen.



Extending early slide, the greenback weakened to a 1-1/2-month low of 111.27 against the yen, from a high of 112.78 hit at 7:00 pm ET. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around the 110.00 region.



The greenback, having advanced to near a 2-week high of 1.3482 against the pound at 5:15 am ET, reversed direction and edged down to 1.3562. If the greenback extends decline, 1.38 is likely seen as its next support level.



Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK industrial production climbed for the eighth straight month in November driven by energy and manufacturing output.



Monthly growth in industrial output doubled to 0.4 percent from 0.2 percent in October. The rate came in line with expectations and marked the eighth consecutive expansion.



The greenback slipped to 2-day lows of 1.2018 against the euro and 0.9755 versus the franc, off its early high of 1.1923 and near a 2-week high of 0.9846, respectively. Continuation of the greenback's downtrend may see it challenging support around 1.23 against the euro and 0.96 against the franc.



Reversing from an early high of 1.2476 against the loonie, the greenback dropped to 1.2428. The greenback is seen finding support around the 1.23 area.



The greenback hit a 2-day low of 0.7866 against the aussie and a 3-1/2-month low of 0.7229 against the kiwi, from its early high of 0.7808 and a 6-day high of 0.7141, respectively. On the downside, 0.795 and 0.74 are likely seen as the next support levels for the greenback against the aussie and the kiwi, respectively.



Looking ahead, U.S. import and export prices for December and wholesale inventories for November as well as Canada building permits for the same month are set for release in the New York session.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Short-term growth in IT spend supported by pharmaceutical companies shifting toward big-data and cloud-based solutions, finds Frost & Sullivan

SANTA CLARA, California, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest analysis, Growth Insights-Global Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery IT Solutions Market, Forecast to 2020, by Frost & Sullivan highlights the growing interest in big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions. The study projects that market will reach $5.3 billion by 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9 percent. It also provides an analysis of key market dynamics, drivers, restraints, forecast and trends, current adoption of IT solutions, market growth opportunities, segments to watch and competitive analysis.

To access more information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/22y

"AI-based platforms play a pivotal role in drug discovery digital and information tools development, especially in lead compound identification, computer-aided drug design and LIMS tools," says Frost & Sullivan Transformational Health Senior Industry Analyst Piyush Bansal. "Big pharmaceuticals are adopting machine learning and cognitive computing based platforms, and their ongoing efforts will intensify in the near future."

To survive in a fragmented pharmaceutical IT solutions market, with several small companies and no clear business structure, Bansal recommends that players focus on strengthening their market presence and product portfolios by adopting collaborative partnerships and merger and acquisition strategies.

Further trends driving growth in the global pharmaceutical drug discovery IT solutions market include:

Growth in IT spend in the short term supported by pharmaceutical companies shifting toward cloud-based analytics and automation solutions;

in the short term supported by pharmaceutical companies shifting toward cloud-based analytics and automation solutions; Automation and machine learning -based tools becoming a major investment focus for IT adoption in drug discovery, while digital data management, patient recruitment and remote-monitoring tools focus on the clinical trials segment;

-based tools becoming a major investment focus for IT adoption in drug discovery, while tools focus on the clinical trials segment; Mobile and social media applications becoming a popular medium for pharma companies to engage with patients and physicians for clinical trials, product marketing and sales; and

becoming a popular medium for pharma companies to engage with patients and physicians for clinical trials, product marketing and sales; and Segments such as real-world data, population health management, and clinical decision support witnessing the highest growth in the next three to four years.

"Despite significant advancements in technology, data security and integrity remain a key concern for pharmaceutical companies while adopting external information technology platforms," noted Bansal. "Companies are still skeptical regarding hosting patient- and research-specific information on online servers. This has resulted in lower-than-expected adoption of IT platforms in the industry."

Growth Insights-Global Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery IT Solutions Market, Forecast to 2020 is part of Frost & Sullivan's Transformational Health Growth Partnership Program.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion .

Growth Insights-Global Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery IT Solutions Market, Forecast to 2020

9AB9/7E_52

Contact:

Mariana Fernandez

Corporate Communications - North America

P: +1 (210) 348 1012

E: Mariana.Fernandez@frost.com

http://ww2.frost.com

Twitter: @FS_Healthcare

LinkedIn: Transform Health
Citigroup Inc. is announcing the redemption, in whole, constituting 1,288,000,000 in aggregate principal amount, of its 4.75% Fixed Rate Floating Rate Subordinated Notes due February 2019 (the "notes") (ISINS: XS0185490934 (for the international notes) and US172967CG 40 (for the DTC notes)).

The redemption date for the notes is February 10, 2018. The cash redemption price payable for the notes on the redemption date will equal par plus 3,601,982.00 in accrued and unpaid interest. The redemption announced today is consistent with Citigroup's liability management strategy, and reflects its ongoing efforts to enhance the efficiency of its funding and capital structure. Since 2015, Citigroup redeemed or retired $26.3 billion of its securities, reducing Citigroup's overall funding costs. Citigroup will continue to consider opportunities to redeem or repurchase securities, based on several factors, including without limitation, the economic value, regulatory changes, potential impact on Citigroup's net interest margin and borrowing costs, the overall remaining tenor of Citigroup's debt portfolio, capital impact, as well as overall market conditions.

Citigroup's Basel III Tier 2 Capital will not be affected by the planned redemption.

Beginning on the redemption date, the notes will no longer be outstanding and interest will no longer accrue on such securities.

Citibank, N.A. is the paying agent for the notes. For further information on the notes, please see the related final terms at the following web address: http://www.citigroup.com/citi/fixedincome/data/docs/475eurdue101019.pdf

Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180110005277/en/

Contacts:

Citigroup Inc.

Media: Mark Costiglio, (212) 559-4114

Investors: Susan Kendall, (212) 559-2718

Fixed Income Investors: Thomas Rogers, (212) 559-5091
Seattle, Washington--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2018) - CFN Media Group ("CannabisFN"), the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces publication of an article covering Future Farm Technologies Inc. (CNSX: FFT) (OTCQB: FFRMF) and its recent move into the Florida medical marijuana market. In 2016, Florida voters approved a massive expansion of the state's medical marijuana system. As a result, Florida's medical marijuana market is now expected to top $1.5 billion annually by the year 2020. The nation's third most populous state, with a high percentage of elderly residents who are more likely than other age groups to seek medical marijuana as treatment for a variety of common ailments, is struggling to keep up with the greatly increased demand for doctors' licenses and medical marijuana cards.

New Greenhouse

Future Farm Technologies recently closed on its previously announced acquisition of a 10-acre operating greenhouse in Florida. The greenhouse is located in a designated legal grow zone near Orlando, which has a population of nearly 2.5 million and attracts over 62 million visitors each year. Management plans to run the greenhouse as-is for now, adding to Future Farm's current revenue streams while the company applies for a cannabis cultivation permit.

In 2017, the greenhouse generated an estimated $2.8 million in revenue and $400,000 in EBITDA. The property, and the greenhouse, have already been approved at the county level for the cultivation and processing of cannabis, which positions it for significant near-term revenue potential. Management plans to explore the possibility of growing hemp on the remaining acreage of farmland outside of the greenhouse facility down the road. Future Farm also has an option to lease an adjacent 10-acre parcel for use as a hemp farm.

Beyond the Florida acquisition, Future Farm has a fully operational 120-acre hemp farm in Maine, along with a new lease on a nearby 100 acre site. The company also has an option to lease up to an additional 1,000 acres. Developing these additional properties into hemp farms would turn Future Farm into one of the largest hemp suppliers in the country, giving the company the raw material it needs to feed its proprietary extraction technology and create large volumes of high quality CBD extracts. These extracts can be used alone or incorporated into a variety of personal care and nutraceutical products that are increasingly in demand.

Future Farm recently partnered with one of the world's leading agro-biotechnology companies, Rahan Meristem Ltd., to create and clone hemp plants that can be used in these farms. The goal is to cultivate and extract cannabinoids that can be used in the burgeoning medical cannabis industry through partnerships and its proprietary extraction technologies that have been developed in-house over the past several years.

Financing in Place

Future Farm Technologies plans to finance its growth plans with $4 million raised in a private placement, announcing the closing at the same time as the greenhouse acquisition. The move helps shore up the company's balance sheet with cash as it looks to execute its ambitious business plans. As of August 31, 2017, the company had $4.1 million in total assets and $1.4 million in liabilities ahead of its commercialization phase moving into the new year and beyond.

In a recent press release, Future Farm provided an update on all of its initiatives. In addition to the aforementioned operations in Florida and Maine, the company is involved in legal markets in California, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico. Future Farm also sells state-of-the-art lighting systems for indoor grow operations through its LED Canada division and is preparing to spin off its cannabis-focused augmented reality company.

Please follow the link to read the full article: http://www.cannabisfn.com/future-farm-entering-second-largest-cannabis-market-u-s/

For more information, visit the company's website at www.futurefarmtech.com or download its investor presentation.

About CFN Media

CFN Media (CannabisFN) is the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis. We help marijuana businesses attract investors, customers (B2B, B2C), capital, and media visibility. Private and public marijuana companies and brands in the US and Canada rely on CFN Media to grow and succeed.

Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/become-featured-company/

Download the CFN Media iOS mobile app to access the world of cannabis from the palm of your hand: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cannabisfn/id988009247?ls=1&mt=8

Or visit our homepage and enter your mobile number under the Apple App Store logo to receive a download link text on your iPhone: http://www.cannabisfn.com

Disclaimer:

Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CFN Media and CannabisFN.com, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. Emerging Growth LLC may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Emerging Growth LLC may be compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or equity securities in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/

CFN Media

Frank Lane

206-369-7050

flane@cannabisfn.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2018 / ExamWorks Clinical Solutions ("ExamWorks") announced today new Medicare Set Aside (MSA) post-settlement administration (PSA) features for professional administration and self-administration through its partnership with Ametros Financial. As a result of the alliance, Ametros' CareGuard and Amethyst healthcards will be available to ExamWorks Clinical Solutions clients who elect to use Ametros' post-settlement account services to simplify ongoing administration.

Ametros' CareGuard helps individuals maximize their settlement funds and take control of their medical care. For injured parties who want to utilize their bank account, Ametros' Amethyst is available for self-administration.

With either healthcard, the injured party has access to significant discounts via medical networks for their medications, doctor bills, and medical equipment. The healthcard eliminates the bill handling burden from the injured party and ensures that payments are submitted accurately and directly to providers.

ExamWorks Clinical Solutions President Jeff Gurtcheff said, "Our service portfolio delivers savings and efficiencies to Medicare Set Asides, and upholds our commitment to care, control, and compliance. Our partnership with Ametros means more closed claims and reduced reserves for ExamWorks' clients while helping settle simple and difficult cases where the injured party is anxious about future medical needs."

Professional administration of MSA or medical settlement funds provides security and protection for all parties involved in a settlement. By having experts perform the post-settlement reporting required by Medicare for MSAs and other government entities, ExamWorks assures that all parties are adequately protected in the settlement. A dedicated support team assists the injured party and providers, eliminating post-settlement issues and making sure all parties follow Medicare's guidelines. To submit a case for professional or self-administration, please contact us at info@examworks-cs.com.

About ExamWorks Clinical Solutions

ExamWorks Clinical Solutions is the industry leader in Medicare Secondary Payer compliance, combining Medicare Set-Aside, conditional payment, and post-settlement services. The company provides comprehensive clinical mitigation programs and medical and vocational case management to insurers, self-insureds, and third-party administrators. ExamWorks Clinical Solutions, an ExamWorks Company, is headquartered in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

About Ametros Financial

Ametros is changing the way individuals navigate healthcare by providing them with the tools and support necessary to make savvy decisions on how to spend their medical funds. The company's portfolio includes CareGuard, Amethyst Healthcard, and CareQuote. CareGuard is the first fully automated solution for professional administration which gives the member 24/7 insight into their spending and savings trends. Ametros Financial, a Clarion Capital Partners company, is based in Burlington, Massachusetts.

CONTACT:

ExamWorks Clinical Solutions

Christie Britt

678-222-5300

SVP Operations

christie.britt@examworks-cs.com

SOURCE: ExamWorks Clinical Solutions
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2018) - Augusta Industries Inc. (TSXV: AAO) (the "Corporation"), a developer and marketer of patented non-intrusive sensing systems, is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed a proof-of-concept test using the FIBOS Fiber Bragg Grating Technology.

The proof-of-concept contract consisted of FIBOS engineers bonding a number of optical strain sensors to a test jig which was provided by the client. The purpose of the test was to demonstrate that, by using these advanced sensors, the client would be able to detect pressure in a controlled area of the test jig. The client visited the Corporation's facility to view the demonstration firsthand and was then provided the opportunity to ask questions of the engineers.

On the completion of the test, the client advised the Corporation that it was satisfied and requested that the Corporation provide it with a custom solution that will address its specific application. The Corporation and the client also discussed the next phase of the project which would include a design for a clamp-on sensor head and the live testing of a full system.

This clearly shows that FOX-TEK, as a company, is able to meet new demands and, to be able to provide solutions in new areas-such as the nuclear sector.

"The success of the proof-of-concept test clearly demonstrates the ability of the Corporation to address the continuing changing needs of its clients," commented Allen Lone, President and CEO of the Corporation. "The Corporation is continuously pursuing opportunities in previously untapped markets and services."

About the Corporation

Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Marcon International Inc. ("Marcon") and Fox-Tek Canada Inc. ("Fox-Tek"), the Corporation provides a variety of services and products to a number of clients.

Marcon is an industrial supply contractor servicing the energy sector and a number of US Government entities. Marcon's principal business is the sale and distribution of industrial parts and equipment.

Fox-Tek provides world leading solutions to various sectors including the oil and gas industry. With non-intrusive technologies including fiber-optic sensors and electric field mapping systems, Fox-Tek is able to accurately measure changes that could negatively impact our client's operations.

Corporation contact:

Allen Lone, President and C.E.O.

Tel: 905.275.8111, Ext. 226, email: atlone@fox-tek.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
UNIBANK Will Take Part in the FINTECH 360, a Conference Devoted to Discussion on How New Technologies Are Transforming the Financial Environment and Banking Sector, in Particular

YEREVAN, ARMENIA / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2018 / The FINTECH 360, which takes place in Tallinn on March 27th - 28th, will gather several hundreds of professionals from the banking sector, fintech entrepreneurs, and VC funds representatives across Europe, Russia, and the CIS.

Quick development of fintech and its increasing influence on financial services are reshaping the whole industry and completely changing the role of traditional financial institutions. Innovations are mainly coming from startups, who seem to be the primary source of disruption for conventional banks, and give a lot of opportunities as well as risks for the traditional financial environment. Average fintech adoption globally has risen to 33% with emerging markets at an even more significant amount, where 46% of customers are now using different services based on fintech platforms, according to EY. A volume of investment attracted by fintech companies in 2016 has risen to 11% with the total amount of 17.4 billion US dollars.

These rapid changes urged the industry to react quickly and reconsider the role of traditional banking. FINTECH 360 creates a space to discuss how conventional banks can readjust their strategies to remain successful at the age of technology disruption. The conference includes two days of discussions with key industry players who will share their ideas on the influence of blockchain on banking, developing, and regulating of cryptocurrencies market, the opportunities and risks of ICOs, and new payment solutions to increase an availability of finance in emerging markets. The conference is also a venue, which gives a chance for startups to meet with established banks and well-known tech companies like Aliexpress, Google, MasterCard etc.

"Traditional financial institutions are trying to cope with new tech companies with many fears to lose its businesses to new tech companies. Meanwhile, startups, which initially used to be major disruptors for conventional banks, are starting to realize that the collaboration with the banks might be a better option since they want to have access to their customers. It gives a lot of opportunities for cooperation between startups and banks in the future. And we believe that our conference is a great place to start," says FINTECH 360 conference producer Sergei Stepanov.

"We're glad to join the FINTECH 360 conference and be a part of the professional community to exchange ideas and find new opportunities to enhance cooperation with our partners. We understand that our customers these days need their bank working 24/7, providing them services to manage their finances remotely wherever they are. When new technologies are thriving, we need to invest in it and transform our work to give our clients more online services," says Mesrop Hakobyan, UNIBANK CEO.

1 http://www.ey.com/gl/en/industries/financial-services/ey-fintech-adoption-index

2 https://www.forbes.com/sites/lawrencewintermeyer/2017/02/17/global-fintech-vc-investment-soars-in-2016

SOURCE: UNIBANK
GPS students and faculty will partner with more than 30 area nonprofit agencies and organizations across Chattanooga next Monday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service. Amal Ali 19 will represent GPS at the city-wide kickoff event on the campus of UTC, where she will read from Dr. Kings last speech.



Trish King, Middle School history teacher, and Sarah Jackson, Upper School dean of students, as active members of the city-wide planning committee, have worked closely with the City of Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs since last July.



Ms. King has spent months coordinating the event, reaching out to members of the community to identify areas of need, assigning students and faculty members to projects that align with preferred causes or organizations based on survey responses and arranging all aspects of the day. We want students to consider: What are some small ways we can keep the spirit of service alive each and every day? says Ms. King, who also sponsors the schools Partnership in Community (PIC) service organization.



Students will meet on campus at 7:45 a.m. and then will depart, along with GPS faculty and staff chaperones, for various projects across the area. Some of the organizations GPS will be partnering with include: American Cancer Society, Chambliss Center for Children, Chattanooga Rescue Mission, Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Crabtree Farms, Girls on the Run, Hospice of Chattanooga, Humane Educational Society of Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain Conservancy, Lula Lake Land Trust, Maclellan Island Clean Up, Operation Gratitude, Outreach In East Lake, Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center, Salvation Army, Scenic Cities Beautiful, SEED - Identity & Diversity, Sew2Serve at Glenwood YFD Center, The Bethlehem Center, Widow's Harvest Ministries, YMCA, and Women's Fund of Greater Chattanooga.

After returning to campus, the girls will have lunch and then hear from Donivan Brown, Outreach coordinator with Empower Chattanooga, at 1 p.m. in Frierson Theatre. Mr. Brown is a consultant, writer and organizer who focuses on a variety of community growth challenges in the area of critical race theory and racial reconciliation. He is co-founder and principal teacher in a city-wide conversation on race, known as Forty Folks, and studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He will present The Dream Cycle of Dr. King to students and faculty.


TAIPEI, Taiwan, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- VIVOTEK (TWSE: 3454), the global leading IP surveillance solution provider, and Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced a strategic partnership to offer cutting-edge cyber-defense solutions. With VIVOTEK's profound experience in IP surveillance and Trend Micro's extensive expertise in cybersecurity, the partnership enables users to enjoy higher levels of network security when deploying VIVOTEK's network cameras and strengthen defenses in response to the emerging security challenges of the Internet of Things (IoT). The brand new VIVOTEK cybersecurity enhanced products will be launched by the end of January and will be revealed in VIVOTEK's booth (SA-C41) at Intersec 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626228/VIVOTEK_TRENDMICRO.jpg

Dr. Steve Ma, Vice president of VIVOTEK Brand Business Research & Development Division, commented, "Our approach requires a tight integration between hardware-based security features and software applications. Joining forces with Trend Micro is a vital step and together we are proud to roll out the first cybersecurity enhanced network cameras in the IP surveillance industry. Thanks to Trend Micro IoT Security for Surveillance Cameras (TMIS-CAM) solution, these cameras are able to automatically detect and prevent credential attack and block suspicious events. Both parties are committed toreducingsecurity vulnerabilities, and develop a safety net for the IoT ecosystem."

"As more and more network cameras are connected to Internet for cloud-related services," said Dr. Terence Liu, Vice president of Network Threat Defense Technology Group at Trend Micro, "securing the cameras against network securitythreatsis getting vital. The cooperation with VIVOTEK demonstrates an effective and practical approach to IoT security by combining the companies' deep knowledge of cameras and network threats."

For more information about VIVOTEK and its comprehensive product line, please visit www.vivotek.com.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments, networks and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 6,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their journey to the cloud. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.

About VIVOTEK

VIVOTEK Inc. (TAIEX: 3454) was foundedinTaiwanin 2000. The Company markets VIVOTEK solutions worldwide, and has become a leading brand in the globalIPsurveillanceindustry.Its comprehensive solutions include network cameras, video servers, network video recorders, PoE solutions, and video management software. Through the growing proliferation of IoT, VIVOTEK aspires to become the Eye in IoT by drawing on its expansive technological capabilities in image and audio. The Company has established offices and subsidiaries in the United States (California), Europe (Netherlands), India (Delhi), Middle East (Dubai), Latin America (Mexico), and Japan (Tokyo) in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively. Tocreate a sound industrial ecosystem, VIVOTEK has expandedstrategic alliances withleading international software and hardware partnersandworks with over 183 authorized distributors across 116 countries. For more information, please visit www.vivotek.com.
CARROLLTON, Ohio, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Power today announced commercial operation has begun at its 700-megawatt Carroll County Energy natural gas electric generation facility.

Carroll County Energy is a combined-cycle natural gas electric generating facility built to sell into the PJM market. It is located in an area with low priced natural gas production, as well as AEP's 345 kV transmission lines and Kinder Morgan's Tennessee Gas Pipeline system.

Commercial operations began in mid-December, said Chuck Davis, President, Advanced Power Asset Management. He said that commencement of operations was a credit to community partnerships, solid financial support, and the professionalism of Bechtel, the general contractor as well as the subcontractors and scores of workers employed to build the facility.

"In the four-plus years since we first announced plans to build this state-of-the-art generation facility, Carroll County Energy has received outstanding support from the leadership and citizens of the Village of Carrollton, Washington Township and Carroll County," Davis said. "We are particularly proud to have been able to help the local schools to benefit the people who live and work around our facility."

Plans to build Carroll County Energy were announced in July 2013. In April 2015, Advanced Power closed the $899 million project financing. Equity investors are TIAA Investments, JERA, Ullico and Prudential Capital Group and Advanced Power. Providing senior secured credit facilities for construction were BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and eight other commercial banks.

The facility, which features two GE gas turbines and a steam turbine, has the capacity to generate electricity for approximately 750,000 homes. Bechtel built the project under a turnkey construction contract. Ethos Energy is operating the facility, which employs 22 people. Advanced Power continues to manage the business.

Advanced Power is a privately owned company whose mandate is to develop, acquire, own and manage power generation and related infrastructure projects throughout Europe and North America. Advanced Power's leadership has a proven track record of identifying, developing and managing power generation and related infrastructure projects. Management has led the development of over 15,000 MW of power generation projects and $7 billion of limited recourse project financing.

Contact: Jack Wollitz, 800-460-4111 ext. 8153

jack.wollitz@innismaggiore.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, 2018-01-10 16:17 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clarmin Explorations Inc. ("Clarmin") (TSXV:CX) is pleased to announce that, on January 8, 2018, it successfully completed its initial public offering (the "IPO") of 3,500,000 common shares (the "Shares") of Clarmin at a price of $0.10 per Share for total gross proceeds of $350,000 (the "Proceeds"). Pursuant to the agency agreement dated December 11, 2017, Haywood Securities Inc. acted as agent (the "Agent") for the IPO. Clarmin paid to the Agent a cash commission equal to 8% of the Proceeds and granted the Agent non-transferable options entitling the Agent to purchase a total of 280,000 Shares at a price of $0.10 per Share until January 8, 2020. In connection with the IPO, the Agent also received a corporate finance fee. Clarmin's common shares were listed on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") effective January 8, 2018 and halted pending completion of the IPO. Clarmin anticipates that its common shares will resume trading on the TSXV on January 10, 2018 under the symbol "CX". About Clarmin Clarmin is engaged in the acquisition and exploration of its mineral property located in British Columbia, Canada. Clarmin currently has an option to acquire a one hundred percent (100%) undivided interest in the Arlington Property, which is situated approximately 67 kilometres south of Kelowna, British Columbia. The Proceeds will be used by Clarmin to fund its exploration program on the Arlington Property and for general working capital purposes. Forward Looking Information Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the use of proceeds, are made as of January 10, 2018 and are based on assumptions as of that date. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. Clarmin cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Clarmin's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to exploration and development; the ability of Clarmin to obtain additional financing; Clarmin's limited operating history; the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations; potential defects in title to Clarmin's properties, fluctuations in currency exchange rates; fluctuations in the prices of commodities; operating hazards and risks; competition and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Clarmin's Prospectus dated December 11, 2017 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Clarmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. On behalf of the Board of Directors Mark Lawson Director For more information please contact: Clarmin Explorations Inc. Mark Lawson T: +1 647 302 0393 Email: mark@lawson.net NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Trump administration has exempted the coast of Florida from offshore oil and gas drilling.



The US Government agreed to give special consideration to ecologically sensitive Florida coast within a week of unveiling a five year plan that would open most of the country's offshore waters to oil and gas drilling.



The move, which gives energy companies access to leases off California for the first time in decades and opening more than a billion acres in the Arctic and along the Eastern Seaboard, evoked criticism from environmentalists and some Republicans.



Republican Governor of Florida Rick Scott had sought a meeting with Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to discuss his concerns and to remove his state from the drilling plans.



After a hastily-arranged rendezvous at the Tallahassee International Airport Tuesday, Zinke and Scott announced that there will be no new offshore oil drilling in the State of Florida.



Governor Scott thanked Secretary Zinke for agreeing to remove Florida's coastline from consideration for future oil drilling. 'We can now focus on how we can further protect our environment, including our proposal for record funding for the Everglades, our springs, our beaches and our state parks,' he said in a statement.



Zinke said he supports the governor's position that Florida is unique and its coast is heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver.



The change of course is a clear indication of the political importance that President Donald Trump attaches to Florida, where he narrowly won the state's 29 electoral votes in the presidential election.



Scott, a popular leader in Florida, is touted as the GOP candidate for Senate election later this year.



The next step for responsibly developing the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024 was announced by Ryan Zinke on January 4.



It proposes to make more than 90 percent of the total OCS acreage and more than 98 percent of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in federal offshore areas available for exploration.



The Draft Proposed Program (DPP) includes 47 potential lease sales in 25 of the 26 planning areas - 19 sales off the coast of Alaska, 7 in the Pacific Region, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, and 9 in the Atlantic Region. This is the largest number of lease sales in U.S. history.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's efforts to rescind protections for young illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.



U.S. District Court judge William Alsup ruled Tuesday evening that the administration's decision to shut down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was 'arbitrary' and 'capricious.'



The ruling requires the administration to resume accepting renewal applications for the DACA program, although it does not extend to new applications.



Alsup argued the administration did not provide proof that it considered the impact the rescission of the program would have on the 'lives of DACA recipients, let alone their families, employers and employees, schools and communities.'



White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders described the ruling as 'outrageous,' noting it came the same day Trump held a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss immigration reform.



'An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process,' Sanders said. 'President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration.'



Trump was also critical of the ruling in a post on Twitter on Wednesday, claiming it shows 'how broken and unfair our Court System is.'



A statement from Justice Department spokesman Devin O'Malley indicated the administration would continue to defend its decision to rescind DACA.



The president rescinded the DACA program in September with a six-month delay, setting up a March 5th deadline for lawmakers to reach an agreement on protections for the illegal immigrants known as Dreamers.



Alsup's ruling could impact negotiations about protections for Dreamers, which have been hampering efforts to reach a long-term spending deal needed to avoid a government shutdown.



Trump has demand that legislation providing protections for Dreamers include funding for his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border while also ending chain migration and the visa lottery system.



(Photo: Michael Vadon)



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Gibraltar, 2018-01-10 19:11 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Olympus Labs is becoming an emerging leader in the cryptocurrency-based financial product space, and the team has been having a successful token sale supported by both institutions and the community. The team has designated OKEx to be the first official partner exchange to list Mount Olympus Tokens (MOT). OKEx is a world-leading digital asset exchange, providing advanced financial services to global traders by using blockchain technology. Backed by renowned investors including Giant Network Group and Qianhe Capital Management, it is currently one of the top digital asset exchanges in trading volume, serving more than 20 million customers in over 100 countries. OKEx will exclusively list MOT for two weeks after debuting on January 11, 2018 and will commence a trading incentive program for MOT. If MOT trading volume hits a high of 10 million within the period of the trading incentive program, all participants will be entered into a lucky draw to win 100,000 MOT, regardless of individual trading volume. The top volume traders will also receive individual prizes of MOT as well. With the help of OKEx, Olympus Labs will become a leader in the emerging cryptocurrency-based financial product sector. "Digital assets has continued to grow in popularity and as a world-leading digital asset exchange, we strive to offer a large number of trading pairs to meet the world's need. We are pleased to have Olympus Labs (MOT) listed on OKEx, providing our customers another option to benefit in the cryptocurrency space," said Chris Lee, CEO of OKEx. To begin token deposit and trading of MOT, please visit https://www.okex.com/ About Olympus Labs. Olympus is a groundbreaking financial ecosystem that defines the protocol for cryptocurrency-based financial products. The Olympus ecosystem provides investors with a comprehensive financial marketplace filled with financial products, services, and applications that serve their investment needs. Olympus Labs provides the tools for investors to construct a well diversified portfolio, to hedge their downside risk, and to make positive returns in all market conditions. About OKEx. OKEx is a world-leading digital asset exchange, providing advanced financial services to global traders by using blockchain technology. Founded in 2014, OKEx has gained millions of dollars worth of investments from Corporate Giants like Giant Network Group (founded by Yuzhu Shi), Qianhe Capital Management (founded by Yawei Wang), eLong Inc. (founded by Yue Tang), Longling Capital (founded by the Chairman of Meitu Inc., Wensheng Cai) and existing investor Ceyuan Ventures. OKEx is also one of the top digital asset exchanges in the world in trading volume, serving over 20 million customers in over 100 countries. Its BTC futures trade also has nearly $1.5B of volume daily, and is widely recognized as the gold standard for the industry. Press contact Olympus Labs: press@olympuslabs.io For more information, please visit: https://www.olympuslabs.io. ### Attachments: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b193f798-6695-47c3-8860-94035 9b20ec8 Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c19da9b3-b02a-402e-922c-e4b28 b68e51f Danielle Sabrina Olympus Labs pr@oympuslabs.io Sharde Brown WVYT Media press@wvytmedia.com
LONDON, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Worldwide shipments of desktop monitors have reached almost the same levels as last year, with volumes declining by -0.4 % in Q3 2017 compared to the year before, according to the latest figures from CONTEXT, the IT market analysis company.

The modest decline was driven by the business segment, in which volumes dropped by -3% and revenues by - 5%, while the consumer sales have witnessed uptick of +3% in volumes and +7% in revenues. Shipments to EMEA grew by +3%, driven by Central & Eastern Europe, which saw +12% growth. Shipments to both North and Latin America increased, as did those to Japan (by 6%, +11% and +4% respectively). However, those to the rest of the world - 40% of the total - declined and there was a -10% year-on-year fall in shipments to the biggest market, China.

Screens of 23" and above accounted for 60% of the global market in Q3 2017, up from over 50% in the same period in the previous year and 3 points more than in Q2 2017. IPS remains the fastest growing panel technology: it had a 43% share of the market, up from 37% the year before, and grew by +18% year-on-year.

Full-HD monitors have steadily penetrated the global market and continue to dominate, accounting for over two-thirds of global shipments and experiencing +8% growth. WQHD screens have gained share, with sales growing at +75% year-on-year. Ultra HD monitors still represent a small portion of the market in Q3 2017; however, with a +85% year-on-year sales increase, this resolution is seeing faster growth than any other.

Worldwide, the multi-function monitor market registered year-on-year growth and also significant quarter-on-quarter growth of +16%. This increase was seen across all regions apart from China, where decline reached -19% year-on-year in Q3 2017.

Dell retained its position as top vendor with a 19% unit share of the total market, while HP and Lenovo followed with shares of 14% and 10% respectively.

"Despite an overall slowdown, there are still many growth opportunities in the monitor market due to factors such as a shift to larger, more expensive screens; rising sales of curved monitors, the development of higher resolution displays; and growing demand for ultra-wide monitors and gaming monitors", said Dominika Koncewicz, Senior Analyst for Displays at CONTEXT. "Moreover, steady growth in Europe, improved economic development and slowly recovering demand in China, together with falling panel prices (which eases pressure by reducing high component costs), are expected to incentivise the market and drive monitor shipments in the coming months."

About CONTEXT

CONTEXT's market intelligence, performance benchmarks and opportunity analysis empower clients to optimise operations and accelerate tomorrow's revenues. With over 30 years of industry partnership and of experience reporting on large datasets, CONTEXT delivers analytics at all points in the value chain, providing clients with actionable insights rooted in concrete data and a profound understanding of customer needs. CONTEXT is headquartered in London, with over 250 staff across the world and in 2017 was 2017 recognised as one of the UK's Best Workplaces' by Great Place to Work
Shares Issued and Outstanding: 160,253,501

TSX and NASDAQ: MPVD

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Jan. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. ("Mountain Province", the "Company") (TSX and NASDAQ: MPVD) today announces the results of its recently completed tenth diamond sale.

The results of the tenth sale, with preceding sale results for comparative context, are summarized as follows:

















2017-Q1 Sales 1-3 2017-Q2 Sales 4-5 2017-Q3 Sales 6-7 2017-Oct Sale 8 2017-Nov Sale 9 2017-Dec Sale 10 Tender Sale Proceeds (USD million) 37.7 33.8 48.0 21.3 19.0 19.1 Carats Sold ('000s) 522 370 753 353 288 364 Value per Carat (USD)1 72 91 64 60 66 53 Normalized Value per Carat (USD) 72 792 672 632 712 652





1 Diamonds sold at individual sale events will not directly reflect run-of-mine production from specific processing periods. The timing of the sale of some goods may be accelerated or deferred for tactical marketing purposes. Realized average value per carat is also impacted by the binary nature of the fancies and specials bidding process within each production split, conducted approximately every five weeks with the Company's joint venture partner, De Beers Canada Inc. The winning party of each fancies and specials bid then markets 100% of those diamonds. 2 Normalized to adjust for goods accelerated or deferred, and to include fancies and specials acquired through bid by De Beers Canada Inc.

Prices across all assortment categories continued to firm, increasing an average of 3% over the ninth sale.

No fancies or specials were offered in this tenth tender sale as the fancies and specials bid for the related production split was won by De Beers. Including the value of the fancies and specials had Mountain Province won the bid, the normalized value per carat realized in the tenth sale was US$65. The decrease in average price realization compared to the ninth sale is due primarily to a finer size distribution of goods. Notably, the last production split of 2017, which will supply the January tender sale, saw significant volumes, an improved size frequency distribution and the largest parcel of fancy and special diamonds produced to date, both in value and volume terms.

Said Reid Mackie, the Company's Vice President Diamond Marketing, "Our tenth sale saw further stabilization of rough prices and strengthening of competition with over 150 companies attending the tender, the highest to date. This, combined with solid holiday sales results reported by the retail sector, bodes well for a positive rough market re-opening in January."

To more meaningfully relate prices realized at sale events to production results, the Company also provides the following table:



















Production Period4 Inception

to End of

Year 2016 H1 2017 July

2017 Aug

2017 Sep 2017 Oct 2017 Nov 2017 YTD

Total

2017

















Sale in Which Goods Were Primarily Sold 1 & 2 3 to 7 &

Partial 8 Partial 8 9 10 n/a2 n/a2

Tonnes Processed (100%) ('000s) 515 1,259 314 269 2413 263 223 2,568 Recovered Grade (carats per tonne) 1.64 1.97 2.13 2.32 2.22 2.40 2.11 2.11 Carats Recovered (100%) ('000s) 847 2,481 669 622 535 632 470 5,409 Carats Recovered (49% share) ('000s) 422 1,216 328 305 262 310 230 2,650 Attributed Value per Tonne in CAD1 143 183 160 185 172 n/a2 n/a2



1 Attributed Value per Tonne has been determined based on realized sale results, with any accelerated or deferred goods adjusted to their period of production, reflecting only the Company's 49% share of all diamonds including fancies and specials. 2 Not applicable as goods from this production period have not yet been sold. 3 Tonnes processed in the month of September reflects the impact of a planned five day shut-down in that month for annual maintenance. 4 Total figures may differ slightly from the sum of monthly figures due to the effects of rounding.

Said David Whittle, the Company's Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, "After a successful first year of operations, Mountain Province anticipates a strong start to the new year. We have a robust product offering available for our first tender sale of 2018, and the parcel of fancies and specials from the last production split of 2017 is characterized by large, high value and attractive stones. We look forward to bringing them to sale over the coming months."

****

Mountain Province Diamonds is a 49% participant with De Beers Canada in the Gahcho Kue diamond mine located in Canada's Northwest Territories. Gahcho Kue is the world's largest new diamond mine, consisting of a cluster of four diamondiferous kimberlites, three of which are being developed and mined under the initial 12 year mine plan.

Qualified Person

The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding Mountain Province's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Keyvan Salehi, P.Eng., MBA, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian and United States securities laws concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to estimated production and mine life of the project of Mountain Province; the realization of mineral reserve estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; the future price of diamonds; the estimation of mineral reserves and resources; the ability to manage debt; capital expenditures; the ability to obtain permits for operations; liquidity; tax rates; and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Mountain Province, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "anticipates," "may," "can," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "targets," "intends," "likely," "will," "should," "to be", "potential" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "should" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Mountain Province and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in market conditions, changes in project parameters, mine sequencing; production rates; cash flow; risks relating to the availability and timeliness of permitting and governmental approvals; supply of, and demand for, diamonds; fluctuating commodity prices and currency exchange rates, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated.

These factors are discussed in greater detail in Mountain Province's most recent Annual Information Form and in the most recent MD&A filed on SEDAR, which also provide additional general assumptions in connection with these statements. Mountain Province cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Investors and others who base themselves on forward-looking statements should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. Mountain Province believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release.

Although Mountain Province has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Mountain Province undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered as the property is developed.

Further, Mountain Province may make changes to its business plans that could affect its results. The principal assets of Mountain Province are administered pursuant to a joint venture under which Mountain Province is not the operator. Mountain Province is exposed to actions taken or omissions made by the operator within its prerogative and/or determinations made by the joint venture under its terms. Such actions or omissions may impact the future performance of Mountain Province. Under its current note and revolving credit facilities Mountain Province is subject to certain limitations on its ability to pay dividends on common stock. The declaration of dividends is at the discretion of Mountain Province's Board of Directors, subject to the limitations under the Company's debt facilities, and will depend on Mountain Province's financial results, cash requirements, future prospects, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board.

For further information: Mountain Province Diamonds Inc., David Whittle, Interim President and CEO, 161 Bay Street, Suite 1410, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2S1, Phone: (416) 361-3562, E-mail: info@mountainprovince.com
BEVERLY HILLS, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 10, 2018 / Luxury watchmaker Greubel Forsey - a brand known for its incredible detail and complicated mechanics - made waves last summer when they released the Double Tourbillon 30 Technique Sapphire. While the brand sells most of its models internationally, GF made this watch a limited edition, U.S. exclusive. With only eight numbered pieces being sold, the Double Tourbillon 30 Technique Sapphire retails for US$ 1,150,000. Greubel Forsey's North American distributor and co-owner of Time Art Distribution, Steven Rostovsky, a key inspiration behind the historic timepiece, discusses the advanced design and careful engineering of one of the world's most expensive pieces of wrist wear. This piece is however now officially sold out and Rostovsky suggests that additional exciting pieces are already in the works to continue to satisfy the appetites of the brands discerning collectors.

In an interview with International Watch Magazine, Greubel Forsey co-founder Stephen Forsey explained how Rostovsky came to contribute to the design a million dollar watch. "Steven's enthusiasm and desire as a collector drove the development of the Technique Sapphire. He's a very nuanced and well-seasoned collector," said Forsey. "By that, I mean that he's past the point of surveying the scene, and he's able to define very specifically what he likes. The Double Tourbillon 30 Technique is the result." Encased in a single sapphire crystal body - including the center case, sides and horns - the 396-part movement inside this limited edition is completely unobstructed and the true centerpiece. The top and bottom are each constructed from a single piece of sapphire crystal for a total of three components for the entire cased watch. The patented tourbillon movement was first developed and unveiled to the world in a platinum case, but Steven Rostovsky felt that the Sapphire case would add to the beauty of the openworked and highly finished/decorated mechanical masterpiece. By using double tourbillons - hence the name - Greubel Forsey was able to achieve first place with an unheard of score of 915 out of 1,000 points at the International Chronometry Competition. After meticulous testing, the hand wound caliber was found to have a timekeeping accuracy of far below one second per day.

Designed from the ground up, the Technique showcases GF's signature three-dimensional structure in the best possible way. While at first glance it appears to have a skeletonized movement, there is essentially no "dial". Everything you see with such depth and beauty, are movement plates and meticulously finished components. In a mixture of traditional and modern techniques, most of the larger, flat surfaces have been frost finished by hand to create a textured surface, then beveled on the edges and coated in a rich, black color. The end result is a watch of overwhelming quality with details that absolutely beg for a closer look. The overall styling makes the Double Tourbillon 30 Technique a true treasure.

Steven Rostovsky is the owner and operator of Rostovsky Watches in Beverly Hills, California and the exclusive North American distributor of Greubel Forsey watches, Time Art Distribution. Rostovsky and his wife Janine are parents to three high achieving children - Jason, Taryn and Alexa. As a family unit, the Rostovsky's are dedicated to leading philanthropic lifestyles, donating to various Jewish and secular charitable organizations. They also regularly dedicate time to projects that promote social awareness and the betterment of the greater Los Angeles community.

Steven Rostovsky - Rostovsky Watches in Beverly Hills, CA: http://stevenrostovskynews.com

Steven Rostovsky - on Watches Inspired by Automobiles: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/steven-rostovsky-watches-inspired-automobiles-005100652.html

Steven Rostovsky - Shares Strategies for Finding Collectible Watches: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/steven-rostovsky-shares-strategies-finding-175000342.html

Contact Information:

StevenRostovskyNews.com

contact@stevenrostovskynews.com

http://stevenrostovskynews.com

SOURCE: Steven Rostovsky
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2018) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today named Richard R. Best as Regional Director of its Atlanta office.

Mr. Best will succeed Walter Jospin, who is leaving the agency at the end of this month.

For the past two-and-a-half years, Mr. Best has served as Director of the SEC's Salt Lake office, where he supervises the agency's enforcement program in Utah. He joined the SEC from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in New York, where he was a senior director and chief counsel in its Department of Enforcement. Mr. Best previously held other supervisory and investigative positions within FINRA's Enforcement function. He also spent approximately 10 years as a prosecutor in the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney, where he handled and supervised high-profile public integrity and organized crime prosecutions, among other matters.

Under Mr. Best's stewardship, the Salt Lake office has investigated, brought and litigated a number of impactful enforcement cases, including the agency's actions against:

Two Las Vegas-based individuals and their company for operating a prime bank investment scheme that promised investors sky-high returns



A Cache County, Utah, man who solicited investors, including members from his church congregation, in a bogus scheme involving investments in "top secret" Iraqi currency and oil contracts



Marquis Properties LLC and its CEO Chad R. Deucher for orchestrating a $28 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 250 investors throughout the United States



Las Vegas-based Hemp Inc., its CEO, and others with engaging in a long-running fraudulent scheme to evade the registration provisions of the federal securities laws

The operator of a Utah-based international Ponzi scheme that raised more than $207 million from investors worldwide, primarily in the U.S., India and Russia

As Director of the SEC's Atlanta office, Mr. Best will lead a staff of more than 160 enforcement attorneys, accountants, investigators, and compliance examiners involved in the investigation and prosecution of enforcement actions and the performance of compliance inspections in the Atlanta region, which covers Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama.

"I am excited that Richard is taking over as head of our Atlanta Regional Office, and I thank Walter for his exemplary service," said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. "Richard has made a lasting impression in the Salt Lake Regional Office and I am confident that he will continue to protect the long-term interests of American investors through his leadership in Atlanta."

"Richard's investigative experience, strong knowledge of industry practices and excellent trial skills position him well to lead the SEC's Atlanta office," said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division. "He is an experienced and inspirational manager who is held in high regard by our team in Salt Lake."

"As leader of the SEC's Salt Lake Regional Office, Richard has distinguished himself not only by bringing high-impact cases, but also through his creative efforts to connect with investors," said Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division. "We are thrilled he will bring his impressive qualities to the SEC's Atlanta office."

Peter B. Driscoll, Director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, said, "Richard has been a very strong leader of the Salt Lake Regional Office for several years, and we are delighted to have him lead our dedicated examination staff in Atlanta."

Mr. Best added, "I am excited and honored to serve with such a talented group of professionals in the Atlanta Regional Office. Their dedication and skill is evidenced by the office's many significant accomplishments. I look forward to working with them to protect investors and maintain fair and orderly markets."

Mr. Best graduated from the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and earned his law degree from the Howard University School of Law.
EXIT Realty McGowan Associates announced on Wednesday, that real estate professional, Roby Phillips, has joined the company.

"Robys market knowledge, reputation and dedication to his clients complement our team and were delighted to welcome him," said Tim Mazzolini, principal broker of EXIT Realty McGowan Associates. The company is actively expanding its sales team and plans to add five more professionals in the coming months.

EXIT Realty McGowan Associates is an involved member of the community both locally and through its affiliation with EXIT Realty Corp.

International. A portion of every transaction fee collected by EXIT Realty Corp. International is applied to its charitable fund and to-date, $4 million has been pledged to charity.
MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - Repeatedly declaring that there was 'no collusion' between his presidential campaign and Russia, President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller would not be necessary. Trump was asked about reports that his lawyers are anticipating a request from Mueller for an interview with the president during a press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg. In response, Trump said numerous times that there was 'no collusion' between his campaign and Russia and claimed there has been no evidence of collusion. 'When they have no collusion, and nobody has found any collusion on any level, it seems unlikely that you will even have an interview,' Trump added. Trump went so far as to assert that the only collusion with the Russians was on the side of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. During the wide-ranging press conference, Trump was also asked about comments he made during a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday regarding immigration reform. Trump indicated during the meeting that he would be willing to accept a 'clean' bill to provide protections for young illegal immigrants brought to the country as children. However, Trump stressed during the press conference that a bill addressing protections for the illegal immigrants known as Dreamers must include funding for his controversial border wall. (Photo: Michael Vadon) Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2018) - Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. (CSE: ATT) (OTCQB: ATTBF) (the "Company" or "Abattis") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated January 4, 2018, it has successfully closed its non-brokered private placement of units (each, a "Unit") for gross proceeds of $6.9 million (the "Private Placement").

"Abattis has once again oversubscribed its private placement," said Rob Abenante, President and CEO of Abattis. "The Company is thrilled to see the tremendous appetite for its shares and support for its vision in this rapidly evolving industry."

"Given the significant oversubscription we will once again be conducting another private placement in order to fill orders for strategic and loyal shareholders who have and continue to support the Company. The capital will further be used to organically grow its existing business and execute strategic acquisitions in an effort to continue our rapid growth."

Closing of Private Placement

In connection with the closing of the Private Placement, the Company utilized its over-allotment provision and issued 15,681,816 Units at a price of $0.44 per Unit, for gross proceeds of $6,900,000. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one half of one common share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional Share for a period of 36 months at an exercise price of $0.65, subject to acceleration in the event that the Shares trade above $0.75 for 10 consecutive trading days.

In connection with the closing of the Private Placement, the Company paid finder's fees on certain subscriptions of 7% cash totaling $10,712.79 and issued 24,347 finder's warrants (each a "Finder's Warrant"), representing 7% of the Units placed by the finders. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Share of the Company at $0.65 per Share, under the same terms as the Warrant in the Private Placement.

Announcement of New Private Placement of up to $8 million

Abattis is also pleased to announce that it is undertaking another non-brokered private placement (the "New Private Placement") for gross proceeds to the Company of up to $8 million.

The Company will issue up to an aggregate of 13,333,333 Units at a price of $0.60 per Unit. The Company reserves an over-allotment option to increase the New Private Placement by up to 15% (or up to $9,200,000). Each Unit will consist of one Share and one half of one Warrant. Each Warrant will be exercisable for one Share for a period of three years from the closing date of the New Private Placement at an exercise price of $0.85 per Share. In the event that the Shares trade at a price per Share on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "Exchange") (or such other exchange on which the Shares may be traded at such time) of greater than $1.00 for a period of 10 consecutive trading days, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants by giving notice to the holders thereof (by disseminating a press release advising of the acceleration of the expiry date of the Warrants) and, in such case, the Warrants will expire on the thirtieth day after the date of such notice (the "Acceleration Provision").

Each purchaser under the New Private Placement will be required to complete a subscription agreement, which confirms, among other things, the availability of an exemption from the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws in respect of the sale of Units to such purchaser. Eligible shareholders wishing to participate in the New Private Placement are invited to contact the Company to obtain a subscription agreement.

The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Private Placement and the New Private Placement to pursue strategic assets, expand its laboratory business, expand its extraction technology business, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any Units, Shares or Warrants (collectively, the "Securities") in the United States. The Securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Abattis Bioceuticals Corp.

Abattis is a life sciences and biotechnology company which aggregates, integrates, and invests in cannabis technologies and biotechnology services for the legal cannabis industry developing in Canada. The Company has successfully developed and licensed natural health products, medicines, extractions, and ingredients for the biologics, nutraceutical, bioceutical, and cosmetic markets. The Company is also seeking to acquire exclusive intellectual property rights to agricultural technologies to be employed in extraction and processing of botanical ingredients and compounds. The Company follows strict standard operating protocols, and adheres to the applicable laws of Canada and foreign jurisdictions. For more information, visit the Company's website at: www.abattis.com

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF

ABATTIS BIOCEUTICALS CORP.,

"Rob Abenante"

Robert Abenante, President & CEO

For more information, please visit the Company's website at: www.abattis.com or www.northernvinelabs.com

For inquiries, please contact the Company at (604) 674-8232 or at news@abattis.com.

Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking information, which may include information relating to the size and completion of the New Private Placement and the proposed its use of proceeds from the New Private Placement. Forward-looking statements (often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "expect", "may", "could", "anticipate", or "will", and similar expressions) may describe expectations, opinions or guidance that are not statements of fact and which may be based upon information provided by third parties. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions, expectations and estimates of management of the Company as at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to statements regarding the expected size and completion of proceeds from the New Private Placement, the expected use of proceeds from the Private Placement and the New Private Placement, risks, uncertainties and other factors that are beyond the control of the Company, risks associated with the cannabis industry in general, rules and regulations relating to the cannabis industry, operational risks associated with development and production operations, delays or changes in plans and unanticipated costs and expenses, among others. In light of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking information. In particular, there is no assurance that the private placement will close in the manner or on the terms outlined above. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements set out in this news release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this news release are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement contained in this news release.

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.



NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
4Front Holdings, LLC, an investment and management firm in the cannabis industry, raised approximately $6m in convertible note funding.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to support the build-out of its partners multi-state operations presence.

Led by Kris Krane, president and co-founder, 4Front secures, supports, and manages operating licenses in state-legal medical cannabis markets. In addition to supporting its client partners, the firm manages medical cannabis dispensaries under the Mission brand and is developing innovative, full-spectrum medical cannabis products.

4Front is currently working hand-in-hand with local partners to build out Mission-branded medical cannabis operations in Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. 4Front supported the opening of the first Mission dispensary last summer in Chicago.

FinSMEs

10/01/2018
Bugsnag, a San Francisco, CA-based error monitoring and management platform for web and mobile apps, received an investment from GV (formerly Google Ventures) as a part of its Series B funding.

GV joined existing investors Matrix Partners and Benchmark Capital.

Founded in September 2012 by James Smith and Simon Maynard, Bugsnag provides a crash and error monitoring platform for software teams to improve their code quality and customer experience. Its platform provides software teams with automated crash detection and alerting tools, and enables fast bug fixes with prioritization and diagnostics dashboards. To date, Bugsnag has monitored over 1 trillion application sessions from thousands of top technology companies, including Airbnb, Eventbrite, Lyft, Mailchimp, Namely, Pandora, Shopify and Square.

It supports the top frontend, backend and mobile application development frameworks, including Javascript, Unity, Ruby, iOS, Android, macOS and .NET from a single product. Also, it integrates with common tools such as Jira, GitHub and Slack.

In addition to the investment, the company has also announced the immediate availability of enhancements to its Bugsnag product offering, including a releases dashboard that provides insights into the health of each application release.

FinSMEs

10/01/2018
Canva, a Sydney, Australia-based online design and publishing platform used globally, raised US$40M in funding.

The round, which valued the company at US$1B, saw the participation of Sequoia China, Blackbird Ventures and Felicis Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand its business reach globally and advance its core product offering.

Led by Melanie Perkins, CEO and Co-founder, Canva provides an online design and publishing platform now available in all operating systems across 190 countries.

The company, which employs 250 people, recently reached availability in 100 languages, released a Canva for Android app, as well as rolled out Canva Print in the US, Europe and Australia, and Mexico. Canva also supports over 17,000 non-profits around the world with free access to its premium product.

FinSMEs

10/01/2018
Diligent Robotics, an Austin, Texas-based robotics company, raised $2.1m in seed funding.

The round  which followed early support by the National Science Foundation in the form of Small Business Innovation Research grants totaling $725k  was led by True Ventures, with participation from Pathbreaker Ventures, Boom Capital and Next Coast Ventures.

Led by Dr. Andrea Thomaz, co-founder and chief executive officer, and Dr. Vivian Chu, co-founder and chief technology officer, Diligent Robotics is developing an autonomous hospital service robot that is designed to assist clinical staff with logistical tasks, allowing them to spend more of their time on direct patient care.

Patent-pending interactive machine learning algorithms will allow these robots to manipulate objects in their environments and quickly adapt to novel conditions.

In early 2018, the company will launch a pilot program focused on U.S. hospital care.

FinSMEs

10/01/2018
Kelsea Ballerini is unapologetically welcoming fans into her whirlwind world of loss, life, and love, as the Unapolgetically Tour visits the Tivoli Theatre on Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $53 and are available here.

Review for Kelsea Ballerini:



Following the much-anticipated launch of her sophomore album, Unapologetically continues to garner overwhelming support with several illustrious outlets spotlighting the poignant project on their reputable year-end lists of 2017, including The New York Times The Best Albums of 2017, Billboard Magazines The 10 Best Country Albums of 2017: Critics Picks; and Rolling Stone Countrys 40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2017. BuzzFeed also gave a genre-blurring nod to the self-assured knockout Get Over Yourself in The Top 50 Pop Songs Of 2017.

Capping a career-defining year of high-caliber recognition, critics have applauded Ballerinis fearless evolution as both an artist and songwriter alike with Unapologetically;

The intimate expose is the bold thematic successor to Ballerinis history-making gold-certified The First Time - which distinguished her as the only female artist in Country music history, including female duos and groups, to impressively achieve three consecutive #1 smashes from a debut album. Produced by Forest Glen Whitehead and Jason Massey  with Shane McAnally, Lindsay Rimes, and Jimmy Robbins on select tracks  Unapologetically encompasses 12 tracks all written or co-written by the prized songwriter.

Debuting at #3 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart (#7 All-Genre) and #1 in Australia and the UK, Top 10 lead single Legends continues to climb the charts while the heart-wrenching adjoining music video has captured over 9.6 million viewers (and counting) with its cinematic tale of a crazy, tragic, and epic love. Breakout track Miss Me More rocketed to No. 1 on the iTunes Top Country Songs chart directly upon release.

The Unapologetically Tour features special guest and breakout artist Walker Hayes, in addition to rising star Bailey Bryan for a special one-night-only appearance at Nashvilles Ryman Auditorium on Valentines Day. VIP Experiences are also available via https://kelseaballerini.com/events.






Opinion is divided among sector specialists and observers on the merits of the policy and a section pooh-poohed the governments announcement.

Seeking to boost foreign investments in India in a big way, the government on Wednesday gave nod to an investor-friendly policy on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in single-brand retail allowing 100 percent FDI via the automatic route.

While the intent of the government is not questionable, the timing of the decision has come under scrutiny from a section of experts. Is the 100 percent clearance a little late in the day considering that those who were serious about coming to India when FDI approval allowed 49 percent under automatic route, and for FDI beyond 49 percent and up to 100 percent through government approval route?

Opinion is divided among sector specialists and observers on the merits of the policy and a section pooh-poohed the governments announcement. They argue that even at beyond 49 percent and up to 100 percent, there were not many takers.

The hullabaloo being created in this regard is political noise, many of them insist, claiming the government is only trying to score brownie points in lieu of the announcement. If you had a number of companies wanting to enter the country, considering India is a large market, then you could say that easing it totally now would open the floodgates, said a retail expert.

The 100 percent FDI in single brand retail announcement is a complete misnomer, said Arvind Singhal, chairman, Technopak Advisors, a Delhi-based management consulting firm. Singhal is of the opinion that whoever wanted to come to India have and does not see how the latest announcement would change the retail scenario in India.

Although the announcement by the government looks enticing at first sight, there are few riders. The government has decided to permit single brand retail trading entity to set off its incremental sourcing of goods from India for global operations during initial five years, beginning 1 April of the year of the opening of the first store against the mandatory sourcing requirement of 30 percent of purchases from India. Incremental sourcing would mean the increase in terms of value of such global sourcing from India for that single brand (in rupee terms) in a particular financial year over the preceding financial year, by the non-resident entities undertaking single brand retail trading entity either directly or through their group.

The 30 percent local sourcing norm does not translate to too much, Singhal said as big entities buy in huge numbers in India while some luxury brands dont source from India at all. The 30 percent rule makes a difference to companies that are small in size, he said.

Singhal said that the big companies that have set up shop in India are Ikea and HM, to name a few. "It isnt that billions of dollars has come to India with 49 percent FDI and I dont see how the situation will change to bring in billions of dollars to India with this announcement," he said.

Echoing Singhals thoughts, Anil Talreja, partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, said he does not expect anything to change much for retailers. There wont be much money or investment for it will all depend on the business model.

To invest in a market like India, the company that wants to invest would have to have enough business here before it decides to invest. Those who want to come to India have already done so. Many others have opted for the franchise route or done it through partnership, Talreja said.

In the financial year 2016-17, total FDI received was $60.08 billion, an all-time high. How much of this will change with the new announcement by the government?

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said the move will facilitate easy entry of MNCs (multi-national companies) in the retail trade. Terming it as a "serious matter for small businesses", the trade body claimed the move will hamper the welfare, upgradation and modernisation of existing retail trade.

The reform would help boost employment and bring in wide product choices for the consumers that will help grow the economy, believed Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India. It will ease the process for foreign as well Indian brands interested in being part of the Great Indian Retail Story. It is known that global companies take time to develop good suppliers as partners and hence the relaxed time frame for sourcing is conducive without compromising India's need to be a good sourcing hub for global brands, Rajagopalan said.

The government has sent a clear message that it is serious about liberalisation. This announcement of the government allowing 100 percent FDI through automatic route bodes well for the government and the country, said the supporters of the announcement. The government has approached the automatic route through slow and sure steps, they said. First, the government abolished the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which vets and approves FDI proposals not cleared through the automatic route.

The retail sector is a major creator of jobs and with the prime minister being lambasted by the Opposition for the increasing unemployment situation, the announcement is a move in the right direction, say those who welcomed it. "This offers a scope for organising local and global retailers," said Anup Jain, managing partner at consumer and retail consulting firm Redback Advisory Services. The Indian retail market is divided into organised market valued at $60 billion which is only 9 percent of the total sector while the unorganised market constitutes the rest 91 percent of the sector, according to IBEF.

Jain said that when Future Group and Tatas wanted to have a tie-up, a number of approvals were needed. With the automatic route now, not much time will be wasted waiting for approvals and will see many local players being approached by foreign giants in the retail space for tie-ups. Not just that, said Jain, but retail stocks will have a positive momentum and Indian investors in the sector will now be eager to participate more. Protectionism that we have been practising so far only hampers the flow of financial capital which will no longer be the case, said Jain.

The governments latest announcement will quicken the FDI process as governmental approval is not needed, said sector specialists and observers. The approval through automatic route with respect to single brand retail trading will quicken the FDI clearance process as no prior government approval would be required. We expect that FDI in single brand retail trading sector will now gain further momentum due to the process not being subject to regulatory scrutiny and approval process," said Rabindra Jhunjhunwala, partner, Khaitan & Co.
In major changes liberalising FDI in key sectors, the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved 100 percent foreign investment in single brand retail trading.

New Delhi: The Union cabinet's approval of 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in single brand retail on Wednesday drew mixed reactions with industry observers lauding the move while traders' bodies opposed it as "a serious matter for small businesses".

"This is another positive step from the government towards ease of doing business in India. By allowing 100 percent FDI in single brand retail under the automatic route, foreign entrants will find it easier to set up operations in the country," said Dhanraj Bhagat, Partner, Grant Thornton India LLP.

However, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) strongly condemned the government's decision stating that the step will affect smaller businesses by paving way for the foreign brands to dominate the country's retail trade.

"The CAIT strongly opposes the move to allow 100 percent FDI in single brand retail through automatic route as it will facilitate easy entry of multinational corporations in retail trade of India and will also violate poll promise of BJP," the traders' body said in a statement.

"It's a serious matter for small businesses. It is a pity that instead of formulating policies for the welfare, upgradation and modernisation of existing retail trade, the government is more interested in paving way for the MNCs to control and dominate the retail trade of India," it added.

The CAIT also pointed out that such a step will result in a large number of "people being left jobless". According to Aashish Kasad, India region tax leader, consumer products and retail, EY India, the step will give the Indian consumers access to several international brands.

"Permitting 100 percent FDI in single brand retail under the automatic route is another progressive step by the Government of India towards attracting foreign investment and ease of doing business in India. This should also generate employment and give the Indian consumers access to several international brands," said Kasad.

Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India, said: "Global brands across different categories, from apparel to electronics to accessories will be aided through this, providing further options to Indian consumers and improving India's ranking in ease of doing business."

In major changes liberalising FDI in key sectors, the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved 100 percent foreign investment in single brand retail trading. "It has now been decided to permit 100 percent FDI under automatic route," an official release said here, following a Cabinet meeting.

"It has been decided to permit single brand retail trading entity to set off its incremental sourcing of goods from India for global operations during initial five years, beginning April 1 of the year of the opening of first store against the mandatory sourcing requirement of 30 percent of purchases from India," it added.
Foreign investment(s) in Air India including that of foreign Airline(s) shall not exceed 49 percent either directly or indirectly

New Delhi: In big bang FDI reforms ahead of the Budget, the government on Wednesday permitted foreign airlines to invest up to 49 percent in debt-ridden Air India, and eased norms for investment in single brand retail, construction and power exchanges.

The government also relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for medical devices and audit firms associated with companies receiving overseas funds.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval to a number of amendments in the FDI Policy on Wednesday. These are intended to liberalise and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business in the country. In turn, it will lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment, government said.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a major driver of economic growth and a source of non-debt finance for the economic development of the country. Government has put in place an investor friendly policy on FDI, under which FDI up to 100 percent, is permitted on the automatic route in most sectors/ activities. In the recent past, the government has brought FDI policy reforms in a number of sectors viz. defence, construction development, insurance, pension, other financial services, asset reconstruction companies, broadcasting, civil aviation, pharmaceuticals, trading etc, government said in a press statement.

Measures undertaken by the government have resulted in increased FDI inflows in to the country. During the year 2014-15, total FDI inflows received were $45.15 billion as against $36.05 billion in 2013-14. During 2015-16, country received total FDI of $55.46 billion. In the financial year 2016-17, total FDI of $60.08 billion has been received, which is an all-time high, government said.

In a statement issued, the government said, it has been felt that the country has potential to attract far more foreign investment which can be achieved by further liberalizing and simplifying the FDI regime. Accordingly, the Government has decided to introduce a number of amendments in the FDI Policy.

Here are the details of changes in FDI policy:

Government approval no longer required for FDI in single brand retail trading (SBRT)

Extant FDI policy on SBRT allows 49 percent FDI under automatic route, and FDI beyond 49 percent and up to 100 percent through Government approval route. It has now been decided to permit 100 percent FDI under automatic route for SBRT.

It has been decided to permit single brand retail trading entity to set off its incremental sourcing of goods from India for global operations during initial 5 years, beginning 1st April of the year of the opening of first store against the mandatory sourcing requirement of 30 percent of purchases from India. For this purpose, incremental sourcing will mean the increase in terms of value of such global sourcing from India for that single brand (in INR terms) in a particular financial year over the preceding financial year, by the non-resident entities undertaking single brand retail trading entity, either directly or through their group companies. After completion of this 5 year period, the SBRT entity shall be required to meet the 30 percent sourcing norms directly towards its Indias operation, on an annual basis.

A non-resident entity or entities, whether owner of the brand or otherwise, is permitted to undertake single brand product retail trading in the country for the specific brand, either directly by the brand owner or through a legally tenable agreement executed between the Indian entity undertaking single brand retail trading and the brand owner.

Civil aviation

As per the extant policy, foreign airlines are allowed to invest under Government approval route in the capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49 percent of their paid-up capital. However, this provision was presently not applicable to Air India, thereby implying that foreign airlines could not invest in Air India. It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 percent under approval route in Air India subject to the conditions that:

Foreign investment(s) in Air India including that of foreign Airline(s) shall not exceed 49 percent either directly or indirectly. Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National.

Construction development

Townships, Housing, Built-up Infrastructure and Real Estate Broking Services. It has been decided to clarify that real-estate broking service does not amount to real estate business and is therefore, eligible for 100 percent FDI under automatic route.

Power exchanges

Extant policy provides for 49 percent FDI under automatic route in Power Exchanges registered under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations, 2010. However, FII/FPI purchases were restricted to secondary market only. It has now been decided to do away with this provision, thereby allowing FIIs/FPIs to invest in Power Exchanges through primary market as well.

Pharmaceuticals

FDI policy on Pharmaceuticals sector inter-alia provides that definition of medical device as contained in the FDI Policy would be subject to amendment in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. As the definition as contained in the policy is complete in itself, it has been decided to drop the reference to Drugs and Cosmetics Act from FDI policy. Further, it has also been decided to amend the definition of medical devices as contained in the FDI Policy.

Other approval requirements under FDI policy

As per the extant FDI policy, issue of equity shares against non-cash considerations like pre-incorporation expenses, import of machinery etc. is permitted under Government approval route. It has now been decided that issue of shares against non-cash considerations like pre-incorporation expenses, import of machinery etc. shall be permitted under automatic route in case of sectors under automatic route.

Foreign investment into an Indian company, engaged only in the activity of investing in the capital of other Indian company/ies/ LLP and in the Core Investing Companies is presently allowed upto 100 percent with prior Government approval. It has now been decided to align FDI policy on these sectors with FDI policy provisions on Other Financial Services. Thus, if the above activities are regulated by any financial sector regulator, then foreign investment upto 100 percent under automatic route shall be allowed; and, if they are not regulated by any Financial Sector Regulator or where only part is regulated or where there is doubt regarding the regulatory oversight, foreign investment up to 100 percent will be allowed under Government approval route, subject to conditions including minimum capitalization requirement, as may be decided by the Government.

Competent authority for examining FDI proposals from countries of concern

As per the existing procedures, FDI applications involving investments from Countries of Concern, requiring security clearance as per the extant FEMA 20, FDI Policy and security guidelines, amended from time to time, are to be processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for investments falling under automatic route sectors/activities, while cases pertaining to government approval route sectors/activities requiring security clearance are to be processed by the respective Administrative Ministries/Departments, as the case may be. It has now been decided that for investments in automatic route sectors, requiring approval only on the matter of investment being from country of concern, FDI applications would be processed by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) for Government approval. Cases under the government approval route, also requiring security clearance with respect to countries of concern, will continue to be processed by concerned Administrative Department/Ministry.

Prohibition of restrictive conditions regarding audit firms

The extant FDI policy does not have any provisions in respect of specification of auditors that can be appointed by the Indian investee companies receiving foreign investments. It has been decided to provide in the FDI policy that wherever the foreign investor wishes to specify a particular auditor/audit firm having international network for the Indian investee company, then audit of such investee companies should be carried out as joint audit wherein one of the auditors should not be part of the same network.

For full coverage of Union Budget 2018, click here.

(With PTI inputs)
FDI during April-September this fiscal grew by 17 percent to $25.35 billion.

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is likely to review foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in certain sectors today with a view to attract more overseas funds, sources said.

The sectors, which could be considered for further relaxation, include construction and single brand retail.

According to sources, FDI policy review in various sectors is expected to figure in today's meeting of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Last year, there was a proposal to permit 100 percent FDI through automatic route in single brand retail trading. Currently FDI up to 49 percent is permitted under the automatic route but beyond that limit government nod is required.

The relaxation of policy is aimed at providing investor-friendly climate to foreign players and in turn attract more FDI to boost economic growth and create jobs.

FDI during April-September this fiscal grew by 17 percent to $25.35 billion.
Ahead of the four-day World Economic Forum meet at Davos starting 23 January, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley met with top industry honchos

Ahead of the four-day World Economic Forum meet at Davos starting 23 January, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley met with top industry honchos like Sunil Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Chanda Kochhar, managing director of ICICI Bank among others. The meeting was held to shape the agenda for the Davos meet, a Financial Express report said. Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu was also present at the meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Switzerland on 22 January, leading the biggest Indian contingent of over 100 delegates to Switzerland, the external affairs ministry had said on Monday. This will be the first participation by an Indian prime minister in the WEF in over two decades. In 1997, the then prime minister H D Deve Gowda had attended the Davos Summit.

Over 3,000 leaders including CEOs, heads of state and government, artists and civil society members, representing over 100 countries would gather to discuss global, regional and industry agendas, according to the WEF. Even senior executives of key global corporations, government officials, artistes, and civil society members from across 120 nations are expected to attend. Besides Jaitley and Prabhu, railways minister Piyush Goyal, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region of India Jitendra Singh.

US President Donald Trump will attend the forum as well opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Modi. This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

Others expected to be present at the elite global gathering are Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi along with a number of his cabinet colleagues, as well as Pakistan People's Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

The prime minister will deliver the keynote speech on 23 January at the plenary session of the forum in Davos - Klosters, Switzerland. He will also deliver a keynote address at the event and also hold a bilateral meeting with Swiss Confederation president Alain Berset. India has been tasked with hosting the welcome reception at the world leaders event in Davos, with Indian foods and yoga expected to make their presence felt there.

The Davos Annual Meeting of WEF will conclude on 26 January.

National logistics plan

The commerce ministry is working on a national logistics plan to facilitate unrestricted movement of goods across the country to add to India's trade competitiveness, said a senior official, the FE report said. The recently-established logistics division in the commerce ministry is discussing the matter with various other ministries, including railways, roadways, shipping and civil aviation, for this purpose.

Already, in a move to develop an integrated logistics framework, including industrial parks, cold chains and warehousing facilities, the government has accorded infrastructure status to the logistics sector. This will enable the industry to access cheaper finances.
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ordered the reconstitution of a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-investigate 186 out of the 241 anti-Sikh riots cases.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the reconstitution of a new Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-investigate 186 out of the 241 anti-Sikh riots cases, according to several media reports.

The apex court's decision came after a petition was filed seeking re-investigation into these cases.

The Times of India reported that the Supreme Court took the decision after a court-appointed panel comprising two retired apex court judges submitted its report.

The Delhi Police closed these cases citing lack of evidence. The Justice Nanavati Commission recommended reopening of only four of them but the BJP all the cases re-investigated.

According to CNN-News18, the new SIT will have two IPS officers and a retired high court judge, who will be heading the panel.

Speaking to CNN-News18, the BJP and the Akali Dal welcomed the Supreme Court's decision.

In 2014, the government set up a committee to examine the possibility of constitution of a SIT for re-investigating the riot cases.

The committee, headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice (retired) GP Mathur was to submit its report within three months, a home ministry official said.

The anti-Sikh riots that broke out after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi claimed 2,733 lives in Delhi alone.

With inputs from PTI
Normal supply of beef in Goa is expected to resume from Wednesday with the traders ending their strike called to protest the harassment by cow vigilante groups.

Panaji: Normal supply of beef in Goa is expected to resume from Wednesday with the traders ending their strike called to protest the harassment by cow vigilante groups.

All Goa Qureshi Meat Traders Association on Tuesday evening announced the withdrawal of the strike and resumption of meat supply from neighbouring Karnataka from Wednesday.

"Police have assured us that they will not allow the harassment of traders who import beef from Belagavi in Karnataka at the border," Association president Manna Bepari told reporters.

"So we are withdrawing our strike and the supplies will resume from tomorrow," Bepari said.

Beef traders were on strike for the last four days as a result of which the coastal state faced a scarcity of beef.

Gau Raksha Abhiyaan, an NGO, had targeted trucks carrying beef from Karnataka, claiming that animals are slaughtered in illegal slaughterhouses across the state border.

Earlier on Tuesday, former Congress MP Francis Sardinha alleged that many cow vigilantes "are sponsored by the BJP-led state government (in Goa)".

"This is because the government wants to satisfy its bosses in the RSS," Sardinha told a press conference.

Beef was a staple food in the coastal state and part of the cuisine of the minority communities, he said.

Slaughterhouses in Karnataka too had refused to supply the meat till the Goa government took steps to stop the harassment by cow vigilante groups.

According to Bepari, around 25 tonnes of beef is brought to Goa from Belagavi every day.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the "beef crisis" was being created to divert the attention of people from controversies like the Mahadeyi river water sharing and coal pollution.
The district police arrested 12 more people, including three minors, in connection with the January 1 caste clashes that broke out in and around Koregaon Bhima village in which one person was killed.

Pune: The district police on Tuesday arrested 12 more people, including three minors, in connection with the 1 January caste clashes that broke out in and around Koregaon Bhima village in which one person was killed.

Police had earlier arrested 17 people in connection with the incident. The violence occurred during the bicentennial event to commemorate the Koregaon-Bhima battle in which British imperial forces comprising Dalits had defeated the army of Peshwas.

Dalits view the historic battle as the defeat of "casteist" Peshwas who had represented the Maratha empire. On 1 January, several vehicles, shops, houses were vandalised and torched by mobs in areas near Koregaon Bhima.

Lakhs of Dalits visit the Koregaon Ranstambh (victory pillar) every year to commemorate the Koregaon Bhima battle. "On Monday, we arrested 12 people, including three minors, for allegedly vandalising vehicles on road in villages adjoining Koregaon Bhima," said Pune district SP Suvez Haque. Firstpost had reported that, at least, 16 juveniles who were taken into custody during the Maharashtra bandh were released on bail.

He said the arrested people belonged to both the communities (Maratha and Dalit). Haque said the police traced the vandals through CCTV footages and video recordings of the 1 January incidents.

"Police are analysing CCTV footages and recordings available to identify the anti-social elements involved in the violence," he said. During the violence, one Rahul Phatangale was killed near Sanaswadi. Shikrapur police station senior inspector Ramesh Galande today said that the investigation was on the right track in Phatangale case.

Police on Tuesday booked six members of the Kabir Kala Manch, a radical cultural group, for making "provocative" remarks during the Elgaar parishad (conference) held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, a day ahead of the Koregaon Bhima violence.

The conference was attended by Dalit MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani, JNU student leader Umar Khalid, (late) Rohit Vemula's mother Radhika Vemula, and Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh president Prakash Ambedkar.

Shaniwarwada, a historical fortification in the city, had remained the seat of the Peshwas of the Maratha empire until 1818.

The police already booked Mevani and Khalid for making "provocative" speeches and creating a rift between two communities.

The Pune Rural Police had registered an FIR against right-wing leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide 'Guruji' under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and under various sections of the IPC including attempt to murder in connection with the caste clashes.

In the wake of the incident, various Dalit organisations observed a statewide bandh on January 3 which took a violent turn.
China on Tuesday did not contradict Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat's claim that it has significantly reduced the number of troops in Doka La.

Beijing: China on Tuesday did not contradict Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat's claim that it has significantly reduced the number of troops at Doka La.

Beijing, however, re-asserted its claims over Doka La and said patrolling and stationing of troops in the region was its sovereign right.

"The Chinese border troops' patrolling and stationing in the Dong Lang area is exercising sovereignty rights in accordance with the stipulations of historical conventions and upholding the territorial sovereignty," the Foreign Ministry told IANS, when asked about Rawat's remarks.

"The Dong Lang area has all along been part of China and under China's continuous and effective jurisdiction. There is no dispute in this regard," the ministry said in a statement.

Rawat on Monday said there was a major reduction of Chinese troops in Doka La.

India and Chinese armies were locked in a 73-day stand-off at Doka La in the Sikkim section of their border.

The crisis was resolved in August last year after both sides retreated from the point of the face-off. But the Chinese beefed their presence in the plateau claimed by Thimpu and Beijing.
Citizenship (Amend.) Bill must be seen in a positive light as it legalises existence of asylum seekers in India, but we must be impartial in our generosity.

The release of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, containing names of 1.9 crore citizens out of 3.29 crore applicants, has brought up questions about the contested idea citizenship in India, and its evolving nature. Assam is the only state to have come out with such a list, and its most recent draft is being seen as a new chapter in addressing the influx from Bangladesh.

This issue has brought to the surface important questions about citizenship, and how we view it in the Indian context. The debate is not in any way new and can be found in the discussions of the Constituent Assembly. While discussing the provisions relating to citizenship in the draft Constitution, Dr Ambedkar remarked, "I do not think that any other article has given the Drafting Committee such a headache as this particular article."

Thus, bringing to view the complexity of devising a citizenship law. Article 11 of the Constitution designated the Parliament to decide on a permanent law of citizenship.

The Parliament, in 1955, passed The Citizenship Act which regulates the acquisition and determination of citizenship. It established jus sanguinis, or right of blood, as the primary form of citizenship determination in India meaning that a person's citizenship is determined by their parents' citizenship.

It also provides the conditions for naturalisation or the process by which one may come to acquire Indian citizenship. Finally, it includes the provisions for dual citizenship, in the form of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Person of Indian Origin (PIO). The Act has been amended five times since its origin to account for the evolving nature of citizenship in India.

It is within this dynamic nature of citizenship that we need to view The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill of 2016 which, if passed, shall see the dawn of a new era of citizenship in India. It contains two major provisions. Firstly, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, and Parsis coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh would not be treated as illegal immigrants, thus making them eligible for citizenship.

Secondly, it reduces the time required for naturalisation for these communities from the current twelve years to seven years. The process of naturalisation usually has a time requirement with regards to the permanent residence in India so that the applicant becomes well versed with the nation's laws, culture, spirit, customs, and way of life.

The introduction of this Bill has sparked off a debate around the religiously biased manner in which this Bill gives preferential treatment to minorities coming from these Muslim majority countries. It must be clarified, however, that this Bill does not immediately grant citizenship to said minority communities. It merely makes them eligible for applying, something that illegal immigrants cannot do as per the current provisions. This Bill also does not comment on whether or not they will definitely secure citizenship, a process which is often protracted and highly rigorous.

As per the government, this exception has been created because these minorities are fleeing persecution and have no other option aside from coming to India illegally. It is clear that this Bill, in spirit, addresses refugees, people who are forced to move out of a well-founded fear for their lives, and not immigrants, people who voluntarily move often seeking economic opportunities.

While the intention of this Bill, in terms of addressing the plight of these mistreated people, is positive, it begs the question of why Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, Ahmadiyya Muslims from Pakistan and Uighur Muslims from China have been overlooked. For these communities are also fleeing from government pogroms en-masse. The religious criteria being installed in the Citizenship Act has drawn criticism from the Opposition and the BJP ally Asom Gana Parishad in Assam.

Indeed, the debate on refugees is not local to India and it has been a contentious topic in many nations. The ramifications of this debate were seen in important world events like Donald Trump's election and Brexit. At the heart of this debate lies the question: who can call a country home? This Bill seeks to answer this question in the Indian context.

It proclaims that these communities, in addition to not being illegal, are more 'Indian' than other applicants because of the reduced time requirement of permanent residency in India. It goes on to say that these minorities have shared certain values with Indians and that is why they need lesser time to be naturalised. The Amendment pushes the idea of an India which gives preferential treatment to mostly non-Muslim communities.

Commenting on the same, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the present Bill is a gross transgression of the idea of India as envisaged by our founding fathers. The Indian idea, he said, is that people that are different in all respects come together and rally around the Indian democracy. A democracy which has endured differences of caste, creed, conviction, and culture and agreed on the ground rules of how everyone will disagree. Therefore, we must pause and ask important questions, not just to our government, but to ourselves as well. What is the India that we call home? Who can call themselves an Indian and why?

This Bill is the fulfilment of a promise that the ruling BJP government had made in its 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto. The promise read, "India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here". The initial steps to this were the notifications issued in 2015 and 2016, which excluded religious minorities of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh from being deported, as illegal immigrants are, under the Passports Act, 1920, and The Foreigners Act, 1946. This Bill is the final step of the process.

In fulfilling this promise, the central government is implicitly defining India as the Hindu homeland, something that the Hindutva brigade have done since a long time.

The only other country that makes such a claim is Israel, which claims to be the homeland for all Jews. This Amendment also takes India closer to the Law of Return in Israel, which gives all Jews a right to return to Israel. According to Tharoor, this Bill approves Jinnah's two nation theory of a Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan, something that we as a nation have rejected time and again.

It must be noted here that a national spirit to give shelter and refuge is noble. Indeed, India has had a long history of hosting the victims of persecution. Be it the Zoroastrians in the 12th century, or more recently, the Tibetans, India has always shown humanity and generosity in opening her arms for people seeking refuge.

The Bill must be seen in a positive light to the extent that it legalises the existence of these asylum seekers in India. However, just as suffering and cruelty are not partial to some, we must not be partial in our generosity. The central government must look to accommodate the Ahmadiyyas, Uyghurs and Rohingyas who are persecuted minorities and have knocked at India's door in times of need. Further, the central government must also outline how it shall provide opportunities for employment, education, and a better life that these people have been bereft of.

We must reason and discover the true meaning of citizenship. Citizenship is not only the legal tether between the state and the individual, it also embodies a sentimental and aspirational meaning. This Bill addresses those who aspire to live in an environment that is free from persecution and a land where these people can envision a future for themselves.

Tharoor remarked that this Bill failed to explain why minority communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh have greater aspirational stakes for citizenship, as compared to persons, either from other parts of the world or of majority faith in these countries.

Sir Muhammad Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan, had wondered in his song, "Saare Jahan Se Accha", why is it that Indian attributes have survived when those of the Egyptian, Roman and Greek civilisations have not. Perhaps, we need to ask ourselves this question again, given that we see an onslaught on our idea of India.

The debate on the Citizenship Bill is in no way over yet. The Bill is being examined by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. The constitution of such a Committee is rare in Indian parliamentary history, having been constituted only 10 times before this.

The Bill could be brought up for discussion in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament. Thus, it remains to be seen whether or not this proposition shall become law. In any case, the government must justify the faith-based provisions in the current Bill.

The author studies Political Science at Ashoka University and works with Idiog Consulting, New Delhi.




Once again, China has proven that it is on a fast and effective track in contributing to the safety of the globe, this time by launching the world's largest carbon-trading market aimed at creating a cleaner environment.

This much-awaited step stands in stark contrast to a retrograde move taken by the U.S. in removing climate change from the list of threats to the country in the new "America First" -branded National Security Strategy under the administration of Donald Trump, marking a shift in international leadership in the climate change fight.

Environmental officials in the U.S. in particular and the West in general have long portrayed China as a spoiler in the international negotiations on global warming. In December 2009, Beijing was accused of foiling the Copenhagen climate change talks, which, from China's point of view, favored the interests of developed countries at the expense of developing nations.

But the disagreement between China and the U.S. has its roots even earlier, when the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 made climate work mandatory for rich countries but only advisory for emerging economies, including China.

The sticking point has been that neither side is willing to play a significant role unless the other is willing to do as much, if not more, for fear of harm to their industrial growth, which has cast a shadow on the international efforts targeting climate change overall.

The bickering between the two parties was accompanied by propaganda denying the human causes of global warming. Trump's ignorance of the climate change threat and his earlier decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Accord stem from this denial, which was intended to keep the American manufacturing industry intact.

Unlike the U.S., China is refusing to bury its head in the sand, and it dismisses Trump's claim issued on Twitter that climate change is "an expensive hoax" invented by Beijing to harm American industry.

In fact, China has committed to meet its climate obligations as well as to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, designed to fulfill the common ambition of keeping the global average temperature rise less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

China, the world's largest emitter, has publicly embarked on formulating a climate policy with a main objective of reducing carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent by 2020. In the lead-up to the 2015 Paris Conference, the country announced that its emissions will peak by 2030 by ensuring that at least 20 percent of its portfolio of energy will come from non-fossil fuel sources.

China's green strategy, which started to take shape in its 12th Five-Year Plan of 2011, suggested making low-carbon industries the main engine of the economy, aiming to spend $761 billion by 2020 to replace fossil fuels with alternative energy sources. In 2014, China issued an energy strategy that called for reducing coal consumption by 2020 and suspending work at coalmines.

China has also become a leading force in renewable energy investment. According to statistics from 2016, investment increased from $39 billion to $111 billion in just five years, while solar power capacity grew 168 times and wind power quadrupled. China also announced in September 2016 that it would build at least 60 new nuclear power plants within a decade.

Since its initiation in 2013, the country's carbon trading pilot program has seen transactions valued at 4.6 billion yuan ($696.8 million), with emissions of over 200 million metric tons. The launch of the new nationwide program would initially include 1,700 energy-generating companies with combined annual emissions of over 3 billion tons.

This determination to fulfill its climate commitments proves China's ability to fill the political vacuum left by the declining U.S. role and to stand at the forefront of international efforts to reduce global warming.

Haifa Said is chief editor of the English Department at the Syrian Arab News Agency.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Despite being sunny, a cold wave continued in most parts of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. More than 40 persons were reported dead.

Lucknow: Despite being sunny, a cold wave continued in most parts of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. More than 40 persons were reported dead in the state in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 143 so far.

Early morning fog disrupted normal life in the state capital and neighbouring areas.

A dozen trains were cancelled due to poor visibility which also lead to delays.

Winter vacations of schools in the state capital have been extended by one more day on orders of the District Magistrate.

Three persons have been killed since Tuesday in road accidents due to fog. Visibility in many areas dropped to 15-20 metres, the Met said.

A six-year-old boy Satyam, who had gone to school in Barabanki, died due to cold, parents have alleged.

Despite government's orders, the private school had not complied, prompting an inquiry into the matter.

Deaths have also been reported from Kanpur, Fatehpur, Kannauj, Pilibhit, Moradabad, Sambhal, Amroha, Rampur, Hamirpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur and Ballia.

Government officials said that they were providing warm blankets, clothing, lighting up bonfires and establishing night shelters. These arrangements, however, were falling short due to the unabated cold wave in the state.

The Regional Met Office has forecast cold wave conditions would continue for some more days. It was likely to become better only after Monday.

More than 700 stray animals, mostly cows and dogs have died in the state capital, an official of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation said.

Meerut was the coldest in the state at 2.9 degrees Celsius. Lucknow recorded a temperature of 4.8. The Met said the intense cold wave was due to a western disturbance.
US president Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.

Washington: US president Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his 'America First' agenda with world leaders," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

She said Trump looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen "American businesses, American industries, and American workers".

Details of the president's trip to Davos, including bilateral meetings, are being worked out, Sanders said.

"We're finalising the details on exactly when the president will be there. We don't have any commitments beyond this year at this point," she said, adding that the White House is looking forward to be part of the process.

"The president's message is very much the same here as it will be there; just the same as it was here, as it was when he made many stops in Asia. This is very much an America First agenda," Sanders said.

She said Trump is "still 100 percent focused and committed' to promoting policies that strength American businesses and the American worker."

"That's going to be the same whether he's in the US or any other place," Sanders said.

Several senior members of the Cabinet and administration will be part of this event, she said.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place later this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World'.

Modi will travel to Switzerland on 22 January on a two-day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.
Police detained on Wednesday a 17-year-old boy from Pune in connection with the killing of former Shiv Sena corporator Ashok Sawant in suburban Kandivli.

Mumbai: Police detained on Wednesday a 17-year-old boy from Pune in connection with the killing of former Shiv Sena corporator Ashok Sawant in suburban Kandivli.

The minor was picked up from Pune on Tuesday and after being questioned, the Samata Nagar police took him into custody, an official said.

He will be produced before a court for juvenile offenders later in the day, he said.

According to the police, the minor was present at the spot at the time of the incident on 7 January.

His role in the killing was being probed, the official said.

The 62-year-old Sena leader was stabbed at least 20 times near his residence in Thakur Complex of Kandivli while he was returning home with his friend Vinod Sonawane.

Police had arrested two persons on Monday, but the mastermind of the crime is still at large.

The arrested persons, identified as Ganesh Jogdand (30) and Sohail Dodhia (33), are in police custody.

Both have been booked under IPC section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), police said.

Jogdand was driving the autorickshaw whose occupant had allegedly kicked the motorcycle Sawant was riding with his friend at the time of the incident.

Though Dodhia was not present at the scene of the crime, the police suspect he had awarded Jogdand the contract to kill Sawant at the behest of the main accused.

Multiple police teams have fanned out to various parts of the state to trace the main accused, who has been identified, and his accomplices, police earlier said.

Apart from the Samata Nagar police, the Crime Branch is conducting a parallel probe into the incident.

Sawant was riding home with Sonawane when an autorickshaw came along and one of its occupants kicked the motorcycle they were on.

Both Sawant and Sonawane fell to the ground and while the latter ran after the person who kicked their two-wheeler, a man got out of the autorickshaw and stabbed Sawant several times, police had said.

By the time Sonawane returned, Sawant had been stabbed over 20 times.

He succumbed to his injuries in a local hospital around Sunday midnight, police said.

Sawant had served as corporator for two terms. He entered the cable television business a couple of years ago.

He had received a threat call around a year ago following which he lodged a complaint with the police.
National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday expressed concern about the security situation in the Valley and urged the state government to tackle the 'shadow of fear' looming over the forthcoming panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday expressed concern about the security situation in the Valley and urged the state government to tackle the "shadow of fear" looming over the forthcoming panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

The government had the right to hold panchayat polls, but it had to also ensure the safety of the people, he said.

"It is the prerogative of the government to conduct panchayat elections, but it is also the responsibility of the same government to protect its citizens and safeguard their lives, Abdullah said while addressing party workers.

He expressed concern over the shadows of fear and intimidation" in the run-up to panchayat election, slated to be held in February. Some militants groups have threatened to grievously harm candidates.

The National Conference president said such threats should be taken seriously by the state government.

These alarming threats should be taken seriously by the state government and, before any decisions are taken, the security situation in the state should be taken into account," he said.

The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar also underlined the alienation of the Valley's youth, who, he said, were being drawn towards armed militancy.

With every passing day we are witnessing educated young men taking the path of armed militancy in a trend which threatens to take the state back to the throes of turmoil and uncertainty that we witnessed in the early '90s, he said.

In the past three years, people had witnessed "one ideological compromise after another" by those in power, which, he held, had a direct and adverse impact on the youth.

"The security scenario in the Valley is a matter of serious concern and underlines the political vacuum that has resulted in accentuating the alienation on the ground, especially among the youth," Abdullah said.

The "rhetoric of reconciliation" was of little use in view of the the growing disenchantment and disillusionment among the youth, he added.

"The youth deserve more than the occasional rhetorical statement or press note, he said.

The Opposition leader added that the Central and state governments had to realise the "unimaginable consequences of allowing the atmosphere of disenchantment to persist in the Valley".

Abdullah alleged that the PDP-BJP government had failed to wean the youth away from isolation because of "ideological U-turns and contradictions".

It is the onerous responsibility of the state government to reach out to the youth and bring the Valley back to the path of stability and peace," he said.

But, he alleged, the state government continued to alienate the people  through its "complete governance failures or numerous political compromises and U-turns".

Reiterating the need for a sustained, structured and result-oriented dialogue between India and Pakistan over all outstanding issues including Kashmir, he said there was no alternative to dialogue.

Seeking a dialogue with Pakistan is a matter of realism and is based on our aspiration to see an end to instability, violence, death and destruction in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We have always sought dialogue both on the internal and external fronts," he said.

New Delhi and Islamabad needed to restore the "credibility and sanctity of the institution of dialogue" and stakeholders within the state should also be taken on board to make the process meaningful, he said.
More and more youth, particularly the educated ones like Manan Wani and those from well-off families in Kashmir, are joining militancy.

Srinagar: Nearly a year after the uprising in Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Muzafar Wani, 26-year-old Zahid Manzoor Wani, of Kareemabad area in Pulwama, left his home never to return. His family thought he may have joined protests in the nearby village of Hakripora, where Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Abu Dujana was trapped in a gunfight.

But he didn't return home even as Dujana managed to slip from the encounter  he (Dujana) was later killed in a gun battle with the forces in the same area in August. The Zakir Musa-led Ansar Ghazwatul Hind later claimed that Dujana was affiliated with the group and that he was one of its 'first martyrs'.

In May last year, Zahid announced his association with Hizbul, following an often repeated route: He posted a gun-wielding photo of him on social networking sites. He had completed his bachelor's degree in science from Pulwama college and had joined the family business of selling pesticides at a shop in south Kashmir before he gave that up to pick up arms.

One of Zahid's brothers is doing MBBS while the other is pursuing BSc at Pulwama college. The family owns an apple orchard which fetches a harvest of nearly Rs 20 lakh each year. Zahid's father, Manzoor Ahmad Wani, said that months before his son joined militancy he was picked up by the police and tortured.

"He was beaten up and released after 18-days of detention," said Manzoor, adding that Zahid had left home on 23 May never to return. He said that before Zahid joined militancy he used to pray for long hours in the mosque.

"He left in the evening near prayer time. First, we thought that he may have been in the mosque but as he didn't return and when we heard about a gun battle in a nearby village, we thought that he must've gone there to take part in the protests. But he never returned and we did not know where he was until we came to know that he has joined Hizbul," Manzoor said.

More and more youth, particularly the educated ones and those from well-off families in Kashmir, are joining militancy. This has spurred a new security concern in the Valley. But Additional Director General of Police Muneer Ahmad Khan said that efforts were being made to wean away the youth from militancy, which includes asking family members to counsel them to give up arms.

The recent shift towards militancy of a scholar from Kupwara, Manan Wani, who was pursuing PhD in Geology at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is being seen by Hizbul as a "rebuff to India's propaganda that youth are joining militant ranks because of unemployment and economic problems".

Speaking about Manan joining Hizbul, its chief Syed Salahuddin said that, "for the past several years, the educated youth have joined Hizbul to take the ongoing movement to the logical conclusion.

Former Hizbul commander Zaf Akbar Bhat said that that there has been no letup in the number of educated youth joining militancy since it started in the 1990s. Bhat said that a number of militant commanders who were killed earlier were also "highly qualified". "Joining of youths like Manan sends across a message to the international community that the freedom movement in Kashmir is running due to the conviction of people and that it was not about issues of unemployment."

"A number of educated men like Ghulam Mohammad Mir, who was the Ameer of Hizbul and had done his Masters in three disciplines, were killed. Commander Masood Ahmad Tantray was also a postgraduate in two subjects and had pleaded the need for the return of peace to Kashmir before the Indian home secretary in 2001," he added.

Security officials see the entry of educated youth in militant ranks as a new threat. Even family members of police officials or active policemen are joining militancy. In a recent Fidayeen attack on a CRPF camp at Pulwama, in which five force personnel were killed, one of the militants was 16-year old Fardeen Ahmad Khanday, the son of a police constable.

Ghulam Rasool Pandit, father of slain Hizbul militant commander Nasir Ahmad Pandit  who was working as police constable  said that his son joined militancy after he "couldn't bear the excesses being committed on our own people". Naseer had fled with two AK rifles while he was posted on the security detail of education minister Altaf Bukhari in 2015.

He became a close associate of Burhan and was killed in April 2016 in a gun battle with the forces, which resulted in widespread protests in his hometown of Kareembad. "Youth like Zakir Musa  who is the head of Ansar Ghazwatul and Riyaz Naikoo of Hizbul  gave up better education and that encourages other boys to join militancy," a security official said. Police officials said that a number of youth, including those with postgraduate and BTech degrees, had joined the militant ranks since last year.

"The situation improved in 2017 compared to 2016, but the youth have continued to take up guns and militants have used social networking sites to draw more men into their ranks without any letup," added an official. He said that the "police and other security agencies were trying to build credible intelligence to eliminate the militants. We are on the hunt for militant commanders so that recruitment is controlled.''
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has written to states regarding prevention of school-related gender-based violence and asked them to ensure that students are trained to raise their voice against such incidents and are aware of appropriate mechanisms.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Human Resource Development has written to states regarding prevention of school-related gender-based violence and asked them to ensure that students are trained to raise their voice against such incidents and are aware of appropriate mechanisms.

The ministry has also shared certain posters developed by UNESCO detailing possible efforts a student can make if he or she is stuck in any situation of gender-based violence.

"School-related gender-based violence affects millions of children, families and communities. It involves acts or threats of sexual, physical or psychological violence occurring in and around schools, perpetrated because of gender norms and stereotypes, and enforced by unequal power dynamics," the letter sent to states reads.

The posters titled 'Learning without Fear' cover a wide range of scenarios related to gender-based violence in schools and possible responses to address it in the school setting.

"Violence in schools has consequences in learners' lives, ranging from low self-esteem and depression and also has a serious impact on educational outcomes with many students avoiding school, achieving below their potential, or dropping out completely.

"Eliminating violence in schools is a key part of ensuring safe and equitable learning environments, and is important for all students," the letter says.

The HRD ministry has also assured support to states if they want the training material or the posters to be translated in their regional languages for effective communication.
The BJP said those equating terrorist killing with a policeman or a security personnel are doing a great 'disservice' to the state and the country

Jammu: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said those equating terrorist killing with a policeman or a security personnel are doing a great "disservice" to the state and the country.

BJP state spokesperson Virender Gupta in a statement said, "A terrorist is a terrorist, whether he is a Pakistani or Kashmiri, and is enemy of the people of the state and the country."

"Those equating terrorist killing with a policeman or a security personnel who lays down his life to defend the state and public are doing a great disservice to the state and to the country," he said.

The BJP leaders statement comes three days after a senior People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader stoked a controversy by saying there was "no bar" in condoling the killing of local militants in Kashmir.

"Whether it is a CRPF man... or a local militant, there is no bar on offering condolences. However, it depends on the security situation, sometimes we can go and sometimes not," PDP chief spokesperson Rafi Ahmad Mir had said on Sunday.

The BJP leader condemned the tendency of some of the Kashmir-based leaders for equating "the killing of militants with innocent persons killed by the militants and security personnel who sacrifice their lives while fighting with the Pakistan-sponsored militants".

In an apparent reference to opposition parties call for resumption of dialogue with Paksitan to resolve Kashmir issue, Gupta asked the National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah to give their "pious" advice to Pakistan to stop exporting terrorism into the Indian territory and its unprovoked heavy firing on the Indian side.

"In the present situation when the Indian government is forced to counter Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and defend its borders from its aggressive activities, the dialogue between the India and Pakistan cannot be viewed," he said.

Gupta, however, said the dialogue can only be fruitful if tension on the borders is minimised and Pakistan stops its nefarious designs.

He said Pakistan must understand that its policy of enmity with India is not going to pay it.

"Ultimately, it is going to weaken itself and further disintegrate," he said.
The Menstruation Benefits Bill, tabled as a private member bill in the Parliament this Winter Session, seeks to provide women working in the public and private sectors two days of paid menstrual leave every month.

The Menstruation Benefits Bill, tabled as a private member bill in the Parliament this Winter Session, seeks to provide women working in the public and private sectors two days of paid menstrual leave every month. The benefits are also extended to female students of Class VIII and above in government recognised schools. The Bill also seeks to provide better facilities for rest at the workplace during menstruation.

We took up this critical issue after long and wide-ranging consultations from people in Arunachal East - the constituency which one of the authors represents in the Lok Sabha. We arranged for a few interactions with students from Delhi University, RGU, etc. on the draft of Bill. We got positive responses from most people, especially girls and women. Therefore, we decided to go ahead and introduce the proposed legislation. The Bill intends to provide relief to women who are troubled during menstrual periods and have no special facilities for rest on such days.

It should be noted that the Bill is not path-breaking. In our own country, the state of Bihar has had special leave for women for two days since 1992 (although it is not explicitly referred to as the menstruation leave). A teacher working at a high school in Lakhisarai, Bihar, Dr Prabhawati, told us, Special leave is like a boon for women employees as it helps us in balancing our health issues with our work responsibilities. When I joined in 1994 as a teacher, some male colleagues made fun of this special leave. But now, it has been normalised. I think male colleagues have also become more sensitive and do not mock us anymore. However, I am not sure how these leaves will be seen in the private sector as I do not have exposure to their working style.

The reasons why this Bill should be pushed further are clear. There have been frequent demands across India to amend labour laws in order to provide better working facilities to female employees. The menstrual leave movement has gained momentum across the nation and there has been an intense demand to entitle women with paid leave during menstruation. Besides, there have been demands to provide intermediate breaks during menstruation on working days and facilities for rest at the workplace in India.

A lot of women, media, and civil society organisations have begun addressing the difficulties associated with menstruation and demanding paid menstrual leave. The success of several campaigns and petitions launched for menstrual leave indicates that the movement is fast gaining momentum.

The history of paid menstrual leave goes back to a period as early as World War II. Countries like Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and Taiwan have been far-sighted regarding the issue and are providing female employees with menstrual leave as an entitlement. Italy has also proposed a Bill on paid menstrual leave. Historically, Indian societies have been marked by vibrant liberalism. A girls school in Kerala had granted its students menstrual leave as early as 1912. This financial year, a couple of companies in India have individually introduced the policy of paid menstrual leaves for their female employees.

According to a research University College London published earlier this year, period pain can be as bad as having a heart attack. Given the biological complexity of women and the intense pain they have to suffer, they should have the right to avail leave during menstruation. In addition, most women face a hard time, especially on the first and second days of the menstruation cycle due to obvious discomforts. Thus, from both the perspectives of the female employees as well as the employers, menstrual leave is desirable.

One of the authors of this article had put up a question on menstrual leave to the Ministry of Women and Child Development which replied stating, There is no such proposal for grant of any menstrual leave or introduction of any legislation in this regard.

This being a private member's Bill, the chances of it being passed are less. However, the idea behind introducing it is to have a discussion and debate on this issue. Therefore, Parliament should take up the issue of menstrual leave in the next session and hold a deep discussion on it.

A criticism of the proposal deals with isolation or exclusion of women due to such a policy. However, if one looks at Bihar, one will find that this problem has been overcome in the state. Are women not working there today? Have they felt any discomfort? We must try to open our mind and have a positive view on the Bill. Until and unless men are not sensitive to the issues of women, these mindsets will persist forever.

As a society, we need to further the debate and discuss issues related to menstruation in an attempt to ensure equality for women. Even if this Bill is not passed, at least we can bring about a discussion on the issue in the Parliament. Let the lawmakers decide what will be the best solution to this problem. Bihar has already shown us the way!

Ninong Ering is a Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha representing Arunachal East and Abhishek Ranjan is a Policy Analyst working with Ering.
The work related to 2021 census, covering the country's entire 1.30 billion population, will begin this year, the home ministry said on Wednesday.

New Delhi: The work related to 2021 census, covering the country's entire 1.30 billion population, will begin this year, the home ministry said on Wednesday.

The issue and the road map for undertaking the census in 2021 were discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

With regard to the census 2021, the activities required to be undertaken in 2018 were discussed at the meeting, a statement issued by the ministry said.

These include firming up the design, stakeholders meeting and pilot exercise in selected states.

The last census was undertaken in 2011. According to the census reports of Indian Census 2011, the population of India was 1,210,854,977.

The home minister also discussed the progress in updating National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, completion of the activities relating to National Population Register, measures to improve and strengthen the civil registration system.

In regard to the update of NRC in Assam, it was informed that the part draft list covering 1.9 crore applicants, in respect of whom the process of verification has been completed, has been published on 31 December, 2017 as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

Another draft list comprising remaining applicants will be published subsequently after completion of their verification, the statement said.

The process is being undertaken in a fair and objective manner and under the monitoring of the Supreme Court and after the publication of the complete draft NRC, claims and objections will be invited, it said.

The home minister was informed that the works relating to National Population Register updated in 2015 have been completed in most of the states.

The meeting was informed about that the progress of civil registration system and it was brought out that registration level of birth is 88 percent and death is about 76.6 percent at an all India level.

The Vital Rates for 2016 under Sample Registration System have been released recently according to which the birth rate at all India level is 20.4 and death rate is 6.4 and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is 34.

The need to have geo-referenced map pertaining to all villages and town was also highlighted by the home minister.

The Registrar General and Census Commissioner also briefed about the other functions of the organisation relating to language, social studies and map divisions.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and other senior officers of the RGI and home ministry were also present in the meeting.
A Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight was forced to return to Mumbai airport due to engine failure, according to several media reports.

A Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight was forced to return to Mumbai airport due to engine failure, according to several media reports.

Mumbai-Bengaluru IndiGo flight faced technical issue while airborne, pilot took precautionary measure to return to Mumbai. An alternate aircraft was provided for completion of the flight. Matter brought to notice of DGCA & is being investigated: IndiGo on last night's incident pic.twitter.com/MMrfb91r30  ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2018

The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday night.

The IndiGo 6E 565 flight, which took off at 11.30 pm, had 183 passengers on board, Hindustan Times reported.

Shortly after departure, the pilots got in touch with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for an emergency landing, according to the report.

Quoting an airport source, The Times of India reported that a full emergency was then declared.

Fire engines and ambulances were kept on stand-by when the aircraft landed safely around midnight, according to the report.

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation took note and is probing the matter, ANI reported.
Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that India was 'distracting' it from counter-terrorism efforts as it briefed foreign diplomats on the country's credentials amid criticism by the US for providing safe havens to militants.

Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that India was "distracting" it from counter-terrorism efforts as it briefed foreign diplomats on the country's credentials amid criticism by the US for providing safe havens to militants. Ambassadors and Heads of Mission of resident Missions in Islamabad were briefed by the Foreign Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chief of General Staff (CGS), Director General Military Operations (DGMO) and Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Foreign Office said that the diplomats were told about Pakistan's "achievements and challenges" in counter-terrorism efforts and combating violent extremism.

"Details were also provided on how Indian belligerence and unhelpful posturing is distracting Pakistan's counter terrorism efforts and how an active RAW/NDS nexus is verifiably working to undermine Pakistan's internal stability," the FO said.

The envoys were provided details about the success of military operations which had eliminated terrorist presence in Pakistan.

They were also briefed about the terrorist threat emanating from the safe havens and sanctuaries in Afghanistan, which is resulting in loss of human lives and damage to infrastructure in Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif stated that the briefing had been arranged to inform the diplomatic corps about the massive counter-terrorism efforts that Pakistan had undertaken in the last 16 years and the developments in the last four years.

The briefing comes as the US in recent days stepped up efforts to put pressure on Pakistan to do more to combat terrorism.

The Trump administration last week suspended nearly $2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan for its failure to take decisive action against terror groups like the Taliban and the Haqqani Network.

The members of the diplomatic corps condoled the loss of human lives in the terrorist attack in Quetta on Tuesday.

A suicide bomber n Tuesday blew himself up near Pakistan's Balochistan Assembly, killing six persons including four policemen and injuring 18 others.
A 26-year-old student, pursuing PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, has gone missing from the campus, the police said.

New Delhi: A 26-year-old student, pursuing PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, has gone missing from the campus, the police said.

Mukul Jain, enrolled in the Life Sciences course, has been missing since 8 January, they said.

A missing report was registered in the evening of 8 January. It is suspected that he was having some problems in his relationship, said a senior police officer from the South-west District.

Till now, no foul play has been suspected, they added.

Najeeb Ahmed, also a JNU student, went missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of the university on 15 October, 2016 following a scuffle with some other students, allegedly affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the previous night.

Over a month after the incident, his mother moved the Delhi High Court, seeking directions to the police to trace her son.

The high court on 16 May 2017 handed over to the CBI the investigation into the disappearance of Najeeb, a student of MSc in Biotechnology.
The home minister's separation of the DIY type of terrorist from lone wolves is valid. DIY terrorists could be far more dangerous

Home Minister Rajnath Singh recently echoed the apprehensions of the intelligence community in calling for a special cell to combat the so-called 'lone wolf' type of attacks, as well as 'do-it-yourself' terrorists. With a virtual avalanche of extremist online videos on the one hand, and a divisive societal milieu on the other, there is good reason to fear attacks by terrorists who are otherwise not even on the periphery of intelligence radars.

The term 'lone wolf' is generally used to describe a terrorist apparently acting on his own, self-motivated, and with few if any links with the outside world. The term has caught the public imagination, with its overtones of a solitary wolf, hunting its prey in the darkness of the night. The reality however, is somewhat different. Most terrorists tend to talk, and talk a lot. A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that in at least 83 percent of cases, others were aware of the grievances that spurred the terrorist to action. Even more surprisingly, in 64 percent of cases, family or friends were actually aware of the individual's intent to engage in terrorism-related activity.

This seems to be borne out by cases where so-called lone wolves such as Afghan American Omar Mateen were actually part of a highly radicalised group. Investigations indicated that Mateens attack against a gay bar that killed 49 and wounded more than 50, was not only facilitated by his wife, but that he was part of a highly radicalised family and other supporters. His father had formed a non-profit group in support of the Taliban, and his own web statements indicated his admiration of the Afghan group. As intelligence officers have often found to their cost, the signs were there, and probably picked up at some point. But given the huge volume of data that is generated daily, it got overlooked.

A second fallacy arises from the general usage of the term to denote terrorism only, or even Islamic terror. In fact, the majority of lone wolf attacks have been whites for a variety of causes. This is particularly relevant in the US which has witnessed the largest number of such attacks. For instance, the text book 'lone wolf' attack was by Theodore Ted Kaczyinsky, known as the 'Unabomber' who sent letter bombs between 1978 and 1995, in a protest against industrialisation. Between 1990 and 2009, there were only two instances of what might be termed a classic Islamic terror attack in the US, and that was by a Pakistani Mir Aimal Kansi, who shot two employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, and then fled to Afghanistan.

The other was by an Iranian-American who drove a Jeep into a crowd of students, but failed to kill anyone. During the same time period, Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma city bomber used a truck bomb to kill 168 unfortunate people, apparently with a view to toppling a hated government. Even in the UK, lone wolf attacks were more associated by Far Right extremists rather than jihadis. This included a Ukrainian student who built a highly-effective bomb in an effort to target a mosque.

Some of the worst attacks of 2017 were by right-wingers or the mentally ill. In October 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire at crowd in a country music festival in Las Vegas killing 59. He was found to be seriously depressed. Another was in Canada, where on 29 January last year, a political science student opened fire on the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City killing six. Yet, in the mainstream, today's lone wolf is associated with jihadism with such perceptions cemented by the Westminster Bridge attack by British-origin convert Khalid Masood. That attack killed five, and since it was followed quickly by group attack on London Bridge in June, served to emphasise the jihadi threat. The fact that the Islamic State did call for attacks at home at its very inception, with its spokesman Abu Mohammad Al-Adnani making a particularly incendiary statement in September 2014, certainly helped to focus the source of threat.

The problem with studying lone wolf incidents is that there have been so few, when compared to planned group attacks that have become routine in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. Research indicates that lone wolf attacks have constituted about 1.28 percent of all terrorist cases in some 15 countries, with the largest number in the US. A later study commissioned by the US government studied cases from 1940 onwards and found that while lone wolf attacks had increased only marginally from 38 (1940 to 2000) to 45 (2001 to 2013), post-9/11 attackers used a wider variety of weapons. The data set again reinforced the fact that such attacks were also carried out largely by the Far Right. White supremacists generally attacked the police, while Al-Qaeda sympathisers attacked the military. The latter are of course a post-9/11 phenomenon.

The home minister's separation of the DIY type of terrorist from lone wolves is valid. DIY terrorists could be far more dangerous, since some expertise is a given, as also a high degree of intelligence. An instance is that of Syed Farooq and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple who went on a shooting spree at a Christmas party in San Bernardino in December 2015. The two had a virtual arsenal at their home, including several weapons and pipe bombs. Both were Pakistanis, and Malik had been studying at the ultra conservative Al Huda religious institute.

The Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, appeared at first to be a classic DIY case since the terrorist assembled the bomb himself, using the highly unstable explosive TATP, also called triacetone trioxide. However, investigations later indicated that the bomb design was similar to those used earlier in the attacks in Paris in November 2015 and Brussels in March 2016. Clearly, he had expert help. None of these turned out to be at all like lone wolf attacks. DIY terrorists therefore can be taken to be part of a group  however small, though carefully remaining off surveillance radars by keeping their communication signatures low. Alternatively, they may benefit from training given at an earlier time.

India has seen plenty of such DIY attacks. Bombings in Mumbai, Hyderabad and in fact, almost every attempted or successful bombing has been with locally-made bombs. A study of bombs used in a particular series of attacks have usually shown a high degree of commonality, indicating careful instructions or training. The Intelligence Bureau has an unsung history of preventing such attacks, with the nabbing of an Islamic State module in Hyderabad only the most recent.

Classic lone wolf attacks have thankfully, yet to be attempted. But that time is likely to be soon. Terrorists are notoriously 'cut and paste' in their methodology, and attacks seen as 'successful'  that is, where they receive huge media attention  will certainly be replicated.

Given the realities of such terrorism, firstly, a lone wolf attack could come from any source, from any religion, and with diverse motivations. Second, a derivative lesson is that such loners are likely to be in urban settings, where a degree of anonymity is assured. Third, despite the very high Pakistan factor in nearly all attacks, a lone actor  depending largely on the internet, may have no perceptible links to that country at all. Fourth, the likelihood of low-grade attacks  with a truck or car  is higher than that of a shooting. Thankfully, it is still difficult to acquire lethal weapons in India, though even that is eroding. And fifth, the lesson from all such attacks elsewhere is that somewhere, someone talks. No man in an island, least so a terrorist.

A man who would drive a truck into a crowd is far from stable, and is likely to have shouted out his grievances to those prepared to listen. The trick is to find out not just whos talking, but whos listening.
Hours before RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was convicted in one of the fodder scam cases, two of his personal aides allegedly got themselves arrested for 'serving' the former Bihar chief minister in Ranchi's Birsa Munda jail, media reports said.

Hours before RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was convicted in one of the fodder scam cases against him, two of his personal aides allegedly got themselves arrested in order to "serve" the former Bihar chief minister in Ranchi's Birsa Munda Jail, media reports said.

According to The Indian Express, Madan Yadav and Laxman Mahto, who have served as Lalu's cooks in the past, were sent to jail in an apparent false case.

As per reports, the two were sent to Rachi jail after they picked up a fight with a neighbour Sumit Yadav and snatched Rs 10,000 from him on 23 December.

The Times of India reported that both men surrendered before the CJM court in Ranchi on the same day.

"Even as an investigation was initiated into complaint, the accused reached the court and surrendered before the Chief Judicial Magistrate. They were sent to judicial custody The police had not sought any warrant from the court  we were not even communicated about the surrender either by the counsel for the accused or the court. The Indian Express quoted Ranchis DSP (City) Raj Kumar Mehta as saying.

However, close associates of Madan claim that he had no reason to steal anything as he comes from a financially sound background, The Times of India reported. They also noted that "serving" their leader would have been the only reason for picking up such a case.

The same report also noted that the police began investigating the case only after realising that both men were close to Lalu and are part of his inner circle.

According to another report in Deccan Chronicle, Madan had used the same trick to get into the Rnachi jail when Lalu was convicted in another fodder scam case in 2013. However, the report noted that Laxman did not do so as the RJD was an ally of the JMM, which was in power in Jharkhand at the time."

The superintendent of Birsa Munda Central Jail, where the RJD boss has been lodged since 23 December after his conviction in a fodder scam case relating to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar treasury 21 years ago, had not commented at the time of writing.

The RJD jumped to its leader's defence, insisting the presence of the two was "co-incidental". However, the latest revelations have drawn criticism from rival JD(U).

The JD(U) latched on to the news report to attack the RJD leader, with its spokesman Neeraj Kumar issuing a statement in Patna saying, "Lalu is a person with feudal mindset who could make his party workers go to any extent to serve his personal interest."

"This shows that Lalu's commitment to social justice is a sham and he cares only for himself and his family members," Kumar, a JD(U) MLC, said.

RJD spokesman Shakti Singh Yadav rubbished the allegation that Lalu "managed" to have his two aides behind bars to serve him, saying their presence in jail was "coincidental", and that the two had criminal cases against them. The nature of offences for which they were in jail was, however, not clear yet.

He asked those making the claim that Mahto and Madan were serving Prasad in jail to come up with evidence to back it.

"They (the accusers) should show any video footage of the two serving the RJD supremo," Yadav, an RJD MLA, said.

When asked if he would want an inquiry into the matter, Yadav shot back, saying "Why? They have been, after all, sent to jail after an inquiry by the police administration and it is for the administration to say something on the matter."

With inputs from PTI
UP 100 has also received 7,566 distress calls from men reporting beating from wife and 234 kids have also called for help after being thrashed by parents and complaining of not being allowed to study.

Lucknow: The ambitious Uttar Pradesh Police emergency system, UP 100, saved 858 lives by timely intervention in suicide attempts across the state in the past one year, officials said on Wednesday, adding that 134 people were saved daily in road accidents.

The service received 15,954 distress calls of suicides being committed or in progress and the fast response ensured that the police reached the crime scene, broke open a bolted door and barged in to save a life, officials said on the first foundation day of the service.

The police in Ghaziabad received the first prize for the fastest response to a call by reaching the crime scene in 14.59 minutes, said Additional Director General (ADG) UP 100, Aditya Mishra at a press conference.

Mishra said that the second slot was won by Muzaffarnagar (16.06 minutes) and third by the police in Noida which took 16.06 minutes.

Mishra also said that the three districts excelled in a system where the average response time in the last one year has been 15.23 minutes. "We are trying to improve it further across the board and bring it down to 15 minutes."

A fleet of 1,500 two-wheelers would soon be assimilated in the system, he added.

Superintendent of Police for UP 100, Mohammad Imran, said they had "challenged themselves by setting a target of picking 98 per cent calls within five seconds", adding that "the system has consistently exceeded that benchmark and currently 99.75 per cent calls received are answered within five seconds".

Raghvendra Dwivedi, senior radio officer, said that lives of as many as 134 persons were being saved daily due to timely intervention to UP 100 in incidents of road accidents.

With UP 100 having more than 3,000 four wheelers, double the number of ambulances (1500) under 108, the service was turning out to be a big boon for the injured during the critical period of post-accidents.

Averaging 1.25 lakh calls a day, the system has so far witnessed direct police intervention in 47,39,795 cases emerging out of calls made to it. Of these, the top cases reported were of disputes with neighbours, disputes over property, domestic violence, accidents and brawls, officials said.

A staggering 338,028 calls have been made by the elderly on UP 100 in the past one year for help, while 363,912 cases of domestic violence have been reported by women and a significant 54,355 calls were by children.

UP 100 has also received 7,566 distress calls from men reporting beating from wife and 234 kids have also called for help after being thrashed by parents and complaining of not being allowed to study.

The Rs 2,300 crore ambitious project was launched in 2015 and kickstarted on 10 January, 2017 amid great hype.

A pet project of the then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, it is being groomed well in the present BJP dispensation as well apparently due to its result yielding record and sources say the government is keen to both "patronize and promote" it for its own image building.

Officials said that in a few months from now, two mirror centres for emergencies and calamities, in case of disruption of the call centre and servers housed at the Dial 100 headquarter here, would be established  most likely in Allahabad, Ghaziabad or Noida.

The place and the utility of such places for mirror centres is under consideration of the state government, ADG Aditya Mishra told IANS.

Lucknow, Allahabad and Kanpur were the top three districts with actionable calls made to UP 100 and the bottom three districts were Baghpat, Balrampur and Shrawasti.

UP 100, it was informed, also took feedback from the public about its services and 78 per cent gave them a thumbs up and 21 per cent said they were not satisfied.
Meanwhile, the deadly cocktail of rape and murder is being played out at a horrible frequency.

The kidnapping, gang rape and murder of a sixteen-year old girl who was dragged from her bicycle while returning from school last week has once again brought the spotlight on the large number of rapes which eventually result in murder.

This incident occurred on National Highway 91 near Chandpur village, adjoining the city of Bulandshahr in Meerut district. The girl was tailed by an Alto car, and the attackers got down, dragged her into the car and then sped away. When the girls parents went to file an FIR, it was dismissed as a case of elopement. Later, when the girls dead body was found in a Greater Noida canal, the Senior Superintendent of Police G Muniraj claimed that the matter was a love affair gone awry and obviously the reason for the murder.

Had the CCTV footage confirming that the girl had been forcibly abducted not surfaced, the police would have stuck to their theory of "elopement".

Uttar Pradesh has witnessed a 400 percent rise in cases of child rape in 2016 according to data collated by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). However, the chief minister of the state Yogi Aditya Nath came up with an "epic" response to these brutal rapes and murders. He was quoted as saying: "They should be sent to the same place as gangsters have been sent or evil persons in the epics." The chief minister also went on to praise the police for the determination they have shown in their fight against organised crime.

Meanwhile, the deadly cocktail of rape and murder is being played out at a horrible frequency. Stats released by the NCRB show that while 20,000 children were raped in 2016, the figure stood at 10,934 in 2015. Many of these rapes have ended in the murder of the child victim.

The question to be asked is why the 'stricter laws' to curb sexual violence against women are not working?

This phenomenon of rape followed by murder came into the limelight with the notorious Badauni gang rape case. Two Dalit cousin sisters were gangraped, tortured and then hanged from a mango tree on 27 May 2014 in the village of Sadatganj in Uttar Pradesh. Within two weeks of the case, even before the public outrage and media coverage could die down, three more Dalit girls were gangraped with one of them left murdered in Badouni district.

Reacting to the surge in number of rape cases resulting in murder of the victim, Dr Rajesh Kumar, head of the Society of Promotion of Youth and Masses, which works with juvenile delinquents and murderers, said, "When the rape law was being amended in 2013, I had pointed out the pitfalls of tightening the law. If the victim survives, she will be a witness. The rapist therefore finds it more convenient to eliminate the witness."

The new rape laws issued in 2013 had mandated shorter trials and stricter punishment for the rapist.

Kumar went on to elucidate the mind set of the rapist saying, "Juvenile or adult rapists have no positive understanding of society. They are looked down upon as objects of hate and so they in turn end up hating everyone around them. For many of those who commit these crimes, there is little difference between living on the streets or spending time in a jail. Murdering the key witness will ultimately, they believe, help them in a court of law."

The Bulandshahr rape is reminiscent of another case from May last year in the city. Four women of a family were also gang raped in mid-May 2017 in Bulandshahr when they were carrying money to help a pregnant relative. Their car was being driven by a close relative, who was shot dead by the robbers when he tried to protest.

If the national crime figures are to be compared with state-specific statistics, it is evident that the increase in number of rape cases each year in Uttar Pradesh has been twice the national average. While India recorded an increase of 65 percent in rape cases from 2010 (22,172) to 2014 (36,735), Uttar Pradesh recorded an increase of 121 percent from 2010 (1,563) to 2014 (3,467) according to the NCRB data. Rapes by juvenile offenders increased from 1,688 in 2015 to 1,903 last year, almost a 13 percent jump.

Commenting on these figures, former inspector general of police and presently Governor of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi, said that an increase in rape and murder and in fact all crime can be reversed only by improving ground policing systems.

Bedi had informed this reporter earlier that the primacy of beat patrolling which is the backbone of policing is being systematically annihilated across our cities.

Between 1980-86, when she had headed the Delhi police force, policemen used to patrol the streets of the capital round-the-clock. Bedi said, "We also ensured that the public was equally involved in our efforts and made sure public personalities were involved in these patrolling efforts. The result of this public and police partnership was that there was a sharp decline in crime. These joint efforts must be brought back."

Meanwhile, Kumar believes strong steps need to be taken to improve institutional care. "In western countries, the state has created institutions where if parents are not taking care of a child, the state will step in. In India, traditionally, children have been nurtured by families and communities. Both have broken down. All forms of social control have disappeared. We have a society which is imploding in all directions."

The result is there for all to see. We have a large underclass of boys who have grown up receiving no educational or vocational skills. Many of them are on substance abuse and lead a life of crime to be able to afford these drugs.

The escalating graph of rape and murder cases is also linked to the low conviction rate of rapists. Statistics collected by the NCRB has shown that conviction rate for rape has been as low as 25 percent in the past.

Sloppy investigation by the police and factors like, political clout, money power and caste biases in key cases are also responsible for the present situation.

This was clearly brought out in the Badauni rape and murder case. The CBI team was brought in to give further teeth to the investigation but it allowed the five upper caste suspects to walk away scot-free.

The CBI, according to senior lawyer Rebecca John, twisted the rape-murder of the two cousins to make it appear to be a case of honour killing. They even raised a doubt on whether the girls had been sexually assaulted. And since the village was flooded due to a heavy rainfall, it became impossible to exhume the bodies of the girls. The five upper class alleged perpetrators could walk free because they had money and political clout.

But John refuses to see a co-relation between the stricter rape law, and the rise in cases of murder of the raped victim. John said, "We have become an increasingly lawless society and the increasing number of cases of rape and murder are a consequence of the breakdown of law and order. Women and children remain the most vulnerable section of society and therefore they are targeted the most."

John also believes the time has come for courts to give greater primacy to cases of rape, murder and other heinous crimes. "When I joined the law practise in 1988, there was only one special court dealing with corruption while the other courts dealt with cases of murder, rape and other heinous crimes. Today, 26 special courts are dealing on a daily basis with a few cases of corruption, while a handful of courts are having to deal with a large number of pending rape and murder cases. No wonder sentences in such cases take a long time to be delivered," she added.

NCRB data further shows a 873 percent increase in rape cases during the last five decades.

Talking about the psychology of rapists, Dr Ashish Nandy, a noted sociologist, concurred with the views of Kumar. Nandy pointed out, "Young boys are being driven from their homes onto the streets, where they invariably get sexually assaulted by truck drivers and others and grow up holding a grudge against society. Making laws more strict will not remove the problem. Earlier parenting was shared in an extended family. Now we are down to single parents and kids are being left to fend for themselves. But before we arrive at conclusions, a great deal of research needs to be done in this field."

Nandy also rues the fact that there are few studies in India on rape, the psychology of rapists and also on the impact of pornography on rapists, if any.

Can the increase in rape be linked to increasing media coverage to cases of rape? The chairperson for the Uttar Pradesh state commission for women believes that this rising graph can be attributed also to women coming out in larger number to report these cases.

NCRB data confirms that with 164 rapes being reported everyday, a woman is being raped every hour in India. An increasing number of these women end up being murdered. This is only the tip of the iceberg and there seems to be little that the government is doing to reverse this horrific trend.
After Maharashtra, BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha has now landed in another party-led state, Madhya Pradesh, to take up the cause of farmers.

Narsinghpur: After Maharashtra, BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha has now landed in another party-led state, Madhya Pradesh, to take up the cause of farmers.

The former Union minister is scheduled to take part in a farmers' protest on Thursday against an upcoming power project at Gadarwara area of Narsinghpur district.

He will participate in the protest along with Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh president Shivkumar Sharma, popularly known as Kakkaji, who is a former RSS ideologue.

"Just now, I received him (Sinha) in Jabalpur," Sharma said.

"After night stay at Jabalpur, we are going to leave for Narsinghpur on Thursday morning," he added.

"Sinhaji is going to address the farmers squatting at Gadarwara since 22 December," Kakkaji said.

Former Union minister Sompal Shastri, too, will take part in the protest, he said.

Narsinghpur SP Monica Shukla said, "Adequate police arrangement has been made at the protest site where Sinha and Shastri are going to address the protesters. We are keeping a watch."

Kakkaji said farmers, whose lands had been acquired for the NTPC's coal-fired project at Gadarwara, are demanding jobs in the central PSU.

NTPC has promised them jobs while acquiring their agriculture lands, he added.

In early December, 2017 Sinha led a farmers march in Akola district of Maharashtra and later staged a sit-in to protest the BJP-led government's "apathy" towards the cultivators of the Vidarbha region.

The 80-year-old bureaucrat-turned-politician has also been critical of the economic policies of the Modi government.
Sahitya Akademi awardee Su Venkatesan speaks with Firstpost about his latest novel Velpari, his interest in the Keezhadi excavation, and why a writer cannot but be political | #FirstCulture

One of the finest writers in the Tamil Marxist literary tradition, Su Venkatesan has often sought to break boundaries with his work. In Kaval Kottam  his 1,000+ page novel that took over a decade of research  Venkatesan cast new light on the history of Madurai. The novel, published in 2008, fetched him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2011. He is currently writing Velpari  a fictionalised serial on Pari, the popular tribal king; Venkatesan offers fresh insights to the texts on the king. Venkatesan continues to be perhaps the only writer to consistently speak about and work on the Keezhadi excavation that provides fresh evidence pertaining to ancient Tamil civilisation. Adjudged among the top-10 personalities of 2017 by the popular magazine Ananda Vikatan, Venkatesan spoke extensively about his work in an interview with Firstpost.

Tell us about your journey since publishing Kaval Kottam.

I really needed a break after Kaval Kottam... I needed time to come out of it. For a long time, it haunted me. Through the process of writing Kaval Kottam, I realised it was inevitable to think like one of its characters. The characters travelled with me for such a long time that it was inevitable. I required a spell of silence and inactivity to cut myself off from Kaval Kottam. I believe it is important for creativity to feel spontaneously refreshed after a deliberate period of inactivity.

There has been a huge gap before and after Kaval Kottam (in your repertoire)...

Well, it took me a decade to complete Kaval Kottam. The novel demanded extensive research in various fields, including anthropology and folklore. My research in these fields for this novel was denser than that which has been conducted in academia. It naturally required that kind of time.

After Kaval Kottam, it took me another seven years to begin writing Velpari. This might appear like a long interval... I was on a quest for another novel, which again required field research. However, I ended up with Velpari. This is what essentially makes creativity so immensely fascinating. Even if I had walked with my eyes wide open, I would not have probably reached this right a place. Velpari was a perfect destination for my aimless quest.

How did you develop an interest in the Keezhadi excavation?

'Vaigai' and 'Madurai' are the two words that constitute the primal memory of Tamil society. Sangam  perhaps the most ancient literature  nurtures these words as the earliest of its memories. But there had never been an extensive excavation on the banks of the Vaigai or centred on Madurai. When it happens for the first time, it is only natural that it rouses interest.

How is Keezhadi different from other excavations in Tamil Nadu?

Architecture that will serve as evidence for Sangam-period civilisation has been discovered in Keezhadi. This is the most important documentary evidence ever found in Tamil Nadu. We have known from Tamil literature and from notes of Greek historians that Tamil Nadu in the Sangam era had elaborate trade relationships with the civilisations around the Red Sea. Sangam literature has references to this trade and its associated growth in the civilisation. The excavations at Keezhadi has uncovered evidence that corroborates what Sangam texts have mentioned.

Do you think the Keezhadi excavation has a political significance?

Most certainly yes. Keezhadi is a powerful testimony to the fertile culture of India. But the Hindutva forces keen on establishing a monolithic cultural identity cannot accept Keezhadi. By closing the excavation, they are actually trying to hide historical facts.

How do you see the lull in the Keezhadi excavation?

The discovery of a city that existed 2,200 years ago, over 110 acres of land, is a hugely significant event in the history of Indian archaeology. But the Central government is not keen to take this forward. They wanted to wrap up the excavation in its second year. The permission was granted for the third year only after protests in Tamil Nadu.

The excavation done in third year was mere lip service. In two years, 102 pits were dug. In the third year, only eight pits were dug. They concluded the excavation saying the architectural evidence discovered over the last two years was unavailable in the third year.

Coming to your book Velpari, the hero Pari (as you've writen of him) is entirely different from the one we've studied in school. You show him in an altogether new light. So who is the real Pari?

Tamil land was populated by innumerable ethnic tribes since the beginning of history. The tribes fought with each other, created an apocalypse and emerged as kingdoms. Then they became empires. Even when the three empires  Cheras, Cholas and Pandiyas  were formed, some ethnic tribes continued to exist. One of them  the Velirs, in the Western Ghats (from Kumari to Konganam)  fiercely guarded their identity and autonomy. There was a point when Tamil literature had references to both, emperors and the leaders of the Velir tribe, putting them on an equal standing. But this came to an end soon. The emperors vanquished the Velirs...

Pari stands as the tallest example of this battle and conflict of identities between the ethnic Velirs and the feudal empires. He stands as the symbol of the final battle between two civilisations. His life speaks to the brightest part of history.

How authentic is Velpari? Dont you think the authenticity of the text will be challenged when you try to reexamine history in fictional language?

Certain minute truths would suffice in the process of reproducing the life, culture and values of a civilisation that had existed over 2,500 years ago. It is almost like determining that the people of Sindhu civilisation had used grains, merely by inspecting the husk on the pots. A husk of truth is enough to visualise the harvest of a large field...

Secondly, I wish to emphasise that it is not fair to expect a fiction writer to do the work of a historian. A writer is not someone who writes history on the basis of established truths; he tries to discover new truths by breaking into written history.

Fiction is like vapour. It can neither be collected nor kept in a vessel. In a fraction of a moment, it will make you realise that it contains water. But if you deny the realisation and look for physical evidence, you will be disappointed. You cannot obviously see the air.

What is the contemporary significance of Velpari?

Velparis tale is the original form of the conflict between nature and human jealousy that exists even today. The conflict between two varying points  that man is nothing but natures child, and that man is unconquerable  exists with greater intensity today. Velpari thus becomes a hero that we need to remember in these times.

Why does a society protect the memory of someone for over 2,000 years without allowing it to wither? This happens because the need for his memory also transforms itself into the need of society. This is why Velpari has always been remembered through the course of Tamil history.

The act of a human being offering his chariot to a jasmine climber that had no support is the finest form of mans expression of love for nature. Through every era, it has been rewritten as a contemporary urge.

Today, nature remains exploited by the wrong politics of the government and corporates. We continue to hear the voices of human beings holding on to nature rising above everything else  be it for the Amazon forests, Niyamgiri hills, Idinthakarai, Cauvery Delta and elsewhere. Velparis memory and the literary texts about him carry the historical justice of this voice into human hearts.

Do you think a literary personality should also be political?

No plant can protect the seed it sprouted from. When it grows, it devours the seed. In one view, the plant is without a seed. In another, the seed is the plant. The politics of a writer is like the seed.
Calling the Congress government in Karnataka 'anti-Hindu', BJP chief Amit Shah accused it of perpetrating atrocities on BJP and RSS workers, claiming 20 of them were killed in the state over the last three years.

Chitradurga (Karnataka): Calling the Congress government in Karnataka "anti-Hindu", BJP chief Amit Shah accused it of perpetrating atrocities on BJP and RSS workers, claiming 20 of them were killed in the state over the last three years.

He alleged that the Siddaramaiah government was pursuing "vote bank" politics as part of which it withdrew cases against Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) workers despite the organisation being involved in "anti-national activities".

Shah also demanded that the Siddaramaiah dispensation account for Rs 3 lakh crore the Narendra Modi government gave it for development.

"In the last three years, we lost 20 BJP and RSS workers (in the state)," he told a rally at Holalkere, and claimed the government was not getting the cases probed properly.

"Stop your atrocities on our workers, for once we come to power we will investigate the cases and send you to jail," he warned.

"This anti-Hindu government is playing vote bank politics. Though it is established that the SDPI is indulging in anti-national activities, all the cases against them have been withdrawn, Shah said.

SDPI is the political wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI).

Anti-terror probe agency NIA has claimed several SDPI and PFI activists were involved in terror-related cases.

Raising the pitch for the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, the BJP chief said he has come to Karnataka to respond to Siddaramaiah's charge that the Modi government did not release adequate funds for the state.

Shah is on a two-day visit to Karnataka, where Assembly polls are due early this year, to make it battle ready for accomplishing the mission of securing 150-plus seats in the 224-member House. This is his second visit in the last 11 days.

"A few days ago Siddaramaiah asked at a press conference what the BJP government at the Centre did for the country and Karnataka. Here is my reply...we gave the state Rs 3 lakh crore," he said.

Shah said the previous Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had released Rs 88,583 crore under the 13th Finance Commission to Karnataka, while the Modi dispensation gave it Rs 2.19 lakh crore under the 14th Finance Commission.

Additionally, the state got Rs 79,000 crore under various schemes.

Seeking to connect with his audience, Shah asked them whether the money reached their villages. The crowd responded with an emphatic "no".

Shah claimed under the state's Congress dispensation the assets of its leaders grew manifold and they shifted to four-storeyed buildings from tin-roofed houses and drove in swanky cars instead of the humble mopeds.

"The Congress government ate up all the money released by the Modi government apart from the taxes you paid. This government is steeped in corruption," he alleged.

Raking up the controversies over Siddaramaiahs Rs 70 lakh Hublot watch and alleged irregularities in denotification of land in Arkavathi layout, Shah sought to know why Energy Minister DK Shivakumar was still in his Cabinet though income tax raids against him "unearthed crores of rupees".

Siddaramaiah was embroiled in a controversy over the diamond-studded Hublot watch, which was reportedly gifted to him. He later handed it over to the Assembly Speaker in March 2016, asking him to treat it as a state asset.

"Siddaramaiah government is totally disconnected from people due to corruption. In the last five years, the government worked for the welfare of Congress workers and leaders instead of people of the state," Shah said.

"If I go on listing all corruption cases, I will end up holding a 'Bhagwat Saptaah' (week-long Bhagwat Purana recital)," the BJP president said.

He asked people to bless the BJP so it can win all the 224 seats in Karnataka and uproot the Congress government.

Shah's public meeting was part of the statewide 75-day "Parivarthana Yatra" undertaken by the BJP to "expose the misdeeds" of the Congress government.

The BJP, which ruled the state from 2008 to 2013, is eyeing to unseat the Congress in one of its last bastions.
BJP president Amit Shahs speech at Holalkere Taluk in Chitradurga, Karnataka was lost in translation on Wednesday. His monologue did not register with his non-Hindi speaking audience.

By Nivedita Niranjankumar

Chitradurga: BJP president Amit Shahs speech at Holalkere district in Chitradurga, Karnataka was lost in translation on Wednesday. His monologue did not register with his non-Hindi speaking audience.

He had to pull in former state health minister Arvind Limbavali to translate for him and break the language barrier. Before Limbavali joined him, the crowd responded with a no even when Shah asked if they wanted BS Yeddyurappa as chief minister.

The exchange went thus:

Aapko Congress se koi paisa mila hai kya? (Did you get any money from Congress?)

Nahi (No)

Iss sarkar, jo vote bank politics khelti hai, isko ukhad dena chahiya yaa nahi? (Shouldn't this government, which plays vote bank politics, be uprooted?)

Nahi (No)

Kya aap BS Yeddyurappa ji ko mukhyamantri banayenge? (Will you make BJP state chief BS Yeddyurappa the chief minister?)

Nahi (No).

In August, a language war of sorts was witnessed in Karnataka. Siddaramaiah even requested the Centre to redesign Bangalore Metro signboards, eliminating Hindi in favour of Kannada and English.

Freebies offered, claim attendees

Over 10,000 people, including farmers, daily wage workers and small businessmen, turned up to hear Amit Shah speak. Through the speech, the name of BJP candidate M Chandrappa evoked lots of cheers. Chandrappa won the 2008 state elections from Holalkere constituency. He lost the seat in the 2013 polls when he fought on a ticket from BS Yeddyurappas KJP, after BSYs rift with saffron party.

There were significant efforts to display support for Chandrappa. Around 15 buses filled with people from surrounding taluk Hosadurga reached the venue to cheer him. Two other candidates are expected to contest for the BJP ticket from the constituency.

A group of young men from Hiriyur dressed in orange T-shirts screamed their support for Chandrappa. Sunil, 28, who works as a porter, said, We were asked to come and cheer whenever Chandrappas name was called out. Another person in the group, who did not wish to be named, said, We were told Modi would be attending. We did not see him here.

A video circulating among media persons at the event also purportedly showed people crowding a petrol pump with their two-wheelers, claiming to have been promised free petrol by Chandrappa. Many others also said they were promised something if they attended the speech.

Around 50 people from Ramgere, most of whom women, were told they would get free food for attending one function and clapping when asked to do so. Vaniakka (name changed), a farmer, said, They came to our doors yesterday. They said we had to be ready at 9 am today for autos and buses that would pick us up and drop us at the venue. We were told we would get free food, some of which we could take home too.

While some were lured by the promise of free food and petrol, others sought the huge flex banners, which were displayed in large numbers. Soon after the event ended, Eshwarappa, a Holalkere resident, was seen folding a banner sporting Shah's face. He was taking it home. The banners make for a great cover for the cow shed and the lining of the houses. They make for good raincoats too, he said.

Shah goes after Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar

Accusing Karnataka Congress of arresting development of the state, Shah listed out alleged scams under the Siddaramaiah government, including the Arkavathy land scam, and even called its Anna Bhagya scheme  the Siddaramaiah government's flagship programme that seeks to rid the state of hunger  a failure. The scheme promised 7 kilograms of rice to each individual of a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family. Shah accused Congress of misappropriating funds and illegally allotting land to family members.

He even pointed to the Income Tax raid on Power Minister DK Shivakumars home in August. They found so much money from his house. Why has Siddaramaiah still kept him in the party?

Shah appealed to the crowd, saying when Congress was in power at the Centre, they allotted Rs 88,583 crore for Karnataka during the 13th Finance Commission, and claimed that BJP allotted Rs 2,19,506 crore to the state in the 14th Finance Commission (101reporters could not independently verify this information).

We allotted more money even though the state is ruled by our Opposition, Congress, because we care for the development of this state. Despite this, the corrupt Congress has not given the money to your village or any village in the state. The farmers are still suffering. We promise to change that, Shah said.

Nivedita Niranjankumar is a Bengaluru-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters
Calcutta High Court on Wednesday allowed permission for a motorbike rally by BJP's youth wing in West Bengal, rejecting the state government's objections to the event

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday allowed permission for a motorbike rally by BJP's youth wing in West Bengal, rejecting the state government's objections to the event.

Justice Debangshu Basak observed that the right of a political party to hold rallies cannot be denied after the state authorities refused permission for the rally by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in view of the Gangasagar Mela.

The BJYM motorbike rally named 'Pratirodh Sankalpa Abhiyan' to mark Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary, is scheduled to be held from 12 January to 18 January 18 and would travel from Contai in East Midnapore district to Coochbehar in the north.

The outfit had applied for permission on 5 January, which was rejected by the state police administration on Monday.

Noting that permissions have been granted to rallies by the state government as well as the ruling Trinamool Congress to be held on 12 January on the occasion of Vivekananda's birth anniversary, the court observed that the state should not discriminate in granting permission.

Advocate General Kishore Dutta had contended that a large number of police personnel have to be mobilised from all over the state for the maintenance of law and order and smooth organisation of the Gangasagar Mela.

He submitted that apart from the two rallies granted permission every year, it would not be possible to spare police personnel for any additional rally.

The annual Ganga Sagar Mela is held at Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district on the confluence of River Ganga and Bay of Bengal and lakhs of pilgrims congregate from different parts of the country for the holy dip.

Dutta suggested that the BJYM hold the rally after 26 January, but it was rejected by the petitioner.

Observing that administrative inconvenience cannot stand in the way of application of law, Justice Basak noted that routes of the rally and the mela-bound pilgrims might overlap at a few places but not to the extent of blocking movement.

The court directed that the rally would move in an orderly fashion and the organisers would inform the administration at least half an hour before reaching any place to ensure proper traffic management and abide by all just directions of the authorities.
Till now, some NRIs played a vital role during general and Assembly elections by visiting their respective states and lobbying on behalf of political parties in a bid to influence local voters.

With a Bill to grant voting rights (by proxy) to NRIs due to be introduced soon in Parliament, and Rahul Gandhi belatedly beginning to follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi in sincerely wooing the Indian diaspora, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) seems to have decided to buttress Modi's efforts in tapping this vital 'international constituency' of Indian electorates.

With a clear eye on the next Lok Sabha election to be held in 2019, the RSS has already seized a big opportunity by huddling together the visiting PIOs (Persons of Indian Origin) from 23 countries, who attended the PIO Parliamentarian Conference in New Delhi on 9 January.

The PIO parliamentarians and mayors held discussions with RSS, on Wednesday, in the national capital on various issues through which ties between India and the countries where they live can be strengthened.

This seems to be an extension of the prime minister's focus on the strong Indian diaspora, a constituency he has consistently pursued since the time he assumed office. Now these further attempts to reach out to them will definitely come handy in swaying the opinion of the 2.5 crore NRIs who are likely to get voting rights before the next general election in 2019.

Though RSS hasn't officially declared as much, the exercise does hint towards such an intention. The Antar Rashtriya Sahyog Parishad (ARSP)  a non-profit, non-governmental and non-political body that closely functions on the principles of the RSS  organised an event on Wednesday, where discussions were held with PIO Parliamentarians during couple of sessions.

During interactions with Parliamentarians and Mayors of Indian origin but residing abroad and serving in their respective countries, we focussed on what can be done for Bharat and what our nation expects from them. The other key areas of interaction were on international relations and politics. Were also looking on how Bharat can have its strong presence in the UN, an RSS source told Firstpost on condition of anonymity.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), a subsidiary of RSS for supporting and mobilising Hindus living outside India and active in 34 countries at present, is playing an instrumental role in connecting with the NRIs.

Till now, some NRIs played a vital role during general and Assembly elections by visiting their respective states and lobbying on behalf of political parties in a bid to influence local voters. During the recently held Gujarat Assembly election, a large number of NRIs visited the state to mobilise voters. A similar trend could be seen during Punjab election. But now they could be turned into an electorate themselves, once the Bill is passed.

ARSP secretary general Shyam Parande on his Facebook page has mentioned, Bharat is proud of its diaspora for their role in being connected with the country of their origin while contributing to the development of the country of their adoption."

The ARSP is also considering forming an international group that would connect with the Indian diaspora and help in disseminating the organisation's message to the Indian community living abroad.

If the voting rights to NRIs is granted ahead of 2019, itll be helpful for the ruling BJP to garner a strong support from diaspora. Modi has emerged as a strong, popular face abroad and there are lakhs of NRIs, besides PIO Parliamentarians who want to lend support to him. These Parliamentarians and NRIs have a strong influence in their respective native places in India, which may be a city or village. By, proxy voting, they will also be able to mobilise the local voters, one of the participants in the ARSP meet told Firstpost.

One of the important areas of discussions was on how to project Indias strong image abroad, as the fastest growing economy in the world, rather than showing it in poor light, the participant added.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on 8 January met Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin in Bahrain, where he underlined two threats that India has been facing: One unemployment and the other Indian government dividing the country on the basis of caste and religion. His statement received flak from the BJP. Prior to this Rahul had visited Berkley in the US to connect with Indian diaspora there.
The Opposition National Conference and Congress on Wednesday decided to boycott Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's speech in the Assembly.

Jammu: The Opposition National Conference and Congress on Wednesday decided to boycott Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's speech in the Assembly on the governor's address, accusing her of failing to make a statement on the issue of civilian killings raised by them in the House.

"We raised the issue of civilian killings in South Kashmir in the House yesterday. The chief minister should have come to the House and made a statement on the issue. But she will come to house later (today) to give reply on the governor's address..."

"So I will not listen to her address and will not be present in the House during the address," Leader of Opposition Omar Abdullah said in the Assembly as the Opposition continued protests and walked into the well of the House demanding that the chief minister make a statement on the issue.

Soon after the statement, Omar Abdullah and other Opposition members staged a walkout.

Later taking to reporters, Omar Abdullah said that they decided to stay away from the Assembly during the chief minister's address.

He charged that the security situation was deteriorating in the state and the government had failed on all fronts.

"We had called for a separate discussion of the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Congress and NC members brought adjournment motion for holding the discussion. They declined it," the NC leader said.

"Yesterday, one youth was killed in Homshalibugh. We demanded a reply from the government. We wanted that the chief minister, who is also the home minister and head of unified command, should come to the House and reply," he said.
Ahead of the next month's crucial Jammu and Kashmir panchayat elections, which will be a litmus test for the PDP-BJP coalition government, the Valley has been gripped with fear

Ahead of the next month's crucial panchayat elections, which will be a litmus test for the PDP-BJP coalition government, the Valley has been gripped with fear after Hizbul Mujahideen threatened to pour acid into the eyes of those who participate in the polls. The open threat by Riyaz Naikoo, the operational chief of the Hizb, comes days after the Hurriyat also asked people to stay away from the polls.

In a video that has gone viral on social media, Naikoo is seen asking another top militant commander from south Kashmir's Pulwama district, Sameer Tiger, to pour acid into the eyes of those who are going to participate in the polls, instead of killing them. "We have been killing people for a long time but it didnt deter them. Their family gets cash and jobs on humanitarian grounds. This way (by pouring acid into their eyes), they will become a burden for those who want them to contest the election," Naikoo, a tech-savvy operative who had secured a seat for a postgraduate degree in chemistry before taking to militancy, tells Sameer in the video, that has been shot at an undisclosed location.

The last panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in April and May 2011 with an 80 percent turnout  a record in itself given the mayhem Kashmir witnessed during six months of mass uprising in which over 120 persons, mostly teenagers, were killed in retaliatory action against protesters by armed forces. The elections were scheduled in 2016 but the killing of Burhan Wani threw the Valley into another spree of violence, leaving a trail of fear, loss, destruction and death. These elections could not be held in 2016 in view of the unrest during most of the year.

Setting the ball rolling on 4 November last year, Governor NN Vohra, after consultations with the political leadership and security agencies, promulgated an ordinance designating the state's chief electoral officer as state election commissioner to conduct elections for 4,378 panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir. More than 33,402 panchs will be elected during the process  4,000 more than when panchayat elections were last held. The ordinance was mooted by the Rural Development Department as there had to be an Election Commission in the state for holding the panchayat elections.

The announcement was followed up by a meeting at the Raj Bhawan in Jammu on 25 December between Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. "She (Mehbooba) also informed about her governments decision to commence panchayat elections from 15 February, 2018," a government release said. Welcoming the announcement, the mainstream parties, including the Opposition National Conference, have asked the government to ensure a peaceful atmosphere during the electoral process.

"These elections have been delayed for the past two years due to the repeated failures of the incumbent government. Now that they (coalition partners PDP and BJP) have made up their mind, the National Conference hopes that there will be an enabling atmosphere of peace so that the elections, which are meant to bring governance to the doorsteps of people, are held without fear or favour," Tanvir Sadiq, a senior NC leader, told Firstpost.

Reacting to Naikoo's threat, a visibly perturbed party working president and former chief minister, Omar Abdullah, in an oblique dig at Mehbooba, said that people were earlier blinded by pellet guns and now they are being threatened with blinding by acid. Omar tweeted:

If it isnt pellets its acid. One way or the other people are threatened with being blinded. https://t.co/2HiXI5um3i  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) January 8, 2018

With polls barely a month away, the security situation is showing no signs of improvement and it seems Kashmir is bracing for a fresh bout of violence. On Tuesday, a civilian protester was shot dead during clashes with forces in Khudwani village  the second such incident this month  after a local militant was killed in an encounter in the adjoining Kokernag area of Anantnag district. The Hurriyat has already called for a "comprehensive boycott" of the elections.

"How can we vote for those so-called rulers and their parties that are hell bent on installing RSS fascism in Jammu and Kashmir and want to change the demography of this land and turn its Muslim majority into a minority, and those who snatched the eyesight of thousands by pellets, have caged thousands of young and old, are engaged in vandalising our houses and (setting) our localities (on fire) in these cold days," the joint Hurriyat said in a statement last week.

Tensions are already on the rise in Kashmir. The new year begun with the killing of five CRPF jawans in a deadly attack on a security training facility in South Kashmir. What added a twist to the tale was the discovery of the involvement of local Jaish-e-Mohammad fidayeens in the predawn raid.

Parts of central and north Kashmir may witness some polling activity but the situation is increasingly fragile in the four districts of south Kashmir where more than hundred youths joined different militant groups over the past two years.

"There is no question of my participating in the elections and I dont think anyone is interested. Almost every other day there are crackdowns, search operations and encounters in our district. When the elected legislators are not able to go to their constituencies and meet their people, how do you expect people to contest or participate in the process?" GA Ahanger, a former sarpanch from Pulwama district, said.
The declining wheel of Congress turned a full circle after state elections held in 2015-2016-2017 and the Congress is in power now in only six states  Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

They had described themselves as 'two wheels of a cycle' and 'confluence of Ganga and Yamuna' ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election 2017. Almost a year later, 'Ganga' and 'Yamuna' seem to be going their separate ways.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday told the media that the party will not think of alliances for now, and instead focus on strengthening the party organisation. Akhilesh, who had joined hands with the Congress in January last ahead of the "crucial" state Assembly election, was quick to clarify on Tuesday that he was not thinking of an alliance ahead of the "crucial" 2019 general elections. Akhilesh termed the process of talks and seat negotiations as a waste of time and ruled out alliances "as of now".

Much as 2017, the year 2018 will be inundated with elections. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland  are all gearing up to elect their new respective Assemblies. The declining wheel of Congress turned a full circle after state elections held in 2015-2016-2017 and the Congress is in power now in only four states  Karnataka, Punjab, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Bihar, where Congress was a junior partner in an alliance, changed after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dumped the mahagathbandhan to join hands with the BJP.

Considering how Congress has been trounced in most of the elections held in the past two years, Akhilesh's statement at the start of the year could serve as a major setback to the spirit of the Grand Old Party cadres who have been quite sprightly since Congress' performance in the recently-concluded Gujarat Assembly election.

"The 2019 election is certainly crucial as the message from Uttar Pradesh will go out to the entire country. As of now, I am not thinking of an alliance with any party. It (alliance talks and seat negotiations) wastes a lot of time and I don't want to be in confusion (over seats)," Akhilesh told PTI in an exclusive interview.

This is not the first for Congress when the party has been dropped as an ally or where Congress alliances haven't worked the magic that was expected from them.

Since 2014 general elections when the results knocked the wind out of its sails, Congress has been on a downfall. Although it did win Punjab from the BJP-SAD combined under the stewardship of Captain Amarinder Singh, its archrival BJP outwitted the party in Manipur and Goa to form the governments despite it being the single largest party. In the Gujarat election last year, it did put up a better than expected fight by joining hands with the Patel and Dalit leaders of the state. But it did not end its power drought in the state for over two decades.

Had it succeeded in toppling the BJP in Gujarat, it would have heralded the revival of the party and effectively weakened Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position in the run-up to the state elections this year and the general elections in 2019.

Since that option is no longer available, Congress faces a far more serious issue of survival as its political partners have slowly started deserting their elder brother.

Here's a look at Congress' strange coalition partners and how those alliances petered out:

Uttar Pradesh: Samajwadi Party and Congress decide to take on BJP together

Even though the SP and Congress never really formed any coalition government, it is an embarrassing turn of events considering the posturing the two parties did ahead of last year's elections. On 29 January last year, 'UP ke ladke' announced their 'gathbandhan' (alliance) at Taj Hotel in Lucknow. The occasion was jovial with back-slapping and high-fiving. The SP-Congress combine was trounced in the 2017 state elections, with the BJP and its allies winning 325 seats in the 403-member Assembly. While SP got 47 seats, the Congress won seven.

The SP contested 311 seats and the Congress contested 114 seats which included nine seats where both parties contested against each other. The idea was that each partys votes in these seats it didnt contest would go to the alliance partner. However, things didn't go as planned earlier. In these seats, Congress got over 54.16 lakh votes, an increase of about 13.86 lakh votes. More so, Congress got 34.39 percent more votes than they got last time from these seats.

News 18 reported that their votes went to other parties rather than helping them, thus allowing to sink the alliance at the hustings.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Akhilesh said, the SP could bargain at a later stage if an alliance materialises, he said his style of politics is different and he is open to "friendships" with like-minded parties. Which party SP chooses as its next partner is for astrologers to guess, but it's the end of the road for Congress and SP.

Bihar: When Nitish left the mahagathbandhan to go with BJP

In July 2017, following several allegations of corruption against RJD (one of the three partners in the Grand Alliance in Bihar) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his sons, Nitish decided to dump the mahagathbandhan. Nitish, on 26 July, submitted his resignation to the then state governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, saying indirectly that his tenure was no longer tenable as Tejashwi Yadav, the deputy chief minister who was facing corruption charges, had refused to resign.

Modi hailed Nitish's uncompromising stand on corruption and the BJP extended support to the JD(U) to form the next government in the state.

The impending split from the alliance had been the speculation for months and as this article in The Hindu rightly points it, when it happened "the only surprise was the swiftness and finality of the separation from Lalu Prasad's RJD  and of his (Nitish) embrace of the BJP which raised doubts about the reasons Nitish gave for jumping ships - corruption". Nitish was heavily criticised for being an opportunistic.

The Shahanbuddin case also impacted the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance in Bihar. Leaders cutting across political spectrum had told Firstpost then that if the situation continued to deteriorate it could unleash fresh realignment of political forces in the state, impacting the longevity of the Nitish Kumar-Tejashwi Yadav government  and it did.

To be honest, Congress was pretty much a sitting duck in Bihar. It had no hand in breaking or joining anything. In fact, the party was rather busy tackling infighting and dissent against the "party high-command". In fact, till November 2017, the party didn't even have a full time unit for Bihar Congress. The Bihar fiasco was a fall-out between Nitish and Lalu but Congress got dragged down as well.

Jharkhand: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha breaks away from Congress

In January 2013, JMM, which pulled out of a 28-month-old BJP-led coalition government, reached Delhi to secure an alliance with the Congress. Jharkhand plunged into a political crisis after the JMM withdrew support to the BJP and forced chief minister Arjun Munda to resign in January.

The JMM preferred a tie-up with the Congress to keep Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha away. It also wanted the chief minister's post for its leader Hemant Soren. But the Congress was wary of the JMM's poor record in keeping coalitions working.

The dispute between the JMM and the BJP was over the chief minister's post. The JMM alleged that a pact entitled it to the top post, halfway through the government's term. But Munda reportedly denied that such an agreement ever existed. Jharkhand has seen eight governments in the last 12 years.

Just a year later, however, in October 2014, the 475-days-old grand alliance broke away when the two parties decided to contest the 2014 state Assembly election on all 81 seats separately. While the JMM alleged that the Congress ditched them in the last minute, the alliance broke away over seat-sharing negotiation.
Accusing the state government of vindictive politics, the BJP's West Bengal unit on Wednesday moved the Calcutta High Court against the denial of permission for one of their proposed bike rallies

Kolkata: Accusing the state government of vindictive politics, the BJP's West Bengal unit on Wednesday moved the Calcutta High Court against the denial of permission for one of their proposed bike rallies.

The week-long bike rally 'Protirodh Sankalp Abhiyan' by the Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing (Yuva Morcha) was to start from East Midnapore district's coastal town Digha on Thursday, a source close to the BJP told IANS.

It was to travel across the state before reaching Cooch Behar in north Bengal.

"Police initially gave us the permission for the rally but refused it on Tuesday afternoon. This is another sign of the Trinamool Congress and the state government's vindictive politics against the BJP," he said.

"Our party leaders have moved the high court against the police administration's decision," he added.
Theres something curious going on in the state of West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee, who has for long battled charges of minority appeasement, has taken a sudden and sharp turn towards janeu-dhaari politics.

Theres something curious going on in the state of West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee, who has for long battled charges of minority appeasement, has taken a sudden and sharp turn towards janeu-dhaari politics.

Ahead of the crucial panchayat polls scheduled later this year, through a string of political and administrative moves, the Bengal chief minister is out to prove that Trinamool Congress is not an anti-Hindu party but more-Hindu than even the BJP.

This change in attitude and attempted change in perception is straight out of the Congress soft-Hindutva playbook but is being conducted with all the finesse and subtlety of a bull in china shop. Dropping all secularist pretensions, Mamata is beating tin drums and sounding gongs in paying obeisance to symbols of Hinduism.

Consider the moves: Anubrata Mondal, the partys senior leader in Birbhum district, where the BJP is on an upswing despite any grassroots structure to speak of, conducted a Brahmin and Purohit sammelan (congregation and felicitation of Brahmins and Hindu priests) in Bolpur on Monday.

According to a report in NDTV, Mondal, who has earned notoriety for his strongman image, appeared at the event donning a saffron kurta and bowed before the congregated Hindu priests with folded hands, saying, If I have said anything wrong, forgive me... we need purohits at birth, marriage and death. You are so necessary in society. Nothing can happen without you."

At the event where huge cutouts of the chief minister were on display, Mondal said that the BJP is not interpreting the religion in the right manner. In the name of Hindutva politics, it is misleading the people of the country. If we have to learn about Hindu religion, we will learn it from Hindu priests and not from the BJP, reported Indian Express.

The nearly 1,500 Hindu priests and Brahmins were handed a shawl, pictures of Maa Sarada and Ramakrishna and a copy of the Bhagavad Gita each. According to a report in Times Now, the priests were promised financial aid and cows by the party in lieu of their attendance.

One of the priests, Sunil Sarkar, told NDTV: We all came with the expectation of a stipend, like the one given to Muslim clerics. They didnt give it to us earlier. Now they are thinking about it. Perhaps because panchayat polls are round the corner.

This wasnt an isolated incident. A pattern is clearly visible of recent acts that reveal Mamatas desperation to refute BJPs charge that TMC is insensitive towards Hindus and their causes.

Reports emerged last November that the state will distribute around 2,000 cows to all rural households in Birbhum district to ostensibly enhance milk production. The CPM called it a completely political move and accused Mamata of copying BJP.

Last December, during a visit to Sagar Islands to oversee the preparations for the upcoming Ganga Sagar Mela (an annual pilgrimage for Hindus where millions converge for a holy dip and to attend the fair), Mamata called for it to be given the status of Kumbh Mela.

She reportedly spent about an hour at Kapil Muni's ashram with chief priest Gyandasji during her visit and vowed to come again.

In her temple visits or setting up of boards to renovate key shrines in Kalighat, Tarapith and Tarakeswar, the shift from minorityism to majoritarian politics is evident.

The swing is more palpable in TMCs case because, so far, Mamata worked assiduously towards weaning away Muslim votes in Bengal (a considerable figure at 30 percent of the electorate) from the Left and had been busy consolidating that gain. She stayed resolute despite frequent charges of minority appeasement from political rivals and even the judiciary.

For instance, in 2016, the Calcutta High Court in a ruling held TMC governments curbs on Durga idol immersion on account of Moharram as arbitrary and a clear endeavour to appease the minority section of the public.

When the state government last year again tried to ban immersion of Durga idols on the day of Moharram, the Calcutta High Court yet again revoked the ban and issued a stern rebuke, warning the TMC government against curtailing citizens rights.

In 2013, the high court scrapped Mamatas stipend to imams. The Bengal chief minister was paying more than Rs 2,500 per month to 30,000 imams and Rs 1,500 per month to over 15,000 muezzins. The division bench called it squandering of public money.

For a party that uses minorityism as the cornerstone of its politics and remains heavily reliant on Muslim votes, this brazen and blatant turn towards Hindutva politics betrays nervousness and insecurity over larger mobilisation of Hindu votes and an urgency to deny BJP the fruits of that mobilisation.

Mamata would have noted, with some concern, the BJPs silent rise in rural vote bank that is yet to be translated into electoral success. For instance, in the recent Sabang Assembly bypoll, BJPs vote share increased from 5,610 votes in 2016 to 37,476 in 2017.

As Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta writes in Hindustan Times, the growing sway of the BJP all over India has brought about a discernible Hindu-ward tilt in the popular mood. Hitherto, the parties opposing this shift countered it with secular fundamentalism. We may now be witnessing a shift in emphasis, with Hindu nationalism being regarded as the new consensus.

Mamatas moves reflect a national trend. During campaigning for Gujarat Assembly polls, Congress janeu-dhaari new president Rahul Gandhi tried desperately to rid the party of its pro-minority image. He embarked on a breathless temple run and showed such a pronounced tilt to the Right that Muslim voices were obliterated from poll consciousness during the length of the campaign.

In its effort to deny BJP the benefits of a Hindu coalition, the Congress ended up thoroughly disempowering its Muslim vote bank, perhaps under the notion that Muslims dont need wooing because they have no option but to vote against BJP.

As long as the BJP stays electorally ascendant, the so-called secularist parties will increasingly jettison their faux secularism in favour of a pro-Hindutva slant.

Fascinating to see secular Congress politicians declaring that the Ram Mandir will be built in Ayodhaya. Watching Zee TVs Taal Thok Ke I find it hard to tell the difference between BJP and Congress spokesmen.  Tavleen Singh (@tavleen_singh) January 9, 2018

This reflects two realities of Indian politics. One, rival parties have finally realised that BJP is benefiting from the faux secularism that defined Indian electoral equation for decades. Initially in denial, parties such as the Congress and TMC are attempting a course-correction to the Right to break BJPs perceived monopoly over Hindu votes.

Two, along with the tilt in position, the Opposition will now increasingly target a fracturing of the Hindu votes by hammering at the caste fault lines. They believe that a combination of these two strategies will be enough to stop the Narendra Modi juggernaut in 2019.
CAS expects the verdicts to be issued by 31 January, which is three days after the IOCs deadline for entries, other than those in exceptional circumstances.

Lausanne: Forty-two of 43 Russian athletes handed lifetime Olympic bans for doping at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi have lodged appeals with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the tribunal said on Tuesday.

The announcement comes in response to the sanctions imposed by the International Olympic Committee following allegations of state-sponsored doping by hosts Russia at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Twenty-two of those banned and disqualified by the IOC including cross-country skier Alexander Legkov and bobsledder Aleksandr Zubkov -- both stripped of their gold medals from Sochi -- filed appeals with CAS before Christmas.

Zukbov has since retired from the sport and is now head of the Russian bobsleigh federation, although his suspension -- along with that of other former athletes occupying similar posts -- prevents him from attending competitions or official events.

Others meanwhile are still hopeful of taking part in this year's Olympics in Pyeongchang, with a final decision on each case expected to be issued before the end of the month.

Bobsledder Maxim Belugin was the only one of the 43 athletes banned not to launch an appeal.

CAS also confirmed to AFP that the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), currently suspended by the IOC, had decided not to appeal to CAS, sport's highest court.

Russia had originally finished top of the medals table in Sochi, but has lost 13 of the 33 medals won at the 2014 Olympics, slipping down to fourth overall behind Norway, Canada and the United States.

The country has been banned from taking part at the 2018 Winter Olympics due to this widespread doping.

However, athletes who prove themselves to be clean have been told by the IOC they can compete under strict conditions, and under a neutral flag.
tech2 News Staff

Motorola has announced the launch of the Livermorium Slider Keyboard Moto Mod and a health Mod at CES 2018. This is a QWERTY keyboard which is priced at $99, which should roughly be around Rs 6,000 in India.

This Motorola keyboard was first introduced at as an Indiegogo 'Transform the Smartphone Challenge' campaign. Later, this was further developed alongside Livermorium, Motorola's inhouse Accelerator program. According to The Verge, the Moto Mod keyboard is set to be released by February or March this year.

The Slider Keyboard is a 5-row QWERTY keypad. It attaches to the back of the Motorola smartphone and slides out, tilting the display at an angle of up to 60 degrees. The keys are backlit as well. The slider keyboard is a rarity in the smartphone market, with only BlackBerry having cracked the design. Sadly, BlackBerry isn't cool anymore and the mantle passes to Motorola.

Apart from this, Motorola has also announced the Lenovo Vital Moto Mod. This health mod can measure your heart rate, which also includes diastolic and systolic rate. Apart from that, it can also measure the respiratory rate, body temperature and pulse.
tech2 News Staff

Amazon India is hosting the 'Nokia Mobile Week' where the e-commerce giant and the smartphone manufacturer have announced new discounts and offers. Amazon currently has deals on the on the mid-range Nokia 6 and the flagship Nokia 8 smartphones by HMD Global. The sale took off on 8 January and will continue until 12 January.

There are instant discounts of Rs 1,500 on purchase via ICICI bank debit or credit cards on the purchase of either the Nokia 6 or the Nokia 8. The Nokia 6 can now be purchased at Rs 12,779 through an exchange offer by giving up your old smartphone. This amount includes an additional Rs 1,000 off that Amazon will give out on exchanging your previous handset. The Nokia 8 has an Amazon Cashback of Rs 2,000, which will reflect in your Amazon account in three working days.

The Nokia 6 is currently selling at Rs 14,199 and in our first impressions of the device we concluded that the phone was "A healthy reboot for a nostalgia-heavy brand". The Nokia 8, on the other hand, is selling at a price of Rs 36,999 and it has two colour variants namely Tempered Blue and Polished Blue.

In other Nokia related news, HMD-Global, distributor of Nokia-branded phones, was reported to have started rolling out the Android Oreo (8.0) firmware for the recently released Nokia 6 (2018).

The 32 GB variant of the device has been priced at CNY 1,499 (around Rs 15,000) and the 64 GB variant has been priced at CNY 1,699 (around Rs 17,000). Nokia 6 (2018) is available in Black with orange accents and White with red accents colour variants.
tech2 News Staff

It looks like the age of smart speakers is upon us. While Amazon already has a headstart in this space with its line-up of Alexa sporting smart speakers, others such as Google and Microsft aren't that far either.

In fact, Qualcomm is partnering with Microsoft to jointly develop a Smart Audio Platform which will be powered by Cortana.

According to Qualcomm press release, the platform aims to integrate hardware and software required to help original equipment manufacturers (OEM) make smart speakers faster.

Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager, voice and music, Qualcomm Technologies International said, "Demand for voice control and voice-enabled services in the home is rapidly gaining traction, and our audio platform is now designed to offer greater flexibility for manufacturers wanting to deliver highly differentiated user experiences taking advantage of the power and personalisation capabilities of Cortana."

According to Microsoft's Jordi Ribas, the Microsoft Cortana powered Qualcomm chip housing smart speakers will augment the creativity and productivity of users.

The first batch of Qualcomm and Cortana powered smart speakers are expected to come out in the first half of this year.
Move over Bill Gates. Jeff Bezos has taken the position as the richest man in the world with his fortune crossing the $100 billion mark. The Amazon CEOs net worth has skyrocketed to $105.1 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This was after adding a 12-month surge that boosted Amazons market value by almost 57 percent, according to Recode.

With this push in fortune, Bezos has gone past the previous record held by Microsoft's Bill Gates in 1999. Incidentally, in October Bezos net worth was $93.8 billion. Shares of Amazon have gone up around 7 percent so far. It rose 56 percent in 2017.

In July 2017, Bezos became the world's richest person, as a jump in the share price of the US tech giant enabled him to overtake Gates, Forbes magazine estimated.

According to Forbes, Gates has been the richest person in the magazine's annual rankings in March for the past four years and 18 of the past 22 years. Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim overtook Gates from 2010 to 2013.

Bezos owns around 17 percent of the equity of Amazon, which has been expanding from its original mission as an online retailer to a diversified tech firm in cloud computing, online video, computing hardware and artificial intelligence.

Besides his stake in Amazon, Bezos also controls closely held space exploration business Blue Origin and The Washington Post.

Gates net worth would have been over $150 billion but he chose to give a large share of it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

According to this report, Gates has given away almost 700 million shares in Microsoft and $2.9 billion of cash and other assets since 1996. This was revealed by an analysis of his publicly disclosed giving, the report said.

Among the billionaires gaining ground is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who has an estimated worth of some $72.9 billion.
The US on Tuesday expressed hope that Pakistan would 'come to the table' and demonstrate willingness to 'aggressively' confront terrorist groups that operate from its territory, amid reports that Islamabad has suspended its military and intelligence cooperation with America.

Washington: The US on Tuesday expressed hope that Pakistan would "come to the table" and demonstrate willingness to "aggressively" confront terrorist groups that operate from its territory, amid reports that Islamabad has suspended its military and intelligence cooperation with America.

According to media reports, Pakistan's decision to suspend military and intelligence cooperation with America came after President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and suspended about $2 billion in security aid to it.

When asked to comment on Pakistan's reported move, US undersecretary of state Steve Goldstein said: "We're hopeful for future cooperation from Pakistan."

"We stand ready to work with Pakistan in combating all terrorists without distinction, and we hope to be able to renew and deepen our bilateral security relationship when Pakistan demonstrates its willingness to aggressively confront the Taliban network, the Haqqani Network, and other terrorist and militant groups that operate from its territory," he said.

The US has been clear on this issue to Pakistan, Goldstein said.

"We would like Pakistan to come to the table and assist us in this effort," he said adding that the suspension of security aid is not a cutoff and no funds have been reprogrammed.

The US announced on Thursday that it would not deliver military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan.

On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said the US had conveyed to Pakistan to take "concrete steps" against terror groups to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.

Referring to his conversation with the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Goldstein hoped that Pakistan will join the US in its effort with regard to fight against terrorism.

"The Pakistani people have suffered greatly from terrorism, and its security forces have been effective in combating the groups that target Pakistan's interest. So, its to their benefit to join with us in helping resolve this matter," Goldstein said.

"We always look at that; but again, it's a suspension and not a cutoff. We haven't reprogrammed the funds. Were hopeful that Pakistan will come back to the table and do what they told us that they would do," he said.

The US and others have long complained that Pakistan offered safe haven to the Afghan Taliban and their allies, the Haqqani Network, allowing them to carry out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies allegations but Trump has escalated the criticism against the country since he took office last January.
Embattled former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif is planning to flee to Saudi Arabia if he is convicted by the National Accountability Bureau.

Embattled former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif is planning to flee to Saudi Arabia if he is convicted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Panama Papers scandal, CNN-News18 reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Sharif recently met the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman, who also sent a plane to fetch the PML-N chief.

During the meeting, the two leaders were reported to have discussed a national reconciliation ordinance to help Nawaz and his family leave Pakistan in case the NAB gives an unfavourable verdict.

On 8 November, 2017, the NAB court indicted Nawaz in three separate graft cases stemming from the Panama Papers leaks, after rejecting his plea for clubbing together those cases.

Along with Nawaz, his family members, daughter Maryam and her husband Muhammad Safdar were also indicted by the NAB.

If Nawaz is convicted by the anti-corruption court, he faces a possible life sentence.

According to CNN-News18, the Pakistan Army, the most powerful institution in the country, is reportedly comfortable with Nawaz's brother Shahbaz Sharif. In case PML-N wins the 2018 parliamentary elections, the army may back Shahbaz to take over as prime minister, the report added.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on 28 July ordered Nawaz to step down and ruled that graft cases be filed against him and his children over the Panama Papers scandal.

This was the third time the 67-year-old veteran politician's term as prime minister was cut short.

The prime minister was disqualified from holding the post as the judges ruled that he was dishonest to Parliament and the courts and could not be deemed fit for his office.

"He is disqualified as a member of the parliament so he has ceased to be holding the office of prime minister", Justice Khan said. The court ordered Election Commission to issue a notification for Sharif's disqualification.

The court also ordered the National Accountability Court to start a corruption case against Sharif, his children  Hussain and Hassan  and Maryam.

The Supreme Court ordered that the cases against them be registered within six weeks and trial be completed within six months.

The scandal is about alleged money laundering by Sharif family in 1990s, when Nawaz twice served as prime minister, to purchase assets in London. The assets surfaced when Panama Papers leak last year revealed that they were managed through offshore companies owned by his children. The assets also include four expensive flats in London.

With inputs from PTI
Pakistan has suspended defence and intelligence cooperation with the US amid growing tensions over Washington's suspension of military aid to Islamabad.

Islamabad: Pakistan has suspended defence and intelligence cooperation with the US amid growing tensions over Washington's suspension of military aid to Islamabad, Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir has said.

US officials have said that almost all security assistance to Pakistan has been suspended following President Donald Trump's Tweet on 1 January in which he alleged that Pakistan "gives safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan".

Pakistani leaders had shown restraint but the defence minister's statement could be seen as an indication of growing tension, Xinhua news agency reported.

"You see the facilities that we have extended to them (Americans) are still in operation. We have not suspended them. But there is also a wide field of intelligence cooperation and defence cooperation which we have suspended," Dastagir said on Tuesday.

Referring to the US suspension of Pakistan's aid, he said: "The recent suspension of military aid by the US comes in the wake of a more grave suspension, which is a suspension of the strategic dialogue for more than a year between the US and Pakistan."

He also complained that the US had not extended help to fence the border with Afghanistan in the rugged mountains to stop the cross-border movement of the militants.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have nearly 2,500 kilometres of border, mostly porous, and the militants take advantage of the open border to move on both sides for violence.

Pakistan last year started fencing the border. Most fencing will be completed this year, according to military officials.

"It is convenient to blame Pakistan for cross-border terrorism whereas the US has not lifted a finger to help fence-up the border," Dastgir was quoted as saying.

"Now all veils are off... It is time for a courteous yet ruthlessly candid dialogue between Pakistan and the US," he said.

The US has long alleged that Pakistan was "providing sanctuaries to the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network", which are blamed for attacks on the US-led foreign and Afghan forces.
A Pakistani journalist, known for criticising his countrys military establishment, said on Wednesday he had narrowly escaped being kidnapped by armed men

Islamabad: A Pakistani journalist, known for criticising his countrys military establishment, said on Wednesday he had narrowly escaped being kidnapped by armed men, in an incident that came months after he complained of being harassed by security services.

Taha Siddiqui, who reports for France 24 and is the Pakistan bureau chief of Indian television channel WION, said the attempted abduction took place while he was being driven by taxi to the airport serving the capital Islamabad and the neighbouring, larger garrison city of Rawalpindi.

I was on my way to airport today at 8:20 am when 10-12 armed men stopped my cab and forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now, Siddiqui tweeted from a friends Twitter account early in the morning.

Rights groups have denounced the kidnappings of several social media activists over the past year as attempts to intimidate and silence critics of the Pakistans security establishment.

Last year, five Pakistani bloggers went missing for several weeks before four of them were released. All four fled abroad and two afterwards told media that they were tortured by a state intelligence agency during their disappearance.

The military has staunchly denied playing a role in any enforced disappearances, as has the civilian government. In the past, militants have also targeted journalists.

Siddiqui spoke to Reuters from a police station where he was filing a report on the incident, and described how his taxi was stopped on the highway when another vehicle swerved, and braked suddenly in front of it.

About a dozen men armed with rifles and revolvers pulled him out of the cab, beat him and threatened to kill him.

They threw me in the back of the vehicle in which I had been travelling, but the door on the other side was open, Siddiqui said.

I jumped out and ran and was able to get into a taxi that was nearby, whose driver then floored it.

In a police statement, seen by Reuters, Siddiqui said during the kidnap attempt he appealed for help from a military vehicle that was passing by.

I saw a military vehicle and shouted for help but one of the abductors gestured (the vehicle) to move on and they did, Siddiqui said in the police statement, adding he had previously been intimidated by civilian and military security officials.

Siddiqui pleaded with police to help him recover his personal belongings  laptop computer, phone, hard drives, passport and suitcase  and provide him and his family with police protection.

My life is under threat, he said in the statement.

Last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Pakistans Federal Investigation Agency should stop harassing Taha Siddiqui, referring to the civilian agency that last year began a crackdown on online criticism of the powerful military.

Siddiqui last year filed a court petition to stop the agency from harassing him.
If US president Donald Trump tweets someone's personal information, Twitter said that the company will caution him to remove that tweet.

London: If US president Donald Trump tweets someone's personal information, Twitter will caution him to remove that tweet, Bruce Daisley, Twitter's VP of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told BBC Radio.

In an interview with host Emma Barnett, Daisley said: "If someone tweets private information  private address, phone number  then there are no-go areas where we don't permit that."

"Were he (Trump) to do that, just picking a hypothetical example, then those would be areas" that were grounds for discipline, the Twitter executive added.

"We would caution him to remove that tweet for sure," he said.

The micro-blogging platform has clarified that it will not block world leaders from tweeting.

Although it didn't directly name Trump, in a blog post called "World Leaders on Twitter", the company said that there has been a lot of discussion about political figures and world leaders on the platform.

"Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate," the company said.

"It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions."

Twitter did not block Trump for his "nuclear button" tweet that stormed the social media which, many thought, raised the prospect of nuclear war with North Korea.

A number of users reported to the tweet, with the expectation that threatening a war one is capable of starting should violate Twitter's revised "Terms of Service", given the company's recent crackdown on violent threats.

The company said it reviews tweets by leaders within the political context that defines them and enforces its rules accordingly.

"No one person's account drives Twitter's growth or influences these decisions. We work hard to remain unbiased with the public interest in mind," it added.
Pakistan's economy is currently stable and growing, says senior World Bank economist Muhammad Waheed. But it is also financed through the World Bank, the IMF and the ADB

Islamabad: Washington's freeze on billions in military assistance to Pakistan will have limited impact, thanks to its friendship with China and diminishing importance of aid to the economy, observers say  but there could be trouble if the US calls in its debts.

Exasperated by what it considers Islamabad's neglect in cracking down on militancy, Donald Trump's administration last week announced a suspension of the aid, which also also goes towards Afghanistan coalition funding.

"They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!" President Donald Trump tweeted on New Year's Day.

A senior official told AFP that up to $2 billion of equipment and funding was at stake.

However, with US aid declining significantly in recent years, the economy improving and Beijing just a phone call away, sources told AFP the negative effects would be "marginal" in the short to medium term.

"International aid is not big in comparison with the (size of the) country's economy," one Islamabad-based diplomat said. "Means of pressure are limited."

Former finance minister Hafeez Pasha says after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, aid increased substantially, approaching $3-4 billion annually at its peak in 2010.

"From there onwards, it's been declining very sharply. Last year, it was around $750 million," he said, a figure that when compared with the economy "is not a lot".

Indirect weapon

But officials in Washington have also hinted to AFP that they have other cards to play  such as calling in vital IMF loans.

Pakistan's economy is currently stable and growing, says senior World Bank economist Muhammad Waheed.

But it is also financed through the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank  all institutions to which Washington is a major creditor.

"There are structural issues like low tax revenues and growing trade deficit, which government needs to tackle," Waheed added, warning of a looming balance of payments crisis.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves are sharply down, forcing the country to borrow if it wants to continue to grow, analysts have said.

In December, Islamabad raised $2.5 billion in international bonds, a transaction described as "successful" by Waheed.

But Washington's power gives it an indirect weapon to wield over Pakistan, warned security analyst Rahimullah Yousafzai. "It can use its influence in the UN Security Council, IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank," he said.

The Washington-based IMF has bailed out Pakistan before, with an $11.3 billion loan package in 2008 to stave off a balance of payments crisis in a deal Islamabad abandoned in 2011.

The country received a second $6.7 billion IMF bailout package in 2013.

The China card

"Pakistan needs the support of the United States... because the US is a major shareholder of those organisations," agreed Ashfaque Hasan, an economist on Pakistan's economic advisory council.

He recalled that in 1998 the IMF imposed a $20 million fine on Pakistan, hit by a credit freeze after its nuclear tests.

But weeks after the September 11 attacks on the US, the IMF released $135 million for Pakistan as it aligned itself as a major ally of Washington ahead of the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Now, however, Pakistani officials appear to believe they also have their long and growing friendship with China to play.

"If the US starts to bully, blame, threaten, we have other options," says Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, referring to China, which rushed to defend Pakistan's track record on militancy after the US announcement.

Questions remain over how much Beijing, which is already investing some $60 billion in Pakistani infrastructure projects and which has a horror of Islamist militancy on its borders, would be willing to prop up its "all-weather" friend.

But Sayed was bullish. Suspending aid, he said, is "a failed formula".
The US House of Representatives adopted a resolution supporting anti-government protesters in Iran and condemning the regime's crackdown on the demonstrations of recent weeks

Washington: The US House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a resolution supporting anti-government protesters in Iran and condemning the regime's crackdown on the demonstrations of recent weeks.

Lawmakers backed the measure almost unanimously, by a vote of 415 to two.

The House "stands with the people of Iran that are engaged in legitimate and peaceful protests against an oppressive, corrupt regime," and condemns the government's "serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people," the resolution stated.

Violent unrest erupted in dozens of Iranian cities between 28 December and 1 January, leaving at least 21 people dead.

The resolution also called on President Donald Trump's administration to issue new sanctions punishing Iran's human rights violators.

"In standing with the Iranian people, we must explain that they are not the target of our sanctions," House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce said.

"US sanctions target the oppressive, destabilising regime, not the people of Iran," he added.

Last week Washington imposed sanctions against five Iranian firms alleged to have been working on an illegal ballistic missile program, linking the move to the protests.
A federal judge on Tuesday night temporarily blocked the Trump administration's decision to end a programme protecting young immigrants from deportation.

San Francisco: A federal judge on Tuesday night temporarily blocked the Trump administration's decision to end a programme protecting young immigrants from deportation.

US District Judge William Alsup granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to prevent President Donald Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme while their lawsuits play out in court.

Alsup said lawyers in favour of DACA clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants "were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm" without court action. The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial.

DACA has protected about 8,00,000 people who were brought to the US illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. The programme includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the programme would be phased out, saying former President Barack Obama had exceeded his authority when he implemented it in 2012.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice said the judge's decision doesn't change the fact that the programme was an illegal circumvention of Congress, and it is within the agency's power to end it.

"The Justice Department will continue to vigorously defend this position, and looks forward to vindicating its position in further litigation," department spokesman Devin O'Malley said in a statement.

Sessions' move to phase pout DACA sparked a flurry of lawsuits nationwide.

Alsup considered five separate lawsuits filed in Northern California, including one by the California and three other states, and another by the governing board of the University of California school system.

"DACA covers a class of immigrants whose presence, seemingly all agree, pose the least, if any, threat and allows them to sign up for honest labour on the condition of continued good behavior," Alsup wrote in his decision. "This has become an important programme for DACA recipients and their families, for the employers who hire them, for our tax treasuries, and for our economy."

That echoed the judge's comments from a court hearing on 20 December, when he grilled an attorney for the Department of Justice over the government's justification for ending DACA, saying many people had come to rely on it and faced a "real" and "palpable" hardship from its loss.

Alsup also questioned whether the administration had conducted a thorough review before ending the programme.

Brad Rosenberg, a Justice Department attorney, said the administration considered the effects of ending DACA and decided to phase it out over time instead of cutting it immediately.

DACA recipients will be allowed to stay in the US for the remainder of their two-year authorizations. Any recipient whose status was due to expire within six months also got a month to apply for another two-year term.

The Justice Department said in court documents that DACA was facing the possibility of an abrupt end by court order, but Alsup was critical of that argument.

People took out loans, enrolled in school and even made decisions about whether to get married and start families on the basis of DACA and now face "horrific" consequences from the loss of the programme, said Jeffrey Davidson, an attorney for the University of California governing board.

"The government considered none of this at all when they decided to rescind DACA," he said at the hearing.

The University of California said in a statement after the decision that "UC's DACA students represent the very best of our country and are a key part of California and our nation's future."

The statement says the UC system will persist in legal challenges to the end of the programme and will seek permanent protection for the young immigrants.

DACA recipients are commonly referred to as "dreamers," based on never-passed proposals in Congress called the DREAM Act that would have provided similar protections for young immigrants.

"Dreamers lives were thrown into chaos when the Trump administration tried to terminate the DACA programme without obeying the law," California Attorney General Becerra said in a statement after Tuesday's decision. "Tonight's ruling is a huge step in the right direction."
To the international elites, the announcement was a bombshell: President Trump will go to Davos.

I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the salons of the rich and powerful when the news came through.

You see, Davos is an annual conference in the Swiss Alps, where billionaires talk to millionaires about globalization, climate change and, of all things, income inequality. Trump is a nuke, waiting to explode as the Grande Crus Bordeaux is poured. They hate him. They are contemptuous of him. And he's going to talk to 'em, directly!

Good, they need a talking to. For years, the Davos crowd has promoted all the policies that gave us low growth, big government, open borders and social division. They love Angela Merkel, who changed Europe forever without asking anyone. They pine for Barack Obama, who was, after all, the president of the world. And when Bill Clinton attended, well, he walked on water!

Well, America has a new president, and he's very different from anything the elites have seen before. I hope he doesn't retreat. Even Donald Trump could be tempted to make nice. To show them he's not the crazy president they think he is.

I hope he presents a forceful case for an "America first" foreign policy. I hope he makes the case that America is an exceptional country, like no other, and we're not going to follow anyone down the socialist road. And I hope he shows that growth is the way to prosperity for all.

Davos is exactly the right place to make that case.
The health care sector in the U.S. was unsurprisingly the leader in job gains in the last month of 2017, according to data reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

However, no occupation in the industry could win the first place spot on U.S. News & World Reports latest ranking of the best overall jobs for 2018.

Most likely due to the ever-increasing demand and reliance on technology worldwide, software developer took the No. 1 spot, marking the first year since 2015 that a health care job did not top the list. Other tech jobs that made the list include information security analyst (No. 32), IT manager (No. 42) and computer systems analyst (No. 46) due to the high-demand for problem-solving skills in technology and data analytics across most industries today.

Nearly every type of company is looking for people who can analyze and interpret data to solve problems, said Kim Castro, executive editor at U.S. News. This technological boom is creating new opportunities for statisticians, engineers and software developers these workers are developing the algorithms that are rapidly changing the global job market.

Still, jobs in the health care sector dominated the list due to their high salaries, low unemployment rates and the predicted growth within the job market in the years to come due to the demand for doctors, nurses and medical support workers across the nation. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the health care field is expected to grow by 18% by 2026, which would add 2.3 million new jobsmore than in any other industry. Dentist, physician assistant, nurse practitioner and orthodontist fill out the rest of the top five spots on the best jobs list, in that order.

Moreover, the majority of best-paying jobs can be found in the health care industry. With an average salary of nearly $270,000, anesthesiologist takes the top spot, followed by surgeon (nearly $253,000) and obstetrician and gynecologist (roughly $234,300), respectively.

In the business community, the top five jobs were: Statistician, actuary, mathematician, cost estimator and business operations manager, in that order.

Meanwhile, the three of the top five best-paying cities were in CaliforniaSan Francisco, San Jose and San Rafael, respectivelywhile New York, N.Y. and Anchorage, Alaska rounded out the list.

U.S. News calculated the best jobs ranking by taking data from the BLS to identify jobs with the greatest hiring demand, using seven component measures to score the occupations. These include 10-year growth volume, 10-year growth percentage, median salary, employment rate, future job prospects, stress level and work-life balance.
Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) CEO Kevin Plank took a gamble shortly after President Trumps inauguration last January, calling him a pro-business president and a real asset for the country.

Within hours, those comments backfired with consumers threatening to burn all of their Under Armour gear while vowing to never purchase anything from the company again. (insert tweets)

Other brands including New Balance and L.L. Bean faced a similar internet outrage due to their association with Trump.

The backlashes have prompted many CEOs alike to keep mum on their socio-political opinions. Yet, according to a new study released this week from Sprout Social, an analytic software company, 59% of consumers said it is important for CEOs to engage with their consumers and followers on social media about their political views. Whats more, 44% said they would purchase more from a brand that took a stand on issues that they agree with.

Often, when speaking out backfires on a brand its because the messages were not as relevant, sincere or authentic as they should have been, Andrew Caravella, VP of strategy and brand engagement at Sprout Social told FOX Business.

On the other side of the coin, brands that engage with issues that have a clear relevance and historical context to their businesslike outdoor goods retailer Patagonia advocating to protect public landshave received both praise and extensive media coverage for their passionate tackling of a timely political issue.

The key, adds Caravella, is that CEOs need to have a strategic communications plan before firing off their thoughts. Additionally, executives need to make sure their opinions align with their companys values.

Being able to point to clearly articulated corporate values, like Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan did when taking a stand against North Carolinas controversial bathroom bill, as the bedrock of their activism can help establish credibility with both employees and customers, Caravella said.

However, in the same vein, sustaining publishing and engagement on social media around an issuelike GM (NYSE:GM) CEO Mary Barra, who frequently writes on LinkedIn and elsewhere about women in STEMtypically requires both an authentic commitment from the executive and an ongoing partnership with their corporate communications team. These types of initiatives will see the most success with a sustained commitment to engagement from all stakeholders and an understanding of the long-term value of investing in social good.

Yet, the biggest question is what happens when consumers dont agree with a CEOs view. According to Sprouts survey, 53% of respondents said they would likely purchase less from the company. Other reactions include warning family and friends about the company (38%), boycotting the company altogether (33%) and publicly criticizing the company (20%).
Questions swirl over chip security following the discovery that many Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) processors may be vulnerable to hackers.

ARM Holdings CEO Simon Segars, whose company has produced more than 120 billion chips since 1991, says that the scrutiny toward Intel has changed the definition of what safe means.

[The Intel flaws were] known around the middle of last year. Whats happened about finding out about it and now is its allowed time for the industry to get ready to make sure [that] software mitigations that are released to all devices and are being pushed out right now so that devices can be made as safe as possible, as quickly as possible, before the bad guys out there in the world find out about this and start to weaponize these issues, Segars said during an interview with FOX Business Liz Claman at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

ARM Holdings estimates that around 5% of more than 120 billion chips its partners have shipped since 1991 were impacted by memory production flaws, according to Reuters.

Following Intels disclosure of the chip vulnerability, ARM released a statement saying that it would work with Intel and other chip makers to devise mitigation for a new method identified by security researchers that can exploit certain high-end processors, according to Fortune.

Segars says that he does not believe a recall for the chips is necessary since the flaws only impact a small percentage of products.

The hardware features that enable the performance, the security issues that come with that can be mitigated in the software and thats the route that were taking, he said.
By 2020, more than 1,000 factory jobs will return to a manufacturing plant based in Newberry, South Carolina, thanks to Samsung, a South Korean company.

Six months ago, the tech behemoth announced the hiring of 500 people to make new washing machines at the Newberry plant, which used to house Caterpillar, the company that mass-produced machinery and engines. By 2020, the company has said it anticipates it will hire more than 1,000 people. So why is the Seoul-based giant investing in the U.S.?

Samsungs got a long history in the U.S., Samsung North America CEO and President Tim Baxter told FOX Business Liz Claman. We have 20,000 employees in the United States. And our home appliance business is the fastest growing business we have. Weve achieved number one brand share in that.

According to Reuters, Samsung plans to begin operations at its new plant this month as top executives wait on a tariff decision by the federal government. Production is set to begin on Friday, Baxter said.

Samsung has overtaken all other manufacturers in the U.S., becoming the most popular washing machine producer in the country.

What we focus on, more than anything else, is creating demand, creating jobs and creating new experiences for consumers, he said. And thats something were really excited about.
Domino's Pizza says CEO Patrick Doyle will leave the company at the end of June, after eight years running the pizza chain.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company did not give a reason for the departure. He'll be replaced on July 1 by Richard Allison, who currently oversees the company's restaurants outside the U.S.

Domino's has performed well of late, and has benefited from making ordering easy. It takes orders from tweets, text messages and voice-activated devices, such as Amazon's Echo.

Shares of Domino's Pizza Inc., which are up 26 percent in the last year, fell 2.8 percent to $201 in after-hours trading Tuesday.
Dominos Pizza CEO Patrick Doyle will step down in June after eight years in the leadership role, the company said Tuesday.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company did not give a reason for the departure. He'll be replaced on July 1 by Richard Allison, who currently oversees the company's restaurants outside the U.S.

"One of the great honors and opportunities of my professional life was being named CEO of this incredible brand in early 2010," Doyle said in a statement. "At that time, I set three goals for myself: I wanted us to become the #1 pizza company in the world; I wanted Domino's to provide our franchisees with the best possible return on their investment by creating a dramatically better experience for our customers; and I wanted to have a Leadership Team in place that would be ready to create even better results into the future. I'm proud to say that we've accomplished all of those goals, and I will leave Domino's knowing that it is in great hands."

Domino's has performed well of late, and has benefited from making ordering easy. It takes orders from tweets, text messages and voice-activated devices, such as Amazon's Echo.

Shares of Domino's Pizza Inc., which are up 26 percent in the last year, fell 2.8 percent to $201 in after-hours trading Tuesday.

Doyles departure was announced just weeks after one of its chief competitors, Papa Johns, said company founder John Schnatter would step down as its CEO. Schnatter had drawn scrutiny in recent months amid Papa Johns subpar stock performance and public criticism of the NFLs handling of national anthem protests.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In an odd twist, fellow hosts of "CBS This Morning" turned to their colleague Gayle King  famous friend of Oprah Winfrey  for an interview Tuesday about whether her pal would run for president.

If a Winfrey candidacy moves beyond idle chatter, one of the leading figures on a CBS News show that prides itself on hard-nosed journalism would have a conflict of interest on a major story.

King attended the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday and said on "CBS This Morning" that she spent several hours with Winfrey after the speech that fueled political speculation. King said her friend is intrigued by the idea of a candidacy, but didn't think she was actively considering it.

CBS' Norah O'Donnell and Jeff Glor considered King's close relationship with Winfrey such common knowledge that they didn't even explain it before asking questions on Tuesday's show. The two women have been good friends since they both worked at a Baltimore television station in their early 20s.

Watching the interview was weird, CNN's Dana Bash said on that network about an hour later.

If the candidacy becomes real, "Gayle's gotta leave," responded CNN's morning host, Chris Cuomo.

Then, perhaps remembering that his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has been mentioned as a 2020 presidential candidate, Cuomo quickly switched gears.

"I have the right to change my opinion," he said. "Does she have to leave? Maybe she does. I guess they could do the coverage in a way where she never handles it. But it would raise questions with people."

CBS will address the issue if and when it becomes one, CBS News President David Rhodes said. The network has always been transparent in letting viewers know that Winfrey and King are friends, he said. Winfrey also works for CBS News; she does occasional stories for "60 Minutes."

Rhodes praised King for how she handled the on-air discussion with O'Donnell and Glor.

"It's difficult to be part of the news when you cover the news and she helped people understand what was going on with the story," Rhodes said.

King's insight is useful as long as chatter about Winfrey's candidacy is a parlor game and not reality, said Al Tompkins, an instructor in broadcast journalism for the Poynter Institute.

"The relationship between King and Winfrey is well known and viewers can filter what they hear from Gayle through that filter," Tompkins said. "If Oprah did run, it would be a tougher relationship to navigate ... Today, with so many people being so skeptical or cynical of what they see, hear and read in journalism, the cleaner we can keep the lines between journalists and politicians the better."

Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, said CBS News would have to take King off campaign stories is Winfrey were to run. That could be awkward for the show's format; the three hosts often sit at a table and discuss stories or interview newsmakers together.

"The public needs to be assured that the news they get is as objective as humanly possible," Feldstein said. "That obviously is not the case if an anchor is reporting on a close friend."

King was quoted after Winfrey's speech as saying it gave her "goosebumps." She said on the air Tuesday that it was "electrifying. It was the right person giving the right speech at the right time."

The danger of such words of praise is they can become weapons in a political environment, by people who are looking for signs of bias.

Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative watchdog Media Research Center, said King's job "is like having an Oprah press spokesperson on staff. She's helping Oprah milk the speculation for all it's worth."

Some have interpreted King's comments on Tuesday as dampening that speculation. Rhodes said he'd heard no complaints about the language that she used and called concerns about it hypothetical.

After speaking on the issue Tuesday, King told viewers, "no matter what happens, I will be at 'CBS This Morning.'"
Jan 10 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Wednesday promoted two of its top executives, Gregory Abel and Ajit Jain, cementing their widely viewed status as potential successors to Warren Buffett as the conglomerate's chief executive.

Abel, 55, was named Berkshire's vice chairman for non-insurance business operations, and Jain, 66, was named vice chairman for insurance operations.

Both were also added to Berkshire's board, increasing the number of directors to 14 from 12.

Abel is the chairman of the company's Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit, which he joined in 1992, while Jain is executive vice president at National Indemnity Co and oversees Berkshire's reinsurance operations. He joined Berkshire in 1986.

Investors and analysts have long considered Abel and Jain the top candidates to eventually succeed Buffett, 87, as chief executive.

For now, Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 94, will remain responsible for Berkshire's major capital allocation and investment decisions, including acquisitions.

Buffett, the world's third-richest person according to Forbes magazine, has run Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire since 1965, with Munger at his side for more than four decades.

Berkshire has more than 90 operating units including the BNSF railroad, Geico auto insurance, Dairy Queen ice cream, Fruit of the Loom underwear, See's Candies and a variety of industrial and chemical operations.

While Berkshire remains best known for insurance and reinsurance, that sector now generates only about one-fourth of operating results as the company has diversified.

Buffett has long said Berkshire's board, whose members include Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, will be ready to install a new chief executive should he step down, die or become incapacitated.

Speculation that Abel and Jain were the top candidates grew after Munger singled them out as "world-leading" performers in a 2015 letter to Berkshire shareholders.

Buffett's investment deputies, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, are in position to eventually succeed Buffett as Berkshire's chief investment officer, while Buffett's son Howard is expected to become Berkshire's non-executive chairman.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Steve Orlofsky)
Wag Labs, a popular dog-walking app, inadvertently exposed webpages showing customer information including addresses and lockbox codes that could have helped thieves to break into homes.

It isn't clear how long the pages were accessible but they were taken down. It also isn't clear how many customers' information was seen. The company says there are no signs that customer information was accessed by hackers or thieves, or that any customers' homes were broken into.

By 2020, more than 1,000 factory jobs will return to a manufacturing plant based in Newberry, South Carolina, thanks to Samsung. Six months ago, Samsung announced hiring 500 people to make new washing machines at the Newberry plant. The plant hopes to be up and running this month.

Kodak said it would be getting into digital-currency with plans to launch an initial coin offering. KodakCoin as it's being called, is the new platform that will help photographers license their work and track the unlicensed use of their images. The coin uses the technology behind bitcoin, called blockchain, to keep a digital ledger of the photographs.
The Oneida Indians will open their third upstate New York casino March 1 in an increasingly crowded market.

The tribe said Wednesday the Point Place Casino in Bridgeport near Syracuse will open with 500 slot machines and 20 table games.

The new casino will be smaller than the Oneida's Turning Stone Resort Casino, which has 2,000 slots and table games in Verona, New York. The Oneidas also operate the Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango.

Several upstate New York casinos have opened in recent years and Resorts World Catskills is set to open next month northwest of New York City.

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A few thoughts tonight on what our president is doing on two issues, illegal immigration and border security.

Let's be very clear, I believe the president sincerely wants to do the right thing, trade DACA for end of chain migration and lottery visas, building the wall. But for all the world, today he surrounded himself in the White House with many of the very people who place their party above the interests of the nation who have fought for a decade for open borders and who have demanded amnesty for all illegal immigrants.

Senators David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are among those who have long championed rational immigration policies and border security, but their views were in a small minority today.

And there is nothing rational about the proposals that Democrats Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Dick Dubrin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) have championed since 2006, but alarmingly border crossings of illegal immigrants have returned to the same levels as in the presidency of Barack Obama. The costs of illegal immigration continue to rise more than $100 billion, more than the value of their contributions to the economy, each illegal immigrant is estimated to cost taxpayers $75,000 in services.

But the real issue now, is how did the Democrats' issue of DACA crowd to the head of the line while the interests of the president's base have been pushed into the shadows of the swamp?

What happened to the president's America first doctrine? What happened to hire American, buy American?

And then there's Davos. How in the world did our president end up on the tortured agenda of the global elitists who meet every year in the Swiss Mountains?

The chamber of commerce and business roundtable must be proud, but then they've spent $1.5 billion lobbying in the swamp to get the result they wanted on just two issues: open borders and of course amnesty. Just code words for cheap labor and Democratic voters.

And Mr. President Tom Donohue, the head of the chamber of commerce talked about tax reform, capital repatriation, 4% economic growth and 4% unemployment and record high markets without mentioning your name Mr. President. Whether its the left, or the GOP, the establishment will continue to beat you around the ears if you give them a chance and I fear you've just done that. A reminder, you ran against the status quo, the establishment and assured us your vision and leadership would make America great again.

No better a reminder of the importance of draining that damn swamp---your good friend, Gov. Jeb Bush today congratulated you on your DACA decision. Low energy, Mr. Establishment, the guy you reduced to tears on the campaign trail loves your new direction.
Standing before a banner that said Protecting American Lives at a rally on Long Island in July, President Donald Trump railed against MS-13, a gang with ties to El Salvador and a foothold in the local community. Trump called gang members animals, who had transformed peaceful parks and beautiful quiet neighborhoods into bloodstained killing fields.

For many years, they exploited Americas weak borders and immigration enforcement, Trump said about gangs like MS-13.

Trump may have been considering this perceived weakness on Monday, when his administration announced that it would end temporary protected status for Salvadoran immigrants that arrived in the U.S. after earthquakes in El Salvador in 2001. The administration is giving the nearly 200,000 Salvadorans previously protected from deportation until Sept. 9, 2019, to leave the country or obtain a green card.

Revoking TPS is the latest decision that could alienate Latino voters from the president and the Republican Party, after the administration decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program last year. This could provide an opportunity for Democrats to attract Latino voters, but it may also further mobilize Trumps anti-immigration base.

This action raises the possibility, even the likelihood, that the end of the protected status will become a rallying cry for Democrats and particularly for Latino voters and others sympathetic to their situation, said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University.

RELATED: Trump slams de Blasio in fiery Long Island appearance

In New York, which is home to 16,200 Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries, Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the state Department of State on Tuesday to offer additional resources to affected communities.

However, the political calculations for both parties are more complex on Long Island, which is home to a Salvadoran population so large that El Salvador has a consulate in Brentwood, in Suffolk County. Brentwood, which Levy said had the largest Latino population in the state outside of New York City, is one of the communities that has struggled with the presence of MS-13. But Long Island is also home to a solid base of Trump voters, many of whom cheered him at his July rally and will be supportive of the decision to revoke TPS.

This tension played out in miniature during the Nassau County executive campaign, Levy noted, when the state Republican Committee released a mailer supporting candidate Jack Martins that depicted tattooed, dark-skinned gang members. The ad charged that Martins Democratic opponent, Laura Curran, would roll out the welcome mat for gangs like MS-13! There was an enormous backlash to the ad, including by Long Island Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice who called the mailer fearmongering. Levy said the controversy helped motivate higher minority turnout in the 2017 election, with Curran ultimately winning.

However, Latinos have lower rates of voter registration than most other demographic groups, which dampens mobilization efforts. Suffolk County is also more conservative than Nassau County, having supported Trump in 2016.

Trump keeping his promise on immigration could rally the base, which is still considerable in Suffolk County, Levy said.

The Trump administrations actions could raise a dilemma for Long Islands two Republican congressmen, Reps. Pete King and Lee Zeldin, who will have to balance the priorities of the Latino communities in their districts, including the Salvadoran populations, with the simmering anti-immigrant base.

RELATED: King says cracking down on immigration could be interpreted 'wrong'

Long Island Republicans are being forced to either distance themselves from or ally themselves with Trump, pleasing and alienating different segments of the population.

Short-term, its clear that Trumps actions will become one more rallying cry for Democrats and immigration rights activists of all stripes, just as it will become one for Trumps anti-immigrant base, Levy said.

In a statement provided to City & State, Zeldin appeared to back the administration, writing that with El Salvador no longer suffering from the impacts of this 2001 hurricane, we are reminded that this program exists to provide temporary status, not permanent status. This 17-year situation underscores the deep flaws of our nations immigration system, one that must be fixed through legislative channels. (Salvadorans were granted TPS in 2001 because of a pair of earthquakes. TPS was extended to Nicaraguans in 1999 due to the effects of a hurricane.)

The political calculations are especially complicated for King, whose district includes parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties. Levy said King has long been a flashpoint on immigration, having taken hard-line stances on immigration reform in the past. But compared to Trump, King seems less of a threatening figure. King took a more conciliatory stance than Zeldin in this case.

A spokesperson for King said that he supports an extension and a long-term strategy for TPS individuals from El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti. Trump ended TPS status for Haitians and Nicaraguans last year, and will consider doing so for Hondurans this year. Kings spokesperson referred to a letter that King sent to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in November, urging the administration to extend TPS for citizens from Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras.

With approximately 1/3 of the New York state TPS population living in my district, it is clear that an abrupt end to TPS and the removal of thousands of lawfully employed individuals will cause significant economic harm to these U.S. communities, King wrote.

Kings spokesperson noted that he also supports legislation that permits individuals with TPS from El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras to adjust their immigration status to legal permanent resident.

King may be reading the tea leaves about what revoking TPS could mean for his partys political future.

RELATED: How Pete King learned to stop worrying and love the Donald

Nassau County Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs said that ending TPS will help his party in the 2018 elections.

I think what this does is it helps solidify with the Latino communities at large  that the Trump administration and Republicans in general do not have their best interest in mind, Jacobs said. This will help not only galvanize the community, but motivate them to come out and vote, which is certainly necessary if you're going to make changes moving forward.

Whether or not that is enough to unseat King or Zeldin this fall, it will create problems for the New York GOP in the long-term. For the foreseeable future, the Latino population will continue to rise on Long Island, where whites may no longer be the majority by 2050 or even earlier. The largest group, almost certainly, barring some quirk of geopolitics and economics, will be Latino, Levy said about Long Islands rising minority population. And the largest Latino group will be Salvadoran, and you can bet they will not forget.
Canada is increasingly convinced that U.S. President Donald Trump will soon announce that the United States intends to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, two government sources said on Wednesday.

The sources said they expected Trump would make his move at about the same time that negotiators from the United States, Canada and Mexico meet in late January for the sixth and penultimate round of talks to modernize the treaty.

The Canadian and Mexican currencies both weakened against the U.S. dollar after the news.

The Canadian dollar fell to its weakest level this year at C$1.2561 to the greenback, or 79.61 U.S. cents. The peso was trading down more than 0.6 pct at 1925 GMT, while the S&P/BM IPC stock index was down about 1.7 percent.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to walk away from NAFTA unless Canada and Mexico agree to major changes Washington says are needed to make the 1994 treaty more fair.

Canadian officials say if Trump does announce a U.S. withdrawal, it could be a negotiating tactic designed to win concessions. They also express doubt whether the U.S. Congress would approve such a move.

Canada and Mexico have rejected most of the U.S. proposals for NAFTA reforms, leaving officials with a big job if they are to bridge the large differences at the Jan. 23-28 talks in Montreal. Negotiations are due to wrap up at the end of March.
Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday that establishes financial penalties on credit reporting agencies, like Equifax (NYSE:EFX), for each piece of consumer information that is compromised during a cyberattack.

The Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act, sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), would grant the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the power to fine credit agencies $100 for every piece of consumer data illegally accessed by unauthorized third parties, tacking on $50, per consumer, for each additional data point revealed.

If an agency fails to fully comply with federal notification standards after a breach has occurred, the financial penalties would automatically double and increase to a maximum of 75% of the agencys gross revenue. Many viewed Equifaxs response to its massive data breach, which compromised the personally identifiable information of more than 145 million Americans, as not only unpunctual, but also woefully inadequate: After discovering in late-July that millions of consumer accounts had been compromised, it failed to notify the public until Sept. 7.

The big credit bureaus collect and sell vast amounts of your personal information without your permission and without your control  [This bill] will ensure that credit bureaus protect your information as if you actually mattered to them and it will both punish them and compensate you when they fail to do so," consumer advocacy group U.S. PIRG said in a statement.

Aside from the financial penalties on companies, the bill would also require the FTC to use 50% of the penalties it collected to compensate consumers.

Warren and Warner propose the establishment of an Office of Cybersecurity at the FTC to help the agency oversee security practices at credit reporting agencies and to help carry out all of these responsibilities.

The bill is not the first introduced by Wall Street firebrand Warren in the wake of the Equifax breach. The first has not yet made it to the Senate floor.

Equifax declined to comment directly on the new legislation, redirecting FOX Business request to a third party organization representing all three credit agencies.
President Donald Trumps personal attorney Michael Cohen announced late Tuesday that he is suing BuzzFeed News over the Russia dossier, nearly one year after the release of the controversial text.

The dossier, a 35-page document containing, among other things, unsubstantiated allegations linking the Trump campaign to Russia, was first published by BuzzFeed last year. The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court.

In a tweet fired off late Tuesday, Cohen proclaimed that enough is enough and that he just filed a defamation action against BuzzFeed for publishing the lie filled document on Trump and himself.

Cohen, however, faces an uphill battle in court, Seth Berenzweig, founding and managing partner of law firm Berenzweig Leonard, told FOX Business.

The Supreme Court has made it clear that when it comes to media-related publications on public figures, they are generally immune from defamation lawsuits unless they actually acted with malice. It will be hard for Mr. Cohen to meet that heightened legal standard. He also must face the reality that as a news-related organization, BuzzFeed has a First Amendment right to provide such information, he said.

In response to the lawsuit, a BuzzFeed spokesperson cited Cohens previous attacks on the free press: "The dossier is, and continues to be, the subject of active investigations by Congress and intelligence agencies. It was presented to two successive presidents, and has been described in detail by news outlets around the world. Its interest to the public is obvious. This is not the first time Trump's personal lawyer has attacked the free press, and we look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court."

On the other hand, trial attorney Brian Claypool told FOX Business that because the First Amendment does not protect defamatory remarks, the lawsuit is not an attack on free speech.

In the lawsuit, Cohen claimed that BuzzFeeds decision to publish the unedited documents, which featured claims against him, harmed his reputation both personally and professionally. He said his name is mentioned 15 times.

Cohen also filed a separate suit against Fusion GPS, the research firm that was behind the document. Fusion hired an ex-British spy, Christopher Steele, to compile research on then-candidate Trump. According to The Washington Post, Democrats later funded the work that led to the information revealed in the dossier.

While allegations spelled out in the dossier have not been verified, they have also yet to be invalidated, Berenzweig pointed out, which could complicate the legal process for Cohen.

[The] truth serves as a defense in such cases  If Cohen ends up litigating the truthfulness of information in the dossier, it could be embarrassing for him and for the president, since he opens a can of worms that defense lawyers can pick at to make Cohens past and his involvement with the president very uncomfortable, he said.

Meanwhile, Claypool said that Cohen can "prevail" in at least one his cases, considering BuzzFeed knew the dossier contained unverified information when it decided to publish the document.

"This categorically proves that they acted in reckless disregard for the truth since they did nothing to further verify if this information about Cohen was reliable and trustworthy. Media outlets dont have a hall pass to disseminate and publish sexy stories to garner publicity at the expense of trashing the reparation of Trump campers," he said.
Toyota and Mazda are setting up shop n the Heart of Dixie.

The Japanese automakers have chosen Alabama as the site of their new $1.6 billion joint-venture factory, a source familiar with the decision told the Associated Press.

The plant is scheduled to open in 2012 and employ up to 4,000 people building North America market Toyota Corolla cars and a small Mazda SUV.

The facility will be built in Limestone County near Huntsville, according to the source. Although it has yet to be officially confirmed, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is scheduled to make a major economic development announcement on Wednesday.

Toyota currently operates an engine manufacturing facility in the area.

After reassessing the market, Toyota Motor Corp. has changed its plan to make Corollas at a plant in Guanajuato, Mexico, now under construction, and instead will produce Tacoma pickups there, Toyota has said.

President Donald Trump had criticized Toyota for taking auto production and jobs to Mexico. With the investment, both automakers hope to prove their good American corporate citizenship and appease the Trump administration's concerns about jobs moving overseas.

But during the summer, Toyota President Akio Toyoda denied that Trump's views influenced his decision.

"We have been reviewing the best production strategy for our business," he told reporters in Tokyo at the time.

Toyota and Mazda Motor Corp. also plan to work together on various advanced auto technology, such as electric vehicles, safety features and connected cars, as well as products that they could supply each other, they said.

It's difficult to predict auto sales in three years, but at present, Toyota may not need the factory for Corolla production.

U.S. sales of small cars fell nearly 10 percent last year as buyers continued a massive shift toward SUVs and pickup trucks. Corolla sales fell 14 percent for the year, to just under 309,000, according to Autodata Corp.

Still, Toyota and Mazda have said their collaboration will respect mutual independence and equality. Toyota, which makes the Prius hybrid, Camry sedan and Lexus luxury models, already provides hybrid technology to Mazda, which makes compact cars for Toyota at its Mexico plant.

The sheer cost of the plant also makes a partnership logical, as it boosts cost-efficiency and economies of scale. Working together on green and other auto technology also makes sense as the segment becomes increasingly competitive due to concerns about global warming, the environment and safety.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
The Grammys will bring a slew of stars to the stage at Madison Square Garden Sunday.

Read on for a look at the performers and presenters set to appear at the 60th annual Grammy Awards.

What do we know about the upcoming performances?

Rapper Kendrick Lamars opening number is set to include both comedian Dave Chappelle and Irish rock band U2, E! News reports.

Pop star Lady Gaga also will perform a song off of her album Joanne.

Kesha, another pop artist, has tweeted that shell perform her song Praying. She will perform with singers Andra Day, Camila Cabella, Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels, Bebe Rexha and the Resistance Revival Chorus, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Recording Academy also has revealed multiple paired acts: Miley Cyrus and Elton John are going to perform together, as will Bruno Mars and Cardi B. Emmylou Harris and Chris Stapleton are slated to team up, too.

Latin superstars Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee are expected to take the stage with Zuleyka Rivera, who appeared in Fonsi and Yankees Despacito music video.

Theres also a performance from pop star Rihanna, vocalist Bryson Tiller and DJ Khaled in the works.

Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalids joint performance will feature both suicide attempt survivors and suicide loss survivors, according to the Recording Academy. The trios suicide prevention hit, 1-800-273-8255, is nominated for Song of the Year.

Are there special tributes planned?

Yes. The awards show will honor late musicians Chuck Berry and Fats Domino with a joint performance from rocker Gary Clark Jr. and Jon Batiste of the band Stay Human, the Recording Academy said.

Its also announced that Broadway singers Patti LuPone and Ben Platt will perform in honor of the shows return to New York City  and also as a tribute to Leonard Bernstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Grammys were last held in New York in 2003, before spending 14 years in Los Angeles.

I cannot wait to perform a beautiful West Side Story treat, Platt tweeted. Bernstein composed the music for West Side Story.

LuPone is set to sing Dont Cry for Me Argentina from Evita, whose music was written by Lloyd Webber.

Country music stars Maren Morris, Eric Church and Brothers Osborne will together pay tribute to victims who died at recent live music events, according to the Recording Academy.

Who else is performing?

Singer Sting; pop singers Pink and Sam Smith; rapper Childish Gambino; R&B artist SZA and country quartet Little Big Town have all been named.

GRAMMYS 2018 NOMINEES AND SHOW INFORMATION

What about the presenters?

This years presenters include multiple musicians, including Tony Bennett, Kelly Clarkson, Eve, Nick Jonas, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Hailee Steinfeld and Donnie Wahlberg.

Comedians Dave Chappelle, Jim Gaffigan, Sarah Silverman and Trevor Noah; actresses Katie Holmes and Anna Kendrick and football player Victor Cruz also will present at the show, the Recording Academy said.

What else should I know?

James Corden of The Late Show will host the awards show, which will start at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

If youre watching the program, you might see performers take home awards as well: many of them are nominated, including Mars. The 24K Magic singer has the most nods among the Grammys performers, and is up for six awards.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
James Franco has canceled a public interview amid accusations of sexual misconduct by two women following his Golden Globes win.

James and his brother Dave Franco were scheduled to appear at a New York Times event, Times Talks, on Wednesday, January 10. The session was supposed to offer a conversation with the creative duo behind their breakout hit movie The Disaster Artist, which earned James a win for best actor at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards. However, the event has since been canceled after the stars win and choice to wear a Times Up pin to highlight sexual harassment in Hollywood prompted backlash.

As previously reported, two women took to Twitter during the broadcast to voice allegations against the 39-year-old star.

Hey James Franco, nice #timesup pin at the #GoldenGlobes, remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasnt exploitative because I signed a contract to do it? Times up on that! tweeted filmmaker and actress Sarah Tither-Kaplan.

Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco, tweeted actress Violet Paley as well. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?

While Franco has yet to publicly address the allegations the two women lobbied against him, cancelling the public event does seem like odd timing. However, its worth noting that no official reason for the Times Talks events cancellation was given.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said he did not think Oprah Winfrey has the political infrastructure to be the president of the United States.

Spicer appeared on Good Morning Britain Monday where hosts Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan pressed him about the rumors swirling around Oprahs potential 2020 presidential run. The rumors began following Sundays Golden Globe Awards after Winfrey was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. The former television host gave an impassioned speech about women and men fighting back against sexual misconduct.

Morgan said Trumps reelection run could be damaged if Winfrey ran for president. Spicer fired back that Winfrey was not politically qualified to run.

APRIL RYAN SLAMMED ON TWITTER FOR GUSHING OVER OPRAH WINFREY: SHAME ON YOU

She doesnt have the political infrastructure, Spicer told Morgan and Reid. And weve seen this before in our history  where people who have tried to pop in who are not in politics and have had a difficult time adjusting.

Morgan and Reid interrupted Spicer.

Sean, Sean, Sean! Morgan yelled. The current president of the United States had no political experience! Sean! You were his press secretary! Have you forgotten Donald Trump?

Spicer laughed and asked the hosts to let him finish.

That withstanding, President Trump proves theres an appetite for outsiders, Spicer added. The question is, was that an anomaly or is that the new norm? And thats all Im getting at. I, 100 percent, know who I used to work for.

NBC RETRACTS STUNNINGLY UNPROFESSIONAL TWEET DECLARING OPRAH WINFREY OUR NEXT PRESIDENT

When Morgan asked Spicer who would win the potential 2020 presidential election face-off, Spicer replied, Trump, hands down, but I think Oprah would give him a run for is money.

Following the rumors of a possible Winfrey presidential run, her longtime partner Stedman Graham told the Los Angeles Times that she was not planning to launch a campaign but it was up to the people.

Its up to the people. She would absolutely do it, Graham told the Los Angeles Times.
Mikio Fujioka, guitarist for Japanese pop-metal band Babymetal, has died at the age of 36.

The members of the Babymetal group paid tribute to Fujioka with an Instagram post which read: The Little Guitar Kami of #BABYMETALs #Kamiband has passed away in the METAL GALAXIES. We hope that he is now with his GUITAR MASTER A.Holdsworth and enjoying an epic guitar session with him.

The group also shared the same message on Twitter early Wednesday morning including the lyrics of their song "The One."

We are the one. Together. Were the only one. You are the one. Forever.

According to NME, Fujiokas wife told the publication that the musician sustained severe injuries after falling from a high observation deck while stargazing at an an astronomical observatory on December 30. Following the fall, the guitarists condition rapidly deteriorated until he passed on January 5, according to Metro UK.

Fujiokas Twitter account was reportedly taken over by his wife, who with their two daughters, were said to be by his side at the time of his death.

Fujioka, who had been touring with the band since 2013, was referred to by his fans as Ko-Gami, which translates to The Little God. While playing with Babymetal last year, Fujioka opened for iconic rock bands Guns N Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In addition to playing for Babymetal, the guitarist released several of his own albums and also toured with bands, Trick Box and MMM.
Corey Feldman "vehemently denies" allegations that he groped a woman in early 2017.

A rep for Feldman told Fox News on Wednesday via email that Corey "vehemently denies these egregious accusations. It goes against everything he believes in and is fighting for  victim protection and stopping inappropriate behavior toward both children and adults."

TMZ reported that an unidentified woman filed a police report on Monday with the Los Angeles Police Department.

"We can confirm that a crime report was taken by LAPD on 1/8/18 listing Corey Feldman as a suspect in a sexual battery report," the LAPD told Fox News via email.

Feldman has been on a crusade to out Hollywood predators within the last year.

In December, the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office validated the '80s star's claim that he named alleged predators during their investigation into Michael Jackson in 1993 after they claimed to not have such recording.

Following the recent inquiries into the Sheriffs Office interview of Mr. Feldman in 1993, the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office conducted an additional review for any stored items remaining from the Michael Jackson investigation.

In a container which included the original reports from the investigation, the Sheriffs Office located some detective working copies of audio recordings made during the investigation. A copy of Mr. Feldmans interview was located. The recording is being turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department. Due to the fact that this case involves the alleged sexual abuse of a child, we are unable to comment further and any documentation or evidence related to this case is exempt from release.
Greta Gerwig regrets taking on the role in Woody Allens 2012 film To Rome With Love.

In an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, Gerwig said she will never work with Allen and would have rejected her previous acting gig in his movie if she knew about Dylan Farrows allegations of misconduct against the director.

I can only speak for myself and what Ive come to is this: If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again, Gerwig said

The Lady Bird writer and director said she wanted to specifically address working with Allen after receiving several questions about it. She added that it was something she takes seriously and thought deeply about.

Gerwig continued, Dylan Farrows two different pieces made me realize that I increased another womans pain, and I was heartbroken by that realization. I grew up on his movies, and they have informed me as an artist, and I cannot change that fact now, but I can make different decisions moving forward.

Farrow, 32, accused Allen, her adoptive father, of sexually abusing her in 1993 when she was a child. Her actress mother, Mia Farrow, and Allen were dating but began to split around the same time the alleged abuse happened. Allen has denied these allegations, but Farrow has stood by her claim.

She also recently voiced her disappointment in actors and actresses, including Justin Timberlake, who still work with Allen but support the Time's Up movement at the Golden Globes.

Farrow thanked Gerwig on Twitter Tuesday night for speaking out against Allen.

Thank you for your words. Please know they are deeply felt and appreciated, Farrow tweeted.

Gerwig joins Ellen Page in speaking out against Allen, who said in a November Facebook post that working with the director  also in To Rome With Love  was the biggest regret of her career.

I am ashamed I did this, Page said. I had yet to find my voice and was not who I am now and felt pressured, because of course you have to say yes to this Woody Allen film. Ultimately, however, it is my choice what films I decide to do and I made the wrong choice. I made an awful mistake.
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld was blasted online after he was photographed visiting a so-called anti-terror fantasy camp in the West Bank.

Seinfeld visited Israel with his family last week, and the visit included stops at the Israeli Air Force's Ramon Airbase and Caliber 3, a training academy that has courses for tourists to learn how to fight terrorists, Al Jazeera reported.

The academy, which was established by the Israeli Defense Forces in a West Bank settlement and is dubbed by some as an anti-terror fantasy camp, offers a shooting adventure, paintball, survival training and self-defense programs to tourists, according to its website.

The academy announced on its Facebook Sunday that Seinfeld and his family were there.

ROBERT DE NIRO ATTACKS TRUMP IN PROFANE RANT AT AWARDS GALA

Jerry Seinfeld and his family were in Caliber 3. During their visit to Israel last week, they came to us for a special and exciting activity with displays of combat, Krav Maga (self-defense), assault dogs and lots of Zionism. It was great, the Academy allegedly wrote on its Facebook, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The academy also posted pictures of Seinfeld, who is Jewish, posing with a machine gun.

The post has since been taken down without an explanation.

Some social media users slammed the comedian for his visit to the training camp in the West Bank, an area of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories, Al Jazeera reported.

Jerry Seinfeld took his kids to play war games with the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). So cute, right? Now imagine the reaction if say Bella Hadid posed with the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) of DJ Khaled (brandishing a machine gun) hung out with Hamas, one Twitter user wrote.

I can never unsee Jerry Seinfeld gleefully posing with a machine gun at an IDF fantasy camp, another person tweeted.

PORN STAR OLIVIA NOVA DIES AT 20, LATEST IN STRING OF DEATHS TO ROCK ADULT INDUSTRY

Cool to see Jerry Seinfeld cosplaying as a modern day colonist at camp occupier in Israel. Maybe hes like to fund a Jim Crow themed recreational camp in the U.S.?" a social media user tweeted.

Jerry Seinfeld and his family play fascists in the West Bank. Indoctrinating his young children to murder Palestinians and steal land. There is nothing funny about apartheid, occupation, settlement expansion and executing occupied Palestinians, another social media user wrote.

Seinfeld did not immediately comment on the controversy surrounding his visit to the training camp.
Actor Robert De Niro, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump in the past, devoted his time onstage during Tuesday nights National Board of Review awards gala to attacking the president again.

His harsh words  including j----off in chief" and f---ing fool  came during De Niros speech introducing actress Meryl Streep, who plays the late Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham in Steven Spielbergs newspaper drama The Post, which took home the award for best picture.

Today the world is suffering from the real Donald Trump. Come on. You know. What are we talking about? This f---ing idiot is the president. Its the Emperors New Clothes  the guy is a f---ing fool, according to a transcript obtained by The New York Times.

"Today the world is suffering from real Donald Trump. Come on. You know. What are we talking about? This f---ing idiot is the president."  Robert De Niro

The 74-year-old star of such films as "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas" compared Trump's administration to that of President Richard Nixon, which challenged the New York Times and Washington Post over the publication of the infamous Pentagon Papers.

Our baby-in-chief  the j---off-in-chief, I call him  has put the press under siege, ridiculing it through trying to discredit it through outrageous attacks and lies, De Niro said.

He added: And again, just like 1971, the press is distinguishing itself with brave, exacting journalism.

In the past, the actor has made several disparaging remarks directed at the president, telling Deadline in August that Trump was "dangerous" and should not "have gotten into the position that he's in." De Niro also lashed out against Trump in an October video, where he said hed like to punch him in the face."

Spielberg also voiced his concern about the current climate between journalists and the White House  albeit, in a much subtler way.

"We are in a fight and it's a fight not just about alternative facts but it's a fight for the objective truth," Spielberg said after accepting the award for best picture. "President Obama said in a recent interview, 'It's not that democracy is fragile, but it's reversible.' I wanted to do more than just sit down and watch television and complain to (wife Kate Capshaw) and my kids about what's happening to our country."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Every day, Wanda Volchko, a single mother of two, fights off the side effects of lupus. Shes also a survivor of strokes and leukemia, making her dependent on monthly immune-boosting infusions that have to be diluted with saline because shes extremely sensitive to some treatments.

But the last time she went for her infusions, the Milwaukee resident was told the hospital was out of saline, the fluid in IV bags.

"I was just really shocked when they're just like 'Oh, we don't have a saline bag' and the nurse told me, really nervously, 'Oh, I hope you don't have a reaction, Volchko said.

Like so many other Americans, Volchko was stunned to learn the majority of Americas saline manufacturing plants are on the island of Puerto Rico and that Hurricane Maria knocked them offline, creating a nationwide shortage.

"People think 'Well, the hurricane happened in Puerto Rico', Volchko said. But what people don't realize is it affects people here.

The shortage might not seem that urgent, but medical professionals and doctors say IV fluid is one of the first things they reach for to keep people alive.

"Its the very first thing that we give to the patients when they come in from a gunshot or a motor vehicle accident," said Raquel Prendkowski, director of the emergency department at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Chicago. "They've had a loss of blood and we immediately have to bulk it back up and give them the fluids," she said.

The shortage has resulted in hospitals and clinics being forced to decide which patients get bags and it also means medical professionals and nurses have to spend critical time standing over a patient for up to 30 minutes, manually injecting fluids.

Tonya Kubo of Merced, Calif. is anemic and has to get routine infusions to sustain her stamina and health. She said just before Christmas, the clinic she goes to called her to say it wasnt sure they would have saline for her.

They were at a point where they had to count their bags because the center I go to mostly deals with cancer patients and anemia patients," Kubo said. "So if they are giving me iron, and they run out of bags, they are not going to be able to give chemo, she said.

The California clinic tells Fox News it has enough saline to last until February. Its not clear what will happen if more supplies dont arrive before then.

Fortunately, one of the largest manufacturers of saline bags  Baxter  has had power restored to its three Puerto Rico plants, the FDA reports. However, its not clear when production will be fully restored.

Until then, some hospitals and clinics are forced to deal with the burden, and patients like Volchko and Kubo are left feeling guilty, wondering if receiving a bag will be critical to another patients life.

"I've been there, I've been that cancer patient in the chair who's needed it, Volchko said. And its so not fair to them.
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Lets get one thing straight: Under no circumstances should a doctor diagnose anyone without a physical examination.

So why is it that a psychiatrist at one of Americas most highly revered medical institutions is able to meet with more than a dozen lawmakers -- all Democrats with the exception of one Republican, according to Politico -- to brief them on what she believes is an unraveling President Trump, having never examined him?

The private briefings, which reportedly occurred over two days in early December, were led by Dr. Bandy X. Lee, a psychiatry professor at Yale School of Medicine. Lee and her colleagues warned officials on Capitol Hill of their belief that President Trump is becoming unhinged and that they are already seeing the signs, according to Politico.

In order for her to validate her assessment, she would need to physically examine the president, review his medical history, and look at any specific medical data that was relevant to her diagnosis -- just to start.

Not only is it unethical to render a professional medical opinion based on casual observation, it undermines the entire diagnostic process and further stigmatizes mental illness.

Not only is it unethical to render a professional medical opinion based on casual observation, it undermines the entire diagnostic process and further stigmatizes mental illness.

In subsequent interviews, Lee even went as far as to claim that should government officials not take action now in regarding the presidents mental state, it could mean the extinction of the human species.

While Lee, herself, may not think her actions violate the American Psychiatric Associations Goldwater Rule, which was made to prevent armchair diagnoses such as this, I believe she needs to recalibrate her moral compass as a healer.

Over the past two weeks, her opinions have caused a media firestorm, giving her a bigger platform to continue to make damaging and irresponsible statements.

Many doctors make the mistake of diagnosing medical conditions through the media. And by doing so, they are participating in one of the most unethical activities a physician can be party to.

In my years as a medical journalist, I have often found myself ambushed by reporters and producers asking about specific diagnoses, but I have always done my best to answer their questions explaining the processes involved in a certain area of medicine or by giving the potential of a differential diagnosis.

A differential diagnosis is when a physician, through evidence-based information, gives different clinical outcomes -- without committing to a definitive diagnosis. For Lee and her colleagues to attack a sitting president based on his public appearances and Twitter interactions is perhaps even sanctionable in the eyes of the medical community of which they participate.

Theres a big problem today in America where, because of the power of social media, people can easily fall victim to the court of public opinion before ever being tried for their perceived crime. Its a sad state of affairs for our legal system, and honestly, Im dont have the solution to that problem. But what I do know, is we need to hold our physicians and medical community at large to a higher standard than that.

Lets remember the oath we all took to become healers and not be so nonchalant when it comes to practicing medicine by throwing around dangerous diagnoses. Leave the Twitter analyses to the Twitterverse.
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In ancient Greece, the sons of the great playwright Sophocles tried to have him declared incompetent because he spent so much time working on his tragedies and not enough time taking care of his estate.

Something similar is happening today. President Trumps opponents want him declared incompetent because he concentrates so much on his tweets and because they claim he doesnt properly take care of his presidential duties.

The mechanism through which these opponents hope to declare the president unfit for office is the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. Adopted just over 50 years ago, the amendment deals with matters of presidential succession.

Theres been talk of forcing out President Trump since the start of his tenure. But with Michael Wolffs sensationalistic new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House atop the bestseller list, the discussion is now at a fever pitch.

Wolff, talking about his books portrait of the president, believes this is 25th Amendment kind of stuff.

Hes hardly alone. In December, Yale psychiatry professor Dr. Bandy X. Lee met with more than a dozen members of Congress to discuss Trumps mental state.

Lee edited The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, which includes the assessments of 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts of the presidents mental health. Lee herself has stated that Trumps tweets give us a window into a man who is unraveling.

To remove the president from office under the 25th Amendment, Section 4 would have to be invoked. It allows the vice president to become acting president if its determined the president is incapable of discharging his duties.

This section is meant to handle situations where the president is incapacitated  such as due to an injury, a stroke or dementia. But apparently, Trumps opponents see it as an escape clause.

In fact, theres already potential legislation, promoted by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., to make it easier to look into the presidents mental state under the 25th Amendment. The bill has approximately 50 co-sponsors.

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment has never been invoked. As a practical matter, it wont be happening any time soon. It would require the consent of Vice President Pence and over half the Cabinet, and its hard to imagine any of them would go along with it.

But the fact that invoking the amendment is being seriously considered by a not insignificant number of citizens is frightening.

Its one thing to oppose President Trump. Its another to play politics through psychiatry.

The truth is that Donald Trump as president is pretty much the same man we saw on the campaign trail. He announced his candidacy with a speech many thought outrageous. All during the campaign, he tweeted up a storm. Even after he got his partys nomination, he didnt pivot, as some expected, and stayed on the unconventional course.

The public saw this, liked him (or at least his populist message) and voted him in.

At present, plenty of Americans dont like the job hes doing, or how hes doing it  including the tweeting  but the remedy for that is voting for his opponent if he runs for re-election in 2020, and speaking out against him and voting for politicians who oppose him before that.

The wrong solution is to force President Trump out by misusing the Constitution. Even if somehow the presidents enemies could get Vice President Pence to go along and bypass other requirements, kicking President Trump out of office  while Trump himself is loudly disagreeing  would create a grave crisis that would badly divide the nation, with unknown consequences.

Theres no denying that President Trump is unorthodox. But hes also gotten a fair amount done  appointing judges, signing numerous executive orders, cutting regulations and getting a tax bill through Congress. Most likely this is the real reason so many want him removed. But theres a difference between being crazy and driving your opponents crazy.

By the way, Sophocles won his case. In court, he read from his latest play, Oedipus At Colonus, and the jury declared him competent.

When it comes to President Trump, hes already been tried in the court of public opinion. The American people got a good look at him and decided he should be president. To remove him now on sham charges would not be an example of politicians upholding their constitutional duty. It would amount to a coup.
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Store owner Kamal Saleh was just hit with thousands of dollars in fines.

His crime? He sold three cigars for $8.89. "Too cheap!" say New York City bureaucrats. "The cigars should have cost 11 cents more."

Politicians want you to spend more for tobacco.

They decided this after anti-smoking crusader Dr. Kurt Ribisl told the Centers for Disease Control, "Higher prices will deter children from smoking."

A pit of socialist micromanagers called the New York City Council quickly embraced the idea. "It's also being considered very seriously in a number of jurisdictions in California," Ribisl told me.

When health totalitarians make suggestions, leftist politicians jump.

Ribisl also told the CDC, "Very cheap (tobacco) products should no longer be available." So for my YouTube video this week, I asked him, "Why do you get to decide?!"

"No, I'm not deciding," he insisted. "I'm a person who studies these policies. I'll let the policymakers decide."

OK, I sighed, "Why do the politicians get to decide?"

"Cigarettes are the most lethal product ever introduced," he replied.

That may be true, although few people realize that half the people who smoke do not die from tobacco-related illness.

Fatty foods, swimming pools and cars also kill lots of people. Maybe the health police will raise their prices next.

But so far, it's just tobacco. At Ribisl's urging, New York City adopted price floors and taxes to bring the price of a pack of cigarettes to $13 a pack.

"People still have the ability to buy it, if they so choose," he said.

"Just not poor people," I told him. "You're screwing poor people."

"We see much higher smoking rates among poor people," answered Ribisl. "We need policies that are going to reduce tobacco use among poor people."

I think all people should get to decide for themselves, but Ribisl wants to engineer "a transition toward thinking more about healthy food and beverage."

At the CDC, Ribisl suggested that it should also be government policy to "reduce the number of tobacco stores."

That seems cruel to store owners like Kamal Saleh, but Ribisl said, "We're not interested in putting stores out of business ... They're going to find new products to sell."

Really? How does he know?

New York already has a blizzard of regulations that put little stores out of business.

Tobacco sales regulations alone go on for 47 pages -- confusing pages filled with fine print like: "the price floor for any package of cigars that contains more than one cigar and that has been delivered to a retail dealer in a package described by subdivision a of section 17-704 shall be computed by multiplying the number of cigars in the package by $1.75 and adding $6.25 to the total."

The 47 pages are just for tobacco sales. "For food, refrigeration, deliveries and everything else, the administrative code could be thousands of pages," says lawyer Andrew Tilem.

Tilem defends store owners who get fined. Many can barely afford to pay him. Sometimes they pay in "fish and paper plates and tortillas." Those who can't afford to hire a lawyer may just go out of business.

City Council meddlers, who often complain about "big business," don't notice that their own rules make the big businesses bigger.

"The big guy can hire lawyers," says Tilem. "It's the little guy who's trying to pinch his pennies and make a dollar that has the biggest problem."

Playing devil's advocate, I tell him, the government just wants to protect people's health.

"I'm not a smoking advocate," Tilem replied, "but I think in this country ... people have the right to do the wrong thing."

We should.
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President Trump said Tuesday that he wants to find a way to allow an estimated 700,000 young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children by their parents to remain in the U.S., but also wants Congress to fund a wall along Americas southern border and other programs to reduce illegal immigration.

In addition, the president indicated he could support comprehensive immigration reform legislation after a new law is enacted dealing with the 700,000 young immigrants who are currently allowed to stay in America under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA is set to expire March 5 if no new legislation is passed by Congress and signed into law by the president.

However, in a surprise development Tuesday night, a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco ordered the DACA program to continue until a final judgement is reached in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration decision to begin phasing out the program in March. Its unlikely this ruling will be upheld, given that the DACA program was implemented by the Obama administration without the approval of Congress.

President Trumps comments, made at a meeting with lawmakers of both parties, show he is sincerely committed to showing compassion for the DACA immigrants and is willing to look at more sweeping immigration reform, but is determined to carry out his responsibility to enforce immigration laws and protect our national security. In addition to keeping out illegal immigrants, he has said a border wall could help reduce flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.

Besides calling for the wall since the early days of his presidential campaign, President Trump has called for ending chain migration (when immigrants are allowed to bring distant relatives into this country), eliminating the visa lottery, and giving immigration officers the resources they need to stop illegal immigration. The president and lawmakers agreed Tuesday that they would seek agreement on legislation to address all these issues.

The Trump administration has also said a deal on DACA could include e-verify, which would require employers to verify that their potential employees are actually authorized to work in the country.

While we dont know all the details of the deal President Trump might be able to make with Congress, hes clearly standing firm behind his campaign promises to crack down on the illegal flow of immigrants and drugs into our country to protect our national security. This is yet another example showing the president is keeping his campaign promises.

Democrats have criticized President Trumps priorities  particularly a border wall  but said after Tuesdays meeting that they were willing to look at other measures to increase border security. They have also been beating the drum of a government shutdown.

The Democrats face mounting pressures from extremists in their party who are already angry that they didnt cause a shutdown last month over DACA. If Congress doesnt pass a spending bill that the president signs by Jan. 19, the federal government will be forced to shut down non-essential services.

Given both parties stated positions, an impasse that leads to a shutdown could be inevitable. But what if the president were to make a deal on DACA that included his immigration priorities, while also making the Democrats an offer many of them would have a hard time refusing  infrastructure? In other words, a deal that includes DACA and all of the presidents immigration priorities tied to an infrastructure bill thats based on a public-private partnership.

In some circles, public-private partnerships are controversial. However, projects have been built using them and this could be a double win for President Trump. This is a way for him to get the infrastructure bill he campaigned on, while delivering on his biggest campaign promise: building the wall.

Some Republicans will likely balk at the idea of an infrastructure deal. However it would be a trade-off they would be wise to consider. The return on investment in the midterm elections and again in 2020 for helping the president pass the single biggest reason he was elected would be huge, as President Trump likes to say.

Republicans will need to do something thats historically difficult for them  not give away the farm. The Democrats will use the Jan. 19 threat of a government shutdown to play chicken and try to force Republicans to give them DACA  and back off on ending chain migration, funding the wall, and many of the presidents other immigration must haves.

The American people are watching. Telling them sorry well try again later will not be an acceptable answer by Republicans. If the GOP capitulates on this, its a one-way ticket home in the next election cycle.

The Democrats wont like that theyre being put in a position to give the president a win. However, the economy is thriving, President Trumps approval numbers are rising, and people havent even begun to fully see the benefits of the tax cut on their personal bank accounts yet.

Constituents are going to ask Democratic lawmakers up for re-election: So, what have you done for us? If Democrats say theyve spent all their time attacking the president, that wont be an acceptable answer. The American people want solutions.

Given all the good news it will be very difficult for Democrats from blue-collar states that President Trump won  among them West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana  to explain to their constituents why they passed up an infrastructure deal that helps with roads and bridges their states desperately need. Especially after voting against a tax cut that gives their constituents more take-home pay.

If the president is serious about building a wall  which its clear that he is, along with all of his other immigration priorities  this may be his ace in the hole. While some on both sides wont like aspects of this for different reasons, getting 60 votes in the U.S. Senate for such a deal is very plausible. Its a win-win for everyone.

Democrats would get to go back to their states with more than just gridlock to offer their constituents. Republicans would win because theyd be helping the president do what he was elected to do, and they may get to keep their seats this year as a result. And the president would deliver on yet another campaign promise to continue his winning streak for the American people.

Call it the art of the immigration deal.
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The Iran deal is back. By law there are several important decisions President Trump must make in the next few days regarding the 2015 agreement, which lifted international economic sanctions on Iran in return for inspections and limits on nuclear facilities, in an effort to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons.

Most crucially, the president must make a decision regarding whether to reimpose U.S. economic sanctions on Iran that were waived when the nuclear deal went into effect. He must also certify whether the deal is working.

Other nations that signed the agreement  Britain, Russia, France, China and Germany  also lifted economic sanctions on Iran, but President Trump has no power to reimpose those.

When President Trump refused to certify that the nuclear deal was in Americas national security interests in October, he recognized that the agreement was fundamentally flawed. That has not changed. Here is what has changed.

At the time he did not certify the nuclear deal last year, President Trump called on Congress to try to fix it in a way that addresses fundamental flaws. Congress is working on legislation to do that, and the State Department is working with international allies to see what more might be done.

Thousands of Iranians have risen up by staging protests against the corrupt and brutal Islamist regime and are attempting to replace it with a new government.

Iran has continued its military and financial support of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and terrorist groups throughout the region, while showing no sign of complying with the spirit of the nuclear deal to de-escalate tensions with other nations. Iran continues to threaten and demonize the United States, Israel and several Arab nations.

The United States needs to pressure Iran to comply with the spirit of agreement, or else withdraw from the deal. To accomplish this goal, the Security Studies Group, where I serve as president, recommends that President Trump take these actions this month:

Continue the waiver of economic sanctions in the Iran deal. This is not about rewarding the Iranian regime, but about the president keeping his word. Iran has done nothing to earn this waiver and the president should make that clear in his announcement. But in order to allow Congress and the State Department the best opportunity to work on fixes for the deal, we should not now reimpose the full array of sanctions that were in place prior to the agreement. Continuing the waiver would give diplomats and legislators a fair shot at seeing if they can fix this deal.

Announce targeted sanctions on Iranian leaders. In order to get Iran to agree to the deal the Obama administration removed the EIKO business empire of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini from the sanctions list. This was a mistake, and should be rectified by sanctioning EIKO again now. EIKO allows Khameini to enrich himself grotesquely. It also allows him to influence others through lucrative contracts, corruption and graft. The Central Bank of Iran is the primary tool the regime uses to fund terrorism and the rest of its bad actions. The bank was also removed from the sanctions list in 2015 and should be sanctioned again now.

Refuse to certify the Iran deal. Nothing has changed for the positive since President Trump refused to certify the deal in October, so he should again note the reasons and add the human rights abuses by the regime against protesters. He should also point out that the only ones who seem to have benefitted from the massive infusion of cash that President Obama sent Iran are the regime leaders and the terrorist groups they fund, such as Hezbollah and Hamas. The Iranian people have seen their economic fortunes get even worse.

These three steps make clear that the Iranian regime remains very much in defiance of the spirit and almost certainly the letter of the deal  but would allow President Trump to keep his promise to give legislators and diplomats a chance to try to fix the deal.

The effort to fix the deal may not succeed. At that point, stronger measures remain available. It is right to give Congress and the State Department the chance they were promised to try, and while that plays out to also ensure the Iranian regime feels the pressure it so rightly deserves.
Gun rights groups have filed a petition with the Supreme Court in the hopes that it would consider a controversial appeals court decision that limits where gun stores can open within one county in California.

Businessmen John Teixeira, Steve Nobriga and Gary Gamaza joined the Calguns Foundation, Second Amendment Foundation and California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees in the lawsuit first filed in 2012 that challenged an ordinance in Alameda County that prohibits gun stores from being located within 500 feet of areas that include a residentially zoned district.

Teixeria and his colleagues claim the law prevented them from opening a gun shop in San Lorenzo. The plaintiffs maintain in their appeal that this zoning law is a violation of Second Amendment rights.

You simply cannot allow local governments to ignore the Second Amendment because they don't like how the Supreme Court has ruled on the amendment twice in the past ten years, Second Amendment Foundation founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb told Fox News. You shouldn't be able to zone the Second Amendment out of the Bill of Rights.

Teixeira and company also said they determined there was not a single lot within the county that met the ordinances requirement of 500 feet.

Local neighbors who live eight lanes across an interstate and the anti-rights politicians that cater to them can't redline gun stores and the right to buy arms out of existence, Calguns Foundation Chairman Gene Hoffman said in a statement also provided to Fox News. Since this case was filed multiple local city and county governments have used unconstitutional zoning laws to stop new gun stores from opening and close down existing gun stores. If this was a bookstore or an abortion clinic, the Ninth Circuit would not have hesitated in striking this zoning regulation unanimously.

Back in October, an 11-judge panel in the court of appeals upheld the county ordinance with a majority saying in their ruling that the law did not violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms of would-be gun owners because there were other stores in the county where they could buy a gun.

Gun buyers have no right to have a gun store in a particular location, at least as long as their access is not meaningfully constrained," Judge Marsha Berzon said at the time.

The majority also rejected the argument that gun sellers' Second Amendment rights were violated, saying there is no constitutional right to sell guns.

The ruling overturned a decision made the previous year by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit that said the Second Amendment extends to gun stores and requires governments to justify restrictions on them.

That panel in a 2-1 decision said Alameda County had to present evidence to justify the restriction on gun store locations.
The White House will not allow companies to drill for oil off the coast of Florida, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Tuesday after a brief meeting with the state's governor.

The change of course comes five days after Zinke announced the offshore drilling plan and highlights the political importance of Florida, where President Donald Trump narrowly won the state's 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encouraged Gov. Rick Scott to run for Senate.

Zinke met with Scott at the Tallahassee airport before announcing that waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean would be "off the table" for drilling.



Zinke announced plans last week to greatly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans, including several possible drilling operations off Florida, where drilling is now blocked. The plan was immediately met with bipartisan opposition on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.



Scott, who is expected to run for Senate later this year, came out against the Trump administration plan when it was first announced, saying his top priority is to ensure that Florida's natural resources are protected.



Other Republican governors also oppose the plan, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker.



"For Floridians we are not drilling off the coast of Florida, which clearly the governor has expressed that's important," Zinke said, adding that he knew when he announced the drilling plan last week that it would spark discussion across the country.



"Our tactic was open everything up, then meet with the governors, meet with the stakeholders so that when we shaped it, it was right," he told reporters at a news conference Tuesday night. "The president made it very clear that local voices count."



When asked what caused the administration to change its position on Florida drilling, Zinke said bluntly, "The governor."



Scott said he was pleased at the administration's change of heart.



"It's a good day for Florida," he said, adding, "I think it's very important to continue our efforts to take care of our environment."



Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said the meeting with Zinke was "a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott," who Nelson said has long wanted to drill off Florida's coast.



"This may be good news for Florida, but its a huge slap in the face to every other coastal state now threatened by dangerous drilling," said Jacki Lopez of the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity. "Zinkes slipshod revision underscores the Trump administrations foolish disregard for offshore drillings huge pollution risks. These guys are incredibly reckless, and every misguided decision they make is a new gamble with our fragile ocean environments."

Zinke said last week that the drilling plan called for responsible development that would boost jobs and economic security while providing billions of dollars to fund conservation along U.S. coastlines.

The five-year plan would open 90 percent of the nation's offshore reserves to development by private companies, Zinke said, with 47 leases proposed off the nation's coastlines from 2019 to 2024. Nineteen sales would be off Alaska, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, nine in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific, including six off California.



Industry groups praised the announcement, the most expansive offshore drilling proposal in decades. The plan follows Trump's executive order in April encouraging more drilling rights in federal waters, part of the administration's strategy to help the U.S. achieve "energy dominance" in the global market.



A coalition of more than 60 environmental groups denounced the plan, saying it would impose "severe and unacceptable harm" to America's oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Trump White House said Tuesday that a lengthy bipartisan immigration meeting with lawmakers -- which played out in front of the cameras for nearly an hour -- has yielded a framework for future negotiation, covering everything from border security to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

President Donald J. Trump just concluded a successful bipartisan and bicameral meeting on immigration reform, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Sanders said participants reached an agreement to negotiate legislation that would tackle four key areas: border security, the diversity visa lottery, DACA and so-called chain migration, through which an immigrant's family members can enter the U.S. because their relative got in.

Still, later in the day, Trump said he would not budge on the border wall. As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval, he tweeted.

Trump was clearly in a deal-making mood as he presided over the meeting, featuring Republican and Democratic lawmakers, that was replayed on television and showed him trying to reach common ground with both sides.

There should be no reason for us not to get this done, an enthusiastic Trump said.

Lawmakers and the White House still have much to discuss as they determine the specifics and scope of any agreement. Trump suggested during the meeting they might attack it in two phases.

The first step would be a deal to legislate the expiring DACA policy -- an Obama-era executive order that shielded some illegal immigrants who arrived in the country as children from deportation. A legislative fix for DACA would be coupled with an agreement on border security, which would appear to include Trumps central campaign promise of a wall along the southern border.

The second step would be a much broader comprehensive immigration reform of the kind that lawmakers in both parties have unsuccessfully tried to work out for over a decade.

Moderate Republican lawmakers expressed delight at Trumps apparent openness to negotiate, hoping that it could be the start of a deal that had eluded lawmakers for years.

This was the most fascinating meeting Ive been involved with in twenty plus years in politics, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement after the meeting. I very much appreciate President Trumps attitude, demeanor, and desire to get something done that will make our nation more secure  while being fair to the Dreamers.

He added, President Trump has the right attitude. Now it is up to all of us in Congress to come up with a proposal that gets the job done.

Democrats expressed cautious optimism about what they had seen during the meeting.

I was encouraged about what the president said, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters. The tone was very good. But the devil is in the details.

To the extent the meeting helped narrow the scope of our negotiations and prioritize the Dream Act, this was a positive first step, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said in a statement. I'm pleased that there seemed to be an acknowledgement of the urgent need to pass this bipartisan bill immediately, so DACA recipients stop losing status and having their lives upended.

Immigration hardliners, meanwhile, reacted with horror at Trumps wheeling and dealing.

Nothing Michael Wolff could say about @RealDonaldTrump has hurt him as much as the DACA lovefest right now, tweeted commentator Ann Coulter, referring to Wolffs tell-all book Fire & Fury from which gushed forth a torrent of negative headlines for the president last week.

Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, predicted that if he ends up actually signing the kind of bill [Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.] & co. want, GOP loses House & he's impeached (tho not necessarily removed) & out in 2020.

In perhaps the most eyebrow-raising comment of the meeting, Trump said he wanted the first stage of negotiations to result in a bill of love -- reminiscent of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bushs claim that illegal immigration can be an act of love. Bush was pilloried for that remark during the Republican presidential primary, in particular by Trump himself.

Bush tweeted that he was encouraged [that] the President is seeking bipartisan solutions to our immigration challenges.

President Trump seemed to agree on a permanent solution for undocumented immigrant youth as the priority during todays meeting, acknowledging that broader immigration reforms should be deferred to a phase two negotiation down the road. Its now up to responsible lawmakers of both parties to reject further attempts by the nativist voices to derail policy negotiations with unfounded border alarmism and by adding unrelated, ideologically-driven poison pills to a narrowly-tailored deal, American Civil Liberties Union director of immigration policy and campaigns Lorella Praeli responded.

Trump also took the sting out of the threat of a potential veto by promising to sign any deal that was hashed out by lawmakers and said that he would take the heat from conservatives opposed to such a comprehensive bill -- apparently acknowledging that he will hit opposition from his base.

I will be signing it, Im not going to say, oh gee, I want this or I want that. Ill be signing it, Trump said.

Yet, despite Trumps apparent flexibility, some sticking points remained. Trump was asked whether there would be an agreement that did not include the border wall.

No, Trump responded.

Fox News Elizabeth Llorente, Chad Pergram and John Roberts contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump is giving U.S. intelligence agencies 30 days to publicly release policy outlining procedures for responding to requests for "unmasking," or naming Americans listed in classified, redacted reports.

Trump's order followed a letter that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats wrote last month to Congress. Coats told lawmakers he would tighten rules for providing government officials the identities of Americans concealed in intelligence reports. Coats' policy would aim to toughen existing safeguards to ensure that names aren't disclosed for political reasons, especially during presidential transitions.

Many Republicans have claimed the Obama administration improperly released the identities of members of Trump's presidential transition team mentioned in intelligence reports, putting their safety at risk. Democrats insisted there was no evidence the identities of any Trump transition officials were improperly revealed. They said tough rules already have been in place.

Reports from September revealed that the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, averaged more than one unmasking request for every working day in 2016  and even sought information in the days leading up to President Trumps inauguration, sources confirmed to Fox News.

Intelligence agencies said that in 2016, government officials requested to know the identities of more than 1,900 Americans whose information was swept up by National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs last year. The identities of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents were found in 3,914 intelligence reports the NSA distributed in 2016. In 2015, government officials requested the unmasking of 2,232 identities.

Coats said the new procedures would further clarify existing rules, making clear that intelligence agencies could not engage in any intelligence activity, including dissemination of Americans' identities, to the White House for the purpose of influencing the U.S. political process. He said adequate justifications would be required for any requests.

"In addition, this policy will require heightened levels of approval for requests made during a presidential transition when these requests relate to known members of a president-elect's transition team," Coats wrote.

Fox News' Paulina Dedaj, John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Trump administration has approved a $133.3 million missile defense sale to Japan to meet the escalating threat from North Korea  by shooting down the rogue nation's own ballistic missiles.

The State Department says Congress was notified Tuesday of the proposed sale of four missiles for the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor.

A State Department official told Fox News that, Also included are four Mk 29 missile canisters, and other technical, engineering and logistics support services.

The department said the sale would support the U.S. defense industry and underscore Trumps commitment to improve the defense of allies threatened by North Korea.

The system was jointly developed by Japan and the U.S.

The missiles could be used at sea with Japans current Aegis-equipped destroyers and with the land-based Aegis system its Cabinet approved for purchase last month.

Thats intended to bolster Japans current missile defense and perhaps curry favor with President Donald Trump who is eager for U.S. allies to buy more American military hardware.

If concluded, this proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States, the State Department official told Fox News. It will bolster the security of a major treaty ally that has been, and continues to be, a force for political stability and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region. It will also improve (Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces) interoperability with U.S. missile defense systems, and increase the protection for U.S. installations in the region.

Fox News previously reported that North Koreas weapons are only aimed at America and its territories, a regime official menacingly revealed during Tuesdays joint talks with South Korea  doubling down on Kim Jong Uns frequent threats to destroy the United States.

Fox News Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Parents, teachers and child care advocates are fighting back against a controversial proposal that would force some day care workers in the nations capital to obtain a college degree  with critics calling the costly requirement tone deaf and outrageous.

More than 400 comments flooded the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which regulates day care and early childhood programs in the District of Columbia.

In 2016, the District increased education standards for day care providers as part of a broader revision to licensing requirements. The new regulations require day care center directors to earn a bachelor's and home care providers and assistant teachers to earn a Child Development Associate certificate by 2020.

The OSSE is considering pushing the deadline to 2023  but to many, the deadline isnt the problem.

"A delay is not good enoughfull repeal is the only responsible course of action for District families," Kate Francis, a D.C. resident, wrote in response to the new regulation. The comments were obtained by Reason.com. It sickens me that OSSE can be so cavalier and reckless with the lives of District families. Ripping kids away from the caregivers they know and love will be traumatic.

She also called the policy highly discriminatory because non-English speakers from low-income households will have a harder time fulfilling the educational requirements. She argues that it doesnt make them less qualified to care for young children but instead less able to comply with onerous and unproductive requirements.

Francis is one of hundreds who weighed in on the controversial plan.

Critics claim the new rule also puts pressure on parents who are maxed out on the rising costs of day care, as well as on day care workers.

'[I]ts really a lot to ask people to work hard all day and then sacrifice nights and weekends with their families [to get a degree or certificate].'  Lynita Law-Reid, director at Kids Are Us Learning Center

Many of our staff are single moms and have children of their own, and its really a lot to ask people to work hard all day and then sacrifice nights and weekends with their families [to get a degree or certificate], Lynita Law-Reid, director at Kids Are Us Learning Center, told Fox News.

Laura Hall, whose 1-year-old son goes to a home day care center, also submitted concerns about the rule, calling the three women who watch him his biggest cheerleaders.

Imposing a requirement for a college degree would be an incredible burden for these women, and would likely result in them having to find alternate employment and closing their small business, she wrote.

The new regulations put D.C. at the center of a national effort to improve the quality of care for kids up to 8 years old. The proposal forces child care workers who have historically been paid and treated like babysitters to up their game by getting degrees.

Supporters say the early years are a critical time for child development and so people tasked with caring for children should be educationally advanced.

The achievement gap starts early, and we know that 70 percent of a childs brain develops in the first year of life, Patience Peabody, director of communications for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, told The Washington Post. A well-educated and prepared early childhood workforce is essential to ensuring that children in the District of Columbia receive the highest quality care in the centers they attend.

The requirement, though, could result in ever-higher costs for a service that has become a near-necessity for working parents.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average cost of child care in D.C. is more than $22,600 annually. If child care workers are forced to get associate's degrees, the costs for parents will also go up, the think tank forecasts.

The mandate could force many current day care workers out of the field.

Its hard because people say, Is paying the cost of college worth a $15.50 per hour [job] when you come out? Law-Reid said. I have had staff say, I cant do it, Law-Reid told Fox News.
From its connection to Hillary Clintons campaign to the publication of a graphic dossier about President Trump, Fusion GPS has become something of a major player in the Russia investigation.

The political firm was behind the controversial dossier that contained numerous colorful but unverifiable allegations about Trumps connections to Russia. And that dossier got somebody killed, according to an attorney for Fusion GPS.

"Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work, said attorney Joshua Levy in an Aug. 22 deposition made public.

Fusion GPS has been linked to a conservative website as well as the Clintons. Heres what to know about the firm.

What is Fusion GPS?

Founded by veteran journalists, Fusion GPS provides premium research, strategic intelligence, and due diligence services to corporations, law firms and investors worldwide, according to its sparse website.

The Washington, D.C.-based group says it offers a cross-disciplinary approach with expertise in media, politics, regulation, national security, and global markets.

Fusion GPS was started in 2009 by former Wall Street Journal reporters Peter Fritsch and Glenn Simpson.

How is Fusion GPS linked to the Russia investigation?

The political firm was behind the controversial dossier that contained a number of colorful but unverifiable claims about Trump. The company retained British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who produced the 35-page dossier.

While it has not been verified, the dossier, which included explicit sexual and financial allegations against Trump, created further speculation about any Trump connection to Russian officials  a question that has dogged his campaign and presidency.

Simpson told the House Intelligence Committee in November that some information the firm obtained raised questions about the campaigns involvement with Russians during the election.

"I think that the evidence that has developed over the last year, since President Trump took office, is that there is a well-established pattern of surreptitious contacts that occurred last year that supports the broad allegation of some sort of an undisclosed political or financial relationship between the Trump Organization and people in Russia," Simpson said.

The dossier was also the catalyst for a surveillance warrant the FBI and Justice Department obtained to spy on Carter Page, a former Trump foreign policy adviser, according to a controversial memo from the House Intelligence Committee. The memo alleges that officials did not reveal who paid for the dossier when requesting the warrant.

So who funded the dossier?

The firm was originally retained during the election by the conservative website Washington Free Beacon which wanted opposition research on Trump and other GOP candidates.

After Trump became the Republican nominee, Clinton and the Democratic National Committee retained Fusion GPS through lawyer Marc Elias and his firm, Perkins Coie.

Clinton reportedly did not know about the dossier until BuzzFeed News published it in January 2017. Democrats have defended it as simply opposition research.

TRUMP AND THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION: WHAT TO KNOW

It's unclear what Fusion GPS had dug up by the time Perkins Coie hired it or how much money was involved in the transaction. The Clinton campaign and the DNC paid Perkins Coie more than $9 million  although its uncertain how much of that money, if any, went toward the dossier.

The Clinton campaign and the DNC funded the project until October 2016  right before the election.

Trump has suggested that the dossier was funded by Russia, Democrats or the FBI.

Anything else?

Simpson has done substantial investigative work on the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who was imprisoned after reporting a massive tax fraud scheme. Magnitsky died in prison, and the U.S. enacted the Magnitsky Act, which imposes sanctions on certain Russian officials.

During the campaign, Donald Trump Jr., the presidents oldest son, took a controversial meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was supposed to have damning information about Clinton. Instead, those who went to the meeting said she just wanted to talk about the Magnitsky Act.

In his investigative work on Magnitsky, Simpson may have found evidence that contradicts details of the case accepted by the U.S., NBC News reported.

Fusion GPS also did work as a firm related to the Magnitsky Act.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"CBS This Morning" co-anchor Gayle King might have to leave the program if her longtime friend and confidant Oprah Winfrey runs for president, media watchers suggested Tuesday.

Kings close relationship with Winfrey would present a potentially significant conflict of interest that could undermine public confidence in CBSs reporting, several commentators said.

The two women have been good friends since they both worked at a Baltimore television station in their early 20s.

On Tuesday, CBS anchors Norah O'Donnell and Jeff Glor interviewed King about Winfreys plans on "CBS This Morning," without mentioning the close relationship between the two women.

King, who attended the Golden Globe Awards ceremony Sunday night and spent several hours with Winfrey afterward, said her friend was intrigued by the idea of a candidacy, but didn't think she was "actively considering" it.

King added that "there are people who have said they want to be her campaign manager, who want to quit their jobs and campaign for her."

GAYLE KING: 'I ABSOLUTELY DON'T THINK THAT HER POSITION HAS CHANGED'

Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative watchdog Media Research Center, said King's job "is like having an Oprah press spokesperson on staff. She's helping Oprah milk the speculation for all it's worth."

If Winfreys candidacy becomes real, "Gayle's gotta leave," declared CNN's morning host, Chris Cuomo.

"I have the right to change my opinion," added Cuomo, whose brother -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- has been mentioned as a potential 2020 presidential contender. "Does she have to leave? Maybe she does. I guess they could do the coverage in a way where she never handles it. But it would raise questions with people."

CBS will address the apparent conflict of interest if it becomes a problem, CBS News President David Rhodes said.

"It's difficult to be part of the news when you cover the news and she helped people understand what was going on with the story," Rhodes said.

King's insight is useful as long as chatter about Winfrey's candidacy is a parlor game and not reality, said Al Tompkins, an instructor in broadcast journalism for the Poynter Institute.

"The relationship between King and Winfrey is well known and viewers can filter what they hear from Gayle through that filter," Tompkins said. "If Oprah did run, it would be a tougher relationship to navigate. ... Today, with so many people being so skeptical or cynical of what they see, hear and read in journalism, the cleaner we can keep the lines between journalists and politicians the better."

Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, said CBS News would have to take King off campaign stories if Winfrey were to run. That could be awkward for the show's format; the three hosts often sit at a table and discuss stories or interview newsmakers together. (King and O'Donnell will soon be joined by John Dickerson, whom CBS named Tuesday as the replacement for Charlie Rose, who left "CBS This Morning" in November after allegations of sexual misconduct.)

"The public needs to be assured that the news they get is as objective as humanly possible," Feldstein said. "That obviously is not the case if an anchor is reporting on a close friend."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A bombshell revelation made public Tuesday that "somebody's already been killed" as a result of the publication of an unconfirmed anti-Trump dossier has sparked speculation that it was a reference to an ex-KGB agent mysteriously found dead in his car a year ago in Moscow.

The attorney for Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson told Senate investigators in a 300-page testimony transcript released Tuesday that a murder had been carried out as a result of the publication of an unverified and salacious dossier about Donald Trump.

"Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work, said Joshua Levy in the transcript, which was taken Aug. 22, but released by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work."  Joshua Levy, attorney for Glenn Simpson

The cryptic reference spurred a guessing game about who the unlucky person was. The best guess, at least for now, seems to be a former KGB general, Oleg Erovinkin, who was found dead in the back of his car on a Moscow street in December 2016.

According to a January 2017 report in British newspaper The Telegraph, Erovinkin was a top aide to Igor Sechin, a former deputy prime minister who was named repeatedly throughout the dossier. The KGB chief was also suspected at the time of helping former MI6 spy Christopher Steele compile info on Trump for the dossier.

Erovinkin and alleged details of his death were published in the book, Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump win by British journalist Luke Harding. It alleges that the street his body was found on in Moscow was desolate with no cafes or other businesses and not much pedestrian traffic, making it an ideal spot to carry out an assassination.

The vehicle had halted in Kitaigorodsky Proyezd  a street devoid of pedestrians and home to government buildings and an unfinished office block, reads a line from the book detailing where Erovinkins body and the car were found. It was three weeks after [Center for Information Security head Sergei] Mikhailovs arrest, Monday, December 26. At number 9 there is a military academy named after Peter the Great. Guards turn back any errant drivers who try to enter the courtyard.

Local media reports suggested at the time of his death that foul play was involved, but it was later claimed that his death was a result of a heart attack.

In the aftermath of his death, media reports speculated that Erovinkin was an unnamed informant for the dossier and Christo Grozev of Risk Management Lab, a think-tank based in Bulgaria claimed in a January 2017 Haaretz article alluded to the former KGB general being the main source of information for the dossier.

Insiders have described Erovinkin to me alternately as Sechins treasurer and the go-between between Putin and Sechin," Grozev said to the newspaper. "One thing that everyone seems to agree  both in public and private sources  is that Erovinkin was Sechins closest associate.

I have no doubt that at the time Erovinkin died, Mr. Putin had Mr. Steeles Trump dossier on his desk. He would  arguably  have known whether the alleged... story is based on fact or fiction," Grozev also said. "Whichever is true, he would have had a motive to seek and find the mole... He would have had to conclude that Erovinkin was at least a person of interest.

Levy did not immediately return messages requesting information about who he was referring to.
A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday barred the Trump administration from turning back the Obama-era DACA program, which shielded more than 700,000 people from deportation, Reuters reported.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, ruled that the program must stay intact while litigation is played out.

Alsup ordered that until a final judgment is reached, the program must continue and those already approved for DACA protections and work permits must be allowed to renew them before they expire.

Dreamers who have never received DACA protections, however, will not be allowed to apply, Alsup ordered. Trump last year ended the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He gave Congress until March to find a fix.

The Department of Justice said in a statement that the ruling does not change the department's position on the facts.

"DACA was implemented unilaterally after Congress declined to extend these benefits to this same group of illegal aliens. As such, it was an unlawful circumvention of Congress, and was susceptible to the same legal challenges that effectively ended DAPA," the statement read.

Deferred Action for Parents of Americans program was intended to keep the immigrant parents safe from deportation and provide them with a renewable work permit good for two years, but it was blocked by a federal judge after 26 states filed suit against the federal government and challenged the effort's legality.

Trump said he was willing to be flexible on DACA in finding an agreement as Democrats warned that the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrants hung in the balance.

I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with, Trump said during a Cabinet Room meeting with a bipartisan group of nearly two dozen lawmakers.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Trump appeared optimistic that Congress could reach a decision on the program.

Trump ended DACA in September. Immigration advocates estimate that more than 100 people a day lose the protected status because they did not renew their permits before the deadline, The Journal reported.

Trump is using border securityincluding a border wall-- as a bargaining chip and Democrats want to use their sway on the spending bill to protect immigrants under DACA.

The plaintiffs in the suit included, among others, attorneys general from California, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and the University of California

Xavier Becerra, Californias attorney general, filed a motion seeking the preliminary injunction in November, saying that the move is in violation of the U.S. Constitution and causes irreparable harm to DACA recipients.

Becerra said in a statement late Tuesday that the ruling is a huge step in the right direction.

America is and has been home to Dreamers who courageously came forward, applied for DACA and did everything the federal government asked of them, he said. They followed DACAs rules, they succeeded in school, at work and in business, and they have contributed in building a better America.

Fox News' Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report
A weekend forum for Republican House candidates in central Pennsylvania was cancelled Wednesday amid backlash over an invitation extended to a candidate with alleged white nationalist views.

The invitation was extended to Sean M. Donahue by the Dauphin County Council of Republican Women, in the 11th District race for the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Lou Barletta. A representative for the group told Fox News the event was cancelled, without elaborating.

The pushback was led by candidate Andrew Lewis, an Iraq military veteran who said hed boycott the event scheduled for Saturday.

Donahue, as of Wednesday, had yet to officially enter the race, but a Facebook page and website apparently connected to him declares Donahue a candidate.

Lewis -- a businessman running on a pro-Trump, America First agenda -- argues Donahues anti-Semitic, pro-segregationist, and white-supremacist views and values have no place in the county, much less the forum.

The greatest thing about America is that here, no matter who you are, the color of your skin, or where you come from, if you are willing to roll up your sleeves and work hard you can become whoever you want to be and nobody can hold you back, said Lewis, who had called on other candidates to also boycott the forum.

Candidate Dan Meuser also had been invited, but a spokesman said Wednesday he wasnt planning to go because of Donahue.

Donahue could not be reached Wednesday to answer questions about Lewis alleging he holds white supremacist views.

A statement posted online that appeared written and posted by Donahue suggested that hes trying to win by taking up Barlettas hardline immigration stance and that hes long been a victim of the media and political establishment.

If we do not want to control immigration from South and Central America, we must accept Whites will ultimately become the racial minority in the United States, the nine-page statement also reads. If I am elected, I promise to preserve the American dream for Americans and to deny that dream to foreigners.

The statement also attempted to explain allegations that Donahue associated with former KKK leader David Duke, while saying an online talk show he coordinated provided a forum for extreme radical views.

One resident on Wednesday expressed dismay over how the weekend candidates forum had to be called off over the controversy, while calling it the right move.

I think it was better to have cancelled the forum, than to have legitimized the views of such a candidate, said Jim Lucas, a Republican voter in that congressional district. But these types of events are very important. So Im a little disappointed that it was cancelled.

A rally this summer in Charlottesville, Va., organized by white supremacists and others from the so-called far right, resulted in violent clashes and the death of a woman killed in a vehicle attack. The incident sparked national outrage and refocused attention on such groups, as elected politicians of both major parties condemned such views.

More recently, the longshot campaign of Paul Nehlen, a Republican challenging House Speaker Paul Ryan for his Wisconsin House seat, was significantly set back by Nehlens social media posts, considered by critics to be anti-Semitic or sympathetic to white supremacists.

Donahue was convicted last year on one count of making a "terroristic" threat against a local official, according to the local publication CitizensVoice.com.
Two Miami lawmakers were forced to admit and apologize for their bipartisan extramarital affair after an anonymous website claimed to have evidence of the swing-state senators getting busy behind closed doors.

Its just the latest sex-fueled scandal that has rocked the Florida legislature in recent months.

On Tuesday, shortly before the start of the session, veteran lawmakers Sens. Oscar Braynon, a Democrat, and Anitere Flores, a Republican, issued a joint statement saying their longtime friendship evolved to a level that we deeply regret.

We have sought the forgiveness of our families, and also seek the forgiveness of our constituents and God, the statement read. We ask everyone else to respect and provide our families the privacy that they deserve as we move past this to focus on the important work ahead.

That might be easier said than done.

Both Braynon and Flores are married  to other people  and hold leadership positions in the state legislature.

Braynon is the Senate Minority Leader, while Flores is the chairwoman of both the Banking and Insurance Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.

The couple was outed after the website floresbraynonaffair.com published videos from a hidden camera purporting to show Flores entering Braynons apartment at The Tennyson. Both lived in the Tallahassee complex during the two-month legislative session in 2017.

Another video purportedly shows Flores leaving Braynons place the next morning.

The website has since been taken down.

The mystery surrounding who could be behind the video remains.

The anonymous author wrote that a resident at the Tennyson gave him a key fob to get into the building and a key to enter the apartment.

Last year, Braynon told Politico Florida that he had found a different hidden camera at the complex and believed it was the work of a private investigator.

But unlike the Flores-Braynon incident, which involved two consenting adults, a spate of other sex scandals has dogged the Florida legislature in recent months.

In December, Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Jack Latvala was forced to resign following complaints of sexual harassment from at least seven different women. The complaints ranged from making boorish comments about the weight and breast size of women to nonconsensual touching of their private parts.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has added a cybersecurity specialist to his team investigating Russias attempted meddling in the 2016 election, Fox News has confirmed.

Ryan Dickey joined in early November and is on detail from the Criminal Divisions Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, a spokesman for the special counsel said Wednesday.

The Washington Post, which first reported the addition of Dickey to the team, said he is the first known member of Muellers team to specialize in cyber issues.

Dickey was part of the team that prosecuted Romanian hacker Marcel Lehel Lazar, also known as Guccifer. Guccifer first revealed to the world that Hillary Clinton used a non-secure private email address while serving as secretary of state.

Meanwhile, President Trump on Wednesday railed against Muellers probe during a joint press conference with the prime minister of Norway.

TRUMP BLASTS RUSSIA PROBE, SAYS UNLIKELY MUELLER WILL HAVE TO INTERVIEW HIM

I've been in office now for 11 months," Trump said of the probe. "For 11 months, they've had this phony cloud over this administration, over our government and it has hurt our government. It does hurt our government. It's a Democrat hoax that was brought up as an excuse, for losing an election.

Fox News Catherine Herridge, Alex Pappas and Pamela Browne contributed to this report.
Vice President Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence will lead the U.S. delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, the White House said late Tuesday.

A senior White House official told Fox News that the vice president is attending the Olympic Games, which will be held in Peongchang from Feb. 9-25, to reinforce the strong U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear signal to the North Korean regime.

Pence is expected to stop in Alaska to review intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) defense systems, and in Japan. His visit to Japan, according to a senior official, is to reaffirm leaders there, and in South Korea, of the U.S. commitment to stability in the region.

"The Vice President is traveling to the Olympic Games in South Korea to reinforce the strong U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear message of American resolve to the North Korean regime, Pence's deputy chief of staff, Jarrod Agen, said in a statement . The Vice President will reaffirm to the leaders of Japan and South Korea the United States' unwavering commitment to our allies and to deter and defend against the North Korean threat. In addition to showing support for our U.S. athletes, the Vice President will show his confidence in and appreciation for our U.S. military stationed in the region.

The vice president is expected to be joined by the first daughter, Ivanka Trump, though her attendance has not yet been confirmed.

On a call with South Korean President Moon Jae-In on Nov. 30, President Trump committed to sending a high-level delegation to the Winter Games.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday that the full delegation will be announced in the coming days.

The State Department said Tuesday that there were no plans for U.S. officials and North Korean to meet during the Olympic Games.

Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report.
President Trump on Wednesday cast doubt on the possibility that he will be interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Muellers team, saying it wont be necessary since there was "no collusion" between his campaign and the Russians.

When they have no collusion, and nobody has found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you would even have an interview, Trump said, when asked if hes willing to meet with Mueller.

Said Trump, We'll see what happens. Certainly I'll see what happens.

The president made the comments during a joint White House press conference with Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway. He railed against the phony Russia investigation, repeatedly denying any collusion between his campaign and the Russians and saying the probe has harmed the United States.

I've been in office now for 11 months," he said. "For 11 months, they've had this phony cloud over this administration, over our government and it has hurt our government. It does hurt our government. It's a Democrat hoax that was brought up as an excuse, for losing an election.

TRUMP LAWYERS CONSIDER POSSIBLE INTERVIEW OF PRESIDENT BY MUELLER TEAM

I will say this, there is collusion but it's really with the Democrats and the Russians, far more than it is with the Republicans and the Russians, Trump said. So the witch hunt continues.

He also complained that when former 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton was interviewed by agents as part of the email probe, she was not under oath.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the presidents lawyers are preparing for the possibility that Muellers team will ask to conduct an interview with the president himself.

There has been no official request by Muellers office to interview the president yet, but Trumps lawyers are anticipating that Mueller may request information from Trump before winding down the investigation into Russias attempted meddling in the 2016 election.

According to sources, conversations with Muellers team about an interview are in the early stage. It is still possible an interview wont even take place.

But the presidents legal team is considering a number of possible options for such an interview, including an in-person interview of Trump, written responses to questions submitted by Muellers investigative team or an affidavit signed by the president stating his position on the case.
President Trump slammed sneaky Dianne Feinstein Wednesday after the Democratic senator released the transcript of a congressional interview with the co-founder of the firm behind the anti-Trump dossier, claiming the move was possibly illegal.

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary! Trump tweeted Wednesday.

Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, unilaterally released the 312-page transcript of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpsons August interview with committee investigators.

The release provoked controversy on Capitol Hill, with a spokesman for committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, slamming Feinsteins move as confounding. Spokesman Taylor Foy said she made the decision without consulting the chairman and warned the move jeopardized other highly sought witness testimony.

Feinstein, who faces re-election this year, said she released the transcript because "the American people deserve the opportunity to see what he said and judge for themselves."

Moments after Trump slammed Feinstein, he returned to bashing the ongoing Russia investigation.

The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control! Trump tweeted.

The presidents tweets come as his lawyers are preparing for the possibility that Special Counsel Robert Muellers team will ask to conduct an interview with Trump himself as part of the Russia probe. At this point, there has been no official request by Muellers office to interview the president. It is possible an interview will not take place.

TRUMP LAWYERS CONSIDER POSSIBLE INTERVIEW OF PRESIDENT BY MUELLER TEAM

But Feinsteins release of the testimony drew attention back to all things Russia. The hundreds of pages of Simpsons responses were rich with revelations about Fusion GPS, itsr work and its investigation into Trump, which began in September 2015.

One passage in particular drew heavy attention -- where Simpson's lawyer claimed someone had been killed over the dossier's publication.

He wants to be very careful to protect his sources, Simpsons attorney Josh Levy said during the Aug. 22 committee interview. Somebodys already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work.

'SOMEBODY'S ALREADY BEEN KILLED' BECAUSE OF DOSSIER, FUSION GPS REP REVEALED

Levy did not elaborate on who was killed, and congressional investigators did not follow up with any questions to his claim.

Neither a spokesperson for Grassley nor Feinstein responded to Fox News request for comment on why investigators did not follow up with questions on the serious charge made by Levy.

The dossier was written by former British MI6 agent Christopher Steele. Fusion GPS, which hired Steele, was funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The findings eventually made their way to the FBI. The dossier was published on BuzzFeed News in January 2017.

Fox News Alex Pappas and John Roberts contributed to this report.
President Trump deserves big credit for kicking off the first talks between Pyongyang and Seoul in more than two years, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday.

North Korea agreed Tuesday to send a delegation to next months Winter Olympics, which are set to begin next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The rival nations talks are the first sign of a possible thaw in their relationship.

The talks were held for the first time since 2015 and Moon credited Trump for sparking them, according to Reuters.

I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks, Moon said at a news conference. It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure.

Following Moon's comments, his Special Adviser for Foreign Affairs and National Security, Chung-in Moon told Fox News: "I agree 100 percent. Were it not for President Trump's pressures, North Korea would not have come to South Korea. President Trump deserves credit."

He suggested the talks are a prelude to substantive bilateral discussions between the U.S. and North Korea.

North Korea is desperate to have talks with the U.S., but there are communication difficulties. What was the choice? You can go to Washington through South Korea," he said.

As to fears that South Korea will stray from the hard line the Trump Administration has established regarding the nuclear and missile programs of North Korea, the special adviser said that would not happen.

"South Korea will go in tandem with the United States in dealing with North Korea, he said. Precisely"

He said the South Korean government reacted to President Trump's support of current negotiation efforts after past criticism of Seoul by Washington.

"We heard what President Trump was saying: We support you. Even delaying the joint military drills, he said. I think it was an amazing development."

Trump has taken a hard line against Kim Jong Un's belligerent regime, promising "fire and fury" in the face of North Korea's continued testing of illicit ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. The two leaders have openly talked about using nukes, with both Trump and Kim Jong Un claiming they have buttons on their desks to launch nuclear-tipped missiles.

The U.S. had expressed concerns that North Koreas willingness to talk with Seoul could drive a wedge in their own relationship with South Korea, but the South Korean president downplayed that notion, saying the main goal was still a denuclearized peninsula.

The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula the two Koreas agreed upon jointly [in the past] is our basic stance that will never be given up, Moon said.

North Korea said it would still not discuss its nuclear weapons program with South Korea because its arsenal was only aimed at the U.S.

North Koreas weapons are only aimed at the United States, not our brethren, China or Russia, said Ri Son Gwon, the head of North Koreas five-member delegation at the talks with South Korea.

Ri added discussing North Koreas nuclear program will only damage ties with South Korea.

A hat tip from South Korea to Trump could signal another foreign policy win for the administration that started the year with a ton of momentum after defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The Trump administration authorized a more intensive air strategy, which left the so-called caliphate decimated. The terror group lost 98 percent of its territory it once held, U.S. military officials said in December.

U.S. officials said fewer than 1,000 ISIS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria, down from a peak of nearly 45,000 two years ago.

Fox News Katherine Lam and Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump dismantled his controversial voter fraud commission as the group faced lawsuits, oppositions from states and fighting among its members.

On social media, Trump accused Democrat States of refusing to turn over information requested by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity  tasked with investigating alleged voter fraud in the 2016 election  because they know that many people are voting illegally.

System is rigged, Trump said, calling for more stringent voter ID laws.

A June 2017 letter addressed to states from the commission asked for publicly available voter roll data. However, the letter also requested a lot of specific details, including: parts of Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and information regarding felony convictions or military status.

Officials plan to erase the information already collected by the commission, White House Director of Technology Charles Herndon said in a declaration submitted to federal court.

The commission was also hit with a bevy of legal obstacles by organizations and state lawmakers regarding its practices.

What was the commission?

Trump created the commission through an executive order in May. It was expected to investigate instances of alleged voter fraud in the 2016 election.

Vice President Mike Pence chaired the commission with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach serving as its vice chair.

Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat on the commission, sued the group in federal court. He alleged, in part, that it violated federal law by refusing to provide him documents made available to other members.

Dunlap also blamed Kobach and his allies for stonewalling progress on the commission.

Why did Trump create it in the first place?

In the days following his inauguration, Trump called for a major investigation into alleged voter fraud in the U.S.

Trump has claimed multiple times that between 3 and 5 million illegals voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, thus costing him the popular vote. These claims have not been verified.

However, critics have said the commission was part of a campaign to make it more difficult for lower-income and minority voters to access a ballot box. Others said it was an effort by the Trump administration to distract from the ongoing investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election.

Why did Trump decide to disband it?

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the commission rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense.

She said the Department of Homeland Security has been asked to review the groups initial findings and determine [the] next course of action.

In his declaration, Herndon said state voter data will not be transferred to or accessed or utilized by DHS, Politico noted.

Kobach called the disbanding of the commission a tactical change and said DHS can still pursue its own probe into election fraud in a quicker manner.

"The Democrats, both on and off the commission, made very clear that they were not interested in determining the scope and extent of voter fraud and, indeed, they were trying to stop the commission in its tracks," Kobach said. "The Democrats lost their opportunity, lost their seat at the table, by stonewalling."

Several secretaries of state, Republican and Democrat, bucked a request for sensitive data by the commission or said they would only provide limited data.

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, suggested the commission go jump in the Gulf of Mexico.

Even Kobach said his state would only provide some of the data requested by his commission.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The media reports that Bob Mueller wants to question Donald Trump hardly sound like great news for the White Housebut there could be a silver lining.

At the very least, the stories suggest that the special counsel is approaching the final stages of his Russia investigation. Prosecutors virtually never interview their highest-ranking potential target until they've compiled most of the evidence, because you want the most ammunition for that high-stakes encounter.

That would mean the prospect of the Mueller investigation dragging on for another year or two, casting a dark shadow over the White House, would be greatly diminished.

The news, first reported by NBC, was quickly confirmed elsewhere. The New York Times says that "Robert S. Mueller III told President Trumps lawyers last month that he will probably seek to interview the president, setting off discussions among Mr. Trump's lawyers about the perils of such a move"this according to "two people familiar with the discussion."

The Washington Post says Mueller has indicated his office "is likely to seek an interview with the president, triggering a discussion among his attorneys about how to avoid a sit-down encounter or set limits on such a session"also according to two unnamed sources.

It was probably inevitable that Mueller wouldn't wrap things up without attempting to sit down with the president. Ken Starr took Bill Clinton's famous "the meaning of is" testimony in front of a grand jury, although this took place at the White House.

The Post says the "the presidents attorneys are reluctant to let him sit for open-ended, face-to-face questioning without clear parameters, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Since the December meeting, they have discussed whether the president could provide written answers to some of the questions from Muellers investigators, as President Ronald Reagan did during the Iran-contra investigation. They have also discussed the obligation of Muellers team to demonstrate that it could not obtain the information it seeks without interviewing the president."

This suggests that some delicate negotiations may soon be under way.

The Times quoted an unnamed source as saying that Mueller "appeared most interested in asking questions about the former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, and the firing of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey  not the broader question of possible collusion with Russia. Those topics signal an interest in whether Mr. Trump tried to obstruct justice."

If that's accurate, it means the Russian collusion questionwhich the president has repeatedly attacked as fake and which is why the probe was launched in the first placeis fizzling. And that would represent a measure of vindication for the White House.

Obstruction, of course, is serious business; it was one of the charges in the House Judiciary Committees vote to impeach Richard Nixon. But this scenario would leave Mueller in the strange position of arguing that Trump or his associates were trying to cover up something that he cant prove was a crime.

Paul Manafort's indictment mainly has to do with Ukraine. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians, but he also lied to the White House. The only plea that seems more directly connected to a collusion narrative is that of George Papadopoulos, but he was a low-level adviser.

It could be tricky for Trump to explain why he fired Comey, and respond to Comey's testimony that the president asked him to go easy on Flynn. But a president does have the legal authority to dismiss his FBI chief.

White House lawyers have been cooperating with the special counsel, and the president has dismissed media speculation that he might fire Mueller.

"We have been very open," Trump told reporters at Camp David. "We could have done it two ways. We could have been very closed, and it would have taken years. But you know, sort of like when you've done nothing wrong, lets be open and get it over with."

If an interview with the president signals the final phase of this investigation, the strategy of cooperation could look smart in the end.

That is, unless Mueller is sitting on something explosive that miraculously has failed to leak.
Throughout the first year of his presidency  and even as he campaigned for the office  President Trumps rhetoric regarding North Korea has been harsh.

He warned earlier this year that Americas nuclear capabilities were much bigger [and] more powerful than that of the Asian nation. And at the end of 2017, Trump designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror again  a classification that came with additional sanctions.

On the heels of a planned, historic summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trumps tone softened, saying great progress has been made. But Trump ultimately cancelled that meeting, citing "open hostility" from North Korea.

From agreeing to meet with Kim to dubbing him Little Rocket Man, heres a look at what Trump has said about North Korea and its leader over time.

Back together again

After meeting with a North Korean official in the White House for more than an hour, Trump announced the June summit with North Korea is back on.

We'll be meeting on June 12 in Singapore," the president told reporters after the meeting.

Let's call the whole thing off

Trump announced on May 24 that he has decided to pull out of the June summit with North Korea.

"We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally irrelevant," Trump said in a letter to Kim. "I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting."

"You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used," Trump said.

"I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only that dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you," he added. "In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated."

Deal or no deal?

After speaking with the South Korean president amid threats from the rogue regime to cancel talks, Trump suggested the historic summit between him and Kim might not happen after all.

If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later. You never know about deals. Ive made a lot of deals, Trump said on May 22. You never really know. It may not work out for June 12.

Trump said he wants the Korean peninsula to be denuclearized in an all in one manner.

I can guarantee Kims safety. He will be safe. He will be happy, Trump said. His country will be rich.

Trump also said hes noticed a change in Kims attitude recently.

I cant say that Im happy about it, he added.

Save the date

Trump officially announced that he would meet with Kim in Singapore on June 12.

We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace! Trump said in a tweet.

The announcement came hours after Trump and the first lady welcomed the three Americans freed from detention in North Korea at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland early on May 10.

After Trump met with the three men, he publicly thanked Kim for releasing the prisoners.

Were starting off on a new footing, Trump said.

Positive gesture of goodwill

In announcing that a date and place has been set for his much-anticipated meeting with Kim, Trump also confirmed three American prisoners have been released.

The three Americans  Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak Song  are returning to the U.S. with newly-confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump said in a tweet. The president confirmed the three men are also in good health.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORIC SUMMIT BETWEEN TRUMP, KIM JONG UN

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Trump appreciates Kim Jong Uns action to release these American citizens, and views this as a positive gesture of goodwill.

Another American detainee, Otto Warmbier, died in June 2017 after he was released back to the U.S. with severe brain damage.

Good relationship formed

Trump has confirmed that CIA Director Mike Pompeo  his pick to lead the State Department  secretly met with Kim in April and a good relationship was formed. He said the meeting went very smoothly.

The president also disclosed that the U.S. and North Korea have held direct talks at extremely high levels in preparation for the summit.

Kim will do what is right

After Kims first reported visit to China, Trump said there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity.

For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility, Trump said in a March tweet, adding that he is looking forward to his upcoming meeting with the North Korean leader.

He also gave North Korea the benefit of the doubt earlier that month, saying he believes the country will abide by its pledge to suspend missile tests.

When Trump delivered a speech in Pennsylvania, the crowd booed the mention of Kim, but the president stopped them.

No, it's very positive ... no, after the meeting you may do that, but now we have to be very nice because let's see what happens, let's see what happens, Trump said.

Invitation accepted

Trump accepted an invitation from Kim to meet, the White House said. While a time and place has yet to be determined, the two leaders are expected to meet by June.

The invitation to convene was extended by Kim.

Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached, Trump said on social media. Meeting being planned!

The deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World. Time and place to be determined, he later said.

Possible progress

As North Korea is reportedly willing to negotiate its nuclear weapons, Trump cautiously acknowledged possible progress.

For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned, Trump said on Twitter. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!

At a later White House news conference, Trump said he believed North Korea, which has a long history of deception and threats to target U.S. cities with nuclear missiles, is sincere.

We have come certainly a long way, at least rhetorically, with North Korea, Trump said. Of the possibility for peacefully resolving the nations deep differences, he said: Itd be a great thing for the world, would be great for North Korea, it would be a great thing for the peninsula.

But well see what happens, Trump said.

Spirit of the Olympics

At the conclusion of the 2018 Winter Olympics, North Korea sent the U.S. a message through South Korea, saying it has ample intentions of holding talks with America.

During a meeting with the nations governors at the White House in February, Trump said those talks will only occur under the right conditions.

The administrations position has been that North Korea must get rid of its nuclear and missile programs first before any talks can take place.

Relationship status: Its complicated

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump reportedly said he probably has a very good relationship with North Korea.

Trump also suggested that he is open to diplomacy with the country hes spent years criticizing, the newspaper reported.

I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised, Trump said.

The Wall Street Journal released the audio and transcript of the interview after Trump denied making the comments.

'Success for the world'

Trump told South Korea that he would be open to talks with its northern neighbor under the right circumstances, the White House said.

Trump also took credit for the talks between North and South Korea ahead of next months Winter Olympics. At a January Cabinet meeting, Trump said it was his administrations pressure on North Korea that caused the rogue nation to negotiate with the South.

"Without our attitude that would have never happened," Trump said of the inter-Korean dialogue. "Who knows where it leads. Hopefully it will lead to success for the world  not just for our country but for the world, and we'll be seeing over the next number of weeks and months what happens."

Whose button is bigger?

After Kim warned Trump about North Koreas nuclear capabilities, Trump hit back on social media, arguing that his Nuclear Button is bigger [and] more powerful.

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,' the president tweeted. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!

Kim previously warned the U.S. should know that the button for nuclear war is on my table.

The entire area of the U.S. mainland is within our nuclear strike range, he said. The United States can never start a war against me and our country.

Good news or bad news?

Trump insinuated at the start of the new year that sanctions and additional pressures are having a big impact on North Korea.

Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea, Trump said. Kim now wants to talk to South Korea for the first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not  we will see!

In his tweet, Trump was seemingly referring to the recent, dramatic escape of at least two North Korean soldiers across the heavily militarized border into the southern country He also alluded to Kims recent comments indicating he would send a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be hosted in South Korea.

Trump also took credit for the talks between North and South Korean leaders.

With all of the failed experts weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasnt firm, strong and willing to commit our total might against the North, Trump said in a Jan. 4 tweet. Fools, but talks are a good thing!

'Sick puppy'

While giving a speech on tax reform at a Missouri event in November, 2017, Trump digressed from the topic to call the North Korean leader a "sick puppy."

His comments drew hoots from the crowd.

State sponsor of terror

Trump re-designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror on Nov. 20, 2017, citing its support of international terrorism, including assassinations on foreign soil.

During a Cabinet meeting, Trump announced the designation came along with new sanctions on the murderous regime as part of the administrations maximum pressure campaign in dealing with North Korea. He said these sanctions will be the highest level of sanctions on the North.

North Korea was on the list but was taken off by the Bush administration in 2008.

Why can't we be friends?

In a series of tweets while in Vietnam, Trump said he doesn't know why the North Korean dictator would "insult" him.

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me old, when I would NEVER call him short and fat? Trump said. Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen!

The comment came after Kim referred to Trump's speech in South Korea as reckless remarks by an old lunatic.

'Dont try us'

In Asia, Trump issued a stern warning to North Korea, saying it would be a fatal miscalculation for the country to attack the U.S. or an ally.

This is a very different administration than the United States has had in the past. Do not underestimate us. And do not try us, Trump said during an address at South Koreas National Assembly.

North Korea has interpreted Americas past restraint as weakness, Trump said.

'Lets make a deal'

While on his Asia trip, Trump implored North Korea to come to the table for talks on its nuclear weapons program. Trumps request for North Korea to make a deal was in stark contrast to his previous hardline rhetoric when it comes to the rogue nation.

"It makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that is good for the people of North Korea and for the world," Trump said during a news conference alongside South Korean president Moon Jae-in in November 2017.

Trump also said hes seen a lot of progress in dealing with North Korea but still called the country a worldwide threat.

In a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo the day before, Trump repeated his assertion that the era of strategic patience with North Korea was finished.

Some people say my rhetoric is very strong but look what has happened with very weak rhetoric in the last 25 years, Trump said then.

'Rocket Man' is on a 'suicide mission'

After dubbing him Rocket Man in a tweet, Trump eventually tried out the new nickname for Kim during his inaugural address to the U.N. General Assembly.

During his speech, Trump vowed to totally destroy North Korea if the country so provokes him. He also said Kim was on a suicide mission.

No more talking

After North Korea said it successfully launched a missile over Japan, a U.S. ally, and into the Pacific Ocean, Trump initially had a subdued response.

"Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime's isolation in the region and among all nations of the world," Trump said in a written statement after North Koreas missile soared almost 1,700 miles into the Pacific Ocean, triggering alert warnings in northern Japan and shudders throughout Northeast Asia. "All options are on the table."

The missile launch was said to be a precursor to North Koreas containment of the U.S. territory of Guam by Kim, according to state-run media.

But in a tweet, the president suggested the U.S. is finished talking to North Korea.

The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer, Trump tweeted.

The U.S. is 'locked and loaded'

Trump took to social media in August 2017 to proclaim that the U.S. military is locked and loaded in case North Korea act[s] unwisely.

'Fire [and] fury' isn't 'tough enough'

With the threat of nuclear violence growing, Trump warned North Korea on Aug. 8, 2017 that he would unleash fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before.

But when tensions continued to rise and North Korea threatened to attack Guam, Trump said maybe that comment wasnt "tough enough."

"Lets see what [Kim] does with Guam. He does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before  what will happen in North Korea," Trump said.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump was "sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong Un can understand, because he doesnt seem to understand diplomatic language."

Kim Jong Un is 'not getting away with it'

Trump said Kim has disrespected our country greatly.

He has said things that are horrific. And with me, hes not getting away with it, Trump said. He got away with it for a long time, between him and his family. Hes not getting away with it. Its a whole new ball game.

'Strategic patience  is over'

After meeting with the South Korean president in Washington, D.C., in June 2017, Trump said that the era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed.

Frankly, that patience is over, he said.

As Trump made these comments, the U.S. was rocked with the death of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American college student who suffered extensive brain damage while being held captive in North Korea for more than a year.

There are 'worse things' than assassinating Kim Jong Un

In an interview with CBS News during the presidential campaign, Trump said he could get China to make [Kim Jong Un] disappear in one form or another very quickly.

When asked if he was talking about assassinating the North Korean dictator, Trump shrugged.

Well, you know, Ive heard of worse things, frankly. I mean, this guys a bad dude  and dont underestimate him, Trump said. Any young guy that can take over from his father with all those generals and everybody else that probably wants the position, this is not somebody to be underestimated.

'What the hell is wrong with speaking?'

Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Atlanta that should Kim want to come to the U.S., he would be accept[ed].

I wouldnt go there, that I can tell you. If he came here, Id accept him, but I wouldnt give him a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that rip us off when we give them these big state dinners, Trump said in June 2016.

What the hell is wrong with speaking? Trump said, referencing the criticism he received for being willing to talk with North Korea. Its called opening a dialogue.

'Maniac'

During a GOP presidential debate in September 2015, Trump railed on the maniac in North Korea while answering a question about Planned Parenthood and womens health issues.

Nobody ever mentions North Korea, where you have this maniac sitting there, and he actually has nuclear weapons and somebody better start thinking about North Korea and perhaps a couple of other places. But certainly North Korea, Trump said.

You have somebody right now in North Korea who has got nuclear weapons and who is saying almost every other week, Im ready to use them, and we dont even mention it, he continued.

China needs to solve the problem

Even before he was president, Trump urged China to step in and help alleviate problems with North Korea.

North Korea is reliant on China. China could solve this problem easily if they wanted to but they have no respect for our leaders, Trump tweeted in March 2013.

In April 2013, Trump continued that line of thinking, adding that North Korea cant survive, or even eat, without the help of China. He then accused China of taunting the U.S.

As president, Trump has said he is very disappointed in actions China has taken regarding North Korea, particularly allowing oil to go into the nation. He also said a Chinese envoy to North Korea had no impact on Kim.

Additionally, Trump has said hes spoken to Chinas President Xi Jinping regarding the provocative actions of North Korea as well as the planned meeting between Trump and Kim.

President Xi told me he appreciates that the U.S. is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative, Trump said in March 2018. China continues to be helpful!

'Wack job'

In April 2013, Trump urged then-President Barack Obama to be very careful with the 28-year-old wack job in North Korea.

At some point we may have to get very tough, he tweeted.

'Negotiate like crazy'

Trump warned that the U.S. needed to do something to stop North Korea in 1999 during an interview with the late Tim Russert on Meet the Press.

"Do you want to do it in five years when they have warheads all over the place, every one of them pointing to New York City, to Washington and every one of us, is that when you want to do it, or do you want to do something now? Trump said. You'd better do it now. And if they think you're serious  they'll negotiate and it'll never come to that.

He said then that if he ever became president, the first step he would take would be to negotiate like crazy to make sure that the country would get the best deal possible. Trump also predicted then that in three or four years, North Korea would have weapons aimed all over the world, including at the U.S.

Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump said Wednesday he wants to toughen the countrys libel laws, a week after accusing the author of an unflattering book about his presidency of publishing defamatory information about him and his family.

Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace and do not represent American values or American fairness, the president told reporters at the White House, as he met with his Cabinet for the first time in 2018.

Trump said those who have been libeled should have meaningful recourse.

So we're going to take a strong look at that, Trump said. We want fairness. You can't say things that are false, knowingly false, and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account.

TRUMP DEMANDS PUBLISHER STOP RELEASE OF BOOK THAT CAUSED FALLOUT

Last week, Trump and his legal team mobilized against Michael Wolffs new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

In a letter to Wolff and the books publisher, Trumps lawyers demanded the halting of the book's publication and "a full and complete retraction and apology."

Mr. Trump hereby demands that you immediately cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination of the book, the attorney, Charles J. Harder, wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News.

Trumps attorney didn't cite specific passages, but he argued the book includes false/baseless statements that could be defamation by libel.

In the near future, you should expect to hear from this office in greater detail on all of the foregoing issues, he wrote.

The publisher rejected Trumps demands, and instead sped up the release of the book.

The book also caused a dramatic falling out between Trump and his former adviser Stephen Bannon, who was quoted speaking ill of members of the presidents family.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10)  Death penalty is as good as dead in the Senate, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Wednesday.

"I am not certain that you can get a majority in the committee to endorse the death penalty bill on the floor," Drilon told CNN Philippines' The Source. "I've said the death penalty bill is dead."

He also noted the measure was not even on the agenda of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, the advisory body of the President on certain policies or programs.

It is, however, set to be tackled by a subcommittee under the Senate Justice Committee.

Death penalty has been one of President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign promises. It sailed smoothly in the House of Representatives in March last year, leaving its fate to the upper chamber.

Critics of the measure question its effectivity in combating crime.

They also point out the Philippines is under international laws that may prevent its reinstatement of the policy.

Senators who have expressed support for capital punishment include Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto, JV Ejercito, Manny Pacquiao, Ping Lacson, Win Gatchalian, and Cynthia Villar.

Death penalty was first abolished in the Philippines in 1986, but reinstated in 1993. It was abolished again in 2006.

Legislative priorities

Drilon also expressed support for the Bangsamoro Basic Law  a mesaure that grants more autonomy in Mindanao  and a measure creating a Department of Housing.

He also said they would support a salary standardization law for civilian personnel working in government, such as health workers.

"This will result in a salary distortion. Today a teacher receives P21,000 while a policeman receives P40,000. Shouldn't the teacher... the health worker... the entry-level lawyer in the Department of Justice be the same with everybody?" said Drilon.

Duterte on January 1 signed into law higher pay for policemen and soldiers. Teachers were also promised higher salaries and allowances this year, but the Budget Department has said this was not a priority.
President Trump flatly stated Wednesday he will only agree to a deal with Congress on immigration if it includes funding for his long-promised wall along the border with Mexico.

Asked during a press conference with the prime minister of Norway if hes willing to sign a deal that does not include wall funding, Trump said: No, its going to include the wall.

Trump said any solution has to include the wall because without the wall it all doesn't work.

We need the wall for security, Trump said. We need the wall for safety. We need the wall for stopping the drugs from pouring in.

Trumps comments come after he held a lengthy bipartisan immigration meeting on Tuesday with lawmakers on the issue. The president was clearly in a deal-making mood as he presided over the session, featuring Republican and Democratic lawmakers, that was replayed on television and showed him trying to reach common ground with both sides.

Democrats' central demand is legislation to preserve the Obama-era DACA program, which was ended by Trump last year and shields illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation. Democrats oppose funding a wall, which they say is unnecessary and costly.

I would imagine that the people in the room both Democrat and Republican, I really believe they're going to come up with a solution to the DACA problem which has been going on for a long time, Trump said, alongside Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway in the East Room.

Statements from Trump and his allies on Wednesday could serve to ease the concerns of some conservatives -- who reacted with disappointment to Trumps meeting with lawmakers, expressing worry that his willingness to work with Democrats on the issue would lead to him abandoning his campaign promises to be tough on illegal immigration.

While Trump offered assurances at this press conference, a House GOP immigration bill being rolled out Wednesday likewise includes the tough measures championed by candidate Trump in 2016, including a wall, ending the visa lottery green card program and ending chain migration.

Vice President Pence echoed the president's message during an exclusive interview with Martha MacCallum, airing on Fox News "The Story" at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

"There is no deal on DACA without a wall. [Or] without ending the visa lottery program and ending the kind of chain migration that has resulted in people coming into this country that have done harm to Americans in recent months," he said.

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Afghanistan will be a key discussion topic next week when President Donald Trump receives a visit from Kazakhstans President Nursultan Nazarbayev, White House officials said in statement Tuesday.

The two leaders also will discuss regional security issues and economic cooperation, according to the White House, as well as Kazakhstan's leadership on several international challenges."

The visit coincides with Kazakhstan's presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

Trump previously met with Nazarbayev at the Arab Islamic American Summit in Saudi Arabia in May.

Nazarbayev, who has ruled Kazakhstan since it separated from the Soviet Union in 1991, has drawn criticism from human rights groups for his treatment of political dissidents and journalists.

In 2016, authorities jailed and aggressively harassed a dozen activists in multiple cities of Kazakhstan who rallied against land reforms, according to Human Rights Watch, which said that police also rounded up journalists and human rights activists who attempted to monitor and report the rallies.

Shortly after then president-elect Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, he told Nazarbayev that Kazakhstan has achieved fantastic results, which could be called 'a miracle' under his leadership, according to Kazakhstans national press office.

The Trump campaigns statement on the phone call said only that the two men congratulated each other.
President Trump is set to join the ultimate cool kids club at the World Economic Forum in the swish Swiss town of Davos, where he is expected to push his America First agenda -- but how the brash billionaire from Queens will be received at the highfalutin meeting of globalist elites is far from clear.

The White House announced Tuesday that Trump will attend the World Economic Forum, where international bigwigs, executives and politicians rub shoulders. The White House said Trumps America First focus will remain his top priority at the Jan. 23-26 summit.

The President welcomes opportunities to advance his America First agenda with world leaders, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. At this years World Economic Forum, the President looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries, and American workers.

An American president has not visited the gathering since 2000, when President Bill Clinton attended, according to the New York Times. Trump did not attend the gathering last year, with a senior transition official telling Bloomberg News at that time that Trump thought it would betray his populist-fueled movement to attend.

A year later and much has changed. Former chief strategist Steve Bannon, one of the main populist voices in the Trump White House, is no longer in the West Wing, and other more receptive voices such as senior adviser Jared Kushner and top economic adviser Gary Cohn (who has reportedly attended the summit before) are still in place.

Analysts suggest that while Davos represents a sort of globalist supranational approach unlike the nationalist mentality Trump campaigned on, it could be a savvy move by the president -- and he may feel at home in a more business-centric environment.

'He is going into the lions den.'  Nile Gardiner

For Trump, the calculation may be that 'this is where the CEOs are, this is where jobs are for my country, so this is what Im going to do,' Michael Cohen, director of the Political Management Program at George Washington Universitys Graduate School of Political Management, told Fox News. He may see this as a business conference where he can talk up the country and its resources and get more investment.

Its a natural fit that he would take his message to the financial chiefs and bankers at Davos, Nile Gardiner, director of the Heritage Foundations Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, said. Barack Obama couldnt have pulled this off I think.

But those hoping for a centrist-style pivot and a sweeping embrace of internationalism from the president are likely to be left disappointed.

Trumps prior visits to big gatherings of elites who are more likely to be hostile to Trumps nationalist agenda -- such as the NATO summit in Brussels, the G20 in Hamburg or the United Nations General Assembly in New York -- have not resulted in a cowed Trump.

In Brussels, Trump was seen shoving the prime minister of Montenegro and pulling French President Emmanuel Macron around like a rag doll, while at the U.N. General Assembly, Trump gave one of his most full-throated defenses of America First to date.

The United States will forever be a great friend to the world, and especially to its allies. But we can no longer be taken advantage of, or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States gets nothing in return, he said in September. As long as I hold this office, I will defend Americas interests above all else.

Cohen predicted a similar line in Switzerland.

He will probably go to Davos and make a speech like at the U.N., that while we need to work together we also have to take care of our people. 'I am here to sell the U.S. to the world,' Cohen said. Thats the way he splits the difference between the two.

Trump is likely to be treated as something of a curiosity, with elites both attracted to his power and his economic reforms, while somewhat repulsed by his populist agenda -- meaning he could face a mix of smiles and hostility.

He is going into the lions den, Gardiner said.
President Trump is known for giving his political opponents and critics nicknames, especially on social media.

Read on for a list of Trump's most iconic nicknames.

Wacky Omarosa

Omarosa Manigault-Newman lasted one year in the White House, and her departure has been anything from cordial.

In particular, Manigault-Newman has been under fire from the Trump administration for secretly recording the chief of staff John Kelly in the Situation Room, raising national security concerns. She's since released some of the tapes.

Trump, in a series of tweets, called Manigault-Newman "wacky" and a "lowlife."

"Wacky Omarosa, who got fired 3 times on the Apprentice, now got fired for the last time. She never made it, never will. She begged me for a job, tears in her eyes, I said OK," Trump said. "People in the White House hated her. She was vicious, but not smart. I would rarely see her but heard really bad things."

"Nasty to people & would constantly miss meetings & work. When Gen. Kelly came on board he told me she was a loser & nothing but problems. I told him to try working it out, if possible, because she only said great things about me - until she got fired!" Trump said.

"While I know it's 'not presidential' to take on a lowlife like Omarosa, and while I would rather not be doing so, this is a modern day form of communication and I know the Fake News Media will be working overtime to make even Wacky Omarosa look legitimate as possible. Sorry!" he continued.

Slippery James Comey

Trump dubbed former FBI Director James Comey the "worst" in history while blasting his new tell-all book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership." In a series of tweets, Trump also nicknamed the former FBI chief "Slippery James Comey."

Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far! Trump tweeted.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, citing the ex-director's handling of the FBIs investigation into Hillary Clintons email practices.

Trump also called Comey a slimeball and suggested the former FBI director deserved jail time for mishandling the Clinton email probe.

Animal Assad

In the aftermath of a suspected chemical attack in Syria, Trump blasted Syrian President Bashar Assad and warned that those responsible would pay a big price. Trump also nicknamed the Syrian president Animal Assad.

Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world, Trump alleged in a tweet. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!

Trump also blamed former President Barack Obamas foreign policy decisions for Animal Assad.

And in a later tweet, Trump warned Russia against shooting down any missiles the U.S. would fire at Syria in retaliation for the purported attack, saying the country shouldnt be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

Little Rocket Man

Trump has never really had kind things to say about North Korea leader Kim Jong Un  referring to him on Twitter as a maniac a whack job" and "rocket man"  which is a President Trump original," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told Fox News.

Trump tried out the "rocket man" nickname at the 2017 United Nations General Assembly.

He's also tried out the moniker on Twitter.

"The Chinese Envoy, who just returned from North Korea, seems to have had no impact on Little Rocket Man. Hard to believe his people, and the military, put up with living in such horrible conditions. Russia and China condemned the launch," he tweeted.

In addition, Trump has called the North Korean leader a "sick puppy."

Lamb the Sham

Ahead of a tight special House election in Pennsylvania, Trump visited the Keystone state to stump for Republican Rick Saccone  and hit Democrat Conor Lamb.

Trump accused Lamb of saying nice things in order to get elected in Trump country, but promised those at a rally that the Democrat is not going to vote for us if elected. And the president dubbed the 33-year-old Marine Lamb the Sham.

Lamb the Sham. Lamb the Sham. He is trying to act like a Republican. He won't give me one vote, Trump said.

Trump also said he is better looking than Lamb.

Sloppy Steve

Steve Bannon used to be in the presidents good graces, but the pair has had a very public falling out. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist and ex-Breitbart executive, was quoted in a blistering tell-all book, painting the presidents son in a negative light.

Trump heavily rebuked Bannon in a public statement, saying Bannon lost his mind after he was fired from the White House.

Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books, Trump said.

Ahead of the release of the controversial book by Michael Wolff, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, Trump slammed both the author and Bannon on social media  giving Bannon his nickname.

Look at this guys past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve, Trump warned.

Trump reiterated the Sloppy Steve nickname in other tweets, including one which he praised the Mercer family  wealthy conservative mega-donors  for having dropped the leaker known as Sloppy Steve Bannon.

Pocahontas

The president reused one of his favorite nicknames for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., while he honored Navajo code talkers at the White House in November. At the event  held to honor the Native Americans who used their native language during World Wars I and II to help the U.S.  Trump mocked Warren as Pocahontas.

Trump has often criticized Warren, specifically over her claim to be of Native American heritage.

Shes got about as much Indian blood as I have. Her whole life was based on a fraud, Trump told The New York Times in May 2016.

Warrens potential Native American heritage was first questioned during her 2012 Senate run.

Trump also calls Warren goofy.

Dicky Durbin

Trump made waves when he referred to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., as Dicky Durbin online.

Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our military, said Trump in a tweet.

Durbin was part of a group of lawmakers who visited Trump at the White House in January to discuss immigration reform. After reports surfaced that Trump referred to certain nations as s---hole countries at the bilateral meeting, Durbin accused the president of saying things that were hate-filled, vile and racist.

Trump has admitted to using tough language at the meeting but denied certain remarks attributed to him.

Sneaky Dianne Feinstein

A transcript of a Fusion GPS official's August interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee was unilaterally released by the committees ranking member, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

The release of the bombshell interview drew ire from some Republicans, including the president and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

In a tweet following the release, Trump blasted the 84-year-old senator and called her Sneaky Dianne Feinstein.

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace, Trump tweeted. Must have tough Primary!

Jeff Flakey

Like Trump and Sen. Bob Corker, Trump and Republican Sen. Jeff Flake have been feuding for quite some time. In announcing his retirement from the Senate, Flake slammed both the Republican Party and Trump.

Flake was also caught on a hot mic saying if the GOP becomes the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, were toast. That comment gave Trump the opportunity to dub the Arizona senator Jeff Flakey.

Sen. Jeff Flake(y), who is unelectable in the Great State of Arizona (quit race, anemic polls) was caught (purposely) on mike saying bad things about your favorite President. Hell be a NO on tax cuts because his political career anyway is toast, Trump tweeted.

Al 'Frankenstien'

After Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was accused of kissing and groping Los Angeles radio host Leeann Tweeden during a USO tour in 2006, Trump blasted the lawmaker on Twitter.

"The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?" Trump wrote, including an apparent misspelling of "Frankenstein." "And to think that just last week he was lecturing anyone who would listen about sexual harassment and respect for women. Lesley Stahl tape?"

Liddle' Bob Corker

The feud between Trump and Sen. Bob Corker has been going on for some time, but the Tennessee senator finally got a nickname.

The Failing [New York Times] set Liddle Bob Corker up by recording his conversation. Was made to sound a fool, and thats what I am dealing with! Trump tweeted on Oct. 10.

Corker slammed Trump in an interview with the newspaper and said the president is so reckless that he might be on the path to World War III. A transcript from the interview revealed that Corker acknowledged the conversation was on the record.

Wacky Congresswoman Wilson

Trump and Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., became locked in a public feud involving a Gold Star family  earning the Florida congresswoman her nickname.

The Fake News is going crazy with wacky Congresswoman Wilson (D), who was SECRETELY on a very personal call, and gave a total lie on content! Trump tweeted.

Wilson accused Trump of making insensitive remarks to the pregnant widow of one of the four American soldiers killed during an attack in Niger. The White House, including chief of staff John Kelly, has ardently defended the presidents comments.

Jerry Moonbeam Brown

Trump hasn't seen eye-to-eye with California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, throughout much of his time in office  but the president was especially critical after Brown pardoned 56 convicted felons, including five ex-convicts facing deportation.

Trump blasted the pardoning on Twitter, calling the governor Jerry Moonbeam Brown.

Is this really what the great people of California want? Trump said.

Trump cant take full credit for Browns nickname. The Moonbeam moniker was given to the governor first in the 1970s by a columnist who said Brown was garnering the "moonbeam vote," or the younger, more idealistic voters in his gubernatorial campaign, according to The New York Times. The nickname continued as Brown pressed for California's space programs.

Crazy Joe Biden

It all started when former Vice President Joe Biden addressed an anti-sexual assault rally in Florida and cited lewd comments Trump made about women in the infamous Access Hollywood tape more than a decade ago.

Biden, who has crusaded against sexual assault and harassment, said, If we were in high school, Id take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.

A few days later, Trump lashed out on Twitter, nicknaming the former senator Crazy Joe Biden.

Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault, Trump said on March 22. He doesnt know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Dont threaten people Joe!

In the past, Trump has referred to Biden on social media as our not very bright vice president.

Little Adam Schiff

Trump accused Rep. Adam Schiff of leaking confidential information from closed committee hearings and called for him to be stopped. The president also referred to the Democrat from California as Little Adam Schiff.

Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, Trump said in a tweet, comparing him to former FBI Director James Comey, former National Intelligence Director James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan. Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!

Schiff is the ranking minority member on the House Intelligence Committee which released a controversial memo that detailed alleged improper surveillance techniques used in the Russia investigation. Schiff was critical of the memos public release  supported by Republicans  calling it misleading and undermining of the probe.

Crooked Hillary

Throughout the presidential campaign, Trump would often hit his opponent, Hillary Clinton, with criticisms on social media. Trump gave her the nickname Crooked Hillary, usually when he mentioned her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.

The first time Trump tweeted about Crooked Hillary was in April 2016.

Sometimes Trump switched it up and would call the former first lady Lyin Hillary.

Wild Bill Clinton

While criticizing former FBI Director James Comey's memoir, Trump referenced the now-infamous meeting between former President Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch on a Phoenix airport tarmac in June 2016. The meeting was questioned because the then-attorney general was leading the investigation into Hillary Clintons email scandal.

Comey throws AG Lynch under the bus! Why cant we all find out what happened on the tarmac in the back of the plane with Wild Bill and Lynch? Trump said. Was she promised a Supreme Court seat, or AG, in order to lay off Hillary. No golf and grandkids talk (give us all a break)!

Lynch has said she and Clinton discussed only innocuous things on the tarmac but acknowledged that her speaking to the former president raised concerns in peoples minds about whether or not there was going to be any impact on the email investigation.

Cheatin Obama

Trump praised his own approval ratings on social media  while taking a jab at former President Barack Obama.

The president said the honest polling of Rasmussen shows his approval rating at 50 percent, which is higher than Cheatin Obama at the same time in his Administration.

The April 2 Rasmussen poll showed 50 percent of likely U.S. voters approved of Trump. However, 49 percent disapproved.

Little Marco

The rhetoric among the Republican presidential contenders hit a different kind of low as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio went after Trump for having small hands and Trump started to call the senator Little Marco. The two also discussed the size of Trumps hands  and other things  during a GOP debate in March 2016.

Trump first tweeted the Little Marco nickname in February 2016.

Lyin Ted

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Trump didnt start out as enemies during the 2016 campaign, but the two Republican contenders were soon at each others throats. Trump dubbed Cruz Lyin Ted when he went after him for his immigration policies in a campaign ad in March 2016.

Low Energy Jeb

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush also got a Trump nickname when he was a 2016 Republican presidential contender  Low energy Jeb Bush.

Despite the exclamation point in Bushs campaign logo, Trump started to use the nickname to criticize his opponent during the campaign. Trump told Business Insider that there wasnt a backstory to the nickname, he just seemed like a low energy person to Trump.

1 for 38

When Ohio Gov. John Kasich attempted to team up with Cruz during the Republican primary to deny Trump the partys nomination, Trump took to Twitter to dole out a new nickname. And Kasich became 1 for 38.

Trump assigned Kasich the name because he won only one state in the primary and lost the others, Trump said in a statement in August 2016. Eventually Kasich would also be referred to as 1 for 42 by the eventual president.



Crazy Bernie

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the white-haired Independent socialist who became a progressive icon during the 2016 election, earned himself the nickname Crazy Bernie from Trump.

Trump first tweeted about Crazy Bernie in May 2016 when he criticized Crooked Hillary for looking very bad against Sanders.

Crying Chuck

After Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., criticized Trump for firing F.B.I. Director James Comey, Trump hit him right back  with an original nickname.

Cryin Chuck Schumer stated recently, I do not have confidence in him (James Comey) any longer. Then acts so indignant, he tweeted on May 9, 2017.

Schumer shed some tears when he discussed Trumps immigration ban earlier in 2017.

But Schumer wasnt crying after Trump agreed to the Democrats short-term debt-limit increase and Hurricane Harvey aid.

Crazy Jim Acosta

Trump had a surprising tweet of gratitude Tuesday morning for CNNs White House correspondent, Jim Acosta  while also bestowing a nickname on his media adversary.

Even Crazy Jim Acosta of Fake News CNN agrees: Trump World and WH sources dancing in end zone: Trump wins againSchumer and Dems cavedgambled and lost. Thank you for your honesty Jim! Trump tweeted.

Trumps tweet referenced Acostas earlier social media post.

The president and his administration has often slammed Acosta and CNN for coverage they deem unfair  or fake news. Trump has also kicked Acosta out of the Oval Office.

Sleepy Eyes

Trump has thought NBC reporter Chuck Todd has looked sleepy long before the election or campaign. He first dubbed Todd sleepy in a 2001 tweet, but upgraded his nickname to Sleepy Eyes by 2012.

And in 2018, at a campaign rally for a Republican congressional candidate, Trump slammed the NBC anchor as a son of a b-----.

Trump mentioned a 1999 "Meet the Press" appearance when he discussed North Korea.

Its 1999, Im on 'Meet the Press,' a show now headed by sleepy-eyes Chuck Todd, Trump said. Hes a sleeping son of a b----, Ill tell you.

Dumb as a Rock Mika

From writer Toure to National Review, Trump has called many things dumb as a rock. But Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBCs Morning Joe earned the nickname in July after she and Joe Scarborough criticized the president.

Crazy Joe Scarborough and dumb as a rock Mika are not bad people, but their low rated show is dominated by their NBC bosses, he tweeted. Too bad!

His attack on the news anchor continued, as he called her low I.Q. Crazy Mika and said she was bleeding badly from a face-lift when she came to Mar-a-Lago around New Years Eve.

Psycho Joe

In a Twitter rant about his dislike of MSNBCs Morning Joe program, Trump dubbed host Joe Scarborough Psycho Joe.

Crazy Megyn

Trumps comments about then-Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly were often criticized and deemed misogynistic by critics. During their feud, Trump took to calling Kelly Crazy Megyn.

Little Jeff Zucker

Trump criticized CNN in an April tweet  and called its president Little Jeff Zucker.

Check out the fact that you cant get a job at ratings challenged [CNN] unless you state that you are totally anti-Trump, the president alleged on social media. Little Jeff Zucker, whose job is in jeopardy, is not having much fun lately. They should clean up and strengthen CNN and get back to honest reporting.

Fox News' Matt Richardson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Trump administration announced last year its plan to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA)  which provides a level of amnesty to certain undocumented immigrants, many of whom came to the U.S. as children  with a six-month delay for recipients. But a federal appeals court ruled against the proposal in early November, declaring the government couldn't immediately end the program.

The Executive wields awesome power in the enforcement of our nations immigration laws, the ruling said. Our decision today does not curb that power, but rather enables its exercise in a manner that is free from legal misconceptions and is democratically accountable to the public.

Trump had initially set a March 5 deadline for the program and called on Congress to pass legislation pertaining to the young immigrants. But the deadline came and went, with no congressional action but several lawsuits challenging the administration's decision to end the program.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ON DACA

Federal judges in New York and Washington also have ruled against President Trump on DACA.

President Trump has repeatedly blamed Democrats for inaction.

Heres a look at the DACA program and why the Trump administration wants to dismantle it.

What is the DACA program?

The DACA program was formed through executive action by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and allowed certain people who came to the U.S. illegally as minors to be protected from immediate deportation. Recipients, called Dreamers, were able to request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, which was subject to renewal.

Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated. Deferred action does not provide lawful status.

Individuals were able to request DACA status if they were under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012, came to the U.S. before turning 16 and continuously lived in the country since June 15, 2007.

Individuals also had to have a high school diploma, GED certification, been honorably discharged from the military or still be in school. Recipients could not have a criminal record.

It did not provide legal status.

How many people are affected by DACA?

Nearly 800,000 youth, called Dreamers, are under the program's umbrella.

Daniel Garza, president of the conservative immigration nonprofit Libre Initiative, told Fox News that DACA offers a reprieve from a life of uncertainty for innocent kids who didnt break the law.

Its rather disappointing to think they could return to a state of anxiety and fear, he said.

What did the Trump administration do?

The Trump administration announced in September 2017 that it planned to phase out DACA for current recipients, and no new requests would be granted. But a lower court order required the administration to continue accepting renewal applications for those under the DACA program, and the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request to intervene.

Since the announcement, Trump had offered to work with lawmakers on a solution for the hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. who fell under DACAs umbrella of protections. But at the same time, he has repeatedly blamed Democrats on social media for lack of a solution.

Earlier this year, Trump released his four pillars of immigration reform, which included a provision for legal status for DACA recipients and others who would be eligible for DACA status. The White House estimated that total to be 1.8 million people. The Senate rejected the plan.

Republicans  and some Democrats  opposed Obamas directive establishing DACA from the start as a perceived overreach of executive power.

Obama spoke out on social media after the Trump administration announced a plan to dismantle the program, stating that it's "self-defeating ... and it is cruel" to end DACA and questioned the motive behind the decision.

Do any DACA recipients serve in the military?

Despite some rumors circulating online to the contrary, Dreamers were eligible to serve in the U.S. military since 2014 when the Pentagon adopted a policy to allow a certain amount of illegal immigrants to join.

In fiscal year 2016, 359 DACA recipients had enlisted in the Army  which is the only branch to accept immigrants of this category.

Fox News' John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
How does an alligator deal with a cold snap?

The answer, thanks to a video from an American wildlife park, has gone viral.

And, like surviving many things in life, its all about keeping your head above water. Or your snout, to be exact. Even if it looks as creepy as heck.

The Shallotte River Swamp Park in North Carolina in the U.S. lifted the lid on the ancient survival trick when it posted an eerie-looking video of its rescue alligators in ice after last weeks perilous snow storms.

The only part of their bodies protruding from their frozen-over home is their snout, with maybe a few teeth visible. Basically, when the cold truly kicks in, so does prehistoric instinct.

They get their snouts above the surface and basically let themselves get frozen into place. The result  creepy-looking alligator noses  and alligator teeth  embedded in ice.

The North Carolina Swamp Parks alligators on ice video received 45,000 views in its first 21 hours on Facebook.

Theyve since updated with a new video as the melt begins, as well as explaining why the seemingly snap-frozen reptiles can do what they do.

After the water freezes their snouts, and them, in place, the alligators enter a state of brumation, like hibernating, according to the park.

They can regulate their body temperature in all sorts of weather, and basically stay frozen in place until the ice melts.

Park officials said if you step on a frozen alligator, its unlikely the reptile will react.

They are trying to conserve energy to maintain body temperature, the park said in a Facebook post.

We reckon that may be a croc (see what we did there?).

Sure, they mightnt attack frozen, but how do you know when an alligators defrosted?

And what happens if his teeth start chattering?

Last week, a massive winter storm pummelled a huge swath of the U.S., from the New York to the Carolinas, killing at least 17 people as massive snowfall, ice and high winds cause havoc in the region.

Though not all animals are so lucky. Sharks and iguanas have been found frozen solid in the wake of the bomb cyclone, which has pummelled the US east coast.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said it discovered three dead thresher sharksstranded on a beach in Massachusetts in the past three days, as a result of the record-breaking cold snap.

It is believed that the first two died due to cold shock but the third was found completely frozen, with the group dubbing it a true sharkcicle.

Iguanas were also seen stiffening and falling out of trees in parts of South Florida.

The storm, categorised by meteorologists as a Bomb Cyclone, rapidly intensified off the East Coast, undergoing what in meteorology is called bombogenesis, or an extremely sharp drop in atmospheric pressure.

This story originally appeared in news.com.au.
To travel into space is most certainly a dangerous journey into the unknown. Preparing to set foot in an environment lacking gravity and essential tools for survival is not an easy feat, as NASA can attest.

The training to venture into space is rigorous and can have some serious side effects. Whether its being exposed to radiation or partaking in vigorous exercise to mitigate the effects of space on their bodies, astronauts surely put their bodies on the line to traverse the universe beyond our planet.

In fact, when it comes to time spent away from gravity, a tough exercise regimen is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are five ways space can change the human body.

Can astronauts grow taller in space?

Jaws dropped as Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai announced on Twitter that he had grown 3.5 inches in the span of just three weeks while aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Today I share some serious news. Since coming to space, I have grown 9 centimeters. This is the most Ive grown in three weeks since junior high school. I am a little worried I wont fit in my seat on the return trip on Soyuz, Kanai tweeted, referring to the Russian Soyuz TMA spacecraft that transports crews to and from the ISS.

NASA ASTRONAUT CHRISTINA KOCH RECOUNTS RECORD-BREAKING 328-DAY SPACE MISSION: 'BOREDOM WAS NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL

A day later, Kanai apologized for spreading fake news, clarifying that he miscalculated the measurement. He had actually grown 0.9 inches  2.6 inches less than he initially claimed.

Astronauts can grow up to 3 percent taller while traveling in space, NASA scientists say. Thats because there is less gravity pushing down on vertebrae in the spine. As a result, the vertebrae expands and relaxes, allowing the body to stretch up to 2 inches.

The majority of growth occurs as soon as a spacecraft goes into orbit, according to NASA. Astronauts continue to experience gradual change over time, but the relaxation of the spine eventually comes to a halt.

If astronauts stayed in space forever, they would not continue to grow and grow, Dr. Sudhakar Rajulu, a technical manager at NASA, explained in a statement online.

MARS DISCOVERY: SALT WATER SOMETIMES FORMS ON THE RED PLANETS SURFACE, SCIENTIST SAYS

In fact, growth is only temporary.

Astronauts spines return to normal curvature as soon as they return to Earth. Theyre typically back to their pre-flight height within 10 days.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly was about 2 inches taller when he returned to Earth after a 340-day stint on the ISS in March 2016. However, as predicted, Kellys height gain was only temporary. The astronauts twin brother  and former astronaut  Mark Kelly told CNN that his brother took less than two days to return to his normal height.

What happens to the bones of astronauts?

Its common for astronauts to gradually lose muscle strength and bone density while on long-duration spaceflights. Studies of astronauts who spent several months on Mir, a Russian space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, revealed that space explorers can lose, on average, 1 to 2 percent of bone mass per month.

77-YEAR-OLD AMATEUR ASTRONOMER HELPS MAKE STUNNING DISCOVERY

The magnitude of this [effect] has led NASA to consider bone loss an inherent risk of extended space flights, Dr. Jay Shapiro, team leader for bone studies at the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, said in an online statement.

Weightlessness is likely the cause of bone loss in space.

When living in a gravity-free zone, bones no longer have to fight against Earths gravity to provide support for locomotion or for maintaining body posture, NASA explains. Therefore, there is little mechanical strain on the body, resulting in progressive bone loss.

Are astronauts eyes being affected by space?

Its true: More than half of American astronauts have experienced vision changes and alterations to parts of their eyes during and after long-duration flights.

POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS ASTEROID THAT ZIPPED PAST EARTH HAS ITS OWN 'MOON'

NASA researchers believe the headward fluid shift that occurs during flights leads to increased pressure on the brain, which may push on the back of the eye, causing it to change shape.

Furthermore, transitioning from one gravitational field to another can affect bodily functions including spatial orientation, as well as head-eye and hand-eye coordination, per NASA.

Why do astronauts get puffy faces in space?

Astronauts may feel perfectly healthy when they launch into space, but that feeling wont last. When astronauts first travel into space, they feel as if they have a cold, and their faces start to look puffy.

Thats because the fluid in their bodies redistributes, spreading equally throughout the body, as they move to a microgravity environment.

'BABY GIANT PLANET' DISCOVERED JUST 330 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH

The body records this shift as an increase in blood volume, NASA said. It then adjusts by eliminating what it thinks are extra fluids through the kidneys. Once the fluid is flushed from the body, astronauts adapt to the new distribution of fluids and begin to feel (and look) normal again.

Do astronauts sleep well in space?

The short answer: no.

Sleep deprivation is a common complaint among astronauts. Research has shown that astronauts tend to sleep an average of six hours per night.

Changes in biological clocks or circadian rhythms contribute to sleep deficiency. And the fact that astronauts experience a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes as they circle Earth in orbit certainly doesnt help.

MYSTERIOUS SIGNAL FROM DEEP SPACE IS REPEATING IN 16-DAY CYCLE

"You could also develop a sleep disorder because your circadian rhythm might be thrown off due to the 38 extra minutes each day on Mars, or by a small, noisy environment, or the stress of prolonged isolation and confinement," which can also lead to depression, says NASA.

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Rapid schedule changes are a problem, but so is exposure to light at times when the astronauts are scheduled to sleep, Erin Flynn-Evans, a researcher at the Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory at Ames, described in a 2016 interview. The crewmembers will often look out the cupola window to get a view of Earth during their scheduled sleep time, which can expose them to a bright blast of sunlight and inhibit their ability to sleep.
Technology in development could capture images from an Earth-size planet in the nearby Alpha Centauri system in the 2020s, new research suggests.

The new technique, presented Dec. 15 at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in New Orleans, could also help researchers see exoplanets in other systems with more than one star.

Although there's only one star in Earth's solar system, previous work found that two-thirds of so-called class G yellow dwarf stars (the group that includes our sun) are in multiple systems, or systems with two or more stars orbiting each other. Some known multiple systems are home to up to seven stars. [What Do We Know About Alpha Centauri?] Because multiple systems are common, they may be rich targets in the hunt for alien planets, according to Ruslan Belikov, an astrophysicist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and his colleagues. For example, the sun's closest neighbor, the Alpha Centauri system, possesses three stars and potentially multiple planets, such as the Earth-size Proxima Centauri b.

To capture images of an exoplanet, astronomers typically employ an instrument known as a coronagraph, which blocks out its star's glaring light, thus letting them seeany faint light reflected off or emitted from that world. When researchers want to directly image an exoplanet in a system that has more than one star, light from a star's companion may drown out their view of the planet even after they block the first star's light.

Although scientists could conceivably use more than one coronagraph to block out the light from all the stars in a multiple system, tiny imperfections within the components of a telescope would inevitably cause light to leak through a coronagraph, Belikov said. "This light is only a small fraction of the original star's light but can still overwhelm planets, which are much fainter still," he told Space.com.Belikov and his colleagues have developed a way to get around that issue and image exoplanets in multiple-star systems.

"We are developing the technology to search for Earth-like planets around other stars," Belikov said in an email. "If, when I was a kid, somebody told me that I would be doing this as an adult, I would not have believed it  in my mind, detecting Earth-like planets is 'Star Trek' science that rightly belongs in the 23rd century. But we are doing it now."

The new method the researchers have devised, known as the multi-star wavefront control, relies on deformable mirrors within telescopes that are used to bounce light from stars and planets onto sensors. These mirrors can alter the shape of their surfaces to correct for imperfections within the optical components of telescopes.

The new technique controls a deformable mirror "in a way that allows it to remove light from more than one star," Belikov said. The mirror can superimpose multiple shapes onto itself, each of which can factor out light from a star.

"It's a bit like when an audio speaker plays a symphony," Belikov said. "It uses its lower-frequency range to represent the cellos and the higher-frequency range to represent the violins. In our case, the cello would correspond to one star and the violin to the other."

A major advantage of this new system "is that it is compatible with many already-designed instruments," Belikov said. "A deformable mirror is all that's needed, which is almost always present with modern coronagraphs."

Ideally, "we hope to infuse our technology into future space telescopes to enable them to target Alpha Centauri and other binaries," Belikov said. "These range from small telescopes like ACESat or Project Blue that can be launched in the early 2020s, WFIRST in the mid-2020s, and LUVOIR or HabEx in the 2030s. There are also telescopes on the ground that can use this technology."

Belikov cautioned that any exoplanet pictures that researchers capture in the near future will not resolve details such as continents and oceans. "Rather, an image of another Earth will be a pale blue dot," he said. "However, there is a lot of information that we can discern from the spectrum of that dot, including signs of life."

Original article on Space.com.
"You like me because I'm a scoundrel," interstellar smuggler Han Solo confidently told Princess Leia Organa in the 1981 film "The Empire Strikes Back." And scientists recently discovered a similar preference in bonobos, the great apes that are close relatives of chimpanzees.

Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are helpful sweethearts compared with their more aggressive chimp cousins (Pan troglogytes). But a new study found that these generally peaceful primates were also more likely to respond positively to individuals that were selfish, bullying or downright mean.

In other words, they're drawn to jerks. [8 Humanlike Behaviors of Primates]

Of course, Han Solo ultimately proved that he was quite a bit nicer than his self-serving manner initially suggested. But bonobos demonstrated in a series of trials that they were more likely to favor individuals that treated others poorly.

Prior research has shown that bonobos go out of their way to help others, even when their assistance hasn't been requested and they receive no reward for lending a hand. But when scientists showed bonobos videos in which some characters prevented others from reaching a goal, the bonobo subjects unexpectedly preferred the harmful individuals to the helpful ones.

In three experiments, bonobos watched animated and live-action videos that displayed characters attempting to complete a task; some characters helped, while other characters interfered. After viewing the videos, the bonobos were given a choice of accepting a food reward from either the helpful character or the pest, and the majority of the bonobos chose the troublemaker for their treat.

A fourth video experiment showed the bonobos a competition between two characters, with one dominant character succeeding by displacing its rival. When the bonobos were later offered a choice between the two individuals, they selected the one that had behaved more forcefully, the researchers discovered.

Bonobos' liking for those that mistreat others may stem from a bias toward dominant individuals; forging a bond with a more aggressive bonobo could provide benefits within social groups, the study authors reported. Humans, on the other hand, typically respond more positively toward acts of altruism than of selfishness, according to previous studies. This suggests that consistently gravitating toward helpers and shunning antisocial acts is likely a unique human preference that emerged as we developed survival strategies involving cooperation among many individuals, the researchers concluded.

The findings were published online Jan. 4 in the journal Current Biology.

Original article on Live Science.
As lawmakers continue to investigate Russias role in the 2016 presidential election, major tech companies have sent representatives to Capitol Hill to reveal just how much Russian activity was found on their platforms.

General counsels for Facebook, Google and Twitter testified in multiple hearings in 2017 as congressional probes into alleged Russian influence in the election continued. Delegates from the tech giants have also met privately with lawmakers on the Hill.

Heres what you need to know about the tech companies involvement.

How is Facebook involved in the investigation?

Last year, Facebook revealed that it uncovered about $100,000 in ad purchases connected to inauthentic accounts that violated its policies. Another $50,000 was found to have been spent on potentially politically related ad spending that were in Russian.

Facebooks Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos said the accounts were likely operated out of Russia.

As lawmakers called for more information about the advertisements, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has promised to make its political advertising more transparent.

Facebook also revealed that content from a Russian group called the Internet Research Agency (IRA) could have reached as many as 126 million users.

President Trump accused Facebook of being always anti-Trump.

But Zuckerberg hit back and said both sides of the political aisle were upset by content on Facebook  proving what running a platform for all ideas looks like.

What about Twitter?

Twitter representatives told lawmakers that it suspended approximately two dozen accounts that were potentially linked to Russia and corresponded to Facebooks troublesome accounts. Additionally, it said it found 179 related accounts that violated their rules.

Twitter also revealed in a blog post that Russia Today (RT), which it said has strong links to the Russian government, spent $274,000 in ads in 2016.

The social media giant said it would use the money already spent on advertisements by RT for research around civic engagement and electoral misinformation.

A Twitter representative told congressional committees that it shuttered nearly 3,000 accounts linked to Russias IRA  which is known for spreading pro-Russian government propaganda. That number is nearly 14 times larger than the number of accounts Twitter said it handed over to congressional committees previously.

Twitter was criticized by Rep. Mark Warner, D-Va., after representatives met with lawmakers in Sept. 2017. Warner said the information shared was frankly inadequate on almost every level.

Warner, again, criticized the social media company in January 2018 after he said it neglected to meet a deadline to provide lawmakers with additional information regarding the Russia investigation, The Hill reported.

Im disappointed. Ive been disappointed throughout this, Warner reportedly said. Twitter has been often times the slowest to respond  The other companies met the deadline which was way over a month from when they testified.

And Google?

Russian operatives spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads on YouTube, Google Search products and Gmail regarding the 2016 election, Fox Business reported. However, the ads do not appear to be from the same source as those purchased on Facebook.

Accounts connected with the Russian government spent $4,700 on search and display ads and $53,000 was spent on ads with political material that were purchased from either a Russian territory, Russian Internet address or with Russian currency, according to the Associated Press.

"We are taking a deeper look to investigate attempts to abuse our systems, working with researchers and other companies, and will provide assistance to ongoing inquiries," Google said in a statement.

Why does it matter?

The issue over social medias involvement in the investigation largely stems from advertisements bought from the companies, not necessarily the content shared by users, Dr. Karen North, a clinical professor of communication at the University of Southern California, told Fox News.

But the issue further boils down to what is wrong versus what is illegal. Spreading so-called fake news is wrong, but it might not be illegal, the social media expert explained.

We as users of social media platforms do not want the platforms to be telling us what we can or cant say  or even that we cant say falsehoods  because people spin the story of their lives to present a public face to our friends and colleagues, North said. We dont want Facebook or Twitter to tell us we cant do that.

North predicted that social media companies will begin to strengthen their regulations  or dress codes  for future advertisers.

There are laws [to protect speech] and then there are rules of conduct, including dress codes at offices or schools, North said. Whether or not whats being done by the Russians or fake news or people lying about adventures in their life, are those illegal or in violation of dress codes?

Shareholders in the major tech companies have also demanded more transparency regarding foreign involvement that could have interfered in the election.

Like Congress and the American public, shareholders in these companies have serious questions and concerns about how these platforms were used and abused during the 2016 election, Michael Connor, executive director of the nonprofit Open MIC, said in a statement.

Open MIC said shareholders with assets worth more than $25 billion have filed proposals asking Facebook, Google and Twitter to divulge more information about foreign involvement as well as disinformation and hate speech.

The investors, through these filings, intend to play a critically important role in holding Facebook, Google and Twitter accountable for what happens on their platforms, Connor said.

The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10)  After recording at least 504 glitches in 2017 - or at least two per day - train officials insisted the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) is safe.

"Ligtas po ang pagpapatakbo ng MRT dahil marami po tayong nilalagay na operational measures upang masigurado po na lahat ng lumalabas na tren sa depot ay ligtas," Transportation Undersecretary and Officer-in-Charge for Railways Timothy Batan said in a press briefing Wednesday.

(Translation: The MRT is safe because there are operational measures in place to ensure all trains going out of the depot are safe.)

But Batan said the reliability of the MRT, which caters to 500,000 passengers on average daily, is a different story.

"Hindi po perfect ang kondisyon ng MRT-3. Hindi po perfect ang kondisyon ng ating mga rilestayo po ay gumagawa ng mga compensatory measures para po ma-address ang safety issue natin," Batan said.

(Translation: The condition of the MRT-3 is not perfect. The condition of our rails is also not perfect. We are implementing compensatory measures to address safety issues.)

For example, he said they have adjusted the speed of trains. The MRT is designed to run at 60 kph, but authorities said they only allow up to 40 kph due to the condition of the railways.

Batan said all these problems boil down to underinvestment in the train system in the past years, resulting in lack of proper maintenance.

Authorities said they are laying down several measures to address these problems, the first one being the termination of the maintenance contract with the Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI) in November 2017 to promote accountability.

READ: Breakdowns, corruption and separations: The MRT in 2017

Train officials are also in the talks with the Japanese government for the official development assistance of MRT rehabilitation and maintenance.

No fare increase

They also promised no fare hike until commuters see improvement.

"Ang commitment po natin sa sektor ng riles ay hindi po tayo magtataas ng pasahe hangga't hindi nakakaramdam ang commuters ng improvement sa convenience, availability, and reliability po ng ating mga sistema," Batan said.

(Translation: We commit not to increase fares until commuters see improvement in convenience, availability, and reliability of our system.)

Batan added this is not only for the MRT, but for all railway systems.

Talks of fare hike in different public transport systems were raised after the tax reform law took effect January 1. The measure imposes higher taxes on coal, which would lead to higher fuel costs expected to roll out by mid-January.

Despite the glitches, MRT officials said stopping its operations is unthinkable.

"It would be a nightmare for MRT-3 to even think about stopping our operation even for one day, considering that there are so many kababayan natin (Filipinos) who depend on MRT-3 for their livelihood," MRT General Manager Rodolfo Garcia said.

CNN Philippines' AC Nicholls contributed to this story.
Think the Samsung Edge display is cool? Something cooler could be coming very soon. Samsung has been working on foldable displays for a number of years, and the Korean giant might finally be ready to showcase its first completely flexible smartphone in 2018.

Information about the phone, which has been dubbed the Galaxy X or Treble Eight, has slowly trickled out. Heres everything we think we know about it so far.

Release date

The latest rumors from The Investor report that Samsung is prepping the Galaxy X for production and eventual release in late 2018 or early 2019; And this has been confirmed by Samsungs President of Mobile Business, DJ Koh, according to ZDNet. Its reported that Samsung showed off the Galaxy X at a private event at CES 2018, and that the Galaxy X would likely be Samsungs most expensive smartphone ever.

Some of the most compelling evidence for the Galaxy X comes from Samsung itself, as first seen by Dutch site MobielKopen. The smartphones model number  SM-G888N0  is posted on a support page on Samsungs site. While the page is currently empty and lists no other information, its not the first time weve seen the number appear.

The phones model number (with the N0 reportedly denoting that its for the Korean market), was also listed on documents for Bluetooth testing. Then it was referenced in Wi-Fi certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance and in filings submitted to the National Radio Research Agency of the Korea Communications Commission.

Components needed to produce between 2,000 and 3,000 foldable Galaxy X phones have apparently been ordered by Samsung, ready to make a series of the devices during the first half of this year. An anonymous industry source informed Korean site The Investor that Samsung will test the waters with the limited run prototype, which may launch in the last part of 2018.

If such a small amount of Galaxy X phones are made, then we shouldnt expect them to be made available outside South Korea, or even to the public at all. The phone is described as having two OLED display panels with a hinge in the middle. Screens without bezels, like the ones used on the Galaxy S8, may be used to create a seamless, one-screen look.

A limited run of test phones does fit in with previous reports. According to a report from ETNews, Samsung intended to begin production of a prototype phone in Q3 of 2017, in order to verify quality of foldable smartphone by producing thousands of prototypes. Its possible they missed that target, but most sources are still adamant that Samsung is going ahead with the phone, and will be monitoring the quality of the prototypes internally  and will likely begin producing a consumer version of the phone if prototypes hit the mark.

Before being known as the Galaxy X, Samsungs folding phone had the code name Project Valley, which was referenced in various reports. The company introduced the concept of a foldable display at CES 2013 and supposedly showed its first foldable phone prototype in a private meeting at CES 2014. Its possible the Galaxy X is just one device being considered in Project Valley.

Design

Our latest look at a proposed Galaxy X design comes from The Investor, and shows a massive 7.3-inch OLED screen that folds down into a shape reminiscent of the popular clamshell phone designs of the past. This image shows the Galaxy X to be less sleek than current smartphone designs, with the back of the phone sporting a curved and wavy design unlike anything weve seen on a smartphone thus far. Quite what purpose such a design is meant to achieve is unknown, but its presumably to help the smartphone to fold and not damage any of the internal components.

On November 9 2017, Sammobile released a whole host of images that appeared to show the Galaxy X. A patent application reveals a number of renders and illustrates the smartphones hinge from a number of angles. Check out the latest photos below.

Patents filed by Samsung have been the only real clues as to the Galaxy Xs eventual design we have so far. A previous patent from Samsung Display was registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office at the end of September 2016. The diagrams included are dated mid-June and show a clamshell-like device that resembles a makeup compact, folding out into a traditional rectangular smartphone shape.

A camera lens is shown on the top of the closed clamshell, an area that becomes the rear of the unfolded phone. A selfie camera and speaker are shown in the inside top of the phone.

More interestingly, the bottom of the screen appears to have a curved edge thats visible when the phone is closed. It might serve as an information and notification ticker, rather than a secondary display on the back of the device. Samsung already uses the Edge screen on the Galaxy S8 in a similar way.

Before this, a different patent filed by Samsung showed how a folded and unfolded Galaxy X might operate. For example, as Patently Mobile reports, a user could touch an icon on the edge area of the phone so that the app will be open once the device is unfolded. According to the patent, multiple user profiles will also be displayed on the edge area, allowing for multiple users to enter their password to access their information  all from the devices edge. Its important to note that this patent was filed in November, but was not made public until now.
WWE wrestler Heath Slater found himself in an awkward position on a flight the day before New Year's Eve.

Slater was on his way to Miami, FL, for Monday Night Raw. At some point during the flight, the 34-year-old got up to use the restroom, where he became trapped after the door lock stuck.

A team of crew members on the flight had to break out the wrestler by unhinging the bathroom door and then forcefully unlatching the lock with a screwdriver. Fellow WWE wrestler Curtis Axel, who was traveling with Slater to the event, filmed the crew members trying to help save Slater from the tiny commode  and added some colorful commentary that kept everyone laughing, including himself.

DELTA PASSENGER KICKED OFF FLIGHT AFTER USING RESTROOM

Dont let him out. Hes a vicious animal, Axel narrated as a flight attendant asked Slater to help unlatch the doors hinges.

At one point, Axel jokingly accused his friend of staying in on purpose and ordered him to stop playing around and open the door.

Finally the crew is able to get the door open. In the video Slater is seen leaning against the sink, shaking his head.

WARNING: The video contains some inappropriate language.

I locked it and then I went to unlock it and the knob came off and Im like, Oh you gotta be kidding me, the wrestler explained in the video once he had been rescued.

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Fortunately he doesnt appear to be claustrophobic, but he did write that the pint-sized lavatory was getting so hot while he waited.

Slater did make it to Raw, where he was beat by Braun Strowman in the New Years Day match.
A Royal Caribbean passenger aboard the ill-fated tour boat that sank off the coast of Cozumel last week said he was shocked at how fast the vessel sank.

Ive been diving for 12 years and never seen something like that before, Thiago Koga told The Miami Herald. I was in shock.

CARNIVAL TRIUMPH, THE 'POOP CRUISE' SHIP, PASSES SECOND SANITARY INSPECTION

Koga was one of 10 Royal Caribbean cruise passengers who needed to be rescued last Wednesday after their cruise-sanctioned boat tour went south near the Mexican island.

The passengers  four from Royal Caribbean Internationals Navigator of the Seas, and six from Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Equinox  had booked the trip as part of a sponsored scuba diving excursion during a stopover in Cozumel.

Their plans were cut short after the boat began taking on water shortly into the trip.

Crew members instructed all passengers to move to the bow of the vessel and to throw their weight belts  which wouldve been used to keep them underwater during scuba diving  into the ocean to lighten the boat, Koga told the Herald.

Passengers were soon forced to jump into the water, as the boat continued to sink.

The Mexican Navy, along with a handful of other vessels and another boat from the same diving company, Sand Dollar Sports, responded to the scene, pulling all 10 passengers out of the water, the Herald reported.

GASTROENTERITIS OUTBREAK ON SEA PRINCESS CRUISE SICKENS 200 PASSENGERS

Royal Caribbean said all passengers were returned to their respective ships the same day, and that no one was seriously injured.

On Wednesday, January 3, six of our guests from Celebrity Equinox and four from Navigator of the Seas were on the Certified Scuba Dive shore excursion in Cozumel, Mexico, when their boat began to take on water. All guests we rescued returned back to their ships later that same day, said Royal Caribbean in a statement to Fox News. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.

Royal Caribbean also confirmed that the diving trip was indeed a sponsored shore excursion for passengers of the Navigator of the Seas and the Equinox, both of which had sailed from Miami.

Koga further wrote on Twitter that he was thankful to have survived, unlike some of the bus passengers involved in the fatal tour bus crash in Mexico on Dec. 19, which claimed the lives of 11 Royal Caribbean cruise passengers and the tour bus operator.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Both incidents also draw attention to the safety of cruise-sponsored excursions. In many cases, however, the cruise companies themselves are not held liable for any accidents that take place on such trips, as the operators are acting as independent contractors, maritime lawyer John M. Hickey told Fox News.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates both Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.
Visitors at the "Most Magical Place on Earth" were in for a scare on Jan. 7 when a monorail jetted to Epcot with one of its car doors partially open.

According to two videos posted to Instagram by @abbieprimeknits, Monorail Red sped from Disney Worlds Transportation and Ticket Center with a door agape, as passengers held tight to safety poles in the car.

WAITRESS WHOSE FRIEND STOLE SCRATCH-OFF WINNINGS GIFTED TRIP TO DISNEYLAND

"Monorail red is not having a good day and I'm having a panic attack," @abbieprimeknits wrote of the first video, adding, "I need a drink. @disney, guys, you gotta get on this, what if somebody had fallen?" News 6 notes that the monorail moves from 15 to 40 mph, trekking a 14-miles span around the resort, high above the park itself.

News 6 later spoke with the woman who posted the clips, which have each been viewed over 2,400 times. She shared that before departing the Transportation and Ticket Center, maintenance workers spent about 10 minutes trying to get the problematic door to latch, which it eventually did before the monorail took off.

DISNEY FACING BACKLASH OVER 'BLACK PANTHER' COLLECTOR'S PIN

Disney officials confirmed to WFTV 9 that the train has been removed from service and that all monorail cabins feature a phone that connects passengers to the monorail pilot for such emergencies. New safety measures have been installed to ensure the incident does not occur again. WDW News Today reported that Do Not Lean signs were added to every monorail door as of Jan. 8.

According to Disney site WDWMagic, over 150,000 parkgoers ride the monorail per day.

I am grateful that the riders were all calm and that the car was not crowded, and that there were no children standing on the train, the guest told News 6. This could have ended very differently.

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Representatives for Disney World did not immediately return Fox News request for comment.
An Alabama man has been accused of repeatedly sexually molesting a horse after its owner believes she found evidence of his crimes left behind in a barn stall.

Daniel Bennett, 18, of Irvington, is awaiting trial after he allegedly told Mobile County Sheriffs Office investigators he attempted to molest a horse, AL.com reported.

The owner of the 20-year-old steed told WPMI-TV she found Bennett in the barn Thursday night after her dogs barking led her to the scene.

LONG ISLAND MAN ACCUSED OF SEX WITH MULTIPLE HORSES

Owner Francine Janes and her husband, who was armed with a gun, reportedly found Bennett hiding in a barn stall.

Upon being found, Janes said he told her that He likes horses. He wanted to pet the horse.

Bennett was reportedly held at gunpoint by Janes' husband until police arrived. Police reportedly discovered that Bennett had a trench coat with a burglars tool in it.

Janes doesnt believe this is the first time Bennett has inappropriately interacted with her horse. She told investigators she found what she believes to be evidence in Pollys stall multiple times throughout the month of December.

"I would say seven maybe 10 times," Janes told WPMI. "Toilet paper had been left. The hay stacks had been removed. Items had been turned over. And that's as far as I want to go."

ARKANSAS MAN ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF HAVING SEX WITH FAMILY'S PET DONKEY

Bennetts arrest warrant lists his crime of bestiality as a misdemeanor, claiming he "engaged in or submitted to any sexual contact with an animal, to-wit: a horse," AL.com reported.

Bennett was charged with possession of burglar's tools, sexual misconduct and second-degree criminal trespassing. Hes scheduled to appear in court Jan. 18.
The Colorado gunman who killed a sheriffs deputy and wounded six others in a shooting attack on New Years Eve had been monitoring law enforcement with video surveillance that day and owned 15 legally obtained weapons, the sheriff said Tuesday.

The shooter, Matthew Riehl, 37, was utilizing video surveillance equipment both inside and outside of his Highlands Ranch apartment to track officers while they responded to a complaint before he began shooting, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said.

Officers had arrived at the Army veterans apartment complex after receiving a complaint of a verbal disturbance involving two men. A caller said Riehl was acting bizarre and might have been having a mental breakdown, but responding deputies found no evidence of a crime and left.

COLORADO GUNMAN LIVESTREAMEED AMBUSH-STYLE SHOOTING THAT KILLED DEPUTY, REPORT SAYS

Not long after, deputies were called back to the scene. The shooters roommate reportedly gave officers a key and permission to enter the apartment.

Riehl unleashed more than 100 rounds of ammunition at the officers, killing Douglas County Sheriffs Deputy Zackari Parrish and wounding three other deputies, a police officer and two civilians. Riehl was found dead at the scene after a SWAT team entered his apartment and had an exchange of gunfire.

GUNMAN IN DEADLY COLORADO DEPUTY SHOOTING IDENTIFIED AS IRAQ WAR VET WITH GRUDGE AGAINST SHERIFF

Riehl used a shotgun, an M16 rifle, a pistol and an M4 rifle, the sheriff said. The suspect reportedly owned 15 weapons, all obtained legally between 2011 and 2016, and 11 of them were working properly the day of the ambush.

Police and Veterans Affairs records indicate Riehl had mental health issues but would not have been barred from owning guns.

Spurlock said deputies thought Riehl was a danger to himself and were preparing to take him into custody on a mental health hold when the attack occurred.

The suspects mental state reportedly was flagged to Colorado authorities before the shooting -- but he was never held for a mental health evaluation. Riehl had expressed anger towards law enforcement officials in a video posted on Dec. 13, making comments specifically towards the sheriff, whom he called a clown.

Fox News Katherine Lam, Greg Norman, Robert Gearty and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A New Jersey endocrinologist hired a member of a motorcycle gang to kill his wife more than five years ago after she threatened to expose an illegal prescription drug ring the doctor was running with the gang, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner announced murder charges against James Kauffman, 68, in the May 2012 death of his wife, April. Ferdinand Augello, 61, a member of the Pagan Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, was also charged with murder in April Kauffman's death -- and was also charged with trying to have James Kauffman killed.

Six other members of the gang were charged in connection with the drug ring.

Prosecutors said that Kauffman gave free prescriptions to people sent by Augello and that Augello would receive $1,000 per script or a number of pills after the script was filled. Those that received them either used the drugs or sold them.



Tyner told reporters that April Kaufman, a local radio personality who hosted a weekly program in the Atlantic City market, had threatened to divorce her husband over the scheme.

"As a result of April Kauffman's desire to divorce James Kauffman, he was intent to have her killed," Tyner said, "as opposed to losing his 'financial empire,' as he described it to several individuals."

April Kauffman, 47, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds in the bedroom of the couple's Linwood home on the morning of May 10, 2012. Tyner identified the triggerman as Francis "Frank" Mulholland and said he was paid at least $20,000 by James Kauffman and Augello.

Mulholland died of a drug overdose in October 2013, Tyner said.

James Kauffman was arrested this past June on weapons charges after authorities raided and shut down his Egg Harbor Township practice in connection with his wife's murder in addition to an ongoing health care fraud investigation.

Authorities said Kauffman brandished a handgun and yelled, "I'm not going to jail for this" as the raid was in progress.

Ed Jacobs, an attorney for Kauffman, told Philly.com that his client "has consistently denied any involvement whatsoever in the homicide of his wife."

Kimberly Pack, April Kauffman's daughter who had long alleged that her stepfather killed her moth, told reporters Tuesday that her mother's death "forever changed my life." Pack had earlier fought a legal battle against her stepfather sparked by his attempts to claim April Kauffman's two life insurance policies. His claim was turned down because prosecutors couldn't provide a letter saying he wasn't considered a suspect.



"I have been waiting patiently for justice, and today I was lucky enough to be granted justice," Pack said. "I think for the first time, today I can actually breathe."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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A former Republican state lawmaker from Idaho who was facing a sexual abuse investigation has shot and killed himself, authorities said Tuesday.

Brandon Hixon was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in his home early Tuesday, Canyon County Coroner Vicki DeGeus-Morris said. A family member discovered his body.

Officials have released no details about the criminal investigation into Hixon, 36, except that it was related to possible sexual abuse.

Records obtained by The Associated Press show that he was previously the focus of a separate police investigation in 2014 after being accused of inappropriate touching.

At the time, Hixon denied the accusations and told police he was worried they would harm his political career. It's unknown if the new investigation, ongoing since Oct. 5, was connected to the earlier case. The attorney general's office was overseeing the investigation but declined to comment Tuesday.

Hixon was elected in 2012 as one of the youngest lawmakers to win a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives. He didn't particularly stand out during his time in the Statehouse until he abruptly resigned in October after the sexual abuse investigation emerged.

"I hope that my efforts have helped improve the lives of my constituents in District 10, as well as all Idahoans," Hixon wrote in his resignation letter. "I will never forget all of my colleagues that I very much enjoyed working side by side with to make Idaho a better place for all."

After stepping down, Hixon was arrested twice for drunken driving and was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest last month.

Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke announced Hixon's suicide to lawmakers during Tuesday's floor session. The House chaplain led a prayer.

Other lawmakers also offered condolences.

"I wish I had followed the promptings I received and called with words of kindness and encouragement," Republican state Rep. Bryan Zollinger said in a tweet. "Reminder to us all to love one another despite differences of opinion."

Others said they were shocked by Hixon's death.

"I didn't always agree with Rep. Hixon, but I could work with and talk to him," Democratic state Rep. John McCrostie said in a tweet. "Hope you find some peace, Brandon. Condolences and prayers to his family including his children."

Hixon, who got a divorce from his wife in 2016, is survived by his four children, ages 6 to 17.

Hixon's death comes after Kentucky lawmaker Dan Johnson shot and killed himself last year after a report was published detailing allegations that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in his basement in 2013. He had denied the accusations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Investigators say a man tried to stab a North Dakota police officer with a syringe during an arrest struggle.

Court records say the incident happened in Mandan, just west of Bismarck. Investigators say officers approached Kelly McLeod at a gas station and tried to arrest him on a probation warrant. He took off running but was tackled by a detective.

Authorities say McLeod tried stabbing the officer with a syringe filled with brown liquid that he said was deadly.

Officers backed off. Investigators say McLeod fled and broke into an apartment building where he was arrested. Police say they recovered a gun and a bag of heroin nearby.

KXMB reports McLeod made a court appearance Monday and bond was set at $50,000. It's unclear if he has an attorney.

___

Information from: KXMB-TV, http://www.kxnet.com
U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has met privately with the U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters that McMaster gave a "very good" and "very helpful" briefing on Afghanistan to the council Tuesday.

Nebenzia says he told McMaster that he agrees with most points the American raised and "fully agreed" with his statement on the need for Russian and U.S. cooperation on Afghanistan.

The Russian ambassador says he noted President Vladimir Putin's comment at a news conference in December "thanking the Americans for being in Afghanistan, for doing a job" and stressing the need for U.S.-Russian cooperation on the issue.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says McMaster and Guterres discussed a wide range of global issues.
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
At least 13 people were killed Tuesday after a powerful winter storm drenching Southern California sent mud, rocks and debris plummeting down wildfire-scarred hillsides and into several neighborhoods, some of which house lavish celebrity homes.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown confirmed the deaths at a news conference Tuesday, in which he said the affected areas of the state "looked like a World War I battlefield."

More people are believed to be dead, and at least 25 people were injured and others unaccounted for.

Rescues have unfolded throughout the day in Montecito, an enclave that includes the mansions of Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and several other celebrities.

Mike Eliason, a public information officer with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, said the heavy rains triggered "massive runoff."

He tweeted, "Multiple rescues from vehicles and structures are underway. Access is difficult/delayed due to-at some locations-waist deep mudflow, trees, and wires down. Avoid the area."

The Santa Barbara Fire Department told KEYT-TV at least three homes have been destroyed by a mud and debris slide in the area of Hot Springs Road. One man was also rescued from mud that was up to his neck, Santa Barbara County Fire Captain Dave Zaniboni told the news station.

Greg Villeneuve, who is staying at the Montecito Inn in Santa Barbara while in the area on business, told Fox News on Tuesday the skies have cleared up but mangled cars, trees, and branches are littering the area.

"I've been coming to Santa Barbara for 17 years and I've never seen anything like this," he said.

Villeneuve said the 101 Freeway located near the hotel is flooded with several feet of water, and the National Guard has showed up in trucks to assist first responders.

California Highway Patrol said the 101 closed Tuesday between Ventura and Santa Barbara for some 30 miles. Capt. Cindy Pontes said crews are working "feverishly" to clear the road, but it will take at least 48 hours, possibly longer, to reopen it.

At one point early Tuesday, the entire freeway was inundated and the mud was 3 feet deep at the top of a rise, CHP said.

Zaniboni told KEYT "multiple" homes were destroyed and residents were unaccounted for in neighborhoods below hillsides scarred by recent fires. The television station also showed a body being loaded into a military-style truck on a mud-covered street.

Firefighters in Montecito were able to rescue a 14-year-old girl after she was trapped for hours inside a destroyed home. "I thought I was dead for a minute there," the girl could be heard saying on video posted by KNBC-TV before she was taken away on a stretcher.

In Montecito, some residents told the Los Angeles Times they had shrugged off dire warnings about the rainstorm before waking up to the deluge.

I woke up ready this morning to laugh and scoff at all the gloom-and-doom predictions, Dominic Shiach told the newspaper. Its actually way worse than I thought it was going to be.

In another Twitter post, Eliason posted pictures of firefighters rescuing two men and a woman from flood waters on Hot Springs Road in Montecito.

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles said at least five inches of rainfall fell in the town of Ojai in Ventura County. The region about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles is located in the burn area of the Thomas Fire, which scarred the land last month and was the largest in California history.

A yearslong drought eased in the state last spring, but Northern California had a dry start to winter and hardly any measurable rain fell in the south over the past six months. The extremely dry conditions and high winds last year led to some of the most destructive blazes on both ends of the state.

Montecito is beneath the scar left by a wildfire that erupted Dec. 4 and became the largest ever recorded in California. It spread over more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers) and destroyed 1,063 homes and other structures. It continues to smolder deep in the wilderness.

Fox News' Shira Bush and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Police in Massachusetts said a woman ditched her own mothers funeral on Friday to break into her home and steal a safe filled with items worth $90,000.

Alyce Davenport, 30, and Diron Conyers, 27, both appeared in court Monday and faced seven counts related to the alleged robbery, the Telegram & Gazette reported.

Charges were filed against the two after Thomas Baillet, Davenports mothers fiance, told police someone broke into his house during the funeral of Audra Johnson  Davenports mother  and stole the safe from a locked bedroom.

Court documents reportedly stated Davenport was suspected of the theft, and was recently kicked out of the house over her drug habits.

Police found a car linked to Davenport on the side of a road with the safe in the trunk, which Davenport allegedly slammed shut when officers tried to peek inside.

Legal documents, $5,000 in coins, a bag of knives and jewelry were found elsewhere in the car.

Inside a motel room where Davenport and Conyers were staying, police discovered cocaine, in addition to jewelry, keys, cellphones, a real estate contract relating to the address from which the safe had been stolen, and a checkbook reported stolen from a home in Connecticut, the Gazette reported.

BANK THEFT SUSPECT ARRESTED AFTER AFTER HE APPLICES FOR A JOB WITH POLICE

Police reportedly knew who Davenport was, as shes also a suspect in the theft of life insurance checks paid to her brother after their fathers death.

Davenport, with a history of larceny, identity theft and forgery, was held on $15,000 bail, according to the Gazette. Conyers, who has a criminal history that includes armed robbery, was held without bail due to another court warrant.

Both are scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 6.
Three Utah family members were arrested Tuesday after a 3-year-old girl drank methamphetamine-laced soda that was stashed in a water bottle, police said.

The childs mother Lucinda Black, 30, her uncle, Danie Black, 20, and her aunt, Ashley Black, 27, were taken into custody after the toddler tested positive for meth on Dec. 30, FOX13 Salt Lake City reported.

The childs grandmother brought the girl to the hospital and told nurses the 3-year-old was acting crazy and erratic, police said. Danie and Ashley Black told the grandmother the toddler began acting strange after she drank the soda.

Police said they discovered the toddler accidentally consumed the meth-laced liquid while the three siblings were taking care of her the night before. But when questioned, the trio blamed each other for the incident.

The uncle admitted to police he recently used meth, but said the water bottle was his sister's and that they would always mix him drinks with meth in them.

They all tried to deceive me and blame it on each other," a Grantsville Police Detective Lydon Allred told FOX13.

The child drank the meth-laced soda when Lucinda and Ashley Black brought it to the grandmothers house. Danie Black later took the bottle and drank the drug-filled liquid in the bathroom.

Danie Black was charged with child abuse and felony child endangerment. Lucinda Black also faces felony child endangerment and abuse charges.

Its unclear if Ashley Black was charged in the incident.
Federal immigration agents arrested 21 suspected illegal immigrants Wednesday after auditing about 100 7-Eleven stores as a part of four-year investigation into the employees immigration statuses.

Wednesdays operation stemmed from a 2013 investigation under the Obama administration that found managers used stolen identities to hire 115 illegal immigrants and pay them below minimum wage, court documents said. Officials called it the largest immigration action against an employer under Donald Trump's presidency.

Nine 7-Eleven franchisees and managers in New York and Virginia were charged.

Since then, eight people have pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in back wages.

The most recent audit comes as President Donald Trump aims to expand border security and immigration policy. Deportation arrests have increased by 40 percent under the new administration.

Acting head of ICES Homeland Security Investigations Derek Benner said Wednesdays audit was the first of many to come for employers across the country.

"This is what we're gearing up for this year and what you're going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters," Benner said.

Following these inspections, officials have said they'll decide whether the cases warrant a criminal investigation.

Employer audits ramped up under the Obama administration, with more than 3,100 just in 2013.

ICEs top official, Thomas D. Homan, said in a statement that this type of hiring is a key factor that draws illegal immigrants into the U.S., The Washington Post reported.

"Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet," Homans statement said. "ICE will continue its efforts to protect jobs for American workers by eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that exploit illegal immigration."

Despite 7-Eleven being the target in the latest audits, Benner said all employers would going to susceptible to inspection.

"It's not going to be limited to large companies or any particular industry, big medium and small," he said.

Meanwhile, the House GOP rolled out its new immigration and border security bill which included a measure making it mandatory for employers to check that they're strictly hiring legal workers.

7-Eleven Stores Inc. released a statement pointing out that owners of its Franchises are responsible for hiring and verifying workers eligibility.

Fox News Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Police were investigating the death of a teenage boy whose body was found Tuesday on a restroom floor inside an Arizona elementary school. The cause of death appeared to be a gunshot wound, authorities said.

Officers responded Tuesday morming to a call about an active shooter at Coronado Elementary School between the towns of Sierra Vista and Hereford near the U.S.-Mexico border, the Arizona Republic reported. The 14-year-old was not identified.

The death was being treated as a homicide until proven otherwise," Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels said at a news conference.

But a Cochise County sheriff's spokeswoman said authorities were not searching for a suspect, the paper reported.

The school was placed on lockdown and classes were canceled for the rest of the day. Students were bused to a local church to be picked up by their parents, the paper reported.

Click here for more from the Arizona Republic.
An alleged white supremacist who attended a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Va., last year faces federal charges after trying to wreck an Amtrak train in Nebraska, authorities said.

Taylor Michael Wilson, 26, of St. Charles, Mo., entered a secure area of an Amtrak passenger train Oct. 22, toyed with the controls and applied the emergency brake  sending passengers lunging and knocking out electrical power, according to a criminal complaint filed in a U.S. District Court in Lincoln, Neb.

The filing of terrorism charges was first published in the Lincoln Journal Star last week.

Two Amtrak conductors detained Wilson on the train until police arrived, authorities said. One conductor said Wilson taunted them, saying, What are you going to do, shoot me?"

Police reportedly confiscated a loaded firearm, ammunition, a hammer and a fixed blade from inside the mans backpack. Wilson refused to tell the authorities why he had the items, authorities said. They added that Wilson was carrying a business card for the National Socialist Movement, an openly neo-Nazi group.

Wilson was released on a partially secured bond in December, but following a search warrant and a subsequent FBI investigation, he was arrested again on weapons charges.

The criminal complaint states that in addition to weapons and a hand-made shield, the FBI also learned that Wilson expressed disturbing views to his roommate, including that he was interested in murdering black people, and vehemently supported white supremacist groups.

Wilsons cousin claimed he attended a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Va. He said it is unclear if the 26-year-old brought anything more than a shield and a bulletproof vest to the rally, but noted that he was known for carrying a firearm with him.

The DOJ indictment of Wilson signals an increasing focus on white supremacist violence in the U.S. On Tuesday, just days after Wilsons indictment was revealed, the DOJ sentenced a neo-Nazi leader to five years in prison for explosive charges.

Brandon Clint Russell, 22, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for possessing an unregistered destructive device and for illegal storage of explosive material.
A man attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico illegally got some help from Border Patrol agents in California after he injured himself in an apparent fall from a fence.

Border agents were contacted by the Tijuana Fire Department early Tuesday morning when a man reportedly injured his ankle in a fall about eight miles east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The Mexican fire department sought assistance because the rugged terrain in the area impeded them from reaching the unidentified 41-year-old man.

Upon arrival, U.S. agents found the man immediately south of the border fence, about 400 yards north of the international boundary with Mexico. He was suffering from an apparent broken ankle.

Officials said agents opened a maintenance gate nearby to reach him.

The man was taken by agents to the bottom of the west Otay Mountain  about five miles west of where he fell  where an ambulance was waiting for him. He was taken to a U.S. hospital for treatment.

A Border Patrol spokesman told the Union Tribune the man would face deportation proceedings after his injury is treated.

Our job is to enforce the laws of the United States, but the preservation of life is always a top priority, San Diego sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott said in a statement. With inclement weather approaching this area, a likely tragedy was avoided because of our agents quick response and concern for others.
FBI Director Chris Wray is seeking to reboot the privacy-versus-security debate surrounding law enforcements inability to access data on electronic devices protected by powerful encryption.

Over the past year, the FBI failed to access data from nearly 7,800 devices, Wray said Tuesday at the International Conference on Cyber Security in New York City, adding that the number continues to grow, Reuters reported.

Although the agency has the legal authority to unlock the devices, it doesn't have the proper technical tools, he added.

The FBI supports strong encryption, Wray said, but called its inability to access data an urgent public safety issue that requires significant innovation.

Technology companies and some cybersecurity experts have said that providing law enforcement with a way to access data from encrypted devices would weaken internet security and make it easier for hackers to abuse the system, Reuters reported.

In addition, there is insufficient interest among lawmakers in requiring companies to make products that authorities can access after obtaining a warrant, Reuters said.

We face an enormous and increasing number of cases that rely heavily, if not exclusively, on electronic evidence, Wray said.

Officials have said their inability to collect evidence impedes their ability to catch criminals. They often cite as an example the Dec. 2, 2015, mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., when Apple Inc. subsequently declined to help authorities access the contents of the gunmans iPhone.


An associate pastor at Roman Catholic churches in Illinois faces 16 felony child porn charges as well as a methamphetamine possession charge, authorities said.

The Rev. Gerald Hechenberger, 54, who serves at three parishes in St. Clair County, Ill., east of St. Louis, was arrested Monday after a search warrant was executed at a church rectory in Mascoutah, Ill, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Hechenberger was charged with eight counts of dissemination of child pornography, seven counts of possession of child pornography (photos), one count of possession of child pornography (video) and possession of methamphetamine, the Belleville News-Democrat reported.

Bond for Hechenberger has been set at $2 million, FOX2 Now in St. Louis reported.

The Belleville Police Department said they received a tip from Internet Crimes Against Children that said a person in the area was distributing child pornography. The department said they received search warrants in relation to the tip. On Monday, detectives executed the search warrant at the church and said they discovered drug paraphernalia, images of child pornography and meth. They also took a few electronic devices. The department said the victims in the images were under the age of 13.

The department said they were not sure if Hechenberger took the pictures of the underage children himself.

It is unknown at this time if Hechenberger produced any of the images himself, or if he has had any inappropriate contact with children directly, the press release from the department stated. Although Belleville Police do not have knowledge of any additional victims, we release this information and encourage parents to speak to their children if they had any contact with Hechenberger. Parents or guardians should immediately report any suspicions to the Belleville Police Department.

Police confirmed Hechenberger was the only person at the church being investigated.

Bishop Edward K Braxton of the Belleville Diocese said the situation was serious and the diocese was cooperating with police. Parents of students at the Holy Childhood School were informed of Hechenbergers arrest.

Hechenberger was also an associate pastor at St. Liborius Parish and St. Pancratius Parish.

The Belleville News-Democrat reported Hechenberger took a leave of absence when he was a pastor at St. John the Baptist in Smithton in 2011. At the time, the priest wrote a statement to the parish saying he was struggling with depression and needed to take some time off.

The investigation is continuing, police said.
A 15-year-old Massachusetts high school freshman was arrested after she was accused by police of running a drug pickup business -- using her bedroom window as a service hub.

Haverhill police believe she was selling the drugs with the consent of her mother, who also was taken into custody, FOX25 reported, citing court documents.

To happen in your own building. I sleep in the back with my son, to know they were coming up the back there and drugs were being bought it is kind of disturbing, Tanya Silva, who lives on the floor below the mother and daughter, told the station.

Documents viewed by FOX25 said the teens mother, 37-year-old Heather Vittorioso, told investigators she knew that [her daughter] was selling weed but had no idea about anything else.

Investigators searched the girls bedroom on the third floor of the multi-family home and reported finding money and an assortment of drugs in the top drawer of the teens dresser, located just three feet from the window, FOX25 reported.

Marijuana, cocaine, fentanyl, two unregistered guns, ammunition and $1,069 in cash reportedly were taken from the apartment by police after they executed a search warrant Friday.

People were going up and down the stairs at 2 and 3 a.m., said one neighbor, Brianna Rogers. She echoed claims from others who said it sounded like a steady stream of after-hours foot traffic coming from the stairs behind the home leading up to the teens bedroom window.

Vittorioso was arraigned Monday and is set to appear in court for a probable cause hearing in February. She faces numerous charges, including reckless endangerment and cocaine trafficking, according to WHAV.

Cameron Dawson, who police say was the girl's boyfriend and had been living at the residence, faces three charges related to drug possession and distribution.

Authorities said the girls father is currently in jail on assault and kidnapping charges from an unrelated case, FOX25 reported.
(CNN)  After more than a year of mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula, we might finally be seeing something different.

North and South Korean negotiators will sit down together Tuesday for the first time since December 2015, after North Korea picked up a hotline between the two technically-still-at-war nations last week.

The meeting will take place at Peace House in the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjom or "truce village," the only part of the 250 kilometer (160 mile), heavily-fortified demilitarized zone where North and South Korean soldiers stand face-to-face.

This was also the location of a dramatic defection by a North Korean soldier last month, who ran across the DMZ to South Korea while under heavy gunfire from his former colleagues.

Negotiators will discuss North Korean participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics, to begin in Pyeongchang, South Korea early next month, as well as "inter-Korean relationships," according to Seoul.

North and South Korean negotiators have met multiple times in the past, without any permanent decrease in tensions or hostilities, and analysts advised caution on Tuesday's talks.

"I think prudence dictates that we be very cautious about these talks," said Evans Revere, a former US diplomat in South Korea. "We've been down this road before ... in almost every instance, ultimately we've been disappointed."

Sudden breakthrough

Last year was dominated by growing concern over North Korean missile and nuclear testing, and the angry, saber-rattling rhetoric both were inspiring in Washington.

However, 2018 started off with a rare glimmer of optimism on the Korean Peninsula.

Two employees of South Korea's Unification Ministry -- the sprawling government office which oversees all things North Korea -- had been calling an inter-governmental hotline at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. every day since February 2016, when the North Koreans cut off communications.

After almost two years, someone finally picked up, and within days, the two sides had agreed to meet in person.

US President Donald Trump has attempted to claim credit for the breakthrough, saying it would not have happened "if I wasn't firm, strong and willing to commit out total 'might' against the North."

But Trump added "talks are a good thing," and said "America supports (South Korean) President Moon 100%."

As a gesture of good will, South Korea and the US have agreed not to hold joint military drills during the Olympics, which are scheduled for February 9 to 25. The drills have long infuriated North Korea and been a sticking point with Pyongyang.

Trump's Secretary of Defense James Mattis "reaffirmed the US commitment to defend (South Korea) using the full spectrum of US capabilities" during a call with his South Korean counterpart Song Young-moo Friday.

The defense ministers also discussed the importance of strong international support for diplomatic actions to resolve the North Korean threat, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman.

"It is very much in the US interest that the talks be expanded to include tensions reductions mechanisms and nuclear and missile test freezes, but the Trump team seems hesitant to seize the opportunity," said Adam Mount, senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists for nuclear and defense policy, adding that "these talks have begun more despite Trump than because of him."

Seeking concessions

Revere, the former US diplomat, predicted Pyongyang may try to extract concessions from Seoul in exchange for North Korea's participation in -- and non-disruption of -- the Winter Olympics.

"Some sort of assistance package, some sort of sanctions relief," he said.

"Another thing that the North Koreans may be looking at is something more permanent in the area of a reduction of military exercises that South Korea engages in with the US."

Revere said from experience the first round of negotiations "is very tough."

"They lay out a position and they make it very clear they're not going to back away from it, even if perhaps later they do," he added.

Sue Terry, former CIA analyst and senior fellow for Korea at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, said President Moon Jae-in "will have to give some kind of concession to North Korea, for North Korea to send a delegation to the Olympics."

This, she added, may involve the reopening of the Kaesong industrial complex, a joint economic venture between the two Koreas that was closed by Moon's conservative predecessor Park Geun-hye in 2016.

"President Moon might have to cancel, or indefinitely postpone, US-South Korean joint military exercises," she said.

Cautious optimism

Chad O'Carroll, managing director of a research and consultancy firm called the Korea Risk Group, said the talks were starting off on a positive note, with little of the usual disagreement about whether to hold them on the North or South side of the Joint Security Area.

"It definitely seems like something is in the air and we'll see what that leads to," he said. "For the North Koreans, the motivation to take part in these talks is undoubtedly due to the pressure that is building up on the country."

Sanctions on Pyongyang are at their highest level in history, with both US and United Nations restrictions taking their toll on the country's economy, raising major concerns for a population that has suffered through multiple famines in the recent past.

"Policy planners in North Korea are going to really start to struggle in the medium to long term in terms of being able to plan effectively and grow the economy with the amount of economic and diplomatic isolation there is right now," O'Carroll said. "There is one small potential relief valve for Pyongyang, which is South Korea."

Under previous South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, Seoul advanced the "Sunshine Policy" of greater economic and diplomatic engagement with North Korea, including aid and other relief.

President Moon was a key adviser to Roh, and during the election campaign last year, consistently supported improving ties with Pyongyang, though he has taken a harder line since coming to power.

While some analysts predicted North Korea may attempt to gain tough concessions from South Korea for a peaceful Olympics, O'Carroll said it may be an ideal time for a reinvigorated Sunshine Policy to bear fruit.

"It's a gamble. It may not work. But it's better than nothing. And North Korea doesn't really have any other options right now in terms of reducing (sanctions) pressure," he said.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "South and North Korean negotiators to meet at DMZ for first time since 2015."
Guantanamo detainees linked to the 9/11 attacks have accused the prison's guard force of sexual harassment for conducting so-called groin searches.

We be under sexual harassment today for search in being here, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said in broken English on Monday, before a war court session, the Miami Herald reported.

Four other alleged co-conspirators parroted Mohammeds accusations of sexual harassment, with Ramzi bin al Shibh, an alleged deputy of the attacks, calling the search procedure a sexual harassment search.

The men are currently being held in Guantanamos Camp 7, a secretive site for high-value detainees. But despite the secrecy, the captives are given limited access to satellite news networks, possibly making them aware of the shifting attitudes toward sexual harassment in the U.S.

They voluntarily attended the first session of a seven-day set of pretrial hearings and were reminded by the judge, Army Col. James Pohl, that they can waive their attendance at any time. Alleged co-conspirator Mustafa al Hawsawi used the privilege and asked the judge to remove him from the proceedings.

According to the Herald, all five detainees are accused of helping the 19 hijackers who crashed planes in New York, at the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, 2001, killing 2,976 people.

Ever since the charges in 2012, the court has been holding pretrial hearings.

Prosecutor Bob Swann told the court that the prison had chosen Monday to implement procedures that allow physical groin searches. In the past, the military used scanners and other devices to see if prisoners from Camp 7 had something hidden in their groin area.

The judge ordered the prison to bring someone to court to explain the recent change in the search practices, possibly this week. Such searches were banned in 2013, but a higher court allowed physical groin searches to resume -- although most commanders use wands and other devices to search the groin area.
Churchgoers gave a Memphis pastor a standing ovation on Sunday after he admitted to a sexual incident with a teenage girl some 20 years ago.

Andy Savage, 42, a pastor at Highpoint Church in Memphis, told churchgoers he sinned in 1998 but did not go into detail, The Kansas City Star reported.

A few days earlier, Jules Woodson wrote a blog entry on Watch Keep, a website for survivors of sexual abuse. Woodson wrote that she was 17 in the spring of 1998 when Savage offered to drive her home from the Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church in a Houston suburb. Woodson wrote that the pastor pulled over on a dirt road and asked her to perform oral sex on him before he demanded she take off her top. Woodson wrote he begged her not to tell anyone what transpired.

You have to take this to the grave with you, Savage told Woodson, according to her account.

In a statement, Savage admitted to having a sexual incident with a female high school senior in the church and said he apologized and took every step to respond in a biblical way."

EX-WIFE OF SLAIN NBA PLAYER AGREES TO FACE TENNESSEE CHARGES

On Sunday, Savage said he took responsibility, but believed it was dealt with in Texas.

Until now, I did not know there was unfinished business with Jules, Savage said. Jules, I am deeply sorry for my actions 20 years ago. I remain committed to cooperate with you toward forgiveness and healing.

Following his speech, the churchgoers gave Savage a standing ovation, which lasted about 20 seconds. Chris Conlee, the megachurchs lead pastor, told the crowd Savage was hurt by the ripple effect of the consequences of that sin.

Woodson told The New York Times she was disgusted after watching Savages speech online.

Its disgusting, Woodson said while crying.

Woodson told The Times the matter was never dealt with because she never reported her allegations to authorities. She said she went to authorities Monday to make a report, but it was not immediately clear if the statute of limitations had expired.

Woodson said she wanted to come forward with her story after hearing about disgraced Today show host Matt Lauer being fired from NBC for sexual misconduct.

TENNESSEE GIRL, 12, CHARGED IN DEADLY SHOOTING OF HER 16-YEAR-OLD FRIEND

The day she heard about Lauers firing, Woodson said she sent an email to Savage asking if he remembered that day he drove her home in 1998.

Woodson said she wrote in an email, Do you remember that night that you were supposed to drive me home from church and instead drove me to a deserted back road and sexually assaulted me?

She said she hoped Savage would respond, but he did not, which led her to go public with her story.

On Monday, Christian publisher Bethany House announced it had canceled the publication of The Ridiculously Good Marriage by Savage, The Associated Press reported.
A 41-year-old Florida man who allegedly ran onto the runway at Miami International Airport Monday, told police he had done so because he didnt know how to read, The Miami Herald reported.

Gregory Burnes told police he had made his way onto Runway 9 because he couldnt read but police said he ignored verbal warnings, The Herald reported, citing the arrest report.

A police officer wrote in a report that Burnes told officers that he thought it would be faster to cross the runway rather than go around, the report said.

Burnes is currently being held at the Miami-Dade Countys Turner Guilford Knight Correction Center on a $1,500 bail, facing a charge of unlawful entry to restricted areas, Local-10 reported.

Miami International Airport has had another recent instance of someone breaking through a restricted area.

Last September, The Herald reported a 34-year-old man from Mississippi had crashed his car through an airport gate, scaled a fence, and dared police to shoot him when they eventually confronted him in an electrical room.

He allegedly lunged at an officer who then shot back at the man twice. The man was injured and rushed to a hospital. He survived.
A Missouri teen has been arrested, charged with taking nude photos of a 2-year-old girl with the intent of selling them to a high school classmate, authorities said.

The 17-year-old, of O'Fallon, was taken into custody Dec. 30 after his father discovered the photos and alerted authorities, FOX 2 NOW St. Louis reported.

The father found the inappropriate images after confiscating his son's phone as a punishment for misbehaving, the report said.

The teen admitted removing the girl's diaper and snapping photos, the station reported. The girl, who was sleeping on the floor of his bedroom, is a relative of his girlfriend, the station reported, citing a probable cause statement from OFallon police.

Court documents said the teen planned to sell the photos for $330 to a classmate he suspected of being a pedophile, the station reported.

The teen faces charges of possession of child pornography and was being held on a $10,000 bond. His court appearance was set for 9 a.m. Jan. 16.

O'Fallon is about 33.5 miles west of St. Louis.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed against a former Missouri middle school teacher, and the district she taught in, due to her alleged sexual misconduct with three teen boys.

Lawsuits are now pending in Jasper County Circuit Court not only against the former North Middle School former teacher, but also against the Joplin School District.

The Joplin Globe reported that one of the plaintiffs filed separate suits against the district and Amanda Schweitzer, 37, who was charged with child kidnapping, first-degree statutory rape and first-degree statutory sodomy in two counties in April 2017.

The suits describe incidents of alleged sexual misconduct by Schweitzer with three former North Middle School students -- all teen boys younger than 15 -- including incidents alleged to have taken place at the school.

The school district lawsuit cites the Missouri Human Rights Act, alleging the district failed to take steps to prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment by its faculty. Schweitzer is accused of negligent infliction of emotional distress in the petition.

LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER, 30, ACCUSED OF ORAL SEX IN EMPTY CLASSROOM WITH TEEN BOY STUDENT

The mother of two of the ex-teachers alleged victims brought the lawsuit against Schweitzer. The suit against the school district also includes a second plaintiff, the mother of another of her alleged victims.

In one incident at the school, the suit alleges Schweitzer "ran her hand through [the student]'s hair and nibbled on his ear."

Matthew Wilson, a Springfield attorney representing the school district, told the Joplin Globe on Tuesday the district had no knowledge of Schweitzer's alleged conduct before receiving a parental complaint and immediately placed Schweitzer on leave and began an internal investigation.

Wilson said he had not yet seen the suit against the district, which was filed on Dec. 28. The suit against Schweitzer was filed on Nov. 3, 2017.

Mike Fleming and Ted Kapke, attorneys representing the plaintiffs in both suits, said in a phone interview with the Globe the suits needed to be brought separately because the allegations against the school district deal with public accommodations under the MHRA, and Schweitzer wouldn't personally have a legal responsibility to uphold those.

MATH TEACHER ACCUSED OF MULTIPLE SEX ROMPS, SENDING LEWD PHOTOS TO STUDENTS, SENTENCED

In both, three North students are mentioned in the suits as having received various unwanted sexual advances from Schweitzer.

The suit against the school district alleges Schweitzer began "grooming" three underage male students at North Middle School in early 2017 by sending them increasingly suggestive and sexual text and social media messages, the Globe reported.

In one incident at the school, the suit alleges Schweitzer "ran her hand through [the student]'s hair and nibbled on his ear. She later messaged him via Instagram and asked him if he enjoyed it."

Criminal charges against Schweitzer are still pending in the circuit courts in both Jasper and Newton counties.
Police say a man who raped a New York City woman more than two decades ago while she was walking home through a park with her groceries has finally been identified, bringing an end to a longtime cold case.

Police sources told the New York Post on Tuesday that James Edward Webb, a 68-year-old serial rapist who is currently serving the rest of his life behind bars at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, was behind the April 1994 attack.

New technology allowed investigators to link Webb to the rape through a DNA match with material collected at the scene, the sources said.

The woman had told police she was walking through Prospect Park in Brooklyn with her groceries when her attacker, carrying a large stick or cane, raped her next to a tree and demanded cash.

The high-profile case was the center of a libel suit against the New York Daily News, which published a column calling the victim's account a "lie" and a "hoax." The paper and its columnist, the late Mike McAlary, were cleared in 1997.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos dismissed the lawsuit after finding that [Mike] McAlary accurately reported what his police sources told him, reads an article in the New York tabloids archives.

A police spokesman also said at the time that investigators had doubts over the victim's account due to scant physical evidence and apparent inconsistencies in her story, the New York Post reported, citing deposition testimony viewed by the New York Times.

The woman on Monday learned that Webb was the attacker during a very emotional meeting with investigators who were working the case, and felt vindicated as a result, police sources told the New York Post.

As soon as we knocked on her door and we told her we were NYPD detectives, she nearly broke down and cried, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce told the newspaper. She cried last night when we told her we had the guy. I think my detectives cried with her.

It is not clear whether Webb  who is serving 75 years to life in Sing Sing  will be charged for the rape.

Her lawyer Martin Garbus said "we have asked the Daily News and the Police Department for an apology and we have not heard back yet."

Boyce did say though Tuesday that the woman "was treated badly."

Webb is in prison for raping four women in Brooklyn while on parole in 1995, and served 20 years before that for six rapes he committed in the 1970s, the New York Post reported.
The owner of a South Carolina gas station named in honor of former President Barack Obama was arrested and charged Tuesday with tax evasion.

Murad A. Alhanik, 39, the owner of the Obama Store and gas station in Columbia, S.C., was charged with four counts of sales tax evasion, WISTV reported.

The South Carolina Department of Revenue said Alhanik filed $971,935 in sales tax returns in the period between 2013 and 2016, but after an investigation the agency found the stores sales was $2.6 million, according to a press release.

SOUTH CAROLINA SOLDIER DIES IN IRAQ

Alhanik dodged paying more than $136,000 in sales taxes during that four-year period, the department said.

Alhanik was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, arrest records show. He could face up to five years in prison and fines nearing $10,000.

The owner renamed the gas station to honor the 44th president during Obamas first term. Alhanik told WISTV he saw more business after the name change.

6 GANG MEMBERS SENTENCED IN KILLING OF SOUTH CAROLINA COUPLE

"I see more people come in," Alhanik said then. "Excited with the name."

In January 2017, Alhanik told the Post and Courier that he would never change the name of the store despite Obama not being president anymore because its still history.
A terrified prostitute became the star witness in a trial that put a man behind bars for 20 years after he was convicted of running a red light and hitting a young father on a scooter.

Prosecutors said Robert Velazco was drunk and high on cocaine when he flew through a red light in West Miami in June 2014, striking Alex Rodas, 34, who was crossing the intersection.

Velazco drove off without a second thought, the Miami Herald reported, and the incident was captured on a red light security camera.

Riding shotgun with Velazco was Leticia Suri, whom he had picked up minutes earlier for a night of fun.

Suri bolted from the vehicle as soon it stopped and quickly ran to a Miami-Dade cop, who she directed to Velazcos home.

She was a very unlikely states witness, Sally Matson, a victims advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told the Herald. She risked harm and consequences. Without her, justice would never have been possible.

A jury convicted Velazco in November of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

It was Suris testimony that helped put Velazco behind bars -- though Velazco tried to claim it was actually Suri behind the wheel. However, independent witnesses said a man was behind the wheel of the truck when it struck Rodas, the Herald reported.

The June 2014 incident was not Velazcos first run-in with law enforcement, and he had racked up more than 20 convictions before his arrest. One such conviction came from another state, in which he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor, Miami-Dade prosecutor Desiree Staeffer said in court.

The victim was 15 years of age, she said. Not only did the defendant almost kill someone, he also raped someone.

Other convictions include 11 for cocaine possession and others for burglary and grand-theft auto.

Rodas told the Herald he suffered extensive injuries, including brain trauma and broken bones. He said he can no longer work because of his injuries.

This tragedy  my whole life has been destroyed, he said.
A sentencing date has been set for an Ohio man who admitted he plotted to kill military members in the U.S.

Columbus resident Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud (ab-dee-RAH'-mahn shayk moh-HAH'-mud) is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 19.

Mohamud pleaded guilty in August 2015 to supporting terrorism and making false statements to authorities.

Federal prosecutors say he received training in 2014 on weapons, combat and tactics in Syria, and then returned to the U.S. with a plan to kill military officers or others in uniform. They say he also researched places to carry out attacks.

Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of 23 years.

Mohamud's attorney is asking for leniency, saying he abandoned his attack plans.
A man accused in a string of bank robberies isn't making it tough for Texas authorities to find him: He has his Social Security number tattooed on his face and his area code inked on his neck.

Yet cops still haven't caught up to Robert Wooten, 40, who's described as a career criminal" and is alleged to have carried out at least six armed robberies in Houston.

"They're calling this guy 'Social Security' because he actually has his Social Security [number] tattooed across his forehead," veteran Houston police investigator Frank Heenan told KPRC.

The robberies date back to last October, where Wooten allegedly walked into a convenience store and asked an employee at gunpoint, You care about your life? while demanding cigarettes, KIAH said, citing court documents.

TEXAS WOMAN ACCUSED OF DAMAGING WARHOL PAINTINGS COULD FACE LIFE IN PRISON

In another instance, Wooten is seen on surveillance entering a store wearing American Flag shorts and throwing a bag at the salesman while ordering it be filled with money.

Wootens array of tattoos includes Houstons area code, 713, printed on his neck.

But his body ink isnt the only detail authorities found to be memorable.

Wootens rap sheet includes charges related to indecent exposure, aggravated robbery, violation of a protective order due to violence and other burglary and drug-related episodes, KIAH reported.

WOMAN SKIPS MOM'S FUNERAL TO STEAL HER SAFE, POLICE SAY

No one has been injured in the string of recent robberies at the stores, including a Walgreens, but Heenan said it was only a matter of time due to Wootens notorious crimes.
(CNN Money)  Millions of people in El Salvador depend on money sent home by their loved ones in the United States. They use it to buy homes, groceries, school supplies and other essentials of everyday life.

The Trump administration's decision Monday to end protections for about 250,000 Salvadorans in the United States puts those payments, known as remittances, at risk, experts say.

"They are the lifeline of those families," said Cecilia Menjivar, co-director at the Center for Migration Research at the University of Kansas, and a native of El Salvador. "If remittances decline, the country will collapse."

People protected by the program, known as Temporary Protected Status, will have until September 2019 to leave the country or find other means of staying, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Related: Remittances to Mexico on track to hit all-time high

Salvadorans in the United States sent home a record amount of money in 2016, and the totals from 2017 are on pace to break the record.

From January through November, Salvadorans sent home $4.51 billion in remittances, according to the country's central bank. For all of 2016, Salvadorans mailed $4.57 billion to family and loved ones.

That's a huge sum for a relatively poor country of 6 million people. The entire economic output of El Salvador last year was $27 billion, according to estimates from the International Monetary Fund. Mexico has about 20 times as many people and took in only about six times as much in remittances through November.

The amount of money sent home to loved ones also dwarfs the $88 million that El Salvador received in aid from the United States last year.

Related: I send money home to Mexico to support my family

It's uncertain what will happen to remittances in coming months.

Experts say Salvadorans in the United States could decide to send as much money home as possible before the protections end in 2019. They also caution that American employers may fire Salvadoran employees who will lose their ability to keep a job.

In the long term, though, if hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans are forced to return to their native country, remittances will fall significantly, they say.

Families use the money to keep kids in school longer, according to Christine Wade, a professor at Washington College in Maryland who has published research on El Salvador.

School fees are one of the many expenses families cover with remittances. Wade argues that a decline in remittances would almost certainly mean less class time for children.

"This policy shift has all sorts of unintended consequences that people just aren't thinking about," Wade said. "This decision is likely to only increase migration because it's only going to make things worse for the Salvadoran economy."

--CNN's Catherine Shoichet contributed reporting to this article.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Trump clamps down on El Salvador's 'lifeline'"
A Dallas woman is challenging allegations that she caused at least $300,000 in damage to a prominent Houston attorney's art collection -- including Andy Warhol paintings -- at the end of their first date.

Lindy Lou Layman appeared in a Houston courtroom Tuesday after being charged with felony criminal mischief for the Dec. 23 incident in the home of attorney Tony Buzbee.

The Houston Chronicle reported that the level of the charge is determined by the price tag for the items destroyed. Layman is accused of a first-degree felony and could face life in prison if convicted.

Buzbee has represented high-profile figures, including former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in an abuse-of-power case.

Prosecutors say Buzbee told investigators the 29-year-old Layman became intoxicated and belligerent and that she shattered two $20,000 sculptures and poured wine on paintings, including two Warhol works each valued at $500,000.

The Dallas Morning News, citing the criminal report, reported that Layman tore paintings off the wall with her hands and threw sculptures across the room. Prosecutors reportedly alleged that Layman hid in his home when he arranged an Uber ride for her.

Justin Keiter, Layman's attorney, said Tuesday his client is a "great person" and they "disagree with Mr. Buzbee's rendition of the facts." He declined to give an alternate version of what happened, saying he's saving it for the courtroom.

"She's weathering the storm of the intense media scrutiny that she has endured," Keiter said, according to the Houston Chronicle. She was at court with her father.

Layman is free on $30,000 bond.

The Associated Press contibuted to this report.
A week after he vanished in the area, the body of a University of Pennsylvania student was found Tuesday in a Southern California park -- prompting investigators to launch a homicide investigation into the 19-year-olds death.

Blaze Bernsteins body was discovered in the brush surrounding Borrego Park in Foothill Ranch community, the Orange County Sheriff's Department announced Wednesday. Bernstein was reported missing when he didnt return home after he went walking in the park to meet another person on Jan. 2. He was last seen about 11 p.m. that night, and his phone stopped working about an hour later, FOX5 San Diego reported.

Sheriffs investigators are actively following multiple leads, but no suspect is in custody, the sheriffs office said in a news release.

An autopsy was set to be performed Wednesday.

Bernstein, a pre-med student at the Ivy League university, was back home in Lake Forest on winter break. He hitched a ride from a friend to meet another individual at the park  but went missing after he went to look for that person. The friend who was initially with Bernstein said he went to a bathroom and left the park after he couldn't find the UPenn student, according to KTLA.

The students disappearance led to a dayslong search that involved authorities using drones to try and locate the 19-year-old. Bernstein's parents previously said they believed their son wasnt planning to be gone for an extended time because he had left his wallet, identification card and glasses at home.

Bernstein was expected to return to campus on Sunday, the Orange County Register reported.
A war memorial in Georgia dedicated to those who served this country is facing some costly repairs after extensive damage was done by vandals last month.

The Walk of Heroes War Veterans Memorial in Conyers faced an estimated $200,000 in repairs after four people broke into the memorial park located about 25 miles outside of Atlanta on Dec. 15 and used tools and tree branches to pry multiple bronze pieces from their mounts.

"When I got to the site, I felt like I was coming to a funeral," Darin Riggs, a board member for the memorial, told FOX 5 Atlanta. "It was just heart wrenching for me. It just was not pleasant to come out here that day."

The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office said three people have been arrested so far in connection with the desecration of the site. On Tuesday, authorities in Union City arrested Bryan Loys Sears, 25, of Weatherford, Texas and charged him with criminal trespass and felony theft by taking.

Deputies previously arrested Keshia Martin Black, 42, of Newnan and Wendall Tolbert, 51, of Taylorsville. Investigators have obtained a warrant for a fourth suspect, but would not release that person's name.

MARINE VETERAN FIGHTING TO FLY AMERICAN, MARINE CORPS FLAGS OUTSIDE TEXAS HOME

This case has taken us to Union City, Coweta County, and Meriweather County, Rockdale County Sheriff Eric J. Levett said in a statement. We want to make sure that we send this message to the remaining suspect. This was a terrible crime. This was disrespectful to many men and women who sacrifice their lives each and every day and have sacrificed their lives in the past for our country.

Authorities were able to recover many of the stolen metal pieces, but they are currently being held as evidence in the case. A sculptor may not then be able to use them for the restoration of the memorial, according to police.

Tommy Clack, the president and chairman of the board for the memorial, said in a letter the county has insurance on the site but he is unsure what the policy will cover.

"We do not want to use this attack, on the hallowed ground of the WALK OF HEROES, to raise funds; but, we are going to need to raise funds to: One, ensure all the specific sites, that were vandalized, are repaired/replaced/fixed; two, accomplish all previously scheduled and needed repairs throughout the Memorial; three, move forward with expansion," he wrote.

Riggs and others who work to maintain the memorial hope the community will help them raise the funds necessary to rebuild it, and are accepting donation's on their website.
A former member of the Obama administration is close to acquiring Weinstein Co., the financially troubled studio of disgraced Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein, according to a published report.

A bid by Maria Contreras-Sweet, who led the Small Business Administration under President Barack Obama, is said to have the inside track, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The bid -- with backing from billionaire Ron Burkle and the Dallas-based private equity firm Lantern Asset Management -- includes a cash infusion of $30 million and the assumption of hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, Variety reported.

The process to sell the film company began shortly after allegations surfaced that Weinstein had sexually harassed or assaulted dozens of women. Weinstein was dismissed from the company in October.

Contreras-Sweets bid, which first emerged in November, is not the only one being considered. Other entities said to be interested include Lionsgate and Killer Content, a New York-based production company, the Times reported.

But directors of the Weinstein Co. are said to be most interested in Contreras-Sweets bid, according to the Times.

In a Nov. 8 letter to the Weinstein Co. board of directors, Contreras-Sweet proposed acquiring and renaming the company with a majority-female board of directors that would take a 51 percent stake in the company.

"I believe we have now reached a crossroads where it is imperative that a woman-led board acquire control of the company and create content that continues to inspire audiences around the world, especially our young girls and boys," Contreras-Sweet wrote, according to the Times.

Contreras-Sweet was born in Mexico and came to the United States with her family when she was 5. She has experience in both the public and private sector, including 15 years at the 7Up-RC Bottling Co. as well as serving in the administration of former California Gov. Gray Davis.
Julian Assanges time at the Ecuadorian embassy in London could be running out.

Ecuadors Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said at a news conference on Tuesday that the situation involving the WikiLeaks founder staying at the London embassy for more than five years is not stable.

Assange has been at the embassy since June 2012 to avoid a Swedish extradition request on a case of alleged rape. While Sweden has at least temporarily dropped that investigation, British officials say they'd still arrest him on charges of bail-jumping.

Assange also fears a possible U.S. extradition request stemming from the leaking of classified U.S. documents.

The country is seeking possible mediation to resolve the situation. Espinosa said that notable asylum cases in recent years sometimes have required mediation by a third country.

The Guardian reported that Assanges lawyer welcomed Ecuadors efforts saying, If the U.K. wishes to show that it is a nation that respects its human rights obligations and commitments to the United Nations, it is time for Mr. Assange to be allowed to enjoy his right to liberty, and fundamental right to protection against persecution in the United States.

He also said that the risk of Assange being prosecuted in the U.S. has increased in recent months under the Trump administrations war on WikiLeaks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The history of the so-called Truce Village where North and South Koreans held a rare face-to-face meeting on Tuesday has a history that belies its name, and includes the murder of two American troops by North Korea soldiers  the result of an operation that began with the attempted trimming of an overgrown tree.

The so-called Axe Murder Incident took place in August 1976, when a U.S. military team was sent into the Joint Security Area (JSA) to trim a tree that blocked the view of a U.N. command post and border crossing known as the Bridge of No Return. Capt. Arthur G. Bonifas and First Lt. Mark T. Barrett, who were part of the team sent in for the trimming, were killed after being swarmed by North Korean troops attempting to stop the operation  on the grounds the tree had been planted and nurtured by former North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung himself.

The chaotic scene was largely captured on-camera since it unfolded in the heavily scrutinized JSA. In an interview, one diplomatic official suggested the North Koreans took the ax that (the two soldiers) were using to trim the tree with and axed them to death.

President Gerald Ford condemned the killings, and promised North Korea would be responsible for whatever consequences might follow. But Ford stopped short of taking offensive military action, choosing instead to send a force to cut down the tree without warning - and with a heavily armed backup force. According to a National Security Council memo from the time, that plan was undertaken despite one serious concern: that the North Koreans might still have time to react  and with a force larger than the rules permit.

As part of the appropriately named Operation Paul Bunyan, the U.S. declared a heightened level of U.S. military preparedness, DEFCON 3. The Americans also mobilized a massive convoy, even scrambling a squadron of F-4 fighters overhead. While North Korea responded with a convoy of its own, it did not intervene. The tree removal was completed in less than an hour  and without a single shot fired.

The scene was revisited in 2012, when U.S. soldiers were assigned to what was reportedly the first tree trimming operation in Panmunjom since the 1976 incident. According to an account of the events from 1st Lt. Christopher A. Taylor, every member of the EOD team and all Soldiers with the Security Battalion kept the memory in mind of the last major trimming operations in 1976.

The Truce Village is where the Korean War Armistice Agreement of 1953 was signed, an agreement that was seen as an effective end of the Korean War, and one that the established lines of demarcation and the demilitarized zone now referred to as the DMZ. The JSA is the only location in the DMZ where North and South Korean soldiers actually stand face-to-face, and is the backdrop for countless photo ops of visiting politicians, and more recently a slew of North Korean defectors.
A Somali immigrant allegedly donned a nurse's uniform, broke into a delivery room in a Rome hospital on New Year's Eve and sexually assaulted a woman in labor, in the latest case of migrant crime to shock Italy.

La Stampa reported that 38-year-old Ali Abdella is accused of barging into the delivery room at SantEugenio hospital on after stealing a set of scrubs. Once he got into the delivery room, he is alleged to have groped the womans leg and genitals and then masturbated in front of her.

The woman reportedly screamed, alerting nurses and doctors, who in turn called the police.

Abdella, who reportedly has lived in Italy for five years on a residence permit, was arrested and is now awaiting trial on charges of aggravated sexual violence and theft.

La Stampa reports that Abdellas defense team has requested a psychiatric evaluation. When his lawyer was asked what Abdella was doing at the hospital, he replied: Only God knows.

Migration from African and Middle East countries is a fiery topic in the current Italian political climate and Italians will go to the polls in March where immigration is likely to be a top issue.

Currently, the populist Five Star Movement is leading most polls and is predicted to pick up about 25-30 percent of the vote in a broad field of parties. But Five Star's skepticism about forming coalitions means they are unlikely to muster enough seats to form a government, leaving the door open to right-wing rivals Forza Italia -- led by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi -- to form a government.

Should that outcome occur, Forza are likely to form a right-wing coalition that includes the Northern League -- which has campaigned strongly for control of migration flows into the country.
Leaders of nations along Southeast Asia's Mekong River gather Wednesday in the Cambodian capital amid a push by China to build more dams that are altering the water flow and have raised environmental concerns.

The meeting is chaired by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen and China's Premier Li Keqiang, who are joined by leaders from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.

The stated goal of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation forum, which was created by China in 2015, is to promote sustainable development and boost the quality of life for the millions of people living in the Mekong sub-region.

Known as the Lancang in China, the Mekong River is vital to Southeast Asia, where more than 60 million people rely on it and its tributaries for food, water and transport.

The world's 12th-longest river, the Mekong runs nearly 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau and down into mainland Southeast Asia before emptying into the South China Sea in Vietnam. The river's basin is home to up to 1,700 fish species, making it the most diverse basin after the Amazon and Congo.

Yet the river is also another potential source of regional tensions due to an increasing number of hydroelectric projects that are altering the flow and raising concerns of ecological damage. Vietnam, already locked in conflict with Beijing over territory in the South China Sea, says it is at particular risk of adverse effects.

China is the driving force behind many of the projects, having already built eight dams on the river since the 1990s and currently building or planning more than a dozen more. Laos is home to most of the dams planned for the river's lower stretch.

China is also seeking to have parts or the river dredged or rapids cleared so that large cargo ships can navigate. Environmentalists have warned this could have dire consequences on the ecosystem.

In the two years since the forum's establishment, China has set aside billions of dollars to support 45 projects including water resource research centers and cooperation on connectivity projects, industrial capacity, border trade, agriculture and poverty alleviation.

The forum is seen as a rival to the Mekong River Commission, which has been around for more than 60 years but excludes China and Myanmar.
Ethiopian lawmakers have approved a ban on foreign adoptions amid concerns about mistreatment of children overseas.

The approval came after rare heated debate as some lawmakers worried that the East African nation does not have enough child care centers to handle the effects of the ban.

Ethiopia had been among the top 10 countries for adoptions in the United States, according to State Department figures released last year.

The U.S. in November warned that Ethiopian authorities were tightening restrictions on adoptions and that the State Department would continue to engage Ethiopia's government "to address its concerns."

Ethiopia's new National Child Policy says orphans should grow up only in their homeland while honoring their culture and traditions.

Actress Angelina Jolie is among the people who have adopted a child from Ethiopia.
(CNN)  It's quite a time for weird weather, and it doesn't get much weirder than snow falling in one of the hottest places in the world.

On Sunday, Ain Sefra, a desert town in Algeria known as the "Gateway to the Sahara," experienced a substantial amount of snow for reportedly the third time in 40 years. Some reports say parts of the area got nearly 15 inches of snow, but Ain Sefra officially reported less than one inch.

It was enough to provide some otherworldly visuals from an area that routinely sees some of the hottest temperatures on earth during the summer.

Now, it's not uncommon for the temperature across even the hottest of deserts to plunge tens of degrees Farenheit at night, meaning any unusual snow could stick around for a while. But photographers at the scene said the snow actually stayed intact for a good portion of the day.

"We were really surprised when we woke up to see snow again," photographer Karim Bouchetata told Shutterstock. "It stayed all day on Sunday and began melting at around 5 p.m."

While snow is historically scant in the desert area, a similar snow phenomenon happened just last year. Before that, it had been 37 years since Ain Sefra's last snowfall.

This story was first published on CNN.com, It snowed in one of the hottest places in the world."
Explosions rocked a stricken Iranian oil tanker in the East China Sea on Wednesday, forcing maritime authorities to suspend firefighting and rescue efforts as a blaze raged on the vessel for the fourth day after a collision with a freight ship.

The explosion on the Sanchi's bow was the latest setback in the multinational effort to extinguish the blaze and forced rescue vessels to move to a safe distance, China's Ministry of Transport said. It was not immediately known if the explosion was large enough to cause the ship to sink.

Earlier in the day, an official with South Koreas Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries told Reuters the oil tanker could burn for as long as a month.

We believe flames would last for two weeks or a month considering previous cases of oil tank accidents, Park Sung-Dong said.

The Sanchi was carrying nearly 1 million barrels of ultra-light oil when it collided Saturday evening with a freighter 160 miles off the coast and caught fire. The cause of the collision remains unclear.

IRANIAN OIL TANKER BURNING FOR THIRD DAY, MAY EXPLODE AS CREW STILL MISSING

Intense flames, bad weather and poor visibility have hampered rescue efforts in the following days. Rescues have also faced the threat of poisonous fumes from the hulking wreck.

Rescuers on Tuesday found a body believed to be a sailor from the Iranian-operated tanker, while a search continued for 31 other missing crew members.The Iranian company who owns the ship said there is still hope of finding survivors.

A spokesman for National Iranian Tanker Co. told The Associated Press in Tehran rescuers "likely" will find survivors.

IRANIAN OIL TANKER BURNING OFF CHINA MAY EXPLODE, BODY FOUND IN SEARCH FOR MISSING CREW

"Since the vessel's engine room is not directly affected by the fire and is about [46 feet] under water, there is still hope," spokesman Mohsen Bahrami said late Tuesday. "We are persistently working to put out the fire and rescue possible survivors."

Mahmoud Abuli Ghasemabadi, the brother of missing Iranian sailor Ehasan Abuli Ghasemabadi, told the AP he and other families remained hopeful for good news.

"I ask countries that are in that region and can offer any assistance to help us deal with this situation as soon as possible," Ghasemabadi said.

It's the second collision for a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co. in less than a year and a half. In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hundreds of demonstrators extended their protests this week outside Irans notorious Evin Prison, demanding information about about loved ones detained -- without being charged -- since ongoing anti-government protests erupted almost two weeks ago.

Uncertainty surrounds the status of more than 3,000 who have been detained since protests broke out on Dec. 28 and quickly spread to more than 130 locations across the country.

People inside are being tortured, maybe tortured to death, Amir, a 31-year-old activist and business owner, told Fox News in a telephone interview from outside the prison on Tuesday night. Amir, who declined to give his last name for fear of retribution, spoke from amid a crowd of protestors, who could be heard chanting free the prisoners and we are united in the background.

Amir said a close friend, a 26-year-old student, was one of the lucky ones to have been released this week after more than a week in detention  but is now hiding for the sake of his familys safety.

He was arrested by plainclothes police at the beginning of the protests in Tehran, Amir recalled. Then he was beaten badly. He said 400 to 500 people were forced into a room that should only hold 120 persons. They suffered all the torture  sleep deprivation, lack of food, all the things.

Amir, who said he himself has been held in Evin, which is located in the Alborz Mountains of northern Tehran, for anti-government activities, in 2009 and in 2015, described conditions inside as beyond abhorrent. He also said his detained friend claimed Iranian prison officials are trying to stage manage the situation inside the prison, coercing detainees into making filmed statements that they are being treated well.

People are very concerned about the health of the arrested people. Mothers are there and they dont know anything about their childs situation, or even if they are alive, said Nik, a People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) protester outside Evin.

Another activist, Azadi, lamented that his 19-year-old friend was arrested on New Years Eve, and still now, no one has heard from him, no one knows where he is.

Concerns were heightened this week following official confirmation that at least two detainees have died in custody. Sina Qanbari, 23, allegedly committed suicide in Evin on Monday. Another activist, Vahid Heidari, reportedly took his own life Tuesday, while detained in the central Iranian city of Arak.

But the official explanation of suicide in these cases is being met with skepticism.

Sina went in there a healthy 23-year-old, said Dokhi Fassihian, senior program manager for the Middle East and North Africa Programs with independent watchdog Freedom House. No one should believe that he just took his own life. There are urgent concerns of mistreatment, and we should all be speaking out.

Three other detainees are also believed to have died behind bars this week, under questionable circumstances. And 21 people are reported to have died in the clashes since the protests began.

LIFE AFTER ISIS: CHRISTIANS SAY THEY CAN'T GO HOME WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION

IRAN LAWMAKER SAYS 3,700 ARRESTED IN DAYS OF PROTEST, UNREST

One Iranian woman, speaking from Europe, told Fox News by phone on Tuesday that her family member  31-year-old Alireza Gomar  suffered a bullet in the heart while demonstrating outside an office for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Tuyserkan, Hamadan Province, on Dec. 31. The relative said he was rushed to the hospital by fellow activists but later died and that members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards took his body  and others who had been wounded  directly from the hospital.

Our family had to beg to get the body back. The Guards wanted them first to agree to be silent, to not tell the media what had happened, the relative claimed. Only after five days did they get his body back as the family kept up the pressure, but there were IRGC surrounding the funeral.

Human rights groups continue to express their grave concern over the treatment of detainees, arbitrary arrests and acts of intimidation by law enforcement.

Iranian authorities should ensure that all deaths in detention and allegations of ill-treatment are swiftly and independently investigated, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Meanwhile, Amnesty International continues to demand Iranian officials take all necessary steps to protect detainees from torture and

prevent any further deaths.

A representative for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Fox News that it does not currently visit places of detention in Iran.

Iranian authorities have rebuffed claims of prisoner mistreatment, pointing out at least 70 detainees have been released on bail, and those remaining have not been mistreated. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif reiterated this week that citizens enjoyed the right to peaceful protest, and the head of Tehrans Revolutionary Court, Musa Ghazanfarabadi, stressed that  despite Irans track record of lengthy waiting times before even starting legal proceedings  arrested protesters will be promptly tried.

Yet the outcome for some could be grim. Those accused of leading the anti-government movement may face moharebeh charges  an Islamic code that refers to opposing God  something that carries the death penalty.
Myanmar's military has acknowledged that its security forces and Buddhist villagers killed 10 Rohingya Muslims whose bodies were found in a mass grave in a village in troubled Rakhine state.

The public admission of wrongdoing is the military's first since it launched "clearance operations" against ethnic Rohingya in August, prompting more than 650,000 to flee into neighboring Bangladesh in what the United Nations has called "ethnic cleansing."

A statement Wednesday on the military commander-in-chief's Facebook page said the Rohingya found in the mass grave had threatened Buddhist villagers and were killed in retaliation.

The U.N. and other groups accuse the military of widespread atrocities against Rohingya, including killings, rapes and the burning of homes. But the military has insisted that there was no wrongdoing by any security forces.
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The Russian military has urged its Turkish counterparts to tighten monitoring of opposition in northern Syria in the wake of a drone attack on Russian military bases in the country.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces repelled a series of drone attacks Saturday, adding that out of the 13 drones involved, seven were shot down and six were forced to land without causing any damage.

The official military daily Krasnaya Zvezda said the ministry sent letters to the Turkish military, asking it to deploy observers to Syria's northern province of Idlib to ensure that rebels don't launch more attacks.

Russia has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad while Turkey has supported his foes, but they struck a deal last year to set up de-escalation zones in Syria, helping reduce fighting.
This is one way to not speak to the press.

Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha evaded journalists questions on Monday by leaving a life-sized cardboard cutout of himself and telling reporters to quiz it instead.

If you want to ask any questions on politics or conflict, ask this guy, Prayuth said before quickly turning his heel and walking off.

The dodging tactic came after the prime minister briefly addressed the media after attending an event at the Government House promoting the upcoming Childrens Day.

It isn't the first time Prayuth  a general who seized power in a bloodless coup in 2014  has dumbfounded the media. In the past he has fondled the ear of a sound technician for several minutes during an impromptu news conference, flung a banana peel at cameramen, and threatened, with gruff humor, to execute any journalist who criticized his government.

When it took power, his government, packed with military leaders, enjoyed considerable public support for ending a prolonged period of often-violent street politics. But as the junta's rule has stretched on, criticism of its often-repressive policies and lack of transparency has grown markedly.

Prayuth has promised elections in November, though he has made similar promises several times previously and then delayed the balloting.

The prime minister's stunt on Monday was slammed by Human Rights Watch which said it shows the military junta chiefs contempt of media criticism in a country yet to restore democracy since a 2014 coup.

Thailands junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha continues to show contempt of media criticism and scrutiny, Sunai Phasuk, senior Thailand researcher at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(CNN Money)  Coal boss Robert Murray criticized the Trump administration for appointing "inadequate bureaucrats" to a regulatory commission that unanimously rejected a rescue plan for the crumbling coal industry.

Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy and a vocal supporter of President Trump's efforts to revive coal, warned that the decision by mostly Trump-appointed officials at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would cause more coal-fired power plants to shut down.

"Mr. Trump's administration made some bad appointments to this commission," Murray told CNNMoney in an interview on Tuesday. "This will exacerbate the already bad situation."

Four of the five commissioners who run FERC were appointed by Trump, who has vowed to resuscitate coal country by relaxing regulation. All five dismissed Energy Secretary Rick Perry's proposal to subsidize power plants like coal and nuclear that maintain a 90-day supply of fuel on site.

Perry cited a "crisis" requiring the regulators to make the power grid more resilient, but his plan was widely seen as an attempt to prop up coal and nuclear power companies.

Coal's long decline has accelerated in recent years, mostly because of the rise of cleaner energy like natural gas and solar. The coal industry has also been hurt by tougher Obama-era environmental regulations.

Instead of approving Perry's plan, FERC directed regional transmission operators, which move electricity through the grid, to submit information so the agency can decide whether it should do something.

Murray, who leads the largest private coal company in the United States, argued that if coal-fired power generation declines any further, it will lead to "blackouts and brownouts."

"The bureaucrats appointed by Mr. Trump and the one already there have failed to carry out their obligations during this crisis," Murray said. "They forgot who appointed them -- and it's bad for America."

Related: Federal regulator rejects Trump coal rescue plan

Trump nominated the four commissioners in May and August, and they were subsequently confirmed by the Senate. The fifth, Cheryl LaFleur, was nominated by former President Barack Obama.

Murray is known for his fierce defense of the coal industry. He has repeatedly called climate change a "hoax" and a "fraud." He filed a defamation lawsuit last year against John Oliver, HBO and CNN owner Time Warner, alleging "character assassination" during an episode of "Last Week Tonight."

Advocates for cleaner American energy policies cheered FERC's decision.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a U.N. special envoy on climate change, said the FERC decision was a "victory for consumers, the free market and clean air."

Murray praised Perry for recognizing a "crisis" that FERC failed to see. Perry said the resilience of the electric grid has been called into question by natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy and the 2014 extreme cold snap known as the Polar Vortex.

Yet a report published last fall by the Rhodium Group research firm concluded that power outages are usually caused by downed power lines, not a short supply of fuel. Less than 0.1% of electricity disturbances over the last five years were caused by fuel supply emergencies, Rhodium Group concluded.

Murray dismissed the research, claiming that Rhodium Group is "certainly biased" and "shills for the renewable energy industry." A spokeswoman for Rhodium told CNNMoney that the report in question was "produced independently, not commissioned or paid for by any client."

Related: Trump rejects cry for help from coal execs

Murray has also railed against subsidies for renewable energy like solar and wind, pleading with Washington to let free enterprise operate. Murray conceded that Perry's FERC request was "probably not" a free market solution, but insisted it was needed due to previous government intervention.

Murray, who said he has not spoken to anyone in the Trump administration since the FERC decision, urged the Energy Department to take more steps to help coal. He repeated his call for Perry to prevent more coal-fired power plant closures by declaring an emergency in the power grid.

The Trump administration rejected a similar request from Murray in August, stating that "the evidence does not warrant the use of this emergency authority."

The White House referred questions to the Energy Department, which did not respond to a request for comment.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Coal CEO slams Trump for picking 'inadequate bureaucrats'"
Lower flood areas first, see where the line is going to happen, if you really going to lower the cost of light, water, will be in the region, but not as a handout, but with something solid. If not, Noa . The turn of the DC Deputy Patricio Walker, this was defined as a partidario of sustainable development, I think it is important to growth, economic development, but to the extent that respects the environment and quality of life for residents. So I think that should be autonomous Corema not accept pressure from anyone, and be very rigorous in evaluating the company's response to comments that the utilities did, if this is not true and not due to a strategy regional development and does not respect the environment, Noa . He added that if approved by the Corema should require a energia cheap, but for that we must make a legal change, we must tell the truth to people, environmental compensation, and most importantly, to be paid a royalty, a special tribute on behalf of the communes and the region for . Additional information is available at US Senator from Vermont. Foitzich Paz, also independent of the pact appropriations by a Chilean Clean, Merry Rate , a said straight Oeyo am not in favor of building dams in Aysen.



First because we have a high voltage line will pollute the region completely. Secondly I think it is necessary to strengthen policy on renewable energy, today we have a royalty on mining and want to know how much of that royalty is being invested in energy research renovablesa . He added that ademas in the region have a regional development strategy that does not validate precisely the construction of hydroelectric dams, valid and sustainable development activities such as tourism, fisheries, aquaculture, livestock, then we are. So nowadays we have ayseninos stand up and defend what we have by nature, water is a great recursoa . The Radical candidate Ernesto Velasco pointed out that a estoy for the nationalization of the water, I am for non-conventional renewable energy, energy efficiency'm about and I am against what are the dams in Aysen Region .



He listed his arguments by stating that a OEDE 2025 projects are in the CNE possible, with the URE, the diversification of energy the country needs to keep producing. I also believe that the development strategy of the Aysen Region is obviously not compatible with these mega dams, since obviously a place that is a life reserve where two thirds of the world's water resources is more compatible with tourism in Patagonia, Argentina generates 500 million dollars annually, while in ours between $ 50 and 80 millionths. Finally, among the questions that made the public highlighted the aysenina Daniela Leal, wearing a shirt without Represasa Patagonia a , Paz Foitzich. Given this, the candidate said and go deeper, calling a we make a plebiscite in Aysen . Citizen Journalist of the Coalition for Aysen Life Reserve / Council for the Defense of Patagonia. Involved in the sustainable development of the Region of Aysen, Patagonia, Chile, and recently in opposition to dams to be constructed in the territory.
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News

Cox faces criminal complaint over legal bills

Lonnie Cox

A Galveston County lawyer known for making ethics complaints that unseated judges in Galveston County, on Tuesday filed a criminal complaint against Lonnie Cox, presiding judge of the 56th District Court and candidate for Galveston County judge.

Friendswood attorney Greg Enos filed the complaint Jan. 4, and revealed it in a lengthy newsletter item published Tuesday morning.

The complaint centers on the relationship between Cox and Galveston attorney Mark Stevens, who has represented Cox in an ongoing dispute between the judge and Galveston County Commissioners. It accuses Cox of receiving discounted legal fees  and sometimes even free work  from Stevens in that case, while the attorney continued to represent criminal and civil clients in Coxs court.

Cox and Stevens denied the allegations.

Enos claims the discount is a benefit that violates the Texas Penal Code.

It appears that Mr. Stevens provided discounted and free legal services to Judge Cox at a time when Mr. Stevens was representing clients before Judge Cox, was being appointed by Judge Cox to represent indigent criminal defendants and was having his fee vouchers approved by Judge Cox, Enos wrote.

He also accused Cox of making a civil judgment in favor of a Cox client at a time when Stevens was also working for Cox.

In a phone interview, he laid it out in simpler terms.

You cant give a judge a gift, he said. If my next door neighbors a judge, and I dont have anything to do with his court, I can give him any present I want. But if I have an issue in his court, then the basic thing is you cant buy him coffee, you cant fly him around the world on your personal jet. You cant do a gift if you have something in that court.

Enos outlined his accusations in a 9,500-word article in The Mongoose, a legal affairs newsletter he has published since 2012. The newsletter has about 4,000 subscribers, most of them lawyers and judges, he said.

The accusations are based on public records requests, a review of court documents and a letter Enos received from Stevens responding to a draft version of the article.

In the letter, sent to Enos on Dec. 29, Stevens said that he routinely transferred cases out of Coxs court, if it appears to be contested beyond a plea bargain.

He said he did represent criminal clients if they were taking plea deals, and that he informed his clients and prosecutors of his relationship with Cox.

I do this to avoid any appearance of impropriety, but also to avoid having a client think he or she can get a better deal through in Judge Coxs court, Stevens wrote.

State law doesnt differentiate between cases with plea deals and contested cases, Enos said.

Stevens said Tuesday his billing practices were not irregular and that he, as a practice, charged different rates to different clients based on their circumstances and his own personal feelings about a case.

Apparently, every time I try to save people money Im a dirty S.O.B., Stevens said about Enos complaints.

Stevens said he spoke to the Galveston County District Attorneys Office on Tuesday and was planning to submit a statement about the criminal case.

Cox fired back against the accusations in written statement and specifically denied that his decisions on Stevens cases benefited the lawyer.

I am not aware of any free services, Cox said. None of Mark Stevens services benefited me personally.

Cox also specifically denied that he awarded any special judgments to Stevens in civil court. Enos complaint cites a June 2015 case when Cox ruled on a motion for a default judgment for one of Stevens clients for $140,000. Cox granted the judgment in favor of the client, because the person being sued did not respond to the legal complaint, Enos wrote.

Stevens was not awarded attorneys fees beyond the judgment.

The decision seems typical, but ethically, and possibly legally, Cox shouldnt have heard the case, Enos said.

There is always plenty for a good judge to do at a default judgment hearing, even if one side is not present to present a defense, Enos wrote.

Stevens said the client in the case Enos referenced paid him on a retainer, which he said explains why he did not receive attorneys fees in the case.

Both men said they believe the newsletter article is politically motivated.

This is simple crony politics and the politics of personal destruction, Cox said.

Enos has represented Galveston County Judge Mark Henry as an attorney, he said in his newsletter. Enos said hes a Democrat.

Cox is trying to oust Henry as the Galveston County judge during the March 6 primary election. Because there is no Democrat running for the position, the winner among the two men will be the county judge for the next six years.

Henry said he knew Enos was working on something related to Cox, and that the attorney had reached out to him for information that is included in the newsletter. He denied having anything else to do with the report.

Henry received a $200 campaign contribution from Enos last year, Henry said. Enos also once represented Henry in a divorce proceeding, he said.

Cox said Enos also had donated to his political campaigns in the past.

Enos said he had donated $250 to Henry, and had donated much more to Cox campaigns in the past.

Henry declined to comment on how he thought Cox should react to the accusations in the newsletter.

Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady confirmed Tuesday that his office had received a criminal complaint about Cox, but declined to comment further while the complaint is investigated.

In his newsletter, Enos requested that Roady recuse himself from investigating the case and appoint a special prosecutor because the district attorneys office has cases pending in Coxs court.

Enos has been responsible for the removal of Galveston County judges before. In 2013, he filed a complaint that started the investigation into County Court at Law Judge Christopher Dupuy.

Dupuy was indicted, removed from the bench, and ultimately pleaded guilty to perjury and abuse of official capacity.

He also filed an ethics complaint against Associate Judge Suzanne Schwab-Radcliffe, who contracted with Galveston County to hear child abuse cases. Schwab-Radcliffe resigned after it was revealed she was acting as a judge and a lawyer at the same time while working in the Galveston County area.

Enos said he had not yet sent the information he gathered to the State Bar of Texas or the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the bodies that investigate ethics complaints about lawyers and judges, respectively.

With his complaint about Dupuy, those groups didnt act until after an indictment was filed, Enos said.

Related
Hey Long Beach! The end of summer is almost upon us, but there's still plenty of sunshine and warm weather outside, which makes for a fun day with the pups at Rosie's Dog Beach. We talked to the beach's creator,...
A Spanish prisoner has woken up on the autopsy table hours after being declared dead.

Gonzalo Montoya, 29, was serving a prison sentence in Asturias for theft when he was found unconscious in his cell on Sunday (local time).

Three doctors examined the man but found no vital signs. Montoya was declared dead and placed in a body bag to be sent to a hospital mortuary.

After his arrival at the Legal Medical Institute of Oviedo, forensic doctors heard noises coming from Montoya's 'corpse' and realised he was still alive - four hours after being declared dead.

A relative of Montoya told local news site La Voz de Asturias that his body had already been marked in preparation for an autopsy.

They also said that Montoya may not have been taking his epilepsy medication while in prison, which could have led to a case of catalepsy - a condition where vital signs drop to undetectable levels. This theory has yet to be confirmed by medical professionals.

Montoya is now under observation at a hospital in Oviedo.

Source: Newshub.
Federal Govt Demolishes Slain Notorious Kidnapper, Don Waney's Multi Million Naira Mansion (Photos)

kacylee at 10-01-2018 07:17 AM (3 years ago) (f)

The house was levelled to the ground on Tuesday, as heavily-armed security agents surrounded the building to supervise the demolition. The Federal Government has demolished a multi-million naira mansion in Omoku, Rivers State, owned by the slain Niger Delta militant and notorious kidnapper, Don Waney.

The house was levelled to the ground on Tuesday, as heavily-armed security agents surrounded the building to supervise the demolition. The Federal Government has demolished a multi-million naira mansion in Omoku, Rivers State, owned by the slain Niger Delta militant and notorious kidnapper, Don Waney. According to Punch, the house was levelled to the ground on Tuesday, January 9, 2018, as heavily-armed security agents surrounded the building to supervise the demolition.



























Waney and two of his gang members were shot dead on Saturday, January 6, in Enugu where they were hiding after carrying the New Year massacre in Omoku, Rivers.



A joint team of soldiers and operatives of the Department of State Services hunted down the killers.



A resident in the area was quoted as saying that the bulldozers used in bringing down the mansion came in on Tuesday morning after over 15 Hilux vehicles had brought in security operatives, including soldiers and policemen.



The source, identified as Ukandu said the security operatives surrounded the building, apparently to prevent any intruder from obstructing the demolition.



He explained that the mansion was reduced to rubble after several hours to bulldozing.



"Nobody was allowed to enter the place, especially those who wanted to take photographs of what was going on. More than 15 Hilux vehicles brought in security agents and after that, six bulldozers came in and brought the building down," Ukandu told Punch.



Speaking on the demolition, the spokesman for the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, said Waney forfeited the property and other things to the government after he became a fugitive and refused to come out and defend himself over allegations of killings in ONELGA. According to Punch, the house was levelled to the ground on Tuesday, January 9, 2018, as heavily-armed security agents surrounded the building to supervise the demolition.Waney and two of his gang members were shot dead on Saturday, January 6, in Enugu where they were hiding after carrying the New Year massacre in Omoku, Rivers.A joint team of soldiers and operatives of the Department of State Services hunted down the killers.A resident in the area was quoted as saying that the bulldozers used in bringing down the mansion came in on Tuesday morning after over 15 Hilux vehicles had brought in security operatives, including soldiers and policemen.The source, identified as Ukandu said the security operatives surrounded the building, apparently to prevent any intruder from obstructing the demolition.He explained that the mansion was reduced to rubble after several hours to bulldozing."Nobody was allowed to enter the place, especially those who wanted to take photographs of what was going on. More than 15 Hilux vehicles brought in security agents and after that, six bulldozers came in and brought the building down," Ukandu told Punch.Speaking on the demolition, the spokesman for the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Aminu Iliyasu, said Waney forfeited the property and other things to the government after he became a fugitive and refused to come out and defend himself over allegations of killings in ONELGA.

Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 10-01-2018 07:17 AM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero

dleg at 10-01-2018 07:45 AM (3 years ago)

(m) The house could have been taking over by FG and use for something reasonable rather than demolishing it. Posted: at 10-01-2018 07:45 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac The house could have been taking over by FG and use for something reasonable rather than demolishing it. Reply

ruthie at 10-01-2018 07:54 AM (3 years ago)

(f) good riddance Posted: at 10-01-2018 07:54 AM (3 years ago) | Hero good riddance Reply

Markeve at 10-01-2018 08:03 AM (3 years ago)

(f) Quote from: dleg on 10-01-2018 07:45 AM The house could have been taking over by FG and use for something reasonable rather than demolishing it.

exactly this is waste of money. Posted: at 10-01-2018 08:03 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac exactly this is waste of money. Reply

Mykie010 at 10-01-2018 08:03 AM (3 years ago)

(m) It would have been sequestrated, we like waste in this country Posted: at 10-01-2018 08:03 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac It would have been sequestrated, we like waste in this country Reply

cypanyahucha at 10-01-2018 08:06 AM (3 years ago)

(m) Vanity all the way. All these must come to an end one day. Nothing pays more than a clean and God fearing life. Posted: at 10-01-2018 08:06 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Vanity all the way. All these must come to an end one day. Nothing pays more than a clean and God fearing life. Reply

Markeve at 10-01-2018 08:07 AM (3 years ago)

(f) Quote from: dleg on 10-01-2018 07:45 AM The house could have been taking over by FG and use for something reasonable rather than demolishing it.

exactly this is waste of money. Posted: at 10-01-2018 08:07 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac exactly this is waste of money. Reply

slimber at 10-01-2018 08:37 AM (3 years ago)

(f) Nice one others will learn from.this. Posted: at 10-01-2018 08:37 AM (3 years ago) | Hero Nice one others will learn from.this. Reply

maxzy277 at 10-01-2018 09:05 AM (3 years ago)

(m) We are too wasteful in this Country Posted: at 10-01-2018 09:05 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac We are too wasteful in this Country Reply

ngfineface at 10-01-2018 09:31 AM (3 years ago)

(f) Quote from: dleg on 10-01-2018 07:45 AM The house could have been taking over by FG and use for something reasonable rather than demolishing it.



No. Nothing good can come out from an evil house built with evil money. It was nice they demolished it. They can use the land in future. I am still wondering why they have not demolished Evans own. Maybe because it was built-in choice area of Lagos and someone at the top is already eyeing it. Posted: at 10-01-2018 09:31 AM (3 years ago) | Hero No. Nothing good can come out from an evil house built with evil money. It was nice they demolished it. They can use the land in future. I am still wondering why they have not demolished Evans own. Maybe because it was built-in choice area of Lagos and someone at the top is already eyeing it. Reply

Haso112 at 10-01-2018 10:03 AM (3 years ago)

(m) Quote from: dleg on 10-01-2018 07:45 AM The house could have been taking over by FG and use for something reasonable rather than demolishing it.



NOPE BRO.... THAT HOUSE IS A SAD & VERY TERRIBLE MEMORY AND IT WAS BEST THEY DEMOLISHED IT.. I MEAN THE DUDE, KILLED AND KIDNAPPED PEOPLE TO BUILD THAT HOUSE... Posted: at 10-01-2018 10:03 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac NOPE BRO.... THAT HOUSE IS A SAD & VERY TERRIBLE MEMORY AND IT WAS BEST THEY DEMOLISHED IT.. I MEAN THE DUDE, KILLED AND KIDNAPPED PEOPLE TO BUILD THAT HOUSE... Reply

Haso112 at 10-01-2018 10:05 AM (3 years ago)

(m) Quote from: ruthie on 10-01-2018 07:54 AM good riddance



GUESS WHO'S BACK........!!!! IT'S THE ONE AND ONLY BOSS LADY... RUTHIE, AKWAABA....!!! Posted: at 10-01-2018 10:05 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac GUESS WHO'S BACK........!!!! IT'S THE ONE AND ONLY BOSS LADY... RUTHIE, AKWAABA....!!! Reply

heppie at 10-01-2018 10:30 AM (3 years ago)

(m) No mind FG, a wasted resources that could/or would have been useful... ....... Posted: at 10-01-2018 10:30 AM (3 years ago) | Newbie No mind FG, a wasted resources that could/or would have been useful.......... Reply

kayveetee at 10-01-2018 10:38 AM (3 years ago)

(m) vanity upon vanity Posted: at 10-01-2018 10:38 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac vanity upon vanity Reply

Wazubia at 10-01-2018 03:18 PM (3 years ago)

(m) GOOD NEWS OF THE YEAR 2018. Posted: at 10-01-2018 03:18 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac GOOD NEWS OF THE YEAR 2018. Reply

Dramaking at 10-01-2018 06:33 PM (3 years ago)

(m) Smh... Where him wife dey??? She need to be probe coz for every successful kidnapper/cultist, you know the rest.. Lol. #Shame. Posted: at 10-01-2018 06:33 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Smh... Where him wife dey??? She need to be probe coz for every successful kidnapper/cultist, you know the rest.. Lol. #Shame. Reply
Abia State Govt Sponsored 30 Shoemakers To China For More Training (Photos)

felicilin at 10-01-2018 04:30 PM (3 years ago) (f)

The 30 trainees out of 100 shoemakers/ shoe cobblers sponsored by Abia state government  have landed safely in China. The trainees are in the Asian country for a 30 day automated shoe training programme in a bid to promote made in Aba products.

The 30 trainees out of 100 shoemakers/ shoe cobblers sponsored by Abia state government  have landed safely in China. The trainees are in the Asian country for a 30 day automated shoe training programme in a bid to promote made in Aba products. The shoemakers and some government officials boarded a direct flight to Chengdu in China on Tuesday 9th, January 2018, where they will be trained at Chengdu Zaproma Shoe Company.

Governor of Abia State Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu charged the trainees to be of good behavior, learn every single step and bring back the knowledge for others to learn.









The shoemakers and some government officials boarded a direct flight to Chengdu in China on Tuesday 9th, January 2018, where they will be trained at Chengdu Zaproma Shoe Company.Governor of Abia State Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu charged the trainees to be of good behavior, learn every single step and bring back the knowledge for others to learn.

Post Reply Posted: at 10-01-2018 04:30 PM (3 years ago) | Hero

chukkychukky at 10-01-2018 04:55 PM (3 years ago)

(m) goodluck but make una no run ooo Joramentity aka chukkychukky Posted: at 10-01-2018 04:55 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac goodluck but make una no run ooo Reply

philnel at 10-01-2018 05:07 PM (3 years ago)

(m) Aba is far more experience than China in making shoes, why not send them to Italy and provide a tight security for them to concentrate and learn without running away. All the same, good luck to them all. OLUWA HOLDS THE ACE. Posted: at 10-01-2018 05:07 PM (3 years ago) | Upcoming Aba is far more experience than China in making shoes, why not send them to Italy and provide a tight security for them to concentrate and learn without running away. All the same, good luck to them all. OLUWA HOLDS THE ACE. Reply

smart61 at 10-01-2018 05:11 PM (3 years ago)

(m) 30 people. Why so few? Posted: at 10-01-2018 05:11 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac 30 people. Why so few? Reply

ruthie at 10-01-2018 06:39 PM (3 years ago)

(f) moneky010 is this where u have been? i have been searching for you Posted: at 10-01-2018 06:39 PM (3 years ago) | Hero moneky010 is this where u have been? i have been searching for you Reply

kacylee at 10-01-2018 07:23 PM (3 years ago)

(f) all these ones na shoe makers? none of them wore made in Nigeria shoes I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 10-01-2018 07:23 PM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero all these ones na shoe makers? none of them wore made in Nigeria shoes Reply

gogoman at 10-01-2018 07:50 PM (3 years ago)

(m) nice one Posted: at 10-01-2018 07:50 PM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero nice one Reply

crocatum at 10-01-2018 07:55 PM (3 years ago)

(m) Nice one sir, seems to make some sense, off all resources the human creativity and intelect is the greatest, withput it its just a shell and meat, off all people, the Nigerian people are the most important and the future should be planned to surround their elevation and growth in their minds, bodies, and surroundings. Posted: at 10-01-2018 07:55 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Nice one sir, seems to make some sense, off all resources the human creativity and intelect is the greatest, withput it its just a shell and meat, off all people, the Nigerian people are the most important and the future should be planned to surround their elevation and growth in their minds, bodies, and surroundings. Reply

slimber at 10-01-2018 08:46 PM (3 years ago)

(f) Good but make una face wetin una go do there no be runs dem send una go do Posted: at 10-01-2018 08:46 PM (3 years ago) | Hero Good but make una face wetin una go do there no be runs dem send una go do Reply

KennyFidel at 10-01-2018 09:07 PM (3 years ago)

(f) That's good Posted: at 10-01-2018 09:07 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac That's good Reply

dleg at 11-01-2018 05:26 AM (3 years ago)

(m) That is the way China became a lead player in technology. They started by sending their citizen to US and others to learn and it worked for them after many years of the investment



Good luck Posted: at 11-01-2018 05:26 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac That is the way China became a lead player in technology. They started by sending their citizen to US and others to learn and it worked for them after many years of the investmentGood luck Reply

Markeve at 11-01-2018 05:40 AM (3 years ago)

(f) hope something good come out of it. Posted: at 11-01-2018 05:40 AM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac hope something good come out of it. Reply

ThinkWisly at 11-01-2018 09:35 AM (3 years ago)

(m) The money use for this would have been well spent by these same shoemakers. When them come back now you will give them p-nuts. RUBBISH!! Posted: at 11-01-2018 09:35 AM (3 years ago) | Upcoming The money use for this would have been well spent by these same shoemakers. When them come back now you will give them p-nuts. RUBBISH!! Reply
kacylee at 10-01-2018 08:43 PM (3 years ago) (f)

The protests by some Libya returnees continued on Wednesday morning when they rejected the N1,000 transportation allowance given to them by the Edo State government.

The protests by some Libya returnees continued on Wednesday morning when they rejected the N1,000 transportation allowance given to them by the Edo State government.

Several people also stormed the premises of the Benin Motel Plaza where the returnees were lodged to find their lost relatives.



Those looking for their relatives peeped through the fence to look for their love ones. A woman, who gave her name as Boss, said she was looking for her brother named Aminu.



The woman said she last heard from him in September 2016 and was still at the premises at the time of filing this report. The returnees said it was sad they were still wearing the prison uniforms given to them in Libya.











They said announcement by the Federal Government that Nigerians should return home made Libyan policemen to arrest those living comfortably in the country. Several people also stormed the premises of the Benin Motel Plaza where the returnees were lodged to find their lost relatives.Those looking for their relatives peeped through the fence to look for their love ones. A woman, who gave her name as Boss, said she was looking for her brother named Aminu.The woman said she last heard from him in September 2016 and was still at the premises at the time of filing this report. The returnees said it was sad they were still wearing the prison uniforms given to them in Libya.They said announcement by the Federal Government that Nigerians should return home made Libyan policemen to arrest those living comfortably in the country.

Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 10-01-2018 08:43 PM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero
In a vote of four to one, the Glasgow City Council has voted to deny Cindy Ramsbachers application for a permit to operate a pet rescue at her home address within city limits. A well-organized group of opponents, made up of area homeowners, made their feelings regarding the permit known in statements and in writing at the Jan. 2 meeting in council chambers.

Ramsbacher, of Northeast Montana Pet Rescue, is respected and well known in the area for offering services to abandoned and mistreated pets, and her efforts have placed animals in many loving homes, including the authors.

Mayor Becky Erickson told the Courier via written statement, First of all, the community should thank Cindy for providing these abandoned dogs and cats protection from the cold. The neighbors who spoke against granting the permit all praised her efforts. She cited a history of noise and odor complaints as weighing heavily against the option at this time.

Ramsbacher told the Courier at press time that she is not taking any animals for boarding or rescue until further notice.

Mayor Erickson told the Courier that she is thinking outside the box for a resolution, including the potential for city-supported grant writing efforts, support for relocating the planned rescue site outside city limits, a partnership with the Glasgow Pound among other options.There is a desperate need, said Erickson.

There is no possibility of an appel to this decision. Asked about the best way to follow up on Ramsbacher and the city council, the mayor strongly suggested calling 406-228-2476 to add your name to the list of possible participants on a special committee. This committee will be formed in coordination with possible revisions or adjustments to the current pet ordinance.

You can also send any comments for or against Ramsbachers effort to [email protected]
The new year is upon us, and in the grand tradition of ordering our lives by summaries and data, I resolved to write about 2017 in the Valley County Attorneys Office to shed light on some of the work we accomplished and some of the changes that will affect criminal prosecutions in the year to come. In the interest of the reader engagement, I have decided to limit my comments to felony criminal cases because, while cases regarding traffic tickets can be very exciting (honestly), I suspect readers may find them less than enthralling.

By way of introduction, the Valley County Attorneys office works with local law enforcement agencies to prosecute criminal offenses occurring within the County. We are responsible for handling all felony cases and any misdemeanor matters in which a defendant pleads not guilty when appearing in Justice or City Court. In addition, we are responsible for handling all cases involving youths in need of care, juvenile criminal proceedings, involuntary commitments, and the Countys civil work.

This past year was filled with change, as Judge Yvonne Laird completed her first full year presiding as District Court Judge. In addition, Sheriff Vernon Buerkle assumed his current office following a long tenure as our Undersheriff, and my office welcomed back Zach Lipscyz as Deputy County Attorney in the fall, following his previous work here as an intern.

In 2017, the Valley County Attorneys office filed 52 new felony cases, up from the 37 filed during 2016. Of those cases, 40 either directly involved mood-altering substances or had a nexus to them. Specifically, of the new criminal cases in 2017: 21 involved methamphetamine; 23 involved marijuana or its derivatives; eight involved alcohol; three involved illegally possessed prescription drugs; and two involved heroin. Interestingly, 24 of the cases filed in 2017 involved what I would deem to be non-local defendants, a number somewhat attributable to the increased frequency of drug traffickers traveling along Highway 2 to sell contraband.

Beyond new filings, the Valley County Attorneys office also secured 43 felony convictions and 27 misdemeanor convictions in District Court. Those convictions stemmed not only from 2017 cases (many of which are still pending), but also include some matters initiated in 2016 that carried over to the next year. Again, illegal substances were a major factor, with methamphetamine being the most prominent drug at issue. These conviction numbers also do not account for cases in which previously convicted defendants were re-sentenced following violations of their court conditions.

The number of filings in 2017 was notably high, especially in comparison with the average number of felony cases filed between the five preceding years, which was just under 38. During that period, the highest number of prosecutions in any given year was 44 cases during 2015. And while 52 felonies were filed this year, there were several more that could have been initiated but will instead be delayed until 2018. Delay in filing is, for our office and many others in Montana, often an an issues of resources. The 17th Judicial District is comprised of three counties (Valley, Phillips, and Blaine), with only one judge to oversee them all. As a result, the Courts docket is very crowded, especially in light of Judge Lairds duty to oversee all non-criminal cases in addition to her work with us. Because of this, we necessarily have to prosecute strategically to ensure law enforcement, attorneys, and the Court are able to address cases to an appropriate professional standard and that cases requiring immediate attention are addressed as soon as possible.

The developing trend of higher filings may well continue in the future, as statutory changes enacted following the most recent legislative session have significantly altered sentencing provisions. Of primary note is that the amendments have restrained the States flexibility to address criminal offenses across the board, most notably by shortening mandatory minimum sentences and limiting penalties for repeat felony offenders. Similarly, Legislature overhauled the statutes regulating the Department of Corrections, again curtailing circumstances in which probation and parole officers can pursue punitive responses for felony offenders who fail to comply with their supervisory conditions. Where supervising officers previously had relative flexibility (under the watchful eye of the Court) to sanction a convicted felons non-compliance, the changes mean full recidivism is now the practical standard for intervention. With lighter sentences and shortened terms of supervision, these changes have made it more difficult to be responsive to varying circumstances in criminal cases. And, because the legislative changes only took effect in July 2017, the full repercussions of the amendments are not yet fully realized. So, while it may not be entirely prudent to speculate about the consequences of the changes, many in law enforcement, myself included, are expecting the result to be an increased incidence of crime in Montana communities. All of which is to say, more hard work is in store for everyone in the community to ensure public safety is preserved.

But, on a lighter note and in celebration of the New Year, I would like to thank Sherry Wright, Sheila Malone, and Zach Lipscyz, who comprise the Valley County Attorneys office. They continue to work extremely hard in ensuring all prosecutions in Valley County proceed as smoothly and efficiently as possible. I would also like to thank the various courts and their staffs, as well as our exemplary law enforcement officers, who continue to be dedicated public servants. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the members of our community who have served as witnesses and jurors this past year. Effective law enforcement requires effort by our entire community, and Valley County residents continue to be engaged and concerned with public safety. Your help is much appreciated.
I can comically recall the issues Republicans rail on and on about every day. The deficit is a national security issue, lower taxes, less regulations, more local input in government, less environmental conservation, no federal land grabs or federal lands period. This local control is a conservative hallmark of less government, or at least more self-government, and in most cases Republicans support it as the backbone of the federalist system we constitutionalized in America. Why then, do Republicans insist on federal criminal enforcement of marijuana laws or drug laws in general? Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo, and placed marijuana back on the table for federal prosecution cases. This not only increases potential federal spending, but it runs contrary to local control of government. This puts into question laws in Washington, Colorado, California and other liberal strongholds that allow for recreational marijuana, and puts a damper on those states control and taxation of that industry. No analysis was provided as to the reasoning behind this announcement, but one must ask why? Why would states rights champions be opposed to states self-governing and regulating their own industries? Why would they support a system that funnels what has become legitimate business income to Latin American drug cartels? Why would they be opposed to honoring the ideals they support in their campaign speeches and rallies? Why does this matter to Republicans so much? In 2016, then candidate Donald Trump said this is a local and state issue that he wouldnt interfere with. Directly he was quoted telling CBS Boston, I wouldnt interfere because I think that really is a local issue. When you look at whats happened in Colorado as an example, its a local thing. I wouldnt interfere with it. I think thats something that really is very much up to the local area. I would argue that the flip flop is not Trumps fault directly, although incompetence may not be a defense to voters in 2020, it is clear his Cabinet operates with little guidance, support or policy from the White House, but I digress. What I would argue is that this is just another case where Republicans dont support a clear issue, but rather support bolstering or hindering demographics of voters. Like in the case of deficit reduction (when they decreased corporate taxes at the expense of the deficit), or states rights (except when they affect states that dont vote for them), or people's individual liberties (except when they support, and allow for the liberty or productivity of people who dont vote for them). It is just another case of cronyism, and likely voter suppression. The more felons locked up for drug related charges the fewer liberal voters in the world, and that is ultimately the key here control of power through law enforcement. The key is that Republicans support issues based on donors and voters, and not on principle. The tax bill was proof, Sessions announcement is proof, healthcare is proof, a lack of promised infrastructure spending is proof, policies that hurt rural America is proof, and yet they get the votes, because they can cling to key wedge issues like guns and insure the conservative masses vote in droves for policies that run contrary to their principles, but that support their worldview.
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Police allege Alongi, from Townsville, created an elaborate ruse to claim bogus expenses while working for the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Alongi, who was well regarded in the science industry, allegedly pretended he was paying for radioisotopes imported from the US and to have samples analysed in US laboratories for his Great Barrier Reef research.

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Walkley Award-winning coward Andrew Marltons gossamer-spined response to Islamic terrorism in Paris:In fact, there are plenty of words. Words like these: Islamic maniacs have been killing and threatening to kill Western cartoonists and other artists for decades You wouldnt expect it in New York, either, but thats where Islamic extremists called for the death of Marltons fellow faux-naive critter-scribbler Michael Leunig in 2006. You also wouldnt expect cartoonist death plots to emerge from Seattle, Denmark, Sweden or Ireland . Heres the thing, though; this isnt about geography. Its more to do with demographics. not laughing, if hes even partially sentient. But why would Melbourne-based Marlton be even slightly worried about an Anders Breivik type? So far as Im aware there is only one Anders Breivik type: his name is Anders Breivik, and hes safely imprisoned 16,000 kilometres away in Oslo. And he never expressed any particular feelings about cartoonists.Probably racist. Thats beautiful, Andrew. Care to identify the offended race? Of course, Marltons appeasement goes further than his reluctance to draw some goofy prophet. Last year, faced with evidence that a large Islamic bookstore in Sydney was selling works that celebrate Hitler, describe Jews as baby-killing animals and condemn women as worth only half as much as men, Marlton deliberately talked it all down

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Live Sky streaming at this link . Latest reports claim there may be five hostages at the kosher store shooting site. A reminder: according to Australian experts, Islamic terrorists are mere irritants who can easily be defeated by audacious confidence in the fundamental goodness of others . For some reason, neither of these experts has recently been contacted by French authorities.

UPDATE II. Fox News, CNN and the ABC are presently locked on to pool footage of a large industrial building where they report the terrorists are located. The actual site of the siege, however, appears to be a much smaller building next to the larger structure UPDATE III. Police now link the murder of a Paris policewoman yesterday to the Charlie Hebdo terrorists

Theyre heavily armed and wearing helmets, she said. I can see four helicopters overhead. The police have cordoned off the whole area. They came and told us to stay inside as were right in the middle of it and theres a hostage situation. We heard three or four shots fired.

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I am in Holland and the other night, in Groningen, passed one of those demonstrations now held all over Europe in support of the magazine Charlie Hebdo and the journalists murdered this week by Islamists. Many people held up the sign seen at all these demonstrations: Je suis Charlie. I am Charlie.

Pardon me, but those signs are just not true. Charlie Hebdo was selected by al Qaeda for attack precisely because almost no one else was Charlie Hebdo. It was almost alone in newspapers and magazines to mock the ideology that some many other journalists fear. That is what it was the target, and, say, The Age, The Guardian or the New York Times not.

And I suspect this attack will work. There will in fact be fewer Charlie Hebdos than ever. More on this in tomorrows Sunday Herald Sun, once the lawyers have carefully checked what I am permitted to say under our already absurd laws against free speech.

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The recent attacks in France and Belgium (where a French terrorist murdered visitors at a Jewish museum) demonstrates why nations like Australia are correct in attempting to stop young Muslims travelling to Iraq and Syria where they will be trained in terrorism, which is much more than an irritant or a manifestation of violence.

So much of the early commentary on the most recent outbreak of terrorism in France turned on anything but the inconvenient truth. Which is that there are jihadists within Western democracies, particularly in western Europe, who want to establish an Islamist state. This is documented by Soeren Kern in a paper, published by the New York-based Gatestone Institute, titled The Islamisation of Britain in 2014.

Once again, this is a view from the intelligentsia. The real big worry of the events, which occurred in France on Wednesday, is that Charlie Hebdo staff along with police were murdered and French society was terrorised. The attack had nothing to do with the National Front. In any event, Marine Le Pen does not share the anti-Semitism of her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and her political position does not warrant Youngs reflex dismissal.

Young then moved quickly to discuss the likelihood that the terrorist attack will see a rise in support for the far-right National Front. Later, on ABC radios The World Today, Young described a possible growth in support for the National Front, and its leader Marine Le Pen, as the big worry following the attack on Charlie Hebdo.

Youngs reference to the ruling political elite was, in fact, a comment about the French political system. Francois Hollande happens to be the socialist president of France. As such, he is a democratically elected politician  not the head of a political elite. Moreover, on all the available evidence, there is no causal relationship between the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the debate over whether the hijab should be worn in government schools in France.

Soon after the Australian-born journalist Annette Young, who works for the television news station France 24, appeared on ABC News 24. She also threw the switch to irrelevance by declaring that the problem with the attack on Charlie Hebdo was that it comes at a time when theres been fraught relations between the Muslim community and the ruling political elite; for instance  the [Muslim] veil has been banned.

Green added to the Barton-induced confusion when he commented this sort of violence is almost an admission of weakness on the part of the attackers. No, its not. The terrorists did not exhibit weakness but, rather, their ability to murder at will and temporarily close down a modern city. Thats a sign of strength.

The jihadists in our midst do not want to provoke us. Rather, they want to silence us. In short, jihadists want Western democracies to submit to their demands across a range of issues  from winding back freedom of expression to changing foreign policy with respect to the Middle East and on to the eventual establishment of Sharia law.

Moreover, Bartons assessment, in response to Greens questioning, was misleading. There is no evidence that the French jihadists want to provoke French society to respond in like fashion. If this were the case, the gunmen would have stayed at the scene of the crime and attempted to kill others, rather than fleeing.

Maybe it does. But, according to available evidence, there is no causal relationship between French unemployment and the attack on Charlie Hebdo. None at all. Rather, this was a jihadist attack armed at silencing the satirical magazine. In other words, the Paris murderers took aim at freedom of expression.

While Green did condemn the murders, he added the following comment: Things are very tense in France, in Paris. Racial or religious divisions are strong and they have all sorts of manifestations through economic division as well. This will play out awkwardly, there is tension underlying this incident.

On early Thursday morning news broke in Australia on the latest terrorist attack in France. In Sydney, ABC Radio 702 issued the following tweet: Waking up and learning of the overnight violence in Paris? Heres some of the history of Charlie Hebdo. To which one tweeter responded: Overnight violence? How about calling it an Islamist terrorist attack? Thats what it is.

The latest attack by an Islamist group on a democratic society again pointed out the difference in approach to such events taken by most members of the general public and some members of the intelligentsia. To the former, jihadist inspired murder is just jihadist inspired murder. To some commentators, on the other hand, murderers have complicated intentions along with motives that appear other than what they are. Still others decline to call a jihadist a jihadist.

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Acting PM? She is worthy

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www.thecollegefix.com

" When I enrolled in an advanced German for beginners class last fall at The College of New Jersey, I intended to improve my ability to speak and write in conversational German. What I did not expect to learn in German 103 was that the Affordable Care Act  a.k.a Obamacare  is the answer to our prayers..."

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www.foxnews.com

I'm too old to know the difference or care .. my ears probably wouldn't hear the pin .. But it allows them to rebadge their material .. - ed

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catallaxyfiles.com

There is diversity amongst conservatives .. but Libertarians are pretty well defined within the conservative movement .. Bernardi is not Libertarian even if he takes on economic conservative views .. his social conservatism is apparent with his embrace of regulation as a solution to much. - ed



1) Libertarian/Classical Liberal.

2. Conservative.

3) Fascism.

Moving from centre to Left.

4) Left-liberal (inner-city leftie)

5) Social democrat

6)Communism.



Of course there are overlaps between 1) and 4) (e.g social progressiveness, freedom), 2) and 5) (e.g valuing family, God) and 3) and 6) (e.g totalitarianism, use of violence). And some people have particular views on certain topics.>

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www.breitbart.com

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www.businessinsider.com

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www.glennbeck.com

The Roman destruction of the Temple and the dispersal of Jews throughout the empire was harrowing for Jews. It is wrong to not let Jews rebuild the Temple. But in Christian terms the Temple is surpassed. Matthew comforts the early Christians and gives them a response that lets all Christians do as humans must. They build. Everyone builds in their life. But it is important to not build with personal ambition. Build with the bricks that are heaven made. They will last.

The Gospel of Matthew is the shortest of the four Gospels. It gives a bare bones account which is embellished differently in the rest. Mark explains a bit more with detail that one might not think important, but is. Luke is historical, deeply addressing questions and sources. John is more prophetic, in line with his letters and Revelations. Matthew is written by an anonymous Greek writer who was clearly aware of Mark, but not copying it. It is also written after the destruction of the Jewish Temple.

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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

January 9: Morning

Christian! here is all thou canst require. To make thee happy thou wantest something that shall satisfy thee; and is not this enough? If thou canst pour this promise into thy cup, wilt thou not say, with David, "My cup runneth over; I have more than heart can wish"? When this is fulfilled, "I am thy God", art thou not possessor of all things? Desire is insatiable as death, but he who filleth all in all can fill it. The capacity of our wishes who can measure? But the immeasurable wealth of God can more than overflow it. I ask thee if thou art not complete when God is thine? Dost thou want anything but God? Is not his all-sufficiency enough to satisfy thee if all else should fail? But thou wantest more than quiet satisfaction; thou desirest rapturous delight. Come, soul, here is music fit for heaven in this thy portion, for God is the Maker of Heaven. Not all the music blown from sweet instruments, or drawn from living strings, can yield such melody as this sweet promise, "I will be their God." Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe thy spirit in it; swim an age, and thou shalt find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and thou shalt find no bottom. "I will be their God." If this do not make thine eyes sparkle, and thy heart beat high with bliss, then assuredly thy soul is not in a healthy state. But thou wantest more than present delights--thou cravest something concerning which thou mayest exercise hope; and what more canst thou hope for than the fulfilment of this great promise, "I will be their God"? This is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below, and will make a heaven above. Dwell in the light of thy Lord, and let thy soul be always ravished with his love. Get out the marrow and fatness which this portion yields thee. Live up to thy privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy.

Evening

Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent. Our God requires no slaves to grace his throne; he is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have his servants dressed in the livery of joy. The angels of God serve him with songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their ranks. That obedience which is not voluntary is disobedience, for the Lord looketh at the heart, and if he seeth that we serve him from force, and not because we love him, he will reject our offering. Service coupled with cheerfulness is heart-service, and therefore true. Take away joyful willingness from the Christian, and you have removed the test of his sincerity. If a man be driven to battle, he is no patriot; but he who marches into the fray with flashing eye and beaming face, singing, "It is sweet for one's country to die," proves himself to be sincere in his patriotism. Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness. The man who is cheerful in his service of God, proves that obedience is his element; he can sing,



"Make me to walk in thy commands,

'Tis a delightful road."



Reader, let us put this question--do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master.

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VANCOUVER, Jan. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - Kootenay Silver Inc. (TSXV: KTN) (the "Company" or "Kootenay") is pleased to provide its exploration strategy for 2018 and a review of its exploration programs and corporate activities during the prior year.

Kootenay President and CEO James McDonald states, "As we prepare for an exciting year ahead of drilling in 2018, we are pleased to provide a review of activities detailing many of Kootenay's significant achievements in 2017. Supported by an established NI 43-101 silver asset base of over 140 million ounces of silver equivalent*, we will focus our resources on accelerating the growth of this asset base in 2018. Our top priority remains the advancement of our flagship La Cigarra silver project, located in the Parral mining district in Chihuahua, Mexico. Ongoing exploration in 2018 will include drill testing of high-grade structures extending from La Cigarra's existing silver resource, drill testing several new priority targets and the advancement of two recent discoveries on the project. We look forward to providing further updates on activities as they develop."

2018 Upcoming work programs and news flow:

In 2018, Kootenay will place a major emphasis on advancing the La Cigarra project. The first three weeks of the program will focus on selection and prioritization of drill targets and include some additional mapping in preparation of drill site selection.





Focus will be on:

Commencement of drilling at La Cigarra Drilling on strike to expand resource both north and south High grade structures and zones Drilling of new targets with priority on grade Drilling of new gold bearing structures in first quarter Follow up of the strong mineralization and veining at LasVenadas





Priority will be given to:

Higher grade structures and mineral domains Expansion of the resource with focus on the best grading domains New discoveries with priority on best grading targets Shallower targets over deeper ones





Anticipated news flow items:

Final results from 2017 La Cigarra drilling Final results from 2017 Promontorio/La Negra drilling from partner Pan American Silver Commencement of drilling at La Cigarra Ongoing results of 2018 drilling program on La Cigarra Initial results from Cervantes drilling from partner Aztec Minerals Updates on work programs on projects optioned out to third parties.



The Company anticipates drilling will commence at the beginning of February 2018. Drill meters with sequencing and prioritization of the various targets will be segmented into resource expansion (La Borracha), follow up drilling of recent discoveries (La Venadas and RAM) and testing new undrilled targets (southern extension). A map of the Cigarra Resource and potential growth areas can be viewed here. Details on meters and areas to be drilled will be released in late January.

Project and Corporate Highlights:

La Cigarra Silver Project, Chihuahua State, Mexico (100% owned by Kootenay)

Completed 37 core drill holes at La Cigarra resulting in two significant silver discoveries in the RAM and La Venadas zones.

Re-logged entire La Cigarra silver deposit to define geologic controls on high grades.

Mapping and sampling of Las Venadas, La Borracha, Navidad East and Navidad West, Soledad and Las Chinas zones as well as extension of Nogalera Zone southward into valley gravels.

Extensive surface sampling along the numerous mineralized trends.

Recognized various mineral zones north and south of the La Cigarra resource form a continuous and contiguous zone of alteration and anomalous silver mineralization for upwards of 9 kilometers.

Discovered new mineralized structures that may be the southern extension of the RAM to Nogalera trend.

New drill discoveries include Las Venadas located 800 meters south of the resource boundary and RAM approximately 1,000 meters west of the resource. Both zones are open along both strike directions and dip.

Las Venadas drilling intersected more than 250 meters in core length of quartz-calcite and quartz vein breccia and veining within altered sediments. Hole CC-17-26 in particular bottomed in veining with samples grading as high as 799 gpt silver over 1.1 meters and 692 gpt silver over 1 meter in two different zones indicating excellent grade potential. The widest weighted average intervals is 91.32 gpt silver over 29.5 meters. A second hole intercepted the interval 140 meters along strike and about 60 meters deeper with similar results. RAM drilling included multiple intercepts of silver mineralization confirmed over 400 meters of strike length including 89.83 gpt silver over 18.0 meters; including 190 gpt silver over 3.0 meters. This system remains open along strike to the north and south for up to 3,400 meters and down dip to the west.



La Negra Silver Discovery, Sonora State, Mexico (100% Kootenay owned and optioned to Pan American Silver)

Announced the results of 26 holes from an infill drill program on La Negra silver discovery being operated by Pan American Silver. Drill results at La Negra include 529 gpt silver over 7.5 meters within 194 gpt silver over 40.8 meters. Further drill results from this program will be announced once received from Pan American and is expected during January 2018.

Silver Fox Project, British Columbia, Canada (100% owned by Kootenay & optioned to Antofagasta plc)

Commenced a 3,000 meter diamond drill program at its 100% owned Silver Fox Project, located in south eastern British Columbia. The target is a large sediment hosted copper-silver deposit such as those hosted in the same rock formations to the south in Montana, U.S.A., where deposits can reach into the 200 million ounces of silver size. This program is fully funded by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Antofagasta plc under its earn-in agreement for the Silver Fox project. Results will be announced following meetings with Antofagasta in late January 2018.

Mark Project, British Columbia, Canada (100% owned by Kootenay & optioned to Antofagasta plc)

Extensive mapping and sampling of the property in search of a sediment hosted copper-silver deposit such as those hosted in the same rock formations in Montana, U.S.A. The program was designed to define the size and intensity of mineralization previously discovered and to establish drill targets. Results will be announced following meetings with Antofagasta in late January 2018.

Cervantes Project, Sonora State, Mexico (100% owned by Kootenay and optioned to Aztec Minerals)

Announced that exploration partner Aztec Minerals identified encouraging gold and copper mineralization on the Company's 100% owned Cervantes project. Aztec commenced a 14 to 17 hole core drill program on the Cervantes gold-copper porphyry property late 2017, with results expected in Q1 2018.

Closed financing in Q4 2017

Raised $4,000,000 by closing a non-brokered private placement. Net proceeds will be used to fund the exploration and development of the Company's La Cigarra project in Chihuahua State, Mexico, possible new acquisitions and for general working capital purposes.

*Resource Estimates for La Cigarra and Promontorio

La Cigarra currently hosts a resource estimate of 18.54 million tonnes containing 51.47 million ounces of silver in the Measured & Indicated categories grading 86.3 gpt silver and 4.45 million tonnes containing 11.46 million ounces of silver in the Inferred category grading 80 gpt silver. Resource Statement for the La Cigarra silver project located in Chihuahua State, Mexico: GeoVector Management Inc., Effective Date January 14, 2015.

The Promontorio Silver Resource currently hosts a resource estimate of 44.5 million tonnes containing 92 million ounces of silver equivalent in the Measured & Indicated categories grading 64.3 gpt silver equivalent and 14.6 million tonnes containing 24.3 million ounces of silver equivalent in the Inferred category grading 52 gpt silver equivalent. Resource Statement for the Promontorio Deposit, Sonora State, Mexico: SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc., Effective Date March 31, 2013.

The Promontorio and La Cigarra NI 43-101 technical reports, including the assumptions therein, are filed on SEDAR at: www.sedar.com, and are also available on the Company's website www.kootenaysilver.com.

Qualified Persons

The Kootenay technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) and reviewed on behalf Kootenay by James McDonald, P. Geo, President, CEO & Director for Kootenay, a Qualified Person.

Sampling and QA/QC at La Cigarra

All technical information for the La Cigarra exploration program is obtained and reported under a formal quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") program. Samples are taken from core cut in half with a diamond saw under the direction of qualified geologists. Samples are then labeled placed in plastic bags, sealed and with interval and sample numbers recorded. Samples are delivered by the Company via courier to ALS Minerals ("ALS") in Chihuahua. The samples are dried, crushed and pulverized with the pulps being sent airfreight for analysis by ALS in Vancouver, B.C. Systematic assaying of standards, blanks and duplicates is performed for precision and accuracy. Analysis for silver, zinc, lead and copper and related trace elements was done by ICP four acid digestion, with gold analysis by 30-gram fire assay with an AA finish. All drilling will be with HQ core and has been contracted to BD Drilling from Guadalajara, Mexico.

About Kootenay Silver Inc.

Kootenay Silver Inc. is an exploration company actively engaged in the discovery and development of mineral projects in the Sierra Madre Region of Mexico and in British Columbia, Canada. Supported by one of the largest portfolios of silver assets in Mexico, Kootenay continues to provide its shareholders with significant leverage to silver prices. The Company remains focused on the expansion of its current silver resources, new discoveries and the near-term economic development of two of its priority silver projects located in prolific mining districts in Sonora, State and Chihuahua, State, Mexico, respectively.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

The information in this news release has been prepared as at January 9, 2018. Certain statements in this news release, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", constitute "forward-looking statements" under the provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expected", "may", "will" or similar terms.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Kootenay as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by law, Kootenay expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in Kootenay's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

This press release uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated", and "Inferred" resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a Mineral Resource is economically or legally mineable.

SOURCE Kootenay Silver Inc.
Engaged BRS Inc., an engineering firm, to prepare a series of NI 43-101 technical reports for Anfield's 24 Wyoming-based projects;

Announced the receipt of an NI 43-101 Mineral Resources Technical Report for the Red Rim Uranium project, based in Wyoming;

Announced the receipt of an NI 43-101 Mineral Resources Technical Report for the Clarkson Hill Uranium project, based in Wyoming;

Commissioned BRS to provide an NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Technical Report for the Nine Mile Uranium project, based in Wyoming;

Announced the receipt of a Vanadium Exploration Target report for the Velvet-Wood Uranium project, based in Utah;

Commissioned an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Velvet-Wood Uranium project, based in Utah, a source of uranium and potential source of vanadium feedstock for the Shootaring Canyon Mill, to include both the construction and use of a vanadium circuit as part of a production scenario;

Announced the hiring of Robert Lumadue, a uranium industry veteran formerly with Uranium One Americas as part of its uranium sales team, as well as with U.S. utility Duke Energy Corporation, ConverDyn and Nuexco Trading Corporation, as Anfield's Vice President, Uranium Sales and Marketing;

Continued advancing the Shootaring Canyon Uranium Mill license towards operational status with the Utah Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control;

Closed three private placement financings totalling approximately $6.8 million.

VANCOUVER, January 10, 2018 - Anfield Energy Inc. (TSX VENTURE: AEC) (OTCQB: ANLDF) (FRANKFURT: 0AD) ("Anfield" or "the Company") following the name change and share consolidation, is pleased to provide this review and corporate update of its very active and constructive 2017. Anfield continues to position itself to become a top-tier U.S.-based uranium producer to take advantage of improving uranium prices now underway. The following list highlights the Company's 2017 achievements to enhance its portfolio of conventional and In-Situ-Recovery (ISR)-amenable projects and to be ready for co-production opportunities with vanadium:

Corey Dias, Anfield's CEO stated, "We believe that 2017 was an important year for Anfield -- a year of strategic activity to develop and position assets for improving market conditions. We converted the historical uranium resources of two of the 24 Wyoming-based uranium projects acquired from Uranium One in 2016, and we plan to continue further resource conversion in 2018. In addition, we sought to outline the vanadium co-production potential of our licensed and permitted Velvet-Wood mine. This timely initiative advances resources which are now considered a strategic material by the U.S. government and are of growing importance for large-scale energy storage applications and infrastructure build. Further, in 2018 we will continue to pursue uranium assets which are complementary to our current asset portfolio to better position ourselves for the rebound now underway in the uranium price.

Commodity Markets

In late 2017 and early 2018 there were a number of positive price catalysts for the uranium sector as supply-side disruption and demand-side improvements played out: 1) the suspension of production at two of Cameco's mines; 2) the idling of Converdyn's uranium conversion facility; 3) uranium producer Kazatomprom's reduction of uranium production by 20% over the next three years; 4) the restart of nuclear reactors in Japan; and 5) the acquisition by Brookfield Business Partners LP of Westinghouse Electric Co., stabilizing Westinghouse's nuclear power plant business. As is noted by industry analysts, there are compelling drivers of improvement in the uranium spot and term price.

As well, the vanadium market is forecast to experience strong growth in the next 5 years due to increasing demand for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries and high-strength steels, as well as the U.S. government's recent designation of vanadium as a strategic material.

About Anfield

Anfield is an energy metals exploration, development and near-term production company that is committed to becoming a top-tier energy-related fuels supplier by creating value through sustainable, efficient growth in its energy metals assets. Anfield is a publicly-traded corporation listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange (AEC-V), the OTCQB Marketplace (ANLDF) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (0AD). Anfield is focused on two production centres, as summarized below:

Wyoming - Irigaray ISR Processing Plant (Resin Processing Agreement)

Anfield has also signed a Resin Processing Agreement with Uranium One whereby Anfield would process up to 500,000 pounds per annum of its mined material at Uranium One's Irigaray processing plant in Wyoming. In addition, should Anfield sign uranium sales contracts, the Company can both buy and borrow uranium from Uranium One in order to fulfill some or all of its contracts.

Anfield's ISR mining projects are located in the Black Hills, Powder River Basin, Great Divide Basin, Laramie Basin, Shirley Basin and Wind River Basin areas in Wyoming.

Arizona/Utah - Shootaring Canyon Mill

A key asset in Anfield's existing portfolio is the Shootaring Canyon Mill in Garfield County, Utah. The Shootaring Canyon Mill is strategically located within one of the historically most prolific uranium production areas in the United States, and is one of only three licensed uranium mills in the United States.

Anfield's conventional uranium assets consist of mining claims and state leases in southeastern Utah, and Arizona, targeting areas where past uranium mining or prospecting occurred. Anfield's conventional uranium assets include the Velvet-Wood Project, the Frank M Uranium Project, as well as the Findlay Tank breccia pipe. All conventional uranium assets are situated within a 125-mile radius of the Shootaring Mill.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Anfield Energy Inc.

Corey Dias, Chief Executive Officer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.





Safe Harbor Statement



THIS NEWS RELEASE CONTAINS "FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS". STATEMENTS IN THIS NEWS RELEASE THAT ARE NOT PURELY HISTORICAL ARE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INCLUDE ANY STATEMENTS REGARDING BELIEFS, PLANS, EXPECTATIONS OR INTENTIONS REGARDING THE FUTURE.



EXCEPT FOR THE HISTORICAL INFORMATION PRESENTED HEREIN, MATTERS DISCUSSED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE CONTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM ANY FUTURE RESULTS, PERFORMANCE OR ACHIEVEMENTS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH STATEMENTS. STATEMENTS THAT ARE NOT HISTORICAL FACTS, INCLUDING STATEMENTS THAT ARE PRECEDED BY, FOLLOWED BY, OR THAT INCLUDE SUCH WORDS AS "ESTIMATE," "ANTICIPATE," "BELIEVE," "PLAN" OR "EXPECT" OR SIMILAR STATEMENTS ARE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES FOR THE COMPANY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH MINERAL EXPLORATION AND FUNDING AS WELL AS THE RISKS SHOWN IN THE COMPANY'S MOST RECENT ANNUAL AND QUARTERLY REPORTS AND FROM TIME-TO-TIME IN OTHER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION REGARDING THE COMPANY. OTHER RISKS INCLUDE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SEEKING THE CAPITAL NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION, THE REGULATORY APPROVAL PROCESS, COMPETITIVE COMPANIES, FUTURE CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS AND THE COMPANY'S ABILITY AND LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR ITS EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT THE COMPANY WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION, THAT THE COMPANY'S EXPLORATION EFFORTS WILL SUCCEED OR THE COMPANY WILL ULTIMATELY ACHIEVE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS. THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE MADE AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, AND THE COMPANY ASSUMES NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, OR TO UPDATE THE REASONS WHY ACTUAL RESULTS COULD DIFFER FROM THOSE PROJECTED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY BELIEVES THAT THE BELIEFS, PLANS, EXPECTATIONS AND INTENTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE ARE REASONABLE, THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THOSE BELIEFS, PLANS, EXPECTATIONS OR INTENTIONS WILL PROVE TO BE ACCURATE. INVESTORS SHOULD CONSIDER ALL OF THE INFORMATION SET FORTH HEREIN AND SHOULD ALSO REFER TO THE RISK FACTORS DISCLOSED IN THE COMPANY'S PERIODIC REPORTS FILED FROM TIME-TO-TIME.



THIS NEWS RELEASE HAS BEEN PREPARED BY MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY WHO TAKES FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS CONTENTS.







Contact



Anfield Energy Inc.

Clive Mostert

Corporate Communications

780-920-5044

info@anfieldenergy.com

www.anfieldenergy.com


VANCOUVER, Jan. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - David H. Brett, President & CEO, Engold Mines Ltd., (TSX-V: EGM, "EnGold" or the "Company") reports that EnGold drill holes G17-37 and G17-38 have returned encouraging assay results. Vertical hole G17-37, located midway between G17-13 and G17-16, intersected 39.25 m grading 1.04 % Cu, 0.11 gpt Au, 5.21 gpt Ag and 24.53 % Fe, including 4.9 m grading 1.62 % Cu and 8 m grading 2.01 % Cu. This true thickness exceeds the predicted value of 31 m by approximately 8 m. Similarly, vertical hole G17-38, located midway between G16-01 and G17-13, exceeded predicted thickness by more than 15 m, cutting 37.13 m grading 1.00 % Cu, 0.16 gpt Au, 4.41 gpt Ag and 26.35 % Fe, and including 23.76 m grading 1.37 % Cu and 4 m grading 2.15 % Cu. Hole G17-37 also intersected silver bearing, fracture controlled chalcopyrite and pyrite mineralization located 106 m above the main copper zone, grading up to 2.54 % Cu and 37.20 gpt Ag.

These latest results are tabulated below. All intercepts reported are believed to be true width.

DDH From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Cu (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Fe (%)















G17-37 191.55 195.00 3.45 1.10 0.10 20.69 10.61 including 192.45 193.85 1.40 0.48 0.05 37.20 9.29

298.60 337.85 39.25 1.04 0.11 5.21 24.53 including 302.00 306.92 4.92 1.62 0.18 7.73 33.56 including 311.00 312.80 1.80 1.54 0.19 6.70 16.45 including 321.00 329.00 8.00 2.01 0.20 11.70 37.28 including 334.00 335.50 1.50 2.11 0.12 7.50 34.40 including 336.50 337.85 1.35 1.56 0.12 7.70 17.25















G17-38 291.45 292.10 0.65 2.02 0.28 6.80 12.75

318.75 355.88 37.13 1.00 0.16 4.41 26.35 including 332.12 355.88 23.76 1.37 0.24 6.23 36.70 including 340.00 344.00 4.00 2.15 0.58 8.10 36.45

"The continuity of grade vertically and now, horizontally within G1 Discovery is impressive," said EnGold VP of Exploration Rob Shives, P.Geo. "We have demonstrated the value of in-fill drilling between the existing 50 m spaced drill pattern, effectively increasing tonnage by cutting thicker mineralized intersections. Additional in-fill and step-out drilling in 2018 will be completed here."

The Company has received preliminary maps derived from additional ground gravity surveying completed between the G1 Discovery and Spout Resource located 1800 m to the northwest. These will be interpreted in the coming weeks. Brian Jones, President of Excel Geophysics states "the initial maps of the new area suggest an anomaly pattern that is very similar to the anomaly at G1." Our understanding of the geophysical response continues to evolve. Our goal is to define geophysical characteristics of the G1 Discovery that can be used to search for additional zones, initially focusing on the area between G1 Discovery and the existing Spout Resource.

"EnGold continues to enjoy drilling success at Lac La Hache," said EnGold President & CEO David Brett. "Our team is busy planning and preparing for our 2018 exploration program and budget that will include drill testing of the highly prospective gap between the discovery area and the Spout deposit."

At the Aurizon South gold-copper-silver zone, EnGold is still awaiting final results of metallurgical testing to determine recovery rates and other parameters that will be incorporated into the resource calculation, now nearing completion. This new data is expected in the coming weeks, with disclosure of the resource calculation expected soon.

About EnGold

EnGold is a Vancouver-based copper/gold exploration company with a vision to develop and build a profitable, multi-zone, high-grade, low cost, low-footprint, low capital cost, environmentally and socially sustainable underground mine at its 100% owned Lac La Hache Property located in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. EnGold's significant new copper discovery in 2017 adds to the already extensively drilled Spout Copper Deposit and Aurizon Gold zones. Discovery potential for new high-grade zones remains strong, and existing areas are open for expansion. EnGold sees all high-grade zones on the Property potentially providing ore to a central milling facility. With world class infrastructure at its doorstep, low operating cost expectations at Lac La Hache are reasonable. EnGold's corporate philosophy rests on three interdependent pillars: Environment, Engagement and Gold. Through sound environmental stewardship, commitment to transparent engagement with local communities, the Company is dedicated to driving exceptional shareholder and stakeholder value by fulfilling its vision to profitably supply valuable and much needed metals to the global marketplace.

Quality Control/Quality Assurance Program

Engold Mines Ltd. follows procedures which ensure sample security, chain of custody and Quality Assurance/Quality Control for all drilling and geochemical sampling, conforming to industry practices defined by Canadian Institute for Mining, Metallurgy (CIMM) standards, and required for TSX-listed companies by National Instrument 43-101.

All core was logged and photographed. Sampled intervals were sawed in half, bagged, sealed and sent securely to ALS Canada Ltd for analyses. Half-gram samples were digested with aqua regia acid then analysed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) for 35 elements (ME-ICP41). A 30 gram split is analyzed for gold by fire assay with a gravimetric finish (ME-GRA21). Copper values exceeding 1 percent were analyzed using aqua regia digestion with an ICP-AES finish (ME-OG46) to improve accuracy and precision at higher grades. As part of our comprehensive QA/QC program, one standard, one blank and one in-line replicate were inserted into the sample stream in each group of approximately 20 samples in each analytical batch.

Rob Shives P.Geo., VP Exploration and a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release.

Engold Mines Ltd.

Per/

David Brett, MBA

President & CEO,

This news release may contain "forward?looking statements". Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual development or results may vary materially from those in these "forward looking statements."

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Engold Mines Ltd.
THUNDER BAY, Ontario, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mexican Gold Corp. ("Mexican Gold" or the "Company") (TSX-V:MEX) (OTCMKTS:SRXLF) (FRA:4QW1) is pleased to report on key milestones achieved in 2017 and strategic growth plans for 2018.



2017 in Review

2017 was a year of outstanding achievements for your company with major milestones reached at our flagship Las Minas property and the corporate level. The company carried out two highly successful exploration programs, completed an initial 43-101 mineral resource, and strengthened its balance sheet as well as the Board of Directors and Management Team. We believe that Mexican Gold is now positioned for substantial growth in 2018 based on the outstanding exploration results achieved to date and corporate strength of the company.

Milestones Achieved in 2017:

Achieved a 100 % increase in share price during the year.

Completed initial 43-101 resource estimate for two of eight known mineralized zones.

Completed 5,873 metres of diamond drilling at El Dorado/ Juan Bran and Cinco Senores zones.

Discovered high - grade Eldorado Dike Contact zone  Hole LM- 17- ED-40 - 9.24 g/t Au Eq over 38.0 metres ( 5.36 g/t Au, 17.10 g/t Ag, 2.20 % Cu) True widths for hole LM-17-ED-40 are estimated to be 94 percent of core widths. - Press release Nov. 15, 2017.

Extended high  grade Eldorado Dike Contact zone up to 330 metres along strike with delineation drilling.

Extended western boundary of El Dorado/ Juan Bran mineralized zone by 65 metres along strike  Hole LM 17-JB-19  4.01 g/t Au Eq over 5.0 metres ( 1.91 g/t Au, 11.18 g/t Ag. 1.19 % Cu)- True widths for hole LM-17-JB-19 are estimated to be 94 percent of core widths - Press release Nov. 14, 2017.

Identified parallel mineralized zone at Cinco Senores and extended the zone 122 metres along trend. Hole LM-17-CS-08  4.47 g/t Au Eq over 4.0 metres  ( 1.58 g/t Au, 13.85 g/t Ag, 1.65 % Cu)  True widths for hole LM- 17-CS-08 19 are estimated to be 70-75% of core widths. - Press release Dec. 12, 2017.

Discovered high- grade parallel vein at Pueblo Nuevo concession Sample 14.90 g/t Au Eq over 0.20 metres (13.68 g/t Au. 29.8 g/t Ag) - Press release May 31, 2017.

Completed ground magnetic and Time Domain Electromagnetic surveys at El Dorado/ Juan Bran, Cinco Senores, and Las Minillas zones outlining numerous high - priority conductors.

Completed definitive purchase and sale agreement to acquire 100 % interest in Pepe, Pepe Tres and San Jose concessions.

Acquired 100 % interest in Pueblo Nuevo and La Luz 1 concessions.

Palisade Global Investments Inc. became a major shareholder with an initial 12.8 percent equity ownership.

Successfully completed equity financings totaling $3,647,081.

Completed warrant exercise by Palisade Global Inc. with $833,250 of proceeds.

Completed debt settlement in the aggregate amount of $478,910.22.

Rebranded the company with name change to Mexican Gold Corp. and launch of new website.

Strengthened Board of Directors and Management with appointments of Ali Zamani as Chairman and Director, John Anderson as Director, and Gavin Nelson as CFO.

Engaged Relations Publiques Paradox Inc. to enhance investor relations program.

Initiated analyst coverage.

Exhibited at resource conferences in New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Jekyll Island.

Initiatives for 2018

In 2018, we will focus on expanding the initial resource for El Dorado/ Juan Bran and Santa Cruz zones. Additionally, exploration drilling will be carried out at the Cinco Senores and Las Minillas zones to expand known areas of mineralization. Field work for the year will target the highly prospective Pueblo Nuevo and Changaro zones. We are confident our drilling programs will significantly expand the existing resource, outline additional mineralization in known mineralized zones, and lead to new discoveries at Las Minas.

Strategic Goals for 2018:

Expand initial 43-101 mineral resource estimate.

Complete an updated mineral resource estimate.

Complete resource expansion drill programs at El Dorado/ Juan Bran and Santa Cruz zones.

Complete exploration drilling program at Cinco Senores and Las Minillas zones.

Complete field exploration and initial drilling at Pueblo Nuevo concession.

Complete field exploration for extension to the Santa Cruz zone.

Complete field exploration and geophysical survey at Changaro zone.

Complete financing for funding of 2018 exploration program.

Complete final option payment for 100 % interest in Pepe, Pepe Tres and San Jose concessions.

Increase market awareness and shareholder base with aggressive marketing and investor relations program.

Expand analyst coverage.

Mexican Golds President and CEO, Brian Robertson stated, Our outstanding success in 2017 was the result of the unwavering support of our shareholders and stakeholders. We thank you for your support and strong commitment to the Company. We also thank our employees, consultants and contractors who enabled us to achieve outstanding results in 2017 and look forward to delivering company growth and new discoveries in 2018.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Sonny Bernales, P. Geo., a registered Professional Geoscientist in the Province of British Columbia and a qualified person as defined by NI 43101. Mr. Bernales is responsible for logistics and supervision of all exploration activity conducted by Mexican Gold on the property.

Assays are uncut, lengthweighted average values.

Gold equivalent (Au Eq) calculations use metal prices of US $1200/oz. for gold, US $19.00/oz. for silver and US $3.00/lb. for copper. No adjustments have been made for potential relative differences in metal recoveries.

Au Eq g/t equals Au g/t + (Ag g/t x 0.016) + (Cu% x 1.71).

About Las Minas

The Las Minas Project hosts near-surface gold  silver and copper skarn mineralization and highgrade gold - silver epithermal vein deposits. The project is comprised of six mineral concessions covering approximately 1,616 hectares (3,995 acres), with several small scale, past-producing mines and a number of untested targets.

The district is host to a large gold, silver and copper skarn system that has a production history that extends back to the Aztec era. The Las Minas diorite intrusive measures approximately 10 kilometres in diameter and underlies the Las Minas concessions. The mineralization controls and association with magnetite appear to be similar to the Guerrero Gold belt, which is the site of the Los Filos and Morelos gold deposits.

For more information, please contact:

Brian Robertson, President & CEO

Phone: 807-474-4270 or 807-251-1816

Fax: 807-474-4272

E-mail: info@mexicangold.ca

Website at www.mexicangold.ca

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain information that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements about the magnitude or quality of mineral deposits, anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs, future operations, results of exploration, prospects, commodity and precious metals prices, future work programs, anticipated financial and operational results, capital expenditures and objectives and the completion and timing of mineral resource estimates. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the risks identified in the Company's disclosure documents available at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based on the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
A Widening Gap

A Federal Fix?

Thousands of schoolchildren in Baltimore missed classes last week as a cold snap forced officials to close schools. Frigid temperatures and ruptured water pipes made some school buildings uninhabitable for students and teachers.Those kinds of closures could become more frequent in cities across the country, many education advocates say, thanks to a generation of underfunding construction and maintenance costs in urban districts.In Baltimore, the city initially closed four buildings last week due to frigid temperatures inside classrooms. By midweek, city schools CEO Sonja Brookins Santelises announced that as many as 60 buildings were inadequate spaces for instruction. By Thursday, the district made the decision to cancel classes across the entire system, and schools remained closed on Friday with the mercury hovering in the teens. And despite emergency efforts to address the heating issues, several schools remained closed or were forced to dismiss students Monday morning due to lack of heat and, in one instance, a broken water pipe.But while cold weather triggered the closures, advocates say the ultimate culprit is the poor condition of school buildings across the city.According to a 2012 report commisioned by the city school district, Baltimore schools need $2.4 billion in capital investment to meet the needs of the districts 84,000 students. The $2.4 billion is really a low number. I see it as a snapshot in time, whats needed to partially address our current shortfall, says Frank Patinella, senior education reform advocate with the Maryland ACLU.Baltimores aging school buildings reflect a trend across the country. Urban school districts lag significantly behind their suburban counterparts in terms of the quality of the buildings and the money spent on maintenance, renovation and construction.As a result, many city schools are struggling just to fund the bare minimum of upkeep.Cities are mostly dealing with [responding to] emergencies, says Mary Filardo, the executive director of the 21st Century School Fund, which advocates for equity in school construction funding nationwide. They are not doing their preventive maintenance. You have a small leak in the roof, then it damages the ceiling and then it damages the wall and then you need to do major repairs quickly.Nationwide, state and local school districts are spending around $99 billion per year on capital investment and maintenance and operation of facilties, according to the 2016 State of Our Schools Report, compiled by the 21st Century School Fund, the National Council on School Facilities and the Center for Green Schools. The report suggests an additional $46 billion per year is necessary to properly maintain and upgrade facilties and build new schools to keep up with enrollment patterns.Thanks to demographic growth patterns and uneven investment over the past few decades, the funding gap falls especially hard on urban districts. It's a crisis, Filardo says, that will require a broad overhaul of the way school construction and maintenance is funded across the country. You cant solve this problem at the local level or in small, discrete measures, she says. It needs state and even federal resources.The disparity between urban and suburban school buildings began to grow in the 1990s. After more than two decades of flagging enrollment, student populations increased in the mid-1990s -- and so did spending on school construction and renovation. According to a General Accounting Office report from 1995, public schools were in need of roughly $442 billion in capital investment , almost three quarters of which was needed for new school construction.Local school districts responded and spent $502 billion on capital projects between 1995 and 2004, according to data collected by 21st Century School Fund. More than 12,000 schools were built in this period.But most of that student growth, and by extension construction growth, was clustered in the suburbs and in more affluent school districts. Between 1995 and 2004, districts in the wealthiest suburban ZIP codes outspent their poorest urban counterparts by roughly three to one, according to analysis by 21st Century School Fund.The disparity also cut across racial lines. Majority white schools spent about 33 percent more on capital expenditures than majority black schools during the same period, according to 21st Century's report.While each states exact formula for school construction funding varies slightly, the average mix is 82 percent local funding, often from property taxes, and 18 percent state money, according to 21st Century Funds analysis. A state may distribute its funds relatively evenly to all districts, but doing so may still leave lower-income areas at a steep disadvantage.Consider Baltimore. Maryland spends about $300 million annually on capital investment in the states 23 school districts. In 2017, for example, according Patinella, Baltimore city schools received $47 million in state construction financing, while adjacent Anne Arundel County received $41 million. Baltimore was able to augment that money with an additional $17 million in local funds. But wealthier Anne Arundel, where the median household income is double that of Baltimore, was able to add another $104 million in capital investment for its school buildings.If you just compare the large counties in Maryland, the state has allocated relatively the same amount of school construction money to Baltimore city as it does to other county districts, which we think is unfair, Patinella says.The state would argue that Baltimore city is not managing their projects well," he adds. "But the city is so behind in construction that they have to respond to emergencies and put Band-Aids on buildings to keep them up and running."Urban school districts often find themselves in a perpetual cycle of using operating budget funds to pay for emergency repairs. That makes it more difficult to show creditors enough available revenue to finance capital improvement, which can make it harder for those districts to borrow money in the future. After several years, such a cycle can result in billions of dollars in capital investment shortfalls, as well as buildings like Philadelphia's J.B. Kelly Elementary School, where mold forced officials to abruptly close the school in October. It remained shuttered for several weeks, says Jerry Roseman, director of occupational safety and health for the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. "There was mold growing on everything, and water dripping from the ventilation systems, he says.Philadelphia needs $5 billion in capital investment to meet the demands of its student population, school officials said last year. There are currently $3 billion in capital improvements in the pipeline for the next decade.The problem, says Roseman, is rooted in 25 years of underfunded maintenance. "These are large school systems with lots of needs. The funding that is given is inadequate, and they are charged with responding to a wide range of issues with limited dollars, he says. In addition to underfunding, Roseman also blames poor governance and a lack of transparency in how the school board allocates money to fix deteriorating schools.In many cities, the capital needs can be staggering. Los Angeles, for example, recently completed a 20-year, $19.5 billion capital improvement campaign, which included the construction of 131 new schools, new additions on 65 campuses and thousands of modernization projects across the sprawling district. Even after that significant investment, however, L.A. schools still face an additional $60 billion in capital needs, according to the district Next to highways, schools buildings are the most expensive and most extensive network of public facilities in the nation. Yet in most cases, states don't receive any money from Washington to pay for school construction and maintenance. "Its the nations biggest inventory of public buildings," says Filardo. But "its an orphaned issue."Congress tried and failed to include school construction in the 2009 federal stimulus. But the effort died as some leading Democrats expressed concerns about federal overreach into local education Filardo is among those pushing again for the federal government to contribute to school building construction. The 21st Century School Fund is currently lobbying to include schools in the next infrastructure package. The ideal funding mix, says Filardo, would be 90 percent of school construction money split evenly between state and local authorities with the federal government throwing in the other 10 percent.Last May, Congressional Democrats introduced the Rebuild America's Schools Act, which would have made billions available to schools who serve high poverty students to fund construction of facilities when those buildings pose a risk to the safety of children and teachers. The bill remains stalled in the House of Representatives.As recently as June, President Donald Trump mentioned including school construction as part of any infrastructure bill he would propose in 2018. He hasn't offered more details of what that proposal would look like. Some political observers expect the president to announce his infrastructure plan during the State of the Union speech on Jan. 30.
The Louisiana school board that oversaw the removal and arrest of an outspoken teacher from a meeting is now getting showered with death threats.Vermilion Parish School Board President Anthony Fontana said their offices went into a temporary lockdown Tuesday in response to the multitude of menacing messages they were receiving after footage of educator Deyshia Hargrave getting handcuffed for questioning the superintendent's $38,000 raise went viral.Fontana said they've reported the threats to local law enforcement as well as the FBI, their origins as far reaching as England, South America and Australia, the Clarion Ledger reports.In video captured both by local TV station KATC and a fellow meeting attendee, Hargrave can be seen first getting confronted by an officer with the Abbeville City Marshal's Office for speaking up during Monday night's meeting before he brings the Rene Rost Middle School teacher out into the hallway, then pushes her against a wall and onto the floor as he handcuffs her."His job is to make sure we have an orderly meeting," Fontana said, explaining he stands by the officer "100%.""He knows what the law is. He knows what our policy is ... The officer did exactly what he is supposed to do."Hargrave was charged with resisting an officer and "remaining after being forbidden." She has since been released on bond.In addition to receiving support from the ACLU, Hargrave is working with Brian Blackwell, a lawyer with the Louisiana Association of Educators, of which she is a member."As an organization that advocates for the dedicated school employees of Louisiana, we firmly denounce the mistreatment of Ms. Hargrave, a loving parent and dedicated teacher serving the students of Vermilion Parish," the group wrote in a Facebook message."It is every citizen's right to speak up for their beliefs. Any action that infringes upon this right is unlawful and unacceptable."
Scattered community efforts to help residents lessen the blow of the Republican tax overhaul's limit on a popular deduction are turning into full-fledged rebellion in California and elsewhere across the country.Democratic politicians are pursuing creative _ and some say legally suspect _ maneuvers to help people circumvent a $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes that took effect Jan. 1.In addition to considering a lawsuit to try to block the limit, elected officials are looking at ways to turn those state and local tax payments into charitable contributions that would be fully deductible or convert state income taxes into payroll taxes that would have the effect of giving people the benefit of the deduction.Republicans are already pushing back, raising the potential that Congress or the Internal Revenue Service could move to block the workarounds.The state and local tax deduction had been unlimited and the recent federal change, which is designed to generate billions of dollars a year in additional revenue to the U.S. Treasury, will be a big blow to many residents of California, New York and other states with high income and property taxes.The average state and local deduction taken by the 6.1 million California residents who filed for it in 2015 was $18,438, according to the Tax Policy Center. Only New York and Connecticut had a higher average deduction.Most of the states with significant numbers of residents who would be hit by the change are controlled by Democrats, which has led to accusations that Republicans targeted the deduction for political reasons."It is an economic civil war," declared Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a speech last week. "We must take dramatic action to save ourselves and preserve our state's economy."He's not alone in seeking to blunt the deduction change.While New York is focusing on shifting its income taxes to an employer payroll tax, California state Senate leader Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, has introduced a bill that would give residents a dollar-for-dollar charitable tax credit for state income tax payments into a new California Excellence Fund.Taxpayers would be able to deduct the contributions to the fund that would pay for state services on their federal returns. There were no limits on charitable deductions included in the GOP tax overhaul."I think all blue states around the country are going to do anything in their power to protect their taxpayers and try to bring them tax relief, whether it's through innovative state tax policy or through legal action," de Leon said Tuesday. "I think that every option is on the table."Three New Jersey communities are working in conjunction with Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., to set up their own charitable funds to pay for police, schools and other services. Residents would pay into the funds and receive tax credits instead of paying property taxes. The state's incoming governor, Democrat Phil Murphy, said last week that he wanted to "aggressively" pursue such a plan on a state level.Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy also is exploring the state's options for such changes, spokesman Leigh Appleby said.Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a liberal-leaning Washington, D.C., think tank, has been advocating that states fight back against the Republican bill."The idea of having a state government game the federal income tax, as a general rule, rubs me the wrong way," he said. "Except I think this is really an extraordinary situation."With Republicans, in his view, enacting the limit to hurt Democratic states, "I think it's perfectly reasonable for California and New York to say, 'Is there a way for us to get around this?' " Baker said.Cuomo said New York would go to court to challenge the deduction limit, arguing in part that it amounts to double taxation because some money used to pay state and local taxes is then taxed by the federal government. He vowed his state would "lead the resistance to this injustice."Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, who helped write the tax bill that passed Congress with no Democratic support, said that some state and local officials are "panicked" that "the era of 'tax to the max' is over" because tax increases will be harder to enact now that some residents will be limited in how much they can claim as deductions."My belief is they would be better served, as public officials, in spending less time evading taxes and creating new loopholes in the tax system, and more time becoming more efficient and finding ways to lower taxes on those families and those workers," Brady told reporters Monday.Gary Cohn, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, told Bloomberg TV last week that he understands that state and local officials are trying to help their taxpayers. But administration officials are going to have to evaluate any changes for their effect on the collection of federal taxes, he said.Federal officials stepped in last month after some communities moved to allow residents to prepay 2018 property taxes before the end of last year so they would avoid the new limit. The Internal Revenue Service said those payments would only be deductible if the taxes had already been assessed.An IRS spokesman had no comment Tuesday on the other changes being considered by state and local governments.The IRS already allows people to claim contributions for payments to more than 100 charitable programs in 33 states. Some of them fund state-supported activities such as public schools and college scholarship programs, said Kirk Stark, a University of California, Los Angeles law professor who has studied the issue.He and seven other tax experts released a 44-page paper Monday arguing that states would be allowed to turn tax payments into charitable contributions."There's nothing new here," Stark said. "It's just an attempt to fit it into what the IRS and the courts have consistently blessed over the decades."But Jared Walczak, a senior policy analyst at the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation, predicted the IRS would balk at a large-scale plan designed to circumvent the deduction cap."There is a difference between a few people perhaps gaining something and the IRS turning a blind eye to an entire state of taxpayers misusing the charitable deduction," he said. "There's no actual charitable benefit. The only benefit is to the taxpayer."The strategy of converting state income taxes into an employer payroll tax had a better chance of passing legal muster, although the IRS still could determine that it was "little more than a shell game," Walczak said.The IRS allows companies to deduct taxes directly from a worker's payroll, such as for contributions to unemployment insurance. To circumvent the cap on state and local deductions, a state could turn its income tax into a payroll tax.Instead of paying a worker $100 in a state with a 5 percent income tax, an employer would pay the worker $95 and send the state $5 in a payroll tax. The worker would end up with the same after-tax pay, but the change would have the effect of keeping a full state income tax deduction because only the $95 would be taxed by the federal government.Experts said it would be complicated to put such a plan in place, and workers would have to be sold on the idea that the decrease in their wages is actually to their benefit. Also, some employers might not be able to reduce wages for some workers, such as those under union contracts, even if there's a tax benefit to the workers.States have always had the legal ability to convert to a payroll tax, said Daniel Hemel, an assistant law professor at the University of Chicago. Only after the Republican tax bill might it be worth the effort, he said."If you were a state lawmaker in 2016 and you stood up on the floor of the state Assembly and said, 'I'm going to do this kind of complicated thing,' people would have looked at you like you were crazy," Hemel said. "Now there's a political impetus."
Indian tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas are suing opioid manufacturers and distributors over the epidemic of addiction and overdoses that racks their reservations.Three North and South Dakota tribes filed suit in federal court Monday against two dozen companies. Minnesota's Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe filed a similar suit in December, the same month the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin filed suit against the industries they accuse of minimizing nationwide abuse of prescription narcotics."The opioid epidemic has hit Indian Country particularly hard," said Tim Purdon, former U.S. attorney for North Dakota, one of the attorneys who filed suit this week on behalf of the Rosebud Sioux, Flandreau Santee Sioux, and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribes.The newly filed lawsuits seek compensation for the added costs the tribes are shouldering for everything from law enforcement to health care to child protective services in response to the health crisis."Our tribal communities have endured many challenges and adversities in our history and found a way to survive," Leech Lake Tribal Chairman Faron Jackson Sr. said in a statement last month. "The crisis caused by the proliferation of opiates throughout our communities is the newest threat to our way of life."We hope this lawsuit will help to bring further attention to this major issue and ultimately make sure the major opioid manufacturers, who have put their corporate profit margins over the lives of our people, are held accountable for their actions."Almost 200 communities across the country have filed suit against the companies they say oversold and underegulated opioids, spawning a public health crisis that has taken thousands of lives and ruined countless more. In Minnesota, where opioid overdose deaths have increased by 430 percent since 2000, county attorneys filed suit against the pharmaceutical industry in November.But the industry says it is being scapegoated. "We don't make medicines, market medicines, prescribe medicines, or dispense them to consumers," John Parker, senior vice president of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, said in a statement. The national trade association represents the companies that arrange the storage, transport and delivery of opioid painkillers and other medicines."Given our role, the idea that distributors are solely responsible for the number of opioid prescriptions written defies common sense and lacks understanding of how the pharmaceutical supply chain actually works and how it is regulated."But, he added: "We are ready to have a serious conversation about solving a complex problem and are eager to work with political leaders and all stakeholders in finding forward-looking solutions."
Democrat William M. O'Neill named a Lorain elementary school principal today as his lieutenant governor running mate.Chantelle Lewis, principal of Larkmoor Elementary School, will share a ticket with O'Neill, who will step down later this month as a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court.O'Neill said that Lewis, a 42-year-old African American woman, would help bring balance to his ticket."I gave myself a shopping list about a month ago," O'Neill said, describing his process for selecting a running mate. He said he hadn't met Lewis before that.In addition to bringing racial and gender balance to the ticket, Lewis' background in education also complements O'Neill's legal training and his background as a nurse, he said.Lewis was at work Tuesday morning and unavailable for comment. But in a video on O'Neill's Facebook page, she said she has earned two master's degrees and is working on her doctorate, adding that she is a lifelong educator who bring "common sense focus" to improving and better funding schools.Also in the video, O'Neill blistered the state's "illegal funding system" for producing a "failing education system."Citing Lewis' experience as an East Cleveland City Council member, O'Neill said, "I have no reservations about sending her out there to rural counties. She will warm their hearts."O'Neill, who has said he will step down from the Supreme Court on Jan. 26, had earlier asked another candidate in the race -- former state Rep. Connie Pillich of Montgomery -- to join his ticket, but Pillich turned him down.Also in the Democratic field are former U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, who apparently will announce a running mate on Wednesday, former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton of Copley, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, who last week announced Ohio Board of Education member Stephanie Dodd would join his ticket.Former congressman, Cleveland mayor and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich on Monday designated a treasurer for a possible Democratic run for governor. He told Fox News, his former employer, that he would announce his candidacy next week. But a spokesman said this morning Kucinich had not yet formally decided whether to run.In his Facebook video, O'Neill said Cordray, Schiavoni, Pillich and Sutton have served in the General Assembly without fixing school funding.O'Neill also is making much of his push to legalize recreational marijuana, the tax proceeds from which he says he will use to fight Ohio's opioid epidemic.The large Democratic field is seeking to replace Republican Gov. John Kasich, who faces a term limit.On the Republican side, Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted are running for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci of Wadsworth has chosen Amy Murray -- but is also considering a U.S. Senate run -- while Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor will announce a running mate Wednesday.
Ohio is among a handful of states where voters can be kicked off voter registration rolls after not voting in three federal elections.During oral arguments on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court appeared split on whether that practice violates federal election laws.Once a registered voter skips two years' worth of elections, Ohio mails them a confirmation notice andthen purges voters who dont respond and dont vote for another four years.In 2015 and 2016, Ohio purged 426,781 voters this way.Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who is running for governor this year, argues that the states voter removal policy isnt based on a history of not voting -- its based on whether people respond to the mail confirmation request. However, critics point out that the mail request only occurs because the state first seeks out inactive voters.Its comparable to someone saying, its not my bullet that killed you, its your failure to go to the hospital, says Allegra Chapman, director of voting and elections at Common Cause, a national voting rights advocacy group that argues the Ohio policy is illegal.The Trump administration is on Ohio's side, having reversed the Obama adminstration's stance on the case in August.The case is part of a larger national debate about voting rights that has been heightened by President Donald Trump. In recent years, Republicans have advocated for and passed laws throughout the states that effectively make it harder to vote, especially for minorities, the poor and young people. They argue that voter ID laws and voter-purge policies are meant to reduce voter fraud, while Democrats argue that their intent is to suppress voter turnout. The consensus among most academics and election officials is that voter fraud is a rare occurrence.The hearing took place one week after Trump announced the dissolution of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity that he launched to investigate voter fraud, citing states' refusal to cooperate with its requests.Two federal election laws are at issue in the Ohio case. The first, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993, instructs states to maintain accurate and current voter registration rolls, but also warns states that those list maintenance programs "shall not result in the removal of the name of any person [...] by reason of the person's failure to vote."The second law, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, again calls for state voter registration records that "are accurate and are updated regularly" but clarifies that "no registrant may be removed solely by reason of a failure to vote."At the hearing, many of the justices asked about the legal reasons why a state would send a confirmation notice -- and whether failing to vote is one of them. Did a state need evidence to suggest that a person had moved and, if so, how reliable did that evidence need to be?"Suppose the [Ohio] state statute said that if you have not voted for 20 years, then we're going to send out the notice," said Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. "Would that violate this act?"Paul Smith, the attorney arguing on behalf of A. Philip Randolph Institute and other groups challenging Ohio's law said, yes, because states cannot use failure to vote -- even for 100 years -- as the reason to purge voter rolls.Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Eric Murphy, the state solicitor for Ohio, to justify his state's use of nonvoting as the initial trigger for the purge process."How can we read this statute to permit you to begin a process of disenfranchisingon the basis of that -- with no independent evidence whatsoever -- that the person has moved?"Under federal law, failure to vote cannot be the sole basis for, Murphy said, but "it says nothing about sending a notice."Colorado Elections Director Judd Choate describes the National Association of State Election Directors as a pretty tight group, but on the issue of removing registered voters, it is a bit of a schism in our ranks. In fact, even in Ohio, a group of 36 current and former election officials filed a brief against their own state, noting that the policy may remove eligible voters who move jurisdictions within the state.Choate notes that most states have erred on the side of caution and don't use lack of voting as a means to identify potential ineligible voters. Instead, most compare addresses with the U.S. Postal Service, and a growing number of states participate in the Electronic Registration Information Center, a national data-matching partnership that allows states to compare voter registration records with motor vehicle licensing data and the Social Security Administration master death index list."There is a panoply of methods that you can employ that no one argues are in violation of federal law," he says. "This one [in Ohio] is much closer to the line and may very well be illegal."The voter-purge issue is largely a partisan one among the states. The amicus briefs filed for and against Ohio illustrate that: All 15 state attorneys general defending Ohio are Republicans (with one independent exception), and all 12 state AGs against Ohio are Democrats.Attorneys general for states opposed to the Ohio policy say it punishes populations with lower rates of voter turnout, such as racial minorities and young voters. AGs from states supporting Ohio, meanwhile, say statesuse voter inactivity in assessing the eligibility of voters so long as it is not the sole or deciding factor in removing someone from the rolls.The case was brought by Larry Harmon, a U.S. Navy veteran who didnt vote in the 2009 or 2010 elections and didnt respond to a mailed notice from the states election board. When he went to the polls in November 2015, he learned that he had been removed from the states voter rolls, despite having lived in Ohio for more than 16 years.The Supreme Court has not previously weighed in on the tension between protecting a voter's right not to cast a ballot and a state's duty to keep its voter lists updated. The current division among states suggests policymakers do not know how to reconcile the two competing mandates from Congress.Youve got this push and pull, says Wendy Underhill, a program director for the National Conference of State Legislatures, a national bipartisan organization that filed a brief supporting Ohio. States are probably going to be grateful to get some guidance from the court.
I thought I was used to big conventions. After all, this summer will be my seventh trip to San Diego Comic-Con  the biggest and best pop-culture convention on the planet. More than 160,000 people attend it.

Enter a new reality. This week, Im at CES (the gathering formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. I gotta tell you, CES is like ten Comic-Cons smashed together, shaken violently, and emptied into a venue larger than some asteroids.

Today was my first day, one Ill call the tourist awakens. I only have one appointment, at 5 p.m., so after breakfast, I picked up my press badge at my hotel (a nice convenience), boarded the shuttle bus, and off I went to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

After walking and talking for three hours  and covering about 20 percent of the exhibits  I exited the building. Thats when it hit me. I had been in the South Hall. Just the South Hall. Looming ahead like behemoths from some classic videogame were the Central Hall and the North Hall. Ouch!

OK, into the Central Hall  wait, what??? Im sorry, sir, we cant let anyone in because the power is out. Yes, sir, in all the halls. If you had told me this would happen, I would have prepared to watch a riot unfold. But, no, people actually took it in stride, abandoning the line for the Central Hall and moving north about 40 feet to the lines for Big Daddys Bar-b-Que. Better have cash. Their power is out, too.

Unlike astronomy conventions where Im familiar with every product, my initial tour of CES was at a fairly slow pace, a fact many people who had actual destinations reminded me of as they jostled past me and raced ahead. I couldnt match their pace because I was actually looking at all the displays. If I had to estimate, Im probably unfamiliar with 99 percent of the stuff here. Ooo, is that a new camera? No, its a smart-home controller. Ah, is that a new telescope? No, its a submersible drone.

Still, theres plenty here to draw my attention and that of the magazines readers. Expect several stories and equipment reviews to originate right here during the next few days.
Forget voter ID. The big battlefields in the war over voting rights are now rolls and registration.On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case regarding Ohio's system of voter roll maintenance. And, despite the dissolution last week of a high-profile presidential commission on election integrity and the planned destruction of the records from it, the Trump administration has made it clear that it will continue to investigate possible voter fraud. The responsibility will shift from the commission, which was co-chaired by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, to the Department of Homeland Security.Moving the hunt to agencies can end up being "an even better path forward" than the commission approach, suggests Logan Churchwell, spokesman for the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a conservative group that's active on voting issues. Federal agencies such as Justice, Customs and Border Protection, and Citizenship and Immigration Services will be able to combine and collate their troves of information, he says."These mountains of data have been there for years," Churchwell says. "All that was required was the will to leverage them. It appears we have finally arrived."But some say tasking the homeland security department with investigating voter fraud could be problematic.The information housed at DHS could contain errors and result in haphazard matches that inflate the number of people considered improperly registered to vote, says Jonathan Brater, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, which supports expanding voting rights. DHS servers, for example, contain information about people who at one time were not citizens, perhaps not reflecting the fact that they became citizens -- and thus eligible voters -- at a later time."The information that they have on citizenship is really not suited for this kind of analysis and would take significant retooling," says Barry Burden, director of the elections research center at the University of Wisconsin. "They've not worked with voting data before. They really don't have the infrastructure to do this sort of thing."Progressive groups complain that the quest to find voter fraud is a smokescreen for kicking eligible voters off the rolls. Academic studies have found that instances of in-person voting fraud are vanishingly rare "Now that voter ID laws have been challenged [in court], those who benefit from lower participation are looking for the next thing to keep people out of the democratic process," says Stuart Naifeh, a voting rights lawyer with Demos, a progressive think tank in New York.Progressives say that next thing is voter purging, which is the focus of Ohio's case before the nation's highest court.The case questions the legality of Ohio's approach to keeping its voter registration rolls up to date. When citizens fail to vote in federal elections for two years, the state sends them a letter inquiring whether they're still residing at that address. If they fail to respond, the state can remove them from the voting rolls. In 2015 and 2016, Ohio purged 426,781 voters this way.Critics of the approach argue that the state is violating two federal election laws that make it illegal to purge voters from rolls solely because of inactivity. But supporters, like Robert Popper, director of the election integrity project at Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, argue that "you're not being removed for failing to vote, you're getting a letter for failing to vote."The Justice Department is siding with Ohio in the case -- a reversal from the Obama administration's stance. In June, the agency sent a letter to 44 states, asking about their plans to "remove the names of ineligible voters."Progressives worry that if the Supreme Court rules in Ohio's favor, it will provide a green-light for the administration to call on states to remove voters from the rolls."We are concerned this could lead to action to put pressure on states to purge their voter rolls or make it more difficult for people to register or stay registered to vote," says Brater of the Brennan Center for Justice.Some states wouldn't need convincing: 14 state AGs filed a brief in support of Ohio's voter-purging approach (all Republicans except one independent, and four of whom were a member of the president's disbanded voter fraud commission).It's clear that states are moving in divergent directions when it comes to voting.Nearly half the states are seeking to update their voter registration rolls through a nonprofit known as the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). The states share information about modernizing their systems as well as seeking to identify people who have moved across state lines or died. Participating states are mostly Democratic but do include several Republican-dominated states. Arizona joined the effort on Dec. 27.Meanwhile, more than half the states participate in Crosscheck, a system for comparing voter registration information promulgated by Kobach. The system has been criticized for its error rate, but states that are participating in both Crosscheck and ERIC say that the former gives them greater ability to check duplicate registrations across states.Kobach championed a law in his conservative state of Kansas to require individuals to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, but it's been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and is going to trial in March.At the same time, in Washington state, where Democrats won control of all the political branches in November, a bill was just introduced to allow for same-day registration and automatic registration for voters.If Kobach prevails in his case against the ACLU, the Trump administration may introduce legislation to make proof-of-citizenship a federal policy. But voting security laws that have been introduced in Congress aren't moving swiftly. The outcome of the Supreme Court's Ohio case could change that.Ohio's critics say the case could have an impact not unlike the court's ruling in 2013 that gutted portions of the Voting Rights Act."This is a critical case in terms of whether the National Voter Registration Act and other federal laws will continue to serve their purpose to safeguard voters from purges," says Brater.
A Kansas state lawmaker who made racist statements about blacks and marijuana over the weekend and then apologized resigned his leadership positions in the Legislature on Tuesday.Rep. Steve Alford, R-Ulysses, said in a statement he was immediately resigning from his chairmanship of the House Children and Seniors Committee and as vice-chair of the Child Welfare Task Force.His announcement came after his remarks, made at a legislative coffee event on Saturday, drew widespread condemnation on Monday.At the event he argued African-Americans were predisposed to react the worst to marijuana and that had played a role in the drug's prohibition in the 1930s."One of the reasons why, I hate to say it, the African-Americans, they were basically users and they basically responded the worst off those drugs just because their character makeup, their genetics, and that," Alford said.He apologized in a written statement Monday after initially defending himself and saying he was "about as far from being a racist as I can get.""I was wrong, I regret my comments, and I sincerely apologize to anyone I have hurt," Alford said in his statement Monday.Alford's decision to give up his leadership positions followed questions to House Speaker Ron Ryckman and House Majority Leader Don Hineman over whether he would lose his positions. They didn't answer that question on Monday but did disavow his comments.
In the words of Rep. Lewis

Appeal to U.S. Supreme Court coming

'Partisan war on North Carolina Republicans'

A panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina's election districts for U.S. Congress on Tuesday as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders and gave lawmakers until Jan. 29 to bring them new maps to correct the problem.The ruling comes in cases filed by the League of Women Voters and Common Cause in North Carolina stemming from maps adopted in 2016 during a special legislative session. It throws a new wrinkle and more uncertainty into the 2018 election cycle in North Carolina a month before candidates were scheduled to file for office."We're enormously gratified on behalf of our clients and all voters in North Carolina that no one will have to endure another congressional election under an unconstitutional map," said Allison Riggs, senior voting rights attorney for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, which represented some of the challengers. "The court was clear in demanding a real remedy before the 2018 elections, and we expect the General Assembly to respect that order."The judges -- James A. Wynn, a Barack Obama appointee to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and federal district judges W. Earl Britt, a Jimmy Carter appointee, and William L. Osteen Jr., a George W. Bush appointee -- were unanimous that North Carolina lawmakers under Republican leadership violated the U.S. Constitution's equal-protection clause when they drew maps explicitly to favor their party."On its most fundamental level, partisan gerrymandering violates 'the core principle of republican government . . . that the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around,'" the majority opinion states.The ruling is the first time federal judges have struck down congressional districts as partisan gerrymanders. A Wisconsin case that was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court involved state legislative districts found to be partisan gerrymanders.In North Carolina, Wynn and Britt also found that the 2016 redistricting plan designed to give Republicans wins in 10 of the 13 districts also violated the free speech of the challengers by trying to weaken the voices of Democrats with whom they did not agree. Osteen dissented from his colleagues on that point, but agreed overall that the maps were unconstitutional.The lawmakers, Wynn wrote in the opinion for the majority, "do not dispute that the General Assembly intended for the 2016 Plan to favor supporters of Republican candidates and disfavor supporters of non-Republican candidates. Nor could they. The Republican-controlled North Carolina General Assembly expressly directed the legislators and consultant responsible for drawing the 2016 Plan to rely on 'political data' -- past election results specifying whether, and to what extent, particular voting districts had favored Republican or Democratic candidates, and therefore were likely to do so in the future -- to draw a districting plan that would ensure Republican candidates would prevail in the vast majority of the state's congressional districts."During the legislative session in which the maps were drawn, Rep. David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican who has shepherded the state's recent redistricting efforts, announced that the maps were drawn to give Republicans a large majority. Lewis made his comments after the federal court found congressional districts drawn in 2011 to include unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. In announcing the new maps, Republican lawmakers stated that the race of voters would not be considered in the design of the new districts."I propose that we draw the maps to give a partisan advantage to 10 Republicans and three Democrats because I do not believe it's possible to draw a map with eleven Republicans and two Democrats," Lewis said at the time.At the time, the courts had allowed for some partisan consideration in redistricting, which happens every 10 years after the census shows population shifts. But voting rights organizations have pushed for changes to that, saying modern mapmaking technology has allowed candidates for elected office to choose their voters under new redistricting plans instead of letting voters choose who represents them.The comment by Lewis has provided the underpinnings for a lawsuit that sets North Carolina apart from other partisan gerrymander challenges. The Wisconsin case before the Supreme Court relies more heavily on a proposed statistical formula called "the efficiency gap," which counts the number of votes wasted when voters are shifted into districts where their votes won't matter, either because their party's candidate can't win or is already sure to win.The North Carolina challengers argue, like the challengers in Wisconsin, that the maps drawn discriminate against Democratic candidates and voters because of their political beliefs. They say the lawmakers who either "packed" them into a single district or "cracked" their district into multiple districts to weaken their influence are robbing them of free speech and equal protection rights because their opinions differ from the lawmakers in power.Republicans contend that such arguments and formulas are not for the courts to decide -- that redistricting is a legislative duty in North Carolina.The lawmakers, Wynn wrote, "do not argue -- and have never argued -- that the 2016 Plan's intentional disfavoring of supporters of non-Republican candidates advances any democratic, constitutional, or public interest. Nor could they. Neither the Supreme Court nor any lower court has recognized any such interest furthered by partisan gerrymandering -- 'the drawing of legislative district lines to subordinate adherents of one political party and entrench a rival party in power.'"News of the ruling brought quick applause from Democrats and swift criticism from Republicans.Legislative leaders plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a spokeswoman for Mitchell County Republican state Sen. Ralph Hise, who along with Lewis has led redistricting efforts in the legislature.Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under Obama and now is chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said in a statement that the ruling "was just the latest example of the courts telling state legislators in North Carolina that citizens should be able to pick their representatives, instead of politicians picking their voters. It's long past time for the legislature to produce fair maps that represent the diverse communities of North Carolina.""Republicans comprise 30 percent of registered voters in North Carolina, yet they crafted a congressional map that would ensure Republican success in 10 of 13 districts, or 76 percent," U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat from Wilson, said in a statement. "The Republicans made this case relatively simple when they admitted in court that the congressional map was drawn for partisan political advantage."U.S. Rep. David Price, a Democrat from Chapel Hill, also praised the ruling. "No state has suffered more than North Carolina from extreme partisan gerrymandering by Republicans -- both after the 2010 census and in 2016, after their first map was ruled an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. But the current map is still designed to produce a 10-3 Republican advantage among congressional districts, in a state that is equally divided politically," Price said in a statement in which he described the ruling as one with "national implications."Dallas Woodhouse, executive director of the North Carolina Republican Party, sent out a tweet criticizing Wynn. "It is incredibly disappointing activist Judge Jim Wynn is waging a personal, partisan war on North Carolina Republicans," Woodhouse said on Twitter.Wynn has been on a panel of federal judges that has ruled against the state in other redistricting cases that found districts to be unconstitutional racial gerrymanders and who wrote a critical opinion striking down a 2013 election law overhaul and voter ID law, saying it with near "surgical precision" targeted African-American voters, who often support Democrats.Woodhouse added to his tweet later: "It is Now very clear that Judge Wynn has decided that @ncgop should not be allowed to draw election districts under any circumstances under any set of rules. This is a hostile takeover of the #NCGA and legislative bodies across the U.S."North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin called the ruling a "major victory for North Carolina and people across the state whose voices were silenced by Republicans' unconstitutional attempts to rig the system to their partisan advantage.""Republicans have shown time and time again they are more interested in drawing themselves into power than representing the best interest of their constituents," Goodwin said in a statement. "It's time the General Assembly put partisanship aside and draw fair, non-partisan maps that give North Carolina voters a voice."
The Vermont Legislature made history Wednesday, becoming the first in the U.S. to approve a bill put forward by lawmakers to legalize recreational marijuana.The Democratic-controlled Legislature passed H.511, which allows individuals 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to grow up to two plants to maturity. Republican Gov. Phil Scott has indicated he will sign the measure into law later this month.To date, eight states _ including California, Colorado and Nevada _ have legalized recreational marijuana, but have done so through voter-approved ballot measures.In Vermont, the issue of legal marijuana has been debated for several years, with most polls showing widespread support from voters.Other state legislatures considering legalizing pot this year include Rhode Island and Connecticut.In New Jersey, Democratic Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has pledged to sign legislation that would allow for the possession and sale of recreational marijuana. Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature there have said a bill could be passed by early spring.The vote Wednesday in Vermont comes a week after the Trump administration announced it would scrap an Obama-era policy offering legal shelter for state-sanctioned marijuana sales.
Description

GIS - 10 January, 2018: The 4,000 police officers assigned to the Emergency Response Unit, the Traffic Branch and patrol in Mauritius will soon be equipped with body cameras. This initiative is in line with Governments vision to bring the Police close to the public and to reinforce law and order in the country. The 4,000 police officers assigned to the Emergency Response Unit, the Traffic Branch and patrol in Mauritius will soon be equipped with body cameras. This initiative is in line with Governments vision to bring the Police close to the public and to reinforce law and order in the country.

This announcement was made on 8 January 2018 by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mario Nobin, during his annual address to high officials of the police force at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture in Phoenix. He elaborated on his expectations for the police force and the roadmap for an enhanced quality service by the Mauritius Police Force.

Mr Nobin stated that besides body cameras, police officers will also be equipped with tactical belts and provision will be made for additional handcuffs, expandable batons, and dashboard cameras. He added that drones are already operational since a few weeks and are being manned by the Traffic Branch. The aim, he pointed out, is to track those drivers who violate the law and traffic regulations as well as promote law abiding behaviour.

He also made a presentation on four focus areas for the period 2018 to 2020. They are: cracking down on crime through proactive and reactive initiatives; creating safer neighbourhoods through active problem identification and collaborative problem approaches; strengthening partnership through a multi-agency approach; and equipping the workforce for the future through training and supervision and enhancing officers safety.

Speaking about enhancing service delivery, the Commissioner of Police recalled that 23 Police units have been ISO certified namely the National Coast Guard, the Central Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Mobile Force, and the Police Headquarters. The target, he highlighted, is that all divisional headquarters should be ISO certified in 2018.

In his address, Mr Nobin elaborated on increasing the speed of intervention through operational effectiveness namely air operational capabilities, land emergency service response vehicles, and sea capabilities. The honing of investigation techniques and detection skills was also highlighted with 1,600 police officers having been trained overseas, 45 on criminal investigation, 2,700 on the Police and Criminal Justice Bill, and 300 officers having followed the Leadership and Management course at the University of Mauritius.

The Commissioner of Police also spoke about ethical behaviour, culture of integrity, promotion of law abiding behaviour, transparency and openness, the combat against trafficking and use of illegal drugs . He also expects commanders to cultivate productive working relationships as well as exemplify drive and integrity.
Description

GIS  10 January, 2018 : The Hexavalent Vaccine which provides immunity against six important preventable childhood diseases with a single injection at each visit is being introduced in the National Expanded Programme of Immunisation.

The six-in-one vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenza type B and hepatitis B will be administered to babies in a 6-, 10-, 14-week schedule along with the pneumococcal vaccine. The advantage of the Hexavalent Vaccine is that it reduces the number of injections needed by ensuring protection against more diseases with fewer injections, injected separately. A dose of the Hexavalent Vaccine costs around Rs 3,000.

The launching of the vaccine was held yesterday at Dr Mahmoodkhan Hyderkhan Mediclinic in Plaine Verte in the presence of the Minister of Health and Quality of Life, Dr Anwar Husnoo, and the Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Mrs Roubina Jadoo-Jaunbocus. In his address, the Health Minister underscored the importance of vaccination as a key effective health care intervention to protect children and prevent child mortality. The introduction of the vaccine follows the recommendation of the World Health Organisation for combination vaccines for childhood immunization, he said.

Speaking on vaccination coverage in Mauritius, Dr Husnoo stated that over 97% of the children population receive recommended vaccines is over 97%. He listed out the initiatives taken by the Ministry to uphold this situation namely through continuous awareness campaigns for pregnant women and mothers, and provision of vaccines free of charge. Dr Husnoo urged the population to take full advantage of of the Influenza Vaccination which will be available during the upcoming campaign in March and April.

The Minister moreover seized the opportunity to elaborate on the main projects in the pipeline for 2018. They include the coming into operation of the first intensive care unit for children and the inauguration of a neonatal intensive care unit at Dr Abdool Gaffoor Jeetoo Hospital; ongoing training for nurses and doctors; and the opening of a health centre in St Francois in Port Louis.
LAS VEGAS  Municipal leaders may be shifting their smart city focus to residents and embracing a variety of partners, according to experts at one of the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show panels on the topic.In a departure from the traditional CES fanfare, a new smart cities track offers a glimpse at the increasingly popular technology collaborations between the public and private sectors. Speakers at the "Smart Cities: Thriving in the Future" session agreed that municipalities seeking to up their game by deploying technology are, and should be, changing how they approach the matter.For example, Hardik Bhatt, the former Illinois state CIO who joined Amazon Web Services in September , explained that the smart city thrust has changed during the past five to six years from being sensor-centric and technology-driven to being more data-driven and citizen-centric.Because what smart cities is going to do for you is create more data. You need to learn how to use the data that you already have, Bhatt said in an interview following a panel discussion about Marrying the Vision and Practical Realities of Smart Cities.Bhatt now serves as AWS leader of the smart cities and mobility group focused on state and local government and worldwide public sector.But you made it sound too easy," said moderator Stephen Goldsmith , director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. "How do you deal with recalcitrant or the slow take-up rates of agency heads who are sitting on a huge amount of data?The answer in Illinois, said Bhatt, was to create an enterprise data-sharing agreement that covered agencies ranging from public health to juvenile justice. The policy gave leaders 10 days to explain why they couldnt share their data, then broke those silos of data and enabled sharing.In Columbus, Ohio, officials brought a citizens-first approach to bear on the issue of infant mortality, panelist Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, said during the discussion. Whats absolutely critical is that you have interoperability that walks across platforms, said Fischer, whose organization is comprised of the citys top business leaders.If all you have is public data  then youll only go so far. What were trying to do is put as much integrated data out in an open exchange that can be used by government, but also marry it with the private sector, Fischer added.During an earlier session, Smart Cities, Smart Nations, Rohit Aggarwala, head of urban systems at Sidewalk Labs , a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, said the physical and digital worlds must, in a sense, merge and be better integrated as agencies use tech to improve service.Sidewalk Labs is partnering with the city of Toronto to create Sidewalk Toronto , a district on its Eastern Waterfront. Its urban systems leader said the company thinks about a city as a platform because like a great platform, what a city is, is a invitation to co-create with users.A city feels authentic after a generation or two of people have lived and worked there and made it their own. And so what we are committed to do is think about how could you initially build a place that is meant to be co-created by the people who live and work there, Aggarwala said.You use technology to make public spaces more useable and more personable, he added.Despite a host of projects and work with data in cities from Cincinnati to Louisville, that process is moving slower in the U.S. outside population centers like New York City, Boston and Los Angeles.Goldsmith, a regular contributor , said afterward that Bhatts description of a shift to a citizen-centered smart cities focus may be aspirational. And not met in very many places, primarily because of the way government is organized.One potential obstacle standing between cities and smart technology is funding, despite connections with the private sector and public-private partnerships.Private-sector partners, Goldsmith said, "want a return on their investment, so governments going to have to figure out how its going to buy, which means its going to have to figure out how it saves money and redeploys the money."
(TNS)  At least 13 people were killed Tuesday when a rainstorm sent mud and debris coursing through Montecito neighborhoods and left rescue crews to scramble through clogged roadways and downed trees to search for victims.The deluge that washed over Santa Barbara County early Tuesday was devastating for a community that was ravaged by the Thomas fire only a few weeks earlier. In just a matter of minutes, pounding rain overwhelmed the south-facing slopes above Montecito and flooded a creek that leads to the ocean, sending mud and massive boulders rolling into residential neighborhoods, according to Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason.At least 25 other people were injured, authorities said at an afternoon press conference. Crews rescued 50 people by air and dozens more from the ground.Its going to be worse than anyone imagined for our area, Eliason said in a phone interview Tuesday. Following our fire, this is the worst-case scenario.The deaths came after a heavy band of rain struck around 2:30 a.m., causing waist-high mudflows, Eliason said.Late Tuesday, about 300 people remained stuck in their homes in Montecitos Romero Canyon neighborhood after impassable roads halted rescue operations, officials said.First-responders plan to launch aerial rescues at daybreak for those residents, all of whom are safe.So far there isnt a concern about anybody being in any potential danger in that area, said Rosie Narez, a spokeswoman for the multi-agency storm response. Theres no way in or out, so I mean, at some point  youre going to run out of stuff, so youre going to need help.Authorities said the residents are in a mandatory evacuation zone.The mudslide struck a section of the city that is south of the Thomas fires burn area and was not subject to a mandatory evacuation, Eliason said. Rescue personnel have yet to even make it north of Highway 192, which is closer to soil scorched by last months wildfire. Burned areas are less capable of absorbing water, making them even more susceptible to flooding and mudslides.Officials had no estimate on how many people could be trapped or how many homes were damaged. The search for survivors was still underway Tuesday afternoon, with many places inaccessible.Stationed in Hawaii for the Navy, Tyler McManigal, 28, was notified Tuesday that his father and brother were swept away by flooding in Montecito.In a phone interview, he said he knew very little else about what happened.McManigal said when the flash flood and mud flow began, his 64-year-old father, John, woke up and rushed over to wake up his brother, Connor, 23. The pair were unable to make it out of their home in the 300 block of Hot Springs Road, just north of Olive Mill Road.The torrent of brown liquid mixed with branches, rocks, boulders and other debris carried away the family home  along with McManigals brother and father."They found my brother probably three-quarters of a mile away, south of where the house is, on the 101 Freeway," he said, adding that Connor was taken to a local hospital."My brother is OK, he said.But his father, who has six children, is yet to be found, said McManigal, who is trying to get back home.The founder of St. Augustine Academy in Ventura was among those killed early Tuesday when a powerful mudslide swept him and his wife from their Montecito home.Roy Rohter was identified by officials at Thomas Aquinas College, from which his daughter graduated in 2000. His wife, Theresa, was rescued and is in stable condition, officials said.Friends remembered Rohter as an energetic leader and generous benefactor of the college.Roy Rohter was a man of strong faith and a great friend of Catholic education, Michael F. McLean, president of the college, said in a statement posted on the schools website. He played a pivotal role in the lives of countless young Catholic students  students who came to a deeper knowledge and love of Christ because of his vision, commitment and generosity.Michael Van Hecke, headmaster of St. Augustine, said in a statement that Rohter has done so much for so many people and pro-life and Catholic education causes.  Thousands have been blessed by the Rohters friendship and generosity.Emergency crews spent the first hours of light making rescues in voluntary evacuation zones near Montecito Creek north of U.S. 101.In the 300 block of Hot Springs Road, crews rescued six people and a dog after four homes were destroyed. The mud lifted one home off of its foundation and carried it into trees, where it then collapsed, Eliason said. Firefighters used the jaws of life to cut their way into the home where a firefighter heard muffled cries for help from a 14-year-old girl, Eliason said.A rescue dog pinpointed the girls location and two hours later, the mud-covered girl was pulled free. A second 14-year-old girl was also rescued from the same neighborhood and carried from ankle-high mud in a basket by half a dozen firefighters.The U.S. Coast Guard also sent rescue helicopters into the area Tuesday morning, hoisting several people from collapsed homes or rooftops that stood above swirling mud and water. Rescue personnel were also able to save a young boy who was swept more than half a mile south from his house after the building was lifted from its foundation in Montecito, authorities said.The boy was found alive under a U.S. 101 overpass, authorities said. But his father remains unaccounted for.On Hot Springs Road on Tuesday afternoon, a dozen sheriffs deputies carried a body on a gurney from a collapsed house as muddy water raced down the street. The deputies surrounded the body in silence for several moments before placing it gently into an emergency vehicle.According to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, the highest preliminary rainfall total appeared to register at roughly 5 inches in a gauge north of Ojai in Ventura County, in the burn area of the Thomas fire, which forced evacuations and destroyed homes last month. With heavy showers still forecast, flash flood warnings remained in effect for Santa Barbara County and southern Ventura County through Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.The 101 Freeway was shut down in both directions for more than 30 miles in the Thomas fire burn area because of flooding and debris flow, spanning an area from Santa Barbara to Ventura, according to the California Highway Patrol. Sections of routes 33 and 150 were also closed in Ventura County, according to the Sheriffs Department. There was no estimate for when the roadways might reopen, a California Department of Transportation spokesman said Tuesday afternoon.In Los Angeles, one person was killed when a big rig overturned in the northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway near Los Feliz, said Saul Gomez, public information officer for the California Highway Patrols Southern Division. All northbound lanes were closed as of 4 a.m., though Gomez said police were hoping to reopen the roadway by 8 a.m.The victim, who was not identified, was approximately 60 years old, Gomez said. No one else was injured. While the accident happened as rain fell across Los Angeles County, Gomez said he could not confirm the crash was storm-related.The fatal crash was one of hundreds that occurred during the downpour. Between 5 and 9 a.m. Tuesday, there were 275 traffic collisions reported on Los Angeles-area freeways, the California Highway Patrol said. There were only 30 during the same time period a week ago.Santa Barbara County officials evacuated nearly 7,000 residents from foothill communities shortly before the heaviest surge hit the area, according to Sheriffs Office spokeswoman Kelly Hoover.About 3 a.m., she said, the storm became ferocious.We just had a deluge, a power surge of rain. And we had a report of a structure fire burning in the Montecito area, the San Ysidro area. And it just kept going downhill from there, she said. We have people stuck in their homes, stuck in their cars. Theres downed power lines, flooded roadways, debris.Hoover said the shutdown of the 101 Freeway was heavily hindering rescue efforts.Theres no way to get from Ventura here, no way for us to get south, Hoover said. Were encouraging people to stay off the roads if theyre in an evacuation area.By 8:30 a.m., the countys dispatch center had at least 50 calls pending, she said.Santa Barbara County officials put a boil water notice in effect for the entire Montecito Water District on Tuesday afternoon.In Los Angeles County, there was mudslide activity on Country Club Drive in Burbank, where police ordered evacuations of all homes east of Via Montana on Tuesday morning. The Police Department released footage of water surging across a roadway and urged people not to attempt to drive over it. Some vehicles were picked up and moved by the surge, and a few homes suffered minor damage, but no one had been injured as of 1 p.m., according to Sgt. Derek Green, a Burbank police spokesman.The torrent of mud and debris sheared at least three fire hydrants, pumping another 130,000 gallons of water onto the debris flow, said Bill Mace, an assistant general manager of water systems for Burbank Water and Power. The department was able to cut off the pressure to each hydrant, but 14 homeowners will be without water for at least two days, Mace said.Country Club Drive residents Allie Vonnacher, 17, and her mom, Heidi Donato-Fennell, 42, said they awoke to the sight of several cars flowing down the street, along with power lines, trees and mailboxes.Its just surreal how powerful nature is, Donato-Fennell said. You just hope it stays contained in the street and it doesnt become life-threatening.Surges also washed out Topanga Canyon Boulevard north of Pacific Coast Highway, and sections of the 110 Freeway were closed because of flooding. The Los Angeles Fire Department had to launch a swift-water rescue to aid a man and a dog trapped in rising water near the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, and a Los Angeles police cruiser became mired in a debris flow on La Tuna Canyon Road, according to authorities. The officer was uninjured and walked out of the vehicle. The cruiser was in the process of being dug out of the mud with a backhoe early Tuesday.International travelers arriving at Los Angeles International Airport also had to be diverted from Terminal 2 on Tuesday morning, after the customs area became flooded, the airport said on Twitter.The CHP also said heavy rains likely contributed to a crash that left one person dead on Highway 126 in Ventura County, about two miles from the Los Angeles County line, on Monday afternoon. One woman died and two others were injured in the five-car crash, the agency said.The National Weather Service was reporting rainfall totals of up to 5 inches in Ventura County and 3.3 inches in Santa Barbara County as of 11 a.m. Nearly 1 inches of rain had fallen in Bel-Air, which could be susceptible to mudslides and debris flow because of damage caused by the Skirball fire last month.The storm spared some areas that were affected by last months blazes. Early Tuesday afternoon, evacuation orders for neighborhoods in the burn areas of the Creek and Fish fires were lifted, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.In Montecito, some residents said they had shrugged off dire warnings about the rainstorm before waking up to the morning mess.I woke up ready this morning to laugh and scoff at all the gloom-and-doom predictions, said Dominic Shiach, 50. Its actually way worse than I thought it was going to be.Shiach wore a navy raincoat as he walked Archie, his 3-year-old West Highland terrier, down Sycamore Canyon Road on Tuesday morning.Amber Anderson with the Santa Barbara Incident Management Team said there were about 75 people who called for evacuation help.Marc Phillips realized he should have listened to emergency officials as he trudged down East Valley Road in mud-soaked jeans.They were right, he said, pointing to a place where residences had been knocked from their foundations. It looks like there was never a house there, but it was.Livingston reported from Montecito. Queally, Serna and Vives reported from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Alene Tchekmedyian contributed to this report.2018 the Los Angeles TimesVisit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) - Gov. Tom Wolf took unprecedented action Wednesday in issuing a disaster declaration to combat the heroin and opioid epidemic devastating Pennsylvania families on a daily basis.The public health declaration is the first-of-its kind in the state, officials said.I do not take this action lightly, but we know that this crisis has taken far too many lives, broken too man families and communities, and has gone on for far too long, Wolf said during a press conference in Harrisburg. We cannot allow it to continue.Data shared by Wolf Wednesday shows 5,260 Pennsylvanians died from drug overdose in 2017. A year earlier, more than 4,600 residents died of overdoses, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.Those that we have lost are not just numbers, he said.The declaration relaxes some regulations that have been roadblocks to help addicted residents and their families. It will expire in 90 days as required by the state constitution, but can be extended.Immediately, the declaration allows EMS workers to leave behind the opioid reversal drug naloxone when they respond to an overdose and the subject refused to go to an emergency room.This declaration gives EMS agencies another tool in terms in saving lives, said Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania's acting secretary of health and physician general.She said naloxone has saved more than 5,700 lives over the past three years.The delectation also gives registered nurses and nurse practitioners the ability to begin admitting patients for drug treatment without doctors being present.Wolf's action creates an Opioid Command Center at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, to foster better coordination t among state police and departments of Health, and Drug and Alcohol, and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.Seven other states, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Virginia, have already made similar declarations.Other components of Wolf's cations include: Expanding access within state government to data from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program , Allowing for the immediate temporary rescheduling of all fentanyl derivatives to align with the federal DEA schedule Allowing pharmacists to partner with other organizations to increase access to naloxone Waiving annual licensing requirements for high-performing drug and alcohol treatment facilities Waiving fees for birth certificates for addicts to increase access to treatment.Levine said the declaration allows the health department to make overdoses and cases where babies are born in withdrawal reportable to the state when people survive. Most overdose data is only available in cases of death, she said, describing the opioid problem as the worst public health crises we have faced in Pennsylvania in more than a generation.It's critical to emphasize that addiction and opioid use disorders are diseases, not a moral failing, Levine said. Treatment works. Recovery is possible.The governor acknowledged the disaster emergency status is not a silver bullet, but another way to try and fight the opioid epidemic.The numbers again are staggering,the impact is devastating, he said. We cannot allow it to continue.Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7991, bschmitt@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @Bencschmitt.2018 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)Visit The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.triblive.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Shore up the Highway Trust Fund with a reliable, user-based, long-term funding stream.

Spend the $9 billion balance in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to deepen ports and harbors.

Quickly upgrade aging locks and dams.

Eliminate the maintenance backlog of transit and passenger rail systems.

Develop a plan to accelerate the implementation of NextGen air traffic management technology.

Find incentives to continue record levels of private capital reinvestment into railroad infrastructure.

Promote new pipeline investments.

Upgrade and modernize drinking and wastewater infrastructure.

Develop broadband infrastructure.

(TNS)  WASHINGTON  Americas manufacturers are urging President Donald Trump to make good on a campaign promise to find money to repair the nations highways, airports, dams and bridges.The National Association of Manufacturers, which represents 12 million people, sent Trump a letter Monday asking him to move forward on a bipartisan proposal.The infrastructure investments of the 1950s and 1960s brought tremendous economic benefits, built strong communities, improved productivity and competitiveness and allowed manufacturing to grow and put people to work in solid middle-class jobs, said Jay Timmons, NAMs president and CEO, in the letter, which was obtained by McClatchy. Today, however, as more and more of our infrastructure crumbles, it is not keeping up with modern demands for safety and innovation, nor is it giving American workers the tools they need to compete with the rest of the world.The letter comes after Trump hosted Republican leaders at Camp David to discuss the partys legislative priorities before the midterm elections, which could include action on an infrastructure plan as well as welfare reform.While campaigning for president, Trump promised a job-creating $1 trillion infrastructure bill within his first 100 days in office. But that aggressive goal was not met. His first budget proposal did include $200 billion for infrastructure.Now, manufacturers who praised Trump for the tax reform bill that Republicans passed late last year want the president and GOP leaders to take up infrastructure.But Trump may find opposition among some Republicans who may oppose new government spending and Democrats who may not want to work with Trump, especially after the success of the GOP tax bill. Last year, Senate Democrats proposed their own $1 trillion plan to fund infrastructure projects over a 10-year period. Democrats say their proposal would create more than 15 million jobs.The spending plans are similar but Trump talked of paying for the plan with tax credits and public-private partnerships, while Democrats suggested using federal dollars.NAMs proposal, Building to Win, calls for ending funding uncertainty and streamlining the permitting process, as well as other goals:Trump reportedly told Republican leaders at Camp David that using public-private partnerships is not an effective way to fund infrastructure projects, despite urging them to do so during the campaign.On Friday, Trump tweeted his support for a proposal by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to pay for infrastructure projects with foreign aid withheld from Pakistan.NAM is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states.
(TNS)  Let's just call them Generation Net. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester had wrapped up a presentation to Billings high school students and opened the floor for questions when the subject of net neutrality shot up like an urgently raised hand.The public generally takes note of Internet politics, but for the 25-and-younger crowd that's known only a dot-com world, any suggestion of government action adversely affecting it is a major concern."I think it's everybody, and people want the Internet the way it's always been," Tester said. "The best example I have is actually Billings West, when I was there meeting with one of their senior civics classes and the first three questions were on net neutrality."Tester and his Montana Republican counterparts, Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Greg Gianforte, are being lobbied hard by constituents worried about the Internet changing for the worse as a result of a Federal Communications Commission decision in December to end Obama-era net neutrality rules.The rules in use since 2015 were to prevent Internet service providers from blocking websites or charging companies like Facebook, Netflix and Amazon more for delivering data-rich products like video at functional speeds. Net neutrality treats the Internet more like a regulated utility with terms for equal access.Senate Democrats are pushing to undo the FCC action by way of a Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress, with a simple majority vote, to thwart regulation changes. Tester supports overturning the FCC rule when the opportunity comes. With Alabama Democrat Sen. Doug Jones seated, Republicans have only a two-vote advantage in the Senate. Democrats assert that they can peel off two Republican votes and keep net neutrality on the books. Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is gathering signatures to force a vote.There's more to the fight than congressional review. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has promised a lawsuit challenging the procedure leading up to the net neutrality repeal. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox won't decide whether to join the lawsuit until there is something to look at, said spokesman Eric Sell. There's isn't a lawsuit to consider just yet, however, and the Montana AG is already questioning whether the FCC erred in a way that could be challenged successfully.Daines told The Gazette the Democrats' efforts to repeal the FCC's net neutrality ruling is a stunt -- one that isn't likely to work. A Senate vote might be close, but a congressional review vote in the House, where Republicans hold a strong majority, is unlikely to favor a net neutrality repeal. President Donald Trump is likely to veto any CRA resolution that reaches his desk.The Internet was doing fine before net neutrality, Daines said."In terms of when the Internet became more broadly available, it is about 25 years old, for most of us," Daines said. "For 23 of those years, the Internet had thrived. Prices have gone down, speeds have gone up. It is a tremendous testimony to innovation and the power of technology. Net neutrality did not exist for those years. The Internet thrived without it. And then President Obama's FCC and Tom Wheeler, the chairman, put in place utility-style, heavy-handed regulations. That's what net neutrality is, and I think that is a big mistake."Gianforte said much the same as Daines in a Wednesday email to The Gazette."The Internet flourished for 20 years, creating good-paying jobs and leading to innovative companies like the one Susan and I started in Bozeman. But then about two years ago, the Obama administration imposed regulations on the Internet that were a solution looking for a problem that didn't exist," Gianforte said. "Following adoption of these Obama Internet regulations, investment in broadband dropped for two years in a row. The FCC's recent decision restores the open, free Internet that existed two years ago and continues consumer protections out of the Federal Trade Commission."Daines and Gianforte aren't the only elected officials from Bozeman to view ditching net neutrality favorably. Public Service Commissioner Roger Koopman issued a rare statement supporting the FCC decision the day of its issue.Koopman asserted that competition among Internet service providers was doing the work net neutrality attempted to fix. He said much the same when contacted by The Gazette this week."It's paradoxical that the loudest voices for net neutrality are Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. All enjoyed massive growth under the light touch approach to regulating the Internet. Now that these companies have secured their market share, they're eager to use the forceful hand of government to insulate themselves from competition," Koopman said in an email. "While I respect the opinion of some that questionable trade practices may exist, adopting a uniform set of federal rules based on a law written in the monopolistic, pre-Internet days of dial telephones and Ma Bell is not the answer. Competition and freedom is."There were pre-Obama rules on the books to assure Internet fairness. The FCC in 2005 issued a policy statement guaranteeing customers the right to access whatever lawful content they wanted. And to be able to access the Internet with whatever devices they wanted provided the devices didn't harm the network. This was the beginning of the smartphone and tablet era, as well as the explosion in applications for smart devices.There is a need for the laws governing Internet neutrality, said Kevin Hamm of Treasure State Internet, though it's hard to see large service providers throttling down the speeds of other companies' products without in turn being throttled down by others in retaliation. Treasure State Internet is a small Internet service provider in Helena with some of the fastest speeds in the state. The backbone that provides Internet service across the country requires the multiple broadband companies share resources. In the sharing, there's incentive to play nice, Hamm said.That doesn't mean throttling hasn't happened, Hamm said. Comcast and Netflix competed offline a decade ago in the DVD rental world. The cable company partnered with Blockbuster to create a competitor to the DVD movie mail service that launched Netflix. Netflix won the DVD war and transitioned into a video-streaming service that Comcast forced to pay a fee for set-top box distribution. Netflix cried foul, citing net neutrality rules.Netflix won the battle, and Comcast earned the wrath of customers who wanted Netflix.There will be laws governing the Internet companies in net neutrality's absence, Hamm said. Namely, corporate law favoring shareholders, not customers."The legal requirement for corporations is to make money for their shareholders," Hamm said. "They are legally obligated to find a way to make the most money."Other Montana companies have come out in support of ending net neutrality. Missoula-based Blackfoot Telecommunications Group joined small telecoms in December to urge Congress not to repeal the FCC decision to end net neutrality. The telecoms argued the net neutrality rules were discouraging investment in broadband infrastructure.It will be months before Democrats try to repeal the FCC's ending of net neutrality. FCC rule-making first has to appear in the Federal Register, after which a few months will pass before Congress can act. Tester said there could be action in late spring.Hamm said Internet users will have to fight to keep net neutrality in the meantime.
A recent project in Rome has created the first bionic hand with a sense of touch that can be used outside of a laboratory. The technology is the result of a collaboration of specialists in engineering, neuroscience, surgery, electronics and robotics from Italy, Germany and Switzerland.Almerina Mascarello, a partial amputee who lost her left hand in an accident, used the hand for six months with positive results.It worked very well with her, she learned to master the technology soon, Silvestro Micera, translational neuroengineering professor at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne School of Engineering, told Digital Trends The fingers on the hand convey information about the softness or firmness of a surface/object to a backpack carried by the wearer, which then transmits that information to tiny electrodes implanted in their upper arm. These electrodes communicate that information with the brain.We translate the information recorded by the artificial sensors in the hand into stimuli delivered to the nerves, Micera said. The information is then understood by the brain, which makes the patient feeling pressure at different fingers.Going forward, the team hopes to reduce the size of the technology so that it could one day be made available commercially.
(TNS)  RALEIGH  North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced on Monday that he planned to investigate Uber as part of his offices attempts to strengthen consumer protections against data breaches.The announcement came up during a news conference in which Stein, a Democrat, teamed up with Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican, to advocate for legislation that would require companies that experience data breaches to notify consumers more quickly.Saine said he plans to introduce the proposal during the General Assemblys short session which begins in May. He hopes to gain support from both parties.Obviously with the attorney general and I before you, its already a bipartisan effort, Saine said at a news conference on Monday.Last year, according to Stein, more than 5.3 million North Carolinians were estimated to have been affected by a data breach.This number is staggering and unacceptable, Stein said.Mecklenburg County was the victim of a ransomware attack last month. Hackers demanded $23,000 in bitcoin to release the countys data, but county officials had backups of the information and did not pay. Duke Energy also recently announced a potential breach of more than 300,000 customers billing information.Uber recently acknowledged a massive data breach, but it took the company more than a year to let its customers know.That is certainly not a reasonable time frame to let someone know that their information has been breached, Saine said. Weve looked at practices all across the United States and what different states are doing, and well certainly combine that into the bill.Stein said scams and cyber attacks spiked in 2017.The most commonly stolen information includes full names, dates of birth and Social Security, driver license, and credit card numbers.Last year in North Carolina, there were over 1,000 breaches  1,022  which is an increase of 15 percent from 2016. That affected 5.3 million North Carolinians, Stein said.In addition to forcing companies to reveal breaches on a more timely basis, the proposed legislation also would make it easier for consumers to get credit reports and freeze their credit if their information had been compromised.
Michael Schumacher's famous kart circuit in Kerpen looks set to close.

The site, about 30 kilometres from Cologne, has been earmarked for coal mining by the German company RWE from 2020.

"There will be no new kart track," Michael's brother Ralf, who like the seven time world champion began his racing career in Kerpen, told Kolner Express newspaper.

"The joint search with RWE has not led to a new location.

"It's a shame," the former Williams and Toyota driver added. "Here, tradition and successful youth promotion are dying at the same time."

Michael Schumacher owns two thirds of the track, and his manager Sabine Kehm commented: "The family is up to date with developments."

(GMM)
Kevin Magnussen's continuing presence in F1 will help a bid to secure a place on the annual race calendar for Denmark, race officials have admitted.

BT newspaper reports that F1 chief executive Chase Carey is meeting with potential race promoters in Copenhagen on Wednesday to discuss a race for 2020.

F1's only Danish competitor is Haas driver Magnussen, and race investor Helge Sander admitted it would help the bid if the 25-year-old's F1 career continues.

"It is clearly an advantage if we have a Dane (in F1). But even if there isn't a Dane, interest for formula one in Denmark is generally great," he said.

"Of course I would prefer if there is at least one Dane, but it is not crucial."

(GMM)
At CES, NVIDIA outlined its functional safety architecture for NVIDIA DRIVE, its AI autonomous vehicle platform, which uses redundant and diverse functions to enable vehicles to operate safely, even in the event of faults related to the operator, environment or systems.

The NVIDIA DRIVE architecture enables automakers to build and deploy self-driving cars and trucks that are functionally safe and can be certified to international safety standards, such as ISO 26262. NVIDIA DRIVE provides a holistic safety platform that includes process, technologies and simulation systems, including:
The Municipality of Anchorages (MOA) Public Transportation Department (PTD) will put a new 40-foot Proterra Catalyst E2 electric/battery powered bus on trial next week. The bus will begin serving routes for the general public for a four-month trial period.

The four-month trial period will test how the bus performs in winter weather, how cold temperatures affect the battery life and whether its feasible to pursue an electric bus fleet in the future. PTD partnered with MOAs Solid Waste Services (SWS) to lease the bus. SWS will also be monitoring its performance to help establish the feasibility of electric garbage trucks.

The bus will operate everyday on routes 10, 25, and 35 beginning 16 January. Riders are invited to share their experiences riding the battery-powered bus on social media using #ElectricRideANC.
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi launched Alliance Ventures, a new corporate venture capital fund that plans to invest up to $1 billion to support open innovation over the next five years. In its first year, the fund expects to invest up to $200 million in start-ups and open innovation partnerships with technology entrepreneurs focused on new mobility, including vehicle electrification, autonomous systems, connectivity and artificial intelligence.

The first deal by Alliance Ventures will be a strategic investment in Ionic Materials, a US-based company developing solid-state cobalt-free battery materials. The equity acquisition coincides with the execution of a joint-development agreement with the Alliance for the purpose of R&D cooperation.
Increased production from the Permian region in Texas and New Mexico accounts for 0.8 million b/d of the forecast 1.2 million b/d of crude oil production growth from December 2017 to December 2019. EIA expects most of the remaining 0.3 million b/d of growth to come from the Federal Gulf of Mexico, as seven new projects are expected to come online by the end of 2019.

In its latest edition of the Short-Term Energy Outlook, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that US crude oil production will average 10.3 million b/d in 2018the highest annual average production in US history, surpassing the previous record of 9.6 million b/d set in 1970. EIA also forecasts that 2019 crude oil production will rise further to an average of 10.8 million b/d. US crude oil production averaged an estimated 9.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2017 and is estimated to have averaged 9.9 million b/d in December.

EIA expects the Permian region to produce 3.6 million b/d of crude oil by the end of 2019roughly a 0.9 million b/d increase from estimated December 2017 levels. This would represent about 32% of total US crude oil production in 2019. Other regional forecasts are:

Production from the Eagle Ford region is expected to be between 1.2 million b/d and 1.3 million b/d in 2018 and 2019, slightly higher than the 2017 level.

The Bakken region is expected to produce an average of 1.2 million b/d in 2018 and 1.3 million b/d in 2019, up from 1.1 million b/d in 2017.

Gulf of Mexico production is forecast to average 1.7 million b/d in 2018, which would be relatively unchanged from 2017 levels, and then increase to 1.8 million b/d in 2019. The anticipated start of production in 2019 from the Appomattox project in the Rydberg field and the Mars projects in the Kaikias field, along with other projects that will begin operations in 2018 and 2019, are expected to contribute to increases in production from the Gulf of Mexico.

Crude oil production in Alaska is expected to remain flat at 0.5 million b/d in both 2018 and 2019. Ongoing exploration and developmental drilling in the North Slope and the anticipated start of production from 1H News project in November 2017 and the Greater Mooses Tooth project in 2018 are expected to keep production in Alaska from declining as it has been in recent years.

EIA expects that the growth in crude oil production, especially in the Permian Basin, will result in increased associated natural gas production and natural gas processing.

US motor gasoline consumption remained nearly flat from 2016 to 2017 at an average of slightly more than 9.3 million b/d. EIA forecasts that US motor gasoline consumption will increase by 30,000 b/d (0.3%) in 2018. If EIAs projected growth is realized, it would be the highest level of annual average gasoline consumption on record, slightly surpassing the previous record set in 2016. Gasoline consumption growth in 2019 is forecast to accelerate slightly, increasing by 50,000 b/d (0.6%) from 2018 levels.

Global consumption of petroleum and other liquid fuels grew by 1.4 million b/d in 2017, according to the report, reaching an average of 98.4 million b/d for the year. Although the rate of consumption growth slowed in 2017 compared with 2016, EIA expects that consumption growth will average 1.7 million b/d in 2018 and almost 1.7 million b/d 2019, driven by the countries outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Non-OECD consumption growth would account for 1.2 million b/d and 1.3 million b/d of the global growth in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The non-OECD petroleum and other liquid fuels consumption growth is driven by a forecast of higher growth in non-OECD oil-weighted Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Growth in non-OECD oil-weighted GDP is expected to be 4.3% in 2018 and 4.4% in 2019, up from 3.9% in 2017.

EIA expects India and China to be the largest contributors to growth in non-OECD petroleum and other liquid fuels consumption in 2018 and 2019. Chinas consumption is expected to increase by 0.4 million b/d in 2018, followed by a 0.3 million b/d increase in 2019. Consumption growth in China reflects expectations of increased use of gasoline, jet fuel, and, to a lesser extent, hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL).

India, which saw slower-than-expected liquid fuels consumption growth of less than 0.1 million b/d in 2017, partly because of monetary and fiscal policy changes, is expected to experience stronger growth in 2018 and 2019, with consumption forecast to grow by about 0.3 million b/d in each year.

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An East Windsor casino would open in late 2019 at the soonest, and even that looks like a stretch with no visible work started yet. But already the town is squabbling over how to carve up the extra money a casino would bring.

Police and fire departments are both seeking sharp increases in staffing. A recently released police study warns traffic could double in a section of town that already sees congestion, and that the department should offer a bomb/narcotic/canine program to adequately serve the community, the proposed casino and the town.

In all, public safety and town hall departments have asked for about $4 million a year  well more than the $3 million a year bonus that MMCT, the joint venture of tribes developing the casino along Interstate 91, would give the town. The estimated $5.5 million in local taxes based on the value of the property at the $300 million project would more than cover the extra costs.

For Fairfield County and Bridgeport, the goings-on far up I-91 matter because they signal the sort of friction that comes with a hot-button development such as a casino.

MGM Resorts International said it would give Bridgeport $8 million a year plus property taxes for the Park City if its proposed $675 million casino were to open. Surrounding towns would see $4.5 million a year.

Beyond that illustration for Bridgeport, whats happening in East Windsor perfectly highlights why Connecticuts system of 169 separate fiefdoms is laughable and utterly unworkable when it comes to public safety, just as its failing miserably in education.

Documents show the East Winsdor Police Department, with 26 sworn officers, is seeking to add 10 patrol officers, a supervisor and a detective. Overtime would amount to $136,215 a year.

Including cars, support staff and all bells and whistles, the police study  with pages of charts and mathematical formulas based on comparisons to other small towns with midsize casinos  calls for $1.4 million a year in added spending.

A separate document from the independent Warehouse Point Fire District  the section of town that includes the casino site at an abandoned movie theater  calls for 12 added full-time firefighters, a full-time chief, a full-time fire marshal and an administrative assistant along with $200,000 a year in building upgrades.

All in: $1.5 million in the first year and $1.3 million a year thereafter  at a department thats now mostly volunteer, with an annual budget of about $600,000. That document shows no supporting evidence for the need, though it refers to research.

Lets set aside the question of whether it was smart for the state to approve, and for the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to build, a casino for the sole purpose of picking off gamblers heading north to the much larger MGM Springfield resort set to open in September. The Legislature has spoken and now its up to the courts as various legal battles play out.

Just follow the money for a look at absurd regional planning, or lack thereof.

Woo hoo! East Windsor wins the sweepstakes and gets a $300 million casino. That means the town of 11,400 will see a windfall of $8.5 million a year if the casino actually rises.

As with all such things, some of the requests are legitimate and some are obvious larding. Either way, one mile down Route 140, just over the Connecticut River bridge, neighboring Windsor Locks  which didnt get the casino  stoutly maintains its own police and fire departments, with its own supervisors, dispatch centers, buildings and equipment.

All this wasteful small-town public safety buildup is economic suicide at a time when the states business competitiveness is issue No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. All in the name of local control. The casino only makes it more obvious.

In East Windsor, what we have is a fire district that two years ago exited the town budget and started taxing residents directly, an amount thats now 1.2 mills a year. That means those residents pay more for the same fire protection the rest of the town enjoys.

So we have new squabbling on top of old, historic squabbling.

First Selectman Robert Maynard, who wants an extra $100,000 for his own office, is the sort of traffic cop for all the money, along with the other four selectmen. So far they cant even agree on an ordinance to create a separate fund.

Maynard squarely says the Warehouse Point Fire District is inflating its needs. We doubt very much there will be a fire in the casino; its well sprinkled, he said.

Victor DeCapua, chairman of the district, said the district wont increase its tax to add staffing if it doesnt get money from the casino fund. Its a very confusing situation, he said, in part because the district doesnt yet know exactly what it will need.

Dont blame East Windsor for any of this. Maynard is doing his best. What we have is a picture of how Connecticut fails because of home rule gone amok.

Congratulations, you went to high school with the uncle of the cop who handled your car break-in  your tax bill just went up.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and some legislative leaders have tried to boost incentives for towns to work together. But as the East Windsor example shows, its time to get serious.

Maybe, if the lawsuits go long enough over the casino, we can see a North Central Connecticut Public Safety District, which can efficiently work the casino into its operations. Just dont bet on it.

dhaar@hearstmediact.com
Luzena Adams / Contributed photo

Comedian Kathleen Madigan has a one-hour standup special on Netflix, called Bothering Jesus. During it she shares how she made sure to watch all of the presidential debates before the last election.

Even if comedians asked God for people to make fun of, I could not have come up with this great of a group, Madigan said. Shes especially thankful Marco Rubio isnt president, because every time a newscaster said his first name, shed want to quickly scream out Polo!  the way kids do in a swimming pool.
GREENWICH  To advise its members in how best to protect themselves from cybercrime, the Retired Mens Association of Greenwich brought in two experts on the topic Wednesday morning.

A crowd of more than 100 at the RMAs weekly meeting heard from Vanessa Richards, an assistant U.S. Attorney in the district of Connecticut, and Jeremy Tendler, a U.S. postal inspector specializing in cybercrime. During an hour-long address they detailed the different kinds of scams out there and how people are vulnerable to them.

The thing about a computer is no matter what kind of anti-virus software you have or whether you have a Mac or a PC or something else, the universal point of compromise for any computer system is the person using the computer, Tendler said. Theres always a user and no matter what kind of software you have, if you can get the person running the computer to give up information thats the easiest way to get into a computer.

That can be true for anyone, Richards said. She cited a case of Chinese nationals who were recently indicted for their role in hacking into a steel company and the steel workers union in Pennsylvania. They were able to get in through very simple means because they sent an email that contained malware, which was opened and downloaded, she said.

People tend to look at cybercrime and think its really complicated and its not, Richards said. Its really, Ooooh look at this cute kitten video, and thats how people are getting hit.

Both spoke from years of experience. Richards is the computer hacking and intellectual property coordinator for the U.S. Attorneys Office. And Tendler, a former member of the IRS Criminal Investigations Division, is currently assigned to investigate mail theft, identity theft and the dark web, where IP addresses are invisible and illegal activity can take place undetected.

Richards said there are ways to practice good cyber hygiene and reduce the risk. She and Tendler advised computer users to never click on downloads or links in emails from people they dont know and also to have a good anti-virus program.

Tendler urged people to be careful with emails that claim to come from financial institutions or utilities that demand payment or a change of passwords. Check for obvious misspellings or wrong use of language as a sign of scammers, he advised. And check with the bank or whatever institution is supposedly sending an email to make sure it is legitimate before clicking.

That is your best defense, Tendler said. Its reading carefully and making sure what youre getting is what you signed up for.

He told people in the audience to make sure they have all their data backed up either on a removable hard drive or on a cloud so they do not lose anything to malware.

The speakers were clear about what motivates most cyber criminals. Cybercrime can be used for terrorism or espionage or even activist work known as hacktivism, but there is typically a more base motivation at play, they said.

Almost always it is about money, Richards said. Your personal identifying information is worth money. Obviously your bank account information is connected to money. That is what these people are overwhelmingly interested in.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
GREENWICH  Guy Smith, a Greenwich business executive with longstanding ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton, has announced he is running for Governor of Connecticut.

Smith declared his candidacy at an early childhood center in New Haven, calling attention to his work in the private sector, in the non-profit field and as a presidential adviser.

I think that, sadly, Hartford is not working. And the governing class has just not been doing it for the citizens of Connecticut, and Im not part of the governing class. I have a range of experiences, over the arc of my career that make my qualifications unique, he said in an interview on Wednesday.

Smith, 68, is joining a burgeoning field of candidates seeking to replace the outgoing Gov. Dannel Malloy, who is not seeking re-election.

Most recently an executive at Diageo North America, a branch of the global liquor company based in Norwalk, Smith served as a special adviser to Hillary Clinton on her presidential run in 2016, in particular working in radio communications and doing talk radio shows on her behalf. He also held an advisory role during the administration of President Bill Clinton, assisting with the presidents defense during the impeachment proceedings.

I did lots of political and strategic communications, and I was also the radio spokesman, he said.

The candidate also worked as a director for AmeriCares, a disaster-relief and medical non-profit organization based in Stamford.

Smith noted he had also worked on the front lines of municipal government, as a staffer in the mayors office in Knoxville, Tenn.

I know how to get a street paved without getting short-changed, he said

Smith said job growth in the state would be a top priority, adding he is interested in exploring the formation of an infrastructure bank to help businesses gain financing, and micro-financing in the states cities for small-scale business ventures.

He also pledged to work on a shared solution to the public employee pension issue vexing lawmakers in Hartford.

We have so many things that are positive, Smith said. Yes, the state has financial issues, but it has financial resources. ... We have to more effectively use the taxes that we do collect. We have to find a way to bring everybody together. Yes, its hard, but I do hard for breakfast.

Prison reform and educational issues are other topics that the candidate said he would prioritize.

Smith has been a Greenwich resident for 35 years, living in the same home on North Street. The candidate said he was working in the corporate world in Manhattan and found southern Connecticut an attractive area. Its a great place to live, he said.

During the coming days, Smith said he would be traveling the state to talk with citizens and local leaders. He also plans to talk about his opposition to President Trump and what he said are the financial disadvantages to middle-income earners in the recently enacted tax package.

Smith is standing out from other candidates running for the governors office  and violating a cardinal rule for office-seekers  in at least one way, by having a beard.

I dont ever break rules, but I bend them, and thats one Im going to bend, he joked. I have had it for a long time.

Smith attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio and and the University of Tennessee, in his home state.

I played hockey for both of them, but I didnt contribute to the academic greatness of either institution, he said.

rmarchant@greenwichtime.com
GREENWICH  On a frosty blue-skyed morning, construction crews in highlighter-yellow jackets worked to ready the frozen site where a new building for New Lebanon School will be erected.

Where a grove of trees stood a month ago, an expanse of dirt sprawled Wednesday. Rocks the size of trash-can lids, pulled from the earth, were piled in one corner of the site, next to a mountain of top soil. Yellow construction machines hummed around the area or waited to be kicked to life. A red sign on a construction trailer declared 30 days of work had been completed without injury.

Since the groundbreaking for the new school on December 7, construction has been advancing on schedule, without delays from recent extreme cold and snow, said Dan Phillips, project manager.

The New Lebanon Building Committee held its first meeting at the construction site on Wednesday, conducting routine business and getting an update on construction progress.

So far, trees, stumps and top soil have been stripped from the site. Crews are in the process of using drilling machines to locate the contours of rock ledge below the soil, according to Phillips. Rocks removed from the ground will be crushed in the first week of February.

Some rock will need to be blasted away to clear room for the new school. While the blasting was predicted to occur in the first week of January, Phillips said Gilbane Construction is still surveying neighbors about the timing of the blasting in preparation. Those surveys should be completed by January 18 and blasting will follow, he said.

Over the next week and a half, we are primarily drilling and getting ready for the blasting operation, said Phillips.

Some blasting may occur during daytime school hours. New Lebanon School, Byram Shubert Library and neighbors of the property who request notice will be told in advance of blasting times, Phillips said.

"The blasting isnt that loud but you will hear horns initiating the blast when it is all clear, said Phillips.

Workers will develop the footprint of the new school and create a level grade on which to lay the foundation, Phillips said. Gilbane will import some structural fill in order to do so.

We are filling that ravine in some places up to 15 feet, Phillips said, pointing behind the existing school.

Crews will use large heaters to prevent the ground from freezing in the winter temperatures. The foundation will be poured in mid-February.

Beginning in February, the building committee will produce communications on the first of each month updating the public on construction, members said. The newsletters will be distributed electronically through the school district and displayed in the Byram Shubert Library.

The building committee is also working to purchase a camera that will take periodic photos of the site at regular intervals to record construction progress.

The earliest date students could move into the new building is February 2019. Construction, including demolition of the old building, site work and landscaping, will not be substantially completed until August 2019.

emunson@greenwichtime.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Combine the impact of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements with the dramatic speeches at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, and two things about sexual harassment become abundantly clear: First, allegations about, and acknowledged instances of, bad behavior -- or worse -- are likely to generate massive negative publicity for the employer involved. Second, they're a career ender for the offender.

Related: These Companies Are Battling Sexual Harassment By Teaching Employees to Recognize Unconscious Bias

As a result, alarm bells have been going off for everyone, from the executive suite to the front lines.

And yet, some level of confusion remains: Offenders and targets alike are asking, What exactly constitutes sexual harassment? Targets in particular are struggling to categorize their experiences when those scenarios sound minor compared to those scandals in the headline news.

So, business owners, how do your employees know where to draw the line? How do you make sure no one crosses the line? For that matter, how do you make sure that everyone in your extended enterprise doesn't even go near the line? And, how do you communicate about incidents when the line has been crossed?

The severe cases are easy. It's the borderline incidents that have caused the confusion. The offender says one thing and makes it sound so innocent. The target says something else and tries to explain why she found it offensive. The whole issue seems so subjective, and nothing gets resolved.

One solution for making these distinctions easier across a variety of organizations is a conceptual tool I created called Cooper's 6 Levels of Harassment. This tool clearly outlines the spectrum of sexual harassment and what falls into it, allowing everyone involved to pinpoint exactly what happened in a given incident and understand its severity. Importantly, every level here constitutes harassment.

Related: A Step-by-Step Guide to Responding to Allegations of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Level 1: Aesthetic Appreciation

"Aesthetic appreciation" encompasses so-called innocent behavior in the form of a seemingly non-aggressive compliment about a woman's (or man's) physical or sexual features. It's the "Boooyyy, you sure look GREAT today!" kind of comment. Offenders are the type of men Jerry Seinfeld labels "knuckleheads whistling at women out of car windows."

It's the lifted eyebrow, the wink, the wolfish smile or the slyly sexual joke. Individually, such comments merely sound rude. But, they can be offensive, too, particularly when they're constant over time.

Example: Entrepreneur.com contributor Heather Huhman recently wrote about gender intelligence, citing an exchange author Kim Scott had when she was interning at a bank after college. "One of the executives was a family friend who she knew to be a good man," Huhman wrote. "Yet, she was still shocked by his response when she told him where she was going to college."

When I told him," Scott told Huhman, "he exclaimed, I didn't know they let pretty girls into Princeton. Why, you're pretty enough to go to Ole Miss, and that is where you want to find a husband, now, isn't it? He didn't realize how belittling what he was saying felt [to me].

Level 2: Active Mental Groping

"Mental Groping" is where the visual and verbal behavior gets more invasive. It's undressing someone with your eyes. It's staring at certain body parts. It's the more vicious, crude or insulting joke or innuendo. There's been no physical contact yet, but it almost feels the same.

Example: An Entrepreneur.com editor recounted an incident when she was a newspaper reporter covering the North Carolina State Assembly. A state senator agreed to an interview about a highway bill but, once alone with the reporter told her, "Let's not talk about the bill; let's talk some trash. It's a long time between Sunday night, when I last see my wife, and Friday night."

Example: Remember former Senator Al Franken's infamous picture of his raising his hands to look as though he was groping a sleeping fellow entertainer? If in fact touching did occur see Level 5.

Level 3: Social Touching

"Social Touching" is physical contact that carefully stays within the bounds of acceptable behavior. It's the hand on the shoulder, on the small of the back or around the waist. It's giving someone -- usually a female lower on the corporate ladder -- an unasked-for backrub, and saying, "I bet this feels good." It's a constant soft and creepy touch.

Example: Comedian Adam Sandler was criticized for repeatedly touching (The Crown star) Claire Foy's knee during an interview on the Graham Norton talk show. While Foy said she wasn't offended, she looked uncomfortable and many others were put off. For his part, Sandler said his action was only a "friendly gesture." In reality, it was Level 3 Social Touching harassment, which tends to make targets squirm.

Level 4: Foreplay Harassment

"Foreplay harassment" is where the touching starts to push the boundaries. The offender escalates the touching into more sensitive areas. The hand moves farther down the small of the back or is wrapped around the waist onto the stomach. A hand is draped over the shoulder. A woman is ushered around by the top of her arm, allowing the offender's hand to brush up against her breast.

This behavior also occurs when the offender stands closely behind someone who's seated so she's eye-to-zipper should she swivel around. It's bar-level pickup lines said jokingly, but actually aimed at asking for sexual favors.

Example: A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor admitted to putting his hand about 6 inches up a woman's open shirt onto her bare back, as he attempted to console her about something. Although he said he found the public backlash and the resulting complaint of sexual harassment "bewildering," his action was an example of Level 4.

Level 5: Sexual Abuse

"Sexual abuse" constitutes clear sexual harassment. It's touching of a sexual nature, such as pinching, grabbing or brushing up against sexual areas of the body. It's outright sexual propositions and threats -- classic quid pro quo harassment that demands, "Comply, or else."

Examples: They occur when men behave very badly. Comedian Louis CK admitted exposing himself and pleasuring himself in front of women. Broadway star Ben Vereen apologized for his "inappropriate conduct" while directing a community theater production of the musical Hair, which included his getting naked with the cast members -- among other allegations. Clearly, the increased severity of these stories pushes them into Level 5 territory.

Level 6: Ultimate Threat

"Ultimate Threat" means outright sexual assault that causes physical harm, or the threat of assault unless there is compliance. It's criminal. Think: the allegations against comedian Bill Cosby, charged by dozens of women with rendering them unconscious with drugs they never agreed to, then raping them. Think about movie executive Harvey Weinstein and the many actresses who have come forward to accuse him of inappropriate "business" meetings in hotel rooms where, uninvited, he disrobed and tried to initiate undesired massages and oral sex.

How to Use the 6 Levels

The 6 Levels' first purpose is to show the continuum of sexual harassment. But that continuum doesn't exclude lower-level behaviors, despite what actor Matt Damon suggested in his infamous interview. It's just the opposite. The six levels include even borderline behaviors that are often dismissed as unimportant. All six levels are variations of the same behavior: It's all sexual harassment, from the appreciative comments to sexual assault.

The levels' second purpose is to illustrate how offenders often treat sexual harassment as an escalating campaign. They may take weeks to go from making silly comments to pushing the boundaries with Foreplay Harassment. Third, the 6 Levels allow everyone involved -- targets, offenders and investigators -- to apply an objective standard to incidents, and to accurately communicate what has happened.

Too often, a target will tell management, "Robert is bothering me." And management's response will be, "Oh, he doesn't mean anything by it. Just ignore him." With the 6 Levels, however, a target can now tell management, "Robert is putting his hands all over me. It's Level 3 Social Touching, and I want it to stop."

Traditional training that focuses on the rules and legalities simply isn't working. Employees need additional behavioral concepts and specific tools to understand what sexual harassment is and how to communicate about incidents.

Related: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Launches Investigation Into Sexual Harassment Claims

With the 6 Levels, the terminology aims to communicate the same thing to everyone, and to categorize the behavior. Its use may make it easier to explain to the offender why he (or she) has gone way over the line -- and why it's time to stop.

Related:

Is 'That' Sexual Harassment? How to Tell, Using 'Cooper's 6 Levels.'

Don't Wait for Controversy to Strike Your Workplace: Adopt These 2018 HR Management Trends Now.

So, a Manager Just Pawed You. Or a Principal at Your Firm Made Lewd Remarks. Now, What?



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


WASHINGTON - Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who calls her country the West's "eyes and ears" on Russia's northern border, said Moscow's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has put European democracies on alert for future meddling.

"The discussion you've had in the United States has, of course, lifted this issue in all European countries," Solberg said Wednesday in an interview with The Washington Post. "Every country has to deal with it their own way. It's also about making your political system resilient enough against these types of threats."

Solberg visited Washington on Wednesday for meetings with Trump and top administration officials. She described the United States as Norway's most important ally and came with a mission to strengthen the security and economic partnerships between the two countries. Norway, for instance, purchases much of its military equipment from U.S. manufacturers like Boeing.

The prime minister was careful not to personally criticize Trump, though she acknowledged some of their differences. On climate policy, she said she, along with the leaders of other Nordic nations, urged Trump to reverse his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, of which nearly every country is a party.

Reminded that Trump has publicly doubted the science behind global warming, Solberg said, "We believe that the science is proof."

Later, in a joint news conference, Solberg said, "Norway's combating climate change. It's an important issue for us. And we are committed to the Paris agreement."

Trump criticized the Paris deal as "very unfair to the United States," and noted, "I am for massive oil and gas and everything else."

In the interview, Solberg added that Norway, despite being a major oil producer and using its fossil fuel reserves to amass extraordinary wealth, is working to curb its carbon and gas emissions. About 50 percent of new cars in Norway are electric vehicles - about 4 percent of them Teslas - thanks to a government policy exempting electric cars from taxes.

"It's not because all Norwegians are rich," she said in the interview. "It's because we are not taxing. People will buy a good electrical car instead of buying a fossil-fuel one, and you get a much better standard of car."

Both Trump and Solberg each said at the news conference that they see benefits for their countries in working with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite Russia's meddling in the U.S. election to help Trump.

Solberg said in the interview that there was no evidence that Russia had interfered in Norway's recent elections. She explained that Norwegian elections are often driven by domestic issues and that because there is a consensus on foreign affairs, there is little that another country could gain if it tried to interfere.

"It might be that we are too uninteresting, which, of course, is a blow to the Norwegian esteem," she quipped.

Solberg said there is a special obligation for news organizations to guard against foreign meddling and to question the authenticity of the information they report.

"We must fight for liberal ideas like openness, but also about having a media that we believe in and that can sort between real news and facts and not so factual things," Solberg said.

When it was pointed out that Trump often blurs the line between fact and fiction, Solberg declined to criticize him and kept her focus on the media. "It's about newspapers questioning where did this story really come from instead of jumping up and saying, 'Oh, I have something that's secret, let me print it,' " she said.

Solberg sat for the interview at the Norwegian ambassador's residence, shortly before heading to the White House for her visit with Trump.

She talked about her role in Norway as a champion for women in public life. Roughly half of her Cabinet members are female, including most of the highest-profile ministers, and she said women bring different and often more empathetic perspectives to government.

Asked what she hoped her women's empowerment agenda might signal to Trump - who has a well-documented history of demeaning comments about women, who has more than a dozen allegations against him of sexual harassment and assault and whose Cabinet is overwhelmingly male - Solberg identified a silver lining.

"Yes, he has had some remarks in the election campaign that I didn't like," she said. "But on the other hand, what I have heard is in his business he has just been looking for talent" regardless of gender.

Told that the U.S. delegation she would soon face at the White House in her bilateral meeting almost certainly would be male-heavy, Solberg said that is a common experience for her and something she jokes about with foreign counterparts.

"I usually have quite a lot of women, and they on the other side have a lot of men," she said. "It's quite a lot of countries, to be honest."

Solberg has met Trump before, including last May in Brussels, when both leaders attended the opening ceremony of the new NATO headquarters. (Both countries are NATO members.) That is where Trump drew flack for his combative speech in which he would not reaffirm the United States' commitment to Article 5, the NATO treaty commitment that an attack on a single alliance nation is an attack on all of them.

Still, Solberg said she believed the United States would defend Norway if, hypothetically, it were to be attacked by Russia.

"They are fully committed to this," Solberg said of the Trump administration, referring to reassurances she has received from senior officials. "Sometimes maybe we should not just follow which word is not said because I think we all have this strong feeling that the security policies of this administration are following the broad lines of former administrations."
Brooklyn Cider House is a love letter to a venerable Basque tradition. Photo: Melissa Hom

Press apples and you get sweet cider. Add yeast, and youll make marvelously complex hard cider, an elegant beverage undergoing a ground-up renaissance with farmers and producers working together to create place-based ferments that rival anything derived from a grapevine. Consider it a return to form for a country where cider was once king, so societally ingrained that low-alcohol versions were served to kids. Apple-rich New York State has seen a surge in cider makers, with more than 75 manufacturers and growing. Though pioneering cider restaurant Wassail has closed, the city is increasingly home to a collection of restaurants and bars with a serious cider emphasis, the best of them offering a deep and diverse selection, fine accompanying food, and memorable settings and service. Here are the absolute best places to drink cider in New York.

The Absolute Best 1. Brooklyn Cider House

1100 Flushing Ave., nr. Varick Ave., Bushwick; 347-295-0308 Photo: Michael Tulipan Northern Spains mountainous Basque Country is famed for its traditional cider houses, where customers congregate for casual, communal meals (cod omelette, steak, cheese and nuts), each dish punctuated by visits to massive wooden barrels to sample the tart and funky sidra that cuts cleanly through the foods richness to cleanse palates for another course. Its an immersive drinking experience re-created, whole cloth, at Brooklyn Cider House. Sibling founders Peter and Susan Yi have turned a sprawling, 12,000-square-foot industrial space into a Basque love letter equipped with a trio of dining areas and abundant wood, including towering chestnut casks filled with the housemade cider featuring apples from Twin Star Orchards, the owners upstate farm. You can bend elbows at the bar and sip through selections, including the gently carbonated Bone Dry and freshly fruity Kinda Dry. More fun is to sign up for a shared five-course feast  meat-free or meaty, including cider-braised chorizo  paired with a catching: After each dish, you walk to the barrel room where guides open faucets and release high, arcing streams of cider that you catch in wide-mouthed glasses, aerating the liquid and enhancing its aroma and flavor. There are two certainties: Youll spill, and youll have more fun drinking cider here than anywhere else this year.

2. Bad Seed Brooklyn

585 Franklin Ave., nr. Pacific St., Crown Heights; 718-975-0690

Photo: Courtesy of Bad Seed

Albert Wilklow had apples, and lots of them. So in 2011, the sixth-generation farmer at his familys eponymous Hudson Valley orchard partnered with childhood pal Devin Britton, a brewing obsessive, to found Bad Seed Cider Company. Its ciders take deep inspiration from beer-brewing traditions, such as the tart Belgian Abbey Cider and I.P.C.  that is, India pale cider  fermented with ale yeast and finished with fragrant Cascade hops. Theyre served on tap in the warm, brick-and-wood tasting room that the pair opened this fall, along with small-batch releases aged in bourbon or cognac barrels (cans and bottles are also sold to go). For the apple-averse, there are up to eight draft beers from upstate breweries, including Sloop and Arrowood Farms, as well as wine from New York State vineyards.

3. Cardiff Giant

415 Myrtle Ave., nr. Clinton Ave., Clinton Hill; 929-337-7873

Photo: Melissa Hom

The 1869 hoax of the Cardiff Giant, a ten-foot-tall petrified man discovered upstate, serves as the namesake of this convivial bar singularly celebrating beer, wine, spirits, and cider produced in New York State. Within the tight focus, youll discover a wide range of native ciders from such estimable producers as the Finger Lakes Blackduck Cidery and Kite & String served on draft and by the glass. The bottle list is equally commendable, featuring the foraged ciders of Aaron Burr and homegrown offerings like the tropical and piney dry-hopped cider from Queens-based Descendant. Dont skip so-called happy meals such as the Stone Fence, a new-breed boilermaker combining a can of Rootstock cider with a shot of Black Dirts applejack.

4. Covenhoven

730 Classon Ave., nr. Park Pl., Crown Heights; 718-483-9950

Photo: Liz Clayman

At this cozy mom-and-pop taproom and bottle shop  owners Molly Bradford and Bill Pace live upstairs  youll find seasonal decorations, vibrant wall murals, a grassy landscaped backyard, and 16 drafts, including at least two dedicated to producers such as Austins Argus Cidery and the Hudson Valleys tradition-flouting Graft, which focuses on wild ferments and beer-influenced formulations. Neither float your boat? No worries. Covenhoven features two full fridges dedicated to several dozen canned and bottled ciders, available to go or, for a small corkage free, to consume on premise. Grab a baguette and some self-serve charcuterie and cheese, particularly Crown Finish Caves rich and buttery Gatekeeper, and hunker down for the long haul.

5. Has Chinese

40-17 Broadway, Astoria; 718-777-0913

At their Queens Kickshaw reboot, Ben Sandler and Jennifer Lim swapped grilled cheese and coffee for Sichuan-influenced vegetarian fare, but they kept one constant: a killer selection of New York Statefocused cider. On draft, theres Descendants semi-dry Succession cider, a fine accomplice to fiery mapo tofu or dan danstyle crispy potatoes, as well as bottles from small, farm-based producers such as East Hollow, which crafts ciders from wild and heirloom apples.

Honorable Mentions

Gramercy Tavern

42 E. 20th St., nr. Park Ave. S.; 212-477-0777

Danny Meyer nails every minute detail at his Michelin-starred gastronomic temple, right down to its rigorously curated cider selection. The list runs from traditional dry Spanish cider to modern examples such as Citizen Ciders rose-inspired Brose, to which blueberries lend the pink tint.

Hearth

403 E. 12th St., at First Ave.; 646-602-1300

Founded in 2003, Marco Canoras farmers marketfocused East Village institution remains as vital as ever, comfortably evolving in sync with modern tastes, from seaweed broth to spatchcocked chicken. Fun-drinking ciders include Eric Bordelets fizzy Poire Authentique, made from pears in Normandy, France, and Grafts canned Farm Flor, gone earthy and rustic thanks to wild yeast.

Huertas

107 First Ave., nr. 6th St.; 212-228-4490

The lively East Village restaurant pairs northern Spains Basque cuisine (goat-and-pork chorizo, tinned mackerel) with a drinks list weighted toward sherry, vermouth, and cider. Stick to the Basque script with the bracingly acidic Isastegi Sagardo, or try Huertass house cider created in conjunction with Vermonts Shacksbury.

Murrays Cheese Bar

264 Bleecker St., nr. Cornelia St.; 646-476-8882

Visit the legendary cheese shops spinoff restaurant for gooey fondue and fried burrata paired with regional ciders such as Grafts cuttingly sour Farm Flor.

The Owl Farm

297 9th St., nr. Fifth Ave., Park Slope; 718-499-4988

Youll find plenty of pinball, local beer, and cider at the dark and stark neighborhood dive from the Cardiff Giant crew. (The owners are also behind Mission Dolores, Bar Great Harry, and Glorietta Baldy.) The 28 swiftly revolving drafts always include a handful of ciders from producers such as Ithacas South Hill, as well as bottles from New York State cideries such as Sundstrom. Bonus: The bar is open till 4 a.m. every day of the year.

Terroir Tribeca

24 Harrison St., nr. Greenwich St.; 212-625-9463

Photo: Melissa Hom

New York is the Big Apple, and in the Big Apple one must drink cider, dammit, reads the manifesto-like menu at Paul Griecos rabble-rousing wine bar. Here, familiarize yourself with lesser-known ciders like Manoir du Kinkizs earthy, effervescent Cornouaille, from Frances coastal Brittany. PS: The double-headed happy hour runs daily from 4 p.m. till 6 p.m., then again from 11 p.m. till close.




Haiti - Politic : Results of the legislative year 2018, speech by Youri Latortue





Monday, at the opening of the first regular session of the 2018 legislative year in the National Assembly in Parliament, where the President of the Republic intervened https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23213-haiti-flash-speech-of-jovenel-moise-on-the-state-of-the-nation.html and the Prime Minister, Senator Youri Latortue, President of the National Assembly and the Senate took the floor to take stock of the past year in front of members of the legislature and members of the diplomatic corps and civil society , invited for the occasion.



Extract from the speech of Youri Latortue :

"[...] My speech today represents my last official address as Speaker of the Senate and the National Assembly. In this circumstance, I express an immense feeling of gratitude to my fellow Senators who had given me their confidence to preside over the Upper House [...]



Together with our fellow Deputies, we shared the desire to project a new and positive image of parliamentarians. We have taken into account the remarks and criticisms made by our fellow citizens and we have worked to demonstrate that Haitian parliamentarians can be effective and fully fulfill their constitutional role [...]



The previous legislative year has been very productive. Indeed, despite the many and great difficulties, we have been able to vote about forty or so laws, the vast majority of which are of an economic and social nature; we have passed a number of public interest resolutions; we exercised a thorough and effective control over the Government; we contributed to strengthening the Court of Cassation and the Office of Citizen Protection; we have been very active in implementing intelligent, active and respectful parliamentary diplomacy towards our common homeland [...]



Another concern aroused all state powers: corruption. Corruption is an endemic evil that hinders the dynamics of national development. Against such a scourge, we must lead a merciless struggle that should in no way raise suspicions of bias or positive or negative discrimination. Because the Parliament can not be a place where one indulges in political persecution or the destruction of the reputation of anyone [...] We take at the word the President of the Republic who said and repeated that he wants to fight relentlessly against corruption. I confirm that in this battle, the Haitian Parliament is ready to fully play its constitutional role and ensure that no one obstructs justice [...]



The promises made by the President during his election campaign and during his travels around the country [...] were well received by the people and aroused impatient expectations and consistent and legitimate hopes. I am obligated to say to the administrators of the state that a lot of additional effort is worthwhile. Because frustrations and discontent are being heard more and more across the country [...]



The economic data released at the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year gave us a glimpse of the difficulty of the socio-economic situation and make us fear crucial moments in the months to come. Our constituents have the unpleasant feeling that the government is going around in circles and can not get off the ground. Some Ministers seem non-existent [...] The Head of State recently reiterated its plan to organize the sectoral General States. Some believe it is a good intention. But it is time for us to act.



The caravan of change is a great idea. Indeed, in some departments, work is progressing. However, the caravan will not be able to produce the expected results if it does not fit into a systemic development strategy [...] We must have a much more coherent and sustained employment policy. The unemployment rate in our country is unbearable for our youth and even more so for fathers and mothers of families.



We will not end without extend our congratulations to the police forces who have taken responsibility for the security of our territory and our borders. We must also note that the courageous and long-awaited decision to restore even symbolically the Haitian Armed Forces, met with the approval of the vast majority of the population [...] It will be necessary to endow our military institution with the means essential to meet the expectations of all and be more than just an operetta army. It is time for the Commander-in-Chief to set up his staff and the latter to appear in front of the Senate to fulfill the constitutional formalities provided for in this [...]



As for us Deputies and Senators, the work that awaits us remains immense [...] Because, before the end of the 50th Legislature, we must vote a set of laws that frame and facilitate commercial transactions, the exploitation of mines , SME credit, etc... Another task is on our agenda for upcoming sessions. We need to build a consensus around the second declaration of amendment of the 1987 Constitution, focusing on the key issues that are debated in Haitian society, such as the voting rights of our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora [...]



We do not have a spare country. We must all contribute, one way or another, to put it on the path of development. Our debates should not revolve around people, but around plans and projects likely to improve the living conditions of the Haitian population [...]"



Download the full speech of Youri Latortue (PDF) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Discours-Youri-Latortue-annee-legislative-2018.pdf



HL/ SL/ HaitiLibre




















HAWAII CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVE MARKS 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

News Release from Hawaii State Energy Office January 9, 2018

HONOLULUHawaii celebrated a milestone today by marking the 10th anniversary of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI).

Since its launch a decade ago, HCEI has proven to be an invaluable resource in advancing Hawaiis ongoing effort to achieve energy self-sufficiency.

Todays event, held at Washington Place, brought together a wide range of energy stakeholders, including representatives from government, energy companies, non-profits, and special interests groups. Participants recognized the contributions of HCEI, which is widely recognized for establishing the most aggressive clean energy goals in the nation.

For the past 10 years the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative has been instrumental in Hawaiis bold pursuit of a clean energy future that benefits all of the states residents, said Gov. David Ige. Built of the foundation of our invaluable relationship with the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) and other key stakeholders, HCEI will continue to serve as a guiding force as we face the challenges of transitioning to a 100 percent clean energy future, Ige said.

HCEI traces its roots to a 2008 memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the State of Hawaii and the USDOE. The overarching goal of this unprecedented collaboration was to transform the energy foundation of Hawaiis entire economy to clean energy, using Hawaiis indigenous renewable energy resources. The State of Hawaii and the USDOE reaffirmed their commitment to Hawaiis clean energy future in an updated MOU signed in 2014. A critical component of the MOU is the technical assistance provided to Hawaii by the USDOE through its network of national labs.

Hawaii is a leader in the global energy transformation, and NREL is proud to contribute to the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiatives success, said Martin Keller, Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

HCEI has provided the impetus for a host of statues and regulations aimed at reducing Hawaiis dependency on fossil fuels, including historic Act 97, which made Hawaii the first state to set a target of generating 100 percent of its electricity sales from renewable resources. At the heart of HCEI is the diverse group of stakeholders who have joined together to deliver Hawaiis clean energy future. Thanks to this broad based support from this stakeholder alliance HCEI has grown stronger during the course of three gubernatorial administrations and five biennial legislative sessions.

On the 10-year anniversary of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, its important to reflect on how this pioneering effort has established Hawaii as a leader in energy policy and deployment of energy efficiency measures and renewable generation, said Luis P. Salaveria, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. As the states blueprint for energy transformation and independence, HCEI is helping stimulate economic growth in an innovation economy by elevating Hawaiis job growth prospects and business opportunities.

Hawaii has made significant progress in its clean energy transformation since the launch of HCEI. Renewable energy now accounts for about 27 percent of utility electricity sales, and carbon emissions from power plants are down by more than 750,000 metric tons. In addition, the state is ahead of its interim target for reducing energy demand through efficiency and conservation measures. Clean energy also has become an important source of job growth in Hawaii, with 5,100 people employed in energy efficiency and 4,900 in the solar industry, according to a recent report from the USDOE.

# # #

ABOUT HAWAII STATE ENERGY OFFICE

The Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) is a division of the states Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. With the states goal to reach 100 percent renewable energy generation by 2045, HSEO is leading the states charge toward clean energy independence. HSEO is committed to developing and deploying high impact solutions that will maximize Hawaiis renewable energy resources and improve efficiency and transportation standards. Through effective policies and innovative programs, HSEO has positioned Hawaii port as a leader in clean energy innovation, which will generate quality jobs, attract investment opportunities and accelerate economic growth.

For more information, visit energy.hawaii.gov

IM: DBEDT Holds Hyped Top-Down Anniversary -- " A search of the world wide web reveals that no media source covered the event."

Text: Clean Energy Initiative
Finnish regional and competitiveness policy has always sworn by developing regional strengths. The Helsinki region, however, has not been allowed to do that, he wrote in his blog on Tuesday .

Greater Helsinki must be afforded the same opportunity to develop its strengths as the more rural regions in Finland, demands Sauli Hievanen, an industry policy specialist at the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK).

He views that urban policy making has been neglected by the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre). Sweden, he highlights, has invested ten times as much in supporting investments in its capital region than Finland. The word urbanisation similarly does not appear once in the government programme, titled Finland, a land of solutions.

In spite of its importance and future-shaping dimension, urban policy has not been on the agenda of the government of Sipila. On the contrary, the government has been allowed to unabashedly strip cities of power until recently, he slams.

Hievanen reminds that the success of the capital region is crucial also for the rest of Finland. He stresses that the next government must recognise the special significance of the region and take advantage of the positive effects of urbanisation on economic growth.

He draws attention to a study conducted by McKinsey, which indicates that the degree of urbanisation accounts for two-thirds of the disparities in gross domestic product growth in Europe and the United States.

People primarily do not move to a particular country but rather to the most attractive cities. The importance of cities as producers and maintainers of competitiveness is greater than that of states. Metropolitan areas' significance as drivers of the global economy will increase particularly, predicts Hievanen.

He also voices his support for demands that the next government agree on a competitiveness pact with the municipalities and higher education institutions in Greater Helsinki. The pact, he explains, would extend co-operation between the central administration and the metropolitan area to the domains of education, innovation and research.

The idea of the competitiveness pact was floated in an urban policy assessment published on Tuesday by MDI Public.The assessment was conducted on commission from SAK, Service Sector United (PAM), the Mortgage Society of Finland (Hypo), the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries (RT), the Finnish Innovation Fund (Sitra), and the Building Information Group.

It found, for example, that Greater Helsinki is growing at a relatively modest rate in comparison to the capital regions elsewhere in the Nordics.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Vesa Moilanen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
A FORMER member of Upper Thames Rowing Club in Henley was killed in a road accident while travelling in the Far East, an inquest heard.

Jack Camilleri, 20, of Mill Road, Caversham, died in hospital two days after crashing on a Honda motor scooter in Canggu, a village in Bali where he and a friend were staying.

It is thought he was on his way to the Echo Beach resort nearby when the accident happened at 12.30am on August 28 last year.

Police said he took the corner too quickly and collided with the kerb and then a bamboo pole but his family claim he could have been hit by an oncoming vehicle.

Mr Camilleri, former pupil of the Oratory School in Woodcote, suffered multiple internal injuries and was taken to hospital in Kuta, a 40-minute drive away, where he underwent surgery to check for internal bleeding.

Doctors found damage to his liver, part of which was removed.

Afterwards, he seemed to be recovering but his condition worsened on the night of August 29 and he died of multiple organ failure at 9.40am the following day.

The inquest at Reading town hall on Tuesday heard that the police report was unreliable as it was based on a witness statement but no efforts were made to check the witnesss identity or credibility.

Berkshire senior coroner Peter Bedford said officers had only started investigating the crash two days after Mr Camilleris death.

His mother Emma, who flew to Bali as soon as she heard about the crash, initially believed he was struck by another vehicle turning across his path from the opposite direction.

In a written statement, she said that when her son was in hospital, he kept saying: He didnt f****** stop. She commissioned an independent investigation by Robert Seston, a former police officer and forensics expert, who said there was no evidence of another partys involvement but it couldnt be ruled out.

He said there was too little evidence to be sure what had happened but pointed out that the right-hand bend was not particularly tight and should have been easy to negotiate, particularly as Mr Camilleri was an experienced motorcyclist.

He could have lost control after braking or swerving to avoid another vehicle, a pedestrian or an animal and may not have been speeding.

Suk Ghataura, a pathologist at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, who examined Mr Camilleris body after it was flown back to Britain, said his death was likely to have resulted from internal injuries, including to his lungs and heart.

He confirmed the liver surgery was correctly performed but expressed concern about the delay in operating.

He said: You need to replace fluids as soon as you arrive because until you intervene to stop the bleeding it will just continue. It rarely resolves by itself.

Dr Ghataura said the Balinese authorities also did not check whether Mr Camilleri was under the influence of any substances. His family suggested that the hospital delayed treatment due to uncertainty about whether Mr Camilleris health insurer would reimburse them but Mr Bedford said there was no evidence to support this.

Delivering a verdict of death by road traffic collision, the coroner said: Jack was travelling alone, a crash scene has been identified and I have a report from the police which is not entirely supported by the review documentation.

Clearly Jack has crashed while on his moped and substantially impacted on something to the right side of his body, causing significant injuries.

How that came about without a witness its impossible to say. The police make reference to a witness but there is no formal statement so I place no credibility in that.

I pay a huge credit to the efforts Mrs Camilleri has made to uncover information about her sons death. I am very sorry that we have had to meet in these circumstances and offer my condolences.

Mr Camilleri was the Oratorys captain of boats in 2014 and 2015 and rowed for Upper Thames in his gap year.

He went on to study at Oxford Brookes University, where he continued to row.

Last year his friends and family raised 20,000 for a rowing boat in his memory.
Child pornography leaves in its wake a trail of tragedy and shattered life. While public policy may never eradicate this evil altogether, it can at least alleviate the suffering of its victims. Thats exactly what Senator Hatch has sought to do with a groundbreaking new proposal that will provide justice for victims of child pornography.

Few could name a more traumatic experience than being sexually abused during childhood. But photographs or video of that abuse circulating on the Internet can turn a victims life into a never-ending nightmare. The Supreme Court itself has acknowledged that every viewing of child pornography is a repetition of the victims abuse.

One recent study found that 70 percent of adults who are victims of child pornography worry about being recognized by someone who has seen their sexual abuse images. And their worries are not unfounded: an estimated 30 percent of victims have actually reported being recognized. Victims also worry about images and videos of their abuse being used to facilitate the sexual abuse of other children in the same way such images were used by their tormentors.

The growing menace of child pornography is perpetuated by everyone in the chain of its creation, distribution, and consumption. Each step in this cycle is driven by the other. And while we may never know the number and identity of all the people who contribute to this heinous practice, we do know that the harm caused to its victims never ends.

The ongoing nature of child pornographys harm means that its victims can require lifelong treatment to address their chronic distress. The ordinary path of growing up can be challenging enough; for child pornography victims, it can be unbearable.

Thats why more than two decades ago, Congress sought to help victims of child sexual abuse by requiring that defendants pay restitution to cover all a victims losses. That worked reasonably well for crimes in which a particular defendant caused finite harm to an individual victim. That statute, however, was enacted before the Internet became the primary method of child pornography trafficking. And in a 2014 case argued by University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell, the Supreme Court made it clear that this statute cannot provide meaningful restitution for most child pornography victims.

In an effort to update our laws for the digital age, Senator Hatch has introduced the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, named after the victims of some of the most widely circulated child pornography series in the world. Amy brought her case to the Supreme Court and Andy, who is aided by the tireless advocates at the Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic, is a Utah resident.

Under this legislation-which already has nearly two dozen bipartisan co-sponsors-victims will be able to choose which form of assistance will help them most. For those seeking restitution from defendants, this bill revises the criteria and options for judges to calculate losses and impose restitution. Victims may, as an alternative, apply for a one-time payment from the existing Crime Victims Fund maintained by the Department of Justice.

Importantly, this commonsense proposal also gives victims the same access to evidence, such as images and videos, that defendants already have. Access to evidence can be important, for example, if a victim pursues a civil action in which the identity of the victim must be proved.

National and state organizations active in prosecuting criminals and helping victims have endorsed this innovative legislation. Such groups include the Utah Coalition against Sexual Assault, National Center for Victims of Crime, National District Attorneys Association, National Crime Victim Bar Association, National Organization for Victim Assistance, and National Crime Victims Law Institute. The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children-one of the leading organizations in the fight against child pornography-has also voiced its strong support for this bill.

This legislation is the right prescription because it is based on the right understanding of the unique ways in which child pornography hurts its victims. These young men and women desperately need our help, which is why we call on Congress to pass this bill without delay.
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Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Australias minister for international development and the Pacific, yesterday fired a salvo across Chinas bows.

On Radio Australias Pacific Beat programme, the government front-bencher accused China of funding the construction of useless buildings and roads that go nowhere.

Shes hardly the first to do so. People have questioned the terms of a raft of loans taken out beginning in 2011, when lobbyists acting for the Asian Development Bank succeeded in changing finance legislation, making it possible for ministers to sign off on loans without Parliamentary oversight.

We are right to question the design, implementation and price of some of these projects. The Santo wharf project is a striking example, where failure to consult and coordinate with local and industry stakeholders resulted in a drastic reduction in cruise ship arrivals for 2018. The end result has thrown Luganvilles tourism development plans into cocked hat, and caused millions of dollars of lost revenues.

It will take years to bring cruise ship arrivals back to 2014 levels, let alone to start tapping the northern ports full potential.

One of the greatest criticisms lined up against Chinas infrastructure projects is the China EXIM Banks no-so-concessionary loans. The terms are substantially less favourable than those offered by the World Bank or ADB, for example. These issues have been raised with China. In a Beijing meeting with senior Foreign Ministry officials, the Daily Post was assured that China will not force Vanuatu to pay its debts.

But a population whose New Years Day hangover was sharpened by a 2.5% rise in the VAT is not so optimistic. The nation spent all of 2017 wrangling with the question of how to service our increasing debt load. The issue threatened to split the cabinet and was the subject of heated debate throughout the country.

We have a right and a duty to question our Chinese-funded infrastructure investments. But Australia should think twice before chiming in.

These roads are not roads to nowhere. They lead to our homes.

This is a surprisingly tone-deaf flight of rhetoric. Ms Fierravanti-Wells has travelled our rural roads numerous times, and has always warmly engaged with the people who live on them.

Last week, I circled the entire southern half of Tanna. Half of the drive was on a Chinese-funded road. The other half was on rutted, dangerous tracks, some of them fit only for goats. South Tanna is a stunningly beautiful anduntil recentlylargely inaccessible place.

Rough seas along the weather coast make travel over water difficult. The terrain, a seemingly endless succession of steep hills and rills running into the sea, is difficult to traverse.

Some transport vehicles servicing this end of the island have metal cages over the back, so that people dont get thrown out of the truck as it lurches back and forth.

When we returned from our circuit of the southern half of the island, I had bruises on my arms, hips and ribs from being tossed about. Twice I had to help the driver line the wheels up while crossing bridges that consisted of bare logs laid over a creek. At one point, our truck literally teetered in the air with only three wheels touching the road as we navigated a nasty bit of hillside.

Enter the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company. Many people have levelled criticisms at them, but on the Tanna road project at least, their engineering should not be questioned.

The new road to south Tanna features dozens of large-scale cuts across countless hills. It includes switchbacks and concrete bridges. The road is broad, has been properly canted to make driving easier, and features extensive concrete drainage systems. The $50+ million project extends from White Grass airport about two thirds of the way down the island.

The project has faced difficulties. Land issues and concerns over respect for kastom have caused rancour. But in July 2015, chiefs and ranking members of Tanna society performed a reconciliation ceremony under a painted banner saying Tanna road project must go on.

Now, people are universally supportive. The road project has unlocked the economic potential of about 25% of the island, a part that until now was largely isolated. South Tannese trying to improve their lot inevitably drifted to Lenakel and Port Vila seeking opportunity.

Today, theres a chance that opportunity might follow them home.

Chinas record with infrastructure projects is spotty, to be sure. And we are right to criticise. But Ms Fierravanti-Wells should do more homework before diving into the debate.

Australias major roads project in Vanuatu, proudly unveiled in 2013 by then-foreign minister Bob Carr, is a laughingstock.

+3 Road Risks on the Rise Arthur Simrai doesnt seem to know the meaning of the word obstacle.

This shambolic operation, which should have been completed by now, is still lurching along with no end in sight. Traffic in the capital is a shocking mess. Questions are piling up about its budget. The design and planning phase was a comedy of errors, according to whistleblowers directly involved in the project. This newspaper has raised a number of concerns about road safety on several occasions. Some were addressed quickly, but many were simply ignored.

This isnt the first Australian infrastructure project run into the proverbial ditch, either. About half a decade ago, government officials were so incensed with one project manager arbitrarily re-writing the project spec that he came within a hair of receiving whats known locally as a Green Letterin effect a notice to leave the country forthwith.

The government of Australia might want to put down those stones its throwing at China and learn a thing or two from its own mistakes first. And talking over our heads about our shortcomings isnt going to win them many friends here, either.

Infrastructure is integral to Vanuatus development, and as a member of the Lenakel municipal council said last week, It all begins with roads. If Australia is serious about helping, it should do more, do it better, and gripe less.
While international attention remains on Chinas recidivist activities in the South China Seas disputed waters, Beijing is also focusing quietly on other waters  of rivers that originate in Chinese-controlled territory like Tibet and flow to other countries. Chinas new obsession is freshwater, a life-supporting resource whose growing shortages are casting a cloud over Asias economic future. It is aiming to become the upstream controller by re-engineering trans-boundary river flows through dams and other diversions.

Its unilateralism has fostered increasing tensions with India, many of whose important rivers originate in Tibet. In 2017, in violation of two legally binding bilateral accords, China refused to supply hydrological data to India, underscoring how it is weaponising the sharing of water data on upstream river flows. It shared the Brahmaputra data with Bangladesh but punitively denied India the data on the Brahmaputra and Sutlej.

Chinas data denial during the monsoons undermined Indias flood early-warning systems. In Assam, which suffered record flooding despite below-normal rainfall, many deaths were preventable.

Even as Beijing has yet to indicate if it will resume sharing hydrological data in 2018, a major new issue has cropped up in its relations with India  the waters of the main artery of the Brahmaputra river system, the Siang, have turned dirty and grey when the stream enters India from Tibet. This has spurred downstream concern that Chinas tunnelling, mining and damming activities could be threatening cross-border river ecosystems in the way it has polluted its own domestic rivers, including the Yellow, the cradle of the Chinese civilisation. The Siangs contamination has been a double whammy for Assam.

After staying mum on the contamination for many weeks, despite a growing furore in Indias northeast, Beijing claimed on December 27 that an earthquake that struck southeastern Tibet in mid-November might have led to the turbidity in the river waters. But the flows of the Siang, one of the worlds most pristine rivers, turned virtually black much before the quake of magnitude 6.3 (as measured by the US Geological Survey) struck Tibets Nyangtri (Nyingchi) prefecture on November 18. Another factor apparently caused the contamination.

China has been engaged in major mining and dam-building activities in southeastern Tibet, a region rich in both mineral and water resources. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries are a huge magnet for Chinas dam builders. The reason is that the Brahmaputra systems combined cross-border annual discharge of 165.4 billion cubic meters into India, according to United Nations figures, is greater than the collective trans-boundary flows of the three key rivers running from the Tibetan Plateau to Southeast Asia  the Mekong, the Salween and the Irrawaddy.

As China quietly works on a series of hydro-projects in Tibet that could affect the quality and quantity of downstream flows in South and Southeast Asia, it is apparently still toying with the idea of rerouting the upper Brahmaputra system. An officially blessed book published in 2005 championed the Brahmaputras rerouting to the Han heartland. Recently a Hong Kong newspaper reported that China now plans to divert the Brahmaputra waters to Xinjiang.

Beijing has denied such a plan  just as President Xi Jinping denied in 2015 that China had any plan to turn its seven man-made islands in the South China Sea into military bases.

China is already home to more than half of the globes large dams. To deflect attention from its continuing dam-building frenzy and its refusal to enter into a water-sharing treaty with any neighbour, China has bragged about its hydrological-data sharing accords. Yet it showed in 2017 that it can breach these accords at will. The denial of hydrological data to India actually underscores how China is using transboundary water as a tool of coercive diplomacy.

Such is Chinas defiant unilateralism that, to complete a major dam project, it cut off the flow of a Brahmaputra tributary, the Xiabuqu, in 2016 and is currently damming another such tributary, the Lhasa River, into a series of artificial lakes.

The cause of the Siang Rivers contamination can be known only if China agrees to a joint probe with India, including a scientific survey of the rivers upper reaches in Tibet. That is the only way to get to the bottom of the serious contamination that has choked aquatic life.

Make no mistake: China, by building increasing control over cross-border water resources through hydro-engineering structures, is dragging its riparian neighbours into high-stakes games of geopolitical poker over water-related issues. In waging water wars by stealth, China seeks to hew to the central principle enunciated by the ancient military theorist Sun Tzu  all wars are based on deception.

Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist and author

The views expressed are personal
What have Sophia Loren, John Cleese and Woody Allen got in common? They all began their careers in the oft-derided world of photo comics or photonovels.

The genre, infamous for stilted storylines and sugary romantic melodramas, is finally getting its day in the sun in a major museum retrospective in France. The lingering kisses and frozen horrified looks that were the bread-and-butter of photo comic stories now seem irredeemably kitsch.

But in strait-laced postwar Europe they were lapped up by millions even after the dawn of television  sparking moral panic and condemnation by both the pope and communist leaders.

Well into the 1960s, one in three French people were avid readers, according to the curators of the Roman-Photo exhibition at the Mucem museum in Marseille, which claims to be the first definitive look at a genre that has rarely attracted the attention of historians.

Indeed many of the people who created photo comics were so scornful of them that they left very little behind for posterity. Yet photonovels were one of the biggest pop cultural successes of the 20th century, said co-curator Frederique Deschamps, modern fairy tales filled with cars, fridges, record players and other objects that symbolise modernity, romance and desire.

From their birth in Italy in 1947, photo comics reflected changing moral values and fed the slow rise of feminism with stories about touchy and taboo subjects like divorce, abortion and womens rights at work, said her co-curator Marie-Charlotte Calafat.

Satanik, a character from an Italian noir comic book, during a press preview of the exhibition. (AFP/BERTRAND LANGLOIS)

Opium of female masses

They do not deserve their retrograde reputation at all, she added, its the reverse actually.

Instead they were real barometers of the aspirations of society with storylines where women questioned their place, Calafat insisted. So much so that even the reforming Pope John XXIII denounced them in 1959, prompting one liberal Catholic weekly to call them the opium of the female masses.

A lobby group made up of French communists, Christian intellectuals and some feminists also famously branded them infantile magazines that undermine morality and break up families.

Eventually though the Church gave in and began using photonovels to recount the lives of the saints.

The genre soon spawned imitators in Britain and the US, where the satirical magazine Help! called on the budding comic and acting talents of Woody Allen, John Cleese and fellow Monty Python member Terry Gilliam.

Photo comics also featured in National Lampoon as photo funnies, with Americans borrowing the Italian word fumetti for the genre, meaning speech bubble (literally little puff of smoke).

Sex and schlock horror

But as the 1960s wore on and TV became increasingly dominant, sales began to wane, pushing publishers to ape Hollywood and up the sex and shock factors.

A large part of the Marseille show is dedicated to Killing, a sadistic Italian photo comic character who stole from other criminals and took particular pleasure from torturing scantily-clad women.

The French version of the series, Satanik, was banned after 19 issues in 1967, but the brutal anti-hero -- who wore a skeleton costume -- spawned a bootleg Turkish version called Kilink that featured in several cult films, borrowing liberally from French and Italian pulp movies Fantomas and Kriminal.

A woman walking past photographs of final pages of photo novels during a press preview of the exhibition. (AFP/BERTRAND LANGLOIS)

But it was pornography that gave photo comics their longest and most lucrative afterlife in such bestselling top-shelf magazines as the Italian Fotosex. The British tabloid The Sun still uses photo strips to illustrate its Dear Deidre problem page, which inevitably turns on sexual dilemmas or titillating situations. And photo comics continue to be widely used for health education worldwide.

Putting the exhibition together, however, was not an easy task.

Curator Deschamps said she began her interest in the genre after finding a stack of the French magazine Nous Deux (Us Two) in a skip. As she dug deeper into the subject she discovered that the originals of most of the massively selling magazines had also been confined to the dustbin of history, leaving researchers with little to go on. Without chancing upon thousands of negatives of original photos in the archives of the Mondadori publishing house in Milan, she said they would not have been able to stage the show.

The exhibition runs at Mucem, Marseille, until April 23, 2018.

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Retired engineer Shyam Narayan Choukseys petition made lakhs of people stand in cinemas as the national anthem was played before commencement of movies for more than a year across the country. That was after a Supreme Court order in 2016.

However, the apex courts modified order on Tuesday, making the national anthem optional in cinema halls, has not disappointed the Bhopal-based Chouksey.

Reacting to the court order, Chouksey said the top court modified its order at the request of the central government which said it had constituted an inter-ministerial committee to look into the subject.

He said whenever the central government issued any notification to seek publics opinion and suggestions in this regard he would make a representation as to why playing of national anthem in cinema halls should be made mandatory.

Since (the) BJP talks of nationalism and patriotism. I hope the central government will make it mandatory again, said Chouksey.

Since cinema is a state subject I will also meet chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to make a request to him that he should make mandatory playing of national anthem in cinema halls and educational institutions, he added.

Chouksey, however, said it was unfortunate that only cinema halls figure in media in context of the national anthem. My petition was to make mandatory singing of national anthem in all educational institutions too, he said.

Since the national anthem was made mandatory in cinema halls, it had infused a sense of communal harmony and brotherhood in society as people from all castes and community watched movies together, he said.

The 78-year-old retired civil engineer runs an NGO, Gandhivadhi Manch. He filed a petition in 2002 in the high court raising objection against the commercial use of national anthem.

He said that while watching a movie, the Shahrukh Khan-starrer Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, in a cinema hall in Bhopal he saw only a few people standing up when the national anthem was sung in the film.
Karan Johar, the producer of the period film Kesari starring Akshay Kumar, announced the leading lady on Wednesday. He took to Twitter and wrote, The lead actress in #KESARI is ........PARINEETI CHOPRA! @ParineetiChopra.

Kesari is one of the three films that is inspired by the Battle of Saragarhi that took place in 1897 between the British Indian Army and Afghan Orakzai tribesmen in North-West Frontier Province (Pakistan). Akshay Kumars first look from the film was greatly applauded.

Akshay plays a Sikh warrior in the film and wrote with the photo, Feeling nothing but immense pride and gratitude while sharing this. Beginning my 2018 with #KESARI, my most ambitious film and a lot of passion. Need your best wishes as always @dharmamovies @iAmAzure @SinghAnurag79.

Parineeti was last seen in one of the most successful films of 2017, Golmaal Returns alongside Ajay Devgn. She returned to the silver screen in 2017 after being a part of back-to-back flops Daawat-e-Ishq, Kill Dil and Dishoom. It looks like the luck has turned in her favour. Pari is also a part of Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. This film also marks Arjun Kapoor and Parineetis collaboration after six years. The two actors had made their debut in lead roles in the hit film Ishaqzaade.

The two actors have been shooting for the film and Pari has kept her fans in loop with her social media updates.

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Hindi movie Mohalla Assi has received an A certificate -- with one cut -- for release from the censor board after a battle that lasted almost two years. The producer is hopeful to release it before the festival of colours Holi. We were very disturbed and had a lot of tension, but now I am very excited that it will release, said producer Vinay Tiwari.

After a prolonged legal battle, we have received a judgement favouring our argument and CBFC has now issued an A certificate for the movie. We will try and release it before Holi, Tiwari added.

The shooting of the Sunny Deol, Sakshi Tanwar, Ravi Kishan-starrer had started in 2011. Based on the book Kashi Ka Assi by Kashi Nath Singh, it is directed by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi.

The hurdle for the makers began when the application for certification of the film was submitted to Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in March 2016. The Revising Committee of the board, however, had refused to issue a certificate for exhibition of the film stating that the form and content of the film were highly derogatory of humans, culture and religion, including but not limited to mythology.

It was said to be laden with abusive and explicit content. The producers then appealed to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), which in November 2016, directed the producers to carry out 10 cuts/modifications and resubmit the film for its consideration.

Contending that the FCAT order had a damaging effect on the theme of the movie, the producers challenged it in Delhi High Court through a writ petition, thereby reserving a certificate.

According to Tiwari, now the film is releasing after only one cut. Theres one scene featuring Sunny, in which he uses some wrong language. They wanted that to be removed, thats all. The film gives a message about how foreigners have spoilt the environment in Varanasi... Its a good message. We have used the common language used there... Its not a film laced with abuses. It only has local flavour.

Earlier, following protests, the makers had removed a scene in which a man dressed as Lord Shiva is seen using abusive language.
The government on Wednesday relaxed FDI norms in various sectors such as single brand retail and allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49% in Air India through approval route ahead of its proposed privatisation.

In a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government, however, clarified that substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian nationals.

Foreign investments in Air India including that of foreign airlines shall not exceed 49% either directly or indirectly, the government said in a statement.

Existing rules allow foreign airlines to own as much as 49% in an Indian airline, with the exception of Air India.

The Cabinet also approved 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail through automatic route. It also tweaked the local sourcing norm by allowing such entities to meet the mandatory 30% local sourcing norm incrementally within a period of five years of opening their first store in India.

The civil aviation ministry said on Monday that it would invite expressions of interest in buying Air India Ltd after the budget  indicating the governments resolve to push the process even as a large section of the political class and stakeholders are opposed to it.

A parliamentary panel has asked the government not sell to Air India and recommended that the airlines accumulated debt be written off and that it function like a public sector undertaking with less government control.

The transport panel of Parliament cited a report by the government auditor, the comptroller and auditor general (C&AG) that noted that Air India has been able to cut 10% of its variable cost between 2012 and 2016. It also argued that the airline pays Rs 4,000 crore as interest on an accumulated loss of Rs 40,000 crore.

The House panel, which asked the government to give five more years to the ailing airline for a turnaround, argued that it earns 60% of its revenue in foreign currency and that this money could end up going to foreign airlines of Air India is privatised. It also expressed concern about the possible job loss for 3.34 lakh people including 50,000 directly.

The panel also pointed out that three of the airlines five subsidiaries (AI Express, the ground handling wing and the engineering branch) are making profits, and questioned the rationale for their divestment.
No-frill airline IndiGo moved the Delhi High Court on Wednesday against its single judges order upholding the decision of IGI airport operator DIAL to partially shift its operations from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2.

Interglobe Aviation Ltd, which operates the airline, mentioned the appeal before a bench of acting chief justice Gita Mittal and justice C Hari Shankar which listed it for hearing on January 15.

The airline has challenged the single judges December 20, 2017 ruling that there was no illegality in the decision of the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) to partially shift operations of IndiGo, along with that of SpiceJet and GoAir, from Terminal-1 (T-1) to Terminal-2 (T-2) of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.

DIAL on October 21 last year had asked the three airlines to shift their flights to and from Delhi to Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, to T-2 from January 4, 2018.

All other flights of the airlines shall continue to operate from T-1, the airport operator had said.

While upholding DIALs decision, the single judge had given the airlines time till February 15 to partially shift their operations.

In its appeal, Indigo has claimed that DIAL had not appropriately considered the inconvenience which would be caused to passengers while arriving at its decision.

The airline has also contended that DIAL had not taken into account its proposal to shift the other two airlines to T-2 and to let it remain in T-1.

In the proceedings before the single judge, the airline had challenged DIALs decision on the ground that partial shifting of its operations would inconvenience passengers, especially those on hopping flights emanating or ending at those sectors, as T-1 and T-2 are not connected.

Defending its decision, DIAL had said that T-1 had already exceeded its capacity and if airline operations were not shifted partially, it would lead to overcrowding.
Police detained Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar on Wednesday after he joined a protest by farmers demanding compensation for losing their land in Mandola village in Uttar Pradeshs Ghaziabad district.

Raj Babbar reached Mandola and staged a protest along with the farmers despite a police request not to go to the village.

Raj Babbar was, therefore, taken into custody along with about 100 Congress workers. He has been lodged in a guest house in Vasundhara (in Ghaziabad), superintendent of police Arvind Maurya said.

The administration apprehended law and order problems if he was allowed to continue his rally, said Maurya.

The farmers are up in arms over non-payment of compensation for their land acquired by the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corp for the upcoming Tronica City industrial township.
The Delhi Cabinet approved on Tuesday a new scheme for lower- and middle-class senior citizens to go on free religious pilgrimages.

Under the Mukhyamantri Teerthayatra Yojana, the Delhi government will select 77,000 devotees every year for an all-expenses-paid trip on five designated routes: Haridwar-Rishikesh-Neelkanth, Ajmer-Pushkar, Amritsar-Anantpur Sahib, Vaishnodevi-Jammu, Mathura-Vrindavan. At least 1,100 senior citizens, aged 60 and above, will be chosen from each of Delhis 70 assembly segments.

Pilgrims will be allowed to bring an attendant who is a relative of theirs and at least 18 years old, though the government is not sure how many it will be able to accommodate. This may add to the number of people travelling under this scheme, said an official from the Delhi tourism department who requested anonymity. We are yet to estimate the exact number of attendants who will be allowed on this free trip.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is also the state tourism minister, said the pilgrims will travel in air-conditioned buses. The government will bear all the expenses including the hotel cost, breakfast, lunch and an insurance of Rs 2 lakh for each pilgrim and an accompanying relative, he said after the cabinet meeting.

The scheme, intended to benefit senior citizens with an annual income under Rs 3 lakh, is the first free religious trip sponsored by the Delhi government . Previous administrations facilitated discount travel packages. The Akhilesh Yadav government sponsored religious trips in Uttar Pradesh starting in 2015, but this program was scrapped by the incumbent BJP administration last September.

The Delhi tourism official explained how the new program will work. The selection of pilgrims will be done through a draw of lots, and the local MLA will have to certify the residents as belonging to Delhi. All other modalities will be specified soon in the final notification. The government did not offer any other details about when the program would go into effect.

The tours will take three days and two nights, and will cover all the sites of religious and spiritual significance on the designated routes. Through this scheme, we have tried to cover all religions, in line with our governments pluralistic approach, said a Delhi government spokesperson.

The trips are expected to cost Rs 7,000 per pilgrim. The government estimates the total annual expense will be Rs 53 crore.

The applicants must be a resident of Delhi and they cannot be employed by the central, state or local government. Sisodia said that pilgrims will probably be limited to one trip every three or five years.

Application forms will be filled out and filed online. They will be sent to either the Office of the Divisional Commissioner, the office of the appropriate MLA, or the office of Tirth Yatra Committee.
A research scholar pursuing his PhD from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has allegedly gone missing from the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus, police said on Wednesday.

Mukul Jain, who is pursuing his research under a guide from IGNOU and a co-guide from JNUs School of Life Sciences, was last seen on Monday. Jain used a laboratory at the JNU for his research.

We have spoken to the family of the missing student but they have not been able to provide much information, said DCP (South West) Milind Mahadeo Dumbere. A complaint has been filed at Vasant Kunj police station.

Police said Jain was allegedly upset over some differences that had cropped up between him and a woman who he had recently befriended.

We have been told that he wanted to confront the woman but was unable to contact her when he was last seen on the campus and spoke to his friends, said an investigator who did not wish to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

CCTV footage shows Jain leaving the campus from the universitys east gate on Monday at around 12.30 pm. JNUs chief security officer Naveen Yadav said the students family visited the campus on Tuesday and were shown the CCTV recordings.

The student is not registered with JNU but works under a co-guide here. The family was shown the footage in which he was seen leaving the campus on foot. We have not registered a (police) complaint yet as the family has already registered it, Yadav said.

Jains co-guide at JNU Shweta Saran, a professor at School of Life Sciences, said, He is registered with IGNOU with the life sciences department. I am his co-guide so he used to come here to work in the lab, she said.

IGNOUs research unit director Kaustuva Barik confirmed that the student was registered with IGNOU . I was informed about the case by the guide that the student has gone missing. We hope he is found soon, he said.

In 2016, another student had gone missing from the JNU campus.

Najeeb Ahmed disappeared from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of the university on October 15, 2016 following a scuffle with some other students, allegedly affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the previous night. He is yet to be traced.
In 2015, the Union government revamped the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) guidelines: It replaced direct communication between families and adoption agencies with an online system to ensure transparency and efficiency. Two years down the line, the women and child development ministry, the nodal agency for adoptions, has found that despite the digital push, inordinate delays in the process continue to be a nagging problem. In 2016-2017, only 2,671 children were adopted in India.

The queue of prospective parents is, however, long. According to the ministry, 14,000 applicants are in line to adopt, but only 1,800 children are available (theres no accurate estimate of children available for adoption). One of the key reasons for the frustrating delay is the legal process that needs to be completed before a child is given to her adoptive parents. As things stand, only civil courts have the power to enable adoption. But they are so overburdened that adoption cases keep getting delayed.

To tackle this problem, the ministry has now prepared a proposal to delegate the power to give final approval for enabling adoption of a child to district magistrates. The law ministry is reviewing the changes and if there is consensus between the two ministries, the proposal will go to the Cabinet and an amendment will be made to the Juvenile Justice Act 2015.

The WCD ministrys decision is a step in the right direction, but speed must not lead to weakened due diligence. The government also needs to focus on two other issues: First, come up with the correct number of children who can be adopted (there is no official record on the number of children at orphanages, but surveys by non-government organisations say there are approximately 50,000 orphans in the country), and second, as the Supreme Court said on January 4, the State must thoroughly review the management of orphanages, adoption process and facilities provided to these children in these homes.
In a setback to the countrys $11 billion tobacco industry, the Supreme Court has put on hold a lower courts order that overturned rules demanding larger health warnings on cigarette and bidi packages. Last month, the Karnataka High Court had struck down a central government rule mandating that 85% of a tobacco packets surface be covered in health warnings, up from 20% earlier. The decision comes as a relief for health advocates and the Union health ministry who say bigger health warnings deter tobacco consumption.

Introduced in April, 2016, large pictorial warnings were just one part of a combination of tobacco-control measures  which included raising taxes and banning the advertising of tobacco, smoking in public spaces and sale to minors  introduced in the country over the past decade. Protesting the health warning measures, the cigarette industry briefly shut its factories in 2016. A government survey conducted the Union Ministry of Health last year said 62% of cigarette smokers and 52% of bidi smokers had been compelled to think about quitting because of large warning labels on both sides of the packets

Tobacco use is the second largest cause of early death and chronic diseases, killing 6.4 million people worldwide in 2015, according to data from 195 countries published in the medical journal The Lancet. In India, tobacco causes 100,000 deaths every year, leading to one in 20 deaths in women and one in five deaths in men, estimates the Global Burden of Disease study published in The Lancet. The economic cost of all tobacco-related diseases was Rs 104,500 crore (US$22.4 billion) in 2011, estimated a report by the Ministry of Health on Economic Burden of Tobacco-related Diseases in India. Besides being oblivious to the risks associated with tobacco use, a vast majority of consumers of bidi and chewing tobacco, from economically weaker sections, are not aware of anti-tobacco campaigns. Larger images on both sides of the packet can be an effective weapon to communicate health risks to these people, and induce them to quit. Conversely, reducing the size of pictorial warnings will be a retrograde step in the fight against health hazards caused by tobacco. Apart from cancers, smoking can lead to chronic bronchitis, heart disease and stroke. In the case of pictorial warnings on cigarette packs, what you see is what you may get.
ABC/Image Group LA Dierks Bentley is turning into a Mountain man.

You may have noticed that lately, the Arizona's been growing an impressive beard. It turns out thats just one of the hints pointing toward Dierks new album. Since the beginning of the year, hes also been sharing ambiguous videos of picturesque western landscapes.

Wednesday morning, he revealed its all been a precursor to his new album, The Mountain, coming later this year.

The inspiration for the record struck last June when Dierks played the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. He then returned to the Colorado ski town -- with hit songwriters in tow -- to work on the album. It was eventually recorded at a studio half an hour outside the former mining town.

Telluride just makes you want to reach for your guitar, Dierks explains. "We...got completely off the grid...out of our normal element and the grind that happens on Music Row and it was, from the very get-go, magic."

As for the album process, he says, "Wed wake up every morning, grab a coffee, take the gondola up, watch the sun come up over the mountains, and by 8:30 we were writing."

But as Dierks notes, The Mountain isn't just about being in the actual mountains.

"It's the mountain that were all faced with every day, and the struggle to put one foot in front of the other even when things are hard, that we all have in common," he says. "Looking back now, I think we were all searching for hope and optimism when we were writing this music.

Dierks will go live on all his socials Wednesday at noon CT to talk about his ninth album, which is due in early 2018.

In the meantime, you can preview The Mountains title track in a new YouTube video.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Jonas Cullwick, a former General Manager of VBTC is now a Senior Journalist with the Daily Post. Contact: jonas@dailypost.vu. Cell # 678 5460922
City police will hire thirteen special police officers on contract and interviews for these posts will be conducted on January 11 at police commissioners office. The SPOs will be hired for a period of one year and paid an honorarium of 14,000 per month. They will also get a dress allowance of 3,000 once a year.

Only the former employees of Haryana State Industrial Security Force, which was disbanded, and 819 Haryana Armed police personnel who retired in 2004 will be eligible for recruitment. The salaries of the SPOs will be credited directly to their bank accounts.

As per the norms, they would not be recruited in their home police stations, but those adjacent to places where they live.

They would also be paid 3,000 for 2 pairs of dress, one pair of shoes and other items required for duty. They would also be paid 150 per day as tour allowance and leaves would be granted as per the norms laid down for Haryana police constables.

In the event of an SPO losing his life on duty, his next of kin will be paid 10 lakh as compensation. In case they suffer any disability, they would also be paid compensation based on the nature of the handicap.

The selection committee for the interview would comprise the commissioner of police, ACP and an inspector. Those being selected will have to undergo a 15-day training course during which they will be made aware of the basics of law and order management, crowd control and other aspects of policing. The SPOs would be deployed for guard duty, patrolling, traffic management and other related duties performed by the police department.

Read I Gurgaon: Special Police Officers recruitment drive begins, 275 applications received on Day One

Gurgaon police is likely to get 275 SPOs of the 1,500 being recruited by the department across the state to augment the police force. The police is currently short of 900 officers and it is expected that the recruitment of these SPOs would act as a force multiplier.

The city police is also expecting 350 new police personnel to join the city police traffic department after they pass out of police training academy in Sunaria.

On Monday, an SPO deployed at Palam Vihar was mowed down by a speeding vehicle. The police have traced the vehicle to a place in Punjab and are hunting for the accused.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday said that it will review the status of the 52-acre plot at Sarai Khwaja village in Faridabad district, which has been earmarked for a housing project, on its next hearing on a petition on January 24. The plot in question is situated in the Aravalli area where curbs on unauthorised construction activities are in force.

The petitioner, Lt Col. (retd) Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi, sought a stay order claiming that construction for the housing project is already under way.

The petitioner claimed in court that the builder started construction work after chopping and removing 1,530 trees from the area last month.He pleaded urgent steps to preserve the greenery in the area.

The petition before the NGT states that the area falls in the category of natural conservation zone (NCZ) under the Regional Plan 2021. As per the restrictions in force, construction should be limited to only 0.5% of the area and should only be for regional recreational activities. The prohibitions are aimed at conserving the environmentally- sensitive areas and ensure that construction is kept at a minimum.

The plea also stated that chopping of trees on the 52-acre plot in the Aravalli is a direct violation of environmental clearance conditions. The petitioner demanded that realty projects be kept out of the Aravalli gair mumkin pahar area or deemed forest land.

Read I Gurgaon: Filling of water pits in parched Aravalli forest underway

The petitioner said that while the matter is still in the tribunal, the builder has started work on the project.

The Haryana government should put the project on hold till the court pronounces a verdict in the case, Chetan Agarwal, an environment analyst, said.

Jitender Bhadana, an environmentalist, said, It is surprising how commercial projects in forest area obtain clearances. It seems like a ploy to pave the way for real-estate firms to encroach into Aravalli forest.

A spokesperson for Bharti Realty, the builder, said, The company has all the necessary permission and clearance for construction on the said plot.

In an earlier statement, the spokesperson had said, It is a private land which has been granted a licence by DTCP (department of town and country planning) for the construction of a group housing colony. Environmental clearance for the said land has been granted and building plans have also been sanctioned.
An accused in the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case, absconding for almost 16 years, was arrested in the city on Wednesday, police said.

Ashish Pandey, one of the five absconding accused in the case, was arrested from Aslali locality by Crime Branch sleuths, a police official said.

A mob had attacked Gulberg Society, a pre-dominantly Muslim colony in Ahmedabad, on February 28, 2002, killing 69 persons including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. It was one of the worst incidents of violence during the post-Godhra riots.

Pandey was absconding ever since he was named as an accused in the FIR lodged in 2002 after the incident. He lived in Naroda locality with his family, but had fled to evade arrest and thereafter lived in different cities including Haridwar and Vapi and worked in the transport business, said the official.

Police had got a tip-off that Pandey was in the city in connection with his work, he said.

He was handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which probed the case. He will be produced before a court on Thursday.

A special court for SIT cases had, in June 2016, convicted 24 persons in the Gulberg case, awarding life imprisonment to 11 of them. Thirty-six others were acquitted.

With the arrest of Pandey, four more accused are still at large.
The lead petitioners in a public interest litigation (PIL), which accuses security forces of six extra-judicial executions and disappearances, including that of a 10-year-old child, in Chhattisgarh, have fled their homes in Bijapur district fearing reprisals from the police.

The women are currently in Delhi to urge the Supreme Court to take over the PIL from the Bilaspur high court.

The killings, the petition alleges, were carried out in 2015 and 2016 under the pretext of counter-insurgency operations in states Maoist-affected areas.

At a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, petitioners Suneeta and Munni Pottam said that on December 27, 2017, Bijapurs superintendent of police MR Ahire had accused them of maligning the state police at the behest of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), and had threatened them with arrest when they approached him with a fresh complaint regarding another police encounter on December 21.

On December 21, we heard a burst of gunfire near our village Korcholi, Suneeta said. When we rushed to the spot, we saw the police had killed someone and were dressing the body in a uniform. When the women raised an alarm, the police violently assaulted them, she added.

The police has disputed these claims. I dont think the allegations are true, said DM Awasthi, special DGP, anti-Naxal operations. If anyone gives me a written complaint, I will surely investigate and action will be taken.

2015 Encounter Case

In 2016, Suneeta and Munni filed a petition in the HC accusing the police of killing Sukku Kunjam, Kuhdami Ganga, Tati Pande, Manoj Hapka and Seetu Hemla in four separate encounters from November 2015 to August 2016. The petition also names Sodhi Sannu, a 10-year-old who disappeared during a police operation in Andri village on February 19, 2016 and hasnt been found since.

A series of petitions are currently being heard by the apex court. On January 7, 2017, the National Human Rights Commission held the Chhattisgarh police responsible for rape, physical and sexual assault of 16 women in 2015-16. It is still recording statements of 18 other complainants.
The Congress and BJP on Wednesday traded charges with the former accusing the latter of harbouring extremists and the BJP accusing the government of being anti-Hindu.

With assembly elections in Karnataka set to be held by May, the sparring between the two parties has escalated over the past week, especially after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath attacked chief minister Siddaramaiah at a rally in Bengaluru on Sunday. Adityanath had questioned Siddaramaiahs Hindu credentials for not banning cow slaughter.

Additionally, the two parties have sparred over the rise in communal tension in the coastal districts of the state.

On Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal were harbouring extremists. Addressing the media in Chamarajnagar, the chief minister said: They are also extremists of one kind. BJP, RSS, and Bajrang Dal have extremists. Anybody who spoils communal harmony will not be tolerated, Siddaramaiah said.(Siddaramaiah used the word Ugragami, which in classical Kannada means extremist, but is also used colloquially to mean a terrorist).

Siddaramaiah said the government would not differentiate between extremists. We will not spare anybody, be it [Popular Front of India], [Social Democratic Party of India], Bajrang Dal or [Vishwa Hindu Parishad], he said.

The BJP hit back. An outgoing chief ministers desperate attempts to communalise the elections. In the last year, Siddaramaiah has not spoken on any inclusive, progressive, development issue of the state. He has tried to divide Kannadigas on lines of language, caste, region, religion. It will fail, the party tweeted.

Meanwhile, state Congress working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said the BJP was becoming a terrorist organisation. [BJP leaders] are refusing to speak on the murders of Basheer [Ahmed], Dhanyashree. They say they will change Constitution. It is becoming a terrorist organisation, he said while addressing the media after holding a protest in Bengaluru to condemn the suicide of 20-year-old Dhanyashree, who was allegedly harassed by Hindutva workers in Chikmagalur.

BJP president Amit Shah, too, trained his guns at the Congress while addressing a rally at Holalkere town in Chitradurga district, accusing the Congress of being anti-Hindu and practising vote-bank politics.

Over 20 workers of BJP and RSS have been murdered in three years. What was their crime? This government is not even investigating it. When BJP govt will come those who killed the workers will go to jail, Shah said.

This government is practicing vote-bank politics and it is anti-Hindu. It has taken back all the cases against the Social Democratic party of India, an anti-national and fundamentalist organisation, Shah said. He alleged that the government had asked people setting up Ganesh pandals to furnish bonds worth Rs 10 lakh.

Shah also accused the government of not passing on the benefits of the funds it had received from the Centre. If there is a Congress workers house in your colony take a look at it. Four years ago it would have been a tin shed, with a moped parked outside. Now the house would be three-storeys tall with an expensive car parked in front, Shah said. The Siddaramaiah government has eaten all the money given by Centre and the tax paid by the people.
A 23-year old Finnish woman tourist was found dead in a hotel in Chennai on Wednesday in a case of suspected drug overdose, police said.

Helea Nea-Emilia along with her boyfriend Palomaki Alekesi Joel Santeri from Finland have been touring the country since November last year and arrived here a couple of days ago, they said.

They were staying at a hotel and we got a call that the Finnish woman was lying dead, a police official told PTI.

A case has been registered and her boyfriend was being questioned as part of the investigations, he said.

It was suspected that the woman might have consumed excessive alcohol and taken some drug also, but a clear picture on the cause of the death would emerge only after an autopsy, he added.
The Lok Sabhas committee on salary and allowances has called a meeting on January 12 where it is likely to discuss an old proposal to double the salaries of members of Parliament to Rs one lakh.

MPs currently get Rs 50,000 as basic salary and another Rs 45,000 as constituency allowance. They are also entitled to a daily allowance of Rs 2000 for attending Parliament and related meetings. The proposal for a salary hike for MPs has so far not found support from the NDA government.

The panels move assumes significance after the Lok Sabha cleared a legislation to raise salaries of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts. Earlier, the government had accepted the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission to increase salaries of Central government employees. The new salaries come into force with retrospective effect from January 1, 2016.

If the government accepts the House panels suggestions, a fresh bill has to be cleared by Parliament enhancing the pay package of the lawmakers.

In July 2015, the House panel on salaries and allowances which was then headed by Yogi Adityanath had recommended a 100% hike in MPs salaries but the proposal did not move forward.

An MP is also entitled to limited number of free air tickets, free accommodation and staff allowances during his or her tenure.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Union government to explain how it plans to provide Aadhaar numbers to homeless people across the country.

A bench headed by Justice MB Lokur posed this question to central government law officer Tushar Mehta while hearing a public interest litigation on night shelters. How can a homeless person get an Aadhaar card when you insist on address proof? The homeless do not seem to exist for the Union (government) of India, the bench said upon being informed that around 90 crore people have been issued Aadhaar numbers.

The court posed the query after the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary said that people were required to have documents proving their identity, such as Aadhaar cards, if they wanted to use night shelters.

Mehta, in his response, said he would prefer to not address the query as Aadhaar card enrolment was not the issue before the bench. However, advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for petitioner ER Kumar  agreed that the government has not bothered to provide any identity proof to the homeless.

The court also noted that the government has not even given other forms of identity proof, such as voter ID cards, to those without a residential address.

The government is trying to make the 12-digit unique identity number mandatory for people across the country to access basic needs such as mobile connectivity, banking and welfare schemes. The constitutional validity of Aadhaar is pending before a five-judge bench, which will soon hear a batch of petitions against several government notifications that make the identity number mandatory for its social welfare schemes and services.

Civil right activists also argue that biometric fingerprints and iris scans, which are taken for the issuance of Aadhaar numbers, violate an individuals right to privacy and are prone to misuse.

A recent affidavit filed before the Supreme Court claimed that although Aadhaar card details of 135 million citizens have been leaked by various government agencies until now, no action has been taken against the personnel concerned.

The bench also expressed displeasure over the pace at which night shelters were being constructed across the country. It directed all states and Union territories in the country to form three member coordination committees, each headed by the principal secretary of the urban development department, to periodically monitor the work.

The next hearing will be held after four weeks.
The ruling CPM could foot the bill for chief minister Pinarayi Vijayans chartered helicopter to attend a party function in Thrissur last December, which triggered a controversy as money from the cyclone Ockhi relief fund was diverted to pay for the journey.

The row erupted at a time the government was requesting people to contribute to the chief ministers relief fund to help the cyclone-affected people.

The CM has made it clear that it was done without his knowledge. The issue must have ended there. The party is capable enough to foot the bill, said state tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran, who is also a senior leader of the CPM.

Another senior leader, Anathalvattom Anandan, said the party would investigate the lapse.

The lapse being referred to is the Rs 8 lakh helicopter bill sanctioned from the disaster relief fund by additional chief secretary PH Kurian after the chief ministers flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur on December 26 to attend a party district committee event.

Vijayan returned to Thiruvananthapuram in the chartered helicopter for two functions in the state capital, including a meeting with the central team that came to review the damage caused by the cyclone. Thereafter, he flew back to the party meet.

State revenue minister E Chandrasekharan, a CPI nominee, sought an explanation from the additional chief secretary for paying from the relief fund for the chief ministers tour to attend a CPM event.

Vijayan cancelled the officials order later, saying it was done without his knowledge.

The opposition Congress and BJP alleged that the government was making the senior bureaucrat a scapegoat, and demanded an apology from the chief minister for what they called misuse of cyclone relief funds.

He owes an apology to the state, said former chief minister Oommen Chandy.

Also, the Latin Catholic Church, whose clout runs deep among south Keralas fishing community, criticised the alleged fund diversion.

Even party insiders admitted that lapses of some officials dented the image of the government badly.

The government had cancelled New Year celebrations this time and diverted the money to the relief fund. Kerala was the worst affected after cycole Ockhi hit the coast on November 29. At least 70 people died and about 100 fishermen went missing in the high seas.
India and Russia will begin key price talks next week for the acquisition of four new stealth frigates to scale up the Indian Navys capabilities, a top government official familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Two of the warships will be constructed at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad and the remaining two at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).

Price negotiation with a visiting Russian delegation will begin on January 15. GSL has the expertise and infrastructure to build the warships in the country, said the public sector yards chairman, Rear Admiral Shekhar Mital (retd). India is prepared to drive a hard bargain for the project, said a defence ministry official tracking the navys modernisation programme.

The navy currently operates six stealth frigates  three Talwar class and three Teg class  bought from Russia and inducted between 2003 and 2013.

The new Grigorovich-class Project 1135.6 frigates will be powered by gas turbine engines to be supplied by Ukrainian firm Ukroboronproms Gas Turbine Research & Production Complex Zorya-Mashproekt, a deal being negotiated separately by India.

Ukraine refused deliveries of the gas turbine engines to Russia after the 2014 Crimea conflict unfolded. We are talking to the Ukrainians directly, the official said. India and Russia inked an inter-governmental agreement in October 2016 for the four 4,000-tonne frigates, which are likely to be equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles. Russian delegations toured the GSL last year and found the production facilities to be satisfactory to take on the project. Building the frigates will be a challenging task for the Indian shipyard that has created facilities for construction of mine counter-measure vessels and supplied advanced offshore patrol vessels, fast patrol boats and interceptor craft to the navy and the coast guard.
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An Indian woman known as the curry queen of Israel will accompany Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other high-ranking officials visiting India next week.

Renowned chef and restaurateur Reena Pushkarna said in a phone interview from Tel Aviv on Tuesday that she is very honoured and excited to be a part of the prime ministerial delegation.

This really means a lot to me as I wear both hats  Indian and Israeli, she said. Born to an Indian Army colonel, Pushkarna made Tel Aviv her home more than three decades ago.

Netanyahu will be the second Israeli PM to visit India after diplomatic ties were established between the two countries 25 years ago.

Pushkarna will bring a special gift for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for whom she cooked for the first time more than a decade ago. I am carrying a small Hamsa for Modi ji to wish him good luck with all his endeavours and hope to get an opportunity to give it to him personally, she said.

Shaped like an eye in the middle of an open palm, the Hamsa is a Jewish symbol used for luck and protection.

So what are her expectations from the visit?

Politicians do the talkingthey open the doors. And people like you and I on the ground make people-to-people things happen, she said.

When Modi visited Israel last July, Pushkarna was responsible for catering arrangements for the Indian delegation and even served up an elaborate vegetarian spread at a dinner hosted by Netanyahu and his wife Sara at Beit Rosh HaMemshala  the Israeli PMs residence.

Pushkarna and her team of seven chefs prepared three meals daily for the Indian PM, whether or not he ate at the seven-star King David hotel where worlds top leaders stay while visiting the country.

That wasnt the first time Pushkarna cooked for Modi. She was responsible for catering when Modi visited Israel 11 years ago for a business event as the chief minister of Gujarat.

She is the convener of the Israel chapter of the Overseas Friends of BJP and flew to India for Modis swearing-in ceremony in May 2014.

Her restaurant in Tel Aviv, called Tandoori, was the setting for Norway-mediated talks between the Israelis and Palestinians that led to a historic peace accord in 1993.

Its the same restaurant where a young Benjamin took Sara out on a date 30 years ago. Netanyahu made a mention of that dinner date during his joint press conference with Modi in July 2017.
India will soon get village-level information about vegetative cover with ISROs Space Applications Centre (SAC) set to generate data for all states in the next two months which is expected to help streamline crop insurance pay offs.

The Haryana government requested us for the data so we did a pilot project for them. It will help them settle crop insurance claims, Tapan Misra, director at SAC in Ahmedabad, said. It is very useful information so we have decided to do this for all states.

The centre is now working with Punjab to generate vegetation data for the state. Both Punjab and Haryana have struggled to implement crop insurance schemes. A CAG report tabled in July 2017 pointed out that the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, is not performing very well in eight states surveyed, including Haryana.

According to the insurance schemes, there should be 40% crop damage in a village for farmers to become eligible for relief. It often becomes difficult for farmers to prove that percentage of crop damage. But now, the data from the platform along with additional information about soil conditions and weather will help assess legitimate crop insurance pay offs.

ISRO has developed a way of automatically calculating the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) which captures the vegetative cover, by analysing data from the Advanced Wide Field Sensor on board the Resourcesat satellite.

The VEDAS platform of ISRO, where the data for Haryana is currently hosted, provides three year trends for vegetation. In the future, Misra said longer term data could be made available.
Senior AIADMK leader and deputy speaker of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, V Jayaraman, on Tuesday suggested that late chief minister J Jayalalithaas name be recommended for the Nobel Prize in the light of her scheme to prevent female infanticide in the state.

Jayaraman was speaking in the Tamil Nadu Assembly while participating in the motion to thank the Governor for his address to the House on Monday.

Referring to the Cradle Baby Scheme launched by the former AIADMK supremo as Chief Minister in 1992, he said the initiative was even lauded by Nobel Peace Prize winner, the late Mother Teresa.

He recalled that the scheme, which was initially launched in Salem, was expanded across the state in a phased manner and claimed it had resulted in a better sex ratio.

Launched during Jayalalithaas first term as chief minister (1991-96), the Cradle Baby Scheme allowed women to hand over their newborns to the government anonymously, to be cared by the State.

It was launched to prevent female infanticide, which was rampant in some parts of Tamil Nadu then.

Tamil Nadu will not forget Amma (Jayalalithaa), who launched the Thottil Kuzhanthaigal Thittam (Cradle Baby Scheme) which was appreciated by Mother Teresa. Tamil Nadu (government) should recommend Ammas name for Nobel Prize, he said.
The US retreats on a controversial proposal on H-1B visa; the Supreme Court takes drops its order on compulsorily playing the national anthem at movie theatres; and Yusuf Pathan is banned for doping. These were the top stories on Tuesday. Here is more about them.

Trump administration drops controversial H-1B visa proposal

The Trump administration announced it was not considering a proposal that denies thousands of H-1B visa holders, mostly Indians, permission to stay in the country for more than six years as they wait for permanent residency. Indian H-1B holders would have been at risk of deportation if the proposal was accepted.

Jet Airways air hostess arrested in Delhi for smuggling

A Jet Airways air hostess was arrested Monday night in Delhi after she was allegedly found illegally carrying $480,200 (Rs 3.21 crore) on a Delhi-Hong Kong flight. The woman was part of a racket set up by a travel companys owner to launder black money, alleged the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

National anthem not mandatory in cinema halls: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court reversed its order to play the national anthem before movie screenings, a ruling that sparked a spate of arrests and attacks on cinema-goers who refused to rise. The court withdrew its order after the government on Monday said it had set up a committee to decide on the playing of national anthem in cinemas.

Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani speaks to the media before his rally in Delhi. (Vipin Kumar/ HT Photo)

Jignesh Mevani attacks Modi and BJP at Delhi rally

Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Delhi. We believe in Indias polity. We are not love jihad guys. Were pyaar ishq muhabbat guys. We will celebrate 14th February (Valentines Day), said Mevani at a rally which was held under tight security after being denied police permission.

Yusuf Pathan gets back-dated ban for doping

Former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan was suspended for five months for taking a banned stimulant. The ban on the 35-year-old, who last represented India in 2012, was backdated to end on January 14 and it will enable him to be available for the Indian Premier League players auction.

Sri Lankan Navy attacks Tamil Nadu fishermen, snaps fishing nets

The Sri Lankan Navy allegedly chased away 3,500 Tamil Nadu fishermen on Tuesday, damaging some of their boats and fishing nets for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters. The Navy allegedly threw stones at the fishermen who were sailing near Katchatheevu, an uninhabited island in the Palk Strait.

Verdict on Cauvery water dispute in a month, says SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said there had been enough confusion over the sharing of Cauvery water, hinting it would give a verdict in the dispute in a month. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been fighting over sharing the river for decades. Karnataka claims that a British-era agreement was unfair as it did not get it enough water. Tamil Nadu says that it needs the water to sustain farming that increased because of Karnatakas commitment to providing sufficient water.

Uttarakhand businessman blames GST and demonetisation in video, drinks poison

A businessman in Uttarakhand died by drinking poison two days after he shot a video in which he blamed the goods and services tax and demonetisation--two major economic reforms of the Modi government--for his losses. Prakash Pandey, a transporter, had visited the BJP office in Dehradun on Saturday afternoon when state agriculture minister Subodh Uniyal was listening to public complaints. He wanted BJP leaders to help him and collapsed at the office.

Lalu Prasads aides land in jail to serve him

Two aides of former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad were charged with minor offences and sent to Ranchi prison so that they can serve him while he serves a prison term for corruption, media reports said. Lakshman Mahto and Madan Yadav are reportedly workers of Prasads Rashtriya Janata Dal party.

3,700 arrested in days of protest and unrest in Iran

Some 3,700 people were arrested in the days of protests and unrest that roiled Iran over the past two weeks, a lawmaker has said. The protests, which vented anger at high unemployment and official corruption, were the largest seen in Iran since the disputed 2009 presidential election, and some demonstrators called for the overthrow of the government.
Separatist leaders on Wednesday called for a state-wide strike on January 13 against the killing of a young man by army in south Kashmirs Kulgam district.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly also witnessed uproar over civilian killings in the state.

Khalid Ahmad Dar (22) died during protests on Tuesday after army fired on a group of youths, which was pelting stones at a camp of the force in Khudwani, Kulgam, according to police.

The protests were triggered after one of the regions young militants, 18-year-old Farhan Ahmad Wani was killed in an encounter with government forces in neighbouring Anantnag district.

Kashmir has been turned into a killing field where the lives of men, women and children are not safe, separatist leaders said in a joint statement.

Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik said that a strike will be observed on Saturday against the killings, ongoing genocide of Kashmiri youth and other oppressive measures.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has also expressed anguish over the killing of Khalid Dar and ordered a probe to know the reasons behind the killing.

Opposition cornered government in the assembly over the civilian killings and staged a walkout. The opposition legislators wanted government to stop innocent civilian killings.

According to police officials, at-least 24 civilians have lost their lives during gun battles between security forces and militants in Kashmir in 2017.

The separatist leaders termed the incident at Khudwani as horrendous torment unleashed by Indian occupational army, police and forces during which pellets, bullets and shells were showered on people injuring hundreds and killing one innocent.

Indian imperialism has let loose its army, forces and police and given them a free hand to kill Kashmiri youth with impunity, they said.

Asking international community to shun its silence at the plight of Kashmiris, the three senior separatist leaders said that it is the duty of international community to protect and safeguard humanity everywhere.

Meanwhile, thousands of people, chanting pro-freedom slogans, participated in the funeral of Farhan Wani in Khudwani Kulgam. Reports said people offered funeral prayers in turns owing to the huge rush of mourners.
Incarcerated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said lodging him in Hazaribag open jail would create a law-and-order problem as a large number of people would throng the prison to meet him.

Special CBI judge Shivpal Singh, who had convicted Prasad on December 23 and awarded him 3.5 years of imprisonment, had recommended to the state government to send all the fodder scam convicts to the open jail.

The judge observed that the convicts had vast experience of cattle rearing and they could render their services at gaushala (cowshed) inside the Hazaribag jail.

When Prasad appeared before the court on Wednesday in a separate fodder scam case pending against him, the judge asked the former Bihar chief minister whether he was facing any problem in the jail.

On this, the RJD chief urged the judge to direct jail authorities to allow more people to meet him.

In response, the judge said: That is why I had recommended to send you people to the open jail where you can live with family members and enjoy various facilities provided there.

Prasad said such step would need deployment of entire police force to control crowd and pointed out that a large police contingent was brought in to bring him to court from the jail.

Whenever leaders like me come here, a huge crowd gathers. People will take out marches to see me off to the open jail... Entire police force will be require to control the crowd, he said.

When the judge said the court would direct the government to prevent people from taking out marches, Prasad said: In such a situation, mass killings could take place.

The RJD chief also urged the judge to refer to a government circular that prohibits keeping any convict sentenced to less than five years of imprisonment in an open jail.

Dahi-chura for Lalu during Sankranti

Special CBI judge Shivpal Singh assured RJD chief Lalu Prasad that he would order the jail administration to provide him curd and rice flakes on January 14, the Makar Sankranti day.

Prasad had earlier told the judge that he had sent him to jail ahead of the festival, thus denying him dahi and chura.
A 12-year-old boy became the third victim of a leopard in Madhya Pradeshs Chhindwara district in the last three days, prompting the forest department to launch a massive hunt to trap the maneater.

The half-eaten body of the boy was found in the forests of east Chhindwara on Wednesday morning, nearly 274 km south-east of Bhopal.

Nearly 200 officials of the forest department and 300 to 400 villagers are searching for the leopard which has unleashed terror in east Chhindwara.

SS Uddey, district forest officer (DFO), Chhindwara (east) said the leopard attacked the boy from Jhirpani village when he had gone with his mother to their farm on Tuesday evening.

The leopard pounced on the boy and dragged him into the forest. We kept searching for the boy whole night in the forest. Finally we spotted his half-eaten body on Wednesday morning, he said.

Uddey said the leopard killed two children on Sunday, a ten year old boy from Bijo Pathar area and a five-year-old girl from Mohli village. While the boys partially eaten body was later found, the animal left the girls body after killing her.

Chhindwaras superintendent of police Gaurav Tiwari quoted the mother of the girl as saying that the leopard attacked the girl while they had gone into the forest area to collect firewood. The leopard caught the girl by her neck, puncturing it which led to her death, he said.

Villagers who have seen the leopard say it is very agile and fast. It is apparently a young leopard who has started attacking humans. We dont know why. It has never happened in this area earlier. As all the three villages where attacks have taken place are located within a range of 15 to 20 kms, it is mostly likely one leopard that is targeting children, Uddey said

The three villages fall in the Chhindi forest range.

Uddey said that over 200 forest employees have been deployed to track and catch the leopard. Wildlife experts from Kanha, Pench and Satpura tiger reserves have also been drafted in.

It is difficult to catch a leopard with a tranquilizer gun as it is very agile. So we are planning to put cages with goats or dogs as baits at half a dozen places in these forests, he said, adding, We are also putting 15 to 20 camera traps so that we can have information about its movement in this area, he said.

Shrinking and fragmentation of leopard habitat and growing human population have increase leopard-man conflict. According to wildlife experts, among the four big cats, leopards tolerate proximity to humans better than lions and tigers. But they come into conflict with humans when raiding livestock, especially during periods of drought or when the leopards natural prey becomes scarce.
A 48-year-old man, booked for killing his wife, allegedly attempted suicide on Wednesday by setting himself on fire in full public view, police said.

The incident occurred when the man, later identified as M Mahalakshmi Naidu, arrived in Pendurthi area at around 10am, doused himself in petrol and set himself ablaze before anybody could realise what was happening, a police official said.

The incident was captured on a CCTV camera.

Pendurthi police station inspector J Murali said many pedestrians and motorists watched the incident, but nobody came forward to help the man who was screaming.

Many people just looked on as Naidu was on fire. Even a water tanker of the city civic body passed by Naidu, he said.

On receipt of information, a police team rushed to the spot and put out flames.

Naidu was rushed to hospital, where his condition is stated to be critical as he has suffered 65% burns, Murali said.

Naidu, working as a security guard, was arrested in October 2016 for allegedly killing his wife M Rajeswari (40) in a fit of rage, the officer said, adding that he was recently released from the jail on conditional bail.

When asked about the trigger behind Naidu attempting the extreme step, the inspector said that his relatives had claimed that Naidus brothers-in-law were trying to usurp a piece of land owned by him.

Further investigation is on, Murali said.
A minor fire broke out on- board warship INS Shivalik in Visakhapatnam Wednesday evening during welding work but no casualty or damage was reported.

The fire broke out in the stationery compartment of the stealth warship at the naval dockyard, a spokesman for the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) told PTI.

The ENC is headquartered in Visakhapatnam.

The vessel was anchored at the dockyard for periodic maintenance, he said.

Sparks flew while welding works were going on, igniting the fire. But it was very minor inside the stationery compartment and the fire was extinguished within a short time.

There was no damage to property or injuries to any person, the spokesman said.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident, he added.
Nahan legislator Dr Rajeev Bindal was on Wednesday unanimously elected the Speaker of the 13th Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

The treasury and opposition benches moved four resolutions proposing Bindals name. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur moved the first resolution, which was seconded by Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj.

Leader of Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Mukesh Agnihotri then moved another resolution, which was seconded by former CM and senior most member Virbhadra Singh. Two more resolutions were moved from treasury benches. All four were passed by voice votes.

BJP has won 44 seats in the 68-member house, wresting power from Congress, which has 21 members.

Born at Solan in 1955, Bindal is a graduate in Ayurvedic medicine and surgery. A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) man since his childhood, Bindal was jailed for six months during emergency. He started his political career in 1995, when he was elected chairman of Municipal Committee, Solan.

Bindal was elected to the state assembly in a by-election for Solan assembly segment in 2000. He was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. He shifted to the Nahan assembly segment in Sirmour district after his constituency was reserved in a delimitation exercise, where he again registered a win. He won his fifth term in the assembly in December last year.

Governor Acharya Devvrat will also address the assembly today. He is likely to read the vision document released by BJP before the elections.

Election for the deputy speaker will be held tomorrow. BJP is yet to finalise the name of the deputy speaker, but is likely to take a decision today.

BJP has won 44 seats in the 68-member house, wresting power from Congress, which has 21 members. The house also has two independents and one Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) legislator.
A 20-year-old man was killed and four others were injured in a stampede during a recruitment drive by the Indian Army in southwest Bihars Rohtas district early on Wednesday, police said.

Officials said the stampede took place at 3.15am at Dehri-on-Sone town, 136 km southwest of state capital Patna, when candidates from Gaya district of the state were trying to enter the Bihar Military Police (BMP) ground, the venue for the recruitment drive.

A large number of aspirants had come to the place and were asked to stand in the queue. When the gate of BMP ground opened early in the morning, the candidates began jostling to enter the premises, resulting in the stampede, the police added.

Rohtas superintendent of police (SP) Manavjeet Singh Dhillon said the dead man has been identified as Mukesh Kumar of Udaipur village in Gaya district.

The injured  Vimlesh Kumar of Durgapur village and Devbrat Kumar of Adamapur, Shaym Nandan Kumar of Badauwan and Dharmendra Kumar of Sonahatu were given first aid at Sadar Hospital in Sasaram, the headquarters of Rohtas district, Dhillon added.

Angry over the alleged mismanagement, the aspirants raised slogans, but the situation was brought under control and recruitment process was resumed.

The drive to recruit sepoys, including religious teachers, began on January 6 and will conclude on January 18.
The Telangana government will launch on May 15 a cash incentive of Rs 4,000 an acre for each of the around 7.2 million farmers in the state for the two main crop seasons  kharif and rabi.

The move is seen as populist step by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to woo farmers before the assembly elections due in April 2019. KCR, as he is popularly known, has already started schemes for free and round-the-clock power supply to farmers.

State agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy announced on Wednesday the agriculture investment support scheme (AISS) after a cabinet sub-committee discussed the modalities of implementing the new measure.

The scheme will come into effect from the next kharif season, beginning in the first week of June. The disbursement of the incentive will be done from May 15, said Reddy, who heads the panel.

The scheme will cost the government around Rs 5,685 crore each agriculture season and the state has 14.21 million acres of cultivable land.

We have identified around 7.2 million farmers after the revision of land records. They would be given Rs 4,000 an acre each during the kharif and rabi seasons, which means each farmer would get Rs 8,000 an acre each year, the agriculture minister said.

Farmers will be paid in cheques and encouraged to spend the money to buy pesticides, fertilisers, seeds and other inputs required for growing crops.

We have not fixed any cap on the maximum extent of land owned by a farmer to be eligible for the incentive. Our survey shows a Telangana farmer owns maximum 10 acres, Reddy said.

The government is contemplating introducing an exclusive budget for agriculture and allied sectors, along with the annual budget for 2018-19 to be introduced in the assembly in February.

The cabinet sub-committee dwelt at length on the mode of payment of the cash incentive. Initially, the money was proposed to be transferred to farmers bank accounts, but the idea was shot down over fears that banks could adjust the amount to their previous loan arrears.

The committee then proposed to give cash. But banks said such high quantities of notes cannot be arranged. So, we decided to pay the incentive through cheques, Reddy said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with BJP chief Amit Shah and the partys general secretaries on Thursday during which they are expected to take stock of the current political situation.

A party leader said the top organisational leaders have received an invite for the meeting.

The meeting comes as the party gears up to fight a number of assembly polls, including the key election to the Karnataka Assembly, and the Modi government readies to present its final full-fledged budget.

The BJP has been running a high voltage campaign in poll-bound states of Tripura and Meghalaya, both of which are likely to go to polls next month, and Karnataka, where elections are expected to take place in May.
A PMLA Tribunal has restrained the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from taking possession of immovable assets it has attached in connection with a money laundering case against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, a move the agency said it will appeal against.

The central probe agency, in March last year, had attached a school building in Chennai and a godown as part of its provisional attachment in the case and it was carried out under the stringent criminal provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

As per the legal scheme under the Act, such an order goes to the Adjudicating Authority for final approval and in case the EDs action is endorsed, the affected party can appeal it before the Appellate Authority of the law.

The Appellate Authority (PMLA), now in a recent order, directed the agency to restrain from taking possession of the said attached immovable assets even as it posed several queries and questioned the agencys action in the case.

Official sources in the ED said the agency will appeal the order of the Appellate Authority or the Tribunal before a High Court and that it was not a set back in the case.

Officials said the tribunal order has not quashed the attachment but has directed that status quo be maintained.

The tribunal, they said, has at the same time not barred the agency from taking possession of the movable assets attached in the same order that includes mutual funds worth about Rs 9.41 crore and five bank accounts containing deposits worth Rs 1.23 crore in the name of Naiks NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

Agency sources said the investigation conducted by the ED officials is independent of the NIA and that it has found that these assets were created by Naik and his associates using alleged tainted funds.

The Adjudicating Authority had approved the ED order after being satisfied by the investigation, they said, adding this will be a point made in the appeal to the HC.

The ED is looking into the charges of alleged laundering of illegal funds in the case and the subsequent proceeds of crime thus generated.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had first registered a case against the 51-year-old Naik under anti- terror laws in 2016 for allegedly promoting enmity between different religious groups.

The NIA and Mumbai Police, subsequently, had also carried out searches at 10 places in Mumbai including residential premises of some of the office bearers of the foundation run by Naik.

The foundation was earlier put on restricted list by the home ministry for receiving funds from abroad.

Naik, who is said to be staying in Saudi Arabia to evade arrest after some perpetrators of the Dhaka terror strike last year claimed they were inspired by him, has been booked along with unnamed officials of the IRF for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony besides various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to ascertain whether a Hindi prayer sung in the morning assembly in more than 1,100 Kendriya Vidyalaya schools across India promotes a particular religion and violates the Constitution.

It is a very important constitutional issue, a bench headed by Justice RF Nariman said while issuing notice to the government.

The petition was filed by an advocate Veenayak Shah whose children graduated from a Kendriya Vidyalaya. Shah, a resident of Madhya Pradesh, said the practise of prayer created obstacles in developing scientific temperament among students as the whole idea of God and religious faith is given immense priority and instilled as a thought-process among the students.

Students as a result learn to develop an inclination towards seeking refuge from the almighty instead of developing a practical outcome towards the obstacles and hurdles faced in everyday life, and the spirit of enquiry and reform seems to be lost somewhere, the plea said.

All the students irrespective of their faith and belief, have to compulsorily attend the morning assembly and recite the prayer, he said in the petition. The prayer also includes some Sanskrit words.

Teachers share the collective responsibility of supervising the assembly and making sure that every student folds his/her hands, closes his/her eyes and recites the prayer without fail. Any student failing to do so is punished and humiliated in front of the entire school, he said.

Shah also submitted before the court that the common prayer is a religious instruction within the meaning of Article 28 of the Constitution and should therefore be prohibited. Article 28(1) says that no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds.

The Kendriya Vidyalayas are a system of Central Government schools that were instituted under the aegis of the human resource development ministry.

The above prayer is being enforced throughout the country in all Kendra Vidyalayas. As a result, parents and children of the minority communities as well as atheists and others who do not agree with this system of prayer such as agnostics, scepticists, rationalists and others would find the imposition of this prayer constitutionally impermissible, the petition said.

(With PTI inputs)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that 186 cases from the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi be reopened and probed by a three-member special investigation team (SIT) headed by a retired high court judge.

The court said it will nominate the members of the probe team on Thursday, after a consensus between the petitioners and the government on who should be a part of it.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra took the decision after going through a supervisory panels report that scrutinised 241 cases closed by a Central government-appointed SIT between February 2015 and August 2017. The supervisory panel of Justices JM Panchal and KSP Radhakrishnan submitted their report in a sealed cover on December 6, 2017.

Senior advocate HS Phoolka, appearing for the families of the riot victims, suggested the names of three retired judges as the possible chairman of the probe team -- former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, former Punjab and Haryana High Court chief justice Mukul Mudgal, and former Delhi High Court judge SN Dhingra  but the bench said it wanted a list from the government as well.

The other two members will be an IPS officer of the rank of inspector general and a serving IPS officer of the rank of superintendent of police, the bench said.

Read| 1984 anti-Sikh riots: Time doesnt heal the pain. Ask Attar Kaur

The court wanted to finalise the members of the SIT but additional solicitor general Pinky Anand requested for an adjournment, saying the government needed a day to put a list of candidates together.

The benchs decision to have an SIT under a retired HC judge is good news for the victims who have been waiting for justice for the last 33 years, Phoolka said.

In one of the darkest chapters in Delhis history, nearly 3,000 people were killed after riots that broke out following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. Some senior politicians, many of them from the Congress party, were accused of inciting violence and fomenting tensions.

After reading the supervisory panels report, the bench said it was advised not to reopen cases in which accused had been acquitted. The court had asked the panel to examine 241 cased closed by the Centres SIT, which investigated 293 cases in all.

Read| 1984 anti-Sikh riots: Tales from the time still haunt this family
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka reaffirmed their position after the Supreme Court indicated on Tuesday it would deliver within a month its verdict on the decades-old Cauvery water-sharing dispute between the two southern neighbours.

The top courts remarks prompted Tamil Nadu chief minister Edapaddi Palanisami to announce in the assembly on Wednesday that his government will take every possible step, including the Centres help, to secure the state share of water from Karnataka.

We will not give up the rights of Tamil Nadu under any circumstances, said KC Palanisamy, spokesperson for the ruling AIADMK, reiterating the mood in a state that depends heavily on Cauvery water to irrigate its farms.

In Bengaluru, the three major political parties in Karnataka hoped that the Supreme Court would rule in favour of the states longstanding demand to increase its share of water.

The Cauvery, which originates in Karnataka and flows into Tamil Nadu, has been the source of a bitter dispute as farmers in both states depend on the 800km river. A British-era treaty governs water sharing between the two states, but Karnataka demands a tripling of its share.

The row flares up when monsoon fails, as it did in 2016 when Karnataka was reluctant to release water to its neighbour because of scanty rainfall, prompting Tamil Nadu to approach the top court. Riots broke out in both states after the court turned down Karnatakas plea to stop temporarily the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka now hopes the court will reduce the quantum of water allocated to Tamil Nadu  by at least 40 thousand million cubic feet  from the present 192 tmc ft .

According to state irrigation minister MB Patil, the state also wants three more issues addressed, including constitution of a Cauvery water management board.

We want the quantum of water to be released between June and September to be reduced. Bengaluru needs at least 20 tmc ft, he said on Wednesday.

The Cauvery controversy is getting highlighted at a time the ruling Congress in Karnataka faces voters in about three months in the assembly elections. We have an excellent team of lawyers led by Fali Nariman and we are confident that there will be justice, Patil said.

State BJP leader KS Eshwarappa, who was a former water resources minister, said Karnataka should get a judgment in its favour as it has never gone against the Supreme Courts directives.

Even when we have not had good rainfall we abided by the Supreme Courts directions. So, it is certain that we will get justice, he said.

Former chief minister and Janata dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy felt the same way, saying his state had always followed the courts order, often making farmers angry in the process.

According to Kumaraswamy, the states entitlement should be increased by around 50 tmc ft.

The two states hoped a Supreme Court verdict will end once and for all a lengthy legal tussle, but remained steadfast on their stand to protect their individual interests at all costs.

The AIADMK rebel faction spokesperson CR Saraswathi said the court should direct the Union government to set up the proposed Cauvery River Water Management Board, an authority to instruct or suggest measures and settle disputes.

The opposition DMK expects a judgment favouring the states farmers. Hope the Karnataka government will abide by the ruling, party spokesperson A Sarvanan said.

But farmers associations in Tamil Nadu remained sceptical, though. Would Karnataka face contempt of court if it refuses to release water? And could the court force the state to release water? C Nallakannu, secretary of the Federation of TN Agriculturalists Association, asked.

Karnataka has been flouting SC orders and does not release water as directed  even the apex court could do nothing. Thats why farmers do not share any enthusiasm about the upcoming ruling, he said.

For its part, the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday that enough confusion has been created over the Cauvery water dispute. It said any forum could touch the matter relating to the Cauvery basin, only after it gave its verdict in four weeks.

A top court bench had reserved its verdict on appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) on sharing of water on September 20 last year.
Police arrested three people on Wednesday in connection with the murder of a 29-year-old during the violent clashes at Bhima Koregaon and nearby villages on January 1.

The suspects were arrested from Ahmednagar district based on video clip, CCTV footage from nearby establishments and audio call records, said superintendent of police (Pune rural) Suvez Haque, adding the three have admitted to their involvement in the murder.

Violence had erupted on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon between the British and the Peshwas. Mahars, a Dalit community, had fought alongside the British to defeat the upper caste Marathas.

The January 1 violence, which two Hindutva leaders Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote stand accused of inciting, had claimed the life of one Rahul Phatangale. Post mortem report said Phatangale died of head injuries from the stones pelted by unidentified youth in the market area at Sanaswadi.

Lawyer Prakash Ambedkar has alleged that the PMO had asked the state not to arrest the two leaders, Bhide and Ekbote.

Following Phatangales murder, Shikrapur police booked unidentified youth bearing blue flags under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 320.

The police, however, did not disclose their identities. The three have been remanded to police custody for five days.

The immediate trigger for the violence, locals said, was a contentious board put up near the structure believed to be the tomb of Govind Gopal (Mahar) Gaikwad on December 29.
West Bengal agriculture minister Ashis Banerjee intends to build a memorial in honour of chief minister Mamata Banerjees late mother at the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chiefs ancestral Chakaipur village.

Its local peoples interest that prompted us to plan a memorial around her (Mamatas) mother. They hope that such a centre will draw people from across the state and the village will turn into a tourist destination, Ashis said .

Gayatri Banerjee died in December 2011, at the age of 81, seven months after Mamata was sworn in as West Bengals chief minister.

The Trinamool Congress minister has planned to build a replica of the chief ministers thatched house, in which she lived with her parents till 1965. To ensure that the replica model bears close resemblance to the original house, which no longer exists, village elders have been asked to share details of the TMC chiefs childhood home.

The plan is ready but we will proceed further only after the chief minister gives her nod. I will speak to her in a few days, Ashis said.

Clarifying that funds from government treasury wont be used while building the memorial, the state agriculture minister said: Government funds will not be used in the project. The replica house will be as modest as the original house was.

Sources in the ruling party said the district Trinamool Congress chief, Anubrata Mondal, had conceived the idea of a memorial in honour of the chief ministers late mother in 2016 and entrusted Ashis Banerjee with its implementation.

The primary plan involved participation from local panchayats, the zilla parishad (district council) and Tarapith Rampurhat Development Authority (TRDA) in the building of the memorial.
The Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly on Wednesday witnessed chaos as opposition members, including former chief minister Omar Abdullah, raised the issues of the killings of civilians in the restive state and walked out of the House twice.

National Conference legislator Abdul Majeed Larmi raised the issue soon as the House assembled for the days business. A 22-year-old man was killed and another injured after a mob turned violent in Kulgam on Tuesday.

Waving a banner Stop Innocent Killings at Speaker Kavinder Gupta, Larmi sought a debate and the response of the government. He was supported by the opposition, including Congress.

Larmi said that the opposition had moved an adjournment motion over the same issue on January 3 but the speaker did not allow it.

NC MLA Devender Singh Rana along with other opposition legislators stormed the well and staged vociferous protests.

Kashmir Jal Raha Hai, Jammu Sulag Raha Hai Aur Ladakh Ro Raha Hai, Rana was heard saying on the top of his voice.

This government has ruined the state, he added.

Rana, one of the most vocal legislators, said the government has unleashed atrocities on hapless people in all the three regions of the state amid frayed nerves, heated arguments and intense sloganeering in the house.

NC MLAs Altaf Kaloo from Pahalgam and Mohammad Akbar Lone exchanged barbs with public works department minister Naeem Akhtar. Lone was seen gesticulating wildly towards Akhtar amid the din.

The members of the opposition staged a walkout after half an hour of the commotion. And when they returned after 10 minutes, Larmi again walked into the well with the same banner and was joined by Rana and other opposition members.

Beerwah MLA Abdullah said though reports of grief expressed by the chief minister appear in newspapers, it would have been apt had Mehbooba Mufti spared some time and said a word or two about the killings.

She is going to speak on governors address this afternoon but if she had spoken for a minute on the killings, we would have appreciated, he said.

Now, dont expect us to hear her speech. We wont allow her. I wont be here. She did wrong, Abdullah said before staging a second walkout.

The entire opposition followed him.
What did Democrats actually do this time to help solidify their image as the party of power over principle?



Specifically, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a sister organization of the Center for American Progress, distributed a brief to allies Monday calling the so-called DREAMers, that is, illegal aliens brought to the country at a young age, a critical component of the Democratic Partys future electoral success, the Daily Caller reports.



Democrats cant win elections without cheating. They pushed the 1993 Motor-Voter law to make voter fraud easy to commit and difficult to prosecute. They oppose voter ID laws tooth-and-nail for the same reason. They changed immigration laws a long time ago so they could change the electorate by importing new voters.



Thats why left-wingers invented chain migration in the Sixties. It is a magic carpet that brings terrorists, public charges, and low- and no-skilled workers to the United States. Democrats rigged the game by modifying immigration law. The resultant tsunami of immigrants from authoritarian Third World countries over the past half century helped Democrats grow their political base. It supposedly takes generations for immigrant families to back away from collectivism and big government as solutions to life's problems and become Republicans. Continued high immigration rates benefit Democrats and the crony capitalists who bankroll them, impoverish the workers already here, and virtually guarantee endless growth in the size and scope of government.



Worker skill levels dropped after the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1965 which began the flood of immigrants from countries hostile to the traditional American values of limited government, individualism, and a healthy respect for markets and civil society. When the INA was overhauled, a "national origins" formula calculated to maintain the existing population demographic in the nation as of 1924, was dumped in favor of one based on immigrants' skills and family relationships with U.S. citizens or residents.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it was ready to frame rules to allow foreign law firms in the country on the basis of reciprocity.

The apex disciplinary body for advocates, which regulates legal profession and education in India, however, is opposed to allowing the law firms open liaison offices here.

Senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for the BCI, argued before a bench headed by Justice AK Goel, that the advocates body was averse to any lawyer functi-oning in India outside the regulatory regime. The council, he submitted, would take care of the concerns over lack of reciprocity by any other country in extending similar relief to Indian lawyers.

The council was willing to change the rules to allow foreign lawyers from other countries that allow Indians to practice there. They cant have a carte blanche, do what they wish, the senior counsel said.

The Supreme Court is hearing BCIs appeal against the 2012 verdict of the Madras high court that allowed foreign lawyers to fly in and advise their clients. Challenge to a divergent view given by the Bombay high court is also pending before the top court, which is hearing the matter with the BCI appeal. In 2009, the Bombay HC disallowed foreign firms from setting up liaison offices in India with RBI permission. Both the cases have been pending in the top court for over five years.

Government counsel, additional solicitor general Maninder Singh, said the BCI should frame rules to open up the legal sector to foreign lawyers and law firms. Singh said if the council was unable to do so, the government will step in. It is not that the government lacks the jurisdiction, he told the court.

BCI counsel Singh, however, complained that the BCI was willing to work but the commerce mi- nistry brought in a foreign body to draft a law bypassing it. This is not acceptable, he said. The lawyer objected to foreign arbitrators being allowed to take part in Indian arbitration. Arbitration is also part of legal practice, he contended, indicating it must be subject to BCI regulations.

This was contested by senior advocate Dushyant Dave, who appeared in the case for the London Council of Arbitration. This will finish off arbitration in India and act as a dampener on investment, he argued. The court adjo- urned the matter to January 15.
State agriculture minister Prabhu Lal Saini on Wednesday said the pending claims under the Prime Minister Crop Insurance scheme for the 2016 Kharif season, amounting to  276.95 crore, has been resolved.

The insurance firm will disburse the amount in next four days, which will benefit 2, 12,362 farmers, he said.

More than 62.20 lakh farmers in Rajasthan had paid premium of  216 crore for Kharif crops in 2016.

The pending claims in 20 tehsils of six districts of the state have been cleared due to the efforts of chief minister Vasundhara Raje, he said.

Addressing newspersons, Saini said the United India Insurance Company submitted a memorandum to the agriculture commissioner, questioning the figures of harvested crop provided by the state revenue board for Kharif in 2016.

Contradicting the objection, the commissioner directed the insurance company to clear the claims, following which the company approached the joint secretary (credit) of the Union agriculture ministry.

A meeting of technical advisory committee was called by the ministry on December 8, 2017, which was attended by the company officials.

After discussions, a decision was taken in the interest of the farmers on January 5, which stated that the company will immediately pay 223.74 lakh to farmers of Nohar, Bhadra, Rawatsar, Pilibanga, Gharsana, Raisingh Nagar, Suratgarh, Sanchor, Churu and Taranagar tehsils in Hanumangarh, Shriganganagar, Churu and Jalore districts, Saini said.

In December, the company disbursed  53.21 crore claims of farmers in Churu, Jalore, Sirohi, Sri Ganganagar and Udaipur districts, he said, adding that claims amounting to  276.95 crore will be deposited in the bank accounts of 2,12,362 farmers of 20 tehsils soon, he said.

The total sum assured for Kharif-2016 was10,000 crore for which the premium paid was  2024 crore.

Of the total premium, 216 crore was paid by the farmers and the rest was borne by state government and the Centre.

Farmers in the state, however, have received insurance claim of 1425.96 crore.

The state government will soon be sending a proposal to the Centre urging it to direct the insurance company to pay interest on the insurance amount due to the delay in paying the claim, he said.

In the last four years, under the PM Crop Loan Insurance Scheme, 2.32 crore farmers have benefitted.

A total of 5580.71 crore premium was paid and 5273.53 crore insurance was claimed.

During the previous government (between 2008 and 2013) the number of beneficiaries was 1.32 crore, a total premium of  2624.60 crore paid was, and total insurance claim was1855.53 crore.
It seems all efforts being made by the Rajasthan government to control the spread of swine flu is turning out to be futile with 230 cases testing positive in just nine days.

On January 3, the health department has sounded a red alert in the state as swine flu (H1N1) was spreading at an alarming rate. In last nine days, 12 people have died of the flu in the state.

The health department has called a meeting on Thursday to discuss the problems being faced by the officials in the field and the reasons for not able to manage the spread of swine flu.

Additional director (rural health) Dr Ravi Prakash Mathur said that chief medical and health officers of Jaipur I and II, Sawai Man Singh Medical College principal and controller Dr US Agarwal, senior professor medicine Dr Raman Sharma, microbiologist of SMS hospital Dr Bharti Malhotra and other officials will attend the meeting on Thursday.

After sounding the red alert, the health department has taken all measures such as sending rapid response teams to affected areas where positive cases of swine flu have been found to stop the spread of the disease. Health workers are also screening patients with influenza-like symptoms and those in contact with the patient are also being given medicines.

Facilities such as screening for swine flu, medicines, facility of collecting samples, arrangements for investigation, setting up isolation wards and ICUs, the effectiveness of control room and referral facilities were reviewed and necessary directions were given by the health minister in a recent meeting.

An additional budget has been allocated for creating awareness so that people know what precautions to take.

Two additional counters have been set up at the SMS Hospital to tackle the outbreak.

In January 2017, there was only one positive case and one death, while in January 2016 there were 86 swine flu positive cases and 19 deaths and in 2015 there were 173 positive cases and 43 deaths.
A journalist accompanying West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on her maiden trip to Scotland last year was caught stealing cutlery at a dinner party hosted in a prominent hotel in Edinburgh.

The incident took place in Edinburgh on November 17, a day after Banerjee addressed delegates at a business meeting organised to woo local investors.

Banerjee was accompanied by a team of senior journalists and editors of local newspapers and television channels along with government officials.

The journalist, who is aged around 60, initially denied the charge and even tried to get out of trouble by putting the stolen item inside the bag of a fellow journalist from a Bengali news television channel. But he was caught on security cameras installed inside the banquet hall and had to give in.

The hotel staff threatened to hand him over to the police but finally let him off with a fine of 50 pounds.

Since the incident brought shame to the entire fraternity and even tarnished the image of the state, journalists decided not to speak about it.

However, some members of the delegation recently revealed the incident to Janashartha Barta, a small Bengali tabloid. The tabloid carried a report on January 8 but mistakenly stated that it happened in London.

The scribe in question works for a Bengali daily with limited circulation but figures among journalists known to be close to the Bengal chief minister. In the past, he had been part of media teams that went abroad with Banerjee, said one of the editors, who was present at the party, on condition of anonymity.

The scribe had to pay the fine from his own pocket. It became a shameful episode since Bengalis living in Edinburgh, who were otherwise enthused to see the chief minister in their city, came to know about the theft, said the editor.

The editor said the chief minister was not present at the dinner where the theft took place since it was privately hosted by an industrialist. She was furious when someone informed her the next day.
BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who is admitted at SGPGI, has been put under strict police security.

In view of his criminal antecedents, the state police do not wish to take any chances. The people meeting Ansari will be on the radar of the police. His wife, who suffered chest pain, has also been admitted to the SGPGI.

Ansari and his wife have been put under medical observation. We are awaiting his medical report. If his ailment is not serious then he will be sent back to Banda jail where he will be under observation of jail doctors, said a senior home department officer.

Principal secretary, home, Arvind Kumar was in regular touch with the officers of Banda administration. He directed the DM and the SP, Banda, to submit a report regarding Ansaris condition.

A police officer said, Though Ansari has been admitted to the hospital, he will be under constant watch. The members of his gang might try to meet him to take orders. He was found running a crime machine from the ward of King Georges Medical College, where he was shifted from jail in 2005. During investigation the police found that two people were killed by members of Ansari gang while he was undergoing treatment in the hospital.

Ansari gang members were under pressure after the state government shifted him from Lucknow jail to Banda jail in March. He was lodged in a high security cell and the jail administration put restrictions on his visitors, as well.
UP Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath suggesting that all madarsas be converted to public schools with Islamic education as an optional subject.

Rizvi has also urged the Prime Minister to shut down all madarsa boards.

Our madarsa education system has failed to produce doctors, engineers and civil servants but some madarsas have certainly produced terrorists, Rizvi said.

He said some unregistered madarsas were being funded by terrorist organisations in Pakistan and Bangladesh. I have proof that at least 58 madarsas have been found to have links with jihadi groups, he said.

In his letter also sent to the cabinet secretary, Rizvi claimed that such madrasas were running under the influence of Muslim mullahs (clergy) and were imparting wrong and misconceived religious education to Muslim children, depriving them of the opportunity to come forward and be part of nation building.

Demanding an inquiry into the affairs of madarsas and Islamic institutes coming up in every part of the country, Rizvi said all such institutions should be brought under general education system.

Rizvi has also sent a circular from his office to all mutawwalis (caretakers) of Shia waqf properties across the state to shut down all un-registered madarsas, if any, running illegally on Shia waqf land, by January 31.

Rizvi, who is in the crosshairs of the Yogi Adityanath government over alleged anomalies in the waqf board, is known for making controversial statements like donating the disputed site in Ayodhya to facilitate construction of Ram temple.

In October last year, Rizvi had written to the PM suggesting demolition of the tomb of Mughal emperor Humayun to make space for the burial of Muslims in New Delhi.

He had said that the demolition of the tomb would solve the acute problem that Muslims face in the burial of their dead in New Delhi as there was no space in existing graveyards and more land was not available.
Countrys third forensic accounts lab is set to become functional in Kanpur from January 15.

The lab will produce experts to conduct forensic accounting to check financial bungling and frauds by companies and financial institutions.

The other two labs are in Hyderabad and Noida

The lab has been jointly set up by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Central India Regional Council (CIRC).

Senior advisor to ICAI Dharmendra Srivastava said the lab would introduce courses which would help contain hi-tech financial frauds. The courses will be at par with global forensic accountancy norms and will open new horizons for the employment in and outside the country, he said.

Srivastava said with increase in digital transactions, cyber frauds had also gone up. About eight billion online transactions were recorded in 2014 but the number went up to 18 billion in 2017. With this, cyber crime has also increased threefold in the last one year. However, the exact number of cyber frauds is not available, he said.

Forensic accounting is one of the branches of accounting. The students are taught the art of fraud detection in financial matters and special system of investigating accounts-related documents. Forensic accounts experts help the court by providing accurate analysis and examination of financial documents, Srivastava said.

There is a huge demand of forensic account experts in banks, export firms, corporate sector, insurance and other companies dealing in financial business, he added.
Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (UP ATS) and Aligarh police are exploring the local links of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) research scholar Mannan Wani, 26, who joined terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen after mysteriously disappearing from the university campus on January 2.

Wani was expelled from AMU after his photograph, showing him with an AK-47 rifle, appeared in social media. Later, Hizbul Mujahideens Pakistan-based chief Syed Salahuddin confirmed that Wani had joined the terror outfit.

In Aligarh, the police teams on Tuesday questioned some of his college mates and people familiar to him about his activities.

We have procured a list of mobile numbers through Wanis call details and are crosschecking credentials of every person in the call list, said Rajesh Pandey, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Aligarh.

He said vigilance has been intensified and some of Wanis local contacts are on regular surveillance.

Pandey said the police team also approached his roommate, who left the campus few days before him, but found nothing suspicious about him. He said Wanis roommate had joined a job in Pune and was staying there.

A separate team of ATS sleuths is also camping in Aligarh and trying to explore his local links.

We are trying to find out that how Wani was radicalised and who convinced him to join the militant group while staying in Aligarh, said a senior ATS official.

He said it was important to find out the source from where Wani got objectionable material after reading which he was radicalised.

He said it was suspected that there must be some person who radicalised Wani by inciting his religious sentiments and pushed him to join the terror outfit.

It is important to find the person so that no other youth could tread the same path, he added.

On Monday, a joint team of ATS and Aligarh police carried out a search operation in university hostel and seized objectionable literature from Wanis room.
A little over 10% students studying at government primary and upper primary schools of Lucknow have received free sweaters so far. There are around 1.7 lakh students enrolled in government schools in the city. Out of these, only 18,000 received free sweaters till Tuesday.

The scenario in other districts is worse. In Lakhimpur, out of around 4 lakh government school students, just 25,000 have received sweaters.

To recall, school management committees (SMCs) were entrusted with the responsibility to buy and distribute sweaters to students. However, working as per the rule mentioned by the government -- ensuring that sweaters are priced at no higher than Rs 200 / piece -- the SMCs are struggling to complete the task within the specified timeline of a month.

There is a firm in Ludhiana that has agreed to provide sweaters at Rs 200 / piece. But most suppliers are not keen to take orders, saying that the price fixed by the government is too low, said an official of the education department.

After schools reopened on Monday, many students were seen attending classes wearing different colour sweaters. Lucknow Basic Siksha Adhikari Praveen Mani Tripathi has instructed teachers to remain on duty to ensure distribution of sweaters to students.

Government officials said that efforts were on to distribute sweaters to all the 1.54 crore students of Uttar Pradesh at the earliest.

To recall, additional chief secretary Raj Pratap Singh on Wednesday directed all district magistrates to ask SMCs to purchase and distribute sweaters to students within 30 days from the date of the issuance of the order.

The order came after the state governments efforts to provide sweaters to students ran into rough weather. The government failed to attract enough tenders for sweaters, and the price quoted by those who had applied was above Rs 200 / piece.

So, it was decided that help would be sought from SMCs and the practice followed while purchasing uniforms last year would be replicated. In 2017, the old khaki uniforms of government school students were replaced with new red-coloured ones.
The state cabinet on Tuesday decided to bring down value added tax (VAT) levied on compressed natural gas (CNG) from 10 percent to five percent to make it rates at par with that of Delhis.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath presided over the meeting of state cabinet that also decided to launch Mukhya Mantri Samagra Gram Vikas Yojana for development of tribal villages situated on borders with Nepal and other states and the villages of martyrs.

Briefing media persons, government spokesman Shrikant Sharma said there was a different in CNG rates in UP and Delhi, where CNG was cheaper by Rs 3.50. Now there would not be any difference in the rate, he added.

Under the Mukhya Mantri Samagra Gram Vikas Yojana, 17 departments will run 24 programmes for development of villages on borders that have remained neglected post-independence, he said. Sharma said there was a need to develop infrastructure facilities in villages dominated by Vantangiyas, Musahar and Tharu tribes. Such villages would be developed and facilities of link roads, drinking water and electrification under the scheme, he said. Sharma said villages of martyrs would be connected with link roads to be called Gaurav Path. He said statues of martyrs would be installed in villages and gates would be erected in memory of martyrs there.

The cabinet decided to amend rules for states universities that provided for a special leave of five years to teachers. Amended rules would provide for special leave for five years along with other leaves.

The cabinet also decided to implement online consent monitoring and management system for expeditious disposal of applications for no objection certificate (NOC) to industrial units by Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. The state cabinet has taken the decision to accelerate pace of development ahead of UP Investors Summit.

It was decided to set up a new sugar mill of 5000 TCD capacity along with a co-generation power plant of 18 MW capacity and a distillery on the land of Gorakhpurs Pipraich sugar mill (of UP State Sugar Corporation) that has been lying closed for years. Similarly, a new sugar mill of 5000 TCD capacity and a co generation power plant of 18 MW capacity will be set up on the land of Bastis Munderwa sugar mill (UP State Sugar Corporation) that has been lying closed for years. The state government hopes each sugar mill will benefit 30,000 farmers and create 8500 direct and indirect additional jobs. The state government will bear the addition cost of Rs 401 crore and Rs 314 crore respectively on the two new projects and this would be considered as loan to the corporation.

The cabinet also decided to bear the additional cost of Rs 546 crore on providing nutritious food to malnourished children, pregnant women and children in six month to 72 month age group under Integrated Child Development Scheme. The state government will incur additional cost following the Centres decision to revise the rate for providing nutritious food. The cabinet decided to prorogue the two houses of state legislature that had been convened for winter session.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded Leidos a prime contract to provide a multi-sensor technology for Combined, Hyperspectral Imaging, Infrared Search and Track, and Long Range Imaging (EO-CHIL) Program. The program goal is to develop technologies to defeat adversary anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) threat environments through the use of extended-range high-resolution imaging, hyperspectral sensing, and close-in imaging with expendable sensors used with drones and autonomous, guided weapons.

The EO-CHIL program will demonstrate concepts, components, and systems technologies to improve imaging performance for standoff high-resolution imaging (SHRI), hyperspectral sensing, infrared search and track (IRST), and sense and avoid (SAA) technology.

SHRI: According to AFRL requirements specified at the industry day last year, effective range is defined by National Image Interpretability Rating Scales (NIIRS) 5 or better image quality can be achieved  Both day and night imaging are within the scope of this effort. To deal with optical disturbances encountered over very long range observations, observation technologies in daylight could rely on high-density SWIR focal plane arrays (FPAs), large aperture lightweight optics and turbulence compensation. For night observation, high-density MWIR FPAs and improved optics for thermal devices would be used.

The stand-off hyperspectral sensing will focus on longwave infrared (LWIR) hyperspectral imaging (HSI), target detection, material identification and environmental compensation algorithms for HSI and sensors that would lead to the design of producible and affordable visible-through-shortwave infrared (V-SWIR) HSI.

Starring IRST: The IRST required by AFRL should employ a staring sensor that enables detection of threats at long range, through clouds and background clutter. The sensor is likely to use large format focal plane array with thermal sensors operating in the Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR) band.

Sense And Avoid: designed for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), autonomous SAA will enable UAS to meet the Federal Aviation Authoritys (FAA) requirements for access to the national airspace. Until now the Air Force explored collision threat avoidance using SWIR and Laser Radar (LADAR) sensors. Under the current program other passive and active ranging methods will be explored, along with IR sensors, high-altitude operations etc.

The single-award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract has an 87-month period of performance and a total contract ceiling of $47 million.
Amid speculations of a possible reshuffle soon, both in the BJP government and the party state unit, chief minister Yogi Adityanath met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh veterans over dinner at his official 5 Kalidas Marg residence on Tuesday.

The meet stretched till late night but the reshuffle in UP unit of the BJP was likely to be much quicker, anytime after Makar Sankranti in keeping with the Hindu belief of beginning of auspicious days, said a party insider adding, the cabinet reshuffle, in which some non-performing ministers could be axed or downsized, could, however, take a while. Both matters were discussed at the meeting.

The Adityanath government currently has 47 ministers  13 less than what Yogi can have in his ministry.

Various issues from the performance of Yogis ministers, accommodation of party workers to key posts in the government and vacancies in state corporations, smoother coordination between the party and the government, development of neglected Hindu religious spots and various social welfare projects that the RSS wants the Yogi government to roll out in UP were among the issues that came up for discussion, a source said.

The RSS also wants the Yogi government to focus on 2019 Lok Sabha elections in which Adityanath would face the challenge of retaining the partys stupendous show in 2014 general elections when it along with allies won 73 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats from the state.

RSS wants the party and the government to have a clean image and that is what the talks must have largely focused on, a party leader said.

The four-month-old state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey is expected to pick his new team of office bearers as many of them from his predecessor Keshav Prasad Mauryas team have now become ministers in the Adityanath government.

Maurya, who had earlier quit as BJP chief in keeping with the partys one-man, one-post principle after becoming the deputy chief minister, was also part of the meeting. RSS bigwigs included Dattatreya Hosabale, Krishna Gopal as well as key RSS pointsperson in UP BJP Sunil Bansal.
Following the fire at two restaurants in Kamala Mills that claimed 14 lives, the state government has moved a proposal to ban hookah parlours by initiating an amendment in the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA). It wants a provision of imprisonment of three years and a fine of Rs50,000. The same ban exists in Gujarat.

Under the proposed rules, parlours wont be given permission, but smoking hookah could be allowed in a separate zone along the lines of a smoking zone. However, no food or beverages would be allowed to be served in that zone, said several state government officials involved in the procedure.

The state government, which was earlier considering regulating such parlours, has now planned to ban them. Significantly, the Shiv Sena which is an ally of ruling BJP, has been demanding ban on hookah parlours in Mumbai for quite some time.

The Mumbai fire brigade, in its probe, had concluded that the fire at the two restaurants in Kamala Mills started because of embers used for hookah and then spread owing to the combustible material used in the furniture. After the incident, the state administration has expedited the proposal, which now awaits a nod from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, said officials.

Once part of the COTPA, hookah parlours cannot operate in the present form as they are designated as public places where food and beverages are allowed served. Till some time ago, we were considering bringing a separate bill only to regulate the parlours by restricting minors and operation timings. The idea was to earn revenue out of their operations. But there was a rise in the demand for a ban followed by the fire at Kamala Mills. A section of official is still of the opinion that parlours should be regulated and not banned,said a home department official familiar with the development.

Although the state government does not have official figures, an estimated 400-500 such parlours are there in Mumbai and Pune respectively. Thane, Navi Mumbai and Nagpur are the other big cities with several such parlours. They are operated by obtaining licences under the shops and establishment Act and without any regulation. The Bombay high court had banned the parlours a few years ago, but the order was later struck down by the Supreme Court on the grounds of the scope of the Act.

COTPA definition does not have the term hookah and the parlours have been contending they do not serve tobacco in the hookah, pushing them out of the gamut of the legislation. By including hookahs in the Act, they can now be banned in todays forms, the official said.

Shrikant Singh, principal secretary (home), said the proposal was moved as assured in the winter session in December while responding to a private member bill moved by BJP MLA Mangalprabhat Lodha.

Another home department official clarified that the smoking of hookah at home or the designated areas would not be banned. The SC has clearly stated that smoking hookah would not be allowed where food, beverages are served. The inclusion of hookahs in the COTPA will practically ban the parlours, he said.

The enforcement of the existing laws is more important than enacting new laws. The hookahs at 1Above and Mojos were in operation illegally because of a nexus between authorities and operators. Its a welcome step that the government is planning to ban them, but the CM, who also heads the home department, should ensure strict implementation of the existing laws, said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, cancer surgeon with Tata Memorial Hospital and anti-tobacco crusader.

Once passed by the legislature, the amendment will need a nod from the President and it may take at least a few more months for actual implementation.
Prakash Ambedkar, chief of Bharatiya Republican Paksh (BRP) Bahujan Mahasangh, on Wednesday alleged the Maharashtra police have detained close to 3,000 people, including 16 juveniles, across the state in connection with the January 1 caste clashes in Bhima-Koregaon village in Pune district.

The police have started a combing operation. This is a military system in disturbed areas and cannot be conducted in civilian areas. They dont have permission to conduct such an operation, said Ambedkar.

Ambedkar demanded that Fadnavis, who also heads the home department order the police to stop the operation. Why has the state not arrested Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote [the two right-wing leaders named in the FIR for orchestrating the violence in Bhima-Koregaon]? These villages [where combing operation is on] are being held hostage. Entry in these villages has been barred, which was not the case earlier, he alleged.

Ambedkar also questioned why an FIR was not filed into the death of a schoolboy in police lathi charge during last weeks bandh.

Meanwhile, senior Dalit leader Arjun Dangle said, The police and the state are not arresting Ekbote and Bhinde. Instead, they are picking up minors and making false cases against them.

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party workers destroyed public property and damaged buses on the day of the bandh in Mumbai last week.

CM, Bapat face threat from fringe groups

In a shocking claim, Ambedkar, who is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, said CM Fadnavis and senior BJP minister Girish Bapat face threat from fringe pro-Hindutva outfits.

Ambedkar said a Facebook post by one Raosaheb Patil, who Ambedkar claimed to be a close aide of Sambhaji Bhide, head of Shiv Prastishtan, a pro-Hindutva outfit, termed Fadnavis, Bapat and former journalist Sudheendra Kulkarni as insects that should be chopped off.

Such posts are being circulatedI accept that there are differences, but never have parties tried to finish their opponents. These outfits are unscrutinised fringe elements that need to be stopped. At least now, after threat to his life, the chief minister will take action against the head of the outfit, Ambedkar said.

Patil, in his Facebook profile, has described himself as a staunch Shiv Sainik.
The state government cannot leave everything to be looked after by courts, said the Bombay high court on Wednesday, while slamming the Maharashtra government for its inaction in maintaining urban roads.

It cant be that the state will not do anything and leave everything [state administration] to be run by judicial officers, said the bench of justice Abhay Oka and justice PN Deshmukh. The judges were irked to note the state government had remained a mere spectator, although civic bodies across the state had failed to maintain roads.

The state is not powerless, said the bench, adding, It has enough powers under the municipal laws and the MRTP Act. The bench insisted the state government must step in, as most of the complaints about potholes had remained unattended. It was referring to the fact that of the total 555 complaints received till December 31 across Maharashtra, except Mumbai, only 78 had been attended to.

It was hearing a suo-moto public interest litigation based on a note forwarded by a sitting judge highlighting the pathetic condition of roads in and around Mumbai. The judge had also highlighted that the potholes and ditches on roads cause not just hardship and inconvenience to the people at large, but also result in casualties.

Acting on the PIL, the court has earlier directed all municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and authorities like the MMRDA, CIDCO and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to maintain all roads and foot paths within their respective jurisdictions properly levelled, properly surfaced and pothole free.

The court had also directed the civic bodies to create a mechanism enabling citizens to lodge online complaints about potholes and poor quality of roads, apart from the conventional means of complaining directly by making an application and by telephone.

But one of the lawyers appearing in the matter complained that neither the potholes disappeared nor any properly functional mechanism was in place.

The court has now directed the state government to inform next Friday about the mechanism it proposes to put in place to ensure urban roads are maintained in motorable conditions. It suggested that the traffic police can play a role in this, as they manage traffic on a majority of these roads.
A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Thane on Monday rejected underworld don Dawood Ibrahims brother Iqbal Kaskars plea to get homemade food in jail to cope up with his ill-health.

In his plea, Kaskar, who was arrested in connection with an extortion case, said he had been suffering from diabetes and blood pressure from many years.

An officer from the Thane police said, The special MCOCA court has rejected the plea of Kaskar for having homemade food. The doctor has prescribed medicines which are given to him regularly. Besides this, the quality of food served is not bad. Officers keep monitoring those who have health issues.

Kaskar also told that he was allowed homemade food in 2003 and 2007 when he was arrested by the police, said the officer.

Kaskar and his two aides  Mumtaz Shaikh and Israr Sayyed  were arrested on September 18 last year for allegedly extorting a builder of Rs30 lakh and four flats in Thane.

After a couple of days, the matka king from the western suburbs, Pankaj Gangar, was also arrested in the same case. The Thane police have registered three first information reports (FIRs) and Kaskars name appears in all. They have filed two charge sheets, while a third is pending.
Five passengers who landed in the city carrying gold worth Rs85.54 lakh were arrested by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Mumbai customs on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

According to AIU, the first passenger who was intercepted was Mukeshkumar Dayhabhai Patel.

The five arrived from Dubai in the same flight and travelled on a single passenger name record (PNR), said an AIU officer.

The search resulted in the recovery of eight gold bangles, four gold chains and two gold bracelets. They collectively possessed 3196 grams of gold valued at Rs85.54 lakh, he added.

In a similar case, one Abbas Mavval was arrested for trying to smuggle 348 grams of gold foils worth Rs9.31 lakh after the gold in his bag was detected by officers at the inline baggage scanning section.

The UAE has been subjected to five percent value-added tax (VAT) on gold items since January 1.

AIU had initially anticipated that after the application of VAT in the UAE, the profit margin for smugglers would dip and hence the smuggling cases would reduce. However, this was not the case.

The VAT has not had much of an impact as 9.3 kilograms of gold worth Rs3 crores have been seized at the airport so far, said one of the officers.
Former city police commissioner Julio Ribeiro on Tuesday moved the Bombay high court (HC) seeking a fire audit of all eateries across Mumbai and setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) of senior police officials to carry out a probe into all FIRs related to the fire in Kamala Mills compound.

A division bench of justice RM Borde and justice Rajesh Ketkar posted the PIL for further hearing on Monday, after Ribeiros lawyers mentioned the matter for urgent hearing, expressing the urgent need to conduct fire audit of eateries across the city.

Taking note of the high fatalities, the bench said the authorities must ensure there are some regulations governing commercial establishments and there is sufficient space to manoevre fire-fighting vehicles and equipment in case of emergencies.

In his PIL, the 89-year-old retired Indian Police Service officer has asked the court to direct the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to undertake fire audit of hotels, bars, restaurants and hookah parlours and submit a report to the court.

Ribeiro, the founding member of the Public Concern for Governance Trust, has also urged the court to set up a SIT comprising police officers not below the rank of additional commissioners of police.

Besides, the retired police officer has also sought a direction to set up a judicial commission to fix accountability on public officers, especially officials of the BMC, and private individuals, responsible for the tragic incident.

The PIL pointed to media reports exposing the civic and fire departments inaction on the illegal alterations made inside Kamla Mills compound and contended the convenient lethargy showed clear collusion (between civic officials and private individuals running restaurants and bars inside the mill compound.

It raised doubts over the competence of the fire department on the basis of news reports indicating the officials, who arrived at the place of incident were without proper gear and were clueless from where they should start the evacuation.
The state government recently permitted the Mumbai crime branch to prosecute six jail personnel who have been charge-sheeted in the murder of inmate Manjula Shetye at Byculla womens prison in June last year.

According to the rules, the police require home departments sanction to prosecute a government employee. The Mumbai crime branch, which is investigating the case, wrote to the state home department last year, seeking approval to prosecute the jail staff: jailer Manisha Pokharkar, and constables Bindu Naikade, Waseema Shaikh, Shital Shegaonkar, Surekha Gulve and Aarti Shingne

A senior official of the crime branch confirmed that the state home department had approved the request.

The crime branch filed a charge sheet in September last year. Apart from the murder charge, the six were booked for destruction of evidence, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy with common intention.

Shetye, a life convict and jail warden, was allegedly brutally assaulted by the officials of Byculla prison on June 23 because she had complained about missing eggs and loaves of bread from the morning ration. A lathi was allegedly inserted into her private parts. She was allegedly left unattended for at least nine hours despite sustaining grievous injuries. The news of her death led to a riot in the jail. The police recorded the complaint of an inmate on June 25, 2017.

The probe was initially carried out by the local police and later by the crime branch, after which the latter arrested the six women on July 1.

The crime branch have relied on the CCTV footage and statements of the inmates to prove the case against the six accused. The agency has, however, not submitted a CD of the CCTV footage in the court. Source said the video evidence would be submitted at a later stage.

The 990-page charge sheet includes statements of 187 witnesses and several other documents, including medical reports of Shetye. Most witnesses cited in the charge sheet are the jail inmates, including Indrani Mukerjea.

Apart from this, the agency has also cited doctors and investigating officers along with family members of Shetye as witnesses.
There are many lessons to draw up from the outbreaks of fire, collapse of foot over bridges, and other accidents involving public amenities across the city recently. An important one, for citizens as well as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, is this: There is a clear and present danger in accepting the unacceptable.

That businesses worth crores can run without adequate safety measures should be unacceptable. That high-end resto-bars can draw in swish customers without offering basic amenities such as emergency exits should be unacceptable. That a farsan factory doubles up as sleeping quarters for 20 of its workers, 12 of whom perished in a fire because they could not run out, should be unacceptable. That office-goers go out for lunch and are charred to death in a restaurant should be unacceptable. That old and overused bridges are allowed to be without safety checks should be unacceptable. That roads are constructed and re-constructed, but still have potholes which claim lives, should be unacceptable.

Yet, in the rhythmic rush of the city, each of these passes off as an accident which, when it happens, provokes outrage and media coverage  less for farsan factory workers, more for resto-bar revellers  some penal action by local ward offices, an inquiry or two, and court cases in which citizens interest tapers off after a while. If the outrage persists, officials are transferred or suspended. Then the state of affairs resumes its normal, criminally nonchalant and negligent, rhythm till the next major horrific accident happens.

It is morally reprehensible and completely unacceptable that the owners of the two resto-bars in Kamala Mills are absconding  whither the famed Mumbai Police machinery?  and trying to obtain anticipatory bail orders. It is equally unacceptable that municipal commissioner and the entire machinery that he commands allowed such serious transgressions of rules and requirements. Can citizens question Ajoy Mehta, hold him accountable? If not, why not?

It is unacceptable that the fire brigade continues to function the way it does, ignoring clear dangers across the city and unable to enforce its authority. The training and preparedness of the fire brigade personnel is perhaps inadequate, they are probably strapped for resources. The details about how the fire brigade personnel worked that night as mentioned by a Kamala Mills survivor, who lost his wife in the blaze, in a petition, are chilling. Why is the fire brigade in such a shabby condition? Why do we accept this as routine? That there were a staggering 4,790 instances of fire last year alone, as this paper pointed out, should drive us to action.

It is perhaps the unwillingness to accept the state of affairs that drove the 89-year-old Julio Ribeiro, former police commissioner and indefatigable activist for good governance, to the Bombay high court this week. He demanded that the BMC conduct a fire safety audit of all restaurants, hotels, bars and hookah parlours in Mumbai and submit the report to the court (he could have added small-scale factories to the list too). The last bit is important because BMC officers, according to Mehta, are either negligent or conniving with offenders. It is unacceptable that these officers continue in their positions.

We do not accept but what is the choice, is a familiar lament. Well, then, work the phones off their hooks in your local ward office; report irregularities to the nearest police station; find civic activists in your area  all parts of Mumbai have strong networks of activists  and team up on the next issue they address; do not patronise establishments that are clearly flouting law and rules, let your social circles know this too; form a group of your own and take up an issue that bothers you. Perhaps the fire safety norms in your building or the state of the pavement  if it exists  outside your building would be a good start. Do not accept what should be unacceptable.
After holding direct elections for the posts of district presidents of the municipal councils and nagar panchayats, the state government on Tuesday proposed to empower them by giving them special powers to grant financial approvals to projects in their respective tehsils. The government has also proposed to protect them by prohibiting no-confidence motion against them before they complete half of their elected term.

The state government also announced various relaxations in education, skill development and entrepreneurship to the youths from Maratha community. The decision was taken after the Maratha community announced to relaunch its agitation from February 19 if their demands were not met.

We have extended the income limit to Rs8 lakh from Rs6 lakh for the 605 professional undergraduate courses in which the economically backward students get scholarships. Besides this we have made adequate provisions for skill development programmes and funding for the new businesses to be started by the youths from the community. We will also make the government buildings available to convert them into hostels for students of the Maratha community, said state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil, who heads a sub-committee to decide upon the demands by the community.

The Congress hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) move to empower district presidents, alleging that the BJP is trying to safeguard its party presidents in the councils where they are in a minority. Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, Electing the municipal council and nagar panchayat presidents directly from the voters and now empowering them is a politically motivated decision. It will help the BJP presidents to rule the bodies without even having the majority.

Of 191 municipal councils whose presidents were directly elected by voters in the past one-and-a-half years, the BJP has 71 presidents, followed by Congress at 31, Shiv Sena (26) and Nationalist Congress Party (21). In many bodies, the BJP had its president elected directly, though the body has a majority of corporators from other parties.

On Tuesday, the state cabinet approved the proposal of amendment in Maharashtra Municipal Councils Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act to empower the presidents. The council will have no right to move no-confidence motion against the president until completion of two and half years of his term. The no-confidence motion moved by the body on completion of the period, will have to be examined by the district collector before sending it to the state government. The presidents will enjoy financial powers for the betterment of the infrastructure in the tehsils, a statement issued by the government said.

According to experts, by retaining the power to disqualify presidents, the state government has ensured that the presidents belonging to the ruling parties would be in a position to complete their terms even if they lack majority.
The U.S. Army has selected four companies to move to the second phase of the Squad, Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET), to develop an unmanned ground vehicle assisting dismounted troops with equipment transport. One of the winners, HDT Global (HDT) said it will provide a new robotic platform known as Hunter WOLF, a 66 electric drive all-terrain robotic vehicle has 130 horsepower peak power, developing a top speed of 14 mph; Hunter WOLF can carry up to 450 kg (1000 lbs.) of cargo for more than 100 miles with internal fuel, and operate for more than 72 hours without resupply. The vehicle can climb a 70% grade and is highly maneuverable using a skid steer.

Under development since 2012 to meet the requirements for the Army SMET Program, the HDT Hunter WOLF has undergone extensive evaluations and trials, including the most recent SMET Phase I evaluation. The HDT Hunter WOLF system completed the required 60-mile endurance trial in 23 hours, faster than all competitors.

The Hunter WOLF features a JP-8/electric hybrid powertrain enabling the vehicles silent drive and silent watch capability. It has a 20 kW onboard generator for battery recharging and troop support, as well as 3 kW power offload powering external systems.

The U.S. Army has selected four companies to move to the second phase of the Squad, Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET), to develop an unmanned ground vehicle assisting dismounted troops with equipment transport. The teams selected for Phase II include General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), HDT Global (HDT) Expeditionary Systems, Howe & Howe and a team of Polaris Defense and Applied Research Associates. Each team will build 20 UGVs for Army evaluation. The selection followed a demonstration of robotic logistics technologies at Fort Benning, Georgia.
In a major move, the Maharashtra government has approved additional 0.5 FSI (which determines buildable area on a plot) for the island city to be available on the payment of a premium  60% of the ready reckoner rates.

Floor Space Index (FSI) typically indicates how high a developer can build on a plot. It is the ratio of total built-up area to the size of the plot.

The states move means developers will now be able to use more FSI in Mumbai.

This is in addition to the 1.33 base FSI available in the island city, which has now gone up to 1.83 FSI.

The base FSI has not been increased as the 0.5 FSI is optional and can be available by paying a premium. It is also not applicable to cluster or other redevelopment projects of BDD chawls as they are already have an FSI of 3 and above.

The state government on Tuesday issued a notification seeking suggestions and objections from the people on its

decision.

The decision will lead to further vertical development in the island city that covers the area between south Mumbai, Sion and Mahim.

The government says it will lead to more houses in the city, while experts point out it will also lead to congestion and burdening the existing infrastructure.

The additional FSI has been linked to the width of a fronting road, which means the FSI will be available on the plots that have roads with minimum width of 9m and more.

The decision of the state urban development department was published on Tuesday. It has also sought suggestions and objections from the people for the same in the next one month, after which the Development Control Rules (DCR) will be modified for the purpose.

This is the first time the government has allowed a hike in basic FSI for the island city for a premium. With this, a maximum of 2.5 FSI can be used in the city, which includes using maximum permissible TDR (Transferable Development Rights).

In December 2015, the state government had approved additional 0.5 FSI for the Mumbai suburbs, which was made available again by paying premium, but the FSI for the island city wasnt changed.

Dr Nitin Kareer, principal secretary, state urban development department, said the objective of the decision is allowing construction of more houses in the city.

The FSI of island city was kept unchanged in 2015 while approving additional FSI for suburbs. This was done considering the burden of infrastructure of the city. Now things have improved and we have approved additional FSI for the city, Kareer said.

The government has also decided that the premium received by the sale of additional FSI will be used for projects such as Dharavi redevelopment and Bandra-Versova Sea Link. According to the urban development department, the premium amount would be shared between the state government, BMC, Dharavi Development Project and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for Bandra-Versova sea link equally.

Ramesh Prabhu, housing activist and chairman for Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association (MSWA), said the decision would lead to more congestion in the city. It is not advisable to allow additional FSI as existing FSI was sufficient considering the existing infrastructure of the city. Further, slum rehabilitation projects and redevelopment of cess buildings have also been given sufficient FSI, Prabhu said.

Personally speaking, its not a good sign for Mumbai. The decision was taken certainly to help builders, he alleged.

Considering the congestion part, the government has also decided to link the additional FSI with the width of the road. The wider the road, people will be able to get more FSI. For instance, additional FSI is applicable only on the plots fronting on road width of minimum 9m and above, Kareer said.
The Nashik police on Tuesday booked the main accused, who was arrested for carrying a huge cache of arms, in a fresh robbery case, while the Mumbai crime branch were given the custody of two of his accomplices.

The police said Badrinujam Badshah alias Sumit alias Suka, 27, was booked for not paying Rs1,000 in fuel charges to a petrol pump owner in Nashik on December 15, 2017. They allegedly threatened the petrol pump staff at gunpoint. This led the owner to alert the Nashik police, which later recovered 25 rifles, one machine gun, 19 revolvers and 4,166 live cartridges from a stolen Bolerao. This was the largest arms seizure in Maharashtra since the Aurangabad case in 2006.

Superintendent of police (Nashik) Sanjay Darade confirmed that they had booked Badshah in a fresh case of robbery.

Badshah, who had many criminal cases in the past, was booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) by the Nashik and Mumbai police.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai crime branch on Tuesday got the custody of Amir Rashid Shaikh and Wajid Shaikh, who were with Badshah in the Bolero. The duo will be produced in a Mumbai court on Wednesday.

The Mumbai police have filed three cases against the accused; an extortion case against Badshah, his father and their relatives at RAK Marg police station; a vehicle theft case at Amboli police station; a cheating case for forging vehicle papers. The Mumbai crime branch are probing the three cases.

Five people have been arrested in the arms haul case.
The Maharashtra government is yet to decide on the release of Bollywood film Padmavat in the state, tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal has said.

Rawal, a BJP MLA and Rajput elected from Dhule districts Sindkheda constituency in north Maharashtra, had opposed the release of the film earlier.

On Tuesday, the minister said the state has to check what has now been censored by the Censor Board for Film Certification (CBFC).

The film, starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, faced severe opposition across the country from various Rajput outfits over the alleged distortion of historical facts. The row prompted the CBFC to review the film, and it was cleared recently after many cuts and a change in its title from Padmavati to Padmavat.

First of all, we need to see what has been removed from the movie as CBFC has cleared it after suggesting many cuts. If it still distorts history, we will continue to oppose it, he said.

Asked if he wants a special screening, he said: I am not the authority and want the right people to watch the movie and raise their voice.

Padmavat is now set to release on January 25.

In November, Rawal had written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding that the movie be banned if it is not in line with history. He had also supported protests against the movie by fringe groups. Another BJP MLA Raj Purohit from Mumbai had also objected to its release and participated in protests.
Following the fire in Saki Naka that killed 12 migrant workers, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has suspended a senior sanitary inspector, Jagdish Gyandev Sawant, for negligence.

The investigative report submitted to civic chief Ajoy Mehta also suggested that four officers of the building and factory department will face departmental inquiry.

The report concludes that the fire was caused by a short circuit.

The sanitation officer is responsible for surveying the areas, checking commercial properties and suggesting actions if illegalities are found. The report reads that no permission was given to the shop from the health department.

It had not received any no-objection certificate from the fire department. As appropriate action was not taken by the sanitary officer, the report suggested the suspension of the officer.

The report was accepted by the civic chief and appropriate actions were ordered.

Fire broke out on the ground floor of the snack factory on December 18 at Khairani Road. The collapse of the structure and blocked passages by illegal cylinders proved it difficult for the workers to escape.

Following the incident, Mehta had ordered the head of the central purchases department, Ram Dhas, to submit an inquiry report.

The report also states that the area does not fall under the jurisdiction of the BMC and thus it was difficult to identify the illegal construction of a mezzanine floor. However, it is expected that the ward officers should have forwarded any kind of malpractices noticed in the area to the concerned authorities.

A departmental inquiry has been initiated against the officers of building and factory department which will be carried out by the assistant municipal commissioner of the L ward (Kurla).
On the third day of the investigation into the murder of ex-Shiv Sena corporator Ashok Sawant, the Samta Nagar police arrested the third accused  a minor from Pune who got Rs500 for the job and a promise to be paid more later, said the police.

The cops are now looking for the remaining two accused, who are at large, including main accused Jagdish Pawar. The minor was brought in from Pune and booked in the murder case. He has been sent to Dongri Childrens remand home to be produced before the juvenile court, said Mumbai police spokesperson Deepak Devraj, deputy commissioner of police. The police have also recovered bloodstained clothes from the teenagers home.

A police team was dispatched to Pune after they got a tip-off about a possible hideout of one of the accused. They nabbed a 17-year-old boy, who was later identified as the third accused. He is an HSC student who lived with his parents and sister. The police have previously arrested Sohail Dodhia and Ganesh Jogdand.

The police had earlier said that Pawar and the another suspect met the minor in Pune. The duo used to frequent to Pune, where they drew the minor in on the plan. After he became friends with Pawar, the teenager made several trips to Mumbai and met the other accused, said officers privy to the investigation.

The incident took place on Sunday when Sawant, a two-time municipal corporator and Shiv Sena Vibhag Pramukh, was returning home after having dinner at a nearby restaurant. He was riding pillion on a scooter driven by his friend Vinod Sonawane. Meanwhile, Jogdand, who was driving an auto, allegedly blocked the two-wheelers path and one of the three accused seated in the passenger seat kicked the bike off balance.

Pawar then got out of the auto and stabbed Sawant. The police said the minor and another wanted accused took turns to stab Sawant, who sustained 20 stab injuries.

The police suspect that the assailants had consumed alcohol before the crime.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limiteds (MMRC) plans to undertake controlled blasting at Cuffe Parade are giving sleepless nights to residents.

A letter issued by the Mumbai Police, a copy of which is with HT, to buildings on January 5 said controlled blasting will be undertaken on Prakash Pethe Marg in Cuffe Parade, between President Junction and Dhanpal Naka, by Siddhikumar infrastructure, a contractor appointed by the L&T-Shanghai Tunnel engineering. Residents have been asked to submit their written objections within four days of receiving the notice to Cuffe Parade police station.

The blasts will be done to construct a station on the fully underground Metro-3 corridor (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz).

Controlled blasting is undertaken for tunneling if the rock is very hard and abrasive and if the mechanised method of excavation takes longer. However, the exercise requires statutory permissions including a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the police. A senior official from the Cuffe Parade station said an NOC will be granted if there are not many objections.

Residents of Venus Society and Twin Star Jupiter Co-operative Housing Society have called for meetings to discuss the matter. A resident of the area said, All the buildings in the lane are more than 45 years old. We are certainly fearing the consequences of the exercise. If the authority undertook soil testing before the works began, then why didn't they inform us about the blasting method before?

The Cuffe Parade police station had issued a letter to the housing societies in December too. However, the January letter said they did not get any response from residents.

A spokesperson from the MMRC said, Controlled blasting is required for hard rock excavation as it causes much lesser noise than mechanical rock breakers. We, at MMRC, would like to highlight that the controlled blasting is extremely safe and is being undertaken all over the world for rock breaking in urban conditions and is already being used on some of our sites in Mumbai."

Apart from Cuffe Parade, the MMRC also plans to undertake controlled blasting at Colaba, Azad Maidan, Andheri and Mahim.
Three youngsters died and two others were injured after their Volkswagen Polo they were travelling in hit a Tempo on the Pune-Mumbai expressway on Tuesday. The accident took place near Khopoli in Raigad district around 86 km from Pune city.

According to the police, the group of five, including three girls, was travelling to Pune from Mumbai. As they were crossing Dhamani village on the expressway around 9.45am, their car hit a Tempo, which was moving in the same direction.

The car was totally damaged in the accident. A boy and a girl suffered severe injuries and died on the spot. They have been identified as Faizan Muhammad Shaikh, 19, a resident of Mukadam Chawl in Kurla and Sweda Dubey, 17, a resident of Ghorbundar Road in Thane, said inspector Jamil Sheikh of Khalapur police station.

The three others  Shraddha Morya, 21, a resident of Thane; Nilesh Raj Thakur, 18, a resident of Juinagar, and Rizwan Chaudhary, 18, a resident of Thane  were injured.

They were rushed to Mahatma Gandhi Mission (MGM) hospital in Kamothe, Navi Mumbai, by some local residents. However, Shraddha succumbed before she reached the hospital. Nilesh and Rizwana are still under observation. They are reportedly stable now, the officer said.

The police said Faijan was driving the car. He lost his control of the vehicle and hit the Tempo from behind, another police officer said.

Prima facie it appears that the group was going to a theme park at Lonavla to celebrate a birthday.

My brother had left home in the morning saying he was going to celebrate the birthday of one of his friends. But we had no idea whose birthday it was. We learnt about the accident after we received a call from the police after a few hours and came to the hospital, said Nishant Raj Thakur, Nileshs younger brother.

According to Nishant, everyone in the group passed their Class 12th from a college in Vashi. They were on a break and were preparing for medical entrance and IIT, he said.

An expressway control official said that the mishap affected traffic movement for two hours.
The Ghaziabad police on Wednesday detained UP Congress chief Raj Babbar and his supporters from proceeding to Mandola in Loni to support the farmers agitation.

The farmers at Mandola village have been on a sit-in protest demanding a hiked compensation for their land which was acquired for the development of UP Housing Boards Mandola housing scheme in Ghaziabad.

The scheme, for which land acquisition started in 1998, is spread over 2,300 acres. The government planned to develop nearly 12,000 housing units under the scheme, which has already been delayed owing to farmers agitation. Nearly 4,000 flats are still under construction while registry for only 4,000 flats has been done so far.

The housing board is trying to grab land by invoking the emergency clause. Officials are presenting a wrong picture. Congress president Rahul Gandhi had asked us to take lawyers opinion on the matter and they said the demands of farmers are valid. The farmers are angry with BJP leaders. We asked officials to let us meet the farmers but they denied us permission. We even asked officials to come with BJP leaders and hold talks with farmers, Babbar said.

The Congress leader and nearly 110 of his supporters were later taken to Vasundhara guest house from Loni and released by Wednesday evening.

The farmers also want their leader Manvir Teotia to be allowed into Mandola. We are with the farmers and we want them to get a hiked compensation apart from 20% of the developed land, he added.

However, officials of UP housing board said the compensation given to farmers was decided by mutual consent.

They (farmers) collected nearly Rs 1,000 crore in 2010. Now, they are demanding new rates as per the new Act. They had also moved the court but lost. Now, a small group is protesting at the site and trying to hamper work, said Mahendra Prasad, deputy commissioner, UP housing board.

We have asked them to either discuss the issue with us or approach the court. But they are protesting with unclear demands, he said.

Farmers said they will continue with their sit-in protest till their demands are met.

We are holding our protest since December 2, 2016. We want compensation as per the 2013 Act and also 20% of the developed land. As per the new Act, we will be able to get four times the circle rate. Farmers have got compensation for 90% of their land. We will continue our agitation, said Neeraj Tyagi, a farmer leader from Mandola.

Officials said since the work at the site has been hampered for so long, nearly 1,200 allottees have taken a refund of their money.

Farmers are demanding a hiked compensation with no valid ground. Still, the government formed a committee, headed by divisional commissioner, but farmers are not coming forward for talks, said Ritu Maheshwari, district magistrate.
Four masked men barged into a businessmans house in Sector 33 and took away jewellery worth around Rs 50 lakh and cash at gunpoint late on Tuesday evening. Ajit Jain, who owns a cold storage in Lalru, said his wife and daughter were at home when robbers struck there (house number 180).

Pointing pistols at them, they kept them hostage. Later, they fled with jewellery and cash. They also took away the storage device of closed-circuit television cameras installed in the house, so that they could not be identified.

A case of dacoity and robbery has been registered at the Sector-34 police station. Investigations are on, said deputy superintendent of police (south) Deepak Yadav.
We could have celebrated Diwali and New Year in our homes with our children, if the process of our nationality verification hadnt taken a long time. The delay forced us to stay in a Pakistani jail for more than 9 months, although we were not criminals, said Parveen Rathore, one of the 147 repatriated fishermen, on Tuesday, at the Red Cross Building here. He is one of the 147 Indian fishermen, who were released from Malir a Karachi jail on Sunday. They were repatriated to India through the Attari-Wagah border on Monday evening. They have been kept at the building of the Red Cross in Amritsar and will leave for Gujarat on Wednesday through a train from the Amritsar railway station.

Most of the fishermen feel that they had to languish in prison because their nationality verification took a long time. The nationality must be verified within three months. In an age of information technology, it is not an impossible task to identify someones nationality within three months, said Rathore.

Most of the fishermen dont own boats and work on a salary at a salary of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per month from their boat owners.

He said, There are still more fishermen in Pakistani jails. They have been waiting for their release for more than a year, for they have not been verified so far. We were caught in March 2017 and released in January. More than 250 fishermen are still imprisoned there.

Another fisherman, Hira, said, As there is no fencing demarcation in the Arabian Sea, we totally rely on the GPRS system installed in boats used for fishing, but sometimes it too fails and we cross the border inadvertently.

Saffy from Gujarat said, Though volunteers of the Edhi Foundation celebrate Indian festivals among us in the prison, besides giving Rs 5,000 and a bagful of clothes and gifts to each of us during our repatriation, and jail authorities treat us in a courteous manner, but weather and drinking water there do not suit some of Indian prisoners. Two fishermen died in imprisonment. Some are also suffering with various deceases.

Most of the fishermen dont own boats and work on a salary at a salary of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per month from their boat owners. More than 500 boats are lying abandoned in Pakistan. Each boat costs more than 50 lakh, and the our government should also try to get them back, said Hira.

The fishermen also expressed anger towards Indian marine security.Fisherman Firoz said, There were six men in my boat while fishing in the sea and we were in the Indian territory as our GPS system told us, but the Pakistani coastal guards came into the Indian side and caught us in front of our Naval force and our guards didnt stop the rivals to arrest us, despite our repeated requests. Our Naval force should also protect us when we are in the Indian side because we dont go towards Pakistan maritime fence deliberately. Or there should be a treaty between the two countries to release the fishermen forthwith after identifying them on the spot.

The Pakistan government had released 144 Indian fishermen on December 29. As per Pakistan media reports, there had been 585 Indian fishermen in Pakistan jails and around 295 Indian fishermen are still there.
Gibbs & Cox naval architecture and marine engineering firm (G&C) will support the functional design of new, Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC), a new class of frigate based on the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship ordered by the Royal Navy of Saudi Arabia. G&C will work as a subcontractor for Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the program. The company already provides design & engineering efforts for monitoring, maintenance, upgrades & improvements to the LCS class design for all hulls, under a separate contract from Lockheed Martin.

In May 2017, the United States Navy and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for four MMSCs. This agreement represents the first sale of a new, U.S.-built surface combatant to another nation in more than 40 years.

The MMSC is a lethal and highly maneuverable multi-mission surface combatant capable of littoral and open ocean operation. The Multi-Mission Surface Combatant has a range of 5,000 nautical miles and can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots.The vessel will have a 118 meter long hull and it will utilize the same combined diesel and gas propulsion system.

The vessels will be equipped with COMBATSS-21 Combat Management Systems and sensors including the TRS-4D Radar, and IFF systems, Low-Frequency Active Passive Variable Depth Sonar. Their weapon system will comprise of two eight-cell MK-41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) (16 launchers in total) carrying RGM-84 Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles and RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) air defense missiles. A single MK-75 76mm OTO Melara Gun System and RIM 116C Block II Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) short-range anti-missile defense system are also included.
It was meant to be a place of pride, a one of a kind memorial to acknowledge the valour and courage of the Sikhs over the Mughals in a historic battle. But as one approaches the towering Fateh Burj housed in the sprawling Baba Banda Singh Bahadur War Memorial in Chappar Chiri , on the outskirts of Mohali, it seems we just dont have what it takes to look after grand projects such as this. The Memorial, spread over 20 acres of land, was completed at a cost of nearly Rs 36 crore in just 11 months. It opened in 2011.

Six years since it was officially inaugurated by then Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal with much fanfare, the Memorial lies in a state of neglect. At a giddying height of 328 feet, the Fateh Burj or Victory Tower may have set a record as the tallest memorial in the country, crossing even the Qutab Minar, but its present condition doesnt live up to its tall stature.

Historic relevance

It was here in Chappar Chiri that the Sikhs led by Baba Banda Singh Bahadur defeated the tyrant Mughal forces led by Wazir Khan. Situated a few kilometres from Landran and around 20 kms from Sirhind, this area was the site of the Battle of Sirhind that took place on May 12, 1710. According to information available, Wazir Khan deployed his cannons and lined up his elephants, cavalry and skilled warriors at a plain site beyond which lay the rough landscape of Chappar Chiri (Chappar means pond and Chiri means cluster of trees) and surrounding tibbas (mounds).

Baba Banda Singh Bahadur reached the site on the eve of the battle. He climbed the highest tibba to take stock of the situation and drew a strategy for war. The tibbas provided defence from cannon fire and the chiri forced the enemy to engage in close quarter fighting.

Wild growth is covering the transformer. (Sikander Singh/HT)

Under-construction lifts , underutilised facilities

The approach to the Memorial is a bumpy ride and the problems start in the parking itself. Unpaved and with no markings, its a dusty arrival in an open ground. The Verka Milk Bar signage is more prominent and an eyesore just in front of the entrance.

Only one of the two gates is open for entry and theres an unmistakable run-down look about the place. Entry to the Memorial is free but visitor arrivals are duly noted and a handout is given. Currently being looked after Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), the green belt surrounding the tower is lacklustre with no winter blooms leading the way to the historic site.

The Fateh Burj, which showcases three battle victories via three levels in the tower  Victory of Samana at 67 feet, Victory of Sadhaura at 117 feet and Victory of Chappar Chiri at 220 feet  is still awaiting the installation of lifts, an important part of the original plan. Instead you have unfinished wooden boards blocking gaping holes in the inner building. The signs of neglect are obvious with graffiti on the walls and the mindless scribble on one side that reads Upar kamm chal riha hai (work is going on upstairs) in Punjabi. The lifts are going to be installed by GMADA soon, is all the memorials manager Tejinder Singh is willing to inform.

The Memorial which has six mounds with the statues of Banda Singh Bahadur and his five generals  Bhai Fateh Singh, Bhai Aali Singh, Bhai Maali Singh, Bhai Baaj Singh and Bhai Ram Singh  bear a similar washed down look. The grass cover is thin and the rooms below the mounds which were meant to work as museums are lying vacant and closed. Speaking of closed facilities, the cafeteria which ran for two years, is now closed as no new contract has been given for the same, inform sources. Once spotted from afar with its spectacular lights, its no longer the case with many lights now non-functional or in need of repairs. The water body surrounding the Memorial, though clean, is not yet full.

Rusted chairs inside the memorial, which is spread over 20 acre. The project was completed at a cost of nearly Rs 36 crore in 11 months and was inaugurated by the then Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal in 2011. (Sikander Singh/HT)

Popular with tourists but no special initiatives

According to sources, the Memorial sees a footfall of over 2 lakh visitors a year and while the place has immense historic significance, there have been no initiatives to involve the public or conduct events here. The only show held here was a laser show in 2016 marking the 300th shaheedi of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, informed an official.

It is a very commanding structure but there is not much to do here. It looks neglected. There should be more events to involve the community, said Gurpreet Singh, a visitor from Kharar who had brought his NRI relatives to the Memorial for an outing.The Memorial which boasts of a large theatre which can seat over 1,200 people has never been used and even the washrooms are in need of repairs. It is the job of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Punjab to make this place a cultural hub and help increase tourism, remarked an official. According to sources, GMADA is keen to handover charge back to the Department of Cultural Affairs for the further development and maintenance of the Memorial.

Memorials should be relevant to the present generation. There has to be a public connect. Schools and college students should be brought here and informed of their heritage. I havent come across any advertisement or programme by the government that helps promote this place, remarked Harvir Ahluwalia, a Mohali-based architect and consultant.
All eyes are on Pawan Kalyans Sankranti release Agnyaathavaasi, which marks his third time collaboration with filmmaker Trivikram Srinivas. Slated for grand release on Wednesday worldwide, the film is riding high on excellent buzz, thanks to the combo of Pawan Kalyan and Trivikram and the magic their films have done in the past. We look at five reasons why you shouldnt miss this film.

Pawan Kalyan  Trivikram combo

After delivering two blockbusters Jalsa and Attarintiki Daaredhi, its very unlikely this combination can go wrong. Trivikram understands Pawans image like no other filmmaker and that has always worked in favour of their films. After facing two back-to-back debacles in the form of Sardaar Gabbar Singh and Katamarayudu, this combo is sure to revive Pawan Kalyans career with a much needed blockbuster. The trade has bet big on the film and theyre very confident with the result.

Powerful dialogues

For those unfamiliar with director Trivikrams work, he started his career as a writer and has many successful films to his credit. Hes known to be a skilled writer and his dialogues have always been the highlight of his work over the years. Be it Athadu or Jalsa, Trivikrams dialogues dont just pander to the stars fans but theyre usually packed with life-lessons. In the trailer of Agnyaathavaasi, he explains the crux of the film with a chair. The film will be peppered with many such powerful lines thatll be celebrated by fans and general audiences alike.

Anirudhs music

The film marks the debut of Anirudh Ravichander, popular Tamil composer, in Telugu filmdom. His work has been received very well with the songs turning out to be chartbusters. Most critics felt the music is fresh and it has to be seen how itll work with the visuals. Anirudh is also known for delivering outstanding background score and re-recording which will definitely be one of the highlights of the film.

Pawan Kalyans charisma

If theres one Tollywood actor who can send audiences into frenzy without doing much on screen, it has to be Pawan Kalyan, thanks to his ever charismatic persona. While critics have had issues with his performance on many occasions, his fans have celebrated his on screen avatars nevertheless. However, we can expect Pawan to deliver beyond our expectations, courtesy Trivikram, who is known to extract the best out of his actors.

Perfect festival treat

Agnyaathavaasi is the perfect film for this festive occasion. Trivikrams films work across all age groups and with a star like Pawan Kalyan at his disposal, you cant ask for a better film to ring in the festivities this Sankranti. Packed with all the elements that the masses seek in such films, Agnyaathavaasi assures to be a festival treat.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Our film censor board may be squeamish about clearing scenes of love making, but if the Pornhub 2017 survey is anything to go by, Indians love watching porn.

The worlds biggest porn website released its annual year in review on Wednesday, and the numbers give India a not-too-flattering pride of place in the world of porn: We ranked at No. 3 in 2017, only behind the US and UK, among 20 countries that raked in the most traffic to the website.

In terms of most popular searches, Arab ranked the highest in India  it was viewed 165% more times compared to 2016, and hd Hindi and indian hd sex touching a 1822% and 1273% spike respectively. What is not surprising is that Sunny Leone was among the top five most searched female porn stars  for the third year in a row  behind Riley Reid, Mia Khalifa, Lisa Ann and Kim Kardashian.

The cartoon Rick and Morty and Cheerleaders were some of the popular searches on Pornhub for 2017. (Pornhub)

The worldwide numbers are even more staggering. The site hosted 28.5 billion visitors in 2017, an unthinkable average of 81 million people daily. Their users and content partners uploaded more than 4 million videos last year, out of which 8,10,000 were amateur videos- adding up to a total of 5,95,482 hours of video. In other words, 68 years of porn if seen at one go, according to the website.

Indian actor Sunny Leone was in the top 5 most searched for celebrities on the list. (Pornhub)

2017 is also special to Pornhub because they completed 10 years, and they also have statistics for that entire decade. Stats also show that searches for Porn for Women category increased by 1400% last year. In fact, there was also an increase in searches for women enjoying other women for the third year in a row when lesbian was the top searched term globally. The second most searched term was Hentai.

As for Pornhubs gay visitors, at the top of the search list for the second year running was japanese, followed by korean.  Searches for straight guys continued to be a popular choice, with straight first time and straight friend taking up the third and fourth positions.

The average age of site visitors was 35 years, with the highest density from 25 - 34 year olds, comprising 32% of the traffic. The 18- 24 age group made up 29%, 35-44 was 17% and the seniors didnt disappoint either, with the 55+ group coming in at 11%. The most searched for celebrities were Kim Kardashian, followed Selena Gomez and youtuber Lena the Plug.

In the superhero world, it was the typical Marvel vs. DC fight, with Rey (from Star Wars), literally explode on our screens at the no. 1 position. Harley Quinns (Suicide Squad) had 8 million searches while Wonder Woman shot up by 281% on the films premiere date, landing her at 2nd position. Batman dropped down to third position after last year, but still got a boost of 1595% compared to 2016.

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Ethiopia has always held me in thrall. It is a cradle of prehistoric humankind. It embraced Christianity long before the missionaries arrived. Its people carved subterranean churches out of solid rock and built mysterious towers of stone. The countrys mythology included serving as keepers of the Ark of the Covenant (the legendary chest containing the Ten Commandments) and the biblical story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. And in the modern era it was the only African nation to repel a European colonial invasion (by Italy in 1896).

I was born and raised in Africa but had never visited Ethiopia. The chance came last fall when my wife Eva and I were in Israel, a mere 4 1/2 -hours by air from Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines flew us, arranged all-inclusive tours, and for six days, by plane or car, we toured the north of the country from the source of the Blue Nile to the stone obelisks of the vanished empire of Axum.

After our first night in Addis Ababa, the huge and crowded capital, we flew to Bahir Dar, a pleasant town on the shore of Lake Tana, and were driven south to see the Blue Nile, a tributary of the Nile River. It had rained overnight, and the trip was a slow and slithery affair on an unpaved road. Then we hiked for about a mile through bright green fields, across a wobbly wooden footbridge, and through patches of shoe-swallowing mud. We encountered women herding cattle and a man working his small plot with a plow harnessed to a bull. Then the sun shone and we were looking at a wall of white water thundering over a cliff: the Blue Nile at its first great cataract on a journey to Khartoum in neighbouring Sudan to merge into the White Nile and continue north to the Mediterranean.

A panorama view at the Fasilides castle in Gondar. (Shutterstock)

Back in Bahir Dar, we travelled by boat across Lake Tana, one of the largest lakes in Africa. Its islands are dotted with monasteries and churches, one of them a circular chapel with a richly thatched roof. The ecclesiastical art on the inner walls was exuberantly colourful, but my own favourite touch was a boulder suspended from a tree branch which, when struck, sounded like a gong, summoning the faithful to prayer. Next morning, after waking to a sunrise that streaked Lake Tana in gold, we set out on a three-hour drive north to Gondar, a past capital of Ethiopia whose highlight is a royal compound of 17th and 18th century palaces and castles.

Gondar was also once home to Ethiopias Jewish minority until they emigrated en masse to Israel in the 1980s and 1990s. We did, however, bump into a high-spirited party of Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers on a visit to the place their families had come from. Next stop, the mysterious kingdom of Axum (or Aksum) in northern Ethiopia. Its a junction of early Christian, Muslim and Jewish civilization in the Horn of Africa. Although the Axumite empire lasted hundreds of years, little is known about it. But it was clearly advanced for its time, judging by its most visible highlight, the obelisks.

Lalibelas churches were carved out of soft volcanic rock, and are seen by looking down into the light-filled crevices that surround them. (c_schulz/Instagram)

These so-called stelae, some roughly 10 stories high with intricately carved stone, are thought to have demarcated royal burial places. The largest weighed 520 tons and still lies where it collapsed. Others survive upright. Another flight took us to Lalibela and its 12th-century churches  my other reason for wanting to visit Ethiopia. They are magical, baffling, awesome. Defying all conventional rules of architecture, they were carved out of soft volcanic rock, and are seen by looking down into the light-filled crevices that surround them. The churches are decorated with religious art and other ornamentation. Attesting to the religious mix that makes Ethiopia so interesting, we spotted a Christian cross inside a Jewish Star of David.

Ethiopia endeared itself to us in many ways: its impossibly complicated calendar; the complete absence of smokers (we were told the Church discourages the habit but Ethiopia has also begun banning smoking in public places); the Ethiopian currency, called birr (rhymes with grrr); our driver fighting through traffic not by leaning on his horn but by tapping it gently, almost apologetically; the exquisite little sauce dish we bought, only to see it melt back into mud under our all-vanquishing detergent.

We came across multitudes of people walking on roadsides in rural areas, often too poor to afford public transport. On the dusty unpaved road from Lalibela, at an elevation of 8,000 feet (2,440 meters), we saw crowds of children marching home from school. Our guide mentioned Haile Gebrselassie, the great Olympic long-distance runner, who walked and ran 12 miles (19 km) a day to and from school (not at all uncommon, so great is the hunger for education). And traipsing uphill came a family in weathered robes and sashes, belongings lashed to a donkey, straight out of the Old Testament. Finally, to get a sense of proportion after all the antiquity we had encountered, we stopped at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa to see Lucy, whose bones were discovered in northern Ethiopia in 1974. At 3.2 million years, shes the most famous human ancestor.

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An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 that struck near remote islands belonging to Honduras on Tuesday was felt across northern Central America but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

The quake rattled windows in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa roughly 519 kilometres to the east and was felt at least as far north as the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, but no damage was immediately reported.

Rodrigo Anaya Rodriguez was in a hammock inside his house near the popular tourist site of Bacalar Lake near Mexicos Caribbean coast when he felt three tremors.

It felt like a bulldozer was driving past, he said. It didnt last long but was very violent.

He ran to his balcony and saw electricity posts and cables swaying.

In Honduras, firefighters said some residents in southern neighbourhoods fled their homes after feeling the shaking.

The country operates a small naval base on Great Swan Island, about 44 kilometres west of the quakes epicentre, but it was not immediately clear how the tremors affected the station.

We have reports that it was felt in the majority of the country, but we dont have reports of damage, said Lizandro Rosales, director of Honduras contingencies commission.

The US Geological Survey said the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.8, was centered 202 kilometres northeast of Barra Patuca in Honduras and 307 kilometres southwest of George Town in the Cayman Islands.

The quake was very shallow, at only 10 kilometres, which would have amplified its effect.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that tsunami waves up to 1 meter (3 feet) above tide level could hit parts of Honduras, Belize and Puerto Rico along with the US and British Virgin Islands.

About two hours after the quake, the center said the threat had passed, withdrawing all tsunami advisories connected with the quake.

The tremors were felt in Belizes capital, Belize City, but there were no immediate reports of damage.

Belizes minister in charge of emergency management, Edmond Castro, spoke on local radio to urge people living in low lying coastal areas and islands to stay alert for potentially dangerous waves.
French beef producers have hailed a deal reached by President Emmanuel Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to end Chinas 2001 embargo on French beef.

The accord, which would allow French producers back into the huge Chinese market within six months, came as Macron made a three-day visit to the country, his first destination in Asia as Frances leader.

The ban was imposed over a decade ago as Beijing started closing off its markets to all European and later US beef imports in the wake of the mad cow disease scare.

Paris has been working for years to promote the safety of its meat and open new markets for its ranchers, who were hit hard by the mad cow scare of the 1990s.

Our beef currently has no access (to China) for sanitary reasons. But with French beef consumption falling five percent a year, we have to find new markets, said economy minister Bruno Le Maire, who is travelling with Macron.

It will allow for higher prices that will better compensate cattle ranchers, he said.

Beef is rapidly becoming more common on Chinese tables as the middle class expands, with imported meat particularly prized.

Excellent news for Frances beef producers, who consider the potential of the Chinese market a strategic opportunity, the Interbev producers association said in a statement yesterday.

Its president, Dominique Langlois, is part of the delegation of about 50 business leaders who joined Macron for his trip.

Interbev said China is the second-largest importer of beef, at nearly 1.1 million tons a year.

The average inhabitant eats four kilogrammes (8.8 pounds) each year, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Ninety percent of Chinas imports currently come from Brazil, Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand.

Several countries have dropped their import bans against French beef in recent years, including the United States, which again opened its market last year after imposing a ban in 1998.

French producers could nonetheless find China a tough market to crack.

There is market share for France to take in China, said Jean-Marc Chaumet, an economist who specialises in China at the French Livestock Institute in Paris.

But it wont be an Eldorado. It will be hard and take time, because France will be entering a very competitive market already open to the US, Uruguay, Canada and Australia, he said.

And theyll need to invest, because the Chinese dont know about French beef, Chaumet added.

Beyond beef, French officials said talks were continuing about Chinas ban on French poultry, imposed in 2015 after an outbreak of bird flu.
Britains long love affair with tingling Indian food is now taking the aerial route - curry-addicted Britons based in Bordeaux miss their favourite fix so much that they have organised a special flight to have it delivered from a popular Indian restaurant in Portsmouth.

Called Curry By Air, the flight is scheduled to take off from Lee-on-Solent airfield on January 13, packed with food from Akash restaurant. Orders are placed online, priced at 32 per person, from a choice of four curries, a vegetarian side dish and naan.

Since Sake Dean Mohamed from Patna opened Londons first Indian restaurant called Hindoostane Coffee House in Marylebone in 1810, the Indian food industry has grown exponentially and is worth 4 billion today.

It is a different matter that curry in Britain stands for dishes vastly different from what they are known as back home, and at least one Indian dish is a purely British invention: chicken tikka masala or CTM, endowed with the status of national dish by former foreign secretary Robin Cook.

CTM, no surprise, is one of the four curries on offer, the others being Lamb Balti, Bangal Naga Chicken and Paneer Korai (veg). The food will be flown to Bordeaux Saucats Airfield, located in the heart of the Pessac-Leognan wine region, where it will be served to customers.

James Emery, a France-based British aviation trainer who thought of the idea with Faz Ahmed of Akash, told The Times: Indian food in France is standardised for French tastes and Ive never had anything that resembles what you get in an Indian takeaway in Britain.

Its a bit of a hare-brained scheme but we love flying and we love curries and we thought it would get the year off to a good start. Everything is a bit miserable, what with Brexit, and I thought it would be good to have some fun.

Orders can only be placed by customers in France, organisers said. The food will be flown to Bordeaux in a Diamond DA42 aircraft operated by Iroise Aero Formation, a flying school in France.

The CTM is also proving a major export item from Britain to France. Retailer Marks & Spencer has been reportedly selling ready-to-eat CTM meals at its outlets in Paris by the thousands, making the dish its top selling meal there.

CTM may have Indian origins but is reputed to have been invented in 1971 by a cook in Glasgow after a customer complained that his chicken dish was dry. The cook simply poured tomato soup into the dish with some spices, the customer loved it, and CTM was born.
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in Pakistan, toured Britain in the 1990s stirring up Muslim youths to become jihadis years before 9/11, a BBC investigation has found.

Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty on his head for allegedly masterminding the 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, thrilled audiences in packed mosques in cities around Britain by calling for a return to the days when Muslims waged jihad and infidels paid them protection money.

Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has denied involvement in the Mumbai carnage.

A report in Pakistans Dawn newspaper quoted the BBC as saying that the revelation had come amid concerns for the British government and intelligence agencies about the large number of Muslims going abroad to fight holy wars.



The investigation, which was the basis of a 40-minute BBC Radio 4 documentary, was broadcast on Tuesday night. It revealed that the roots of violent religious struggle by British Muslims were laid in the mid-1990s, much earlier than previously thought.

The tour of Britain was chronicled in Mujalla Al Dawah, a monthly magazine published by Saeeds organization, Markaz Dawa Wal Irshad.

According to the articles uncovered during the BBC investigation, Hafiz Saeed arrived in Britain on August 9, 1995 and set about lecturing the youth about jihad. There was silence in Birmingham as he urged his audience to rise up for jihad and vilified Hindus.

That address in real terms laid the foundation of ... jihad in the UK, according to the articles.

In Huddersfield, Saeed said: In order to defeat infidels, it is our duty to develop all forms of arms and ammunition, including nuclear bomb. That is Gods command. We (LeT) have declared jihad and killing as first condition of our belief.

In Leicester on August 26, Saeed spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 people. His address infused a new spirit in the youth. Hundreds of young men expressed intention to get jihad training.

Summing up the British tour, the author wrote: A large number of young people want to get jihad training. A group of around 50 college and varsity students has so far finalised its programme... The time is not far off when Muslims will wake up.

Manwar Ali, a computer science graduate from London who became a jihadist but has now renounced violence, told the BBC he persuaded Saeed to visit Britain to rally support for jihad and raise funds.

Whenever Saeed would come to Green Lane (Birmingham) or Rochdale, Skipton, Rotherham, Birmingham and Leicester, thousands of people would turn up, Ali told BBC.

Each trip raised 150,000 or more. Women removed their gold bangles and earrings in response to his call. Hundreds of Britons went to battlefields in the Philippines, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Bosnia, with some losing their lives.

The LeT was banned by Pakistan in 2002 but shortly before that Hafiz Saeed resigned and formed JuD, which is currently on a watch list but officially not banned. Saeed was confined to his home in Pakistan for several months last year but has been freed since.
Malaysia signed a deal with an American firm on Wednesday to resume the search for MH370 almost four years after the plane disappeared, with the company to receive up to $70 million if successful.

The new hunt, which will last 90 days, is expected to start in mid-January when a high-tech vessel leased by the seabed exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, reaches a new search zone in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people -- mostly from China -- on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, triggering one of the worlds greatest aviation mysteries.

No sign of the plane was found in a 120,000 square kilometre search zone selected by satellite analysis of the jets likely trajectory.

The Australian-led sea search, the largest in aviation history, was suspended in January last year.

But three firms submitted bids to resume the hunt privately and after lengthy negotiations, the Malaysian government agreed to engage Ocean Infinity on a no find, no fee basis.

I would like to reiterate our unwavering commitment towards solving the mystery of MH370, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said today at a signing ceremony for the deal.

The new search zone is an area of approximately 25,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean.

If the company finds the Boeing 777, the amount they are paid will depend on where it was located, said Liow.

If it is found within the first 5,000 square kilometres, they will receive $20 million. The amount rises gradually to a maximum of $70 million if the jet is found outside the 25,000 square kilometre search zone.

Relatives of MH370 passengers welcomed the decision.

We are grateful the Malaysian government is resuming the search for MH370, VPR Nathan, whose wife Anne Daisy was on the plane, told AFP.

We do not know what happened, we need to know what happened before we can get closure.

The ship that will conduct the hunt is a Norwegian research vessel named Seabed Constructor, which is carrying 65 crew members and set off from South Africa in early January for the search zone.

It is carrying eight autonomous drones, equipped with sonars and cameras, that will scour the waters in the hunt for the wreckage and can operate in depths up to 6,000 metres.

Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two- metre wing part known as a flaperon.
Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump are scheduled to be in Davos for the annual meeting of the world s top business leaders. They might even meet but there have been no announcements to that effect by either side.

Modi will be in Davos for two days from January 22, the external affairs ministry announced in Delhi earlier. The White House said on Tuesday Trump is also going, but had no dates or details to announce as yet.

There is a possibility of the two leaders meeting as it happens at such forums and gatherings. They last met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in November, and before that during the G-20 Summit in July. Their first and substantive meeting was in June in Washington, along with their respective delegations.

The president welcomes opportunities to advance his America First agenda with world leaders, press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement earlier on Tuesday. At this years World Economic Forum, the president looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries and American workers.

But she later told reporters at a daily briefing there were no details or meetings to announce.

Trump is the first US president to visit Davos in 20 years, with the WEF being seen as a clubby gathering of the worlds rich and elite. Trumps presidential campaign held similar views about it in 2016.

Asked if the presidents position had evolved, Sanders said, Our thinking hasnt changed at all. Just to be extremely clear, the presidents message is very much the same here as it will be there...as it was when he made many stops in Asia. This is very much an America First agenda. The president is still 100% focused and committed to promoting policies that promote strength for American businesses and the American worker. And that's going to be the same whether hes in the US or any other place.

Washington Examiner, a conservative leaning news publication speculated, without citing officials or sources, the most important rationale in favour of Trump's attendance is the fact that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the summit as its keynote speaker. That matters because India is the linchpin on which US geo-strategic interests will rise or fall in the 21st century.

When it comes to these interests, there's India's increasingly wealthy 1.2 billion person market for high-value US goods like iPhones, integrated circuits, and medical devices. As India's economy grows, those exports will mean well-paying, sustainable US jobs.

Then there's Indias contribution to stability in Asia and the Pacific, and its support for a democratic, rules-based international order.
Myanmar prosecutors sought charges on Wednesday against two Reuters reporters under the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, the reporters lawyer said.

Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were detained on Dec. 12 after they had been invited to meet police officers over dinner. Family members have said the two told them they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some documents by the officers they had gone to meet.

The two had worked on Reuters coverage of a crisis in the western state of Rakhine, where - according to U.N. estimates - about 655,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from a fierce military crackdown on militants.

They arrested us and took action against us because we were trying to reveal the truth, Wa Lone told reporters as he and Kyaw Soe Oo were led out of the court and back to Yangons Insein prison after the 30-minute hearing.

Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer representing the two journalists, said the charges being sought came under Section 3.1 (c) of the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

The act dates back to 1923, when Myanmar, then known as Burma, was a province of British India.

Section 3 covers entering prohibited places, taking images or handling secret official documents that might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy.

The Ministry of Information had previously cited police as saying they were arrested for possessing important and secret government documents related to Rakhine State and security forces. The ministry has said they illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media.

The prosecutor objected to an application for bail, the reporters lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, said. The court took it under consideration and will decide at the next hearing on Jan. 23, he said.

The government has said two police officers were also arrested for investigation under suspicion of having violated the Official Secrets Act. It has given no further information on the police arrested.

Dressed in black

In the court, Kyaw Soe Oo embraced his wife and held his daughter for a couple of minutes. His daughter began to weep as he was escorted away and he had to hand her back to other family members.

Wa Lones wife gave him a few small pieces of cake that she had brought.

I am trying to be strong in everything. I never made any mistake; I never did anything wrong, Wa Lone said before leaving the court.

The two journalists arrived and left court in handcuffs.

Reuters President and Editor-In-Chief Stephen J. Adler said he was extremely disappointed that the authorities were seeking to prosecute the pair.

We view this as a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom. Our colleagues should be allowed to return to their jobs reporting on events in Myanmar. We believe time is of the essence and we continue to call for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oos prompt release, he said.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay declined to comment on the charges but said the two had their rights under an independent judicial system.

The judge will be decide whether they are guilty or not according to the law, he told Reuters.

A spokesman for the military was not available for comment.

Observers from the United Nations and from several embassies, including the Netherlands, Australia and Britain were at the court.

We hope that these journalists will get a fair trial and a speedy trial that represents international practices, the first secretary of the EU mission, Andreas Magnusson, told reporters.

Protest outside court

About 30 journalists were outside the court, most dressed in black as a sign of protest against the arrest of the pair. Several had the message journalism is not a crime or release the arrested journalists now on their T-shirts.

Police were on duty outside the court, and some areas were cordoned off with barbed wire.

Government officials from some of the worlds major nations, including the United States, Britain and Canada, as well as top United Nations officials, have called for the release of the reporters.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton also urged that they be freed immediately.

A free press is critical to a free society - the detention of journalists anywhere is unacceptable, Clinton said in a Twitter post on Monday.

Clinton was US president for much of the 1990s when the United States pressed Myanmars then military rulers to release democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi from years of house arrest.

Phil Robertson of the group Human Rights Watch said that if Aung San Suu Kyi and her government really cared about democratic reforms and governance, they could use their parliamentary majority to quickly reform this antiquated colonial law and bring it into compliance with international human rights standards.

Suu Kyi won a 2015 election and formed Myanmars first civilian government in more than half a century in early 2016, although she is barred by the constitution from becoming president.

She has made no public comment on the detention of the two Reuters reporters. The government has denied that their arrests represent an attack on press freedom.
Downing Street called it a refresh of Prime Minister Theresa Mays team while the opposition Labour saw it as a pointless and lacklustre PR exercise, but her team now has the highest number of Indian-origin ministers in British history - four.

The 1.5 million-strong Indian diaspora is now represented by a minister of state (Alok Sharma) and three junior ministers (Rishi Sunak, Shailesh Vara and Suella Fernandes). Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, and Fernandes are first-time ministers.

Called parliamentary undersecretary of state, the junior ministers are the third and lowest tier in the hierarchy in a ministry, after the secretary (cabinet level) and minister of state. Their role includes coordination and specific roles within the ministry.

The only Indian-origin minister to hold a cabinet position so far was Priti Patel, whose tenure as the secretary of international development lasted less than six months  July to November 2017, when she was dropped for her ministerial overreach during a holiday in Israel.

In the charged Brexit atmosphere, May has been performing a delicate balancing act between the rival camps in the Conservative Party and the ministerial team. She may not have intended it but the four Indian-origin ministers are equally divided on the sensitive issue.

Sharma coordinated the pro-European Union British Indians for IN campaign before the 2016 referendum on leaving the EU. The campaign was supported by most Indian-origin MPs, including Shailesh Vara, who has previously held junior ministerial posts.

Sunak and Fernandes are firmly in the pro-Brexit camp. Fernandes chairs the European Research Group of Conservative MPs that acts as an influential pressure group to hold the government to account on the direction and details of ongoing talks in Brussels and London.

In the May teams refresh, Sharmas portfolio was changed from housing to employment. Of the three junior ministerial posts, the most significant is that of former barrister Fernandes, who joins the department for exiting the EU that is currently at the centre of the Brexit talks.

Sunak was appointed in the ministry of housing, communities and local government, while Vara, who previously held junior posts in the department of justice and works and pensions, has been placed in the Northern Ireland office.

Four of the Conservative Partys five Indian-origin MPs are now ministers (Priti Patel is the fifth), which is significant for a party that in Mays own words was seen as the nasty party, and one that the Indian community has long opposed, mainly due to its immigration policy.

The partys turnaround in the community is largely credited to the consistent outreach of David Cameron, first as party leader (since 2005) and then as prime minister (2010 to 2016). Each of the five party MPs attracted more votes in the 2017 election, compared to their percentage in the 2015 election, with Sunak getting nearly 10,000 more votes.

The 2017 election led to the highest number of Indian-origin MPs in British parliamentary history: 12, including seven Labour and five Conservative.

Mays refresh of her team added another record of the highest number of ministers from the community.
The longtime personal lawyer for President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against BuzzFeed for publishing an unverified dossier of allegations about Trumps presidential campaign and Russia.

The lawyer , filed the lawsuit in a New York state court Tuesday, nearly a year after BuzzFeed published the dossier commissioned by political opposition research firm Fusion GPS.

Cohen, who is named in the dossier, said BuzzFeed and several of its staffers defamed him by publishing the 35-page document, which contained a mix of truths, falsehoods and unverified rumors about interactions between people close to Trump and Russian figures.

The lawsuit says that BuzzFeed published the unverified allegations without attempting to determine the veracity of these reports with plaintiff himself.

That included a claim that Cohen had traveled to Prague for secret meetings with a Russian official. Cohen said he has never been to Prague and his passport shows no visits to the Czech Republic.

Enough is enough of the #fake #RussianDossier, Cohen wrote on Twitter. Just filed a defamation action against @BuzzFeedNews for publishing the lie filled document on @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and me!

When it published the dossier, Buzzfeed noted it contained allegations that were unverified and had some clear errors. BuzzFeed said it was nevertheless publishing the document so that Americans can make up their own minds about the allegations against Trump.

Cohen also filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday against Fusion GPS, saying the political opposition reports it prepared included immensely damaging and defamatory statements.

He faulted the company for recklessly distributing the dossier and allowing it to fall into the hands of media devoted to breaking news on the hottest subject of the day: the Trump candidacy.

Josh Levy, a lawyer for Fusion, declined to comment Wednesday morning.

BuzzFeed spokesman Matt Mittenthal defended the publication of the dossier and added, we look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court.

In an opinion column published in The New York Times, BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith said he was proud of the decision to publish the dossier, saying Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. election has become the central challenge to Mr. Trumps presidency.

The dossier is unquestionably real news, he wrote.
US President Donald Trump told South Koreas leader a day after the first intra-Korean talks in more than two years that the United States was open to talks with North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances, the White House said.

South Korea said Trump, in a telephone call on Wednesday, had also told President Moon Jae-in there would be no military action while talks between North and South Korea were going on.

Both heads of state forecast the current inter-Korean talks could naturally lead to talks between the United States and North Korea for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and agreed to negotiate closely on the progression of inter-Korean talks, a statement from South Koreas presidential Blue House said.

The White House said Trump had said the United States was open to talks with North Korea at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances.

The South Korean statement also quoted Trump as saying that a report in the Wall Street Journal newspaper that he was contemplating a military strike against North Korea was completely wrong.

He went on to say that there will be no military action as long as talks between the two Koreas are ongoing, it said.

At Tuesdays intra-Korea talks - the first since 2015 - Seoul and Pyongyang agreed resolve all problems between them through dialogue and to revive military consultations so that accidental conflict could be averted.

North Korea also said it would attend the Olympics.

However, Pyongyang said it would not discuss its nuclear weapons because they were aimed only at the United States and not its brethren in South Korea, or Russia or China, showing that a diplomatic breakthrough to the crisis remained far off.

Washington welcomed the talks as a first step toward solving the crisis over North Koreas program to develop nuclear missiles capable of reaching the United States, but reiterated that any talks involving the United States must be aimed at North Koreas denuclearization.

Trump, who has swung between hurling insults and threats at North Korea to expressing a willingness to talk, said on Saturday he would be willing to speak to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though not without pre-conditions.

An unsourced article in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday said US officials were debating whether it was possible to mount a limited military strike against North Korean sites without igniting an all-out war on the Korean peninsula.

The Trump administration has said it prefers a diplomatic solution but that all options are on the table, including military.

US officials say Trump has been considering a number of military options, including a preemptive strike on a missile or nuclear facility, but officials and analysts have warned of the risks of triggering a catastrophic wider conflict.

Moon credits Trump for talks

Earlier on Tuesday, Moon made a point of crediting Trump for the inter-Korean talks.

He also said he was open to meeting with Kim at any time if conditions were right and certain achievements are guaranteed.

The purpose of it shouldnt be talks for the sake of talks, he said, while warning that Pyongyang would face stronger sanctions if provocations continued.

North Korea ramped up missile launches last year and conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, resulting in a US-led campaign to impose some of the strongest international sanctions yet, which Pyongyang dubbed an act of war.

Trump and Kim have exchanged threats and insults over the past year, raising fears of war on the peninsula. South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with the North after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

Washington and Seoul opened the way for the talks last week when they announced the postponement of joint military exercises that Pyongyang has denounced as a rehearsal for invasion.

Washington had raised concerns that Kims New Year overture to Seoul that led to the talks could drive a wedge between the allies, but Moon said his government and Washington did not differ over how to respond to North Korean threats.

This initial round of talks is for the improvement of relations between North and South Korea. Our task ... is to draw North Korea to talks aimed at the denuclearization of the North, Moon said. (Its) our basic stance that will never be given up.

North Koreas official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said all problems would be resolved through efforts by the Korean people alone.

If the North and South abandon external forces and cooperate together, we will be able to fully solve all problems to match our peoples needs and our joint prosperity, it said.

In spite of the hopeful words about the potential for future talks, the US intelligence assessment of the Norths weapons programs has not altered, officials say.

US officials familiar with the classified analysis say the consensus is that Kim remains convinced that the United States is determined to overthrow him and that only a nuclear arsenal that threatens America can deter that.

One official said the North-South talks were likely to follow the pattern of past diplomatic efforts, in which the North has benefited from additional food and other aid without making concessions.

Lee Woo-young, a professor at Seouls University of North Korean Studies, said it was wise of Moon to praise Trump.

By doing that, he can help the US build logic for moving toward negotiations and turning around the state of affairs in the future, so when they were ready to talk to the North, they can say the North came out of isolation because the sanctions were effective.

The United States and Canada are due to host a conference of about 20 foreign ministers next week in Vancouver to discuss North Korea, without the participation of China, Pyongyangs sole major ally and biggest trade partner.

China would not attend and was resolutely opposed to it, its foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

It will only create divisions within the international community and harm joint efforts to appropriately resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue, he said.
The Trump administration is nearing completion of a new Buy American plan that calls for US military attaches and diplomats to help drum up billions of dollars more in business overseas for the American weapons industry, going beyond the assistance they currently provide, US officials said.

President Donald Trump as early as February is expected to announce a whole of government effort to ease export rules on purchases by foreign countries of US-made military equipment, from fighter jets and drones to warships and artillery, according to people familiar with the plan.

Trump is seeking to fulfill a 2016 election campaign promise to create jobs in the United States by selling more goods and services abroad to bring down the US trade deficit from a six-year high of $50 billion.

The administration is also under pressure from US defense contractors facing growing competition from foreign rivals such as China and Russia. But any loosening of the restrictions on weapons sales would be in defiance of human rights and arms control advocates who said there was too great a risk of fueling violence in regions such as the Middle East and South Asia or arms being diverted to be used in terrorist attacks.

Besides greater use of a network of military and commercial attaches already stationed at U.S. embassies in foreign capitals, senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said another thrust of the plan will be to set in motion a realignment of the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR). It is a central policy governing arms exports since 1976 and has not been fully revamped in more than three decades.

This expanded government effort on behalf of American arms makers, together with looser restrictions on weapons exports and more favorable treatment of sales to non-NATO allies and partners, could bring additional billions of dollars in deals and more jobs, a senior US official said, without providing specifics.

The strategy of having the Pentagon and the US State Department take a more active role in securing foreign arms deals could especially benefit major defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co.

We want to see those guys, the commercial and military attaches, unfettered to be salesmen for this stuff, to be promoters, said the senior administration official, who is close to the internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A State Department official, asked to confirm details of the coming new policy, said the revamped approach gives our partners a greater capacity to help share the burden of international security, benefits the defense industrial base and will provide more good jobs for American workers.

The White House and Pentagon declined official comment.

Defense industry officials and lobbyists have privately welcomed what they expect will be a more sales-friendly approach.

It is unclear how deeply the diplomats and military officers overseas will delve into dealmaking and what guidelines will be established, said officials in the administration.

Trump, a Republican, has the legal authority to direct government embassy security assistance officers, both military personnel and civilians, to do more to help drive arms sales.

Administration officials see this group, which already has duties such as managing military aid overseas and providing information to foreign governments for buying U.S. arms, as underutilized by previous presidents.

Graphic on US arms sales.

Back seat for human rights?

One national security analyst said that easing export restrictions to allow defense contractors to reap greater profits internationally would increase the danger of top-of-the-line U.S. weapons going to governments with poor human rights records or being used by militants.

This administration has demonstrated from the very beginning that human rights have taken a back seat to economic concerns, said Rachel Stohl, director of the conventional defense program at the Stimson Center in Washington. And the short-sightedness of a new arms export policy could have serious long-term implications.

The administration officials said human rights considerations would remain part of the formula for arms sales decisions. But they said such reviews would now afford greater weight than before to whether a deal would be good for the U.S. economy and strengthen Americas defense industrial base, in which case red tape would be cut accordingly.

Rules to make it easier to sell U.S.-made military drones overseas and compete against fast-growing Chinese and Israeli rivals are also expected to be in the Trump plan, officials said.

Trumps Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, also sought to make it easier to sell to Americas most trusted allies but in a more cautious approach that his administration billed as a way to boost American business while keeping strict controls against more dangerous arms proliferation.

Foreign weapons sales soared during his tenure, with the United States retaining its position as the worlds top arms supplier.

Shares of the five biggest U.S. defense contractors, including Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon Co, General Dynamics Corp and Northrop Grumman have more than tripled over the last five years and currently trade at or near all-time highs.

Foreign military sales in fiscal 2017, comprising much of Trumps first year in office and the final months of Obamas term, climbed to $42 billion, compared to $31 billion in the prior year, according to the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The Trump administration has already moved forward on several controversial sales. Those include a push for $7 billion in precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia despite concerns they have contributed to civilian deaths in the Saudi campaign in Yemens civil war and the unblocking of $3 billion in arms to Bahrain, which was also held up by human rights concerns under Obama.

Similar concerns have been raised over the administrations preparations to make it easier for American gun makers to sell small arms, including assault rifles and ammunition, to foreign buyers.

A draft of the new policy proposals recently finished by inter-agency teams coordinated by Trumps National Security Council must now be approved by a select group of senior cabinet members before being sent to his desk, the government sources said.

Once Trump announces an extensive framework of the plan, there will be a 60-day public comment period. After that, the administration is expected to unveil further details. Some of the changes are expected to take the form of what is formally known as a presidential National Security Decision Directive, two of the sources said.
A key issue in relations between India and the United Kingdom will be addressed on Thursday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the speedy return of illegal migrants, which may lead to improvement in the current British visa offer.

The MoU is to be signed by minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, who is currently in London, following months of deliberations between British and Indian officials in New Delhi and London, including by former home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi during his July 2017 visit here.

It is likely to be signed on the British side by newly appointed minister for immigration Caroline Nokes. Home Office officials believe Indians are among the top nationalities living illegally in the UK, estimated at more than 100,000.

The issue was flagged by Prime Minister Theresa May during her 2016 visit to New Delhi. (The) UK will consider further improvements to our visa offer if at the same time we can step up the speed and volume of returns of Indians with no right to remain in the UK, she had said at the time.

The sticking point between the two sides has been confirming the identity of suspected illegal migrants, who may destroy passports and other papers to make it difficult for authorities to deport them. New Delhi has been willing to accept those whose Indian identity has been confirmed.

The investigation to confirm identity involves police in India, which can take weeks, if not months. There have also been instances when Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizens were sought to be sent to India, which was averted after investigations established they were not Indians.

Since biometric and other information is sought while seeking a British visa, the British side wants India to accept the details and issue travel documents to deport overstayers. New Delhi believes the identity can be confirmed only through an investigation by Indian authorities.

The Indian high commission here issues travel documents (Emergency Certificates) to those whose Indian identity is confirmed so that they can return. In 2016, a total of 582 Emergency Certificates were issued, but the Home Office believes there is much scope for speeding up the process.

May said in an interview before the 2017 election: The Home Office is discussing various ways in which that process (of returns) can be improved.

It is something I have said internationally, that I think where there are people who are in a country illegally, they should be returned, but it is a question of getting a smoother process so that people arent spending quite so long waiting to be returned.
The US on Wednesday issued a new travel advisory for countries including India, which its officials said is user friendly as it is based on ready-to-understand level of advice ranging from one to four.

India has been ranked Level 2 (exercise increased caution) while Pakistan has been places in Level 3 (reconsider travel). Level 1 advises travellers to exercise normal precaution, while Level 4, which has countries like Afghanistan, recommends Do Not Travel.

Now every country has a travel advisory based on this system, which has replaced all the previous such advisories.

These improvements will provide US citizens with clear, timely, and reliable safety and security information worldwide, the State Department said.

Placing India on Level 2, the State Department identified crime and terrorism for Americans to exercise increased caution. However, it asks Americans not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir, except for eastern Ladakh and Leh and not to venture within 10 miles of the India-Pakistan border due to the potential for armed conflict.

The State Department explained that while it will issue an overall travel advisory level for every country, levels of advice may vary for specific locations or areas within a country.

Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations, the new India travel advisory said.

Terrorists or armed groups are active in east-central India, primarily in rural areas, it added.

Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities, it said.

Ranking Pakistan on Level 3, the State Department asked Americans to reconsider travel to this country due to terrorism.

It advises Americans not to travel to travel to Balochistan province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) due to terrorism.

Americans are also advised not to travel to Pak-Occupied Kashmir due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.

Over the past six months, there have been at least 40 significant terrorist attacks across Pakistan, resulting in over 225 deaths and 475 wounded, most of which occurred in Balochistan, KPK, and the FATA. In the past, there have been large-scale terrorist attacks resulting in hundreds of casualties, it said.
The alleged rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Pakistans Punjab province triggered violent protests that left two people dead in police firing on Wednesday.

Kasur town, located a short distance from the border with India, had been tense after the girl disappeared on January 4 while on her way home from a tuition centre. Her parents were away on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, and her family circulated CCTV footage on social media that showed her with an unidentified man.

On Tuesday, a constable deputed to trace the girl recovered her body from a garbage heap, with police saying she seemed to have been killed four or five days ago. Reports said she was allegedly raped multiple times before being strangled. The body was sent to the district headquarters hospital for an autopsy.

On Wednesday, demonstrators armed with sticks and stones tried to stormed the deputy commissioners office during protests over the girls death. Two people died of gunshot wounds after the police opened fire on the protestors and several others were injured. Footage on television showed policemen firing directly at the mob before being told by their superiors to fire in the air.

The girls father, on returning to Pakistan on Wednesday, told the media that he would not bury her till justice was done. He also accused police of only being concerned with the security of politicians and not acting against persons who had been identified in connection with his daughters killing.

Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah appealed for calm, with the influential Dawn newspaper quoting him as saying that the provincial government had taken notice of the case.

According to the report, police confirmed the girl had been strangled and officials described the incident as a serial killing.

Local media reports said the girls murder was the twelfth such case in Kasur over a period of one year. Kasur had hit the headlines in 2015 when a gang of paedophiles running a child sex ring was busted in the town. The gang allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted 280 children and blackmailed the families of some victims since 2009.
U.S. and Coin Dealer Fight Over Rare Gold Double Eagles

Double Eagles, $20 gold pieces minted in 1933 but never circulated, are Americas most fabled coins. In 2002, one surfaced at an auction and sold for $7.59 million. Now 10 Double Eagles confiscated from a Philadelphia coin dealer in 2004 by the U.S. Mint are at the heart of a legal dispute.

More than 400,000 Double Eagles were produced in 1933, but when FDR eliminated the gold standard that year, the coins were ordered to remain at the Mint. (Two went to the Smithsonian and the rest were to be melted into bullion.) Yet over the years several of the gold pieces have cropped up, and virtually all can be traced to one dealer, Israel Switt.

In 2004, Switts grandson, Roy Langbord, took 10 Double Eagles to the Philadelphia Mint. Langbord says he was checking on their authenticity. The Mint kept the coins, arguing that they had passed illegally into Switts hands. The Langbords contend they were denied their right to due process and a district judge recently ruled that the government must prove that a crime was committed, a difficult task since almost 80 years have passed.

The Mint and the U.S. Attorneys office in Philadelphia declined to comment, but the Langbords attorney Barry Berke says the latest development is exactly what we wanted. We will now have our day in court.

Latter-Day Fans Mourn Poes Passing

When Baltimores Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum celebrated the bicentennial year of the authors birth (January 19, 1809) with a funeraltwo servicesthere was no pounding of a telltale heart, and there were no gasps about a premature burial. We treated this like a real funeral, says Poe House curator Jeff Jerome. There were some tongues in cheeks, some winks, but this was not camp. John Astin, known as the dad on TVs The Addams Familyno snickering!played it straight as moderater for services that included eulogies by Alfred Hitchcock, Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft and other devotees of the fright master. The services were held October 11 at Westminster Hallwhich shares a complex with the graveyard where Poe is buriedtwo days after an overnight vigil at Poe House and three days after an 11-hour viewing of a plastic replica of his corpse. When Poe died in Baltimore in 1849, after a rather tortured life, only seven locals showed up to mourn his passing. Nevermore! This time around Poe Funeral Week drew about 1,200 people from such un-gothic places as Bahrain, Japan and Argentina.

9/11 Memorial Opens Online

Images of 9/11 have been burned into the consciousness of all Americans, but more work will be needed to understand all that happened that day. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum, scheduled to open in New York in three years, has begun to display hundreds of hours of video, as well as the stories of everyday Americans at makehistory.national911 memorial.org. We really need to look at this event from a lot of different perspectives, and make sense of it with the passage of time, says Michael Shulan, creative director for the museum, the memorial and the Web site. The events struck everyone equallyit didnt matter if you were the president or a homeless Vietnam vet. The organization already has hundreds of hours of material, and the stories of many people, but Shulan says, ultimately wed like to be the portal to everything that is 9/11. We dont want to own all of this material, but we want to be the place where people turn to understand what happened.

A Lost Jamestown Suburb Surfaces

After more than 30 years of suspended curiosity, archaeologist Alain Outlaw has confirmed his hunch about the site of 17thcentury Argall Towne, one of the first suburbs in the American colonies. Outlaw, an archaeologist with a Williamsburg company, Archaeological & Cultural Solutions, discovered pottery fragments, black English flint and lead shot, as well as a ditch system that indicates where the town might have been fortified. Located a short distance from Jamestown, Argall Towne was named for its founder Samuel Argall, a rogue who kidnapped Pocahontas and destroyed a French Jesuit colony on Mount Desert Island in Maineboth in one high-adventure year, 1613. Four years later, as deputy governor of Virginia, Argall settled colonists from England on 300 acres of high ground north of Jamestown, but the entrepreneurial effort fell apart in 1619 because Argall mistreated the residents. Outlaw suspected back in 1975 that hed found the site, but he couldnt receive permission to investigate. In 2007, after working at various jobs around the country, he returned to the area, and when the site became public property, he resumed his quest. After all these years, he says, this is pretty amazing.

American Indian Art Showcased in Kansas City

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo., has opened new galleries devoted to American Indian art, nearly doubling the amount of space set aside for these works and making it one of the largest collections in a nonspecialized museum. Showcased in galleries near those featuring the museums general American collection, the art is being displayed in a fresh context. Usually American Indian art is combined with other tribal groups from around the world, or put off in its own place, says Gaylord Torrence, the founding curator of American Indian art at the museum. What were saying is that American Indian art is one of the great foundations of American culture.

The Citadels Big Red Flag Turns up in Iowa

When cadets from The Citadel fired upon a Union supply ship in Charleston Harbor on January 9, 1861three months before what is considered the beginning of the Civil Warthey flew the South Carolina schools official flag, which bears a palmetto tree and a crescent moon on a red background. Now that flag, nicknamed Big Red, has turned up at the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the school is negotiating a loan. To me the flag is The Citadel, says Tex Curtis, a retired Air Force pilot and Citadel graduate who has been trying to figure out how the flag wound up in the Midwest. It isnt important for slavery and all the politics of the time. This is about a corps of cadets that answered its states call to defend Charleston.

Roy Rogers Museum Comes to Trails End

You cannot stop time with a six-shooter. You cannot lasso a bad economy. The Roy RogersDale Evans Museum in Branson, Mo., recently had to close its doors because vacation trips are now a luxury and younger generations no longer come to pay tribute to the singing cowboy Rogers, who died in 1998, and his wife, Evans, who died in 2001. From our standpoint, we have to be free of it, said Roys grandson Dustin Rogers. It has cost the family millions of dollars. The family is hoping to sell the museums major assets together for display, including animalsstuffed and posedthat were featured in the troupe: Rogers horse, Trigger; Evans horse, Buttermilk; and their dog, Bullet.

Originally published in the February 2010 issue of American History. To subscribe, click here.
The biggest city in the U.S. said Wednesday that it's suing BP Plc, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp., and Royal Dutch Shell Plc claiming they're the world's largest industrial contributors to climate change. Several California municipalities -- San Francisco, Oakland, San Mateo, Imperial Beach and Marin -- previously filed suits against the oil industry over the environmental impact of fossil fuels.

"Defendants are collectively responsible, through their production, marketing and sale of fossil fuels, for over 11 percent of all the carbon and methane pollution from industrial sources that has accumulated in the atmosphere since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution," lawyers for the city said in a complaint filed in Manhattan late Tuesday.

RELATED: Exxon challenges California cities on climate claims

"Defendants are also responsible for leading the public relations strategy for the entire fossil fuel industry, downplaying the risks of climate change and promoting fossil fuel use despite the risks," they said.

The city hopes to build on legal efforts against producers of asbestos products, cigarettes and lead paint in what would be an extension of legal responsibility.

"This lawsuit is based on the claim that a corporation that makes a product causing severe harm when used exactly as intended should shoulder the costs of abating that harm," the city said in the complaint.

Exxon earlier this week struck back at California communities that sued the oil company over the threat of rising sea levels to their jurisdictions, asking a Texas federal judge to allow the oil major to depose municipal officials for a potential counter-suit.

Exxon believes it could find evidence that the officials' claims of "imminent, allegedly near-certain harm" of climate change risks is undermined by bond offerings in which "none of the municipalities disclosed to investors such risks," according to court documents filed Monday.

Curtis Smith, a spokesman for Shell, said by email: "We believe climate change is a complex societal challenge that should be addressed through sound government policy and cultural change to drive low-carbon choices for businesses and consumers, not by the courts."

The National Association of Manufacturers also weighed in. "Mayor de Blasio is just the latest mayor to lead his city into misguided litigation against America's energy manufacturers," said Linda Kelly, the group's general counsel. "This is part of a deep-rooted, politically motivated campaign to undermine manufacturing in America, and we will continue our work to expose this coordinated effort."

Representatives for BP, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also joined Scott Stringer, the comptroller, in announcing Wednesday that the city's five pension funds, which control about $189 billion in assets, intend to divest about $5 billion from more than 190 "fossil fuel reserve owners" within the next five years.

"It's complex, it will take time, and there are going to be many steps, but we're breaking new ground, and we are committed to forging a path forward while remaining laser-focused on our role as fiduciaries to the systems and beneficiaries we serve," Stringer said in a written statement.

The case against the oil companies is City of New York v. BP Plc, 18-cv-00182, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
As the Alley Theatre deals with the abrupt retirement of longtime artistic director Gregory Boyd, there's another wrinkle to consider in the wake of his departure: There will be competition to get the right person to helm one of the more reputable regional theaters in America.

"At this point in time, there are more of these jobs open than any time I can remember in 25 years in the field. A few of the most prominent theaters in the country are looking for artistic leadership. Berkeley (Repertory Theatre), ACT (Theatre, San Francisco), Louisville. It's a long list," said Kevin Moore, managing director of the Cleveland Play House, which co-produced "Freaky Friday" last year with the Alley.

"That being said, there's a wealth of talent in this field, too. If you said, 'We only want somebody who has run a theater before,' well then you're limiting your pool. But if you're willing to think in terms of potential and possibility, there are great artists everywhere you look. The Alley is fortunate because there's great structure there on the management side. "

Representatives from the Alley have still not offered any comment beyond a press release about Boyd's surprising departure, but that release did say they expect the search for a replacement to take nine months to complete.

The search became necessary when Boyd announced his retirement Tuesday via a 6 p.m. press release sent out by the Alley Theatre. Considered by many to be the most influential figure in Houston theater, Boyd, 66, was 28 years into his career at the Alley. Thursday will be his last day at the Alley. Longtime Alley actor and director James Black will serve as interim artistic director.

The resignation will have major ramifications for the city's theater community. No Houston theater company rivals the Alley's budget ($18.5 million in 2016-17), reputation or staff. The organization, among the five largest nonprofit theater companies outside of New York, is so dominant in resources and renown that local actors sometimes joke they have to move to New York in order to be noticed by the Alley.

The timing of Boyd's departure is unusual for an organization that is still coping with the challenges posed by Hurricane Harvey. The Alley's first production of 2018, "The Great Society," is slated for a Jan. 26 premiere, and five more productions are scheduled to hit the stages of the downtown theater by June 1 - including "Cleo," which had to be moved from the Alley's fall lineup because of flood damage to the theater.

RELATED: The best Houston theater actors of 2017

When asked why Boyd is stepping down now, an Alley representative said, "He doesn't want to make a big deal of his leaving and is not providing any additional comments other than what is in the release."

The news release said, "Boyd decided to make the announcement early in 2018 in order to give the Alley time to prepare for a new season."

Managing Director Dean Gladden and Board President Butch Mach provided statements in a press release but did not respond to interview requests.

During a staffwide meeting earlier Tuesday, Boyd said he had planned to retire by the end of the 2016-17 season, according to an audio recording obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

"Alas, Hurricane Harvey came along," Boyd told employees. "In this moment, while I am still ambulatory, I feel that it's time for me to step aside and for the Alley to find the new energy and creative talent that can take what all of us has done into the next era."

"Almost three decades of running this theater has been a trip," he said. "It has always been inspiring to me."

Boyd has long been Houston's theatrical giant, transforming the Alley Theatre from a respected local theater company to a prestigious, well-funded, Tony Award-winning regional theater that attracts top national artistic talent. The San Francisco native began his position in 1989 as the third artistic director of the Alley after a four-year tenure as leader at StageWest in Springfield, Mass.

Some of the Alley's big hits during the 1990s included the musical "Jekyll & Hyde," which later became a Broadway hit, and a production of Shakespeare's Roman plays starring stage and screen legend Vanessa Redgrave.

MONUMENTAL LOSS: Houston theater founder Jeannette Clift George dies

Last year, the Alley staged the world premiere of Rajiv Joseph's "Describe the Night," which was recently staged in New York.

The Alley is also the rare metropolitan theater company to have its own troupe of actors - similar to the roster of performers on "Saturday Night Life."

After Boyd's speech on Tuesday, Gladden said to Alley staff: "Greg has dedicated himself, the bulk of his career, to the Alley. We have seen some of the best theater productions in America under his watch."

The managing director then addressed Boyd and said, "You are a legend in this theater forever."
The Trump administration announced in December a regulatory change that would strip spouses of high-skilled foreign workers of the right to work in the United States.

The apparent aim is to promote Trumps Buy American, Hire American executive order issued in April. Its also part of efforts to scale back the H-1B visa program, which allows workers to bring spouses and children under H-4 visas.

Besides likely having a negative impact on industries that use H-1B visas, such as information technology, software development and finance, my own research shows that it will also, intentionally or not, disproportionately harm women.

Immigration policy and families

There is no shortage of opinions about the merits and drawbacks of the H-1B program.

Critics argue that the program has been abused by companies that seek to replace American workers or pay them lower wages. Advocates, meanwhile, point out that foreign workers increase innovation and bring in much-needed high-skilled labor.

But there is another consideration left out of this debate: how the program directly affects the lives of the workers and their families.

Historically, family reunification has played a contentious role in U.S. immigration policy. Starting with the Page Law of 1875 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, women (predominately from Asia) were barred from migrating either as spouses or on their own. These laws were responsible for creating bachelor societies of immigrant men and limited the establishment of permanent Asian communities in the United States.

Changes to immigration law in the mid-20th century began to recognize the need for family migration. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 further reversed earlier policy by giving naturalized citizens and legal permanent residents the power to sponsor family members and made reunification a weighted factor for immigration consideration.

A 1990 law opened new avenues for family-based migration, creating the H-1B as a temporary nonimmigrant visa that prioritized highly skilled workers whose labor was needed for specialized and complex jobs.

The visa is typically issued for three to six years to employers to hire a foreign worker. If employers choose to sponsor them, visa holders can then apply for permanent residency.

It also created the H-4 family reunification visa. Even though the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services doesnt release gender data, some estimate that 85 percent of H-1Bs go to men. It is safe to presume that women make up the majority of H-4 spousal visas.

They are among the 22 nonimmigrant visa categories that have family reunification provisions, but, like most of them, come with work restrictions.

(Continue below)

The impact of work restrictions

Work authorization for the spouses of H-1B visa holders came into the spotlight in 2015.

The Obama administration issued an executive order that year that allowed H-4 visa holders who were already in the process of applying for lawful permanent residency to also apply for employment authorization. Prior to the order, H-4 holders were unable to work or obtain a social security number.

The work authorization document is conditional, however. If the possessors spouse loses his H-1B visa, then the H-4 visa holder would also lose her authorization to work in the U.S.

I conducted a multi-year study of H-1B and H-4 visa holders that ended just after President Barack Obamas 2015 order. My findings clearly showed the long-lasting negative effects of these work restrictions and how important work authorization is for immigrant families.

Even though spouses of H-1B workers tend to be highly educated, often in STEM fields, after coming to the U.S. they effectively became housewives. Women are unable to contribute to the household financially and become dependent on their husbands. They cannot apply for changes in their immigration status without going through the primary visa holder.

This means that if an H-4 visa holder were to experience domestic violence, for example, she would be unable to leave without putting her visa status in jeopardy.

While Citizenship and Immigration Services did issue a memorandum in 2016 granting work authorization to abused spouses of nonimmigrants under the Violence Against Women Act, victims must have proof of abuse, such as police reports, court records or reports from social service agencies. As advocates have shown, this can be difficult for immigrant women to obtain, and many would rather drop domestic violence cases than risk deportation.

In cases where an H-1B worker loses his job or experiences something worse, the rest of the family could be deported.

This point was driven home dramatically in the case of Sunayana Dumala, the widow of H-1B worker Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was murdered in Kansas by a white supremacist in February. After she returned to India for Kuchibhotlas funeral, she was barred from reentering the U.S. since her deceased husbands visa was no longer valid. Dumalas state congressman intervened personally to help obtain her temporary work authorization and to apply for her own H-1B visa or a U visa, usually reserved for immigrant victims of crime.

Her case, which had the rare aid of a member of Congress, brings home the precariousness that dependents of temporary immigrant workers face.

Even in less horrific cases, the forced hiatus from the workplace that women face on the H-4 hurts their long-term career prospects. Research has shown women who leave or are pushed out of the workforce wherever they are in the world have a much harder time re-entering the job market.

This issue is compounded by the fact that H-4 holders must find an employer to sponsor them on an H-1B, which are already in short supply, or wait potentially seven to 10 years until they become permanent residents to restart their careers.

H-4 women face a triple burden if they are able to start working again, particularly in technology: race, gender and long gaps in their resumes.

Welcome relief

Considering the negative impacts of H-4 work restrictions, the Obama-era rule change granting work authorization was a welcome relief for tens of thousands of dependent spouses.

For women who have been stymied at home, the chance to join the workforce is important both financially and psychologically, particularly in areas where H-1B workers are concentrated such as Silicon Valley, Seattle and New York.

For example, having two incomes offsets the high cost of living in regions where H-1B workers are concentrated. In addition, womens participation in the workforce can translate into greater gender equity at home.

Unfortunately, there has already been a backlash to this expansion of the temporary workforce, including via a lawsuit to halt H-4 work authorization. Although that suit was initially rejected, now the Trump administrations planned rule change revives the issue.

What now

As my research has shown, when women are given opportunities to grow their careers and become economically productive, they are more likely to stay in the U.S.

Losing talented workers who have already invested significant time and money (workers pay social security and other taxes regardless of immigration status) in the U.S. will deal a blow to our standing as the locus of technological innovation. There has already been a drop in the numbers of H-1B applications received in 2017 as foreign workers grow wary of the current political climate in the U.S. This latest restriction will only create more hesitation.

The H-1B program is undoubtedly in need of reform. Obamas 2015 executive actions on immigration were far from perfect and left many problems unresolved, such as what will happen to children of H-1B workers who age out of their dependent visas after they turn 21 years old. Many have spent the majority of their childhoods in the U.S. but still are not permanent residents. They are left in limbo and, like the Dreamers, potentially face the prospect of returning to countries that they have never known.

Withdrawing work authorization for spouses who have been living in the U.S. for more than half a decade is a step in the wrong direction. Immigration reform needs more compassion, not less.

Amy Bhatt is an Associate Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. This article was originally published on The Conversation.

For comments, tips or pitches, write to Olivia P. Tallet.
Spanish-language broadcasting in the U.S. is losing one of its most prominent figures as Maria Elena Salinas retires from Univision News after more than three decades of blending the role of anchor and advocate.

Salinas, who hosts the main news broadcast on Univision with co-anchor Jorge Ramos, has been weighing her departure for several years and says the time is right to pursue independent projects, including some in English.

"It's time to go find other audiences," the 62-year-old anchor said in an interview last week at the Univision studios outside Miami.

Her departure comes at a difficult time for many immigrants who view the nightly program as a lifeline for understanding current events. President Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to crack down on illegal immigration, and his administration has increased enforcement efforts and announced plans to cancel several programs that have allowed tens of thousands of people without permanent residency status to stay in the U.S.

Some advocates say immigrants will lose an important voice when Salinas steps down this Friday.

"She is someone who understands the situation," said Natalia Jaramillo, a spokeswoman for We Belong Together, a group that promotes the rights of immigrant families. "It's refreshing and inspiring to have someone like her who can sway public opinion, raise her voice and represent the community."

From the anchor desk at Univision, Salinas and Ramos have a big audience that makes them among the most-watched television journalists in the U.S. in any language, with their reach expanding dramatically in recent years as the Hispanic population has grown across the country. But their core viewership is still made up of immigrants and first-generation Americans who primarily speak Spanish and have remained loyal to the network for years.

Salinas, the California-born daughter of Mexican immigrants, can relate to that audience and has no qualms about turning to advocacy.

"If you are insulting an undocumented immigrant, you may be insulting my father or my cousin or my uncle or my neighbor," she said.

Her views have also come through in opinion columns published on the Univision website, her Twitter feed and an open letter that she sent to Trump during the campaign after he described Mexican immigrants as drug dealers. "You have to call things by their name," she wrote. "Enough with the racism and the xenophobia."

Going forward, Salinas says she plans to pursue some independent documentary projects after taking a break to recover from a busy news schedule and spend more time with her two adult daughters.

She will start in January by working on the second season of her English-language series, "The Real Story with Maria Elena Salinas," on the Investigation Discovery network.

"For years we have been informing the Latino community about their stories," she said. "Now it is time to tell their stories to different audiences in different platforms."

Salinas began working for Univision in Los Angeles in 1981 after two years in radio. She eventually became host of the main nightly news program and the news magazine show "Aqui y Ahora," or "Here and Now." She has also interviewed a host of Latin American leaders and every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter apart from Trump, who has not agreed to sit down with her or Ramos and ejected her co-anchor from a news conference during the campaign.

Throughout her career, she has picked up many journalistic honors, including the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Lifetime Achievement Award, the Peabody Award, a Gracie Award for Outstanding Anchor and seven Emmy awards.

But these are tough, evolving times for Univision and the news industry in general as people increasingly turn to a variety of sources to stay informed. Salinas said one factor in her decision to leave was a desire to try new things before it is too late.

"Now is the time to start over," she said. "Sometimes you have to make a drastic decision to change."
On Jan. 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rang in the new year by overturning Obama-era Department of Justice (DOJ) guidelines that effectively allowed states to develop legal cannabis programs without fear of federal interference.

Spelled out in the Cole memo, named for Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, as long as cannabis growers, distributors and users complied with state laws and did not engage in such activities as selling to minors or trafficking across state lines, the DOJ would not prosecute them for violating federal law, and states would be allowed to implement the wishes of voters who elected to legalize cannabis for medical or adult-use purposes. The Cole memo was a pragmatic policy that worked.

Now Sessions wants to bring about a wide-scale crackdown on the legal cannabis industry. But such a crackdown is unlikely in practice since it means that U.S. attorneys would have to divert resources from other enforcement priorities and need the cooperation of local and state authorities who may oppose federal intervention.

And such opposition is almost certain; congressional Republicans and Democrats from states in which cannabis is legal quickly issued statements in defiance of the new guidelines, and governors of many of these states have said they will challenge enforcement efforts. Several U.S. attorneys have already said they will continue not to prosecute individuals operating within the boundaries of state laws.

The negative reactions seen so far mean Sessions will probably not get the enforcement he wants. Instead, because the new guidelines leave discretion to individual U.S. attorneys, it is more likely that federal enforcement will vary by state and region, further exacerbating the patchwork-like nature of cannabis laws across the country.

ERICA GRIEDER: Sessions is in the weeds on marijuana policy

Sessions seems to operate on the assumption that heavier enforcement of prohibition would reduce cannabis use. But history demonstrates that even the most aggressive enforcement of federal law would not stifle cannabis use or sales; rather, it would drive them underground where criminal enterprises would reap the profits, tax-free, and where consumers would face greater threats to their health due to lack of regulation.

Sessions claims that his decision is driven by concern for the dangers that cannabis poses to society, but this fear is not supported by any legitimate evidence. Survey data indicate that cannabis legalization has not resulted in increased use among teenagers; in Colorado teen use is lower now than it was prior to adult-use legalization. Several studies attempting to show a relationship between legalized cannabis and increased crime rates have found none. To the contrary, the evidence suggests that cannabis prohibition causes far greater harm to society than cannabis itself.

Prohibition states spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year on enforcement efforts that do little to reduce cannabis use and disproportionately impact the poor and people of color, saddling thousands with a criminal record that makes it difficult if not impossible for them to obtain employment and access housing and education services.

CHRONICLE EDITORIAL: Lazy weed

If Sessions wants to protect society, he needs an improved understanding of what truly threatens it. In the face of the biggest drug crisis today, the opioid epidemic, cannabis could offer a partial solution. States in which medical use of cannabis is legal have roughly 1,800 fewer painkiller doses prescribed per physician annually than other states, and several studies have found an association between access to legal medical cannabis and lower rates of opioid use and overdose.

Carolyn Kaster/STF

Protections for medical cannabis businesses and patients currently hang by a thread known as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which prevents the DOJ from using funds to prosecute them in the 29 states and the District of Columbia where medical cannabis is legal. That number is 45 if you count states like Texas that have more restrictive low-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-medical cannabis programs. (THC is the chemical compound in cannabis responsible for a euphoric high).

If Sessions has his way, Congress will allow that amendment to expire Jan. 19, but fierce opposition could push Congress to renew the protections for medical cannabis states and the roughly 2.3 million patients who rely on the drug for pain relief.

In fact, Sessions' approach may have the unintended effect of speeding up cannabis prohibition's demise. Between the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment and the Cole memo, Congress had enough political cover in the past to allow it to sidestep the question of repeal. By throwing the issue into the spotlight, Sessions could push Congress to pick a side, and it could side with the 64 percent of Americans and 51 percent of Republicans who favor cannabis legalization.

Given the negative consequences that would come from greater enforcement of cannabis prohibition, there is reason not to enforce these laws, but to change them. Sessions' directive could be the impetus to repeal a law that should have never existed in the first place. That is not what Sessions wants, but that may be what Sessions gets.

Editor's note: Much has already been written on this topic; more in-depth analysis of Sessions' decision can be accessed here, here and here. For more information on the impact of cannabis reform, check out the Baker Institute's issue brief, "Marijuana Reform: Fears and Facts."

Dr. Katharine Neill Harris is the Alfred C. Glassell, III, Fellow in Drug Policy at the Baker Institute at Rice University.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It can be responsible for a euphoric high.
WASHINGTON - Stephen Bannon stepped down as executive chairman of Breitbart News Network on Tuesday, ending his relationship with the far-right website that he helped become widely influential and which in turn abetted his rise as a political adviser and would-be kingmaker.

Bannon's departure - just days after his public criticisms of former White House colleagues led to a spectacular falling-out with President Donald Trump and his allies - was a humbling denouement for a figure who had reached the uppermost levels of power only a year ago. It leaves him with no evident platform to promote his views and no major financial backer for his preferred candidates.

Bannon left Breitbart in August 2016 to join Trump's presidential campaign and later served as chief strategist in the White House. He was fired by Trump almost exactly a year after formally signing up with him.

Bannon maintained his visibility by rejoining Breitbart in August and directing it to serve his political ends as the insurgent voice of the "anti-establishment" wing of the Republican Party, a faction that many critics saw as a socially intolerant and racist fringe of white nationalism.

His departure from Breitbart followed what appears to have been a vote of no confidence from a key supporter and investor in the website, Rebekah Mercer, a wealthy political donor, said people at the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on Breitbart's behalf. Mercer and her father, hedge-fund billionaire Robert Mercer, own a minority share of Breitbart and are influential voices in its operation.

Bannon provoked Rebekah Mercer's ire by making critical comments about Trump and his family to author Michael Wolff in a book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," published last week. Bannon is quoted as saying that Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, engaged in "treasonous" behavior by secretly meeting with Russian representatives during the campaign to get unflattering information about Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Trump replied to Bannon's comments with a statement savaging his former confidant. "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind," the president said. He later attacked Wolff and the book in a tweet in which he referred to Bannon as "Sloppy Steve."

Rebekah Mercer weighed in with a rare statement of her own Thursday that distanced her from Bannon. "I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected," she wrote, adding that her family had "not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements."

Although Bannon continued to chair Breitbart's editorial meetings and host its satellite-radio program, Mercer's comments appeared to signal his end, people at the media company said. Breitbart's readers seemed to side with Trump in the spat.

A person close to Bannon, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said "there is no mass exodus" at Breitbart and people were not entirely surprised by the news.

"It's not personality-driven anymore," the Bannon ally said of the website. "We get to focus on the agenda. When it's about issues, Breitbart wins. We hopefully won't have the cult of personality tearing us down."

Bannon has told associates he plans to focus on creating a political operation in 2018, the person said, and is banking that Trump eventually will need him again and that congressional Republican leaders will eventually desert the president.

It is unclear if he can attract donors or operatives for his operation, though, and the person said that those around Bannon were frustrated by his moves in Alabama and his comments in Wolff's book. White House advisers said that Trump has shown no willingness to forgive him.

As late as last weekend, Bannon continued to tell people that he planned to stay in charge at Breitbart and that he would keep his radio show. He argued that the show and the site were doing better than ever, even though associates have questioned whether that was true. In fact, the radio show would be another casualty of his split with Breitbart. Sirius XM said Tuesday that because its programming agreement was with Breitbart, Bannon would no longer serve as a host.

Even on Tuesday morning, Bannon was preparing for the show, and he invited a friend, longtime political operative Patrick Caddell, to join him on a Wednesday broadcast to talk about immigration. But those plans ended after the announcement. Caddell, in a brief interview, said he was informed late in the day that Breitbart editor Raheem Kassam, not Bannon, would be hosting the Wednesday show. "They said, it'll now be Raheem," he said.

Bannon's ouster came on a day that underscored not only his fade from the power centers of the Republican Party but also his ideology's struggle to gain hold in Congress and at the White House. Trump, who nearly a year ago at his inauguration spoke of "American carnage" and struck nationalist tones, announced Tuesday that he would head to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - a gathering Bannon detests - and signaled that he would be willing to work with Democrats on a deal to protect "dreamers," the thousands of children of illegal immigrants, from deportation.

As of Saturday, Bannon was still at Breitbart's Washington headquarters, a Capitol Hill townhouse known as the "Breitbart Embassy." He lives upstairs, while the media operations are based downstairs. During his time in the White House, he told others that he was living in a high-rise building in Rosslyn, Virginia. It is unclear where he will live now.

As his prospects seemed to cloud in recent days, Bannon grew darkly wistful, two people close to him, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. They said he referred to Thomas Cromwell as a historical parallel of sorts to his own experience in private conversations. Cromwell served as the high-profile adviser to King Henry VIII of England in the 16th century but fell out of favor and was executed.

Some conservatives who have worked closely with Bannon were harsh in response, all but writing his political obituary in the hours after the announcement.

"He's gone from the top of the mountain to the deepest valley, and it was all self-inflicted," said veteran GOP strategist Edward Rollins, who has worked with Bannon and is chairman of Great America, a pro-Trump group. "Breitbart was his voice and it's been taken away from him, leaving him with nothing."

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, in a phone call from Rome, where his wife, Callista Gingrich, serves as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, was withering in his assessment, casting Bannon as a minor player.

"The groundskeeper at the country club didn't do a good job, so the president got a new groundskeeper," Gingrich said, describing Bannon's exit from the White House. When asked if he was calling Bannon a groundskeeper - those who tend to the greens and fairways at golf courses - Gingrich said, "Yes."

"If you decide that you're so important that you can take on the president's daughter, son-in-law, and two sons, and you lose, it has a lot of consequences," Gingrich said.

In a statement carried on Breitbart's website, Bannon said, "I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform."

Bannon declined to comment when reached Tuesday evening.

The Mercers were largely responsible for Bannon's place at Breitbart, and vice versa; Bannon introduced them to the site's founder, Andrew Breitbart, in 2011, and helped persuade them to invest $10 million in Breitbart's vision of an insurgent conservative media outlet that would take on Hollywood, the news media and established Washington figures, including conventional Republicans.

In exchange for their investment, the Mercers secured a seat for Bannon on Breitbart's board. When Breitbart died of a heart condition months later, Bannon took over the operation.

He then set about turning it into a clarion of economic populism and nationalist sentiment. It advocated for strict limits on immigration, particularly from Latin America and from Muslim-majority nations, and for an "America first" agenda in trade. Its political philosophy was amplified by Trump when he announced his candidacy in 2015, although Breitbart steered a relatively even line during the early primaries between Trump and Republican challenger Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas, the Mercers' preferred candidate.

Bannon, at one point, described Breitbart as "the platform for the alt-right," a phrase that became associated with white separatism, anti-Semitism and generally racist sentiments. Breitbart's editors insisted that the site endorsed none of those views. Nevertheless, Breitbart soared under Bannon, reaching 37 million unique readers a month before Trump won the 2016 presidential election. Among the writers he championed was Milo Yiannopoulos, who elicited both a rapturous response from Breitbart's readers and heavy criticism elsewhere for columns about lesbians, blacks and Muslims.

Following his return to Breitbart, Bannon sought to assert his political muscle by assembling a field of like-minded candidates to challenge incumbents in Republican primaries. His most recent and boldest foray - supporting twice-ousted former judge Roy Moore in the U.S. Senate race in Alabama - turned out to be a disaster.

Moore, accused by several women of preying on them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s, lost what had been considered a safe seat for Republicans to Democrat Doug Jones.

Yiannopoulos also turned out to be a liability when videos of him appearing to endorse sexual relations between men and teenage boys surfaced in early 2017. Breitbart ended its relationship with him shortly after.

At the same time, Breitbart's business fortunes have been in decline. Monthly traffic has fallen to around 15 million unique readers, according to ComScore, a level that makes Breitbart a leader among conservative news and commentary sites but is far from its election-era peak.

Until very recently, the site had showered Bannon with laudatory coverage, treating him as if he were a leading newsmaker and political philosopher. While most news organizations are reluctant to tell their readers or viewers about their own executives, Breitbart covered Bannon's statements and public appearances religiously. It even covered what other news organizations said about him.

The flattering press notices gave Breitbart the air of a personality cult built around Bannon - all the more so because Bannon was in charge of directing what Breitbart reported.
Oprah Winfrey running for president isn't as crazy as it may have seemed a few years ago.

As Rice University political science professor Mark Jones told me Tuesday, "three years ago, I would have immediately put 'Oprah for President' on my 'When Pigs Fly' shelf, right next to 'Eva Longoria for Governor' and 'Tommy Lee Jones for U.S. Senate.'"

The question is why it doesn't seem so crazy now.

Is it that President Trump broke the mold, as Jones asserts, and we've gotten comfortable with the idea of a celebrity in the White House?

Is it that, as surveys show, Americans value perceived honesty and leadership in a president more than experience working in Washington? Yes, I know, the operative word is "perceived."

Is it that we are so fed up with truthers and post-truthers that supporting a would-be candidate who merely asks you to speak "your truth" seems like an acceptable compromise?

Or maybe it's something more obvious. If the nuclear codes must be in the hands of a billionaire TV performer, let it be one who actually is, and does not simply profess to be, a very stable genius.

President Trump recently inspired a new round of online T-shirt sales when he called himself a "very stable genius" to defend himself against criticisms that he's mentally unfit to serve as president.

We know what genius means. It's that thing that enabled a girl from Mississippi, raised in poverty and raped at age 9, to overcome barriers of race and sex to become a beloved talk show host and create a global media empire that made her among the richest and most influential people in the world. Her name ID among voters is such that no ballot would need more than the first two syllables.

But what does it mean to be stable? We know what it doesn't mean: erratic decision-making, compulsive lying, provocative Twitter jabs aimed at a deranged child dictator armed with nukes.

Cringe at comparisons

The actual definition is trickier. We all go through periods of struggle and dysfunction, times when we're not as consistent in our behavior as we'd like. At the minimum, though, stable, at least to me, should mean attempting to behave as a responsible adult.

And no one can deny that Oprah's behavior qualifies as such, while the bickering, scheming, self-concerned petulance of our leaders in Washington does not. And I don't just mean the president.

As entertaining as it has been to read all the frothing speculation of an Oprah presidential run, one theme in the coverage has made me cringe: the comparisons to Trump.

Yes, Oprah is an extremely wealthy celebrity with no experience in governing. That's where the comparisons end.

Oprah's success isn't the product of inherited wealth. She built her empire from scratch. No starter loan from Daddy.

She may live in a bubble of luxury now, but unlike Trump, she knows what life is like beyond it. That makes her infinitely more qualified to speak to the disenfranchised Americans that Trump has promised to help.

Sure, there are valid criticisms about early episodes of the Oprah Winfrey Show, which featured witches and other ratings-driving fare, and later shows, which gave platforms to gurus, psychics, healers and advocates some dismiss as quacks.

Mixed messages

But overwhelmingly, Oprah made her career on positivity, not negativity. She united rather than divided. She encouraged people to love, to listen, to help themselves become better. To rise above the crap, not to wallow in it.

She made her career by being real, not by merely playing real on TV.

For her, philanthropy was an action, not a hollow promise.

Nobody could accuse her of bullying, with the possible exception of Texas cattlemen, who sued her in the 1990s for disparaging their products when she proclaimed on air, in the wake of the mad cow disease scare, that she'd never eat another burger. But really, where was the beef in that claim? An Amarillo jury found none.

She is an inspiration to many, an embodiment of the American dream we can point out to our children as a role model. She brings pride, not embarrassment.

Last but not least: She reads. Books.

Who knows if Oprah will actually run for president - she has sent mixed messages. Maybe she's warming to the prospect of becoming the most powerful woman on Earth, and eliciting help from her friends, the Obamas. Maybe she'd rather be a guest on the Jerry Springer Show than tackle the dysfunction of Washington.

Celebrity status

Rice's Jones notes that Trump had a big advantage that Oprah wouldn't have in a 2020 bid. Over the past decade, tea party groups laid the groundwork for Trump by painting a negative vision of the federal government, career politicians and establishment Republicans.

This made it easy for Trump to run as an outsider, someone to be trusted to drain the swamp.

Democratic voters, meanwhile, aren't nearly as apathetic or disgusted with government. They might have a hard time abandoning establishment Democratic candidates in favor of a celebrity who, although beloved, is untested in the public service realm.

Or maybe they are so desperate for a responsible adult with the money, name, and popularity to beat Trump that they'll take a chance on her.

And somehow, in these times, that doesn't seem so crazy.

It seems almost stable. And genius. Very.
A hostage negotiation unit had to coax a man out of his home in the Near Northside after the man barricaded the door upon seeing police arrive, according to the Houston Police Department.

Houston police were serving a warrant at the residence for Victor Ramos, who had been charged with being a felon in possession of body armor, also a felony.

Upon approaching Ramos's front door, police heard noises on the other side that sounded to them like Ramos was barricading it, said SWAT Captain Larry Baimbridge.

Police tried breaching the door using a device for that purpose--but Ramos's barricade held up.

"They made multiple attempts to try to get him to come out," Baimbridge said. "They even breached a window. So ultimately they called for [SWAT] squad."

The Hostage Negotiation team also came, and began talking to Ramos on speaker. Finally, Baimbridge said, Ramos surrendered without incident and was taken into custody.

According to court documents, the charges for unlawful possession of body armor stem from an October 14 domestic disturbance call. At that time, police arrived at a residence on the 3600 block of Billingsley where a woman said Ramos had entered here home and was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

The woman also showed police a picture of Ramos wearing a bullet proof vest.

Knowing Ramos had been convicted of possessing less than 1 gram of cocaine 15 years ago, police issued the arrest warrant because convicted felons can't have bullet proof vests.

This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
Several charities active in Hurricane Harvey relief efforts have received much-needed funding after a Houston Chronicle investigation found that some corporate donors had been slow to fulfill pledges.

The nonprofits confirmed receiving checks from eBay, Pearson and Google, whose donations were previously unaccounted for or were still being processed months after the storm hit.

Direct Relief, a national charity that distributes prescription medications during disasters, said eBay has fulfilled its entire $115,000 pledge to the group. Tony Morain, a spokesman for Direct Relief, said the final installment arrived Nov. 10, two weeks after the Chronicle article was published.

Previously, the charity reported receiving $36,210 from eBay.

Pearson, an educational products and services company, pledged $150,000 in matched employee donations to six relief charities. The Chronicle found that five of the six charities could not locate funds from Pearson as of late October.

Scott Overland, a Pearson spokesman, said the company has since paid the pledges in full.

The DePelchin Children's Center in Houston, a foster care and adoption agency, and the Houston Food Bank confirmed receiving the full amounts promised by Pearson, about $11,400 and $16,400, respectively.

DePelchin said some of the money had arrived before the Chronicle investigation was published Oct. 27 but officials didn't realize it because it came from a third-party contractor, not directly from Pearson. Large corporations often use such contractors to process charitable donations.

"The article helped us link the donation to Pearson, so that was helpful," said Mary Kristen Valentine, a spokeswoman for DePelchin. "The donor was really generous to do this, and it was a third-party mix-up, and it's all clarified now."

The involvement of third-party contractors also caused confusion about donations from Google, which promised $2 million shortly after Harvey made landfall Aug. 25.

Team Rubicon, a charity that deploys military veterans to natural disasters, confirmed that it received $132,000 from Google shortly before publication of the Chronicle article. Previously, Team Rubicon was one of three nonprofits that said they were still waiting on money from Google.

Matt Scott, spokesman for Team Rubicon, said the organization didn't realize the money had in fact arrived, because it was from a third party.

A Google spokesperson said the company had finished paying its Harvey-related pledges by the end of October.

Applying donations

Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children and several other charities, which had previously said they were still awaiting donations from major corporate donors, did not respond to requests for an update.

The American Red Cross, the recipient of the bulk of Google's Harvey pledges, declined to provide information on the company's donations, citing the need to protect donors' privacy.

Charities have begun applying the corporate donations to recovery efforts in Texas.

EBay's donation to Direct Relief will help more than 50 Texas medical clinics provide medications and cover expenses they incurred after Harvey, "doing excellent work without regard to how they were going to pay for it," Morain said.

Norman Mitchell, chief executive of the Busy Bee Wellness Center in southwest Houston, said his clinic received medications plus $25,000 from Direct Relief.

The money, he said, helped cover Harvey-related costs, including fuel for a mobile clinic, overtime for staff members who worked around the clock and replacements for laptops and diagnostic equipment damaged during the storm.

"I can't tell you the amount of individuals who sat and cried because we were able to give them their medication on the spot," Mitchell said. "You can't imagine not having your inhaler and then someone telling you, 'Hang on one second, here'  Were it not for that donation, we would not have been able to do what we did."

'Need for rebuilding'

Scott said Team Rubicon will put the Google money into its effort to rebuild 100 homes in the Texas Gulf Coast region, which will begin in the spring. Team Rubicon is partnering on the project with SBP, one of four charities to receive some of the $37 million raised by Texans star J.J. Watt.

In the past, Team Rubicon focused on immediate disaster recovery and could perform only minor home repairs. Now, the charity aims to do more for the long term, Scott said.

"The need for rebuilding support to families affected by disaster is evident today, as disasters are increasing and families struggle with rebuilding years after a disaster," he said.
In a more regional approach to flood control, Harris and Montgomery counties are pursuing a study that could re-evaluate how reservoirs along the San Jacinto River are operated, an apparent response to Hurricane Harvey when massive water releases inundated thousands of homes and prompted a string of lawsuits.

The Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Tuesday to work with its neighboring county to seek a flood protection planning grant from the Texas Water Development Board to study the 4,500-square-mile region that drains into the San Jacinto River watershed.

"We have a problem that's regionwide, and we have the public support, and I think the political support to actually work together to get a big project done," said Matthew Zeve, director of operations at the Harris County Flood Control District, which is leading the effort.

The study could examine the possibility of lowering water levels in lakes Conroe and Houston in advance of big storms like Harvey to forgo devastating releases into the river, Harris County officials said.

The effort could also review how both counties warn residents of incoming floodwaters along the San Jacinto and its tributaries, including Cypress Creek and Spring Creek, as well as the possibility of dredging Lake Houston, the city's primary water supply, and increasing its capacity to hold floodwaters.

RELATED: New cellphone emergency alerts could target areas as small as Minute Maid Park

Houston City Councilman Dave Martin, who represents Kingwood and other areas in northeast Houston and who has been among the fiercest critics of the decision to release water into the river during Harvey, welcomed the study.

"It's the first time I'm hearing of anything over these last five months when it seems like nothing is happening," Martin said.

Vulnerabilities exposed

Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal said he would not support permanently lowering Lake Conroe's water level, but would be open to other options that could help people get out of harm's way during major storms. He said the Montgomery County Commissioners Court would likely vote on an agreement between the counties in two weeks.

"The floodwaters don't know where Montgomery and Harris County start and stop," he said. "All of our drainage basins head south toward Harris County."

Zeve said the grant could come as early as summer. The final study would include the San Jacinto River Authority and other local entities as partners. It is still undetermined how much the study would cost.

RELATED: Officials patched and prayed while pressure built on Houston's dams

The move by the Harris County Commissioners Court signals a more regional approach to flood control in the wake of Harvey, which dropped more than 51 inches of rain on parts of the county, left dozens dead and flooded hundreds of thousands of structures.

Many major Houston area waterways, like the San Jacinto River, cross jurisdictional borders. Cypress Creek extends from Waller County to Harris County and the river. Harris County's border with Liberty County is partly determined by Cedar Bayou, and its border with Brazoria County by Clear Creek.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently seeking authorization from Congress to study drainage, development patterns and extreme weather across the entire nine-county Houston metropolitan region.

Last fall, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett called for the creation of a regional flood control district that would include Harris and the surrounding counties.

MORE: Groups demand answers about Harvey's impact on San Jacinto River Waste Pits site

Regional vulnerabilities were particularly highlighted during Harvey along the line separating Montgomery and Harris counties. The San Jacinto River Authority, which manages the Lake Conroe dam in Montgomery County, feared a dam failure and released 106 billion gallons of water into the river, starting at 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 27.

A wall of water crashed through Kingwood, Humble and other Harris County communities, taking many off-guard. Many contend the water could have been released more gradually ahead of the storm to prevent damages downstream.

"The fact that they maintained the water levels as high as they did as long as they did - if we could have released that water in advance of Harvey coming, it would have helped," Emmett said.

He said the study with Montgomery County "allows two counties to work together to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Dredging Lake Houston

Hundreds of homeowners have now sued the river authority, claiming that the releases constituted an intentional taking of their properties by flooding and causing damage that includes repair costs, as well as loss of property values or business income.

RELATED: Lake Conroe dam's releases cause flood of lawsuits

"We will review the lawsuits thoroughly and respond accordingly, maintaining our responsibility to be careful stewards of the public funds entrusted to us to complete our work on behalf of our fellow Texans," said Jace Houston, general manager of the river authority.

"Similar claims were brought against the SJRA after severe storms caused flooding in Montgomery County in October of 1994. SJRA was successful in having these lawsuits quickly dismissed for good reason: the flooding was neither caused nor made worse by the SJRA's operation of the Lake Conroe dam."

Martin, the Houston councilman, has called for the river authority to reduce the standing water level of Lake Conroe by 3 feet. He said people who live downstream of Lake Conroe should have a say in how the river authority is managed.

He is also pushing for the dredging of Lake Houston, which has collected silt over the years from the 4,500 square miles that drain into the San Jacinto River and eventually the lake - one option the study could key in on.

What exactly will be included in the study is still to-be-determined. Any lowering of lake levels would have to be balanced with their mission to supply Houston-area residents with water. Zeve said, for example, lowering the Lake Houston water level by 6 feet would deplete the lake's water supply by 46 percent. The lake is the primary water supply for the city.

The river authority's general manager called the future study one of its "most promising new efforts" following Harvey.

"This undertaking has the potential to result in recommended projects that could have a significant regional benefit," he said.
WASHINGTON - Two former Census Bureau directors have joined Latino groups and civil rights advocates in warning that a request by the Justice Department to add a question in the 2020 census about citizenship status would diminish participation and threaten an accurate count.

The 2020 census already is plagued by a shortage of funds, failure of the Trump administration to appoint a Census Bureau director and the potential security of new methods designed for the first primarily online effort to count every person in the U.S.

In November, Census Bureau officials revealed initial testing in Texas and around the country found unprecedented concerns about confidentiality that could deter people from filling out the questionnaire.

Now, critics contend, the Justice Department request to ask everyone about their citizenship poses yet another threat to the 2020 count late in the planning.

"I'm fearful that it would reduce participation of Hispanics, particularly those who are undocumented," said Steve Murdock, Census Bureau director in the George W. Bush administration.

Murdock, a Rice University professor, said a severe undercount conceivably could affect the apportioning of 435 seats in Congress based on population gains and losses tallied in the census.

Texas stands to gain three congressional seats as a result of the new count, and Texas Latinos are pressing for added representation at all levels to match their burgeoning population.

Kenneth Prewitt, who ran the Census Bureau in the Clinton administration, contended that adding a citizenship question could have "huge, unpredictable consequences," given "an atmosphere of mistrust of government and the media, deep anxieties among immigrant groups and inadequate testing of Census Bureau procedures."

He added: "It will also, of course, generate legal challenges, the details of which will be lost on the general public but will implicitly suggest that the census is controversial."

The Justice Department made its request Dec. 12. It was disclosed last week by Pro Publica.

"This data is critical to the department's enforcement of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and its important protections against racial discrimination in voting," the formal request to the bureau reads.

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race, color or ethnicity.

The letter goes on to say that the department "needs a reliable calculation of the citizen voting-age population in localities where voting rights violations are alleged or suspected."

The department made its request late in the formulation of a census questionnaire, given that the only full-scale test for the 2020 count begins in less than three months, in Providence, Rhode Island. Two other tests were canceled because of lack of money.

The administration requested an additional $187 million for census preparation in the new fiscal year budget starting Oct. 1. But that money has been held up because of an ongoing inability of Congress to reach consensus on a new spending plan.

The drive by the federal agency headed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an immigration hawk, brings yet another test of wills in the White House between hard-liners and forces pressing for a more moderate approach.

Hard-liners have appeared in control in recent days, with the administration demanding border wall funding and other concessions in return for signing legislation protecting young undocumented immigrants.

The Census Bureau said in a statement that it's evaluating the Justice Department request, noting the final list of questions must be submitted to Congress by the end of March.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross "will then make a decision. Our top priority is a complete and accurate 2020 census," the statement read.

Groups favoring restrictions on immigration praise the Justice Department effort.

Ira Mehlman, media director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said states such as Texas and California with large populations of undocumented immigrants receive unfair portions of government appropriations distributed on the basis of the census count.

"It's not just political representation, which is bad enough, but allocation of federal money," he said.

On Thursday, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, an umbrella organization representing some 200 national organizations, warned in a letter to Ross that the citizenship question would disrupt the census at a pivotal time.

The letter called the Justice Department request "an attempt to throw a wrench into final planning and preparations for an enumeration that already faces enormous challenges, including inadequate and delayed funding, cybersecurity risks and a climate of fear fanned by anti-immigrant rhetoric."

Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, said his organization has the challenge every 10 years of telling people that nothing will happen to them if they take part in the census.

"Going into 2020, we have a very different political environment than we've had in any census in recent memory, with more people than ever before fearing contact with their own government," he said.

Tom Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he hopes Ross will provide a "counterweight" to Sessions and others in the administration.

"The Sessions Justice Department has yet to demonstrate any interest whatsoever in enforcing the Voting Rights Act. If anything, it has tried to suppress voting," Saenz asserted.
"We're going to put the miners back to work!"

Donald Trump repeatedly shouted that applause line during campaign speeches in America's coal country. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who used to rail against government interference in the marketplace, dutifully tried to keep the president's promise with a controversial proposal to subsidize struggling coal plants.

Now federal regulators, most of whom were appointed by Trump, have soundly rejected Perry's plan. With this week's ruling from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the administration should get the message. Both Trump and Perry should abandon the ill-advised idea of using government powers to resuscitate the coal industry at the expense of average Americans.

RELATED: Sins of oil will be shouted from the rooftops

Our nation's electrical power industry has been transformed during the past decade by renewable energy sources like wind power and plentiful supplies of cheap natural gas. The plunge in wholesale electricity prices has sounded the death knell for aging coal and nuclear plants, many of which have become unprofitable in this new marketplace. Here in Texas, power producers have announced plans to retire at least a half-dozen coal-fired plants during the coming two years.

Last fall, Perry warned that shuttering those plants could threaten the reliability of the nation's power grids. So the energy secretary asked FERC to guarantee financial returns for power plants that can stockpile at least 90 days of fuel. Anybody in the industry knew what that meant: Natural gas plants wouldn't qualify because they get their fuel from pipelines, but coal plants could pile up mountains of fuel on site.

Under this plan, the coal industry might have cleaned up by selling more of its dirty fuel, but consumers would have paid a collective fortune. A study conducted by Resources for the Future estimated the total subsidy necessary to guarantee profits for coal and nuclear generators in 2025 would have amounted to $7.6 billion. Between 2020 and 2045, the subsidies would have cost consumers an estimated $72 billion.

RELATED: Coal and wind

A wide array of trade groups and former regulators stridently opposed Perry's plan, arguing that messing with the deregulated electricity marketplace was utterly unjustified. They pointed out that most of the threats to the power grid today come not from disruptions in fuel supplies, but problems with transmission lines. And they argued that even with the subsidies, energy companies were unlikely to build more coal plants to replace the aging plants on the brink of retirement; after all, when the Trump administration ends after four or eight years, the next president may not be so enamored of coal.

Maybe most important of all is the environmental argument against an inherently dirty source of fuel. Here in Texas, market forces are driving the state toward a cleaner electric grid. As low natural gas prices push the Electric Reliability Council of Texas away from coal, the Texas Clean Energy Coalition estimates annual carbon dioxide emissions will drop by an average of 28 percent below 2005 levels.

RELATED: Texas energy

FERC commissioners, four out of five of whom are Trump appointees, unanimously rejected Perry's plan to subsidize coal and nuclear plants. But the "Trump Digs Coal" signs that peppered the crowds at 2016 campaign rallies indicate we may not have seen the last of this administration's attempts to tilt the scales. The Texas congressional delegation should oppose any future efforts to distort the energy markets in a doomed attempt to prop up the coal industry.
Common sense

Regarding "Trump pits DACA against wall funds" (Page A1, Saturday) could someone please nudge our U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and remind them that Houston and the surrounding area is still recovering from the devastating flood waters of Hurricane Harvey?

To even think about spending $18 billion on a wall at the Mexican border where there is barely a trickle of people crossing illegally makes no sense. Texas needs federal funds to prevent the potential devastation that will come with future storms and floods.

Common sense needs to come into play regarding the young unauthorized immigrants as well as the El Salvadorians under protection that runs out in 18 months.

P. J. Bailey, Missouri City

Valuable assets

How sad that the so-called Dreamers have become pawns in the immigration battle. While the president and Congress argue about the wall at the Mexican border, more border patrols and deportation of many innocent people, the young immigrants shielded from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program live in fear with their lives in limbo. These are young people who are working and contributing to our country. Many of them are the teachers who our children need and depend on. They are not criminals.

Because the president chooses to reverse his promise to them, it is up to Congress to put politics aside and do the right thing by restoring the Dreamers' protected status. This will allow them to renew their work permits, continue their education and move on safely with their lives.

Kathy Grundy, Houston
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Living in a big city comes with a long list of advantages and an equally long catalog of disadvantages. Gridlock, pollution, and the never-ending search for a parking spot are all part of the second set. Bosch is using clouds, cameras, and sensors to whittle down the disadvantages without taking away the advantages  youll still be able to buy a burrito at two oclock in the morning.

We need a new conception of the city. One key factor here is technologies that make cities smart and worth living in. In the long run, cities without intelligence will not survive but succumb to gridlock, predicted Bosch board member Stefan Hartung ahead of this years Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Bosch is ahead of the curve when it comes to making cities smarter, and it has a few tricks up its sleeve as it looks toward the future. Its already working with 14 major cities including San Francisco, Berlin, and Tianjin, China, and its planning on expanding the list of partnerships in the coming years. Notably, it provided San Leandro, California, with nearly 5,000 LED street lights and developed a way to remotely manage them. Theyre only turned on when needed, a solution which will help the city save about $8 million over the next 15 years.

Streetlights, like much else, will become connected. Theyll turn into the citys eyes  and also its nose. Sensors integrated into the light posts monitor the quality of the air while cameras keep tabs on the traffic flow. Using vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technology, they redirect motorists if they detect a traffic jam on a particular street. Bosch hopes to launch the technology in the near future. Its not as far-fetched or complex as it sounds.

Using surveillance cameras and what we call video analytics, were able to see objects like pedestrians, cars, and bicycles. If we work with a smart intersection we can start doing some things like turn on and off warnings for walkways, alert drivers that there are bicycles in the bike lanes, and prevent traffic jams, Frank Sgambati, Boschs smart city whiz, told Digital Trends.

Getting that information to motorists is another story. There are several possible solutions.

Were working with OEMs to pipe the data right through your traditional navigation screen. We could also work with cities by sending information to digital signs. You could also receive the information on your smartphone but then we get into the distraction question, Sgambati commented.

The way city-dwellers park will soon change, too. Community-based parking sounds utopian, but its real and its right around the corner. Using ultrasonic parking sensors, cars automatically scan the size of the gap between two parked vehicles and detect if its big enough to qualify as a parking spot. The data gets stitched in real time onto a digital map that other connected cars have access to. They can then direct drivers to the nearest suitable spot, which saves the time and hassle of driving around the block.

How does a car know the difference between a parking spot and a driveway? Thats one of the challenges Bosch must overcome.

What we need to do is build the backbone. Were literally doing the mapping on our own, with some partners, so we can determine whats a real parking spot. Well then create a digital map stored in the cloud and continually updated as more and more vehicles participate in the program. Well have the service available to OEMs by the end of the year, Sgambati explained.

Bosch has already started testing community-based parking in some German cities, including Stuttgart, and 20 American cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston, will test the technology this year. And for those who dont like parking on the street, the German firm joined forces with Mercedes-Benz to build an automated valet parking service. The Mercedes-Benz museum in Germany is currently testing the system.

What about non-traffic-related issues? There are plenty of those to solve, too, including air pollution. Bosch worked together with Intel to develop a microclimate monitoring system named Climo that analyzes 12 parameters important to air quality, including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The firm points out its system is appreciably smaller than comparable systems, which are about the size of a shipping container, and a tenth more affordable, though pricing hasnt been announced yet.

Similar technology helps cities monitor rising water levels to reduce the damage caused by flooding. Boschs monitoring system relies on ultrasonic sensors and cameras to track a rivers water level. The firms cloud receives and processes the information, and it sends out an alert if it detects that critical thresholds have been exceeded. City officials, business owners, and residents get enough prior notice to prepare for an imminent flood.

In other words, its cloud versus cloud. But soon, if Bosch has its way, having a cloud over your city wont necessarily mean yet another rainy day.
The next EuroDIG will take place on 5  6 June 2018 (plus day zero) in Tbilisi in Georgia, in Rooms Hotel . It will be hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.

The call for issues to be discussed during the next EuroDIG is now open until 31 December 2017. All European individuals and institutions are invited to submit ideas and wishes for the programme.

Let us know what you would like to discuss!

The public planning meeting 2018 will take place on the 1 February 2018 and be held at Technopark (GITA) Innovations Str. 7, Okrokana, Tbilisi, Georgia. During the meeting the clustering of all submitted issues, the overarching theme and a first draft programme will be discussed. Register now!

EuroDIG is not a conference; it is a year round dialogue of European stakeholders, where everyone is welcome to join at any stage.

Find out more about the EuroDIG participation process and get involved!
I Decided to Do Whatever I Could

The Fellowship | January 10, 2018 I Decided to Do Whatever I Could'

Dimitar Peshev



Life: June 25, 1894  February 20, 1973

Why you should know him: As the Vice President of Bulgarias Parliament, Dimitar Peshevs actions helped save 48,000 Bulgarian Jews during the Holocaust.

Despite being a friend of the Bulgarian Jewish community, Vice President Dimitar Peshev had not immediately objected to his countrys alliance with Nazi Germany, nor to Bulgarian laws that were modeled on Germanys Nuremberg Laws.

However, in 1943, Bulgaria agreed to start sending its Jews to Nazi death camps. Peshev could no longer ignore his governments evil behavior and decided to act.

The Jews of Peshevs hometown were to be deported. Word leaked out of the actions, and a delegation came to Peshev to ask for his help.

I had no doubt what was going to happen, and my conscience and the understanding of the real meaning of the plans no longer allowed me to remain a bystander, Peshev said. I decided to do whatever I could to prevent the plans from being implemented.

As Bulgarias Jews were being gathered in order to be deported and murdered, Peshev went to his countrys leaders in an attempt to overturn the actions. He spoke with the Minister of the Interior, who lied and said the Jews would not be deported, but then informed the Prime Minister that the deportations had been discovered.

The Prime Minister refused to see Peshev. So Peshev drafted a letter of protest and had members of the Parliament sign it. Because of these protests, the deportations were called off. However, because of Peshevs actions, he was impeached, losing his job and becoming a political outcast.

Dimitar Peshev, whose selfless actions saved the lives of 48,000 Bulgarian Jews, was named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1973.




This Isnt Our Last Love Letter



Dear Don Don,

Way back in 92



I walked into the room and knew



Never felt this way before



I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes



And the feeling grew



As I took a seat I knew



A love that would have my heart



Forever



I knew



Way back in 92





They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true



We were the exception to that rule



Our love had no where to hide



A spark set fire



As if this is how the universe started





I never doubted our love or what we could do



Together we grew



Forming a bond everlasting



That became our glue



My euphoria was YOU



Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared



For how fortunate we were :



to have and to hold

through sickness and in health

Til death do us part



Until we are together again



This isnt our last love letter



I love you with all my heart and soul



Yours forever,



Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow)





Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus.









A True American Hero

I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus.



I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years.



I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years.

But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us.

In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about.



Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle.

I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life.

I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life.

No one will ever do what he did.

I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO





David Jurist

IMUS IN THE MORNING

FIRST DAY BACK!
On a cold weekday afternoon on an upper floor of one of his Chelsea galleries, the art dealer David Zwirner points out the window at a corner lot on West 21st Street that is under demolition.

That, Zwirner says, is the site of what in the autumn of 2020 will become the new heart of his New York operation: a five-storey, $50m gallery designed by Renzo Piano.

Zwirner is announcing this plan for the future even as he is looking at the past  with a 25th-anniversary exhibition featuring the artists who have shaped the gallerys programme since its founding. He is also celebrating the present with the inauguration this month of his first Asia gallery in Central Hong Kong.

As fortune favours the brave, we are looking back exactly when were opening in Hong Kong and looking forward, Zwirner says.

At a time when many small and midsize galleries are being priced out of the business because of the costs of prime real estate and proliferating art fairs, Zwirners expansion is bound to elicit grousing about mega-dealers taking over the world.

The new gallery will soon give Zwirner a third gallery in Manhattans Chelsea (Alamy)

To be sure, watching Zwirner gaze out at the property that will soon give him a third gallery in Chelsea, his fourth in New York City and seventh in the world inevitably conjures a general surveying his spreading empire (an image helped by what The New Yorker once described as his Caesar haircut).

But though the tall, clean-cut Zwirner, 53, has established himself as an ambitious entrepreneur  second only to Larry Gagosians operation in size and prestige  he has also made clear that he is a savvy businessman. His gallery brings in well over half a billion dollars a year with 165 employees, including many who have worked for him for years, and a growing stable of over 50 artists and estates.

Some in the often-backbiting art world undoubtedly resent his success, particularly since he has managed to draw some artists and estates from other galleries. Among Zwirners recent conquests are the artists William Eggleston and Felix Gonzalez-Torres (whom he shares with Andrea Rosen), as well as the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. Yet even many of Zwirners competitors also concede that they like and respect him.

Hes managed to do it with quality and style, the longtime dealer Robert Mnuchin says. Thats hard to do sometimes when youre aggressive.

Zwirner says he is aware of the pitfalls of overexpansion. As a result, when he opens the new gallery, he is likely to close his West 19th Street location, a rented space. He will keep his other Chelsea gallery, on West 20th Street, but the centre of gravity will move over to 21st Street, he says. (He will also keep his gallery on the Upper East Side.)

I feel very acutely that there is a too-much thats possible, Zwirner says. You water down what you do.

Italian architect Renzo Piano will be designing Zwirners new headquarters in New York (AFP/Getty)

At the same time, he says he is conscious of trying to achieve that elusive balance of any big dealer these days: being attentive to the artists  with personal contact and regular communication  as well as ambitious for them, placing their work with leading museums and top collectors (who wont just turn around and try to sell it for profit) and providing international exposure.

Artists want you to stay small; they hate when stuff changes, says Zwirner, who was born in Cologne, Germany, and speaks with a slight accent. How do you keep it intimate while being able to compete in the increasingly competitive art market?

On the other hand, if you dont move, some artists will feel youre not doing enough for their careers, he continues. They want to have intimacy, but they also want to have the reach.

Lisa Yuskavage, who joined the gallery in 2006, said that she was at first surprised and disappointed when Zwirner said her primary contact person would be one of his directors  Hanna Schouwink  rather than Zwirner himself. But she found Schouwink to be nurturing and competent.

I call him the Wizard of Oz, Yuskavage says. He does have all of these people running Oz.

For prominent artists and estates like those in Zwirners fold  Dan Flavin, Donald Judd  that means having a presence in the most important art centres, which increasingly includes Asia. And it also means having the most impressive headquarters in New York, which is what Zwirner seems to be going for with his new building by Piano  the architects first commercial gallery.

It will upgrade the quality of my spaces, and that is something attractive for all these people that I need in my life  the artists and the people who work here, Zwirner says.

Artists in Zwirners fold include Dan Flavin, whose is known for his florescent tube artworks (AFP/Getty)

The new gallery will be at 540 west 21st Street, part of a project that is being developed by the investor Uri Chaitchik of Casco Development. The gallery will be connected to Cascos residential tower, but it will be a separate structure, with three floors of galleries.

The precise design has yet to be determined  Piano is in the early stages of the process. But it is likely to have a similarly spare aesthetic to Zwirners current spaces, by Annabelle Selldorf. Although he loves his Selldorf spaces  and the architect is a friend  he went with Piano on this project, Zwirner says, because he was the developers choice.

So far, Zwirner says, he has enjoyed working with Piano, whom he described as one of my great heroes, having admired his designs for museums like the Menil Collection in Houston, the Morgan Library & Museum renovation and the Beyeler Foundation in Basel, Switzerland.

Because this is Pianos first commercial gallery, Zwirner said, I have to remind him we dont need coat checks, we dont need ticket booths and the size of the lobby doesnt have to be quite that large.

Piano says he will seek to establish a visual psychological connection between the building and the street, as he did with the Whitney Museum of American Art in the meatpacking district.

There is a porosity, Piano says. In this building, it will be the same thing. Its very important.

Pianos museums have been acclaimed for balancing a focus on the art with architectural distinction. You kill art by making just white boxes, so you need to integrate emotion in some way, he says. You cannot be neutral, because otherwise you disappear.

Zwirmers 25th-anniversary exhibition will feature artists including Jeff Koons (Getty)

Groundbreaking is to take place this spring. Meanwhile, to celebrate its quarter-century, Zwirner Gallery has invited all of its artists to contribute a work for an exhibition that opens this weekend. The show will occupy all the gallery spaces in Chelsea.

The show will include new work by established artists like Richard Serra and On Kawara, as well as work by artists like Gordon Matta-Clark. Some pieces are being lent from museums and much of it will not be for sale.

Zwirner says his favourite in the show is a diagonal slash of fluorescent by the lighting artist Flavin, which the dealer described as an icon of minimalism.

To watch Zwirner flip through a binder holding images of the works is to travel through the last 25 years of modern and contemporary art, accompanied by quick bits on their historical importance from Zwirner, whose father, Rudolf, was a prominent European dealer.

To critics who question the corporate nature of Zwirners operation, Zwirner said they have only to look to the art  namely the acclaimed exhibitions the gallery has presented in just the last year  like the show of Yayoi Kusamas Infinity Rooms that had people lining up around the block in the cold; the exhibition of Alice Neels paintings and drawings; and the quirky installations of Gonzalez-Torres.

The reputation is in the quality of the shows that we put up, Zwirner says. You can say a lot of things about the gallery, but what do you say about the shows?

Zwirner cant help but look back fondly on starting out with 1,600 square feet on Greene Street in SoHo, where he opened in 1993, with the sculpture of Franz West, whose heirs recently decided to return to Zwirner. There was a Friedrich air-conditioner in the window and barely any heat.

There was a simplicity in the early days that was charming, Zwirner says. The transition from what was classically a mom-and-pop operation to a global business  its much more complicated.

Bridget Riley, Recent Paintings 2014-2017 is at David Zwirner in London from 19 January to 10 March (www.davidzwirner.com)

 New York Times
Marvel creator Stan Lee has denied sexually harassing his caretakers at his Los Angeles home.

The 95-year-old has been accused of groping and harassing his nurses.

Because of these claims, the nursing company is in a legal dispute with Lee, although it is understood no legal claim has been filed.

Lee's nurses claimed he requested oral sex in the shower and to be pleasured in his bedroom.

According to a representative from the nursing company, many of the nurses have complained about Lee.

The same representative also said the owner of the company talked to Lee directly.

The company ceased working for him at the end of 2016.

Lee's lawyer has responded to the allegations in a statement saying,Mr. Lee categorically denies these false and despicable allegations and he fully intends to fight to protect his stellar good name and impeccable character. We are not aware of anyone filing a civil action, or reporting these issues to the police, which for any genuine claim would be the more appropriate way for it to be handled. Instead, Mr. Lee has received demands to pay money and threats that if he does not do so, the accuser will go to the media. Mr. Lee will not be extorted or blackmailed, and will pay no money to anyone because he has done absolutely nothing wrong.

A representative for the new nursing company caring for Lee said he has been polite, kind and respectful to the nurses.

Lee's wife of 69 years passed away in 2017 at 93-years-old.
Greta Gerwig has expressed regret over working with Woody Allen in the past vowing to never work with the director again.

The writer-director of Golden Globe-winning comedy-drama Lady Bird made the comments in an interview with The New York Times having incited criticism for her refusal to discuss her past collaboration with Allen - who famously faces an assault accusation - during a backstage interview; she rightfully ascertains that she wanted to ensure she said the proper thing.

Gerwig - who appeared in Allen's 2012 film To Rome With Love - stated: If I had known then what I know now, I would not have acted in the film. I have not worked for him again, and I will not work for him again.

Dylan Farrows two different pieces made me realise that I increased another womans pain, and I was heartbroken by that realisation."

She added: "I grew up on his movies, and they have informed me as an artist, and I cannot change that fact now, but I can make different decisions moving forward.

Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Show all 55 1 /55 Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Meryl Street and Ai-jen Poo Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Rosa Clemente and Susan Sarandon Getty Images Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Shailene Woodley and activist Calina Lawrence NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Emma Watson and Marai Larasi Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Amy Poehler and Saru Jayaraman Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Laura Dern and Monica Ramirez Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Michelle Williams and Tarana Burke Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Debra Messing Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Caitriona Balfe Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Allison Williams Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Zoe Kravitz Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Viola Davis and Julius Tennon Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Tracee Ellis Ross Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Sarah Paulson Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Sadie Sink Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Rita Moreno Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Millie Bobby Brown Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Michelle Pfeiffer Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Margot Robbie Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Mandy Moore Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Maggie Gyllenhaal Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Lily James Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Kendall Jenner Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Kit Harrington Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Kerry Washington Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Kelly Clarkson Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Dakota Johnson Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Kate Hudson Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Jessica Biel Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Jamie Chung Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes James Franco and Dave Franco Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Issa Rae Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Isabelle Huppert Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Heidi Klum Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Gwendoline Christie Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Geena Davis Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Claire Foy Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Elisabeth Moss Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Diane Kruger Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Catherine Zeta-Jones Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Angelina Jolie Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Nicole Kidman Rex Features Wearing black for women  activists and actors at the Golden Globes Mary J. 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Allen's daughter Farrow, who accused him of sexually molesting her when she was just 7-years-old, praised Gerwig's words, writing: Greta, thank you for your voice. Thank you for your words. Please know they are deeply felt and appreciated.

Last year, actor Griffin Newman expressed his own regret in working with Allen on a forthcoming untitled project, donating his salary to charity.

Farrow's brother, Ronan, was one of the notable figures who exposed the multiple allegations of harassment against film producer Harvey Weinstein.

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Mark Wahlberg received $1.5m (1.1m) for reshooting his scenes in All The Money In The World, it has been reported, while Michelle Williams was paid less than $1,000.

Ridley Scott's drama about the Getty kidnapping was hastily reshot after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Kevin Spacey, who previously starred as billionaire J. Paul Getty.

Scott received praise for successfully assembling his cast in Europe to reshoot 22 scenes featuring Spacey with Christopher Plummer, still in time for its release over the Christmas holidays. In interviews, he said all actors involved in the reshoot had agreed to do the scenes unpaid.

However the Washington Post reported Wahlberg's reshoot fee in November and noted he, "along with manager Stephen Levinson and agency WME, have a reputation in Hollywood for driving a tough bargain".

USA Today later reported "three people familiar with the situation but not authorised to speak publicly about it" had confirmed the fees for Wahlberg and Williams. Williams, who is also represented by WME, was not told about Wahlberg's fee.

Williams, one of the founding members of the "Time's Up" campaign - a Hollywood-led response to sexual harassment and gender inequality - has not yet responded to the reports.

She had previously said of the reshoot: "I said I'd be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort."

Wahlberg was recently named the most overpaid actor of 2017 by Forbes.
Robert De Niro has torn Donald Trump to pieces in yet another speech calling the US President a f**king fool.

The Oscar-winning actor was introducing Meryl Streep at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala when he launched into a tirade against Trump.

According to a transcript provided by The New York Times, De Niro said: This f***ing idiot is president. It's The Emperor's New Clothes - this guy is a f**ing fool.

He shared another nickname for Trump as he slammed the President's continued criticism of the world's media.

 Robert De Niro asked to give acceptance speech for award, delivers second warning against Donald Trump instead

Our baby-in-chief - the jerkoff-in-chief, I call him - has put the press under siege, ridiculing it through trying to discredit it through outrageous attacks and lies.

And again, just like in 1971, the press is distinguishing itself with brave, exacting journalism, he added in reference to the medias coverage of the infamous Watergate scandal.

This is not the first time De Niro has torn into Trump during a speech. In August, he branded Trump a flat-out blatant racist while at a charity event in October 2017, he described his presidency as a horror.

Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Show all 22 1 /22 Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump talk as they leave the Army Museum at Les Invalides in Paris AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump arrive for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily in May 2017 Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Mr Trump was pressed on the subject at the G7 summit in Italy Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump gives a speeech at the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a ceremony at the NATO headquarters before the start of a summit in Brussels, Belgium Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is seen to the right of Donald Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels REUTERS Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis meeting with US President Donald J. Trump EPA Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis poses with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump arrives at Palazzo del Quirinale ahead of the meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella Ufficio Stampa Presidenza della via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is seen during a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets US President Donald Trump PPO via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump prior to the President's departure GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump watch on during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips King Salman presents Donald Trump with The Collar of Abdulaziz al-Saud Medal at the Royal Court Palace on 20 May AP Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn prior to their first foreign trip Getty Images

During the campaign trail - for which he endorsed Hillary Clinton - De Niro claimed he'd like to ...punch [Trump] in the face.

The actor is currently filming new Martin Scorsese film The Irishman alongside Al Pacino and his Goodfellas and Casino co-star Joe Pesci.

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Knightstown is the project of Michael Aston, who is about to drop his new single "Charlatan".

Inspired by Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World, the track is a beautifully crafted work, building delicately with Aston's mesmerising vocals.

We're premiering the track ahead of its official release on 12 January via FatCat Records, check it out below:

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Q&A with Knightstown

What are you listening to at the moment?

My recent listening has been a funny mix - The Dreaming Room (Laura Mvula - who's my favourite artist these days), Celebration (Jamie Woon), Ritual (Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares) , Center your Love (Machinedrum), Scrimshaw (Anna Meredith), Bad Kingdom (Moderat) and Mozart's late string quartets which are so beautiful!

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

i) Release a 5-track EP in March called 'Keep', and my self-titled debut album 'Knightstown' in July.

ii) Hopefully play some gigs and festivals - we have Live at Leeds and a BBC Introducing booked so far.

iii) Beginning my part-time PHD - not sure how realistic it will be squeezing this in though...

Can you tell us a few highlights of 2017?

i) Playing Hammersmith Apollo for three nights in C Duncan's band, back when we supported Elbow on their February tour. Touring with Chris and the band generally was so much fun last year. Also our trip to Tallinn Music Festival was a very special couple of days.

ii) Hearing my debut single 'First Cry' on Annie Mac's Radio 1 show was quite exciting.

iii) Watching Helen Plumb's beautiful visuals accompanying the second single 'Eyes Open Wide' for the first time - she's so talented! - As is Marcus Davies who does all the artwork for Knightstown - his pieces are stunning - it's a real privilege to be working with such creative forces.

iv) On a more personal note - meeting someone very special

What was the first gig you ever played and what's been the best so far?

First official gig I think was Doune The Rabbit Hole Festival 2016 when I'd just joined C Duncan's live band on keys/backing vocals. Best gig is hard to choose though, I was a bit spoiled by touring with C Duncan for nearly a year all over Europe and UK 2016-17 before Knightstown started up.

Le Grand Mix in Lille had the best sound system, it was so satisfying to play in that venue. Pitchfork festival in Paris was exciting. I think maybe Dublin Olympia on the Elbow tour with my wild Irish cousins in the audience was possibly the funnest gig for me to date.

As for Knightstown - my first proper headline show at The Electrowerkz last November - it was incredibly stressful preparing for it but was great fun in the end and so many friends and family came along to support which I was very grateful for.

'Charlatan', the new single from Knightstown, is out on 12 January via FatCat Records
Receiving a Michelin Star may be one of the highest honours bestowed on a chef - but for one street vendor in Bangkok, life, before she received the star, was preferable - and she would like to give the star back.

When Michelin, the French tire company that also distributes international dining guides, first announced they would be publishing a guide to Bangkok, many wondered whether any of the street food vendors would receive a star.

Just one did - the culinary genius behind the eatery Raan Jay Fai, who has since been dubbed the crab omelette queen.

But it turns out life in the starlight isnt as great as it seems.

The vendor, which can be found on the corner of Soi Samran Rat in the Phra Nakhon area of Bangkok, used to be relatively inconspicuous.

Now, since receiving her one Michelin Star in December, the vendor is hard to miss - because the line for her food wraps around the block.

While this may sound like a good thing, for Supinya Junsuta, who goes by Jay Fai, the attention has been unwanted - and unwelcome.

According to reports by Eater, the distinction has drawn the attention of tourists, foodies, and even a couple of curious tax department officials to Raan Jay Fais small space.

Raan Jay Fai is known for its crab omelettes

And now Jay Fai, the 72-year-old chef whose crab omelettes are responsible for drawing the crowd, wants to give the star back because, in addition to the crowds, the star has caused other annoyances.

Fai said: Many people come just to see and take pictures and not necessarily to eat.

The newfound fame has also forced the tiny eatery to begin taking reservations - a demand that forced Jay Fais daughter, Yuawadee Junsuta to quit her job so she could work full time at Raan Jay Fai.

And because Jay Fai fears increasing prices would cause her to lose customers, the increased demand for her food has not meant she has become wealthy. Rather, she is actually spending more on ingredients to keep up with the crowd.

But despite her mothers pleas, Junsuta wants customers to know: Before or after Michelin, we see ourselves the same way. Jay Fai is still Jay Fai. But it is when the customers to come us and say that they love our food, we are rewarded a million stars that matter every day.
Mans best friend or coffee companion? Now New York City pups can be both - once the citys first dog cafe opens next month in the East Village.

Scheduled to open its doors to humans and dogs alike in January, Boris & Horton is a dream come true for city-dwelling dog-lovers.

Offering up coffee, beer, wine, and tons of puppies, the genius concept behind the new cafe is simple yet perfect - Boris & Horton will be a place where you can have great coffee, eat, have wine and beer, hang out, and also bring your dog inside, according to owner Coppy Holzman.

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Holzman, who owns the cafe with his daughter, Logan Mikhly, wanted to create a space where owners and their dogs could enjoy a cup of coffee, or a dog treat or two - while interacting with one another.

Essentially, patrons of Boris & Horton will come for the coffee and stay for the dogs.

And real, pet-able puppies arent the only perk of the new cafe - the cafe will also feature a dog-themed shop and a puppy Instagram booth.

Named after Holzmans own dogs, Boris a two-year-old pitbull mix, and Horton, a poodle-Chihuahua mix - the cafe pays homage to the pups with the decor - so expect to see their faces on your glasses.

Boris & Horton is a cafe for humans and dogs

The best part? The cafe is indoors - meaning you and your pooch can enjoy central heating and treats this winter.

But dont worry about what the Health Department will think about the cafe mixing food and canines - Holzman has worked with the Health Department from the beginning to ensure that all health and safety rules are followed.

For the cafe to pass New York City health regulations, the space had to be formally divided into two parts - a human side (cafe side) and the dog side. But once you get your coffee, nothing is stopping you from heading over to the dog side of the cafe.

The cafe aims to be a place owners and their dogs can bond

And for New York City residents who dont own a pup yet, the cafe will be hosting dog adoption events on weekends.

Puppies and coffee for everyone.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 will come out next month, the company has confirmed.

The handset will make its first official appearance at an event that will take place during a tradeshow in February, before going on sale soon after.

That tradeshow is almost certainly Mobile World Congress (MWC), which takes place in Barcelona and kicks off on 26 February.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Show all 10 1 /10 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy S8

The president of Samsungs mobile division, DJ Koh, told ZDNet that the phones release date will also be revealed at the event. It will likely go on sale in March.

Last year, the S8 launched at an event in March and was released a month later, in April.

The South Korean firm had been rumoured to be planning to unveil the device at CES 2018, which is currently taking in Las Vegas.

However, that always seemed unlikely, since CES tends to revolve mainly around televisions, smart home devices and broader technology trends.

The S9 will launch alongside the S9+, and the phones are expected to look very similar to their predecessors, the S8 and S8+, which are still some of the most attractive on the market.

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Reports suggest the most noticeable cosmetic change will be a redesign of the fingerprint scanner, which was small and awkwardly positioned on the S8.

Samsung is believed to be shifting it to a more central position on the smartphones rear, which should make it easier to access and use.

Its also expected to keep the 3.5mm headphone jack, which means youll be able to use it with both wired and wireless headphones.
A mother has been left feeling outraged after Instagram removed a photo of her daughter following complaints about the childs colour of skin.

When mother-of-two Jordyn Jones shared a photo of her toddler Winter on Instagram with her 92,000 followers, she wasnt expecting the bombardment of cruel comments that followed.

The photo showed her daughter walking on the beach while displaying a very dark tan.

Jordyn Jones

Several people decided to attack Jones in the comments.

One woman messaged Jones directly, writing: "It's disgusting to see how dark your daughter's skin is.

"Have you heard of suncream? How about you start using it before your kid looks 40 at four. Horrible mother."

Jones couldnt believe the online abuse that she received, which led to Instagram removing the photo from the social media platform.

Jordyn Jones (Instagram)

"At first I was quite upset and angry about it being removed," Jones told The Independent.

"I was more so angry at the messages I was receiving about ways I should be caring for my skin and people trying to educate me on sunblock!

"It was hurtful but I have had so much support and the kindness has definitely outweighed the negatives and I'm so thankful for that."

Jones, who lives on the Sunshine Coast in Australia, took to Instagram after her photos removal to address the controversy.

Woke up this morning to see my post had been removed from Instagram because more than a few people had reported it, she wrote.

I am disgusted at the thought that people who follow me condone that ladys bullying and racist remarks.

My childs skin is beautiful, I take all necessary measures to ensure her skin is protected and I wake up every damn day striving to be the best mother possible.

While a number of people felt the need to report the photo and post hurtful remarks, many have also reached out to Jones to express their support.

I want to say a huge thank you for everyone writing to me. I appreciate your support and kind words, she wrote in another recent Instagram post.

I just want to say though that I do respect even the people who have wrote into me disagreeing with my post but I thank you for going about it in a tasteful way and not shaming my child for her skin colour.

We are of Aboriginal descent and we are proud of our heritage.

An Instagram spokesperson has since explained that the photo was mistakenly removed by an Instagram reviewer for nudity, providing The Independent with the following statement:

"We mistakenly removed the photo, but quickly restored it as soon as the mistake was brought to our attention. We have apologised to Ms Jones."
As rape and sexual assault victims grapple with life post-trauma, one of the loaded questions that is sometimes asked is, What were you wearing?

The unstated but troubling implication is that if the clothes worn were provocative enough, then that may affect the level of sympathy offered.

But, as an exhibit in Belgium proves, the question is useless, and harmful, in determining a motive for rape.

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Called, What were you wearing? the exhibit at the Centre Communautaire Maritime in Brussels features replicated clothing items similar to those worn by real victims of sexual assault, and attempts to disprove the myth that provocative clothing incites rape.

Replicated from descriptions of clothing worn the night survivors were attacked, the exhibit proves that clothing never justifies or incites rape.

Featuring items such as pyjamas, tracksuits, even a childs My Little Pony shirt, the exhibit shows clothing as innocent as the victims themselves.

(CCM) Clothing can never be seen as a provocation for rape

The organisation behind the exhibit, the prevention service of Molenbeek, opened the exhibit to "create a tangible response to one of our most pervasive rape culture myths" because "The belief that clothing or what someone what wearing 'causes' rape is extremely damaging for survivors."

With the exhibit, the organisation wants to prove that a persons outfit can never be seen as a mitigating circumstance or provocation by a rapist.

(CCM) Clothing does not incite rape

According to Lieshbeth Kennes, a training and counselling employee of CAW, who spoke to VRT1 Radio, What you immediately notice when you walk around here is they are all very normal pieces that everyone would wear.

And, referencing the My Little Pony shirt, Kennes states: The exhibition is also a harsh reality: most victims of rape still know exactly what they were wearing at the time.

(CCM) A police uniform is hung in the exhibit

The exhibition, which can be seen at the community centre of Molenbeek in Brussels, is open from January 8 to 20.

The Independent has reached out to the community centre for comment.
JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has admitted that he regrets calling the cryptocurrency a fraud in September last year.

In an interview with Fox Business, Mr Dimon said that he believes blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin, is real.

The bitcoin to me was always what the governments are gonna feel about bitcoin as it gets really big, and I just have a different opinion than other people, he said.

The high-profile chief executive added that he is not interested that much in the subject at all.

In September, Mr Dimon said that he would sack JPMorgan workers if he found them trading in the cryptocurrency.

Mr Dimon has long been an ardent critic of bitcoin, having previously called it worse than tulips bulbs, referring to the Dutch Tulip craze of the 1600s which is widely seen as the worlds first speculative bubble.

Bitcoins spectacular rise has forced banks to consider their clients demands to speculate on the cryptocurrency.

Barclays revealed in July last year that it had opened up discussions with UK regulators about using digital currencies like bitcoin, and several other banks including Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale have set up a consortium to build a blockchain platform of their own.

Bitcoins value is up more than six per cent from last month and more than 1,565 per cent over the last twelve months.
Britains boat and yacht industry saw revenues hit their highest level since the financial crisis as the Brexit-hit pound buoyed sales for UK firms.

Figures released by lobby group British Marine showed revenues rising 3.4 per cent in 2017 to 3.12bn, a total not seen since the global market crash of 2007-08.

It helped the sector support more than 33,000 jobs in the UKs manufacturing and service industry, while British Marine said firms directly contributed more than 1.3bn to the UK economy between March 2016 and April 2017.

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British Marines chief executive Howard Pridding said sterlings collapse  sparked primarily by Brexit jitters  was partly to thank for the performance, as it made UK products cheaper for international buyers.

These impressive figures demonstrate how the industry has successfully cashed in on the pounds devaluation since the Brexit referendum in 2016, he said.

In 2017, UK marine industry exports grew by 4.7 per cent to 924m, with the weak pound making British-made boats and products more competitive abroad.

Currency weakness was also a key factor in keeping Britons at home, with many opting for staycations over trips abroad that have become more expensive as a result.

Boating tourism was a major beneficiary, with more than 60 per cent of marine tourism operators reporting a jump in sales over the summer, while a net balance of 47 per cent of marina and boatyard companies reported a jump in revenues.

The data was released as part of the opening of the five-day London Boat Show which runs until 14 January.

The sector has now claimed its sixth year of consecutive growth, the lobby group said, adding that business confidence has increased over the past six months.

A net balance of 41 per cent of member firms polled by British Marine said they were positive about their future prospects, but the lobby group warned that a poor Brexit deal could take the wind out of their sails.

Confidence in the sector is at its highest since the credit crunch and we expect to see further growth into 2018, Mr Pridding said.

However, we are also clear on the potential challenges we are facing as an industry due to Brexit, including its potential impact on the labour supply chain and rising costs related to overseas procurement.

British boating is in good health, but a bad deal with the EU risks capsizing our success.

PA
Lidl has claimed it was the "fastest growing supermarket" over Christmas after booking record festive sales.

The German chain said sales rose 16 per cent in December as it experienced its highest ever footfall.

December 22 marked a record trading day in Lidl UK's history, the group said, while the week before Christmas was its "strongest ever".

However, it did not give a breakdown of like-for-like sales, again ignoring an industry benchmark used by its peers.

Among the supermarket's bestselling products was its Birchwood Farm whole fresh turkey, which contributed to a 10 per cent increase in sales of the bird.

Total fresh meat and poultry sales grew by 17 per cent over the period.

Roughly 600 tonnes of Brussels sprouts, 17 million mince pies and over 800,000 litres of Champagne and Prosecco were also snapped up by shoppers.

Boss Christian Hartnagel said: "Lidl UK has had a fantastic 2017 and this was capped by our strongest Christmas trading period to date.

"Customers came into our stores to buy more of their Christmas items, knowing they could find high quality products at market-leading prices.

"We look forward to bringing the Lidl offering to more communities across the UK, as we continue our rapid expansion plan this year."

Lidl has been on a rapid expansion drive recently, which is helping drive its sales.

Nine new stores opened in December, taking its total to 693.

Earlier this week, Lidl said it will open five new London stores and build its largest UK warehouse to date in a move that the supermarket says underlines the "scale" of its expansion plans in Britain's capital.

The German discounter's expansion is expected to solidify its standing as one of the UK's fastest-growing supermarkets alongside fellow German Aldi, increasing the pressure on Britain's Big Four, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons.

PA
Fuel cells powered by living algae that are five times more efficient than current models, have been designed by scientists at the University of Cambridge.

It is thought they could one day be used to provide electricity to places where there is no existing electrical grid system, such as parts of rural Africa.

The new design makes use of genetically modified algae capable of efficiently carrying electric charge.

It uses the photosynthetic ability of plants and algae to convert sunlight into electric current.

Current algae-based fuel cells are a long way from being as efficient as their non-living counterparts, such as solar power, which has emerged in recent years as a green alternative to fossil fuels.

But the Cambridge scientists have developed a breakthrough technique that significantly improves on old models, which they describe in the journal Nature Energy.

We took the process and saw there were two separate parts  one where you are generating the charge and one where you are converting the charge into power, said the study's co-author, Kadi Liis Saar, a chemistry PhD candidate at the university.

We decoupled the parts from one another so they werent in a single chamber but two separate chambers  this way we were able to optimise both independently and get a better performance.

The scientists also used advanced algal cells where some genes were modified so they would have better performance, said Ms Saar.

Solar Technology in the UK Show all 7 1 /7 Solar Technology in the UK Solar Technology in the UK Roofs tiled with photovoltaic solar energy panels receive maximum sunlight exposure in Dyfi Eco Park, Machynlleth, Wales. These panels are made up of photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells convert sunlight into electrical energy Getty Solar Technology in the UK Jake Beautyman installs solar panels on a barn roof on Grange farm, near Balcombe. The installation is part of an initiative by local residents in Balcombe to encourage more people to use renewable energy rather than energy based on carbon such as fracking. The initaitive is called Repowerbalcombe and is supported by the charity 10:10 Getty Solar Technology in the UK The Solar array of community project Low carbon Gordano, a Solarsense renewable energy project. Delivering 1,750HWh per annum. Avon, Somerset Getty Solar Technology in the UK The solar panels array on the roof of Oldfield Park Infant School, installed with the support of Bath and West Community Energy a community project. Bath, Somerset Getty Solar Technology in the UK The solar array inverters that monitor and invert the energy made by Brixton Energy Solar who have installed several hundred square metres of solar panels on the roof of Elmore House in the Loughborough Estate in Brixton, London Getty Solar Technology in the UK The solar array inverters that monitor and invert the energy on the roof of Elmore House in the Loughborough Estate in Brixton, London Getty Solar Technology in the UK The 25kW solar panel array on the roof of Knowle West Media Centre. Supported by Bristol Energy, a community-owned energy cooperative, growing Greater Bristol's local green energy supply and making the benefits available to all Getty

This alteration ensured the amount of electrical charge wasted during photosynthesis was minimal.

This a big step forward in the search for alternative, greener fuels, said Dr Paolo Bombelli, another of the studys authors. We believe these developments will bring algal-based systems closer to practical implementation.

At present, conventional solar panels are still more efficient than the new design.

However, the researchers suggest the ability of algae to grow by themselves with little energy input and the relative ease of manufacture, make biological solar cells an appealing prospect.

This is particularly true for remote communities in need of power but without the necessary infrastructure, for example those found in some parts of rural Africa.

Conventional solar cells are normally produced in a special facility away from the site where you are using them, said Ms Saar. The systems we have been producing, we think that for example local communities living in rural areas in rainforests would potentially have the ability to produce them within those communities.

Rural Africa was among the places that the research team suggested the technology would be useful for.

Another advantage of using living algae is their natural ability to store energy for later, meaning they could operate even when the Sun is not shining.

For the time being the scientists are working to make these fuel cells more efficient so they can compete with existing solar cells, as well as optimising their physical design.

Their designs are currently still confined to the lab, but Ms Saar sees them having a key future role in providing power to people in remote locations.

If youre in a rainforest and want to charge your phone, you could potentially use some of the plants that are there and build something together yourself, she said. Simple things like this where you dont care about powering a full city but just need a little energy.
Scientists have welcomed the news that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has shrunk and suggested that similar solutions could be found to deal with climate change and other environmental issues.

Nasa confirmed the news after a new study looked directly at ozone-destroying chemicals in the atmosphere.

Its always nice to hear a good news story and this is definitely a good news story, said Dr Jon Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey, one of the meteorologists who first discovered the ozone hole in 1985.

That started with the success of the Montreal Protocol, with all United Nations member states signing up to that treaty, and now the clear evidence that its working.

Recommended Hole in ozone layer could be closed by the middle of the century

The Montreal Protocol was an international treaty that resulted in chemicals called CFCs being phased out.

These chemicals were largely responsible for the decline in ozone above Antarctica, as their breakdown produced chlorine atoms which in turn destroyed molecules of ozone.

In the new study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a Nasa research team used observations of ozone and also chlorine in the atmosphere and stratosphere to determine the state of the ozone hole.

We see for the first time that chlorine levels are definitely going down and ozone levels are responding to it, said lead author Dr Susan Strahan, an atmospheric scientist at Nasas Goddard Space Flight Centre.

Dr Shanklin added that the new findings confirm what he is currently seeing on the ground at Halley Research Station in Antarctica.

In all, this new research adds to a growing body of evidence that the ozone layer is recovering, according to Professor John Pyle, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Cambridge, who was not involved in the study.

The scientific community is pretty confident that the ozone layer is heading in the right direction, he said.

The Montreal Protocol has been amazingly successful because science, policy, technology and economics were all linked together, said Professor Pyle, who is part of the group conducting checks every four years on the Protocols success.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

Dr Shanklin agreed that we need cooperation between science, industry and world governments to fix environmental problems like the ozone hole, and highlighted the importance of continuous, long-term monitoring of the environment.

There are also lessons to be learned about how to deal with climate change, the worlds current major environmental challenge.

When a problem is expressed in the right language, governments take note, said Dr Shanklin.

The ozone layer absorbs most of the suns UV radiation, and fears about its depletion in the 1980s were stoked by the potential increase in cases of skin cancer resulting from higher UV levels on Earth.

While the ominous-sounding name ozone hole and the threat of skin cancer were enough to provoke a significant global response, he thinks the way in which global warming is communicated is not working as well.

Cooperation from the CFC industry and a switch to non-harmful alternatives also helped with the transition away from these harmful chemicals, which are used as refrigerants and propellants in aerosols.

He said dealing with climate change will require similar assistance from the energy sector.

The renewables industry is booming and its realty the entrenched fossil fuels industry that is perhaps trying to slow down the process of transfer to a different industry, he said.

As for the ozone hole, it has still not vanished completely.

CFCs have lifetimes from 50 to 100 years, so they linger in the atmosphere for a very long time, said Dr Anne Douglass, one of the co-authors of the new study. As far as the ozone hole being gone, were looking at 2060 or 2080. And even then there might still be a small hole.

Dr Shanklin added that there was no room for complacency and the ozone hole still has lots to teach us about our attitudes to the environment.

We need to take a very broad perspective of what we as a species are doing to the planet, and look at ourselves as well as the way we use the planet, he said.
John Worboys victims have called on officials to ban the black cab rapist from London when he is released from prison, as a new report criticises the monitoring of freed offenders in the capital.

Lawyers representing one of the 12 women whose cases were prosecuted said she had not been allowed enough time to have her say on what restrictions Worboys will be put under.

The Parole Board and National Probation Service (NPS) are to discuss the conditions of the serial sex offenders freedom on Thursday amid continued outcry over the decision to free Worboys after serving just nine years of an indeterminate sentence.

Victims called on the NPS to impose an order banning the former cab driver from Greater London, where the vast majority of over 100 women police believed he attacked lived.

In many cases, he is known to have recorded their addresses and, although the police retrieved one notebook in which these addresses are recorded, there can be no certainty that Worboys has not retained the information elsewhere, they said in a letter from Slater and Gordon Lawyers.

Our clients have a real and justified fear that he will know their home addresses.

It also demanded an express restriction stating that Worboys cannot approach any proven or alleged victims under any circumstances.

The black cab of London cabbie rapist Worboys, who is to be released from prison (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Richard Scorer, a specialist abuse lawyer who is representing 11 victims, said his clients are living in fear of his release.

Considering the shambles of this sorry episode so far it is inexcusable that all victims have not been asked to make representations about his restrictions, he added.

Our clients already felt betrayed by the way they have been treated by the criminal justice system; they now feel like they are being treated with the utmost contempt.

This is an absolute disgrace and we demand that all victims  those involved in the criminal trial and those who were not  are consulted before Worboys licence conditions are finalised.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: The licence conditions for Worboys have not been finalised, and he will not be released until victims have had an opportunity to make representations to the Parole Board on his licence conditions.

MPs from all parties backed calls for Worboys to be excluded from Greater London after he is freed from prison during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday.

Former Tory minister Anna Soubry said the predatory sex offender could not be allowed to re-enter his former hunting ground, adding: I and many others are struggling to believe that Worboys is no longer a danger.

But Conservative MP Tom Pursglove warned that even that measure would be of very little comfort to someone who lives on a county boundary.

Evidence gathered during the case against Worboys ( PA) (PA)

David Gauke, the new Justice Secretary, said the case for excluding Worboys from London had been made powerfully but was outside his remit, adding: We would expect the Parole Board to be sensitive to the concerns that victims might have about their safety, and indeed to the trauma of perhaps finding themselves accidentally in the presence of someone who has committed such terrible crimes.

Current guidance stipulates that only victims whose attacks were prosecuted must be informed of the process, excluding dozens of others who made other complaints to the police.

Worboys, a former stripper and amateur adult film star, would ply female passengers with spiked champagne, which he persuaded them to drink by pretending he was celebrating a lottery or gambling win.

Police linked him with 83 crimes committed between 2006 and 2008 but more women came forward in light of the court case, bringing the potential total of victims to 102.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said 14 complainants were involved in the trial and the remaining cases did not pass the evidential test needed for a realistic prospect of conviction.

Another 19 allegations that emerged following Worboys conviction in 2009 were not prosecuted after consultation between the CPS and Metropolitan Police, and there are no cases currently live.

The Government has announced a review of the Parole Boards transparency and processes after some victims said they first learnt of Worboys impending release through news reports.

The NPS will be responsible for monitoring and rehabilitating Worboys following his release and the body is also charged with advising courts on sentences.

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The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty

But a new report released by HM Inspectorate of Probation on Wednesday said weaknesses had been found in the service in London.

The watchdog said the London NPS had been failing to inform courts about the potential risks posed by offenders to children and partners while rushing to compile evidence for sentencing hearings.

Inspectors found too few offenders were abiding by the conditions of their sentence and warned that work to reduce reoffending was variable, while the response to breaches of court orders or licensing conditions lagged behind national performance by some distance.

Recommended Failing privatisation of probation services putting public at risk

Dame Glenys Stacey, HM Chief Inspector of Probation, said: There were encouraging signs of improvement, but more still to be done.

The body supervises more than 16,700 higher-risk offenders in London.

The most dangerous convicts, including murderers and sex offenders, are released into probation hostels, where The Independent revealed some jobs guarding offenders are being handed to private companies.

A previous report by HM Inspectorate of Probation warned that the Governments partial privatisation of the service in 2014 was putting the public at risk, with private firms failing to properly assess the risk of harm in half of cases, while supervising thousands of convicts with phone calls every six weeks.

Michael Spurr, chief executive of the prisons and probation service, said it was working with councils to improve access to safeguarding information and training.
A 16-year-old boy who stabbed another teenager to death on New Years Eve may not be charged with murder because he "acted in self-defence", police have said.

The killing was one of four that swept London in less than 24 hours, sparking intensified calls for action against rising violent crime.

Southwark Coroners Court heard that Kyall Parnell, 17, died of a single wound to the heart after being stabbed at around 10.40pm in Tulse Hill.

Investigators said the teenager was himself armed with a knife and had behaved very aggressively towards his attacker, chasing him through the south London district.

Detective Inspector Ian Titterrell, from the Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command, told the court Kyall was with a group of friends on a bus when another group including the unnamed 16-year-old boarded.

"As those three males walked up to the top deck where Kyall and his friends were sitting, there was immediately a confrontation, he added.

"The three males who had just got on at Tulse Hill got off the bus and they were pursued by Kyall and his friends, with two of the males seeking refuge in a convenience store.

Kyall Parnell, 17, was stabbed to death in Tulse Hill on New Year's Eve. (Metropolitan Police)

"Witnesses had seen the chasing group in possession of knives and Kyall is seen in very clear CCTV on the route 68 bus to approach an individual in a very aggressive manner with his hand placed towards his left hip area - there was a suggestion of something glinting.

"A knife was found on Kyall afterwards. The male, fearing for his safety, has stabbed Kyall once in the chest. This stab wound pierced the heart and it's that that led to his death.

DI Titterrell said that during the confrontation, Kyalls friends told him to stab him, finish him off, which the younger boy claimed caused him to take out a knife from his bag before plunging it into the victim in an attempt to protect himself.

The 16-year-old, who was arrested and bailed, told police he had been stabbed before in attacks involving Kyall, from Thornton Heath in south London.

In November, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick revealed that stabbings had risen by more than 15 per cent in London during 2017.

We also know that many of the perpetrators of violent crime are also victims of violent crime and vice versa, she added.

DI Titterrell said the Tulse Hill investigation was ongoing but at this stage the Crown Prosecution Service had indicated that it would not charge the attacker with a homicide offence because of the real issue of self-defence.

The inquest was opened and adjourned to a date to be fixed.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. 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The killing came amid a spate of unrelated attacks that saw three other young men stabbed to death during Londons New Years Eve celebrations.

Meschak Dos Santos Cornelio, was stabbed in Enfield at around 11.30am, 20-year-old Taofeek Lamidi was killed in West Ham and Steve Frank Narvaez-Jara was attacked at a house party in Islington.

The bloodshed brought the number of fatal stabbings in London to 80 in 2017 and was followed by more killings in the first days of this year.

On 3 January, a 44-year-old Romanian woman, was found with fatal injuries in a street in Ilford.

Recommended Shopkeeper murdered for refusing to sell boys cigarette papers

A murder investigation has been launched in Chislehurst after an 18-year-old man was assaulted on Tuesday night and died of his injuries.

On Saturday, a shop assistant suffered deadly head injuries after being punched to the ground by a group of teenage boys angered because he would not sell them cigarette papers.

A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with the murder of 49-year-old Vijay Patel in Mill Hill.

He appeared at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Wednesday and is due to next appear at the Old Bailey on 12 January.

Detectives are continuing to appeal for information from potential witnesses and have released CCTV images of two other teenage boys they want to trace in relation to the attack.



Additional reporting by PA
The leader of far-right extremist group Britain First is to deny inciting hatred as the group faces a series of criminal cases.

Paul Golding is charged with threatening, abusive or insulting language at the Northern Ireland Against Terrorism that took place outside Belfast City Hall in August.

His deputy Jayda Fransen  who earned international notoriety after her anti-Islam Twitter posts were shared by Donald Trump  is also being prosecuted for her speech at the same event.

Mr Goldings barrister, Richard McConkey, told Belfast Magistrates Court that he would deny the charges during a brief appearance.

The 35-year-old defendant, from Anerley in south-east London, spoke only to confirm he understood the charges.

Supporters gathered in the public gallery and police were stationed outside for the second day in a row, following Ms Fransens hearing on Tuesday.

 Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen leaves court

Mr Golding had been arrested while supporting his deputy at a previous appearance at Belfast Magistrates Court in December.

He faces two charges of using words which were threatening, abusive or insulting and likely to stir up hatred or arouse fear or which were intended to do so.

A third person, understood to be 55-year-old far-right activist Paul Rimmer, from Liverpool, has also been charged over comments made at the same event.

The rally came on the day Irish republican protesters paraded in Belfast to mark the anniversary of internment - detention without trial - being introduced during the Northern Ireland conflict.

District judge Fiona Bagnall said Mr Goldings case will be reviewed on 26 January ahead of a trial due to start on 6 April - the same date as Ms Fransens.

The pair face separate legal action in England over their activities with Britain First, which posts incendiary videos on social media and became notorious for its invasions of supposedly Muslim-majority areas, mosques and shops.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

Thomas Mair, the far-right extremist who murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, repeatedly shouted "Britain first" while carrying out his brutal attack.

Britain First has enjoyed added prominence after the US President retweeted three Islamophobic videos posted by Ms Fransens Twitter account, which has since been suspended alongside Mr Goldings as part of a crackdown on hate speech.

Mr Trumps posts, championed as a mark of support by Britain First, sparked outrage and triggered an open row with Downing Street seeing Theresa May condemn his actions as wrong and the President tell her to focus on radical Islamic terrorism.

Britain First has since claimed that it received hundreds of new membership applications and said its Facebook posts were reaching hundreds of thousands more users.

The group is planning to hold a Rally for Trump outside the US Embassy in London to coincide with the President's working visit to the UK next month.



Additional reporting by PA
There will be a significant increase in targeted stop and searches by police in London as part of efforts to combat rising violent crime, Sadiq Khan has said.

The mayor said that although the controversial searches can cause tension, they are a vital tool for police to keep our communities safe.

He was speaking amid mounting concern over a rise in violence including stabbings, acid attacks and moped robberies, with four young men murdered in the capital on New Years Eve alone.

Writing in the Evening Standard, Mr Khan said their deaths brought the high brought on by celebrations crashing down, adding: What happened on New Years Eve wasnt an isolated event but part of a worrying trend of rising violent crime across Britain.

He noted that the first days of 2018 have seen further murders in London, as well as knife attacks in Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford and Birmingham.

Mr Khan said the Metropolitan Police was ramping up its fight against violent crime, adding: This will include a significant increase in the use of targeted stop and search by the police across our city.

I know from personal experience that when done badly, stop and search can cause community tensions.

Changes to stop and search - London Live

But when based on real intelligence, geographically focused and performed professionally, it is a vital tool for the police to keep our communities safe. It will let the police target and arrest offenders, take the weapons they carry off our streets and stop these attacks from happening.

Mr Khan called for stop and search to be used in an evidence-based and targeted manner in his 2016 election manifesto and first announced its use would increase in a knife crime strategy released in June.

Recommended Sadiq Khan accuses Government of driving violent crime rise with cuts

Amber Rudd gave her support to the move over the summer and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said officers would have her full backing.

Body-worn video cameras are also being rolled out in London in a bid to improve accountability and Scotland Yard has been running weapons sweeps and other operations aiming to take knives off the streets.

Commander Neil Jerome, of the Metropolitan Polices territorial policing division, said increasing stop and search was a hugely important police power for protecting Londoners.

He said the power resulted in more than 3,000 arrests for weapon possession and thousands of seizures every year, adding: The primary purpose of stop and search is to enable officers to either allay or confirm their suspicions about an individual without having to arrest them.

(ONS (ONS)

Effectiveness must therefore reflect where suspicion has been allayed and an unnecessary arrest, which is more intrusive, has been avoided; or where suspicion has been confirmed and the object is found or a relevant crime is detected.

There were more than 295,600 stop and searches carried out in the 2016/17 financial year  a rate of five per 1,000 people.

Police forces use of the powers has been declining over recent years following waves of national controversy and local tension, with last years total a mere quarter of that from 2011/12.

A watchdog found that 94 per cent of examined incidents had reasonable grounds or resulted in objects including drugs, weapons, stolen goods or evidence of other crimes being found.

But a report released in December warned that searches of black, Asian and ethnic minority people were still disproportionate and threatening public trust and confidence in the police.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMICFRS) found that black people are at least eight times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched, even though it is statistically less likely for drugs to be found.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA

Its report said the disparity suggests that the use of stop and search on black people might be based on weaker grounds for suspicion than its use on white people, adding that police forces have not sufficiently explained the reasons.

The National Police Chiefs Council said policy changes had made forces ensuring stop and search is used legitimately and fairly, causing fewer stops that are more effective.

At a conference for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners in November, several senior officers claimed some officers had become reluctant to use stop and search powers because they feared racism accusations, linking the fall to rising violent crime.

Over the past year the number of violent offences against the person rose by 19 per cent across England and Wales, and by just over three per cent in London.

Police forces have repeatedly called for increased funding to combat the increase, alongside the rising terror threat and other forms of demand resulting from cuts to other public services.

After repeatedly refusing the demands, the Government was heavily criticised for demanding that elected Police and Crime Commissioners increase the money taken from council tax to fill the gap.
A 43-year-old man who followed and blew kisses at a 13-year-old girl has been jailed for stalking.

Bahram Hekmat's conviction is thought to be the first of its kind, since the crime took place in a single 15-minute period.

Prosecutors have previously had to prove stalking happened on multiple occasions or was part of a pattern of behaviour in order to get a conviction.

Recommended Tory MP in bid to protect stalking victims with tougher police powers

After a four-day trial, Hekmat of Enfield, north London was found guilty of stalking involving serious alarm or distress by Wood Green Crown Court. He was jailed for nine months.

His victim was waiting at a bus stop in Enfield, when he pulled up in a car and started blowing kisses at her.

She then boarded a bus, but Hekmat followed. He then parked at a bus stop on Green Street when the 13-year-old got off.

He continued blowing kisses at her before threatening that he would continue to follow her if she did not return his advances, London's Metropolitan police said. He sped off only after the teenager told another person that he was harassing her.

After he mother called the police, investigators were able to identify Hekmat using his Hekmat by his car registration, which was caught on the bus's CCTV.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester Getty Images

Along with his prison sentence, he was also handed a 12-month supervision order and an indefinite restraining order that prevents him returning to the area of the crime.

The court case is likely to be used as a guide in future cases, Scotland Yard said.

Although stalking was made a specific criminal offence in 2012, is a difficult crime to prosecute because the term is not legally defined.

Victims are often let down by inconsistent services and poor understanding in the criminal justice system, with worrying failing at every stage, according to a recent report by the police and Crown Prosecution Service.

Hekmat's sentence "reflected "the seriousness of the offence committed," said Detective Constable Darren Barlow, who called it "a disgusting act of public indecency which has left a young girl shaken and very upset."

He added: "The effects of Hekmats behaviour continue to have a detrimental impact on the victim who at the time of the offence was just 13 years old."

Siwan Hayward, Transport for Londons Head of Transport Policing, added: Alongside the police we will eradicate unwanted sexual behaviour from public transport in London. This case sends a clear message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated and that offenders will be caught and brought to justice.
The head of the Army has been forced to defend accusations of political correctness over its new campaign that aims to recruit people from a greater diversity of backgrounds.

The 1.6m recruitment drive features new radio, TV and online adverts that answer questions such as What if I get emotional? and Do I have to be a superhero?

During an interview on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, General Sir Nick Carter responded to the criticism by telling presenter Nick Robinson the Army needed to appeal to people beyond young, white men.

In a veiled attack on the BBCs gender pay divide, the general said unlike the corporation, his organisation did not have different pay scales for anybody.

Mr Robinson had told him some people were worried over suggestions the Army could no longer use the word manpower because it was sexist and reports people were being discouraged from calling officers sir.

General Carter said: You are always going to get people arent you, who make mountains out of mole hills. I happen to be very proud of the fact the British Army really does respect the background, the ethnicity, the gender of anybody.

BBC Wages Show all 11 1 /11 BBC Wages BBC Wages Graham Norton PA BBC Wages John Humphrys pa BBC Wages Huw Edwards PA BBC Wages Steve Wright PA BBC Wages Laura Kuenssberg PA BBC Wages Alan Shearer PA BBC Wages Andrew Marr Getty BBC Wages Danny Dyer Getty BBC Wages Adam Woodyatt Getty BBC Wages Peter Capaldi PA BBC Wages Alex Jones

We are the sort of employer, who incidentally I might say, Nick, dont have different pay scales for anybody in our Army. They are the same whatever your gender might be.

Touche, Mr Robinson said in reply.

The This is belonging 2018 campaign aims to tackle a recruitment crisis by encouraging more people from a variety of genders, sexualities, ethnicities and religions to sign up.

But retired colonel Richard Kemp told BBC Breakfast the campaign would not help increase the numbers of service members.

A frame from a British Army recruitment advert that asks What if I get emotional in the Army? (British Army)

The Army, like the rest of government, is being forced down a route of political correctness, he said. What is most important is that the Army is full of soldiers. It is of secondary importance that they reflect the composition of society.

He continued: The main group of people who are interested in joining arent worried so much about whether they are going to be listened to  they are going to be attracted by images of combat.

But General Carter insisted the campaign was a reflection of the changing demography of the country and an appropriate attempt to reach out to a broader base.

Combat ethos and fighting power remain the British Armys highest priority, he said.

This campaign is a recognition that we dont have a fully manned army at the moment, that the demography of our country has changed, and that we need to reach out to a broader community in order to man that army with the right talent.

 New Army ad criticised for 'neglecting main group of people interested in joining'

In one animation, which highlights emotional support, a voiceover says: "Man up. Grow a pair. It feels like, as a man, you can never express your emotions. I thought joining the Army would be a thousand times worse. That any sign of emotion would be a sign of weakness. That wed have it ripped out of us.

But once you are in, you realise no one is a machine. The Army is family. Ive probably told them things I wouldnt tell my own family. Theres always someone there to talk to.

Other videos on YouTube, focusing on Army belonging and inclusivity, ask Can I practise my faith in the Army? and Will I be listened to in the Army?

In the year to April 2017, 12,950 recruits joined the regular armed forces, but 14,970 service personnel left in the same period.

General Carters criticism of the BBC came after Carrie Gracie, the broadcasters China editor, quit over what she said was a secretive and illegal pay culture that discriminated against women.

The journalist, who worked for the BBC for more than 30 years, said it faced a crisis of trust after breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure.

The BBC told The Independent it had already conducted an independent judge-led audit of pay for rank-and-file staff which showed no systemic discrimination against women.

Additional reporting by PA
A whole pack of hunting hounds in pursuit of both a fox and deer thundered through an animal sanctuary, displacing more than 60 terrified animals during their evening feed.

The pack of hounds tore through the Celia Hammond Animal Trust, which provides shelter for 130 rescued animals, many of which are unwell and or in the later years of life and difficult to rehome.

The shelter mainly cares for cats, 60 of which fled the chaotic scene as volunteers and police both battled to chase the pack of hounds away from the cats on Monday.

Celia Hammond with rescue cats at her 100-acre sanctuary in East Sussex (Harry Cockburn)

The charity sanctuary in Hastings, Sussex, is still missing many of its animals that are believed to have fled into nearby woods to escape the hunt.

Volunteers described a terrifying scene as a whole pack of dogs ran through the area as the cats ate with dogs running everywhere, completely out of control, with cats fleeing in all directions.

If anything has happened to any of my animals, there will be hell to pay, said Celia Hammond, a former model, who runs the charity which bears her name. Celia Hammond Animal Trust has a number of centres across London and the South East, which looks after cats and finding them suitable homes to be adopted into.

The sanctuary in Sussex is home to 130 cats, who live there full time. Given the usual safety of its rural surrounding the cats are free to roam around the 100 acres of idyllic woodland and fields which surround the sanctuary.

The East Sussex and Romney Marsh hunt, whose hounds strayed into the sanctuary (Alamy)

In the wake of the incident volunteers described many of the animals as being traumatised.

It looked like a whole pack of hounds had split into two, she said. Half of them went after a fox, and half after a deer. And then they were coming into the sanctuary from all different areas  theyve got their horns, they were in full cry. They were after the fox and after the deer.

After the hunt left the area, 60 cats were missing. Overnight, staff and volunteers searched for the animals amid heavy rain. Many of the missing returned during the night, but some are still unaccounted for and Celia fears they may have been killed.

The sanctuary is home to over 100 cats. A team of volunteers has been searching for missing animals (Harry Cockburn)

There was 21 missing at the last count, said Ms Hammond. We dont know whats happened to them. Its absolutely outrageous  Im so angry, Im so upset, she said. We bring these cats down to whats supposed to be a sanctuary, where theyre supposed to be safe.

If theyve got health problems or theyre old and a bit doddery, we keep them here safely. For this to happen in the place where theyre supposed to be safe  we just feel violated.

Ms Hammond said that the volunteers who were trying to chase the dogs from the grounds had been offered money by members of the hunt to help.

Representatives for the East Sussex and Romney Marsh hunt admitted that its members had found themselves on the sanctuarys grounds, but said that the dogs hadnt come into contact with the animals. They claim that they left as soon as they could. Gerald Sumner, a member of the hunt, said that the hounds had been rounded up and taken away quickly and hadnt interacted with the cats.

A spokesperson said the dogs were following a trail elsewhere but "a few" had found their way into the sanctuary.

Police attended the sanctuary, helping to remove the dogs and checking whether any offence had been committed.

We had a call at 4pm on Tuesday 9 January about some hounds which had inadvertently strayed on to a property at Stubb Lane, Brede, near Rye, a police spokesperson said. The hounds were rounded up by the hunt staff with police assistance.

The huntmaster apologised to the property owner, and there has been no report of any injury or damage or of any criminal offence being committed.

The cats live in purpose-built accommodation and are free to roam the extensive grounds (Harry Cockburn)

Ms Hammond confirmed that she and the sanctuary were yet to make a complaint. But that was because she and the volunteers have been busily searching for the lost animals, she said.

We havent made a complaint because weve had other priorities  this wasnt our first priority, she said. Our first priority was to find the cats, who might be lying dead in the undergrowth.

 Fight erupts between hunters and hunt 'saboteurs'

Last year, a member of the same hunt was filmed whipping an animal rights activist during a fox hunt and launching a foul-mouthed rant at them. It is also not the first time hunters have disrupted an animal sanctuary  in August, a Somerset and Devon hunt chased a stag through a shelter.

A spokesperson for the hunt involved confirmed that its dogs had been involved in the incident, though said that it was "not aware of any missing animals or injuries" and that only a few dogs had veered off their course.

"We can confirm that hounds met at Udimore, near Rye on 9th January and were legally trail-hunting throughout the day to comply with the Hunting Act 2004," a spokesperson said. "Although nobody from the hunt witnessed hounds following anything other than their original trail, it is suspected that a few hounds might have deviated from their trail onto the scent of a live quarry which they followed into the wildlife sanctuary. The hunt staff immediately removed the hounds from within the confines of the sanctuary with the help of the police who were also called.

"The huntsman apologised to the owners right away for any inconvenience caused and mutually agreed with the owners that the hunt would repair any damage to fencing if any had occurred, although there was none visible at the time. The hunt is not aware of any missing animals or of any injuries caused during this unfortunate incident."
Julian Assange could be kicked out of Ecuador's embassy in London after the country's foreign minister said the situation was "not sustainable."

The WikiLeaks founder was granted asylum in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape allegations, and has been holed up in Knightsbridge for five-and-a-half years.

Swedish prosecutors have dropped their investigation into the allegations, but Mr Assange, who denied the allegations, fears he will be extradited to the United States if he leaves the building and that there is a sealed indictment ordering his arrest.

WikiLeaks published thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents, in one of the largest information leaks in US history.

 Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy - a timeline

Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador's foreign minister, said her country was now seeking possible mediation to resolve the impasse, which she called "not sustainable."

"We're considering, exploring the possibility of a mediation," she said, adding that a third country or person could lead a potential mediation.

"No solution can be reached without international cooperation and without cooperation from the United Kingdom, which in addition has shown interest in finding a solution."

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PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty

A United Nations panel concluded in 2016 Mr Assange was under arbitrary detention.

A statement by Mr Assange's legal team said: "The UN ruling, issued almost two years ago, is crystal clear in its language, Mr Assange is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained by the UK authorities and must be released.

"The UK should not permit itself to be intimidated by the Trump administration's public threats to 'take down' Mr Assange."

A UK Government spokesman said: "The Government of Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice."
Meghan Markle has closed her social media accounts, Kensington Palace confirmed.

Markle, who spent Tuesday afternoon visiting a Brixton community radio station with fiance Prince Harry, shut down her Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The palace said she was "grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years" but had closed them "as she has not used these accounts for some time".

 Ann Widdicombe says Meghan Markle is 'trouble'

Recommended Woman who took iconic royal photo speaks out about global attention

The decision to close her social media accounts is in line with her changing status, as she will soon become a member of the royal family when she marries Harry in May.

Senior members of the monarchy have official Twitter and Instagram accounts, run by the social media teams of their households, which do not normally feature personal tweets or posts.

The exception is the Duke of York who sometimes writes tweets himself but signs them "AY".

 Royal Wedding: What will Meghan Markle wear on her wedding day?

Markle will come under Kensington Palace after her wedding and social media postings will be made on her behalf by its communications staff.

In December 2017, the US actress had 1.9 million people following her posts on Instagram, and more than 350,000 Twitter followers.

Her Facebook page had almost 800,000 likes, according to BBC Online.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

Royal watchers were alerted to the growing importance of her relationship with Harry when Markle's social media postings began to trail off during 2017.

In April last year she shut down her lifestyle website The Tig.
A radio presenter slipped Prince Harry his business card in an effort to secure a DJ set at his wedding to Meghan Markle.

Jevanni Letford, a DJ for Reprezent radio, handed the royal his card as the couple visited the studios in Brixton, south London.

Footage of the interaction shows Prince Harry taking the card from Mr Letford and putting it in his pocket.

Well DJ at your wedding, Mr Letford shouts after Harry, who turns and grins.

The DJ then posted the clip to Twitter, with the caption: Just slipped Prince Harry the old business card in a bid to secure that #weddingdj gig.

Speaking to the Independent, Mr Letford said: "I DJ and present on Reprezent Radio and offered Prince Harry my business card as he entered the station.

"He smiled and exchanged glances with Meghan before slipping the card into his pocket."

He added he would let the royal couple choose the song for their first dance, if they agreed to let him DJ.

"If I could choose a song on their behalf, it would be Luther Vandross & Beyonce - The Closer I Get To You," Mr Letford said.

"Aside from that, I am confident that my track selections would have everyone on their feet from the Obamas to the Queen herself."

The DJs video has been watched hundreds of thousands of times, prompting him to launch a petition.

Whilst I await that call from @KensingtonRoyal and Prince Harry himself, Ive created a little petition to help further my chances, he wrote on Twitter.

Thanks to everyone who has shared my video, 250,000 views and counting! Didnt expect that!

The petition is campaigning for Prince Harry and Ms Markle to give Mr Letford a 30-minute DJ set at the wedding, to show and inspire young people to believe that anything is possible.

The Reprezent radio station set up a work programme a decade ago to try to tackle knife crime.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

The scheme provides hundreds of young people with media training and employment skills.

Prince Harry and Ms Markle are set to marry on 19 May at St Georges Chapel at Windsor castle.
Homelessness in the UK has soared in recent years, with MPs and charities have condemned the situation as a shameful state of affairs that is nothing short of a national crisis.

Over 79,000 households living in temporary accommodation  a rise of 65 per cent since 2010  and the number of rough sleepers on our streets up 134 per cent since 2011. More than 9,000 people are sleeping on our streets at any given time.

Yet while the public is increasingly aware that thousands of homeless people are forced to spend their nights in the cold, there remains confusion about how to help homeless people. More specifically, when we see somebody sitting on the side of the pavement, should we offer them money?

The views of charities and homeless support groups are mixed. While some advise against giving money directly to rough sleepers, warning that it can fuel addictions, other groups say giving money is often essential to helping homeless people buy the "bare necessities".

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army, which offers emergency accommodation on a night-by-night basis in some of their life houses, advises against handing money to the homeless, saying it risks "trapping" people in the "endless cycle" of homelessness and rough sleeping.

A spokesperson told The Independent: The causes of homelessness are very varied. Often there are several reasons for why someone becomes homeless  from relationship breakdown to mental health issues or job loss. Drugs and alcohol can play a part in homelessness, but it often comes as a result of becoming homeless.

Rough sleeping is dangerous and cold weather can be very tough for people who are homeless. If youre worried about someone sleeping rough there are a few things you can do. Buying a hot drink, some food or warm clothing like socks for someone sleeping rough can make a difference.

We applaud the generosity of the public in wanting to help people directly, but we recognise that providing cash can keep people trapped in the endless cycle of homelessness and rough sleeping, particularly for those who are also battling drugs and alcohol issues. Many homelessness charities, including ours, focus on looking at the root causes of homelessness and offer practical support  donating can help us with our work."

Jon Glackin, founder of Streets Kitchen

The founder of Streets Kitchen, a grassroots group that operates across the UK to provide soup kitchens and support for the homeless, is of a very different view.

Forty-seven-year-old John Glackin, who has been homeless himself, told The Independent the best way to help rough sleepers is to give them money directly, and that drug and alcohol addicts make up an "absolute minority" or homeless people.

I would say if you can afford to give money to a homeless person on the street, do it. That person may need that money to buy a jumper, or stay in a hostel. Were told all these scare stories, but if I gave a pound to a charity, how much of that money actually goes to that person?

It gives that person the choice. Of course we see spice heads, but theyre absolutely the minority. And if youre going to give someone out of their face money, you are a bit silly. Have a bit of common sense.

Its about peoples bare needs. They might need clothes, underwear. Hostels cost money. They may need to get out of town to go see someone, or get to a food bank. There is a myriad of reasons homeless people need money.

Dylan Stone, homeless man

Mr Stone, who is homeless in Barnstaple, says the money he is given on the street is essential to enabling him to afford basic things like cooking his own food and getting his clothes washed.

The 29-year-old told The Independent: "Money given to me in the streets either buys me my evening meal, gas for the mini cooker, a quick wash at the launderette.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

"Everything in this world seems to cost money, and organisations don't have everything. Most are also closed weekends, and most only give out one meal a day, once or twice a week."

Matthew Downie , director of policy at Crisis

National charity Crisis meanwhile says giving money to rough sleepers is a choice, with head of the charity Matthew Downie saying: Whether or not people give money to beggars is a personal decision.

"Not everyone who begs is homeless and not all homeless people will beg. Nevertheless, people who do beg are often some of the most vulnerable in our society, and many will be struggling with extreme poverty.
There are no British maritime patrol planes to monitor increasing activity by Russian submarines and other threats, new figures have shown.

The Government was accused of hollowing out the UKs defence capability after being forced to rely on Nato aircraft since it scrapped a project to replace its own ageing fleet.

In October, American and Canadian spy planes had to be deployed from an RAF base in Scotland to track a suspected Russian submarine.

The operation came as Michael Fallon, then the Defence Secretary, warned of an extraordinary increase in Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic.

He noted that Vladimir Putins government spends 4 per cent of its GDP on defence, compared to 2.1 per cent in the UK, adding: We should not ignore the international context.

New figures show 17 maritime patrol aircraft belonging to Nato allies were deployed to RAF Lossiemouth last year  eight from the US and others from Germany, France, Norway and Canada.

Martin Docherty-Hughes, a Scottish National Party MP who sits on the Defence Committee, obtained the information through a parliamentary question.

These figures reaffirm how disastrous the decision to chop up  quite literally  the RAFs Nimrod fleet in 2010 was, he said.

The Coalition Government scrapped a project to build new British Nimrod aircraft in 2010 (PA)

While we are always grateful for support from our allies, they must be acutely aware of the hollowing out of UK defence capability that this maritime patrol deficit highlights.

Coming in the same week that we hear the MoD is delaying the security review yet again, we have to ask if the Tories are taking the decisions to address the real threats we face.

I would like to hear them restate their commitment to purchasing all nine of the promised Poseidon P-8 aircraft.

Recommended Royal Navy intercepts Russian submarine heading for English waters

The Poseidon programme has itself been delayed, with planes previously scheduled to enter service in 2019 but now not due to start patrolling until 2020.

Maritime patrol aircraft are designed to undertake long journeys over water, on missions including reconnaissance and search and rescue.

The UK used Nimrod planes for the task for decades but a project to replace the fleet was scrapped by ministers in 2010 amid delays and rising costs.

Liam Fox, then the Defence Secretary, said the programme was almost 800m over budget and running seven years late when the new Government took office.

The single [Nimrod] MRA4 aircraft that had been delivered to the RAF was so riddled with flaws it could not pass its flight tests, it was simply unsafe to fly, he said. We took the decision not to throw good money after bad.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester Getty Images UK news in pictures 11 July 2021 England's Bukayo Saka with manager Gareth Southgate after the match Pool via Reuters UK news in pictures 10 July 2021 Australias Ashleigh Barty holds the trophy after winning her final Wimbledon match against Czech Republics Karolina Pliskova Reuters UK news in pictures 9 July 2021 England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the lastminute.com London Eye wearing a replica 1966 World Cup final kit and looking out towards Wembley Stadium in the north of the capital, where the England football team will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday PA

That scrappage programme itself cost 200m, angering campaigners who battled to save the new Nimrods.

There have been no British specialised maritime patrol aircraft since the last Nimrod left service in 2012, although some types of aircraft, including the Hercules and Sentry, can carry out some forms of surveillance.

Nato maritime patrol aircraft have been stationed at British bases ever since  a move critics say leaves the UK dangerously reliant on the goodwill of others for its own security.

In 2016, 37 foreign maritime patrol aircraft were temporarily deployed at RAF Lossiemouth, with 21 jets stationed there in 2015.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it has robust maritime surveillance in place.

We have robust, multi-layered maritime surveillance including both RAF and international allies aircraft, as well as sonar-fitted frigates and submarines, a spokesperson said.

For the future we are committed to investing 3bn into nine new P-8 Poseidon aircraft to patrol the seas from 2020.

Additional reporting by PA
Welsh people are being asked to give their views on smacking children as the country's government proposes to ban it.

Ministers said the change will send the message that hitting children is no longer acceptable. Current Welsh law allows parents to use physical punishment to admonish a child.

Launching a 12-week consultation on the issue, Wales' minister for children and social care, Huw Irranca-Davies, said the ban would be part of a wider package of measures to support children.

We want parents in Wales to be confident in managing their childrens behaviour without feeling they must resort to physical punishment, he said. If there is any potential risk of harm to a child then it is our obligation as a government to take action.

Legislation was introduced many years ago to stop physical punishment in schools and childcare settings  now is the time to ensure it is no longer acceptable anywhere.

Mr Irranca-Davies said he was aware there were differing views on the legislation, but the consultation would provide everyone an opportunity to have their say.

As a parent of three boys myself, I know being a parent can sometimes be a challenging experience, he added. "Children do not come with an instruction manual and sometimes parents need guidance and support to help them raise healthy and happy children."

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

He said it was now known that physical punishment could have negative long-term impacts on a childs life chances and was an ineffective punishment.

The new plans would also remove the defence of reasonable punishment from offences of battery and assault.

If the ban is brought in, Wales will become the second country in the UK to end the physical punishment of children, after Scotland announced similar plans.

A spokesman for NSPCC Cymru said the charity had long campaigned for children in Wales to have the same protection against assault as adults.

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We welcome the steps being taken towards removing the defence of reasonable punishment, he said. Doing so is a common-sense move which is about fairness and equality for children. It is wrong that a defence which does not exist in a case of common assault against an adult can be used to justify striking a child.

Closing this loophole will bring Wales in line with dozens of countries around the world and finally give our children equal protection under the law.

In Scotland, Green MSP John Finnie has introduced a Members Bill to Holyrood to remove the defence of justifiable assault in Scottish law. Ministers have already pledged to ensure the change is implemented.

Other countries that have already made the change include France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Ireland.

Press Association contributed to this report
The European Commission has proposed a new EU-wide tax on plastics to help plug a 20bn shortfall in the blocs finances after Britain leaves and stops making budget contributions.

Gunther Oettinger, the Commissioner for the EUs Budget, said the tax would be part of new financial resources available to the union and that the EU would also be making cuts to expenditure to finance new commitments and the revenue shortfall. Member states will also be asked to contribute more.

In additional to the new environment tax, officials are also suggesting moving the income from the blocs emissions trading scheme from member states to Brussels, arguing that this would be logical because the policy is set at the EU level.

We have two main problems  we have a gap on the revenue side, and a gap on the expenditure side. The revenue gap is because of Brexit: following a transition phase, we will have a situation where the UK, a large country and net contributor, are leaving the EU, Mr Oettinger told reporters in Brussels.

Then we have the expenditure gap, which is due to tasks not covered by the existing budgetary framework, which was decided in 2011, 2012, 2013. We have areas such as border control, defence, migration, internal and external security. We also have other areas such as development cooperation and research.

The commissioner ruled out deficit financing or borrowing to fund spending aruing that the EU should remain free of debt and that this means that every single euro spent must be financed by one euros worth of income.

Arguing in favour of the plastics tax, he said: In the interests of the worlds oceans, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the north Atlantic, in the interests of our living organisms in these seats - both mammals and sea animals we have to ensure that we reduce the quantity of plastic used in Europe.

This is why, as part of the package which we are going to be proposing in the next weeks, we will bring forward the possibility of introducing a tax on plastics to incentivise the reduced used of plastic packaging. This will be done via the introduction of a European tax on plastic.

Though likely to be a relatively small revenue generator, the plastic tax idea is significant because the European Commission currently has little in the way of its own revenue-raising powers  instead relying on member states. Details on how high the tax would be will be subject to discussion, with proposals due from the Commission in the coming weeks.

The new proposals came after a meeting of the European Commissioners, effectively the blocs Cabinet, on Wednesday morning in Brussels.

Gunther Oettinger, EU budget commissioner (EbS)

Brexit is set to leave a 13bn (11.5bn) annual funding gap because of the loss of the UKs contributions, while the Commission estimates that the bloc will have to find up to 10bn (8.8bn) a year to adequately deal with new challenges like migration.

The EUs current annual budget is around 105 billion a year, or 92.8 billion. The largest gross contributors ahead of the UK are Germany, France, and Italy, who contribute around 21 per cent, 16 per cent, and 14 per cent respectively. The UK contributes 13 per cent.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The UK had the second highest net contribution, however, behind Germany. Only nine of the 28 member states are net contributors to the redistributive budget.

On Monday Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, said the Commissions working hypothesis would be that our British friends will be leaving us and that future spending had to be planned accordingly.

The EU has annual budgets but to simplify proceedings the spending cap is agreed in blocs, known as the multiannual financial framework  which is binding on EU members.
Philip Hammond will tell EU leaders they must now make clear what they want from their relationship with Britain in the future, saying it takes two to tango.

In a speech to Germanys business leaders, the Chancellor will say European politicians who think it is only for the British to set out what the future holds are mistaken.

Only last night the EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier gave a speech in which he lamented that the UK was yet to set out more detailed proposals for a future trade arrangement.

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Both British and EU negotiators are now gearing up for the first round of Brexit talks in 2018, which will focus on determining the terms of the transition period between, likely to be between 2019 and 2021.

Mr Hammond will say in Berlin: They say it takes two to tango. Both sides need to be clear about what they want from a future relationship.

I know the repeated complaint from Brussels has been that the UK hasnt made up its mind what type of relationship it wants.

But in London, many feel that we have little, if any, signal of what future relationship the EU27 would like to have with a post-Brexit Britain.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

Mr Hammond will claim there has been a marked asymmetry between the enthusiasm from other countries to do post-Brexit trade deals with the UK, and the public silence from the continent on what the EU wants.

He will say many EU opinion-formers see this as a question only for British politicians and will challenge the EU to send a message to the British people while they consider their options for the future.

Last night in Belgium Mr Barnier gave a speech which urged greater clarity from the British on its position for future trade.

 EU preparations for a no deal Brexit are damaging UK interests, according to David Davis

He said: What kind of future relationship does the UK want with the European Union?

We don't yet have the answer to this question. However, we can proceed by deduction, based on the Union's legal system and the UK's red lines.

By officially drawing these red lines, the UK is itself closing the doors, one by one.
European leaders have been told to avoid creating unnecessary barriers to trade between the EU and the UK after Brexit.

Chancellor Philip Hammond and Brexit Secretary David Davis have made a pitch to German business leaders, where they called for a bespoke post-Brexit trade deal with the EU which would be the most ambitious in the world.

The Cabinet ministers launched a charm offensive with trips to Germany on Wednesday, which came after EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told European companies to start preparing for increased friction in trade with the UK.

Recommended David Davis consults lawyers over EU preparations for no deal Brexit

In a joint article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, Mr Hammond and Mr Davis said: As two of Europes biggest economies, it makes no sense to either Germany or Britain to put in place unnecessary barriers to trade in goods and services that would only damage businesses and economic growth on both sides of the Channel.

German exports to Britain are worth 113bn per year  amounting to a quarter of all EU exports  while trade between the UK and EU 27 is worth 750bn a year.

In the joint article the two Cabinet ministers acknowledged that Germany and other EU members want to protect the integrity of the single market and that without all the obligations of EU membership third countries cannot have all the benefits.

But they insisted that those priorities are not inconsistent with ours, a deep and special partnership with our closest trading partners and allies.

The Government has made it clear that the UK wants a bespoke trade deal covering both goods and services after Brexit, with the UK leaving the single market and customs union.

Mr Davis has previously told MPs that he wants the deal to deliver the exact same benefits that the UK has as a member of the EU.

The pair said negotiators should not restrict ourselves to models and deals that already exist, rejecting Brussels view that a Canada-style free-trade deal was the only available option for the UK if it leaves the single market.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

Both ministers called for financial services to be covered by the new economic partnership  despite opposition to this idea from Brussels  and called for a deal that supports collaboration within the European banking sector, rather than forcing it to fragment.

In a speech on Tuesday, Mr Barnier said a trade deal could include regulatory co-operation on financial services but he warned that the EU would not be willing to give up protections drawn up in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Ministers have proposed further changes to Theresa Mays critical piece of Brexit legislation in a bid to ward off further defeats at the hands of Tory rebels.

Among the proposals are those they say will limit their scope to use so-called Henry VIII powers that would allow them to change laws without full parliamentary scrutiny after the UK leaves.

It comes after the Government suffered an embarrassing defeat when rebels led by former attorney general Dominic Grieve voted with Labour to force Ms May to give Parliament a greater say over the final deal she agrees with the EU.

Brexit Minister Steve Baker insisted on Tuesday that the new changes being proposed, consisting of a series of amendments to the EU (withdrawal) Bill, were not a climbdown.

He said: This is a landmark piece of legislation which is paving the way for our smooth departure from the EU. Thats why our consistent approach to the Bill has been to listen and work with MPs whove made constructive suggestions to improve it.

In bringing forward these amendments today, were showing the seriousness with which we take Parliaments views. Were looking forward to hearing the debate on these, and further amendments tabled by others, next week.

Mr Grieve had an appointment at Downing Street on Tuesday to discuss the changes with senior members of the Government.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

The Bill will see all EU legislation affecting the UK, transferred on to British statute books on the day of Brexit, and will then grant ministers sweeping powers to alter it without full scrutiny in order to tidy up loose ends or anomalies.

But MPs across the House of Commons have raised concerns that unless the powers are restricted to a greater degree than initially proposed, ministers may use them to make deeper changes without having to properly consult Parliament.

Changes being proposed would include limits on ministers powers to use the Henry VIII powers  in particular by providing an exhaustive list of situations in which this power can be used.

 Tory rebellion leads to defeat of Government over Brexit amendment

An extension of three months after the date of Brexit will be granted for people wishing to launch court cases over alleged breaches of the general principles of EU law.

Meanwhile, a further proposal states that devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will have to consult with the UK Government, rather than seeking its consent, before using correcting powers to amend EU rules as they are transferred to domestic law.

The Bill survived its committee stage with only one Government defeat, and will return to the Commons for its final report stage and third reading on January 16 and 17 before moving on to the House of Lords, where it is expected to face tough scrutiny.
Privately-educated politicians make up more of Theresa Mays new Cabinet than her last one and ministers are now five times more likely to have gone to a fee-paying school than the general population.

More than a third (34 per cent) of ministers received a private education, compared with 30 per cent in the previous team, according to analysis by the Sutton Trust educational charity.

It found that just four in 10 of the new Cabinet were educated in comprehensive state schools. That figure has dropped by 3 per cent since the Prime minister announced her first Cabinet in July 2016, the analysis shows.

Despite an increase in ethnic minority and female ministers, this progress cannot distract from the hard reality that places in the Cabinet remain largely the preserve of the privately educated, said Dr Lee Elliot Major, the Sutton Trust's chief executive.

Critics however, claimed that the rise in Cabinet ministers with a private education meant that the Government could not accurately reflect the experiences of ethnic minorities in Britain.

The analysis shows that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of the current Cabinet attended selective state schools  significantly higher than David Camerons 2015 Cabinet, when the figure stood at 7 per cent.

Nearly half (48 per cent) of the new Cabinet went to either Oxford or Cambridge University, an increase of 4 per cent from Ms May's first Cabinet.

(Sutton Trust (Sutton Trust)

However, 50 per cent of ministers in Mr Cameron's 2015 Cabinet had attended those institutions.

Comparing the current proportion of privately educated Cabinet members to previous cabinets over time, 62 per cent of the coalition 2010 cabinet received a private education. In earlier cabinets under Conservative Prime Ministers the figure was higher, at 71 per cent under John Major in 1992 and 91 per cent under Margaret Thatcher in 1979).

Privately educated ministers in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's Cabinet's meanwhile, made up of 32 per cent of their cabinets, while 25 per cent of former Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlees first Cabinet in 1945 attended public school.

(Sutton Trust (Sutton Trust)

Dr Lee Elliot Major, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, said the increased number of privately educated Cabinet ministers was disappointing, saying it indicates that people from low and middle class backgrounds are still largely required to pay for their education in order to get to the top.

He said: Theresa May made great progress in the composition of her first cabinet, so it is disappointing that yesterdays reshuffle means that progress has reversed a little. The Prime Ministers Cabinet has to reflect the society that they represent and this is a step in the wrong direction.

Anyone should be able to become a minister, regardless of social background. Todays figures remind us how important it is to make sure that young people from low and middle income backgrounds also have access to the best schools and the best universities that will enable them to get to the top of so many of our professions which remain largely the preserve of the privately educated.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. 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The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

Dr Wanda Wyporska, executive director of The Equality Trust, meanwhile told The Independent it was clear that despite the Prime Minister wanting a Britain that works for everyone, we remain a Britain ruled by an elite minority.

She added: While a great deal of attention has gone to the increase in women and ethnic minorities being promoted, we must not be distracted from the hard reality, that ... there's one minority that is hoarding positions in the cabinet, the judiciary, and the media and that's the privately-educated.

In light of the apparent collapse of the Social Mobility Commission, this ought to be a wake-up call for the Government. We call upon the Government to appoint individuals to the Commission with experience of a variety of social backgrounds.

This matters because it is yet another indicator of the huge inequality that is rife in the UK, and as we know, in countries with higher levels of inequality, we also see higher levels of mental ill health, physical health and less social mobility.

Omar Khan, director of the Runnymede Trust, said that while it was "pleasing" to see a significant rise in the number of ethnic minority ministers, he was concerned that the Cabinet was still dominated by privately educated people.

This not only doesnt reflect the nature of Britain in terms of class, but also doesnt accurately reflect the experiences of ethnic minorities in Britain either, who as Ms Mays recent racial disparity audit showed, still experiences significant inequalities," he told The Independent.

The Conservative Party does deserve credit for promoting ethnic minorities. As recently as 2010 they only ever had four ethnic minority MPs in their history, and now there are nine ethnic minority ministers. But theres still a long way to go and part of it is this point around private schools and race.

More ethnic minorities are poor and working class, so if the route of an ethnic minority candidate getting a seat and then getting a job around the table is also through private or selective schools, then theres a long way to go before they are represented."
Theresa May has promoted a staunch eurosceptic MP to the Governments Brexit Department who previously said leaving the European Union with no deal would be great for Britain.

In July last year, shortly after becoming the chair of the European Research Group, Suella Fernandes said she believed getting trade deals with Europe would be eminently possible, but that the UK could prosper even if no deal is reached  an eventuality economists have suggested would be a disaster for the country.

Speaking to Conservative Home, she said: In the event of no deal thats great as well for us. The ideal is a free trade agreement but in the event of that not working, no deal is something we will capitalise on using our strengths and the opportunities that brings.

She has previously said that in 15 years time, Brexit will be seen as the best thing that has happened to our country.

Ms Fernandes, who became MP for Fareham at the 2015 general election, has been made a junior Brexit minister.

The MP is also chairman of the influential European Research Group, a pro-Brexit group of around 60 Tory MPs, which has put pressure on Ms Mays administration not to soften its stance in negotiations with Brussels.

Ms Fernandes will join Brexit Secretary David Daviss team along with two other junior ministers who will be invited to brief the Cabinet on Brexit implementation plans, including preparations for leaving the EU with a trade deal or without a deal.

But despite Ms Fernandes appointment, Conservative MPs are believed to be angry with the Prime Minister after she reportedly rowed back on plans to put a dedicated no deal minister into the Cabinet at the last minute, during her reshuffle on Monday.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that no deal is better than a bad deal.

But the European Commission has also warned the UK there will be serious consequences for a broad range of industries in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

A no-deal scenario would affect drug legislation and pharmaceutical supply chains; aviation companies, which must have their headquarters in EU countries to fly passengers and luggage around Europe; haulage companies which must obtain trade certifications from an EU member state; the fishing industry, which will lose licenses to operate; and there is considerable legislation for the agriculture, food and drink industries to wade through, in order to continue trading legally.

A spokesman for the Brexit department said: "Suella Fernandes has an excellent track record both as a barrister and as an MP, and brings with her a thorough understanding of both the European Union and the Brexit negotiations.

She is joining a team that is committed to securing a smooth transition out of the EU, which maximises the opportunities this will bring while ensuring the country regains control of its laws, money, borders and trade.

"The Minister has made it clear that a future partnership is in the interests of both sides, so we approach these negotiations anticipating success.

"But while we do not want or expect a no-deal, it is right that we prepare for all potential outcomes."
The Government has rejected MPs pleas for stronger checks to prevent future prime ministers from replicating Tony Blairs rush into the Iraq War.

Calls were made for greater safeguards on decisions of national importance after the Chilcot report into the 2003 invasion found the former Prime Minister had excluded senior colleagues from crucial judgements and bypassed officials when he told US President George Bush: I will be with you, whatever.

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) said it was disappointed that the Government had rebuffed key demands for greater scrutiny, after the MPs found that it was still too easy for a prime minister to disregard cabinet procedures.

PACAC said: The committee is disappointed with the Governments response given the clear evidence of the need for improvements to public inquiries and government decision-making that the committee received.

It is particularly concerned about the Governments failure to accept the case for stronger safeguards to ensure proper collective consideration by the Cabinet on decisions of national importance.

A critical Commons report into lessons learnt from the Chilcot investigation originally warned that the Iraq War left an indelible scar on British politics and said that for many, the Chilcot inquiry fails to provide closure on the Iraq issue.

It also urged MPs to reflect on how Parliament could have been more critical and challenging of the government at the time and noted the seriousness of the case made by Dr Glen Rangwala, a Cambridge University politics lecturer, that Mr Blair deliberately misled the Commons.

The report said the cabinet secretary  the head of the civil service  should be able to formally object to a decision if it has not been taken following the correct route, and ask a prime minister to write a formal letter if they wanted to dodge proper procedure.

Such a letter could then be shown to other cabinet ministers or privy councillors, which would deter leaders from acting inappropriately.

However, the Government insisted there was not an absence of safeguards and any extra checks risked bringing in a degree of unnecessary antagonism between officials and the prime minister.

It also rejected MPs calls for greater parliamentary oversight on the timetable and budget of public inquiries, after the Chilcot probe ran for nearly seven years, rather than the expected two years.

The Government said the current approach provided the appropriate balance of responsiveness and flexibility, as inquiries often needed to be set up quickly to deal with issues of urgent public concern.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

Changes introduced since the Iraq War, such as the creation of the National Security Council, had helped deal with situations like group think, the Government said.

The Government said: It is inconceivable today that we could take a premeditated decision to commit combat troops without a full and challenging discussion in the National Security Council, on the basis of full papers, including written legal advice, prepared and stress-tested by all relevant departments, with decisions formally minuted.

It also said lessons had been learnt from Iraq investigation, such as a wide use of the Chilcot checklist across Whitehall, which encourages civil servants to look at decision-making with reference to the failures highlighted by the inquiry.
Peers have inflicted a defeat on the Government in the House of Lords demanding Theresa May launch a second phase of the Leveson inquiry into the behaviour of the press.

The upper chamber voted by 238 votes to 209, defeating the Government with a majority of 29. It calls on the Government to investigate corporate governance and management failures in the press.

The crossbench amendment to the Data Protection Bill  supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats  aims to hold a second phase of the Leveson inquiry, following the first that was set up by David Cameron in 2011.

Supporters of the move argued it was needed amid claims of ongoing press abuses while opponents said it amounted to harassment of the media.

While the vote could be overturned when the legislation returns to the Commons, the newly-appointed Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said: House of Lords have just voted to restrict press freedoms.

This vote will undermine high quality journalism, fail to resolve challenges the media face and is a hammer blow to local press. We support a free press and will seek to overturn these amendments in the Commons.

Following the vote Tom McNally, a Liberal Democrat peer, said the Conservatives have been halted in their shameless disregard for the private lives of those violated by the press going too far.

He added: This victory will send a message to those whose privacy was trampled on by press hacking and other criminality that we are serious about protecting their rights.

The Tories have clamoured about attacks on press freedoms but this is just a bogus smokescreen to try and shield press barons from independent oversight. This is a step in the right direction towards protecting freedoms and privacy.

The chamber also backed by 211 votes to 200, majority 11, a controversial measure which would see newspapers not signed up to a state-supported regulator pay their own and their opponent's legal costs in relation to alleged data protection breaches, even if they were successful in court.

This was despite warnings the move was unlawful and was effectively blackmail of the media.

The successful challenges came during the report stage of the Data Protection Bill, which will bring the European Union's general data protection regulation (GDPR) into domestic law, helping Britain prepare for Brexit because it will mean the systems are aligned when the UK leaves the bloc.

It also aims to make it simpler for people to control how companies use their personal details, with extra powers for the information watchdog to issue much larger fines.
Theresa May has apologised unreservedly for attacking a Labour frontbencher for not being in the Commons, even though she was absent because she was receiving medical treatment.

Speaking at the first Prime Ministers Questions session of 2018, Ms May referred to comments made by Angela Rayner in a recent interview that Labours economic plans for major increases in state spending as a high-risk shit-or-bust strategy.

What would we see from the Labour party? Ms May asked MPs gathered in the Commons. We have turned the economy around from the recession that the Labour party left us. What do we know about the Labour partys economic policies?

Well we told all about them from the description from the Shadow Education Secretary, who I see is not on her place on the frontbench today.

But it was quickly pointed out to the Prime Minister that Ms Rayner is currently undergoing medical treatment.

I do apologise, the Prime Minister replied. I didnt realise Mr Speaker. I did not realise the Shadow Education Secretary was herself undergoing medical treatment  I apologise unreservedly.

But I do have to say she did describe the economic policies of the Labour party in unparliamentary terms. It did include the word bust but she did say the Labour partys economic policy was high-risk.

After Ms May apologised for a misguided attack on Ms Rayner, questions were asked of both her spokesman and Jeremy Corbyns as to whether Tory whips were made aware of the reason for the Labour frontbenchers absence.

The PMs spokesperson said he was unaware whether conversations had been had or not. But Labour sources suggested a pairing arrangement had been made  when an MP from one party agrees not to vote, because an MP from the other party cannot make it to the House for legitimate reasons.

Mr Corbyns spokesman later said: As I understand it, they were informed.

The Conservative whipping operation has been under the spotlight since the defeat on the EU (withdrawal) Bill last year.

During the interview last week with the Spectator, Ms Rayner, tipped as a rising star within the Labour Party, said: We are in different times, radical times where we need to have a real investment in Britains future. Genuinely  I dont mean that as a slogan, I mean it as an economic strategy.

Its a bit of a shit-or-bust strategy, I get that. Its a high-risk strategy. But all of Britains great advancements in the past have been because weve had the gumption to take a risk.

During the session Ms May also reiterated her apology to patients affected by the winter pressures on the health service, including to the tens of thousands who have seen their operations cancelled, as she defended the preparations.

But the Labour leader said the Prime Minister had recognised there is a crisis in the NHS because she initially wanted to sack Jeremy Hunt, who ultimately survived the reshuffle and saw social care added to his portfolio.
 Close Jeremy Corbyn attacks Theresa May over private healthcare in PMQs

Theresa May was accused of being "too weak" to sack her Health Secretary as warnings over the NHS winter crisis dominated the first Prime Minister's Questions of the year.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn focused all six of his questions on challenges in the health service, after hospitals were told to defer around 55,000 routine operations and potentially millions of outpatient appointments to free up capacity for the sickest patients.

He also mocked Ms May for failing to get rid of Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, who was widely thought to be in line for a move during the reshuffle but kept his job, and expanded his remit, after reportedly refusing to budge.

Recommended May tries to sidestep more trouble over Brexit Bill with new proposals

The two-day reshuffle - aimed at ridding her top team of its pale, male and stale image - saw a raft of new MPs promoted to junior ministerial positions. However Ms Mays efforts to shake up the top tier stalled when senior ministers, including Mr Hunt and Justine Greening, until then the Education Secretary, declined other jobs.

MPs also debated opposition day motions on the NHS and the railways, while Labours motion demanding that the Government releases extra cash to combat the crisis passed in the Commons without a vote.

See below for live updates
Ethiopias parliament has given the green light to legislation banning the adoption of children by foreigners.

MPs said orphans and other vulnerable children should be cared for and supported by local systems, in order to protect them from abuse abroad.

The vulnerability of children adopted by foreign families has been in debate since 2011, when a 13-year-old girl died in the care of her adoptive parents in the US.

The move has proved largely popular, although some have suggested the services available in Ethiopia do not meet the needs of such children.

In 2016, Denmark banned all adoptions from Ethiopia, stating Ethiopian adoption agencies often gave inconsistent information on the origins of children within the system, which could lead to trafficking cases.

Danish social and interior minister at the time, Karen Elleman, said she did not have the confidence that adoptions from the country live up to the requirements we have in regards to the adoption process.

But the 2011 death of an Ethiopian girl in the US has dominated the recent debate on the subject.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Larry and Carri Williams, of Washington state, starved and beat Hana Williams, who they adopted in 2008, until she died in the backyard of their home.

Ms Williams was convicted of homicide by abuse in connection with the death of the girl.

The girls father, Mr Williams, was convicted of first-degree manslaughter.

Celebrity adoptions have also raised awareness of the practice. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are among those who have adopted children from Ethiopia, when in 2005 they adopted their daughter Zahara Marley.
A suspected rapist was with a severely injured private part after his pregnant victim bit his penis as she was sexually assaulted in front of her child, police in South Africa said as they launched a manhunt for him.

Investigators urged hospitals in the country to contact police if they had treated anyone with wounds to their genitals.

The woman was raped at knifepoint on 8 January after she accepted a lift from two men in order to get to a clinic in the eastern Mpumalanga province, along with her five-year-old child.

The men then threatened the woman at gunpoint, warning her not to scream, police said in a statement, adding that the men were driving a white Toyota Tazz near the town of White River.

She was then driven into bushes at a nearby plantation, where she was raped, the statement continued.

After biting her rapists penis, both men ran away, leaving mother and child alone in the bushes, Brigadier Leonard Hlathi told The Independent.

 New method helps protect women from HIV in South Africa

We are still hunting him, he added, when asked if a suspect had been identified.

Sexual assault remains a huge problem in South Africa, with 39,828 reports of rape recorded in 2016-17, according to fact-checking organisation Africa Check.

It was down slightly from 41,503 reported incidences the previous year.
A pastor at a megachurch in Tennessee was given a standing ovation by his congregation after admitting to a "sexual incident" with a high school student.

Andy Savage's confession at the Highpoint Church in Memphis came days after Jules Woodson, who was 17 at the time, accused him of sexually assaulting her in Texas 20 years ago.

In a blog post, Ms Woodson claims Mr Savage was driving her home when he took her to a wooded area and assaulted her.

Mr Savage, who said he had sinned and asked his church for forgiveness, did not give the congregation details of Ms Woodson's allegations.

He said before she went public with her story, he thought the issue had been "dealt with in Texas."

Until now, I did not know there was unfinished business with Jules, Mr Savage said, in remarks live streamed on the church's YouTube page.

Jules, I am deeply sorry for my actions 20 years ago. I remain committed to cooperate with you toward forgiveness and healing.

Ms Woodson said video of the apology and the standing ovation was "disgusting."

She told The New York Times the issue had not been "dealt with" at the time, as it had never been reported to police.

Mr Savage's upcoming book, The Ridiculously Good Marriage, has been cancelled by Christian publishing company Bethany House following the allegations.
At least 15 people have been killed after the first major storm to hit southern California this winter unleashed flooding and mudslides that toppled homes and prompted emergency rescues and evacuation orders in an area that just endured historically intense wildfires.

Long-awaited rain fell on a region left vulnerable to new forms of natural disaster after spending weeks ablaze, the type of pivot from weather hazard to weather hazard that is common to a state that periodically grapples with drought, flooding, earthquakes and wildfires. By Tuesday morning, some places in the greater Los Angeles area had seen more than 10 centimetres (4 inches) of rainfall.

Those heavy rains brought severe and sometimes-deadly consequences, including what one official called a catastrophic mud flow that hurtled onto Highway 101 early in the morning. Officials in Santa Barbara said at least 15 people had died, with at least 25 others injured, a number poised to grow as search-and-rescue operations continued.

It looked like a World War I battlefield. It was literally a carpet of mud and debris everywhere, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a press conference, describing a landscape littered with boulders, mangled cars and downed powerlines.

Houses were swept away, stretches of major roads were rendered inaccessible by inundating mud and rain and and people were ordered out of their homes in areas that last month were menaced and forced to evacuate by raging blazes.

Firefighters rescued scores of people who were trapped in vehicles and homes by water and debris, wading through waste-deep mud and avoiding downed wires. By the afternoon potentially dozens of people remained unaccounted for and first responders were at work evacuating hundreds of people trapped in a canyon.

We still have an active search-and-rescue operation, Mr Brown said, adding that several dozen homes were likely destroyed or severely damaged.

In Montecito, firefighters extracted a mud-coated 14-year-old girl from a collapsed home where she had been pinioned for hours.

I thought I was dead for a minute there, the girl could be heard saying on video posted by KNBC-TV before she was taken away on a stretcher.

Santa Barbara County spokesman David Villalobos told the Associated Press that all of the deaths were believed to have occurred in Montecito, a wealthy enclave of about 9,000 people northwest of Los Angeles that is home to such celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres.

California's Office of Emergency Services said it had deployed flood rescue teams to help pull people from the torrential cocktail of rainwater and mud.

Teams are actively engaged in life saving operations, the office said.

California mudslides: in pictures Show all 9 1 /9 California mudslides: in pictures California mudslides: in pictures Emergency personnel carry a woman rescued from a collapsed house REUTERS California mudslides: in pictures Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California AFP/Getty California mudslides: in pictures Emergency personnel rescue a 14-year-old girl from a house Santa Barbara County Fire Department/Handout via REUTERS California mudslides: in pictures A car piled up in debris EPA California mudslides: in pictures Emergency personnel carry a man covered in mud REUTERS California mudslides: in pictures Emergency personnel evacuate local residents and their dogs through flooded waters after a mudslide in Montecito REUTERS California mudslides: in pictures A damaged vehicle that was pushed by mudflow onto the US 101 Freeway EPA California mudslides: in pictures Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighters work admist flood waters EPA California mudslides: in pictures A semi-tractor trailer sits stuck in mud Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP

With several routes already shut down, authorities issued a shelter-in-place warning imploring people to avoid perilous roads.

Take protective actions to stay safe which may include sheltering-in-place or seeking high ground, avoiding power lines and trees, staying off roads and highways, and do not attempt to leave and drive across flowing water or mud, an alert warned.

Ellen DeGeneres posted a photo on Twitter of a roadway choked with mud and brown water.

This is not a river, DeGeneres wrote on Twitter. This is the 101 freeway in my neighborhood right now. Montecito needs your love and support.

Wildfires that scorched southern California for much of December  including an epic blaze that became the states largest  amplified the risk from winter storms, with fire-loosened soil threatening to surge forward when mixed with heavy rain.

Residents who spent much of last month being urged to stay off roads and warned of potential evacuation orders faced the same outcomes from a different cause.

Authorities in Santa Barbara County, north of Los Angeles, issued evacuation orders for areas that had burned  warning in an alert of heavy rain, high winds and extremely dangerous flash flooding, mud and debris flows,  and a local emergency declaration. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for areas charred by a pair of recent wildfires.

The intensity of the Thomas Fire left our mountains with little or no vegetation to prevent the slopes from sliding, the county declaration read, referencing the record-setting inferno that consumed some 280,000 acres. Hence, a critical watershed was burned, and following wildfire and the immediate approach of winter storms, the threat of flash floods and debris flows is now 10 times greater than before the fire  they can happen with little or no warning.
A US judge has blocked President Donald Trumps administration from ending a programme that shielded from deportation children brought to the United States illegally by their parents.

Trump decided in September to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme (DACA). US District Judge William Alsup ruled in San Francisco on Tuesday the programme must remain in place while litigation over Trumps decision unfolds.

The ruling came as Trump and US congressional leaders negotiated broad immigration reforms.

Alsups decision follows on from stands taken by other US judges to rein in Trumps immigration policies, striking down moves against sanctuary cities and limiting the scope of a ban against travel from some Muslim-majority counties.

The DACA programme has provided protection from deportation and the right to work legally to nearly 800,000 young people since it was authorised by President Barack Obama in 2012.

Several states, organisations and individuals have filed lawsuits seeking to protect DACA recipients, who are known as Dreamers.

Alsup said in his ruling the federal government did not have to process new applications from people who had never before received protection under the programme. However, he ordered the government to process renewal applications people who had previously been covered.

DACA gave them a more tolerable set of choices, including joining the mainstream workforce, Alsup wrote. Now, absent an injunction, they will slide back to the pre-DACA era and associated hardship.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman declined to comment, and representatives for the White House and the Department of Justice could not be reached immediately for comment.

Trump ran on a hardline immigration platform during the 2016 presidential election, promising to end DACA and strengthen border protections to increase jobs for US workers.

Reuters
White House officials believe Donald Trumps presidency would end if a probe into possible collusion with Russia even goes near his finances, the author of an expose on the President has claimed.

Michael Wolff  whose explosive book about the White House, Fire and Fury, provoked an outraged response from the president  said White House officials and others close to Mr Trump do not think he colluded with Moscow to win the 2016 election.

But, they do believe that if the probe explores his financial affairs it could unearth information that would fatally undermine his position.

People dont think in the White House  dont think that he colluded with Russia, Mr Wolff told CNBCs Squawk Box.

They do think that if the investigation goes near his finances, hes sunk. Everybody, again, to a man.

The comments come after it was reported in December that Deutsche Bank had provided the probe, led by special counsel Robert Mueller, with the bank records of affiliates of Mr Trump.

Deutsche Bank has known relationships with Russian oligarchs and other connections to Moscow, legal experts said.

The move suggests Mr Mueller and his team are indeed investigating the finances of people in Trumps inner circle.

When Mr Trump was asked by the The New York Times last year whether Mr Muellers probe would cross a red line if it expanded to look at his familys finances beyond any relationship to Russia, he said: I would say yes. I think thats a violation.

Mr Trump has maintained privacy around his familys business dealings and refuses to publish his tax returns, unlike other US leaders in recent history.

He has repeatedly denied allegations that his campaign colluded with Russians to help him win the 2016 Presidential election and has called the investigation a witch hunt.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

On the day Fire and Fury was published, President took to Twitter to call Mr Wolff a total loser and accuse him of making up stories to sell this really boring and untruthful book.

Mr Wolff defended his work in the Tuesday interview with CNBC, saying he had recordings to support his claims.

I am confident in everything that is in this book, he said.
A transgender woman and LGBT-rights advocate has been killed in what was reportedly the first murder of a transgender person this year.

Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, a trans beauty pageant organiser, was stabbed to death by her husband in their Massachusetts home, local police said. Her husband, Mark Steele-Knudslien, pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge and is being held without bail.

Mr Steele-Knudslien turned himself in to police on Friday night, telling them he had snapped after an argument with his wife and done something very bad, according to a police report. Police responded to the couples home and found Ms Steele-Knudsliens body wrapped in bedding and a tarp in the basement.

Recommended Trump ban rejected and transgender soldiers can enlist in US military

Mr Steele-Knudslien confessed to striking his wife with a hammer before stabbing her in the back, police said. A preliminary autopsy found Ms Steele-Knudslien had died from loss of blood, as well as multiple blunt force traumas to the head, according to the Berkshire District Attorneys Office.

Mr Steele-Knudslien's pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 7 February.

LGBT+ rights around the globe Show all 9 1 /9 LGBT+ rights around the globe LGBT+ rights around the globe Russia Russias antipathy towards homosexuality has been well established following the efforts of human rights campaigners. However, while it is legal to be homosexual, LGBT couples are offered no protections from discrimination. They are also actively discriminated against by a 2013 law criminalising LGBT propaganda allowing the arrest of numerous Russian LGBT activists. AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Brunei Brunei recently introduced a law to make sodomy punishable by stoning to death. It was already illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Mauritania Men who are found having sex with other men face stoning, while lesbians can be imprisoned, under Sharia law. However, the state has reportedly not executed anyone for this crime since 1987 Alamy LGBT+ rights around the globe Sudan Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Sudanese law. Men can be executed on their third offence, women on their fourth Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Saudi Arabia Homosexuality and gender realignment is illegal and punishable by death, imprisonment, whipping and chemical castration Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Yemen The official position within the country is that there are no gays. LGBT inviduals, if discovered by the government, are likely to face intense pressure. Punishments range from flogging to the death penalty Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Nigeria Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal and in some northern states punishable with death by stoning. This is not a policy enacted across the entire country, although there is a prevalent anti-LGBT agenda pushed by the government. In 2007 a Pew survey established that 97% of the population felt that homosexuality should not be accepted. It is punishable by 14 years in prison Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Somalia Homosexuality was established as a crime in 1888 and under new Somali Penal Code established in 1973 homosexual sex can be punishable by three years in prison. A person can be put to death for being a homosexual Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Iraq Although same-sex relationships have been decriminalised, much of the population still suffer from intense discrimination. Additionally, in some of the country over-run by the extremist organisation Isis, LGBT individuals can face death by stoning Getty

Ms Steele-Knudslien was known in her community for her transgender rights activism, friends told local news outlets.

A. Vickie Boisseau, a local activist and friend of Ms Steele-Knudsliens, told Mic that the two had organised the first-ever trans pride parade in neighbouring Northampton, Massachusetts. Friends also credited the 42-year-old with helping start the Miss Trans New England Pageant, which brought together transgender women from across the region.

Her thing was always that transgender women are beautiful and need a venue for trans women to be seen as beautiful, longtime friend Justin Adkins told the Associated Press.

 Summer camp for transgender children in California

LGBT rights organisation GLAAD paid tribute to Ms Steele-Knudslien on Twitter, claiming her death was the first alleged murder of a transgender person in 2018.

Violence against transgender people, especially trans women of colour, must receive more national media attention, the organisation wrote.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a fellow advocacy group, said they were deeply saddened by Ms Steele-Knudsliens death. Lambda Legal Transgender Rights Project Director Dru Levasseur called Ms Steele-Knudslien a powerful organiser and fierce activist.

She deserved better. She deserved life and happiness. Rest in Power, Christa, Mr Levasser said.

HRC documented at least 25 alleged murders of transgender people in 2017, making it deadliest year for transgender people in at least a decade. More than 100 transgender people have been killed in the last five years, the majority of whom were women.
Donald Trump's lawyer is suing BuzzFeed News for publishing the so-called "Steele dossier", which alleges ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials ahead of the 2016 election.

Michael Cohen also filed a second lawsuit against Washington research firm Fusion GPS, the company that hired former spy Christopher Steele to investigate Mr Trump's business dealings with Russia.

The dossier includes a number of salacious claims about the Trump campaign's ties to Russian officials, including allegations about Mr Cohen that have not been verified.

Both Mr Cohen's lawsuits claim the dossier contained "false and defamatory" allegations about him that resulted in "harm to his personal and professional reputation, current business interests, and the impairment of business opportunities," ABC News reported.

"Enough is enough of the #fake #RussianDossier," Mr Cohen tweeted on Tuesday. "Just filed a defamation action against @BuzzFeedNews for publishing the lie filled document on @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and me!"

BuzzFeed responded with a Twitter post saying the dossier continues to be the subject of investigations by Congress and intelligence agencies, was shown to two US presidents and described in detail by news outlets worldwide.

"Its interest to the public is obvious. This is not the first time Trump's lawyer has attacked the free press, and we look forward to defending our First Amendment rights in court," BuzzFeed said.

The lawsuits were not immediately available on online court resources.

It comes amid reports that Glenn Simpson, who leads Fusion GPS, testified in August that the FBI received intelligence from a "voluntary source" in Mr Trump's circle in 2016.

That was before Mr Steele gave the FBI his own dossier of allegations about collusion. Fusion GPS then hired Mr Steele to investigate Mr Trump's connections with Russia.

Some Republicans have been critical of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, claiming the initial FBI probe was triggered by Mr Steele's dossier.

They have raised questions about whether the FBI may have relied on the Steele document to improperly obtain surveillance warrants to spy on Mr Trump's campaign associates.

But Mr Simpson's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in August contradicted those claims.

"They had other intelligence about this matter from an internal Trump campaign source and ... they believed Chris' information might be credible," Mr Simpson testified. "I think it was a voluntary source, someone who was concerned about the same concerns we had."

Mr Simpson later said he was not sure if the FBI informant was from the Mr Trump's election campaign or the Trump Organisation, the president's real estate firm, which is now run by his two older sons.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate committee, released the testimony on Tuesday without Republican approval, in an apparent bid to neutralise Republican criticism of the Russia investigation.

Mr Trump has slammed the dossier as "bogus" and denies his campaign colluded with Russia.

Mr Trump and some Republicans have attacked both Mr Simpson's firm and Mr Steele in recent months and also questioned the impartiality of the FBI and the Justice Department in an apparent effort to discredit Mr Mueller's probe.

Mr Mueller's team has produced two indictments and two guilty pleas by former aides to Mr Trump's campaign.

Reuters contributed to this report
Muslims are expected to become Americas second largest religious group by the year 2040, a new estimates has suggested.

The Pew Research Center said there are currently 3.45 million Muslims in the US, which is approximately 1.1 per cent of the US population.

But the think tank said that in the next 22 years, Muslims will replace Jews as the nations second-largest religious group.

By 2050 the total number of Muslims is projected to reach 8.1 million.

Ihsan Bagby, an associate professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Kentucky and member of the advisory board for Pews 2017 survey, said that the US would have to come to terms with the fact that Islam is becoming an important part of the nations makeup.

I think a large number of Americans have come to accept that, but others have not, Mr Bagby told NBC News. "And were in this transition period where Islam is, to a large percentage of Americans, not really considered part of American society.

As problems in parts of Muslim world continue, he added that people were more likely to try and immigrate to the US.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Theres a steady immigration of simply people seeking to better their economic and educational status, but there are also waves of people that are fleeing an area, he said.

The more distress in the Muslim world, the greater the motivation to immigrate.
President Donald Trump has slammed the US court system as "broken and unfair" after a federal judge's blocked him from ending an Obama-era programme protecting young illegal immigrants from deportation.

US District Judge William Alsup on Tuesday granted a request by California and others to prevent Mr Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme  at least while their lawsuits play out in court.

Mr Trump responded via Twitter, writing: "It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts."

Recommended Trump move to end DACA protection for young immigrants halted by judge

The White House also issued a statement calling the decision "outrageous".

"An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration.

People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Show all 16 1 /16 People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Washington, DC, U.S., February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 16: Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school student Kathia Suarez holds up a sign as she protests with others outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. LM Otero/AP People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school senior Vicky Sosa holds a sign outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. In an action called "A Day Without Immigrants," immigrants across the country are expected to stay home from school, work and close businesses to show how critical they are to the U.S. economy and way of life. LM Otero/AP

DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the US illegally as children, or came with families who overstayed visas, from the threat of deportation. The programme also gives those in the programme the right to education and work visas. The programme includes hundreds of thousands of university-age students.

Judge Alsup said lawyers in favour of DACA clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm without court action. The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the programme would be phased out, saying former President Barack Obama had exceeded his authority when he implemented it in 2012. Mr Trump gave Congress six months to pass permanent protections for the so-called "Dreamers" before they expired.

 US rescinds DACA program for young immigrants

Mr Alsup, however, called The Trump administration's argument a "flawed legal premise," citing years of past actions by immigration authorities to provide similar relief from deportation.

"DACA was and remains a lawful exercise of authority' by immigration officials," Mr Alsup wrote.

The President held a meeting with a bipartisan group of legislators earlier this week to work on a solution for DACA. In the meeting, he told legislators he wanted a "bill of love" to protect young, undocumented immigrants, but also pushed for his proposed border wall and tougher border security.

"Let's see if we can get something done," Mr Trump said. "I really think that we have a chance to do it. I think it's really important."

The DACA decision is one of several Trump-administration immigration policies that have been struck down by federal judges. Mr Trump's ban on travellers from several Muslim-majority countries was blocked by numerous federal judges before the Supreme Court allowed a revised version to go into effect.

Mr Trump assailed these decisions, too, as "unfair," and the legal system as "broken," in a series of tweets.
Donald Trump has been named the worlds most oppressive leader towards press freedom by the Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ).

The US president was given the award for threatening to open-up libel laws, sue news outlets and subject broadcast licenses to review.

He has also posted approximately 1,000 tweets that have been critical of the press since he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015.

He has also invented a number of nicknames for media outlets he perceives as critical.

Last week Mr Trump announced plans to hold his own Fake News Awards.

Taking to Twitter the US leader promised to proclaim the most dishonest and corrupt media organisation, while insisting said the was interest in the awards was "far greater than anyone could have anticipated."

But after initially promising to announce the winner earlier this week, he postponed them until 17 January.

In response, the CPJ created a series of tongue in cheek awards for "world leaders who have gone out of their way to attack the press and undermine the norms that support freedom of the media,

While Mr Trump was awarded most oppressive leader, he had to settle for second place in the most thin-skinned category, behind the Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr Erdogan also won the award for "Most Outrageous Use of Terror Laws Against the Press."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

"Turkey is the world's worst jailer of journalists, with at least 73 behind bars when CPJ conducted its most recent prison census on December 1," the organisation wrote.

" Every journalist jailed for their work in Turkey is under investigation for, or charged with, anti-state crimes -- in most cases for belonging to, aiding, or making propaganda for an alleged terrorist organisation."

Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, won the "Tightest Grip on the Media" award. The CPJ said he used "a combination of traditional censorship and internet controls to keep the news media in line".

Other leaders mentioned, included Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Burmas State Counselor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
North Carolinas Republican-drawn congressional map is illegally gerrymandered and must be redrawn as quickly as possible, federal judges have ruled.

In a 191-page ruling, a three-judge federal panel said the state legislator responsible for the map had said he drew it to give Republican candidates an advantage.

It said David Lewis, the Republican House redistricting chief, attempted to justify the criteria in a 2016 debate by saying: I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats. So I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the country.

The ruling is the first time a federal court has blocked a congressional map because of partisan gerrymandering.

However, it is the second time in a decade the Republican-controlled state General Assemblys congressional boundaries have been thrown out by federal judges.

In 2016, another panel struck down two majority black districts on grounds they were racially discriminatory.

 North Carolina's six black women police chiefs: We are proud to have smashed the glass ceiling

The latest lawsuit, which was filed by election advocacy groups and Democrats, argued Republican legislators went too far when they followed criteria designed to retain the partys 10-3 majority in the state delegation.

All three judges agreed the invidious partisanship in the plan violated the Constitutions equal protection provision.

We find that the General Assembly drew and enacted the 2016 plan with intent to subordinate the interests of non-Republican voters and entrench Republican control of North Carolinas congressional delegation, a US Circuit Court Judge, Jim Wynn, wrote in the majority opinion.

The evidence shows the plan achieved the General Assemblys discriminatory partisan objective, Judge Wynn added.

The judges ordered the General Assembly to approve another set of districts by 24 January. Congressional elections are scheduled across the United States for November.

North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Show all 14 1 /14 North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Gender neutral signs are posted in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law The "We Are Not This" slogan is posted at the entrances to Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Museum manager Jeff Bell adheres informative backing to gender neutral signs in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A unisex sign and the "We Are Not This" slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A gender neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at Oval Park Grill on May 11, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Gender neutral signs are posted in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Unisex signs hang outside bathrooms at Toast Paninoteca on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A unisex sign and the "We Are Not This" slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A private women's bathroom is offered at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law Gender neutral signs are posted in the 21C Museum Hotel public restrooms on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A unisex sign and the "We Are Not This" slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A private men's bathroom is offered at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty North Carolina clashes with US over public restroom law A unisex sign and the "We Are Not This" slogan are outside a bathroom at Bull McCabes Irish Pub on May 10, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Sara D. Davis/Getty

Ralph Hise, North Carolinas Senate redistricting chairman, said through a spokeswoman members of Congress planned to appeal.

Dallas Woodhouse, the states Republican Party executive officer, said the districts are fair and were drawn following all known rules, and existing case law, and the ruling amounted to partisan war on North Carolina Republican voters.

Republicans are likely to ask the US Supreme Court to block the rulings enforcement until justices rule in a similar case from Wisconsin, involving unconstitutional legislative districts.

In 2016, a report by the Electoral Integrity Project said North Carolina could no longer be classified as a full-fledged democracy, likening its legal framework to Iran and Venezuela.

Additional reporting by agencies
Democrats in the US Congress have accused Russia of a relentless assault on democracies worldwide and faulted President Donald Trump for failing to address it.

A new report from the Senate Foreign Intelligence Committee contains more than 200 pages of information on Russias alleged interference operations over the last 20 years. It singles out Mr Trump for a lack of leadership on the issue and calls for a stronger Congressional response.

The report was commissioned by the top Democrat on the committee, Senator Ben Cardin, and released a year after three US intelligence agencies jointly accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 US election to benefit Mr Trump. Its release comes as FBI and congressional probes into any potential ties between Trump campaign officials and Russia continue.

Recommended Trump calls for Republicans to take over Russia investigation

We knew after the 2016 elections that we were vulnerable, but the 2016 elections were just a small part of Russias overall design; Mr Putins design to try to compromise democratic institutions, Mr Cardin said at the reports public release.

Republican co-chair Bob Corker  a frequent Trump critic  did not sign on to the report. In a statement, Mr Corkers spokesman Micah Johnson said the Senator would review the report, but no further full committee activity was planned.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

The report  which cites open source documents and interviews with European diplomats and government officials  details Russian operations in 19 European nations, including Britain, France, and Germany.

Facebook officials told committee members that the same Russian trolls who stirred up controversy on American social media pages before the US election pursued a similar strategy in the lead-up to Frances 2017 election, and likely before Germanys, as well.

Russian-leaning Twitter accounts also started tweeting misinformation and fringe viewpoints before Finlands 2015 parliamentary elections, the report claims. Other tactics included spreading malicious information, threatening countries energy security, and using hackers to steal information.

 Michael Wolff: Trump presidency will end if Russia investigation touches on his finances

The report praises many European nations for their response to the alleged attacks, but claims the US lacks a coherent, comprehensive and coordinated approach to handling the issue  largely because of Mr Trumps failure to address it.

Never before has a US President so clearly ignored such a grave and growing threat to US national security, the report says.

The authors suggest Mr Trump create an inter-agency fusion cell to coordinate the countrys response to Russian activities, similar to the National Counterterrorism Centre that was created after 9/11. It also suggests deploying FBI investigators to embassies in vulnerable European countries, and increasing the amount of aid provided to promote democracy in Europe.

Mr Trump has previously downplayed Russias role in the 2016 election and suggested he believed Mr Putin when the Russian leader denied interfering. Mr Trump has since clarified these comments, saying he believes very much in the US intelligence agencies.

The President has also vociferously denied any allegations of collusion between his campaign and Russia. He defended himself again on Wednesday, in a press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, calling allegations of collusion a Democrat hoax.

Ive been in office now for 11 months, Mr Trump said. For 11 months, theyve had this phoney cloud over this administration  over our government  and it has hurt our government.

When asked about whether he would be prepared to face an interview by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the federal probe, Mr Trump said it seems unlikely.

Mr Trump said well see what happens when asked about reports his legal team were anticipating such a request,

When they have no collusion and nobodys found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that youd even have an interview, Mr Trump said

Mr Trumps personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, filed a lawsuit against BuzzFeed News that day for publishing a dossier that links the Trump campaign to Russia.

This is the first report from any Congressional body on Russian interference in US election. The Senate Intelligence Committee plans on publishing its findings on Russias role in the 2016 election at a later date.

Additional reporting by agencies
A House Democrat is introducing a bill called the "Stable Genius Act" that would require presidential candidates to take a mental health exam after President Donald Trump's tweet referring to himself as a "stable genius".

Mr Trump's tweet just ahead of Michael Wolff's tell-all book Fire and Fury: Inside the White House hit shelves in which he wrote that White House staff consistently questioned the President's mental stability.

The act would make it mandatory for anyone running for the highest office in the country to submit a report to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) "certifying that he or she has undergone medical examination by the medical office under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy."

Candidates already undergo, and release the results of, physical medical examinations while on the campaign trail. Mr Trump never released his during the 2016 election save for a letter from his doctor saying he was in good health.

Representative Brendan Boyle is the bill's sponsor and said in a statement that "before voting for the highest office in the land, Americans have a right to know whether an individual has the physical and mental fitness to serve as President."

Mr Boyle said he does not believe Mr Trump's tweeted claim, adding that Mr Trump's "reckless, erratic behaviour has exposed a critical flaw in our existing election process."

I consider it a work of fiction," Mr Trump said about the book and then referred to Mr Wolff as "a total loser" in a tweet.

Mr Wolff gathered the reporting in the book by spending time with the transition team and at the White House over 18 months with the freedom to record conversations.

He conducted 200 interviews including Mr Trump and took, according to him, something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing to do so

 Donald Trump says Michael Wolff is a fraud denying the contents of book Fire and Fury

Fire and Fury went on sale days earlier than planned and publishers are rushing to print more copies in order to meet high demands.

Several in Washington have speculated on the President's mental health since his time on the campaign trail, but trained mental health professionals have officially refused to do so.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Given the public outcry however, American Psychiatric Association President Susan H. McDaniel, PhD released a statement during the campaign: "Our Code of Ethics clearly warns psychologists against diagnosing any person, including public figures, whom they have not personally examined."

In February 2017 though, 35 psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers - some of them retired - signed a letter to the editors of the New York Times expressing their concern over Mr Trumps profound inability to empathise.

They wrote people with this trait distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them.

The bill is being introduced in a wholly Republican-controlled Congress and given the stalling or failure of previously-introduced measures to begin impeachment proceedings, it is unlikely to pass.

However, rumours of possible 2020 bids for the White House continue. Mr Trump launched a re-election committee within weeks of taking office in January 2017. Other rumours of former Vice President Joe Biden and even media mogul Oprah Winfrey in light of her recent speech at the Golden Globes awards ceremony have swirled as well.
Steve Bannon is stepping down from his role as executive chairman at Breitbart News, the website has confirmed.

The website said in an announcement featured on its front page that Mr Bannon and the news website will work together "on a smooth and orderly transition". Mr Bannon was serving as executive chairman, a post he first took up in 2012.

"I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class platform," Mr Bannon was quoted as saying in the announcement.

Recommended Steve Bannon apologises for Donald Trump Jr comments in Fire and Fury

The departure marks an incredible fall from grace for Mr Bannon, who resigned from his post as chief White House strategist just months ago after rumours of in-fighting within the West Wing. Mr Bannon said then that his leaving was pre-planned, and that he could better support President Donald Trump at the helm of Breitbart. The news of his stepping down signifies the end of his latest tenure in control of the platform.

Mr Bannon appeared to enjoy the support of Mr Trump up until last week, when excerpts from a new book detailing the inner workings of the first year of the Trump White House began to be reported. After those reports began to surface, Mr Bannon quickly lost his support from the President, and -- perhaps even more damaging -- from the billionaire Mercer family as well, which had bankrolled Mr Bannon's efforts at Breitbart.

The book claimed that Mr Bannon had frequently disparaged Mr Trump's adult children, saying that a meeting Donald Trump Jr accepted with a Russian source in Trump Tower was "treasonous", and that Ivanka Trump was "dumb as a brick. In response, Mr Trump shot back in an attempt to discredit Mr Bannon, and anything he may have said to the author of the book.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

"Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind," Mr Trump said in a statement delivered to reporters last week. "Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination by defeating seventeen candidates, often described as the most talented field ever assembled in the Republican party."

Mr Trump and Mr Bannon have had a long and turbulent history.

They reportedly first met in 2010, through an introduction from the head of conservative group Citizens United David Bossie, Mr Bannon once said during an interview on CBS. Mr Bannon, a former investment banker turned Hollywood producer turned conservative activist, was at that time connected to Breitbart News, which he helped co-found.

Mr Trump and Mr Bannon began working together in August, 2016, when Mr Bannon joined Mr Trump's presidential campaign to help it enter the final stretch of the election. With the Republican National Committee in the rearview, Mr Bannon signed on at a time when Mr Trump's chances of winning the general election seemed bleak at best -- and his influence on the campaign was later referred to in the news media as a turning point.

The new book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House", details circumstances surrounding some of Mr Bannon's quirks and biggest accomplishments while in office.

Mr Bannon reporteldy quickly set up shop in the West Wing in an office just across the hallway from the White House Chief of Staff's office, where he made a lengthy list of goals on a white board.

He was also instrumental in the creation of Mr Trump's first and highly controversial travel ban, which was signed by the President within a week of the inauguration. That travel ban sparked massive protests across the country, as people flocked to airports to express disgust with the hastily implemented travel ban.

In the White House, Mr Bannon was perhaps the most recognizable member of the "nationalist" camp there, which railed against so-called "globalists" and advocated for inward looking, domestic policies that favour American interests and turn away from international cooperation.

Mr Bannon eventually left his post at the White House in August, saying at the time that he was planning on waging "war" with the Republic establishment form his post at Breitbart. Mr Bannon attempted to do just that in the Alabama Senate special election this fall, but ultimately fell short from realising that goal completely when the Bannon-backed candidate, Roy More, lost to Democrat Doug Jones in an incredible end to what was a very contentious race.

Mr Trump, although he had eventually supported Mr Moore's candidacy, later blamed Mr Bannon for the embarrassment.
President Donald Trump is set to bring his America First agenda to the elite global World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos later this month.

The White House confirmed that Mr Trump will attend the ritzy summit of political and business elites in the Alps town, whose name has become synonymous with the annual gathering of the rich and powerful.

The summit traditionally emphasises global interconnectedness and cooperation. But White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Mr Trump would be promoting his policies for strengthening American businesses, industries and workers.

Recommended This is the real reason why the global elite goes to Davos

The annual gathering is scheduled for 23 to 26 January, with the theme Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World.

Mr Trump would be the first sitting US president to attend the summit in person since Bill Clinton in 2000. Then-Vice President Joe Biden attended last year.

Xi Jinping became the first Chinese president to attend the forum in 2017, when Mr Trump was represented by Anthony Scaramucci  a longtime attendee who later served a brief and explosive tenure as Trump's White House communications director. That year's gathering, which occurred around Mr Trump's inauguration, was viewed as a sign of China's ascendance at a time of growing American isolationism.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Ms Sanders rejected the notion that Trump's attendance symbolised he was backing away from his message of economic nationalism.

The president's message is very much the same here as it will be there, Ms Sanders said during her daily press briefing. This is very much an 'America First' agenda. The president is still 100 per cent focused and committed to promoting policies that promote strength for American businesses and the American worker.

Associated Press
Donald Trump has sought to strike a harmonious note on immigration reform, suggesting a bill of love to protect young undocumented immigrants in the spirit of bipartisanship, while standing by hardline demands Democrats have dismissed as dealbreakers.

It should be a bill of love, Mr Trump said, but it also has to be a bill where were able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. A lot of people coming in that we cant have.

That split message, part conciliatory and part unyielding, underscored the distance separating the president and Democrats as they seek a resolution on immigration issues that resonate deeply with their respective bases.

Of paramount importance to Democrats is the renewal of a programme known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, that offered a reprieve from deportation and work permits to young unauthorised immigrants until Mr Trump let it lapse. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the country as children, often dubbed Dreamers, had availed themselves of the lapsed initiative.

Lives are hanging in the balance, Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, of Illinois, said during a meeting with Mr Trump and legislative leaders.

The president has said he is committed to a DACA fix, telling members of Congress that We have something in common  wed like to see this get done, and echoing a Democratic talking point about the wide-ranging effects of rescinding the program by noting that Youre talking about 800,000 people. He said he would take the heat for a comprehensive immigration measure.

People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Show all 16 1 /16 People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Washington, DC, U.S., February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 16: Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school student Kathia Suarez holds up a sign as she protests with others outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. LM Otero/AP People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school senior Vicky Sosa holds a sign outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. In an action called "A Day Without Immigrants," immigrants across the country are expected to stay home from school, work and close businesses to show how critical they are to the U.S. economy and way of life. LM Otero/AP

But he has sought to use the program as a bargaining chip to win stringent measures limiting both legal and illegal immigration, drawing firm resistance from Democrats who are determined not to yield.

For months, Mr Trump has tied DACAs fate to the promised border wall with with Mexico that was a centrepiece of his presidential campaign. He has so far failed to secure funding for the project, last week asking Congress for some $18 billion toward the wall.

Id love not to build the wall, but you need the wall, he said, adding that If you dont have the wall, you cant have security. Later in the day, the President tweeted that the Wall on the Southern Border...must be part of any DACA approval.

Construction starts on US-Mexico border wall prototypes

He has recently expanded his list of demands to include an end to a visa lottery system and chain migration, a term advocates of restricted immigration  including the White House  use to describe immigrants eventually bringing their family members to America under the countrys family-reunification-oriented immigration laws.

Those three things are paramount. These are measures that will make our communities safer and more prosperous, Mr Trump said.

After Mr Trump met with members of Congress, the White House said in a statement that they reached an agreement to negotiate legislation that would encompass DACA, border security, chain migration and the diversity visa lottery.

A bill that would tie in all of those issues would be politically precarious. Democrats have pushed for what they call a clean DACA compromise  one that sustains the programme without including the tougher security measures, like the border wall, the President as sought. After Sen Dianne Feinstein of California pressed him to commit to that two-step process, the President initially seemed to agree.

Were going to come out with DACA and then we can start immediately on phase two, which would be comprehensive immigration reform, he said.

But the President later said a clean bill would need to also fortify border security, adding that To me, a clean bill is a bill of DACA, we take care of them, and we also take care of security.
Donald Trump has called for a bill of love to keep thousands of young, undocumented immigrants from having to leave the country, while continuing to push for a wall along the US-Mexico border.

It should be a bill of love, Mr Trump said at the White House meeting, adding it also has to be a bill where were able to secure our border".

"Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace," he said. "A lot of people coming in that we cant have.

Throughout Mr Trumps presidential election campaign, he called for a large, impenetrable wall to be constructed between the US and Mexico.

One year since Mr Trump took office, heres a round-up of what has happened to his project so far.

What did Trump promise for the Trump-Mexico border wall?

The presidents pledge to build a border wall dates back to the announcement of his candidacy in June 2015, in an incendiary speech he delivered at Trump Tower in New York.

When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best, he said. They're sending people that have lots of problems They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.

He promised to build a wall spanning the 2,000-mile border to keep migrants out.

I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and Ill build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.

How much will the Trump-Mexico border wall cost?

This week, the Trump administration said it wants $18bn (13bn) over the next decade, for the initial phase of the border wall. This is considerably more than Mr Trumps initial cost estimate of around $10bn.

The $18bn, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, would go towards 316 miles of new fencing and reinforcing another 400 miles of existing barriers, according to cost estimates by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

If this work goes ahead, more than half of the border with Mexico will have a wall - or similar structure - by 2027.

There are considerable extra costs, however. The CBP also requested $8bn for additional personnel and training, plus $5bn for new border technology and another $1bn to construct access roads. This puts the final spend at $33bn over the next ten years.

Who will pay for the Trump-Mexico border wall?

When President Trump first mentioned the wall, he claimed Mexico would foot the bill. The Mexican government has repeatedly said it will not pay for the border wall.

Border wall prototypes are shown near completion along the US-Mexico border in San Diego (REUTERS)

Last week, however, Mr Trump reiterated his plan during a news conference at Camp David, the presidential country retreat in Maryland.

I believe Mexico will pay for the wall, Mr Trump said. I have a very good relationship with Mexico. But yes, in some form, Mexico will pay for the wall.

A report from the US Department of Homeland Security in February 2017 revealed the border wall could cost American taxpayers a total of $21.6bn (17.3bn).

Will the Trump-Mexico border wall actually be built?

In September 2017, construction on eight wall prototypes - measuring between 18-30 feet high - was started in San Diego, the CBP announced.

Ronald Vitiello, acting deputy commissioner of the CBP, said: We are committed to securing our border and that includes constructing border walls. Our multi-pronged strategy to ensure the safety and security of the American people includes barriers, infrastructure, technology and people.

Moving forward with the prototypes enables us to continue to incorporate all the tools necessary to secure our border."

These eight prototypes are still in San Diego, however, and whether the the wall will ever actually be fully constructed is far from certain.

In February 2017, an internal Department of Homeland Security report obtained by Reuters estimated the wall will take three-and-a-half years to complete.

This is unlikely, critics say, because the funding still has to be approved by Congress.
A convicted British rapist who is on the run from police has been arrested in Thailand over the death of a woman in Thailand, it has been reported

Reece Vella, 25, from Worcester, was arrested after Wannipa Chanhuaton, 26, fell to her death from a balcony.

The former soldier was arrested a short distance from the scene, while in possession of Ms Chanhuatons phone, on suspicion of theft, overstaying his visa and death by negligence.

CCTV footage showed Vella and Ms Chanhuaton entering a property together with him later leaving the building alone.

Reports suggest Vella, who had outstayed his tourist visa, had paid 35 for sex with Ms Chanhuaton, and they had been engaging in sexual activity on the balcony.

Ms Wannipa, also known as Joy, suffered severe head injuries and multiple fractures and later died in hospital.

They were having very strange, extravagant sex on the balcony until she fell down below and died. Mr Vella was in shock and, knowing he had overstayed his visa, ran away, Narong Chantra, deputy head of investigations at Pattaya police, said according to The Times.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Vella is wanted in the UK on an outstanding warrant.

He was due to appear at Worcester Crown Court in October 2017 accused of involvement in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine, but did not turn up.

In 2012 he was jailed for four years and nine months for rape and assault.
An explosion has rocked a stricken oil tanker off the coast of Shanghai, forcing maritime authorities to suspend firefighting and rescue efforts.

China's ministry of transport said rescue vessels withdrew to a safe distance after the explosion on the Sanchi's bow, the latest setback in the multinational effort to extinguish the burning wreck and find more than 30 missing crew members.

The ship is still on fire, the ministry said.

Chinese officials have previously warned that the tanker could explode and sink, possibly triggering an environmental disaster.

The Sanchi was carrying nearly 1 million barrels of condensate, a type of gassy, ultra-light oil, when it collided on Saturday evening with a freighter 160 miles off the coast and caught fire.

Intense flames, bad weather and poor visibility have hampered rescue efforts.

The entire crew of the Panamanian-registered Sanchi - 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis - went missing after its collision with the Chinese freighter CF Crystal. The cause of the collision remains unclear.

Rescuers on Tuesday found a body believed to be a sailor from the Iranian-operated tanker, while a search continued for the 31 other missing crew members.

The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), the Sanchi's operator, said on Tuesday there was a chance that survivors were trapped in the ship's engine room.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Since the vessel's engine room is not directly affected by the fire and is about 14 metres (46 feet) under water, there is still hope, NITC spokesman Mohsen Bahrami told the Associated Press.

It is the second collision involving a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Company in less than 18 months.

In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both vessels but causing no injuries or oil spill.

AP
A Hong Kong ivory trader fined this week for illegal ivory possession sits on a government advisory group for protecting endangered species, records showed on Wednesday, potentially an embarrassing blow as Hong Kong fights ivory smuggling.

Lau Sai-yuan, a member of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Art Craft Merchants Association, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to illegal ivory possession and was fined HK$8,000 (756).

His conviction came less than two weeks after China implemented a total ban on ivory sales in the country.

China is the world's largest importer and end user of elephant tusks. Wildlife activists called the ban, implemented at the end of 2017, a vital step towards reducing the slaughter of the endangered animals.

Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has lagged far behind and only set a timetable for a ban on ivory trading last year, with a phase-out time of five years.

Lau is listed on Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department's (AFCD) website as a member of its Endangered Species Advisory Committee. The membership terms run from 1 October 2016 until 30 September 2018.

Neither Hong Kong's AFCD nor the government responded immediately to requests for comment.

Alex Hofford, a wildlife campaigner for WildAid, a non-government wildlife organisation, said Lau should resign from his post.

We believe that it would be highly unethical for Mr. Lau, a high-profile Hong Kong ivory trader and convicted wildlife criminal, to continue to serve out the rest of his term, Hofford said.

Hong Kong is a prime transit and consumption hub with more than 90 percent of consumers from mainland China. It has the largest retail market for ivory, which it has traded for more than 150 years.

The former British colony adheres to regulations set by The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which started to regulate the international trade of ivory in the 1970s and has banned such trade since 1990.

A Hong Kong government-led operation in June 2017 found that two ivory traders, including Lau, had sold ivory chopsticks with ivory obtained after the 1990 ban.

Only pre-Convention ivory is allowed to be traded when the ivory is accompanied by a pre-convention certificate.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The maximum penalty under current laws is two years in jail. Hong Kong lawmakers are considering a significant increase in penalties, with a fine of up to HK$10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.

Trade in pre-convention ivory has been thriving in China and Hong Kong since 1975. Environmental activists have long asserted that it has led to an increase in laundering ivory and remains a prime obstacle in eradicating the illegal poaching trade.

Reuters
Jet Airways has fired two pilots who allegedly got into a fight and stormed out of the cockpit during a flight, leaving the controls unattended.

The Indian airline said in a statement it had terminated services of both the cockpit crew with immediate effect.

The staff involved, a man and a woman, were taken off flight duties following an investigation.

The incident occurred on a New Years Day flight from London to Mumbai, during which the male co-pilot reportedly slapped the female pilot after they got into heated argument.

The female pilot is believed to have left the cockpit in tears, followed briefly by the co-pilot.

As a result the cockpit was left unattended on the flight which had 324 passengers and 14 crew on board.

Aviation safety rules state at least one pilot should remain at the controls at all times during a flight.

The incident is alleged to have happened shortly after the Boeing 777 took off, at around 10am UK time.

The plane later landed safely and no one was injured.

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told the Press Trust of India news agency that the pilot had also left the cockpit unattended twice during the incident, breaking safety regulations.

Shortly after the plane took off, the two pilots had a fight, a source told The Times of India.

The co-pilot slapped the lady commander and she left the cockpit in tears. She stood in the galley sobbing.

The cabin crew tried to comfort her and send her back to the cockpit, but in vain. The co-pilot also kept buzzing [on the intercom to] the crew, asking them to send the second pilot back.

The source added: However, they had a fight for the second time following which she came out again.

This time, the cabin crew was quite afraid of the fight happening in the cockpit. They requested her to go to the cockpit and fly the plane safely to its destination.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

A spokesman for the airline told the newspaper that an investigation had been launched after the incident.

At Jet Airways, safety of guests, crew and assets is of paramount importance and the airline has zero tolerance for any action of its employees that compromises safety.
Myanmars military has admitted its security forces and Buddhist villagers killed 10 Rohingya Muslims whose bodies were found in a mass grave in a village in troubled Rakhine state.

The statement is the armys first public acknowledgement of wrongdoing since it launched clearance operations against Rohingya in August, prompting more than 650,000 to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh in what the United Nations (UN) has called ethnic cleansing.

A statement on the military commander-in-chiefs Facebook page said the Rohingya found in the mass grave had threatened Buddhist villagers and were killed in retaliation.

The UN and other groups have accused the military of widespread atrocities against Rohingya, including killings, rapes, and the burning of homes. But the military has previously denied any wrongdoing by security forces.

The government of Buddhist-majority Myanmar has refused to accept Rohingya Muslims as a minority group, despite many families having lived in the country for generations. They are widely referred to as Bengalis and accused of migrating illegally from Bangladesh.

The army described the 10 Rohingya Muslims found in the mass grave as Bengali terrorists. Their bodies were discovered in December near a cemetery in Inn Din village.

It is true that both the villagers and security forces admitted they killed the 10 Bengali terrorists, the military statement said. The army will take charge of those who are responsible for the killings and who broke the rules of engagement. This incident happened because ethnic Buddhist villagers were threatened and provoked by the terrorists.

Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Show all 10 1 /10 Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Rohingya refugee Mohamed Jabair, 21, reveals the burns on his bod, which he said he sustained when his house was set on fire in Myanmar REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Refugee Momtaz Begum, 30, at Balukhali refugee camp. Begum told how soldiers came to her village demanding valuables.After beating her, they locked her inside her house and set the roof on fire. She escaped to find her three sons dead and her daughter beaten and bleeding REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Imam Hossain, 42, sleeps at Kutupalang refugee camp, near Cox's Bazar. Hossain said he was returning home after teaching at a madrassa in his village when three men attacked him with knives REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Rohingya refugee Setara Begum, 12, at Nayapara refugee camp. The home of Begum and her siblings was hit by a rocket. The young girl received no treatment for the severe burns to her feet. Her feet healed but she has no toes. Her mother said: 'She has been mute from that day, and doesn't speak to anyone. She only cries silently' REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Mohamed Heron, 6, and his brother Mohamed Akter, 4, show the burns on their bodies at Kutupalong refugee camp. The boys' uncle said the burns resulted from Myanmar's armed forces firing rockets at their village Reuters Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Kalabarow, 50, at Leda refugee camp, in Bangladesh. Kalabarow said her husband, daughter and son were killed when soldiers fired on her village in Maungdaw. She was hit and lay on the floor pretending to be dead for several hours before a grandson found her. During their journey to Bangladesh, a village doctor amputated her REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Ansar Allah, 11, at Leda refugee camp in Bangladesh. Allah showed a large scar  the result of a gunshot wound. His mother Samara said: 'They sprayed us with bullets, as our house was burning' REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Anwara Begum, 36, at Kutupalang refugee camp, near Cox's Bazar. Begum said she woke to find her home in Maungdaw township in flames REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Abdu Rahaman, 73, at Leda refugee camp in Bangladesh. Rahaman, a merchant from Maungdaw, was ambushed while walking on a mountain path with other refugees. A machete thrown at his feet severed three toes REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Nur Kamal, 17, described how soldiers assaulted him after they found him hiding in his home in Maungdaw. His uncle found him unconscious in a pool of blood. It took them two weeks to get to Bangladesh. Kamal said: 'We want the international community to help us obtain justice' REUTERS

Tensions have simmered for decades between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya. Hundreds of the minority Muslims were killed in two bouts of violence in Rakhine in 2012, and 120,000 Rohingya remain in camps in the state.

In the wake of the 2012 clashes, some Rohingya began organising a militant group, which killed nine border police officers in an attack in 2016.

On 25 August last, known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), launched wider attacks on Myanmar police and military outposts.

The military responded with clearing operations that rights groups say have been accompanied by the rape and murder of Rohingya civilians, whose houses have also been burned down.

About 100 Rohingya children are stranded in Myanmar without their parents after military operations drove 655,000 people into Bangladesh, according to the UN.

Another 60,000 Rohingya children are languishing almost forgotten in disease-ridden camps inside Myanmar since being driven from their homes during violence in 2012, said UN childrens agency (UNICEF) spokeswoman Marixie Mercado said.

She told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that she spent a month in Myanmars Rakhine state and visited one camp where shelters teeter on stilts above garbage and excrement and four children died of disease within three weeks.

We hear of high levels of toxic fear in children from both Rohingya and Rakhine communities, she said, referring to the ethnic Rakhine people, the states majority population.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that authorities were not aware of any children left alone in Myanmar following the exodus to Bangladesh in the last half of 2017.

The government has rejected accusations of ethnic cleansing, blaming most of the violence on insurgents.
Prosecutors in Myanmar have formally charged two Reuters reporters who were covering the countrys Rohingya crisis with violating the Official Secrets Act.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested after police accused them of violating the colonial-era law by acquiring important secret papers from two police officers.

The act dates back to 1923, when Myanmar, then known as Burma, was a province of British India.

The Reuters journalists had been invited to meet police officers who worked in Rakhine state, where a harsh military crackdown is blamed for human rights abuses against the Rohingya, which sparked an exodus of 650,000 people to Bangladesh, according to UN estimates.

Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Show all 10 1 /10 Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Rohingya refugee Mohamed Jabair, 21, reveals the burns on his bod, which he said he sustained when his house was set on fire in Myanmar REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Refugee Momtaz Begum, 30, at Balukhali refugee camp. Begum told how soldiers came to her village demanding valuables.After beating her, they locked her inside her house and set the roof on fire. She escaped to find her three sons dead and her daughter beaten and bleeding REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Imam Hossain, 42, sleeps at Kutupalang refugee camp, near Cox's Bazar. Hossain said he was returning home after teaching at a madrassa in his village when three men attacked him with knives REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Rohingya refugee Setara Begum, 12, at Nayapara refugee camp. The home of Begum and her siblings was hit by a rocket. The young girl received no treatment for the severe burns to her feet. Her feet healed but she has no toes. Her mother said: 'She has been mute from that day, and doesn't speak to anyone. She only cries silently' REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Mohamed Heron, 6, and his brother Mohamed Akter, 4, show the burns on their bodies at Kutupalong refugee camp. The boys' uncle said the burns resulted from Myanmar's armed forces firing rockets at their village Reuters Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Kalabarow, 50, at Leda refugee camp, in Bangladesh. Kalabarow said her husband, daughter and son were killed when soldiers fired on her village in Maungdaw. She was hit and lay on the floor pretending to be dead for several hours before a grandson found her. During their journey to Bangladesh, a village doctor amputated her REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Ansar Allah, 11, at Leda refugee camp in Bangladesh. Allah showed a large scar  the result of a gunshot wound. His mother Samara said: 'They sprayed us with bullets, as our house was burning' REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Anwara Begum, 36, at Kutupalang refugee camp, near Cox's Bazar. Begum said she woke to find her home in Maungdaw township in flames REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Abdu Rahaman, 73, at Leda refugee camp in Bangladesh. Rahaman, a merchant from Maungdaw, was ambushed while walking on a mountain path with other refugees. A machete thrown at his feet severed three toes REUTERS/Jorge Silva Bullets and burns: injured Rohingya refugees Nur Kamal, 17, described how soldiers assaulted him after they found him hiding in his home in Maungdaw. His uncle found him unconscious in a pool of blood. It took them two weeks to get to Bangladesh. Kamal said: 'We want the international community to help us obtain justice' REUTERS

The government of Myanmar has admitted for the first time that its soldiers had broken the rules of engagement in the conflict in north-eastern Rakhine.

After the bodies of 10 Rohingya Muslims were found in a mass grave, a statement on the Facebook page of the countrys armed forces chief admitted members of the security forces  as well as villagers  had been involved in the killings.

The statement said 10 Bengali terrorists had been killed after threatening and provoking Buddhist villagers. The government refuses to use the term Rohingya and calls Muslims in Rakhine Bengalis to paint them as illegal immigrants.

Dozens of journalists waited outside court on Wednesday wearing black as a sign of protest against the Reuters reporters arrests. Several of their T-shirts said journalism is not a crime or release the arrested journalists now.

Reuters editor-in-chief, Stephen J Adler, said in a statement it was a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom.

Our colleagues should be allowed to return to their jobs reporting on events in Myanmar, he said.

Speaking from the back of a police truck after the brief hearing, Wa Lone said: This is unacceptable.

I want to tell you that they are charging us like this to stop us finding the truth. Their actions are wrong and unfair.

The two journalists face up to 14 years in prison if convicted, according to their lawyer, Than Zaw Aung.

He appealed for the pair to be immediately released on bail, but the judge said he would review the request and rule at the next hearing on 23 January.

The Ministry of Information had previously cited police saying they were arrested for possessing important and secret government documents related to Rakhine state and security forces. The ministry said they illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media.

 Drone footage shows thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar

Human rights and media groups have criticised Myanmars leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, for continuing to use colonial-era laws to threaten and imprison journalists.

The events have caused an international outcry, with government officials from the United States, Britain and Canada, as well as top United Nations officials, calling for the journalists release.

After they were detained, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said the arrests showed how press freedom was deteriorating in Myanmar, while Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, called for their immediate release.

A free press is critical to a free society  the detention of journalists anywhere is unacceptable, Bill Clinton, the former US President, tweeted. The Reuters journalists being held in Myanmar should be released immediately.

Phil Robertson, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch, said: If Aung San Suu Kyi and her government really cared about democratic reforms and governance, they could use their parliamentary majority to quickly reform this antiquated colonial law and bring it into compliance with international human rights standards.

Shawn Crispin, senior South-east Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said: These criminal charges represent a giant step backward for press freedom in Myanmar.

The jailing of journalists shows that Aung San Suu Kyis government, despite its democratic mandate, is following in the repressive footsteps of her military government predecessors. And by targeting a high-profile news organisation like Reuters, it shows no journalist is safe to report on sensitive stories in Myanmar.

Additional reporting by agencies
Two people died and dozens more have been injured in clashes in Pakistan after the alleged rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl.

Angered by the perceived lack of arrests over the death of Zainab Ansari, hundreds took to the streets of the city of Kasur in eastern Punjab.

Some attacked a police station and government buildings while local TV cameras captured others throwing rocks and smashing car windows with sticks.

Ansari went missing on her way to her religious studies tuition, earlier this week. Police said she was raped, and that her body was found dumped in a pile of rubbish.

They said six girls have been sexually assaulted in the region in recent months, and they were investigating whether there was a connection between the cases.

Ansari's parents, who had been at a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia at the time of her disappearance, have returned to Pakistan.

We will not bury our daughter until her killers are arrested," her father Ameen Ansari said.

A funeral service was nonetheless later held for the girl, and attended by thousands of people.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri who took part in the service, called for the local government to be replaced and blamed the Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, for failing to protect lives and honour of innocent girls in the province.

Violence erupted before the funeral and police fired shots in the air in an attempt to disperse protesters.

Local TV captured one officer asking to halt the direct fire, while a second officer continued.

Kasur's police chief Zulfiqar Hameed declined to say whether the two people killed in the clashes had died from police gunshots.

Recommended Trump administration freezes security aid to Pakistan

Ansari's murder also sparked widespread outcry on social media, with thousands calling for the culprit to be brought to justice, and the hastag #Justice4Zainab trending on Twitter.

Facing calls from his political rivals to step down or face further street protests, chief minister Sharif also took to the social media site. He said he was deeply pained" to hear about the case, adding: "Those societies that cannot protect its children are eternally condemned. Not going to rest till the perpetrators of this dastardly act are apprehended & given severest possible punishment under the law."

Additional reporting by agencies.
The father of a 14-year-old girl who killed herself has invited her cyber bullies to the funeral to witness the complete devastation caused by her death.

Amy Dolly Everett, who as a child had been the face of iconic Australian outback hat company Akubra, was remembered by her family as a kind, caring and beautiful soul.

Her parents said their daughters death had brought their world crashing down as they launched a social media campaign to tackle cyber bullying.

Dollys father, Tick Everett, said in a public Facebook post he wanted to help other precious lives from being lost, after her death.

Dolly will never know the great pain and emptiness left behind, he said.

If by some chance the people who thought this was a joke and made themselves feel superior by the constant bullying and harassment see this post, please come to our service and witness the complete devastation you have created.

Cyber bullying has risen sharply in recent years, according to Australias National Centre Against Bullying (NCAB), although overall bullying rates have declined.

Akubra said in a statement it was shocked and distressed to hear of the death of the teenager who starred in their adverts.

To think that anyone could feel so overwhelmed and that suicide was their only option is unfathomable, they said.

Bullying of any kind is unacceptable. It is abuse and it is time for us to stand up when we see any kind of bullying behaviour.

Dolly could be anyones daughter, sister, friend. We need to make sure that anyone in crisis knows there is always someone to talk to.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

It added: Be a friend, check up on your mates. Our hearts go out to Dollys family and friends.

If you have been affected by this article, you can contact the following organisations for support:

https://www.mind.org.uk/

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/mentalhealth

https://www.samaritans.org/

If you are in Australia, you can call Lifeline on 131114, Kids Helpline on 1800 55 18000 or visit the National Centre Against Bullying website.
An openly gay Imam is hoping to Australias first LGBT-friendly mosque within the next year.

Nur Warsame told The Independent inundated that he had been inundated with cries for help from gay Muslims who feel they have nowhere to turn.

"I have been dealing with young people who have been excommunicated from their families," he said. "That is when you have a problem.

People had been trying to beat the gay out of their loved ones," he added.

Mr Warsame, who used to lead a mosque in Melbourne, came out as the countrys first openly gay Muslim leader in 2010. He said he was cut off by the Islamic community when he revealed his sexuality.

A dedicated Muslim, who is a Hafiz - someone who knows the Quran off by heart - he added that he used to be married, but refused to continue living a double life.

Now the Imam, who no longer attends mosques, said he hopes to transform a building in Melbourne into a safe house and counselling centre for gay Muslims, as well as a place of worship.

This was a matter of life and death for some LGBT Muslims, who were left living in fear of violence after coming out as gay, he added.

I had a problem with people leading a double life, being married as well as being gay or rejecting their spirituality, so I thought I would find a platform somewhere in the middle, he said.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The idea is a place to provide healing and address the homelessness, the mental health issues, the self-harm issues, addiction issues," he added. "This is a plan that I have had for four years and thankfully we will see a tangible outcome soon. We have had some support from the state government but bureaucracy and intentions are never the same. But I am optimistic, I hope to have it achieved this year.

Mr Warsame, who has been an Imam since 2001 said this was a worldwide issue that reached beyond Australia.

I have had several people contact me from London who have issues reconciling their sexuality with their spirituality," he said. "This is happening on a very large scale.

He felt the root of the problem came from certain old religious texts that presented homosexuality as a sin.

You are talking about an ideology that believes your repentance is to be killed," he said in a separate interview with Australian broadcaster, ABC News.

He said safe, affordable housing was one of the key needs for many gay Muslims and recalled how he once had seven people staying in his one bedroom apartment as they had nowhere else to go.

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I have been dealing with an avalanche of misery on a global scale, he told the Australian news channel.

Sydney Queer Muslims have welcomed Imam Nurs plans. The groups president Nurul Huda has said some of the groups members who were devoutly religious, had experienced violence at the hands of those closest to them, while others were ostracised from their communities.

The proposed mosque would be close to a number of useful services, such as medical facilities for LGBT people and a police station. Imam Nur, who is looking to secure funding for the plans, hopes one day to also carry out gay Muslim marriages at the centre.
Carles Puigdemont is set be re-installed as Catalonias president of government after a deal was reached between the regions two major separatist parties.

The agreement between Mr Puigdemonts Junts per Catalunya party and the Catalan Republic Left would to see the exiled or fugitive politician installed at a meeting of the parliament mid next week.

The deal, announced early on Wednesday, comes after pro-independence parties won the narrowest of majorities in seats in the Catalan parliament, following fresh elections on 21 December called by Spains national government  which had suspended the sitting Catalan government.

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Spokespeople for both parties confirmed the deal had been struck, but confusion remains about how the president will read his legally mandatory installation speech to the Catalan Parliament on 17 January without returning to Catalonia, where he is wanted by the Spanish authorities.

The Catalan Parliaments lawyers are set to examine proposals for Mr Puigdemont to read his address via videolink from abroad  or whether another MP can read the speech, according to Spanish media reports.

The possibility of a remote investiture is not covered by the rules of the Catalan parliament, and the ERC says the deal to reinstall Mr Puigdemont is conditional on a legally sound way of reading the address.

Mr Puigdemont is currently living in Brussels, where he fled after charges of sedition, rebellion, and the misuse of public funds were levelled against him by Spanish authorities for his role in the regions disputed independence referendum.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

While Spanish authorities have dropped a bid for a European Arrest Warrant to deport the politician, he has previously said he would only return to Spain if offered certain guarantees. Some of Mr Pugidemonts political allies who have returned to or remain in Spain are currently in jail on similar charges.

Mr Puigdemont said on Tuesday at a videoconference that it is not possible to return to Catalonia because the current legal situation. His lawyers have previously suggested that he might return to Spain following Decembers elections.
Western Europe has looked on with mounting bewilderment and exasperation over the past few years at the political trajectory of Hungary, Poland and several other former communist states. Countries that, since 1989, were committed to common European values, including liberal democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, are now implementing an altogether different political model. The perceived interests of the nation are taking centre stage and governments are subject to far fewer checks and balances.

Hungarys prime minister, Viktor Orban, was once a fiery student leader and champion of liberalism. Now he preaches the virtues of illiberal democracy. Orban routinely portrays himself as the defender of Christian values that, in his view, are threatened by globalisation, mass immigration and the supposedly sinister machinations of international business leaders. George Soros, the Hungarian-born financier and philanthropist has become a particular target of baseless attacks.

In Poland, the ruling Law and Justice Party has assumed political control over state-funded radio and television. By July 2016, 164 journalists and news anchors had either resigned or been dismissed. In December 2017, the governments continuing efforts to curb the independence of the judiciary prompted the EU Commission to formally declare that there is a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in Poland.

In the same month, the EU launched infringement proceedings against the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary for failing to take appropriate steps to resettle limited numbers of asylum seekers, in accordance with decisions previously taken by member states.

Some months earlier, the European Court of Justice dismissed cases brought by Slovakia and Hungary in which the latter had sought to argue that the EUs scheme for the mandatory relocation of asylum seekers was unlawful. In characteristically robust language, Hungarys serially undiplomatic foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, described the judgement as outrageous and irresponsible.

A number of ex-communist states, particularly Hungary and Poland, have rejected an ideology founded on individualism, human rights, economic transparency and multiculturalism. They are turning instead towards an alternative social, political and economic model in which the cultivation of traditional values and distinct national identities is of paramount ideological importance. The new model is also frequently characterised by widespread, often systematic corruption and an increasingly authoritarian political culture.

Winners and losers

The reasons for this shift lie both in the communist and pre-communist past. Following the collapse of communist governments in 1989, little thought seems to have been given to the troublesome historical baggage that these societies would have to contend with in effecting a successful transition to liberal democracy. There seems to have been an unspoken assumption that the removal of the communist apparatus of repression would be largely sufficient to allow western values, such as liberal democracy and respect for human rights, to flourish.

Yet, with the exception of the former Czechoslovakia, there had been little sustained experience of genuine democracy in the region prior to the establishment of communist regimes following World War II. Even before the imposition of communism, Poland, Hungary and Romania, along with most other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, were heirs to a repressive and overwhelmingly authoritarian political culture.

One of Polands new prime minister Mateusz Morawieckis first meetings was with Viktor Orban (EPA)

This may go some way towards explaining the relative ease with which Hungarys Fidesz government, for example, has been able to undermine democratic checks and balances without eliciting more vigorous or sustained opposition from the general public. As the powers of Hungarys constitutional court were drastically curtailed and public broadcasting increasingly treated as a government mouthpiece, there was little real sense among ordinary voters of anything important having been lost.

Central and Eastern Europes predominant historical experience as victims, rather than beneficiaries, of colonialism may help to explain the regions resistance to admitting non-European asylum seekers. As identified by Istvan Bibo in The Misery of the Small States of Eastern Europe, published shortly after World War II, there is an enduring sense among the peoples of the region of having had to fight for independence and even for the preservation of national identities during a succession of alien occupations, whether Ottoman, Hapsburg, Russian or Prussian.

This overwhelmingly traumatic historical experience has been compounded by almost a half century of Soviet domination as well as subjection to Nazi German tyranny during the Second World War. None of this has helped to foster openness to other cultures, let alone a willingness to embrace multiculturalism as experienced in many countries in Western Europe.

Economic factors, particularly the plight of many pensioners and of other economically vulnerable sections of central and eastern European societies, have also contributed to the current political climate. The establishment of market economies in the region created clear winners and losers in countries such as Poland.

These societies are now far less egalitarian than under communism. While a new class of businessmen, lawyers and media personalities can indulge their taste for expensive foreign holidays and luxurious German automobiles, there is widespread poverty. In particular, residents of many rural areas and of towns and cities that have been ravaged by deindustrialisation are struggling.

As Jacques Rupnik, a former adviser to Czech president Vaclav Havel, recently observed: the decoupling of liberalism and democracy in Central and Eastern Europe has a lot to do with the post-1989 confusion, and indeed collusion, between political and economic liberalism. Rupnik poses the question: Does this explain why Central Europe travelled from (economic) neo-liberalism to (political) illiberalism?

The answer, at least in part, must be yes.

Stephen I Pogany is a Emeritus professor of law at the University of Warwick, this article was originally published on The Conversation (conversation.com)
Late last year, President Donald Trump scrambled to defend Donald Trump Jr after news broke that his eldest son had taken an ill-advised 2016 meeting with a group of Kremlin-connected Russians - one now branded treasonous by ex-White House adviser Steven Bannon. This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a prominent Trump ally, found himself doing the same.

A recording aired on Tuesday by Channel 2, an Israeli broadcaster, featured the voice of Yair Netayahu during a drunken romp around Tel Aviv's strip clubs in 2015. The younger Netanyahu, now 26, is heard making disparaging comments about women and boasting to friends about soliciting prostitutes. He also solicits cash from one of his companions, the son of a prominent Israeli tycoon, arguing it was only fair given the $20 billion gas deal that my father got you.

The emergence of the tape is unwelcome news for the Israeli Prime Minister, who is surrounded by allegations of corruption and is at the centre of two criminal probes. With the public's attention already fixed on Netanyahu's various dodgy dealings, including alleged demands of free champagne and cigars from foreign business executives, his son's drunken remarks open a potential new avenue of investigation.

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Meanwhile, the sordid nature of the conversation is inconvenient at a time when Netanyahu's government is also passing unpopular legislation to curb business on the Sabbath. In the public eye since childhood, the younger Netanyahu has been part of the traditional wholesome tableau that the Prime Minister's family has presented to the public, with an emphasis on spending the Jewish Sabbath on family nature hikes, meals and Bible study with their father, noted left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Spending Friday nights club-hopping and thousands of dollars carousing with strippers was not part of that carefully honed image, damaging Netanyahu's popularity with the religious supporters.

In the face of a media maelstrom, both Netanyahu and his son issued conciliatory statements; Yair apologised for the nonsense spoken under the influence of alcohol. My son was correct in saying yesterday that he had spoken foolish words, said his father. He said, it's not me, Yair. He said that these are not the values that characterise him. And he's right.

But his eldest son, like Donald Trump Jr before him, in fact seemed more concerned with lashing out at the press, branding their fathers' critics as enemies of their respective nations. In their battles with liberal opponents, both sons have also courted the support of the neo-fascist alt-right on social media, with Netanyahu even posting what seemed to be an anti-Semitic meme celebrated by neo-Nazis on his Facebook page last year.

Their fathers, too, have echoed each other's illiberal agendas. In a year when much of the international community has held Trump at arm's length, Netanyahu went in for a full embrace. As Trump pushed the construction of a wall on the Mexican border, Netanyahu chimed in, insisting that the supposed success of an Israeli barrier along its border with Egypt proved the worth of Trump's project.

Netanyahu tweeted President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea

As many traditional American allies in Europe are attempting to stare down proto-authoritarian governments in Poland and Hungary, both Trump and Netanyahu have celebrated their nationalism and defiance of touchy liberals. As Trump scraps policies that protected hundreds of thousands immigrants fleeing violence and natural disaster, Netanyahu is moving ahead with plans to expel tens of thousands of African asylum seekers by force. (The United Nations released a statement this week pointing to dozens of instances in which asylum seekers deported by Israel subsequently endured abuse, detention and torture in their home countries.)

As ongoing legal investigations into their conduct roll on, both Trump and Netanyahu have taken turns launching attacks on the independent media and the judicial systems they see arrayed against them. The Israeli prime minister has copied Trump's complaints about fake news. And burdened by domestic troubles threatening their rule, Netanyahu and Trump worked together last month to outrage much of the rest of the world with the White House's decision to fully recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Numerous American Jewish supporters of Israel now lament the rightward shift that has taken place under Netanyahu's watch, which includes a recent move to ban activists from a number of organisations critical of the ongoing Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The Netanyahu administration has done more than ban critics with this latest move and all those that preceded it, wrote David Rothkopf, a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced and International Studies. It has turned supporters into adversaries. It has taken one large step in the direction of the illiberal thugocracies favoured by the likes of Trump.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

For Netanyahu, a far more experienced and canny political operator than Trump, there may be a clear logic behind cosying up to the American President as enemies circle around him at home and abroad. But there are also clear dangers in aping Trump's tactics.

Trump's attacks on the press, the judiciary and even America's culture of civility will do damage, but that can be undone by the leaders who will follow, wrote Daniel Gordis of Jerusalem's Shalem College for Bloomberg View. Israel's democracy, however, is not two-and-a-half centuries old; it is less than 70. What the US can weather, Israel may not be able to reverse. Ironically, an Israeli prime minister seeking to protect Israel by mimicking the American president may be doing more damage to his own country than even he comprehends.

The Washington Post
Russian bases in Syria have been subjected to a series of mysterious attacks - including one conducted by a swarm of armed miniature drones - with military chiefs unable to establish who is behind the raids.

The latest and most unusual of the incidents saw 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) packed with explosives descend on Khmeimim air base, Russias vast military headquarters in northwestern Latakia province. Another three attacked the nearby Russian naval base at Tartus.

The incident raises questions over Vladimir Putins claims Russian military support of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad had helped achieve victory in the six-year civil war.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Monday its military was able to capture three of the small-sized air targets of unknown identity. Seven were shot down and the remaining three exploded after crashing nearby on the night of 5 January.

There were no casualties or damage to the base, a statement issued by the ministry said. It said it was the first time terrorists had used a massed drone aircraft attack launched at a range of more than 50km using a modern GPS guidance system".

The defence ministry also shared images of a captured weapon. It showed a winged drone and nine of the alleged improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

On Wednesday, the defence ministry announced the drones' launch site was located in the southwestern region of Idlib, a province controlled by several rebel factions and insurgents in the ongoing civil war.

Russia said it was also controlled by Turkish armed forces. Its defence ministry sent letters to the chief of the Turkish armed forces and the head of its National Intelligence Organisation pointing out the need for Ankara to fulfil its obligations to ensure compliance with the regime for the cessation of hostilities in Syria.

The attack also came less than a week after two Russian servicemen were killed during a mortar assault on the base. The Russian defence ministry was forced to deny reports that seven warplanes were damaged in the attack.

Russian media reported two smaller drone attacks against military outposts in the provinces of Homs and Latakia over the past two weeks.

 Peregrine falcon attacks target using strategies researchers believe could be used to down rogue drones

Jennifer Cafarella, senior intelligence planner at the US-based Institute for the Study of War, told The Washington Post the attacks raised questions over Russias claims the Syrian war was essentially finished.

She said the incidents were proof that whoever conducted these attacks can still penetrate regime areas and impose costs on the Russians.

The gains the regime has made are not secure and are at high risk of being temporary, she added.

Unusually, no faction in Syria had claimed responsibility for the drone or mortar attacks. On Tuesday, the Russian Defence Ministry appeared to accuse the US of being involved in the latest attack, claiming that an American Poseidon intelligence aircraft patrolling over the base during the attack was a strange coincidence.

One of the attack drones captured by the Russia military (AP)

It also said in an earlier post that the perpetrators needed technology from countries with high-technological capabilities and the drones explosive devices had foreign detonating fuses.

Eric Pahon, a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, told The Independent: "Any suggestion the US, the coalition or our partnered forces played a role in an attack on a Russian base is without any basis in fact and utterly irresponsible.

"I don't have details about what Russian forces are encountering, but I can tell you that coalition forces and our partners have encountered commercially-available unmanned aerial systems used by Isis.

"These systems are widely available, easy to control, and certainly do not require significant technical expertise - you can buy them pretty much anywhere on the internet. These systems have been used to conduct basic reconnaissance and to emplace or drop small explosives.

"While these systems are certainly deadly, they have not had a significant impact on coalition operations to date. We take appropriate force protection measures to ensure Coalition forces and our partners can safely carry out their missions.

According to an analysis by defence consultancy firm HIS Markit group, most Isis drones had a range of no more than 2km, making the terrorist group one of the unlikelier culprits.

Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling Show all 11 1 /11 Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling Karim was injured twice from bombings on Eastern al-Ghouta, rebel-held Douma, Syria. He lost an eye, as well as his mother in the government shellings. EPA Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling Activists worldwide launched a campaign in solidarity with Karim as a symbol for the besiegement of Eastern al-Ghouta AFP/Getty Images Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling After spending 10 days at a hospital Karim Abdul Rahman was discharged to his house, in which another bombing led to a shrapnel to injure his skull. EPA Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling Many people in the rebel-held town of Douma in Syria's besieged eastern Ghouta region, have joined in AFP/Getty Images Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling A manon the street poses covering one eye AFP/Getty Images Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling Karim's aunt has been caring for him EPA Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling Children in Syria have joined in the campaign AFP/Getty Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling A girl poses covering one eye with her hand in the rebel-held town of Douma AFP/Getty Images Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling A man poses covering one eye AFP/Getty Images Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling As part of a campaign in solidarity with a baby boy, Karim, a child poses covering one eye with his hand AFP/Getty Images Syrian solidarity with baby who lost eye during government shelling This combination of pictures shows Syrians covering one eye with their hands in the rebel-held town of Douma AFP/Getty Images

The Russian defence ministry responded to initiral American denials by claiming the attack needed a high-level engineer and that not every country is able to get sharp coordinates using space intelligence data.

Russian daily newspaper Kommersant said sources told them the culprit was very likely to be fighters from Ahrar al-Sham, an Islamist alliance that controls large swathes of Idlib province.

It said the group had already tried to destroy Syrian Army de-mining units using UAVs.
A young Syrian refugee has been given a lifetime membership at his local gym after a photo of him gazing through the window at the fitness equipment went viral.

Mohammed Khaled, 12, who works as a shoeshiner in Adiyaman province, southern Turkey, was pictured outside the centre with a footstool strapped to his back.

After the image spread across social media in Turkey, gym owner Engin Dogan tracked the boy down and offered him an all-access pass to the facility.

Speaking to Hurriyet News, Mr Dogan said: A boy, looking through the gym window, wearing slippers in the middle of winter and carrying his backpack.

Our aim was to find him and offer him a lifetime membership here. And, we did it.

He is one of our members now.

Khaled was later pictured working out at the gym and told the Turkish news agency Anadolu he was pleased with the opportunity.

He found me and helped me, Khaled said.

I had always dreamed of losing weight and now I believe I can do that by working out.

Mustafa Kucukkaya, one of the gym's owners, told Turkish newspaper Sabah: It affected me very much because we came from nothing and we did not have such a gym in our time.

"The Turkish people are very sensitive about this issue, I am very touched, I think we are doing something very good."

The gym owners have been praised on social media for their good deed.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

One user wrote on Instagram: "Keep inspiring the world. What goes around comes around."

Around 3.3 million Syrian refugees are registered to be living in Turkey, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.
The first is a weekly link from Paris Charles de Gaulle to an island between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in Canada. The destination is Saint-Pierre, a geopolitical anomaly deep in the Canadian Maritimes. Saint-Pierre, along with neighbouring Miquelon, was assigned to France in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. It is classed as a territorial overseas collectivity. Accordingly, the flight is a French domestic service.

Each Monday from 2 July to 20 August, Air Saint Pierre will fly from Paris CDG. The island is normally reached by ferry from southern Newfoundland, or by air from St Johns, Halifax or Montreal.

The five-and-a-half-hour flight is selling for 1,021 (905)  though one-way flights are also available, which could be combined with WestJet budget flights from Halifax to Glasgow or St Johns to Gatwick.

Saint-Pierre and its partner, Miquelon, see very few tourists, though some Newfoundlanders go there to obtain cheap wine and French cheese.

The new air link, which is described as experimental, is aimed mainly at providing the chance for islanders to travel back to Paris. It has been championed by Frances minister for overseas, Annick Girardin, who comes from Saint-Pierre.

In the US, Kansas City gets its first ever transatlantic service from 25 May. Icelandair is expanding its North America network still further, and will be operating three flights a week from Reykjavik to the biggest city in Missouri.

Fares from Gatwick are available for around 580 in May, and prices from other UK airports are likely to be similar. Services run until late September.

Local media reports suggest that Kansas City has subsidised the route by $250,000 in its first year, representing around 1,600 for each flight to and from the airport.

Kansas City is the birthplace of the aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart and the musician Burt Bacharach, and was the home town of the newsreader Walter Cronkite.

Derek Klaus, director of communications for Visit KC, said: Were situated in the heart of the nation, and are best known for our tangy barbecues, world-famous jazz and beautiful fountains.

Ralph Anker, editor of the routes newsletter The ANKER Report, said: Kansas City becomes the fifth medium-sized US city to welcome non-stop flights to Europe this summer, having had none last summer. This follows Cleveland (Icelandair and Wow Air both starting flights from Iceland), Indianapolis (Delta Air Lines to Paris CDG), Nashville (British Airways from Heathrow) and St Louis (Wow Air).

Icelandair also flies to several other niche cities in North America, including Anchorage in Alaska and Edmonton in Alberta.

Other secondary airports that have recently appeared on the route network are Hartford in Connecticut, Oakland in California and the Rhode Island capital, Providence.

For The Independent, Mr Anker analysed airport passenger rankings from 2015 to speculate on the next additions to the transatlantic route network. Given that Kansas City is 39th, Cleveland is 46th and Hartford 54th in terms of passengers, how long before someone takes a punt on San Antonio (45th), Milwaukee (50th) or Jacksonville (55th)?.
As someone working in Brussels, the leaked letter from David Davis is deeply embarrassing. In it he expresses outrage that the EU27 have not only taken seriously the statement that the UK will leave the single market and the customs union, but have dared to respond by seeking to insulate themselves from the worst impacts of this on their economies.

Davis wails about the damage of the EU27 preparing for a No Deal Brexit on British business and jobs while the Tories spend 3bn of taxpayers money preparing for just such a scenario. There was even talk of May creating a No Deal Brexit Ministerial post. But of course, we were supposed to be having our cake and eating it. How dare the EU prepare for the worst and put the interests of 27 nations  who happen to be members of the club  above those of the UK  which has opted to leave?

The publication of this letter confirms  if any more evidence were needed  that David Davis is the blustering and over-confident Brexit Bulldog, wholly out of touch and out of his depth. The Take Back Control delusion has clearly gone to his head and he has failed to consider that the EU will have a response to the UK leaving the Union. And when they do respond, he cries that its not fair and suggests legal action, even though he knows this would be costly, time-consuming, politically risky and almost certainly unsuccessful.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA

The letter also makes clear that Davis thought the transition period was a generous compromise to help the UK leave the Union with minimum damage, whereas it was always going to work to the benefit of the EU27. The whole idea of the two-year transition is to allow EU companies and countries to insulate themselves against the fallout from Brexit.

In normal times we would look to the Opposition to save us from such bungling ineptitude. But these are not normal times and challenging Saint Jeremy gains one more opprobrium than support. But it was Corbyn who refused to cooperate with other parties in talks today aimed at keeping us in the single market. It was Corbyn who told colleagues that we could not be part of the single market without being EU members  as though Norway doesnt exist  and that we can negotiate to gain the benefits of the single market without being members. He is wrong on both counts.

Like Davis, Corbyn is responding to a world that no longer exists, a world where the EU was a bosses Europe and socialism in one country a coherent political philosophy. In this sense, Davis and Corbyn are both fighting yesterdays battles and are two sides of the same coin.

Aficionados of the TV drama The Crown will recognise what is going on here as the buttoned-up morality and nostalgia for empire of the 1950s, resisting the creativity and freedom of the 1960s. The ruling class are stuck in habitual patterns, responding to the world of yesteryear. The British response to Brexit on both sides of the House gives the impression of government by an old guard, some more or less well meaning, but all failing to comprehend the reality of contemporary geopolitics and the global aspirations of young people.

 EU preparations for a no deal Brexit are damaging UK interests, according to David Davis

Although the young had their vision of global solidarity and their dreams of freedom within our continent dashed by the vote in June 2016, their ability to grasp the world as one system is inspiring. They recognise that climate change is a cause that binds is from Vanuatu to Vienna. They understand that the frightening power of global crime cries out for a global alliance for justice and equality.

When I have conversations with young people I am struck by their hope and confidence in the modern world. All they are waiting for are the opportunities to develop solutions and the power to put these into practice.

These feel like days of political despair, with the forces of reaction and division in the ascendancy. But beneath this crust I can feel the surging of hope of the millennials, the first truly global generation. We must embrace and support their vision of hope. As for the old guard, dragging us back to a bygone era, they should get out of the road if they cant lend a hand.

Molly Scott Cato MEP is Green Party speaker on Brexit
The usual cliche about the British Army is that it is always ready to fight the last war, rather than the next one. So the top brass are to be congratulated for trying, at least, to drag the Armys recruitment strategy into the modern world, and attempting to build up the strength of undermanned battalions by appealing to the youth of 2018  and not 1918.

To listen to some youd think that the Army should still be relying on the Union flag and that famous Great War poster that had General Lord Kitchener staring out wearing his huge walrus moustache with pointed index finger, telling Britons that he Wants You. In any case the Army still Wants You: its just that the You has changed from being what it was in great-granddads day.

There is nothing wrong with the Army asking these sorts of question, in its modern campaign, such as: can I be gay in the Army? What if I get emotional in the Army? Can I practise my faith in the Army? Will I be listened to in the Army? Do I have to be a superhero to join the Army?

These are questions that would-be recruits have always fretted about, and honesty about them might have come in handy in the past.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

The truth, as anyone who has served in the military will tell you, is that some of the Armys greatest heroes and everyday soldiers at every rank have been gay, in or, rarely, out of the closet, and no one should really be too bothered about it. The same goes for Air Force and the Navy.

Indeed, the new Army inclusive recruitment drive is far from being unprecedented in its novelty or lack of raw patriotic appeal. I can remember British Army ads in the 1970s that told you that well help you see more of the world, though they were less than frank about telling you that that included being tortured by the IRA in some barn in South Armagh.

Lads joined the army to learn a skill that would be useful in civilian life, like being an electrician or driving a truck. There were balmy images of life around the beach on the sun-kissed RAF bases on Cyprus. Only later did they discover it also meant going out and beating civilians until they told you where the terrorists were hiding. Ads for the armed forces have always been, shall we say, tangential, about the killing and maiming aspects of the role.

Nor is this new campaign so audacious as the gayest recruitment drive ever, for the American navy. Some four decades ago the United States Navy approached the Village People, of all people, to ask permission to use their new disco number In The Navy for a naval recruitment ad. The Village People, you may recall, had just had a huge hit with YMCA (go on  do the dance, and the actions) and their appeal was well understood. The People agreed  on condition that the group could film the music video/recruitment ad on a proper naval ship, which was duly what happened. I dont think it did the US Navy, or the Village People, any harm.

The serious point is that our Army is too small to do what the politicians are asking it to do  even more the case if Northern Ireland kicks off again. Moreover, even though it is too small in its theoretical strength, its actual strength is even smaller because they cant get the men and women they need to join up. As General Sir Nick Carter, head of the Army candidly admits, its old reliable recruiting pool of young white working class lads has been shrinking, a product of changing demographics, including a gradually falling birth rate. The other point is that to Be the Best the British army needs quality recruits from every background, and can no longer afford to ignore talent that happens to be female or brown skinned. We cannot afford  and nor can the country  to have a divisively white male armed forces, unwelcoming to women or people from minority ethnic backgrounds. The next stage is to make sure they get the responsibility and promotions that will continue to make the British Army the most effective force in the world, for its size.

In America, for example, it is perfectly apparent that black Americans can get to the top of the armed forces, and especially the US army, in a way they have not yet done in Britain. On the other hand, and, for some bad reasons, black troops have been overrepresented in all the wars America has fought, certainly since 1945, and notoriously in Vietnam, as the white college boys were much better at dodging the draft (ask George W Bush or Donald Trump). Latterly, to fight for freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan, black youngsters in depressed towns with no prospects were in fact targeted by the US armys recruiters.

So increasing BAME representation in the armed forces has a bit of a double edge to it. Id applaud the decision by members of the Royal Family to appoint BAME soldiers as equerries and ceremonial guards, but no one wants to see a situation where black men and women are fighting Britains wars because white Britons fail to join up in sufficient numbers, or are disproportionately used just to fill up the officer classes.

Still, the most urgent issue, to be honest, is to break down the dual no-win/catch-22 that afflicts young potential recruits who happen to be Muslim. On the one hand the racists and reactionaries argue that Muslims dont want to join the forces because they arent loyal or British enough. But when Muslims do show up in the Army, Marines, Air Force or Navy, these same keyboard warriors say that they shouldnt be there because Muslims cannot be loyal or British. It is one of the most pernicious of lies out there, and I for one am relieved that the Army, where teamwork and loyalty is literally a matter of life and death, is setting out to nail that lie and make this country a safer, better defended place for us all. The Army are the best and they can be better.
In the spirit of all respectable January detoxes, Theresa Mays efforts were the political equivalent of forty eight hours off the Malbec and a four minute wobble on the treadmill.

For several weeks, this January reshuffle, which remains in progress, has been billed as a chance to detoxify the Tory brand. To bring in fresh blood, a new generation of young, social media savvy Conservatives.

It began with Chris Grayling being announced as the new party chairman on Twitter, only for it to be deleted twenty seven seconds later and the job given to Brandon Lewis.

In fairness, history is likely to judge Mr Graylings time in the job quite favourably. The party maintained its position in the polls throughout. No major disasters occurred. So in that sense, it was by far Mr Graylings most accomplished performance thus far.

The problem with the January detox, even one as dry as this, is that they are themselves a confession that a certain degree of re-tox has been going on.

In Theresa Mays case, it was not merely an indulgent festive season for which she was attempting to atone, but a long eighteen month journey in which she has taken her party backwards at very high speed.

With exceptions, the minor appointments are, for the most part, yet to be made. James Cleverly becomes Deputy Chairman. Kemi Badenoch is among many new vice chairmans to be announced.

The likes of Rishi Sunak and Suella Fernandes will in all likelihood receive junior ministerial jobs on Tuesday.

But it is important to remember exactly why this detox is occurring. Since June 24th 2016, the Conservative Party has has not so much distanced itself as stampeded away from the modern metropolitan values that, like it or not, made it surprisingly electable under David Cameron.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

David Cameron, by the way, did not summon the press cameras to watch him huskie-sledding across the Arctic circle for no reason. He did not compel people to hug a hoodie because there were no votes in it. He told his party to stop banging on about Europe because it was his entirely correct view that to do so would be to keep them out of government in perpetuity.

Theresa May has overseen a great leap backwards from this position of electoral advancement. Within days of becoming Prime Minister, she was flirting with the return of grammar schools. The single most read news story before the 2017 election was what appeared to be the disappearance from the manifesto of a ban on ivory sales. There was the citizens of nowhere conference speech, the dementia tax, and the plan to allow parliament a vote on the return of fox hunting.

These are not problems that can be remedied by the presence on the outer reaches of government of a few younger, less white faces.

They are also the problems that have turned young people away from the Conservatives in their millions, to the point where the party fears losing an entire generation, and with it its electoral prospects for a generation too.

It was this that prompted the radical shake up at the partys central office, with the appointment of swathes of new vice chairmen, all posing for pictures outside Number 10 with Theresa May.

But young peoples problem with the Conservatives is more than an image one. It is driven by the growing view that they will never, ever get on the housing ladder. It had been suggested Theresa May might create a new department to deal with this. A Housing Secretary, of cabinet rank.

What young people got instead was some new headed notepaper. The addition of the word Housing to the job title of the man trying to sort the problem out, Sajid Javid. It has thus far, not been a lack of job title that has stopped Sajid Javid making meaningful progress on the housing crisis. It has been a lack of financial support from the Treasury, a state of affairs that shows no sign of changing.

He was not the only one with a new job title. Jeremy Hunt emerged from Number 10 after more than an hour, still wearing his NHS pin badge, even though he is now the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Some belated, enlightened joined up thinking perhaps, but for the large section of the public the very words Jeremy Hunt represent the decimation of the NHS by the Conservatives. That it now falls to him to undo the damage done by the short-lived dementia tax may not have the desired effect.

In fact, it was that policy that inadvertently baptised a phrase that is clearly not going away. Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed.
The significance of the talks between North and South Korea lies some way beyond the marginal involvement of a North Korean bobsleigh team in the Winter Olympics to be held south of the border.

As dramatic in their way as any test missile loosed off by Pyongyang into the far Pacific Ocean, they represent a significant easing in the tensions that have been building up towards crisis point in recent months, with angry  and usually babyish  rhetoric from Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un about the size of their nuclear buttons only adding to surreal atmosphere and risk of an apocalyptic, accidental war.

The hotline between Seoul and Pyongyang has undergone repair (a lengthy procedure on the northern side) and there is a vague feeing that Koreans should be able to sort out Koreas problems. That has, of course, never been true, or else the war that began in 1950 would by now have had a peace treaty signed to end hostilities, rather than the longest running truce in the world.

What is even more hopeful, then, is that President Trumps White House has indicated that it is open to the idea of jaw-jaw as well as war-war. Periodically, betwixt and between bad-tempered outbursts, Mr Trump and his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, have been making gentle public overtures to the North Koreans for some months. They have sought to reassure Kim, an understandably paranoid soul, that the United States does not seek regime change in Pyongyang, and has no wish to try to conquer the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, hardly a ravishing prospect at the best of times.

The President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, may have been diplomatically overgenerous in assigning a huge contribution to President Trump for this latest hopeful twist in the Korean saga, but it certainly seems to be the case that a determined tough stance, and, more crucially, ever-tighter UN sanctions being more enthusiastically applied by China, have prompted a change of mind by Kim Jong-un.

To his own generals and people, Kim can claim that, having developed some sort of long-range nuclear device that has a chance of reaching US territory  as well as South Korea, Japan and other Western allies  he can now relax a little and stand equal with the Yankees and their running dogs south of the DMZ. A summit between President Moon and Mr Kim is no longer unthinkable, and, wisely for a change, with the blessing of the White House.

 North Korea and South Korea open line of communication

Kim desperately needs foreign exchange for food and raw materials, as well as his military ambitions, and the South Koreans, a wealthy nation by any standards, are the easiest place to lay his hands on some easy money. Hence his uncharacteristic decision to play nice.

Cynics claim, with an increasingly strong body of evidence, that President Trumps first reaction when faced with a piece of bad news is to deploy distraction techniques to move the new agenda away from whatever embarrassing revelation or firing or book is the latest to turn up on the news networks. If so, then a visit by The Donald to strike a deal personally with the hermit king of North Korea would be the circus to surpass all previous diplomatic circuses, including Richard Nixons historic trip to China to meet Mao in 1972. The meeting of the two most fragile and dangerous egos on the planet, with their equally strange hairstyles and dynastic entourages would be sufficient to take attention away from whatever Robert Mueller has next planned. A Trump-Kim summit is not impossible, though it might be more photo-op than anything meaningful.

Yet it remains difficult to be optimistic about the prospects for a long-term settlement on the Korean peninsula, and by extension the entire Asia-Pacific region. Americas formal position is that Kim should drop his nuclear weapons programme; yet there is no feasible personal incentive to do so. The new nuclear deterrent remains his sole insurance policy against the type of open military action he watched America take in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, as well as countless cover assassination attempts on unfriendly dictators the world over, with accompanying actual or attempted regime change.

Kim does not want to follow the fate of Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gaddafi. The political and economic systems of the North and South are, if anything, more incompatible than at any time since the partition of the country all those decades ago, which perversely means that the South may be less interested in the romantic appeal of reunification, given the burden the North would impose on the Souths economy and living standards. (The gulf between the two is much wider than, say, that between the two Germanies of 1990.)

Korea is not going to be united anytime soon, but it is not going to go to war either. At least not until the bobsleigh heats are over.
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Google Jan. 9 honored Indian American biochemist and Nobel Prize winning researcher Har Gobind Khorana on what would have been his 96th birthday. Bangalore-based illustrator Rohan Dahotre drew the Doodle. (Google.com photo)
House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce, R-California, who formerly chaired the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, announced Jan. 8 that he would not seek re-election in November. In this file photo, Royce (left) is shown shaking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis hand, when the premier visited Northern California in late September 2015. Looking on is Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-California. (photo courtesy of the House Foreign Affairs Committee)
Raghunandan Yandamuri (left) will be executed Feb. 23 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, for the 2012 murders of 61-year-old Satyavathi Venna, and her 10-month-old granddaughter Saanvi Venna. Yandamuri is the first Indian American to receive the death penalty. (India-West file photo)
Indias Ministry of Women and Child Development has banned Holt International, the U.S. agency that facilitated the adoption of Indian toddler Sherin Mathews (above) by Indian Americans Wesley and Sini Mathews, from arranging more adoptions in India. During the Mathews adoption process, Holt International, as well as our partner agency in Texas, followed all national and international adoption policies, procedures, laws and best practices, Susan Soonkeum Cox, vice president for Policy & External Affairs at Holt International, told India-West in an e-mail. (Love & Justice for Sherin Saraswati Mathews Facebook page)
Home Iran: Surviving Another Attack Supported From Abroad By Andre Vltchek January 09, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Protests in Iran are winding down, and the streets in most of the cities are becoming quiet again. But the question remains: who was behind the events that took at least 22 human lives? The diplomatic and media storm is far from abiding with questions about the origin of the protests. What really took place in Iran at the very end of year 2017 and at the very beginning of 2018? Was it a spontaneous rebellion, an attempt to improve economic and social situation in the country, a revolt against ayatollahs, or both? Was it really a protest against Iranian-style socialism? Or was it, after all, a bold and ruthless attempt from abroad to overthrow the Iranian system? Many, including this writer, believe that it was yet another effort of Washington and its allies to trigger a 'Color-style revolution in an extremely important country that stands in the way to their geopolitical and economic interests. Protests began in Mashhad on December 28, reportedly over rising food prices and growing unemployment. Within days, protesters in several other cities called for overthrowing the government and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. No country can create a secure environment for itself at the expense of creating insecurity among its neighbors, Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday, warning outside actors who sought to exploit the protests, without naming them. Iran also has sent a letter to the UN , accusing the US of "grotesque" interference in its internal affairs. It has been pointed out by Russias envoy to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia: The feeling is that there is some sort of inexplicable allergy to this country and it clouds the thinking about events in this country and leads to wishful thinking. Perhaps such thinking could be described as morally inexplicable, but from the strictly pragmatic stance that is governing foreign policy of the United States, it is quite logical. There were just too many similarities with the events that during the last years and decades shook various areas of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa . Iran, as well as Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, China, North Korea, but even South Africa or Eritrea, to name just a few countries, is clearly on the list of Americas adversaries. Iran landed on that list for defending right to develop its own political and economic system, and for defending several countries that are facing unjustifiable attacks from the West. Iran is the main adversary of the West in the region. It is supporting Hezbollah, it was helping to defeat both Al-Nusra and ISIS in Lebanon, it was supporting Syrias Bashar Assad. It stands, decisively, on the side of Palestinian people, and it cooperates with all revolutionary countries of Latin America (for instance, it helped to build several public housing projects in Venezuela). The US is also concerned about the influence of Iran in Afghanistan which manifests in both economic ties and fighting ISIS. Both Russia and Iran have been warning about ISIS fighters moving to Afghanistan. Moscow has expressed concern that ISIS in that country could represent threat to its safety. In light of all that is mentioned above, the allergy is clearly explicable, although only when extremely perverse logic is applied. And perverse logic is being increasingly used by many Western politicians as well as mass media. Iran is facing increasing danger of being antagonized, isolated and even attacked by the West. Recent events (protests) may well be the first stage of the new wave of regime change coming from the United States, its allies and the 5th Column inside Iran. But this time it appears that Teheran knows perfectly well what is happening. It had enough. It is not too difficult to see why Iranian leaders are furious. Several US political leaders have made derogatory statements concerning the countrys political system. They expressed support for the protesters; support which could be easily seen as direct interference in the internal affairs of the country. For instance, on January 3, President of the United States, Donald Trump, tweeted : Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government. You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time! And this was not just some isolated threatening tweet produced by Mr. Trump. Much more venom has been pouring from both his personal account, and from many other accounts of social media, which became a tool that is often used for Western political interests, including infamous regime change projects. During the same period of time, the US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, stated, directly and barefacedly: Let there be no doubt the US stands unapologetically with those in Iran who seem freedom for themselves, prosperity for their families and dignity for their nation... Never Miss Another Story Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter It is very appropriate to recall that in modern history, Iran has been facing repeatedly the most horrific acts of terror, committed by the West; almost all of them in the name of freedom and democracy: In 2013, the CIA has publicly admitted that it was behind the infamous 1953 coup against Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, a socialist who dared to nationalize Irans oil industry and to use it for social development of his nation. It is widely accepted that the UK was involved as well. During 1980-88 Iraq-Iran War, tens of thousands Iranians vanished . Iran was invaded by Iraq, a country armed and encouraged by the West. Four Iranian nuclear scientists, Masoud Alimohammadi, Majid Shahriari, Darioush Rezaeinejad and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, were murdered between 2010 and 2012. No one took responsibility for the attacks. Israel neither confirmed nor denied reports accusing it of ordering the murders. Iran has also been suffering, for years and decades, from the myriad of crippling embargoes and sanctions. Despite its longstanding torment, there has been very little effort made by the Western intellectuals to understand and support the country. Most of the times they have been desperately trying to argue that a secular state based on Western rules would be something that should be desired by a great majority of the Iranian people. Of course Iranian people were never consulted. Majority of Iranians are content with what they have: a socialist (or call it socialism with Iranian characteristics) state that is simultaneously based on the strong Muslim foundations. Whether foreigners like it or not, this is what seems to be the true desire and will of Iranian people: a present doze of Islam, plus even more socialism. A leading Iranian intellectual, Ramin Mazaheri wrote these words just several hours before the end of 2017, and they were published by The Saker (Iran protests: Western salivation, agitation & desperation, December 31, 2017): Two people have died in the protests, and the government declared that security forces fired no bullets, and attributed the death to foreign agents. Given what has happened in Ukraine (and hundreds of other places over the years), and given the massive democratic support the government hasit would be insane and illogical to rush to judgment against the government. Of course, this is exactly what the Western media is doing. They will desperately blow this out of proportion. They will salivate at the protests, dissimulate regarding their own hypocrisies, agitate for war, and all because they are so desperate to push their anti-Iranian agenda. This is textbook, and the historical modus operandi, and it will not change when the Western calendar turns to 2018 in around 12 hours. It will likely work to great effect outside of Iran, but inside? No way. Iran is too busy trying to repair our issues  which every society has because humans are not perfect  to be fooled by tabloid journalism. All this has been taking place not long after the United States threatened to torpedo international nuclear deal signed in 2015, an attempt that met strong opposition even from the closest allies of Washington, like the UK and France. Hardened and proud, Iran is not willing to surrender. This is not the first time that its willpower is being tested. This time the country is not alone. From China to Russia, from Latin America to the Middle East and Africa, support for its people is growing. As reported by the China Daily , Mr. Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation affiliated to the Ministry of Commerce summarized Chinas position: The US has supported the Iranian protesters and called for more sanctions against Iran. But China should maintain its stance of not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. By not heeding the US' call, China will send the message that it supports the Iranian people to resolve their crisis on their own. Russia's envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia has snapped at the United States: We don't want to get involved in destabilizing Iran or any other country. If we follow your logic, then we should have meetings of the Security Council after the events in Ferguson or after the dispersal by force of the Occupy Wall Street movement in Manhattan. Turkey expressed support for Iranian state, and even France refused to go along with the US initiatives against the Iranian government. On January 3, 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron declared: The official line pursued by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, who are our allies in many ways, is almost one that would lead us to war. What he did not mention is that war with Iran and many other adversaries may actually be exactly what many leaders in Washington are trying to provoke. Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He has covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. Three of his latest books are his tribute to The Great October Socialist Revolution a revolutionary novel Aurora and a bestselling work of political non-fiction:  Exposing Lies Of The Empire . View his other books here . Watch Rwanda Gambit , his groundbreaking documentary about Rwanda and DRCongo and his film/dialogue with Noam Chomsky On Western Terrorism . Vltchek presently resides in East Asia and the Middle East, and continues to work around the world. He can be reached through his website and his Twitter . This article was originally published by RT - ==== Join the Discussion It is not necessary for ICH readers to register before placing a comment. This website encourages readers to use the "Report" link found at the base of each comment. When a predetermined number of ICH readers click on the "Report" link, the comment will be automatically sent to "moderation". This would appear to be the most logical way to allow open comments, where you the reader/supporter, can determine what is acceptable speech. Please don't use the report feature simply because you disagree with the author point of view. Treat others with respect, remembering that "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still."- Benjamin Franklin. Please read our Comment Policy before posting - Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. 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North Korea: The Deafening Silence around the Moon-Putin Plan



By Joseph Essertier

In the heart of appeasement theres the fear of rejection, and in acts of fear there are mirrors of oppression.

- Chris Jami

January 09, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - As the world hurtles ever closer to war in Asia, there is an Alice-in-Wonderland media narrative that has North Korea as the aggressor that must be controlled and punished at all costs. And in the face of that narrative, the deafening silence of intellectuals is starting to bear a remarkable resemblance to appeasement.

In 1938 one of the most heinous war criminals of the 20th century was planning to occupy Czechoslovakia, a country where about three million people of German origin lived. War seemed imminent as Hitler continued to make inflammatory speeches. The British prime minister Neville Chamberlain offered to go to Hitlers retreat and discuss the situation personally. Chamberlains placatory efforts produced the Munich Agreement that he, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Edouard Daladier signed, handing over a large chunk of Czechoslovakia to Germany. People in Czechoslovakia felt betrayed, but Chamberlain was praised. He told the British public he had achieved peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time. In later years the lesson drawn from the Munich Agreement was that expansionist totalitarian states must not be appeased.

Today it would seem the very same farce is being re-enacted in a contemporary version of appeasement that Chamberlain would have envied. History demands that we ask all the academics, intellectuals, media and the like who claim to represent the left-to-liberal spectrum, why they are so unconcernedly complicit with the United Nations in appeasing the blood-thirsty Trump administration. Some parrot the Alice-in-Wonderland narrative concerning North Korea; many others remain silent.

The Moon-Putin Plan: One Possible Path To Peace

One could be forgiven for not having heard of it since it disrupts the standard North-Korea-Problem narrative, but there is a realistic solution to the crisis that liberal and progressive appeasers are keeping silent about. This is the Moon-Putin Plan unveiled in September in Vladivostok. President Moon outlined it as nine bridges of cooperation linking South Korea to Russia via North Koreagas, railroads, ports, electricity, a northern sea route, shipbuilding, jobs, agriculture, and fisheries. Siberian oil and gas pipelines would be extended to Korea, both North and South, as well as to Japan. Both Koreas would be linked up with the vast rail networks of Beijings Belt and Road Initiative, including high-speed rail, and the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes the Trans-Siberian Railway. In the words of Gavan McCormack, North Korea would accept the security guarantee of the five (Japan included), refrain from any further nuclear or missile testing, shelve (freeze) its existing programs and gain its longed for normalization in the form of incorporation in regional groupings, the lifting of sanctions and normalized relations with its neighbour states, without surrender. This Moon-Putin Plan has the potential to satisfy all the states involved, possibly even the US. One would think, Done deal. Problem solved. Yet mainstream journalists in Japan and English-speaking countries have largely ignored it, and even very few non-mainstream journalists have covered it.

Why should this be so?

US and UN Atrocities

Let us review a few facts about crimes committed on the Korean Peninsula, not only those of the US but also those of the UN, the post-WWII institution that admittedly has often provided at least some kind of forum for states to settle their differences in a rational and just manner. On 12 December 1948 the UN General Assembly declared that the Republic of Korea (i.e., South Korea) was the only lawful government on the Peninsula. This was UN Resolution 195, and it was one of the UNs worst moments, a gross injustice to the bulk of the population and a cause of the Korean War.

First, Resolution 195 was a violation of the UNs own charter (most obviously Article 32) since North Korea was never invited to discuss the dispute over who was the legitimate government on the Peninsula. Second, the position of the US State Department and the UN had originally been that the government of South Korea could only have jurisdiction over those areas where the UN Commission on Korea had observed elections, which was only in some parts of the South. Third, during the elections, even at those polling places where the UN had been watching, there were rightist police and fascist, terrorist youth groups all around the polling places, just as under the Japanese colonizers. And fourth, the new president Syngman Rhee (18751965) was a tyrant and his government was riddled with notorious collaborators who had served the Japanese colonizers. Koreans knew they were in for a repeatsame injustice, different masters. The UN had lent the government the legitimacy it needed.

Especially in places like Cheju Island, where people had built their own self-governing committees, the rigged elections on the mainland caused tremendous anger. The residents had had a taste of undemocratic policies of the American occupation, and the unfair elections were the last straw. Only after thousands of political murders and imprisonments could an election be held on Cheju Island, one year after the mainland elections. In May 1949 an American Embassy official reported that the all-out guerrilla extermination campaigncame to a virtual end in April with order restored and most rebels and sympathizers killed, captured, or converted.

In the Taejon (Daejeon) Massacre from the 2nd to the 6th of July 1950, American officials stood idly by and took photos while Korean police massacred 3,000 to 7,000 political prisonersmen, boys, and women. The UN Command was known at that time for hiding the truth, and unsurprisingly, the UN Commission on Korea did nothing to investigate.

Or consider that the US Air Force (USAF)s horrific bombing campaign in the Korean War, under the aegis of the United Nations Command, constituted genocide. Neither the United Nations Genocide Convention approved in 1948 and going into effect in 1951, nor the Red Cross Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Wartime of 1948 had the slightest impact on this air war in the words of the American historian Bruce Cumings, who has covered the history thoroughly, from all sides of the War, including the various ways in which Americans abused Koreans, both North and South, as well as about the abundant lies in North Korean government propaganda.

The Problem of Class Inequality

There has long been extreme class inequality in Korea and it is no accident that President Syngman Rhee was on the side of the ruling class. For centuries Korea had not been a society where there was a fair distribution of wealth between the unproductive class and the class of cultivators, i.e., a society where each class enjoys its proper share of the whole annual produce, to borrow the language of Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations. But some of those from the old aristocratic elite had been in the process of finding ways to escape parasitism and modernize their country. Just when they were starting to make progress, global depression, war, and ever-increasing Japanese repression in the 1930s destroyed much of this progress, turned many elite Koreans into collaborators, and left few options for patriots besides armed resistance.

The Role of Collaborators

Extreme rightist power is how Governor Yu Hae-jin described to the US Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) the people who helped him suppress democracy on Cheju Island. The leaders who would subsequently shape ROK politics had mostly collaborated with the agents of the Empire of Japan. (ROK = Republic of Korea). Those leaders were selected by one Col. Cecil Nist, who viewed them as conservatives. To give this group of mostly treacherous, non-patriots some credibility, the US Office of Strategic Services selected Syngman Rhee to give this group a veneer of legitimacy. A fluent speaker of English and a Christian convert, he had received years of indoctrination in higher education in the US, and although he had made efforts on behalf of Korean independence in his younger years, he was Washingtons man.

In contrast to WWII, where American soldiers and soldiers of most of the other UN Command states had fought against fascists, the war in Korea saw the US and UN using extreme rightist power, to fight against democracy. The Korean campaign represented a bizarre vision of bringing freedom and liberty to a sordid dictatorship run by servants of Japanese imperialism.

While it is true that the US has dominated the UN since its inception, especially during the Korean War, and while the UN Command forces were actually under the command of US generals, the UN Command also shares some of the responsibility for the many atrocities committed against Koreans. Can anyone really argue they have no responsibility to speak the truth about their conduct during the War? Rhee once described to an American reporter what he planned to do: With bulldozers we will dig huge excavations and trenches, and fill them with Communists. Then cover them over. Ironically, the UN appears comfortable with performing a similar act on its own past.

The Crimes of the UN Today

Some experts are now saying that war has already been declared on North Korea, a country that has yet to attack anyone. The UN has authorized UN member states to interdict and inspect North Korean vessels in international waters (which amounts to a declaration of war), according to Pepe Escobar . McCormack concurs, explaining that there is only a very fine line between the sanctions and outright war.

Gregory Elich writes , U.S. officials are fanning out across the globe, seeking to cajole or threaten other nations to join the anti-DPRK crusade. Since most nations stand to lose far more by displeasing the U.S. than by ending a longstanding relationship with North Korea, the campaign is having an effect.

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And now Washington is talking about a bloody nose approachhoping that we can just smash up their military equipment a little while they stand by and not attack Seoul.

According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, due to a drought that is worse than the one in 2001, the total harvest of staple crops such as rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, wheat, and barley is far smaller than that of last year. Last month they reported, Most households are anticipated to continue to experience borderline or poor food consumption rates. This means that during the bitterest cold of the year in Korea in the midst of strong icy winds from Siberia bringing temperatures down to a daily average low of 13 C and a high of 3 C, 12 million innocents in North Korea will be suffering from hunger. The government food ration in North Korea is 300 grams of food, i.e., about two medium-size potatoes. So the sanctions are well-timed indeed for maximum suffering.

We are being told over and over that North Koreans are secretive. What are our governments, i.e., those of the UN Command, doing about that secretiveness? They are pressuring Beijing to shut down North Korean businesses. In other words, we are shutting down communication and all economic exchanges with them, establishing a pirate-like siege on their country. Does this make sensethat the best way to solve the problem is to cut off communications, cease doing business, and freeze/starve the civilian population to death? That is what the response of the UN means in diplomatic terms. As Winston Churchill once said, To jaw-jaw always is better than to war-war.

Among the 17 member nations of the UN Command, the only state with roots in that part of the world at the time of the Korean War, who would have had to live with the consequences of a divided country and continued civil war, was South Korea. But South Koreas blood-thirsty dictator President Rhee had on his side the US as well as the other 16 member states of the UN Command, so the chances of his winning the entire Peninsula were high. As for Japan, it was under US Occupation during most of the War, but it played the role of an unsinkable aircraft carrier for USAF bombers, so in that sense it served the UN Command side. On the whole, the UN Command states stand to lose little and possibly even gain if it comes to war and the UN in general has a dark history with Korea, so one cannot expect fairness from them.

Conclusion

The Moon-Putin Plan not only has the potential to radically alter the current global system by setting up an alternative economic and cooperative Asian trading block where mutual aid takes precedence over old enmities but it is also one of the few options on the table that involves a pragmatic and peaceful alternative to Washingtons violent and greedy Open Door Policy. The Moon-Putin Plan must be worrisome for the Pentagon since it has the potential to end that long-standing ideology, the one that has driven humanity into this crisis.

The current crisis can be resolved by nuclear armageddon, or by a peaceful solution that brings about a new geopolitical order. There is no middle ground. There is no room for appeasers of any kind, whether they be UN and government types or left-to-liberal intellectuals and activists. This is one of those moments in history when we must stand up and be counted. Must we repeat the words of Winston Churchill to Britains Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain? You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour and you will have war.

Notes.

For more on the Moon-Putin Plan, see Gavan McCormack, North Korea and a Rules-Based Order for the Indo-Pacific, East Asia, and the World, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus (15 November 2017). http://apjjf.org/2017/22/McCormack.html

On the history of the Korean War, see Bruce Cumings, The Korean War: A History, (Modern Library, 2011).

Many thanks to Stephen Brivati for comments, suggestions, and editing.

Joseph Essertier can be reached at essertier.joseph@nitech.ac.jp

This article was originally published by Counterpunch -

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Trump-Russia Dossier Firm Is Still 'Digging' up Dirt on the President

By Sam Schwarz

January 09, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Fusion GPS, the firm behind the controversial dossier connecting President Donald Trump and Russia, is apparently not done looking into potential ties between the president and the nation accused of meddling in the 2016 elections.

The news comes from a report in The New York Times Monday, which purports that the barrage of attacks facing the firm, founded by former Wall Street Journal reporter Glenn Simpson, and dossier author Christopher Steele has not stopped Fusion GPS from continuing its investigations.

Based on multiple people briefed on the research, The Times reports that Fusion is still looking into links between Trump and Russia. The specific line of inquiry, however, remains under wraps.

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The news report comes just days after two prominent Republican senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended to the Department of Justice that it open a probe into Steele. The letter was the first criminal referral in congressional investigations into Russia meddling in the election.

Senator Lindsey Graham, who made the criminal referral along with Senator Chuck Grassley, spoke about Steele on NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday morning.

"During the time that Mr. Steele was being an informant for the FBI, we now know he was shopping the dossier to journalist outlets all over the world, which is inconsistent, in my view, with being a reliable informant," Graham told host Chuck Todd.

But Steele's actions aren't the only thing being bandied about around the halls of Congress and on political talk shows. Simpson and the approximately 20 hours of testimony he has provided to Congress across three separate committees have also become political flashpoints.

According to The Times, Grassley called Simpson "uncooperative" in assessing his testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Democratic Representative Adam Schiff said Simpson was "very cooperative" during his time testifying to the House Intelligence Committee.

The dossier itself contained a host of potentially damning claims, some of which have been verified since the report was controversially published in its entirety by Buzzfeed News just 10 days before Trump's inauguration. Other allegations remain unconfirmed.

One particularly salacious claim yet to be verified, which has led to the dossier being referred to as the "pee tape dossier," says that before running for president, Trump hired prostitutes while he was staying in Russia to put on a "golden showers urination show" on a bed once slept in by Barack and Michelle Obama. The Russians reportedly planned to blackmail Trump with a video of the evening. Trump immediately denied the contents of the dossier in his signature manner, tweeting "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!"

Yet while the investigations, probes and political sparring matches continue to play out within the halls of Congress, one of Simpson's allies says that if there is dirt to be found, Simpson will find it.

"[Simpson]s a relentlessly digging sort of guy, Tim Burger, who worked with Simpson in the past, told The Times. If there is a document out there about anything, he will find it.

This article was originally published by Newsweek -

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Trump-Russia Dossier Firm Is Still 'Digging' up Dirt on the President

Democrats Release the Fusion GPS Testimony on Trump and Russia

Why are Trump's lawyers nervous? Because Mueller wants to interview Trump about obstruction.

If Russia probe goes near Trump's finances, 'he's sunk,' 'Fire and Fury' author Michael Wolff says

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NSA Surveillance Bill Would Legalize Loophole That Lets FBI Spy on Americans Without a Warrant

By Alex Emmons

January 09, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - With major NSA surveillance authorities set to expire later this month, House Republicans are rushing to pass a bill that would not only reauthorize existing powers, but also codify into law some practices that critics have called unconstitutional.

The bill takes aim at reforming how federal law enforcement can use data collected by the National Security Agency, putting a modest constraint on when the FBI can conduct so-called backdoor searches of Americans communications. But because such searches make use of a legal loophole, critics say the current bill may do more harm than good by explicitly writing the practice into law.

The bill would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which serves as the basis for some of the NSAs largest surveillance programs, and keep it on the books through 2023. The law was first passed in 2008 after the George W. Bush administrations secret warrantless wiretapping was made public, effectively to legalize what the administration was doing.

The law allows the intelligence community to spy on Americans transnational communications without a warrant so long as the targets are not Americans. In 2013, documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA vacuums up a tremendous amount of wholly domestic communications through the program as well.

Republicans tried to ram through a different incarnation of the bill last month, based on a more draconian version passed by the House Intelligence Committee. During a daylong push to drum up support, Republicans on the committee circulated fliers depicting enlarged photos of Islamic State fighters, trying to give the impression that failing to pass that bill would be a gift to foreign terrorists. But leadership backed off after determining they didnt have enough votes to pass it, according to multiple congressional sources. Domestic surveillance is the rare issue on which hard-right Republicans and left-leaning privacy advocates often find common ground.

The new version of the bill, posted on the Rules Committee website late Friday, is designed to get the buy-in of Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. It includes compromise language taken from a separate bill passed out of that committee in November, which included some modest limitations on existing authorities, including the reform to backdoor searches.

The bill takes aim at one of the key problems with the original law: that Section 702 doesnt limit how data can be used by federal law enforcement. That has given rise to the backdoor search loophole, in which the NSA shares certain kinds of information with the FBI, which the FBI then uses to search for Americans communications without a warrant.

Privacy advocates have called backdoor searches unconstitutional and urged Congress to close the loophole by requiring the FBI to get a court order to query Americans communications. The current bill takes a crack at doing so, requiring the FBI to get a warrant before searching the data in relation to an open criminal investigation.

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But the bill carves out large exceptions. The FBI doesnt have to apply for a warrant when national security is involved, or when it determines that there is a threat to life or serious bodily harm. And the bill would continue to allow the FBI to sift through the data even when those searches dont involve a specific criminal investigation, which the FBI already does so often that they have compared it to searching Google .

The FBI doesnt have to apply for a warrant when national security is involved, or when it determines a threat to life or serious bodily harm.

Daniel Schuman, policy director for digital rights organization Demand Progress, said the new bill essentially codifies illegal backdoor searches, while failing to effectively limit them.

The Intelligence Committees bill disregards the Constitution and common sense by granting the government the authority to search Americans communications without first obtaining a warrant, Schuman told The Intercept. Not only does this turn the purpose of the foreign surveillance law on its head, transforming it into a domestic surveillance tool, but it places activists, minorities, and everyone else at the mercy of President Trump and Attorney General Sessions, who have made clear their disregard for legal constraints and democratic norms.

The bill also addresses a second area of advocates concerns: about collection, in which the NSA scans communications, including those involving Americans, to find those that merely mention a targets selector  like an email address  somewhere in the message. After arguing for years that it was necessary to detect terror plots, the NSA discontinued the practice in April after it was found to violate rules imposed by the FISA court.

The bill codifies the end of about collection into law, but instead of a permanent prohibition, it provides a pathway for the practice to legally continue in an ad hoc way. It allows the Director of National Intelligence to notify Congress of the intent to restart about collection on an emergency basis, provided that the DNI tells Congress and the FISA court. Barring objections from either, the NSA can keep doing it.

It is unclear how much support the bill will have from Republicans. Several Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus, like Justin Amash, R-Mich., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have already come out against it, saying its unconstitutional for the U.S. to amass data on Americans without a warrant. The American Civil Liberties Union also released a statement of opposition Friday, saying the bill risks being read as a codification and expansion of certain illegal government practices, such as about collection.

The bill is scheduled to be considered by the Rules Committee on Tuesday and could come up for a vote as early as Thursday, according to multiple congressional sources familiar with the process.

This article was originally published by The Intercept -

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The House Intelligence Committees Section 702 Bill is a Wolf in Sheeps Clothing

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Does the U.N. Have Authority to Oversee Protests in Member Countries?

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Informing Iran, The U.S. is watching what you do, Amb. Nikki Haley called an emergency meeting Friday of the Security Council regarding the riots in Iran. The session left her and us looking ridiculous.

Frances ambassador tutored Haley that how nations deal with internal disorders is not the councils concern. Russias ambassador suggested the United Nations should have looked into our Occupy Wall Street clashes and how the Missouri cops handled Ferguson. Fifty years ago, 100 U.S. cities erupted in flames after Martin Luther Kings assassination. Federal troops were called in. In 1992, Los Angeles suffered the worst U.S. riot of the 20th century, after the LA cops who pummeled Rodney King were acquitted in Simi Valley.

Was our handling of these riots any business of the U.N.?

Conservatives have demanded that the U.N. keep its nose out of our sovereign affairs since its birth in 1946. Do we now accept that the U.N. has authority to oversee internal disturbances inside member countries?

Fridays session fizzled out after Irans ambassador suggested the Security Council might take up the Israeli-Palestinian question or the humanitarian crisis produced by the U.S.-backed Saudi war on Yemen.

The episode exposes a malady of American foreign policy. It lacks consistency, coherence and moral clarity, treats friends and adversaries by separate standards, and is reflexively interventionist.

Thus has America lost much of the near-universal admiration and respect she enjoyed at the close of the Cold War.

This hubristic generation has kicked it all away.

Consider. Is Irans handling of these disorders more damnable than the thousands of extrajudicial killings of drug dealers attributed to our Filipino ally Rodrigo Duterte, whom the president says is doing an unbelievable job?

And how does it compare with Gen. Abdel el-Sissis 2012 violent overthrow of the elected president of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, and Sissis imprisonment of scores of thousands of followers of the Muslim Brotherhood?

Is Iran really the worst situation in the Middle East today?

Hassan Rouhani is president after winning an election with 57 percent of the vote. Who elected Mohammed bin Salman crown prince and future king of Saudi Arabia?

Vladimir Putin, too, is denounced for crimes against democracy for which our allies get a pass.

In Russia, Christianity is flourishing and candidates are declaring against Putin. Some in the Russian press regularly criticize him.

How is Christianity faring in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan?

It is alleged that Putins regime is responsible for the death of several journalists. But there are more journalists behind bars in the jails of our NATO ally Turkey than in any other country in the world.

When does the Magnitsky Act get applied to Turkey?

What the world too often sees is an America that berates its adversaries for sins against our values, while giving allies a general absolution if they follow our lead.

A day has not gone by in 18 months that we have not read or heard of elite outrage over the Kremlin attack on our democracy, with the hacking of the DNC and John Podesta emails.

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How many even recall the revelation in 2015 that China hacked the personnel files of millions of U.S. government employees, past, present and prospective?

While China persecutes Christians, Russia supports a restoration of Christianity after 70 years of Leninist rule.

In Putins Russia, the Communist Party is running a candidate against him. In China, the Communist Party exercises an absolute monopoly of political power and nobody runs against Xi Jinping.

Chinas annexation of the Paracel and Spratly Islands and the entire South China Sea is meekly protested, while Russia is endlessly castigated for its bloodless retrieval of a Crimean peninsula that was recognized as Russian territory under the Romanovs.

China, with several times Russias economy and 10 times her population, is far the greater challenger to Americas standing as lone superpower. Why, then, this tilt toward China?

Among the reasons U.S. foreign policy lacks consistency and moral clarity is that we Americans no longer agree on what our vital interests are, who our real adversaries are, what our values are, or what a good and Godly country looks like.

Was JFKs America a better country than Obamas America?

World War II and the Cold War gave us moral clarity. If you stood against Hitler, even if you were a moral monster like Joseph Stalin, we partnered with you.

From Winston Churchills Iron Curtain speech in 1946 to the end of the Cold War, if you stood with us against the Evil Empire of Reagans depiction, even if you were a dictator like Gen. Pinochet or the Shah, you were welcome in the camp of the saints.

But now that a worldwide conversion to democracy is no longer Americas mission in the world, what exactly is our mission?

Great Britain has lost an empire, said Dean Acheson in 1962, but not yet found a role.

Something of the same may fairly be said of us today.
And the Golden Globe Award Goes To  Witch Hunting!

By Trevon Austin and David Walsh

January 09, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - This years Golden Globe Awards, with its unchallenged support for the #MeToo movement, was a wretched spectacle, Hollywood and identity politics at their worst. The smug crowd of millionaires, and in the case of Oprah Winfrey, a billionaire, expected viewers to believe that the MeToo movement constituted an epic chapter in the struggle for human liberation.

The self-absorption, self-obsession and endless self-pity of these people was ridiculous, pathetic, and utterly inappropriate. Amidst all the misery in the world, including the impending deportation of 200,000 Salvadorans, the devastation produced by US militarism and aggression across the globe, the thousands of Americans dying from drug overdoses and a hundred other social atrocities, the Hollywood celebrities devoted an entire evening of prime-time television to feeling sorry for themselves.

It is no wonder that the American film industry seems incapable, except for rare exceptions, of producing decent work. Its concerns are trivial and misdirected, or worse.

The actual handing out of awards, deserved and undeserved, was overshadowed by the sexual misconduct witch-hunt and the overwhelming stamp of approval that the film and television industry gave it Sunday night.

The general character and tone of this years Golden Globes was established days or perhaps weeks ago. The appeal for women to wear black supposedly in solidarity with struggles against sexual harassment was almost universally heeded. Intimidations and conformism are the order of the day in Hollywood. What star would have dared to appear in an unsanctioned color?

No one seemed troubled by the rampant violations of rudimentary due process and democratic rights. The fact that careers are being destroyed overnight on the basis of unproven and even anonymous allegations did not elicit a single objection. It was as if no one in the audience had ever heard of, or read a book about, the McCarthy era. It is back to Scoundrel Time.

Actress Ashley Judd, one of the leaders of the sexual misconduct campaign, posted on Instagram, Today, we wear black. Why? Nearly 1/2 of men think women are well represented in leadership roles and 1/3 of women think women are well represented in leadership roles. The post continued, The *reality* is, only 1 in 10 senior leaders are women. #TimesUp #WhyWeWearBlack.

In other words, this entire struggle is about celebrity and big money.

The host of the Golden Globes program, Seth Meyers, of NBCs Late Night with Seth Meyers, has already shown his reactionary colors on a number of occasions. Last year, he eagerly lined up with the Democratic Partys anti-Russian campaign and outright anti-communism. On Sunday Meyers set his mark on the event with an opening monologue characterized by cruel jokes about those in Hollywood accused of sexual misconduct. He began the evenings hilarity with his introduction, Good evening, ladies and remaining gentlemen.

Meyers made an especially vicious jab at Kevin Spacey, a remarkable actor, who was kicked from his role in the popular Netflix series House of Cards on the basis of allegations about events that happened thirty years ago.

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Well, despite everything that happened this year, the show goes on. For example, I was happy to hear theyre going to do another season of House of Cards, Meyers said. Is Christopher Plummer available for that, too? [Referring to Plummers replacing Spacey in All the Money in the World. ] I hope he can do a Southern accent, cause Kevin Spacey sure couldnt. Oh, is that too mean? To Kevin Spacey? It is despicable to pile on like this, kicking those who are disgraced and excluded. One can only imagine what jokes Meyer would have told at the expense of Oscar Wilde had he been around when the disgraced playwright was rotting in prison.

The super-rich and super-banal Oprah Winfrey lectured the crowd about racial and gender inequalities, telling the audience, speaking your truth is the most powerful tool they had. For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up, she said after accepting her award. The crowd went wild.

The pious, hypocritical nonsense never stopped.

Needless to say, not a word was said Sunday about the many social ills plaguing American society.

Where was the discussion of the deteriorating social conditions in the US or the danger of war? Where was the call for support of Puerto Ricans still devastated by Hurricane Maria? Last year, Donald Trump was a hot topic at the Golden Globe Awards. He was barely mentioned this year. This years calls for solidarity were narrow, utterly half-hearted and self-congratulatory in nature.

The Golden Globes ceremony stank of reaction and self-satisfaction. It was a celebration of inquisitions and unsubstantiated allegations. Increasingly, masses of working class people, female and male, struggling to keep their heads above water, will see through this.

This article was originally published by WSWS -

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Mentally Unfit Trump Signals Palace Coup Option

By Finian Cunningham

January 09, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Almost a year of Russia-gate scandal alleging collusion between President Trump and the Kremlin has produced nothing in the way of pressuring his resignation from the White House. No doubt, thats simply because there is no substance to this scandal. However, the failure to bring Trump down through Russia-gate by his domestic political enemies, may have found a new lever in the form of salacious questions over the presidents mental state.

Trump is due to take a medical examination later this week, and that appointment is fueling media speculation that the doctors may find evidence of the presidents alleged psychiatric deterioration.

The media speculation over Trumps mental state has exploded after publication of the tell-all book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, by Michael Wolff. Days after going on sale, the book has already become a best-seller. In it, Wolff quotes senior White House staff and aides, and even Trump family members, whom he says all attest that the president is suffering from mental ill-health.

The White House and senior members of the Trump administration have since come out in public interviews to denounce Wolffs book as a garbage work of fiction. Trump himself has described the volume as a fake book and he says he was never interviewed by the author.

Michael Wolff, the author, claims that he interviewed some 200 White House people over a period of 18 months. One of his main sources was Stephen Bannon who was formerly Trumps chief strategist. Bannon has since retracted his views cited by Wolff and claims that he was misquoted.

Nevertheless, in several media interviews, Wolff has categorically stated that all his interviewees  100 per cent of people  told him of their concerns about President Trumps mental fitness. The president was described as paranoid, unstable, impetuous, repetitive, infantile and semi-literate.

Speaking at the weekend from his Camp David retreat outside Washington DC, Trumps rebuttal of the claims about mental instability were far from convincing. He described himself as a stable genius.

Throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart I went from very successful businessman to top TV star to president of the United States I think that would qualify me as not smart, but genius and a very stable genius at that!

This is by no means the first time that Trumps mental health has raised questions of concern. Many psychiatric professionals at respected American universities have for months been publicly voicing warnings that the 45th president may not be fit to carry out his duties of office.

One of those experts, Bandy Lee, professor of psychiatry at Yale University, has even testified to members of Congress about signs of instability in Trumps behavior and speech which place our country and world at extreme risk of danger.

Professor Lee points in particular to Trumps unhinged verbal exchanges with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Last week, Trump boasted that his nuclear button was bigger and more powerful that that of the North Korea leader after Kim had noted in a New Year address that his country had acquired a nuclear capability of striking the US mainland.

American political opponents of Trump among the Democrats, some Republicans, large sections of the news media, as well as key figures in the security-military apparatus of the deep state, have never accepted Donald Trumps election as president back in November 2016. The Russia-gate scandal has been the mainstay for the campaign to discredit Trump and to coerce his impeachment.

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The problem with the Russia-gate tactic for overturning the US election result is threefold: first, it lacks credibility owing to an objective lack of substance about alleged Russian collusion; secondly, the American public seem to discern this lack of credibility and are finding the whole Russia-gate saga a boring drag; thirdly, if an impeachment were to be mounted against Trump, which is increasingly unlikely given the Russia-gate scandals waning credibility, it would require a majority of Congress to support such a motion. Given the Congresss Republican majority, a motion to impeach a Republican president has next to no chance.

So, that raises the option of a palace coup. The 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which was signed into law in 1967 four years after the assassination of President John F Kennedy, gives power to the vice president and a majority of the 15-member White House Cabinet to remove a sitting president if he is deemed to be unfit to carry out his duties. The presidents unfitness for office could be due to physical or mental incapacity.

The 25th Amendment option would circumnavigate the messy political business of Congressionally approved impeachment proceedings. It would remove the president by executive power in what could be called a palace coup  if the case could be convincingly made that this president is mentally unwell.

Trumps Vice President Mike Pence has at all times made public statements of effusive support for the president. There is no indication to date that Pence has ambitions to occupy the Oval Office in the White House. Even though Pence is often touted by the US establishment and media as the preferred option over Trump for the presidency. Pence is a mild-mannered conservative and staunchly pro-military which would make him a better figurehead.

Over the weekend, too, senior members of the Trump Cabinet including CIA director Mike Pompeo, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, all made strident statements of support for President Trump and they rubbished the speculation about his mental ill-health.

However, Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff maintains that during his research the 25th amendment option was talked about every day by White House staff and aides.

Wolff quotes past and present senior Trump administration officials, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, Steve Mnuchin, Gary Cohn, HR McMaster, and Rex Tillerson, among others, as deploring the president for being mentally unfit, using derogatory comments like idiot, dumb as shit, or moron.

Trumps Cabinet may be, for now, defending the president in the wake of Wolffs muckraking book. But if there is any truth to the claims, then one can anticipate that the knives will be drawn at an opportune moment.

Unlike the Russia-gate tactic, the attack on Trumps mental state may well have substance upon which to build a case for his defenestration.

Trumps erratic and reckless utterances do betray someone who is undergoing some kind of chronic personality disorder.

Where Russia-gate failed, the palace coup against crazy Trump may prove to be the more efficacious option to get the right figurehead into the White House  eventually.

Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent.

This article was originally published by Strategic Culture Foundation -

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Rep. Adam Schiff believes most of Congress sees Trump as mentally unfit

China Says U.S. Debate Over Trumps Mental Health Shows Democracy Is Dying

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Nollywood comic actor, Osita Iheme has started the year on a good note as he just opened a new hotel in Owerri, Imo state and named it The Resident

The funny actor took to his instagram page to share the good news.

He shared pictures of the hotel and wrote;

HUSTLE in silence let success be the noise. Be our Guest #theResident#owerri#Hospitality

35 year old Osita Iheme is a Nigerian actor. He is widely known for playing the role of Pawpaw in the film Aki na Ukwa alongside Chinedu Ikedieze. Osita Iheme has often been described as one of the best actors of his generation.

See more pictures below;
Eighty people have been killed in Benue State since December 31 following clashes between cattle herders and farmers that have forced tens of thousands from their homes, an emergency official said on Tuesday.

The violence between mostly Muslim herders and Christian farmers intensified over the New Year, fuelled by a new law banning the nomadic cattle rustlers from moving through the state.

There have been similar tit-for-tat attacks elsewhere in central states, polarising Nigerians along religious and ethnic lines and putting the spotlight on the federal government for failing to curb the violence.

Eighty is the number we can say for now, the attacks have not stopped, Benue State Emergency Management Agency executive secretary Emmanuel Shior told AFP by telephone.

Shior said the killings had displaced thousands of people in the districts of Guma and Logo who are now seeking shelter in four camps.

The number (of internally displaced people) is 80,000 now because the killings have continued, some of the people in other states are running to Benue, Shior said from the Benue state capital, Makurdi.

We suspect these people are reacting against the open grazing prohibition put in place by the governor of Benue state.

The prohibition was meant to encourage the herdsmen, who belong to the Fulani ethnic group, to shift from nomadic grazing to ranching cattle, which would theoretically prevent bloody disputes over land with farmers.

But when the new law was introduced last year, it was instantly condemned by the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), the umbrella body of Fulani herders in Nigeria, who said it threatened their way of life.

It is very wrong for a governor to ban Fulani from feeding their cows. These cows are their living, said Haruna Usman, Kaduna state chairman of MACBAN.

That is where the government made a big mistake, Usman said, calling for negotiations.

President Muhammadu Buharis government held a closed-door meeting on Monday to discuss the crisis, which represents another security concern along with Boko Haram Islamists in the north and Niger Delta militants in the south.

Following the meeting, Benue State governor Samuel Ortom said he would not back down on the new law.

All cattle breeders or rearers are allowed to be in Benue state, but they must ranch their livestock, Ortom said, according to the Premium Times news site.

Buhari has ramped up security in the region, ordering the inspector general of police to Benue state with additional reinforcements on Tuesday.

The International Crisis Group security think-tank warned last September the conflict was becoming as potentially dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.

It also threatens Buharis popularity in the run-up to Nigerias 2019 presidential election. The 75-year-old former military ruler is himself a Hausa-speaking Fulani.

Buhari came into power in 2015 pledging bring security and stability to Nigeria.

But both have been elusive with Boko Haram insurgents launching deadly attacks and an economic recession dampening growth.

Source : ( AFP )
The Federal government has announced its consideration of the 254 bids from indigenous and foreign companies interested in the sale and purchase of the governments equity crude under the 2018/2019 crude oil term contracts.

The bids opening exercise was witnessed by representatives of the regulatory agency, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR.

Others that attended the event included the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB; and representatives of the civil society and the media.

A statement by the spokesperson of the NNPC, Ndu Ughamadu, at the end of the event, said eventual winners would be selected as licensed off-takers to trade on Nigerias equity crude for a 12 months period.

Nigerias crude oil allocation is done once every month to only successful companies.

Addressing the prospecting off-takers shortly before the commencement of the bid exercise, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, said the exercise was to promote greater participation of Nigerian enterprises, while preserving world-class standards.

Mr. Baru assured that best practices would be adopted in the selection of bidders, as he promised fairness and just treatment in the selection process.

I wish to remind the general public that the Crude Oil Term Contract is not a Procurement Contract, but a process of selecting partners for the sale and procurement of NNPC Equity crude oil volumes, Mr. Baru said.

The Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division, Mele Kyari, mentioned some of the conditions potential off-takers under the 2018/2019 crude term contract were asked to meet. The conditions include having a minimum annual turnover of $500 million for 2016 and net worth of $250 million for 2016.

Mr. Kyari said apart from having the 2015 & 2016 audited accounts, aspiring off-takers must equally demonstrate the capacity to establish an irrevocable Letter of Credit, LC subject to contract terms.

On the marketability of Nigerias crude in the international market, Mr. Kyari said Europe remained the major destination of Nigerian crude grades, accounting for 36.59 per cent of the total sales, with Asia and the Far East receiving 28.43 per cent.

He said about 16.57 per cent of Nigerias crude grades was exported to North America, 13.17 per cent to Africa, 2.84 per cent to South and Central America, while the rest of the world served as beneficiaries of the rest.

The official further stated that the sustained reforms in the marketing and disposal of Nigerias equity crude had eliminated the ugly incidents of briefcase companies as witnessed in the past.

In 2017, a total 224 firms participated in a similar contract for the 2016/2017 season.

Successful bidders were to join in lifting over 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil by NNPC on Free on Board (FOB) basis.

The 26 Nigerian crude oil grades on offer included Bonny Light, Forcados Blend, EA Blend, Bonga, Qua Iboe Light, Yoho Blend, Erha and Escravos Light. Others are: Pennington Light, Agbami, Brass Blend, Abo, Oyo, Okono Blend, Amenam Blend, Akpo Condensate and Usan. The rest include: Atam Blend, Okwori, Okoro, Ima, Ukpokiti, Obe, Okwuibome, Ebok and Asaratoru.
Professor Kingsley Moghalu, a political economist, lawyer, former United Nations (UN) diplomat and founder of the Institute for Governance and Economic Transformation (IGET), recently returned home to Nigeria after several decades working globally in countries including in the United States of America (USA), Switzerland, Cambodia, Croatia, Tanzania as part of the UN diplomatic corps. He was a Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at world-renowned Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA.

Professor Moghalu obtained his foundational degree in law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and began his career as a corporate and media attorney in Lagos. He then expanded his profile as political strategist and public policy expert with his work in various capacities with the United Nations between 1992 and 2008.

He resigned his position at the UN and briefly set up his risk advisory firm Sogato Strategies in Geneva in January 2009, before he returned to Nigeria in November of that same year to be appointed as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria by President Umaru Musa YarAdua. As a deputy governor and member of the Board of Directors of the institution, Professor Moghalu was widely acclaimed for successfully executing many of the extensive reforms spearheaded by then governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Sanusi was recently quoted as saying he has no regrets about his decision to recommend Professor Moghalu on the merit of his work to President YarAdua.

At the end of his tenure at the CBN in 2014, Professor Moghalu joined The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA where he taught International Business and Public Policy to graduate students.

Since his return to Nigeria, Professor Moghalu has dedicated his time and skills to contributing to the socio-economic discourse of the country through scholarly papers, speeches, engaging policy makers, and newspaper content.

As part of his efforts to ensure that an inclusive conversation, Professor Moghalu has begun to extend the conversation to include ordinary Nigerians through various platforms on a variety of issues affecting the country.

Professor Moghalu is also deeply philanthropic, establishing the Isaac Moghalu Foundation 12 years ago to work to develop community literacy, and to sponsor education for underprivileged children in rural communities.
The Benue State Police Command has confirmed the killing of two mobile policemen deployed to Ashuwa village in Logo local council, by armed Fulani herdsmen who according to them, laid an ambush for the troops on patrol between the Benue and Nasarawa border.

Giving an account of the incident to Channels Television, the Spokesman of the command, ASP Moses Yamu, noted that the corpses have been recovered and additional troops deployed to help track down the suspects.

The police also said it has arraigned 18-year-old Ibrahim Idrisa and Saidu Adamu, a 10-year-old, for the alleged murder of one Queen Wilfred in Logo, while grazing openly in violation of the open grazing prohibition law, along with some fleeing accomplices.

According to Yamu, the Chief Magistrate at the Makurdu Magistrate Court, Isaac Ajim, remanded Ibrahim at the Makurdi Medium Prison but remitted the case against Saidu Adam to a juvenile court before sending him to a Gboko remand home created for juvenile offenders.

The case was later adjourning to March 5, 2018.

Source: ( channels TV )
Unknown gunmen have kidnapped another doctor, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Dr. Emem Udoh, while on duty in Calabar, Cross River State.

There are indications that members of the state chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association may embark on an indefinite strike starting from Wednesday (today) in protest against the incessant abduction of their colleagues.

The Public Relations Officer of the state branch of NMA, Dr. Ernest Ochang, told Southern City News on Tuesday that Udoh was abducted at gunpoint on Monday night when she was coming back from an extended duty.

He said, This is to inform the general public, particularly those resident in Cross River State that another medical doctor was kidnapped last night, January 8, 2018. This is coming after Dr. Usang Ekanem was suddenly released after we threatened a sit at home action.

The young doctor was coming back from an extended duty of caring for children which is her passion and had to work beyond her schedule due to the few hands available in her unit.

We wish to inform Cross Riverians that this is one too many and a direct affront on our corporate existence. We took an oath to save lives and that much we must do. We pay tax and desire to live peacefully in the society.

This targeted attack on us is unexplainable. What is more worrisome is the quietness of government whose responsibility is to provide security for its citizens. It is our collective resolve to call government to act through whatever means that is at our disposal.

Meanwhile, the state NMA has called on the state government to immediately declare a state of emergency on security over the incessant kidnapping of its members in the state.

In a communique jointly signed by the state Chairman of the NMA, Dr. Effiong Mkpanam, and the Secretary, Dr. Ikechukwu Ukweh, the association expressed dissatisfaction with the incessant attacks on its members in the state.

It is noteworthy that in 2017, within the state capital alone, five doctors and three of their family members were kidnapped at various locations. We have noticed with utter dismay and drawn the attention of the authorities to an upsurge in the cases of targeted kidnapping of medical practitioners.

We have also observed with dismay, a dangerous trend in which the security and lives of doctors is being threatened by some disgruntled members of the society, while the state authorities and security agencies stand aloof and complacent at the very least.

We wish to remind the state government that it is her duty to provide adequate security for its citizens. The state government should, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on security in Cross River, it stated.

The association warned that it would withdraw all medical services without any notice anytime a doctor or dependants were taken captive.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
One of the top social media moments for last year was the moment that a cute 3-year old photobombed a photo with the happiest smile on his face. The photo went viral and several people, including the photographer, became interested in the future of the young lad.

Musician Terry G was one of the people who showed an interest in young Oluwatobilobas future with a promise to sponsor Tobis primary school education.

This week Tobi resumed school. The photos from his first day were shared by photography brand @ayaworanmediahouse with the caption:

2017 is sure not the end of the Lil mans saga, as 2018 promises to be a greater one for our Lil man, Oluwatobiloba Michael Falana. Following his viral photo bombing picture late last year, which got a lot of people inspired and wanting to sow into his life for his courage and bravery.

Gabriel Oche Amanyi (Terry G), one of the many Nigerians moved by the viral picture came through with his promise as Oluwatobiloba resume school today alongside his peers.The popular musician Terry G on his social media page promise to sponsor the boy through his primary education.

Oluwatobiloba, on the other hand, was more than happy to be in school, something he had been looking forward to.

Its however surprising how a picture can be the beginning of great things.

It will be recalled, that the three-year boy who is a product of a failed marriage, abandoned by his mother when he was barely a month old in the care of a jobless father and has never seen the four walls of a classroom has his story changed today 8th January 2018.

We are however grateful to every group and individual that have reached out to Oluwatobiloba Michael Falana, every kind-hearted fellas that deemed it fit to make our Lil man a better person.

We appreciate your time, cash, gifts and other promises that are yet to be actualized.

See more photos of him at school below.

source: Stargist
JEMB Realty Corp., a New York-based real estate firm, has purchased a church parking lot in Brooklyn, N.Y., on which it plans to build an eight-story self-storage facility. The company paid $15.2 million for the property at 72 Caton Place, which is near the 526-acre Prospect Park, according to the source.

JEMB filed permits with the city last week for the 109-foot-tall building, which will comprise 157,600 square feet of storage space. Designed by Frank G. Relf Architect, itll also include five loading docks and two parking spaces. If approved, the facility will open in 2020, the source reported.

The firm purchased the Cavalry Cathedral International parking lot after a proposal to build a $126 million, nine-story residential building fell through in 2015. Real estate developer Suzuki Capital LLC had originally partnered with the church to build a 100,000-square-foot rental building on the site that would be integrated with the two-story church next door at 58 Caton Place.

JEMB is a family-run real estate development, investment and management firm based in New York City. The company and its affiliate partners own and operate a real estate portfolio that includes more than 6.5 million square feet of space in Canada and the United States.
PTI Security Systems, a provider of access-control and security solutions for the self-storage industry, has added three sales-team members and hired a new tech-support team lead. The changes come hot on the heels of the companys EasyCode mobile app, which was launched last year and redeveloped in the fall.

Scott Worden, Kristen Pacitti and Shana Thornton will serve as inside sales representatives, supporting the companys rapid growth, according to a press release. Pacitti will support customers in the Midwest, while Thornton joins the Northeast regional team.

With the early success of the EasyCode mobile app and our tremendous sales growth overall in 2017, we had to expand our sales team to meet the demand. Thats a good position to be in, and were excited to have Scott, Shana and Kristen join our team, said CEO Franklin Young.

Worden previously spent four years as a salesperson at OpenTech Alliance Inc., a Phoenix-based provider of self-serve kiosks, call-center services and other technology for the self-storage industry. I am excited about the opportunity to work at PTI and be part of a team that has such a clearly focused vision for the future, he said. I feel very fortunate to be joining such a respected company that prides itself on top-quality customer service, and that is bringing such innovative products and technology to our industry.

PTI hired Diane Pencil to lead its tech-support team.

The company also announced it will release a new CORE cloud-software platform within the next six months.

PTI manufactures technology-enabled access-control and security solutions. Its product line includes access-control hardware and software, wired and wireless door alarms and mobile-access solutions. The company has installed more than 35,000 systems in 30-plus countries. It operates through two U.S. locations as well as distributors in Asia, Australia and Europe.
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Merks is an expert in domestic and international tax law who advises on M&A transactions, restructurings, reorganisations, public offerings and transfer pricing. He also litigates disputes with the tax authorities, as well as advising on general tax-law matters. Merks regularly advises US and other non-Dutch companies on how best to structure their worldwide operations and acquisitions. He has previously worked as a tax lawyer in New York, Paris, Chicago and San Jose (California).

The firm plans to double the size of its tax advisory practice by the end of 2018.

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LONDON & AMSTERDAM & SANTA CLARA, Calif. - January 9, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) The AI Expo Conference and Exhibition; The AI Expo North America 2017 was a huge success, over 10,500 people attended over the two-day event which focused on AI, IoT and Blockchain. Now they have announced their 2018 world series with further events taking place in London, Amsterdam and Silicon Valley.

The AI Expo event series will host 3 events in 2018 alongside the co-located world's largest Blockchain Expo and the IoT Tech Expo. The AI Expo World Series will make its first stop in London for the Global event in April (18-19th), attracting attendees from around the world, before heading to Amsterdam (June 27-28th) for the European arm of the series. The final stop in 2018 will see the event return to the heart of Silicon Valley (November 28-29th) and based on the growth over the last year, this one is not to be missed.

The 2018 World Series is set to welcome 32,000 attendees, 1000+ industry leading speakers and 900+ exhibitors so if you want to explore the AI ecosystem and experience the latest technologies first hand, make sure you register for the AI Expo.

This year's agenda will highlight the most innovative advancements and strategies from the world of AI, with a particular focus on Enterprise and Consumer industries. There will be case studies and dedicated tracks covering the entire AI ecosystem including AI in the Enterprise, AI and the Consumer, AI for Developers and Bot & Virtual Assistant Development.

The two-day event will cover the AI ecosystem with 4 niche conference tracks; AI in the Enterprise, AI and the Consumer, AI for Developers and Bot & Virtual Assistant Development.

There are a range of tickets available from free passes to all-access conference and networking passes, take advantage of super early bird' prices across all 3 shows.

To learn more about the AI Expo and register for your pass, visit the corresponding sites:

Global - 18-19 April, London: https://www.ai-expo.net/global/

Europe - 27-28 June, Amsterdam: https://www.ai-expo.net/europe/

North America - 28-29 November, Silicon Valley: https://www.ai-expo.net/northamerica/

Notes for Editors:

The AI Expo World Series (https://www.ai-expo.net/) hosts top level content and discussion, introducing and exploring the latest innovations in the AI arena. It brings together key industries including Automotive, Enterprise, Consumer, Industrial, Healthcare, Developer and Education.

Contacts

AI Expo

Anna Fry

Marketing Executive

+44117 980 9020

anna@ai-expo.net

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Toronto, Ontario - January 10, 2018 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) The Board of Directors of Pancontinental Gold Corporation (TSXV: PUC) ("Pancontinental" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement (the "Agreement"), effective January 10, 2018 with 2522962 Ontario Incorporated, to acquire a 100% interest in the Montcalm West Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project. The Montcalm West Project is located in the Porcupine Mining Division, approximately 65 kilometers northwest of Timmins, Ontario, Canada.

The Montcalm West Project is comprised of two separate properties, the Montcalm and Nova Properties. The Montcalm Property is contiguous and surrounds the western portion of the former Montcalm Mine, which had historical production of 3,931,610 tonnes of ore grading 1.25% nickel (Ni), 0.67% copper (Cu), and 0.051% cobalt (Co), and which produced in excess of 4 million pounds of Cobalt (Ontario Geological Survey, Atkinson, 2011). The Nova Property is located approximately 19 kilometers southwest of the mine. The Montcalm Property consists of 16 contiguous mining claims (3,312 hectares) and the Nova Property is made up of 4 contiguous mining claims (672 hectares).

The Company has the right to earn a 100% interest in the Montcalm West Project in exchange for cash payments totalling $140,000 and the issuance of a total of 1,200,000 common shares in four equal payments over a three-year period. The claims are subject to a 2.5% net smelter return (NSR). The Company reserves the right to purchase 1% NSR for $1 million. The Agreement is subject to regulatory approvals.

"We are excited to acquire this strategic Canadian project, allowing our shareholders to benefit from exposure to three key battery metals in addition to our gold assets in the southeastern United States," said Layton Croft, Pancontinental President and Chief Executive Officer. "Nickel, copper and cobalt are all in strong demand due to electric vehicle and battery demand growth. This acquisition, combined with our Jefferson Gold Project in South Carolina, creates a portfolio of highly prospective North American strategic gold and battery metals projects located in close proximity to current and past producing mines, and with low political, social and environmental risk profiles."

The Rise of Battery Metals

A key aspect of the Montcalm West Project is its high potential for cobalt, also known as 'blue gold.' According to Bloomberg, cobalt prices increased 120% in 2017, and cobalt is forecast to experience up to a 4,500% surge in global demand from now to 2030. Cobalt, primarily mined as a by-product of nickel and copper, is important as a key input for batteries, and thus electric vehicles. A laptop computer contains approximately one ounce of cobalt, while an average electric car battery typically contains more than 30 pounds of cobalt, according to Bloomberg. Nickel and copper are also essential to battery and electric vehicle production. According to the International Energy Agency, global electric vehicle sales were about 2 million units in 2016, and annual sales are expected to grow to 20 million by 2020, and to 70 million per year by 2025.

Pancontinental: A Growing Company

The Montcalm West Project allows Pancontinental to prudently expand its commodity focus, taking advantage of rising demand and value for cobalt, nickel and copper. Adding the Montcalm West Project to Pancontinental's portfolio is a timely strategic acquisition. Like the Jefferson gold Project in South Carolina, the nickel-copper-cobalt Montcalm West Project is:

A highly prospective project adjacent to a former mine in a proven historic mining region that is underexplored; and

Located in a safe, low-risk jurisdiction with a stable, predictable and pro-mining legal, regulatory and political regime, excellent infrastructure, and strong community support.

Montcalm West Project Highlights

Montcalm Property:

Pancontinental's Montcalm West Project covers 3,984 hectares of the Montcalm Gabbro Complex. The property is contiguous and surrounds the western portion of the former producing Ni-Cu-Co Montcalm Mine. The gabbro-hosted Montcalm Mine and the surrounding Montcalm Gabbro Complex host geology bear a distinct geological resemblance to other known gabbro-hosted Ni-Cu-Co deposits and former mines in Canada. This suggests excellent potential for new discoveries.

The current Pancontinental boundary is approximately 1 kilometer west of the former Montcalm Mine. On Pancontinental's land holdings, previous owners left numerous near-surface, high priority, untested geophysical electromagnetic conductors. Historical drilling also intersected zones of anomalous nickel and copper mineralization.

Nova Property:

The main highlight of the Nova Property is the presence of numerous highly anomalous historical cobalt samples associated with sulphide mineralization in surface outcrops. Of particular interest is a historical occurrence which returned 6.46 pounds of cobalt per tonne (3,230 ppm Co) in a single surface rock sample taken by a Teck Corporation geologist in 1991. This sample is a selected sample and it not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted on the property.

Past operators on this property also detected substantial sulphide mineralization in surface trenches and limited drilling of geophysical targets. There is no record of sampling of the sulphide occurrences for nickel, copper or cobalt in drill holes.

Government airborne geophysical surveys have outlined numerous untested electromagnetic anomalies in association with strong magnetic responses across the property. These targets require further evaluation for their cobalt-nickel-copper potential, as they represent excellent targets in proximal known surface cobalt mineralization.

The reader is cautioned that the reported information above is historical in nature, and taken from government assessment file reports by previous property operators and from government publications, all of which pre-date NI-43-101. This information is understood to be reliable, but the Company has not yet completed sufficient work to verify this information as of the date of this press release. The Company obtained the information with respect to the adjacent Montcalm Mine through publicly available documents, however, it has not verified the information and the historic information with respect to the Montcalm Mine is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the Montcalm West Project.

Exploration Plans

Due to the limited outcrop exposure on the Montcalm Property, Pancontinental intends to fly a state of the art VTEM (electromagnetic survey) and airborne gravity survey to detect potential targets at depth. Documentation from the Montcalm Mine shows that the deeper lenses in the mine start at 250 meters below surface. Modern VTEM technology and newly developed airborne gravity systems have the capability to search below 200 meters. Pancontinental's work will be conducted in conjunction with an evaluation of higher priority near-surface geophysical targets that were left untested by previous operators. Upon completion of this work the higher priority targets will be selected for drill testing.

At the Nova Property, the Company plans to conduct preliminary prospecting efforts over key portions of the property to fully evaluate known cobalt mineralization. This work will be conducted along with a mobile metal ion geochemical survey, to assist in evaluation of areas without exposure but proximal to known cobalt occurrences. This initial program has been designed to evaluate the Nova Property for a potential near-surface bulk tonnage deposit.

Qualified Person

The Company has not yet completed the work necessary to verify the historical data and past exploration results, as they pre-date National Instrument 43-101 standards. In addition, a Qualified Person has not yet completed sufficient work to verify these historical data and results. The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by J. Kevin Filo, PGeo, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and a technical advisor for Pancontinental Gold Corporation.

Option Grant

The Company also announces that it has granted 1,200,000 options to a Company officer/director and a consultant to purchase common shares at an exercise price of $0.05 cents per common share, expiring on January 10, 2023.

About Pancontinental Gold Corporation

Pancontinental Gold Corporation is a Canadian-based mining company focused on the exploration and development of its 100%-owned Jefferson gold project in South Carolina, USA, and its Montcalm West nickel-copper-cobalt project in Ontario, Canada. The Company continues to focus on acquiring additional prospective properties in low-risk areas in proximity to producing mines. The Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, trading under the symbol PUC. In 2015, Pancontinental sold its interest in its Australian rare earth element (REE) and uranium properties, formerly held through a joint venture, and retains a 1% gross overriding royalty on 100% of future production.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Layton Croft

For further information, please contact:

Layton Croft

President and CEO

1-416-293-8437

1-980-309-8419

laytoncroft@pancongold.com

For additional information please visit our web site: www.pancongold.com, and our Twitter feed: @PanconGold.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Language and Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information is characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in obtaining required regulatory or governmental approvals, and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, including those risks set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis as filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including that all necessary governmental and regulatory approvals will be received as and when expected. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

More Info:

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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This collection features the arguments in favor of and against the renaming of Catt Hall on Iowa State's campus, which was named in 
All people have the right to make fundamental decisions about their own bodies and health. Thats why we work with diverse local, regional and international partners toward the goal of reproductive justice: a world where all human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
Apple today confirmed that it will start storing the iCloud data of its Chinese customers in mainland China. The iCloud servers in the country will be operated by a Chinese company called Guizhou on the Cloud Big Data. It is owned by the Guizhou provincial government in southern China.

The firm will also manage Apples $1 billion data center in China.

Apple has already started informing customers in China about the move and recommends them to go through its new terms and conditions. The move will provide Apple and the Chinese firm with access to all data stored on iCloud servers. However, user security will not be compromised in any way and it would be protected with the same encryption standard as used in the United States. Apple is also providing users uncomfortable with this move the option to deactivate their iCloud account.

Some concerns about privacy have been raised with this move as many believe this would allow the Chinese government to easily spy on users. Apple, however, in a statement to 9to5Mac reaffirmed its stand on user data privacy.

Last year, we announced that Guizhou on the Cloud Big Data (GCBD) would become the operator of iCloud in China. As we said at the time, were committed to continuously improving the user experience, and our partnership with GCBD will allow us improve the speed and reliability of our iCloud services products while also complying with newly passed regulations that cloud services be operated by Chinese companies. Because of our commitment to transparency, there will be a series of customer communications over the course of the next seven weeks to make sure customers are well informed of the coming changes. Apple has strong data privacy and security protections in place and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems.

Apple is being forced to move data of Chinese customers to servers hosted locally in China due to a new government regulation. On the flip side, the move will also help improve the speed and reliability of iCloud services for Apple users in the country. The company will start transitioning user data from February 28. Other tech giants are also expected to soon start migrating the data of Chinese customers to servers hosted locally in the country and managed by a Chinese firm itself.

[Via People.cn
Ever since Apple revealed that it slows down older iPhone due to their aging batteries, the company has been subjected to heavy criticism and over two dozen lawsuits and counting. The revelation has also led various government bodies from across the world to investigate Apples move. Adding to that list is the U.S. government whose officials have questioned Apple over the issue.

As per WSJ, the chairman of the Commerce Committee, Senator John Thune, has sent a letter to Apples CEO Tim Cook with a series of questions regarding the slowdown of an iPhone due to its aging battery. In the letter, Thune has also asked Apple how it is tracking customer complaints of their iPhone working slower than before, and if it has considered offering a refund to customers who paid full price for replacing the battery on their iPhone before the discounted program was announced by Apple.

The letter also highlights the fact that the discounted battery program has further led customers to criticise Apple for not offering free battery replacement for their older iPhone. Thune has given Apple until January 23 to respond to its letter. Apple is offering a refund to customers who paid full price to replace the battery of their iPhone but it is only valid for those customers who got the battery replaced within the last 30 days prior to its announcement in late December.

The report also provides more details about the investigation that Apple faces in France. The French prosecutors preliminary investigation against Apple is surrounding deception and planned obsolescence of its older devices.

Our Take

While Apple may have started a discounted battery replacement program as an apology, it really should not have started slowing down older iPhones in the first place due to their aging batteries. It should have first made this move clear to iPhone owners and perhaps notified them that a battery replacement would help in ensuring that their iPhone runs at its optimum speed. Instead, it decided to slow them down via a software update without providing any kind of information to users whatsoever. Thus, it is not surprising that Apples move are now being questioned by government bodies from across the globe.

[Via WSJ


Luk Fook Holdings (International) Limited

[For Immediate Release]

Lukfook Jewellery Expands into Cambodia

with Grand Opening of Flagship Store in Phnom Penh

(Hong Kong, 10 January 2018) - Luk Fook Holdings (International) Limited ("Lukfook" / the "Group") (Stock Code: 00590) is pleased to announce its foray into the Cambodian market with the grand opening of a flagship store in its capital city, Phnom Penh, marking the expansion of the Group's retail network to 10 countries and regions globally.

Mr. Wong Wai Sheung, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Group said, "Adhering to the corporate vision of aBrand of Hong Kong, Sparkling the World', the Group has been seeking new business opportunities in the international market to expand our footprint. With the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Group is optimistic about the prospects of the Southeast Asian market. Following our entry into Malaysia with opening of two shops last year, the Group now establishes a flagship store in Cambodia, with a view to introducing our quality jewellery and professional, caring services to the market. With over 1,610 shops globally, the Group will continue our efforts in providing unparalleled shopping experience for customers worldwide, so as to ensure that Lukfook Jewellery remains a premier jewellery brand for consumers everywhere."

The flagship store in Phnom Penh covers an area of over 5,600 square feet and is adjacent to a tourist hotspot with high tourist traffic and great potential. Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, is a developing city as well as the country's political, economic, industrial, cultural and tourist centre with considerable room for development. With the opening of this new shop, the Group expects to further expand its retail network in Southeast Asia.

Shop address: No. 41 Sihanouk Blvd., Sangkat Chaktomuk, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Photo of Lukfook Jewellery Flagship Store in Phnom Penh:

~End~

About Luk Fook Holdings (International) Limited (Stock Code: 00590.HK)

The Group principally engages in the sourcing, designing, wholesaling, trademark licensing and retailing of a variety of gold and platinum jewellery and gem-set jewellery products. With over 1,610 shops in Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Cambodia, the United States, Canada and Australia, the Group will continue to identify new business opportunities in the international market in response to its corporate vision, "Brand of Hong Kong, Sparkling the World".

For more information, please visit the official website of Lukfook Group at www.lukfook.com.

Media Enquiries: Lukfook Group Corporate Communications Department Tel: (852) 2783 2479 Fax: (852) 3009 7509 Email: corporate@lukfook.com JOVIAN Communications Angel Yeung Tel: (852) 2581 0168 Fax: (852) 2854 2012 Email: lukfook@joviancomm.com
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said the authorities will not publicly disclose the handful of top multinationals which account for the lions share of the 8.2bn the State collects in corporation taxes, writes Eamon Quinn.

The pledge over continuing confidentiality by the Government and its agencies comes as his departmental officials warned of an increased exposure and vulnerability to the States finances to a small number of multinationals.

The explosion in Irelands corporation tax receipts from 2015 has coincided with moves by multinationals to shore up their global tax arrangements, involving transfers of huge amounts of intellectual property rights into their Irish-based firms. Irish units of some multinationals also account for manufacturing carried out at plants in Asia and elsewhere through so-called contract manufacturing accounting deals.

The Irish Examiner in 2016 reported that accounting transfers by Apple gave rise to the huge revisions to Irish GDP levels that led to leprechaun economics claims. At a presentation yesterday, Finance Department officials said there were some concentration issues with corporation tax because 40%  equivalent to around 3.28bn of the 8.2bn the exchequer took in from the tax last year  was paid by only 10 companies. Those 10 giant firms also account for 6% of total tax revenue flowing to the State, meaning there was a vulnerability and if there was a shock to the corporation tax base there certainly could be a problem, a senior official said.

Asked whether the Government, given the exposure, should release the names of the top five multinationals who pay the bulk of the tax, Minister Donohoe said he would abide by the long-standing principle the identities of taxpayers wouldnt be disclosed and that he didnt plan to make the information available on a company-by-company basis. Corporation tax levels over the next few years were sustainable, he said.

Echoing the assessment of the Economic and Social Research Institute, Minister Donohoe said he believed there were no signs at the moment the economy was overheating, and he didnt expect to see any such signs this year. His decision to gradually increase capital spending over the next four years wouldnt lead to overheating, he said, while investments in infrastructure such as housing and education would boost the resilience and competitiveness of the economy. He didnt see the circumstances in which he would have to reverse the 2018 budget tax cuts, and any additional tax bounty could be used to inject into the rainy day fund and pay down debt, he said.

In the assessment called the Annual Taxation Report, Minister Donohoe and officials were upbeat on the economic outlook, saying headline growth forecasts this year would likely be increased under the next review for the EU in April, while growth next year would expand by 3%. Minister Donohoe reiterated he would decide on the new local property tax regime  frozen at 2013 property valuations until 2019  later this year. On the 13bn in back taxes the Commission told Ireland it must collect from Apple, Minister Donohoe repeated the Government didnt agree with the EUs assessment. He would make further comment when the procurement process to set up an escrow account ahead of appeals was completed early next month, he said.
Update - 2.50pm: A building and several vehicles have been badly damaged after a large fire in North Dublin.

The blaze broke out at St Margaret's near Dublin Airport at around 9am and it took eight units of the fire brigade three hours to bring it under control.

People living in the area are being advised to keep their windows closed as a precaution.

Dublin Fire Brigade's John Guilfoyle says investigations will now get underway.

He said: "The incident, in terms of the smoke plume, is more or less contained and under control, but we will have more fire fighting operations here for a number of hours to ensure the incident is fully extinguished.

"We have to look through the building and search the full site."

More video from St .Margarets car scrap yard fire pic.twitter.com/FSb5sL4UKV  Padraig O'Reilly Photographer (@padraig_reilly) January 10, 2018

Update - 12.13pm: People within 2kms of fire near Dublin Airport told to close windows against 'very hazardous chemicals'

Residents within two kilometres of a fire in north Dublin are being urged to close their windows.

People with breathing difficulties are also being warned about the blaze at a vehicle recycling plant at St Margaret's near Dublin Airport.

The fire in St Margarets is now under control. Some units will be released from the scene shortly, however some will remain to dampen down any hot spots. We would still advise any residents in the surrounding area to keep their windows closed. #Dublin #Fire pic.twitter.com/b8sTY9Xd23  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) January 10, 2018

Dublin Fire Brigade's James Mulholland says hazardous gases have been released.

He said: "The added danger is, especially with modern cars and with the modern plastics that they are using in them, is that you will get additional very hazardous chemicals that are released.

"All our fire fighters will wear breathing apparatus as we are putting out these fires, so you can imagine people thinking that they are safe if they are not near them.

"However, some of the gases will come back down towards earth again and towards their houses."

09.52am: Firefighters battle massive blaze near Dublin Airport

Dublin Fire Brigade is attending the scene of a fire at a plant near Dublin Airport.

Six units are dealing with the blaze at the premises off the Ballymun Road in St Margaret's.

Firefighting operations are continuing at the vehicle recycling centre in St Margarets. Our aerial drone unit is now on scene to help direct firefighting resources. This will be done with close liaison with the @IAApress pic.twitter.com/DyFENgPPGO  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) January 10, 2018

We now have 8 units attending the St Margarets / Sandyhill fire near the airport including aerial ladder & foam unit #Dublin #fire pic.twitter.com/af0UmalbGQ  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) January 10, 2018

The fire has produced a large plume of smoke, but an airport official says it is not having an effect on flights.

We're attending a plant fire in St Margaret's off the R108 near the airport #Dublin #fire 6 units & turntable ladder attending  @doltron pic.twitter.com/bOyYzpmo8E  Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) January 10, 2018

People with breathing difficulties are being advised to avoid the area and motorists should approach with care.

#DUBLIN Emergency services dealing with a fire off St Margarets Rd. Care advised as smoke may be affecting visibility. https://t.co/ipFDM8svNY  AA Roadwatch (@aaroadwatch) January 10, 2018

- Digital desk
Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionists have continued their war of words after discussing the Stormont powersharing crisis with the new Northern Ireland Secretary.

On her first visit to Belfast, Karen Bradley said she wanted to work collaboratively with local parties to forge an agreement that will see a coalition executive resurrected.

But the prospects of an imminent breakthrough looked bleak on Wednesday as DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Feins Stormont leader Michelle ONeill appeared in no mood to change their negotiating positions, accusing each other of preventing the restoration of powersharing.

Mrs Bradleys appointment, following James Brokenshires surprise resignation on health grounds, came as Northern Ireland marked a year since the Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led administration imploded in a row over a botched green energy scheme.

The rift between the two main parties has widened in the intervening 12 months to take in long-standing cultural and legacy disputes.

Mrs Foster held face-to-face talks with Mrs Bradley at Stormont House in Belfast while Mrs ONeill arranged a phone call with the new incumbent at the Northern Ireland Office.

Mrs ONeill said the DUP leader was not serious about resolving the crisis.

"The call today by the DUP leader for the introduction of Tory direct rule makes clear they have no interest in resolving the issues at the heart of the current crisis and no interest in re-entering powersharing on the basis of equality and respect," she said.

"Martin McGuinness made clear there can be no denial of the rights of citizens and no return to the status quo. The agreements make clear there can be no return to direct rule.

"Sinn Fein is ready to engage in meaningful talks to resolve the issues and re-establish the powersharing institution, however the question is are the DUP serious about partnership government?"

Mrs Foster said if further negotiations failed to deliver a breakthrough then Mrs Bradley had to move to put direct rule ministers in place.

"The clock is ticking in relation to the government of Northern Ireland, we havent had a government now for over a year," she said.

"I think shes (Mrs Bradley) heard directly today from people that they want to see government back here and if its not going to be a devolved administration then it will have to be some sort of an administration direct from Westminster.

"Of course we dont want that - we want devolution, but we cant continue without a government here in Northern Ireland."

Ahead of her political discussions, Mrs Bradley met students at Belfasts Metropolitan College in the citys regenerated docklands area on her first official engagement in the region.

"I want to find a way through this because the absolute priority is to restore devolved government as soon as possible," she said, standing on the Titanic Quarters fog-shrouded waterfront.

Asked if she intended to adopt a new approach to the faltering negotiation process, Mrs Bradley stressed she was still in learning mode.

"I am here to learn, I am here to find out, I am here to meet all the leaders, Im here to look at what needs to be done.

"I know there are challenges but I am determined we will find a way through those challenges.

"We need to deliver devolved government to Northern Ireland as soon as possible and thats what I am determined to do."

The Conservative MP said she was also conscious of the need to deliver a Brexit that worked for everyone in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Bradley said she understood the importance of dealing with the legacy of the Troubles and ensuring a safe future.

"My aim is to work collaboratively to find solutions to those issues that are acceptable to everyone," she said.

The former culture secretary said the Irish government would have an "important role" to play in efforts to save devolution.

She is due to meet Irelands deputy premier and minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney on Friday.

The appointment of an independent chair or moving the talks venue away from Stormont have been suggested as ways to invigorate the talks process.

Mrs Foster said neither option was going to change the issues that needed to be resolved.

"An independent chair, a different venue isnt going to change what we have to do here and what we have to do here is get devolution back for the people of Northern Ireland, and I think frankly all the rest is window dressing," she said.

"What we have to do is get down to the serious negotiations to bring about a devolved government here in Northern Ireland."

- David Young, Press Association
This morning, the Cabinet will meet for the first time since the Christmas break, and at the top of the agenda is abortion, writes Daniel McConnell.

Having taken the break to study the contents of the Oireachtas committee report on the eighth amendment, ministers will hold their first discussions as to what to do next.

While Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris have signalled their intention to hold a referendum before the summer, the Cabinet has yet to formally decide on the matter.

Mr Harris, in a published interview in this paper, has set out his stall in that he favours liberalising the law along the lines of what the committee recommended.

I will be supporting. I have come on my own journey. I cannot ignore that abortion is a reality for women in this country. Irish women go abroad and women access the abortion pill in an unregulated fashion in Ireland, he said.

My own personal view is that we should legislate along the lines of what the committee is recommending. My own view is that the committees report should be taken very seriously and acted upon.

This means he backs repealing the 1983 amendment which recognises the equal right to the life of a mother and her unborn child. It also means legalising abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, a recommendation which is already proving to be controversial within the Cabinet.

That is the most challenging element, said one minister, adding: While it is a straightforward way of dealing with it as an issue legally, that will cause most concern at Cabinet from a political perspective.

Yesterday, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe revealed where he stands. A known liberal on social issues, he has come out to support the committees recommendations and in favour of allowing abortion without restriction for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

I believe the committees report and the recommendations contained in it should be put to the people and I support those recommendations that are in the committees report, he said.

Sitting beside him at a press conference, Donohoes junior minister Patrick ODonovan disagreed: Look at it, every household in the country is going to have different views on this. I have a different view on this to Minister Donohoe and I will be articulating my view later on.

The divergence in opinion between Mr Donohoe and Mr ODonovan is likely to be replicated throughout Fine Gael and while the partys outlook is a lot more progressive than it was, those deep divisions still remain.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney has been open as to his difficulties with the 12-week limit while ministers believed to have some difficulties with the proposal include Michael Ring, Denis Naughten and Michael Creed.

The Cabinet will not adopt a finalised position today on the report but will allow for a three-day Dail debate plus a special meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party next Monday.

The granting of a free vote by Varadkar means there is a possibility a number of his ministers could campaign against the proposal being put to the people.

Such a position has the possibility of turning very nasty.
Despite their difference Iran and Russia are both becoming big players in the Middle

East, sidelining Trumps America. Josh Cohen looks at the shape of politics in the region.

Iran and Russia have made no secret of their mutual desire to sideline the US in the Middle East.

Our co-operation can isolate America, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Vladimir Putin

during the Russian presidents recent visit to Tehran. Putin, for his part, has praised the Moscow-Tehran relationship as very productive.

Certainly, the alliance has paid dividends in Syria, where the Moscow-Tehran military collaboration turned the tide of the war in favour of their mutual ally Bashar al-Assad and compelled the US to abandon its goal of forcing Assad from power.

Nevertheless, while Washington should certainly be wary of the Russian-Iranian relationship, it is less a strategic alliance than a marriage of convenience  and one whose cracks are already showing.

In Syria, the ousting of Islamic State seems to have underscored important differences in the goals and tactics of Putin and Khameini. Moscows ultimate objectives include preventing regime change, promoting Russian influence in the Middle East, and keeping its military bases in Syria.

Achieving these aims, Putin hopes, may lead to diplomatic gains in the West, and encourage the US to recognise Russia as an equal. However, while Moscow considers Assad to be Syrias legitimate leader, Putins main interest lies in preserving and strengthening Syrian state institutions rather than Assad personally ; the Russians have even suggested to their Western counterparts that Moscow would accept Assads departure as long as it occurred as part of an overall peace process.

The Iranians, by contrast, consider Assad a red line and believe that keeping the Syrian leader in power remains crucial to two of its key objectives. The first is to maintain its ability to supply its longtime Shiite proxy Hezbollah with weaponry while building a Sunni-free Shiite land corridor from Iran to the Mediterranean  a development Iran fears a new government would not permit.

Second, Iran believes that its presence in Syria is critical to Tehrans ability to pressure Israel. Iran wants to

retain the ability to strike at the Jewish state from both Lebanon and Syria, hence Irans determination to maintain non-state Shiite proxy militias in Syria.

Irans hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) wants to turn these proxies into an institutionalised political and military force similar to Hezbollah in Lebanon  a measure that conflicts with Russias desire to build up the capabilities of the Syrian state and reduce Syrias dependence on Iran.

As diplomatic negotiations over Syrias future heat up, the differences between Russian and Iranian goals there threaten to intensify. Iran in particular believes that Russias willingness to work with countries such as Turkey could undermine Iranian interests in Syria.

Irans leaders are also concerned about Putins relationship with Donald Trump; reports from Iranian media suggest that Tehran was angry about Putins decision to brief the US president about Moscows objectives ahead of last Novembers Sochi summit between Putin, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Iranian president Hassan Rouhani.

Russias willingness to work with many partners in Syria is emblematic of Russias broader approach to the Middle East, which a leading Russian analyst describes as the dogma of flexibility  something in accord with Putins transactional approach to foreign policy. One example of this is Moscows desire to maintain a good relationship with Sunni Saudi Arabia. Putin believes Russian-Saudi co-operation is needed to limit oil production and prop up prices, which he needs to meet his twin objectives of building up Russias military while strengthening the Russian state internally.

The problem for Putin is that Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are locked in a bitter competition for influence across the Middle East, so Iran naturally resents the Kremlins rapprochement after years of tension between Moscow and Riyadh. Under Putins leadership, Russia has developed the best relationship it has ever had with Israel. Putin has visited Israel twice  the first Russian leader ever to do so  and has hosted Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu multiple times to discuss Israels interests in Syria.

Putin reportedly enjoys friendship with Netanyahu and has instructed both Assad and Hezbollah not to retaliate against Israeli strikes in Syria. He even seeks a deal that would prevent foreign powers from using Syria as a base for attacking a neighbouring state, which is directly at odds with Irans objective of using Syria as a platform to pressure Israels northern border.

However, given the deep Israeli-Iranian hostility, its clear that Moscows good relationship with the Jewish state could exacerbate underlying tensions in the Russian-Iranian relationship.

Exacerbating underlying Russian- Iranian tensions is a longtime historical mistrust between the two states. Russian-Persian conflicts in the 18th and 19th centuries resulted in Moscows seizure of the Caucasus  a loss which reverberates in the Iranian psyche even today. After Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution, the relationship between the two sides was similarly tense, most notably because Russia favoured Iraq in the Iraq-Iran war  a conflict that cost Iran 1m lives. And while its true that Russian-Iranian relations improved significantly after the fall of the Soviet Union, Tehran remembers Moscow supported sanctions against Iran for its nuclear programme and has suspended a number of deals with Iran in order to improve the Russian-American relationship. The Trump administration should seek to use the various Russian-Iranian differences to undermine the partnership. Firstly, this requires Washington to remain active in the Middle East and eliminate the perception that its abandoning the region.

The US could also seek to improve relations with Russia, which would be both beneficial in and of itself, while also playing on Irans historical distrust of its northern neighbour and the fear that Moscow could ultimately sell Iran out for the sake of improving Russias relationship with the West.

Simply having Trump signal to Putin that the United States is prepared to treat Russia as an equal  one of Putins objectives  could go some way towards achieving this. Trump should also remind Putin of the cracks already showing in the Russian-Iranian relationship and ask him whether its really in Moscows interests to support Irans sectarian objectives in Syria.

It wont be easy, but if Washington policy-makers play their cards right they can still undermine the strategic alliance Moscow and Tehran want.

Josh Cohen is a former USAID project officer involved in managing economic reform projects in the former Soviet Union.
A defendant in a case in Killarney in 2016 says Judge James OConnor called him English scum, but there is no system to prove or disprove this claim, writes Michael Clifford.

ADDRESSING a citizen of the UK in a public place as English scum could lead to prosecution, under the Incitement to Hatred Act. The act provides for a fine up to 1,000 and up to in six months in prison.

Any prosecution would be heard in the district court, where a judge would decide, without the aid of a jury, as to the guilt or innocence of a defendant.

So it goes with law and order for citizens. But what if a judge, sitting in the district court, was alleged to have called a defendant English scum?

Where can such a person be held to account, or, as the case may be, where can such a judge publicly clear his name?

That is the scenario for Judge James OConnor, who oversees the Kerry district. In October 2016, Paul Harrison, an English national living in Killarney, was before the court on a remand hearing for a charge of possession of drugs.

He claims Judge OConnor called him English scum. The judge is understood to strongly deny the allegation. Attempts to contact Judge OConnor, through the Court Service, were unsuccessful.

Mr Harrison wrote to then chief justice, Susan Denham, last July, to complain about what he says he was subjected to in a public court.

I would like to complain, in the strongest possible terms, about the conduct of Judge OConnor, in the Killarney court, on 18th October 2016, Mr Harrison wrote.

I would also like to request a tape of the days proceedings.

Judge James OConnor.

One might reasonably expect that Mr Harrisons issues could be dealt with properly and expediently. If there was a statutory system, through which complaints of judicial conduct could be processed, the matter would have been dealt with by now.

The complaint would either be determined to have been vexatious, or not to meet the required standard of proof, or to have been upheld.

In the event of the first two scenarios, the system could ensure that the outcome be publicly disseminated, so no shadow might hang over the judge.

In the event that the complaint was upheld, a range of sanctions could be imposed, including an apology, or a fine of some sorts.

Thats how they do things in other democracies, in the early 21st century.

Not here.

Judge Denham, as she then was, before her retirement, could do nothing about Mr Harrisons complaint. She couldnt even enter into correspondence with him. Instead, a legal executive wrote on behalf of her, explaining why this was necessary.

I am writing to inform you that, because judges are subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions, the chief justice does not enter into any correspondence concerning the conduct of, or decision reached, in any court case.

The chief justice has no function in dealing with complaints in relation to members of the judiciary, and there is no complaints procedure available through the office of the chief justice, the legal executive wrote.

The legal executive pointed out the kernel of the problem.

The creation of a judicial council is awaited and the chief justice is hopeful that a judicial council bill will be enacted into law. The proposed judicial council bill would provide a process for complaints against judicial conduct.

A judicial council was first proposed by the judiciary 20 years ago, but has yet to see the light of day. A judicial council bill is currently going through the Oireachtas, but there is, as of yet, no sign of white smoke to indicate that it will be finalised.

While politicians bear most of the blame for a failure to have such a council, the judiciary is not blameless. The men and women of the bench want a council, but have long been particular as to the parameters of such a body.

For instance, last autumn, they successfully lobbied to have proposed hearings into allegations of misconduct held in private, although, as of now, it appears that determinations of misconduct will be made public.

Previous bills were drafted, but never materialised, and there is no guarantee that this one will succeed. The notion that judges conduct continues to be beyond any accountability is a staggering indictment in a democracy.

In the matter of Mr Harrison and the judge, the chief justice passed it onto the president of the district court, Judge Rosemary Horgan.

She is inquiring into the matter, but has no power to issue any ruling or sanction.

The other issue that came to light in the case is the failure to retain a record of the court proceedings. Most district courts are equipped with digital audio recordings, which are turned on while the court is in session.

There was no DAR on the day Mr Harrison complained about. According to a number of sources on the court circuit in Kerry, the judge only uses the system infrequently.

The inquiry being conducted by Judge Horgan is understood to be delayed because of the failure, thus far, to locate any record of the proceedings on the day in question.

There is no obligation for judges to use the DAR system, despite the fact that many of them are grateful for it, as it provides a record that can be used for their protection.
Worthy further education reforms may be unrealistic without extra funding, writes Education Correspondent Niall Murray.

A return to the original mission of post-Leaving Certificate courses (PLC) is how Solas envisions its planned reform of the sector that could see many courses dropped or merged over the next three years.

It could lead to quite a shake-up of provision at colleges and schools around the country, with some areas having fewer courses and other counties or regions enjoying a better share of programmes from which students could choose.

The recommendations made by Solas, the further education and training authority, are largely based on

findings in the evaluation it had carried out on the sector by the Economic and Social Research Institute.

It surveyed principals of some of the 110 colleges and schools offering PLC courses to more than 32,000 students annually, most of them emerging with level 5 or 6 qualifications. These two steps on the qualifications ladder are placed between the Leaving Certificate and the lowest third-level qualification awarded for two- or three-year programmes offered mostly at institutes of technology and some private colleges.

Long labelled the Cinderella of the education system, PLCs are part of a wider further education system that the ESRI found is still seen as an also-ran or fall-back for people who do not get the grades to go on to third-level college.

But far from being so, the PLC sector provides important links between people of all ages and the jobs market, as well as providing an increasingly-vital alternative route for progression to third level that suits many students.

Part of the trouble is the continuing perceptions and stigmas, confirmed in the ESRI research with students and graduates of the PLC sector, that it is somehow second best. If the Government has realistic ambitions to redress that, it and its predecessors have done little to do so by imposing a strict limit on the number of places it funds in these courses for over a decade. Yet at the same time, they continue to insist third-level colleges accept more school leavers, albeit without providing the matching additional funding.

This cap of around 32,000 PLC places is not suggested to be raised or removed by Solas in its 45 recommendations arising from the ESRI evaluation.

Solas acknowledges  but does little to suggest remedying  the resourcing issues pointed out strongly by further education and PLC college principals that have beset the sector, particularly so in the past decade.

Education Minister Richard Brutons mantra about turning Irelands education system into one of the best in Europe rings hollow when he cannot commit any extra funding to a further education and training sector he insists is a valued part of the wider system funded under his departments 9bn budget.

The Solas recommendations, fashioned with careful control by its parent department and minister, say nothing about reforming the structure of PLC provision. Despite their often job-specific nature and the requirements coming down the track to be more responsive to industry and employers, these courses and colleges are publicly funded in the same way as the countrys second-level schools.

As the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals further education and training committee chairwoman Cecilia Munro points out, many factors undermining PLC provision have long been highlighted by those working in the sector.

The PLC system has a number of structural flaws that must be addressed as a matter of urgency. These include the uneven geographical spread of course provision, especially in rural areas, she said, pointing.

Ms Munro points to a lack of capital investment, appropriate administrative or IT support, and guidance counselling.

Management structures also mirror those of secondary schools, even in standalone PLC colleges catering for more than 1,000 students in a diverse range of specialist courses. Solas is recommending a dedicated capital budget for the PLC sector, but without necessarily pushing for a greater allocation.

There is no point just throwing extra money at any sector without ensuring it is fit for purpose. And that purpose is being clearly redefined, or reset to what it was back in the 1980s, as Solas chief executive Paul OToole told the Irish Examiner, by the recommendation that 55% of PLC places be targeted at courses specifically aimed at the jobs market. The remainder is to be allocated on those courses whose main purpose is preparing students for third-level or other further education and training.

This will only be after 500 of the places nationally  from within the already capped number  are allocated for an entirely new system of pre-apprenticeship courses, which Mr Bruton said will prepare prospective entrants to an expanding range of apprenticeships being developed in the coming years.

Many working in the sector will be glad to see reforms accepted by an education minister after the last such major review in 2003 went entirely unimplemented. But nobody will place much extra value on the PLC sector if the changes are forced through without any additional investment, particularly the students who Mr Bruton wants to see take up more further education and training opportunities.

He and his colleagues made much of their announcement in Budget 2018 three months ago of an increased levy on employers for the National Training Fund. It was intended to be targeted directly at further and higher education initiatives to respond better to those businesses staffing needs. Now that he is explicitly directing just such an initiative in the PLC sector, employers might justifiably question why their money is not being used to help fund it.
The publication of a controversial dossier about President Donald Trump's alleged links with Russia, authored by a former MI6 spy, has already resulted in a death, it has been claimed.

Glenn Simpson the co-founder of Fusion GPS, the firm which commissioned the dossier written by Christopher Steele, was giving evidence to a congressional committee during a closed-door interview last year.

A transcript of his testimony was released by the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dianne Feinstein, on Tuesday, who said making it public would "set the record straight".

Quizzed on whether he had taken any steps to assess the credibility of Mr Steele's sources, Mr Simpson declined to comment.

Coming to his defence, his lawyer Joshua Levy said it was a "voluntary interview", and stated that he "wants to be very careful to protect his sources".

He added: "Somebody's already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work."

The emergence of the dossier - containing a series of lurid claims that the Russians had gathered compromising material on the president prior to his election campaign - caused outrage in the Trump camp.

Mr Steele, who runs the London-based Orbis Business Intelligence, was temporarily forced into hiding when he was identified as the author.

During hours of questioning, Mr Simpson also revealed Mr Steele took the dossier to the FBI in July 2016, and said his concern was "whether or not there was blackmail going on, whether a political candidate was being blackmailed or had been compromised".

He also divulged that the FBI believed Mr Steele's information might be credible "because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organisation".

When asked who that source may have been an answer was declined on the basis of "security", with Mr Simpson adding that "people who get in the way of the Russians tend to get hurt".

The dossier was reportedly the result of an investigation initially funded by Republicans who were seeking to block Mr Trump from becoming the party's presidential candidate, before being taken over by Democrats after his nomination.

Mr Steele was said to have passed on his findings to both US and UK intelligence in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election due to concerns about national security for both countries.

Mr Trump has derided the dossier as politically motivated, and several Republican-led committees are investigating whether it formed the basis for the FBI's initial investigation into Russian election interference.

Democrats say those investigations are a distraction.

The transcript reveals Mr Simpson also told the committee that Mr Steele was the "lead Russianist at MI6 prior to leaving" and was someone he had worked with since 2009.

He said Mr Steele was someone who "delivered quality work in very appropriate ways" who had a "sterling reputation", and who "doesn't exaggerate, doesn't make things up, doesn't sell baloney".

Earlier this month two senior Republican senators referred Mr Steele, over statements about the "distribution of claims contained in the dossier", to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) - urging them to investigate him.

Senate judiciary committee chairman Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham said they had passed a classified memorandum to the DoJ relating to communications between Mr Steele and "multiple US news outlets".

At the time RPC, the UK law firm representing Mr Steele, declined to comment.
President Donald Trump is set to bring his "America First" agenda to a bastion of globalisation when he attends the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos later this month.

The White House confirmed that Mr Trump will attend the summit of political and business elites in the Alps town whose name has become synonymous with the annual gathering of the rich and powerful.

The summit traditionally emphasises global interconnectedness and cooperation.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr Trump would be promoting his policies for strengthening American businesses, industries and workers.

The annual gathering is scheduled for January 23-26, with the theme Creating A Shared Future In A Fractured World.

Mr Trump would be the first sitting US president to attend the summit in person since Bill Clinton in 2000.

Then-vice president Joe Biden attended last year.

Xi Jinping became the first Chinese president to attend the forum in 2017, when Mr Trump was represented by Anthony Scaramucci, who later served a brief and explosive tenure as Mr Trump's White House communications director.

That year's gathering, which occurred around Mr Trump's inauguration, was viewed as a sign of China's ascendance at a time of growing American isolationism.

Ms Sanders rejected the notion that Mr Trump's attendance symbolised he was backing away from his message of economic nationalism.

"The president's message is very much the same here as it will be there," Ms Sanders told reporters today.

"This is very much an 'America First' agenda.

"The president is still 100% focused and committed to promoting policies that promote strength for American businesses and the American worker."

The New York Times first reported on Mr Trump's plans to attend the forum.

AP
Ethiopia is to ban foreign adoptions amid concerns about mistreatment of children overseas.

The approval came after rare heated debate as some politicians worried that the East African nation does not have enough childcare centres to handle the effects of the ban.

Ethiopia had been among the top 10 countries for adoptions in the United States, according to State Department figures released last year.

The US in November warned that Ethiopian authorities were tightening restrictions on adoptions and that the State Department would continue to engage Ethiopias government "to address its concerns".

Ethiopias new National Child Policy says orphans should grow up only in their homeland while honouring their culture and traditions.

- Press Association
There is a concern that the B strain in the flu vaccine is not the same as the circulating virus, but the health authority says there will be a degree of cross-protection.

A HSE spokesperson said flu activity would continue to increase over the next couple of weeks and, after, decline over a four- to five-week period.

Cork University Hospital was the worst-affected by hospital overcrowding yesterday, with 46 patients waiting for admission to a bed, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Association.

The INMOs Trolley and Ward Watch showed 575 patients were on trolleys in emergency departments or in the wards, an increase of 20 on Mondays figure.

St Vincents University Hospital, in Dublin, had 37, the highest number of patients waiting on trolleys, in its emergency department. CUHs ED had 33 patients on trolleys, the second-highest number, followed by the Mater Hospital, with 32. Over the last few days, CUH transferred 18 patients to the Mater Private Hospital in Cork, as part of a number of measures to free up capacity.

The Private Hospitals Association urged Health Minister Simon Harris to make better use of the additional capacity offered by private hospitals.

The associations chief executive, Simon Nugent, said that, with improved planning, the private sector could better assist in addressing the deficits of the public system.

Some of our members are being asked to open beds to public patients to relieve overstretched public hospitals, but theres so much more than can be done, he said.

The HSEs TrolleyGAR figures show that 433 patients were on trolleys yesterday; 205 (47%) were waiting nine hours, and 38 were waiting 24 hours.

The health authoritys count is up 6% on last year and is an increase of 14 on the 419 on Monday (when 230 were waiting nine hours).

Meanwhile, a consultant in emergency medicine at Tallaght Hospital, Jim Gray, said he could not understand why people were not on the streets in their droves, protesting about hospital overcrowding.

Speaking on RTE radio, Dr Gray said there were 15 patients on trolleys in the hospitals ED awaiting a bed, and one was an 84-year-old woman, who had been waiting 22 hours.

This is State institutional abuse, he said. I cant understand why people are not out on the streets, in their droves, protesting over this scandal that has been allowed to continue.

Dr Gray said he did not take any comfort from what Mr Harris had suggested on Monday about 2018 being a year of reform.

Theres nothing, theres actually nothing specific there that gives me any hope that 2018 is going to be any better, said Dr Gray.

A spokesman for Tallaght Hospital said there was a clear need to increase bed capacity to meet current demand.

We are currently in discussions with the HSE to develop a new, 72-single-bed facility at the hospital to address these additional capacity requirements, he said.

Adult ED attendances at the hospital exceeded 50,000 last year, an increase of almost 8,400 (20%) since 2012.
More than 145,000 received a mammogram under the HSEs national screening service BreastCheck, according to the programmes latest statistics for 2015-2016.

This record uptake saw 986 cancers detected, which represents the highest number of diagnosed cases since the free service was rolled out in 2000.

In 2015, BreastCheck invited 198,986 women between the ages of 50 and 65, for screening. Of these 145,822 attended their mammogram either in 2015 or 2016, representing an uptake rate of 74.7%.

From this, 986 cases of cancer were detected, which is the highest number of both total and invasive cases ever diagnosed from a single years invitation.

Furthermore, 399 small invasive cancers were detected and treated surgically.

During this invitation and testing period, the free screening had been extended to the 65-year-old age group for the first time.

Previously, the eligible age for screening was from 50 to 64 years of age.

Eventually, the age is hoped to be extended to 69.

Charles OHanlon, head of the national screening service, described the latest statistics as significant and said the aim is to expand the programme to screen more women.

He said: Expanding the free screening age range is an important development for BreastCheck. It has long been our intention to increase the upper screening age of BreastCheck to women aged 69 years, as there is clear evidence to support this.

Age extension will continue on a phased basis. Our objective is that by the end of 2021, eligible women aged 50 to 69 years old will be invited for free routine mammograms every two years. This will result in more cancers being detected at the earliest possible stage before they become life-threatening, he added.

Professor Ann ODoherty, who is the lead clinical director of the service, urged women who are invited for screening, to make time to go to their appointment.

Prof ODoherty said the programme has provided mammograms to more than 500,000 women since its inception, diagnosing almost 10,000 cancers.

However, an opposite trend has been identified in the uptake of the cervical cancer vaccine.

Uptake of the HPV vaccine has fallen to as low as 50% among teenage girls, and yesterday the newly-formed HPV Vaccination Alliance made up of more than 30 groups, said urgent action was required to address the low uptake level.

At the start of the new school year in September, 30,000 first-year students will be offered the vaccine as part of the national vaccination programme which began in 2010.

However, the HPV Vaccination Alliance stressed that uptake has fallen largely due to misinformation about the vaccine spreading on social media.

In the 2014/2015 academic year, 87% of girls received the vaccine but this rate fell to 50% in the following two years.

Donal Buggy, head of advocacy at the Irish Cancer Society acknowledged parents fears around vaccines claims but allayed any in relation to HPV.

When it comes to the HPV vaccine, the jury is in  the vaccine is safe and saves lives. The Irish Cancer Society has been vocal on this issue for quite some time, Mr Buggy said.
Plans by Garda HQ to press ahead with overhauling the structures of policing have now been put in doubt.

A major policing conference scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled after the Association of Garda Superintendents (AGS) said its members would not attend.

The AGS represents the countrys 166 superintendents, the forces management front line. They operate as district officers and managers of specialist and national units.

The association, which has never before taken any form of industrial action, said it will not assume any additional work. The dispute relates to the refusal of the Government to extend to higher ranks the pay rises given to lower ranks in the talks to avert garda strikes last November.

The AGS said the move meant members promoted from the rank of inspector to superintendent were in the region of 4,000-6,000 worse off.

The organisation is undergoing significant reform, including under the Governments Five-Year Reform and High-Level Workforce Plan, which outlines the replacement of the current district model of policing with a divisional model where responsibilities are allocated on a functional basis rather than on a geographical area.

As is stands, local superintendents are district officers and perform all the functions of the district, with numerous districts in each division.

In the new plan, a superintendent would be assigned to a function across the division such as operations, partnership, crime, criminal justice or garda staff.

The Governments plan is based on the recommendation in the Garda Inspectorates Changing Policing in Ireland report in November 2015.

The AGS said its members will also not implement any other major reforms  such as those contained in the 2016 Garda Modernisation and Renewal Programme.

AGS general secretary Supt Denis Ferry said the issue affects those inspectors who have been promoted to superintendent since January 2017.

He said that around 20 have been promoted to date, and a further 10 or so are expected to be promoted in the coming months.

The AGS estimates that addressing this anomaly would cost the exchequer in the region of 1m, on top of the estimated 50m cost of the deal made in November.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said work is ongoing to resolve the issue and that he was incontact with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe on the matter.

I have met with the Associations about a wide range of issues including their current concerns, he said. I greatly value the important work of Garda superintendents and chief superintendents. I want to see this issue resolved as soon as possible and remain available to discuss the matter further with associations.
That is despite Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Simon Coveney, and other key ministers remaining silent on the issue.

At least eight of the 15 senior ministers have told the Irish Examiner they will back recommendations by the Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment before they formally discuss the findings for the first time at this mornings Cabinet meeting.

The meeting will be dominated by the abortion issue, with the Government expected to take an informal view on the matter before finalising its opinion after a three-day Dail and Seanad debate next week.

Todays meeting is expected to hear Health Minister Simon Harris say it is his intention, pending the forthcoming Oireachtas debate, to focus work on the committees recommendations.

Prior to the Cabinet meeting, the majority of members said they support the plans by the committee and Citizens Assembly.

Asked yesterday for their views, six ministers said they are in favour of repeal and legislate for unrestricted access in the first 12 weeks. They are:

Mr Harris;

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe;

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty;

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy;

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan;

Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone.

Culture Minister Josepha Madigan and Transport Minister Shane Ross have previously outlined their support, although Mr Ross said on Monday he is continuing to read the report, a comment that is in part due to the fact the Independent Alliance is likely to be divided on the issue.

Of the remaining seven ministers, Education Minister Richard Bruton, Business Minister Heather Humphreys, and Rural Affairs Minister Michael Ring did not respond to requests for comment last night.

A spokesperson for Communications Minister Denis Naughten said he is still reading over the five-page report, which was published before Christmas, and a spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Michael Creed declined to comment.

The fact the majority of the Cabinet now supports repeal and unrestricted abortion access in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy will increase the pressure on Mr Varadkar and Mr Coveney to express their views.

Mr Varadkar is unlikely to do so until after next weeks Dail and Seanad debates. Sources said it is likely Mr Coveney will express his position at Mondays Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, before the Dail and Seanad debates take place.

It is understood Mr Harris will tell Cabinet today the exact timetable needed to ensure a May or June referendum date amid speculation of a vote on Friday, May 25.

This timetable includes:
Mia Carlin was admitted to Letterkenny University Hospital on June 24, 2013, with chicken pox, but developed sepsis. Blood tests were ordered the day before she was transferred from Letterkenny to Our Ladys Childrens Hospital, in Dublin, but there was a delay in taking the sample, a Medical Council inquiry heard.

Matthew Thomas, Oak Grove, Woodlands, Letterkenny, is before this fitness-to-practice inquiry, relating to his care of Mia, who was 16 months old at the time.

At a resumed inquiry hearing into the allegations of poor professional performance over the care of the child, a nurse said she asked Dr Thomas about the test results between 5pm and 6pm on June 26, 2013.

The nurse said she was having tea at the nurses station, when Dr Thomas approached and they discussed the childs blood-test results.

The doctor said he had seen the results, the nurse said. Hed seen the results, but had not written that on the chart.

Simon Mills, barrister for Dr Thomas, previously told the inquiry that the doctor had directed that the sample be taken that morning, but it was not taken until the afternoon.

The blood test was taken at 2.10pm. Mr Mills said there was a computer printout from the lab, with the results, showing an abnormally raised C-Reactive Protein level (inflammation) at 4.29pm, but these were not brought to the attention of the attending team at 5pm.

Mr Mills said the results of the test were not available to Dr Thomas when he asked for them between 6.30pm and 7pm that evening.

Mia was irritable, miserable, and crying most of the day, according to the nurse. She was treated with an anti-itch cream earlier that day and started on IV fluids shortly after 5pm.

The nurse said there was no new intervention for Mia following Dr Thomass review of the child at 6pm.

Mr Mills said Dr Thomas did not recall a conversation with the nurse about the blood-test results and said the first he became aware of the elevated C-Reactive Protein level was during a phone call later that evening.

The child was seen at 7pm by registrar Quram Ali, who described her as clinically stable.

Giving evidence via video link, Dr Ali said he proposed antibiotics to deal with a secondary infection if one was present.

Dr Ali said the blood-test results were not available to him at 7pm. He said the normal turnaround time for blood-test results is two hours.

But if there is anything unusual, the lab call us, said Dr Ali.

There was no result available at 7pm, that is certain.

The child was being treated with antibiotics and fluids and was stable, Dr Ali said.

He said this was the same treatment that would have been afforded to her in the intensive care unit at Our Ladys Childrens Hospital, in Crumlin, had she been there.

At around 7.40pm, the medical team was made aware of the blood-test results. The inquiry continues.
Figures provided by Kevin Boxer Moran, minister of state for the Office of Public Works, reveal that 42 stations were sold between 2014 and 2017, raising a total of 3.228m.

That works out at an average of less than 77,000 per closed station building.

While the most expensive station, Mallow Rd in Cork, sold for 260,000, others sold for a fraction of that price.

Crossakiel Station in Meath sold for 6,000, while Rathowen Station in Westmeath and Ballacolla Station in Laois sold for 15,000 each.

Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim OCallaghan criticised the Governments decision to sell the stations in the first place.

The fact that the Government only secured 3.2m for the sale of closed Garda stations reveals that this was a shortsighted and pointless policy, he said.

The public was told that these Garda stations needed to be closed and sold in order to save costs.

We now see that the financial saving has been derisory, yet the social cost has been enormous.

Mr OCallaghan said the closure of Garda stations, particularly those in rural areas, has had a detrimental impact on local communities and the confidence that people have in their own safety.

The Government needs to reverse this shortsighted policy and stop selling Garda stations that it has closed, he said.

The Department of Justice said the aim of closing Garda stations was to promote the more efficient and effective deployment of resources rather than to secure modest cash savings.

It said Garda management had decided that, in relation to certain stations, resources could be better deployed and more effectively used on the frontline if those stations no longer had to be staffed and maintained.

The 3m made by the Government from the sale of the stations is the same amount as the Government last year committed to putting into rural CCTV cameras to help communities deal with crime.

In recent weeks, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan appeared to admit that the scheme was not working, saying that applications for cameras were well below expectations  just six successful applications as of November.

The Irish Farmers Association said there is a need for a well-staffed, visible Garda force throughout rural areas.

The allocation of gardai to rural areas is important to both tackle crime and to give a greater sense of security to those living in rural Ireland, said IFA national treasurer Jer Bergin.

At the end of 2017, the Garda commissioner recommended six closed Garda stations be reopened on a pilot basis: Ballinspittle, Co Cork; Bawnboy, Co Cavan; Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow; Donard, Co Wicklow, and Rush and Stepaside in Dublin.

The inclusion of Stepaside  which is in Transport Minister Shane Rosss constituency  caused controversy. Assistant Garda Commissioner for Dublin Pat Leahy said it wouldnt have been my number one priority.

Fianna Fail TD Shane Cassells said it was going to cause huge anger in the rest of the country, especially in rural Ireland where 139 stations were closed or scaled down to buzzer boxes and at the same time they see pictures of the smiley head of Shane Ross holding up a poster with his local councillor saying, Ive got you Stepaside reopened.

The fear of crime in rural areas has seen Independent TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim Michael Fitzmaurice suggest that elderly people living in secluded areas be allowed to arm themselves with pepper spray and Tasers.

Muintir na Tire, the National Association for Community Development, has warned that the issue of crime, and particularly the fear of crime, remains a very serious issue throughout rural Ireland.
An appeal has been lodged with An Bord Pleanala against the recent decision of Cork City Council to grant planning permission for a 220-bedroom hotel on Sullivans Quay, as part of a large, mixed-use development.

The proposed new four-star hotel will require the demolition of the former tax office, which was acquired by the developers, BAM Property, from the Revenue Commissioners in 2006.
More than 32,000 students take part each year in further education courses in the post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) sector, mostly at colleges and schools managed by education and training boards (ETBs).

But, as reported in yesterdays Irish Examiner, an evaluation by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that the courses have not been fulfilling all their requirements to justify their continuation.

The further education and training authority Solas is to oversee a range of reforms arising from the ESRI research it commissioned.

Among these reforms will be a proposed new outcomes-based funding model, under which PLC programmes would lose funding if they do not meet targets set by Solas for outputs from courses. At the same time, it is planned to reduce funding over three years for PLC provision in areas such as hairdressing, childcare, and community and health services, where the ESRI identified more students completing courses than job opportunities.

This is a sector that has the capacity to respond to changing needs, it has demonstrated that well in the past, said Solas chief executive, Paul OToole.

However, he said, the question of making a case for any significantly increased funding to the sector would depend on the situation that emerges as the reforms are implemented over the coming years. That will be overseen by Solas in a PLC improvement advisory committee, although the stakeholders to be represented on that along with the Department of Education have yet to be decided.

The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, whose members include those managing further education colleges and second-level schools running PLC courses, called for its immediate establishment to drive meaningful change. The association supports the need for closer alignment with the needs of employers, but director, Clive Byrne, said this will need significantly increased investment and more flexibility on teaching contracts and funding structures that are currently based on those used in second-level schools.

The ESRI found that PLC graduates are 27% more likely than those who leave education after the Leaving Certificate to progress to a third-level course, and 16% more likely to get work.

The Teachers Union of Ireland, which represents most ETB teaching staff, said the ESRI report confirms the PLC sectors positive role as a provider of high-quality qualifications and a bridge to continuing education. It expressed disappointment that removing the 200 PLC course charge that deters many students has not been recommended. It said access to courses for young people from disadvantaged regions needs to be urgently enhanced.
While Ireland has dropped out of the top 10 countries for the quality of its scientific research, it remains 11th in global rankings and is thriving in response to SFIs focus on supporting innovative projects and research.

Announcing a review of 2017 and an ambitious programme for 2018, the national foundation for investment in scientific and engineering research yesterday revealed that almost 50m was invested last year to support scientific research, innovation, and education.

That included 43m invested in 26 research projects under the SFI Investigators Programme. A further 44 projects received 2.8m under the SFI Discover Programme to improve public understanding of science and technology and increase STEM uptake in education.

SFI is to focus its funding activities on six areas this year, including expanding its research centres, increasing the number of postgraduate research students, and building partnerships in the UK to address the challenges of Brexit.

Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation Heather Humphreys said the review indicated that SFI was making excellent progress towards meeting the targets set out in its far-reaching strategy, Agenda 2020.

It presents Government with many opportunities to support the very best in our STEM sector, with new initiatives to increase the number of PhD students, attract star talent to Ireland, and a pilot for challenge-based funding, she said.

SFI director general and the Governments chief scientific adviser, Mark Ferguson, said SFIs investment in research was having a measurable impact on the economy and society.

Throughout 2018, across all programmes, we saw an exceptionally high standard of applications, such that Science Foundation Ireland had reserve lists of excellent and impactful projects across all its major programmes, he said.

The talent which Science Foundation Ireland supports is delivering high-quality publications, driving discovery and innovation, collaborating with industry, and importantly, training and mentoring the next generation of researchers.

We set very high expectations for the researchers that Science Foundation Ireland support and the researchers are meeting those ambitious targets.
While hundreds of thousands of public servants last week saw a hike in their wages under the new agreement, the workers in Section 39 companies saw no increase.

Section 39 employees are not public servants, but their employers are grant-aided by the HSE to provide services mainly in the health and social services sectors.

Traditionally their pay has been linked to rates within the public service. However, while they experienced the cuts implemented in the recession years, there has, so far, been no sign of them securing the newly-agreed increases.

Siptu says the HSE, the Department of Health, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have repeatedly insisted they have no role or input into pay for workers in Section 39 organisations.

However, in recent days, the HSE and union representatives were in the Workplace Relations Commission where, according to Siptu, the HSE agreed to provide funds for Section 39 workers to pay sleep-over allowances and instructed how the monies should be allocated to workers entitled to the payment.

Siptu health division organiser, Paul Bell, said the deal has seen the HSE overtly and formally directing our members should receive payments owed to them.

It is now up to the HSE and the Government to ensure that the wider dispute involving the restoration of pay for workers across the Section 39 organisations is resolved, he said.

Mr Bell said his 8,000 Section 39 members  Forsa represents a further 5,000  are being balloted at present about strike action for February 14.

The HSE, Department of Health and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have continued to ignore Labour Court recommendations which uphold our members pay link with the public service on the grounds that they have no role or input into pay for workers in Section 39 organisations, he said.

The agreement at the WRC undermines this assertion by the HSE and the departments that they have no responsibility in the matter.

Mr Bell said he has written to Health Minister Simon Harris and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe on four separate occasions requesting meetings, but said they have declined these requests.
Aonghus McCarthy, 32, had been charged in November, under Section 15c of the Misuse of Drugs Act, for conveying a controlled drug into Mountjoy Prison, or to a person in the prison, on February 8, 2017, a charge he denies.

Cocaine worth 25 was allegedly found when his wallet was searched, Dublin District Court heard. He told gardai, yesterday, that he did not know it was there, after an additional charge was put to him in connection with the seizure.

His practice is based at Conyngham Rd, Dublin 8.

In November, the district court had accepted jurisdiction to hear the case and had ordered that his trial take place in March.

The solicitor, from Co Cork, but who has an address at Wellington House, Clancy Quay, Dublin 8, appeared again at Dublin District Court, on Tuesday, to face one additional charge for unlawful possession of cocaine on February 8, 2017, contrary to Section Three of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Garda Finbarr Brennan told Judge Cormac Dunne that he charged Mr McCarthy at the court. The defendants reply was I did not know it was there, the court was told. Garda Brennan said it was alleged the value of the cocaine was 25.

Judge Dunne extended the existing bail to the new charge sheet.

Defence solicitor Michael Hanahoe said that in light of the new charge, he was asking for the case to be put back to a later date, for mention.

Judge Dunne remanded his client to appear again in four weeks to indicate how he will plead to the new charge.

A State solicitor also told Judge Dunne a new trial date was needed, as a result of a witness difficulty. Judge Dunne said that could also be confirmed on February 6, when the case and both charges will be listed again for mention.

In a summary of the prosecution evidence given in November, the court heard it would be alleged the defendant entered the prison for a professional visit with an inmate. He went through a search area, where he put his belt and wallet on a conveyor to be scanned. It was alleged that, as they passed though the scanner, a prison officer observed a black object inside the wallet.

The prison officer found a bag with a white powder substance inside. It was suspected that it was a controlled drug and gardai were called, the court heard.
The attack was yesterday described by Inspector John Deasy at Cork District Court. Sean Buckley, aged 23, of 63 Waterfall Road, Bishopstown, Cork, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm.

The defendant, and others, had been put out of a pub for unruly behaviour.

The injured party, a Leaving Cert student, was walking along Maylor St, when his hat was grabbed from him and thrown around between Buckley and his friends.

A fight ensued. While the victim was on the ground, being assaulted by another party, he pulled Buckley towards himself as protection from blows from another attacker. At this point, he was bitten on the cheek by Sean Buckley. Mr Buckley, and others, then ran from the scene, Insp Deasy said.

Buckley was forthcoming, when interviewed by gardai, and accepted responsibility for his part in injuries caused. The victim had recovered well from a bite mark on the right cheek.

Solicitor Michael Quinlan said Buckley had since gone to Australia and was doing well. Buckley had been so drunk at the time that he had no memory of a bite.

Mr Quinlan said the defendants brother died in the month of December and the defendant experienced anger every December since then, tending to drink himself into a stupor.

Judge Tim Lucey said: I am expecting money on the counter. Talk is cheap. I am not interested in his anger and frustrations. I am interested in the injured party. Money does talk. Otherwise, it is just empty words. He is going to have to step up.

Sentencing was adjourned until today, for Buckley to produce 1,000 for the injured party.
Chemical tests carried out, as part of a project submitted for the RDS Dublin event, showed elevated nitrate levels in Courtmacsherry Bay and nearby Broadstrand beach.

This could indicate contamination by agricultural runoff, fertiliser or household waste, said the girls teacher at St Brogans College, Bandon.

Karen Keohane, who teaches chemistry and maths at the school, said the two second-year students had approached her with the idea for the project after hearing the story of a dog which had died of water-borne E.coli.

It was believed the animal contracted the disease after paddling in Courtmacsherry Bay, she said.

A series of tests carried out by St Brogans College classmates Emma Kelly, 13, and Rachel Lordan, 14, on samples of seawater near two open sewer pipes at Courtmacsherry beach, found elevated levels of nitrates compared to samples taken from neighbouring beaches at Dunworley, Harbour View and Garrettstown.

Open pipes mean levels of phosphates are higher than nearby beaches.

The girls tests showed samples from Courtmacsherry Beach had nitrate levels up to 15 times higher than samples from the other three beaches.

This water from the sewer pipes was flowing directly onto the beach and into the sea where people are swimming, said Ms Keohane.

She said the pH of the water at Courtmacsherry was higher than at Dunworley, Garrettstown and Harbour View beaches.

Sewage is the main source of excess nitrate added to natural waters, while fertiliser and agricultural runoff also contribute to high levels of nitrate, she said.

She said Emma and Rachel planned to send their findings to Cork County Council and the EPA following the BT Young Scientists Technology Exhibition. The students also plan to talk with the community in Courtmacsherry to help raise awareness of the findings.

Meanwhile, the pair also examined an open sewer pipe at Broadstrand beach. Water from the pipe was flowing directly onto the beach where students saw people swimming.

Tests at Broadstrand showed an elevated level of nitrates up to 14 times higher than Dunworley, Harbour View and Garrettstown beaches.

The level of phosphates from Broadstrand, where the open pipe was located, was also higher than at Courtmacsherry and also at their three.

The findings could indicate runoff from household detergents or fertilisers, said Ms Keohane.
County Halls Michael Lynch said rural communities had suffered from a lack of multi-annual, infrastructural and community investment commitments from successive governments.

Mr Lynchs comments were in a report provided to county councillors, who had claimed rural areas were dying because young people were being refused planning permission within their own communities.

Councillors further claimed planning permission was too restrictive in rural areas, especially in West and North-West Cork.

In his report, Mr Lynch noted the lack of investment, and, more specifically, investment in water and sewerage infrastructure, necessary to support sustainable development, has impacted on the vitality and viability of towns, villages, and rural communities.

He said the local authority was seeking changes and continues to raise the matter with the appropriate agencies, including during the National Planning Framework.

However, while councillors acknowledged that the lack of proper investment in rural areas was causing a population exodus, they believed the local authority could also do more to make it easier for young people to secure planning permission.

Cllr Gerard Murphy, who lives in Newmarket, and Cllr Pat Murphy, who lives in Bantry, put together a major submission to council officials.

They are concerned about difficulties in obtaining planning for one-off houses in rural areas, where the applicant has to install their own septic tank and water supply. The councillors highlighted alleged inconsistencies among planners, with some approving permission and others not.

Cllr Gerard Murphy said the issue could relate to the interpretation of the County Development Plan. He said planners should have the discretion to relax regulations in weaker rural areas, designated as being under the CLAR scheme, which provides funding for capital projects in depopulated rural areas.

There needs to be very clear recognition, by the planning authority, that farmers have to live reasonably close to their enterprise, particularly dairy farmers, he said.

The councils planning department, meanwhile, has agreed to enter into talks with councillors who sit on the housing strategic policy committee.

As reported in the Irish Examiner yesterday, a number of councillors told a County Hall meeting they were aware of farmers who have been refused permission to build on their own land. Cllr John OSullivan said farms were becoming larger and there was also a need to ensure farm labour lived nearby. Cllr Deirdre OBrien said there was also a security need for farmers to live on their farms.

Councillors also claimed emigrants abroad were being refused planning in their home areas, as they have not been resident there for a number of years.
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Up to now, its been a relatively quiet revolution, but things are set to significantly ramp up as towns around Ireland push ahead with plans to improve age-friendly facilities.

From age-friendly parking spaces and public seating to free shuttle buses for older people, dementia cafes and computer courses, to something as simple as larger-font signage in local businesses, a wide range of initiatives aimed at making life easier for older people, is being implemented in towns and cities.

Google the phrase age-friendly strategy and the names of towns all over Ireland pop up in relation to it. From Limerick to Sligo and Dublin to Cork, towns and cities have been carrying out walkability studies  to determine whether the street-scape is age-friendly  and in-depth community surveys to determine the needs of older people. Communities are examining their amenities and facilities in terms of everything from infrastructure to housing to see how they can be made more age-friendly.

Do footpaths need to be dished to enable easier descent onto the road? Is there enough public seating in amenity areas such as parks? Does the local pharmacy, post office or bus-stop have seats allowing older people to wait in comfort? Are half-portions available in restaurants to meet the reduced appetites of many older people?

This emphasis on age-friendly facilities is a global initiative driven by the World Health Organisation to take account of the fact people are living longer  and the need for societies to respond effectively to the requirements of a growing population of over-65s.

In 2006, around 11% of the Irish population, or about 467,900 people, were aged 65 and over. In the intervening decade, according to the Central Statistics Office, the number of people aged 65 and over has increased by around 54,000. It is projected that this sector may increase to around 25% of the population by 2026.

While an ageing population brings great opportunities it also delivers great challenges  which means more thought needs to go into designing housing, businesses, infrastructure and amenities with the needs of older people in mind.

Which is where the idea of age-friendly strategies come in. Irelands Age Friendly Cities and Counties Programme has its origins as far back as 2007, based on a pilot participation by County Louth in the WHOs Age Friendly Cities Network Global Research.

These days, each of the 31 local authorities has its own Age Friendly programme involving an alliance of senior decision-makers across the public, private and voluntary sectors. The Older Peoples Council, which is open to all older people and their organisations, represents the views of older people within the Alliance. The programme is implemented in conjunction with local Age-friendly Town groups, who address issues in their local areas.

Its all voluntary, from top to bottom, and very community-led, explains Cork County Councils divisional manager for north Cork, James Fogarty.

Take the picturesque Co Cork harbour town of Kinsale. One of four County Cork Age-Friendly Towns  the county council plans to increase this number to 12, starting next year  Kinsale, which received the designation in 2014, now has 10 age-friendly parking spaces in strategic locations.

It has also run an age-friendly business initiative resulting in larger, clearer signage, reduced music volume levels and extra seating. A shuttle bus free to older people is operating, while a Walkability Study resulted in the removal of footpath obstacles. The towns age-friendly committee is currently putting together a community information leaflet with contacts for local services. Originally an age-friendly initiative, its considered to be so useful that it will be circulated throughout the area in the New Year.

The towns of Bandon, Mitchelstown and Cobh, which all joined the programme in early 2017 have implemented various initiatives. In Bandon, 10 age-friendly parking spaces are now in place. The local Age-Friendly Towns Committee  which is made up of local people working in conjunction with the local authoritys area engineer, municipal district officer and other bodies  is carrying out a survey of older peoples groups to determine issues of significance.

In Cobh, where The Great Island Community Forum took on the challenge, age-friendly parking spaces have been established. A walkability survey has been carried out and public consultation meetings held in order to get feedback about the issues that face older people living in and visiting the town. Based on the feedback, the group plans to pilot a volunteer-run dementia cafe for people with dementia and their carers in 2018, provide Age Friendly awareness training for businesses and install more seating around town.

Mitchelstowns Age-Friendly Town Committee has established several age-friendly parking facilities, increased the amount of time allowed by traffic lights for pedestrians to cross a busy main road, and, in conjunction with Cork Institute of Technology, is considering a pilot project to trial a digitalised senior alert initiative.

At Cork County Council level, the age-friendly alliance includes representatives from bodies such as the local authority itself, Bus Eireann, the Chamber of Commerce, the HSE and the Older Peoples Council  the idea being, as Fogarty explains, to ensure that the initiatives implemented are a result of joined-up thinking. Such projects include everything from the amount of time the traffic lights allow pedestrians to cross the road, to easier boarding of buses and ensuring that public seating is tall enough to allow an older person to more easily stand up again.

These are very simple but important things, says Mr Fogarty, adding that the provision of new age-friendly facilities is generally of significant benefit not just to the over-65s, but to the community at large.

Its important to raise awareness that older people need help in certain circumstances more than the rest of the population, he says. Its about getting everyone to think in terms of age-friendly policies. The more people hear about it the more it becomes the norm and if you design for the elderly, you design for everybody.
The author, Margaret Atwood, said reading and writing, like everything else, improve with practise. And, of course, if there are no young readers and writers, there will shortly be no older ones. I decided I would seek the opinions of two different sets of readers and writers, to better understand the role of childrens literature in their lives.

Madeleine DArcy, Mary Morrissy, Billy OCallaghan and William Wall are all published authors. The sixth class pupils of Upper Glanmire National School and their teacher, Niall O Sullivan, are avid readers, storytellers and writers.

Billy O Callaghan says his grandmother told him stories long before he could read. He fell so completely in love with reading, that it has proven impossible ever after not to have a book near at hand. Like the other authors, Madeleine DArcy was encouraged to read from a young age. Madeleine began to read at age three, probably because my mother read to us a lot and often took us to the local library.

Mary Morrissy remembers reading lots of Enid Blyton: Everything she wrote  the Five mysteries, the Secret Seven, Malory Towers.

Also The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope. These books were like currency in my childhood  traded and swapped incessantly and talked about.

For William Wall, the classic adventure stories held a particular attraction, including Treasure Island and Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. The sea has been a big part of all my books, almost a character in some of them. I think Stevenson is the root of that.

What books are children reading today that could prove to inspire our future writers? David Walliams was the best selling author in Ireland in 2017 and was a firm favourite with the sixth class pupils of mostly 12-year-olds at Upper Glanmire National School in Cork. Kevin Reynolds says: I like the way he can make his books really funny without trying.

Jessica Murphy is also a fan of the Walliams books and says they create pictures in her head and take her to different places. Parallels can be drawn between Walliams work and Roald Dahls. Most notably, Walliams first two novels, The Boy in the Dress and Mr Stink were illustrated by Quentin Blake who also worked on Dahls books.

Walliams also dives straight into the action, his characters are lively, the plots are well woven. Above all, he respects the young readers intelligence whilst still nurturing their imagination. Elements that make a great story, say the pupils.

But, it is not just Walliams that these young readers were keen to opine upon. Michael Morpurgo was a favourite with Rebecca Kelleher because he writes about animals and how the animals take care of their owners. Bobbi OConnell is a fan of Morpurgos Private Peaceful because its real.

Like author William Wall, who loved DC comics as a young boy, Ryan Lock expressed an interest in reading comic books and illustration.

I like books because I love drawing and it gives me ideas. If I read a book that hasnt got pictures, once I finish the book, I can go back and think about the characters because I dont know what they look like and I can draw them from my head, said Ryan.

Other favourite authors mentioned by the children included JK Rowling, Tom Gates, Roald Dahl, Oliver Jeffers, Enid Blyton and Anthony Horowitz.

Should we continue to read childrens literature into adulthood? Mary Morrissy thinks people should read what they want to read. I dont like the idea of prescriptive reading, she says.

William Wall says: I dont think it matters what people read, as long as they read, but I think its not a good thing to simply circle round the reading you did as a child. If nothing else, books should be a way to encounter new situations, learn about other peoples lives, meet new ideas and learn different ways of experiencing the world.

The pupils had a slightly different perspective.

Darragh OCallaghan believed it was necessary for adults to read childrens literature because they will know what children like, theyll know for presents. Jessica Murphy says it will bring them back to when they had happier books, instead of depressing and boring books.

It seems that encouragement is needed to turn readers into writers Being a real writer was not something a person like myself could aspire to, says Madeleine DArcy. The idea of being any kind of artist was unutterably glamourous and unattainable. I felt no sense of entitlement. Earning a living was what mattered.

With her husbands encouragement, Madeleine began writing fiction at age 45 and won her first literary prize at 49. Its never too late, she says.

Mary says Im not sure Id have come to writing without prompting, because it hadnt struck me that being a writer was an ambition that I could have.

Billy admits that he was writing for years before showing his work to anyone. It wasnt until my mid-twenties that I found the courage to start submitting my own stories to magazines.

The pupils teacher, Niall O Sullivan, reckons he has several potential writers in his class. They dont give themselves enough credit. They are brilliant at writing and script writing. Some of them have copybooks full of stories.

Roald Dahl said the the prime function of the childrens book writer is to write a book that is so absorbing, exciting, funny, fast and beautiful, that the child will fall in love with it. And, that first love affair between the young child and the young book will lead, hopefully, to other loves for other books.

The kids of Upper Glanmire National School already seem to be well along this road, and even in this digital age where screens are never far away, childrens books are still thriving.
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Scene Editor Billy Arnold covers arts and entertainment. He apprenticed as a sound engineer at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio before making his way to Jackson, where he has become a low-key fan of country music.
Emily Mieure covers criminal justice and emergency news. She also leads the News&Guides investigative efforts. She has reported for WDRB TV in Louisville, Ky., WFIE TV in Evansville, Ind., and WEIU TV in Charleston, Ill.
Mike has reported on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's wildlife, wildlands and the agencies that manage them since 2012. A native Minnesotan, he arrived in the West to study environmental journalism at the University of Colorado.
Kylie Mohr covers the education and health beats. Mohr grew up in Washington and came to Wyoming via Georgetown. She loves seeing the starry night sky again.
Alison Pleiman is a child care worker with Teton Youth and Family Services. She is getting her masters degree in social work at the University of Southern California.
Allie Gross covers Teton County government. Originally from the Chicago area, she joined the News&Guide in 2017 after studying politics and Spanish at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Elks go chili to chili for third year

Elks members battle to see whose recipe is the king of them all.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted Tuesday to legalize recreational marijuana [HB 656 materials].

After a committee recommendation that the lawmakers kill the bill, the House voted [NHPR report] against killing the bill. The House then voted 207-139 to pass an amended version [text, PDF] of the bill that would allow [AP report] adults to cultivate up to six plants at home, as well as possess up to one ounce of marijuana and certain marijuana-infused products. The bill does not allow for retail sales of marijuana.

The legislation was then referred to the House Ways and Means Committee and is ultimately expected to wind up in the Senate, where it may face some difficulty. Historically, House-approved marijuana legislation has died [Forbes report] in the Senate.

The bills approval comes just after the Trump administration rescinded [JURIST report] Obama-era marijuana enforcement policies last week. This move has faced opposition from some members of Congress and state officials, including some from New Hampshire.
Key developments in Tunisia in the seven years since president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled in a revolt that sparked a wave of uprisings in the region.

 2011: President flees 

Ben Ali quits on January 14, 2011 after weeks of demonstrations sparked by the self-immolation of a fruit seller who was protesting police harassment and unemployment.

He is the first leader to stand down in the Arab Spring, fleeing to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power.

In October, Islamist group Ennahda wins 89 of the 217 seats in a new constituent assembly, just months after being legalised in March. It is Tunisias first free election.

The assembly elects former opposition leader Moncef Marzouki as president in December.

 2012: Attacks, unrest 

In June and August, violent demonstrations erupt, while Islamists start staging attacks.

In September, four attackers are killed in clashes at the US embassy as hundreds protest over an anti-Islam film.

In late November, riots break out in Siliana, southwest of Tunis, in which 300 are injured.

Since the summer, sometimes violent strikes and demonstrations have affected industry, public services, transport, and business. The unrest in mostly in the countrys economically sidelined interior.

 2013: Opposition leaders killed 

In February, prominent anti-Islamist opposition leader Chokri Belaid is assassinated in Tunis, sparking deadly protests and a political crisis.

In July, leftist opposition leader Mohamed Brahmi is also shot dead. Jihadists claim both killings.

 2014: First free presidential poll 

In January, lawmakers adopt a new constitution after two years of turmoil that has exposed a deep rift between Ennahda and the secular opposition.

In October, the secular Nidaa Tounes party led by Beji Caid Essebsi comes top in the parliamentary polls.

Two months later, Essebsi defeats Marzouki in Tunisias first free presidential election.

 2015: Carnage 

In 2015, the country suffers three attacks claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

In March, 21 tourists and a policeman are killed as gunmen assail the Bardo museum in Tunis.

In June, attackers kill 38 foreign tourists, 30 from Britain, in a coastal resort town south of Tunis.

And in November, a suicide bomber kills 12 presidential guards in the capital.

 2016: New protests 

In January 2016, a wave of protests against poverty and unemployment erupt throughout the country. It is the worst social unrest since the 2011 revolution.

The unrest fans out from the central town of Kasserine, where an unemployed man died of electrocution during a protest.

In a new attack in March, at least 35 jihadists, 11 members of the security forces and seven civilians are killed during an assault on security installations in the town of Ben Guerdane on the Libyan border.

In August, Youssef Chahed of Nidaa Tounes forms a national unity government including ministers from Ennahda and independents.

In November, a Truth and Dignity Commission begins hearings into six decades of dictatorship, including under Ben Ali.

 2017: Decisive measures 

The International Monetary Fund in December 2017 calls on Tunis for urgent action and decisive measures to reduce its deficit, after giving the country a $2.9-billion loan the previous year.

 2018: New protests 

In January, after an austerity budget comes into force, peaceful protests start.

They degenerate into riots, with more than 200 people arrested by January 10.
An oracle bone shown at the National Museum of Chinese Writing in Anyang, Henan province. [PHOTO BY ZUO DONGCHEN/FOR CHINA DAILY]

ZHENGZHOU - Earn $15,000 per character! China is offering financial rewards for help deciphering the characters on 3,000-year-old oracle bones. Since the National Museum of Chinese Writing in Anyang in Central China's Henan province announced the reward in November 2016, many people have tried their luck.

Over the past 100 years, researchers have only been able to decipher around one-third of the characters on the animal bones and tortoise shells that have been found so far. The remaining characters are difficult to decipher, according to Guo Xudong from an oracle bones and Yin-Shang culture research center in Anyang.

Yin was the last capital of the Shang Dynasty (c.16th century-11th century BC) and the official excavation of the Yin Ruins in current-day Anyang began in 1928. The oracle-bone scripts discovered at the ruins are considered to be the oldest Chinese inscriptions.

Chinese oracle-bone inscriptions were included on the list of UNESCO Memory of the World International Register on Oct 31.

Oracle bones from ancient China, hieroglyphs from ancient Egypt, cuneiforms from ancient Babylon and Mayan glyphs from Mesoamerica are among the world's most famous ancient writing systems.

"The other three have been lost, but the oracle bones are the only one that still survives as they evolved over time into the current Chinese characters," says Guo.

The oracle-bone inscriptions were first discovered in 1899 by Beijing scholar and antiquarian Wang Yirong, although farmers had been unearthing the relics in Anyang for many years before that. It was Wang who noticed that the symbols on animal bones and tortoise shells looked like a form of writing.

Around 160,000 oracle bones have been found so far. But among the 4,300 characters inscribed on them, only 1,600 have been decoded.

Many of the oracle bones have been scattered across the world over the past century, making it more difficult for researchers to study the actual bones.
PORTLAND, Ore.-- Three men are suing the Archdiocese of Portland for sex abuse.

According to a news release, the men allege they were abused as children by a priest in North Bend. This abuse allegedly happened in the early 1980s.

The lawsuit, filed today in United States District Court for the District of Oregon, alleges the victims were each abused by Fr. Pius Brazauskas.

Brazauskas worked at the Holy Redeemer Church in North Bend from the late 1970s until as late as 1990. According to the complaint, the Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say they were sexually abused on multiple occasions between 1978 and 1982. The plaintiff were each between 5 and 12 years old.



According to their lawyer, these men are the first known victims to speak publicly about abuse by Brazauskas.

This isnt the first time the Archdiocese of Portland has had legal disputes. According to the legal team representing the plaintiffs in this case, in 2004, the Archdiocese of Portland became the first Catholic diocese in the nation to file bankruptcy.

Crew Janci LLP out of Portland is the legal team filing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit against the Archdiocese seeks $9 million in compensatory damages on behalf of the three Plaintiffs, as well as $20 million in punitive damages.
Mr Jonathan Taylor will be accompanied by the EIBs Director for operations outside Europe and senior colleagues responsible for lending in the region.

During the first high-level visit by the European Investment Bank to Vietnam in five years, the EIB will visit the site of its most recent climate related investment in Vietnam, the Hanoi metro project, and meet senior government ministers, city leaders and representatives of financial institutions and diplomats.

Vietnams Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung received Mr Jonathan Taylor in Hanoi on January 9th, 2018. (Photo: Ngoc Bich)

The EU Bank is committed to strengthening climate related investment worldwide and Vietnam is a key partner for the EU in Asia. In recent years, we have supported transport, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects across Vietnam. I look forward to seeing at first hand the transformational impact of past EIB investment and discussing with Vietnamese Government, city and financial counterparts how the EIBs future engagement can be strengthened, said the EIB Vice President during his meeting with Vietnams Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung in Hanoi on January 9th.

Past transport financing by the European Investment Bank in Vietnam is supporting construction of new urban rail infrastructure in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cites. In recent years the EIB has also financed small scale climate related investment, including renewable energy projects and cutting energy use in industry, in partnership with Vietnamese banks.

The EU and Vietnam cooperate closely to address global challenges and share a commitment to tackle climate change. As the EU Bank, the EIB has unique technical experience and finance expertise that are already contributing to sustainable development here in Vietnam and across Asia. I am confident that as the worlds largest financier for climate related investment the strengthened EIB engagement in Vietnam will unlock new investment across crucial sectors in the years to come, stated Mr Bruno Angelet, Ambassador-Head of the Delegation of the EU to Vietnam.

Since 1998, the Bank has agreed more than EUR710 million for infrastructure investment in Vietnam./.

The EIB is the long-term lending institution of the EU owned by its member states. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.
FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2018, file photo, Gayle King arrives at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. If Oprah Winfrey runs for president, CBS News faces a potential conflict of interest with its morning show host King, famously Winfrey's best friend. Her colleagues on "CBS This Morning" interviewed King on Tuesday's show about what her friend was thinking. CBS says it has been transparent about the relationship and said it would address a potential conflict if one arises. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen (Source: VNA)



He made the statement during a working session in Phnom Penh on January 10th with his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Techo Hun Sen on the occasion of his trip to Cambodia to attend the second Mekong - Lancang Cooperation Summit.

Hailing recent achievements of Cambodia in diverse areas, the Vietnamese PM believed that the Cambodian government led by Hun Sen will continue to lead the country to peace, stability and prosperity.

He wished Cambodia success in organising the Senate election in February and National Assembly election in July.

PM Hun Sen, for his part, said Vietnams attendance in the Mekong - Lancang Cooperation Summit not only contributes to its success but also promotes regional cooperation.

The two PMs agreed to take more effective measures to raise the awareness of the two countries people, especially young generations, about the bilateral friendship and all-around cooperation that was founded and fostered by generations of predecessors.

They extensively discussed ways to boost bilateral ties across trade, transport, finance-banking for the benefit of the two peoples.

Host and guest vowed to speed up the demarcation of land border and the planting of border markers in order to complete the work as early as possible.

They also pledged to coordinate to handle the issue of legal status of Cambodians of Vietnamese descent in Cambodia in line with Cambodias law and the spirit of the bilateral friendly neighbourliness./.
President of Ontario Federation of Labour Chris Buckley addresses protesters outside a Tim Hortons Franchise in Toronto on Wednesday January 10, 2018. Labour organizations across Ontario are holding rallies today to protest the actions some Tim Hortons franchises have taken in response to an increase in the province's minimum wage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Police tape is shown in Toronto Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The Justice Department is asking Canadians to think beyond their preconceived notions about crimes - and the people who commit them - as the Liberal government readies long-promised reforms to the criminal justice system.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
Rail Traffic Controller Richard Labrie leaves the courtroom Wednesday, January 10, 2018 in Sherbrooke, Que. Tom Harding, Labrie and Jean Demaitre are charged with criminal negligence in the disaster that killed 47 people in July 2013 when a runaway train carrying crude derailed in Lac-Megantic and exploded. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Newspaper front pages are displayed at the Newseum in Washington on July 10, 2017. Newsprint is the latest Canadian product to be hit with preliminary countervailing duties from the United States. The U.S. Department of Commerce slapped an overall tariff of 6.53 per cent on about 25 Canadian plants, mostly in Quebec and Ontario, following an investigation that began in August 2017. Canada is the largest exporter of newsprint in the world, with a market dominated by Resolute Forest Products, Kruger and Catalyst Paper Corp. of British Columbia. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Carolyn Kaster
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference in Guangzhou, China on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wouldn't commit Tuesday to testifying at a special meeting of the House of Commons ethics committee about his controversial trip to the Aga Khan's private island in the Bahamas. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Lao counterpart. (Photo: VNA)



The Vietnamese Government leader made the request while meeting with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith on January 10th on the sidelines of the Mekong - Lancang Cooperation Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Prime Minister Phuc expressed his delight at the development of the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. He hailed the official friendship visit made by General Secretary of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith and the success of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year 2017.

At the meeting, the two prime ministers agreed to direct their ministries, branches and localities to effectively coordinate to prepare for the 40th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-governmental Committee slated for early this year.

Accordingly, both sides need to evaluate cooperative ties in various sectors in 2017 and recommend breakthrough solutions to promote cooperation efficiency in 2018. In addition, they should work to bolster the implementation of the Vietnam-Laos cooperation agreement during 2016-2020.

The two government leaders affirmed that they will continue working to deepen bilateral political relations and join hands to carry out drastic and comprehensive measures to strengthen economic partnership. They also pledged to pay attention to key investment projects, and remove bottlenecks for enterprises from both sides./.
FILE- In this Nov. 30, 2017, file photo, Catherine Deneuve attends the Lincoln Center Corporate Fund Gala honoring Louis Vuitton artistic director of women's collections Nicolas Ghesquiere, at Alice Tully Hall in New York. Deneuve was among about 100 performers, scholars and others who signed an open letter published Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, by the newspaper Le Monde saying the "legitimate protest against sexual violence" stemming from the Harvey Weinstein scandal has gone too far and threatens hard-won sexual freedoms. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
A member of the Congolese security forces chases people during a protest in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017. Congolese security forces shot dead two men outside a church on Sunday while dispersing demonstrators protesting in the country's capital against President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down from power, according to Human Rights Watch. (AP Photo/John Bompengo)
FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2013, file photo, Oprah Winfrey listens in the East Room of the White House in Washington, during a ceremony where President Barack Obama awarded Presidential Medals of Freedom. Faced with the presidential buzz surrounding Oprah Winfrey, President Donald Trump is steering clear of nasty nicknames and colorful insults, though heAos making clear who would win a celebrity showdown. AuIAoll beat Oprah,Au Trump said at a White House meeting Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., speaks about immigration, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The news conference was on Goodlatte's immigration bill that would impact recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover
Hochul breaks long-standing glass ceiling in New York Kathy Hochul became the first female governor in the history of the State of New York at midnight Tuesday, Aug. 24, taking over the states...

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Out of the Past 25 Years AgoSept. 4, 1996 A public hearing to discuss the widening of Brighton Road at Niagara Falls Boulevard will be held in the Kenmore...

Health agencies agree: Students need to be back in the classroom First I would like to introduce myself as the new superintendent of the Sweet Home Central School District. I was born and raised in North...
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The Nevada rancher accused of leading an armed standoff that stopped federal agents from rounding up his cattle in 2014 walked out of a courthouse in Las Vegas a free and defiant man Monday, declaring that his fight against U.S. authority is not over.

Cliven Bundy emerged to supporters' cheers, while environmental and conservation advocates worried that the dismissal of his charges would bolster "violent and racist anti-government" followers who aim to erode established parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands controlled by U.S. officials.

"We're not done with this," the 71-year-old Bundy declared in his first minutes of freedom since his arrest in February 2016.

The family patriarch and states' rights figure said he had been held as a political prisoner for 700 days and promised that if U.S. Bureau of Land Management agents come again to seize his cattle over unpaid grazing fees, they will encounter "the very same thing as last time."

"The whole world is looking at us," he said. "'Why is America acting like this? Why are we allowing the federal government, these bureaucracies, to have armies?' That's a big question the whole world wants to know."

The stunning collapse of the federal criminal case against Cliven Bundy and his sons Ryan and Ammon marked a new low for government lawyers whose work is now under review by the Trump administration. Prosecutors have faced several losses in Oregon and Nevada arising from armed Bundy standoffs over federal control of vast stretches of land in the U.S. West.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions launched an investigation into the Nevada case last month after Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial. On Monday, she dismissed outright all 15 counts against Bundy, his sons and Montana militia leader Ryan Payne.

"The court finds that the universal sense of justice has been violated," Navarro said as audible gasps and sobs erupted in a court gallery crammed with Bundy supporters.

It comes after prosecutors failed to gain full convictions in two trials against six other defendants who acknowledged carrying assault-style weapons during the April 2014 confrontation outside Bunkerville, 80 miles (129 kilometers) northeast of Las Vegas.

Jurors in Portland, Oregon, also acquitted Ryan and Ammon Bundy more than a year ago of taking over a federal wildlife refuge in early 2016 and calling for the U.S. government to turn over public land to local control.

The judge ended the latest case by ripping government prosecutors, led by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre, for "intentional abdication of ... responsibility," ''flagrant misconduct" and "substantial prejudice."

Navarro found "deliberate attempts to mislead and distort the truth" and blamed FBI agents for "reckless disregard" of requirements to turn over evidence relating to government snipers and cameras that monitored the Bundy homestead.

The defense also should have been given records of government threat assessments that concluded the Bundys would probably protest but not become violent if agents enforcing court orders began rounding up their cattle, the judge said.

Navarro set a Feb. 26 trial date for four defendants still awaiting trial, including two more Bundy sons, Mel and David.

Nevada's newly appointed acting U.S. attorney, Dayle Elieson, released a one-sentence statement saying she will make a determination about whether to challenge the ruling before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ian Bartrum, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law professor who has written about the Bundy case and federal land policy, called the complete dismissal a "pretty incredible result" for the family and its followers.

"In some ways, it vindicates what they're claiming," Bartrum said of people who believe federal agents and prosecutors overreached to indict 19 people on charges that included conspiracy, assault and threats against federal agents.

"Not only did they not go to prison, but they drew attention to their political cause  rethinking land management policy in the West," Bartrum said.

Kieran Suckling, an official with the Center for Biological Diversity, which fought for decades to protect endangered desert tortoises on rangeland where Bundy cows graze, called the prospect of a wider audience for the states' rights figure cause for concern.

"Federal prosecutors clearly bungled this case and let the Bundys get away with breaking the law," Suckling said. "The Bundys rallied a militia to mount an armed insurrection against the government. The failure of this case will only embolden this violent and racist anti-government movement that wants to take over our public lands."
CANYONVILLE, Ore. - The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians gave away $474,300 to non-profit organizations in the state of Oregon at their annual banquet.

The Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation Awards was held at the Cow Creek owned Seven Feathers Resort and Casino in Canyonville on Tuesday. Sixty-eight different organizations were recognized.

One of those organizations was Seniors Escorting Seniors, SES, based in Myrtle Creek. SES drives senior citizens to doctor's appointments, the grocery store, or anywhere else they may need to go. They only ask for a small donation in return.



SES was awarded $5,000 to help with fuel, maintenance, and insurance costs for the vehicles used.

Were glad that theyve accepted us and find our service well-needed. Thank you very much," said Bob Bright, the president of SES.

Douglas County received funds for eight different organizations, but Lane County walked away with the most. They saw donations for 21 organizations, totaling $137,000.

The Cow Creek Tribe said they have a long tradition of giving back to communities in the area. They said they will continue to increase emphasis on funding basic needs so the hungry are fed.

The awarded grants have totaled $16,925,227 since 1997.
ALBANY, Ore. -- A former Boy Scout leader has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sex abuse charges.

Douglas Young Jr. was arrested in March 2017. Police investigated a complaint, accusing the Lebanon man of inappropriately touching a boy.

Court records made public this week list the initials of 10 victims, some who are now adults. The offenses occurred over 15 years, ending shortly before his arrest.

The charges included sex abuse, sodomy and attempting to use a child in display of sexually explicit conduct.

Young had been investigated twice before on allegations of sexual abuse.
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - A man who left the bodies of two severely malnourished dogs in a Medford motel room has pleaded no contest to animal abuse and been sentenced to more than a year in prison.

The Jackson County District Attorney's Office says the pit bulls died from neglect weeks before 39-year-old Tabari Hayes moved out the motel room.

Painters found the bodies inside the bathroom. There was no sign of food or water, and the room was heavily soiled with urine and feces.

Hayes had been evicted from the motel after living there for about three years. He denied that the dogs belonged to him, but admitted to keeping them in the bathroom.

The Mail Tribune reports Hayes also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. In July, Oregon State Police troopers providing roadside assistance found a shotgun resting on the seat of Hayes' car.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
EUGENE, Ore.  An off-duty firefighter jumped into action Tuesday morning when he saw a man clinging to a tree along the Willamette River.

This happened just before 10:30 a.m. near Valley River Center.

Eugene Springfield Fire crews said the firefighter, Jon Deininger, saw that a man had fallen into the river and was clinging to a tree limb. Deininger called 911 and then went to help.

When he had already left, I'd asked the police officers if my firefighter was the one who had pulled him out of the river they had no idea that the citizen was an off-duty firefighter, said Battalion Chief Markus Lay. He hadn't told him that, he had just given the report and went on his merry way.

The rescued man was taken to the hospital and is expected to be okay.
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- There is only one issue on the January ballot and the debate is intensifying over whether voters should support the measure.





The League of Women Voters sponsored a public forum in Springfield on Tuesday. More than 40 people showed up to learn more about Measure 101.

Click here to be taken the Secretary of State's website. Click here for a list of official ballot drop boxes.

Roseburg State Representative Cedric Hayden spoke against the measure. He said it will tax teachers and those with disabilities. Hayden also said no one will lose their health coverage if it fails.

On the other side, former Representative Val Hoyle spoke in support of the measure. He said it would give children access to healthcare and Oregonians would see lower premiums.

KEZI 9 News spoke to a man who said he decided to vote no after listening to both arguments.

"Had I not seen this I would never have heard any real counter-arguments. There are very few people presenting any counter-arguments to 101 because as it does look on the surface it looks like a good positive step towards better healthcare for Oregon," said Logan Overton, a voter.

There is another forum happening on Thursday, Jan. 11 at the Valley River Inn at noon.

According to the Secretary of State's Office, this election will cost more than $3 million.

Registered voters should have received their ballots by now. Those who have not received their ballots should confirm their registration with the Secretary of State's Office. It can also be checked online. Click here to be taken the Secretary of State's website.

The voting deadline is Jan. 23. Click here to find the nearest ballot drop box.

KEZI 9 News would like to hear from you. Share your opinion on Measure 101 on the KEZI 9 News Facebook page. Click here to be taken to the Facebook poll.
ROSEBURG, Ore. - President Trump signed the Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act into law on Monday, January 8. This placed more than 31,000 acres of land into trusts for the tribes that originally owned it.

One of those tribes is the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians in Douglas County. Staff with the Cow Creek Tribe said this recognizes a treaty from 1853 between the Cow Creek Indians and the U.S. Government.

Part of the land can be seen from I-5, just past the Cow Creek owned Seven Feathers Resort & Casino known as the Canyon Mountains.

Staff said there is no one who cares quite like the Cow Creek Tribe which makes them the best bet at managing these lands. They said it benefits the tribe and the people who enjoy it.

Theyre caring about the water, the fish. They care about the people that live here and the jobs that are created is unique," said Tim Vredenburg, the director of forest management at the Cow Creek Tribe.

Vredenburg said another reason they'll succeed is because they have to deal with the consequences of what is done to the land. He also doesn't believe they will go anywhere.

"They've been here for thousands of years. They're going to be here for a very long time," he said.

The Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act also placed more than 14,000 acres into a trust for the Confederate Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. It also amended the Coquille Restoration Act, which allows the tribe to manage their forest land in the same way as other federal tribes.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  A three-judge panel has cleared a serial rapist, whose case once triggered a political firestorm, for conditional release from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, but the state Department of Human Services said Tuesday that it would appeal.

Thomas R. Duvall, 62, has spent the past 30 years locked up for the violent rapes of teenage girls in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1987, Duvall bound a Brooklyn Park girl with an electrical cord and raped her repeatedly over several hours while hitting her with a hammer.

The judicial panel on Monday approved Duvall's provisional discharge, saying his progress in treatment outweighs his "fearful diagnosis" as a sexual sadist, the Star Tribune reported. At a hearing last April, therapists and others program staffers depicted Duvall as a reformed man who was contrite about his violent history and ready for a return to the community.

But Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper said she'll try to block his release.

"I, along with three testifying experts in this case, believe that Thomas Duvall poses an exceptional risk to public safety and should not be released into the community at this time," Piper said in a statement. "I disagree with the court's decision to the contrary and will appeal this decision."

Duvall dropped a previous attempt at partial freedom four years ago. While MSOP staffers had recommended his release, Attorney General Lori Swanson objected. After Republican lawmakers also objected, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton ordered his administration to oppose further releases until the program could be changed.

Under his proposed discharge plan, Duvall will live under intensive 24-hour supervision with GPS monitoring in a facility operated by Zumbro House, which provides community housing to sex offenders, and will not be allowed to leave unless accompanied by staff.

The U.S. Supreme Court last October declined to hear a major challenge to the constitutionality of Minnesota's civil commitment program for sex offenders. While a federal judge declared the program unconstitutional because few people in it had ever won release, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled him.

The program currently holds 726 people in secure treatment facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter. The department said nine clients are living in supervised community facilities, while 12 others who've been granted provisional discharges, including Duvall, are still awaiting placements.
MASON CITY, Iowa  Mason City police say a vehicle eluded officers during a pursuit and was eventually found abandoned Tuesday morning.

Police say at 6:18 Tuesday morning, a pursuit ensued after discovering a vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat, did not match the license plate information.

The suspect slowed to pull over then accelerated away in an attempt to flee. The pursuit went northbound on Federal Ave. from 16th St. SE before going mostly east on Highway 122 and north on California Ave.

Police say officers continued the pursuit west on B-20 and terminated it after losing sight of the vehicle.

Officers found the vehicle on N. Carolina Ave. a short time later abandoned.

The investigation is ongoing to ID the driver.

Anyone with information is urged to call Mason City Police at 641-421-3636.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has approved the sale of anti-ballistic missiles to Japan to defend itself against a growing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea, a State Department official said on Tuesday.

News of the sale comes as North and South Korea hold their first talks in more than two years aimed at solving the crisis over the Norths nuclear missile program.

The missile deal follows a year of ramped-up North Korean missile launches, some of them over Japanese territory, and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. These actions have prompted a stepped-up U.S.-led campaign to toughen U.N. sanctions, which Pyongyang has called an act of war.

The State Department on Tuesday asked Congress to approve the $133 million sale of the four missiles and related hardware, which can be launched from destroyers at sea or from a land-based system.

The sale of the anti-ballistic missiles, made by Raytheon Co (RTN.N) and BAE Systems (BAES.L), follows through on President Trumps commitment to provide additional defensive capabilities to treaty allies threatened by the DPRKs provocative behavior, the official said, using the initials for North Korea.

Japan formally decided in December it would expand its ballistic missile defense system with U.S.-made ground-based Aegis radar stations and interceptors.

The proposal to build two Aegis Ashore batteries without the missiles will likely cost at least $2 billion and was not likely to be operational until 2023 at the earliest, sources familiar with the plan told Reuters in December.

U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Japan Minister of Defense Itsunori Onodera, in a phone call on Monday, condemned North Koreas reckless and unlawful behavior, according to a Pentagon statement.

Reporting by Chris Sanders; Editing by James Dalgleish
OSLO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Hexagon's chief executive, Ola Rollen, has been found not guilty of insider share trading, an Oslo court said on Wednesday.

Prosecutors had asked for an 18-month prison term for Rollen's 2015 purchase of shares in Norway's Next Biometrics , a transaction which did not involve Hexagon. One of Sweden's best known business leaders, Rollen had maintained his innocence throughout the trial. Prosecutors can still appeal the verdict to a higher court.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Joachim Dagenborg; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
By Devidutta Tripathy and Abhirup Roy

MUMBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - India's capital market regulator late on Wednesday barred Price Waterhouse from auditing listed companies in the country for two years, after a probe into a nearly decade-old accounting fraud case in a software services company that became India's biggest corporate scandal.

Ramalinga Raju, founder and former chairman of the erstwhile software services exporter Satyam Computer Services, stunned Indian markets and investors in January 2009, when he admitted that the firm had overstated earnings and assets for several years, in a fraud of more than $1 billion sometimes referred to as "India's Enron".

Price Waterhouse was Satyam's auditor during the period in which the fraud was perpetrated.

In its order, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, on Wednesday said any entities or firms practicing as chartered accountants in India under the brand and banner of PW, shall not directly or indirectly issue any certificate of audit of listed companies, or their intermediaries that are registered with the regulator for a period of two years.

"The network structure of operations adopted by the international accounting firm should not be used as a shield to avoid legal implications arising out of the certifications issued under the brand name of the network," SEBI said in a 108-page order.

In India, all audit functions within the group are conducted under the Price Waterhouse (PW) brand, with a network of local firms operating under the banner. The broader PwC entity handles consulting, tax advisory and other businesses.

"The SEBI order relates to a fraud that took place nearly a decade ago in which we played no part and had no knowledge of," Price Waterhouse said in a release.

"There has been no intentional wrong doing by PW firms in the unprecedented management perpetrated fraud at Satyam, nor have we seen any material evidence to the contrary," said Price Waterhouse, adding it was confident of getting a court to stay the order before it becomes effective.

To avoid operational difficulties, SEBI said its order will not impact audit assignments relating to the ongoing 2017-18 financial year, already undertaken by firms forming part of the PW network.

SEBI also ordered Price Waterhouse, Bangalore and two of its erstwhile partners to jointly forfeit "wrongful gains" of about 131 million rupees ($2.06 million) plus interest within 45 days.

Indian IT firm Tech Mahindra , part of the Mahindra Group, bought control of Satyam in an auction in April 2010.

Satyam and PricewaterhouseCoopers agreed in 2011 to pay a combined $17.5 million to settle U.S. probes into the accounting fraud.

(Reporting by Abhirup Roy and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Euan Rocha and David Evans)
By Trevor Hunnicutt

NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Investors are slimming down equity stakes bloated by a nearly decade-long bull market, withdrawing $22 billion from U.S. domestic stock funds in a single week, Investment Company Institute (ICI) data showed on Wednesday.

The withdrawal, during the holiday-shortened week ended Jan. 3, marked the largest weekly retreat from the U.S.-based domestic stock funds in nearly four years, according to the trade group.

A growing chorus of investors, including GMO LLC co-founder Jeremy Grantham, are saying the market is in a "melt-up," as prices start to be driven up irrationally by investors fearing they are missing out on strong profits. The S&P 500 has more than tripled since its 2009 low.

"The current bull market was born on pessimism, grew on skepticism, and, after a huge run higher, is moving toward a general feeling of optimism," said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist at Wells Fargo & Co's Investment Institute, in a note on Wednesday.

"We do not believe the bull market is over. But we are closely watching, in addition to the fundamentals, investor sentiment. Because the eventual euphoria, which will come at some point, will likely be at the top."

Funds focused on equities outside the United States have largely been spared withdrawals, attracting cash every week last year while domestic-focused funds ended the year having posted outflows.

But in the latest week, inflows to world stock funds weakened to $1.1 billion, the lowest since last January, ICI said. The group's data covers mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based in the United States.

Demand for bonds remained strong despite a yield spike in December, and again this week, that pushed long-dated Treasuries' prices down sharply.

U.S.-based bond fund net inflows rose to $7.6 billion during the latest week, the largest in 10 weeks. The ICI data does not include fund inflows or withdrawals that occurred during the most recent long-bond sell-off.

The following table shows estimated ICI flows for mutual funds and ETFs (all figures in million of dollars):

1/3 12/27 12/20 12/13 12/6/17 Equity -21,009 4,099 -1,584 6,809 8,621

Domestic -22,065 1,208 -9,550 5,347 5,962

World 1,056 2,892 7,966 1,463 2,659 Hybrid -327 -940 -2,122 -1,415 -2,139 Bond 7,570 4,109 1,599 5,015 6,160

Taxable 7,056 4,487 1,512 4,943 6,471

Municipal 515 -378 87 72 -311 Commodity -305 -296 -434 5 421 Total -14,071 6,972 -2,541 10,414 13,064 (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Tom Brown)
Namhaean Byeolshingut / Courtesy of Busan National Gugak Center



By Yun Suh-young



The Busan National Gugak Center will be opening this year with a series of "gut" (exorcism) performances scheduled for every Saturday until the end of this month.



The series is an effort of the gugak (traditional music) center to rediscover the artistic value of the traditional exorcism performances of Korea, which are preserved now as less of a religious activity and more as a cultural asset. The gut performance is considered a comprehensive art form merging traditional music, dance and vocals in colorful traditional attire.



The Busan Gugak Center had been offering "gut" performances since last year to open the New Year with entertaining traditional performances.



As part of the series, the center will offer different styles of gut from different regions that are designated national intangible cultural assets. The series of exorcism performances dubbed "Gut! Good!" began by introducing Donghaean Byeolshingut from Donghae, the east coast of the peninsula, on Jan. 6.



The second of the series will be Namhaean Byeolshingut from the south coast of the peninsula spanning from Tongyeong, Busan, Masan and Namhae to Yeosu in the South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces. This gut is a communal exorcism performed among fishermen in the coastal villages.



The third in the series will be Jindo Sitgimgut of the southwestern coast and will take place on Jan. 20, while on Jan. 27, Seohaean Baeyeonshingut, the gut of the west coast, will take place. All performances are conducted by professional gut masters and their disciples.



For those born in the year of the dog, the performances are offered free of charge if they book in advance. A special gift

will be offered when they leave comments about the performance on busan.gugak.go.kr.



Ticket reservations are available through the website or Interpark. Tickets are 8,000 won and 10,000 won. Those aged under 18 will be admitted free to the performances while students under 24 and the disabled and elderly are offered 50 percent discounts on the tickets. For more information, call 051-811-0114.




By Yoon Ja-young



Passengers of Korean Air and three foreign carriers will start using the second passenger terminal of the Incheon International Airport that opens on Jan. 18. Travelers are thus advised to first check which of the two terminals they should go to.



According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Wednesday, those traveling with Korean Air, Delta Air, Air France, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will be using the second passenger terminal.



Plus, 86 other carriers including Asiana Airlines and low-cost carriers will continue operations at the first terminal. A flight operated by Korean Air, heading to the Philippine capital of Manila at 7:55 a.m. on Jan. 18, will be the first flight to depart from the second passenger terminal.



Back in 2015, Incheon International Airport selected Korean Air to use the second terminal following evaluation of the terminal operation plan submitted by the flagship carrier. The three foreign carriers were also selected to move to the new terminal as they are closely related with Korean Air through passenger transfer services and code-share programs.



Around 54 million passengers have used the first passenger terminal annually, but there has been a growing call for the additional facility due to the growing number of travelers.



"With the opening of the second passenger terminal, Incheon International Airport will be serving 72 million travelers annually, becoming one of the global hub airports," a ministry official said.



Though the carriers will inform travelers which terminal they should use, the transport ministry stressed checking beforehand. Especially, in cases of code-share programs, the passenger should go to the terminal of the flight operator, not the carrier which sold them the flight ticket. The carriers will show which terminal to use in the e-ticket when one books the flight, and the travelers will also get text messages about the terminal twice before departure.



Even if they arrive at the wrong terminal, they can use the shuttle bus that runs between the two terminals every five minutes.



There will be buses, limousine buses, trains, and shuttle buses operating to and from the second terminal. According to the ministry, most of the buses except for the KAL limousine bus operated by Korean Air will stop at the first terminal and then head to the second terminal.



KTX and Airport Express, which currently operate at the first passenger terminal, will also extend their service to the second terminal. It takes only seven minutes between the two terminals.



There will also be a free shuttle bus linking the two terminals, departing every five minutes and will be free of charge. It takes 15 to 18 minutes to reach one from the other.
This is the sixth in a series of interviews with international experts on Korea to discuss pending issues surrounding the nation on the occasion of the beginning of 2018  ED.



Labor market reform urgent to raise productivity



By Kim Jae-kyoung



SINGAPORE  Fitch Ratings has warned that South Korea's growth potential will see significant erosion in the coming decade unless it copes with issues caused by the aging population and low productivity.



The global credit ratings agency is calling for Asia's fourth-largest economy to double up efforts to push for reform in both the labor and corporate sectors to tackle such challenges.



"Fast population aging seems the most important drag on Korea's potential growth in the decades ahead," Thomas Rookmaaker, director of Sovereigns and Supranationals Group at Fitch Ratings, said in an interview.



He pointed out a number of Korea's peers in Asia face similar demographic pressures, but Korea's birthrate is the lowest among 40 countries tracked by the OECD. The population aged over 65 is also growing at the fastest pace.



According to the latest report by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, Korea's working age population, those aged between 15 and 64, will drop by nearly 19 percent between 2017 and 2037, which is feared to reduce production and consumption thus hurting the country's growth potential.



Rookmaaker said policy measures dealing with these structural issues, such as labor market reform, could support GDP growth in the years ahead.



"The government still has time for an effective policy response to population aging, for instance to deal with the upcoming fiscal pressures," he said.



"To support GDP growth in the longer run, labor market reforms could for instance help improve productivity."



He believes strong economic growth could be sustained by reforms that increase productivity, as well as improvements in governance standards.



"The extent to which the government's supply-side reforms  aimed to strengthen innovation and create a better level playing field between chaebol and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)  will improve Korea's relatively low productivity," he said.



He remains skeptical about the government's attempts to create more jobs in the public sector because this is not a long-term solution to improving productivity.



"Some measures, such as an increase in government jobs and subsidies to SMEs, do not necessarily point to enhanced productivity," he said.



In his view, reforms that increase transparency and generally encourage greater separation between the government and the corporate sector could structurally improve governance standards.



"The fact these issues were a key part of President Moon Jae-in's election platform and the broad public support for change bodes well for the chance of implementation of governance reform," he said.



Rookmaaker expects Korea's real GDP growth to remain strong at 3 percent in 2018 on the back of a strong fiscal stimulus by the government and a global industrial pickup.



"Demand is likely to be supported by the administration's focus on job creation and income-led growth though a raise in the minimum wage, the hiring of more civil servants and an expansion of the social safety net," he said.



"So far, heightened geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula have not held back spending, with consumer confidence sitting at elevated levels."



But he forecasts GDP growth to gradually slow to 2.7 percent in 2019, although economic activity is likely to benefit from a fiscal stimulus.


By Kim Yoo-chul



President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed his commitment to reforming conglomerates by introducing a stewardship code.



"In order to improve corporate transparency, Korea will expand voting rights and introduce a stewardship code," Moon told reporters at his New Year's press conference, Wednesday.



Moon said the path to unwinding the tangled web of chaebol ownership will lead the way to true reform with greater transparency.



A stewardship code is a series of common principles designed to push for greater transparency and accountability. Major conglomerates derive their power from complex cross-ownership structures woven across multiple businesses.



But this insular structure has been under criticism for its lack of transparency. Critics also claim the old system is against the benefit of many shareholders, especially minority ones.



Indeed, large-sized Korean groups tend to pay smaller dividends while hardly buying back their own shares.






Jun Kwang-woo, a former chairman of the Financial Services Commission / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



Jun says delayed approval of KEB sale was proper



By Park Jae-hyuk



Jun Kwang-woo, a former chairman of the Financial Services Commission, has defended his delayed approval of the Lone Star Funds' sale of the Korea Exchange Bank in 2008, amid growing expectations that a ruling on a dispute between the government and the U.S. buyout fund will come shortly.



"As an expert in international finance, I wanted to approve of the disposal for the national interest. However, Lone Star was embroiled in two lawsuits at that time, and it was found guilty in one of them," he told The Korea Times, Wednesday.



His comment comes amid expectation that a ruling from the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on a dispute between the government and Lone Star will be reached in the near future.



Jun was the chairman of the FSC from 2007 to 2009, when the buyout fund was trying to sell its stake in KEB to HSBC.



The FSC reviewed the eligibility of the disposal at that time.



Lone Star claimed it suffered huge losses due to the FSC's delay.



In 2012, it filed a complaint with the ICSID, demanding the government compensate the fund for the losses and return the taxes it paid during the period the regulator postponed its decision on whether to approve the KEB sale.



Given that the ICSID is expected to rule in favor of Lone Star within a few months, the government may have to pay Lone Star hundreds of billions of won.



However, Jun said he would make the same decision again if he had to.



"Facing legal uncertainties, I could not have made a decision on the approval on my own, or projected the judicial authorities' thoughts on the issue. If I had done so, it would have been an abuse of power," he said.



"It was a proper measure, considering the situation at that time."



Among those who served as commissioners at the FSC, when Lone Star was trying to exit Korea, Jun was not the only defender of the government's decision.



FSC Chairman Choi Jong-ku also refuted criticism against the former finance authorities' heads, who have been alleged to mistakenly allow Lone Star to file such a request with the ICSID. He was a commissioner of the FSC in 2011.



Back then, the government declared Lone Star a financial corporation that can buy a significant stake in banks such as KEB.



The fund acquired a 51 percent stake in KEB from a German bank in 2003, but critics have said Lone Star is a non-financial corporation and claimed the deal was illegal.



As the government confirmed the company's status, it could exit Korea in 2012, after selling the stake and gaining about 4.9 trillion won ($4.6 billion) in profit.



Choi also said he would have made the same decision when Rep. Sim Sang-jung of the minor opposition Justice Party questioned him at his National Assembly confirmation hearing in July.



The lawmaker pointed out the government achieved nothing, although it has spent lots of money on lawsuits against Lone Star. The FSC head responded he would prevent the recurrence of such a case.


By Choi Ha-young



The two Koreas agreed to resume talks between their militaries at their high-level meeting, Tuesday, but tricky issues may hamper the progress of the envisioned meetings, analysts said Wednesday.



The Ministry of National Defense said it is preparing for the meeting with the North Koreans which is likely to take place as early as next week.



The main topic will be how to ensure the safety of the North Korean delegation on their way to PyeongChang to participate in the Winter Olympics and during their stay there. The only possible route for a North Korean team is an overland route since traveling by ship or air is subject to international sanctions.



For this, the two sides have to fully restore the military communication hotline, said Hong Hyun-ik, senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute. "The North is likely to prefer crossing the eastern border to PyeongChang in an attempt to promote the Masikryong Ski Resort near the North's eastern city of Wonsan," Hong said.



On Tuesday, North Korean officials informed the South that the North has reconnected the inter-Korean military cables in the West Sea, but the Koreas have not repaired the three cables in the East Sea. The East Sea military channels have not operated since May 31, 2011 and they were destroyed by the forest fire in 2013.



Experts expect that the North is likely to demand the halt of the Seoul-Washington joint military drills. On Jan. 4, three days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared that the North will participate in the PyeongChang Games, President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to postpone the military exercise until after the Winter Games.



"The North will call for permanent suspension of the exercise, as well as withdrawal of U.S. strategic assets such as B-1B Lancer bombers," Hong said. "For the South, this is a matter which is tied to the North's nuclear armament. Also, this requires communication with Washington."



"Therefore, it's desirable to prioritize issues the two Koreas can handle. Afterward, the two Koreas can organize another talk which involves the U.S.," Hong added.



Another sensitive issue for the North is the South's loudspeakers installed in the borderline villages. In 2015, the former President Park Geun-hye government began to operate the speakers to broadcast outside information to North Korea in protest against its alleged "landmine provocation."



"The speaker issue could be Seoul's bargaining chip that could attract the North's concession," said Cha Du-hyeogn, visiting research fellow at the Asan Institute.



In return, South Korea can urge the North to abide by past agreements to prevent accidental crashes on both sea and land, Cha said. The area near the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea has often turned into a hot spot in spring during the annual blue crab season.



In November last year, some North Korean soldiers accidentally crossed the Military Demarcation Line while chasing a defector in apparent violation of the armistice treaty.


Abe may boycott PyeongChang Olympics



By Kim Rahn



President Moon Jae-in called on Japan to make a sincere apology to Korean victims of its wartime sex slavery, saying the 2015 deal between the two countries over the issue was flawed because it excluded their views.



He said the government would pay out its own money to support the victims, and not use the 1 billion yen Tokyo provided under the deal.



Moon made the comment during a New Year press conference Wednesday, a day after the foreign ministry announced Korea would not seek to renegotiate the verbal agreement but would ask Japan to acknowledge its past wrongdoing and make a sincere apology to help heal the victims' pain.



"The government measure was not satisfactory but was the best choice in reality because it was a diplomatic issue for which the two nations made an official agreement under the former (Park Geun-hye) administration," the President said.



But he said breaking the deal and demanding a renegotiation may not be the answer in resolving the issue. "Basically I believe the issue can be addressed only by the truth and justice. When Japan acknowledges the truth, makes a sincere apology to the victims, and, learning lessons from it, makes efforts with international society not to repeat such behavior, then the victims will forgive Japan and that will resolve the issue completely."






By Oh Young-jin







Foreign workers earning income in Korea should file a tax settlement for 2017 by February 28.







The year-end tax settlement is required for all foreign workers regardless of their term of stay and income generated here. If the amount of tax withheld is larger than the year-end tax, the difference will be refunded -- and vice versa.







Foreign employees should submit related documents certifying deductions and returns to employers from Jan. 20 to Feb. 28. Employers then issue the tax settlement withholding receipts to the employees during the period. The employers should then complete submissions to the National Tax Service by March 12.







Although foreign workers are covered by the same rules as Korean workers, they benefit from the 19 percent flat income tax rate. Some foreign engineers, who are working under a technology transfer contract, or researchers in foreign-invested firms, are entitled to a 50 percent deduction in tax for income made over the previous two years.







Foreign native teachers from countries that enjoy tax benefits may receive exemptions for taxes for income from lectures and research for an average of two years. However, they are excluded from deductions for the housing fund, housing purchase savings and monthly rent.





For further information, call the NTS hotline 1588-0650 or log in to

for automatic calculation. Last year, about 563,000 foreign residents, a fourth of the 2.049 million total, filed settlements.







Here are a couple of tips on tricky cases.







(Question) Would a company get deductions for Olympic tickets given to employees?







(Answer) Yes, it would be calculated as deductible expenses.







(Q) Would a retainer fee for lawyers be deductible?







(A) Yes, if it is limited to fees without the right of return.






If you hit back, don't expect Korea's self-defense law to excuse you. / Graphic by Cho Sang-won



By Jung Min-ho



On Oct. 9, a stranger made an unprovoked attack on a man in his 30s. To protect himself, the man grabbed the attacker and threw him to the ground.



The altercation left the man with serious injuries, including a broken nose, which a doctor said would take six weeks to mend. On the other hand, the assailant suffered only a few scratches.



Yet police concluded that both men were responsible for the "fight," in which, according to police, both attacked each other and suffered injuries.



Korea has a "stand-your-ground law" that allows people to use force to protect themselves or others against threats.



But many believe the law is nothing but a name because of its lack of flexibility for defenders.



Under the law, people are allowed to use force to "prevent unjust infringement of one's or another person's legal interest," as long as there are reasonable grounds for that act and the degree of force does not go beyond reasonable bounds. But the law, as precedents and police guidelines show, deems using weapons and inflicting injuries on the attacker that would take more than three weeks to recover from unreasonable  a standard many find almost impossible to meet in reality.



If both sides sustain injuries, police almost always press assault charges on both, regardless of how the fight started and how serious each person is hurt, urging them to settle and drop allegations.



"Police do not want to give an impression that they are taking sides with anyone," Kwak Dae-kyung, professor at the police administration department of Dongguk University, told The Korea Times. "This is why police are cautious about making a conclusion that one of them did so for self-protection."



Also, there are too many petty altercations for police to handle. "It just takes too much time and effort to find out exactly what happened with physical evidence for every single case," he said. "Thus, police try to conclude the case quickly for everyone involved by convincing them to settle."



Some people refuse to settle and bring the case to court. But the court rarely recognizes self-defense claims.



"The court interprets the law very narrowly, which is the key of the issue," lawyer Kim Yong-min said. "As long as the court's current interpretation stands, there are few things police and prosecutors can do to change it."



According to the law, which states that the defense act should not exceed reasonable limits, the person should not use greater force than that inflicted on him or her, which Kim thinks is the most nonsensical part of the law.



Also, Korean laws do not treat such situations occurring inside homes differently from ones outside. This is why the Chuncheon District Court found a 20-something man guilty of beating a thief who broke into his house in 2014  a case that sparked a national debate on the self-defense law.



The man, surnamed Choi, was given an 18-month prison term, suspended for three years, for beating a thief with his fist and an aluminum pole at his house in Wonju, Gangwon Province, at 3 a.m. The thief was rendered brain dead and has remained in a vegetative state.



If the same thing occurred in the United States, experts say Choi would go unpunished for what he did.



Nearly all states in the United States allow people to use deadly force to protect themselves inside their homes, based on the "Castle Doctrine," the legal notion that "your home is your castle and you have the right to use any force to defend it." Many states also have laws that expand the use of deadly force beyond their homes.



But change may be coming here. Over the past few months, dozens of petitions were posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website to urge the government and the National Assembly to revise the self-defense law.



"The current law is ridiculous," one petitioner wrote. "If the person wants to protect himself within the boundaries of law against a robber with a knife, the person should be able to kick the robber's hand to remove the weapon. This is close to impossible."



The presidential office said it will respond to any petition that gains more than 200,000 signatures within a month.








President Moon Jae-in held the first press conference of 2018 at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The following are key comments he made during the conference.



DOMESTIC POLITICS



"The government will tighten the crackdown on the illegalities of chaebol."



"The Constitution is a bowl that holds the daily lives of the people. Our people's thoughts about the government's responsibility and role and the people's rights have changed dramatically from 30 years ago. We cannot uphold the thoughts of the people with an old constitution that is 30 years old."



"Holding the vote on a constitutional amendment along with the local elections is a promise we made to the people. It is also the way to reduce our social cost."



"I again ask the National Assembly to take the lead. I urge (the parliament) to reach an agreement on a constitutional revision."



"The government may have to spearhead the constitutional revision should parliament fail to lead."



NORTH KOREA



South Korea has no plans to ease sanctions on North Korea against international moves.



Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is "the path to peace and our goal."



Moon said he will push for more talks and cooperation with North Korea to resolve the nuclear standoff.













"We need to continue efforts to hold a peace Olympics ... We need to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue."



"There must never be another war on the Korean Peninsula. The ultimate goal of our foreign and defense policies is to prevent a recurrence of war on the Korean Peninsula."



"Sanctions will remain in place unless North Korea changes."



"Under the right conditions, I can hold a summit at any time  But it cannot be a meeting for a meeting's sake. To hold a summit, the right conditions must be created and certain outcomes must be guaranteed."



COMFORT WOMEN



Moon says the "comfort women" issue can only be truly resolved with Japan's sincere apology.



"We cannot deny the fact that South Korea and Japan have reached an official agreement. Keeping a good relationship with Japan is also very important. But an erroneous knot must be undone."



"The government will work to restore the honor and dignity of the victims. It will take measures that can heal the wounds in their minds."



"I also wish to be true friends with Japan ... we will work to improve ties by separating historical issues and the countries' future-oriented cooperation."



"I am confident the countries will be able to work closely together on not only the North Korean nuclear issue, but also in various other areas when the South Korea-Japan relationship moves toward the future."



UAE CONTROVERSY



Moon says he "will seek to revise defense agreements with the UAE should there be any flaws."
Indian restaurant workers in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, consult a labor attorney in March 2012 after the restaurant owner vanished without paying wages of tens of millions of won. The workers slept on the restaurant's floor for six months after the owner disappeared. / Korea Times file



By Ko Dong-hwan



The South Korean government's decision to raise the hourly minimum wage has forced cash-strapped employers to sack staff, with job agencies for foreigners the first workplaces affected.



Several employees across 34 recruiters for foreigners nationwide have fallen victim to the policy as the job agencies struggled to balance government funds and increased wages. Seven workers of job agencies whose wages have been funded by the Ministry of Employment and Labor have been sacked this year, reducing total beneficiaries from 59 to 52.



Among the sacked workers was a Thai woman, 38, who has been working in a recruiting agency in Gwangju metropolitan city since 2010. She has been helping Thai migrant workers and marriage migrants from the Southeast Asian country and was feeling "content despite low wages," according to reports. She said she could not understand why she had to be fired when she did not even want a raise.



South Korean employees are also feeling the pinch, including a woman in her 50s who has been working with two foreign consultants at an agency in North Gyeongsang Province. But following the minimum wage rise this year, the agency sacked her, choosing to keep the foreigners because they were poorer than her.



The labor ministry's funds for job agencies for foreigners increased this year to 982 million won ($917,000) from last year's 722 million won. Despite the increase in government subsidies for each foreigner from 1.1 million won to 1.57 million won, the minimum wage hike  from 6,470 won to 7,530 won an hour  made it difficult for the agencies to manage their payrolls.


By Kim Jae-heun



The victims of sex slavery during the Japanese occupation of Korea have expressed disappointment in the Moon Jae-in administration's handling of comfort women issues, advocacy groups said Wednesday.



They said the government announcement Tuesday fell short of their expectations, adding it should have nullified the agreement with Japan on "comfort women."



President Moon initially said he would invalidate the Park Geun-hye administration's verbal accord with Japan during the presidential election campaign last year. He promised the comfort women at the House of Sharing that he would either cancel the agreement or renegotiate if he became president.



However, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Tuesday that the government decided not to abandon the deal but instead set up its own fund to support the surviving victims instead of spending the 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) that the Japanese government provided under the deal.



Three comfort women watched Kang's announcement on TV said they were furious and disappointed by the decision, according to House of Sharing Director Ahn Shin-kwon.



"It seems like because Japan is not changing its stance over the settled deal, President Moon will assist and protect the comfort women with domestic resources, but that is not what victims want," Ahn said. "Some people still call comfort women prostitutes, and if they cannot regain their impaired reputation, they will be branded as such. That is what the comfort women are most afraid of."



The director added that Moon should take a stronger stance on cancelling the deal and the government needs to take stern action on the sexual slavery issue.



Another representative organization for comfort woman, the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan maintained a steadfast position, demanding seven actions from Tokyo.



"Comfort women here have not watched Kang's official announcement yet and they are unaware of it now. But our victims desires remain unchanged in that the Japanese government should be punished according to international law on wartime sexual slavery and should compensate the victims," council head Yoon Mi-hyang said.



The organization's seven demands are acknowledging the war crime, revealing the truth on military sexual slavery, making an official apology and legal reparations, punishing those responsible for the war crime, accurately recoding the crime in history textbooks, erecting a memorial to the victims and establishing a historical museum.



Former President Park reached the controversial agreement with Japan in Dec. 2015 to settle the dispute over women coerced to serve as sex slaves during World War II.



However, Koreans, including surviving comfort women, refused to accept the ex-administration's deal, calling for a renegotiation.



The foreign ministry's fact-finding panel concluded the deal was "gravely flawed" and failed to reflect the views and opinions of the victims.



Japan has protested against the result of investigation and said the agreement is "irreversible."




Resuming Gaeseong complex, trip to Mount Geumgang unlikely under sanctions



By Kim Rahn



President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday he was willing to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if certain conditions were met, stressing North Korea's nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully through negotiations.



Moon made the remarks at a New Year's press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, a day after the two Koreas held their first high-level talks in almost two years.



"I'm open to any type of meeting with North Korea, including a summit, if conditions are met and productive results are guaranteed. It is undesirable to hold a summit for the summit's sake," he said.



The President reaffirmed Seoul would not pursue inter-Korean exchanges that could violate international sanctions on the North.



Moon said improving relations and resolving the North's nuclear issue were not separate things, as many inter-Korean exchanges are subject to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.





"Through the talks for improving inter-Korean relations, we need to lead the North to negotiations for denuclearization," Moon said. "We should resolve North Korea's nuclear issue peacefully. The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula which has been declared by both Koreas is a stance we will never give up."



He said whether to resume operation of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex or tours to Mount Geumgang should be reviewed in that context.



"The two-track talks will create a virtuous circle; talks to improve inter-Korean relations can help address the nuclear issue, and progress in the nuclear talks can help further improve inter-Korean relations."



Moon welcomed the reopening of talks and North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but reaffirmed Seoul would abide by the international sanctions on Pyongyang because the nuclear issue has not been addressed.



"We alone may not be able to resume the Gaeseong complex and tours to the mountain as they are linked to the UNSC sanctions," he said. "If North Korea makes provocations again and does not show sincerity, international society will apply heavier pressure and tougher sanctions."



Regarding U.S. President Donald Trump taking credit for the inter-Korean talks, Moon said he also believes Trump played a big role, adding the U.S. and the international community's pressure may have helped lead the North to the talks.



"We seek to use the talks as momentum to improve inter-Korean relations and resolve the nuclear issue through dialogue. In that, Seoul and Washington have no different opinions. That's why the U.S. is supporting the inter-Korean talks and hoping they can address the nuclear issue," he said.



As to Japan's wartime sexual slavery of Korean women, Moon said the issue can be solved when Japan acknowledges its past wrongdoing and offers a sincere apology to the victims. The government said the previous day it would not seek a renegotiation of the 2015 Korea-Japan verbal agreement over the issue although it was "gravely flawed" and failed to reflect the victims' opinions.



The President also reaffirmed his determination to hold a referendum on a revision to the Constitution alongside the June local elections. "If the National Assembly's special committee on the revision is unable to present revision suggestions in time for the elections, the government may start preparing its own by collecting public opinion," Moon said.



Suspicions have recently emerged over alleged secret military deals with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Moon said Korea and the UAE have signed multiple military agreements and memoranda of understanding; but noted those signed under the Roh Moo-hyun administration were made public, while those signed under the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye governments were not.




By Kim Hyun-bin



One in every four residents of Seoul will soon be 65 or older by 2035, a report showed Wednesday.



The Seoul Metropolitan Government said people 65 or older will account for 14.5 percent of the city's population in 2019.



According to the United Nations, any city with an elderly population exceeding 14 percent is considered a society of advanced age and one with over 20 percent is recognized as super aged.



If this trend continues, the city government expects the portion of senior citizens to reach 20.4 percent by 2026.



By 2035, one out of four Seoul residents is expected to be a senior citizen, accounting for 27.2 percent of Seoul residents.



The increase in the proportion of senior citizens is attributed to the rise of life expectancy and lack of housing in the capital, which is the cause of a major exodus of younger generations from the city.



The median age of the capital is also expected to rise from 40.5 in 2015 to 49.4 by 2035.



Out-of-towners are starting to notice the changes in the metropolitan area.



"During the midday, eight out of 10 people on the subway look to be over 60," said Lee Sung-hae (20) from Daegu.



The city government said it has been planning ahead for the expected increase.



"The baby boomers of the nation account for more than the current elderly population," said Kim Bok-jae, director of the city's Senior Citizen Support Division.



"We are preparing to establish and expand numerous facilities for baby boomers including 50-year-plus foundations, campuses and elderly centers."



The working age population in the city peaked at 75.9 percent in 2015. However, the number is expected to decline to 62.6 percent by 2035. Only three districts in the capital  Mapo-gu (65.9 percent), Gangnam-gu (65.7 percent), and Gwanak-gu (65.6 percent)  are above average.



The working age population ranges from 15 to 64 years old.



There are roughly 10 million Seoul residents, but the number is expected to fall to 9.26 million by 2035.


By John J. Metzler





UNITED NATIONS  The U.S. and Israel suffered a nasty diplomatic slap when the 193 member U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Trump administration's plan to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem.



But while the mainstream media and the usual chorus of critics presented this lopsided vote (128-9-35) as a damning verdict on the Donald's latest diplomatic foray, let's look beyond the simple numbers and white heat rhetoric.



New York's tabloid paper the Daily News front page blared the standard opinion: Rejected (in bold red) with a picture of President Trump peering over a globe. And while it's an old ritual for the U.N. General Assembly to slam and shame Israel on a regular basis, the delegations went a step further by venting their ire on the U.S., still the world organization's major financial donor.



But let's look at the facts. The 193-member Assembly offered a thumping rebuke to Washington over the administration's plan to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.



Besides being the spiritual nexus of three of the world's religions  Christian, Jewish and Muslim  Jerusalem (East) is viewed as the capital of a future Palestinian state.



The Assembly's 10th Emergency Special Session set the stage for the diplomatic showdown.



The draft resolution was sponsored by Turkey and Yemen; need we say more? Turkey, an increasingly authoritarian country which once lorded over the region in Ottoman days and Yemen, a failed state wracked by civil war and famine.



The resolution did not mention the U.S. nor refer to the Trump administration by name but "calls upon all states to refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the Holy City of Jerusalem," based on a Security Council resolution (478) back in 1980.



Now to the numbers; of the 128 votes supporting the resolution we see the usual gaggle of dictatorships and one party states. Cuba, China, Islamic Iran, North Korea, Sudan and of course Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Significantly though, most European Union members, including Britain, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden also backed the resolution.



Let's be frank; the vote while nonbinding, signals a clear and present danger that mainstream EU countries would support such a move.



Those nine countries opposing the draft resolution included Israel, Honduras, Guatemala, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Micronesia, Togo and the U.S. Guatemala plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem.



Now it gets interesting. Among the 35 abstentions, Canada as well as EU states such as Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Romania abstained. Bosnia did so too.



Abstentions were strong among Latin American and Caribbean states reflecting both strong U.S. Influence and often surprisingly good relations with Israel too. Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay joined Caribbean states Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Trinidad were among abstentions.



There was another category too; not present, nor voting, which included Ukraine (though they voted for a similar Security Council resolution earlier in the week), Kenya and Zambia.



But where did Asia stand? Japan, India and South Korea supported the resolution despite their close ties to Washington. Predictably China, North Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia said yes too.



Among the ASEAN bloc only the Philippines abstained. Myanmar (Burma) chose not to vote.



Diplomatic sources predicted that earlier in the week the resolution was expected to get 150 "yes" votes. U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley playing hardball knocked down the total to 128 and switched many to abstentions.



"As you consider your vote, I want you to know that the president and U.S. take this vote personally," Haley wrote to wavering U.N. delegations, adding that Trump "will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries that voted against us."



Abba Eban, the legendary Israeli Foreign Minister in the 1960s once quipped and I paraphrase, "If Algeria introduced a resolution stating the world was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 in favor, to 13 with 26 abstentions."



Haley ascended the marble rostrum, "The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation." Less than a week later Washington announced a previously agreed cut of $285 million from the U.N. budget.



The good news is that General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding. The bad news remains that Palestine's role in the rhetorical echo chamber has been emboldened and set for further confrontations in the new year.



John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism: The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China."


By Michael A. Lindenberger



"The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. He can't know whether knowledge will save him or kill him. He will be killed, all right, but he can't know whether he is killed because of the knowledge which he has got or because of the knowledge which he hasn't got and which if he had it, would save him."  Narrator Jack Burden in "All the King's Men," by Robert Penn Warren



These days, I increasingly feel about the press the same way Robert Penn Warren felt about knowledge. In the face of Trumpism, most days I feel certain that the only thing standing between us and total authoritarianism (or at least deep and quasi-permanent dysfunction), is our free and vigilant press.



On other days, I am certain the press will be our doom.



Consider last week's coverage of the bombshell account by author Michael Wolff of the early months of Trump's presidency. Granted extraordinary access to the West Wing by none other than Trump himself, Wolff wrote an account that includes nasty comments by former presidential adviser Steve Bannon about Trump and his family.



Most explosively, Bannon said it was "treasonous" for Donald Trump Jr. to invite Russian officials into Trump Tower in hopes of getting dirt on Hillary Clinton. That's worthy of media attention. Trump has downplayed the meeting for months, and defended his son, who claims his father didn't know about it.



Big news, yes. But not the story. Instead of focusing on the exciting feud between Bannon and Trump, why didn't we journalists keep our focus on the jaw-dropping descriptions from within the West Wing of the Trump White House?



Wolff's book offers a devastating portrait of a dangerously ill-equipped president and deeply disorganized White House. For instance, the book reports that:



Neither Trump nor his top aides, even his family, ever expected to win. Speaking a week ahead of the election, Trump told former Fox News titan Roger Ailes that a loss was as good as a win for him, because of what it will do for his brand and worldwide exposure.



Wolff reports this explains why Trump refused to release his taxes. Why risk it when the goal was never to win anyway? Another example: When cautioned that his receipt of payments from Russia was bad form for the campaign's top national security aide, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn brushed off concerns: That's only going to be important if we were to win, he said. (Trump named Flynn national security adviser. He has since been fired and indicted, and he pleaded guilty to lying about his relationships with Russia.)



When the tech giants from Silicon Valley left a White House meeting with Trump, Trump phoned media mogul Rupert Murdoch to brag about how much they loved him over Barack Obama. Murdoch pushed back. They loved Obama because he gave them everything they wanted. "They don't need you," he told Trump. Trump insisted they did. Murdoch hung up the phone. "What a f-ing idiot," he muttered.



Together these and many other revelations show the utter incompetence of Trump's first six months in office and of a commander in chief whose own psychology is dangerously unstable. If this picture isn't accurate, the White House should provide evidence. Instead, Trump has lashed out at Wolff and at one of his many sources, Bannon.



Unfortunately, the media has allowed Trump to shift the focus of the story away from his own incompetence and toward the lack of loyalty on the part of Bannon. It's example No. 732 of how Trump plays the press, and some days I think it's going to doom us all.



Besides, even if we were to let the president change the subject to Bannon _ a mistake, granted _ but even if we did, why not turn his attacks on Bannon back against him? Let's ask why, if Bannon was such a loser, why in God's name did Trump entrust him with such enormous power? Why did he hire him to run his campaign? Why did he install him as chief strategist in the White House, giving him equal status to his chief of staff? Why did he initially put Bannon on the inner committee of the National Security Council, breaking precedent, before reversing himself after flummoxed critics roared?



If Bannon was so awful, why did he let him steer Trump's dreadful course in Alabama, where he and the Republican National Committee went all-in for Roy Moore?



A hundred whys. But instead, we get coverage of the fight. Trump blisters Bannon, and oh goodness, that could be trouble for his former Rasputin.



But so what? The real story isn't about Bannon at all, or even about Trump's bad judgment in trusting him. Instead, the story is the portrait that Wolff's book paints of a dangerously ill-equipped president who has his fingers on the nuclear arsenal, whose every word or tweet is being consumed by allies, adversaries and outright enemies all over the world. No president can know everything, and any leader will tell you that delegation is key to success. But Wolff's account shows Trump knows so little that even his aides are shocked to find him in charge.



Of course, Trump doesn't want to talk about that. But he doesn't want us talking about it either, and to a large degree he's winning. We're too busy talking about Bannon and his betrayal. He's busy bullying the book's publisher, and its author, instead of dealing with it on its merits. His attorneys have even demanded the book be canceled, and that Wolff apologize. What ridiculous theater!



Thankfully, the publisher stood up to this bully tactic, and how. The book was in bookstores by Thursday night, and judging by the long lines in Washington's DuPont Circle, it's going to be read widely.



So maybe the free press, books included, really will save us. But Lordy, only if it doesn't kill us first.



Michael Lindenberger is a member of the Dallas Morning News editorial board. The article was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


Peace cannot come without denuclearization



Inter-Korean talks held for the first time in about two years Tuesday signaled a relatively good start to efforts to improve long-strained bilateral relations. It is good to see both sides agree not only on North Korea's participation in the Feb. 9 to 25 Winter Olympic Games, but also on a plan to hold military talks to help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.



We welcome the results of the talks, and hope that Seoul and Pyongyang will work together to make the Winter Games a "Peace Olympics." We positively assess the North's promise to send a large delegation, including athletes, a cheering squad, an art troupe, a taekwondo demonstration team and a press corps to PyeongChang.



It is meaningful that the North accepted a proposal by the South to hold military talks. The acceptance helped Pyongyang dispel suspicions that it might try to limit the inter-Korean dialogue only to Olympics-related issues. Regrettably, however, the North turned down another South Korean offer to organize reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War during the Lunar New Year holiday next month.



Despite growing expectations for inter-Korean rapprochement, there are concerns about abrupt peace overtures by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. These concerns cannot be shaken off if Pyongyang refuses to take the path toward denuclearization. However, the talks clearly indicated that the North won't give up its nuclear and missile programs.



Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, the South's chief delegate at the talks, stressed that it was necessary to have dialogue to discuss the North's denuclearization. But, his North Korean counterpart Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, reacted angrily to the minister's stance on this.



Ri's reaction demonstrated that the North has no intention of abandoning its nuclear weapons. It also explicitly implied that Pyongyang is not willing to discuss the matter with Seoul. The North has repeatedly argued that the issue is between Pyongyang and Washington. This attitude raised suspicions that the North has offered the olive branch to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington and weaken international sanctions imposed for the North's provocations.



Against this backdrop, President Moon Jae-in floated the idea of a summit with Kim Jong-un. In a New Year's news conference one day after the South-North talks, Moon said he was willing to sit down with Kim if certain conditions were met. The liberal President, who advocates engagement with the North, must be elated about the outcome of the talks. But he did not forget to reiterate the South's unwavering position that peace can never be settled on the peninsula without the North's denuclearization.



Therefore, the next step following the successful hosting of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics should be to hold talks with the North to discuss how to solve the nuclear crisis. If the Kim regime refuses to do so, it will only prove that its peace overtures were only a disguised campaign aimed at buying time for the completion of its nuclear program. It is up to Kim which path to take _ denuclearization or self-destruction. We hope he makes a wise choice.






The special envoy from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak (center), walks out of the National Assembly building, Monday. / Yonhap



By Oh Young-jin



Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the special envoy from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), spent three hours at the Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul, Monday.



It was a dinner hosted by SK Chairman Chey Tae-won at his luxury hotel.



SK confirmed their meeting but failed to reveal who attended the function.



The hotel has many restaurants and is especially well known for its Korean restaurant, Ondal. Most likely, the UAE envoy was entertained in a secluded banquet room.



SK did not say what food the envoy, who is also a business associate of Chey, was served.



A conglomerate spokesman said Chey visited Kalidoon during a trip to the emirate in 2016, indicating the two were close enough to exchange visits.



One interesting point was about whether the food was properly treated according to Islamic rules or halal.






South Korea's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, left, meets North Korea's chief delegate Ri Son-gwon at the truce village of Panmunjom in the inter-Korean border area on Tuesday morning. / Joint Press Corp



By Kinling Lo





The United States will keep up pressure on North Korea, a senior adviser on Washington's Asia policy said on Tuesday, as representatives from the two Koreas held high-level talks.

North and South Korea were holding their first formal talks in two years on their border focusing on whether the North can attend next month's Winter Olympics at Pyeongchang.

Senior South Korean officials left Seoul early on Tuesday for the meeting in the demilitarised zone that divides the two countries.

The Chinese foreign ministry said earlier that Beijing welcomed the talks and called for the dialogue to help resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Brian Hook, a senior adviser to the US Secretary of State on Asia Policy, said on Tuesday it was premature to judge whether the talks would be the "beginning of something".

"We expect it is mostly going to be focused around the Olympics [the talks] could be meaningful, it could be important about the Olympics, it could also be just about the Olympics but nothing else happens," Hook said.

The discussions are the first since 2015 after Seoul halted economic cooperation with Pyongyang, aiming to contain its rapidly developing nuclear weapons programme.

A hotline between the two nations was reconnected last week, with North Korea expressing an interest in taking part in the Winter Olympic Games to be held in South Korea.

Hook said: "The [US] president believes that if we didn't have the pressure campaign they wouldn't be talking at all right now.

"It is our policy that the pressure campaign will continue in some form or another until we achieve our policy goals."

Hook said these included the "complete, verifiable, irreversible" denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Hook said at least US$2.7 billion of North Korean exports had been blocked after the latest rounds of United Nations sanctions implemented against the hermit kingdom.
Authorities say one of the two people arrested following a standoff in Sioux Falls is a known associate of the primary suspect in two recent homicides.

A 30-year-old man and 26-year-old woman were arrested after Tuesday night's standoff at an apartment that lasted several hours. Minnehaha County deputies were attempting to serve a warrant when they learned one of the suspects had a pistol. The suspects initially refused to leave the apartment.

The Argus Leader says the woman arrested is associated with Manuel Frias, who's being sought for first-degree murder in the shooting deaths Friday of 28-year-old Samuel Crockett and 30-year-old Corey Zephier. Police say the shooting was drug related.

The two arrested following the standoff were taken into custody on possible drug, weapons and other charges.
UPDATE 7:15 PM:

The Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office says deputies were trying to serve a warrant or failure to appear in court and a drug violation on 26-year-old Amy Crandall Tuesday when a standoff began.

They said she and other people in that apartment may know Manuel Frias, who is wanted for first degree murder in connection to Friday's double homicide.

After five hours, officers arrested Crandall, along with John Milk on drug and gun charges and Dakota Wohlers for allegedly harboring a fugitive.

Neighbors told KSFY News the scene was like something they had never seen before.

"There was like two snipers that went next door, and I watched that happen 'cause I was standing outside," Katrina Picotte said. "They went next door and then them two SWAT buses went behind the apartment complex."

"Really scary, really scary," Adeline Whitdress said. "I thought I would be in a good neighborhood, and then when they built that thing it just started chaos."

Several neighbors told KSFY News they have lived there for year and that the neighborhood was fine until the apartment where the three were arrested went up last year. Many neighbors said they suspect there is drug activity in the building.

___

UPDATE 12 PM:

Authorities say the three people arrested during a standoff in Sioux Falls Tuesday night may have information about the suspects wanted in a double homicide investigation.

Capt. Jason Gearman tells KSFY News the Minnehaha County Sheriff's tried to serve a warrant around 5 p.m. Tuesday on 26-year-old Amy Crandall at an apartment in the 4700 block of E. 6th Street for failure to appear in court.

Gearman said four people were inside the apartment when authorities arrived. The suspects would not come out, so authorities contacted the apartment renter, 24-year-old Dakota Wohlers.

Wohlers refused to let authorities inside the building, according to Gearman.

A SWAT team was called around 7 p.m. to assist when authorities learned one of the suspects, 30-year-old John Milk, had a gun.

The team eventually got into the apartment and arrested the suspects.

Officers arrested Crandall on her warrant and narcotics charges, Wohlers for harboring a fugitive, and Milk for convicted felon possessing a firearm and possession of a controlled substance.

Another person was not arrested.

Gearman said the standoff suspects may have information on Manuel Frias, who is wanted for allegedly killing 28-year-old Sam Crockett during a "drug rip gone wrong" Friday in Sioux Falls.

Thirty-year-old Corey Zephier was also killed during the incident, allegedly by Crockett.

Gearman would not give more details citing the ongoing investigation.

This is a developing story. Stay with KSFY News as more details become available.

___

ORIGINAL STORY:

Two people wanted on a number of felony warrants have been arrested after an hours-long standoff in northeast Sioux Falls.

Deputies with the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office attempted to serve a warrant for the suspects at an apartment on the 4700 block of East 6th Street Tuesday afternoon, when they learned one of the suspects was armed with a pistol.

Officers with the Sioux Falls Police Department, including a SWAT team, was called in to assist the deputies around 5:00. The suspects refused to exit the residence for hours. Eastbound traffic on East 6th Street was temporarily rerouted during the incident.

Around 11:00 p.m., both suspects finally surrendered to police.

Police have not identified the suspects. Authorities say they will release more details about the incident Wednesday morning. Check back with KSFY News for updates.
Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey supports the idea of bringing the sport to the streets of Copenhagen after meeting with Danish officials on Wednesday.

Danish politician and race promoter Helge Sander visited the F1 paddock in Abu Dhabi in November and held preliminary talks with Liberty Media.

Carey's visit to Denmark's capital this week and his subsequent meetings with the city's mayor and the event's promoters is another step towards Copenhagen hosting a Grand Prix in the future.

"We're excited about the opportunity to explore a potential race here," Carey said.

"Copenhagen represents the type of location we think can really provide a great platform."

The Danish project is backed by former minister Helge Sander and Lars Seier Christensen, co-founder and former chief executive of Saxo Bank.

"They don't just see it as Copenhagen but as all of Scandinavia which is a potential market for them," Christensen sa

Haas' Kevin Magnussen's presence on the F1 grid would likely provide a positive catalyst for the event, should it materialize. But Helge Sander insists it's not a necessity.

"It is clearly an advantage if we have a Dane (in F1). But even if there isn't a Dane, interest for Formula 1 in Denmark is generally great," he said.

"Of course I would prefer if there is at least one Dane, but it is not crucial."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
LONDON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- British government on Tuesday announced a series of concessions over the EU withdrawal bill, proposing to give businesses and citizens a three-month window after leaving the European Union.

With the bill due to reach its report stage and third reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, Britain's Brexit Department has tabled 25 amendments to the bill addressing various concerns that have been raised about the legislation.

In a statement, the department said during the bill's passage through the House of Commons, the government has worked with and listened to MPs who have made constructive suggestions to ensure statute book functions on exit day.

The department said as an effort to boost legal certainty, and responding to suggestions made by MPs during committee stage, the government has also brought forward an amendment relating to the general principles of EU law.

"These are the binding legal principles that shape EU law and the way it is interpreted. Citizens and businesses would have an additional three months after exit day to start court cases where they believe the general principles of EU law have not been followed prior to exit day," it said in the statement.

The department also announced a further proposal reflecting the ongoing dialogue between the government and devolved administrations, changing the way in which Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland can use the correcting power. "Where they previously needed to seek the consent of the UK government they would now only need to consult."

Commenting on the amendments, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Brexit Steve Baker said: "In bringing forward these amendments today, we're showing the seriousness with which we take parliament's views."

The second phase of Brexit negotiations, covering transitional arrangements after Britain leaves and economic and security co-operation in the future, are due to begin soon.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said it is right to plan for all scenarios, including no deal, but she is confident the two sides will reach an agreement on their post-Brexit relations in time for the Brexit.

[ Editor: meng ]
LISBON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- A Portuguese judge has refused a request to extradite former Angolan vice-president Manuel Vicente, and he will stand trial on corruption charges later this month in Portugal, the office of Portugal's Attorney General said on Tuesday.

Angolan President Joao Lourenco called Portugal's refusal to extradite Vicente "offensive".

However, Portugal's Public Prosecution Service fears Vicente will be granted diplomatic immunity if he returns to Angola.

"Operation Fizz" revolved around accusations that Vicente paid 760,000 euros (906,550 U.S. dollars) in bribes to Portugal's former public prosecutor Orlando Figueira. The bribes were designed to halt two corruption inquiries.

Figueira is also facing corruption charges.

The case against Vicente will be heard in Lisbon from Jan. 22.

[ Editor: meng ]
Rome, January 9 - Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday his group was open to external candidates, as well as those chosen by its online candidacy process, for the March 4 general election. He also s aid the M5S was no longer advocating leaving the eurozone. Speaking on talk show Porta a Porta, he said opening gup to external candidates "means giving opportunities to people who work in schools, associations, to businesspeople, to take part in our process". Di Maio said the other parties were picking candidates from inside their ranks while "we are doing a public selection and we are identifying the best minds". Di Maio said that the external candidates, too, would have to go through the so-called 'parlamentarie' online selection process. He said he was thinking of one candidate who has drawn headlines, Costa Concordia disaster 'hero' commander Gregorio De Falco. "He too will go through the parlamentarie," Di Maio said. De Falco was praised for ordering 'captain coward' Francesco Schettinno to "get back on board, dammit". Di Maio went on to say that "I don't think that it's any longer the (right) time for Italy to leave the euro." He told Porta a Porta host Bruno Vespa that "there will be more room" for Italy now that "the French-German axis is no longer as strong as before". The M5S has long taken a euroskeptic stance and said it would like a referendum on staying in the eurozone. In other remarks, Di Maio said the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) governors of Emilia Romagna, Abruzzo and Lazio are using Rome's trash crisis for electoral reasons. "The Emilia region has a cost of 180 euros per tonne, Abruzzo 1590 a tonne. "We, in order to make Romans save money, choose the region that has the lowest costs. "The governors of Emilia-Romagna, Abruzzo and Lazio are in the same party, they're using Romans for the electoral campaign, they're cunningly giving interviews and buying time for the campaign".
BRATISLAVA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Slovak police said on Tuesday that the country in 2017 recorded the highest number of illegal migrants in Slovakia in the last ten years since the country joined the Schengen area.

Slovak Police Corps President Tibor Gaspar told a press conference on Tuesday that a total of 2,706 illegal migrants were detected in Slovakia last year, compared with 2,170 in 2016.

"In view of visa liberalisation and the current conditions on the Slovak labour market, it's assumed that this number will continue to go up," said Gaspar.

The Slovak police filed charges against 107 people for the criminal offence of people smuggling in 2017.

"The police are really interested in discovering as many such cases as possible and in being effective. I'm glad that we've also been successful in revealing organised groups," added Gaspar.

[ Editor: meng ]
Varese, January 10 - A doctor in a probe into suspicious hospital deaths at Saronno hospital told court-appointed experts Wednesday he was the best doctor in the ER department. "Rightly or wrongly I was considered the most important and charismatic person on the ward," said Leonardo Cazzaniga. "I deem myself one of the best doctors. Yes, the best for my vast competence". Last month prosecutors said another 18 suspicious deaths in the ER at Saronno near Varese are being examined by consultants. Some 14 people are under investigation in the probe, which has looked at dozens of deaths in the northern Italian hospital near Milan. Among the others is a nurse Cazzaniga was involved with, Laura Taroni. Another nurse has told investigators that murder suspect Cazzaniga, the deputy head of the ER, openly bragged about being "the angel of death". "I heard Cazzaniga talking about his 'protocol'," the witness said. "I heard him exclaim things like: I'm applying my protocol to this patient". Two other nurses confirmed to investigators that Cazzaniga's "protocol" consisted in administering sedatives and anesthetics to finish off patients with low life expectancy.
Milan, January 10 - Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday an M5S government would scrap 400 laws in its first year. "This is a country that is a hostage to laws rather than bureaucracy," he said on the stump for the March 4 general election. He was speaking at the launch of a website, leggidaabolire.it, "where everyone can propose a law to be abolished".
Rome, January 10 - Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday it was a "scandal" that then premier and centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi phoned businessman Carlo De Benedetti in 2015 to let him know the government was set to pass a reform of 'popolari' cooperative banks so he could allegedly buy shares in them. "If that is the PD's model then I'll fight it with all my strength, " said Di Maio. He said the PD should not be voted in the March 4 general election and vowed to "send them packing". De Benedetti is a centre left sympathiser and owns the left-leaning daily la Repubblica. Renzi has come under fire from all opponents including ghe centre right over the reports that he spoke to De Benedetti about plans to reform the popolari when he was premier before the legislation was passed by his government. The reports referred to a telephone conversation in January 2015 in which De Benedetti told his broker that he had spoken to Renzi about the reform decree and the then-premier had said that it would be passed. Prosecutors have requested that an insider trading probe be shelved after Renzi and De Benedetti both said that they had not gone into the details of the reform. Renzi said Wednesday that the fact the reform was in the pipeline was no secret. "There was a news agency report that said we would undertake that reform," Renzi told Radio Capital.
Messina, January 10 - A young Italian man got 12 years in jail Wednesday for setting fire to his girlfriend in the eastern Sicilian coastal city of Messina a year ago. Alessio Mantineo was found guilty of deliberately torching Ylenia Bonavera, who suffered severe burns. Mantineo, 24, was convicted despite 22-year-old Bonavera's testimony that it wasn't him who set her on fire. On November 22 she testified that, although she had said her former boyfriend set her on fire on her doorstep in January, she wished to retracted her statement in court, saying it wasn't him who poured petrol on her and lit it. A preliminary hearings judge ordered further investigations after Bonavera's testimony. Bonavera told neighbours on the night of the attack in Messina on January 7-8 that Mantineo attacked her. He was arrested after statements from witnesses and on the basis of CCTV footage showing him buying a canister of petrol from an automatic dispenser.
Rome, January 10 - Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday it was a "scandal" that then premier and centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi phoned businessman Carlo De Benedetti in 2015 to let him know the government was set to pass a reform of 'popolari' cooperative banks so he could allegedly buy shares in them. "If that is the PD's model then I'll fight it with all my strength, " said Di Maio. He said the PD should not be voted in the March 4 general election and vowed to "send them packing". De Benedetti is a centre left sympathiser and owns the left-leaning daily la Repubblica. Di Maio alos said that the parliamentary commission of inquiry into Italy's banking crisis, which recently wound up its work, "should be permanent". He said that "no bank should no longer feel it can do what the others have done". He also said that another watchdog over banks was needed, alongside the Bank of Italy which he said had failed to do its job. Renzi has come under fire from all opponents including the centre right over the reports that he spoke to De Benedetti about plans to reform the popolari when he was premier before the legislation was passed by his government. The reports referred to a telephone conversation in January 2015 in which De Benedetti told his broker that he had spoken to Renzi about the reform decree and the then-premier had said that it would be passed. Prosecutors have requested that an insider trading probe be shelved after Renzi and De Benedetti both said that they had not gone into the details of the reform. Renzi said Wednesday that the fact the reform was in the pipeline was no secret. "There was a news agency report that said we would undertake that reform," Renzi told Radio Capital.
Rome, January 10 - Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi on Wednesday blamed the regional government of Lazio for the Italian capital's trash crisis. She said that trash company AMA asked the government to approve shifting waste disposal outside the region ahead of an expected Christmas emergency but "(Governor Nicola) Zingaretti only freed up the request after a month". She said the regional authorities had justified the delay by saying their computer systems had failed to work properly. "So an alleged fault in the PCs of the region threw the regional system into chaos and created problems for millions of Romans," said the mayor, a member of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S).
Rome, January 10 - The home and office of Giulio Regeni's Cambridge supervisor Dr Maha Abdelrahman were searched Wednesday in a probe into the Italian researcher's torture and murder in Egypt early in 2016. Rome prosecutors seized a PC, pen drive, hard disk and cellphone. Dr Abdelrahman told police Regeni had freely chosen his PhD subject, sources said later. "It was his free choice", she reportedly said. The search was authorised after the lecturer was questioned by prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco and special police units in collaboration with UK authorities. "The IT material and the documents obtained will be useful to clear up, once and for all, the role of the professor in the matters being probed," prosecutors said. The lecturer remains a person with information on the case, and is not under investigation, they said. A statement from Rome prosecutors said that "thanks to the full and active collaboration with UK authorities, Cambridgeshire and Italian investigators proceeded to carry out the investigative activities requested by Italian judicial authorities in last October's European investigation warrant". They said that Dr Abdelrahman "agreed to answer all questions put by British investigators, confirming statements already rendered". Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano announced last month that Dr Abdelrahman would be questioned. "The British judge has accepted the European investigation warrant and that the Cambridge professor can be questioned," he said after meeting British counterpart Boris Johnson. Alfano called it a "significant development, a significant step forward". The Cambridge police are identifying and questioning students who went to Egypt to do research or study before Regeni, the Rome prosecutor's office said. The office confirmed that British authorities were providing the utmost collaboration with the probe. Abdelrahman reportedly failed to meet a summons to appear before Italian prosecutors in June. The encounter at a Cambridge police station was first set for 9.00 on June 7, then postponed to 16:00 on the same day, and then to June 8, but the professor did not turn up, well-informed sources said on November 3. After the report, a Cambridge University spokesperson told ANSA that Abdelrahman "has repeatedly expressed her willingness to fully cooperate with the Italian prosecutors". Rome prosecutors sent a new formal petition to the British authorities in October to be able to question Abdelrahman, La Repubblica said. The Rome-based daily reported that the prosecutors also want to acquire the professor's mobile and fixed-line phone records from between January 2015 and February 28 2016 to reconstruct her network of relations. The move regards alleged ambiguity and omissions by the woman in relation to the probe into the torture and murder of the 28-year-old Italian post-graduate student in Cairo, La Repubblica wrote in an article entitled 'The Lies of Cambridge'. Rome prosecutors reportedly want clarification on several aspects of the case, the newspaper said. These regard how the subject of Regeni's research on street trader unions was chosen, the selection of his tutor in Egypt, the research method used, who decided what questions to ask the traders and whether Regeni gave the results of his research to Professor Abdelrahman during a meeting in Cairo on January 7, 2016. Rome prosecutors have also asked the British judicial authorities to identify all of the Cambridge University students working under Abdelrahman who were sent to Cairo between 2012 and 2015, sources said on Thursday. The petition requests that those students be questioned in the presence of Italian investigators. The investigators want to know whether there were other cases like Regeni's in which students were asked to research the independent unions in Egypt. Regeni was asked to look into this by his tutor even though his PhD regarded the general subject of the North African nation's economic development. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said last month that Egypt would give Italian prosecutors CCTV footage from the metro the day Regeni disappeared. "As soon as the European company we have tasked with recovering the images shot by the Cairo underground cameras has done so, our commitment will be to provide them to Italian investigators," he said. Shoukry added, however, that a final decision was down to the "prosecutor who is independent and will decide on the merits of the case". In November Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi said he wants to "find those guilty" for the death of Friuli-born Regeni. Sisi said he believes the murder was an attempt to frustrate Italian investment in Egypt. "We are working in a very transparent way with the Italian authorities," he said. Sisi said Italian-Egyptian relations are among the best, despite the fact that they were hit hard by the Regeni case. Egypt has previously given several explanations for Regeni's death including a car accident, a gay lovers' tiff turned ugly and murder by an alleged kidnapping gang, later wiped out by police - all of them rejected by Italy. The probe is reportedly now focusing on a number of Egyptian policemen.
New York, January 10 - Nestle is close to selling its American chocolate bar business to Italian confectioner Ferrero for 2.8 billion dollars, Bloomberg said Wednesday. The Italian group has been vying with Hershey of the US to get the US chocolate interests of the Swiss transnational group, the world's largest food and beverage group. A deal between Nestle and Ferrero could be signed by Sunday, Bloomberg said. The acquisition would enable Ferrero to strengthen its presence on the US market after buying Candy sweets in December, an operation that boosted its chunk of the American market to 4.8%.
Rome, January 10 - League leader Matteo Salvini said Wednesday a centre-right government would scrap a law passed by the current executive making vaccinations obligatory for school admission. "We'll cancel the Lorenzin law," he said referring to the legislation drafted by Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin. "Vaccinations yes, obligation no". Salvini also said the centre-right coalition would scrap "the absurd tax on electronic cigarettes" if it wins the March 4 general election. The centre-left alliance is currently ahead in the polls. Lorenzin quickly hit back. "Italy should be vaccinated against incompetents," Lorenzin said via Twitter. "The position of Salvini and other top League figures, who today say that they want to abolish the vaccination obligation as the first measure (in government) is the same as that of the 5-Star Movement. "The League is playing with the health of the Italian people, with the health of our children, for a few votes more". Ex-premier and centre-left Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi said "a battle of civilisation is being waged on vaccines, because saying No means jeopardising our children's safety". He said "I would like politicians to be judged on this, and people to decide who to support on that basis".
Kristin Lancino, president and artistic director of the La Jolla Music Society (LJMS), has resigned, the Societys board chair said Monday.

Lancinos abrupt departure, which was formally announced Tuesday, comes barely two years after she was hired. It will become effective Friday and was by mutual agreement, according to board chair Katherine Chapin.

No specific reason was given for Lacinos resignation, which is attributed to personal reasons in a two-paragraph statement issued by the 50-year-old nonprofit arts organization. Lancino is currently assisting the organization with the transition process, it reads in part. A search committee will be formed to seek new leadership.

Lancino replaced Christopher Beach in late 2015; he is now a part-time consultant for LJMS construction of its new, $78 million Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center at 7600 Fay Ave. in La Jolla, which is set to open in early 2019.

Lancino did not respond to phone and e-mail messages.

Her sudden departure stunned Cho-Liang Jimmy Lin, who for the past 18 years has been music director of SummerFest, the annual chamber music festival produced by LJMS.

I only learned about this Sunday, so Im just as surprised as the next person by this news and am still digesting the ramifications, Lin said Monday night from his Houston home. He praised Lancino for her great musicality.

Her imminent departure comes only months, Lin noted, after he told LJMS he will resign in August as SummerFests director  news that until now has not been made public. That leaves LJMS with two key vacancies to fill.

I hope that, by the time I step down in late August, a new president and artistic director has been found, Lin said. And somebody will have to announce the new music director. So I guess a lot will happen in the next six to eight months while the construction of our new performing arts center is going on.

Asked if Lancinos departure is a setback, board chair Chapin replied: Absolutely not.

We will be continuing forward, said Chapin, who proudly noted the organization has already raised $70 million for its new arts center on Fay Avenue. Its definitely business as usual.

Chapin added that regarding the boards search for a new president and artistic director: Well be looking for someone who can help move the organization forward in different ways than we have in our 50-year history, and that is because we now will have a performing arts center and the position will require a much different skill set.

We are at a comfortable level, in terms of where we should be, building The Conrad, and we just recently launched a public fundraising campaign. And some of the things Kristin put into place in her tenure here have long legs and will continue to reach into the future.

In a conversation with La Jolla Light, Debra Palmer, LJMS board liaison and executive assistant to the president and artistic director said: I can reiterate that our operations and presentations will move forward without interruption during the transition thanks to our very strong staff and board oversight.

We look forward to the outstanding concert lineup remaining in our current season, moving into our new home in The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in 2019, and presenting continued musical excellence to our audiences.

Palmer said inquiries about the position could be e-mailed to her at dpalmer@ljms.org

Susan DeMaggio contributed to this report.
JERUSALEM, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli civilian was shot and seriously wounded in an incident suspected as a Palestinian attack in the West Bank on Tuesday, Israeli officials said.

A military spokesperson said the incident took place near the Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad, west of Nablus city.

A passing car opened fire at the man, the spokesperson said, adding that the assailants fled the scene.

"IDF (Israel Defense Forces) are searching the area for the perpetrators of this terror attack," the spokesperson said.

The man, 35, sustained serious injuries in his upper body and was evacuated to hospital, according to a statement released by the emergency health service.

The incident was the latest in a surge of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Dec. 6.

The Palestinians wish to build their future capital in east Jerusalem, a territory that Israel seized during the 1967 Middle East war, together with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and annexed shortly later.

[ Editor: meng ]
The one thing thats clear, absolutely crystal, about organized, encouraged, endorsed or enforced policies related to COVID-19 response was summed up in just a few words last week by Huntersville ...

Theres an intriguing sounding course being offered this fall at Davidson College. It hasnt stirred any local or national uproar, it hasnt motivated people to attack its concept without understanding ...

More than a half-century ago, the first sections of pipe that would become part of the Colonial Pipeline were laid in the Huntersville community. That also marked the start of...
Egypt's commodity supply agency GASC has held its first wheat purchase tender, despite initial media reports that said no bids were received.

In fact, after additional negotiations, bids were received from seven companies, after Egypt gave assurances that the situation would be corrected, the head of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR), Dmitry Rylko, told Interfax.

The difficulty arose from Egypt's attempt to begin enforcing a little-used rule. "Recently GASC found in its documents a rule under which it has the right to charge supplying companies demurrage fees," Rylko said. "The suppliers were informed of this two days ago," he said, adding that the rule was to be applied to all demurrage instances retroactively to the beginning of the current agricultural year, that is, July 2017. "There were quite a lot of them," he said.

The move dismayed grain suppliers, resulting in the tender initially falling through.

Egypt had planned to purchase 180,000 tonnes of milling wheat for delivery in the February 11-20 period. It expected to receive bids on wheat from France, Bulgaria, Australia, Poland, Germany, the UK, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and several other countries.

The tender on Tuesday resulted in the acquisition of 115,000 tonnes of Russian wheat.

Egypt has already purchased a record amount of Russian wheat in the current season: 3.605 million tonnes (excluding the latest tender), which accounts for 78% of total purchases.
PRESS RELEASE

First North-South Korea Meeting a Success

Jan. 9, 2018 (EIRNS)North and South Korea held their first diplomatic meeting in more than two years, earlier today, and by all accounts, it was a spectacular success. North Korea offered to send a large delegation of athletes, officials and others to the upcoming Winter Olympics, South Korea proposed reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, and North Korea re-opened the military-to-military hotline that had been closed since 2016.

"I came to this meeting with a thought to hand a precious result to our fellow, who holds a great expectation," Ri Son-gwon, the chairman of the North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country and leader of the North Korean delegation, said at the start of the meeting, reports the Korea Herald. Ri also said the rare meeting was arranged upon "the divine will," on the back of "the hearts of the Korean people" combined with the "current situation." For his part, South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said that South Korean citizens want to reel Inter-Korean relations toward reconciliation and peace. Cho also underlined Seouls wish for North Koreas participation at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics next month.

With respect to the Olympics, South Korean Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung told reporters afterwards that South Korea proposed the two sides march together during the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics and form a joint cheering team.

On other matters, the South further offered to hold a Red Cross meeting to discuss the reunion of families separated by the Korean War and proposed holding military talks to prevent accidental conflict along the border.

"We also raised the need to end acts that could escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and to resume dialogue to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, such as [North Koreas] denuclearization," Chun said. "North Korea proposed resolving issues regarding inter-Korean ties through dialogue and negotiations for peace and unity on the peninsula,"

Chun said.

"North Korea has guaranteed peace on the Korean Peninsula, talked about promoting reconciliation among the Korean people, and solving issues surrounding the South and the North through dialogue and negotiations,"

Chun said. The North apparently didnt respond directly on denuclearization but seemed attentive toward South Koreas remarks, said Chun.

Seoul has also proposed talks between representatives of the two countries armed forces. According to a spokesman for the Unification Ministry, during the talks in Panmunjom, South Korea suggested arranging talks between representatives of the two countries military command in the near future. This step should help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, he said without providing any details about response from Pyongyang.
PRESS RELEASE

Iran, U.K., France, and Germany To Hold Talks on Iran Nuclear Deal

Jan. 9, 2018 (EIRNS)Federica Mogherini, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, issued a statement yesterday, announcing that she, along with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, will be meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif on Jan. 11 to discuss the state of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear deal by which Iran agreed to not pursue nuclear weapons in return for the lifting of economic sanctions.

"The meeting will take place in the context of the ongoing work to ensure a full and continued implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,"

the EU said in a statement. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany were the three European members of the P5+1, the six countries that negotiated the JCPOA with Iran.

The meeting was apparently scheduled at Zarifs request and comes ahead of the Jan. 12 deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump to certify Irans compliance with the JCPOA. Last October, Trump refused the recertification but also waived the reimposition of sanctions, leaving the next step to the U.S. Congress. Zarif pointed to the Jan. 5 UN Security Council session on Irans internal situation, convened at the request of the United States, saying that the Security Councils support for the JCPOA and its refusal to comment on Irans domestic issues revealed that the new U.S. administration has been isolated in the international community.

Yesterday, during and on the sidelines of a security conference in Tehran, a number of Iranian officials issued a chorus of warnings that they expected the U.S. to pull out of the JCPOA and that Iranian response would be "proportional and heavy," in the words of Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi.
PRESS RELEASE

Macron in China: Europe Must Work with Chinas Silk Road

PARIS, Jan, 9, 2018 (Nouvelle Solidarite)French President Emmanuel Macron chose to start his three-day official visit in Xian, very symbolically as he always does, because Xian is the city from which the Silk Roads left for the West. After visiting the famous buried armies of Emperor Qin (third century B.C.), he gave a very powerful hour and a quarter minute speech at the Daminggong Palace to those accompanying him, including the Vice-President of China and other dignitaries, and the full French delegation of 100.

In a very poetic but precise manner, President Macron defined his views of the contours, the rules and the content of a French-Chinese cooperation in the New Silk Road project, but also for a European-Chinese cooperation with the New Silk Road project, since he made of himself the interlocutor for Europe in this respect.

The key phrases which indicate a positive orientation and change are: Macrons rejection of the war paradigm and for a win-win world explicitly, his mea culpa for the West on Iraq and Libya; on Africa, his mea culpa on French imperialism; on the Chinese Silk Road, his praising of the Chinese for having contributed a "new epic narrative" for the "fatigued" Western world to envisage a new dream.

De Gaulle, looking at those who had joined him in London following the occupation of France, the General had this phrase: "I was expecting the cathedrals [i.e. the Catholics], and I got the synagogues [i.e. the Jews]! We could also say today: We were expecting the European sovereignists to join the New Silk Road, and we got Europeanists of opportunity!" Clearly opposing a geopolitical view, Macron made himself the voice of a Europe seeking with China to find a way to get the world back to a win-win multilateralism, criticizing implicitly the "unilateralism" of the U.S. (Jerusalem) and Russia (Ukraine). Note, however, that for Macron, the EU and the euro are not a dogma. During the Presidential campaign he declared that if his European bid did not work, he would skip it.

The other element which is omnipresent in his intervention is the fight against climate change and for a world respecting the environment. This does not in any way go against investments in infrastructure, industries and technologies, however. Both the Chinese, who have gone into a full mobilization against air, soil and water pollution, and Macron are pro-nuclear. This is more to pay lip service to the Weltgeist, and not a Malthusian greenie ideology per se.

Clearly, if France and Europe go fully into the New Silk Road perspectives they will rapidly be brought to a contradiction: The need for financial reform, and the reestablishment of national banks in order to emit national credit, for investments in infrastructure, industries, new technologies.
Exports of Ukrainian farm produce to European countries for January-November 2017 amounted to $5.2 billion, which was 38.2% up on the same period in 2016, the Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry has said.

In particular, Ukraine exported grain worth $1.4 billion to the EU for this period, shipments of vegetable oil amounted to $1.3 billion and those of oilseed to $0.9 billion.

"Along with these traditional export-oriented products, we significantly increased exports of such products as malt extracts, flour products, cereals (by $31.7 million), bakery products and confectionery (by $15.4 million), creamery butter (by $12.4 million), casein (by $11.9 million), chocolate and other products containing cocoa (by $7.9 million), etc.," Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food for European Integration Olha Trofimtseva was quoted as saying.

The top five countries that bought Ukrainian agricultural products in the EU for the period under review were the Netherlands (18.4%), Spain (14.4%), Poland (13.3%), Italy (11.8%), and Germany (10.3%), she said.

Ukrainian agrarian exports to the EU countries for the entire 2016 amounted to $4.2 billion, she added.

As reported with reference to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, shipments of Ukrainian agrarian products abroad in January-November 2017 grew by 19% compared to the same period in 2016, to $16.4 billion.
Weinstein Co., the troubled movie and television studio founded by disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein, is closing in on a sale to a group of investors led by former Obama administration official Maria Contreras-Sweet, according to people familiar with the matter.

Backers for Contreras-Sweet, who ran the Small Business Administration under President Obama, include billionaire Ron Burkle and Dallas-based private equity firm Lantern Asset Management, according to people with knowledge of the talks who were not authorized to speak publicly .

A deal could be reached as early as next week, capping a process that began months ago after Weinstein faced a barrage of allegations of sexual harassment and assault involving dozens of women. Weinstein, who was fired from the company in October, has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.

The scandal triggered the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, exposed the company to potentially costly lawsuits and threatened its very survival. Weinstein Co.s board has been trying to find a buyer and last week narrowed its search to half a dozen potential suitors that valued the company for as much as $500 million, including debt.

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People with knowledge of the process cautioned that a deal with Contreras-Sweet may not happen, and that negotiations are still happening. Other options remain on the table, including an offer from Lionsgate for the assets. Another bid is from New York-based production company Killer Content, which has teamed with Abigail Disney.

But, with time running out, Weinstein Co. directors have zeroed in on Contreras-Sweets bid, which first emerged in November. At the time, the Los Angeles Times reported that the offer could be potentially the best chance for the company to survive, despite her lack of experience in Hollywood.

Contreras-Sweets backers have the deep pockets to keep the company afloat and retain employees, people familiar with the situation said. Additionally, having a woman take over the business would represent a fresh start for a studio whose name has become toxic in Hollywood.

The only bid on the table that keeps the whole thing in tact and obliterates the taint [of Weinstein] is Marias bid, Los Angeles-based investment banker Lloyd Greif said. It is a white knight, in this case.

Deadline first reported that Contreras-Sweet was in the front-runner position.

In a Nov. 8 letter to the Weinstein Co. board of directors, Contreras-Sweet made a proposition to acquire the company, rename it and install a majority-female board of directors. The current board is all-male, including Weinsteins brother, Bob, who would leave the company after a sale.

Under the terms of the deal, female investors in Contreras-Sweets group would take a 51% stake in Weinstein Co. The consortium would assume hundreds of millions of dollars of debt incurred by the New York-based company. Also, the backers would leave behind a separate entity with as much as $30 million in capital to help offset the legal liabilities stemming from the allegations against Weinstein, one person said.

Still, some financial experts familiar with the company, who were not authorized to comment, were skeptical that the entity would have enough money to deal with the mounting legal issues.

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Representatives for Weinstein Co. and Contreras-Sweet declined to comment.

In Burkle, Contreras-Sweet and the reincarnated Weinstein Co. would get a powerful backer who has long had an interest in Hollywood. In 2010, Burkle teamed with Harvey and Bob Weinstein in a failed attempt to buy Miramax, the brothers previous company, from Walt Disney Co. He has invested in movies with the Weinsteins, including Our Idiot Brother and The Iron Lady.

The supermarket magnate was also an investor in Ryan Kavanaughs Relativity Media, the studio that went bankrupt in 2015 and later emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Burkle stepped in with funding in 2012 when Kavanaughs company was strapped for cash.

A spokesman for Burkle downplayed his involvement in the current bid, saying his L.A.-based company Yucaipa does not have a deal in place with Maria Contreras-Sweet. However, he added that Yucaipa supports the plan to install female leadership.

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We share her belief that a women-led board is the only possible way the company survives at this point, the spokesman said, declining to elaborate.

Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Contreras-Sweet came to America with her mother and five siblings when she was 5.

She has held many jobs in private enterprise and public service, including a 15-year stint at 7Up-RC Bottling Co. She was also secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency under California Gov. Gray Davis.

Contreras-Sweet co-founded the private equity firm Fortius Holdings, which backed small Latino enterprises in California. She also founded ProAmerica Bank, catering to small and medium-size businesses in the Latino community. Most recently, she led the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2014 to 2017.

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In her November letter to the board, Contreras-Sweet said she felt compelled to take action to help women who have suffered indignities and employees who may otherwise lose their jobs.

I believe we have now reached a crossroads where it is imperative that a woman-led board acquire control of the company and create content that continues to inspire audiences around the world, especially our young girls and boys, Contreras-Sweet wrote.

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com

@rfaughnder
American Airlines is turning to Lands End to replace uniforms that employees blamed for health problems and which left the airline and the previous supplier facing a lawsuit.

Those uniforms, introduced in 2016 and made by Twin Hill, led to thousands of complaints from flight attendants and crew members who said they caused hives, wheezing, vertigo and headaches. American ultimately agreed to seek a new supplier.

Before choosing Wisconsin-based Lands End  which is also making uniforms for Delta Air Lines  American sought proposals and conducted site visits domestically and abroad, executives at American and union leaders said Tuesday in a letter to employees. Members of the uniform committee and union leaders will begin making fabric and color choices, and the airline expects to begin testing the clothing as early as October.

Our focus has always been, and will continue to be, providing a uniform that all frontline team members feel comfortable wearing, executives and union leaders said in the letter.

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As part of the wear-testing process, about 1,000 employees in a variety of roles and regions will try out the uniforms. American expects it will be about two years before the uniforms will be ready for all 51,000 employees, spokeswoman Leslie Scott said.

Lands End Chief Executive Jerome Griffith said in a statement that his company is thrilled to be partnering with American Airlines.

Americans pilots, however, are still looking for a new uniform supplier. When American agreed to seek replacement uniforms over the summer, each group of employees had the option to independently pick a supplier, Scott said.

In the meantime, airline employees can choose to wear the Twin Hill uniforms or an approved alternative.

Twin Hills parent company, Tailored Brands, could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit over the uniforms, which was filed by 11 employees in August, is pending in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

lzumbach@chicagotribune.com
Two senators on Wednesday proposed massive and mandatory fines for data breaches at Equifax Inc. and other credit reporting companies, starting at $100 for each consumer whose sensitive information is compromised.

The bill from Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) would add a $50 fine for each additional piece of compromised personally identifiable information for each consumer. The penalties would double in cases where the credit reporting firm did not comply with federal data security standards or failed to notify officials of the breach in a timely manner.

If the legislation had been in place when Equifax had a data breach last year that exposed the Social Security numbers and birth dates of as many as 145.5 million Americans, Equifax would have faced a fine of at least $1.5 billion, the senators said.

The bill, called the Data Breach and Compensation Act, would direct the Federal Trade Commission to funnel half of any fine to compensate affected consumers. The agency could levy fines of as much as 75% of the credit reporting companys gross revenue from the prior year.

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Our bill imposes massive and mandatory penalties for data breaches at companies like Equifax  and provides robust compensation for affected consumers  which will put money back into peoples pockets and help stop these kinds of breaches from happening again, Warren said.

An Equifax spokeswoman referred a request for comment to the Consumer Data Industry Assn., which represents credit reporting companies. Francis Creighton, the groups president, said the companies already comply with the same rigorous data protection standards as banks and will work with Congress to find ways to protect consumers without impeding their access to credit.

We do not believe the Warren/Warner bill provides a balanced solution to an increasingly complex problem that affects every part of the economy, including the federal government, he said.

The Equifax data breach, made public in September, sparked bipartisan outrage, partly because the hack took place after the company failed for several months to fix a software flaw that federal officials had warned about in March.

Equifax also bungled the aftermath of the breach, waiting nearly six weeks to notify the public after learning of the hack and then initially making people give up their right to sue if they wanted free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. Equifax later backtracked on that requirement.

The companys chief executive, Richard Smith, stepped down after the breach was disclosed, and lawmakers slammed him in congressional hearings last fall.

The bill from Warren and Warner is among several proposed in the wake of the Equifax breach, including one from a top House Republican that would stop credit reporting companies from using Social Security numbers to verify peoples identities.

In todays information economy, data is an enormous asset, Warner said Wednesday. But if companies like Equifax cant properly safeguard the enormous amounts of highly sensitive data they are collecting and centralizing, then they shouldnt be collecting it in the first place.

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Despite the outrage, none of the bills have been approved by either chamber of Congress.

A bipartisan financial regulatory bill that passed the Senate Banking Committee last month would allow people to freeze and unfreeze their files with credit reporting companies and would require free credit monitoring for active-duty members of the military.

The bill from Warren and Warner shows the lawmakers are still angry about the Equifax breach, said Jaret Seiberg, a Washington policy analyst with brokerage and investment bank Cowen & Co.

The legislation is unlikely to be enacted, but makes it more difficult for credit reporting companies to soften the credit freeze requirements in the bipartisan bill that passed the Senate Banking Committee, Seiberg said in a research report.

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Consumer and privacy advocates praised the new legislation, which also would create a cybersecurity office at the Federal Trade Commission to conduct annual inspections of credit reporting companies.

Ed Mierzwinski, federal consumer program director at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said the bill will ensure that credit bureaus protect your information as if you actually mattered to them and it will both punish them and compensate you when they fail to do so.

jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com

Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera

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UPDATES:

3:10 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from the Consumer Data Industry Assn.

This article was originally published at 9:10 a.m.
Scattered community efforts to help residents lessen the blow of the Republican tax overhauls limit on a popular deduction are turning into full-fledged rebellion in California and elsewhere across the country.

Democratic politicians are pursuing creative  and some say legally suspect  maneuvers to help people circumvent a $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes that took effect Jan. 1.

In addition to considering a lawsuit to try to block the limit, elected officials are looking at ways to turn those state and local tax payments into charitable contributions that would be fully deductible or convert state income taxes into payroll taxes that would have the effect of giving people the benefit of the deduction.

Republicans are already pushing back, raising the potential that Congress or the Internal Revenue Service could move to block the workarounds.

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The state and local tax deduction had been unlimited and the recent federal change, which is designed to generate billions of dollars a year in additional revenue to the U.S. Treasury, will be a big blow to many residents of California, New York and other states with high income and property taxes.

The average state and local deduction taken by the 6.1 million California residents who filed for it in 2015 was $18,438, according to the Tax Policy Center. Only New York and Connecticut had a higher average deduction.

Most of the states with significant numbers of residents who would be hit by the change are controlled by Democrats, which has led to accusations that Republicans targeted the deduction for political reasons.

It is an economic civil war, declared Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a speech last week. We must take dramatic action to save ourselves and preserve our states economy.

Hes not alone in seeking to blunt the deduction change.

While New York is focusing on shifting its income taxes to an employer payroll tax, California state Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) has introduced a bill that would give residents a dollar-for-dollar charitable tax credit for state income tax payments into a new California Excellence Fund.

Taxpayers would be able to deduct the contributions to the fund that would pay for state services on their federal returns. There were no limits on charitable deductions included in the GOP tax overhaul.

I think all blue states around the country are going to do anything in their power to protect their taxpayers and try to bring them tax relief, whether its through innovative state tax policy or through legal action, De Leon said Tuesday. I think that every option is on the table.

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Three New Jersey communities are working in conjunction with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) to set up their own charitable funds to pay for police, schools and other services. Residents would pay into the funds and receive tax credits instead of paying property taxes. The states incoming governor, Democrat Phil Murphy, said last week that he wanted to aggressively pursue such a plan on a state level.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy also is exploring the states options for such changes, spokesman Leigh Appleby said.

Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a liberal-leaning Washington, D.C., think tank, has been advocating that states fight back against the Republican bill.

The idea of having a state government game the federal income tax, as a general rule, rubs me the wrong way, he said. Except I think this is really an extraordinary situation.

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With Republicans, in his view, enacting the limit to hurt Democratic states, I think its perfectly reasonable for California and New York to say, Is there a way for us to get around this?  Baker said.

Cuomo said New York would go to court to challenge the deduction limit, arguing in part that it amounts to double taxation because some money used to pay state and local taxes is then taxed by the federal government. He vowed his state would lead the resistance to this injustice.

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), who helped write the tax bill that passed Congress with no Democratic support, said that some state and local officials are panicked that the era of tax to the max is over because tax increases will be harder to enact now that some residents will be limited in how much they can claim as deductions.

My belief is they would be better served, as public officials, in spending less time evading taxes and creating new loopholes in the tax system, and more time becoming more efficient and finding ways to lower taxes on those families and those workers, Brady told reporters Monday.

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Gary Cohn, President Trumps top economic advisor, told Bloomberg TV last week that he understands that state and local officials are trying to help their taxpayers. But administration officials are going to have to evaluate any changes for their effect on the collection of federal taxes, he said.

Federal officials stepped in last month after some communities moved to allow residents to prepay 2018 property taxes before the end of last year so they would avoid the new limit. The Internal Revenue Service said those payments would only be deductible if the taxes had already been assessed.

An IRS spokesman had no comment Tuesday on the other changes being considered by state and local governments.

The IRS already allows people to claim contributions for payments to more than 100 charitable programs in 33 states. Some of them fund state-supported activities such as public schools and college scholarship programs, said Kirk Stark, a UCLA law professor who has studied the issue.

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He and seven other tax experts released a 44-page paper Monday arguing that states would be allowed to turn tax payments into charitable contributions.

Theres nothing new here, Stark said. Its just an attempt to fit it into what the IRS and the courts have consistently blessed over the decades.

But Jared Walczak, a senior policy analyst at the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation, predicted the IRS would balk at a large-scale plan designed to circumvent the deduction cap.

There is a difference between a few people perhaps gaining something and the IRS turning a blind eye to an entire state of taxpayers misusing the charitable deduction, he said. Theres no actual charitable benefit. The only benefit is to the taxpayer.

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The strategy of converting state income taxes into an employer payroll tax had a better chance of passing legal muster, although the IRS still could determine that it was little more than a shell game, Walczak said.

The IRS allows companies to deduct taxes directly from a workers payroll, such as for contributions to unemployment insurance. To circumvent the cap on state and local deductions, a state could turn its income tax into a payroll tax.

Instead of paying a worker $100 in a state with a 5% income tax, an employer would pay the worker $95 and send the state $5 in a payroll tax. The worker would end up with the same after-tax pay, but the change would have the effect of keeping a full state income tax deduction because only the $95 would be taxed by the federal government.

Experts said it would be complicated to put such a plan in place, and workers would have to be sold on the idea that the decrease in their wages is actually to their benefit. Also, some employers might not be able to reduce wages for some workers, such as those under union contracts, even if theres a tax benefit to the workers.

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States have always had the legal ability to convert to a payroll tax, said Daniel Hemel, an assistant law professor at the University of Chicago. Only after the Republican tax bill might it be worth the effort, he said.

If you were a state lawmaker in 2016 and you stood up on the floor of the state Assembly and said, Im going to do this kind of complicated thing people would have looked at you like you were crazy, Hemel said. Now theres a political impetus.

jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com

Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera
For years, one bright spot in the United States massive trade imbalance with China has been the Asian nations soaring appetite for American agriculture.

But this month, China abruptly imposed stricter requirements on billions of dollars of American soybeans in a way that threatens to curb the exports and punish a wide swath of the U.S. heartland.

And that could be just the beginning, if President Trump follows through on his oft-repeated promise to get tough with Beijing on trade.

Although Chinese media attributed the new policy to quarantine officials who reported finding mildew contamination in some shipments, the tactic was all too familiar and the message unmistakably clear.

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It was kind of a warning shot that theyre not going to take things lying down, and that there will be pain for U.S. exporters should Trump levy trade sanctions on China, said David Loevinger, a former senior Treasury Department official for China affairs and now an analyst for TCW Emerging Markets Group in Los Angeles.

Beans and Boeing, quipped Derek Scissors, a China specialist at the American Enterprise Institute, listing the two most likely targets of Chinese retaliation. Soybeans and airplanes are Americas top two exports to China, and farmers in particular have long held sway on Capitol Hill.

After a relatively quiet first year on China trade, the Trump administration is gearing up to announce several actions, including possible tariffs stemming from investigations into a range of Chinese behaviors that it views as distorting trade and hurting U.S. firms and workers.

Among these are allegations of intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer in which U.S. companies wanting to do business in China must turn over their tech and production secrets, which Chinese competitors then adopt. Trump officials launched the probe by dusting off an old provision of U.S. trade laws that gives the president broad powers to apply punitive measures.

The Trump administration also has taken the rare step of initiating a dumping claim against imports of Chinese aluminum sheets, even though no U.S. firms have filed a complaint about the practice. And it has pending a separate case on Chinese steel, claiming that such imports may constitute a threat to Americas national security.

Whatever you think the degree of trade friction was last year, its going to be much more frictional and much more tit-for-tat in the coming year, said David M. Lampton, director of China studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.

A decision to slap tariffs on Chinese aluminum, steel or solar panels, by themselves, probably would elicit a measured response from Beijing, given their relatively small impact on the Chinese economy, said Andy Rothman, an investment strategist at Matthews Asia in San Francisco and former economic officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Others say that if American jobs and wages keep growing as expected in the near term, Trump will have economic cover to put off action or continue to apply a light hand in his dealings with China, as he has so far.

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The president last year declined to label China a currency manipulator despite his campaign promise to do so as soon as he took office. Instead Trump courted a personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping in hopes of using trade as leverage to win Beijings help in reining in North Koreas nuclear ambitions. That strategy has had mixed results, at best.

And with his trade and economic team now largely in place, including top trade official Robert Lighthizer, Trump wants fundamental changes in China trade, not incremental improvements.

To that end, Trump officials already have made clear the United States wont support Chinas yearning to be recognized at the World Trade Organization as a market-based economy. His administration has signaled that Chinese investments into the United States will have a harder time getting approved.

And in a sharp departure from recent administrations, Democratic and Republican, Trumps National Security Strategy issued last month referred to China, along with Russia, as a threat to the United States, noting that the two nations challenge American power, influence and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity.

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Despite increased American exports of foods, planes and medical equipment, the overall U.S. trade deficit in goods with China has not only kept rising under Trump, but almost certainly reached a new record last year, exceeding the previous high of $367 billion in 2015. The full-year results will be released next month.

Trump has repeatedly denounced large deficits with trading partners, none of which is bigger than the one with China. The president is sure to come under increasing pressure from constituents in states where Trumps attacks on foreign trade found particular resonance and ultimately helped catapult him into the White House.

In the past, Beijing could count on American corporations to press the White House and Congress to soften their stance on China, but theres a lot more ambivalence today. U.S. businesses have grown increasingly frustrated at Chinese policies favoring domestic companies, and with the central governments broad retreat from a 2013 pledge to step up economic reforms and let market forces drive growth in the country.

The political climate in the United States isnt likely to help, either. Even without Trump stirring the pot, China figures to be a popular target ahead of the midterm elections, as in the past.

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Were in an election year thats not going to reward moderation, and weve got two nationalistic leaders who are pretty full of themselves, said Lampton, referring to Trump and Xi. For his part, Xi has raised his political stature to something like the status of supreme leaders Mao Tse-tung and Deng Xiaoping by purging political opponents and tightening control of the internet and media.

He is exuding a confidence that China has arrived on the international scene in a big way, and theyre not going to be bullied and pushed around, and if you want to mess with China, then China will mess with you back, David Bachman, a China scholar at the University of Washington in Seattle, said of Xi.

Nor does Trumps character suggest a White House that will turn the other cheek, even though both Gary Cohn, Trumps top economic advisor, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are said to be urging their boss to refrain from drastic actions such as across-the-board tariffs on Chinese goods that could ignite a trade war. That in turn would damage the stock market and economic growth, not to mention upset Trumps base of blue-collar workers who depend on cheap goods from China and whose jobs could be hurt as well.

I dont see this as a kind of Armageddon-type of confrontation because I think that after turmoil of some degree, there is enough pragmatism when it comes to the economy that there will be shifting ground on both sides, said Claire Reade, a senior counsel at Arnold & Porter and former assistant U.S. trade representative for China affairs.

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Even so, Reade and many others are worried that Trump and his trade team will misjudge the political and economic calculus in the relationship, believing the United States has the leverage to win fundamental changes in the way China operates its economy.

Though important, American products, know-how and investments represent a smaller part of the Chinese economy than in the past, and Beijing has increasingly sought to diversify and expand its reach in the global economy. China could buy its soybeans from Brazil, its airplanes from Europe, and its beef from Australia.

The U.S. isnt the driver in China as it once was, said Russell Johnson, president of China Array Plastics.

American companies in China may be grumbling more today, he said, but ultimately they want to be there because of Chinas big market. After four decades of doing business in China, Johnson says things are about as good for manufacturers such as him as ever, and he remains guardedly optimistic that a trade war wont erupt.

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The wild card in this whole thing is Trump. You just dont know what hes going to do on any particular front, Johnson said. If he takes the approach and puts [broad] tariffs in place, the whole thing could unravel.

don.lee@latimes.com

Twitter: @dleelatimes
Actress-entrepreneur Suzanne Somers and her husband, producer Alan Hamel, are putting their longtime Palm Springs home up for auction without reserve on Jan. 31. The 73-plus-acre desert property is currently listed for sale at $14.5 million, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

Sitting on a hillside, among boulders and native outcrops, the bohemian-vibe retreat is known as Les Baux de Palm Springs. It has been owned by Somers and Hamel since 1977, the year they were married.

The estate comprises multiple structures that combine to offer eight bedrooms, nine full bathrooms and two half-baths. The main house, designed by architect Albert Frey, draws from French villa style and has the master suite, office space and an outdoor shower.

1 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 2 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 3 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 4 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 5 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 6 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 7 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 8 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 9 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 10 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 11 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 12 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 13 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 14 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry) 15 / 15 Suzanne Somers desert home | Hot Property (Robert Gentry)

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Other amenities on the property include a two-room kitchen and a 5,000-bottle wine cellar with tasting room. A private funicular railway system provides transportation to and from the estate.

Stone-lined pathways connect the various villas, outdoor dining areas and an amphitheater. Also within the grounds are a lap swimming pool, a carousel and a waterfall-fed pond.

Somers, 71, is known for the 1973 film American Graffiti and, later the sitcoms Threes Company and Step by Step. Hamel, 81, hosted such 60s television game shows as Wedding Party and Anniversary Game. He later produced a number of Somers TV and video specials.

Scott Lyle of Teles Properties holds the listing for the compound. He is working in collaboration with Concierge Auctions.

neal.leitereg@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATHotProperty

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Spread out on the floor of Rodney McMillians Los Angeles studio is a piece of the White House. To be certain, its not part of the actual White House, but , McMillians handcrafted approximation  its tidy rows of symmetrical windows and neoclassical pediment rendered in a patchwork of floppy white vinyl bound with black thread.

Its handmade, its hand-stitched, he says, gesturing at the floor. Its movable and malleable.

And it will hang like a curtain in the artists exhibition at the Contemporary Austin next month in the Texas capital. Visitors will peel back the vinyl to reveal an installation that ruminates on the nature of our nations most idealized symbols of power in ways that are spectral and surreal  not to mention a little bit humorous.

That piece consists of an 18-minute film called Untitled (neighbors), which features four figures in white hooded robes  not quite Ku Klux Klan robes, but certainly evocative of them  emerging from a watery landscape at dusk. As night falls, the figures perform abstracted dance rituals in the woods before converging on an illuminated neoclassical gazebo. At first they approach reverently, but as the minutes pass they begin to hungrily grope and thrust at the Doric columns, as if the crisp architecture had unleashed an unexpected attack of grinding lust.

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I wanted a defiling of an image of power as well as the representation of power  but also a place that has sentimentality because its a gazebo, McMillian says. The gazebo is symbolic in the same ways that other types of neoclassical architecture are.

Inspired by the ancient Greeks, neoclassical architecture speaks to some of Western civilizations most noble ideals  notions of symmetry and harmony and principles of representative democracy. It is no coincidence that the principle buildings of the U.S. federal government were designed in this style, including the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court and the White House.

I wanted a defiling of an image of power as well as the representation of power. Rodney McMillian, artist

A still from Rodney McMillians film Untitled (neighbors), 2017, which employs neo-classical architecture as symbol. (Rodney McMillian / Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects / Maccarone )

But high-mindedness of purpose, doesnt always translate to high-mindedness in practice. The U.S. Capitol was built in part by slaves, as was the White House. In fact, roughly a dozen of its occupants over the course of its history have owned slaves, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson (the latter of whom once placed an ad for a runaway that offered $10 extra for every hundred lashes any person will give him).

It was from the White House  a building that one architecture writer described as containing an air of reticence and good breeding  that Jackson oversaw the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and that Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed an executive order that condemned Japanese Americans to internment camps almost a century later.

The current occupant has shown support for maintaining monuments to Confederate leaders and wants to build a border wall to keep out Mexican immigrants, whom he has derided as rapists and criminals.

A container inspired by the most progressive ideals has at times been a container for exclusion. In his work, McMillian has us literally peel back the idealized facade to examine the ideological muck underneath.

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Buildings such as the White House, the artist explains, purport ideologies around democracy and possibilities that those ideals espouse. Ive been intrigued with them as symbols, but also in asking if the institutions are doing the job that the elected officials are slated to do. Or, for whom are they doing the job?

McMillians film contends with these issues in ways that are sensorial and surreal.

The idea of haunting, he says. Whats left behind. What are the traces? Its the present tense of haunting.

Spectral figures in white make their way through Rodney McMillians new film Untitled (neighbors). (Rodney McMillian / Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects / Maccarone )

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The installation is part of McMillians first solo exhibition at the museum. Against a Civic Death, which opens at the Contemporary Austin on Feb. 1, is the result of McMillian winning the museums inaugural Suzanne Deal Booth Art Prize, a new biannual award that includes a $100,000 prize, a solo show and a catalog (currently in production).

The Contemporarys chief curator Heather Pesanti, who sat on the prize jury and organized the show, says the honorific is really about providing artists with unfettered space for their ideas.

In the case of McMillian, those ideas touch on long-running questions of history whose tentacles reach right into the present. His work achieves this in ways both stark and elegiac.

Its not reactionary  its not an artist picking up on whats happening now, Pesanti says. The way that he hovers between abstraction and representation. There is a poetry to his work. Its not didactic, but it has very specific references: the Klan or the White House or Shirley Chisholm  the first black woman elected to Congress and first black politician to run for president.

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But he leaves everything very open-ended, she adds. His work is so interesting because it operates on so many levels.

The speculative reminds me that there are other narratives.... And those narratives can shift and move. Rodney McMillian, artist

A detail of Rodney McMillians installation pod: frequencies to a manifestationing at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects in 2016. (Robert Wedemeyer / Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects )

McMillian is affable in person, prone to thoughtful answers (and questions) and generous smiles. Born in Columbia, S.C., hes lived in Southern California since 2000, when he arrived to complete a masters in fine arts at the California Institute of the Arts. The ways in which power and symbols are wielded has been a long-running theme in his work, which he has presented in solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia. For now, there are no plans for the Austin installation to travel  but one hopes it might draw the attention of a curator in Los Angeles, where McMillian has yet to have a solo museum show.

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The language that has been used politically, it has been around for decades, he says, seated amid an array of works-in-progress in his cluttered storefront studio in Cypress Park. These organizations are around. These sentiments are around. These desires for achieving the possibility of the ideals that house our most treasured civic institutions are alive as well.

History, he adds, is present tense. Its present for me.

In 2004, McMillian created a painting of the U.S. Supreme Court building in swirling shades of blue that show the normally impregnable-looking structure sliding off the wall, as if it were becoming a watery puddle. For the 2012 group exhibition Blues for Smoke, organized by Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, he recreated the interior of a rural black church out of red vinyl in an installation titled From Asterisks in Dockery.

Altogether, these structures  the White House, the Supreme Court, a humble church  represent sites of power and indoctrination to the artist. They are the places where the body exists within, he says. They are sites where individuals are making the institution run.

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Visitors to the Contemporary Austin will be greeted by the White House sculpture and the film, with its dream-like sequence that Pesanti describes as part ghost story, part dance. From there, the show progresses to a sequence of galleries that travel from whiteness to blackness.

This includes his 2016 installation, pod: frequencies to manifestationing, which the artist previously displayed at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects in Culver City. The work consists of a series of still-life arrangements of painted black vases surrounding an amoebic pod, all bathed in a soundscape that melds fragments of a speech by Chisholm with a jazz track by Alice Coltrane.

The installation not only pays homage to [Chisolms] continuing relevance, wrote Times reviewer Sharon Mizota, when the work was first displayed in Los Angeles last year, it charts a tension between familiar boundaries and what might be possible if they shattered.

McMillian says the piece draws from a long-running interest in Chisholm and what she represents.

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My parents were inspired by her, he says. Growing up, she was always around. And then over the past several years, thinking about progressive movements and this past election, thinking about the history of women in presidential politics and the history of progressive politics. She was at the forefront of that.

Another work titled prism, also from 2016, consists of a large accordion-like structure from which emanates the sound of the artists own voice  crooning the Earth, Wind and Fire tune Thats the Way of the World.

Its a beautiful song, he says  one that pairs well with the Chisholm piece. Its of the time period, early 70s, aspirational. And Afrofuturism was a huge component of the bands costuming  the intergalactic possibilities of mankind. I thought it was a necessary song for this work.

McMillian is intrigued by the alternate realities presented by Afrofuturism  as well as the speculative fiction of novelists such as Octavia Butler and Samuel R. Delany.

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The speculative reminds me that there are other narratives, he says. Those histories are a narrative by the writer at the time. And those narratives can shift and move.

And ultimately, that is one of the principal ideas explored by McMillians work. For while he is keen on turning over bits of the past and the present, he reimagines them in the process, reconsidering not just what was, but the possibility of what could be.

Its the beauty of thinking about it, about our political structures, he says. These things are ideas that can be shifted and changed. Each day is a new possibility of how we can change the structure, of what we can do individually and we can do collectively.

His White House facade is pliable. It can be moved. Over the course of the show in Austin, it will likely stretch and shift and come to bear the fingerprints of all those came through.

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The hard facades of the actual White House in Washington evolve far more slowly. But the ideas contained within remain flexible. Perhaps its a matter of walking in and changing them.

a prism, 2016, by Rodney McMillian a sound and sculptural installation, on view at Susanne Viemetter last year. (Robert Wedemeyer / Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects )

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Rodney McMillian: Against a Civic Death

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When: Opens Feb. 1 and runs through Aug. 26

Where: The Contemporary Austin, 700 Congress Ave., Austin

Info: thecontemporaryaustin.org

Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter 

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carolina.miranda@latimes.com

@cmonstah

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If Hollywoods 2017 revealed anything, its that queer cinema is on the rise. From the historic Academy Award win for Moonlight early in the year to the releases of Battle of the Sexes and Professor Marston and the Wonder Women from major studios  not to mention this years Oscar contenders Call Me by Your Name, A Fantastic Woman and The Wound  films by and about LGBTQ people are receiving more attention and delivering more complex storylines.

The trend looks to continue in 2018, and the upcoming Ryan Murphy-created series Pose on FX could take things even farther on television with a historic LGBTQ laden ensemble in a portrait of ball culture in 80s New York.

But despite these obvious steps forward for increased representation across all screens, narratives around transgender people are often still limited in their scope.

We are the only people who know our lived experiences, what its like to be trans and the things we go through. Mj Rodriguez

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We continue to see productions that are focusing on the death of the experience of what it is to be a trans woman, said trans actress Indya Moore. But we have lives and experiences that arent just about the struggles of being trans and on the margins. Where are [the stories] where our transness is not [the major plot point]?

Moore is part of the Pose cast and also stars in Saturday Church, a film opening Jan. 12 in Los Angeles and on digital platforms, which attempts to help lead such a charge.

From first-time writer-director Damon Cardasis, Saturday Church is the story of 14-year-old Ulysses (fresh face Luka Kain), a shy and effeminate kid grappling with questions about gender identity. Their journey to self-discovery takes a turn after meeting a group of trans and gay folk who take Ulysses to Saturday church, a program for LGBTQ youth held in the basement of a local place of worship. There, the teen discovers a passion for, and family in, New Yorks ballroom scene.

Margot Bingham plays Ulysses single mother and Regina Taylor is the devoutly conservative aunt opposite Marquis Rodriguez and trans actresses Moore, Mj Rodriguez (also in Pose), Alexia Garcia and Kate Bornstein.

Ballroom, as seen in docs Paris Is Burning and Kiki, is portrayed as a place of acceptance for participants who find themselves otherwise marginalized. Most are black or Latinx and they belong to cliques known as houses.

Led by a mother or father figure, houses serve as families for their members, some of whom have cut ties with their biological kin. Those houses are named after fashion designers such as Chanel or Balenciaga or carry the name of a legend in the community, like Willi Ninja or Pepper LaBeija. Voguing, the now almost mainstream dance form, hails from this community.

Trans actors, from left, Indya Moore, Mj Rodriguez and Alexia Garcia star in Saturday Church. (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times )

Cardasis was influenced to pen Saturday Church by an actual LGBTQ outreach program in New York held at the West Villages episcopal church St. Luke in the Fields. He learned of the program, called Art & Acceptance, through his mother, an Episcopal priest in the Bronx, and volunteered with the group for a number of months.

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After meeting the kids in the program, I was inspired by their narratives and their strength and creativity and their sense of empowerment when they performed, he said. [The film] took shape from there.

While his intention was to just tell a very human story, to show the challenges this character was going through, Cardasis knew that for the film, which includes song and dance numbers, to feel authentic to the world he had volunteered in, people from that very program and the ballroom scene needed to be involved.

There was no question in my mind that the characters needed to be played by people within the community, he said. It was harder to put together a movie casting unknown or first-time actors, [but] there was no other way of doing it.

The result is a supporting cast of primarily trans women with varying degrees of acting experience but who all intimately know the experiences of the characters they play. Many of the extras are either from the churchs program or members of the ballroom scene.

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Garcia  who is a member of the House of Xtravaganza  was always interested in acting, but she had never auditioned for anything.

I didnt see a lot of trans actresses on television so I didnt think it would even be a possibility, she said. It never really crossed my mind.

The same goes for Moore who has minor acting experience from attending a theater arts high school but had never made moves to break into the film industry. Because Cardasis reached out to house father Jose Xtravaganza (through Facebook) and forwarded casting info, she credits being involved in the scene for the opportunity.

Its awesome to see how the industry reaches out to the ballroom scene and culture to portray the ballroom scene and culture, she said. Its been a blessing to help express some of what Ive come from through our gaze.

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And therein lies what separates Saturday Church from other narrative depictions of the ballroom scene and trans and gender nonconforming lives. Theres a raw authenticity present in the film thats tough to achieve from simply helicoptering in, said Bornstein. (Many will recognize her not as an actress, but as trans trailblazer, performance artist and author of the seminal Gender Outlaw.)

When we create productions that focus on the gaze of other people, were getting these stories that are putting our transness under a microscope. Indya Moore

Damon, by diving into the world prior to making the film and listening to all of us actors, used whatever privilege he has  yes, gay men have some privilege  to ease somebody elses suffering, she said. And he didnt impose his voice on any character in the film. On that level, this film is groundbreaking.

She also notes that his use of the Xtravaganzas and members of the House of LaBeija as consultants and the casting of trans women as trans characters helps this effort, a lesson Hollywood at large can learn.

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Mj Rodriguez, whose acting credits include Nurse Jackie, Luke Cage and an off-Broadway revival of Rent, agreed.

We are the only people who know our lived experiences, what its like to be trans and the things we go through, she said. We can bring that to the role.

Its a striking contrast to the long list of cisgender heterosexual actors who have played trans women in high profile roles, including Jeffrey Tambor in Transparent, Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl and Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club.

They dont have the emotional pull of what its like to exist in that margin, what its like to be unloved and rejected and the layers of trauma that come with being rejected so often by friends, family, loved interests and for men to feel like its okay to abuse you and have their way, added Moore.

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When we create productions that focus on the gaze of other people who are not trans, were getting these stories that are putting our transness under a microscope to be dissected. Our experiences and the trauma we go through are being tokenized for people to gawk at and to fetishize. These people dont know what its like to be rejected because you exist.

[With us], its not acting. Were actually pulling from an authentic place.

Get your life! Follow me on Twitter (@TrevellAnderson) or email me: trevell.anderson@latimes.com.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has announced procurements of medicines in five areas for funds remaining in the 2017 budget.

These are medicines for children suffering from mental disorders and autism (21 lots), for children and adults suffering from cystic fibrosis (five lots), medicines for the treatment of tuberculosis (33 lots), tests and consumables for TB diagnosis (14 lots), as well as medicines for children with congenital immunodeficiency (14 lots), Ukraine's Health Ministry said.

As reported, the ministry on July 27, 2017, signed contracts worth UAH 5.9 billion with UNDP, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Britain's Crown Agents for the purchase of medicines and medical devices for funds of the 2017 state budget.
In a place so dry for so much of the year, its hard to imagine how a sudden downpour can drown whole communities in a sea of mud, water and debris.

But thats what happened early Tuesday. Just weeks after the largest wildlife on record in California burned to the edge of Montecito, an intense downpour turned the charred ground to liquid and raced downhill, destroying everything in its path.

Its part of a grimly familiar pattern that is a central aspect of the Southern California drought-deluge cycle: Fall fires followed by winter flooding.

Destructive debris flows occur only every few years during periods of intense rain. But they come with such ferocity and speed that humans rarely have time to get out of harms way.

Boulders bigger than cars

Boulders bigger than cars ride long distances in debris flows, author John McPhee wrote in his classic Los Angeles Against the Mountain. One flow was so full of automobiles it was like bread dough mixed with raisins."

The conditions Tuesday morning set the stage for the disaster. The Thomas fire had left the hills above Montecito, a tony community along the Santa Barbara County coast, bare.

Soil in a burned area can be repellent to water, creating a flood-like flow on the ground that picks up rock and debris.

In an area that has not burned, soil can become saturated. Pressure builds up underground, and soil starts moving and begins picking up mud and debris as it starts flowing downhill.

1934 flooding in Crescenta Valley Los Angeles Times

Too much rain too quickly

Experts say it doesnt take a lot of rain to trigger mud flows. But Tuesday morning, the area was hit by what officials described as unprecedented rain. A rain gauge in neighboring Carpinteria recorded 0.54 inches in five minutes and 0.86 inches in less than 15 minutes.

The area of Montecito that saw the most destruction was south of the burn zone. Mud and debris from above flowed down Montecito Creek and slammed into the community, destroying homes, trapping residents and killing an unknown number of people.

It all happened in a matter of minutes.

It was about 3:30 a.m when Montecito resident Susan Moe and her husband woke up to loud noises.

"We look at out at our frontyard and there was a river," she said. "We look at our backyard and it was a river.

By daybreak, the level of destruction was clear.

"Other people's trees were in our yard," Moe said. "Our mailbox was gone. Our neighbor's house has a big crack. Homes were red tagged. It feels like this was way worse than the fire.

1969 flooding along L.A. River Los Angeles Times

A history of destruction

Flood control measures built over the last century have reduced the destruction and death toll from flooding and mudslides, which once plagued Southern California during wet years.

In 1934, a 20-foot-high wall of rocks and mud swept over La Crescenta and Montrose, killing 49 people on New Years Day.

Four years later, a series of major storms destroyed more than 5,000 homes, collapsed bridges and killed more than 200 people. In 1969, an estimated 91 people died when a pair of powerful storms barreled through. El Nino-fueled storms in 1997 and 1998 brought more damage and death from Tijuana to Santa Barbara.

In fall 2003, fire ravaged the San Bernardino Mountains. It rained that Christmas Day, causing mudflows that swept into the St. Sophia Camp and Retreat Center in Waterman Canyon as a group was celebrating the holiday. Mud and debris buried the camp, killing 14 people.

In 2005, 400,000 tons of mud slid down the bluff behind La Conchita, southeast of Montecito, killing seven adults and three children. Many believe the landslides were caused by heavy rains combined with poor water management.

Experts said some slides are easy to predict. Wildfires tend to burn away roots of trees and vegetation that had kept soil in place, making the land susceptible to slides. Forecasters can also predict how much rain storms will dump.

Fire officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for thousands in the burn zones of Southern California on Monday. But the Montecito area that saw some of the most destruction was under only a voluntary evacuation order.

After the 2010 Station fire, a 10-ton boulder clogged a crucial basin in La Canada Flintridges northernmost neighborhood, plugging up the drain like a giant stopper. That caused a slide that damaged more than 40 homes. No evacuations had been ordered because forecasters believed the storm would move through faster than it did.

The surreal power of nature

Although Montecito saw the most disastrous mudslides Tuesday, other burn areas also were hit hard.

Allie Vonnacher, 17, and her mother, Heidi Donato-Fennell, 42, have lived in their home on Country Club Drive in Burbank for three years. Residents hadnt been ordered to evacuate but were told to move their cars off the street. At about 6 a.m., the earth began to move.

I woke up and there was a huge, super-fast-moving mudslide. As fast as a waterfall, Donato-Fennell said.

Her daughter woke up at the sound of a car alarm.

I looked outside and the car was coming really fast down the street, Allie said. I was like, What the hell? 

They witnessed a horrifying scene: several cars flowing down the street, along with power lines, trees and mailboxes.

Its just surreal how powerful nature is, Donato-Fennell said.

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Mejia and Times Staff Writer Michael Livingston reported from Montecito. Serna, Vives and Queally reported from Los Angeles. Rong-Gong Lin II and Cary Schneider contributed to this report.
A veteran of tragedies from 9/11 to Katrina, one firefighter counts herself blessed to be able to help during one more

Los Angeles firefighter Hollyn Bullock. (Louis Sahagun / Los Angeles Times)

In the 27 years since joining the Los Angeles Fire Department, Hollyn Bullock has reported for search-and-rescue duty for tragedies like the World Trade Center terrorist attack in New York, Hurricane Katrina and the deadly train derailment in Chatsworth that claimed 25 lives.

On Friday, the veteran firefighter joined a team scouring through the wreckage of the latest disaster. Seventeen people were dead after mudslides tore through the Santa Barbara County community of Montecito. At least five remained missing.

And so, along a sodden, debris-tangled corner just east of the 101 Freeway, Bullock and others searched on.

Honestly, I feel fulfilled, even blessed to have been given the opportunity to get in there and help people in times of crisis, she said as fellow firefighters hosed contaminated mud off her boots and pant legs.

She was part of a team of 26 men and one woman: herself.

The team tried to sound an optimistic note  hoping for the best, bracing for the worst  as they used an arsenal of tools, technology and specially trained dogs to probe debris piles more than 15 feet deep near the corner of Creekside Road and Sheffield Drive.

Its as exhausting, frustrating and tedious as looking for a needle in a haystack, Battalion Chief Mark Akahoshi said, while hunched over a topographical map of surrounding terrain studded with ranches and mansions offering panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.

Nodding appreciatively toward team members tramping knee deep through mud contaminated with pesticides and sewage, he said, Take a look at the dedication on the faces of these guys. Theyre in it for as long as it takes to finish the job and say, Thats it. Done. We searched every inch. 

Bullock, 55, plans to retire in the summer.

She joined the department in 1990, when women made up an even smaller fraction of the firefighting force.

It was my father who suggested I become a firefighter. But sometimes I feel I was born to be one, she said. I can bore you to tears with stories about comradery, hard, dirty team work and helping folks out of the worst trouble of their lives.

So, yes, Im bowing out in summer, she added with a smile as fire trucks roared past. But there are other women firefighters joining up even as I speak, and this wont be the last disaster of this scale. I can guarantee that.
Connor McManigal was shaken awake by his father. Flash floods had forced Montecito Creek to erupt, sending torrents of muddy water barreling through the hillsides.

The two scrambled to escape but were swept up in the deluge and separated. McManigal, 23, was whisked nearly a mile away down the road. His 64-year-old father is still missing.

The mudslide that slammed into the familys neighborhood, destroying homes and killing at least 13, happened suddenly in the early morning darkness. But it was not without warning.

For days, officials advised residents in areas burned by the Thomas fire that a coming storm could bring major mudflows. The McManigals neighborhood was under a voluntary evacuation order.

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Many residents decided to stay. Some assumed the threat was overblown just weeks after the fire triggered similar calls to evacuate.

But when the earth began to move, it was too late. The power of the debris flow destroyed everything in its path and there was no time to flee.

It was literally a carpet of mud and debris everywhere with huge boulders, rocks, downed trees, power lines, wrecked cars, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Tuesday.

The Montecito mudslides takes a grim place as one of Californias deadliest flooding events in several years. Like several recent disasters, including the deadly wildfires in wine country, it has sparked debate about what could be done to get more people out of harms way.

Officials said in the days leading up to the storm, a team of people, including meteorologists, Cal Fire, U.S. Forest Service, local firefighters and flood district personnel, worked to estimate where the mudslides would hit.

This isnt an exact science in terms of actually defining where something is going to happen, Brown said. Obviously a lot depends on Mother Nature  the magnitude of the rainfall, the magnitude of the mudslides.

Mandatory evacuation orders issued Sunday had focused on foothill communities with about 7,000 people above Montecito, areas closer to where the Thomas fire had burned and that had been rendered less capable of absorbing water and more susceptible to flooding. Deputies had gone door-to-door there Monday night.

Voluntary evacuation orders were issued at the same time for about 23,000 others as the storm approached. Some residents chose to cooperate with those evacuations, Brown said. Many did not.

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Montecitos troubles began Tuesday at about 2:30 a.m. when pounding rain overwhelmed south-facing slopes and flooded a swollen creek that leads to the ocean. Slabs of earth, boulders and waist-high mudflows careened into homes. Firefighters spent the first hours of daylight making rescues near Montecito Creek north of the 101 Freeway.

The neighborhood hit the hardest lies well below the Thomas fires burn area. Many residents had remained in their homes.

Bridget Bottoms said she hadnt taken the call to evacuate seriously.

Standing on a door that had been ripped from its hinges, she shivered in her white hoodie. It sounds foolish, but, its like, How bad can it get?

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Tom Fayram, deputy Santa Barbara County Public Works director, said its almost impossible to predict which areas will flood in the event of heavy rains. When debris fills up a channel, the water could break out and go anywhere. Thats why officials blanketed the entire area with evacuation warnings, he said, because there was no way to tell, with the time we had, whats safe and not.

Mapping from the state watershed emergency response team and the U.S. Forest Service indicated there was a higher probability that debris would flow into areas above California 192, Fayram said.

The maps also recognized a serious threat below the highway, which is why officials issued mandatory evacuation warnings for the area north of the highway and voluntary warnings for the area to the south. Officials believe any type of warning  voluntary or mandatory  should be taken seriously.

There are also factors outside of anyones best guess. The 0.86 inches of rain that fell in less than 15 minutes came at an intensity no one predicted. The National Weather Service threshold for issuing a flash flood warning is 0.2 inches in 15 minutes and 0.3 inches in 30 minutes.

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Jason Kean, a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist, said mudslides can travel fairly far on steep slopes like the hills above Montecito. The threat is ongoing here, throughout the rest of the winter season and even into next year, he said. Just because its happened once doesnt mean theres not plenty of material to come down in future rainstorms.

We try to educate people as much as we can, but its a big challenge.

For Montecito residents, the lesson is in the destruction.

It feels like this was way worse than the fire, said Susan Moe, who was awakened by her husband at 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday to the sound of a roaring river. Water was hurtling across their backyard.

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The couple hadnt packed bags like they did when the Thomas fire raged nearby. In fact, they had given little thought to the rain that had sprinkled throughout Monday.

We even played a card game before going to bed, Moe said. It was stress free.

Times staff writers Joseph Serna and James Queally contributed to this report.

corina.knoll@latimes.com | @corinaknoll

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andrea.castillo@latimes.com | @andreamcastillo

ruben.vives@latimes.com | @LATvives

michael.livingston@latimes.com | @MikeLive06
Meeting for the first time since Supt. Michelle King announced her retirement, the Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to name Vivian Ekchian  who has been filling in for King since October  as interim superintendent.

Board members announced the decision after a 2 -hour closed session.

The board had a very thoughtful and rich conversation about the work of the superintendent and the selection process ahead, board President Monica Garcia said after the meeting.

The board now will begin work on selecting the districts sixth leader in the last decade. At a minimum, Garcia said, members will spend time hashing out the selection process each Tuesday when they meet.

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Board members voted to amend Ekchians contract to reflect her expanded responsibilities. The districts legal office is working out the terms, with board approval expected next week.

Ekchian, 57, previously was an associate superintendent in the district. She had been overseeing human resources, the office of school choice, parent and community services and the office of data and accountability.

Theres confidence in Ms. Ekchians ability to lead the team that has been doing the work of serving kids, Garcia said.

King chose Ekchian to serve in her place when she went on medical leave. But the boards decision to keep her in that role was not a foregone conclusion.

A four-member majority bloc on the board could have opted to force a decisive move Tuesday, but instead chose to move deliberately  allowing the seven-member body to present a united front.

There has been no internal clamor for the board to move quickly. Senior administrators seem comfortable working with Ekchian, and board members have praised her.

The current board majority also might have chosen to act quickly out of concern that one of its members, Ref Rodriguez, might be compelled to leave office. Rodriguez faces criminal campaign-finance charges.

Tuesdays decision does not signify that Ekchian will be named to the permanent job. Still, she appears to be one of the leading internal candidates.

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Like King, Ekchian has spent her entire career in L.A. Unified. And in recent months, like King, she has had to navigate a board whose members are divided in their feelings about the ongoing rapid growth of charter schools.

Charters are independently operated campuses that in L.A. are overseen by the financially strained district but compete with it for students and the public funding that comes with them.

Los Angeles has more charters than any other school system. Financial backing from charter supporters was a major factor in the election of the members of the current majority, which took control in July.

In November, as acting superintendent, Ekchian helped craft a compromise that gave charter schools concessions that they badly wanted but preserved the districts almost unlimited freedom to investigate and audit them.

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In her statement Friday announcing that she would not return to her job, King said that she had cancer and would retire to focus on her treatment.

On Monday, as school resumed after winter break, Ekchian assumed a notably higher profile. She and Garcia visited five campuses to honor students and teachers for perfect attendance.

We are making a connection between adult and student attendance as being equally important, Ekchian said as she walked down the hallway to Barbara Cheungs classroom at Belmont High School.

Cheung had not missed a day last year or this year, so far.

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If your teacher comes to school every day, you are expected to come to school every day as well because its a relationship, Ekchian told Cheungs Advanced Placement English students. Its a give-and-take  and for every day that you come, you increase your chances of being college, career and life ready.

Asked about the school board, Ekchian downplayed ideological differences. The districts leadership, she said, has united behind the common goal of leveraging all resources toward 100% graduation.

It is a joint vision, and we have worked as a team, she said.

howard.blume@latimes.com

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@howardblume
The Los Angeles Police Department took another step toward using drones in some tactical situations after its civilian bosses Tuesday approved a $31,500 donation to purchase the controversial devices.

The LAPD has yet to fly any drones. The yearlong pilot program, approved by the Police Commission last fall, wont begin until the department buys the drones and teaches officers how to use them.

The donation from the Los Angeles Police Foundation will go toward four drones, Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala told police commissioners at their weekly meeting Tuesday. Each are from DJI, a tech company specializing in drones with offices worldwide.

Girmala said the LAPD plans to use drones of varying sizes and capabilities: one small-sized, half-pound Spark model; two three-pound Phantom models; and a Matrice model that is the largest, weighing 10 pounds and measuring about 25 inches diagonally.

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The Phantom devices will likely be those most commonly used by the LAPD, Girmala said, as they are versatile and easy to learn how to operate. The Sparks drone could fly into smaller spaces, she said, while the Matrice model is a heavy-duty device equipped to handle rugged terrain or weather.

The use of drones  or small Unmanned Aerial Systems in police-speak  has become a contentious issue for law enforcement.

Advocates say camera-mounted drones could help protect officers and others by collecting crucial information during high-risk situations or searches without jeopardizing their safety. For many privacy advocates and police critics, however, the drones stir Orwellian visions of unwarranted surveillance or fears of militarized, weapon-toting devices patrolling the skies.

LAPD brass, along with police commissioners, tried to ease those concerns last fall by promising careful restrictions on when the drones would be used, and strong oversight of the pilot program. Weapons and facial-recognition technology will also be prohibited.

Still, some critics said they could not trust the department to follow the rules, no matter how stringent.

The criticism continued Tuesday, when a handful of activists at the Police Commission meeting denounced the decision to move forward with the pilot program.

Jamie Garcia, a member of the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition  which has long been critical of police use of drones  said the LAPDs action could set a pattern, leading other cities to adopt the technology. She pointed to Culver City, where the City Council weighed the purchase of eight drones at a meeting Monday.

Now we see what precedent you have set, Garcia said.

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kate.mather@latimes.com

Twitter: @katemather
Just before George Vasquez was scheduled to get out of prison, Los Angeles County prosecutors made a plea to the court: Dont let him free  hes too dangerous to live in public.

While in his early 20s, Vasquez had lured young boys who lived in his South L.A. neighborhood to a spot near an alleyway with the promise of candy. He was convicted of molesting several children, ages 6 to 8, court records show.

Prosecutors argued that Vasquez needed to be confined within the walls of a state hospital, where he could receive mental health treatment for his disorder. So at their request, he was locked up while awaiting a trial to determine whether he met the states definition of a sexually violent predator. If so, hed be hospitalized for a two-year term.

Seventeen years later, a judge on Tuesday ordered Vasquezs release, ruling that repeated delays in bringing the case to trial had violated the 44-year-olds constitutional rights. The decision could prompt similar release requests from dozens of other sex offenders from Los Angeles County who have been confined to a state hospital for years awaiting trial.

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In his written ruling, Superior Court Judge James Bianco acknowledged the potential risk to public safety but said the delays in Vasquezs case were oppressive to the maximum degree. Bianco noted that requests for postponements  often without reason  came from both prosecutors and defense attorneys. But, he said, that changed in 2014, when prosecutors began pressing for a trial. From then on, Bianco said, the delays were caused almost entirely from defense counsels need to prepare the case for trial.

There was a systemic breakdown of the public defender system, Bianco ruled, noting that five deputy public defenders had handled the case at different times.

In the years since Vasquez was sent to a state hospital, one of the states two psychologists who examined him has concluded he no longer qualifies as a sexually violent predator, Bianco wrote.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Ceballos said the ruling is frustrating for prosecutors, who cant legally force the defense to trial. While much of the blame rests with the public defenders office, Ceballos said, it was disingenuous for the judge not to shoulder some of the blame since Bianco  and other judges  didnt replace the public defenders office sooner.

The end result is a convicted child molester is going to be released, Ceballos said. Im really afraid he will molest again.

To Vasquezs younger sister, Ana Federico, her brothers situation is an example of inequality within the system. If hed had a true advocate in the courtroom, she said, she doubts he would have had his trial endlessly postponed.

He already paid his time. Its unfair, the system was very unfair, she said, through sobs. I know what he did was wrong, but why do poor people have to suffer more?

Im really afraid he will molest again. Prosecutor Richard Ceballos on a judges decision to release a convicted child molester who spent 17 years in a state hospital without a trial

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Vasquez  whose case was first reported by the Los Angeles Daily Journal  is scheduled to be released Feb. 7. The delay, Bianco said, is meant to give the hospital time to arrange for his discharge and to give prosecutors time to decide whether they will appeal the decision.

Mark Brandt, Vasquezs attorney, said he was pleased with the judges decision, calling it courageous and well-reasoned. The attorney said that Vasquez, who attended the hearing via camera from the state hospital, is very happy to be reunited with his family.

According to the judges ruling, Vasquez  who was born and raised in Los Angeles  has limited intellectual functioning. He was arrested in 1994 after several boys from one family told police that the then 21-year-old had offered them candy if they showed him their penises. They said Vasquez performed oral sex on at least three boys and forced one to give him oral sex, according to court records.

In a police interview, Vasquez admitted that hed exposed himself to young boys and seen their genitals, according to court records. He told the police that all of the boys wanted to give him oral sex and he let them.

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Vasquez said he had been molested as a child by an adult male neighbor.

I know I screwed up, he told a probation officer after his arrest. Now all I want is a chance.

A year later, he pleaded no contest to four counts of child molestation and was sentenced to 12 years in state prison.

While Vasquez was serving his time, public outrage over comparatively short sentences given to sex offenders in the past led to a new law that allowed the state to confine predators in locked hospitals for treatment. Under the Sexually Violent Predator Act, prosecutors had to show at a trial that a sex offender suffered from a mental disorder that made him likely to reoffend.

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Before Vasquezs release from prison in 2000, the Los Angeles County district attorneys office filed court papers seeking to have him committed. At the time, the commitments were limited to two-year periods, but voters later approved a measure that extended the terms indefinitely.

In 2002, a judge found there was enough evidence to order Vasquez to a state hospital while he awaited trial, but his case languished.

During a hearing in December 2014, Deputy Public Defender Terry Shenkman  the third lawyer on the case  told Bianco she needed more time to prepare for trial, adding that her office had cut the number of lawyers handling sexually violent predator cases in half, creating an immense workload.

According to a transcript from the hearing, Bianco said he understood the staffing changes, but stressed the need to go to trial: You have had this case for 14 years ...14 years is a very, very long time.

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The delays, Shenkman told the judge, were due to changes in science over the years, as well as legal issues that needed to be litigated. And, she noted, each time a new attorney in the office got assigned the case, they had to spend time poring through hundreds of pages of records.

A few months before a scheduled trial date, the office moved Shenkman out of the unit and off Vasquezs case, despite her protests, according to Biancos ruling on Tuesday. Shenkman had warned her boss in writing that the reassignment would cause another delay in the case, Bianco wrote.

In November 2016, her replacement, the fourth deputy public defender on the case, informed the judge that hed taken over the defense.

Vasquez said he was fed up with the parade of attorneys and the incessant delays.

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Enough is enough, he told the judge.

At a hearing a month later, yet another deputy public defender  the fifth  showed up, saying shed inherited the case and would need time to prepare for trial. At the end of 2016, the judge removed the public defenders office from the case.

In a recent interview with The Times, Interim Public Defender Kenneth I. Clayman defended the office, saying many counties, including Ventura, where he long worked as the public defender, dont have a specific unit dedicated to handling sexually violent predator cases.

He already paid his time. Its unfair, the system was very unfair. Ana Federico, the sister of convicted child molester George Vasquez, who spent 17 years in a state hospital awaiting a trial

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We provide outstanding representation, he said. Having a very large unit of people who specialize in these cases  and do them day-to-day?  Im very proud of that.

Michael Suzuki, Vasquezs first attorney who is now a member of the offices leadership team, said the units caseload peaked in 2007, following the implementation of a voter-backed initiative that made more offenders eligible for sexually violent predator designation.

At that time, Suzuki said, the office got roughly 60 new sexually violent predator cases a year and had 20 lawyers dedicated to the cases. But over the next six or so years, he said, the workload began to drop to a pace of roughly 15 new sexually violent predator cases a year and the unit was reduced to 10 attorneys and a supervisor. The other lawyers, he said, were assigned to handle felony trials.

The move, Clayman said, was key to providing the most zealous representation for all of our clients.

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Word of the judges ruling roused anxiety in the neighborhood where Vasquez and his victims grew up, about three miles east of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

Ernie Munoz, who lives a few houses down from the offenders childhood home and said he remembers hearing about the molestation years ago, said he hopes Vasquez doesnt return to the area.

Maybe he served his time, but its still not all right with me, said Munoz, 50. Not around my neighborhood.

Another neighbor, Oscar Aguilar, said he worries for the neighborhood children who walk to school alone but also believes that people deserve second chances.

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Were not God to say what we should do with people, he said.

marisa.gerber@latimes.com

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

For more news from the Los Angeles County courts, follow me on Twitter: @marisagerber and @r_valejandra

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UPDATES:

Jan. 10, 12:55 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details of the judges ruling.

7 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from residents of the neighborhood where Vasquez used to live.

5:35 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Vasquezs attorney and more details about the case.

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This article was originally published at 3:10 p.m. on Jan. 9.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has determined the final anti-dumping duties for the import of carbon and alloy steel wire rod originating from Ukraine at the level of previously calculated preliminary determinations set at 44.03% for ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih and Yenakiyeve Iron and Steel Works (EMZ, Metinvest) and at 34.98% for other Ukrainian producers.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said in an announcement on January 9, 2018, that the final duties for South African companies are also determined at the level of the preliminary determinations. In particular, they will be 142.26% for ArcelorMittal South Africa, Scaw South Africa (also known as Scaw Metals Group) and Consolidated Wire Industries (South Africa); while other South African companies will have to pay duties set at 135.46%.

The final duties must be approved by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) no later than February 22, 2018, and a relevant decision on the introduction of the final duties will be made by U.S. Department of Commerce no later than March 1, 2018.

In 2016, exports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Ukraine to the United States more than doubled in physical terms compared to 2015, to 146,470 tonnes and grew by 70.9% in monetary terms, to $55.02 million. Shipments from South Africa, on the contrary, more than halved in physical terms, to 20,000 tonnes and decreased by 58.3% in monetary terms, to $7.05 million.

As was reported, the U.S. Department of Commerce on October 25, 2017, issued affirmative preliminary anti-dumping duty determinations on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Italy, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Wednesday praised a ruling by a federal judge that blocks the Trump administrations decision to end protections for an estimated 700,000 young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

This is a huge step forward, Becerra said at a morning news conference in Los Angeles.

Last year, President Trump ordered the end of the Obama-era program that allowed so-called Dreamers to obtain two-year permits to work and study in the United States. Becerra joined the attorneys general of Maine, Maryland and Minnesota  as well as other plaintiffs, including the University of California  in litigation to block the decision.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, must remain in place as the lawsuits proceed. California has more than 200,000 Dreamers, more than any other state.

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Ive said from the very beginning that DACA was fully legal, Becerra said. Now Im more convinced that the courts will find that what Donald Trump and his administration did was not legal.

The development comes as the White House and lawmakers are wrangling over immigration reform, with Democrats demanding protections for Dreamers. Becerra said the federal judges ruling should strengthen the Democrats leverage at the negotiating table.

Those who are against the Dreamers just lost in a big way, Becerra said.

Becerra, flanked by members of the legal team that has argued the case, said it remained up to Congress and the president to find a permanent solution, however.

It is time for Congress to give us a lasting solution that will leave no doubt that the Dreamers are American and they are here to stay, Becerra said.
The predawn torrent of mud and debris carried away cars, swamped living rooms, and yanked homes from their foundations. Boulders crashed into homes, homes plunged into trees, and the muddy current swept at least one child a half-mile from home.

By days end, Santa Barbara County authorities said the mudslides had killed at least 13 people and injured dozens more.

It looked like a World War I battlefield, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.

Update: Death toll from slides rises to 15 

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Southern California was drenched Tuesday, but nowhere did the rainstorm inflict more pain than in Montecito, just weeks after the community dealt with the devastating Thomas fire.

Some 500 firefighters from across the state rushed to help, with crews struggling through clogged roads, ankle-deep mud and downed trees throughout the day in search of victims. Dozens of survivors were hoisted to safety in helicopters.

The deluge struck around 2:30 a.m., and rain overwhelmed the south-facing slopes above Montecito, flooding the creek and sending mud and boulders into residential neighborhoods, officials said.

Its going to be worse than anyone imagined for our area, said Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason. Following our fire, this is the worst-case scenario.

From one home on Hot Springs Road, firefighters heard the muffled cries of a 14-year-old girl. A rescue dog led the way to her location, and firefighters used the jaws of life to cut through the wreckage to save her.

From another collapsed home, a dozen Santa Barbara County sheriffs deputies carried a gurney with a body away.

The young boy who was swept half a mile from his home was found alive by rescuers under a 101 Freeway overpass, authorities said. His father was unaccounted for.

Another man, Jeff King, said he was stuck on the highway around 7 a.m. and had to save his wife from being swept away. She had jumped on top of her car to avoid the fast-moving water. Our friend also called us and told us he was stuck and couldnt get out, King said.

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County officials evacuated nearly 7,000 residents from foothill communities shortly before the heaviest surge hit the area. Some Montecito residents had shrugged off the warnings only to awaken to the swirling wreckage.

I woke up ready this morning to laugh and scoff at all the gloom-and-doom predictions, said Dominic Shiach, 50. Its actually way worse than I thought it was going to be.

As Marc Phillips trudged through knee-deep mud down East Valley Road, he said he should have listened to officials evacuation orders. They were right, he said, pointing to an area where homes had been knocked from their foundations.

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Jon and Patty Wilson, both 72, woke up 6 a.m. to what sounded like a roaring river outside their driveway at the Bonnymede Montecito Condo complex.

They knew they had to leave when they saw their garage completely submerged in water. Our garage is 6 feet, Jon Wilson said. We couldnt get our car out. Their son picked them up in a truck.

With roads blocked by thick, brown mud and fallen tree branches, the Wilsons had no choice but to head to an emergency evacuation center at a local church, where they waited for a National Guard escort to a shelter at the local city college.

On the cramped ride in the National Guard vehicle, many people had difficulty talking about what they had seen. My friend is missing and Im having a hard time when I think about it, Mimi Degruy said, clinging to the leash of her two dogs as the vehicle bumped up and down along the street.

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But I appreciate how the community has come together, she said. Ive lived in Montecito for 20 years and never expected this to happen.

Yes, I agree, said Patty Wilson, who sat across from her.

A muddy Mark Olson stands along Olive Mill Road in Montecito after trying to save his house during the storm. Olson had minor damage to his house. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times )

In nearby Carpinteria, construction worker Peter Lapidus spent the day trying to clear the road of downed trees, boulders and thick mud using his tractor. Neighbors cheered as he pushed mud to the side. He said government agencies appeared to be spread too thin to help.

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Lapidus heard the pummeling about 4:10 Tuesday morning. It was like a bomb went off. It wasnt raining hard, and then it was like you flipped a switch.

Lapidus heard the trees coming down  crack, crack, crack. Trees and boulders dammed up the creek. Mud was waist-high, nearly topping mailboxes.

His family has owned the property with his house since 1915, he said, and he couldnt remember a flash flood this bad.

Neighbors said the Thomas fire had burned about a quarter-mile away as the crow flies, and theyd just had mandatory evacuations from that. Lapidus didnt evacuate during the fire, instead staying to protect his house.

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Instead of a nice little rain to settle the dust, we have a flood. Its just kind of ironic, he said, adding: This was more frightening than the fire.

Rainfall swamped much of the Southland. Officials said that flooding and debris had shut down the 101 Freeway in both directions for more than 30 miles between Santa Barbara and Ventura, as well as sections of Routes 33 and 150 in Ventura County.

The California Highway Patrol reported 275 traffic collisions on Los Angeles-area freeways between 5 and 9 a.m. One person was killed when a big rig overturned in the rain in the northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway near Los Feliz, but officials could not confirm the wreck was storm-related.

There were mudslides on Country Club Drive in Burbank, where police ordered evacuations.

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The Burbank Police Department released footage of water surging across a roadway and urged people not to attempt to drive over it. The surge picked up and moved some vehicles, and a few homes suffered minor damage, but no one had been injured as of 1 p.m., according to police Sgt. Derek Green.

Surges also washed out Topanga Canyon Boulevard north of Pacific Coast Highway, and flooding closed sections of the 110 Freeway. Rescue workers saved a man and a dog trapped in rising water near the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, and a Los Angeles Police Department cruiser had to be dug out of debris on La Tuna Canyon Road with a backhoe. At Los Angeles International Airport, flooding diverted travelers from a Terminal 2 customs area.

Bill Patzert, climatologist for NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge, said mudslides are par for the course in this region.

There are four seasons in California  drought, followed by fire, followed by floods, followed by mudslides, he said. Thats the normal sequence that we live with, unfortunately.

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Times staff writers Christopher Goffard and Laura J. Nelson contributed to this report.

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A Los Angeles man accused of making a hoax phone call that caused a fatal police shooting in Kansas is now wanted in Canada for a similar alleged swatting call made a week before.

Calgary police have issued arrest warrants for Tyler Rai Barriss, 25, accusing him of targeting the home of a young woman he contacted online on Dec. 22, six days before the deadly police shooting in Wichita, Kan.

The 911 call to Calgary police is eerily similar to the emergency call to Kansas authorities that led to the killing of an innocent man.

The Calgary Police Service alleges that Barriss called 911 around 7:40 p.m. and told an operator he killed his father and was holding his mom and younger brother hostage in the 2300 block of 17b Street S.W.

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Calgary tactical officers descended on the neighborhood of the address the caller gave, evacuating the surrounding area before a woman at the home also called police to warn them she believed she was target of a fake call designed to produce a massive police response. The woman came out of the house and officers confirmed that the initial report of a shooting and hostage scenario was false.

In the Wichita case, a caller told a police dispatcher on Dec. 28 that he had shot his father and was holding his mother and a younger brother hostage at gunpoint. A recording of the emergency call released by Wichita police shows that the caller told a dispatcher that he would not put the gun away.

My dad isnt breathing, the caller said at one point. Its kind of giving me anxiety and making me, like, paranoid.

Officers were preparing to approach the home at the address the caller gave when a man, later identified as 28-year-old Andrew Finch, exited the front door. After a brief exchange, Finch was shot after moving his hands toward his waistband, Wichita police said.

The deadly shooting highlighted the danger of hoax emergency calls that draw a massive police response  a phenomenon known as swatting, that has become an increasingly popular tactic among warring factions of online gamers and those who see themselves as hackers.

Barriss has been charged in Kansas with making a false alarm  a felony. He is expected to be extradited to Kansas this month.

Law enforcement sources told The Times that the dispute that led to the Wichita call stemmed from an argument over an online matchup in Call of Duty: World War II, a recently released first-person shooting game.

Neither Barriss nor Finch was involved in the matchup, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The sources said investigators believe that someone involved in the dispute contacted Barriss.

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Authorities have said Barriss had earned a reputation among online gamers as someone willing to make fake bomb and hoax shooting calls to police.

In recent years, he served time in Los Angeles County Jail after prosecutors charged him with making fake bomb threats that prompted evacuations of a Glendale television station and two schools. Within months of his release last year, the LAPD began investigating whether he was behind recent similar calls.

In Calgary, police said cyber crimes detectives had determined that Barriss made online contact with the female victim of the hoax shortly before the call was made. Canadian authorities are seeking to charge him with public mischief, fraud and mischief, officials said.

During this incident, a substantial amount of police resources were required to contain the scene and protect the safety of citizens, a Calgary police statement said. The service takes swatting events extremely seriously and will investigate each incident thoroughly.

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Calgary officials added, It is believed this same suspect was involved in similar swatting calls in other jurisdictions.

richard.winton@latimes.com

Twitter: @lacrimes
A cash cage at the New York, New York Hotel and Casino was robbed early Wednesday, with the armed suspect ultimately escaping in a taxi, authorities reported.

The heist took place about 1 a.m., with the robber revealing a handgun in his waistband and demanding the money, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Laura Metzler. The man left with an undisclosed amount of cash

New York, New York, which is owned by MGM Resorts International, is the second large casino on the Las Vegas Strip to be robbed within the last three months.

On Nov. 28, the Bellagio Hotel and Casino  also an MGM Resorts International property  was robbed by a man who took an undisclosed amount of money from a cash cage in the poker room.

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That robbery happened while actor James Woods was playing poker; the actor praised the staffs response in the midst of the crime.

So we are playing poker at the @BellagioPoker and a guy walks up with a gun and robs the cage thirty feet from us ten minutes ago, Woods tweeted. Bellagio staff were fantastic. They surrendered the money quietly, so no customers would get hurt. Nobody even realized it was happening. Excellent staff, cool under pressure.

That suspect escaped in a Chevy Cruze with Nevada plates. He has yet to be caught.

Few robberies have been as large and as dramatic, however, as the 2010 incident at the Bellagio in which Anthony Carleo stole $1.5 million in chips from the craps pit. The so-called Biker Bandit fled on Flamingo Road on motorcycle, but he was later caught and pleaded guilty.

After the New York, New York robbery, a casino spokesman issued a statement that said all operations were running normally in the wake of the crime. MGM officials would not disclose how much money was taken in the New York, New York robbery.

david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemontero

UPDATES:

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12:50 p.m.: This article was updated with details on the robbery and comments by Laura Metzler.

This article was originally published at 12:10 p.m.
It had seemed as if Joe Arpaios political career was over.

In November 2016, after more than two decades of winning elections as sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., he was defeated handily by a Democrat. Then, in July of last year, he was convicted of criminal contempt for violating a federal court order to stop racially profiling Latinos.

But President Trump offered him a pass, pardoning Arpaio in August.

Now, the 85-year-old Arpaio is back  and wants to head to Congress.

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On Tuesday, Arpaio announced he would seek the Arizona Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Jeff Flake. Arpaio enters a crowded Republican field and is likely to face a barrage of attacks from Democrats and civil rights groups, who are sure to note in campaign advertisements how the policing practices he championed have led to dozens of lawsuits.

In a statement, Arpaio said he was running for one unwavering reason: to support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to Make America Great Again.

Last summer, Trump said of Arpaio, a military veteran before becoming sheriff, that after more than 50 years of admirable service to our nation, he is [a] worthy candidate for a presidential pardon.

Arpaio enters a race that includes former state Sen. Kelli Ward, a provocative figure in the far-right movement whose candidacy is backed by Stephen K. Bannon, a former senior advisor to the president whose relationship has soured in recent weeks. (On Tuesday, Bannon was fired from his position as head of the right-wing website Breitbart News.)

Trump has offered no formal endorsement, but he has hinted his support for Wards candidacy. A request for comment from the White House on Tuesday about Arpaios Senate bid was not immediately returned.

For Arpaio, his quest for not only the Republican nomination but a general-election matchup with Democrats is an uphill battle.

Two years ago, Democrat Paul Penzone, who raked in support from the states growing Latino population upset over their treatment by Arpaio and his deputies, bested Arpaio.

Recently, Arizona has experienced fast growth in its Latino electorate, with a projected 1.3 million Latino eligible voters in 2016  up from 796,000 in 2008, according to the Pew Research Center. That number is expected to increase in this years midterm election, which could help Democrats flip what has been a reliably red state in Arizona.

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Alejandra Gomez, co-executive director of the Arizona-based Living United for Change in Arizona, an immigrant rights group, said Tuesday she had heard outrage and anger from Latinos in the state over Apraios entrance into the Senate race.

Its disgusting, Gomez said. Were ready to launch a statewide campaign specifically against his candidacy. Voters made their voice clear in 2016, and voters will speak again.

For Arpaio, it was his roughly quarter-century as sheriff of Maricopa County  which includes all of Phoenix  that gave him a national reputation for his tough treatment of people suspected of being in the country illegally. Repeated court rulings against his office for civil rights violations cost local taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

In the early 1990s, Arpaio directed construction of a tent city for inmates, a measure he said was intended both to alleviate overcrowding and to underscore his aggressive enforcement measures. But it was open to the burning Arizona sun and drew widespread criticism. Last year, the tent city was closed.

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After Trump entered the presidential race in July 2015, Arpaio invited him to Phoenix to talk about a crackdown on illegal immigration. He endorsed Trump just before the first votes in the Iowa caucuses in 2016, and frequently spoke out on behalf of Trumps campaign. Whether Trump will return the favor will be closely watched in the months ahead.

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

Twitter: @kurtisalee

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Trump sends message with Arpaio pardon: The federal government expects local help enforcing immigration laws

Former White House strategist Stephen Bannon stepping down from Breitbart News
Russian President Vladimir Putin has systematically attacked democratic institutions across Europe and in his own country for two decades in efforts to undermine elections and other governments, Senate Democrats charged Tuesday.

Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a 206-page report that said President Trumps failure to recognize the danger or to challenge Putin means Russia is likely to interfere in the next U.S. presidential race in a repeat of the 2016 campaign.

Never before in American history has so clear a threat to national security been so clearly ignored by a U.S. president, said the report, which was released Wednesday by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the committee.

President Trump must be clear-eyed about the Russian threat, Cardin said, and take action to strengthen our governments response and our institutions.

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The House and Senate intelligence committees, and the Senate Judiciary Committee, are all investigating aspects of Russias interference in the 2016 presidential election, conducting multiple hearings and interviews. The Senate foreign affairs panel did not conduct a similar probe.

The report details Putins use of what it called his asymmetric arsenal to thwart fragile democratic processes in neighboring Ukraine and Georgia, both former Soviet Republics, as well as efforts to undermine elections in long established democracies in England, Germany and France.

Putin has used disinformation, cyberattacks and financial support for fringe political parties and groups, the report says. He honed the strategy at home by repressing civil society, journalists and independent opposition groups while co-opting or manipulating religious and cultural institutions, media, organized crime and others, the report adds.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that a Russian intelligence operation, approved at the highest levels of the Kremlin, used hacked Democratic Party emails, phony social media accounts, disinformation and other tactics to try to help Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 race. The agencies did not look at whether the Russian effort affected any votes.

Russia has denied interfering in the campaign and Trump has repeatedly denounced the allegations as a partisan hoax meant to de-legitimize his election.

In addition to the congressional probes, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is conducting a criminal investigation to determine if anyone in Trumps orbit assisted the Russian intelligence operation or otherwise broke the law.

Mueller has charged four individuals so far, including Trumps former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, and Trumps former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and Manafort has pleaded not guilty to fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.

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With new deadlines looming, President Trump plans to again refuse to certify to Congress that the Iranian nuclear disarmament deal is Americas best interest  but will stop short of reimposing energy sanctions that could kill the landmark accord, according to a U.S. official involved in the process and a person familiar with the deliberations.

The White House is expected to announce the presidents decision, which still could change, on Friday.

The moves would maintain the status quo in place since October, when Trump first declined to certify the deal to Congress but left it intact. The Obama administration and five other world powers negotiated the accord with Iran in 2015 in an effort to block Tehran from building nuclear weapons.

Iran agreed to dismantle or destroy most of its nuclear infrastructure under the agreement. In exchange, the global community agreed to ease economic sanctions related to the nuclear program. Trump has sharply criticized the deal, in part, because it doesnt limit Iranian development of ballistic missiles and support for militant groups in the Middle East.

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Refusing to certify that the agreement is in the best interest of the U.S. allows Congress to weigh in but has no direct impact on the deal itself. Congressional leaders have begun to look at ways to rewrite several key provisions, including possibly eliminating sunset clauses and requiring more intrusive inspections, although its unlikely Iran would agree.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is involved in drafting the legislation, said last week that a proposed bill is moving along but slowly.

Trumps decision to waive sanctions is far more important. The sanctions relief granted under the nuclear deal opened world oil markets to Iran and allowed it to return to international banking systems and trade, a key boost to its battered economy.

Under U.S. law, the White House must extend those waivers every four months. The next deadline is Friday, and others follow next week, although the administration could delay announcing a decision by several days.

If Trump refuses to extend the waivers, the United States risks being in violation of the international accord, a diplomatic minefield. The U.S. not only would defy other members of the United Nations Security Council, which backed the deal, it could hand Iran a pretext to start limiting U.N. inspections or restart its nuclear program.

Not certifying only creates the possibility of U.S. non-compliance, said Jarrett Blanc, the State Department coordinator for implementing the agreement under the Obama administration. Not waiving the sanctions presents a prima facie case for U.S. non-compliance.  It is deeply uncharted territory.

Trumps top national security aides, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, have said they dont like the Iran pact but have urged Trump to stick with it. Tillerson also has worked with Germany, France and England to prepare to reimpose sanctions, as the nuclear deal allows, if Iran shows signs of backsliding.

Laura Holgate, former U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. agency conducting nuclear inspections in Iran, said a unilateral White House decision to abrogate the deal would hurt global efforts to negotiate a solution to the nuclear impasse with North Korea.

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U.S. credibility in terms of our willingness to enter into international agreements, or even our interest in so doing, has already been damaged, and this would be a major blow, said Holgate, now a senior fellow at Harvards Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

The nuclear inspection agency has repeatedly verified that Iran is in compliance with the accord, which required Tehran to dismantle its main nuclear reactor, drastically cut back on uranium enrichment, get rid of thousands of centrifuges and export most of its heavy water.

Despite the nuclear deal, most U.S. trade with and investment in Iran is banned under separate U.S. sanctions for its human rights abuses, ballistic missiles and support for terrorism. U.S. sanctions also target the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, the elite military force that is active in regional hot spots, including Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

Trump could move to expand those non-nuclear sanctions, targeting more government officials, or businesses owned by senior clerics, for example, without jeopardizing the nuclear accord.

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Trumps decision on whether to stay in the nuclear deal, at least for now, has been complicated by his vocal support for anti-government protests that have erupted across Iran in recent weeks, focusing chiefly on economic concerns.

Critics and proponents of the nuclear accord disagree sharply over whether it has strengthened, or undermined, Irans president, Hassan Rouhani, who negotiated the deal, or the hard-liners in Tehrans clerical leadership.

In a statement Wednesday, the White House said it was deeply concerned by reports that Iranian authorities had arrested thousands of protesters, and it called for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Iran.

We will not remain silent as the Iranian dictatorship represses the basic rights of its citizens and will hold Irans leaders accountable for any violations, the statement said. The protesters in Iran are expressing legitimate grievances, including demanding an end to their governments oppression, corruption, and waste of national resources on military adventurism.

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) warned that reimposing sanctions would undercut the protesters aims. Lifting sanctions helped expose their governments corruption and mismanagement of its economy, and reimposing them now would be turning our back on the Iranian people, she said in a statement.

Iranian officials clearly are nervous about the decision that Trump will make.

We are prepared for the worst-case scenario, Majid Takhi Ravanchi, a senior aide to Rouhani, told Iranian state media, not only in the political field but even on the economic front.

Irans atomic energy agency suggested that the country could resume and accelerate uranium enrichment if the sanctions are reimposed.

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Democratic officials in California and New York accused the Trump administration of unfair partisan treatment Tuesday after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke exempted Florida from expanded offshore drilling  under pressure from the states Republican governor  without offering similar exemptions to other coastal states.

The administrations move comes after a bipartisan backlash from politicians on both coasts after it announced plans last week to consider allowing new leases off most of the U.S. coastline to explore offshore oil and natural gas reserves.

We are not drilling off the coast of Florida, Zinke said at a hastily called news conference in the Tallahassee airport after meeting with Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who opposed the new drilling.

President Trump has directed me to rebuild our offshore oil and gas program in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice, Zinke said in a statement. I support the governors position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver.

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But Zinkes announcement instantly drew criticism from Democratic officials who also oppose drilling off their states coasts, saying they oppose drilling for the same reasons Floridas governor does.

California is also unique & our coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver,  California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said on Twitter. Our local and state voice is firmly opposed to any and all offshore drilling. If thats your standard, we, too, should be removed from your list. Immediately.

Secretary Zinke must also abandon his efforts to drill along Californias beautiful coastline, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) tweeted. Protection of our ocean shouldnt depend on the D, R, or I after the governors name.

In New York, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo also tweeted a protest. New York doesnt want drilling off our coast either, he said. Where do we sign up for a waiver @SecretaryZinke?

Floridas elected officials from both parties, including Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, whom Scott is expected to challenge this year, and GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, had also expressed opposition to the offshore drilling plans.

Late Tuesday, Nelson denounced Zinkes announcement as a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott.

Suddenly Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Floridas coast and four days later agrees to take Florida off the table? I dont believe it, Nelson said in a released statement.

Under the Trump administrations original plan released for comment last week, the federal government would offer 47 leases in U.S. waters on the outer continental shelf, including two each off the Northern, Central and Southern California coasts, and one off Washington and Oregon.

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There already are 23 oil platforms in federal waters off California and four in state waters  near Santa Barbara County, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach. There are also four artificial islands used as drilling platforms off Long Beach and one off Rincon Beach in Ventura County.

But images of oil-drenched seabirds and fouled beaches during the massive 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill soured the state on offshore oil development. There have been no new federal leases off California since 1984.

Oil drilling has likewise been a sensitive issue in Florida, with its miles of coastline, especially since the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010, which ravaged Louisianas coast and left gooey tarballs on Florida Panhandle beaches.

Then-Gov. Charlie Crist, a Democrat who is now a congressman, called a special session to ban oil drilling, but Florida lawmakers balked at the proposal.

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As a candidate in 2010, Scott supported oil and gas drilling off Floridas shores as a way to reduce oil dependency and gas prices.

Despite the partial rollback of the plan, Zinke said the Trump administration was still dedicated to aggressively seeking energy resources throughout the country.

I dont want your kids ever to fight on foreign shores for a resource we have here, he said. But theres places where resources are sensitive, and theres places where were not going to go forward with [drilling for oil], and one of them is off the coast of Florida.

Scott was not the only Florida Republican criticizing the proposal last week, with U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan calling it reckless, misguided and potentially catastrophic to Florida.

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The Florida Petroleum Council hailed the administrations move as a way to benefit state consumers by potentially creating jobs and additional government revenue while strengthening national security.

Allowing us to explore our offshore energy will boost our state economy and spur investment  all while safely coexisting with our agriculture, tourism and fishing industries as well as U.S. military operations, council Executive Director David Mica said in a statement.

Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the Orlando Sentinel.

News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

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matt.pearce@latimes.com

UPDATES:

6:10 p.m.: This story was updated with reaction and background from California.

This story was originally published at 5:25 p.m.
A total of eight states have legalized marijuana for recreational use. That left-leaning Vermont is poised to join them is hardly a surprise.

But unlike the other states, which all legalized pot through ballot measures, Vermont lawmakers are taking the lead.

On Wednesday, the state Legislature became the first in the United States to approve a bill legalizing recreational marijuana. Republican Gov. Phil Scott has indicated he will soon sign the measure into law.

The move by lawmakers shows how far the legalization movement has come. Ballot measures allow lawmakers to hide their own opinions on the issue. Bills force them to take a public stance and assume the political risks.

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Those risks have diminished as public support for legal pot has grown. A Gallup poll in October found that 64% of Americans support making marijuana legal.

Other state legislatures could soon follow Vermonts example. Bills are scheduled to be introduced in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

And in New Jersey, Democratic Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has pledged to sign such legislation. Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature there have said a measure could be passed by early spring.

In Vermont, legalization has been debated for years, with most polls showing widespread public support for it. Among voters there, 57% support allowing adults to possess and grow limited amounts of marijuana, according to a survey conducted last year by Public Policy Polling. A total of 39% are opposed.

The bill passed Wednesday by the Democratic-controlled Legislature allows people 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to grow up to two plants to maturity at a time. The legislation does not create a system in which dispensaries sell marijuana  as is the case in most of the other states where recreational pot is legal.

This is a big step forward for Vermont, said Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that advocates for legalization. Vermonters should be proud that their state is becoming the first to do this legislatively, rather than by ballot initiative.

The vote on Wednesday in Vermont comes a week after the Trump administration announced that it would scrap an Obama-era policy offering legal shelter for state-sanctioned marijuana sales.

But if other legislatures push ahead with their plans, New Hampshire would be the only state in New England in which recreational pot is not legal. Maine and Massachusetts both passed legalization measures in 2016.

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States are not sitting back and waiting for the federal government to change laws, said Mason Tvert, who has helped lead efforts to legalize marijuana in several places.

Vermont could very well be the first state in history to legalize through the legislature, but not the last to do it this year, he said.

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

Twitter: @kurtisalee

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Vermont, New Jersey, Michigan? Here are some of the states looking to legalize marijuana in 2018

A marijuana edible and a cup of coffee? That soon could happen in this Colorado city

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This article was originally published at 10:40 a.m.
Federal immigration agents targeted nearly 100 7-Eleven stores across the nation for audits and inspections Wednesday, including several locations in Los Angeles, as the Trump administration ramps up workplace raids to punish employers hiring people who are in the country illegally.

A total of 21 people were arrested on suspicion of being in the U.S. illegally as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents served inspection notices at convenience stores in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

Administration officials argue workplace raids will decrease illegal immigration by placing pressure on employers with fines and possible criminal charges. And to make its point Wednesday, the Trump administration drew a bulls-eye on one of the countrys most prominent convenience store chains, whose outlets are staples of thousands of American neighborhoods.

Todays actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable, acting ICE Director Thomas D. Homan said in a statement.

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But Wednesdays raids, which included three Los Angeles 7-Eleven franchises in Koreatown and one in Culver City, targeted workers too  sending a message that immigrants in the U.S. illegally will have to look over their shoulders while at their places of work.

Agents converged in the early morning on a 7-Eleven store on Beverly Boulevard, serving notices of inspection of employment records.

No arrests were made in Southern California, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lori K. Haley, who declined to provide a list of the stores targeted for inspections.

News crews gathered outside the Beverly Boulevard store in Koreatown for several hours after the raid, stationing cameras on the sidewalk. Employees said their shifts had started at noon and that they could provide no information about the enforcement action.

Immigrants make up a large portion of the neighborhoods population, and local activists circulated an alert on NextDoor, the neighborhood messaging app, warning that immigration agents were in the area.

Elena Lopez, a local resident, said she was appalled when she heard agents had come to the convenience store in her quiet neighborhood.

Theyre intimidating people  the owner, the workers and now the clients, Lopez said.

Imelda Vargas, who works for the dry cleaner across the street, said it wasnt right for immigration agents to target the stores workers.

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Everyone has the right to be here, to work, she said in Spanish.

The investigations in California concerned state Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), who wrote a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October that prohibits employers from allowing federal immigration agents on private business property without a judicial warrant.

ICE officials said they did not serve warrants during Wednesdays actions. No warrants. We served administrative notices of I-9 inspection, Haley said.

Wed been expecting raids like this when Trump declared war on our immigrant communities, Chiu said. Well be asking our state attorney general and the labor commissioner to look into whether our law was properly followed.

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Workplace raids were once a widely used and widely feared immigration enforcement practice, but the Obama administration de-emphasized the tactic, a policy that drew criticism from conservatives. Under long-standing law, employers found to be employing workers in the country illegally can be fined and even criminally charged.

Worksite enforcement is critical to controlling illegal immigration, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that pushes for stricter immigration rules. When employers start to realize they cant get away with hiring illegal workers, that they stand to have their business disrupted because of illegal hiring, then they start doing due diligence and changing their hiring practices.

In recent months, Homan, the acting ICE head, has said that he wants to increase the agencys workplace enforcement by by four to five times to take away the economic magnet drawing immigrants to the U.S. But he made clear that the efforts would target not just employers, but workers too.

Not only are we going to prosecute the employers that hire illegal workers, were going to detain and remove the illegal alien workers, Homan said in an October appearance at an event sponsored by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

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ICE officials said Wednesdays probes were an extension of raids carried out under the Obama administration in 2013 against several 7-Eleven franchise owners who later pleaded guilty to operating an immigrant-exploitation scheme from their convenience stores.

In Wednesdays actions, agents served 98 7-Eleven franchises with notices of inspections of the stores I-9 immigration forms, which employers are required to maintain on their employees status, and also interviewed workers and managers.

Todays service of [inspection notices] throughout the United States serves as a follow-up to ensure the company has taken the proper steps towards more responsible hiring and employment practices, the agency said in a statement.

The corporate management of 7-Eleven said franchise owners, not the corporation, are responsible for verifying whether potential employees are eligible to work in the United States.

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As part of the 7-Eleven franchise agreement, 7-Eleven requires all franchise business owners to comply with all federal, state and local employment laws, the company said in a statement. This obligation requires 7-Eleven franchisees to verify work eligibility in the U.S. for all of their prospective employees prior to hiring. 7-Eleven takes compliance with immigration laws seriously and has terminated the franchise agreements of franchisees convicted of violating these laws.

Los Angeles-based immigration attorney Angelo A. Paparelli said immigration officials werent legally required to have reasonable suspicion in order to audit a companys I-9 records. He said fines can be steeper if a company is deemed a repeat violator of the law, which might be one reason officials would raid the same company more than once.

While declining to comment on 7-Eleven specifically, Paparelli said corporations that use the franchise model  placing more of the legal burden on local store owners  can still potentially be held liable.

But that would vary on a case-by-case basis, Paparelli said.

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Immigration advocates said sweeps such as those that occurred Wednesday also were part of the Obama administrations immigration enforcement strategy.

But targeting employers with sanctions doesnt work, said Winnie Kao, litigation director and senior staff attorney for the workers rights program at Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus.

Employer sanctions are a broken system, she said. They terrorize workers, drive workers underground, and lead to workplace abuses and violations by unscrupulous employers. They also unfairly shift immigration enforcement to employers.

matt.pearce@latimes.com

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Twitter: @mattdpearce

andrea.castillo@latimes.com

UPDATES:

5:35 p.m.: The article was updated with additional background on previous enforcement actions, as well as comments from political officials and immigration analysts.

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10:55 a.m.: The article has been updated throughout with staff reporting and comments from acting ICE Director Thomas D. Homan and 7-Eleven.

The article was originally published at 9:30 a.m.
PJSC Motor Sich (Zaporizhia) has issued an official announcement about the loss of control over the assets of the Snizne Machine-Building Plant, which is the part of the company and is located in the area of Donetsk region beyond Ukrainian government control.

"The public joint-stock company Motor Sich has announced the loss of control since 20.12.2017 over the management of assets of its separate unit  Snizhne Machine Building Plant, which is located on the territory of Donetsk region temporarily uncontrolled by Ukraine," Motor Sich said in a statement on the company's website.

"In this regard, the board of directors of the company reported to the relevant government agencies about the temporary loss of control. The management of the joint-stock company is taking steps to ensure the safety of the assets of this enterprise," the report says.

The Motor Sich management told Interfax-Ukraine, the loss of control over the Snizhne Machine Building Plant, the loss of control over the assets will not affect the cooperation and production plans of the enterprise in any way.

"Taking into account that the plant is located on a temporarily uncontrolled territory, since 2014 or even earlier we've been working on organizing the manufacturing of the Snizhne Machine Building Plant's products at the Motor Sich facilities. To date, this task has been accomplished," the agency's interlocutor said.

Snizhne Machine Building Plant is a specialized enterprise for the production of blades and disks for gas turbine engines. As part of Motor Sich, the enterprise is engaged in the production of 55 types and modifications of aircraft engines.

PJSC Motor Sich is one of the world's largest manufacturers of engines for aircraft, as well as industrial gas turbines. It delivers products to more than 100 countries.
Keyboard confessional: Ive never smoked marijuana in my life. I dont care for kush. I hate its smell. Edibles scare me. I cant tell the difference between THC and TBS. The one time pals offered me a joint, I declined and drank Cactus Cooler instead.

But I support the right for any adult to light up. I voted to legalize marijuana in California, as the majority of residents did, because the drug war is a disaster that destroys too many lives and wastes billions of dollars. Legalizing is great for our image as Progressive Paradise, and my only regret is that we let Colorado do it first. You know what Colorado also beat us on? Craft beer. Let us never lose again to a state with the weirdest airport in the world.

Recreational dispensaries finally opened last week, which provoked the wrath of U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Good people dont smoke marijuana, he once said. I wish hed repeat that in front of my butcher friend, who survived Stage 4 colon cancer and regained his appetite with the help of some fat blunts.

Maybe, just maybe, in defiance of any federal overreach, Ill buy and use a cannabis product for the first time in my life.

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Americas top lawman rescinded an Obama-era pledge that feds wouldnt crack down on states that allow marijuana, whether for pleasure or for pain. Such respect for states rights undermines the rule of [federal] law, according to Sessions  funny, because hes from Alabama, which last year wanted to bar transgender folks from using the bathroom of their choice despite federal protections.

Sessions memo is a targeted attack on the California way.

Make no mistake: he has it in for us, and not just because our attorney general, Xavier Becerra, keeps smacking the Trump administration with lawsuits as if it were a pinata. Sessions couldve issued his downer-doobie edict last summer, when Nevada began the sale of recreational marijuana. He couldve piggybacked on Maine Gov. Paul LePages veto this fall of a bill that wouldve allowed weed sales. (LePage is also a toke teetotaler; he once wrote, The dangers of legalizing marijuana and normalizing its use in our society cannot be understated.)

No, Sessions waited until 2018, when the eyes of the nation had turned to our Green Rush. He waited to humiliate us, to try and scare us into submission.

You cant put the nugget back in the stash, Brother Beauregard. The United States is irrecoverably going ganja. And in California, were ready to provide a map for the future, one the rest of the country can use to roll out the reefer economy the right way.

Weve screwed up before. Proposition 215 in 1996 made us the first state in the country to allow medicinal marijuana. Other states followed, of course. But lets be honest: While we were pioneers, the actual execution wasnt pretty. Getting a doctors note for a card became easier than finding a good wave in Santa Cruz and made a mockery of Prop. 215s original intent. The black market exploded as a result, and that shadiness haunts the industry from the Emerald Triangle to grow houses in suburbia.

Proposition 64 in 2016 showed that California had learned its lesson. We want weed regulated like alcohol; that helps root out a lot of the unsavory and allows further respectability to seep into the business. Legal Lady Jane also offers relief for city budgets: in San Diego alone, the Union-Tribune reported, tax revenue would start at $5.5 million per year initially, with steady increases up to $13.7 million  in June 2023.

Sessions couldve waited to see how California went forward. He couldve even directed the Department of Justice to assist us on enforcement. Such a partnership couldve helped thaw the Cold War we have with Trump.

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Instead, Sessions may start prosecuting users, sellers and growers, which will only push marijuana even more underground and make it more dangerous. Dont take it from me. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa), who long ago blocked me on Twitter because I like to mock his xenophobia, blasted Sessions in a statement for delivering an extravagant holiday gift to the drug cartels.

If Rohrabacher and I can agree on something, then all of us can unite on this. We squabble about everything here in California; I still maintain the only thing that brings us together is Huell Howser reruns. But a threat against our new weed trade and those who use it is another issue we can all rally around.

Theres no one way to fight Sessions. Resist whatever the feds may bring; take revenge on politicians who support him come November; support your friendly neighborhood dispensary.

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As for me? Maybe, just maybe, in defiance of any federal overreach, Ill buy and use a cannabis product for the first time in my life. I dont even smoke tobacco, so Im thinking something like chocolate peanut butter cups. Or maybe gummies. Theyve always seemed psychedelic and cool to me. Anyone got any recommendations?

mexicanwithglasses@gmail.com

@gustavoArellano

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
Gavin Newsom releases ad that highlights his push to allow same-sex couples to marry By Phil Willon A new ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom features Phyllis Lyon, who with her partner, Del Martin, received the first marriage license after Newsom vowed to allow same-sex couples to marry when he was mayor of San Francisco in 2004. The current lieutenant governors push for marriage equality thrust him into the national spotlight and he has emphasized that effort to portray himself as a bold, progressive leader. Facebook

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Failed California housing bill was not a bad idea, Gov. Jerry Brown says By Liam Dillon Gov. Jerry Brown (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Earlier this month, high-profile housing legislation that would have allowed for four- to five-story apartments and condominiums near transit stops failed to advance in the state Legislature. But had it reached his desk, would Gov. Jerry Brown have signed it? Maybe. I think that was not a bad idea, Brown said of Senate Bill 827 at a meeting with business leaders from the Bay Area Council on Monday afternoon. The bill, written by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), attracted national attention and a maelstrom of opposition in part because it would have eliminated single-family zoning near transit stops in favor of apartments or condominiums. Brown said that a relative of his who lives in West Portal, a low-density neighborhood in San Francisco, told the governor he was horrified by the bill. Brown also lamented dramatically rising housing costs. He said he bought his first house in Los Angeles in 1973 for $75,000 at a time when his salary as secretary of state was $35,000. Now, he said, buying a house for a little over twice ones annual salary is virtually impossible anywhere in the state. FOR THE RECORD

May 1, 9:32 a.m.: This post originally misstated the year Brown purchased his house as 1970. It was 1973. Facebook

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John Cox begins California barnstorm with the delivery of gas tax repeal signatures By Javier Panzar Gubernatorial candidate John Cox, left, and Assembly candidate Bill Essayli load boxes of signatures for the gas tax repeal initiative. (Francine Orr) GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox strolled up to the stack of 12 boxes in front of the Los Angeles County registrar-recorders offices in Norwalk on Monday and placed his hands on top of his partys hope for success in 2018. The boxes, stacked four across and three high, contained 211,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees. Cox says the effort has gathered more than 940,000 signatures from registered voters to put the measure on the ballot  far more than the 585,407 signatures that are required. The aim: to bring out the partys base to the polls this November and help candidates in tough congressional and legislative races down the ticket. A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll in November found 54.2% of registered voters surveyed said they would repeal the tax and fee hike, but a survey a month earlier by another group said a majority would vote to keep the higher taxes. Cox was flanked by Bill Essayli, a former federal prosecutor who is challenging Democratic Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes of Riverside in the June primary. Cervantes voted for the gas tax and Essayli plans to use that vote against her. He even launched his campaign at a 76 gas station in Norco. This is a central issue in my campaign, he said. Cox also submitted signatures in San Diego on Monday and is headed to Bakersfield, Fresno and Sacramento, as well as Shasta and Butte counties in coming days. We are going all across the state, Cox said. The whole state is paying this tax and the whole state wants it gone. Facebook

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All Californians would be able to serve on state boards  even people in the U.S. illegally  under new bill By Jazmine Ulloa Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) State lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation that would allow all Californians to serve on state boards and commissions regardless of immigration status. Senate Bill 174, by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), comes as the state is locked in a broader legal battle with the Trump administration over state immigration laws and his call for mass deportations. Lawmakers point to what they say is the states own discriminatory history as their basis for introducing the legislation. The proposal would amend an 1872 provision that was first adopted to exclude Chinese immigrants and other transient aliens from holding appointed civil positions. At the time, antipathy toward the Chinese had been building in California, though, Chinese immigrants opened hundreds of businesses across the state and would play a critical role in building the transcontinental railroad. The Senate bill would delete the phrase transient aliens from the government code and make clear that any person, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, can hold an appointed civil office if they are at least 18 years old and a resident of the state. That would allow any Californian to serve on hundreds of boards and commissions that advice in an array of policy areas, including farm labor, history and employment development. Californias two million undocumented immigrants are a source of energy for our state, Lara said in a statement. It is shocking to read the words of fear and exclusion that are still in California law but belong in historys trash can. Facebook

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Tony Mendozas fundraising dries up after resignation amid harassment inquiry By Patrick McGreevy Former state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). (Steve Yeater / Associated Press) Political contributions to Tony Mendoza, who resigned from the state Senate under pressure amid sexual harassment allegations, have nearly dried up. New documents he filed with the state in his bid to reclaim the seat he once held show that his support has eroded. As a result, five other candidates for the 32nd District senate seat in the June 5 election have raised more than Mendoza so far this year. With the June 5 election approaching, Mendoza has reported raising just $7,750 in cash from six supporters during the nearly four-month period from Jan. 1 to April 21. Mendoza, a Democrat from Artesia, went on a leave of absence from the Senate Jan. 3 and resigned a month later under the threat of expulsion from colleagues. An investigation ordered by the Senate found a pattern of unwanted flirtatious or sexually suggestive behavior based on testimony from six women. Mendoza has denied wrongdoing. Last year, Mendozas reelection campaign raised $412,600, or an average of about $34,000 per month, from more than 350 supporters. Most of Mendozas 2018 total was contributed by the political arm of the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 on Jan. 22, a month before Mendoza resigned. Mendoza also reported that his campaign loaned $125,000 this year to his legal defense fund. That left him with $446,600 in his campaign account at the end of April. Mendoza is running against eight Democrats and two Republicans. Democrat Bob J. Archuleta, a Pico Rivera city councilman, raised the most, $210,000, during the period. On Monday, Mendoza suffered another setback when the State Legislative Womens Caucus endorsed Democrat Vicky Santana, a member of the Rio Hondo College Board. Facebook

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Newsom and Villaraigosa affairs coming to TV ads in California By Phil Willon An independent political committee backing Republican John Cox for governor released an ad blasting both Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for their past sexual affairs. The California Deserves Better ad, which was first reported by Politico, criticizes Newsom for having an affair with a woman on his staff in 2005 while he served as mayor of San Francisco. It also goes after Villaraigosa for having an extramarital affair with a television reporter in 2007 while he was mayor of Los Angeles. The ad, which begins airing on Fox stations in the states top media markets Monday, links Newsom and Villaraigosa to the men accused of sexual impropriety in the #MeToo movement, including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and disgraced Today show veteran Matt Lauer. Powerful men are finally being held to account, punished for inappropriate sexual conduct with women over whom they exercise power, the ad begins. Newsom and Villaraigosa think the rules shouldnt apply to them. The independent campaign committee, called Restore Our Values, already has raised more than $100,000, said Leigh Teece of Emeryville in Northern California, co-founder of the group. Teece, the CEO of a nonprofit that helps line up students with professional mentors, said the campaign will actively support Cox. She called him a true conservative and noted that he supports cutting taxes and opposes Californias sanctuary state policy. John is a business person who has demonstrated integrity, Teece said. Facebook

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Was that Cisneros in the voicemail? Dispute is latest espisode of Democratic infighting in crowded primary races By Christine Mai-Duc Gil Cisneros speaks during a forum at Fullerton College in January. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) With less than five weeks to go before Californias primary, insults and accusations are flying with abandon in the most crowded races Democrats hope to ultimately win. The latest example of this is in the 39th Congressional District, where a half dozen Democrats are vying for a chance to replace Rep. Ed Royce, whos retiring. Its one of several California contests where Democratic leaders are already worried that divisions could ultimately split votes and shut Democrats out of key pickup opportunities. In that race, millionaires Gil Cisneros and Andy Thorburn are going negative  about going negative. Cisneros was recently elevated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees Red to Blue program in hopes it would serve as a signal to Democratic activists and donors that his campaign was the most viable. But both Cisneros and Thorburn have poured millions into the race, which promises to be a knock down, drag out fight through June 5. At the center of the latest controversy is a voicemail, allegedly left by Cisneros on Thorburns home answering machine earlier this month. The recording, which the Thorburn campaign turned over to media outlet The Intercept, lasts less than 10 seconds. Hi Andy, its Gil Cisneros. Im gonna go negative on you, a mans voice is heard saying. Cisneros campaign manager Orrin Evans denied the candidate made the call, posting a cease and desist letter to The Intercept on Twitter. The letter, sent by a Cisneros campaign attorney, called the voicemail fabricated and demanded that the story be taken down, calling it defamatory. It gave the publication until 3 p.m. Friday to take down the story before they pursue all legal rights and remedies. An attorney for The Intercept, in a letter to Cisneros, said the publication confirmed with multiple sources familiar with Mr. Cisneros that his voice was on the recording, and that it stands by its reporting. Thorburns camp says it flatly rejects Cisneros denial, and that the timing of a negative website filled with unflattering background on Thorburn, released three days later, suggests it was him. Track the California races that could flip the House According to The Intercepts report, Cisneros campaign manager did not respond to initial inquiries about the voicemail, calling its questions ridiculous. In a follow-up statement Friday, Evans said called the episode a dirty, desperate trick by the Thorburn campaign and said they are readying to pursue legal action for defamation and false light against both him and the publication. It sounded like him to me! said Thorburns wife, Karen, in a statement released by the campaign. She was the one who first heard the voicemail, they said. Thorburn campaign manager Nancy Leeds called Cisneros threats Trump-like tactics and accused the candidate of trying to harass and intimidate anyone who stands in his way. Its not the first time candidates from the same party have clashed in the lead-up to the June 5 primary, and its all but certain to not be the last. Cisneros sued two of his opponents, Thorburn and Sam Jammal, over their ballot descriptions until they had to change them. Earlier this month, Democrat Bryan Caforio asked his opponent, Katie Hill, to sign a pledge rejecting the use of independent expenditure committees, entities that neither of them can legally coordinate with, in the race to unseat Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster). Hill refused and called the attempt hollow and likened it to political theater, while Caforio accused her of empty campaign promises. Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: The money raised in the race for governor hints at a race thats now red hot By John Myers With less than six weeks before election day, the cash raised in the California governors race mirrors the overall dynamics: one major front-runner and a heated race for second place. This weeks podcast episode offers a glimpse into those cash reports and how the Republican field seems more settled in a new statewide poll than the battle between Democrats. We also examine the reasons why a nationally talked-about housing bill in Sacramento was killed by the Democratic authors own allies. Im joined by Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher. Facebook

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L.A. County politician sexually assaulted woman when she was 16, lawsuit claims By Dakota Smith A woman sued an unnamed politician in Los Angeles County on Friday, alleging the man sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager after he gave her an unusual-tasting drink. The politician, identified as John Doe, was in his early 40s and a public figure at the time of the 2007 assault, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The man is an elected official today and lives in Los Angeles, said attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing the woman identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe. Bloom declined to say what branch of government the man represents. Read More Facebook

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Villaraigosa touts his working-class upbringing, accomplishments as mayor in first TV ad By Phil Willon Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa released his first TV ad in the governors race Friday, touting his record and accomplishments as mayor of Los Angeles when up against the economic downturn during the recession. The 30-second television spot opens with a sweeping shot of Los Angeles and cuts to Villaraigosa sitting on a bus. In kindergarten, my sister and I took three buses to get to school. As mayor, I remembered that, Villaraigosa says into the camera. And despite the recession, we built more new schools and rail lines than any city in America, added 200,000 living wage jobs, built 20,000 units of affordable housing and nearly doubled graduation rates. Campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the ad will air statewide over the next week at a cost of approximately $1 million. The commercial will being airing Saturday. Two Democratic rivals in Californias race for governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang, also launched ads this week, signaling the biggest ramp-up of the campaign as the June 5 primary approaches. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican John Cox. One recent poll has Villaraigosa trailing both Cox and Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach. Chiang has been stuck in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. Last week, an independent expenditure group called Families and Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor, funded largely by a trio of wealthy charter school backers, launched a spot in support of the former mayor of Los Angeles. That ad campaign is focused on increasing Villaraigosas chances of coming in second in the June 5 primary and moving on to the general election. Villaraigosas ad, titled Three Buses, emphasizes the struggles he faced growing up in East Los Angeles and addresses one of his central campaign themes  that hes the candidate best suited to help working-class Californians. I know how far a bus can take you, Villaraigosa says in the ad. Facebook

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein wont participate in pre-primary debate By Sarah D. Wire (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) California Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not participate in a proposed pre-primary debate because there are too many candidates in the race, her campaign spokesman said Thursday. Political activists with the group Indivisible Los Angeles said they had a venue and date  May 5  reserved for a debate with four of the Senate candidates. But they said if Feinstein does not participate, it will be canceled. Feinstein faces 31 primary opponents in her bid for a fifth full term representing California in the Senate. Feinstein staffers initially said she had a prior commitment on May 5 in San Francisco. When organizers offered to let her campaign pick another date, her campaign said it wasnt fair for the group to invite only some of the candidates when there is such a big field, said Tudor Popescu, volunteer community organizer with Indivisible Los Angeles. The invited candidates, all Democrats, were Feinstein, state Sen. Kevin de Leon, political action committee director Alison Hartson and lawyer Pat Harris. They were selected based on fundraising and poll numbers. There are 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats, nine independents and 2 third-party candidates running for Senate on the June ballot. Indivisible Los Angeles is still hoping Feinstein will pick another date, Popescu said. Feinstein spokesman Jeff Millman pointed to a San Francisco Chronicle endorsement of Feinstein, which indicates that she told the editorial board she would be willing to have a debate ahead of Novembers general election. Senator Feinstein looks forward to debating her opponent in the general election, Millman said in an email. Feinstein holds a substantial lead in both fundraising and in the polls. Front-runners in statewide races have routinely declined to debate their challengers, knowing that its free publicity for candidates who dont have the cash to increase their name recognition on their own. De Leon spokesman Jonathan Underland said the state senator has done candidate forums before, but planned to attend the May 5 debate only if Feinstein did. We basically said well clear his calendar 100%, well clear his calendar if Feinstein shows up, Underland said. Wed love to make it happen, but we want her to be there. Facebook

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NRA, Olympic shooter sue California over its restrictions on ammunition sales By Patrick McGreevy Olympian Kim Rhode is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the NRA and its state affiliate against California. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) The National Rifle Assn. and its state affiliate have filed a fourth lawsuit against California over its gun control laws, this time challenging new restrictions on the sale and transfer of ammunition. The NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. filed a challenge in federal court to a requirement that ammunition sales and transfers be conducted face to face with California firearms dealers or licensed vendors, ending purchases made directly from out-of-state sellers on the internet. The lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California also challenged a requirement starting next year for background checks for people buying ammunition. The lawsuit was filed in the name of Kim Rhode, a six-time Olympic medal-winning shooter, and others. It challenges Californias new ammunition sales restrictions as a violation of the 2nd Amendment and the commerce clause of the United States Constitution. Restrictions on ammunition purchases were included in Proposition 63, approved by voters in 2016, and in bills approved by the Legislature. As a result of these laws, millions of constitutionally protected ammunition transfers are banned in California, Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. Californias law-abiding gun owners are sick of being treated like criminals and the NRA is proud to assist in this fight. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for governor, defended his initiative and vowed to fight the NRA lawsuit. We wrote Proposition 63 on solid legal ground and principle: If youre a felon banned from possessing guns in California, then you should not be able to purchase the ammunition that makes a firearm deadly, Newsom said in a statement. California voters said loudly and clearly that guns and ammunition do not belong in the hands of dangerous individuals  but once again, the NRA has prioritized gun industry profits over the lives of law-abiding Californians. Facebook

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Republicans hope to ride a gas-tax repeal to victory By Patrick McGreevy In a Central Valley barn decked out in red, white and blue, dairyman and state Senate candidate Johnny Tacherra drew cheers from a crowd of fellow farmers when he said he opposes the California Legislatures hike on gas taxes and vehicle fees. I would not have voted for that. It is not the time to be voting on (raising) the gas tax, said Tacherra, a Republican running against Democratic Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, who voted for the tax increase last year. Three hundred miles away the same week, a campaign mailer arrived at homes in Orange County from an Assembly candidate with a message blaring from the cover in bold type: Republican Greg Haskin  tough enough to stand up to Jerry Brown and repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook

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Treasurer John Chiang launches ad in governors race touting his record as a fiscal steward By Seema Mehta In his first television ad in the governors race, state Treasurer John Chiang touts his record on fiscal issues as California faced the recession. Some thought we were done, Chiang says in a voiceover in the 30-second spot he released Thursday, with images of him standing seriously at a lectern and complimentary headlines about his work as controller and treasurer. But I knew better. I made the tough calls. And brought California back from the brink of financial disaster because you trusted me to manage our economy. Chiangs campaign is spending about $500,000 to air the ad in Los Angeles and San Diego in coming days. That buy is dwarfed by seven-figure purchases for ads supporting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican businessman John Cox. Chiang has been mired in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. His ad, called Quiet Storm, tries to portray Chiang as a progressive who is effective and can move policy in Sacramento. Chiang points to his work challenging Wells Fargo before arguing that he could accomplish what doubters say is impossible to improve the states healthcare, housing and schools. I say, we got this, Chiang concludes. Facebook

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Been ignoring the race for California governor? Thats OK, in some ways its just starting By Mark Z. Barabak On a recent trip to Iowa, Eric Garcetti  the mayor of Los Angeles and a possible 2020 White House contestant  raised eyebrows with a bit of exuberant outreach. Los Angeles and Iowa, Garcetti insisted, have a ton in common, and he didnt simply mean both are inhabited by carbon-based life forms needing oxygen to survive. Urban or rural, farmer or fashion plate, all of us harbor the same hopes and dreams, the mayor suggested, and if it wasnt a terribly original thought it also wasnt the most egregious sort of political pandering  like, say, ordering that every home in Los Angeles be powered by Iowa-produced ethanol. Read More Facebook

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California voters should expect to decide on an $8.9-billion water bond in November By Liam Dillon (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A proposal to borrow $8.9 billion for improvements to Californias water quality systems and watersheds and protection of natural habitats is eligible for the statewide ballot in November, Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced in a press release Wednesday. Padilla said the measure, which is backed by agricultural interests, had exceeded the 365,800 valid signatures it needed to qualify for the general election ballot. The bond measure will appear on the ballot unless proponents withdraw it by June 28, the release said. The bond is one of many voters could decide on in 2018. A $4-billion bond for parks and water infrastructure improvements will appear on the June 5 ballot. State lawmakers approved it last year. Facebook

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They came for Darrell Issa. They stayed with their inflatable chicken, blue wall and signs for political therapy By Christine Mai-Duc (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) A mother of two turned ringleader of the resistance and more than a hundred of her faithful followers gathered on Tuesday morning outside Rep. Darrell Issas office in a northern San Diego County suburb. Across the street was her foil, a wedding DJ in a red Make American Great Again cap, setting up hefty speakers for an upcoming war of words. For about 65 weeks the deep divide in America played out along this 100-yard stretch of road in Vista. Here, at 10 a.m. every Tuesday, passersby found signs, chants, songs and, if they were lucky, sometimes a 20-foot-tall inflatable chicken with a Trump-esque coif. Theyd also glimpse the state of the body politic in 2018, a time when shock has turned to anger and post-2016 calls for reconciliation have morphed into grudging acceptance that each side might be better off in their respective corners. Or in this case, their sides of the street. On Tuesday, the anti-Issa, anti-Trump contingent fought this particular battle for the last time, declaring it their final protest at the congressmans office. They said they planned to use their energy to knock on doors and get out the vote, with an occasional protest on the side. Their pro-Trump rivals vowed to show up wherever they do. Read More Facebook

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Efforts to regulate bail companies have some unlikely allies: bail agents By Jazmine Ulloa Jane Un, chief executive and founder of Abba Bail Bonds, works with a client. ( Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) In recent years, the seriousness and number of official complaints related to the bail industry in California have significantly increased while bail agents and bounty hunters face limited oversight, putting vulnerable communities at risk of fraud, embezzlement and other forms of victimization. This year, as Gov. Jerry Brown has pledged to work with lawmakers in a push to overhaul how courts assign defendants bail and to better regulate bail agencies, even some who profit from the court practice admit its time for regulation. These bail and bail-recovery agents could become unlikely allies, saying they advocate for change because theyve seen the system abuse the poor. Read More Facebook

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California voters: Get ready for an onslaught of television ads By Seema Mehta After a sleepy campaign, California voters are now being bombarded with television advertisements in the governors race, an onslaught that is expected to ramp up in coming weeks. The ads most frequently seen on television are those promoting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in the race, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is trying to secure the second spot in the June primary. Newsoms campaign and an outside group backing Villaraigosa are spending seven figures weekly on these efforts, according to filings with the California secretary of states office and a media buyer who asked not to be identified in order to freely discuss the ads. Other gubernatorial candidates are expected to hit the airwaves soon, the media buyer said. State Treasurer John Chiang has reserved a half-million dollars in the coming days in the Los Angeles and San Diego markets, and Villaraigosas campaign has requested availability in at least five of the states biggest TV markets. The GOP candidates in the race, who will be seeking the state Republican Partys endorsement at its convention next weekend, have been much less active. Businessman John Cox in recent weeks has been spending about $90,000 per week, but doubled that this week in Los Angeles and added small buys on KFI-AM radio and cable in markets including Fresno, Bakersfield and Salinas. State Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, who has been scooping up Republican Party endorsements across the state, has yet to make a notable television or radio buy, though he and Cox have received some attention as commentators on Fox News. Facebook

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Republicans ready to turn in signatures for ballot measure to repeal California gas-tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A Chevron gas station in Sacramento shows prices last year. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Republican activists said Tuesday that they have collected at least 830,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees, more than enough to qualify the measure for the November ballot. The activists need 585,407 signatures of registered voters to qualify the ballot measure. Because signatures are still being processed and counted by the campaign, backers hope to have 900,000 by the time they begin turning them in to the counties on Friday, according to Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego City Council member and organizer of the drive. The breadth and depth of voter anger over the car and gas tax hikes is just amazing, said DeMaio, who hosts a radio talk show. We are seeing Democrats, independents and Republicans sign the petition and volunteering to carry the petition, people from all walks of life. The initiative targets a law approved in April 2017 by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown that is expected to raise $5.4 billion annually for road and bridge repairs and improvements to mass transit. The money comes from a recent 12-cents-per-gallon increase in the gas tax, a 20-cent increase in the diesel fuel excise tax and a new annual vehicle fee ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000, to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more. The petition drive raised more than $2 million with significant contributions from the California Republican Party and Republican members of Congress from California, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Reps. Ken Calvert of Corona and Mimi Walters of Irvine. Republicans hope the issue will help their candidates for office in this years election and hurt Democrats who support the higher taxes. I think this is going to put Democrats in real bad spot, DeMaio said. A spokesman for Brown declined to comment until the signatures are filed. DeMaio said there were approximately 20,000 volunteer petition circulators who brought in more than 250,000 signatures, with the rest collected by paid circulators who received $1 to $2.50 per signature. Its a pretty comfortable margin [of signatures] that we have been able to hit here, DeMaio said. Opposition will grow, he said, as more Californians get their annual vehicle registration notice. The repeal campaign hopes to raise $5 million for the campaign to pass the constitutional amendment, which would not only repeal the increase in the gas tax and vehicle fees but require future increases to be submitted to voters. We know that Gov. Brown and his cohorts are going to spend an amazing amount of money to mislead voters, DeMaio said. But I feel pretty confident that we will repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook

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Rep. Duncan Hunter sets up trust to raise money for legal expenses amid ongoing criminal investigation By Morgan Cook Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has filed paperwork to establish a legal expense fund amid an ongoing federal criminal investigation into misused campaign cash. Hunter filed the required paperwork March 27, seeking a rarely granted Legal Expense Fund through which members of Congress under investigation or being sued in connection with doing their jobs or running for office can raise money for their legal expenses. Such funds are administered by an independent trustee and allow donors to give above the maximum amount they can contribute a candidates campaign. Hunter has spent more than $600,000 of campaign money on lawyers. Read More Facebook

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Kamala Harris says she wont take corporate donations anymore By Sarah D. Wire (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) California Sen. Kamala Harris says she will no longer accept money from corporate political action committees. In an interview with WWPM-FMs The Breakfast Club, in New York that aired Monday, the senator said she wasnt expecting a question at a town hall this month about whether she would accept money for corporations or corporate lobbyists. At the time, Harris said it depends, but she said on Monday that she had reflected on the matter and changed her mind. Money has had such an outside influence on politics, and especially with the Supreme Court determining Citizens United, which basically means that big corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money influencing a campaign, right? Harris said. Were all supposed to have an equal vote, but money has now really tipped the balance between an individual having equal power in an election to a corporation. So Ive actually made a decision since I had that conversation that Im not going to accept corporate PAC checks. I just  Im not. You can watch the video of the interview here. (Harris corporate money comments come about 30 minutes in.) Harris wouldnt be on the ballot for a second Senate term until 2022, though its widely believed that she is planning a presidential bid in 2020. Other potential 2020 presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have also ruled out taking corporate PAC money. Soon after Mondays show aired, Harris campaign sent out a fundraising request noting her new stance. As corporate PACs continue to corrupt our politics and twist Congress priorities at your expense, were going to focus on raising money from small-dollar, individual donors like you, the email says. Facebook

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With money tied up in court, California lawmakers try again with new plan to spend $2 billion on homeless housing By Liam Dillon A man sleeps on the sidewalk in front of the Union Rescue Mission in the skid row neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) A measure to spend $2 billion on housing homeless Californians could be on the November statewide ballot. State Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) is pushing the idea to deal with what he said was a burgeoning humanitarian crisis whose epicenter is here in California. De Leons new measure is a do-over for a 2016 plan passed by the Legislature to redirect $2 billion toward building homeless housing from a voter-approved 1% income tax surcharge on millionaires that funds mental health services. A Sacramento attorney sued over that decision, arguing that the move violated constitutional rules on approving loans without a public vote and that lawmakers shouldnt take money away from mental health treatment. The case remains active in Sacramento Superior Court and its unclear when, or if, the state will be able to spend the $2 billion. De Leons Senate Bill 1206 would put the $2-billion loan on the ballot in November, freeing up the money if voters approve the measure. De Leon said had he been able to predict the 2016 plan would end up in court, he would have sought a ballot measure at the time. We thought this was like apple pie and baseball and puppies, De Leon said. Who would oppose the idea of repurposing the dollars to build immediate housing as a permanent solution for homelessness? Obviously with a crystal ball, had I anticipated the litigation, I would have worked to place it on the ballot. De Leon noted that the 2016 plan had bipartisan supermajority support in the Legislature, something his new bill also will need to get on the ballot. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) is a coauthor of the plan. SB 1206 is scheduled for its first hearing in the Legislature on Wednesday. Should De Leons measure be approved, it will join a crowded list of housing issues before voters in November. Californians will decide on a separate $4-billion bond to help finance new low-income housing and home loans for veterans. De Leon said hes not worried those two measures will compete against each other because voters are aware of the scale of the states housing problems and the proposed homeless housing bond redirects existing dollars instead of raising taxes. Once [voters] know that the impact on their pocketbook is not existent, Im confident that theyll join me and my colleague John Moorlach in support of this measure, De Leon said. Facebook

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California lawmakers say too many former felons are being denied professional licenses By John Myers Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) along with supporters of bills to allow more former felons to receive professional licenses. (John Myers/Los Angeles Times) A trio of California Assembly members urged colleagues on Monday to pass legislation that would prohibit state commissions and agencies from rejecting a professional license for those who were once convicted of less serious crimes. We cant say we want to rehabilitate people, and then block them from getting the jobs that they need when theyre released, said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco). That leads to more recidivism and to more crime. The bills, scheduled to be heard in Assembly committees Tuesday, would ban the use of arrest or conviction records as the reason for denying a professional license. The bill would not apply to Californians who served time for any of the offenses on the states list of violent crimes. The authors, all Democrats, said that a government-issued professional license is required for some 30% of all jobs in the state. Their bills would change the licensing process at the California departments of Consumer Affairs and Social Services and agencies that certify emergency medical technicians. The bills would block prior convictions from leading to the delay or denial of a license unless that crime is directly related to the profession the person intends to pursue. Two of the bills also specifically say convictions less than 5 years old could continue to play a role in licensing decisions. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that keeps private sector employers from inquiring about a job applicants conviction history prior to an offer of employment. Advocates joined the lawmakers at a press conference in Sacramento to point out that limits on awarding licenses should focus only on those whose prior criminal activity could pose a threat to consumers. Continuing to hold people back for crimes that are 6, 7, 8, 10, 20 years old does not actually make sense if youre looking at public safety, said Jael Myrick of the East Bay Community Law Center. One of the proposals, Assembly Bill 2293, seeks to make it easier for ex-felons to get a license allowing a job with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection  the same agency that often uses prison inmates to battle blazes around the state. If a person is good enough to risk their life fighting fires for the state of California as an inmate, said Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace), their previous actions should not prevent from having a job utilizing the skill set that they learned. Facebook

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Assembly speaker rebukes building trades union after it targets Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia By John Myers ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) The decision by a politically powerful labor group to openly campaign against an embattled Los Angeles-area lawmaker drew a sharp rebuke on Friday from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. The Lakewood Democrat lashed out hours after the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California filed paperwork for a political action committee to defeat Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens). Garcia, whos seeking her fourth term, took an unpaid leave of absence in February following allegations of sexual misconduct. She has denied the reports and an Assembly investigation remains underway. Rendon didnt criticize the labor group by name, insisting instead that the decision was driven by oil and gas industry interests. This is a thinly veiled attempt by Big Oil and polluters to intimidate me and my members. It is an affront to my speakership, Rendon said in a statement. We are proud of the work that the Assembly has done to increase jobs and wages while defending our environment. We will vigorously defend the members of our caucus from any ill-advised political attack. A statement from the labor group, which sparred with Garcia last year on her effort to link new climate change policies with a crackdown on air pollution, said it had decided to reverse past support for her. The Trades have thousands of hard working members in Garcias district, and we look forward to lifting up another Democrat in the 58th Assembly to better represent them and their families, said the statement. The political action committees campaign finance filing on Friday listed nonmonetary in kind contributions from Erin Lehane, a public affairs consultant aligned with the building labor group. Lehane said she had begun researching Garcia in November. In January, a former legislative staffer accused her of groping him in 2014. Lehane, who identified herself as a spokesperson for the labor groups political action committee, said on Friday that she believed Garcias hypocrisy threatened a movement that will dictate how much harassment and abuse my daughter will face in her work life. Garcia, who has been an outspoken advocate for women in the #MeToo movement, has complained that her political opponents helped fan the flames of the accusations. Through a campaign consultant, she declined to comment on Friday. Rendons critique came on the heels of a full-page ad in The Times on Friday, partly paid for by the Trades Council, that criticized well-funded ivory tower elites who push proposals that hurt the oil and gas industry. We are the real jobs that fuel the real California economy, read the advertisement. Facebook

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Legal tiff breaks out over independent committees ad backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor By Phil Willon An attorney representing Gavin Newsoms campaign for governor is demanding that California television stations cease airing an ad by an independent political committee supporting his Democratic rival Antonio Villaraigosa. Attorney Thomas A. Willis, in a letter to the stations, said the ad is false and misleading and violates California law because it uses snippets of video footage from Villaraigosas own campaign ads. Willis called that illegal coordination between the campaign and PAC. Under California law, advertisements made by entities other than a candidate are presumed to be coordinated  and thus not independent expenditures  when the advertisement replicates, reproduces or disseminates substantial parts of a communication, including video footage, created and paid for by the candidate, the letter states. A representative for the independent expenditure committee  Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor  fired back. Attorney Brian T. Hildreth says those allegations have no merit and accused the Newsom campaign of being misleading. Hildreth sent a letter to the television stations in response, urging them to ignore the Newsom campaigns accusations. He said the Newsom camp appears to intentionally misrepresent the law and that the video use was permissible. He said only six seconds of video from Villaraigosas campaign ads was used, which is well within the legal limits. The independent committee is sponsored by the group California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The ad is airing on broadcast and cable stations statewide. The committees ad is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and as mayor of Los Angeles when there was a drop in crime. Facebook

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Governors race snapshot: Californians are generally upbeat but not focused on the campaign By Mark Z. Barabak Armand Werden, a 29-year-old community college student who works the taps at Dust Bowl Brewery in Turlock, said the state is on the upswing. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times) As California chooses a new governor  one of just a handful in the last 40 years not named Jerry Brown  the state seems to be enjoying something unusual in these tumultuous political times: a feeling of relative contentment. Not to say things are perfect. Still, more than 100 random interviews conducted over the length and breadth of the state  from Redding in the north to Santee in the south, from the Pacific coastline to the edge of the Sierra Nevada  found most saying things are looking up, at least so far as Californias direction is concerned. Read More Facebook

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Sierra Club backs Gavin Newsom for California governor By Phil Willon Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with members of the public following a debate at USC in January. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The Sierra Club endorsed Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in the race for California governor, with officials in the established environmental group praising the Democrats record on climate change and clean energy. He has a proven record for leading on environmental protection, public health and clean energy, Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California, said in a statement released by the Newsom campaign. He understands that we are feeling the effects of climate change and that California must reduce carbon emissions and reach 100% renewable energy to achieve our climate goals. Phillips said the Sierra Clubs extensive network of volunteers will campaign for Newsom as the June 5 primary approaches. Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune also praised the Democrat, saying he will protect California from Donald Trumps attacks on our clean air and water. The Sierra Club joins a series of other influential groups in California that have backed Newsom. The California Medical Assn., the powerful state doctors lobby, announced its endorsement of Newsom on Thursday. The California Nurses Assn. and the Service Employees International Union, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state, also support Newsom. Newsom is the races front-runner in polls and fundraising. A poll released earlier this month by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that 26% of likely voters backed Newsom. John Cox, a Republican from Rancho Santa Fe, was favored by 15% of likely voters and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, by 13%. Facebook

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Californias GOP House members are taking their challengers more seriously and the numbers show it By Christine Mai-Duc For much of last year, consultants and campaign managers for some of Californias most vulnerable Republican incumbents maintained a bullish tone on the prospect that the GOP would hold the House in this years midterms. The National Republican Congressional Committee insisted that longtime Republican incumbents in California had built up reputations as effective champions of local issues that would help them weather a flood of Democratic enthusiasm. Since then Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) have decided not to seek reelection and the NRCC has opened a West Coast headquarters in Orange County. Read More Facebook

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California officials say Pentagon has confirmed National Guard funding despite Trump threat By John Myers (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The awkward dance between Gov. Jerry Brown and the federal government over the National Guard jerked back toward discord on Thursday, when Trump said he would refuse to pay for a new deployment of troops  just hours after his administration said otherwise. And a few hours later, California officials said they had received written confirmation from the Pentagon that the mission would indeed be funded. Trump had earlier called Browns decision to approve 400 troops for a mission focused on combating transnational crime and drug smuggling a charade in a tweet. We need border security and action, not words! the president wrote. Governor Jerry Brown announced he will deploy up to 400 National Guard Troops to do nothing. The crime rate in California is high enough, and the Federal Government will not be paying for Governor Browns charade. We need border security and action, not words!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018 A spokesman for Brown pointed to a tweet written Wednesday night by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, thanking the California governor for his efforts. Trump was meeting on Thursday with Nielsen at his Mar-a-Lago estate not long after his tweet was posted. A tweet later posted by the California National Guard said that almost three hours after Trumps comment, the state received written confirmation from the Pentagon to fund the mission as outlined by Brown the day before. In short, nothing has changed today, said a subsequent Guard tweet. Just spoke w @JerryBrownGov about deploying the @USNationalGuard in California. Final details are being worked out but we are looking forward to the support. Thank you Gov Brown!  Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 19, 2018 Brown was the last of the nations border governors to respond to Trumps insistence earlier this month that National Guard troops were needed to assist with immigration-related duties at the U.S.-Mexico border. And he has consistently refused to allow California troops to engage in any mission related to federal immigration law. This will not be a mission to build a new wall, Brown wrote last week to Nielsen and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. It will not be a mission to round up women and children or detain people escaping violence and seeking a better life. Exactly what the California operations will cost remains unclear, as state officials have said it will depend on decisions made once the mission begins. The funds would not be transferred to the state, but instead would be paid directly by the Department of Defense. Trump has critiqued California several times over the past few days, often writing tweets that embrace the actions by some cities and counties to join his administrations lawsuit against the states sanctuary immigration law. He made similar comments to reporters on Thursday afternoon. If you look at whats happening in California with sanctuary cities  people are really going the opposite way, Trump said. They dont want sanctuary cities. Theres a little bit of a revolution going on in California. 2:26 p.m.:This article was updated with additional information from the California National Guard and with remarks from Trump. This article was originally published at 9:51 a.m. Facebook

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Gay conversion therapy services would be banned under measure advancing in California By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The California Assembly voted Thursday to add gay conversion therapy to the states list of deceptive business practices, following a debate that focused on the personal experiences of several lawmakers and hinted at potential lawsuits to come. It is harmful and it is unnecessary, Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), the bills author and one of the Legislatures most vocal LGBTQ members, said of the practice. Low, who told Assembly members that he explored conversion therapy as a teenager and suffered depression over his sexual orientation, insisted that the bill would be limited to efforts that involve the exchange of money. Theres nothing wrong with me, he said in an emotional speech on the Assembly floor. Theres nothing that needs to be changed. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, has become the focal point of intense debate on social media. Some religious groups have said that such a law would be a violation of their constitutional rights, while advocates insist the provisions are narrow and theres no credible evidence that the services work. One key part of the debate centers on whether Assembly Bill 2943 would stretch beyond businesses that charge for these programs and extend to printed documents, even Bibles. An analysis by the Assembly Judiciary Committee says the bill would apply only to services that purport to change a persons sexual orientation and offered on a commercial basis, as well as the advertising and offering of such services. Lawmakers who spoke in support of AB 2943 also made clear that they believe those kinds of services have been discredited. This is fraudulent, it should not be occurring, said Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton). But you can still try to pray the gay away, if you like. Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), who said the bill addresses a difficult issue, nonetheless said that its important to ensure laws dont tamper with religious freedom. We have to think about the legitimate experience of people who have gone through conversion therapy and said this was a good thing for them, Gallagher told his colleagues. California law already bans the use of conversion therapy by mental health professionals on those under age 18. Lows bill would expand the states efforts beyond minors. It would join a list of commercial activities deemed unfair or deceptive acts or practices and therefore banned under state law. Facebook

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Gavin Newsom gets backing from doctors group, despite differences over single-payer healthcare By Melanie Mason Gavin Newsom speaks at the California Democrats State Convention in San Diego on Feb. 24. (Kent Nishimura) Californias doctors are siding with Gavin Newsom in the governors race, even though they dont see eye-to-eye on a defining issue of the campaign: single-payer healthcare. The California Medical Assn., the state doctors lobby and a political heavyweight, announced its endorsement of the lieutenant governor on Thursday. Gavin is a lifelong champion for health care in California, and we know he will continue to fight for pragmatic solutions to our most crucial health care challenges, including working to achieve universal access and tackling our states physician shortage, CMA President Theodore M. Mazer said in a statement. Newsom has made his support for state-financed healthcare a centerpiece of his campaign, and he earned the early backing of the most ardent single-payer supporters, the state nurses union. The doctors, meanwhile, oppose the nurses bill, SB 562, which emerged as a flashpoint in the healthcare debate last year. The CMA said the bill would dismantle the healthcare marketplace and destabilize Californias economy. Newsom has said SB 562 should advance in the Legislature, but also said it has open-ended issues that still need to be addressed. The doctors group is also battling with another prominent Newsom endorser, the Service Employees International Union, over a new measure that would impose price caps on an array of medical services paid for by commercial health insurers in the state. The SEIU is a leading sponsor of the proposal; the doctors fiercely oppose it. Newsom and the physicians group have a history of political alignment. Newsom was the first statewide official to support Proposition 56, a 2016 tobacco tax pushed by the CMA that raised revenue in part to increase money for doctors who saw Medi-Cal patients. That year, the association also endorsed two initiatives championed by Newsom: Proposition 63, which imposed new gun control measures, and Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana. Facebook

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Independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor hits the airwaves with first ad By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa speaks at the 2018 California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego in February.. (Denis Poroy / Associated Press) A well-financed independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosas bid to be Californias next governor released its first television ad Thursday, praising his record for working with Republicans and as a candidate for all of California. The ad, which is to air statewide on broadcast and cable stations, is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and mayor of Los Angeles, including on education and a drop in crime while he was at City Hall. To move California forward, we need to help more Californians get ahead, the ad says. Thats why Antonio Villaraigosa brought both parties together to balance the state budget with record investments in public schools and new career training programs. The independent expenditure committee behind the ad campaign, Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018, is sponsored by the California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The committee is spending seven figures per week on the ad buy, said Josh Pulliam, a political consultant for the committee. As mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa clashed with teachers unions, starting with his failed attempt to take political control of the Los Angeles Unified School District. His fight with those unions continued after he left office in 2013. Money has poured into the committee this month from wealthy charter schools supporters: Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, donated $7 million, and Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Eli Broad donated $1.5 million. On Wednesday, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan donated $1 million. The independent expenditure committee is expected to provide a boost to Villaraigosas campaign. Democratic front-runner Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has a major advantage in fundraising over all other candidates in the race and has received the backing of the California Teachers Assn. and other education unions. A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll also showed Villaraigosa lagging in third place in the race, trailing Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox. The candidates who finish in the top two in the June 5 primary will advance to the November general election, regardless of their party affiliation. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown says Trump administration will fund his National Guard mission  without immigration duties By John Myers (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Gov. Jerry Brown formally mobilized 400 California National Guard members Wednesday for transnational crime-fighting duties, thus preventing any effort by President Trump to have the troops focus on immigration enforcement on the Mexican border. The governor announced that federal officials have agreed to fund the plan he announced last week  a mission to combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers in locations around California, including near the border. The order Brown signed makes clear that the troops will not be allowed to perform a broader set of duties as envisioned by Trumps recent comments. California National Guard service members shall not engage in any direct law enforcement role nor enforce immigration laws, arrest people for immigration law violations, guard people taken into custody for alleged immigration violations, or support immigration law enforcement activities, the order read. The cost of the mission, a spokesman for Brown said, will be paid directly by the federal government. No initial estimate has been made, as the exact amount will depend on exactly how the troops will be used. Though the duties of California Guard members were outlined last week, the state had been waiting for an agreement by federal officials to pay for the operations. Since that time, the president has taken Brown and the state to task over its decision to avoid any immigration-related duties at the border. On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted, Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW! There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018 Looks like Jerry Brown and California are not looking for safety and security along their very porous Border. He cannot come to terms for the National Guard to patrol and protect the Border, Trump tweeted Tuesday. There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Browns announcement. On Tuesday, Brown told reporters in Washington that his plan was consistent with a safer border. That sounds to me like fighting crime, the governor said. Trying to catch some desperate mothers and children, or unaccompanied minors coming from Central America, that sounds like something else. The order Brown issued Wednesday after returning from a brief trip to talk climate change in Toronto and to speak to a national trade union and visit with reporters in Washington is set to expire at the end of September. It specifically says no Guard service member may participate in a mission that would exceed the mission scope and limitations related to transnational crime activity. It also says troops cannot help build any new border barrier. 5:27 p.m.: This article was updated with information related to the cost of the Guard mission and Browns trip to Washington. This article was originally published at 5:13 p.m. Facebook

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California bill aims to end practice that keeps workplace misconduct cases out of court By Melanie Mason A California bill would prohibit employers from requiring workers to use private arbitration to settle disputes, a practice that critics say shields improper workplace conduct from public view. The bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) would bar businesses from making employees, when they are hired, waive their future rights to take any harassment, discrimination or other claims to court. Arbitration can be a highly effective dispute resolution method when both parties can choose it freely, when both parties are equal, Gonzalez Fletcher said at a news conference on Wednesday. It is far less successful when the more powerful party forces the other to accept those terms, especially as a condition of employment. Forced arbitration has come under increasing scrutiny since the #MeToo movement, with high-profile figures such as former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson pointing to the practice as shielding workplace abusers from public disclosure because arbitration resolutions often include nondisclosure agreements. Last year, a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress to end mandatory arbitration in employment agreements. Gonzalez Fletcher said she was pursuing an unusual tool to draw attention to the issue  a subpoena issued by the Legislature to compel testimony from a worker bound by a nondisclosure agreement as a result of arbitration. The Legislature has subpoena power but it is rarely used. The bills sponsors believe lawmakers last issued a subpoena in 2001 while investigating price manipulation by Enron. Gonzalez Fletcher said she has requested Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) to issue the subpoena to require Tara Zoumer, who sued the company WeWork in 2016 for overtime pay, to testify before the Assembly Judiciary Committee next week. Zoumers suit was moved to arbitration and resolved. She is now subject to a nondisclosure agreement and could face a financial penalty for speaking publicly about her case. A spokesman for Rendon said the subpoena request is under consideration. Business groups oppose the bill, AB 3080. The California Chamber of Commerce has dubbed it a job biller, claiming it would dramatically increase legal costs for businesses. Banning such agreements benefits the trial attorneys, not the employer or employee, the group said. The bill must first advance from the Assembly Labor Committee on Wednesday. Facebook

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At least 240 House lawmakers want a vote on immigration. California supporters say they arent ready to force one By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) speak about DACA legislation (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Rep. Jeff Denham says at least 240 of the 430 current House members have signed onto his resolution to hold votes on four immigration bills, and he hopes House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and President Trump are paying attention to the show of support. But, the Republican from Turlock and his allies said Wednesday that they are not yet willing to commit to forcing Ryans hand through a little-used procedural move called a discharge petition; they acknowledged theres no guarantee that all of 47 Republicans and 193 Democrats House co-signers will back them up if they try to force the issue. Im sure that it is something that will be discussed in the coming weeks. You should not need a discharge petition. When you can show the overwhelming majority of the House, the support of it, you should not need a discharge petition, but it is something we would talk about in the future, Denham said. It is far too early to talk about next steps. Ryan said last week that he opposes Denhams effort, saying its a waste of time for the House to vote on bills the president might veto. Denhams resolution would prompt debate and votes on four very different immigration bills: one favored by the Trump administration, one preferred by Democrats, one bipartisan proposal and another immigration bill of Ryans choice. Whichever got the most votes would move forward to the Senate. All four bills would help Dreamers to differing degrees and include varying levels of border security or immigration enforcement. For example, the Trump-backed bill would also dramatically reduce legal immigration, while the Democrats would only deal with legal status for Dreamers. Democrats say they dont expect the show of support will sway Ryan. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said Tuesday night she expects Ryan will have to be forced into allowing a vote. It doesnt matter how many signatures we get. We could have every signature, technically, except his, on the floor of the House and... if he doesnt want to, it doesnt happen, Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), who gathered the Democratic co-sponsors for Denham, also wouldnt give a deadline for House leaders to act, but said the co-sponsors are only willing to wait weeks not months. We do want to give them an opportunity to bring up the rule and to use whatever process they want, Aguilar said. They do have options, but I think they need to understand that we have options too. Facebook

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Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer endorses Kevin de Leon in his insurgent bid against Sen. Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta Tom Steyer, left, and California state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). (Getty Images; Los Angeles Times) Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer is endorsing state Sen. Kevin de Leon in his insurgent challenge to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and did not rule out funding an outside effort to boost De Leons chances. I think hes the kind of young progressive that reflects California and would be a very strong advocate for our state nationally, Steyer said in an interview on Tuesday, pointing to De Leons efforts on issues such as immigration, climate change and gun control while he was the state Senate leader. I know him well and hes a friend. We share a lot of values. Steyer, who flirted with running for the Senate seat, did not criticize Feinstein as he has in the past. Sen. Feinstein has been an outstanding public servant who has dedicated the bulk of her adult life to the service of our state and the country, he said. These are two strong, very good Democrats. I just believe Kevin is the true progressive and he reflects something we need representing California going forward. I have nothing bad to say about Dianne Feinstein. I have a lot of good to say about Kevin de Leon. De Leon faces enormous odds as he tries to oust Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for a quarter-century, is well known to the states voters and has daunting leads in polls and fundraising. But De Leon has gained notable endorsements, most recently from the 2.1-million-member California Labor Federation last week. Campaign finance reports released this week show that Feinstein has more than $10 million in the bank, while De Leon has just more than $670,000. Feinstein, a multimillionaire and one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, has already lent her campaign $5 million and could easily write another check. But Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, could write a larger one. He is among the largest Democratic donors in the nation and has already committed more than $50 million to push for the impeachment of President Trump and to register young voters. He was noncommittal when asked if he would fund an independent expenditure group on behalf of De Leon. I dont have any concrete plans for that, he said. Read More Facebook

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Californias largest pension fund sends next years invoice to state government: $6.3 billion By John Myers The California Public Employees Retirement System building (Max Whittaker / Getty Images) As part of a shift toward less optimistic expectations for investment returns to pay for government worker pensions, board members of the California Public Employees Retirement System voted Tuesday to require an almost $6.3-billion payment from the state budget in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The action, which could receive final approval on Wednesday, reflects a gradually higher annual contribution to public employee pensions by the state and from local governments across California. In 2016, CalPERS approved a half-percentage point decrease in its official estimate of the long-term investment return on its $353.3-billion portfolio. That shift was designed to happen over several years, in hopes it would lessen the financial shock of shifting more of the costs onto government employers. The highest costs are also, in part, a reflection of increases in the size of the states payroll. The states CalPERS payment will be about $450 million more than the total paid in the current fiscal year and more than double what it was only a decade ago. CalPERS board members voted on Tuesdays staff proposal with little discussion, save for a question about the increase in contributions also required from workers hired after a pension overhaul that took effect in June. It seems like it will be a ding on peoples salaries, said Theresa Taylor, the chairwoman of CalPERS finance committee and a member of SEIU Local 1000, the union that represents some 96,000 state employees. The $6.299-billion payment required from Californias state government must now be factored into the budget crafted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in late June. Brown had already assumed a similarly sized payment in his budget proposal unveiled in January. In February, a coalition representing city governments warned about the effects of rising pension costs under the expectations of less money from Wall Street investments. The report issued by the League of California Cities projected an average increase of more than 50% in annual pension payments made by the states largest cities over the next seven years. A CalPERS staff report notes that the net return on all of the funds investments for the fiscal year that ended in July was 11.2%. But expectations on profits over the next 30 years remain significantly more modest, and theres long been a robust debate about how to properly set those future expectations. The lower the rate of projected investment return, the larger the share of pension costs that must be covered by taxpayers and some employees. Overall, CalPERS officials believe the system has assets to cover 71% of its long-term obligations. Facebook

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California warns legal pot sellers not to participate in unlicensed 4/20 events By Patrick McGreevy Marijuana on display at a dispensary in Los Angeles. ( (Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)) The state issued a warning Tuesday that businesses holding licenses to sell marijuana could face penalties if they participate in unlicensed temporary events away from their stores, including on Friday, April 20, which has become an annual celebration for counterculture groups. The warning was issued ahead of 4/20 by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control. Since Jan. 1, the bureau has issued more than 700 state licenses to sell marijuana for medical or recreational use. The bureau has issued 47 temporary event licenses to groups that are limited to holding the marijuana celebrations on county fairgrounds that have authorized such events with city approval. Any bureau licensee participating in an unlicensed cannabis event may be subject to disciplinary action, the warning said, adding that lawful participation by bureau licensees in any temporary cannabis event that allows sales and/or consumption is dependent upon issuance of the appropriate licenses from the bureau. While many Californians have been issued medical approval to sell or use marijuana, the law does not allow them to participate in unlicensed events, also referred to as Proposition 215 events after the ballot measure that legalized medical pot two decades ago in the state. Participation in such events may lead to civil penalties for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity, the warning said. Meanwhile, a survey of some 1,000 marijuana users that was released Tuesday by the firm LendEDU found that the average 4/20 participant plans to spend $71 on marijuana to celebrate the unofficial holiday, and about 35% of respondents are planning to take off work Friday. Facebook

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California police groups shift position on officer discipline records, now consider support for making some of them public By Liam Dillon Los Angeles Police Department recruits at a graduation ceremony in April (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Some major law enforcement groups signaled Tuesday they are willing to support making part of police officer disciplinary records public, a dramatic departure from their past positions. Local and national attention on police shootings and misconduct has led law enforcement organizations to reconsider their blanket opposition to proposals that would give public access to some internal disciplinary investigations of officers. Were going to be open to supporting efforts that would allow for some records to be released, said Ryan Sherman, a lobbyist with the Riverside Sheriffs Assn. Debate over secrecy provisions in officer disciplinary files came during a legislative hearing on Senate Bill 1421 from Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). Skinners bill, which advanced out of the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, would require public disclosure of all internal officer shooting investigations and confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. Currently, all police discipline information is confidential outside of a courtroom in California, which has some of the nations strictest standards against public disclosure. Unfortunately, the fact that we have such strict restrictions on any access to public records has affected certain communities trust towards our law enforcement, Skinner said during the hearing. Prior to Skinners effort, other have tried to loosen these rules, some of which date back 40 years. Most recently in 2016, a bid by then-Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) failed in a Senate committee. In debate two years ago, no major law enforcement groups indicated they would accept changes to state laws that would make individual internal investigations public, saying they were essential to protect officer privacy and safety. But Tuesday, Sherman and other lobbyists including those representing the states largest police labor organization, signaled they might be willing to entertain changes. They said they were negotiating with Skinner on the bills details. Law enforcement groups still have major concerns about SB 1421 as written. Ed Fishman, an attorney for the Police Officers Research Assn., told legislators that the bill would wrongfully expose police officers who acted within departmental policy to invasions of their privacy. It has unintended consequences that are extreme and will hurt the public, Fishman said. Tuesdays hearing featured testimony from many who have had relatives killed by police officers in recent years advocating for the bill. Senators on the Public Safety Committee also gave public rebukes to law enforcement lobbyists, criticizing them for a lack of diversity and insensitivity to concerns raised by communities of color. I think that you are completely and utterly out of touch with the realities of how those you are representing are perceived by major segments of California, said Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles). You are not going to be able to continue to lobby your way out of it. The bill faces at least one more committee hearing in the Senate before reaching the floor. It will have to pass both houses of the Legislature by the end of August. Facebook

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Newest member of the California Assembly arrives ready to work on criminal justice issues By John Myers Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove prepares for the oath of office from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon with her husband, Austin Dove. (California Assembly Democrats) Two weeks after winning a Los Angeles special election, the newest member of the California Assembly says she hopes to focus on reforms to the states criminal justice system during her time in Sacramento. Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) took the oath of office on Monday, filling one of three vacant seats representing Los Angeles County in the lower house. The Democrat, a former community college trustee and legislative staffer, thanked her mentors in remarks from the Assembly rostrum. So many women, and in my life so many black women, have paid in giving me the kind of morals and integrity and grit that is required to fight on behalf of people that you know, and people that you dont know, she said. Kamlager-Dove won handily on April 3, receiving 70% of the votes cast in the 54th Assembly District which encompasses communities west of downtown Los Angeles, from Crenshaw to Culver City and as far north as Westwood. She will serve the remaining eight months of the term of former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who resigned last year citing health concerns. She has said she hopes to focus her attention on poverty issues and on reform of the states criminal justice system. I think we have an opportunity to really push the needle in terms of how we look at rehabilitation, how we look at incarceration, and how we look at changing the lives oftentimes of poor men and women of color, Kamalager-Dove said on Monday in a video released by Assembly Democrats. Facebook

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Survivors of violent crime raise their voices in California to call for a new approach to criminal justice By Jazmine Ulloa Aaliyah Smith marches with her cousins. (Jazmine Ulloa / Los Angeles Times) Her father, uncle, a cousin and two older brothers. Those are some of the family members 16-year-old Aaliyah Smith has lost to gun violence. Then there are her friends. Jermaine Jackson Jr., 27, was shot and killed in 2016 while he painted over graffiti in San Francisco. Toriano Tito Adger, 18, was shot there a year later at a bus stop. He called Smith, who was nearby, and warned her to run. She made it inside a library moments before the crack of gunfire. Last week, Smith was among hundreds who gathered in Sacramento for annual National Crime Victims Rights Week events, where calls were issued for a new approach to criminal justice and public safety in California, one that puts survivors at the center of policy. But a debate is brewing over what that entails. Read More Facebook

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California expects $14 billion in tax payments this month By John Myers State workers handle income tax returns at the California Franchise Tax Board offices. (Laura Morton / For The Times) Gov. Jerry Browns proposed state budget is built on what taxpayers might find an audacious assumption: almost $14 billion in tax payments in the month of April, an average of $83 million collected per hour on every business day of the month. Most of that money will come from the taxes Californians pay in advance of Tuesday nights filing deadline for income tax returns. If history is any guide, the rate of payment could quadruple by weeks end. While tax rules have shifted some of the payment schedules to other months, April remains a vitally important month to the fiscal health of state government. The state controllers office reports more than 15% of all personal income tax revenues in 2017 were collected in April. In the recession years of a decade ago, tax revenue predictions were frequently off the mark by hundreds of millions of dollars. The last two state budgets have seen significant windfalls of personal income tax revenue, thanks in part both to an improving economy and to the continuation of a temporary surcharge on the wealthiest taxpayers  extended by voters in 2016. In the budget plan he sent to lawmakers in January, Brown projected a $6.1-billion windfall and proposed using a sizable amount to top off Californias rainy-day fund ahead of schedule. The independent Legislative Analysts Office reports that through the end of last week, the months income tax tally stood at $3 billion, slightly ahead of projections. By the end of the current week, a single days total could be almost that large. Lawmakers began reviewing the governors $190.3-billion spending plan during the winter, but few decisions are made until they get a look at Aprils tax revenues. The governor will release a revised plan based on the new data next month; lawmakers are required to send him a completed budget no later than June 15. Facebook

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Feinstein war chest tops $10 million while Kevin de Leon struggles to keep pace By Sarah D. Wire Sen. Dianne Feinstein widened her already-massive fundraising advantage in the run-up to Junes primary, raising twice as much in the first quarter than her strongest Senate challenger has sitting in the bank. Feinstein raised $1.3 million between January and March, bringing her war chest to just over $10 million as Californias U.S. Senate race begins in earnest, according Federal Election Commission reports. Former state Senate leader Kevin De Leon, the best known of the more than 30 people who will appear with Feinstein on the June primary ballot, raised just $575,991 in that same period, bringing his cash on hand to $672,331, according to his quarterly FEC report. Read More Facebook

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Trump has met his match, says Gov. Jerry Brown in promoting climate action on a quick trip to Canada By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown told a Canadian audience Monday that he believes President Trumps efforts to reverse course on climate change policy are a momentary deviation as others in the United States seek limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Thats very temporary, I can assure you, Brown said at a joint event in Toronto with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The governors quick international trip, announced only late last week, comes as Wynnes Liberal Party faces a stiff challenge in Junes election from the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and its leader, Doug Ford. Critics of Wynnes party have called for Ontario to pull out of the Western Climate Initiative, a cooperative agreement between three Canadian provinces and California on efforts to limit greenhouse gases. Brown sought to link the efforts of Canadian conservatives with Republicans in the United States who oppose existing climate change programs. In contrast, he told the audience, several GOP lawmakers voted last summer to renew Californias cap-and-trade program. I would say to the conservatives of Canada, wake up and see what your friends in California are doing, he said. The Democrat took particular notice of Trumps efforts to shift away from climate change policies from the administration of former President Obama, as well as a push by the Environmental Protection Agency to cancel Californias strict limits on automobile emissions. If Trump tries to change that, well have litigation well beyond his term in office, Brown said while also noting Chinese government efforts to produce more low-emissions vehicles. Between California and China, Trump has met his match. What hes saying is not going to happen. Many of the governors remarks, though, were aimed at the tough political situation in which Wynne finds herself with seven weeks to go before Ontarios parliamentary elections. Dangers abound, but success is right in our hands, Brown said. So dont blow it! Facebook

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California voters are getting to know the states attorney general through his aggressive stance challenging Trump By Patrick McGreevy Less than two months from his first statewide election, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has become adept not only at challenging President Trump but at using the bully pulpit of his office to raise his profile with voters. The aggressive effort may help boost the former Los Angeles congressmans chances at winning a full term in office this fall, almost two years after he was appointed to replace Sen. Kamala Harris in 2017. Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Becerra took office as attorney general four days after Trumps inauguration. Thats afforded him an opportunity to get in front of Californians  and potential voters  on an array of issues including immigration, healthcare and the environment. Read More Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown forms commission for 2020 census outreach By Melanie Mason In an effort to make sure California has a strong showing in the next national census, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday established a state commission to prepare outreach for the decennial count. It is vitally important for California to do everything it can to ensure that every Californian is counted in the upcoming census, Brown said in a prepared statement. The commissions formation comes on the heels of a Trump administration plan to ask about citizenship status as a part of the census. State officials fear that such a question, which has not been asked in a census since 1950, could chill participation among California residents. That could result in the state losing billions of dollars in federal funds and a seat in Congress. The 23-member panel, appointed largely by Brown as well as picks by legislative leaders, comes from private- and public-sector backgrounds, including civil rights groups, religious institutions and educational institutions. Facebook

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Garcetti kicks off Iowa visit with 2020 on his mind and a hardhat on his head LA Mayor - and 2020 prospect - Eric Garcetti makes his Iowa debut at the Carpenters Union Training Center. Fearlessly flaunts the never be photographed in head gear/safety glasses rule. pic.twitter.com/14bUOPXMvF  Mark Z. Barabak (@markzbarabak) April 13, 2018 Facebook

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Asm. Rocky Chavez takes the lead in race to replace Issa, while Doug Applegate slips By Joshua Stewart A new poll shows that Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez has taken a clear lead over 15 other candidates running to replace Rep. Darrell Issa in Congress and has overtaken Democrat Doug Applegate, the previous frontrunner. In a SurveyUSA poll by 10News and The San Diego Union-Tribune, Chavez, R-Oceanside, has support of 16 percent of likely voters, putting him ahead of Applegate, a lawyer, who was favored by 12 percent of voters and is in second place. The top two vote-getters in June, regardless of party, will proceed to a November runoff election. Competing with Applegate for the No. 2 spot is Democrat Mike Levin, also a lawyer, with support of 9 percent of voters. Several other candidates were right at his heels. Democratic Businessman Paul Kerr and Board of Equalization Member Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, were tied for fourth at 8 percent each. Read More Facebook

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Pro-Kevin de Leon group launches ad castigating Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta A group that is supporting Kevin de Leons bid for the U.S. Senate launched a blistering ad against Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday, questioning her progressive principles and tying her to President Trump. The ad buy from A Progressive California is minuscule  $10,000 to air it in Los Angeles for one day on CNN and MSNBC during programming such as The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and Anderson Cooper 360. The minute-long ad features news clips about Feinstein not getting the California Democratic Party endorsement earlier this year, as well as footage of Feinstein saying that Trump can be a good president and appearing to share a laugh with Trump. That moment actually came during a White House meeting in the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting when the president suggested an assault weapons ban should be included in a bipartisan bill to expand gun background checks. It also features extensive clips of de Leons speech at the state partys convention. De Leon, who just ended his final term as leader of the state Senate, announced last year he would run against fellow Democrat Feinstein as she seeks her fifth full term. Feinsteins longtime political advisor dismissed the ad, noting the size of the buy. Its not really a buy, said Bill Carrick. Ten thousand dollars in cable in L.A. Poof, its gone. Still, he said he planned to have the campaigns lawyers review the ad to see if it violates campaign law that limits what outside groups like A Progressive California can do. Such groups cannot coordinate with campaigns or candidates, and are limited in how much their messages can support a candidate. Ann Ravel, the former chair of the Federal Election Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said if the ad was in a state race, she is certain that the state commission would open an investigation into potential coordination with de Leons campaign because of the messaging and the types of footage in the ad. But the bipartisan federal commission cant agree on how to enforce the federal regulations, she said. The problem is [outside groups] understand that given the lack of very strong enforcement at the federal level, theres the ability to stretch the law, she said. A spokeswoman for the FEC declined to comment. Dave Jacobson, a spokesman for A Progressive California, disputed the suggestion that the ad violated campaign law. This frivolous allegation shows that Sen. Feinstein is afraid of the public seeing an ad which showcases her own words, that Donald Trump can be a good president, he said. Facebook

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Dispute over money emerges in campaign to repeal Californias gas tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A motorist prepares to gas up her vehicle in San Rafael, Calif., in 2015. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) A proposed initiative to repeal hikes to Californias gas tax has been caught in the middle of a dispute involving Republican rivals in the governors race. Assemblyman Travis Allen, a Republican candidate for governor, decided in January to drop plans for his own initiative and said he would urge supporters to sign a separate petition being supported by several Republican members of Congress. Then last week, the committee Allen formed to finance his ballot measure reported a $300,000 contribution from PISF Inc., a Novato, Calif., real estate firm. Now, an organizer of the still active Give Voters a Voice committee is urging the Allen committee to immediately donate their funds in support of the ongoing signature gathering efforts. There is only one gas tax repeal measure currently in circulation and that is the measure sponsored by the Give Voters a Voice Committee, said Dave Gilliard, a consultant to the group. PISF Inc., he said, gave to repeal taxes a
The Supreme Court sounded closely split Wednesday in a potentially far-reaching election-law dispute over whether Ohio and other states may remove voters from the rolls who have not voted in two elections and have failed to respond to a notice in the mail.

Civil rights lawyers said such purges have wrongly removed tens of thousands of legal voters from the rolls, even though the states had no evidence they had moved or died. They argued the practice violates the federal Motor Voter Act, which made it easier for Americans to register to vote and barred states from removing them by reason of the persons failure to vote.

The 1993 law was designed to end what was called the use it or lose it policy for voting. Previously, many states had regularly removed voters from the rolls if they failed to cast a ballot over several election cycles.

But civil rights advocates said those policies are making a comeback in an era when Republicans regularly sound the alarm over alleged voter fraud. Outdated, inaccurate voter rolls could, in theory, lead to casting ballots on behalf of dead people or former residents.

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Ohio has been particularly aggressive about removing inactive voters from the rolls, according to the League of Women Voters. A federal appeals court ruled its removal policy violated federal law.

But the justices agreed to hear the states appeal, and its leading conservatives said Wednesday they saw the states policy as reasonable. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy and Samuel A. Alito Jr. noted the federal law also said states may make a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters.

Kennedy said states are purging them [because] they want to protect the voter roll from people who have moved, and theyre voting in the wrong district. Were talking about the best tools to implement that purpose.

An attorney for the civil rights plaintiffs said that sending a notice in the mail is clearly not the best tool. About 70% of the recipients do not respond, he said, but the state sees this as evidence they have moved. Instead, they could check the states DMV offices, which requires drivers to update the registration within a month of moving.

He agreed that a letter returned undelivered would suggest the voter had moved. But a notice from the election board that doesnt get returned tells them nothing, said attorney Paul Smith.

The chief justice disagreed. It doesnt tell them nothing. It tells them that they did not respond to a notice that says youre going to lose the registration if you dont vote through two elections. So it tells them something.

The Trump administrations Solicitor Gen. Noel Francisco argued in support of Ohio and said Congress gave states the flexibility they need to cope with what he called overinflated or bloated voter rolls.

But he ran into sharply skeptical questions from two of the courts liberals. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan said the federal law made clear that voters may not be removed from the rolls based on the fact they did not vote in one or more elections. Sotomayor said Americans have a right not to vote. She noted that millions of voters typically sit out the midterm elections but vote in presidential election years.

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Last year, the Justice Department under President Trump switched its position in the Ohio case. Since the 1990s, the government had said the 1993 law did not permit states to remove voters from the rolls because they failed to cast a ballot in one or more elections.

Sotomayor asked for an explanation. It seems quite unusual that your office would change its position so dramatically, she told Francisco.

He said the law passed by Congress reflects a balance so that voters could easily register but states also could manage the rolls.

Lawyers for the ACLU and other civil rights groups said the state rules disproportionately affect minority and low-income voters. They cited reports from Cleveland and Cincinnati, where tens of thousands of people had their registrations canceled.

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To suggest that voting is somehow now a use it or lose it proposition disrespects voters and undermines the entire purpose of the National Voter Registration Act, Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said in a statement. She said the 1993 was explicitly designed to expand the voting rolls.

Voting has become an increasingly partisan issue in the last decade, with Republicans arguing for stricter standards for registering and casting a ballot and Democrats preferring to make the process easier for citizens.

If the justices side with Ohio in Husted vs. A. Philip Randolph Institute, other states are likely to follow the states lead. Lawyers for 17 Republican-led states filed briefs in support of Ohio; California and 11 other Democratic-led states joined in support of the civil rights plaintiffs.

david.savage@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

1:40 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction and quotes from the justices.

This article was originally published at 9:45 a.m.
In a sharp challenge to Senate Republicans, Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday released 10 hours of testimony from the co-founder of Fusion GPS, the research firm behind a notorious dossier of allegations about President Trumps ties to officials in Russia.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee had resisted making Glenn Simpsons lengthy testimony from August public, claiming it would interfere with multiple congressional investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.

But Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, released the 312-page transcript, the latest sign of a deepening partisan divide over the investigations. Simpson had urged its release, and the document contained few surprises.

The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice, Feinstein, a San Francisco Democrat, said in a statement. The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public.

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Republicans have argued that the tangled history of Fusion GPSs research  it was first backed by anti-Trump Republicans and then by Democrats during the 2016 race  raised doubts about the credibility of investigations into whether any of Trumps aides assisted Russias efforts to meddle in the election.

Simpson, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, described his companys work much differently in his Aug. 22 testimony to the Judiciary Committee.

He said the research began as a general inquiry into Trumps business background, a typical function of opposition researchers during presidential campaigns, and only later focused on questions about his relations with Russia.

Eventually, Fusion GPS hired Christopher Steele, a former British spy who had worked in Russia in the 1990s, to reach out to his sources there. They, in turn, claimed Russian officials had aided Trump for years, and had gathered compromising information on him during a 2013 visit to Moscow that they could use as blackmail.

In mid-2016, Steele told Simpson that he was so concerned about the Russian operation that he would share his research with the FBI. Its a national security issue, Simpson recalled Steele saying.

Simpson said Steele was concerned whether or not there was blackmail going on, whether a political candidate was being blackmailed.

He said he was professionally obligated to do it, Simpson said. So I just said, If thats your obligation, then you should fulfill your obligation. 

Glenn Simpson, co-founder of the research firm Fusion GPS, has been providing private testimony to congressional committees. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press )

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Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee chairman, criticized Feinsteins decision to release the transcript, saying she did not consult him first.

Its totally confounding, said a Grassley spokesman, Taylor Foy. Her action undermines the integrity of the committees oversight work and jeopardizes its ability to secure candid voluntary testimony, such as from Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law.

The split between Feinstein and Grassley has widened in recent weeks.

Feinstein, who is running for reelection and facing a primary challenge fueled by concern from some liberals that she has not been aggressive enough in opposing Trump, has issued a flurry of news releases to announce her requests to current and former members of Trumps campaign team for interviews and documents.

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More dramatically, Grassley and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another member of the committee, last week sent a classified letter urging the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation of Steele. They said Steele may have lied to investigators about his contacts with reporters.

On Tuesday, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, told reporters that Feinsteins release of the Simpson transcript would mark the end of bipartisan cooperation on the panel.

Follow live coverage of the Trump administration on Essential Washington 

Simpsons testimony provided a behind-the-scenes view of how the dossier was compiled from memos that Steele wrote after communicating with his sources in Russia.

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Steele briefed an FBI agent in July 2016. Two months later, at the FBIs request, Steele gave a more in-depth briefing to bureau officials at a meeting in Rome.

The FBI believed Steeles information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing, and one of those pieces of information was a human source inside the Trump organization, Simpson testified.

He did not identify the source. It may have been Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who told an Australian diplomat that Russia had political dirt on Hillary Clinton in May 2016, according to the New York Times. The diplomat later reported the conversation to the FBI.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty in October to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian officials, and is cooperating with prosecutors led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

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Simpson said he was concerned about Trumps character and competence, and his business history of dealing with people who had ties to organized crime.

One of those people, he said, was Felix Sater, a convicted felon who later became a cooperating witness with the FBI and who worked with Trump on real estate deals. He said his research didnt turn up any sign of crimes committed by Trump.

But Simpson said he was careful not to let his personal opinions shade the conclusions of his research.

The facts of these investigations are the facts, and we dont try to drive an investigation to any particular conclusion, certainly not based on our political views, he said, according to the transcript.

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chris.megerian@latimes.com

Twitter: @chrismegerian

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Mueller calls back at least one participant in key meeting with Russians at Trump Tower
A federal judges decision to stop President Trump from ending protections for so-called Dreamers offered the young immigrants a temporary reprieve but may have stalled the urgency in Congress toward a more lasting legislative solution.

The president on Wednesday denounced the federal courts as broken and unfair after a district judge in San Francisco issued a temporary ruling keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in place, despite Trumps decision to end it this year. The administration vowed to request a stay and appeal.

But the nationwide preliminary injunction produced cross-currents in Congress, where lawmakers have been meeting frantically in bipartisan groups to come up with deportation protections for some 700,000 immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and have been working, attending school or serving in the military.

Pressure had been mounting for Congress to broker a deal by Jan. 19 as part of a must-pass budget package to fund the government. That motivation could slip after the federal judges order, giving opponents an opening for continued delay.

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This is a huge step forward, but the fight is not over, said California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, who filed the suit.

The real question now turns to the Congress and the president. Will they act? Becerra said. It is time for Congress to give us a lasting solution that will leave no doubt that the Dreamers are Americans and that they are here to stay.

Advocates for immigrants say more than 120 DACA recipients a day have already lost protected status, a number that is expected to swell to 1,000 in March if Trumps decision to end the program is allowed.

Adrian Reyna, a Dreamer and immigration activist, promised that Dreamers would continue flooding Capitol Hill offices as they have for weeks warning Congress about inaction.

Dont let anyone tell you the urgency to get this done is not real, said Reyna, the Dream Act campaign director at United We Dream, a leading advocacy group.

The clock is ticking, he said. People have already lost protections.

On Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump administrations decision to phase out DACA.

Alsup granted a request by the state of California, the University of California and other plaintiffs to stop Trump from ending DACA as planned on March 5.

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The administrations decision to end DACA, which was announced in September, was based on a flawed legal analysis, Alsup wrote in his decision. Dreamers would be irreparably harmed if their DACA protections, which allow them to live and work legally in the U.S., were stripped away before the courts had a chance to fully consider their claims, he ruled.

It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our court system is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts, Trump wrote in a tweet.

The White House suggested the courts ruling would make a legislative deal harder to obtain.

We find this decision to be outrageous, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process.

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In announcing his intent to end the Obama-era program, which he viewed as an abuse of executive power, Trump also pushed Congress to develop a legislative fix, speaking favorably of the young immigrants and suggesting he did not necessarily want them to be deported.

One simple solution pushed by Democrats would be passage of the Dream Act, a bill that would give the young immigrants a path to legal status, and eventual citizenship, if they continue to be law-abiding.

Republicans in Congress, who mostly oppose DACA, are angling for a broader deal that would include elements of Trumps promised border wall with Mexico and other immigration reforms they are seeking.

Top conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh, warned Republicans off any deal that would include legal status  often derided as amnesty  for those here illegally.

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Leaders of both parties met Wednesday in House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthys office to negotiate what Republicans called a timeline toward a deal.

March the 5th is sort of the ultimate deadline, and wed like to try to get organized so we can get to work. Everybody wants to get to a solution, said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the GOP whip, as he headed toward the session.

Others expected more substantial talks would emerge in the Senate, where a bipartisan group of six senators has been working for months on a package that could pass both chambers.

We have made real progress, said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) after the group met again Wednesday behind closed doors. Its time for us to meet the presidents challenge and to create a law which solves this problem.

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Congress often works best when facing a deadline. Just a day earlier, Trump had convened 20 lawmakers at the White House that resulted in four priorities as the contours of a possible deal.

That deal would include beefed-up border security and other changes to immigration law in exchange for permanent protections for Dreamers.

Republicans also want to impose new limits on family reunification by preventing newly legal immigrants from applying to bring their family members to the United States.

Efforts to limit this so-called chain migration for spouses and children have largely been opposed by Democrats, but a 2013 bipartisan immigration overhaul bill in the Senate included tweaks that would have restricted immigrants siblings from being eligible.

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Democrats also are considering a Republican proposal to overhaul the diversity lottery that Trump also wants to end. It would transfer some, if not all, of the 50,000 annual visas that are available in a lottery system to immigrants now in the United States under temporary protective status. That could help some of the more than 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants who must leave the country after the Trump administration said it would end the program.

But the two sides remain far apart on the details of a compromise, especially as Trump insists on as much as $18 billion for his promised border wall  a nonstarter for Democrats.

We need the wall, Trump said following his meeting Wednesday with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg at the White House. Any solution has to include the wall. Without the wall it all doesnt work.

But the president has also indicated that the big, beautiful wall he once promised on the campaign trail would not necessarily need to span 2,000 miles of the border but could involve fencing and other measures, including technology, to deter illegal crossings.

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As the discussions drag on, some of those involved in the talks warned that the judges ruling could embolden opponents who want to delay any deal.

Im worried that some might see this as not necessary now, or hold off longer, said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) as he entered Wednesdays session.

House Democrats protested the standoff by forcing procedural votes on the floor to push Republicans, who have majority control, to bring the Dream Act forward. Some say they will withhold their votes on next weeks bill to fund the government unless it is included.

Deadlines always help, said Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), part of the Senate negotiating group.

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Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer agreed, saying on the Senate floor: The ruling last night in no way diminishes the urgency of solving the DACA issue. We cannot wait. Delay is a tactic employed by those who do not wish to see a deal.

Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento contributed to this report.

Twitter: @ByBrianBennett

brian.bennett@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

3:05 p.m.: The article was updated with more reaction from California officials, lawmakers and immigration activists.

9:15 a.m.: The article was updated with more reaction from lawmakers and some analysis.

The article was originally published at 7:15 a.m.
Republican Rep. Ed Royce dropped a bombshell Monday, announcing that he would not seek reelection. His surprise retirement decision scrambles the field in an already competitive race for the 39th Congressional District.

One of the first Republicans to jump in the race was former Assemblywoman Young Kim, whose candidacy came with Royces endorsement. Kim worked for Royce as a district staffer for nearly two decades before her election to the Legislature in 2014. She was unseated in 2016 by Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva, losing by 7 percentage points in the swing district.

For the record: A previous version of this article said that the candidate filing deadline is March 9. The filing deadline has been extended because Royce chose not to seek re-election.

About a quarter of Royces constituents reside in the district Kim represented, and the fact she is Korean-born could give her a boost in a district where 21% of voters are Asian American  4% are Korean American. Kim ended her campaign for a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors to jump in. Her entry and early endorsement from Royce could make other GOP hopefuls think twice before mounting a run.

A few hours after Kim announced, former state Senate GOP leader Bob Huff said he would run. In 2016, Huff left his Senate seat because of term limits. His former 29th Senate District includes 82% of the constituents in Royces district. Huff made an unsuccessful run for L.A. County supervisor, coming in third.

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Everything you need to know about the suddenly wide-open race for an Orange County congressional district 

Two former lawmakers in the race, plus Royces endorsement, could scare off other GOP candidates. Still, a rare open congressional seat is an attractive prize for other Republicans and has already drawn more than half a dozen Democrats.

Heres a look at how the field has already shaped up, and how that might shift.

Other Republicans running

Shawn Nelson: Nelson has been on the Orange County Board of Supervisors since 2010 but faces term limits in 2018. About half of his district lies within the 39th Districts boundaries, including major cities such as Fullerton, Buena Park and La Habra. Nelson will shut down a 2018 committee he opened to campaign for an Orange County Superior Court judgeship, according to his campaign consultant, John Thomas.

Andrew Sarega: The La Mirada city councilman was first elected in 2013. Sarega does not live in Royces district and their constituencies do not overlap.

Potential GOP candidates

Scott Baugh: Baugh was chair of the Orange County Republican Party for more than a decade and served in the state Assembly from 1995 to 2000. He lives outside the district and has amassed a campaign war chest of more than $500,000 to run in Rep. Dana Rohrabachers district should the Costa Mesa Republican retire. That sum would give him a significant cash advantage ahead of the March 14 candidate filing deadline if he chooses to switch districts. (Congressional representatives are not required to live in their districts.)

Follow California politics in the moment on our news feed 

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Ling Ling Chang: This former assemblywoman ran for an Orange County Senate seat in 2016 and narrowly lost to Josh Newman, handing Democrats the supermajority. She performed well in Royces district, beating Newman there 53% to 47%. Shes seen as a front-runner in a recall election targeting Newman, scheduled for June 5, the same day as the congressional primaries.

Phillip Chen: Chen won Changs Assembly seat in 2016 when she ran for state Senate. He represents nearly 63% of Royces constituents. It seems unlikely he would give up a safe GOP seat to run in a competitive congressional race, given he can serve in the Assembly through 2028.

John Cullum: He challenged Rep. Loretta Sanchez in 2014 and 2016 but didnt get past the primary. He told the OC Register hes strongly considering a run.

Michelle Park Steel: Steel, who doesnt live in the district, has been discussed as a possible successor to Rohrabacher in the neighboring 48th Congressional District. Steel is well known in Orange County GOP circles, but her district does not have significant overlap with Royces, so she could struggle to build name recognition.

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Democrats already in the race

Gil Cisneros: A Navy veteran and former shipping manager who became a philanthropist after winning the lottery in 2010.

Sam Jammal: Former Obama administration employee who also previously worked as chief of staff to Los Angeles Rep. Tony Cardenas.

Phil Janowicz: A former chemistry professor at Cal State Fullerton who now owns an education consulting firm with his wife.

Ted Rusk: A building contractor from Cerritos who has opened a campaign committee but hasnt yet reported raising any money.

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Andy Thorburn: A health insurance executive and former teacher who has given his own campaign more than $2 million.

Mai Khanh Tran: A pediatrician who came to the U.S. as a Vietnamese refugee when she was a child.

And still others

Democrat Jay Chen has said hes considering running for the seat again. The Mt. San Antonio Community College trustee ran against Royce in 2012 and lost 58% to 42%.

Stephan Cox and business systems analyst Julio Castaneda have opened campaign committees with the Federal Election Commission to run as independents. Neither has raised a significant amount of money.

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Herbert H. Lee, a physician and former UC Irvine Medical School professor, and Suzi Park Leggett, the widow of the late Democratic Rep. Robert Leggett, have pulled papers to run but have not yet filed to make it official. Both are Democrats.

Melissa Sharkie Garza, one of 23 candidates on the ballot in Los Angeles 34th Congressional District special election last year, also has pulled papers to run as an independent.

There is a March 14 deadline for candidates to file paperwork to run.

christine.maiduc@latimes.com

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Updates on California politics
The federal program known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is back in place this morning after a San Francisco judge struck a blow to one of President Trumps most controversial decisions.

And all of this came just hours after Trump, with the cameras rolling, wavered on whether to play hardball with Democrats on the issue of DACA.

TRUMP TEAM USED FLAWED LEGAL PREMISE

Tuesday nights ruling by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco means Dreamers, the approximately 800,000 young people who were brought to the country illegally as children, can stay. For now, at least.

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DACA was and remains a lawful exercise of authority by the administration of former President Barack Obama, wrote Alsup.

Reaction from California leaders was swift.

This is the type of fight we need to bring to Trump, to make him understand Dreamers are real Americans, said state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon.

A CLEAN DACA BILL? SURE. UM, WAIT A MINUTE

The question seemed simple enough: Will President Trump sign off on a bill that only solves the immigration status of Dreamers and does nothing else?

But on Tuesday, during a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers gathered at the White House, the president seemed to send mixed signals.

At the center of it all, two Californians: Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

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What about a clean DACA bill now with a commitment that we go into a comprehensive immigration reform procedure? Feinstein asked Trump.

I have no problem, he replied. Were going to do DACA and then we can start immediately on the phase two, which would be comprehensive.

Would you be agreeable with that? Feinstein asked.

When Trump said he would, McCarthy jumped in: Mr. President, you need to be clear, though, he said, adding, You have to have security measures as well in the DACA bill.

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Remember, no state has more DACA recipients  the Dreamers  than California. The stakes here are huge.

BROWNS BUDGET: ANOTHER BIG WINDFALL?

Seven years ago this week, no topic loomed larger on the to-do list of Californias newly elected governor than solving the state governments fiscal crisis.

In a few hours, Gov. Jerry Brown will unveil his final budget proposal  the 16th of his career, if you count those two terms that began in 1975. And over the past few years, the outlook has become dramatically different.

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The most recent estimates are that California will find itself with another multibillion-dollar windfall of tax revenues  cash that Brown will no doubt say is a temporary thing, a tactic thats worked well for him in negotiating spending plans with Democrats in Sacramento.

One thing we know the governor will do with some of those billions: finish the funding for his signature law that directs more education money to students from low-income and English learner families.

Well have all the details on our Essential Politics news feed of whats in the budget and whats not. Check in throughout the day.

NATIONAL POLITICS LIGHTNING ROUND

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-- Parents across the country who rely on the government Childrens Health Insurance Program have grown increasingly anxious as Congress repeatedly delays funding for the program.

-- Steve Bannons fall from power was sealed Tuesday when the former White House advisor quit his post leading Breitbart News after the president and party leaders shunned him for criticizing the Trump family in a new book.

-- In a move likely to stoke partisan tensions over the Russia investigation, Feinstein released the Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of a co-founder of Fusion GPS, the research firm that produced a notorious dossier of allegations against Trump.

-- Running for reelection against Oprah Winfrey would be lots of fun Trump said on Tuesday, though he doesnt think she will enter the 2020 race. Of course, theres also the question of whether the TV star should even entertain the idea.

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-- Critics heaped scorn on first daughter Ivanka Trump after she praised Oprahs Golden Globes speech condemning sexual harassment.

-- Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who last year was pardoned by the president in a case stemming from his immigration enforcement tactics, says he will run for the open U.S. Senate seat in his home state.

-- Democratic officials in California and New York accused the Trump administration of unfair partisan treatment after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke exempted Florida from expanded offshore drilling under pressure from the states Republican governor.

-- Trump, who won election as a populist and railed against free trade agreements, will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the White House announced on Tuesday.

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-- Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Israel, Egypt and Jordan later this month, rescheduling a trip postponed after President Trumps controversial decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital.

THE RACE TO REPLACE REP. ED ROYCE

Rep. Ed Royce dropped a bombshell Monday, announcing he would retire at the end of 2018. The move swings the door wide open in a race that was already shaping up to be a major battleground for this years midterms.

Prominent Republicans quickly jumped in  including former Assemblywoman Young Kim (who was endorsed by Royce) and former state Senate GOP leader Bob Huff. Democratic candidates were practically salivating, but the reality on the ground could still make it difficult for them to notch a win in this historically right-leaning district that is partly situated in Orange County.

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A CONVERSATION WITH JOE BIDEN

Former Vice President Joe Biden, out with a new book, will sit down with Patt Morrison in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday night as part of The Times Ideas Exchange series. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.

Join us in person, or follow our coverage in the moment via our Essential Politics news feed.

TODAYS ESSENTIALS

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-- Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is joining an effort by the former state Assembly GOP leader to offer new ideas about Republicans to California voters.

-- Californians want to protect net neutrality. As leader of the state Senate, De Leon pledged to protect consumers this week, but hes not the only one wanting to lead on the issue.

-- De Leons proposal to create a state-run nonprofit to help Californians avoid the effects of the federal tax overhaul would create the most generous tax credits in state history, a legislative analysis says.

-- The efforts to give whistleblower protections to legislative staffers in Sacramento appears to be gaining momentum, with one long-stalled measure getting an unusual resuscitation and a second proposal being introduced.

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-- California lawmakers will request $10 million in state funds to help Salvadorans facing deportation in wake of Trump action.

-- California lawmakerscould make it easier to clear marijuana convictions from criminal records.

-- The governor has called a June 5 election for Southern California voters to decide whether to recall state Sen. Josh Newman.

-- Browns top advisor has stepped away from work at the state Capitol to recover from cancer treatments.

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-- Joe Sanberg, a Westwood resident and tech entrepreneur, announced on Monday he will form a new political action committee to support progressive congressional candidates who prioritize the needs of working-class and poor Californians over wealthy corporations.

-- State Sen. Toni Atkins first day as leader of the state Senate is now official: March 21.

-- A jury has awarded more than $4 million in punitive damages to a former leader of the Black Panthers who was injured after an Oakland city councilwoman punched and pushed her during an argument over housing.

-- A coalition of San Diego tourism, business, homeless advocates, and organized labor interests is launching a citizens initiative to significantly increase the hotel room tax to fund an expanded convention center, homeless solutions and road repairs.

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-- California could soon have an official state horse: the California Vaquero.

Mondays newsletter mistakenly called Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox a billionaire. Hes a multimillionaire.

LOGISTICS

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Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) will not run for a 10th term in Congress, he announced Wednesday morning, becoming the second California Republican to retire this week as Democrats strive to retake control of the U.S. House.

On Monday, Republican Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton also announced he would not seek reelection.

Beyond shaking up the California political landscape, the two retirements are a signal that the GOP fears a Democratic wave election that could sweep them from power this fall.

Royce and Issa represent districts that are changing, with more Latino and Asian voters, and where Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

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(Los Angeles Times )

Democrats have made clear their path to reclaiming the U.S. House majority must pass through Southern California, and open-seat races could make that task a bit easier. On the other hand, Republicans could recruit strong and experienced candidates who might fare better against a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls, many of whom are seeking office for the first time.

With Issas announcement, more than 30 House Republicans have announced plans to leave Washington, and Democrats need to secure just 24 more seats to retake control.

Without incumbents in those races, it also will be more difficult for the Democrats to deploy their national strategy of tying the Republican candidate to Trump, who is widely unpopular in California.

In contrast to most of his California GOP colleagues, Issa showed a willingness to moderate his stances to placate invigorated Democrats, but perhaps found it wasnt enough to offset his reputation as a conservative bulldog in an increasingly liberal district.

Issa, former chairman of the House Oversight Committee, won reelection in 2016 by just over half a percent  about 1,600 votes  and was widely considered the most vulnerable Republican in the House going into this years election. In Issas northern San Diego and southern Orange County district, nearly 38% of registered voters are Republicans, with 31% registered as Democrats and 26% not registered with any political party, who often lean Democratic at the polls in California.

Still, the announcement was a surprise. A source close to Issa said he was talking about his reelection campaign with friends as recently as Tuesday night. Issas statement on Wednesday did not say why he decided to retire, just that he had the support of family in making the decision.

I am forever grateful to the people of San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties for their support and affording me the honor of serving them all these years, Issa said. Representing you has been the privilege of a lifetime.

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The richest man in Congress, Issa, 64, already had drawn a handful of well-funded Democratic opponents, including his 2016 challenger, Doug Applegate, Orange County environmental lawyer Mike Levin, San Diego real estate investor Paul Kerr and Sara Jacobs, who has drawn the endorsement of Emilys List. Issa had $852,028 in cash on hand as of September. Levin has led in fundraising with $530,326 in the bank. Applegate and Kerr each had a bit more than $200,000.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Issas retirement means we are in a strong position to elect a Democrat to the 49th District this fall.

But the National Republican Congressional Committee said Democrats are setting themselves up for an internal fight in Issas 49th District, adding, We look forward to facing whoever limps out of the Democrats battle royale: black and blue, and broke.

Hours after Issas announcement, GOP Assemblyman Rocky Chavez of Oceanside announced he would run for the seat. Other Republicans who could run in Issas place include Diane Harkey, chair of the state Board of Equalization and a former assemblywoman, and GOP Senate leader Pat Bates. All three represent significant portions of Issas district.

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Analysts for Larry J. Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics quickly changed their appraisal of the race from a toss-up to the leans Democratic category, saying Issas close 2016 win showed voters may be more willing to consider a Democrat. The 39th District remains a toss-up because Royce won by 15 percentage points in 2016, Crystal Ball managing editor Kyle Kondik said. At least one other prognosticator moved Royces district to leans Democratic as soon as he announced his retirement on Monday.

As chairman of the committee charged with overseeing the executive branch, Issa was known as President Obamas toughest critic because of his aggressive pursuit of alleged fraud and abuse by the administration. It made him a hero in conservative circles, and before his narrow 2016 win, Issa had gotten at least 58% of the vote in his eight previous campaigns.

But Issa walked a shakier line with the new administration. He appeared to moderate some of his rhetoric last year. Though he insisted he had not changed, he was more willing to buck his party on important votes. He voted against the tax bill in December, saying it would harm his constituents.

For a year, hundreds of activists have appeared weekly outside Issas Vista office to protest. At first, Issa regularly engaged with them on the street and in town halls, but his frustrations with the ongoing protests grew and he stopped talking with them.

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On Tuesday, activists with a local Indivisible group huddled under umbrellas outside Issas office for a premature retirement party for the congressman, complete with festive signs and a cake shaped like a Hawaiian shirt. The song they sang seem ominous in retrospect: Issa, youll retire, your situations dire, we will soon replace you, never fear. Now we must report, now your time is short, Issa youll retire this year.

Born in Cleveland as the second of six children in a Lebanese American family, Issa dropped out of high school at 17 to join the Army. While there, he got his GED and went on to earn degrees from Kent State University and Siena Heights College before returning to the Army as an officer.

Issa bought a struggling Cleveland electronics business in 1980 and within a decade transformed it to produce the popular Viper automobile anti-theft device, with Issas famous voice as the warning to would-be thieves to stand back. In 1986, he and his wife, Kathy, moved the business to Vista, where it continued to grow. His net worth was estimated at more than quarter of a billion in 2015, according to financial disclosures.

After years participating behind the scenes in local politics, Issas first foray as a candidate came in 1998 when he spent $9.8 million in the Republican primary for the chance to challenge Barbara Boxer for her Senate seat, but lost to Matt Fong. He was elected to the House in 2000 with 61% of the vote, and three years later, he spent $1.7 million to get signatures for the recall election of then-Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. He had hoped to replace Davis himself, but abruptly quit during a tearful news conference when Arnold Schwarzenegger entered the race, saying he had been assured a quality candidate was running.

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Assistant managing editor Christina Bellantoni contributed to this report.

sarah.wire@latimes.com

Follow @sarahdwire on Twitter

Read more about the 55 members of Californias delegation at latimes.com/politics

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California could flip the House, and these 13 races will make the difference

Updates on California politics

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2:50 p.m.: This article was updated with Assemblyman Rocky Chavezs announcement that he will run for Issas seat.

1:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional biographical details.

11:15 a.m.: This article was updated with more information about Issas district.

9:40 a.m.: This article was updated with additional information about Issa and the battle for control of the House.

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This article was originally published at 8:20 a.m.
The Polish oil and gas company PGNiG in 2017 supplied more than 700 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas to Ukraine, which is twice as high as in 2016.

According to a press release, in the period from August 2016 to December 2017 the company supplied more than 1 billion cubic meters of gas to the Ukrainian market.

According to PGNiG Vice President Maciej Wozniak, this result was achieved due to the flexible price policy and reliability of the Polish company as a supplier.

"The gas portfolio in our proposal is well diversified: it comes from our domestic production in Poland and various import directions," he said.

The expert said in January-September 2017 some 12% of gas imports by the company were deliveries through the LNG terminal in Swinoujscie mainly from Qatar, Norway and the United States. At the same time, PGNiG intends to abandon gas imports from Russia after 2022, when the long-term contract with Gazprom expires.

He added the company is ready to increase gas exports to Ukraine, but for this it is necessary to expand the capacity for gas transportation between the countries. PGNiG is also ready to use the existing cross-border capacities to start virtual reverse gas supplies to Ukraine, but this option is blocked by Russia's Gazprom, which refuses providing shipper codes (Naftogaz is seeking unblocking at the Stockholm arbitration).
Allies balk at Trump administration bid to block Chinese firm from cutting-edge telecom markets By David S. Cloud Britain and Germany are balking at the Trump administrations call for a ban on equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, threatening a global U.S. campaign to thwart Chinas involvement in future mobile networks. Both countries are expected to limit Huawei and other Chinese companies from providing core components including routers. But other types of Chinese equipment for next-generation, high-speed communications could still be installed on British and German networks, officials and analysts say. The U.S. push to ban Huawei has provoked a global dispute in recent weeks, with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, publicly urging NATO allies in Europe to exclude the company and warning that the United States might limit its military presence in countries that did not do so. Read More Facebook

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Confucius Institutes: Do they improve U.S.-China ties or harbor spies? By Don Lee Hanging red lanterns welcome visitors to the University of Marylands Confucius Institute, the oldest of about 100 Chinese language and cultural centers that have popped up over the last 15 years on American campuses, subsidized by millions of dollars from Chinas central government. But last fall, when four U.S. Senate investigators walked into the Confucius offices in Maryland and spent hours questioning staff, they werent looking for an educational exchange. The committee has been seeking detailed information from the university about the program, including contracts, email exchanges and financial arrangements that school administrators have kept under wraps since it started in 2004. American colleges once viewed these jointly funded institutes as an economical way to expand their language offerings  one that could also bring warmer ties with China and, importantly, an influx of Chinese international students paying full tuition. Read More Facebook

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Watch Live: White House holds surprise news briefing amid government shutdown Facebook

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U.S. policy toward China shifts from engagement to confrontation By David S. Cloud For decades, China had no closer American friend than Dianne Feinstein. As San Francisco mayor in the 1970s, she forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai, the first between American and Chinese communities. As U.S. senator, she dined with Chinese leaders at Mao Tse-tungs old Beijing residence. And in the 1990s, she championed a trade policy change that opened a floodgate of Western investment into China. Today the Democratic senator sees China as a growing threat, joining a broad array of Trump administration officials, national security strategists and business executives who once favored engagement with Beijing and now advocate a confrontational approach instead. Read More Facebook

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Mnuchins attempt to calm markets backfires as Trump takes another shot at the Federal Reserve By Jim Puzzanghera An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin to calm plunging financial markets backfired Monday, further rattling investors with new fears about whether major U.S. banks have enough cash on top of worries about interest rates, political instability in Washington and a slowing global economy. Adding to the volatile mix was a fresh attack on the Federal Reserve by President Trump, who declared that the central bank was the U.S. economys only problem and that it didnt have a feel for the market. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who cant score because he has no touch -- he cant putt! Trump said on Twitter. Read More Facebook

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He speaks to Democratic hearts. But is Beto ORourke a serious White House contender? By Mark Z. Barabak Hes a failed U.S. Senate candidate with an undistinguished congressional record who, for the moment, is a blazing-hot 2020 presidential prospect  despite the fact that he may not run and faces long odds if he does. Beto ORourke suggests the will-he-or-wont-he speculation is something he himself cant quite fathom. I think thats a great question, he responded in a Dallas Morning News interview when asked whether his unsuccessful November Senate bid merited a promotion to the White House. I ask that question myself. Read More Facebook

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Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Elizabeth Dwoskin Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Associated Press) Months after President Trump took office, Russias disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there. The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram  which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal  claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with radical Islamic groups. Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday. Read more Timberg, Romm and Dwoskin report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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President Trump announces Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff By Associated Press President Trump says budget director Mick Mulvaney will serve as acting chief of staff, replacing John F. Kelly in the new year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Facebook

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It aint over when its over: In Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere, losers seek to undermine election results By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Gavin Newsom has yet to become California governor, but already a candidate for state Republican Party chairman is promoting a recall effort. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers have rushed through legislation to thwart their incoming Democratic governors and hamper others in the opposing party from doing the jobs voters chose them to do. In Congress, GOP leaders have echoed President Trump and sought to undermine the legitimacy of Democrats strong midterm performance, raising unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and political malfeasance. Read More Facebook

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New CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger says she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera On her first full day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger said she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney, the controversial acting director whom she replaced in the powerful regulatory position. To underscore that point, the former White House aide said she would even reconsider a Mulvaney action that critics saw as a gratuitous jab at Democrats who championed the agencys creation: changing its name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Kraningers declaration during a meeting with reporters Tuesday addressed one of the main criticisms of her selection. She is considered a protege of Mulvaney, her boss at the White House Office of Management and Budget who has executed a dramatic, industry-friendly shift at the watchdog agency. Read More Facebook

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Trumps pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running By Associated Press Nick Ayers, right, with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush on Dec. 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Associated Press) President Trumps top pick to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is no longer expected to fill that role. Thats according to a White House official who is not authorized to discuss the personnel issue by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ayers is Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff. The official says that Trump and Ayers could not agree on Ayers length of service. The father of young children, Ayers had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump wanted a two-year commitment. The official says that Ayers will instead assist the president from outside the administration. Trump announced Saturday that Kelly would be departing the White House around the end of the year. Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause.  #Georgia  Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018 Facebook

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U.S. hiring slows to 155,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 3.7% By Jim Puzzanghera Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from Octobers strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday. Still, monthly job gains are averaging 206,000 this year, the best since 2015. Even the slower pace of 170,000 over the last three months is close to last years average of 182,000 and well above the amount needed to keep up with population growth. Read More Facebook

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Trump is expected to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador By Associated Press Heather Nauert at a briefing at the State Department on Aug. 9, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump is expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Two administration officials confirmed Trumps plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly before Trumps announcement. Trump has previously said Nauert was under serious consideration to replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year. Trump has been known to change course on staffing decisions in the past. Nauert was a reporter for Fox News Channel before she became State Department spokeswoman under former Secretary Rex Tillerson. Facebook

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Senate confirms new consumer financial protection chief: Kathy Kraninger, protege of industry-friendly Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera The Senate, in a party-line vote Thursday, confirmed White House aide Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and experts predicted a continuation of the industry-friendly shift it has taken since President Trump installed an acting director last year. Kraninger is a protege of acting director and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the agency that was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent predatory lending and other abuses that led to it. Democrats and consumer advocates have denounced him for sharply departing from the aggressive watchdog role the bureau had pursued under its first director, Obama-appointee Richard Cordray, including scaling back enforcement and moving to reassess tough new rules on payday loans and narrow the definition of abusive practices by banks and other firms. Read More Facebook

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Shutdown postponed by two weeks under plan approved by Congress By Erik Wasson Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), shown at the Capitol on Tuesday, says President Trumps border wall is a waste of money. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Congress passed a two-week stopgap spending bill that will delay the chance of a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22 as lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate over his demands to pay for a wall on the southern border. The House and Senate passed the measure Thursday without dissent, and Trump has indicated hell sign the bill before the current shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Negotiations were delayed by memorial services this week for former President George H.W. Bush. The temporary measure gives Democrats and Republicans more time to find a resolution to their biggest hurdle: funding a wall on the U.S. Mexico border wall. Trump says he wants $5 billion for parts of a concrete wall on the southern border and is willing to shut down the government if he doesnt get it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said Democrats will provide no more than $1.6 billion for border security, because the wall is a waste of money. The presidents demands for wall funding from Congress come after he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for it. This week he said on Twitter that a $25 billion border wall would pay for itself in two months, without providing evidence. Most of the U.S. governments $1.2 trillion discretionary budget has been appropriated already by Congress for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Departments at a risk of a partial shutdown late this month include the departments of State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security. Talks to resolve the differences have been on hold since a meeting among Trump, Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California originally slated for Dec. 4 was postponed due to Bush memorial events. The three are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama told reporters the rest of the seven-bill spending package being negotiated is basically done. Shelby in recent weeks had tried to broker a compromise in which Trumps $5 billion request would be split over two years, but Schumer has rejected that. Some Democrats have been willing to trade border wall funding for deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants. Pelosi ruled out such a deal in remarks to reporters Thursday. The stopgap government funding measure also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, to Dec. 21. Facebook

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Bipartisan Senate group wants to formally blame Saudi crown prince for journalists killing By Karoun Demirjian Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Associated Press) A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution Wednesday condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, directly challenging President Trump to do the same. This resolution -- without equivocation -- definitively states that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement accompanying the release of the resolution. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe. The resolution put forward by Graham and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who are expected to lead the Judiciary Committee together next year, comes just one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leading senators about the details of the agencys assessment that Mohammed ordered and monitored the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Senators emerged from that closed-door briefing furious not only with Saudi Arabia, but Trump as well for dismissing the heft of the CIAs findings. You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi, Graham said following the briefing, referring to Mohammed by his initials. He added that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who briefed senators last week, were at best being good soldiers and at worst were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia for presenting the evidence of Mohammeds involvement as inconclusive. The release of the resolution condemning Mohammed also comes as the Senate is preparing to move ahead with debate on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Though the Yemen resolution does not directly address Khashoggis murder, its popularity is a sign of how strained the United States patience with Saudi Arabia is on multiple fronts, including its role in worsening the civilian cost of the war in Yemen, cited by the United Nations as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the Senate voted 63 to 37 to advance the Yemen resolution past an opening procedural hurdle. But Graham and Feinsteins resolution on the crown prince has the potential of drawing broader support, especially from Republicans, who are deeply divided about how fiercely to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggis killing. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and is seen as one of the more influential foreign policy voices in the GOP, did not vote for the Yemen resolution last week or sign on to a bipartisan measure last month to sanction Saudi officials and cease weapons transfers to the kingdom. But he is an original co-sponsor of the resolution condemning Mohammed over Khashoggis death. So is Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who represents the other end of the GOP spectrum in terms of recent Saudi-related votes and endorsements. Young was an initial co-sponsor of the bill Graham wrote with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to sanction Saudi officials deemed responsible for Khashoggis killing and stop the sale of anything but exclusively defensive weapons to the kingdom until it ceased hostilities in Yemen. Young also voted to advance the Yemen resolution  something Graham did as well, though Graham has signaled he will not be lending any similar support to the measure, fearing it may establish a precedent of invoking the War Powers Act too broadly. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are listed as original co-sponsors of the resolution condemning Mohammed, which also urges Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Houthi rebels to end the Yemen war, work out a political solution to its standoff with Qatar and release political prisoners. But how much sway the resolution has probably comes down to how forcefully the administration decides to heed it -- and thus far, Trump has not shown any interest in condemning the crown prince the way the senators hope he will. Demirjian reports for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Los Angeles County offices and U.S. Postal Service closed Wednesday in honor of George H.W. Bush By Brian Park The Honor Guard carries the casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush following his funeral on Dec. 5 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service will suspend regular mail delivery Wednesday, which President Trump has declared a national day of mourning in honor of former President George H.W. Bush. All retail postal outlets will be closed, and package delivery will be limited. In Los Angeles, all nonessential county departments, offices and libraries will be closed for the day, L.A. County officials said. The Los Angeles County Library said no overdue fines will be assessed for books, and due dates will be moved forward one week. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offices also are closed Wednesday. The Sheriffs Department, Fire Department, clinics and hospitals will continue to operate, the county said. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinics are being operated with reduced staffing, and the department asked patients to confirm or reschedule any appointments. All county courts and the disaster recovery centers for the Woolsey fire in Malibu and Agoura Hills will remain open. Larger federal government operations will be closed Wednesday. To honor the life and legacy of President Bush, the Postal Service will observe the National Day of Mourning. Learn how Postal operations will be affected. https://t.co/Mffch7bPCh pic.twitter.com/vG46BsIOpm  U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) December 4, 2018 L.A. County offices and libraries will be closed tomorrow (Dec 5) in observance of the #NationalDayOfMourning for President George H. W. Bush.



The Countys Disaster Recovery Centers in Malibu & Agoura Hills will remain open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sv1J7GoJ7T  Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) December 4, 2018 @LAPublicHealth offices will be closed tomorrow December 5 in observance of the national Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush. Essential Services including clinics and other services will remain open: https://t.co/tZGoGGHRlg pic.twitter.com/ypXsV6vlYY  LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 4, 2018 Facebook

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to skip 2020 White House race, sources say By Associated Press Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks during an interview in Boston on Dec. 15, 2014. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will soon announce he wont launch a 2020 presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with his plans. They did not say why the Democrat decided against a run. A formal announcement was delayed as the country observed a day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, one source said. News of Patricks plans was first reported by Politico. Patrick, 62, served two terms as governor, from 2007 to 2015, was assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and since leaving the governors office has been a managing director for Bain Capital. Patrick traveled the country in support of Democratic candidates in the recent midterm election. Earlier this year, some of Patricks supporters and close advisors started the Reason to Believe political action committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a positive, progressive vision for our nation in 2018 and 2020. Reason to Believe PAC had been holding meetups across the country, including in early presidential primary states. While Patrick is opting against a 2020 run, dozens of Democrats are considering jumping in, including nearly a half-dozen members of the Senate, several House members, and other Massachusetts politicians. On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal critic of President Trump, said in a statement that he would run. Patrick had previously expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination, telling David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Obama, that he wasnt sure he could stand out in such a large field. Its hard to see how you even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill, sensational or a celebrity, and Im none of those things and Im never going to be any of those things, Patrick said in a September interview with Axelrod. Facebook

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Former Trump adviser Roger Stone invokes 5th Amendment right and wont testify before Senate Judiciary Committee By Associated Press Roger Stone in 2017. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, says he wont provide testimony or documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. An attorney for Stone said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees top Democrat, that Stone was invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to produce documents or appear for an interview. Stone has been entangled in investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about whether Trump aides had advance knowledge of Democratic emails published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. Stone has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the timing or specifics of WikiLeaks plans. In the letter to Feinstein, Stone said the committees requests were far too overbroad, far too overreaching and far too wide-ranging. Facebook

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Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook

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Rebuilding crumbling infrastructure has bipartisan support. But who gets to pay for it? By Jim Puzzanghera The grades for major U.S. infrastructure would give any parent indigestion if they were on a childs report card. Roads: D; bridges: C+; dams: D; ports: C+: railways: B; airports: D; schools: D+; public transit: D-. The nations overall grade: D+, which translates to being in fair to poor condition and mostly below standards with significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure, according to an evaluation last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read More Facebook

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Trump calls former lawyer Michael Cohen a weak person who is lying By Associated Press President Trump says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to get a reduced sentence. The president is reacting to Cohens guilty plea Thursday to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia. During a surprise court hearing, Cohen admitted to lying in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen in his guilty plea said he made the false statements to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohens lawyer says he continues to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates. Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Mark Z. Barabak When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Sarah D. Wire When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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Michael Cohen, President Trumps ex-lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump real estate project in Russia By Associated Press Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, pursued a Russian real estate project on candidate Trumps behalf well into the 2016 campaign, he said Thursday while pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Cohen had previously said that the project was abandoned in January 2016, but he now admits he continued to pursue a deal and says he updated Trump and members of his family about the negotiations, according to a new court document. Read More Facebook

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James Comey says acting Atty. Gen. Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer By John Wagner Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 14. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Former FBI Director James B. Comey apparently isnt too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trumps acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston if he thinks Whitaker could derail the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the probe, and Trump  as recently as Tuesday  continues to call it a witch hunt. I think its a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry, Comey said. The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact. He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and Im sure he doesnt want that, added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions chief of staff before being picked by Trump to lead the Justice Department. Trump has called Whitaker a very smart man. Earlier this year, Trump called Comey an untruthful slime ball. Wagner writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Interior Department watchdog clears Zinke in investigation of Utah national monument By Juliet Eilperin Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, third from the left, and Gov. Jerry Brown tour fire damage in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 14. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Interior Departments Office of Inspector General has cleared Secretary Ryan Zinke in a probe of whether he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah to aid the financial interests of a Republican state lawmaker and stalwart supporter of President Trump. In a Nov. 21 letter to Zinkes deputy, David Bernhardt, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote that her office found no evidence that the secretary or his aides changed the boundaries of Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in an effort to help former Utah state representative Mike Noel, who serves as executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District. Last December, Trump shrank the monument, first established by President Clinton in 1996, by 46% based on Zinkes recommendation. Noel owns 40 acres that had been surrounded by the monument, but now lies outside its boundaries. The new boundaries also would make it easier to construct the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, which would deliver water to sites in Kane County that include Noels property. Earlier this year, the Interior Department had proposed selling off 120 acres of federal land from the former monument that lay adjacent to some of Noels land holdings, but later reversed the plan. We found no evidence that Noel influenced the DOIs proposed revisions to the [monuments] boundaries, that Zinke or other DOI staff involved in the project were aware of Noels financial interest in the revised boundaries, or that they gave Noel any preferential treatment in the resulting proposed boundaries, Kendall wrote. Neither the Interior Department nor the inspector generals office would release the actual investigative report. In the letter, Kendall writes that her office will provide the report to Congress no sooner than 31 days from Nov. 21, when it is provided it to Zinkes office. The Associated Press first reported the inspector generals conclusions Monday night, but did not provide details from the report itself. Noel emailed Zinke about the effort to alter Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to emails released by Interior under the Freedom of Informational Act. But those emails do not make references to Noels land holdings. Noel also pushed to rename a Utah highway in honor of Trump, but abandoned that effort in March after some of his fellow Republicans objected to the idea. Noel did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The inspector generals office still has at least two ongoing probes of the secretary, including one focused on his real estate dealings in Whitefish, Mont., and another regarding his decision to deny a permit to two Connecticut tribes who were hoping to jointly run a casino after MGM Resorts International lobbied against it. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift welcomed the watchdogs conclusions. The report shows exactly what the secretarys office has known all along  that the monument boundaries were adjusted in accordance with all rules, regulations and laws, she said in an email. This report is also the latest example of opponents and special interest groups ginning up fake and misleading stories, only to be proven false after expensive and time consuming inquiries by the IGs office. But Kendalls spokeswoman, Nancy DiPaolo, defended the inquiry, even though she said the report has not been publicly released and we will not be speaking specifically about the matter at this time. The OIG opens investigations based on credible allegations and reports our findings objectively and independently, DiPaolo added. Any time or resources spent investigating conduct or activity that may be a violation of law, regulation or policy is a service to the public, Congress and the Department. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that he still intended to investigate the way Zinke and his colleague redrew the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante and another Utah national monument, Bears Ears, next year. I have great respect for the inspector general, and I accept these findings, but Secretary Zinke should have known the people he listened to while destroying our national monuments had disqualifying conflicts of interest, he said. Should I chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, the process he and President Trump used to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be front and center in our oversight and investigations efforts. We need to know why they ignored overwhelming public expressions of support for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, why they ignored Native American tribes throughout their decision-making, and why they removed protections on parcels of land with known mineral deposits. Eilperin and Rein report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump advisor Larry Kudlow says China must do more to end trade war By Jim Puzzanghera Larry Kudlow, President Trumps top economic advisor, said Tuesday that Chinas response to U.S. efforts to rework the two economic superpowers trade relationship has been extremely disappointing but the planned meeting this weekend between the nations leaders is an opportunity for a breakthrough. They have to do more. They must do more, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters ahead of a Saturday dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina. I think the president is exactly right  to show strong backbone when prior administrations did not, to break through these Chinese walls, Kudlow said. Theyre so resistant to change. We have to protect the country. We have to protect our technology, our inventiveness, our innovation. Read More Facebook

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Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook

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Democrat TJ Cox grabs lead over Republican David Valadao in nations last remaining undecided House race By Maya Sweedler Democrat TJ Cox slipped past Republican incumbent David Valadao on Monday to take the lead in the countrys sole remaining undecided congressional race, positioning Democrats to pick up their seventh House seat in California and 40th nationwide. Cox, who trailed by nearly 4,400 votes on election night, has steadily gained as ballot counting continues nearly three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, a pattern consistent with the states recent voting history. On Monday, he pulled ahead by 438 votes after Kern County updated its results. Read More Facebook

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Former CIA director Michael Hayden hospitalized after suffering a stroke By Deanna Paul Then-CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before a Senate committee in 2008. (Saul Loeb / Getty Images) Former CIA Director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his family said Friday. He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful, according to a statement issued by his namesake organization. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters. Hayden, 73, served as director of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He retired from the CIA in 2009. Hayden has been a vocal critic of Donald Trumps campaign and presidency. Earlier this year, after Trump decided to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, Hayden was one of several former intelligence leaders who signed a statement in opposition. Criticizing the president for crossing a line, he quickly became one of the individuals whose security clearance Trump threatened to review. Deanna Paul writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump tells troops hes thankful for what hes done for the U.S. and rails against courts and migrants By Associated Press President Trump talks with troops via teleconference from his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thanksgiving. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump used his Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trumps call, made from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. Its a disgrace, Trump said of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost control on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops  You really are our heroes, he said  as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. It was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics. You probably see over the news whats happening on our southern border, Trump told one Air Force brigadier general stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, adding: I dont have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who were letting in. Later, Trump asked a U.S. Coast Guard commander about trade, which he noted was a very big subject for him personally. Weve been taken advantage of for many, many years by bad trade deals, Trump told the commander, who sheepishly replied, Mr. President, from our perspective on the water  we dont see any issues in terms of trade right now. And throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. I hope that youll take solace in knowing that all of the American families you hold so close to your heart are all doing well, he said. The nations doing well economically, better than anybody in the world. He later told reporters, Nobodys done more for the military than me. Indeed, asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his great family as well as himself. I made a tremendous difference in this country, he said. Facebook

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Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing By Josh Dawsey | Washington Post (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIAs assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had feelings but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. He denies it vehemently, Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that maybe he did, maybe he didnt. I hate the crime .... I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, Trump said. Asked who should be held accountable for the death of Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Trump refused to place blame. Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place, the president said. He also seemed to suggest that all U.S. allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, we wouldnt be able to have anyone for an ally. Trumps remarks came after he held a conference call with U.S. military officers overseas, during which he repeatedly praised his administration and sought to draw the officers into discussions of domestic policy. Facebook

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Former FBI Director James Comey gets subpoena from House Republicans By Bloomberg Former FBI Director James B. Comey said he has received a subpoena from House Republicans, according to a Twitter post on Thursday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Comey would be receiving a subpoena alongside former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch as part of continuing probes into their handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and Russian election meddling, according to a top House Democrat. Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. Im still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a closed door thing because Ive seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Lets have a hearing and invite everyone to see.  James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018 Read More Facebook

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Republican David Valadaos lead slips to 447 votes over Democrat TJ Cox in still-undecided Central Valley House race By Mark Z. Barabak Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), right, finds himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) On election night, it looked like Rep. David Valadao had survived a close shave and was destined to return to Washington for his fourth term. But on Wednesday, when Fresno County announced its latest vote totals, the Hanford Republican found himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox, with his lead in the Central Valley district shrunken to 447 votes. Thousands remain to be counted. Valadao, a repeated Democratic target, finished election night with a lead of nearly 4,440 votes. Cox, an engineer and a business owner who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, has steadily gained ground in the 21st Congressional District ever since. The trend is consistent with historic patterns showing Republicans in California tend to vote early and Democrats later, meaning their mail ballots continue to stream in past election day. Under California law, ballots postmarked up to midnight on Nov. 6 will be counted. Democrats have already picked up six House seats in California. They ousted Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Mimi Walters, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham and won the seats of retiring Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. All six represented districts that backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Valadao was the seventh California Republican in a district Clinton won, though his previous successes  he last won reelection by a 14-point margin  suggested his ouster was a longer shot for Democrats. If Cox prevails, it would give Democrats a 40-seat gain nationwide, far more than the 23 seats needed to take control when Congress reconvenes in January. Facebook

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Trump says no new punishments against Saudi Arabia in Jamal Khashoggi murder By Eli Stokols In this Oct. 25 photo, candles are lit in front of a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Lefteris Pitarakis) President Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he does not intend to punish Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident killed by Saudi officials in Turkey in October. In a remarkable statement replete with exclamation points, Trump cast doubt on the CIAs reported conclusions that it has a high degree of confidence that the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder and sent his closest allies to Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul to carry it out. Read MoreThis article has been updated with staff. Facebook

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Sixteen House Democrats vow to oppose Nancy Pelosi as next speaker By Mike DeBonis | Washington Post House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Sixteen House Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority. Their pledge to oppose Pelosi (D-San Francisco), both in an internal caucus election and a Jan. 3 floor vote, delivered in a letter sent to Democratic colleagues, comes as Pelosi has marshaled a legion of supporters on and off Capitol Hill to make her case. But her opponents said Monday they are convinced it is time to select a new leader. We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus, they wrote. However, we also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran on and won on a message of change. Pelosi has expressed complete confidence that she will retake the speakers gavel in January  eight years after she lost it following massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms and 16 years after she was first elevated to the top Democratic leadership post in the House. Come on in, the waters fine, she said Friday about a potential leadership challenge. The signers might not be able to force Pelosi out themselves. The size of the Democratic majority remains in flux, but Democrats have already won 232 seats, according to the Associated Press, with five races still undecided. All those races have Republican incumbents, but the Democratic challenger is ahead in only one of them. If the leads hold in the uncalled races, Democrats would have won 233 seats, a 16-seat majority. That means Pelosi could lose as many as 15 Democratic votes when she stands for election as speaker on Jan. 3. Read More Facebook

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Democratic senators sue over Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general By Associated Press Acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitakers appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitutions Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitakers appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level. President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nations top law enforcement official, Blumenthal said in a statement. The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called constitutional nobody and thwarting every senators constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts. The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitakers appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitakers appointment as lawful and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent. Facebook

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Gov. Rick Scott says Sen. Bill Nelson concedes Florida Senate race By Associated Press Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott speaks with his wife, Ann, by his side at an election watch party in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 7. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas Republican Gov. Rick Scott says incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson called him to concede defeat in their extremely tight race. Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson graciously conceded their Senate race shortly after the states recount ended. The final results show Scott defeated Nelson by just over 10,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday. The defeat ends Nelsons lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years. Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money on ads that portrayed Nelson as out-of-touch and ineffective. Nelson responded by questioning Scotts ethics and saying he would be under the sway of President Trump. Facebook

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Orange County goes blue, as Democrats complete historic sweep of its seven congressional seats By Michael Finnegan Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim on Saturday in the last of Orange Countys undecided House races, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the states six most fiercely fought congressional contests and marking an epochal shift in a region long synonymous with political conservatism. With Cisneros victory, Democrats will constitute the entirety of Orange Countys seven-member congressional delegation, the first time since the 1930s that the birthplace of Richard Nixon, home of John Wayne and spiritual center of the Republican Party will have no GOP representative in the House. Sitting back in the 1960s, I would never have believed this would happen, said Stuart K. Spencer, a party strategist who spent more than half a century ushering Republicans, including President Reagan, into office. Read More Facebook

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Going, going ... with midterm wipeout, California Republican Party drifts closer to irrelevance By Michael Finnegan For a party in freefall the last two decades, California Republicans learned that its possible to plunge even further. The GOP not only lost every statewide office in the midterm election  again, in blowout fashion  but Democrats reestablished their supermajority in Sacramento, allowing them to legislate however they see fit After major defeats in Orange County and the Central Valley, two longtime strongholds, Republicans will have a significantly smaller footprint on Capitol Hill. (Democrats hold both Senate seats.) When the vote-counting is finished, the GOP may not even have enough lawmakers in Californias 53-member House delegation to field a nine-person softball team. Read More Facebook

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Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter says she will support Rep. Nancy Pelosi for speaker By Maya Sweedler Democratic Rep.-elect Katie Porter is congratulated by volunteers at her campaign headquarters in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter said she plans to support Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for speaker of the House and will make campaign finance reform her top priority when she enters the chamber in January. Im going to continue to have conversations, but so far I feel like Leader Pelosi is definitely making the things that were a priority to the families that elected me her priorities, including announcing her support for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption as HR1, Porter said in her first public appearance since being declared the winner in Californias 45th Congressional District on Thursday evening. It means a lot to me that she is a Californian. She understands our state, Porter added. When we talk about environmental protections, this is a person who understands as a Californian how fragile our environment is and whats at risk in things like drilling off our coasts. Porter, a law professor at UC Irvine, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters. The 45th District, covering inland Orange County, has never been represented by a Democrat. Porter became the third Democrat to claim a Republican-held seat in Orange County, following the victories of Harley Rouda in the 48th District and Mike Levin in the 49th. A fourth, Gil Cisneros, is running slightly ahead of his Republican opponent in the race for the open seat in the 39th District, which extends into Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Porter attributed the massive political shift in the county, for decades a conservative stronghold, to increased levels of political engagement. Folks here care about education, they care about the environment, they believe climate change is real, they want healthcare that protects preexisting conditions, they want a tax system that doesnt punish California, they want our schools and places of worship to be safe from gun violence, she said. Those are the issues we campaigned on, and to the extent that Donald Trump and Mimi Walters were on the wrong side of those issues, the voters have made clear what direction they want us to go. Porter was flying back from the East Coast when her race was called, she said. She turned on her phone to find 167 text messages from friends and supporters. Among them was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of Porters teachers in law school and with whom she has remained close. The pair spoke via FaceTime this morning, she said. Facebook

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Bitter battle for Senate seat in Florida goes to hand recount By Associated Press Employees look through damaged ballots during a recount Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas acrimonious battle for the U.S. Senate headed Thursday to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. But the highly watched contest for governor between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum appeared to be over, with a machine recount showing DeSantis with a large enough advantage over Gillum to avoid a hand recount in that race. Gillum, who conceded the contest on election night only to retract his concession later, said in a statement that it is not over until every legally casted vote is counted. The recount so far has been fraught with problems. One large Democratic stronghold in South Florida was unable to finish its machine recount by the Thursday deadline due to machines breaking down. A federal judge rejected a request to extend the recount deadline. We gave a heroic effort, said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. If the county had three or four more hours, it would have made the deadline to recount ballots in the Senate race, she said. Meanwhile, election officials in another urban county in the Tampa Bay area decided against turning in the results of their machine recount, which came up with 846 fewer votes than originally counted. Media in South Florida reported that Broward County finished its machine recount but missed the deadline by a few minutes. Counties were ordered last weekend to do a machine recount of three statewide races because the margins were so tight. The next stage is a manual review of ballots that were not counted by machines to see whether there is a way to figure out voter intent. Scott called on Nelson to end the recount battle. Its time for Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes  which will yield the same result and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served, the governor said in a statement. The recount has triggered multiple lawsuits, many of them filed by Nelson and Democrats. The legal battles drew the ire of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker, who slammed the state for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems. He also said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this, Walker said during a morning hearing. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work. This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile, Walker wrote in his ruling turning down the request from Democrats. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark. The overarching problem was created by the Florida Legislature, which Walker said passed a recount law that appears to run afoul of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision by locking in procedures that do not allow for potential problems. A total of six election-related lawsuits are pending in federal court in Tallahassee as well at least one lawsuit filed in state court. Walker also ordered that voters be given until 5 p.m. Saturday to show a valid identification and fix their ballots if they have not been counted due to mismatched signatures. Republicans appealed the ruling, but an appeals court turned down the request. State officials testified that nearly 4,000 mailed-in ballots were set aside because local officials decided the signatures on the envelopes did not match the signatures on file. If those voters can prove their identity, their votes will be counted and included in final official returns due from each county by noon Sunday. Walker was asked by Democrats to require local officials to provide a list of people whose ballots were rejected. But the judge appointed by President Obama refused the request, calling it inappropriate. Under state law, a hand review is required with races that have a margin of 0.25 percentage points or less. A state website put the unofficial results showing Scott ahead of Nelson by 0.15 percentage points. The margin between DeSantis and Gillum was at 0.41 points. The margin between Scott and Nelson had not changed much in the last few days, conceded Marc Elias, an attorney working for Nelsons campaign. But he said that he expected the vote tally to shrink due to the hand recount and the ruling on signatures. The developments fueled frustrations among Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats want state officials to do whatever it takes to make sure every eligible vote is counted. Republicans, including President Trump, have argued without evidence that voter fraud threatens to steal races from the GOP. Facebook

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Democrat Gil Cisneros pulls ahead of Republican Young Kim as more votes are tallied in Orange and San Bernardino counties By Michael Finnegan Congressional candidate Gil Cisneros (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Gil Cisneros pulled ahead of Republican Young Kim in one of Californias undecided congressional races Thursday, an ominous sign for a GOP already reeling from its loss of four House seats in the state. In updated vote counts released by the registrars for Orange and San Bernardino counties, Kim fell 941 votes behind Cisneros in the contest to succeed Republican Rep. Ed Royce in Californias 39th Congressional District. The 39th straddles Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. In another unresolved House race, Democrat Katie Porter pulled further ahead of Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which includes Mission Viejo, Tustin, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills. Porter, a consumer attorney and UC Irvine law professor, is now 6,203 votes ahead. The Nov. 6 midterm election has been devastating to Republicans in California. If Cisneros and Porter win, the party will have lost six of its 14 House seats in the state, essentially a wipeout in every contest that both parties spent heavily to win. The three Republicans already bounced from Congress are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Jeff Denham of Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. Democrat Mike Levin won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista in the fourth district flipped so far. Facebook

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Florida Senate race likely headed to second recount By Associated Press A Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputy walks past boxes of ballots before a recount on Nov. 15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee) Unofficial Florida election results show that the governors race seems to be settled after a machine recount but the U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a hand recount. Republican Ron DeSantis is virtually assured of winning the nationally watched governors race over Democrat Andrew Gillum. Florida finished a machine recount Thursday that showed Gillum without enough votes to force a manual recount. Unofficial results posted on a state website show the margin between U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is still thin enough to trigger a second review. State law requires a hand recount of races with a margin of 0.25 percentage point or less. Counties have until Sunday to inspect the ballots that did not record a vote when put through the machines. Those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that the machines cannot read but can be deciphered. The election will be certified Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Pelosi says she has the votes to become the next House speaker By John Wagner Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington on Nov. 14. (Susan Walsh) House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that she has the votes to become the chambers speaker despite solid opposition from more than a dozen Democrats who want fresh leadership when the party takes control next year. I have overwhelming support in my caucus to be speaker of the House, the San Francisco lawmaker told reporters. I happen to think at this point, Im the best person for that. A vote within the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Nov. 28. The full House votes on Jan. 3 to elect a new speaker. During her remarks, Pelosi touted the size of the Democratic victory in the midterms, which she called almost a tsunami. With a few races still to be decided, Democrats are poised to pick up close to 40 seats in the chamber. Pelosi called that the biggest victory for the Democrats since 1974, when the Watergate babies came in. Pelosis comments come as she faces solid opposition from at least 17 Democrats, setting the stage for a battle over who will ascend to one of the most powerful positions in Washington. After a campaign in which some Democrats prevailed in competitive districts by promising to oppose her, a coalition of incumbents and newly elected members has denied her a smooth path to the speakership. The defections, if they stand, would leave Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for more than 15 years, several votes short of the 218 she would need when the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3. However, no Democrat has stepped forward to run against her for a job she held from 2007 through 2010. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that shes being encouraged to stand for speaker if Pelosi doesnt have the votes. In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, she said she has been overwhelmed by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker. Over the last 12 hours, Ive been overwhelmed by the amount of support Ive received, Fudge said, adding that there are probably closer to 30" Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi. Things could change rapidly, Fudge said. Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies in the caucus, moderate Democrats and newly elected members. To this point, Pelosi has enjoyed the strong backing of the Congressional Black Caucus. On Thursday, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), one of its members, wrote a letter to colleagues praising her insight, fortitude and strategic thinking and urging support for her speakership bid. Former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., an African American who is contemplating a 2020 presidential bid, also voiced support for Pelosi, praising her in a tweet as an architect of the recent midterm success. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a leader of the resistance to Pelosi, said during an interview on CNN on Thursday that Fudge is the kind of new leader that we need in this party. Shes in touch with middle America. She understands what the American people want. Shes a next-generation leader that people will look to and say, Thats the future of our party, thats the future of our country, and thats exactly the kind of leader that I want to see as our next speaker. Wagner reports for the Washington Post. The Posts Robert Costa, Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report. Facebook

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GOP Rep. Jeff Denham concedes to Democrat Josh Harder in Central Valley race By Maya Sweedler Rep. Jeff Denham (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Republican Rep. Jeff Denham has conceded to Democrat Josh Harder in the race to represent Californias 10th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been an absolute honor to serve our community and represent the Central Valley in Congress over the past eight years, the 51-year-old congressman said. The enormity of the responsibility was never lost on me. My wife Sonia and I look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives. Harder said he had spoken with Denham and the two were committed to a productive transition. Denham, an Air Force veteran, previously represented the region in the state Senate for eight years and founded a company specializing in plastic packaging used in agriculture. While a member of Congress, he sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture committees. First-time candidate Harder was born and raised in the district. After graduating from Stanford University, he served as vice president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Since moving back, he has been teaching at Modesto Junior College. Denhams House seat is one of four in California that Republicans lost in the Nov. 6 election, with two contests in Orange County still undecided as of Thursday morning. Jeff Denham called me this morning and we had a very productive conversation. I'm honored that I've been chosen to serve our community in Congress, and we're both looking forward to a productive transition that best serves the people of District 10.  Josh Harder (@JoshHarder) November 14, 2018 Facebook

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Democrat Katie Porter now nearly 3,800 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Mimi Walters By Maya Sweedler Rep. Mimi Walters thanks all of her supporters as she watches election results in Irvine on Nov. 7, 2018. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Democrat Katie Porter opened a 3,797-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in Orange Countys 45th Congressional District. In the neighboring 39th, Democrat Gil Cisneros has nearly tied the race against Republican Young Kim. Cisneros now trails Kim by a razor-thin margin of 122 votes. The 39th District straddles Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties; Wednesdays updated ballot counts came from the latter two. There are more than 202,000 ballots left to count in Orange County, which includes parts of seven congressional districts. The 45th is entirely in inland Orange County. In California, the ballots counted first tend to lean Republican and those tallied later skew Democratic. In the Central Valleys 21st Congressional District, Democratic challenger TJ Cox has pulled within 2 percentage points of Rep. David Valadao, who is serving his third term. The Associated Press had projected a win for Valadao on election night, but his 4,839-vote advantage has shrunk to 2,090. Back in CA-21, Valadao (R) wins a batch of ballots from his stronghold in Kings Co., but by a considerably smaller margin (14 points) than his previous ~30-point margin in the county. We're moving to Lean R from Likely R; today a bit scary for Valadao.https://t.co/WqJVUVkqGW  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2018 A spokesman for Valadao told the Fresno Bee that the changes were expected and that [s]tatistically, David Valadao has won this race. Democrats in California have already flipped four House seats, defeating three Republican incumbents and claiming an open seat previously held by the GOP. Reps. Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Jeff Denham of Turlock have already lost their races, and retiring Rep. Darrell Issas San Diego County seat was claimed by Democrat Mike Levin. Facebook

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Trump aide departs West Wing after rebuke from Melania Trump By Associated Press First Lady Melania Trump. (Alain Jocard / AFP-Getty Images) Deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, one day after First Lady Melania Trumps office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal. No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first ladys staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the presidents national security staff. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ricardel would have a new role in the administration. On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, released a statement saying, It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House. President Trumps White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump. An ally of national security advisor John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Facebook

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Race for House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthys to lose By Associated Press (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is running to take over next years shrunken caucus in closed-door elections that will set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthys to lose Wednesday. But the California Republican, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The two encountered questions and finger-pointing during a private meeting with lawmakers Tuesday night as the GOP sorted through the midterm defeat that put Democrats in the majority next year. Elections Wednesday will also determine party leadership in the Senate. Voting for the biggest race, Nancy Pelosis bid to return as the Democrats nominee for speaker, is later this month. Read More Facebook

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Melania Trump calls for the firing of deputy national security advisor By Justin Sink First Lady Melania Trump arrives at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris on Nov. 11. (Alain Jocard / AFP/Getty Images ) First Lady Melania Trumps office said she wants Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, ousted from the White House. It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement in response to a question about reports the first lady had sought Ricardels removal. Ricardel is the top deputy to national security advisor John Bolton. She drew the first ladys wrath after threatening to withhold National Security Council resources during Melania Trumps trip to Africa last month unless Ricardel was included in her entourage, one person familiar with the matter said. Grishams statement comes as several media outlets have reported that President Trump is considering a broader shakeup of his administration, including ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Sink and Jacobs report for Bloomberg. Read More Facebook

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CNN sues Trump over the suspension of Jim Acostas White House press credentials By Jim Puzzanghera CNN said Tuesday that it is suing President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend the White House press credentials of correspondent Jim Acosta after a conflict at a news conference last week. The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, escalates an ongoing battle between Trump and the cable news outlet that he frequently accuses of disseminating fake news for its aggressive coverage of him and his administration. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas 1st Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their 5th Amendment rights to due process, CNN said in a written statement. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials. Read More Facebook

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Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Maxine Waters plans to zero in on two big banks  Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank  when she becomes head of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Los Angeles congresswoman, now the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to gain the gavel after her party won control of the House in last weeks elections. While Waters has outlined a wide-ranging agenda, she said her focus on bank oversight will target two large institutions she has been tangling with for a while  including one, Deutsche Bank, that spills into her bitter feud with President Trump. With Trump in the White House, I know that our fight for Americas consumers and investors will continue to be challenging. But I am more than up to that fight, Waters wrote in a letter last week to her Democratic colleagues on the committee that was obtained by The Times. Read More Facebook

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Heres how a controversial voting system will decide a congressional race in Maine By Kurtis Lee For the first time in U.S. history, a controversial voting system known as ranked choice is being used to decide a federal election. Its happening in Maine, which adopted the system in 2016. Rather than marking a single candidate, each voter ranks them all, assigning a first-place vote, a second-place vote and so on down the ballot. Read More Facebook

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ACLU files suit to stop Trumps new asylum limits By Associated Press A group of Central American migrants march to the office of the U.N.'s humans rights body in Mexico City on Nov. 8. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Trumps order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt said the regulations will put families in danger. The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and wants a judge to stop the rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending. The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum. The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban. Read More Facebook

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Trump on new acting AG: I dont know Matt Whitaker By Associated Press President Trump talks with reporters before departing for France on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 9. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump is moving to distance himself from Matthew Whitaker as he faces criticism over his choice for acting attorney general. Trump told reporters Friday that I dont know Matt Whitaker and said he didnt speak with Whitaker about special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker has made public comments critical of Muellers investigation, and critics have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the inquiry. Under former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the investigation was overseen by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after. He also called Whitaker a very highly respected man. Whitaker was Sessions chief of staff before Trump made him Sessions interim replacement. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg out of hospital after fall By Associated Press The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is home after being released from the hospital. She had been admitted for treatment and observation after fracturing three ribs in a fall. The court said Ginsburg was released Friday. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says she is doing well and working from home. The court had previously said the justice fell in her office at the court on Wednesday evening and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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Gun-control activist Lucy McBath defeats GOP Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia By Associated Press Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Nov. 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Democratic gun-control activist Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia in a suburban congressional district long considered safe for the GOP. Handel had to seek reelection after winning her seat last year in a close special election race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. McBath became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car. McBaths margin of victory was narrow enough for Handel to have requested a recount. The Associated Press declared McBath the winner Thursday after Handel conceded. Handel conceded in a statement Thursday morning, stating that after reviewing all of the election data, its clear she came up a bit short in Tuesdays vote. Handel congratulated McBath, offering good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her. McBath, who is African American, declared victory Wednesday. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall By Associated Press Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court says the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening. Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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White House suspends press pass of CNNs Jim Acosta after heated exchange with Trump By Associated Press The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable. The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her. Acosta tweeted that Sanders statement that he put his hands on the aide was a lie. CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acostas press pass in retaliation for his challenging questions Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acostas actions. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Contrary to CNNs assertions there is no greater demonstration of the Presidents support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters...  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 As a result of todays incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Sanders provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better, CNN said. Jim Acosta has our full support. Journalists assigned to cover the White House apply for passes that allow them daily access to press areas in the West Wing. White House staffers decide whether journalists are eligible, though the Secret Service determines whether their applications are approved. Facebook

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Trump spars with reporters at post-election news briefing, ordering several to sit down By Associated Press  President Trump assails CNNs Jim Acosta at a White House news conference. President Trump sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another hes a rude, terrible person. He told another reporter hes not a fan of yours, either. The presidents mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an invasion. Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections. Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the mans actions to the caravan. Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all. Facebook

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Im living one hour at a time at this point By Christine Mai-Duc Republican congressional candidate Young Kim and gubernatorial candidate John Cox campaign in Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Republican congressional candidate Young Kim greeted gubernatorial candidate John Coxs giant campaign bus, the words HELP IS ON THE WAY emblazoned across it, as it rolled into the parking lot outside her Rowland Heights field office. Standing beside Cox on Saturday, Kim predicted that a string of GOP victories Tuesday would start with voters repealing the gas tax hike. Can you imagine Gavin Newsom being our governor? Can you imagine Gil Cisneros being your representative? Kim asked the crowd, to loud boos and cries of Nooo! The former state assemblywoman who worked for retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is vying for his seat with Democrat Gil Cisneros. She led the crowd in chants of Enough is enough! and, though short-lived, Drain the swamp! Ive served you in Sacramento and Ive seen dysfunction personally, Kim continued. We cannot continue that route. She urged her supporters to stay and help make phone calls or walk neighborhoods. Lets get out there  the 72 hours is really critical. Its all going to come down to a few votes, it could be your vote, she said pointing to her left, then pivoting right, it could be your vote. So dont sit back and do nothing. Every night I go to sleep thinking, OK, how many more votes can I get or how many more people can I call tomorrow? Kim said. It can be physically exhausting but Im mentally, emotionally very energized. She listed off her events so far that day  and the next one she was heading to. Thats just what I can remember, she said. Im living one hour at a time at this point. Kims campaign invited press to two of her events on Saturday. After she was whisked away to her next event  a high tea fundraiser in Walnut, a couple dozen volunteers remained. John Freeman, a statewide field manager for the state Republican Party, tried to pump them up. This is the Super Bowl. Were not in an NFL stadium, were not getting paid millions of dollars, but you know what? Freeman said. Were walking on the field right now. This is that high-stakes-level game. Facebook

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Its going to be tough out there Democratic candidate Katie Porter speaks to volunteers in Mission Viejo. Jon Bauman, Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, is in the background. (Victoria Kim / Los Angeles Times ) Judging from the cheers in the crowd, about half those assembled at Katie Porters campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo Sunday morning were old enough to remember 70s rock n roll star Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na. Jon Bauman, as Bowzer is known off stage, said it was her position on senior issues including retirement and social security that has him out supporting Porter over her opponent, incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters. I want you to make sure every phone is called and every door is knocked, he told the crowd of about 80 volunteers. There has never been a more important election. Both Bauman and his nephew, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman, were interrupted by yells from Trump supporters coming from an adjoining hillside. We love Trump, the voice cried out. We love him too, he makes great fodder, the younger Bauman retorted, before introducing Porter. Porter, a UC Irvine law professor and first-time candidate, acknowledged the uphill battle some of her canvassers might face in this more conservative end of the long-red Orange County district. I know its going to be tough out there, she said, motioning to the hillside. But she said the attacks meant the other side viewed her campaign as a significant threat. This election is going to be close, she said. If we dont fight all the way to the finish line, until 8 oclock on Tuesday, this could slip away. Bowzer then took to a keyboard piano to lead the crowd in a reworded rendition of the song Good Night Sweetheart: Good night, Mimi Walters, he crooned. A woman in a black tank top, jeans and flip flops holding a cup of coffee later joined the crowd with her two sons, 17 and 14, the younger one wearing a Trump 2016 T-shirt. She declined to give her name, saying she was concerned about being attacked, but said she lived up the hill and said she had been the one yelling. She said she was encouraging her sons to talk to people on both sides and make up their own minds. We need to have a government that runs the way government teachers are telling kids its supposed to be run, said the woman, a retired registered dental assistant who voted early for Mimi Walters. Referring to Democrats, she said: Theyve had control over all these years and Californias gone to crap. Among those canvassing was Stacie Campbell, 37, who was at the launch with her husband Jerome and three children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old. Campbell, a Mission Viejo resident who runs a business, had never canvassed or volunteered for campaigns before, and her husband is a French citizen and unable to vote. She said they had been talking to their children  the older ones are 5 and 2  about the presidency and the government since Trumps election. Together, they worked on homemade Katie Porter lawn signs and put them up around town. This is the first time its felt like a big deal and there isnt a president up for election, she said. Because her city is a mix of conservatives and liberals  her next-door neighbor is an NRA-supporting Republican  she the race felt m
To the roughly 400 clinical trials that have tested some experimental treatment for Alzheimers disease and come up short, we can now add three more.

An experimental drug called idalopirdine failed to help people with mild to moderate Alzheimers disease in a trio of trials that involved 2,525 patients in 34 countries. Not only did the drug fail to bring about any meaningful change in cognitive tests that are widely used in diagnosing and tracking the progress of the disease, it also failed to cause significant improvements in general measures of daily function among those taking it at any of three tested doses.

Those are relatively modest goals  not to reverse Alzheimers disease or block its progress, but simply to slow the loss of function in those who have it. Even that, it turns out, is a humbling challenge.

The failure of idalopirdine, reported Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., probably marks the unraveling of an approach to Alzheimers treatment that has long looked promising.

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The experimental drug largely acted to increase the supply of the brain chemical serotonin, which, among other things, regulates mood, sleep and appetite, and ebbs in those with Alzheimers disease. Idalopirdine also acts on four other neural transmitters that are affected by Alzheimers: glutamate, norepinephrine, acetylcholine and dopamine.

The drug had looked promising in earlier clinical trials that focused largely on safety. But after 24 weeks, subjects with Alzheimers who got idalopirdine fared no better than those who got a sham drug.

The disappointing results follow the failure, reported last fall, of intepirdine, another experimental drug that acted on many of the same brain systems as idalopirdine.

Subjects in both trials also took donepezil (long marketed as Aricept) or another Alzheimers drug in the same class. Researchers had hoped that the combination therapy might boost the action of several different neurotransmitter systems at once to improve mental function in Alzheimers patients.

Lundbeck, the publicly traded Danish pharmaceutical company that was developing idalopirdine, told investors last year that it would not be asking the Food & Drug Administration to evaluate the drug for the U.S. market. That would have been the next step if the phase 3 trials had succeeded.

As researchers and government officials have focused on ambitious efforts to reverse or even cure Alzheimers, doctors have appealed for therapies that will at least improve the lives of the 5.5 million Americans already living with the disease.

Yet the new results underscore the diabolical challenge of merely slowing Alzheimers disease once its behavioral symptoms become evident, according to Dr. David A. Bennett, a neurologist and director of Rush Universitys Alzheimers Disease Center in Chicago.

Given the millions of Americans already afflicted, better symptomatic therapies must continue to be pursued, Bennett wrote in an editorial also published in JAMA. However, from a public health perspective, delaying the onset of Alzheimer disease dementia is the most effective approach to reduce the overall human and economic toll of the disease.

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That, he wrote, will require earlier diagnosis of Alzheimers among a broader range of people, including people with no outward sign of dementia. And those in the diseases earliest phases will need to be enrolled in clinical trials of preventive strategies faster, and in larger numbers.

A public hungry for quick fixes and streamlined drug development had better get patient, Bennett added. Citing a recent exploration of why so many Alzheimers disease drugs fail, he noted that treatments that could halt or reverse Alzheimers might need to be tested for five to 10 years for an effect to be detected. Currently, few such trials last for more than three years.

And maybe, Bennett added, were not seeing that were on a trajectory  albeit a long one  to eventual success.

Given the series of failures in rigorous attempts to develop an effective treatment for Alzheimer disease, it may seem difficult to be optimistic, he wrote. Yet lessons from the past century paint a different picture.

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With a request for $100 million in added funds for cancer research in 1971, President Nixon began a process of investment and discovery that has brought forth treatments for cancer that were beyond imagination at the time. In 2011, President Obama launched the National Alzheimers Project Act with an initial investment of $50 million. By 2017, federal research on Alzheimers disease had reached $1.4 billion.

It is just a matter of time before that knowledge is translated into effective strategies for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimers, Bennett wrote.

And none too soon: The Alzheimers Assn. estimates that an American is newly diagnosed with the disease every 66 seconds.

melissa.healy@latimes.com

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To the list of ways that humans are making it hard for zebras, giraffes and other large mammals to survive in the wild, you can now add war.

Researchers have new evidence that animals are exquisitely vulnerable to the effects of warfare. They analyzed 65 years of armed conflicts in Africa and found that exposure to just one year of war within a 20-year period was enough to destabilize populations in the wild.

The mere occurrence of conflict, irrespective of its human death toll, was sufficient to diminish wildlife populations, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Even low-grade, infrequent conflict is sufficient to drop population trajectories below replacement.

An impala sniffs the rainy air in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park. Gorongosas wildlife was devastated by civil war in the 1980s and '90s but has recovered dramatically over the past decade thanks to pioneering conservation efforts. Robert Pringle

Considering that war is bad for people, it may seem obvious that its bad for animals. But previous case studies have found it can have mixed effects.

In some cases, animals get caught in the crossfire of cannons, large guns and other artillery. Hungry soldiers go hunting for bushmeat. Poachers seeking to finance their military excursions may target elephants, rhinoceroses or other desirable species.

But in other cases, combat can scare people away from wildlife areas, relaxing the pressure on the animals that live there. It may even force businesses to abandon mining and drilling operations, giving animals a further respite.

Joshua Daskin and Robert M. Pringle of Princeton Universitys Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology wanted to see if they could find an overarching effect of warfare, with a focus on Africa.

They began by looking at all protected wildlife areas in Africa that were at least 5 square kilometers (about 2 square miles) in size. According to the World Database on Protected Areas maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the United Nations Environment Programme, there were 3,585 such areas, spread across 51 countries.

A hippopotamus charges into the waters of Lake Urema in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park. The Mozambique government enlisted conservationists, scientists and local communities to help with ecological restoration after armed conflicts in the area ended. Joshua Daskin

Next, Daskin and Pringle examined the dates and locations of armed conflicts between 1946 and 2010 to see when and where they overlapped with the protected areas. To qualify as an armed conflict, an event had to involve at least one human death and be related to an organized conflict that involved at least 25 deaths in the same year.

Overall, they found that armed conflicts touched 71% of Africas protected areas at least once during the study period. In addition, 25% of them experienced nine years of conflict or more.

To see how the animals in those areas were affected, the researchers scoured scientific literature for reports on mammals that lived there. Their list included antelopes, giraffes, elephants, lions, cheetahs, zebras, baboons, gorillas, warthogs, hyenas, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses and gazelles.

A pride of lions relaxes at dusk in Kenyas Maasai Mara National Reserve. New research shows that armed conflict is a factor in the continuing decline of Africas large charismatic wildlife. Robert Pringle

They were able to find information on 253 populations of animals from 36 species living in 126 protected areas within 19 countries. Each of these populations had been counted multiple times in the same area.

Then they built a series of mathematical models to see which factors helped explain the changes in those animal populations. The frequency of armed conflict was only one of the factors considered; others included the intensity of those conflicts (as measured by human death toll), the population density of humans living nearby, the distance from a protected area to the nearest urban center, the size of the protected areas and the size of the animals.

The models that did the best job of predicting changes in animal populations relied on information about the frequency of armed conflicts, according to the study. These models showed that when protected areas were peaceful, animal populations were generally stable, Daskin and Pringle wrote. But populations shrank over time when their homes were exposed to even low levels of conflict, the researchers wrote.

Reticulated giraffes and a Grevys zebra are seen at dusk in Kenyas Laikipia Highlands. Robert Pringle

Over the entire 65-year period, all it took to set animal populations on a path of decline was a single year of war in a span of two decades. When the team narrowed its focus to the more recent period from 1989 to 2010, it found animals were even more sensitive  exposure to war in one year of a 50-year span would hinder a populations ability to maintain itself.

Conflict frequency consistently predicted wildlife decline, the researchers wrote.

Other things did not. For instance, the size of the protected areas didnt seem to have any bearing on the populations of the animals living in them. Nor did the intensity of the conflict going on around them.

These and other findings led the researchers to hypothesize that military activity per se isnt the problem for animals; rather, its the effects of socioeconomic upheaval and livelihood disruption associated conflict that are making a difference.

A white rhinoceros feeds in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve in South Africa. New research shows armed conflict has been a factor in the decades-long decline of Africas charismatic large wildlife. Rhinos are particularly vulnerable because of illicit demand for their horns. Joshua Daskin

Further research will be needed to see whether their hypothesis is correct, the researchers wrote.

They also noted a potential silver lining: Although a small amount of war exposure had a measurable effect on wild animals, the size of that effect was less severe than previous research would have led them to expect.

Even in locations subjected to many years of armed conflict, examples of extinction events were rare. The researchers took this as a sign that post-conflict recovery will typically be possible.

Theres already some anecdotal evidence to support this optimistic view, Daskin and Pringle wrote: Efforts by government officials, scientists and conservation experts have helped restore wildlife populations in Mozambiques Gorongosa National Park as well as in Rwandas Akagera National Park.

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karen.kaplan@latimes.com

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Mudslides, downed power lines and a broken gas main were just some of the issues Burbank residents in the Verdugo Mountains had to contend with as heavy rain battered the city Tuesday.

At around 6:30 a.m., a rush of mud and water made its way down a stretch of Country Club Drive near Via Montana. Three vehicles and an RV parked along the road were carried away in the mudslide.

A video released by the Burbank Police Department showed two of the cars trapped in the mud, with one of them overturned as a result.

One of the cars, a black Scion, had its interior filled with mud and its front smashed. The second vehicle, which appeared to have been a white pickup truck, was completely totaled.

Video taken of Country Club Drive minutes ago showing vehicles being carried away by fast-flowing storm water. These conditions are very dangerous. Please use caution. pic.twitter.com/my4qtMD5fC  Burbank Police (@BurbankPD) January 9, 2018

The interior of the Scion is just filled with mud #Burbank #LARain pic.twitter.com/NnWTOnHqHT  Andy Nguyen (@Andy_Truc) January 9, 2018

A bit more close up to the cars on Country Club Drive #Burbank #LARain pic.twitter.com/7V4pwS4gNR  Andy Nguyen (@Andy_Truc) January 9, 2018

In addition to damaging the vehicles, the mudslide upended several power poles and even ruptured a gas main.

Crews were able to shut down power to the area and were working on shutting off the gas, according to Burbank Fire Battalion Chief John Owings.

No injuries were reported as a result of the rain and mud.

The area became vulnerable to mudslides last September after the La Tuna fire burned more than 7,000 acres of land that would have otherwise helped mitigate the possibility.

Heidi Donanto-Fennell, who has lived on Country Club Drive for the last three years, was awoken by the rushing sound of the mudslide.

I watched it wash right down the street, she said. I saw three to five cars tumbling down, an RV, power lines, tons of furniture and everyones mailboxes are gone.

She said her home sustained some damage from the mudslide, but her car was relatively unscathed because it was parked away from the street.

Sgt. Derek Green, a spokesman for the Burbank Police Department, said residents had previously been informed the road was off-limits to traffic and parking before the storm arrived on Monday.

As a result of the damage, city officials upgraded a voluntary evacuation warning for residents in the foothills to a mandatory evacuation order, which involved all residences along Country Club Drive and those living east of Via Montana, according to Green.

He made reference to Tuesdays fatal mudslide in Montecito that killed at least 13 people as a reason why people should take the order seriously.

This is not meant to inconvenience anybody, he said. This is a matter of public safety.

Update from @BurbankPD on the mandatory evacuations along Country Club Drive in Burbank #LARain #CAStorm pic.twitter.com/Lk2CdUHhB1  Andy Nguyen (@Andy_Truc) January 9, 2018

Owings said residents originally didnt take the call to evacuate seriously when it was voluntary. He said several residents originally decided to stay home and attempt to defend their property from the rain and mud.

Now that they see the potential of what could come down, they are being a lot more cooperative, he said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Owings said around 10 to 20 homes had yet to be evacuated. Multiple mudslides had impeded authorities efforts at escorting residents to safety with debris blanketing the road.

Donato-Fennell and her daughter, Allie Vonnacher, became separated from their home after going outside to see the earlier damage from the storm when a second mudslide blocked their way back.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Donato-Fennell said she was waiting to return home and grab the family dog, Gracie, before evacuating to safety.

Green said residents also face an additional danger from a 100-year-old storm basin that sits on top of the Verdugo Mountains.

Its our concern that, because of the amount of rain weve experienced in a short amount of time  it might not hold, he said. At this point, its doing its job, but its nearing its limit.

 Areas that burn in wildfires can face severe flood risks when it rains.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
In presenting a draft resolution to the United Nations on Dec. 20, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran Gholamali Khoshroo said, Dialogue, moderation and tolerance are the most effective antidotes to violent extremism.

An earlier version of the resolution, entitled A World Against Violence and Violent Extremism, or WAVE, was adopted by the General Assembly in December 2013. This years update notes a rise in extremism across the globe, particularly in the Middle East.

While noting American support of the WAVE resolution, U.S. Ambassador Kelley Currie called Irans sponsorship cynical and labeled the nation the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

The next day, member countries of the U.N. voted in high numbers to reject President Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The resolution calling the U.S. action null and void passed by a vote of 128-9, with three dozen countries abstaining and nearly two dozen more absent from the vote.

According to news reports, the ambassador from Yemen warned that Trumps recognition of Jerusalem serves to fan the fires of violence and extremism.

Q. Do the Trump administrations stance on Jerusalem and qualified endorsement of Irans WAVE resolution threaten to further provoke conflict in the Middle East?

..

To many people, President Trumps statement may have increased the level of violence in the region, but we need to look at the facts. Since 1995, the United States Congress and Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have endorsed the idea that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, they have just not done it with such drama.

So let us look at the core issue: Should the city itself be divided as it was from 1949-1967? I have walked the streets of Jerusalem, when signs were still in place warning me to beware of snipers, my teacher Rabbi William Kramer had to dress in mufti as a Greek Orthodox priest to pray at the Western Wall.

How can we guarantee that a divided Jerusalem will not end up as a dangerous place for people to pray as they wish or even as they want to travel openly?

Just recently, I was in Jerusalem on a Sabbath/Saturday and ran into a wedding party of Ethiopian Christians. My friend asked, How could people be getting married on Shabbat (Sabbath)?

I reminded my friend, Today, to the rest of the world it is Saturday. They can do what they want, even get married!

An undivided Yerushalayeem has enabled her to live up to her name A Heritage of Peace for All. May Mr. Trumps statement remind us all to work for peace in that region in spite of any WAVE of violence that seeks to wash it away!

Rabbi Mark Sobel

Temple Beth Emet

Burbank

..

There will always be conflict in the Middle East until either Israel is destroyed or the nations who hate Israel are. And considering the promises that God has made to establish Israel, and how God has protected her against all odds, I believe that Israel will be around for a very long time. The nations that hate Israel and have vowed to remove its existence from the face of the world will never be appeased until their goal is met. Our country must never allow their not-so-subtle terroristic warnings and threats to shape our foreign policy. We must determine the morally correct policy toward Israel and stick with it. As a country we would be very wise to understand and heed the promise God made to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people: I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse (Genesis 12:3).

Pastor Jon Barta

Burbank

..

One balances out the other on the helpfulness scale, in my opinion. The Jerusalem gambit is a destabilizing and counterproductive move in the long term, taking the critical issue of the status of Jerusalem off the table, removing it from direct negotiation between Israel and Palestine and thus ending any hope of those two ever having anything like equal standing in peace talks.

The current U.S. administration was willing to agree to consensus with the resolution entitled A World Against Violence and Violent Extremism, despite their deep antipathy to Irans regime. Even with our worsening relations with Iran, Ambassador Haley could not fail to put us on the side of dialogue, moderation and tolerance as antidotes to violent extremism.

Thats something for the worlds safety anyway. Meanwhile working-class men living outside of Irans larger cities, harder hit by the countrys horrible economy, are rioting in their provinces. This same constituency enabled a surprising victory in our 2016 election  perhaps Irans leaders have noticed and suddenly see the need to talk of dialogue, moderation and tolerance now too.

Roberta Medford

Atheist

Montrose
The famed Hotel Laguna closed its doors to overnight guests on Dec. 31, but three businesses on the property remain open as a legal battle continues between the hotels former operator and the property owner.

Noreen Goodman and her roommate spent Monday afternoon painting and rearranging furniture in the International Hair Salon, steps from the front doors of Hotel Laguna at 425 S. Coast Hwy. Brown paper covered the inside of the glass-paneled doors that lead into the hotel, which was established in the 1880s.

Goodmans business, along with Narrative Gallery and Laguna Parking Co. Valet Service, remain open despite the hotels closure.

E.W. Merritt Farms owns the hotel property and contacted Goodman and other businesses about keeping their doors open despite the hotels closure, Jake Shepard, a Merritt Farms family member, wrote in an email Saturday.

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Goodman said business has been slow so far in 2018 but declined further comment.

The hotels closure, though, may not be the sole reason for the decrease in customers.

Most people get their hair done before the holidays, said Goodman, who has operated in the space for 32 years.

Andersen Hotels Inc., the hotels former operator, filed a lawsuit Dec. 28 in Orange County Superior Court against Merritt Farms and a group of Laguna residents, following up one it filed in October.

Andersen Hotels alleges the defendants violated lease terms to make way for a new operator and ruined Andersens business relationship with Majestic Realty Co. to renovate and modernize the hotel, according to court records.

Shepard said the allegations in the new complaint, as well as in the initial suit, are without merit and that Merritt Farms would defend itself in court.

The other defendants include filmmaker Greg MacGillivray, real estate investor Joe Hanauer and James Walkie Ray, who formed Kimbark Group LLC, a Delaware company that does business in California.

The latest filing followed U.S. District Judge Josephine Statons decision Dec. 13 to dismiss Andersen Hotels claims of trademark infringement, service mark dilution and false designation of origin.

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Andersen alleged that Merritt Farms and Kimbark used the name Hotel Laguna and advertised themselves as the new owners of the property without Andersens consent.

The lease between Andersen and Merritt Farms expired Dec. 31.

Staton ruled the alleged advertisement was not used in connection with the sale of goods or services.

Staton gave Andersen the choice of filing an amended complaint within 21 days of her order to address deficiencies in the federal trademark claims or refile the case in state court.

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Andersen, a family business, operated the hotel for 32 years but learned in January 2017 that Merritt Farms had agreed to lease the hotel and property to Kimbark, MacGillivray, Ray and/or Hanauer.

Andersens October lawsuit claims Merritt Farms did not comply with lease terms to give Andersen the right of first refusal should Merritt decide to sell the property or hotel.

Andersen alleges the defendants structured a 99-year lease in an attempt to avoid Andersens right of first refusal.

Jane Humphrey, an attorney representing Kimbark, said the allegations are without merit and would be contested in court.

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While our hope was to have a new operator for the hotel in place on Jan. 1, we are working to reach an agreement with Kimbark Group LLC, Shepard said. We expect the hotel will reopen when an agreement has been signed.

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce
Ukraine in 2017 increased exports of titanium containing ore and concentrate in natural terms by 26% compared to 2016, to 583,772 tonnes.

According to customs statistics released by the State Fiscal Service, during this period exports of titanium ore and concentrate in monetary terms increased by 25.3%, to $105.235 million.

At the same time, major exports were made to the Czech Republic (16.87% of deliveries in monetary terms), the United States (15.46%), and Turkey (14.68%).

Ukraine in 2017 imported 202 tonnes of titanium ore and concentrates worth $143,000 from Senegal (87.41%), Finland (10.49%) and Iran (2.1%), while in 2016 it imported 160 tonnes for $90,000.

As reported, Ukraine in 2016 increased exports of titanium ore and concentrate in natural terms by 57.1% compared to 2015, to 463,386 tonnes, in monetary terms by 16.7%, to $83.979 million. Exports were mainly made to the Russian Federation (35.33% of deliveries in monetary terms), the United States (18.35%), and the Czech Republic (12.4%).
About 20 demonstrators gathered in downtown Huntington Beach on Tuesday to protest President Trumps proposal to open Californias coastline to new offshore oil and natural gas drilling for the first time in decades.

The protesters, who assembled along Main Street near Pacific Coast Highway, included members of activist groups Indivisible OC 48, Oceana and the Surfrider Foundation. They waved signs with phrases like Drilling is killing.

Another sign showed a picture of an offshore drilling rig and the message This is so last century.

Last week, Trump proposed opening much of the U.S. coastline to leases for offshore oil and natural gas exploration, a notion that in Californias case has been off limits since the Reagan administration in 1984.

Were here to say were not going to allow that to happen along the California coastline, said Aaron McCall, chairman of Indivisible OC 48. Behind him, the group chanted Surfs up, rigs down.

If there is an oil spill off our coast, that ruins our tourism industry, McCall said. That ruins our home. We shouldnt allow that to be done.

The presidents proposal, which is under public review and debate, has faced considerable backlash from West Coast governors, including Californias Jerry Brown, who contend it would pose environmental harm and ignore a need to transition away from fossil fuels.

Trump administration and industry officials, however, say the opportunity would significantly expand the nations energy production amid rising global demand.

This is a start on looking at American energy dominance and looking at our offshore assets and beginning a dialogue of when, how, where and how fast those offshore assets could be or should be developed, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told reporters last week. Nobody is better at producing clean, quality, responsible energy than the U.S.

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint
Fashion changes, but school dress code battles never seem to go out of style.

Some readers might have seen recent media reports about an El Toro High School teenager who has taken her dispute over her schools dress code public. As of Friday, her online petition, Help Me Demand an End to the Sexist Dress Code At My High School, had garnered more than 12,000 supporters.

Shes hardly alone in challenging dress codes. Similar stories have been playing out at schools across the country. The El Toro teens petition is one of many similarly inclined protests posted on the website thepetitionsite.com. (I stopped counting after about 50.)

The students make some valid points. Many state that some rules appear arbitrary and are often inconsistently enforced. Some feel that not enough explanation is given for why certain attire is singled out for violations. The majority argue that girls suffer disproportionately from such rules and lose valuable class time as a result.

In her petition, El Toro High student Danielle Ernst contends that her schools dress code violates her constitutional right to free speech. She states that her mode of dress is a form of expression akin to music and art.

The teen also objects to the dress code for unfairly targeting females.

It is incredibly sexist and offensive to tell someone what they are wearing is inappropriate for school or too distracting, she states. I was called out of class for 10 minutes to be told what I was wearing was wrong, which was unfair to my education. In order to potentially protect someone elses education, mine was harmed in the process. Along with being self-deprecating, the school also contributes to rape culture and the sexualization of women.

I have to give Ernst and the other students protesting school dress codes points for creativity and debating skills. And I certainly share concerns over our cultures objectification of women.

So, nice try kids. But Im not buying it, at least not most of it.

I saw a published picture of the outfit Ernst was wearing when she was dress-coded, and her shirt is indeed very low cut. Im inclined to think that any student or teacher  male or female  would find it distracting. Thats just reality, and a school has every right to insist that certain areas of students bodies  again, male or female  remain covered.

Yes, girls are no doubt subjected to greater scrutiny than boys, and Im sure there are times when codes are unreasonably restrictive or too harshly applied. But students couching their objections in high-minded talk about artistic expression and constitutional rights seems more a means of deflecting from the true motives of adolescents everywhere: to test limits and act out in ways that can often run counter to their demands for respect.

I find it disingenuous for young women to dress in an intentionally provocative manner and then express outrage when they are called out for it. Dont forget, kids, moms like me were once teenagers too, and we havent entirely forgotten what it feels like to want to push buttons.

As a mother of two sons, my biggest apparel concerns centered primarily on whether my boys clothes were clean, had no discernible holes and were a decent-enough fit. So I asked about a dozen friends with daughters about their take on this issue.

The responses were thoughtful and nuanced. They all expressed strong support for school dress codes and their enforcement, and many even wished that the whole problem could be dealt with by all schools requiring uniforms, although as one mom pointed out, even uniform policies are often circumvented too.

Yet these mothers also empathized with at least some of their daughters frustrations. Teenage girls are constantly confronted with over-sexualized media images and a confusing array of societal messaging at a time when they are struggling to both fit in and discover their own unique identities.

Moreover, many of these moms have found it challenging to shop for clothing for their daughters. Its not always easy these days to find fashionable shorts, skirts, and tops for teens that arent somewhat revealing, or strictly in adherence with some school dress codes. A few also noted that outfits that seem unexceptional on one girl might appear more sexy on another due to differing body types.

But they didnt let schools off the hook either.

Many of these moms said that while they are supportive of dress codes generally, too often they find that the policies are ambiguous, inconsistently applied and not accompanied by meaningful discussion and context.

As one of my friends said, The missing component in public schools that would complement the dress codes is training for boys and girls on mutual respect.

This is an issue that, unfortunately, will probably never go away, and will continue to be a point of division between parents and their children, students and schools, and schools and parents. Adults will attempt to exert their authority, and kids will continue to defy them.

As for students that think the matter important enough to mobilize an organized protest movement, I only hope that all that passion will one day be directed toward solving more pressing issues. Perhaps theyll realize some day that there are far more important problems in the world than being required to cover tank tops and wear 4-inch inseams while in class.

PATRICE APODACA is a former Newport-Mesa public school parent and former Los Angeles Times staff writer. She lives in Newport Beach.
With the recent catastrophic fires in California, residents of Newport Beach should examine fire hazards that are present right here in our city.

A good example is Buck Gully in Corona del Mar. The southern end of Buck Gully is adjacent to homes in Corona Highlands, Shorecliffs and Corona del Mar village. Thick brush and trees from Buck Gully abut most of the homes on the perimeter of these neighborhoods.

If a fire started in Buck Gully on a day with high winds, flames from this vegetation could easily race down the canyon and spread to homes in these neighborhoods.

Homeowners adjacent to Buck Gully have property lines that go down to the bottom of the canyon, so it is the homeowners responsibility to clear vegetation from this land.

At the moment, the city cant force homeowners to clear vegetation on their property in Buck Gully. In order to reduce the risk of a catastrophic fire in Corona Highlands, Shorecliffs and Corona del Mar village, I urge the City Council and the Fire Department to immediately begin studying an ordinance requiring homeowners to clear vegetation from their lots in Buck Gully.

Linda Oeth

Corona del Mar

Newport Beach should not add housing

Re. the proposed Koll Center residences project: Newport Beach only needs additional housing in order to expand. We do not want it to expand.

Nancy Kaufman

Newport Beach

How to get published: Email us at dailypilot@latimes.com. All correspondence must include full name, hometown and phone number (for verification purposes). The Pilot reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity and length.
Later this month, the city of Glendale will conduct its annual homeless and subpopulation count, which helps bring awareness to the overall homeless population in the city and provide pathways to housing for some affected individuals.

Similar to the homeless count conducted by the neighboring Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA, the Glendale count is designed to determine how many people in Glendale are experiencing homelessness on any given day or night.

The count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in order for the city to receive federal funding. The city of Glendales Continuum of Care Board of Directors, Community Services and Parks Department as well as area homeless service providers annually conduct the count during the last week of January.

A report on Glendales 2017 count found a 30% decrease in the overall homeless population compared to 2016, from 240 to 168 persons.

Although partially due to the absence of a winter shelter program, the drop was also attributed to the citys Continuum of Care  a local system charged with coordinating funds for homeless housing and services  and the Coordinated Entry System, which assesses and prioritizes those seeking assistance.

Ivet Samvelyan, a community services manager with the city, said Glendales homeless intervention is successful because of support from city officials and the community.

We have great support from our council and executives overseeing homeless programs, she said. We also have great community support from the Glendale Continuum of Care  its not just Parks Department staff, it is all the nonprofits that provide direct services, she said.

Samvelyan is referring to partner agencies that include Ascencia, the local YWCA and Salvation Army of Glendale.

While not faced with the same homelessness crisis and housing shortage as L.A., Samvelyan said Glendale is still dealing with similar challenges, such as identifying and recruiting new landlords who would expand the available housing inventory.

The city of Glendale last year implemented an incentive program that offers up to $1,200 to landlords as a stimulus to work with homeless programs. The funds help keep rooms vacant for consideration of an applicant who is homeless.

Weve had really successful transitions because of that program, but we still need more landlords to help us, Samvelyan said.

Recently, the Los Angeles County Workforce Development, Aging, and Community Service Department gave $100,000 in Measure H funds for Glendales Regional Immediate Intervention Service to Employment program, or RIISE.

The pilot program is designed to provide homeless adults with training, mentorship and job placement to create a path toward long-term employment.

Its the love and passion from the community that supports and transitions homeless persons from the streets to housing, Samvelyan said. Its improving the quality of life for all the residents when everyones involved in addressing and ending homelessness in the community.

This years homeless count will take place on Jan. 23 and 24.

For more information about Glendales homeless count, visit bit.ly/2DaYKTY.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
After two home invasion robberies last month in the Flintridge area, locals are asking what more can be done to combat crime, as city and public safety officials respond with increased patrols and the promise were on it.

Stephanie Arnold, a neighborhood watch captain who lives on Encinas Drive, is encouraging residents through Facebook to voice their concerns with city officials directly and increase vigilance at home by forming or joining a watch group and communicating with others about suspicious activities.

Theres been a total uptick of comments and people talking about, What do we do? on Nextdoor.com and Facebook, Arnold said Monday. Residents who are on edge are going to ask why we are not spending more. You could ask to budget more, but I think its bigger than that.

Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station Capt. Chris Blasnek said Monday detectives are investigating a Dec. 31 armed robbery at a home on the 800 block of Flintridge Avenue as possibly being connected with an earlier home invasion that took place Dec. 12 on the 800 block of Inverness Drive, less than 1 mile away.

In both instances, the victims were approached by multiple suspects wearing ski masks, gloves and dark clothing, at least one of whom was armed with a handgun. Victims were tied up at gunpoint and left while the suspects ransacked their properties and made off with cash and, in the Flintridge Avenue robbery, a vintage handgun.

I believe the home invasions are connected, Blasnek said. I dont have a crystal ball to say who theyre going to hit next, or who they are. Basically, I need residents to call us and be alert  start looking up, start looking around you, start making eye contact.

Arnold, who said shes always been vigilant about looking for and reporting suspicious behavior on her street, said La Canadans need to be more involved in the process.

This is a great community, but a lot of people want to mind their own business, she said, indicating that people who do speak up are sometimes criticized or labeled racist on social media. I will always speak up. If I didnt speak up and something bad happened to someone, Id feel horrible.

The neighborhood watch captain said shes considering attending the Jan. 22 meeting of the Public Safety Commission.

Public Safety Commissioner Marilyn Smith said the city has been working closely with the sheriffs department to help mitigate the effects of state laws that reduce punishment for nonviolent offenders. In addition to helping inform citizens how they can better protect themselves, the city has offered two rounds of homeowner rebates through Ring.com to purchase video doorbell alarms and is contemplating a third.

La Canada Flintridge is not isolated in its public safety concerns, Smith said in an email interview. But the facts show that the city is dedicated to ensuring our residents receive excellent services and tools with the goal of reducing exposure to crime.

For example, Smith said, although residential burglaries in La Canada have decreased 22% in the past five years, the citys annual contract with the sheriffs department this fiscal year was increased by 3.782% to $3.5 million, including $185,000 for additional directed patrols to be used at the city managers discretion, according to city documents.

Blasnek confirmed Monday additional units were out patrolling city streets. Additionally, all vehicles with paper license plates  a common modus operandi for suspects looking to avoid identification  will be stopped by deputies.

These guys are covering up their plates. So we are stopping everybody with no (permanent) plates on their cars, said Blasnek, adding the move is one of several new efforts being undertaken.

Id like the public to trust in us, he added. Im just asking them for their trust and wanting them to know were on it.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
As most of you are aware, there have been recent news articles concerning two home invasion robberies in La Canada Flintridge. While alarming and causing great concern, it is important to clarify some of the facts and what is being done. It is the job of your Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department to keep our residents safe and to do everything possible to identify the suspects and bring them to justice. I would also like to stress that during times of a serious crime, the Sheriffs Department needs your support more than ever. Remember, we are here all year long for you, patrolling your streets, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have a dedicated staff of deputies and professional staff. Most of the residents know us and enjoy a great community relationship.

I have read many emails circulating throughout the city recently. While I understand where some of the comments come from, I feel it is important to arm you with facts. Regarding Part 1 serious crime in La Canada Flintridge, I report monthly in person at the City Council meeting. Most people who attend know that crime is low. Murder, rape, assaults and robbery are usually reported to be zero. There are few other cities that can boast such numbers. In October we had three residential burglaries, followed by six in November and six in December. Some of these burglaries have occurred because a garage door was left open. I am always surprised the city has an incredibly low car theft rate. Many months the norm is reported to be one. Again, most cities would love to have a crime rate you can count on one hand and would gladly trade what they have. I owe this success to the hard-working deputies and detective staff who never tire. Some even live in the city they patrol. They have a caring attitude and it shows.

Last month, we sustained two home invasion robberies. While unfortunate, I am relieved there were no injuries. I wish I had a crystal ball to prevent these from happening, but I dont. We know criminals are now traveling from area to area looking for targets. What I can do is keep you apprised of what your Sheriffs Department is doing to solve these atrocities and whats being implemented to prevent more. To start, we have already augmented our normal patrols. Additional deputies have been placed in marked patrol units to increase our presence. This will give us even greater response times should a crime occur. As you know, La Canada Flintridge has some of the shortest response times in the county of Los Angeles. Our average emergency response is between three and four minutes; priority calls, seven minutes and routine calls 11 to 15 minutes. Any type of felony now calls are considered an emergency and will be given the highest priority. The city also has the luxury of using other patrol units during an emergency. Units in La Crescenta, Montrose, Angeles Forest, Altadena and Temple Station are just a few of the examples of getting patrol units to a location fast. The same is true for them, should they need us!

We are also bringing on board the Sheriffs Major Crimes Bureau  Burglary Task Force. This task force is countywide and has many recent successes with the capture of numerous suspects. Using crime trends, crime analysis, new technology and surveillance, the Burglary Crime Task Force has solved what would have been unsolved burglaries. Suspects have been arrested spanning to regions as far as Orange, Ventura and even Santa Barbara counties. La Canada Flintridge has brought this team on board in the past and will continue to renew our relationship as needed. Remember, these crimes are not just occurring here, they are occurring with all of our sister cities. We are all in this together. We have witnessed firsthand the poorly executed propositions of 47 and 57 and the reduction of state prisoners into the already overcrowed county jail system. This has caused the early release of inmates who have served only a fraction of their time. Please do your homework prior to voting in future elections.

It should also be important to point out the Sheriffs Department, city manager and the La Canada Flintridge City Council enjoy a team working relationship. As information is shared and deemed concerning to the quality of life we enjoy in our quiet community, I am always pleased to receive the financial backing and reassuring support to eliminate any crime issues facing us. I say us because we are all working together to meet the goal of living in one of the safest cities in California. I take this job seriously and will use every tool necessary to sustain our great quality of life.

Any questions or concerns can be addressed to myself or any of my staff. I believe once you get to know us, you will also realize we are here to serve and continue the trust we have instituted for so many years.

Capt. Christopher Blasnek heads the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station, a Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department facility that provides law enforcement services on contract to the city of La Canada Flintridge while also serving neighboring areas.
The U.S. State Department on Wednesday unveiled a four-point system for alerting Americans to the differing risks they face when traveling internationally.

Visitors to travel.state.gov will find the agencys assessments of countries around the world on a scale of 1 (exercise normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel).

Though the governments cautions remain largely the same as they were under the previous system of travel warnings and alerts, the numerical approach is new. In Mexico (level 2: exercise increased caution), the State Department also grades each of the nations 31 states on the same scale.

It urges travelers to stay away from the states of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas (all level 4). It assigns a level 3 rating (reconsider travel) to states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Estado de Mexico, Jalisco, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Sonora, Zacatecas.

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The State Department has assigned level 2 rating (exercise increased caution) to the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur, both of which have seen sharp increases in homicides and turf battles between criminal groups in the last year.

Ashley Garrigus, spokesperson for the State Departments Bureau of Consular Affairs, said the agency gives extra attention to conditions in Mexico due to the number of U.S. citizens who travel there and the difference between the different areas. Its our largest destination for U.S. citizens traveling aboard.

Worldwide, the new advisories will also include up to seven indicators designed to clarify reasons for the warnings: C for crime, T for terrorism, U for civil unrest, H for health, N for natural disasters (and the aftermath), E for a time-limited events (like elections) and O for other.

christopher.reynolds@latimes.com

Follow Reynolds on Twitter: @MrCSReynolds
Catalonias main separatist parties said Wednesday they have agreed to reelect fugitive Carles Puigdemont as president of the region later this month, although how to make that legally possible is still up in the air.

Puigdemont, who has been in Brussels since he was sacked in October over an attempt to secede from Spain, faces immediate arrest if he returns home. He wants the separatist majority in the new regional parliament to appoint him despite his absence.

The Catalan assemblys regulations are ambiguous about that possibility, but the anti-independence opposition says a president cant govern from afar.

Its evident that for governing Catalonia you have to be in Catalonia, you cant do that via WhatsApp or as a hologram, said Ines Arrimadas, the leader of the anti-independence Ciutadans (Citizens) party. A person who is fleeing justice cant be the president.

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A spokesman with Puigdemonts Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) ticket said the separatist politician secured the backing of the left-republican ERC party Tuesday evening in Brussels.

The parties jointly hold 66 of the 135 seats in the regional chamber, and can add the support of four antiestablishment lawmakers.

The separatists dominance of the chamber, however, depends on jailed or fugitive elected lawmakers who wont be able to vote unless they are released or give up their seats to someone else on the party list. But a new president can form a government with a simple majority in a second attempt.

An ERC spokesman also confirmed the deal, adding that Puigdemont will propose to speak via video conference to the regional parliament later this month or have a fellow party lawmaker read the mandatory speech that candidates to the regional leadership need to deliver before being voted in.

Both officials spoke anonymously because they werent authorized to be identified in news reports.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy ordered the Dec. 21 regional election under constitutional powers he invoked in October to dissolve the previous parliament after separatist lawmakers voted to declare Catalonia an independent republic. He also removed Puigdemont and his Cabinet.

While the anti-secession Ciutadans (Citizens) collected the most votes of any single party, the prime ministers hope that the separatists would suffer a stinging rebuke at the polls went unfulfilled.
Iran has lifted the death penalty for certain nonviolent drug offenses, relaxing some of the worlds harshest laws on drug crimes and potentially sparing the lives of thousands of death row inmates.

An amended narcotics law directs judges to suspend executions for 5,000 people convicted of drug-related offenses and review their cases, Mizan news agency, the mouthpiece of Irans judiciary, reported Wednesday.

Most of the 5,000 convicts would have their punishments converted to life sentences, Mohammad Ali Esfanani, assistant judge of the Iranian Supreme Court, told state media.

A spokesman for the judiciary committee of Irans Parliament, Hasan Nourouzi, told the Jam-e-Jam daily newspaper that violent drug offenders  including those who had committed murder in the course of drug crimes  would still be subject to the death penalty if convicted.

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But the moratorium on executions for those found guilty of nonviolent crimes  such as drug smuggling  is a victory for reformists and human rights advocates who fought for years to change Irans draconian drug laws. Proponents of the changes say that 90% of those imprisoned on drug convictions are first-time offenders younger than 30 years old.

The amended law had been in the works for more than two years, ever since a majority of Irans 290 lawmakers said they endorsed a moratorium. After parliament approved the bill, it won approval from Irans all-powerful Guardian Council, a conservative body made up of Islamic jurists and theologians.

Hard-liners had long opposed the changes, but the influence of moderates and reformists in parliament, and a rising backlash against executions, has contributed to a softening stance.

Lawmakers have raised the limits on the amounts of drugs one can possess before it becomes a capital offense. An earlier law provided for the death penalty if someone was caught with an ounce of cocaine; the new limit is 4.4 pounds.

Iran is in the grip of a terrible drug abuse problem, mainly driven by easy access to cheap and plentiful narcotics, especially opium, coming over the border from Afghanistan. Health officials say there are more than 2 million drug addicts in a country of 80 million, but doctors say the actual figure is higher.

Iran puts more convicts to death per capita than any country in the world, most for drug crimes. Amnesty International says that since 1988, Iran has executed, usually by hanging, approximately 10,000 people for drug-related offenses.

If implemented properly, this long-overdue reform will spare hundreds from the gallows, but that should be just the start, Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnestys deputy Middle East and North Africa director, said in a statement.

The Iranian authorities must stop using the death penalty for drug-related offenses with a view to eventually abolishing it for all crimes.

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Saleh Nikbakht, an Iranian human rights lawyer, said that by making the new law retroactive, Iranian authorities could spare the lives of thousands.

Now Iran wont be the second country in the world, after China, for most executions, Nikbakht said. We will have a much lower ranking and that is good news.

Special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran and Times staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

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The Iranian company whose oil tanker burst into flames after a collision in the East China Sea says there is still hope of finding survivors as 31 crew members remain missing and rescue efforts continued Wednesday.

As the stricken Sanchi still lists after colliding with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal late Saturday, a spokesman for National Iranian Tanker Co. said in Tehran that rescuers likely will find survivors.

Since the vessels engine room is not directly affected by the fire and is about 14 meters [46 feet] underwater, there is still hope, spokesman Mohsen Bahrami said late Tuesday. We are persistently working to put out the fire and rescue possible survivors.

The body of one of the 32 crew members has been recovered and taken to Shanghai for identification, Bahrami said.

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Mahmoud Abuli Ghasemabadi, the brother of missing Iranian sailor Ehasan Abuli Ghasemabadi, said he and other families remained hopeful for good news.

I ask countries that are in that region and can offer any assistance to help us deal with this situation as soon as possible, Ghasemabadi said.

The Panamanian-registered Sanchi had a crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, Chinese state media reported. The 21 members of the Crystals all-Chinese crew were rescued.

What caused Saturdays collision in the East China Sea, 160 miles off the coast of Shanghai, remains unclear.

The Sanchi was carrying 150,000 tons, or nearly 1 million barrels, of condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, according to Chinese authorities.

South Korean petrochemical company Hanwha Total Co., a 50-50 partnership between the Seoul-based Hanwha Group and French oil giant Total, said in an email it had contracted the Sanchi to import Iranian condensate to South Korea.

The tanker has operated under five different names since it was built in 2008, according the U.N.-run International Maritime Organization. The National Iranian Tanker Co. describes itself as operating the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East.

Its the second collision for a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co. in less than a year and a half. In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill.
The United States Department of Commerce has welcomed the signing of a $2.3 million contract between U.S.-based Western Services Corporation (WSC) and Energoatom to supply equipment for a simulator training power unit operators, the U.S. agency reported on its website.

"The U.S. Department of Commerce welcomes the signing of a $2.3 million contract between Western Services Corporation (Maryland) and the Ukrainian government. The company will supply simulators for training power plant operators for the state-owned enterprise that manages Ukrainian nuclear power plants," the report says.

According to the ProZorro electronic procurement system, the auction was held twice. The first one took place in February 2017, but was canceled, although in their course WSC won the tender for the supply of equipment with a price of $1.687 million. The second auction ended on August 11. Ukratom Service LLC and GSE Performance Solutions, Inc. also took part in the auction.

The U.S. department notes its lawyer center together with the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv for 18 months had been working to ensure the transparency and openness of purchase of this service.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin believes that it is important to learn a lesson from the murder of a lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska, and every investigation should be equally important for law enforcement agencies.

"The killer of Iryna Nozdrovska has been found, but she can not be returned. It is important for everyone to learn a lesson from this tragedy to make the system work for crimes prevention and make every investigation equally important. Otherwise, we will not have civil society and people who can fight injustice," Klimkin wrote on his Twitter page on Tuesday.
Over 230 candidates apply for posts of judges of High Court on Intellectual Property

A total of 234 candidates have filed documents for the posts of judges of the High Court on Intellectual Property, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine has reported.

According to a report posted on the commission's website, most candidates are judges.

The commission is currently studying the documents of candidates for admission to the exams.

As reported, on October 6, 2017, the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine announced a competition for filling 21 vacant posts of judges of the High Court on Intellectual Property.

On September 29, 2017, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on the creation of the High Court on Intellectual Property.
Incorporate Lehigh postponed its second town hall meeting planned for Jan. 13 due to a recent resolution signed by the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District.

The district recently announced the approval of Resolution 18-03, which would allow LA-MSID to expand its legal powers under Chapter 2015-202, Florida Statute. This expansion may consist of up to five powers including signage, planning, streetlights, sidewalks and water and sewer.

The resolution also states that the district could eventually acquire and implement these new powers to serve as the foundation for the eventual incorporation through the LA-MSID.

The legislators have decided that when the time comes and incorporation is possible, LA-MSID will serve as that platform, said Commissioner Michael Welch, chair of LA-MSID.

According to Incorporate Lehighs committee members, the resolution could be in conflict of the groups current initiatives towards their research into the possibility of becoming a city.

Presently, the committee members of Incorporate Lehigh are seeking legal counsel pertaining to the Resolution 18-03, and how it would affect their own initiatives.

We are currently in the process of drafting a letter in an effort to get further details as to the intent behind the resolution, said Incorporate Lehighs President Joan Cunningham.

According to Welch, this resolution is in preparation for the day that Lehigh is financially ready to become a township.

Presently, the legislators do not see the fiscal ability of Lehigh to incorporate or foresee Lehigh being able to stand on its own in no way, shape or form. The legislature simply will not approve the establishment of a town ship if the money is not there, added Welch.

Incorporate Lehigh held its first town hall meeting at Lehigh Acres Senior High back in November 2017. The group had just began the first step of a feasibility study, which was being conducted by Joe Mazurkiewicz, president of BJM Consulting. The feasibility study would show whether Lehigh is economically ready and has the infrastructure to support incorporation.

Residents who would like to find out more can visit Incorporate Lehighs Facebook page or attend the next Lehigh Acres Community Council meeting. Meetings are held at 1299 Homestead Rd. Lehigh Acres on the third Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m.
Two teens are accused of breaking in and burglarizing a Dollar General in Lehigh Acres.

Shortly after midnight on Jan. 4, the Lee County Sheriffs Office responded to an alarm activated at the store, at 1154 Alabama Road S. Upon arrival, deputies discovered the emergency exit door ajar on the south side of the building.

Two hooded men ran from inside the structure in an attempt to flee from law enforcement, officials said. Carrying backpacks, the suspects ran into a nearby wooded area to the east. Deputies and K-9 Jax pursued the suspects, moving along Tomasello Drive.

The first suspect, later identified as Yarosqui Roble-Medina, 18, of 1203 Fogia St. E., was located in an area of tall grass and vegetation. Roble-Medina was ordered to surrender himself, but refused. Jax was deployed and the suspect was taken into custody, officials said.

The second suspect, later identified as Andres Acevedo, 17, was observed leaving ing the wooded area near State Road 82. He was quickly detained by deputies.

A total of 441 miscellaneous tobacco packages were reported stolen. Additional items containing Dollar General tags were recovered outside of the store.

Roble-Medina was arrested and charged with unoccupied burglary unarmed, possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief under $1,000, grand theft and resisting without violence. He was transported to the Lee County Jail for booking.

Acevedo was arrested and charged with unoccupied burglary unarmed, possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief under $1,000, grand theft and resisting without violence, as well as violation of probation. He was transported to the Lee County Juvenile Assessment Center.

Source: Lee County Sheriffs Office
To the editor:

Republican Representative Francis Rooney caused quite a stir this last week when he made the bold statement that he wanted leaders at the Department of Justice and FBI to purge officials who are politically biased against our president, Donald John Trump. Those anti-Trump political zealots grasping at straws claimed that the word purge was a dirty word (claiming it is often associated with extreme war regimes) that should not be used in present day sophisticated and urbane language. The Snowflakes and those following their agenda must still seriously think that Hillary won the presidential election of 2016. Lets look at the real meaning of the word purge and how it relates to the Hatch Act, a little known piece of legislation which still remains so important to all members of our Republic.

The Hatch Act of 1939, officially an act to prevent pernicious political activities, is a United States federal law whose main provision prohibits employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president, vice-president, and certain designated high-level officials from engaging in some forms of political activity. It went into law on August 2, 1939. The law was named for Democrat Senator Carl Hatch of New Mexico. It was most recently amended in 1940.

The Act was brought into effect by Republicans and dissident Democrats who together publicized evidence that Democrat politicians were consulted on the appointment of WPA (Works Progress Administration) workers by the Senate Campaign Expenditures Committee, headed by Senator Morris Sheppard, a Texas Democrat (true bipartisan legislation). Many elected officials in both parties were determined to take action against the growing power of the WPA and its chief administrator, Harry Hopkins, an intimate of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the time Roosevelt was struggling to purge the Democrat Party of its more conservative members. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Due to constant political pressure from both sides of the isle, Roosevelt signed this important legislation (The Hatch Act) on the last day he could do so.

The Hatch Act bars state and local government employees from running for public office if any federal funds support the position. The Merit Systems Protection Board and the Office of Special Counsel are responsible for enforcement of the Hatch Act. That is the problem. The Special Counsel is called upon to enforce legislation that is contrary to their own political position.

The word purge, used by the gutsy Republican Representative, Francis Rooney, is a transitive verb, meaning among other things, to get rid of a contrary political alignment within ones own political party. The word, purge, does not mean sending these public officials to the guillotine, it simply means relieving them of their paid government jobs that were supposed to be apolitical in nature.

Jon Larsen Shudlick

Fort Myers
Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas three times in the past 24 hours, with two Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters has reported.

"In total, three attacks on ATO forces by militants were recorded in the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian military did not succumb to the aggressor's provocations and did return fire. As a result of the shelling not a single Ukrainian serviceman was killed, but two of our defenders were injured," the ATO staff said on Facebook on Wednesday morning.

In the Luhansk sector, the enemy used infantry weapons near the Svitlodarska Duha bulge. At first, the militants fired a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher on the defenders of the village of Luhanske, and later they provoked the defenders of the village of Travneve, using small arms.

In the Donetsk sector, the invaders violated ceasefire in the Mariupol sector. In particular, they opened fire from small arms, heavy machine guns, and launched eight 82mm mines on the Ukrainian fortified positions near the village of Pavlopil.
To the editor:

Our alleged representative in Washington, Francis Rooney, should immediately resign from office.

To begin with, he voted for the Trump Take from the Middle Class and suck up to the Rich Tax Not Reform Bill. As a government contractor feeding at the public trough Francis has enriched himself beyond comprehension; voting for the Fat Cat Tax Bill was at the very least a gross conflict of interest if viewed charitably; felonious may be the more applicable description.

Secondly, Francis has come out, an appropriate term, as a Roy Moore Republican. Really, Francis, dont you think there are enough religious psychopaths and perverts in Washington already?

And last; why did the person ever think that Stalinist verbiage was appropriate, purge indeed.

I feel that Southwest Florida would be best served by a candidate more in touch with reality and less with Trump. I suggest the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, who has demonstrated possession of, politely speaking, backbone and integrity. I would use another descriptive term but I do not want to offend any but Rooney and his pals.

Mrs. Cruz can use my house for her qualifying residence; we have a couple of empty bedrooms and wifi, and she is welcome to them. And Comcast. I know that the Hispanic community is not homogeneous, and Americans of Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban, Honduran, etc., descent, may not all be on the same page, but Mayor Cruz can, I believe, unify the Hispanic vote and grab enough votes from the rest of us to be a shoe in and a thorn in the side of the jerks in D.C.

Dan Schutzman

Cape Coral
Two students suffered minor injuries Tuesday morning after the school bus they were traveling in crashed into a utility pole in Lehigh County.

Pennsylvania State Police said Trina Mosley, 34, was driving the bus on Church View Road in Upper Milford Township, when she lost control of the vehicle about 10:20 a.m.

The bus drove off the road and hit the support cables for the utility pole, snapping it in half, troopers said. The bus then struck several large logs lying beside the roadway, and finally stopped.

There were four students on the bus, and two suffered minor injuries, troopers said. The pair were cleared by EMS and their parents.

State police at the Fogelsville barracks could not be immediately reached for more information about the crash.

The road was closed for about four hours, and was later closed to allow PPL Electric Utilities to replace the pole, state police said.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A former deputy coroner serving Pennsylvania communities in Carbon and Schuylkill counties has pleaded guilty to charges in an undercover teen sex sting investigation, court records show.

Edward C. Smith, 60, of Willing Street in Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, entered the pleas Jan. 5 in Luzerne County Court, to felony charges of unlawful contact with a minor-sexual offenses and criminal attempted use of a communication facility.

Sentencing is scheduled April 4 before Judge David Lupas in Luzerne County.

Smith was accused of trying to solicit sex from an undercover agent posing as a 14-year-old boy.

Last month, he was charged in a separate case for allegedly sexually assaulting a boy when he was 14 and 15 years old at Smith's house. That case remains pending, with a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled Jan. 16 before District Judge Stephen Bayer.

Smith remained in Luzerne County prison in lieu of a combined $500,000 bail in the two cases.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A Penn State University student was found dead in his main campus dorm room on Monday.

William Denton, 19, was discovered at 10:15 p.m. in his room at Miller Hall in the Eastview Terrace housing complex, after his family requested a wellness check, authorities said.

The Centre County coroner scheduled an autopsy to try to determine the cause of death, said Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers. There is no foul play suspected and University Police were continuing their investigation.

"Our deepest sympathy is offered to William's family and friends during this time of great sadness and loss," Power said.

Denton, who was from North Carolina, was studying health policy and administration, and was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Denton's Facebook page indicates.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
FOUR Limerick men who are accused of carrying out a burglary at the home of an elderly man in rural County Clare have been remanded in custody for a futher two weeks.

Patrick Woodland, aged 43, of Greenmount Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston; his son Edward Woodland, aged 18, of the same address; John Woodland, aged 38, of Clarina Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston and Paul Kiely, aged 30, of Glencairn, Dooradoyle are each charged with burglary under the provisions of Section 12 of the Criminal Justice Theft and Fraud Offences Act 2001  relating to an incident at Ballyveskill, Tiermaclane, Ennis on January 5, last.

The four defendants, who were arrested a short time after the alleged burglary, appeared before a special sitting of Ennis District Court last Saturday afternoon during which gardai opposed bail.

John Woodland and Patrick Woodland were refused bail by Judge Mary Larkin while Paul Kiely and Edward Woodland were both granted bail subject to a number of conditions including the lodgment of a independent cash surety.

During a sitting of Ennis District Court this Wednesday, Inspector Tom Kennedy said directions are not yet available from the DPP and he sought an adjournment of the case until later this month.

Solicitor Darragh Hassett did not oppose the application and all four accused confirmed to Judge Patrick Durcan they understood the reason for their cases being adjourned.

John and Patrick Woodland were remanded in custody to January 24, next while Edward Woodland and Paul Kiely were remanded in custody with consent to bail.

All four are due to appear before the court via video-link on the next date.
A TEENAGE boy who is accused of assaulting his mother and urinating in front of his sister was placed in detention after gardai sought to have his bail revoked.

The 16-year-old, who has an address in a Limerick city suburb, was released on conditional bail after he appeared in court before Christmas when he was charged with two counts of assault.

One of the conditions of his bail was that he not assault, harass or intimidate his mother and sister who live in the same house.

However, at a special sitting of the childrens court on Friday, Judge Marian OLeary was told gardai were seeking to have his bail revoked as they had concerns for the safety of members of his family.

Garda Ryan McCarthy said the defendant, who cant be named because of his age, had breached his curfew and had also put his mother and sister in fear.

Details of a number of incidents which occurred at the defendants home earlier this month were outlined during the hearing.

Garda McCarthy told Judge Marian OLeary the youth spat at his mothers face and pushed her with considerable force against a wall on one occasion and that he urinated into a glass in front of his sister on another occasion.

He said gardai have also received a complaint that he engaged in a threatening and abusive manner towards his mother and that he smashed a glass panel in a sitting room door by kicking it.

Judge OLeary was told investigations are underway in relation to the recent incidents and that the defendant is likely to face additional charges.

Garda McCarthy said he also had concerns about the defendants drug use and he agreed with Sergeant Donal Cronin who said gardai have a serious concern for the safety of the youths family and sister.

Neither of them were present in court for the hearing of the application which was not opposed by solicitor Conn Barry.

Having been informed there was a bed available at Oberstown School in Dublin, Judge OLeary ordered that he be remanded in detention.

The matter is due before the childrens court again this week.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin and his Romanian counterpart Teodor Viorel Melescanu will hold a meeting in Chernivtsi on Thursday, January 11.

"The foreign ministers plan to discuss a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation at the interstate and regional levels and it is expected that the ministers will also discuss the provision of educational rights for the Romanian national minority and the implementation of the provisions of the new law of Ukraine "On Education," taking into account the conclusions of the Venice Commission," the press service of Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported.

In addition, a meeting of Ukrainian and Romanian foreign ministers with the leadership of the Chernivtsi regional state administration and the city of Chernivtsi, as well as with representatives of the activists of the Romanian community of the region, is scheduled.
GARDAI in Limerick are investigating an incident during which a quantity of cash was stolen from a shop in the city centre.

According to gardai, the culprit entered the shop at Denmark Street at around 7.30pm last Thursday  January 4.

He grabbed a quantity of cash from the till which was left open despite an effort by a staff member to close it.

Tills should always be kept closed in order to prevent this exact crime, said crime prevention officer Sgt Ber Leetch.

There was also an incident at a house in Castletroy on the same day in which a door was forced open sufficiently for the thieves to get the keys of the car off the hall table and drive away in it, gardai said.

On Saturday, between 5pm and 8pm, a house in Oola was broken into and cash taken, while a home owner in Castletroy reported the theft of his home heating oil.

Gardai have advised that lights and a radio or TV should be on a timer or left on in order to give the impression that somebody is home.

There were also a number of business premises broken into in County Limerick.

Last Thursday night into Friday morning, Henry's Cafe in Drumcollogher was entered through the back door and cash taken, Sgt Leetch said.

On the same night a beauty salon was also broken into in Drumcollogher.

On Friday night, a hairdressers was broken into in Kilmallock and cash taken.

Contact gardai at any garda station or the confidential line 1800-666111.
DIRECTIONS are being sought in the case of two men who are accused of attempting to steal copper fittings from the boiler room of a Limerick city hotel.

Peter Malone, aged 43, of Singland Crescent, Garryowen and Colm McNamara, aged 32, who has an address as East Singland Road, Garryowen are each charged with burglary relating to an incident at the Kilmurry Lodge Hotel in the early hours of January 5, last.

Both are also charged with stealing a strimmer and two leaf blowers during a break-in at a property in Castleconnell earlier in the same night.

Mr Malone is also charged with the unlawful possession of a glass-breaker which gardai alleges was to be used in the course of a burglary.

Garda John Sheehan told Limerick District Court Mr Malone replied Im sorry when he was formally charged while Mr McNamara replied: Im sorry for committing the offence.

Sergeant Donal Cronin said while there was no objection to bail gardai were seeking to the imposition of conditions.

Both were ordered to stay away from the Monaleen, Castletroy and Castleconnell areas and both must live at their home addresses.

Judge Marian OLeary imposed a nightly curfew, ordered that both sign on daily at Henry Street garda station and that they each provide gardai with a mobile phone number.

Free legal aid was granted in each case and solicitor Sarah Ryan assigned to represent the defendants.

A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions and the matter was adjourned to March 14, next for directions.
ROAD designers from Limerick City and County Council have been urged to change what has been described as a dangerous proposal which could see one of Adares largest employers lose millions of euro every year.

Representatives from Fitzgeralds Woodlands House Hotel attended a special meeting of the full council, where they received unanimous support to have the interchange exit near the Lantern Lodge. Council executives were told to go back to the drawing board on the plans.

Under the councils planned route, drivers coming off at Adare would have to pass through at least three roundabouts to get to the Woodlands. Currently, the Lantern Lodge is the first roundabout drivers meet when coming from the city on the N21, making the Woodlands a convenient location just off the major route to Kerry.

Proprietor Mary Fitzgerald, who started her B&B 40 years ago along with her late husband Dick and a handful of staff, told the council that there were currently 230 people employed at the hotel and spa. She added that there were plans to grow to 300 employees in the next three years.

Most people employed are from within a 25km radius, and we are one of the biggest employers in the area. Most of our suppliers are from within a 40km radius, said Ms Fitzgerald, explaining the knock-on effect in the local economy if the hotel loses trade.

Representing the family business, a Grant Thornton consultant outlined a forecast representing annual losses of 3.7m annually by 2027 if the current interchange plan goes ahead.

Most of the Woodlands business comes through passing trade. Most of the destination wedding bookings come about from passing trade. The Woodlands cannot change their business model, so they are open to damage, said the consultant.

Director of services Kieran Lehane said that the design team is still open to submissions, and committed to examining the new proposal closely. Once the plans are finalised, the design will be submitted to An Bord Pleanala.

An economist has been engaged to examine the submission.

 For more on this story, see the Limerick Leader weekend editions, in shops this Thursday
AN INQUEST has heard that a falling lamp was the catalyst in a Limerick house fire which led to the tragic death of a young bride-to-be.

University of Limerick graduate Grace McDermott, aged 26, died of carbon monoxide poisoning following a house fire at a three-storey dwelling in Annacotty, in the early hours of May 1, 2017.

Family and friends, including her father Robert and fiance Colin ONeill, were present at the hearing this Wednesday.

The inquest heard that Grace had travelled from Dublin on April 30 with her friend Aisling Murphy to participate in the Great Limerick Run.

Later that evening, Grace went for a few drinks at Nancy Blakes, Upper Denmark Street, where she met her friend Cathal Sheridan, the coroners court heard.

The court heard that Grace got separated from her friends and lost her keys to the Travel Lodge. Mr Sheridan offered her accommodation in his house at The Oaks, Riverbank, Annacotty, his deposition stated.

Mr Sheridan, who slept on a couch downstairs, said that he and Grace arrived at the house between 2am and 2.30am. There were three other people in the house that night, while Grace slept in the bedroom upstairs.

Witness Ian Condell told the inquest that after a fire alarm went off at 3am, he and Derek Farrell checked the house where the smoke was coming from.

Mr Farrell said when he entered Mr Sheridans bedroom, where Grace was, he saw strong, powerful black smoke.

Mr Farrells girlfriend Charlene Walsh said that there was a haze-like mist coming into the (her) room from the corridor.

Mr Sheridan said that he started roaring Graces name after telling the others that she was in his bedroom. Mr Farrell said that they were all shouting for her [Grace] but it was too dangerous to go into the room again.

Colm Costelloe, Limerick Fire Service, was alerted to the fire at 3.11am and left the station one minute later.

After entering the bedroom, he found a female casualty. The scene was handed over to the gardai at 4.50am.

Gda Fergal Coffey said that he was with Gda James Bourke at the scene at 3.25am when the house was engulfed in flames. He said that Mr Sheridan had become more visibly upset that Grace may have still been in the house.

Sgt David Bourke, crime scene investigation unit at Henry Street, said that the initial focus [of the fire] was the laptop, so we thought it was the laptop charger that started the fire. However, he said that a metal box should have been found in the room.

Sgt Bourke said that no remnants of the lamp were found.

Mr Sheridan said that the five-foot lamp previously had a base, but it no longer had one. The lamp rested up against a sofa or couch in his bedroom, the inquest heard.

Representing Graces family, solicitor Cian OCarroll asked Paul Collins, Forensic Science Ireland: What of the sofa did you find?

He said that the pedestals were what remained.

Mr Collins said that it was his opinion that the material of the sofa was not fire retardant following a field test.

Coroner John McNamara asked would a smoke alarm have been activated, to which Mr Collins replied: It would have activated and it would have activated quick.

Mr Collins said that there is a short window of time to react in these type of events.

By the time they would get up, they would already have difficulty seeing where they are going. Its such a terrible tragedy.

Pathologist Dr Terezia Laslo, who recorded death by carbon monoxide poisoning, said there was 84% saturation of carbon monoxide in Grace's system, and she suffered extensive burns to the body.

Mr Sheridan said that Grace McDermott was the nicest person you could meet.

Mr McNamara and Insp Liz Kennedy offered their condolences to family and friends of Grace McDermott.

I know that this has been traumatic for the family and for the witnesses who were in the house on the night. It was a harrowing evening.

A series of events transpired that unfortunately led Grace to being in the house, and the lamp falling over would appear to being the catalyst of the fire, he added.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.
THE Department of Public Health is investigating an outbreak of an infectious type of gastroenteritis in a Limerick city suburb.

The HSE is looking into 11 reported cases of cryptosporidiosis, caused by the parasite cryptosporidium, in Castletroy, including six confirmed cases among children attending the Tall Trees Creche in Monaleen.

Potentially fatal for those with compromised immune systems, the illness results in diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps and fever.

Human cryptosporidiosis became a notifiable disease in Ireland in 2004, which means all medical practitioners are required to report an incidence of the illness to the Department of Public Health.

Cryptosporidiosis is passed on through infected water sources, farm or animal exposure or through direct contact.

Limerick's public water supply has been tested for the presence of the parasite but it has not been detected, the HSE confirmed.

The Tall Trees Creche has been temporarily closed following the outbreak in order to break the cycle of transmission, according to owner and manager Pamela Walsh Hennessy.

We wanted to take every precaution so our creche has been stripped back to four walls and decontaminated. We started from scratch, replacing items that couldn't be sterilised, getting rid of items. It has been a huge undertaking but the most important thing is the health and safety of our kids, she said.

Children attending day care centres have an increased risk of contracting the illness. This is the first case of the bug at the centre in 13 years, according to Ms Walsh Hennessy.

A control team including representatives from the HSE and TUSLA was immediately convened to manage the current outbreak, according to the HSE spokesperson.

"Parents of the creche have been contacted directly by the Department of Public Health with relevant advice," said a spokesperson.

The creche is expected to reopen this Thursday January 11, following its closure on January 6, but is awaiting confirmation.
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Kyiv's Obolonsky District Court will continue hearing the treason case of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at 10 a.m. on January 17; the decision was made after the defendant's lawyers did not appear in court on January 10.

Presiding Judge Vladyslav Deviatko set the date and said the court would meet at 10 a.m. on January 18, as well.

"The court was informed this morning that the defense team in the criminal proceeding went on a business trip to fulfill its duty of defending Viktor Yanukovych. Lawyer Serdiuk went to Turkey, and lawyer Fedorenko visited Poland," the judge said.

Ruslan Kravchenko, a prosecutor with the Ukrainian Main Military Prosecutor's Office, described the lawyers' conduct as contempt of court aimed at disrupting the hearing.

Lawyer Vitaliy Serdiuk said later that the defense team was working with witnesses they want to summon to the Obolonsky District Court for their client's treason trial.

"These are several rank-and-file civil servants and former law-enforcement officers, as well as high-ranking officials illegally deposed in February 2014, which had an effect on the negative events, including Ukraine's loss of Crimea," Serdiuk said on the television channel 112.Ukraine on Wednesday.

He said that the court, which was supposed to hold the next hearing on January 10, was shown tickets proving that members of Yanukovych's defense team were traveling to Turkey and Poland.

"We did show our tickets; that happened on January 7. It was our vacation, but we were recalled to ensure the principle of the supremacy of client interests and started working with witnesses. We are now staying in Russia to interact with our compatriots who are also being prosecuted by Ukraine for political reasons and cannot travel to Ukrainian territory but who wish to speak in court as witnesses and describe the circumstances which they witnessed in February 2014," Serdiuk said.

He said he had had an in-person meeting with Yanukovych. "His stance has not changed; he insists he is able to officially face the court and our compatriots, swear an oath as required by the European Convention, and answer all questions. This applies both to the case of losing Crimea and the Maidan case," Serdiuk said.

He said Yanukovych's lawyers are planning to attend the next meeting of the Obolonsky District Court on January 17.
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About 40% of Ukrainian patients leaving abroad are going to treat cancer diseases in foreign clinics, Vice President at the International Association of Physicians in Medical Tourism (IAPMT) Inna Dashchenko has said.

"Approximate figures, according to Ukrainian agencies, are oncology - 40%, neurology - 10%, organ transplantation - 8%, diagnostics - 8%, orthopedics - 8%, bone marrow transplantation - 6%, and the remaining queries are ophthalmology, urology, aesthetic medicine, pulmonology, ENT diseases, "she told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to IAPMT, the most popular medical destinations from Ukraine in 2017 were Turkey, which patients visit for diagnostics and treatment of oncology, orthopedics and da Vinci surgery, Israel (oncology, orthopedics, organ transplantation), Latvia and Lithuania (orthopedics, rehabilitation, phlebology), Greece (da Vinci surgery, rehabilitation), Poland (neurorehabilitation, orthopedics), India (oncology - chemotherapy, radiotherapy, transplantation), Belarus (transplantation), and Thailand (surgery and plastic surgery).

In addition, Ukrainian patients travel to the health resorts of Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Dashchenko said that most often the operators of outbound medical tourism promote proposals for bone marrow transplantation, cardiosurgery, phlebology, bariatrics, Da Vinci surgery, as well as rehabilitation and sanatorium treatment.

While commenting on the development of inbound medical tourism in Ukraine, the expert noted that it "develops mainly with the efforts of the clinics themselves," while the country has no tradition of remuneration for attracting patients.

"Many clinics are ready to accept foreign patients, but the service part is often poor, and the clinics do not fully know where to attract patients from. Most often the patients are our emigrants, employees of foreign companies working in Ukraine, and their friends, who travel here on someone's recommendation," she said.

According to Dashchenko, in the field of inbound medical tourism foreign patients are most attracted by cardiosurgery, ophthalmology, aesthetic medicine and stem cell treatment, dentistry, neurorehabilitation, and gastroenterological resorts.

"Medical tourists often combine work or rest with basic diagnostics - CT, MRI, tests, precisely because of the speed of the service and an attractive price," she said.

Dashchenko predicted the growth of medical tourism in 2018.

"There are new agents who want to develop inbound tourism, but they lack information, partners and funding. Any work should be paid for, but not all our clinics and sanatoriums are ready to lay the remuneration of agents in the expenditure side," the expert said.
The results of the official examination of the audio recordings of the leader of the New Forces Movement, ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, with the disgraced Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko, while Saakashvili himself refuses to provide the investigation with patterns of his voice, will be announced soon, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yevhen Yenin has said.

"Soon we hope to publish the results of examination of tapes [audio recordings of conversations between Saakashvili and businessman Serhiy Kurchenko]," Yenin said in an interview with Channel 5, which was broadcast on Tuesday evening.

At the same time, he said that Saakashvili refuses to provide patterns of his voice. "I would like to note that he [Saakashvili] does not in any way contribute to the effective investigation of this criminal proceeding, since he has already several times dropped our requests to provide patterns of his speech [voice]. That is, this is already in some way confirms that the voice is his and the conversation took place. But all the same, we will wait for the results of the official examination," Yenin said.

The deputy prosecutor general also noted that first of all law enforcers are investigating the financing of Saakashvili's protest actions from abroad.

"Each of his [Saakashvili's] actions during the last few weeks only broadens the maneuver for law enforcement officers. That is, whether it will be Georgia or a criminal process in Ukraine, or even some third option - they are only expanding. Especially after Zhovtnevy [October Palace in central Kyiv], when Saakashvili publicly called for storming this administrative building," Yenin said.

The deputy prosecutor stressed that the leader of the New Forces Movement may avoid appearing in court for some time, but he should understand that it is also possible to bring him to court, and then the change of preventive measure will follow.

As reported, on December 29, 2017, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) Larysa Sarhan said that a phonoscope examination confirmed the authenticity of the voices of the leader of the Movement of New Forces party and former Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, and fugitive Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko, which were recorded by Ukrainian law enforcers.

Saakashvili is suspected of a crime pursuant to three articles: Part 1 of Article 15, Part 3 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 256, Part 4 of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The articles, Saakashvili is charged under, provide for an attempt on an offense committed by a group of persons by prior agreement or by a criminal organization; assistance to participants of criminal organizations and concealment of their criminal activity.

On December 11, the court refused to grant the motion submitted by the prosecutor's office to choose a measure of round-the-clock house arrest to Saakashvili.

Head of Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) Yuriy Lutsenko said Saakashvili was suspected of receiving $500,000 from disgraced Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko, a crony of Ukraine's fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych. The PGO released snippets of audio recordings with voices purported to belong to Kurchenko and Saakashvili to back up the claims. Saakashvili supporter David Sakvarelidze said that the published recordings have been doctored and that he is planning to submit them for an expert evaluation abroad.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko believes that investigators can apply to international organizations for examination of the investigation materials in the case of Saakashvili. "In order to ensure absolute openness and confidence, I do not exclude, although the investigation is independent, that the investigation can appeal for additional examination, including to international organizations," the president said on December 8.
The leader of the New Forces Movement party and former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said he was questioned by prosecutors on Tuesday regarding the 2014 killings on Independence Square in Kyiv (Maidan Nezalezhnosti), and that two more questioning sessions were set for Wednesday.

"I was questioned for two hours at a prosecutor's office yesterday regarding the killings at Maidan," in light of the allegations "made on an Italian channel [...] that I ordered some Georgian snipers to shoot people," Saakashvili wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

The investigators were "very friendly and professional," but "the entire system is idling," he wrote.

"The two main cases of that epoch - the poisoning of Viktor Yuschenko and the shootings at Maidan - have still not been investigated. That is, there are still people in the Ukrainian leadership who aren't interested in these cases being investigated," Saakashvili wrote.

He wrote that he had "wasted two precious hours for fiction" on Tuesday and was facing two more questioning sessions on Wednesday morning.

It has been reported that an Italian TV channel showed a documentary in which three Georgians said they had been recruited in 2013 and shot both law-enforcement officers and protesters at Maidan in 2014.

Lawyers for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych cited these videos as evidence for the defense in proceedings in which he is being tried on charges of high treason.

Kyiv's Sviatoshynsky District Court has granted a motion filed by the defense for two former members of the Berkut riot police charged with the mass killing of activists in central Kyiv on February 20, 2014, in which they ask for the questioning of two Georgian citizens who are willing to testify that unidentified snipers shot protesters and law-enforcement officers. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office agreed that such questioning would be reasonable.
Ukraine's Main Military Prosecutor's Office has asked the Obolonsky District Court of Kyiv to conduct an examination of the authenticity of the identity of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Alexander Vitko and self-proclaimed "head" of Crimea Sergei Aksionov on videos that are evidence of the prosecution in the case on high treason of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

At a court session on Wednesday, prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko recalled that on December 4 and 16, 2017, among the evidence of Viktor Yanukovych's allegedly committing criminal offenses, the court examined Andrei Kondrashov's film "Crimea: The Way Home," as well as Putin's interview to journalists, where he, in the opinion of the prosecution, "confirms the fact that Viktor Yanukovych appealed to him with the request to use the Russian Armed Forces to protect the life, liberty and health of Ukrainian citizens."

The prosecutor said that while investigating the evidence, Yanukovychs' lawyer at that time, Ihor Liashenko, filed petitions for its recognition as unacceptable due to the lack of evidence in the materials of the criminal proceeding that the persons depicted on the videos were Putin, Shoigu, Vitko and Aksionov.

"In order to ensure that in the future the court does not have doubt about the authenticity of the words of these persons and the presence of these persons on these video recordings, the prosecution believes that it is necessary to conduct additional examinations. At the moment, there is the need to appoint a comprehensive forensic examination and examination of video recordings for the said persons - Putin, Shoigu, Vitko and Aksionov," Kravchenko said.

At the same time, the prosecutor noted that during the pre-trial investigation private lawyers of the ex-president, Vitaliy Serdiuk and Ihor Fedorenko, did not question the identity of these people.

The court said that the issue of conducting expert examinations would be resolved after the arrival of Yanukovych's lawyers for the court session.
More than 2,500 civil servants have been sentenced for corruptive practices in Kazakhstan over the past three years, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

"The preventive anti-corruption efforts will continue. A lot is being done. More than 2,500 persons, including top-ranking officials and heads of state companies, have been convicted of corruptive practices over the past three years," Nazarbayev said in the Annual Address to the Nation.

The document was posted on the presidential website on Wednesday.

The damage of approximately 17 billion tenge sustained by the country was compensated over that period, Nazarbayev said.

"Digitalization of processes conducted by governmental agencies, including their liaison with the population and business, is important. Citizens need to see how their appeals are being processed and receive quality answers on time," he said.

Nazarbayev called for further strengthening guarantees of constitutional rights, providing the supremacy of law, and humanizing law enforcement.

"Ensuring the public peace and security, we should actively implement intellectual systems of video surveillance and facial recognition in public areas and exercise traffic control," Nazarbayev said.
San Antonio-based womens apparel and accessories retailer AGaci filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, seeking to reorganize its $62 million in debt amid poor financial performance on a failed expansion, hurricanes and other troubles.

AGaci is seeking bankruptcy court approval to close 49 of its 78 stores, including one store in San Antonio in the Rolling Oaks Mall, a bankruptcy court filing shows. Twenty-one of its 34 stores in Texas are on the closure list.

David Won, AGacis chief merchandising officer, couched the store closings by saying that some could remain open if its able to negotiate more favorable lease terms and rent reductions from landlords.

Won called the bankruptcy reorganization very costly and very painful. The company was founded on Houston Street by Won and and his older brother, John, in 1971.

Its been a long journey, Won said in a phone interview. Weve had our ups and downs  probably this is the worse time overall in our 45-year history. We are working hard. My goal is to get this company back on normal track and back to our glorious days of many years ago. Even during the 2008 recession, we survived and came out stronger.

AGaci describes itself on its website as a lifestyle brand catering to young fashion lovers who are sexy, feminine and elegant in their style.

The retailer reported earnings before taxes, interest and other items fell from $4.7 million in 2016 to a negative $2.5 million last year, according to documents filed with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in San Antonio.

It employs 2,100 workers, including 1,900 in its stores. About 160 employees work at its 283,000-square-foot distribution center in Von Ormy.

Turn to Thursdays paper or click here to read the full article on ExpressNews.com.
DETROIT  Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda have picked Alabama as the site of a new $1.6 billion joint-venture auto manufacturing plant, a person briefed on the decision said Tuesday.

The plant will employ about 4,000 people and will be built in the Huntsville area in Limestone County, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous because the location hasnt been officially announced. Officials in Alabama are expected to hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon to announce the plant site.

San Antonio and Bexar County officials said in August that they were going to bid on the facility soon after Toyota and Mazda announced their plans to build a joint plant in North America.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg said he knew the competition would be fierce, but that the region had been successful before, and we look forward to the challenge.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said Toyota and Mazda are not going to find a better site than ours.

Bloomberg reported in November that Alabama and North Carolina were the finalists for the plant.

The huge factory is expected to begin operating in 2021. It will be able to build 300,000 vehicles per year and will produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda, the companies have said.

Toyota and Mazda are forming a capital alliance and splitting the cost for the plant equally.

After reassessing the market, Toyota Motor Corp. has changed its plan to make Corollas at a plant in Guanajuato, Mexico, now under construction, and instead will produce Tacoma pickups there, Toyota has said.

President Donald Trump had criticized Toyota for taking auto production and jobs to Mexico. With the investment, both automakers hope to prove their good American corporate citizenship and appease the Trump administrations concerns about jobs moving overseas.

But during the summer, Toyota President Akio Toyoda denied that Trumps views influenced his decision.

We have been reviewing the best production strategy for our business, he told reporters in Tokyo at the time.

Toyota and Mazda Motor Corp. also plan to work together on various advanced auto technology, such as electric vehicles, safety features and connected cars, as well as products that they could supply each other, they said.

Staff writer Rye Druzin contributed to this article.
Could it be that Hugh Grant was born to play a villainous dandy in a kid's movie? He certainly seems to be having the time of his life hamming it up in "Paddington 2" as a pretentious, has-been actor who's now relegated to dressing up like a spaniel for dog food commercials. His delight is contagious.

The family-friendly sequel to the 2014 film about a talking bear cub - already a monster hit in England, as well as a BAFTA nominee for best British movie - is a charmer from its first action-packed frames to its over-the-top jailhouse-musical scene during the end credits.

The heart of the movie, directed by Paul King, is once again the title character (voiced by Ben Whishaw): an exceedingly polite but flamboyantly clumsy talking bear from Peru who now lives full-time in London with the Brown family. He has won over just about everyone within a one-mile radius - with the exception of a nosy neighbor (Peter Capaldi), who might as well be called Mr. Brexit for his suspicious view of outsiders - palling around with the garbage collector, random bike commuters and the local antiques dealer, Mr. Gruber (Jim Broadbent).

It's at Gruber's oddities shop that the story gets started, as Paddington comes across a gorgeous pop-up book that he wants to buy for his beloved Aunt Lucy - the bear who raised him, voiced by Imelda Staunton - for her 100th birthday. The only problem is the unaffordable price. Paddington starts picking up odd jobs to save up, but before he can purchase the one-of-a-kind present, the devious Phoenix Buchanan (Grant) swoops in and steals the treasure from the store, for mysterious reasons.

That's bad enough, but it gets worse: The police collar Paddington for the crime and send him to prison. Brown family matriarch Mary (Sally Hawkins) sets about trying to prove her adopted son's innocence. In the meantime, the furry marmalade addict has to learn to make it alone behind bars.

It's not going to be easy. "Mrs. Brown usually reads me a story before bed," Paddington tells the warden, earnestly, while being escorted to his cell.

As you can imagine, the other inmates aren't easily won over by Paddington's favorite adages - "If we're kind and polite, the world will be right," he promises - but even they can't resist his adorable mug. Soon, Knuckles McGinty (Brendan Gleeson), the most fearsome of criminals, has come around.

Gleeson, like Grant, does sublimely silly work here, although the latter remains the main attraction, thanks in part to his costumed alter egos - which include a seductive nun - and his lengthy conversations with mannequins dressed up as famous fictional characters. (The actor was singled out by the BAFTAs with a best-supporting-actor nomination.)

As with the first installment, based on Michael Bond's series of children's books, the sequel is stunning to look at, with inventive, colorful sets and such crafty interludes as a sequence in which Paddington imagines himself and his Aunt Lucy frolicking through the pages of the elusive pop-up book.

"Paddington 2" leans a little heavily on its simplistic message: There's good in everyone. Still, that's worth remembering during these divisive times. Maybe all it needs is a lovable bear to drive the point home.

---

Three and one-half stars. Rated PG. Contains some action and mild rude humor. 103 minutes.

Ratings Guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time.
When Wes Anderson's sophomore film, "Rushmore," was released in 1998, it once again put the city of Houston on the map in Hollywood, while also inspiring countless local filmmakers and actors.

Two decades later, it's become one of the Houston-bred director's most-beloved films and the project that ushered in Bill Murray as the hipster icon we all know him as today.

Filmed in and around the Montrose and River Oaks areas, the film starred Jason Schwartzman as the precocious, oddly mature high schooler Max Fischer and Murray as his would-be romantic nemesis. It set the tone for the next two decades of Anderson films - and only cost around $9 million to make. (Fun note: teenage werewolf Schwartzman had to wax his chest for a wrestling scene.)

Anderson's 1996 film "Bottle Rocket," with James Caan, Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson, made him the darling of indie-film fans who were excited to see what else he had in him.

Murray was a fan favorite before "Rushmore," but his role as the morose Herman Blume seemed to ignite a mania about him we hadn't seen before. He would star in Anderson's "Rushmore" follow-up, "The Royal Tenenbaums," in late 2001. He's now been involved in eight Anderson films, in one form or another, and will be heard in Anderson's upcoming stop-motion project "Isle of Dogs."

Houston kids were used as extras and nabbed bit parts in "Rushmore," making it a special one for locals. There are still stories running around about failed auditions and nuggets about the filmmaking process, which began in late 1997. Murray spent that Thanksgiving in Houston.

One of the most famous extras was Alexis Bledel, then just a hopeful young Houston thespian. Three years laters, audiences would later get to know her as Rory Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls."

Another notable local extra was filmmaker Mark Armes, who is now a key member of the Free Press Houston and Day for Night festival and media empire. As a sixth-grader, he said he spent the shoot "drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes with Jason Schwartzman," according to a past interview.

The "Rushmore" crew spent roughly 50 days in production in Houston, wrapping in late January 1998.

St. John's School, Lamar High School, North Shore High School, Delmar Stadium, the Forest Club and, most prominently, Doug and Don's Barber Shop in the Heights were used as locations.

The cemetery where Max's mother, Eloise Fischer, is buried is the Hollywood Cemetery off North Main, just off Interstate 45 North. Max's house was, of course, just next door to the boneyard.

Murray's character stays at the Warwick Hotel, which was later revamped and rebranded as Hotel ZaZa in 2007. His industrial pipe factory was located out in Baytown.
Lawyers for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in Russia are working with witnesses whom they plan to invite to the Obolonsky District Court of Kyiv in the case on high treason of their client, lawyer Vitaliy Serdiuk has said.

"These are a number of ordinary employees and persons who served in law enforcement agencies. These are also top officials who were illegally removed from power in February 2014, which influenced the negative development of events, including Ukraine's loss of Crimea," he told the 112 Ukraine television channel on Wednesday.

Serdiuk noted that the court, which was to hold its next hearing on January 10, had really been provided with tickets indicating the departure of Yanukovych's lawyers to Turkey and Poland.

"We did provide tickets, as it was on January 7. We were on vacation. we were recalled to ensure the principle of the domination of the client's interests and started working with witnesses. We are now in the territory of the Russian Federation, where we work with our fellow citizens who are also persecuted in Ukraine for political reasons and cannot enter its territory, but they expressed a desire to appear in court as witnesses and tell about the circumstances that they know as witnesses of the events of February 2014," he said.

The lawyer also said that he had personally met with Yanukovych.

"His position is unchanged. He insists on the need to give him the opportunity officially, under oath, in accordance with the requirements of the European Convention, to address the court and our fellow citizens, and answer all questions. This concerns 'the case on the loss of Crimea' and the 'Maidan case,'" he said.

Serdiuk noted that Yanukovych's lawyers planned to take part in the next session of the Obolonsky District Court on January 17.
At this late date, Houston will never be mistaken for Hollywood. But the handful of major motion pictures that have been filmed here do tend to stick in the imagination. Too bad there's not more of them.

Factors like favorable tax breaks in neighboring states, such as Louisiana and New Mexico, mean the number of productions filmed in Houston, and the rest of Texas, has sharply declined this decade. With that in mind, it seemed like a good idea to revisit some of the most famous Houston movie sites to see what's still standing.

A couple of ground rules first. To make it interesting, we're not counting anything from Johnson Space Center, so no "Apollo 13," "Armageddon" or "Space Cowboys," among many others. And the locations in the most recent major film where Houston enjoys significant screen time, Richard Linklater's 2015 best picture nominee "Boyhood" - Minute Maid Park, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Houston Museum of Natural Science - are all intact. By the way, a comprehensive list of film and TV productions, at least partially filmed here in the past 30 years, is available on the Houston Film Commission's website.

"Brewster McCloud" (1970)

Astroworld, the Houston Zoo and Hermann Park's Mecom Fountain make cameos, but Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud belongs to the Astrodome - which, besides being so  clean, is practically rural in its feature-film debut. Designed by Bob Harris of "Bullitt" fame, the climactic chase scene speeds from the pearly-white Dome through the pasturelands near Fannin and Old Spanish Trail, along Brays Bayou and through Riverside Terrace near McGregor (land developed to widen Texas 288) before ending up, almost inexplicably, in Buffalo Bayou Park. Judging by the scenery, they may as well be in Brazoria County.

Made immediately after Altman finished "M*A*S*H," the movie follows an eccentric young man who lives in the stadium's fallout shelter while building a pair of Icarus-style wings and may or may not have something to do with a string of murders around town. Altman's cameras roam all over the Dome, even catching an Astros game; the famous exploding scoreboard gets ample screen time.

Elsewhere, Michael Murphy's turtleneck-clad stud detective stays in the Astroworld Hotel's gaudy Celestial Suites, off-limits at the present-day Crowne Plaza-NRG Park. "Brewster McCloud" is debated by film scholars and Altman geeks to this day, but its footage of Houston on the cusp of the '70s is pure gold.

Key Houston moment: The runaway-wheelchair shot rolls through several downtown blocks near Commerce; easily visible is the old Merchants and Manufacturers Building, built in 1930 and present-day headquarters of UH-Downtown.

"Jason's Lyric" (1994)

Doug McHenry's poignant and raw romantic drama often gets overlooked in the discussion of notable movies filmed in Houston, and it shouldn't be. Besides a stellar soundtrack, "Jason's Lyric" is loaded with iconic local brands - Frenchy's, Rap-A-Lot, the Juneteenth Gospel Festival. Lyric, Jada Pinkett's character, works at soul-food eatery This Is It, now the location of Demi's Dog House pet-care parlor. The beloved restaurant can now be found on Blodgett, up the block from the TV repair shop where Jason (Allen Payne) works, which has become a barbershop/beauty parlor.

The Third Ward house where Jason and his ex-con brother Josh live is around the corner from the Ralston liquor store at McGowen and Nagle and still standing, though just barely. A few scenes were shot in the former Freedman's Town area of Fourth Ward, where, even now, condemned shotgun shacks share a fence line with condos under construction.

"Jason's Lyric" is difficult to track down - try the Tubi app - but well worth the effort.

Key Houston moment: Though their picnic at an abandoned bus station is equally romantic (killer mural, too), we'll go with Jason and Lyric watching a downtown sunset on a since-demolished railroad trestle over Buffalo Bayou, near Studemont. Beautiful.

"Reality Bites" (1994)

Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and friends figure out life after college, largely in a dingy Montrose apartment known as "Slack Central." The 1932 red-brick fourplex in Alden Place is still standing, now sharing a street with more modern condos and townhomes. As for the film, Ben Stiller's directorial debut has endeared itself to Houstonians of a certain age, despite its voice-of-a-generation pretensions, jingle-obsessed dialogue and continuity lapses - Ryder rhapsodizes over the Big Gulp, when in fact 7-11 had vacated Houston several years prior.

Scenes shot in Texas and L.A. can fit awkwardly, but Stiller makes good use of locales like Catal Huyuk - a worthy successor to seminal alternative club the Axiom, now sadly vacant - and downtown's Tranquility Park, whose nerve-tonic fountains are finally flowing again. Plus, it's got heart.

Don't miss Stiller's mom, Anne Meara, as Ryder's Houston Chronicle interviewer ("define  'irony' "), and Mattress Mack in the monitor shortly before John Mahoney's pompous chat-show host gets his just desserts.

Key Houston moment: In the post-graduation opening scene, Ryder and company chill on a downtown rooftop surrounded by the skyline's most recognizable peaks, including the Bank of America Center, Chase Tower and old Gulf building.

"Rushmore" (1998)

Of all these films, the places seen in "Rushmore" are easiest to recognize today. The house where Jason Schwartzman's character, precocious 10th-grader Max Fischer, and his dad live now has a much bigger fence between it and the Hollywood Cemetery off I-45 and North Main and I-45, but that's the most noticeable difference.

The modest barbershop on East 11th Street, where both Max and his dad work, doesn't appear to have changed a bit, either. Neither has the panoramic view of Hermann Park from Bill Murray's window, although the hotel he'd be looking out from is the ZaZa, not the Warwick.

"Rushmore" takes place largely at a fictionalized St. John's School, director and co-screenwriter Wes Anderson's alma mater. The renovation and expansion completed in 2015 was done with impeccable continuity, even using limestone from the same Texas quarry as the original buildings. When Max is exiled to public school, he heads to Grover Cleveland High School, aka Lamar, which has the exact same color scheme, if a few more temporary classroom buildings, as in the film.

Key Houston moment: Then, as now, the vast parking lot of Delmar and Dyer stadiums near Houston Independent School District headquarters on U.S. 290 is a fine place for a kite-flying society.

"Terms of Endearment" (1983)

"Birdman" picked "Boyhood's" pocket at the Oscars, so "Terms of Endearment" still stands as Houston's only best picture winner to date.

The Houston part of this tearjerker supreme centers around the tasteful two-story dwelling of widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine), located on Locke Lane in a posh but hardly ostentatious section of River Oaks. It's still the spitting image of the house in the film, though the guest house out back may have had a little work done. The next-door home of ex-astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson) was bought in 2014 and has been extensively renovated. The swimming pool that was the source of so much off-camera mirth is now a koi pond.

Other spots include the stately oaks of the Broadacres neighborhood (also seen in "Rushmore" and recently in the news). And for those inspired by Aurora's and Garrett's spin around Galveston's East Beach in his Corvette, it's still perfectly legal to drive vehicles there - with a permit, of course.

Key Houston moment: Garrett and Aurora also share a memorable lunch at Brennan's downtown ("you need a lot of drinks"), in a part of the restaurant that has been faithfully restored after a devastating 2008 fire and is known as the "Terms of Endearment" room today.

"Urban Cowboy" (1980)

For sheer chamber-of-commerce scenery, no movie made here since "Urban Cowboy" has topped its opening-credit sequence of John Travolta cruising Memorial Drive and I-45 South. Allen Center, City Hall and the Heritage Society houses in Sam Houston Park remain, while Jefferson Davis Hospital, now the Federal Reserve Bank, and Sam Houston Coliseum, demolished to make way for the Hobby Center, are long gone.

Gilley's, the sprawling honky-tonk that made Pasadena world-famous, hung on long after the "Urban Cowboy" craze was over. The club finally closed in late 1989, while a suspicious fire destroyed the building several months later. The Pasadena Independent School District eventually annexed the property; sadly, it's doubtful that Kendrick Middle School, which sits there today, offers any mechanical bull-riding lessons.

Still operational is the refinery, now owned by Valero, where Travolta nearly falls to his death - that tower was removed just this year - and the condos at 2016 Main, from whose penthouse Travolta's socialite girlfriend Pam calls Houston "my favorite city in the world."

Cowboy, the Yorktown Plaza country bar where she shows him the city's more upscale side, later enjoyed a long run as the Roxy, a cornerstone of Galleria-era nightlife. It shuttered in 2013 and remains vacant.

Key Houston moment: Besides that opening, it's hard to beat the first time Uncle Bob (Barry Corbin) takes Bud to Gilley's, showing off its "three and a half acres of concrete prairie" - in all its roughneck glory - as the club's namesake pounds out "Honky Tonk Wine" on the bandstand.
DISCOVERY GREEN

1500 McKinney; discoverygreen.com

"Rent"

A musical about Bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggling with life, love and AIDS, and the impact they have on America. 7 p.m. Thursday

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE CINEMA

531 Mason, Katy; drafthouse.com/houston

"Labyrinth"

A teen girl must solve a labyrinth and rescue her baby brother when her wish for him to be taken away is granted by the Goblin King. 7:30 p.m. Thursday

"The Fifth Element"

In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon. 7:30 p.m. Friday

"The Asphyx"

English country squire Sir Hugo Cunningham searches for immortality by literally "bottling up" the Spirit of the Dead. 10 p.m. Friday

"Spaceballs"

Planet Spaceballs' President Skroob sends Lord Dark Helmet to steal a planet's abundant supply of air, and only Lone Starr can stop them. 7:30 p.m. Saturday

"Demolition Man"

A police officer is brought out of suspended animation in prison to pursue an old ultra-violent nemesis who is loose in a nonviolent future. 10 p.m. Saturday

"Vertigo"

A San Francisco detective, suffering from acrophobia, investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her. 3 p.m. Sunday

"My Neighbor Totoro"

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON

1001 Bissonnet; mfah.org

"The Other Side of Hope"

A poker-playing restaurateur and former traveling salesman befriends a group of refugees newly arrived to Finland. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday

ITALIAN CULTURAL CENTER

1101 Milford, iccchouston.com

"Detective Montalbano Double Feature"

Episodes "A Nest of Vipers" and "According to Protocol" will be screened. 7 p.m. Wednesday

HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE

5555 Hermann Park Drive; hmns.org

"Museum Alive 3-D"

Witness what it would be like if the museum exhibitions came to life. Multiple screenings daily

"Incredible Predators 3-D"

Deconstructs the world of major predators and looks at the strategies they use to succeed. Multiple screenings daily

"Sea Monsters 3-D"

A prehistoric adventure transports the audience back to the Late Cretaceous, when a great inland sea divided North America. Multiple screenings daily
The DNA of the suspect Yuriy Rossoshansky has been found on the body of lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska, the first deputy head of the National Police of Ukraine - the head of the criminal police Viacheslav Abroskin has said.

"The results of the DNA examination: the DNA species that belong to the suspect were found on the victim," Abroskin said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

As reported, lawyer Nozdrovska, who lived in the village of Demydiv in Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region, was found dead in a river on January 1, 2018. A criminal case on deliberate murder was opened.

On January 8, it became known about the detention of a suspect in this crime. He is Yuriy Rossoshansky, Dmytro Rossoshansky's father, convicted in May 2017 for seven years for a fatal crash, in which, in September 2015, Nozdrovska's sister, Svitlana Sapatynska, was killed.

On January 9, the Vyshgorodsky District Court of Kyiv region chose a preventive measure to Rossoshansky in the form of custody for 60 days - until March 8 inclusive. This decision can be appealed in the Court of Appeal of Kyiv region.

Yuriy Rossoshansky works as a driver of PJSC Kyivoblenergo. He has no criminal record.
A man accused of sexually abusing a relative under the age of 14 was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison.

Genaro Efren Uribe, 34, pleaded guilty to continuous sexual abuse of a child before the 406th District Court Judge Oscar J. Hale Jr. Uribe has no possibility of parole and will begin his sentence immediately.
The first thing Texas' top higher education official Googles each morning is whether federal officials have reached an agreement on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program.

Raymund Paredes, who leads the state's higher education coordinating board, said Wednesday that the issue is "critically important" to Texas.

"We have tens of thousands of students who fit in the DACA category," he said. "The United States is their country. A lot of these kids, these young people, don't remember living anywhere else...(and) achieve mostly at the same levels that native-born students do."

Paredes' statements, made on a conference call with reporters, came shortly after President Donald Trump urged lawmakers to create "a bill of love" to protect the young immigrants brought into the country illegally. Late Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily ordered that DACA remain in place.

In 2015, Paredes said, about 24,000 undocumented students enrolled in Texas' community colleges and universities, with about two-thirds seeking two-year degrees. He estimated that the vast majority of undocumented students would be eligible for DACA, the Obama-era program that protected some young undocumented immigrants from deportation.

In addition to those students, more Texas DACA recipients still have earned their degrees and are in the workforce, he said.

The higher education coordinating board has provided data to the Texas congressional delegation, Gov. Greg Abbott and other state politicians on the issue, he said.

"I think we need to find a solution, an equitable solution," he said, later adding that without one, "we're going to lose a lot of important and very productive workers."

On the call, Paredes primarily addressed the state's progress toward ambitious graduation goals, having at least 60 percent of Texans aged 25 through 34 earn certificates and degrees by 2030.

In order for that to happen, though, he said four-year universities must raise six-year graduation rates from about 60 percent to 70 percent.

Lindsay Ellis writes about higher education for the Chronicle. You can follow her on Twitter and send her tips at lindsay.ellis@chron.com.
Jackie Leven Ramos voluntarily withdrew her candidacy for Webb County district clerk on Tuesday after the validity of some of the signatures on her petition for candidacy was brought into question.

Incumbent District Clerk Esther Degollado will now be running unopposed. Webb County Elections Administrator Oscar Villarreal said Tuesday that a new ballot proof  without Ramos' name on it  had been sent to Democratic Party Chair Alberto Torres.

Both Torres and Villarreal were named as defendants in Degollado's temporary restraining order against Ramos in order to keep them from printing the ballot before a hearing took place on the matter.

READ MORE: One of Laredo's last living holocaust survivors dies at 95

Rather than submit a filing fee to run for office, which in this case is $1,250, Ramos opted to collect the 500 signatures of registered voters necessary to file her candidacy. She logged 560 total, according to court records.

However, over 250 of the signatures were missing, invalid and forged, according to Degollado's original petition.

A week after the filing deadline, Degollado's attorney, Marc A. Gonzalez, requested a copy of all active registered voters in Webb County from the Elections Office.

In cross-referencing this list with the signatures on Ramos' petition, Gonzalez found that:

48 signatures did not include a date of birth or voter registration number

29 did were not registered voters in Webb County

Eight did not include the signer's address

Three signatures were duplicated

Four people provided voter registration numbers that are not on the list of active registered voters

Eight signers' names do not match those provided by the Elections Office

Four had a date of birth that did not match the Elections Office's list

Three are not residents of Webb County

Gonzalez also contends that 138 people did not sign in their own handwriting and six did not sign in the presence of the petition's circulator, who in this case is Ramos.

In addition, 15 people signed affidavits claiming that their name and signature appeared as one of the 560 Ramos collected, but that they in fact had not signed the petition nor were presented with the option of signing it.

Ramos was not present in the 406th District Court for the hearing on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

MORE ON LMTOnline.com: Woman takes car, crashes into two LPD cruisers after leading them on chase through central Laredo

Her attorney, Joey Tellez, said they decided it would be best to withdraw her candidacy so that the lawsuit doesn't drag on. There would have been numerous hearings, and it probably would have pushed back the election, Tellez said. It was in everybody's best interest to pull back rather than deflect people from the issues, he said, and it will be easier to just prepare for the next election.

Ramos is currently on the Laredo Community College board of trustees for Place 8.

Degollado also states in the petition that her attorneys informed Torres, the Democratic Party chair, about the concerns she had about the validity of the signatures Ramos collected.

The lawsuit provides a copy of a letter from Torres' attorney, in which he refuses to review the petition, claiming it had already been vetted and accepted. This was in violation of a Texas Election Code statute, which states that once a petition is challenged, the authority must review the specific items challenged, according to the lawsuit.

Torres said his obligation as party chair is to check the petition for "facial compliance."

"Which means we simply count for how many signatures are required," Torres said. "... Each form has an affidavit. The circulator, in this case Ms. Ramos, was certifying that the signatures she was submitting to me were true, accurate and eligible signatures. So when she submits that sworn affidavit to me, I am no one to question it other than just count and check the documents for facial compliance."

READ MORE: 'Dreamers' march down the streets of Laredo in support of DACA

Villarreal said it is not the responsibility of his office to verify these signatures for validity, and agreed that Torres is only obligated to verify that the number of signatures is correct on its face.

Degollado nor her attorney could say exactly how they discovered the alleged forged signatures on Ramos' petition.

"We did see some discrepancies in just the content on its face, and that's what triggered Ms. Degollado coming to our office to see if we can look into those issue," Gonzalez said.

In the end, Degollado said she was happy with the agreement reached by the attorneys.

"I feel good. I feel satisfied," she said.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com. LMT reporter Joana Santillana contributed to this report.
A quick response time from the Liberty County Pct. 5 Constable's Office is being credited with preventing the burglary of a Tarkington business Tuesday evening.

According to Constable David Hunter, around 9:30 p.m., he received a call from a concerned citizen who noticed some suspicious activity taking place at the Johnson Construction office on the 24000 block of SH 321 in Tarkington. When the constable arrived a few minutes later, he found a vehicle parked in front of the office. There was no registration on the vehicle and the only identifying information was a paper license plate on the back.

"I called the sheriff's office for backup and went to check the perimeter. When I went around to the back of the building, I caught a male and female trying to break in through a fence," Hunter said. "They apparently were trying to get in the fence to access the building. I got there so quickly they didn't have time to cut through the fence."

Hunter confronted the pair, ordering them to surrender with his gun drawn, according to his account.

"I took the man down at gunpoint and the female took off running," he said.

The man, identified as Michael Shane Smith, 23, of Brady, Texas, reportedly was found to be carrying a small amount of methamphetamine when he was searched.

Hunter said the man was noticeably confused.

"He didn't know what day it was and thought he was in Beeville, Texas," the constable said.

When the sheriff's office and state troopers arrived to assist, Smith was transported to the Liberty County Jail on charges of felony Possession of a Controlled Substance and Criminal Trespass.

"On my way back from the county jail in Liberty, I got a phone call from sheriff's deputies that the female we were seeking was sitting at the Subway restaurant at the intersection of SH 321 and 105 in Tarkington," Hunter said. "She wasn't from here and didn't know where to go."

Hunter and Deputy Constable Brian Bortz went to the Subway and captured the female, identified as Clarissa Nell Richardson, 29, also of Bellebue, Texas. She was transported to the Liberty County Jail on charges of felony Possession of a Controlled Substance, Criminal Trespass and felony Evading Arrest.

Hunter said the pair have extensive criminal backgrounds for drugs and burglaries.

"They had a tool bag with a bunch of tools, like wire cutters, power drills, hammers, screwdrivers and pliers they were going to use to break into the building," he said.

Hunter added that the building has a security system that would have alerted authorities had the suspects gained entry.

The day after the pair's arrest, Hunter learned they were wanted for a convenience store burglary in Clay County, Texas, after being contacted by Sgt. Donny Johns, investigator for Clay County Sheriff's Office.

In Clay County, the pair allegedly committed an overnight burglary of a store where Richardson once worked as a clerk.

"The suspects entered the store and made off with a large amount of scratch-off lottery tickets and an amount of cash," said Johns. "We have video surveillance from inside the store. They were only in there for five minutes or less. They knew where to go and were familiar with the store."

According to Johns, a U-Haul rented by the suspects was used in commission of the crime. It was later found at a relative's house, where they reportedly changed vehicles for the one used in the Liberty County crime.

Video surveillance from another convenience store in Clay County reportedly shows the pair attempting to cash in the stolen lottery tickets, Johns said.

"There is a good possibility that these folks are involved in crimes around the region and beyond," Johns said. "It's also very possible that there may be more arrests associated with these crimes. It's an active and fluid case."

Johns called Hunter a "Grade A constable" for apprehending the suspects so quickly in Tarkington.

"If it wasn't for him catching them, they could have blended in in the Houston area and we wouldn't have known where they were for a while," Johns said.

Smith and Richardson remain in the Liberty County Jail at this time. Smith is being held on $72,500 in bonds while Richardson's bonds total $76,500. Both are being held on the Clay County charges of Burglary of a Building and Theft.
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Babies who got an early start on life thanks in part to Houston Methodist West Hospital came together recently in the hospital's first ever Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) reunion.

More than 100 friends, family and former NICU patients visited the hospital to reunite with caregivers and enjoy holiday festivities. For some, it had only been a few months since their babies had been in the NICU. For others it had been years, including one girl who was born the first year the Childbirth Center was open.
Toni Wallace filed paperwork and is the Democratic Party candidate for County Court at Law Number 4 in Fort Bend County.

She has no opponent in the March Primary within the Democratic Party. Her Republican opponent in November will be Amy Mitchell, who also has no opponent in the Republican Party's March Primary. The current judge is Jerry W. Bussell who was appointed in April to fill the vacancy created by the death of Judge R.H. "Sandy" Bielstein.

Wallace has lived in Fort Bend County for more than 30 years and is a graduate of Dulles High School in Fort Bend Independent School District. She lives in Rosenberg with her husband, Quinton, and three children, Sydney, Luke and Logan.

She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in journalism (broadcast news) and holds a doctorate of jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law (STCL) in Houston. While at STCL she was a member of the nationally renowned, award-winning Board of Advocates led by the legendary Dean T. Gerald Treece.

She gives several reasons for her being qualified for the judicial bench: her appointment as judge, her experience and her community base.

Wallace said she was the first African-American woman county court judge in Fort Bend County history after being unanimously appointed by Fort Bend County Commissioners Court as the inaugural judge for County Court at Law Number 5 in 2016 for a one-year term. She was sworn in on Jan. 1 and said she ran the court efficiently and disposed of some cases that had been sitting on the docket for years. The new court inherited hundreds of cases from the existing County Courts and handled newly filed cases.

She has practiced law for more than 13 years. She is a trial lawyer that is familiar with every aspect of the courtroom. County Courts in Fort Bend County have general jurisdiction, which means they preside over various kinds of cases, including: Misdemeanor Criminal, Juvenile Criminal, Probate & Guardianship, and Civil (if the amount in controversy is $500-$200,000). She has practiced in these areas of law. She understands the art of negotiation, when to encourage settlement, and whether a case needs to go to trial for resolution. She is a former assistant district attorney from the Fort Bend District Attorney's Office. She served as prosecutor for four years, two of which she spent in the Juvenile Division. Early in her legal career, Wallace practiced civil law. She has tried cases from initiation to verdict. She has experience researching, analyzing and arguing the law. As a former judge, she has experience following the law to make a fair and just decision.

A servant at heart, Wallace has volunteered numerous hours at local schools and nonprofit agencies. She believes that judges are elected public servants, and should always be cognizant of the community in which they serve. As a former judge, she encouraged children and adults to come into her courtroom to learn about courtroom procedures, trial simulations and how the law keeps them safe. She wants children to become familiar with the courtroom so their first experience with a court was a positive one. She also has participated in Career Day Activities at schools throughout Fort Bend County, as a prosecutor and a former judge. She believes it is important to motivate students and to educate them about their options for their professional future.

Toni is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is also a member of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., in the Missouri City-Sugar Land chapter. Her involvement in both organizations underscores the importance she places on community service, and her focus on family and empowering the youth. A member of the Nazareth Baptist Church in Rosenberg, she serves as a youth leader.

"I am a former judge seeking election who brings experience, integrity and authenticity to the bench," said Wallace.
The Missouri City Police Department was recently recognized as a top law enforcement agency in Texas for again achieving "Recognized status" as part of the Texas Police Chiefs Association Foundation Recognition Program.

Fort Bend Independent School District Police Chief David Rider presented Missouri City Police Chief Mike Berezin with a re-recognition certificate at a City Council meeting on Monday, Jan. 2.

"This program has become the new gold standard for profession law enforcement in Texas and departments across the state are working diligently to meet these requirements," Rider said.

"Eight years ago the Missouri City Police Department became one of the first in the state to become a recognized agency," he added.

The prestigious Texas Police Chiefs Association Foundation Recognition Program is a voluntary process that requires police agencies to demonstrate mastery of 164 law enforcement best practices.

The Missouri City Police Department was first awarded Recognized Status in 2008 following a nearly two-year evaluation process. Following an evaluation and an on-site audit of the department conducted by members of the Texas Police Chiefs Association last November, Missouri City police officials were noticed they had achieved re-recognition status.

"Of the 2,400 police departments in Texas, only 144 have achieved Recognized Status and only 66 have been re-recognized," Rider said.

"Attaining Recognized Status means your police depart is continually striving for excellence and is among the best departments in the state," he added.
The Party of Socialists of Moldova (PSRM), which holds 24 of the 101 seats in the Moldovan parliament, has called on its adherents to support President Igor Dodon, whom the Constitutional Court has temporarily suspended from performing his duties.

"Amid the current conditions of manipulations and provocations of the illegitimate government and the abuse of the constitution, only the head of state's clear and firm position can protect the interests of Moldovan citizens and of the state as a whole," the PSRM said in a statement circulated on Wednesday.

"The PSRM's leadership is categorically against new attempts by the ruling majority with the help of the puppet Constitutional Court to seize absolute power and dismiss the nationally elected president," it said.

The PSRM supports Dodon's decision to oppose the appointment to top government positions of candidates who have compromised themselves and the adoption of anti-popular laws, it said.

"At the very first plenary meetings of the parliament's spring and summer session, the PSRM will present initiatives on passing a vote of no confidence in the new government members endorsed in circumvention of the constitutional norms," the statement said.

"The latest actions by the ruling regime have once again confirmed that the Party of Socialists' position is right: the only opportunity for the nationally elected president to put into practice the will of the citizens who elected him is to switch to a presidential form of governance," it said.

The PSRM urged all of its adherents "to support Igor Dodon's efforts to establish truly democratic rule in the republic and be fully ready to respond to the head of state's call to come to Chisinau in large numbers to liberate the country from this regime."

The ruling Democratic Party decided at the end of 2017 to rearrange the government. At the party's initiative, five government ministers and the deputy prime minister for reintegration were dismissed. Dodon signed decrees on their dismissals at Prime Minister Pavel Filip's proposal but categorically refused to appoint seven new government ministers.

After the president twice refused to appoint government members, parliamentarians from the Democratic Party appealed to the Constitutional Court, which ultimately resolved that "the president deliberately rejected the candidates for ministerial positions" and declared him "temporarily incapable of performing his official duties."

The court confirmed that "the president is entitled to refuse to endorse a candidate for a government member only once." If the prime minister nominates the same candidate again and if the parliament passes the same legislation again, the president is obliged to make the appointments. As the president failed to perform these duties, the Constitutional Court temporarily suspended him and delegated the presidential powers to the parliamentary speaker.
WASHINGTON - Vikrum Aiyer liked to commute to his government job by taxi.

On at least 130 occasions over two years - the majority during a four-month stretch in 2016 - the then-chief of staff for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office called a taxi to pick him up near his home in Washington. He was chauffeured across the Potomac River 10 miles or so to the agency's headquarters in downtown Alexandria, Virginia.

And then, according to a report released Tuesday by the inspector general for the Commerce Department and people familiar with the investigation, Aiyer billed the government for each ride.

To escape notice, Aiyer impersonated current and former high-level agency officials, writing their names on cab receipts and vouchers he submitted to the taxi company, which then billed the government, investigators found.

One of those officials was the Patent and Trademark Office's then-communications director, whose supervisors eventually confronted him on his apparent taxi usage. In response, he noted that he regularly drove to work and his car was in the agency's parking garage.

Aiyer, now a vice president for public policy and strategic communications at a San Francisco company, told a reporter he would call back when reached on his cellphone Tuesday. He did not respond to multiple follow-up messages.

When investigators interviewed him in December 2016, he did not deny their findings, the report said. He resigned with thousands of other Obama political appointees just before Donald Trump took office.

Aiyer's unauthorized rides apparently went unnoticed for at least two years by budget officials who reviewed the invoices from Alexandria Yellow Cab, which has a contract to provide authorized taxi services for agency officials. The patent office paid the taxi company more than $4,000 for Aiyer's rides, the report says.

"The evidence . . . establishes that Political Appointee knowingly used the Agency's Cab Company account for impermissible purposes on a routine basis and that he took steps to conceal his unauthorized use of this account by providing false names and false location information," investigators for Commerce Department Inspector General Peggy Gustafson wrote.

The cab rides - and other abuses, including of his government-issued credit card - violated federal policy prohibiting government employees from commuting from their home to the office at government expense. Aiyer, who also served as a senior adviser on technology policy in the Obama White House and worked at one point for former Washington mayor Adrian Fenty, is not named in the report, which also does not identify in what Commerce Department division he worked. Current and former government officials identified Aiyer as the subject of the investigation.

As chief of staff, Aiyer helped manage a $3.4 billion budget in support of 13,000 employees at the Patent and Trademark Office.

A spokesman for the office declined to comment, referring a request to the Commerce Department, its parent agency. A department spokesman also declined to comment, referring questions to the inspector general's office.

A spokesman for Gustafson declined to say why the office waited a year to release its report.

Aiyer told investigators that taking taxis to work on the government's dime was standard practice for officials at his level, naming several he said had told him they did the same.

"Political Appointee said he thought it was permissible to provide incorrect trip origin or destination information because this was the 'protocol that was imparted to [him] by [his] bosses at the time,' and 'because this is how . . . prior bosses approach[ed] it,' " investigators wrote. However, those officials told the inspector general's office they had not given them those assurances.

For most of the cab rides, Aiyer was picked up on a street corner a tenth of a mile from his home, according to the report. But he wrote on the invoice that he was leaving from Commerce Department headquarters in downtown Washington.

He once billed the government for a $54 taxi ride from his home to the Alexandria office on a Saturday, then $36.20 for a return trip that evening after a party, investigators found, concluding that he "used the Agency's Cab Company account to facilitate his weekend social activity in this particular instance, but he made it appear otherwise when arranging for these cabs."

Patrick Ross, the patent office's former chief communications officer, said in an interview that all political appointees in the Obama administration understood that "ethics and personal responsibility were paramount in our daily service to the nation."

"That's why I was shocked and concerned when, as the individual identified as 'Agency Official A' in the report, I was presented in early 2016 with a lengthy list of cab rides in my name that I had never taken," Ross said. "It was clear to me that someone at the agency was using my name, and putting my personal credibility at risk, to engage in actions that the individual knew was unethical and a violation of agency policy."

Aiyer also racked up $15,000 in expenses on his government-issued credit card, charging for food and drink at local bars, clubs, coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores, dry cleaners and at least one liquor store, the report said. Investigators said he personally paid off the expenses.

The report says he also misstated his educational credentials on resumes he submitted to the Obama administration, claiming to have a postgraduate degree that he did not receive.
On December 1, as headlines across the country blared with news about Matt Lauer's surprise firing from the "Today" show for sexual misconduct, a woman named Jules Woodson tapped out a short email. It ran only 78 words but was nearly 20 years in the making. "Do you remember?" the subject line read.

"Do you remember that night that you were supposed to drive me home from church and instead drove me to a deserted back road and sexually assaulted me?" Woodson wrote. "Do you remember how you acted like you loved me and cared about me in order for me to cooperate in such acts, only to run out of the vehicle later and fall to your knees begging for forgiveness and for me not to tell anyone what had just happened?"

She closed with three words and a hashtag. "Well I REMEMBER," the email said. "#me-too."

The message landed in the inbox of Andy Savage, a pastor at Highpoint Church, an evangelical Memphis mega-congregation that draws more than 2,000 Sunday worshipers. The 42-year-old checked all the right boxes for a rising minister: handsome and CrossFit-cut; an attractive wife and five young son; social media savvy and unafraid of speaking on topics such as sex. Savage's career had begun as a college student working at a church outside Houston, a congregation Woodson attended as a high school student.

When Savage failed to respond to Woodson's December email, she took her allegations public on Jan. 5, posting a detailed account of the alleged sexual assault on a blog for abuse survivors. Evangelical circles started spinning with reports of a then-college student forcing a sexual encounter with a student.

Yet instead of following the course of so many recent sexual harassment scandals - reports that have toppled the careers in Hollywood, media and politics - Savage's public outing seems to have failed to upset his position. On a message on the church website, he admitted to a "sexual incident" with a high school student at the time. Highpoint's main pastor, Chris Conlee, also released a statement supporting Savage. And last Sunday, the pastor addressed his congregation about the allegations.

"In hindsight, I see more could have been done for Jules," Savage said, according to video. "I am truly sorry more was not done. Until now I did not know there was unfinished business with Jules. So today, I say, Jules I am deeply sorry for my actions twenty years ago."

As Savage finished his remarks, he was greeted with a 20-second standing ovation from Highpoint's congregation, according to a video.

"His apology isn't enough because number one, he's lying about how he handled it," an unsatisfied Woodson told Memphis's Action News 5. "He never came to me, the church told him he couldn't talk to me and they told me I couldn't talk to him," she explained.

But response to Savage's situation tracks with a larger tendency within the evangelical community, according to Christa Brown, an expert on church abuse scandals and coverups. "Religious leaders use forgiveness theology as a cover, and as an avoidance, of accountability," Brown told The Washington Post. "And it's a way of further shaming victims. 'What a bad girl you are, you aren't forgiving.'"

According to Woodson's account, in spring 1998 she was hanging out with a group of kids at their church, Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church. Savage, the youth minister, was also there. After the others left, Savage offered to take the 17-year-old high school senior home.

"It was dark outside," Woodson wrote. "As he was driving me toward my home, he passed the turn he should have made to go to my house. I asked him where he was going. I don't remember his exact response, but it was something along the lines of 'you'll see' or 'it's a surprise.' I know for sure he did not tell me where he was taking me. I remember feeling special and excited, as in my mind, he obviously wanted to spend more time with me before taking me home. I assumed we were going to get ice cream."

Savage pulled into an isolated area and parked the car. He then exposed himself to her and had her perform oral sex on him, she said. Savage also fondled her breasts, Woodson wrote. After five minutes, Savage abruptly stopped. "I remember him pleading, while he was on his knees with his hands up on his head, 'Oh my god, oh my god. What have I done? Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You can't tell anyone Jules, please. You have to take this to the grave with you," Woodson wrote. "My fear and shame quickly turned to anger. I had just been manipulated and used. I swore to him I wouldn't tell anyone just to get him to stop," she added. "We both got back in the truck. As he drove me home, I don't remember there being any conversation. I was in shock."

Even though she was consumed by "fear, shame, anger and hurt," Woodson told church leaders about the incident. They told her not to speak to Andy while they handled the situation. But the church took no action. Woodson confided what had happened to other women in the congregation. Finally, the church's leaders announced Savage was leaving.

"The church, however, never came out with an official statement addressing what had happened and/or what was being done about it," Woodson wrote. "Instead, they held a going away reception for Andy at the church in which he was allowed to simply say that he had made a poor decision and that it was time for him to move on from our church."

In his statement on the incident, Savage said he had "shared every aspect of this situation" with his wife before they were married. "I further disclosed this incident to Chris Conlee before coming on staff at Highpoint and have shared with key leaders throughout my tenure," Savage wrote. In his own statement, Conlee confirmed the "information is not new to me or to our leadership."

Despite the congregation's support of Savage, repercussions from Woodson's story have hit elsewhere.

Larry Cotton, one of the pastors in whom Woodson confided in 1998, was put on leave at his current church in Austin pending an investigation, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported. Bethany House, a Christian book publisher, announced Monday it was canceling the publication of Savage's upcoming book, "The Ridiculously Good Marriage." Woodson also told the New York Times she has reported the 1998 incident to law enforcement in Texas.

"Faith can be a very powerful thing, and power without accountability is a dangerous thing," church abuse expert Brown told The Post. "While evangelicals profess great faith, I think they are also effectively dismissive of their faith's power because, if they actually recognized the power that they afford to their faith leaders, they would demand the implementation of accountability structures. It's what responsible organizations do."

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Video: During a Jan. 7 church service, Memphis pastor Andy Savage admitted to and apologized for a "sexual incident" that occurred between him and a teenage woman in 1998. Highpoint Church leaders have faced criticism for keeping Savage on its staff.(Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)

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A Maryland poll shows Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker with a sizable lead over other candidates in the state's crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary, but a large proportion of voters remain undecided.

The survey from Gonzales Research & Media Services, released Wednesday and first reported by the Baltimore Sun, showed that 24 percent of likely Democratic voters support Baker, placing him 10 points above both of his nearest competitors, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and former NAACP president Ben Jealous.

One-third of the respondents, 33 percent, said they are undecided, indicating that voter preferences have not jelled.

Seven Democrats are competing for the nomination to challenge Gov. Larry Hogan, who is vying to become the first Republican governor reelected in the state in 60 years. The filing deadline is Feb. 27 and the primary election will be held June 26.

Hogan has high approval ratings and a formidable war chest. Democrats are hoping to ride a wave of opposition to President Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress to oust him in November.

The Gonzales poll found the rest of the Democratic field in the single digits. State Sen. Richard Madaleno (Montgomery County) had support from about 5 percent of respondents, followed by 2 percent for Krishanti Vignarajah, who was a policy adviser for first lady Michelle Obama, and 1 percent apiece for technology entrepreneur Alec Ross and lawyer Jim Shea.

Baker's lead is driven largely by the Washington suburbs, where 44 percent of Democrats support him, compared to about 10 percent in other parts of the state. The region includes his home turf in deep-blue Prince George's County, along with Montgomery County, a Democratic stronghold that is the state's most populous jurisdiction, and Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties.

Kamenetz led the field in the suburbs around Baltimore City, with support from 29 percent of Democrats in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties.

Patrick Gonzales of Gonzales research said the candidates face a tough challenge in trying to distinguish themselves during the primary contest, in part because their policy differences are negligible. He added that picking up support from advocacy groups and community organizers will be critical.

In primaries, he said, "the grass-roots component plays a much more determinative role than in general elections."

Respondents said their top political priority this year is "removing Donald Trump" from office (41 percent), compared to 25 percent who said they are most concerned about education, 19 percent for the economy and jobs, and 5 percent apiece for climate change and immigration.

Gonzales Research conducted the survey between Dec. 27 and Jan. 5. The poll has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

- - -

The Washington Post's Scott Clement contributed to this report
BERLIN - In a highly-anticipated report due to be released on Wednesday, congressional Democrats are expected to raise renewed concerns over mounting evidence of Russian interference in at least 19 European nations, according to the Associated Press which obtained an advance copy.

The 200-plus pages report, commissioned by Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, directly targets President Donald Trump for failing to respond to the threat, even as other nations in Europe have taken much stronger measures to counter Russian efforts in the region. "Never before has a U.S. president so clearly ignored such a grave and growing threat to U.S. national security," the report warns, according to AP.

Even though American intelligence agencies agree that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. elections and have stood by their assessment, Trump has sent out mixed messages. After appearing to back the agencies, Trump later backtracked last November and publicly recalled Russian President Vladimir Putin as telling him that "he didn't meddle."

"I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it," Trump said at the time, referring to Putin's earlier remarks.

European leaders have long greeted Putin's assurances with a bit more skepticism, given a long record of what they perceived to have been deliberate deceptions by the Russian leader. Here's what we know about Russia's influence on the continent:

--How is Russia believed to have meddled in Europe?

In some countries, Russia's footprint has been more obvious than in others. Whereas some politicians have refrained from openly speaking out, others - such as France's Emmanuel Macron or Britain's Theresa May - have openly accused Russia of interfering.

"So I have a very simple message for Russia. We know what you are doing. And you will not succeed," May said last November. "The U.K. will do what is necessary to protect ourselves, and work with our allies to do likewise."

Over at The Post's Monkey Cage blog, Lucan Ahmad Way and Adam Casey recently summarized some of the most prominent cases of Russian meddling in Europe since 2014:

"In the past three years, Russian interference has expanded into such countries as the United States, Germany, France and Britain, among others. These efforts have ranged widely. For instance, to prevent Montenegro from joining NATO, the Kremlin likely sponsored an October 2016 coup attempt. In a number of European countries, Russia helped fund far-right parties such as the National Front in the run-up to France's 2017 election. Russia waged disinformation campaigns in other countries. And in Norway and Germany, Russia launched phishing attacks against parties and campaigns."

The U.S. congressional report, which relies on staff interviews with officials and diplomats as well as open source evidence according to AP, appears to confirm the use of those techniques and specifically refers to elections in Britain, France and Germany last year.

The campaign of Macron, which won the presidential race, later accused the Kremlin of election meddling, saying that servers belonging to the team had been hacked by a group likely associated with Russia. The Macron team argued that Russian hackers may have been searching for dirt on their candidate to help Le Pen's campaign.

However, Russia's meddling strategies continue to be unpredictable to a certain extent. Even though suspected Russians also hacked the German Parliament in 2015 and stole 16 gigabytes of emails, the material - unlike emails attributed to the Macron campaign in France or the Hillary Clinton team in the United States - were never published.

--Which European parties are backed by Russia?

There are also number of parties in Europe which have made pro-Russian stances their distinguishing feature.

In Germany and France, the incumbent leaders both faced resistance from Russian-backed parties last year, according to a recent new report released by the Atlantic Council think tank.

Germany's Alternative for Germany party made closer ties to Russia one of its top priorities and "campaigned aggressively in districts with a high concentration of Russian speakers while Russian state media provided favorable coverage," according to the Atlantic Council.

Russian support for Le Pen's National Front in France was even more extensive. The far right politician has taken loans from Russian banks and has repeatedly praised Putin. In return, Russian state media openly supported her in the French election, and she "was propped up by Russian sponsored social media accounts," as the Atlantic Council authors write.

The think tank's authors believe that Russia's influence may be strongest in Italy, where the populist Five Star Movement has been topping the polls. The movement's policy stances in favor of closer ties to Russia are well documented in speeches. Meanwhile, other more serious accusations that it is cooperating with Russia to win next year's election remain in question.

In Greece, one of the parties accused of being most influenced by Russia is already in power. The left-wing Syriza party has denied that it reversed its foreign policy stance to become more pro-Russia because of hopes that it may receive Russian bailouts. But Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin have bought stakes in Greek media. Russia's state-owned gas giant, Gazprom, also purchased large stakes in Greek energy firms. And most notably, Putin has maintained a close relationship with the Greek leadership.

Russia is believed to have been supportive of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) as well as the left-wing and increasingly pro-Russian Podemos party in Spain. The country is also investigating whether Russia influenced the recent independence vote in Catalonia.

--How has Europe responded?

European responses to the alleged election meddling have varied. The congressional report is expected to credit nations such as Estonia or Finland for their effective handling of the threat, according to AP, saying that Finland already ramped up its cyber defenses ahead of elections in 2015. Summits and inter-agency networks which the congressional report suggests should be implemented in the United States are already in place in some European nations.

However, some of the problems laid out are difficult to combat from Europe and would likely necessitate a broader cross-country effort. Social networks often still don't reveal when ads are paid for by political parties or stakeholders. And investigators in Europe and the United States have also shown skepticism whether numbers of fake accounts believed to be operated by Russia to stir tensions in the West (and released by social networks themselves) are accurate.

--Have Europe's efforts been successful?

Even as Europe has bolstered its cyber defenses, efforts to combat fake news or meddling efforts publicly have proven to be difficult. A new law in Germany which is supposed to force social networks to remove hate-stirring messages within 24 hours is being criticized for coming close to censorship. Similar concerns have been raised in France where Macron has also vowed to pass an anti-fake news law.

Anticipating similar criticism, the Czech Republic's year-old anti-fake news task force has decided against taking down websites. Instead, the Prague-based center relies on mass media to pick up its statements issued to debunk misleading online reports.

The problem with that idea, however, is that many of the estimated 25 percent of Czechs who read websites accused of spreading fake news have stopped consuming mainstream media where those corrections usually appear. The Czech Republic's experiences reveal the challenges other countries, such as France, Finland and Germany, are now facing as they try to establish agencies of their own or draft new laws.

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Video: The Washington Post examines how, nearly a year into his presidency, Trump continues to reject evidence that Russia supported his run for the White House as part of an unprecedented assault on a pillar of American democracy.(Dalton Bennett,Thomas LeGro,John Parks,Jesse Mesner-Hage/The Washington Post)

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The family of a 93-year-old man has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Virgin America airlines, claiming he died in the middle of a flight because of negligence by the flight staff.

Nicette Balukjian, 67, said she and her father, Romulo C. Valdez, were traveling to a family reunion in Rhode Island in July. The trouble began about midway into a flight from San Francisco to Boston that was more than five hours long, according to the complaint, which was filed Tuesday in district court in California.

About three hours after takeoff, Valdez woke his daughter up and told him that he needed oxygen from the tank he had brought along, the complaint said. Valdez had a pacemaker as well as a medical condition that required the tank for travel, according to his family.

Valdez became unresponsive as Balukjian took the tank out of the overhead compartment and struggled to connect the oxygen tubes to her father's nose in the dark on the overnight flight, the family said in a statement. Attendants offered little assistance and did not initially check whether there was a doctor aboard the plane, according to the federal court complaint. Balukjian said she had not asked them for help.

"I didn't realize the urgency of the situation," she said.

About 15 minutes after she managed to connect the oxygen tank, Valdez stopped breathing, and Balukjian was in a panicked state, according to the lawsuit.

It was only then that a flight attendant offered the use of the airplane's oxygen supply and made a call-out for a medical professional, the family said.

Valdez was carried to the front of the plane, where a medical student and some flight attendants performed chest compressions, the lawsuit said.

At some point, an AED machine was retrieved and Valdez was given electrical shocks. None of the measures were effective, the family said.

"It was really awful," Balukjian said in a phone interview with her attorney. "I thought that we were going to land the plane, and it just never happened."

Eventually, Balukjian was told that the plane would be making its scheduled landing in Boston in about a half-hour and that she would have to take her seat.

Balukjian was given a few minutes alone with her father and then moved to a first-class seat with him. Flight attendants gave a blanket for him but left his face exposed, Balukjian said.

"I was holding his hand and crying and saying that I'm sorry," she said.

After landing, Balukjian was instructed to stay seated as other passengers left the plane, walking past her and her father's body, the family said in a statement.

"A number of passengers offered their condolences, while other passengers stared and gawked. The pilot never came out to offer condolences," the statement said. "There was no ambulance with an EMT crew waiting for Dr. Valdez & Ms. Balukjian to try to revive him and bring him to the ER or the closest hospital."

After the plane had emptied, Balukjian said, she waited in the jet bridge for "what felt like an hour" until medical staff arrived.

"I sat on the ground, crying," she said.

Balukjian and her attorney said she is seeking damages in excess of $75,000 as well as a change to the airline's policies on emergency landings when an elderly passenger on oxygen is in medical distress.

In a statement distributed by a spokeswoman for Virgin America, Ann Johnson, the company said its crew followed protocol and "did what they could" to help Valdez. It declined to comment on the specific allegations outlined in the case, citing the pending litigation.

"Our hearts go out to the family for the loss of their loved one," the statement said.

Michael Bracamontes, the family's attorney, said a medical examiner ruled that Valdez died of cardiac pulmonary arrest at 6:09 a.m., which was about the time the plane landed.

The lawsuit claims that the airline committed elder abuse by recklessly failing to provide for Valdez's basic needs, was negligent and caused Balukjian emotional distress.

Balukjian said she filed the lawsuit to draw attention to the issues raised by the treatment of her father.

"I wish they were more helpful; I wish they knew what to do," she said. "I feel like there was no justice given to him. He was not given the proper care that I thought they would."
Soldiers in Myanmar's military and villagers were behind the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims whose bodies were found in a mass grave in Rakhine state's Inn Din village, commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing said Wednesday in a statement on Facebook.

The admission marks the first time that Myanmar's powerful military has acknowledged wrongdoing in the violence that gripped Rakhine last year. In just a few months, more than 650,000 members of the Rohingya minority fled across the border into Bangladesh. The crisis was labeled a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing" by the United Nations' top human rights official.

The military statement may also offer further hints to one of the most urgent questions in a crisis believed to have left thousands dead: Where are the bodies? Late last year, international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders estimated that at least 6,700 Rohingya had died violently during the exodus last year, mostly from gunshot wounds, but the government of Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has blocked numerous attempts by outside groups to investigate on the ground.

"It's not as though there are human remains lying around everywhere," said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "We have reason to suspect that authorities have disposed of human remains, whether maliciously to hide evidence or for other reasons."

With access to the area limited, proof of killings has been hard to establish. U.N. human rights investigators and others have been denied access to the areas worst afflicted by violence, while two Reuters journalists who were reported to be investigating evidence of a mass grave at Inn Dinn are currently on trial in Rangoon. Prosecutors are seeking charges that could impose a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, according to the reporters' lawyer.

After numerous accounts of massacres emerged from survivors, human rights groups resorted to using commercial satellite imagery to look for evidence of violence. Matt Wells, senior crisis adviser at Amnesty International, said that although it was difficult to find mass graves using this technique, images seen by Amnesty had made it clear that Rohingya homes in the Inn Din area were burned down in what appeared to be a coordinated campaign.

"It is one of the most striking examples of how targeted the burning has been in the military's campaign," Wells said in a phone call. "The Rohingya portion of the village has been completely burned to the ground, whereas non-Rohningya buildings very nearby have been completely untouched."

In Wednesday's military statement, the office of Myanmar's commander-in-chief said that both villagers and security forces had admitted they killed "10 Bengali terrorists" - a reference to the Rohingya whose bodies were found in a mass grave in the village of Inn Din last year. The statement went on to claim that the soldiers involved were responding to provocations but added that they would be dealt with by the military.

"The army will take charge of those who are responsible for the killings and who broke the rules of engagement," the statement continued, according to an Associated Press translation. "This incident happened because ethnic Buddhist villagers were threatened and provoked by the terrorists."

Though they have been established in Myanmar for generations, the government refuses to recognize the minority as citizens and refers to them as Bengalis to imply that they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh.

Though limited in scope, Wednesday's message appears to contradict previous denials that Myanmar's military was involved in violence. In a report released last November, Myanmar's military had exonerated itself of accusations of a number of atrocities, including rape and killings.

Myanmar's government has strongly denied suggestions of "ethnic cleansing" in Rakhine. It has estimated that 400 Rohingya died last year, but said that 376 of them were terrorists involved in an armed insurgency. Last year, a group of foreign journalists were flown into the country to see a mass grave in the north of Rakhine that authorities said contained the bodies of Hindu villagers who had been killed by Rohingya insurgents.

Rights groups said that Wednesday's admission of involvement showed the need for Myanmar to allow outside investigators into Rakhine.

"This grisly admission is a sharp departure from the army's policy of blanket denial of any wrongdoing," James Gomez, Amnesty International's regional director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement. "However, it is only the tip of the iceberg and warrants serious independent investigation into what other atrocities were committed amid the ethnic cleansing campaign."

"This is not an institution that has any credibility," Human Rights Watch's Sifton said of Myanmar's military. "That is precisely why you need international observers and investigators involved now."
Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense Iryna Friz (Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction) asks law enforcement officials not to release the detained vessel Whisper until all procedures for its inspection are completed.

"Returning to the topic of the detention of Whisper, which was coming from Ochamchira (the Russian Navy base in occupied Abkhazia) allegedly to Varna, and was detained by the Ukrainian Navy and the State Border Service. Yesterday I pointed to the well-founded suspicions of the presence of a prohibited cargo on board of this ship, which should have been unloaded in the sea and sent to Odesa. Today, these suspicions were more justified: the military propaganda channel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation 'Zvezda' (Star) spoke of Whisper's "all is lost" attitude towards Whisper," Friz wrote on her Facebook page, commenting on the detention of a foreign ship with trafficking in the Black Sea.

The deputy noted that she officially appealed to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and the head of the SBU to take the situation under personal control and prevent the Whisper ship from being released before the completion of the inspection procedures by all Ukrainian law enforcement agencies. "The documented appeal in accordance with the regulations of the Verkhovna Rada will be sent today," Friz said.

Earlier, the parliamentarian drew attention to the fact that due to constant violations of the maritime law by the Russian side in the ports of Crimea, the Whisper incident can not be settled without a detailed investigation and litigation.
California should create a public college entirely online to help millions of working adults gain the skills they need to work in the new economy and raise their pay, Gov. Jerry Brown said Wednesday as part of the $132 billion state budget he proposed for 2018-19.

Brown, who has long urged the California State University and University of California to rely more on online courses to reduce costs and raise graduation rates  and has often been frustrated in the process  has now turned to a method he believes will be more successful: a community college, dedicated to helping adults without a college degree improve their job prospects, that would even enable students to take classes through their phones.

This is targeted to several million people who can upgrade their skills by taking online courses and maintaining their employment, which they certainly need, Brown said, in presenting his proposed budget at the state Capitol.

Although anyone could enroll, the college would focus on adults age 25 and older. The idea is to work with employers in a range of careers: health care, home support services, and child development to begin with, then add more in time, said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, the states community college chancellor.

Under Browns proposal, which has broad support among community college leaders and advocates  though not among faculty union leaders  the state would spend an initial $100 million to get the college going, then spend $20 million a year from voter-approved Proposition 98, a pool of money in the general fund that already supports Californias community colleges and K-12 education.

If approved by the Legislature, the online school would seek accreditation and open in fall 2019 as the states 115th community college. The state community college Board of Governors would serve as the schools trustees, at least at first.

It is an aggressive timeline, Oakley said. But weve learned a lot about how to deliver online instruction in the last five years, as each community college has begun offering online courses  including tutoring, counseling and orientation  to a growing number of students. One in 3 now takes at least one class over the Internet, Oakleys office reports.

Brown also offered an 11-page white paper in which he justifies his idea and refers to 2.5 million Californians aged 25 to 34 who are economically and educationally stranded because work and family obligations hamper their ability to travel and participate in traditional classrooms.

Private, for-profit colleges have also swooped in the last few decades and recruited students to take expensive courses that community colleges could provide at far less cost to students, Brown argued.

More for you News Jerry Brown unveils record $132 billion California budget...

The governor said 100,000 students, many of them low-income, pay seven to nine times more per academic unit at for-profit colleges than public community colleges charge  and then take on burdensome levels of student debt.

He said he thinks community colleges are ready to take back the role of helping adults complete or improve their education.

Browns Department of Finance produced a fact sheet suggesting that the state community college systems Online Education Initiative has turned educators into experts at this kind of instruction, and that evolving technology has made it easier for students to take advantage of it.

Nearly all households in the state, 95 percent, are wired for high-speed Internet, while the state has recently made available $645 million to improve access in underserved areas, the finance department said. It even suggested that the targeted population could take classes over the phone because Americans with less than a bachelors degree, and low-income Americans are more likely to rely on smartphones for Internet access.

The arguments have done little to persuade labor leaders representing community college faculty, who have traditionally argued in favor of maintaining and improving face-to-face classroom instruction. Its a sentiment widely shared across Californias public universities, from the CSU to the UC.

I dont want to say that online is categorically bad, said Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers, which represents thousands of community college instructors. It probably has its place. But generally, we feel that what makes education work well is when an instructor is interacting with students.

In brick-and-mortar classrooms, he said, Students can ask questions and can work with other students.

Other college advocates, however, lauded the proposal as a way to improve college access and job skills across the state.

California must expand access to college to improve the lives of its residents and meet the challenges of the future economy, said Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California, which regularly polls residents on social and political issues. The community college system is ideally situated to pioneer and rigorously evaluate this concept of online education.

Michele Siqueiros, executive director of the nonprofit Campaign for College Opportunity, called the idea a lifeline for the millions of working Californians.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to reopen the door to more federal enforcement of marijuana laws has created a growing backlash within his own party, and potentially an election-year problem for some of its most vulnerable members.

Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who has announced plans to block all Justice Department nominees unless Sessions backs down, met with the attorney general on Wednesday but said the two are no closer to agreement beyond a pledge to "continue our discussions and conversations, and perhaps even expanding those conversations to others who are in Congress."

Meanwhile, Gardner said he is marshaling fellow lawmakers to oppose the new policy. A dozen senators met Tuesday in Gardner's office "to talk about what we need to be doing legislatively and the direction we should be pursuing in Congress on this matter," he said.

Gardner declined to identify the senators, but he said they include both Democrats and Republicans, representing states that have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational purposes and states that are considering it.

While marijuana is illegal under federal law, eight states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing recreational consumption. Pot is legal, in some form or under some circumstances, in another 22 states.

Sessions' directive, issued last week, overturns an Obama-era policy discouraging federal enforcement in states where marijuana is legal. The attorney general said prosecutors should use their own discretion, taking into consideration the department's limited resources, the seriousness of the crime and the deterrent effect that they could impose.

Over the past two decades, public opinion has swung dramatically toward decriminalizing pot. A survey conducted in October by the Pew Research Center found that 61 percent of U.S. adults support marijuana legalization, which is nearly double the percentage favoring it in 2000. Among Republicans overall, 43 percent were in favor - although that number reached 62 percent among GOP-leaning voters under 40.

"Cannabis is a totally different political issue now than it was 50 years ago," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., a leading advocate of allowing states to decide the question for themselves. "Politically, none of the old analysis is holding true."

Among Republicans, the topic is a particularly treacherous one, because it pulls at the seams of the party's coalition - pitting social conservatives against those who stand most strongly for states' rights, libertarians and fiscal hawks who see the burgeoning marijuana industry as a major source of tax revenue.

"The attorney general is going to find out pretty quickly he's in a distinct minority, not only among the American public, but in the United States Congress," said John Hudak, deputy director of the Brookings Institution's Center for Effective Public Management and author of the 2016 book "Marijuana: A Short History."

"This is one more headache," Hudak said, "and one more issue that they do not want to be on the defensive about with the voters."

Many of the places where marijuana legalization is most popular - in California, for instance, where it has just taken effect - are also areas where Republicans are struggling the hardest to hold onto endangered House seats.

Some insist that party candidates will not suffer from the new policy, if they make it clear that they disagree.

"Republican candidates for Congress will answer that question based on what fits their district or state," said Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, an evangelical political group that has campaigned against legalization.

"Will it really hurt us among young voters? It could," Reed acknowledged, but said, "You cannot ignore a federal law on the books. It breeds cynicism. It undermines respect. It undermines confidence in government itself."

How important marijuana becomes as a topic of campaign debate is likely to hinge on how Sessions' directive, issued last week, is implemented by U.S. attorneys around the country, many of whom are currently serving on an interim basis until permanent appointments can be made and confirmed by the Senate.

"We now have, in what I believe is a states' rights area, 93 unelected federal officials determining state decisions," Gardner said.

Early indications are that they could head in significantly different directions, reflecting different priorities.

In Colorado, where recreational marijuana use is legal, interim U.S. attorney Bob Troyer said he will continue to put his focus only on "identifying and prosecuting those who create the greatest safety threats to our communities around the state."

But in Massachusetts, where recreational sales are set to begin this year under a ballot initiative passed in 2016, U.S. attorney Andrew Lelling indicated that no pot sellers should consider themselves safe: "Deciding, in advance, to immunize a certain category of actors from federal prosecution would be to effectively amend the laws Congress has already passed, and that I will not do."

Oregon has long had a tolerant attitude toward marijuana; it decriminalized possession of less than 1 ounce all the way back in 1973. And the newly legalized recreational pot industry brought in $85 million in tax revenue last year, said state attorney general Ellen Rosenblum.

"We have a growing, robust industry. You can't put that genie back in the bottle," Rosenblum said. "We're not freaking out. One of the keys is a good relationship with your U.S. attorney."

In Oregon's case, acting U.S. attorney Billy Williams - who is awaiting Senate confirmation to remain in that post - has indicated he will continue to pursue "shared public safety objectives, with an emphasis on stemming the overproduction of marijuana and the diversion of marijuana out of state, dismantling criminal organizations and thwarting violent crime in our communities."

During the 2016 campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump sent mixed signals on the issue.

He told Fox News host Bill O'Reilly that recreational marijuana is causing "a lot of problems out there." But as he was campaigning in Colorado, a state where recreational marijuana is legal, Trump said in an interview with Denver's KUSA: "I think it's up to the states, yeah. I'm a states person. I think it should be up to the states, absolutely."

But after Sessions announced the new policy, the White House declared that Trump was completely in agreement.

"The President believes in enforcing federal law," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. "That would be his top priority. That is regardless of what the topic is, whether it's marijuana, or whether it's immigration, the president strongly believes we should enforce federal law."

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The Washington Post's Sari Horwitz contributed to this report.
Russia reacting to reported U.S. delivery of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine  MP Tymchuk

Russia is taking urgent measures in light of reported deliveries of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (People's Front) deputy Dmytro Tymchuk has said.

Tymchuk and his Information Resistance group said Russia's military have been "tasked with developing anti-Javelin missile protection for armored vehicles vulnerable to the heat-seeking missile."

Tymchuk said plans are underway to establish serial production of military equipment of the 1st and 2nd Army Corps based in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (ORDLO).

Russian occupation forces in eastern Ukraine have also ordered brigades and regiments under their control to conceal their whereabouts from reconnaissance missions conducted by unmanned U.S. RQ-4A Global Hawk flights.

As earlier reported, U.S. officials have approved of a plan to sell anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian government. The package of $47 million includes the sale of 210 anti-tank missiles and 35 launchers.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2014, the U.S. has provided $600 million to Ukraine in military assistance, which has included Humvee vehicles, counter-radar equipment, small drones and electronic warfare gear.
WASHINGTON - The number of House Republicans planning to retire this year is on track to outpace any recent election where control of the chamber flipped - an ominous sign fueling GOP fears of a political wave that could shift power to Democrats in November's midterm elections.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., on Wednesday became the latest GOP veteran to announce that he would not seek re-election, two days after his fellow California Republican, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Edward Royce, said he would retire. Democrats had placed both men high on their midterm target lists, and key congressional forecasters immediately moved their seats to likely Democratic pickups after their announcements.

Issa's and Royce's departures come amid other gathering headwinds for the GOP, including national polls showing a growing voter preference for Democratic congressional candidates, robust fundraising and grassroots support for candidates challenging Republican incumbents and the drag of President Donald Trump's unpopularity on his party.

"It kind of reminds me of 2006," said Rep. Patrick Tiberi, R-Ohio, referring to the year Democrats picked up 31 seats and retook the majority after 12 years. "It felt like you were running uphill every day in terms of the environment, and I think that's how it feels now."

Tiberi is among the departing Republicans, resigning his House seat on Thursday to begin a job leading the Ohio Business Roundtable. He cited family reasons as the driving factor for his decision, but he said that political reality was hard to ignore.

At least 29 House seats currently held by Republicans will be open in November; only 22 GOP seats were open in 2006, and 19 Democratic seats in 2010. The 1994 "Republican revolution" that swept the GOP into power after decades of Democratic rule saw 27 Democratic retirements.

A striking feature of the slate of GOP retirements is the number of committee chairmen, including Royce and Issa, who already had lost or were about to lose their leadership posts due to party-governed term limits. The prospect of losing control of the chamber may have made staying in office even less palatable - but it also will leave House GOP conference with far fewer experienced lawmakers.

"They saw 2006 or 2010, and they're like: 'You know what? I'm going to take a different road,' " Tiberi said.

House Republican rules limit chairmen to three consecutive terms. Five sitting chairmen who have exhausted their tenure, including Royce, are foregoing reelection. Top GOP leaders cite those party rules as a primary reason for the spate of retirements.

"Very few people are excited about going from a committee chairmanship to being a rank-and-file member, and those who do it, like Darrell Issa, don't do it for very long," said Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, who leads the National Republican Congressional Committee. "It's just the circle of life, and we have to be ready for it. We have good candidates, and I feel good about our chances in these seats."

Indeed, not all of the retirements present clear pickup opportunites for Democrats. Many of the open seats are in districts considered solidly Republican, vacated by lawmakers who might have easily secured re-election.

The obstacles for the GOP, however, are unmistakable. Democrats need a net gain of 24 seats to capture the majority.

Democrats average a 13-point lead over Republicans in surveys over the past month pitting a generic Democratic candidate against a Republican. That's larger than the six-to-eight-point lead that analysts say Democrats need to retake the House. So far this cycle, the NRCC has been outraised by its Democratic counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, though a major independent committee supporting House GOP candidates this week reported raising $26 million in 2017 to help protect the GOP majority.

Republicans also face the possibility that districts could be redrawn in Democrats' favor over the coming months. A federal judge invalidated North Carolina's GOP-drawn map this week, and cases are pending over lines Republican legislatures drew in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Republicans are at less risk of losing the Senate, where only a few GOP incumbents are vulnerable and many Democrats are seeking re-election in states Trump won in 2016. But the decision of Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., to retire and the surprise victory of Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., in a special election last month offered Democrats a plausible, if improbable, path to the majority.

Issa built a national profile as the chief congressional antagonist to former President Barack Obama and his administration during his tenure as ranking Republican and then chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, between 2008 and 2015. He later targeted former secretary of state Hillary Clinton as she prepared to seek the presidency, over her response to the deadly 2012 terrorist attacks on Americans in Benghazi, Libya.

But Issa's hold on his San Diego-area district became increasingly tenuous in recent years, and he barely fended off a Democratic challenger in 2016.

In a statement Wednesday, Issa did not give a reason for his departure but reflected on a two-decade political career that included jump-starting the process that led to the 2003 recall of then-California Gov. Gray Davis, D. He declined to elaborate in a brief interview Wednesday.

"Eighteen years is a long time, and I'm looking forward to another chapter in my life," he said. "We'll see what it is."

Several other House Republicans said in interviews Wednesday that they had been struck by the intensity of the grassroots "resistance" to Trump and Republican officeholders. "I've had opposition for 38 years; it's now matriculated into hatred," said Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J.

But some insisted that Republicans could withstand the onslaught and keep their majority in November. Stivers said the comparison to the prior waves is unfair, pointing to the GOP's 5-0 record in special House elections for seats held by Republicans in the past year.

"It would be nice if they'd win something before you try to make it into 2006," he said.

Democrats, however, outpaced their past performances in each of those districts. And they will have at least three more chances this year to claim GOP seats before Election Day. Special elections are scheduled later this year to fill vacant seats in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Ohio.

Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic operative who served as a senior aide to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2010, said all signs point to 2018 reesembling that year's wave - but in reverse.

"There's no question some Democrats in 2010 ran for the hills. But this time, it looks like Republicans are trying to find the lifeboat on the Titanic," he said. "Retirements are a harbinger of what the party is facing, and you have some Republicans jumping ship because they are worried about their re-election and others leaving because they don't want to come back to a party that is in the minority."

Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., who was first elected to the House in the 2006 wave, said he's already detected a "sense of inevitability" among his GOP colleagues - and a touch of political gallows humor.

Yarmuth is the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee and stands to claim the gavel if Republicans lose their majority. "People say, 'Enjoy your chairmanship,' " he said about comments he's gotten from Republicans.

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The Washington Post's Scott Clement contributed to this report.

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Video: Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., announced on Jan. 10 that he won't seek reelection in 2018, joining more than a dozen Republican lawmakers who will retire. (Sarah Parnass, Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

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Video: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) announced on Jan. 10 that he won't seek reelection in 2018, joining more than a dozen Republican members of Congress who will retire.(Sarah Parnass,Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

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It is not just that President Donald Trump refuses to read. The problem that Republicans must come to grips with is his inability to understand, process and respond in a rational way even when information is presented verbally. That was on view to an alarming degree at Trump's open-to-the-press meeting Tuesday with lawmakers on immigration.

The Post reports:

"For a moment, Democrats thought they had struck an unexpected deal with President Trump. Trump had previously insisted that any deal protecting 'dreamers' - undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children - should also include border security and/or a border wall. But he now says that he would support a 'clean' bill protecting dreamers, and then take up comprehensive immigration reform later.

"'What about a clean DACA bill now, with a commitment that we go into a comprehensive immigration reform procedure?' asked Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Trump responded: 'Yeah, I would like to do that. I think a lot of people would like to see that.'

"The problem? Trump didn't know what 'clean DACA bill' meant. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., quickly interjected and made clear that Trump believes a 'clean' bill would include border security. Except that's not at all what a clean bill is; that's a compromise bill. A clean bill, by definition, only has one component to it."

In other words, asked whether he wants chocolate or vanilla ice cream, he responds, in all seriousness: yes. But chocolate means it's not vanilla, sir. Too bad, that's a detail others will work out. We're going to have a magnificent dessert - the best!

"If anything, the whole mess showed pretty vividly just how utterly disengaged Trump is in the finer details of policy discussions," The Post reports. "Which is exactly the perception that he has recently fought against."

The lack of comprehension may be unintentional (i.e., he's trying but can't understand relatively simply policy ideas), or it may be intentional (i.e., he doesn't need to understand policy because he couldn't care less). Either way, his lack of comprehension may not make him insane, but it does make him so unfit to be president that one can understand the uniform dismay that staffers expressed to fly-on-the-wall author Michael Wolff. (The Post continues: "Trump has repeatedly assured us that he knows this stuff better than almost anyone and that he's the world's preeminent negotiator. What we saw Tuesday was neither of those things.")

It is wrong to call this merely a lack of interest in details. That would be leaving the allocation of border spending to his advisers. No, this is a fundamental inability to understand who is on which side and why, what the implications of various policy choices might be and what substantive compromises are possible. In no real sense is he directing or expressing policy outcomes.

And this is in the context of domestic policy. Imagine how frightful it must be when talking through foreign policy decisions. Even worse, imagine how he comes across to both allies and foes when he meets them one on one. They surely must figure out that the American president is out there to soak up compliments and applause but not to defend U.S. positions or interests.

What matters is not that he seems to have moments of clarity but rather that so much flies over his head. No wonder the last person he talks to determines the outcome; he may not remember anything that came before or have any understanding of the material so he can make informed decisions. This is not masterful management or the artistry of the deal. It's a frightful portrait of someone impersonating what a real president might sound and look like. Trump gives the pretense of comprehension, but there is little if any indication that he is capable of making rational decisions based on available information. That doesn't mean he's mentally ill; it just means the voters made an awful, awful mistake.
It's not made up. It wasn't politically motivated. And it did not set out with the intention to smear President Donald Trump.

That's what the co-founder of a research firm, Fusion GPS, told Congress about a dossier his firm produced during the presidential campaign. Glenn Simpson, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee for 10 hours in August about research that was originally started by a conservative news site, and that Hillary Clinton's campaign paid for to continue. Ultimately, the dossier claimed Trump's campaign colluded with Russia, something Trump has vigorously denied but also something neither Special Counsel Robert Mueller nor Congress have ruled out.

Against a backdrop of Trump and Republicans claiming the dossier was politically motivated, Senate Democrat Dianne Feinstein released the transcript, without Republican support, on Tuesday.

The Washington Post skimmed most of the nearly 300 pages of the transcript to bring you the most politically notable nuggets and to note how they contradict what Trump and his supporters have been saying.

1. Researchers weren't expecting to find what they did: The research started as open-ended, but as they uncovered more about Trump's alleged connections to Russia, Simpson said, he and former British spy Christopher Steele, whom Simpson hired to do the research, made a decision to go to the FBI.

"The purpose of this was to see if we could learn more, generally speaking, about his business dealings in Russia. What came back was something very different and obviously more alarming," Simpson said. "... To me this was like, you know, you're driving to work and you see something happen and you call 911," he said in another part of the testimony.

How this contradicts Trump and his supporters: Trump has accused the firm of specifically setting out and colluding with Democrats and even the FBI to find something incriminating on him.

2. There may have been a whistleblower in the Trump campaign: This is the biggest headline from 10 hours of interviews. Simpson says Steele told him that the FBI had "other intelligence about this matter from an internal Trump campaign source," someone "inside the Trump organization."

"It was someone like us who decided to pick up the phone and report something," Simpson said. Who this person is unclear. It's also possible Simpson misspoke, confusing a whistleblower with an Australian diplomat who heard a Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, say he knew Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

How this contradicts Trump's side: Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump Jr. have all maintained in public comments and, for the latter two, in congressional testimony, that they did not collude, nor know anyone who colluded with Russia.

3. The FBI indicated it believed some of what was in the memos: After Steele and Simpson called the FBI to report that they had reason to believe the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia, Simpson said, the FBI asked Steele to share everything. A couple months after Steele gave the FBI a full briefing, the FBI said that it believed him, according to Simpson.

How this contradicts Trump's side: There's been a growing movement to suggest the dossier was merely a convenient tool that the FBI used to investigate the next president of the United States.

4. Some news events have corroborated the memo's findings: Simpson points out that Steele's memo alleged members of the Trump campaign were eager to hear information from Russia. A year later, Trump Jr. released emails suggesting as much, when he said, "If it's what you say I love it" to correspondence indicating that Russians had dirt on Clinton.

The dossier also identified former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page as a potential intermediary between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Washington Post reported in April that Page was wiretapped by the FBI during the campaign, suggesting it had reason to believe Page was in contact with the Russians while he worked for Trump.

How this contradicts Trump's side: Trump has repeatedly said everything in there is fake.

5. Steele, the former British spy, is a "Boy Scout": That's how Simpson, who has a nearly decade-long working relationship with him, described the author of the dossier. It's one of the reasons he trusted Steele's information so much and agreed with Steele's expertise that they should contact the FBI with what they found.

Simpson pointed out that Steele was the lead Russian expert in British intelligence and said he "has a sterling reputation as a person who doesn't exaggerate, doesn't make things up, doesn't sell baloney."

How this contradicts Trump's side: Republicans have tried to go after Steele as not trustworthy. Last week, two top Republican senators made public that they asked the Justice Department to investigate Steele for allegedly lying about how he disseminated the dossier. They don't go into more details, making their request odd, but the insinuation is out there: Steele is a liar. Don't believe him.

6. Fusion GPS is not funded by Democrats nor Russia: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said from the podium that Fusion GPS is "Democratic-linked" and that it took money from the Russian government. Neither of those assertions are true, Simpson said.

"The allegation that we were working for the Russian government then or ever is simply not true. I don't know what to say. It's political rhetoric to call the dossier phony. The memos are field reports of real interviews that Chris's network conducted and there's nothing phony about it. We can argue about what's prudent and what's not, but it's not a fabrication," he said.

With regard to his company's political leanings, Simpson said: "We're not an appendage to the Democratic Party. We run a commercial business, we're all ex-journalists. We take clients from both sides of the aisle. We have a long history of that, I'm proud of that. I'm happy to say I have lots of Republican clients and friends."
Since President Donald Trump took office, Congress has yet to consider major legislation directly affecting the natural gas and oil operations. (Executive regulations, of course, are another matter entirely).

Still, when it could, the oil lobby scored wins with Republican lawmakers. When the GOP turned to overhauling the tax code, for example, oil and gas companies succeeded in expanding tax breaks and securing the long-sought right to explore the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil.

Now that the legislative conversation has turned to an infrastructure bill, the American Petroleum Institute (API) - the largest oil and gas lobbying group, which represents all corners of the industry - issued a reminder to lawmakers who attended its annual luncheon on Tuesday. They included Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Oregon.

The message: Pipelines count as infrastructure, too.

"We're all for the highway bills. We're all for bridges and roads," Jack Gerard, API's president and chief executive, said at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, just blocks from the White House. "But when you look at the two together, I like to remind people this private-sector investment in the energy arena is literally twice as large as what they're talking about in terms of the highway bill. This is a big deal. It's a big opportunity. We're trying to remind people: Keep us part of the broader infrastructure plan."

The oil lobby does not want much in terms of money, per se. "We're not looking for a government program," Gerard said. "We're not looking for funding."

Instead, its wish list includes something seemingly more mundane: faster permitting for pipelines and other projects.

For that, API wants changes at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to streamline the review of proposals to build liquefied natural gas terminals and interstate natural gas pipelines.

FERC's critics say the independent five-member panel, which gained four Trump-chosen members during the president's first year in office, has a cozy relationship with the oil and gas sector.

This week, the oil industry notched a win, for example, when FERC unanimously rejected a Trump administration proposal to prop up nuclear and coal power plants - a decision renewable advocates also supported. Even before Trump took office, over the past three decades, FERC approved all but two of hundreds natural gas pipeline proposals, according to a recent investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and StateImpact Pennsylvania.

"There are definitely needed reforms" said Kelly Martin, director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign, "but streamlining and making it easier and quicker to approve pipelines is not one of them."

Martin endorses some ideas floated by FERC's longest-serving commissioner, Cheryl LaFleur, an Obama nominee. Currently, FERC considers whether a gas pipeline has secured contracts to sell fuel as a sign of whether there is an economic need for it - even when the company is selling gas to itself. LaFleur has written, FERC should consider the "specific end use of the delivered gas within the context of regional needs" - that is, whether consumers really demand more energy - as evidence of economic need.

The fiercest pressure, though, to stop major fossil fuel infrastructure, such as the oil pipelines Keystone XL and Dakota Access, has come not from federal officials but from local protesters. Environmental activists successfully lobbied the Obama administration to halt construction of the two projects, only to be reversed in one of Trump's first executive orders. That decision was the first in a series of long-sought policy wins for API and other oil interests in 2017.

On Tuesday, Gerard singled out New York, where activists and the administration of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo have sought to stop pipelines that would deliver gas from the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania to New England, a region with frigid winters but no substantial fossil fuel resources of its own.

When temperatures fall during cold New England winters, energy officials there blame soaring heating bills on the lack of gas pipelines.

"During this past winter," Gordon van Welie, chief executive of ISO New England, which oversees operation of the electric grid in the region, said in 2014, "New England faced severe natural gas pipeline constraints that drove gas and electricity prices to record levels."

Gerard made an appeal not just to Washington officials, but to New York's governor, a possible contender against Trump in 2020.

"FERC has an appropriate role; the states have an appropriate role," Gerard said. "But if the systems are used, if you will, to obstruct the development of much-needed infrastructure, then we will push, as I know others will, to make sure there's certainty and predictability in the process."

He added, "Our hope and expectation is Governor Cuomo and others will look at the impact of their decisions on many Americans well beyond their borders."
Congressional Republicans got the green light from President Donald Trump to negotiate an immigration deal with Democrats, potentially clearing a stalemate that's stalled action on multiple issues, including funding to keep the government from shutting down next week.

During an unusual public meeting with bipartisan members of Congress at the White House Tuesday, Trump offered a broad outline for an agreement while also giving cover for any Republicans worried about the political cost of giving in on protection for some undocumented immigrants.

For Democrats, Trump injected a sense of urgency into what had been plodding negotiations.

"There's a path forward. There's a deal on the table," Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 Republican leader, said after the meeting. No one will get a "perfect deal," the senator said, "everybody wants, eventually, to get to yes."

Despite Trump's record as an unpredictable negotiating partner, members of both parties expressed optimism. An immigration agreement could open the way to a broad spending bill, which in turn could carry disaster relief funds, legislation stabilizing Obamacare and other measures that stalled in December. Democrats have been insisting that any immigration compromise be part of a spending deal, which is needed to keep the government open after Jan. 19.

Trump outlined his stance as he led an extraordinary 55-minute discussion with lawmakers of both parties that was supposed to be behind closed doors but ended up being conducted in front of reporters. Their meeting took place days after the publication of a controversial book that's raised questions about his fitness for office.

Trump indicated he's willing to split the contentious immigration issue in two. The first would be legislation to replace an Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, tighten border security and begin building a wall, limit family preferences for immigration and end or restricts a diversity visa lottery system. An attempt at a more comprehensive revamping of the nation's immigration laws to resolved the status of 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally -- something that has eluded lawmakers for years -- would be deferred until later.

While the president's general terms for acquiescing to Democratic demands on DACA haven't changed, Trump suggested he wasn't sweating the details.

"What I approve is going to be very much reliant on what the people in this room come to me with," Trump said, sitting at a table in the Cabinet Room with almost two dozen lawmakers of both parties from the House and Senate.

For Democrats, that left enough room for negotiation.

"I was encouraged by what the president said," Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer of New York, who was not in the meeting, said afterward, adding that the "devil is in the details."

Among those details are how extensive a border wall might be included, and how much to restrict family preferences for immigration.

Schumer said he was confident Republicans and Democrats could agree on bolstering border security. But he stuck to his stance that a immigration bill must be combined with the spending measure needed to avoid a government shutdown.

Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat who was in the meeting with Trump, said, "Everyone shared a sense of urgency, that we have to do something and do it quickly."

Thune and other Republicans express skepticism that a measure on DACA, the border wall and other provisions could be finished in time to be included in a stopgap spending measure needed to keep the government operating after Jan. 19. A short-term extension likely will be needed to work out an agreement on a budget for the rest of the fiscal year.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he wants any immigration deal to move separately from the spending measure.

"I think the main thing is they want certainty," Thune said of the Democrats.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Trump's backing for a near-term deal resolving the plight of the 800,000 young undocumented immigrants is key.

Left out of the discussion for now would be broader immigration measures, such as revamping the visa system to make it purely merit-based, creating a mechanism to make it harder for undocumented immigrants to get jobs and resolving the status of the millions now living in the U.S. illegally. The last major immigration proposal cleared the Senate in 2013, but was never considered by the House, where Republicans were attacked if they supported "amnesty" for the undocumented. Trump, Graham said, can provide the political cover for action other immigration issues this year.

"President Trump has the loudest voice I've seen" on immigration, Graham told reporters. "I think people from the right are going to listen to him."

Trump said that was his purpose. "If you want to take it that further step, I'll take the heat, I don't care," he said.

Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Florida Republican who has advocated for the young immigrants, called Trump's move potentially decisive. "It's not my style, but a lot of members here want to take cues from the White House," he said.

The negotiations until now have been made more difficult by Trump's shifting and sometimes contradictory statements about his goals for the immigration legislation. After promising early in his term to deal compassionately with undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, the president recently has emphasized tougher measures that appeal to his base: building a wall on the border with Mexico, ending the visa lottery system and restricting family-based immigration policies.

Central to the standoff is Trump's decision to end former President Barack Obama's DACA policy by March 5. Democrats are demanding to tie a DACA fix to a spending deal that would include new budget caps with equal increases for domestic and defense programs, funds for recovery from hurricanes and wildfires and Obamacare stabilization measures. Republicans want a bigger boost for defense spending.

With Republicans holding just 51 out of 100 Senate seats, at least nine Democratic votes are needed to push a deal through that chamber, and many Republicans say Schumer has tremendous leverage.

"Senator Schumer basically has a veto card" on government spending and immigration, said Rep. Chris Collins, a New York Republican and close Trump ally.

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said Tuesday that Republicans want a solution for the young immigrants and that he's optimistic about prospects for the spending package.

"We're hopeful and confident these bipartisan talks will bear fruit," Ryan told reporters.

Durbin and Graham are among seven senators have been meeting for weeks without success to find a bipartisan immigration compromise.

The White House meeting included Republican House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican. Also attending were top Senate Judiciary Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey -- both among the Senate's strongest advocates for the young immigrants.

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Bloomberg's Anna Edgerton, Sahil Kapur, Steven T. Dennis and Jennifer Epstein contributed.
MONTECITO, Calif. - Mudslides, floods and cascading debris swept away buildings, inundated roads and killed 13 people in southern California as thousands of residents of an area recently devastated by wildfires were forced to flee their homes from the potent forces unleashed by yet another disaster.

Some 25 people were injured, with many more in danger across the region as hills left barren after weeks of fires were transformed by rainstorms early Tuesday morning into fast-moving rivers of mud and debris.

"The only words I can really think of to describe what it looked was it looked like a World War I battlefield," said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. "It was literally a carpet of mud and debris everywhere."

All 13 bodies were recovered near Montecito, a coastal community north of Los Angeles, where mudflows carried houses off their foundations and rose to people's waists. A storm of mud descended on the town with no warning, officials said, surrounding houses and carrying a washing machine down one block.

Brown called Tuesday a somber day, and said he expects the number of deaths to increase as officials continue to look for people who are missing and unaccounted for.

"Obviously the focus is to get to people who may be injured . . . to get as many of those people evacuated from their homes as possible," he said.

Montecito and Carpinteria were the county's worst-hit communities as of Tuesday afternoon, said Amber Anderson, a spokeswoman for Santa Barbara's incident management team. Evacuations had been ordered in both towns, she said - but only a small fraction of residents actually left.

Downtown Montecito was covered in thick mud and debris as officials scrambled to search for stranded survivors. A Santa Barbara County fire official, who declined to provide his name because he did not have authorization to speak with reporters, described a scene out of a disaster movie.

"Inside the debris we're finding bodies," he said.

For a town already ravaged by wildfires, he offered a grim outlook.

"This whole mountain has been burned, and anytime water hits it's not shedding into any bushes because they're all burned. Any water that hits the surface is coming at us and causing debris and mud to flow. It's probably going to happen again and again," he said. "This is just the first storm. It's probably going to happen again and again."'

Many residents were caught off guard.

Shawn Monroe, 58, woke up about 3 a.m. Tuesday to a neighbor alerting people about the storm.

"Thankfully that woke me up ... there was water flooding into my apartment," he said.

Monroe, who works as a caretaker at the Montecito Presbyterian Church, spent the next 10 or so hours trying to drive away from the mudslide but got stuck. Some roads, he said, were blocked by wreckage - a combination of mud, rocks and other debris, which included parts of houses that had been destroyed.

"Everywhere I turned there was chaos. I tried to get out every single way and there was no way out. I feel like I escaped," Monroe said.

His neighbors might not have been so fortunate.

"Everyone's up there and no one can get out," he said.

Barbara Hill, 68, said her house is right next to the affected areas. She said the region's summers have become hotter, and the droughts more severe.

"You know what they call the four seasons here?" she said. "Earthquake, drought, fire and flood. We went quickly from fire to flood."

In La Tuna Canyon, the site of one of the many fires that ravaged southern California in December, small rivers of water coursed through the streets, with several closed off as crews operating bulldozers worked frantically to clear the mud and debris.

The coastal 101 freeway that connects Santa Barbara to Ventura, where December fires devastated huge swaths of land, was completely shut down for more than 30 miles. It appeared to be entirely submerged in some areas.

Boulders lay in the middle of roadways like street trash in parts of the region. A teenager in Montecito was found, alive, so caked in mud she looked nearly indistinguishable from the ruins she spent hours trapped inside.

Nearly 7,000 residents were evacuated from foothill communities in Santa Barbara County on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Emergency teams have performed 50 hoist rescues and several dozen rescues on the ground, officials said. Crews were working Tuesday afternoon to rescue 300 people trapped in Romero Canyon.

In the northern part of the state, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, where separate fires had destroyed entire neighborhoods and killed dozens of people last year, were put on watch for flash floods and slides.

But the worst of the weather has so far slammed southern California.

And some residents say natural disasters have become part of life.

Barbara Hill, 68, who said her house is right next to the affected areas, said the region's summers have become hotter, and the droughts more severe.

"You know what they call the four seasons here?" she said. "Earthquake, drought, fire and flood. We went quickly from fire to flood."

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Rosenberg and Eltagouri reported from Washington. Ufberg reported from Santa Barbara. Noah Smith contributed from Los Angeles and Avi Selk contributed from Washington.
A note written by Yuriy Rossoshansky, suspected of killing a lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska, where he confesses his guilt and asks forgiveness from his family, was written in the presence of police, and law enforcers do not know of any other note where he speaks of his innocence, the first deputy head of the National police of Ukraine - the chief of criminal police Viacheslav Abroskin has said.

"This note was written in the presence of police officers where he confesses his guilt, repents, asks for an apology to his family. The note was passed on to his wife. We did not see that part of the note or any other that the Russian channels are talking about. And I think this is done on purpose to discredit our country," Abroskin said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

To journalist's detailing that Yuriy Rossoshansky allegedly said in a letter that he hadn't killed Nozdrovska, the head of the criminal police said: "I did not see such a letter. Did you see it?"

As reported, lawyer Nozdrovska, who lived in the village of Demydiv in Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region, was found dead in a river on January 1, 2018. A criminal case on deliberate murder was opened.

On January 8, it became known about the detention of a suspect in this crime. He is Yuriy Rossoshansky, Dmytro Rossoshansky's father, convicted in May 2017 for seven years for a fatal crash, in which, in September 2015, Nozdrovska's sister, Svitlana Sapatynska, was killed.

On January 9, the Vyshgorodsky District Court of Kyiv region chose a preventive measure to Rossoshansky in the form of custody for 60 days - until March 8 inclusive. This decision can be appealed in the Court of Appeal of Kyiv region.

On the same day, his wife Olha Rossoshanska stated that he had left a note to his family saying that he was ready to take the blame for himself because of "persecution", which, in his opinion, was organized against his son and family. "Yura wrote something like a suicide note. The husband said: I do not want to live like that. I beg my relatives to forgive me." He drew a layout of the cemetery where to bury him. I was afraid that he would commit suicide. But it turned out that he decided to take responsibility," she said.

Moreover, Rossoshanska does not believe that her husband could have committed this crime: "My husband is 64. He is big, but very slow. I cannot imagine how he could do it physically."

Yuriy Rossoshansky works as a driver of PJSC Kyivoblenergo. He has no criminal record.
Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and Poland  Pavlo Klimkin and Jacek Czaputowicz - agreed to hold a meeting in the near future.

"I personally congratulated the new Polish colleague Czaputowicz on his appointment and agreed to meet in the near future. We will talk about strengthening the strategic partnership, including cooperation in the UN Security Council, where Polish friends have adopted the membership. I wish us joint successes and victories," Klimkin wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

As reported, on January 9, Polish President Andrzej Duda, at the suggestion of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, dismissed several ministers, including Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski. On the same day, Professor Jacek Krzysztof Czaputowicz was appointed the new head of the Polish Foreign Ministry.

From 2008 to 2012 Czaputowicz was the director of the National School of Public Administration. Since January 2017, he was Director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland.
Porn actress Olivia Nova, considered a rising star in the X-rated film business, was found dead Sunday at her Las Vegas home. Only 20 years old, she was the fourth adult film actress to die in the past three months.

The cause of death was unknown.

LA Direct Models, which represented the Minnesota native, confirmed her death and issued this statement:

"While only represented by Direct Models for a short period of time, we came to know Olivia as a beautiful girl with a very sweet and gentle personality. Another one, way too young, we are beyond shocked and most certainly, it was completely out of the blue. Rest in peace, sweet angel."

RELATED: Jenna Jameson Shreds Porn Industry Women for 'Trolling' August Ames Before Her Suicide

Newsweek reported that a Direct Models rep said Nova worked on approximately 20 pornographic modeling shoots.

Nova's death follows the recent deaths of three other, more established porn stars  Yurizan Beltran (better known by her screen name Yuri Luv), August Ames and Shyla Stylez.

Beltran, 31, a native of Long Beach, Calif., and veteran of more than 200 adult films, is believed to have succumbed to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs Dec. 13.

Ames, 23, hanged herself Dec. 5 in Ventura County, Calif., after she was cyberbullied for stating on Twitter that she refused to work with "crossover" performers  men who had also appeared in gay pornography. She was barraged with comments accusing her of anti-gay prejudice, even though she insisted that her preference was based solely on health reasons.

Ames, a Canadian who acted in more than 270 films since 2013, was nominated for Female Performer of the Year at the 2018 AVN Awards later this month.

Stylez, also originally from Canada, made more than 400 videos in Southern California. Born Amanda Friedman, the 35-year-old porn queen died in her sleep Nov. 9 at her mother's home in Armstrong, B.C. The cause of death was not known.
An ex-U.S. contractor who once owned a 60-acre ranch worth $3 million in Spring Branch and had a ritzy condo on San Antonios River Walk was sentenced Wednesday to a year in a halfway house for hiding millions of dollars in income from the taxman.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez also ordered Michael J. Badgett, 47, to pay the Internal Revenue Service $5.3 million in taxes and more than $1 million in accrued interest over the more than $16 million in income he did not report to the tax agency.

Badgett is one of several people investigated by a federal agency that tracks and investigates U.S. spending in Afghanistan, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. SIGARs agents were helped by the IRS Criminal Investigation division, whose agents also investigated Badgett after he returned here from Afghanistan several years ago.

Badgett pleaded guilty in January 2017 to three counts of willfully failing to file tax returns for income he received from running Green Village, a secure housing development in Kabul that served a number of U.S. government contractors, according to court records and statements made in court during his sentencing Wednesday.

I certainly made a mistake in not filing tax returns in 2010, 2011 and 2012, Badgett said, adding that he did not do so maliciously or willfully.

But Daniel P. Butler, a trial attorney with the Justice Departments Fraud Section, told the judge that Badgett ignored his own accountant and a relative, both of whom told him to get current on his taxes.

At one point between 2010 and 2012, Badgett bought the ranch on Cattle Drive in Spring Branch, the River Walk condo and a Corvette, among other items.

He was living a lavish lifestyle, Butler said. He also had a responsibility to file his tax returns.

But his lawyer, assistant federal public defender Marina Thais Douenat, told the judge that the lifestyle was short-lived.

Badgett has a high school education but went to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2002 and earned a living as a salesman in its rich oil-field industry. A few years later, Badgett met an associate, and that man hired Badgett to run Green Village and help him obtain U.S. contracts.

Badgett was paid handsomely in 2010 and 2011 but then had a fallout with the associate, Douenat said. Badgett left Afghanistan, returned to the United States and became a day trader. Badgett also was shorted millions in a promised payout by the associate, Douenat said.

He lost a ton of money on Ameritrade, Douenat said. He lost the ranch. He lost the condo and the Corvette.  He lost his wife. Hes lost everything.

Guillermo Contreras is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | gcontreras@express-news.net | @gmaninfedland
A San Antonio police officer who was fired last year for dating a woman convicted of prostitution was investigated for possible criminal acts, including possession of child pornography and a possible illegal substance, according to records obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.

The documents, which describe interviews by internal affairs investigators with multiple official and unofficial sources, portray former Officer Mark Walaski as a man who used his job as a police officer to control his then-girlfriend, check on her whereabouts, and possibly try to thwart an investigation of his actions.
The operator of a new carriage service in Bandera was killed Tuesday afternoon when an SUV crashed into her horse-drawn vehicle just outside of town, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Tuesday.

It was a horrible, horrible accident, Mayor Suzanne Schauman said Wednesday of the crash that claimed the life of Fonda Freeman and her horse, Eli, and injured Freemans sister, who also was in the wagon.

Freeman, 52, a resident of Bandera, was issued city permits around October to operate the Cowboy Capital Carriage Service, Schauman said.

The passenger, Felicia Schoeneweis, 45, of Bandera, is being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center. A family member said her injuries were not serious.

DPS Sgt. Orlando Moreno said the wagon was eastbound on FM 3240 at 12:14 p.m. Tuesday when, for reasons unknown, it was struck from behind by a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse driven by Judith Bishop, 69, of Bandera.

Bishop was not injured in the crash, which occurred near the intersection with Texas 173, Moreno said, adding, The investigation is ongoing and all contributing factors are not yet known.

Bandera Fire Marshal John Stith said he was the first emergency responder at the scene and saw a woman lying in the road and the cars driver standing beside her vehicle. He found the carriage operator deceased in the overturned carriage.

I called AirLife when I got there due to the injuries I saw on the lady lying in the road, he said.

They ultimately had to put the horse down, he added.

Justice of the Peace Lynn Holt, who was reported to have pronounced Freeman dead, could not be reached Wednesday.

Cowboy Capital Carriage Service was advertised at the Bandera County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureaus director, Patricia Moore, said shed not taken a ride yet.

It was a one-horse carriage similar to what you see around Alamo Plaza, Moore said.

Freeman was described as a sweetheart by Art Crawford, president of the Bandera Economic Improvement Corp., which helped underwrite her new business.

She had driven carriages in Fredericksburg for years and wanted to open a business here in her hometown, he said Wednesday. Thanksgiving Day was her very first ride. It looked like she was going to have a very successful business. Its a huge loss for our town.

Zeke MacCormack is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | zeke@express-news.net | @zekemac
Testimony began Tuesday morning in the murder trial of a man accused in the slaying nearly three years ago of another man who was shot to death on the West Side and left in a ditch called Hells Gate.

Robert Martinez was 21 when he was charged with fatally shooting Steven Cerna, 19, in February 2015.

Police investigating a report of a shooting found Cernas body around 8 a.m. Feb. 20, 2015 in a ditch in the 1100 block of Shadwell Drive.

RELATED: Body of woman in her 20s found in Canyon Lake, local sheriff says

At the time of the shooting, neighbors told San Antonio police that young men and teens used the ditch to hang out and drink, smoke and tag nearby businesses.

Patricia Cerna, the victims mother, testified that her son suffered from mental illness, had few friends and mostly stayed home, but left the home around 3 a.m. with two men, including the defendant.

He never came home, she told the jury.

She said she had a bad feeling about him leaving the house, but he went anyway. She tried to report him as missing but was told she had to wait 24 hours. She said she found out her son had been killed when the medical examiner called her.

RELATED: Affidavit: Man beat woman, held her captive in Stone Oak home

About a month after the killing, police released a photograph of Martinez and asked for help from the public to locate the man. However they did not release his name at the time, and police continued to gather leads in the case for nearly two years.

Martinez, now 22, was arrested June 7, 2017, after a witness told police that Martinez and others had plotted to kill Cerna by luring him to Hells Gate to buy drugs, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released at the time.

Prosecutors said Cerna was shot over a gang shooting in which he had no involvement. The defense contends that Martinez did not kill Cerna and that witnesses could not place him at the scene.

The case is being heard in the 290th state District Court, presided by Judge Melisa Skinner.

If convicted, Martinez faces up to life in prison.

Elizabeth Zavala is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | ezavala@express-news.net | @elizabeth2863
Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas Nico LaHood tried a case Tuesday involving a defendant who robbed a woman who was nine months pregnant, but it quickly took a turn when the man pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 20 years, and his victim told him to turn his life around.

Assistant District Attorney Jason Goss prosecuted the case with LaHood, who took the lead in jury selection Monday and read the charge of the court to the panel Tuesday.

De Vonjae Smoots, 21, had been accused of aggravated robbery and breaking into the home of Ambrosia Spruill around 9:30 p.m. Nov. 13, 2016, in the 4000 block of Sunrise Creek on the Northeast Side. She said he held her at gunpoint and threatened to kill her if she called police or did not comply with his wishes.

Smoots was arrested the next day on a burglary charge, and police found him with some of Spruills belongings. She identified him from a photo lineup.

Smoots entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Joey Contreras, who presided over the case in the 187th state District Court.

In his opening statement, Goss told the jury the case was about somebodys worst nightmare, a mother of three about to give birth, home alone, who discovered an intruder who threatened to kill her and her unborn child.

She did whatever it took to survive, Goss said.

Spruill, a graveyard shift guard at a federal detention facility, testified that she stayed home that night because she was 36 weeks into her pregnancy and didn't feel well. Her husband and three children were not at the home.

She said she was awakened by her dog barking and the smell of cigarettes. She did not allow anyone to smoke in her home.

I saw a male figure in the closet. He had a flashlight, she told the jury. I played possum and made like I was asleep.

Spruill said she tried numerous times to contact her husband and other relatives by phone and, when she thought the man had left the house, she got up and let her dog inside.

Then, when the two came face-to-face, Smoots brandished a gun.

Once he pointed the gun at my stomach, I started to panic, Spruill told the jury.

She said when her dog saw Smoots and began barking, he pointed the gun at the dog. Spruill then grabbed the barrel of the gun as the two struggled, and the gun fired, a bullet going through the mattress of her bed.

No one was hit, but Spruill had cuts and gunpowder residue on her hands.

Scared and fearing she would be killed, Spruill decided to talk to Smoots, calm him and help him steal her own things  even helping him carry a flat screen TV outside  so he wouldnt kill her.

I thought, I have kids to live for, she told the jury.

After a midday break from testimony, Smoots attorney Alan Futrell told Contreras, Goss and LaHood that his client had changed his mind and decided to plead guilty.

Before sentencing, the judge had some words for the defendant.

You started off very young, and this would easily have become capital murder if she had run off or called 911, Contreras told Smoots. Youre a very lucky man. Go do your time, and grow up.

With agreement from the state, Contreras sentenced Smoots to 20 years in prison on the aggravated robbery charge and 20 years for an unrelated burglary charge. The sentences will be served at the same time.

Spruill also had words for Smoots.

This situation affected both of our lives, she told Smoots. I want you to make better decisions.

Smoots will have to serve at least 10 years before being eligible for parole.

This is the fourth case LaHood has tried since his election in 2014. His office stated that his original goal was to prosecute at least two cases a year.

Last year, two trials ended with the defendants taking pleas, and one murder case ended in a mistrial, shortly after defense attorneys alleged prosecutorial misconduct and threats by LaHood, who has disputed the accusations.

Elizabeth Zavala is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | ezavala@express-news.net | @elizabeth2863
A Louisiana teacher who stood up at a school board meeting and asked why the superintendent was getting a raise while educators and support staff were not was ejected from the room by a marshal, handcuffed on the floor and put into a patrol car.

The arrest on Monday of the teacher, Deyshia Hargrave, was recorded by local media station KATC-TV, and a 12-minute version was posted on YouTube. It was widely shared, generating comments online that appeared supportive of Hargrave, who is listed as an English teacher at Rene A. Rost Middle School in Vermilion Parish on the southern Louisiana coast.

Hargrave and the superintendent, Jerome Puyau, did not reply to emailed requests for comment early on Tuesday. Law enforcement officials did not reply to requests for information, but the television station said Tuesday that Hargrave was booked into Abbeville city jail on charges of "remaining where forbidden and resisting an officer."

She was later released on bond, it reported.

The ordeal started when the school board met in a special session to vote on the renewal of Puyau's contract. As Hargrave spoke against the renewal after the vote, a marshal approached her.

"You are going to leave or I am going to remove you," the marshal told her. "Take your things and go."

"Excuse me," she said to him. "Is it against policy to stand?" Hargrave asked the board, as the marshal tried to grab her arm. "Sir, do not," she said.

She started to walk sideways through the assembly to leave, as some protested, noting that Puyau had started to directly address Hargrave just as the marshal tried to eject her.

When it became apparent that Hargrave was being handcuffed in the hallway, the audience appeared startled. Several followed her into the hallway, and the video showed her on the floor and then standing, handcuffed, with the marshal behind her. "Stop resisting," he said as he walked her outside.

"I am not - you just pushed me to the floor. I am way smaller than you," she said.

She was placed in an Abbeville police patrol car.

The meeting ended shortly after the episode, Laura LeBeouf, a school board member, said Tuesday in a phone interview.

It was expected to be a contentious meeting, she said. Board members had long been split on renewal of the superintendent's contract, but the death of a board member in November changed the composition of the board. A 4-4 deadlock became 5-3 in favor of the new contract as the appointed member voted in favor of the renewal, she said.

LeBeouf, who voted against the renewal, said teachers had gone without a permanent raise in 10 years. She said Hargrave taught at Rene Rost Middle School, where she won a teacher of the year award in 2016.

"Deyshia's very outspoken," she said. "She's a great teacher."

Before the vote, Hargrave spoke when one of the officials at the board meeting invited comments from the audience.

"I have a serious issue with a superintendent or any person in a position of leadership getting any type of raise," Hargrave said, standing next to her seat. "I feel like it is a slap in the face to all the teachers, cafeteria workers and any other support staff we have."

She said class sizes were growing. After the board voted and approved the contract with the raise, Hargrave raised her hand. Someone on the board said, "Yes, ma'am," and she rose to speak again.

"Superintendent, how are you going to take a raise" when classes have grown from 21 to 29 students? she asked. "And we have not gotten raises. How are you going to take that money, because it is basically taking it out of the pockets of teachers."

A man on the board pounded a gavel. "Stop right now," he said, saying her question was not germane.

Soon after, the marshal approached.

It was not clear whether the marshal acted on his own or was directed by a board member. Other board members did not respond to emails seeking comment.

LeBeouf said Hargrave's arrest was a "disgrace."

"I do believe in the First Amendment, and everyone should be able to go to a school board meeting and express how they feel," she said.
Protesters against changes in customs regulations have stopped a rally near the Shehyni-Medyka crossing point on the border with Poland, the press service of the patrol police department in Lviv region has reported.

"The traffic in Shehyni resumed, and protesters dispersed," reads the report.

Protest rallies are still ongoing near two other checkpoints in Lviv region - Krakivets-Korczowa and Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne.

As reported, on Wednesday morning, citizens dissatisfied with changes in customs legislation regarding the rules for transporting goods across the border, which entered into force on January 1, 2018, blocked the roads leading to three border checkpoints in Lviv region, as well as the Yahodyn checkpoint in Volyn region.
Here are useful factors when considering the Trump administrations cancellation of provisional residency permits for about 200,000 Salvadorans who have lived here since at least 2001.

Among them, they have an estimated 190,000 U.S. citizen children.

Their country  El Salvador  is already on shaky economic ground, is an undeniably violent place and cannot easily absorb 200,000 more people, whose remittances the country can ill afford to lose.

If El Salvador did get them back, the resulting shock would likely increase migration to the United States. People are already fleeing and seeking asylum here because of rampant violence, weak rule of law and lack of economic opportunity. We know because most are ending up at the Texas border.

Finally, think of this move not just as the administrations continuing efforts to curtail even legal immigration but as another bargaining chip to get that border wall built.

The Salvadorans have until Sept. 9, 2019, to leave the U.S. or get legal residency.

This follows removal of Temporary Protected Status also for 60,000 Haitians  after an earthquake devastated that country  and 2,500 Nicaraguans after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Though many of the Salvadorans here came before earthquakes ravaged their country and were fleeing civil war, their country is still not a welcoming place.

Along with immigrants brought here without documents by their parents when they were children, they are all now possible chips in pursuit of a budget to fund the government for the rest of the year. And that border wall is also among the Trump administrations demands for any broader immigration fix.

In making the move, the administration says only Congress can legislate a permanent solution and that it can do so in the 18 months until deportations are possible. This is true about Congress authority, but its also true that the administration knows it has wide leeway to make immigrant lives miserable  as it just has.

Congress must indeed step in to save all the immigrants here for long periods under Temporary Protected Status, but it must do so not as part of any grand budget or immigration deal. It must do so because its the right thing to do. Better yet, comprehensive immigration reform would do much to fix things.

These immigrants have sunk roots, given birth to U.S. citizens and contributed to the U.S. economy. To be thrown away as just so much refuse is unworthy of this country.
Here are the top five stories from Local 8 News to get you out the door this morning:

1. THP: No charges filed in Chapman Highway hit-and-run that killed toddler

No charges were filed in connection to a hit-and-run on Chapman Highway that killed a 13-month-old little girl, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

The Sevier County Sheriff's Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol responded to reports of a child hit by a vehicle at 10:05 a.m. on September 20, 2017. According to reports, a red Pontiac Vibe driven by Charles Evans, 74, was traveling northbound near the area of 12806 Chapman Highway when the child was struck. THP said the vehicle immediately left the scene.

The toddler was transported to UT Medical Center by responders after the hit-and-run. Investigators announced that she passed away.

A representative with THP confirmed that Evans will not face charges in connection to the deadly crash.

Find the full story

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2. Taking the "Dixie" out of Dixie Stampede stirs emotions among fans

Dolly Partons World Choice Investments LLC., announced this week in a news release Dolly Partons Dixie Stampede will remove "Dixie" from the name.

Our shows currently are identified by where they are located, Dolly said. Some examples are Smoky Mountain Adventures or Dixie Stampede. We also recognize that attitudes change and feel that by streamlining the names of our shows, it will remove any confusion or concerns about our shows and will help our efforts to expand into new cities.

According to a release, the decision was made as demand grows for more venues worldwide.

Read the full story

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3. Judge blocks Trump decision to end young immigrant program

The U.S. Department of Justice says a judge's ruling against the Trump administration involving a program that protects young immigrants does not change the fact that the program is illegal. Justice spokesman Devin O'Malley said in a statement late Tuesday night that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was an unlawful circumvention of Congress by the Obama administration. O'Malley says the Department of Justice will continue the court fight.

Read the full story

4. South Korea's Moon willing to meet North's Kim

South Korea's president says he's willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un under certain conditions, after their countries agreed in high-level talks to cooperate in next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea. President Moon Jae-in said he's open to meeting with Kim to resolve the North Korean nuclear standoff. But he says the success of such a summit must be guaranteed before the meeting can be realized.

5. Flu season reaches its peak

Doctor Ty Prince told Local 8 News it's the peak of flu season. The flu shot has a 30% of working, but it may be the difference between life or death.

"For sure the people who are at high risk to catch the flu, people who have low immune systems because of disease or because of medications that they take, those people have got to get a flu shot," said Dr. Ty Prince, who is an allergist at Allergy, Asthma, and Sinus Center.

"The risk is minimal, but the benefits can be life-saving."

Read the full story

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Ex-Georgia President and leader of Movement of New Forces Party Mikheil Saakashvili has said he has no intention to cease staging mass political protests and stop looking for people to lead Ukraine because of criminal proceedings against him.

"They want to distract us from our political rallies. I will not be deterred. I intend, starting tomorrow, to travel around the country and search for people to become the nation's new leaders. We must find people, who can govern the country using different methods," Saakashvili told journalists on Wednesday following questioning at Ukraine's SBU Security Services.

"I will no longer pay attention to these criminal court proceedings, which they stage daily in order to deprive me from time to engage in other matters," he said.
The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

Vote

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Negotiations with Irish low-cost airline company Ryanair regarding its access to the Ukrainian market are in the final stage, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan has said, expressing hope that they will be successfully completed in January-February this year.

"We are already in the final stage of negotiations with Ryanair. I hope this will take place in January-February. There are technical moments that we are completing, but in general everything is fine. We had no concessions compared with positions we had last year," he said live on the ZIK television channel.

He said that after the disruption of negotiations with Ryanair, the Infrastructure Ministry had a very good contact with Kyiv's Boryspil Airport.

As reported, on July 10, 2017, Ryanair announced the cancellation of its planned flights to Ukraine after Boryspil airport had violated the agreement achieved at the Infrastructure Ministry with the airport officials and its incumbent CEO Pavlo Riabikin in March 2017.

Riabikin said that Ryanair put forward demands to Boryspil airport regarding flights to Kyiv, which did not comply with Ukrainian legislation.

Two days later, on July 12, 2017, after a special meeting with the leadership of the Infrastructure Ministry, the Justice Ministry, Boryspil airport, the Airports of Ukraine Association, and the Ukraine Investment Promotion Office, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman instructed the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine to evaluate the negotiation process on Ryanair flights to Ukraine and stated the need to resume these negotiations.
Marshall's men's soccer team made a statement in the first test of its NCAA title defense as the top-ranked Thundering Herd defeated No. 21 James Madison, 6-1, on Thursday night. Vitor Dias had two goals and two assists to lead Marshall.
Ukraine's health care costs, lowest in Europe, spent on one of most cumbersome sectoral infrastructures  study

Ukraine's health care costs of $77 per capita as of 2015, which are the lowest in Europe, are spent on one of the most cumbersome health infrastructures in Central Europe.

This conclusion was achieved by the authors of a study conducted in late 2017 by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Kyiv School of Economics.

According to the research, currently relatively low health care costs in Ukraine support one of the largest excessively cumbersome health infrastructures in Central Europe, which has 0.4 hospitals, 7.4 beds, 4.4 doctors and 8.6 nurses per 1,000 people of the population.

The authors of the study note that the deficit of public resources in the health care sector in Ukraine is increasing due to their inefficient use.

At the same time, in general, the distribution of health care spending in Ukraine is carried out in favor of hospital services rather than cheaper preventive measures. In addition, the authors of the study note an opaque parallel system of cash payment for services, which threatens the access of Ukrainian patients to treatment.
The leader of the Ukrainian opposition party Movement of New Forces and former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said he was questioned on Tuesday as a witness in the case concerning the so-called participation of some Georgian snipers in the shootings at Independence Square in central Kyiv in early 2014.

"This is a Russian story alleging that I, while president of Georgia, ordered that snipers be sent here to shoot people at Maidan. But I wasn't president of Georgia at the time, and I came here as a private person," he told journalists after the questioning on Wednesday.

"There have been no Georgian snipers, there are actors hired by Russia, GRU officers or some other spies, and the Italian channel prompted by Russian propaganda broadcast a news story about this. Ukraine is currently checking these facts, and resources are being used to verify the facts of Russian propaganda. My advice for them is: it's necessary simply to catch those who shot people at Maidan. I am sure most of these people are in Ukraine. Perhaps they even work for these institutions," Saakashvili said, pointing at the Security Service building.
Al Jazeera has published a 95-page text of the verdict of the Kramatorsk City Court dated March 28, 2017, which was later classified as containing a state secret, as the third installment of this week's series of publications on special confiscation in Ukraine.

The court verdict is posted on the TV channel's website both in Ukrainian and in English.

Al Jazeera argues that the verdict reveals the scheme through which public funds were embezzled under fugitive ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, and asks why the court verdict was classified.

In addition, the channel notes with reference to lawyers and anti-corruption groups that the passing of such a verdict behind closed doors and without the participation of non-resident companies provides these companies with strong arguments to seek return of part of or all of $1.5 billion that fell under special confiscation.

The channel also reiterates that transactions for the purchase of government bonds, which fell under special confiscation, were brokered by the Investment Capital Ukraine (ICU) group, which has close links with the current government having advised Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko. At the same time, the material contains the group's comments that in these transactions its role was limited to that of an agent.

Asked by Interfax-Ukraine, ICU noted the matter concerns services to support transactions on the sale and purchase of government domestic loan bonds between Oschadbank and non-resident companies in November-December 2013, while Al Jazeera wrote about the period between 2012 and 2014.

The investment group explained earlier banks and other market participants could carry out such transactions directly, but the new wording of the law on the depository system from October 2013 obliged market participants to formalize all deals on the sale and purchase of government domestic loan bonds through PJSC Settlement Center and licensed brokers.

"It was not unusual that ICU acted as a broker in the deal with government securities, being the leader in this market," the group believes.

The group added that before signing contracts for brokerage, they conducted an obligatory identification and financial monitoring procedure in relation to the buyers of securities, who were the clients of state-controlled Oschadbank.

"The price, at which the companies bought government domestic loan bonds, was agreed directly without the participation of ICU. The investment group did not open any accounts for these companies and had not worked with them earlier. The role of ICU in these transactions was limited to the function of an agent," the group said.

ICU noted that the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market within the investigation conducted an unscheduled inspection of the company and audited the mentioned transactions and found no violations. In addition, to protect its reputation, the group initiated an independent verification of its operations by a group of experts who previously worked with the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine and the OSCE, which also confirmed compliance with the legislation, ICU added.

As reported, the companies affected by special confiscation contested not only the very special confiscation, but also the decision to make a secret out of the court verdict. In particular, Akemi Management Ltd in Kyiv's Solomiansky District Court succeeded in the lawsuit against the state expert on the secrets of the Prosecutor General's Office, the prosecutor general about the cancellation of the decision dated June 3 on the availability of statements containing state secrets in the verdict (which also has the label "secretly"). On December 19, the court by its ruling demanded explanations and/or evidence from the state expert about the circumstances of making the decision to declare this conclusion "secret."
Credit: Jimmy KingToday, January 10, marks the second anniversary of the death of David Bowie, who passed away two days after his 69th birthday. To mark the milestone, Bowie's widow, supermodel Iman, took to her Instagram account to post the message, "You will always be part of us. Jan 10th #BowieForever #EverAndEver," along with photos of tattoos that she and her 17-year-old daughter with the rock legend, Alexandria "Lexi" Jones, apparently have gotten in his honor.

Lexi's tattoo, which seems to be located on her forearm, shows an ornate crescent moon along with the phrase "Daddy XXX" and Bowie's birth and death years, 1947-2016. Iman's tattoo is of a Bowie knife and appears on her right ankle.

On Tuesday, Iman posted another Instagram message that reads, "My favorite love story is ours!" accompanied by a series of stylish black-and-white photos of her and Bowie.

Meanwhile, the U.K.'s Official Charts Company has marked the anniversary of Bowie's passing by sharing details about how many albums and tracks by the rock legend sold in the country since his death.

Two million Bowie albums and 3.1 million singles have been sold or streamed in the U.K. over the last two years, including physical sales, digital downloads and stream-equivalent sales. David's final studio effort, Blackstar, has been his most successful U.K. album since his death, notching 446,000 copies in equivalent album sales, while the 2008 Best of Bowie compilation is #2 with 335,000.

As for singles, the 1977 classic "Heroes" tops the list of most popular U.K. Bowie tracks, with 397,000 combined sales. At #2 is David's 1981 collaboration with Queen, "Under Pressure," with 203,000 sales and streams.

Visit OfficialCharts.com for full details of Bowie's U.K. chart milestones since his passing.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Increases in both volume and quality

Despite the negative indications in the beginning of the year, including the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and growing protectionism in many countries, Vietnams FDI attraction in 2017 achieved impressive results. According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), total FDI pledges reached US$35.88 billion in 2017, up 44.4% compared to 2016 which is the highest increase over the past ten years. FDI disbursement also surpassed the record set in 2016 (US$15.8 billion) to hit US$17.5 billion.

In addition, FDI made significant contributions to exports, accounting for nearly 72% of Vietnam's total export revenue in 2017 and helping Vietnam's export revenue increase by 21.1% compared to 2016, the highest growth in many years.

The quality and effectiveness of FDI projects were also improved with many large-scale projects investing in the manufacturing industry, making considerable contributions to surpassing the economic growth rate of 6.7% for the whole of 2017.

2017 also witnessed large projects by giant multinational corporations including Samsung, Bosch and Panasonic in the area of research and development which is considered a gateway to gaining better access to the fourth industrial revolution, according to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Mai, chairman of Vietnam's Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE).

Challenges from the inside

Vietnam is obviously an attractive destination for foreign investors thanks to its increasingly enhanced status, political and macroeconomic stability and improved investment environment.

Experts forecast that FDI inflow into Vietnam will certainly maintain its growth until 2020. However, FDI inflow into Vietnam will be affected by instability stemming from geopolitical disputes between world powers and the upward trend of protectionism. In fact, Vietnam's economy still reveals internal inadequacies that have not been overcome including a lack of high quality human resources, poor infrastructure and services, an undeveloped support industry, low labour productivity, and a gap between policy and policy enforcement.

In addition, FDI projects exist that may create negative impacts on the environment including three projects worth US$6-US$7 billion invested in the area of thermal coal power last year. In the context that Vietnam is boosting green economic development to respond to the increasingly negative effects of climate change, the attraction of FDI in this area should be considered carefully.

Many warnings indicate that if Vietnam continues to maintain its current economic structure, pollutant emissions, particularly in the energy sector, will double in the next 10 years. This is a disadvantage for Vietnam as it is on the list of countries that face the highest risk from climate change. "Why do we continue to attract coal power projects while other countries are promoting investment in green and renewable energy?" Nguyen Mai asked.

Localities in Vietnam also roll out the red carpet for FDI projects worth less than US$1 million. These small projects would be worth applauding if they were deployed in the service sector such as tourism, technology and law consultancy. But it will require more careful consideration if they are deployed in areas that domestic enterprises are capable of undertaking as domestic enterprises are now being overwhelmed by foreign enterprises.

Director of Vietnam Institute of Economics Tran Dinh Thien said that the disparity between gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national income (GNI) shows that there is a big gap between the contributions of the FDI sector and domestic sector to the GDP, under which the proportion of FDI sector's contributions to the economy is increasing while the proportion of the domestic sector's contributions is falling.

It seems that we are focusing on attracting FDI for economic growth rather than facilitating domestic enterprises. Thien noted that GDP growth and exports are becoming increasingly dependent on the FDI sector while the production of domestic enterprises is running into many difficulties.

The biggest challenge in FDI attraction is that its pervasive influence has yet to meet expectations and has yet to create specific support for domestic enterprises to participate further in the global supply chain. Only 21% of Vietnamese enterprises have participated in the global supply chain while the rate is 30% in Thailand and 46% in Singapore.

Speaking at a recently held conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue also wondered how to connect domestic enterprises with the global value chain as the facts show that the domestic and FDI sectors have yet to connect closely with each other and do not develop equally.

According to Nguyen Manh Linh from the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Institute for Industrial Policy and Strategy, the loose connectivity between domestic and foreign investors comes from both sides. A small number of domestic enterprises are capable of supplying inputs for FDI enterprises due to limited production technology, management capacity and types of products, in addition to a lack of support programmes from the Government and business support agencies.

Meanwhile, FDI enterprises are not active in connecting and supporting domestic enterprises to participate in their production chain. The implementation of FDI firms' commitments on technical assistance and technology transfer seems to have been abandoned, resulting in the risk that FDI enterprises can easily come and leave Vietnam depending on the attractiveness of the market.

A totally new strategy needed

If FDI attraction only focuses on the volume of capital, it will result in negative consequences including the destruction of the environment, exhausted natural resources and restrained economic development. Amid these challenges, experts advise that it is time to shape new directions and policies on FDI attraction, under which Vietnam would be able to quickly keep pace with the considerable changes caused by the Industry 4.0.

FDI attraction strategies and preferential policies need to be changed to give more priority to green and modern technology. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Mai recommended that Vietnam should revise its preferential policies for FDI enterprises towards providing preferential treatment to projects bringing about high economic efficiency and a low impact on the environment instead of basing it on the project scale or the number of jobs generated as before.

In addition, it is advisable to revise the whole process of a FDI project including investment promotion, project appraisal, licensing, and project implementation and evaluation.

Opportunities for multinational corporations to invest in Vietnam will be expanded if Vietnam's investment promotion becomes more specific but not over-diversified as at present. The appraisal of FDI projects also needs to be changed in respect of the long-term interests of the country to provide sustainable values for Vietnam in the future.
Since the death of Mark Fisher at the beginning of this year, there has been a small increase in appetite for his book Capitalist Realism: is there no alternative? This is unfortunate, as the book is a confused jumble of academic jargon which barely manages to describe a phenomenon first explained by Marx over 170 years ago, let alone offer any practical advice to socialists trying to change the world today.

A poor imitation of Marx

The central idea of the book is that it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. By this Fisher means that through the media, educational institutions, and every other means at their disposal, the ruling class promotes its ideology of individualism, competition, and profit-seeking throughout society.

Marx explained exactly the same thing back in 1845 in the German Ideology, stating that:

The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas; i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force.

It seems that Fisher has placed himself in that academic tradition that bases itself entirely on re-packaging ideas developed by superior intellects decades ago and delivering them in a less understandable form.

Its easy to imagine the end of capitalism

What is particularly astonishing is that Fisher made this statement - that it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism - in 2009, in the immediate aftermath of the epoch-defining, worldwide crisis of capitalism. In the heat of that economic collapse, when banks failed and mainstream economics was shown to be bankrupt in every sense of the word, people were more open to ideas promoting an alternative to capitalism than they had been for decades.

Fisher says that the fact that the banks were bailed out in 2008 without provoking immediate riots and revolutions around the world is proof that everyone in society has been irretrievably won over to capitalist ideology. This is the argument of a man who has never studied or understood class consciousness, class struggle, or the revolutionary process.

Womens march in America 2017 / Image: own work

Contrary to what liberal academics like Fisher believe, consciousness is a very conservative thing. Most people dont go looking for radical upheavals and dramatic changes in their lives at every possible opportunity. People look for the path of least resistance, and will only enter onto a more arduous path when no other is available to them.

So, when the crisis hit in 2008, most people were willing to believe that those in charge had everything under control, because thats what was being said. And the majority of people were even willing to tighten their belts and accept some austerity because, they were told, that way everything would be back to normal soon enough. And in most countries, these lies and mistakes were actively promoted by those who were supposed to be the representatives of the working class, like the leaders of the Labour Party in Britain, thus stalling and holding back the development of radical consciousness even further.

History shows us that consciousness takes time to catch up with events. Poverty, starvation, and repression existed for many years in Tsarist Russia before 1917. Even the imperialist slaughter of the First World War was played out for two and a half years before the Russian masses moved to seize power and put an end to it. To throw in the towel and write a book about how capitalism has won the ideological battle because the mass of people didnt immediately take to the streets in 2008 is short-sighted in the extreme.

Crisis and radicalisation

Part of the problem is that Fisher himself doesnt really understand the 2008 crisis. He describes it as the credit crisis of 2008, when in fact it was and continues to be a crisis of overproduction. In other words, this crisis was not caused by poorly regulated lending, but by a fundamental contradiction built into the foundations of the capitalist economy.

This meant that, as Marxists explained at the time, the crisis of 2008 would not be easily solved and austerity would not be a short-lived phenomenon. In fact, the bailing out of the banks, lamented by Fisher as evidence of capitalisms ideological victory, was an admission of a fundamental failing of capitalism. The market economy required these banks to go bust, but the social consequences of so many lost savings would have been catastrophic for the ruling class. So, the banks, and the rest of the economy, had to be rescued, at the expense of the long-term health of the economy in terms of public debts, productivity, and investment.

Occupy Wall Street / Image: own work

The ensuing multiple failed attempts - which have continued for almost a decade now - to restore the economic equilibrium have led to a huge disruption of the social and political equilibrium. As more and more people have come to realise that the path of least resistance is not really a path at all, they have begun to look for other ways forward. This is how radical consciousness develops. People learn through their own experience.

Occupy Wall St began in 2011 and spread around the world calling for an end to the capitalist system. Mass movements swept the Arab world in 2011 putting an end to regimes that had existed for decades, to which no-one had dared imagine an alternative was possible. Political polarisation, the rise of new parties, and the death of old ones, has shattered the cosy centre-ground consensus in country after country around the world. Even in the USA Bernie Sanders rallied millions to his slogans for democratic socialism and a political revolution.

All of this is a direct consequence of the crisis of capitalism and was predicted, in its general outlines, by genuine Marxists. Fisher, on the other hand, who failed to really understand the crisis and who does not understand how consciousness develops, has seen his 2009 statement that its easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism, decisively disproved by millions of people.

An incorrect method

It is a common theme throughout Capitalist Realism that Fisher makes statements that have been utterly discredited by events that have happened since the publication of the book.

For example, he writes: By contrast with their forebears in the 1960s and 1970s, British students today appear to be politically disengaged. It is sufficient to point to the large student demonstrations and the wave of university occupations that shook the coalition government in 2010, and to the enormous support for Corbyn among students in the 2017 general election (which was enough to swing seats like Canterbury away from the Tories for the first time in 100 years), to see the error in this statement.

Fisher cannot be criticised for failing to predict this or that particular event  none of us has a crystal ball. But it is his method that is entirely wrong. He bases himself on an impressionistic appraisal of whats going on in society. He cannot see beneath the surface of society to understand the underlying processes taking place.

The reason why Fisher cannot penetrate beyond a superficial analysis of society is that he doesnt accept that most basic Marxist idea: that the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle. In fact, in his book Fisher goes so far as to deny the class struggle entirely. He writes:

Antagonism is not now located externally, in the face-off between class blocs, but internally, in the psychology of the worker, who, as a worker, is interested in old-style class conflict, but, as someone with a pension fund, is also interested in maximizing the yield from his or her investments.

In other words, society is reduced to the schizophrenic internal battle of each individual, rather than being based on class divisions.

Moreover, the point about pensions blurring the lines between workers and capitalists is fundamentally false - as if pensions are not themselves a reflection of class contradictions. Indeed, it is clear for Marxists that pensions are merely deferred wages, and the struggle to defend pensions has become a key battleground in the class struggle for that very reason. Moreover, the yield from investments is also dependent on the health of the capitalist system, the very thing that is in deep crisis today. Consequently, those workers who are interested in maximising their yield are being further radicalised by the capitalist systems crisis-ridden nature. The inability for capitalism to afford these pensions is in fact a source of profound instability for the system and tends to provoke class struggle.

Its no wonder that Fisher cant understand working class consciousness or predict mass movements if his starting point is to obscure the question of pensions in the class struggle.

Scientific socialism

Marxists define class in a scientific way, in terms of relations to the means of production. Those who are able to live off the labour of others, by virtue of owning a factory, a business, or land, are bourgeois - the capitalist class. Those, on the other hand, whose only way of survival is to sell their labour power to others are proletarian - the working class. This scientific understanding is the basis for understanding the class struggle, as a battle between proletarians and bourgeois for a greater share of the wealth produced in the economy.

When theres a crisis, each side will try to make the other pay for it. The bourgeois will try to sack workers and reduce pay in order to cut costs. Meanwhile the proletariat tends towards collective action, withdrawing their labour and demonstrating in numbers in order to prove to the bourgeois that without them the economy wont operate, thus forcing concessions such as higher wages and better conditions.

Marx and Engels / Image: public domain

The dozens of general strikes in Greece to resist EU austerity; the mass movement against the Labour Law reforms in France; the movement against the Spanish government around the Catalan referendum; the general strikes in Brazil; ever-increasing strike action in China: all of these and many more are concrete examples of class struggles that have taken place since Fisher wrote his book. And all of these exist in the real world, not just in the psychology of individual workers. It is Marxs ideas, not Fishers, that really offer any explanation as to what is going on in the world today.

Which way forward?

It is these fundamental mistakes of method and theory that leave Fisher without any real solution to the problem he has identified (172 years after Marx). The whole book is peppered with meaningless postmodern academic gobbledygook. But its when hes proposing a way forward in the fight against capitalism, that Fisher descends most completely into incomprehensible drivel:

To reclaim a real political agency means first of all accepting our insertion at the level of desire in the remorseless meat-grinder of Capital. What is being disavowed in the abjection of evil and ignorance onto fantasmatic Others is our own complicity in planetary networks of oppression. What needs to be kept in mind is both that capitalism is a hyper-abstract impersonal structure and that it would be nothing without our co-operation.

And further on:

What must be discovered is a way out of the motivation / demotivation binary, so that disidentification from the control program registers as something other than dejected apathy.

The only thing that such statements seem to be saying (as far as they are saying anything at all) is that we simply have to think differently, and then everything will be alright.

Unfortunately, this isnt much of a practical proposal for someone whose housing benefit has been frozen for yet another year, or someone struggling to earn enough to keep their head above water. Its the proposal of a well-paid academic, disconnected from the realities of working class life.

Marx and Engels / Image: public domain

Fisher says that one of the left's vices is its endless rehearsal of historical debates, its tendency to keep going over Kronstadt or the New Economic Policy rather than planning and organizing for a future that it really believes in.

In a certain sense, Fisher is right here; as Lenin said, theory without action is sterile, and we cannot allow ourselves to be side-tracked by interesting historical discussions simply for their own sake. We are not academics, but revolutionaries.

But that particular quote from Lenin continues: action without theory is blind. And it is this side of the equation that is Fishers downfall.

If, when considering how best to fight capitalism, he had taken a serious approach to Marxist theory, including questions of the State (as brought out by the issue of Kronstadt) and the balance of class forces on a global scale (as illuminated by the New Economic Policy), then he might have been able to suggest something practical for anti-capitalists to do going forward. As it is, this book offers the modern revolutionary nothing but confusion and frustration.

If you want genuinely revolutionary socialist ideas, stick to Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will stop research on Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease, and is expected to lay-off 300 research and development staff in Massachusetts and Connecticut, in a move that could severely hamper progress towards effective treatments for these illnesses  proving that critical medical research cannot be left in the hands of capitalist profiteers. Corporations like Pfizer should be expropriated and their assets, data and equipment placed under democratic control, to be used for the betterment of mankind.

Pfizer (which brought in over $50bn in 2017) has decided that further investment in fighting Alzheimers and Parkinsons  that respectively affect 47 million and 10 million people worldwide  does not make sound financial sense, especially when it can easily rake in billions on lifestyle drugs like Viagra. In short, Pfizers decision to abandon research on Alzheimers and Parkinsons reflects the high-risk, low-reward nature of work on such diseases from a capitalist perspective. Medical science is still well behind a cure for Alzheimers or Parkinsons, and Pfizer has experienced a series of costly disappointments over the past several years in attempting to engineer effective drugs. For instance, in 2012 a joint venture with Johnson & Johnson was terminated when the drug bapineuzumab failed to help patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimers in its second round of clinical trials. Giving up on this research in favour of work more likely to produce results (that is to say, more immediate profits) in an implicit admission to wasting billions on failed treatments.

New York City Pfizer World Headquarters / Image: Norbert Nagel

Pfizers decision could result in other major drug firms like AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly (which have also suffered expensive setbacks in recent years related to Alzheimers research), retreating from the field, which would cause a drought in investment for further research. Despite an appeal from Dr Matthew Norton, Director of Policy at Alzheimers Research UK, that drug corporations look at the long-term potential when deciding whether to participate in this effort, if Big Pharma does not smell a profit in the short-term, it will not risk its capital.

Pfizers announcement is an especially striking testament to the horrors of capitalism when seen in context with the damage caused by Alzheimers and Parkinsons. For example, the global cost of Alzheimer's and dementia (in terms of medical care, social care and hospices) is estimated at $605 billion: equivalent to 1 percent of the entire world's gross domestic product. Meanwhile, the financial impact incurred for a UK citizen living with Parkinsons disease (which affects mobility, and eventually communication) are 16,000 per year on average  factoring in assistance with cleaning, loss of income and benefits and so on. For the poorest Parkinsons sufferers, professional help might be unaffordable, placing the duty of care on family members.

Pfizer Viagra pill / Image: Flickr, Waleed Alzuhair

Pfizer pulling out of Alzheimers and Parkinsons research will shunt more of the burden of seeking treatments for these diseases on the public sector  via universities, for example. That is, as is becoming the norm, they leave the bill for research to be paid for by taxpayers, only to take over the patents for small change at a later stage. As the population continues to age in the Western world, so state funding for Alzheimer's research has increased in recent years. The USA committed to a $400m increase in funding for Alzheimers research in 2017; and between 2010 and 2015, UK government investment in dementia research rose from 28.2m to 66.3m. However, these figures are well below the revenue generated by the likes of Pfizer. If this private corporation was so inclined, it could direct orders of magnitude more money towards research into finding an effective treatment.

Moreover, the public investment is still dwarfed by the cost of the disease, which stands at 26bn a year in the UK and a staggering $259bn in the US, and state infrastructures are struggling to keep up. Social care in Britain has been criminally underfunded for decades; and thanks to Tory austerity policies, the Local Government Association estimates a 2.6bn funding shortfall by 2020. Currently, low income households with live-in care needs are expected to cover for these costs on between 50 and 80 a week. In the United States, most social care needs are covered by private individuals. The Medicaid programme covers nursing home costs and some home nursing care for those with low incomes who have spent their assets. Medicare does not, however, cover social care, except for a small amount of rehabilitative residential care. As the population continues to age, this situation will only worsen: and will hit the poorest hardest.

The financial impact of living with Parkinson's in the UK is 16,000 a year / Image: Flickr, Matthew Anderson

But although companies like Pfizer are crucial for the functioning of society, they do not operate for the benefit of it. The main driving force for Pfizer is cold, hard profit. Its R&D chief, Mikael Dolsten, recently told a J.P. Morgan healthcare conference that the company bases its R&D strategy on drugs with multi-billion-dollar blockbuster potential. These drug giants focus their attention on whatever nets the biggest windfalls with the least amount of effort, which can lead to an emphasis on manufacturing financial loopholes rather than medicines. In 2015, Pfizer acquired Allergan (the company that makes Botox) in a $160-billion merger: a move that eliminated U.S. tax on $147 billion in profits it had stashed overseas. In Britain, despite making sales of between 1.3bn and 1.8bn annually between 2001 and 2014, Pfizer paid almost no tax over the period because it announced major operating losses each year, except for a tiny profit of 9m in 2013. The company is also expected to benefit substantially from Donald Trumps new corporate tax cut, to the tune of $5bn: 10 times more than the US governments 2017 pledge to Alzheimers research, and more than half of Pfizers entire research and development budget from 2014 through 2016. Donald Trump has generously rewarded Pfizers shareholders, who have responded by slashing early development research on neurological diseases, firing hundreds of employees and continuing to inflate the cost of its products.

This should all come as no surprise. The whole medical industry has become thoroughly parasitical, making billions from ripping off state healthcare services, withholding essential medicines from Third World countries and lobbying governments to deregulate the healthcare market. Pfizer was itself hit with a record fine in 2016 after it charged the NHS 50m for an anti-epilepsy drug: up from 2m in 2013. For years Pfizer withheld fluconzale (a powerful anti-fungal agent that can be used to treat AIDS-related diseases like oral thrush and cryptococcal meningitis) from the developing world, while continuing to sell it to wealthy American and European patients. Only after provoking international outrage did it make the drug available to NGOs operating in developing countries with a greater than 1 percent prevalence of HIV/AIDS in 2001. The firm has also never been shy about using its financial clout to get its way in the political sphere, spending $25 million in 2010 alone on lobbying for healthcare deregulation in the USA. Big business and the state are connected to each other by a thousand threads. Despite Donald Trumps promises during the primaries that he would reign in Big Pharma, his appointment of former pharmaceutical executive Alex Azar to replace Tom Price as Health and Human Services Secretary suggests otherwise.

Alex Azar: former pharmaceutical boss and Trump's new Health and Human Services Secretary / Image: Eli Lilly

In stark contrast to claims that free market competition fosters innovation, the private pharmaceutical industry reveals the stagnation, irrationality and base cruelty of capitalism in its state of senile decay. From Martin Shkrelis jacking up the cost of Daraprim (a drug used in the treatment of AIDS-related conditions) from US$13.50 to US$750 per pill; to drug giants profiteering off AIDS epidemics in Africa and Asia; to Big Pharma taking public money (in the form of tendered contracts) from the NHS and stashing it in tax havens, the logic of capitalism ensures that healthy profits always take precedence over public health. Moreover, Pfizers actions demonstrate the sheer barbarism of allowing vast reserves of money, expertise and talent to be wasted or misdirected by private medical firms. Permitting research priorities to be dictated by market forces has resulted in pharmaceutical giants directing more attention towards lifestyle drugs targeted at the wealthy  designed to treat such tragic conditions as obesity, baldness, wrinkles and impotence. There is a multi-billion-dollar market for such products. Meanwhile, the difficult, expensive work of producing treatments for illnesses like Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease is sacrificed to the bottom line.

Martin Shkreli / Image: Flickr, NEPA scene

By contrast, in 2017, Cuba achieved the most exciting breakthrough in Alzheimers research in decades. Cubas planned economy has produced a free health service that is the envy of the world and has now begun human trials on a 100 percent-Cuban-developed medicine, NeuroEpo, which has produced positive results in delaying the advance of Alzheimers disease. Where Pfizer gave up on Alzheimers, mindful of its profit margins, Cuba has made serious progress towards an effective treatment  one that will be free at the point of delivery should it prove viable.

The example of NeuroEpo demonstrates the possibilities afforded by a democratically managed economy to ameliorate human suffering. Every day, thousands of people are diagnosed with life-threatening and altering diseases: a tragedy on a global scale. We cannot entrust capitalist pirates  driven by nothing but the pursuit of profit  with the task of developing cures for such diseases, nor can we permit them to exploit our suffering to stuff their pockets. We should expropriate corporations like Pfizer, place their vast wealth and resources under democratic control, and harness all of humanitys productive and intellectual capacity to rid ourselves of horrific diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons forever.
SPRINGFIELD -- Cambridge College's Tower Square campus is the first school in Massachusetts certified to offer classroom pre-apprenticeship training in hospitality under a program it designed with the help of MGM Springfield.

Apprenticeships as a way of training people for careers make most people think of the construction trades -- for example plumbing, carpentry, steelworking -- said William McKinney, director of the division of labor standards for the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

"We are trying to change that," McKinney said during a press conference Tuesday outside Cambridge College's Tower Square offices. "We are building a number of apprentice programs for many careers. The goal is to bridge that gap between people who need these jobs and the employees who are looking for certain skills."

The program begins in February and will be large enough to accommodate as many as 1,200 students, said Teresa Forte, Cambridge College Springfield director.

Classes range from one week to four weeks and run in cycles. Tuition is $159 to $459 depending on the length of the course, and classes can be credited toward Cambridge College's degree program in hospitality management, Forte said.

"It's serving that need for servers, bussers, security people ... every job that involves hospitality," Forte said.

Based in Boston, Cambridge College is a 45-year-old private nonprofit college that moved its Springfield location into Tower Square five years ago. Cambridge focuses on adult learners, generally folks who have been out of formal education for some time but are looking for skills that can help them get a better job or build a career.

"We are going to give people the skills they need to start these jobs, but also those soft skills: how to prepare for an interview, how to show up for work, how you make sure you keep getting there on time," Forte said.

One class will be called "Springfield concierge," said Wanda Gispert, regional vice president of talent and workforce development for MGM Resorts International. In it, students will learn how to give directions and make recommendations guiding folks to attractions such as the Springfield Museums.

"We feel like everyone should be able to speak about Springfield, regardless of position," Gispert said.

Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, helped design the concierge class. She said the bureau's goal is to get visitors to the casino or another attraction to learn about other things to see and do in the region and spend more time and more money here.

Gispert said Cambridge College responded when MGM went out looking for schools to help train hospitality workers. MGM Springfield helped develop curricula for the classes.

"Any hospitality employer in the area is also invited to come work with the graduates of this program," Gispert said. "MGM doesn't have the only need in the city."

Graduates will get a certificate of completion and an opportunity to begin on-the-job apprenticeship programs certified by the state.

Cambridge College also will host job fairs putting students in contact with employers including, but not limited to, MGM.

Bill Hess, general manager of Tower Square Hotel, said there is a general shortage of trained hospitality workers.
HOLYOKE -- The smile on 7-year-old Benny Morales' face said it all as Cheryl Labrie, director of Childcare at the Holyoke YMCA, zipped up his brand new winter coat.

Although sub-zero temperatures have given way to highs in the 30s this week, around 100 local children will be better prepared for the next Arctic blast thanks to the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts and their partners.

Across Massachusetts, PFFM, the union that represents firefighters throughout the commonwealth, is donating more than 900 coats this winter. The local donation on Tuesday is in collaboration with Operation Warm, a national nonprofit organization that has provided new coats to more than 2.5 million children in need.

Three hundred coats, which are being distributed in Agawam, Brockton, Easthampton, Holyoke, Lawrence, Methuen, New Bedford, Northampton, Jamaica Plain, Springfield and Taunton, were donated through a partnership with Columbia Gas.

"The coat drive that's being done by the fire department is just a godsend for many of these families who couldn't afford to go out and buy these coats otherwise," said Kathy Viens, CEO of the Holyoke YMCA.

Children are able to select their favorite color and write their name on the interior tag of the new coat, which reads, "Made Just for You."

Since 2014, PFFM has donated more than 4,200 new, USA-made winter coats to children across Massachusetts.
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was accosted by a man at an Arizona resort on Tuesday night.

Weinstein, who has maintained a low public profile since he was fired from the film studio he founded in October, was walking through Elements restaurant at the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort in Scottsdale when a man approached him, according to a video obtained by TMZ. The man repeatedly hurled obscenities at Weinstein before slapping him twice with the back of his hand.

The man, identified by TMZ only as Steve, had reportedly first asked Weinstein if he could have his photo taken with him, and the request was denied.

As the two left the restaurant, Steve, who admitted he had "quite a bit to drink," repeatedly cursed at Weinstein and twice slapped him.

Weinstein declined to contact police, according to TMZ.

A representative for Weinstein told The Hollywood Reporter in an email that "the TMZ report is accurate."

Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual harassment or assault by about 60 women, is under investigation by authorities in New York, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and London.
A lawyer for Stan Lee said that the 95-year-old Marvel Comics founder was the victim of blackmail as a British tabloid reported that Lee groped and sexually harassed nurses that cared for him at his home on a 24-hour basis.

The owner of a nursing company says Lee harassed each nurse that worked for him, according to the British tabloid Daily Mail. Her employees cared for Lee at his Hollywood Hills home until late last year.

Nurses complained of Lee, 95, asking for oral sex in the shower and to be "pleasured" in his bedroom, walking around naked and groping the nurses, the owner said. She said she confronted Lee with the allegations before termination of their business agreement.

Neither the owner nor nursing company was identified by the British tabloid.

Lee's attorney, Tom Lallas, denied the allegations in a statement to the Daily Mail.

"Mr. Lee categorically denies these false and despicable allegations and he fully intends to fight to protect his stellar good name and impeccable character," he said.

Lallas noted the nursing company has not filed a lawsuit or made a report with police.

"Instead, Mr. Lee has received demands to pay money and threats that if he does not do so, the accuser will go to the media," Lallas said. "Mr. Lee will not be extorted or blackmailed, and will pay no money to anyone because he has done absolutely nothing wrong."

Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee, 95, has been accused of groping and sexually harassing nurses that cared for him at his home on a 24-hour basis.
The investment projects, mostly in agricultural production, forestry, electricity networks, transport infrastructure, irrigation and health care, have contributed to the socio-economic development in Lao and Cambodian localities.

According to Dak Lak provincial Department of Planning and Investment, the Dak Lak Rubber Investment JSC has carried out a project growing perennial industrial crops, such as rubber and coffee, in Laos with a total investment of nearly US$71 million.

So far, the company has planted over 9,500 hectares of rubber and coffee trees, most of which are in the provinces of Champasak and Salavan. The project has generated jobs for over 2,000 Lao workers with monthly incomes of LAK2.5 million -LAK4 million.

Meanwhile, in Cambodia, the Dak Lak Rubber Co., Ltd, Krong Buk Rubber JSC, and Ea Hleo Rubber Co., Ltd have been growing rubber trees on tens of thousands of hectares worth hundreds of millions of USD.

Krong Buk Rubber Company plans to plant rubber on 9,000 hectares in Rattanakiri province with an investment of nearly US$54 million. To date, the company has planted 5,600 hectares of rubber and created stable jobs for 312 workers. In addition, Dak Lak Rubber is carrying out a project to develop 2,000 hectares of rubber plantations in Mondunkiri province.

Apart from the agro-forestry projects, Dak Lak enterprises have invested in building schools, medical facilities, transformer stations, power transmission lines and roads in the neighbouring countries.

The province has proposed that the Government promptly promulgates specialised mechanisms and policies for socio-economic development along the borderline. It also called for assistance to extend National Highway 29 to the Dak Rue border gate to facilitate investment, trade, economics and tourism activities in the CLV Development Triangle Area.
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- The St. Patrick's Committee of West Springfield is hosting its fifth annual Senior Colleen Pageant at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Dante Club, 1198 Memorial Ave. Tickets are $10 and are available at the door.

The event is a "fun-raiser" -- no, that's not a typo" -- for women age 55 or older, according to Justin Foley, a member of the organization.

"The ladies need to either be native to West Side or a current resident," Foley said in a news release this week. While contestants do not have to prove their Irish heritage, "being a little bit of green will certainly help in the process," he said.

Wanabee Colleens may fill out an online application to enter the contest, which will be emceed by members of the West Springfield City Council.

The 2018 Colleen will be crowned by last year's Senior Colleen, Wendy Ward. The winner will don a tiara and a Kelly green cape and hop into a convertible for a ride in the Holyoke St. Patrick's Parade on March 18.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event starts at 7.

Foley has more information about the contest at justinfoley01089@yahoo.com or 413-330-1594.

In addition to Ward, the 2017 winner, past Senior Colleens are as follows:

Maureen Cragen, 2016

Arleen Collins, 2015

and Mary Flaherty, 2014.

Western Massachusetts still has some Irish strongholds including West Springfield, where one out of five residents claim Irish heritage.

Evidence of the Celtic imprint here may be seen in the town's recent formation of a sister city agreement with Dingle, County Kerry, where many of the region's Irish-Americans have roots.

West Side is also home to the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England, a thriving ethnic, historical, educational and recreational facility on Morgan Road that includes a pub and restaurant.
Charles Pineda is an average 10th grader. He really enjoys his chemistry class at Excel Academy in East Boston and aspires to pursue a career in science one day. His six-year-old brother at his side, Pineda explains how he also recently started to dabble in photography.

"I really like going around and exploring the city," says Pineda, 15 years old. "Seeing what I can take pictures of."

Pineda, and his little brother, Alexander, are United States citizens. His mother, Elsa, is not. Elsa Pineda received Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. in 2001, after two horrific earthquakes struck El Salvador. She is one of thousands of Salvadorans who were granted the right to live and work legally in America.

On Monday, President Donald Trump's administration announced the termination of TPS, an immigration policy that allowed hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras to come to the United States. Many of the program's beneficiaries came here and, over a period of 17 years, created new lives and families. Now, the federal government is telling TPS recipients they must leave.

"It's very scary for us," Charles Pineda says after the dust had settled at a rally in Boston City Hall on Wednesday. Advocates from Latino community advocacy group Centro Presente held the event, inviting politicians, activists and people with very personal and distressing stories to speak in support of TPS.

"It's not really fair either. This is our home," Pineda says. "We know nothing else. My little brother, all he's ever seen is the U.S."

At the rally Wednesday, several Boston city councilors voiced support alongside Mayor Marty Walsh, all of whom vowed to support TPS holders and pressure Congress to rethink the policy reversal.

"Of all the deeply troubling things that have happened since the president took office, this is one of the most hypocritical," Mayor Walsh said on Wednesday. "And it's probably the most un-American."

Walsh accused members of the Trump administration of forgetting their own ancestral roots, saying their family names would not be plastered on buildings and hotels had the government chosen to send their ancestors back. Walsh added that when Boston hosts the Conference of Mayors Annual meeting this June, his office intends to highlight that Boston is an immigrant city.

Temporary Protected Status has benefitted Salvadorans more than any other group. In Massachusetts, there are roughly 12,000 TPS recipients and 6,000 Salvadorans. Boston is home to 2,000 of those Salvadorans. Many live in East Boston, a neighborhood that has historically been home to immigrant populations.

"Come to East Boston. Go to Chelsea," Patricia Montes, the executive director of Centro Presente, said fervently, addressing politicians following the mayor's speech on Wednesday. "Please don't come to see us only when we are facing a crisis. Come to see us every single day."

Of those with personal stories included 10-year-old Gabriela Martinez, who said she dreams of being an ESL - English as a Second Language - teacher. But, she said, she needed her mother - a TPS holder from El Salvador - by her side to accomplish that dream.

Elmer Vivas, a U.S. citizen and sophomore at Harvard University studying sociology, also spoke. Vivas's mother, too, is a TPS holder from El Salvador. His father became a U.S. citizen after overcoming what Vivas described as massive payments and government hurdles.

"They've had to fight to clean other people's offices, clean other people's hotel rooms, pick up other people's trash. They've done it with pride," Vivas said, of his parents. Now, he said, the policy reversal would force his mother to choose whether to entirely uproot, or live life as a criminal in America.

According to immigration lawyers, TPS beneficiaries pay taxes and cannot have a criminal conviction, or else they would be ineligible to receive the protected status. One immigration lawyer at Wednesday's rally said he receives phone calls every day from families, some of whom say their children fear they will be deported.

Charles Pineda said his mother just recently purchased a home in Chelsea. He fears going back to El Salvador with his family, reciting nightmarish stories of children who disappear in the night, sometimes kidnapped for ransom.

"My mom has worked here. She's given up a lot of time and energy to provide for us," Pineda says after the city hall event. "[The rally] made me feel very proud that there's this backing for our people, that people care. People want us to stay, people know our struggle."
A "mobile health van" will hit the streets of Boston to help fight the opioid epidemic in Massachusetts.

"This van is literally going to save lives, save families for generations to come," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said under a tent inside City Hall, at a Tuesday ceremony offering a first look at the van, which belongs to the Kraft Center for Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"What this van is going to do is bring their loved one back to them, in many cases," Walsh added.

The mobile van's team will target people struggling with addiction and complex health problems, according to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is funding the van through his charitable organization.

Six people are dying from opioid overdoses every day in Massachusetts, Kraft said.

The van, called "CareZONE," will offer services such as medications and referrals, and seek to send patients to community health centers or treatment programs.

"Bringing it to the streets the way we are, it's the first of its kind in the country, and we want to provide on-demand treatment for those who are currently marginalized and really forgotten about in our communities," he said.

The Kraft Center for Community Health was founded in 2011.

"Our goal was to create a model that others can emulate in communities throughout the country," Kraft said. "We wanted to pilot things that were innovative, and hopefully worked, and then we could scale them and help those populations that were most in need, the most marginalized in the country."

The van will be heading to Boston's Dudley Square and West End neighborhoods during its pilot phase.

Gov. Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey joined Walsh and Kraft for the ribbon-cutting for the new van.
SOUTH HADLEY -- A subcommittee of the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School violated the state's Opening Meeting Law by deliberating via email, according the state attorney general's office.

The prohibited deliberations involved former head of school Scott Goldman, who was barred from attending the 2017 graduation ceremony. Goldman's lawyer, David Monastersky, filed the complaint against the PVPA board of trustees in July.

The improper email conversations occurred in May, after the board suspended Goldman related to accusations he allegedly treated staff discourteously. Prior to being placed on paid administrative leave, Goldman had already announced he would retire when the school year ended in June.

Assistant Attorney General Hanne Rush determined that a PVPA subcommittee, the Grievance Committee, broke the law.

According to the determination, those email discussions focused on "the interim leadership plan" at the school, given Goldman's absence.

"Following our review, we find that the Board's Grievance Committee violated the Open Meeting Law by deliberating over email," Rush's Dec. 21 decision said.

"The Grievance Committee is a distinct public body separate from its parent body, the Board. ... Because a quorum of the Grievance Committee engaged in a discussion by email about a topic it subsequently decided upon two days later, the Board's Grievance Committee violated the Open Meeting Law," Rush wrote.

"We order the Board to publicly release the emails at issue within 30 days," she wrote.

"Government bodies may not circumvent the requirements of the open meeting law by conducting deliberations via private messages, whether electronically, in person, over the telephone, or in any other form," the assistant attorney general said in the letter to the PVPA board of trustees.

At the time the Open Meeting Law complaint was filed, Geoffrey Sumi was president of the trustees. He has since resigned from the board.
AMHERST -- In keeping with its tradition of being a sanctuary and a welcoming community, school officials this week told parents the district will continue to teach and serve El Salvadoran immigrants who might lose their federal Temporary Protected Status.

President Donald J. Trump's administration announced Monday it would end the protected status for people from El Salvador in September 2019.

Temporary Protected Status allows residents of certain countries to remain in the U.S. because conditions in their homeland are too dangerous to return. The status must be periodically updated for each country.

Residents of El Salvador were given this status after a 2001 earthquake.

If carried out, about 200,000 Salvadorans currently in the U.S. under the program would have to either leave or apply for another legal status.

"Since the announcement that TPS will be ending, we have heard from families who are concerned about their children's status in our district," reads a letter from Superintendent Michael Morris and Jean Fay, president of the Amherst-Pelham Education Association. "We want to ensure families that, consistent with our past practice, our core beliefs, and established law, we will continue to enroll and serve every child living in our district who chooses to attend our schools, without regard to their immigration status."

The letter said "many" members of the district's community came to the U.S. from El Salvador under Temporary Protected Status. "These are valued individuals who enrich our ARPS community in countless ways," the letter said.

Morris and Fay also cited a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling -- in the case of Plyler vs. Doe -- that said all children in the country are entitled access to public education, despite circumstances that include citizenship and immigration status.

Nothing in the Trump administration's announcement, they said, "alters our policy of providing equal access to all students or our commitment to providing all children with the academic and emotional support that will allow them to flourish and become contributing members of our community."

Amherst Town Meeting in May approved a sanctuary community bylaw that limits police investigatory authority based on immigration status, prohibits police detentions based on civil immigration detainer requests or ICE administrative warrants and requires reports of the number of civil immigration detainer requests lodged with the town and the town's response to the requests.

Following President Trump's first travel ban executive order in January 2017, Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone, Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Morris issued a joint statement saying the police department will "continue its policy of not asking about the immigration status of any crime victim, witness or suspect unless the information is directly relevant."
CHICOPEE - The School Budget Committee is recommending the city consider moving Streiber School into the half-empty Fairview Vetrans Elementary School to save money through consolidation and then moving administrators into Streiber School.

The recommendation, approved in a 7-0 vote, was one of 11 proposals considered and debated by the task force which is studying ways to save money in the school system which has been struggling to balance budgets while state assistance remains about the same and costs continue to rise. About half the proposals passed.

This is the fourth meeting of the task force, which was formed by Mayor Richard J. Kos who wants to find a less expensive and better way to do things while offering the same services to students. The group of nine has reviewed a variety of data in a search for ways to make educating about 7,700 students more efficiently.

But members also agreed cutting here and there is not going to solve the fundamental problem of the lack of state and local assistance to schools. In the last school year Chicopee spent an average of $14,249 per pupil, which is 8.3 percent less than the state average of $15,544 per pupil.

"We are not going to cut our way out of this," said City Councilor Joel McAuliffe, who is a member of the committee. "We need to have a serious discussion about what we value in education."

Councilor Shane D. Brooks, also a committee member, said both of his daughters have received a quality education from the city schools.

"I'm lucky and blessed. My experience is it is never going to get less expensive to provide education," he said. While the task force can create efficiencies and make cuts, city officials and taxpayers also must consider funding education beyond the minimum required by the state law, which is done frequently in many other communities but is rare in Chicopee.

During the meeting, the task force examined a variety of administrators' job descriptions and enrollment totals to ensure all schools had an equal number of staff and there isn't job duplication.

Members said they were frustrated some data they were given was incomplete or out of date and job descriptions in some cases are 20 years old and do not explain everything the employee does.

The complaint has been aired before. Members said they feel residents should be able to see the complete budget and other data on the Chicopee Schools website, which is not available now.

When comparing staff to student ratios, some questioned why some schools have more counselors or teaching assistants than others. Szetela Early Childhood Principal Janet Reid explained some schools have more programs for students with severe disabilities and those require more staff.

But during a discussion about why Belcher School does not have a vice principal while Hugh Scott Streiber School does, even though they have nearly the same number of students, members questioned if it would be better to combine some of the smaller schools. Streiber does have grades kindergarten through five while Belcher only goes to grade two.

Reid said the only place where there is room is at Fairview School, which once had between 700 and 800 middle schools students and now has about 450 elementary school children.

"We could move Streiber (students) to Fairview and turn Streiber into an administration building," said John Mruk, chairman of the committee. "It would solve two problems...The administration building is collapsing."

The committee voted 7-0 to have officials consider the recommendation. The recommendations must now be considered by the School Committee since the task force has no authority to make changes.

Mruk also recommended the School Committee consider sharing vice principals at the elementary level to save money. That also passed 7-0.

But other ideas such as eliminating the department supervisor for health and physical education at one high school and physical education and consumer science at the other was soundly rejected.

Joshua Clark, a high school teacher, argued against the proposal saying the social studies department where he works has no supervisor due to budget cuts and it does impact education. It is more difficult and teachers have no obvious place to turn if they need advice or help with something.

The committee did agree to reduce the number of team chairs at Dupont Middle School from four to three since Bellamy Middle School only has three.

It also quickly and unanimously voted to recommend the human resources departments for the city and school department be combined. Next meeting the group will also discuss if it is possible to combine the city and school maintenance and payroll departments.

The idea of merging city and school departments which do similar jobs has been discussed since 2010 and earlier but the ideas frequently are met with resistance. Currently the Collins Center at the University of Massachusetts, Boston is studying the pros and cons of the idea.

At the next meeting scheduled for Jan. 18, the committee also planning to study the practice of hiring an outside agency to hire substitute teachers, the use of consultants, the legal department, grant writing, enrollment and offering flexible schedules to staff when possible.
A group of domestic violence and LGBTQ advocacy organizations are calling for increased awareness and services for domestic violence victims following the killing of North Adams transgender activist Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien.

Steele-Knudslien's husband Mark Steele-Knudslien was arraigned on a count of murder Monday for allegedly beating and stabbing her to death in their home. Police say he turned himself in and confessed to killing his wife during an interview on Jan. 5.

"We are heartbroken and outraged. When we lose someone to intimate partner violence in our county, it is devastating. It leaves a hole in our hearts and in the fabric of our community," Janis Broderick, executive director at Elizabeth Freeman Center, a domestic and sexual violence response center for Berkshire County, said in a statement. "As a transgender woman, Christa was a vital part of the LGBTQ community as well. Her murder reminds us that trans and gender-nonconforming people face extraordinary levels of violence, and that sometimes they experience this violence at the hands of the people closest to them. This cannot go on. Now more than ever, affirming services for LGBTQ survivors of violence are a vital need in our communities."

Dozens of mourners gathered in North Adams at a vigil for Steele-Knudslien on Monday, the Berkshire Eagle reported. A GoFundMe page to raise money for her funeral expenses has garnered more than $3,000 in donations, with any extra funds to be donated to the organization Trans Lifeline.

A joint statement released by five advocacy groups - the Elizabeth Freeman Center, The Network/La Red, Safe Passage, NELCWIT and Jane Doe Inc. - said that Steele-Knudslien's death was the both the first domestic violence homicide in Massachusetts and first killing of a transgender person in the U.S. this year.

Sabrina Santiago, co-executive director of The Network/La Red, said the tragedy sheds light on the under-discussed phenomenon of violence within LGBTQ relationships. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people experience domestic violence or stalking by a partner at similar or higher rates than straight people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and a review by UCLA's Williams Institute.

"The LGBQ/T communities are no stranger to mourning the violent loss of community members," Santiago said in the statement. "We talk about homicide, especially towards trans women, as hate crimes rooted in homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. However, we don't talk about the LGBQ/T homicides that occur in relation to domestic violence. We need to start talking about the violence occurring within our communities."

Steele-Knudslien was an active member of the region's transgender community and the founder of two trans beauty pageants: Miss Trans America and Miss Trans New England.

On her Facebook page, she posted in recognition of last year's Transgender Day of Remembrance for transgender homicide victims and alluded to relationship struggles with her husband.

"My husband and I are going to try to work things out," Christa wrote on Facebook in January 2017.

Her husband told police he and Christa had argued the day before he turned himself in, according to a police report filed in Northern Berkshire District Court. He said he "snapped" and struck her multiple times with a hammer before stabbing her in the back and hiding her body in their basement.

In the Berkshires, the Elizabeth Freeman Center offers a 24/7 hotline, counsling, shelter, safety planning and court advocates to domestic violence victims, among other services. NELCWIT provides similar services in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.

"Now is a time to mourn Christa's death, and to remember her life and all the creativity and strength she shared with people in this community," NELCWIT Executive Director Rebecca Majoya said in a statement. "It is also a time to recommit ourselves to supporting trans and gender-nonconforming survivors, through services, policies and laws that help them access safety."

There are also political battles on the horizon for the state's transgender rights advocates. Marianne Winters, executive director of Safe Passage, said her organization is concerned about a 2018 ballot question, put forward by the conservative Massachusetts Family Institute, that would repeal the state's recent transgender rights law.

That law, passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in 2016, prohibits discrimination against transgender people in public places like parks and public restrooms.

"We think that this ties directly to the discrimination that transgender folks potentially feel and that history of oppression and misnaming what the issues are," Winters said in an interview. "We're strongly opposed to efforts to connect the freedoms and liberties that all people should enjoy to categorizing some people as less deserving of those protections. "
LUDLOW - The Ludlow Public Schools Building Committee will give an overview of the proposed Chapin Street Elementary School project at 7 this evening in the cafeteria of the school at 766 Chapin St.

The project is the subject of an article on the warrant for the special town meeting on Jan. 22. That's when residents will be asked to vote on the initiative, which is estimated to cost up to $60 million and comes with a potential 58 percent reimbursement rate from the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

The proposed 105,683-square-foot school would be built at the current Chapin Street site and serve students in grades 2-5 who currently attend Chapin Street and Veterans Park elementary schools. Both aging buildings would be replaced by the new school, and their student populations would be combined on the Chapin Street campus.

School officials and members of the project design team will be on hand this evening to answer any questions, said Ludlow School Committee Chairman Charles T. Mullin.

Ludlow Public Schools and the Massachusetts School Building Authority are partnering on the Chapin Street School project. The MSBA helps communities finance the design and construction of public school facilities in Massachusetts.

The school district's student population is currently spread over five buildings, including East Street Elementary School (pre-K-grade 1), Chapin Street Elementary School (grades 1-2), Veterans Park Elementary School (grades 4-5), Paul R. Baird Middle School (grades 6-8), and Ludlow High School (grades 9-12).

When Chapin Street and Veterans Park elementary schools are combined at the new school building, enrollment is expected to total around 630 students, according to school district officials, who anticipate savings through the combination of services, personnel and transportation expenses. That will free up funds to increase educational opportunities for district students, officials say.

The current Chapin Street School is a 42,000-plus-square-foot building situated on almost 14 acres near the intersection of Chapin and Fuller streets. The building suffers from structural deficiencies and has accessibility and physical plant issues, according to school district officials.
Massachusetts voters think their taxes will be going up after President Donald Trump and Congress approved a new federal law.

Thirty-four percent said they believe their taxes will increase, while 33 percent said they would stay the same, according to a poll released by WBUR/MassINC Polling Group.

Twenty-three percent of Massachusetts voters said they expect their taxes to go down and 10 percent said they didn't know or they're undecided.

The new tax law brings the corporate tax rate to 21 percent, down from 35 percent. State and local tax deductions are capped at $10,000, causing some concerns that high-income earners and property owners in Massachusetts, as well as other states like New York and California, could be hit hard by the new tax law.

In Massachusetts, 31 percent of voters said they support the new federal tax law and 53 percent said they oppose it.

The WBUR/MassINC survey of 504 registered Massachusetts voters has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. The poll took place between January 5 and January 7.

Asked about the effect of the tax code changes on the economy, 34 percent said they would help, 37 percent said they would hurt, and 20 percent said they wouldn't make much of a difference.

Just 10 percent of voters said they believed the new tax law will mostly help the middle class, while 64 percent said it would aid the "upper class" and 19 percent said the law would help "everyone."
Vietnamese Ambassador Ton Si Thanh made the remark on January 9 while addressing a workshop on India-Vietnam ties amid the changing geopolitical situation in the Indo-Pacific.

The event saw the attendance of scholars and researchers from the University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Sri Venkateswara University of India, Indian Council of World Affairs, Kings College London of the UK, Centre for China Analysis and Strategy, along with those from Vietnam.

Vietnamese Ambassador Ton Si Thanh said that although the global and regional situation is complex and unpredictable, peace, cooperation and development are still a common trend, saying that scientific-technological development and globalisation are bringing countries and regions, including the Indo-Pacific, closer in terms of economy and security. The Indo-Pacific region holds an increasingly important role in strategies of many countries, especially major ones, he added.

He noted that the growing importance of Vietnam-India ties comes from the fact that both nations economic potential and positions have considerably improved over the last years thanks to their continuous economic growth and proactive foreign policies.

According to the ambassador, India plays a leading role in the Indian Ocean region, while Vietnam holds an important geopolitical position in the Pacific region. They are facing similar opportunities and challenges, he said, noting that both are located in strongly developing regions and they must make use of this opportunity by enhancing cooperation and mutual support so as to develop more rapidly and sustainably.

The participants at the workshop

At the workshop, participants shared a view that in recent years, Vietnam has played an important role in Indias Act East policy and been also a crucial partner in sub-regional, regional and multilateral forums. The elevation of their strategic partnership, set up in 2007, to comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016 is a clear demonstration of the importance they attach to this relationship.

Vietnam and India have worked to intensify cooperation in various spheres, including politics, defence-security, trade, energy, science-technology, capacity building, connectivity, health care, education, culture, tourism, people-to-people exchange, and cooperation at international and regional forums, participants said.

The workshop featured four panel discussions, focusing on Vietnams position in Indias Act East policy and the bilateral relations in a changing Indo-Pacific structure.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen invited the Vietnamese PM to attend the Summit which took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on January 10.

The MLC Summit is held biennially and alternates between the member countries. This year's event is co-hosted by Cambodia and China under the theme Peaceful River and Our Sustainable Development and will focus on reviewing the cooperation among the countries following the first MLC held in March 2016 and discuss future cooperation orientations in addition to adopting several important documents.

The MLC cooperation mechanism includes six countries along the Mekong River including China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Based on the principles of mutual consensus, equality, cooperation, mutual interests, and respect for United Nations Chapter and international law, MLC aims to boost the comprehensive cooperation in order to build a responsible community and common interests in the Mekong sub-region.

In addition, MLC also aims to consolidate mutual trust and understanding; maintain peace and stability; promote sustainable development and poverty reduction; narrow the development gap; foster comprehensive economic integration into the region and the world; and strengthen the friendship and neighbourliness among countries.

The MLC mechanism includes three cooperation pillars, namely Politics and security; Economy and sustainable development; and Culture, society and people-to-people exchanges, with priority given to Mekong-Lancang water resources management; boosting connectivity among the six member countries; enhancing production capacity; cross-border economic cooperation; and agriculture and poverty reduction cooperation.

The first MLC Summit officially launched the cooperation process and approved the major orientations for the cooperation mechanism. The summit adopted the Sanya Declaration, a Joint Statement on production capacity cooperation among Mekong-Lancang countries, and a list of Early Harvest Projects for MLC.

Member countries have so far carried out a number of specific activities including the establishment of specialised working groups on water resources, poverty reduction, connectivity, and production capacity cooperation; the implementation of a number of projects under the list of early harvest projects such as the human resources exchange programme, the humanitarian eye operation programme, the women cooperation forum, the cooperation forum of Mekong-Lancang tourism cities; the implementation of the MLC Special Fund; and the establishment of the MLC Secretariat /national coordination agency in each member country; among others.

Vietnam has actively participated in the MLC mechanism since its establishment and has made significant contributions to the MLC content and areas of cooperation. Vietnamese delegations to the MLC have fully participated in the working group meetings, monitoring the implementation of cooperation projects within the framework of the sub-regional cooperation. Vietnam has also actively proposed cooperation areas including four proposals at the first MLC Summit and seven projects in 2017. Currently, the relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies are stepping up proposals in other areas.

The attendance at the second MLC Summit by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation expressed Vietnam's appreciation for the MLC mechanism, contributing an important voice to the MLC future orientations while affirming Vietnam's role in Mekong sub-regional cooperation.

Vietnam's participation also aims to promote cooperation content which is in line with Vietnam's interests and is significant to the sustainable development of the Mekong sub-region, in addition to consolidating the traditional friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia and the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and China.
Senator: Our States Economy Will Be Front and Center

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced that he will be joining the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

The Committee has jurisdiction over transportation, internet, interstate commerce, communications, pipeline safety, cyber security, consumer protection, and research and development.

"Im honored to serve the people of Montana on this important Committee," said Tester. "Our states economy will be front and center as we work together to strengthen our transportation infrastructure, boost broadband and broadcasting, and fight for higher paying jobs. I look forward to partnering with Montana businesses to ensure our states Main Streets are thriving."

The news of Testers appointment came with support from Montanas top business, telecommunication, and transportation leaders.

"The Montana Chamber congratulates Senator Tester on his appointment to the Commerce Committee," said Webb Brown, President and CEO of the Montana Chamber of Commerce. "We know he will keep Montanas small businesses in mind as he makes decisions affecting business success and economic prosperity."

"Montana Telecommunications Association is delighted with Senator Testers appointment to the Senate Commerce Committee," said Geoff Feiss, General Manager of the Montana Telecommunications Association. "His assignment puts him front and center in the upcoming deliberations on how we can deliver universal access to affordable broadband services that are so critical to Americas economic vitality. MTA is excited to work with Senator Tester to push for a strong federal commitment to aggressive investment in the nations broadband infrastructureincluding a robust fiber backboneparticularly in rural America."

"We look forward to working with Senator Tester in his new role on the Commerce Committee," said Mike Halligan, Director of Government and Corporate Relations of the Washington Corporations. "Having a strong rural advocate on this important committee will create opportunities that will help spur economic growth and strengthen Montanas transportation industry."

"Throughout his time in public office, Senator Tester has always demonstrated an appreciation for the unique value that local broadcast television and radio stations provide to Montanans," said Dewey Bruce, President and CEO of the Montana Broadcasters Association. "We look forward to working with him in his new role as a member of the Commerce Committee, as broadcasters make the case for policies that benefit our thousands of home state viewers and listeners."

"This is great news for the Motor Carriers of Montana," said Barry "Spook" Stang, Executive Vice President of the Motor Carriers of Montana. "We look forward to working with Senator Tester to ensure safe roadways, common-sense rules of the road and a robust transportation network that helps drive our states economy."

Tester also serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. He sits on a total of five committees: Commerce, Veterans Affairs, Appropriations, Banking, and Indian Affairs.
Micron and Intel are splitting up. But theyll share custody of their child.

Boises Micron Technology Inc., the nations second-largest semiconductor manufacturer, and Intel Corp., the largest, announced this week that they are ending their 12-year partnership to make flash memory.

BY DAVID STAATS

[email protected]

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article193790524.html
City Club Missoula thanks you for another great year!

As a thank you, we would like to offer a membership discount through February 12, 2018.

City Club Missoula Attendees,

City Club Missoula would like to thank all of our members for their contributions and attendance during a very successful 2017. We look forward to offering forums in 2018 that continue to engage all Missoulians. We aim to host a wide range of important topics that highlight our city and encourage civil conversation from both sides of any issue.

Heidi Starrett, Vice Chair, City Club Missoula had this to say regarding City Club; "City Club offers a venue for our citizens to learn about and discuss issues that affect our city and state. Our monthly forums give community members the opportunity to become educated on a variety of issues and further engage in the growth and well-being of our community."

Membership renewals and signups are underway for 2018. City Club Missoula would like to thank forum attendees in 2017 by offering a 30% membership discount https://squareup.com/market/city-club-missoula for 2018. City Club Missoula Board of Trustees is thrilled to offer an annual membership of $35 until February 12th, 2018 ($50 the remainder of the year). To reiterate the value of membership, members receive:

Updates and information on upcoming forums before the general public

Ability to share ideas and question vital issues in Missoula as a prominent City Club Member

Access to those whom are active in ongoing discussion on leadership, development, and change in Missoula

City Club Missoula looks forward to seeing you at the 2018 monthly forums.

Sincerely,

Jim Royan

City Club Missoula Board Chair

Forum Schedule* Through June 2018

January: Reaching Home: Missoulas 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness

February: The new University of Montana President Seth Bodnar

March: National Parks and Public Lands (tentative)

April: State of the Community, Missoula

May: The Changing Wild Fire Landscape of Western Montana (tentative)

June: Western Montana Tourism and effects on Missoula (tentative)

*Forum topics are subject to change

Your Ideas for Forum Topics are Always Welcome

For idea submissions please email [email protected]

***

$35.00

Membership Discount

Thank you for the continued engagement. We look forward to another great year!

Purchase Here https://squareup.com/market/city-club-missoula

***

City Club Missoula

P.O. Box 9071- Missoula, MT 59806  http://www.cityclubmissoula.com
Stressing the important principals of the cooperation for the socio-economic development of its member states, as well as towards regional peace, stability and prosperity, the Vietnamese leader underlined the need for stronger collaboration in the effective and sustainable management and use of Mekong water resources.

Overriding priorities should be given to hydro-meteorological statistics and information sharing, cooperation in response to droughts and floods and joint scientific research to construct reservoirs along the Mekong River, as well as infrastructure development to facilitate flows of commodities, services and capital, and local peoples travel, he noticed.

It is necessary to support the member states to take advantages of the fourth industrial revolution to promote their industrialisation process, he said, adding that efforts should be made to develop high-quality human resources, enhance research and technology transfer in agriculture, especially hi-tech organic development.

With the theme of Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development, the meeting attracted the participation of leaders from all six members: Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

At the event, they reaffirmed the goal of building a Mekong-Lancang region of peace, stability, sustainable development and prosperity. They reached a consensus that the MLC should contribute more to promoting regional socio-economic development, narrowing the development gap among member states and supporting the building of the ASEAN Community.

The mechanism must be in harmony with programmes and plans such as the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration, the UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and many other regional connectivity initiatives.

The leaders adopted the Phnom Penh statement and the MLC action plan during 2018-2022 with measures to realise their cooperation in three pillars: security-politics; economy and sustainable development; society, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

They hailed the 214 projects proposed by the MLC members and agreed to enhance their cooperation in the management and sustainable use of water resources via an array of activities, including policy dialogues, hydro-meteorological statistics and information sharing, technical cooperation, joint research and pilot projects related to Mekong water.

Furthermore, they consented to step up environment collaboration, especially in minimising environmental risks in economic activities.

The MLC is a sub-regional cooperation mechanism that was jointly established in 2016 by six countries along the Mekong River, namely Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The biennial MLC Leaders Meeting is organised in rotation among the member countries. This years event is co-organised by Cambodia and China.
The provinces coordination board for tourism development held a meeting in Vinh, the capital city of Nghe An province, on January 9 to review their tourism cooperation in 2017 and launch tasks for this year.

The event was attended by officials of the provinces tourism departments and associations, travel companies, and centres of tourism information and promotion.

The participants said that, in 2018, the localities should take part in more domestic and international fairs, workshops, exhibitions, festivals and other events. They need to improve joint pavilions at tourism fairs while working more closely together to promote their tourism image in foreign markets and open new international and domestic air routes to each province.

Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh should continue with their joint efforts to develop the central heritage road, a tourism route through the heritage sites from the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty in Thanh Hoa to Phong Nha  Ke Bang National Park in Quang Binh. Tours retracing the journeys of celebrities and heroes in the provinces should also be developed.

The participants also urged the four provinces to team up to create tourism products serving visitors who travel from Laos and Thailand to Vietnam through the border gates of Cha Lo (Quang Binh), Cau Treo (Ha Tinh), Nam Can (Nghe An), and Na Meo (Thanh Hoa).

They also suggested that the provinces develop cultural, historical and spiritual tourism products targeting domestic tourists such as tours of destinations along Ho Chi Minh Road and local temples.

In 2017, the four provinces swiftly recovered from the marine pollution incident in early 2016. Tourism services revived, particularly in coastal areas from Nghe An to Quang Binh.

They welcomed 19.76 million tourist arrivals, including over 450,000 foreigners, last year, respective increases of 35.75% and 71.45% from 2016.

At the meeting, the tourism associations of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh signed a cooperation agreement on tourism development.
British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at 10 Downing street before she announces new ministerial appointments to her front bench in a Cabinet reshuffle due to begin today, in London, Britain on Jan. 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Tim Ireland)

LONDON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May issued her first statement Tuesday night after completing a shake-up of her team of government ministers.

Speaking at 10 Downing Street, May commented on the new diversity of her government team.

May said: "This Government is about building a country fit for the future -- one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society.

"This reshuffle helps us do just that by bringing fresh talent into Government, boosting delivery in key policy areas like housing, health and social care, and ensuring the Government looks more like the country it serves.

"It also allows a new generation of gifted Ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK."

May faced criticism on the first day of her reshuffle which critics, including some of her own Conservative politicians described as lack-lustre.

Just one big change to her front-row team saw former Education Secretary Justine Greening resigning from the cabinet.

On day two, May first assembled her new line up of ministers at Downing Street, before hiring and firing a number of second-tier ministers.

May even posted a photo on her social media site showing her alongside a line-up of all-female MPs appointed to roles in the party whip's office. Their task is to liaise with MPs in the House of Commons.

May fired four ministers on day-two of her reshuffle as she made way for newcomer to her team.

Among those leaving were education minister Robert Goodwill and Mark Garnier, the international trade minister. John Hayes, the transport minister and health minister Philip Dunne both resigned from the government.

The Daily Telegraph reported that backbench Conservative MP Philip Davies complained that May's reshuffle has created a "legitimate concern" that white, male ministers have been "hoofed out" to make way for women or minority ethnic MPs "because they are a white male".

Davies told the Telegraph: "Time will tell as to whether these people have got their jobs on merit or whether they have got them on tokenism. It certainly does not do anyone any favors to promote people who are not ready for promotion just because of their gender or race.

"Time will tell whether these jobs were given on merit or not. But obviously any self-respecting Conservative would say that all jobs should be given on merit and we should be blind to people's gender, race or religion."

May finally completed her reshuffle Tuesday night, moving eight existing members of her government team to new posts. Home Secretary Amber Rudd was also appointed by May as Minister of Women and Equalities.
HINDSIGHT 2021 Audio Article 10 Years Ago (2011)  As the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks approached, Soldier Brett Kline shared a lookback at the thoughts of the McConnelsville-based Ohio National Guard 2-174th Air Defense Artillery soldiers who were ending a year-long deployment in Iraq. Soldier Brett Kline shared the comments...

The Ohio National Guard Honored 80 Soldiers Audio Article On Friday, Aug. 27, the Ohio National Guard honored a group of around 80 soldiers based in McConnelsville from Battery C, 2nd Battalion, 174th Air Defense Artillery Regiment said goodbye to their families as they prepared to depart for a year-long deployment in support of the U.S. Central Command operations....

Morgan County Sheriffs Office Daily Call Reports Audio Article Editors Note: The following are initial incident reports from callers to a Morgan County Sheriffs Office Dispatcher. Any details, charges or situations may have been distorted by the caller, or perhaps may have been found to be different after the officer further investigated the incident. Friday, June 11, 2021 ...

Morgan County Sheriffs Office Daily Call Reports Audio Article Editors Note: The following are initial incident reports from callers to a Morgan County Sheriffs Office Dispatcher. Any details, charges or situations may have been distorted by the caller, or perhaps may have been found to be different after the officer further investigated the incident. Tuesday, June 8, 2021 ...

Morgan County Sheriffs Office Daily Call Reports Audio Article Editors Note: The following are initial incident reports from callers to a Morgan County Sheriffs Office Dispatcher. Any details, charges or situations may have been distorted by the caller, or perhaps may have been found to be different after the officer further investigated the incident. Thursday, June 10, 2021 ...

HINDSIGHT 2021 Audio Article 10 Years Ago (2011)  Morgan High School Coach Mike Beam announced the cross-country roster for the upcoming season. James Sheets, Grant Smith and Jason Zumbro will represent the boys team. Members of the girls team include Virginia Ferrell, Cheyenne Hanson, Miranda Cain, Baylee Garrett, Korie Robinson, Dani Mae Hopkins,...
Leaders of two partners in venture mark first completion of EPR reactor

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron after meeting the press at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday in Beijing. [Photo by FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY]

President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron marked the first completion of a European pressurized water reactor at a ceremony and witnessed the signing of 20 bilateral cooperative documents after their Tuesday talk in Beijing.

The leaders, meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, unveiled a plaque to mark completion of the EPR project, located at the Taishan nuclear power plant in Guangdong province. The project is a third-generation reactor and one of the most advanced in the world in terms of nuclear safety and performance.

The project, which has taken eight years to complete, is the largest cooperative project on energy completed between the two nations as well as a great example of bilateral economic cooperation, said Nur Bekri, vice-chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission and director of China's National Energy Administration.

During his talk with Macron, Xi said that the two countries should deepen concerted efforts in their traditional fields of cooperation, including nuclear energy and aerospace.

Beijing and Paris should also nurture new highlights for growth, such as agriculture, medical care and sustainable development, Xi said.

Macron echoed Xi's call on reinforcing bilateral cooperation within the framework of building the Belt and Road, saying that such collaboration is of great strategic significance.

Paris looks to boost communication and dialogue at a high level and in various fields during this visit, reinforce cooperation in key areas such as aerospace and nuclear power, and introduce a new chapter of bilateral cooperation, Macron said.

As China will host the Winter Olympic Games in 2022 and Paris will host the 2024 Summer Games, Xi said the two countries should reinforce exchanges and cooperation in areas including tourism and youth.

Macron is making his first state visit to China from Monday to Wednesday. It is also his first trip to the country since assuming office in May last year.

The 20 deals signed by China and France on Tuesday covered areas such as nuclear power, aerospace and health.

After their talk, Xi and Macron jointly met with delegates attending the first meeting of the France-China entrepreneurs' council.

When addressing the business leaders, Xi reaffirmed China's opening-up policy as well as China's commitment to an open economy at a greater level.

China is ready to uphold reciprocal opening-up with France and with Europe, and promote the strengthening of the global economic governance system.

When jointly meeting the press, Xi said he and Macron agreed on reinforcing bilateral cooperation in the international context, jointly addressing global challenges including climate change and terrorism.

On China-Europe ties, Xi said China firmly supports the integration of Europe and welcomes France's greater contribution to China-Europe ties.

Macron said China enjoys great strength in artificial intelligence, and the two countries' cooperation on promising sectors will yield a positive influence.
Ri Son-gwon (right), chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, shakes hands with Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon of the Republic of Korea in the truce village of Panmunjom on Tuesday. XINHUA

Beijing says it "feels happy" to see improved relations between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea after the two sides held high-profile talks. China called on the international community to lend its backing to such efforts.

The DPRK on Tuesday agreed to send a "high-ranking" delegation to participate in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in the ROK as officials of the two countries started their first high-level meeting in two years.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China hopes the talks will be a good beginning for the ROK and the DPRK to improve ties, promote reconciliation and cooperation, and reduce tensions.

Piao Jianyi, an expert from National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the talks went "surprisingly good and smooth" and people can look forward to improvement in the direction of the Korean Peninsula issue.

"Usually the proposal put forward by one side will be rejected by the other," he said. "However, this time both sides have reached more consensus than before."

Ri Son-gwon, head of a five-member DPRK delegation for Tuesday's talks, said in his introductory remarks that he hoped to give a New Year's gift to the people of the Korean Peninsula.

In response, the ROK's unification minister, Cho Myoung-gyon, said he expects the Olympics to become a peace festival with "precious visitors" from the DPRK. He also said the inter-Korean dialogue had resumed after a long hiatus, calling on the DPRK to continue talks with a firm will and patience.

The DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency said in a commentary on Monday night that Kim Jong-un, top leader of the DPRK, "clarified a bold and compatriotic stand and proposal for improving inter-Korean relations in his New Year's address."

The DPRK's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an earlier commentary that Kim's appeal for detente with Seoul has won overwhelming support at home and abroad.

Russia also welcomes dialogue between the DPRK and ROK, a Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday. "This is exactly the kind of dialogue that we said was necessary," he said in a conference call.

However, Yoichi Takahashi, a professor at Tokyo-based Kaetsu University, said people should not pin their hopes on the talks because the DPRK may not stop nuclear and missile tests, and the potentially explosive tension on the peninsula has not eased.

Piao also said it is hard to predict whether optimism will remain for the future, especially considering that half of the government in Seoul is conservative, and holds a hostile attitude toward the DPRK. "And we can't ignore the role the United States is playing."
A pregnant woman, a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old teenage boy have died in a suspected viral hemorrhagic fever outbreak that has struck a village in South Sudan.



Authorities are monitoring 60 people that were in contact with the victims of the mysterious illness. There was no history of close physical contact between the cases and no cases had a notable travel history. No samples were collected from the cases and supervised burials were not performed.

Three cases of a suspected viral hemorrhagic fever, epidemiologically linked by time and place, were reported from South Sudan.





"No tissue or blood samples were collected from their bodies for analysis, and South Sudan health authorities reported the cases on Dec. 28," WHO said.



"The outbreak of suspected viral hemorrhagic fever in South Sudan could rapidly evolve, and critical information including laboratory confirmation of the etiology of disease is needed to direct response efforts," it added.



Source: Medindia The investigation found evidence of zoonotic hemorrhagic illness, including two abortions among goats and sheep, and eight goat deaths with evidence of extensive hemorrhage, and one ill cow. Deaths among wild birds were also reported during the time that the cluster of cases was detected."No tissue or blood samples were collected from their bodies for analysis, and South Sudan health authorities reported the cases on Dec. 28," WHO said."The outbreak of suspected viral hemorrhagic fever in South Sudan could rapidly evolve, and critical information including laboratory confirmation of the etiology of disease is needed to direct response efforts," it added.Source: Medindia

No symptoms were reported among the close contacts of the cases during the course of their clinical illnesses or since their deaths. Sixty contacts were identified and are being followed up by a surveillance team comprised of Ministry of Health and WHO staff.
Chinese internet users called for a boycott of Marriott International on Tuesday after the global hotel chain listed China's Tibet Autonomous Region as a country in an email sent to elite members.

Internet user "zhongjusaodi" posted on Tuesday that Marriott International sent a questionnaire via email to its members to receive feedback on its services and asked them to choose a country from a list which includes the Chinese mainland, Tibet, Macao, Hong Kong or Taiwan.

The user told the Global Times he complained about Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan listed without the word "region" and "now they are going too far by listing Tibet as a country!"

His post was supported by other internet users claiming to be members of the company.

"We are deeply sorry for the questionnaires," Marriott Rewards, responsible for managing the membership of Marriott Inc, said in a notice on its Sina Weibo microblog account on Tuesday.

"For now we have suspended the questionnaires and will fix the options at once. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the incident," read the notice.

The Global Times reporter downloaded the Marriott app as a registered member on Tuesday to find it still asks Chinese users to choose from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan as countries.

The post attracted the attention of Chinese social media, with Sina Weibo users including China's Communist Youth League and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization reposting the message. Some internet users called for a boycott of the company and its hotels, saying the company "cannot earn money from China on the one hand and hurt China's national interests on the other."
Women don't just outlive men in normal times: They're more likely to survive even in the worst of circumstances, such as famines and epidemics.



Most of the life expectancy gender gap was due to a female survival advantage in infancy rather than adulthood. In times of adversity, newborn girls are more likely to survive.

Taking into considerations the drought, famine and its impact on infant mortality, girl babies tend to thrive in those crises.

Gender Difference in Survival



Led by Virginia Zarulli, an assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark, and James Vaupel, a research professor at Duke University, the team analyzed mortality data going back roughly 250 years for people whose lives were cut short by famine, disease or other misfortunes.



The data spanned seven populations in which the life expectancy for one or both sexes was a dismal 20 years or less. Among them were working and former slaves in Trinidad and the United States in the early 1800s, famine victims in Sweden, Ireland and Ukraine in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and Icelanders affected by the 1846 and 1882 measles epidemics.



In Liberia, for example, freed American slaves who relocated to the West African country in the 1800s experienced the highest mortality rates ever recorded. More than 40 percent died during their first year, presumably wiped out by tropical diseases they had little resistance to. Babies born during that time rarely made it past their second birthday.



Another group of people living in Ireland in the 1840s famously starved when a potato blight caused widespread crop failure. Life expectancy plummeted by more than 15 years.



Overall the researchers discovered that even when mortality was very high for both sexes, women still lived longer than men by six months to almost four years on average.



Girls born during the famine that struck Ukraine in 1933, for example, lived to 10.85, and boys to 7.3 -- a 50 percent difference.



Girl Babies Are Stronger Than Boys



When the researchers broke the results down by age group, they found that most of the female survival advantage comes from differences in infant mortality. Newborn girls are hardier than newborn boys.



The results suggest that the life expectancy gender gap can't be fully explained by behavioral and social differences between the sexes, such as risk-taking or violence.



Instead, the female advantage in times of crisis may be largely due to biological factors such as genetics or hormones. Estrogens, for example, have been shown to enhance the body's immune defenses against infectious disease. "Our results add another piece to the puzzle of gender differences in survival," the researchers said.



Source: Eurekalert Led by Virginia Zarulli, an assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark, and James Vaupel, a research professor at Duke University, the team analyzed mortality data going back roughly 250 years for people whose lives were cut short by famine, disease or other misfortunes.The data spanned seven populations in which the life expectancy for one or both sexes was a dismal 20 years or less. Among them were working and former slaves in Trinidad and the United States in the early 1800s, famine victims in Sweden, Ireland and Ukraine in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, and Icelanders affected by the 1846 and 1882 measles epidemics.In Liberia, for example, freed American slaves who relocated to the West African country in the 1800s experienced the highest mortality rates ever recorded. More than 40 percent died during their first year, presumably wiped out by tropical diseases they had little resistance to. Babies born during that time rarely made it past their second birthday.Another group of people living in Ireland in the 1840s famously starved when a potato blight caused widespread crop failure. Life expectancy plummeted by more than 15 years.Overall the researchers discovered thatGirls born during the famine that struck Ukraine in 1933, for example, lived to 10.85, and boys to 7.3 -- a 50 percent difference.When the researchers broke the results down by age group, they found thatThe results suggest that the life expectancy gender gap can't be fully explained by behavioral and social differences between the sexes, such as risk-taking or violence.Instead, the female advantage in times of crisis may be largely due to biological factors such as genetics or hormones. Estrogens, for example, have been shown to enhance the body's immune defenses against infectious disease. "Our results add another piece to the puzzle of gender differences in survival," the researchers said.Source: Eurekalert

The fact that women have an edge in infancy when behavioral differences between the sexes are minimal, supports the idea that explanation is at least partly biological.
China's DNA database mainly targets criminals and locating missing people, and is "in accordance with the law," experts said Tuesday.

"Since the DNA is unique and more precise than other methods, it is by far the most advanced way of identifying people," Wu Boxin, a professor at the Chinese People's Public Security University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

However, some foreign media, such as the Wall Street Journal, reported that China was using the database to collect DNA samples from many "innocent" people, and that the database raised privacy and equality questions.

Wu criticized the report, saying that building such a database is aimed at cracking down on criminals and finding missing people.

"Police always collect DNA samples when people apply for their ID cards, usually their fingerprints. But for those on a police watch list, police take other samples, such as their blood type or facial information," Wu explained.

China's Ministry of Public Security(MPS) announced the development of a DNA database in April 2009, which is primarily aimed at finding missing or abducted children, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In Sichuan Province alone, public security officers said that they managed to find 52 abducted children in 2017 by using the database, Xinhua reported.

Wu added that the Chinese government protects citizen's privacy and the DNA database complies with laws.

Wu also said that the database is leak-proof because the country will punish leakers, and those in charge of the database are professionally trained.

Also, Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province will build a super DNA sequencing platform to create a genetic information database, Xinhua reported.

Researchers can use big data created in the database to study genetic mutations related to major diseases, study the impact of interaction between genes and environmental concerns on human heath, and provide statistical support for the diagnosis and treatment of major diseases, Lan Qing, a local health official in the province, told Xinhua in October 2017.
Fang Fenghui, member of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) and former chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, has been transferred to the military prosecution authority on suspicion of offering and accepting bribes, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

The transfer was made upon approval of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Fang was also a former member of the CPC Central Military Commission.

Fang was born in 1951 in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. He joined the People's Liberation Army in 1968 and became a CPC member in 1975.

Fang was the director of the military parade for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 2009.

Fang was promoted to chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department in 2012 at the age of 61.

The last time Fang appeared in the news was on August 21, 2017, when he met with a Thai military commander, which was reported on the website of the Ministry of National Defense.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias will meet tomorrow, Thursday 11 January, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov.Talks will focus on matters of bilateral interest as well as on further enhancing the Confidence Building Measures.
China's Ministry of Transport said Tuesday that no large-scale oil spill had been found in waters where two vessels collided off China's east coast.

A Panama-registered oil tanker, carrying 136,000 tonnes of condensate oil, caught fire Saturday evening after it collided with a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter.

Zhao Ruxiang, an expert with China's Yantai Oil Spill Response Technical Center, said a simulation test showed condensate oil in the water can evaporate so quickly that it will leave little residue - less than 1 percent after five hours.

Yet it is toxic and volatile when exposed to air, with a possible risk of triggering explosions, Zhao said.

As of Monday, rescuers had found one body that was believed to be one of the 32 missing oil tanker crew members - 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.

Search for the missing is ongoing, with 13 rescue vessels searching an area of 900 square nautical miles, while closely monitoring the condition of the burning oil tanker, the ministry said.

The collision occurred around 8 p.m. Saturday in waters about 160 nautical miles east of the Yangtze River estuary.

All 21 crew members on the bulk freighter -- all Chinese nationals -- were rescued, according to the ministry.
Washington (People's Daily) -- After news reports emerged detailing the breakthroughs made from the high-level talks between North and South Korea, the White House later announced that President Trump had praised accomplishments reached between the two countries.

Last week, just as 2018 was warming up, Trump posted on his Twitter account highly critical remarks on the Korean Peninsula situation. But today, his Twitter account was quiet on the issue.

White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a press conference on Tuesday that North Korea gave itself an opportunity to see the value of ending its isolation from the rest of the world.

Sanders reiterated US commitment to getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. She later added the US delegation that will go to the Winter Olympics would be revealed soon.

US State Department officials also welcomed positive news on the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement released late Tuesday afternoon, State Department officials welcomed the meetings between the two Koreas aimed at ensuring a safe, secure and successful Winter Olympics.

The statement reassured the US would send a high-level presidential delegation to PyeonChang.

Duringa televised interview with US media outlet Fox News, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Steve Goldstein, said anything that lowers tension is a positive development.

Even though the future of North Koreas nuclear issue remains unknown, a report from the Wall Street Journal disclosed White House rifts on different solutions to the North Korea issue.

The report said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis remain on the diplomatic solution side, while national security adviser H.R. McMaster is advocating a more aggressive alternative. The Debateinside the White House is ongoing and open to a final decision.
Students enjoying a healthy meal at a middle school in California, prior to the passage of SB 250. Photo: Reuters

Compared to the hazards of extremism, or the exploitation of minors in some parts of the world, school kids being humiliated or stigmatized on campus seems hardly a problem. But for a child whos being pestered because he or she sticks out among peers, lunchtime is the predicament of the day.

With SB 250 kicking in, California joined a handful of states on New Years Day to safeguard pupils from being demeaned in school if their lunch balance in overdue. Such practices have the effect of labeling students in harmful ways, and shaming them for the inadequacies of their parents.

No matter the purpose, these methods are misguided and cruel. Being singled out before peers is one of the worst experiences a child can suffer. Its something few of us care to envision, or remember.

Even the personnel consigned to carry out these policies dont appreciate them. A cafeteria employee in Pennsylvania chose to resign rather than withhold hot lunches from students, as ordered by other adults  a clue, perhaps, as to the prevalence of callousness amongst kids, or even cruelty.

I taught at underprivileged schools for a decade. It was difficult to watch poor kids stand in line while others walked by, or made it to the chips and soda machine. I remember the troubled faces. Some kids skipped lunch entirely, choosing to go and hang around in the library instead.

That was a while back. Now students have more to contend with, even, physically and emotionally. So we, grown-ups  the stewards in charge of their world  shoulder the responsibility of ensuring, from the moment they step out into our world, they are springy, spirited, and ready to learn.

Since school administrators are frustrated by parents who cannot or will not meet their obligations, and federal policies will not compensate districts for meals given to those who do not qualify for free lunch (for lack of a better term,) why not consider the well-known  inventive alternatives fellow Americans previously tapped in pursuit of this very problem.

 Of a humble background himself, New Mexico Senator Michael Padilla introduced the Hungry-Free Students Bill of Rights, which urged schools to work with parents to settle debts, or help them apply for federal assistance.

 Writer and Twitter trotter Ashley Ford urged her New York followers to help liberate local kids from the tyranny of unsettled school lunch and her tweets garnered an impressive response. Over 1,500 donors in the Minneapolis area came through, doling out, not without a smile, close to $140,000 for indispensable school lunches.

 Boston Mayor Marty Walsh hopes schools nationwide offer free lunch to all their students, regardless of family income  a notion that has been gaining support.

Children do not have control over adults actions. They cannot construct curriculums or implement emergency plans or acquire a hot lunch if their parents or school dont set them up with one.

Some of us adults have hocked the virtue of putting kids to work, such as cleaning cafeteria tables in front of peers, or stamping their impressionable hands with telltale messages. All of us have heard the comics who spoke of untold mistakes and ensuing consequences, and how they ended up learning the hard way.

Making children pay for their parents shortcomings falls well outside the sphere of teaching foresight and responsibility. Now that SB 250 is the law and it has been agreed that leaving children hungry, embarrassed and unready to learn is a path no institution should follow, its time to move the yardstick up a notch.

There is much room for improvement. No child wants to be handed a cold cheese sandwich in place of a hot lunch, in front of her peers.

In some cases, parents omit the application process entirely, yet assume the school will provide the meals to their hungry kid. In others, a struggling family may earn enough to disqualify it from the subsidized-meals program, but dealing with other expenses, may fail to keep up with the districts payment schedule.

Critics of the law claim that the assumption schools are somehow shaming kids who cannot afford to pay for their lunch is erroneous.

These critics assert that child nutrition programs are federally funded and mandated through the USDA. This necessitates that debts incurred through the program be paid off at the close of each year. If parents do not pay up, the school districts are often forced to shoulder the debt and reimburse the balance.

Of course, schools should reach out to parents, issue reminders, and help with paperwork. All these efforts are gallant and good. But this is not merely a question of balancing books.

All the paid tabs in the world cannot account for the fact some kids are mortified when treated differently, or singled out in any way. There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Someone always pays. And when grown-ups choose to lob mud (or blame) at each other, its the kids who get it in the face, too often.

All kids thrive alike. Each kid pays in his or her own way.

An idea has been floating around, and Its hardly a secret. It says all kids in a school with a high percentage of poor enrollees eat free. Pure and simple.

Its not an earth-shaking phenomenon. Not a billionaires tweet talked up by a lawyer inside a press packed ballroom and two suits.

This idea feeds the kids. It also does something other well-meaning paradigms dont.

It saves the grown-ups the lunchroom fight. And the kid who creeps up to the library this time just about all the time, everyday two grains of grief and a stigma-sandwich.
A picture of a student standing inside his classroom smiling with frost-covered hair went viral online on Tuesday. Behind him, his classmates are seen bursting into laughter.

The Peoples Daily found that the pictures were taken the day before on Jan. 8 at a primary school in Ludian County, Zhaotong City, in southwest Chinas Yunnan province. The boy is in grade three.

The temperature on that day dropped to minus 9 degrees Celsius. The boy had walked 4.5 kilometers (about 2.8 miles) to get to the school, so his head was covered with frost after more than an hour of walking, according to the president of the primary school, who refused to disclose the boys name for privacy reasons.

According to the president, the student is a left-behind child. The president said that his school is trying to get heating facilities for the students.

The boys story has touched many people, with some encouraging him that the difficulties he has conquered will light up his future and learning will change his fate.
Update: eHarmony has provided a statement to SFGATE. Read it below.

Online dating website eHarmony has settled a consumer protection lawsuit for misleading customers, and has paid out $1.28 million to four counties and one city in California.

The lawsuit was brought by the district attorneys of four Northern California counties  Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Napa  as well as the city of Santa Monica.

RELATED: Dating profiles reveal what San Franciscans hate more than anyone else

The complaint against eHarmony, filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, alleged the company failed to explain its subscription-fee policy, which led to unexpected charges for consumers. The complaint also alleged eHarmony did not provide a contract explaining the service, nor did it explain the cancellation procedure.

As part of the settlement, eHarmony has also agreed to pay up to an additional $1 million in restitution to any present or former California users who are or were enrolled in automatic billing for subscription payments between certain dates. Eligible users will be notified.

RELATED: One question you should never ask on a dating app

"Online contracts and subscriptions are more commonplace, and consumers need to be informed of their rights," Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Deng said in a news release. "Companies need to make sure that their customers know exactly what they are paying for, what their rights are,

and how often they will be charged."

eHarmony has reached out to SFGATE to provide a comment from Ronald N. Sarian, eHarmony's Vice President & General Counsel. In full it reads:

"Since eharmony's inception, we have endeavored to give appropriate contract notices and disclosures to our subscribers. We remain as committed today as we were 17 years ago to providing a high-quality user experience. Without any admission, we have cooperated with the government, which has previously launched similar investigations against a long list of eCommerce companies, and have chosen to settle to avoid the distraction and expense of protracted litigation. In collaboration with the government, eHarmony has implemented a new industry standard when disclosing terms in order to make the user experience even better. With the settlement now behind us, we look forward to continuing the important work of helping singles find enduring love."

Across the pond, eHarmony is dealing with a legal issue of a different sort. Last week, Britain's Advertising Standards Authority announced that it was upholding its ban on an eHarmony ad that was placed on London Underground platforms due to claims that it was "misleading" consumers. The ad in question read, "Step aside, fate. It's time science had a go at love."

eHarmony responded to that claim by telling the organization that "their matching system was scientific and could therefore provide an advantage in finding a compatible partner over a purely chance-based system or meeting."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


UPPER THUMB  A former owner and operator of two Upper Thumb dairy farms was slapped with a hefty fine and a two-year sentence in federal prison recently for hiring and harboring illegal immigrants.

Denis Martin Burke, of Cass City, received his sentence Jan. 4 in Judge Thomas L. Ludingtons federal courtroom in Bay City. However, he will not be required to surrender himself to the Federal Bureau of Prisons until April 4.

The former owner of Parisville Dairy and Dunganstown Dairy was sentenced on two counts of concealing, harboring, or shielding illegal aliens from detection for private financial gain. Through a plea agreement, Burke pleaded guilty in September to the two counts and four identical counts were dismissed.

Burke was also ordered to pay $187,500 in fines. Upon release, Burke will be placed on supervision for two years.

Burke and his wife/codefendant, Madeline Burke, were charged in the case stemming from incidents that started in 2008 and continued through May 2013.

The Burkes and the farms failed to conduct the necessary inquiries required by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to determine the eligibility of all individuals to work in the United States.

The couple hired some of the undocumented immigrants on multiple occasions, using different names or Social Security numbers. They induced the undocumented immigrants to reside in the U.S. by providing them with employment and free housing on the farm, away from scrutiny by immigration authorities and the community.

Related to the case, Madeline Burke was sentenced to probation in late September.

Parisville Dairy is located at 3657 Parisville Road in Ruth. Dunganstown Dairy is located at 5301 Dodge Road in Cass City.
Apple on Wednesday announced its decision to relocate Chinese mainland customers iCloud data from the U.S. to China, promising that the relocation will not compromise users information security.

iCloud service for users in the Chinese mainland will be operated by Guizhou-Cloud Big Data starting February 28, 2018. The new operator will be in charge of mainland Chinese customers legal and financial relations, Apple told Peoples Daily during an interview.

According to Apple, the company will send emails and notifications to Chinese mainland users for the next seven weeks, starting from Jan. 10, notifying them of the companys decision. Once the users have read and accepted the new terms and conditions, their data will be transferred to Chinese servers. If not, their personal online information will be backed up in iCloud until they accept.

Apple has strong data privacy and security protections in place and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems. Our cooperation with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data will improve the speed and reliability of our service, which is also in accordance with Chinas new Cyber Security Law, said Apple.

Chinas Cyber Security Law, which took effect in June 2017, stipulates that business information and data on Chinese citizens gathered within China should be stored on domestic servers and not transferred abroad without permission.

In addition to the data relocation, Apple worked with local authorities in Guizhou to build a $1-billion data center. The center will be run by Guizhou-Cloud Big Data, and will receive technical support from Apple.

We believe that the new cooperation will reduce the possibility of service delays and improve the customer experience of our Chinese users, Lisa Jackson, vice president of Apples Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, was quoted as saying by Peoples Daily.

About 724 million Chinese use mobile phones to go online, accounting for 96.3 percent of the online population, according to the 40th China Statistical Report on Internet Development.
A New York tourist who walked naked through a Thai airport, defecated and then threw his feces at airport staff and travelers is blaming his bizarre behavior on an overdose of Viagra, according to news reports.

Steve Cho was arrested Thursday after the turd-tossing scuffle in the departure area of Phuket International Airport, the New Zealand Herald reported. It took six security guards and other staffers to subdue the 27-year-old Cho.
HADDAM  The Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. responded to 49 calls for emergency services in December, including

Of those, 10 were alarms, 29 were medical-related, and 10 were classified as other, according to a press release.

Dec. 2, HVFC assisted Haddam Volunteer Ambulance Service personnel with a patient who had fallen from a tree behind a barn on Killingworth Road. The patient was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital.

Also Dec. 2, HVFC was sent to Millers Pond State Park to assist Durham Volunteer Fire Co. and Connecticut State Police in a search for a missing person in the woods. Two search teams of three began searching on foot for the two adults and two children. The individual eventually found his/her way out of the woods on Blue Hills Road in Higganum.

Dec. 5, HVFC responded to the Higganum Post Office for an automatic fire alarm after a tenant in an upstairs apartment said alarms in the entire upstairs of the building were sounding. HVFC personnel checked both second-floor apartment corridors and found smoke coming from one apartment. The residents were cooking and had burned food in the oven, which caused the apartments living room smoke detector to sound. Firefighters reset the buildings alarm panel.

Dec. 10, crews responded to a home on Saybrook Road for an inside smoke investigation. Firefighters noticed smoke on the first floor and relocated the elderly homeowner to an ambulance, and ultimately a neighbors home. After checking the home with a thermal imaging cameras and a carbon monoxide meter, firefighters determined that the cause of the smoke, and an accompanying odor, was due to the homes furnace.

Dec. 18, HVFC personnel were summoned on three Hazmat calls involving the smell of propane. Crews arrived at a one-story house on Maple Avenue where the homeowners said they had noticed the smell of propane in the basement and shut off the propane at the tank. Two firefighters metered the home and found no unusual readings near the tank.

Later in the day, crews were dispatched to the Higganum Village Market for a similar smell. Firefighters metered the structure and examined multiple propane tanks in the area. No usual readings were found. Firefighters also metered the area around Dunkin Donuts, Haddam Elementary School and Higgies. At Higgies, firefighters metered two 250-pound empty propane tanks that had open valves, but without any unusual readings. The cause of the propane odor was never found.

Dec. 19, crews assisted Connecticut State Police at a home on Killingworth Road where a man accidentally shot himself in the hand with a gun. CSP secured the weapon and the patient was taken to Hartford Hospital.

Dec. 20, HVFC was dispatched to Candlewood Hill Road for an electrical wire/pole fire. Upon arrival, firefighters noticed a smoldering primary line about five feet from a home. Crews temporarily closed the road since the primary line extends over Candlewood Hill Road.

Community service

Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. hosted its annual childrens Christmas party Dec. 16 at Station One. More than 120 local children attended the event and received a gift from Santa, a photo with Santa, refreshments and cookies.

Dec. 17, the HVFC Junior Division held a fill-the-boot fundraiser, which raised $461 for the Patsy Kamercia Memorial Scholarship. The fund provides a graduating student with a financial gift toward his or her college education.

Membership

Haddam Volunteer Fire Company welcomed Mary Adametz as a non-fire ground support member. Once she completes her probationary period, she will be eligible to serve as the companys secretary. She is the third Adametz to join the company. Her brother, EJ Adametz, joined in July after serving as chief of the Junior Division, and her father, Capt. Ed Adametz, has 12 years of service with HVFC. Her mother, Sandy Adametz, is a member of the HVFC Auxiliary.

For information, visit haddamfire.com or e-mail membership@haddamfire.org.
HARTFORD  A man pleaded guilty Monday to using the dark web to acquire and distribute various controlled substances, according to a federal press release.

Peter Ceplenski, 47, of Essex, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, oxycodone, methamphetamine, fentanyl and Xanax. He also agreed to forfeit $40,642, as well as multiple laptops, iPads and iPhones that were seized at the time of his arrest, the release said.

In May 2017, investigators from Burlington, Vermont, arrested Dean Shores, a man who was buying large amounts of oxycodone laced with both fentanyl and methamphetamine and redistributing it over the United States. Among the evidence recovered was an annotation indicating one of the recipients was a man related to Ceplenski. According to the shipping information, this man had received 500 oxycodone pills at his residence April 14, 2017, the criminal complaint said.

Shores also stated this man was using the username WhoLuvsIt, and U.S. Postal Inspective Service intelligence analysts discovered the individual using the moniker WhoLuvsIt was also using the moniker playgroundROX on another dark website. On Sept. 6, 2017, investigators searched a package containing approximately 1,000 Xanax tablets that was being mailed to the man. The following day, a U.S. Postal Inspector tried to deliver the package to the man and ultimately learned Ceplenski had been using this mans name to receive packages of controlled substances through the mail. He was subsequently arrested, according to the criminal complaint.

Ceplenski said he had been using the dark web to buy and sell various drugs since May 2016. He started buying generic forms of Adderall online to feed his own addiction when his legitimate prescription ran out. By November 2016, he had progressed to buying and reselling 30-milligram tablets of oxycodone. Eventually, he started buying and redistributing Xanax and fentanyl tablets as well, the criminal complaint stated.

A search of the residence revealed approximately 500 tablets that he believed contained fentanyl and a second package containing approximately 1,000 Xanax tablets. Ceplenski admitted he had shipped a quantity of fentanyl powder to a person who had the ability to manufacture pills, and who then shipped fentanyl pills back to him. The seized pills he believed contained fentanyl actually contained no controlled substances, the release said.

After his arrest, law enforcement officers seized two additional packages as part of the investigation. One package contained what Ceplenski believed were amphetamine pills but contained methamphetamine. The second package, which had been mailed from Pakistan, contained what appeared to be 61 oxycodone tablets, but a lab test confirmed that they contained heroin, according to the release.

Ceplenski is scheduled to be sentenced April 4 and faces up to 20 years in prison. He was released on bail pending his sentencing.

jessica.lerner@hearstmediact.com; @jesslerner on Twitter
OLD SAYBROOK  The Southeastern Connecticut chapter of SCORE, a nonprofit association dedicated to the success of small businesses, will present a free workshop on (Taking the Fear out of) Small Business Selling, Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. The event will be held at Old Saybrook Town Hall, 302 Main Street, Old Saybrook.

The How Tos will include listening skills; asking for and hearing the customers needs; establishing trust; when to make your pitch (and when not to); communicating the scope of work and prices; and following up and making the sale

Presenter Eric Munro is a product management, sales and marketing executive with experience in high-technology businesses, both domestically and internationally. Most recently, Eric was Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a telecommunications equipment manufacturer based in Meriden, Connecticut. His career also includes consulting in business management for a division of DeVry University as well as teaching graduate MBA classes where he provided his expertise on project and strategic management.

SCORE is a nonprofit association that offers free and confidential advice on starting your own business or improving and growing your existing small business. All 40 counselors in Southeast Connecticut are volunteers, receive no compensation, and are working or retired business owners, executives, and managers. SCOREs nine counseling sites in Southeast Connecticut include Guilford, Madison, Mystic, New London, Old Saybrook, Essex, Waterford, Middletown, and Norwich. For more information on upcoming free workshops and how to schedule a free small business mentoring session with our counselors, visit www.sect.score.org .

WESU holding pledge drive

MIDDLETOWN  The annual WESU Fall Pledge Drive is well underway.

As a community radio station, WESU offers a unique mix of talk and free form music programming that listeners are hard pressed to find elsewhere. The station depends on the community support to keep it this way. The service WESU provides is made possible by over 150 student and community volunteer broadcasters, two very part-time employees, and one full-time general manager. The stations lean budget is funded through financial support from Wesleyan University as well as listener and community support.

Due to a failing 30 year old FM transmitter, WESU has had intermittent broadcast problems this fall, and has decided to purchase a new one. This purchase will pose a significant financial burden to the listener supported community radio station. During this season of giving, WESU needs to hear from new donors and is asking past supporters to consider increasing their contribution to help offset the cost of a new transmitter. To reach the goal of paying this seasons bills and making a large down payment on a new transmitter, WESU is depending on listeners to donate as soon as possible to help make the goal a reality before the end of this calendar year.

Secure donations can be made online at www.wesufm.org/pledge or by sending a check or money order directly to WESU Radio, 45 Broad Street, 2nd Fl, Middletown, CT 06457, care of pledge drive.

Camera club meeting features Charles Mazel

OLD LYME  The guest speaker at the Monday, Jan. 15 meeting of the Connecticut Valley Camera Club (CVCC) will be the acclaimed photographer Charles Mazel, who will give a presentation titled Fluorescence Photography. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Lymes Senior Center, 26 Town Woods Rd., Old Lyme. All are welcome.

For Charles Mazel, photography was initially a tool to document his exploration of underwater fluorescence. SCUBA diving at night with an ultraviolet light and customized camera gear, he photographed fluorescing marine organisms, especially corals in the Caribbean. His discoveries and images led him into a scientific career researching fluorescence underwater and developing equipment to observe, document, and measure it, with photography as a key tool for communication. Mazels underlying fascination with fluorescence has broadened into an exploration of the phenomenon wherever it may occur in the world around us. His involvement with the Bedford Center for the Arts Photography Group provided feedback from colleagues and professionals that has led to a new focus on the artistic aspects of fluorescence.

Mazels underwater fluorescence images were featured in a solo show in MITs Strobe Alley and in a two-person show at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. He has had individual images, from both below and above water, in a curated show at the Joyce Goldstein gallery in SoHo and in juried exhibitions at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Bedford Public Library, and the Providence Center for Photographic Arts.

About the Connecticut Valley Camera Club (CVCC): The CVCC is dedicated to offering its membership the opportunity to become better photographers. The group offers a variety of presentations and interactive workshops to help members expand their technical and creative skills. Photographers of all levels of experience are welcomed. The club draws members from up and down the river, from Middletown to Old Saybrook; from East Hampton to Old Lyme; and along the shoreline from Guilford to Gales Ferry.

For more information, visit the clubs website at https://ctvalleycameraclub.smugmug.com/. CVCC meeting dates, speakers/topics, and other notices are also published on the clubs Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CTValleyCameraClubPage/

Library to hold artists workshop

DEEP RIVER  The Deep River Public Library is pleased to present a Watercolor Workshop Series with local artist, Alan James. Budding artists will enjoy a step-by-step guided process to make the art of watercolor easy. Interested participants will have a choice of two dates to learn these techniques to master watercolors, Jan. 10, 5:15  7:45 p.m. or Jan. 24, 5:15  7:45 pm. All levels are welcome.

Registration is required for this program and will be done through Signup Genius. The link can be found on our website as well as the librarys Facebook Events page. In addition, the class is free, but artists must bring their own supplies. A list of these supplies can be viewed when you register for the class. They include professional quality paints and paintbrushes, a palate, rough or cold pressed paper, an eraser and paper towels.

For more information, go to website at http://deepriverlibrary.accountsupport.com and click on our monthly calendar, or call the library at 860-526-6039.
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday started a normal operation of military hotline for direct dialogue between the military authorities.

Seoul's defense ministry was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the two Koreas test-communicated via the restored military hotline for five minutes from 8:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Tuesday).

There has been no special discussion during the test-communications, according to the ministry.

South Korea confirmed the DPRK's restoration of the cross-border military communication channel in the western region after it was informed of the restoration during the Tuesday inter-Korean dialogue.

The communications channel between the two Koreas in the liaison office of Panmunjom, which straddles the inter-Korean land border, was already reopened last week.

The two channels for direct dialogue between governments and military authorities of the two Koreas were severed in February 2016 as South Korea unilaterally shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in response to Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in the previous month.

The inter-Korean industrial zone in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong was the last remaining symbol of the inter-Korean economic cooperation, housing over 120 South Korean companies and hiring over 50,000 DPRK workers.

After the first inter-Korean talks in about two years Tuesday, South Korea and the DPRK agreed to hold a dialogue on military affairs without elaborating on when to hold it.
FARMINGTON HILLS, MI - Buddy's Pizza is making its way to the masses with a new partnership set to push Detroit-style square pizza pie outside state lines.

The Detroit-based restaurant chain has partnered with CapitalSpring, the investment firm behind such brands as Taco Bell and Denny's, in a move to expand operations outside of the Michigan market, according to a company statement.

Robert Jacobs, chief executive officer of Buddy's, described the partnership as a "significant opportunity" to bring the company's pizza and culture to customers beyond Detroit.

"We are extremely excited for this new chapter and to have found a partner that can not only maintain our commitment to quality food and an exceptional guest experience, but also offer substantial restaurant expertise," Jacobs said in the statement.

The goal is to grow Buddy's recognition and restaurant presence in the Midwest and throughout the United States, the statement said. Financial terms were not included in the statement.

CapitalSpring represents more than 50 restaurant brands and manages around $1.3 billion in assets for the restaurant industry.

Erik Herrmann, managing director at CapitalSpring, said the investment firm is looking forward to growing the brand into the future.

"It's rare to find a restaurant concept with such signature food, deep-rooted brand equity, and passionate customers, and we are honored to be their partner in accelerating the business," Herrmann said in the statement.

Buddy's was founded in 1946 in Detroit and now operates 12 locations in southeast Michigan, with another location opening in spring 2018 at the Detroit Zoo.

Buddy's Pizza was part of the Michigan's Best search for pizza in both 2013 and 2016, and placed in the top 12 list for the 2016 search.
HOLLAND, MI - The peaceful atmosphere inside the new offices of BluJay Solutions is deceiving.

Thanks to the software being written and used inside its new headquarters in the Holland Technical Center, its 240 employees are responsible for millions of shipments across the globe for customers like Meijer Inc., Rich Products, Barilla, and Ace Hardware.

BluJay employees and its software hire the shippers and monitor the supply chain and shipments for their customers across the globe, says company spokesman Jack Brown.

Formerly known as LeanLogistics, the Holland firm has been growing since it was acquired in 2016 by Kewill, a company that also developed supply chain software from offices in Chelmsford, Massachusetts and Manchester, U.K.

The company, which changed its name to BluJay Solutions after the merger was completed, is moving nearly 250 employees into 77,000 square feet of space once occupied by Visteon Corp. at 915 32nd St.

The Holland office is the U.S. headquarters for BluJay and largest office in the U.S. The company has a total of 14 offices in 12 countries.

"As we plan to further grow our workforce in Holland, we know this facility will be a huge part of our plans," said Tim Dalton, senior manager, Procurement Services at BluJay, who managed the relocation project. "We were drawn to this wonderful tech campus setting and are excited to bring our team here."

Brown said their new offices could grow to include between 400 to 500 employees as they consolidate their locations in the wake of the 2016 merger with Kewill.

BluJay Solutions occupied just 50,000 square feet in its former offices at 1351 Waverly Road. The company has the option of leasing another 30,000 square feet at its new quarters, Brown said.

The building's owner, Industrial Commercial Properties, LLC., added large glass windows, conference rooms, workout rooms, cafeterias and patios to the space.

"Holland Technical Center provides such a unique work setting for tenants and we're delighted that BluJay will be making its headquarters here," added Christopher Semarjian, principal of Industrial Commercial Properties, LLC.

"We've added a lot of improvements to the building and look forward to bringing additional tenants to our campus."

The company shares the 750,000-square-foot Holland Technical Center with Yanfeng Automotive Interiors and Adient, both spinoffs of the automotive business that JCI divested in 2014.

JLL Industrial|Logistics, the commercial real estate firm that facilitated the move, is hosting a ribbon cutting and open house at the new offices on Thursday, Jan. 12.

"We're thrilled to help make this happen for BluJay and are excited to have them joining the great roster of companies already here," said Bob Horn, senior vice president and associate director in JLL's Grand Rapids office, in a statement.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Leaders of a bipartisan heroin task force in Congress, including Michigan representatives Debbie Dingell and Tim Walberg, have announced the group's 2018 legislative agenda.



It's a compilation of 16 bills aimed at addressing the heroin and opioid epidemic from a health and law-enforcement perspective.



One key piece is "Jessie's Law," a bipartisan bill that has been in the works since 2016 and has a Michigan connection.



It's named after an Ann Arbor woman, Jessie Grubb, who died of an opioid overdose in 2016.



"It's ready to be moved out of the House. The Senate has taken action on it, thankfully. It's ready to be moved out and signed by the president," Walberg, R-Tipton, said at a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 10, standing with Dingell and others.



"It's something that's commonsense," he added.



Watch Walberg's full remarks in the video below:





"As we begin the new year, I'm pleased one of our first actions is renewing our push for bipartisan solutions to address the opioid epidemic," Walberg said in a statement. "The opioid epidemic is devastating the dreams of people we know and love, and working together to respond to this growing crisis must be a national priority. Jessie's Law is one of many pieces of our bipartisan agenda that will make a real difference and help save lives in our communities."



Jessie's Law aims to ensure doctors have access to a consenting patient's prior history of addiction in order to make fully informed care and treatment decisions. Providing that information, the lawmakers argue, would help prevent tragic incidents like what happened to Grubb, a recovering addict who was prescribed a powerful opioid that led to her death in March 2016.



The 30-year-old woman from West Virginia was in Ann Arbor recovering from a seven-year heroin addiction and was said to be clean and getting her life back on track when she underwent hip surgery at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in February 2016.



She previously had been in treatment at Dawn Farm, a local addiction treatment and recovery center. After leaving Dawn Farm, she remained in Ann Arbor, a city she grew to love.



According to the lawmakers sponsoring the bill, her parents informed hospital personnel she was a recovering addict, but that message never made it to the doctor who discharged her.



She left with a prescription for 50 oxycodone pills and fatally overdosed by the next day.



Authorities believe Grubb crushed up the oxycodone pills, mixed them with liquid and injected them into an IV port, causing a fatal overdose.



Jessie's Law was first introduced in 2016 but failed to make it out of Congress that session. It was reintroduced last year in the U.S. Senate by Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore, two senators from West Virginia, with the help of Jessie's parents from West Virginia, David and Kate Grubb. Walberg and Dingell introduced it the House.



It passed unanimously in the Senate last August and awaits approval in the House before it can go to President Donald Trump's desk.



The law, if approved, would require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate standards for hospitals and physicians regarding displaying the history of opioid addiction in the medical records of patients who have provided information about their addiction to a health care provider.

"Although this law cannot bring our daughter back to us, it honors her life and will save the lives of many other sons and daughters," David Grubb said in an email on Wednesday. "At the same time, we need to fight the stigma associated with this horrific disease and devote more resources to ensure that treatment facilities are available to help those struggling with addiction."

More than 42,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses in 2016, more than any year on record, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That includes overdoses from prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl.



"The opioid crisis has touched nearly every family across this country," Dingell said in a statement.



"My father suffered from an opioid addiction much of his life and we lost my sister to a drug overdose almost 13 years ago. I know the constant ache of losing someone you love to the scourge of addiction and believe we have a responsibility to confront this epidemic for families like Jessie's. As someone who has experienced firsthand all spectrums of this issue, I believe this bill is an important step in developing effective strategies to protect families and save lives. Combatting the opioid crisis transcends politics, and it is my hope that Congress will act quickly to enact Jessie's Law and these bipartisan proposals to end this deadly epidemic."
Chinese Internet giant Baidu on Tuesday launched its upgraded autonomous driving platform Apollo 2.0, opening new possibilities for nighttime excursions under complex road conditions, especially in urban areas.

The latest version of Apollo is definitely the most powerful autonomous driving platform. It has successfully combined cloud services, software, reference hardware, and vehicles, and is expected to fully support the worlds four important computing platforms, including NVIDA, Intel, NXP, and Renasas, Wang Jin, Baidus senior vice president and general manager of the level-four autonomous driving department, was quoted as saying by Thepaper.cn during the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

According to Wang, the platform will play an important role in both private vehicles and public transportation sectors. The company has decided to roll out Level 3 autonomous vehicles by 2020, with the help of its partner, Chert Automotive, and will kick off mass-production of driverless buses in 2018. Thanks to its partnership with Access Services, a public paratransit service company, Baidu will initiate a pilot program to provide autonomous car services for seniors and disabled citizens in Los Angeles by the end of 2018.

In addition to the launch of the platform, Baidu also announced the establishment of a talent recruitment plan in Singapore, with an investment of $200 million. The company will also build a global lab for Apollo, with affiliations in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Singapore, and Beijing.
SUMPTER TOWNSHIP, MI - Officials are working to extradite from Georgia a Wayne County couple accused of torturing and killing a 4-year-old girl.

The girl's mother, Candice R. Diaz, 24, and mother's boyfriend Brad E. Fields, 28, are accused in what one official called the "worst child death case" in his 27-year career, according to a report by the Detroit Free Press.

Police found Gabrielle Barrett with obvious severe burns about 10:45 a.m. Jan. 1 when they responded to a report of an unresponsive child in the Rawsonville Woods Mobile Home Community, 10825 Rawsonville Road in Sumpter Township.

The Free Press reported Gabrielle had bruising over her entire body and burns so severe a toe fell off and melted skin was found in the bathtub drain. Her mother told officials that the child burned herself when she ran her own bath.

The death was ruled a homicide and after a manhunt, Diaz and Fields were arrested by U.S. Marshals on Tuesday, Jan. 9 near Lake Park, Georgia.

There is no timetable for when the extradition process will be completed, according to a release from the Sumpter Township Police Department.

Diaz and Fields are charged with felony murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree child abuse and torture.

Fields also is charged as a habitual offender with two prior incidents, according to court records.

Fields pleaded guilty in 2006 to carrying an unauthorized concealed weapon and served a year of probation.

He then was accused of faking a gunshot wound, assaulting Diaz and possibly shooting her dog on May 25, 2016, court records show. Charges in the incident were ultimately dropped.

During the same time period, police found Diaz attempting to alter the ID marks on a firearm and possessing a controlled substance without a prescription, court records show. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three days in Wayne County Jail and two years of probation.

Gabrielle's aunt, Leah Barrett, 16, told The Ann Arbor News her family is heartbroken over the loss, but feel better knowing Diaz and Fields were arrested.

"She was an overall amazing kid," she said of Gabrielle. "She was loveable. She was sweet. She was just an outgoing kid."

Donations were being accepted by Gabrielle's family at a Go Fund Me page.
YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, MI - A 26-year-old man is charged in connection with the New Year's Eve shooting death of an Ypsilanti Township man, police say.

Gregory L. James of Ypsilanti Township was arraigned Jan. 3 on three weapons charges and one count of lying to a peace officer in the death of 50-year-old Kevin Hughbanks, Washtenaw County Sheriff's Sgt. H. Eugene Rush said.

James has not been charged with the homicide. The case remains under investigation.

Hughbanks was found dead about noon Dec. 31 after gunshots rang out near a carport in the Cliffs Communities apartment and condominium complex, off Grove Road, police previously said.

Police say Hughbanks died after an altercation with another man, who they believe to be James, who suffered stab wounds in the incident. James was located at a nearby hospital afterward, Rush confirmed. He's believed to have left a trail of blood in the complex.

Police previously said the death may possibly be drug-related, but family of Hughbanks has refuted the claim and additional information on motive was not immediately available.

James faces up to four years in prison if convicted of lying to a peace officer.

For the weapons charges, he faces up to five years in prison if convicted of illegally carrying a concealed weapon, five years in prison if convicted of possessing a weapon as a felon, and two years in prison if convicted of carrying a firearm in the commission of a felony.

He previously served time in prison for receiving and concealing stolen property for an incident in 2009 and second-degree home invasion for an incident in 2010, Michigan Department of Corrections records show. He was discharged from the system in 2015.

James now is being held on a $50,000 cash or surety bond and is scheduled for a Jan. 16 probable cause conference.
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - If someone or something needed help around the Pittsfield Township community, you could count on a helping hand from Lake Jacobson.

Jacobson, 55, was involved in a head-on collision Saturday, Dec. 30 in the township and died on Wednesday, Jan. 3, from her injuries while in the hospital.

Whether she was helping animals, volunteering at the local schools or organizing a fundraiser, Jacobson believed in giving back and donating her time, her husband Mark Jacobson said.

"She cared a lot about disadvantaged people and animals," he said. "Her determination to make things right and make things better was amazing."

Lake Jacobson was born in Queens, New York, and raised in East Meadow. She came to Ann Arbor in 1981 and studied philosophy at the University of Michigan. She graduated in 1984 and then got her master's degree in sociology from Ohio State University in 1990, Mark Jacobson said.

Lake Jacobson founded the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary - formerly PigHoppers - in 1995 to provide shelter and placement for pet rabbits and potbelly pigs and many other animals.

Under her leadership, it grew to and remains one of the largest rabbit rescue organizations in the world, Mark Jacobson said.

She volunteered with local schools, with the Washtenaw Elves to provide gifts for underprivileged kids and served as treasurer of the Warner Creek Homeowners Association.

She was also active as a parent volunteer in the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic and Fiddlers Restrung in which her sons, Nate Jacobson, 19, and Sam Jacobson, 15, were members.

"She was always pressing to learn new things and try new things," Mark Jacobson said. "She wanted our kids to always gain new experiences and dragged me along for the ride.

"She was very active in being a parent volunteer for that group. It's through that group that we've been getting most of the support going forward. That and a couple of her close friends."

Lake Jacobson's family and friends will gather at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 at the Nie Funeral Home for a service at 2 p.m. that day.

Her husband said the family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a charity such as Shepherd's Green Sanctuary, Humane Society of the United States or the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Police believe Desten Houge, 32, of Ypsilanti, was driving eastbound on Michigan Avenue when he lost control of his vehicle, crossed the center line and struck Jacobson's westbound vehicle about 5:20 p.m. Dec. 30, east of Campbell Road near Sauk Trail. Houge was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident is still under investigation.
TAYLOR - U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, and several Democratic state lawmakers plan to discuss the federal tax overhaul signed by President Donald Trump last month in a suburban Detroit town hall this week.

The 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13 meeting at the Taylor City Hall, 23555 Goddard Road, is meant to provide information about the reforms and how they will impact Michigan families in the months and years ahead, according to Dingell's office.

The group will be joined by policy experts to answer questions and discuss the impact on investments, health care and programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Dingell will be joined by:

State Rep. Erika Geiss

State Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood.

State Rep. Darrin Camilleri.

State Rep. Cara Clemente.

State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud.

State Rep. Ronnie Peterson.

State Rep. Adam Zemke.

Mayor Rick Sollars.

Stephanie Leiser, lecturer focusing on economic and tax policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Maggie Randolph, senior research analyst, Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation.

The town hall is free and open to the public. Those wishing to attend may RSVP here.
SUMPTER TOWNSHIP, MI - The manhunt is over for two Sumpter Township homicide suspects, eight days after the death of a 4-year-old girl.

U.S. Marshals located and arrested Brad E. Fields, 28, and girlfriend Candice R. Diaz, 24, about 3:55 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9 near Lake Park, Georgia, according to Sumpter Township police.

The suspects were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Macon, Georgia with help from the Lowndes County Sheriff Department, said Sumpter Township Police Chief Eric Luke in a news release.

The U.S. Marshal Service recently announced a $5,000 reward to anyone who aided in the direct arrest of Fields and Diaz, who were wanted in the death of a 4-year-old girl, police say.

The girl was later identified as Gabrielle Barrett. Gabrielle was the daughter of Diaz.

Fields and Diaz are charged with felony murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree child abuse and torture, according to a press release issued Monday, Jan. 8, from the Sumpter Township Police Department.

Police were called to the Rawsonville Woods Mobile Home Community about 10:45 a.m., Jan. 1 for a report of an unresponsive 4-year-old girl.

Family members were administering CPR when officers arrived, police said.

Gabrielle had obvious severe burns about her extremities and was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner's office on Jan. 3 ruled Gabrielle's death a homicide. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office later issued a warrant for the arrest of Diaz and Fields, according to police.

Fields is a habitual domestic violence offender with two prior incidents, according to court records.

Fields allegedly faked a gunshot wound on May 25, 2016 in an incident where he was accused of assaulting Diaz and possibly shooting her dog, police said.

Fields was charged with aggravated domestic violence, possession of a firearm as a felon and felony firearm, but the charges were ultimately dropped, according to court records.

During the same time period, police found Diaz attempting to alter the ID marks on a firearm and possessing a controlled substance without a prescription, court records show.

She pleaded guilty to both counts and was sentenced to three days in Wayne County Jail and two years probation.

In 2006, Fields pleaded guilty to carrying an unauthorized concealed weapon and served a year of probation.

According to neighbors, Child Protective Services had been to the home several times over the years, but the children were never taken from the home.

No one from CPS was immediately available for comment.

Gabrielle's aunt, Leah Barrett, 16, said her family never knew of the violence occuring at the mother's home.

"We didn't know anything was going on. When Gabby came over, she never had any marks or bruises on her," she said. "We didn't know what was going on in the household or between Candice and Brad."

Leah Barrett said her family is heartbroken over the loss, but feels better knowing Diaz and Fields have been found and arrested.

"She was an overall amazing kid. She was loveable. She was sweet. She was just an outgoing kid," she said. "It's nice to get some closure with this."

Donations were being accepted by Gabrielle's family at a Go Fund Me page.
YPSILANTI, MI - Desten Houge will always be remembered as a "gentle giant" by his mother.

Dianne Houge said her son, who died on Dec. 30 in a head-on collision in Pittsfield Township at age 32, had a big heart and was always putting others before himself.

"He was helpful to anyone who came in contact with him. Co-workers, strangers, anyone," she said. "He was not prejudiced. It did not matter if you were a man or woman, black or white, young or old. If you needed something, he would help you right away."

Desten Houge was born in Detroit in 1985 and moved to Ypsilanti with his family at age 15. He later graduated from Ypsilanti High School in 2004 and worked as a process technician at Faurecia in Saline.

He enjoyed superhero movies, playing games, going to sporting events, and most importantly, spending time with his children, his mother said.

His children, Destiny, 11, and Izaiah, 5, meant everything to him, she said.

Dianne Houge said the family is struggling with the loss, but what has lifted her spirits has been the stories she's heard from so many of his friends.

A co-worker of his told her he drove him to work for 20 straight months when his car broke down.

"I loved my son because he had so much love in his heart," she said. "He was just a beautiful man with a beautiful spirit and beautiful mind."

Desten Houge's father wasn't around when he was young, so he took it upon himself to help raise his four siblings and even some of his cousins.

His sister, DeAnna Houge, said he was a great brother who taught her how to be herself no matter what.

"He was the man around our family. He declared himself a superhero and was a hero to all of us," she said. "My brother's love is what I hold on to."

Visitation for Desten Houge is from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the Brown Chapel AME Church, located at 1043 W. Michigan Ave.

The funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 11, with the family hour at noon at the church.

Police believe Desten Houge was driving eastbound on Michigan Avenue when he lost control, crossed the centerline and struck a westbound vehicle about 5:20 p.m., Dec. 30, east of Campbell Road near Sauk Trail.

Police believe he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Police do not suspect alcohol, drugs or speeding to be factors in the crash. Police are looking into weather conditions as a possible cause.

Lake Jacobson, 55, of Pittsfield Township was the other driver involved in the collision. Jacobson was taken to the hospital following the crash, but later died of her injuries, police say.

The incident is still under investigation.
BAY CITY, MI -- A Bay County man is charged with two felonies after allegedly embezzling $2,000 from a local meat and cheese shop.

The afternoon of April 5, the co-owner of Tri-City Cheese & Meat at 2590 Old Kawkawlin Road in Kawkawlin Township, contacted the Bay County Sheriff's Office regarding a fraud complaint. The co-owner told a responding deputy that in going over the March billing statement from the business's bank, she noticed a series of questionable purchases for lodging, food, and airfare on a company credit card.

She said she had since spoken to former employee Daren R. Canute, 49, who admitted to the spurious purchases, claiming he had done so because he was homeless. Canute had been hired in November 2016 as a truck driver and was fired on March 31, after his alleged pilfering came to light.

She provided the deputy with an agreement Canute had signed on being hired that stipulated the company credit card was only to be used for business purposes, court records show.

The bank statements showed Canute had purchased two flights from United Airlines, one from Saginaw to Kauai Island in Hawaii and the other from Flint to Hawaii's Kahului Island, totaling $1,473.31. Combined with the fast food, gasoline, and hotel rooms, the total amount of stolen funds came out to $2,045.53, court records show.

United Airlines reimbursed the store's owner for the cost of the flights, though money Canute allegedly spent on a travel agent was not refunded, she told the deputy.

The deputy later went to Canute's Munger home and interviewed him. Canute admitted to using the card for personal expenses, according to the deputy's report in court files.

Authorities issued a warrant for Canute on Sept. 27. On Monday, Jan. 8, Canute voluntarily appeared in Bay County District Court for arraignment on single counts of embezzlement between $1,000 and $20,000 and illegal use of a financial transaction device. The charges are five- and four-year felonies, respectively.

Canute, who said he plans to hire his own attorney, is free on bond. His case is set for a preliminary examination at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
The Michigan Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday from attorneys representing Gov. Rick Snyder, two former Flint emergency managers and other officials who believe they shouldn't be held civilly liable in the Flint water crisis.

The state is asking the court to completely dismiss the class-action lawsuit filed in the state Court of Claims in January 2016 by Melissa and Michael Mays, Jacqueline and John Pemberton, Elnora Carthan and Rhonda Kelso on the behalf of thousands of Flint residents claiming damages as a result of the water crisis.

"I think that's a fair bet," said attorney Julie Hurwitz, who is representing Flint residents, when asked if she expected the case to end up before the state Supreme Court.

Court of Claims Judge Mark T. Boonstra in October 2016 ruled that two counts alleged in the class-action lawsuit -- one of numerous civil lawsuits pending in state and federal courts -- could proceed.

The judge dismissed a third claim of state-created danger by Flint and state officials.

Portions of the class-action lawsuit that Boonstra allowed to proceed include allegations that Snyder and others violated the state constitutional right to bodily integrity through lies and cover-ups harming the health of citizens, and that homeowners suffered financial losses due to diminished property values for which they weren't compensated.

The state, Snyder, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, state Department of Health and Human Services, and former emergency managers Darnell Earley and Jerry Ambrose are listed in the lawsuit.

Assistant Attorney General Nate Gambill, arguing on behalf of Attorney General Bill Schuette and the governor, argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because it was filed after the 6-month deadline to file a notice of a claim.

In all actions for property damage or personal injuries, claimant shall file with the clerk of the court of claims a notice of intention to file a claim or the claim itself within 6 months following the happening of the event giving rise to the cause of action.

Gambill said Mays filed another lawsuit more than six months preceding the Court of Claims class-action lawsuit in question Tuesday. He called it a "remarkable thing for them to say now they had no idea anyone was injured when they had already sued for these injuries before."

Attorney Paul F. Novak, on behalf of Flint residents, argued that the 6-month notice window wouldn't apply until the problem was corrected.

Novak compared the Flint situation to a fictional scenario involving an employee subjected to sexual harassment over multiple years. He said the six-month deadline to file a notice of claim would begin when the harassment stopped, not on the first day it occurred.

The city continued delivering "poisoned water" to residents through October of 2015, he said.

"The attorney general argues in this courtroom that we should have known earlier and filed the notice earlier," Novak said following Tuesday's hearing. "There is another attorney general, today, arguing in a courtroom in Flint that all of these issues were fraudulently concealed and has criminally charged state employees.

"The governor has testified before Congress that the Flint residents were told there water was safe and that that was false," Novak said. "So you tell me which time I'm supposed to believe the state and which time I'm not."

The state also tried to distance itself from the lawsuit by claiming that, although Lansing appointed Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, who ran the city when it switched from Detroit water to the Flint River, neither Earley nor the emergency manager before him were state employees, but instead local officials.

The same argument was previously rejected by Boonstra in the Court of Claims.

Even the attorney representing Flint, despite both parties being defendants in the lawsuit, argued against the state on that issue.

William Kim, representing Flint, said the emergency manager was appointed by the state, paid by the state and could only be overruled by the state treasurer or governor's office.

A third argument presented was that the plaintiffs have other options to pursue damages, so claims the state Constitution was violated should be dismissed.

The law is "very clearly directed to whether or not the wrongdoer can be held responsible in any other forum ... and in this instance the state of Michigan simply cannot," Hurwitz said following Tuesday's hearing.

"And they should not be allowed to get away with the travesty that they are responsible for that occurred in the city of Flint."
Nearly eight years after Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley shot and killed 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones during an early morning SWAT team raid, legal wranglings continue in multiple court cases.

Two criminal trials in 2013 and 2014 ended in hung juries and all charges against Weekley were ultimately dismissed, but wrongful death lawsuits filed by relatives of Aiyana are still pending in both state and federal court.

The Michigan Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday, Jan. 9 on an appeal filed more than a year ago.

Weekley's attorneys in September 2016 asked a Wayne County judge to dismiss claims under state law that the officer was grossly negligent when he shot Aiyana in the head on May 16, 2010.

Wayne Circuit Judge Daphne M. Curtis, who is no longer on the bench, declined that request. In response, Weekley's attorneys appealed and both the state and federal lawsuits were placed on hold.

Weekley led Detroit's SWAT team into a Lillibridge Street home on Detroit's east side about 2 a.m. the morning of the shooting in search of homicide suspect Chauncey Owens, who would later be arrested in the second-floor unit of the duplex.

Owens was later convicted of murdering 17-year-old Je'rean Blake, who was fatally shot outside a party store on May 10, 2010.

Aiyana's father, Charles Jones, was also arrested following his daughter's death and convicted of second-degree murder for providing the gun used to kill Blake.

Owens is serving life in prison and Charles Jones is serving a minimum of 40 years in prison.

Detroit police, with producers from an A&E reality show in tow, fired a flash-bang grenade through the bay window of the home the night of Aiyana's death and stormed in with Weekley leading the charge.

Weekley, carrying both a tactical shield and an MP5 sub-machine gun, turned left after entering the home and his gun discharged a bullet into the head of Aiyana, who was sleeping on the couch alongside her grandmother, Mertilla Jones, beneath a "Hanna Montana" blanket, testimony at Weekley's criminal trials revealed.

The officer claimed he didn't know his weapon fired until after he cleared an adjacent room and returned to see Aiyana bloody and in her grandmother's arms.

Weekley claims the gun fired because Aiyana's grandmother lunged at him and grabbed the firearm, causing his finger to move onto and pull the trigger. Experts testified it would require nine pounds of pressure to compress the trigger of Weekley's gun.

Police protocol, members from Weekley's team testified, calls for only placing your finger on the trigger when you have identified and intend to fire on a target.

Attorney Lawrence Garcia, arguing on behalf of Weekley in the Court of Appeals on Tuesday, told the three-judge panel that gross negligence claims weren't an option in the civil case and should be dismissed.

He rejected the possibility that Weekley violated policy and entered the home with his finger on the trigger.

Garcia said there are only two options to explain the shooting: "This is either an intentional execution or something caused by a struggle" with Aiyana's grandmother.

While Jones previously testified she believes Weekley executed Aiyana, even prosecutors said on record in court they didn't believe that to be the case.

Regardless, Jones remained adamant she never attacked Weekley.

"You killed my grandbaby," she said during an emotional moment from the witness stand during Weekley's first trial in 2013. "You know I never touched you."

Gross negligence was also at the core of the criminal case against Weekley, in which he was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

During the second trial -- the first in 2013 ended in a mistrial because jurors couldn't reach a unanimous verdict -- Wayne County Circuit Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway surprised assistant prosecutors when she dismissed the manslaughter charge based on similar arguments made by Garcia on Tuesday.

The appellate court at the time agreed Hathaway "erred" in that ruling, but said it didn't have the right to overturn it.

There is no deadline for the Court of Appeals panel to rule on arguments made in Weekley's case Tuesday, but until they do, both the federal and state lawsuits will remain unresolved.
How would you like to pay for your watch in... How would you like to pay...

It can be hard to tell the difference between a trend and a fad. Which of these applies to Bitcoin, and the ability to buy a watch with... It can be hard to tell the difference...
Partnerships between watch brands and car manufacturers vary as much in quality and intensity as their rides. They go from the simple addition of a logo, to a complete fusion of the spirits of both brands and the objects they create. In the case of supercars, and particularly hypercars, the bar has been set very high, as Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Bugatti demonstrate. Watchmakers have risen to the challenge, coming up with some truly exceptional watches.

The Aventador S is a yellow and grey rocket, developing 740 horsepower for a weight of a little over one and a half tonnes. Roger Dubuis, Lamborghinis freshly anointed partner, drew inspiration from the car makers pioneering use of carbon fibre. The Excalibur Aventador S limited series, with its lateral struts, also reflects the external appearance of the 6.5 litre V12 engine.

Excalibur Aventador S.  Roger Dubuis

McLaren doesnt do ordinary. By transposing its half-century of racing expertise to the road, the British brand has created a stir over the last six years. Richard Mille saw how much they had in common, and launched the RM 50-03 McLaren F1. Collaboration between the two companies led to the development of a lighter and slimmer movement. The TPT carbon case includes graphene, an ultra-light and ultra-rigid material that McLaren uses for its cars chassis.

RM 50-03 McLaren  Richard Mille

Taking over from the Veyron and its many iterations, Bugatti continues to improve performance with the Chiron. The 1500 hp W16 engine is as extravagant as the interior is luxurious, powering this beast from 0 to 400 km/h in 32 seconds. Parmigiani, a partner of the Molsheim-based car builder for 13 years, is celebrating the birth of the Chiron with the Type 390. Its coaxial triangular barrel coupling system, articulated case angled at 12 and unconventional design make the Chiron watch every bit as extraordinary as its vehicular namesake.

Bugatti Type 390  Parmigiani

Ferrari spent a long time looking for exactly the right partner. By launching the Masterpiece MP-05 at the same time as the LaFerrari, Hublot showed it was quite capable of keeping up with the mechanical mayhem. Both brands have switched it up a gear. The Techframe Ferrari Tourbillon Chronograph, designed by Ferraris own in-house design studio, has a case built on a lattice structure, and red accents that bring to mind the steering wheel of a Ferrari road car  which is a very nice machine indeed.

Hublot Techframe Ferrari Tourbillon Chronograph  Hublot

As we see, fantastically engineered watches, like cars, are capable of transporting enthusiasts into a parallel dimension. All it takes is sufficient technical and financial resources, designers who have been given free rein, and total immersion in the supercar spirit. Cars may remain the epitome of male fantasy, but watches arent far behind.
[January 10, 2018] CyberLink PowerDirector and ActionDirector Android Apps Receive Google Play's "Editors' Choice" Award CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW) announced today that its PowerDirector and ActionDirector Android apps have both won the Google (News - Alert) Play "Editors' Choice" award. Both apps have also previously received the "Best App of the Year" award from Google Play in 2016 and 2017 in the categories of "Most Innovative" and "Most Entertaining" apps. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180110005386/en/ CyberLink PoerDirector and ActionDirector Android (News - Alert) Apps Receive Google Play's "Editors' Choice" Award (Graphic: Business Wire) "The smartphone has become the primary video recording device of today's users, especially millennials. CyberLink's PowerDirector and ActionDirector are well-recognized video editing software among PC users, and we are excited to provide the same powerful, yet easy-to-use, experience to a new generation of creators using Android phones," said Dr Jau Huang, Founder and CEO of Cyberlink. "It's a great honor to receive 'Editors' Choice' awards from Google for both of our video editing apps. Whether semi-pro or casual creators, anyone can create videos in minutes on the very same device they used to capture them - their smartphones." CyberLink's PowerDirector Android app was first introduced to the market in 2014. Recreating the same user experience as the award-winning PowerDirector for PC on mobile, it provides semi-pro video editors with a multi-timeline interface to freely create professional videos unparalled in quality. For casual creators, CyberLink's ActionDirector Android app brings fast, streamlined video editing to mobile devices, specifically designed to allow quick capturing, editing and production of action videos. The two video editing apps to date have been downloaded more than 40 million times on Google Play, with a 4.5 star user rating for each serving as clear testimonial evidence to their prowess as mobile video editing solutions. Availability PowerDirector and ActionDirector are available for free download on Android devices from the Google Play Store. About CyberLink CyberLink (5203.TW) is a world leader in multimedia software design. Since 1996, CyberLink has transformed how people enjoy and create media on PCs, mobile devices and in the Cloud. The company's award-winning products are sold to all major PC manufacturers as well as millions of customers worldwide. Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, CyberLink also runs regional operations through offices in the US, Japan, Europe and Asia-Pacific territories. Further information about CyberLink can be found at cyberlink.com. All companies and product names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and are the sole property of their respective owners. Copyright  2017 CyberLink Corp. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180110005386/en/

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[January 09, 2018] Brother Canada Drives Significant Sales Growth from New eCommerce Site Powered by Kibo and Implemented by Echidna Kibo, the world's leading cloud-based omnichannel commerce platform, today announced the launch of Brother Canada's new eCommerce website, brother.ca, which has delivered significant improvement in customer engagement and net sales. The new mobile-friendly and responsive website was implemented by Echidna, a leading eCommerce system integrator. The new site launched in July, bringing to market enhanced product selection tools and a streamlined purchasing experience for Brother Canada customers. Since launch, the growth in net sales, transaction volume and unique visitors has been substantial, and the cart abandonment rate has dropped significantly. The Brother Canada legacy website was built on an outdated platform that lacked agility and the ability to quickly and easily modify content by business users. The site structure was organized and built with a product-centric perspective rather than based on customers' needs. There was limited ability to cross-sell or upsell and constant challenges with rolling out new promotions. With a recent launch of its new brand image, Brother Canada took the opportunity to develop a new website to reflect their dynamic, lively and colorful branding, and completely reconfigure their customers' eCommerce experience -- powered by Kibo's modern commerce platform. After an extensive vendor evaluation, Brother Canada selected Kibo for its scalable eCommerce solution and Echidna as the system integrator of the project. The Kibo multi-tenant cloud eCommerce solution was determined to have the best time to market and overall total cost of ownership. Echidna provided the expertise in leading large projects of this scope and could provide integration capabilities critical to driving the experience Brother Canada was striving for. The new website empowers customers to engage with Brother Canada's content, discover the appropriate products, and easily make purchases through a host of experience-rich features, including: Product comparison guide

Product selection grid and tool

Customer reviews

New shopping cart

New guest checkout

Repurchase button and recurrent purchases

Mobile-friendly and responsive site design "It was no only about selling products," says France Landreville, Sr. Director, Marketing and eCommerce, Brother Canada. "We also wanted to convey who Brother Canada was, and what its soul is. Finding that balance of telling our story and selling was not easy to achieve, but we are very happy with the results." In addition to reflecting their new brand and enhancing the overall user experience, Brother Canada needed to address two very different target customers: buyers of sewing machines and buyers of home or business printers. These groups have very different buying approaches, behaviors and engagements with their respective products. Printers are typically more commoditized and customers tend to focus on price and product specifications. The sewing machine buyer considers this part of their lifestyle and is a highly-engaged, community-building customer. These distinct segments are able to filter product results based on their individual needs, making the path to product discovery quick and easy. With the new website, Brother Canada also launched its new loyalty program called "The Brother Care Program." The program allows customers to register eligible products to gain access to different levels of benefits such as extended warranties, trade-in discounts, savings on supplies and exclusive offers. With the launch, customers can sign into their account at brother.ca to access registered products and warranties, along with additional loyalty benefits. "This website represented one of the biggest projects at Brother Canada," says Patrick Pare, Sr. Director, Operations and Customer Center, Brother Canada. "Our expertise to launch a new transactional website and project of this scope was limited, as were our internal resources. Kibo and Echidna were able to take our functional and brand requirements to launch a world-class website." "Brother Canada came to us with a vision for their brand, customer experience and backend usability," says Kelly Lynn, Principle Product Manager, Kibo. "Together with Echidna, we were able to bring that vision to reality and we couldn't be more pleased with the results. Brother Canada has a deep understanding of their market and it is no surprise that customer engagement has greatly increased." "We are proud of Brother Canada's accomplishment," says Mike Pierce, CTO, Echidna. "You couldn't ask for a better client. Their goals were ambitious, their direction specific, and their commitment to excellence apparent from the start. We are happy to hear that all the hard work is paying off and that their customers appreciate the experiences we and Kibo were able to build for them. There is no better feeling than to know your efforts contributed to the delight of another. We imagine great things to come for Brother Canada." Future developments for the Brother Canada website will include content personalization, A/B testing solutions, and renewing its B2B site and CRM ability. About Brother International Corporation (Canada) Our customers create amazing things. They need high-quality, user-friendly products that are easy to set up, and work when they need them to. Period. So whether it's one of our award-winning printers, MultiFunctions, Sewing and Embroidery machines, ScanNCuts, or our market-leading Ptouch electronic labellers, our Canadian team's At Your Side-for the entire life of your product. Established in 1960 and headquartered in Montreal, QC, Brother Canada is a subsidiary of Brother International Corporation, the US subsidiary of Japan-based Brother Industries Ltd. We provide home, home office, and business products that improve the way we live and work. For more information, please visit www.brother.ca. About Kibo Kibo is a leading omnichannel commerce platform for retailers and branded manufacturers with over 800 customers fulfilling orders in 75 countries. Clients achieve optimal performance and loyalty through truly connected customer experiences across customer devices and retail touchpoints. Kibo's unified approach includes a leading ecommerce platform, big data 1:1 personalization, mobile POS, and distributed order management delivered via a modern, cloud-based infrastructure. The Kibo platform can scale as clients grow their business while maintaining a low cost of ownership and faster time to market than other solutions. Kibo enables you to reach higher peaks of sales and customer loyalty. No matter the challenge, Kibo powers your success. For more information, visit kibocommerce.com About Echidna Echidna is Commerce Evolved. A single Digital Commerce Systems Agency lead by World Class Commerce experts who drive our digital strategy competencies, user experience/web design expertise, enterprise-level technology practice, and growth-enabling analytics know-how - simplifying how you build and grow your Digital Commerce related Revenue. Echidna isn't a jack-of-all-trades. We're a master-of-the-right-trades, reducing the number of partners required and consequently reducing program/project complexity. The result is business optimization and technical excellence together with amazing experiences for your customers. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180109005371/en/

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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave a much-needed boost to the governments plan of divesting its stake in Air India by giving its approval to allow foreign airlines to own up to 49 percent of the loss-making national carrier.

Foreign airlines were so far barred from owning any share in Air India, even though they were allowed to have up to 49 percent stake in other Indian airline companies. This restriction has now been removed.

To be sure, the 49 percent cap on the holding of foreign airlines in Air India is a part of the total permissible limit of 49 percent on foreign investment in the carrier.

Any foreign airline wishing to pick up a stake in Air India will first have to take the approval of the government. However, this is a superficial clause since the government is the one selling the stake and it would be only too happy to sell a 49 percent stake to a foreign airline.

Currently, foreign investment of up to 100 per cent is allowed in Indian airlines, with a ceiling of 49 percent on holding by foreign airlines. Foreign investors, including foreign airlines, do not need prior approval for holding up to 49 percent in an Indian carrier.

Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in an Indian national, a government release said. The divestment of the governments stake could take another 3-6 months.

So far, Interglobe Aviation, which runs IndiGo Airlines, is the only airline company to have officially expressed intent to buy the national carrier.

Air India made a loss of Rs 4,310.65 crore in 2015-16, adding to its Rs 6,280.42 crore loss in the previous financial year. The airline, which is completely owned by the government, is weighed down by a debt of around Rs 52,000 crores.

Divestment of stake in Air India is a hot potato and is being driven by no less than the Prime Ministers Office. The government has appointed all the necessary advisors to value the airline and advise it on the stake sale.

It is almost a given that the government will have to absorb much of Air Indias massive debt to entice enough interest from any private sector company. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed, in which all the real estate and artefacts belonging to the airline will be housed, according to a ministry official.
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In terms of Regulation 29 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, this is to inform you that the Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Monday, 15th January, 2018 at 4.00 p.m.at our administrative office at 315, The Summit - Business Bay, Behind Guru Nanak Petrol Pump, Opp. Cinemax, Andheri- Kurla Road, Andheri East, Mumbai - 400093 to inter-alia consider the proposal for issuance of Equity Shares on preferential basis to non-promoters in accordance with Chapter VII of the Security and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital & Disclosure Requirements) Regulation, 2009 as amended from time to time.In terms of the Company's Code of practices & procedures for fair Disclosure of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information along with Code of Internal procedures and code of Conduct of prevention of Insider Trading pursuant to the provisions of SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015, the Trading Window of the Company shall remain closed from 10th January 2018 to 17th January 2018 (both days inclusive).Take note of the above on your records and oblige.Source : BSE

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Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas are to end their 101-day ceasefire at midnight Tuesday, but the rebels' leader says there is a "consensus" on the need to extend it.

The ceasefire's expiration comes as rebel and Colombian government negotiators resume peace talks in neighboring Ecuador.

"Today Tuesday at 2400 hours the cessation, which lasted 101 days, comes to an end," ELN leader Pablo Beltran said, adding that there was a "consensus" to agree a further ceasefire in the talks.

Beltran said he hoped there would be no "erosion" of the ceasefire before an extension could be agreed.

Nonetheless, he has warned his forces to be alert to possible "offensive operations" by the Colombian army, he said.

"We have reached an important stage, that is, to develop the talks during the bilateral ceasefire. We are going to try to maintain that. Meanwhile we hope that there is no escalation," he said.

Both sides have separately said they want the ceasefire to be extended, but an accord has remained out of reach because of mutual accusations of failure to meet commitments.

Both the ELN and the government of President Juan Manuel Santos have accused each other of breaches since the truce began on October 1.

The ELN recently acknowledged the murder of an indigenous governor, for which it has asked the forgiveness of the Colombian people.

In turn, the rebels accused the security forces of killing seven coca farmers, and of military operations carried out in areas of ELN influence.

However, there were no reports of direct confrontations between the army and the rebels, which is unprecedented in the history of Colombia's conflict.

A pact with the ELN would close the last chapter of a half-century conflict in the South American nation, following a deal struck by Nobel Peace Prize-winning Santos in November 2016 with the much larger FARC insurgents.

The ELN has an estimated 2,000 fighters in its ranks.

Under its peace deal, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has disarmed, demobilized its fighters, and transformed into a political party using their same acronym.

Colombia's long internal conflict created around eight million victims, including those killed, made to disappear and displaced from their homes.



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With less than three months to go for the financial year to end, Bajaj Auto has not changed its target market share and is confident of closing the year with a share of 24 percent in the motorcycle segment.

It will be an uphill task for the Pune-based bike maker to meet the target as its current market share, as on December 31, stood at just 16 percent.

Speaking to Moneycontrol News, Eric Vas, president (motorcycle business), Bajaj Auto said, "Yes the target of 24 percent still holds, which is for March-exit". The company makes motorcycles only, having exited the scooter business a few years ago.

Bajaj reported sale of 1.47 million units during the three quarters ended December 2017 in the domestic market. This was 7 percent lower than the 1.58 million units sold in the same period last year. However, the company witnessed an uptick in sales recently, selling 1.12 lakh units in December, 6 percent higher than the 1.06 lakh units sold in December 2016.

Bajaj's confidence of market share gain stems from the launch of its 2018 range of products, in which a majority of its models received upgrades. The countrys fourth largest two-wheeler maker on Wednesday launched an entire series of upgrades for its Discover, Pulsar, Platina, Avenger, Dominar and V brands.

The company re-launched the Discover in the economy bike segment, with a 110 cc engine, priced at Rs 50,496 (ex-showroom, Maharashtra). The bike will be positioned in the premium executive segment, above its entry-level models CT 100 and Platina. Bajaj also launched an upgraded Discover 125, which now features double LED DRL headlamps, and comes with a price tag of Rs 53,491.

Hero Motocorp is currently the market leader in the economy bike segment (100-110 cc) with models such as Splendor and HF Deluxe, while Honda Shine is the leader in the executive segment (125 cc). These new additions from Bajaj sit between the two competitors in terms of pricing.

Besides, Vas also said that there will be a sharp increase in prices from April 1, 2018, though he did not clarify the extent of the increase. This will be on account of addition of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) technology, which has been mandated by the government for all two-wheelers (CBS for some two-wheelers).

The difference between the prices of a model with ABS and one without it comes to around Rs 10,000 at present, which Vas hopes will reduce with mass consumption. However there is an expectation of a minimum increase of Rs 6,000 on every new model launched after April 1, 2018 (April 1, 2019 for existing two-wheelers).
Amit Gupta of ICICIdirect told CNBC-TV18, "We are buying Call options for this particular series. 15 sessions are left, so my view is that Arvind which had moved up significantly yesterday, there was no sign of tiredness in the stock throughout the day, if you look at the additions it has been really steep. My sense is after a long consolidation of one or two years and a breakout above Rs 420 and once we have seen already a significant short covering trend from Rs 420 levels these long additions will take the stock towards Rs 500 odd levels. So we are recommending a buy Call option of Rs 470 only in Arvind at a premium of around Rs 12-14."

"Ujjivan Financial Services was one of the first stocks which started moving up recently. It had a move towards Rs 410 and then it declined towards Rs 360. It has again reached to these levels. So, I think it is on the verge of breakout. It is available at a premium of around Rs 12-14, so if somebody can buy this for couple of weeks, I think once the strike becomes in the money you will start making good profits in this particular stock option also."

"So these are two Call options that we are recommending to our clients along with the writing Put option of Nifty," he said.
Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com told CNBC-TV18, "Glenmark Pharma is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 610 and target of Rs 645. Jain Irrigation Systems is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 132 and target of Rs 144. Biocon is a sell with a stop loss of Rs 550 and target of Rs 525."

"The sort of stocks which are moving now are those stocks which havent moved. So, I dont think there are great attributes in Welspun India but since it hasnt moved at all, it has just about crossed its 200-day moving average. Generally, it tends to rally towards Rs 100-105 and then tends to peter off, so that way for the day I think these stocks could do well," he said.

"Crude related plays are doing very well, so something like Aban Offshore which did not move for many days and months is now moving up fairly strongly. It could be more upside here. In fact the target has just been met there of about Rs 246. The way this stock is coming out, I think easily Rs 280-300 is also possible on Aban Offshore."
Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com told CNBC-TV18, "This is still a buyers market. We are at 10,600, we are not at 8,600. So we must understand and look at the American markets, on every day they go up. So bull markets can last much longer than we imagine, be on the long side of the market. Granules India is a buying opportunity, a small consolidation is breaking on the upside."

"Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is a buy and Ramco Cement which is now in the F&O segment, is also a buying opportunity. Try to keep these day trades; if they are closing strong, carry them forward."

"I think one should just hold Future Consumer. This group and these companies, and the sector are all in a strong bull market. They are just entering a bull market. Hold on and wait patiently, in six months one should get better prices."
Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com told CNBC-TV18, "Reliance Industries broke out yesterday. I think there will be follow through on the upside, it may even be little mild, doesnt matter. Reliance is a buying opportunity."

"Torrent Power has already been on a roll. Lot of power stocks have been going up. It was in a consolidation for two months. It is now breaking out of that consolidation promising higher levels."

"I also have a buy on dips opportunity in Strides Shasun, after that big decline it is consolidating, building a base and now almost ready to breakout of that base. That is an investing idea, a short term investing idea also."

"Pidilite Industries has been in a rally, a consolidation and a resumption of that rally. This is the pattern we see in all good quality stocks, rallies consolidations and resumption of rallies. So this is not surprising that this is happening all across. That means this bull market so far is not disturbed."

"Just to balance it out, my favourite sector Union Bank of India from the PSU banks is a short sell."

"Quick Heal, a move yesterday and move for the last two months - this is a new high, it is a new listed company. It is very difficult to give a technical call here, so I would just say that if you have it ride the momentum," he added.

"We should avoid Idea Cellular. In Jubilant Life Sciences and Prestige Estates, we are going to look for todays trading on the long side."

"A stock like GVK Power which had a large base and broke out two-three days ago is interesting. I would avoid Punj Lloyd completely."

"Glenmark Pharma is added to the list of buying, I think it is not a very good day to go long for some of the midcaps, just be cautious."

: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd
The Prabhudas Lilladher Infrastructure Day kicks off this morning. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Nitin Patel, ED of Sadbhav Engineering, from the sidelines of the conference, gave a sense of their 2018 outlook.

Patel said that we signed concession agreement for all projects except Jodhpur project. However, we will sign Jodhpur concession soon over next 20-30 days, he said.

Talking about orders, he said we have bagged Jodhpur Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) order worth Rs 1,069 crore in Q3.

Our current order book is at Rs 4,000 crore, he added. Therefore, we are on track to meet order inflow guidance of Rs 6,000-7,000 crore, said Patel.

We have bid for additional orders worth Rs 8,000 crore, he further mentioned.

Patel also said that we see a lot of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) bids being tendered by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Q4.
A man walks past a logo of State Bank of India outside a branch in New Delhi, India, February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - RTX2Z5DT

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Probably in a first such instance in the public sector banking space, countrys leading lender State Bank of India released a circular to its employees mandating a dress code, grooming tips, and social etiquette tips.

The circular, released on Saturday and reviewed by Moneycontrol, says, In order to ensure that an acceptable level of decorum in the workplace is maintained, all employees should adhere to a model dress code.

Male employees, besides those who have been issued uniforms, have been asked to dress in smart formals and female employees have been advised to come in formal Indian or western dresses.

The circular provides separate dress codes for senior administrative staff and other administrative or branch level staff. However, the code for both is largely the same.

The largest national bank has asked its employees to avoid "unkempt look" and practice adequate personal hygiene in order to keep bad breath and body odour away.

The guidelines also bar the employees from wearing jeans or T-shirts. Shorts, three-fourths i.e. trousers other than full-length trousers, T-shirts, jeans and sneakers/sports shoes etc. should not be part of attire, the circular states.

The three-page circular makes multiple points advising SBI employees to adhere to a prescribed dress and hygiene code.

In the grooming tips section, the circular outlines suggestions like same colour of belts and shoes, plain ties on check shirt and printed ties on solid colour shirts, among others.

The circular also asks banks employees to avoid belching when in a meeting or among others, terming it highly irritating. Slipping into a common language in a formal meeting is considered unprofessional, the circular adds.

The communique undersigned Deputy MD of Human Resource of the bank advises the employees to follow the guidelines in order to work towards enhancing the image of the bank.
The V-Mart Retail stock has been on fire with a 250 percent gain in the last one year and is trading near an all-time high. The company is also in focus as at a cabinet meeting later today, the government may allow 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail through automatic route.

Lalit Agarwal, CMD of V-Mart said that the industry had been pushing for FDI via automatic route already.

He further said that more foreign competition would result in better competition.

According to him, 100 percent FDI in single-brand retail via automatic route will create level playing field.

Talking about business, he said that in second half, the same-store-sales growth will not be as good as first half due to high base.

We will see FY18 same-store-sales growth at 10-12 percent, he added.
Iron & Steel | Imports from China, 2019: 4 percent. (Image: Moneycontrol)

The Cabinet today approved the implementation of an earlier CCEA decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Ltd (TSPL) regarding disposal of its immovable assets, an official statement said.

The development also provides for getting the name of TSPL removed from the Registrar of Companies after setting balance liabilities of the company.

The CCEA had in December, 2015 approved the closure of the company after discharging all dues to employees and creditors. TSPL was established in 1960 with equal equity participation of governments of Mysore and Andhra Pradesh.

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also cleared a proposal to transfer metallurgical and material handling plants to Karnataka along with 20,000 square meter land.

"It also approved selling 82.37 acres of land of the company at Hospet to Karnataka Government for use of the Karnataka State Housing Board. The land is being sold to Karnataka Government at the rate of Rs 66 lakh per acre offered by them," the statement by Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises said. TSPL is a successor to Work shops & Machinery Division (1948) of Tungabhadra Project, which was set up with an idea to undertake manufacture of gates and hoists required for spillways, sluices and canal gates of Tungabhadra dam.

The Centre invested 79 per cent of the shares and became a major shareholder, bringing the company under the administrative control of Ministry of Heavy Industry.
FDI

The Congress contested Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim of a "record" foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country last year, saying it was far from the truth and that the FDI has been the lowest in 13 years in 2017.

Congress leader Raj Babbar also said Modi should have talked about the "poor state" of the economy as well.

"The prime minister today said fresh investment in the country has been the highest. This seems an incomplete truth...it would have been better had he told (the PIOs) that investment (made in the country) has been the lowest in last 13 years," Babbar told reporters.

Earlier today, addressing the first PIO-Parliamentarians Conference here, Modi said, "India is changing, India is transforming. India has moved far ahead...A record USD 60 billion FDI came into the country last year."

Babbar said the prime minister should have told the Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) that fresh investment in 2014, during the UPA government of Manmohan Singh, was Rs 16.2 lakh crore and it came down to Rs 7.9 lakh crore in 2017.

"It would have been better had the prime minister put forth all the statistics (relating to the economy)," he said.

Babbar also said it would have been better had Modi talked about the "poor state" of the economy. This would have helped as the PIOs would have worked for taking the country forward, he added.

The Congress leader claimed growth in the manufacturing sector has also come down and unemployment has increased. He claimed there was a slowdown in the country's real estate and the manufacturing sectors.

On Congress president Rahul Gandhi's Bahrain visit, Babbar said he was trying to unify people.

He, however, did not comment on the Supreme Court's decision on playing national anthem in cinema halls, but accused the government of adopting "diversionary tactics".
Yemen's armed Houthi movement threatened to block the strategic Red Sea shipping lane if the Saudi-led coalition it is fighting keeps pushing towards the port of Hodeidah it controls, the Houthi-run SABA news agency reported.

Yemen lies beside the southern mouth of the Red Sea, one of the most important trade routes in the world for oil tankers, which pass near Yemen's shores while heading from the Middle East through the Suez Canal to Europe.

While SABA gave no details on how Houthis could carry out any such move, the Bab al-Mandab strait, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, is only 20 km (12 mile) wide, making hundreds of ships potentially an easy target.

"If the aggressors keep pushing towards Hodeidah and if the political solution hits wall, there are some strategic choices that will be taken as a no return point, including blocking the international navigation in the Red Sea," Houthis' Ansarullah political council chief, Saleh al-Samad, was quoted saying.

"Their ships pass by our waters while our people starve," Samad was quoted as saying while he met U.N. officials.

U.N. officials have been trying to get the two sides back to the negotiating table after talks collapsed 2016. Samad said his movement was ready to give concessions in any political talks in order to stop the bloodshed.

Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, is embroiled in a proxy war between the Houthi armed movement, allied with Iran, and a U.S.-backed military coalition headed by Saudi Arabia.

Some 8 million people are on the brink of famine, more than 10,000 have been killed and tens of thousands of others are struggling with cholera, diphtheria and other diseases.

The Saudi-led coalition has been trying since the start of the war in March 2015 to capture Hodeidah, Yemen's biggest port, which receives 80 percent of Yemen's imports, and has in recent weeks launched a ground campaign and intensified air strikes.

On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on Twitter the threats were another proof of "the terrorist nature of the Houthi militias", especially as Samad was meeting a U.N. delegation. UAE is a major partner of the military coalition fighting the Houthis.

"The Houthi who decimated crops and seeds, destroyed Yemen, betrayed his ally and partner, is now threatening the international navigation; we are facing a terrorist gang that the end of its existence in Yemen is nigh," Gargash said.

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Manila: President Donald Trump, right, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting at the ASEAN Summit at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, in Manila, Philippines. Trump is on a five country trip through Asia traveling to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. AP/PTI(AP11_13_2017_000060B)

US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his 'America First' agenda with world leaders," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

She said Trump looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen "American businesses, American industries, and American workers".

Details of the president's trip to Davos, including bilateral meetings, are being worked out, Sanders said.

"We're finalising the details on exactly when the president will be there. We don't have any commitments beyond this year at this point," she said, adding that the White House is looking forward to be part of the process.

"The president's message is very much the same here as it will be there; just the same as it was here, as it was when he made many stops in Asia. This is very much an America First agenda," Sanders said.

She said Trump is "still 100 per cent focused and committed' to promoting policies that strength American businesses and the American worker.

"That's going to be the same whether he's in the US or any other place," Sanders said.

Several senior members of the Cabinet and administration will be part of this event, she said.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place later this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World'.

Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two- day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.
A shopkeeper arranges signs with prices on bags of rice at a shop in Mumbai March 19, 2009. Indian inflation headed towards zero in early March and analysts tipped it would soon turn negative, opening the way for the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates further to prop up demand and growth. The wholesale price index, India's most widely watched inflation measure, rose 0.44 percent in the 12 months to March 7, sharply lower than the previous week's 2.43 percent and below a forecast of 0.89 percent in a Reuters poll. REUTERS/Arko Datta (INDIA BUSINESS FOOD DRINK) - RTXCYWA

India's rice exports likely jumped 22 percent in 2017 to a record 12.3 million tonnes as neighbouring Bangladesh ramped up purchases after flooding hit its crops, industry officials told Reuters.

The boost in shipments from the world's top exporter of the grain is set to extend into 2018 as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka continue to buy aggressively amid depleting inventories in No.2 exporter Thailand, the officials said.

"Bangladesh was actively buying throughout 2017. It offset the impact of slightly weaker demand from African countries," said M. Adishankar, executive director at Sri Lalitha, a leading rice exporter located in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Bangladesh's purchases likely lifted India's non-basmati rice exports by 38 percent in 2017 to 8.4 million tonnes and total exports to 12.3 million tonnes, the officials and exporters said. That would surpass 2014's record of 11.5 million tonnes.

They based the 2017 export figures on their estimates for December shipments plus previously issued government data for January to November. Government numbers for December are expected to be released around the start of next month.

India exportsA non-basmatiA rice mainly to African and Asian countries and premiumA basmatiA rice to the Middle East, the United States and Britain.

Traditionally the world's fourth-biggest rice producer, Bangladesh emerged as a major importer of the grain in 2017 after floods damaged crops and pushed domestic prices to record highs.

Bangladesh sourced more than 80 percent of its 2017 imports of 2.4 million tonnes from India, said Badrul Hasan, head of Bangladesh's state grains buyer.

The South Asian nation's overseas rice purchases are likely to remain robust until supply rises after its summer crop, also known as Boro, in May, Hasan said.

Boro contributes more than half Bangladesh's typical annual rice output of around 35 million tonnes.

Last year Bangladesh reduced import taxes on rice to boost private buying. It also bought rice from India in state-to-state deals to quickly raise supplies and try to rein in prices.

But rice prices stayed high in Bangladesh despite the largest imports in nearly two decades, which will encourage farmers to expand the amount of land used to cultivate the staple crop, Hasan said.

NON-BASMATI

India's rice exports in 2018 depend largely on non-basmati shipments as basmati exports are likely to remain more-or-less steady at around 4 million tonnes, said Vijay Setia, president of the All India Rice Exporters'A Association.

"Non-basmati exports depend on stock positions in importing countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka," Setia said.

African nations stepped up buying from Thailand last year, but that could ease in 2018 as state stockpiles are depleted in the Southeast Asian country, potentially boosting appetite for Indian supply, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

"For key markets like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, India has freight advantage over Thailand. This will help even in 2018," the Mumbai-based dealer said.
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd.

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Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today said it expects the US, Indian and European markets, along with active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) segment, to contribute over 80 per cent to its sales by 2021.

As part of its medium term strategy, the company is also looking at increasing presence in complex generics, Glenmark said in a presentation to be made at the J P Morgan Healthcare Conference in the US, as per its BSE filing.

The company is also planning to scale up its speciality business in the US as part of its future outlook for 2021, it added. In next three to five years, the new molecular entity (NME) pipeline will be in advanced stages of development, Glenmark said.

For the company, core therapy areas are oncology, dermatology and respiratory segments. It also aims to have a global manufacturing footprint by 2021, it added. The profitability margin which was at 20 per cent in 2017 will be at 23 per cent in 2021.

The company is looking at a profitability margin of 25 per cent in 2025, Glenmark said. "Speciality and innovative segments to be the main growth drivers in 2025," it added.
Bloomberg recently updated its Billionaires Index where techies continue top the charts. Here are the top 10 billionaires of the world as of today.

Jeff Bezos | Net worth - USD 106 billion | Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos is the largest shareholder of the firm. He recorded a net worth of USD 90 billion in October last year. (Image: Reuters)

Bill Gates | Net worth - USD 93.3 billion | Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates continues to be a part of the rich list. He has been a part of the list since 1987, where, most times he has been ranked the richest in the world. (Image: Reuters)

Warren Buffett| Net worth - USD 87.3 billion| CEO and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett continues to be one of the richest in the world. The firm has stakes in Coca-Cola, American Express and Wells Fargo, among other profit-making firms. (Image: Reuters)

Mark Zuckerberg | Net worth - USD 77.3 billion | Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg owns the largest social-networking firm in the world. Facebook has over 2 billion monthly users. (Image: Reuters)

Amancio Ortega | Net worth - USD 76.6 billion | Amancio Ortega is the majority shareholder of Spain-based clothing retailer Inditex. The firm is the parent company of worldwide leading brands such as Zara. (Image: Reuters)

Carlos Slim | Net worth - USD 64 billion | Mexican billionaire and controller of the telco American Movil Carlos Slim has holdings in banking and mining in Latin America. He is also interested in investing in construction businesses. (Image: Reuters)

Bernard Arnault | Net worth - USD 62.4 billion | French Businessman Bernard Arnault is the chairman of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. It is currently the largest luxury goods maker. (Image: Reuters)

Larry Page | Net worth - USD 55 billion | Larry Page is the CEO and co-founder of Alphabet, the holding company of Google - the world's largest search engine. (Image: Reuters)

Larry Ellison | Net worth - USD 54.7 billion | Larry Ellison is the founder and largest shareholder of Oracle, one of the largest database companies in the world. He also owns the Indian Wells sailing team. (Image: Reuters)
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No-frills airline IndiGo today moved the Delhi High Court against its single judge's order upholding the decision of IGI airport operator DIAL to partially shift its operations from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2.

Interglobe Aviation Limited, which operates the airline, mentioned the appeal before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar which listed it for hearing on January 15.

The airline has challenged the single judge's December 20, 2017 ruling that there was no illegality in the decision of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to partially shift operations of IndiGo, along with that of SpiceJet and GoAir, from Terminal-1 (T-1) to Terminal-2 (T-2) of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here.

DIAL on October 21 last year had asked the three airlines to shift their flights to and from Delhi to Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, to T-2 from January 4, 2018.

All other flights of the airlines shall continue to operate from T-1, the airport operator had said.

While upholding DIAL's decision, the single judge had given the airlines time till February 15 to partially shift their operations.

In its appeal, Indigo has claimed that DIAL had not appropriately considered the inconvenience which would be caused to passengers while arriving at its decision.

The airline has also contended that DIAL had not taken into account its proposal to shift the other two airlines to T-2 and to let it remain in T-1.

In the proceedings before the single judge, the airline had challenged DIAL's decision on the ground that partial shifting of its operations would inconvenience passengers, especially those on hopping flights emanating or ending at those sectors, as T-1 and T-2 are not connected.

Defending its decision, DIAL had said that T-1 had already exceeded its capacity and if airline operations were not shifted partially, it would lead to overcrowding.
CNBC TV-18

Every year the issue of taxing long-term capital gains (LTCG) in equities surfaces before the budget; markets squirm and sulk; the government buckles and retains this tax exemption leading to a post budget rally that extolls the budget. In this column I argue that the time has come to impose this tax on economic, political and moral grounds:

1. The first argument the proponents of the tax exemption advance is that Indian equities will end up becoming uncompetitive and unattractive to foreign investors. That bluff can be easily called. The attached table indicates that only five countries dont tax capital gains from equities - Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Mauritius, Singapore and Hong Kong. The first two have a reputation of becoming tax shelters often for tax evaders while Singapore and Hong Kong, because of their city-state nature could historically grow into international financial centres by offering tax incentives.

(Table source: Dhruva Advisors)

(Table source: Dhruva Advisors)

(Table source: Dhruva Advisors)

(Table source: Dhruva Advisors)

2. The more important deduction from the table is that for the past 25 years China has attracted record foreign flows and now, domestic flows, despite a 25% capital gains tax. So have most European countries. Clearly global investors hunt for growth and are not swayed by tax incentives alone. So if India is one of the fastest growing economies, a tax on capital gains ought not to deter genuine long only investors.

3. The reason for abolishing long term capital gains in 2004-05 was to ostensibly remove the disadvantage that domestic investors suffered vis-a-via investors coming from Mauritius. One of the under-celebrated achievements of this government is the grand fathering of this tax advantage to companies investing from Mauritius. Hence now even that fig-leaf of a reason to continue the unfair advantage to domestic equity investors goes

4. The purpose of an enlightened tax system is to collect from those who are doing well and use the money for running the country and in a poor country like ours, to ensure some distributive justice. It is not the purpose of the tax system to encourage one asset class (like equities) over others (like debt)

5. The argument that equity investors need handholding since the asset class is inherently risky doesn't wash any more. The exponential growth in systematic investment plans and in flows into equity mutual funds in 2017 prove that the retail investors into equities no longer needs any hand holding

6. A stand out feature of this NDA term has been the many sided effort made by the PM and his government to seek out tax evaders and to cast the tax net over more people who ought to be paying tax. Demonetisation, the Goods & Services Tax, linking of PAN card to Aadhar and to bank accounts were all steps to make eligible people pay taxes or at least make it difficult for them to evade. The logical next step is to tax those who are making huge profits on their investment in shares. This is not even a pro-poor ideology. It is just fair.

7. During demonetisation, relatively lower classes and in GST relatively smaller businesses have borne the pain. Any downtick in stocks post the imposition of a long term capital gains tax on shares will, if any, be borne by the rich.

8. The long term capital gains tax incidentally should not be just a tinkering of the meaning of short term to mean two years instead of one year. It should clearly be a 15% tax on capital gains accruing in one year (short term) and may be a more modest 5% or 10% on all capital gains made on sale of shares over one year (long term). Any tinkering of the definition of short term will create uncertainty and not resolve the moral issue that a whole class of investors who are habitually making a lot of money are being kept out of the tax bracket.

9. Indirect taxes are regressive because they apply equally to rich and poor. Direct taxes are progressive since they tax those who are making more money. Most developed countries have a 1:1 ratio of direct to indirect taxes. In India, calculating centre and state taxes (pre-GST) indirect tax collections are nearly three times the amounts collected in direct taxes. This is unfair in any country; and almost immoral in a poor country.

10. A lot of traders when confronted with these arguments agree that long-term capital gains on shares may be taxed, but insist that this should come in place of the current securities transaction tax. One fails to see the reason. Why can't both co-exist with investors allowed to set-off the STT against their capital gains?
Kodak

The legendary camera maker of yesteryears, Kodak has decided to launch a cryptocurrency, especially for photographers. The initial coin offering (ICO) of the currency named KODAKCoin will open at the end of the month.

The currency which will be launched in partnership with Wenn Digital will be part of KODAKOnean image rights management platform which is a joint project between these two firms.

The tokens will be open to accredited investors from the US, UK, Canada and other select countries. This initial Coin Offering is issued under SEC guidelines as a security token under Regulation 506(c) as an exempt offering, the company added. However, it is not clear how much Kodak seeks through this ICO.

Kodak and Wenn Digital expect KODAKOne platform to create an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership for photographers to register both new and archive work that they can then license within the platform, utilising the blockchain technology. The blockchain is the technology which powers digital currencies like bitcoin and many others.

For many in the tech industry, blockchain and cryptocurrency are hot buzzwords, but for photographers who have long struggled to assert control over their work and how it is used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem, said Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke.

Using KODAKCoin, photographers will be able to trade the rights of the photograph in a secure way. Additionally, the KODAKOne platform will provide continual web crawling in order to monitor and protect the IP of the images registered in the KODAKOne system, the company said.

The platform if detects any instance of unlicensed usage of images, it will manage the post-licensing process in order to reward photographers.

Post the announcement, the price of shares of the Eastman Kodak Company rocketed to post 117 percent rise in Tuesdays trade. When the New York Stock Exchange closed on Tuesday, the shares were quoting at USD 6.80, up from USD 3.10 in the morning.
Benchmark indices recovered in the last hour of trade as investors turned cautious after crude oil prices hit fresh three-year high.

Banks and auto stocks drove the market lower but that was offset by sharp rally in IT stocks ahead of TCS and Infosys earnings later this week.

The 30-share BSE Sensex snapped a four-day winning streak to close down 10.12 points at 34,433.07 while the 50-share NSE Nifty fell for the first time in last seven sessions, ending down 4.80 points at 10,632.20.

The consolidation in the last two sessions after fresh record highs indicated that investors may prefer to stay on sidelines ahead of earnings and Union Budget 2018.

"The focus now is expected to clearly shift to the Q3 earnings season, wherein result outcomes would dictate the trend of not just the respective stock prices but also the market in the near-term," Jayant Manglik, President, Religare Broking said.

Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder and Head of Trading, Zerodha said: "The momentum at the current juncture is bullish, and we would not recommend entering short positions at this juncture."

The sell-off, however, could be possible due to continued rally in crude oil prices and if there is implementation of long-term capital gain taxes in Union Budget, according to him.

The broader markets also closed flat with negative bias as about 1,594 shares declined against 1,322 advancing shares on the BSE.

Nifty IT was the biggest gainer among sectoral indices, rising more than 2 percent ahead of TCS and Infosys earnings. Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra gained 1-3 percent.

TCS rose 3.6 percent as the IT major will announce numbers tomorrow evening. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects profit to remain flat and revenue growth in constant currency to be over a percent.

Coal India gained 1.4 percent on top of 6 percent rally in previous session. CLSA upgraded the stock to Outperform from Underperform with increased target price at Rs 335 (from Rs 260 per share) as the big price hike in non-coking coal lifted earnings outlook.

ONGC gained half a percent after Brent crude oil prices crossed USD 69 a barrel, the highest level since December 2014. IOC and BPCL were mildly lower but HPCL gained 1.75 percent.

Among banking & financials, HDFC, SBI, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank lost 0.2-1 percent but IndusInd Bank gained half a percent ahead of earnings tomorrow.

Jindal Steel & Power rallied 5.6 percent after global investment firm Citi reiterated its Buy call on the stock and raised target price to Rs 375 from Rs 219 per share as the stock is significantly undervalued from long-term perspective. Speed of execution at Angul w.r.t commissioning is a big positive surprise, it feels.

Monte Carlo Fashions and Indian Terrain Fashions were up 4-6 percent after the Cabinet allowed 100 percent foreign direct investment in single-brand retail via automatic route.

The Cabinet Committee also approved 100 percent FDI in construction under automatic route and investment up to 49 percent under approval route in Air India and allowed FIIs/FPIs to invest in power exchanges via primary market.

Lupin was up 0.3 percent on approval from USFDA for Tamiflu capsules that has market size of USD 468 million in US as of October 2017. The drug is used to treat influenza A & influenza B.

Alkem Labs rallied nearly 6 percent as the USFDA issued establishment inspection report for Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) for September 2017 inspection.

Container Corporation gained nearly 7 percent after Railway Board revised its freight rate for transportation of coal & coke that will be effective January 15, 2018. Simplex Infrastructures climbed 2.8 percent on bagging order from MMRDA worth Rs 1,080 crore.

Glenmark Pharma was up 2 percent as the management at JP Morgan conference said it expects US, India, Europe & API to contribute over 80 percent of sales by 2021 and to scale up speciality business in US by 2021. It sees profit margin at 23 percent by 2021 & 25 percent by 2025 versus 20 percent currently.

Global markets were mixed in trade as investors await corporate earnings.
Seya Industries (Market cap: Rs 1791 crore) is a vertically integrated benzene based specialty chemicals company which is undergoing an expansion plan of global scale. Companys earnings trajectory, range of products offered and the chemical reaction capabilities highlight the increasing non-commoditised nature of the business, ensuring higher margin profile. Further, it also positions the company as a key beneficiary of the global specialty chemical sector trend of sourcing chemical intermediates from the environmentally compliant hubs in Asia.

Expertise in Nitro chloro benzene/Chloro benzene value chain

Seya was incorporated in 1990 as Sriman Organic Chemical Industries Ltd (SOCIL) with the initial capacity of about 14,400 MT for benzene based chemical intermediates. Its Tarapur plant has the capacity to manufacture 68,600 MT of chemicals in the Nitro chloro benzene (NCB) and Chloro benzene value chain catering to end markets like pigments, pharma, agro-chemicals, rubber chemicals, textiles and personal care.

It caters to marque clients like Bayer, BASF, Atul, Clariant, Sudarshan, Mitsubishi Chemcials, Cappelle, Hindustan Insecticides ltd, Huber group, Chemie and exports to 25 countries.

Seya participates in some categories of NCB/CB value chain

Source: Aarti industries

Note: A-Chlorination, B-Nitration, C-Ammonolysis, D-Hydrogenation

Table: Installed capacity

Ambitious capex plans

Seya Industries is undergoing capacity expansion of 443,950 MT (Rs 735 crore) and is expected to commission it in H2 2019. Massive capacity expansion in a similar scale has bee done by Aarti Industries (Rs 900 crore in 2-3 years) speaks about the companys objective to reach global scale.

Among the upcoming products, diversification into Sulphur trioxide based specialty chemicals, Thionyl Chloride, Di Methyl Sulphate are noticeable which would have applications in pharma, preservatives in food industry, fabric softners, agrochemicals etc.

Positive industry trends

As pointed by industry leaders, easternisation has been a key trend which benefitted chemical intermediate companies of China and India. Easternisation refers to industry wide trend where in chemical majors of developed markets discontinued intermediate process in the chemical value chain and transferred capacities eastwards. It therefore benefitted from resultant asset light structures as well as skilled labour in Asian countries.

In recent years, trend towards environment compliance, need for diversification of country sourcing and favorable competitiveness have benefitted India disproportionally.

Focus on R&D

Seya, with an aim towards scaling the value chain, has maintained a higher run rate for R&D expense compared to the industry leader. Employee cost has surprisingly been kept in check contained. Here, however, there is a possibility for increased allocation as the company undergoes more complex chemistry processes and competes with the global leaders.

Source: Company filings, moneycontrol.com

Vertical integration remains the key

In an export oriented sub-sector like this, currency remains the key risk. Raw materials are indigenously procured but export competitiveness can be impacted in the scenario of sharp appreciation in local currency. Sourcing risk of raw materials is increasingly covered with the backward integration plans.

Having said that competition from domestic manufacturers and renewal of threat from the Chinese players remain a major risk. Given that possibility, major players in this category like Seya and Aarti are expected to continue to invest in increasing scale and forward integration to value added products.

Financial projections

In the last three years, company witnessed huge margin expansion (+1294 bps) aided by lower raw material cost (74 percent of sales in FY17 vs. 89 percent of sale in FY 14) and increased contribution of value added products. High margin specialty chemicals constitute 99 percent of sales in FY17 vs. 71 percent in FY14. In the current fiscal operating margins have further improved to about 28 percent. We expect margins to hover at similar level in medium term on account of companys effort toward vertical integration. Thus, operating profit are expected to witness CAGR of 42 percent during 2017-21E driven by sales CAGR of 37 percent and companys foray into value added products.

Based on this, the stock is currently trading 13.5x 2020 estimated earnings, which is inexpensive compared to specialty chemical sector average. Further, given the sector wide tailwinds, global scale of operations and foray into value added products, investors can consider Seya industries for accumulation.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday discussed in a phone call with Jordan's King Abdullah mutual cooperation between the two countries and means to bolster bilateral ties, the Egyptian president's office said in a statement.

The presidency also said that the two leaders discussed recent developments in a number of regional matters, including the Palestinian issue and means to address challenges facing the Arab world.





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Homes launches in 2017 plummeted by staggering 78 percent from the peak of 2010. The volume of new projects entering the market in the second half of 2017 stood at approximately one-fourth of the supply levels in 2015, says a Knight Frank India report launched on Wednesday.

The eighth edition of its flagship half-yearly report - India Real Estate presents a comprehensive analysis of the residential (across eight cities) and office (across seven cities) market performance for the period July  December 2017 (H2 2017).

All cities witnessed a fall in launches year-on-year with Hyderabad being the worst hit. At 84 percent, Hyderabad recorded the steepest fall in launches. Other IT/ITeS dominated markets such as Pune (58 percent), Bengaluru (37 percent), Chennai (33 percent) also witnessed a massive drop in launches, the report said.

SLIDESHOW: Indias residential real estate market shrinks over the last decade

Sales volume hit a seven-year drop. It was 62 percent down from the peak of 2011 with a year-on-year drop of 7 percent in 2017, it said. Sales in Bengaluru were down by almost 34 percent. Mumbai (19 percent) and NCR (21 percent) saw a spike on a demonetisation base effect.

Bengaluru, in particular, recorded negative growth in both launches (-37 percent) and sales (-34 percent) for the first time in the second half of 2017. Hyderabad also recorded the decadal low in home launches, the report said.

Home launches in NCR halved in 2017 over the previous year recording historically low supply in the region. New projects in the second half of 2017 recorded 25 percent de-growth year-on-year, it was marginally better sequentially. While residential sales in 2017 dropped by 6 percent, the second half of 2017 recorded 21 percent surge year-on-year in comparison to the demonetisation-hit second half of 2016.

The share of affordable homes among new projects increased from 53 percent in 2016 to 83 percent in 2017 indicating developers focus towards properties within Rs 50 lakh price bracket. Sops from the Haryana government have been a key driver. While Gurugram continued to be the chosen micro-market in NCR accounting for more than half (54 percent) of the homes launches in the second half of 2017, new projects dried up in Noida (77 percent) and Greater Noida (76 percent). Weightage average prices saw a sharp fall of 9 percent in the second half of 2017 since the peak recorded in 2015, the report said.

While the unsold inventory in the second half of 2017 came down by 13 percent, the NCR market would take at least five years to exhaust its stock of unsold homes  one of the highest in India, the report said.

The weighted average prices fell by an average of 3 percent across cities with Pune witnessing the highest decline of 7 percent year-on-year followed by Mumbai at 5 percent year-on-year. Markets high on ready to move inventory such as Hyderabad and Ahmedabad saw prices move up 3 percent and 2 percent respectively.

As for office market, co-working service providers expanded their footprint collectively picking up nearly 1.3 million sq ft of office space.

New completions increase by 7 percent in 2017 but not at par with occupiers demand. Supply in the second half of 2017 was up by 13 percent year-on-year, the report said.

Transactions maintained a steady momentum. Technology sector headwinds and supply crunch responsible for subdued growth. Major cites record robust transactions, Bengaluru maintained its lead, the report said.

Vacancy levels hit 5-year low in the face of inadequate supply. Want of quality office stocks glaring in turbulence-hit IT/ITeS dominated markets such as Bengaluru (3 percent), Pune (6 percent) and Hyderabad (5 percent)

While the share of the office market held by the tech business tapered from 39 percent in the second half of 2016 to 37 percent in the second half of 2017, the other services sector captured more than one-third of transactions recorded in the second half of 2017, the report said.

Co-working service providers, an emerging phenomenon until the beginning of 2017, fortified its position by taking up approximately 1.3 million sq ft office space in the second half of 2017.

Except Mumbai, that saw surprise new supply of office stock, strong rental growth was recorded across other office markets. While Mumbai saw flat year-on-year rental growth, Hyderabad and Bengaluru experienced the strongest rental growth at 8.5 percent and 9.2 percent year-on-year respectively.

2017 was been packed with uncertainty, volatility and long-term promise of new opportunities. While a battery of reforms tested industry stakeholders, the new paradigm of transparency and consolidation achieved in the process should pave the way for healthy momentum in the near future. Until the end of 2017, Indias residential sector had shrunk to a fraction of its size in less than a decade," said Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India.

"Nevertheless, the near standstill triggered by demonetisation seems to have tapered with time. At the same time, stakeholders are growing in confidence with the gradual acceptance of structural reforms such as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016,

The industry, however, is still grappling to navigate its way through the new tax regime post the introduction of the Goods and Services Act. Meanwhile, select markets wherein RERA has matured have witnessed developers re-launch projects at attractive prices which led to an uptick in sales volumes in 2017. The strategic switch in developers approach has led to a price reduction is most markets. All in all, it is a buyers market today. And, we hope the momentum to hold steady in the near future, he said.
What kind of a site is Cupidtino and who is it specifically targeted towards?

This is the era of applications or apps as they are popularly known as. Almost all day-to-day activities are associated with some or the other app. Keeping this growing trend in mind the real estate broker community has now launched the first-ever application for real estate brokers called Wajood. This app aims to unite the broker community under a single platform and change the dynamics of brokering business.

The app which also aims to assist brokers in their growth, standardise brokerage commissions across India was launched at Indias first National Convention for Brokers in Mumbai. The conference was held by Sai Estate Consultants in Association with Confederation of Real Estate Brokers Association of India (CREBAI).

There have been instances wherein one had to forego as high as 25% of our annual earnings only because developers did not honour the commitment of paying brokerage. The launch of Wajood by Sai Estate Consultants is slated to change the dynamics between the developers and the channel partners and how brokerage business is seen as a whole, said Amit Wadhwani, Director, Sai Estate Consultant.

This app has been launched at a time when brokers across India have been brought under the ambit of Real Estate Regulatory Authority or RERA. RERA makes it mandatory for every real estate broker to register with it and market only those projects which are RERA registered.

Interestingly, Maharashtra which is leading in the implementation of RERA has seen a very low registration of brokers. So far only 12,000 brokers have registered out of over 1 lakh brokers in the state. Speaking on the occasion MahaRERA chairman Gautam Chatterjee appealed the brokers to register with the authority. RERA registration comes with the status for brokers in the industry. I appeal to all the brokers to register and have that status as it will help to generate more revenue in future, said Chatterjee.
Global real estate brand Trump Towers that made a debut in the Delhi-NCR market on Wednesday, with a fourth property after Mumbai, Pune, and Kolkata, hopes to generate roughly over a billion dollars in terms of sales potential from all its properties in India.

We hope to generate roughly well over a billion dollars in terms of sales potential of all the Trump properties in India, Kalpesh Mehta, partner of Tribeca, India representative of Trump Organisation told Moneycontrol.

US President Donald Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, is expected to be in India in the first quarter of 2018 to celebrate the success of both the Delhi-NCR project and the Kolkata project.

Plans are underway and I am hopeful that he will be here in the first quarter of 2018, Mehta said.

The Trump Towers brand is making its debut in North India through realty companies M3M India and Tribeca Developers. The total project cost of the luxury residential project to come up in Gurgaon is Rs 1,200 crore, he said.

M3M and Tribeca will develop 250 ultra-luxury residences under a brand license from The Trump Organisation. The project is also expected to have a 35,000 sq ft area of amenities.

Trump Towers Delhi-NCR will be characterised by iconic twin towers rising over 600 feet that will be amongst the tallest towers in the region.

True to Trump form this will be an all-glass building rising 600 ft in the area and seen from everywhere, Mehta said.

On offer are three sizes  3500 sq ft apartments, 4500 sq ft apartments and 6000 sq ft apartments.

In the first phase of sale, the apartments which will have three and four bedroom options will be sold in a price range of Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore.

"This will be the biggest Trump project in India with a development of over one million sq ft," Mehta said, adding the company is looking at targeting high net worth individuals and NRIs to sell the project.

The Delhi-NCR project is the fourth Trump Tower project in India after Pune, Mumbai, and Kolkata. In Pune, the global brand has licensed the Trump name to Panchshil Realty, in Mumbai to Lodha Group and in Kolkata, the Trump Organisation has partnered with Unimark Group to build a 400,000 sq ft residential project with the signature Trump Tower on the citys EM Bypass stretch.
The appraisal season is around the corner and human resource consultants are anticipating an 8-10 percent hike for professionals in India. Among sectors, emerging companies and startups are expected to give the largest hikes while that in the Information Technology (IT) will be muted.

Thammaiah BN, Managing Director, Kelly Services India said that the salary outlay for average performers will be lesser than last year whereas top performers have higher or same as last year.

"E-commerce and startups will witness the highest salary increments. We also expect startups in the education and healthcare space to grow. Despite the layoffs that we have been seen in startups, talent would want to join and work in challenging workplaces," he explained.

From a high of 15-18 percent in 2006-07 period, salary hikes across companies in India Inc have seen a steady decline and has now fallen below 10 percent for most sectors on an average. The hikes for senior management are much lower at around 6-7 percent which may see an increase in the next financial year.

Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services explained that with hiring for very senior positions back on track, companies will take steps to retain officials in CXO positions.

"The hikes at senior levels have been 5-7 percent in the past two to three years which we believe will improve to 8-10 percent this year," he added.

With respect to the different sectors, automation could have an impact on the hikes and only individuals with specified skills that cannot be replicated by a machine will be at an advantage.

"In the IT sector, entry and mid-level talent in service companies will see the minimum salary increment because of adoption of new business models and newer technologies such as AI, Robotic Process Automation which will significantly reduce the manpower required," added Thammaiah.

Upskilling and adoption of new skills to aid the work process was an important theme of 2017 which is set to continue well into the next few years. Mishra explained that individuals with niche skills like data analytics, data mining and artificial intelligence will earn a premium and their hikes could well exceed 10 percent.

Among other sectors, consultants anticipate IT employees to have a hike of 6-8 percent while e-commerce may go upto 15-18 percent. Sectors like consumer durable and pharma could have an anticipated hike of 8-12 percent while engineering depending on new project take-off will have a hike between 8-11 percent.
Prime Ventures-backed payroll and benefits tech startup NiYO Solutions has raised USD 13.2 million, or Rs 85 crore, in Series A funding from Chamath Palihapitiya owned Social Capital, the family office of Jonathan Soros JS Capital, and Li-Ka-Shing owned Horizons Ventures.

Bangalore based VC fund Prime Ventures, which invested USD 1 million as seed capital in 2016, also participated in this round.

NiYO provides expense cards with all HR functions integrated into it - including salary and benefits. The company plans to strengthen and expand its product suite for the salaried segment besides taking the product to tier 2 and 3 towns with the fresh funding.

The funding will also be used for further product development, team expansion and increasing presence in tier 1 cities.

The company was co-founded in 2015 by ex-Kotak Mahindra executive Vinay Bagri and former Mobikwik employee Virender Bisht.

According to NiYO CEO Bagri, the addressable market for the company's products is close to 75 million salaried employees in India. The product can also increase the take-home salaries and simplify financial planning and other banking needs for employees, he claims.

We believe that the rapidly growing number of salaried employees in India have not seen much innovation when it comes to their own payroll and benefits. They are mobile and app-savvy and very demanding. Our aim is to optimize the product suite for employees in areas of taxation, lending and wealth, NiYO CEO Bagri says.

It has tested the product in new markets such as Pune and Ahmadabad and plans to be present in 40 cities by the year-end.

Most companies today use Sodexo meal coupons as part of tax saving methods, which can be used in office canteens or at selected merchant outlets. However, companies such as NiYO and competitor Zeta are taking a digital approach to it. These companies have brought the whole process online. NiYOs current portfolio of clients consists of 40% enterprise and 60% MSME companies.

NiYO is aiming to have 5000 organisations and over 1 million salaried employees as users by the end of 2018. NiYO has already clocked more than 500 corporate clients and is being used by over 170,000 salaried employees in these organisations.

For corporates, it means time saving, deploying less manpower in doing manual work of matching bills, and so on. They can drastically optimize their time. The bigger market is in MSMEs who are heavily dependent manual intervention, says Bagri.

NiYOs expense card solutions include salary accounts, meal cards, canteen solutions, corporate gift cards, reimbursement accounts, international travel card and corporate credit cards. The startup has partnered with YES Bank and DCB Bank so far for its solutions.

The plastic card can be used to pay for food, fuel, medical bills, which are then tracked against individual reimbursement claims automatically.

The paperless approach can bring down per employee cost of executing salaries and reimbursements by as much as 40 percent, according to Bagri.

While Sodexo has now started tying up with online portals such as Swiggy to let its users pay with the meal pass card, NiYOs card is accepted across all payment terminals by default.

Employee Payroll in India and around the world has traditionally seen very little innovation in the past several decades with banks hardly providing any differentiation to customers. This coupled with inefficient, paper-driven processes mean that most employers and employees fail to take advantage of tax exemptions and other savings that the law provides for.

Same holds true for investment and lending products for the salaried class where the power of payroll is largely ignored in product design.

NiYO has also filed multiple product and process patents in this space, which implies that the startup plans to include more financial products on the platform such as loans, mutual funds, besides the basic banking functions it integrates now such as balance inquiry, fund transfer, and so on.

We want to implement more financial products going forward. It will help employees identify the right products for their tax saving such as ELSS, mutual funds etc., Bagri says.

With eKYC and self-onboarding enabled on the NiYO app, users can easily access their account details and keep a tab on their expenditures and allowances digitally. It also offers a capability to attach bill proof through mobile phones and also allow digital storage of bill and receipts on the cloud. It's competitor also includes Bangalore-based Happay which also offers prepaid cards for expense management.
Shares of Alkem Laboratories ended with a gain of 3.5 percent as the USFDA issued EIR for the company's Baddi plant.

The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued an establishment inspection report (EIR) for the company's manufacturing facility located at Baddi, India.

The said plant was inspected from September 11, 2017 to September 15, 2017.

In response to the two Form 483 observations issued by the USFDA, the company had submitted a detailed corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plan to the regulator within the stipulated timelines.

The inspection has now been closed by the USFDA.

Alkem Laboratories ended at Rs 2,297, up Rs 76.70, or 3.45 percent. It has touched a 52-week high of Rs 2,468.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is set to meet his Tanzanian counterpart Augustine Mahiga on Wednesday to conclude the third round of joint Egyptian-Tanzanian talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation, a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry read on Tuesday.

The joint committee's meetings began on Tuesday at the level of senior officials and were headed by Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Mohamed Idris, and the Permanent Secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the official statement.

The committee meetings scheduled for Wednesday will be attended by officials from both countries agriculture, irrigation, water resources, electricity, trade, investment, health and tourism ministries.

According to the statement, the meetings will include "intensive talks between the two sides on strengthening the existing cooperation relations in these fields, and exploring new areas and prospects to enhance cooperation between Egypt and Tanzania."

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi visited Dar El-Salam in August 2017 and called for closer economic and trade cooperation between Egypt and the eastern African country.

Tanzania's President John Magufuli is set to visit Egypt in 2018.

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IT major Infosys has signed an Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) with the US revenue department, which will result in reversal of tax provisions of about USD 225 million. The stock gained nearly 1 percent to hit a fresh high of Rs 1,050.

The reversal of the tax provisions will have a positive impact on its consolidated basic earnings per share (EPS) for the December, 2017 quarter by approximately USD 0.10, Infosys said in a statement.

"In accordance with the APA, the company expects to reverse tax provisions of approximately USD 225 million made in previous periods which are no longer required (both under International Financial Reporting Standards and Indian Accounting Standards)," it added.

Under the APA, Infosys and the US Internal Revenue Service have agreed on the methodology to allocate revenues and compute the taxable income of the company's US operations, it said adding that the agreement covers financial years from 2011 to 2021.

Infosys said it expects its overall effective tax rate to be lower by about 100 basis points for future periods covered under the APA. This amount is expected to be paid over the next few quarters, it added.

Analysts were mixed in their ratings but were positive after Advance Pricing Agreement with the US revenue department.

Brokerage: Credit Suisse | Rating - Neutral | Target - Rs 1,000

Effective tax rates will come down by 100 bps till FY21 and should add over 1 percent to earnings, Credit Suisse said while maintaining its neutral call on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,000 per share.

"We do not see advanced pricing agreement to have material impact on stock price. Agreement does remove uncertainty for the next three years," it said.

Brokerage: Quant | Rating - Reduce | Target - Rs 920

Quant said the US IRS agreement until 2021 will reduce tax rates & uncertainty for the company.

While having Reduce call on the stock with a target price at Rs 920 per share, the research house said Infosys benefits to the tune of USD 270 million in P&L over four calendar years and sacrifices USD 233 million of cash in the near-term.

"We do not consider US IRS agreement to be price sensitive," it said.

Brokerage: Motilal Oswal | Rating - Buy | Target - Rs 1,200

While maintaining Buy call on Infosys with a target price at Rs 1,200 per share, Motilal Oswal said US IRS agreement would drive EPS higher by Rs 6.70 (10.4 percent on FY18e base).

The research house sees a marginal upgrade of 1.4 percent to our future earnings estimates and expects dollar revenue CAGR of 8 percent & EPS CAGR of 7.1 percent over FY17-20.

"We do not expect companys performance to lag peers materially," the research house said.

Brokerage: Morgan Stanley | Rating - Equalweight | Target - Rs 1,028

Morgan Stanley feels APA with US Internal Revenue Service could positively impact FY19/20 EPS by up to 1 percent. The research house has Equalweight rating on the stock with target at Rs 1,028 per share.

The tax rate guidance of 28-29 percent will decline to 27-28 percent, it said.

Brokerage: Kotak Securities

Kotak Securities said the rationale of US IRS agreement is to enhance predictability of tax obligations for US operations. Agreement does not have any implications for other companies, it added.

Brokerage: Axis Capital

"APA agreement is positive for Infosys and we see positive impact on earnings by 5 percent between current quarter to December 2022," Axis Capital said.

Agreement will improve predictability of tax outflow and new agreement will clear the ambiguity around the base erosion anti-abuse tax, it added.

At 14:06 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 1,047.75, up Rs 6.45, or 0.62 percent on the BSE.
Bull's Eye, CNBC-TV18's popular game show, where market experts come together to dish out trading strategies for you to make your week more exciting and compete with each other to see whose portfolio is the strongest.

Remember these are midcap ideas not just for the day, but stocks that look attractive in the medium-term as well.

This week, Ruchit Jain, Vishal Malkan and Kunal Saraogi battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis:

Ruchit Jain of Angel Broking

Buy Indiabulls Real Estate with a stoploss at Rs 229 and target of Rs 248

Buy Chennai Petro with a stoploss at Rs 430 and target of Rs 465

Buy Sintex Plastics with a stoploss at Rs 88 and target of Rs 100

Buy BLS International with a stoploss at Rs 270 and target of Rs 312

Vishal Malkan of malkansview.com

Buy Syndicate Bank with a stoploss at Rs 78 and target of Rs 87

Buy Polaris with a stoploss at Rs 395 and target of Rs 440

Buy Century Textiles with a stoploss at Rs 1430 and target of Rs 1520

Buy Bank of India with a stoploss at Rs 168 and target of Rs 185

Kunal Saraogi of Equityrush

Buy Torrent Power with a stoploss at Rs 285 and target of Rs 298

Buy Arvind with a stoploss at Rs 457 and target of Rs 472

Buy DLF with a stoploss at Rs 266 and target of Rs 275

Buy Chennai Petro with a stoploss at Rs 437 and target of Rs 452
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Motilal Oswal's research report on Infosys

Infosys (INFO) has announced an Advanced Pricing Agreement (APA) with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), under which both companies have agreed on a methodology to allocate revenues and compute taxable income of the companys US operations. The agreement covers a 10 -year period from FY11 -21.

For INFO, we expect USD revenue CAGR of 8% and EPS CAGR of 7.1% over FY17 -20E. Lower earnings CAGR is a function of a 90bp decline in profitability and slight strengthening of the INR. However, we do not expect INFOs performance to lag peers materially, especially after the company having swiftly addressed the heightened issues around governance with the appointment of Mr Nilekani to the Board and Mr Salil Parekh as the CEO. Our price target of INR 1,200 discounts forward earnings by 16x, implying an upside of 15%. Maintain Buy.

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Stocks like Indian Terrain, Monte Carlo and Zodiac Clothing rallied 5-8 percent after finally the Cabinet has approved 100 percent foreign direct investment in single-brand retail that had been pending for long.

Relaxo Footwears, Mirza International and Bata India also gained 1-3 percent while Future Retail, V2 Retail and Avenue Supermarts rallied 1-3 percent.

The Cabinet Committee today has approved allowing 100 percent FDI in single-brand retail via automatic route.

As India being the big consumption market, this news is good for companies which are looking for expansion and entering into India, Charath Narsimhan, CEO, Indian Terrain said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

This is one big step by the government to bring foreign investment into India, he added.

Rabindra Jhunjhunwala, Partner, Khaitan & Co said, "The approval through automatic route with respect to single brand retail trading will quicken the FDI clearance process as no prior government approval would be required."

He expects that FDI in single brand retail trading sector will now gain further momentum due to the process not being subject to regulatory scrutiny and approval process.

Stuti Galiya, Counsel, Khaitan & Co also said, "This is a welcome move by the Government and is expected to boost FDI in single brand retail trade sector. It is aimed at providing investor friendly climate to the foreign investors."

FDI norms for construction & aviation sectors also eased. Jet Airways and SpiceJet gained 1-3 percent.

The Cabinet has approved 100 percent FDI in construction sector via automatic route and investment up to 49 percent under approval route in Air India.

The clearance to FDI in Air India is to facilitate its divestment.

On top of that, the Cabinet also allowed FIIs/FPIs to invest in power exchanges through the primary market route.

At 12:48 hours IST, Zodiac Clothing Company was up 4.33 percent at Rs 243.50, Monte Carlo Fashions up 5.5 percent at Rs 635 and Indian Terrain Fashions was up 6.16 percent at Rs 233.40 on the BSE.

Jet Airways was quoting at Rs 863, up 3.08 percent and Interglobe Aviation was at Rs 1,245.40, up 1.50 percent while Bata India was at Rs 756.05, up 1.20 percent.
Here are stocks that are in news today:

Infosys

The company has signed an agreement with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), resulting in an effective tax rate of about 100 basis points lower going forward-Expect to reverse tax provisions of about USD 225 million made in previous periods-Expect to payout about USD 233 million to be paid over next few quarters

-Reversal of tax provisions to have positive impact on consolidated basic EPS for December quarter by USD 0.10

GAIL

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said GAIL should lay pipeline, marketing can be done by anyone.

GAIL as a company should focus on providing infrastructure particularly in eastern India to aid the country's transformation to a gas-based economy, Pradhan opined.

-Price decline in generics to continue in high single digits in 2018, in US-Share of top 3 buying groups will be 90 percent in 2018 versus 52 percent in 2012, in US-Expect increased generic competition is US market going ahead-India expected to grow at over 10 percent CAGR

-S Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Philippines expected to see double-digit growth

Sources-Telecom Commission agrees with TRAI to increase spectrum cap-Intra-band spectrum cap to be increased to 35 percent from 25 percent

-Telecom Commission approves increasing cap to 50 percent in sub-1 GHz spectrum band

- Cabinet Meet-May consider allowing 100 percent FDI in single-brand retail via automatic route-May ease FDI norms for 6 sectors at meet today-May mull allowing 25 percent sale of non-food items in food retail stores with FDI component-May ease FDI norms for the construction sector-May pave the way for 100 percent FDI in airline companies-May consider allowing management control to foreign investors-May ease labelling norms applicable on imported products sold on retail-May allow non-food items to make up 25 percent of inventory in food retail stores with FDI

Alert - Currently only 49 percent FDI in single-brand retail is allowed via automatic route

1. Renaissance Steel India Private Limited;2. Tata Steel Limited;3. Vedanta Limited;

4. Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors Pte

Balasore Alloys

Balasore Alloys will acquire 70 percent of Zimbabwe Alloys. ZAL holds 19,780 hectares of mining areas in different parts of Zimbabwe, which has proven resources of 72.25 million tonnes of chrome ore.

NMDC

Institutional investors put in bids worth Rs 976 crore on Tuesday for buying government's part stake in state-owned miner National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).

SAIL

LN Mittal's ArcelorMittal and state-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) are exploring a joint bid for Bhushan Steel, the distressed company referred to the National Company Law Tribunal, Moneycontrol has learned from two independent industry sources
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Public sector lenders Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India have put NPA assets worth Rs 17,550 crore on sale to avoid steep provisioning, reports The Economic Times.

Bhushan Steel and Essar Steel, which formed a part of the assets on sale, were included in the first list of 12 firms identified by the Reserve Bank of India for resolutions under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The report said Bank of Baroda list contains foreign currency loans to 17 companies totalling Rs 3,335 crore and has invited bids for 42 accounts worth Rs 13,566 crore. Union Bank of India has invited bid for 18 accounts amounting to Rs 3,985 crore.

Bank of Baroda has set January 20 as the last day for potential suitors to submit their bid for these assets and will consider only cash offers. Whereas Union Bank is ready to accept only cash as well as cash and security receipts for stressed loans with January 20 being the last date for accepting bids.

Union Bank is selling Essar Steels loan amounting to Rs 1,500 crore and Bhushan Steel worth Rs 1,200 crore.

The other big loan accounts that Bank of Baroda has put on block includes loans Bhushan Power & Steel, ABG Shipyard Amtek Auto and Electrosteel Steels . GVK Coal Developers, GTL , Aban Holdings, Amtek Auto , Monnet Ispat and Bhushan Power are the foreign currency loan that has been put up for sale.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has written a fresh letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, requesting that certain projects be funded in the form of "grant" by the Centre through NABARD, instead of loans from external agencies.

The state government had earlier expressed their inability to spend a quantum of funds under the Special Assistance Measure (SAM) announced by the Centre within the stipulated five years.

The chief minister had told the state Assembly during the winter session that his government saw "no immediate benefit" from the SAM under externally-aided projects (EAPs) after the Centre turned down the state's plea to let it use the money to clear outstanding loans.

Naidu wrote a letter afresh to Jaitley on January 5 stating that the AP government expected to receive Rs 16,447 crore under the SAM from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

"AP Government has sent proposals for various projects to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the EAP.

"I would like to mention that projects under the EAP will consume a lot of time for grounding and completing, considering the elaborate procedures involved in getting clearance and approval from external funding agencies," the chief minister said in the letter.

"The state government will not be in a position to consume the entire special assistance amount within the five-year period ending 2019-20, including (that for) ongoing projects signed after 2015-16," he added.

Therefore, Naidu suggested, a "special dispensation amount" be provided to Andhra Pradesh for specified projects from National Bank For Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) instead of loans from external agencies.

"It should be disbursed as a grant from the Government of India so that this will not form part of the state FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) limits. This will facilitate the state government for early commencement of projects and to avail of the SAM announced to our state," the chief minister said.

In his letter, Naidu listed six projects that require a total funding of Rs 16,725 crore.

Of these, the DEA has already approved the AP Roads and Bridges Reconstruction Project and AP Mandal Connectivity and Rural Connectivity Improvement Project (Rs 3,200 crore each) with a proposed loan from Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB).

The Rs 4,500 crore AP Rural Water Supply Project, with a loan from AIIB, has not been cleared by the DEA yet.

The cost of another project - Construction of Residential School Buildings - which too is pending approval of the DEA, has increased from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,341 crore as per the latest estimate submitted by Naidu. This was also supposed to be taken up with a loan from AIIB.

Now, the state government is seeking funds for these projects as a grant from the Centre and not through loans from foreign banks.

The state government has also submitted two new projects - Amaravati Greening Development (Rs 1,484 crore) and AP Backward Area Rural Development Project (Rs 1,000 crore) to the Centre for funding through NABARD.
A ballistic missile is launched and tested in an undisclosed location, Iran, March 9, 2016. REUTERS/Mahmood Hosseini/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. - GF10000339419

India is considering purchase of Spike anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) from Israel through the government-to-government (G-to-G) route, months after it decided to cancel a deal to procure the weapons from an Israeli firm.

According to the original proposal, India had planned to acquire the ATGMs for the Army at a cost of USD 500 million.

The government is now examining the possibility of purchasing the missiles from Israel through the G-to-G route like it did in sealing the deal for procuring 36 Rafale jets from France, official sources said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit India next week and ways to further deepen the already close defence ties between the two countries may figure during his talks with Indian leaders here.

In November, the defence ministry had decided to retract the process to acquire a batch of Spike missiles from Israeli firm Rafael Advanced Defence Systems.

Subsequently, the ministry had asked premier defence research laboratory DRDO to develop similar missiles with indigenous technology.

Official sources had said the proposal to acquire the missile system from the Israeli firm faced hurdles when it apparently expressed reservations in ensuring full transfer of technology as per the provisions of the 'Make in India' initiative.

They said the decision to retract the RFP was taken after the DRDO expressed confidence of producing the ATGMs.

India's Kalyani group and Israel's state-run Rafael Advanced Defence Systems had commissioned a Rs 70 crore production facility near Hyderabad in August last year, anticipating that the Israeli firm would bag the contract.

Last week, the Israeli firm said it received an official notification from India's Ministry of Defence about cancellation of the deal.

In September 2016, India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore.
Journalists accompanying West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on an official visit to London stole cutlery while attending an official dinner at a luxury hotel. All but one scribe, when confronted by security officials, admitted their crime and returned the cutlery.

One senior journalist refused to admit his crime. Later when the security officials threatened him to report to the police, the scribe finally confessed and was fined 50 (Rs 4,300), as per a report in Outlook.

The news of the shameful act apparently spread like wildfire within the Indian community in London.

Everything started when a senior reporter employed by a reputed Bengali publication picked a set of dessert spoons off the table and into his pocket. Other journalists who did not want to miss the chance of a bountiful loot, followed him.

Reportedly, the journalists were either unaware or oblivious to the security camera which was recording the act. Or they possibly thought that the cameras wouldnt be working anyway as is often the case in Bengal, another journalist who was part of delegation took a dig.

Security staff, who were initially hesitant to raise an alarm, after much deliberation, decided to confront the dignified guests. Most of the journalists, ashamed of their deeds, returned the silverware.

Amid this, the journalist who did not come out initially stuffed his loot in someone elses bag and hence confidently asked the security team to search him. However, the CCTV cameras had recorded his cleverness too.

As per the Outlook report which quotes a Bengali journalist, this particular man has a habit of regularly pilfering cutlery and other goods from hotels during foreign tours though this is the first time he got caught.
The Reserve Bank of India has distanced itself from an RBI-backed researcher's views claiming Aadhaar to have problems of access to the last mile, issues with the quality of authentication, unclear financial benefits and security concerns.

This was raised in a paper, Biometric and Its Impact in India, part of Staff Papers series published in its October 2017 edition, by S Ananth, an adjunct faculty at the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), which has been established by the RBI as an autonomous institute.

The benefits of Aadhaar, Indias biometrics-based unique national identity system the worlds largest are unclear and the impact of direct benefit transfers it will be used to deliver to the poor is not studied enough, the study had concluded.

However, late Wednesday, RBI released a statement on its website saying, "RBI has come across reports in a section of media attributing a study on security aspects of Aadhaar by one Shri S. Ananth, an adjunct faculty of Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), to RBI researchers.

"It is clarified that neither RBI nor its researchers were in any way connected with the study. Further, views expressed by the author are not those of the RBI," the central bank stated.

The research paper came to light after an investigative story reported in The Tribune on January 3, 2018, alleged that unrestricted access to details of over one billion Aadhaar numbers can be purchased at as little as Rs 500.

By paying Rs 300 more, the details of any Aadhaar card can be printed, the report called it a "major security breach, quoting the deputy director of UIDAI regional officer Chandigarh.

However, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the statutory body collecting Aadhaar data and issuing UID numbers, denied such leaks saying there "has not been any Aadhaar data breach.

Moreover, it has filed a complaint against the journalist who wrote the story and those whom she has met during the course of reporting it.

Aadhaar dependency

The 12-digit, controversial biometric unique identification number, meant to be a voluntary enrollment, will soon be compulsory to receive benefits under 530 welfare schemes and to perform a host of activities including filing income-tax returns, receiving college degrees and obtaining drivers licenses.

However, linking of the Aadhaar number with various bank accounts, PAN card and various other welfare schemes has to be done before March 31, 2018.

This was earlier December 31, 2017 but the deadline was extended by the Supreme Court.

Aadhaar is, hence, required for a number of transactions and it is available in the database of a large number of service providers and any breach can compromise the information contained in it.

The research paper by Ananth has flagged the issues related to Aadhaar saying there needs to be caution in the manner in which the government is linking more economic programmes and activities with Aadhaar.

Ever since its inception, Aadhaar has been caught in various debates and controversies, largely over the issue of the citizens right to privacy and threat of security due to information leak.

So far, more than 1.12 billion Indians88.2 percent of the populationhave now been enrolled for Aadhaar.
Egypt's parliament on Tuesday provisionally approved a landmark law aimed at reforming the role of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA), a government body which will be tasked with boosting development in the country's industrial sector.

A report prepared by parliaments industrial committee said the 37-article law will turn the IDA into an independent economic authority which "will work in coordination with the Ministries of Industry and Trade in boosting investments in the industrial sector."

This will come through regulating industrial activities, preparing lands necessary for industrial projects, and helping investors get industrial licenses in a significantly easier way, said the report.

According to the 41-page report, the authority will also "collaborate with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for upgrading the technological abilities of employees and trainers in the industrial sector in order to better deal with foreign investors."

The predecessor to the authority was "first regulated by a law issued in 1958 which reflected the countrys socialist policies at that time, said the report, adding: But with the coming of a new era of open-door policies it was necessary to amend the 1958 law to reflect the new economic developments.

The current IDA was first created by a presidential decree in 2005 to help implement Egypts new liberalization and privatization policies which began in the mid-1990s, the report notes.

Tuesday's law comes after parliament has passed a number of laws that seek to enhance economic development and rid the country of old socialist policies.

These include laws on regulating bankruptcy activities, facilitating investment measures, and unifying industrial licenses, it has said.

Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal told MPs that the final approval of the law awaits a two-thirds majority of MPs.

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Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Calling the Congress government in Karnataka "anti-Hindu", BJP chief Amit Shah accused it of perpetrating atrocities on BJP and RSS workers, claiming 20 of them were killed in the state over the last three years.

He alleged that the Siddaramaiah government was pursuing "vote bank" politics as part of which it withdrew cases against SDPI workers despite the organisation being involved in "anti-national activities".

Shah also demanded that the Siddaramaiah dispensation account for Rs 3 lakh crore the Modi government gave it for development.

"In the last three years, we lost 20 BJP and RSS workers (in the state)," he told a rally at Holalkere near here, and claimed the government was not getting the cases probed properly.

"Stop your atrocities on our workers, for once we come to power we will investigate the cases and send you to jail," he warned.

"This anti-Hindu government is playing vote bank politics. Though it is established that the SDPI is indulging in anti-national activities, all the cases against them have been withdrawn, Shah said.

Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is the political wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI).

Anti-terror probe agency NIA has claimed several SDPI and PFI activists were involved in terror-related cases.

Raising the pitch for the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, the BJP chief said he has come to Karnataka to respond to Siddaramaiah's charge that the Modi government did not release adequate funds for the state.

Shah is on a two-day visit to Karnataka, where Assembly polls are due early this year, to make it battle ready for accomplishing the mission of securing 150-plus seats in the 224-member House. This is his second visit in the last 11 days.

"A few days ago Siddaramaiah asked at a press conference what the BJP government at the Centre did for the country and Karnataka. Here is my reply...we gave the state Rs 3 lakh crore," he said.

Shah said the previous Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had released Rs 88,583 crore under the 13th Finance Commission to Karnataka, while the Modi dispensation gave it Rs 2.19 lakh crore under the 14th Finance Commission. Additionally, the state got Rs 79,000 crore under various schemes.

Seeking to connect with his audience, Shah asked them whether the money reached their villages. The crowd responded with an emphatic "no".

Shah claimed under the state's Congress dispensation the assets of its leaders grew manifold and they shifted to four- storeyed buildings from tin-roofed houses and drove in swanky cars instead of the humble mopeds.

"The Congress government ate up all the money released by the Modi government apart from the taxes you paid. This government is steeped in corruption," he alleged.

Raking up the controversies over Siddaramaiahs Rs 70 lakh Hublot watch and alleged irregularities in denotification of land in Arkavathi layout, Shah sought to know why Energy Minister D K Shivakumar was still in his Cabinet though income tax raids against him "unearthed crores of rupees".

Siddaramaiah was embroiled in a controversy over the diamond-studded Hublot watch, which was reportedly gifted to him. He later handed it over to the Assembly Speaker in March 2016, asking him to treat it as a state asset.

"Siddaramaiah government is totally disconnected from people due to corruption. In the last five years, the government worked for the welfare of Congress workers and leaders instead of people of the state," Shah said.

"If I go on listing all corruption cases, I will end up holding a 'Bhagwat Saptaah' (week-long Bhagwat Purana recital)," the BJP president said.

He asked people to bless the BJP so it can win all the 224 seats in Karnataka and uproot the Congress government.

Shah's public meeting was part of the statewide 75-day "Parivarthana Yatra" undertaken by the BJP to "expose the misdeeds" of the Congress government.

The BJP, which ruled the state from 2008 to 2013, is eyeing to unseat the Congress in one of its last bastions.
The Supreme Court today said it would constitute a fresh three-member SIT, to be headed by a former high court judge, to monitor probe into 186 anti-Sikh riot cases, that followed the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, in which investigations were closed.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra asked the Centre to suggest names today itself for its consideration and appointment in the proposed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said the proposed committee will be headed by a former high court judge and consist of one retired and one serving police officer.

It also made it clear that the retired police officer shall not be below the rank of DIG at the time of his superannuation.

The apex court said the supervisory body, appointed by it has found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation.

The apex court today perused the report of the supervisory body which was submitted before it in a leather box with number lock system.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought a report in the case of an Indian migrant who was shot in Sydney.

On Sunday, a 21-year-old Indian man working at a pizza restaurant in Wentworthville was reportedly shot in the chest after having confronted a gunman who demanded cash.



@SushmaSwaraj my bro in Australia worked as a pizza boy domino's was shot twice in hand and chest when a burglar came for money. he saved the lives of 3 fellow indians too. He is hospitalised. already 36hrs have passed Still a bullet is there in his chest.

 shail singh (@shailsingh234) January 9, 2018

His brother Shail Singh then wrote to Swaraj on Twitter, seeking her help to get justice for his brother. In his tweet, Singh also said that his brother was hospitalized and that a bullet was still lodged in his chest even after 36 hours had passed.



his bravery deserves your attention for the best of his healthcare. I have written with high hopes. A msg should be sent across and that thief should be prosecuted this burglary took for 5time coz only indians worked in that shift.  shail singh (@shailsingh234) January 9, 2018





dear respected madam, please take some required steps and you know way more than us. please be nation's mother as this is required at this moment of the hour. let my brother and other feel safe and let the justice be imparted.

 shail singh (@shailsingh234) January 9, 2018

Responding to the plea, Swaraj said that she has asked the Consulate General of India (CGI) in Sydney to provide all the help and assistance to the injured man.

The foreign minister also said that she had asked the CGI and High Commission of India in Canberra to take stock of the situation and keep her in the loop in case of any developments.



I have asked @cgisydney to send me a complete report on this. They will provide all help and assistance to your brother and keep me informed. @HCICanberra https://t.co/AP3gERLEH5  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) January 10, 2018





A pizza restaurant worker was shot at Wentworthville this morning after confronting a gunman who had demanded cash. https://t.co/FW2K7rVQhj

 NSW Police (@nswpolice) January 6, 2018

In his series of tweets, Singh also drew Swaraj's attention towards the safety of other Indians working with his brother. He said that this was the fifth time such an incident had taken place, highlighting that only Indians worked that shift.
Pinarayi Vijayan

Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh today likened Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un saying they 'looked, acted and behaved' similarly.

His statement comes days after Vijayan had lavished praise on Kim Jong-Un for putting up a 'tough' resistance against the 'imperialist' America better than the Communist-ruled China.

"The Kerala government chief looks like, acts like and behaves like Kim Jong", Singh told reporters here. He also alleged that the CPI(M) led LDF government physically annihilated those who raise voices against it.

Vijayan, while addressing a CPI(M) district committee meet at Kozhikode last week had said that North Korea was showcasing a better example in defending 'imperialist' forces.
Honda Africa Twin

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Japanese bike and scooter makers appear to have judged Indias two-wheeler buyer better than their Indian counterparts, leading to a gradual shift in market share to these foreign brands.

Indias top seven two-wheeler companies, which control 99 percent of the 18 million units a year domestic market, have seen a slow erosion of market share of Indian companies.

With the exception of TVS Motor Company and Eicher Motors-owned Royal Enfield, two big Indian brands, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto, have ceded ground to Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki.

As per data available with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturer (SIAM), the three Japanese brands have increased their hold in the Indian two-wheeler market to the tune of nearly 36 percent by end of November. Four years ago their share stood at 32 percent.

Share of Indian companies (Hero, Bajaj, TVS, Royal Enfield) have shrunk to 64 percent by end of November compared to 67 percent reported four years ago as per the same data.

While Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki have indeed stepped up their play in India in recent years, the change in market share dynamics is also partly because of a continued rise in demand for scooters where Bajaj Auto has refused to enter.

Mahindra & Mahindra, which entered the market in 2008, decided to give up on the mass market segment after several attempts and due to strong competition. The company will now focus only on premium bike and scooter category.

Chennai-based TVS Motors has not only defended its share but has increased it too with the help of strong products like Jupiter, Scooty (both scooters), XL Super (moped) and Apache (motorcycle). TVS increased its share to 14.1 percent from 13 percent.

Similarly, Royal Enfield, with an all-motorcycle line-up, remains the outlier in the lot and has nearly doubled its share in the reporting four years. Its Chennai-based brand expanded share to nearly 4 percent from 2 percent during the period.

With a share of 29 percent Honda remains the biggest gainer amongst all the companies. It has reduced the gap between itself and the market leader Hero Motocorp substantially over the last few years.

Honda went past Hero in 15 states and 2 union territories including high-income states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Punjab. These 17 markets control 52 percent of the two-wheeler volumes.

Honda is still riding high on the Activa scooter which controls half of its domestic volumes and remains the largest-selling two-wheeler brand in India. As for Hero its bread-n-butter Splendor and HF Deluxe remains the backbone for the company. These two models are very popular in the agrarian and economically weaker markets such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan to name a few.

Recently Suzuki and Yamaha have upped their ante in India with the launch of new products in the premium segment. Suzuki launched the Intruder 150 while Yamaha launched the FZ 25 and Fazer 25 to challenge the dominance of Bajaj Auto who is strong in the premium bike segment.
trends Export Awards: Tribute to success of Indian apparel export industry The 22nd Apparel Export Promotion Councils Export Awards 2016-2017 were held in New Delhi to pay tribute to this success story and the spirit of innovation demonstrated and fostered within the Indian apparel export industry.
China growth: Slowdown concerns in US and China, due to the trade war between the two countries, have caused global investors to worry. (Image: Getty Images)

China will not attend an international meeting of foreign ministers in Canada to discuss North Korea, China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a daily news briefing, ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the meeting would not help resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula because not all of the main parties would be there.

Canada and the United States are co-hosting the meeting in Vancouver on Jan. 16 to demonstrate international solidarity against North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.

Representatives of the countries that sent troops or other military support to the U.N.-backed effort to repel North Korean forces after the 1950 invasion of South Korea will attend.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will replace Obama-era carbon and clean water regulations and open up a national debate on climate change in 2018, part of a list of priorities for the year that also includes fighting lead contamination in public drinking water.

The agenda, laid out by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in an exclusive interview with Reuters on Tuesday, marks an extension of the agency's efforts under President Donald Trump to weaken or kill regulations the administration believes are too broad and harm economic growth, but which environmentalists say are critical to human health.

"The climate is changing. That's not the debate. The debate is how do we know what the ideal surface temperature is in 2100?... I think the American people deserve an open honest transparent discussion about those things, said Pruitt, who has frequently cast doubt on the causes and implications of global warming.

Pruitt reaffirmed plans for the EPA to host a public debate on climate science sometime this year that would pit climate change doubters against other climate scientists, but he provided no further details on timing or which scientists would be involved.

Pruitt said among the EPA's top priorities for 2018 will be to replace the Clean Power Plan, former President Barack Obama's centerpiece climate change regulation which would have slashed carbon emissions from power plants. The EPA began the process of rescinding the regulation last year and is taking input on what should replace it.

aA proposed rule will come out this year and then a final rule will come out sometime this year, he said. He did not give any details on what the rule could look like, saying the agency was still soliciting comments from stakeholders.

He said the agency was also planning to rewrite the Waters of the United States rule, another Obama-era regulation, this one defining which U.S. waterways are protected under federal law. Pruitt and Trump have said the rule marked an overreach by including streams that are shallow, narrow, or sometimes completely dry - and was choking off energy development.

Pruitt said that in both cases, former President Barack Obama had made the rules by executive order, and without Congress. "We only have the authority that Congress gives us," Pruitt said.

Pruitt's plans to replace the Clean Power Plan have raised concerns by attorneys general of states like California and New York, who said in comments submitted to the EPA on Tuesday that the administrator should recuse himself because as Oklahoma attorney general he led legal challenges against it.

BIOFUELS AND STAFF CUTS

Pruitt said he hoped for legislative reform of the U.S. biofuels policy this year, calling it substantially needed and importanta because of the costs the regulation imposes on oil refiners.

The Renewable Fuel Standard, ushered in by former President George W. Bush as a way to help U.S. farmers, requires refiners to blend increasing amounts of biofuels like corn-based ethanol into the nation's fuel supply every year.

Refining companies say the EPA-administered policy costs them hundreds of millions of dollars annually and threatens to put some plants out of business. But their proposals to change the program have so far been rejected by the Trump administration under pressure from the corn lobby.

The EPA in November slightly raised biofuels volumes mandates for 2018, after previously opening the door to cuts.

The White House is now mediating talks on the issue between representatives of both sides, with input from EPA, and some Republican senators from states representing refineries are working on possible legislation to overhaul the program.

Pruitt said he also hoped Congress could produce an infrastructure package this year that would include replacing municipal water pipes, as a way of combating high lead levels in certain parts of the United States.

aThat to me is something very tangible very important that we can achieve for the American people," he said.

Pruitt added that EPA also continuing its review of automobile fuel efficiency rules, and would be headed to California soon for more meetings with the California Air Resources Board to discuss them.

California in 2011 agreed to adopt the federal vehicle emission rules through 2025, but has signaled it would opt out of the standards if they are weakened a a move that would complicate matters for automakers serving the huge California market.

In the meantime, Pruitt said EPA is continuing to reduce the size of its staff, which fell to 14,162 employees as of Jan. 3, the lowest it has been since 1998, under Ronald Reagan when the employment level was 14,400. The EPA employed about 15,000 when Obama left office.

Nearly 50 percent of the EPA will be eligible to retire within the next five years, according to the agency.
Asserting that H-1B visa holders drive innovation and help build and strengthen the American economy, top US lawmakers today hailed the Trump administration's decision that it was not considering any proposal which would force such people to leave the country.

"The Trump Administration's decision to back off this counterproductive proposal is a positive step forward," said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans.

Her statement came a day after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it was not considering any proposal that would force H-1B visa holders to head back towards their respective countries.

"H-1B visa holders, many of whom become small business owners and job creators, drive innovation and help build and strengthen our economy," Gabbard said.

The announcement follows the reports that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of 7,50,000 Indians.

"While it remains a priority to invest in training and create a pipeline of skilled American workers, we must continue to leverage the talent and expertise of the hundreds of thousands of H-1B visa holders to fill the gaps in our domestic workforce," Gabbard said.

Last Friday, Gabbard and Congressman Kevin Yoder, member of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian- Americans, sent a letter to US President Donald Trump urging him to reject the proposal to deport H-1B holders awaiting permanent residency processing.

Soon after, along with mounting pressure from businesses and political leaders, the Trump administration reportedly backed off from the counterproductive proposal, the two lawmakers said in a statement.

"I have seen personally how high-skilled immigrants have helped my community and so many others across the country by filling critical labour shortages in specific industries, preventing employers from fleeing overseas to fill them," Yoder said.

"These are the people who have helped America grow and thrive as a nation of immigrants and we need to make sure our system continues to value those who are following our laws and doing the right thing," he added.

Every year, the US grants 85,000 H-1B visas to highly skilled applicants, including roughly 70 per cent for Indians, seeking employment and educational opportunities.

According to the National Foundation for American Policy, more than half of privately-held companies worth USD 1 billion or more in the US had at least one immigrant founder, with many entering into America on an H-1B visa, including the CEOs of both Microsoft and Google.

"America has provided me and many hundreds of thousands of folks on H1-B an opportunity to further our careers after education.

"It also taught us that if you are determined and hard working and follow the established process, there are opportunities for everyone," said Alok Madasani, an H-1B visa holder and survivor of last year's shooting in Olathe, Kansas.

"There are folks who moved here decades ago and have kids going to school here, the place they call home. Every process can be improved continuously for maximum output and current H-1B process can also be improved but eliminating it on a whole affects much larger audience," he said.

Madasani said he was "grateful" to the administration for reconsidering the changes to H-1B extensions for persons with pending green card applications.
An Indian-origin shopkeeper was killed after he was punched for refusing to serve cigarette paper to under-age UK teenagers at his shop in north London.

Vijay Patel, 49, was attacked in Mill Hill area of the city on Saturday night and rushed to hospital, where he died of head injuries on Monday.

Patel's death bed photograph, hooked up to a life-support machine, has been released by his family as part of an appeal to hunt for suspects involved in the attack.

A 16-year-old boy appeared in court on Wednesday and was charged with murdering Patel, the father of two.

"The Homicide and Major Crime Command continue to investigate and appeal for information about the events leading up to the incident which resulted in Patel's death. It is believed that three persons were involved in the incident," Scotland Yard said in a statement.

Detective Inspector Ian Lott, from the Metropolitan Police Homicide and Major Crime Command, described the attack as an "unprovoked spontaneous incident sparked entirely by refusal to let the suspects buy what they wanted".

"A man has lost his life for no reason other than trying to uphold the law," he said.

Patel was struck in the chest and fell backwards, hitting his head as he landed.

He was found lying injured on the pavement outside his local convenience store named Rota Express by London Ambulance Service, who rushed him to St. Mary's Hospital in London.

Patel had moved to London with his family from India in 2006 and his wife, Vibha, was visiting relatives in India at the time of the fatal attack.

"We are shocked and heartbroken. He was such a kind person. We are all very close because his children are out of the country studying," said the victim's brother, Prakash.

The shopkeeper's friends described him as "honest" and "hard-working".

An online fundraising page set up for his family and has so far raised more than 15,000 pounds.

Just before the attack, a shop worker had asked a group youths for identification to prove they were over 18 years age  the legal age limit for purchase of tobacco and alcohol in the UK.

When they could not provide it, the group became "became aggressive, threatening to vandalise the shop", the Met Police said.

Patel, who lived in Colindale area of north London, came to the aid of his colleague and was punched to the floor outside before the teenagers fled.

The shop worker was also punched and suffered minor injuries.

"Vijay was the best human being you could have seen in the world. He was my right arm," said Abdullah Rahimzai, the owner of the shop who was also hurt during the attack.

"He fell unexpectedly with his head on the ground," he recalled.

The Met Police are appealing for witnesses to track down the remaining suspects in the case.
Out of the Egyptian parliament's total 596 MPs, 490 have signed recommendation forms in favour of nominating President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for another four-year term in office during this year's presidential elections.

Article 142 of Egypts 2014 constitution states that a hopeful presidential candidate must secure the recommendation of at least 20 MPs, or 25,000 citizens from 15 governorates, with a minimum of 1,000 from each governorate.

MPs signed the forms one day after the election timeline was announced at a press conference by the National Elections Authority (NEA).

NEA chairman Lasheen Ibrahim said that recommendation forms would be sent to more than 350 public notaries across Egypt and to parliament so that citizens and MPs can use them to officially support the presidential candidate they favour.

Ibrahim said that in accordance with the Article 142, recommendation forms approved by NEA members were sent to public notaries so that citizens can use and document them before they are submitted to the NEA."

Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal told MPs that the recommendation forms were sent by the NEA on Tuesday morning and MPs can use them in accordance with Article 108 of parliaments internal by-laws.

An MP cannot recommend more than one candidate or sign a recommendation form on behalf of a fellow MP, said Abdel-Aal.

MPs were quick to voice their support for El-Sisi's candidacy, even though the president has not officially announced his intention to run.

It is expected that the number of MPs to support El-Sisi's candidacy will reach 500 by late Wednesday.

MPs who recommended President El-Sisi include a number of high-profile figures, including parliament speaker Abdel-Aal, head of the majority Support Egypt Bloc Mohamed El-Sewedy, as well as head of the media, culture and antiquities committee Osama Heikal.

A number of opposition MPs including Nasserist Kamal Ahmed and Wafdist Mohamed Khalifa have also joined the El-Sisi supporters, while a number of leftist MPs, including political analyst Samir Ghattas and head of the 25-30 bloc Haitham El-Hariri, have abstained from joining the pro-Sisi MPs.

MP Ghattas told Ahram Online that he has no intention of recommending any candidate. Ghattas also dismissed rumours that some hopeful candidates such as former MP Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat have solicited his recommendation.

El-Sadat, the head of the liberal Reform and Development Party and nephew of late president Anwar El-Sadat, sent parliament speaker Abdel-Aal a letter on Wednesday asking for permission to gather recommendation signatures from 20 MPs, the minimum required by the constitution.

El-Sadat, who served as the ex-chairman of parliament's committee on human rights was stripped of membership in February 2017, has announced several times that he intends to run for president, on condition that the NEA guarantees that all candidates are treated equally in terms of campaigning and media coverage.

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Indian-origin British Parliamentarian Rishi Sunak, who also happens to be Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's son-in-law, was on Monday inducted into UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Cabinet.

Sunak is married to Narayana Murthy's daughter Akshata Murthy and they have two children. He had worked as an analyst with Golman Sachs before starting his own global investment company, and entered politics in 2014.

Having been elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) in 2015, the Conservative Party member was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Sunak is an alumnus of Winchester College, one of England's oldest and most famous schools. He graduated from Oxford University's Lincoln College and later did his MBA from Stanford University in California.

Apart from the 37 year-old Sunak, Indian-origin Conservative Party MP for Fareham Suella Fernandes was also appointed to May's Cabinet as a minister in the Department for Exiting the European Union. Both Sunak and Fernandes are Brexit supporters.

In the process of reshuffling some of her top ministers and secretaries, Prime Minister May appointed numerous Parliamentarians belonging to ethnic minorities in the UK. According to May, the move was aimed at making the British government "look more like the country it served".
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leads her first cabinet meeting of the new year following a reshuffle at 10 Downing Street, London January 9, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Leal-Olivas/Pool - RC12094B8F70

Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys chief Narayana Murthy, is among two new Indian-origin MPs to be inducted into the UK government by British Prime Minister Theresa May following the recent reshuffle of her team of ministers.

Sunak, 37, a Conservative party MP for Richmond (Yorkshire), has been appointed the new parliamentary under- secretary of state in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of a New Year reshuffle this week.

Sunak is joined by fellow pro-Brexit campaigner, Goan-origin Suella Fernandes, who takes charge as parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU).

Sunak and Fernandes, who take charge of their junior ministerial roles as part of Theresa May's team, were among the prominent Indian-origin campaigners in favour of Britain's exit from the EU in the June 2016 referendum, pushing for closer ties with Commonwealth countries like India.

"From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future," said Sunak.

The UK-born son of a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner father is married to Murthy's daughter Akshata Murthy.

The Oxford University and Stanford MBA graduate co- founded a 1-billion-pound global investment firm and specialised in investing in small British businesses before his entry to the British Parliament in the 2015 general election.

Since his re-election in last year's snap election called by May, Sunak was widely tipped for a ministerial role in a government keen to enhance the ethnic mix of its Cabinet.

Sunak believes small businesses in the UK would flourish as a result of Brexit as the "vast majority of British businesses (94 per cent) do not have anything to do with the EU; but they are still subject to all EU law".

Fernandes' political career has had a similar trajectory, having entered Parliament as a Tory MP in 2015 and then re- elected in the June 2017 snap poll.

The Eurosceptic MP for Fareham has been equally vocal in favour of Brexit, which she believes will allow Britain to strike closer bilateral ties with Commonwealth countries like India and enable "qualified doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs from non-EU countries" to make a positive contribution to the UK economy.

Britain decided to leave the European Union after the Brexit referendum on June 23 2016. The country expected to exit the bloc by March 2019.

The resignation of Priti Patel, a high-profile pro-Brexit voice, as international development minister amid controversy over an Israel visit last year had left the top rungs of the UK Cabinet short of many ethnic minority faces.

The addition of Sunak and Fernandes takes the number of Indian-origin MPs in Theresa May's ministerial team to three, with Alok Sharma  Conservative Party MP for Reading West  moved from his post as housing minister to employment minister.

He tweeted that he was "looking forward" to his new role in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The British Prime Minister hailed "a new generation of gifted ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK" as part of her New Year reshuffle, seen as slightly chaotic after an incorrect announcement had to be hastily withdrawn earlier this week.

Downing Street said that following this week's reshuffle, there are more women attending UK Cabinet, more female ministers and more members of the government from ethnic minorities.

The number of women who are full Cabinet members has remained the same as before at six but the number of other senior female ministers also attend Cabinet has risen from two to four, taking the total number of women around the table to 10.

Two government departments have been renamed, with Housing added to the title of the Communities Department and the title of health minister Jeremy Hunt's brief now including social care.

The Opposition Labour party dismissed the reshuffle as a "pointless and lacklustre PR exercise", with party leader Jeremy Corbyn saying the governments "big plan for the new year is to dodge the real issues".
Kulbhushan Jadhav

Prominent Pakistani journalist, Taha Siddiqui who had condemned the behavior meted towards the wife and mother of Kulbhushan Jadhav was beaten up by armed men. The gang, which had over 10 men also made a futile attempt to kidnap him.

The news came into public notice after several Pakistani journalists tweeted about the shocking incident that was also reported by Pakistans prominent newspaper The Dawn. As per the report, Siddiqui, who is the Bureau Chief of Wion News also lost his valuables during the kidnapping attempt from which he survived by jumping out of the car of his possible abductors.

Also Read: Pakistan journalists condemn fellow mediapersons who heckled Jadhav's mother and wife



This is Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) using Cyrils a/c. I was on my way to airport today at 8:20am whn 10-12 armed men stopped my cab & forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now. Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances

 cyril almeida (@cyalm) January 10, 2018

According to a Twitter post that carried a hashtag, 'StopEnforcedDisappearances credited to Siddiqui that appeared on another journalist Cyril Almeidas account, the incident took place on Tuesday morning while he was on his way to the airport in Islamabad. While the attackers forcibly blocked his car and tried to put him inside their car, Siddiqui escaped.

Several other Journalists too tweeted in support of Taha Siddiqui.



Taha Siddiqui, a Pakistani journalist, was beaten and threatened, and only escaped by running through oncoming traffic. pic.twitter.com/odsasHDa85  Asad Hashim (@AsadHashim) January 10, 2018





Journalist community must condemn the kidnapping attempt of @TahaSSiddiqui with full unity no compromise on harassment of media

 Hamid Mir (@HamidMirPAK) January 10, 2018



Taha Siddiqui, one of Islamabad's finest journalists, was attempted abducted today. A court last year ordered the federal investigation agency to stop harassing him. Stay strong, Taha. https://t.co/jGwkucqcUR  Sune Engel Rasmussen (@SuneEngel) January 10, 2018

What remains to be seen is any suspected role the state-sponsored agencies may have had in the attempted kidnap attempt. The country is infamous for the alleged role government establishments including military play in extra-judicial abductions of people who are critical to them including journalists, academicians, activists, and students. Siddiqui himself has been on the radar of these agencies for a long time due to his writings that are critical towards Pakistani military establishment.

Pakistan ranks 139 out of 180 countries listed on the World Press Freedom Index 2017, by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF).

While it is not yet clear whether the attack was directly linked to his tweets that were critical towards the misconduct shown to the Jadhav family, the incident is an example to the intolerance towards criticism prevailing in the country.
South Korea's president-elect Moon Jae-in thanks supporters at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon - RTS15V8L

South Korean President Moon Jae-in credited U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday for helping to spark the first inter-Korean talks in more than two years, and warned that Pyongyang would face stronger sanctions if provocations continued.

The talks were held on Tuesday on the South Korean side of the demilitarised zone, which has divided the two Koreas since 1953, after a prolonged period of tension on the Korean peninsula over the North's missile and nuclear programmes.

North Korea ramped up its missile launches last year and also conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, resulting in stronger international sanctions. Tuesday's talks, the first since December 2015, were held to resolve problems, revive military consultations, and avert accidental conflict.

"I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks," Moon told reporters at his New Year's news conference. "It could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure."

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged threats and insults over the past year, raising fears of a new war on the peninsula.

Washington had raised concerns that the overtures by North Korea could drive a wedge between it and Seoul, but Moon said his government did not differ with the United States on how to respond to the threats posed by Pyongyang.

"The denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula the two Koreas agreed upon jointly (in the past) is our basic stance that will never be given up," he said.

"Im open to any form of meeting, including a summit (with North Korea), under right conditions," he said. "Having said that, the purpose of it shouldnt be talks for the sake of talks."

However, Pyongyang said it would not discuss its nuclear weapons with Seoul because they were only aimed at the United States, not its "brethren" in South Korea, nor Russia or China, showing that a diplomatic breakthrough remained far off.

Washington still welcomed Tuesday's talks as a first step to solving the North Korean nuclear crisis. The U.S. State Department said it would be interested in joining future talks, with the aim of denuclearising the North.

The two Koreas agreed to hold multiple talks on a number of issues, including between military officials from both sides, and Pyongyang said it would send a large delegation to next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Moon also said his government would continue working towards recovering the honour and dignity of former "comfort women", a euphemism for girls and women forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels.

However, he also said historical issues should be separated from bilateral efforts with Japan to safeguard peace on the Korean peninsula.

"It's very important we keep a good relationship with Japan," Moon said.

On Tuesday, South Korea said it would not seek to renegotiate a 2015 deal with Japan despite determining that the agreement was not enough to fundamentally resolve the divisive issue, and called for Japan to take more steps to help the women.
A small group of demonstrators block traffic to demand action by the federal government on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in downtown San Diego, California. (Reuters)

A US District Judge has blocked Trump's administration on Tuesday from stopping the Dreamers programme that protects young people living as undocumented immigrants living in the US.

Trump had decided to rescind the Dreamers programme in 2017. US district judge William Alsup ruled on Tuesday that the policy must continue till a legislative decision is made.

Trump on Tuesday said that he would extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme but it would be conditional on tighter border security measures. Trump has said the next step after a decision on DACA would be a comprehensive immigration reform.

Alsup said the US government should process renewal applications from people previously covered by the policy. However, he said that the government need not process new applications.

The Dreamers programme or (DACA) programme was passed by Obama in 2012. It prevents the deportation of young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S as children along with their parents. It also gives the right to work legally.

About 800,000 people have benefited from this policy since it was in 2012, according to a Reuters report.

(Inputs from Reuters)
Tanzania understands that the River Nile is the lifeblood of Egypt, Tanzanian foreign minister Augustine Mahiga said during a joint press conference with Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo on Wednesday.

Mahiga said that he and Shoukry discussed ongoing talks between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), expressing his confidence that bilateral relations and maximising the use of Nile water for both countries was a vital issue in solving conflicts.

The Tanzanian minister added that the Nile was the lifeblood of all Nile Basin countries, and that its use is regulated through international agreements that organise the use of water, affirming his countrys support of negotiations between Nile Basin Countries.

Shoukry addressed developments in Egypt's diplomatic relations with Sudan, which recalled its ambassador to Cairo last week for consultation.

Egypt has said that the Sudanese move was over the Halayeb and Shalateen region in southern Egypt, which Sudan claims is its sovereign territory.

The Egyptian foreign minister said that Egypt aspires to strengthen ties with Sudan, denying that the two countries have suspended the 2004 Four Freedoms agreement, which allows free movement of citizens between both countries, as well as working and owning property with no special permit.

Shoukry added, however, that the agreement has not been effect over the past period.

Shortly before the press conference, Shoukry said that Egyptian companies wish to increase investments in Tanzania, especially in petrochemicals, agriculture, energy, as well as fighting corruption.

Shoukry also highlighted the role played by the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) and the Egyptian Nile Basin Development initiative in offering expertise for Tanzanian trainees.

Abu Zeid added that the two ministers held a political consultation meeting before the launch of operations of the Egyptian-Tanzanian joint ministerial committee.

The talks covered a number of regional issues of bilateral interest, including the latest round of GERD negotiations and Shoukrys recent visit to Ethiopia, as well as the instability in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and several other African countries.

The meeting also involved discussions on issues set to be discussed at the 30th African Union Summit, which is scheduled to take place from 22 to 29 January 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The African duos talks come ahead of the conclusion of the third round of joint Egyptian-Tanzanian talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation.

The joint committee's meetings began on Tuesday at the level of senior officials, and were headed by Egypt's Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs Mohamed Idris and the Permanent Secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry.

The committee meetings scheduled for Wednesday will be attended by officials from the two countries ministries of agriculture, irrigation, water resources, electricity, trade, investment, health and tourism.

The meetings will include "intensive talks between the two sides on strengthening existing cooperation in these fields, and exploring new areas and prospects of enhancing cooperation between Egypt and Tanzania."

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi visited the Tanzanian city of Dar Al-Salam in August 2017 and called for closer economic and trade cooperation between Egypt and the eastern African country.

Tanzania's President John Magufuli is set to visit Egypt in 2018.

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Israeli occupation forces set up roadblocks and deployed around a major Palestinian city in the West Bank on Wednesday in a manhunt for attackers who shot dead an Israeli settler.

Raziel Shevah, a 35-year-old rabbi, was killed late Tuesday while driving near the wildcat settlement where he lived, Havat Gilad near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Some 22 gunshots were found in his car, Israel's army radio reported. The gunshots reportedly came from a passing vehicle.

"Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks," the military said in a statement.

"The review of the incident is ongoing. Based on situation assessments, it was decided to reinforce the area with additional forces."

The area frequently sees tensions between Israeli settlers and Palestinians.

Nablus is the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank with a population over 150,000.

Palestinians estimate the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank at 750,000.

Palestinian security sources said they were not aware of any arrests yet, but added that Israeli settlers in the area had thrown stones at Palestinian cars.

Sporadic unrest has occurred since US President Donald Trump provoked Palestinian anger by recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6.

Fourteen Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded since in clashes with Israeli occupation forces since Trump's announcement.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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France said on Wednesday it was "extremely concerned" by a Syrian government offensive in the rebel-held northwestern province of Idlib and demanded that commitments made at an international deal in Astana to reduce hostilities be respected.

Nearly three million people are believed to be in the Idlib region, their numbers swelled by fighters and civilians who fled Syrian army advances elsewhere in the country.

"France condemns the intense bombardments carried out by the Bashar al-Assad regime's air force and its allies in the Idlib region in recent days, particularly those targeting the civilian population and several hospitals," France's foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added that deliberately targeting health centres constituted a violation of international law.

The Syrian army, supported by Iran-backed militias and Russian air power, began an offensive in late October in Hama province. By the end of last week, they had advanced into Idlib, close to an insurgent-held military airport.

The fighting and air strikes have forced more than 60,000 people to leave their homes since Nov. 1, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The area is part of a de-escalation zone agreement in the Kazakh capital Astana last year between Turkey, which supports rebel groups, and Assad allies Iran and Russia.

"We ask that the commitments made in Astana be respected, so that the violence stops as soon as possible. Safe, comprehensive and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need must be ensured immediately," the ministry added.

It also said it was "outraged" by the ongoing siege in Eastern Ghouta, another rebel-held area, where the U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesday that at least 85 civilians have been killed since Dec. 31.

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Despite the intense pressures the Iranian regime has faced due to the protests that swept the county as of 28 December, the government has shown no signs of willingness to change its domestic and foreign policies in a way that would diminish the possibility of another wave of demonstrations.

In fact, the measures the regime has taken so far suggest that it has failed to grasp the underlying causes and the nature of the protests. Although the military establishment  above all the Revolutionary Guard  declared last week that the demonstrations had ended, they continue to spread from one province to another.

The government has stated that it would step in to reduce the costs of certain commodities whose prices have soared recently, yet it has not signalled any intent to lower the levels of funding it provides to allies abroad.

Meanwhile, the regime has sustained its roundups of individuals believed to be instrumental in the demonstrations. It has targeted university students in particular, as they have always played a central role in protest activity in Iran in light of the important political status of the student movement in the country.

Not surprisingly, the regime continues to harp on the theme that the protests are supported by foreign agencies with the intent of undermining the pillars of the regime from within, even though it is perfectly aware that the protests have their roots in actual domestic conditions worsened by the regimes radical policies.

These policies, which run counter to the will and aspirations of the people, contributed to aggravating the popular discontent, ultimately driving thousands to pour out to the streets to voice their views, not just on the governments policies and programmes but also on the performance of the political system.

The Iranian regimes attitude is reflected in a statement released by the Revolutionary Guard on its website Sabah news on 7 January 2018: "The people, tens of thousands of Basij, the police and the Ministry of Intelligence, have succeeded in suppressing the unrest provoked by foreign enemies."

Mohsen Rezaee, former Revolutionary Guard commander and current secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, added that the demonstrations were the product of plans designed by the US, the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (the Peoples Mujahedeen) organisation and loyalists of the former regime of the shah who are in Irbil in Iraq.

Ironically, the foregoing statement conflicts with remarks by quite a few prominent Iranian politicians and clerics who held that some of the protesters demands were legitimate. They also criticised the government for failing to deal seriously with the standard of living problem faced by a broad segment of the Iranian people. The popular economic frustrations, they said, fuelled the protests and drove demonstrators to condemn the governments policies.

Rezaees statement conflicts with other concrete realties, most notably the substantial Iranian influence in Iraq. In addition to its strong relations with the central government in Baghdad, Tehran also has good relations with some Kurdish forces in the north which contributed to obstructing the Iraqi Kurdistan bid to act on the results of the independence referendum in September.

Iranian authorities took other decisions that are likely to have negative repercussions. One is the Supreme Educational Councils decision to ban English language instruction in primary schools. The decision was a response to Supreme Guide Ali Khameneis warning that teaching children English at an early age would increase the chances of Western cultural invasion.

The foregoing developments have two important implications. Firstly, the regime is still in the thralls of conspiracy theorising as a way to explain the current protests. Its line of reasoning is that the West is conspiring to invade Iran culturally after having failed to do so militarily.

Secondly, the openness espoused by President Hassan Rouhani's government has proven itself no more than a facade, an attempt to touch up the Iranian image abroad but with no genuine intent to take measures to improve relations with Irans neighbours and to stop supporting the forces of anarchy and instability.

President Rouhani, for his part, has shown that his policies are, in effect, merely an attempt win support and enhance his prospects of winning a second term in the presidential elections. He has no real desire to take the necessary measures to come through on his pledges for reform.

In general, if the regime succeeds in continuing the protest crisis, this will not cause the demands to fade away. To do so, it will have to stop its conspiracy approach to the protests, attempt to identify the deeper causes and devise mechanisms for meeting the peoples demands. If it fails to do so, as appears likely, Iran will be heading for a more severe crisis.

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Oil surged to the highest level since December 2014 as the worldwide glut that triggered the worst market collapse in a generation continued to shrink.

Futures gained 2 percent in New York. As the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pressed on with output curbs, a key U.S. government report on Wednesday is expected to show crude stockpiles dropped for an eighth straight week. That would be the longest stretch of winter inventory declines since 2007-2008.

"Production cuts and demand are continuing to rebalance the market," Gene McGillian, a market research manager at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut, said by telephone.

Oil in New York has traded above $60 a barrel and the international benchmark Brent has held above $66 since December as OPEC and allied suppliers capped output and pledged to do so for the remainder of the year. Yet, higher prices could spur a bounce in U.S. crude production. The Energy Information Administration increased its forecast for American crude output this year to a fresh record-high of 10.27 million barrels a day.

West Texas Intermediate for February delivery jumped $1.23 to settle at $62.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Cushing Levels

Brent for March settlement climbed $1.04 to end the session at $68.82 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $5.95 to March WTI.

U.S. crude stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma, pipeline hub probably fell by 1.5 million barrels last week, according to a forecast compiled by Bloomberg. Inventories at Cushing dipped below 50 million barrels through the week ended Dec. 29, the first time they have dropped below that level since February 2015, according to the most recent Energy Information Administration data.

"The market is anticipating a pretty good draw in the crude oil storage number," Bob Yawger, director of futures at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York, said by telephone.

The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release its stockpiles data on Tuesday.

Oil-market news:

OPEC supply curbs should create oil price stability in 2018 and prices might hit $70, according to Nigeria's NNPC. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh cautioned that OPEC doesn't want to see Brent above $60 because it may entice American shale explorers to boost production. The growth in shale output will keep prices from rising much, Christof Ruehl, head of research at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.




As President Trump and Congress prepare to address the nations infrastructure, the U.S. oil and gas industry wants a seat at that table.

In terms of infrastructure, the debate has typically focused on traditional infrastructure: Bridges, highways and roads, said Jack Gerard, president and chief executive officer of the American Petroleum Institute.

But energy infrastructure holds tremendous promise, he said Tuesday during his annual State of American Energy address, which was broadcast live on the internet.

According to a recent study, private investment in U.S. energy infrastructure is a more than $1 trillion proposition and could support more than 1 million jobs per year through 2035. By expanding our focus beyond traditional infrastructure and considering the great opportunity of energy infrastructure investments, we could potentially double the economic benefits of infrastructure in this country, he said.

Asked about the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on the energy industry, Gerard said the trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada has provided significant benefits for the energy industry in all three nations.

NAFTA is an important conversation, he said. Some areas need modernization and to be updated. But we hope the negotiations focus on the energy benefits.

Mexican oil is brought to U.S. refineries, processed and returned, and Canadian oil sands production is also brought to U.S. refineries, he said.

Another piece is energy reliance and geopolitical relationships, Gerard said.

When Mexico opened its industry to international investment, five leases offshore Mexico were secured by U.S. companies, said Gerard, who expects those leases to be developed.

Its better that the U.S. strengthen its relationships with Mexico and Canada than to make changes and introduce uncertainty, he said.

If that may be the case, he said it would be better to leave the agreement unchanged.

NAFTA has worked well and will continue to work well, he said.

The future of the industrys workforce was the topic of another question for Gerard, who touted the fact that average pay in the industry is nearly $50,000 higher than the U.S. average salary.

Asked about diversity in the industrys workforce, he said about 1.9 million new job opportunities are expected to be created in the industry by 2035, and women and minorities will fill about 40 percent of those jobs. In addition, millennials, who already comprise a third of the workforce, will be nearly 41 percent of the workforce by 2025, a 20 percent increase.

The theme of Gerards presentation was Powering the Impossible, and he said the industry was making possible what was deemed impossible just a short time ago.

Consider what was previously thought impossible. Weve taken the nation from energy scarcity to energy abundance. From making products abroad to a rebirth of U.S. manufacturing. From energy as a major pocketbook issue to lower gasoline, diesel, electricity and home heating costs. And today we are increasing energy development as were contributing to lower greenhouse gas emissions  a reality many believed was implausible, if not impossible., he said.
An Ector County ISD employee was arrested Tuesday after allegedly having an improper relationship with a student, according to the Odessa Police Department.

Elyssa Renteria Zuniga, 26, was charged with a second degree felony of improper relationship between educator and student.



An improper relationship between an educator and a student was reported to OPD on Jan. 3, according to the press release.
With a background as an educator, Summer Belloni sees value in breaks during the school day. The mother is sparking conversations about adding recess time at Midland ISD elementary campuses.

In general, in the classroom, kids who have regularly scheduled recess are able to focus better, she said. Theyre less fidgety, theyre not falling out of their chairs as often, and theyre able to maintain their focus.

Belloni is advocating for increasing the amount of minutes allotted for recess for kindergarten through sixth-graders. She said research has shown the behavioral, academic and social benefits of unstructured breaks.

Giving them autonomy, independence, it allows for them to be creative, Belloni said. Kids make up their own games. Kids build their own rules. Kids create the structure that they need because they are under adult structure all day.

Recess helps children reach the recommended 60 minutes per day of physical activity, according to an American Academy of Pediatrics publication that was a part of Bellonis research.

She said her initiative doesnt call for a set recess time or model. Instead, it encourages lengthening recess to fit the schedules and needs of individual elementary schools.

Belloni has conveyed the idea to district and campus leaders. She said the overall response to her initiative has been positive.

More Information For more information and links to research, visit the "MISD Recess Initiative" post on permiankids.com. See More Collapse

By and large, I feel like the administrators of the district are listening, and they are willing to support new ideas, she said.

For comments about recess and other topics, MISD invites parent input, according to Diane Lopez, executive director of elementary education and supervisor of nine schools.

To reach parents, Belloni plans to speak to campus PTA groups this month and posted information about the recess initiative on her website, Permian Kids. She hopes parents who favor the idea will express their support to leaders at their childrens schools.

I think our teachers know what their students  our children  need, Belloni said. So if our teachers are able to talk to their principals about it, then if our teachers would support them, I think thats how this movement can gain lengths.

Lopez said the district has given campus leaders the autonomy to make recess decisions and that its policies meet state requirements for physical education time. She said MISD also implements recess in elementary schools and encourages daily, unstructured time for students.

Some district teachers have shown innovation in their classrooms with scheduled break times or flexible seating, according to Lopez. She said the district has explored other options for activity, including those within physical education courses.

We know that recess gives more of an unstructured approach, which is why were looking at other ways that we could be innovative to provide students some of that unstructured time, she said.

Belloni said she is in favor of having physical education courses in addition to increasing recess time. She directed the Reporter-Telegram toward a study from the International Journal of Play, which found the following: recess offered, on average, 30 percent more steps per minute than organized gym periods.

Another MISD parent, Tonia Brown, notices the advantages of movement. Brown is a physical therapist and said exercising at an early age helps children develop healthy habits. She said it also provides social interaction and problem-solving opportunities.

The exercise is important, but all the other benefits are just as important, she said.

Brown said she became a proponent of adding recess time at the elementary level after noticing her active son had difficulty adjusting to only one break in his school day. She and Belloni hope parents reach out to campus leaders so district officials can make changes.

What I want them to do is start the conversation, look at the research, consider a model that works for their school and increase the recess minutes, Belloni said.
Local medical professionals have observed a recent spike in the number of patients with flu-like symptoms. Some health care providers are taking steps to help stop the spread of the virus, and they encourage Midlanders to use prevention measures as well.

At Briarwood Clinic, 70 percent or more of walk-in patients have tested positive for the flu. Jerry Lyon, family nurse practitioner, said about half of patients with confirmed cases had received flu shots this season.

One thing it tells me is that more and more, the scientists that are looking at what strains to protect you from, theyre coming up with more strains they didnt expect, he said.

Lyon said health entities are taking flu cases seriously this season. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue and vomiting or diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Statewide, influenza activity is increasing, according to a Texas Department of State Health Services surveillance report produced Friday. The report summarized flu and flu-like illness for the week ending Dec. 30 and stated the activity level was widespread.

The reports map shows Midland County had confirmed cases of Flu A and Flu B  two types of seasonal influenza viruses. Andrews and Lubbock counties were the only others in West Texas that reported the same level of influenza activity to public health entities.

Val Sparks, infection preventionist at Midland Health, said Midland Memorial Hospitals emergency room has had an increasing number of patients with flu-like symptoms.

It is peaking now, Sparks said. We dont always have this many coming in. It overloads our emergency room.

In the MMH emergency department, numbers reported this week total 96 confirmed Flu A cases and 29 confirmed Flu B cases. Those figures are higher than the ones reported the week of Nov. 27, when there were six confirmed Flu A cases and no confirmed Flu B cases.

We have lots of people getting the flu even though they had a flu shot, Sparks said. Its not a perfect match this year.

Still, health care providers encourage Midlanders to receive vaccinations. Though some flu activity started in the fall, local medical professionals are continuing to offer immunizations.

Its never too late to get the flu shot, said Sal Garcia, health manager for the city of Midland health department. Heres the deal: The flu shot will help you bounce back up if you do get the flu.

Garcia said community members can take other steps for flu prevention, such as staying home if they are sick, washing hands regularly and avoiding others who have illnesses.

To prevent the spread of the virus, MMH announced this week it is encouraging people with flu-like symptoms and children younger than age 14 not to visit people in the hospital.

If our patient doesnt have the flu, we dont want visitors bringing it to them, Sparks said.

The hospital is also disinfecting emergency department areas more frequently, distributing face masks to emergency room patients with flu-like symptoms and increasing signage related to flu prevention, according to a press release.

The flu season can stretch until spring, and Dr. Ikemefuna Okwuwa with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine at the Permian Basin is recommending people continue to take precautions. Okwuwa, assistant dean of clinical affairs and program director for the department of family medicine, encourages those who become sick to take action immediately.

When it comes to symptoms of the flu, you want to [control them] in a day or two, he said. Thats when medications like Tamiflu work the best.

Midland Memorial Hospital emergency department numbers

Week reported Confirmed flu cases (A and B) Influenza-like illnesses

Nov. 27 6 148

Dec. 4 9 141

Dec. 11 14 146

Dec. 18 37 167

Dec. 26 93 228

Jan. 1 150 199

Jan. 8 125 226
A Dallas woman accused of destroying at least $300,000 worth of sculptures and original paintings - including two original Andy Warhol works - at the River Oaks home of a Houston lawyer is challenging that attorney's story.

Lindy Lou Layman, 29, appeared in court Tuesday after a charge of criminal mischief was filed by well-known Houston trial attorney Anthony Buzbee on December 23.

"We certainly disagree with Mr. Buzbee's rendition of the facts when he spoke to the media and we disagree with what was said in probable cause court," said Layman's defense attorney Justin Keiter.

Asked what the real story was, Keiter deferred: "I'll save that for the courtroom."

Police allege that Layman threw two abstract sculptures and destroyed three original paintings at Buzbee's mansion.

Prosecutors have said Layman was on a first date with Buzbee, the high-profile attorney who successfully defended former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in an abuse-of-power case, when she became intoxicated and refused to leave. She then poured liquid on the paintings and threw the sculptures, according to court records.

"Our side has the rest of the story," Keiter said after Layman appeared before state District Judge Kelli Johnson, who set typical bond conditions.

Layman is free on $30,000 bail is prohibited from using drugs or alcohol or contacting Buzbee.

"We have no interest in having contact with Mr. Buzbee," Keiter said. "That's fine with us."

Assistant Harris County District Attorney Kelsey Leiper declined to comment after the brief hearing.

Outside of the courtroom, Keiter said Layman had been maligned by new coverage of the incident.

"She's weathering the storm of the intense media scrutiny that she has endured," Keiter said. "She's a great person."

Layman, who appeared with her father, did not speak in court or after the hearing.

Similar to allegations of theft or embezzlement, the level of the charge is determined by the value of the objects in question. In this case, Layman is accused of the maximum, a first degree felony. If convicted, she could face life in prison.
Nielsen Wins Norway's Audio Listening Contract

Nielsen has been awarded the contract to deliver official audience measurement for radio and other audio media in Norway, commencing on 1st January 2019.



Norway claims to be the first country in the world to have implemented full digital distribution for its national radio channels. The country's radio committee (NRK, Bauer, MTG) is focused on using existing and future technologies to analyse the service, which will include measuring and reporting all audio content from participating parties, live to time-shifted - including broadcast, online and podcast - independent of platform, device and where the listening takes place. The new service will use Nielsen's Portable People Meter (PPM) technology to document how many listeners each radio station has, how long they listened, who the listeners are and on what device they listened.



Ase Marit Linberg (pictured), Chairman of the Norwegian Radio Committee, comments: 'After a good tender process with strong competition, Nielsen had the best offer for the future radio and audio measurement. We look forward to working on developing our radio and audio content through thorough measurement and reporting from Nielsen'.



Web site: www.nielsen.com .




U.S. President Donald Trump told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in he is open to talking with North Korea, the South's presidential office said on Wednesday after they had spoken by telephone.

A day after North and South Korea held their first talks in more than two years, Trump said there would be no military action while talks are ongoing, the Blue House said in a statement after the phone call.

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A mathematician and a STEM education researcher use 3-D printing to teach Calculus 3 and see how it may change students' attitudes towards math.

The majority of students in Calculus 3multivariable calculus with technologyare not math majors. They are mechanical engineers, civil engineers, biologists, computer scientists. And those are people we want to make sure do their calculations correctly. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional calculus they learn in calc 3 helps them assess everything from water flowing through a dam, to heat transfer in materials, to the mechanical stress on a gear.

That's useful information, but everyone agrees: the hardest part of multivariable calc is learning to grasp the shapes on the textbook page in real dimensions.

That's why Cecile Piret, an assistant professor of mathematical sciences, and Joshua Ellis, an assistant professor of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, decided to have students 3-D print their homework.

"The goal is visualization," says Piret. "We need to make the math tangible and show how the real-world pieces work."

"It's easier to see all the sidesand it's better than copying someone else's drawing from the board." Julia Manzano, Carly Huggins, environmental engineering majors

Handheld Math Homework

The idea itself is not new. Ellis and Piret say that progressive math educators have been calling for using 3-D printing in calculus classes for at least five years. The problem is that few people have documented its effectiveness.

Julia Manzano and Carly Huggins examine a classmate's pendulum clock, which includes an escapement wheel, brass weight and stand.

Ellis is working with Piret and her classes to assess how well 3-D printed homework assignments help teach key concepts. The students built a clock tower with a Graham escapement and filled out surveys before and after the 3-D printing assignment to gauge if their outlook on math changed. The researchers plan to publish their results within the next year and, so far, they're optimistic about using 3-D printing in math classes.

"In other venues, we know hands-on experiences enhance student learning," Ellis says. "In this case, you can show me a student who passes a test or you can show me a student who builds a working clock."

3-D in Real Time

Thumb tacks. Cardboard. Metal Racking. Paperclips. A small brass weight. A bit of PLA filament. These are some of the building blocks for the pendulum clocks that students built in Piret's calc 3 class.

The clocks themselves demonstrate isochronism, the equal subdivision of time. The clock uses a 3-D printed escapement wheel tethered to a small weight that swings back and forth as a pendulum. The goal is to make the pendulum keep perfect time, tick-tocking back and forth as the weight slowly sinks to the tabletop. The students measured the length of the pendulum rod and calculated the angle of its swing to keep time properly. Friction, height, weight and the rod's center of gravity all matter.

Learning Objectives

"Basically, integrals got a whole lot harder."

Chase Scheel, a mechanical engineering student in the class, explains that the early days of single derivatives and integrals are gone. Integralsthe core of any calculus class that describe an area or volumeget more complicated with more dimensions. They become double and triple integrals.

"With 3-D printing, the problem becomes a tangible object, so it's easier to understand," Scheel says, adding that he feels lucky his high school calc teacher used 3-D printed objects in class.

Chase Scheel resets a pendulum clock, making sure it is level and perfectly vertical before swinging the brass weight to the side.

"What is incredible about 3-D printers is that one can now easily print, for instance, inventions by Archimedes or by Leonardo da Vinci," Piret says, adding that learning math by building a handheld model is appealing to engineering students. "Moreover, it is the case that, historically, breakthroughs in mathematics often emerged from a need to understand and solve concrete engineering problems."

For instance, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when navigation was central to trade and to territorial expansion, knowing one's position at sea was critical, but also difficult. A solution to the "longitude problem" was to build a device that could accurately keep track of time on a boat, despite potentially harsh weather. Christiaan Huygens spent years studying this problem, clocks and isochronism: in the mid 17th century, Huygens invented the pendulum clock, and although it didn't solve the longitude problem, it would be the most accurate timekeeping device until quartz clocks in the 20th century. His extensive work influenced the founders of calculus, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

Piret's students won't need to navigate the Cape of Good Hope but their homework does take their class into uncharted territory. Their 3-D printed pendulum clocks are both a throwback to old-school calculus and a new way to think about math education.

Grants and Funding Bridging teaching and research, Piret and Ellis' work is funded by a seed grant through Michigan Tech's Research Excellence Fund (REF). Learn more about the application process.

Beyond the Class The library is not simply a place for books. John Schneiderhan, library tech specialist, helps researchers and students with 3-D printing in a pilot program using Type A Machine Series 1 printers. As part of their research and teaching process, Piret and Ellis brought undergraduate Liane Novak on board to help with assessment, lesson planning and printing. In addition to hands-on learning in class, opportunities like Novak's give Michigan Tech students a cutting edge after college. Check out opportunities through the SURF program, Enterprise, coops and study aboard.

Superior Ideas Outreach, Blue Marble Security This project will raise awareness for Michigan Tech's Electrical and Computer Engineering department. Target groups are middle/high school students and women; the latter of which... See Project

Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigans Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.
The two main pro-independence parties in Catalonia have agreed to back former leader Carles Puigdemont as their candidate to head the region, raising the likelihood of a renewed push this year for a split from Spain.

However, the anti-independence party that won most votes in a Dec. 21 regional election poured scorn on the plan as Puigdemont remains in self-imposed exile in Brussels and it said he would be a "hologram president".

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called the election in Catalonia last month to try to resolve Spain's worst political crisis in decades after Catalan leaders declared independence in October following a banned referendum on secession.

Pro-independence parties secured a slim majority of seats but failed to win more than 50 percent of the popular vote, meaning there is still no end in sight to the months-long, and increasingly bitter, impasse.

The political instability in Catalonia, which accounts for a fifth of Spain's economy, has deterred tourists and prompted more than 3,000 companies, including the region's two biggest banks, to move their legal headquarters elsewhere in Spain.

The new Catalan parliament will hold its first session on Jan. 17, the first step in reinstating the local government after Madrid fired the old regional administration, led by Puigdemont, for illegally declaring independence.

MAJORITY MANDATE

The pro-independence parties Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC)(Republican Left of Catalonia) said on Wednesday they would support Puigdemont's return to the top job.

"The Dec. 21 result gave us the mandate to reflect the majority. The presidential candidate will evidently be Puigdemont," Junts pel Catalunya representative Jordi Xucla told Spanish national radio.

However, if Puigdemont is elected leader it is uncertain how he would govern from Brussels. He is likely to be arrested if he returns to Spain, where he faces charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds.

Ines Arrimadas, the leader of Ciudadanos (Citizens), which wants Catalonia to remain part of Spain, said a fugitive from justice could not be lead the region.

"You can't have a hologram president in Catalonia," she said in a television interview on Tuesday. "You can't be president of Catalonia from Brussels by Skype," said Arrimadas, whose party won most votes in December but not enough to form a government.

Once the Catalan parliament is formed, potential leaders of the regional government will put themselves forward for a vote of confidence. However, it could take months for a new government to emerge.

Many of the Catalan political leaders were arrested on charges of sedition and rebellion after the independence declaration. Three are still behind bars pending a trial, while Puigdemont, with four of his cabinet members, fled to Brussels.

The other main potential candidate to represent the pro-independence parties would be ERC leader Oriol Junqueras, who is serving a custodial sentence in a Madrid jail.

Junqueras has asked for release from jail to attend the first meeting of the new Catalan parliament.

In an editorial published on the Politico news website on Wednesday, Puigdemont reiterated his call for talks with Madrid, which Rajoy has tentatively agreed to but on condition that the region drop its push for independence.

"Madrid must be made to understand that what is needed is dialogue, negotiation and agreement on the future relationship we Catalans want to have with Spain - one based on respect, recognition, cooperation and equality," Puigdemont wrote.

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One year after her death, Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton's friends and family members are still grieving.

Lt. Clayton's involvement w/ community grew after joining OPD

Clayton volunteered time with Central Fla. Urban Leagur, PKZ

Sisters say they want Clayton's legacy to live on



RELATED: Lt. Debra Clayton, Deputy Norman Lewis honored in 'day of celebration'

I just feel like when you lose a sister, you lose a piece of you," said Ashley Thomas, holding back tears.

Thomas and Nikkie Young grew up with their sister, Debra, in Carver Shores. A big family  three brothers and four sisters  the girls still looked up to their sister and sought her advice.

She was always mentoring people, even as a teenager," said Young. "She just had a pretty good outlook on life.

In the late 90s, Clayton told her family she planned to join Orlando Police Department.

I know my dad, he did say, you know its a dangerous job. And she was willing to take it on," Thomas said.

I asked her what was her reason, why does she want to become a police officer?" Young recalled. "And she told me that she wanted to help people.

Clayton's involvement with the community grew. After joining OPD, she branched out, volunteering her time with the Central Florida Urban League and Parramore Kidz Zone, or PKZ.

Debra and I had really created a good connection because of her heart for people," said Rev. Justin Felton, who met Clayton while they both worked for Commissioner Regina Hill.

Later, Felton and Clayton continued their work at the Central Florida Urban League.

She was a bridge from the people to law enforcement. And I believe the seeds that shes sown, theyre not in vain," he said.

Last January, Clayton was shot and killed at a local Walmart, after getting a tip about a suspect on the run.

That's the same Walmart where her sister, Ashley Thomas, would often meet her at for lunch.

She hasn't been able to return since the shooting, apart from a candlelit vigil to honor her sister's memory.

In my mind, I was still stuck at that point where I got that call," she said. I think that the community has been nothing but supportive.

A day after the shooting, students with Clayton's beloved Parramore Kidz Zone sat in their gymnasium in disbelief.

She was a loving person. She made you feel welcome," said Asha Davis.

Just thankful to have known her. And to be in her presence," added Sasha Mills.

Mills said that Clayton helped out the teens with their Dragon Boat races, recalling that when she first arrived to volunteer, "she was not a very good rower."

Then, Mills said, Clayton improved.

You can tell it was more than just sit in the boat for an hour. Actually wanting to build relationships," said Mills.

One year later, those in the community are reflecting on Lt. Claytons legacy.

That she cared about this community, that she was loving. Every time youd see her, shed have a beautiful smile on her face," said Commissioner Regina Hill. She was an all-around girl. And she has been missed, and she will always be missed. Its bittersweet."

The lieutenant embodied more than just a badge, many said.

People will not only just see a law enforcement officer, but theyll see an activist, a mother, a wife. And theyll see somebody who genuinely is the community," Rev. Felton said.

Her sisters, who both wear a button with Clayton's smiling face on it each day, want that legacy to live on.

She wanted to show people that all cops are not bad. And she did that by example," Young said. Her goal wasnt money, it wasnt reputation. It was were all here, all have a part we have to play.

Its really no words to describe her but amazing," added Thomas. "A hero, not only to her community, but to her family. And Ill miss her.
As the one-year anniversary of her sons death approached, Norma Lewis reflected on the life of her son, "Big Norm."

Its been a rough year, Norma Lewis said.

The Orange County Sheriffs Office hosted a service Tuesday at ICP church on Clarcona Ocoee Road in Orlando to remember Deputy First Class Norman Lewis and Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton, who died in the line of duty Jan. 9, 2017 in a manhunt for Markeith Loyd.

Sheriff Jerry Demings said Tuesday's service was part of the solemn commitment the law enforcement community made a year ago  a commitment to never forget the sacrifice the two law enforcement officers made when they lost their lives.

These two individuals embodied the type of law enforcement officers we all can be proud of. Their hearts were bigger than their badges, Demings said.

Orlando Police Chief John Mina said their last acts were to think about others.

Both of them, in the last moments of their lives  the last actions they took  were to protect this community that they loved so much, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said.

A few days earlier at the Sheriff's Office, Norma Lewis said the approaching anniversary is difficult to process.

There will be a lot of tears, but I will remember they will be tears of joy, Lewis said.

He was happy. He knew he was blessed, Lewis said. He was thankful even when he knew the days were not good.

"A DAY OF CELEBRATION" Norma Lewis, mom of @OrangeCoSheriff Deputy Norman Lewis, speaks about her son, one year after his death. Memorial events continue later today: https://t.co/M61S08tP08 pic.twitter.com/FsRtndc1JQ  News 13 (@MyNews13) January 9, 2018

But just a few months after Norm died, Lewis lost her husband of almost 40 years. She said he died in part because of the grief of losing their son, Norman.

Im OK. Every day is a blessed day. I take the good with the bad, Lewis said.

Im just thankful for the 35 years God gave us his angel, and when Norms work was done down here, God called him home. So Im all right with it.

After her sons death, Lewis moved to Central Florida. In August, she joined her sons fellow deputies in dedicating a road named for him.

Sheriff Jerry Demings now speaking at @OrangeCoSheriff's service for Deputy Norman Lewis and Sgt. Debra Clayton. VIDEO of him walking into service with Lewis' mother, Norma moments ago. @MyNews13 @OrangeCoSheriff pic.twitter.com/4IHD2gzZEg  Jeff Allen (@News13JeffAllen) January 9, 2018

She continues to check on young people her son mentored.

Now that Norms not here, a lot of kids are having it kind of hard, she said.

And shes urging others to help.

Im asking Orlando, please help Orlando in any way you can, Lewis said. Keep Norman alive in your heart, your spirit and in doing what you can do.

She's now focusing on trying to continue her sons work to help others. Norma Lewis is urging donations to Central Florida C.O.P.S., a nonprofit organization that helps survivors of fallen law enforcement officers, an organization she says has helped her often in this last year.

"As long as I have breath, thats my mission, Lewis said.
WALLINGFORD  The town finished the 2016-2017 fiscal year with a $1.4 million deficit, according to a recent financial audit.

As a result of the shortfall, the towns general fund balance, or so-called rainy day fund, fell from $29.2 million on June 30, 2016, to $27.8 million on June 30, 2017, according to the annual audit, prepared by the BlumShapiro accounting firm of West Hartford.

Town Council Chairman Vincent Cervoni said the decline in reserves concerns him as the town begins preparing the 2018-19 budget.

In light of the fact that were going into this budget year with a less-than-perfect certainty about what funding we will get from the state, it leaves me concerned, said Cervoni, a Republican.

Cervoni added he believes the $1.4-million deficit based on generally accepted accounting pricinciples, or GAAP, is small compared to the towns overall budget of around $160 million.

It's unfortunate, but still relatively insignificant, Cervoni said about the size of the deficit. It's the kind of thing that makes having an unallocated reserve important.

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. also expressed concern about the decline in reserves.

We certainly don't have the money we've had in the past, and what that spells for the future is troubling, given the states problems, Dickinson said. It's a good reminder of the tightening of revenues and well have to be very mindful of that as we go into another budget season.

Democratic Councilor Vincent Testa said that while the council needs to be conscious of the lower reserves when budgeting, I dont think alarm bells have to go off.

I just think we need to be a little more careful about how were putting together our budget and continue to reconsider and be more creative about how were funding capital expenses, Testa said.

Comptroller Jim Bowes said there are two ways of measuring the towns financial performance in a given year. One measurement is GAAP, which are pracitces established to ensure that accountants are using the same standards to promote transparency and allow for comparison between financial statements of public or private entities.

This method considers additional line items, such as payments made in the current fiscal year for expenses originally incurred in past years. The second measurement to determine a surplus or deficit, called budgetary standards, only looks at expenditures and revenues budgeted for a specific year, and doesnt account for costs that might roll over from past years.

According to the audit, the towns budgetary, or non-GAAP, expenditures of $155.6 million exceeded non-GAAP revenues of $155.2 million, indicating the town had a budget deficit of $430,000 last fiscal year.

The difference between the $1.4 million GAAP deficit and the $430,000 non-GAAP deficit shown in the audit is created by $801,000 in costs from purchase orders from past years that were not received and liquidated until 2016-17, and $227,000 in accrued wages from the previous year.

Bowes, however, wrote in a memo last week that the town actually recorded a budgetary surplus of $314,000. He arrived at this number by subtracting $744,000 of appropriations-in-force from the towns total expenditures for 2016-17, which the audit did not do. Appropriations-in-force are items that were budgeted for in past years but paid for last year.

You have to extract that out if you want to do a true budget analysis on amounts approved for in the fiscal year, Bowes told the Record-Journal this week. The full 180-page audit can be viewed online through the state Office of Policy and Mangements electronic audit reporting system.

This is the first year the towns general fund balance has decreased since fiscal year 2009-10, according to past audits. From fiscal year 2010-11 to fiscal year 2015-16, the town recorded an average GAAP surplus of $1.19 million, with surpluses ranging from $671,000 to $2.1 million. The towns general fund balance grew by $7.1 million in that time.

Wallingford has one of the largest general fund balances among Connecticut municipalities of similar size, according to data from the state Office of Policy and Management.

Bowes said the GAAP deficit in 2016-17 can be partly attributed to reductions in the towns state grant revenue, which totaled $1.3 million in fiscal year 2016-17, according to Bowes.

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said he doesnt consider the audits findings a true deficit because the town still holds a positive balance in its general fund.

I don't see that as a deficit, Dickinson said. Deficit to me means that you're less than zero. We aren't in the minus, we just have a lesser amount than before in the general fund balance.

Among the $27.83 million the town held in reserves at the end of last year, only $2.4 million is unreserved and undesignated, according to Bowes. His memo stated that $7.2 million of the $27.82 was designated to balance the 2017-18 budget, $1.69 million was previously appropriated for different items and carried forward from past years, $135,000 is assigned to purchase orders that were not yet complete as of June 30, 2017, $143,000 is prepaid for gasoline and fuel and the town chooses to retain the remaining $16.2 million for credit rating purposes.

The town finished the 2015-16 fiscal year with $6.6 million in unreserved and undesignated reserves, according to a memo Bowes sent to the mayor in December 2016.

In recent years, the reserve fund has been a subject of debate, with some arguing it has become too large and is a sign of overtaxation.

Cervoni said he hopes this recent audit will change the way people look at the reserve fund.

If you think we've been overtaxed you really need to rethink that based on the last audit, Cervoni said.

mzabierek@record-journal.com

203-317-2279

Twitter: @MatthewZabierek
The Egyptian parliament approval preliminarily on Tuesday a law regulating debt restructuring, preventive composition and bankruptcy, MP Haitham El-Hariri told Ahram Online.

The law is expected to improve Egypts ranking in the World Banks Doing Business report, Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr told MPs on Tuesday.

The legislation guarantees protection for financially struggling investors, allowing debtors to file for bankruptcy.

Without a law to govern it, insolvency cases had previously been handled by the courts, with businessmen facing prison for not paying their debts.

The new law would put in place a mediating system to avoid referring cases to criminal proceedings.

The law also simplifies procedures and guarantees safe exit for companies that go bankrupt, with a possibility for integrating businesses back into the market through debt restructuring.

It also protects creditors by guaranteeing they are paid their dues.

The bankruptcy law complements the investment law, which was promulgated by the president in June to attract foreign investors and cut down on bureaucracy.

The law was approved by the cabinet in January 2017 under former Investment Minister Dalia Khorshid, and awaits final approval by MPs before being ratified by the president.

Egypt ranks number 115 in the Resolving Insolvency index in the Doing Business 2018 report, the lowest rank being 168.

Egypt dropped six places in the World Bank Doing Business report 2018 to 128 out of 190, down from 122 in the 2017 report, according to the latest report issued in November.

Short link:


The parent company of listener-funded radio station KPFA-FM is aiming to keep the station on the air with an emergency $2 million bridge loan to pay off a legal judgment for back rent on a New York transmission tower.

A New York judge had ruled that Empire State Realty Trust could begin seizing assets of the Pacifica Foundation to cover a $1.8 million judgment against WBAI, the New York sister station of KPFA. Empire State Realty Trust had filed a motion in California to follow through on the seizure after a 30-day waiting period. The motion was to have gone into effect Monday.

Representatives of Empire State had promised to give at least one days notice before seizing assets, and before that happened a dozen Pacifica supporters came forth to chip in on the $2 million balance due. The loan was verbally committed by supporters of another Pacifica station, KPFK in Los Angeles, said Bill Crosier, interim executive director of the Pacifica Foundation.

This would be a short-term loan to pay off the judgment, then the plans are to repay it with another, longer-term loan, Crosier explained.

With the addition of the bridge loan, Pacifica is $8 million in debt, and that debt is growing every day. The rent on the transmission tower for WBAI, which sits atop the Empire State Building, is $60,000 a month, and the $2 million covers rent and interest only until last May. Pacifica has since incurred another $400,000 in unpaid back rent, on a tower lease that runs through 2020, with built-in annual increases of 9 percent.

We seem to be stuck with the tower lease. Thats why I recommended filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy, Crosier said. But the Pacifica board has decided not to do that.

Speaking from Houston, Crosier said a loan broker is shopping for a new $3 million loan to pay off the bridge loan, pay the accrued transmission tower rent and cover some unmet pension obligations. Pacifica is not a great candidate for favorable loan terms since it already has high debt and poor cash flow, he said.

One obvious way to raise cash is to sell its properties.

Pacifica owns four buildings free and clear  although there are tax liens on its two Berkeley buildings. One of them has been listed for sale for $1.5 million with Norheim & Yost, said Grace Aaron, a national board member.

Still, a long-term financial solution probably will involve signal swaps in which one or more of Pacificas powerful transmitters is traded to another station for a signal with lesser reach, with cash in the bargain, Crosier said.

We have offers, he said, and all of them involve some pain.

A likely candidate would be the signal for WBAI, which reaches 15 million people in the New York metropolitan area. WBAI is the worst-off financially of the five sister stations, Crosier said.

The signal for KPFA reaches most of the Bay Area. That signal is probably safe.

KPFA is the most successful station financially, Crosier said. It would be irresponsible to mess with that.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @sfchronicle_art
A nationwide immigration raid targeting 7-Eleven convenience stores included six Bay Area cities, immigration officials announced Wednesday.

Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Suisun City, Petaluma and Sebastopol were among the areas inspected by Immigration Customs Enforcement officers to ensure that businesses are operating with employees who have proper work authorization, according to a statement released by ICE. Agents served notices of inspection to the majority of stores, giving employers three days to provide proof that employees have a right to work in the U.S., while 21 individuals were arrested nationwide.

ICE called the investigation a follow-up to ensure the chain is complying with federal law following a 2013 case in which nine 7-Eleven owners were arrested on charges of wire fraud, identity theft and employing unauthorized immigrants.

One owner was at large until his arrest in November. The remaining owners pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in restitution for wage theft.

The operation reflects the immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, which has increased arrests by 40 percent from the previous administration and pledged to spend billions of dollars on a wall along the Mexico border.

While the raids were clearly coordinated on a national level, it appears ICE kept Bay Area law enforcement agencies in the dark. In Santa Clara County, Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Rich Glennon said the agency had no information on this ICE operation whatsoever.

Sheriffs offices in Napa and Sonoma counties also said ICE gave no notice to their agencies.

Lt. Ed Crosby, a spokesman for the Petaluma Police Department, said he only learned of ICE activity in his area from the morning radio. Federal agencies are not required to contact local law enforcement, and the department has no record of ICE having called to notify them.

We like it when they do, for obvious reasons, Crosby said. Its just good etiquette and good sense to do it.

James Schwab, a spokesman for ICEs San Francisco bureau, did not release information on the states where 7-Eleven employees were detained, but ICE officers targeted 7-Eleven locations in Washington, D.C., Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

The company released a statement noting that it requires all of its locations to comply with state, local and federal laws, and franchises found to be violating the law have had their agreements terminated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
InGenesis, a privately held San Antonio-based health care staffing firm, on Wednesday said it has acquired the health care specialty business of Kelly Services.

We have enjoyed and look forward to a continued relationship with Kelly Services, InGenesis founder and CEO Veronica Muzquiz Edwards said in a press release. We understand and mirror their level of quality, caliber of personnel and welcome the opportunity to service the distinguished clientele portfolio they have built,

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Troy, Michigan-based Kelly Services had a total market value of roughly $1.1 billion and 1,100 employees as of Tuesday. Kellys healthcare workers will transition to InGenesis, with uninterrupted services, the news release said. None of the positions will be eliminated, InGenesis said.

The announcement comes as InGenesis marks its 20th year as a national health care staffing company having grown to 50 satellite locations as well as a second headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area. It now manages thousands of health care professionals for hundreds of clients nationwide.

We are thrilled with this acquisition as it blends the storied tenure of Kellys health care business with our focused innovation, Edwards said.

John Drew, Kelly Services vice president and managing director, praised the deal.

InGenesis has been a partner for many years and has a well-earned reputation for creating and providing excellent services to clients, he said. Their expertise in the field of health care will allow this segment to flourish.

The transaction will be completed in February and is being fully funded by InGenesis.

Lynn Brezosky is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | lbrezosky@express-news.net | @lbrezosky
Oakland police on Wednesday named the BART officer who fatally shot a suspect allegedly armed with a gun last week as Joseph Mateu.

The Oakland department, which is investigating the case, also released a photo of the black handgun Shaleem Tindle, 28, allegedly held before he was shot by Mateu.

Mateu was hired by BART as a community service assistant in 2003 and became a police officer in 2005, according to Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for the transit agency. He was promoted to the rank of senior officer in January 2010.

Mateu was inside the West Oakland BART station Jan. 3 when he heard shots ring out about 4:40 p.m., Oakland police said.

The officer found two men in a struggle with each other at Seventh and Chester streets, across from the station. One was armed with a handgun, police said.

After several commands were given, the officer discharged his firearm striking the man who was in possession of the handgun, an Oakland police statement said. He later succumbed to his injuries.

Relatives of Tindle, an Oakland resident, mourned his death on social media, including Karim Mayfield, a boxer who has fought across the country and won the WBO NABO super lightweight title in 2011.

My Heart Is broken, I lost my little brother Shaleem last night. Please don't ask me I'm I ok ... I'm obviously not, he posted on Facebook.

Two witnesses to the confrontation said the man who had shot the other in the leg was then fatally struck by the BART officers gunfire.

The Oakland Police Departments homicide detectives are investigating the incident. The Alameda County district attorneys office and BARTs internal-affairs investigators are each conducting parallel probes, too. Mateu remains on paid leave.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
SAN ANTONIO  No dog wears a smile  or brings smiles to others  quite like a dog named Squish.

Originally brought to an Ohio animal shelter as a stray pup less than two years ago, Squish faced possible euthanasia due to blunt force trauma to his head that prevented him from opening his jaw to eat.
The states higher education commissioner will discuss issues within the system Wednesday morning.

Commissioner Raymund Paredes will hold a quarterly call with reporters on Wednesday. His presentation comes mere months after he met with university regents around Texas on the states aggressive goals to increase graduation metrics.

The state aims to have at least 60 percent of Texans aged 25 through 34 earn certificates and degrees through 2030.

At the University of Houston System's recent board meeting, Paredes identified several target populations whose enrollments are lagging in achieving those goals: black students, Hispanic students, economically disadvantaged students and men.

Look for more on this story at HoustonChronicle.com.
Kutztown University

KUTZTOWN, Pennsylvania  Katie Seegert of Old Saybrook has been named to the fall 2017 deans list at Kutztown University. To be eligible, an undergraduate student must be registered for at least 12 credits and have a minimum grade-point average of 3.60.

Pennsylvania College of Technology

WILLIAMSPORT, Pennsylvania  The fall 2017 deans list has been announced at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Local students named include: Austen J. Caron, Higganum, bachelor of science, building automation technology; Jonathon M. Conway, Durham, associate of applied science, diesel technology; and Evan M. Slawinowski, Durham, associate of applied science, diesel technology

Pennsylvania State University

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania  Pennsylvania State University recognizes full-time undergraduate students for its deans list who achieve a grade-point average of at least a 3.5.

Olivia Melillo of Cromwell was named to the fall semester 2017 list with a 3.8 grade-point average. She is pursuing a bachelor of science degree in communication sciences and disorders.

Providence College

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island  Alexandra DeFrance of Middletown, a member of the class of 2020 at Providence College, is a 2016 graduate of Middletown High School and a premed major. She was named to the deans list for the fall 2017 semester. To qualify, students must achieve at least a 3.55 grade-point average with a minimum of 12 credits.

Nazareth College

ROCHESTER, New York  Nazareth College announces Emily Pattavina of Higganum has been named to the deans list for the fall 2017 semester. Pattavina is majoring in communication science and disorders and minoring in Spanish. A students grade-point average must be at least 3.5 or above, and they must complete 12 credit hours of graded work that semester in order to be included on the deans list at Nazareth.

Eastern Connecticut State University

WILLIMANTIC  Four political science majors from Eastern Connecticut State University presented original research at the Northeastern Political Science Association meeting in November in Philadelphia.

Among the students was Mikhela Hull 18 of Clinton, who majors in political science and sociology. Hull gave a presentation titled Explaining Child Protection Policy Failure.

My experience at the conference was extremely rewarding, Hull said in a prepared statement. I was very nervous to present because I had never presented my own research before, but my professor and the other students I attended the conference with really helped calm my nerves.

Colby-Sawyer College

NEW LONDON, New Hampshire  Colby-Sawyer College recognized students for outstanding academic achievement during the 2017 fall semester. To qualify for the deans list, students must achieve a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale while carrying a minimum of 12 credit hours in graded courses. Those honored include Bridget Turecek of Middlefield, a member of the class of 2021 majoring in biology.

Hamilton College

CLINTON, New York  Claire V. Curran, daughter of Andrew and Jennifer Curran of Middletown, has been named to the deans list at Hamilton College for the 2017 fall semester. To be named, a student must have carried throughout the semester a course load of four or more graded credits with an average of 3.5 or above.

Curran, a sophomore, is a graduate of Middletown High School.
To the editor:

Remember several months ago when the White House Press Secretary (Spicer) was asked if he tells the truth at press briefings? It was a strange moment for journalists with formal training. The question leans toward the "Do you still beat your wife?" category.

Fake news is one of the terms popping up in my high school journalism classes, but what does it mean?

Trump says it is news made up by journalists to sell newspapers; journalists say it is a term designed to weaken journalism and the First Amendment. Neither is true.

Many years ago I covered the state government beat as a journalist and became involved in an adversarial relationship with a government official. I decided to use every piece of negative information about the guy to make him look bad. It is one of the few things I regret from my days as a reporter.

My college journalism teacher emphasized sticking to the facts and leaving opinion out of news stories. Journalists should report facts from different views without colorful adjectives. Trump could tone down some of his Tweets, but he has shown he is not the conventional politician willing to look the other way when attacked by reporters.

Some college and high school journalism classes are not explaining "objectivity" in news reporting. Journalism today reminds me of my playground days in elementary school when kids waged war over everything.

Jim Becka

Splendora

Sunset LSGCD

To the editor:

What a great letter to the editor exposing the financial condition of the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District as well as the LSGCD board wanting to raise the water rates (again) on the citizens, to cover their uncontrolled spending. Who oversees the LSGCD anyway? Who sets their budget? When is their job over and the entity dissolved?

Hopefully making the LSGCD board an elected position will make it more responsible. Hopefully Sen. Creighton will be able to change the Appraisal District Board to an elected position by the general public, not as it is now, that being the members are elected by the taxing authorities.

This is the best kind of reporting, investigative reporting.

Thank you, Michael B. Stoecker

Jim Howard

US should help the UN move

To the editor:

It has become apparent over many years that the United Nations is unhappy in their palatial offices in New York, so I believe that the United States, being concerned about their unhappiness, should help the United Nations move to a country more to their liking. Perhaps Saudi Arabia, Switzerland or somewhere in Africa might be more appropriate for them.

Many of the "diplomats" from a variety of countries have been feeding at the trough of money provided by the United States, yet they seem to vote against anything that the United States and Israel may propose, so I think it is time for us to help them cure their unhappiness by telling that they have two years to find suitable accommodations in another country. The "diplomats" regularly break our laws, yet they claim "diplomatic immunity" to avoid prosecution by our law enforcement officials.

I do not say the U.N has never done any good, but the amount of work that actually gets done pales in comparison to the amount of money that we have spent. It is time they found a new home!

We could help by sending a team of scouts to visit countries that might be interested in hosting this group. We might even recommend some metal building contractors who might be interested in constructing temporary buildings in which they could "work" until a magnificent structure, much like the facility in New York, could be completed.

Just think of the high-priced real estate in New York that could be utilized, which would produce revenue for the overtaxed and underserved citizens of the city.

John Hearn

Conroe
If Arizona state Rep. Don Shooter has learned anything over the past four months, it's that the hugs he shared with female colleagues were "perceived as creepy and lecherous" and the raunchy jokes he doled out while conducting the people's business weren't all that funny to people not named Don Shooter.

"If I'm going to be a comedian," the Republican told colleagues on Tuesday, reflecting on his newfound understanding of appropriateness, "I have to understand and be sensitive to my audience, not blame them when my jokes fall flat."

But there he was on Tuesday - at the special Arizona legislative mandatory harassment and discrimination training inspired by complaints colleagues have made about him - opening with a joke that made light of the #MeToo controversy tearing through state government.

"Members, I know you all want to thank me for my part in bringing you here today," he quipped.

What followed was a meandering, six-minute apology that was part self-defense, part victim blaming - and a climax to a months-long sexual harassment saga in the Grand Canyon state.

"My own involvement in all of this has been greatly magnified as a result of a complaint that was filed against me for reasons that I believe are largely unrelated to the complaint itself," Shooter told his colleagues. He added later that he was frustrated by "a few complaints that were not true or were made for personal or political vendetta."

At least nine people - lawmakers, lobbyists, a former intern for the Arizona Capitol Times - have said that Shooter made sexual or otherwise inappropriate comments or engaged in unwanted touching. The accusations resulted in Shooter being suspended as chair of the powerful appropriations committee and the rest of the legislature sitting through a two-day sexual harassment seminar ordered by the attorney general.

Other politicians and prominent Arizonans have demanded that Shooter resign. Two investigations are ongoing, and according to the House Speaker's newly-issued sexual harassment policy, a legislator who commits unlawful sexual harassment can be discharged from the chamber.

Shooter's first and most prominent accuser was state Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, a fellow Republican.

According to the Arizona Republic, Ugenti-Rita said Shooter sought a romantic relationship with her on several occasions, continuing to make advances even after she said it was wrong.

"There was an incident where he came to my office during the day and asked about my chest," Ugenti-Rita told 3TV. "At a conference, he came to my room uninvited with a six-pack of beer. I never answered the door."

Both Shooter and Ugenti-Rita are married. Neither responded to messages from The Washington Post on Wednesday morning seeking comment.

Ugenti-Rita wrote on Twitter on Nov. 8: "I've been contacted by several people concerning an individual regarding my sexual harassment claim and confirm Don Shooter is one of them."

Shortly after Ugenti-Rita's initial public comments, Shooter publicly apologized, then backtracked in a splenetic statement that accused her of having an affair with a legislative staffer.

"I was particularly critical of her carrying on a very public affair with House staff, specifically the House Speaker's Chief of Staff," he said in a statement sent to Phoenix CBS-affiliate KPHO that name-dropped his accuser's spouse. "I knew Frank, Michelle's husband and the father of her kids, and I thought it was a lousy thing to do."

Meanwhile, other women and one man came forward, saying Shooter's statements and actions had crossed the line.

A Democratic lobbyist said Shooter put his hand on her knee during a meeting at a Phoenix restaurant. Shortly after joining the legislature, a Democratic representative from Tempe said Shooter told her she "would be a nice view to look at." Another representative said she was uncomfortable when Shooter "repeatedly referred to his male genitalia as a gun."

The accusers join a chorus of women around the world who have shared stories about being groped, harassed or even assaulted - in Harvey Weinstein's office, at the Fox News studios, on the subway.

For those who have come forward and many, many others, the stories are an eye-rolling recognition that creepy guys exist in all careers, across all socioeconomic strata and even in the top rungs of government. The stories have different characters but similar themes: men in positions of power, and women who feel their institutions didn't do enough to protect them.

In Arizona, for example, Shooter was the chair of the appropriations committee and held large sway over budget requests. Many of the accusers said Shooter made inappropriate comments or touched them as they were requesting his help or influence.

And Ugenti-Rita said she reported sexual harassment to House leadership, according to the Republic, but was told they could do little because legislators are elected officials, not state employees.
NORWALK  Imagine hopping off a Metro-North train or walking out the doors of Norwalk Community College and being able to rent a bike to get around the city.

While the locations of the bike hubs have yet to be finalized, the effort to secure a bike share in Norwalk is gathering momentum.

Six months after assessing public interest in such a program  which would allow patrons to check out bicycles from self-service kiosks, similar to the Citibike program in New York City or Hubway in the Boston area  the Bike/Walk Commission officially put out a request for proposals in October.

Of the seven proposals received, three are under consideration. The commission whittled down the options based on factors, including the vendors previous track record serving communities similar to Norwalk and the extent of services provided. One requirement was that the bike share come at no cost to the city.

At the Bike/Walk Commission meeting Monday evening, chairwoman Nancy Rosett said two of the vendors under consideration, E3 Think and Zagster, are locally based.

E3 Think partnered with P3 Global Management to bring a bike share to New Haven late last year. Zagster lists a bike share in the Harbor Point neighborhood of Stamford on its website.

The final vendor under consideration is Gotcha, based out of South Carolina and California, which shipped a bicycle to Norwalk for consideration.

More Information Options for Norwalk bike share program E3 Think partnered with P3 Global Management to bring a bike share to New Haven late last year. Zagster, Inc. lists a bike share in the Harbor Point neighborhood of Stamford on its website. Gotcha Bike, based out of South Carolina and California, serves many universities including Auburn and Oklahoma. See More Collapse

All the vendors feature mobile apps for people to rent bicycles, and the bikes feature GPS, which allows the city to to see which routes are used the most  information that can help plan future infrastructure. In addition, the GPS data can be used to help retrieve stolen bikes.

The next step in the process is for the commission to meet with each of the vendors at some point this month.

However, Tom Glendening, owner of E3 Think, believes that there could be benefit to waiting to see where trends in a quickly transforming industry lead  for example, some bike sharing programs have begun putting the locks inside the bikes so that they can be left in more locations.

Norwalk is very well positioned to be a leader in mobility, he said. He saw Wall Street, SoNo and the South Norwalk train station as naturally lending themselves to transportation solutions such as bike shares. I pushed for a bike share here. But when the RFP (request for proposals) came out, it was just not a good time... The industry has turned on its head. Its changing at hyperspeed.

In July, Kaitlin Latham, health education associate for the Norwalk Health Department, said the city would explore contracting with a company to provide roughly 30 bicycles at five or six hubs around the city. Those hubs could include Calf Pasture Beach, the East and South Norwalk train stations, Norwalk Community College and the Waypointe development.

Rosett said those types of details are still being examined, and at last months meeting, she voiced a desire for the public to weigh in on potential locations.

That really is part of what we will negotiate with the vendor about, Rosett said.

Reporting contributed by Robert Koch and Mary OLeary.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
A federal appeals court says a Nevada software maintenance company violated copyrights held by Oracle on software the company downloaded from the website of the Redwood City computer giant and supplied to other users.

But while upholding much of a lower-court verdict of copyright infringement against Rimini Street Inc., the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the jurys findings that Rimini had violated California computer laws by using automatic downloading tools to obtain software files for its customers, in defiance of Oracles stated terms of use. Because Rimini had legal access to those files, the court said, its application of automatic tools, known as scrapers, was not illegal.

The ruling, issued Monday, reduced by about $21 million the jurys award of $124 million to Oracle in damages, interest and attorneys fees in 2015. The appeals court also told the trial judge to reassess the $28.5 million portion of the award allocated to attorneys fees in light of the reduction of overall damages.

Rimini, based in Las Vegas, provided support for other companies that used Oracle software. Oracles lawsuit challenged Riminis use of its licenses with Oracle customers to copy updates of Oracle software that Rimini then used for other customers.

The appeals court agreed with Oracle that its licenses with individual customers allowed only copying and use of software programs to support those customers, and not others.

The licensees may hire a third party such as Rimini to maintain their software for them, but nothing in the licenses permit them to grant a non-party to the license a general right to copy proprietary software, the court said in a 3-0 ruling. It was written by Jeremy Fogel, a federal judge from San Jose temporarily assigned to the appeals court.

On the other hand, the court said Oracle had failed to show that Rimini violated the law by using automatic downloading tools to acquire Oracle software in 2006-07.

Oracle initially encouraged customers to use automatic tools to obtain large volumes of files, but then changed its terms of use to prohibit the practice in response to an increased volume of mass downloads, the court said. It said Rimini halted use of the tools for about a year, then resumed their use to download hundreds of thousands of files at a time.

Fogel said the California computer law was intended to prohibit unauthorized taking or use of information. Because Rimini indisputably had such authorization to the Oracle files, he said, its use of an unauthorized method, even one that violated Oracles stated terms of use, did not violate the law.

Oracle said it was nevertheless pleased with the ruling.

Copyright infringement is at the core of Oracles dispute with Rimini, and the court of appeals affirmed all of the trial courts and the jurys findings that Rimini blatantly violated copyright law, said Deborah Hellinger, a company spokeswoman.

Rimini said Monday that it expects a substantial further reduction in the damages it has already paid to Oracle once the judge reconsiders the award of attorneys fees. The company also said it would pursue claims against Oracle for illegal anticompetitive practices.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
EAST HAVEN  In the nearly 15 years since Senate Republican President Len Fasano of North Haven was first elected, he has only been challenged once  until now.

Navy veteran and resident Joshua Balter will officially announce his plans Thursday to run against Fasano in the election this fall. He will make the announcement at the Town Green gazebo at 2:30 p.m.

Its a grass-roots campaign going up against a powerful man, Balter said. Im very different from Fasano. I work for the people. Im their employee. I am a tool for the people of my district. Its not about me being senator but about them being represented.

After seeing what he calls the harmful effects of the recent budget on the working class and poor, he could not stand by, and said the idea that taxpayers with middle incomes and lower incomes do better under the plan is not true, with millions losing health insurance subsidies and elderly seeing a decrease in their benefits. He was also getting more upset by the diatribe that our state is terrible.

Our state is great, he said. I no longer could allow this to go unchallenged.

Balter said a mantra in his family that was ingrained in him as a child was the value of your life is measured on did you make the world a better place while you were in it and that concept has motivated him to run for the state Senate seat, where he said he can do real good for residents of the state and his district.

Fasano is hurting the state, Balter said. Its not just political differences I have. He is leading the charge stopping the state from succeeding. Except for Steve Fontanas run, I dont understand why no one has challenged him in the past.

In dealing with the states $203 million deficit, Balter said the state needs to raise revenue in ways that do not harm residents, proposing several areas in which the state can increase funds without raising taxes.

Balter said he supports having highway tolls near the border, fair taxation and building up the states two deep water ports for commercial shipping and receiving to increase funds that will bring down the states debt and help invest in programs.

We have two fantastic deep water ports and it kills me foreign companies ship to the U.S. through Boston, New York and (New) Jersey when were right there, he said. These are things Fasano and GOP wont do and we can do easily.

He said he also believes in initiatives that support economic growth, such as increasing the minimum wage on a sliding rate that wont hurt small businesses and demands more from large commercial companies that can afford a $15 hourly wage.

Connecticut is blessed on one hand with having one of lowest poverty rates in the country, Balter said, but the number of citizens living near or under the poverty line is astronomical. ... Minimum wage was never meant to actually support a family and unfortunately thats the new reality.

Balter said his family was poor when he was young and they were on welfare when his mother applied for a state assistance program to go to school for nursing. The program paid her tuition and associated expenses and in two years, after his mother became a registered nurse, their family was never poor again.

She was paying taxes instead of needing aid, he said. This was an investment in my mother that paid off. And these programs increase how people feel about themselves.

Assistance programs like the one his mother benefited from create people who can afford to support themselves and dont need state aid, which frees up budget expenses and allows proper funding of programs, he said.

There are real programs that we can invest in that are not handouts, they are hand ups, Balter said. This isnt pipe dream stuff. Its real, factual things that work.

Balter is seeking a campaign grant through the Citizens Election Program, which ensures that anyone can run for office without the influence of special interest groups.

Its beautiful because it keeps big money and PACs out of elections and means guys and gals like me can run, he said.

Balter served 20 years in the Navy, retiring in 2012, and served two combat tours, first on a submarine then was transferred to shore duty. Hes made Connecticut his home since 1999 when the Navy transferred him. While still on active duty, Balter began attending Quinnipiac University School of Law and after retiring from the Navy he competed his degree and opened a practice focusing in family law.
The two paleontologists dissolving rock cores more than 200 million years old were looking for vestiges of freshwater algae. Instead, tiny fragments of insect scales caught their eye - remnants that a report published Wednesday identifies as the oldest evidence of butterflies and moths.

A series of fortunate events led to this discovery, which dates the insects to around 70 million years earlier than previously known, well before there were flowers around that they could pollinate.

In the fall of 2012, Paul K. Strother of Boston University, an expert in prehistoric pollen and spores, traveled to Germany to the lab of Bas van de Schootbrugge, a fellow microfossil paleontologist. There they dissolved cores dating to the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods by exposing the material to a nasty acid. The acid erased everything but fossilized organic material.

What grabbed Strother's attention were infinitesimally tiny scales. "It struck me that these looked like butterfly scales," he recalled.

Butterfly and moth wings are covered in tiny scales that overlap like shingles on a roof. The scientists contacted experts studying modern insects, who deflated their hopes of identifying butterflies. The scales were described as "not diagnostic," Strother said - meaning such parts did not belong only to a specific insect group. Some mosquitoes and flies have scales, too.

About a year later in Paris, Strother found himself seated at a dinner near a man named Torsten Wappler. The University of Bonn scientist, an expert in extinct insects, had just published an extensive phylogeny, or family tree, describing 479 million years of insect evolution. Strother, who kept images of the curious scales on his computer, whipped out the photos. Wappler examined them and told Strother that it would be possible to classify the insects. It would just take a lot of grunt work down the barrel of a microscope.

Van de Schootbrugge enlisted an undergraduate student named Timo J. B. van Eldijk for the task. "Timo is the guy that did all the work," Strother said.

The acid reduced the rock cores to what van Eldijk called "black organic smudge." Out of this smudge he had to isolate the scales, which to the naked eye look just like a pile of dust. He embedded the dust in a mixture of glycerol and water. Then, using a needle tipped with a human nose hair, van Eldijk managed to prod the scales into view beneath an electron microscope.

His investigation revealed that the scales were divided into two types. One set of scales was solid all the way through and compact as steamrolled almonds - "primitive," van Eldijk called them. The other scales were hollow, which proved to be the critical discovery - "the real shocker," he said.

Previous studies of insect phylogeny had shown the earliest moth and butterfly families with solid scales, van Eldijk said. They also had mandibles for chewing food. The insects that later split off the family tree developed hollow scales in their wings. And these younger moths and butterflies also grew proboscises: long sucking tubes for drinking plant nectar that curled like crazy straws beneath their heads.

In the textbook example of coevolution, butterflies developed proboscises in response to plants that developed flowers. The more intricate the flower's nectar spur, the more intricate the insect slurper became. Charles Darwin once received a box containing an orchid with an exceptionally long and slender spur. "Good Heavens, what insect can suck it," he wrote in an 1862 letter to a friend. Four decades later, biologists in Madagascar discovered an African hawkmoth with a wiry proboscis more than 10 inches long.

But plants did not evolve flowers until 130 million years ago, according to the earliest fossil flowers. "There's two possible scenarios if these [insects] really are pollinators" with proboscises, Strother said. Maybe there is a missing record of Triassic or early Jurassic flowers. Or maybe the proboscis came first - the scenario that the study authors hypothesize is more probable.

"During the Jurassic, the most dominant group of plants were the gymnosperms, like your classic pine tree," van Eldijk said. Conifer cones have indentations to catch male pollen. Insects might have drunk this pollen, if they had tubular mouths.

The new research, published in Science Advances, also reveals that moths and butterflies are survivors. At the end of the Triassic period, 201 million years ago, the world was going through an upheaval. Many marine species and some land animals went extinct. Some scientists suggest that intense volcanic activity wracked the planet, altering its climate. But moth and butterfly scales are present in the rock cores on both sides of the extinction divide.

"If anything, these butterflies probably profited" from the ecological niches left open by vanished species, van Eldijk said. "If we are to understand how this dramatic climate change, how this mass extinction, might affect insects right now, look to the past."

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URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/paleontologists-talk-about-the-earliest-fossil-evidence-of-butterflies-and-moths/2018/01/10/26f2b64e-f576-11e7-9af7-a50bc3300042_video.html?utm_term=.c5ea7deb6378
PARIS - French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to introduce a law against "fake news" by the end of 2018. But critics are voicing concerns over what they see as potential infringement on the freedom of expression.

Macron's proposal, announced last week, would add France to a growing list of European countries that have taken official action against disinformation online. A similar German law went into effect Jan. 1, and the Czech Republic established an anti-fake-news task force a year ago.

Although its specific contents have yet to be released, Macron's law would grant judges emergency powers to remove or block certain content deemed to be "fake" during sensitive election periods. It would also require greater transparency for sponsored content and permit France's media watchdog, the Conseil Superieur de l'Audiovisuel, to combat "any attempt at destabilization" by foreign-financed media organizations.

"Thousands of propaganda accounts on social networks are spreading all over the world, in all languages, lies invented to tarnish political officials, personalities, public figures, journalists," Macron told journalists last week.

"We are going to develop our legal means of protecting democracy against fake news."

Skeptics quickly pounced. "The first question is: What is fake news? Who will define it?" said Daniel Schneidermann, a media columnist for the French newspaper Liberation and the director of "Arret sur Images" (Freeze Frame), a leading online venue for media criticism in France.

"Fake news" has been an issue for Macron since France's 2017 presidential election, when numerous false reports claimed that he benefited from offshore accounts - stories that his far-right opponent, Marine Le Pen, regularly referenced. His campaign was also targeted in a major data breach on the last day of the contest, when thousands of emails and internal communications were dumped into the public domain before voters went to the polls.

By all accounts, his principal targets seem to be Russian state-owned media organizations, such as Sputnik and RT, formerly known as Russia Today. Both have French-language websites, and RT began broadcasting in France in late December.

At a joint news conference in May, Macron stood next to Russian President Vladimir Putin and decried these Russian news organizations as "organs of influence and propaganda that spread counterfeit truths about me." His view appears not to have changed: RT journalists, for instance, have difficulty securing accreditation for covering French government events.

"RT France journalists had already faced extreme difficulties and discrimination in doing their jobs, which included unfounded denial of access to En Marche HQ and the Elysee Palace," wrote Xenia Fedorova, chief executive of RT France, in an emailed statement. She referred to the headquarters of Macron's political party and the French presidential palace.

"Yet, recent comments by President Macron suggest that we are only at the beginning of curtailing of press freedoms in France - one that begins with an apparent attack against the 'alternative' media but may end up in persecution of all dissent, censorship and suppression of the freedom of speech for all," Fedorova added.

RT has also been the target of the crackdown in the United States, where its English-language channel was required last year to register as an agent of the Russian government in retaliation for allegedly publishing anti-American propaganda. RT's accreditation to cover Congress was subsequently revoked.

Most French journalists are loath to defend RT, and many share Macron's suspicions about the motives of organizations financed by the Kremlin. But some worry that a new regulatory law would be ineffective in fighting disinformation and would establish a risky precedent.

In an editorial, Le Monde, France's leading newspaper, said the law, "on a subject as crucial as the freedom of the press, is by nature dangerous."

In the French press, a common point of reference has been a similar new German law against hate speech. It was nominally intended to fight online threats, misleading accusations or defamation by forcing major social network platforms to withhold certain comments in Germany if they are deemed illegal and offensive and have been flagged by users. Critics call it a prime example of a well-intended law gone wrong.

Since it took effect last week, a number of users - among them prominent journalists and activists - have cited cases of what they perceive as infringement on freedom of speech. The German satirical magazine Titanic, for instance, was temporarily locked out of its Twitter account. A book author said Twitter removed a tweet in which she criticized German authorities for allegedly failing to pursue xenophobia investigations.

Many French journalists and academics point out that France - like Germany - already has regulations that restrict what can be published. An 1881 law, for instance, prohibits "the publication, the diffusion or the reproduction, by whatever means, of false news," among other things.

Macron's interest in social media platforms may only repeat the German example, some critics say.

"In theory, something along the lines of what Macron has proposed makes sense, but in practice it would have important difficulties," said Thomas Hochmann, a professor of law at the University of Reims and an expert on freedom-of-expression issues. "The problem on the internet is rapidity, and it will be hard for a judge to verify very quickly which news items are fake and which are not. Besides, there is a danger that Twitter or Facebook overreact and suppress more content than fake news."

For others, even a well-intentioned law that could be seen as limiting the freedom of expression for political ends would present a dangerous precedent in a European Union where rightist and nativist movements are on the rise.

"I'm very afraid of the bad effects that a law that has good intentions in France can have in other countries," said Frederic Martel, a writer and broadcast journalist on France Culture, a French radio program.

"Macron is the president of France, and I believe that he's somebody in favor of freedom of expression. But we are in Europe, and we have people in Hungary and Poland looking at France," he said. "And if the French president attempts to regulate content, our model will be taken as an example for them, and they can just say they're doing what the French are doing. And of course they will do that with different intentions."

Schneidermann and others see the least risky solution to the problem of fake news as more media literacy, not regulation. This is a line many French news organizations, notably Le Monde, have also adopted, investing heavily in tools that allow readers to investigate the origins of online information sources.

"Schools have a capital role to play," he said. "That's the least bad solution."

- - -

Rick Noack in Berlin contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - America's biggest businesses - from Apple to Koch Industries - have cheered President Donald Trump's tax plan and his push to rollback regulations, but they say Trump is wrong on immigration. Throwing a million immigrant workers out of this country, as Trump is threatening to do, would be devastating for the economy, business leaders say.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying organization and a powerful financial backer of many GOP senators and representatives, went as far as to predict "there will be a big upheaval" if Trump deports the 690,000 young immigrant "dreamers" and the 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants who have been in the country under a program known as Temporary Protected Status. Another 30,000 spouses of highly-skilled immigrants are also losing the right to work. In December, the Trump administration said it would do away with an Obama-era rule that allowed spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the United States.

"Think about taking 1 million workers out of our [economy] and what that would do to us right now," said Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after his giving annual "State of American Business" address. "Think about who those people are. They are our neighbors."

Many of Trump's top economic priorities for 2018 would be jeopardized if the administration starts mass deportations of these immigrants, many of whom work and have been in the country for years, Donohue said. Trump says he plans to unveil an infrastructure package soon, but Donohue says there aren't enough workers left to do all the rebuilding of roads, bridges and ports that politicians in Washington envision.

"If we do a $1 trillion-plus, 10-year infrastructure plan, we can't do that with the workers we have now," said Donohue.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce building is located just north of the White House. Two big banners that say "America. Built By Dreamers" are sitting just outside the front doors of the Chamber's building, aimed toward the White House.

Trump faces a tricky political and economic calculus on immigration. He promised his base of mostly white working-class voters in the Rust Belt that he would heavily restrict immigration, but the business community that has rallied around him again after the major overhaul of the tax code is adamant that the economic momentum of Trump's first year in office would fade if the president takes heavy-handed action to close America's borders to trade and immigration.

In a sign of just how united the business community is on immigration, Apple chief executive Tim Cook and Koch Industries chief executive Charles Koch, who often differ on politics, have recently joined forces to demand that Congress act swiftly to save the dreamers.

"This is a political, economic and moral imperative," Cook and Koch wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in December. "On a question as straightforward as this one, we are firmly aligned."

Unemployment is at the lowest level since 2000, and African American unemployment is at a record low, which Trump himself said he was "so happy" about last week. While many have pointed out that there is still an alarming number of people, especially men in their 20s through 50s, who are sitting on the sidelines because of drug addictions or other problems, the reality is not all of these people will be fit to work, business leaders say. Donohue noted that 20 percent of people who attempt to work in the construction industry "fail a drug test and can't work there."

Congress has until March to find a solution for the dreamers - immigrants who were illegally brought to the United States at a young age and grew up in the country. Trump and some Republicans want to see broader immigration reforms, including the building of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, as part of any deal for the 690,000 people currently in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. On top of that, the White House said this week that Salvadoran immigrants in the country under the TPS would have until September 2019 to leave or find a way to get a green card.

The Chamber said it was encouraged by the lengthy meeting Trump had Tuesday on immigration with members of Congress. Neil Bradley, the Chamber's top policy expert, said he felt the most productive outcome from the meeting was that the president acknowledged that immigration is going to have to move in "phases" and the first phase was to fix DACA and the Salvadoran immigrants.

"I don't think after all these years you tell everybody sayonara. It ain't going to happen," predicted Donohue.
Gov. Jerry Brown named a senior state water official to head Californias troubled water agency Wednesday, just days after the department was blasted in an independent report for having a culture of complacency and incompetence that contributed to last years near-disaster at Oroville Dam.

Karla Nemeth, a deputy secretary and senior adviser at the California Natural Resources Agency, is poised to take over the Department of Water Resources as it confronts criticism of how it manages a massive network of reservoirs and canals. Her appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.

The Brown administration said the change is part of a restructuring of the states water operations intended to improve dam safety and incorporate lessons learned at Oroville Dam.

The agencys largest water storage site and the nations tallest dam at Lake Oroville fell into disrepair. In February, pounding rain and large water releases caused the reservoirs spillway to collapse. A back-up spillway also failed. Fears that water would pour uncontrollably downstream prompted the evacuation of 180,000 people.

The agencys former director, Grant Davis, wasnt on the job when the spillway problems came to light, but he announced Wednesday that he would be returning to his position as general manager of the Sonoma County Water Agency. His tenure at the Department of Water Resources was less than six months.

The previous director, William Croyle, stepped down in July after also being at the helm for about six months, including during the Oroville crisis. Mark Cowin had served in the job for six years prior.

On Friday, a report ordered by federal regulators detailed a history of mistakes, lax inspections and botched repairs at the 770-foot Oroville Dam before the spillways gave way. The assessment concluded that the water agencys poor work culture contributed to the missteps.

Nemeth, 47, has a background in water and public affairs, having worked as a project manager for the states Bay Delta Conservation Plan and environmental and public affairs director for the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

Her appointment comes with the addition of two new executive positions at the Department of Water Resources, one responsible for dam safety and operations and one responsible for long-term water planning. The agency is folding its current position of deputy director for integrated water management.

This new team will help the state better prepare for ever-greater challenges to our infrastructure and flood management systems, and ensure that California is doing everything possible to ensure dam and flood safety, said John Laird, secretary of the state Natural Resources Agency, in a prepared statement.

The Department of Water Resources operates one of the worlds largest water grids, a system of nearly three-dozen dams and storage sites that channel water to 25 million Californians, including many in the Bay Area.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents blitzed dozens of 7-Eleven stores before dawn Wednesday to interview employees and deliver audit notifications, carrying out what the agency said was the largest operation targeting of an employer since President Donald Trump took office.

ICE said its agents showed up at 98 stores and made 21 arrests, describing the operation as a warning to other companies who may have unauthorized workers on their payroll.

"Today's actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," said Thomas Homan, the agency's top official, in a statement.

Homan characterized the operation as a new front in the Trump administration's broader immigration crackdown and its effort to increase deportations. ICE agents have made 40 percent more arrests in the past year.

"Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet," Homan's statement said. "ICE will continue its efforts to protect jobs for American workers by eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that exploit illegal immigration."

ICE said it sent agents Wednesday to deliver audit notifications and conduct interviews at 6 a.m., temporarily shutting down 7-Eleven stores in Washington, D.C., and 17 states: California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven has more than 60,000 stores worldwide, according to its website. In a statement, the company said it was not responsible for the hiring decisions of individual franchise owners.

"7-Eleven Franchisees are independent business owners and are solely responsible for their employees including deciding who to hire and verifying their eligibility to work in the United States," the company said in an emailed statement.

"As part of the 7-Eleven franchise agreement, 7-Eleven requires all franchise business owners to comply with all federal, state and local employment laws," the statement continued. "7-Eleven takes compliance with immigration laws seriously and has terminated the franchise agreements of franchisees convicted of violating these laws."

ICE described Wednesday's sweep as a follow-up enforcement operation that built on a 2013 raid resulting in the arrests of nine 7-Eleven franchise owners and managers. They were charged with "conspiring to commit wire fraud, stealing identities and concealing and harboring illegal aliens employed at their stores," according to the agency.

ICE said all but one pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in back wages to workers.

Last year, ICE said it conducted 1,360 employee audits, making more than 300 arrests on criminal and administrative violations. Businesses were ordered to pay $97.6 million in judicial forfeiture, fines and restitution, the agency said, and $7.8 million in civil fines.

"We are going to be doing more of this work and dedicating more resources to make sure businesses are complying with the law," said Dani Bennett, an ICE spokeswoman. "This is a demonstration of our commitment to enforcing the law."

Store owners and managers will have three days to provide the agency with information about the immigration status of its employees, Bennett said.

Prosecuting business owners who hire illegal workers is often difficult for the government, because company owners typically insist they were deceived by employees using fake social security numbers.

Supporters of tougher immigration enforcement want to require all employers to use the government's E-Verify system, which checks employees' I-9 employment eligibity forms, social security numbers and other identifying information with federal databases. Critics say E-Verify is error-prone and a needless expansion of government power.

Nearly 8 in 10 Americans said employers should be required to validate the immigration status of new hires, including 6 in 10 who support it strongly, according to a September 2017 Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Large majorities of Democrats (65 percent) and Republicans (93 percent) said they would back such a mandate, the survey found.
TORRINGTON  A Barkhamsted man was recently arrested after threatening to stab a woman in a Snapchat message and sending her an image of him pointing a shotgun at the camera, according to police.

Tanner Preato, 19, of 20 Alexandria Drive, was arrested Jan. 7 and charged with first-degree threatening and second-degree harassment.

According to a probable cause report, a Torrington police officer was dispatched to a Torrington address on the evening of Jan. 7 and spoke with the victim in the case, who reported having a sexual relationship with Preato in the past.

Victim 1 provided copies of numerous (Snapchat) messages where Preato threatened physical violence in the form of stabbing Victim 1. Preato also sent messages showing himself holding a 12-gauge shotgun with the gun pointed directly at the camera, said the Torrington officer in the report.

Preato sent 22 messages to the victim after the officer watched her block him on the app, according to the report. He allegedly created multiple accounts and continued to message her.

Connecticut State Police arrested Preato and brought him to the Torrington Police Department, according to the report. He spoke with the Torrington officer after arriving.

Preato admitted to sending all of the messages and also admitted to creating numerous accounts to continue messaging Victim 1 after being blocked, said the officer. Preato also admitted to sending the messages of the shotgun, but claimed he would never actually hurt Victim 1.

Preato was held in lieu of a $7,500 surety bail.

According to court records, he was arraigned Monday and a protective order was issued in the case. His bail was reduced to a promise to appear. He is next scheduled to appear in court Feb. 22.

Reach Ben Lambert at william.lambert@hearstmediact.com.
WASHINGTON - The State Department on Wednesday unveiled four tiered categories to warn travelers of potential dangers overseas, using common-sense language ranging from "Exercise normal precaution" to "Do not travel."

The new rankings replace the vague and often confusing system of issuing "travel alerts" for short-term dangers posed by events like health epidemics or mass protests, and "travel warnings" for long-standing concerns like armed conflict or political instability. The new rankings are applied to every country in the world, and even Antarctica.

Michelle Bernier-Toth, head of Overseas Citizens Services, said the changes were made because so few people understood the distinctions in the previous, broad rankings.

"I personally was tired of explaining the difference between a travel warning and a travel alert, even to some of my colleagues," she said. "We needed to make it more accessible to people, to make sure the information was more easily understood using plain language."

Under the new rankings, Level One, the lowest advisory, signals a need to "exercise normal precautions" in places where there is no more than the usual risk involved in international travel. Canada and Australia are among the countries ranked Level One.

Level Two means "exercise increased caution" for nations where there is a heightened risk to safety. Many countries in Western Europe, where there have been terrorist attacks in recent years, are listed as Level Two. Antarctica is also a Level Two.

Level Three translates bluntly as "reconsider travel," with the recommendation to avoid going to countries with serious risks. Turkey, Russia and Venezuela are considered Level Three.

Level Four is for countries with a "greater likelihood of life-threatening risks" in which the U.S. government may be very limited in its ability to help. Travelers already in those countries are advised to leave as soon as it is safe.

Eleven countries come with the do-not-travel recommendation, most in Africa and the Middle East - Mali, Central African Republic, Libya, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea.

In addition, the new system will explain why the advisory was made, with one-letter logos: C for crime, T for terrorism, U for civil unrest, H for health risks, N for natural disasters, E for special events like an election and O for some other reason.

U.S. citizens are not banned from traveling to Level Four countries. The one exception is North Korea, where the State Department has prohibited citizens from using their U.S. passports to visit without first obtaining a waiver.

Cuba, which last year came with the travel advisory to not travel there, is now listed as Level Three. Bernier-Toth told reporters it was not listed as a Level Four, even though most U.S. diplomats have been ordered to leave the country over concerns they were targeted for attacks, because it still has not been determined what caused embassy personnel to suffer hearing and brain injuries.

In some countries, U.S. embassy personnel are restricted from visiting particular states or provinces where the risks are considered higher. The State Department calls it the no-double-standard principle.

"We let people know what restrictions we've imposed on ourselves," Bernier-Toth said.

In the past, governments of countries where the State Department has issued travel warnings have complained vociferously, usually out of concerns about their tourism industry. Bernier-Toth said U.S. embassies were given the new rankings ahead of time so they could notify the governments of the impending change.
Matthew Busch, For The San Antonio Express-News / For The San Antonio Express-News

A certain celebrity has been roaming the Alamo City unnoticed, it appears.

Carly Rae Jepsen, of "Call Me Maybe" fame, shared an image Monday of the Shops at Rivercenter mall downtown near the Alamo ahead of her performance at the AT&T Center, where she will open for Katy Perry Wednesday night.

RELATED: Katy Perry will make S.A. her 'Witness' with January 2018 tour stop

The photo featured her bassist, Adam T. Siska, who in turn shared an image of the Alamo on his own account on Monday.

Perry and Jepsen will head to Little Rock in Arkansas and Dallas after their San Antonio performance, according to Perry's website.

No photos of Perry have popped up on social media but an employee at Thai Lucky posted she had served Perry's band.

Kelsey Bradshaw is a digital reporter for mySA.com. | Read more of her stories here. | kbradshaw@express-news.net | Twitter: @kbrad5
Construction on a parking expansion at the San Antonio Zoo is slated to begin this summer, officials said.

After the city's largest ever municipal bond package was approved in May 2017, the zoo received $11.75 million to build a new parking garage at its campus on the city's North Side. Zoo officials said the garage is expected to open in the spring of 2019.
Odessa Police Department

A 10-year-old Odessa girl has donated $7,000 to the Odessa Police Departments K9 program.

Randi Spenser has been raising money for the OPD K9 program by selling hot cocoa over the last few weeks, according to a press release from the department.
With a line of pre-schoolers, faculty and staff marching and beating drums, the San Antonio Zoo officially opened the $17 million Will Smith Zoo School on Wednesday morning.

The children, ages 3-5, will spend half of their day outside, exploring flora and fauna that make up part of their curriculum at the nature-based preschool located at 103 Tuleta Dr.

Currently 118 children attend the 10-classroom school.

The school initially started in 2014 with four students.

RELATED: Construction on 600-space parking garage at San Antonio Zoo to begin this summer

Zoo officials said enrollment is expected to grow to 200 students in four years.

The school is named in honor of Zoo board member Susan Naylors late son, who loved spending time at the zoo and outdoors in nature.

Naylor, a longtime zoo supporter and lead donor, said the only word she could think of to describe the school is powerful.

RELATED: Two-toed sloth born at Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo

In 1947, the first classrooms opened at the building when it was the Sunshine Cottage School for deaf children, promoting listening and spoken language. Remnants of the school still remain, like the area where a sound booth once stood.

The building was later the home of the KIPP Esperanza Dual Language Academy that featured a bilingual and bi-literate curriculum to prepare students for college and beyond.

Zoo CEO and executive director Tim Morrow said their vision is to become the largest nature preschool in the nation.

Every aspect, every inch of this campus speaks to conservation," Morrow said, and education, which is the mission of the San Antonio Zoological Society.

vtdavis@express-news.net
Editors note: Due to a law enforcement clerical error, it was initially reported Bishoy Elkhaliny was charged with sexual assault. That charge has not been filed though there is an active investigation into the allegation.

The man accused of raping, violently assaulting and holding a woman captive at a Stone Oak home has a lengthy criminal history in San Antonio and Corpus Christi.

Bishoy Elkhaliny, 30, was arrested Monday on charges of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault causing bodily injury and burglary. He's being held in the Bexar County Jail without bond.

Elkhaliny began his more than decade long history with Texas law enforcement in 2004.

RELATED: Affidavit: Man beat woman, held her captive in Stone Oak home

He's twice been convicted of domestic assault in Nueces County. One conviction stemmed from a 2014 incident for which he was also convicted of making terroristic threats (which is essentially making a threat, according to the Texas Penal Code). A 2016 incident led to convictions for domestic assault and unlawful restraint.

According to online records, he's faced at least 11 criminal charges -- including criminal mischief, theft, assault and drug possession -- in Bexar County between 2004 and 2016. The majority of the charges were dismissed, but he did plead guilty to a criminal mischief charge in 2014 and he has pleaded guilty to lesser charges in several cases.

RELATED: Fired cop investigated for possession of child pornography

The most recent charges against him are the most serious. According to his arrest affidavit, he beat a woman unconscious the night of Dec. 30 because she had gone to a bar with a friend. A few hours after the beating, which left the victim with a shattered orbital bone, she declined to have sex with him so he beat her again and raped her, according to the affidavit.

The assault might have gone unreported, but a police officer went to Elkhaliny's house, which Bexar County records indicate is owned by Elkhaliny's relative, the day after the alleged assault to question him about a theft case. He knocked on Elkhaliny's door several times and got no answer, but as he returned to his car, the victim rushed out and begged for help, authorities said.

According to Elkhaliny's Facebook profile, he graduated from Ronald Reagan High School in San Antoinio and studied Chemistry at Baylor University. He's also listed as the manager of a Facebook page for Adel Elkhaliny Medical Association, a family practice physician and owner of the home where the alleged assault in December occurred.

Adel Elkhaliny could not be reached for comment.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
A Guatemalan national was sentenced to five years in prison after he assaulted a Border Patrol agent who was trying to detain him in Uvalde, officials said.

Elias de Jesus Gregorio de Paz, 21, and another man were spotted by the agent near a stopped train on Nov. 19, 2016, according to the criminal complaint.
WASHINGTON - The head of the research firm behind a dossier of allegations against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump told congressional investigators that someone inside Trump's network had also provided the FBI with information during the 2016 campaign, according to a newly released transcript, a claim quickly disputed by people close to the investigation into Russian interference in the election.

Glenn Simpson, a founder of the research firm Fusion GPS, spoke to investigators with the Senate Judiciary Committee for 10 hours in August. As the partisan fight over Russian interference in the 2016 election has intensified, Simpson has urged that his testimony be released, and a copy of the transcript was made public Tuesday.

A break in the committee

It was released by the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. That decision marks the most serious break yet in the cooperative relationship she has had with the Republican chairman of the committee, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

A spokesman for Grassley called Feinstein's move "totally confounding" and done without consultation.

"Her action undermines the integrity of the committee's oversight work and jeopardizes its ability to secure candid voluntary testimony relating to the independent recollection of future witnesses," said the spokesman, Taylor Foy.

Feinstein said she released the transcript to set the record straight.

"The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice," she said.

A representative for Fusion GPS did not immediately offer a comment.

Fusion GPS was hired in mid-2016 by a lawyer for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee to dig into Trump's background. Earlier that year, the firm had been probing Trump for a conservative website funded by a GOP donor, but that client stopped paying for the work after it became clear Trump would win the GOP nomination, according to people familiar with the matter.

After Democrats began paying for the research, Fusion GPS hired Christopher Steele, a former senior officer with Britain's intelligence service, MI6, to gather intelligence about any ties between the Kremlin and Trump and his associates. Steele's reports were eventually compiled into a dossier alleging the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin - a claim the president has repeatedly denied.

Steele first reached out to the FBI with his concerns in early July 2016, according to people familiar with the matter. When they re-interviewed him in early October, agents made it clear, according to Simpson's testimony released Tuesday, that they believed some of what Steele had told them.

"My understanding was that they believed Chris at this point - that they believed Chris might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing, and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump organization," Simpson said.

Simpson said he didn't know whether the person was connected to the Trump campaign or a Trump company, adding that his understanding was the source was someone who had volunteered information to the FBI or, in his words, "someone like us who decided to pick up the phone and report something."

Deadly dossier?

One person familiar with the probe said Simpson's comments misrepresent what had actually happened - that it was an Australian official who reached out to the United States in late July with concerns about a conversation months earlier in London with Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with investigators.

During Simpson's interview in August, a Republican staffer pressed him further on this claim, and Simpson's answers were vague. Steele "would say very generic things like I saw (the FBI), they asked me a lot of questions, sounds like they have another source or they have another source. He wouldn't put words in their mouth," the transcript says.

At another point in the interview, a lawyer for Fusion GPS, Joshua Levy, makes a jarring assertion: that the dossier's publication had led to someone's murder.

"Somebody's already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier, and no harm should come to anybody related to this honest work," Levy said late in the interview, according to the transcript.

Levy did not expand on that claim in the interview, nor is there any public information that would tie a specific killing to information in the dossier. A person close to the investigation, however, said Fusion GPS has long worried that Steele's sources could be in danger, given a handful of killings that took place in the months after the dossier's existence became known.

In recent weeks, as the political fights about the Russia investigation and the dossier have intensified, Simpson has urged the committee to release the full transcript of his interview, arguing that Republicans are trying to obscure, rather than reveal, what happened in 2016.

Different directions

Through much of 2017, Feinstein and Grassley made joint requests for information about Russia and the FBI's investigation of election interference. In the fall, however, tensions between Grassley and Feinstein spilled out into the open as Grassley requested information from the FBI and other sources without Feinstein's support.

Increasingly, the Democrats and Republicans on the committee are going in different directions - with Grassley moving to investigate matters involving Clinton when she was secretary of state and Feinstein concentrating on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

While Simpson has accused conservative lawmakers of acting in bad faith, Republicans have accused Steele, while working for Fusion GPS, of misleading the FBI. Last week, Grassley made a criminal referral to the Justice Department, suggesting Steele may have lied to the FBI. While details of the referral are classified, it appears to be related to Steele's contacts with reporters during the election campaign.

Republicans have attacked the credibility of Steele's dossier. Democrats say such attacks are an effort to discredit the ongoing probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into whether any Trump associates coordinated with Russian agents to interfere in the presidential election.
DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria's military accused Israel of launching missiles targeting its outposts near Damascus in a wave of three pre-dawn attacks Tuesday and claimed that the Syrian air force hit one of the Israeli jets and shot down several of the missiles.

In a statement, the army said the Syrian air defense confronted the early morning attacks on military outposts in the area of Qutayfeh near Damascus.

Several missiles were first launched from Lebanese airspace at 2:40 a.m., followed by two ground-to-ground missiles at 3:04 a.m. that were launched from the occupied Golan Heights and four missiles at 4:14 a.m., launched from the Tiberias area, or the Sea of Galilee, in northern Israel, the statement said.

The military said the attacks caused material damage.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the matter. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to ambassadors of NATO countries in Israel on Tuesday, said the policies had not changed.

"We have a long-standing policy to prevent the transfer of game-changing weapons to Hez-bollah from Syrian territory," Netanyahu said. "This policy has not changed, we back it up as necessary with action."

Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes inside Syria in the course of Syria's civil war, against what it says are suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces. Tuesday's strike was the first this year.

The Syrian army statement described the attack as a "flagrant Israeli aggression" and renewed its warning of the dangerous repercussions of such attacks, holding Israel "fully responsible for its consequences."

Some Syrian opposition-affiliated media reported that the Israeli planes targeted a Syrian army depot while the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the depots belonged to both Hezbollah and the Syrian army, adding that the strikes caused a series of explosions and a fire on site as well as serious material damage.

The Observatory, which monitors the war in Syria through a network of activists on the ground, said there was no immediate word on any casualties.

The exact target could not be confirmed. Qutayfeh is in the northeastern suburbs of Damascus where Syrian Republican Guard units are known to have major outposts.
After 14 consecutive days of below-freezing temperatures in most of the Northeast U.S., the temperatures are finally set to rise.

Over the past two weeks, areas of Connecticut set new records with temperatures plummeting to as low as minus 14 degrees in places.
Drain the Oceans dives deep into the unknown; a truly epic, truly original series that exposes hidden evidence of the most amazing undersea mysteries, as never seen before. The first episode is the Great Barrier Reef.

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DANBURY  Mayor Mark Boughton on his first day as a declared gubernatorial candidate touted his idea to phase out the state income tax and streamline Connecticuts government as the sort of leadership voters want.

Now I know what you are saying  Thats impossible. It cant be done  but the fact of the matter is the times demand that we think differently and we think outside of the bureaucratic box when it comes to how we govern our state, Boughton said during a Tuesday news conference. I believe that our financial distress that I call the death spiral in the state of Connecticut can only be fixed by a radical approach to how we govern.

For example, Boughton said the Board of Regents had basically become a dumping ground for political appointments for people who, frankly, couldnt find a job in the private sector, and could save the state as much as $10 million if eliminated.

The state income tax is about $7.5 billion in revenue every two years, and the assumption everybody has is you need that money to run government, Boughton said. Part of our plan is to reduce the size and scope of state government with things like eliminating departments, combining departments and a wholesale reorganization of pretty much everything.

The 53-year-old Republican, who is serving a record ninth term as mayor, made his third run for the states highest office in as many elections official at the brief and formal news news conference at the Courtyard Marriott. He later attended an hourlong rally for supporters in the evening at the Palace Theatre in downtown Danbury.

State Democrats were ready for his announcement on Tuesday with a lengthy statement from party Chairman Nick Balletto that was critical of Boughtons record on immigration and his allegiance with parts of President Donald Trumps agenda.

Mark Boughton is nothing more than a cut out of Donald Trumps Republican Party, the statement said. Boughtons record shows hed bring Trumps agenda to Connecticut: divisive attacks on immigrant communities, an NRA anti-safety agenda on guns and a record of opposition to a womans right to choose.

A Boughton campaign spokesman dismissed the statement as laughable.

No amount of misinformation or spin can save the Connecticut Democrats from their abysmal record of ruining our state, said John Kleinhans.

Boughton did take one question after his Tuesday announcement about the Trump effect on Connecticuts 2018 gubernatorial race, but the Danbury mayor redirected it at unpopular incumbent Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who is not seeking re-election.

[T]here is a consensus in the state, based on the latest polling, that Gov. Malloy hurt the Democrats more than Donald Trump could ever hurt the Republicans, Boughton said. At the end of the day, this election is about Connecticut  not the national conversation that is going on.

Boughtons first test as a declared candidate for the GOP nomination comes Wednesday at a Republican debate in Hebron.

As many as 10 GOP hopefuls could attend, including state Sen. Toni Boucher, former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, Fairfield immigration lawyer Peter Lumaj and former U.S. Comptroller General Dave Walker.

Boughton said he would emerge as the most electable GOP candidate  in part because he has already raised the minimum $250,000 in small donations needed to qualify for millions in state public campaign financing.

Lack of financing was the reason Boughton dropped out of the 2014 gubernatorial campaign.

With the funding hurdle cleared, state residents should expect to hear from Boughton about his economic plan over the winter and spring months.

In my first year of office we are going to reduce 15 percent of all executive order regulations that impact the business environment, and we are going to stop doing things like raiding the special transportation fund that is supposed to be used to fix our highways, bridges and roads, Boughton said Tuesday. We are going to rebuild our relationship with our businesses across the state of Connecticut.

He added that he planned to implement a pro-growth approach to our economy.

I want to create a one-stop permit center for the state of Connecticut, where you could be issued your permit in a matter of weeks instead of a matter of years, Boughton said.

The mayor also answered a question about his health. In August, Boughton underwent emergency life-saving surgery to remove a brain tumor.

He emerged from that experience a changed man, he said. Some 300 guests at an annual business luncheon in December saw that when Boughton chose to close his state-of-the-city speech on a decidedly religious note, saying There are no atheists in the ICU.

I have been open and honest about the impact that type of surgery had on the way I look at people and the way I govern, Boughton during Tuesdays news conference, adding that he would be happy to provide health documents to substantiate his fitness. I am 100 percent back, and I feel great  I certainly feel a lot better than before the surgery.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
Klemm Real Estate, which has offices in Litchfield Country, has announced it is a recipient of a Five Star award for the Real Estate Agency category for Connecticut and achieved a Regional Nomination from the International Property Awards.

Klemm competed against a number of real estate professionals from all over the world to receive the recognition.
NEW MILFORD  Mayor Pete Bass last week apologized for the previous administrations disclosure of financial data pertaining to families who are clients of the Childrens Center.

Bass said former Mayor David Gronbach wrongly disclosed that data last summer, when he questioned why the center provides state-subsidized day care to some families earning more than $100,000 a year.

Gronbach referred to the income data, which did not identify families by name, in a Facebook post and in a letter to the News-Times. He later released the data to Hearst Connecticut Media under a public records request.

Days after Gronbachs post, the state Office of Early Childhood wrote the town that it constituted breach of contract with the state by disclosing family-level personal information that is considered confidential.

Gronbach did not return a call seeking comment.

Bass, who was running against Gronbach at the time, said enrolling higher-income families helps ensure that the center serves a mix of children from different socioeconomic groups.

In a news release, Bass said the state was very clear prior to my taking office that a letter of apology was required from the town in order to preserve a $325,000 state grant to the town.

Gronbachs post and letter said he had learned that five of the centers families were making more than $100,000 a year. He argued that state-subsidized spots, which make up about half the centers enrollment, should be reserved for lower-income families.

Gronbach said at the time, and Childrens Center officials confirmed, that all of the families receiving state subsidies, including those earning more than $100,000, were eligible under state income guidelines. Under those guidelines, families are eligible for subsidies as long as they make less than 75 percent of the state median income, adjusted for family size.

Nevertheless, Gronbach wrote, From what I have heard about the motivation to support the working poor, not many of us would classify someone making over $100,000 as working poor. Something about the current priorities is not right when a family making over $100,000 takes the subsidized spot of a single parent making a fraction of that.

blytton@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3411; @bglytton
To the Editor:

The New Milford Social Services Department has borne witness to great generosity bestowed upon others within our community.

We have had the privilege of extending giving hands to those in New Milford who rely upon us to help them through both Thanksgiving and the December holidays.

Spearheaded by the Greater New Milford Womens Club and Western Connecticut United Way, plus the Easley family and Coldwell Banker Real Estate, our community provided a bounty of food to 1,020 neighbors in need at Thanksgiving. Bravo!

In December, the greater New Milford community made sure that the young and the young at heart had reason to celebrate.

Our sibling shopping spree enabled over 240 kids to choose gifts for their brothers and sisters.

The Santa Fund and Gift Room provided gifts and clothing for 490 local kids. Sixty-five disabled adults were also given small presents with gift certificates.

This Herculean task could not be accomplished without the help of many community members: local businesses, churches, civic groups, schools, neighborhoods, other town employees and many a kind individual or family.

It truly takes a village, and the village responded!

All of this would not have occurred without the help of our amazing Social Services volunteers, with special mention to Terri Gatten.

Kudos as well to our Santa Scott Earle, Jason OConnor as Santa Fund donor coordinator and the night crew of elves: Carol, Maryann, Alice, Debbie and Ella.

The NMHS French Honor Society was awesome as always with their Star Project for new winter boots.

We appreciate Carlson Therapy helping us via the Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign, the Odd Fellows Hall and our New Milford Police Department for their terrific toy drives.

In addition, certain private individuals who truly gave from their hearts made a very special difference this year.

Helping friends, while we wish we could name each and every one of you, we also know that is not the point.

To be sure, your gifts have been received and passed on, and you have made our small world a better place! Many donations have been received for the food bank and our emergency funds. Knowing that human need does not take a holiday, we appreciate each and every gift.

Peg Molina

Director of Social

Services

New Milford
If you have pets, these tips will help you prepare for a natural disaster
Reporter/Columnist

Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth).
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has approved 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) for single-brand retail via direct route, removing all hurdles for investment and opening the economy for global players like Ikea.

The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, days before his historic visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where India is the focus country this year.

Earlier, only 49% FDI was allowed through automatic route and government approval was required for 100% FDI in retail.

Apart from FDI in single-brand retail, the government has also allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49% in Air India under approval route, paving the way for divestment of the state-run carrier. This will help the government sell off its stake in the debt-ridden airline. The government clarified that 51% stake in Air India will remain with an Indian player.

Retail stocks such as Future Retail, V2 Retail, Avenue Supermarts, Monte Carlo Fashions and Aditya Birla Fashion gained 1-6 percent on Wednesday, while aviation stocks like Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Interglobe Aviation gained between 1.5 to 3.5 percent, moneycontrol.com reported.

Executive Director of Monte Carlo Fashions Sandeep Jain, however, said the move may not affect Indian players much. It makes the process easier certainly, but the brands which want to be there in India are already there, he told CNBC TV18.

The Cabinet allowed overseas investors to invest 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail trading and construction development without any government approval, an official statement said.

As per the policy, foreign airlines are allowed to invest under government approval route in Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital. However, the provision was not applicable to Air India, thereby implying that foreign airlines could not invest in Air India.

"It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India," it added.

This condition was relaxed subject to certain conditions. The statement said that foreign investment in Air India including that of foreign Airline (s) shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly and "substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National".

The government said that the decision would help provide ease of doing business and also lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment.

Further, it has clarified that real-estate broking service does not amount to real estate business and is therefore, eligible for 100 per cent FDI under automatic route.

The cabinet also decided to allow FIIs/FPIs to invest in power exchanges through primary market as well. So far 49 per cent FDI was permitted under automatic route in power exchanges registered under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Power Market) Regulations, 2010. However, FII/FPI purchases were restricted to secondary market only.

India has replaced China as the fastest growing major retail market, supported by expanding economy, coupled with booming consumption rates, urbanizing population and growing middle class.

In another change, it has now been decided that issue of shares against non-cash considerations like pre incorporation expenses, import of machinery etc shall be permitted under automatic route in the case of sectors under automatic route.

The government had in 2016 relaxed FDI norms in over a dozen sectors, including defence, civil aviation, construction and development, private security agencies, real estate and news broadcasting.

Foreign investments are considered crucial for India, which needs around $1 trillion to overhaul its infrastructure such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth.

Foreign investments will help improve the countrys balance of payments situation and strengthen the value of the rupee against global currencies, especially the US dollar.

(With agency inputs)
New Delhi: Ministry of Commerce has clarified that minimum local sourcing norms will be relaxed for foreign companies that are already procuring Indian goods and exporting finished products. The ministry statement clears ambiguity over sourcing norms for foreign players after the Union Cabinet approved 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail trade.

In conversation with News18, a top official from the ministry of commerce said that the sourcing norms can be offset against products being sold in India.

Earlier, according to the FDI policy, foreign retail traders had to buy 30 percent local goods.

The official cited the example of IKEA and said companies that are not yet retailing but sourcing from India and are exporting finished goods will be provided the relaxation once they enter the retail trade.

The official explained that foreign retail giants had expressed their discomfort with the 30 percent rule stating they were already procuring raw materials from India, therefore, making it mandatory for them to buy local goods for their retail output would harm their businesses.

This is being done to purely reward, encourage and acknowledge global players to start the retail business in India, added the source close to the development.

The Narendra Modi government approved 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail via the direct route, removing all hurdles for investment and opening the economy for global players.

The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, days before his historic visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where India is the focus country this year.

Earlier, only 49% FDI was allowed through automatic route and government approval was required for 100% FDI in retail.
New Delhi: With plans to open Indian single-brand retail market for foreign players, the Cabinet in its meeting on Wednesday approved 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector.

The Cabinet decided to allow single-brand retail trading entity to boost the domestic market, making it mandatory to source 30 percent goods from India.

Heres a look at what the policy change means and how it will affect the regular India consumer:

What the Cabinet Decision Means?

The Cabinet has brought about a change in the FDI policy. The existing policy on single brand retail trading (SBRT) allows foreign players to have 49 percent stake under automatic route, and FDI beyond 49 per cent and up to 100 per cent through government approval route.

India recently jumped 30 places in the Ease of Doing Business list released by the World Bank.

This will further open Indian markets. Specialty retail has seen a boom and is growing. Consumers are willing to experimenting with newer products and services, even if they are priced more. Hypermarkets and home stores are showing growth, said Kishore Biyani, chief executive officer, Future Group.

It is also likely to benefit big foreign single-brand retailers such as IKEA. Traders's union have opposed the move, calling it a brutal move against small businesses.

What are automatic and government approval routes?

The automatic route is a relatively less restricted regulation. Under the automatic route, the foreign investor or the Indian company does not require any approval from the Reserve Bank or Government of India for the investment. This route is permissible in all sectors and activities specified under the consolidated FDI policy.

The government route, on the other hand, requires the foreign investor to obtain prior approval of the Government of India agencies or bodies specified.

Proposals for foreign investment under approval route as laid down in the FDI policy are considered by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs or Cabinet Committee on Securities. Alternatively, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) or Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion also assist the above approving agencies.

The automatic route enhances open market economics. This means that the company is free to choose its options. The decision will encourage entry of foreign players in the market. Automatic route is a way of instilling confidence in the market, said Sanjay Grover, Partner, EY, a consultancy.

What are single brand and multi brand retail businesses?

Single-brand retail refers to a business that sells goods to individual customers and not other businesses and such goods are all sold under the same brand. Nike, for example, sets up stores in India in which the foreign parent of Nike (Nike Inc.) invests. Such stores can only sell Nike products under the 'single brand' route.

Multi-brand retail are businesses that sell goods to individual customers and such goods can carry several different brands. Walmart is an example of multi-brand retail, which stocks and sells goods from various brands.

What does this mean for regular consumers?

This will provide for more options for consumers thus raising competition. With foreign players coming in, Indian domestic retail sector has to ramp up its game, said Nithin Chandra, partner, ATKearney.

Crudely, an average Indian consumer will have more brands to choose from.
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested two of the accused in the brutal gangrape-murder of a teenager in Chandpur in Bulandshahr. The two men, who are in their twenties, said they had picked the victim at random, for fun.

Zulfiqar and Dilshad  both from Sikandrabad town in Bulandshahr  were arrested while their accomplice, Israel, is absconding, the police said.

According to a Times of India report, the 16-year-old victim was on her way home on January 2, after attending tuition classes when the three men spotted her and dragged her into their car on NH-91. She was gang-raped inside the moving vehicle and strangulated soon after. Later in the night, they dumped her body in Beel Akbarpur village of neighbouring GB Nagar district.

All this while, the victims family kept pleading that it was a case of kidnap, rape and murder, but was dismissed by the UP Police, who said that it was a case of elopement. The police had even denied the possibility of a sexual assault angle or kidnap.

According to SSP Muniraj G, the police have now seized the Maruti Alto car used by the accused in the case.

Police claimed that the accused told them that they had raped other girls too. They used to visit roadside eateries to target girls who were alone.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked if people who do not have Aadhaar cards are non-existent for the government of India.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur made this observation when it was told that Aadhaar is demanded as a proof for entry to a night shelter.

The Chief Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government, who had been summoned by the Court, was emphatic that people must have some identity proof if they want to use night shelters and they are usually asked to show Aadhaar cards.

"What about those who don't have Aadhaar, do they not exist for the government of India at all?" the Court questioned the Chief Secretary and Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

The ASG clarified that he was not appearing for the UIDAI but for some state governments in this case and therefore, he was not in a position to speak on behalf of Aadhaar.

At this, the bench questioned the Chief Secretary or any other official present in the court if they had any idea how many have so far enrolled with Aadhaar.

Finally, advocate Prashant Bhushan said that according to the Central governments claim, more than 90 Crore people had obtained Aadhaar cards.

So how will these people make Aadhaar when they dont have an address? This is winter, suppose somebody is thrown out of his or her home. Will you still insist for Aadhaar? it questioned the Chief Secretary.

The senior bureaucrat responded that Aadhaar was one of the proofs required but one or the other proof will certainly be asked for. This submission also did not go down well with the bench, which asked if the state will deny the facility of night shelter to a destitute man because he does not have an identity proof.

The Court, expressing dissatisfaction at the state of affairs, said that the Central government should have an effective consultation with the petitioner as well as other state governments to come up with reasonable conditions and better facilities, coupled with the speedy construction of night shelters. It adjourned the PIL after two weeks.

The PIL has highlighted the shortage of night shelters and misuse of funds meant for their construction.
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday accused the BJP of adopting "double-speak" on allowing 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail and criticised it for relaxing the 30 per cent outsourcing clause.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said that 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail was notified during the previous UPA government and the only change made is to allow it through the automatic route.

"The Prime Minister talks of 'Make in India', but now says local sourcing is not required," he said and asked the government to clarify its policy on multi-brand retail.

Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala alleged that by doing away with the requirement of 30 per cent sourcing through 'Make in India', the Prime Minister has exposed his duplicity and doublespeak on the issue.

Sharma said the policy on multi-brand retail enumerated by the previous UPA government stands and has not been reversed. He asked the government to clarify on its policy to assure investors as they had earlier threatened to reverse that policy.

"As the BJP government allows 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail by doing away the requirement of 30 per cent sourcing through 'Make in India', the PM and FM's duplicity and doublespeak stand exposed," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has harmed the manufacturing sector and traders, Surjewala alleged.

At the party briefing, Congress spokesperson RPN Singh said when the BJP was in the opposition, they opposed the UPA government's decision. Now when they are in power, they have even dispensed with the 30 per cent sourcing clause while allowing FDI in the retail sector.

"During the UPA, we had kept safeguards and made provisions for sourcing within India. Today the Prime Minister has done away with 30 per cent clause we had kept. Is this 'Make in India'?" he asked.

Foreign players in single-brand retail trade will now be able to set up own shops in India without government approval. This follows a cabinet decision to allow 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail under automatic route, while also easing local sourcing norms.
New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday told a special court that the charge of bribery be also framed against Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal and others in a case pertaining to irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand coal block.

The agency made the submission before special judge Bharat Parashar, who granted the last opportunity to accused Jindal and others to file their written submissions by February 16, before the pronouncement of its order on framing of charges in the case.

The case pertains to the allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand.

"The charges for offer and acceptance of bribe to the public servant described and punishable under section 7 and 12 of Prevention of Corruption Act should be framed," senior public prosecutor V K Sharma, appearing for CBI, said.

The court had in April, 2016 ordered framing of charges against Jindal, former MoS for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao (since deceased), former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, former Coal Secretary H C Gupta and 11 others for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust under the IPC and sections of Prevention of Corruption Act in the case. However, the bribery charge was not framed then.

An additional charge sheet was later filed against Jindal Steel's adviser Anand Goel, Gurgaon-based Green Infra's Vice-President Siddharth Madra, Nihar Stocks Ltd Director BSN Suryanarayan, Mumbai-based KE International's Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal and Mumbai's Essar Power Ltd Executive Vice-Chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo.

During today's proceedings, the court, which was hearing arguments on framing of charges based on the second chargesheet, asked the accused named in the initial charge sheet whether they wanted to advance arguments on the point of charge.

CBI had alleged that Koda had favoured Jindal group firms - Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd (GSIPL) - in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal block. It had alleged that five accused named in the second charge sheet tried to hamper the investigation and threatened Suresh Singhal, a chartered accountant who was earlier arrayed as an accused but later turned approver.

All the accused have denied the allegations levelled against them and said there was no evidence to show that there was any conspiracy during the coal block allocation process.

The CBI recently filed another charge sheet against Jindal and others, including Goel and Maroo, for allegedly cheating the government by misrepresenting facts to get the Madhya Pradesh based Urtan North coal block.
Washington: US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be attending an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his 'America First' agenda with world leaders," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.

She said Trump looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen "American businesses, American industries, and American workers".

Details of the president's trip to Davos, including bilateral meetings, are being worked out, Sanders said.

"We're finalising the details on exactly when the president will be there. We don't have any commitments beyond this year at this point," she said, adding that the White House is looking forward to be part of the process.

"The president's message is very much the same here as it will be there; just the same as it was here, as it was when he made many stops in Asia. This is very much an America First agenda," Sanders said.

She said Trump is "still 100 per cent focused and committed' to promoting policies that strength American businesses and the American worker.

"That's going to be the same whether he's in the US or any other place," Sanders said.

Several senior members of the Cabinet and administration will be part of this event, she said.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place later this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World'.

Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two-day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.
Mumbai: An elderly couple from Mumbai has made a heart-wrenching plea to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking permission for active euthanasia or "assisted suicide" as they feel they are of no use to the society or themselves.

Narayan Lavate (88) and his wife Iravati (78), who have no children and say their siblings are also no more, are of the view that keeping them alive against their wishes is a "waste of the country's scarce resources as well as theirs".

The couple, residing at Charni Road in South Mumbai, has sought the president's intervention as they feel it is unfair to compel them to wait to die till they are afflicted by any serious ailment, and to make theirs as an exceptional case of "active euthanasia".

"The president has the powers for showing mercy to those on death row. We are serving a life imprisonment and the president can show us mercy by allowing us to end our lives," Narayan Lavate, who retired from the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) in 1989, told PTI.

Explaining his unusual plea, Lavate said if he and his wife, a retired school principal, decided to commit suicide by jumping from a terrace or hanging themselves, there was no guarantee they would die.

"In Switzerland, there is an organisation called Dignitas for those who wish to end their lives. Qualified doctors who assist them in the process are not charged for abetment to suicide. We became members of the organisation but cannot go there since I don't have a passport," Lavate said.

"Our aim of writing to the president is to make us an exceptional case for active euthanasia," he said. In his petition dated December 21, 2017, Lavate said he and his wife are in a reasonably good health and not suffering from any serious ailment.

He said it is unfair to compel them to wait till they contract some serious ailment or deformity.

"We are of no use to the society or ourselves. Our siblings have passed away and we have no children. Keeping us alive against our wishes is wasting the scarce resources of the country as well as ours," the octogenarian said. "We have already committed to donate our bodies after death and whatever little wealth we have, to the state treasury," Lavate said.
New Delhi: In a tell-all book likely to be released within a month of his acquittal in the 2G spectrum cam case, former telecom minister A Raja has taken to task former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai.

In his book 2G Saga Unfolds, a copy of which was accessed by CNN-News18s Executive Editor Bhupendra Chaubey, Raja claims that Manmohan Singh was repeatedly misinformed by his advisers and despite approving Rajas telecom policy, chose to remain a passive observer even when the DMK leader was arrested and jailed for 15 months.

Manmohan Singhs silence was like silencing of our nations collective conscience, Raja claims. He also implies that telecom lobbies had influence over the PMO.

However, his choicest criticisms were reserved for CAG Rai, who he says behaved like a cat that shuts its eyes and then declares the universe is dark.

It is my conviction consequent to the whole experience of the trial that there was political motivation to kill UPA-II and Rais was the shoulder on which the gun was placed, he says.

Raja says that Rais report, which formed the basis of the alleged 2G spectrum scam that took the wind out of the Manmohan-led UPA II government, was a a mixture of inappropriate legal interpretations, incongruous comparisons and flippant allegations.

Rai was the sutradhaar who created the devious apparition His report is mere trash, which is unanimously deemed fit for the dustbin and his statements would not have stood test of cross-examination, Raja alleges, adding that the former CAG should be called as a witness in the criminal case filed against him.

The front and back cover of A Raja's book on 2G scam. (Photo: CNN-News18)

Raja also claims that former PM Singh didnt have any clue about the CBI raids with regard to the spectrum allocation. On October 22, 2009 (after CBI raided telecom ministry and offices of some telecom operators) I met the Prime Minister in his office in South Block at around 7.00 pm. T.K.A. Nair (the then principal secretary in the PMO) was also present. People will find it hard to believe that the PM was quite surprised when I told him about the CBI raids, Raja writes in his book.

Raja claims that as the telecom minister in UPA II, he fought against telecom lobbies to draft a just spectrum auction policy. But then one day he received a letter from the PMO, as the policy draft was in its final stages. The contents of that letter matched the business interests of the lobbies, he says in the book.

This makes me wonder whether this letter was indeed drafted by the PMOIt is still a puzzle to me as to what could have prompted the PM to send that letter to meWith all due respect, I am of the opinion that such a letter bearing the PMs signature should never have been sent, he says.

Raja writes that he felt wounded by the words used by Manmohan Singh in that letter.

Raja described several meetings he had with the former Prime Minister. At one instance, Raja claims, Prime Minister shifted in his seat, looked askance at me he says.

The DMK leader also claims that the Prime Ministers Office was monitoring this matter and following up on it, proving false the allegation that the PM was misled or kept in the dark.

Raja also mentions how Manmohan Singh privately confessed to have been influenced by articles appearing in the press.

The final criticism Raja levels at the former Prime Minister is that he never came to Rajas help despite being in the loop on telecom ministrys decisions all the while.

Unfortunately, neither the Prime Minister nor the Finance Minister came forward...to back my legitimate positionDr Manmohan Singhs palpable silence in relation to defending my wholly justified actions especially when the governing bodies (CVC, CBI, JPC, Supreme Court) were refusing to hear my defence felt to me like a silencing of our nations collective conscience, he says.

"I came to Delhi from Chennai on the evening of the 14th of November. When I landed in Delhi around 9.00 pm, T.R. Baalu informed me that I could resign as per the advice of our party leader. While on the way to my official residence 2A, Motilal Nehru Marg I sought an appointment with the PM. I called in my PA, prepared my resignation letter and then went to the PMs residence. The Prime Minister appeared to be gloomy and perturbed. He offered me tea and I handed him my resignation letter," he says.

"He spoke dejectedly about the whole situation, the oral observations of the Supreme Court and about his name having been unduly dragged down. The Prime Minister touched upon the introduction of 3G service to the nation and agreed with the impropriety of the CAGs views. While I was clear and firm as I spoke to him, I was unable to make out anything from the vexed-look of the Prime Minister. Was it due to the condemning remarks from the Supreme Court or due to his assuming that there were irregularities in the files in a big way? I was not sure and could not guess," he says.
Srinagar: In a first, a Kashmiri woman and mother of two will challenge fear and frozen mindsets to participate in a snow car rally.

Dr Sharmeen Mushtaq, a medical professional, will be the first Kashmiri woman to participate the risky snow car rally in Gulmarg.

She will be competing with men in the two-day risk-filled car rally but says she ''likes to compete and live her dreams in the rare God-sent opportunity.''

''I am thrilled. So is my father, and brother. My two kids have given me a thumbs up too. Inshallah, I will be there,'' she said.

The two-day circuit will start on January 20 and there would be around 50 participants.

The road to Gulmarg gets slippery in freezing sub-zero temperatures and cars without chains are not allowed to go uphill. The mercury drops to -10 to - 15 degrees Celsius on this famous health resort situated at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

''I have got a platform and will give it my best shot. Winning and losing is not important but participating is,'' Dr Sharmeen, who is a medical officer in a Srinagar hospital told News 18.

Called 'Frozen Rush', this is the second edition of the only snow car race in the country.

Farah Zaidi, organiser of the rally said 50 4x4 cars will participate in the event.

''It will be a time-based lap race. The race track circuit is 1.25 km in Gulmarg. Each car is allowed 2 laps.''

The top three winners shall be decided based on the fastest lap timing. Only 4x4 vehicles are allowed to participate in the event.

The fever of the countrys only Snow AutoCross caught up with Dr Sharmeen a few years ago and she saw this as an opportunity to test her nerves and skills.

''I will be practising very soon. I have driven through the Jammu-Srinagar highway many times. But have driven in snow on very few occasions,'' she said.

While car racing in this part of the world is still a male-dominated sport, Dr Sharmeen will be first to break the glass ceiling.

Wow, I am finally going to race. Its going to be a long-lived dream coming true,'' she said, adding she hopes to race her Thar vehicle on the Gulmarg stretch.

''The feeling is still sinking in. I have been driving for past 20 years and getting behind the wheel gives me an immense thrill,'' she said.

She has been following the activities of car racers closely since many of her relatives are already a part of their club.

''So now, here I am, excited and already registered myself for the upcoming Frozen Rush2 in Gulmarg.''

Asked how she relates her profession as a doctor to her passion for motorsports, she said, Why not? If you have it in you and you are provided with a well-structured platform to show your skills then you must give it a try at least.''

''If I want can inspire more women of Kashmir to come and join the sport, it will break the barriers. Kashmiri women should continue to push boundaries to live their dream.''

She said she was hopeful that in future more Kashmiri female racers would turn up and contest.

Ali Sajid, founder, Kashmir Off Road, said, ''I had a strong feeling that we have ardent motor sporting enthusiasts in the region and see now we have people like Dr. Sharmeen on board. We welcome her wholeheartedly.''

He said motorsport in Kashmir is still going through its developing phase but is already seeing steady growth with a large number of new drivers participating in our activities, which is promising.
In case you missed it

Dalit spearhead Jignesh Mevani marched to the Parliament Street in the heart of the capital in defiance of police orders and launched a blistering attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him and his government muzzling dissent and of being a threat to democracy and the Constitution. The newly-elected MLA from Vadgam in Gujarat termed the refusal to grant permission to the 'Yuva Hunkar' rally an example of the "Gujarat model" of politics.

Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, who once described themselves as two wheels of a cycle and the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna, seem to be going their own separate ways. Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, ruled out an alliance with the Congress party for the 2019 election, for now, and said his only priority at the time was to strengthen his own party.

Recalling its 2016 order, the Supreme Court held that it will not be compulsory for cinema halls to play the national anthem before screening a film.

After NIA suffered an embarrassment with quashing of its Red Corner Notice request by the Interpol, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was pulled up by a judicial tribunal over its investigation against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. "I can name 10 babas who have properties worth more than Re 10,000 crore each and they are facing criminal cases. Have you acted against even one of them? What have you done against Asaram Bapu?" it asked the counsel for the ED.

Saudi Arabia has increased India's Haj quota by 5,000, the second hike in two years, taking the number of pilgrims who can perform Haj from the country to 1,75,025.

In an interesting find, Indian astrophysicists have unearthed a nearly 5,000-year-old rock carving in Kashmir which, they believe, is the oldest record of supernova and sky chart found in human history.

Welcoming the Supreme Court ruling that it will not be compulsory for cinema halls to play national anthem before screening a film, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said he has been saying this from day one. Meanwhile, taking a dig at the government, he said, "I hope more sense will prevail and government will take U-turns on other issues, like, beef ban, etc."

Dalits of Una region, including the family that was flogged in full public view in July 2016, are converting to Buddhism as a mark of protest against discrimination and atrocities by members of other castes. The conversions will likely be held on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

On a pitch, where 38 out of the 40 wickets to fall were picked up by seamers within eight and a half sessions, the most significant factor had to be someone's batting. It had to be an innings of character and strength. It had to be an innings that would turn a 150-run fourth innings chase to one above 200. And it came from the blade of South Africa's most gifted batsman ever, AB de Villiers.

The Yogi Adityanath government has been in power in Uttar Pradesh for 10 months now and in this duration it has received as many as nine notices from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The notices, most of which were addressed to the Chief Secretary, were sent on a range of issues, including a fake encounter, eve-teasing and children deaths at Gorakhpur hospital. The most recent notice was over a wardboy running a public health centre in Barabanki in the absence of a doctor.

Three days after the suicide of a 20-year-old girl for sending a WhatsApp message that said I love Muslims and the arrest of a local BJP youth wing leader, the Bajrang Dal has issued a stern warning to all Hindu girls against being friendly with boys from other religions. In a WhatsApp message, Bajrang Dal, Mudigere unit, has warned that whoever roams around with non-Hindu boys will be made to pay a heavy price as it is the duty of Bajrang Dal to save Hinduism.

This Friday, a total of 8 Bollywood and Hollywood films are making their way to the big screen with an addition of a few regional films. We are already waiting for the weekend.

Agree or disagree?

Mumbai is a hard city. If you are a child, old or infirm its a minefield; a single misstep can result in calamity. The city is dangerous to life and limb. The proof, 14 dead bodies asphyxiated by the Kamala Mills restaurant fire; 22 dead bodies broken in the Elphinstone station stampede; and one eminent doctor killed by falling into a manhole in the August flood  we have a body of evidence thats piled up in less than four months. Anuradha SenGupta writes why the city, with its voracious appetite for life and its famous resilience, needs urgent, special care not just from those who have the power to make policy, but from the people who make it what it is.

Shabbirpur, Una, and now Bhima-Koregaon. Violence against the Dalit community has often the fringe Hindutva brigade at one end, and the media is quick to pin the blame on the Brahminical RSS. There could be vested interests at play here who want to paint the Sangh as a Maharashtrian Brahmin outfit that has a patronizing attitude towards OBCs and Dalits, but the RSS is anything but a monolith. Anu Narayanan explains why the RSS in Kerala can show the way. Stalwarts like Dattopant Thengadi set up Keralas RSS unit aligned to the states egalitarian ethos, making it one of the most inclusive in the country. For those looking to imbibe, there is a lot to learn from the state, Narayanan writes.

The Supreme Court has decided to review Section 377, but gay rights activist Harish Iyer isnt celebrating yet. Why? Because there are people out there who believe adult individuals who have consensual sex with adults is deviant behaviour. Here is where he asks you to be a nationalist and support decrimilanlistion of homosexuality.

On reel

In Australia, after the last legal impediment to gay marriage expired, same-sex couples married in midnight ceremonies. Take a look.

(Get a fresh dose of the news that matters, delivered directly to your inbox, every morning. The perfect way, to get you started and informed, for the day ahead. Subscribe to News18 Daybreak here.)
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is all set to file a chargesheet against the seven arrested separatist leaders in the Kashmir terror funding case. The investigators have consulted senior chartered accountants and auditors to examine evidence against the leaders.

The NIA may spare top separatist leaders of Kashmir, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik direct indictment for the time being as investigation against these leaders are still on.

NIA officers said that they have consulted experts to examine the documents that were recovered from the premises of the accused during the raids.

We have consulted chartered accountants, auditors and finance ministry experts to look into the evidence collected from their premises," an officer said.

The NIA is ready with its chargesheet in the terror funding case and is likely to file it by the next week. Sources told News18 that the Union home ministry has given NIA the sanctions to prosecute these separatist leaders.

Sources in the investigating agency have confirmed that the first chargesheet in this case will not indict senior Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Yasin Malik and Mirwaiz Farooq.

Investigations against these leaders are still in process while the first chargesheet will only have evidence against those who have been arrested, an NIA officer told News18.

NIA arrested seven separatist leaders, including Geelani's son-in-law in July, accusing them of taking money from Pakistan-based terror groups to fund violence, arson and destruction of government properties in Kashmir.

The accused  Altaf Ahmed Shah, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Shahid-ul-Islam, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmed Dar are still languishing in custody.

Sources said, after scrutinising several documents, it has been established that these second rung leaders of the Hurriyat had accepted hawala money. Businessmen in Delhi, Kashmir and Haryana have been conduits in these hawala transactions.

The agency, in its FIR, also named 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Jamaat-ud-Dawaa, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat for supplying money to the arrested separatist leaders and funding stone pelting and violent agitations in the valley during 2016 and 2017.

The NIA chargesheet is likely to include several documents like hawala slips, LoC barter trade-related invoices and Western Union transfer documents as evidence against the separatists.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a brainstorming session with top economists of the country to outline issues that are holding back growth and lay a roadmap to rebound the economy.

The consensus at the pre-budget meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was that growth in itself is not everything and the focus should be on a model that leads to employment generation, sources told News18.com.

The Prime Minister, who arrived at the day-long meeting at 4:30pm, agreed that the impetus to job growth can be provided by small and medium enterprises and rural sectors.

The panelists, including members of the PMs economic advisory team and the NITI Aayog, identified farm sector allied activities, such as poultry and dairy, to boost job creation.

The government has been facing criticism of providing jobless growth as unemployment rate has increased under the NDA government. It stood at 5% of the labour force in 2015-16, up from 4.9% when Modi became the Prime Minister.

Other focus areas at the meeting were infrastructure and health and education, but key attention was paid to the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, whose slowdown has dragged down the overall growth rate of the economy.

The statistics office had last week pegged the GDP growth at 6.5% for 2017-18, the slowest in four years, and down from the 7.1% in the previous year.

According to an economist who was present in the meeting, increasing farmers income through allied activities like forestry and horticulture was also discussed. There was also stress on improving the work conditions of labourers by introducing contracts and bringing certainty to their job.

A host of ministers including finance minister Arun Jaitley, railway minister Piyush Goyal, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh were also present in the meeting. The sources said that some of the ideas discussed on Wednesday could find a mention in Jaitleys budget speech.
Guwahati: One person was killed and 10, including seven policemen, were injured when protestors in Mangaldoi town of Assams Darrang district clashed with police on Wednesday. The injured included the districts deputy superintendent of police, Deb Ranjan Sharma.

The violence took place after hundreds of locals blocked NH15 to protest the alleged custodial death of a daily labourer, Hasen Ali, at the Dhula police station on Tuesday night.

The mob attacked the police station and demanded action against the officer-in-charge responsible for the locals death. Protestors pelted stones, stopped vehicles along the highway and burned tyres. They blocked the road and held up traffic for almost four hours. Police resorted to baton charge to disperse the mob, but the situation soon turned violent. Police then, allegedly, opened fire killing 28-year old Mohidul Haque, a local resident.

Three civilians were also injured in the clash  Gul Rehena (18) and Mustafa Ali (40), who sustained bullet injuries, were admitted to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. Another Ataur Ali was admitted to the Mangaldoi Civil Hospital.

Darrang deputy commissioner Ashok Kumar Barman claimed that the situation was brought under control and the national highway was reopened for traffic after curfew was clamped at Dhula and security tightened. He said that the protestors were possibly instigated by some anti-social elements.

Police has the right to arrest someone on suspicion, but they have no right to kill him. We demand justice against Hasen Alis death and compensation for his family, a protestor said.

Darrang SP, Sreejith Thiraviam told News 18, Everyone is equal in the eye of law. Action has already been taken against accused police officer Ranjit Hazarika. He was suspended after the custodial death allegation surfaced. He was arrested today in Guwahati.

Hasen Ali was reportedly picked up on suspicion of possessing illegal arms. The cops barged into our room late last night and dragged my husband by the collar. They were asking for some gun. Four of them pinned him to the ground, covered his mouth and kicked him repeatedly. They threatened me not to make noise and kicked me as well, the victims wife alleged.

SP Sreejith Thiraviam, however, said that no gun was recovered from Hasen Alis possession.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Central government on setting up a special investigation team (SIT) into the killing of Kendriya Sahitya Akademi awardee and activist Professor MM Kalburgi.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra issued notices to the Centre and other investigating agencies, seeking their replies in two weeks.

The scholar was shot dead in August 2015 at his Dharwad residence in broad daylight by unknown assailants, who are yet to be nabbed.

The Kannada writer's wife Umadevibhas moved the petition for a court-monitored probe by a SIT to ensure those guilty are brought to book. Her plea stated that the murder has left every right-minded person in society shell-shocked.

Every offence is a crime against society and is unpardonable, yet there are some species of ghastly, revolting and villainous violations of the invaluable right to life, which leave all sensible and right-minded persons of society shell-shocked and traumatised in the body and soul, stated her petition.

She also raised apprehensions that the same organisation and killers behind the murders of activists Govind Pansare on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and Narendra Dabholkar on August 20, 2013 in Pune are behind her husbands murder but a lack of co-ordination by different investigating agencies has taken the probe nowhere.

The scholar's murder is being investigated by Karnataka CID, National Investigating Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Maharashtra Police but there has been no progress in the investigation till date.
New Delhi: Over 180 cases linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots will be reopened and investigated by an SIT headed by a retired High Court judge, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

The top courts decision came after a committee appointed by it recommended reopening 186 of the 241 closed cases.

Anti-Sikh riots, which had broke out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had claimed 2,733 lives in Delhi alone. Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar were accused of leading the mobs.

In February 2015, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to reinvestigate criminal cases filed in Delhi in relation to the 1984 Sikh massacre.

Over two years and three term extensions later, the SIT finally stated in 2017 that it had closed 241 cases and filed charges in just 12 cases.

In August, the Supreme Court set up a panel comprising two former judges to examine the SIT's decisions to close cases.

Details awaited
Being a journalist in Tamil Nadu, covering the state politics has never been easy. Till 2016, there were no informal interactions with either of the two biggest parties in the state  DMK or the AIADMK. While the DMK was slightly more easy on journalists  as it addressed press conferences when in power or in opposition, the AIADMK has always had a strict policy.

The party closed all the doors for media during Jayalalithaas rule. However, it seems like things are going to get a little better for those journalists who often faced backlash for criticizing the politicians in the state. Thanks to Kamal Hassan, Rajinikanth and TV Dinakaran.

The new politicians in Tamil Nadu have started a trend  informal lunch and dinner meeting with journalists. They are much more media friendly, they give bytes  and probably, in years, journalists are not scared to be critical of them.

So, how was it like during the times of Karunanidhi, MGR and Jayalalithaa?

S. Ramesh, Chief Reporter, Thuglak, said that when MGR floated a party, he would often meet senior journalists from The Hindu and Dinamani. Not frequently, sometimes, he said. Talking about the difference between Jayalalithaa and MGR, the senior journalist said that while MGR didnt quite shy away from the media, Jayalalithaa completely shunned them even though she had friends in the media circuit.

The problem with Jaya was that she strongly felt media was unfair to her  biased criticism and unfair writings without cross-checking. She would openly say she doesnt need media support, he said.

The journalist said that though Jaya was not fair to the media, there is truth in her statement. Media was not fair to her, he said.

Talking about his interaction with the former chief minister, the journalist said that he brought public issues to her notice and she rectified the problems immediately. Once I told her about the non-availability of toor-dal at PDS shops. The next day, there was a press release stating the state government will ensure there is availability of toor dal. She took immediate action.

Ramesh feels that the budding politicians need the support of media. They are not afraid of memes, they dont want to antagonize any form of media  not only those who are starting but politicians in the race like MK Stalin  They are very cautious, he said. The journalist believes Rajini, too, will also follow this.

S Karthigaichelvan, Managing Editor, Puthiya Thalaimurai said he struggled to get information from the AIADMK during Jayalalithaa's rule.

"There is more space for politics now. When Jayalalithaa ruled the state, there was no access to ministers and bureaucrats, he said.

And, even when reporters filed stories on the politicians, they would face severe backlash. Talking about one such incident, the journalist said, Once, I got information on Jayalalithaa meeting MPs ahead of the Parliamentary session. The meeting was a discussion on how to attack the UPA government. I filed the story after I got information from sources. But thats not how things ended. Soon after, the journalists call records were tracked and all the people he spoke to in those two weeks were summoned. Jayalalithaa then issued a stern warning to them to not talk to the media on internal affairs.

After a few months, when I met Jayalalithaa, I told her that none of them against whom action was taken were my source. She smiled and said, ' you are doing your job and I am doing my job.

The journalist points out that how ministers were inaccessible then and sources would be careful, they knew the repercussions of it. That is how it was during the AIADMK rule. No one was approachable and it was very difficult to get political stories.

RK Radhakrishnan, Associate Editor, Frontline also spoke about how journalists would often get targeted during Jaya's rule.

However, he said that over the years the equation had sort of changed. I think it was during her first tenure that she realized that journalists were susceptible to gifts and cash inducements. This was strengthened by the fact that some Chennai journalists approached her for a grant to build the journalists colony. She gladly agreed, and in some ways, this changed forever the journalists - Jayalalithaa equation, he said.

The contact had to be often initiated from her side. It was difficult to reach her otherwise, he added.

S Karthigaichelvan notes that the DMK was more accessible back in those days, things have changed now. The ministers from AIADMK are more accessible and speak on camera as well. TTV Dinakaran, Rajini and Kamal host informal sessions with journalists and can be reached any time. However, he is not sure if things will remain the same once these politicians come to power.

S. Rangarajan, a senior journalist said, Back in the day when Dr. MGR conducted press meets, he would have a close eye on what the journalists were taking down and made sure that they just dont take pointers but note down the exact words of the leader and report it to their respective editors. He often said that it is the editors job to pick out whats relevant to the story, not the reporters.

"Radhakrishnan said that in 1996 when Jayalalithaa was jailed, one journalist had access to her. But this too appeared a one-off thing because she decided that playing the diva who knew it all worked in her favour, rather than engage the journalist in a clear conversation on policy issues, he said.

However, with Karunanidhi, things were slightly different. The journalist said that the DMK supremo would make a journalist feel at ease and intimidate the person simultaneously. He knew most journalists in the districts too, stayed in touch with them, and often called them up in the event of a problem in the district.

The journalist said that Karunanidhi, would in fact, sometimes called directly from his landline. "He spoke directly to the journalist who covered the beat, and often shared his insights. This also meant that the journalist was in the line of fire in the event of a negative report," he said.
New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday that terrorism has no basis in any religion of the world and called for concerted action by all countries to deal with the menace.

He said the biggest challenge to the world order is terrorism.

"Unfortunately, some people are clothing terror in the garb of religion but, in fact, terrorism has no basis in any religion of the world and is being misused by people," Naidu said while delivering a valedictory address at the first PIO Parliamentary Conference in New Delhi.

He said it was imperative to combat the "disruptive" forces of terrorism that were impeding development and all countries must recognise it as a threat to humanity and take concerted action to curb it.

Without taking Pakistan's name, Naidu said some countries believe in aiding, abetting and funding terrorism.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unscheduled visit to Pakistan in 2015, Naidu said New Delhi had taken steps to normalise ties with Islamabad but that did not yielded any results.

Referring to controversial comments made by some political leaders, Naidu said the country disapproves of it.

"Some people may talk out of turn but that should not be seen as a collective will of the people. That is not the line of India. This country and land do not tolerate such statements," he said.

Addressing the PIO lawmakers from 24 countries, Naidu said India recognises the strategic partnership with the diaspora.

He said India has the second largest diaspora in the world estimated at over 31 million spread across the globe whose ancestral roots can be traced to traders, indentured labourers, political deportees, business entrepreneurs among others.

"Far away from their homes, our brothers and sisters underwent a prolonged period of trial and tribulations, indignities and physical and mental sufferings. Long journeys in ships were extremely difficult and painful. Despite all these suffering and challenges, the evolution of the diaspora is remarkable," he said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the PIO- Parliamentary Conference has broken ground in further diversifying the engagement with the Indian diaspora and this will help open new vistas of establishing regular dialogues and exchanges of visits and views with PIO lawmakers.

"Though we profess different religions, colour of our passports are also different, our ancestors came from different regions and our mother tongue and practises are also different. Yet, we are Indians are heart (Phir bhi Dil hain Hindustani).
New Delhi: Voicing a difference in opinion on the BJP government's implementation of the new tax regime of Goods and Services Tax (GST), RSS-affiliated Mazdoor Sangh has called for remodeling of GST to boost medium and small enterprises (MSME), along with the agriculture sector.

GST parameters were drawn up keeping uniformity in mind and in our country there are different sectors that contribute to the economy. They have very unique characteristics and have to be considered individually, before designing anything. The government will have to remodel the GST structure in order to boost MSME and agriculture, said Brijesh Upadhyay, General Secretary, Mazdoor Sangh.

The largest trade union in India backed by the RSS, held a massive rally in Delhi on Friday against the anti-labour policies of BJP-led government".

The protesting labourers demanded abolishment of contract labour, equal work for equal pay, a hike in the number of working days from 100 to 200 per year under the MNREGA scheme, social security for all labourers and rectification of anomalies in the 7th Pay Commission recommendations by fixing a minimum salary of Rs 24,000. They also demanded rehabilitation of workers and reimbursement of GST-affected unorganized sectors.

Several workers unions have also cumulatively presented a 12-point charter to the finance minister for their demands to be addressed ahead of the Union Budget on February 1.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ahead of the Gujarat elections, had said that GST had adversely affected the MSME sector in the country, even more so in Gujarat.

In Surat, 89,000 power looms were sold as scrap, which led to the loss of 31,000 jobs. There are countless such examples from industrial clusters and big mandis (markets) across the country," Singh observed in his speech at the Parliament.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has meanwhile, reassured the MSME sector after a meeting with top economists ahead of the Budget and said that the government shall make sure the needs of the sector are taken care of.

There are two important issues in the country unemployment and the economy losing out on purchasing power. If these are to be addressed, then MSME and agriculture sector should get special concessions from the government. The government will have to give subsidy and support. There is no other way to overcome the crisis, added Upadhyay.

While demands of providing relief to the MSME sector has found no audience in the government so far, the GST council is planning to introduce changes relating to GST return by introducing a Finance Bill in the upcoming Budget Session.

Today, maximum employment is in the MSME and agriculture sector and if the government wants to come out of this crisis, they will have to help these sectors, said Upadhyay.
Washington: The US has issued a new travel advisory for countries including India, which its officials said is "user friendly" as it is based on ready-to-understand level of advice ranging from one to four.

India has been ranked Level 2 (exercise increased caution) while Pakistan has been places in Level 3 (reconsider travel). Level 1 advises travelers to exercise normal precaution, while Level 4, which has countries like Afghanistan, recommends "Do Not Travel".

Now every country has a travel advisory based on this system, which has replaced all the previous such advisories. "These improvements will provide US citizens with clear, timely, and reliable safety and security information worldwide," the State Department said.

Placing India on Level 2, the State Department identified "crime and terrorism" for Americans to exercise increased caution. However, it asks Americans not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir, except for eastern Ladakh and Leh and not to venture within 10 miles of the India-Pakistan border due to the "potential for armed conflict".

The State Department explained that while it will issue an overall travel advisory level for every country, levels of advice may vary for specific locations or areas within a country.

"Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations," the new India travel advisory said. Terrorists or armed groups are active in east-central India, primarily in rural areas, it added.

"Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities," it said.

Ranking Pakistan on Level 3, the State Department asked Americans to reconsider travel to this country due to terrorism.

It advises Americans not to travel to travel to Balochistan province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) due to terrorism.

Americans are also advised not to travel to Pak-Occupied Kashmir due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict. "Over the past six months, there have been at least 40 significant terrorist attacks across Pakistan, resulting in over 225 deaths and 475 wounded, most of which occurred in Balochistan, KPK, and the FATA. In the past, there have been large-scale terrorist attacks resulting in hundreds of casualties," it said.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought justification from the central government and the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) of a compulsory common prayer in Hindi and Sanskrit, which requires all students to close their eyes and fold their hands.

A bench led by Justice Rohinton F Nariman issued notices to the Centre and the KVS, seeking their replies in two weeks.

"It is an important issue," observed the bench as it admitted the PIL filed by advocate Veenayak Shah.

The petition challenged the validity of Article 92 of the 'Revised Education Code of Kendriya Vidalaya Sangathan'.

As per Article 92 of The Code, "The school day shall begin with the morning assembly and all students, teachers and the principal shall attend the assembly. It states the conduct and procedure in which the morning assembly is to be carried out."

The petitioner said that instead of propagating religious beliefs and knowledge by a government-funded institution, they should rather ensure that scientific temperament among students and also ensure protection of fundamental rights under Article 28(1) and Article 19 of the Constitution of India.

"Under Article 19 of the Constitution, the citizens have been guaranteed Freedom of Speech and expression and as a result the students shall not be put under any compulsion to recite the prayer or even as to recite in particular manner by folding their hands and closing their eyes," stated the plea.

The lawyer complained that the above prayer is being enforced throughout the country in all Kendriya Vidyalayas.

"As a result, parents and children of the minority communities as well as atheist and others who do not agree with this system of prayer such as agnostics, rationalists and others would find the imposition of this prayer constitutionally impermissible," it lamented.
Have a beef with your airline or a question about your flight and want to take your query to Twitter? Your odds of receiving a response are best if you're flying American Airlines, Etihad and JetBlue. But if you're travelling on carriers like Air Canada and United, good luck with that.

That's according to the newly released Conversocial Airline Benchmark Report, which ranked the "leaders and laggers" of the airline industry in, what they call, digital "social care."

Overall, the report found that North American airlines are faster at responding to tweets compared to carriers in Europe, Middle East and Africa: 20 minutes, versus an average response time of 1 hour and 41 minutes among EMEA airlines.

On average, European, Middle Eastern and African airlines responded to three tweets an hour, compared to 11 responses per hour for North America.

On the flip side, EMEA carriers posted better performance in responsiveness, replying to a larger share of tweets at 28 percent, compared to an average of 22 percent for airlines in North America.

The winners and losers in that category? For North America, American Airlines was the top performer, responding to a third of Twitter queries, while Air Canada received the dubious distinction of being the least responsive, at 10 percent.

Along with showing consumers which airlines are more likely to be reactive to their grievances -- because let's face it, most turn to Twitter to air grievances rather than heap praise -- the report aims to emphasize the importance of a strong social media team.

"If a customer glances over an airline's social account and sees regular and timely responses, they will feel more confident in reaching out on that channel," reads the report.

"Companies can increase that confidence by actively directing customers to their social channels via confirmation emails, in-app promotion and at airline check-in gates, for example.

For the data, analysts matched up replies to mentions on airline Twitter handles and calculated the time taken to respond to each case.

Here are the airlines most likely to respond to your Twitter question (or complaint):

North America

1. American Airlines

2. Delta

3. Southwest

4. Virgin America

5. Spirit

6. JetBlue

7. WestJet

8. Alaska Air

9 United Airlines

10. Air Canada

EMEA

1. Etihad

2. Emirates

3. Finnair

4. Qatar

5. Ryanair

6. Icelandair

7. KLM

8. Virgin Atlantic

9. easyJet

10. Lufthansa

Here are the airlines with the fastest response times for North America:

1. JetBlue 4mins 50s

2. Virgin America 4mins 56s

3. Alaska Air 5mins 10s

4. SouthwestAir 6mins 36s

5. Air Canada 9mins 1s

6. WestJet 10mins 47s

7. Spirit Airlines 14mins 15s

8. American Air 20mins 19s

9. Delta 31mins 4s

10. United 1hr 34mins

and for EMEA

1. Lufthansa 9mins 15s

2. Etihad 11mins 21s

3. Ryanair 16mins 23s

4. Icelandair 19mins 57s

5. Virgin Atlantic 20min 37s

6. KLM 20min 0s

7. Qatar 1hr 39mins

8. Emirates 3hrs 39mins

9. easyJet 4hrs 17mins

10. Finnair 5hrs 33mins
New Delhi: With Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia saying that Sanjay Leela Bhansali's movie Padmavat will not be released in her state, the Congress on Tuesday said there was a conflict between the central and state governments on the issue.

"For us, the release of any film means it has been certified by the censor board (Central Board of Film Certification). The government of India should ask Vasundhara ji if she is opposed to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

"The censor board, which comes under the Ministry, has given a certificate to release the film," Congress leader Raj Babbar said.

"Is she not opposing the central government by not allowing the film to release (in Rajasthan)," he asked.

Babbar said: "This is a conflict between the central and state governments. She should reply to this."

Vasundhara Raje on Monday said 'Padmavati', now rechristened 'Padmavat', will not be released in cinema halls across the desert state.
After a hush-hush wedding ceremony in the Italian city of Tuscany, two grand receptions in Delhi and Mumbai and an extended honeymoon in Cape Town, Anushka Sharma is back in the bay. The actor, who has resumed to the shoot of Aanand L Rai's upcoming film Zero, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif, shared how she got a floral welcome on Monday.

The actor on Tuesday night took to Twitter to share the motion poster of her upcoming film Pari- Not A Fairytale. She captioned the motion poster as, "Sweet dreams guys...#HoliWithPari."

Given it's a first horror film for Anushka, the motion poster looks even intriguing. In the 18-second snippet, the actor can be seen staring at the camera with blood flowing out of her eyes and hideous injuries taking over her skin.

Being directed by debutant Prosit Roy, Pari happens to be Anushka's third production after NH10 and Phillauri. The actress will be seen sharing the screen with Kahani famed Bengali star Parambrata Chatterjee.

The film is slated for a Holi release on March 2, 2018.
The President of the United States of America, in his first tweet of the year, openly lambasted the countrys long-time ally and so-called friend in their war against terror, Pakistan, for being deceitful and dishonest in its dealings with the US.

In his characteristic style, Donald Trump did not mince his words while saying his own country has been foolish in giving billions in aid to Pakistan over the past decade and a half.

While the Indian media plays up the statement and the government pats its back in a very we told you so fashion, it would be in order to understand where such a strong and unequivocal statement is rooted and what could be the likely implication of such an eventuality to take tangible form.

Pakistan and the United States go back a long way and in the geopolitical world where countries such as the USA cannot afford to choose their allies with their myopic national interests in mind.

Pakistan proved to be the much-needed pawn in the United States policy of containment that it had followed in case of the Soviet Union. The obvious partiality that India showed towards the latter served to make the bond between Pakistan and USA much stronger.

While the United States used Pakistan as a strategic base for training and launching unrest in Afghanistan to hurt Soviet interests, Pakistan used the aid from the big brother to fructify its policy of bleed India with a thousand cuts by successfully fostering separatist movements, first in Punjab and then in Kashmir.

The shift in the scenario, however, occurred with the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the 1990s and the establishment of the fundamentalist Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Though the United States selfishly and characteristically chose to isolate itself from the smouldering volcano that South Asia had become, it was forced to sit up and take notice when with 9/11, the Frankensteins monster that the US had created, turned on its creator.

Since then, Pakistan for the United States ceased to be a pawn to be used in its own interests and became a rather dangerous entity to be kept in good humour.

Pakistan remained the strategic base from which the US had to fight its war against terror in a territory that was totally alien to them and that too against an enemy whose strengths and skills it had no knowledge of.

In essence, the United States was dependent on Pakistan. Pakistan, on the other hand, was a slave to its own internal structural compulsions, epitomised by a deeply feudalistic society rooted in political corruption and military domination, which remained just a step away from being declared a failed state.

With the elimination of Osama bin Laden, the United States slowly began to withdraw from active involvement in Afghanistan, an opportunity the US had long been waiting for.

This also meant that the amount of money that was being poured into Pakistan in the form of aid and collateral for being part of the war against terror gradually started to go down. From a sum of more than $2 billion in 2014, the military aid came down to a little more than half a billion dollars in 2017. This squeeze was not without a reason.

While the United States of America, on one hand, realises its vulnerability to global terrorism, on the other hand, it has woken up to the stellar role that Pakistan has to play in the breeding and nurturing of terrorism. It has therefore frequently tried to restrain and warn Pakistan to desist from such aggravating behaviour.

Pakistan, in the meanwhile  used to selling itself for military aid  has turned towards other willing buyers, including Saudi Arabia and China. The fact that Pakistan is a nuclear power and has obtained the technology from China gives ample evidence of the likelihood of its coming closer to China, should the United States withdraw its aid and military favours from Pakistan.

The fact that China willingly shared nuclear technology with a regime as unstable as Pakistan bears testimony to Chinas own ambitions to rival the United States as a power of global reckoning.

In the economic sphere, China has already established itself as a world leader and with the tacit support that it offers North Korea in the face of a visibly adverse global opinion; it is no doubt ready to challenge the Anglo-American world at its own game.

No doubt closer ties between Pakistan and China may lead to closer ties between India and the United States, yet it does not augur well for peace and stability in the larger region of South Asia and is certainly not in Indias interest.

At the same time, China must also realise that a state like Pakistan in the long run will only bring misery upon any country or state that chooses to support it, for it is in essence a leech whose survival is contingent upon its ability to drain its host of its blood.

With China having attained the status of a power of global reckoning and India vying for the same, it would do them both well to adopt a long-term perspective and jointly work towards greater peace and stability in Asia.

 Author is a security and foreign affairs analyst. Views are personal.
Bengaluru: BJP president Amit Shah, who was in Karnataka to campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls, continued the war of words with chief minister Siddaramiah that was started by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Addressing a rally at Holalkere town in Chitradurga district, Shah accused the Congress government in the state of being anti-Hindu. "The Siddaramaiah government is doing vote bank politics, it is an anti-Hindu government," he said.

He cited the case of Social Democratic Party of India, the political arm of Keralas Popular Front of India, whose members have been accused of killing an RSS worker in Kerala. The government has withdrawn all cases against the Social Democratic Party of India, which is an anti-India organisation, he added.

The Karnataka CM hit back and accused the BJP, as well as the RSS and Bajrang Dal, of harbouring extremist elements.

The government will not leave those who disturb peace, we will not tolerate it, Siddaramaiah told reporters. It does not matter if it is the SDPI or the Bajrang Dal, whatever organisation it is, we will not tolerate it, he said.

The bitter exchange comes just a two days after Siddaramaiah and Yogi Adityanath traded barbs on Twitter over what it means to be a Hindu.

While Yogi attacked Siddaramaiah for calling himself a Hindu, Siddaramaiah said he follows the Hindutva of Swami Vivekananda and not Mahatma Gandhi assassin Nathuram Godse.

Karnataka is the only southern state where the BJP had been in power and hopes to wrest the state from the Congress in the upcoming polls.

Amit Shah also attacked the Congress government for not taking action against the murders of RSS workers in the state. He said that 21 members of the BJP and RSS had been killed in the last three years. "Stop these murders. This government doesn't have long. BJP will be here soon and put those responsible in jail," he said.

The BJP president also accused the state government of depriving the people from the amount that the Centre has sanctioned for Karnataka.

Where did all the amount sanctioned by Modi government for the development of Karnataka go? he asked, adding that the Centre had increased Karnataka governments share from Rs 88,583 crore to Rs 2,19,500 crore.
New Delhi: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that the state has seen a fall in political killings from 2016. Taking to Twitter, the official handle of the chief ministers office posted data that showed that there were 1522 such cases in 2017, as compared to 1768 cases in 2016.

This is a proof of governments success in its efforts. Government will coordinate efforts with the support of people and political parties to further improve the situation, the tweet read. The CMs office further said that there was a concerted campaign alleging that political violence is on the rise in Kerala.

However, data on this separate the reality from propaganda. Cases relating to political homicide has come down to a total of 5 in 2017 from the previous count of 14 in 2016, the office further said.

Data accessed by News18 via an RTI showed that Kerala had 12 cases of murders registered in 2015 that were committed for political reasons.

In 2011, there were 4 such cases, in 2012 it rose to 5 which further shot up to 6 such cases in 2013. A year later, in 2014, there were 6 such cases that were registered.

In October last year, the Kerala high court had asked the Pinarayi Vijayan government to respond on a PIL that demanded a CBI probe into political killings in Kannur. The last time CBI had investigated a political killing in Kerala was that of PDF activist Muhammad Fazal in 2006, in which eight CPM members, including Kannur district panchayat member and CPM district secretariat member Karayi Rajan, had been accused and arrested.
Internet giants like Facebook, Google's YouTube and Twitter are not taking down illegal content from their websites fast enough, the European Union executive said on Tuesday after meeting with the companies. Several European governments have increased pressure on social media companies to do more to remove illegal content - from incitement to hatred and racism to extremist material to counterfeit products being sold online - and the companies have gone to greater efforts to detail the changes they are making.

Five EU Commissioners met with representatives from companies including Facebook, Google, YouTube, and Twitter in Brussels to discuss the progress they had made in removing illegal content quicker and more effectively. "What is illegal, also has consequences. We need to find ways to remove this content. We want voluntary measures to work, but the progress has to be faster, its currently not going fast enough and we need to do something about it," Julian King, EU security commissioner, said.

The tech companies have stepped up their efforts to tackle illegal content online in the face of sustained political pressure, particularly as attacks in Western Europe over the past years shone a spotlight on militants' use of social networks. Facebook said last year it was removing 99 percent of content from militant groups Islamic State and al Qaeda before being told of it, while Twitter said 95 percent of account suspensions were thanks to its internal efforts.

YouTube broadened its takedown of extremist videos last year in a major policy shift. The EU has been weighing up legislation both to force the companies to do more and ensure there is no fragmentation across the bloc. A German hate speech law came into effect this year while France is planning a law tackling the spread of "fake news" on social media. "Online platforms have been removing more legal content than ever before showing that self-regulation can work, but regulation remains an option," Andrus Ansip, Commission Vice-President for the digital single market, said.

"While the progress is good, this is not enough according to public opinion," Ansip said. He said fragmentation was an issue and would increasingly be so, and he encouraged the companies to be proactive to detect, remove or disable access to illegal content on a voluntary basis. One EU official described the meeting as a "last chance" for the companies to show they were doing enough to tackle the problem without the EU needing to resort to legislation.

The tech companies, on the other hand, feel that there is not enough clarity on what additional measures they should be taking or how any legislation would look like in practice. Twitter declined to comment on Tuesday. Facebook and Google were not immediately available to comment.

Tech and Auto Show Ep 27 | Redmi 5A, Honor View 10, Volvo S60 Polestar & More
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has reached a record high in terms of the amount of wealth owned by a single person. The net worth of Bezos on Monday, reached a whopping $105.1 Billion, as per Bloombergs Billionaire Tracker. This ranks Jeff Bezos as the richest person of all time.

Previously, the spot was held by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has been left behind by the Amazon genius for the third time now. Bezos had been ranked as the worlds richest person twice before, back in July as well as October, as the Amazon shares shot to their record high. He managed to cross the $100 Billion net worth mark during the holiday shopping season of 2017 back in November.

Majority of Bezos net worth is linked to the 78.9 million Amazon shares that he owns. As the Amazon shares rose by 1.4 percent on Monday, around $1.4 Billion were added to his net worth. In addition to the Amazon shares, Bezos also owns the Washington Post and Blue Origin, a private space travel firm that aims to initiate space tourism.

So far this year, Amazon shares have experienced a 7 percent increase, after a promising 56 percent growth last year.

But let us not forget about the Microsoft founder just yet. Currently, Forbes reveals his net worth to be $91.9 billion and as per Bloomberg, it is $93.3 Billion, placing Gates on the second position of both these lists. This is still unmatchable to what his net worth must have been, had the entrepreneur not indulged extensively into charitable causes. As per Bloomberg, Bill Gates has till date given away 700 Million shares of Microsoft, evaluating to $61.8 Billion as per their value today. In addition, Gates has also donated $2.9 Billion in cash. Evaluating all of these, Gates net worth easily crosses north of $150 Billion.

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London: An Indian-origin shopkeeper was killed after he was punched for refusing to serve cigarette paper to under-age UK teenagers at his shop in north London.

Vijay Patel, 49, was attacked in Mill Hill area of the city on Saturday night and rushed to hospital, where he died of head injuries on Monday.

Patel's death bed photograph, hooked up to a life-support machine, has been released by his family as part of an appeal to hunt for suspects involved in the attack.

A 16-year-old boy appeared in court today and was charged with murdering Patel, the father of two.

"The Homicide and Major Crime Command continue to investigate and appeal for information about the events leading up to the incident which resulted in Patel's death. It is believed that three persons were involved in the incident," Scotland Yard said in a statement.

Detective Inspector Ian Lott, from the Metropolitan Police Homicide and Major Crime Command,described the attack as an "unprovoked spontaneous incident sparked entirely by refusal to let the suspects buy what they wanted".

"A man has lost his life for no reason other than trying to uphold the law," he said.

Patel was struck in the chest and fell backwards, hitting his head as he landed.

He was found lying injured on the pavement outside his local convenience store named Rota Express by London Ambulance Service, who rushed him to St. Mary's Hospital in London. Patel had moved to London with his family from India in 2006 and his wife, Vibha, was visiting relatives in India at the time of the fatal attack.

"We are shocked and heartbroken. He was such a kind person. We are all very close because his children are out of the country studying,"said the victim's brother, Prakash. The shopkeeper's friends described him as "honest" and "hard-working".

An online fundraising page set up for his family and has so far raised more than 15,000 pounds.

Just before the attack, a shop worker had asked a group youths for identification to prove they were over 18 years age the legal age limit for purchase of tobacco and alcohol in the UK.

When they could not provide it, the group became "became aggressive, threatening to vandalise the shop", the Met Police said.

Patel, who lived in Colindale area of north London, came to the aid of his colleague and was punched to the floor outside before the teenagers fled. The shop worker was also punched and suffered minor injuries.

"Vijay was the best human being you could have seen in the world. He was my right arm," said Abdullah Rahimzai, the owner of the shop who was also hurt during the attack. "He fell unexpectedly with his head on the ground," he recalled.

The Met Police are appealing for witnesses to track down the remaining suspects in the case.
China and France signed 20 documents to cooperate in such areas as nuclear power, economic, aerospace and health on Tuesday.

Witnessed by President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, the signing ceremony was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Prior to the ceremony, Xi hosted a grand welcome event for the French president. After official talks, the two leaders also met with entrepreneurs from the two nations.

Macron is paying a state visit to China from Monday to Wednesday. It is his first trip to the country since assuming office in May last year.
New Delhi: A Pakistani journalist, known for criticising his country's military establishment, said on Wednesday he had narrowly escaped being kidnapped by armed men, in an incident that came months after he complained of being harassed by the security services.

Taha Siddiqui, who reports for France 24 and is the Pakistan bureau chief of Indian television channel WION, said the attempted abduction took place while he was being driven by taxi to the airport serving the capital Islamabad and the neighbouring, larger garrison city of Rawalpindi.

"I was on my way to airport today at 8:20 am when 10-12 armed men stopped my cab & forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now," Siddiqui tweeted from a friend's Twitter account early in the morning.

"Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances," he added in the same tweet.

Rights groups have denounced the kidnappings of several social media activists over the past year as attempts to intimidate and silence critics of Pakistan's security establishment.

Last year, five Pakistani bloggers went missing for several weeks before four of them were released. All four fled abroad and two afterwards told media that they were tortured by a state intelligence agency during their disappearance.

The military has staunchly denied playing a role in any enforced disappearances, as has the civilian government. In the past, militants have also targeted journalists.

Siddiqui spoke to Reuters from a police station where he was filing a report on the incident, and described how his taxi was stopped on the highway when another vehicle swerved, and braked suddenly in front of it.

About a dozen men armed with rifles and revolvers pulled him out of the cab, beat him and "threatened to kill" him.

"They threw me in the back of the vehicle in which I had been travelling, but the door on the other side was open," Siddiqui said.

"I jumped out and ran and was able to get into a taxi that was nearby, whose driver then floored it."

When the taxi stopped, Siddiqui hid in a ditch for a while, he added.

Last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists said "Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency should stop harassing Taha Siddiqui", referring to the civilian agency that last year began a crackdown on online criticism of the powerful military.

Siddiqui last year filed a court petition to stop the agency from harassing him.

Saroop Ijaz, a lawyer who works with Human Rights Watch, said Siddiqui's kidnap attempt was worrying development and added that "violence and the threat of it are not legitimate means to deal with dissenting voices" in the country.
New Delhi: Hafiz Saeed, 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind, during a tour to Glasgow in 1995 said that when Muslims had the spirit of jihad they had ruled the whole world but today they were being humiliated, revealed a BBC investigation.

The Radio Four documentary, The Dawn of British Jihad, discovered that Hafiz Saeed toured British mosques in 1995. The documentary sets out to examine the idea that radicalisation of British Muslims started well before 9/11 bombings.

Hafiz Saeed's tour of Britain in 1995 was recorded in a magazine published by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The articles, written in Urdu and uncovered by the BBC investigation, were written by the Iman of a mosque in Oldham who accompanied Saeed.

Mr Iqbal said: "There is non-stop talk about Jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him."

In Glasgow, Saeed addressed a large gathering at the Central Mosque. He claimed Zionists were using billions of dollars to kill the spirit of Jihad - or Holy War - among Muslims.

"They are trying to entice Muslims to the politics of power through democracy...They are also using the interest-based economy to keep Muslims in debt," said Saeed.

Glasgow Central Mosque has not commented on the claims.

During the tour, Saeed also spoke in Birmingham where he urged his audience "Let's all rise up for jihad".

Marked "secret", a December 19, 2017, document from the Pakistan finance ministry directed law enforcement and governments in Pakistan's five provinces to submit an action plan by December 28 for a "takeover" of Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation.

The United States has labelled JuD and FIF "terrorist fronts" for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terror group Saeed founded in 1987.

In Pakistan, however, these outfits operate under the guise of charities.

If the government follows through with the plan, it would mark the first time Pakistan has made a major move against Saeed's network.

The Donald Trump administration has openly called out Pakistan for its inaction against terror groups operating on its soil.

On December 30, the New York Times had reported that the US was planning to withhold $255 million in aid to Pakistan, reflecting its dissatisfaction with Islamabad's inaction on terrorism.
Washington: The US on Wednesday hoped that Pakistan would demonstrate its willingness to aggressively confront terror groups that operate from its soil, amid reports that Islamabad has suspended intelligence cooperation with America after the Trump administration froze military aid to it.

Pakistan's decision to suspend military and intelligence cooperation with America came after President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to it, Pakistani media quoted Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan as saying.

Pakistan has suspended military and intelligence cooperation with the United States in the wake of US President Donald Trump's allegations against the country, Khan said while addressing a gathering at Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad yesterday.

Speaking during a seminar titled 'Contours of Security Environment of Pakistan', Khan said the US was using Pakistan as a "scapegoat" for its failures in war-torn Afghanistan.

"Pakistan does not want to put a price on its sacrifices but wants them to be recognised," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

The US Embassy in Islamabad said it had not been informed about the suspension of military cooperation by Pakistan.

"We have not received any formal communication regarding a suspension," Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire was quoted as saying by the paper.

In Washington, when asked to comment on Pakistan's reported move, US Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein said: "We're hopeful for future cooperation from Pakistan."

"We stand ready to work with Pakistan in combating all terrorists without distinction, and we hope to be able to renew and deepen our bilateral security relationship when Pakistan demonstrates its willingness to aggressively confront the Taliban network, the Haqqani Network, and other terrorist and militant groups that operate from its territory," he said.

The US has been clear on this issue to Pakistan, Goldstein said.

"We would like Pakistan to come to the table and assist us in this effort," he said adding that the suspension of security aid is not a cutoff and no funds have been reprogrammed.

The US announced on Thursday that it would not deliver military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan.

On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said the US had conveyed to Pakistan to take "concrete steps" against terror groups to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.

Referring to his conversation with the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Goldstein hoped that Pakistan will join the US in its effort with regard to fight against terrorism.

"The Pakistani people have suffered greatly from terrorism, and its security forces have been effective in combating the groups that target Pakistan's interest. So, it's to their benefit to join us in helping resolve this matter," Goldstein said.

"We always look at that; but again, it's a suspension and not a cutoff. We haven't reprogrammed the funds. Were hopeful that Pakistan will come back to the table and do what they told us that they would do," he said.

The US and others have long complained that Pakistan offered safe haven to the Afghan Taliban and their allies, the Haqqani Network, allowing them to carry out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies allegations but President Trump has escalated the criticism against the country since he took office last January.
YANGON: Myanmar prosecutors sought charges on Wednesday against two Reuters reporters under the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, the reporters' lawyer said.

Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were detained on Dec. 12 after they had been invited to meet police officers over dinner. Family members have said the two told them they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some documents by the officers they had gone to meet.

The two had worked on Reuters coverage of a crisis in the western state of Rakhine, where - according to UN estimates - about 655,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from a fierce military crackdown on militants.

They arrested us and took action against us because we were trying to reveal the truth," Wa Lone told reporters as he and Kyaw Soe Oo were led out of the court and back to Yangon's Insein prison after the 30-minute hearing.

Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer representing the two journalists, said the charges being sought came under Section 3.1 (c) of the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

The act dates back to 1923, when Myanmar, then known as Burma, was a province of British India.

Section 3 covers entering prohibited places, taking images or handling secret official documents that "might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy".

The Ministry of Information had previously cited police as saying they were "arrested for possessing important and secret government documents related to Rakhine State and security forces". The ministry has said they "illegally acquired the information with the intention to share it with foreign media".

The prosecutor objected to an application for bail, the reporters' lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, said. The court took it into consideration and will decide at the next hearing on Jan. 23, he said.

The government has said two police officers were also arrested for investigation under suspicion of having violated the Official Secrets Act. It has given no further information on the police arrested.

HANDCUFFS

In the court, Kyaw Soe Oo embraced his wife and held his daughter for a couple of minutes. His daughter began to weep as he was escorted away and he had to hand her back to other family members.

Wa Lones wife gave him a few small pieces of cake that she had brought.

"I am trying to be strong in everything. I never made any mistake; I never did anything wrong, Wa Lone said before leaving the court.

The two journalists arrived and left the court in handcuffs.

Reuters President and Editor-In-Chief Stephen J. Adler said he was extremely disappointed that the authorities were seeking to prosecute the pair.

"We view this as a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom. Our colleagues should be allowed to return to their jobs reporting on events in Myanmar. We believe the time is of the essence and we continue to call for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oos prompt release," he said.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay declined to comment on the charges but said the two had their rights under an independent judicial system.

"The judge will decide whether they are guilty or not according to the law," he told Reuters.

A spokesman for the military was not available for comment.

Government officials from some of the world's major nations, including the United States, Britain and Canada, as well as top United Nations officials, have called for the release of the reporters.

Observers from the United Nations and from several embassies, including the Netherlands, Australia and Britain were at the court.

"We hope that these journalists will get a fair trial and a speedy trial that represents international practices," the first secretary of the EU mission, Andreas Magnusson, told reporters.

PROTEST OUTSIDE COURT

Japan wants to raise the matter of the two reporters with the Myanmar government at appropriate opportunities, including a visit by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono this week, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Former US President Bill Clinton has urged that they be freed immediately, saying on Twitter on Monday that a free press was critical for a free society and the detention of journalists anywhere was unacceptable.

Clinton was US president for much of the 1990s when the United States pressed Myanmar's then military rulers to release democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi from years of house arrest.

About 30 journalists were outside the court, most dressed in black as a sign of protest against the arrest of the pair. Several had the message "journalism is not a crime" or "release the arrested journalists now" on their T-shirts.

Police were on duty outside the court, and some areas were cordoned off with barbed wire.

Phil Robertson of the group Human Rights Watch said that "if Aung San Suu Kyi and her government really cared about democratic reforms and governance, they could use their parliamentary majority to quickly reform this antiquated colonial law and bring it into compliance with international human rights standards.

Suu Kyi won a 2015 election and formed Myanmar's first civilian government in more than half a century in early 2016, although she is barred by the constitution from becoming president.

She has made no public comment on the detention of the two Reuters reporters. The government has denied that their arrests represent an attack on press freedom.
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia signed a deal with an American firm on Wednesday to resume the search for MH370 almost four years after the plane disappeared, with the company to receive up to $70 million if successful.

The new hunt, which will last 90 days, is expected to start in mid-January when a high-tech vessel leased by the seabed exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, reaches a new search zone in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people -- mostly from China -- on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, triggering one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.

No sign of the plane was found in a 120,000 square kilometre (46,000 square mile) search zone selected by satellite analysis of the jet's likely trajectory.

The Australia-led sea search, the largest in aviation history, was suspended in January last year.

But three firms submitted bids to resume the hunt privately and after lengthy negotiations, the Malaysian government agreed to engage Ocean Infinity on a "no find, no fee" basis.

"I would like to reiterate our unwavering commitment towards solving the mystery of MH370," Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Wednesday at a signing ceremony for the deal.

The new search zone is an area of approximately 25,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean.

If the company finds the Boeing 777, the amount they are paid will depend on where it was located, said Liow.

If it is found within the first 5,000 square kilometres, they will receive $20 million. The amount rises gradually to a maximum of $70 million if the jet is found outside the 25,000 square kilometre search zone.

Relatives of MH370 passengers welcomed the decision.

"We are grateful the Malaysian government is resuming the search for MH370," V. P. R. Nathan, whose wife Anne Daisy was on the plane, told AFP.

"We do not know what happened, we need to know what happened before we can get closure."

The ship that will conduct the hunt is a Norwegian research vessel named Seabed Constructor, which is carrying 65 crew members and set off from South Africa in early January for the search zone.

It is carrying eight autonomous drones, equipped with sonars and cameras, that will scour the waters in the hunt for the wreckage and can operate in depths up to 6,000 metres (20,000 feet).

Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.
WASHINGTON/SEOUL: US President Donald Trump told South Korea's leader a day after the first intra-Korean talks in more than two years that the United States was open to talks with North Korea "at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances," the White House said.

South Korea said Trump, in a telephone call on Wednesday, had also told President Moon Jae-in there would be no military action while talks between North and South Korea were going on.

Both heads of state forecast the current inter-Korean talks could naturally lead to talks between the United States and North Korea for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and agreed to negotiate closely on the progression of inter-Korean talks, a statement from South Korea's presidential Blue House said.

The White House said Trump had said the United States was open to talks with North Korea "at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances."

The South Korean statement also quoted Trump as saying that a report in the Wall Street Journal newspaper that he was contemplating a military strike against North Korea was "completely wrong.

He went on to say that there will be no military action as long as talks between the two Koreas are ongoing, it said.

At Tuesday's intra-Korea talks - the first since 2015 - Seoul and Pyongyang agreed to resolve all problems between them through dialogue and to revive military consultations so that accidental conflict could be averted.

North Korea also said it would attend the Olympics.

However, Pyongyang said it would not discuss its nuclear weapons because they were aimed only at the United States and not its "brethren" in South Korea, or Russia or China, showing that a diplomatic breakthrough to the crisis remained far off.

Washington welcomed the talks as a first step toward solving the crisis over North Korea's program to develop nuclear missiles capable of reaching the United States, but reiterated that any talks involving the United States must be aimed at North Korea's denuclearization.

Trump, who has swung between hurling insults and threats at North Korea to expressing a willingness to talk, said on Saturday he would be willing to speak to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, though not without pre-conditions.

An unsourced article in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday said US officials were debating whether it was possible to mount a limited military strike against North Korean sites without igniting an all-out war on the Korean peninsula.

The Trump administration has said it prefers a diplomatic solution but that all options are on the table, including the military.

US officials say Trump has been considering a number of military options, including a preemptive strike on a missile or nuclear facility, but officials and analysts have warned of the risks of triggering a catastrophic wider conflict.

MOON CREDITS TRUMP FOR TALKS

Earlier on Tuesday, Moon made a point of crediting Trump for the inter-Korean talks.

He also said he was open to meeting with Kim at any time if conditions were right and "certain achievements are guaranteed".

"The purpose of it shouldnt be talks for the sake of talks," he said, while warning that Pyongyang would face stronger sanctions if "provocations" continued.

North Korea ramped up missile launches last year and conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, resulting in a US-led campaign to impose some of the strongest international sanctions yet, which Pyongyang dubbed an "act of war".

Trump and Kim have exchanged threats and insults over the past year, raising fears of war on the peninsula. South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with the North after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

Washington and Seoul opened the way for the talks last week when they announced the postponement of joint military exercises that Pyongyang has denounced as a rehearsal for invasion.

Washington had raised concerns that Kim's New Year overture to Seoul that led to the talks could drive a wedge between the allies, but Moon said his government and Washington did not differ over how to respond to North Korean threats.

"This initial round of talks is for the improvement of relations between North and South Korea. Our task ... is to draw North Korea to talks aimed at the denuclearization of the North," Moon said. "(It's) our basic stance that will never be given up."

North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said all problems would be resolved through efforts by the Korean people alone.

"If the North and South abandon external forces and cooperate together, we will be able to fully solve all problems to match our people's needs and our joint prosperity," it said.

In spite of the hopeful words about the potential for future talks, the US intelligence assessment of the Norths weapons programs has not altered, officials say.

US officials familiar with the classified analysis say the consensus is that Kim remains convinced that the United States is determined to overthrow him and that only a nuclear arsenal that threatens America can deter that.

One official said the North-South talks were likely to follow the pattern of past diplomatic efforts, in which the North has benefited from additional food and other aid without making concessions.

Lee Woo-young, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, said it was wise of Moon to praise Trump.

"By doing that, he can help the US build logic for moving toward negotiations and turning around the state of affairs in the future, so when they were ready to talk to the North, they can say the North came out of isolation because the sanctions were effective."

The United States and Canada are due to host a conference of about 20 foreign ministers next week in Vancouver to discuss North Korea, without the participation of China, Pyongyang's sole major ally and biggest trade partner.

China would not attend and was resolutely opposed to it, its foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

"It will only create divisions within the international community and harm joint efforts to appropriately resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue," he said.
People shout slogans as they gather during the funeral of Farhan Ahmad Wani, a suspected militant who according to local media was killed in a gunbattle with Indian security forces, in Wanigund village in Kashmir. (Image: Reuters)
A saleswoman (center) talks with customers at a real estate sales office in Huaian, Jiangsu province. (Photo:China News Service/Zhou Changguo)

More cities in China may follow Jiangsu province's Nanjing in easing property policies to attract talent, but the move does not mean that home purchase restrictions will be relaxed nationwide, analysts said.

Nanjing, the capital city of East China's Jiangsu province, announced on Monday that talent in the city will no longer be subjected to household registration restrictions when purchasing their first homes in the city.

This move was announced immediately after Lanzhou, in Northwest China's Gansu province, said last Sunday it would remove property-tightening measures in some suburbs and central districts in the city.

More cities, particularly lower-tier cities that have successfully curbed speculation and have solid demand to meet, are likely to follow the two cities in relaxing some of their home-purchase restrictions.

However, it does not mean that China's housing market curbs are going to be relaxed nationwide, and the philosophy of city-specific policymaking is going to continue in the long run, analysts said.

Tang Hua, senior director of Savills Shanghai Residential Sales, the real estate services provider, said that some second-, third-and fourth-tier cities have already ruled out speculation while solid demand is rising as migrants are moving in and industries need more talent.

"For these cities, there is no longer a need to suppress real demand. These moves are not interpreted as signals of 'relaxing' but as natural responses to new conditions," she said.

Large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are unlikely to relax current policies in case of volatility in the market occurs, she said.

Wang Menghui, minister of housing and urban-rural development, said in December 2017 that China would facilitate demands from first-home buyers and those wishing to improve living conditions in 2018. Authorities will continue to take city-specific measures to ensure stable and healthy growth in the real estate market, Wang said.

It is estimated that more cities are likely to relax restrictions on sales volume while maintaining a prudential stance when monitoring housing prices, said Eva Lee, real estate analyst with UBS Securities.

Developers welcome relaxations on sales volumes as they help transactions rebound, Lee said.

China's real estate market is in a much healthier condition now than when the policies were first tightened, and can afford to experience some relaxation, Lee said.

"Of course, the relaxations in lower-tier cities are helping talent to meet housing demands. It is not the case that all restrictions are removed all at a time," she said.
China has made headlines at this year's CES, or Consumer Electronics Showan annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association, which officially started on Tuesday in Las Vegas, not only because the nation has sent more than 1,500 companies and once again is the top exhibitor.

The disruptive technologies and innovation that Chinese companies have demonstrated at the annual show are now seen as essential.

Chinese exhibitors account for more than one-third of the total participants at the CES this year, which is a highly-valued platform through which Chinese products are introduced to the Western world.

Some startups this year, such as electric-vehicle manufacturer Byton, joined the long list of companies from China to unveil its first drivable model car at the CES.

Chinese companies also are cutting a more distinctive and stronger presence by acquiring the center stages of the exhibition halls and convention venues and becoming used to the spotlight, where they can showcase their best and brightest ideas and products.

On Monday, Baidu held a large-scale event featuring its newest AI technologies, including autonomous driving platform Apollo and conversational artificial intelligence platform Duer-OS.

Lu Qi, Baidu's vice-chairman, group president and COO, led the presentation by asserting that "AI is changing the world, China speed."

Liu Zihong, founder of Shenzhen-headquartered Royole, which had specialized in human-machine interface technologies and flexible displays since 2012, now operates a team of 1,600 members from 16 countries.

"Our research team owns a total of 1,600 intellectual property patents, and we emphasize the value of technology and innovation," Liu said.

In 2016, Royole introduced the world's first curved car dashboard based on flexible electronics at CES. The company's flexible display mass production campus, which cost .7 billion, was completed in Shenzhen the same year.

It completed series Pre-D funding in October 2016, with a market valuation of billion, making it one of the world's fastest-growing technology startups.

Unlike in previous years when many Chinese companies chose to stay in corner booths and were clumsy at marketing, more Chinese exhibitors are confident and know how to communicate with the outside world, said Joana Wei, a cross-border investor based in Palo Alto, California.

"I told our team to pitch for the best spot at the exhibition hall and arrange a spacious display of products," she said, referring to one of the Chinese companies she has financed, AntVR.

"Our booth space is almost the same as Google's this year," she said. "To me, this is another format of confidence and capacity display."
Chinese online shopping platform LightInTheBox Holding Co announced on Monday that it has started to accept Bitcoin as a payment option on its two shopping platforms, ligtinthebox.com and miniinthebox.com.

LightInTheBox, which delivers products directly from producers to consumers around the world, became the first among top e-commerce platforms in China to accept the virtual currency, which has yet to gain regulatory approval in many countries, including China.

The Beijing-based online retailer said that it made the decision to accept Bitcoin because of the potential for the technology behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies known as blockchain, the company said in a press release on Monday.

"We think blockchain could potentially be an important technology for us. We are intrigued to study and adapt this technology in the future," Guo Quji, chairman and CEO of LightInTheBox, was quoted as saying in the press release.

The company said that it started to accept Bitcoin on Friday and Bitcoin payments are being processed through BitPay, but it did not reveal the initial value of Bitcoin payments.

Nevertheless, the announcement fueled a big jump in LightInTheBox's share price on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. At the market close on Monday, the shares were up 13.31 percent at .81.
Top U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing said Tuesday that it delivered a record number of commercial airplanes last year and sold 134.8 billion U.S. dollars worth of aircraft worldwide.

Boeing said in a statement that it "delivered more commercial airplanes than any manufacturer for the sixth consecutive year and set an industry record with 763 deliveries in 2017."

That number is up from the 748 in 2016 and in line with its forecast. Last year's deliveries also topped the prior record of 762 set in 2015.

European rival Airbus is slated to report its 2017 orders and deliveries next week.

Boeing's larger order book was driven by a high output of the market-leading 737 and 787 jets, said the aerospace giant.

It said that the company had raised to 47 the production of 737-type airplanes a month last year, setting a record high sale of 539 jets, including the delivery of 74 various types of its new 737 MAX model.

By the end of last year, Boeing struck deals with 71 customers worldwide for a total of 912 new orders, pushing its backlog to a record 5,864 commercial airplanes, equal to about seven years of production.

"The strong sales activity reflects continuing strong demand for the 737 MAX family, including the ultra-efficient MAX 10 variant that we launched last year, and the market's increasing preference for Boeing's family of twin-aisle jets," said Kevin McAllister, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Boeing racked up nearly 100 orders for its 787 Dreamliner jets and 60 orders for the 777 family in 2017.
Highfield National Assembly representative Cde Psychology Maziwisa and former ZBC News anchor Oscar Pambuka were yesterday arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) for fraud and are expected to appear in court today. ZACC principal public relations officer Ms Phyllis Chikundura confirmed the pairs arrest.





Maziwisa and Pambuka have been arrested today (yesterday) and are being detained at Avondale Police Station. They are expected to appear in Court 6 tomorrow (today), said Ms Chikundura.





The two are facing charges of fraud involving $12 500 actual prejudice paid to them and $36 000 potential prejudice. This was after they wanted to offer public relations consultancy services to Zimbabwe Power Company through former Energy and Power Development Minister Undenge (Dr Samuel).





They were given a contract to offer the services to Zesa yet it had a fully-fledged PR department. The pair was paid $12 500 and never returned it. They were also supposed to get a further $36 000, which was not given to them following an outcry.





The pairs lawyer Mr Jonathan Samukange said: I can confirm their arrest. Actually, I accompanied them to ZACC where they were requested to come for interviews. They were arrested and were detained.





They will appear in court tomorrow (today) for remand purposes. On the charges they are facing, I cannot comment. Just wait (for) when they appear in court. ZACC commissioner in charge of investigations Mr Goodson Nguni also confirmed the arrests, but could not provide details.





I can confirm that they have been arrested, but talk to their lawyer for further information, he said.





Cde Maziwisa and Mr Pambuka are directors of public relations firm, Fruitful Communications, that was hand-picked last year by Zesa Holdings to do public relations work for the power utility at the behest of former Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Samuel Undenge.





The two were hired despite the fact that Zesa Holdings has a fully fledged public relations department whose personnel are still on its payroll. The arrangement resulted in the power utility losing thousands of dollars as Zesa had to pay Fruitful Communications consultations fees at the same time paying its employees salaries.




(Newser)  ProPublica takes a look at a little known green-card program that allows people overseas to shell out hefty sums for the privilege of coming to America to work grueling factory jobs. It's EB-3, and in a perfect world it allows companies that can't find enough American workers to bring in unskilled immigrants. The problem, however, is that the system seems rife with abuse: "It has been co-opted by a handful of companies (mostly poultry processors) and foreign consultants who have used it to bring in immigrants willing to work for low pay in often-dangerous jobs," writes Michael Grabell. Those foreign consultants make money by recruiting people in South Korea, China, and elsewhere to apply, though they couch their services as "migration assistance" to stay within the law. Many of the takers are middle-class Asians willing to shell out for US citizenship.

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The story highlights the case of Yongho Yeom, a South Korean native and computer engineer who paid $26,000 to a "migration agency," then landed in South Carolina in 2015 to work the graveyard shift for $8.50 an hour at the House of Raeford chicken processor. He did it to provide an American future for his two daughters. Critics say the EB-3 program has been abused by companies who would prefer to bring in cheap foreign labor rather than improve pay and working conditions. But Yeom, who recently opened his own business, has no regrets. It was very, very difficult work; theres no question about that, he says. On the other hand ... they provided a sponsorship through this chicken plant. For us who want to come to the US, its a very valuable program. Click for the full story. (Read more Longform stories.)
(Newser)  This is the other-side-of-the-world counterpoint to the bizarre sight of frozen iguanas in last week's deep freeze in the US: Hundreds of bats in Australia are essentially boiling to death in the nation's extreme heat. A conservation group near Sydney, where temperatures recently reached 117 degrees, says that more than 400 large bats known as flying foxes were found dead, reports National Geographic. The problem is dehydration, explains one expert on the species. "They can't cool their body down at that point," he says. "In a way, they're kind of boiling in their bodies."

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The group Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown has been posting images of the creatures, along with images of volunteers scrambling to rescue those still alive and rehydrate them, notes the Guardian. "It was unbelievable," says one volunteer. "I saw a lot of dead bats on the ground and others were close to the ground and dying. I have never seen anything like it before. (Read more Australia stories.)
Egypt has become the world's third largest producer of fiberglass next to the United States and China due to the investment of China's giant fiberglass corporation Jushi in the North African country, said the Egyptian minister of trade and industry on Tuesday.

"Egypt annually produces about 200,000 tons of fiberglass and specifies 99 percent of them for export," Egypt's Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil said in a statement.

Kabil made his remarks after a meeting with CEO of Jushi Egypt Zhang Wenchao, where they discussed Jushi's current and future investments in the Egyptian fiberglass market.

Jushi is one of the tenant companies of China's TEDA corporation, one of the oldest and largest industrial developers of the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Ain Sokhna district that is working on the development of an area that increased to 7.23 square km.

"Jushi Egypt is built on an area of 146,000 square meters with investments worth 520 million U.S. dollars, providing 2,000 direct job opportunities," said the Egyptian trade and industry minister.

Kabil noted that Jushi Egypt started carrying out the fourth production phase of its factory in Ain Sokhna for local grinding of raw material and manufacturing of packaging material with 60-million-dollar investment.

Egypt-China bilateral ties have been elevated to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership with growing economic cooperation between the two countries in the light of China's Belt and Road Initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013.
(Newser)  Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have some unexpected work to do before this year's midterms: A federal court just ripped up the state's voting map and ordered the GOP-controlled General Assembly to draw a new one, reports the News & Observer of Raleigh. The three-judge panel ruled unanimously that Republicans violated the Constitution by drawing the current election districts to favor their party. It's the first time a federal court has struck down a congressional map over political gerrymandering, reports the New York Times. The court, deciding that the map violated the free-speech rights of non-Republican voters, gave lawmakers until Jan. 29 to come up with a new one. If that one fails to satisfy, the court would issue one of its own.

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On its most fundamental level, partisan gerrymandering violates the core principle of republican government ... that the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around, the ruling states. Republicans hardly made a secret of their agenda during the 2016 redrawing, notes the Raleigh newspaper. I propose that we draw the maps to give a partisan advantage to 10 Republicans and three Democrats because I do not believe its possible to draw a map with eleven Republicans and two Democrats, one state Republican said at the time. In response to the ruling, the chair of the state Republican party accused the court of attempting a "hostile takeover" of the General Assembly's duties. Republicans may ask the Supreme Court to block enforcement of Tuesday's ruling until the justices rule on a similar case from Wisconsin, notes the AP. (Read more gerrymandering stories.)
(Newser)  The same questions raised by Twitter after Tonya Harding's Golden Globes appearance were raised by Piers Morgan in an interview Tuesdayone Harding nearly cut short. Appearing on Good Morning Britain to discuss the biopic I, Tonya, Harding grew noticeably perturbed as Morgan grilled her about her knowledge of the 1994 attack on Nancy Kerrigan. "It took me so long to be able to ask for somebody to help me," Harding said, before Morgan interrupted. "It suits you to play the victim" when "it was Nancy Kerrigan who had her Olympic dream shattered," he said, per the Hollywood Reporter. Shortly after, Harding politely tried to end the "awkward" exchange, per Yahoo, saying, "I appreciate being on your show, but I think I'm going to have to say, 'Have a good night.'"

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Surprised, Morgan continued to press the 47-year-old, who replied, "I think that many people are the victims of abuse every single day and cant stand up for themselves. People need to be able to understand that we need to stand united and that abuse should not be happening anymore. Yet Morgan didnt give up discussing the 1994 attack, orchestrated by Hardings ex-husband and a friend. "You did know what was happening, what they were planning to do didn't you?" he asked Harding, receiving stark denials. In a preview of an ABC News special airing Thursday, Harding says a month or two prior to the attack she overheard the men discussing possibly taking somebody out to secure Harding a spot on the Olympic team. Harding says she told them her skills on the ice were enough. After the attack, she says she feared for her own safety. (Read more Tonya Harding stories.)
(Newser)  Some 23 years after a New York City rape victim was denounced as a hoaxer by a prominent newspaper columnist, police say they have solved the case with modern DNA-testing methods. After the woman was raped in Brooklyn's Prospect Park in 1994 while carrying groceries home, New York Daily News columnist Mike McAlary wrote that police sources had told him that the "woman, who will probably end up being arrested herself, invented the crime" to promote a rally denouncing violence against lesbians, the AP reports. He called the column "Rape hoax the real crime." In later columns, McAlary insisted he was right even after semen was found on the woman's jogging shorts. The woman sued him for libel but a judge decided to dismiss the case.

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Investigators say the DNA belongs to James Edward Webb, a 67-year-old serial rapist who is serving a 75 years-to-life sentence in Sing Sing. He was convicted in 1997 of four rapes and an attempted rape. Authorities say they will be unable to charge him in the Prospect Park rape because it happened before 2006, when the state eliminated the statute of limitations in rape cases, the New York Times reports. A lawyer for the woman, who is now 51 years old and married with two children, says the police and the Daily News owe her an apology. "This is a woman who had to live for 23 years with a false accusation of lying, with threats to the newspaper that she was about to be arrested," Martin Garbus says. "It's horrific." McAlary isn't around to apologize: The columnist died of cancer in 1998. (Read more rape stories.)
(Newser)  The infamous dossier about then-candidate Donald Trump continues to generate a slew of new headlines. On Tuesday, President Trump's personal attorney sued the research firm that compiled the dossier along with BuzzFeed, which made it public. In his separate suits against Fusion GPS and the media outlet, attorney Michael Cohen said the document contained "false and defamatory" accusations about him that have caused "harm to his personal and professional reputation, current business interests, and the impairment of business opportunities," per ABC News. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith has written an op-ed in the New York Times in which he says he's proud of the controversial decision made one year ago to publish the 35-page dossier.

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"A year of government inquiries and blockbuster journalism has made clear that the dossier is unquestionably real news," writes Smith. "It has helped journalists explain to their audience the investigation into Russian influence on the 2016 election," while the pro-Trump campeven Trump himselfis citing the dossier as a way to try to discredit the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian collusion. "The chorus of criticism of our decision to publish has faded," writes Smith, who asserts that publishing the dossier was in the public interest. "I haven't had a single person approach me to say, 'I wish I hadnt read the dossier, and wish I had less insight into the forces at play in America.'" (Newser initially reported that the suit was filed on Trump's behalf. The story has been corrected to reflect that Cohen is the plaintiff.)
(Newser)  An Oklahoma father who claimed his daughter fatally shot herself in the face while playing with a gun is going to stand trial for her murder. At a hearing Monday, a police detective in Norman testified that father Ronald Lee McMullen Jr.'s version of events is physically impossible, the Tulsa World reports. McMullen, 43, called 911 at 5:42am on June 29 last year and said daughter Kailee Jo McMullen, 22, had been "playing with a wheel-gun" that went off when he tried to take it from her. Detective Brian Franks, however, testified that the "stippling" of gunpowder residue on Kailee's face indicated that the revolver was fired from around 18 inches awayand her reach while holding the gun could have been no more than 14 inches. "It tells me it was fired outside of her reach," he said.

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Kailee, a former high school cheerleader, worked as an EMT. Her father was arrested and charged with first-degree murder a few days after her death. The Oklahoman reports that according to an affidavit for a search warrant, officers responding to the 911 call found large amounts of blood and evidence that somebody had tried to clean it up. Officers said that after they took photos of McMullen, he got on the ground and began covering himself with dirt. Police, who describe McMullen as a "very controlling father," say he was accused of sexually abusing Kailee in 2009 but wasn't charged. According to the affidavit, she told friends in the months before her death that her father had started abusing her again. At Monday's hearing, the judge decided there was enough evidence to send him to trial. (Read more Oklahoma stories.)
(Newser)  The Trump administration said Tuesday it wouldn't allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said after a brief meeting with Scott in Tallahassee that drilling will be "off the table" when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. The U-turn just five days after Zinke announced the offshore drilling plan highlights the political importance of Florida, where President Trump narrowly won the state's 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election, the AP reports. Zinke said Tuesday that "Florida is obviously unique" and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott.

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Zinke announced plans last week to greatly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans, including several possible drilling operations off Florida, where drilling is now blocked. Scott, who's expected to run for the Senate later this year, came out against the Trump administration plan when it was first announced, saying his top priority is to ensure that Florida's natural resources are protected. When asked what caused the administration to change its position on Florida drilling, Zinke said bluntly, "The governor." Scott said he was pleased at the administration's change of heart. "It's a good day for Florida," he said, adding, "I think it's very important to continue our efforts to take care of our environment."

(Read more Florida stories.)
(Newser)  Prosecutors in Myanmar charged two journalists from the Reuters news agency Wednesday with violating the Official Secrets Act, signaling the case will go forward despite international condemnation. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested Dec. 12 after police accused them of violating the colonial-era law by acquiring "important secret papers" from two policemen, per the AP. The police officers had worked in Rakhine state, where security forces are blamed for rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims that sparked the exodus of some 650,000 people to Bangladesh. Dozens of journalists wearing black waited outside the court to protest the arrest of their colleagues, who were led into the court smiling and giving the thumbs-up sign despite handcuffs on their wrists.

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"This is unacceptable," Wa Lone said from the back of a police truck after the brief hearing. "I want to tell you that they are charging us like this to stop us [from] finding the truth. Their actions are wrong and unfair." The journalists' lawyer said the prosecutor formally indicted the pair and they now face up to 14 years in prison if convicted. Rights and media groups have criticized Myanmar's new civilian government, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, for continuing to use colonial-era laws to threaten and imprison journalists. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the arrests showed how press freedom is deteriorating in Myanmar, while US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called for their immediate release. (Read more Myanmar stories.)
(Newser)  The red carpet turned dark at the Golden Globes on Sunday, where the majority of celebrities dressed in all black to recognize the sexual misconduct issue in Hollywood marked by the "#MeToo" and "Time's Up" movements. Now it's Congress' turn, with an invite from the House Democratic Women's Working Group for attendees at President Trump's Jan. 30 State of the Union address to don black attire to address the same issue, NBC News reports. "This is a culture change that is sweeping the country, and Congress is embracing it," California Rep. Jackie Speier, who has shared her own tale of sexual assault on Capitol Hill, tells CNN. Speier says she and others in the WWG are working to spread the word about the all-black dress code to both Democrats and Republicans who will attend the president's speech.

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Female lawmakers have come out in recent days to speak about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault at the hands of their male colleagues, and HuffPost notes that Speier and others have been working behind the scenes for some time to increase awareness and push legislation that would help prevent such abuse. CNN notes it's not the first time Democratic women on Capitol Hill have coordinated their outfits for a cause, with dozens dressing in all white to stand for women's rights at Trump's first joint address to Congress last February. Some eyes on Jan. 30 will likely be peeled to see what color Ivanka Trump will sport if she's in attendance at the address. The day after the Globes, the first daughter tweeted about Oprah's "inspiring speech" and used the #TimesUp hashtagwhich earned her widespread criticism, considering her father has multiple accusers of his own. (Read more MeToo stories.)
(Newser)  When a 17-year-old Jules Woodson told members of her church that a youth minister forced her to perform oral sex, she says leaders gave him a friendly "going away reception." Twenty years later, he'd also get a standing ovation, reports the Washington Post. Forced to address Woodson's account of the 1998 incident in Texas, repeated as part of the #MeToo campaign in recent months, Andy Savage appeared Sunday in front of worshippers at the evangelical Highpoint Church in Memphis, Tenn., where he's now a pastor. Staying vague, the 42-year-old referred to the incident in his early 20s as a sin for which he resigned and is "deeply sorry" and "sorry more was not done." He was treated to a 20-second standing ovation while Woodson, watching online, was left in tears, per the New York Times.

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"His apology isn't enough because  he's lying about how he handled it," Woodson tells WMC, responding to a prior statement in which Savage said he'd "sought forgiveness" from Woodson, her parents, and leaders at Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church near Houston. In reality, Woodson says Savage didn't speak to her after he drove her to a secluded area, fondled her breasts, forced her to perform oral sex, then begged for forgiveness. Woodson adds church officials failed to contact police while Savage told her mother they'd only kissed, per the Times. There was "this big coverup," she tells WMC, but "I want other victims of sexual abuse, especially within the church  to know that they have a voice," she says. In response to the allegation, Christian publisher Bethany House has dropped an upcoming book by Savage. (Read more sexual assault stories.)
(Newser)  President Trump lashed out at Sen. Dianne Feinstein for releasing the transcript of an interview with the co-founder of a political opposition firm that commissioned a dossier of allegations about Trump's presidential campaign and Russia. Trump called the California Democrat "Sneaky Dianne Feinstein" on Twitter Wednesday, the AP reports. He said she released the testimony "totally without authorization" and in "an underhanded and possibly illegal way." He then added: "Must have tough Primary!"

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Feinstein on Tuesday released the transcript from the Senate Judiciary Committee's August interview with Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS. Feinstein had the ability to release the transcripts as the top Democrat on the committee, and her staff helped conduct the interview with Simpson. Trump also noted in a separate tweet that the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election is the "single greatest Witch Hunt in American history" and says "Republicans should finally take control!"

(Read more Dianne Feinstein stories.)
Two foreigners chat at the Huangpu riverfront in the Pudong New Area against the backdrop of Star Harbor International Center across the river. (Jiang Xiaowei/SHINE)

Shanghai's tallest twin-tower building, Star Harbor International Center, is nearing completion and likely to open to the public in the second half of the year. The complex will facilitate traffic and boost the urban development of the North Bund, said the Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design and Research, designer of the complex.

The 263-meter tall building on Haimen Road will have the largest traffic hub in Hongkou District after completion. It will also have the deepest underground space among civil buildings in Shanghai to resolve parking issues and provide a vertical interchange for public transport. It has been dug 34.8 meters deep.

"The complex is built above Tilanqiao station of Line 12, and passengers can seamlessly connect to the Metro at the B2 floor," said Sun Dapeng, the lead designer. "Line 19 will also have a station at Tilanqiao in future, exit and tunnels are reserved for it."

According to Sun, the center is designed as a TOD (transit-oriented development) project, a complex that focuses on the orderly dispersal of passengers.

On the B1 floor of the center there will be a 4,000-square-meter bus hub. Four bus routes will terminate at the center, but the exact routes are still being worked out.

In order to provide a better environment, the height of the B1 floor is set to be 9 meters which will make the underground space more spacious. It will also allow more fresh air and reduce the influence of exhaust emissions from the buses.

B3 to B6 floors is a multi-story car park with 1,839 spaces. "We want to solve the parking problem around CBDs which has disturbed people for a long time," Sun said. "But it wasn't easy, 34.8 meters almost equals 12 stories in a normal building. I'm glad we conquered the difficulties."

While planning Star Harbor International Center and its surroundings, Hongkou District tried to connect all the buildings as one centralized complex. Lu Jiwei, former chief of Tongji University's architecture department, a member of the team which took part in the design of the North Bund CBD, told Shanghai Daily that a set of air corridors will be built to bridge the center and the other three buildings next to it.

"As the core CBD area of the North Bund, the center and buildings around it which are now under construction or under bidding will bear a foreseeable large volume of people working in the buildings," Lu said. "When designing the whole area, we planned to build four air corridors to link four buildings in the area to shape a square."

One of the buildings is the center, another is the Shanghai Industrial Holding Center which is also under construction. "The air corridor of the other two buildings is still being planned," said Sun.

Lu named the air corridor "Green Street" as they will be decorated with plants. By building air corridors, Lu wished to decentralize the people on the ground. "We want people who work or shop in the buildings to go to the traffic hub through the air corridor to reduce the pressure of ground traffic," Lu said.

The North Bund already has the 320-meter high White Magnolia Plaza, the highest building in Puxi. After the Star Harbor International Center is open to the public, the two buildings will echo each other at a distance to form a distinctive skyline for the North Bund.
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John Sturgeon poses with a moose he harvested in the eastern Interior. Ever since a National Park Service ranger told him it was illegal to use a hovercraft to travel in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve in 2007, Sturgeon has traveled by airboat, which doesn't violate the rule. Sturgeon has fought the federal government's authority to enforce its hovercraft ban on the river.
The central government will delegate some approval powers to departments at lower levels for government-funded water conservancy projects, China's top economic planner said Tuesday.

Reservoir projects with a capacity of less than 1 billion cubic meters or a dam lower than 70 meters are subject to approval by departments at the provincial level, according to a guideline released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The projects should be reported to the NDRC for filing, it said.

As it cuts red tape in project approval, the NDRC will work with related departments to lay out specific plans and enhance guidance.

The NDRC also asked local governments to strengthen supervision over the projects and improve services.
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Srinagar:

A 16-year-old girl blinded by security forceswhose wounded face sparked an outcry against the use of pellets in Kashmiris on song. Insha Mushtaq, who studied music after she lost her sight, has cleared the 10th standard board examinations in Jammu and Kashmir and now hopes to study further.

I took music as a subject and have passed that, she told PTI on the phone. Insha, who comes from a remote village in south Kashmirs Shopian district, is among the 43,000 students who passed the examination, the results of which were announced on Tuesday. Asked about her plans, Insha said she wanted to study further.

I will choose the stream for further studies after consulting my parents, she said.

Insha was blinded by pellets fired by security forces in the summer agitation of 2016 while she was standing by a window in her house, watching the demonstrators outside.

The pellets ruptured the retina and optic nerve of her eyes and the damage could not be undone even after six operations conducted at some of the top eye care hospitals.

The 2016 stir was triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by the forces.

The news that she had cleared the exams conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Examinations in November last year brought joy to the teenage girl, who developed an interest in music after losing her eyesight.

The board people have shown me as having failed in mathematics but it was not one of my subjects, she said.

Nearly 63 per cent of the 69,056 students who appeared for the board examination have cleared it. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah congratulated the successful students, including Insha.

A special shout out to young Insha who was blinded by pellets during the 2016 protests & has cleared her 10th exams today, Abdullah tweeted.

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New Delhi:

The Indian Navy is fully capable of defending the nation against any form of threat, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said after witnessing a show of its operational might off the western coast of India.

More than 10 warships from the Indian Navy including the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, three submarines and various naval aircraft participated in the show.

The Navy said Sitharaman "presided over" complex naval operations including air interceptions, missile, gun and rocket firings, ship-to-ship replenishment, night flying and antisubmarine operations during the two-day-long show which began yesterday.

The western fleet of the Navy undertook the manoeuvres off the western seaboard of India to showcase operational excellence and combat capabilities.

The defence minister initially embarked INS Kolkata, the first of the indigenously built Kolkata Class destroyers and then spent the night at sea on-board aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

Also Read | Defence ministry withdraws controversial note on status equivalence

"To assess the performance of the carrier in real conditions, Sitharaman transited through a simulated multi-threat environment on-board along with her escorts during the night of January 8," the Navy said in a statement.

"Having witnessed first-hand the prowess of the Western Fleet, I am confident that the Indian Navy is fully capable of defending the nation against any form of threat," she was quoted as saying by the Navy.

Sitharaman said the Navys "mission based" deployments in the Indian Ocean region have effectively contributed in keeping the seas safe.

The Navy had operationalised a new mission-ready plan for aggressive deployment of warships in critical sea lanes around five months ago, seen as a move to counter China's growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean region.

Sitharaman said the government was sparing no efforts to enable and empower the armed forces as they "stand firm" on the country's borders.

"I am confident that your presence and preparedness will deter our adversaries from attempting any actions detrimental to our sovereignty and safeguard our interests," she said.

She disembarked the ship by naval helicopter to INS Hansa in Goa on Monday.

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New Delhi:

Intelligence agencies have said that Pakistan-based terrorist groups may strike at Delhi. Security agencies have issued an alert in view of the Republic Day parade on 26th January.

As per intel inputs, terrorists may also carry out 26/11 Mumbai type attacks in seven states.

Highly-placed sources in the security agencies said, Intelligence Bureau (IB) in its latest alert has mentioned a host of intelligence inputs that suggest terror outfits operating from Pakistan are planning multiple terrorist attack.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an alert to the security agencies of all states, after intelligence agencies alerted of an possible attack.

The MHA has asked police chiefs of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to keep a tight vigil on all airborne crafts and beef up security before in all major cities to thwart any terrorist attack.

The MHA has asked the state director generals of police (DGPs) to keep a surveillance on light aircrafts, helicopters and drones during and before Republic Day celebrations.

The union home ministry communique has also directed the security agencies of these states to keep a tight vigil on unused air-strips and open grounds which can be used for operating light aircrafts.

According to MHA communique, Pakistans intelligence agency ISI along with Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Al Qaeda and Jaish-e-Mohammed fidayeens and members of sleeper cells have been activated to carry out terror attacks in the country.

Also read: National security framework needed towards Pakistan: Par panel to government



The MHA has also directed all security agencies especially the CISF to beef up security at all airports across the country.

A senior CISF official said, The force has increased the number of personnel deployed at all domestic and international airports.

He added the security has been tightened further at all arrival and departure points of all domestic and international arrival and departure points.

Also read: Following Trumps admonition, Pakistan suspends aid to terror groups including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar



The blueprint of the terror attack was revealed after Uttar Pradesh ATS arrested a suspected militant, Bilal Ahmad Wani, from Shatabdi Express on Sunday. During interrogation he revealed that he along with few of his companions was planning to attack Akshardham Temple in New Delhi.

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New Delhi:

A PMLA Tribunal has restrained the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from taking possession of immovable assets it has attached in connection with a money laundering case against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, a move the agency said it will appeal against.

The central probe agency, in March last year, had attached a school building in Chennai and a godown as part of its provisional attachment in the case and it was carried out under the stringent criminal provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

As per the legal scheme under the Act, such an order goes to the Adjudicating Authority for final approval and in case the ED's action is endorsed, the affected party can appeal it before the Appellate Authority of the law.

The Appellate Authority (PMLA), now in a recent order, directed the agency to restrain from taking possession of the said attached immovable assets even as it posed several queries and questioned the agency's action in the case.

Also Read | Interpol cancels Red Corner notice on televangelist Zakir Naik; NIA to submit fresh request

Official sources in the ED said the agency will appeal the order of the Appellate Authority or the Tribunal before a High Court and that it was not a "set back" in the case.

Officials said the tribunal order has not "quashed" the attachment but has directed that status quo be maintained.

The tribunal, they said, has at the same time not barred the agency "from taking possession" of the movable assets attached in the same order that includes mutual funds worth about Rs 9.41 crore and five bank accounts containing deposits worth Rs 1.23 crore in the name of Naik's NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

Agency sources said the investigation conducted by the ED officials is independent of the NIA and that it has found that these assets were created by Naik and his associates using alleged "tainted funds".

The Adjudicating Authority had approved the ED order after being satisfied by the investigation, they said, adding this will be a point made in the appeal to the HC.

The ED is looking into the charges of alleged laundering of illegal funds in the case and the subsequent proceeds of crime thus generated. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had first registered a case against the 51-year-old Naik under anti- terror laws in 2016 for allegedly promoting enmity between different religious groups.

The NIA and Mumbai Police, subsequently, had also carried out searches at 10 places in Mumbai including residential premises of some of the office bearers of the foundation run by Naik.

The foundation was earlier put on restricted list by the Home Ministry for receiving funds from abroad.

Naik, who is said to be staying in Saudi Arabia to evade arrest after some perpetrators of the Dhaka terror strike last year claimed they were inspired by him, has been booked along with unnamed officials of the IRF for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony besides various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

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New Delhi:

Gujarat Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) on Wednesday claimed to have arrested alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist who was wanted for fidayeen attack at Delhis Red Fort in 2000 from Indira Gandhi International airport.

According to sources in Delhi Police, the arrested alleged LeT terrorist has been identified as Bilal Ahmad Kawa.

A senior officer of Delhi Police said, Bilal was arrested from Delhi airport in a joint operation carried out by Gujarat ATS and Delhi Police's special cell.

The officer added, A large chunk of money to carry out the attack was transferred in Bilals account. The money was transferred to Bilal by Md Arif Ashfaq, the main conspirator of the Red Fort attack.



On 22 December, 2000, six LeT militants sneaked into the Red Fort on the pretext of watching the light-and-sound show with arms hidden under leather jackets. They started firing indiscriminately on the guards of the 7th battalion of Rajputana Rifles. Two soldiers and a civilian guard were killed in the attack. The militants escaped by scaling the Fort's rear wall.

According to reports, the attack was backed by Pakistans intelligence agency ISI and funded by LeT operatives.

Delhi sessions court had earlier convicted 11 persons in connection with the attack. During the course of investigation agencies had learnt that more than Rs 29 lakh were transferred through hawala and various national banks.

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Lucknow:

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said his priority was strengthening the party organisation and he was not thinking of an alliance ahead of the "crucial" 2019 general elections.

Terming the process of talks and seat negotiations a waste of time, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who had tied up with the Congress for the assembly elections in 2017, ruled out alliances "as of now".

"The 2019 election is certainly crucial as the message from Uttar Pradesh will go out to the entire country. As of now, I am not thinking of an alliance with any party. It (alliance talks and seat negotiations) wastes a lot of time and I don't want to be in confusion (over seats)," Yadav told PTI in an exclusive interview.

Yadav said he was working on strengthening the party's vote bank.

Also Read | Akhilesh Yadav slams BJP, accuses it of befooling people

Suggesting that the party could bargain at a later stage if an alliance materialises, he said his style of politics is different and he is open to "friendships" with like-minded parties. However, his priority at present was to strengthen the organisation of the party.



The SP-Congress combine was trounced in the 2017 state elections, with the BJP and its allies winning 325 seats in the 403-member House. While SP got 47 seats, the Congress won seven.

"There is time before the elections. The Lok Sabha polls are in 2019. We are presently working on each seat, going through local equations for selection of candidates," he said.

Yadav also announced that the SP would contest the Lok Sabha polls where its organisation was strong.

"We have a strong organisational base in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. We are also working in Uttarakhand and Rajasthan," he said.

Discussing the defeat of his party in the 2017 assembly polls despite claims of good development, Yadav said the BJP had succeeded in fooling the people.

"It was not our vote bank but that of the Bahujan Samaj Party that shifted... The people still remember my regime and are now realising their mistake."

He added that the people gave BJP a chance but the party had fulfilled none of its tall promises.

"The Yogi Adityanath government has failed... They are just carrying forward our work by putting their plaques," he alleged.

In his view, the Adityanath government should demand a big package from the Centre in the budget instead of fooling the people.

"Out of 80 seats, the state has given them 73 MPs (including that of Apna Dal). It's high time the Yogi government demands a big package from the Centre as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be presenting his last budget next month.

"After the budget, nothing can be done. If you don't have funds, you can't work," he said.

The former chief minister said he would be taking out a "rath yatra" across the state to mobilise party workers.

"The route and plan is being chalked out. I will be hitting the road again. People have expectations from us as SP is the only party which can stop the BJP."

Yadav also spoke on the issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

"We demand that before the Lok Sabha polls, the two by-elections of Gorakhpur and Phulpur be held using ballot papers. Doubts about the machine should be cleared."

On the much-touted UP investor summit, preparation for which is underway, Yadav taunted the government and said it should first purchase chairs for the venue, the JP international centre, which was constructed during his regime.

"Will they ask delegate to sit on chairs borrowed from a tent house?" he asked.

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New Delhi:

Two aides of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had been arrested and lodged in Ranchis Birsa Munda Jail after they surrendered in a false case of corruption, police said on Tuesday.

According to sources, the two plotted a false case to land in trouble and get themselves lodged in the jail to serve their boss, Lalu Yadav, who was given a sentence of 3.5 year to serve in the Fodder Scam case.

The two had been named as Madan Yadav, an entrepreneur who owns two cowsheds, a big house and a high-end SUV, and Laxman Singh, residents of Ranchi who had planned of creating a fake snatching scene to get into the jail.

The Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), after many contemplations, admitted that both Madan and Laxman were their party workers. RJD spokesperson, Shakti Singh Yadav, said, Police should probe how the two got jailed. Laluji never asked anyone to go to jail.

The FIR was lodged on December 23 by Sumit Yadav, Ranchi resident, against Madan, who, he alleged, snatched Rs 10,000 from him, the same day Lalu was convicted in the Fodder Scam case by a special CBI court.

Also Read: Lalu Prasad Yadav gets 3.5 years in jail, fined Rs 10 lakh in fodder scam

Madan was put in jail on the basis of the FIR by Sumit Yadav. Both Madan and Laxman appeared before the CJMs court and were sent to Birsa Munda jail the same day.

Manoj Kumar, a tea-seller who knows Madan, said, Madan is well connected with sound financial background. He has no reason to snatch or steal. He added that Madan must have done this to serve the RJD leader in the jail.

Madan served as Lalus retainer and Laxman had been Lalus cook in the past.

SSP Kuldeep Dwivedi, on Tuesday said, We weren't aware that the two surrendered before the court and were sent to jail. The usual practice is that lawyers concerned ask for documentary evidence, police station diary and the FIR, before taking a decision in such matters. However, in this case none of these norms was followed.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau intercepted 72 batches of so-called organic products, including dairy, food and cosmetics in 2017, Shanghai Observer reported Tuesday.

Although labeled as "organic," none of these products obtained official certification in China. According to the bureau, China implements a unified certification system on organic products. Neither domestic nor imported products are allowed to be marked as organic or other misleading words or designs without official accreditation.

The bureau said that the accreditation agencies should only perform certification on products listed in the official organic products catalog published by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA). Currently, neither honey nor cosmetics are in the catalog.

Organic products should also use organic labeling with the name of the accreditation agency and a 17-digit accreditation code that can be checked on the CNCA website. Consumers can also dial hot line 12365 to report forging or illegal use of certification labels.
Washington:

US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, opening up a distinct possibility of a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This would be for the first time in 18 years that a US president would be addressing the World Economic Forum which is an annual gathering of global economic leaders.

"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his 'America First' agenda with world leaders," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

"At this year's World Economic Forum, the president looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries, and American workers," she said.

This would be the first time since 1997 that an Indian prime minister will attend the Davos summit.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 will take place this month in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World'.

Modi will travel to Switzerland on January 22 on a two- day visit during which he will deliver the keynote address at the plenary session of the WEF.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington:

President Donald Trump on Wednesday pushed for merit-based immigration system, saying we should only allow people, having "great track record", to enter the US.

"I would like to add the words "merit" into any bill that's submitted because I think we should have merit-based immigration like they have in Canada, like they have in Australia.

"So we have people coming in that have a great track record, as opposed to what we're doing now, to be honest with you," he said during his meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House.

Trump's comments found support from several lawmakers.

"I want to get a merit-based immigration system to make sure we can succeed in the 21st century, and I'm willing to be more than fair to the 11 million. I just don't want to do this every 20 years," Senator Lindsay Graham said.

When House Majority Leader Congressman Kevin McCarthy said the reform would focus on three pillars - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA, border security and ending chain migration, Trump interrupted, asking him to "add merit" in any immigration legislation.

"I think you should add merit. I mean, if you can, add merit-based. I don't think -- I don't know who is going to argue with merit-based? Who can argue with merit-based?" he asked amid laughter from those present in the room.

A legislation in this regard is expected to be presented in the next few days.

Reiterating his call for border security -- of which a wall along the Mexico border is an integral part -- Trump said it also has to be a bill to end chain migration.

Also Read | Indian-Americans welcome continuing H-1B visa extension

"Chain migration is bringing in many, many people with one, and often it doesn't work out very well. Those many people are not doing us right," he said and called for ending the visa lottery system.

"I'm appealing to everyone in the room to put the country before party, and to sit down and negotiate and to compromise, and let's see if we can get something done," the US president said.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders described the meeting as "successful".

"The president just concluded what we felt was a very successful and productive bipartisan and bicameral meeting on immigration reform," she said.

Sanders said the leadership, during the close-door session, agreed to negotiate and narrow down the focus to four issues -- border security, chain migration, visa lottery, and DACA.

"They all agreed the four things would be part of the negotiation. And beyond that, they could move into additional scope," she said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington:

The US has welcomed North Koreas decision to participate in next months Winter Olympics in South Korea, saying this is an opportunity for Pyongyang to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearising.

North Korea on Tuesday decided to send athletes and cheerleaders to Winter Olympics in South Korea after the two countries held their first official talks in more than two years.

The breakthrough came after months of rising tensions over North Koreas nuclear weapons programme.

The North Korean participation is an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearising. We hope that we can continue to move forward on that front, but certainly doesnt affect our participation, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily press conference.

Also Read: North Korea agrees to join Winter Olympics in South Korea as tensions ease

Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula is the number-one priority of the Trump administration, she said.

We are in very close contacts with our South Korean allies about these conversations, she said,

Welcoming the January 9 talks between North and South Korea, the State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said the US was committed to a safe and successful Winter Olympic Games and would send a high-level presidential delegation to the event.

Also Read: North Korea-South Korea start first official talks in two years

North Korea last year increased the pace of its missile programme. Since February, Pyongyang has fired off 23 missiles. On November 29, the North Korean leader said that his country had achieved full nuclear statehood after what he said was the successful test of a new missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States.

Fears of a catastrophic conflict between the US and North Korea spiked as the leaders of the two nations taunted each other, with President Donald Trump calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Rocket Man.

The US and its allies, including Japan and South Korea, have put increasing economic pressure on North Korea in an attempt to halt the reclusive regimes nuclear and missile development.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
A total of 663 freight train trips were made between southwest China's Chongqing municipality and Europe in 2017, local authorities said.

This brings the total number of such trips between Chongqing and Europe to 1,500 since the city launched the service in 2011.

Demand for rail freight between China and Europe, an alternative to slower and riskier sea freight and much costlier air cargo, has exploded in recent years.

About 35 Chinese cities operate cargo trains to Europe.
Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR)'s Chief Executive Chui Sai On has accepted the University of Macao (UM)'s recommendation to appoint Song Yonghua as the ninth president of UM, who will assume office on Jan. 9, 2018, the university said on Friday.

According to the university council of UM, the recruitment for the next president began in March 2017. A number of consultation forums were held to collect the views of alumni, staff and students, as well as members of the university council. Through a global search and deliberations, the university council finally voted unanimously to recommend Prof. Song.

The university council said Prof. Song has held a number of leadership positions at British and Chinese universities, and is particularly familiar with the development and operation of higher education institutions in Europe, the United States and Asia.

A world-renowned scholar in electrical engineering, Song received his PhD from the China Electric Power Research Institute. In 1997, he was appointed Professor of Power Systems at Brunel University and later as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Graduate Studies at Brunel University in 2004. The latter appointment made him the first Chinese scholar assuming a senior management position at a British university.

Song returned to China as Professor of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University in 2009 and was appointed assistant president in the same year. Currently, he is the executive vice president of Zhejiang University.

The university council of UM also expressed its appreciation for incumbent President Prof. Zhao Wei's contribution to the university.
Central China's Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, is to install more than 80,000 charging piles for electric cars by 2020.

According to a plan by the city's development and reform commission, 86,691 public charging piles for electric cars will be built in Changsha by 2020 to meet the demand of 83,000 NEVs.

The plan also stipulated that all new properties must have charging facilities or places to build charging piles.

China, the world's largest auto market, supports NEVs as a way to ease pressure on the environment.

The government is preparing to ban the production and sale of diesel and petrol cars, but no timetable has yet been set.
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Boehringer Ingelheim upped its stake in combatting diseases.

The pharmaceutical company announced it is more than doubling its input into the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund to nearly $300 million. The corporate venture fund, previously funded at about $120 million, was created in 2010 and invests in new biotech companies and research.

BI is based in Ingelheim, Germany, and has its U.S. headquarters in Ridgefield near the Danbury border. The additional investment will allow the fund to open another U.S. office this year on the West Coast and increase staffing. It has an existing office in Cambridge, Mass.

The increased funding will be used to invest in promising startup companies that focus on regenerative medicine, infectious diseases and digital health, the company announced. The fund will also double the number of investment managers.

Frank Kalkbrenner, corporate vice president and head of the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, said the increased investment allows the fund to work in some of the most promising areas of biomedical research to date.

This brings us one step closer in our quest to be at the center of the global digital health transformation, he said in a statement.

The fund currently has nearly $300 million under management in a portfolio of 21 biotech and startup companies focused on various therapeutic areas, including immune-oncology. Some of its recent investments were in companies such as Rigontec, ViraTherapeutics and Okairos.

Rigontech, which was acquired by Merck in fall 2017, is a pioneer in cancer immunotherapy. ViraTherapeutics specializes in oncolytic virus therapies. Okairos is leading the development of T-cell-based vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases.

Okairos represented the first investment for the BI Venture Fund. The company was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2013 and was the funds first successful exit.

The key differentiator for Boehringer Ingelheims Venture Fund lies in the close and trusted relationships with the portfolios and entrepreneurs with whom we are privileged to work, Kalkbrenner said. Through these connections, weve successfully developed a number of biotech start-ups  from creation to exit  and we look forward to the groundbreaking work that lies ahead.

Kalkbrenner said there are inherent risks when investing in startups, but the fund targets companies working on pioneering therapies and benefits for patients. The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund develops projects over a five- to seven-year period, starting with seed money or other first-round funding. Investments can be up to $175 million.

We are a team that welcomes new adventure and risk-taking, if it means delivering novel solutions that will one day help patients everywhere lead healthier lives, Kalkbrenner said.

cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
We all know the feeling. You're at a restaurant deciding what to order when you start to wonder about a description on the menu. You might subtly Google it, or maybe you're bold enough to ask the waiter what that thing means. But chances are, you just move on to something you recognize and order it instead.

Perhaps the source of your confusion was D.C. restaurant Siren's Alaskan halibut with "mishmish spiced octopus" and "sobrassada emulsion," or rabbit rillette with "kasteel rouge mustard" and "kampote peppercorn" from D.C. area restaurant Flamant. Or maybe it was Ana at District Winery's "pommes paillasson."

The use of French terminology may not have seemed like a total gamble for Ana's menu-writers - after all, plenty of folks have heard of pommes frites and can guess that the dish would contain some kind of potato. Still, it wasn't a decision they made lightly: A committee of restaurant staff toyed around with such possibilities as "Lincoln latkes" and "dreamy potatoes" to describe the dish, which consists of potatoes that been shaved into clarified butter, then cooked, pressed, chilled and fried.

But those names all sounded too kitschy for what's essentially fried potato sticks. "This was an extensive conversation . . . for what is really elegant tater tots," general manager Sean Alves said.

Anything with "tater tots" in the name could catch people's attention, but in the end, the team felt "pommes paillasson," the traditional French name for the grated potatoes, was actually the most straightforward.

Do most diners even know what that means?

Those in charge of menu-writing have a fine line to walk. They want things to sound interesting, maybe a little exotic - especially compared with what someone might cook at home - but not pretentious or twee. "There's a certain degree of what I like to call 'look-at-me' menu-writing," said Haidar Karoum, the former executive chef at D.C.'s Doi Moi, Estadio and Proof, who just opened Chloe, his first solo restaurant.

That can be an issue, he said, because "you don't want people to feel stupid for asking a question."

Even well-versed chefs can find themselves unsure of what they're reading. Chef-partner Tony Chittum of Iron Gate Restaurant in Washington recalled eating a while back at Babbo - the famed Italian restaurant in New York that is part of the empire Mario Batali, amid sexual harassment allegations, recently stepped away from - and being thrown off by the extensive use of Italian words.

Chittum, by the way, is an expert in Italian cuisine.

It's perfectly reasonable for restaurants to use languages other than English. Thip Khao's menu, for example, explains that khaonom mun falang are yellow curry potato puffs, and Bibiana translates Polpette della Nonna as "chef's grandmother's meatballs." But what can be frustrating is a seemingly random string of words, presented without explanation.

Chefs can see the effects in terms of sales. "It's a little bit of trial and error" in settling on the right language, Karoum said. "You can tweak one word in a menu description, and you'll go from selling 10 [of a particular dish] in a night to selling 30."

Chittum saw firsthand the effect when he made a change. His menu featured an Italian dish called crespelle, made with stuffed crepes. Problem was, diners didn't know what that meant. So he swapped in the term cannelloni, which is technically made with pasta, but something more customers were familiar with - and, just like that, the dish became more popular.

There are certain buzzwords or phrases that put people squarely in their comfort zone. Karoum cited the now-ubiquitous molten chocolate cake, which originated with New York chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, as an example of how to nail a name. It's enticing and paints a picture in just a few words.

Karoum was going for something similar when he was brainstorming names for the flatbread that accompanies the spiced beef hummus at Chloe. The creation was a "labor of love," a combination of a dozen recipes, and when it came time to name it, he realized referring to it as "naan" just wasn't enough. Instead, he settled on "snowshoe naan," which comes from an Afghan recipe and conveys the shape of the bread.

"It sounded cooler than 'flatbread,' " Karoum said. A lot of diners will know what naan is, but Karoum said he hopes "snowshoe" will get diners to ask questions and learn more about it.

Chittum said he likes to throw in an Italian, Greek or technical term every once in a while to get customers and staff to interact. But he also admitted his menu composition is sometimes driven by other factors - including his own whimsy.

One thing he considers is how the menu actually looks. Chittum will occasionally add or subtract a word to get a line to be longer or shorter, although he tends to err on the side of brevity. The Brussels sprouts salad at Iron Gate, for example, is described as having "two apples" on the menu, which at first glance seems to say, "Yes, you're eating a lot of fruit. Good for you!" In reality, Chittum said, the phrase indicates that there are two types of apple in the salad - Granny Smith and Honeycrisp.

In other instances, it's all about how something sounds. "When I look at a dish, sometimes I feel like I need another descriptor," he said.

Hence, Iron Gate's "chef's deviled hen eggs."

You may wonder: As opposed to rooster eggs? When is an egg not from a hen? The redundant descriptor has a bit more of a special ring than "deviled eggs," Chittum said.

Sometimes, he confessed, it merely comes down to one goal: "You want to make things fancy."
For seven years, the Giving Fund has presented the cases of families who find themselves in need during the holiday season.

The people featured in the cases presented over the six weeks  between Thanksgiving and the end of the year struggle to pay their bills or find housing due to illness, the loss of a job or because the person is trying to find a new start after leaving an abusive relationship.

The Giving Fund, a partnership between The News-Times and the United Way of Western Connecticut, outlines how these local residents could be helped by receiving a specific amount of money.

But for the first time since the partnership began, the fund has fallen short of funding all the cases. The United Way is still in need of $5,000 to reach the $41,000 needed to help all the families.

For this reason, the deadline has been extended for Giving Fund donations.

We are appealing to the community for one final act of generosity to help us reach our goal of supporting 100 percent of the cases in this years Giving Fund, said Kim Morgan, CEO of United Way. The extreme weather over the past few weeks may have prevented some from making their donations, so were extending the deadline and making one last request.

Donations can be made at www.uwwesternct. org/ thegivingfund, where a list of all cases featured can also be found. The individuals names have been changed to protect their privacy. Those who want to donate can also choose to mail a check to The Giving Fund, P.O. Box 722, Danbury, CT 06813.

More than $458,000 has been donated over the years through The Giving Fund.

As in previous years, the United Way of Western Connecticut administers the fund at no charge, so 100 percent of the donations go to the cases.

Any donations received above the amount needed for a case will benefit underfunded cases. If all are funded, then the money will be used for other United Way programs that assist ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) families.

The greater Danbury community has always been so generous in supporting the Giving Fund families and individuals in need, said Morgan. Im hopeful that we can count on their support again.

aquinn@newstimes.com
China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd suffered a major setback on Tuesday when its U.S. partner AT&T Inc reportedly dropped a deal to sell the company's smartphones at the last minute under political pressure from U.S. lawmakers.

AT&T, the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier, was pressured to abort the deal after members of the U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees expressed concern in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission on Dec 20, according to online tech news site The Information.

Huawei, a private company based in Shenzhen in South China, has long been a target of U.S. politicians.

In October 2012, a House Intelligence Committee report accused Huawei and ZTE, the two largest telecom-equipment manufacturers in China, of posing a national security threat, without providing solid evidence.

The end of the deal means that Huawei, the world's third-largest smartphone vendor after Apple and Samsung, will not be able to sell its latest Mate 10 products via a telecom carrier but only through open channels, thereby greatly limiting its market access.

On Tuesday, Huawei unveiled its Mate 10 Pro at CES 2018 in Las Vegas.

"We've experienced unprecedented growth worldwide and are now bringing our award-winning products to the U.S.," said Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei Consumer Business Group.

"Huawei is and has been in the U.S. and is part of a community of visionaries that strive to push boundaries and improve daily lives through technology. Our newest consumer solution, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, is the smartphone that U.S. consumers need and deserve."

As for the scuttling of the deal with AT&T, Yu said "we are still very confident in the U.S. market. Huawei has already made lots of progress in markets like Europe, Korea and Japan, so we believe we will also make a breakthrough in the U.S. in the future because consumers love our products."

The Mate 10 Pro, equipped with Huawei's own AI-powered chips and first launched in Europe in October, is regarded as a premium handset that rivals Apple and Samsung's best products.

The phone is priced at 9 and features a 6-inch QHD OLED screen, the AI-infused Kirin 970 processor, and Android Oreo operating system, with the ability to reach gigabit LTE speeds, a Leica-branded 12-megapixel dual camera, and a 4,000mAh battery.

"Huawei's goods and services are proven and trusted across 170 markets globally, including by virtually every major carrier in every OECD and NATO market," said Ted Moran, a professor at Georgetown University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

"The suggestion that use of Huawei products might present some kind of unique vulnerabilities because Huawei is a Chinese company does not make sense in a world in which all IT goods and services - regardless of the location of the vendor's headquarters - are developed and produced globally," said Moran, who is a member of the Huawei International Advisory Council.

Neil Mawston, executive director of the global wireless practice at Strategy Analytics in the UK, said that some U.S. authorities worry that selling more Chinese smartphones or networks could give the Chinese government back-door access to sensitive data on location, voice calls or daily activities of American citizens.

He said that Huawei is a toptier global smartphone player, and it would be a surprise if Huawei were not in some kind of talks with all the major U.S. operators. "Whether those talks actually go anywhere is another matter," he said.
The leading GOP opponent of the governors chief justice pick is being accused of homophobia.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Herbst panned the nomination of Andrew J. McDonald to lead the seven-member court, saying that Stamford confidant of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was chosen for political reasons and has a history of legislating from the bench.

But Democratic State Rep. William Tong, who is from Stamford and is co-chairman of the Legislatures Judiciary Committee, said Herbsts criticism of the nominee is rooted in bigotry.

McDonald could make history as the first openly gay jurist in the nation to preside over a state Supreme Court.

No doubt that this is a dog whistle Trump-style attack on a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, Tong told Hearst Connecticut Media Tuesday. I think hes obviously trying to smear Justice McDonald and make a personal attack on him and his sexual orientation.

Herbst, the former Trumbull first selectman, stood by his concerns over McDonalds appointment, which is subject to the approval of the Legislature.

Tong is throwing a tantrum to avoid answering the serious questions that relate to McDonald's nomination as chief justice, Herbst said in a statement. My objection to the nomination of Justice McDonald as chief justice is very clear: he has a demonstrated track record of partisanship, had no experience on the bench when he was first appointed to the court and has a history of supporting unconstitutional measures.

A former state senator, McDonald, 51, has been an associate justice since 2013. Five of the current seven justices are Malloy appointees, a number that could grow to six if McDonald is confirmed.

A former general counsel to the governor and one-time corporation counsel for the city of Stamford when Malloy was mayor, McDonald declined to comment Tuesday.

Malloys spokeswoman Kelly Donnelly lauded McDonald for his public service.

Andrew is an insightful jurist who has earned the respect of his peers and the legal community, Donnelly said. He will make an exceptional chief justice. I am sure that the totality of his career, including his legal acumen and his achievements will be vetted during the confirmation process.

A leading social conservative in the state, the Family Institute of Connecticuts Peter Wolfgang, joined the opposition Tuesday to McDonalds nomination.

Look, I get what theyre doing. If you vote against the gay guy youre a bigot, Wolfgang posted on the organizations website. But McDonalds nomination should be rejected for reasons that have nothing to do with his homosexuality. McDonald has a record of putting his own politics ahead of the law.

Both Wolfgang and Herbst criticized McDonald going back to his time as Judiciary Committee chairman, saying that the then-senator supported an unconstitutional bill in 2009 that would have stripped Catholic bishops and priests of financial authority over their own churches.

They both knocked McDonald for siding with the majority when the state Supreme Court ruled Connecticuts death penalty law unconstitutional in 2015 by a 4 to 3 vote. The law had repealed capital punishment for those convicted of the most violent crimes after its passage in 2012, but did not apply to those already on death row. The courts majority ruled that there could not be two levels of justice.

When McDonald was appointed by Malloy to the bench, there were just seven LGBT justices in the nation. In addition to holding office, McDonald is a former partner of the law firm of Pullman & Comley LLC and graduated from the University of Connecticut Law School.

But McDonalds lack of experience as a judge prior to his 2013 appointment is a sticking point for Herbst, who drew the ire of Tong for his criticism of McDonalds resume.

The truth is that to suggest that Justice McDonald is not qualified is just outrageous and meritless, said Tong, who is exploring a run for state attorney general. Hes held like every job. So I think its pretextual for what hes really trying to say, which is something much uglier.

Herbst said McDonalds credentials are fair game.

I'm not the slightest bit surprised that Hartford insiders are rushing to the defense of one of their own Herbst said. The politicians who are part of the problem under the gold dome dont like it when an outsider pulls back the curtain on their country club.

http://twitter.com/gettinviggy; nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436
RIDGEFIELD  Despite a months-long spending freeze, the Board of Education likely will need to ask for a special appropriation to cover a year-end deficit projected to reach $1.3 million.

Superintendent Karen Baldwin warned board members in September that the district could face a $1 million deficit and that she had imposed a spending freeze on all controllable accounts. That deficit was caused largely by a summer enrollment bump that required the hiring of three extra teachers for $216,000, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexpected special education costs, she said.

But recent projections she shared with the board this week show that even more special education costs, urgent weather-related spending and increased electricity rates likely mean the freeze will not close the gap.

Saving even $716,000 through the freeze, which officials considered ambitious but doable, would not be enough.

Its becoming increasingly clear that we will be challenged to land this budget on fumes, Baldwin said.

The largest portion of the $1.3 million deficit was caused by unplanned out-of-district placements for special education students, which Baldwin estimated will cost an additional $525,000.

When she first announced the likely deficit, Baldwin said four students with special needs had moved to Ridgefield over the summer with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) already in place at private institutions. By law, the district was required to assume the cost of implementing their plans.

Since then, three more students already placed in state-approved special education facilities have moved to the district. The district also recently had to hire three nurses to assist medically fragile children, which has put the Professional Services over budget by $90,000.

The families continue to come in, and these are high-cost kids, said Kim Hapken, assistant superintendent of special services. The way the law is written, we have to bear the burden of whatever their IEP says.

The district also has had to pay settlements in several lawsuits against the district over special education. Hapken told board members there have been 10 more settlements, which are estimated at $500,000, in addition to the 14 accounted for in this years budget.

Some board members asked Monday how the district could improve its services to prevent such settlements or out-of-district placements.

Baldwin has previously said reducing special education costs, which have been substantially higher in Ridgefield than neighboring districts, has been her focus since starting two years ago. She said Monday the district has made progress, but has struggled to increase services given recent financial strains.

Its hard to build these programs when youre tamping down and trying to contain costs, Baldwin said. Were moving in a positive direction...but we just had, for lack of a better term, a perfect storm.

The electricity account is also $100,000 over budget because of new rates that went into effect in December, Baldwin said. And about $241,000 they expected to save in the budget freeze was needed to deal with frozen pipes, water main breaks and other weather-related problems.

Baldwin said the school board will continue to give the Board of Finance updates about its financial situation, but likely wont make an official request until March, when budget numbers are more clear. Any request greater than $250,000 would require a town meeting.

If an additional appropriation is not made, Baldwin said, drastic cuts would be required. Connecticut statutes do not allow a school district to end the year with a deficit.

If we dont get the special appropriation, it would require layoffs, and that is hugely disruptive in the last quarter of a school year, Baldwin said. But, thats what we would be up against if we dont get the special appropriation because weve tried everything else.

aquinn@newstimes.com
Last year pretty much blew by. But, in 2018, you have an opportunity to start fresh, using new marketing strategies and proven tactical tools. What worked in 2017? What didn't? What must be changed to increase traffic, leads, revenue and, of course, value?

Related: 4 Trends That Will Shape (or Continue to Shape) Content Marketing in 2018

With updates in Facebook's and Googles algorithms in 2017, content marketing has changed considerably. For instance, it's become harder to have content with clickbait titles show up on Google searches and Facebook feeds.

This means that your content marketing, at both the strategic and execution levels, must adapt to those changes. Here are some ideas for how to do that:

1. Strategy

On a strategic level, Joe Lazauskas of Contently predicts three major trends:

The first is increased engagement with viewers, using content strategies that are in alignment with organizational needs and audience acceptance. This would require a content audit, a competitive analysis and an activation strategy to upport the underlying strategies.

Second is originality in content strategies, which is key for standing out among the tons of content available. This doesn't mean that once a topic has already been covered, it's not a good idea to create and publish your own take on the issue. The key is to focus on your brand's uniqueness.

Third is a "quality-over-quantity" feel, which should come naturally. You don't need to publish 100 blog contents per day, for example, unless you're an online publisher like BuzzFeed. Carefully develop breakthrough pieces of content, not just mediocre ones.

Related: The Best Technology Tools for Content Marketing

2. Execution

On an execution level, using the right tools could make a huge difference in your marketing efforts. When selecting those tools, keep in mind that each will ideally come with detailed analytics using specific metrics.

With the six tools discussed below, you can plan, design, create, schedule, publish, reuse, innovate and track your content so no one piece of it goes unpublished and each is primed to bring new leads and, eventually, revenue.

1. Buffer is the granddaddy of social media schedulers. You can connect all your social accounts (Twitter, Facebook Profile/Page/Group, LinkedIn Profile/Page, Google+ Profile/Page, Pinterest, and Instagram). Here, Buffer's central hX works best and ensures ROI. Its Canva-like add-on image-editing app, Pablo, is a useful and practical tool.

2. Almighty.Press is a disruptive content-discovery tool that allows you to identify pre-viral contents. You can then track and be notified about keywords of your choice, and curate and schedule them for publication before similar contents saturate the web. This intuitive platform connects users with real-time news feeds from reputable content providers around the world.

Using Google Trends and BuzzSumo for finding viral content is a thing of the past, because they measure already viral contents. Almighty.Press's algorithms, called "Almighty Force," track, locate and curate pre-viral contents. "Pre-viral" means content that is in the process of becoming viral. It's like an "early warning" of viral content, and is an incredibly useful tool for marketers.

3. GrooveJar. Many online businesses have a conversion rate below 3 percent; this means an average of 97 percent of website traffic is lost. GrooveJars easy-to-customize pop-up apps are designed to increase email sign ups. Its Collect & Convert feature strategically sends out customized email templates to get those visitors coming back.

The solution focuses on website traffic that would normally be lost (the aforementioned 97 percent) by urging these visitors to leave an email address, so your online business can have a chance to retarget them. In addition to using GroveJar's Collect & Convert feature, you also have the capability to integrate with other email service providers, like: MailChimp, Send Grid, Drip, AWeber and Infusion Soft. One of GroveJar's popular pop-up apps allows online businesses to pull reviews from Yelp, Google and Facebook that then can be elegantly displayed on your website.

GrooveKudos, meanwhile, is a widget that shows happy customer reviews from Facebook, Google, Yelp, Thumbtack and Angie's List. Other popular pop-up apps are GrooveUrgent and GroovePop, which help websites collect emails to grow their subscriber lists and campaign targets. Groovejar comes with real-time apps analytics, where users can see the number of impressions and the amount of recovered revenue and recovered traffic. GrooveJar takes its users suggestions and recommendations and makes improvements quickly -- reinforcing the notion that users are truly part of the team.

4. MailChimp is a popular email marketing automation platform. It's simple to use, and the paid version comes with many advanced features. These include tracking the opt-in source for each subscriber and the ability to build and run Facebook and Instagram ads targeting subscribers. MailChimp has also got hundreds of email templates and drag-and-drop email blocks to track subscribing behaviors with UTM codes. The latter create fully automated email sequences for sales funnels. They also track leads and paying customers, re-engage stale subscribers and personalize content with merge tags. Further, A/B testing capability is available.

The automated email sequence itself is worth the price, as it will allow you to run the business hands-free. Once you have a new subscriber, MailChimp will send you a series of welcome emails. And you can create drip-marketing campaigns triggered by each subscriber's behavior.

5. Tap Influence. Influencer marketing is the future of marketing. For decades, Hollywood's boldface names and other influencers have been marketing products without our realizing it. Kardashian-Jenner family members, for instance, are renowned as the "big wig" in influencer marketing. For one sponsored Instagram post, they command hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If you can afford only a fraction of that price, there are more than 100,000 influencers in Tap Influencer's database to choose from. With IBM Watson data, you can see the 360-degree picture of each influencer. The Audience Intelligence feature provides additional information about influencers audiences, brand affinities, DMAs and interests, along with advanced demographic data. It comes with built-in program management for campaign deployment and tracking.

6. Idio personalizes web, email and mobile-customer experiences. It provides in-depth predictive analytics on overall competitiveness, content audit, content strategy and performance, plus analytics on searches and social optimization, and dynamic segmentation. Idio furthers a salesforce's understanding of each customer's unique journey through sales intelligence, sales content and dynamic prioritization.

In a nutshell, Idio is a marketing-automation suite using NLP (natural language programming). Based on 10 million interactions tracked per day, Idio updates a user's profile based on the content that he or she has viewed. Idio provides customized content for marketing purposes by picking the best piece of content at that point in time for any individual. In just milliseconds, it can choose the best-personalized content out of hundreds of thousands of pieces of content in real time.

Final thoughts

Depending on your marketing strategies and business models, you can combine these six tools or choose them a la carte, to superboost customer engagement, which is key to increasing brand awareness, generating new leads and elevating your revenue and profit.

Start attracting organic traffic with the help of Almighty.Press to identify potential viral contents. You can then curate and repackage that content with the stories you have that are related to your product.

While you can schedule the curated stories on Almighty.Press, you can also use Buffer. Once your stories generate traffic, capture your visitors with MailChimp's email-marketing automation platform. To ensure the highest conversion rate, use GrooveJar apps, which can be seamlessly integrated with MailChimp and other similar platforms.

Related: 12 Content Marketing Trends You Should Be Following

Finally, for extra exposure to your brand, use Tap Influence, which boasts 100,000-plus influencers in the database. Then use Idio for powerful customization and personalization. All in all, these six powerful content marketing tools can level up your content creation, scheduling and distribution in 2018.

Related:

6 Top Tools to Transform Your Content Marketing in 2018

15 Tips for Writing Killer Sales Copy

4 Marketing Strategies Every Startup Can Afford



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


I am an organized person. Ive been known to get emotional when I see a well-organized calendar or a good-looking to-do list. However, sometimes I need to up my game. Typically, I keep my days running smoothly with Google calendar and Post-Its, but around Thanksgiving last year, I found my current system insufficient. With the sudden addition of new time-sensitive projects and the added responsibilities the holidays bring, I felt overwhelmed.

I had three specific workflows that I needed help organizing into my existing work-life as a writer who regularly writes three to four articles a week and is also writing a novel Im trying to complete by August 2018. Meanwhile, there were also Christmas gifts and travel, a writing fellowship application (due Dec. 31) and a baby adoption application (due Jan. 30).

The situation presented a prime opportunity to test out one of Sheryl Sandbergs productivity hacks Id come across while researching her for a different article. The 48-year-old Facebook COO's hack is basic: using an old spiral notebook to write down various to-do lists. Those I imagine include work-related tasks, household and family-related ones, daily (ongoing), one-offs and big picture projects. When shes done with everything on the page, she rips it out. As I said, its basic. Its also a control freaks dream come true. Putting all your to-do lists in a single place gives you a mission-control perspective.

I bought a neon-green spiral notebook, named it Sheryl and my productivity experiment was on.

Image credit: Carolyn Sun

To start off, I had to establish what my workloads were, so I wrote down all the deadline-related workstreams I could think of in my Sheryl notebook. Then, I wrote out deadlines and steps to complete each. Its a hack that allows for a lot of autonomy in the sense that the Sheryl notebook obviously doesnt make judgment calls on priorities or understand how long each tasks takes -- youre in charge of that.

Heres how my 30-day experiment went down, along with my five big takeaways.

Related: How Does Your Morning Routine Compare to Elon Musk's, Sheryl Sandberg's and Warren Buffett's?

Week 1

The biggest change I noticed during my first week is that I started going to bed later than usual, even though I was waking up at the same hour. Simple math: Having additional work meant I either had to do less in other areas or build more time into my day.

The Sheryl hack was immediately helpful for the adoption application. I wasnt familiar with how long certain steps would take, but one of the requirements was to provide my birth certificate, which I got started on immediately. I was born in Quebec and wasnt sure how to get a copy and how long it would take, so I spent my mornings pursuing leads. The adoption agency told me to try the Canadian consulate. The Canadian consulate told me to try the Quebec Director of Civil Status, who replied to me in French when I reached out over Twitter.

By the end of Week 1, I still didnt have a clear answer on how to get a copy of my birth certificate.

Image credit: Carolyn Sun

On the other hand, the notebook didnt impact what I was already used to doing. As a freelance writer, I was accustomed to writing down my assignment-related tasks. What was surprisingly was helpful I found writing down more mundane to-do items, such as taking 30 minutes to eat lunch and 20 minutes to walk the dog twice a day. When Im focused, I sometimes neglect these things. (Although I did not need to write down bathroom breaks.)

Takeaway: This hack immediately helped me see the nuts and bolts of what I needed to do for some larger-scale projects with definitive deadlines.

Related: How Does Your Morning Routine Compare to Elon Musk's, Sheryl Sandberg's and Warren Buffett's?

Week 2

The second week of my experiment was marked by two holiday parties (naturally, one at Entrepreneurs New York City offices) and some tweaks to the notebook system. I was having trouble cutting myself off from the to-do lists and was going to bed at an hour that reformed sleep advocate Arianna Huffington would disapprove of.

The endorphin hits I was getting by crossing things off my to-do list were almost too satisfying; it was hard to tear myself from the notebook and go to sleep. (Just because its an analog device doesnt mean its not addictive.)

I started doing two things to make the hack work better for me. Before bedtime, I wrote down the next days to-dos sorted in columns by urgency: Must, Should and Would Be Nice. I also created a 7 p.m. cut-off time from the list. I could only continue working after 7 p.m. if my Musts werent complete.

Image credit: Carolyn Sun



Another adjustment made was my wake up time. I was trying to pack a lot into my days, and I didnt want to cut back on my freelance writing assignments, so I forced myself to wake up an hour earlier and used that hour to work on tasks outside of my typical workflow, such as the adoption application. I had finally tracked down the form to fill out for my birth certificate from Quebec, gotten confirmation from the Director of Civil Status that it was the correct one (en Anglais) and done what I needed to do on my end. I filled out that form and mailed it off -- and was able complete additional adoption-related tasks, such as the five-page medical history questionnaire and scheduling an appointment for a physical exam and fingerprint clearance.

The other long-term project I started was an application for a fiction writing fellowship. For the most part, the application itself wasnt challenging: resume, a paragraph about what your writing about, personal references and professional accomplishments. The time-consuming part was editing and polishing 20 pages of fiction material. For me to effectively edit a big project, I like having a recurring block of time over a series of days -- not just an hour or two scattered here and there.

I typically work on my freelance writing during the afternoons and my novel in the morning, but I reorganized my weekdays so that Mondays and Fridays were entirely devoted to writing and editing for the writing fellowship, and Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays were devoted to my freelance writing gigs.

Takeaway: This hack helped organize my time according to priorities and better see where I needed to put in more time and where I could put in less.

Related: How Do Your Exercise Habits Compare to Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg?

Week 3

This week was marked by panic. I still had to check off a lot of to-dos related to the holidays, such as almost all of the gift purchasing, in store and through Amazon, as well as making sure the building staff and service people got holiday tips -- that sort of thing. Also, I had foolishly told my husband and everyone in my family (and his) that I was making delicious, handmade treats this year as gifts, and I hadnt made any progress on that front.

The other source of panic stemmed from my lack of progress on the writing fellowship application, due Dec. 31. I was only halfway through editing my 20-page writing submission and had a better understanding of how time-consuming the task was -- hence my panic.

I looked at my to-do lists for places where I could find more time for the holidays and my fellowship application. My morning exercise routine got axed and my French bulldogs walks got shorter and less frequent. (She gained half a pound as a result.)

Id made a list of all the people to buy gifts for and did a Amazon shopping spree over the course of two days early in the week. (Next year, Im going to use this notebook method and plan to do my shopping in August, always a slow month.) What I found is that the notebook hack helped me stay on track and adjust where I needed to focus, but it didnt enable me to multitask. Id tried, one day, to research and write an article while also making lemon-flavored holiday biscotti with white chocolate. Dont bake and write. I failed to hear oven timer go off and burned the entire batch of biscotti and nearly wept. I had to make up for it by making three more loaves of biscotti another day, with my full focus, in order to have enough to gift in time for the holidays. Hey, it only took five hours.

Image credit: Carolyn Sun

Related: Feel Like Quitting? These 9 Women Prove Grit Can Lead You to Massive Success.

Week 4

This was my week of serious tunnel vision. I had a looming deadline for my writing fellowship application on Dec. 31, and I knew Id be spending time with family. I made room in my schedule by sidelining my freelance writing assignments for the week, and I still wasnt exercising in the mornings. (Incidentally, the biscotti gifts were a smash hit. But Im never doing them again.)

During the week, I had managed to schedule a date night with my husband (tapas), went to see a Downton Abbey exhibit with my sister, went to two appointments related to my adoption application: fingerprinting clearance and a physical exam. I also received my birth certificate (from week 2) in the mail -- which I had forgotten about.

But for the majority of the hours in the days leading up to the New Year, I shut myself up in a room and devoted myself to completing the requirements for the writing fellowship application. On New Years Eve, I finally submitted my fellowship application online -- and then my husband and I left for our dinner celebration.

Image credit: Carolyn Sun



We had planned to eat dinner at the Grand Central Oyster bar, one of our favorite old-timey haunts decked out in mahogany and brass. We left early, figuring wed beat the New Years Eve dinner crowd, and once we arrived, we found it was closed. Duh. I hadnt made reservations and neither had my husband. Suffice it say, it hadnt occurred to either of us to check if the restaurant was open. Im disappointed, my husband said. You need to get a notebook to write stuff down, I said in return.

We ended up eating cheeseburgers at Shake Shack and clinking beer bottles instead of flutes of champagne. When I got home that night, I wrote down Make New Years Eve 2019 dinner reservations under the Should column in my notebook. (I also programmed a reminder in my Google calendar.)

Takeaway: Focusing too much on whats in the notebook can make other things slip through the cracks.

Conclusion

The notebook hack was helpful, overall, and Im going to continue using it. Seeing projects broken down into steps and understanding what I needed to do each day was an incredibly useful way for me to organize my time, particularly during what was a really hectic December filled with parties, gift errands, traveling, seeing family and irregular business hours.

But seeing my responsibilities plainly in writing made me super focused on what was in the notebook, at the cost of what wasnt there. On New Years Day, the day after I hit my big fellowship deadline, my husband confessed that he had felt lonely during my 30-day experiment. I felt awful. Why didnt you tell me? I exclaimed. You were so busy doing stuff and meeting deadlines, I didnt want to mess you up or get in your way, he said. Hearing this was a wake-up call. Productivity feels good, but its not the be all end all, and it shouldnt make the people you care about feel neglected.

My next big deadlines are Jan. 24, for another writing fellowship, and Jan. 31, for the baby adoption application. Ive added a tweak or two to the hack, including writing down activities with my husband into the notebook, under the Must column.

Takeaway: Productivity is important. But so are your family and friends. Write them into your notebook if you need to.

Related: Here's How You Can Embody the Strength and Leadership of Sheryl Sandberg

Related:

I Tried Sheryl Sandberg's 'Spiral-Notebook' Productivity Hack for 30 Days. Here Are My 5 Takeaways.

10 Secrets to Sleeping Better  And Being More Productive the Next Day

3 Wonderfully Uncommon Reasons to Form Better Habits



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


Northwest China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region Wednesday unveiled a poverty-relief plan to employ 100,000 destitute people by 2020.

As part of China's national objective of eliminating absolute poverty by 2020 to create a "moderately prosperous society," Xinjiang's regional government is determined to help 22 impoverish counties shake off poverty.

The regional human resources and social security department said that it would organize skill training programs to help 40,000 laborers from impoverished counties in Kashgar, Hotan, Kizilsu and Aksu prefectures get jobs in 2018.

By 2020, that number is expected to reach 100,000. They may get jobs in other Chinese cities or get employed in townships, industrial parks and companies in Xinjiang.

In 2017, government-organized occupational education programs covered 1.26 million people in Kashgar and Hotan, where 47,000 destitute people found jobs in the same period.

Most of the poverty-stricken counties are located in southern Xinjiang, where a poor living environment, insufficient infrastructure and a lack of public services have resulted in considerable poverty.
An alliance between Chinese and French universities and institutions to promote artificial intelligence (AI) was established Tuesday.

Eight education institutions from China and France, including Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and Sorbonne University, established the France China AI Consortium Tuesday in Beijing.

French mathematician and Fields medalist Cedric Villani said that the cooperation would be crucial to facing common challenges.

"Strengthening international cooperation in AI will not only promote interdisciplinary research, but also help build a platform for creative talent," said Wu Fei, director of the AI research institution of Zhejiang University.
A combination of factors continues to drive high-priced sales of apartment complexes in New Haven and Fairfield counties.

Avalon Huntington, a 99-unit complex in Shelton, just sold for $33 million, according to officials with Institutional Property Advisors , a division of Marcus & Millichap. That equates to $333,333 per unit, which, according to Stephen Press of Press|Cuozzo Realtors in Hamden, must be some kind of record.

Avalon Huntington, which is located at 100 Avalon Drive, has 86 townhouse-style homes, 67 units with direct entry garages and an overall average unit size of 1,413 square feet, according to Victor Nolletti, senior managing director leading Institutional Property Advisors Northeast team.

Nolletti and Eric Pentore, first vice president of investments, represented the seller, Arlington, Va.-based AvalonBay Communities Inc., which developed the complex and opened it in 2008. They also found the buyer, Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, a suburban Chicago company that invests in commercial properties as well as apartment complexes and owns the Milford Marketplace retail center on Boston Post Road.

AvalonBay Communities is a real estate investment trust, or REIT as they are known in the real estate business. REITs own, and in most cases operate, income-producing commercial real estate, ranging from office and apartment buildings to warehouses, hospitals, shopping centers and hotels

Press said Avalon Bay Communities is regarded as a high quality, which, along with the fact that living in Shelton gives tenants a coveted Fairfield County address, helped raise the purchase price.

Another factor in the high purchase price is that investors currently view apartment complexes as a strong investment with little downside, he said.

They are viewed as more attractive than commercial or industrial properties in Connecticut because the risk is spread across how ever many units there are, Press said. You may have one or two tenants leave an apartment complex, but its not the same as having only couple of tenants and having one of them pull out.

Press said there are more investors in the market for apartment complexes in Fairfield and New Haven counties then there are properties for sale. That has also driven up the selling price for older apartment complexes.

A rising tide helps all boats, he said.

Press and his firm recently were honored by the the New Haven Middlesex Association of Realtors for engineering the organizations deal of the year in the apartment complex category.

Press/Cuozzo was part of $4.15 million deal in which a 52-unit complex near Southern Connecticut State University was sold. That complex was built in 1973 and originally was intended to be a condominium complex, but has been used for rentals since it opened, Press said.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
Opponents and supporters of a request by the owner of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station to gain access to Connecticuts renewable energy marketplace are making last ditch efforts to sway the opinion of state utility regulators.

A final ruling in the case is scheduled for Feb. 1. Members of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority issued a preliminary decision Dec. 13 that concluded the Waterford-based nuclear plant will remain profitable through 2035.

But PURA commissioners in the case also acknowledged if owner Dominion Energy decides to close the power plant anyway, it would have a negative impact on the environment and Connecticuts economy.

State lawmakers, as well as opponents of the request by Dominion Energy, staked out their positions in a written filing with PURA on Tuesday.

First to weigh in was the Electric Power Supply Association, a trade group representing the owners of power plants that run on fossil fuels. The group is opposed to Millstone being allowed to compete in the renewable power marketplace.

John E. Shelk, president and chief executive officer of the group, said a new report commissioned by EPSA raises doubts that a closure of Millstone would not have a negative effect on the states environment and goals of reducing carbon emissions. The new report from Energyzt Advisors, claims there are alternatives for Connecticut to meet its carbon reduction goals.

The report identifies a wide range of strategies state policymakers can implement to protect and grow jobs, manage costs and reduce emissions for the long term, Shelk said in a statement.

The new Energyzt analysis claims that:

Millstone effectively cant shut down before 2022, which allows Connecticut to meet short-term emissions targets through 2020.

Millstone currently is not available to meet Connecticuts long-term emissions goals, which run through 2050. The licenses expire in 2035 for Unit 2 and 2045 for Unit 3.

Allowing Millstone to compete in the states renewable energy marketplace would divert financial resources away from other emission reduction efforts, such as energy efficiency, wind and solar power and electric vehicles that will also help the state meet its emissions reductions goals.

EPSAs filing was followed by written testimony that was signed onto by 59 state lawmakers, including the leaders of the General Assemblys Energy and Technology Committee, urging PURA to issue a final decision that will keep the plant open.

The lawmakers contend that lengthy periods of cold weather drive make natural gas fired power plants vulnerable to price spikes that drive up the cost to consumers.

Where would Connecticut be if Millstone were not here over the past two weeks? the four-page letter to PURA concludes. The evidence is clear: Higher prices, higher emissions and higher grid reliability risks. Now is the time to act.

Dominion Energy submitted 22 pages of testimony to PURA in response to the agency draft ruling.

The company contends that PURA is underestimating the operating and capital costs associated with keeping Millstone in operation. Dominion Energy officials say that allowing Millstone to compete in the states renewable energy market will provide Connecticut ratepayers with price certainty that natural gas power plants cant match when periods of peak demand make the fossil fuel in short supply.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) unveiled Tuesday its shortlist for this year's film awards with "The Shape of Water" dominating the nominations.

"The Shape of Water", a fantasy film about a woman who falls in love with a monster from the sea, was nominated in the best film category and its director Guillermo del Toro was nominated for both director and for original screenplay.

The film's female star Sally Hawkins was nominated for leading actress and Octavia Spencer was nominated for supporting actress.

The film also picked up nominations in the original Music, cinematography, production design, costume design, sound, editing and special effects categories.

The main challenge to "The Shape of Water's" domination of the nominations came from two films, the wartime drama "Darkest Hour" and the comedy "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", which both picked up nine nominations.

The newly-released film "Darkest Hour", about former British prime minister Winston Churchill at a critical point during the Second World War received nominations for best actor for the star Gary Oldman, who plays Churchill, and for Kristin Scott Thomas, who plays his wife Clementine Churchill.

Oldman won a Golden Globe award for his part in the film on Sunday, and "Three Billboards" was named best film in the same Hollywood-based awards.

"Darkest Hour" was also nominated in best film, outstanding British film, original music, cinematography, production design, costume design, and make up categories.

The nominations for film not in English were "Elle", "First They Killed My Father", "The Handmaiden", "Loveless" and "The Salesman".

Best animated film nominations were "Coco", "Loving Vincent", and "My Life as a Courgette".

The BAFTA awards are part of the international film awards season, culminating in the Hollywood Oscars, which take place two weeks after the BAFTA ceremony.

The BAFTA nominations did not escape criticism, with leading critics attacking the lack of any woman on the nomination list for best director award.

The Guardian newspaper's top critic Peter Bradshaw wrote "it's a list which appears to have repeated the Golden Globes' groan-worthy missteps on women directors. This is not a good year to be unveiling another strictly all-male best director list."

The awards will be made on February 18 at a ceremony in London's Albert Hall, and will see a change in host from the actor Stephen Fry, who has hosted for 12 years, to veteran actress Joanna Lumley.
Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, has called on all Ijaws to support the ongoing reconciliation efforts to strengthen the Ijaw National Congress and the Ijaw Youth Council.

Dickson stressed that both organizations were critical to the effective coordination of the peoples struggle against emergent challenges in the national space.

He spoke at a consultative meeting with Ijaw leaders and elders in the Eastern Zone of the Ijaw Nation comprising Rivers and Akwa Ibom States, in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

A former Minister, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, hosted the meeting.

He said, Our leader (Douglas) raised the issue of the Ijaw National Congress which is also one of the main reasons I am here. We cannot afford a divided and fragmented INC; we cannot afford a fragmented IYC. 

These are essential organs of the Ijaw struggle and movement. Just as I raised these issues while consulting with Pa Edwin Clark, I am here to consult with you on the way forward.

On the issue of restructuring, Dickson said that the ijaws were united in the demand for a restructured Nigerian Federation that would guarantee economic justice and freedom.

He said that the Ijaw ethnic nationality was strongly desirous of a Nigerian system where they would be availed the right to organize themselves to benefit from the natural resources found in their soil.

I want to talk on restructuring because we all know where the Ijaw Nation stand on that issue.

Our position is to fight for a restructured, just, equitable, egalitarian democratic Nigeria, where all of us have the respect that we rightly deserve and our people have the necessary freedom to organize ourselves and to benefit from the endowments that nature has put in our soil.

We are all united about this and there is no argument about it in the entire Ijaw Nation, and to advance these things, we need to be on one page.

So again, I call for unity, forgiveness, and I call on all of us to support a reorganized, virile and cohesive Ijaw Nation.

The Governor commended Ijaw people for peace in their communities and urged them to continue to give the necessary support to their governors and indeed all levels of leadership in their respective states.

The well-attended meeting, however, agreed to establish a think tank on modalities for mobilization and for restructuring.

The team is saddled with the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating developmental efforts in business politics, economic and socio-cultural endeavours.

In his remarks, Graham-Douglas, lamented that the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, had failed in its statutory duty to uplift the development of the impoverished oil bearing communities of the region.

According to him, the NDDC contrary to the law and expectations had focused development activities on the state capitals to the exclusion of the oil producing areas.

At the meeting were ex-Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Sir Gabriel Toby, KHM Dr Kroma Eleki, former President of the INC, Barr. Boma Obuoforibo, Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Konbowei Benson, retired Federal Permanent Secretary, Amb. Godknows Igali, AVM Larry Koinyan (Retd).

Others were the Dappa Amakiri of Opobo, HRM Prof. D.M.J Fubara, Chairman PDP Bayelsa State, Mr Moses Cleopas, Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government, Barr Kemela Okpara, Prof. Mrs, Mildred Amakiri, Professor Steve Azaiki, the Pro Chancellor of the Niger Delta University.
Nigeria has authorised Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to start the repayment of $76 million polio eradication loan to Japan.The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, made this known in Abuja on Tuesday when she received a delegation of Japanese House of Councillors Parliamentarians.She said that the delegates were in Nigeria to assess the level of usage of Overseas Development Assistance (ODAs) extended to Nigeria since 2014.She added that the authority to trigger repayment was given to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation following the eradication of polio in the country.She noted that the eradication of polio was made possible as a result of the ODA facility provided by the Japanese Government valued at $76 million in 2014.She recalled that the ODA was structured for repayment after four years and that by this development, Bill and Mellinda Gates Foundation would start repaying the facility to Japan this year.Adeosun while marketing Nigeria to the Japanese delegation noted that Nigeria was fast growing and evolving from negative areas to positive areas through its determined fight against corruption.She added that because Nigeria is a middle income country, we will require the expertise of Japanese companies for infrastructure development.Nigeria is a good place to invest because it is a rising investment destination.I promise that the government will make life easy for Japanese investors wishing to do business in Nigeria.In his address, the leader of the delegation, Mr Kiyoshi Ejima, described Nigeria as a power house with rich natural resources with which Japan tried to strengthen relationship with.Nigeria, he said, had set the target of becoming one of the top 20 economies by the year 2020 and he assured that Japan will support Nigeria toward realising its 2020 target.
A Russian space movie adapted from real events, "Salyut-7," will hit China's cinema screens Friday.

Launched into orbit in 1982, Salyut-7, an unmanned space station in the USSR's Salyut family, lost connection with ground control after nearly three-years in service, and two Russian astronauts were sent to investigate the failure and check the frozen station.

Directed by Kim Shipenko, the film was released in October in Russia and scored 7.2 out of 10 on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

From manual space docking to oxygen deficit, from carbon dioxide poisoning to a fire in the space station, the movie reproduces the space venture, according to the distributor in China.

The movie received six nominations at Russia's Golden Eagle Awards, one of the country's most prestigious movie awards.
Kogi State Governor, Alh. Yahaya Bello has reiterated his support for the second term Presidency of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying the Anti-Corruption Czar remains the best option for a stable and united Nigeria.Bello who made this known in Lokoja through his spokesman, Kingsley Fanwo, said the President has unfinished business with Nigeria.Nigeria has witnessed tremendous development under President Muhammadu Buhari. We are moving away from the crazy search for white collar jobs to have created over six million blue collar jobs less than three years into the first term of the Buhari administration. Our mining policies are now opening new vistas for prosperity and Nigeria is becoming more united than ever.The Federal Government is embarking on massive road construction and rehabilitation projects, rural electrification is also receiving a boost.When you see the progress we have made and still making in rail transport, you will agree with the Pro-Buhari agitators that the President needs to continue his good work beyond 2019.The Governor said President Muhammadu Buharis image and credibility cannot be matched by those competing against him.We are in a delicate transition from an era of unbridled corruption to an era of transparency and accountability. Nigeria needs to consolidate the gains recorded in the past 30 months. We can trust Buhari and his good works.He said his administration will concentrate on delivering democracy dividends to the people of the state despite distractions by opponents who are stunned by the progress of his administration.According to him, Kogi is a microcosm of a larger Nigeria with heterogeneous culture and interest, saying his administration will continue to strengthen efforts at making the state better.2018 is our year of definition. We will concentrate on delivering democracy dividends to the people. We cannot afford to be distracted by people who feel they need to pull the state down in order to achieve their fading political dreams.As a focused government, we shall concentrate on delivering development to our people. We wont respond to the antics of those who are intimidated by the rising political profile of the administration.APC has come to stay in Kogi State. 2019 will clear the doubts of those who think they can eat their cake and have it back. From Anyigba to Kabba, Isanlu and Okene, our people have shown where they belong.Politics is played at the grassroots. Those who want political powers should come to the people. We are here with the people, meeting their aspirations and catering for their needs.Bello reaffirmed his earlier stance that Kogi is for Buhari and Buhari is for Kogi, reminding critics that Kogi people were the first to hold a mammoth rally to endorse Mr. President for second term.When the people of Kogi West announced their decision to endorse Mr. President for second term, a few Abuja politicians who are opposed to the President quickly dissociated themselves from the rally. But the people came out in their thousands to declare support for our President. That showed that the Abuja politicians have lost touch with reality back home. They need to catch up with the people who have left them behind.Kogi East and Kogi Central had given their own endorsements too. Kogi is for Buhari and we shall speak with our results come 2019.The Governor promised to continue to work with the NLC to make the Civil Service efficient, urging the NLC to always explore the open door policy of his administration to address issues.
The Fulani herdsmen have continued their bloody campaign.

The Fulani herdsmen have continued their bloody campaign.Two mobile policemen drafted to the trouble spot were reported to have been killed yesterday.Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom alleged that the herdsmen launched attacks from the neighbouring Nasarawa State  a claim Governor Tanko Al-Makura rejected.Ortom yesterday rejected the Federal Governments plan to establish colonies for cattle herders.According to him, the only option to solve the farmers / herdsmen clashes is the establishment of ranches as it is being done globally.Ortom spoke with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari that lasted for about two hours at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.The leadership of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, he said, should also be arrested and prosecuted for alleged genocide. The organisation insists the killings, which have caused over 70 deaths, were not done by herdsmen.The governor explained that he had been briefing President Buhari on the activities of the herdsmen right from when they started their onslaught on the states people.He also disclosed that the militia opposing the states anti-open grazing law, operates from Tonga in Awe Local Government Area of Nassarawa State.Due to the sophistication of the herdsmens weapons, Ortom said, two Mobile policemen drafted to maintain peace were killed on Monday.The governor said: I am waiting to be briefed about what colonies means; I dont understand it and until I understand itbut like I keep saying, for us, the way forward is ranching and uptill this time, I am talking to you, the way forward is ranching because its global best practice.And it is the practice in other parts of the world  on African soil in Swaziland, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, almost all African countries that rear cattle; they ranch, so why cant we do the same thing here. For the colony thing, I dont know what colony is.On how many ranches his administration has created, Ortom said: Its not for me to create ranches, I know that as a farmer I have one in my farm and there are several other people who are free. The permits are available for people who want to ranch their cattle to access land and begin to ranch.So it is free for everybody and that is the right way to go. And since we started the implementation, there has been relative peace amongst farmers and herdsmen. They were doing well until this militia coming from this Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore came and attacked us.And they are known; we know where they are. As I talk to you, they are in Tongua in Awe Local Government (Nassarawa); that is where these people are camped and coming to attack people.On whether he had been briefing the President, he said: I had earlier briefed Mr. President when this incident took place on the 1st of January. After staying back on the ground to do the needful to ensure that we restored normalcy I said it was important for me to come personally and brief him and that has been done.Already, because of the communications we have been having when this incidents started, actions have been taken as directed by him. The movement of the DIG (Deputy Inspector General) of Police, the movement of the IG (Inspector General) now to relocate to Benue State to ensure that this challenge is surmounted was at the instance of Mr. President.Of course, additional personnel of DSS (Department of State Services) and Police have been deployed and even the Army. We have additional personnel on ground now. We have  given them the logistics support to ensure that our people are protected.I had to brief him; he is also doing further investigation to know the next line of action. I believe that my request that the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, who has earlier threatened and I accused them directly; since June last year I have been writing to the leadership of security agencies, that these people are a threat to our collective interest and they must be dealt with. They must be arrested and prosecuted because we cannot allow impunity to continue to thrive.And, of course, threat and no action has resulted in this killing and I think that Mr. President will also do the needful to ensure something is done.On the allegations that he hired mercenaries from Republic of Ghana to fight the herdsmen, Ortom said: I am not aware of this and I dont even know about that one. I am hearing it for the first time. If someone has done that, it must be this Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, that have done it.Asked if he was blocked from seeing the President, Ortom said: I have never accused anyone of blocking me from seeing Mr. President. I am seeing Mr. President. I told him when this incident occurred I spoke to Mr. President on phone and followed it up.I know what it entails being a President. Even as governor, most times, I am not with my phone; people cannot access me the way it used to be, talk less of a President.I didnt say that and I have not said it. The truth is that I have access to Mr. President anytime I want. I speak to him on phone and I see him personally. I requested to speak to him on phone that day because I couldnt come to Abuja and he gave me the opportunity and today I am here and I have seen him.On the push for military operations in Benue State, the governor said: Anything that can stop the killings of my people I will go for it; I support it. Any policy or any directive, anything that will help stop the killing of these innocent people who are not armed because this can not continue.We know that the continuity of this will create greater challenges. I dont want it to continue. We are struggling with economic issues, we are struggling with political issues and we are struggling with several other issues in this country, security issues and all that, Benue State should not be part of this; there is no need for it.The law on prohibition of Open Grazing and Establishment of Ranching was made out of the necessity to ensure that we have peace for herdsmen and farmers and that is what we have done. The law seeks to protect all and as I talk to you, except this Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, who are instigating people to fight and to kill us, there are Fulani men in Benue State as I talk to you doing their business.
Barrister Khaloma Mustapha, the Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs to Gov. Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa, has called on Nigerians to continue to support President Muhammadu Buhari to enable him execute his laudable programmes.He said the call was also necessary in order to enable his administration provide the much-needed infrastructure for the development of the country.Those complaining of hardship under Buharis government are not being fair to the government because the large chunk of the current problems were inherited from the past administration.Yes is true that people are facing critical times and difficulties, but it is not the fault of the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.He inherited the problems from the past government which looted the treasury, he said.He noted that President Buhari assumed office at a very critical period when the country was pervaded with corruption, insecurity and unemployment, adding that Buhari had been able to tackle most of the problems within a short time.Mustapha, however urged all Nigerians irrespective of their religious and political inclination to continue to pray to God to give the President the wisdom and initiative to move the country to greater heights.He advised President Buhari not to relent in the fight against corruption, Boko Haram insurgency and unemployment.The Special Adviser commended Buhari for providing succour to people in the North East especially those affected by the naferious activities of insurgents.He also commended the Federal Government for mass employment of youths through the N-power programme as well as its support to state governments including Jigawa.He recalled that when most of the governors came on board, they inherited a lot of debts and liabilities; adding it was through the intervention of the Federal government that his boss was able to surmount the problems.He said that the Federal Government is also assisting the state (Jigawa) in its agricultural programme aimed at ensuring food security for the nation in addition to creating employment for the mass.
The 373 Edo indigenes, who were among the 481 Nigerians returned from Libya on Sunday, are protesting the non-payment of stipend for th...

The 373 Edo indigenes, who were among the 481 Nigerians returned from Libya on Sunday, are protesting the non-payment of stipend for their transportation back home.Among them are 73 women, some of who are expectant mothers.They arrived Benin City about 1:30a.m. and were lodged at the Motel Benin Plaza by the Edo State government.At 7:30a.m., the returnees were seen buying snacks, while those without money begged passersby before the government brought food for them.Many of them looked unkempt, haggard and hungry.Some of them said they had been in an underground cell for more than six months.They were made to undergo medical check-up, including screening for HIV/AIDS.What led to the protest was that were told there was no money made available for them after they had undergone biometric by the government.Some of the girls said they had been asked to vacate their hotel rooms for other Libya returnees expected to arrive the state today.They said they were informed that money was to be given to them to enable them pay their fares home.Blessing Gilbert, a divorcee, wondered how she would get to Auchi, her hometown, without any money.This is very bad. Do they want me to trek to Auchi? I spent eight months in Libya prison and now I am told to trek home.Another girl, who gave her name as Grace, said she was surprised when she was told that no money would be given to them.Grace said previous returnees were given N45,000 on arrival in Lagos State.Some of the boys vowed that they would not leave their hotel room until they were given money to pay their fares home.The hotel was besieged by parents and individuals whose relatives are in Libya.Those who saw their relatives expressed joy and openly danced.Madam Aisagbonbuomwan Anna, who hugged her daughter, Blessing Sunday, said she never believed she would see her daughter again.She said she had not heard from her daughter for the past six months until last Sunday when she got a call that her daughter was in Port Harcourt.Her daughter told reporters that she opted to seek greener pasture in Europe to improve her familys economic condition.She said she spent N500,000 to travel to Libya and ended up spending months in prisons.I am happy to return alive. In the prison, we cannot make calls. Police sold people and rearrested them again to be sold.Lucky Iyamu, who hugged his son when his wife brought him, said 230 blacks were shot dead the day he was arrested.He said he gave up after a bullet narrowly missed his ear and hit the wall.His words: I wanted to go to Europe to see if I can make more money. I left with N850,000 but didnt make it out of Libya. We were 24 that eventually surrendered that day. Others staying in that ghetto were killed.It is a pity that Libyans do not travel out of their country. I would have dealt with anyone I see in Nigeria the way they treated blacks.Reacting to the protest, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Anti-Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration, Solomon Okoduwa, said it was the Federal Governments fault that money was not provided.He said the United Nations provided fund for previous returnees but the Federal Government did not make any fund available except to bring Nigerians from Libya.Edo State government has begun payment of little stipend to the 373 Libya returnees, to enable them go to their destinations.The payment started after the returnees threatened to cause trouble at the Motel Benin Plaza where they were lodged and their biometric obtained.They were alarmed that they were asked to go home without any money, whereas previous returnees were paid N41,000.To douse tension, the government mobilised and started payment equivalent to the destination of each returnee.Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Strategy Mr. Crusoe Osagie said the government was not aware that the Federal Government did not make any money available for the returnee.He said the International Organisation on Migration and the Federal Government were responsible for returning Nigerians from Libya.Osagie said: The European Union made 100 available for each Nigerians under the IOM returning programme. When they get here, they get N41,000 given to them in Lagos.The Federal Government in its programme is not giving any money to returnees. Anybody who returned under the Federal Government is not getting any money. The Federal Government is returning migrants through Port Harcourt, while the IOM is returning Nigerians through Lagos.Edo State government is trying to provide something for them and has started making payment to enable them visit their relatives. The little money is relative to where they are going to. It is not big money at all.The returnees should be calm. We did not know that the Federal Government was not going to make any provision.
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed why he appointed Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Minister of Finance.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed why he appointed Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Minister of Finance.





Obj, as fondly called, also stated that Africa needs sound and proactive leaders.





He noted that the continent would perform remarkably well in all sectors when the right people occupy majority positions of authority.





The Owu-born high chief spoke at a lecture at the AIG-Blavatnik school of he government, University of Oxford, UK.



Africa needs leadership and it needs it now and all the time. Proactivity as an element of transformational leadership emphasizes the need for governance to be led actively by a discerning and quick thinking leadership, he said.





Again, I should reiterate my experience shortly after I was elected. I engaged in what maybe called shuttle diplomacy in governance instead of the going cap in hand for donor dictated partnership terms that often saw our leaders accepting all manner of conditionalities.





The lesson here is that, proactive leadership was critical at the time in Nigerias history. I commenced the campaign for debt relief early in my first term and got sympathetic hearings, but not much action from political leaders of creditor countries.




The husband of a former radio talk show paid another man to kill his wife, the Atlantic County prosecutor alleged Tuesday afternoon as charges were announced.

Dr. James Kauffman, a 69-year-old endocrinologist from Linwood, and Ferdinand Augello, 62, of Petersburg were charged with first-degree murder and racketeering in connection with the May 10, 2012 homicide of April Kauffman, Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner said.

"For the last ten months since my appointment as Atlantic County Prosecutor, I have allocated the resources necessary for those in my office to specifically dedicate their time to take some action on this matter," Tyner said.

The prosecutor said Kauffman was working with the Pagan Motorcycle gang in which he used his practice to distribute drugs, with Kauffman and Augello heading the operation.

Kauffman would write free prescriptions to people Augello had sent in and receive up to $1,000 per visit. When his wife, who worked as a host at WOND, found out about the alleged illegal activity her husband was involved in, she threatened to expose Kauffman, the prosecutor said.

Augello began to ask current and former Pagan members about killing the radio host for almost a year before he found Francis Mulholland, the cousin of a member, prosecutors said.

Mulholland allegedly entered the house on Woodstock Drive in Linwood, through doors left unlocked by Kauffman, and shot the victim twice, prosecutors said.

Authorities believe Mulholland received at least $20,000 to kill April Kauffman, and that Beverly Augello, the wife of Ferdinand Augello, delivered the payment to Mulholland, officials said.

Francis Mulholland died in October 2013 in what Tyner said was believed to be an accidental overdose, officials said.

The drug business continued for another five years, until FBI agents and the Prosecutor's Office received a warrant and searched his office in Egg Harbor Township in June. Kauffman had a 45-minute standoff before negotiators talked him out of the building, took him into custody and placed him under psychiatric evaluation.

In September, Kauffman pleaded not guilty to multiple weapons charges, including unlawful possession of a weapon and hollow-point bullets and obstruction of the administration stemming from the standoff.

Besides James Kauffman and Ferdinand Augello, six other people from four states were arrested and charged in connection with the drug ring.

Joseph Mulholland, 52 of Villas was charged with first-degree racketeering.

Beverly Augello, 47, of Summerland Keys, Florida was charged with first-degree racketeering.

Glenn Seeler, 37, of Sanford s, North Carolina, was charged with first-degree racketeering.

Paul Pagano, 51, of Egg Harbor Township, was charged with second-degree racketeering.

Tabitha Chapman, 35, of Absecon was charged with second-degree racketeering.

Cheryl Pizza, 36, of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina was charged with second-degree racketeering.

Tyner added that his office and the FBI, the Linwood Police Department, Egg Harbor Police Department, Somers Point Police Department, Lower Township Police Department and the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office all assisted with the case.

"It was a 10 and a half month investigation that we hope will bring closure to the family of April Kauffman and to the many friends and supporters of April Kauffman," Tyner said.

Chris Franklin can be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cfranklinnews. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
A California man caught trying to smuggle more than a pound of heroin in his stomach through Newark Liberty International Airport has been sentenced to more than two years in prison, federal prosecutors said.

The prison term comes after Omar Vasques' crime almost cost him his life, authorities said.

Shortly after his detention by the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI in September 2016, physicians discovered one of the baggies of heroin Vasques had ingested before his flight to New Jersey ruptured in transit, forcing them to perform emergency surgery, according to a statement from the office of U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

Vasques, 24, of Bakersfield, had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez, who on Wednesday sentenced Vasques to 30 months in prison for distributing heroin and possessing the drug with the intent to distribute, prosecutors said.

In a criminal complaint filed in federal court, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent said Vasques and another man -- Arturo Gonzalez -- were detained by investigators after arriving at the Newark airport on a flight from Salt Lake City.

Authorities say a confidential informant had tipped off agents that Vasques and Gonzalez were carrying more than a kilogram of heroin.

A search of the men's luggage didn't turn up any drugs, but after agents again confronted the men at a nearby convenience store, an agent wrote, Vasques admitted he had swallowed heroin in California two days prior to his flight.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Vasques admitted having swallowed approximately 600 grams -- or 1.3 pounds -- of the drug.

Gonzales, Vasques's co-defendant, previously pleaded guilty before Vazquez to the same charges and also was sentenced to 30 months in prison, court records show.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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What prosecutors expect will be a lengthy trial for the Newark man accused of killing a 23-year-old woman and two children in November 2016 is now tentatively set to take place this fall.

Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler, the presiding judge of the court's criminal division in Newark, told attorneys Tuesday that he will be transferring Jeremy Arrington's triple murder case to another judge with the expectation of the case going to trial after Labor Day.

Arrington, represented in court by defense attorney Bukie Adetula, is charged with murder and other offenses in the Nov. 5, 2016 slayings of siblings Aerial Little Whitehurst, 8, and Al-Jahon Whitehurst, 11, and Syasia McBurroughs, a friend of the Whitehursts' family.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who is handling the homicide case, told Wigler the prosecution's phase of the trial alone will require numerous witnesses.

Syasia McBurroughs, Aerial Little Whitehurst, and Al-Jahon Whitehurst. (Facebook, GoFundMe)

"Ballpark -- and I can only speak for the prosecution's case -- three to four weeks," Edwab said.

Arrington, 27, previously pleaded guilty to attacking an ex-girlfriend in two separate incidents in the summer of 2015. He has yet to be sentenced in connection with that case.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office has said the Whitehursts and McBurroughs, a student at New Jersey City University, were killed during an attack in which Arrington tied up and stabbed or shot numerous people inside a home on Hedden Terrace.

Investigators have said Arrington -- who was wanted in connection with a sexual assault and shooting at the time of the slayings -- had been angered by a Facebook post shared by someone inside the home, in which authorities announced his wanted status.

He was arrested in Newark the day after the stabbings by city police, prosecutor's office investigators and the U.S. Marshals Service, following what authorities described as a brief standoff at a house on Pomona Avenue.

A motion by the prosecutor's office to admit Arrington's statements to investigators as evidence at trial remains pending before the court.

The attorneys are next scheduled to appear in front of Judge James W. Donohue on Feb. 5 to receive a briefing schedule and a date for a hearing on the prosecution's motion.

Arrington, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, remains jailed in the Essex County Correctional Facility.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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The NJ Transit board may soon vote on whether to buy three acres of the Hoboken waterfront for use as a ferry maintenance yard in a deal blasted by the city's new mayor as "unfair," "rushed," and a bad public policy move.

The agency's Board of Directors is scheduled for a vote Friday morning at the agency's Newark headquarters on a measure authorizing staffers "to take any and all actions to acquire the former Union Dry Dock property," from the Port Imperial Marine Facilities LLC, a subsidiary of New York Waterway.

A vote had been scheduled for the board's regular meeting on Wednesday, but the meeting was postponed after too few members were present for a quorum.

The measure would also authorize the agency to lease the dry dock property back to New York Waterway for the purpose of maintaining and repairing its ferry fleet, which NJ Transit supports as a key component of the trans-Hudson commuter network.

The measure does not specify dollar amounts, but officials say the purchase would cost NJ Transit at least $11.5 million -- the price New York Waterway paid for the property in November.

MAYOR RAVI S. BHALLA HOSTS PRESS CONFERENCE IN TRENTON TO HIGHLIGHT IRRESPONSIBLE 11TH HOUR SPENDING SPREE BY NEW JERSEY TRANSIT Posted by Hoboken on Monday, January 8, 2018

New York Waterway bought the dry dock property this fall because, it said, the owner of the site of the company's old maintenance facility adjacent to its ferry terminal in Weehawken is moving ahead with plans to develop that land as housing.

On Tuesday, NY Waterway spokesman Pat Smith said the NJ Transit deal in Hoboken, though not finalized, would cost the company a "six-figure annual rent" on the property, and include a clause demanding the company invest "in excess of $10 million" of its own funds to rehabilitate the dry dock.

But in a dispute between one of New Jersey's fastest-growing municipalities and one of the nation's biggest transit agencies, Hoboken officials had also taken steps to acquire the same piece of property along scenic Sinatra Drive for a stretch of waterfront park, if necessary by seizing the property under its power of eminent domain.

"The Hoboken waterfront is the crown jewel of the State of New Jersey," said Mayor Ravi Bhalla. "People from all over the world come to our city to enjoy the waterfront and the breathtaking views that it offers."

Referring to Gov. Christie Christie's departure from office on Jan. 20, Bhalla criticized the plan by the transit agency he controls as being "rushed at the 11th hour of an outgoing administration."

State-owned property is immune to seizure by a municipality, so NJ Transit's purchase of the dry dock site from New York Waterway would thwart the city's effort and, ironically, help assure that the ferry operator is able to use it as a maintenance yard through the proposed lease-back arrangement.

On Monday, Bhalla joined officials including Hoboken Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro (D-33rd District), who represents the city, and local activists to criticize NJ Transit's plans.

Bhalla, who was elected in November, insisted a new site could be found for the maintenance yard. But company officials say they have been looking for a decade and no viable alternative exists.

"You are not talking about relocating a pizzeria," New York Waterway Chairman Armand Pohan warned the City Council in November.

Bhalla's political ally and predecessor as mayor, Dawn Zimmer, had been unable to negotiate a friendly purchase of the dry dock property from its former owners, who ended up selling to New York Waterway. Zimmer did not seek a third term, and is now a member of Governor-elect Phil Murphy's transition team.

Councilman Michael DeFusco, a frequent Zimmer critic who finished second to Bhalla in the November mayoral race, said the dry dock case was a lesson for local officials in the importance of making timely and fair offers to private property owners.

NY Waterway has ferried 30,000 daily commuters across the Hudson since 2007 -- 2,000 of them Hoboken residents.

NJ Transit issued a statement in response to Monday's press conference, emphasizing the "vital role" played by ferries in the everyday Hudson River commute, and as an alternate mode during emergency situations like last year's "Summer of Hell" that limited rail service.

"The recent summer Amtrak outage at Penn Station New York (PSNY) is a prime example of how ferries provided critical additional Trans-Hudson capacity that helped move thousands of commuters between New Jersey and New York safely and efficiently," the statement read.

"The statutes also give NJ TRANSIT responsibility to construct, operate and maintain capital projects and facilities for ferries, including improvements that support robust ferry service in the trans-Hudson corridor. During the past 20 years, New Jersey has invested more than $200 million in ferry projects, including the Weehawken Ferry Terminal and the ferry slip at Hoboken Terminal."

NOTE: This article originally stated that the transit board was scheduled to vote Wednesday on the dry dock measure, but was updated to reflect the vote's postponement to Friday.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Larry Higgs contributed to this article.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- One of three men charged in a brazen home invasion and sexual assault also faces similar charges out of county, officials said.

The new details were revealed during a detention hearing on Tuesday morning for 21-year-old Erick Leon-Farinango. He and his co-defendants -- David Gualteros, 21, and Evin Ferman-Argueta, 24 -- face a range of charges in the Dec. 22 attack inside a Kearny home.

Authorities say the three men broke into the woman's house, bound her and covered her face before two of them sexually assaulted her. She was threatened with a gun before her attackers left with her car. Her child was present during the entire attack, court records and officials said.

Since Leon-Farinango's Dec. 29 arrest, authorities have added charges of kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault against him, saying he acted as an accomplice to Ferman-Argueta, according to a criminal complaint dated Jan. 2. He is not, however, accused of committing sexual assault.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Karen Kazanchy said Leon-Farinango has also been charged with a "similar home invasion" in Somerset County since his arrest.

"Even though this defendant ... has a minimal, no prior history, he has certainly ended 2017 with quite a run," Kazanchy argued while asking for Leon-Farinango's detention.

An email to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office was not returned. Police in Hillsborough, where the crime appears to have been committed based on a press release, also did not respond for comment.

Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale granted Kazanchy's motion for detention. Gualteros, who is listed in court records as having previously known the victim, was ordered to be held in jail during a hearing on Monday.

Ferman-Argueta was scheduled to appear for a hearing on Tuesday as well, but court officials realized at 2:40 p.m. he had not been brought to the court from the jail. He is now due in court on Wednesday.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
TRIPOLI, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Head of the Libyan Higher Council of State Abdurrahman Swehli and Minister of Defense Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi discussed on Tuesday unification of the Libyan army under the auspices of the United Nations.

"The meeting discussed the military situation in the country, and the most significant obstacles and challenges facing the Ministry of Defense and the military establishment, and ways to overcome them," the council's media office said in a statement.

"The minister of defense briefed the Head of the Council on the latest developments of the efforts to unify the military establishment," the statement said, also mentioning the need to involve all Libyan army officers in these efforts without exception.

The statement added that the efforts should be made under the auspices of the United Nations, away from "individual initiatives."

The Egyptian capital Cairo has hosted extensive meetings since October 2017 of a number of Libyan military officers aimed at uniting the Libyan army.

The UN-backed prime minister, Fayez Serraj, and the commander of the eastern-based army, Khalifa Haftar, held meetings in May and June 2017 in the United Arab Emirates and France respectively, to develop a strategy to unify the Libyan army and to integrate the military institution under civilian authority.

Following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Libya has been suffering insecurity and political division, with divided authorities in the east and the west, including the army.
Avondale Shipyard, once the home of 26,000 jobs but closed for the past four years, could be the subject of some economic development news this spring. Jerry Bologna, president of the Jefferson Economic Development Commission, told WVUE Fox 8 that putting the 265-acre property back into commerce has been the agency's No. 1 priority.

"I would anticipate that some news will probably be made public towards the end of the first quarter. I think that's what we're hoping to see," Bologna said.

Avondale Shipyard owner signs sale agreement

Huntington Ingalls Industries owns the property, where dozens of military and commercial vessels ranging from amphibious ships to icebreakers were built between 1939 and 2014. The Newport News, Virginia, company signed a sale agreement last year and said the due-diligence process is still underway. The buyer and terms have not been disclosed.

"We need the new business to come into the area because the Bridge City area is really dying," Parish Councilman Paul Johnston said. "It really needs some lift-up and some business to come in and bring back what it used to be when Avondale was there. It was a booming area at one time."

Read Fox 8's full story:

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Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and Louisiana interests in Congress, plus other odds and ends, for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach.
DAMASCUS, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government forces have been fighting the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee (LLC) on key fronts in southern and northwestern Syria, just as the Islamic State (IS) militants have lost all of their strongholds in Syria.

The LLC, otherwise known as the Nusra Front, has a big presence in the northwestern province of Idlib and in the eastern countryside of the capital Damascus, in a region called the Eastern Ghouta.

The LLC has suffered a big defeat in the western countryside of Damascus recently, losing their last stronghold in the town of Beit Jin, following a series of victories by the Syrian army in that region near the Lebanese border.

Following their withdrawal from Beit Jin toward Idlib late last month after a humiliating defeat in the surrounding areas, the LLC in the Eastern Ghouta unleashed a battle against the Vehicle Management base, a key military facility in the city of Harasta.

The violent attack led to besieging the facility and the killing of many soldiers inside. The offensive triggered a counter-offensive by the Syrian army, which has been pounding the LLC positions in the surrounding of the base for over a week.

On Sunday night, the government forces made a breach in the siege, succeeding to enter the facility.

Wounded soldiers have been evacuated and supplies have been delivered to the base.

However, the battles haven't stopped as the LLC and allied militant groups, including the Failaq al-Rahman group, kept up the momentum of their offensive in order to restore the siege on that strategic base.

With the battles kept raging on, the rebels in the Eastern Ghouta rained down the residential areas in Damascus with tens of mortar shells, killing five people on Tuesday and wounding over 30 others, some are in critical conditions.

Also, Syrian airstrikes pounded the rebel positions in Eastern Ghouta, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting the killing and wounding of 45 civilians.

The intense military showdown near the capital and the intensified mortar shelling have swept away the calm that had prevailed the capital in recent months.

The topic of mortar shells and fear of getting hit by one of those blind rockets returned to be the talk of the people.

In the north, the Syrian army has been making strides in the battles against the LLC in the northern countryside of Hama province in central Syria and the nearby southern countryside of Idlib province in northwestern Syria.

The army is gaining more towns on daily basis, with activists saying tens of towns have fallen to the army in both countrysides.

Earlier in the day, the Syrian government forces have come to within eight kilometers of the Abu al-Duhur air base in the southern countryside of Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based watchdog group said the two-week-long shelling and airstrikes by the Syrian forces and their Russian allies have resulted in the displacement of 150,000 civilians.

Meanwhile, the War Media, the media wing of the Syrian army, said the Syrian forces are targeting the positions of the LLC in the vicinity of Abu al-Duhur air base.

The report added that the Syrian forces captured several towns on Tuesday after battles with the LLC and allied militant groups in southern Idlib.

The Syrian army is eyeing the recapture of Abu al-Duhur due to the strategic importance of that facility and its crucial role in launching further offensives against the LLC and likeminded groups in Idlib.

Idlib has emerged as the main destination of the rebel groups, which have evacuated several positions across Syria after surrendering to the Syrian army.

The area has become a home to several rebel groups from different affiliations, some of which are supported by Turkey, while others, such as the LLC, are designated as terrorist groups.

The LLC has returned to the surface after the near-defeat of the IS militants in their key strongholds late last year.

The focus of the Syrian army seems to have shifted to defeating the LLC, as this group controls key areas near Damascus and much of Idlib.
The company that operates the restaurants at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is hosting a job fair Wednesday (Jan. 10).

The full-time positions include cooks, cashiers and utility workers, Delaware North said in a statement. The company operates PJ's Coffee, Copeland's Cheesecake Scoop Cafe, Copeland's Gourmet Kitchen, Dooky Chase's, Le Petit Bistro, WOW Cafe & Wingery!, Ye Olde College Inn and Zatarain's Kitchen inside the airport.

The job fair is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the airport in the Lagniappe Room behind Dooky Chase's. The room is on the second floor of the main terminal behind the Frontier and Spirit ticket counter. Delaware North said it will be conducting interviews at the job fair.

Delaware North said if you are unable to attend the job fair, you can fax your resume to (504)466-9787 or email it to dadams@dncinc.com.
A rental car, DNA evidence and a pair of Crocs linked 24-year-old Jermaine Toussaint to a fatal Gentilly shooting in March 2017, according to a warrant for Toussaint's arrest.

Shortly before 1:30 p.m. on March 23, Anthony Kelly, 23, was shot more than once in the 5000 block of Louisa Street and was pronounced dead at the hospital less than an hour later.

Witnesses told police the shooter parked a grey Ford Fusion with Illinois license plates in the parking lot of Mary D. Coghill Elementary School, according to the warrant. After the shooting, the man ran away on foot, leaving the car parked in the lot.

The car was registered to Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and detectives said the person who rented the car told them Toussaint had it at the time of the shooting, the warrant states.

A pair of black Crocs were also found at the scene, and the warrant states Toussaint wore Crocs daily for his job. Toussaint's employers told investigators he did not show up to work on the day of Kelly's murder, according to the warrant.

DNA taken from the steering wheel of the car matched Toussaint's profile, the warrant states, and a "concerned citizen" told detectives they saw him driving the rental car and being in possession of a firearm on the day of the fatal shooting.

A warrant was signed for Toussaint's arrest in connection to the murder by Orleans Parish Magistrate commissioner Robert Blackburn on Wednesday (Jan. 3). He was arrested Monday night in the 7800 block of Chef Menteur Highway, according to an arrest report.

Toussaint was booked into Orleans Justice Center jail Tuesday morning on one count of second-degree murder, online court records show. He appeared in court the same day, where Orleans Parish Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell set his bond for $350,000 and assigned a public defender to his case, according to court records.
Deputies with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's office received an across-the-board pay bump on Friday (Jan. 5), a raise the sheriff's office has long claimed was much needed. The raise lifts deputies' base pay over a level that was previously below what the U.S. Census Bureau considered the poverty level for a New Orleans-area family of four with a mortgage or renting.

Before Friday, base pay for deputies who guard inmates inside the troubled Orleans Justice Center jail, provide security at the Orleans Criminal and Civil District Court facilities and perform other duties was $26,000. The Census Bureau's poverty estimates, published in 2017 and based on 2016 data, marked the poverty level in New Orleans for a family of four with a mortgage at an income of $26,614, and a family of four renting a home at $26,376. Below those levels - including the former annual base pay for deputies -- is considered below the "supplemental poverty measure threshold."

The $2,000 annual increase deputies received last week brings base pay for deputies to $28,000 a year. But two more pay increases are scheduled for next year, the sheriff's office said in a news release. By July, deputies' base salary will increase another $1,500, to $29,500 a year. Deputies are expected to receive an additional $3,500 raise in January 2019, bringing annual base pay to $33,000, the sheriff's office said.

Additionally, deputies who complete Peace Officer Standards and Training become eligible to receive an additional $6,000 a year to be paid by the state as part of Louisiana's state supplemental pay for certified law enforcement officers. That means base pay for deputies who are POST certified could earn $39,000 a year by the end of 2019.

"These increases were hard fought and the decision of the New Orleans City Council and Mayor to support them will help better the security operations of the Orleans Parish jail facilities on a 24-hour-a-day basis," reads a prepared joint statement by Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman and Compliance Director Gary Maynard.

Since October 2015, Maynard, a veteran in the corrections field, has been in charge of daily operations of the jail and other aspects of the sheriff's office. His appointment and duties were spelled out in the terms of a compromise to prevent the potential total takeover of the jail by the federal government. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office has been under a consent judgment since 2013 mandating reforms to make conditions at the jail safer and in compliance with the U.S. Constitution.

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Jail monitors appointed by U.S. Judge Lance Africk, who oversees the consent decree, repeatedly criticized the sheriff's office for insufficient supervision of inmates. Housing units were sometimes left without a correctional officer, which led to dangerous conditions, the monitors contended. A constant refrain from the sheriff's office and its lawyers in their defense was that better pay would secure a better, more stable work force. Gusman and Maynard repeated that in their release last week, saying the raises would "help with staff retention and recruitment."

The sheriff's office will pay for the raises from an additional $3 million added to the sheriff's office 2018 budget intended to cover expenses related to the consent decree.

Since Maynard has taken over operations, he has encouraged and made plans for existing deputies who were not POST certified to receive the training both to better prepare them for their jobs and to qualify them for the $6,000 states supplemental pay stipend.

In the joint statement, the sheriff's and Maynard acknowledge a primary goal of the agency "for years" has been to raise pay for deputies. "It is key to reaching the benchmarks outlined by the consent decree.

The sheriff's office and its lawyers are expected to appear in federal court Jan. 29 for a hearing to discuss the status of the agency's compliance with the consent decree.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the supplemental poverty measure threshold as a "living wage." The term "living wage" refers to another measurement, which is higher than the supplemental poverty measure threshold.
Portland police on Sunday arrested a man wanted in a triple murder in Louisiana, records show.

Deaundrey Cole, 34, is being held in Multnomah County's Inverness Jail. He's accused of killing three people in a drive-by shooting, according to media reports. A Portland police spokesman said the agency has contacted law enforcement in Louisiana about the arrest.

Portland police didn't appear to know about the allegations when they first responded to a "mobile domestic disturbance" that involved a car crash, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

He initially gave police a false name, according to the court document, and the driver of the car he hit told an officer that he had a murder warrant from Louisiana. He insisted his name was Demetrius Jenkins and had a driver's license and birth certificate in the name, but officers ran his fingerprints and confirmed he was the man wanted out of Louisiana, according to the affidavit.

Cole was wanted in the deaths of two women and a teen last May in Monroe, Louisiana, according to The News-Star in Louisiana. Local police said he was to be considered armed and dangerous, the newspaper reported.

Authorities found a BB gun and 9mm round in the car Cole had been driving Sunday, the document states. He had been arguing over the phone with the driver of the car he's accused of hitting, according to the affidavit.

Cole was arrested on suspicion of coercion, identity theft and three misdemeanor charges in the Sunday incident, records show. Jail records also list a separate "fugitive" charge.

Cole reported living in the Portland metro area for one month, according to court documents. KATU-TV first reported about his arrest.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrested a 35-year-old Harvey man accused of having sex with a 15-year-old boy he met on the social networking app Grindr.

Westwego Police have also obtained a warrant for a 22-year-old Marrero man accused of a sexual encounter with the same teen. The victim told investigators he also met the second suspect using the Grindr app, according to Lt. Eric Orlando, spokesman for the Westwego Police Department.

Rodney Washington II was booked Sunday (Jan. 2) with carnal knowledge of a juvenile, said Lt. Jason Rivarde, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. Washington was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant obtained on Nov. 7.

***UPDATE: The Jefferson Parish district attorney's office refused the charges against Rodney Washington on March 19, 2018. ***

The victim's mother contacted the Sheriff's Office in mid-October after the teen disclosed the sexual encounter to a social worker, Rivarde said. The teen, who is from the North Shore, was visiting a relative in Westwego in early October when he began corresponding with a man on Grindr.

The teen sneaked out of the relative's house to meet up with the man, later identified as Washington, Rivarde said. Washington is accused of driving the teen to a residence in Marrero where they performed oral sex on one another, Rivarde said.

Washington is also accused of using a cell phone to record video of the act.

During the investigation, Sheriff's Office detectives learned of another sexual encounter involving the teen and a different man, Rivarde said.

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The teen and the man had a sexual encounter in Westwego on Sept. 1, according to Orlando. Westwego detectives eventually identified the second suspect as Joseph Prevost, Orlando said. Investigators obtained a warrant for Prevost's arrest Nov. 9 on charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile.

Westwego detectives have not been able to find or contact Prevost, Orlando said.

The Sheriff's Office had no information about whether Washington was aware of the victim's age at the time of the sexual encounter. The teen told Prevost his real age during conversations before the two met up, Orlando said.

Louisiana's felony carnal knowledge law prohibits adults, people 17 or older, from having consensual intercourse with a person ages 13-16 if the offender is four years or more older than the victim. Under the law, it doesn't matter if the offender didn't know the victim was underage.

Authorities also contacted the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office about a possible third sexual encounter, according to a Sheriff's Office incident report. No other details were available about that case on Tuesday.

In an unrelated investigation, Kenner police on Friday arrested Rashawn Beatty, 28, after he was accused of raping a 15-year-old boy he, too, met on the Grindr app. Beatty was booked with second-degree rape, carnal knowledge of a juvenile, pornography involving a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, said Lt. Brian McGregor, spokesman for the Kenner Police Department.

Washington was being held Tuesday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on a $25,000 bond. But he was being held without bond for probation violation. Washington was sentenced to one year of inactive probation for issuing a worthless check in July 2017.
A trial got underway Tuesday (Jan. 9) in St. John the Baptist Parish for the bus driver indicted in a fatal crash on Interstate 10 near LaPlace that killed three people, including a firefighter responding to the scene, and injured more than 30 others.

Denis Amaya-Rodriguez, a Honduran who authorities say was unlicensed and in the country illegally at the time of the Aug. 28, 2016 crash, faces three counts of negligent homicide.

A jury composed of four women, two men and two alternates, both men, were seated Tuesday (Jan. 9) in the 40th Judicial District Court in Edgard. District Judge Sterling Snowdy is presiding over the trial that is expected to wrap up by Thursday or Friday.

Authorities say Amaya-Rodriguez was driving a bus with more than 30 passengers to Baton Rouge when he crashed into several cars stopped on the I-10 overpass from an earlier accident. The passengers were headed to the city to work on flood-damaged buildings.

Lawyers for Amaya-Rodriguez have said the brakes on the bus failed, causing the accident.

An investigative report from Louisiana State Police contradicts that claim.

In opening statements to jurors, both sides attempted to hammer home those opposing viewpoints.

Prosecutor Henri Dufresne repeatedly told jurors that Amaya Rodriguez was not licensed to drive the bus and recklessly disregarded flashing lights from emergency vehicles that had blocked the right lane of the road simply because he was in a hurry.

While other drivers were slowing down, Amaya Rodriguez was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, Dufresne said.

"He made the decision to get behind this bus and turn it into a 29,000 pound missile," Dufresne said. "The only reason the bus didn't stop is because Mr. Rodriguez didn't want to . . . he thought getting to Baton Rouge was more important."

A witness for the state told jurors she spotted the bus in her rearview mirror and grew concerned as it passed her. The woman said she was driving in the left lane, and the bus was traveling in the right lane which was blocked up ahead because of an accident.

"My heart started racing because he was going so fast," Jana Schwartzberg said.

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Under questioning by assistant district attorney Justin Lacour, Schwartzberg said she didn't see any brake lights on the bus and it appeared that the driver was trying to cut in front of other vehicles that were in the left lane.

"They never slowed down," she testified.

Defense attorney Shannon Battiste told jurors to discount the state's claim that the brakes on the bus were in working order, because they were not.

He said the state only tested the front brakes, but that the rear brakes - which could not be tested because of the damage from the wreck - were out of compliance with federal transportation standards because they were "mix matched."

"The back has two different size chambers . . . which is a direct violation of federal statutes," Battiste said.

He told jurors that his client was the "scapegoat" for driving a bus that did not meet federal standards, and that the owner of the bus should be held accountable for that, not Amaya Rodriguez.

Battiste told jurors that they would hear from a witness on the bus who he said heard Amaya Rodriguez shouting that the brakes were not working.

The trial is expected to continue Wednesday morning with additional testimony from state witnesses.

Authorities have said the bus hit a fire truck that was blocking the highway and protecting the scene of an earlier crash on westbound I-10 just past the Belle Terre Boulevard exit in LaPlace.

The bus then hit a 2012 Toyota Camry, sending it into two other vehicles, before striking St. John District Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin and two other firefighters who at the time were standing near the interstate's guardrail. The men were thrown over the guardrail and into the water. Chauvin was killed.

The accident also killed two of the four people in the Camry, Vontravis Kelly, 33 and Jermaine Starr, 21, both of Moss Point, Miss.
Vermillion Parish educators and the Louisiana Association of Educators are planning a joint rally Thursday in Abbeville to protest the arrest of middle school teacher Deyshia Hargrave. Hargrave was forced out of a school board meeting Monday (Jan. 8) and later handcuffed after she was ruled out of order when questioning a pay raise for the superintendent.

A YouTube video of Hargrave's arrest has garnered more than 1.6 million views and sparked death threats that caused a temporary lockdown at the school board office on Tuesday.

The LAE and the National Education Association issued a joint statement Wednesday denouncing the arrest and urging educators to gather Thursday as a show of support.

The statement from LAE President Debbie Meaux and Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association reads:

"As educators, students are at the center of everything we do and the voices of educators are essential to ensuring a great education for every child regardless of ZIP code. The arrest of middle school educator and LAE and NEA member Deyshia Hargrave is a chilling infringement on her rights but educators will not be silenced. We encourage all educators to wear black on Thursday, January 11th to stand in solidarity with Ms. Hargrave and the students of Vermilion Parish."

The rally is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. at Magdalen Square.

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An independent high school in Breaux Bridge, La. that made national headlines last December received a $15,000 donation this month when a broadcasting company joined one of its hosts in donating to aid the school.

TEGNA Inc. Tuesday (Jan. 9) joined Daily Blast Live's Al Jackson in a campaign to financially help TM Landry College Preparatory. Last week Jackson donated $5,000 during an interview with Landry educators, according to TEGNA spokeswoman Ellen Booth.

Inspired by Jackson's actions, the company made an additional $10,000 donation. Booth also added that "the donations continue, ensuring that teachers will get paid, the school will keep running and the kids will continue to pursue their big dreams."

Jackson, a comedian and former middle school teacher, told Daily Blast Live Tuesday that he considers TM Landry "an incredible launching pad" for students because "it seems like everybody that goes through there is destined for great success."

TM Landry entered the national spotlight in December after a video capturing the moments when its students celebrated over their college admissions letters went viral. The video has been more than 7 million times.

The Washington Post reported last month that Tracey and Michael Landry founded the school 13 years ago after they were dissatisfied with other schools in the area in 2005. Since then, the school has maintained a 100 percent graduate rate, and its students have been accepted at four-year colleges that include Harvard, Yale and Stanford universities.

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Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles.
The Vermillion Parish School Board Office was temporarily locked down Tuesday (Jan. 9) after a video showing a teacher being handcuffed during a board meeting sparked death threats from around the globe, according to The Advertiser.

The board's president said the threats  which have come from South America, Australia, England as well as the U.S.  were reported to the local authorities and the FBI, according to the news story.

A YouTube video, which shows teacher Deyshia Hargrave being led out in handcuffs after being told she was out of order for questioning a pay raise for the superintendent, has gotten more than 1.6 million views and drawn national headlines.

Despite the threats, board president Anthony Fontana told The Advertiser that he stands by the deputy's action "100 percent" and that they were appropriate. He questioned how Hargrave would handle a disruptive student, according to the newspaper.

In a separate interview with Baton Rouge TV station WAFB, Fontana placed the blame on Hargrave.

"This is not about the board, it's about the teacher and everybody wants to side on the poor little woman who got thrown out," he told the TV station. "Well she made a choice. She could have walked out and nothing would have happened."

Hargrave, despite being booked into the parish jail, won't face charges, school officials have said.

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The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced on Thursday that it is opening four routes over the Taiwan Straits, including the south-to-north M503 route and three connecting regional routes. The mainland's regular arrangement for civil aviation routes has prompted strong reactions from the Taiwan authorities. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council and its defense authority demanded that the mainland close the routes, saying it threatens the island's security. The unreasonable demand will certainly not be accepted by the mainland.

The opening of the M503 routes would ease the congestion in the mainland's airspace. The mainland's aviation industry has witnessed spectacular growth in recent years, with flights increasing rapidly and airports being constantly expanded.

The Taiwan Straits lie off the southeast coast of the Chinese mainland, and the south and north sides of the area are the most developed regions in the Chinese mainland, with many super cities located along the coastline. It is one of the most reasonable arrangements for civilian flights over the coast. Such an arrangement could greatly ease air congestion and reduce delays.

The M503 routes had been planned as early as during the administration of Taiwan's former leader Ma Ying-jeou. Through repeated consultations between the mainland and Taiwan authorities, the mainland had opened the north-to-south route and now announced the opening of the south-to-north route as well as three connecting routes to make the M503 routes fully operational.

Taiwan authorities accused the mainland of not negotiating with them before opening the routes. It must be noted that the collapse of communication channels between the mainland and Taiwan resulted from Taiwan authorities' refusal to recognize the 1992 Consensus. Before opening the new routes, the CAAC had informed the relevant departments in Taiwan. If Taiwan authorities desire more consultations, they should ask Tsai Ing-wen, the island's current leader, to change her stance of refusing to recognize the 1992 Consensus that stresses the one-China principle and prompt her to restore communication lines with the mainland.

We also cannot help ask, "How could civilian flights threaten Taiwan's air defense security?" Such a mentality was caused by the guilt conscience of supporting Taiwan independence. The mainland has always been committed to expanding cross-Straits exchanges and promoting the peaceful reunification of China. There is no need to worry that the mainland would launch a sudden attack on Taiwan by leveraging the new civil aviation routes as long as some forces in Taiwan do not seek to separate the island of Taiwan from China.

Besides, if the mainland is determined to solve the Taiwan question by military means, it has the overwhelming military advantage and does not need to wage a sudden attack. If the mainland issues an ultimatum, the island will be thrown into chaos. Taiwan's "defense" targeting the mainland has already lost its military relevance and degraded into a political show to trick Taiwan residents.

A report by Taiwan-based Central News Agency said an unnamed US State Department official expressed concern on Thursday, saying that they "oppose unilateral actions by either side to alter the status quo." Regarding the M503 flight route issue, the official said the US was concerned "about reports that Beijing has modified the use of civil aviation flight routes in the Taiwan Strait without consultation with Taiwan authorities," urging that issues of civil aviation and safety instead be "decided through dialogue between both sides." It is obvious that the US State Department is too embarrassed to issue a real-name statement because it cannot find any fault from the mainland. It is the Tsai Ing-wen administration which refuses to recognize the 1992 Consensus and attempts to change the status quo.

To open the civil aviation route west of the middle line of the Taiwan Straits is economically relevant and urgent. The mainland does not need to care about the abnormal psyche of Taiwan authorities. It doesn't have to let the airspace over the Taiwan Straits stay idle given its superb natural air route. The earlier Taiwan authorities face the reality and change its stance toward the mainland, the easier it can catch up with the booming development of the surrounding region.
An effort by U.S. Army officials to dispose of as many as 700 so-called "trespass horses" on the Fort Polk Military Reservation and the Peason Ridge Military Training Area in west central Louisiana was challenged in federal court Tuesday (Jan. 9) by an animal welfare group formed to protect wild and abandoned horses in that area.

The Pegasus Equine Guardian Association was formed in 2015 after Fort Polk officials concluded the wild horses needed to be removed from land at the fort and in the nearby part of the Kisatchie National Forest that it uses for training.

The group filed suit against the Army and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2016 in an attempt to halt the removal efforts, or to at least require that the horses be dealt with humanely. After hearing that the fort planned to immediately remove some of the horses before action on the suit, on Tuesday the group requested a federal judge in Lake Charles to issue an injunction blocking the animals' removal.

The lawsuit contends that the Army should have conducted a comprehensive environmental impact statement before removing any of the horses.

"The Army also omitted other requirements, such as ensuring nonprofit organizations could put groups of horses up for adoption, rather than the horses being sold for slaughter," said a news release announcing the injunction request. PEGA, as the group is called, is being represented by the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, with assistance from the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

"For decades the horses have been living on, and part of, historic Fort Polk and Kisatchie National Forest areas," the news release said. "Horses have ranged free on this property long before Fort Polk existed. Animal advocates fear that the Army's current, controversial plan will result in the slaughter of the majority -- if not all -- the wild horses due to the difficulty in re-homing horses who have been wild for generations."

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"There are several unique herds of truly wild horses in Louisiana, that are of value both environmentally and culturally, especially to the inhabitants of the area, but also to all Americans," said Amy Hanchey, of PEGA, in the news release.

Some of the horses located in the Peason Ridge area, part of the national forest, are believed to be descendants of horses brought to the New World by Spanish settlers and traded with various Choctaw tribes.

In a public notice posted on the Fort Polk web site, officials say they made the decision to remove the horses after conducting a less-comprehensive environmental assessment, as allowed under law.

The Joint Readiness Training Center and fort conduct exercises on 198,000 acres of land in Vernon Parish, with 100,000 acres owned by the Army and the remainder by the national forest, part of the USDA. The fort was created in 1941 and was originally a major training base for soldiers fighting in World War II. According to the fort web site, there are more than 35,000 troops stationed or undergoing training on that land today.

"Fort Polk has a large population of trespass horses," the notice said. "The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has determined the horses are trespass livestock to which the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Protection Act of 1971 is not applicable."

"The population of trespass horses that remain on the training landscape imposes a safety conflict with training activities," the notice said. "This safety risk is unacceptable for troops, Army equipment, and the horses themselves."
While recent freezing temperatures in Louisiana caused water pipelines to freeze, school closures and may have even resulted in fish kills, there is some good news, according to the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

The cold weather has helped reduce an invasive aquatic plant that's been taking over lakes in the state, including Lake Bistineau near Shreveport. Giant salvinia is a floating fern that grows rapidly, outpacing natural plant species. In optimum growing conditions, the plant can double in size every three to five days, said Ricky Moses, an Inland Fisheries Biologist Director with the department.

The plant thrives in warm temperatures, typically becoming a nuisance for boaters and fishers in July and August. Giant salvinia carpets lakes, not allowing sunlight to penetrate the water, which can kill native underwater plants.

"It can shade those out and it will also compete with floating plants too," Moses said. "It competes with just about all aquatic vegetation."

The department took drastic steps in 2017 to try to tamp down the plant in Lake Bistineau, including removing water from the lake in attempts to dry up large swaths of giant salvinia. A department official noted what appeared to be a die off of giant salvinia on the lake over the weekend. But a clearer view of how much of the plant was killed will not come until the plant decomposes, which is likely to take a few months.

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Die offs of giant salvinia have happened before. A large reduction of the plant species was visible following a freeze in 2010. But the die off is unlikely to be longterm. That's because chunks of the plant likely found protection under boat docks and trees, Moses said.

It's not all good news though, according to the department. The freezing temps may have also killed a species of beetle used to attack the plants. Salvinia weevils, like the plant, are from the tropics and are vulnerable to cold. But the department and its partners have been raising the beetles in ponds and green houses to tamp down giant salvinia. While the adult weevils eat holes in the leaves of the plant, the weevil larva attack the growth bud of the plant, Moses said.

Using salvinia weevils has been an effective tactic in reducing the plant in South Louisiana, he said. But in North Louisiana the plant continues to be a problem. The spring and summer of 2017 were especially bad because of a mild winter beforehand.

Boaters and fishers can look forward to less giant salvia blocking their mobility and fishing lines this spring, Moses said. "Hopefully we won't see any serious mats of it until later in the year," he said. "We think it will be a good year, for sure."
New Years Day brought New Orleans into its 300th year since French colonials first cleared vegetation along what is now the French Quarter riverfront. But like most complex, improvised projects, New Orleans actually came together over many years, and each stage involved various levels of indecision, contingency, discord and serendipity.

While most critical events occurred between 1717 and 1723, they can only be understood if we go back earlier. The following timeline aims to contextualize what we mean when we say New Orleans was founded in 1718.

Prior to colonization: Indigenous tribes, including the Houma, Bayougoula, Biloxi, Choctaw, Quinapisa, Acolapissa, Pascagoula and others, inhabit the Mississippi River deltaic plain and adjacent coastal regions, adapting to its seasonal conditions and utilizing its abundant resources.

1519-1543: Three Spanish expeditions explore the region, creating no settlements but increasing European knowledge of Gulf Coast and Mississippi River geography, while unwittingly introducing diseases that would later cause massive indigenous population declines. The Spanish move on to other imperial priorities, but consider this region theirs.

Late 1500s-1600s: French, Dutch, English and Spanish imperialists establish colonies along the East Coast of North America, but mostly steer clear of the Gulf Coast and lower Mississippi.

1682: With the French now well-established in Canada and the Caribbean, French Canadian Robert La Salle, seeking to understand how these colonies are connected, sails westward through the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi. Upon reaching the Gulf of Mexico, La Salle claims the entire watershed for France and names it for his king, Louis IV.

1684: Recognizing the strategic value of controlling the entrance of the Mississippi, La Salle returns to establish a French colony near the river's mouth. But his expedition gets lost, drifts westward and wrecks along the Texas coast. LaSalle's trusted lieutenant Henri Tonti later succeeds in re-finding the Mississippi, but fails to determine the fate of LaSallewho in fact had long since been murdered by his own men. Louisiana languishes as a French territory for another fifteen years.

1680s-1690s: Catching wind that France had laid claim to what Spain considered to be its territory, Spanish authorities in Mexico dispatch a number of expeditions to re-claim the lower Mississippi. Had any succeeded, we would likely have an entirely different history here today.

Late 1697: Hearing rumors of Spanish incursions into Louisiana, France dispatches Montreal's LeMoyne brothers, Iberville and Bienville, to make good on LaSalle's 1682 claim.

1699: Iberville, Bienville and their crew reconnoiter the lower Mississippi and pass the future New Orleans site in early March, aiming to establish an outpost. But flummoxed by the uncontrolled river and the low, swampy soils, Iberville selects present-day Ocean Springs, Miss., for the colony's first headquarters, Fort Maurepas.

August or September 1699: While Iberville visits the Bayougoula tribe and proceeds into Natchez territory, Bienville, exploring separately, encounters the English frigate Carolina Galley, bent on a mission of settlement. Though only 19 years old, Bienville rebuffs the English captain, who departs peacefully. Had he not, we might have had an English colonial history here. The "English Turn" incident convinces the LeMoyne brothers that a French presence is needed directly upon the lower Mississippi River, as a defensive position.

1700: To that end, Bienville establishes Fort de Mississippi (Boulaye) near present-day Phoenix in Plaquemines Parish. But the simple blockhouse flounders amid soggy soils and high river stages. Bienville has much to learn about building in a delta.

1702: The headquarters of the Louisiana colony is moved from Fort Maurepas eastward to Mobile, situated 27 miles up the Mobile River from the present-day Alabama city. European population of the entire Louisiana colony totals around 140 subjects, strewn between Mobile Bay and the Mississippi.

1703-1711: Louisiana's "dark ages," a time of inattention, disease, hunger, and failure. Few supply ships arrive from France; key figures Henri Tonti and Iberville die of yellow fever (1704 and 1706); Bienville is forced to abandon Fort de Mississippi for environmental reasons (1707); a settlement aiming to grow wheat along Bayou St. John fails in 1708; and Mobile has to be relocated to its present site in 1711, due to flooding.

1712: Disillusioned and preoccupied with other matters, France grants a commercial monopoly to financier Antoine Crozat for the development of Louisiana. Crozat hopes to discover gold and silver, raise tobacco, and trade with Spain, while the French Crown is content to unburden itself of Louisiana.

1714-1716: French commandant Saint-Denis establishes Natchitoches along the Red River in present-day central Louisiana; La Mothe Cadillac founds Fort Toulouse and Fort Tombecbe on key rivers in Alabama; and Bienville establishes Fort Rosalie at present-day Natchez. Although distant from the future New Orleans area, the three initiatives are the first good news to come out of Louisiana in years.

Over in France

1714: Scottish investor and economist John Law arrives in Paris, fresh from risky but lucrative financial ventures elsewhere in Europe. Seeking opportunities to test his monetary theories and enrich himself, Law allies himself with noblemen in the French Crown, among them Philippe II, the Duke of Orleans and nephew of the aging King Louis XIV.

1715: King Louis XIV dies; Philippe becomes the Regent of France, acting on behalf of the deceased monarch's 5-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV. Among other things, Philippe finds the kingdom deeply in debt, due largely to Louis XIV's overspending on palaces and wars. France is nearly broke, and its citizenry demands restitution.

1716: Intrigued by John Law's economic theories on monetary policy, Philippe authorizes Law to establish the Banque Generale as a centralized bank issuing its own paper currency backed by gold deposits, a novel idea at the time. The bank seems to succeed, though only because the paper bills are over-printed. But the apparent wealth delights Philippe and emboldens Law, a born gambler, to seek another lucrative project.

Meanwhile, back in Louisiana

1717: After only five years, a frustrated Antione Crozat relinquishes his 15-year commercial monopoly on Louisiana, having failed to find mineral riches, establish plantations or trade with Spanish Mexico. John Law is intrigued to learn of this exotic-sounding land called Louisiana, and connects it with his economic theories.

1717: John Law devises a fantastic scheme which would enrich all involved, based on his idea that paper money need not be backed with real wealth (gold, which was scarce); it could also be backed by commercial wealthnamely the riches that Louisiana could bear under private management. Financing of the company would come from the sale of stock; peopling of the colony would come from recruited or forced emigration of at least 6,000 settlers; and labor would come from the hands of 3,000 enslaved Africans raising tobacco on plantations. The ensuing profits would enrich shareholders throughout France, not to mention Law and Philippe, while equity in the company would help pay off the national debt.

Aug. 13, 1717: Crozat formally relinquished Louisiana.

Sept. 6, 1717: John Law and his newly created Company of the West formally receive a 25-year monopoly charter to develop Louisiana, with the enthusiastic support of Philippe.

Sept. 9, 1717: The Company of the West, according to its ledger, "resolved to establish, thirty leagues up the river, a burg which should be called La Nouvelle Orleans, where landing would be possible from either the river or Lake Pontchartrain." The name of the envisioned city aimed to flatter the project's royal sponsor, Philippe, the Duke of Orleans, without whom Law's venture would have been impossible. The specified location implied an alternative to the shoal-prone mouth of the Mississippi, and most likely meant Bayou St. John and Bayou Road, through which access could be gained to a crescent of the river previously identified by Bienville as being favorable for settlement.

Autumn 1717: The directive to establish New Orleans makes its way across the Atlantic.

Winter 1718: Bienville, probably stationed at Mobile, is now in receipt of the directive, and begins preparing six vessels laden with supplies and a crew of 43 men for the voyage to his favored site.

Early Spring 1718: Sometime in late March or early April, Bienville's expedition anchors off today's upper French Quarter, and he and his crew step ashore. "M. de Bienville cut the first cane," recalled colonist Jonathan Darby many years later, followed by "MM. Pradel and Dreux," who ranked just below Bienville. Thirty workers, all convicts, proceeded to clear the "dense canebrake" near present-day North Peters Street around the Conti intersection. Behind those bankside reeds lay hardwood forests, which axmen cleared next. Six carpenters got to work building provisional shelters"log cabins," in Darby's words. "We are working at present on the establishment of New Orleans 30 leagues above the entrance to the Mississippi," wrote Bienville on June 12, and that's about all the taciturn commandant recorded of his city's earliest moments.

But hardly did this undated milestone moment assure New Orleans of a future. As early as April 14, 1718, even as Bienville toiled at New Orleans, his superiors in Paris instructed the companys chief engineer to re-establish the colonys headquartersname and allfarther upriver, to the Bayou Manchac region just south of present-day Baton Rouge.

Such was the disarray and uncertainly of the whole Louisiana improvisation, and things would only get worse, with natural disasters, financial collapse, and bitter infighting over which outpostMobile? Biloxi? Manchac? Natchez? Natchitoches?should become company headquarters and colonial capital.

More on that in my next installment on the foundation of New Orleans, coming this spring. Stay tuned.

Lagniappe: Rumor has it, courtesy Wikipedia and the occasional City Hall official, that the first clearing of vegetation to establish New Orleans occurred on May 7, 1718. I know of no archival document ascertaining this, and while it's possible that additional papers might one day come to light, existing evidence points to nothing more specific than late March or early April.

The desire to peg the foundation to a single date spawned some speculation during our last major anniversary, in 1968. Rather arbitrarily, the organizing committee for the 250th celebration cited April 16 the true date  a date that just happened to be the birthday of His Excellency Charles Lucet, French Ambassador to the United States and guest of honor at the citys lavish anniversary banquet.

And the date of that banquet? May 7, 1968.

Its possible that someone later came across a commemorative program for that evening and presumed that its date marked the citys true birthday. If so, its a reminder that historiography can be just as messy as history.
St. Tammany Parish has hired an engineering firm to kick off the first phase of a flood control effort called the St. Tammany Parish Coastal Protection Project, the parish government and levee board announced.

Neel-Schaffer Inc. was chosen over eight other firms that submitted proposals, which were evaluated by a team of parish government employees and representatives of the St. Tammany Levee, Drainage and Conservation District, according to a news release issued by the parish Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 9).

The parish received $2 million from the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority that made the hiring of the firm possible, the release said.

Neel-Schaffer will analyze and update a 2012 Northshore Hurricane and Flood Protection Study with newly completed and current proposed projects in the St. Tammany Parish Coastal Zone, the parish government said. The firm will gather information on multiple projects by different agencies and jurisdictions, not just those of parish government.

A gap analysis will then be performed to identify new projects to further protect vulnerable areas, the news release said.

A benefit/cost analysis of proposed projects will be completed to determine project priority and viability. Any funds remaining after completion of these tasks will go toward the engineering and design of projects, according to the release.

"This is another step forward in creating a comprehensive flood protection plan for our parish," Parish President Pat Brister said. "Our levee board has continued to work diligently, with limited resources, to get this project off of the ground, and we applaud them for their dedicated time and intensive efforts."

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Levee board Chairman Henry Di Franco said the panel will continue to work with parish government to identify critical projects to enhance flood protection in St. Tammany's coastal zone.

The approximately 300-page study, conducted in 2012 by Gulf Engineers and Consultants, recommended that parish and state leaders focus their efforts on smaller, localized flood control projects that will have an impact in specific areas and can be done quicker than massive projects. They should allow the federal government to identify, study and fund large projects, it said.

Recommended local projects include such things as drainage system improvements, creation of storm water detention ponds, raising levees, elevating and relocating structures, channel dredging, coastal wetland preservation in Tangipahoa Parish and small water control features.

The study said the North Shore region was the victim of poor luck over the previous 10 years as much as insufficient flood control funding and mitigation. "In the span of 10 years the region has experienced multiple storm events and surge events which have exceeded 1 percent annual chance scenarios."

When the half dozen "statistically extreme" weather events that plagued the area over the previous 15 years are removed from the equation, the area's flood vulnerability is historically consistent with the gulf coast and statewide averages, the study said.

St. Tammany's levee board was created in 2014 by the Legislature, allowing the parish to withdraw from the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East.
JERUSALEM, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli civilian was shot and seriously wounded in an incident suspected as a Palestinian attack in the West Bank on Tuesday, Israeli officials said.

A military spokesperson said the incident took place near the Israeli settlement of Havat Gilad, west of Nablus city.

A passing car opened fire at the man, the spokesperson said, adding that the assailants fled the scene.

"IDF (Israel Defense Forces) are searching the area for the perpetrators of this terror attack," the spokesperson said.

The man, 35, sustained serious injuries in his upper body and was evacuated to hospital, according to a statement released by the emergency health service.

The incident was the latest in a surge of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Dec. 6.

The Palestinians wish to build their future capital in east Jerusalem, a territory that Israel seized during the 1967 Middle East war, together with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and annexed shortly later.
Fiscal reformers have told the Legislature that Louisiana should scale back or do away with the deduction of federal taxes on state tax returns. Lawmakers didn't have the backbone to do that or make any other changes the Task Force on Structural Change in Budget and Tax Policy recommended before the 2017 session.

Now Congress essentially has done it for them.

By increasing the amount of the standard deduction for federal returns it is less likely that Louisiana taxpayers will itemize expenses on their state taxes. That and other changes are expected to increase revenue for state government by $200 million to $250 million in 2019.

That is a gift to the state, which is facing $1 billion deficit July 1 when a temporary sales tax is set to expire. Those income tax revenues won't necessarily come in soon enough to help with that gap, but it should help balance the state budget over time.

The Edwards administration also might be able to speed up the effects of the federal tax changes by adjusting Louisiana's tax tables to reflect the new rates, legislative fiscal adviser Greg Albrecht said.

But Gov. John Bel Edwards' revenue secretary said the administration needs more information about how the federal changes will play out. Whenever the state gets the infusion of new revenue, there would still be a deficit of roughly $800 million.

That means lawmakers still need to replace the revenue expiring in July or find cuts. Gov. Edwards doesn't believe they can reduce spending enough to balance the budget without decimating health care and higher education. So far, the Legislature has produced no proposals to counter that argument.

Gov. Edwards inherited a $2 billion deficit when he took office in January 2016 and persuaded lawmakers to increase taxes that spring. But they made the sales tax and some other revenue-producing measures temporary. That has triggered a "fiscal cliff" at the end of this fiscal year June 30.

As they work to close the gap, legislators ought to reform Louisiana's fiscal structure.

The tax policy task force gave them a good plan: reducing or eliminating the federal income tax deduction on state tax returns, eliminating many tax credits and lowering tax rates. The task force also recommended reducing sales taxes, restructuring or phasing out the corporate franchise tax and looking for ways to save on contracts.

The state also must stop using one-time or temporary funding to patch together the budget.

A new state audit found that Louisiana's assets decreased by $2.4 billion between 2013 and 2017 due to a "reduction in revenues and multiple fund sweeps requiring the liquidation of investments to fund legislative appropriations."

Those fund sweeps occurred during former Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration, when he and legislators looked for any way possible not to increase taxes despite lacking money to balance the budget.

They spent the entire surplus Gov. Kathleen Blanco left them and gave away billions of dollars in tax credits and exemptions the state couldn't afford. They also reversed smart income tax reforms crafted by former Rep. Vic Stelly -- costing the state roughly $600 million per year in revenues.

Without that money for state services, they spent down trust funds that were supposed to last for decades. A Baton Rouge judge ruled that was unconstitutional in 2014, but legislators kept doing it.

All those things led to the mess Gov. Edwards, a Democrat, inherited in 2016. He tried to get the Legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, to make lasting changes then to state finances, but they refused.

Now here we are again facing a deficit of more than $1 billion. Higher education and health care were slashed during the Jindal years, and legislators ought to protect them this time. That will take a different approach, though, particularly in the House.

Legislators have been more concerned with scoring political points to hurt Gov. Edwards' re-election chances than in doing what is best for Louisianians. That must change.
The U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing a case today that will determine whether Ohio can purge its voting rolls of the names of people who haven't voted in six years and haven't responded to a notice of inquiry from the state. If the court rules in Ohio's favor, you can expect other states - well, those controlled by Republicans - to execute similar purges. Accordingly, this issue is important not just to Ohioans, but to all of us.

"All U.S. states periodically cleanse their voter rolls," Reuters writes in a report about the Ohio case, "but only a handful remove voters simply because they don't vote on a regular basis." Ohio's purges have benefited Republicans. The Reuters report notes, "In the state's three largest counties that include Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, voters have been struck from the rolls in Democratic-leaning neighborhoods at roughly twice the rate as in Republican neighborhoods."

Ohio is a swing state that every presidential candidate considers necessary to win. So the ramifications of that state's voting laws are huge and would be huge even if the issue was specific to that state.

As a person who votes in every election, I can't pretend to understand people who don't register to vote. I have an even harder time understanding those people who registered to vote but rarely if ever exercise their franchise.

Nonvoters puzzle me. That said, the idea that a person has to vote in order to vote seems problematic.

In the absence of proof that they're dead or that they've registered to vote somewhere else, what, exactly, is the problem with having the names of people on the voting rolls who haven't voted in some time? Who is being harmed?

We know who's harmed when people are wrongly removed from the rolls. That's self-evident.

At the Supreme Court, Ohio will be appealing a ruling that said its purge was illegal. Ohio seems to be splitting hairs: arguing that it's not removing the names of people who didn't vote; it's removing the names of people who didn't respond to a mailer after not voting.

Opposing Ohio will be the American Civil Liberties Union, which initially brought suit against Ohio. As Dale Ho, the director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project says at the ACLU's website, "The state assumes that a person who has not voted in two years may have moved across county lines and might need to be removed from the voter rolls. That's a pretty bizarre assumption. According to Census Bureau data, only about 3 percent of people in Ohio move across county lines each year. But more than half of Ohio voters typically do not vote in a federal midterm election. And when Ohio sends out mailings to voters asking them to confirm whether or not they've moved, about 80 percent of those who are sent these mailings never respond to them. It just can't be the case that all of these people have moved. The inevitable result is that Ohio erroneously purges voters who haven't moved, who remain eligible to vote, but who may end up being disenfranchised."

The government of the United States ought to be alarmed by what Ohio is attempting to do, but after decades of blocking various states' attempts to purge its voting rolls in like manner, the current Department of Justice has done a 180 and endorsed such purges.

USA Today has a story about an Ohio man whose name was removed from the rolls. Here's how it begins:

"Joe Helle served six years as an Army infantryman and sergeant, including 15 months in Iraq and four months in Afghanistan a decade ago. Ohio rewarded him in 2011 by taking away his right to vote.

"Helle, now 31 and the mayor of tiny Oak Harbor (pop. 2,759), had become a casualty in Ohio's effort to maintain accurate voter registration rolls. Because he had not voted in six years and did not return a warning notice, his most basic right was removed.

"'I broke down into tears,' the war veteran recalls."

A soldier may have a better excuse than civilians for not voting. He may have a more sympathetic story. But even people whose lack of participation can be attributed to apathy should be allowed to cast a ballot if they're still eligible.

Jarvis DeBerry is deputy opinions editor for NOLA.COM | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at jdeberry@nola.comor at twitter.com/jarvisdeberry.
Prairieville lawyer Aaron Lawler became the third member of the Ascension Parish Council to have a recall petition filed against him in the past two weeks, as some residents revolt over the pace of new developments and their impact on floods and traffic.
Fang Fenghui, one of the military's highest-ranking officers, has been placed under investigation by prosecutors, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Fang, a general and former chief of the Central Military Commission's Joint Staff Department, has been handed over to military prosecutors for suspected crimes of offering and taking bribes, the report said, without more details.

This announcement ended wide speculation about Fang's whereabouts since Aug 21 when he appeared in public for the last time. Five days later, the military said General Li Zuocheng had replaced Fang as PLA chief of staff.

Fang, 66, a native of Shaanxi province, enlisted in the People's Liberation Army Ground Force in 1968 and moved up through the ranks over more than 30 years at multiple units in northwestern China. In 2003, he became chief of staff of the former Guangzhou Military Command and about four years later became commander of the former Beijing Military Command, where he organized the National Day parade in Beijing in 2009.

In late 2012, he was named chief of the former General Staff Headquarters and soon was promoted to a member of the Central Military Commission. In early 2016, he became chief of the commission's Joint Staff Department.

Fang was also member of the 17th and 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Six weeks ago, Fang's colleague in the Central Military Commission and former head of the commission's Political Work Department, General Zhang Yang, 66, committed suicide at his Beijing home amid a probe into his involvement in bribery, an official release said.

In the past five years, a sweeping anti-corruption campaign has brought down over 100 officers at the rank of major general or higher, including Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, both former vice-chairmen of the CMC, the military's disciplinary watchdog said.
It will be a very busy winter at the Lee County Posse Arena, and it all begins with an event that has taken its spot as one of the bigger ones of the year. Florida Tugs will presents its truck tug-o-war on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the arena at 17401 Palm Creek Drive.

The event has been put on for about the last 20 years. Last Januarys event brought in nearly 1,000 spectators, with the same, if not more, expected this time, assuming the weather isnt too cold.

Its a lot of fun for the kids and the whole family, and it gives them a night out. We try to get things done at a decent hour so theyre not out too late, said Keith Gogolin, who runs Florida Tugs.

Underneath the dirt of the arena is a 160-feet long, 15-feet wide concrete landing strip on which the competitors will battle in two weight classes, 6,750 and 9,000 pounds, in a best two-out-of-three falls matchup.

The event is for bragging rights and simply having a good time, Gogolin said.

Its just a fun night. You dont get rich, but you have a good time and it keeps people off the street and getting into trouble, Gogolin said.

Once the event is over, the track will be covered again, with the turning over of the dirt proving beneficial for the horses who race there as it makes the track less hard.

Weigh-in will be at 4 p.m., with the drivers meeting just before the event. Tickets are $15 for adults, with children 10 and under free. The arena will be in charge of the food and parking.

Another tug-o-war is slated for March 10 at the arena. Gogolin said the spring event was usually held in April, but he hopes holding it earlier will result in a better crowd before the snowbirds go home.

For more information, call 340-4020 or go to the Florida Tugs Facebook page.
In the wake of what it calls a sharp increase in flu cases, Lee Health has restricted children 12 and younger from visiting patients in its intensive care units, pediatric intensive care units and hematology/oncology units.

The countywide hospital system and health care provider reports that cases jumped from fewer than 200 during the week of Dec. 18 to more than 330 the last week of the year.

While Florida is not yet among the 21 states the U.S. Center for Disease Control has reported as having a high-concern level of flu and flu-like activity, counting on that to continue would be a foolhardy way to start the new year.

According to the Florida Department of Health, Lee County is not an anomaly: cases are up statewide.

Activity among all age groups increased and remained above levels observed during the previous two flu seasons at this time, the department reports in its latest release.

Ten outbreaks were reported in December: five confirmed for influenza cases and five for flu-like illnesses with 58 outbreaks of flu and flu-like disease reported since the start of the 2017-18 season, the agency states.

More outbreaks have been reported so far this season than in previous seasons at this time, which may be an early indication of a more severe influenza season, the Heath Department reports, adding, Statewide, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) activity remains high and above previous seasons.

Flu season began in October; December through March are peak months with February typically having the greatest number of cases.

Lee Health, as well as the CDC and the Florida Department of Health, continue to urge flu shots, with the CDC emphasizing that getting an annual flu vaccine is the first and best way to protect yourself and your family from the flu.

Why is this important, besides dealing with the obvious unpleasantness of fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue?

The flu can be much more serious, particularly for the very young, those of us who are older, and those with compromised immune systems.

The flu, in fact, can kill.

An average of about 36,000 people per year in the United States die from influenza, and 114,000 per year have to be admitted to the hospital as a result of influenza infection. Anyone can get the flu (even healthy people), and serious problems from influenza can happen at any age. People age 65 years and older, people of any age with chronic medical conditions, and very young children are more likely to get complications from influenza, the CDC reports on its web site.

Flu shots are inexpensive with many insurance plans covering the cost. They are readily available and, despite some recent reports, reasonably effective, reducing the risk of getting the flu between 40 and 60 percent.

And no, the vaccine cannot give you the flu.

The Florida Department of Health provides free shots for children in Lee County. Free flu vaccines for children 6 months old through 18 years are available at the departments Immunization clinic, 3920 Michigan Avenue, Fort Myers. Clinic hours are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday. Flu vaccine for adults 19 years and older is $30, with High-Dose flu vaccine for adults 65 years and older $50.

Appointments are needed and may be made by calling 239-461-6100.

Local health care providers and pharmacies all over Lee County also provide flu shots.

Visit floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/prevention/flu-prevention/locate-a-flu-shot.html for additional guidance as to location.

 Neighbor editorial
As we begin the new year, it is a time to reflect upon past accomplishments and look ahead to 2018 goals.

In 2017, we removed many job-killing Obama era regulations, and before adjourning last year, passed historic tax reforms that will benefit hard-working Americans at every income level. These tax changes will provide a family of 4 earning a median income of $73,000 a year $2,059 more in their pocket each year. They double the child care tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child and nearly double the standard exemption  the first $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples is now tax-free. Tax reform also provides needed relief for small businesses, positively impacting 62,041 taxpayers in Southwest Florida. For corporations, tax cuts mean that capital will be brought back into the United States and foreign corporations will have an incentive to relocate here. Finally, it eliminates the most onerous and unfair portion of the failed experiment of Obamacare, the individual mandate that forced Americans to either buy insurance that they didnt want and couldnt afford, or pay a fine for not doing so. Now it is gone.

The regulatory relief which Congress has enacted and the President has signed, as well as Executive branch orders, will save businesses over $8.1 billion in costs. Less bureaucratic red tape lowers costs, allows for confidence and gives a predictability that leads to hiring, investment and a booming economy. I was proud to sponsor one of these major regulatory repeal bills  H.J. Res 67, which was passed by Congress and signed by the President. The bill terminates a regulation that forced private-sector workers into government-run IRAs managed by cities and counties, which offered workers fewer protections and less control over their hard-earned savings.

In foreign affairs, we have returned to a policy of projecting strength and leadership. After eight years of empty threats and crossed red lines, the United States is once again a power to be respected on the world stage. President Trump has been clear and decisive about North Koreas illegal nuclear program and consequentially China has engaged more than ever in dealing with its client state. With this in mind, I co-introduced a bill to defuel rocket man Kim Jong-Uns missile fuel supply from China and Russia.

The administration is rightly supporting the protests against the Mullah-led theocracy in Iran. Former President Obama failed to support the green revolution but this time we have more resolve. I hope we see the advantages for the United States of an independent Kurdistan and have advocated for it.

Locally, I have been fighting relentlessly for funding to clean up the Lake Okeechobee Watershed. I have brought House leadership to SW Florida to personally tour the Everglades so they would understand their importance. I wrote a letter to President Trump, which was co-signed by the entire Florida Delegation, asking President Trump to support Everglades Restoration projects in his fiscal year 2018 Budget. In the House, we were successful in achieving the highest ever funding for rebuilding the Herbert Hoover Dike, and the full amount of funding requested for Lake Okeechobee and Everglades restoration (CERP) projects. Bringing all concerned parties together in a united effort has been critical to our success and will be necessary as we move forward together.

There is still much to be done. My colleagues and I in the House have passed many common-sense reforms this year that have stalled in the Senate. In June, the House passed Kates Law to make sure that deported illegal aliens who re-enter the country are incarcerated, and a bill to defund sanctuary cities. A few weeks ago, we passed concealed carry reciprocity to allow individuals with valid concealed carry permits to exercise their rights across all 50 states. In total, 477 bills passed the House and 378 of those remain stuck in the Senate.

I have sponsored the RAISE Act to stop chain migration, change immigration from families to skills based, and end the diversity lottery. As a member of the Education and the Workforce committee, we passed the PROSPER Act, which will move funding to career technical education to prepare students to fill the 6 million existing job vacancies.

Finally, I am all-out fighting for a permanent ban on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The existing moratorium, passed in 2022, expires on June 30, 2022 and the Interior Department has insidiously determined that seismic and geophysical testing can begin, despite the language of the ban concerning related activities to leasing for drilling. I have argued our case to Republican leadership and will work to get the moratorium extended. Our economy and life style depend on a pristine environment and tourism.

It has been an honor to represent Southwest Florida in Congress and I will continue to work every day to better our community and our nation. Happy New Year!

Francis Rooney is the U.S. Representative for Floridas 19th congressional district. He is the Vice-Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. He previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See under President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2008.
Florida is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. Unfortunately, our governor and state lawmakers are only making matters worse.

Our state leaders continue to engage in a rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul money grab that has contributed to a shortage of affordable housing across Florida.

Dont be confused about the definition of affordable housing. Its not strictly housing for poor people. If you spend more than 30 percent of your income on rent or for a mortgage, your housing is unaffordable.

What used to be a South Florida problem is now popping up in other communities throughout the state. The problem is creeping north to Orlando and Lakeland, where median home prices of $247,000 are rising far faster than the median salaries of $54,000.

The bottom line unfortunately is that fewer Floridians can afford a home. Their salaries simply arent keeping pace with the rising costs of rents and mortgages. State government has a remedy, the William Sadowski Housing Trust Fund which is a state revenue designated for affordable housing. It uses doc stamp surcharges on real estate transactions to help develop more reasonably priced housing in Florida.

Unfortunately, our governor and Legislature continue taking the Sadowski funds intended for affordable housing for other priorities, like pet legislative projects, staff salaries and tax cuts.

In his proposed 2018-19 budget, Gov. Rick Scott recommended taking $154 million from the Sadowski fund to pay for other state expenses.

Floridians need the Sadowski funds to ensure reasonably priced housing costs. Affordable housing provides stability by ensuring employees and businesses that local workers can live near their jobs.

The good news is that Florida can reverse a long and devastating trend of budget hijinks. Communicate with State leaders  Use the Sadowskis estimated $322 million for its intended purpose  affordable housing.

In this upcoming legislative session, state lawmakers should keep the Sadowski funds intact and spend the money on options to stem high-priced housing.

 Paulette Burdick is Palm Beach County Commissioner
BEIJING, Jan. 10 (ChinaMil) -- The new soldiers recruited in 2017 by the Beijing Contingent of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force (APF) completed their three-month military training and will now head to their assigned troops. They will be responsible for performing duties and dealing with emergencies in the key areas of Beijing.

It is the first time that people born after the year of 2000 have joined the military. Those "Post-2000s" have tags including "netizen", "like to order delivery food", "mobile phone game lover" and "live-streaming fan".

These military recruits like to ask a lot of questions, and definitely have internet habits. They are always accessing live-streaming, mobile games and music. They have distinct personalities and a wide range of interests. Their arrival has brought a brand new atmosphere to the military.

Love to ask questions

One of the characteristics of these military recruits born after the year of 2000 is that they like to ask questions. Jiang Heji, a battalion leader of the APF Beijing Contingent, born after the 1980s, said he was surprised when he first heard the question, "Why does our quilt have to be stacked like a tofu piece?" During five years of Jiangs military service, no one has ever asked this question. "We all obeyed unconditionally in the training. No one asked why," said Jiang.

But soon, he received the second question and the third question: "Why do we have to wear our clothes inside the pants?" "Why do we have to sing before we can eat?" "Why can't we blink while standing at attention?"

"They have a lot of thoughts on everything," Jiang said. This is not the same for soldiers born after the 1980s and the 1990s.

Jiang still remembered when he first joined the army, he never said no to his squad leader and never thought about why. The soldiers born after the 1990s he trained had doubts in their eyes but did not express them in words. However, the"Post-2000s" military recruits like to understand why before they do.

Company commander Yu Jian who is responsible for 16 squads has been asked a lot of questions by the"Post-2000s" military recruits.

"The most frequently asked question is why the quilt has to be stacked like a tofu piece,"said Yu. Every time he would explain to new recruits that "quilts are the most basic embodiment of barracks' living standards and the process can also train one's patience."
BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Wednesday urged Japan to deal with the comfort women issue responsibly.

It was reported that Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha of the Republic of Korea (ROK) said Tuesday that the country will set aside its own funds to support the victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery, reiterating Seoul's stance that the 2015 agreement with Japan cannot resolve the wartime crime against humanity.

"We have noticed relevant reports," spokesperson Lu Kang said at a regular news briefing, stressing that China's stance on the comfort women issue remains consistent and clear.

"We hope Japan addresses the concerns of its Asian neighbors and the international community, and properly handles relevant issues with a responsible attitude," Lu said.

"This is not only related to Japan's image, but also to historical justice," the spokesperson said.
Jan 10, 2018 JB

Recently, fraternity from film industry went to Malaysia, did a Natchathira Thiruvizha to collect funds to construct the building for Nadigar Sangam. This has received a lot of flak from the Malaysian people who apparently carried articles criticizing this act of Kollywood.

At this juncture, S Ve Shekar has submitted his resignation as a Trustee from the Nadigar Sangam and has sent his resignation letter to President Nasser. He had also mentioned in the letter that there were many malpractices done towards the coordination of Natchathira Thiruvizha.

He mentions, Nadigar Sangam does not give the same respect that is being given to Rajini and Kamal, to other artists. When Nadigar Sangam approached Ajith to partake in the event, he had expressed his desire not to attend and had also mentioned that he was not in agreement with the idea of taking money from the audience for construction of the building. He said that if all the artists share some money from their earning, they can complete the task.

Ajith Kumar Pictures
File photo

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (ChinaMil) -- A Chinese PLA Navy fleet led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning set sail for its first training in the year of 2018 without releasing any official information in advance.

The fleet's training information was instead unveiled by Taiwan. It disclosed on the afternoon of Jan 4 that the aircraft carrier Liaoning and several warships departed from their homeport and sailed past the Zhoushan island to carry out a long-range cross-sea training voyage.

It also confirmed the next day that the fleet, comprised of aircraft carrier Liaoning and two Type-052C guided-missile destroyers Zhengzhou (Hull 151) and Jinan (Hull 105) attached to the PLA Navy's East China Sea Fleet, had passed in the western part of Taiwan Strait.

There is no confirmation from mainland Chinas military regarding the statements released by the Taiwan media and military. The only certainty is that on Jan. 4, the PLA Navy's official WeChat account released an article saying that a J-15 fighter jet started its training from the aircraft carrier Liaoning at 10:50 on the morning of Jan. 3, 2018.

Chinese military expert Li Jie said in an interview on Jan. 7 that the reason why the Chinese military did not make a high-profile announcement is that such kind of training has been normalized.

The aircraft carrier Liaoning fleet completed three cross-sea training at the end of 2013 and 2016, and in mid-2017. Sailing through the Taiwan Strait is familiar and easy to the fleet. The biggest difference between different stages of aircraft carrier Liaoning's cross-sea training is the different targets.

Li Jie believes that for different combat targets, the aircraft carrier Liaoning's training subjects in different voyages must be different. For example, some training voyages focus on land and sea combat operations while others focus on air defense.

Li also believes that the aircraft carrier fleet this time will use the Miyako Strait and the Bashi Channel to go around Taiwan again on its return trip.

Taiwan media quoted Taiwan military sources as saying that mainland China's aircraft carrier Liaoning is loaded with shipboard aircraft and carries the training personnel of Chinas second aircraft carrier. Li Jie believes it is possible.

The aircraft carrier Liaoning is a research and training ship and therefore there may be some homegrown aircraft carrier personnel on board to learn from the Liaoning ship in preparation for the operation of the new carrier.

Recent Internet photos show that a large number of scaffoldings on Chinas homegrown aircraft carrier have been removed. Li Jie believes that the sea trials of the new carrier will take place before and after the Spring Festival in 2018.

Recently, China's Central Military Commission (CMC) for the first time held a large-scale grand annual military training kicking-off ceremony. Against this backdrop, the training by the aircraft carrier Liaonings fleet must be "carried out under actual combat conditions."

Based on this, Li Jie believes that it is possible for the aircraft carrier Liaoning to launch night-time take-off and landing training in waters of the South China Sea.

It is impossible for the carrier-based aircraft to meet the requirements of "being able to combat and be victorious" without perfecting night time take-offs and landings. The carrier-based aircraft must eventually be able to complete combat missions under complex weather conditions at night. The relatively open sea and airspace of the South China Sea are more conducive to achieving this goal.

The South China Sea has no such limitation in airspace as those of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. The aircraft carrier Liaoning can reach the ideal speed in the vast sea area of South China Sea to provide better night-time landing conditions for shipboard aircraft.

Some analysts believe that the aircraft carrier Liaoning may have been at its maximum speed of 30 knots when sailing through the Taiwan Strait, and that sustained high speed is one of the core performances being tested. The high-speed deck wind is crucial for landings and take-offs of carrier-based aircraft.

Li believes that the speed does not have to be 30 knots and argues that 25 knots is enough. He said the sea conditions in the Taiwan Strait are rather complicated and for safety reasons it is unlikely that the aircraft carrier Liaoning fleet would proceed at 30 knots when sailing through Taiwan Strait.

Another professional analyst said that based on the time of the fleets entering and leaving the Taiwan Strait given by the Taiwan relative department, the fleet was not navigating at a high speed.

A fleet will sail at economic speed unless it is on a combat mission or has another specific purpose, said the analyst, adding that the aircraft carrier Liaoning fleet was on a long-distance cross-sea voyage and its fuel consumption would increase geometrically if at high speed.

The analyst stressed that the high-speed navigation of a large-scale naval fleet is also a military training course. In high-speed navigation, especially under complex sea conditions, the requirements for the power system and other relative aspects are at their highest, thus an aircraft carrier fleet may travel at the speed of 30 knots from time to time, but will definitely not in the whole voyage, the analyst added.
By Li Shuyin

At this time last year when U.S. President-elect Trump was about to enter the White House, people thought that as he had frequently shown his good will to Russia during the presidential election campaign, he would shake hands with Putin, and the tension between Russia and the U.S. would ease, perhaps the two countries might even enter a " honeymoon period."

However, over the past year, the tensions between Russia and the U,S, have not only been alleviated but have somewhat increased in various areas, from "diplomatic war", "media war" to Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty controversy, from Syria, Ukraine to the Baltic Sea.

In the future, the development of bilateral relations will continue to be tested by the Ukraine issue, Syria issue and "Russiagate." Meanwhile, the upcoming Russian presidential election in March this year will also become a touchstone for the relations between Russia and the U.S.

Ukraine issue the biggest obstacle

Because of their different positions, it is always difficult for Russia and the U.S. to find a meeting point on the Ukraine issue. The two countries not only frequently engage in diplomatic disputes but also have encounters between military planes and warships in the Baltic Sea.

Russia insists that the security of the eastern part of Ukraine is a matter of national interest and that Crimea is an inalienable part of Russia. On the other hand, it states that NATO has become the greatest threat to Russias security by enhancing its military deployment in Eastern Europe in the name of supporting Ukraine.

It is obvious that the Ukraine issue has become the biggest obstacle to the improvement of the relations between Russia and the U.S. The U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a recent New York Times article that the relations between the two countries will not be normalized if the Ukraine issue cannot be solved peacefully.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu pointed out at the expansion meeting of the Defense Ministry that since the Ukraine crisis NATO has conducted thousands of exercises targeting Russia on that country's western border, 548 exercises in 2017 alone. To defend its own interests, Russia will continue to support non-governmental militias in eastern Ukraine, continuously strengthen military deployment in the western region, and conduct large-scale military drills to deter the NATO forces deployed in Eastern Europe.

On the other hand, the U.S. has opposed Russia's "acts of aggression" by supporting the Ukrainian government. On the same day as the Russian Defense Ministrys meeting, the U.S. government approved the sale of the M107A1 long-range sniper rifle and related equipment worth $41.5 million to Ukraine to enhance its "defense capabilities" and help "safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry strongly criticized the sale of the weapons to Ukraine as crossing a red line and said that the sale is actually encouraging Ukraine to use force. In protest, the Russian delegates withdrew from the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of Ceasefire and Stabilization of the Line of Separation of Parties (JCCC). Obviously, the Ukraine issue will continue to affect American and Russian bilateral relations.

Hard to make breakthroughs on the Syria issue

Russia's military operation against the extremist organization "Islamic State" in Syria has proceeded smoothly since last year. This progress has infringed on the U.S.s plan of overthrowing the Assad regime but has also expanded Russias influence in the Middle East and created a firm alliance between Russia, Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

In addition, Russia started the Syrian peace talks in Astana without U.S. participation and will hold talks regarding Syria with Turkey and Iran. Russia is having an increasingly greater influence in the Syrian peace process.

At the same time, Russia also urged the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Syria on the ground that "Islamic State" in Syria was basically eliminated. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov has repeatedly stated that the U.S.-led anti-terrorist operations in Syria were illegal because they were not authorized by the Syrian government or the UN.

Gerasimov also said that the U.S. military base and its surroundings in Syria have become a "black hole" where terrorists can move freely., It seems to be proving his words. The Russian Hmeymim air base came under a terrorist attack on Dec. 31, 2017, resulting in the death of two Russian soldiers.

It has also been reported that at least seven Russian military aircraft were destroyed by rebel shelling at the Hmeymim air base in Syria on Dec. 31. Russian media said there was evidence that the U.S. was involved in the incident because it had been training "Islamic State" militants in its base in Syria.

In fact, Russia is confident about gaining dominance in the Middle East. Just two weeks after Putin announced the withdrawal from Syria, he approved the permanent presence of Russian troops at the Hmeymim air base and the Tartus naval base.

It seems that after the elimination of the "Islamic State", the battle between Russia and the U.S. over dominance in Syria and post-war re-construction will intensify.

Russiagate is a knotty problem

Trump has undergone considerable pressure on Russiagate over the past year. Many US political elites have always been uncomfortable with "Russian interference in the US presidential election," and the U.S. Congress will not give up the Russiagate investigation.

Trump has to make some strict moves against Russia to prove his innocence. He has issued a number of sanctions against Russia and appointed people who take a tough stance towards the country to important positions.

The U.S. "National Security Strategy Report" issued on Dec. 18 last year even defined Russia as a strategic rival to the U.S. and said that the U.S. will implement new sanctions against it.

As retaliation against Russiagate the U.S. Democratic Party is preparing to affect the 2018 presidential election in Russia. According to Russian media reports, the U.S. is ready to disclose the status of overseas assets of top Russian officials on the elections eve.

If that is the case, the two countries are official enemies in the general election issue. Putin, who will undoubtedly be re-elected, will certainly not let go. It is foreseeable that Russia and the U.S. will experience various kinds of frictions in 2018.

But both Russia and the U.S. have the will to improve bilateral relations. During last year's G-20 summit in Hamburg, Trump and Putin held long talks. Trump and Putin also shared several phone calls at the end of last year. In addition, the U.S. intelligence department informed Russia of pending terrorist attacks in St. Petersburg and helped Russia avoid a terrorist catastrophe.

However, it takes a river more than one cold day to freeze three feet deep and therefore it takes more than a day to thaw. It will be impossible to improve bilateral relations if the two countries cannot find proper breakthroughs and enough points of interests.

(By Li Shuyin, a female professor with the war research institute of the PLA Academy of Military Science)
BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Soldiers and officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) support the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's decision to transfer Fang Fenghui, a member of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), to the military prosecution authority on suspicion of bribery.

"The decision to transfer Fang's case to military prosecutors shows the CPC Central Committee's clear attitude in ensuring full and strict governance over the Party and the military, and its resolve to fight corruption with zero tolerance," said the PLA Daily in an article Wednesday.

Fang, also former chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, has been transferred to the military prosecution authority on suspicion of offering and accepting bribes, according to a decision by the CPC Central Committee released Tuesday.

"As a high-level Party and military official, Fang shook his ideals and beliefs, abandoned the purpose of the CPC, became politically degenerate, economically insatiable, and completely deviated from the Party's principles," the article said. "Fang betrayed the trust of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC and let the people down, and severely tarnished the image of the Party, the military and leading officials."

The handling of Fang's case is an important part of the efforts to eliminate the pernicious influence of Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, former CMC vice chairmen, according to the article.

The article said that the 19th CPC National Congress had outlined a blueprint for building a strong country with a strong army, and urged strict governance over the Party, and the governing of the military with strict discipline in all respects.

"The cases of Fang and Zhang Yang, both former members of the CPC Central Military Commission suspected of offering and accepting bribes, have deeply warned us," it said.

"Although overwhelming momentum has been achieved in the anti-corruption fight, the situation is still serious and the army has a long way to go in stepping up efforts to improve conduct, building integrity and combating corruption," it said.

"There are no no-go zones; no ground is left unturned; and no tolerance is shown for corruption," the article said, urging the imposition of tight constraints and a tough stance and long-term deterrence in fighting corruption.

"All military personnel, especially leading officials, should learn a lesson from Fang's case, keep loyalty to the Party, maintain and implement a system in which the chairman of the CMC has overall responsibility for the military, and must not be a two-faced person, to strive for the goal of building a strong army in the new era," it said.
In almost every band, there is a laidback fellow that prefers to stay in the background.

DEO MUKUNGU epitomized that role in the years he was with Afrigo band to the extent that whereas his name resonates well with fans, he remains an enigma in spite of being the brains behind the 1989 blockbuster hit, Afrigo Batuuse II. Hassan Badru Zziwa caught up with him recently.

Afrigo band has been in our faces since 1975 and needs no introduction when it comes to their ageless classics and loyal fan base. Several former members of the group have since passed on, leaving Moses Matovu, the band leader, as the sole surviving pioneer in the current cast.

Deo Mukungu performing in 2000

Deceased members such as Godfrey Mwambala, Tony Sengo, Charles Sekyanzi, Fred Kigozi, Albert Atibu (Amigo Wawawa), Paul Serumaga and many others left indelible marks with classic compositions.

However, there is the curious case of Deo Mukungu, a man whose five years with Afrigo yielded the bands signature hit, Afrigo Batuuse II. To date, the band only has to play the opening lyrics to that song and the dance floor will be filled within seconds.

Mukungu was recently in town on holiday from the UK and we linked up on Christmas Eve at his family home in Zana, Bunamwaya to reminisce the good old days of Endongo Semadongo.

Little has changed from the person I last met 26 years ago before he left for the UK though he briefly returned home in 2014. Calm and reserved, he is a man of few words. He exudes confidence with the charm of royalty.

His mother, Juliana, a jolly 92-year-old, could not hide her excitement at having Mukungu around. She often interrupted the chat to remind us how Mukungus father, Gabriel, passed on the musical talent to his son.

The day before, Matovu had introduced Mukungu to Afrigo fans at Club Obbligato amid wild admiration. Many were seeing him for the first time. And when Mukungu stepped up to lead the band in Afrigo Batuuse II, it was nostalgic as the fans went wild.

Mukungu was astonished at the exuberant appreciation.

The spirit of Afrigo is still intact and credit to Matovu for keeping the band at the top, he told me.

Interestingly, whereas Mukungu acknowledges Afrigo Batuuse II turned his life and that of the band around, he credits the collective effort for the success.

I came up with the lyrics, but Afrigo is a band, he said. It was a collective [effort] to put that hit together and thats what we used to do for every song.

Surely, Afrigo Batuuse II set the bar so high, but Mukungu was not a one-hit wonder. His other compositions for Afrigo such as Nantalabikalabika, Onimpe Ninkupe and Ntwalako E Ggaba were popular hits too.

I rate those songs highly but somehow the fans went with Afrigo Batuuse II, he said.

MAKING OF AFRIGO BATUUSE II

The song was inspired by Matovus Afrigo Batuuse I, released in 1978. Both songs have easy-to-sing-along lyrics and start with a danceable mid-tempo rhythm before exploding into a wild instrumental sequence. The theme in both hits showcases Afrigos might and endears them to fans.

However, the difference is that in Afrigo Batuuse II, Mukungu also reflects on the challenges he faced as a budding musician.

The lyrical flow of Taata Nanvuma, Nanvumira Endongo/Maama Nankuba, Lwa Ndongo YAfrigo is a true reflection of the time his parents disapproved of his musical path.

His dad, a trumpeter, endured many frustrations of moving from band to band and did not want his son to join music.

They saw no future in music but I was determined to take up music as a career, he said.

Mukungu composed the lyrics in 1988 when the band used to perform at Little Flowers and Ggaba beach. He sought to involve some of the bands most loyal fans.

If you listen carefully, the names of Sam, Andy, Faridah, Sarah and Kisii feature prominently in the song. Mukungu admits these are Sam Tamale Kapeera, Andy Simon Kaweesa, Faridah Twamulabirawo and Sarah Kizito.

THE MAKING OF MUKUNGU

Born in 1957, Mukungu is the second born of eight children to Gabriel and Juliana Mukungu of Zana, Bunamwaya. His father is best remembered as the trumpeter for the Jumbos band that used to perform in the 1960s and 1970s at International hotel, now Sheraton hotel.

Growing up in the musical family exposed him to music. It was at St Marys College Kisubi that Mukungu set out to follow his musical calling.

We had a school band called Skylacks in which I was the lead vocalist, he recalled.

After high school in 1975, he joined Afros band as a vocalist, which used to perform on weekends at Bristol bar in Nateete.

I did it for the fun and passion of music but was not driven to make money, he told me. It is here that he first got his hands on a bass guitar, which he specialized in when an opening arose. Our bass guitarist called Sekagya often missed performances and this gave me an opportunity to learn the instrument, he said.

Deo Mukungu

Within a year, he had mastered the bass guitar so much so that Peterson Tusubira Mutebi, one of the biggest names in music at the time, persuaded Mukungu to join his group, the Thames. Mukungu filled the void left by a one Kayiwa, who had fallen out with Mutebi.

This was Mukungus first experience with established instrumentalists such as Bernard Gonza (lead guitar), Tom Babi (rhythm guitar), Peter Kabaale (saxophone), Tony Kalanzi (saxophone), Balaba Oduuto Matovu (Congas) and Lawrence Sayiga (drums), among others.

Mukungu was on a Kenyan tour with the band in 1979 when the Idi Amin government was toppled. Due to the unpredictable security situation in Uganda, the group stayed in Nairobi and became a resident band at Small World country club in the suburbs.

When band leader Mutebi returned home in 1980, Mukungu, Kalanzi, Gonza, Kabaale and Sayiga decided to stay there and form Horizon band. Horizon band would later relocate to Mombasa where they linked up with Tony Senkebejje who was performing with Vikings band.

Mukungu returned to Uganda in 1986. I had become weary and fatigued and simply wanted to reignite my career at home, he said.

In 1987, Mukungu approached Matovu to join Afrigo, which was not easy given the array of instrumentalists in the band.

It was quite intimidating to be part of celebrated instrumentalists like Tony Sengo, Herman Sewanyana, Paul Serumaga, Eddie Ganja, Charles Sekyanzi, Godfrey Mwambala, Fred Kigozi, Rashid Musoke and Mansur Bulegeya, among others, he recalled. Luckily, Matovu and my dad were friends. So, he gave me the chance.

It was also a blessing in disguise for Mukungu when Fred Luyomba, the bands longtime bassist, was relieved of his duties due to a drinking problem. Initially, Mukungu concentrated on his guitar but later he started singing cover songs of Lionel Richie and Phil Collins.

All that changed in 1988 when he penned Afrigo Batuuse II.

I discussed the idea with Matovu who helped me to improve the song, he said.

The songs instant success made Mukungu an overnight star.

Fans started showering me with money on stage and even in the streets people started stopping me, he said.

So successful was Afrigo Batuuse II that it became the title song of Afrigos immensely successful Volume 8 album of 1989 which had several big hits such as Speed, Mundeke, Twali Twagalana, Emmere Esiridde, and Saawa Yakusanyuka.

BREAKING OFF

After Afrigos successful 1991 tour of Europe in which the band performed in Denmark and the UK, Mukungu decided to stay in London, where he has settled to date.

Although he has remained quiet musically, Mukungu rejoins Afrigo whenever the band goes on tour in the UK.

He also occasionally performs with London-based Galaxy band alongside former Afrigo band members Noah Kyeyune and Sam Kadhume. Others in the band include Elly Wamalas children James Muwanga and Barbara Wamala.

His sons Daniel and Emmanuel are also heavily involved in music as producers, with Daniel working at Warner Brothers.

WHY AFRIGO REMAINS A STANDOUT IN MUSIC

A popular catchphrase by Afrigo band enthusiasts goes thus: Tugenda mu Ndongo Semadongo, which loosely translates as: Were going to the mightiest in music.

In fact, Afrigos profound might can best be described in the lyrics of Afrigo Batuuse II with the words: Bali bakuba omuziki, nobusolya bubikuka, nemizimu gizukuka, ne bajajja bajaganya. (When Afrigo plays, roofs are ripped off, ghosts come alive and spirits of our ancestors celebrate.)

Since 1975 when Afrigo band was formed, it has withstood the test of time in a way that has surprised even its biggest critics.

Many who have followed the band for years will attest Afrigo is not just a group of entertainers; they are an institution with a set of unwritten rules of etiquette for one to become part of the Afrigo fraternity.

Most importantly, Afrigo dictates what to play and not the other way round like most musicians.

That is why there is a big likelihood of enjoying the same tunes when you go to hang out with Afrigo band at their weekend home of Club Obbligato. A keen person may even spot similar faces among revellers.

From the outside, one may wonder how someone can be glued to the same band week in, week out, listening to the same music.

Deo Mukungu (C) performs alongside Moses Matovu (L) and Abbey Katongole

Is it the bands high level of music that has no match in Uganda? Is it revellers lack of options for live music entertainers? Or could Afrigo just have a charm that attracts and keeps fans?

These are questions I often encounter from bewildered friends who cannot understand my Afrigo craze. My explanations are never satisfactory until the inquirer tags along to Club Obbligato or Guvnor, where the band performs every last Friday of the month. Soon, the inquirer is the one fielding the questions.

I have also noted on several forums how people struggle to understand why Afrigo remains a force playing the same music.

Well, Afrigo and its music are a unique brand. There is nothing like them in Uganda in performance and style. It is almost like a cult. When one falls in love with them, chances are high s/he will not look back.

And contrary to the stereotype that Afrigo mainly appeals to the older generation (ekyabakadde), my observation is that the bands biggest fan base is actually between the ages of 25 and 40.

In fact, it is not rare to find three generations of the same family at the same Afrigo concert, something no other entertainer in Uganda can boast of.

Another widespread falsehood about the band is their lack of new music.

While Afrigo does not play to the hype surrounding new hits, it churns out hits on a regular basis.

Songs such as Ngenze Nono, Katonda Tumusinzenga, Tukiggale, Yantamiza, Ekisaakate, Wacha Waseme, Njagala Olulimi Lwange, Wendi, Twakowa, Akabina and Nkooye, among others, are played regularly; but it goes without saying, fans mostly warm up to their eighties and nineties classics such as Nantongo.

Then again, there is never a dull moment at an Afrigo performance. The ambiance often resembles a reunion of sorts for many in the crowd.

If it is not a family gathering, you will find former schoolmates or workmates converging to enjoy Afrigo. Of course, all this comes down to Afrigos ability to stoke nostalgia.

One has to go to an Afrigo performance to get all the answers one needs.
Unpaid court awards and compensations owed by the government have risen to Shs 676.8 billion in the last financial year, according to the latest Auditor Generals report.

The auditor general, Mr John Muwanga, notes that delays by the government to pay claimants have resulted in interest amounting to Shs 168bn being charged on the national purse as penalty fees.

The outstanding amount in court awards and compensations had been accumulating over the last five financial years from Shs 54.0bn in 2011/2012 to Shs 676.8bn in 2016/17, the audit found.

In certain cases, the interest had more than doubled the principal amounts.

Jennifer Musimenta and husband Michael Mubangizi were awarded Shs 85 million by the High court after Mulago hospital gave them a wrong dead baby last year. They are yet to receive the money

Government has in recent times paid Shs 2.7bn for delayed settlements of obligations arising from contracts for construction services and court awards, the audit also reports. This expenditure, the auditor general said, is considered wasteful as it could have been avoided had these been settled in time.

I noted that the payments are to continue in the near future as a number of obligations have not been fully settled and there are no concrete plans to clear these obligations, the auditor general reported.

There is need for government to have a central database where accounting officers will be submitting the status of these obligations so that government can plan better in terms of prioritising for settlement and also monitoring the causes of these avoidable expenditures.

The audit recommended that accounting officers liaise with relevant authorities for improved funding with a view of minimising penalties and related charges. Meanwhile, the audit found that several government entities failed to meet their tax obligations.

The Income Tax Act 1997 (as amended) sections 119 and 116 require public departments to deduct withholding tax and pay as you earn (PAYE) for onward submission to Uganda Revenue Authority. A number of them, however, never did so.

Government entities also did not pay VAT worth Shs 37.6bn collected from non-registered service providers.

At least Shs 261m of withholding tax was never remitted to the tax body, while Shs 1.1bn in PAYE from their employees was never deducted. They also failed to deduct Shs 87m in withholding tax on suppliers.

The practice not only denies the government revenue for funding the national budget but also attracts penalties and fines which further constrain the cash flows of the affected entities. Failure to settle the taxes may also adversely affect future project financing in the case of donor funded projects, the audit said.

amwesigwa@observer.ug
French prosecutors have opened an investigation into Apple over revelations it secretly slowed down older versions of its handsets.

The Paris prosecutor's office said Tuesday a probe was opened last week over alleged "deception and planned obsolescence" of some Apple products. It is led by the French body in charge of fraud control, which is part of the Finance Ministry.

It follows a legal complaint filed in December by a French consumer rights group that aims to stop intentional obsolescence of goods by companies.

In France it is illegal to intentionally shorten the lifespan of a product in order to encourage customers to replace it. A 2015 law makes it a crime, with penalties of up to two years in prison and fines of up to 5 percent of the company's annual turnover.
The Uganda government has signed another labour agreement with Saudi Arabia, which for the first time allows Ugandan professionals to seek employment in the Arabian Gulf state.

A statement released by the ministry of gender, labour and social development this week said the agreement was signed on December 31, 2017.

Gender and Labour minister Janat Mukwaya, who was on official visit to that country between December 26 and New Years Day, signed on Ugandas behalf while Ali Bin Nasser Al Ghafis signed for Saudi Arabia.

Gender and Labour minister Janat Mukwaya

She had travelled to follow up on earlier labour export commitments made by the two countries over the last two years. Ugandan licensed companies can now recruit both professionals and unskilled workers for export.

We also signed off the amended Labour Agreement on Domestic Workers earlier signed in 2015 to specifically streamline the operations of the labour externalisation sector with focus on fighting against trafficking and violation of workers rights, the statement quotes Mukwaya.

Both countries agreed to step up their labour management and regulation mandates to weed out exploiters and ensure protection of the workers rights.

Permanent Secretary Pius Bigirimana revealed that following the new agreements signing, the Saudi Arabian embassy in Kampala was expected to resume issuing visas for workers.

The embassy stopped issuing labour export visas when we imposed a ban on export of domestic workers on January 22, 2016 in response to reports of violation of their rights. The purpose of the ban was to stop migrant workers from getting into hostile domestic working conditions, Bigirimana said.

We then worked with the Saudi Arabian government and put in place measures to promote safe labour migration and rights of migrant workers. Upon satisfaction, we announced lifting of the ban on April 1, 2017 but the embassy has not been issuing visas for migrant workers. After the new agreements signing, the Saud Arabia government directed that their embassy in Uganda immediately starts issuing visas and we are optimistic this will be affected, Bigirimana said.

kamogajonathan50@gmail.com
For a long time, I have watched with surprise each time our beloved president has attacked the church leaders for speaking out on matters affecting our nation.

These attacks have been propagated by some government functionaries such as Ofwono Opondo, Tamale Mirundi and others. Supposing Church leaders and other theologians said to our politicians that they should not comment on religious matters since it is not their operational area, would anyone take them seriously?

Not at all! No one has a monopoly on religion or politics. Human beings are political in nature, and an in the same way, they are hopelessly religious. Therefore, it is high time Mr Museveni and his government stopped peddling these unschooled utterances that the religious leaders are not supposed to say anything about politics.

While state and governments are creations of the people, religion is not. People can live without governments but cannot live without a religion that answers existential and the afterlife questions.

Don't undermine the role of the Church in society, and I mean real Churches. Look around and see what the Catholic, Anglican and Adventist Churches have done in society.

All Ugandans (including religious leaders) have right to determine how they should be governed. They also have obligations to the nation of Uganda.

In fact, the Church in Uganda has given Mr Museveni a blank cheque for three decades  Thanks to what Mr Museveni referred to in his New Years speech as neglect of what "they ought to have done.

This challenge should awaken the Church to start preaching liberation theology because our country is not yet liberated from the tyranny of the greedy leaders especially the parliament.

In fact, had the clergy executed the church's prophetic mission, Museveni would have retired long ago. Dear Mr President, stop listening to people such as Ofwono Opondo.

And remember the clergy are more schooled than your NRM cadres and they possess ecclesiastical power that is far more lethal than your state machinery.

You talked about sacrifice and yet you know that nobody has ever fought a bloody war for any other reason than seeking power and money. The only person in history who placed his life on the line for others is Jesus Christ. Not you, not any other. You fought for good life, money and power and that is why you still cling on.

I marvel at how you keep talking of safeguarding Africans from impending imperialism! Did Ugandans vote you to be a saviour for Africa or East Africa? Do you really think Botswana needs you? Does the future of South Africa depend on you?

Mr President, Ugandans voted you into power to serve their national interests. Countries do not have friends but interests. Countries relate to others for trade and collective security. The duty of your government is to ensure security of our borders, allocation of resources and the provision of justice.

Therefore, before you tell us about East African Community, we want to see service delivery, we want to see an executive that respects the independence of the judiciary and parliament.

We want to see an orderly country where the police is not a hub of criminals; we want to see motorists respecting zebra crossings; we want to see investigations of murders and assassinations concluded. Only then can you tell us about East African Community.

Mr President, you know very well, there will never be a politically integrated East Africa. Why do you want us to waste our energies on a hopeless venture? Can you show us any region in Africa or even in Europe where political integration of sovereign nations has succeeded? Nowhere!

You ironically accused the clergy of arrogance. Had you been less arrogant, you would not have assented to the ill-conceived and illegally-processed age limit bill. You know it is immoral that the MPs could unthinkingly extend their life in parliament for two years!

And here you are praising these MPs who are even afraid of meeting their electorate! Can't you see that you are being arrogant to fail to listen to the voice of reason?

Arrogance can be treacherous. It can lead one to ignore the norms that direct dominant states in international relations and you end up fighting institutions such as the International Criminal court (ICC) at your own peril.

I am sure you are a bright president who knows international politics; you better not fight such institutions. Humble yourself and live in peace.

The author is a Ugandan living in Brussels, Belgium.
Last year, parliament acrimoniously passed the controversial Constitution Amendment (No 2) Bill of 2017. The bill is now an act after assent by the president.

After its passing, the media reported that NRM MPs held two parties: one in the precincts of parliament and another one in State House on invitation by the president apparently to celebrate their victory.

Seeing these events; two articles by Odrek Rwabwogo popped up in my mind. Through his ideology series in the New Vision, he wrote an article titled: Fragile institutions under the Movement: what is the cause?

In this article, Rwabwogo cautioned about the dangers of leaders who overstay in power. the longer a leader stays, especially one who took power at a time when their nation was in deep turmoil and went ahead to reimagine their society the more the populations (especially the elite that tends to be risk-averse) become wary of the future without these leaders and uncertain of any form of change. When this happens, there is less and less building of institutions.

Another article is titled Are strongmen a hindrance or facilitator to institutional growth, successful political transition?

Here, Rwabwogo reminds us that strongmen tend to have a large appetite for weighing in on every issue small and big before it can be resolved they have exclusivity to rare burst of wisdom or so their handlers say; they act as if they are infallible and all-knowing; they have become fossilized and institutionalized in such a manner that constitutions have to be adjusted for them, not them adjusting to the demands of the law; they issue directives, doll out jobs and money and paralyze reasoning and frustrate inspired actions from followers, making those that they lead heavily dependent

Looking closely at the amendments that the Ugandan constitution has gone through, particularly their timing and the drama involved, one wonders whether some of Odreks comments above are not unfolding in Uganda today!



Kennedy Musekura,

kennedyndeze@yahoo.com.



End greed to promote development



I weep for the liberty of my country when I see how much corruption has been institutionalised in Uganda. The East African Bribery Index 2017 noted the judiciary and police are the most corrupt institutions in Uganda despite them being mandated to promote justice, law and order in the country.

The index further rated two arms of government  judiciary and legislature  as poor. The findings revealed that the citizens believe that the government is not doing enough to fight corruption.

Most times we have noticed that countries that have realised the best economic growth have good governance. And good governance entails freedom of expression and corrupt-free institutions. This is lacking in Uganda.

Building meaningful democracy implies building open societies that share information. Its believed that when there is information, there is enlightenment and when there is debate, there are substantial and sustainable solutions. However, when there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation.

Therefore, corruption is an enemy of development and good governance and we must get rid of it. This is not a one mans fight, or the fight of only the state.

Both the government and the rights holders must come together to achieve this national objective. Moral rejuvenation has to be reemphasised; build confidence and trust in all institutions across the country; sensitise the public about judicial services, among other strategies.



Muhamed Lunyago,

Makerere University.



We need a greener city



The media reported last year that environmentalists are worried as city buildings replace trees. For sure, this concern is timely, not only for the city but the whole country.

However, in the case of Kampala, one is forced to wonder whether city authorities have functional planning departments. Kampala was one of the greenest cities in Africa but because Uganda has been unfortunate to be led by unpatriotic people, we have lost all the green that was planned by colonial masters.

Leaders are busy authorizing construction of new buildings instead of promoting green parks. This must change.

Kennedy Kabonge,

kabongek@yahoo.co.uk.



Why Akena, Mao should resign



From now on for Uganda to move with safety ahead, James Akena of UPC and Norbert Mao of DP should both resign their party leadership positions.

In my opinion, Joseph Ochieno should take over the UPC leadership (interim) while DP should look for a firebrand (retired professional without political baggage from Canada or Europe) Ugandan to lead the party.

The new leadership will start building up new party structures right from the village level. To keep federalism (third way) at a political level, John Ken Lukyamuzi should seek new ideas about federalism from Ugandans with experience from Germany or Switzerland to take over the ruins of his one-man party!

Less of that, politics in Uganda is dead!

Dan Bwanika,

bulemezi@gmail.com.



Whats chewing my mobile data?



On December 31, 2017, I subscribed for 1GB Airtel data and was charged Shs 5,000. I connected my phone to my laptop and within five minutes, I was shocked to get a message that I had already used 70 per cent of the data. The data was depleted three minutes later.

What is this if it is not theft? I had only sent one email with two photo attachments and opened one website just to read. How did I consume 1GB by doing this?

The previous day, I had subscribed for 300MBs and paid Shs 2,000. The same thing happened and my data was depleted within minutes. Why are we being ripped off by telecom companies? Is the regulator concerned about consumer protection on such virtual services?

I felt cheated and I hope Airtel can address this anomaly.



Angry customer,

0702019182.



letters@observer.ug
Writing about wealth, political economist Karl Marx argued that the rich could only become rich after an arguably long period of accumulation. Marxs formula follows that being rich is a result of engagement in some productive activity  for some time.

By implication, the highroad to wealth is defined by both smartness and patience. The investor has to be intelligent enough to keep their workers happy and prevent them from rebellion  as the former appropriates their labour time in the name of profits.

As a young man growing up in the countryside, the wealthy people in our villages were the most intelligent. There were two categories: farmers and public servants. The farmers often owned large coffee or bananas plantations, or had plenty of livestock or both. Either way, they attended to their possessions meticulously.

Since big plantations or livestock never thrived on only family labour, rich people often hired services of migrant labourers  often from south-western Uganda and Rwanda.

But employing people to keep any plantation or livestock productive for years was no small feat. At public functions, whenever these rich farmers were asked to speak, they were not only articulate and witty, they were also humorous, emitting sense through each sentence.

When public service was a productive and respectable industry  especially before the privatisation frenzy  the best brains, who often happened to be medical doctors, veterinary doctors, accountants and senior public administrators, were the rich of the village. Thus, they quickly became local councillors or parish chiefs. In their public appearances, these men were measured in their actions. They were careful in their speech and respectful to their less-fortunate brethren.

They were neither arrogant, nor flamboyant. Although their tastes  in fashion, automobiles, spouses or dishes  were sophisticated, they were never braggadocios. In sum, this well-cultivated public outlook operated in sync and also served to explain their wealth.

When I came to Kampala sometime in the late 1990s, my belief that intelligence equalled wealth became even more concrete. There were no young tycoons  except if this wealth was inherited. The rich men of that time (and most have actually remained rich), Gordon Wavamunno, Aga Ssekalala, BMK, James Mulwana, John Ssebaana Kizito, or Boney Katatumba all kept simple public profiles. They never drove vehicles with personalised plates.

Neither did they spend long night-hours in dim-lit joints ogling womens behinds or gulping inexplicable compounds down their throats. You rarely read about them in the gossip pages of newspapers.

Indeed, they had become rich and famous only in their late 30s and early 40s. In a very Marxist sense, wealth took a bit of time to accumulate. Mark you, this is not romanticising the past, but a portrayal of a general pulse.

In the period that followed the 2001 election, a key shift happened. We were ushered into an era of rich idiots who, like Norbert Maos night dancers, have trouble explaining their wealth.

These are mostly politicians and elite thieves! Most of them are young and poorly-educated. To them, chaos and disorder is standard operating procedure  either with guns or sticks! You find them cruising in expensive automobiles such as Range Rovers and other SUVs from which they dispose of empty water bottles along city streets.

They are impatient to wait in traffic, and since they drive dark-tinted huge cars, they shamelessly drive on the advancing side. Our scrawny underpaid traffic officers fear to touch them. You find them parked on pavements or pedestrian walkways. They build mansions in wetlands or road reserves, unapologetically grab land, and spend like they own Bank of Uganda.

Incidentally, money has a way of sculpting a powerful image for those who have it  including idiots  as their utterances are often backed with (purchasing or political) power. For their money-acquired statuses, our dullards often get media and open-air invites to comment on matters of national importance.

Sadly, these elite gangsters can barely make a coherent speech. Instead, they mumble about their wealth, and chant praises to the government of President Museveni. When cornered, they resort to empty chants about being the majority.

Sometime, they retort: Go to court! gloating over their political advantage with the justice system. But if the French Revolution of 1789 taught the world anything, it was how it dealt with idiocy  of the likes of Marie Antoinette.

The author is a PhD fellow at Makerere Institute of Social Research.
Alligators are infamously fierce creatures and have existed in the primary Crocodylia body form for over 180 million years, making them living dinosaurs. These massive reptiles have adapted in some unusual ways to ensure their long-term survival, and one such adaptation astounded visitors and staff at a North Carolina swamp park this week.

Shallotte River Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach, 200 miles east of the states largest city Charlotte, recently posted a video on Facebook documenting what appeared to be a pond full of dead alligators. A massive cyclone had blown through the state the week before, bringing record lows, and causing the pond to freeze over. Crocodiles arent exactly known for their love of icy waters, so seeing a bunch of snouts sticking out through the ice, youd be inclined to think that the huge reptiles had died. But youd be wrong.

Photo: Shallotte River Swamp Park/Facebook

Apparently, alligators instinctively know when water is about to freeze and stick their snouts above the surface at the right moment while the water turns to ice around them.

They have been around for millions of years, George Howard, the general manager of the park, said of the species. They are one of the only species in existence that is virtually unchanged. And they continue to be good at just surviving. This is just another example of how tough they are.

Similar to many other reptiles, alligators slip into a state of brumation (similar to hibernation) when temperatures dip below a certain threshold. Their breathing and metabolism slow down, and they enter a vegetative state for the duration of the cold spell. Brumation is normal reptilian behavior, but bizarre nonetheless for visitors seeing toothy snouts sprouting from the ice.



Just hanging out in the water, Howard narrated in the video. Pretty amazing.  Look at those teeth. This is the time of year when they are just hanging out, waiting for it to get warm.

The video has been shared many times and received tens of thousands of views on the social media platform. Viewers have inundated the Shallotte River Swamp Park Facebook page with comments and questions regarding the alligators, with many fearing that the animals were dead. Several have asked what would happen if someone were to step on the reptiles in the wild accidentally, but the park staff reassured them. No, they will not respond, they wrote in a Facebook post. They are trying to conserve energy to maintain body temperature.

Alligators faced eradication in the early 20th century, but through efforts by conservationists, the population has sprung back in North Carolina. Most live in the southeastern region of the state but have been recorded by scientists as far west as Richmond County. Shallotte River Park is a 65-acre sanctuary that rescues alligators previously kept in captivity, including two that had been used by drug dealers as guard animals. Alligators prefer the coastal region with creeks, ponds, wetlands, and rivers that provide an extensive and interconnected web of habitats.



When the temperatures rise again, the alligators will wake up and carry on life as before, and Howard hopes to document that as well.
According to a research paper published recently in the Journal of Ethnobiology, several Australian birds of prey have the habit of starting wildfires for the soul purpose of flushing out prey from the blazing grasslands. Interestingly, aboriginals have known about this for over 40,000 years and even have a name for the fire-wielding birds  firehawks.

Australias dry climate makes it prone to wildfires. Lightnings and human activities are considered the main causes, but according to a recently-published research paper, birds may sometimes have a part to play as well. Raptors like the black kite (Milvus migrans), whistling kite (Haliastur sphenurus), and the brown falcon (Falco berigora) can allegedly start fires in the continents 730,000 square miles of savanna by dropping burning sticks in the dry grass to flush out prey like insects, reptiles and small mammals. Whats even more remarkable is that they seem to be doing it on purpose.

Photo: nubobo/Flickr

Ornithologists have long known that birds of prey thrive in wildfire-prone regions. As small birds, lizards and insects emerge from the grasslands in their flight from the approaching blaze, birds of prey just swoop in and feast on them. What they didnt know, however, is that the raptors can apparently cause the fire or spread them to other areas to bring their prey out of hiding.

Black kites and brown falcons come to these fronts because it is just literally a killing frenzy, Australian ornithologist and co-author of the recent research paper, Bob Gosford, said in an interview last year. Its a feeding frenzy, because out of these grasslands come small birds, lizards, insects, everything fleeing the front of the fire.

Gosford became intrigued about the firehawks behavior after a reading a passage from the 1964 book, I, the Aboriginal, an autobiography of Waipuldanya Phillip Roberts: I have seen a hawk pick up a smouldering stick in its claws and drop it in a fresh patch of dry grass half a mile away, then wait with its mates for the mad exodus of scorched and frightened rodents and reptiles. When that area was burnt out, the process was repeated elsewhere.

Photo: CSIRO

And while the Australian ornithologist has yet to witness this behavior first hand, some of the co-authors of the paper already have. Dick Eussen, a veteran firefighter in the Northern Territory, recounts the events of a day he spent putting out fires in the deep outback. Just when he thought he and his colleagues had the fire beat, he saw a whistling kite carrying a burning twig in its talons, and dropping it in the grass, 20 meters ahead of him. That started another blaze. Eussen writes that that day he had to put out seven other flare-ups, all caused by the raptors and their burning twigs.

Were not discovering anything, co-author Marc Bonta, a geographer at Penn State University, told National Geographic. Most of the data that weve worked with is collaborative with Aboriginal peoples Theyve known this for probably 40,000 years or more.

Although many scientists and Aboriginal people have observed the behavior firsthand, there does not yet exist any usable footage of the firehawks in actions. Gosford has searched historical records for years, compiling reports of the fire-spreading birds and has interviewed several eye-witnesses. However, he has not succeeded in finding a single photograph or video of the birds carrying fiery twigs. He and his colleagues chalk this up, in part, to the dangers of attempting scientific research or observation at the edge of a wildfire. They have solicited the public for photos, and they hope to document the behavior in the field later this year, by studying a series of controlled burns administered by firefighters.

Photo: Athena Ferreira/Wikipedia

The more word gets out on this, the better, said Bonta said. Its only a matter of time.
A man of Indian origin has become the first person to lose U.S. citizenship as part of a stepped-up government crackdown on foreign nationals who have illegally obtained naturalization.

Federal prosecutors said Baljinder Singh, 43, who entered the U.S. in 1991 without travel papers, failed to disclose a deportation order against him when he applied for U.S. citizenship through marriage to an American citizen.

On Jan. 5, a federal judge in New Jersey, where Singh lives, revoked Singh's citizenship, reverting his status to lawful permanent resident and potentially leaving him subject to deportation, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Singh's attorney could not be immediately reached. In a statement, the Justice Department said the case was the first to arise from Operation Janus, a Department of Homeland Security initiative that has identified about 315,000 immigrants whose fingerprints are missing from government databases. "Among those cases, some may have sought to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in the naturalization process," the department said.

Singh's denaturalization is part of a "growing body of cases" referred to the Justice Department by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the department said, without providing a figure.

The U.S. immigration agency plans to refer about 1,600 additional cases under Operation Janus for possible denaturalization. In 2017, the Justice Department filed 25 civil denaturalization cases, according to a department spokesman. No figures were available for 2016 or 2015.
North and South Korean officials met in the border truce village of Panmunjom on Tuesday and agreed that North Korean athletes will take part in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

North Korea will also send a delegation of cheerleaders and observers. The two sides also agreed to hold military talks but failed to agree on talks to resume the reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea's chief delegate Ri Son-gwon complained about South Korean media reports about the North's nuclear weapons program.

Ri said the reports are "extremely regrettable" since North Korea's nuclear weapons are "thoroughly aimed at the U.S." He added that the talks got off to a good start, but the outcome "leaves something to be desired."


Tokyo flew into a fury on Tuesday after Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha confirmed that a 2015 deal to compensate Korean wartime sex slaves "cannot be a genuine solution to the issue."

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the 2015 deal was struck by the foreign ministers of the two countries, confirmed by the leaders of the two countries, and supported by the international community, including the U.S.

"We are not thinking of moving even a millimeter" on the deal, Suga said. The Japanese Foreign Ministry also said it "can't accept" Kang's statement.

Kang told reporters that Seoul will not seek to renegotiate the deal, which was struck in murky circumstances by the Park Geun-hye administration, but will also use its own money rather than the 1 billion yen paid by Japan to compensate the victims.

"What the victims have consistently wanted is a spontaneous and genuine apology" from Japan, Kang added.

That struck a particular nerve in the chauvinistic Japanese government, which was pleased that the deal let it off admitting full government responsibility for drafting thousands of women into sexual slavery for the Imperial Army in World War II.

"We can't accept Korea's request for us to do more, even though the two countries confirmed that the deal was final," Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said. "It's an international and universal principle that a promise by a country should be kept responsibly despite changes of government."

Korea has admitted that the deal is legal, but a Foreign Ministry inquiry here last month found it "seriously flawed" and said some of the Park administration's concessions were kept secret and the victims were never consulted in the run-up.

Kyodo News said Seoul's plan to pay the victims with its own money is aimed at "watering down" the deal. "I want to get a correct understanding" of what Kang meant, Kono said referring to her baffling attempt to square the circle. "Japan has kept up its side of the deal."


Opalesque Industry Update - Alex Wilmerding has been promoted to Partner at Pantheon. Alex joined Pantheon nine years ago and has demonstrated considerable commitment to both the investment and business development areas of our business. Based in Hong Kong, Alex is a member of the Asia investment team and has responsibility for client relationships in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding South Korea. Promotions are effective January 1st, 2018. Thirty-one professionals across the firm's teams and offices have been promoted, including Mark Etchin, Cullen Wilson, Calvert Bauer, Jack Farr, Welwin Lobo and Ali Sangari in our global investment team. Additionally, to reflect business expansion and their broadening roles, certain title changes have been implemented: Jinman Kim becomes Managing Director and Head of South Korea; Paul Jones becomes Chief Technology Officer. Ria Shah transfers from the RFP team to the Global Infrastructure & Real Assets team where she becomes Product Specialist. "These promotions and title changes recognize the breadth and depth of talent we are proud to possess across Pantheon. The success of our firm and our clients depends on the commitment and dedication our professionals make every day and I congratulate everyone on their thoroughly deserved promotion. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our clients for their support and enduring partnership, and the entire Pantheon team for their continued hard work as we look forward to a busy and productive 2018," said Paul Ward, Pantheon Managing Partner. The firm has also made two senior appointments. David West joins Pantheon as Global Head of Operations from his previous position as Director and Head of Operations at Cardano and will report to Paul Ward. "We are delighted to be joined by David West who brings extensive experience of leading operations for asset management clients through his roles at Cardano, Brown Shipley and BNP Paribas Security Services. His relevant expertise will further enhance the robust operational framework we have built over our multi-year presence in the global markets. We look forward to introducing David to our clients," said Paul Ward. Tom Clarkson joins as Principal in the U.S. Client Service team. Tom will be based in Austin, Texas, focused on Pantheon's U.S. institutional client markets. "I would like to extend a warm welcome to Tom, who is a seasoned professional and brings many years of client relationship management experience with him through senior roles at Dimensional Fund Advisors and Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, subsequent to a 12-year career as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps. He will further enhance our strong relationship management team here in the U.S." commented Susan Long McAndrews.
26,701 new COVID cases in Kerala after 1.55L tests on Sunday

With this, the number of active COVID cases in the state fell to 2,47,791. Of the new cases, 25,481 contracted the virus through contact while 96 came from outside the state.
Thursday 11 January 2018 11:14am



An international team of researchers have uncovered new findings about Mediterranean populations in the 3rd and 5th centuries. Photo: supplied.

Important new clues about population mobility in the Mediterranean between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE have been uncovered by an international team of researchers, co-led by a University of Otago academic.



Professors Lisa Matisoo-Smith, of the Universitys Department of Anatomy, and Pierre Zalloua of the Lebanese American University, led a team studying DNA from four ancient Phoenician and Punic burial sites in Lebanon and Sardinia.



Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith.

They looked at mitochondrial genomes, which are maternally inherited, in a search for markers of Phoenician ancestry.



Their results, just published in the journal PLoS ONE, indicate that Phoenician trade networks and settlement strategies included both assimilation of indigenous women in Phoenician sites as well as the introduction of foreign women, not only from other Phoenician settlements but possibly from further afar.



Continuity of population ancestry between Phoenician and pre-Phoenician people in Sardinia is consistent with archaeological evidence of integration between the cultures.



"We also found mitochondrial DNA that was likely from North Africa or the Near East and even a lineage that is from Northwestern Europe, which today is found at high frequency in southern Ireland  a location linked to Phoenician traders in search of tin, says Professor Matisoo-Smith.



One individual buried in a Phoenician tomb in Beirut was even found to have Western European mtDNA lineage.



Professor Zalloua points out that this DNA evidence reflects the inclusive and multicultural nature of Phoenician society.



"They were never conquerors, they were explorers and traders, he says.



Professor Matisoo-Smith believes the research reveals a lot about Phoenician societies across the Mediterranean.



"They were inclusive and integrative of the indigenous peoples and there was much mobility, often over great distances, around the Phoenician networks. It is also likely that mobility included women as well as men, despite the fact that Phoenician trade was male-dominated.



"It also shows us that identity is a cultural phenomenon; most of the samples that we have are culturally Phoenician (they were buried as Phoenicians), but genetically, they are diverse.

One of the great ancient civilizations, Phoenician culture emerged from the coastal city states in what is now Lebanon and Southern Syria around 1800 BCE. By the 9th century BCE Phoenicians had spread across the Mediterranean, establishing settlements on the islands and coasts of North Africa, Spain, Italy (e.g. Sardinia and Sicily), Malta and Cyprus.



From the middle of the 8th century BCE, pressured to provide silver and other metals to the Assyrian Empire, the Phoenicians looked to the west and dominated trade on the Mediterranean Sea for centuries.



Publication details:

Ancient mitogenomes of Phoenicians from Sardinia and Lebanon: A story of settlement, integration, and female mobility.



E. Matisoo-Smith, A. L. Gosling, D. Platt, O. Kardailsky, S. Prost, S. Cameron-Christie, C. J. Collins, J. Boocock, Y. Kurumilian, M. Guirguis, R. Pla Orqun, W. Khalil, H. Genz, G. Abou Diwan, J. Nassar, P. Zalloua.



https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190169

For further information, please contact:

Lisa Matisoo-Smith

Professor of Biological Anthropology

Department of Anatomy

University of Otago

Email: lisa.matisoo-smith@otago.ac.nz



OR



Professor Pierre Zalloua

Lebanese American University

School of Medicine

Lebanon

Email: pierre.zalloua@lau.edu.lb
A local womans inclusion on Forbes coveted list of 30 entrepreneurs under 30 who will shape the beverage choices of Americans in 2018 brought her more than publicity. It most certainly speeded up a marriage proposal.

The magazine was looking beyond food fads like frozen yogurt and creative cupcakes to lasting trends backed by sound business planning.

Enter Laura Johnson, 26, whose You & Yours Distilling Co. opened last March at 1495 G St. in downtown San Diego. Her distillery started with two craft spirits, a Sunday Gin and a You & Yours Vodka  distinctive because they are distilled from grapes, rather than grains or potatoes. But, beyond that, her goal was to turn her distillery into a welcoming destination with a tasting room and event space accommodating pop-up dinners and food truck visits.

(Robbin Watson )

Johnson had tapped into her passion while on vacation in Havana, Cuba, when, on a whim, she visited a distillery. At the time, she was a University of San Diego economics student.

In addition to her courses, she pursued a sommelier program and began educating herself in the hospitality and spirits industry while working at The Flight Path in San Diegos Little Italy. After graduating from USD in 2014, she enrolled in distillery school in Washington state then took a master distillers program in Kentucky.

She says the biggest change in her life since Forbes recognition was that her business partner, Luke Mahoney, asked her to marry him. With all that publicity, he had to lock it down, she jokes. The couple is working on expanding their spirit line.

Read Diane Bells full column here.

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USD grad brings new distillery to East Village

San Diego gets into the spirit with craft distillery tours
Norpac Praises U.S. Department of Commerce Move to Slap Duties on Canadian Papermakers Norpac CEO Craig Anneberg said that the DOC's decision affirms that Canadian uncoated groundwood papers benefit from significant levels of government subsidies. Norpac alleged that Canadian paper companies benefit from 65 different subsidies that add up to hundreds of millions of dollars. Jan. 10, 2018 (The Daily News) - In a victory for Norpac (North Pacific Paper Company)  and potential blow to local newspapers  the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday that it will start imposing preliminary antidumping and countervailing duties on Canadian paper producers. The move comes in response to a petition filed in August in which the Longview papermaker alleged that Canadian paper manufacturers hold an unfair advantage over domestic producers. Norpac claimed that Canadian paper companies benefit from 65 different subsidies that add up to hundreds of millions of dollars. Today's affirmative decision by the Department of Commerce confirms that Canadian uncoated groundwood papers benefit from significant levels of government subsidies, Norpac CEO Craig Anneberg said in a press release. What the U.S. uncoated groundwood papers industry wants is a level playing field, and this decision is an important step forward for American producers, workers and their families that have been the victims of unfair Canadian trade practices for too long. The federal and provincial subsidies include government grants, tax breaks, subsidized loans, raw materials at below-market costs and cheap subsidized electricity, according to Norpac. A Commerce investigation found that Canadian uncoated groundwood paper  the same product used to print newspapers  was subsidized by an average of 6.53 percent, Norpac said Tuesday. Anneberg told The Daily News that it's too early to say how the duties will affect the company's paper mill in Longview. There will be no immediate change to our production, he said Tuesday. Commerce is expected to release . . . go to the full story at The Daily News SOURCE: The Daily News (Longview, Washington)
Get ready to hear of the pay gap to end them all. After claims of Kevin Spacey's repeated sexual abuse of young men emerged, director Ridley Scott opted to re-shoot the former All the Money in the World star's scenes with Christopher Plummer, rather than can the film altogether. Despite Scott's original claims that all the actors did the re-shoots for free, it turns out they didn't. Like really, really didn't.

Related | Kevin Spacey Allegedly Tried to Sexually Assault a 14-year-old Anthony Rapp

In fact, Wahlberg would only get out of bed to fly back to Europe during Thanksgiving week for $1.5 million, sources told USA Today. Co-star Michelle Williams, however, was offered $80 per diem  which came to the grand total of $1,000. For those of you quick with numbers, that comes to less than one percent of Wahlberg's takings. Not 80 percent, not 50 percent, not even a full one percent, but 0.6 percent of her male counterpart's salary.

Williams also told USA Today she was so grateful for the fact Scott was willing to denounce a known sexual predator and save the film, she was happy to do whatever she was asked.

"I'd be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me," she initially told USA Today. "And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort."

And we're not the only ones shaking with anger. Jessica Chastain and Amber Tamblyn have both come out in full force.

But wait there's so much more. To make things even more inconceivable, Williams and Wahlberg are reportedly signed to William Morris Endeavor Agency, who would have no doubt negotiated both stars' salaries.

Let's just leave it at Casey Ciprani, who summarizes our collective rage perfectly:

Seems like time might not quite yet be up.

Image via Getty


In case you weren't already excited enough for the new Black Panther trailer, the first teaser for the film is here to fuel your fire.

In the minute and a half of pure adrenaline, Andy Serkis is introduced as Ulysses Klaue, an arms dealer based in South Africa looking to take Wakandan king T'Challa and his nation down, while Martin Lawrence reprises his Captain America role as CIA agent Everett Ross. We also see our first glimpses of Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger, Daniel Kaluuya and your fave and mine, (queen) Lupita Nyong'o.

Related | Let Kendrick Lamar and SZA Blow Your Mind With 'All The Stars'

If all that action wasn't quite enough for your heart to handle, we also hear just a little hint more of Kendrick Lamar's expertly-curated soundtrack for the move, this time in the shape of a Vince Staples collab with the rapper. The song follows the release of Lamar's reunion with SZA on "All The Stars," created for the film.

Watch the trailer below and gear yourself up for Black Panther's release on February 16.
Kicking off the new year right, Rick Owens has revealed his own version of last year's $900 Balenciaga "ugly sneaker" with a subversively redesigned Birkenstock.

The already iconically ugly two-strap sandal was given special treatment by Owens, who added fabrics like felt, longhair cow fur and full-grain leather to create a shoe so gross it's great.

"Just a fashion designer would be less relevant," said the company's chief executive Oliver Reichert. "Rick Owens, however, is different. We collaborated in architecture, design and fashion."

Reichert says the brand doesn't consider itself part of the fashion system. "We are beyond fashion but we're relevant to it as an iconic classic, a genuinely universal wardrobe staple," he said. The purpose of the Box project to show Birkenstocks in a new light. "The versatile mobile structure is like a blank canvas and all our partners make this a meaningful venture."

Owens told BoF that he likes the German footwear brand because it promotes "steady longevity and personal well being." Birkenstock considers Owens to be no slouch either. "Just a fashion designer would be less relevant," the company's chief executive Oliver Reichert said "Rick Owens, however, is different."

And lest you think Birkenstock isn't aware of its role in the culture, Reichert added, "We are beyond fashion but we're relevant to it as an iconic classic, a genuinely universal wardrobe staple."

The shoes are available as part of Birkenstock's mobile pop-up series, Box, headed to Los Angeles in April. So grab some granola and a dad cap to pair with your new ugly-chic sandals, 'cause they're definitely a must cop if you're into that sort of thing (we sure are).

Image via Birkenstock/Rick Owens


How much do you love Mary-Kate Olsen? Sure, you may have indulged in a little When in Rome or Passport to Paris, your parents may have gifted you the new Elizabeth James fragrance for Christmas, but do you really love Mary-Kate Olsen? Enough to give up all false idols and worship Mary-Kate and only Mary-Kate as your God? I should hope so, because a new worship service exclusively for Mary-Kate Olsen is coming to Brooklyn.

"Mary-Kate Olsen Is Our God" will take place tomorrow night and only costs $5 for what is bound to be a truly immersive Mary-Kate experience at Brooklyn's underground club/theater Cloud City. Creators/pastors Natasha Vaynblat, Jessie Jolles, and Katie Hartman have had the concept in the works for a long time.

The Olsen-obsessived told i-D that 2018 was the year to pay Mary-Kate the tribute she deserves after hearing someone in a coffee shop criticizing Mary-Kate for not reprising her role as Michelle Tanner in Fuller House.

"We were in shock and horror, how could someone forget all the love and movies that Mary-Kate had given us?" Jessie said. "How dare they ask her to share a role again with her twin! She needed to honored, she needed to be worshiped."

While co-founder Vaynblat was born in Russia and learned American culture via Kirstie Alley-classic It Takes Two, Jolles embraces a new cinematic version of Mary-Kate everyday.

"We always say you are in some state of Mary Kate everyday," Jolles said. "Some days you're straight to VHS style and don't feel like dealing with 'the man' telling you what kind of videos you can make. Then other days you might be Billboard Dad and feel like giving back!"

Hartman told i-D that now is the best era of Mary-Kate, particularly given her and Ashley are no long indistinguishable and each have their own projects on the go. "She's officially separated from that twin (of whom we DO NOT SPEAK) and found herself an old French man. It's every little girl's dream!"

Head down to Cloud City tomorrow night, January 10, at 8 pm to share your love for Mary-Kate Olsen yourself  but leave your Ashley Olsen fandom at the door.

Image via Getty


A new analytical report published today reveals that iOS performance in urban China continues to impress, gaining 4.6 percentage points over the same time period to give it a market share of almost 25%.

Dominic Sunnebo, Global Director for Kantar later notes in his report that "On the surface Apple's share figures for the three months to November struggle to impress, but taking into account the staged releases of the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X there are some strong performances.

In Great Britain, Apple achieved its highest share in more than three years in the month of November, taking it to 49.4% and easily regaining the number one sales position from Samsung.

The iPhone X was the best-selling model in Great Britain in November, with a 14.4% share of sales, though as the most expensive mass-market smartphone currently available it remains to be seen how long it can maintain this momentum at its current price point of 999.

In the USA, the iPhone X was outsold by the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in the month of November but did round off the top three best-selling models for the month, easily beating the top Samsung model, the Galaxy S8, which is in sixth position.

The iPhone X was the top selling Smartphone in Japan in November, commanding an 18.2% share, closely followed by the iPhone 8 at 17.2% share.

Meanwhile, in urban China, demand for the iPhone X has exceeded all expectations, as Dominic Sunnebo explains, "Apple was riding on the back of some momentum before the iPhone X release but demand for latest model in urban China has been staggering given its price point."

The Kantar report further noted that "Apple is now back on form  the iPhone X was the top selling model in urban China in November, with a market share of 6.0%."

This revelation supports a note made by Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty in December wherein Morgan Stanley had put Apple as their top tech pick for 2018 because of the iPhone X is a hit in China.

Of course not all is perfect, as the report noted that iOS market share fell by 3.8 percentage points in the USA to 39.8%. In Europe iOS market share was stable.





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Last July Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple to Comply with China's Cyber Security Law by Partnering with 'Guizhou-Cloud' to Set Up new Data Center." The report noted that Apple was setting up its first data center in China, in partnership with a local internet services company, to comply with tougher cyber-security laws introduced in June 2017. At the time Apple was quick to point out that "No backdoors will be created into any of our systems." Well, that's obviously changed with a new rather disturbing announcement made today by Apple.

In a new report by the BBC, the reveal that Apple's iCloud services will be operated in China by a Chinese company beginning on February 28. Apple has contacted its customers in China advising them to examine new terms and conditions. Specifically Apple noted that "They include a clause that both Apple and the Chinese firm will have access to all data stored on iCloud.

Apple said it had made the move to comply with the country's cloud computing regulations.

Having domestic control over mainland Chinese iCloud accounts will delight the Beijing authorities, who have been pushing to oversee Apple's software presence in the country for months.

Government media have been exerting increased pressure on Apple to operate in line with China's strict media regulations, or else be forced out of the market.





Apple's Tim Cook spoke at a technology conference in China last month (click on photo above to enlarge). It was reported by 9to5Mac at the time that "Apple and Tim Cook are again under fire for their relationship with the Chinese government. Following criticism from Senators Ted Cruz and Patrick Leahy, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida today slammed Tim Cook for his appearance at the state-run World Internet Conference."

Business Insider also published a report on this titled "The CEOs of Apple and Google spoke at a conference that critics say makes them 'complicit actors in the Chinese censorship regime'."

When the original report about Apple's move in Gouizhou was made, I don't think anyone thought that it would move to Apple having to allow their customer's data being accessed by authorities. This is disturbing and will have critics tearing Apple apart for compromising customer data. In fact it's hypocritical to the nth degree.



Some could now make the argument that Apple's stance on privacy just went out the window. It could also open the door for the FBI to make a legal case that they too should have access to Apple's customer data via the cloud on demand like in China. With the new FBI director pounding the table at a security conference yesterday over the problems with smartphone encrypted data, today's news from Apple could open a new door for the Government's case against Apple and encryption in general.







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Back in mid-May of last year, FBI Director James Comey commented on the fight against smartphone encryption: "How can we optimize the privacy, security features of their devices and allow court orders to be complied with. We're having some good conversations  I don't know where they're going to end up, frankly. I could imagine a world that ends up with legislation saying that if you're going to make devices in the US you figure out how to comply with court orders." Now that same fight is being taken up by the new FBI Director, Christopher Wray.

A new Reuters report covers statements made yesterday by FBI Director Christopher Wray at a cyber security conference: "The inability of law enforcement authorities to access data from electronic devices due to powerful encryption is an 'urgent public safety issue.' FBI Director Christopher Wray seeks to renew a contentious debate over privacy and security.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was unable to access data from nearly 7,800 devices in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 with technical tools despite possessing proper legal authority to pry them open, a growing figure that impacts every area of the agency's work, Wray said during a speech at a cyber security conference in New York.

The FBI has been unable to access data in more than half of the devices that it tried to unlock due to encryption, Wray added.

'This is an urgent public safety issue,' Wray added, while saying that a solution is 'not so clear cut.'

"We face an enormous and increasing number of cases that rely heavily, if not exclusively, on electronic evidence," Wray told an audience of FBI agents, international law enforcement representatives and private sector cyber professionals. A solution requires "significant innovation," Wray said, "but I just do not buy the claim that it is impossible."

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in October chastised technology companies for building strongly encrypted products, suggesting Silicon Valley is more willing to comply with foreign government demands for data than those made by their home country.

Currently, U.S. lawmakers have expressed little interest in pursuing legislation to require companies to create products whose contents are accessible to authorities who obtain a warrant." Yet at some point this will come to a head, forcing lawmakers to make an unpopular descision. Until then, technology companies, and especially Apple, have won the public debate hands down.

In February 2016, Apple posted "A Message to our Customers" wherein Apple's Tim Cook stated that "The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers." The message covered the need for encryption, the San Bernardino terrorist case, the threat to data security and the government's dangerous precedent.

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After years of never ending negotiations to get the right to open Apple Stores in India may have come to a positive conclusion. It's being reported today that India has just made it much easier for brands such as Apple and the Gap to sell to its 1.2 billion people. The Indian government announced Wednesday that global single-brand retailers will no longer need its permission to own and operate stores in the country.

Foreign companies previously needed government approval to own more than 49% of an Indian retail operation, leading many to partner with Indian companies or rely on local distributors and franchises.

The relaxation of restrictions on retail investment could benefit the Indian economy in other ways.

"Allowing foreign brands to directly invest in retailing in India will improve customers' shopping experience and push Indian retailing companies to upgrade their services and offerings," Ahmed Timoumi, a professor of marketing at the Indian School of Business, told CNNMoney.

In July Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple is Designing their Largest Retail Stores ever for India with Enough Class to make them Tourist Attractions." The report noted that Apple was reportedly planning to open their largest Apple's Stores to date in India in terms of raw footage. The Indian report notes that the first Apple Stores in India will be between 10,000 and 15,000 square feet or roughly double the size of other global stores.

It was further noted that two senior industry executives told the Indian publication that the designs would rely heavily on glass like many of Apple's new stores, like the one under construction in Chicago or Apple's classic Fifth Avenue store in New York. And finally it was noted that the stores would be the biggest single brand electronic stores in India.

Perhaps now Apple could put those plans into action so that the next iPhone release in India could be supported by a phenomenal new flagship design to excite current and future Apple fans with fantastic service and training sessions.

It's definitely great news to kick off 2018.

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Yesterday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Rumor 101 Claims that Samsung has developed a firm Schedule to begin manufacturing a Super-Premium Foldable Smartphone." Today a new report elaborates on what Samsung's CEO, mobile division, said about the foldable smartphone and more.

In a news conference at CES 2018, Samsung's mobile division CEO Koh Dong-jin confirmed, as expected, that their new Galaxy S9 will be introduced at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona 2018 which kick-starts on February 26. Samsung usually holds a special Galaxy Smartphone event the day before the trade show kicks off in New York. He hinted that the new S9 is likely to hit the market in late February.

When asked about the timing of their rumored foldable smartphone, Koh stated that "We are working hard on the foldable phone. We are preparing for an impeccable product that will dominate the market in the long run.

Samsung appears to be relying on the history of their first phablets having a huge lead over Apple who was stuck on smaller screens that could be controlled with one hand and a user's thumb.

Apple missed the initial shift to Phablets and Schiller actually mocked the phablet in a keynote in 2012. It was embarrassing to see Schiller thinking that he and Apple had outsmarted Samsung because they understood the power of the thumb.

In describing Apple's new iPhone 5, Phil Schiller stated that "It is really easy to make a new product that's bigger. Everyone does that. The challenge is to make it better and smaller.





That was then, and history is unlikely to repeat itself. Apple already has foldable iPhone patents on record along with a few other types of smartphones such as a scrollable design and beyond to ensure they're not caught flatfooted again.





So Samsung's belief that their future foldable smartphone will allow them to dominate the market in the long run, is just marketing hyperbole.

On another front, Samsung critics pointed out at the news conference that Bixby failed to clearly understand users' voice commands or respond to their questions. They also quoted a report by Strategy Analytics who reduced Bixby's market share potential to 5.4 percent by 2022 while its Chinese and US rivals will see theirs rise.

Koh replied by saying that "We will apply Bixby to all of our new smart devices by 2020. Given Samsung sells around 500 million units of devices every year, Bixby can be much smarter in the future based on machine learning technologies."

Koh added that "While most AI-powered voice recognition technologies are developed by non-hardware firms and try to be personal assistants, Bixby is more focused on integrating with devices," and noted that Samsung is far ahead in devices -- smartphones, digital devises and appliances.

Samsung also tried to steal another of Apple's famous lines during the news conference by stating that "Samsung is the only company that has both hardware and software capabilities."





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The Guinness Osagyefo Campaign earned Vizeum Ghana, together with the Dentsu Aegis Network Sub Saharan Africa Hub team and Guinness Ghana, two Leader Awards.



An African media first, the teams were awarded the Leader Awards in the Mobile Marketing and Social Media categories at the Assegai Integrated Marketing Awards that took place in Johannesburg, South Africa.



Why the Guinness Osagyefo Campaign was a success?



Ghana celebrated 60 years of independence in 2017. To celebrate this, Guinness created a limited-edition bottle, featuring iconic Ghanaian figures and landmarks.



Guinness ran promotions to mark the celebration with free Wi-Fi, discounts and prizes. To drive footfall to these events, the team used geo-targeted Facebook ads  an African Media First.



This was the first time that a beer brand in Africa has run a geo-targeted Facebook campaign.



Urban Ghanaians are very social online and in bars; but it can be difficult to coordinate plans with friends. The team saw an opportunity to help consumers to make the most of their evening by presenting Guinness experiences close to them, and sharing directions to the party.



The main objective was to drive Reach; allowing the team to spread awareness in proximity to bars which were running promotions and drive footfall leading to increased sales.



The Results:



- 2.3 million people over 18 years old were reached.

- Brand equity, spontaneous awareness and dynamism scores all increased during the campaign.

- The uplift in sales during the promotion was 46% higher in bars that were geo-targeted with Facebook ads.

- The campaign contributed to increase in sales of 103% YoY for April compared to 2016.



Our media-first thinking approach to strategy implementation requires a greater understanding of media connections in a communication plan across the ecosystem that incorporates all media touchpoints and this contributed greatly to the success of the campaign says Emmanuel Odoom, General Manager for Vizeum Ghana.



As an iconic brand in Ghana, the Guinness team wanted to celebrate Ghanas culture, heritage and history with the rest of the nation as part of the [email protected] celebrations. Our special Osagyefo bottle was designed to recognise all the incredible individuals across the country who have demonstrated their Made of Black spirit over the last 60 years. We joined forces with the teams to find innovative ways to engage with consumers throughout the celebrations and it is great to have been recognised for the hard work by all of the team. says Lebogang Babe, Marketing Manager for Guinness.



The Assegai Awards, acknowledges and awards those whose Integrated Marketing campaigns deliver exceptional results.



The Leader award is based on the final audited campaign scores based on the overall creative concepts, including; copy, graphics and production quality, marketing strategy and results.



Leaders are the entries that could qualify in terms of their final audited scores for an Assegai award.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former President John Dramani Mahama says he will not shy away from supporting any other member the National Democratic Congress (NDC) elects as its 2020 candidate if he is not the one.



In an interview on GTV on Tuesday, the two-time leader of the NDC says he has not yet decided to run. For now, he says, he is enjoying his less stressful life, especially at home.



The largest opposition party is expected to elect its 2020 flagbearer by the close of this year.



Mr Mahama, who ruled Ghana from July 24, 2012 to January 7, 2017, has a chance of serving as president again for a four-year term despite losing the previous elections.



But he told GTVs Abdul Moomen on Moomen Tonight that he does not want to make any announcement on his political future because that will disrupt the heavy lift of reorganizing the party from the polling station level.



He says if he declares that he will stand, attention will be shifted from the reorganization process and if he declares otherwise too, there will be power struggle among the interested members, who may not help in the healing process.



But Mr Mahama was modest to say that there are some members of the party who are more qualified than himself to lead the party though they have not shown interest in running for the presidential primary.



He said that ultimate responsibility of choosing a candidate for the 2020 elections lies in the hands of delegates.



He, therefore, insisted that peradventure one of the aspirants is elected, he will wholeheartedly support that person, to the extent of campaigning with the fellow in the various regions.



Start-stop, start-stop



Mr Mahama was on the show to discuss the Silver jubilee of the Fourth Republic.



He was the fourth president of the Republic, having continued a tradition of Johns in power.



He was concerned, however, that the spirit of making government a continuum is mostly absent as successive administrations halt projects initiated by their predecessors.



This start-stop, start-stop will not get the country there, he observed.



The former president did not mince words by fingering the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the party noted to halt projects initiated by previous administrations.



Projecting into the next 25 years of the current dispensation, Mr Mahama advised Ghanaians to join in the sustenance of the democratic path taken.



I will tell all our people that we have no other country than Ghana.



He said the economic gains made in the Fourth Republic surpass any other eras in the history of the country and it behoves on the media to tell some of the positive stories.



The media should help us. It is not everything that is a failure here.

Source: 3news.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Audio Attachment: Listen to Samuel Ofosu Ampofo

NDC National Vice Chairman Samuel Ofosu Ampofo has chided President Nana Akufo-Addo for preaching virtue to Ghanaians while he practices vice.



Contributing to a panel discusson on Peace FM's Kokrokoo, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo, who was obviously unhappy about the President's disposition stated categorically that he has turned himself into a "walking contradiction".



According to him, the President has been undertaking activities that he delightfully spoke against when he and the NPP were in opposition. After being voted for by Ghanaians and gaining power, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo noted the President is on a mission to operate a "family and friends" government; the very principle he preached against to win the hearts of Ghanaians during the 2016 elections.



Critics of the current administration have on numerous occasions, expressed outrage over the appointment of what they term a family and friends government, claiming that out of 40 sector ministers he appointed, nineteen are his blood relations and or allies in the Ashanti and Eastern region.



They further alleged that the "family and friends" criterion for appointing Ministers was also extended to the appointment of deputy Ministers, Chief Executives and board members among others.



At a press conference early last year, National Chairman of the PPP, Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond, said President Nana Akufo-Addos has reneged on his campaign promise to establish an all-inclusive government.



Recently, both Central Regional Chairman of the NDC, Bernard Allotey Jacobs, and Former NDC Member of Parliament for the Nanton constituency, Murtala Mohammed, condemned the president for leading a family and friends government, claiming "ex-girlfriends and even unborn babies are grabbing juicy appointments."



Mr Ofosu Ampofo therefore noted that President Akufo-Addo simply wanted to accede to the Presidential seat and so deceived Ghanaians to get their acceptance.



President Akufo Addo says one thing and does the opposite, he said hell not form a government of family and friends, but hes done worse in the history of this country. Hes a walking contradiction. Hes not been able to live by his words and that is very bad", he said.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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After one of the candidates threatened a boycott, Dauphin County Republicans have pulled the plug on a scheduled forum for the GOP candidates for U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta's 11th Congressional District seat.

In a statement, Dauphin County Republican Chairman Dave Feidt said officials determined that "due to the unforeseeable actions and views of a few candidates," the Saturday forum was canceled.

On Tuesday, GOP hopeful Andrew Lewis said he'd boycott the event, sponsored by the Dauphin County Council of Republican Women if they didn't drop rival Sean Donahue from their invite list.

In a statement, Lewis said Donahue, a one-time Hazleton mayoral candidate holds "anti-Semitic, pro-segregationist, and other disturbing and un-American views."

Donahue has not filed the requisite paperwork with the Federal Election Commission that would make him a candidate. But he nonetheless maintains a Facebook page and website, that makes clear he's seeking the GOP nomination in May.

On his Facebook page, Donahue says "the [United States] was created for Americans who chose to worship God through Christianity."

He continued:

"Freedom of Religion is for all forms of Christianity but nothing else, certainly not Islam, Voodoo or Satanic worship. The Bill of Rights was passed in 1791 to affirm that those rights recognized in the Bill of Rights already existed and that they absolute.

"There is no law in existence that legally imposes any constraint or control whatsoever on inalienable rights.

"Although the US and Pennsylvania Courts believe that they have a right to control what you say, whether or not you may own a gun, a machine-gun or cannon, whether or not you, your home or your car can be searched and whether or not any of your other rights can be controlled, they do not actually have that right. The only reason the courts and cops have this power is because you gave it to them and only you have the power to take their power away.

"If you don't, you will no longer have the rights to free speech, to own a gun and not to be searched. You are losing all of these rights. It's time to take a stand. It's time to fight back. The government is your enemy and it's time to cut your enemy down to a much smaller and manageable size.

That was more than enough for Lewis, an Army veteran, who fired back that: "as someone who fought for my country in Iraq against radical Islam, and served in South Korea defending us and our allies from yet another extreme ideology and regime, I have decided to rescind my RSVP for the candidate forum and am calling on my fellow Republican candidates to do the same until the DCCRW has withdrawn Mr. Donahue's invitation to address the Republican audience."

As PoliticsPA reports, last year, "Donahue was convicted of making terroristic threats against the Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis The Citizens Voice described Donahue as a "extremist white nationalist group member."

In a lengthy statement, Donahue dismissed Lewis' criticisms as "nuts."

Feidt said Wednesday that it was "regrettable that the actions and views of a few have denied the remaining candidates a forum to meet with voters to share their message and candidacy."

The GOP women's group, he added, "looks forward to continuing its mission of providing a forum for candidates in the future."

Here's the full text of that statement:

"The Dauphin County Council of Republican Women scheduled a public forum on

Saturday, January 13th to provide Republican Candidates an opportunity to share

their candidacy with members of the public. This event was a public forum open to

all candidates intending to be placed on the Republican Ballot.

However, due to the unforeseeable actions and views of a few candidates, the

Council has determined that the forum can not safely and appropriately take place

as originally scheduled. It is regrettable that the actions and views of a few have

denied the remaining candidates a forum to meet with voters to share their message

and candidacy.

The Dauphin County Council of Republican Women looks forward to continuing our

mission of providing a forum for candidates in the future."

Barletta, a three-term incumbent, is giving up his seat to make run for the 2018 Republican U.S. Senate nomination. The winner faces incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey this fall.
A man under an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer has pleaded no contest to secretly recording women and girls while using the bathroom at the Luzerne County pizza shop where he worked.

The man, Juan Bermudes Prieto, 43, of Hazleton, now faces up to four years in state prison, sex offender registration and possible deportation after his prison term, the Citizens Voice newspaper is reporting.

Prosecutors said Prieto used his phone to secretly record women and girls using the restroom at Luigi's Pizza and Restaurant in Mountain Top, Pa., where he worked.

He was caught last February when a woman using the toilet saw the ceiling tile move and some human fingers above her.

Restaurant employees, along with the woman's husband and father, rushed in and inspected the ceiling where they found Prieto hiding, mumbling in something in Spanish, the Citizens Voice quotes prosecutors as saying.

Prieto was able to flee the scene, but he dropped a cellphone that prosecutors say contained 48 videos of women and girls under 13 using the facility, the newspaper writes, adding:

On the lam, Prieto cut his hair, shaved off a beard and altered his appearance to avoid being recognized, but he subsequently turned himself in after seeing his photograph in news reports.

He pleaded no contest in October to three felony counts of child pornography in exchange for 19 other counts being dropped against him.

In imposing the sentence, the judge noted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a detainer for Prieto and that he will be "subject to immigration consequences" upon his release from prison.

Luigi's has since re-branded as Adelina's Restaurant and Pizzeria.
It's not all about showing animals at the Pa. Farm Show. Baking contests also are serious business.

Throughout the week, more than a half dozen baking contests take place, with angel food, whoopie pies, apple pies and sticky buns scrutinized by judges. The Farm Show runs through Jan. 13 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center.

On opening weekend blue ribbons were awarded to the top apple pie and chocolate cake in the state.

Elizabeth Pokrivka, of Seven Valleys, York County, won the Incredible Edible Egg Angel Food Cake Contest at the 2018 Pa. Farm Show.

In addition, bakers joined for two other popular contests -cookie, brownie/bar and angel food cake. Here are the results:

Elizabeth Pokrivka, of Seven Valleys, York County, won the Incredible Edible Egg Angel Food Cake Contest on Jan. 7 with a pumpkin angel food cake. She represented the Dillsburg Farmers Fair.

The 61 angel food cake entries were judged on flavor, overall appearance and creativity.

Madison Shaw of Dauphin County won the PA Preferred Cookie, Brownie Bar Contest on Jan. 6 with an apple caramel cheesecake bar. She advanced to the Farm Show by winning at the Elizabethtown Fair.

The 54 entries in the cookie/bar contest were judged on flavor, texture, appearance and creativity.

Here are their recipes:

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup of flour

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

Cheesecake:

8 ounces of cream cheese

1 large egg

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Apple Filling:

2 cups of diced apples

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Crumble:

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 of oats

6 tablespoons butter

Caramel:

1 1/2 cups of sugar

9 tablespoons of butter

3/4 cup of heavy cream

Directions:

Combine crust ingredients and press into a parchment paper lined 9 x 9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

Blend cheesecake ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.

Peel and core apples for apple filling. Dice them into a bowl. Top with other ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the sugar and flour for the crumble. With a fork, cut in the butter. Stir in the oats.

Over medium heat, in a saucepan, melt the sugar for the caramel stirring constantly. When melted, stir in butter. Remove from heat and carefully stir in heavy cream. Set aside.

Pour cheesecake mix over crust, then layer with the apple filling and top with crumble. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Top with melted caramel sauce.

Angel Food Cake Supreme Champion Recipe

Cake:

1 cup cake flour

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup ground walnuts

1 3/4 cups egg whites, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon flavoring

Sift cake flour and then sift powdered sugar, keeping them separated. Stir in ground nuts into flour. In bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar and flavoring. Beat on high. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all sugar has been incorporated. Beat until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in flour and nut mixture.

Pour in to a tube pan and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35, or until done. Cool completely. When cooled, cut cake into two layers. Place bottom layer on cake board, cover with even layer of filling, top with cake layer, and frost with pumpkin frosting. Decorate with frostings, filling and pecans, as desired.

Pumpkin Filling:

2 cups canned pumpkin pie filling

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup superfine sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch, for thickening

Combine pumpkin, milk, sugar and cornstarch in a pan and stir together. Bring to a boil. Mix in whisking to remove the lumps. Stir constantly over heat, until desired consistency is reached.

Pumpkin Frosting:

2 16 ounce containers frozen whipped topping

2 4-serving size boxes butterscotch instant pudding and pie filling

1/2 cup milk

Combine in a bowl until well mixed, frost cake as instructed above.
On Tuesday, Jan. 10, 1950, Marian Baker left her desk at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster to go to the bank and the post office and to pick up her engagement ring from a jeweler.

She made it to the bank and the post office but never picked up the ring and never returned to work.

A story in The Patriot on Jan. 13, 1950, said, "Police are working on the theory that Marian Baker, missing 21-year-old Franklin and Marshall College stenographer, met someone she knew after leaving the post office Tuesday and was offered a ride back to the college."

She had been given a ride by another F&M student, Edward Gibbs. According to court documents, Gibbs said he had seen Baker in town and, "He offered to drive her back to the campus in his car and she accepted. However, instead of returning directly to the college, they rode out of town and into the open country. When they reached an isolated spot several miles from the city she commented on the view and defendant stopped the car so that they both might enjoy it. While sitting there he suddenly reached over and began choking her. She broke away and got out of the car. He followed her and after choking her again, he returned to the car, unlocked and opened the luggage compartment, removed the lug wrench, and beat her over the head with it until she was dead. He then left but later returned to hide the body and remove any incriminating evidence. The body was not discovered until four days later."

Gibbs hid Baker's body under corrugated roofing under the porch of a summer cottage in West Lampeter Township, Lancaster County.

She was found on Jan. 14, 1950.

She was buried in New Bloomfield, Perry County. In The Patriot on Jan. 18, 1950, a reporter writing about the investigation wrote, "Meanwhile, the slain girl was buried in the New Bloomfield Cemetery while weeping relatives and friends stood by the graveside. Missing was her father, Walter Baker, Mahanoy Valley, near New Bloomfield, whom she had seen only three times since he and his wife separated when Marian was 3 years old."

Gibbs confessed to killing Baker eight days after her murder. He confessed to the president of Franklin & Marshall College and then to police.

He was convicted and later appealed the conviction on the grounds that some evidence - Baker's clothing and some photographs - presented at trial were used solely to inflame the jury.

He also alleged some trial errors.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, however, upheld the conviction in a ruling in November 1950.

Gibbs was executed by electrocution on April 23, 1951.
In a split decision, a three-judge federal court panel has dismissed a suit from a group of Pennsylvania voters seeking to have the state's current map of Congressional districts thrown out.

Finding that the current maps did meet constitutional tests were U.S. Circuit Court judges D. Brooks Smith and U.S. Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz.

Smith and Shwartz held that absent far stronger direction than what exists in current law, the courts have no business directing a wholesale re-write of district maps.

Holding for the majority, Smith noted elections are inherently unpredictable and vary over time according to candidates, campaigns and issues, and the mood of the electorate.

That, the chief judge wrote, is where the real remedy lies for plaintiffs:

"The structural change plaintiffs seek must come from the political branches (elected legislatures and executives) or the political process itself, not the courts."

Brooks, incidentally, was nominated to his current post by President George W. Bush, a Republican. Shwartz, from New Jersey, was nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

In a lengthy dissent, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Michael Baylson said that he found that "traditional" factors in redistricting were violated in five of the 18 Pennsylvania House districts.

Baylson called that a "major public policy issue" that breeds voter alienation and reduced turnouts at the polls, "and requires that the 2011 map be redrawn."

Plaintiffs in the federal case were testing a novel theory: That any level of purposeful intent to create districts that are safer for one party or one candidate amounts to unlawful interference by the state legislature - which draws the maps - in the elections process.

In other words, all partisan gerrymandering is unlawful because the legislature's authority to run elections is meant to be a neutral, procedural assignment; not "to draw congressional maps based on likely voting preferences."

Their hopes for a win were spiked Tuesday by an order to redraw maps in North Carolina - a state whose tortured Congressional lines have been compared to Pennsylvania on several statistical measures - by a separate three-judge panel there.

The lead plaintiff's attorney in the federal case, Alice Ballard of Philadelphia, said Wednesday evening that she and her colleagues are still reviewing the rulings and would have more to say later in the week.

The federal decision is one big hurdle cleared for the campaigns for Pennsylvania's 18 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

But there is one more to come:

A second case challenging the Congressional maps is still pending and scheduled for oral argument before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court next week.

In that case, a different set of voters are arguing the Legislature practiced "extreme gerrymandering" in 2011, with the effect of causing what amounts to "viewpoint discrimination" against Democratic voters in various parts of the state.

They have presented a battery of statistical findings that they argue demonstrate major gaps between voter preferences and the result of the state Congressional elections, with the effect of squashing Democrats' freedom of speech and association, and equal treatment under the laws.

The twin cases have grown from grassroots outrage over Congressional elections that, under the current maps, have reliably produced a 13-5 edge for Republicans in the state delegation, no matter the national political mood.

Opponents argue that is proof-positive that the Republican majorities in the state legislature, along with then-Gov Tom Corbett, oversaw a redistricting process in 2011 that was almost solely designed to build in indestructible Republican advantages.

In both cases, the defense, led by the current House and Senate majorities, has essentially been that they did meet every legal requirement in the construction of the 2011 maps.
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday will issue a disaster declaration in Pennsylvania.

But it won't be a routine step before bad weather and relief efforts that follow.

For the first time in state history, the announcement will be made for a public health crisis and the ongoing opioid epidemic killing thousands of Pennsylvania residents each year.

The worsening crisis grew more than 30 percent in a year to 4,632 overdose deaths in 2016, according to the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

While some other states saw a decline in overdose deaths from May 2016 to May 2017, Pennsylvania recorded an 83 percent increase, according to a new analysis published Monday by Kaiser Health. The rise in Pennsylvania was largely attributed to fentanyl, which is in line with DEA statistics.

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Wolf at 2 p.m. tomorrow will issue an executive order during a press conference in his reception room at the Capitol, immediately allowing state officials to temporarily override regulations that prevent them from fighting the epidemic, a source close to the governor told PennLive.

The source, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter before the governor's announcement, said Wolf has been encouraged by steps the Legislature has taken, such as the creation of prescription monitoring systems, and steps his own administration has taken like increasing the availability of the overdose-reversal drug Naloxone to first responders.

Those efforts will continue. But the governor also recognizes that despite those best efforts, the rates of overdose deaths has not budged.

The new declaration, essentially leveraging the powers of the state to act with more immediacy and flexibility as it would in response to a natural disaster, is simply intended to ensure that any remaining barriers to providing law enforcement, first responders, health care providers and government agencies the tools they need to battle the addiction crisis as effectively as they can, are removed.

Asked for specifics, the source said measures that could follow would include the re-issuance of the statewide standing order permitting any Pennsylvanian with concerns about a friend or relative to obtain a dose of Naloxone for emergency use at home, or permitting ambulance crews to leave doses of the drug behind in the event that patients refuse further treatment.

Pennsylvania would become at least the eighth state to declare some sort of emergency as a result of the opioid epidemic, joining Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Virginia. In addition, President Donald J. Trump last fall declared the opioid crisis a federal public health emergency.

Staff writer Charlie Thompson contributed to this report.
As the opioid epidemic ruins lives and kills people across Pennsylvania, a state appeals court has upheld one community's rejection of a methadone clinic that would have run programs to help addicts recover.

The Commonwealth Court panel upheld that denial Wednesday by refusing to overturn a zoning hearing board decision that blocks a clinic from opening in Lawrence County's Shenango Township.

In an opinion by Senior Judge James Gardner Colins, the state judges agreed the township zoners properly denied Metro Treatment of Pennsylvania's plea for a special exception to open the clinic in a highway commercial district.

The clinic simply doesn't fit the definition of business and professional offices that are allowed in that district, the zoners found. Metro appealed to the state court after a county judge backed the zoning board's ruling as well.

Colins cited testimony by Metro officials that they wanted to establish a clinic in Shenango "to help stop the recent surge in the number of deaths by overdose of opiate pain-killing medicines and heroin."

Clinic officials proposed to supply up to 477 addicted clients with methadone and buprenorphine to help them break their drug habits. Counseling would be provided, too.

Metro already has 65 such clinics across the U.S. The firm proposed to operate the Shenango facility from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and on a shorter schedule during weekends. Methadone doses would be administered between 5:30 and 11 a.m., the officials said.

Metro's proposal drew opposition from township officials and prompted a petition drive that garnered the signatures of hundreds of residents opposed to the clinic's establishment in the 1900 block of New Butler Road.

The zoning board denied Metro's special exception request in August 2016. It concluded "the impact that a clinic would have to the surrounding area is not consistent with that" zoning district. The zoners also cited concerns about the amount of traffic the clinic would generate.

More than 50 methadone clinics currently operate throughout Pennsylvania. Several are in the midstate.
With one judge in adamant opposition, a Commonwealth Court panel ruled Wednesday that a man who drove his car to a sexual rendezvous with a 12-year-old girl must forfeit the vehicle.

Judge Patricia A. McCullough, who wrote the court's majority opinion, and three colleagues found the forfeiture was justified because Jason Kokinda used the 1992 Volkswagen Passat to facilitate his crime.

Yet in a dissenting opinion, President Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt insisted that prosecutors had proven no such thing. There simply isn't a sufficient "nexus" between the VW and Kokinda's crime to justify seizing the car, she found.

Kokinda, 39, of Berks County, was arrested in August 2007 when he drove to the Village West Shopping Center in Allentown to meet the girl he had met on the internet. That girl wasn't real. Kokinda actually had been chatting online with an agent of the state attorney general's office.

In November 2009, he pleaded guilty but mentally ill to four counts of unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communications facility. He was sentenced to 3 to seven years in prison.

Kokinda appealed to the state court after a Lehigh County judge approved the forfeiture of the VW, which Kokinda claimed he didn't actually own.

In backing the forfeiture, McCullough cited the fact that Kokinda drove the car to what he expected would be a child-sex meeting. That illegal contact would have occurred in the VW, she found.

That made the car integral to Kokinda's commission of his crimes, McCullough concluded.

Not so, Leavitt countered. She claimed the majority's backing of the forfeiture, which has been the subject of legal battling since 2008, is based on "unfounded assumptions and inferences and a very sparse record."

Kokinda's traveling to the meeting with the nonexistent girl in the car was not in itself a criminal act under Pennsylvania law, although it might have been under federal law, Leavitt argued.

She contended that Kokinda committed his crimes when he arranged the rendezvous with the girl over the internet. "That crime was complete before Kokinda entered the vehicle," Leavitt wrote. "The vehicle was irrelevant to the commission of Kokinda's underlying offense because no criminal act occurred in the parking lot."
With over 4,642 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania in 2016, few would argue that heroin and opioid use is not already an escalating crisis.

But today, Gov. Tom Wolf officially declared that it is a state of emergency.

While declarations like this are normally used in response to natural disasters, Wolf's act will give state agencies and law enforcement more flexibility and more resources to combat the crisis.

Here is a roundup of reactions so far:

Attorney General Josh Shapiro:

Shapiro said the declaration is an important step in confronting the number one public health and safety crisis in Pennsylvania.

He said:

"This crisis has been my top priority since I took office last January. The Office of Attorney General arrests on average more than four drug dealers a day. Our arrests of medical personnel and others for illegally diverting prescription drugs are up 72 percent. Our national investigation with 41 Attorneys General of the pharmaceutical industry and the opioid painkillers fueling this epidemic is ongoing and active.

"But as we continue losing more Pennsylvanians to overdoses, it's clear we must do more. Governor Wolf's disaster declaration will enable state agencies to waive regulations, lowering barriers to treatment. It will create a coordinated response within PEMA to allow agencies to take a more unified approach to the epidemic. These steps are in addition to earlier actions by the governor in launching the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, providing funding to implement Centers of Excellence for treatment, and providing law enforcement and first responders with naloxone."

Shapiro thanked the governor and said they will "work together every day to save Pennsylvanians' lives."

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey:

Here's what Casey had to say:

"I commend Governor Wolf for issuing a statewide disaster declaration for the heroin and opioid abuse crisis. This declaration will bring additional resources to bear on this horrific public health emergency that has ripped apart far too many families.

"Now, the federal government must do its part so that states don't have to deal with this alone. I have introduced legislation that would invest $45 billion in programs that combat opioid addiction and provide treatment for those who need it. Congressional Republicans should give sustained focus to this problem and take up my legislation.

"Thus far, the administration and congressional Republicans have advocated steps, like decimating Medicaid, that would worsen the opioid public health emergency and reduce access to treatment. During the health care debate, Republicans in Washington said they support $45 billion in funding. It's far past time the federal government stop paying lip service to the opioid crisis and start investing in treatment and prevention."

PA House Democrats:

House Democratic leader Frank Dermody and state Rep. Ed Gainey, who co-chairs the Heroin, Opioid Prevention and Education Caucus, released the following statement today:

"Pennsylvania's drug-addiction emergency is impacting individuals, families and communities on just as large a scale as any other natural disaster our state has experienced in our lifetime. Our response now must match our response to those crises," Dermody said.

"Republican and Democratic legislators have been instrumental in responding to the heroin and opioid addiction crisis," Gainey said. "Scores of legislators have joined our HOPE Caucus dedicated to leading Pennsylvania from addiction to recovery. The general assembly worked with the governor to propose and pass new laws to reduce the prescribing and availability of opioids that can lead to addiction, to expand access to treatment and counseling for those trapped by addiction, and to enable the distribution of life-saving medications like naloxone that reverse the effects of heroin and opioid overdoses and save lives."

"The House Democratic Caucus pledges to continue those efforts and do even more to combat this public health emergency and reduce its devastation on our state," Dermody said.

"In 2018, House Democrats want to focus on a Plan for PA that grows our economy with good jobs, quality schools and policies that put people first. We can't build a strong Pennsylvania if we don't have a foundation of healthy individuals, families and communities. Governor Wolf has been a strong leader in fighting the heroin, fentanyl and opioid crisis that threatens our state. As governor, he is uniquely armed with the flexibility and resources to respond in a timely and comprehensive manner to the crisis. We welcome the disaster declaration and the initiatives his administration announced today. We will continue working with the governor to advance and augment those initiatives whenever and however we can."

Paul Mango:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mango said he's pleased with the declaration, but said it should have come a long time ago. Mango said:

"The opioid crisis hitting our commonwealth, our neighborhoods, our families is not a Republican or Democrat issue; it is a public health crisis that has no partisan lines. Six months ago, I said we needed a new sense of urgency and should declare the opioid crisis a statewide emergency. While I am pleased the governor has finally taken this long-needed step, this life-or-death struggle has been relegated to the background for far too long. It is my genuine prayer that our officials of all parties in Harrisburg, law enforcement, and medical professionals can partner together to end this scourge on our communities and our families."
Paul Manafort, the first of four men to be charged so far in the investigation by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, has filed a civil suit against Mueller, and his boss, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Marc A. Scaringi (PennLive file)

Manafort, the one-time Trump campaign chairman, has challenged Mueller's authority to bring the charges against him that he did.

Although it's an unusual tactic to file a civil suit in a pending criminal case, and the suit may very well be dismissed because the matter is more properly brought in criminal court; it has caused a closer inspection of, and has raised serious concerns about, the order appointing the special counsel, and the handling of this investigation.

The regulations governing the special counsel permit an appointment only where the Attorney General, "determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted."

Once that determination is made the AG appoints the special counsel and establishes his jurisdiction via the provision of "a specific factual statement of the matter to be investigated."

In this case, the "factual" statement, provided by Rosenstein in his May 2017 order appointing Mueller, is to, "investigate any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump."

The problem is that's not a factual statement. It's a conclusory statement - an assertion for which no evidence [i.e. facts] are offered.

In other words, it's a factless factual statement. Rosenstein, during questioning before the House Judiciary Committee, admitted as much. He said, "the specific matters [i.e., the factual statement] are not identified in the order."

I'd suggest that's because there were no facts of criminal coordination to include. If one were to ask Rosenstein to write the required factual statement today - eight months after he was supposed to - he still couldn't.

Assuming for the sake of argument what Rosenstein wrote qualifies as a "factual statement," Mueller has brought charges against Manafort that fall outside the scope of his original jurisdiction.

That's because none of the crimes Mueller has charged have anything to do with the alleged Russia/Trump criminal coordination, which is the only matter for which Mueller has original jurisdiction. So where does Mueller get the authority to bring the charges he did?

It's not in the part of the appointment order where Rosenstein tries to expand Mueller's original jurisdiction beyond what is permitted by including within it, "any matters that arose or may arise from the investigation."

The only "additional" authority permitted by the governing regulation to fall within the grant of original jurisdiction pertains to process crimes, like obstruction of justice and perjury, designed to interfere with the investigation.

But, Manafort has not been charged with attempting to interfere with Mueller's investigation.

So where did Mueller get the authority to charge Manafort?

Rosenstein's appointment order gives him the authority to investigate, after consultation and approval by the Attorney General, "new matters that come to light in the course of" his investigation. This does conform to the governing regulation.

These "new matters" include the charges Mueller has filed against Manafort such as money laundering, failing to file information forms for foreign bank accounts and failure to register as a foreign lobbyist.

However, the "new matters" that comprise Mueller's charges against Manafort did not "come to light in the course of" Mueller's investigation of the alleged criminal coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

These "new matters" involve allegations of non-related offenses from as early as 2006 and were already being investigated by the Justice Department since 2014 - a year before Trump announced his candidacy for president; two years before Manafort joined his campaign, and three years before Mueller was appointed special counsel.

Even assuming Mueller's appointment is valid in the absence of a crime, and a factual basis for it, the charges filed against Manafort fall outside Mueller's original jurisdiction.

Rosenstein should have referred these matters back to the United States Attorney's Office that had been investigating Manafort years before.

This would have put the charges with the proper prosecutor and in the proper context, i.e. having nothing to do with the alleged criminal cooperation between Russia and the Trump campaign.

But, by Rosenstein keeping these "additional matters" with Mueller, and by Mueller bringing these charges against Manafort, it gave Mueller a notch on his belt.

That's something he sorely needs to justify his investigation; enabled the media to report the news as a great victory for Mueller; a big blow to Trump and evidence that Mueller is hot on the trail of "collusion," which he's not because there is none.

It appears Rosenstein and Mueller have improperly turned a counterintelligence investigation into a criminal investigation in the absence of a crime.

And in the absence of facts evidencing the crime for which the special counsel was appointed.

And, they have gone far beyond their original jurisdiction to charge crimes that have nothing to do with the purpose of the appointment.

That's all in violation of the regulation governing the special counsel, the principles of our criminal justice system, and the rule of law.

Trump has called the Mueller investigation a "hoax" and a "witch hunt." It appears Trump is right once again. Maybe Trump is a genius? And, a stable genius at that.

Marc. A. Scaringi, of Camp Hill, is an attorney and PennLive Opinion contributor. His work appears biweekly.
By Matthew Olshan

Every day, hundreds of weary travelers stream past a tall display case in the International Arrivals area at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. The case, with an unassuming label that reads, "Freedom Shrine," is mounted on the wall between the outgoing security doors and the exit to ground transportation, which practically guarantees that no one will linger there.

Matthew Olshan (PennLive file)

But if you happen to be waiting for someone, as I was recently when my daughter returned home from London for the holidays, you might find yourself gravitating to the exhibit and wondering what, exactly, a "freedom shrine" might be.

The one at BWI consists of replicas of thirty key documents of American history, ranging from the Mayflower Compact of 1620 to Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have a Dream Speech."

In between are some documents that you'd expect to see -- such as the United States Constitution; the Bill of Rights; the Emancipation Proclamation; and the Gettysburg Address -- along with some lesser known surprises.

George Washington's "Letter to Colonel Nicola," for instance, has never really been on my radar. Neither has Robert E. Lee's letter accepting the presidency of Washington College, nor the letter naming Dwight Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander.

As I browsed the collection of documents that the exhibitors had deemed "shrine-worthy," I was surprised by the emphasis on World War II.

There was General McAuliffe's Christmas Message, which was delivered to his beseiged troops in Bastogne, Belgium in the decisive encounter of the Battle of the Bulge. There was F.D.R.'s "Four Freedoms" speech, a passionate argument before Congress for involving the United States in that war. Then there were two "instruments of surrender," one from Germany and another from Japan.

If the selection of documents seemed a little bizarre, the curatorial decision to present the documents in their original form, without giving visitors the benefit of a transcription, was downright hostile.

I'm as much a fan of 18th Century cursive as the next guy, but making someone read George Washington's first inaugural speech in his own flowery hand by the dim light of an airport terminal is both cruel and unusual.

In fact, the more I thought about the display, the angrier I got. This so-called "freedom shrine" was treating the documents as holy relics or fetish objects to be venerated, not understood!

When I got home, I looked into the exhibit and learned that there are countless Freedom Shrines sprinkled across the country, courtesy of The National Exchange Club, a service organization that sells the displays for educational and "motivational" purposes.

The nature of that motivation -- and the emphasis on World War Two -- became a little clearer when I learned that these exhibits are offshoots of the original Freedom Train of 1947, which was conceived by Hollywood moguls and advertising executives as a patriotic way to "sell America to Americans" in the aftermath of the Second World War.

That first Freedom Train became controversial when some Southern cities insisted on segregating the crowds it gathered by race. This was an especially bitter blow to returning G.I.s of color, who'd sacrificed mightily on foreign battlefields to defend American freedom. Langston Hughes's poem, "Freedom Train," which was inspired by these events, and which is not included in the "shrine," is well worth reading.

Setting aside Dr. King's magisterial speech, the African-American experience is almost entirely excluded from the shrine at BWI, unless you count the Emancipation Proclamation, a great and beautiful document, but, after all, penned by a white man. Women are also mostly invisible, except in the somewhat academic "Account of the Proceedings of the Susan B. Anthony Trial" and a glancing mention in the Nineteenth Amendment.

Native Americans have no place at all in the exhibit.

Still, I'm grateful to the display for pointing me in the direction of these documents, which I've since absorbed in their entirety in big, bright, easy-to-read transcriptions on my computer screen.

The real revelation has been George Washington's first inaugural and farewell addresses. I must have read them in high school, but I'm not surprised they didn't stick.

Washington was a titan of history, but his prose style is convoluted. Despite that, there's something irresistable about the tone of his work, which is permeated by a deep humility.

He comes to the presidency reluctantly, the call to national service outweighing the selfish pull of retirement at his beloved Mount Vernon. He feels the fragility of the American Experiment in his bones. Regional strife, international intrigue, the menacing power of political parties, even the question of slavery, which he glosses over, a slaveowner himself -- any one of these threats could undo the newly minted country.

Washington's writing, in particular his farewell to political life, struck me with great force.

"In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But, if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated."

That's what a presidential genius sounds like.

Author Matthew Olshan, a frequent PennLive Opinion contributor, splits his time between Baltimore and Perry County.
A virtual rendering of a portion of the proposed Banks Crescent residential development in Summerland. This was turned down last week by Summerland Council by a vote of 5-2.
Defence lawyer Tonii Roulston, shown in this Nov. 27, 2014 photo, is representing Jason Klaus, one of two men receiving a verdict in Red Deer, Alta. Wednesday in the shooting deaths of Klaus's parents and sister. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Graveland
This Sunday, Jan. 7, 2019 photo made available by SpaceX shows the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral, Fla., for the "Zuma" U.S. satellite mission. Responding to media reports that the satellite was lost, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell says the rocket "did everything correctly" and suggestions otherwise are "categorically false." (SpaceX via AP)
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivers his final state of the state address at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. He will be turning over state government control to Democratic Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, who takes office on Jan. 16. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
In this May 25, 2016, photo, Kim Pack poses with a photo of her late mother, talk-show host April Kauffman, in Linwood, N.J. Pack's stepfather, Dr. James Kauffman, was charged in the murder of her mother April on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Kauffman, a New Jersey doctor running an illegal prescription opioid drug ring with a motorcycle gang had a member hire someone to kill his wife after she threatened to expose the scheme while trying to force him to agree to a divorce, authorities said Tuesday. (Vernon Ogrodnek/The Press of Atlantic City via AP)
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2017 file photo, Michael Douglas arrives at the world premiere of "Flatliners" in Los Angeles. Douglas has come forward to vigorously deny an allegation of sexual misconduct from three decades ago _ before even the publication of the claim. The two-time Oscar winner told Deadline that he anticipated an upcoming report would contain a claim by a former employee that he masturbated in front of her about 32 years ago. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
U.S. regulators meet with California CARB on fate of vehicle fuel rules

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON

Petroleumworld 01 10 2018

Senior U.S. government officials held talks in recent weeks with California's Air Resources Board (CARB) to discuss the goal of maintaining one set of national requirements for automakers, a move that will determine the fate of vehicle emissions rules.

The Dec. 15 meeting held in California included William Wehrum, head of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Air and Radiation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) deputy chief Heidi King, and Mike Catanzaro, a senior White House aide on environment and energy issues, a spokesman for CARB confirmed on Monday.

Automakers want the White House and California to reach agreement on revisions because a legal battle over the rules could result in lengthy uncertainly for the industry. They also want changes in the rules to address lower gas prices and a shift in U.S. consumer preferences to larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

We've had productive conversations under way with CARB and I would hope those conversations continue to be productive, Wehrum said in an interview Friday at EPA headquarters. I think a shared goal is to maintain one national program.

In 2011, California's air emissions regulator and the Obama administration reached an agreement with major automakers to nearly double average fleetwide fuel efficiency to more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025, but included a midterm review to determine by April 2018 whether the final requirements were feasible.

California, joined by nearly a dozen other states, could seek to enforce its own current stricter emissions rules even if the Trump administration softens the 2022-2025 requirements.

The Obama administration announced it had completed the midterm review in its final days in January 2017 without making changes.

In a move widely seen as a preamble to loosening fuel standards, U.S. President Donald Trump announced in March he was revisiting the 2025 requirements. The assault on the American auto industry is over, Trump said. We are going to ensure that any regulations we have protect and defend your jobs, your factories.

Wehrum said if there was a good solid technical basis for revising the requirements, he hoped California would agree, adding the talks have been very collegial and collaborative, including that the December 15 meetings with California officials lasted for a couple of hours. He emphasized EPA has made no decisions on whether the requirements should be lowered.

CARB spokesman Stanley Young confirmed the discussion but declined to elaborate. Catanzaro did not respond to a request for comment.

NHTSA has said it plans to issue its proposed changes, if any, for the 2022-25 model years by March 30. NHTSA's King declined to comment Monday on the status of the agency's review or California talks. Regulators could also propose changes for 2021.

In June, New York state's attorney general and 12 other top state law officials said they would mount a court challenge to any effort to roll back vehicle fuel rules.

Gloria Bergquist, a spokeswoman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing General Motors Co , Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG and others, said the companies fully support conversations between all the relevant parties.






11 men indicted in large oil theft in Shell's biggest refinery in Singapore

By John Geddie and Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE

Petroleumworld 01 10 2018

Eleven men were charged in a Singapore court on Tuesday in connection with a large-scale oil theft at Shell's biggest refinery, while police said they were investigating six other men arrested in a weekend raid.

Police in the island-state said on Tuesday they had detained 17 men, whose ages ranged from 30 to 63, and seized millions of dollars in cash and a small tanker during their investigations into theft at the Pulau Bukom industrial site, which sits just south of Singapore's main island.

Oil refining and shipping have contributed significantly to Singapore's rising wealth during the past decades. But the case underlines the challenges the industry faces in a region that has become a hotspot for illegal oil trading.

The investigation began after Shell contacted the authorities in August 2017, police said in a news release. After extensive investigations and probes, the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and Police Coast Guard launched a series of simultaneous raids across Singapore, which led to the arrests.

Nine Singaporeans were immediately charged in the theft, of which eight were employees of the Singapore subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, court documents showed. Two Vietnamese nationals were charged with receiving stolen goods on a small tanker named Prime South (IMO: 9452804), the documents showed.

Shell confirmed on Tuesday that eight of the 11 men charged were current or former employees at Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd.

Shipping data from Thomson Reuters Eikon showed the Prime South had been shipping fuel between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Singapore for the past 30 days.

GRANDER SCHEME?

Tuesday's cases could be just the first insight into a grander scheme.

The charges seen so far allege three incidents of gasoil theft: on Nov. 21, 2017, of more than 2,322 tonnes valued at S$1.277 million ($958,564.78); and on Jan. 5 and 7 this year of a combined 2,062 tonnes of gasoil, valued at S$1.126 million.

The Vietnamese nationals were charged with receiving gasoil in the early evening hours of Jan. 7, at wharf 5 at the heart of Shell's operations on Bukom island, the documents show.

Meanwhile, police say the other six men arrested remain under investigation.

During raids on Sunday, police said they seized S$3.05 million in cash and the 12,000-deadweight-tonne tanker. They have also frozen suspects' bank accounts.

Shell said on Tuesday it anticipated a short delay in its supply operations at Bukom, its largest wholly owned refinery in the world in terms of crude distillation capacity. It declined to say the total amount of oil stolen.

It is the second high-profile case of wrongdoing at companies in Singapore to hit headlines in recent weeks, after Keppel Corporation Ltd's rig-building business agreed in December to pay more than $422 million to resolve charges it bribed Brazilian officials.

OIL TRADING HUB

Singapore is one of the world's most important oil trading hubs, with much of the Middle East's crude oil passing through Singapore before being delivered to the huge consumers in China, Japan and South Korea.

Singapore is also Southeast Asia's main refinery hub and the world's biggest marine refuelling stop.

Shell is one of the biggest and longest established foreign investors in Singapore. Its oil refinery on Bukom island can process 500,000 barrels per day.

Illicit oil trading is widespread in Southeast Asia. In some cases, oil has been illegally siphoned from storage tanks, but there have also been thefts at sea, including whole ships being seized for the oil cargo.

The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) says that siphoning of fuel and oil at sea in Asia, including through armed robbery and piracy, saw sharp increases between 2011 and 2015.

There has been a modest decline since then, although the organisation said in a quarterly report that oil theft was still of concern, especially in the South China Sea, off the east coast of Malaysia.

The stolen fuel is generally sold across Southeast Asia, offloaded directly into trucks or tanks at small harbours away from oil terminals.

($1 = 1.3322 Singapore dollars)






Florida off Trump's offshore drilling plan after objections



Hoberman Collection/Getty Images



State's Democratic senator says politics motivated switch. Governor Scott, a Republican, expected to run for Senate seat

By Jennifer A Dlouhy

WASHINGTON

Petroleumworld 01 10 2018

The Trump administration is ruling out plans to sell new drilling rights off the coast of Florida, including eastern Gulf of Mexico waters coveted by oil companies, amid pressure from Republican Governor Rick Scott.

The about-face came just five days after the Interior Department said it was considering selling oil and gas leases in more than 90 percent of U.S. coastal waters, including on all sides of Florida -- the straits in the south, the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Scott had angrily denounced the plan, suggesting last week that it could jeopardize Florida's natural resources. He demanded an immediate meeting with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to argue against the proposal.

Zinke announced the change in a post on Twitter, saying it followed a meeting with Scott. Florida's senators -- Bill Nelson, a Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Republican -- as well as other lawmakers from the state joined Scott in raising concerns.

"President Trump has directed me to rebuild our offshore oil and gas program in a manner that supports our national energy policy and also takes into consideration the local and state voice," Zinke said in an emailed statement.

"I support the governor's position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver. As a result of discussion with Governor Scott's and his leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms," Zinke said.

Nelson, who has long fought efforts to drill near Florida's coasts, suggested the move was politically motivated, and designed to allow Scott to claim a victory in a potential campaign for the Senate seat Nelson now occupies.

I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts. But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida's coast and four days later agrees to take Florida off the table,'" Nelson said in an emailed statement. "I don't believe it. This is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott, who has wanted to drill off Florida's coast his entire career."

Scott, who cannot run for governor again this year because of term limits, is expected to challenge Nelson, but has not announced his candidacy. His representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump compelled the Interior Department to develop a new five-year plan for selling oil and gas leases in U.S. coastal waters last April, with an eye on auctioning rights chiefly in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Federal law lays out eight factors the Interior Department must consider when developing those leasing plans, including the views of local officials and residents.

The administration's master plan -- which is likely to shrink further over the coming year as a final leasing blueprint is developed -- has stoked opposition from coast to coast. More than 140 municipalities on the East Coast have already lodged their opposition to new drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. And the three governors representing the states on the West Coast also say they will fight efforts to sell new drilling rights in the Pacific Ocean.

More than three dozen Democratic senators asked the administration Tuesday to abandon efforts to rewrite and replace its 2017-2022 offshore leasing plan, which schedules 11 auctions, including 10 of territory in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska's Cook Inlet.

The eastern Gulf of Mexico was believed to be the most tempting new prospect for oil companies in the expansive Trump administration draft, because it is close to existing pipelines and processing facilities -- not to mention the refineries in Texas and Louisiana.

There's also little mystery about whether those eastern Gulf waters contain oil and gas. Energy companies already discovered a jackpot of natural gas roughly 30 years ago -- at least 700 billion cubic feet and as much as 3 trillion cubic feet -- in the Destin Dome, located about 25 miles south of Pensacola, Florida. And the same geological trends that have yielded major oil discoveries in other parts of the Gulf could be replicated in its easternmost reaches.

But opposition from Florida politicians concerned about oil spills fouling beaches as well as crippling the state's tourism economy helped put that area off limits long ago, and a federal law now blocks new leasing through 2022.
A screenshot of 160over90.com. The company has clients like the Eagles, Under Armour, and Ferrari. Read more

160over90, the 185-person, Center City-based branding and marketing firm that resurrected the 50-year-old Eagles-fans-throwing-snowballs-at-Santa Claus meme on social media last year, has been purchased by New York-based Endeavor Global Marketing.

Endeavor and 160over90 wouldn't comment on the price, but a person familiar with the terms confirmed the $200 million figure reported by the Wall Street Journal. The sale comes less than two years after founders Shannon Price Slusher and Darryl Cilli sold the firm to Searchlight Capital Partners in Toronto for $175 million.

160over90 chief executive John Campanella says he and his team will continue to run the business, reporting to Endeavor marketing chief Ed Horne. Slusher and Cilli will continue to work with the Eagles and other big clients like UCLA, Ferrari, Under Armour, Bimbo, and Thomas Jefferson University, Campanella added.

What did they do, for example, for the Eagles? "We're storytellers," Campanella told me. "It's our job to help make the Eagles feel intrinsic to Philadelphia," even in years when they don't win the Super Bowl. "New York is an entertainment town, D.C. is a political town, but Philly is a sports town. Wake people up in the middle of the night, they can sing the Eagles fight song. The team has built that over years. So, we help create a level of connectivity and engagement with the fans that goes far beyond the field or what happens on a weekend. You can't promise how the team will perform. You can promise a level of commitment to do the work to get it right. And to highlight the things that make [the Eagles] special."

Which is how Eagles fans' once-infamous 1968 snowball shellacking of Santa Claus was resurrected as a string of what Campanella calls "great snackable pieces of social media" onto Instagram and YouTube accounts and the website FlyEaglesFly.com this year. "Snowballs and Santa Claus," he said. "We launched content reminding people. We have Santa Claus at a diner, with a talking snowball, going over that moment from 50 years ago."

Eagles team staff went for it? "We had to talk them into why this was the right thing to do. It's all about storytelling and feeling a genuine connection to the brand."

160over90's former owner Searchlight followed through on its pledge to expand the firm, which then employed 150. Most of 160over90's employees (the name represents high blood pressure) are based at its 510 Walnut St. headquarters with others in Newport Beach, Calif.; Columbus, Ohio; and Gainesville, Fla.

Horne said 160over90 "will further strengthen [Endeavor's] ability to deliver strategic narratives that place brands at the center of culture."

Endeavor employs more than 500, for clients including the brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, General Electric Corp., Marriott hotels, Microsoft, Visa credit cards, and the YMCA.
"Where'd the newsstands go?" asks SEPTA commuter Randy Maniloff, an insurance litigator at the Philadelphia-based law firm White Williams LLP.

The Faber newsstands and bookstores, which pushed local and national newspapers, glossy magazines, best-selling paperbacks, greeting cards, and packaged snacks from a pair of busy shops at opposite ends of Suburban Station, closed at the end of 2017.

Even with more Americans getting their news and reading electronically, "I can't imagine there are too many downtown train stations in a major city where you can't buy a newspaper, candy, or a lottery ticket," groused Maniloff, who gets his newspapers delivered. "Guess I didn't keep them in business buying Necco Wafers and my occasional Mad magazine," added the lawyer, who moonlights as a stand-up comic and publisher of the insurance monthly Coverage Opinions.

The stands were run by Faber International, a Secaucus, N.J., firm that traces its roots to a tobacco shop opened in 1848. Faber faced "declining business" at the newsstands, said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch. SEPTA won't necessarily fill the space with another print store: "We haven't heard from anyone who says they want a replacement that's similar, as far as I know," Busch added.

UPDATE 1/11: "Leases are in the works" for the ex-Faber sites, and "at least one location will carry a range of goods similar to Faber's," Jacqueline Buhn, principal and CEO at AthenianRazak, the Philadelphia real estate firm managing the Suburban Station shops, told me Thursday in an email. Who's coming? "Stay tuned," she said. Buhn also promised an expansion for one of the busy Dunkin' Donuts shops on the concourse, "and the complete redesign of the area along 16th St. courtyard as a food court." (end update)

At Faber's, the stock and signage are gone, and the riot gates are closed all day. Customers have to surface to icy January streets in search of the items that eased the daily ride for generations of suburban commuters. Staff at Faber headquarters referred questions about the shutdowns to company officials, who didn't immediately call back.

Faber also operates a newsstand and bookstore at 30th Street Station, which remains open, and more in other cities. 30th Street Station serves Amtrak trains to New York, Washington, and beyond, as well as local SEPTA train commuters, more of whom start and end their trips at Suburban Station across the Schuylkill in Center City.

SEPTA is talking to potential replacement tenants, though there has been no agreement for either former Faber space at Suburban Station, said spokesman Busch. A new tenant would join the chain bakeries, lunch joints, dollar stores, dry cleaner, and other shops along the concourse, which links to newer shops under the Comcast tower and others expected when the second Comcast building opens this year.
A judge in Philadelphia has thrown out a $28 million jury verdict awarded last month to an Indiana woman who had accused Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals of failing to adequately warn about the risks of the blood-thinner Xarelto.

The verdict, overturned on Tuesday, had granted $1.8 million in compensatory damages and $26 million in punitive damages to Lynn Hartman, who began taking Xarelto in 2013 to prevent strokes. Less than a year later, she was hospitalized with severe gastrointestinal bleeding she attributed to the drug.

Common Pleas Judge Michael Erdos reversed the decision "based on a very narrow issue related to Mrs. Hartman's prescribing physician," said Hartman's attorney, Michael Weinkowitz, who said he would appeal the decision. About 370 deaths have been linked to the medication, according to the FDA.

Xarelto is most commonly prescribed to prevent strokes as a result of an irregular heartbeat, a condition called atrial fibrillation. Nationwide, there are more than 18,000 Xarelto cases pending. About 1,800 of those have been filed in Philadelphia, earning the city the title of "Judicial Hellhole" from the American Tort Reform Foundation. Four more trials involving the medication are set for the Court of Common Pleas through May.

A spokeswoman for Janssen said the company was pleased with the court's decision. Xarelto's labeling "has always warned of bleeding events  a known risk associated with anticoagulation," said Sarah Freeman. "We will continue to defend against allegations made in this litigation."

According to Bloomberg, the drug is Bayer's top-selling product, generating $3.24 billion in sales last year and $2.5 billion in 2015 for the German pharmaceutical company. Xarelto is J&J's third-largest seller, bringing in $2.29 billion in 2016.

Bayer spokesman Steven Immergut said 33 million patients have been prescribed Xarelto worldwide.

"Real-world experience continues to confirm the favorable benefit-risk profile of Xarelto for patients who have a high risk of life-threatening blood clots that may cause strokes and other serious medical complications," Immergut said. "Bayer stands behind the safety and efficacy of Xarelto and will continue to vigorously defend it."
A view inside the pop-up safe injection site in Moss Park in Toronto, Canada. Philadelphia is considering opening a safe injection site. Read more

A year ago, if you'd talked to Police Commissioner Richard Ross about safe-injection sites, he would have told you he was "completely incredulous."

"Adamantly opposed," even.

But it's essential, he told me Tuesday, to evaluate a situation and evolve. And so, in October, as the city hosted the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Ross cornered his Vancouver counterparts, Chief Constable Adam Palmer, who polices the first city in North America to have opened a safe-injection site.

Palmer, who was just a few years off the beat when the Vancouver site opened in 2003, told Ross he'd been skeptical at first, too. And the sites where people can use drugs under the eye of medical staff and social workers, he said, aren't a cure-all.

But they didn't increase crime in the neighborhood. And they were saving lives.

"He talked about public safety issues and how they had not been impacted," Ross said.

The Canadian chief talked about how his mind-set had changed. And so has Ross'.

It's not that the commissioner is promoting safe-injection sites. He has questions about the department's role in such a site, namely the legal ins and outs of policing a place where illegal drug use is sanctioned.

But he said he's confident Philadelphia is doing everything it can to answer his questions.

That conversation with Palmer, Ross' colleagues' visit to Vancouver the following month, and, most important, the sheer weight of the death toll in the city have left him "open-minded," as he put it, to the possibility of a site in this city.

"People are dying at record paces," he said, noting that Philadelphia is expected to surpass 1,200 overdose deaths in 2017, up from 900 in 2016. "Something has to be done to address it."

That something is up to the city. Ross knows the stakes as well as anyone. After all, he'll be up there fielding questions from community members about threats to public safety and the quality of life.

Our conversation came on a day when Gov. Wolf declared an opioid emergency in Pennsylvania. As my colleague Angela Couloumbis reported Tuesday, the emergency declaration is designed to ease regulations and get more people into treatment, increase the use of the overdose-reversing spray Narcan, and streamline the state's response to overdose outreach. To its credit, the state has worked to address the crisis, and this is a good next step.

And it's been clear for months that the conversation over what could be our city's next move  a safe-injection site  has been intensifying. But these conversations are still largely going on behind closed doors. There has been good reason for that: This is a highly charged issue, and if the city is to allow the first safe-injection site in the country, it has to stick the landing. That means getting city officials, council members, advocates, and yes, Ross, on the same page. That means having answers to questions that will come.

City officials told me that they're primed to make a final decision about a site soon, maybe by month's end.

Support mounts. After the Vancouver trip came the positive report to the city task force. Our new district attorney is fully behind a site. But as momentum builds, so does the conversation  and the controversy  around it.

It's time for the city to lead that conversation. Every day is a lost opportunity to convince someone that this is the right idea for the city of Philadelphia.

Myths proliferate in the space between private conversation and public engagement. Fictions spread, such as that injection sites attract more drug users, create more crime.

It's time we start addressing those myths  and answering those questions. Together. As a city.
In this May 15, 2017, file photo, Kenny Kwan, center, leaves the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg. Kwan is one of four New York City men from the New York City who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 2013 death of a fraternity pledge from the Baruch College campus of the City University of New York at a rented house in the Poconos. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz, File) Read more

Another fraternity faces a shutdown at Pennsylvania State University, even though its members haven't been in trouble.

In what appears to be an unprecedented legal ruling, a Monroe County judge on Monday banned the Pi Delta Psi fraternity from operating any chapters in Pennsylvania for 10 years. The ban came during the sentencing of the fraternity and four Pi Delta Psi members from Baruch College in New York, who were convicted in the death of a pledge during a hazing ritual on a trip to the Poconos in 2013.

Pi Delta Psi, an Asian American fraternity, has two chapters in Pennsylvania, one at Penn State and the other at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, although that one appears to be inactive.

Penn State officials Tuesday said the chapter is in "good standing" and they were looking into how to proceed.

"We are reviewing the ruling and seeking more insight about the effect of this sentence on the Penn State chapter," said Lisa Powers, spokeswoman. "The university plans no immediate action."

The chapter has about a dozen members and does not have a fraternity house. A message to the Penn State fraternity chapter's current president was not returned.

Carnegie Mellon also did not respond to inquiries about its chapter, including how it became inactive.

Monroe County President Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington fined the fraternity  which was found guilty of aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter  more than $110,000 and instituted the state ban as a condition of its probation. She underscored the horrific nature of the case, calling it the "most troubling case to me in 19 years," according to an account of the proceedings in the New York Times.

At a rented Poconos house, Chun Hsien Deng, 18, of Queens, was blindfolded and loaded down with a sand-filled backpack, then repeatedly shoved and tackled by fraternity members during a ritual known as the "glass ceiling," meant to represent the plight of Asian Americans. Pledges had to pass through a gantlet of fraternity members during the ritual. Deng became unconscious, and no one sought help for at least an hour.

In handing down her sentence, Patti-Worthington noted the case involving Penn State sophomore Tim Piazza. In February, Piazza, 19, drank copious amounts of alcohol during an alleged hazing ritual at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, fell down the stairs, and languished on a couch for nearly 12 hours before anyone called for help. He died the next day. Twenty-six fraternity members face a range of charges in his death.

In discussing the danger of hazing, Patti-Worthington said: "You only need to look at Penn State these days to understand," according to the the New York Times' account.

Penn State has cracked down on fraternities in the wake of Piazza's death. More than a dozen chapters are on suspension.

Piazza's parents, Jim and Evelyn, applauded Patti-Worthington's fraternity sentence, as well as sentences handed down Monday to four of its members, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and hindering apprehension. Their sentences ranged from 342 days to 24 months.

"In order for there to be real and meaningful change and to eradicate this bad behavior that continues to be all too prevalent," the Piazzas said, "prosecutors and the court systems throughout the country need to take a tougher stance on these types of crimes."

Doug Fierberg, who has represented many clients in lawsuits against fraternities and is representing the Dengs in multiple civil suits against Pi Delta Psi and its members, also was heartened by the rulings.

"It recognizes that chapters are agents and mere extensions of national fraternities and they are responsible for the injury and death caused across this country for decades," he said.

He said he's not aware of any other cases in which a judge banned a fraternity statewide for a specified number of years.

The North-American Interfraternity Conference, while calling the allegations against the fraternity "very disturbing," questioned the fairness of punishing chapters at other universities in Pennsylvania.

"We have long held the position that individuals who haze, and anyone who attempts to cover up alleged hazing, should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said Will Foran, the group's vice president for campus operations, who noted that Pi Delta Psi is not a member of the conference. "With that said, we feel that this decision disregards the due process rights of Pi Delta Psi members at other institutions across the state, who are in no way connected to this chapter or incident."
Jennifer Hook, 60, of West Philadelphia, Frank Garnes, 66, of Southwest Philadelphia, and Charmette Jackson, 71, left to right, participate in a yoga class held at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer Read more

Save for a couple of medical magazines on display, there is nothing about this yoga studio that would indicate it was in a hospital.

There are the usual full-length mirrors, racks of mats, colorful blankets and blocks, and soothing music. As in any beginner class, the poses are simple and slow, and the students are told to look within.

"Just observe how you feel today," instructor Tali Ben-Josef told eight women and one man in a recent class. "Inhale up. Exhale down."

The class, held each week at Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center, is part of its Integrative Oncology Services, which adds meditation, acupuncture, reiki, massage, aromatherapy, and a writing class to the more customary medical interventions.

Advances in chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and treatments that harness the immune system have reduced cancer mortality. But they often leave patients dealing with fatigue, nausea, pain, and other symptoms that can affect their quality of life. Hospitals have long offered support groups to help with the emotional toll. Now, alternative therapies meant to address body and mind  sometimes in ways that Western medicine has long treated with skepticism  are increasingly becoming an expected component of a comprehensive cancer center.

An article published in November in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs reported that the use of integrative medicine at U.S. cancer centers is increasing, fueled by patient interest in using non-medical approaches to improve their health.

The authors looked at the websites of 45 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers and found a substantial growth in the integrative offerings between 2009 and 2016.

Twenty-five years ago, Cancer Treatment Centers of America was a forerunner in offering programs such as nutrition, naturopathic medicine, and acupuncture as well as physical and occupational therapy to patients, said Kathryn Cantera, director of integrative services at CTCA's Philadelphia location and chief of rehabilitative services for all five of its facilities.

Using CTCA's symptom inventory tool  a basic questionnaire  patients are referred by their care team for additional treatments such as yoga, massage, and music therapy, she said.

"We are making sure the right patient receives the right service at the right time," Cantera said.

At Fox Chase Cancer Center, the Integrative Care program includes music therapy, yoga, stress management, and reiki.

Reiki is a Japanese discipline that uses the body's energy as a healing modality, said Darrin Richman, a certified reiki master and practitioner who helped launch Fox Chase's program. Since 2013, about 1,000 free reiki sessions have been administered, he said.

"Just applying a caring touch will allow the reiki to flow," said Richman, who also serves as the hospital's technology support and development pharmacist. Reiki can also be performed when the practitioner's hands hover over the patient and has the potential to heal at all levels  mental, emotional, spiritual and physical, he said.

Although most patients experience a "deep sense of relaxation" after the treatment, some have also reported a reduction in pain, fatigue, nausea and other side effects, Richman said.

Before patient navigator Laura Galindez arrived at Abramson Cancer Center three years ago, there was little coordination, referrals or scheduling for the various programs. Now, about 1,000 adult patients take advantage of the center's integrative services. Except for acupuncture, all of the programs are free, she said.

Having the ability to choose additional therapies makes the patient an active participant in the care and helps with adjustment to the "new normal," she said.

"People feel a sense of taking back ownership with their health," Galindez said. They want to know what they can do to stay well once they leave the hospital setting, and the classes are often found in their home communities, she said.

"I really try to push people toward evidence-based therapies," Galindez said.

Research into some integrative treatments has shown measurable benefits for patients.

About five years ago, yoga instructor Ben-Josef, who trained as an oral surgeon in Israel before moving to the United States, partnered with Neha Vapiwala, an associate professor in the department of radiation oncology, to see whether a twice-weekly yoga class would help prostate patients with the crushing fatigue that often accompanies radiation.

Although the study was small  68 patients were enrolled  the results were promising.

The men, most of whom were in their mid-60s, reported less fatigue and better sexual and urinary function than those who didn't practice yoga, Vapiwala said. The study did not collect data after radiation ended, but Vapiwala found that many participants "wanted to continue [with yoga], so that was a positive," she said.

Ben-Josef said her yoga class for breast cancer patients and caregivers acts as their "safe haven."

"It gives them reassurance and gets the anxiety to fade away for a little bit," Ben-Josef said.

In the fall, Frank Garnes, 66, accompanied his wife, Charmette Jackson, 71, a cancer survivor, to Ben-Josef's class. After 43 years of marriage, six children, 21 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and two bouts of breast cancer, the Southwest Philadelphia couple have had their share of joy and pain.

"I have lymphedema," said Jackson, who attended the class with her arm fully wrapped in a compression bandage. Yoga was one of the exercises her care team suggested, she said.

"Since I was the caretaker, I decided to join in," Garnes said. "I look forward to it and I really enjoy doing it."

The two have been taking the classes for more than a year and both have seen benefits. Jackson found that she has more movement in her arm and Garnes found that he was more limber and had better balance. Both said they have learned how to handle the sometimes-overwhelming stress that comes with having cancer or caring for someone who does.

Another popular program at the Abramson Cancer Center involves Zeus, one of four volunteer therapy dogs.

The 5-year-old Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever moved about the waiting rooms at the cancer center like a seasoned politician with his owner, Linda Schultz. He wasted no time nuzzling up to bored or anxious patients and getting his fair share of hugs and praise. In return, Zeus would often strike a cute pose that showed off his official identification tag. He was quick to sit up on his haunches or offer up a paw to shake. Schultz was even quicker with a treat when he was done performing.

"He was very shy at first," said Schultz, of Ridley Township. "He's gotten to where he enjoys it."

Zeus ambled over to 10-year-old Lydia and her mother, Debbie Smalley, 42, a breast cancer survivor who was there for a follow-up appointment. Even the momentary visit from Zeus made the waiting more tolerable, Smalley said.

"Animals are part of my every day. This experience is totally the opposite," Smalley said.
Ken Butler, 29, who is from North Philly, grew up in the foster system, has several homeless stints and spent two weeks in jail for writing fraudulent checks will debut on three, count them, three E! shows Sunday night Photographed on January 8, 2018. MICHAEL BRYANT/ Staff Photographer Read more

It was just two years ago that Ken Butler was lying in a hotel bed, scrolling through his phone, looking for a reality television show cast to join  a tub of Haagen-Dazs dulce de leche ice cream nestled under his flabby arm.

"I saw an ad for a show that said, 'We are looking for fat and depressed people,' " said the North Philly-born Butler. "And I thought to myself, well, I'm definitely fat and depressed."

So he filled out the online application, emailed it in, and the next day producers from E! Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian called him.

On Sunday night, the premiere episode of the second season of the show featured Butler's dramatic 12-week, 50-pound weight loss. We watched Butler drink gallons of water, knock back wheat grass shots, eat salads without dressing, and suffer through push-ups and crunches under the tutelage of celebrity trainer Corey Calliet, the man behind actor Michael B. Jordan's amazing abs.

Not only did Butler slim down from a chunky 242 to a lean, mean 192 pounds, he used the connections and money from the show  he won't say how much  to launch a fashion magazine and lifestyle website. After the episode ran, Butler's website, www.kenbutlerworld.com, got 455,000 hits. He will launch a 50-plus-page glossy magazine this month, and is still trying to work out distribution deals.

"This is my dream come true," said Butler, 29. "I had no idea I could come this far."

Producers liked Butler so much he filmed scenes for Keeping Up with the Kardashians and sat for a visit with Tyler Henry of Hollywood Medium. He's keeping his fingers crossed that those scenes aren't left on the cutting room floor.

You can't help but be psyched about Butler's potential success. When I met him, he was draped in a black-and-gold velvet, duster-length blazer as though channeling his inner Andre Leon Talley. His face is round and youthful like Magic Johnson's fashionista son E.J. Johnson, but with more chiseled features, a la Tyson Beckford.

Every other sentence of his is an effusive exclamation  like when he met Kim Kardashian for the first time and screamed, "God just walked in the building!" like he had truly caught the Holy Ghost. For the record, the internet wasn't having these blasphemous shenanigans.

But when one's life is as hard as Butler's has been, it's only fair that he gets to define his own blessings.

Born Kenyada Kitchen, Butler spent most of his childhood caring for his mother, Dora Butler, who was bedridden with lupus, bronchitis, and arthritis. By the time Butler was 14, he was in the foster system. During his high school years, he lived with a family in Bensalem and went to Bensalem High School. He fell in love with fashion and began designing women's wear. After high school, he did a stint at the Art Institute of Philadelphia before graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2012 with a degree in fashion design.

The next year, he moved back to Philadelphia and took a string of retail jobs  including a gig at Bala Cynwyd's Saks Fifth Avenue  and started a fashion blog under the name Ken (a shortened version of Kenyada) and his mother's maiden name, Butler.

He couldn't afford designer clothes, but he wanted to create an image of himself for his blog. So he took pictures of himself wearing Balmain, Alexander Wang, Gucci, and other high-end brands in department store dressing rooms. He posted the pictures on his blog, as though he were living that life.

"I would take my photos from all different angles," Butler said. "People didn't know I was fat." He racked up more than 10,000 followers on Instagram and Twitter even without the Kardashian bump. (He has even more now: 30,000 people follow him on Instagram, and 22,000 follow him on Twitter).

"It was all an illusion," Butler said.

There were times, however, when Butler threw caution to the wind and would buy himself a designer this or that on a charge card. When the time came to pay the bill, he'd write the credit card company a check he knew would bounce.

The government called that fraud.

In 2013, Butler was charged with writing bad checks and theft by deception. His birth mom, with whom he maintained a relationship, emptied her savings to bail him out of jail. She died later that year.

"I thought my life was over," Butler said. "I was in retail. I thought there was no coming back from this."

Fast-forward to winter 2016. Butler was homeless and staying with his friend Marcus Brazil, a hairstylist who works on the set of Bravo's Vanderpump Rules. Brazil and his friend went for a night on the town, but Butler decided to stay behind in the Palm Springs Hotel, where he submitted that fateful application.

Producers were ready to bring Butler on immediately and start filming for the first season until they did background check and found an outstanding warrant for an unpaid debt from his first arrest.

"I had to go home and turn myself in," Butler said. "I spent the next year working doubles at Sweetgreen in Ardmore and sleeping on my friend's couch, but I paid off my debt."

Last year, the Revenge Body producers called back. This time, he was ready. He spent 12 weeks working out, eating right, and delving into why he ate the way he did. By July, he was able to wear designer clothes  he wore head-to-toe Balmain during his weight-loss reveal  and could be photographed from any angle.

"This show and this journey is about being vulnerable and exposing yourself," said Wil Ontiveros, a producer at E! who was also a Revenge Body contestant during the first season. "Part of the reason why Ken was on the premiere episode is because his story was so compelling. We knew it would draw people."

In the six months since he filmed the show and returned to real life, Butler has been able to keep the weight off. He is serious about portion control. He abstains from alcohol and drinks at least a gallon of water a day.

"You either eat your calories or drink your calories," Butler told me, laughing.

At the end of each episode of Revenge Body, the participants bring on someone in their lives who made them feel less-than when they were heavier. Butler did not bring on a person, because, as he so poignantly said in the show: He wanted revenge on his life.

"I was the only one who hurt me by not being honest and by not being who I was," he said. "That part of me is gone now. I'm authentic. I'm real. I am who I am."
Mayor Kenney and Lauren Hitt, his director of communications, talk in his office at City Hall. Hitt is leaving the administration after two years to work on the congressional campaign of Democrat Randy Bryce, who is challenging Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Read more

Philadelphia first knew Lauren Hitt as the woman who banned Jim Kenney from Twitter.

Kenney was about to launch a last-minute mayoral bid. His tendency to let loose on social media  where he had called Gov. Christie "fat assed," opined about Viagra commercials, and offered that "Jasmine smells so exotic"  wasn't going to help.

Looking back, Hitt wonders why Kenney took her advice.

"To disregard anything I said just because I was 22 years old and not from Philadelphia would have been reasonable," Hitt said with a laugh.

Instead, after winning the election with Hitt as his communications director, Kenney gave her the same post in his administration. Hitt departed that job last week as one of Kenney's closest advisers.

The Baltimore County native and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania is returning to the campaign trail to work for Democrat Randy Bryce, an Army veteran and steelworker who is challenging Speaker of the House Paul Ryan in Wisconsin's First Congressional District.

The Inquirer and Daily News spoke with Hitt this week about the administration she joined as a government novice and the unconventional mayor whose public image she was responsible for shaping. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Q: It seems like you ended up enjoying this job more than you anticipated.

A: For sure. I always had wondered if I might do government. And then when the campaign was wrapping up I kind of realized I was in a unique circumstance that I really liked the elected official I was working for. I really liked my direct boss. And I liked the larger team. And those three things don't always line up.

Q: Did you feel an itch to go back to campaigns?

A: I realized once I was in that I couldn't do it for anything less than a year. Then Donald Trump was elected president. And I was really glad I was in government because I remember talking to friends who were on the Hillary campaign and they were like, Someone should give us something to do. We need to do something to push back. And I was like, Well, I definitely have something to do to push back. Cities were at the forefront of so much fighting against the Trump agenda. But we're now going into a place where we can cripple that agenda and not have all these enablers in the House and the Senate.

Q: Looking back on the mayor's race, what will you remember most?

A: Well, the beginning was so jarring. It was funny, when Jim was talking about my replacement, he was like, "I want someone who will yell at me." And I said, Well, you have to remember when I met you it was kind of like an unhappy marriage because you were getting into the race at the last minute. And you needed someone. And I immediately was like, "You can't talk to the press. You can't tweet." And you didn't see me as anything special and I didn't see you as anything special.

Q: How did the mayor grow on you?

A: He's so authentic. And you can't touch that. And I could never teach it and wouldn't want to. In the beginning I was just like I have to manage you with your "jasmine oil" tweets and everything. And then I was like, No, I really don't. He has this wonderful natural instinct with people and he just understands people and he connects with them on an emotional level.

Q: Do you still have to remind him to tone back the tweets, or does he self-police?

A: Two or three months ago I was sitting in [chief of staff] Jane [Slusser's] office and he came in and I looked over and he was on Twitter, had it open on his phone. And I'm like, "Do you have your login?"

Q: Because you had taken it away at some point?

A: Normally he would tell [digital director] Stephanie [Waters] to change the login. He'd do it for his own health. He'd be like, I don't want to see the comments right now. Also I think he just doesn't think it's funny or charming or authentic anymore, given how the president uses [Twitter] as a tool.

Q: Given your age, did you find yourself dismissed in any way?

A: Oh yeah. Well, I think I was acutely aware of it at all times. So I don't know how much of it was me being dismissed because of my age vs. just being new. But it's definitely a thing as a young woman in politics, to have to assert yourself.

Q: How did you end up a Democrat, being raised by two Republican parents?

A: My dad in particular had come from a very-low income family and had worked his way up into a comfortable lifestyle. And my mom was born middle class, but her dad had a very similar story. So I grew up hearing the Republican Party rewarded people who would work hard and was protecting the American Dream. I got into college. And I looked around and I was like, Huh? Everybody here is exactly like me. Everybody here is from pretty comfortable families in the suburbs with really high-performing high schools. And it doesn't seem like a ton of people are lifting themselves up on this $50,000-a-year tuition. I spent the summer after my freshman year of college at a Republican think tank, just to make sure I was definitely not a Republican. I was like, Yeah, I'm definitely not a Republican.

Q: How was being a woman in leadership in City Hall? That building really has a reputation of being a boys' club.

A: Jim is incredibly supportive of women in government. He admires people who are going to work hard and do the job well, and a lot of the time that's women, I think maybe because we think we have to work harder. It's hard to say you never feel sexism, but I certainly never felt it from him. And working for a woman just is a whole different dynamic, and I had never experienced that before [chief of staff] Jane [Slusser]. I don't think I would have gotten the job if Jane hadn't been my boss. Mostly because I tried to talk her out of it when she offered me the comms director job. I was like, "You mean press secretary?" She was like, "No." And I was like, "But I don't know how to do that." And she was like, "Well, you didn't know how to do what we just did either."

Q: So now that you're back in campaigns, will we see you back in Philly when the mayor is up for reelection?

A: I think he has more than earned a smooth reelection. But if for some reason that's not the case, I would certainly want to do something to make sure he was able to pursue a second term.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is rescinding a policy that had let legalized marijuana flourish without federal intervention across the country. Read more

State employees tasked with regulating cannabis are just criminal conspirators in vast enterprises involving federally illegal drugs. That sounds absurd, but it's technically true.

Now, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has changed the position of the Department of Justice regarding state marijuana legalization laws. By rescinding several memos that served as policy directives for federal prosecutors the existential legal possibilities of the past could come into sharper focus.

So, what happens next? To get a forecast on the upcoming weed storm, it's important to understand why Sessions and his associates care about the Obama-era position at all.

In 2011 the first Cole memo was released in answer to N.J. Gov. Chris Christie stubbornly peppering the DOJ for "clarification" on medical marijuana (and I got the scoop for my blog).

A former U.S. Attorney in the early 2000s who was appointed by President George W. Bush for being a champion GOP fundraiser, Gov. Christie used his legal expertise to play the weed conflict like a Texas Hold'em champ. At the time, Christie bluffed about being wracked with worry that DEA agents could swoop in to arrest his N.J. Department of Health workers.

The "concerned about state employees" was a common angle used by some prohibitionist Republicans to vote against or even veto compassionate use laws. That's what led David Ogden and James Cole  two Deputy U.S. Attorneys General under Eric Holder  to write the three memos between 2009 and 2013 addressing the idea of federal authorities trying to, physically, get in the way.

The Ogden and Cole memos crafted a clear diplomatic policy on marijuana between the federal government and the States, almost along the lines of an international agreement. It was refined and summarized as "non-interference."

That was enough cover for state legislatures to pass safe access laws and state employees to implement full legalization ballot initiatives. The cash-flush marijuana industry crawled under the umbrella too, even if uninvited.

But, President Obama and his administration failed to make a permanent policy. By the time Donald Trump came into office federal marijuana laws hadn't actually changed one millimeter.

Non-interference is also at the core of the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, a federal budget rider that eliminates funding from any DOJ action that could interrupt state marijuana laws. In place since 2014, Rohrabacher-Blumenauer is set to expire on January 19 and Sessions has already asked Congress not to renew it.

In removing all these perceived barriers, the Trump administration is grooming a position from which to actively meddle. Speculation has focused on possible enforcement against those permitted to grow or sell the plant, but that seems unlikely.

On Jan. 4, 2018, the day Sessions rescinded the memos, David Freed, a US Attorney in Pennsylvania (and a Republican) immediately reassured the public that he won't be shutting down any of Pennsylvania's medical cannabis facilities that are just sprouting seeds.

Freed's sentiment was echoed across the country, and without the support of federal prosecutors the DOJ is very limited indeed. A cornered Sessions may be forced to go further out on a legal limb, turning the old drug warriors' concerns about health employees into a direct threat.

Chris Christie has also repeatedly used the phase "blood money" to describe Colorado's prolific cannabis tax revenue. If the federal government begins to seriously view those taxes as illegal gains then perhaps Sessions' other favorite and highly dubious criminal justice tactic will come into play: civil asset forfeiture.

Thankfully, the new DOJ posture towards America's favorite flower brought instant condemnation from the public and all levels of elected officials, in both parties.

Cory Booker of New Jersey went to the floor of U.S. Senate to express the strong core of social justice that is driving the nation away from prohibition:

"The unequal application of marijuana laws has created a system where outcome are more dependent on race and class than dependent on guilt or innocence."

Senator Bob Casey was inspired to make his first major statement on cannabis policy, ever, while Gov. Tom Wolf showed his well-practiced resolve to the Trump administration. A cadre of state politicians in the region also chimed in. It was a moment of political maturity for marijuana legalization.

"Front runners for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination issued swift statements, Republicans took to the floor in Congress to decry this federal overreach, and countless Americans cried out in opposition," noted Erik Altieri at the Washington DC headquarters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Meanwhile, underground prices for an ounce of high-grade marijuana in Philadelphia and New Jersey have dropped about 25 percent in recent years to an average of $280. Hash oils and concentrates sell for around $45 per gram, THC/CBD vape pen cartridges run $35 to $50 and edibles fetch around $10 to $20 for each 50mg of cannabinoids included in a serving.

In our region marijuana taxes aren't collected, IDs are never checked, products don't get laboratory tested and health compliance doesn't exist. This is just how Jeff Sessions likes it.
Tana Smith is a professional YouTube personality and has decided to use her program to speak her truth, meaning what is important to her and her life, instead of just DIY decor, in the coming year. Read more

For the last four years, Tana Smith's YouTube channel featured DIY decor strategies and makeup tips. But as a cultural reckoning rages and Hollywood encourages women to speak up, she's refocusing her channel of more than 300,000 subscribers to something more personal: "speaking your truth."

Smith, 24, is now using her online platform to tell her story, even the uncomfortable parts  the painful breakup, the eating disorder, the alcohol addiction. Her aim is for viewers to know they aren't alone in their own struggles, so they might be encouraged to speak their truth, too.

"The reason to speak your truth is to help people and be more connected, and create more of a sense of oneness and community," said Smith, who lives in Kensington. "It's not about being right."

Smith is one of millions of Americans who were struck Sunday night by Oprah Winfrey's rousing Golden Globes speech, but for her, what resonated the most was Winfrey's message of "speaking your truth." The media mogul referenced this three times while addressing the seismic #MeToo movement, including: "What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have."

This idea of subjective truth  your truth, my truth, his truth or her truth  isn't new. But Winfrey renewed the mantra, and with a potential presidential run topping the headlines, she was criticized by some who wondered whether the wording "your truth" diminishes the power of "the truth."

A conversation has since emerged about whether living out your truth is a slip farther into postmodernism, in which facts are distorted by personal bias. Is living your truth a laudable goal, or is it the left's version of Orwellian doublespeak, similar to "fake news" or "alternative facts"? And what if "your truth" is that the Earth is flat or that dinosaurs helped build the pyramids?

As a rule, of course, it's not. When Winfrey and others say, "Speak your truth," they typically mean something more like: Share your perspective, tell your story, open up about your experience. But in an America some call "post-truth," semantics matter.

Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, said the idea of a subjective truth isn't at odds with actual facts.

"Some people say, 'This is postmodern nonsense,'" said Nunberg, a regular contributor on WHYY's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. But "when people are talking about 'my truth,' it's that 'when he hit on me persistently, I was made uncomfortable.' Those truths are the ones that are bubbling to the surface now."

Aliya Steele, a 21-year-old aspiring marketing professional who lives in West Philadelphia, is trying harder to speak her truth. She said she grew up shy, reserved and "agreeable," but is working to better express what she feels in the moment  at work, at home and online  without fear of being judged.

The important part of speaking a personal truth that some people miss, she said, is realizing it also means listening to others' personal truths.

"I kind of feel like there isn't one truth," she said. "Of course there's facts. There's certain things that are true. When it comes to perspective on things? There's a lot of wiggle room."

Alex Crispino similarly described what her "truth" means. She's a 27-year-old who works in learning and development at PricewaterhouseCoopers and also runs a network for women alumni of Temple University. For her, a personal truth means authenticity  "whoever you are, bring your full self."

"You can't verify someone's truth. You can't verify someone's journey," said Crispino, who lives in the city's Francisville section. "And it shouldn't have to be verified. It's theirs."

"Speak your truth" has been cited most frequently in reference to the #MeToo movement, which has empowered people, mostly women, to come forward with stories of sexual harassment and assault. But the terminology has been in use for years, as the title of many motivational speeches, as the crux of a book about recovering from lupus, as a slogan for the self-aware (though recent research shows humans aren't nearly as self-aware as they think they are).

It's that self-awareness that Susan Rocco says allowed her to finally speak her truth. It was Aug. 7, 2012, two days before she was expected to meet with WFYL-AM, a small radio station in King of Prussia, to pitch an idea for a talk show. She wasn't quite sure what the topic would be. That morning, Rocco had one of those visceral shower revelations. At age 48, she realized what she had to offer the world: The power of telling women's stories.

She got the show. Today, she's at a bigger radio station, WWDB (860 AM) in Bala Cynwyd and building Women to Watch, a media company of her own that aims to empower women.

"When I finally spoke my own truth, everything turned around for me," Rocco, 54, said. "What it means to me is to go out into life and live your life as your original self, because that is where you have the most power."
State Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York, left, along with his wife, Tracy, center, and apple orchard owner Corey McCleaf, right, inspect apples on display at the Pennsylvania Farm show on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 in Harrisburg, Pa. Read more

HARRISBURG  Scott Wagner is 62 years old. He grew up on a farm in south-central Pennsylvania, but right now he's looking at perhaps the biggest cow he's ever seen.

"There's a big porker there! Look at that: 1,500, 2,000 pounds  holy moly!" he exclaims as he makes the rounds at the 102nd Pennsylvania Farm Show.

Then, Wagner, a York County Republican state senator running for governor, points to the next cow, the one dropping a cow pie onto the hay. "There's a lot of that in Harrisburg," he jokes.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is many things: said to be the largest indoor agricultural exposition in the country, and home to a half-ton butter sculpture that draws a mix of awe and bemusement. It also has long been a political consultant's dream for retail politicking  the place aspiring legislators, U.S. senators, and governors put on their regular-folks attire and make sure to pay homage to this Keystone State staple.

Gov. Wolf, a Democrat up for reelection in November, started the festivities last Saturday, and the Republicans running to challenge him also swung through. GOP candidates Paul Mango, a business consultant, and Laura Ellsworth, a lawyer, both from the Pittsburgh area, enjoyed one of the show's famous milkshakes.

House Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) is also running, but no one has generated as much early buzz in Pennsylvania's 2018 elections as Wagner, the millionaire owner of a waste-management company who declared his candidacy for governor a full year ago, less than three years after winning a special Senate election on a historic write-in campaign.

He's not shied away from descriptions that he's a mini-Trump (though he'd say it was the other way around) and he's likely to be energized by one historic lesson from 2016: Trump captured the state without winning its two most populous regions  Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

So as he wandered the grounds for a few hours here on Sunday, Wagner, wearing a gray campaign vest and blue jeans, posed for photos and listened to a cross-section of exhibitors and attendees who could represent key constituents that he, and his GOP rivals, will battle for in the May primary.

He talked with two mushroom harvesters from western Chester County who say immigrants, many from Mexico, are crucial to their $500 million industry. "There's a misperception," Wagner said, that mushroom growers "employ a lot of illegal people."

(Federal immigration authorities raided a Kennett Square mushroom farm last spring, fueling anxiety among immigrant workers.)

"It's not accurate," Wagner added, acknowledging that some are citizens, others have green cards, and most earn decent paychecks and pay taxes.

"We are no longer just a black and white society," Wagner says. "People that are growing up here, a lot of people in America that are raising families  they're not going into mushroom fields or mushroom barns; they're not going into asparagus and broccoli fields, tomato fields, and the apple orchards."

Next up, he mingled with a family of farmers from Washington County, southwest of Pittsburgh on the Ohio border, then an energy worker who complained about the state's suspension of construction of Sunoco's Mariner East 2 shale pipeline. Wagner said the standstill is unacceptable.

"Have you seen my commercials?" he asked. They hadn't. (Though one passerby shouted out that he had.)

"I'm on TV. I think we can do a lot better in Pennsylvania," Wagner said.

He asked about their interactions with the state Department of Environmental Protection. They reported that DEP "hasn't been that bad" but added that "some of the permit stuff is ridiculous."

"That's what we're going to work on," replied Wagner, who said state bureaucrats are holding up approval of a new fueling system at Penn Waste, his trash-hauling company. He said he bets they're also probably sitting on hundreds of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling permits.

Wagner and State Rep. Dave Zimmerman (R., Lancaster), who sits on the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, made a quick stop at an apple stand. Thanks to poor vigilance by the state, Zimmerman said, invasive species are devastating apple orchards, and it's only a matter of time before they make their way to Wagner's home county of York.

Wagner pointed to a photo of a Golden Delicious ruined by a brown stink bug ("those things are a pain in the ass"), and then it was off to meet the state honey queen. The senator said he's good for a few teaspoons of honey every day, and he and his wife, Tracy, posed for a picture with the honey queen.

A trivia game nearby asked contestants which meat is the most widely eaten in the world. (Answer: chicken.)

Wagner started to head toward a barn full of lambs and pigs, but suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to a reporter. He'd been thinking about the Mango campaign's charge that Wagner missed more votes than any other senator between 2015 and 2017.

Wagner explained that much of that stemmed from a long-scheduled international business trip, and spun this as an example of his inquiring mind. "Why would I come to the Farm Show?  One of the problems in Harrisburg is, a lot of the people that are elected, they live under that dome. It's a bubble," he said. "This is all about learning."

(And there seem to have been lessons on the trail. Over the course of a few hours, Wagner didn't spill forth with any sort of the blunt comments or reactions that earned him headlines earlier in the campaign, like calling the liberal billionaire George Soros a "Hungarian Jew" who has "hatred for America," or clashing with Democratic trackers filming him at campaign events.)

Next it was off to meet a farmer from Westmoreland County who was tending to a lamb named Tubby. Federal regulations are killing family farms, she said.

"We need a governor who understands, this regulation is choking us, and driving businesses out of business," Wagner said.

He made his way through a maze of swine ("Ham and bacon laying there, just so you know"), spotted the gigantic cow, and caught up with a half-dozen students who participate in livestock clubs.

"What's the difference between a pig and a hog?" Wagner asked the kids, including at least one in the Manatawna-Saul 4-H club, associated with W.B. Saul High School in Philadelphia's Roxborough section. The magnet school helps kids learn how to raise beef cattle, lambs, and pigs.

One replied: "There's a difference?"

Some of the kids wrote letters to Wagner a few weeks ago, asking if he'd be interested in buying their lambs. "These are lambs that these kids raised from the time they were born," the club supervisor, Scott Moser, explained.

"It's an emotional bond" between student and lamb, added Wagner's wife, Tracy. The lambs here were likely headed for the slaughterhouse.

"Here's what I'm going to do," Wagner told 10-year-old Marcos, who brought his 9-month-old lamb, Apollo, to the Farm Show. "I'm going to give you a check for $500, and you can give it to the club."

It was a deal, even if Marcos couldn't cast a ballot. And then, the candidate was off into the Farm Show crowd, for private meetings to talk politics  somewhere near the rodeo show.
Dakota Hammaker of Mechanicsburg, Pa., rests on dairy cow Waffle at the 102nd Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer Read more

The word pet isn't tossed around too much at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, which kicked off for the 102nd time Saturday in Harrisburg.

Thousands of animals will pass through the doors here all week  horses, goats, chickens, alpacas  and when the exposition closes Saturday, many of them won't be going back to the barns they came from. That's part of life on many of Pennsylvania's 58,000 farms, but that doesn't mean their owners and caretakers don't form bonds with their livestock before they're auctioned off in arenas. Most animals have names, and others have jobs, like giving up their coats for sweaters, and while some might be bacon by next week, others will be combed and coddled like prizewinners, living out their days pampered on a bed of hay.

The Inquirer and Daily News talked to five people at the show about their animals.

Mike Kraft, decked out in a cowboy hat and leather gloves, didn't know the donkey that nudged his knee too well, so he said only good things about him.

"Donkeys remember," Kraft, 66, said.

Jethro the donkey is 14, Kraft said, and his job this week is to stand quietly for an hour while little kids climb up stairs to rub their hands across his rough coat, which they did by the dozens every minute. Jethro belongs to a 7-year-old girl who loves him, Kraft said, and he was part of the Pennsylvania Equine Council's display. Horses in nearby pens would relieve Jethro, but Kraft said the sturdy donkey with the sad face would have been fine.

"Pound for pound, they're stronger than a horse," Kraft said.

Donkeys suffer no fools. They do what they want, on their time, and are sometimes used by farmers as the old-school nuns of the barn.

"Sometimes, they'll hitch a calf to a donkey. A donkey will teach it manners. The donkey will teach it to follow," Kraft said. "If the calf sits down and the donkey wants to go, it drags it."

Kraft and Jethro heard a familiar joke about donkeys Monday, one they're likely to hear all week.

"Watch your ass," one man said as he passed by.

No one knows if donkeys cringe.

Nellie the goat was gone by noon Tuesday, auctioned for market, and Kenzie Mowry vaulted a metal pen to rouse Ned, her 242-pound pig, from his slumber.

Ned didn't budge, but who could blame him? He's destined for slaughter, too.

"I usually do get attached to them because I'm out there in the barn with them, every day," Mowry, 14, said.

Mowry and her dad, Larry Mowry, raise a few animals each year at their home in Mill Run, Fayette County. They raise them  Ned was about 80 pounds when they got him in September  take them to shows, and sell them off.

Ned is a barrow, which means he's been castrated. That makes him less aggressive and gives his meat a better taste than that of a boar.

Pigs go from 80 pounds to 242 pounds in four months because, well, they're pigs. Ned eats "lots of feed," Kenzie said, and that's about it for his day-to-day.

"He's lazy."

A shiny belt buckle the size of a tea saucer held up Randy Ridgely's jeans, a badge of honor for a man who has ridden bulls "just about everywhere."

Square-jawed with a Southern accent he swears is from Maryland, Ridgely has a heart that melts like a setting prairie sun every time he thinks about Rodney, a Brahma bull he bottle-raised at his farm in Wyoming, Del.

Ridgely runs an agro-tourism farm at his home for school trips and youth groups, and for 15 years, he took Rodney to the farm show, charging spectators a fee to sit on his back. Time wore on Rodney, though, and made him arthritic and unable to stand.

"The guy who works for me, I made him be there when the vet came to euthanize him," Ridgely said."'I couldn't be there."

Ridgely paid a taxidermist from North Carolina $12,000 to turn Rodney into a rodeo bull, complete with a steel frame beneath his hide, and he now brings in $15 if children want to pose on his back for a photo.

In death, Rodney became the bucking bull, full of hellfire, that he never was at home in the barn.

"No, that would have scared him to death," Ridgely said. "He actually lived with the goats and the ponies. The other bulls would have beat him up."

When asked if he'd ever rode bulls at Cowtown, a famous rodeo in South Jersey, of all places, Ridgely looked as if he'd been waiting all day for someone to ask him that.

"Hell, I won Cowtown," he said, flashing his prized belt buckle.

Sprawled out in the hay between two Holsteins, Dakota Hammaker gazed into his phone Monday afternoon while other owners shaved, dried, and seemed to wrestle with their cows.

Hammaker's back was propped up against Waffle, a red Holstein whose milking days are over.

"She's dry," Hammaker said, still glancing at his phone. "Retired."

Hammaker's boots were propped up on Baby Girl, a black-and-white Holstein who's still a working girl, producing 75 pounds of milk per day. Neither minds the contact, he said.

"If you have a calf and you keep it in the barn all day and just feed it and don't visit it or play with it, they're not going to be as easy to deal with," he said. "When you raise them, they don't mind the human contact. They're very docile. And warm."

Hammaker, 21, said he raised Waffle, who's 13, and now she lives out her life as a couch-of-sorts, all 1,200 pounds of her, at his "not very big" farm in Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County.

"She eats hay. She drinks water. She goes out to pasture."

Gray Squirrel is a prince, a 13-pound prizewinning rabbit from Snyder County, and he was rewarded for his perfect fluffiness and most floppy ears Monday afternoon with the thing he craves most.

"They love being petted, and he'll sit there all day and just let people pet him," said owner Emily Kuhn, 17.

That's just what people did, too, crowding around Gray Squirrel, taking pictures and running their fingers through his fur. When he went still, it was hard to tell which end was Gray Squirel's head, but it didn't matter. Even grown men blurted out "awws" when they saw him.

Gray Squirrel won best of his breed in the French Lop competition, and that's been Kuhn's plan since she raised him from birth. She combs his fur often, wiping him down with wet hands to remove loose hairs.

'He's so calm. I trust him around anyone," said Kuhn, of Mount Pleasant Mills, Snyder County.

This is the farm show, however, and Kuhn does sell meat rabbits.

"Not him, though," she said.

Gray Squirrel will live on, seeking attention and gentle strokes, eating his pellets, and sharing his prizewinning genes with female rabbits, proof that not every animal at the farm show winds up on a plate.
Kurt Martin plays for passersby and regulars at the Lits Building. Read more

When pianist Kurt Martin plays the theme from The Godfather in the food court of the Lits Building, Billy the barber comes out of his shop with his imaginary machine gun at the ready.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

When Martin plays the theme to All in the Family, Anna Mazella, who travels every day from Pennsauken just to hear the piano played live, reminds Martin that she "does not like that song."

He still closes out with it almost every time, anyway, because, "Those were the days."

And when his performance is over, Martin joins a table of workers from the nearby federal courthouse who have eaten lunch together at the Lits Building food court every Wednesday for the last five years, just to listen to him play.

"It makes it special to come in. It's not like I have an office job where I have people I can talk to on a daily basis," Martin said. "I could come in here and not talk to anybody, but they make it fun."

Martin is the Wednesday piano man at the Lits Building at Eighth and Market Streets in Center City, where he's been playing for 27 years. He was brought in to the gig by Mark Randall, the pianist who plays there the rest of the week.

For 40 years, Martin, a man with bright eyes who laughs often, has made his living as a pianist. He has an accounting degree from Drexel University, but only worked three years in the field before deciding he'd rather tickle the ivories instead of tackle tax returns.

Martin takes freelance jobs and works other steady gigs, including a weekday show at Liberty Place, weekend shows at the Joseph Ambler Inn in North Wales and a Friday morning show at Pennswood Village, a senior living community.

"I like the effect you can have on people. You can make people happy," he said. "It's surprising when somebody acknowledges you. You'll see them and they look really down and out and all of a sudden they'll come over and say, 'Hey, that sounds great, man. Thank you.'"

Martin plays mostly from memory, some old songs like "Autumn in New York" and some new ones like Adele's "Rolling in the Deep." When pushed, he'll even sing a song or two, like Willie Nelson's "Always on My Mind."

"When Kurt sings, you would not know the difference between him and Willie Nelson," Mazella said.

Martin prefers it when he's likened to Lou Rawls over Willie Nelson or Neil Diamond, but so it goes.

While the piano, which Martin learned to play as a teenager, is his favorite instrument, it's not his only one. The Northeast Philly native learned to play the accordion at the age of 8 because "everybody played the accordion on my block growing up," he said.

Martin now owns seven accordions  seven  which he plays at events like Oktoberfest and Bastille Day.

"I'm proud of that, because the accordion is making a comeback," he said.

Why Philadelphia?

"I like Philadelphia because we have everything New York has but one-tenth of the rat race. This area in general I like because  with the exceptions of bomb cyclones  we don't have hurricanes, cyclones or earthquakes."

What has been a classic Philly moment for you?

"When The Mike Douglas Show was being taped in town, I was walking down Chestnut Street and ran into comedian John Byner. He had two great impressions he did, John Wayne and Donald Duck. I go up to him and say, 'John, you've got to do the duck for me.' He pulled in his Adam's apple and did the Donald Duck for me. Two weeks later he was on Johnny Carson and Johnny asked him, 'Has your life changed since you've become more recognizable?' and he says, 'Yeah. In fact, two weeks ago a guy came up to me and asked me to do Donald Duck,' and I realized he was talking about me."

If you had a wish for the city, what would it be?

"I wish that everybody could have access to a great education in the city. When I read about what the public schools are going through it rips my heart out."

Know someone in the Philadelphia area whose story deserves to be told  or someone whose story you'd like to know? Send suggestions for We the People profiles to Stephanie Farr at farrs@phillynews.com or call her at 215-854-4225. Send tips via Twitter to @FarFarrAway.

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Authorities have found the body or University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein who disappeared the night of Jan. 2, after entering Borrego Park in the Foothill Ranch area of Lake Forest, Calif. Read more

A University of Pennsylvania sophomore who disappeared last week while on a winter break visit to his home in Southern California has been found dead, officials said Wednesday.

The body of Blaze Bernstein, 19, was found Tuesday by searchers in brush in a park near his home in Lake Forest, where he was last seen the night of Jan. 2, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said.

"The case is now being investigated as a homicide," the department said in a statement. Investigators have multiple leads but have made no arrests.

The department said it would release no information about possible cause of death or condition of the body pending an autopsy.

Bernstein vanished after he and a friend drove to Borrego Park in Lake Forest, southeast of Anaheim. The friend told police that Bernstein walked off while he was in a bathroom. Police said then they did not consider the friend a suspect.

Jamie-Lee Josselyn, associate director for recruitment for creative writing at Penn, called the death "confusing" and a "mystery," describing Bernstein as a student who talked about his promising future and carved a path at the university even before he arrived as a freshman.

Josselyn, who was Bernstein's adviser, said she recruited Bernstein when she was visiting his high school in California. He was a talented writer who had an interest in the sciences. He was taking classes that provided a foundation for pre-med, Josselyn said. She took a special interest in Bernstein, asking to be his adviser after he was accepted to help him maintain his creative talents.

Bernstein was listed as a copy associate on the 2016-2017 editorial board for the Penn Review, the university's literary magazine featuring poetry, short stories, and art.magazine. In a piece about writing, called "Picking Marbles from Dirt," he penned,"I can always go back and edit and tweak what I have written, but it's those first words that lick the paper that truly determine the story's ultimate fate."

Bernstein and Josselyn worked at Kelly Writers House, a center at Penn for creative writers and artists. Even before he arrived at the university as a freshman, Bernstein was published in the Penn Review. Josselyn said she had never seen a student publish work at the school before classes started.

"That was Blaze. He was just getting things done, and figuring out how to get connected and stay involved," Josselyn said. "He made a lot of friends on campus, many at the Writers House."

"He was an excellent student in the sciences," Josselyn said, adding that Bernstein was leaning toward a psychology degree. He spoke openly about the challenges he faced at Penn, but was always optimistic and thoughtful about his classes that best prepared him for his future, she said, describing a student who was appreciative of her work and his opportunities at Penn.

"He had a lot of happiness and satisfaction with life and his life at Penn," Josselyn said. Had he been depressed or concerned about his grades, she believes he would have talked to her about it.

Meanwhile, the Orange County Register, citing police affadivits, reports that the friend who was with Bernstein the night he disappeared appeared nervous when interviewed by investigators.

The friend, a high school classmate of Bernstein, also told police that Bernstein complained about his grades in school and "seemed depressed but never said anything about wanting to hurt himself," according to the Register.,

In an afternoon news conference, Lt. Brad Valentine told reporters that investigators believe Bernstein was likely killed the night he disappeared and that his body had been in the park since then.

The search operation had been halted, but resumed after heavy rains on Tuesday. Valentine did not say if Bernstein's body was buried, but "the rain did help us locate the body."

The case drew the attention of celebrities in Southern California, including Kobe Bryant, who posted the missing poster on his Facebook page.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department had been searching for Bernstein since he was reported missing.

The university late Wednesday afternoon issued a statement from Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, vice provost for university life:

"I am devastated to write you again so soon about the loss of another classmate and friend," she said.

"Blaze, 19, was from Foothill Ranch, Calif. He loved the written word. He was the incoming managing editor of Penn Appetit, the student-run food magazine, a copy associate for 34th Street, and wrote opinion columns for the Daily Pennsylvanian. He had not declared a major, but spent his freshman year in the Vagelos Molecular Sciences Program.

"I came to know Blaze, and I grieve his passing as I do all student deaths. I realize these losses have the potential to affect many, many members of our Penn family," she said.

She said a support session for students was scheduled for noon Thursday in the Ben Franklin Room at Houston Hall.

The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that eight Penn students died in 2017.

On New Year's Eve, 18-year-old freshman William Steinberg died in a plane crash in Costa Rica.

-Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.
JP Noda stocks cannabis at The Apothecarium shortly before the store opened for its first day of recreational marijuana sales on Saturday in San Francisco. Read more

"Don't ask, don't tell" is how many veterans have approached health-care conversations about marijuana use with the doctors they see from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Worried that owning up to using the drug could jeopardize their VA benefits  even if they're participating in a medical-marijuana program approved by their state  veterans have often kept mum. That may be changing under a new directive from the Veterans Health Administration urging vets and their physicians to open up on the subject.

The new guidance directs VA clinical staff and pharmacists to discuss with veterans how their use of medical marijuana could interact with other medications or aspects of their care, including treatment for pain management or post-traumatic stress disorder.

The directive leaves in place a key prohibition: VA providers are still not permitted to refer veterans to state-approved medical-marijuana programs, since the drug is illegal under federal law, with no accepted medical use.

That disconnect makes veterans wary, said Michael Krawitz, a disabled Air Force veteran in Ironto, Va., who takes oxycodone and marijuana to treat extensive injuries he suffered in a non-combat-related motorcycle accident while stationed in Guam in 1984.

"Vets are happy that there's a policy, but they're unnerved by that prohibition," he said.

Krawitz, 55, is the executive director of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, an advocacy group. He has always been open with his VA doctors about his medical-marijuana use and hasn't suffered any negative consequences. But Krawitz said he has worked with veterans who have been kicked out of their VA pain-management program after a positive drug test and told they couldn't continue until they stopped using cannabis.

Such actions are usually misunderstandings that can be corrected, he said, but he suggests that the Veterans Health Administration should provide clear guidance to its staff about the new directive so veterans aren't harmed if they admit to using marijuana.

Although the new guidance encourages communication about veterans' use of marijuana, the agency's position on the drug hasn't changed, said Curtis Cashour, a VA spokesman.

Cashour referred to a quote from Veterans Affairs Secretary and Philly native David Shulkin, who said in a White House briefing in May that he thought that among "some of the states that have put in appropriate controls [on the use of medical marijuana], there may be some evidence that this is beginning to be helpful. And we're interested in looking at that and learning from that." But until federal law changes, he said, the VA is not "able to prescribe medical marijuana."

Cashour declined to provide further information about the new directive.

Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it has no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Heroin and LSD are other Schedule 1 drugs. Doctors aren't permitted to prescribe marijuana. Instead, in states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana, doctors may refer patients to state-approved programs that allow marijuana use in certain circumstances. (Doctors can, however, prescribe three drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration that are made of or are similar to a synthetic form of THC, a chemical in marijuana.)

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have laws that allow people to use marijuana legally for medical purposes. Patients who have a disease or condition that's approved for treatment with marijuana under the law are generally registered with the state and receive marijuana through state-regulated dispensaries or other facilities.

Moves by states to legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use have created a confusing landscape for patients to navigate. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last week he would rescind an Obama-era policy that discouraged federal prosecution for marijuana use in states where it is legal. That action has further clouded the issue.

Some consider caution a good thing. The accelerating trend of states approving marijuana for medical and recreational purposes may be getting ahead of the science to support it, they say.

A report released last January by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine examined more than 10,000 scientific abstracts about the health effects of marijuana and its chemical compounds on conditions ranging from epilepsy to glaucoma. The experts found conclusive evidence for a relatively limited number of conditions, including relief of chronic pain, nausea, and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis.

"I believe that there are chemicals in marijuana that have medicinal properties," said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society. "I would love to know what those are, what their medicinal properties are, and what the dose should be." But, he said, studies are extremely challenging to do because of restrictions in the United States on conducting research on Schedule 1 drugs.

No matter where the research stands, getting a complete medication or drug history should be standard procedure at any medical appointment, medical providers say.

In that respect, the guidance from the VA is a positive development.

"It's absolutely critical that you know what your patients are taking, if only to be better able to assess what is going on," said J. Michael Bostwick, a psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who has written on medical-marijuana use.

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
The U.S. State Department has unveiled four tiered categories to warn travelers of potential dangers overseas, using common-sense language ranging from "Exercise normal precaution" to "Do not travel.

The new rankings replace the vague and often confusing system of issuing "travel alerts" for short-term dangers posed by events like health epidemics or mass protests, and "travel warnings" for long-standing concerns like armed conflict or political instability.

The new rankings are applied to every country in the world, and even Antarctica. Advisories are posted on the State Department website at travel.state.gov under the "travel advisories" tab.

Michelle Bernier-Toth, head of Overseas Citizens Services, said the changes were made because so few people understood the distinctions in the previous, broad rankings.

"I personally was tired of explaining the difference between a travel warning and a travel alert, even to some of my colleagues," she said. "We needed to make it more accessible to people, to make sure the information was more easily understood using plain language."



Under the new rankings, Level One, the lowest advisory, signals a need to "exercise normal precautions" in places where there is no more than the usual risk involved in international travel. Canada and Australia are among the countries ranked Level One.



Level Two means "exercise increased caution" for nations where there is a heightened risk to safety. Many countries in Western Europe, where there have been terrorist attacks in recent years, are listed as Level Two. Antarctica is also a Level Two.



Level Three translates bluntly as "reconsider travel," with the recommendation to avoid going to countries with serious risks. Turkey, Russia, and Venezuela are considered Level Three.



Level Four is for countries with a "greater likelihood of life-threatening risks" in which the U.S. government may be very limited in its ability to help. Travelers already in those countries are advised to leave as soon as it is safe.



Eleven countries come with the do-not-travel recommendation, most in Africa and the Middle East  Mali, Central African Republic, Libya, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea.



In addition, the new system will explain why the advisory was made, with one-letter logos: C for crime, T for terrorism, U for civil unrest, H for health risks, N for natural disasters, E for special events like an election, and O for some other reason.



U.S. citizens are not banned from traveling to Level Four countries except for North Korea, where the State Department has prohibited citizens from using their U.S. passports to visit without first obtaining a waiver.



Cuba, which last year came with the travel advisory to not travel there, is now listed as Level Three. Bernier-Toth said it was not listed as a Level Four, even though most U.S. diplomats have been ordered to leave the country over concerns they were targeted for attacks, because it still has not been determined what caused embassy personnel to suffer hearing and brain injuries.



In some countries, U.S. embassy personnel are restricted from visiting particular states or provinces where the risks are considered higher. The State Department calls it the no-double-standard principle.



"We let people know what restrictions we've imposed on ourselves," Bernier-Toth said.



In the past, governments of countries where the State Department has issued travel warnings have complained vociferously, usually out of concerns about their tourism industry. Bernier-Toth said U.S. embassies were given the new rankings ahead of time so they could notify the governments of the impending change.
The mural of Gloria Casarez was added to the 12th Street Gyms facade in 2015, a year after Casarez died of cancer. Casarez was a longtime activist and the citys first director of LGBT affairs. Her friends and family helped design the mural. Read more

The possible closure of 12th Street Gym has stoked worry about the potential demise of its mural of Gloria Casarez, a beloved activist who served as the city's first director of LGBT affairs before she died of cancer in 2014.

"That mural means a lot to me," said Amber Hikes, who now oversees the LGBT affairs office and often demonstrated alongside Casarez in the annual Philadelphia Dyke March, which Casarez helped found. Part of the mural depicts Hikes and other activists listening as Casarez speaks into a bullhorn. "I'm beyond humbled to be able to share space with her," Hikes said.

The mural, put up in 2015, allows Casarez to watch over the Gayborhood, said photographer Kelly Burkhardt. At the Outfest block party last year, she snapped a picture as young people danced on the street at the foot of the mural.

"I just look at this picture and I see her overlooking as these kids are celebrating on the street underneath her  it's just an incredibly powerful moment," said Burkhardt, who is doing a documentary on Casarez.

The uncertainty over the mural's future stems from 12th Street Gym's financial troubles. The gym, which has been around for more than 30 years, has said it must pay at least $500,000 to address fire code violations found by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. The gym's owner, Frank Baer, is in talks this week with the owner of the building to determine whether the gym can continue to operate.

Gayborhood residents and business owners have speculated the building could be demolished  along with the Casarez mural  if the gym closes.

Philly-born artist Michelle Angela Ortiz, who created the mural, was upset to hear the mural was in danger, and emphasized its importance and what the Gayborhood risks in losing it.

You talked to Casarez's family and friends to come up with the mural's design. How is their input reflected in the mural?

In the little alleyway [facing away from 12th Street], there are these little leaves, and the leaves represent these little moments of her life. So there's an image of her grandfather. There's an image of her three aunts, who were in a sense the matriarchs of the family. These were all photos that I was able to collect from her family. There's an image of her favorite photo of herself as a child. She's 3 years old with roller skates, and then there are these stars that are behind her, because of her love for Wonder Woman.

It's a way for her family to feel connected and identify with those symbols that the public wouldn't know. And then the other images [facing 12th Street] are of her with the bullhorn and protesting.

Why was the mural placed in the Gayborhood  and why should it stay there?

It's a fairly recent mural. This mural was created in 2015. Where it's placed, on 12th Street Gym, was really strategic. In the murals that I choose to do, whether they're permanent or temporary, the intention is always to stay connected to that location.

The fact that Gloria's in the Gayborhood and she's a woman of color and she's a person that has her roots really deep within our city, it's so important for her to be there. And for others that identify with her, that's even more of a reason to have her in that location.

Why can't the mural just be taken off the gym's facade and moved somewhere else?

Part of the mural is painted directly onto the brick. The other part of the mural is painted on parachute cloth, which is a polyester fiber. You paint on top of the polyester fiber, and then it's adhered permanently with glue that's been placed on top of the brick.

The process of the parachute cloth  which a lot of the murals in Philadelphia are done this way  is that they really become part of the wall. It's as if there's another layer of paint on top of the brick. So the paint and the cloth can't be necessarily removed without removing the brick.

How were you selected to paint this mural?

I was approached by a number of her friends and family members with this idea of creating this mural in honor of her. I knew that her death was something that was a really strong hit with our community, not just in the sense of the Latino community, but just within the community of people who are activists and organizers.

Gloria, I learned through her wife, was a really big fan of my work. One of her favorite murals that I created is called the "Aqui y Alla" mural, which is located on Sixth Street between Dickinson and Tasker. It represents immigration stories of youth that have crossed the border and come to the U.S., specifically in Philadelphia. That's how I found out that she was a fan of my work.

When they approached me, it was definitely an honor. That's basically what I said to them, that I felt really honored in honoring Gloria.
Copies of the book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" by Michael Wolff are displayed at Barbara's Books Store, Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, in Chicago. Read more

Randall Hansen happened to be in Washington for a conference on Friday as Michael Wolff's new explosive book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," was taking the city by storm.

"I was perking up a bit," said Hansen, the interim director at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. But his interest in the book had less to do with the political controversy it ensued, and more to do with its title.

That's because almost a decade ago, Hansen also wrote a book about a different kind of "fire and fury." Hansen's "Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-1945," released in 2009, earning national acclaim in Canada for its examination of civilian German suffering during World War II.

But in recent years, "very few people were buying it," Hansen said in an interview Tuesday with The Washington Post.

He "had a chuckle" with other conference attendees about the similar titles, but "thought nothing of it." Then, on a whim that night, he looked up his book on Amazon and discovered sales had suddenly shot up. The book had even landed on three different bestseller lists on Amazon, virtually overnight.

Hansen realized that many people had stumbled upon his book while searching for Wolff's record-setting, highly anticipated title. The latter sent the White House into a furor last week and prompted Trump to break with his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, for scathing criticism attributed to him in Wolff's book. Trump's attorney sought last week to stop publication of the book, but the publisher sped up the book's release date instead.

In the days since, the controversy over Wolff's book has fueled sales, its publisher said. With orders for more than a million hardcover copies, it has become the fastest-selling nonfiction book in Henry Holt's 151-year-history, The Post's Paul Farhi reported.

In the midst of this frenzy, some of the readers who'd read Hansen's book were baffled over the fuss, according to its Amazon reviews.

"I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP! I DON'T KNOW WHY THE DEMOCRATS ARE SO HAPPY WITH THIS BOOK AND MAKEINIG A BIG DEAL OF THIS," one review said.

And at least one reader felt deceived.

"HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH BLUMPF !!! SCAM !!!" the reader posted.

Another wrote: "I love Trump, so I bought this book to spite Wolf."

Whether it was due to confusion, spitefulness or serendipity, Hansen's book has been riding Wolff's coattails. The World War II book is currently back-ordered on Amazon. And the professor couldn't be more pleased.

"Incredibly," Hansen tweeted late Friday night, sales of his book had increased. "Will I owe a larger royalty cheque to Bannon & Trump? If so, the irony will know no limits."

In regard to the title, Hansen said he chose "fire" to represent the bombs dropped by the Allied air forces in the Second World War. "Fury" conveyed the British "intention to destroy as many cities as possible."

While this "fire and fury" technically does not have anything to do with Wolff's book, he sees a connection between the two titles. Trump used the phrase "fire and fury" in response to North Korean threats last summer, which Wolff's title echoes, Hansen said.

But Hansen said his book "is about what fire and fury actually looks like for some of the most innocent people." It recounts how bombs dropped by Allied air forces during World War II destroyed dozens of cities, killed more than half a million German citizens and left some 80,000 pilots dead.

Although Hansen isn't a fan of the U.S. president, whom he described him as "impulsive" and "childish," he is grateful for the association with the book about Trump's administration.

"If a few more people read my book now and reflect on the horrific consequences of war to civilian populations," he said, "I think that would be a very good outcome."

"It's particularly important when we have this unstable demagogue in the White House who is constantly threatening . . . war and the use of military weapons," Hansen added.

Hansen's message, of maintaining moral principles, seems to have resonated with at least one reader so far this week.

"Even when fighting an evil force like the Nazis, as this book makes clear, we should not check our morals at the door," one reviewer posted on Amazon on Sunday.

Hansen says he plans to reach out to Wolff one day.

"After all this settles, I'm going to send him a letter," Hansen said. "My sense is he's got other things on his mind at the moment."
Ferny, a pitbull mix, attended an afternoon press conference where Mayor Kenney supported a new coalition to end euthanasia in the city. Read more

Mayor Kenney vowed his support and voiced his appreciation Wednesday for the city's leading animal welfare organizations for forming a "Philadelphia No-Kill Coalition" to help stop euthanizing thousands of animals each year that could be adopted.

In a room filled with animal activists attending a news conference, the mayor said the three groups that initiated the the coalition "share a common goal in ending euthanasia. Now the leaders in the community have come together to work toward this common goal."

While he does not have a pet, the mayor said he lives in a building where many residents have animals that enrich their lives. The audience also included Missy, a friendly black cat, and Ferny, a pitbull mix. Both are looking for homes.

The coalition is aiming to end the practice of euthanizing homeless animals euthanized due to a lack of shelter space.

Last year, about 82 percent of the 18,000 cats and dogs housed by the city's official shelter, the Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia, survived, a dramatic increase from 2005, when nearly 90 percent of the animals brought to the city shelter were euthanized.

The coalition wants to keep the momentum, saving more animals with focus on animals most at risk  kittens, sick cats and dogs, or pets whose owners have had a hardship.

"We're going to use our collective voice through the year," Melissa Levy, the executive director of the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, a nonprofit that operates no-kill shelters and is part of the coalition, said Tuesday. It has been working for years with city officials to curtail the number of unwanted animals euthanized in the city's facilities.

The coalition includes Philly's Animal Care and Control Team, the Pennsylvania SPCA, and at least 10 other organizations.

Philadelphia, they hope, will be a model for other cities across the state.

Julie Klim, who heads the PSPCA, said the goal is to help pet owners through a hardship to keep their animals at home rather than surrendering them to the shelter.

"We are not going to euthanize animals that can stay in a home," Klim said. "Sometimes people, if they don't have a lot of resources, they just can't do it if there is a medical problem,  They have to make a choice between their pet and their family."

Another agency, Citizens for a No-Kill Philadelphia, will help provide resources to keep pets in their homes, the group said. And Petsmart Charities has provided a grant to help pay for an employee at the Philadelphia shelter who would assist struggling owners and prevent shelter surrenders.

Klim said that the city not long ago received a call about a malnourished and unhealthy dog. When investigators went to the house, Klim said, they found that the owner had cancer and had not kept up with his dog's flea treatment. Through outreach, the home was treated for fleas, and the animal's health needs were taken care of.

Although the coalition wants a zero-kill rate, Klim said there are circumstances when animals must be put down, including behavioral problems.

"We are not going to put dangerous animals out there," Klim said.

Vincent Medley, executive director of the Animal Care and Control Team, said he was glad to have more support and looks forward to working closely with the different groups.

"We see the problem at the point of origin," Medley said. Once the city shelter is full, he said, the city has no choice but to euthanize animals. "Kitten season" in the spring and summer is particularly hard, he said.

The groups have had an impact already. The 18,000 dogs and cats that were taken to the city shelter in 2017 is significantly down compared with more than 30,000 in 2011, according to the PSPCA.

Coalition members have agreed to take specific steps to continue increasing the survival rate of Philadelphia animals, and reduce the number of pets that land in shelters. The group will prioritize the needs of Philadelphia animals over animals from outside the region. It plans to mobilize resources where most needed, and make lifelong commitments to help families from outside of Philadelphia who adopted a pet in the city, regardless of the time passed since adoption.

"The only way to create a truly no-kill city, and an environment of compassion and care, is to work together and help each other, which will ultimately lead to saving the lives of countless animals in our city," Medley said.

Staff writer Mari A. Schaefer contributed to this article.
A panel of federal judges Wednesday effectively upheld Pennsylvania's often-criticized congressional district map, declining to take up a novel challenge that sought to have it declared unconstitutional as gerrymandered to favor the party in power.

In a 2-1 decision Wednesday, the judges said that specific challenge was not for them to decide.

Plaintiffs in Agre v. Wolf, led by a Democratic ward leader from Philadelphia, had hoped to use the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution to argue that any amount of partisanship in drawing the state's congressional maps was illegal.

The congressional boundaries in question were drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2011 after the 2010 census.

"Although there may be a case in which a political gerrymandering claim may successfully be brought under the Elections Clause, this is not such a case," wrote Judge Patty Shwartz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

"The structural change plaintiffs seek must come from the political process itself, not the courts," concluded D. Brooks Smith, chief judge of the Third Circuit.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is one of several cases nationwide involving redistricting.

The day before the judges' ruling in Philadelphia, a panel of federal judges in North Carolina ruled that state's congressional map unconstitutional and ordered the legislature to redraw it this month. The judges said Republicans had drawn it to their advantage. It was the first time federal judges had ruled that a congressional map was unconstitutional because of gerrymandering.

U.S. Supreme Court justices have said they will render a decision in gerrymandering cases out of Maryland and Wisconsin in the coming months.

Also in Pennsylvania, a group of 18 Democratic voters filed a state gerrymandering lawsuit against state officials in June. That case is the one to watch, said Michael Li, a gerrymandering expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

"I wouldn't read too much into this [federal] decision," Li said. "I don't think it says much about whether the court will find a problem" in other cases.

The case rejected Wednesday had legal theories that differ from those in the state cases and the other federal case in Pennsylvania, which involves claims under the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause, Li said.

Both Steve Miskin, spokesman for the House Republicans, and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati used Wednesday's decision to say that the state's congressional map is constitutional.

"For the past several months, plaintiffs have made dozens of strained legal arguments against the map, and the majority decision once again invalidated the plaintiffs' position," Scarnati said in a statement. He renewed his call for plaintiffs to "abandon their costly legal actions and allow the legislature's examination of reforms to move forward."

Miskin said the maps had "passed with bipartisan votes in the House."

Alice Ballard, attorney for the plaintiffs, pointed to the different outcomes in the North Carolina and Pennsylvania federal gerrymandering cases to say the issue is far from resolved. "Only the Supreme Court can make the final decision," she said.

In his dissent, Senior District Judge Michael Baylson said the congressional map should be redrawn, calling gerrymandering a "major public policy issue."

"Plaintiffs themselves described being alienated from the political process.  In my opinion, gerrymandering will only cause voter turnout to decline even further," Baylson wrote.

Also Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Mike Stack filed a brief with the state Supreme Court, saying he agreed with the plaintiffs in the state case that the map is unconstitutional and that a new map should replace it before the 2018 midterm elections. He proposed his own version, which consists of less-fragmented districts.

He said his map was "fair, allows voters to truly select their congressman, and allows communities with similar regional interests to have representation from a single member of Congress."

Stack, who began his reelection campaign last November, is a defendant in the gerrymandering lawsuit filed by the 18 voters in June. It also names Gov. Wolf, members of the General Assembly and other state officials.

The justices on the state's high court  five Democrats and two Republicans  have scheduled oral arguments on the constitutionality of the maps for next Wednesday.

Last month, a Commonwealth Court judge recommended that the state Supreme Court uphold the map. Judge P. Kevin Brobson ruled that politics played a role in creating the map and that the legislature could have drawn more neutral ones. But some degree of partisanship is acceptable in redistricting, he said.

The plaintiffs "have failed to meet their burden of proving that the 2011 plan, as a piece of legislation, clearly, plainly, and palpably violates the Pennsylvania Constitution," Brobson said in his recommendation on Dec. 29. He presided over a week-long trial focusing on the constitutionality of the map.

Staff writers Jonathan Lai, Liz Navratil, and Jeremy Roebuck contributed to this article.
President Trump listens during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Tuesday. Read more

Questions about cognitive functioning are now standard in annual wellness exams for seniors paid for by Medicare, and they should be on the agenda during 71-year-old Donald Trump's first physical as president Friday, Jason Karlawish, a physician who codirects the Penn Memory Center, believes.

Between reports about the president's erratic behavior and trouble concentrating, his simplistic vocabulary and meandering communication style, it's reasonable to wonder about his health, Karlawish recently argued in an essay in Forbes.

"The topic of our president's cognitive functioning and its impact on his day-to-day life and his ability to do his job kept on recurring," said Karlawish, who is an expert on late-life cognitive disorders, like Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia.

Neither he nor Arthur Caplan, a New York University bioethicist who has called for a more transparent presidential assessment, expects any big news from the physical.

A White House spokesman did not respond this week to questions about whether the president's cognitive health would be measured on Friday. But traditional physicals have not devoted much time to brain health. "Physicals tend to be really physical," Caplan said. "They tend to be almost biochemistry exams."

Plus, the commander in chief will control what is made public about his health, and the doctors doing the evaluation work are military employees, Caplan said.

Both Caplan and Karlawish see Trump's physical as an opportunity for the country to discuss whether an independent, nonpartisan group should perform presidential medical exams that encompass a standard set of measures important to performing the job. Former President Jimmy Carter endorsed the idea in 1994, Karlawish said, but it has never gotten off the ground. Touchy subjects such as who should receive information about serious health problems  likely Congress, not the public  put consensus out of reach, Karlawish said.

"This is a topic the nation needs to start to engage," he said.

"We've had this issue lying around and we don't do anything about it," said Caplan, who pointed out that many presidents have hidden major health problems from the public throughout the nation's history.

Local Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle raised a similar issue Tuesday by introducing a bill that would assess presidential nominees for "physical and mental fitness" with a standardized medical exam. Results would be made public. In a nod to Trump's recent tweet calling himself a "stable genius," Boyle called it the Standardizing Testing and Accountability Before Large Elections Giving Electors Necessary Information for Unobstructed Selection Act (STABLE GENIUS Act).

Cognitive functioning becomes more of an issue with advancing age. According to the Alzheimer's Association, 3 percent of people aged 65 to 74 have Alzheimer's compared, with 17 percent of those 75 to 84. Trump is the oldest person to begin a first term in office. But several politicians considered his possible rivals in 2020 are older  Bernie Sanders is 76 and Joe Biden is 75. Even Oprah Winfrey, whose Golden Globes speech fueled talk that she might be a presidential contender, would be 67 in 2020.

Brain changes and mild symptoms begin years before people are diagnosed with dementia.

As more people work during what once were considered the retirement years, the issue of how to assess competency in older workers will become more pressing. Many health systems now have programs, for example, that test whether older doctors are having physical or cognitive problems that impair their ability to do their jobs.

There is no standard for when brain changes render people unable to do a job. Exactly when former President Ronald Reagan began showing signs of Alzheimer's has long been a point of controversy.

Former President Barack Obama's last physical did indeed include a lot of the usual numbers, like blood pressure and heart rate. The biggest problem his office reported was occasional acid reflux. There was a neurological exam, but it covered the sorts of things you can measure by asking a patient to track a light with his eyes, not tests that measure how well his brain is working.

Karlawish said the Affordable Care Act authorized Medicare to cover an "annual wellness visit" that includes the "detection of any cognitive impairment."

The patient and family, if present, would be asked if the patient has experienced any changes in thinking ability or memory. Karlawish said changes in the ability to manage money, medications, and driving are often early signs of cognitive trouble.

If there are concerns about impairment, a doctor typically would then give an exam that measures memory, language skills, and executive function, which refers to the ability to plan and make decisions.

People who functioned at a very high level when young can perform well on tests even when they're starting to have problems. The really important thing, Karlawish said, is whether they change over time.

Jack Ende, a Penn internist in charge of the health system's executive health program, said he believes physicians are asking their older patients about brain functioning. Executive physicals, used by some companies to make sure their leaders' health problems are caught early, take several hours, far longer than standard checkups, he said.

For patients over 65, Ende routinely asks about depression, anxiety, and stress as well as whether they're having problems with memory.

Andrew Newberg, an internal and nuclear medicine doctor who is director of research at Jefferson Health's Marcus Institute of Integrative Health, conducts daylong evaluations  most are for executives  in the Executive Great Life and Advanced Brain Health programs. Both are daylong endeavors that cost from $2,500 to $6,500. Most of the participants in the brain program are 55 and up and worried about changes or a family history. Some opt for advanced brain imaging that shows whether there are signs of amyloid, a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease, or other structural abnormalities in their brains.

Asked whether the president's physical should include some cognitive tests, Newberg said yes. "You're talking about one of the most important jobs in the world," he said.
Irene Madrak (left), executive director of North Light Community Center in Manayunk, and Kevin Smith, president of the Manayunk Neighborhood Council, stand in the parking lot of St. Mary of the Assumption Church. Read more

After nearly a year of negotiations, a revised development plan for the St. Mary of the Assumption Church campus in Manayunk cuts the number of units nearly in half, and provides new on-street parking as well as dedicated off-street parking for a busy community center.

The new plan, which community leaders support, will be presented to residents at a 7:30 p.m. Thursday meeting at the North Light Community Center, 175 Green Lane.

Last March, Manayunk residents overwhelmingly voted to reject developer Jack Bienenfeld's plan, which would have brought more than 100 apartments to the old church site at 176 Conarroe St. They cited a too-dense neighborhood of narrow, hilly streets; traffic congestion; and little parking.

Irene Madrak, executive director of North Light, bitterly fought the proposal. But she said she was "bowled over" by the changes in the new plan, which has a combined total of 56 units  21 townhouses and 35 apartments.

Kevin Smith, president of the Manayunk Neighborhood Council, also supports the new plan.

There was a period where the community and developers "locked horns" over whether there would be on-street parking on Carson Street. The developer wanted the townhouses closer to the street, eliminating parking on that side of the street. The community wanted to push back the houses to allow eight to 10 additional spaces, which is part of the new plan.

The old proposal also had threatened to end a practice of off-street parking for people visiting North Light, which offers tutoring and after-school programs for children and a food pantry and other services for adults and senior citizens.

Under the new plan, North Light will be able to purchase 16 spots on the former church parking lot, along Carson, directly behind the center. The 16 parking spaces are the equivalent of three townhouses the developer will forgo.

After residents challenged Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. to visit Manayunk at morning and evening rush hours, when people scramble for parking spaces, he met with both community leaders and the developer last March and told them the project could not go forward without dedicated parking for North Light.

"I've met people who were the direct product of that community center," he said. "That wasn't always a half-million-dollar-a-unit neighborhood. It was one time a blue-collar neighborhood, and a lot of tough kids came through that community center. Some of them wound up in my office as interns."

The St. Mary's campus spans a one-acre, two-block area from Carson to Conarroe to Gay Streets, and the new apartments will be built inside three former properties: the old St. Mary's church building, its rectory and its school.

St. Mary's, which was built in 1849 by German stonemasons for the neighborhood's German-speaking Roman Catholic residents, had its final Mass in July 2012. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia finally closed its doors for weddings and funerals in November 2015.

Two of the properties, the church and the rectory, were placed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.
Jim Griffiths, long-time Pine Island resident and publisher of The Nautical Mile, has written his first book, Dont Tell Me I Cant Do It!

Dont Tell Me I Cant Do It! is a book about bridging the gap between school and life. Its a book about creative thinking and thinking like an entrepreneur, Griffiths said. If people would adopt entrepreneurial thinking into their personal lives it would solve many of our personal challenges as a nation.

Griffiths adopted entrepreneurial thinking early in life. After leaving Cape Coral, Griffiths spent his teenage years in the Florida Keys spending much of his time fishing. Griffiths credits much of his success in life to his first entrepreneurial thinking experience when he was a teenager in Key Largo.

We all love what were good at, Griffiths said. I found something I loved and I was great at fishing. Or rather the reward of catching.

Griffiths watched the schools of snappers swimming in his canal and studied their behavior. Small snappers were easy to catch but Griffiths wanted a big one. By studying their behavior over several weeks of trial and error, he caught a 15-inch snapper.

About as big as they got in that canal, Griffiths said. I experienced failure, frustration and the inability to accomplish something I had put so much effort into. The story about catching the 15-inch snapper isnt about fishing. Its about consistently trying something different, improving technique and learning from your mistakes. Its about not giving up.

At 14 years old, Griffiths ran away from home, making his way to Sacramento, Calif. At 17 he joined a rock band but after learning he didnt have musical talent, he headed for Dutch Harbor, Alaska, where he spent two seasons commercial fishing.

A friend gave Griffiths a book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a story for one who knows that somewhere theres a higher way of living than scuffing the tracks of others, someone who yearns to fly the way their own heart yearns to fly 

Seagull wasnt about flying high or fast, Griffiths said It was about breaking your own barriers, physically and mentally. I learned a lot from that book.

Returning to Florida at 22 years old, Griffiths tried his hand at publishing.

I placed classified ads all over the U.S., Griffiths said. I sold The Alaska Quest, a three-book set on how to get a job in Alaska for $39.95. People would call the toll free number  I never talked to a person. I kept changing the recording they heard until I started to make sales.

The Alaska Quest didnt make a lot of money but, it offered great entrepreneurial lessons, Griffiths said. It builds your skills.

The Nautical Mile began in August of 2003 as a flyer that soon became a publication for the coastal community for Southwest Florida, Griffiths said. It is a newspaper-style magazine thats a source of information. I learned more in the first year about being an entrepreneur than anything else Ive done. In that first year you build the foundation for years to come.

Entrepreneurs dont think out of the box, they invent boxes and they make things better, Griffiths said. Thats why I wrote the book. I want to share the things Ive learned about problem solving and getting the life you want. Entrepreneurial thinking will give the reader the life skills that will take them anywhere they want to go.

Griffiths book Dont Tell Me I Cant Do It is available in paperback at Amazon.com  www.NauticalMileMagazine.com
For the better part of the past week cold, weather shut down fishing. Strong north winds delivering the coldest temperatures we have seen in a few years made it pretty miserable on the water. Needless to say, fishing reports were sparse, especially any reports of good fishing.

A 20 degree drop in water temperature can really turn off the bite, and in some instances, leave fish fighting to stay alive. Snook are the most vulnerable; this is the reason they have a closed season for the winter. Too much cold stuns them and leaves them lethargic, making them easy targets to scoop up with a net or snag with a hook. If the mercury drops for too many days in a row, its possible that many will die. Thats just what happened in January 2010  extended cold weather killed snook by the thousands. Many estimate 60 to 80 percent of our snook population in the southwest was decimated in 2010. From what I witnessed I would have to agree, those numbers were pretty accurate.

With inshore water temperatures in the low to mid-50s, it was difficult on some days to get anything to bite, especially early in the day before the sun had a chance to give a little warmth. On Sunday with the water temperature showing 54 degrees, we actually caught a half dozen snook while trying to catch a redfish or sheepshead. They fought good and looked healthy  positive signs they will survive the cold as warmer days are now in the forecast.

This coming week we should see good sheepshead fishing. They thrive in the cold once they get acclimated to the cooler water. The front should have put them on the move to nearshore structure and inshore. This next month should give us a shot at our largest fish of the year as they are in pre-spawn mode.

Just like our local fish, I do not like the cold, not even a little. There is a reason I have never fished north of Charlotte Harbor in my life. I know our cold days are mild in comparison to what goes on in the northern states, but its not just me, clients on my boat from the far north admitted it was cold and miserable last week. So, with some luck we can get back to warmer days with light winds and get the fishing back on track.

If you have a fishing report of for charter information, please contact us at: Gulf Coast Guide Service, phone: 239-283-7960, Website: www.fishpineisland.com or email: gcl2fish@live.com

Have a safe week and good fishin.

As a native of Pine Island, Bill Russell has spent his entire life fishing and learning the waters surrounding Pine Island and as a professional fishing guide for the past 18 years.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Malaysia Response on RM 1000 Entry Requirement

There are many news reports since the news of RM1000 to legally cross into Thailand featured by TheSundayDaily two days ago. Many other viral websites are publishing similar issues on the requirement of RM 1000 for Malaysians to cross border to Thailand.

This is not a new story as we blogged about this issue last year in our article Do You Need to Show 20K Baht To Enter Thailand Now? Similar story was published by Channel News Asia last year in their article of Some tourist visa holders asked to show 20,000 baht in cash before entering Thailand: Report.

Today, we spoke to the representatives of Tourism Authority of Thailand Malaysia on this issue and they issued the statement below:

Refer to Recent News of Thailand RM 1,000 entry requirement.

This Rule is by the Immigration act of Thailand, which has been long existence since 1979.

For genuine bona fide tourists should not be a problem. The Authority are going after suspicious, illegal long stay and foreigners whom are not genuine Tourists.

Random check are being conducted at entry point into Thailand.

In 2017, Thailand welcome more than 3.4 millions Malaysian Tourists.

 Tourism Authority of Thailand Malaysia

We recently drove to Hatyai in December and there are no issues of cash requirements.

Tourism Authority of Thailand Malaysia told us that there are NO official complaints from Malaysians getting BARRED to Thailand with the minimum requirements of RM 1,000 cash.

Wilson Ng A Father and traveler who enjoys to eat, shop, travel and taking pictures with Samsung S21 Ultra. Im a full time blogger, youtuber and father for two.

I travel around 17 International trips per year. Remember to follow us at www.instagram.com/placesandfoods and www.youtube.com/placesandfoods. For ads or features, contact me at [email protected] See author's posts
VIDEO: Murder Suspect's SUV Flips While Running from Virginia Officers

Dashcam video from the Virginia State Police shows a murder suspect flip his car while trying to evade officers on Interstate 95 Dec. 28.

According to Virginia State Police, they were looking for a man driving an SUV who was wanted in connection to a murder. Police said the man allegedly shot and killed a woman in Stafford County, Virginia, before fleeing the scene in the SUV.

A state trooper and a local deputy noticed the SUV on the interstate and tried to pull the man over, ABC affiliate WJLA said. However, when the man pulled over, authorities say he got out of the SUV and shot at them. He then fled, and officers pursued.

The suspect was seriously injured in the crash and flown to a nearby hospital for treatment. It's unclear what condition the man is in now or if he has been charged, ABC News reports.
New York Citys Police Commissioner James O'Neil made a dozen high-level promotions in a shakeup late Monday that also saw several minority officers and women moved into top spots, chiefs being asked to retire and scores of other commanders told they are being transferred.

ONeill named Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan the new chief of department. Monahan replaces Carlos Gomez, who retired.

Chief Rodney Harrison, an architect of the Neighborhood Coordination Officers program, or NCO, is now chief of patrol. Deputy Chief Nilda Irizarry Hofmann, who runs the Risk Management Bureau, will become chief of community affairs. Hofmann is the first Hispanic woman in the NYPD to be promoted to three-star chief. The promotions take effect next week, the New York Daily News reports.

Transit Chief Joseph Fox, Community Affairs Chief Joanne Jaffe, Personnel Chief Diana Pizzuti and Citywide Operations Chief Thomas Purtell either retired or were asked to put in their papers, NYPD sources said Monday.

The department is also creating an Office of Equity and Inclusion, to help develop strong women and minority candidates to assume positions of leadership, ONeill said.
New York City's largest police union is suing Mayor de Blasio to block the NYPDs release of body camera footage  claiming its disclosure poses civil rights concerns for cops and civilians.

"The basis of this suit is simple: we're suing to prevent the Mayor and the NYPD from arbitrarily and illegally releasing body camera footage, Patrolmens Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said of the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit, which was obtained by the Daily News.

This footage has serious implications not only for the safety and due process rights of police officers, but for the privacy and rights of members of the public, as well. The Mayor and the NYPD have shown a reckless disregard for these concerns by circumventing the existing process set up by the State Legislature and selectively releasing portions of videos to suit their own interests.

While the NYPD does not allow the blanket release of body camera footage, the department has agreed to release video on a case-by-case basis.

Lynch wants a judge to decide whether requested body cam footage should be released, rather than the NYPD.
When Officer Devon Johnson gears up for his shifts, he never knows how his day will play out. As a veteran officer, who has given 17 years to law enforcement work, Johnson might find himself on the side of a highway writing a traffic ticket, at the range conducting rifle training, or executing a tactical drill in a shoothouse.

But though the scenarios he encounters change, one thing remains a constant for the Elsberry, Missouri, patrol officerhis equipment needs to be tough. When I am going from investigations to physical arrests to traffic enforcement to firearms training, I need my equipmentbe it a gun, a watch or even a pento survive that encounter and keep going, he says.

Sean Wingrons day-to-day duties differ a bit from Johnsons. As a K-9 handler in Lincoln County, Missouri, hes tasked with a variety of duties, ranging from tracking a missing person, to narcotics searches and performing building sweeps. As he carries out his job, he might be exposed to gases, explosives, chemicals, bloodborne pathogens, rain, snow, sleet, mud and more. When hes not on call, hes training his canine partner, Jax, up to 10 hours a week.

As Wingron moves from tracking lost individuals to drug detection to K-9 training, he says its essential for his equipment to work. I want my equipment to be durable and compatible with the jobs I perform. If its not these two things, I wont use it, he says.

As an officer in a seven-man department, Mike Fitzgerald, meanwhile, wears many hats from patrol to tactical to investigations, and everything in between. One day, this Warson Woods, Missouri, officer might find himself making traffic stops, the next working a homicide investigation, and the day after that being a first responder to a SWAT call.

His job is different every single day, but his equipment remains the same. For this reason, he needs it to function no matter what. We are a small department, so we have to do a lot of different things if the need arises, he says, noting his equipment needs to work well for the application its designed for, offer some flexibility in its use, and be rugged and reliable whether hes taking a report, jumping a fence or wrangling a suspect.

Three different officers with three very different jobs, but all three officers make similar demands of their equipment, using words like tough, durable, rugged and reliable.

Casio understands that every officer, at every call, requires a dependable timepiece. The G-Shock Mudmaster GG1000-1A5 is that timepiece. This top-of-the-line timepiece is one of the latest additions to the companys Master of G series, which is the ultimate in tough, durable, rugged and reliable.

As the above officers can attest, every encounter brings something new and unexpected, and the gear used must hold up to law enforcements rigorous demands. For officers to do their jobs safely, day in and day out, they need resilient equipment that withstands the elements. In Missouri, where these officers are from, it might literally be all four seasons in just one day. You could be out there in rain, sleet or snow, or it could be a sunny, hot and humid day, Johnson says. Your equipment has to stand up to all weather conditions.

He adds, Most ranges are nothing more than a hollowed-out pit with a base on it. A shoothouse isnt much better. Youre going to also need a timepiece that can take the abuse that these environments dish out. This equipment needs to take the strains, cuts and bruises of crawling through gravel, and shooting from position.

The GG1000-1A5s mud-resistant and 200M water-resistant construction keeps this timepiece ticking in the harshest of weather. This construction keeps water and mud out while maintaining the timepieces functionality. The design utilizes multiple gaskets on the pipes that guide its buttons and shafts, keeping rain, water, mud and sludge from damaging its insides.

Timekeeping is also a critical aspect of the job. Wingron uses his timepiece as a stop watch to check the time it takes his dog to run a track during training, while Johnson relies on his to time drills at the range, and Fitzgerald taps his to note the time of a traffic stop. Because officers rely on timepieces for more than keeping time, the GG1000-1A5 comes complete with a digital compass, five daily alarms, a thermometer and 31 time zones.

You may need a timepiece to check how long your partners been gone, or how long youve waited for a suspect to answer the door, says Johnson. During these times, if your watch fails, it can cause serious consequences and even death.

As law enforcement professionals tackle tasks that range from interviews to notetaking, to timing range drills and more, their timepiece needs to be designed to work with them no matter what the task and no matter where they are. The GG1000-1A5 features oversized, non-slip buttons with a checkered finish for non-slip operation, a feature Wingron considers essential.He explains, If you are wearing gloves or something like that, you need to be able to operate the watch. If the buttons are small, you wont be able to do that.

He adds being able to see the watchface in a low-lit area is also a big plus. Seeing the GG1000-1A5 in low light is made easy with a dial face that is illuminated by an Auto Super Illuminator LED, with optimum-brightness, that can be activated at the tilt of the wrist. In addition to its digital display, large Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 oclock give a traditional 3-hand readout.

When duty gets tough, these officers expect their timepiece to get tougher. The GG1000-1A5 meets these demands via a hollow-case structure, all-directional coating and cushioning material to provide shock resistance.

Shock resistance is a key feature that Johnson, who admits to owning more than 30 watches, including a Casio Edifice, looks for. When people are firing automatic weapons near you [at the range], you need shock resistance, he says. Ive seen crystals in lesser-quality watches crack in those situations.

But the G-Shock GG1000-1A5 is more than a functional and durable timepiece. It makes a statement, taking officers from the streets to the station to the courtroom with its sleek and professional design. The attractive timepiece features a tactical, yet sporty look, with a band that resembles the texture of a cloth band, and commanding hour and minute hands shaped with points resembling warning markers.

A lot of guyswant an attractive larger face watch with a military-like appearance that stands up to the demands of the job, Johnson says.

Whatever the task, every law enforcement officer needs a timepiece that is durable, rugged and reliable. The Casio G-Shock GG1000-1A5 meets these needs and more. For every officer, and every call, there is just one timepiecethe Casio G-Shock GG1000-1A5.
ABC/Nicole WilderJack White promised that his new single "Connected by Love" would arrive today, but he delivered even more. Along with the track, White revealed that his next album would be called Boarding House Reach, and also unveiled another new song, "Respect Commander."

Both "Connected by Love" and "Respect Commander" are available now for digital download, and "Connected by Love" is accompanied by a video that focuses on different characters as they react to the news that another planet is headed for Earth. It's basically the plot of the Kirsten Dunst movie Melancholia.

Last month, White shared "Serving and Portions from my Boarding House Reach," a four-minute collage of sounds from the upcoming album.

Boarding House Reach is due out this year. White will be headlining a number of festivals this spring and summer, including Governors Ball, Boston Calling and Shaky Knees.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
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On MSNBCs All In, guest host Joy Reid bluntly spoke the truth about how Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham intentionally pushed a Russia conspiracy theory that they knew was a lie.

Video:

Reid said, The testimony released today blows those claims out of the water. And the two Republican senators blocking its release, Chuck Grassley, and Lindsey Graham knew that. They knew the narrative being pushed on Fox News and Capitol Hill was baloney. Instead of correcting that narrative, they chose to perpetuate it. Calling for a second special counsel to investigate so-called FBI bias. And referring the author of the dossier, former British spy Christopher Steele, for a criminal investigation. Its all part of a concerted drive by the presidents allies to muddy the waters of the Russia investigation and discredit the dossier, which outlines alleged Russian collusion with the trump campaign in 2016.

Reid is right. The real criminals in the Russia scandal are the Republicans who are enabling the cover-up of potential Trump campaign Russia related crimes. Graham and Grassley knew what the testimony was, but they chose to try to suppress the release of the transcript of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpsons testimony because it would expose the truth, and make it more difficult for Congressional Republicans like Grassley and Graham to sweep the Russia scandal under the rug.

Grassley and Graham lied to protect Trump. There is no other conclusion that can be reached.

Republicans are correct on one point. We do need a second special counsel to investigate the Republican Congressional cover-up for Donald Trump.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters)  A three-judge federal panel ordered congressional districts in North Carolina to be redrawn ahead of the 2018 elections, ruling on Tuesday that the current Republican-drawn map was illegal and unconstitutionally partisan.

The judges said the state legislator responsible for the 2016 map had said he drew it to give Republican candidates an advantage.

But that is not a choice the Constitution allows legislative map drawers to make, the court said.

Ralph Hise, North Carolinas state Senate Redistricting Chairman, said through a spokeswoman that lawmakers would appeal.

Democrats and the groups that brought the suit applauded the ruling.

Todays ruling is a major victory for North Carolina and people across the state whose voices were silenced by Republicans unconstitutional attempts to rig the system to their partisan advantage, North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin said in a statement.

While prior court decisions had ruled against unconstitutional racial gerrymandering in North Carolina, Common Cause  one of the public-interest groups that filed the lawsuit  said the ruling marked the first time a court had struck down partisan gerrymandering in the state.

The U.S. Supreme Court last June upheld a lower courts ruling that Republican lawmakers in North Carolina had mapped state legislative districts in a way that diluted the clout of black voters.

The judges gave the state until Jan. 29 to file a proposed remedial plan with the court.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins and Chris Kenning; editing by Tom Brown and G Crosse)
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On The Last Word, Lawrence ODonnell explained why the release of the transcript that may doom Trump by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) makes her a national hero.

Video:

ODonnell said, Today Dianne Feinstein taught all of her Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle the lesson that we are all suppose to know. Extraordinary times call require extraordinary measures. Almost since the day Glenn Simpson was interviewed by the senate judiciary committee staff on August 22nd of 2017 about the dossier that his firm, Fusion GPS, commissioned Christopher Steele to write, his testimony has been lied about by Republican senators. Chairman Grassley publicly called that testimony, which he refused to release, quote, uncooperative. Glen Simpson wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times last week urging the committee to release his testimony. The person Chuck Grassley was accusing of being uncooperative wanted to show us how cooperative he actually was with the committee. Chuck Grassley was never going to release that transcript. And Senator Feinstein knew it. And so today Dianne Feinstein willfully took an action that humiliated the chairman of her committee, Chuck Grassley, something she hated to do. And in the process, she proved that the chairman of her committee has been lying about Glenn Simpsons testimony, publicly lying about it. The transcript shows that Glenn Simpson was fully cooperative, as he described Christopher Steele and himself believing they were witnessing a crime in progress. Those were his words, Crime in progress with Russian interference in the election.

It is important to remember that the Senate isnt the House. There are strict unwritten rules and behavioral protocols that are followed. Feinstein released the transcript not because she was looking for some political payback, but because she had to. Chuck Grassley was trying to get Christopher Steele charged with a crime. Trump was running the Russia scandal cover-up on the Senate side through the Judiciary Committee. The only way that the Simpson transcript was going to see the light of day was if she released it.

Sen. Feinstein did something for her country and the pursuit of truth. At a time when ethics and morals take a beating at the hands of Trump, Dianne Feinstein rose above. Feinstein wouldnt let the truth be buried, and for that reason, she deserves to be called a national hero.
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Rep, Adam Schiff (D-CA) didnt pull any punches as he called out Republicans for running intentional distractions for Trump on Russia.

Video:

Schiff said on MSNBCs MTP Daily, The only thing I want to say  generally on the issue, of the majoritys attack on the FBI and the Department of Justice, this is, I think a profound distraction from what Russia did from the issues that were charged with investigating. Its quite by design, and I think it is frankly very much in combination with the referral of Christopher Steele in a criminal investigation and will do potentially long-term damage to these institutions.

The great unknown about the consequences of the Republican decision to attack institutions to protect Trump is what long-term damage their strategy is causing. The Republican distraction racket is causing a substantial portion of Americans who support Donald Trump to distrust the FBI and the DOJ. Both of these institutions are critical to public safety and security.

Rep. Schiff was correct. Republicans are playing a distraction game. The facts on Russia are so bad that Republicans are trying to distract people from looking at them. The GOP is trying to keep their base motivating by dreaming up a Democratic equivalent scandal. It is all intentional. The plan doesnt seem to be fooling anyone, and if Democrats win back the House in 2018, the distractions will stop, and the real investigation will begin.
Following Steve Bannons ouster from the alt-right news website Breitbart on Tuesday, MSNBCs Joy Reid tweeted, Hes gonna need a new apartment and a new source of income. Shes right.

Unfortunately for Bannon, at least one conservative media company has already announced that it wont be giving him a new job  Fox News. A spokesperson for the network confirmed the decision to The Hill.

Given the mutual disdain Bannon and Rupert Murdoch  executive chairman at 21st Century Fox  have for each other, as well as Bannons expressed hatred for the mainstream media, the news isnt too shocking.

Bannons fall from grace within right-wing circles was rapid. Last week, after the former White House deputy chief of staff and Trump campaign strategist was quoted describing Donald Trump Jr.s meeting with a Russian lawyer treasonous, the president quickly released a searing statement against him. The billionaire Mercer family, perhaps Bannons most important financial backer, also cut ties.

Like many of Trumps former staffers, Bannon learned this week that criticizing a narcissist  or, in this case, as narcissists son  leads to excommunication, regardless of how good the relationship ever was. Still, theres no room for pity for Bannon, especially after how tirelessly he worked to push white supremacy in the U.S., using Breitbart and his influence inthe White House as his primary tools.
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The Mueller investigation is expected to last well into 2018, and there is little evidence that the Special Counsel wants to talk to Trump anytime soon.

Video:

NBCs Ken Dilanian shared his thoughts on when the investigation might wrap up on Nicolle Wallaces MSNBC program Deadline: White House, Were hearing a lot about obstruction of justice and the notion that maybe Mueller wants to talk to trump sometime soon about that. That may be true. The obstruction of justice case goes over a shorter period of time. Its a smaller number of witnesses, and its out in the open. Its people we know about. The collusion and conspiracy aspect is hidden. So I think we should be very cautious about what we dont know about that case. What witnesses are calling, and the hiring of this cyber expert is interesting. We shouldnt write off the collusion part. Heres the thing about the collusion aspect. Ive talked to a lot of legal experts who say you cannot get to the bottom of collusion until you have the testimony of Paul Manafort. You may not have that testimony unless you convict Paul Manafort and that could be months from now. Its possible this thing goes well into 2018, and I wouldnt put too much stock in the idea that Mueller will want to talk to Donald Trump sometime in the next month or two.

Paul Manafort would have to flip on Trump to speed up the investigation, and there is no indication that Manafort is anywhere near close to cooperating with the Special Counsel. Trumps lawyers were trying to get ahead of Mueller and cut a favorable deal for the president, but it looks like there is little chance of that happening. Mueller is not going to be rushed.

People who are very interested in this investigation want answers, but the reality is that this is a complex investigation. There will be more indictments and surprises before Robert Mueller finishes up his work.

The Mueller investigation is the first step in what could be a very long process. If Mueller finds that Trump obstructed justice, and Democrats take back at least the House, the country could move on to the impeachment phase of the scandal. The Special Counsels investigation will be the beginning of a longer process. Bob Muellers findings could open the door for impeachment, but what comes after that could take months or years before justice is delivered in the Russia scandal.
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As his Russia conspiracy theory crashed and burned, Donald Trump suggested that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) did something illegal by releasing the unclassified Senate testimony of a co-founder of Fusion GPS.

Trump tweeted:

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

The problem is that Sen. Feinstein did nothing illegal. She can release the testimony of the committee that she is a member of on her own. The testimony was not classified, so there was nothing stopping her from doing what the Republican chair of the committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wouldnt do. If Grassley and Lindsey Graham had not lied about Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpsons testimony, Feinstein never would have needed to release it.

The President is tantruming because the conspiracy theory that he was using to discredit the Russia investigation was blown to bits. It is laughable that Trump would suggest that Dianne Feinstein, who is cautious to a fault would do anything sneaky, underhanded, or illegal.

Trump doesnt understand the law or the Constitution, but it would be hilarious to watch Attorney General Jeff Sessions tie himself into knots trying to explain to Trump why what Feinstein did is not a crime.
Yesterday Judge William Alsup entered an order preliminarily enjoining the Department of Homeland Security against enforcing the Trump administrations rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program implemented by the Obama administration. Judge Alsup is a Clinton appointee to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. It seems to me that Judge Alsups order is of a piece with the other lower federal courts that have sought to take their place among the resistance to the Trump administration. Politicos Josh Gerstein reports on the order here. Politico has posted Judge Alsups 45-page order here.

Judge Alsup has entered his ordered in five consolidated cases. The many plaintiffs in the five consolidated cases are led by the University of California and its president (and former Secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama), Janet Napolitano. Minnesota is one of the four states bringing claims in the cases before Judge Alsup; the others are California, Maine, and Maryland. The states allege that they are home to more than 238,000 DACA recipients, and that the loss of their residents DACA status and work authorizations will injure their public colleges and universities, upset the States workforces, disrupt the States statutory and regulatory interests, cause harm to hundreds of thousands of their residents, damage their economies, and hurt companies based in Plaintiff States.

I note Judge Alsups determination of Minnesotas lack of standing to bring its claim against the rescission of DACA. Minnesota had argued along with California and Maryland that it suffered injury to its public universities through harm to their educational missions and the loss of students and teachers. According to the declarations filed by plaintiffs, the rescission, and the resulting loss of work authorization and potential for deportation, will adversely impact the diversity of the talent pool of potential students, which will make it more difficult for the universities to fulfill their missions of increasing diversity [sic][.]

Judge Alsup ultimately finds Maines and Minnesotas interests so marginally related to the purposes of the Immigration and Naturalization Act that it cannot reasonably be assumed that Congress intended to permit their claims. He accordingly dismissed Maine and Minnesotas claims under the Administrative Procedure Act with leave to take another whack at coming up with something better in the next few weeks. Good grief.

Judge Alsups order comes early in the case, in the form of an order denying the governments motion to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. All [parties] agree that a new administration is entitled to replace old policies with new policies so long as they comply with the law, Judge Alsup generously concedes. Yet he notes that one question raised in the various lawsuits consolidated before him is whether the new administration terminated DACA based on a mistake of law rather than in compliance with the law. Judge Alsup emphasizes that the new administration didnt terminate DACA on policy grounds. It terminated DACA over a point of law, a pithy conclusion that the agency had exceeded its statutory and constitutional authority. He holds that pithy conclusion a mistake of law and enters a preliminary injunction against DHS after weighing the prescribed factors necessary to support an injunction.

As I recall, an order entering an injunction is immediately appealable. The losing party need not await the conclusion of the case before they have the right of appeal, as is otherwise the case. In any event, however, Judge Alsup has certified his ruling for interlocutory appeal under the federal statute that accords him the discretion to do so. That also gives the government the right to immediate appeal of the order.

Josh Gerstein considers the political implications of the orders timing. I was blissfully unaware of this lawsuit until last night. I have no opinion on the merits. I simply have a rooting interest in assuring the full legal authority of the executive branch to enforce immigration law duly enacted by Congress.

UPDATE: Josh Blackman condemns Judge Alsups handiwork in this excellent NRO column.
Today, President Trump met with leaders of both parties from the Senate and House to discuss DACA legislation. The press and the cameras were there for the opening statements with the understanding they would be excused shortly thereafter.

However, Trump either decided to let them stay or forgot to kick them out. (I believe he let them stay because he wanted Americans to see him conduct a meeting in presidential fashion using Democrats, in essence, as props). Thus, almost an hour of the meeting was captured on video.

Below is my distillation of what occurred. You can watch the meeting here, and I encourage you to do so. As Yuval Levin says, it was pretty extraordinary and is well worth watching if you like politics and policy and are interested in seeing first hand the strengths and the weaknesses of Trumps very unusual way of being president.

The Democrats, as always, had a single, fixed position. They want the DACA population to get amnesty.

They want this clean DACA fix by the March deadline President Trump imposed when he revoked President Obamas DACA order. After that, they want to do comprehensive immigration reform, which means amnesty and path to citizenship for the vast majority of illegal immigrants not encompassed by the DACA fix.

Republicans, as usual, were not of one mind. However, the core Republican position was that, by the March deadline, there should be a DACA fix, plus border security measures (including funding for a wall), plus an end to chain migration, plus an end to the visa lottery.

Rep. Goodlatte is proposing legislation that embodies this position. It includes amnesty, but only for the DACA population of around 700,000. It also includes ending chain migration, ending the visa lottery, and mandating E-Verify. Its the best DACA legislation we can hope for.

President Trumps stated position at the outset of the meeting also embodied the core Republican position as I have stated it above. However, his position seemed to fluctuate as the meeting went on and Democrats like Sen. Durbin and Rep. Hoyer tried to sweet talk him while Republicans like Sen. Perdue and Rep. McCarthy tried rather frantically to pull him back. I believe the seeming fluctuation was due to Trumps imprecise way of stating things, coupled with his desire to sound conciliatory. (A glimpse of the real Trump comes near the end when he spars with Rep. Cuellar.

At the end of the meeting, though, Trump said very clearly that there cant be a DACA fix without the wall (though he noted that, thanks to geography, the wall need not cover every mile of the border). He did not reiterate that there has to be an end to chain migration and the visa lottery.

My sense is that he has in mind a compromise  in the DACA fix, he gives up the end to chain migration and the visa lottery but the Democrats give him funding for the wall. He then tries to end chain migration and the visa lottery as part of comprehensive immigration reform.

But Trump also said several times that he was willing to sign whatever the very smart people in this room send him. This suggests that if Republicans cave and just send him a clean DACA fix, he will sign it. Again, though, Trump said today that he wont.

Trump is probably confident that Republicans wont cave on the wall. But will the Democrats? If neither side caves, there will be no DACA bill for Trump to sign.

In the end, therefore, I agree with Yuval Levin that absolutely no progress whatsoever was made in any direction. Considering the direction Democrats were trying to take this meeting, seemingly with the prospect of success at times, thata a good thing.
( Read 7090 Times)

Source :

The two-day 18th All India Whips Conference, 2018 concluded today in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Conference was jointly inaugurated on 8th January 2018 by Sh. Ananthkumar, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals & Fertilizers and Smt. Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan who was also the Chief Guest in the Inaugural Function. Sh. Kailash Chandra Meghwal, Speaker, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, presided over the Valedictory and Concluding Session on 9th January 2018. Sh. Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation; Sh. Vijay Goel, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation and Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, Home Minister and Shri Rajendra Singh Rathore, Parliamentary Affairs Minister to Govt. of Rajasthan were also present. Around 90 delegates including Ministers, Chief Whips and Whips in Parliament and State Legislatures participated in the Conference.In his inaugural address, Sh. Ananthkumar, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals & Fertilizers, praised the State of Rajasthan for its hospitality which is not a business but is in its nature and blood. The State is the land of great personalities like Rana Pratap, Mohon Lal Sukhadia, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. He highlighted the important roles of the Whips in smooth functioning of legislatures. He opined, the Whips play three Dimensional Role  Monitoring, Moderating and Motivating. He urged his fellow legislators to Discuss, Debate and Decide but not to Disturb. He observed that the basic purpose of the Conference is to discuss various aspects of parliamentary democracy which is the best form of Governments among the available alternatives and to come out with some concrete resolutions so that the people of the country can be served in a better way.Smt. Vasundhara Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan and the Chief Guest of the Conference stated that a legislative body should work like a family where despite of strong debate there must be mutual respect among the fellow Members. She informed that the Indian Parliament had great parliamentarians like Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sh. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat to name a few who were applauded by all including public and parliamentarians. She impressed and urged upon the delegates that they should deliberate and discuss issues in their respective Legislatures in such a manner which may make a difference to the lives of the people of the Country.On this occasion, a coffee table book New India  We Resolve to make was released by Honble Chief Minister of Rajasthan. The table book contains various details of the exhibitions organised by Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs at 39 different places of the country on Indias freedom movement from 1857 to 1947 with special coverage of the Quit India Movement and the future perspective during the forthcoming five years period during 2017 to 2022 to provide a unique opportunity of Sankalp se Sidhi towards a New India.The First Technical Session was regarding Action Taken Report (ATR) received from the States /UTs on the recommendations of the 16th and 17th All India Whips Conferences held at Goa and Visakhapatnam respectively.The session was presided over and moderated by Union Minister of State, Sh. Vijay Goel. Delegates shared their experiences and concern regarding various aspects of implementing the recommendations.The Second Technical Session was an interactive Session and was regarding Efficient Functioning of Legislatures. This session was presided over by Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Sh. Ananthkumar in the presence of Union Ministers of State, Sh. Arjun Ram Meghwal and Sh. Vijay Goel and Home Minister to Govt. of Rajasthan, Shri Gulab Chand Kataria. Delegates interacted, expressed their views and suggested some innovative ideas for the smooth and efficient functioning of our Legislatures.The Third Technical Session was regarding  Rolling out e-Sansad/e-Vidhan in Parliament and State Legislatures to digitalize and make their functioning paperless.. This session also was presided over by Honble Union Minister of State, Sh. Arjun Ram Meghwal. While deliberating the usefulness and its limitations, the delegates wished all the success to the e-Sansad/e-Vidhan MMP Project in the country. During this Session, a power point presentation was also made to delegates by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India.In the Valedictory Session, Sh. Kailash Chandra Meghwal, Honble Speaker, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, appreciated the participation of delegates and views expressed by them for better functioning of Parliamentary institutions. Shri Rajender Singh Rathore, Parliamentary Affairs Minister of Rajasthan Government, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Shri Vijay Goel, Union Ministers of State also spoke in the session.In the Concluding Session, Ten Recommendations were discussed and adopted unanimously by the Conference. The recommendations are regarding the reform of Zero Hour, the concept of Committee Hour, reforms in the structure of Private Members Business, Legislative framework for more working days in both Union and State Legislatures, digitization of the Secretariats of the State Legislatures, Consensus building in the Legislatures for not going to the well of the House by the Members etc. Follow up action on the Recommendations made by the Conference will be taken by Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
NEW DELHI, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The partnership will further bolster the presence of Alexander Mann Solutions in India

Global Talent Acquisition and Management Services provider, Alexander Mann Solutions, today announced an exclusive strategic partnership agreement with FlexAbility, the Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) subsidiary of ABC Consultants. Building on a successful and proven partnership over the last 8 years, Alexander Mann Solutions and FlexAbility India will work together on investing and continuing to deliver innovative, impactful RPO services in India.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626444/Alexander_Mann_Solutions_Logo.jpg )



The partnership between Alexander Mann Solutions and FlexAbility India is a unique part of the Global Alexander Mann Solutions strategy. It is the only exclusive partnership Alexander Mann Solutions have engaged in to deliver exquisite services to our clients. The partnership already delivers enormous value to clients by leveraging a unique combination of deep-rooted Indian recruitment expertise, industry knowledge, and insights, combined with world-class recruitment process expertise and excellence. While Alexander Mann Solutions offers a distinctive blend of outsourcing and consulting services, FlexAbility has an ISO 27001 certified shared service centre in New Delhi along with sourcing hubs in Mumbai, Bangalore & Hyderabad to support their fortune 250 RPO clients.

"Alexander Mann Solutions and FlexAbility India, together, bring innovation along with operational rigour to our clients. It is a great opportunity for us to continue to build our market leading RPO and Consulting proposition with FlexAbility India. Our renewed exclusive partnership will enable us to deliver top-tier recruitment services, measurable innovation and operational rigour, positively impacting business outcomes for our clients," said Caleb Baker, Managing Director, APAC & Emerging Markets, Alexander Mann Solutions.

"We are pleased to work with a global leader and innovator in RPO - Alexander Mann Solutions. Partnering with them is a crucial and exciting step for us. Their innovative business engagement practices, experience in RPO and global client service centre infrastructure, will let us take our client interactions and service delivery to the next level, thereby becoming more strategic and proactive in responding to needs of our clients. This partnership will also create an opportunity to serve our clients globally," said Vinod Subramanian, Director & Business Head, FlexAbility RPO.

According to Everest Group research, India has one of the fastest-growing RPO markets worth US$660-700 million, and it is expected to grow at a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24-26% from 2015 to 2020.

About Alexander Mann Solutions:

Alexander Mann Solutions is passionate about helping companies and individuals fulfil their potential through talent acquisition and management. Today, over 3,500 talent acquisition and management professionals are partnering with over 80 blue-chip clients across multiple sectors, in more than 90 countries globally. Delivering a distinctive blend of outsourcing and consulting services, Alexander Mann Solutions' unrivalled experience, capability and thought leadership helps its clients attract, engage and retain the talent they need for business success.

About FlexAbility India:

FlexAbility is the Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) division of ABC Consultants and has been delivering customised end to end RPO and Resource Augmentation solutions to large Multinational and Indian corporates for the past 8 years in India. FlexAbility have evolved as a trusted RPO partner to its clients to attract the best available talent and have over 200 full-time professionals spread over 7 cities in India.

About ABC Consultants:

ABC Consultants is the pioneer of organised recruitment services in India. Over the years, ABC has acted as preferred recruitment partners to multinationals and Indian businesses to emerge as the leading recruitment brand nationally. ABC's focus has always been on middle and senior management talent needs. With over 300 professionals spread across 8 cities in India, ABC recruits for its clients across 25 industry sectors. In the past 48 years, ABC have helped shape the careers of over 147,500 professionals.

SOURCE Alexander Mann Solutions
BENGALURU, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

From now on, the company will operate autonomously under new ownership

SEG Automotive is distinguished by continuity, global presence and a broad product range

Innovations from SEG Automotive enable effective CO 2 reductions

The well-established starter motor and generator division of the Bosch Group has completed its transition to an independent company: it will operate under the name SEG Automotive, effective immediately, including the local division SEG Automotive India. The new name is testimony to over a century of history in the development and production of starter motors and generators as well as a future-oriented focus on e-mobility. The company will continue its success story under a new owner, under the leadership of Zhengzhou Coal Mining Machinery Group Co and an investment group. SEG Automotive India is an integral part of the global growth and production strategy.

Mr. Anil Kumar M R, Managing Director, SEG Automotive India says: "The name is new, but SEG Automotive is committed to continuity, especially in terms of location strategy and our employees. Their many years of experience in the company, competence and commitment contribute significantly to our success. In the future our locations in India will play an even more important role in the worldwide SEG Automotive business, and continue to be an attractive employer in India. We strongly collaborate with our customers to remain as the preferred partner in the automotive industry."

From the very beginnings of the automobile industry to the future of mobility

More than a century ago - in March 1914 - Bosch presented its first electric starter motor for vehicles. It replaced the arduous and often hazardous cranking by hand. The year before had seen the introduction of the 'Bosch light'. It powered the first electric lights for cars - and is the origin of the generators still commonly in use today. This Bosch division went on to continuously improve the efficiency and functionality of starter motors and generators for passenger cars and commercial vehicles - by inventing the trend-setting Start/Stop, for example. With its highly innovative BRM (Boost Recuperation Machine), SEG Automotive is now paving the way for a cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly hybrid technology for vehicle manufacturers and their customers: the BRM enables regenerative braking and energy storage via a 48-volt electrical system to save fuel, enable a performance boost when passing or even to 'coast' with the engine switched off.

CO 2 reduction for all drive technologies

The new company is committed to further expanding its contribution to the reduction of CO 2 emissions from passenger cars and commercial vehicles in order to address the challenge of climate protection - globally and across all drive technologies. Even though e-mobility continues to gain ground, the combustion engine will remain a pillar of individual mobility worldwide for many years to come. This presents vehicle manufacturers with major challenges with regard to reducing fleet consumption and requires new solutions to achieve climate protection goals (i.e. CO 2 regulations).

With the BRM, SEG Automotive already offers a technology for hybridizing gasoline and diesel engines in a cost-effective manner. Through the use of BRM, fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions can be reduced by about 15 percent.

Advanced Start/Stop technology, as well as high-efficiency generators from the SEG Automotive portfolio also provide significant CO 2 savings. The efficiency gains accomplished by these technologies are not just a matter of theory and only relevant on the test bench: SEG Automotive products reduce fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions under real-world conditions every day.

Continuity despite change

From the outset, the new company will be one of the most significant suppliers in its market segments. With 16 locations worldwide, over 8,000 employees and a powerful product range, SEG Automotive is strongly positioned across the world to meet the current and future challenges of automobile manufacturers. At the crucial points, the company goes for continuity: all locations will be retained, the focus remains on highest product quality and innovation through powerful engineering - and the journey towards e-mobility that started with the development of the BRM will continue.

The new name is testimony to the importance of this product segment for the company: the established SG ( S tarter Motors & G enerators) is being expanded by an E for 'Components for E lectrification'. The management team that has made SG so successful in previous years will continue to ensure SEG Automotive grows profitably over the long term.

Ulrich Kirschner, CEO of SEG Automotive, sets the new name in the context of the corporate strategy: "With our product range, we efficiently support automobile manufacturers worldwide in the reduction of CO 2 emissions - regardless of the drive technology. Together with the new owner ZMJ, SEG Automotive has a great potential for innovations and further global growth, in particular in the significant Chinese market."

About SEG Automotive

SEG Automotive is closely linked to the history of the automobile. Emerging from the BOSCH Starter Motors & Generators division in 2018, the company stands for more than a century of innovations in this product sector: from starter motor and generator to Start/Stop and mild-hybridization. SEG Automotive is actively shaping the automobile industry's journey from the combustion engine to electrification by delivering efficient solutions for CO 2 reduction - regardless of the drive technology. With 16 locations in the most important automobile markets in the world and over 8,000 employees, SEG Automotive offers a network that guarantees the highest level of engineering and production expertise worldwide - from Germany to China. Technology leadership and highest quality standards set the products apart: almost all automotive OEMs worldwide are relying on SEG Automotive's tailored solutions for passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

About ZMJ:

The Zhenghou Coal Mining Machinery Group Cp., Ltd. (ZMJ) was established in 1958. Today, ZMJ is one of the largest developers and manufacturers of mining machinery. ZMJ is listed on the stock exchange in Shanghai and Hong Kong. With the acquisition of ASIMCO, a significant Chinese automotive supplier, ZMJ established the automobile sector as a second pillar of its business operations. In acquiring SEG Automotive, the Group is taking another logical step to becoming a global player in this sector. The Group comprises a total of 22 subsidiaries, stock companies and holdings worldwide.

Press contact

SEG Automotive India Private Limited

Name: Yuvarajan G

Mobile: +91-9538660636

Email: [email protected]



The PRactice

Name: Reena Rajan

Mobile: +91-9677546655

Email: [email protected]



SOURCE SEG Automotive
According to the new market research report "C4ISR Market by Application (Communication, Command & Control, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance, and Electronic Warfare), Platform (Land, Naval, Airborne, and Space), Solution, End User, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022" , published by MarketsandMarkets , the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (C4ISR) market was estimated at USD 100.25 Billion in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 119.39 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 3.56% from 2017 to 2022. Increased requirement for Situational Awareness (SA) in military operations and rising use of geospatial intelligence are among the factors driving the growth of the C4ISR market.

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Browse 102 market data Tables and 51 Figures spread through 196 Pages and in-depth TOC on "C4ISR Market - Global Forecast to 2022"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/c4isr-market-1315.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

Land segment is projected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period.

The land platform segment is projected to have the highest market share of the C4ISR market, by platform. C4ISR systems for land forces include air defense systems, communication systems, and electronic warfare systems for force protection. Land-based systems integrate and interact with airborne and naval systems, which provide new possibilities to enhance tactical capabilities. All major companies are strongly focusing on the communications part of C4ISR programs, particularly for land applications. Communication enables interconnection of various soldier systems to battle management systems and facilitates transmission of data and images by wireless and wired communication systems.

The electronic warfare segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The electronic warfare segment of the C4ISR market, by application is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Electronic warfare systems are used for various electronic attack, electronic support, and electronic defense missions. Electronic warfare systems provide the capability to operate in hostile environments by securing various air defense systems. The electronic warfare segment is expected to witness significant growth in the near future owing to the various advancements in electronic warfare systems.

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Asia Pacific is expected to witness the highest CAGR in the C4ISR market during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to experience extensive growth opportunities in the next few years. The increase in defense spending among countries in the Asia Pacific region has increased opportunities for C4ISR applications. The rise in conflicts among neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region and the threats from growing terrorism in the region are driving this market in the Asia Pacific region. With geopolitical tensions in South China Sea and border issues in multiple countries, procurement of C4ISR systems will increase across the region.

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Key players profiled in the C4ISR market report include Lockheed Martin (US), Raytheon (US), Rockwell Collins (US), BAE Systems (UK), Thales (France), Leonardo (Italy), Elbit Systems (Israel), and Northrop Grumman (US), among others.

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https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/electronic-warfare-market-1301.html

Airborne LiDAR Market by Solution (System & Services), Type (Topographic & Bathymetric (System & Services)), Platform (Fixed Wing Aircraft, Rotary Wing Aircraft & UAVs) and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/airborne-lidar-market-171546900.html

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MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets' flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.



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Visit Our [email protected] http://mnmblog.org/market-research/aerospace-defence

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
CARROLLTON, Ohio, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Power today announced commercial operation has begun at its 700-megawatt Carroll County Energy natural gas electric generation facility.

Carroll County Energy is a combined-cycle natural gas electric generating facility built to sell into the PJM market. It is located in an area with low priced natural gas production, as well as AEP's 345 kV transmission lines and Kinder Morgan's Tennessee Gas Pipeline system.

Commercial operations began in mid-December, said Chuck Davis, President, Advanced Power Asset Management. He said that commencement of operations was a credit to community partnerships, solid financial support, and the professionalism of Bechtel, the general contractor as well as the subcontractors and scores of workers employed to build the facility.

"In the four-plus years since we first announced plans to build this state-of-the-art generation facility, Carroll County Energy has received outstanding support from the leadership and citizens of the Village of Carrollton, Washington Township and Carroll County," Davis said. "We are particularly proud to have been able to help the local schools to benefit the people who live and work around our facility."

Plans to build Carroll County Energy were announced in July 2013. In April 2015, Advanced Power closed the $899 million project financing. Equity investors are TIAA Investments, JERA, Ullico and Prudential Capital Group and Advanced Power. Providing senior secured credit facilities for construction were BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and eight other commercial banks.

The facility, which features two GE gas turbines and a steam turbine, has the capacity to generate electricity for approximately 750,000 homes. Bechtel built the project under a turnkey construction contract. Ethos Energy is operating the facility, which employs 22 people. Advanced Power continues to manage the business.

Advanced Power is a privately owned company whose mandate is to develop, acquire, own and manage power generation and related infrastructure projects throughout Europe and North America. Advanced Power's leadership has a proven track record of identifying, developing and managing power generation and related infrastructure projects. Management has led the development of over 15,000 MW of power generation projects and $7 billion of limited recourse project financing.

Contact: Jack Wollitz, 800-460-4111 ext. 8153

[email protected]

SOURCE Advanced Power
FRANKFURT, Germany, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It is just over one year since BASF's Coatings division acquired Chemetall, a leading global surface treatment supplier. Being well-known within the industry for its high-quality products and solutions, Chemetall will operate as a brand of the Surface Treatment global business unit of BASF's Coatings division. During festive events at its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany and facilities worldwide, the new brand image of Chemetall was officially introduced. Martin Jung, Senior Vice President, Surface Treatment, BASF's Coatings division, recognized this milestone: "One plus one is greater than two! Our new brand image reflects the impressive know-how of BASF in chemistry and coatings applications with the market-leading expertise in applied surface treatment from Chemetall. Together, the businesses will offer unmatched solutions competence to customers."

BASF has long been recognized as a global innovation leader. Chemetall enjoys a great history of global recognition for providing its customers with high-performance products and individual solutions. The combination of expertise and innovation power of two global market leaders will accelerate innovation and drive even more customer success.

Julia Murray, Global Marketing Communications Surface Treatment, said: "The Chemetall brand is recognized for its technology leadership, and we take a great deal of pride in our customer-focused and customer-centric approach, locally and globally. Being part of BASF's Coatings division creates opportunities to increase customer benefits from our combined expertise and commitment to continuous innovation. We expect to further advance our customers' access to best-in-class technologies, systems, and solutions across the value chain, always with the goal of enhancing efficiencies and value for our customers."

Under the Chemetall brand, BASF develops and manufactures customized technology and systems solutions for applied surface treatment. The products protect metals from corrosion, facilitate forming and machining, allow parts to be optimally prepared for the painting process and ensure proper coating adhesion. These products are used in a wide range of industries and end-markets, such as automotive, aerospace, aluminum finishing, and metal forming.

About BASF's Coatings division

The Coatings division of BASF is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings, as well as decorative paints. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners' needs all over the world. BASF shares skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific. In 2016, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about 3.2 billion.

In 2016, BASF acquired Chemetall, a leading global supplier of applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries and end markets. With this expansion in portfolio, BASF becomes a more complete solution provider for coatings.

Solutions beyond your imagination  Coatings by BASF. For more information about the Coatings division of BASF and its products, visit www.basf-coatings.com.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about 58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626792/Chemetall_BASF_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://chemetall.com



SOURCE Chemetall
"Gionee's launch of fast wireless charging into the world's largest mobile market is a significant milestone for the entire wireless charging ecosystem," said Camille Tang, President, ConvenientPower Systems. "This milestone accelerates innovation and performance by Chinese mobile brands and manufacturers across the ecosystem. The sophistication of Chinese mobile users and the large volumes of the China market will drive new dimensions in the wireless power charging user experience as well as the scale for cost optimization."

A leader in wireless charging technology, ConvenientPower Systems developed the fast wireless charging for both the Gionee M7Plus smartphone and the Gionee fast wireless charging pad. The M7Plus smartphone features Qi and the Gionee wireless charger has up to 10 watts of power for a fast charge.

The Gionee M7Plus mobile phone fast wireless charging will be demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show 2018, the Wireless Power Consortium Booth #SL2, South Halls 3-4 Upper Level & Connector, Tech East, Las Vegas Convention Center.

*Statista, August 2017

About Gionee

Gionee is a leading China mobile group providing innovative, high quality mobile devices. With over 15,000 employees in R&D, production, sales and after-sales services in China, Gionee's distribution in China includes more than 300,000 sales counters and 80,000 sales promoters. Gionee's rapid international expansion across 50 markets includes Egypt, India, Indonesia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, UAE. Gionee is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.

www.gionee.com

About ConvenientPower Systems

ConvenientPower Systems "CPS" is a 1-stop hub for wireless charging solutions, products and services. The only wireless charging technology and solutions provider whose technology is proven in products launched in the market, in volume, every year, over the past 9 years, CPS has 27 world first's. Its solutions and products scale across consumer and mobile, automotive, furniture and buildings, medical and healthcare applications. CPS wireless charging technology is patent-protected. The CPS Group is located in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Shenzhen, Chengdu.

http://www.convenientpower.com

Contact

Larry Smalheiser, Sparkpr

[email protected]

(415) 504-3694

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/627093/ConvenientPower_Systems_Wireless_Charging.jpg

Related Links

http://www.convenientpower.com



SOURCE ConvenientPower Systems
Short-term growth in IT spend supported by pharmaceutical companies shifting toward big-data and cloud-based solutions, finds Frost & Sullivan

SANTA CLARA, California, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest analysis, Growth InsightsGlobal Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery IT Solutions Market, Forecast to 2020, by Frost & Sullivan highlights the growing interest in big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions. The study projects that market will reach $5.3 billion by 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9 percent. It also provides an analysis of key market dynamics, drivers, restraints, forecast and trends, current adoption of IT solutions, market growth opportunities, segments to watch and competitive analysis.

To access more information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/22y

"AI-based platforms play a pivotal role in drug discovery digital and information tools development, especially in lead compound identification, computer-aided drug design and LIMS tools," says Frost & Sullivan Transformational Health Senior Industry Analyst Piyush Bansal. "Big pharmaceuticals are adopting machine learning and cognitive computing based platforms, and their ongoing efforts will intensify in the near future."

To survive in a fragmented pharmaceutical IT solutions market, with several small companies and no clear business structure, Bansal recommends that players focus on strengthening their market presence and product portfolios by adopting collaborative partnerships and merger and acquisition strategies.

Further trends driving growth in the global pharmaceutical drug discovery IT solutions market include:

Growth in IT spend in the short term supported by pharmaceutical companies shifting toward cloud-based analytics and automation solutions;

in the short term supported by pharmaceutical companies shifting toward cloud-based analytics and automation solutions; Automation and machine learning -based tools becoming a major investment focus for IT adoption in drug discovery, while digital data management, patient recruitment and remote-monitoring tools focus on the clinical trials segment;

-based tools becoming a major investment focus for IT adoption in drug discovery, while tools focus on the clinical trials segment; Mobile and social media applications becoming a popular medium for pharma companies to engage with patients and physicians for clinical trials, product marketing and sales; and

becoming a popular medium for pharma companies to engage with patients and physicians for clinical trials, product marketing and sales; and Segments such as real-world data, population health management, and clinical decision support witnessing the highest growth in the next three to four years.

"Despite significant advancements in technology, data security and integrity remain a key concern for pharmaceutical companies while adopting external information technology platforms," noted Bansal. "Companies are still skeptical regarding hosting patient- and research-specific information on online servers. This has resulted in lower-than-expected adoption of IT platforms in the industry."

Growth InsightsGlobal Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery IT Solutions Market, Forecast to 2020 is part of Frost & Sullivan's Transformational Health Growth Partnership Program.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion .

Growth InsightsGlobal Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery IT Solutions Market, Forecast to 2020

9AB9/7E_52

Contact:

Mariana Fernandez

Corporate Communications  North America

P: +1 (210) 348 1012

E: [email protected]

http://ww2.frost.com

Twitter: @FS_Healthcare

LinkedIn: Transform Health

Related Links

http://www.frost.com



SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
GLENDALE, California, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Export Portal agrees with IT veteran TV Mohandas Pai about the necessity for e-Commerce platforms to have a no-fake policy in India. The big-thinking developers and management of e-Commerce platform ExportPortal.com would argue that India and the 189 other countries around the world deserve an easy to use online ecosystem that is only about transacting in an environment that is conducive to fair trade. Export Portal CEO Ally Spinu states, "No buyer on any e-commerce platform should be exposed to anything other than goods that are manufactured or sold under the most transparent of circumstances. This is the beauty of ExportPortal.com."

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626718/Export_Portal_India.jpg

Export Portal's main differentiating component is verifying businesses prior to being accepted onto the platform. Ms. Spinu continues, "No other e-Commerce platform other than Export Portal does this type of verification. Protecting the sanctity of the buyer and the business transaction is at the very core of why we created this ecosystem."

Export Portal will be coming to India in February to announce the launch of their 100 Country Brand Ambassador World Tour at the World Trade Center in February. Export Portal's head of International Business Development John Zahaitis states, "We will be meeting with business leaders, ministers as well as candidates for our country Brand Ambassador position (https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/1c41cc19fdde44fe9fc3771e4d68064d) during our journey to India and other countries in 2018."

Export Portal is still in the process of reviewing thousands of applications for our Country Writer, Blogger, Vlogger positions we are also looking for: (https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/fb0b3ef48cac4677b9079f3d0442a526)

Ms. Spinu and Mr. Zahaitis look forward to meeting with TV Mohandas Pai as well as others in the Indian public and private sectors that want to see this no-fake movement succeed. SME groups and trade experts that are looking to start a dialog with Export Portal can contact Mr. Zahaitis at [email protected].

About Export Portal:

No media outlet should support the multi-trillion dollar illegal trade network. Members of the media that would like to learn more about Export Portal's #NoFakeTrade verification ecosystem can learn more and contact us directly via the following: https://www.exportportal.com/learn_more

Join Us.

Related Links

https://www.exportportal.com



SOURCE Export Portal
This handheld stabilizer Vimble 2 combines the functions of selfie stick and a gimbal stabilizer. Adopting a new generation of design language, Vimble 2 is made of composite materials with an ergonomic shape, which can improve the entire holding and shooting experience. The built-in metal extension, which adds up to 5 1/2 inches, extends the range and gives you a wider range of motion for those dynamic shots. Being able to easily adjust the shooting angle and mode with the built in control panel gives you more time to focus on your shot.

With the combination of the brand new stabilization algorithm and precisely made brushless motor, Vimble 2 is capable of providing smooth image stabilization under all circumstances. The App offers new functions like object tracking, face tracking and video editing, and improves functionality of parameter settings and firmware updating. The combination of hardware and software offers great user experience of smart photography.

Vimble 2 is perfect for the world traveler or Blogger, and makes a great tool for anyone looking to take their smartphone videos to the next level.

Not only does the internal battery last hours on end, but you can also charge your smartphone at the same time using the internal USB port built into the handle.

With multiple choices of colors, Vimble 2 is made for functionality and beauty. Other new accessories from Feiyu Technology have also been released, like a foldable tripod, motorized time-lapse devices and a pod charger etc.

Being a pioneer of the handheld stabilizer industry, Feiyu Technology has already launched more than 20 popular stabilizer models for action camera, smartphones, 360 cameras, micro-cameras, and DSLR cameras. Since 2015, Feiyu Technology has been collaborating with Apple inc. in launching several innovative smartphone stabilizers that have changed the way you shoot. Their dedication to improving the experience of photography and image quality have been highly praised by the photography community worldwide.

Please welcome the Feiyu Tech Vimble 2 to the ever growing FeiyuTech Gimbal family. Welcome to visit FeiyuTech CES booth at 27427 LVCC South Hall and our website: www.feiyu-tech.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626892/Vimble2.jpg

SOURCE Feiyu Tech


(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302)



Browse 90 market data Tables and 35 Figures spread through 152 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Healthcare Supply Chain Management Market" https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/healthcare-supply-chain-management-market-77439622.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

The key factors driving the growth of this market include the increased pressure on healthcare providers to improve operational efficiency & profitability, the adoption of the GS1 System of standards in the healthcare industry globally; implementation of the unique device identification initiative by the FDA; emergence of cloud-based solutions; continuous financial support in the form of funding, investments, and partnerships; and the growing efforts to reduce the large-scale counterfeiting of drugs are driving the growth of the market.

By component, the software segment is expected to account for the largest share of the market in 2017

The Healthcare Supply Chain Management Market is segmented into software and hardware by component. In 2017, the software segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the Healthcare Supply Chain Management Market. The large share of the software segment is attributed the various benefits it offers such as increased efficiency, reduced costs, and business.

Download PDF [email protected] https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=77439622

The on-premise segment is expected to account for the largest share of the market in 2017

The market is segmented into on-premise and cloud-based delivery modes. In 2017, on-premise segment is expected to command the largest share of the global Healthcare Supply Chain Management Market. The large share of this segment can be attributed to its ease of use and the low risk of data breaches.

By end users, the manufacturers segment is expected to account for the largest share of the market in 2017

The market is segmented into manufacturers, distributors, and providers on the basis of end users. In 2017, manufacturers are expected to be the largest end users of the global Healthcare Supply Chain Management Market. Manufacturers need supply chain management solutions to better coordinate their transportation and warehouse facilities. These solutions ensure faster, more accurate, and more efficient functioning, and such advantages have increased demand for supply chain management solutions in this segment.

Speak To Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalyst.asp?id=77439622

North America to dominate the market in 2017

North America is expected to account for the largest share of the global Healthcare Supply Chain Management Market. The large share of North America can be attributed to factors such as consolidation of hospitals, regulatory requirements, increasing patient burden in the US, and the implementation of various strategies to improve healthcare supply chain management in Canada.

The prominent players in the global Healthcare Supply Chain Management Market include SAP (Germany), Oracle (US), Infor (US), GHX (US), McKesson (US), TECSYS (Canada), Manhattan Associates (US), JDA software (US), Jump Technologies (US), and LogiTag (Israel)

Browse Related Reports

Healthcare IT Market by Product (EHR, RIS, PACS, VNA, CPOE, HIE, Telehealth, Healthcare Analytics, Population Health Management, Supply Chain Management, CRM, Fraud Management, Claims Management) End User (Provider, Payer) - Global Forecast to 2021



https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/healthcare-it-252.html

Cloud Supply Chain Management Market by Solution (Transportation Management, Procurement & Sourcing, Sales & Operation Planning, Inventory & Warehouse Management), Service, Deployment, Organization Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021



https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cloud-supply-chain-management-market-39285453.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and

entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

Contact:

Mr. Rohan

MarketsandMarkets INC.

630 Dundee Road

Suite 430

Northbrook, IL 60062

USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: [email protected]



Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets

.

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
The latest innovation in restorative dentistry (dental fillings) is bioactive materials. ACTIVA BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE is the first esthetic bioactive material that works with nature to provide the minerals teeth need to stay healthy. Pulpdent Corporation, a dental research and manufacturing company based outside Boston, was the first to develop white dental fillings that are bioactive, meaning that they release and recharge calcium, phosphate and fluoride ions (the basic building blocks of teeth). Unlike traditional white fillings, which are made of inert materials and only meant to fill a space, bioactive fillings integrate, provide essential minerals and help protect teeth.

Along with the clinical benefits of bioactive materials, dentists like Dr. Barquero are seeing their economic upside. Dr. Barquero was able to complete nine dental restorations for this patient in one appointment using only one versatile filling material. With ACTIVA BioACTIVE, dentists can create restorations while simultaneously helping protect teeth from further decay.

The time savings associated with bioactive filling materials allows dentists to treat more patients without sacrificing the quality of their work.

About PULPDENT Corporation

PULPDENT Corporation is a family-owned dental research and manufacturing company and is the leader in bioactive dental materials. ACTIVA BioACTIVE, developed by Pulpdent, is the first esthetic bioactive restorative material. For over 70 years, Pulpdent has been committed to product innovation, clinical education, and patient-centered care. To stay updated on bioactivity and learn about the Heroic Dentistry Series, which demonstrates ACTIVA's unprecedented capabilities, visit www.pulpdent.com/blog.

Media Contact:

Leah Berk

[email protected]

617-926-6666

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWSFKwa4zns

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/625878/Pulpdent_Corporation_Logo.jpg

Related Links

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SOURCE Pulpdent Corporation
BENGALURU, India, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Chief Guest, Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne, felicitates the winners

The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) today honored the winners of the Infosys Prize 2017 at an awards ceremony in Bengaluru and celebrated their inspiring journeys and contributions to science and research. The Infosys Prize is given across six fields: Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences. The Chief Guest, Prof. Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Nobel Prize 2017 Laureate, felicitated the winners across the six categories and awarded each laureate a purse of INR 65 lakhs, a 22-karat gold medallion and a citation certificate.

Trustees of the Infosys Science Foundation, Mr. K. Dinesh, President of the Board of Trustees, Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Mr. T. V. Mohandas Pai, Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan, and Mr. Srinath Batni, were present at the event. The event was attended by eminent scientists and academicians from India and abroad, business leaders, young researchers and students.

In his welcome address, Mr. K. Dinesh, President, Board of Trustees, Infosys Science Foundation said, "Celebrating extraordinary talent in research is pivotal to the Infosys Science Foundation through the Infosys Prize. The winners this year - three women and three men - are a true testimony to the symbiotic relationship between science and society. The research work of the Infosys Prize 2017 laureates blurs lines between disciplines. The laureates' research includes the computational machinery of the brain, DNA architecture to better understand the faults in living cells, identifying genetic markers for breast cancer, an attempt at solving one of the Millennium Prize problems-the Riemann Hypothesis, the importance of memory and forgetting in forming our sense of self and identity, and law and society in the digital age. Their research pushes boundaries and explores new frontiers in human knowledge. We, at the Infosys Science Foundation, are extremely proud of all the winners and their contributions that will certainly benefit individuals and society, even beyond our time."

Prof. Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Nobel Prize Laureate congratulated the winners and commended the extraordinary work that the Infosys Science Foundation is doing to encourage scientific research in India.

"The Infosys Science Prize, like the Nobel Prize, is an inspiration for young scientists and the general public alike: It calls attention to the beauty of science, and also the power of science to make human life better, both culturally and materially", he said in his address.

The winners were chosen from 236 nominations by jurors headed by eminent academics: Prof. Pradeep K. Khosla (University of California, San Diego) for Engineering and Computer Science; Prof. Amartya Sen (Harvard University) for Humanities; Dr. Inder Verma (Salk Institute of Biological Sciences) for Life Sciences; Prof. Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan (New York University) for Mathematical Sciences; Prof. Shrinivas Kulkarni (California Institute of Technology) for Physical Sciences; and Prof. Kaushik Basu (Cornell University and former SVP, World Bank) for Social Sciences.

The laureates of the Infosys Prize 2017 are:

Engineering and Computer Science

Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, for a scholarly record in algorithmic optimization and for its significant impact on biological data analysis. Her discoveries include a genetic marker for breast cancer, determination of co-occurrence of HIV and cancers, and the role of white matter in Alzheimer's disease.

Humanities

Prof. Ananya Jahanara Kabir, Professor of English Literature, King's College London, for her highly original explorations of the long-standing historical elements - conceptual, social and cultural - in colonial modernity, and for her subtle and insightful ethnography of cultural and political life in Kashmir.

Life Sciences

Prof. Upinder Singh Bhalla, Professor, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of the brain's computational machinery. His investigations have revealed essential neuronal computations that underlie the ability to acquire, integrate and store complex sensory information, and to utilize that information for decision and action.

Mathematical Sciences

Prof. Ritabrata Munshi, Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, for his outstanding contributions to analytic aspects of number theory. Besides ingenious contributions to the Diophantine problem, he has established important estimates known as sub-convexity bounds for a large class of L-functions with methods that are powerful and original.

Physical Sciences

Prof. Yamuna Krishnan, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, for her ground-breaking work in the emerging field of DNA architecture. By successfully manipulating DNA - the building blocks of life - to create biocompatible nanomachines, she has created novel ways of interrogating living systems, increasing our knowledge of cell function and getting one step closer to answering unresolved biomedical questions.

Social Sciences

Prof. Lawrence Liang, Professor, School of Law, Governance and Citizenship, Ambedkar University Delhi, in recognition of his creative scholarship on law and society. His prodigious output in the fields of copyright law, digital technologies and media, and popular culture raises probing questions about the nature of freedom, rights, and social development. His provocative answers link historical context and ethical practice in unexpected and illuminating ways.

***

About The Infosys Science Foundation

The Infosys Science Foundation is a not-for-profit set up in 2009 by the board of directors of Infosys at the time and some senior management. The mission of the Foundation is to encourage an interest in science and research. The Foundation's flagship initiative is the Infosys Prize, awarded annually to stellar work across six categories to contemporary researchers and scientists. It also engages in a host of related activities to further its mission.

For more information, please visit www.infosys-science-foundation.com.

Follow Infosys Prize 2017 on Twitter Facebook

About Infosys Ltd.

Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in 45 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of 198,000+ innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies that we bring to every project we undertake.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements mentioned in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. These filings are available at www.sec.gov . Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.

For further information, please contact:

Asia Pacific

Sarah Gideon

Infosys, India

+91 80 4156 3998

[email protected]

EMEA

Margherita Di Cerbo

Infosys, Europe

Phone: +44 2075162748

[email protected]

Americas

Chiku Somaiya

Infosys, USA

+1 408 375 2722

[email protected]

This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire.

SOURCE Infosys Limited
MUMBAI, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Industry Stalwarts to share stage for JBCN Education's Nation of Learning Excellence Conference that will see participation of over 300 schools across Asia

JBCN Education, which runs a group of premiere international schools in Mumbai, is bringing together industry veterans for what is touted to be Asia's biggest education conclave under the aegis of its professional development initiative, Nation of Learning Excellence (NLE). The Conference will witness participation from Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Ace Investor; Ms. Dia Mirza - Actor, Producer and UN Goodwill Ambassador of India for the environment; Mr. Ashish Dhawan - Founder and Chairman of Central Square Foundation; Mrs. Zarina Screwvala - Founder of Swades Foundation; Dr. Loree Ann Clemo - President of D'Youville College, New York, amongst a host of other influential speakers. With 'Mindfulness in Education' as the theme of the two-day event, the conference will see attendance by the Senior Leadership Faculty of more than 300 schools across Asia.

Mrs. Pinky Dalal, Founder of JBCN Education, says, "As educators in the 21st century, we are nurturing a generation of innovators, thinkers and leaders who are entering a fast-changing world. Our teaching-learning strategies, therefore, must reflect the changing needs of our learners. Through our professional development initiative, Nation of Learning Excellence (NLE), our intention is to offer a bouquet of handpicked courses from India and abroad that provide educators an opportunity to grow as professionals and individuals, in order to optimally deliver key 21st century skills to their students. NLE's 'Mindfulness in Education' Conference focuses on one of these skills - a mindful approach to teaching and learning that stems from a keen awareness of the world around us."

Commenting on NLE, Mr. Rakesh Jhunjuhunwala, Founding Partner, Rare Enterprises, and Keynote Speaker at the conference said, "Education is the most important institution to empower individuals and shape a better society. It is only through focused efforts that we can ensure the teachers train our future generation with utmost responsibility. I am glad to be a part of NLE, Asia's largest conference on education, which provides a unique experience and opportunities to teachers. With initiatives like these, it would be correct to say that our children are in safe hands."

NLE is an initiative taken by JBCN Education that aims to bring quality professional development opportunities to teachers across the spectrum, with a view of impacting the largest number of children possible through the empowerment of their own teachers. This conclave will bring together educators from varied backgrounds in an exceptional interface with thought leaders and inspirational educators from various fields, providing a potentially transformational opportunity to positively impact our most precious resource - the young mind. Mindful teaching and learning are the fundamental premise on which all the pillars of education ought to rest. Educators are in a unique position to guide and mentor tomorrow's generation.

The list of prolific speakers at the NLE Conference:

Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala - Founding Partner, Rare enterprises

Mr. Ashish Dhawan - Founder and Chairman, Central Square Foundation

Ms. Dia Mirza - Actor, Producer and Environmentalist

Mrs. Zarina Screwvala - Founder and Managing Trustee, Swades Foundation

Dr. Loree Ann Clemo - President, D'Youville College

Ms. Nandita Jhaveri - Early Childhood Education Expert, Teacher Trainer

Dr. Navita Mahajan - Independent Researcher and Academician

Ms. Soniya Lalla - Early Childhood Education Expert, Teacher Trainer

Dr. Coomi Vevaina - Founder Director, Centre for Connection Education and Management

Ms. Sandy Dias Andrade - Psychotherapist and Director, Just Being Center

Dr. Hilary Lochte - Professor & Education Department Chair, D'Youville College

Mr. Dilip Jayaram - Associate Vice President, Dale Carnegie Training, India

Mr. Chittarjan Kaul - Director, Centre of Learning Resources

Mr. Vipul Rikhi - Writer & Translator, the Kabir Project

Dr. Julie Carter - Director, TESOL Education, D'Youville College

Mr. Ramkumar Krishnaswamy - Founder, Leadership Centre

Ms. Maya Menon - Founder Director, The Teacher Foundation

Dr. Mark Macleod - Convenor of Studies in Children's Literature, Charles Sturt University (Australia)

Mr. Joggeshwar Das - Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness and Planning, D'Youville College

Mr. Ramji Raghavan - Founder & Chairman, Agastya International Foundation

Dr. Natasha Mehta - Director, Chalkboard Solutions.

Details of the conference:

National of Learning Excellence Conference

Theme - Mindfulness in Education

Date - 23rd and 24th January, 2018

Venue - Sahara Star, Mumbai

About JBCN

JBCN Education Pvt. Ltd. is a leading educational hub with an unmatched expertise spanning over 30 years, reaching out to over 4000 students across its campuses. JNCB Education runs three High Schools under the brand name of JBCN International School, six preschools called Children's Nook and is involved in various management and consulting projects. JBCN International Schools, with branches in Borivali, Oshiwara and Parel, provide learners an opportunity to excel through their uniquely designed, 360 degree MIND BODY SOUL learning programme, combining academic, physical and creative skills through an EduCreative process focusing on all-round development and a holistic approach. Schools under JBCN Education adopt a range of curricula of the IBO (PYP, DP), CAIE (CP, IGCSE) & ICSE implemented through a unique method of learning through understanding that makes school a foundation for lifelong learning. For more information, visit: http://www.jbcnschool.edu.in/

For additional information:

Kimaya Patil

[email protected]

+91-9933501007

Media Contact:

Vaishnavi Biju

[email protected]

+91-9920026260

Think Ink Communications



SOURCE JBCN Education Pvt. Ltd.
LAS VEGAS, January 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Alliance Ventures to Prioritize Next-Generation Mobility With $200 Million Year-One Funding

New entity to act as main interface for start-ups , investors and the venture ca pital ecosystem

Fund prioritizes open innovation in new mobility, including electrification, autonomous systems, connectivity and artificial intelligence

First deal to be a strategic investment in Ionic Materials, a US company developing cobalt-free solid-state battery materials

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world's leading automotive alliance, today announced the launch of Alliance Ventures, a new corporate venture capital fund that plans to invest up to $1 billion to support open innovation over the next five years.

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In its first year, the fund expects to invest up to $200 million in start-ups and open innovation partnerships with technology entrepreneurs focused on new mobility, including vehicle electrification, autonomous systems, connectivity and artificial intelligence.

With further annual investments, Alliance Ventures is set to become the largest corporate venture capital fund in the automotive industry over the period of Alliance 2022, the strategic midterm plan launched last year by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, said: "Our open innovation approach will allow us to invest and collaborate with start-up companies and technology entrepreneurs, who will benefit from the global scale of the Alliance. This new fund reflects the collaborative spirit and entrepreneurial mind-set at the heart of the Alliance."

The new fund is unique because it offers potential partners access to the global scale and scope of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, which sold more than 10 million vehicles in 2017 through 10 separate brands with a presence in all major automotive markets.

Alliance Ventures will invest in start-ups to bring new technologies and businesses to the Alliance while ensuring a fair financial return. The fund will make strategic investments at all start-up stages and will incubate both new automotive entrepreneurs and forge new partnerships.

The first deal by Alliance Ventures will be a strategic investment in Ionic Materials, a promising US-based company which is developing solid-state cobalt-free battery materials. The equity acquisition coincides with the execution of a joint-development agreement with the Alliance for the purpose of R&D cooperation. Ionic, based in Massachusetts, is the developer of a pioneering solid polymer electrolyte that enables improved performance and cost effectiveness of high-energy density batteries for automotive and multiple other applications.

By making such investments, Alliance Ventures will help identify and support the development of new technologies for potential use by Alliance members. Such initiatives are aligned with the objectives of Alliance 2022, which aims to strengthen cooperation and to double the annualized synergies generated by Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors to more than 10 billion by the end of 2022.

The $200 million initial venture capital investment comes in addition to more than 8.5 billion in total annual research and development investments by the Alliance members.

Alliance Ventures will be led by Francois Dossa, who has over 20 years of experience in investment banking, plus six years of experience within the Alliance, most recently, as chief executive officer of Nissan Brazil. The Alliance Ventures team will also draw on the expertise and business opportunities identified by a Cross-Functional Team of experts from Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi.

This initiative complements the Alliance strategy to seek incremental revenues, cost savings and cost-avoidance in areas including electrification, autonomous drive systems and vehicle connectivity. By the end of its strategic plan, the Alliance will launch 12 pure electric models, utilizing common EV platforms and components, while also bringing to market 40 vehicles with autonomous drive technology and developing robo-vehicle ride-hailing services.

Alliance Ventures will define innovation areas and geographic markets for investment, working with existing research and advanced engineering teams, and will recruit venture capital experts to develop the platform. It is expected to be co-located in Silicon Valley, Paris, Yokohama and Beijing, close to the technology and research centers of the Alliance member companies, as well as to areas with strong innovation ecosystems.

Renault (40%), Nissan (40%) and Mitsubishi Motors (20%) will jointly fund the entity, which will have a dedicated investment committee to make investment decisions and monitor their performance.

"This investment initiative is designed to attract the world's most promising automotive-technology start-ups to the Alliance," said Carlos Ghosn.

As part of the Alliance 2022 strategic plan, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is forecasting that the combined revenues of its member companies will reach $240 billion and that annual unit sales will exceed 14 million by the end of 2022.

Link to Francois Dossa's bio: http://www.alliance-2022.com/executives/francois-dossa/

For more information about Alliance Ventures and to submit investment proposals, please navigate to http://www.alliance-2022.com/ventures

ABOUT RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI:

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world's largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners sold close to 10 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2016. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany's Daimler and China's Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.

http://www.alliance-2022.com/ventures

http://www.media.renault.com

http://www.nissan-newsroom.com

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/newsrelease/

SOURCE Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi
The report " Self-Healing Grid Market by Component (Hardware and Software & Services), Application (Transmission and Distribution Lines), End-User (Public and Private Utility), and Region (NA, EU, APAC, Row) - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is expected to grow from an estimated value of USD 1.72 Billion in 2017 to USD 2.66 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 9.07% from 2017 to 2022. The global market is set to witness significant growth due to government policies and legislative mandates regarding T&D utilities, complexity in distributed energy generation, and the need for protection of electric utilities from cyber-attack. Advancement in communication technologies presents a significant opportunity for the Self-Healing Grid Market.

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Browse 72 market data Tables and 31 Figures spread through 120 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Self-Healing Grid Market- Global Forecast to 2022"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/self-healing-grid-market-60620398.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

Public Utility: The larger segment, by end-user, during the forecast period.

The public utility segment is expected to hold the majority share of the Self-Healing Grid Market during the forecast period. In North America and Asia Pacific, the majority of the utilities are public or nationalized. The public utilities such as Duke Energy, NextEra Energy, and PG&E are involved in the implementation of self-healing grid. These factors have resulted in the higher market share of the public utility segment in the Self-Healing Grid Market.

Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=60620398

The hardware segment accounts for the larger share of the Self-Healing Grid Market, by component, during the forecast period.

The hardware segment is expected to be the larger market, by component, from 2017 to 2022. The factors driving the market for hardware include the increasing deployment of additional sensing as well as communication devices as a part of self-healing grid solutions.

Asia Pacific: The fastest-growing market for self-healing grid

In this report, the Self-Healing Grid Market has been analyzed with respect to four regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the rest of the World. In Asia Pacific, governments are focusing on increasing grid modernization. The Chinese market is expected to dominate the market in Asia Pacific. The Self-Healing Grid Market is expected to grow at a significant rate in countries such as India, Japan, and South-East Asian countries. The market in North America is expected to dominate the global Self-Healing Grid Market due to increasing investments in the energy sector and stringent regulatory frameworks related to the implementation of self-healing grid solutions.

Make an Inquiry @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=60620398

To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of some of the key players in the Self-Healing Grid Market. These include ABB (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), GE (US), Eaton (Ireland), and Schneider Electric (France). The leading players are trying to establish themselves in the markets in developing economies and are adopting various strategies to increase their market shares.

Browse Related Reports:

Smart Grid Market by Software (AMI, Smart Grid Distribution Management, Smart Grid Communication, Grid Asset Management, Substation Automation, and Billing and Customer Information System), Hardware, Service, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-grid-market-208777577.html

Feeder Automation Market by Application (Commercial, Industrial, & Residential), by Product (Hardware, Software, & Services), and Region - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2019

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/distribution-feeder-automation-system-market-58936860.html

Subscribe Reports from Energy and Power Domain @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp

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Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
MUMBAI, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

- Offer valid for only two days - 20th & 21st Jan

Sheth Group, one of the leading developers in the luxury and mid-housing segment, announces its exclusive offers on their prime projects. For the first time ever, the group will provide a SDR (Stamp Duty & Registration) waive off across six projects. Homebuyers can avail this offer on the groups' 1, 2 and 3 BHK residences across the following properties; Sheth Avalon and Sheth Vasant Lawns Phase 2 at Thane, Sheth Clarion, Borivali; Sheth Midori, Dahisar; Montana, Mulund; Avante, Kanjurmarg. This is a limited period offer, i.e., 20th and 21st January 2018.

Speaking on the offer, Mr Chintan Sheth, Director, Sheth Group said, "We continually strive to provide our customers with great value-for-money offerings, and in this New Year, we wish to reciprocate the faith our customers have shown in us, with an offering that will give them great savings and value. This campaign will play an important role before the financial year-end, as we can achieve good sales turnover with this offer."

Sheth Group also hosted a channel partner meet on 5th January 2018 at their luxury project Montana, Mulund which witnessed a huge gathering of around 500 partners across Mumbai.

About Sheth Group:

Sheth Group is a leading developer in the luxury housing, retail and commercial segment of real estate, with a global footprint.

Sheth Developers Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 1986 by Mr. Ashwin Sheth, a visionary with implacable determination. Since its inception, the organization has created some of the largest townships, complexes and tallest skyscrapers through resourceful planning, an unwavering focus on quality and customer-oriented designs. Today, Sheth Developers Pvt. Ltd is known as Sheth Corp Pvt Ltd. The company's portfolio boasts of over 40,000 homes built, 80 projects and over 20 million square feet, developed and delivered.

Sheth Group has also extended its real estate presence abroad with great success. Sheth Estate (International) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sheth Developers Pvt Ltd and its international arm, is an established realty name in the UAE. Its Dubai brand, IRIS has enhanced Dubai's skyline with ambitious developments in the residential, commercial, and mix use projects space, adhering to the highest standards of design, planning, location, luxury and comfort.

Currently, Sheth Group has 7 ongoing projects in Mumbai: Midori at Dahisar; Montana at Mulund; Avante at Kanjurmarg and Avalon, Zuri, Vasant Lawns & Fiona at Thane.

Media Contact:

Neeti Desai

[email protected]

+91-9820853191

Concept Public Relations India Limited



SOURCE Sheth Group
Leading Provider of Power over Ethernet and Ethernet Physical Layer Test & Measurement Solutions Continues to Expand International Presence

TEWKSBURY, Massachusetts, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sifos Technologies today announced that Fastech Telecommunications, a leading provider of telecommunications network assurance solutions, test & measurement instruments and service assurance solutions, headquartered in Mumbai and with branch offices in New Delhi and Bangalore, has become its sales partner for India.

Fastech has been providing testing, performance monitoring, optimizing and benchmarking solutions to the telecommunication industry since 1994 delivering significant value in addition to its core technical skills, operational competence, and zeal to serve its customers. In-depth understanding of the telecom industry and close association with leading vendor partners has enabled Fastech to be the vital link in the technology value chain connecting regulators, telecom service providers and network element manufacturers in India with vendors world-wide.

Through this partnership, Fastech will distribute Sifos' full range of hardware and software products including:

PowerSync  Analyzer Family - Industry standard solutions to facilitate complete testing and analysis of IEEE 802.3at & 802.3bt PoE Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) behaviors and overall compliance to the IEEE 802.3at specification, LLDP Emulation & Analysis, and Multi-Port system performance testing.

- Industry standard solutions to facilitate complete testing and analysis of IEEE 802.3at & 802.3bt PoE Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) behaviors and overall compliance to the IEEE 802.3at specification, LLDP Emulation & Analysis, and Multi-Port system performance testing. Powered Device Analyzer - Most comprehensive solutions for testing PoE Powered Devices (PD) behaviors and overall compliance to the IEEE 802.3at specification.

- Most comprehensive solutions for testing PoE Powered Devices (PD) behaviors and overall compliance to the IEEE 802.3at specification. PhyView Analyzer Family - Innovative multi-port test solution dedicated to automated IEEE 802.3 10/100/1000BaseT Ethernet physical layer testing. Designed to bridge the wide coverage gap between comprehensive Ethernet twisted pair PHY compliance testing and simple packet verification testing.

About: Sifos Technologies is the market leader in PoE (PSE and PDs) and provides Ethernet PHY (physical layer) automated test & measurement solutions for network equipment and electronic contract semiconductor, silicon providers, test labs, telecommunication service providers, system integrators, field service and IT departments.

The company is located just outside Boston, Massachusetts (USA) and may be contacted at +1-978-640-4900 on the web at www.sifos.com. Follow Sifos Technologies at Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Related Links

http://www.sifos.com



SOURCE Sifos Technologies
MUMBAI, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

3 million+ daily Sodexo consumers can now use the Sodexo Meal Card to shop for food on BigBasket

Sodexo, the leader in employee motivation and benefits services, welcomes 2018 with one more e-commerce partnership. The Sodexo Meal Card can now be used to shop for fresh and packed food & beverages on bigbasket.com, India's largest online grocery store. With an aim to ease the everyday food shopping experience for their 3 million+ daily users, Sodexo has joined hands with BigBasket to enable the acceptance of the Sodexo Meal Card on BigBasket.com. The Meal Card users can now shop for food and non-alcoholic beverages on BigBasket.com.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626388/Sodexo_BigBasket_Logo.jpg )

Sodexo caters to a large consumer base of millennials; this partnership empowers them with a wide variety of choice. These millennials can be rest assured that their food and grocery delivery will be taken care of once they place their order through the BigBasket platform and pay using their Sodexo Meal Card.

Stephane Michelin, CEO Sodexo Benefits and Rewards, explained, "Sodexo's focus in the past year in India has been about enhancing the consumer experience of our users. In our endeavour to completely digitize our solutions, we have partnered with various best-in-class solution providers. The partnership with BigBasket was a specific request from our consumers who are short on time and seek convenience. With this partnership, Sodexo will enable quick, hassle-free payments for the large base of 3 million daily consumers who can enjoy shopping on the go and be assured of secured transactions across web and app platforms of BigBasket."

Hari Menon, CEO of BigBasket said, "This is a critical partnership for BigBasket to ensure customer satisfaction and delight. In their offline avatar, Sodexo meal vouchers formed a substantial part of customer payments towards grocery purchases on BigBasket. With Sodexo going digital, it fits in even more seamlessly with the BigBasket online platform."

About Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services India:

The Sodexo group works towards improving the quality of daily life for employees, partners and customers across the world. Sodexo BRS, India's No.1 Employee Motivation & Benefits Services provider is a partner to over 11,000+ HR Leaders. Our 100% tax-compliant Digital Employee Benefit Solutions are customized to meet specific needs of organizations and help them develop their best motivated workforce.

Sodexo BRS offers a range of 100% Digital Employee Benefit Solutions. The meal benefit offerings include Meal Cards, & Cafeteria Cards. The company's fully-digital Rewards & Recognition offerings include the Premium Pass range of solutions that include the Premium Pass Celebrations for festive gifting & Premium Pass rewards for ongoing Reward & Recognition programs. Sodexo reaches out to over 3 million daily consumers in India across 1,500+ cities nationally including tier 3 & tier 4 cities making it India's largest Digital Meal Benefit Network with over 100,000 unique points of acceptance.

- For more information regarding our services, please call our toll-free numbers 1800-103-3030 or 1800-267-3030 or visit our website http://www.sodexobenefitsindia.com

About BigBasket:

BigBasket was founded in December 2011 in Bangalore by a team of five - V S Sudhakar, Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, V S Ramesh and Abhinay Choudhari. The team has both offline and online retail experience, as they had earlier set up India's first e-commerce site FabMart.com in 1999, and then established the Fabmall-Trinethra chain of more than 200 grocery supermarket stores in southern India. Servicing over 6mn registered customers, BigBasket has grown into India's largest online supermarket with over 20,000 products from over 1000 brands and presence in 26 cities across the country. BigBasket's online store covers the whole gamut of grocery products across various categories: Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Grocery & Staples, Beverages, Bakery & Dairy, Branded Foods, Meat & Eggs, Personal Care and Home care & household products. BigBasket is committed to making life simpler and grocery shopping a breeze!

Media Contact:

Sharon Batliwalla,

[email protected],

+91-22-43214321,

Sodexo

SOURCE Sodexo
"4K TVs and PC monitors are obsolete now that 8K panels have arrived," said Mathu Rajan, CEO of Stream TV. "Working with high-resolution panels from a partner like BOE allows us to gain significant traction in the global market." #8K #8KTV

Widely regarded as the world's best glasses-free 3D technology, Stream TV's Ultra-D solution uses advanced optics and powerful rendering algorithms to create a 140-degree viewing angle that gives everyone in the room a crisp, clear, vibrant, and adjustable 3D experience without the need for glasses or goggles.

"The human eye can't tell the difference between 4K and 8K in flat 2D," added Rajan. "Without using the third plane, you're basically throwing away all those pixels. We use those extra pixels for pop and depth to create an immersive experience that brings real value to device makers and their customers."

The first result of the cooperation between Stream TV and BOE is an 8K Lite Glasses-Free Ultra-3D display that will be available by appointment only for private viewing in Stream TV's booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (@CES #CES2018), Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall #10939. Please contact [email protected] for details.

ABOUT STREAM TV NETWORKS, INC:

Stream TV is a Philadelphia-based technology company. Its breakthrough Ultra-D technology is the only proprietary glasses-free 3D solution that delivers both a stunning visual display as well as content conversion from any 2D or 3D source. www.Ultra-D.com

ABOUT BOE:

BOE is a pioneer in the innovation and development of TFT-LCD technologies and dedicates itself to speeding up the progress of new display devices like flexible displays, augmented and virtual reality. BOE aims to create light, slim, energy-saving and environment-friendly products with high-color fidelity, high definition images and wide viewing angles. It is constantly improving the visual experience for mobile phones, tablets, notebooks, monitors, televisions and other devices. http://www.boe.com/en/index/pei.html

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626823/Stream_TV_Networks.jpg

Related Links

http://www.streamtvnetworks.com



SOURCE Stream TV Networks, Inc.
The report " Tartaric Acid Market by Source (Grapes & Sun-dried Raisins, Maleic Anhydride), Type (Natural, Synthetic), Application (Food & Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics & Personal Care Products), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 ", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated to be valued at USD 215.7 Million in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 285.6 Million by 2022, at a CAGR of 5.77%. The market is driven by multiple functionalities across different industries, R&D and technological innovations, and growth in the wine industry.

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Browse 94 market data Tables and 28 Figures spread through 119 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Tartaric Acid Market - Global Forecast to 2022"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/tartaric-acid-market-59894738.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

Food & beverages segment is estimated to be the largest in 2016

The Tartaric Acid Market, by application, was dominated by the food & beverages segment. It is also projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, followed by the pharmaceuticals segment. Consumption of tartaric acid in food & beverages is expected to grow, along with the increasing demand for processed food and ready-to-drink beverages, and improvements in living standards in developing markets, including countries in the Asia Pacific region. Tartaric acid has a larger role to play in winemaking and the finished product of wine, where acids are an important component. Tartaric acid is present in both wine and grapes, which have direct influences on the color, balance, and taste of the wine.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=59894738

Natural segment is projected to be the fastest-growing during the forecast period

The natural tartaric acid segment is projected to be the fastest-growing during the forecast period, due to its high usage in applications such food & beverages, especially in the wine industry, resulting in an exponential increase in the consumption and production. Tartaric acid is mostly used in the wine industry due to the major role it plays in maintaining the chemical stability of the wine, controlling the acidity of wine and its color, and finally in influencing the taste of the finished wine.

Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period

The market in the Asia Pacific region is driven by China and Japan, the two economic giants. The relatively low operational costs in this region enable manufacturers to have competitive pricing on a global platform. In this region, less stringent regulations are in place regarding the trade and domestic marketing of tartaric acid. The rising disposable incomes and the growing demand for processed and packaged food have impacted the overall food & beverages industry in the Asia Pacific region. Tartaric acid is used as an acidulant and preservative in food products; hence, the growth of the food & beverage industry has a direct impact on the demand for tartaric acid.

Make an Inquiry: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=59894738

This report includes a study of marketing and development strategies, along with the product portfolios of leading companies. It includes the profiles of leading service companies such as Caviro Group (Italy), ATP Group (US), Merck (Germany), Omkar Specialty Chemicals (India), Changmao Biochemical Engineering (China), Tarac Technologies (Australia), PAHI (Spain), Distillerie Mazzari (Italy), Distillerie Bonollo (Italy), Derivados Vinicos (Argentina), Industrias Vinicas (US), and Tartaros Gonzalo Castello (Spain).

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Organic Acids Market by Type (Acetic Acid, Citric Acid, Formic Acid, Lactic Acid, Propionic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Gluconic Acid, Fumaric Acid), Application (Food & Beverages, Feed, Pharmaceuticals, and Industrial), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/organic-acid-market-30190158.html

Acidity Regulators Market By Type (Acetic Acid, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Phosphoric Acid), Application (Beverages, Sauces, Dressings & Condiments, Processed Foods, Bakery & Confectionery) & Geography - Global Trends & Forecasts to 2018

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/food-acidulants-market-1072.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
BANGALORE, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

To celebrate the joyous occasion of Sankranti this year, Adda52 rummy, owned by Gaussian Networks Pvt Ltd., proudly presents Sankranti Special, two exciting mega online rummy tournaments, which is designed especially for the occasion to make this festival more special and fun filled. The tournament will take place on the website at 3PM on 13 and 14 January, 2018.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/564582/Adda52_Logo.jpg )

(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626909/Gaussian_Sankranti.jpg )



Sankranti Special Tournament 2018, Win 8 lakh at Adda52 Rummy

A hefty prize pool of Rs. 8 lakh (Instant Bonus) is up for grabs this Sankranti. Players can join the tournament with only 10 loyalty points. Players from all over India will compete against each other for the massive reward.

To know more about the loyalty level program, please browse the details available on the website.

Sankranti is celebrated as a festival of wealth and prosperity in almost every region across India. It is a celebration marking the end of winter and arrival of spring. Known as 'Maghi' or 'Lohri' in Punjab, 'Pongal' in South India, and 'Uttarayana' in Gujarat, Sankranti is a festival with different names but it is celebrated with the same spirit everywhere; to worship and get the divine blessing of the god of light, Sun.

As per the culture and traditions, everyone likes to celebrate Sankranti in their own way. For some, the festival is a great opportunity to socialize and increase bonding with family, friends, and society. For some, it is a great time to enjoy playing their best-loved game, rummy.

Adda52 rummy cordially invites patrons to celebrate this joyous festival with them. It is a great opportunity to bring home happiness along with big money on the auspicious day of Sankranti. Visit Sankranti Special Tournament, 2018 to play and win a share from the guaranteed prize pool.

Registrations are open for this vibrant event. Book a seat at the earliest for this 'one-of-a-kind' tournament, and spread the word with friends and relatives as registrations will be closed soon.

About Adda52

Adda52 rummy, owned by Gaussian Networks Pvt Ltd., is one of the leading gaming website in India, which is dedicated to provide best rummy games to users. The website is known for providing safe, secure, and transparent gaming environment to Indian rummy fans. We understand the needs and expectations of our loyal players of challenging and action-packed games and we constantly strive to exceed their expectations by providing them an authentic and hassle-free playing experience. This year, we are again prepared to launch more entertaining and thrilling tournaments with bigger prize pools and bonuses.

You can also download Adda52rummy app from the website and install it on your android phones and Tablets easily to play your favorite games anytime and anywhere.

Come, join the Sankranti Special Tournament at Adda52 Rummy and kickstart 2018 with lots of excitement and cash prize of 8 lakh.

Media Contact:

Binand Sethumadhavan

[email protected]

+91-9987670567

Chief Operating Officer

Gaussian Networks Pvt Ltd

SOURCE Gaussian Networks Pvt. Ltd
Distilled from its years of digital forensic and incident response field investigations, KPMG Digital Responder is a flat-rate cyber investigations tool that allows KPMG to automate cyber response from the point of collection to reporting  at a predictable fixed price. It can reduce costs of cyber investigations; shift time spent from collecting data to actual analysis, and provides more time to organizations to make faster, more informed strategic business decisions to manage potential cyber security risks.

Customers that use KPMG Digital Responder receive a report based on the investigation type, which ranges from detailing end-user activities to understanding the impact of malicious code that may have been executed on the system. The reports are the result of data correlation, enrichment, custom filters such as date/time constraints, and threat correlation.

"Consultants need a comprehensive understanding of the client's business while infusing expertise and processes to bring efficiencies to the client's environment. KPMG Digital Responder provides visibility where traditional forensics fall short with regards to consistent and reliable investigatory processes and standardized reporting. Also, KPMG Digital Responder is extensible as it allows the collected data to be portable," said Christopher Kissel, Senior Analyst, Cybersecurity, Frost & Sullivan.

KPMG Digital Responder automates digital forensic and incident response investigators' productivity by enabling them to reach conclusions faster and with greater confidence. And, its remote data collection function reduces the need for investigators to travel and reduces time spent onsite, which can instead be spent on additional investigations.

"We are honored to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for our innovative cyber solution," said Edward Goings, Principal and the National Leader of KPMG LLP's Cyber Response Services team. "This is a testament to the work we've done to develop a solution that enables customers to understand exactly what cyber investigations will cost, allowing them to better manage their budgets, staff and expectations of the board."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Global New Product Innovation Award to the company that has developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features/benefits of the product and the increased ROI it gives customers, which in turn raises customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About KPMG International

KPMG is a global network of professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 152 countries and have 189,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector, and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:

Ana Arriaga

P: 210.247.3823

F: 210.348.1003

E: Ana.Arriaga@frost.com

Related Links

http://www.frost.com



SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
BENGALURU, India, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Chief Guest, Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne, felicitates the winners

The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) today honored the winners of the Infosys Prize 2017 at an awards ceremony in Bengaluru and celebrated their inspiring journeys and contributions to science and research. The Infosys Prize is given across six fields: Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences. The Chief Guest, Prof. Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Nobel Prize 2017 Laureate, felicitated the winners across the six categories and awarded each laureate a purse of INR 65 lakhs, a 22-karat gold medallion and a citation certificate.

Trustees of the Infosys Science Foundation, Mr. K. Dinesh, President of the Board of Trustees, Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Mr. T. V. Mohandas Pai, Mr. S. Gopalakrishnan, and Mr. Srinath Batni, were present at the event. The event was attended by eminent scientists and academicians from India and abroad, business leaders, young researchers and students.

In his welcome address, Mr. K. Dinesh, President, Board of Trustees, Infosys Science Foundation said, "Celebrating extraordinary talent in research is pivotal to the Infosys Science Foundation through the Infosys Prize. The winners this year - three women and three men - are a true testimony to the symbiotic relationship between science and society. The research work of the Infosys Prize 2017 laureates blurs lines between disciplines. The laureates' research includes the computational machinery of the brain, DNA architecture to better understand the faults in living cells, identifying genetic markers for breast cancer, an attempt at solving one of the Millennium Prize problems-the Riemann Hypothesis, the importance of memory and forgetting in forming our sense of self and identity, and law and society in the digital age. Their research pushes boundaries and explores new frontiers in human knowledge. We, at the Infosys Science Foundation, are extremely proud of all the winners and their contributions that will certainly benefit individuals and society, even beyond our time."

Prof. Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Nobel Prize Laureate congratulated the winners and commended the extraordinary work that the Infosys Science Foundation is doing to encourage scientific research in India.

"The Infosys Science Prize, like the Nobel Prize, is an inspiration for young scientists and the general public alike: It calls attention to the beauty of science, and also the power of science to make human life better, both culturally and materially", he said in his address.

The winners were chosen from 236 nominations by jurors headed by eminent academics: Prof. Pradeep K. Khosla (University of California, San Diego) for Engineering and Computer Science; Prof. Amartya Sen (Harvard University) for Humanities; Dr. Inder Verma (Salk Institute of Biological Sciences) for Life Sciences; Prof. Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan (New York University) for Mathematical Sciences; Prof. Shrinivas Kulkarni (California Institute of Technology) for Physical Sciences; and Prof. Kaushik Basu (Cornell University and former SVP, World Bank) for Social Sciences.

The laureates of the Infosys Prize 2017 are:

Engineering and Computer Science

Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, for a scholarly record in algorithmic optimization and for its significant impact on biological data analysis. Her discoveries include a genetic marker for breast cancer, determination of co-occurrence of HIV and cancers, and the role of white matter in Alzheimer's disease.

Humanities

Prof. Ananya Jahanara Kabir, Professor of English Literature, King's College London, for her highly original explorations of the long-standing historical elements - conceptual, social and cultural - in colonial modernity, and for her subtle and insightful ethnography of cultural and political life in Kashmir.

Life Sciences

Prof. Upinder Singh Bhalla, Professor, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of the brain's computational machinery. His investigations have revealed essential neuronal computations that underlie the ability to acquire, integrate and store complex sensory information, and to utilize that information for decision and action.

Mathematical Sciences

Prof. Ritabrata Munshi, Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, for his outstanding contributions to analytic aspects of number theory. Besides ingenious contributions to the Diophantine problem, he has established important estimates known as sub-convexity bounds for a large class of L-functions with methods that are powerful and original.

Physical Sciences

Prof. Yamuna Krishnan, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, for her ground-breaking work in the emerging field of DNA architecture. By successfully manipulating DNA - the building blocks of life - to create biocompatible nanomachines, she has created novel ways of interrogating living systems, increasing our knowledge of cell function and getting one step closer to answering unresolved biomedical questions.

Social Sciences

Prof. Lawrence Liang, Professor, School of Law, Governance and Citizenship, Ambedkar University Delhi, in recognition of his creative scholarship on law and society. His prodigious output in the fields of copyright law, digital technologies and media, and popular culture raises probing questions about the nature of freedom, rights, and social development. His provocative answers link historical context and ethical practice in unexpected and illuminating ways.

***

About The Infosys Science Foundation

The Infosys Science Foundation is a not-for-profit set up in 2009 by the board of directors of Infosys at the time and some senior management. The mission of the Foundation is to encourage an interest in science and research. The Foundation's flagship initiative is the Infosys Prize, awarded annually to stellar work across six categories to contemporary researchers and scientists. It also engages in a host of related activities to further its mission.

For more information, please visit www.infosys-science-foundation.com.

Follow Infosys Prize 2017 on Twitter Facebook

About Infosys Ltd.

Infosys is a global leader in technology services and consulting. We enable clients in 45 countries to create and execute strategies for their digital transformation. From engineering to application development, knowledge management and business process management, we help our clients find the right problems to solve, and to solve these effectively. Our team of 198,000+ innovators, across the globe, is differentiated by the imagination, knowledge and experience, across industries and technologies that we bring to every project we undertake.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise thrive in the digital age.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements mentioned in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, and unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. These filings are available at www.sec.gov . Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company unless it is required by law.

For further information, please contact:

Asia Pacific

Sarah Gideon

Infosys, India

+91 80 4156 3998

Sarah_Gideon@infosys.com

EMEA

Margherita Di Cerbo

Infosys, Europe

Phone: +44 2075162748

Margherita.dicerbo@infosys.com

Americas

Chiku Somaiya

Infosys, USA

+1 408 375 2722

Chiku.Somaiya@infosys.com

This is a disclosure announcement from PR Newswire.

SOURCE Infosys Limited
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and CHICAGO and WASHINGTON D.C, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Trianz, a global digital transformation consulting and technology services firm today announced its acquisition of CBIG Consulting (CBIG), a leading Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics consulting firm based out of Chicago.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626944/Trianz_Logo.jpg )



In 2013, Trianz made a commitment to focus exclusively in the areas of Cloud, Analytics, Digital, Infrastructure and Security -related services to help clients transition to digital enterprises. Trianz has grown steadily for the past 5 years, developing capabilities research, strategy, process and technology consulting and managed services capabilities. The addition is part of Trianz' ongoing strategy to scale its digital transformation services portfolio comprising of Cloud, Analytics, Digitalization, Infrastructure and Security services. Trianz has also built strong technology partnerships in these areas, emerging as a Managed Services Partner of both AWS & Microsoft Azure. Trianz is rated #1 by clients for business impact, quality of services and commitment - for 2 years in a row.

Founded in 2002, CBIG is headquartered in Chicago and is present in several locations across the U.S. CBIG offers a full array of analytics and information management services - from strategy and planning to full stack technology implementations for leading enterprises that help them make intelligent business decisions. CBIG's project teams comprise of leading strategic business consultants, data scientists and analysts, data engineers and architects. The collective knowledge of these teams in over 500 engagements has helped CBIG increase enterprises' value and competitive edge. In 2017, CBIG was named as one of 'America's Best Management Consulting Firms.'

Speaking on this occasion, Sri Manchala, President and CEO at Trianz, said, "Trianz has established itself as a strong player in the digital evolution space enabling business and IT leaders drive transitions to a digital enterprise. Our goal is to continue to scale our portfolio and capabilities in Cloud, Analytics, Digitalization, Infrastructure and Security to emerge as a leading firm by 2020. CBIG brings experience in multiple industries, depth in analytics and carries strong client centricity and a commitment to their success. Trianz and CBIG clients now have access to a large practice with end-to-end capabilities from strategy to implementation and managed services. We look forward to continued client success as one team going forward."

Todd Nash, a founding Principal of CBIG expressed his views, "The hallmark of our success was built on quality teams, value delivery, client satisfaction and lasting partnerships. Being part of Trianz will help us amplify this success to our clients by offering a wider breadth of services, global scale and technology depth. We are excited about joining forces with Trianz and look forward to the opportunity ahead."

About CBIG Consulting

CBIG Consulting is a leader in Business Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Data Warehousing, and Cloud-based Analytics platforms. Named a top BI and Big Data consulting firm by independent research organizations and publications, CBIG's management consultants, business analysts, data scientists, architects and engineers are seasoned professionals dedicated to the analytics space. CBIG works with global enterprises, mid-size businesses, and non-profit organizations in solving mission-critical reporting and analytical needs. CBIG is headquartered in the Chicago area and has additional offices in San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Austin, Raleigh, Irvine and Seattle. http://www.cbigconsulting.com

About Trianz

Trianz simplifies digital evolutions through effective strategies and excellence in execution. Collaborating with business and technology leaders, we help formulate and execute operational strategies to achieve intended business outcomes by bringing the best of consulting, technology experiences and execution models. Powered by knowledge, research, and perspectives, we enable clients to transition to a digital enterprise by leveraging Infrastructure, Cloud, Analytics, Digital and Security paradigms. With offices in Silicon Valley, Washington DC Metro, Jersey City, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai, we serve Fortune 1000 and emerging organizations across industries globally. http://www.trianz.com

Media Contact

Prashant Bhavaraju

Vice President - Marketing

reach@trianz.com

+1-408-387-5800



SOURCE Trianz
Ceres Power also has strategic JDA partnerships with Honda, Nissan, Cummins and another global OEM

Fuel cell technology company Power Holdings PLC ( ) has signed another joint development agreement with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

and the unnamed new partner will work together to develop prototype multi-kilowatt power systems for several potential applications.

noted this is the fifth co-development agreement it has signed in less than two years, and is the first step in considering a potential collaboration that could include joint system development, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell stack development and manufacturing.

"We set ourselves the target of securing five major development partners within two years and we've now achieved that by signing an agreement with another global player, declared Phil Caldwell, the chief executive officer of .

We are continuing to attract some of the biggest names in the power systems and energy sectors, an endorsement not just of our technology and engineering expertise, but also of the significant potential of the SteelCell. Awareness in the technology, and 's leading position is growing fast. This latest agreement sets us up for a strong 2018 as we continue to add new partners and progress existing relationships towards the commercialisation of our technology with the world's best companies," he added.

Shares were up 4.2% to 15p in afternoon trade.

--Updates for share price--
The number of people screened by ClearStar for direct clients rose by 26% year-on-year

Clearstar ran background checks on 26% more people in 2017

Background check specialist ( ) will hit market forecasts this year as revenues continued to rise in the second half.

Strong demand for job and employee screening from transport firms, contractors and in education lifted direct services revenue by 21% year-on-year, while the number of active clients here rose by 18%.

The number of people screened by ClearStar for direct clients rose by 26% year-on-year.

Revenues in 2017 will grow by approximately 11% year-on-year to US$17.8mln (US$16mln), with a reduced full year loss before tax.

Medical information services sales rose by 20% year-on-year and accounted for 38% of revenues, while global services revenue rose by 90% year-on-year.

Clearstar added it had made good progress implementing its contract with IntelliCentrics, which has 10,000 distinct installations across the US, Canada and the UK.

The company ended the year with approximately US$1mln of net cash.
"Tullow delivered strong operational and financial performance in 2017 against the backdrop of continued industry volatility, said Paul McDade, Tullow chief executive

( ) shares rose around 3% in Wednesdays early deals after revealing better than expected production and cash flow generation.

The oil producer said crude output from West Africa also beat expectations, measuring an average of 89,100 barrels per day (including insurance payments equivalent to 7,400 bopd from the Jubilee field). European operations yielded an average of 5,600 barrels oil equivalent.

"Tullow delivered strong operational and financial performance in 2017 against the backdrop of continued industry volatility, said Paul McDade, Tullow chief executive.

There was also material improvement in the group's balance sheet, with significantly reduced gearing and an overall reduction in net debt of $1.3bn.

Positive momentum seen continuing into 2018

Over 2018 we expect to continue this positive momentum, McDade added.

With our diverse low-cost assets and high-graded exploration portfolio, enhanced by recent licence additions in Cote d'Ivoire and Peru, we have a strong foundation to grow the business and further reduce our debt."

Tullow forecasts 2018 production between 82,000 and 90,000 bopd with 3,500 to 4,500 boepd anticipated from gas - putting overall group guidance at 86,000 to 95,000 boepd for the year.

For the financial year ended 31 December 2017, the company expects to report US$1.7bn of total revenue, with gross profit anticipated at around US$800mln.

Capital spending amounted to around US$250mln in 2017, and next year it is expected to increase significantly to US$460mln although most of that (almost 80%) will be spent of development work rather than exploration and appraisal.

Net debt stood at US$3.5bn at the end of December, and Tullow had headroom and free cash of around US$1bn.

Tullows turned a corner after near death experience

After the near death experience of early 2016, Tullow looks like its turned a corner, said Nicholas Hyett, equity analyst at .

Falling debt and new borrowing facilities have given the group extra breathing space, while increasing production and a healthier oil price environment means more money is coming through the door.

While the group has kept a tight grip on spending, improved conditions means Tullow is renewing its focus on exploration and development. Its an area where the group has an excellent track record, and recent progress in East Africa bodes well.

By around 9:45, Tullow Oil shares were up 5.1p or 2.235% changing hands at 226.5p.
Citi is forecasting negative 1% and negative 5% organic growth for the current and subsequent years respectively

The services contractor's shares were down 4p or 3.9%

Plc ( ) shares dropped more than 3.5% as analysts at Citigroup issued a downgrade, moving to sell with a 87p price target which suggests some 11% downside the current price.

On Wednesday, Serco shares were down 4p or 3.9%, changing hands at 98.1p.

Analyst Ed Steele said in a note that: While cost cutting is helpful, meaningful positive organic sales growth seems unlikely before 2020 (or beyond).

Steele is forecasting negative 1% and negative 5% organic growth for the current and subsequent years respectively, even as market consensus is slightly positive for the same periods.

This, coupled with ongoing industry pricing pressures, suggests recovery towards managements 5-6% EBITA margin target range may not be possible until 2022-2024, Steele said.

Consensus earnings per share (EPS) risk remains to the downside. Wall of rebids - sparse new contract wins has matured Sercos contract base.

He added: Our detailed analysis of 65 of Sercos largest contracts (>75% group sales) reveals that its portfolio of c10 year average life contracts now carries only c3 years until expiry.

Almost half of these (by value) are set for rebid during 2018 and 2019. For context, only 4 of our tracked 12 large rebids over the last 6 years saw retention.
The big order from Qatar and the good news on the pension obligations have brightened the outlook considerably ahead of an expected UK defence spending review that holds more risk for QinetiQ than BAE

BAE did not exactly soar on the upgrade, but QinetiQ and Meggitt certainly dived

has been reviewing the engineering sector and has taken a shine to PLC ( ) but turned bearish on Group PLC (LON:QQ).

Abandoning its neutral position to upgrade BAE to 'buy', the Swiss bank said the current valuation is undemanding following the pension agreement and confirmation of the Qatar order.

has increased its target price from 655p to 670p and said that using the actuarial UK deficit of around 2.1bn instead of the accounting deficit of 5.2bn in its net debt calculation would add around 90p to its price target.

We think BAEs end market exposure is amongst the most attractive in the sector; the company is exposed to growing defence budgets in the US (36% of sales) and Saudi Arabia (21%). In the US, the NDAA has authorised US$634bn base defence spending for 2018 (+15% YoY), while the Saudi government has approved a 10% increase in the 2018 budget to US$56bn. In this context, we view BAEs valuation as undemanding, UBS said.

Capitalising current earnings accounts for 96% of the current equity value, implying the market attributes little value to future growth prospects, it added.

Meanwhile, it expects a UK defence spending review in late 2018 to result in capability cuts, but believes the risk to BAE is limited, as BAE's UK activities are longer cycle.

We expect the MoD [Ministry of Defence] to reduce shorter cycle spend in the run-up to the review, but think long-term commitments may increase in the context of budget uncertainty. Although investors appear concerned about the maritime business, this accounted for just 251m EBITA [underlying earnings] in 2016 (13% of group). We assume this falls to zero in our downside scenario and still arrive at a valuation of 505p, UBS explained.

The shares currently trade at around 576p.

Maritime sales are split out under the new divisional structure, facilitating investors appreciation about the worst-case scenario to earnings, it added.

Fellow defence stock is less likely to emerge unscathed from any UK spending review and is downgraded from 'neutral' to 'sell' with the price target declining to 215p from 226p.

QinetiQ is heavily exposed with the Ministry of Defence accounting for two-thirds of revenues.

The bank sees particular risks to the shorter-cycle Cyber, Information and Training business, which accounts for 13% of group sales.

It is forecasting slower revenue growth from the second half of this year.

Over the longer term, it thinks the need for the MoD to appear to increase efficiency could encourage further outsourcing, which might potentially benefit QinetiQ, but probably not this year.

Finally, it has also downgraded aerospace company ( ) to 'sell' from 'neutral' and chopped the target price to 440p from 485p.

UBS believes original equipment manufacturers are likely to cut back on outsourcing, and Meggitt is heavily exposed to this trend.

Previous attempts to raise prices have resulted in customers seeking alternative suppliers, UBS claims, highlighting Meggitt's vulnerability to dual sourcing.

Shares in Meggitt were down 3.8% at 473.5p on the downgrade; QinetiQ took a bigger hit, shedding 5.2% at 215.1p.
The company is advancing the Gabanintha project towards feasibility and production.

Shares closed at a 12-month high of $0.028 on Tuesday

s ( ) initial leach test results support the high quality nature of material from Gabanintha Vanadium Project in Western Australia.

Neomet hydrometallurgical process tests returned encouraging first pass results for extraction of vanadium, iron and titanium from oxide samples.

A high-grade oxide sample showed extraction of 96% of vanadium, 87% of iron and 1% of titanium after a one hour hydrochloric acid (HCl) leach.

The titanium was upgraded from 8.8% to 23.4% in the residue.

A low-grade sample showed extraction of 88% of vanadium, 97% of iron and 33% of titanium after a one hour HCl leach.

Evaluating processing routes

Australian Vanadium has engaged with Neomet and Sedgman to conduct the tests as it evaluates traditional and non-traditional processing routes.

Vincent Algar, managing director, said: As AVL moves towards defining the exact nature of the Gabanintha operation through its definitive test work, processing circuit design and mine design, we will continue to have all options on the table.

The exciting results from the initial Neomet leach test work allow us to better understand the potential recovery of other valuable metal credits.

Additional tests will be considered

The company, together with Sedgman, will consider an additional test work program using the Neomet process following the completion of other ongoing test work.

This includes metallurgical bench scale tests assessing communition, magnetic separation and desilication.

The aim is to provide inputs at a pre-feasibility study level for development of a concentrator plant flowsheet.

This program is on schedule for completion by the end of January 2018.

Algar added: The companys previous test work has demonstrated excellent concentrate recovery and we anticipate the work underway will improve that further, as well as providing defined inputs into the next phase of work.

We are very keen to get on with the pre-feasibility study in this buoyant vanadium market.

Gabanintha resource

Gabanintha hosts a resource of 179.6 million tonnes at 0.75% vanadium, making it one of the highest-grade vanadium deposits being advanced globally.

The resource includes a distinct, massive magnetite high-grade zone of 92.8 million tonnes at 0.96% vanadium.
Capital raising to fund exploration at Dablo and Mt Mulcahy Copper-Zinc project.

Pegasus Metals Ltds ( ) proposed acquisition of Scorpion Minerals Limited provides the company with an opportunity to secure a 70% joint venture interest in a polymetallic deposit in Burkina Faso.

Dablo has the potential for palladiumplatinumgoldnickel-copper mineralisation.

The Dablo project consists of a large land package comprising four tenements for a total of 981 square metres with a strike length of 6 kilometres identified within an anomalous trend of more than 35 kilometres.

Issue of shares and options as consideration

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement Pegasus will acquire all of the issued capital of Scorpion for $360,000 via the issue of a total of 12 million shares at an implied price of $0.03 per share.

Consideration also includes the issue of a total of 45 million unlisted options in Pegasus in three tranches with exercise prices ranging between $0.03 and $0.10 per option.

Sophisticated investors to participate in $600,000 capital raising

The company will also assume the outstanding loan obligation of Scorpion under a $500,000 loan facility which will include a payment of $250,000 from a capital raising.

Pegasus will undertake a placement to sophisticated investors of 20,000 shares at $0.03 per share to raise $600,000 before costs associated with the issue.

Capital raising will fund exploration at the Dablo and Mt Mulcahy Copper projects

The funds raised will be applied to progress the proposed acquisition and exploration of the Dablo project.

It will also assist in providing financing for exploration activities at the companys Mt Mulcahy Copper Project located in the Murchison region of Western Australia.

The project hosts the Mt Mulcahy volcanogenic massive sulphide copper-zinc deposit, which has a Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 647,000 tonnes at 2.4% copper, 1.8% zinc and 20 g/t silver.
U.S. investment firm initiates coverage with a buy recommendation.

The company plans to build an integrated lithium business

( OTCMKTS:PLLLY) has added three experienced U.S. executives to its team as it seeks to advance its lithium strategy.

Patrick Brindle, David Buckley and Bruce Czachor have been appointed as senior officers of the company.

They will help drive different aspects of Piedmonts plan to build an integrated lithium business centred on the Piedmont Lithium Project in the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt.

Patrick Brindle will be vice president  project management, David Buckley will be vice president  chief process engineer and Bruce Czachor will be vice president  general counsel.

Keith Phillips, president and chief executive officer, said, I am excited that Patrick, Dave and Bruce have chosen to join the Piedmont team.

Patrick is a highly experienced engineer and has been instrumental in taking many companies from scoping study through to production.

He will be coordinating the technical and permitting studies we are commencing in early 2018.

Decades of experience

Phillips said: Dave has decades of experience in the sector, including several years focused on the Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt.

We are committed to building an integrated lithium business and Dave will be instrumental in the development of our downstream strategy.

I have known Bruce for over 25 years and he will be extremely helpful in driving our U.S. capital markets strategy.

He will play an important role in the strategic and offtake conversations that are beginning to develop.

2018 year will be an exciting year for Piedmont, with metallurgical testing, a maiden resource and scoping study all planned for the first half of the year.

Roth Capital initiates coverage

U.S.-based investment banking firm Roth Capital Partners has initiated coverage of Piedmont with a buy rating.

In North America Piedmont shares trade as American depository receipts (ADRs) with each ADR having the same value as 100 ASX shares.

Piedmont ADRs were last trading at US$17.39 in the U.S. on Tuesday and the Roth price target is US$23.

Roth Capital said: Although we believe Piedmonts recent drill campaign and the release of an exploration target provided investors with significant catalysts, the next few quarters could provide many more significant catalysts.

Catalysts in 2018

These catalysts include phase III drilling of 20,000 metres, an initial resource estimate in the June quarter of 2018 and release of a scoping study in mid-2018.

Roth said: The company is also likely to focus on a smaller initial project that significantly reduces the permitting time frame.

We believe a shift in company expectations from a 21-month permitting process to a nine-month process would be a major positive catalyst.

The Carolina Tin-Spodumene Belt has been described as one of the largest lithium provinces in the world and is circa 40 kilometres west of Charlotte, North Carolina.

It is a premier location to be developing an integrated lithium business due to its favorable geology, proven metallurgy and easy access to infrastructure, including power.

The belt is also adjacent to R&D centres for lithium and battery storage, major high-tech population centres and downstream lithium processing facilities.
Pre-drilling environmental studies have been completed.

The company aims to expand resources at its Canadian project.

( ) is well advanced with preparations for 2018 drilling aimed at defining reserves and expanding resources at the Elko Coking Coal Project in Canada.

The company has completed pre-drilling environmental studies while most approvals for the program have been received.

Pacific American is planning circa 8,500 metres of drilling.

257.5 million tonnes resource

The Elko project contains a 257.5 million tonnes resource and is in the East Kootenay Coal Basin of British Columbia.

Pacific American intends to replicate an exploration program planned for 2017 but which was suspended due to significant wildfires in the province, which prevented access to the site.

Since then the company has completed all environmental studies it was been requested to complete as part of the approval process for its Notice of Work.

READ: Pacific American Coal appoints Mark Sykes to the board

The final piece of environmental work required is the GAP Analysis, which is being prepared.

During Canadas spring the company intends to complete stage II work of the fish and archaeological studies.

It will also carry out field work associated with desktop reviews and recommendations of the GAP Analysis.

The company continues to work closely with the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and various other government departments.

It sees no significant hurdles in achieving the Notice of Work approval before the 2018 exploration window during the warmer months.

Focus on commercial aspects

In addition to the environmental and permitting process, the company continues to focus on commercial aspects of the project.

Elko has projected low capital costs and infrastructure advantages over other coal projects in the region.

The project has the capacity of being a 1-2 million tonnes per annum operation during initial years of operation based on the resource containing an area suitable to a low strip ratio open cut mine.

There is then the ability to expand production capacity over time as an underground operation is established.

Elko is within 20 kilometres of coal rail infrastructure and is at the southern end of the East Kootenay Coal Basin.

Rail cost advantage

This makes it the closest coal project in the basin to coal ports in Vancouver with a circa $2 per tonne rail cost advantage over projects at the northern end of the basin.

A project study report delivered by Palaris Australia in May 2017 identified that the project did not require significant capital expenditure to deliver initial shipments of coal to market.

Contract mining planned

As such, Pacific American plans a contract mining operation minimising the startup capital to major cost items such as site access, coal handling and processing facilities and rail load-out.

The Palaris report indicates that Elko is expected to be at the lower end of capital intensity and would compare favourably with other Canadian projects.

There is a strong product mix at Elko, including in demand HCC and premium quality PCI.
First time that Cellmid has recorded quarterly sales above $2 million.

More than double the sales from the same period last year

Cellmid Limiteds ( ) sales of its FGF5 inhibitor hair growth and anti-aging hair care products for Q2 FY2018 reached circa $2 million, more than double the sales from the same period last year.

The companys consumer health subsidiary Advangen sells hair care products in Australia, Japan and the U.S.

Quarterly sales exceed $2 million for the first time

This is the first time that Cellmid has recorded sales above $2 million for the quarter, having achieved a 34% increase on the highest previous quarterly result of $1.5 million.

The substantial increase in sales was the result of continued success with television shopping channel QVC in Japan.

Cellmids million-dollar day sale on 21 December 2017 on the QVC television shopping channel in Japan has been a remarkable success.

The company also benefited from the commencement of shipping to China following the receipt of import permits for the Jo-Ju and Lexilis branded products.

The company had signed a master supply agreement with Ltd ( ) to market the companys products in China.

This is part of a comprehensive strategy to enter the Chinese consumer health market with the companys various brands of FGF5 inhibitor hair loss products.

Cellmid has achieved key milestones and operational targets for the quarter ended 31 December 2017.

The company recently signed up with its second U.S. retail partner, Soft Surroundings. Cellmid had successfully launched its product range on Neiman Marcus online earlier last year.

The evolis Professional anti-aging hair care products were launched in Australian salons in November 2017. The roll-out, primarily through wholesale relationships, will continue in 2018.

Rare kidney disease studies progressing well

Cellmids in live phase of the FSGS (a rare disease that attacks the kidney) studies at the Westmead Institute in Sydney was completed in December 2017.

The tissue and blood data are currently being analysed with an early indication that one of the companys antibodies, not previously tested, is showing efficacy in this model.
The photo pioneer said on Tuesday it is to launch a blockchain platform to ensure digital-rights and secure payments for photographers

Blockchain is the technology which underpins cryptocurrencies

Camera and film giant Eastman Kodak Co. ( ) continued to climb on Wednesday after the historic company became the latest to jump on the blockchain craze.

The stock was up over 71% to US$11.65 before the bell in New York, having more than doubled on Tuesday.

KODAKOne 'new economy' for photographers

Kodak said yesterday it had created a new platform for digital photography with its very own digital currency called KodakCoin.

Shares in Kodak soared to US$6.80 in New York from a previous close of US$3.12.

The group said KODAKOne was "a new economy" for photographers to license their work and receive payments.

Meanwhile, KODAKCoin was a photo-centric cryptocurrency.

Both were launched by Kodak and WENN Digital today.

It comes as global investors increasingly are being drawn it seems to almost any asset related to digital coins or the blockchain technology behind them - for example Bitcoin.

For photographers whove long struggled to assert control over their work and how its used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem, said Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke.

Kodak, which is 130 years old, said it plans to launch an initial coin offering (ICO) for KodakCoin, the cryptocurrency that will be the backbone of the new payment system.

ICOs are another method of raising capital for ventures using digital tokens.

--Updates for share price--
The company blamed the credit outsourcing transition for the poor sales performance

E-commerce business grew by a "double-digit" percentage, while Zales Jewelers saw same-store sales rise by 4.6%.

Signet Jewelers Ltd.( ) saw its shares take a beating in premarket trade after its holiday sales numbers fell from a year ago.

The diamond jewelry retailer revealed that total sales for the nine weeks ending December 30 fell by 3.1% to US$1.88bn from US$1.94bn a year ago.

During the same period, same-store sales also fell, more sharply by 5.3%, against 4.6% the previous year.

The company blamed the credit outsourcing transition for the poor sales performance.

Signet said in a statement that its e-commerce business grew by a "double-digit" percentage, while Zales Jewelers saw same-store sales rise by 4.6%.

It reiterated its fiscal 2018 same-store sales outlook of down mid single-digit percentage range, but raised its earnings-per-share outlook to US$6.45 to US$6.50 from US$6.10 to US$6.50, to reflect an expected lower tax rate after the tax reform legislation.

The company anticipates the reduction in the US corporate tax rate to result in an effective tax rate in the range of 14% to 15% for the current fiscal year.

Virginia C. Drosos, chief executive officer said: We are resolutely focused on addressing credit transition issues in our Sterling division to return to growth there as well.

In premarket trade, its shares were down 8.32% at US$51.88
Hole PWM-18-51 will be the first hole on the Northeast dyke, the firm revealed, and it is now in progress..

Inc (CSE:XMG, OTCQB:MGXMF) told investors that its joint venture partner Power Metals Corp (CVE:PWM) had kicked off a 2,000m drill program on the Northeast Dyke at Case Lake in Ontario.

Hole PWM-18-51 will be the first hole on the Northeast dyke, the firm revealed, and it is now in progress.

It is collared 5 metres north of the spodumene pegmatite outcrop and will drill underneath the location of the surface high grade assays, which were reported last month.

Those assays ranged from 6.04% to 7.14% lithium oxide for rock samples on surface.

Other highlight samples included 6.75% lithium oxide and 6.04% lithium in another sample.

The Northeast Dyke lies 900 meters (m) northeast along strike of the recently completed 5,400 m drill program on the North and Main Dykes and is within the same tonalite dome as the North and Main Dykes.

Case Lake lies close to the Ontario-Quebec border and the pegmatite swarm consists of five dykes - North, Main, South, East and Northeast.

Last month Power announced additional drilling results for the Main Dyke.

Highlights included 2.19% lithium oxide (Li2O) over six metres (m) and 2.11% Li2O) over 11 metres at hole PWM-17-33, and 1.81% Li2O over 17 metres at PWM-18-34.

Drill hole PWM-17-33 lithium and tantalum mineralization includes lithium grades up to 3.02 % Li2O over 2.0 m and 2.84 % Li2O over 4.0 m, while tantalum grades are up to 554.0 parts per million (ppm) tantalum (Ta) over 2.0 m.

MGX shares are up 3.54% to C$1.17.
"Ventripoint is an impressive company with innovative products to improve patient cardiac diagnosis and care," added McPhedra

VentriPoint has developed a suite of applications for all major heart diseases

Heart analysis firm Ltd ( ) has hired health care industry professional David McPhedran as director of sales for North America with immediate effect.

"He has a successful track record in establishing and managing sales teams for imaging products in the North American marketplace," said Desmond Hirson, president of Ventripoint.

"Ventripoint is an impressive company with innovative products to improve patient cardiac diagnosis and care," added McPhedran.

"I have engaged numerous cardiologists across Canada and can report that they are very interested in Ventripoint's technology as it helps to address the need for affordable, accurate cardiac measurement tools."

McPhedran's CV includes director of sales for imaging in Western Canada for Siemens Healthcare, where his team achieved sales targets of $35mln a year.

He has also worked for Becton Dickinson and in sales and marketing.

Shares eased 1.47% to C$0.34.
The exercise price will remain at C$1. Each whole warrant, when exercised, will be exchangeable for one share..

The exercise price will remain at C$1.

Corp ( ) has applied to the TSX-V to extend the term of 4.51mln outstanding warrants.

They were originally issued in July, 2016, as part of a placing and were set to expire on January 28 this year.

They are to be extended to January 28, 2019.

The exercise price will remain at C$1. Each whole warrant, when exercised, will be exchangeable for one share.

Argentina focused resource group Golden Arrow revealed on December 28 last year that its Puna Operations joint venture had received environmental approval, paving the way for extra Chinchillas ore integration with the Pirquitas mill for processing in 2018.

Development activities will begin with the first ore feed to the Pirquitas mill expected in the second half of 2018.

Puna is a joint venture of the Pirquitas property and the Chinchillas property, owned 25% by Golden Arrow.

Chinchillas is a silver-lead-zinc deposit located about 42 kilometers by road from the Pirquitas property
Stock and commodities markets

OPEC Nations Dont Want $60/b

The OPEC doesn't seem to be interested in oil prices above $60/b. At least this is what the Iranian Minister of Oil said the other day. By the way, Iran is the OPECs third-biggest producer of crude oil. According to Bloomberg, the OPEC is afraid that prices above 60 dollars per barrel will favor international shale oil producers, especially American ones. However, Masterforex-V Academy experts say that shale oil companies are not the only thing the OPEC should be afraid of. They should watch out for conventional oil producers form the USA as well. This is a major threat for both the OPEC and the oil nations participating in the OPEC+ deal. Today, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published the draft bill aimed at canceling the veto on offshore oil production. They are planning to quintuple the amount of offshore oil rigs over the next 3-4 years. The areas supposedly store 90 billion barrels of crude oil and 319 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The entire U.S. offshore area both in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as in the Mexican Bay, have been closed for oil production since 1988. The tenders are expected to start in 2019. The BOEM's plan is said to be based on Donald Trumps decree signed in April 2017. The decree is aimed at strengthening the USA s role in the global energy market while keeping energy sources relatively cheap. So, the plan is designed to turn the United States into the worlds strongest energy superpower. At this point, the USA is producing almost as much oil as Russia and Saudi Arabia, the worlds leaders in terms of crude oil production. In 2017, it the USA produced 9,2 million barrels a day while this year they are going to produce 10 million barrels a day. You are free to discuss this article here: forum for traders and investors 



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Goldman Sachs is back in the game 20 years ago, Goldman Sachs used to be a Wall Street legend and a dream company to work for graduates with a financial degree. Over the last few years, the bank has been a loser with thousands of disappointed employees, managers, and investors. However, the other day Goldman Sachs made an attempt to get back in the game. Read more 

European ETFs - Decent Alternative to American ETFs The mentioned PRIIP rules are forcing the financial service providers and brokers to publish a specific set of info documents including the so-called KID with the key info on certain investment and insurance products. Since the funds coming from outside of Europe do not conform to these requirements, they cannot be offered to EU residents as investment products. Read more 

Warren Buffett Keeps Loading Up On Bank of America's Stock Berkshire Hathaway keeps loading up on Bank of America's stock. This time, during the period of July 31st - August 4th, they purchased over 13,6 million shares, which cost 337 million dollars. The average prices was 24,81 dollars per share. With that being said, Berkshire Hathaway now owns 1,03 billion shares of the stock, which is 26,15 billion dollars in dollar terms. As for the Federal Reserve, they agreed to increase the fund's share to 24,9%. Read more 

WTI Price Drops After US Oil Inventories Report Today, another crude oil inventories report has been released by the USA: Read more 

Is Gold Worth Investing Amid Crisis? Securing assets has always been number-one goal during crises. This is something that worries borth financial experts and plain folks who are far from the peculiarities of the financial world but who are still witnessing their savings vanish amid inflation and devaluation. Read more 

Remember the Key Rules of Investing in Stocks Without further ado, let's consider a bunch of principles of investing in stock, which will put the odds of succeeding in this business in your favor: Read more 

Apple Patents iPhone Without Ports And Holes, Device Expected In 2021 It seems that the release of the long-awaited iPhone without any ports or holes is getting more and more portable. Apple has always favored minimalistic designs, especially over the last 5 years. In 2015, almost all of the classic ports were deprecated in MacBooks in favor of a single one - USB-C Thunderbolt 3. In 2017, iPhone 7 got rid of the 3.5mm audio jack. Read more 

Gold Sets New Records The gold market is insane. The gold futures price set a new major high in New York. In particular, the dollar price of the precious metal set a new 7- year high. With that being said, maybe you should add gold to your investment portfolio along with BTC? Well,lat's ponder upon this question. Read more 

Brent Prices Drop Down To $61/b The concerns over the global demand for crude oil are getting back to the market again. The current trading week has been a week of discounts. Earlier today, Brent oil saw its price drop down to 61 dollars per barrel. The WTI price dropped all the way down to 56 dollars per barrel. The supply side has got an upper hand. Read more 
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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Mumbai, Jan 5 : Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej on Friday said the group, globally, is seeing potentialilty in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) space for growth and developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America are in the focus.

"Globally, we are seeing potential in the fast moving consumer goods, particularly in the developing world and we are not too interested in the developed world where the growth rates are low. Asia, Africa and South America are our focus," Godrej told BTVI in an interview.

He said the group was growing considerably through inorganic growth and now in Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL), the largest company of the group, about 50 per cent of its sales come from outside India.

Responding to a query on the opportunities the group is looking at the area of ayurvedic products, he said: "We have some products in that area but our strength is in scientific technology. We do not want to go into areas too much which is not our strength."

The group would continue to focus on technology and R&D and leverage these.

"I expect growth to be strong," he said responding to a query about young leadership.

Godrje said the group's focus has been on the total topline and bottomline and not much in the margin and hoped GCPL and Godrej Agrovet to grow rapidly.

He said real estate has the potential and no one (companies) has even five per cent share of the market.
Kuala Lumpur, Jan 6 : The Malaysian government has agreed to an offer by a US exploration firm to resume the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on a "no cure, no fee" basis, Transportation Minister Liow Tiong Lai said on Saturday.

The US company, Ocean Infinity, said earlier this week that it was "hopeful of receiving the final contract award for the resumption of the search for MH370 over the coming days", reports Xinhua news agency,.

"Now we have approached Australia and China, and we are working together to resume the search for MH370," he said.

Liow added the contract would be finalized by next week.

Ocean Infinity said it was moving Seabed Constructor, the vessel that the company uses for the search, towards the vicinity of the possible search zone given that the weather window would be relatively narrow.

MH370, carrying 239 on board, went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

Malaysia, Australia and China suspended the search operation in January 2017 after almost three years' efforts in a 120,000-square-km area in the Southern Indian Ocean failed to find any sign of the wreckage of the plane.

But a report from the Australian Transport Safety Board released later in the year pointed to a new area where the plane could be found.
Chandigarh, Jan 7 : Hundreds of farmers and AAP activists protested on Sunday at the grain market in Mansa town as the Punjab government began a farm debt waiver scheme for a section of marginal, debt-ridden farmers in the state.

The farmers, who held the protest under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), termed the scheme as a non-starter.

They said the Congress, which had promised complete debt waiver for farmers, had gone back on its promise to waive off the debt of cooperative and commercial banks, money-lenders and financial institutions.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh launched the scheme, claiming that it will benefit a total of 5.63 lakh farmers in the initial phase. Farmers were issued debt waiver certificates on the occasion.

Farmers in the agrarian state, which ushered in the 'Green Revolution' in 1960s to make the country self-sufficient in food grains, are believed to be under a debt of over Rs 90,000 crore.

"The loan waiver announced by the state government is all fake. It is peanuts compared the the mammoth debt of farmers. We will not accept this waiver," BKU farmer Kirpal Singh said.

The Punjab Police and district authorities did not allow the protesting farmers to reach the venue of the loan waiver event.

Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Aam Aadmi Party co-president for Punjab Aman Arora started a sit-in protest in Mansa town, 185 km from here.

"This exercise of loan waiver is a complete sham. The farmers of Punjab have been cheated in the name of waiving off their debt. We have cheques of Rs 7, 10, 12 and a few hundred rupees being issued to farmers. Is this the loan waiver that the Congress promised?" Khaira asked.

The symbolic launch event at Mansa witnessed disbursement of debt relief certificates to the tune of Rs 167.39 crore to nearly 47,000 eligible marginal and small farmers, who had taken loans from 701 primary agriculture cooperative societies of Mansa, Bathinda, Faridkot, Muktsar and Moga districts.

Additional Chief Secretary (cooperation) D.P. Reddy and Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Viswajeet Khanna said on Sunday that the Punjab government had identified 5.63 lakh farmers, who had taken loan of nearly Rs 2,700 crore from cooperative institutions, as beneficiaries for disbursement of the debt waiver certificates in the first of the four planned phases for completion of the entire process.

"Of these, the process of verification had been completed for 3.20 lakh farmers. Over 1 lakh cases with loans to worth Rs 748 crore had been approved pan Punjab," Khanna said, adding that loans of farmers taken from commercial and private banks would be settled later under the Debt Relief Scheme-2017.

Under the scheme notified, marginal farmers having land holdings of less than 2.5 acres and small farmers having land less than 5 acres, who have taken loan up to Rs 2 lakh, would be provided debt relief by the financially starved Punjab government.
Damascus, Jan 8 : At least 18 people were killed on Sunday by a blast that targeted a rebels' position in Idlib, Syria, a monitor group said.

Civilians were among those killed and wounded by the car bomb that targeted a position of Agnad al-Caucaus rebel group, Xinhua reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast was heavy, stopping short of giving details on the number of civilians among the killed militants.

The Syrian army has been on a wide-scale offensive in the southern countryside of Idlib, capturing tens of towns and villages over the past two months.

The recent military victory was achieved on Sunday when the Syrian army captured the strategic town of Sinjar, which enables the government forces to advance toward capturing the key airbase of Abu al-Duhur.

Idlib has emerged as the main destination of the rebel groups, which have evacuated several positions across Syria after surrendering to the Syrian army.

The area has become a home to several rebel groups from different affiliations, some of which are supported by Turkey, while others, such as the Nusra Front, are designated as terrorist groups.
London, Jan 8 : Mexican marines exchanged gunfire with a group of gunmen in Mexico's Baja California Sur state, leaving seven dead, officials said on Sunday.

The state's Attorney General's Office (PGJE) said the clash took place late on Saturday in the popular beach resort of Los Cabos, as the marines headed to a neighborhood in San Jose del Cabo, one of two towns that comprise the resort, to investigate the sound of gunfire.

On the way, the marines detected armed men riding in two vehicles, both with US license plates, in the road ahead of them and ordered them to stop, but they sped up in an attempt to flee while the occupants fired their guns.

As the chase continued, both vehicles eventually crashed into walls or barricades, though the four occupants of the second vehicle got out and continued to fire on the marines until they were killed.

Marines seized high-caliber weapons and vehicles in the operation.

The PGJE said it opened an investigation into the incident it said was "allegedly linked to criminal events that have taken place in the state."

In late December, authorities found bodies hanging from bridges near Los Cabos, in a sign that violent crime sparked by rival drug trafficking organisations is plaguing the state.
Cairo, Jan 10 : Four-hundred Egyptian legislators came out on Tuesday in favour of another term for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has yet to say whether he will be a candidate in the presidential election set for March.

The lawmakers signed-on to an initiative launched by Mohamed Zaki al-Suwaidi, head of the majority Daam Masr (Support Egypt) coalition, and Al-Sayed al-Sherif, secretary to the speaker of parliament, Efe reported.

The speaker, Ali Abdel Aal, pointed out that Article 108 of the parliamentary regulations stipulates that each member has the right to recommend a presidential candidate.

Under Egypt's electoral law, a person wanting to run for president must show support from 20 legislators or collect signatures of 25,000 citizens representing at least 15 provinces, with a minimum of 1,000 signatures per region.

The National Electoral Authority said on Monday that the first round of the presidential election is set for March 26-28.

The second round is scheduled for April 24-26 and the results are expected on May 1, election authority head Lashin Ibrahim said.

At the moment, there is only one formally declared candidate: human rights lawyer Khaled Ali, whose bid depends on the outcome of a judicial proceeding on whether he made an "obscene gesture" in public.

Even so, Al-Sisi, who won the May 2014 election with 96.9 per cent of the vote, is expected to seek another term.
Ankara, Jan 10 : Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the ambassadors of Russia and Iran to protest the Syria government's violations of de-escalation zone borders in Idlib.

The ministry expressed Turkey's "discomfort" on Idlib situation to Russian ambassador Alexei Yerkhov and Iranian ambassador Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian Fard, asking them to urge the Syrian government to end the border violations, Xinhua reported.

Speaking to reporters, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Syria's Assad government of launching attacks on moderate opposition in Idlib, which "could damage the process of political resolution."

The minister's comments came a day after Syrian government forces captured several towns and advanced closer to an opposition-held air base in the northwestern province of Idlib, following intense battles with the al-Qaida-linked militant groups.

As agreed in Astana talks by Turkey, Russia and Iran, Turkish military is currently deployed in Idlib to set up observation posts and monitor the implementation of de-escalation zones.
London, Jan 10 : British Prime Minister Theresa May issued her first statement on Tuesday night after completing a shake-up of her team of government ministers.

Speaking at 10 Downing Street, May commented on the new diversity of her government team, Xinhua reported.

May said: "This Government is about building a country fit for the future -- one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society.

"This reshuffle helps us do just that by bringing fresh talent into Government, boosting delivery in key policy areas like housing, health and social care, and ensuring the Government looks more like the country it serves.

"It also allows a new generation of gifted Ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK."

May faced criticism on the first day of her reshuffle which critics, including some of her own Conservative politicians described as lack-lustre.

Just one big change to her front-row team saw former Education Secretary Justine Greening resigning from the cabinet.

On day two, May first assembled her new line up of ministers at Downing Street, before hiring and firing a number of second-tier ministers.

May even posted a photo on her social media site showing her alongside a line-up of all-female MPs appointed to roles in the party whip's office. Their task is to liaise with MPs in the House of Commons.

May fired four ministers on day-two of her reshuffle as she made way for newcomer to her team.

Among those leaving were education minister Robert Goodwill and Mark Garnier, the international trade minister. John Hayes, the transport minister and health minister Philip Dunne both resigned from the government.

Backbench Conservative MP Philip Davies complained that May's reshuffle has created a "legitimate concern" that white, male ministers have been "hoofed out" to make way for women or minority ethnic MPs "because they are a white male".

Davies said: "Time will tell as to whether these people have got their jobs on merit or whether they have got them on tokenism. It certainly does not do anyone any favours to promote people who are not ready for promotion just because of their gender or race.

"Time will tell whether these jobs were given on merit or not. But obviously any self-respecting Conservative would say that all jobs should be given on merit and we should be blind to people's gender, race or religion."

May finally completed her reshuffle on Tuesday night, moving eight existing members of her government team to new posts. Home Secretary Amber Rudd was also appointed by May as Minister of Women and Equalities.
Washington, Jan 10 : The US has welcomed the first talks held by North and South Korea over the past two years as a positive sign, but "did not voice full-throated support".

The White House on Tuesday welcomed the senior-level dialogue during which the two sides agreed to hold separate military talks, Xinhua news agency reported.

The North also consented to send a delegation to the South Korea-hosted PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.

"North Korean participation is an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearising," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.

"Clearly this is a positive development," US State Department Spokesperson Steve Goldstein has said.

"We would like nuclear talks to occur," said Goldstein, adding that this is "a good first step in that process".

Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump expressed his willingness to talk with Kim Jong-un, top leader of North Korea, and supported the upcoming dialogues.

"I always believe in talking," Trump had told reporters at Camp David when asked whether he was willing to engage in phone talks with Kim.

However, both Trump and other US officials have stopped short of considering a direct talk between the US and North Korea without any preconditions.

Trump said any talk would come with prerequisites.

Experts have urged Washington to further commit itself to the peace-making process and final denuclearization of the peninsula.

American scholar on North Korean affairs John Delury argued that actual negotiations on denuclearisation, arms control and peace mechanisms would require direct US participation.

"The sooner the Trump administration follows (South Korean President) Moon Jae-in's lead in opening a direct channel to Pyongyang, the better," said Delury.
New Delhi : Title: Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea; Author: Shiraz Maher; Publisher: Penguin Random House UK: Pages: 292; Price: Rs 499 Fundamentalism is an inescapable feature of all religions, but becomes a problem when it takes an intolerably and indiscriminately violent form of a "holy war". This is an issue in its heartland no doubt but exacerbates when it spills over into the wider world -- and that is why Islamist jihadism is among the biggest challenges we face now.

But it is not enough to label its manifestations like Al Qaeda, and the more sophisticated and brutal Islamic State, or others, a bunch of medieval-minded, psychopathic zealots or think they can be bombed out of existence.

For the chief shortcoming -- and cause of failure -- of George W. Bush's "Global War on Terror" was ignoring that it was fighting an idea -- which cannot be defeated by force, however overwhelming, but by disproving them or better ideas.

Groups like the Al Qaeda or the IS, as this book argues, don't just represent an instinctive repudiation of the Western political and social ideas, but a more calibrated and argued religious-based reaction to it. Whatever you may think of their arguments, they do exist, are based on religious principles -- no matter how subjective or self-servingly distorted -- but above all, not known widely, says Shiraz Maher here.

The activities of these jihadist groups do not only stimulate public interest in the political dimensions of the crises in the Islamic heartlands but also in the ideas which drive them on the ground, and that is what Maher, a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at Kings College, London, seeks to answer here.

"Islamic State is a Salafi-Jihadi movement, although the broader soteriology (salvation doctrine) of Salafism from which it is derived remains poorly understood by the public. Salafis are typically viewed with suspicion and often characterised as extremists because of their religious conservatism and aesthetic conformity.

"For men this would typically include a long and unkempt beard with a robe that stops just short of covering the ankle. For women in public it is most closely associated with the niqab, an enveloping veil which reveals only the eyes. To reduce Salafism to this alone is to compress a vast and complex tradition into a few lazy cariacatures," he contends.

In his historical and theological analysis, Maher shows how the ideology of the IS is "neither new nor novel", "its intellectual framework appears to sit within the mainstream tradition of Salafi-Jihadi thought" and it is a philosophy that "believes in progression through regression".

After an invaluable exposition on how Salafi thought can be divided into its methods for change -- violence, activism and quietism -- and how they affect its attitude towards the state or global order, he examines the key features of the philosophy of Salafi-Jihadi -- which is just one part of a broader spectrum.

After examining what scholars identify as its key characteristics, Maher identifies them as "tawhid" (unity of god), "hakimiyya" (extending the rule of Allah), "al wala wa-l-bara" (to love and hate for the sake of Allah), jihad and "takfir" (excommunication of those Muslims following a separate path) which both protect and promote the doctrine.

Subsequently, he goes on to expand on these, especially jihad, to explain their rationale for attacking enemies far away as a defensive measure, the rules of killing enemies, the law of retaliation, vicarious liability of common citizens in "enemy territory" and the use of human shields. Here he also shows their subjective interpretation of Islamic principles to justify their activities, while also making a credible postulate when the trend began -- the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and crystallising in the Second Gulf War.

Alongside, he also shows how Salafi Jihadism's "roots grounded in the experiences of Sunni Islam", drawing in not only Islamist ideologues like Sayyid Qutb or Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, but also its South Asian influences, especially the writings of India's prominent Islamic scholar Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi 'Ali Mian'.

While Maher gives no solutions in his work which is thorough but mostly lucid -- though the similar-sounding Arabic religious terms need regular flipping to a helpful glossary -- it clearly shows the dimensions of the issue and how we need to be extra-vigilant to prevent religions being hijacked by radicals.

And then while he shows how jihadis stem from mainstream Islam, it also must be remembered that their fervour isn't shared by the entire community.

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)
Lucknow, Jan 10 : Despite being sunny, a cold wave continued in most parts of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. More than 40 persons were reported dead in the state in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 143 so far.

Early morning fog disrupted normal life in the state capital and neighbouring areas.

A dozen trains were cancelled due to poor visibility which also lead to delays.

Winter vacations of schools in the state capital have been extended by one more day on orders of the District Magistrate.

Three persons have been killed since Tuesday in road accidents due to fog. Visibility in many areas dropped to 15-20 metres, the Met said.

A six-year-old boy Satyam who had gone to school in Barabanki died due to cold, parents have alleged.

Despite government's orders, the private school had not complied, prompting an inquiry into the matter.

Deaths have also been reported from Kanpur, Fatehpur, Kannauj, Pilibhit, Moradabad, Sambhal, Amroha, Rampur, Hamirpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur and Ballia.

Government officials said that they were providing warm blankets, clothing, lighting up bonfires and establishing night shelters. These arrangements, however, were falling short due to the unabated cold wave in the state.

The Regional Met Office has forecast cold wave conditions would continue for some more days. It was likely to become better only after Monday.

More than 700 stray animals, mostly cows and dogs have died in the state capital, an official of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation said.

Meerut was the coldest in the state at 2.9 degrees Celsius. Lucknow recorded a temperature of 4.8. The Met said the intense cold wave was due to a western disturbance.
Mumbai, Jan 10 : Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who will direct Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone in a yet untitled film, says he is looking forward to work with the actress as he likes her body of work.

Talking about the film which was earlier supposed to be directed by his assistant director Honey Trehan, Bhardwaj said here: "I wrote the script of that film one to two years ago, but now I am directing it. So I am looking forward to work with Deepika because I like her body of work.

"She is a beautiful actress and I feel the camera loves her."

He is also excited about collaborating with Irrfan.

"After a long time, I am doing a full-fledged film with Irrfan as a main protagonist. After 'Maqbool', I worked with him in 'Saat Khoon Maaf' and 'Haider' in which he had small roles. So, I am really excited that I am getting an opportunity to work with Irrfan in full-fledged film," he said.

Bhardwaj spoke to the media on Tuesday at "Sakhi ri" song launch of his close friend Kay Kay Menon's upcoming film "Vodka Diaries". His wife Rekha was also with him.

On the buzz over Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Padmavat", which is now slated to release on January 25, Bhardwaj said: "I am really happy that 'Padmavat' is releasing and it is getting a proper release. But I have read that the film is not releasing in Rajasthan, so I am feeling little sad for it as I feel that film should have been released in the entire country when the censor board has given green signal to it".

In other news, the Supreme Court has modified its earlier order on playing the national anthem in cinema halls and has made it non-mandatory.

Reacting to that, Bhardwaj said: 'I feel we should not argue about Supreme Court's judgment because it is our apex court and they have given right verdict that it should not be mandatory."
New Delhi, Jan 10 : About a decade ago, when Latika Gupta began her teaching career at a reputed Delhi University college, she became curious about "the interplay of religion and gender in the lives of girls" and thus set out on a journey to explore this rather untouched facet. The result? Her just-released book, "Education, Poverty and Gender: Schooling Muslim Girls in India", focuses on how the academic life of its students is affected by their religion and culture by examining the interplay between "home" and "school".

Gupta, now an Assistant Professor at the University's Central Institute of Education, was then teaching a course which offered opportunities to young girls to reflect on their own socialisation. Barring one or two of her students, she noticed among the rest an attitude of indifference towards their individual development and determination to adhere to the cultural norms.

"I often wondered why my students did not feel embarrassed when they missed classes on account of their participation in religious rituals at home or for household chores. What stopped them from developing a sense of stake in themselves and investing more energy in their education? It became my personal agenda to locate the forces which shape girls' life and self-identity," Gupta told IANS in an interview.

Her book attempts to explore the intertwining between the religio-cultural framework of a community and life at school. The study also serves as a means of grasping the complex phenomenology of the educational experience of Muslim girls growing up in a lower socio-economic setting. It identifies the milieux which are formed when religion and gender combine to make a social force in a specific socio-economic context.

Gupta studied the identity of girls enrolled at a minority school, which is governed by the provisions of Articles 29 and 30 of the constitution that allow religious minorities to run their own educational institutions to preserve and promote their culture, language and faith.

She said that she gathered the life experiences of girls studying at the school with the help of free-hand narratives they wrote about their life and aspirations and their responses to items about different dimensions of identity. She then hermeneutically situated their narratives and responses in their everyday ethos which she accessed by experiencing it consistently over a period of one year and by interviewing their parents.

"The school does not interfere in their gendering and thus does not break the sharp binary of home-outside in the life of girls. It does not enable its learners to develop their potential to avail opportunities for economic and intellectual growth in later life. In fact, it certifies the community's model by not serving as an intellectual space and encouragement for rational inquiry on what one sees around and for critical reflection on one's own life experiences," she maintained.

Gupta's book is based on a study carried out in a school in Daryaganj. However, throughout the book, the school is referred to simply as MGS (Muslim Girls School) in order to maintain its privacy.

"For Muslim girls, there is continuity between home and school in appreciable values and behaviour. There is no alternative frame of conduct available to Muslim girls of Daryaganj. What they learn at home is consistent with what they learn at school as far as personal conduct is concerned. In a matter of immediate and intimate significance, the teacher and the mother provide similar values even though the former is educated and professionally qualified.

"In the life of MGS girls, the school figures in the middle of well-established traits of gender socialisation and a pre-destined as well as explicitly articulated purpose of female life. The cushioning from both sides leaves a very narrow space for the school to allow and encourage any critical engagement with the various fields of knowledge and their own life experiences. Nevertheless, most of the girls have an informed and tolerant outlook towards Hindus, and a few of them have the potential of evolving into a tolerant individual. By asserting their aspiration to study beyond school and thereby becoming teachers, some of them have stretched the discourse of the community slightly which otherwise maintains a predetermined purpose for the life of girls. However, the number of such girls is very limited," she contended.

Gupta also mentioned that the girls of the given school consider it "important for a wife" to serve her in-laws, husband and children; and from the husband they expect a smooth financial provision and fulfillment of needs. No girl, she said, considers it viable for a woman to be a good wife to contribute financially to the family's maintenance. "Apparently, they have internalised the gendered male-female division in all spheres of activities. My respondents have accepted and internalised the model of dependence on the man for fulfilling all kinds of needs. The girls thought that motherhood is the aim of a woman's life," she recalled.

(Saket Suman can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in)
Washington, Jan 10 : A US judge has ordered President Donald Trump to partially revive the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy.

The judge also ordered to resume accepting renewal applications from undocumented youth migrants or "Dreamers" until all pending legal challenges are resolved in different courts across the country, Efe news reported.

District Judge William Alsup, from the Northern District Court of California, issued his decision on Tuesday in which he described Trump's decision in September 2017 to end DACA and to give Congress until March 5 to resolve the situation of its beneficiaries as "arbitrary and capricious".

Promulgated in 2012 by the administration of then president Barack Obama, the DACA policy protected at least 690,000 "dreamers" -- young people who arrived in the US when they were children, from deportation and granted them temporary work permits.

In the ruling issued on Tuesday, Judge Alsup said the Trump administration has the obligation to re-accept the renewal applications to the DACA from those individuals who had previously received the benefits of this scheme but are now running out of protection.

However, he did not order the Trump administration to accept new applications from young people who had never registered in the DACA programme before.

Judge Alsup also decided that the plaintiffs, including the University of California, have been able to demonstrate that the DACA beneficiaries, their families, schools and communities "were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm" without the programme.

To avoid that, the judge ordered Trump to partially resume the programme until there is a definitive solution in all pending litigation over the scheme.

Among those cases is, for example, the lawsuit filed on September 11 by the states of California, Maryland, Maine and Minnesota, where 238,000 "dreamers" live.

These states argue that the end of DACA will disrupt the lives of their residents, causing great damage to the economies as well as losses to their companies, universities and research centres that employ undocumented youths, who would no longer be able to work legally after the programme's termination.
Havana, Jan 10 : Cuba has said a US Senate hearing on alleged "acoustic attacks" on American diplomats in the island nation was "unacceptable and only served to impose an accusation without evidence".

The Senate hearing was criticised by a top Cuban diplomat as an "accusation that Washington has been unable to prove", Xinhua news agency reported.

Over 20 US diplomats and their family members in Cuba suffered symptoms like hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, headaches and fatigue since the incidents were first reported in November 2016.

It lead to US President Donald Trump's claim that "Cuba was responsible".

Josefina Vidal, General Director of the US division of Cuba's Foreign Ministry, told the media that the "biggest victim" of Tuesday's hearing was the truth.

"It's clear this is an unfounded accusation against Cuba. The US State Department has no evidence that allows them to claim there have been attacks against its diplomats in Havana or that Cuba could be responsible or have knowledge of third-party actions against foreign envoys," she added.

US State Department officials testified at the Senate hearing that it was "incomprehensible" the Cuban government would not have been aware of what happened or who was responsible.

Vidal rejected the statements made by several State Department officials, saying they were "unacceptable".

"US experts haven't been able to identify the cause of the incidents or its perpetrators. However, several State Department officials repeatedly used the word 'attacks'," she said.

The Senate hearing came just a day after the Federal Bureau of Investigations published a report saying it found no evidence of "acoustic attacks" against US personnel in Cuba.

Vidal said that after months of investigations it has been demonstrated that alleged attacks never took place.

"The Cuban government has no responsibility for the health incidents reported by US diplomats. We are aware of our responsibilities and fulfil them in an exemplary manner," Vidal noted.

Vidal said the issue has been "politicised" in order to justify Washington's roll back of thawing ties between the former Cold War enemies.

The Trump administration, which has partly rolled back a detente with Cuba, sharply reduced the US embassy staff in Havana in response to the incident.

In October, the US expelled 15 Cuban diplomats who worked at the embassy in Washington and suspended all consular services, including issuing immigrant and non-immigrant visas in Havana, a measure highly unpopular among Cubans.
London, Jan 10 : Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in Pakistan, toured Britain in the 1990s stirring up Muslim youths to become jihadis years before 9/11, a BBC investigation has found.

Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty on his head for allegedly masterminding the 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, thrilled audiences in packed mosques in cities around Britain by calling for a return to the days when Muslims waged jihad and infidels paid them protection money.

Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has denied involvement in the Mumbai carnage.

A report in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper quoted the BBC as saying that the revelation had come amidst concerns for the British government and intelligence agencies about the large number of Muslims going abroad to fight "holy wars".

The investigation, which was the basis of a 40-minute BBC Radio 4 documentary, was broadcast on Tuesday night. It revealed that the roots of violent religious struggle by British Muslims were laid in the mid-1990s, much earlier than previously thought.

The tour of Britain was chronicled in Mujalla Al Dawah, a monthly magazine published by Saeed's organization, Markaz Dawa Wal Irshad.

According to the articles uncovered during the BBC investigation, Hafiz Saeed arrived in Britain on August 9, 1995 and set about lecturing the youth about jihad. There was silence in Birmingham as he urged his audience to "rise up for jihad" and vilified Hindus.

That address "in real terms laid the foundation of ... jihad in the UK", according to the articles.

In Huddersfield, Saeed said: "In order to defeat infidels, it is our duty to develop all forms of arms and ammunition, including nuclear bomb. That is God's command. We (LeT) have declared jihad and killing as first condition of our belief."

In Leicester on August 26, Saeed spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 people. His address "infused a new spirit in the youth. Hundreds of young men expressed intention to get jihad training".

Summing up the British tour, the author wrote: "A large number of young people want to get jihad training. A group of around 50 college and varsity students has so far finalised its programme... The time is not far off when Muslims will wake up."

Manwar Ali, a computer science graduate from London who became a jihadist but has now renounced violence, told the BBC he persuaded Saeed to visit Britain to rally support for jihad and raise funds.

"Whenever Saeed would come to Green Lane (Birmingham) or Rochdale, Skipton, Rotherham, Birmingham and Leicester, thousands of people would turn up," Ali told BBC.

Each trip raised A150,000 or more. Women removed their gold bangles and earrings in response to his call. Hundreds of Britons went to battlefields in the Philippines, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Bosnia, with some losing their lives.

The LeT was banned by Pakistan in 2002 but shortly before that Hafiz Saeed resigned and formed JuD, which is currently on a watch list but officially not banned. Saeed was confined to his home in Pakistan for several months last year but has been freed since.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Congress on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the slowdown in GDP and said the government's "gross economic mismanagement" decelerated India's growth story.

"(The) government's gross economic mismanagement, which has decelerated the India story, speaks volumes. GDP growth slows to four year low," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.

The Congress leader sarcastically said Modi had not even listened to the sound counsel of economists because "innate wisdom of Modinomics needs no counsel".

His remarks came as the Prime Minister met leading economists and experts across sectors from all over the country at NITI Aayog on agriculture and rural development, employment, manufacturing and exports.

Surjewala said that Gross Value Added (GVA), a true sub-measure of economic activity, "has experienced a steep fall too".

Referring to a man who reportedly committed suicide at the BJP office in Dehradun and blamed note ban and GST for the extreme step, Surjewala said the businessman was "strangulated by the Modi-made disaster of demonetisation and Gabbar Singh Tax".

He also said the promise to farmers of over 50 per cent increase in minimum support price had turned out to be "the biggest hoax" that "forced to throw their produce on road".
Panaji, Jan 10 : Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday squarely blamed the media for unnecessarily raking up the Mhadei water dispute and beef shortage controversies.

The Chief Minister downplayed the water dispute controversy that was triggered following his letter to party colleague in Karnataka B.S. Yeddyurappa in which he offered to discuss sharing of drinking water on "humanitarian grounds".

"Mhadei is neither my issue, nor Goa's issue... Mhadei issue has been created by you (media)," Parrikar said.

Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are currently battling a dispute at a central Tribunal over the controversial Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across the waters of the Mhadei river, through which Karnataka aims to divert water from the Mhadei basin to the nearby basin on the Malaprabha river.

Mhadei also known as the Mandovi river, is considered as a lifeline in the northern parts of the state. It originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji.

The river runs 28.8 km in Karnataka and over 50 km in Goa.

Parrikar's letter to Yeddyurappa, ahead of the Karnataka assembly polls triggered popular protests both in Goa as well as in the southern state.

The Chief Minister also accused the media of raking up another controversy over shortage of beef in the state, that caused after beef traders went on strike for four days accusing cow vigilante groups and police officials of harassment.

The strike was called off on Tuesday, after the state police were instructed to provide protection to slaughtered beef consignments imported from Karnataka.

"What issue was there? You have to ask those so-called animal welfare (activists). I have told police that they have to go by law. The legal provisions says, that if there are documents, there is proper billing, you cannot stop anyone from importing," Parrikar said.

"I do not see it as an issue as you see it. You have wrong eyes, coloured. My issue is law and order..." the Chief Minister added.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : The CPI-M on Wednesday denounced the government decision to allow 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in single brand retail trade, warning this will have "harmful consequences" for domestic retail traders and shopkeepers.

Until now, Foreign Direct Investment up to 49 per cent was permitted under the automatic route.

"This step to liberalise FDI in retail trade will have harmful consequences for domestic retail traders and shopkeepers," a statement from the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.

"This measure indicates that the Modi government is moving towards allowing FDI in multi-brand retail trade," it added.

The CPI-M pointed out that the BJP, while in opposition, was opposed to the entry of foreign companies into retail trade. "Now being in the government, it has hypocritically reversed its position."

The CPI-M also strongly opposed the decision to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India.

"Having taken the decision to privatise Air India, the Modi government is now moving towards handing over Air India to a foreign airline."

The CPI-M asked the government to heed the recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture which asked the government to review its decision on privatization of Air India and provide five years to revive the airline with its debt written off.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : Calling it a "serious matter" for small businesses, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday strongly opposed the approval to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail trading.

Condemning the Modi government's "love for MNCs", CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said the move would facilitate easy entry of MNCs in retail trade and leave a large number of people jobless.

He said in a statement that the CAIT would soon declare a nationwide trategy to oppose the "brutal move" by the government.

"It's a serious matter for small businesses," he said, adding the move was in a violation of the election promise made by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"It is a pity that instead of formulating policies for the welfare, upgradation and modernisation of existing retail trade, the government is more interested in paving the way for the MNCs to control and dominate the retail trade of India," he said.
Kolkata, Jan 10 : Accusing the state government of vindictive politics, the BJP's West Bengal unit on Wednesday moved the Calcutta High Court against the denial of permission for one of their proposed bike rallies.

The week-long bike rally 'Protirodh Sankalp Abhiyan' by the Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing (Yuva Morcha) was to start from East Midnapore district's coastal town Digha on Thursday, a source close to the BJP told IANS.

It was to travel across the state before reaching Cooch Behar in north Bengal.

"Police initially gave us the permission for the rally but refused it on Tuesday afternoon. This is another sign of the Trinamool Congress and the state government's vindictive politics against the BJP," he said.

"Our party leaders have moved the high court against the police administration's decision," he added.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : Leaders of all 10 Asean countries have confirmed their participation as Guests of Honour at India's Republic Day celebrations to commemorate 25 years of New Delhi's close ties with the southeast Asian bloc.

Preeti Saran, Secretary East in the External Affairs Ministry, told reporters here on Wednesday that it was "unprecedented" in India's history to have 10 Guests of Honour at the Republic Day parade -- a mix of India's military might and cultural heritage.

"This time, we will have all the 10 Asean leaders. We are delighted and honoured that all the 10 Asean leaders have confirmed their participation in the commemorative summit as well as to be Guests of Honour at the Republic Day," Saran said.

She said it was a landmark year for Asean and India as they are celebrating 25 years of friendship, 15 years of summit partnership and five years of strategic partnership.

She said that in the run up to the summit on January 25, the government also planned to organise another 16 major events.

The leaders from Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam will start arriving by January 24. The summit will begin with a banquet hosted by President Ramnath Kovind, to be followed by a plenary and a "gala dinner to be hosted by Prime Minister" Narendra Modi.

Saran said special arrangements have been made for spouses of at least six of the 10 leaders who would travel to India.
New Delhi : Ghaziabad, Jan (IANS) Police on Wednesday detained Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar after he joined a protest by farmers demanding compensation for losing their land in Mandola village in Ghaziabad district.

Raj Babbar reached Mandola and staged a protest along with the farmers despite a police request not to go to the village.

"Raj Babbar was, therefore, taken into custody along with about 100 Congress workers. He has been lodged in a guest house in Vasundhara (in Ghaziabad)," Superintendent of Police Arvind Maurya said.

The administration apprehended law and order problems if he was allowed to continue his rally, said Maurya.

The farmers are up in arms over non-payment of compensation for their land acquired by the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corp for the upcoming Tronica City industrial township.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Shree Rajput Karni Sena on Wednesday asserted that it will not reach a compromise with the makers of "Padmavat", and called for a "janata curfew" whenever the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial is released.

Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi, who is leading the protest against the movie, told media persons here: "We needed one small clarification that time that there will be nothing between Alauddin Khilji and Padmavati... We would have been content with it, but now we will not compromise in any way."

He also called for a "janata curfew" when the movie is released.

The Rajput outfit had first expressed concern after Ranveer Singh -- one of the three lead actors of the movie -- made a casual statement back in July 2016. He was reportedly asked if he was playing the role of a villain in the film, and he had said that he could go two notches beyond playing the role of a villain if he was given two intimate scenes with the film's leading lady Deepika Padukone.

This led to the question whether the movie showcases any intimacy between Khilji and Rani Padmavati. Subsequently, activists of Karni Sena even assaulted Bhansali on the film's set in Jaipur and another set in Kolhapur was vandalised.

Bhansali and Viacom18 Pictures have been facing numerous hurdles in releasing the movie which, the director has said, is based on 16th century Indian sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem "Padmavat".

The censor board gave it the green signal with a U/A certification in consultation with a three-member advisory panel.

Dismissing it as hogwash, Kalvi questioned why it was shown to three people when there was talk about having a nine-member panel.

He said while the Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh governments have decided against the movie's release, he is expecting other states to follow suit.

"I believe Telangana, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh will also make some announcement in a few days," Kalvi said, insisting that the movie should not be released in theatres as it twists and turns history.
Mumbai, Jan 10 : On actor Hrithik Roshan's 44th birthday on Wednesday, his father Rakesh Roshan announced that "Krrish 4" wil release on Christmas 2020.

The news was announced on Twitter.

"Today is perhaps the best day to make the release day of 'Krrish 4' official. Christmas 2020 it is. A gift for all of you on Hrithik's birthday. Happy birthday Hrithik," the senior Roshan posted.

Hrithik has featured in three instalments of "Krrish", which started in 2006 as science fiction superhero film, directed, produced, and written by Rakesh, and starring Priyanka Chopra, Rekha and Naseeruddin Shah.

The journey of the series started with the blockbuster "Koi... Mil Gaya" (2003), in which Hrithik essayed the role of a mentally challenged youth who befriends an alien.

Currently, Hrithik is prepping for his first biopic based on the life of mathematics genius Anand Kumar, titled "Super 30".
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 10 : Congress leader M.M. Hassan on Wednesday demanded a vigilance case to be filed against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for using cyclone relief funds to pay for his chopper ride to attend a party meeting.

Simultaneously, the Bharatiya Janata Party urged Home Minister Rajnath Singh to see that the central funds given for Ockhi relief should be monitored closely by New Delhi.

In a bid to end the controversy, the CPI-M Secretariat which meets here on Thursday is likely to foot the bill of Vijayan's helicopter ride.

A government order surfaced on Tuesday directing payment of Rs 8 lakh be paid from the Ockhi relief fund for Vijayan's chopper ride on December 26 from Thrissur, where he was attending a Communist Party of India-Marxist meeting, to the state capital to meet a central team that had come visiting from Delhi to study the damage caused by the cyclone on November 30.

After meeting the central government team, Vijayan flew back to Thrissur and his government debited the chopper ride's expenses to the relief fund.

Hassan, the President of Congress in Kerala, told reporters here that this was nothing but corruption.

"He has used public money to pay for his travel to attend party meetings and it's a blatant lie that his office said that no one knew about it. In the government order itself, the name of the Private Secretary of the Chief Minister is mentioned. How can they say they have no knowledge?" asked Hassan.

Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Vijayan should at least apologize to the people of Kerala who generously contributed to the relief fund.

State BJP President Kummanem Rajasekheran said denounced Vijayan.

"Vijayan is blowing up money which should go to the grieving families of the fisherfolks who lost their near and dear ones. Vijayan's attitude towards the weaker section is appalling. He took several days to even go and express his sympathies after the cyclone," he said.

Kerala BJP General Secretary M.T. Ramesh asked Home Minister Rajnath Singh to monitor the cyclone funds.

Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekheran has sought a report from Revenue Secretary P.H. Kurian, who came out with the controversial order.

Meanwhile the Latin Diocese Vicar General Eugene Pereira said all the funds collected and disbursed in the name of Ockhi relief should be made public.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : "MasterChef Australia" judge Gary Mehigan says the reality show has "evolved naturally" and keeps on surprising him with its content and talent.

"The show has evolved very naturally because the quality of amateur cooks that we seem to attract every year has just increased substantially every season," Mehigan told IANS.

"The dishes (prepared on the show) can be put in any great restaurant. This year also, the dishes that the contestants prepared can be in a top restaurant's menu. The techniques they use and the clarity with which they prepare surprises me," added the globally renowned English-Australian chef, television show host and restaurateur.

"MasterChef Australia", aired in India on Star World and Star World HD, had its first season in 2009, and is currently running its ninth season.

"Every year I am surprised. I thought in series four and five that I wouldn't be surprised anymore or thrilled anymore. But every year I am surprised and thrilled. I love my job."

What is the USP of the show?

"Food," Mehigan said promptly.

"It is not like any reality show before it. The reality (in other shows) was always constructed... You had a bad judge, a good judge and a mean judge. 'MasterChef Australia' was never like that. We love each other, we respect each other and respect the contestants. We are in this show which encourages people without being mean, without belittling them."
New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Union cabinet's approval of 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in single brand retail on Wednesday drew mixed reactions with industry observers lauding the move while traders' bodies opposed it as "a serious matter for small businesses".

"This is another positive step from the government towards ease of doing business in India. By allowing 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail under the automatic route, foreign entrants will find it easier to set up operations in the country," said Dhanraj Bhagat, Partner, Grant Thornton India LLP.

However, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) strongly condemned the government's decision stating that the step will affect smaller businesses by paving way for the foreign brands to dominate the country's retail trade.

"The CAIT strongly opposes the move to allow 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail through automatic route as it will facilitate easy entry of multinational corporations in retail trade of India and will also violate poll promise of BJP," the traders' body said in a statement.

"It's a serious matter for small businesses. It is a pity that instead of formulating policies for the welfare, upgradation and modernisation of existing retail trade, the government is more interested in paving way for the MNCs to control and dominate the retail trade of India," it added.

The CAIT also pointed out that such a step will result in a large number of "people being left jobless".

According to Aashish Kasad, India region tax leader, consumer products and retail, EY India, the step will give the Indian consumers access to several international brands.

"Permitting 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail under the automatic route is another progressive step by the Government of India towards attracting foreign investment and ease of doing business in India. This should also generate employment and give the Indian consumers access to several international brands," said Kasad.

Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India, said: "Global brands across different categories, from apparel to electronics to accessories will be aided through this, providing further options to Indian consumers and improving India's ranking in ease of doing business."

In major changes liberalising FDI in key sectors, the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved 100 per cent foreign investment in single brand retail trading.

"It has now been decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under automatic route," an official release said here, following a Cabinet meeting.

"It has been decided to permit single brand retail trading entity to set off its incremental sourcing of goods from India for global operations during initial five years, beginning April 1 of the year of the opening of first store against the mandatory sourcing requirement of 30 per cent of purchases from India," it added.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : A Pakistani reporter working with an Indian English news channel on Wednesday alleged that 10-12 armed men tried to abduct him when he was on way to Islamabad airport but managed to escape.

The winner of France's highest journalism award the Albert Londres prize in 2014, Taha Siddiqui said he suffered minor injuries in the scuffle. He tweeted about the incident from a fellow journalist Cyril Almeida's Twitter account. Almeida is a known journalist working with Dawn News.

"This is Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) using Cyril's (account). I was on my way to airport at 8.20 a.m. wh(e)n 10-12 armed men stopped my cab (and) forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now. Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances," Siddiqui wrote.

He also posted on Twitter some pictures showing him wearing blood stained clothes. Siddiqui works as Indian TV channel WION's Pakistan bureau chief.

The news channel said here that Siddiqui was on leave for three days and was on his way to the Islamabad airport in a cab early on Wednesday when another car overtook him and blocked his path.

The channel quoted him as saying that about a dozen men yanked open the left side doors of the car and tried to pull him out before he got out from the other side. He then ran across the incoming traffic, got into another cab and managed to make his getaway.

"Saale ko goli maaro," shouted one of the men who were armed with "Kalashnikovs and pistols", WION said. The attackers took away his passport, laptop and phone.

Siddiqui is known to be critical of Pakistan's military establishment.

Last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists said "Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency should stop harassing Taha Siddiqui".

Siddiqui had also criticised the heckling by the Islamabad Press Corps of Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother when they had gone to meet him in Pakistan on Christmas Day last year.

"Somedays we do a story th(a)t disgusts us. Today was one such day," he had tweeted then.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : To attract foreign bidders and expedite the strategic divestment of Air India, the Cabinet has decided to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 49 per cent in the flag carrier.

Accordingly, the national passenger carrier has been brought at par with other domestic airlines which are allowed to attract foreign capital.

The decision to allow FDI into the flag carrier was taken by the Union cabinet in its meeting here on Wednesday that okayed liberalisation and simplification of the FDI policy in several other sectors.

The present rules allow foreign airlines to invest in Indian airline companies up to a limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital, which is, however, not applicable to Air India.

"It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India subject to the conditions that foreign investments in Air India, including that of foreign airlines, shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly," an official release said here, following the Cabinet meeting.

"Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian national," it added.

According to sector experts, the move will attract foreign bidders.

"The decision will bring Air India at par with other domestic carriers which are allowed to attract foreign capital," Dhiraj Mathur, Partner and Leader (Aerospace and Defence) with PwC India, told IANS.

"This will increase competition and the overall participation of bidders in the divestment process. A sensible and welcome decision."

Independent aviation expert Amrit Pandurangi said: "Air India is not an easy transaction... so 49 per cent is good, but may not be good enough to make it attractive."

"They need to first sort out a number of issues on Air India's financial debt, people-related issues."

Currently, a ministerial group -- Air India-specific Alternative Mechanism -- headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is looking into the modalities to divest loss-making Air India. The group has been mandated to decide on key issues such as treatment of Air India's debt and hiving-off of its assets.

Last month, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had announced that British consulting multinational EY has been appointed as transaction advisors to aid the government in the strategic divestment of Air India.

Making the announcement, Sinha said the Air India stake sale would most likely be an offering for an integrated airline through the bidding process "and both domestic and international operations will be divested as one entity".

In September, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management had invited bids for the role of advisors to guide the government on the financial and legal issues associated with the strategic disinvestment.

The airline, which is under a massive debt burden of Rs 50,000 crore, had posted an operating profit of Rs 105 crore in 2015-16, and is expected to report an improved operating profit margin for the last fiscal.

The national carrier got a new lease of life in April 2012, when the then UPA government approved a Rs 30,000-crore turnaround and financial restructuring package spanning up to 2021.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Congress and the CPI-M on Wednesday slammed the Narendra Modi governments move to divest its 49 per cent stake in Air India and allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail.

Congress leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma said the government should come clear on the Air India deal as to whether the national carrier's assets "worth lakhs of crores of rupees" and its route rights would also be transferred to the investor.

Sharma said the UPA government had consciously kept Air India out of the purview of FDI though it had allowed 49 per cent FDI in the civil aviation sector.

"It is true that the national carrier has faced challenges, but so have other airlines. We have to examine the government's decision closely. Whether it also allows foreign carriers (to invest), which presumably is the case, then it raises some fundamental questions," Sharma said.

"Air India has assets worth lakhs and lakhs of crores (of rupees) in India and abroad. The government needs to inform the country what this policy will do. Don't want a situation where Air India is sold for a song and all bilateral route rights are gone with that," he added.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also strongly opposed the decision to allow "foreign airlines" to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India.

"Having taken the decision to privatise Air India, the Modi government is now moving towards handing over Air India to a foreign airline.

"The government should heed the recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, which has asked the government to review its decision on privatisation of Air India and give five years to revive the airline with its debts written off," the Left party said in a statement.

On allowing 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in single-brand retails, it said that the move reflected on the Modi government's intentions of "moving towards allowing FDI in multi-brand retail trade".

However, Sharma termed it just as "a cosmetic change" and "minor tweak" that would not have any significant changes.

"I don't think its going to make much change, because almost all the major brands of the world are already here as 100 per cent FDI was already allowed. This is done perhaps for the Prime Minister to make a statement at Davos," Sharma said.

Till now, FDI up to 49 per cent was permitted under the automatic route, while the government's permission was needed for FDI above that.

Both Congress and CPI-M reminded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that it had opposed as an opposition party the entry of foreign companies into retail trade and that it had now "hypocritically reversed its position".

Modi will be travelling to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum Summit later this month.
Chandigarh, Jan 10 : The Punjab government has cleared an amount of Rs 580 crore to give debt waiver to nearly 1.15 lakh debt-ridden farmers in the state.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh cleared the 1.15 lakh more cases for debt waiver amounting to Rs 580 crore, with certificates to be disbursed to farmers across the state before January 31, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

The announcement came after a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, which reviewed the progress of the implementation of the farm debt waiver scheme, formally launched by the state government on January 7 with the disbursement of waiver certificates to nearly 47,000 farmers from five districts.

"With the completion of disbursement of waiver certificates to these 1.15 lakh farmers, the state government would have covered 1.6 lakh small and marginal farmers with a loan amount of Rs 748 crore," the spokesperson said, adding that modalities of the disbursement were being worked out.

"The meeting was in favour of public presentation of the certificates so that the farmers are not misled on any count by the opposition or certain kisan unions seeking to promote their vested interests through false propaganda," the spokesperson said.

Despite the debt waiver scheme launched by the Amarinder government recently, debt-ridden farmers in the agrarian state continue to commit suicide and the Chief Minister made it clear that no lapses in this regard would be tolerated. He directed senior officials to personally monitor and supervise the entire process, said the spokesperson.

In the first phase, the government is waiving off loans taken from cooperative institutions, for which a total of 5.63 lakh farmers have been identified for relief to the tune of Rs 2,700 crore.

"The entire process would be completed in four phases, with commercial private and nationalized banks to be covered after the cooperative loans," the spokesperson added.

The Chief Minister has already made it clear that the interests of the farm labourers would also be taken care of once the state's fiscal condition stabilizes.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : India will sign an MoU with the United Kingdom to enable the return of illegal Indian migrants within a month of their detection by authorities, an official said on Wednesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju's visit to London along with a delegation on Wednesday is a step towards the move that could affect hundreds of Indians. The UK has consistently raised the issue of return of illegal migrants with India.

The Memorandum of Understanding comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit to the UK in March.

A Home Ministry official said: "The process was not streamlined yet. The British authorities will first identify the illegal migrants, inform the Indian authorities, followed by police verification back home.

"If the claims of the British authorities are found to be correct, then the travel documents of the person concerned will be readied and he/she deported by the UK authorities. This process will have a timeline of one month," said the official.

While the UK claims that the number of illegal migrants is in thousands, Indian agencies have found only 2,000 Indians were overstaying.

The official said the Indian delegation led by Rijiju is expected to ask Westminster to "spell out" its position in court on businessman Vijay Mallya's extradition.

He said the UK had assured all possible help in the extradition requests by India.

The MoU on sharing of criminal records is in line with a similar agreement signed with the US, the official said.

Rijiju is also expected to convey New Delhi's concerns on the continuing anti-India propaganda carried out by Sikh and Kashmiri extremist groups based in the UK that bear "serious repercussions on India's sovereignty".

He will also discuss with his counterpart the issues of sharing information about crimes and criminals.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Pakistan authorities must act tough against those targeting journalists and bring an end to the impunity in such attacks, human rights body Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

The rights body's reaction came after Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui, who is working for an Indian English news channel, was attacked in Islamabad on Wednesday.

"The beating and attempted abduction of Taha Siddiqui is the latest in a deeply worrying pattern of attacks on journalists in Pakistan. This is the third case in recent months when a journalist has been targeted by violent attackers while travelling by car," said Omar Waraich, Deputy South Asia Director at Amnesty International.

He said that it has thus far been "a failure by the authorities" to identify the perpetrators, let alone bring them to justice.

Siddiqui was driving to Islamabad airport when the car he was travelling in was besieged by at least 10 armed men at 8.20 a.m., who beat him, threatened to kill him, and tried to abduct him.

The journalist escaped the assailants, but they took away his possessions, including his passport, laptop and mobile phone.

Winner of France's highest journalism award, the Albert Londres prize in 2014, Siddiqui works with Indian TV channel WION's.

"Pakistani journalists have a right to carry out their work freely and without fear. Journalism is not a crime, but attacking journalists is. These crimes must be immediately and effectively investigated," Waraich said.

"All journalists must be protected from violence and intimidation. And there must be a clear and unequivocal commitment by the Pakistani authorities to end impunity for attacks on journalists," he added.

WION said here that Siddiqui was on leave for three days and was on his way to Islamabad airport in a cab early on Wednesday when another car overtook him and blocked his path.

It quoted Siddiqui as saying that about a dozen men yanked open the left side doors of the car and tried to pull him out before he got out from the other side. He then ran across the incoming traffic, got into another cab and managed to make his getaway.

Last year, journalists Rana Tanveeer, Matiullah Jan and Ahmad Noorani also came under attack by unidentified assailants. In 2014, journalists Hamid Mir and Raza Rumi narrowly survived attempted assassinations by gunmen.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed all government agencies here to provide it a list of the buildings in national capital which are disabled friendly and those where disabled access audit has been undertaken.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar, also asking the authorities to ensure that disabled access audit was done for all buildings under their control, directed them to apprise it the measures taken after the audit was carried out.

The bench said authorities has filed status reports without understanding the meaning of the disabled access audit and the requirements for making buildings accessible to differently-abled persons.

Disabled access audit is needed to ensure that all public buildings, government offices, and public transport can be made disabled friendly.

The court asked the authorities to explain the measures undertaken for physically disabled as well as visually and auditory impaired persons. The court also directed the Delhi Police to give status on the audit of its buildings including all the police stations here.

During the hearing, advocate Naushad Ahmed Khan said all new buildings are disabled friendly, especially the new police stations.

The bench said police stations should be remodelled quickly "because it's the place frequently used by people".

Khan said that buildings are waiting to be inspected by the audit committee for persons with disabilities appointed by the Public Works Department (PWD).

The bench said: "We want all of you to give a list of buildings. Tell Chief Engineers of CPWD and PWD that when they build a building they must tender for an architect. All measures to enable disabled access should be taken."

The bench also sought presence of Chief Rngineers of CPWD and PWD on the next date of hearing, February 13 be present in court on Thursday.

The directions came during the hearing of a PIL filed by 29-year-old Nipun Malhotra seeking directions to make Delhi's roads, government offices and public transport friendly for the disabled people.
Morena/Bhopal, Jan 10 : The BJP's Madhya Pradesh unit is mulling action against party leader and former legislator Parashuram Mudral, who called Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan a "liar", party sources said on Wednesday.

Talking to a private TV news channel, Mudral said: "His (Chouhan's) government never fulfils the promises it makes. As far as Chief Minister Chouhan is concerned, he has no business other than telling lies."

Mudral, who has been a Bahujan Samaj Party MLA in the past, said if a Chief Minister would tell lies, so would his Cabinet colleagues. "The people of Madhya Pradesh will teach a lesson in 2018 assembly election."

Talking about other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in the state, he said: "I talked to several BJP leaders about the unfulfilled promises, but they all failed to come up with a reply to my queries, including senior party leaders."

Reacting to the controversial statement of the BJP leader, Hitesh Bajpai, the Chairman of Madhya Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation, told IANS that Mudral was a "dissatisfied soul".

"Mudral is out and out a political character. The party has its eyes on him and senior leaders will soon decide on a suitable action against him," he added.
Guwahati, Jan 10 : One person was killed and several others were injured in police firing to disperse an irate mob protesting over an alleged custodial death in Darrang district of Assam on Wednesday.

Several officials of police and other security forces, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, were among those injured in the mob attack.

Indefinite curfew was clamped in and around Dhula to ensure violence did not spread further. Although the situation in the area was under control, tension continued to simmer.

The state government ordered a magisterial probe into the circumstances leading to the police firing and subsequent civilian death.

The violence started in the morning when hundreds of people gathered in front of Dhula police station after the death of Hasen Ali on Tuesday night there. Earlier, angry locals protested on the National Highway 15 to demand action against the guilty police officials.

Ali, a daily wager, was allegedly picked up by police station incharge on Tuesday night and tortured. Although police sent him to the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, he died. Police also searched Ali's house after suspecting him of possessing illegal firearms.

As locals gathered at the Dhula police station, police lathi-charged them. When the irate mob turned violent and attacked the police station with stones, police fired blanks to control the situation.

"Blank firing was ordered to disperse the crowd. However, two protesters were hit. Mohidul Islam breathed his last later while another injured person Ghulam Mustafa was struggling for life in a hospital," police said.

"Locals allege that Ali died in custody following police atrocities. We have already ordered a magisterial probe and officer concerned, Ranjit Hazarika, has been placed under suspension," Darrang Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar Barman said.

He said the mob attacked the police station even though all their demands were met. "If the police official is found guilty, action will be taken against him," Barman said.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal ordered Additional Chief Secretary M.G.V.K. Bhanu to inquire and submit a report on the incident at the earliest.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : Even as NITI Aayog claims to have found that statistics on lack of employment are overstated, there was consensus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with country's leading economists that employment generation was the key going forward.

At an event organised by the NITI Aayog ahead of the Union Budget, over 40 economists shared their views on various themes such as the macro-economy, agriculture and rural development, employment, health and education, manufacturing and exports, urban development, infrastructure and connectivity.

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar told the media after the meeting that employment was one of the key subjects discussed during the meeting.

"NITI Aayog had set up a task force to examine what we call high frequency employment data. The task force has come out with numbers which will be shared later with the public.

"But these number are startling and quite in contrast with Labour Bureau numbers... You will see there is much better news on employment front than what people thought," he said.

Yet there was unanimity among the experts that employment is the key going forward, he added.

Rajiv Kumar said it was also pointed out that educated unemployment among young people in the country may be as high as 20 per cent.

"As you skill more people, you raise aspirations and create situation where aspirations are rising and jobs are not available," he said.

He said another big idea discussed during the meeting was if India can adopt stronger export-driven growth strategy "given the global economy is now in the phase of synchronized expansion".

"So there is a big opportunity here for India. And we need better government capability to target the sectors which are needed to expand exports," he said.

Rajiv Kumar said what emerged clearly out of the meeting was that Prime Minister's call for doubling farmer incomes "is not just a pie in the sky".

"Several speakers said we must shift our focus from increasing agricultural production to increasing incomes. Because increased production doesn't necessarily lead to increased incomes for the farmers.

"So we need to shift our focus to productivity, lowering costs, increasing efficiency, and giving farmers access to markets," he said.

Several presentations were made to the Prime Minister during the meeting after which, he thanked the participants for their suggestions and observations and assured them that the government will consider these.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also thanked everyone for their "thought-provoking suggestions", a government statement said.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : Eminent scientist K. Sivan, known as the "Rocket Man" for his significant contribution in the development of cryogenic engines for India's space programme,was on Wednesday appointed as the new Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Currently the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Center in Thiruvananthapuram which is responsible for the design and development activities for all launch vehicles, Sivan will succeed A.S. Kiran Kumar and have a three year term as the ISRO chief.

Sivan's appointment was cleared by the Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC) on Wednesday. It comes at a time when ISRO is planning to outsource construction of satellites and rockets for future launches.

An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Sivan has contributed significantly in Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and GSLV Mk-Ill vehicle design. He has been credited for development of the PSLV rocket that launched 104 satellites in a single mission, setting a world record in February last year.

Sivan also designed a software called Sitara, which ISRO uses for simulating trajectories of its rockets.

He led the Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) project, one of the most technologically challenging endeavors of ISRO towards developing essential technologies for a fully reusable launch vehicle, and was involved in its design qualification, aerodynamic charecterisation and hardware development.

The PSLV-C37 launch carried innovative experiments like using the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) navigation system for predicting orbits of satellites.

Sivan will also be overseeing the launch of the refurbished PSLV on Friday.

Graduating from Madras Institute of Technology in Aeronautical Engineering in 1980, he took his ME in Aerospace Engineering from IISc, Bangalore in 1982. Subsequently, he completed his PhD in Aerospace engineering from IIT-Bombay in 2006.
Pune, Jan 10 : Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Wednesday said the 21st century should be one of dialogue and all human beings must think about humanity at the global level.

"For building a better world, one needs to think about the oneness of all human beings. It is only the dialogue which creates new ideas and peace in the world," he said at the 2nd National Teachers Congress (NTC) that opened here.

For this, the Dalai Lama said, education should comprise a mix of positive emotions and the means to tackle emotions.

"India is the only country in the world which can combine modern education, technology, ancient education and emotions. Different exist in all religions, but all religions spread the same message of love, tolerance and affection," he said.

The Tibetan leader emphasised the need for education to speak about inner values, truth, honesty and self-confidence rather than just money and fame, to over 8,000 teachers from all over India and abroad gathered for the event organised by MAEER's MIT World Peace University.

Eminent scientist Anil Kakodkar said teachers should create their own identity by doing good work, be honest towards their duties and become idols for their students.

"We are living in knowledge era where technology changes very quickly and only teacher can understand it thoroughly and teacher can gave right path to pass this hurdle," said Kakodkar, who is the NTC President.

NTC Founder and convenor Rahul Karad said this is the first time in global academic history that all inter-disciplinary faculties came together on a single platform at the ongoing 2nd NTC.

"We have achieved a benchmark today by getting together dignitaries and teachers from 22 states in India and around 100 from global universities on a common platform for the three-day summit," Karad said.

Other prominent speakers included MIT WPU Founder-President Vishwanath D. Karad, Pune Mayor Mukta Tilak, WPU Executive President Rahul Karad, Purdue University's Prof Jay Gore, Ryan Pereira and Makarand Hastak, and former Pune University Vice Chancellor Raghunath Shevgaonkar.

The inaugural day witnessed a major session on Globalisation of Indian Higher Education - Drawing the Roadmap, with eminent speakers from India and abroad joining the discussions pertaining to holistic education while reaffirming that the Indian higher education has immense scope to spread worldwide if private educational institutions are granted autonomy.
Jaipur, Jan 10 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials on Wednesday launched an investigation into the allegedly staged gunfight death of gangster Anandpal Singh last year.

As part of their investigation, the CBI team on Wednesday visited the residence of Shravan Singh Rajput in Malasar village, where the alleged gunfight took place.

After that, the team left for Sanwarad, the ancestral village of Anandpal.

The Anandpal case was reported on June 24, 2017 in Malasar village in Ratanagarh tehsil of Churu district.

The central investigation agency team includes around a dozen police officials and is being led by Assistant Superintendent of Police V.K. Shukla.

Informed sources said the CBI team would also query the team involved in the gunfight, which includes Churu Superintendent of Police, members of Special Operations Group and Anti-Terrorism Squad, and other local police officials.

Earlier, the CBI registered one case over gangster Anandpal's death and two cases related to rioting and arson, during which a bystander Surendra Singh was killed in police firing.

The Rajput community in two districts of Rajasthan had been on the streets demanding a CBI probe into the case, and bowing to their demands, the state government decided to hand over the case to the premier investigation agency.
Tripoli, Jan 10 : At least 90-100 migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Libya's coast, the Libyan Coast Guard said on Wednesday, adding that it had rescued 17 women from the stricken rubber dinghy.

The shipwreck occurred on Tuesday off al-Khoms, east of Tripoli, it said on its Facebook page.

At least 81 people perished in the Mediterranean between January 1 and January 8, compared with 26 known deaths in December, the International Organisation for Migration reported on Tuesday.
Seoul, Jan 10 : South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump see a possibility for talks between South Korea and North Korea leading to talks between Washington and Pyongyang, multiple local media reports said on Wednesday.

Moon and Trump had a telephone conversation for about half an hour earlier in the day, after South and North Korea held the first high-level talks in around two years in the truce village of Panmunjom the previous day, Xhinhua news agency reported.

Trump said he would be open to talks if North Korea wants it at an appropriate time and under right situations, noting that there would be no military action toward Pyongyang during the inter-Korean dialogue.
Bengaluru, Jan 10 : Infosys co-founder N.R.Narayana Murthy on Wednesday declined to comment on his son-in-law Rishi Sunak joining the British cabinet on Tuesday.

"I would not like to comment on a foreign appointment," Murthy told IANS on the margins of an event here.

Sunak, 37, a Conservative Party MP from Richmond, was inducted into Prime Minister Theresa May's government following a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, and appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Sunak married Murthy's daughter Akshata Murthy in 2009.
Chandigarh, Jan 10 : A young man, along with his two accomplices, has landed in the Punjab Police's net on charges of plotting the murder of his pregnant wife whom he did not find attractive.

The woman lost her unborn child when a bullet hit her in the stomach on January 5.

Accused husband Sandeep Singh, 22, along with his accomplices was booked for murder and criminal conspiracy in Moonak town, around 150 km from here, police said on Wednesday.

Police said Sandeep planned his wife's murder with his friends by passing it off as a robbery.

As per the plan, the couple travelled in a car from their village towards Moonak on January 5 when he stopped midway to smoke. His accomplices reached the spot and robbed the couple of money and jewellery. They also fired at the woman, injuring her in the stomach, the police said.

Police officials said Sandeep and his friends Rajat and Surinder Sharma spilled the beans on their murder plot during questioning since there were loopholes in their robbery story.

"The accused even deliberately drove the car slowly towards a hospital so that his wife died on the way. However, the bullet hit the foetus that was aborted. The woman has since been shifted to a hospital in Hisar in Haryana where she is out of danger," Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu told the media.

"Sandeep said he wanted to eliminate his wife as she was ugly and looked older than him. They were married for one year. The man was having affairs with other women," the official said.

The accused even provided the crime weapon to his accomplices. The weapon has been seized.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : Claming that agricultural growth under the Narendra Modi government came down to 1.9 per cent, the Congress on Wednesday alleged that it failed to keep its promises of an MSP 50 per cent more than agricultural input cost and a loan waiver for farmers.

The party said that 38,000 farmers committed suicide in three years, which indicated a 35 per cent increase in such suicide committed during Modi government's rule.

It also urged the government to take concrete steps for farmer welfare in the Union Budget and provide loan waiver to them.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised a minimum support price that was 50 per cent more than the agriculture produce's cost for farmers. It was mentioned in the Bharatiya Janata Party's manifesto (before the 2014 general elections). But today, we see there is an increase of just Rs 10 or Rs 20 in the MSP. Modi is not talking about it anymore.

"Now, as the 2019 election is coming closer, he is saying we will double the farmer's income in 2022," said Congress Spokesperson R.P.N. Singh.

"A farmer's input cost is going up; you can see the diesel rate going up to Rs 60.66 in Delhi. Through taxes, the government has earned Rs 1.6 lakh crore. In three-and-half years, the government has earned more than Rs 9 lakh crore from petrol and diesel taxes.

"Why is this money not being given to the farmers," Singh asked.

Singh said the average agricultural growth for 10 years during earlier United Progressive Alliance rule was 4 per cent. "In October 2017, a report said it has reduced to 1.9 per cent," the Congress leader said.

"In 2013, rural wages recorded a 17.6 per cent growth, but this year it was 6.6 per cent. Farm loan waiver in Uttar Pradesh was a farce. During the UPA rule, we gave Rs 77,000 crore as loan waiver to farmers.

"Forget about loan waiver, the Centre has not even waived a single rupee of the farmers but have benefitted the corporates with more than Rs 1.30 lakh crore waiver," he added.

Singh said under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, only big players have benefitted and not the small and poor farmers.

"In Madhya Pradesh, bullets are being fired at the farmers; they are being beaten up in Rajasthan; and most farmer suicides are in Maharshtra.

"The potato farmers in Uttar Pradesh, out of compulsion, dumped their produce in front of government offices and state assembly to protest," he added.
Chitradurga (Karnataka), Jan 10 : Dubbing the Karnataka government "corrupt at all levels", BJP President Amit Shah on Wednesday said the state's people are waiting to throw out the ruling Congress in the upcoming assembly elections, due in April.

"The countdown for the exit of the Congress government headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has begun, as the people are waiting to throw it out lock, stock and barrel," said Shah at a party's rally in Holakere in the state's central district, about 200km from Bengaluru.

Addressing over 50,000 people at the party's "Nava Karnataka Parivarthana" rally, Shah said the Congress cadres were the only people to be happy with their government and no other one section of society, be it women, farmers or youth -- rural or urban.

"This government deserves to be thrown to the dustbin of history, as corruption is rampant and inefficiency permeates at all levels of governance," asserted Shah.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which came to power in the state for the first time after the 2008 assembly election, lost to the Congress in the 2013 poll following a split in its state unit and five years of "misrule" with three chief ministers at the helm.

Listing out various scams of the state government, Shah said the ruling Congress was involved in the Rs 900-crore Malaprabha river project, Rs 100-crore steel bridge project that was abandoned later, Rs 300-crore solar power project and denotification (releasing from government control) of about 1,800 lakes across the state, especially Bengaluru.

Accusing the government of misusing central funds, looting tax-payers' money, farmers and fishermen, Shah said though the Modi government at the Centre had given the southern state Rs 3 lakh-crore over the past 42 months under various schemes, the money did not reach the intended beneficiaries.

"The Modi government has provided Rs 2,19,506 crore to Karnataka under the 14th Finance Commission and Rs 79,000 crore under various schemes since 2014-15. I ask Siddaramaiah to furnish accounts as to what he did with so much money, as it did not reach the poor or its beneficiaries," reiterated Shah.

Blaming the Congress for indulging in minority appeasement and playing votebank politics, the BJP President said the Chief Minister had been indifferent to the killing of 21 workers of his party (BJP) and its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"More than 20 BJP and RSS activists have been killed in the state. What was their mistake? The state government is not even probing their death. When our party comes to power, whoever responsible for these deaths will be put behind the bars," claimed Shah.

Besides party's state unit chief B.S. Yeddyurappa, central ministers from the state Ananth Kumar and D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Railway Minister Piyush Goel and Union HRD Minister and party's state in-charge Prakash Javdekar and its state leaders Jagadish Shettar, K.S Eshwarappa and A.R. Ashok participated in the rally.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : With at least 44 deaths of homeless people reported in the national capital in the past one week, some of the homeless on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include their issues in his monthly radio address "Mann ki Baat".

"Through this letter, we want to draw your attention to the rising number of homeless people in the city, who help in the functioning of the city," Ikram, a homeless man residing near Kashmere Gate, wrote in his letter to the Prime Minister.

In the letter, he said that in the absence of a roof over their head, the homeless people were forced to die on the streets.

"In the last one week over 45 people have died on the streets during this winter season," he said.

He also said that instead of working for them, the city government was busy in blame game over the deaths of homeless.

Another homeless person, Rakesh Kumar wrote: "We homeless people too contribute in the nation building."

"But, as we are not able to find a roof for us, we live on the streets and also die here. Therefore, I request you to please include our issue in your Mann Ki Baat programme," he said.

According to a Delhi-based NGO, Centre for Holistic Development, at least 44 people have died in the city in the first week of January, while another 250 died in December last year.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : The JNU administration is meting out a "grave injustice" to students by not allowing them a hearing or consultation on various matters, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) said on Wednesday.

Slapped with a proctorial notice for "protesting" at the the administrative block, the union members condemned the administration as "anti-student" and "anti-democratic", saying that the "entire student community" is in distress because of it.

"Right from slapping sedition cases on previous JNUSU representatives and students, to penalising them through heavy fines over past two years only shows how anti-student and anti-democratic the VC and his administration is," the JNUSU said in a statement.

"The entire student community is extremely distressed about these grave concerns and would like to put forward their concerns in front of the head of this institution," it added.

One of the issues that the students are protesting over is the compulsory attendance order issued by the varsity recently. The union has boycotted the decision calling it against JNU culture and citing other practicalities.

The notice was served to the students on Monday accusing them of blocking the administrative block. However, the over 50 students who had gone to meet the Vice Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar on January 4, have maintained that they had gone to the admin block to "meet" the VC and give him a letter opposing the attendance move, signed by "2,500 students" and not for protesting.

The students are required to appear before the Proctorial committee on Thursday.
Los Angeles, Jan 10 : The number of confirmed deaths from flooding and mudslides in California's Santa Barbara County stands at 15, though a score of people remain missing, authorities said on Wednesday.

Two additional bodies were found during the overnight hours, the county sheriff's department said on Twitter, Efe reported.

Firefighters, law enforcement personnel and other first responders were searching for fatalities and survivors amid the rubble of destroyed homes in the wealthy coastal community of Montecito.

Dozens of residents were rescued, some by helicopter, and 25 people were treated for injuries.

Officials warned that the death toll was likely to rise.

"While we hope it will not, we expect that this number will increase as we continue to look for people who are still missing and unaccounted for," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.

The mudslides struck an area that suffered in last month's wildfires, spurred by torrential downpours that dropped nearly an inch (2.54 cm) of rain in less than 15 minutes.

Besides the damage to homes, the mudslides effectively shut down several major roads and a rail line.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang on Wednesday called on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here and briefed him on the demand of various state groups to defer the assembly elections in order to facilitate a solution to the seven-decade-old Naga insurgency.

The term of the 60-member Nagaland assembly expires on March 13, 2018, but at least nine pressure groups, including the powerful Naga Mother's Association and Naga Hoho have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defer the elections and impose President's Rule in order to facilitate a peaceful solution to the insurgency.

Briefing Rajnath Singh on the popular demand for "Solution before Election" and postponement of the assembly elections, Zeliang noted that the central government was engaged with different Naga political groups - the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-I-M) and Working Committee of six Naga National Political Groups for early solution.

"It was the desire of the Naga people for a solution to be arrive at before the ensuing election," Zeliang told the Home Minister.

In support of the groups demand, he submitted the resolution adopted by Nagaland Legislators Forum and parliamentarians and ex-parliamentarians on December 7, 2017 along with a copy of Nagaland Assembly resolution urging the central government to take emergent and extraordinary steps for an "honourable and acceptable solution" before the assembly election.

Rajnath Singh, meanwhile, reiterated that the government of India was serious on solving the Naga political issue.

He also promised Zeliang that he would convene a meeting on the demand of the Naga people and convey the outcome of the meeting to Nagaland government.

On August 3, 2015, the central government and the separatist group, the NSCN-IM signed the Framework Agreement to end the insurgency.

Last year, the government had also signed an agreement with a Working Committee comprising six Naga National Political Groups.

The NSCN-IM has been in talks with the government since 1997 after the signing of a ceasefire agreement.
Rome, Jan 10 : Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizens are among 267 mainly African migrants, including 19 women and 17 children who were saved in two operations off Libya's coast, the Libyan Coast Guard said Wednesday The migrants were rescued from two rubber dinghies north of the city of Zawiya, according to Libyan Coast Guard on Facebook.

Up to 100 migrants are feared drowned after a rubber dinghy sank off al-Khoms, east of Tripoli on Tuesday, it said.

At least 64 people lost their lives on Saturday in a shipwreck off the eastern town of Garbouli, according to Italy's Coast Guard. Rescuers saved 86 people and recovered eight bodies.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) - the UN migration agency - has described the Mediterranean as the world's deadliest border. At least 3,116 people drowned there last year while trying to cross from North Africa to Europe by sea, it said.
New Delhi, Jan 10 : After the Supreme Court on Wednesday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to further probe 186 anti-Sikh riots cases closed by an earlier SIT, the Congress party said it will support any probe into the 1984 riots.

"I don't have not full information about the Supreme Court order. But, if there is any order to do an investigation to ensure full inquiry, the Congress will always support it," said Congress spokesperson R.P.N Singh.

"If any torture has been done to the Sikh community, there should be a probe into it and if anyone found guilty, must be punished," he added.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ordered formation of the new SIT -- comprising a serving Indian Police Service officer and a retired one.

The move came following receipt of a report by a supervisory committee that said of the 241 cases closed by the earlier SIT, 186 were closed without further investigation.
Paris, Jan 11 : Armed with axes, robbers on Wednesday stole more than $5 million worth of jewellery from a shop at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, police said.

Three suspects have been arrested by the police for the armed robbery. The Paris police announced the information on its official Twitter, adding that two other suspects are still on the run.

During the robbery, the gang of five smashed the window of a jewellery store at the hotel with axes and looted the pieces on display, Xinhua reported.

The loot is estimated to be worth more than $5.38 million. It remains unclear if any of the jewellery has been recovered.

Three men were arrested as the robbery was interrupted by police officers on patrol, while the other two escaped on a scooter, police said.

The five-star Ritz Hotel is located in Place VendAme, in Paris' historical first district on the right bank of the river Seine. Interestingly, the ministry of justice is adjacent to it.

According to BBC, the hotel includes a gallery shopping area near its rear entrance, which it says hosts five shops and 95 "showcases", selling jewellery, watches and luxury clothing.
Arden Dental Care We are so happy to see the difference we make in our patients dental experience, says Dr. Michael Boyce. It truly is an honor to contribute to their health and confidence.

Arden Dental Care puts their patients' comfort first and it lands them in Sacramento Magazines Top Dentists of 2017.

We are so happy to see the difference we make in our patients dental experience, says Dr. Michael Boyce. It truly is an honor to contribute to their health and confidence.

Thanks to conscious sedation, patients can now enter Arden Dental Cares office without experiencing any anxiety because of ADCs top priority to provide an experience that will be comfortable and relaxing to each visitor. A wide range of amenities and comfort items from memory foam pillows and warm blankets to DVD glasses, are also provided to make the patient feel right at home.

And because Arden Dental Care has the tools to occupy the mind, a patient may already feel calm by the time theyre being treated, but at Arden Dental Care, they will take relaxation one step further by providing simple and safe conscious sedation methods. With conscious sedation, patients can remain awake during their procedures, but in a state of total comfort and peace. Conscious sedation doesnt make patients fall asleep, but some of the patients are so comfortable, they fall asleep anyway.

Its techniques such as these that Arden Dental Care wants to show future patients because oral hygiene plays such a large role in overall health, no one should avoid the dentist due to anxiety and fear. Oral hygiene can be associated with heart disease and diabetes. Therefore, its their goal to provide treatment without the stress so all levels of health can be maintained.

Arden Dental Care would like to give a big thank you to Sacramento Magazine for being named as a Top Dentist of 2017 and helping spread the word about oral health.

*Sacramento dentist Dr. Michael Boyce provides cosmetic dentistry, general dentistry, restorative dentistry, sedation dentistry and even Invisalign clear braces to patients in the Sacramento, California area, including from the surrounding communities of Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Elk Grove, Natomas, Davis and Gold River, CA. He has been rated one of the best dentists in Sacramento based on his reviews on Dr. Oogle and was named one of the top dentists by Sacramento Magazine.
Our new QDDS Practice will enable rapid development and approval of drugs to meet unmet medical needs via FDAs expedited approval programs, 505(b)(2) drug applications, as well as to satisfy requirement for pediatric labeling under PREA.

NDA Partners Chairman Carl Peck, MD, announced today the formation of a specialized practice area in quantitative drug development strategies (QDDS) to address the needs of its clients. Utilizing state-of-the art quantitative methodologies and data-driven approaches, including quantitative clinical pharmacology, PKPD and PBPK modeling, clinical trial simulation, and adaptive trial designs, the new QDDS Practice is intended to helps clients address important issues such as predicting optimal dose and clinical outcomes more accurately, optimizing information value and efficiency of clinical trial designs, identifying patients who would benefit most from therapy, and producing compelling evidence of effectiveness. By focusing on the most clinically relevant development questions, NDA Partners will support the design and execution of clinical trials that can accelerate development programs and that produce high-quality regulatory packages containing the data needed to secure regulatory approval without delays.

The new QDDS Practice is led by Roger Williams, MD, a Partner in the firm. Before joining NDA Partners, Dr. Williams was Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Council of Experts at the US Pharmacopeial Convention; Director of the Office of Generic Drugs at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER); and Deputy Center Director and Director, FDA Office of Pharmaceutical Sciences (CDER). He is an expert in clinical pharmacology, has been board certified in clinical pharmacology and internal medicine, and conversant with all elements of quantitative clinical pharmacology and their application in therapeutics.

The QDDS Practice consists of some of the most recognized leaders and well-respected industry, academic, and regulatory professionals in the world. They have played a key role in pioneering the field of quantitative clinical pharmacology and the application of Bayesian approaches in biostatistics and clinical trial design. In prior industry and regulatory agency roles, they have been instrumental in strengthening clinical pharmacology activities and contributed to many regulatory guidances on topics of safety, efficacy, quality, and regulatory communications, as well as biopharmaceutic, clinical pharmacology, and pediatric drug studies. They have had extensive interactions with global regulatory authorities to ensure acceptance of product development plans and support regulatory submissions, including INDs, NDAs, MAAs, BLAs, and ANDAs.

I am pleased to head up this important new practice area within NDA Partners, said Dr. Williams. Biopharmaceutical companies face a wide range of complex technical challenges in developing novel therapies, and require approaches that meet these challenges efficiently and within inevitable resource constraints. Our new QDDS Practice will support industry and regulatory efforts to meet the most complex technical challenges of modern drug development through the application of advanced quantitative techniques by some of the worlds top experts in this field.

Members of the QDDS Practice area include:

Carl Peck, MD is Chairman, a Partner and founding Member of NDA Partners, and former Director of FDA CDER, founding Director of the Center for Drug Development Science at Georgetown University Medical Center, and Assistant US Surgeon General. Dr. Peck is a pioneer in the field of quantitative clinical pharmacology and expert in the application of model-informed and Bayesian approaches in clinical trial design.

Alasdair Breckenridge, MD is a Partner in the firm, a global thought leader, and former Chair of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK. Sir Alasdair is a renowned clinical pharmacologist and after training at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, was appointed to the Chair of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Liverpool.

Anthony DiSanto, PhD, was formerly Vice President, Worldwide Drug Delivery R&D, Upjohn Company; Vice President R&D, Somerset Pharmaceuticals; and Vice President Drug Development, Alamo Pharmaceuticals. Dr. DiSanto is an expert in drug formulation development of human and veterinary NCE's, clinical biopharmaceutic and pharmacokinetic studies conducted in support of existing products and product line extensions, and assessing and implementing bioavailability/pharmacokinetic studies in support of 505(b)(2) applications, particularly those for pediatric drugs.

Michael Eldon, PhD was formerly Vice President Clinical Pharmacology, Nektar Therapeutics, and Director of Regulatory Affairs and Chairman of Clinical Development Committee, Inhale Therapeutic Systems. He is an expert in product registration strategies, including the use of surrogate markers of drug effect, interaction with global regulatory authorities, PKPD data analysis, and application of quantitative clinical pharmacology. Dr. Eldon has broad experience in the development and registration of prodrugs and products using novel drug delivery technologies, including systemic drug delivery via the pulmonary route.

Peter Feldschreiber, MD is dually qualified as a Barrister and physician, specializing in medical and healthcare law. He serves on the Committee of Safety of Devices and the Code of Conduct Committee of the Association of British Health Industry. Dr. Feldschreiber is a former Senior Medical Assessor and Special Litigation Coordinator, MHRA Commission on Human Medicines, and Medical Director, Cardiovascular and Anesthetic clinical development, Glaxo Pharmaceuticals. He is an expert in evaluation of the risk-benefit profiles of medical products and assessments of legal and regulatory risks.

Theo Guentert, PhD, PharmD is an Associate Professor in Pharmacy, University of Basel. He was formerly Associate Head of Clinical Pharmacology, Head of Nonclinical Drug Safety, and Head of Nonclinical Development, at F. Hoffmann-La Roche. Dr. Guentert is an expert in nonclinical and clinical development, pharmacokinetics, clinical pharmacology, and drug metabolism.

Kazem Kazempour, PhD, is President and CEO of Amarex Clinical Research, LLC, a CRO that works closely with NDA Partners. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Medical Center of George Washington University, and Senior Staff Fellow and Mathematical Statistician in the Biometrics Division at the FDA. Dr. Kazempour is an expert in biometrics, biostatistics and clinical trial design.

Nicholas Holford, MD is a Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand; Honorary Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at UCSF; Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists; and Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK). He is an expert in clinical pharmacology and pharmacometric modeling and simulation.

In-Jin Jang, MD, PhD was formerly Director, Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Seoul National University College of Medicine. He is an expert in early phase clinical trials for companies in the Asia-Pacific region including FIH, ADME, hepatic insufficiency and drug-drug interaction studies. Dr. Jang is highly skilled in the use NONMEM, Simcyp, and LMNE/Pharsight.

Xavier Luria, MD was formerly Head, Safety and Efficacy of Medicines, European Medicines Agency (EMA), where he oversaw authorizations of all drug and biologic products and was responsible for implementation of eCTD. He was previously International Medical Director and Head of Research, Almirall (Barcelona). Dr. Luria is an expert in regulatory strategies, clinical pharmacology, and health technology assessment (HTA).

Gary Novack, PhD is a Visiting Professor of Pharmacology and Ophthalmology at the School of Medicine at the University of California, Davis. He is a former Director of Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc.; President and Founder of PharmaLogic Development, Inc.; and Associate Director of Glaucoma, Ophthalmology Clinical Research at Allergan Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Novak is an expert in drug and device development strategies, clinical pharmacology, and preparation of IND, IDE, NDA, PMA, and PLA submissions.

Malcolm Rowland, PhD is a Partner and founding Member of NDA Partners. He is Professor Emeritus and former Dean, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Manchester; Adjunct Professor, School of Pharmacy, UCSF; Founder and Director of Medeval Ltd. (a CRO); Vice-President of the International Pharmaceutical Federation; and President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Rowland is a renowned innovator and world leader in the fields of pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism.

Dan Spyker, MD, PhD is currently Adjunct Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the Uniform Services University of Health Sciences (Bethesda); Adjunct Professor of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, UCSF; and Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Oregon Health and Sciences University. He was formerly acting Deputy Director, FDA Division of Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Neurological Devices (CDRH); Medical Officer, CDER Pilot Drug Evaluation Staff; Senior Director of Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance, Alexza Pharmaceuticals; and Director, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamic Sciences, Genentech. Dr. Spyker is an expert in toxicology, PKPD analysis, biostatistics, and REMS.

Frank Vocci, PhD is currently President, Friends Research Institute, and former Deputy Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse NIH). He was a Consultant for World Health Organization (WHO); Deputy Chief, Drug Abuse Staff, FDA CDER; and Reviewing Pharmacologist, FDA. Dr. Vocci is an expert in addictive disorders, quantitative pharmacology, and pharmacometric analyses, including modeling and simulation.

Gregory Campbell, PhD was formerly Director of the FDA Division of Biostatistics; Chief, Analytical Biometrics, NIH; Acting Chief, Laboratory of Statistical and Mathematical Methodology, NIH; and Chief, Statistical Methodology Section, NIH. He was the leader of several FDA committees including the Guidance on Principles of Study Design for Medical Device Premarket Clinical Investigations, Guidance on the Use of Bayesian Statistics for Medical Device Clinical Trials, and Draft Guidance on Adaptive Designs for Medical Device Clinical Studies. Dr. Campbell is an expert in biostatistics, adaptive and Bayesian clinical trials, evaluation of diagnostic tests, ROC curves, and statistical image analysis.

Joachim Vollmar, MSc was formerly Executive Vice President, Global Product Development Services, and Managing Director of European Operations, PRA International, where he was a company co-founder; and Head of the Department of Risk Analysis Therapeutics, Boehringer Mannheim. He is an expert in biostatistics, adaptive clinical trial design, clinical statistics, data management, and pharmacology.

About NDA Partners

NDA Partners is a strategy consulting firm specializing in expert product development and regulatory advice to the medical products industry and associated service industries such as law firms, investment funds and government research agencies. The highly experienced Principals and Premier Experts of NDA Partners include three former FDA Center Directors; the former Chairman of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK; an international team of more than 100 former pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agency senior executives; and an extensive roster of highly proficient experts in specialized areas including nonclinical development, toxicology, pharmacokinetics, CMC, medical device design control and quality systems, clinical development, regulatory submissions, and development program management. Services include product development and regulatory strategy, expert consulting, high-impact project teams, and virtual product development teams.

Contact

Earle Martin, Chief Executive Officer

Office: 540-738-2550

MartinEarle(at)ndapartners(dot)com
Siemplify Security Orchestration Security teams now realize that without orchestration and automation, they will continue to struggle to effectively respond to the ever increasing volume of alerts that need to be investigated.

Siemplify, the leading Security Orchestration and Automation provider, today announced that it has concluded 2017 with record growth and unprecedented global demand for its award-winning ThreatNexus platform. Leading enterprises and MSSPs leverage Siemplify as their SOC Workbench, tripling analyst productivity by automating repetitive tasks and bringing together disparate security technologies.

2017 was truly an inflection point for Security Orchestration, said Amos Stern, CEO and Co-Founder of Siemplify. Security teams now realize that without orchestration and automation, they will continue to struggle to effectively respond to the ever increasing volume of alerts that need to be investigated.

2017 highlights include:



More than 1000% YoY growth in bookings with further accelerated demand going into 2018

800% growth in customer base. Notable new customers include a Fortune 500 US financial services provider, a Euro STOXX 50 European bank, a Global 500 APAC- headquartered engineering group and several leading MSSPs

The release of Threat Nexus 2.0 which included unique smart-context technology that allows analysts to contextualize security data and automates piecing together the full threat story for rapid investigation

Further expansion of industry partnerships to provide security orchestration across the broadest range of security technologies. Notable new partners include Palo Alto Networks, Carbon Black, Symantec, McAfee and HP

Leadership expansion, which saw the addition of industry veterans Miguel Carrero as Chief Revenue Officer, Stefan Schmid as VP Sales EMEA and Nimmy Reichenberg as Chief Marketing Officer

Industry accolades including a listing as a Representative Vendor in Gartners Innovation Insight for Security Orchestration, Automation and Response report and the Cutting Edge - Incident Response award from Cyber Defense Magazine

In its Innovation Insight for Security Orchestration, Automation and Response report Gartner states that Security operations still primarily rely on manually created and maintained, document-based procedures for operations, which leads to issues such as longer analyst onboarding times, stale procedures, tribal knowledge and inconsistencies in executing operational functions. The report further states that The ongoing skills and expertise shortage and the increasing escalation in threat activity will hasten the move to orchestration and automation of SOC activities.*

With our seasoned executive team, industry-leading product and clear vision to serve as the workbench of choice for security operations teams, Siemplify is poised to capitalize on the explosive growth of this category, said Stern. We look forward to an exciting 2018.

About Siemplify

Siemplify provides a holistic Security Operations Platform that empowers security analysts to work smarter and respond faster. Siemplify uniquely combines security orchestration and automation with patented contextual investigation and case management to deliver intuitive, consistent and measurable security operations processes. Leading enterprises and MSSPs leverage Siemplify as their SOC Workbench, tripling analyst productivity by automating repetitive tasks and bringing together disparate security technologies.

Founded by Israeli Defense Force security operations experts, Siemplify is headquartered in New York with offices in Tel-Aviv. Visit http://www.siemplify.co for more information.

*Gartner, Innovation Insight for Security Orchestration, Automation and Response, Claudio Neiva et al, 30 November 2017.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Elise Kalles

Haute Residence and acclaimed broker Elise Kalles renewed their partnership for a 6th consecutive year. As a member of Haute Residences network of top real estate agents, Kalles exclusively represents the high-end real estate market in Toronto, Canada.

A consistent multi-million dollar producer, Kalles, broker at Harvey Kalles Real Estate Brokerage, has sealed a multitude of deals on exceptional homes. Kalles success lies in her elegance of conducting business and her passion for her lifes work that prioritizes clients needs.

She is greatly respected by her clients and peers alike, as is evidenced in ongoing referrals that have garnered her repeat as well as international clients. A doyenne in this rarefied area of carriage-trade real estate, Kalles limitless energy and integrity dovetail with her expertise in buying and selling distinctive homes.

About Haute Residence:

Designed as a partnership-driven luxury real estate portal, Haute Residence connects its affluent readers with top real estate professionals, while offering the latest in real estate news, showcasing the worlds most extraordinary residences on the market and sharing expert advice from its knowledgeable and experienced real estate partners.

The invitation-only luxury real estate network, which partners with just one agent in every market, unites a distinguished collective of leading real estate agents and brokers and highlights the most extravagant properties in leading markets around the globe for affluent buyers, sellers, and real estate enthusiasts.

HauteResidence.com has grown to be the number one news source for million-dollar listings, high-end residential developments, celebrity real estate, and more.

Access all of this information and more by visiting: http://www.hauteresidence.com
Geoprise Technologies Corporation, maker of the GM-X enterprise resources planning (ERP) application suite, and Coin Sciences Ltd, maker of the MultiChain blockchain platform, announced today that Geoprise has joined the MultiChain Product Partner Program and launched GM-X for Blockchain, the first and only enterprise resources planning (ERP) application ever to implement blockchain technology for secure business-to-business (B2B) collaboration.

MultiChain is an open source platform for building and deploying private, permissioned blockchains that span multiple enterprises. It can process up to 1,000 transactions per second on a network of mid-range servers without the costly and time-consuming proof-of-work mining associated with public blockchains. First introduced in 2015, MultiChain was released into production in August 2017 and is one of the leading blockchain platforms. Over 60 partnerships have been signed to date with companies building on the product. We developed MultiChain by enhancing Bitcoin Core, the reference implementation for the bitcoin network, which has been thoroughly battle-tested on the open Internet. We added extensive configurability, permissioning for confidentiality and control and support for multiple blockchains, as well as greatly increasing the transaction throughput for private peer-to-peer networks, says Dr. Gideon Greenspan, CEO and Founder of Coin Sciences Ltd. Probably the most crucial enhancement is a capability called streams which implements a scalable general-purpose database or document repository on the blockchain. MultiChain allows blockchain participants to encrypt their data before publishing it, and deliver the decryption key only to those other participants who are permitted to see it.

GM-X ERP is a Web application suite which provides supply chain management, sales force automation (SFA), supplier relationship management (SRM), project management and activity execution solutions for enterprises in the aerospace and defense, life sciences, automotive, energy, resources, finance, retailing and services industries worldwide. It is specifically designed and built to enable real-time collaboration between employees, customers and suppliers, using desktop and laptop personal computers (PCs), tablets and smartphones; and it incorporates an integrated workflow engine which automates collaborative businesses processes to reduce cycle times and improve productivity.

Security is a major concern and one of the toughest challenges facing enterprises for whom B2B collaboration is a strategic imperative, says Nelson Nones, Founder and CEO of Geoprise. Conventional collaboration tools, such as Web portals, centralized databases and even electronic data interchange (EDI), are proving vulnerable to security breaches which are accelerating at an alarming pace. Not only does MultiChain keep a permanent, tamper-proof and verifiable blockchain ledger for GM-X ERP, it provides a secure pipe for pushing or pulling data in either direction between any two organizations, under the control of automatic data valves at either end to protect confidentiality, maintain control over information assets and enhance mutual trust among trading partners.

Most ERP systems in use today are centered on individual enterprises or business units, each with its own numbering schemes for products, accounts and business documents. Those schemes often overlap, leading to inevitable data collisions when businesses attempt to collaborate with one another. Harmonization standards such as GS1 Class 1 Identification Keys have evolved over time to prevent such collisions, but conventional ERP systems require such standards to be adopted and cross-referenced in parallel with internal numbering schemes.

To avoid these headaches, the GM-X ERP has a built-in mechanism which guarantees that data items created independently by each blockchain participant will mesh properly, without any collisions, when published to a common blockchain ledger. This capability makes GM-X much more flexible than conventional ERP systems because, even though GM-X ERP natively incorporates all GS1 Class 1 Identification Keys standards into its database and application design, it doesnt force organizations to bear the burden of adopting those standards in parallel with their internal numbering systems for the sole purpose of collision avoidance.

We are delighted that Geoprise chose MultiChain as its blockchain platform for GM-X ERP, and are excited to step forward with Geoprise by delivering pragmatic blockchain technology that improves the security, transparency and efficiencies of supply chains, which are the core focus of most ERP systems, Dr. Greenspan comments. We look forward to Geoprise integrating MultiChain into the GM-X ERP software package as a member of our Product Partner Program and commercial licensee, making it possible to install and quickly set up a single ERP-focused blockchain network, or multiple networks, out of the box.

Mr. Nones adds, The ability for a single GM-X ERP installation to communicate simultaneously with multiple blockchain networks creates many B2B collaboration opportunities above and beyond collaborative sales, distribution and billing. Additional collaboration scenarios include supplier qualification and audit, shipment tracking, global inventory management, project and work execution, customer feedback, provenance tracking (track-and-trace), and archiving and records management.

More information about the GM-X for Blockchain ERP solution is available on the Geoprise Web site at http://www.geoprise.com, and more information about MultiChain is available at http://www.multichain.com.

About Geoprise Technologies

Geoprise Technologies Corporation was formed in 1999 by a group of software executives with over a century of previous cumulative experience building enterprise resources planning (ERP) and manufacturing operations management systems, and implementing them worldwide. The privately-held companys mission, then and now, is to create exceptional value for its customers by harnessing the power and economy of information technology to enable lean, world-class industrial operations on a global scale. Today, Geoprise Technologies focuses exclusively on delivering top-quality expertise and technology solutions for businesses operating in North America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim. Geoprise values integrity by maintaining strict independence, intense commitment to business ethics and profound respect for intellectual property rights. The companys global headquarters are in Minneapolis and its research and development headquarters are in London. Its Asia-Pacific headquarters are located in Bangkok and it operates a sales and support office in Singapore. For further information, visit the companys website at http://www.geoprise.com.

About Coin Sciences

Coin Sciences is a leading blockchain technology company, founded in 2014. Coin Sciences develops MultiChain, a popular open source platform for creating and deploying permissioned blockchains. MultiChain includes features such as rich permissions management, native assets, data streams, and simple configuration and deployment. It has been used for blockchain projects in many of the worlds largest banks, consulting firms, financial technology and IT companies. Coin Sciences has over 60 partners, including both consulting firms that build blockchain applications for their clients and companies integrating MultiChain into their own product offerings. Its corporate headquarters are in London with research and development based in Tel Aviv. For more information, visit the MultiChain website at http://www.multichain.com.
Savannah Dental Solutions

Throughout the month of January, Savannah Dental Solutions is offering a complimentary veneers consultation.

A bright white smile is an important part of an excellent first impression. Yet many people have a smile that is structurally sound and healthy, but features chipped, discolored, or otherwise unattractive teeth. Porcelain veneers can correct these cosmetic issues.

What Are Porcelain Veneers?

Thin, durable shells of dental porcelain that fit over the existing teeth, porcelain veneers require very little healthy tooth structure to be removed. They are a terrific solution for such common dental issues as:



Chipped or broken teeth

Severe discoloration

Teeth that are misshapen, gapping, or uneven

How Long Do Porcelain Veneers Last?

Porcelain veneers are unlikely to last a lifetime, but they are quite strong and can easily last more than a decade with proper care. They are more stain-resistant than natural teeth and more durable than other solutions such as bonding.

Do Porcelain Veneers Look Natural?

Many people worry about receiving a fake-looking game show host smile, but todays porcelain veneers are quite realistic in appearance. Their translucency and sheen mirror those of natural teeth, and they can be color-matched to the existing teeth. Some people prefer to whiten their teeth before receiving veneers, but it should be noted that the whitening will not last as long as the veneers. Therefore, it must be repeated periodically to maintain an even match.

About Savannah Dental Solutions

Married dentists Chad and Alexandra Schnabel welcome new patients to Savannah Dental Solutions. From caring childrens dentistry to high-tech cosmetic procedures and even full-mouth reconstruction, they blend the latest technology with traditional customer-oriented values. To learn more or to request an appointment, call (912) 354-1366 or visit the office at 9A Medical Arts Center, Savannah, GA, 31405. Find more information at http://savannahdentalsolutions.com/.
"Official government statistics seem likely to be revised upwards when finalized. "

Lone Star Analysis is offering a free report forecasting steel and industrial production through 2022.

Lone Star provides quantitative software and assessments. Price-to-Win, and other econometric forecasts, are among the companys most frequently delivered products. Lone Star has delivered demand forecasts across several markets for more than a decade.

We provide analytic services, and econometric software tools to our clients, said Steve Roemerman, Lone Stars CEO. However, our forecasts are customized for clients. Even though weve done hundreds, we cant publish them.

Weve seen people struggle to get good forecasts for industrial production and steel, so we offered this analysis free to some of our customers. Now we offer it publicly.

Our work in economic competitions, econometric projections and demand forecasting has covered roughly half the worlds nations with 80% of world GDP. Our market projections span from consumer demand to industrial forecasting. 

The report, Steel & Industrial Production Forecasts 2017-2022 provides the following estimates:



World steel production will increase about 14% over 2016 levels by year end 2022.

North American steel production will increase by nearly 8%.

U.S. industrial production will increase more than 7%.

U.S. steel prices will rise more than 13% over this forecast period.

The median forecasts for 2017 suggest economic reporting to date may understate the rate of economic growth in the U.S. This suggests upward pressure on steel producer price indices. Official government statistics seem likely to be revised upwards when finalized.

The report is available free on the Lone Star website: http://lone-star.com/steel-and-industrial-production/

No credit card or registration is required.

About Lone Star

Lone Star Analysis enables customers to make insightful decisions faster than competitors. We are a predictive guide bridging the gap between data and action. Prescient insights support confident decisions for customers in Oil & Gas, Transportation & Logistics, Industrial Products & Services, Aerospace & Defense, and the Public Sector. Lone Star delivers fast time to value supporting customers planning and on-going management needs. Utilizing our TruNavigator software platform, Lone Star brings proven modeling tools and analysis that improve customers top line, by winning more business, and improve the bottom line, by quickly enabling operational efficiency, cost reduction, and performance improvement. Our trusted AnalyticsOS software solutions support our customers real-time predictive analytics needs when continuous operational performance optimization, cost minimization, safety improvement, and risk reduction are important.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Lone Star is found on the web at http://www.Lone-Star.com.
Patient360 Approved as QCDR in 2018 Patient360 is setting the quality bar in the worlds of pain medicine, pain management, and addiction recovery.

Patient360 (P360) is proud to announce their third consecutive year being Medicare-Certified as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) focusing on pain medicine.

The opioid issues facing our nation are at an all-time high. Patient360 has partnered with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a federally Qualified Registry for over a decade and a Qualified Clinical Data Registry for the last two years. Providers demonstrating high-quality care while detecting and correcting diversion and aberrant behavior are keys to clinically addressing this opioid crisis.

Controlled substances, while receiving disparaging media coverage, have a place in todays healthcare marketplace. The absence of optimal diagnostics encompassing risk mitigation via proven, methodical, and well-monitored programs are often the cause of abuse and patient mismanagement.

Founding Patient360 partner, Dr. Doug Jorgensen, had this to say: In working with Medicare to create quality measures surrounding proper pain management, Patient360 helps providers and patients in our communities. Patient360 met last week with CMS representatives to create a new measure that will make controlled substance agreements uniform and positively impact care delivery. Using these agreements helps stop doctor shopping by patients and prevents early and/or multiple refills. This sort of initiative holds patients and providers accountable for proper prescribing and ongoing monitoring.

Dr. Jorgensen states further, Proper risk mitigation proves compliance while protecting legitimate practices, patients, and the larger community from the negative effects of addiction. Patient360 helps patients and doctors optimally manage pain while detecting and correcting diversion of legitimate prescriptions. Medicare recognizes this void and welcomes collaboration with firms like Patient360. We are pleased it is so timely in light of the national opioid issues.

Patient360 is proud to have helped our clients achieve 99.99% success rate. Each year Patient360 works to help clients optimize performance and, more importantly, identify how to improve patient care.

Partnering with the Maine Osteopathic Association, (Patient360s QCDR steward), the QCDR measures positively impact the quality of care provided and improve patient safety every day. Patient360s support of a multifaceted risk mitigation program is a cornerstone of the companys work product. Drawing on work with the FBI, DEA, DOJ, and tens of thousands of medical record audits, Patient360 is setting the quality bar in the worlds of pain medicine, pain management, and addiction recovery.

About Patient360:

Patient360 is one of the longest operating Qualified Registries and has been certified by CMS for over a decade. Patient360 is a physician-owned and operated registry that helps practices improve quality, increase payment from payer incentives, and avoid negative payment adjustments from CMS. As a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) Patient360 specializes in Pain Medicine, Pain Management, Orthopedic, Neuromuscular and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, Chiropractic, Physiatry, Physical and Occupational Therapy Podiatry, and Sport Medicine.
Were embarking on a journey to help clients better understand the performance of their brands, as seen through the lens of a new America.

Collage Group is pleased to announce the hiring of David Evans to lead the product and content teams, responsible for research, data, and innovation. Evans most recently served as a senior advisor for Cushman & Wakefield, and held senior leadership positions at CoStar Group and CEB, in addition to working at the White House where he founded the Office of Executive Councils.

The consumer landscape is fundamentally changing as America becomes more diverse and fragmented. Success hinges on attracting and retaining high-growth consumers. Yet the deeply held cultural values of those diverse consumers are often poorly understood.

Evans will lead the team responsible for creating products and solutions to help marketers navigate this complex landscape. Their work will allow companies to pinpoint what works and what doesnt with these segments, determining the attributes of successful brand-building investments.

There are tremendous growth opportunities for companies that can appeal to a wide range of diverse segments. Were embarking on a journey to help clients better understand the performance of their brands, as seen through the lens of a new America, says Evans. This is an extraordinary time to be at Collage Group and Im honored to be leading the product and content teams at such a pivotal moment.

The work will build on a proprietary data asset incorporating 10 million data points from hundreds of consumer surveys across the last nine years. Collage Group is uniquely positioned to help clients like no other company in the space, serving 200 of the worlds most prominent brands including Citi, Coca-Cola, Google, Target, Toyota, and Walt Disney.

Were thrilled to have David join the team. His deep experience in research, analytics, and product development will help lead the way as we generate predictive insights into what works and what doesnt, to help clients win with the fastest growing and most influential consumers says David Wellisch, CEO of Collage Group.

To learn more about the latest work on cultural fluency, download the eBook.

ABOUT COLLAGE GROUP: Founded in 2009, the company focuses on empowering organizations to better serve and engage the fastest growing and most influential consumers through insights, market intelligence and strategy. They support leading companies through proprietary syndicated research, actionable category level insights, market intelligence tools, and best practices. The product portfolio includes insights and strategy networksLatinum, focusing on multicultural, genYZ, focusing on millennials and gen-Z. Collage also offers a full suite of custom research and consulting services. More information can be found at collagegroup.com.
Cannabis businesses have operated in the shadows for so long, following state law hasnt been at the top of their minds.

SunDoc Filings (https://www.sundocumentfilings.com), Californias leading business filing company, today issued a reminder to California cannabis growers and cannabis-related businesses. SunDoc Filings reminds business owners that they may need to register their company with the California Secretary of State and obtain appropriate state, county and city licenses for their businesses.

This is an exciting time, says Stan Huser, president of SunDoc Filings. Its rare to see a billion dollar industry be legalized at a stroke. We expect thousands of new cannabis-related businesses to launch this year.

Californians voted to legalize marijuana in the November 2016 election. As of January 1, 2018 California cannabis-related businesses, including growers, distributors and manufacturers can legally operate their businesses with the state of California.

At the same time, Huser cautions that with legalization comes the need to obey state licensing and regulation requirements.

Cannabis businesses have operated in the shadows for so long, says Huser, Following state law hasnt been at the top of their minds.

So, while business owners no longer risk being busted for possession of illegal substances, they can face fines and other penalties if they fail to register their business with the California Secretary of State, obtain a tax identification number, and obtain required state and local licenses.

According to Huser, all businesses forming as an LLC, corporation, limited partnership or limited liability partnership are required to register with the California Secretary of State. Businesses operating as a sole proprietorship or general partnership may not required to register. California is also recognizing a new business entity type called a Cannabis Cooperative Association, which must also register with the Secretary of State.

In addition, Huser says that cannabis-related businesses require a state license from one of three state agencies: the Bureau of Cannabis Control, the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Program or the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch.

Those are the state licensing agencies, Huser says. Depending on where the businesses is based, it may also need one or more county or municipal licenses.

Huser further notes that cannabis sellers must obtain a state sellers permit, and that certain businesses will need to obtain a cannabis tax permit from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

The California Secretary of States office has published a PDF guide 10 Easy Steps to Start a Cannabis Related Business Entity in California, which is available here: http://bpd.cdn.sos.ca.gov/cannabizfile/10steps2.pdf.

Husers company SunDoc Filings helps companies register their business with the Secretary of State. For information on California incorporation, visit https://www.sundocumentfilings.com/form-file-california-corporation-online.

SunDoc Filings also helps companies determine what business licenses they need. For more information, visit https://www.sundocumentfilings.com/how-to-get-business-license.

About SunDoc Filings

SunDoc Filings is a nationwide provider of business filing services, including incorporation and LLC formation. Located in Sacramento, the company specializes in expedited services for California.

For more information, visit their web site at https://www.sundocumentfilings.com.
The law firm of Stahl, Bernal, Davies, Sewell & Chavarria is pleased to announce that Brittany May Dadon has joined the firm as an associate.

Brittany joined the firm in 2017. She practices in the firms Renewable Energy, Commercial Real Estate, and Natural Resources & the Environment practice groups.

Prior to joining the firm, Brittany worked at the Public Utility Commission of Texas where she became proficient in administrative procedure, settlement negotiations, and litigation. She represents clients throughout the country in multiple aspects and phases of both wind and solar project development, including drafting and negotiating land control agreements, guiding projects through permitting requirements, reviewing and curing title and survey issues, and assessing and providing the necessary documentation for the close of project debt and equity financing.

Brittany received a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law, where she was a member of the TEXAS INTERNATIONAL LAW JOURNAL and the Environmental Law Society. While in law school, she interned with Justice Lehrmann of the Texas Supreme Court and with Environmental Defense Funds Climate Change and Clean Energy Division. She is licensed to practice in Texas.

For more information, please see the firms website: http://www.sbaustinlaw.com or contact Brittany directly at (512) 652-2948 or bdadon(at)sbaustinlaw(dot)com.
Paul Stillmank, Founder and CEO 7Summits The strategic partnership between 7Summits and CloudCraze offers clients the opportunity to develop commerce-enabled, community-centered solutions completely on the Salesforce platform. - Paul Stilmank

7Summits, a leading online community solutions provider is proud to announce the new partnership with CloudCraze, a B2B commerce platform built natively on the Salesforce Platform.

The strategic partnership between 7Summits and CloudCraze offers clients the opportunity to develop commerce-enabled, community-centered solutions completely on the Salesforce platform, said Paul Stillmank, CEO and Founder, 7Summits. "With commerce-enabled community solutions, 7Summits can deliver streamlined, end-to-end solutions that capture the entire customer journey."

Most commerce solutions are tied to back-office process and ERP systems. Integration with modern platforms can be difficult, expensive and may not be very user-friendly. Leveraging both 7Summits community solutions and CloudCraze commerce technology, businesses can deliver an outstanding buying experience on Salesforce, the global leader in CRM. In doing so, businesses are able to increase online revenue while staying connected to customers. The platform is fully scalable, making it an excellent solution for companies positioned for growth.

"At 7Summits we are very selective about the partnerships we enter into. Formally partnering with CloudCraze was natural and easy not just because its a commerce solution native to Salesforce, but also because of the strong cultural similarities between our organizations, said David Blue, Senior Vice President, 7Summits. Our clients rely on us to develop strategies that solve tough business challenges within their organization and we believe delivering an outstanding user experience for their partners and customers sits at the center of that. CloudCraze shares that same mindset."

At CloudCraze, we put the customer at the core of a robust commerce experience, so we are pleased to partner with 7Summits, a leader in customer engagement and Salesforce Community Cloud development, notes Ray Grady, President and Chief Customer Officer. We believe that 2018 will be the year of B2B eCommerce in CPG and Manufacturing, and the CloudCraze and 7Summits partnership promises to bring value and growth in the year ahead.

If you are interested in improving your customers buying experience, schedule a demo to learn more about the 7Summits community solutions enhanced with the power of B2B Commerce from CloudCraze.

About CloudCraze

CloudCraze delivers robust B2B commerce native on Salesforce. It allows businesses to generate online revenue fast and easily scale for growth. Its Customer-First Commerce model puts the customer at the core, informing every interaction with data across commerce, sales, marketing, service and more. With the trusted Salesforce infrastructure and core capabilities, CloudCraze provides infinite flexibility to extend functionality, add products and channels, and conduct billions of dollars in transactions anywhere. CloudCraze powers Customer-First Commerce for industry leaders such as AB InBev, Coca-Cola, Ecolab, GE, Hallmark, Kelloggs, Land OLakes, LOreal, Symantec, and Tyco.

CloudCraze is funded by Insight Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures. CloudCraze is recognized as a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce 2017, and a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave: B2B Commerce Suites, Q1 2017 and The Forrester Wave: B2B Commerce Suites for Midsize Organizations, Q3 2017. CloudCraze is a Salesforce Platinum ISV Partner.

About 7Summits

7Summits Inc. is a leading online community solutions provider, guiding companies to engage their customers, partners and employees to grow their business and become more fully networked enterprises. 7Summits creates business solutions that deliver top line revenue growth and bottom-line productivity improvements. The company is a valued strategic partner of Fortune 500 companies and has received investment funding from both Sverica Capital Management and Salesforce Ventures. 7Summits is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with an extended presence in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Denver, Washington DC, California, Seattle, Michigan and Ohio. For more information, visit 7SummitsInc.com or follow the conversation on Twitter (@7SummitsInc).

7Summits is a registered trademark of 7Summits. Salesforce, Community Cloud and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. All other trademarks, registered trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.
Zebra Analytix puts microGC in the palm of ones hands with a vast range of applications in industry and academia.

VIC Technology Venture Development, LLC has announced that it has formed Zebra Analytix, Inc. The company was established to develop and commercialize miniature gas chromatography (GC) systems based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology exclusively licensed from Virginia Tech University. The patents-pending technology offers microfabricated chips capable of multi-channel separations. Advantages include vastly decreased instrument size, versatility, portability, and speed of results.

Company co-founder Masoud Agah, Ph.D., has been named Chief Technology Officer of Zebra Analytix. Dr. Agah is the Virginia Microelectronics Consortium (VMEC) Professor of Engineering in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. Upon joining Virginia Tech in 2005, he established its Microelectromechanical Systems Laboratory, the VT MEMS Lab, and has focused his research on environmental and biomedical applications of MEMS, receiving the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award in 2008 to support his research on micro gas chromatography. Dr. Agah has received numerous other awards and recognition for his research throughout his career, and is a core member of the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.

Gas chromatography is a technique used worldwide in analytical chemistry to separate and analyze volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are gases emitted from certain solids and liquids. GC is able to split chemical mixtures into their components and allows scientists to detect and identify VOCs in many substances including air, water, plant and animal tissues, and soil. GC is used in a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical industry, environmental monitoring, clinical chemistry, food processing, and petroleum distillation, among others. Many GC systems currently in use commercially are large, bulky, stationary, costly machines requiring that samples to be tested be brought to the machine.

The miniature gas chromatography platform being developed by Zebra Analytix, can be operated by non-experts to analyze volatile compounds within seconds. This Mini-GC system, with its potential applications for wearable and portable detection devices, has drawn attention from the fields of health care, environmental monitoring, industrial, petrochemical and automotive applications, building automation, and homeland security, especially driven by global government regulations for safety.

Gas chromatography is a multi-billion dollar global market with applications across numerous industries. Dr. Agahs research at Virginia Tech leads the way in realizing a true micro GC system that offers near real-time results in a high performance yet affordable instrument, said Calvin Goforth, interim CEO of Zebra Analytix. Zebra Analytix will have strong opportunities in both existing GC market segments and new high-impact applications such as point-of-care cancer screening through detection of volatile organic compounds in breath.

I am excited about the formation of Zebra Analytix to take our unique ideas and technologies from the lab to the market. Our MicroGC technology at Virginia Tech MEMS Lab has gone well beyond just miniaturizing GC, said Masoud Agah, Zebra Analytix Chief Technology Officer. Zebra Analytix puts microGC in the palm of ones hands with a vast range of applications in industry and academia. These microsystems, whether used as standalone sensors or as part of Internet of Things (IoT), will enable continuous analysis of volatile organic compounds and thereby provide unprecedented data about our health, food, space, environment, and working places.

About Zebra Analytix, Inc.

Zebra Analytix, Inc. was established in 2017 to develop and commercialize miniature GC systems based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based separation columns with built-in sensors and heating elements. The companys patents pending technology offers advantages in instrument size, performance, versatility, and speed of results. The technology also offers new capabilities such as multi-channel partial separations on a single MEMS chip for use as an electronic nose. Zebra Analytix micro GC technology opens up new market opportunities not presently served by other GC providers including real-time process control applications that take advantage of the exceptional speed of results. Zebra Analytix is a portfolio company of VIC Technology Venture Development.

About VIC Technology Venture Development, LLC

VIC Technology Venture Development, LLC is a technology venture development firm that creates innovative new companies with world changing science and engineering based technologies. VIC carefully selects and licenses technologies from universities and research institutions, then partners technology entrepreneurs with business experts, technology experts and seed stage investors. VIC provides its portfolio companies with senior management expertise, intimate knowledge of technology startups, and proven processes to execute business strategies. Its team members bring extensive experience across legal, financial, operations, marketing, capital acquisition, and technology management areas. VIC experts help their portfolio companies meet management and business planning goals by providing appropriate support at each stage in their development, only as it is needed. For more information, please visit https://www.victvd.com.
The MLS, a Southern California-based MLS system, constantly strives to provide members with superior MLS software and customer service. The results of its 2017 customer survey, which had 914 member respondents, reveal that the vast majority of The MLS members report overall satisfaction and feel the services meet their needs.

Overall satisfaction with The MLS remains at a high of 89%; the same percentage was reported in 2016, compared to a satisfaction rating of 83% in 2015.

The survey results also reveal that 89% of members rate the quality of The MLS products as excellent or good. Meanwhile, 95% of members would recommend The MLS to a colleague or friend, while 96% of members feel The MLS meets their needs.

These survey results reflect The MLSs commitment to providing our members with top-of-the-line customer service and all of the technical tools to maximize their businesss success, said Annie Ives, CEO of The MLS. With this years upcoming launch of the new MLS system VESTAPLUS, which was built on feedback and input from thousands of agents, were striving to further exceed expectations.

The MLS offers members comprehensive support with its Help Desk, hands-on trainings and mobile labs, online Webinars, YouTube channel and more. Plus, members can get maximum exposure through The MLS Broker Caravan magazine, as well as the free property Web sites and public listing syndication. In addition, REALTOR members get free access to free third-party tools such as MLSPush, Cloud CMA, Cloud Streams, 10K InfoSparks Market Trends, REALTORS Property Resource and more.

ABOUT THE MLS

The MLS services more than 16,000 real estate professionals in Southern California; it focuses on the greater Los Angeles area and Malibu, and it licenses its software to the Palm Springs Association of Realtors and the Imperial County Association of Realtors. The MLS is recognized as being at the forefront of technology with its wholly owned and operated MLS system. With one-on-one training, webinars, hands-on classes, a YouTube channel and a Help Desk, The MLS members have 24/7 support. The MLS produces its own in-house publication, The MLS Broker Caravan, a high-end magazine that is distributed weekly to 4,500 plus brokers/agents. TheMLS.com also provides a guest site for consumers looking to find their dream home and/or the real estate professional that can help them find it. For more information on The MLS, visit http://www.themls.com.
Cashier-less checkout is the next step to claim shopper share-of-wallet

GrocerKey (http://www.grocerkey.com), an omni-commerce software and operations leader, today announced the expansion of its omni-commerce platform to include mobile self-checkout. The new functionality expands the companys current mobile platform to allow shoppers to further leverage their smartphone, improving the shopping experience with scan and go functionality.

In the race to compete with Amazon, Walmart, and Krogers new Scan, Bag, and Go offer, GrocerKeys new mobile self-checkout functionality enables regional and independent grocers to offer their shoppers a frictionless in-store experience. Fully integrated to their end-to-end omni-commerce platform, GrocerKey shoppers can build lists, scan items to cart, and complete the transaction with app-based payment options.

With GrocerKeys white-labeled omni-commerce and mobile platform, grocers control the shopper and brand experience. GrocerKeys Mobile Self-Checkout solution presents pricing, promotion, and nutritional information with premium options that enable turn-by-turn navigation as they shop. Cart auditing is configurable, as are the options for bagging and lane designation for completing the in-store experience.

Smart phone technology is changing the way consumers shop across retail, and grocery is no exception," stated Jeremy Neren, CEO of GrocerKey. Cashier-less checkout is the next step to claim shopper share-of-wallet. This is a hot topic across the industry, which is why we are looking forward to demonstrating Mobile Self-Checkout at the NRF Big Show in New York City, January 14-16.

About GrocerKey Inc.

Founded in 2014 and based in Madison, Wisconsin, GrocerKey is a fast-growing software company that helps brick & mortar retailers adapt to the new digital and mobile world. The company offers a retailer-branded omni-commerce and mobile shopping solution for retailers of all sizes. Offered on a highly scalable software-as-a-service platform, GrocerKeys solution helps brick & mortar retailers become successful omni-commerce retailers. The GrocerKey solution includes an omni-commerce platform designed to integrate with a retailers existing merchandising, loyalty, and point-of-sale technologies. It also includes online and mobile shopping, store-based picking, and delivery management capabilities. For more information, please visit http://www.grocerkey.com.
We are confident the MoU with Yahsat will unlock a full range of new possibilities for the benefit of businesses and individuals, as well.

Yahsat, the UAE based satellite operator, announced today the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tanaza, the Italian Wi-Fi cloud management software provider. Under the terms of the MoU, Tanaza will provide Yahsat with a web platform to manage multiple users accessing Wi-Fi and social hotspots across the operators coverage footprint.

Since forming in 2010, Tanaza has built a client base of over 800 partners with millions of Wi-Fi users in more than 130 countries. Yahsat will take advantage of the Tanazas cloud-based software to allow Wi-Fi connections across geographies, with easy management and effortless user access. Commenting on the MoU, Farhad Khan, Yahsats Chief Commercial Officer, said: We have been looking for a partner that could tap into the elasticity of the cloud to help to make accessing our network leaner. Tanaza will provide us with the technology needed to further enhance our offering and fully align with the needs and preferences of our end-users across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe in addition to Central and South West Asia.

We look forward to working with Yahsat and their partners, declares Sebastiano Bertani, Tanaza CEO. We envision a world where any person can connect anytime, from anywhere, wirelessly. This partnership with Yahsat is an important step towards the realization of this vision. We are confident the MoU with Yahsat will unlock a full range of new possibilities for the benefit of businesses and individuals, as well.

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About Yahsat

Yahsat provides multipurpose satellite solutions (government and commercial) for broadband, broadcast, government, and communications use across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe in addition to Central and South West Asia. Based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company, the investment vehicle of the Government of Abu Dhabi, Yahsat is the first company in the Middle East and Africa to offer multi-purpose Ka-band satellite services including:



YahClick - offers broadband satellite solutions for home and business

YahService - offers managed solutions and government capacity

YahLink - offers IP trunking solutions, corporate networking and backhauling capacity

Yahlive  a joint venture between Yahsat and SES, offers premium services to broadcasters and a select choice of TV channels

Yahsats first satellite Al Yah 1 was successfully launched in April 2011, and the companys second satellite Al Yah 2 was successfully launched in April 2012. Yahsat announced its third satellite, Al Yah 3, planned for launch in January 2018, extending their commercial Ka-band coverage to an additional 20 markets reaching 60% of Africas population and over 95% of Brazils population, marking the companys first entry into Brazil.

For more information visit http://www.yahsat.ae

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About Tanaza:

Tanaza is the unique owner of a cloud-based solution designed to manage Wi-Fi networks of multi-vendor access points. Tanaza Cloud platform is a cost-effective and time-saving solution for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Managed Service Providers (MSPs).

The key features of Tanaza software are:



Simplicity: zero-touch deployment, easy configuration and remote monitoring of Wi-Fi access points from a single web interface

Scalability: no limits in the number of simultaneous connected clients, login pages, vouchers emitted

Freedom: supports a wide range of brands and models of devices, both indoor and outdoor, including TP-Link, D-Link, Netgear, Mikrotik, and Ubiquiti

With Tanaza comes also the hotspot management software, which includes:



Captive portal

Branded, fully customizable splash pages for users login

Social login (Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others) and social-actions-based authentication (Facebook Like and Facebook Check-in)

Dashboard for advanced analytics and detailed user information

Multi-role voucher-based authentication system for paid Wi-Fi deployments

Thousands of Tanaza Powered access points are already providing internet access to small and medium businesses, schools, colleges, hotels, hospitals, public venues, offices, shopping malls, shops and many other locations worldwide. The Tanaza partner program is open to ISPs and MSPs and helps them generate recurring revenue streams, save costs and reduce on-site maintenance.

For more information visit https://www.tanaza.com.
We see our customers continuous innovating and differentiating themselves in the market by offering equipment as a service. With the acquisition of HiGH Software, we help them in their digital transformation" says CEO of To-Increase, Cornelis Bosch

Today, To-Increase has entered into an agreement acquiring the Dutch company HiGH Software, a leading software company within state-of-the-art equipment management solutions. The acquisition of HiGH Software will augment the rich portfolio of To-Increase business applications for manufacturing and services industry focused on equipment rental and leasing.

Acquiring proven solutions, such as DynaRent and DynaLease, is a strategic move that enables To-Increase to drive further innovation with customers in the global manufacturing and services industry. With the acquisition, that includes HGH Business Consultancy, To-Increase strengthens its market leading position within the Microsoft Dynamics market and creates an even stronger footprint in the manufacturing and services industries.

We see our customers continuous innovating and differentiating themselves in the market by offering equipment as a service. With the acquisition of HiGH Software, we help them in their digital transformation and can offer our customers a comprehensive solutions portfolio to support the growth and innovation of their business, says CEO of To-Increase, Cornelis Bosch

HiGH Software, which employs 55 highly skilled employees, develops and delivers end-to-end solutions for rental, leasing, transport, and services to manufacturing and services companies based on the Microsoft Dynamics platform. Since it was founded in 2001, the company has shown significant results including their award-winning DynaRent solutions package which will benefit To-Increase in the continuous development of software that support the digital transformation of customers.

In 2001 we founded HGH and HiGH Software together with Ben Brouwer and Bert de Wild, and we are excited to be able to scale our business through To-Increase in order to enable more customers in their digital transformation. We bring decades of experience to further deliver on the To-Increase promise to their customers, says Arthur de Leeuw, Managing Director of HiGH Software.

Bert de Wild, Co-Founder of HiGH Software ads: Together with To-Increase, we can help our customers realize their digital transformation with Microsoft Dynamics 365. In joining forces with To-Increase, HGH and its employees can achieve their international reach aspirations.

The acquisition is with immediate effect.

About To-Increase

Founded in 2005, To-Increase provides business software solutions to over 2200 mid-market and enterprise customers in 45 countries. We deliver software, mobile solutions, and cloud apps that enable manufacturing, construction, retail and food companies to align technology with strategic goals, operate more efficiently and provide the best possible experience to their customers. Across devices, business locations, and work environments, To-Increase solutions help companies master their unique requirements with standardized technology that is easy and economical to deploy and maintain. To-Increase is the only three-time Microsoft Dynamics Global Outstanding ISV of the Year and offers an impressive library of industry, integration and business productivity solutions for Microsoft Dynamics.

About HGH and HIGH Software

Founded in 2001, HGH and HiGH Software are a certified Microsoft ISV and a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. We serve a broad range of equipment-driven industries that use Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. Our focus is on meeting the end-to-end needs for rental, lease, and services of these organizations and we do this while working closely with industry leaders and customers worldwide. Our teams combine software development expertise, multi-industry knowledge, and years of experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, Enterprise edition. Along with our award-winning DynaRent solution packages, our teams and partners provide companies with consulting and value-add services.
Throughout 2017, Howard had a major impact on our growth and innovation as an organization, and he has instilled a customer-first mentality into the organization."

WordStream, a leading provider of online advertising software and services, announced this week that it has promoted Howard Kogan, appointed President of the company in June of 2017, to the position of Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. The change will position WordStream to start off the new year with a bang, thanks to Kogans deep experience leading large and growing companies.

Concurrent with this change, Kogan will join WordStreams Board of Directors. Former CEO Ralph Folz will remain on the Board of Directors and move into the role of Executive Chairman, where his focus will increase on external relationships, partnerships, and growth by acquisition.

2017 was a big year for WordStream. The company landed on the Inc. 5000 for the fifth year in a row, posting an aggregate three-year growth rate of 165%, making it one of the fastest-growing Advertising & Marketing companies in Boston. It was included on the Boston Business Journals Top Places to Work list for the third year in a row and named one of the Boston Globes Top Places to Work for 2017. WordStream now has over 250 employees and is powering more than 10,000 advertisers and agencies globally.

In addition, WordStream made its first acquisition in 2017 (Algorithmic Ads, a software provider that helps businesses quickly generate effective display ads) and made a number of key product enhancements and announcements, including the launch of the Facebook Ads Grader to pair with the award-winning AdWords Performance Grader. The new free tool will help businesses quickly benchmark, analyze, and improve their Facebook advertising campaigns for better results.

Throughout 2017, Howard had a major impact on our growth and innovation as an organization, and he has instilled a customer-first mentality into the organization, said Folz. Were all thrilled to see where else he can take us in this expanded capacity.

At the helm, Kogan will continue to oversee WordStreams day-to-day operations and strategy with a focus on continued rapid growth through 2018.

About WordStream

WordStream Inc. provides software and services that help businesses of all sizes get the maximum results from their online advertising efforts. WordStream's easy-to-use software allows for more effective paid search and paid social campaigns with the 20-Minute Work Week, a customized workflow that guides marketers through steps that can greatly improve their AdWords, Bing, and Facebook campaigns. WordStream also offers an award-winning free PPC tool, the AdWords Performance Grader, which evaluates users' Google AdWords accounts and provides valuable tips for improvement. WordStream is a Google Premier Partner.
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School researchers examine referral priority waiting lists and finds that companies should use these programs only under limited circumstances.

People dont like waiting in line.

Some businesses shrewdly take advantage of this fact as they prepare to launch products or services, by offering an enhanced type of online waiting list to potential customers who want to be initial users. Known as a referral priority program, it lets early registrants move toward the front of the queue after they have gotten other people to sign up.

The practice is gaining acceptance among technology firms as a relatively simple tool for acquiring customers and boosting reputation. Examples of businesses with waiting lists that offer referral priority are the content-sharing platform LBRY and the investment app Robinhood. The emergence of a startup called Waitlisted.co, which helps firms build waiting lists, reflects the popularity of the practice. More than 99 percent of Waitlisted.co clients reportedly have used referral priority.

But a Johns Hopkins Carey Business School researcher who has examined the topic cautions in a forthcoming paper for Management Science that companies should use the program only under limited circumstances. As trendy and easy to implement as it may appear, it can backfire by drawing fewer referrals and far less positive buzz than firms might expect.

Its a clever, useful way for businesses to leverage customers own dislike of delays in order to attract more customers. Those already on the waiting list become, in effect, sales agents for the company. It can save money for firms, compared to using monetary incentives to bring in customers, which is a more common kind of referral program, says Assistant Professor Luyi Yang of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, lead author of the study.

However, Yang adds, firms have to be careful about using referral priority: We found in our study that when the size of a waiting list is very small, people on the list dont see much point in trying to move up the queue by getting other people to enroll. And if the list is very big, the people being referred may hesitate to sign up because of the congestion.

The sweet spot for a referral priority program, according to Yang, is when the product or service is sincerely valued by potential customers and the existing waiting list is intermediately small  large enough to make it worthwhile for people on the list to get others to sign up, but not so large that it discourages would-be registrants.

Prospective customers can learn about the size of a live list from information on the firms website or from comments by other users on online discussion boards.

If the chatter on the boards is negative, then the welfare of companies and customers alike suffers, defeating the purpose of the referral priority concept.

Another unintended problem occurs when a waiting list becomes cannibalized, Yang says. That is, organic customers  those who learn about an upcoming product or service on their own, without being referred to it  decide not to join a list because they see its filling up with referred registrants and has become dauntingly large. The result is that the list might end up attracting fewer people than it might have drawn without the referral priority program.

These types of hazards are what firms using or considering using referral priority should bear in mind: Instead of expanding the market, the program may actually dampen demand, says Yang, an operations management expert who earned his doctorate at the University of Chicago. He co-wrote the paper, titled Referral Priority Program: Leveraging Social Ties via Operational Incentives, with Associate Professor Laurens Debo of Dartmouth College.

The study, based on queueing theory and game theory, adds to the growing body of literature on referral reward programs by focusing not on the usual monetary incentives but rather on priority access as the bonus. A possible topic for further study, Yang says, is the impact of fraudulent referrals on a priority referral program.

###

The Johns Hopkins Carey Business School is the AACSB accredited business school of Johns Hopkins University. Established in 2007, the Carey Business School creates and shares knowledge that shapes business practices while educating business leaders who will grow economies and societies, and are exemplary citizens. With locations in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., the Carey Business School offers graduate degree programs for full-time, part-time, and online students. For more information, visit carey.jhu.edu.
Dr. Kevin Hogan welcomes new patients with missing teeth in North Charleston, SC, for long-term dental implant solutions, with or without a referral. Dr. Hogan places dental implants at his practice in Mt. Pleasant, SC, with advanced 3D imaging technology to improve accuracy and offers many dental implant solutions for patients with single, multiple, or full arches of missing teeth.

A single missing tooth can cause noticeable changes to the appearance of the smile and function of the mouth. If multiple teeth or a full arch of teeth are missing, these changes become more serious. The loss of a tooth means the loss of healthy stimulation to the jaw bone, resulting in an immediate and continuous resorption of bone. Without teeth, eating a variety of foods becomes difficult and nutritional health may decline. If multiple or a full arch of teeth are missing, it begins to show in the face, as the loss of jaw bone can create a more sunken-in appearance. Many of these negative effects of tooth loss can be reversed or improved, however, with the help of dental implants.

Dental implants are todays modern solution to tooth loss, helping to mimic the function and appearance of natural teeth. During dental implant surgery, a titanium post is screwed into the jaw bone to mimic the natural stimulation of a tooth root. Dr. Hogan uses advanced imaging technology to improve implant treatment planning and the accuracy and precision in which the implants are placed during surgery. This greatly increases the likelihood that the dental implants will remain functional long-term. Dr. Hogan also provides beautiful dental crown restorations for patients who receive dental implants.

Dr. Hogan offers many tooth replacement solutions with dental implants. For patients with single missing teeth, a dental implant can restore both the aesthetics and function, while providing the necessary stimulation to the jaw bone. Dr. Hogan also offers the All-on-4 protocol for patients who have multiple or a full arch of missing teeth and may be suffering from significant jaw bone loss. All-on-4 couples the health benefits of dental implants with the life-like aesthetics of dentures for a beautiful and functional new smile. Patients who qualify for All-on-4, but may need one or more teeth removed first, can also receive gentle tooth extractions from Dr. Hogan.

Patients with missing teeth in North Charleston, SC, interested in dental implants can make an appointment with Dr. Hogan, now with or without a referral. New patients can schedule a consultation by calling 843-216-0908 or visiting http://www.smilesbyhogan.com.

About the Doctor

Dr. Kevin Hogan is a general dentist providing individualized care for patients in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Dr. Hogan is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Dentistry and has completed hundreds of hours of continuing education courses to stay contemporary with the latest dental technologies. In addition, he has also completed coursework with the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation and has lectured at the University of North Carolina, Emory University, the Saginaw Valley University and AUA-American University of Antigua on head and neck anatomy and oral pathology. Dr. Hogan is a member of the American Dental Association, International College of Cranio-Mandibular Orthopedics, Academy of Laser Dentistry, International Association of Physiologic Aesthetics, Institute for Advanced Laser Dentistry, DOCS (the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation), International Congress of Oral Implantologists and the South Carolina Dental Association. He is also a past member of the American Straight Wire Orthodontic Association, Maxillofacial Orthopedic Growth and Development, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the Functional Orthodontic Society. He and his team are dedicated to providing exceptional oral care to patients through personalized treatment plans. To learn more about the services offered by Dr. Hogan, please visit his website at http://www.smilesbyhogan.com or call 843-216-0908.
InVista provides best-in-class acoustics without sacrificing natural light. With the launch of InVista, architects, general contractors, owners and operators get the best of both worlds: great acoustics AND excellent clear viewwithout any floor tracks. InVista is the affordable and beautiful way to manage and brighten interior space for any application.

Hufcor, a global leader in flexible space management and operable partitions, announces the North American launch of the InVista Acoustical Glasswall system.

InVista is an attractive low profile framed operable glass wall for interior applications featuring no floor tracks, clean lines, best-in-class acoustics and excellent clear view. One of the biggest challenges with commercial buildings is allowing daylight from exterior windows to flow into other spaces. With panels up to 4 wide and its slim frame, InVista allows natural light to be seen and utilized in more areas than ever before, while still maintaining a separation of space. Aluminum construction and  glass found in InVista makes for easy-to-operate panels that are as durable as they are beautiful. InVista also features best-in-class system-tested acoustics with sound transmission class (STC) performance up to 38 STC.

InVista comes in an attractive and easy to maintain clear anodized finish with other aluminum anodized finishes available in 2018. Options abound for InVista with 6 different glass types and 3 different door handles in multiple lengths and finishes. Also new to the InVista line are an easier to use waist-high activated edge pin system and new floor pin and locking system. InVista can be installed in more uneven floor applications than typical glasswalls. Also, the new Omni interlocking panel design means fewer floor pins making for easier installation and reduced installation cost. Meanwhile, paired panels feature a new carrier that allows for the tightest panel stack yet.

InVista can be installed anywhere an interior glass wall system is desired. For installations with inadequate overhead support, InVista can be installed in conjunction with Hufcors Unispan support system.

With the launch of InVista, architects, general contractors, owners and operators get the best of both worlds: great acoustics AND excellent clear viewwithout any floor tracks. InVista is the affordable and beautiful way to manage and brighten interior space for any application. To learn more about InVista go to http://www.hufcor.com/invista

About Hufcor

At Hufcor, we exist to shape the experience that people have within a built environment  were in the business of space management. Offering the widest range of glass, operable, vertical lift and accordion partitions, our products shape space by providing flexible sight and sound separation, and enable our customers to control the atmosphere and experience of their space. Shaping your experience isnt just about what we do, but how we approach business. Committed to advancing whats possible in space management, we are consultants that have more, do more, and deliver more for our customers. Every day we work with architects, contractors, and building owners across markets to help them maximize the utilization of their space to realize whats possible. We shape our customers experience through the breadth and quality of our expertise, capabilities and products along with our inherent drive to solve problems. This uniquely positions Hufcor to reliably deliver exactly whats needed. To learn more about Hufcor, please visit hufcor.com
Lineup Systems Logo North American publishers can leverage a media sales solution like Adpoint to help them quickly consolidate and centralize their sales, operations and finance business functions across print, events, broadcast and especially digital. - Michael Mendoza, CEO of Lineup Systems

Lineup Systems completed 2017 as the leading media sales technology provider, with seven consecutive years of aggressive growth, over 100 employees and more than 200 new publications moving to Adpoint, its cloud-based, multi-channel advertising sales solution. Most recently, Bonnier Publishing, Paddock Publications and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette joined the Lineup Systems client roster.

This year, Lineup Systems will expand its product offerings and double its operations in the U.S. and Canada. Lineup Systems newly appointed Executive Vice President of North America, Markus Feldenkirchen, will help guide the companys North American expansion as it prepares for continued success in 2018.

Lineup Systems expansion plans are supported by the companys strong financial position. In 2017, Lineup celebrated its fifth consecutive year of profitability, year-over-year revenue growth and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 35 percent over five years. The companys steady growth is attributed to Adpoint, which currently supports 1,600 major publishing brands, including Gannett, Newscorp, Torstar Corp. and Time Inc.

In North America, we have seen the consolidation of regional publications into large groups that require innovative platforms and partners that can assist with their centralization strategies, said Michael Mendoza, CEO of Lineup Systems. North American publishers can leverage a media sales solution like Adpoint to help them quickly consolidate and centralize their sales, operations and finance business functions across print, events, broadcast and especially digital.

Nancy Lane, president of the Local Media Association, which works with several thousand local media brands and hundreds of research and development partners, agrees. The organization recently interviewed dozens of media executives and found that sales transformation, specifically hiring digital sales talent, user experience and data insights will be priorities for media companies this year  all areas supported by Lineup Systems Adpoint solution.

We are encouraged by the amount of investment being made in these areas, Lane said. We believe the North American market is primed for solutions that help publishers more easily and effectively manage their clients, and deliver more informed customer support.

Lineups global track record of success is a testament to the companys proven ability to balance the needs of large media groups and mid-sized regional publishers, enabling both to optimize business performance and maximize revenue opportunities with Adpoint.

As the company heads into 2018, Lineup Systems will continue to focus its R&D efforts on meeting customer needs. The company recently rolled out Adpoint Go, a mobile app that further empowers and mobilizes media sales teams. Lineup Systems also delivered more self-service functionality and workflow enhancements that enable greater cost savings and efficiency improvements for its media customers. Additionally, Lineup Systems is well positioned to support publishers as they transition from Googles digital order management system, DSM (DoubleClick Sales Manager), before support ends in July 2019. Adpoints proven integration with Google DFP is already used by News UK, News Australia, Amedia and others.

For more information about Adpoint, visit http://lineup.com/solution/overview.

About Lineup Systems

Lineup Systems provides the worlds #1 media sales solution, Adpoint, that empowers media businesses to maximize revenue opportunities and optimize business performance. The cloud-based, multi-channel solution supports 1,600 media brands across print, digital, events and broadcast in 33 countries, setting the industry standard in media sales management. Founded in 2009, with North American headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado, Lineup Systems is the preferred technology partner of leading media companies, including Gannett, Time Inc., Bonnier Corporation, Paddock Publications, Toronto Star, Metro and the Telegraph Media Group. For more information, visit http://www.lineup.com.
Scandit, the leading developer of next-generation mobile data capture solutions based on computer vision, augmented reality and machine learning technologies, is partnering with Mercaux to transform the brick-and-mortar customer shopping experience with leading-edge in-store digital capabilities.

The Mercaux mobile platform enables retailers to provide a digital in-store experience; delivering the speed, convenience, and personalization of online into the hands of sales people and customers.

Scandits mobile data capture engine delivers barcode scanning functionality that, together with the Mercaux platform, allows store associates to offer customers real-time product information, endless aisle inventory access, personalized recommendations and offers, and the ability to both purchase goods online or in-store. The importance of this transformation is highlighted in a recent VDC Research study that suggests personalized customer engagement is a leading critical factor impacting retail business.

Recent data underscored the need for retailers to implement in-store technology that enables omnichannel capabilities. The 2018 Scandit Retail Consumer Survey indicates almost 60% of consumers consider having a large product selection as a top-three factor in choosing a brick-and-mortar retailer, while four in 10 report that when a product is out of stock they purchase it at a competing retailers store or website.

Mercaux and Scandit are announcing the partnership as retailers prepare to attend the annual NRF Big Show Conference & Exposition in New York, Jan. 14-16, 2018. Scandit will be exhibiting at booth #561 and Mercaux will be exhibiting at booth #438.

Olga Kotsur, Co-founder and CEO of Mercaux, said:

Ease of use and data accuracy are key factors adopting in-store technology.

"Integrating Scandits mobile barcode technology as a module in our platform allows us to ensure that inventory check and product search in store are both seamless, and will be used across devices for quick and highly accurate scanning.

With real time stock availability, product suggestions, inspiring digital content, and access to inventory in-store, across stores and online, Mercaux enables retailers to transform the shopping experience to meet the needs of modern customers.

Samuel Mueller, co-founder and CEO of Scandit, commented on the partnership:

Our technology is perfectly positioned for widespread use in the retail industry, which is already built around the barcode as the primary source of product information. Integrating Scandits mobile data capture capabilities into the Mercaux mobile retail platform will enable retailers to successfully compete with online giants entering the physical retail market space.

Customers are coming to stores expecting the same product availability and accessibility they receive online. Store associates will be able to connect shoppers with the goods they desire by simply scanning a barcode.

About Mercaux:

Mercaux enables retailers to transform the customer shopping experience by bringing the benefits of digital into physical stores, delivering the speed, convenience, and personalization of online into the hands of sales people and customers.

Mercaux provides sales people and customers with full access to inventory (online and off), product catalogue, recommendations and alternatives, styling, looks and marketing content. Our Platform is fully transactional and able to capture customer data in-store.

Trusted by the companies like French Connection, KIKO Milano, L.K. Bennett and United Colours of Benetton, Mercaux brings sales uplift of up to 14%, increases customer engagement and streamlines retail operations. For more information visit http://www.mercaux.com

About Scandit

At Scandit, we are helping business users and consumers to augment the physical world with relevant digital information in real time through barcodes, images and other visual identifiers captured with smart devices such as smartphones, wearables, drones, and robots.

With our next-generation mobile data capture platform built on proprietary computer vision, machine learning and augmented reality, we enable businesses to unlock previously unavailable levels of insights into enterprise processes and workflows, resulting in more efficient decisions, more effective employees, lower cost and more satisfied customers and clients.

Dont just take our word for it. Many of the worlds most innovative and successful companies are already reaping the benefits of Scandits next-generation mobile data capture platform. Our clients include Ahold, dm, Coop, Macys, Louis Vuitton, DHL, Cardinal Health, NASA and Verizon Wireless.

For more information about Scandit visit http://www.scandit.com. For more information about how Scandits mobile data capture platform enables retailers to redefine and reinvent the retail experience visit https://www.scandit.com/industries/retail/.
We are extremely excited about the opportunity to work with Millenium and expand our services into Pennsylvania and Delaware. Millenium is a high-quality home health provider focused on delivering best in class patient care and is led by a very experienced and accomplished team.

Five Points Healthcare announced that it has merged with Millenium Home Health Care effective January 1, 2018. Millenium is a Medicare-certified home health provider based in Broomall, PA with additional locations in West Pittston, PA and Milford, DE. Millenium serves the greater Philadelphia market, northeast Pennsylvania and the state of Delaware.

The combined company will operate under Five Points Healthcare, LLC. Anthony Angelo, President and CEO of Millenium, will assume the role of President, Millenium Home Health and Rob Radics will remain the CEO of Five Points Healthcare.

Commenting on the transaction, Rob Radics stated, We are extremely excited about the opportunity to work with Millenium and expand our services into Pennsylvania and Delaware. Millenium is a high-quality home health provider focused on delivering best in class patient care and is led by a very experienced and accomplished team. Anthony has done an outstanding job leading Millenium over the past eight years and I look forward to working alongside him as we build the premier home health and hospice company in the country.

Tom Greer, Partner with Fulcrum Equity Partners, added, This strategic merger expands the Five Points platform into the mid-Atlantic region and complements our existing southeastern presence. Rob and his team have also added additional management talent with this merger that will position the Company for significant future growth.

Anthony Angelo further added, Millenium Home Health is excited and proud to be a part of the Five Points family of providers. This is a great opportunity that will accelerate our clinical excellence and position us to offer even greater value to our patients and trusted partners within our communities.

About Five Points Healthcare, LLC

Five Points Healthcare is based in Atlanta, Georgia and has home health operations in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia along with hospice services in Tennessee. Five Points was founded in 2011 by an experienced leadership team with a vision to build a leading regional home health and hospice provider by focusing on its five key stakeholders - patients, employees, physicians, providers and communities. For more information about Five Points please visit http://www.fivepointshc.com.

About Millenium Home Health Care

For 24 years Millenium Home Health Care has provided Medicare home health services to thousands of patients in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Northeastern Pennsylvania and the entire state of Delaware. The clinical professionals are proud of their caring, compliant and quality home health care. Millenium Home Health Care and its companies have been privileged to achieve the honor of recognition by HomeCare Elite. Millenium has demonstrated clinical excellence when compared with other providers throughout the nation. They also continue to surpass industry standards for clinical excellence in Home Health Compare, as monitored and measured U.S. government. For more information about Millenium please visit http://www.mhomehealth.com.

About Fulcrum Equity Partners

Fulcrum Equity Partners is an Atlanta-based growth equity firm focused on providing expansion capital to rapidly growing companies. Fulcrum targets companies that are initially looking to raise $5 million - $20 million and will consider $3 million - $4 million initial investments in companies that expect to raise additional capital over time. Fulcrum provides financing to meet a wide range of needs including internal growth initiatives, acquisitions, divestures, shareholder liquidity and recapitalizations. The partners have over 130 years of relevant experience, including operations, venture capital, mezzanine financing, accounting, law, investment banking and strategy consulting. To learn more, please visit http://www.fulcrumep.com.
Already a global leader in identity and background screening technology, InfoMart now leads the field in gender identity inclusion.

In a move that signals their continued effort to pioneer the optimal candidate experience, InfoMart announced today the expansion of their ASAP Connect platform to include gender non-binary identifiers. Already a global leader in identity and background screening technology, InfoMart now leads the field in gender identity inclusion. Candidates will select from traditional binary options male or female, indicate gender non-binary, or simply choose other and self-identify as they see fit.

As a woman-owned firm, diversity and inclusion are two vital components to the award-winning InfoMart employee culture. "At InfoMart, 'respect' is the number one rule of the house, especially when it comes to honoring what makes each of us unique," explains InfoMart Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Tammy Cohen. "It is only fitting that we live our culture outside our walls, and offer an applicant experience specifically designed to truly be inclusive of all applicants."

While InfoMart continues to push their own applications forward, they recognize the effort required to mirror this change where the screening data resides, and are committed to putting in the work alongside their data partners. Courthouses, state departments of motor vehicles, and other government agencies that provide screening results continue to limit options to male/female, though both California and Oregon have adopted measures to provide for a third option. Expanding gender identifiers to at least a third option reflects InfoMart's global customer base, as non-binary identifiers have become legal commonplace in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, and Nepal, among others.

2017 saw InfoMart invest heavily in the deployment of innovative mobile onboarding technology married with biometric identity verification processes. This focus on the experience of each applicant and how it relates to their impression of the hiring process resonates with the company's customers. "InfoMart's screening tools are often an employer's first touchpoint with a candidate," noted Chief Strategy Officer, Erica Clausen-Lee. "Employers looking to attract the best talent want their candidate pool to feel comfortable from the onset. This very simple - yet impactful - change reflects InfoMart's values and meets candidates right where they are."

About InfoMart

InfoMart has been revolutionizing the global identity and background screening industry for almost three decades, providing businesses the information they need to make informed hiring decisions. They develop innovative technology that modernizes talent onboarding, including a first-to-market biometric identity authentication application and a verified sanctions search. The WBENC-certified company is a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, and they have achieved NAPBS accreditation in recognition of their consistent business practices and commitment to compliance with the FCRA. The company is dedicated to customer service, speed, and accuracy, and it has been recognized for its success, workplace culture, and corporate citizenship with over 40 industry awards. To Get the Whole Story on InfoMart, please visit http://www.infomart-usa.com, follow @InfoMartUSA, or call (770) 984-2727.

For additional information, please contact:

Erica Clausen-Lee

InfoMart

(770) 984-2727 ext 1267

media(at)infomart-usa(dot)com

Media Contact

Media Frenzy Global on behalf of InfoMart

Nikkia Adolphe

(786) 269-5040

nikkia(at)mediafrenzyglobal(dot)com
Kyndi, the leading Explainable artificial intelligence company that was recently named to the AI 100 for 2018, today announced that it has hired Amandeep Dhillon, a 25-year veteran technology and sales executive in the Federal Government sector, to head the companys US Government business. As Vice President of Kyndi Federal, Dhillon leads Kyndis newly established unit whose mission is to enable US Government entities to transform their knowledge and business processes by offering explainable, auditable AI systems.

Founded in 2014, Kyndi is building the first Explainable AI platform for government, financial services, and healthcare. Kyndis novel approach to AI unifies probabilistic and logical methods, allowing organizations to analyze massive amounts of data to create actionable knowledge significantly faster and without having to sacrifice explainability. Kyndi s Explainable AI Platform supports critical solutions for Intelligence, Defense, Compliance, and Research.

We are thrilled to have Amandeep join our team to lead Kyndis growing Federal business, said Ryan Welsh, Founder and CEO of Kyndi. Kyndis first and largest customers have been in the US Government sector, and we see enormous growth potential for Kyndi Federal. For the US Government, being able to explain and justify the reasoning behind AI conclusions and results is increasingly non-negotiable. Kyndi is leading the way in building the most advanced AI products that meet this vital need for explainability and auditability.

I am very excited to join Kyndi and help the company expand its Federal business, said Dhillon. I have worked many years in technology and believe Kyndis Explainable AI products are a game-changer. AIs black box problem is one of the biggest barriers to increased adoption, especially for US Government technology customers. Kyndis proven Explainable AI platform is now exploding that old paradigm by enabling Federal technology users to generate actionable insights faster, with auditability.

Before joining Kyndi, Dhillon was Vice President of Federal Government Solutions at Code42, a security solutions company. Before that, he held senior sales and marketing positions at technology companies and Federal systems integrators that serve the US government, with a focus on Defense and Intelligence. Dhillon holds a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from George Mason University, and a Masters Degree in Technical Management from The Johns Hopkins University.

About Kyndi

Kyndi is an artificial intelligence company thats building the first Explainable AI platform for government, financial services, and healthcare. We transform business processes by offering auditable AI systems. Our product exists because critical organizations cannot use black box machine learning when they are required to explain the reason for any decision. Kyndi recently was named to the prestigious AI 100 for 2018. Sponsored by CB Insights, the AI 100 includes the most promising 100 private companies working on groundbreaking artificial intelligence technology. Based in Silicon Valley, Kyndi is backed by leading venture investors. For more information, visit http://www.kyndi.com.

Contact:

Patrick Di Chiro

Patrick(at)thunderfactory(dot)com

650-245-7310
Patrick Kelly, CFA We believe investors have greater long-term reward potential by investing in the Fund given its high-conviction nature.

Fred Alger Management, Inc. (Alger) is pleased to announce the Alger Capital Appreciation Focus Fund (the Fund) achieved its five-year performance record at the end of 2017. The Fund is a focused portfolio of about 50 high-conviction, large capitalization stocks managed by Patrick Kelly, CFA, and Dr. Ankur Crawford.

This is a focused, best ideas version of our Capital Appreciation strategy, which enables us to invest in fewer and larger positions of our highest-conviction ideas, said Mr. Kelly. The Fund enables us to utilize the in-depth research from our analyst team to its full potential. We believe investors have greater long-term reward potential by investing in the Fund given its high-conviction nature.

The Funds Z shares have outperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index and the Morningstar Large Growth Category Average from inception five years ago through 12/31/17. The Fund also outperformed its benchmark in 2017 by nearly 400 basis points and the category average by more than 600 basis points. The Fund returned 34.10% on a 1-year basis, 13.41% on a 3-year basis, and 17.82% on a five-year basis as of the end of 2017.

Additionally, the Funds returns ranked in the top quintile in the category over the past 1, 3, and 5 years (186 out of 1,363 funds for 1-year; 194 out of 1,216 funds for 3-years; and 94 out of 1,109 funds for 5-years; based on total returns as of 12/31/17).

At Alger, we believe it is important for investors to align themselves with active managers that employ proven investment philosophies and processes, said Dan Chung, CEO and CIO of Alger. The in-depth proprietary research developed by our investment team enables the Funds managers to have confidence when constructing a portfolio with fewer holdings. This has been evident in the results across all of our focus strategies.

Over the past five years, Alger has expanded its suite of focused portfolios. Alger affiliate Weatherbie Capital manages the Alger SMid Cap Focus Fund, a high-conviction, focused portfolio of smaller capitalization growth equities. Additionally, in April 2018, Amy Zhang, CFA, will mark her third year as portfolio manager for the Alger Small Cap Focus Fund.

We continue to witness significant interest in focused best ideas strategies. Investors are looking for investment opportunities that are meaningfully differentiated from both passive index strategies and other actively managed funds, said Jim Tambone, Chief Distribution Officer. We are fortunate to have been entrusted with nearly $2 billion of client assets within our focus strategies.

New, Lower Fee Structure

On January 1, 2018, Alger lowered the management fee of the Fund from 55 basis points to 52 basis points. In addition, the Funds voluntary total expense ratio for the Class Z share has been lowered from 95 basis points to 68 basis points.

The combination of the Fund achieving its five-year record, its strong relative performance, and an even more attractive total expense ratio makes this Fund a compelling large cap option for investors, said Tambone.

About Patrick Kelly, CFA

Mr. Kelly, an 18-year veteran of the firm, began his career at Alger as a Research Associate and completed Algers in-house analyst training program. In September of 2001 Patrick was promoted to Senior Analyst, responsible for the Technology sector. Patrick was named portfolio manager of the Alger Capital Appreciation and Alger Spectra strategies in September 2004, and was named as head of the strategies in 2015.

About Dr. Ankur Crawford

Dr. Crawford joined Alger in 2004 and completed the Firms in-house training program. Dr. Crawford was named portfolio manager of the Alger Mid Cap Growth strategy in 2010 and named portfolio manager on the Capital Appreciation Focus strategy in 2015. Additionally, she was Head of the Technology sector team from January 2013  April 2016. Dr. Crawford is also portfolio manager of the Alger Capital Appreciation, Alger Spectra, and Alger 25 strategies.

About Alger

Founded in 1964, Alger is widely recognized as a pioneer of growth-style investment management. Headquartered in New York City with affiliate offices in Boston and London, Alger provides U.S. and non-U.S. institutional investors and financial advisors access to a suite of growth equity separate accounts, mutual funds, and privately offered investment vehicles. The firms investment philosophy, discovering companies undergoing Positive Dynamic Change, has been in place for over 50 years. In March 2017, Weatherbie Capital, LLC, a Boston-based investment adviser specializing in small and mid cap growth equity investing, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alger. For more information, please visit http://www.alger.com.

The performance data quoted represents past performance, which is not an indication or a guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investors shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. For performance current to the most recent month end, visit http://www.alger.com or call 800.992.3863.

Morningstar percentile rankings are based on the total return percentile rank that includes reinvested dividends and capital gains (excluding sales charge) within each Morningstar Category. The highest (or most favorable) percentile rank is 1 and the lowest (or least favorable) percentile rank is 100. If sales charges were included, performance would be lower and the rank may be lower. Rankings and ratings may be based in part on the performance of a predecessor fund or share class and are calculated by Morningstar using a performance calculation methodology that differs from that used by Fred Alger Management, Inc.s. Differences in the methodologies may lead to variances in calculating total performance returns, in some cases this variance may be significant, thereby potentially affecting the rating/ranking of the Fund(s). When an expense waiver is in effect, it may have a material effect on the total return or yield, and therefore the ranking for the period.

Fred Alger Management, Inc. has contractually agreed to reimburse Fund expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage, and extraordinary expenses) through August 29, 2018 to the extent necessary to limit the total annual Fund operating expenses of the Class Z to 0.68%, of the class average daily net assets. This expense reimbursement cannot be terminated. Fred Alger Management, Inc. may recoup reimbursed expenses during the one-year term of the expense reimbursement contract if the expense ratio falls below the stated limitation at the time of the reimbursement. Please see the prospectus for more details on contractual waivers.

Before investing, carefully consider the Funds investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. For a prospectus or summary prospectus containing this and other information about the Fund, call (800) 992-3863, visit http://www.alger.com, or consult your financial advisor. Read it carefully before investing.

Distributor: Fred Alger & Company, Incorporated. Member NYSE Euronext, SIPC.

NOT FDIC INSURED. NOT BANK GUARANTEED MAY LOSE VALUE.
The Butler family joined Ideal Credit Union 36 years ago in 1982. Their total VIP+ payout since 2013 is now over $2,450. Our staff works with members throughout the year to help them identify opportunities to grow their relationship with us and ultimately increase their payout. Because of our amazing Ideal team, we have increased our VIP+ members by 17% since 2012! - Ideal CU President/CEO Brian Sherrick

Ideal Credit Union has returned 10% of its 2017 earnings to members through its exclusive VIP Program, rewarding 4,406 VIP+ members with cash dividends between $50 and $600, which were automatically deposited into members savings accounts in January 2018. A total payout of $532,150 was returned to Ideal CU members as a result of the VIP Program. Ideal CU has paid out over $3.1 million to VIP members since the programs inception. Ideal is the only credit union in Minnesota offering this type of rewards program, believed to be the first of its kind in the state.

The VIP program is designed to encourage members to bring all of their accounts to Ideal and when they do, we reward their loyalty by paying an annual VIP dividend, said Brian Sherrick, Ideal CU President/CEO. Our staff works with members throughout the year to help them identify opportunities to grow their relationship with us and ultimately increase their payout. Because of our amazing Ideal team, we have increased our VIP+ members by 17% since 2012!

To qualify, members must have a savings account, an active personal checking account and conduct a minimum of 144 checking transactions throughout the year via debit and credit card, checks, ATM and ACH transactions. Some members received a Deposit Bonus Dividend based on their average deposit balances throughout the year, while others earned a Loan Rebate Dividend, calculated on the amount of interest paid in 2017. Many members were eligible for more than one reward based on qualifying relationships. The highest amount paid to a member was $600.

Founded in 1926, Ideal Credit Union is a member owned financial institution that specializes in providing excellent member service, great rates and convenience to over 52,000 members. Ideal CU offers a complete range of services, including a full suite of electronic banking products, savings, checking, loans, mortgage products and title services, exclusive VIP member payback, business services, investment services and more. Offices are located in Eagan, Hugo, Inver Grove Heights, North St. Paul, Stillwater and Woodbury. Visit idealcu.com for details and directions.
X-Rite, the leading brand of color management solutions for the photography and video markets, today announces an exclusive offer in partnership with Serif, creators of Affinity Photo. Consumers purchasing select X-Rite products will receive a free software download for macOS or Windows worth $49.99 between January 8th and March 31st, 2018.

i1Display Pro

The X-Rite i1Display Pro is the ultimate choice for photographers, filmmakers and designers who are looking for the highest level of on-screen accuracy for all displays. The i1Display offers power users Advanced user-defined settings and in-depth quality assurance tools for precise color control, as well as predefined Basic settings to provide them with the perfect balance of speed and options to suit their individual workflow and changing needs.

i1Photographer Kit

The i1 Photographer Kit is a convenient kit of two essential color tools, i1Display Pro and ColorChecker Passport Photo, combined to achieve fast, efficient color accuracy and control for any photo production.

ColorChecker Passport Photo

The X-Rite ColorChecker pocket-size targets are reference standards that professional photographers use to ensure predictable results in all lighting conditions. Not only does the ColorChecker Passport Photo speed up workflows, but it also saves time in editing.

ColorMunki Display

X-Rites ColorMunki Display solution is ideal for color perfectionists who need an easy calibrated and profiled workflow, with minimal frustration. It ensures that displays are calibrated to produce accurate color results, reducing guesswork and allowing the user more time to focus on creativity.

ColorMunki Photographer Kit

The X-Rite ColorMunki Photographer Kit is a convenient kit of two essential color tools  the ColorMunki Display and ColorChecker Passport Photo. These two products can be combined to achieve easy color accuracy and control for any photo production.

Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo redefines the boundaries for professional photo editing software. With a huge toolset specifically engineered for creative and photography professionals, whether you are editing and retouching images, or creating full-blown multi-layered compositions, it has all the power and performance you will ever need. Affinity Photo was chosen by Apple as 2015 App of the Year and received the Editors Choice Award.

To claim a free license of Affinity Photo, just follow these simple steps:



Go to https://www.calibratecolor.com/affinity-promo

Fill in required info and upload a proof of purchase

Once verified, an email will be sent with a download code

Redeem your code at http://www.affinity.store/redeem and download Affinity Photo for free.

Once downloaded, Affinity Photo will be free to use with no subscription charges. The purchased X-Rite product must display the promotional box sticker and customers will have 45 days from their purchase date to submit a download request. This offer is available in the U.S. and Canada between January 8th and March 31st 2018.

For more information, please contact Brenda Hipsher at brendah@macgroupus.com

About X-Rite:

X-Rite Incorporated with its wholly owned subsidiary Pantone LLC is the global leader in color science and technology. The company develops, manufactures, markets and supports innovative color solutions through measurement systems, software, color standards and services. X-Rite's expertise in inspiring, selecting, measuring, formulating, communicating and matching color helps users get color right the first time and every time, which translates to better quality and reduced costs. X-Rite serves a range of industries, including printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles, dental and medical. For further information, please visit http://www.xrite.com or http://www.xritephoto.com

About Mac Group:

MAC Group is a sales, marketing and distribution company dedicated to supplying photographers, videographers, educators and students with the world's finest image-making tools, education and inspiration. For more information on the MAC Group, please visit: http://www.MACgroupUS.com
The launch of this event series underscores our commitment to providing access for our students and young professionals in general to the leading minds in the field. We look forward to many successful events in 2018.

The Fordham Real Estate Institute at Lincoln Center is pleased to announce the launch of a breakfast event series that will bring together industry leaders throughout the year to discuss the emerging trends making the biggest impact on the real estate world.

The series will kick-off on January 24 with a panel co-hosted by the Real Estate Services Alliance (RESA), Tax Reforms Impact on the Real Estate Market. Keynote presenter Richard Shapiro, Director at Eisner Amper, will demystify the new tax bill, reviewing the changes that individuals and businesses will face starting this year. From there, a panel of market leaders will discuss the impact on both the residential and commercial real estate markets and share insights on what to expect in 2018. The panel will feature:



James Nelson, Vice Chairman at Cushman Wakefield (moderator)

Brad Klatt, Co-founder, Roseland Property Company, Canoe Brook Partners

Jimmy Hinton, Managing Director of Research, HFF

Jonathan Miller, CEO, Miller Samuel Inc.

Mike Stattery, SVP Research, Real Estate Board of New York

The second event of the series is scheduled for February 13, when Michael Stoler, real estate expert, co-chair of the Fordham University Real Estate Institute Industry Outreach Committee and adjunct faculty member, hosts, Transit-Oriented Developments: NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester  Developer, Lender, Planner Perspective. Stoler hosted the Real Estate Institutes first ever event last March, where he lead a panel of 11 industry leaders who discussed residential real estate trends and forecasts to a standing-room only crowd. Confirmed panelists for the upcoming discussion include:

Luiz Aragon, Commissioner, Department of Development, City of New Rochelle

Joe Cotter, head of National Resources

Leslie Harwood, Principal, Harwood Properties & Managing Director, Newmark Knight Frank

Jeffrey Levine, Chairman, Douglaston Development & Chairman & CEO, Levine Builders

Mark E. Melchione, Executive Vice President, People's United Bank, N.A. Commercial Real Estate

Kenneth Pasternak, Founder & Executive Chairman, KABR Group

Seth Pinsky, EVP, Fund Manager, Metro Emerging Markets & Public Affairs, RXR Realty

Benjamin Stacks, Market Manager, Northeast Commercial Real Estate/SVP, Capital One Bank

Rashid Walker, Managing Director, BRP Companies

Since the Real Estate Institutes inception, we have received tremendous support from industry experts who have generously given their time and energy to help us educate future real estate leaders, said

Anthony R. Davidson, PhD, MBA, dean of Fordhams School of Professional and Continuing Studies, which houses the Real Estate Institute. The launch of this event series underscores our commitment to providing access for our students and young professionals in general to the leading minds in the field. We look forward to many successful events in 2018.

RESAs Tax Reforms Impact on the Real Estate Market will take place on January 24 at Fordham Law School, 150 West 62nd Street, 2nd Floor, New York, 10023. Registration for the event is free. To register, visit:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/tax-reforms-impact-on-the-real-estate-market-tickets-41806238585

Transit-Oriented Developments: NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester: Developer/Lender/Planner Perspective will take place on February 13 at Fordhams Gabelli School of Business, 140 West 62nd Street, Room G76A/B. Registration for the event is $75. To register, visit: https://www.fordham.edu/info/26670/real_estate_institute_events

For more information, visit http://www.fordham.edu/realestate.

ABOUT THE FORDHAM REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE

The Fordham Real Estate Institute currently offers a comprehensive array of professional certificates, and a Master of Science in Real Estate, at its campuses in Lincoln Center and Westchester, New York. Serving professionals and owners/investors of all stripes, the certificate program has seven specialized tracks: Real Estate Finance and Investment, Real Estate Financial Modeling, Commercial Real Estate Credit Analysis, Real Estate Development, Construction Project Management, Commercial Property Management and Residential Property Management. The MSRE curriculum presents the essential elements of real estate finance, investment, development and management. Both programs developed and taught by leading industry practitioners are centered on imparting real-world professional skill sets. Flexibility and convenience are program hallmarks: classes can be taken in-person, online, and at various paces. For more information, visit https://www.fordham.edu/realestate.

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movingimage EVP Security & Privacy "The EVP must be capable of keeping internal and external videos available in a secure way, complying with regulations such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and guaranteeing reliable distribution globally," said Natalia Kermode, Managing Director of Sales, movingimage.

movingimage today released a checklist to help companies understand the latest criteria for security and data protection when selecting an enterprise video platform (EVP).

More and more companies are using video and live streaming in increasingly varied ways: from how-to instructions for customer service to company profiles for marketing, branding and recruiting to live streaming for internal communication and investor relations. This widespread use of streaming has given rise to increasing challenges for data protection and security, including protection from unauthorized access, secure authentication, the prevention of illegal processing, compliance with internal regulations and compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

These challenges can be overcome with the help of a professional enterprise video platform (EVP), but not all EVPs provide these extensive security features.

When selecting a suitable EVP, companies need to ensure that the platform addresses legal requirements as well as specific security needs, said Natalia Kermode, managing director of sales at movingimage. The EVP must be capable of keeping internal and external videos available in a secure way, complying with regulations such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and guaranteeing reliable distribution globally.

movingimage, which specializes in cloud-based solutions for enterprise video management, has developed a decisive set of security questions that companies should ask when selecting an EVP:

1. Infrastructure: Is thorough data protection compliance guaranteed?

Video content containing personal information needs to be kept in compliance with the highest data protection regulations, and companies must be able to provide proof of this at any time. For this reason, movingimage recommends using European data centers for hosting the platform. Companies should also ensure that the entire infrastructure fulfills the strict European standards. The operator of the connected content delivery network (CDN) must also be able to prove that their infrastructure fulfills the EU data protection regulations outside of Europe as well.

2. Authentication: How secure is the access?

If not all employees are permitted to view, edit, share, or perform any kind of action on each saved video, companies must be able to clearly identify approved users of the platform or video. This starts with user authentication. For user login, large companies often use a classic password-based login supplemented by single-sign-on systems or multifactor authentication that combines several processes with one another.

This level of authentication can only be supported by an EVP that is capable of authentication methods such as SAML, one-time passwords (OTP), smart cards, or biometric recognition, said Kermode.

3. Authorization: Who has which rights?

Once a user has been identified, this does not automatically mean that said person can use all functions. For example, they might be able to view videos or participate in webinars, but not to edit or share the content. For this reason, it is important to be able to issue user rights in a granular way.

Since there is a great deal of administrative effort required to configure rights on an individual user basis within large companies, a rights model based on user groups and roles presents a good alternative. This allows complex rights configuration that involves just a few components to be carried out in a simple, transparent way for a large number of users.

Automatic user management using information saved in a company directory such as ActiveDirectory or LDAP is recommended for large organizations that, for example, live-stream town hall meetings for thousands of users. This allows user accounts with the right role and group allocations to be automatically created, changed, or deleted in a role-based manner.

4. Audit compliance: Who did what, and when?

In industries such as finance, legal requirements call for transparency. Companies in this sector are obligated to document information such as when a given video was published, where and by whom, all in an audit-compliant manner. Data-protection-compliant, tamper-proof logging must be used to make this possible. Videos should also be archived even after they are deleted. To this end, a lower quality, storage-space-saving version of the video is maintained to fulfill the burden of proof.

5. Security guidelines for video playback: Where can the video be distributed?

movingimage also recommends taking another security aspect into account: playback. Some videos, for instance, are only suitable for certain divisions, customers, or partners, or selected locations in certain countries. It is important to maintain control of video distribution via IP address filters, geo-blocking, or token authentication, and to encrypt this via SSL.

In order to prevent confidential content from landing in the wrong hands, end users simply have to select the correct security guideline when uploading to extensively configure the protective mechanisms. To facilitate this, it is a good idea to name the security guidelines and content classification levels within your own company, such as public, internal, confidential, and secret. The security precautions underlying these are then immediately and correctly configured, and can be centrally managed by an administrator.

To learn more: A fact sheet on this topic, "Secure Video Platform: Better Safe than Sorry," is available as a PDF under the following link: http://www.movingimage.com/security

About movingimage

As the leading global provider of secure enterprise video technology, with locations in Berlin, Tokyo, New York and San Francisco, movingimages mission is to revolutionize how enterprises and organizations use video. Their software-as-a-service enables companies to efficiently manage all their video assets centrally and stream them in the best quality on any device. movingimage boasts an extensive customer portfolio of over 500 companies, including blue-chip corporations such as the Volkswagen Group, Allianz and Bayer.

For more information visit http://www.movingimage.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/movingimage_com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/movingimage.company

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/movingimage
We like to say that ECPI University Online bridges the distance in distance education. ~Vice President of eLearning and Online Education Aaron Wettstein

U.S. News & World Report has just released its much-anticipated annual rankings of Americas colleges and universities, with ECPI University being ranked among the nations best for online learning. Data analysts for the publication ranked schools based on performance within four categories:



Student Engagement  Quality programs promote participation among online students and create ways for them to interact with faculty and fellow classmates, keeping them engaged and on track for graduation.

Student Services and Technology  Faculty employ advanced teaching technologies and simulation software to replicate the in-seat experience online. School provides students with highly-acccessible financial, academic, and career service advisors.

Faculty Credentials and Training  Faculty members are both highly credentialed and trained to accommodate the needs of distance learners.

Peer Reputation  Feedback from high-ranking academic officials and employers provide insights not always captured by empirical data.

After evaluating the results, U.S. News & World Report survey editors ranked ECPI University 94th among the roughly 1,000 online programs offered throughout the nation. Our staff has been working diligently to provide the best educational experience for our students, says ECPI University Vice President of eLearning and Online Education Aaron Wettstein. We like to say that ECPI University Online bridges the distance in distance education. Our faculty and curriculum provide an engaging learning environment where our students are prepared for real-world, in-demand careers using the latest innovative technologies.

ECPI University currently offers more than 20 online programs in such areas as technology, health science, nursing, business, and criminal justice. For more information, please contact ECPI University Director of Communications David Brandt at 757.213.3613 or dbrandt(at)ecpi(dot)edu.

About ECPI University

ECPI University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award the associate's, baccalaureate, and master's degrees and diplomas. SACSCOC is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. A private university founded in 1966, ECPI University has campuses in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, and offers convenient classes during the day, evening, and online; graduate employment services, continuing education, certification classes, and testing are also available.

On campus or online, fields of study include: HEALTH SCIENCES: Master of Science in Nursing, Nursing (RN to BSN), BS to BSN, Nursing (RN), Practical Nursing, Healthcare Administration, Health Information Management, Physical Therapist Assistant, Massage Therapy, Dental Assisting, Medical Assisting, Radiography, Sonography, Surgical Technology; TECHNOLOGY: Master of Science in Information Systems, Master of Science in Cybersecurity, Cyber and Network Security, Information Systems, Software Development, Mobile Development, Cloud Computing, Web Design and Development, Electronics Engineering Technology, Mechatronics/Advanced Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering Technology; BUSINESS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Accounting, Business Administration, IT Management, Hospitality Management, Criminal Justice, Homeland Security; CULINARY: Culinary Arts, Culinary Nutrition, Food Service Management, Baking and Pastry Arts. (Program field availability varies by campus.) For more information, visit http://www.ecpi.edu.
The Esther Klein Gallerys (EKG) newest exhibit features work from a group of young artists participating in the PENN Network Visualization Program. Networks Within and Around Us runs through January 26, 2018. A lecture by Dr. Danielle Basset will be held on Friday, January 19th at Quorum, 3711 Market Street Suite 800, at 5 p.m., followed by a reception with the artists from 6  8 p.m. at EKG, 3600 Market Street.

From social networks to brain networks that enable cognition, networks are everywhere. They describe how entities  people, objects, organisms, etc.  are connected and interact with each other. Young artists, from middle school students to young professionals, participating in the PENN Network Visualization Program spend six weeks interning with scientists at the University of Pennsylvania. They learn from scientists performing cutting-edge research in network science and create art to visually interpret and capture the intricacies of networks in novel ways.

Networks Within and Around Us features artwork by Yixiong Eason Bai, Brittany Bennett, Cody Bluett, Marie Elcin, John Freeman, Tamir Gorham, Nicholas Hanchak, Sara Hodgson, Rebecca Kellner, Katherine Khorassani, David Krevolin, Adam Lastowka, Evelyn McLear and Noemi Charlotte Thieves. The exhibition is curated by Sara Hodgson.

Curator and educator Sara Hodgson will lead a free workshop on brain art for young artists ages six and up on January 14th from 1:30  3 p.m. at EKG. At the workshop, students will learn how the left and right brain hemispheres communicate as they perform midline crossover drawings that promote brain network inter-connectivity. Register for the workshop here.

The PENN Network Visualization Program is run by Dr. Danielle Bassett, an American physicist and systems neuroscientist who was the youngest individual to be awarded a MacArthur fellowship in 2014. She was also awarded a 2014 Sloan fellowship. Bassett is the Skirkanich Associate Professor of Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania, where she applies network science to the study of learning in the human brain in addition to the study of other complex physical and biological systems. She received a B.S. in physics from Pennsylvania State University in 2004, and her CPGS and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge in 2005 and 2009 respectively.

Networks curator Sara Hodgson is an artist, designer and educator. For 35 years, she has worked with academic, artistic and community centers to develop outreach programs for school children. She has worked for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Philadelphia Museum of Art developing traveling art exhibitions with the intent of bringing artwork to underserved communities. In 2000 she established a nonprofit entitled The Artworks Enrichment Fund. The mission of this fund is to bring art work and art supplies to school students whose programs had been eliminated through budget cuts. She is the founder and art director of Incompra Design. In 2014 she partnered with Dr. Bassett to develop the Skirkanich Internship in Network Visualization. She also teaches middle school art at Westtown School in West Chester, PA.

About the Science Center

Located in the heart of uCity Square, the Science Center is a mission-driven nonprofit organization that catalyzes and connects innovation to entrepreneurship and technology commercialization. For 50+ years, the Science Center has supported startups, research, and economic development in the life sciences, healthcare, physical sciences, and emerging technology sectors. As a result, graduate firms and current residents of the Science Centers incubator support one out of every 100 jobs in the Greater Philadelphia region and drive $13 billion in economic activity in the region annually. By providing resources and programming for any stage of a businesss lifecycle, the Science Center helps scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators take their concepts from idea to IPO  and beyond.

For more information about the Science Center, go to http://www.sciencecenter.org

About the Esther Klein Gallery

The Esther Klein Gallery (EKG), which opened in 1977, uses the creative arts as a platform to explore relationships between art, science and technology. EKG seeks to positively impact the cultural life of both its immediate neighborhood of West Philadelphia and the broader Philadelphia community. EKG programming is designed to explore the range of art, science and technology exhibitions, and includes gallery talks, panel discussions, and education programs. For more information, visit http://www.sciencecenter.org/discover/ekg.
We want to make the world a better place through custom software solutions and innovations. Our goal for the future is to keep providing top notch services, keep growing the company, but also give back to the community.

ISU Corp, a leading software development firm, has been named "Company of the Year 2017" by The Technology Headlines.

The company had the honor to be recognized as a key player in the Custom Software Solutions industry. Carlos Chavez, editor-in-chief of The Technology Headlines said, It was a great pleasure reviewing these companies, as they all had inspiring as well as thought-provoking stories to share." Nicole Anderson, Senior editor at the Technology Headlines further added, Our editorial team has not only selected the companies that are at the forefront of bringing a change in the industries, but also the entrepreneurs that are committed to adding value to customers.

We want to make the world a better place through custom software solutions and innovations. Our goal for the future is to keep providing top notch services, keep growing the company, but also give back to the community. - David Mansilla, ISU Corp CEO.

Recognized for their innovative approach to delivering high quality custom software development solutions. ISU Corp has developed two tools that have been a key factor to their accomplishments, IS Unified and HubLinked.

Read the Full Article in The Technology Headlines Here

About ISU Corp

ISU Corp is a high-tech Company specializing in professional software development and consulting.

We have a comprehensive team of IT professionals that bring to the company many years of experience in a wide variety of technologies. We write software applications for various corporations and see our projects through from beginning to end. We provide our services to a wide variety of businesses; ISU Corp is partnered with organizations in retail, insurance/finance, analytical solutions (LIMS), social media and education.

Our main focus is on our clients as they are the only reason we are in business. We always go the extra mile to ensure their satisfaction with our work. We think of our clients as our partners, and we strongly believe that if we help them succeed in their individual projects, we succeed with them.

We strive to create a win-win environment, where partnership, honesty and professionalism mandate every task we conduct for our clientele.

We are start-up specialists when it comes to software development and management. Our agile approach, doing small iterations at a time, ensures that we can review your business requirements on a weekly basis to better meet your company's goals and expectations.

Learn More About ISU Corp
"The 2018 Whats Next Awards National Competition is designed to challenge students, industry professionals and affiliate artists to bend the rules, reshape the industry, and twist things up, said Carole Protat, Senior Creative Director, North America Coty Professional Beauty.

Sebastian Professional is proud to announce the North American Semi-Finalists for the 2018 Whats Next Awards National Competition. The premier hairstyling competition offers Hairdressers At Heart  students, industry professionals and affiliate artists  the opportunity to express their artistry and showcase their creative talents. Each year, Sebastian Professional releases a hair collection to inspire competition entry and capture Whats Next  this year, that collection is Twisted. Influenced by the deep seas lasting moisture, bounce and elastic flexibility, Sebastian Professional revisits curly hair with its Twisted Collection and product line, showcasing curls by nature and by tool.

The 2018 Whats Next Awards National Competition is designed to challenge students, industry professionals and affiliate artists to bend the rules, reshape the industry, and twist things up, said Carole Protat, Senior Creative Director, North America Coty Professional Beauty. We are thrilled with the overwhelming number of Twisted-inspired entries, and want to thank everyone who entered or mentored talent for this years competition.

The 2018 Sebastian Professional Whats Next Awards National Competition Semi-Finalists are:

STUDENT CATEGORY:

-Diane Keplinger, Bellus Academy

-Shani Gottlieb, Beauty Schools of America

-Lindsey Mills, MC College

-Victoria Odom, Ogle School

-Natalia Davila Corredor, Advance Beauty College

-Zane Bess, Sassoon Academy

-Rita Risley, Bellus Academy

-Brooklyn Fackrell, Taylor Andrews Academy

-Christy Mae Jensen, Bellus Academy

-Naomi Catt, Beau Monde Academy of Cosmetology

-Phalen Vaughn, Bellus Academy

-Audrey Colburn, Beau Monde Academy of Cosmetology

-Jorie Beemsterboer, Bellus Academy

-Rachel Alvord, Bellus Academy

-Amber Riegle, Salon Alesandro

-Erika Salazar, The International Institute of Cosmetology

INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY:

-Keisha Mines, Nirvana Hair Salon

-Rochelle Wright, Continental School of Beauty

-Reno Prezio, Bellus Academy

-Liliana Gonzalez, Bellus Academy

-Marc Mapile, Dej Salon

-Sierra Johanson, Taylor Andrews Academy

-Kaitlin Butler, Bellus Academy

-Stevie Gomez, The Harlot Salon

-Adrian de la Parra, Bellus Academy

-Lindsey Fluke, Spa on the Avenue

-Elle Schimberg, Red Stella Salon

-Jimy Kosmakos, Spa on the Avenue

-Hannah Deahl, Salon Gallery for Hair

-Laura Rocha, The Harlot Salon

-Erica Keelen, Studio Sage

-Stephanie Anderson, Taylor Andrews Academy

AFFILIATE ARTISTS CATEGORY:

-Lisa Smith, Mint Hair Lounge

-Lindsay Overland, The Studio Hair Design

-Anna Holaday, Salon NESOU

-Anthony Cress, Studio 4 Salon

-Janet Algeciras, Hot Heads Salon

-Jonathan James, The Harlot Salon

-Vanessa Fortino, Salon Alessandro

-Samantha Gunn, Eric Alt Salon

-Rian La Fleur, Atelier Isabelle Rose

Using Sebastian Professional products exclusively, entrants were tasked with creating cutting-edge hairstyles, with complementary wardrobe and makeup. Each Semi-Finalist entry was shared in an online gallery on Sebastian Professionals Whats Next Awards website for consumer voting. All entries were judged on the following criteria: consistency with the Sebastian Professional brand, technical finish and tie to the Twisted Collection, overall appeal and total number of fan votes.

This year marks the first-time the Sebastian Professional Whats Next Awards Competition was open to International artists. Nine National Finalists (three from each category: student, industry professional and affiliate artist) and five International Finalists will be announced on January 18, and advance to a Live Finale Competition in Los Angeles on February 25. For more information about Sebastian Professionals Whats Next Awards, please visit https://sebastianwna.com/.

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About Hairdressers at Heart

Stylists are committed to being the best, perfecting their craft with every cut. Wella is here to advance the salon industry, one stylist at a time. Hairdressers at Heart is a program created to help stylists develop their talents throughout their career. Our goal is to be a vital partner to salons, empowering individual stylists and our entire industry. For more information: https://www.wellaed.com/hairdressers-at-heart/.

About Coty Inc.

Coty is one of the worlds largest beauty companies with approximately $9 billion in pro forma revenue, with a purpose to celebrate and liberate the diversity of consumers beauty. Its strong entrepreneurial heritage has created an iconic portfolio of leading beauty brands. Coty is the global leader in fragrance, a strong number two in professional salon hair color & styling, and number three in color cosmetics. Coty operates three divisions - Consumer Beauty, which is focused on mass color cosmetics, mass retail hair coloring and styling products, body care and mass fragrances with brands such as COVERGIRL, Max Factor and Rimmel; Luxury, which is focused on prestige fragrances and skincare with brands such as Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss, Gucci and philosophy; and Professional Beauty, which is focused on servicing salon owners and professionals in both hair and nail, with brands such as Wella Professionals, Sebastian Professional, OPI and ghd. Coty has over 20,000 colleagues globally and its products are sold in over 150 countries. Coty and its brands are committed to a range of social causes as well as seeking to minimize its impact on the environment. For additional information about Coty Inc., please visit http://www.coty.com.
One Transport The core of what Spheres team does well is their dedication to their work. They dont just finish a task and then go about their day. Everyone from their Project Manager to their QA Manager is committed to creating fully-functional products that perform exceedingly well. ( Anton Macius at Gett UK )

Getts One Transport, the leading web ordering and management platform providing ground transportation solutions for global corporations, has been nominated for the 23rd Annual Business Travel Awards Best Ground Transportation Company of 2018. OneTransport was built and optimized with the help of Chicago-based software company Sphere Software -- and the platform provides access to 1,500 cities across 35 countries, and up to 200,000 executive cars.

This is extremely exciting for our client, Gett, said Sphere Software CEO Leon Ginsburg. One Transport is a phenomenal platform for businesses looking to streamline their ground transportation. This nomination is a testament to the hard work that both of our teams put into One Transport.

Gett, the global leader in business ground travel, turned to Sphere Software early this year to help build One Transport from the ground-up. Gett wanted to expand upon their current B2B services, said Sphere Project Manager Artem Korenev. One Transport was the solution our joint-teams came up with; a B2B platform where companies are able to benefit from Getts supply of hundreds of different vehicles, from black taxis to executive cars.

One Transport features a front-office dashboard that is accessible to companies once they sign up for the platform. This insightful dashboard allows companies to: view statistics showing a companys booking trends, create employee profiles and destination points, manage account roles, choose from six different vehicle options, create travel policy rules for individual users, and much more.

Additionally, One Transport is only offered to Getts highest-rated black taxi and private hire drivers. This ensures the best-quality drivers for their B2B customers, as drivers cannot cancel their ride once a pick-up is confirmed.

After familiarizing themselves with the product, it only took the Sphere Software team a week to start suggesting new features that are valuable to not only the UK market, but the global market as well, said Anton Macius, Head of Product and Development at Gett UK. Spheres ability to understand what the product is about, and being able execute, impressed me.

Testing the code quality of One Transport was also an important part of Sphere Softwares development process. Our team implemented rigorous automated testing phases, front-end testing with Code Climate, back-end testing with CircleCI, and resolved bugs within 24 hours or less, added Korenev.

The core of what Spheres team does well is their dedication to their work, said Macius. They dont just finish a task and then go about their day. Everyone from their Project Manager to their Quality Assurance Manager is committed to creating fully-functional products that perform exceedingly well.

Matteo De Renzi, Managing Director of Gett UK, also commented: Gett not only offers a quality black cab service for fast and efficient journeys, we connect companies to a whole range of corporate travel fleets across the UK and around the world. Working with Sphere has allowed to provide the very best service to our client and were very pleased to be nominated for Annual Business Travel Awards.

Winners of the 23rd Annual Business Travel Awards will be announced on January 22, 2018. This event will take place at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, in London, UK. To view the shortlist for each travel award, visit Business Travel Awards website.

About Sphere Software

With headquarters in Chicago and regional offices in New York, Miami, Buenos Aires, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, Sphere Software is a global company with a local focus and a national presence.

Sphere Software has over a decade of proven success creating innovative web and mobile software solutions, big data analytics and providing staff augmentation for both start-ups and the Fortune 100. Our consulting services includes DevOps and the Atlassian product suite. Spheres technical expertise includes Go, Python, React.js, Node.js, Ruby on Rails, Scala and Clojure, and a broad range of industry experience as well.

To find out how Sphere Software can help your business reach peak performance, connect with us on Twitter @SphereSW, LinkedIn, or Facebook, or contact us on our website at http://www.sphereinc.com.
(Left-Right) Mark Andrews, Ally Financial; Joe Myers, Lazydays Employee Foundation; Bill Thompson, Ally Financial; Sherm Goldenberg, RVBusiness This extraordinary RV dealership and its employees do it right for their communities day after day, and we celebrate their incredible example of giving.

Hundreds of Lazydays RV employees paused early Wednesday morning (Jan. 10) during an all-employee meeting at the dealerships suburban Tampa headquarters to recognize the high-profile Florida RV retailers ambitious, youth-oriented, charitable programs for which the five-store dealer recently received the Arthur J. Decio Humanitarian Award sponsored by Ally Financial Inc.

The award, facilitated by RVBusiness magazine as part of the trade journals annual RVBusiness Top 50 RV Dealer Awards program, was formally presented in early November at a reception during the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association International Convention/Expo in Las Vegas.

We are honored to have received the esteemed Ally Financial Decio Humanitarian Award, said Lazydays Chairman and CEO Bill Murnane. Our Lazydays Employee Foundation has donated more than $1.7 million since 2005 to charities serving at-risk children and is proud to support the Florida, Colorado and Arizona communities.

Ally is proud to recognize Lazydays for its dedication to making its communities stronger and safer, added Bill Thompson, Allys executive director of RV sales for the eastern U.S., who was on hand for the early morning meeting and for the presentation with RVBusiness of a $5,000 check toward additional Lazydays charitable outlays. This extraordinary RV dealership and its employees do it right for their communities day after day, and we celebrate their incredible example of giving.

RVBusiness Publisher Sherm Goldenberg told the crowd that neither his staff nor the industry veterans who make the RVB Top 50 selections were surprised by the fact that Lazydays was again named to the annual roster of RVBusiness Top 50 dealers, given the legendary dealerships reputation as a stand-up outfit with a reputation for doing the right thing with regard to consumer care. And there was a general consensus among the judges that Lazydays RV was a worthy choice for the special award, named after Art Decio, the philanthropic-minded founder of Skyline Corp.

But the most surprising twist, he added, came in early November when Lazydays informed attendees at the Las Vegas awards reception that the Tampa-based RV dealership, in addition to its donations to existing charities including an emergency foster-care shelter, a homeless youth outreach and a medical clinic for homeless children, had also decided to give $350,000 to launch Bridging Freedom, the Tampa Bay areas first long-term treatment facility for young girls rescued from human trafficking.

That said, Lazydays spokesmen stressed that the Lazydays Employee Foundation will continue to throw its considerable charitable weight behind other organizations like Youth on Their Own, educating and empowering Arizonas homeless youth to stay in school; The Matthews House, empowering Colorados youth who lack significant family support in their lives; and The Gathering Place, serving Colorados women and children who are experiencing poverty or homelessness.

Speaking afterward on behalf of Lazydayss employees, Joe Myers, the foundations president, said the gift reflects the employees wish to help the neediest of children in their respective communities. This is a contribution from Lazydays employees and our supporters to one of the most vulnerable parts of our community, said Myers. We are thrilled to be able to do something that will change lives for the better.

About Lazydays RV

Lazydays, The RV Authority, is an iconic brand in the RV industry. Home of the worlds largest recreational dealership, based on 126 acres outside of Tampa, Florida, Lazydays RV also has dealerships located in Tucson, Arizona, and Loveland, Denver and Longmont, Colorado. Offering the nations largest selection of leading RV brands, Lazydays RV features more than 2,500 new and pre-owned RVs, over 300 service bays and two on-site campgrounds with over 700 RV campsites. Lazydays also has rental fleets in Florida, Arizona and Colorado. In addition, Lazydays RV Accessories & More stores offer thousands of accessories and hard-to-find parts at all of our dealership locations.

Since 1976, Lazydays has built a reputation for providing an outstanding customer experience with exceptional service and product expertise, along with being a preferred place to rest and recharge with other RVers. Lazydays consistently provides the best RV purchase, service, rental and ownership experience, which is why more than a half-million RVers and their families visit Lazydays every year, making it their home away from home.

To learn more, visit http://www.lazydays.com.

About Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial services company and a top 25 U.S. financial holding company offering financial products for consumers, businesses, automotive dealers and corporate clients. Ally's legacy dates back to 1919, and the company was redesigned in 2009 with a distinctive brand, innovative approach and relentless focus on its customers. Ally has an award-winning online bank (Ally Bank Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender), one of the largest full service auto finance operations in the country, a complementary auto-focused insurance business, a growing digital wealth management and online brokerage platform, and a trusted corporate finance business offering capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.

The company had approximately $164.0 billion in assets as of September 30, 2017. For more information, visit the Ally press room at https://media.ally.com or follow Ally on Twitter: @AllyFinancial.
Bill Binch joins Pendo as first chief revenue officer. Pendo is poised to become a dominant player in a very big market. I see close parallels to the early days of Marketo and similar patterns to be applied. Rarely have I encountered a company with this much potential and shared passion by employees, customers and community alike. Im excited to help

Pendo.io, creator of the leading SaaS-based Product Experience Platform, today announced former Marketo global sales executive Bill Binch as its first chief revenue officer. Binch is Pendos ninth executive hire in the last 12 months, rounding out a leadership team poised to repeat exponential sales and customer growth in 2018.

Binch is a key hire as Pendo expands into new market segments and geographies. In his role as chief revenue officer, Binch will oversee all revenue-bearing aspects of the business, including direct sales, customer success and professional services organizations. After developing sales leadership experience at Oracle, PeopleSoft and BEA Systems, Binch joined Marketo as its 17th employee in 2008, helping to grow revenue from $0 to $250 million. Over nearly a decade, he helped lead the marketing automation giant from a small venture-backed startup to a public company to going private with its $1.79 billion sale to Vista Equity Partners in 2016. His sales operation grew from targeting B2B to B2C, from SMB to enterprise and from domestic to global, with customers and offices all over the world. Most recently, Binch managed Marketos Asia Pacific team based in Sydney, Australia.

Bill has a proven playbook for taking a company like Pendo through its next several stages of growth, said Pendo CEO and Co-Founder Todd Olson. Hes a great addition to our leadership team and his appointment is an exciting way to start the year.

Binch had several leadership opportunities with Silicon Valley software companies since leaving Marketo, but he felt a strong affinity to Pendo.

Pendo is poised to become a dominant player in a very big market, Binch said. I see close parallels to the early days of Marketo and similar patterns to be applied. Rarely have I encountered a company with this much potential and shared passion by employees, customers and community alike. Im excited to help lead Pendo through the next stages of revenue growth.

By every measure, 2017 was a banner year for Pendo. Meritech Capital Partners led a $25 million Series C round in July, which allowed Pendo to expand geographically, acquiring Israeli startup Insert.io and opening offices in San Francisco and New York. Pendo launched several new product capabilities, including the ability to collect, analyze and discern product insight from Net Promoter Scores. The Insert acquisition also extended the Pendo platform into richer mobile use cases.

The year ended with a spot on LinkedIns Top 50 Startups list, two North Carolina Technology Association awards, a Best Place to Work nod by the Triangle Business Journal and a seat on a Mark Cuban-moderated Dreamforce panel, where Olson revealed how Pendo is building a Silicon Valley success story outside the Bay Area.

Revenue and headcount reflected the years progress tooPendo grew revenue by 400 percent while the employee count more than doubled to 165 people.

About Pendo

Pendo is a product experience platform that helps product teams deliver software users love. With Pendo, product teams can understand product usage, collect feedback, measure NPS, onboard users, and announce new features in appall without requiring engineering resources. Founded in 2013 in the heart of Raleigh and backed by Battery Ventures, Spark Capital and Meritech Capital, Pendo has raised $56 million and grown revenue by 400% in the past year. In 2017, it was named a Top 50 Startup by LinkedIn. Used by hundreds of innovative software product leaders, Pendo tracks 20 billion user actions, and improves the product experience for 40 million users every month. For more information, visit: http://www.pendo.io.
Worateera Suvarnsorn (centre) - Director of the Thailand Film Office at the American Film Market 'Over the last few years, we have concentrated particularly on the promotion of Thailand as a location for international feature films, through our attendance at events like Cannes, AFM, and Filmart. It is gratifying to see that this has had a positive effect.

In 2017, Thailand welcomed 80 international feature film productions to Thailand.

This is an increase on 2016, which saw 50 incoming feature films, and the highest figure ever. (The previous record was 2013, with 67 incoming feature films.)

Including television productions and advertising, overall 730 productions visited Thailand. Productions from China contributed to the strong results. 65 productions from China visited Thailand, matching last year's number. There were 52 productions from the UK, a record number. (The previous record was 45 productions in 2015). Japan brought 130 productions to Thailand, compared with 117 last year.

Worateera Suvarnsorn, Director of the Thailand Film Office welcomed the results.

"Over the last few years, we have concentrated particularly on the promotion of Thailand as a location for international feature films, through our attendance at events like Cannes, AFM, and Filmart. It is gratifying to see that this has had a positive effect."

The incentive measures which were introduced in January have already attracted two productions, and Ms. Suvarnsorn expects the incentives to attract more productions in 2018.

"We have worked hard in 2017 to spread the message throughout the industry that Thailand not only offers great locations, fantastic crews, and incredible value, but also that we now have an incentive, based on a straightforward cash rebate. We are confident that next year we will see a number of productions taking advantage of the incentive."

Qualifying productions can apply for the incentive which starts at 15%, but under the right circumstances can rise to 20%.

Details are available from the Thailand Film Office.
2017 ALOHA National Math Challenge winners

Parents can sign up their children (grades 1-6) to participate in 2018 ALOHA National Math Challenge with $43,000 in cash prizes. Sign up through Feb.12, 2018. This math test-based competition for kids, is open to all students in grades 1-6, not just those enrolled in an ALOHA Math or Reading | Writing program.class; click for more info.

The preliminary test round for the 2018 ALOHA National Math Challenge is on March 10, 2018. The 2018 Challenge features three separate age categories with 5 cash prizes in each. Each student will compete within their age group across three rounds of testing with the finals held in Edison NJ in the spring of 2018. Click/tap here to register*. Registration fee for contest: For active ALOHA students: $45 for the first child; sibling discounts available. For ALOHA non-members, $60; sibling discounts available. Registration is open through February 12, 2018. Beginning Feb 10th, weekly questions for each category will be posted online until preliminary test begins in March for participants to solve and to familiarize themselves with the type of questions in the challenge. Come back and visit https://alohamathchallenge.com/ on Feb 10th.

How will This National Math Challenge Work?

Students will compete in three categories: Pre-Jr: grades 1& 2; Jr: grades 3 & 4 and Sr: grades 5 & 6. This year the math challenge is open to all students, not just to those enrolled in an ALOHA program*. Children will be tested based on their grade level and will involve competitive math type questions. Students will not be allowed to use calculators or an abacus. Scratch note paper and pencils will be allowed.

ALOHA Mind Math National Challenge Prizes:

Pre-Junior Challenge (Grades 1-2, Ages 6-7)

1st Prize: $5,000; 2nd Prize: $2,000; 3rd Prize: $1,000; 4th Prize: $750; 5th Prize: $500.

Junior Challenge (Grades 3-4, Ages 8-9)

1st Prize: $7,500; 2nd Prize: $3,000; 3rd Prize: $1,500; 4th Prize: $1,000; 5th Prize: $750.

Senior Challenge (Grades 5-6, Ages 10-11)

1st Prize: $10,000; 2nd Prize: $5,000; 3rd Prize: $2,500; 4th Prize: $1,500; 5th Prize: $1,000.

Over 1,100 students participated in the 2017 ALOHA Nation math challenge which was only open to ALOHA students. This years competition is open to all students grades 1-6. The Preliminary Round is scheduled for March 10, 2018; the Semifinal Round, is scheduled for Saturday, April 14, 2018. The Final Round is scheduled for Saturday, May 12, 2018 in Edison, New Jersey. Final Round Entrants and their Eligible Children must travel to Edison, New Jersey to compete in the Final Round. See complete details in the Contest rules and regulations.

*Some restrictions apply, please see contest rules and regulations: https://alohamathchallenge.com/math-challenge-rules/

How Can a Child Get Involved in ALOHA Programs?

ALOHA is currently training children K through 6th grades in Math, Reading and Writing at over 120 locations in 19 states across the U.S., including: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, MA, MI, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX, VA. For more details on these programs, go to ALOHAMindMath.com, search for a nearby center using ALOHA's online center locator, check the ALOHA Facebook page (Facebook.com/aloha.usa), or call 877-256-4203 to find a local center near you. Each ALOHA learning center is independently owned and operated.

About ALOHA

Since 2006, ALOHA Mind Math, a leading provider of mental arithmetic and English Reading | Writing after school programs, has been guiding children in the U.S. between the ages of 3 through 12 to achieve academic excellence in these grades. ALOHA is currently training children at over 110 locations in 19 states across the U.S. Other programs also include a Tiny Thinkers pre-school program for ages 3-5. The interactive learning process ALOHA uses enhances a childs math, reading and writing capabilities. The teachers also assist children in developing skills and abilities such as observation and listening that result in the overall growth of the child. The ALOHA program is also in use in 20 countries worldwide.
Michael E. Spain | Vice President, East Regional Officer We are very pleased to add these key additions to the Churchill staff as we continue to build a very competent group of professionals to provide better service to our client base.

Churchill Stateside Group, LLC (CSG), a real estate and renewable energy financial services company, is pleased to announce Churchill Stateside Group, LLC (CSG), a real estate and renewable energy finance company, is pleased to announce the hiring of three new staff to the company.

Michael E. Spain  Vice President, East Regional Officer: Michael, based in Clearwater, FL, has joined the firm as a Regional Production Officer and is responsible for originating debt and equity solutions for new construction, rehabilitation, acquisition and refinancing of both affordable housing and market rate properties within the Southeast. Prior to joining CSG, Michael was an attorney where he primarily focused on defending maritime and transportation claims. He also practiced in the areas of insurance defense, insurance coverage, property and casualty, workers compensation and wrongful death and personal injury defense. Michael is a graduate of Valdosta State University and obtained his Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law. Michael was admitted to the Florid State Bar in 2014.

Jerry Schmahl, Vice President, Midwest Regional Officer: Jerry, based in Chicago, IL, has joined CSG as a Regional Production Officer and responsible for CSGs debt and equity product origination of HUD, USDA-RD, Construction and LIHTC/Historic Equity products in the Midwest. Jerry has three decades of experience in the economic and community development field that includes the origination, underwriting, negotiating and closing of investments in developments supported by Historic, Housing, and New Market Tax Credits. Prior to joining Churchill Stateside Group, Jerry was a member of an acquisitions team where he helped developers and investors fund the renovation of properties with Historic credits. His experience also includes nearly a decade of service as Program Manager of Affordable Housing and Community Development Investment for a large pension fund.

Jerry has spoken on numerous panels focusing the New Markets, Historic, and Low-Income Housing tax credit as well as proactive social investment oriented panels. Jerry holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Iowa State University.

Charles Kane -- Vice President, Asset Management: Chuck, based in Clearwater is responsible for monitoring all of the operational and compliance aspects of the portfolio. Chuck has over 10 years of asset management experience with a focus on managing of large portfolios as well as audit and distribution related analyses. Previously, Chuck worked at a large publicly held tax credit syndicator where he was responsible for portfolio management and led the creation of a tracking and collection system for project distributions and fees for over 1,000 partnerships. Chuck holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, with emphasis in Management and a minor in Organizational Communication from Bellevue University.

Keith J. Gloeckl, Chief Executive Officer of CSG, stated, We are very pleased to add these key additions to the Churchill staff as we continue to build a very competent group of professionals to provide better service to our client base.

About Churchill Stateside Group

Churchill Stateside Group and its wholly owned affiliates (CSG) serve the affordable housing and renewable energy industries. CSG sponsors tax credit equity investment funds for institutional investors and provides a variety of construction and permanent financing solutions. With over $1 Billion under asset management, CSG has long-standing and successful investment relationships with numerous corporate investors and pension funds. The company's investor and developer clients benefit from our experienced staff, prominent and proactive senior leadership, and attractive debt and equity platforms. The company, through its subsidiary Churchill Mortgage Investment LLC, is an approved USDA Rural Development and HUD/FHA MAP and LEAN lender and Ginnie Mae Issuer.

For more information, please visit http://www.CSGfirst.com.
"Its an exciting time to be a part of this industry and an even more exciting time to be a part of RapidScale.

RapidScale, a leader in managed cloud services, welcomes Kyle Surratt to the team as Partner Experience Manager, Central. Kyle is based in San Antonio, Texas. His responsibilities include developing new partnerships and selling RapidScale cloud solutions throughout the Central region.

Prior to joining RapidScale, Kyle spent eight years at Rackspace as Partner Account Manager, where he was responsible for accelerating business opportunities and strategic channel partners. He was a part of Rackspaces channel program and spent his time developing and educating partners on managed cloud strategies.

I am truly thankful for the opportunity to join the RapidScale team. In a time where the cloud market is rapidly evolving, partners and customers need help developing and implementing cloud strategies that drive their companies forward, says Kyle. Its an exciting time to be a part of this industry and an even more exciting time to be a part of RapidScale.

RapidScale EVP, Sales & Marketing Bob Buchanan says The DNA of a great company starts with its employees. RapidScale is laser focused on attracting top talent. I could not be more excited to welcome Kyle to the RapidScale team. Kyle has set a high bar with his track record of success, supporting partners, and creating value for customers. Im confident that he is going to make an immediate impact to RapidScale and our sales strategy in the Central region.

Kyle has a bachelors degree in business administration from Baylor University. He enjoys spending his time outdoors and supporting his daughters sporting activities.

About RapidScale

RapidScale, a managed cloud services provider, delivers world-class, secure, and reliable cloud computing solutions to companies of all sizes across the globe. Its state-of-the-art managed CloudDesktop platform and market-leading cloud solutions are the reasons why RapidScale is the provider of choice for leading MSOs, VARs, MSPs, Carriers and Master Agents throughout the United States. RapidScale is not only delivering a service but also innovating advanced solutions and applications for the cloud computing space. RapidScales innovative solutions include CloudServer, CloudDesktop, CloudOffice, CloudMail, CloudRecovery, CloudApps, and more. For more information on RapidScale, visit http://www.rapidscale.net.

Follow RapidScale: Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook

Media Contact

Sommer Figone | Marketing Manager

marketing(a)rapidscale.net
L.L.Bean's Iconic Bean Boots In addition to our customers, employees, shareholders and vendors, our communities and the environment are our major stakeholders; we are dedicated to providing the necessary resources to positively impact the lives of our neighbors, friends and protect the outdoors.

Today L.L.Bean announced year end approval of its charitable giving program that will allocate $2 million in grants to more than 70 organizations for annual gifts, plus additional funding in smaller grants to dozens more. At its December meeting, the L.L.Bean Board of Directors approved gifts ranging from $5,000 to $412,000, that will be dispersed to organizations involved in the areas of conservation, outdoor recreation, health and human services, education, and culture and the arts.

As a values-based, family-owned company, it is important for us to support organizations that work so hard to strengthen our communities and provide access to the outdoors, said Shawn Gorman, L.L.Beans Executive Chairman of the Board. In addition to our customers, employees, shareholders and vendors, our communities and the environment are our major stakeholders; we are dedicated to providing the necessary resources to positively impact the lives of our neighbors, friends and protect the outdoors.

For decades L.L.Bean has supported the community through its Charitable Giving Program, and in just the last 10 years has provided close to $30 million in funding to nonprofit organizations.

I am proud of our companys commitment to support organizations that embody many of the values and traditions of L.L.Beanintegrity, service, respect, healthy living and a passion for the outdoors, said Stephen Smith, President, and CEO of L.L.Bean. Were lucky to have so many groups working to encourage a healthy outdoor lifestyle, preserve our precious natural resources, and focus on the various needs in our communities.

In the area of conservation and recreation, the focus of the program is engaging young people in healthy outdoor activities and ensuring access to recreational opportunities for all. Recipients of the 2017 community grants included L.L.Bean partners with programs focused on youth: Appalachian Mountain Club, American Hiking Society, Maine Audubon, Teens to Trails, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and the Student Conservation Association. Several organizations promoted stewardship and open access to outdoor recreational opportunities: American Canoe Association, Maine Island Trails Association, Nature Conservancy, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and sporting groups such as Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation and Sportsmans Alliance of Maine.

Within the category of health and human services, the primary recipients are United Way chapters throughout Maine and wherever the company has a retail presence. L.L.Beans corporate gifts to United Way chapters in Maine totaled nearly $600,000. Through the extraordinary generosity of employees, an additional $1.1 million was donated to this years campaign. Additionally, donations were made to support local neighbors in need through Freeport Community Services, the American Red Cross, and the Cancer Community Center. In the realm of education, support of statewide organizations included the Mitchell Institute, Jobs for Maines Graduates and Junior Achievement as well as support for school districts within L.L.Bean communities. Donations to culture and the arts included the American Folk Festival in Bangor, Portland Stage, and the Maine State Music Theater. Further donations included a $100,000 contribution to the Red Cross to assist with recovery efforts following hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Most recently, due to the extreme cold weather, a donation of coats, hats, socks, gloves and more was made to various homeless shelters throughout Maine.

In addition to donations made through the Charitable Giving Program, the company extended its annual support to the Island Explorer propane bus system in Acadia National Park. The company pledged an additional $1 million over the next five years to help provide eco-friendly, free transportation to over three million visitors to Maines national park.

About L.L.Bean, Inc.

L.L.Bean, Inc. is a leading multichannel merchant of quality outdoor gear and apparel. Founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, the company began as a one-room operation selling a single product, the Maine Hunting Shoe. Still family owned, Shawn Gorman, great grandson of Leon Leonwood Bean, was named Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2013. While its business has grown over the years, L.L.Bean continues to uphold the values of its founder, including his dedication to quality, customer service and a love of the outdoors. In the past five years, L.L.Bean has donated over $6 million toward conservation and land stewardship. L.L.Bean currently operates 39 stores in 17 states across the United States, along with 25 stores in Japan. The 220,000-sq. ft. L.L.Bean retail store campus in Freeport, ME, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and welcomes more than 3 million visitors every year. L.L.Bean can be found worldwide at http://www.llbean.com, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:00 pm

The Jefferson County Historical Society celebrates the 200th birthday of native art collector and ethnographer James Swan with a two-month exhibit at the Womens Jail Cell Gallery in the Jefferson Museum of History & Art.

The exhibit is to feature pieces from Swans collection, personal items, reproductions of Swans watercolors of Northwest botanical specimens and more.

Swan was born on Jan. 11, 1818 and held many occupations during his life. He was an oysterman, customs inspector, secretary to a congressional delegate, judge, natural historian and ethnographer.

Swan arrived in Port Townsend in 1859, after its founding in 1851.

Port Townsend served as his home base from which he traveled west to Neah Bay, where he taught school, and north to learn about the Haida people of the Queen Charlotte Islands in Canada.

One of Swans many jobs was that of compiling the ethnology and collecting artifacts of the Northwest natives for the Smithsonian Institution. He also was a prolific writer and left historical records in the form of books, newspaper articles, two monographs for the Smithsonian and more than 60 volumes of diaries.

And, he collected recipes: A new book by Steve and Gloria Rickett titled Recipes and Recollections of James G. Swan includes some of those recipes.

EDENSHAW CANE

Swan was particularly appreciative of Haida art. One of the most significant pieces in his collection is a walking stick created by master carver Charles Edenshaw.

The Edenshaw cane was donated to the Jefferson County Historical Society in 1978, along with several other pieces by Swans grandson, Charles P. Swan.

American author Ivan Doig wrote about seeing the Edenshaw cane at the Jefferson County museum in his 1980 book, Winter Brothers. In the book, Doig describes being physically moved by the beauty of the cane.

Previously, the historical society had had a special case in the museum featuring Swan items, including the Edenshaw cane.

They had put a lot of his most beautiful, precious things in this case, and it was on display for years and years and years, said historical society conservator Laura Reutter.

This was back before the museum had ultraviolet filtering film on its windows, so there was direct sunshine coming in and hitting these objects. Theyre very light sensitive and became badly faded.

Now, the museum is displaying valuable pieces while keeping them in pristine condition, in a manner that both protects them from light exposure and provides an opportunity to educate the public about the conservation of museum pieces. We decided that for this exhibit, we would put some of the things in a case with a cloth cover on it to protect things from the light, said Reutter. Visitors can lift the cover to look and then put the cover back down.

To complement the exhibit, curator Robin Wright of the University of Washingtons Burke Museum, who is an expert on James Swan and Haida art, is to present the JCHS First Friday Lecture at 7 p.m. on Feb. 2.

The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, Jan. 13 during regular museum hours. During January and February, the museum is only be open on weekends and holidays, Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Jan. 15; and Presidents Day, Feb. 19. The museum's other art show, Wearable Art: A Seven Year Sample closes Feb. 4. For more information, call 360-385-1003.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:00 pm

Nov 26, 1920  Dec 17, 2017

Clare B. Lacy was born November 26, 1920 to Clara and Victor Paul Battenfeld in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The Battenfelds immigrated to America in 1929 and settled in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens, N.Y. Victor practiced physiotherapy administering to the immigrant community. Clare graduated from Richmond Hill High and earned her bachelors degree in German at Adelphi College. There she joined Delta Gamma sorority. Clare continued her education earning a Masters Degree in Education from Columbia University. She returned to Adelphi to teach German. During WWII she served the War Department as an interpreter.

Her sorority sister introduced her to a friend of her husband, Air Force Major Al Lacy in 1946. Clare and Al were married at the Mitchell Field AFB Chapel in February of 1947 amid the worst snowstorm in 50 years. The new family moved 9 times in the first year. Clare racked up 20 household moves over her tenure as a military spouse. Their son John Paul was born On August 15 ,1954 in Washington D.C. Shortly thereafter the family moved to Ramstein, Germany and lived there until returning to Mitchell Field, Hempstead, N.Y. in 1959.

Al retired in 1961 and the family moved to their first permanent home in Bayville, N.Y. living there until 1976. The family relocated to Cape George, Port Townsend, Washington in February of 1976. Clare lived in her final home until her passing December 17, 2017. She died peacefully at home. Clare is survived by her son John P. Lacy, (Darla B), niece Suzanne Kobayashi(Joe), sister in law Irene Nepute and grand dogs Shimmy and TaiPan.

Clare loved a good party. There will be a celebration of her life from 1-4 pm Sunday January 7th at the Cape George Community Clubhouse at 312 Marina Drive, Port Townsend.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:00 pm

Jul 28, 1932  Dec 8, 2017

Laurence Charles (Larry) Bonar was born in 1932 in Brooklyn NY to Marion and James Bonar, a younger brother for Janet, and in time, an older brother to James.

The family moved from Brooklyn to Morris Plains, NJ when Larry was 6, where Larry attended grade school and high school. At Morristown High (Class of 1949), a failed science experiment conducted because he was bored led to an infamous incident where he set fire to his desk.

Larry graduated Magna Cum Laude from Drew University in 1953, majoring in Chemistry. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge MA to pursue graduate studies in Biochemistry.

Following his marriage in 1957 to Louise (Ablondi, divorced), daughters Alice, Janet, and Margaret (Megg) were born. When his children were young, Larry, together with Louise and other like-minded parents, worked to make the Boston Public schools better. They ran after-school science and other enrichment clubs, and also worked to create a model school subsystem which was racially integrated, and which the 3 daughters attended. The schools work complemented Larry and Louises interest in the Civil Rights Movement, and they worked tirelessly on civil rights projects throughout the 1960s and 1970s to make life better for everyone.

In his professional life, Larry researched the effects of disease on bone density and structure at the Massachusetts General Hospital and later at Childrens Hospital, both in Boston. Following Larrys successful career as a research scientist, he worked in patenting and technology licensing at Harvard Medical School and the University of California at Berkeley, CA, before moving to become Director of Technology Licensing at the University of Idaho in Moscow ID. Regarding the patenting and licensing work, Larry said it was fun to learn about different ideas, without having to do all the research and development work himself! Larry continued to work as a patent agent during his retirement, and supported individual inventors with guidance and advice, which led to the awarding of several patents. He believed in offering a lower-cost patenting process to encourage small inventors.

Larry retired to Port Townsend, WA, where he found friendship with a range of free thinkers and political activists. He participated in the Jefferson County Democratic Caucus many times, and was a poll chairman for elections, as well as an alternate delegate to the WA State Democratic Convention. Larry also enjoyed working with Kitsap County Habitat for Humanity and built several homes with this group.

Larry had multiple health issues which contributed to a decline in health following his 85th birthday, and he moved to Salt Lake City, UT to be near his daughter Megg. Larry died in early December 2017, and is survived by his sister Janet, his three daughters, and grandchildren Tyler, Julian, Katherine, and Cooper. Larry was smart and funny, and kind and compassionate. He was a great father. He loved and was loved, and knew great joy. We will miss him tremendously. The family is grateful for the staff of Lifecare Port Townsend and St Josephs Villa in Salt Lake City for their care and compassion. Donations may be made to the ACLU in Larrys name if desired.

A Memorial for Larry will be held in Port Townsend, WA sometime in the next several months.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:00 pm

With a majority in the Washington Senate now, state Democrats have found an early target in firearm regulation as the 2018 legislative session gets underway. Monday, Jan. 8 was the first day of session.

Senate Bill 6049 would regulate the ownership and manufacturing of large-capacity magazines and make them all but illegal in most cases. Large capacity refers to any magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds.

The bill was requested by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who cited a motivation in mass shootings across the country, including a 2016 shooting at a house party in Mukilteo, Washington, in which three were killed and one was injured.

The bill was introduced by Sen. David Frockt, D-Seattle, and is sponsored by three other Democratic senators: Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond; Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma; and Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle.

Currently, eight states and the District of Columbia have introduced some kind of restriction on large-capacity magazines. In Colorado and New Jersey, the limit is 15 rounds, and in Hawaii the ban pertains only to handguns.

Such magazines were previously banned on a federal level under the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which also banned semiautomatic weapons before expiring in 2004.

Pedersen said he feels confident the bill will pass, and that the key is to receive support from rural Democrats and more moderate Republicans. The senator added that he has received at least some vocal support from both parties. Weve obviously had a series of high-profile shootings across the country, Pedersen said. This is a small step to take.

NOT NECESSARY

Dave Workman, senior editor of The Gun Mag, said he doesnt find such a ban necessary, arguing that large-capacity magazines havent proven to be a problem. Workman said he expects a flurry of opposition from gun owners across the state, many of whom own firearms that would be affected by the ban.

Workmans sentiments were echoed by Joe Waldron, legislative chairman of the Washington State Rifle and Pistol Association, who said his organization is firmly against the potential legislation.

Waldron said the bill emphasizes the role of guns, while legislators should be taking a look at potential societal problems that lead to mass shootings.

The legislative chairman pointed out that many pistols carry large-capacity magazines, but the bill doesnt differentiate between handguns and the assault weapons Waldron believes the bill is targeting.

Waldron called the bill meaningless and unenforceable, and said it would force Washington citizens to give up private property that is arguably protected by the Second Amendment. The bottom line is we oppose the bill because its a waste of time, Waldron said. They focus on the inanimate object; what they need to be focusing on is the behavior.

The Senate plans to hear SB 6049 on Jan. 15.
The legislation is said to encourage orphans to be adopted in their own country to shield them from abuse. Ethiopia is a popular location for Hollywood stars when it comes to adoption with the likes of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt having adopted from there.

During the Tuesday session, some members of parliament said they were enough local adoption facilities for adoptees whereas others argued that the country has insufficient services to cater for such children.

Questions over whether "adoptees" are genuine orphaned children and reports of physical abuse and even death of Ethiopian children in the hands of foreign foster parents have caused concerns over flaws in the adoption screening system in Ethiopia. A few years ago, a 13-year-old girl died mysteriously in the US leading to the conviction of her adopted parents.
Facebook and Xiaomi are also teaming up on the upcoming Oculus Go stand-alone headset, which is expected to be released globally in 2018 at a price point of $199.

F

Xiaomis brand recognition in its home market will drive awareness of the Oculus platform.

Facebook was blocked in China in 2009 and consequently only has a small footprint in the region, while Xiaomi is the countrys fourth-largest smartphone brand. The Mi VR Standalone will support both the Oculus Mobile SDK and the Mi VR SDK.

Already, Xiaomi is teaming up with existing Oculus developers to localize leading content from the Oculus Store so developers can bring it to the Mi VR Store in China.

Via the partnership, Facebook will be in compliance with some of Chinas strict regulations.

China often requires foreign companies to forge partnerships with Chinese firms in order to push their products in its domestic market. Since Facebook and its family of apps are blocked in China, partnering with Xiaomi could help Oculus secure a position in Chinas VR market.

China is the fastest-growing VR market globally, making it attractive to companies. VR headsets shipments in China increased 87% last year to hit 1.1 million units, according to IDC. For context, VR headset shipments in the US grew just 11%. HTC Vive Vice President Raymond Pao highlighted this sentiment, explaining how China is where VR is likely to gain mass adoption first.

But Chinas VR market also has a robust and fragmented VR ecosystem in place already, which could make it challenging to gain footing in. There are currently over 400 VR headset manufacturers in China, and numerous different app stores, APIs, and accessories. This fragmented market makes it difficult for VR developers to create content accessible across the VR landscape. The expected low entry price of the new Mi VR Standalone device, along with the ability for developers worldwide to easily push out new VR content into the Mi VR store for the Chinese market, could ease the fragmentation in Chinas VR market.

Facebook could propagate Oculus as a globally dominant VR platform by winning over the Chinese market with the help of Xiaomi if it can stave off competition on the higher end and convert Chinas lower-end VR user segment. HTC is launching a $600 stand-alone VR headset exclusively in China in January that could win the higher end of the market.
Interestingly, when the female commander left the cockpit, one would have thought that the male would have attended to the cockpit for the sake of the passengers, but he failed to do so.

READ MORE: Lecturer claims Noah used mobile phone to call his son before the flood

An official of India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation was quoted as saying "The cockpit fight was a shocking and a very serious incident. Both the pilots were out of the cockpit a couple of times and there was no one there. What if they had been locked out of the cockpit? This is unheard of and calls for extreme action."

Aside the sack, the male pilots license was revoked, but the females was not, as the license is still reportedly under review.

According to the Aviation official, "It is alleged the lady commander was hit by the co-pilot and she left the cockpit."

The official further explained, "As per rules, one pilot can leave the cockpit as long as another is there. So, she left when one pilot was still on the controls."
A report by odditicentral.com indicated that the unannounced car seizure began since the beginning of January, 2018 and owners have not been told the rationale behind the move.

Further reports also suggest that the impounded cars were parked in the governments parking lots and when curious owners enquired from the police, they were told that the cars would only be released to them on condition that they signed a document binding them to change the colour from black to either white or light.

The country reportedly banned the importation of black cars as far back as 2015, and customs officials were not in the position to assign any tangible reason to the development.

Subsequently, in November last year, Turkmenistan officials were reportedly ordered to use only white cars.

Though no official explanation has been made in relation to the ban on black cars, odditycentral.com reported some of its sources as having said the move was an order from the countrys president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov whose preference for white colour supersedes every other interest.

READ ALSO: Two pilots leave the cockpit to engage in physical fight midair

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov would never want to associate himself with anything black, and for that reason, he reportedly wears white all the time and the entire environment around every event he attends must be decorated white.

In 2015, when the ban on importation of black cars was announced, RadioFreeEuropRadioLiberty is on record to have said, white has long been a feature of the carefully constructed personality cult of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. The former dentist has draped his capital Ashgabat in white marble, rides white stallions, and makes appearances dressed in white amid white carpets and white flower arrangements.

Aside the move having the potential to spark controversy about racism, it is already having a toll on the citizens. Prices of car repainting have skyrocketed as it has become compulsory for every citizen to do repainting.

A resident of Ashgabat reportedly told Radio Azaflyk, When I came to the car service, I was told that the repainting my car would cost 7,000 manat, but in a week the price would rise to 11,000 mana.
In an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, Mr Agyarko said: a body like EMOP will help in mitigating and managing whatever circumstances we find ourselves in but it is our commitment to keep the light on despite whatever happens.

We have moved from an interrupted power situation to a stable power situation and it is our goal to move to an uninterruptible state where whatever happens in generation distribution and transmission has no material effect on our consumers.

That is the journey we are taking. There will be hiccups along the way no doubt about it but it is our responsibility as managers of the system that whatever hiccups, there could be anticipation and it will be dealt with before they happen, he said.
The deceased, who has been identified as Divine Kwame Avortri, was working in the pharmacy department of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission Hospital in Accra, the Daily Heritage reports.

However, while in the act, Avortri allegedly complained of a severe headache and collapsed soon after.

He was taken to the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

His girlfriend is currently assisting the police with their investigations.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mrs Effia Tenge said that the police could not attribute the cause of death of Avortri to the sexual intercourse.
According to him, it is erroneous to use a date in Ghanas First Republic to mark the countrys Republic Day, whiles we are actually in the Fourth Republic.

Ghana became a Republic on 1st July 1960 after Dr Kwame Nkrumah was sworn into office as the nations very first president.

The date has since been known as Ghanas Republic Day and is observed as a statutory public holiday each year.

However, Prof Ocquaye believes it is wrong to continue to mark July 1 as the Ghanas Republic Day.

In an opinion piece published in the Daily Graphic, the Speaker argued that the day when the Fourth Republic began is the proper date that should be recognized as Ghanas Republic Day.

He is, therefore, calling for a change of date from the 1st of July to the 1st of January.

In 1960 Ghana became a republic. However, in 1966 that was overthrown by a military coup led by Kotoka, and the 1st Republic ended, Prof Ocquaye stated in the article, which is titled 'What is the Republic Day in Ghana?'

The 2nd Republic came into being in 1969. That republic also came to an end in another coup led by General Acheampong. In 1979 we had the 3rd Republic led by President Limann. Rawlings staged the 31st December Revolution/Coup in 1981 and ended the 3rd Republic.

On January 7, 1993, the 4th Republic was brought into being and Chairman Rawlings became a constitutional President.

He added that 7th January 1993 is the Republic Day of the Republic of Ghana. May God bless our homeland Ghana, May He save the Republic  the only Republic in current and legal terms  7th January 1993.

The Speakers latest campaign to have the countrys Republic Day changed is bound to divide opinion among Ghanaians.
Ghana has earned the accolade as the beacon of democracy because the elections was largely successful and its not broken down into violence and bloodshed like we have seen in many other countries. But let me caution we are entering into a very dangerous phase with the rise of all these vigilante groups.

Ive heard NPP apparatchiks say they will not abolish the vigilantes and they are going to use them to guard. They have groups in every region and they have different accolades. In most regions, we dont have vigilante groups, if youre asked to mention any name in NDC the only name they will mention is Azorka Boys. The NPP formed those groups because they said they have no trust in the security services to protect them.
The 5000 respondents were sampled in all ten regions. The organisers of the survey which was conducted late last year selected 250 electoral areas with at least 18 constituencies believed to be NDC stronghold and 14 constituencies believed to be NPP stronghold.

The respondents expressed satisfaction with the policy implementation by the government so far.

Their decision was also based mainly on the Free SHS Programme of the NPP with close to 77.6 percent indicating their support for the policy. This is in spite of some infrastructural challenges the policy faced when it was introduced.

The respondents also mentioned the fight against galamsey, restoration of the teachers and nursing trainee allowances as some of the striking policies of the government for which reason they would retain the NPP.

The survey further stated that 64.5 percent of the respondents were in favour of the implementation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor even though they raised concerns about the individual who will occupy the position and the extent of his or her neutrality.

The head of the Political Science department of the University of Ghana, Dr Bossman Asare said of the 5000 respondents 56% of them voted for the NPP and 36% for the NDC in the 2016 elections.
In a report, the CMA said Mrs Osei recorded 22% incompetency, 21% public mistrust, 20% sexual inducement, 18% corruptible character and 19% political bias.

She recorded 0% non-political bias, 7% non-sexual inducement, 14% competence, 22% non-corruptible character and 57% public trustworthy.

CMA in a statement added: "All the framing thematic categories analysed by CMA reveals the extent at which, she was negatively portrayed in the media which could dent her integrity, the office she holds and the nation as whole. The research also revealed that, some framers portrayed her positively in the media which however, cannot outweigh the negative frame she recorded."

"Media Analyst at CMA, are urging Individuals and institutions to be mindful of how they use the media to set certain framing precedents about politically appointed leaders to preserve the integrity of the office they hold and the nation as a whole, CMA is of the view that, unnecessary framing of institutions and individuals could act as a trigger for socio-political conflicts in Ghana and should be avoided.

READ ALSO: Charlotte Osei battles fresh impeachment petition"The research was based on scientific tracking of news content in the media (Online and print) from June 2015 to December 2017," it said.

Impeachment against Charlotte Osei

Some individuals believed to be staff of the Commission in July 2017 petitioned the President to remove Mrs. Osei over alleged abuse of office, causing financial loss to the state and breaches of Ghanas procurement laws.

Also, a counter petition was sent to the president for the impeachment of Mrs. Oseis two deputiesAmadu Sulley (In-charge-of-operations) and Georgina Amankwa (In-charge-of-Corporate Services).

The petitions were subsequently forwarded to the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, as required by law, to establish a prima facie case based on which impeachment proceedings would commence against Mrs. Osei and her two deputies.
The suspended General Secretary recently at the partys recent extraordinary delegates congress in Kumasi, told journalists that, his suspension had kept too long and was unconstitutional.

Two years is too long a time for the General Secretary to be on suspension. Our constitution does not provide for that.

It seems the hierarchy of the governing party is not happy about this comment and has therefore set up a committee to look into it.

A source told Accra-based 3FM that his comments are a source of great worry to the party as it undermines the authority of the body which took that decision, which is NEC.

The committee members are Peter Mac Manu, 2016 campaign manager; Nana Obiri Boahen, Deputy General Secretary; and Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Leader in Parliament, to probe his recent outbursts.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) suspended the National Chairman, Paul Afoko, Vice Chairman, Sammy Crabbe and Kwabena Agyapong in 2015.
He has been appointed to replace the outgone Jo Johnson following a reshuffle by UK Prime Minister, Theresa May.

Gyimah has served in a number of roles in the current UK government before attaining his current position.

The 41-year-old has served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey, as well as previously being appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to former Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Gyimah boasts rich experience in UK politics, having also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Education.

Before delving into politics, he worked for American multinational finance company Goldman Sachs for five years.

Gymiah confirmed his appointment in a post on Twitter, saying he is ready to take on his new challenge.

The new UK Universities and Science minister wrote: Off to my new role as Universities & Science Minister and looking forward to the challenges ahead  thank you for your excellent work @JoJohnsonUK. A massive thank you to all prisons & probation staff, particularly prison officers, for your incredible dedication & hard work.

Gyimah was born in the UK to a Ghanaian mother and a British Father. He was brought to Ghana at the age of six after his parents split up.
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"The president welcomes opportunities to advance his America First agenda with world leaders," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

"At this year's World Economic Forum, the president looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries and American workers."

A string of US presidents have avoided attending the annual upscale event, fearing a sojourn to a European ski resort would make them look out of touch.

The last president to go was Bill Clinton, who attended in 2000.

The gathering might seem antithetical to Trump's brand of politics, but the White House insists his message will be the same surrounded by chalets as it would be in Washington.

Looking to make his mark?

Trump, a real estate mogul-turned-president, has rarely shied away from the rich and famous, but may have additional geopolitical incentive to attend.

Last year, the forum was dominated by the appearance of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi became the first Chinese leader to go, picking up the mantle of defender of free trade and globalization in the face of Trump's protectionist rhetoric.

"No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war," Xi warned, fueling a sense of rapidly growing China stepping into a space vacated by the United States.

During a decades-long spending spree, China has bankrolled infrastructure projects from Sri Lanka to Zambia, often earning political influence in the process.

Last year, the Trump administration was represented by informal emissary Anthony Scaramucci, who challenged Beijing to match words and deeds.

Firms were also quick to point out the gap between Xi's rhetoric and the realities of doing business in China, which is a frequently tortuous affair.

'America First'

But it is unclear how Trump's pitch for "America First" trade will play among the disciples of a global rules-based order.

"The question appears to be whether he'll play to the global Davos audience or use his speech to shock the crowd with the anti-globalization rhetoric he loves to use back home," said Scott Mulhauser, former chief of staff at the US Embassy in Beijing.

"The two sides of Trump stand in particular contrast on trade and globalization and may even both appear in the same speech," added Mulhauser.

"So this one should be fascinating -- and the signals he sends will be heard at home and across the globe."

Since coming to office in January 2017, Trump has ripped up or sought to renegotiate a series of trade pacts that underpin global commerce.

A series of investigations into Chinese trade practices have put his administration on a collision course with Beijing.

This year's Davos gathering takes place January 23-26, with a theme of "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World."
The prosecution had previously rejected his request for release, but substitute judge Sergio Torres granted his release "on humanitarian grounds," the agency said.

The move comes after Timerman was prevented from boarding a flight to the United States late Tuesday after his visa was rejected.

Timerman -- a member of ex-president Cristina Kirchner's government from 2010-2015 -- was placed under house arrest in December accused of covering up Iranian involvement in a deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center.

The 64-year-old former minister had obtained a permit from Argentina's justice ministry to travel to New York for treatment for cancer, which has confined him to a wheelchair.

But according to Argentine press reports, when his visa was checked at Buenos Aires' Ezeiza airport late Tuesday he was prevented from boarding the flight.

Kirchner's parliamentary group reacted angrily to the incident. "Timerman cannot enter the United States because his visa was revoked because of the preventive detention," the head of the bloc, Agustin Rossi wrote on Twitter.

He said Claudio Bonadio, the judge prosecuting Timerman, Kirchner and others for the alleged cover-up, was responsible.

Timerman was sentenced to house arrest rather than jail because of his health.

Kirchner herself enjoys parliamentary immunity from preventive detention through her senate seat.

"I have asked to be judged as quickly as possible. Preventing me from getting timely medical attention is like condemning me to death," Timerman wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times on December 20, in which he described himself as a "political prisoner."

"Argentina's Constitution does not permit the death penalty. But with a judge like this, that is little guarantee."

Bonadio believes Timerman, Kirchner and others covered up alleged Iranian involvement in the bombing by pushing for the signing of a pact with Iran, under which suspects could be questioned in Iran and not brought to Argentina.

The plan was formally approved by both houses of the Argentine Congress, but never ratified by Iran.

Nobody has been tried for the bombing, which killed 85 people.
Digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ripples, Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin, OneCoin e.t.c are reiterated as not backed by law in Nigeria.

It noted that any financial institution or business that transacts in such currency does so at its own risk.

Bitcoin and other digital currencies are developed to provide freedom from regulatory control, less cost of maintenance and ease of use for commercial transactions. But, there are concerns about their degree of safety as they are not backed by any assets.

Also Read: 5 reasons you should not invest in bitcoins or any cryptocurrencies

In 2017, Nigerias financial market regulators - CBN, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), were increasingly enlightening people on the risks of cryptocurrencies. The CBN specially raised that virtual currencies are largely used in terrorism financing and money laundering.

Virtual currencies are traded in exchange platforms that are unregulated, all over the world. Consumers may there lose their money without any legal redress in the event these exchangers collapse or close businesses. The attention of bank and other financial institutions is hereby drawn to the above risks and you are required to take the following actions pending substantive regulation or decision by the CBN, said the CBN in a statement.
Initially, it seemed that Nvidia had been left out of the biggest story in tech this year. But, on Wednesday, the company said its chips are affected by the Spectre flaw.

Nvidia's stock is trading down 1.31% at $219.04 a share after the company disclosed it's products' vulnerabilities in a news release. Nvidia has released patches for the security issue on many of its products and announced a schedule of releases for products that don't yet have a patch.

Spectre is a flaw in the way computers handle requests to look at sensitive information stored on low levels of memory. The flaw was originally thought to only affect central processing units, which would exclude Nvidia's graphics processing units products. But, it now looks like the company is not immune to those flaws.

While CPUs exist in every computer, GPUs are mostly used in high-end gaming computers, cryptocurrency miners, and servers. Nvidia recommends checking its update page to download patches if your computer is running one of its chips.

News of Nvidia's vulnerabilities comes after the company rocked its CES keynote on Sunday. CEO Jensen Huang announced several new products, like giant gaming monitors and new autonomous driving chips.
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Dermaplaning is a beauty treatment that uses a scalpel to scrape dead skin and peach fuzz off your face.

It uses a very sharp blade which is the same used in surgeries to cut the skin, so it needs to be used only by a certified doctor.

We went to Dr. David Jacks practice in London to try it.

"It helps with things like fine wrinkles if its done over a long period of time. Also in the short term, it helps with luminosity of the skin," the doctor told Business Insider.

The treatment starts with an alcohol and antiseptic wash and an acid gel cleanser.

Dr. Jack then starts scraping.

At the end of the treatment, a vitamin C serum is applied, together with hyaluronic acid serum and a vitamin A (retinol) cream.

Critics say its unnatural to remove the skin as it protects against bacteria and UV rays. Others are worried their facial hair will grow thicker.

"You are shaving the top of the hairs off. Youre not doing anything to the follicle. Youre not changing the growth of the hair. Theres no risk of that whatsoever," said the doctor.

A treatment at Dr. Jacks practice costs 150.
#football S. Korea captain Son Heung-min vows to be more assertive Selfishness can be a good thing in football, and Son Heung-min, captain of the South Korean men's national team, is determined to be just that in future matches. With Son deferr...
President Donald Trump's tweets were once again used against him in court, after a federal judge in California on Tuesday blocked his administration from phasing out the Obama-era program shielding young unauthorized immigrants from deportation.

Judge William Alsup, of the Northern District of California, cited several of Trump's tweets in his ruling, arguing that the president had demonstrated on Twitter that his decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was based on politics and a flawed legal premise rather than on the merits of the policy.

The Trump administration had announced in September that it intended to wind down the program over six months, allowing Congress time to enact a permanent solution for the young immigrants commonly known as "Dreamers." The White House had argued that DACA was an "unconstitutional exercise of authority" by the Obama administration.

But Alsup argued in his ruling that not only was President Barack Obama within his rights to enact DACA in 2012, but that Trump himself had backed the program even after ending it, demonstrating that it was in the public's interest.

"Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!" Trump tweeted in September, just days after the program's termination was announced.

"On this point, we seem to be in the unusual position wherein the ultimate authority over the agency, the Chief Executive, publicly favors the very program the agency has ended," Alsup wrote in his ruling. "For the reasons DACA was instituted, and for the reasons tweeted by President Trump, this order finds that the public interest will be served by DACA's continuation."

Using DACA as a bargaining chip

Alsup also noted the possibility that Trump's termination of the program was "contrived to give the administration a bargaining chip to demand funding for a border wall," as the plaintiffs had argued in their lawsuit.

Alsup cited a tweet Trump sent in late December, in which he demanded immigration-related concessions from Democrats in exchange for preserving DACA in some form.

"The Democrats have been told, and fully understand, that there can be no DACA without the desperately needed WALL at the Southern Border and an END to the horrible Chain Migration & ridiculous Lottery System of Immigration etc. We must protect our Country at all cost!" Trump tweeted.

Alsup's ruling pointed out another Trump tweet sent on the same day his administration announced the phase-out of the program, in which he suggested he was open to preserving the program if Congress failed to enact legislation.

"Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can't, I will revisit this issue!" Trump's tweet said.

"In sum," Alsup wrote in his ruling, "The new administration didn't terminate DACA on policy grounds. It terminated DACA over a point of law, a pithy conclusion that the agency had exceeded its statutory and constitutional authority."
Canada is increasingly convinced that US President Donald Trump will soon announce that the United States intends to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), two government sources said on Wednesday.

The sources said they expected Trump would make his move at about the same time that negotiators from the United States, Canada and Mexico meet in late January for the sixth and penultimate round of talks to modernize the treaty.

Canadian officials say if Trump does announce a US withdrawal, it could be a negotiating tactic designed to win concessions. They also express doubt whether the US Congress would approve such a move.

Canada and Mexico have rejected most of the US proposals for NAFTA reforms, leaving officials with a big job if they are to bridge the large differences at the Jan. 23-28 talks in Montreal. Negotiations are due to wrap up at the end of March.

Trump could not immediately remove the US from the agreement, and it is unclear whether he can completely withdraw without approval from Congress.

Trump criticized the NAFTA agreement repeatedly during the presidential campaign, calling it the "worst trade deal in the history of the country."
LONDON  Chancellor Philip Hammond and Brexit Secretary David Davis are travelling to Germany today where they will plead with businesses to help Britain forge a Brexit deal which includes financial services.

The UK government ministers are hoping that with Germany's help they can convince the EU to back down on its firm position that any trade deal cannot include financial services as long as Britain leaves the single market.

Hammond and Davis will urge German businesses to back their vision for "the most ambitious in the world" that should "cover the length and breadth of our economies including the service industries  and financial services."

They will warn that the insistence of Brussels on keeping financial services off the table in trade talks threatens a repeat of the "catastrophe" of the 2008 financial crash and subsequent eurozone-wide crisis.

Davis has recently floated the notion of a "Canada plus plus" trade deal, which would involve replicating the Canada-EU trade deal (CETA) but with a UK-EU agreement on services, including financial.

Services account for around 80% of Britain's economy.

In December the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, repeated the bloc's position that the UK government's desire for a bespoke deal involving financial services was not possible.

"There is no place [for financial services]. There is not a single trade agreement that is open to financial services. It doesnt exist," Barnier told world media.

However, writing for a German newspaper this week, David and Hammond said Britain "supports collaboration within the European banking sector, rather than forcing it to fragment."

They added: "The 2008 global financial crisis proved how fundamental financial services are to the real economy, and how easily contagion can spread from one economy to another without global and regional safeguards in place."

Merkel is not amused

German Chancellor Angela Merkel believes that Britain's desire to have financial services included in a future trade deal is another example of wanting to "have its cake and eat it," the Telegraph reports.

Merkel is supposedly strongly opposed to Britain's plan for "managed divergence" and is not likely to suggest support for Davis and Hammond's ambitious plans when they visit Berlin.
A fierce but muted battle erupted last year between Bill Browder, a banker turned human-rights activist, and Fusion GPS, the opposition-research firm that produced the explosive, unverified dossier that detailed President Donald Trump's alleged ties to  and escapades in  Russia.

That battle escalated on Tuesday when the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, unilaterally released the transcript of an interview the committee conducted last August with Glenn Simpson, a Fusion cofounder.

In the interview, Simpson said his work for the American law firm BakerHostetler  which was representing Prevezon, a Russian holding company the US government accused of laundering money into New York City real estate  was focused "on trying to get William Browder to testify under oath about his role in this case and his activities in Russia."

Browder, according to Simpson, had told the Justice Department that the laundered money was stolen from Russia as part of the $230 million tax-fraud scheme that Sergei Magnitsky, his lawyer, uncovered in 2008.

Magnitsky was arrested and imprisoned that year, and Browder's reputation has become inextricably linked to the global human-rights campaign he launched after Magnitsky died in prison in 2009. Browder and other independent human-rights organizations have said Magnitsky was beaten to death after he discovered the tax-fraud scheme, which implicated high-level Kremlin officials.

Simpson told lawmakers in August that Browder would not answer any of BakerHostetler's questions about Magnitsky's and Prevezon's purported involvement in the tax-fraud scheme. Browder also evaded subpoenas, Simpson said.

"So we subpoenaed his hedge fund," Simpson told the committee. "He then changed the hedge fund registration, took his name off, said it was on there by accident, it was a mistake, and said that he had no presence in the United States."

Browder, a wealthy investor who renounced his US citizenship in 1998, has characterized Fusion's work for BakerHostetler as a "smear campaign" and tweeted on Tuesday that Simpson repeated "old and false Russian government attacks on me and Sergei Magnitsky."

"He then whitewashes his accused Russian money launderer clients who received money from the crime Sergei Magnitsky was killed over," Browder continued. "Glenn Simpson admits in his testimony to a number of facts that show he was part of the Russian anti Magnitsky lobbying campaign in D.C. that were summarized in our DOJ criminal complaint about his conduct filed in 2016."

A fight over FARA

In December 2016, Browder lodged a formal complaint with the Department of Justice alleging that Fusion's work for BakerHostetler on behalf of Prevezon violated disclosure requirements.

That complaint caught the eye of Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who in March wrote a letter to the acting deputy attorney general at the time, Dana Boente, demanding to know whether the Justice Department was investigating whether Fusion violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Grassley's interest in the firm wasn't limited to its connection to the Prevezon case. He also wanted the Justice Department to investigate Fusion's role in "overseeing the creation of the unsubstantiated dossier of allegations of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians"  the so-called Trump-Russia dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy.

Fusion has said it was hired by an American law firm, which, it argues, would not put it in violation of FARA. Fusion said in a previous statement that the president's "political allies" were "targeting Fusion GPS because the firm was reported to be the first to raise the alarm over the Trump campaign's links to Russia."

Grassley and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham last week sent a letter asking the Justice Department to investigate whether Steele had lied to federal agents about his contacts with the media. Taylor Foy, a representative for Grassley, disputed last year that Grassley's interest in Fusion was politically motivated.

"Fusion GPS allegedly failed to register under the law for work it was doing to advance Russian interests by repealing sanctions against human-rights violators, and it was doing this work at roughly the same time it was producing the unverified Trump dossier, which relies heavily on Russian sources," Foy said in an emailed statement.

She added: "So of course it would be relevant both to the committee's review of FARA enforcement and the dossier."

Fusion has denied that its opposition research against Browder on behalf of BakerHostetler was an effort to undermine the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 US law designed to sanction high-level Kremlin officials suspected of involvement in Magnitsky's death. The basis for that claim is that Browder was never able to prove that Prevezon engaged in the tax-fraud scheme Magnitsky uncovered.

But Simpson acknowledged during his testimony in August that BakerHostetler had instructed Fusion to give its Browder research to the Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin, who then lobbied Congress against the Global Magnitsky Act  a 2016 version of the law that expands on the original  along with Prevezon's Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya.

Simpson and Veselnitskaya

On June 9, 2016, at Trump Tower, Veselnitskaya and Akhmetshin met with the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.; his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort; and his senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The New York Times reported on the meeting last summer, prompting reporters to scrutinize Veselnitskaya's relationship with Simpson to try to understand who she is, who she works for, and who works for her.

Simpson told the committee in August that he had known Veselnitskaya since 2014 through their involvement with the Prevezon case, and that he had known Akhmetshin through being a reporter at The Wall Street Journal.

Simpson testified that, despite having met with Veselnitskaya and Akhmetshin both before and after the Trump Tower meeting to discuss the Prevezon case, he was not made aware of her rendezvous with the high-level campaign officials.

"The lane that I was in was the court case and this fight over whether Browder would have to testify," Simpson said.

Asked about Veselnitskaya in an email last summer, Browder responded with a PowerPoint presentation that he said highlighted her role in trying to get the Magnitsky Act repealed in 2016. She had help, the slide deck says, from some of the "best and brightest minds" in Washington, including Simpson.

Browder characterized Simpson as "a bit player" and said his own vendetta was against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, he said, "murdered Magnitsky and covered up the crimes of his officials."

Some, primarily those sympathetic to Moscow, dispute Browder's story about Magnitsky. People close to Simpson contend he is not necessarily one of them  he told lawmakers he was "extremely sympathetic for what happened to Sergei Magnitsky."

But Simpson and Browder have a somewhat bitter history that has become increasingly politicized amid the intensifying investigations into Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election and whether the Trump campaign played a role.

Simpson told lawmakers in August that Browder "was willing to, you know, hand stuff off to the DOJ anonymously in the beginning and cause them to launch a court case against somebody," but that he wasn't interested "in speaking under oath about, you know, why he did that, his own activities in Russia."

He said Fusion had uncovered evidence that Browder sought to evade taxes in Russia using "dozens of shell companies in Cyprus and other tax havens," adding that one of his "interests or even obsessions over the last decade has been corruption in Russia and Russian kleptocracy and the police state that was there."

"I became personally interested in where Bill Browder came from, how he made so much money under Vladimir Putin without getting involved in anything illicit," Simpson said. He characterized Browder's behavior in the Prevezon proceedings as a "determined effort to avoid testifying under oath," which included "running away from subpoenas" and "making lurid allegations" against Fusion.

All of that, he said, "raised questions in my mind about why he was so determined to not have to answer questions under oath about things that happened in Russia."

Browder pushed back on that in a tweet on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON  Republican Rep. Darrell Issa will retire from Congress in 2018, avoiding what was expected to be a difficult campaign fight in a district that has been a primary focus for Democrats in this year's election.

"Throughout my service, I worked hard and never lost sight of the people our government is supposed to serve," Issa said in a statement on Wednesday. "Yet with the support of my family, I have decided that I will not seek reelection in California's 49th District."

"While my service to California's 49th District will be coming to an end, I will continue advocating on behalf of the causes that are most important to me, advancing public policy where I believe I can make a true and lasting difference, and continuing the fight to make our incredible nation an even better place to call home," added Issa, who with a net worth as high as $768 million is among the richest members of Congress.

Best known for his role as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Issa was one of Hillary Clinton's biggest foes while she was secretary of state, digging into her role in and response to the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Issa was one of 23 Republicans who narrowly retained their House seat in districts also won by Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. His departure marks yet another vulnerable Republican to bow out in what could be a tough midterm election cycle. Issa adds to the growing field of Republicans retiring at one of the fastest paces in decades.

Democrats' efforts to unseat Issa this year had already started to snowball. The billionaire megadonor Tom Steyer had dedicated $30 million to taking on Republicans in 2018, with Issa's wealthy Southern California district as a key race.

Democrats are already preparing to seize the seat

Steve Stivers, the National Republican Congressional Committee chair, thanked Issa for his service and expressed confidence in the coming race against a crowded Democratic field.

"In the 49th district, Democrats are locked in what is fast becoming one of the bloodiest primaries in America," Stivers said in a statement. "While Democrats fight with each other, Republicans will focus on fighting Democrats  and that's how we plan to win. We look forward to facing whoever limps out of the Democrats' battle royale: black and blue, and broke."

But the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee suggested otherwise. The DCCC spokesman Drew Godinich said in a statement that "California Republicans clearly see the writing on the wall and realize that their party and its priorities are toxic to their re-election chances in 2018."
WASHINGTON  Republicans are walking on eggshells following the Senate campaign announcement by the controversial former Maricopa County Sheriff on Tuesday.

Fresh off an upset loss in Alabama's special election, in which Democrat Doug Jones defeated accused child molester and twice-removed State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, Senate Republicans were cautious in addressing the candidacy of yet another controversial firebrand.

"Obviously he's got a name and a reputation that precedes him, but I think it would be important for me to meet him," Murkowski said.

Flake bowed out of running for reelection late last year, but said the seat is "already in jeopardy." However, Flake noted that while Arpaio's campaign could merely be a potential scam to raise campaign funds, his presence could split the voting block on the far right, creating a smooth path for GOP Rep. Martha McSally, who is reportedly gearing up to announce her campaign later this week.
President Donald Trump spoke with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae In, on Wednesday to discuss the recent progress and looming threats of the North Korean nuclear crisis, but each country gave a varying account.

According to the White House, Moon briefed Trump on the outcome of the inter-Korean talks that took place on Tuesday for the first time in two years.

Moon reportedly thanked Trump for his "influential leadership in making the talks possible" and both leaders expressed support for Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against North Korea, which has seen heightened military threats and a chain of nuclear threats flying both ways across the Pacific.

Trump expressed interest in holding talks with North Korea "under the right circumstances," according to the White House's account of the call, and said that Vice President Mike Pence will head to South Korea's 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

But South Korea's account of the call included a firm denial of a news story that has caused North Korea experts to recoil in horror, namely that Trump is considering a "bloody nose" strike against Kim Jong Un's regime, according to Anna Fitfield, the Washington Post's Tokyo Bureau Chief.

The presence of the denial in the South Korean readout of the call, and its absence in the US readout, points to the massively lopsided danger of the "bloody nose" strategy.

To enact the strategy, the US would respond to some North Korean provocation with a limited strike. If the attack goes according to plan, the US could deny North Korea the ability to research and develop its missile or nuclear programs by destroying elements of it with a kinetic strike.

A stricken North Korea, if it chose not to retaliate, would also lose enormous international and domestic standing, and set the precedent for the US to repeat the strike any time it feels the country has stepped out of line.

But if Kim does decide to retaliate, it's almost certain the brunt of the attack would fall on South Korean civilians. North Korea has a massive array of artillery pieces pointed at Seoul, South Korea's capital of with a population of 25 million.

Under Trump, the US has repeatedly flexed its military capability and willingness to use force against North Korea as part of the maximum pressure doctrine.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday complained about the federal courts the morning after a judge in California blocked his administration from fully terminating a program temporarily shielding young unauthorized immigrants from deportation.

Judge William Alsup, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, issued a nationwide injunction Tuesday evening ordering the Trump administration to continue processing renewal applications for recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

"It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts," Trump said on Twitter.

Though Alsup is a district judge who does not himself sit on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, any appeal of his ruling would be heard by that federal appeals court. The 9th Circuit has ruled against the Trump administration multiple times, including for his most recent travel ban currently awaiting action from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

Alsup, in his ruling, said the Trump administration had improperly arrived at the conclusion that DACA was not implemented legally by the Obama administration. He declared that the Homeland Security secretary has the authority to grant the sort of temporary protections from deportation that DACA provided.

A permanent solution

The Trump administration had announced in September it would phase out DACA over six months, allowing those recipients with near-term expiry dates to renew their two-year protections one last time, so long as they submitted their applications before an October 5 deadline.

An estimated 22,000 eligible DACA recipients either did not or could not apply for renewal before the deadline, and roughly 1,900 of those who attempted renewal saw their applications lost or delayed in the mail and subsequently rejected. Alsup's ruling, in the short term, means their renewal applications must be processed by the Trump administration.

The White House has not yet said whether they plan to appeal the ruling, but press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the ruling is "outrageous."

"An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process," she said in a statement. "President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration."

The ruling came just hours after an unusual public negotiation session between Trump and a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday regarding the permanent fate of DACA recipients, including whether to offer them a pathway to citizenship.
President Donald Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, seems to think the US's military and nuclear supremacy over North Korea cannot deter its leader, Kim Jong Un, from attacking the US  and that a strike is needed to stop him.

It also appears that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis are the key figures holding Trump back from taking McMaster's advice.

McMaster, who led the US's counterinsurgency strategy in the Iraq War of the early 2000s, frequently provides some of the most hawkish US statements on North Korea, sometimes surpassed only by Trump.

Even before becoming Trump's national security adviser, McMaster has stood at the forefront of piecing together a comprehensive US military strategy for the post-Cold War era.

McMaster thinks traditional deterrence has failed

While traditional thinking since the fall of the Soviet Union has centered on maintaining a peaceful status quo and world order, McMaster has likened today's situation to 1914 and chastised the security community for taking a "holiday from history" and allowing the US's power and influence to decline while focusing on expensive defense projects.

"Geopolitics are back, and are back with a vengeance," McMaster said last month when introducing the US's new national security strategy.

McMaster also wrote an article last year for the Association of the US Army's magazine in which he said that "hostile, revisionist powers  Russia, China, North Korea and Iran  annex territory, intimidate our allies, develop nuclear weapons, and use proxies under the cover of modernized conventional militaries."

McMaster asserted that those adversaries "often act below the threshold that would elicit a concerted response from the US and our allies," also saying in his 2016 speech to the Virginia Military Institute that the "hostile actors do not operate in isolation from one another."

"They watch and assess American actions and responses across the globe," he said. "They calibrate their actions."

Essentially, McMaster posits that when the world sees Russia waging hybrid warfare in Ukraine and the Baltics and the US offering a muddled response  refusing for years to provide lethal aid to Ukraine  China, Iran, and North Korea become emboldened.

While the US struggles to patrol China's massive land grab in the South China Sea or combat Iran's growing influence and use of proxy militias in Syria, North Korea assesses  correctly so far  that it can continue to defy the US without punishment.

North Korea, in particular, has proved adept at "salami-slicing," or advancing its interests against US demands in such small steps that no one provocation is enough for the US to initiate a war.

Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran have all acted against US interests despite the US's nuclear arsenal, in what some would call defiance of traditional deterrence.

The US has seen its power in the Pacific, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East decline exponentially as China, Russia, and Iran rise, but the strategy of tolerating a constant stream of slights has kept the US out of major conflicts. McMaster may want to change that.

Make America fight again

McMaster has indicated that standing up for US interests and punishing its adversaries may be more important than avoiding a massive war.

Asked about the North Korean crisis by the BBC in December, McMaster said, "We're not committed to a peaceful resolution  we're committed to a resolution."

He added: "We have to be prepared if necessary to compel the denuclearization of North Korea without the cooperation of that regime."

McMaster has openly questioned whether deterrence will work on North Korea. While few experts think North Korea would launch a nuclear attack on the US, as it would be a suicide mission, North Korea has been found to have flouted sanctions by transferring weapons and nuclear technology to US enemies.

One solution that's increasingly discussed and apparently one of McMaster's ideas is to teach North Korea a lesson with force. The "bloody nose" strategy, whereby the US carries out a limited strike on North Korea in response to some provocation, could achieve this.

Striking North Korea risks a major conflict that could quickly go nuclear. China, or even Russia, may get involved. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, could die.

As Uri Friedman points out in The Atlantic, McMaster's strategy would make a lot of sense as a bluff to convince US enemies that the country is now willing to risk a war to protect its interests. But Friedman quotes John Nagl, a retired lieutenant colonel who worked extensively with McMaster, as saying that's unlikely.
Meet Amina J. Mohammed the deputy general secretary of the United Nations(UN) and Amina Mohamed Jibril, the current Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary of Kenya.

Both women are of a mixed background and coincidentally were both born in 1956 just four months apart.

Amina J.Mohammed was born to a Nigerian father and a British mother while Amina Mohamed Jibril was born to a Kenyan and a Somali.

After successful individual careers both women found themselves at the United Nations where they both served extensively in very high capacities.

Kenyas current foreign minister served as Chairperson, Coordinator and Spokesperson for the African Group in the WTO's Human Rights Commission and later became a Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In 2005, Mohamed became the first woman to chair the WTO's General Council.

Amina J. Mohammed served as the Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 development planning. Prior to this position, she acted as the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the Millennium Development Goals after serving three presidents over a period of six years.

Getting to the top has not been easy for the two Aminas.
ORLANDO, Florida  Jack in the Box says it is considering swapping some cashiers with robots as the minimum wage rises in California.

"As we see the rising costs of labor, it just makes sense" to consider adding new automated technology, CEO Leonard Comma said Tuesday at the ICR Conference.

Jack in the Box previously tested technology such as kiosks. According to Comma, the kiosks resulted in a higher average check and helped with efficiency. But at the time Comma said the cost of installing the kiosks wasn't worth it.

But with minimum wages increasing, Jack in the Box is reconsidering the use of kiosks and other technology, Comma said.

Minimum wages areincreasing in 18 states in 2018, including California, where the West Coast-centric Jack in the Box is based. California is on track to become the first state with a $15 minimum wage.

Jack in the Box isn't the only fast-food chain that has considered using automation to reduce labor costs and modernize.

Wendy's announced plans to install self-ordering kiosks within a year. McDonald's is adding kiosks to 2,500 stores, though it pledged not to replace cashiers with kiosks.

Smaller chains such as Eatsa and CaliBurger have been working on automating the entire restaurant experience.
 She ultimately left Warren to pursue a singing career, but they remained amicably married until her death in 2004.

 Susan also introduced her husband to Astrid Menks, who became his companion. Buffett and Menks married in 2006.

For much of his life, investment guru Warren Buffett has had a less-than-conventional marriage.

While he remained married to his first wife, Susan, from 1952 till her death in 2004, he lived with Astrid Menks. Menks and Buffett didn't tie the knot until 2006, two years after Susan died.

But family members said the unusual arrangement worked for all those involved. According to the Daily Mail, the trio would even send out Christmas cards together  signed Warren, Susan, and Astrid.

"Unconventional is not a bad thing," Buffett's daughter, Susie Buffett, told the New York Times. "More people should have unconventional marriages."

Here's a look inside Warren Buffett's married life.

Buffett's connection to his first wife, Susan, goes back to long before they were even born.

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Susan's grandfather once ran a campaign for Republican United States Representative Howard Buffett, Warren's grandfather. It apparently didn't go well. Their daughter, Susie Buffett, told Business Insider that it was "the only time my grandpa Buffett lost."

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Before he met Susan, Warren busied himself trying to win the heart of a woman named Betty Gallagher in 1949. She happened to be dating a ukulele player, so Buffett took up the instrument too.

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Betty wasn't swayed. But Buffett's hobby  which he continues to showcase at parties and meetings  paid off in the long run.

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The next year, Buffett met Susan Thompson. She was the room mate of Buffett's sister, Roberta, at Northwestern University. Like Betty, she was also already seeing someone else.

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Buffett formed a friendship with her father Bill, a professor and mandolin player who knew his parents. They would jam out together in the Thompson residence, giving Buffett the opportunity to call on Susan.

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He continued to visit the Thompsons, even after he left to go to business school at Columbia University. Eventually, Buffett's musical wooing paid off. Susan and Warren were married in 1952.

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The couple had three children together. Susie, the eldest, is a philanthropist. Howard, the middle child, is a businessman and politician who was recently sworn in as sheriff of Macon County, Illinois. Peter, the youngest, is a musician.

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According to a Time article, the couple got along well in many regards, but their relationship was strained by Buffett's intense work ethic.

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After Berkshire Hathaway bought a stake in The Washington Post, publisher Katherine Graham and Buffett struck up a flirtatious relationship. They would jaunt off to Martha's Vineyard together, and Graham even had a habit of throwing her keys to the investor during charity events and parties. Susan was reportedly furious and began an affair with a tennis instructor.

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The couple began living separately in 1977, when Susan left for California to pursue a singing career. Buffett was reportedly devastated by her departure.

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"It was definitely 95% my fault ... I just wasn't attuned enough to her, and she'd always been perfectly attuned to me," he said, according to the New York Daily News. "She kept me together for a lot of years ... It shouldn't have happened."

Buffett's children worried that their father would be able to get along without their mother. "I was concerned about him being able to function in the normal world," Susie Buffett said.

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Then, the following year, Susan introduced her husband to restaurant hostess and Latvian immigrant Astrid Menks. They had become friends when Susan began singing at the restaurant. Astrid quickly moved in and became Buffett's companion.

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The three remained close and essentially functioned as a trio. "Astrid and my mother were very close  really loved each other," Susie Buffett told The New York Times. According to Time, Buffett would often say, "Susie put me together and Astrid keeps me together."

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After a battle with cancer, Susan passed away from a stroke in 2004. She and Warren were visiting friends in Cody, Wyoming at the time.

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Buffett and Astrid married in 2006, on his 76th birthday. The wedding was a modest event followed by a reception at the Bonefish Grill, a casual seafood chain.

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According to his daughter Susie, Buffett had been thinking about marrying Astrid for some time after his first wife's death. "He's been talking about this for a while," she told The New York Times. "It's something he wanted to do."
When The Wing, a coworking space and social club for women, launched in October 2016, founders Audrey Gelman and Lauren Kassan didn't realize how large the demand for membership would be or exactly the type of comfort it would provide its members. In the months before the 2016 presidential election, Gelman, who has experience working in politics, said she believed Hillary Clinton would win.

"This was going to be the golden age of women in power, so women could have rooms like this," she told Business Insider in October of last year. "It was sort of a triumphant concept. Obviously that's not what happened."

Overnight, after Donald Trump's victory, The Wing was inundated with calls from members and people on the waitlist, who, according to Kassan, were saying, "I didn't realize how much I wanted or needed a space like this."

Now, the club has over 1,500 members and also plans to launch a fourth location in Washington, DC this spring.

In November, The Wing raised $32 million in a Series B funding round led by WeWork, bringing its total investment to $42 million, according to Forbes. NEA also contributed to the funding round.

The Wing's prices, which vary between $2,350 to $2,700 a year, offer members access to a variety of perks. With a focus on growing a community for its members, the club provides more than a place to set up your laptop. Speaking events, community volunteer opportunities, movie screenings, and happy hours provide a home base for its members to build relationships.

The Wing is serious about its no-men-allowed rule. On the day we got a tour of the new Dumbo space  we were told not to bring along any male coworkers. See below for photos of both the Dumbo and SoHo locations.

Gelman realized she needed a space like The Wing while working a job that always had her on the go. Instead of changing outfits for events and meetings in "random bathrooms around the city," she envisioned a space designed with her needs in mind.

The spacious bathrooms, showers, lockers, and beauty room provide women with a safe space to prep and primp for their day.

Inside the new Dumbo location, perks such as a recording studio for members and their guests is available to rent out.

There's also a mini workout and meditation space  members can conduct private yoga or barre classes, or bring in their own instructors.

Other perks include a The Perch cafe, secret telephone booths located inside the bookshelves, and a vintage photo booth free to use for members.

Kassan, the COO, saw an opportunity to create a community: "For me it's really about the community that can come out of this space. The original idea of having a space of convenience  but also creating a space that you can meet new women in."

Gelman, who was a junior aide during Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential run and, later, a spokeswoman for New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, sees The Wing as a natural progression from her political career.

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"It was sort of adjacent to politics in the sense that it had a mission, and I don't think we realized how crucial that mission was going to become," Gelman said. "I love getting to do this right now because it's advancing the values and issues that I care about, but doing it outside of politics."

The 10,000-square-foot space has two meeting rooms that can be rented out by members.

There's also a nap room for those who need a moment of quiet.

The pump room for nursing mothers also provides a quiet, private space.

A cafe and bar has breakfast items, sandwiches, and coffee.

Large skylights and high ceilings create a bright and airy atmosphere.

These eight private telephone booths were added to the second location following member demand.

Past the bustling cafe area is the quiet library space filled with books. Curated by The Strand  another women-owned business  the collection is made up entirely of books by female authors.

As far as the membership base, Gelman and Kassan aim to keep it diverse. "We look at membership in terms of diversity: career, racial, and ethnic diversity, age diversity, and usage diversity to make sure not everyone is coming at the exact same time," Kassan said.

Members are "women who are teachers, physicians, women in tech, fashion and marketing. Also, we have a microbiologist, a woman who is an aerospace engineer, and someone getting her Ph.D. in scent technology," Gelman said.

Prices for The Wing start at an annual $2,350 for access to a single location, or $215 a month. To access all locations, the price is $2,700 annually or $250 monthly.

According to Gelman, new membership tiers and scholarships are still in the works.

"There's been demand that we didn't anticipate, which is humbling," Gelman said.
Fingerprint readers that hide underneath the display have long been rumoured and talked about, and today, Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is actually making that a reality.

At CES 2018, the company unveiled a production-ready (but, as of yet, unnamed) smartphone that has both a near-borderless display as well as a fingerprint reader, but the scanner itself is nowhere to be seen.

That's because, for the first time in a finalized product, the scanner is hidden behind the display, at the bottom, and it uses a sensor from technology firm Synaptics to authenticate a user's unique fingerprint by peering through the gaps in between the screen's pixels.

The biometric identification tech itself isn't new, and neither is the concept; Qualcomm has showcased a number of prototypes over the last few years, and its own ultrasonic reader (which aims to achieve the same purpose as Synaptics') is said to make its way to actual devices in 2018.

Synaptics' reader, however, is not ultrasonic, but optical: The so-called Clear ID is actually a small sensor that sits right beneath the device's organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, and can recognize a fingerprint by scanning the space in between each individual pixel.

It's important to note that the display technology is OLED; OLED panels, in fact, have those light-emitting diodes that light up individually, and therefore don't require the presence of a backlight, which would make it impossible for a sensor like Clear ID to see between each pixel.

MrMobile YouTube channel's owner Michael Fisher, who is attending Las Vegas' CES and got some hands-on time with the device, says that the sensor itself is relatively fast, too, although not as quick as more recent capacitive keys like the ones the OnePlus 5T or Huawei's Mate 10 Pro have. It takes about 0.7 seconds, which is more or less as fast as first-generation fingerprint readers were.

What is worthy of note, however, is that Vivo  a big but relatively unknown manufacturer  managed to get the technology right (with Synaptics' help, of course) and create a production-ready device before giants like Samsung and Apple.

For almost the entirety of 2017, before the iPhone X was announced, rumours kept going around until as late as August (a month before the unveiling) about Apple scrambling to fit Touch ID under the OLED panel.

Apple has since dismissed these rumors, and has insisted the choice to invest in Face ID's facial-recognition technology was made long before the rumors began. The company said that Face ID was their plan from the start, and that they consider facial recognition as a superior technology, but that didn't stop speculation. Samsung was another victim of such speculation, and possibly even worse than Apple.

Samsung reportedly first tried to embed a fingerprint scanner in last year's Galaxy S8, but without much luck, which forced them to take a last-minute decision and slap an unergonomic reader on the back  something the company did again with the Galaxy Note 8 some six months later.

The Galaxy S9 will likely be announced within a few months, and the final product is arguably going to be very close to ready by now (Samsung has massive production demands which force them to start operations well in advance); the latest rumours are all pointing out to a device that will still use a capacitive reader, possibly somewhere else on the back.

This won't stop other forthcoming flagships from following in Vivo's footsteps, however, as the trend of borderless displays takes over the entire industry and facial recognition systems are harder to implement.

"According to statistics from global consultancy Canalys, smartphone vendors shipped 22 million full-screen smartphones worldwide in the second quarter in 2017, up from 700,000 in the first quarter of this year," Vivo wrote in a blog post. "UBI Research predicted that bezel-less displays will grow in market share from 20% in 2017 to over 50% by 2020."

Because of Apple's decision to move forward with face recognition, however, smartphones in 2018 will likely be divided into two camps: Those who are able to replicate Face ID's mixture of convenience and security, and those who will seek to stick with a more advanced version of a proven biometric system (fingerprint reading).

For a full hands-on, you can watch MrMobile's video down below.
Apple's delayed launch for the iPhone X gave a massive boost to its biggest competitor, Samsung.

According to statistics from Kantar Worldpanel, Samsung made a huge gain in UK market share during the three months to September, rising 7.1 percentage points to 37.5%.

Apple lost share over that period to 34.8%.

Apple continued to lose share through September and October as a result of delaying the iPhone X launch until November. Normally new iPhones are released in September.

Analyst Dominic Sunnebo said Samsung had taken maximum advantage of the delay.

"Certainly in the UK, Samsung had a strong three months prior to the iPhone X," he told Business Insider. "We saw Samsung hitting its highest ever share in the UK, and they took as much advantage as they could of that window. There was a significant amount of promotional activity, and it highlighted a bigger price gulf [with Apple.]"

Samsung released its Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus flagships in April, giving it a headstart of seven months on Apple. Samsung's phones are at least 200 cheaper than the 999 iPhone X too.

Once the iPhone X came out though, the picture started to change.

While Samsung's been the most popular smartphone brand in the UK all year, Apple took the top spot in November. The iPhone maker had its highest ever market share for the UK at almost 50%, almost entirely due to iPhone X purchases.

That's good news, but the real test is whether Apple can maintain that position past November.

Sunnebo said: "It's not surprising that in the first month of release you see the iPhone X doing very well, but obviously once that fan base has fulfilled its desire, the question is whether or not mainstream consumers will be able to stump up that kind of money."
If you've renewed your commitment to getting fit now that January has arrived, you may be wondering how much time that goal will require.

For your workouts to produce real results, exercise has to be a regular habit, Chris Jordan, the exercise physiologist who came up with the 7-minute workout, told Business Insider.

Jordan's viral routine, officially called the "Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout" is based on a popular form of fitness called interval training. It's designed to give you the benefits of a sweaty bike ride or longer cardio workout in just a few minutes  but you have to commit to doing it regularly.

That means working out three to five times a week, at the minimum, Jordan said.

His insight is bolstered by a new study published in January in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation that found that the best results for heart health were gleaned when participants worked out four to five times a week.

For that study, researchers split 53 adults into two groups, one of which did two years of supervised exercise four to five days a week, while the other simply did yoga and balance exercises. At the end of the study, the higher-intensity exercisers saw significant improvements in their heart's performance.

"We found what we believe to be the optimal dose of the right kind of exercise," Benjamin Levine, the author of the study and a professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern, said in a statement.

That advice holds steady whether you're looking for physical results like leaner limbs and toned muscles or psychological ones like improved mood and higher energy levels. Both Jordan and Levine recommend interspersing cardio  running on a treadmill, riding a bike, or doing high-intensity interval training with resistance training like planks, squats, or leg raises.

Here's an example five-day training plan you can try that Jordan shared with us:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday:

Whichever workout you try, however, the most important thing is to keep doing it.
The Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has hit a major stumbling block in its US expansion plans, with its first deal with an American carrier apparently falling through because of political pressure. A second deal is also looking shaky.

Huawei had been set to launch its new flagship smartphone, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, with AT&T in February. But according to The Wall Street Journal, the carrier backed out of the deal without any explanation. AT&T is the second-biggest carrier in the US, and the collapse of the deal essentially shuts Huawei out of the US smartphone market.

A second deal with Verizon is looking unlikely, with the carrier also under political pressure to cancel a planned summer launch of the Mate 10 Pro, according to Android Police.

AT&T and Verizon have not commented, but Huawei said it would be launching the Mate 10 Pro in the US without carrier partners.

AT&T's cancellation comes weeks after the US Senate and House intelligence committees reportedly sent letters to the Federal Communications Commission arguing that Huawei was a security threat. It was also worried about US carrier deals with the smartphone maker.

It's awkward timing for Huawei, which showed off the Mate 10 Pro at the tech show CES this week. During the launch, the consumer CEO Richard Yu said the firm had the "highest standard in privacy and security" and said the carrier deals were a "big loss" for customers, who now have less choice.

Huawei said it would sell the Mate 10 Pro in the US unlocked, meaning it won't be attached to any particular carrier. Most US consumers don't buy unlocked phones, though, instead going through carriers to buy new phones.

Huawei is the fourth-biggest smartphone maker globally because of its massive popularity in Asia, according to IDC. It has also made strong inroads in the UK and is the third-biggest brand behind Samsung and Apple, according to Counterpoint. But it has never managed to crack the US, and the firm will have to rethink its expansion plans after this latest blow.

This isn't the first time US politicians have suspected Huawei of being a security threat, though they have never offered proof in public.
Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S9 and its release date at a launch event during Mobile World Congress in late February, DJ Koh, the president of the company's mobile business, said at a press conference at CES.

Rumors previously suggested Samsung would unveil its 2018 flagship smartphone at CES, the tech industry trade show in Las Vegas this week.

And before Samsung's announcement, the release timeline for the Galaxy S9 was up in the air.

Samsung announced its previous S-series smartphone, the Galaxy S8, at a standalone event in New York in late March. But because it was the first smartphone Samsung launched after discontinuing its Galaxy Note 7  some of which were found to have a battery defect that could cause it to explode or catch on fire  the company delayed the launch to implement a new safety-testing protocol to ensure the phones' batteries were safe, it said.

Unveiling the new Galaxy phone at MWC would be more in step with Samsung's usual launch cycle. It has announced the Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, and Galaxy S7 at the convention, which takes place in Barcelona.

Based on what we've heard so far, it doesn't sound as if the Galaxy S9, expected to go on sale in March, will have many major updates.

Koh said consumers could expect updates to Samsung's artificially intelligent assistant, Bixby, especially to its user interface. Rumors suggest the device may have a design like that of the S8, with some small tweaks to the camera and placement of the rear fingerprint scanner.
Vermont's Republican governor, Phil Scott, signed a bill legalizing marijuana in the state on Monday.

The move makes Vermont the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislature, rather than a ballot initiative. The previous eight states to legalize marijuana, along with Washington D.C., have all done so through a statewide vote.

The Vermont Senate approved the measure, which allows the possession and recreational consumption of marijuana for adults over the age of 21, earlier this month. The move came as a sharp rebuke to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement that the Justice Department will go back to enforcing federal drug laws in states that have legalized marijuana.

Vermont's new bill is limited in scope  it doesn't establish a market for production and sale of the drug.

Gov. Scott signed the bill with "mixed emotions," he said in a statement, and he vetoed a previous version in May.

"

The new policy will go into effect on July 1. Some lawmakers may press to establish a market for the sale of marijuana after that.

Sessions is a longtime opponent of legalized marijuana. The Attorney General rescinded the Obama-era directive known as the Cole Memo, which instructed the Justice Department to place a low priority on

Activists in favor of marijuana legalization are cheering the state's move.
Another day, another unusual company taking the dive into the cryptocurrency space.

Kodak, the once iconic camera company, is licensing its brand to Spotlite, which builds computers designed to mine bitcoin, for a new line of bitcoin-mining machines that they plan to rent to the public for thousands of dollars. Although just how associated Kodak wants to be with the device is an open question.

On Tuesday, at Kodak's booth at CES, the tech industry trade show in Las Vegas this week, the company showed off the new mining computer, then dubbed the Kodak KashMiner, and company's representatives handed out flyers to promote the arrangement with Spotlite. The device on display and in the flyer had the Kodak logo featured prominently.

But when we returned to Kodak's booth on Thursday, Kodak's logo was noticeably missing from the bitcoin miners. Instead it carried Spotlite's brand.

In addition to still trying to figure out the branding on the miner, the companies are also apparently still trying to figure out the terms under which they'll rent the machines to customers.

On the flyer, the companies said they'd ask prospective customers to sign a two-year deal and pay $3,400 up front to rent the mining machines, which are used to support the bitcoin network and create new coins. As part of the agreement, Spotlite would gets to keep half of all proceeds the machines generate by mining bitcoin.

Spotlite and Kodak estimated customers would earn $375 a month, making $9,000 over the two-year rental period.

But a Kodak representative later said the deal terms were preliminary and weren't necessarily what the companies would offer customers.

After seeing the announcement and the terms in the flyer, some people harshly criticized the new service on Twitter. Some argued that Kodak's jumping into bitcoin mining was evidence of a bubble in cryptocurrencies. Others said that because mining bitcoin gradually becomes more difficult over time, Kodak KashMiner customers may see far smaller returns than they anticipated.

There is no way your magica... @ Saifedean Ammous

Allowing for the 15% diffic... @ Saifedean Ammous

Kodak is selling a Bitcoin ... @ Chris Hoffman

I work for a company that i... @ Laz Alberto

Dot-com madness all over ag... @ hussein kanji

Such concerns, however, haven't put off some customers  Spotlite's existing capacity is already sold out, a representative told the BBC.

"At this time we have 80 miners, and we expect another 300 to arrive shortly," the representative said. "There is a big pile-up of demand."

The new bitcoin-mining rental service was one of two blockchain-related announcements from Kodak at CES on Tuesday.

The company also said it would team up with Wenn Digital to launch a blockchain-based rights-management service and related cryptocurrency. The service is aimed at tracking the online use of licensed photographs and ensuring photographers get paid for their works.

Kodak's stock skyrocketed more than 117% on Tuesday.
Nur Warsame, who is Australias only openly gay Imam, says he wants to build a place that could also be safe house and counseling center.

He says this is important to him because of the avalanche of misery that many LGBTI Muslims who have no support services or safe spaces are dealing with.

ABC News reports that Warsame is really passionate because of the daily calls he gets from young Muslims who face violent resistance from their family and community.

In his words, One of the essential things that our young people need is safe, affordable housing. For young people to transition safely they cannot be in the environment that is causing them the trauma.

I had seven people housed at my one-bedroom apartment  because it was life or death for them. They had to leave [their family home] that day, then and there.

How the LGBTI-friendly mosque will be built

The Imams dream may soon be a reality as he is currently talking with philanthropists to secure a building in Melbournes inner city.

He is also working closely with the Victoria Police to get a secure location for the mosque.

Warsames dream is for the building to have a roof-shaped like the dome of a mosque. Inside, that circle thing looks like a mihrab, which is where the Imam stands to pray."

It is central, it is very close to a lot of the services I recommend people to Prahran Market Clinic, which is a medical center for LGBT people, the hospital is just up the road, the police station is also down the road.

He was once an Imam in one of Melbournes largest mosques. This changed when he came out as gay in 2010.
A pastor named Andy Savage in a megachurch in Memphis, Tennessee is receiving heat online after a recent report that claims he allegedly sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl.

The fact that this incident reportedly happened while he was serving as a youth minister at his previous church is not stopping social media users from talking.

The alleged sexual assault

Huffington Post reports that the victim, identified as Jules Woodson, was inspired by the recent #MeToo anti-sexual harassment movement to share her story on a Christian blog called Wartburg Watch.

She also sent an email to Savage last month with the subject line Do you remember? Woodson says she did not get a response to the email.

In the email, she wrote, Do you remember that night that you were supposed to drive me home from church and instead drove me to a deserted back road and sexually assaulted me?  Well, I REMEMBER.

On the blog, she recounts the sexual assault which occurred in 1998 while she was in high school.

On that fateful day, she accepted a ride after a church event from Savage, who was the youth minister of her church, the Woodlands Parkway Baptist Church in Texas at that time.

During the ride, Woodson says he took a detour to a deserted forested area without her consent.

After parking the vehicle, she says, Savage unzipped his jeans and pulled out his penis. He asked me to suck it. I was scared and embarrassed, but I did it. I remember feeling that this must mean that Andy loved me. He then asked me to unbutton my shirt. I did. He started touching me over my bra and then lifted my bra up and began touching my breasts.

Afterwards, she says he suddenly jumped out of the vehicle, ran over to her and started pleading. She writes, You cant tell anyone, Jules, please. You have to take this to the grave with you."

Woodson says she felt fear, shame, anger and hurt resulting in her reporting him to the church leaders who engaged in a cover-up to protect my abuser and the image of the church.

She alleges that church never came out with an official statement addressing what had happened and/or what was being done about it.

Instead, they held a going-away reception for Andy at the church in which he was allowed to simply say that he had made a poor decision and that it was time for him to move on from our church.

She adds, To anyone who has suffered from sexual abuse in the church and the subsequent cover-up and pressure to remain silent, I want you to know that it is not your fault. Most importantly, I want you to know that you are not alone.

The pastor responds to the sexual assault

Savage, who is also an author, podcast host, husband and a father of five, has released a statement acknowledging what he calls the sexual incident.

He writes, I was and remain very remorseful for the incident and deeply regret the pain I caused her and her family, as well as the pain I caused the church and Gods Kingdom.

As a college student on staff at a church in Texas  I regretfully had a sexual incident with a female high school senior in the church.

I apologized and sought forgiveness from her, her parents, her discipleship group, the church staff, and the church leadership, who informed the congregation.

In agreement with wise counsel, I took every step to respond in a biblical way. I resigned from the ministry and moved back home to Memphis. I accepted full responsibility for my actions.

There has never been another situation remotely similar in my life before or after that occurrence. The incident happened before [my wife] Amanda and I were engaged and I shared every aspect of this situation with her before I asked her to marry me. I further disclosed this incident to Chris Conlee before coming on staff at Highpoint and have shared with key leaders throughout my tenure.

The pastors current church reacts

The leaders of Savages megachurch have also reacted to the ongoing sexual assault issue.

In a statement, Chris Conlee, the lead pastor of Highpoint Church, said: This information is not new to me or to our leadership.

On behalf of the elders, pastors, staff, and Trustees of Highpoint, I want to affirm that we are 100% committed to Andy [Savage]  and his continued ministry at Highpoint Church.
It should be stated that confraternities should not be mistaken for secret cults. In the 50s, confraternities were created with noble ideas and objectives.

A generation later, Nigerian campuses would begin to see violent activities from secret cults. By the time the 90s hit, secret cults in universities would be a scourge. They became a threat to school authorities.

We are far from the dark days in the 1990s but secret cults still persist in our ivory towers.

Why do undergraduates join secret cults? The reasons are many but here are five of them;

1. Protection

Every association has something it promises its members. Protection is the foremost promise cult groups offer their "Jews" as one of the campus cult groups would call their new catches.

Of course, no student would like to be on campus to suffer. And getting protection from friends is an idea innocent students would gladly embrace.

Meanwhile, where naive students walk into such groups not knowing the meaning of protection the group is offering them, others walk into the group knowing fully well that being a cult member covers them under a protective umbrella of a secret association.

2. Power

Power gives you wings. Wings that can make you fly above everyone else on campus and lord your presence over everyone. This is the kind of narrative some cult groups deploy to lure innocent students into their midst.

And any student who feels having such power would make him cut corners, escape lecturers punishments and feel like a lord among his peers would buy the rhetoric and get initiated in no time.

3. Revenge

The distasteful sweet feeling that comes with harming someone in return for an injury is what propelled some students to join cult gang.

The need to exert revenge on a campus bully, lecturer, or a fellow student who wronged another is a prominent reason for joining among cult members.

This explains why there is always a reprisal attack each time a cult group strikes another. In fact, revenge among cult groups is a horrible game of numbers.

4. Low Self-esteem

The quest to find a way to express oneself could lead a student with low self-esteem to join cult group to feel important. Cultism offers a fertile ground for such students to find ugly confidence in violence and dastardly acts.

5. Peer Influence
She might feature alongside Hollywood hot shots, Don Cheadle, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson and others. Her name appeared on the cast lineup of the movie provided by IMDb, a reputed online database known for listing latest film projects.

Pulse reached out to Akindele, for a confirmation of this unconfirmed story but the actress has yet to respond. Pulse also reached out to her publicist who hasn't responded also.

Lagos which is home to Funke Akindele was featured in a "Captain America: Civil War" fighting scene, where some Marvel superheroes were involved in a battle.

If the report concerning the actress' involvement is true, it will be the first time a Nigerian-born actor will appear in a Hollywood superhero movie.

ALSO READ: Funke Akindele releases new posters for TV series
The series follows the story of a married couple, Remi Castle and her husband Tega  two lawyers who run a successful practice in Lagos. They met 20 years ago when he taught her in law school.

About legal drama series "Castle and Castle"

A former law professor, Tega is passionate about human rights. However, as the years have gone by and the nature of the firm has changed, he has had to fight extra-hard to get such cases.

Remi is a beautiful, brilliant woman who loves her husband, but they have different legal interests  she prefers clients that have deep pockets and pay massive retainers.

Their marriage is put to the test, as a host of family issues crop up and affect their work.

"Castle and Castle" will take viewers through their lives and they band together against outsiders and fight each other when their individual desires clash.

Will their marriage survive or will it succumb to the pressures of their work environment?

Cast and Crew of legal drama series "Castle and Castle"

Produced by Isioma Osaje and Temidayo Abudu, "Castle and Castle" is directed by Niyi Akinmolayan, Tope Oshin and Kenneth Gyang.

The series also features Eku Edewor, Deyemi Okanlawon, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Dorcas Shola Fapson, Ade Laoye, Diipo Ayo-Adeusi, Anee Icha, Denola Grey among others.

The series will be exclusive to EbonyLife TV, which has been home to series such as "Desperate Housewives Africa," "Fifty The Series,""Dere," "Sons of the Caliphate" and "The Governor."
You know what happened last year. Wizkid took his artistry to the US and UK, where much of his work was tweaked, and his artistry adapted for a different market. The crowds in the US and UK were the target. Wizkid was pulled from his base in Nigeria and transferred with enough cash in hand through New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, London, and other cities, where he recorded and promoted an experimental album for his deal with Sony Music.

RCA Records, a division of Sony handled it all, distributing it worldwide. And yes, the argument against this has always been that the project is from a Nigerian artist, and he was making music for everyone. But when you look at it critically, he wasnt making music for Africa. Wizkid has never spoken about that project on African soil. During the roll-out, no African city had a promotional stop. The press tour was done in the US and UK. The listening parties to promote and celebrate the project happened far away from the continent.

Everything was from, and on the other side. Nothing happened for us here.

But fans didnt mind. Wizkid is already a shareholder in their hearts and holdings. If he took his music to space, collaborated with one-eyed green Martians and called it Sounds From The Astro Side, you would find Nigerians fighting over him and linking it to Felas legacy. You would see tweets that read: Wizkid becomes the first African artist to record with a Martian. Hes the pioneer of Astro rap music, beating Jay-Z, Beyonce and your flying Edo Aunty to it.

Thats how loved he is.

Reception of SFTOS

But his sojourn in the US and UK ensured that he made a record that didnt quite resonate deeply with the masses. Come closer and Daddy Yo did some good work for him, but that wasnt enough back home to keep him as the hottest artist. I remember taking a bike in Lagos and engaging the rider. All through he kept complaining.

Make Wizzy give us better gbedu na? I no understand wetin him dey sing again, he complained.

No matter how much I attempted to explain that SFTOS was a great album which would transition Wizkid, the man was adamant. Who send am go there? No be music wey we dey ask for? Wetin carry am go America?

This might sound crude and lacking in understanding. But it carried a message with it: Wizkid needs to make local music, a gbedu that would ensure that hes leading from home and away. Thats what Davido did in 2017, dominating at home due to his local records which were started and inspired by Africa. We carried If and Fall on our heads because it connected. Come closer was dope and had an international promotional budget, but when you hit the streets of Somolu, they are more likely to be moved by 30 billion for the account oh, than Me love my Hennessy straight with chaser

After his promotion for SFTOS, Wizkid came back to Lagos and began to record like his career depended on it. He called everyone and anyone, to make a record with him. It was that creative tour de force that finally gave him his saving grace, Manya. And while he sang about throwing his money on a girl's head and waist, Nigerians actually carried the record on their heads, and it inspired their waists to move to it. And so he ended with a bang.

New Album Coming Soon

Wizkid is working on a new album now. Hes recording in Lagos, Nigeria, with local producers who are tasked with giving him the best of melodies and beats for a new project. For now, hes satisfied RCA with a project. Theres still some promotion to be done for that, but thats for them on the other side.

On this side, where the air smells of traffic, and young goats feed on puff-puff, theres new music to be made, Naija style.
The alleged murder occurred on Thursday, December 14, 2017, at their residence located in Mowo. The police were notified of the killing through a local chief known as 'Baale'. The efforts of law enforcement officers in a bid to apprehend the suspect have so far been fruitless.

Kalejaiye, who was pictured lying dead near the well, was a mother of three children before her passing. This factor is probably why some Instagram users didn't have a lot of nice things to say about the suspect.

Thormylorlarh Bethel, who commented on a post shared by Instagram on the matter, criticized the abusive behaviour of men in the treatment of their wives.

"Thunder fire all men who think woman are their property they can't do whatever they want with them," the user wrote.

Husbands are killing their wives for petty reasons

Violence against women in their marriages is sadly one of the major themes of a Nigerian society which still sees people of the female gender as objects.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in a report published in the year 2017, revealed how a man named Bamaiyi Tanko killed his wife, Auta, because she refused to serve him a meal.

ALSO READ: Woman kills stepson because her children were neglected by husband

This occurred in Niger State, where the suspect, 50, employed the use of a cutlass to commit murder.
A statement offered by Dr. Ernest Ochang, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), embodied the feelings of medical practitioners. Members seemed highly disturbed concerning the incessant kidnapping that has overwhelmed the state in recent weeks.

Udoh's seizure occurred shortly after another doctor, Usang Ekanem was released by some hooded men. The freedom of the latter was facilitated by NMA's threat to down tools.

Some viral images saw a march of protesters belonging to the medical association who held out banners calling for the release of the their abducted member.

The outcry was launched at the office of the Cross River governor according to some pictures.

This is to inform the general public, particularly those resident in Cross River State that another medical doctor was kidnapped on January 8, 2018.

"This is coming after Dr. Usang Ekanem was suddenly released after we threatened a sit at home action. The young doctor was coming back from an extended duty of caring for children which is her passion and had to work beyond her schedule due to the few hands available in her unit.

"We wish to inform Cross Riverians that this is one too many and a direct affront on our corporate existence. We took an oath to save lives and that much we must do. We pay tax and desire to live peacefully in the society.

"This targeted attack on us is unexplainable. What is more worrisome is the quietness of government whose responsibility is to provide security for its citizens. It is our collective resolve to call government to act through whatever means that is at our disposal," Ochang said in a statement.

Kidnappings in Nigeria appear too easy

Gangs who venture into the act of abducting people mainly as a means to extort the families and associates of their victims have found it too easy.

It suggests a weakness when it concerns the availability of security in Nigeria. Despite the perceived porosity in the quality of policing in Nigeria, law enforcement officers have recorded some remarkable achievement in high profile cases.

In the year 2017, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) successfully apprehended notorious kidnapper Chukwudidumeme Onuamadike, 36, also known as Evans.

The suspect who is still in the custody of the police is reportedly responsible for the abduction of a bunch of top personalities in Nigeria.

His capture opened up a can of worms relating to kidnappings in the country.

Also, Anuoluwapo Joshua, 28, a woman believed to have abducted a three-year-old girl named Patience at the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was nabbed by policemen in Ogun State.

The suspect who was arrested on Friday, December 29, 2017, reportedly carried out the abduction in July 2017.

According to Punch News, Patience's mother discovered that she was missing after returning from an errand. Since this period, there have been futile efforts to recover the little girl until recently.
The device is the latest in the CAMON Series family and reemphasizes the brands knack for designing high-end smartphones with sophisticated cameras.

While chronicling the brands growth and sheer market dominance, Eric Liu, Brand Manager of TECNO Mobile, Nigeria highlighted the companys efforts to make revolutionary smartphones that will usher smartphone enthusiasts into an era of endless possibilities on the mobile devices and exceptional photography experiences.

In his words, the smartphone has been reinvented and OEMs globally are always on the lookout for the next big thing to talk about. At TECNO, we take pride in our ability to understand and meet our consumers needs, and eventually surpass their expectations.

With the CAMON CM, TECNO has delivered a very stylish full-screen display smartphone. The fullview display device produces an immersive experience when consuming videos, reading books, capturing images or even surfing the Internet. The frameless device simplifies multi-tasking and offers users an opportunity to split their screen (18:9 screen support single window 1:1 split-screen operating with only one step ), so that they can handle more than one task while still being able to see more on either of the split windows.

In accordance to consumers preferences, we are gradually becoming camera driven and this trend is evident in the camera-centric designs of our smartphones. Adopting our strategy of think globally, act locally, we are able to understand our consumers preferences and provide them with every support necessary to ensure that they canexpress themselves wholeheartedly Eric added.

Speaking about the exclusive sales and partnership with TECNO Mobile, the Managing Director of 3C Hub Mr. Xia Song stated we are excited about our partnership with TECNO and the opportunity to launch the CAMON CM with them. As always, we always strive to deliver superior smartphone retail services to end-users thus, signing an exclusive partnership for the launch of the CAMON CM is a big deal for us.

Selfies have just gotten a jig with the CAMON CMs 13MP front camera module that delivers exceptional HDR portrait with night shot algorithm that lifts weak light, reduces noise in single frame and captures clearer night shots. Users can adjust the super bright flash of the front camera by pressing the screen to introduce just the right amount of light required to produce a stunning photo.

Similarly, the rear camera dons the same camera rating and its 4-LED ring flash is optimized to fill light till it reaches a more balanced light filling before producing any shot.

With 3 colors of city blue, midnight black and champagne gold, booking of the CAMON CM will run from January 10  14while, first sales will follow between January 15  20 at 8 selected 3C Hubs across the country. The designated outlets  Ikeja, Apapa, Mushin, Owerri, Artillery 2, Umuahia, Abuja and Enugu will service early bird consumers and reward them with exclusive Manchester City gift bags. The device will retail for N47,000 in Nigeria.

About Tecno Mobile

TECNO Mobile is the premium mobile phone brand of Transsion Holdings with a comprehensive mobile devices portfolio across feature phones, smartphones and tablets. As a brand, TECNO is dedicated to transforming state-of-art technologies into localized products under the guideline of Think Globally, Act Locally. Established in 2006, TECNO has presence in more than 40 countries across the globe. As one of the fastest growing international brands, TECNO has achieved a cumulative sales volume of 100 million units. It is now one of the top three mobile phone brands in Africa and a major player worldwide.

About Transsion

Transsion Holdings, best known in emerging markets for its leading mobile brands including TECNO, itel, Infinix and Spice, is a diversified international group specializing in mobility solutions and present in 50+ countries globally.

Its brand portfolio also comprises Carlcare for after-sales services, Oraimo for mobile accessories as well as Syinix for home appliance. Transsion has sold more than 200 million Dual-SIM mobile handsets globally and as per IDC, in 2016, the market share of mobile brands under Transsion reached 38% in Africa.

In 2016, Transsion officially entered India with its brand itel and has achieved the second Most Preferred Brand in India (as per CMR report 2017 Q1). In the same year, Transsions three mobile phone brands have been selected in 2016 Top 100 Most Admired Brands for African Consumers with TECNO ranked 14th, itel ranked 25th as well as Infinix ranked 37th.

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Press Contact

Damilola Atinmo

Tel: +234 909 321 6456

Charles Edosomwan
Tony, who expressed pain and disappointment in a series of tweets disclosed that the deceased died shortly after he was rushed to a hospital.

He reportedly gave up the ghost having suffered quite an amount of torture in the hands of the 'security' agents.

His reaction translates the mood of many Nigerians who seem to have had a fill of the rampant cases of intimidation and abuse reportedly carried out by SARS operatives.

The rate of their violent treatment of civilians appears to be on a daily basis due to numerous reports detailing the experiences of Nigerians when it concerns their dealings with SARS agents.

In Asaba, Delta State, an assault by operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), on a woman expecting quadruplet reportedly caused the latter to lose her pregnancy.

An Instagram user, Jane Mena, who is a friend of the victim revealed how the incident occurred in a post. She explained that the expectant mother went into a coma following a violent treatment in the hands of the police.

ALSO READ: Woman expecting quadruplet allegedly loses pregnancy following SARS assault
An Instagram user, Jane Mena, who is a friend of the victim revealed how the incident occurred in a long post. She explained that the expectant mother went into a coma following a violent treatment in the hands of the police.

A confrontation with a male driver proved to be the catalyst of what became a chain of unfortunate event, adding weight to the call to have the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) scrapped.

"This whole issue started from a guy who refused to reverse back a little for my friend to drive by as she couldnt go back herself Cos of the way my street was filled with stones and her car was really low.

"She then left her car on the same road the guy blocked and walked down to my house, 3mins later, we saw police men from ZONE 5 around the car, they were actually patrolling and stopped, I hurriedly told my friend to go check it out thinking we could resolve the situation amicably, on getting there, they were about to loosen her plate number leaving the other guys car that actually blocked the road and thats when I intervened on her behalf, the minute I said oga abeg leave the plate number thats how these guys shouted at me, WILL YOU GET OF HERE YOU BASTARD, YOU ARE BECOMING AN UNBECOMING," Mena began in her Instagram post.

This proved to be the genesis of the familiar feeling of molestation that accompanies an encounter with Nigerian police officers who are considered brutes and also individuals who haven't shown a proper understanding concerning what their jobs entails.

They are regarded as the sort that have embraced the attitude of intimidating the citizens as opposed to protecting them.

Mena, who was handcuffed and dragged claimed that the policemen appealed to her in respect to publishing a video recording of their experience.

The cops reportedly gave the pair a sum of N30,000 for treatment. Pulse reached out to Mena for comments who is yet to offer none at the time of this report.

We were however able to get confirmation of the incident from the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) of the Nigerian Police Force.

One of its representatives revealed that the police is aware of the alleged assault and have commenced an investigation into the matter.

"It is still under investigation," the police spokesperson told Pulse in an interview.

Public outcry over SARS

A recent public outrage has trailed the acts of violence reportedly carried out by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), who have allegedly robbed, abused and murdered some innocent Nigerians.

Their behaviour seems like an opposite of how the government want them to function and the citizens have grown impatient.

In the year 2017, the criticism of the police department grew very intense, inspiring a reaction from the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris, who gave the go-ahead for a prompt punishment of SARS operatives who have acted against protocols.

ALSO READ: More tension in Ondo as SARS operative allegedly kills man

States such as Lagos, Delta, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), saw a crowd of disgruntled people protest with placards expressing a disapproval concerning the continuance of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, which has failed to live up to the purpose of its creation.
But upon factual analysis, one is forced to rethink the possibility of this claim.

Known to be third largest of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, the typical Igbo communities are found in the southeastern part of Nigeria.

And according to oral tradition and many writers of Igbo history, Eri is to the Igbos, what Oduduwa is to the Yoruba.

But unlike Oduduwa whose father is unknown, Eri was the fifth son of Gad, the seventh son of Jacob (Genesis 46:15-18 and Numbers 26:16:18).

He was said to have migrated from Egypt with a group of companions just before the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago.

Eri and his group were said to have traveled by water and finally arrived at the confluence of Ezu and Omambala Rivers, located in present-day Aguleri, Anambra State.

We were not told how long their voyage took to get to their promised land, what we were told is that Eri and his group was divinely instructed to make the confluence of Ezu and Omambala Rivers their final destination.

They would move into the hinterland and make a settlement in the present-day Aguleri. It was here that Eri lived and died.

Meanwhile, amongst Eri's children was Agulu, the eldest son who took over from his father after his demise.

It was him who appended the name of his father, Eri, to his name and founded Agulu-Eri (Aguleri) by calling the settlement where his father Eri died and he (Agulu) lived AGULERI.

However, apart from the story of how they came into being, the Igbos also shares some similar practices with the biblical Jews. And among the Igbos, these traditional practices predate the coming of the Christian missionaries.

Examples of shared traditional practices between the Jews and the Igbos include circumcising male children eight days after birth, refraining from eating "unclean" or tabooed foods, mourning the dead for seven days and celebrating the New Moon.

Supporting this belief is Daniel Lis, a foremost researcher on Jewish Identification among the Igbo from the University of Basel, Switzerland.

He affirms that there has been a clear continuity of Jewish identity among the Igbo. "It's not just something that happened yesterday," he said.

In addition to the shared practices between the Jews and the Igbos, there is a striking evidence that forces one to see a link between the Igbos and the ancient civilization of Egypt: It is the Ancient Igbo Pyramids, which is also known as the Nsude Pyramids.

The Ancient Igbo Pyramids or Nsude Pyramids is a testimony of ancient civilization among the Igbos.

Nobody knows when it was built, but archeologists have said that the pyramids have lasted centuries and are believed to have been built at the same time the first or second wave of Egyptian pyramids were built by the Nubians.

ALSO READ: The forgotten Igbo pyramids

With similar features to that of the Stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, Egypt, one is forced to contemplate on the mystery behind their resemblance.

And without exaggeration, it can be suggested that the knowledge of one must have led to the building of the other.

Be that as it may, it should be stated here for the purpose of clarity that the word Ndi Igbo/ Ndigbo mean the "Ancient People." And according to them, the British called us IBO or (Heebos): A word synonymous to Hebrew.

There are other interesting arguments, with regard to the topic of this article, that has been presented by concerned Igbo scholars.

Notable among them is the claim that the following Igbo words/phrases were used in the bible.

1. Jee na isi isi (Genesis)

Known to be the first book in the bible, some Igbo scholars believe that the word is a corrupted version of the Igbo phrase "jee na isi isi" which when translated in English means "go to the very first".

2. Detere nu umu (Deuteronomy)

Known to be the fifth book in the Bible, the word Deuteronomy is from Latin Deuteronomium, from Greek Deuteronomion and originally from Igbo phrase "detere nu umu".

The Igbo phrase, "Detere nu umu" means "written down for the children". And actually, the book of Deuteronomy was words written down to serve as laws for the children of God.

3. Asaa bu taa (Sabbath)

According to the biblical story of creation, God rested on the seventh day. Sabbath is a day set aside for rest and worship. The word is said to be thesame with the Igbo phrase "asaa bu taa" which means "today is seventh."

4. Chere ubim (Cherubim)

Described in the Bible as a winged angel and represented in ancient Middle Eastern art as a lion or bull with eagles' wings and a human face, Cherubim is regarded in Christian angelology as an angel of the second highest order of the nine-fold celestial hierarchy.

ALSO READ: A testimony of a forgotten era

However, the name is believed to be a distorted version of the Igbo phrase "chere ubim" which means "guard my home." And of course, angels are guardians.

5. Nta lite kuo ume (Talitha cumi)

According to the book of Mark 5:41, Jesus was storied to have raised from death- the daughter of Jairus. And "Talitha cumi" were the words he used.
The state APC Chairman, Alhaji Bala Musawa, threw the challenge at a news conference in Katsina on Tuesday.

The APC is 100 per cent ready to have a face to face debate with the PDP on the allegation of mismanaging N400 billion public funds.

We are waiting for the PDP officials to fix the time for the debate, we are ready to tackle them either in the day or at night.

We are calling on them to come up with documents to prove that the state government received N400 billion either from the Federal Government or any other source within 31 months, he said.

The allegation came because the state PDP Chairman, , was disturbed that several of his top members have decamped to the ruling APC.

The former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, , and his followers as well as his deputy, , have all left for the APC.

A top PDP member, Sen. Ibrahim Ida, has also decamped to APC and a former Commissioner of Agriculture under Gov. Shehu Shema has also decamped to APC.
According to a statement by Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Operation Lafiya Dole, troops deployed to Gamboru averted what would have been a major devastating suicide attack by three female Boko Haram insurgents.

He said that troops on patrol intercepted two female suicide bombers while trying to infiltrate the Unguwar Yobe area of Gamboru at about 6. 45 a.m. on Tuesday.

Nwachukwu said that the troops neutralized the insurgents and diffused the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) strapped go their bodies.

A third female suicide bomber was intercepted within the same general area, she confessed that they were deployed at about 3.30 a.m. on Tuesday to unleash mayhem on Gamboru town.

The suicide bomber also revealed the location where she hid her IED vest and led the troops to recover it.

The recovered vests and the surviving suicide bomber have been taken into custody for further interrogations,he said.

The army spokesman called on the people to be vigilant and report suspicious persons to security agencies.

NAN reports that 10 people including a teenage male suicide bomber were killed in a suicide attack on a mosque early on Jan. 3 in the northeastern town of Gamboru.
The residence was where both local and foreign currencies were uncovered by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2017.

It was said to be the property of Ayo Oke Folashade, wife of suspended Director General of the National Intelligence Agency.

The anti-graft agency uncovered 444,000 dollars, 28,000 Euros and N23 billion in the said property.

However, on Wednesday, Justice Saliu Saidu, reserved judgment on final forfeiture of the residence after counsel to EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, moved a motion seeking final forfeiture of same.

The EFCC submitted that Folashade Oke acquired the property in dubious and controversial circumstances, adding that same be permanently forfeited to Federal Government.

He moved in terms of his application and urged the court to grant the prayers sought.

Justice Saidu then reserved judgment in the suit until Jan. 19.

It would be recalled that Justice Muslim Hassan, a brother judge of same court, had in June 2017, ordered permanent forfeiture of the funds uncovered in the residence, as no interested party came forward to lay claims.
The Police chief arrived the state on Wednesday, January 10, 2018, two days after President Muhammadu Buhari directed him to relocate to the troubled state and prevent the escalation of the crisis.

In a press statement signed by the police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, on Monday, January 8, the IGP is expected to relocate to the state with an additional five units of Police Mobile Force (PMF).

After meeting with Benue governor, Samuel Ortom, on Tuesday, January 9, President Buhari promised that the country's security agencies are committed to bringing the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.

He posted on his official Twitter account , "I just met with the Governor of Benue State. I assured Governor Ortom of our total commitment to the security of lives & property in Benue and elsewhere. We have deployed additional security resources to fish out the attackers, bring them to justice, and prevent further attacks."

Benue attacks

In attacks allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Guma and Logo Local Government Area of Benue between Sunday, December 31, 2017, and Tuesday, January 2, 2018, 50 people were reportedly killed.

11 other people were killed in a fresh attack on Tombu village of Logo LGA, again by suspected Fulani herdsmen, on Saturday, January 6, 2018.

According to Governor Ortom's Chief Press Secretary, Terve Akase, the death toll for the attacks hit a total of 71 victims on Monday, January 8.

Earlier on Monday, the governor had declared three days of mourning in the state for the victims of the attacks. The mourning period runs from Tuesday, January 9, to Thursday, January 11, ending with a church service for the victims at the IBB square in Makurdi, followed by a mass burial.

Police charge 6 to court

The Benue State Police Command arraigned six Fulani herdsmen who are suspected to be connected to the massacre of over a dozen people in Guma LGA on January 2.

The suspects were allegedly involved in the killing of 19 people in Akor village and were arraigned at a Chief Magistrate Court in Makurdi before Chief Magistrate Isaac Ajim on Friday, January 5.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1174/2017, Maina argued that EFCC's publication of his name and picture in a newspaper advertisement on November 7, 2017, declaring him wanted, was a violation of his rights to dignity of person.

Trouble began for the pension boss when it came to light that he was reinstated into the federal civil service last year after he allegedly fled the country two years before following a corruption scandal.

The EFCC had accused him and others of looting about N2.1 billion pension funds in 2013.

He was subsequently sacked from the civil service and declared wanted by the EFCC.

After his controversial reinstatement last year, the Commission declared him wanted again in an advertisement which had both his name and picture, published in a newspaper on November 7, 2017.

In the suit, Maina said the EFCC, the International Police, and other respondents' acts of alleged intimidation, harassment, threats of arrest and detention flouted his rights to personal liberty and fair hearing.

He sought an order of mandatory injunction restraining the respondents from further making such publication against him.

He also asked the court to make an order restraining the respondents from further intimidating, harassing, arresting and detaining him.

Maina further demanded N500 million as damages for the respondents' previous acts of violation of his rights.

He aslo demanded an order directing the EFCC to apologise to him in three national dailies for its newspaper advertisements declaring him wanted on November 7, 2017.

The respondents to the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN); the EFCC; the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris; the Commissioner of Police, Interpol and the Nigerian Immigration Service.

Maina's lead counsel, O. J. Onyemah, anchored the suit, filed last December on seven grounds, one of which was that there was no legal justification for declaring his client wanted.
The events that led to the disappearance of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are just as interesting as the disappearance itself.

Mere weeks after he was released on bail in April 2017, the IPOB leader started violating his bail conditions like it was a Christmas checklist he had to get out of the way.

Kanu's antics between April and September served to pick at the nation's old ethnic wounds that had refused to go away as he incited his IPOB following with separatist sentiments.

Kanu appeared in videos posted online where he emerged as the leading voice in a fairly successful stay-at-home order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the defunct Republic of Biafra that kicked off the 1967 Civil War.

During the same 5-month period, he made repeated public calls for the Federal Government to organise a referendum to decide the fate of a free Biafran Republic and threatened a boycott of the November gubernatorial election in Anambra State.

While Kanu's actions divided opinions across the nation during this period, the events of September threatened the core of its much-vaunted unity.

IPOB vs Nigerian Army

After his return from his second overstayed medical leave in London, President Muhammadu Buharireiterated the uncompromising nature of Nigeria's unity and subtly promised a clampdown against any troublemakers.

The announcement by the Nigerian Army to commence Operation Python Dance II in the southeast region raised suspicions of a targeted campaign against Kanu and his IPOB cohorts, and all hell was let loose.

On September 10, 2017, reports started floating around that soldiers tried to gain access into Kanu's father's compound in Afaraukwu, Umuahia and shot at IPOB members who formed a human shield to keep them out.

The army countered the claims and said the soldiers had been attacked with stones by IPOB members while on a routine parade exercise in the Abia State capital.

What ensued that week was a series of claims and counterclaims from both sides in a full-scale conflict that resulted in the death of a handful of people or dozens, depending on who you asked.

A day after the first clash on September 10, Kanu had said that the government was trying to provoke his group to war.

He said, "They want us to become armed so that the world can say that Nnamdi Kanu is leading a violent armed group, which is not the case. They're provoking us to war."

A war did play out on the streets of Umuahia, and Aba; and when the dust settled at the end of that eventful week, Nnamdi Kanu disappeared into thin air.

Where is Nnamdi Kanu?

Before Kanu's complete disappearance from the public eye, his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, had raised an alarm that soldiers had invaded his father's palace, shooting up the place and killing people.

The group has blamed that invasion for Kanu's disappearance, saying that the army grabbed him and has been holding him since then.

At the resumption of his treason trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja on October 17, 2017, Kanu was notably absent.

During the hearing, Ejiofor announced the appearance of the IPOB leader in court by alleging that he is in custody of the government.

"The Nigerian Army invaded his house and killed 28 people. I do not even know if he is alive or dead. The soldiers are in a better position to tell us," he said.

The allegation was refuted by the prosecution team who maintained that Kanu must have gone into hiding to avoid facing trial.

A couple more court dates since October, and the once invincible Kanu remains invisible.

Government custody or self-imposed exile?

After Kanu's disappearance, former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, claimed that he had fled to London through , a claim that led to protests at the British embassy in Abuja demanding Kanu's extradition back to the country to face trial.

The theory about Kanu escaping abroad has gained a lot of traction as he has a British passport and had kicked off his Biafran agitations from the shores of London before his initial arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) in 2015.

As someone that's been perceived by outsiders as a cowardly charlatan, it makes sense to believe that Kanu has run into hiding to avoid his day in court which could potentially lead to him being remanded in custody due to his bail violations.

However, a more probable and disturbing theory persists and sticks to the back of the skull like a terrible migraine.

Regardless of what you think about Nnamdi Kanu, it is foolhardy to discard the possibility that he is indeed in the secret custody of the government.

IPOB's version of the sequence of events sounds eerily similar to the fate that befell the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, only two years ago.

The 64-year-old cleric has been in custody since the Nigerian Army raided his residence in Zaria and killed hundreds of his followers, including three of his sons in December 2015.

This was a direct consequence of his followers' clash with the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai.

Despite the court order of Justice Gabriel Kolawole calling for his release on December 2, 2016, after he ruled that the government's justification of "holding him for his own protection" was insufficient, El-Zakzaky is still in government custody with his wife.

If El-Zakzaky's case proves anything, it's that this Federal Government does not fully possess the patience to deal with dissenters, and Kanu is as troublesome as they come.

Even if the claims that he's hiding from the law have any truth to them, his deafening silence makes no sense especially in light of the events that have trailed his absence.

A day after Kanu disappeared, the army branded IPOB a terrorist organisation and had its activities proscribed.

Kanu is a 'coward', and a 'charlatan', but he's also a loudmouth.

It's hard to fathom that he can stay silent throughout several 'ripe' moments for him to titillate his cult following into feverish resentment of the Nigerian state even while engaging in something as 'cowardly' as running from the law.

Kanu is so silver-tongued that it wouldn't take much of an effort to spin running from the law to his band of followers whose regard of him would most likely remain unchanged.

So, it makes no sense that a runaway Kanu is feeling shame for hiding so much that he's not let a single word slip out in three months.

Missing parents

A pivotal factor that's been largely ignored in Kanu's disappearance is his parents.

When he disappeared in September, his father, HRH Eze Israel Kanu, and his mother, Lolo Sally, disappeared under the same circumstances.

While it's easier to believe that Kanu could disappear for his own selfish reasons, his parents disappearing with him makes it a little harder to swallow.

And again, based on the precedent set by the treatment of El-Zakzaky, it wouldn't be much of a surprise to find out that the government has had Kanu and his family in custody this whole time.

Crucially, there's no evidence to back up any of these, but the endless possibilities here each pose disturbing questions.

What does it all mean?

If the Nigerian government is indeed secretly holding Kanu and his family, then it should be a source of genuine concern for Nigerians as it simply means the government has no temperament to allow the laws of the land take its due course.

Making problems disappear with underhanded tactics might make them go away for a while, but it doesn't guarantee that the problems are solved.

Even though there's also really no guarantee that doing it the way of the law would present a different, more amenable outcome, circumventing it at will only serves to undermine the whole process.

On the other hand, if Kanu is really hiding from the nation's legal institution, then he has sacrificed the lives of dozens of Nigerian youths on the altar of a pissing contest he doesn't have the courage to see through.
Osinbajo made the remarks during the South-West Youth Summit in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Wednesday, January 10, 2018.

Osinbajowas keynote speaker at the event.

You dont have to steal, you dont have to cheat or do anything untoward to get money. You must be determined to work hard, you must determine to be a person of integrity, determine to ensure that you build your works correctly, so that at the end of the day, you are able to enjoy whatever you have in peace.

We must also recognise that every generation owes itself the duty of converting its challenges to opportunities and success. You must make contacts across the country, you must build bridges across the country; you must see yourself first and foremost as a Nigerian citizen.

"It is from this Nigeria that we would make the kind of progress that each and every one of us needs. So while we are here locally, we must think nationally, and we must think globally. And we must act nationally, and we must act globally, the Vice President said.

Multilingual citizens

In a speech laden with anecdotes, Osinbajo commended young Nigerians for their innovation and creativity. He also tasked them to imbibe values like trust, integrity and to be multilingual in a fast paced world.

There is no reason why a young Nigerian should speak only one language; there is no reason why he/she should not speak French or Spanish or German, and you can learn everything now on the Internet. It is easy to learn. There is no excuse. Some of you young people who are here today would be working in the United Nations, in different UN and international agencies.

But you cant do so if you are speaking only one language. You must be multilingual or at least bilingual. If they ask, what language do you speak, and you say English and Yoruba, or English and Itsekiri. No. You must be able to speak at least two international languages, and there is no reason why not. At any age, you can learn a language, and you must do so. We must self-educate ourselves.
According to a report by UK Mail, the painkiller may have lasting effects on their granddaughters fertility should the pregnant mother continues.

It was further reported that scientists have found that human ovaries exposed to paracetamol for a week in laboratories lost up to 40 per cent of their egg cells.

In the womb, the study says baby girls exposed to painkillers like paracetamol end up being born with fewer eggs.

ALSO READ: What every woman should know about sex during pregnancy

This would give them fewer years in which they could become pregnant and lead to an early menopause.

The study

The study, led by Dr Rod Mitchell from the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh and presented at the Fertility 2018 conference in Liverpool, tested the effect of paracetamol and ibuprofen on human foetal testes and ovaries over a week.

The Researchers counted germ cells that turn into sperm and eggs.

In the ovary, the number of egg cells fell by up to 40 per cent, while in testes the number of germ cells was reduced by more than a fifth.

Thus, paracetamol and ibuprofen are believed to interfere with a hormone called prostaglandin E2, which appears to play a vital part in the development of the foetal reproductive system.

Activities in unborn baby boys

The report noted that unborn boys could also be affected by painkillers should their mother use it often while pregnant with the boys.

However, the study showed that unlike women, whose egg supply is limited, the boys keep producing sperm throughout their lives.

This ultimately means the danger to the unborn male child's fertility is not as serious of his female counterpart.

Paracetamol's danger

One of the most widely used, recommended and accepted painkiller is Paracetamol. According to the clinical and maternal studies, the paracetamol and is the only painkiller regarded as safe for pregnant women globally.

However, previous studies have show that female rats and mice exposed to paracetamol in the womb have fewer eggs, smaller ovaries and go on to have fewer babies.

The previous research also showed that the fertility of future generations of rats could be affected by a foetus being exposed to painkillers.

ALSO READ: Online shops and shopping tips for pregnant women

The latest research has however shown the toll of analgesic drugs, including ibruprofen, on human foetal ovaries and may affect the way reproductive systems function in future.

The experts speaks

Professor Richard Sharpe from the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, said: This study identifies a potential risk from taking paracetamol or ibuprofen, although we dont know exactly what effect it would have on human health nor what dose would be needed to harm fertility.

Sharpe said the evidence that analgesic drugs interfere with production of sperm and egg cells is growing, adding: We know the majority of women take analgesics in pregnancy for symptoms such as colds, headaches and fever.

There is a temptation, when paracetamol is there in the cupboard, to take it at the slightest sign of an ache or pain.

Experts advice

This fresh study prompts fresh warnings for pregnant women to only take paracetamol when necessary and compulsory.
THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Four soldiers, militants killed in Bayelsa community

Four more soldiers and unknown number of militants have been reportedly killed in a bloody clash between militants and soldiers in an ongoing military operation to rid the Toru-Ndoro community in Ekeremor Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, of militants.

Reps move against NNPC over fuel subsidy payment

Knocks await the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Tuesday, next week, when the House of Representatives reconvenes.

Herdsmen attack Benue police camp, kill two

Herdsmen on Monday stormed a police camp at Awashuwa village in Logo Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State, killing two personnel.

__________________________________________________

VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Dasuki, Diezani: Presidency indicts Mark, Tambuwal, Ekweremadu, others

THE Presidency, yesterday, took a swipe at the 7th National Assembly headed by former Senate President, Senator David Mark; Ex- speaker, House of Representatives and now governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, saying if the lawmakers had carried out an effective oversight function, the unfolding scenario of probe of former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), over alleged $2.2 billion arm deal would have been averted.

Do the needful on Benue killings, Ortom tells Buhari

GOVERNOR Samuel Ortom of Benue State, yesterday, met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, asking the President to do the needful in arresting and prosecuting the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore for genocide.

Finally, INEC releases 2019 election time table

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has issued the time table and schedule of activities for the 2019 General Elections, fixing the conduct of party primaries including the resolution of disputes arising from primaries for August 18, 2018 to October 7, 2018 for national and state elections while that of the FCT Area Council is slated for between September 4 and October 27, 2018.

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THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER

Maina: Senate knocks AGF, Sagay seeks Malamis probe

The Senate, on Tuesday, berated the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), for his moves to stop the National Assemblys investigation into the controversial reinstatement of a former Chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina.

FG monetises N280m cars for Obasanjo, Gowon, Jonathan, others

The Federal Government approved N280.1m cash payments to former Presidents and Heads of State in 2017 to buy cars.

Benue, Nasarawa govs disagree on killer herdsmens location

The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, and his Nasarawa State counterpart, Tanko Al-Makura, have disagreed on the location of the Fulani herdsmen, who attacked several Benue State communities last week, killing no fewer than 71 residents.

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THISDAY NEWSPAPER

Presidency Absolves Buhari of Herdsmen Killings, Blames Crisis on Demographic Changes

The presidency Tuesday absolved President Muhammadu Buhari of the killings allegedly committed by armed herdsmen in several states of the federation, particularly in Benue State and neighbouring states, saying that the president was concerned about the persistent herdsmen and farmers clashes, especially when he sees gruesome pictures of those that have been slaughtered.

INEC Releases Full Election Timetable, Parties Have Till Dec 3 to Produce Presidential Candidates

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally issued detailed timetable of activities leading to the next general elections in 2019.

Nigerias Oil Production Hits 2.25mbd as 254 Firms Submit Bids for 2018/2019 Term Contracts

Nigerias daily crude oil production with condensates has increased to 2.25 million barrels per day (mbd), but with crude oil production alone standing at 1.8mbd, while condensates are 450,000 barrels per day (bd), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed.

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BUSINESSDAY NEWSPAPER

Pension funds to book N1.1trn capital gains on bond rally

The adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by Nigerian Pension Fund Administrators may never come at a better time than now, experts say, as the recent bond rally helps PFAs to book some N1.1 trillion in capital gains.

Nigerian stocks cross 40,000 points, rally to 4-year high

Nigerian stocks have rallied to their highest level since 2014, as the dust settles on a bruising economic recession that hammered company profits and share prices.

FG close to concluding $5.7bn deal to sell 10 NIPPs
The literary icon's warning comes in the wake of savage attacks orchestrated by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State that has left 71 people dead.

In a statement released on Wednesday, January 10, 2018, Soyinka said Fulani herdsmen have been treated with kid's gloves even when they have admitted to the killings in the past.

He further drew a comparison between the acts of the group and that of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the southeast which was declared a terrorist organisation after a series of clashes with the Nigerian Army.

He pointed out that the government has treating the herdsmen crisis the same way former President Goodluck Jonathan badly responded to the Chibok Girls kidnapping by terrorist group, Boko Haram.

He said, "We have been here before - now, 'before' is back with a vengeance. President Goodluck Jonathan refused to accept that marauders had carried off the nation's daughters; President Muhammed Buhari and his government - including his Inspector-General of Police - in near identical denial, appear to believe that killer herdsmen who strike again and again at will from one corner of the nation to the other, are merely hot-tempered citizens whose scraps occasionally degenerate into "communal clashes" - I believe I have summarized him accurately.

"The Marauders are naughty children who can be admonished, paternalistically, into good neighbourly conduct. Sometimes of course, the killers were also said be non-Nigerians after all. The contradictions are mind-boggling.

"The present national outrage is over impunity. It rejects the right of any set of people, for whatever reason, to take arms against their fellow men and women, to acknowledge their exploits in boastful and justifying accents and, in effect, promise more of the same as long as their terms and demands are not met.

"In plain language, they have declared war against the nation, and their weapon is undiluted terror. Why have they been permitted to become a menace to the rest of us? That is the issue!

"Permit me to remind you that, early in 2016, an even more hideous massacre was perpetrated by this same Murder Incorporated  that is, a numerical climax to what had been a series across a number of Middle Belt and neighbouring states, with Benue taking the brunt of the butchery.

"A peace meeting was called, attended by the state government and security agencies of the nation, including the Inspector General of Police.

"This group attended - according to reports - with AK47s and other weapons of mass intimidation visible under their garments. They were neither disarmed nor turned back.

"Such are the monstrous beginnings of the culture of impunity. We are reaping, yet again, the consequences of such tolerance of the intolerable.

"Yes, there indeed the government is culpable, definitely guilty of 'looking the other way'. Indeed, it must be held complicit.

"I am not aware that IPOB came anywhere close to this homicidal propensity and will to dominance before it was declared a terrorist organization.

"The international community rightly refused to go along with such an absurdity. The conduct of that movement, even at its most extreme, could by no means be reckoned as terrorism. By contrast, how do we categorize Myeti?

"How do we assess a mental state that cannot distinguish between a stolen cow - which is always recoverable - and human life, which is not.

"Villages have been depopulated far wider than those outside their operational zones can conceive. They swoop on sleeping settlements, kill and strut. They glory in their seeming supremacy.

"These crimes are treated like the norm. Once again, the nation is being massaged by specious rationalisations while the rampage intensifies and the spread spirals out of control.

"When we open the dailies tomorrow morning, there is certain to have been a new body count, to be followed by the arrogant justification of the Myeti Allah.

"The warnings pile up, the distress signals have turned into a prolonged howl of despair and rage. The answer is not to be found in pietistic appeals to victims to avoid 'hate language' and divisive attributions.

"The sustained, killing monologue of the herdsmen is what is at issue. It must be curbed, decisively and without further evasiveness.

"Yes, Jonathan only saw 'ghosts' when Boko Haram was already excising swathes of territory from the nation space and abducting school pupils. The ghosts of Jonathan seem poised to haunt the tenure of Mohammed Buhari."

Benue attacks

In attacks allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Guma and Logo Local Government Area of Benue between Sunday, December 31, 2017, and Tuesday, January 2, 2018, 50 people were reportedly killed.

11 other people were killed in a fresh attack on Tombu village of Logo LGA, again by suspected Fulani herdsmen, on Saturday, January 6, 2018.

According to Governor Samuel Ortom's Chief Press Secretary, Terve Akase, the death toll for the attacks hit a total of 71 victims on Monday, January 8.

Earlier on Monday, the governor had declared three days of mourning in the state for the victims of the attacks. The mourning period runs from Tuesday, January 9, to Thursday, January 11, ending with a church service for the victims at the IBB square in Makurdi, followed by a mass burial.

Police charge 6 to court

The Benue State Police Command arraigned six Fulani herdsmen who are suspected to be connected to the massacre of over a dozen people in Guma LGA on January 2.

The suspects were allegedly involved in the killing of 19 people in Akor village and were arraigned at a Chief Magistrate Court in Makurdi before Chief Magistrate Isaac Ajim on Friday, January 5.

Alongside the six already charged to court, the state's police command also arrested two suspects in Logo LGA on Wednesday, January 3.

After meeting with Ortom on Tuesday, January 9, President Buhari promised that the country's security agencies are committed to bringing the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.

He posted on his official Twitter account , "I just met with the Governor of Benue State. I assured Governor Ortom of our total commitment to the security of lives & property in Benue and elsewhere. We have deployed additional security resources to fish out the attackers, bring them to justice, and prevent further attacks."
Don Wanithe kidnap kingpin and cultisthad been shot dead on Saturday, January 6, 2018by law enforcement after he allegedly masterminded the murder of 22 worshippers on New Years day.

Our mission was to make sure no one stood in the way of the demolition of the mansion, one police officer who was part of the operation told Pulse on the condition of anonymity because he hadnt been authorized to comment on the subject.

Before noon, Don Wanis multi-million Naira mansion had been reduced to rubble.

The mansion was an expansive affair, boasting an Olympic size swimming pool, a water fountain and luxury fittings. It was here that a previous military raid had turned up skeletons, skulls, a cache of sophisticated weapons, dynamites and military camouflages.

Human bones

According to Colonel Aminu Iliyasu who is Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Recall that in the early hours of Monday 20th November 2017, troops of 6 Division Nigerian Army acting on credible information from some patriotic members of the public, raided the evil Don Wani enclave in Omoku, Onelga Rivers State where shocking discoveries of assorted weapons, dynamites, bags of suspected cannabis, full military camouflage uniforms, military boots, military communication radios, 10 human skulls and human bones were discovered.

Additionally, in continuation of the operation on Tuesday 21st November 2017, the troops also exhumed decomposing bodies of some of his victims in his shrine in the glaring eyes of the media who were invited to witness first hand.

ALSO READ: Here are family pictures of notorious kidnap kingpin

One resident of Omoku who identified himself as Ukandu, told Punch that security operatives watching over the demolition made sure no intruders were allowed to come any close.

"Nobody was allowed to enter the place, especially those who wanted to take photographs of what was going on. More than 15 Hilux vehicles brought in security agents and after that, six bulldozers came in and brought the building down," Ukandu said.

Returned land

Pulse has since learnt that the demolition received the blessings of the State and federal governments.

The parcel of land on whose Don Wanis mansion once stood, will now be ceded to the government of Rivers State.

Don Wani was one of the most feared cultists in Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta region. He lived a charmed, expensive life and was brazen in his operations.

In his address after Don Wani was confirmed dead, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers urged other violent gang leaders to turn themselves in, embrace the amnesty deal put forward by the government or risk facing an arrest and prosecution.
A top military source in Abuja,who confirmed the story to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that at the time of arrest, five of them were armed with AK-45 rifles fully loaded.

The source said that shortly after their apprehension, a reinforcement of CJTF came to prevent troops from transporting the suspects to the Battalion Headquarters.

However, when the soldiers stood their ground the armed militias reinforcement withdrew.

During the preliminary investigation the arrested CJTF claimed that the weapons were issued to them by Benue State government through one Alhaji Aliyu Tashaku.

The suspects also confirmed that they were 60 in number in their own camp located at Gbeyi, Benue State.

However, further investigation revealed that they were more than 1,000 at the camp, while over 700 of them bear arms, the source said.

He said that the suspects claimed they were being paid a monthly stipend of N15,000 by the state government.

According to him, they also alleged the state is owing them close to five months salary.

They further revealed that they were trained by selected ex-service men assembled from all over Benue State, the source added.

However, in its reaction the state government denied the claim

We wish to state categorically that the Benue State Government under Governor Samuel Ortom has not recruited any militia group and armed them since the Governor assumed office, Mr Terver Akase the Chief Press Secretary to Gov Samuel Ortom said on Tuesday in Makurdi.

.Akase said in a statement that the governor was widely recognized for his disarmament policy which brought the amnesty programme leading to the recovery of about 700 arms and ammunition with over 800 youths laying down their weapons to embrace the programme across the State.

It is also on record that the present administration inherited the State Civilian Joint Task Force from the previous government but later proscribed it."

He said following the enactment of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law in the state last year, the government set up Livestock Guards to help in implementation of the law.

The Livestock Guards are not armed personnel. Their job is to ensure compliance with the regulation of ranches establishment and prohibition of open grazing of animals in the State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Oke announced this when the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, CP Edgal Imohimi, paid a courtesy visit to the Chief Judge on Wednesday.

Justice Oke said that the establishment of the special court was aimed at speeding up the prosecution of offenders, stressing that violent crimes against women were increasing by the day.

Justice Oke commended Imohimi for a job well done in checking crime wave in the state, particularly, the Badoo cult group in Ikorodu.

She assured the police boss of her support in the prosecution of criminals, stressing that the Lagos State Judiciary would also train some policemen in the area of prosecution of cases.

The administration of justice is not only for the judiciary, it is meant for everybody, she said.

The chief judge requested for police orderlies for some judges and more patrol around judges homes in the state.

Earlier, the police commissioner said his visit was to strengthen the relationship between the police and judiciary in the state.

He said that only good relationship between both organs would help in the administration of criminal justice in the state.

The Lagos police commissioner called for the establishment of a special court to handle murder, armed robbery and some other violent crimes in the state, with a view to speeding up dispensation of justice in such cases.

Imohimi, who expressed dissatisfaction over the granting of bail to many suspects at the magistrates courts, said that the command would no longer run to the courts with suspects until it obtained advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
Oyegun said this on Tuesday at a mega rally organised by the Abia chapter of the party at the Umuahia Township Stadium, to welcome a host of defectors from other parties to the APC.

Among the politicians who switched their party allegiance were the former governor of Abia, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, the former Speaker of the Abia house of assembly, Chief Martins Azubuike (PDP) (Isialangwa north constituency), former Deputy Gov. Chris Akomas (Progressive Peoples Alliance), former PDP governorship aspirant, Chief Uche Ogah, and retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Chief Azubuko Udah.

Others defectors were four members of the state house of assembly, namely Chief Ikedi Ezekwesiri (APGA) (Umunneochi constituency), Minority Leader, Chief Solomon Okogbuo (APGA) (Bende south constituency) and Chief Theophelus Ugboajah (APGA) (Ikwuano constituency).

Oyegun who expressed excitement over the calibre of defectors into APC in Abia, notably the former Abia governor, Chief Kalu, hoped that the party would take over the state in 2019.

He charged the defectors to brave the challenge to deliver the state to APC, saying that he would hold them accountable during the election.

Oyegun also told the rally about the efforts President Muhammadu Buhari to make the Nigerian economy better.

There is no question we have some hardship in the land but every minute Buhari is working to rebuild the foundation of Nigeria, Oyegun said.

He reeled out some of the foundational projects being executed by the Buhari administration to put the country on the path of economic recovery and sustainable development.

According to him, Nigeria remains one of the few nations in the world that does not have a functional rail system.

Until we have a functional railway, we cannot develop, Oyegun said, and commended the present administration for constructing standard rail line from one end of the country to another.

He further said that the administration had made a quantum leap on power generation, saying that with the current 7000 megawatts, the country would soon begin to enjoy stable power.

On agriculture, the APC national chairman expressed delight that Nigeria had become self-sufficient in rice production due to Federal Governments pragmatic policy on rice.

So the message I am giving you is that the bad days are coming to an end. The good days are beginning by the end of this year, he said.

He said that the president was resolute and unshakeable in his commitment to transform the country, the name-callings and disbelief, notwithstanding.

Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo urged Southeast Nigerians to avoid playing primitive, regional and clanish politics, saying that it would do them no good.

Okorocha, who said that Ndigbo played bad politics in 2015, urged them to go for national politics.

The National Vice Chairman of the party, Chief Emmanuel Enukwu, said that the party in the South east had endorsed Buhari to run for second tenure.

Other speakers, including the National Organising Secretary, Sen. Osita Izunaso, National Auditor of the party, Chief George Muoghalu, and former Gov. Sullivan Chime of Enugu state, urged all the Southeast states to move into APC and support Buharis second term.

They expressed confidence that Buharis re-emergence in 2019 held huge prospect for the emergence of the nations president of Igbo extraction in 2023.

In his speech, Chief Orji Kalu promised to put everything I have to bring Abia to APC, saying that the state needed to be liberated from bondage.

He said that although the party recorded less than six per cent votes in 2015 in Abia, he would work hard to beef up the figure to 75 per cent in 2019.

He said that the party would deploy federal might to resist thuggery and any attempt to rig APC out during the 2019 polls.

In an address of welcome, the state chairman of the party, Chief Donatus Nwankpa, expressed joy over the meteoric rise and expansion of the party in Abia.

Nwankpa lauded the president for his landmark achievements, and taking Nigeria out of recession to economic transformation.

He said that Buhari had performed credibly in the South east, citing the reconstruction of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and the second Niger Bridge, as instances.

He however called for more federal presence in Abia and the appointment of people from the area into strategic positions.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all the speakers were unanimous that the APC government had executed more projects in the Southeast in its two-and-a-half years than what was done in the area in the past 16 years before it assumed power at the centre.
Jibrin stated this when he received members of PDP Ward2Ward Group who paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

He said the partys leadership in the North had already put in place machinery to ensure the emergence of the best presidential candidate from the area in 2019.

All of us as a party have agreed that the President of Nigeria should come from the North in 2019.

I enjoin you to support the North to bring and give us capable presidential candidate.

We are all doing what we can in the North with all the leaders to identify who is the best candidate to rule this country.

The best person that will take power from the ruling party in 2019 is our own, 2019 is for the PDP.

He disclosed that the BoT had set up a committee to reconcile board members who were aggrieved by the outcome of the December 2017 National Convention.

Jubrin said that the mandate of the committee was to resolve issues arising from the emergence of Prince Uche Secondus as PDP National Chairman.

He added that the work of the committee, headed by former Senate President, Sen. David Mark, would be limited to BoT members only, while Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa led-reconciliation committee would reach out to other party members.

The BoT chairman also called on Senate President Bukola Saraki, former Governor of Kano State, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, and other former leaders of the party who left for other parties to return.

Jibrin said the PDP had gone through trials leading to mass exodus of key members, including former governors among others.

He, however, said that following the Supreme Court judgment on the partys leadership tussle, stability had returned, while many members who left were beginning to return.

One of the returnees, he said, was former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who brought good omen to PDP.

We are also expecting the return of some of our former governors, National Assembly members and very renowned party followers.

When this is done, the party will come to its stable stand.

We should encourage anybody who has left us to come back and reunite with us, we will not hate or deprive anybody, it is a good omen for the party that we should receive people coming back.

We are therefore calling on Saraki, Kwankwaso, and all our former legislators who left the party to come back quickly.

The National Coordinator of the PDP Ward2Ward Group, Mrs Ada Okwori, said the group was working toward returning PDP to power in 2019.

As a result of that, we tasked ourselves to make sure that we mobilise for PDP throughout the country.
The White House earlier had called the ruling Tuesday by US District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco "outrageous," coming the same day Trump met lawmakers from both camps on the so-called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

"It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts," Trump said in a tweet.

The DACA program, instituted by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama in 2012, protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children.

In a high-profile, on-camera meeting at the White House, Trump had urged leaders from both parties to compromise on the fate of the Dreamers while at the same time insisting on the need for a his controversial wall along the Mexican border.

But the unusual public display of presidential dealmaking was jarred soon after by Alsup's ruling ordering the administration to maintain the program nationally pending the resolution of a court challenge.

Court challenge

Alsup questioned the validity of the Justice Department's argument that DACA had been illegally implemented, saying it was based on a "flawed legal premise."

Unless Alsup's order is overturned by a higher court, former DACA recipients will now be eligible to submit renewal applications and the government will be required to "post reasonable public notice" that the program is once again active.

Trump said in September he was scrapping the DACA program but delayed enforcement to give Congress six months -- until March -- to craft a lasting solution.

"An issue of this magnitude must go through the normal legislative process," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Wednesday.

"President Trump is committed to the rule of law, and will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutional actions taken by the last administration," she said.

The development is the latest in a series of battles in which Trump actions aimed at curbing immigration have run into trouble in the courts.

The US Supreme Court last month allowed the implementation of Trump's ban on travel from eight countries, six of them predominantly Muslim, but only after two previous versions were blocked by the courts.

'Take the heat'

In his White House meeting with lawmakers, Trump signaled that he was open to more comprehensive immigration reform to address millions of other undocumented people living in the shadows, as long as Democrats are willing to countenance greater border security, including through a wall with Mexico.

"It should be a bill of love," Trump said of a measure under negotiation that would protect hundreds of thousands of Dreamers from deportation.

"But it also has to be a bill where we're able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. A lot of people are coming in that we can't have," Trump added, urging lawmakers to "put country before party" and strike a quick solution.

'Take the heat'

Trump, seated at a long table with some two dozen lawmakers from the House and Senate, presided over the bipartisan talks, allowing journalists rare access to nearly an hour of the meeting.

The president said he would "take the heat" politically if lawmakers were to move toward broader action that would provide a pathway to citizenship for about 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

"You are not that far away from comprehensive immigration reform," he told Senator Lindsey Graham, after the Republican lawmaker floated the idea of more sweeping legislation.

"You created an opportunity here, Mr President, and you need to close the deal," Graham told him as TV cameras rolled.
Such a change of policy should have been put to a referendum, he argued.

He also said President Jimmy Morales flouted government standards by making the announcement on his Facebook page rather than leaving it to the foreign ministry to make the announcement through official channels.

The notice makes Guatemala the first -- and so far only -- country to follow US President Donald Trump's lead in saying its embassy will be relocated from Tel Aviv to the holy city.

Israel has long insisted that all of Jerusalem is its capital. But the Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Multiple UN resolutions do not recognize the claim to Jerusalem, and the United Nations General Assembly on December 21 rejected any unilateral recognition of the city as Israel's capital before a peace settlement deciding its status.

Only the United States and eight other countries -- Guatemala among them -- voted against the non-binding UN General Assembly decision.

Morales, in his Facebook announcement, defended the decision to move the embassy by saying Israel is an "ally" and that Guatemala has "historically been pro-Israel."

Guatemala's foreign minister, Sandra Jovel, has denied that her country bowed to US pressure in making its decision.
The 73-year-old former communist Zeman is hoping to beat eight other contenders to clinch a second five-year term after his 2013 win in the EU member's first-ever direct presidential vote.

But although polls show him in pole position, the outspoken head of state is unlikely to win an outright majority and will face a run-off round in two weeks.

Jiri Drahos, his most likely opponent in the duel, could not be more different. A liberal centrist, the 68-year-old former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences is staunchly pro-European and has called for Prague to "play a more active role in the EU".

Zeman echoes other populist-minded eastern EU leaders -- especially in Hungary and Poland -- at odds with Brussels over mandatory refugee quotas and various rules they see as attempts by Brussels to limit national sovereignty.

He also has harsh anti-Muslim views, having once called the 2015 migrant crisis "an organised invasion" of Europe and insisted Muslims were "impossible to integrate".

Paradoxically, the country of 10.6 million people has received only 12 migrants under the EU quota system.

"The vote shows a broader conflict, it shows how society is polarised," independent political analyst Jiri Pehe told AFP.

"It is a clash between... the post-communist part of society represented by Zeman and the other part, say, modern, pro-Western, which simply doesn't want this president any more."

A January survey commissioned by Czech Television showed Zeman losing a run-off to Drahos, who beat him with 48.5 percent to 44 percent.

Liberal democracy under threat?

No matter who wins, the next president will find himself battling a political crisis with roots in last year's general election.

Analysts note that a Drahos victory could upset government-building measures by the populist ANO movement of billionaire Andrej Babis, a Zeman ally who won the October 2017 ballot.

ANO topped the vote, scoring 78 of 200 parliamentary seats campaigning on an anti-corruption and anti-euro ticket.

But the controversial tycoon, who is himself facing police charges over EU funding fraud, has found it impossible to form a majority government after being tapped prime minister by Zeman.

Babis appeared set to lose a parliamentary confidence vote on Wednesday.

Under the constitution, the president has another attempt and Zeman said he would tap Babis again, should he fail to win confidence.

Pehe said Zeman's victory might "pave the way for a deeper alliance with Andrej Babis, which could lead to a change in some basic parameters of liberal democracy in the country".

But the situation could change dramatically if Drahos wins.

"Drahos has made it very clear that a prosecuted man should not be prime minister," Pehe said.

'Poor health'

While Zeman vowed to unite society, his political views have done the opposite.

In China last year, Zeman told his ally Russian President Vladimir Putin that journalists should be "liquidated".

He was also caught on camera verbally threatening to kill a camerman at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg in October.

Zeman has stayed out of all election debates, saying he did not want to attack his rivals.

But Josef Mlejnek, a political analyst at Charles University in Prague, told AFP he believes that "poor health" was the chief reason, as the president suffers from diabetes-induced neuropathy.

Doctors have forced Zeman to curb smoking and drinking, but voters will recall him staggering during a ceremony at Prague Castle shortly after taking office.

And yet, his supporters remain faithful, lavishing praise on the man who beat aristocrat Karel Schwarzenberg in the 2013 run-off.

"If you want to save this country against Muslims, vote Zeman!" voter Marie Kubikova wrote on Facebook.

Zeman's other rivals include ex-gambler and songwriter Michal Horacek, former rightwing premier Mirek Topolanek, and Vratislav Kulhanek, former head of Czech carmaker Skoda Auto.
The 21-year-old botany student died after being hit by the grenade during clashes between the police and opponents of a planned dam in Sivens, near the southwestern city of Toulouse.

The project -- which opponents said threatened biodiversity but which backers said would help irrigate crops -- was later shelved.

On Tuesday, the magistrates in charge of the investigation into Fraisse's death declared that the officer who fired the grenade had no case to answer.

The officer's lawyer, Jean Tamalet, said the investigation had shown that his use of force "had been proportionate to the situation" in which the police found themselves, and that he had not targeted Fraisse specifically.

Shortly after the incident the government banned the use of the grenades, which are designed to disorient people rather than to kill.

In 2014, a police oversight body had already cleared the authorities of any wrongdoing, saying the demonstrators had received sufficient warning to disperse before the grenade was fired.

Fraisse's family said it would appeal the decision.

"The decision was taken at the highest level. The justice system does what it's told, that's all there is to it," the deceased's father Jean-Pierre Fraisse said.
It comes a month after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, angering the Palestinians.

"An Israeli father of six was killed last night in cold blood by Palestinian terrorists," Friedman said on Twitter Wednesday after a 35-year-old was killed near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank.

"Hamas praises the killers and PA (Palestinian Authority) laws will provide them financial rewards. Look no further to why there is no peace."

Friedman, a supporter of West Bank settlements, was referring to payments to the families of imprisoned Palestinians, including those who have carried out attacks against Israelis, and to those killed while carrying out attacks.

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group, praised the attack.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Friedman's comments reflected his "prejudiced and selective attitude towards the occupation, settlement construction, and the Palestinian just and legitimate national rights."

It pointed to Friedman's silence over what Palestinians say was the killing by Israeli forces of a disabled Palestinian man during recent protests and clashes on the Gaza border and other killings as evidence of his bias.

"Friedman's remarks and positions further complicated the road towards the peace process and the resumption of negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, specifically after President Donald Trump's declaration on Jerusalem," the statement added.

Trump's December 6 announcement that he would move the US embassy from Israel's commercial capital to Jerusalem enraged the Palestinians.

They said they will no longer engage with the Trump administration's push for fresh peace talks.

Israeli officials say payments to the families of attackers encourages further violence and have regularly called for a halt to them.

On Tuesday the Israeli Ministry of Defence said the Palestinian Authority had paid out 1.2 billion shekels ($350 million) last year in such payments.

For Palestinians, such payments are a key source of income for families who have in many cases lost their main breadwinner.

Qadura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club, did not dispute the figures but said that the Palestinian people overwhelmingly supported the payments.
But it said it would no longer use Japanese money to compensate the survivors.

The issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops in World War II has roiled relations between the neighbours -- both of them US allies and both threatened by nuclear-armed North Korea -- for decades.

The deal on the so-called "comfort women" should not have been struck without the involvement of the victims, Moon told a New Year press conference.

"This issue cannot be resolved through a give-and-take deal between governments struck over the victims' head," he said.

jpegMpeg4-1280x720"A wrong knot has to be untied. Japan should accept the truth, make a heartfelt apology to victims."

Doing so would enable the survivors to forgive it for its past wrongs, he added.

The agreement was finalised by now-ousted president Park Geun-Hye under pressure from Washington in the face of mounting security threats from North Korea.

Under the deal, South Korea promised not to raise the issue again and Japan transferred 1 billion yen (now $8.9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

Tokyo has reacted angrily to comments on the issue this week by Seoul.

Yoshihide Suga, the top Japanese government spokesman and the Chief Cabinet Secretary, said Wednesday: "Japan can never accept it if the South Korean side demands we take further measures despite the agreement that confirmed the final and irreversible solution on the issue."

Moon had lambasted the agreement on the campaign trail and was elected president in May after Park was impeached and jailed over a massive corruption scandal.
The thieves, SkyNews reported, made off with the jewels after smashing the windows of the hotel in the Paris, police said.

Detained Suspects

Already, three suspects have been detained by the police while two suspected thieves are still on the run.

According to a witness that narrated the incident to Sky News, he said, they heard "at least 10 rounds of gun fire".

Nik said: "My parents and I were sitting at the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz for a drink and we were about to leave when we heard shouting from the bartenders to get down.

"One man wearing a ski mask ran right from the bar door to the front right past my father.

"He had an axe in his hand.

"Immediately the bartender closed and locked the door and corralled everyone to the back kitchen area of the bar.

"We heard at least 10 rounds of gun fire so everyone dove behind the bar where we stayed there for about six minutes.

"We heard shouting and screaming from right outside the door."

The Police

The Police had reportedly said the robbers were armed with small axes.

It was further disclosed that the bandits arrived at the hotel at about 6.30pm (5.30pm GMT) before smashing the windows and making off with the jewellery.
The issue has poisoned any attempt to move forward with the fragile detente achieved between the former Cold War foes, who re-opened their embassies and exchanged ambassadors in 2015 for the first time since 1961.

But, as Washington continues to press Havana for action, there is one extremely important plank in their case missing: US officials simply do not know who or what caused their diplomats to fall ill with injuries resembling brain trauma.

On Tuesday, in a hearing for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, State Department officials said they would open a review board into their own handling of the issue, but could offered frustrated lawmakers little in the way of answers.

Acoustic weapon?

Initially officials suspected the Americans had been targeted by some sort of acoustic weapon, although in public senior officials were more cautious, speaking of "health attacks."

Now, US press reports suggest that FBI agents dispatched to Havana have been able to find no evidence to support the acoustic or sonic weapon theory.

Some in Washington have begun to wonder if now is the time to start sending non-essential staff back to the Havana embassy, since there's no proof of what happened.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, however, rejects that idea, as long as the those behind the "health attacks" have not been identified and dealt with.

"We're not much ahead of where we were in finding out what occurred and we need to find that out," assistant secretary of state for public affairs Steve Goldstein told reporters.

"We believe that the Cuban government knows what occurred, so what we'd like them to do is to tell us what occurred, so that this doesn't happen again.

"We're not considering restoring staff," he added.

The chairman of the Senate committee that summoned the officials, Senator Marco Rubio, did not hide his frustration.

"Maybe it wasn't acoustic, maybe they used microwaves, but that is irrelevant," he told reporters on Capitol Hill.

"At the end of the day we know that there was an attack, that 24 Americans were hurt when they were working and living in Havana as part of the embassy."

Earlier, addressing the committee and the official witnesses, Rubio had dismissed the idea that anyone other than a government could have been behind the incident.

"Whatever happened to these people happened as a result of some sophisticated technology that quite frankly is so sophisticated that we don't understand it," he said.

The State Department officials agreed that Cuba, with its powerful surveillance state, must have either been behind the attacks itself or at least know who was.

Microwave transmitters

Havana has fiercely denied this, accusing the Americans of withholding information about the victims of the incidents that would allow it to fully investigate.

The first suspected attack was traced back to November 2016, and the last two took place in mid-August 2017, after Washington had protested to Havana and withdrawn some staff.

Charles Rosenfarb, a doctor and director of the State Department bureau of medical services, told senators the symptoms were mixed but consistent with brain trauma.

The victims -- at least 24 Americans, a mix of US embassy personnel and their dependents -- suffered headaches, hearing loss, disorientation and some loss of cognitive ability.

Some recovered from the most acute symptoms, Rosenfarb said, but the severity, range and recovery time was mixed and it's not yet clear whether any have suffered permanent injury.

"They associated the onset of these symptoms with unusual sounds or auditory sensations," Rosenfarb said.

"Various descriptions were given; a high-pitched sound, an incapacitating sound, a buffeting sensation akin to driving with one window open or just an intense pressure in one ear."

Cold War Moscow

Medical experts and FBI agents launched investigations and high-frequency recording devices were installed in diplomatic residences, allowing a mystery sound sample to be captured.

But US scientists have no idea what kind of weapon or agent could cause the symptoms, or whether the sounds heard were a by-product of the attack or its means of delivery.

Rosenfarb said the only similar case he was aware of involved suspicions during the Cold War before 1976 that US diplomats in Moscow were hurt by Russian microwave transmitters.

But acting assistant sectary of state Francisco Palmieri refused to say in an unclassified hearing whether Washington has approached the Russians over the Cuba incident.

"There is a long history and pattern of Cuban harassment of diplomats in Havana," Palmieri said, declining to speculate on why or if Raul Castro's regime had chosen to escalate.
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Amtrak has a new Executive Vice President and Chief Safety Officer, and he is a former chief safety officer at both Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines. The Jan. 9 appointment of Ken Hylander clearly signals that Amtrak CEO Richard Andersonalso a Northwest and Delta alumnushas decided the passenger railroads safety programs need a wholesale overhaul.

Hylanders three-decade airline management resume also includes leading the Delta Connection Safety Alliance and 17 years at United Airlines. He is the Chairman of the influential Flight Safety Foundations governing board. At Amtrak, Hylander will report directly to Anderson.

Anderson and Hylander have a big task ahead. U.S. passenger airlines and U.S. railroadsboth freight and passengerended 2017 with polar opposite safety records. Fixing the railroads may require more than just Positive Train Control, the massive technology injection that has shattered original budget estimates and eluded full implementation for years.

Anderson and Hylander might consider adapting a proven airline industry training and operations management program called Crew Resource Management (CRM). When paired with PTC, CRM might bring U.S. passenger railroad safety levels closer to that of U.S. airlines.

A TALE OF TWO SAFETY RECORDS

Sadly, 2017 ended badly for Amtrak. Just a few days before Christmas, Amtrak train #501, a high-visibility inaugural run for expanded Cascades service, tumbled onto Interstate 5 south of Tacoma, Wash. Suspected railroad crew training issues were in the headlines for days.

And while final Federal Railroad Administration numbers for 2017 arent available, media reports chronicled the sad stories of eight U.S. railroad employees who died in safety-related railroad incidents. In spite of the railroads best efforts, including work by a dedicated corps of safety professionals, the rail industry has never gone a calendar year without an employee or contractor fatality.

In sharp contrast, scheduled U.S. passenger airlines ended 2017 with an exemplary safety record0 crashes, 0 crew fatalities, and 0 passenger fatalities. Thats zip, zero, nada. Further, 2017 was actually the eighth calendar year that scheduled U.S. passenger airlines could make this claim!

SAFETY PROGRAM OVERHAUL ON SHORT FINAL APPROACH

When Richard H. Anderson joined Amtrak as Co-CEO last year, he promised to improve customer service. By all accounts, Andersons CEO tenures at Northwest and Delta were highly successful. Amtrak supporters have clear expectations that his previously demonstrated passenger service management skills soon will transfer to the government railroad.

As 2018 begins, veteran railroad manager Wick Moorman is gone. Anderson now is alone in the Amtrak CEO suite. And with the Cascades wreck still making occasional news, Andersons appointment of Hylander says how Amtrak does safety is about to undergo a transformation. Odds are high that hefty injections of airline-style safety programs will be applied to fix Amtraks imperfect safety record and tarnished image.

ELIMINATING HUMAN FACTOR FAILURES

One of the proven tools Anderson and Hylander could deploy is a version of CRM, an airline training and flight operations management system designed to help airline flight crews avoid Human Factor performance failures.

Properly modified, CRM could become a cornerstone of the safety management system recommended by National Transportation Safety Board. Amtrak has endorsed that recommendation.

Initially conceptualized in the late 1970s, airline CRM systems focus on crew communications, decision-making and leadership. CRM recognizes that aircrew performance may decrease as task complexity grows and provides training and tools designed to help a Captain and First Officer effectively handle increasingly complex tasks.

And its Human Factor performance failures that have figured prominently in the causes of four major passenger train accidentsSpuyten Duyvil (2013, Metro-North); Frankford Curve (2015, Amtrak); Hoboken Terminal (2016, NJ Transit), and the Amtrak Cascades debacle. In all four calamities, railroad operating crews rolled into a speed restriction significantly above the speed limit. Other factors were involved, including lost situational awareness, fatigue and engineers chronic medical conditions, such as obstructive sleep apnea.

The fatality and injury totals from the four events are unsettling to stakeholders16 dead and approximately 437 injured. Among those stakeholders is the U.S. Congress, the folks controlling Amtraks and the big commuter railroads substantial subsidies.

RIDING THE JUMPSEAT

I came face-to-face with CRM four years ago on a 3.5-hour trip in a major airlines Boeing 757-200 flight deck. I was looking for a training strategy that railroad operating crews then under my safety supervision could apply to avoid running through switches and derails that had been in the same locations for decades.

Now obviously, taking Amtraks Southwest Chief out of Dodge City at 70-plus mph and getting a B757 across the country does not create an apples-to-apples comparison. But in 2013, U.S. airlines clearly were doing safety better than U.S. railroads. I wanted to see first-hand one of the systems acknowledged as essential to the U.S. airline industrys safety record.

The trip started with an extensive crew briefing, which included the flight attendants, before the crew even got onto the aircraft. The captain did a thorough walk-around aircraft mechanical inspection.

But once on the flight deck and strapped into the four-point jump seat restraints, it took fewer than 10 seconds to appreciate the magnitude of difference between the communications heard in a locomotive control cab and the aircraft flight deck. There were checklistsbefore engine start; after engine start; before taxi; before take-offand many more as the flight changed altitude, took different headings, and landed.

The captain and first officer were always talking to each other. The net results of this communication was a system that put at least two sets of trained eyes (and minds) on every critical crew decision.

Flight attendants were an integral part of the CRM process. After all, their primary responsibility is passenger safety, not Cokes and Seven-Ups. When crunched in a middle seat, passengers dont see the critical safety duties for which flight attendants are responsible.

What I saw was not a show for the visitor. Having had brief prior glimpses of flight deck procedures (on movie studio charter trips), I am convinced this was the way things were doneon every flight, every day.

Clearly, the U.S. airline industrys safety record proves CRMs effectiveness.

HEADWINDS AND TURBULENCE

Should Anderson and Hylander contemplate installing a modified CRM system at Amtrak, they likely will face headwinds and at least Level 3 turbulence. After all, DNA-level change in the railroad industry historically has always been difficult.

Congressional priorities: Over the past ten years, Congress has been hesitant to truly prioritize epic changes in railroad safety training. The rail industry has been a good self-starter when it comes to training, testing, qualification and certification program improvements.

Consider the snails pace of Rail Safety Improvement Act (RSIA) implementation. Passed in October 2008, RSIAs Section 401, Minimum Training Standards and Plans, mandated improved railroad employee training. As it now stands, some RSIA-required training improvements wont be in place until 2024.

49 CFR Part 243, Training, Qualification, and Oversight for Safety-Related Railroad Employees, (downloadable at the link below), does not require dramatic rail training enhancements. The regulation mostly focuses on organizing, labeling and documenting existing training courses and training contractors.

Notably, Part 243 fails to put forth specific instructional strategies to eliminate Human Factor incidents. Eliminating Human Factor incidents rated only brief mentions during Part 243s prolonged rulemaking.

In the eyes of many, Part 243 is a 90% paper shuffle. Airline-style training and operations safety programs will leave Part 243 in the dust.

Unions: Its unknown how Amtraks unions, and the unions representing state and regional passenger railroads, would respond to a CRM program. Many unions view additional operating practices and safety rules as a way to shift responsibility for employee failures away from management. They call it Blame The Employee First and might see CRM training as another strategic step in the wrong direction.

Additionally, airline CRM training is rigorous. Not everyone passes. Rail unions might worry that some of their members, whose study and learning skills are rusty, might not make the grade. Every railroad manager has encountered very competent and safety-conscious railroaders who simply dont test very well. Both labor and management will worry that CRM might result in some good employees being disqualified.

Management Challenges: Lower-level Amtrak managers may raise objections. However, Hylanders position on the Amtrak organization chart suggests the Anderson-Hylander team wont tolerate foot-dragging.

The entire railroad industry is dealing (some would say struggling) with PTCs challenging rollout. Every entity has a limit on how much change it can digest at any one time. Many believe PTC has stretched railroads to their limits.

Further, designing and installing truly new training programs arent cheap. Strategic reconstruction of a score or more of qualification and certification programs would be an enormous task.

It is into this uncertain regulatory, labor and industry environment that any Amtrak-sponsored airline-style CRM initiative would fly. CRM champions would certainly need to fasten their seatbelts. Indeed, five-point restraints might be necessary!

IN THE LONG RUN

Undeniably, Amtrak is the 500-pound lowland gorilla when it comes to the U.S. passenger rail industry. And if CEO Anderson and Chief Safety Officer Hylander moved forward with a CRM-based crew training and operations management proposal, the program could quickly become a passenger rail industry standard.

By moving ahead with both PTC and a version of CRM, its possible that Anderson, aided by Hylander, might go down as both an outstanding passenger airline CEO as well as a trail-blazing passenger railroad CEO.

And if Amtrak (and other subsidized passenger railroads) were to start turning in safety records like the airline industry, Congress might more favorably view their future appropriations requests.

SWITCH RUN-THRU: Nothing says Human Factor Incident like the buckled hardware and wheels on the ground around a run-thru switch. This switch had been in the same location since the railroad was built early in the past century. On many short line and regional railroads, Human Performance failures at switches and derails account for more than half of all reasonable-cause drug tests and decertification procedures.

CHECKLISTS: A CRM hallmark is putting two sets of trained eyes on safety-critical duties and decisions. A major airlines captain and first officer use one of at least three checklists required before an MD-90 jet aircraft can push back from a boarding gate.

DISASTER STRIKES! When all the Swiss cheese holes line up. Multiple factors contributed to shoving empty freight cars off the end of an industry track into a gravel pit. The poster and a rules review were the core of a task-oriented Operating Crew training program applying modified CRM communication procedures. After training, shoving movement failures dropped significantly. Creating this one lesson consumed eight man-hours.

CRM-INSPIRED SAFETY RULE: Cab Red Zone rules adapt CRM procedures to focus operating crews attention on challenging situations. Reducing unrelated activities improves crew performance.
UK: Some of the extensive disruption experienced by passengers on the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise over the last three years could have been avoided if the Department for Transport had taken more care to consider passengers in its design of the franchise, head of the National Audit Office ...
Moskalkova to examine case of Memorial Chechnya Offices head

 RIA Novosti, Kirill Kallinikov

13:59 10/01/2018

MOSCOW, January 10 (RAPSI)  Russias Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova will examine the situation currently developing in the Chechen Republic, where the head of the regional office of the Memorial human rights organization, Oyub Titiyev, has been arrested after police allegedly found drugs in his car, press-service of the ombudsman told RAPSI on Wednesday.

According to the Republics Interior Ministry, on January 9 police officers stopped Titiyevs car during a preventive control operation. As police officers searched the car, a package filled with a plant-based substance smelling of marihuana was found. The package was then sent for analysis while the head of the office was brought in for a medical examination.

The Chairman of Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov suggested that drugs might have been planted in the car. He believes that there are grounds for launching two criminal cases: over the discovery and over an alleged planting of drugs. It should not be ruled out that drugs might have been planted because of Titiyevs human rights activity, Fedotov said. The official Chechen Republics human rights commissioner Nurdi Nukhazhiyev stated that police officers had not violated any laws.

The Council of Europes Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks wrote on his Twitter account that detention and prosecution of Oyub Titiev in Chechnya is very worrying signal and called for provision of necessary safeguards in the proceedings for the defendant.
Prosecutor seeks 15 years in prison for Russian priest charged with pedophilia

 Photo provided by official media outlet of St. Petersburg eparchy "Voda Zhivaya"

14:47 10/01/2018

ST. PETERSBURG, January 10 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov)  A prosecutor has demanded a 15-year prison sentence for Russian priest Gleb Grozovsky, who stands charged with sexual abuse of children, his sister Lyubov Grozovskaya has told RAPSI.

Moreover, the prosecutor asked a court to prohibit the defendant from practicing his profession for 2 years.

According to investigators, Grozovsky committed several sexual crimes against minors in 2011 and 2013.

In April 2014, Grozovsky was put on the international wanted list. Israeli police arrested him in September. In January 2015, a court in Jerusalem ruled that the priest should be extradited to Russia pursuant to the European Convention on Extradition. The ruling was appealed but rejected. In April 2016, the Justice Minister signed an order on Grozovskys extradition.

In September 2016, the priest was extradited from Israel to Russia.

Defense lawyers claim that charges against Grozovsky are politically motivated.
Court of appeals confirms Penitentiary Services policy violates competition legislation

 RIA Novosti, Vladimir Pesnya

16:55 10/01/2018

MOSCOW, January 10 (RAPSI)  The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) stating that the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) restricts competition related to sale of goods in Moscows detention centers, the antimonopoly services statement reads on Wednesday.

In February 2017, the antimonopoly agency found FSINs new policy on organization of sales violating Russian competition laws. FSIN restricted the right to sell food, necessities and other goods for suspects and defendants only to one company. This move prompted numerous complaints from detainees and their relatives over unreasonably high prices.

FAS noted that prices for the sold goods in detention centers were way higher than the ones established on the competitive market. The agency noted that the courts ruling on the matter makes noticeable social impact by restoring competition in this closed off system.

In September, the FAS ruling was upheld by the Moscow Commercial Court.

According to a representative of the antimonopoly service, the decision of the Court of Appeals will lead to restoration of competition on the closed market.
The Government of Chinas unilateral reduction of tariffs last month on almost 200 consumer products provides further testimony to the fact that the goal of trade is not just to increase exports, but also imports. The Chinese have become tired of being poor people living in an increasingly wealthy nation.

In fact, after years as the worlds biggest exporter, China is on track to becoming the worlds biggest importer over the next few years, according to a paper prepared by two leading economists for the China International Capital Corporation, the countrys first joint venture investment bank.

The tariff reductions, and the shift to a pro-consumer policy, stands in sharp contrast to the protectionist and mercantilist views we are hearing from President Donald Trump and many of his trade advisors. As Simon Lester and Huon Zhu recently pointed out in an article for a Cato Institute publication: While U.S. trade policy under the Trump administration has become a confusing mix of bluster, posturing, threats, and uncertainty, China has gone in the other direction, at least incrementally by lowering some of its tariffs unilaterally.

Lest anyone thinks that Chinas unilateral tariff reductions is a response to vague threats from Washington, the latest round of tariff reductions is Chinas fourth since 2015. What is driving Chinas steps toward a more open market is not political pressure from outside the country, but pent-up consumer demand within it  and a recognition of the need to undertake a marked shift in Chinas prevailing economic paradigm.

From its recent model based on low-cost manufacturing and massive exports, the Chinese government is looking to stimulate domestic consumption as part of its wider strategy to restructure the economy. The government has made it a priority to achieve this goal, and it has sometimes seemed elusive. While consumption in China did increase last year in absolute terms, it fell as a percentage of GDP. Nevertheless, the growth in consumption demonstrates a desire to turn national economic growth into increased consumer choice.

Chinese consumers have been demonstrating an insatiable demand to do what consumers do when they can afford it  consume. High tariff rates on many foreign goods drove many middle and upper class Chinese consumers to fly overseas to combine holidays with shopping sprees. Some might almost think that high tariffs were actually a policy of the airlines, rather than a policy to pursue national interest.

High tariffs also contributed to the rise of grey markets, in which sellers peddled foreign goods  smuggled in under the tariff radar  at lower rates. Middle-menwent overseas to purchase foreign products, bring them back into China without paying import tariffs, and sell them at lower rates than branded stores.

Instead of undermining domestic producers and workers by enhancing competition from foreign sources, reduced tariffs are likely to encourage more consumption within Chinas borders, rather than seeing it seep outside the countrys borders. As reduced tariffs lead to reduced prices, more lower-income Chinese workers will also get a crack at buying more consumer goods. And the reduced tariffs may also provide a significant boost to Chinas burgeoning ecommerce sector, which has been growing exponentially since 2010  and is expected to be larger than the United States, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom combined by 2020.

Rather than pursue a mercantilist policy focused entirely on driving up exports (and curbing imports), China is looking outward, incrementally making it cheaper and easier for Chinese consumers to shop and spend on foreign products as well as domestic ones. Foreign exporters will no doubt benefit from this strategy, as tariff reductions make it easier to sell into the huge and growing Chinese market. But so will Chinese consumers and producers.

Chinas unilateral reduction of tariffs is an illustration of a simple fact: Even if they are not part of a quid pro quo, tariff reductions boost the country making them. In fact, the biggest advantage of free trade is not that it makes it easier to export, it is that it makes it easier to import  thereby enhancing competition and choice, encouraging specialization, increasing scale, and transferring knowledge.
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To sell real estate in Camboida, agents are brushing up on their Mandarin.

Across this traditionally low-rise Cambodian capital, a building boom is becoming more noticeable as it pushes higher into the sky, and its largest projects are often geared toward Chinese investors, who have only recently taken interest in the nation's real estate market.

Read Full
The New Year brings changes for SilencerCo. In a press release today, SilencerCo's board announced Josh Waldron and Jonathan Shults will step down from their roles as CEO and president, respectively. The latest leadership changes come only months after Jason Schauble resigned as president of the company this past November.

Waldron is a vocal proponent of proposed legislation, called the Hearing Protection Act, that seeks to reduce the regulatory and tax burden of silencer ownership. He is also a board member of the American Silencer Association, a silencer industry lobbying group.

It's clear the silencer industry is in the midst of a massive contraction caused by consumer's hopeful anticipation of relaxed regulation sought by the ASA, silencer manufacturers, and other groups. That downward sales pressure is forcing companies to adapt in ways that may be challenging. This latest leadership drama comes on the heels of the loss of the company's president in November, which itself followed a fall layoff that followed a large workforce layoff earlier in the year.

Reduced sales, continuing layoffs, and little meaningful movement on pro silencer legislation add up to a bleak outlook for SilencerCo in the short term.

As posted today on Business Wire:

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah(BUSINESS WIRE)SilencerCo, the nations leading designer and manufacturer of firearm suppressors (silencers), announced a change in company leadership effective January 3, 2018. Joshua Waldron will step down from his CEO position, and Jonathon Shults will step down from his role as President. Co-founded in a garage in 2008 by Waldron and Shults, SilencerCo has grown to be an industry leader, controlling the majority of sales of firearm suppressors and related accessories. The company has garnered the attention of gun enthusiasts, the business community, and even lawmakers, as Waldron and Shults, and hundreds of dedicated employees, have worked together to perfect their trade while also effecting social awareness of gun rights. Mr. Waldron will continue his relationship with SilencerCo as Senior Advocacy Advisor, where he will focus his energy on firearm legislative advocacy, an area in which he excels. Mr. Shults will assume a new role as SilencerCo Chief Operating Officer, where he will oversee day-to-day operations and remain heavily involved in his areas of expertise, including R&D and product innovation. Both Waldron and Shults will serve on the SilencerCo Board to stay involved with the overall direction of the company. They each remain the companys two largest equity holders. Mr. Waldron stated, After years of grit and hard work, SilencerCo is poised to succeed. It is now time for me to turn my focus to advocacy for the company and its industry. Resigning from my current duties as CEO will allow for more time spent in the legislative arena, furthering the scope and influence of SilencerCo products in the future. Mr. Shults stated, SilencerCo is responsible for suppressor industry innovation. As Chief Operating Officer, I look forward to working with our team to ensure that we stay at the forefront of firearm suppressor design and technology. The SilencerCo Board is currently engaged in a search for a CEO and will make an announcement regarding this position as soon as it has been filled. More information about SilencerCo can be found at www.silencerco.com.

RECOILs Rob Curtis contributed to this report.
The two new markets are overwhelmingly dominated by US ride-hailing giant Uber, which has been able to edge out local start-ups

Homegrown cab aggregator Ola is planning to set up operations in Australia and New Zealand as it looks to explore new avenues for growth and play a part in investor Didi Chuxings plans to dominate the global ride-hailing ecosystem.

The Indian firm has set up teams in Dhaka and Colombo, setting the stage for its first overseas expansion.

As the company looks for new and larger markets to enter, Australia and New Zealand have firmly shown up on its radar, according to people familiar with the development.

The two new markets are overwhelmingly dominated by US ride-hailing giant Uber, which has been able to edge out local start-ups such as GoCatch.

Currently, Uber has a presence in 23 cities in Australia and New Zealand.

Uber has also been present in both Dhaka and Colombo for a while now, with Olas entry giving the first serious competition to the US firm.

When Business Standard sought comment from Ola on its Australia and New Zealand plans, the firm termed them as speculative.

We are committed to our mission of building mobility for a billion people, said a statement quoting an unnamed spokesperson.

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal had met London Mayor Sadiq Khan during his visit to India in December, signalling that the firm was interested in taking its business overseas.

However, a source told Business Standard that entering a market like London was off the charts, given its size and how deeply entrenched Uber already was.

You need deep pockets to enter London. The money can as well be used to go into other markets, said the person who did not want to be named.

Australia and New Zealand are far more feasible markets for Ola to enter.

Despite Ubers wide coverage, there continues to be space to grow as cities outside Sydney and Melbourne dont really figure high on the radar for growth.

Australia is also a market that favours ride hailing since the government made ride sharing legal back in 2015.

Olas move to grow beyond the boundaries of India came around the time the company was closing a massive $1.1 billion funding round that was led by Tencent and SoftBank.

While Uber controls a 20 per cent stake in Didi through the sale of its China unit to the company, and the two now share a common investor SoftBank, the Chinese ride-hailing giant doesnt seem to be giving up its global dreams.

Taxify, the Estonian counterpart of Ola also backed by Didi, marked its entry into the Australian market last month.

The company launched its service in Sydney and took a jab at Uber, saying its business model was based on fairness and transparency, helping it sign up 4,000 drivers in an extremely short span of time.

Earlier this month, Didi also made a strategic investment in 99 (formerly 99Taxis), Ubers biggest rival in Brazil.

99 claims it is the market leader in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, much like how Ola claims it is the leader in Indias ride-hailing space.

The investment was seen as a sign that the truce between Didi and Uber was over.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters
'If push comes to shove, Pakistan does have the capability to make it difficult for the US and NATO forces to make even a withdrawal of troops out of Afghanistan in orderly fashion,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.



IMAGE: A Pakistan soldier stands guard at the Angoor Adda outpost along the border with Afghanistan in South Waziristan, Pakistan, October 18, 2017. Photograph: Caren Firouz/Reuters

A week after US President Donald J Trump's tweet on New Year Day, Pakistan is sitting tight.

A Pakistan foreign ministry statement in Islamabad on Saturday, January 6, politely and firmly told the Trump administration that 'arbitrary deadlines, unilateral pronouncements and shifting goal posts are counterproductive.'

The implicit warning is obvious.

Having said that, lines of communication remain open.

The remarks by US Defence Secretary James Mattis on Friday, January 5, at a Pentagon news conference suggested a mellowed mood already. Plainly put, General Mattis was reluctant to be drawn into any discussions whatsoever on the subject.

Meanwhile, the US announcement of suspension of security assistance and the foreign military financing programme is expected to affect about $1.3 billion worth of annual aid.

It has made headlines in the Indian press, but is unlikely to put pressure on Pakistan.

The point is, the Pentagon is using Pakistani transit routes and operating its flights through Pakistani airspace without paying Islamabad anything.

All that Islamabad has to do, if it feels short-changed, is to ask the Americans to cough up money to use the facilities any further, which would more than make up whatever loss of US aid.

Evidently, this is not a situation that can be leveraged through the power of money.

Pakistan has legitimate interests in Afghanistan. It also perceives an existential threat from India.

Islamabad has been complaining that the US is passive about curbing cross-border terrorism against Pakistan originating from Afghan soil.

Taking all things into account, the bottom line is that Pakistan will not assist the Trump administration to find a military solution to the Afghan conflict.

On the other hand, there is no shred of evidence that the US is genuinely keen on reaching a political settlement either, since that would inevitably lead to a demand for the vacation of its military bases in Afghanistan, which have been established for the pursuit of geopolitical objectives.

Curiously, the Trump administration is yet to appoint a special representative on Afghanistan to open a political/diplomatic track.

Its focus is on defeating the Taliban on the battlefield and proclaim 'victory'.

It is the classic syndrome of the military mind that with just one more push, there will be light at the end of the tunnel and victory will be in sight.

EARLIER IN THE SERIES

Pakistan is playing it cool. Which leaves the ball in the American court.

Pakistan maintains that it is willing to continue with the cooperation in counter-terrorist operations and is willing to act on any 'actionable intelligence' that the US hands over regarding terrorist groups. But then, this has been Islamabad's stated position all along.

The US is actually playing with a weak hand and the Pakistani military leadership must be well aware of it.

In a brutally frank analysis of the state of play, Richard G Olson, who served as the US ambassador to Pakistan (2012 to 2015) and as special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan until last year, wrote in The New York Times on Tuesday:

'Pakistan has greater leverage over us (Washington) than many imagine... Without Pakistani cooperation, our army in Afghanistan risks becoming a bleached whale.'

'The Pakistani generals were never convinced that they had to choose between their relationship with the United States and their relationship with the Taliban... The generals knew that as long as the United States maintained an army in Afghanistan, it was more dependent on Pakistan than Pakistan was on it.'

Now, this has come from a senior American diplomat who has had extensive dealings with the Pakistani leadership.

Ambassador Olson has warned that Pakistan is chaffing under the humiliation meted out by the Trump administration and is 'likely to respond by showing how truly it can undercut our (US) position in Afghanistan.'

What works to Pakistan's advantage is that China is strongly backing it and is openly displaying its willingness to stand up and be counted.

The Iranian defence minister telephoned his Pakistani counterpart last week and the Pakistani national security cdvisor met his Iranian counterpart in Tehran on the weekend.

Turkey has also voiced its resentment of the US pressure tactic and bracketed itself with Iran and Pakistan as victims of the Trump administration's phobia against Muslim countries.

Quite obviously, Pakistan does not have to fear any diplomatic isolation. There is much merit in Ambassador Olson's prognosis that the unraveling of the US-Pakistan relationship, which is becoming inexorable, may push matters to a point of no return.

Pakistan holds the trump card in terms of the transit routes -- especially, the overflight facilities -- it provides to the US for supplying its forces in Afghanistan. It reserves the right to use it at a moment of its choice.

The fact of the matter is that the so-called Northern Distribution Network via Central Asia is unrealistic without Russia's cooperation, which is highly unlikely to be forthcoming.

The only other transit routes for the US are via China or Iran, which are as good as non-options.

Again, the regional States harbor misgivings about the American intentions and suspect that Islamic State has made its appearance in Afghanistan as a US proxy for destabilising the region.

Suffice to say, things are moving in a direction that may make an open-ended Western occupation of Afghanistan increasingly untenable.

We may expect some form of regional initiative gathering momentum to kickstart a peace process involving the Taliban, which would marginalise the US altogether.

All this poses a big political challenge for India.

Clearly, there is hardly anything India can do to influence the developing situation. A period of masterly inactivity is the best option under the circumstances.

It will be foolish and dangerous to step up India's involvement on the security front at this juncture.

By the way, 2018 is also a period of transition in Afghanistan and there is much uncertainty about the emergent political calculus in Kabul.

Of course, the Trump administration has said flattering things about India in its so-called South Asia strategy. But it costs Trump nothing to say nice things with the hope of pampering Indian vanity.

Quite obviously, The Trump administration's interest lies in persuading India to do 'more' in Afghanistan. But New Delhi will face total regional isolation if it pays heed to the American wish and falls into Trump's trap.

What is important, on the contrary, is that Delhi must keep the lines of communication open to Islamabad so that misunderstandings or misperceptions do not arise.

Apart from the diplomatic channels, it is vital that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval touches base with his Pakistani counterpart Lieutenant General Nasir Khan Janjua (retired) on a regular basis.

Equally, the importance of holding consultations with like-minded regional capitals -- Moscow and Tehran, in particular -- cannot but be stressed.

If a regional initiative materialises, India should not hesitate for a moment to participate in it.

To be sure, a dangerous period lies ahead.

With its back against the wall as the next 'fighting season' approaches in Afghanistan, US military commanders who have assured their commander-in-chief in the White House that they will achieve outright victory in the war, are coming under immense pressure.

They may resort to risky moves simply to save face or to create alibi for their eventual failure to defeat the Taliban.

However, make no mistake, the Pakistani military will not be browbeaten.

And if push comes to shove, Pakistan does have the capability to make it difficult for the US and NATO forces to make even a withdrawal of troops out of Afghanistan in orderly fashion.
An accused in the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case, absconding for almost 16 years, was arrested in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, police said.

Ashish Pandey, one of the five absconding accused in the case, was arrested from Aslali locality by Crime Branch sleuths, a police official said.

A mob had attacked Gulberg Society, a pre-dominantly Muslim colony in Ahmedabad, on February 28, 2002, killing 69 persons including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. It was one of the worst incidents of violence during the post-Godhra riots.

"Pandey was absconding ever since he was named as an accused in the FIR lodged in 2002 after the incident. He lived in Naroda locality with his family, but had fled to evade arrest and thereafter lived in different cities including Haridwar and Vapi and worked in the transport business," said the official.

Police had got a tip-off that Pandey was in the city in connection with his work, he said.

He was handed over to the special investigation team which probed the case. He will be produced before a court on Thursday.

A special court for SIT cases had, in June 2016, convicted 24 persons in the Gulberg case, awarding life imprisonment to 11 of them. Thirty-six others were acquitted.

With the arrest of Pandey, four more accused are still at large.

Image: Survivors of the 2002 Gujarat riots weep inside a house that was burnt and damaged in the riots at the Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Ahmad Masood/ Reuters
A 26-year-old student, pursuing a PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, has gone missing from the campus, the police said.

Mukul Jain, enrolled in Life Sciences course, has been missing since January 8, they said.

A missing report was registered in the evening of January 8. It is suspected that he was having some problems in his relationship, said a senior police officer from the South-west district.

Till now, no foul play has been suspected, they added.

Najeeb Ahmed, also a JNU student, went missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of the university on October 15, 2016 following a scuffle with some other students, allegedly affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the previous night.

Over a month after the incident, his mother moved the Delhi high court, seeking directions to the police to trace her son.

The high court on May 16 last year handed over the probe into the disappearance of Najeeb, a student of MSc in Biotechnology, to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Image: Mukul Jain, 26-year-old, is pursuing a PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Photograph: Facebook
Naveen Patnaiks guest list has been prepared with an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls, reports Archis Mohan.

In a significant development for Odisha politics, former President Pranab Mukherjee, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani, Communist Party of India-Marxist chief Sitaram Yechury and a host of Opposition leaders are set to share the stage at an event to release a pictorial biography of former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on January 27.



Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal is currently faced with a resurgent BJP in the state. Naveen is also trying to counter the BJPs efforts to claim the legacy of his father Biju Patnaik.



BJD Lok Sabha MP Bhartruhari Mahtab said that the pictorial biography of Biju Patnaiks life has been put together by the Biju Patnaik centenary committee. The book contains rare photographs of Biju babus life, Mahtab said.

He confirmed that Mukherjee will be the chief guest at the event, and release the book. Advani will be the guest of honour. He also confirmed having invited Yechury.

Mahtab pointed out that apart from Atal Bihari Vajpayee and George Fernandes, Advani is a surviving Cabinet colleague of Biju Patnaik from the Janata Party government of 1977. Vajpayee and Fernandes are unwell and keep away from public life.



Sources in the office of former President Mukherjee confirmed that he will attend the event.



Janata Dal-Secular spokesperson Danish Ali said party leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda have also been invited. Naveen Patnaik is slated to travel to Bengaluru to invite him on January 14, Ali said.



Sources in the opposition camp said it was unusual for Naveen Patnaik to be reaching out to other leaders. Even after severing his alliance with the BJP in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and the Odisha assembly polls, which take place simultaneously, Naveen had stayed away from efforts at non-Congress and non-BJP third front unity.

Similarly, he had kept away from the Lefts efforts in 2014 to bring all the regional parties on one platform.

Opposition sources said Naveens guest list has been prepared with an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls. Advani might be a BJP leader, but there is no secret about his differences with the current leadership of his party. The BJPs Odisha unit would find it hard to counter Advani praising Biju Patnaik and the BJD is sure to milk it electorally, said an Opposition leader, who didnt want to be named.



The BJD would similarly highlight Mukherjees presence, and underline that Biju Patnaik was not only in the Congress for several years, but was trusted by Indias first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.



In the Janata Party cabinet, Biju Patnaik was the Cabinet minister for steel, mines and coal. Vajpayee was the external affairs minister, Fernandes the industries minister and Advani had the information and broadcasting portfolio.



Several other Opposition leaders are also likely to be invited for the event. The Biju Janata Dal marked Biju Patnaiks birth centenary in 2016-17.
Tuesday was the last that Courtroom 51 saw of Shyamvar Rai, accused No 3 and approver in the Sheena Bora murder trial.

True to form, Rai's final hours in the witness box were rather acrimonious.

His cross-examination at several points turned downright ugly.

Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora murder trial.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

They met in the inner courtyard of the Mumbai city civil and sessions court for a few hurried minutes.

Just another married couple, that those forbidding premises witness, day in and day out -- he an undertrial; she supporting their family in his absence -- trying to keep their life together despite the gruelling length of trials.

When they met, probably for the first time in this new year, under the scrutiny of the police, it was a quiet, under-emotional moment, with hardly more than a smile exchanged.

But together they shared a white milky drink, that she brought him in a plastic disposable glass, along with a plastic-bag-wrapped tiffin.

She is a dusky woman with neat features. Her shiny hair drawn up in a ponytail with a clip, she was wearing a navy blue kurta with a bright gold-edged orange chunni and an orange salwar, high heels, payals, some modest jewellery and a black-strapped watch.

He was clad in a steel-blue, way-too-shiny shirt, darks slacks and sporting an awfully bad haircut.

A jacket was balled up under his arm, defence against the 18 degree morning temperature he must have faced on his 43-kilometre ride into the city from jail on Tuesday January 9, 2018.

The drink came out of a white plastic bag she was carrying, along with a large smart phone.

After it was done he said in English, "Bye." Then so did she.

He walked off towards the jail trucks that would take him back to the Thane central jail.

She, after a few words exchanged with CBI Investigating Officer K K Singh outside the court, set off at a brisk pace for Churchgate station, walking across the road on which a series of prison vans were chugging towards VT station.

Every so often her gaze went right as she scanned a jail van, to probably see if he was on it.

Slowly all the vans disappeared into the smoggy distance and so did she, quickly crossing Maharshi Karve Road to duck into the subway, as she tried dialing unsuccessfully a few numbers on her phone.

Like him, her face might soon be no more than a memory.

Yes, Tuesday was the last that CBI special courtroom 51 saw of Shyamvar Pinturam Rai, Accused No 3, the Mukerjeas' erstwhile driver and approver in the Sheena Bora murder trial, as his stint/'duty' as a witness came to a close.

It was probably the last time Sharda, his wife, would visit him at this location.

True to form, Rai's final hours in the witness box were rather acrimonious. His cross-examination by Shrikant Shivade, Accused No 4 Peter Mukerjea's lawyer, before a full courtroom, at several points, turned downright ugly.

Typically too, Rai's last day drew attention to the complex, controversial, man he is and one has gotten acquainted with over nearly seven months.

A mere driver -- that Shivade took pains to underline, very subtly, in his mildly superior and with his marginally apparent We versus Them stance -- who is a wretched victim of his circumstances, he is someone one should rightly feel sorry for.

Yet Rai, with his now rather obvious jalebi-like psyche, his lack of simplicity and, it would seem, honesty, is uncomfortable to understand. Your heart can't go out to him.

Shivade, who generally sticks to a genteel, appealing, manner, did raise his voice in frustration at Rai several times on Tuesday, in an effort to nail a few last facts down -- facts being the operative word -- as he carefully eyed the clock, pacing himself.

In anticipation of Rai's chronic amnesia and every answer of the driver's being that characteristic yaad nahin, Shivade tried a variety of tactics -- from scaring him out of it (the yaad nahins), to appealing to CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale.

Requests to Judge Jagdale didn't seem to work, oddly. After one too many ambiguous "kiya hogas (May have done)" and "gaya hogas (May have gone)" from Rai, Shivade blew a fuse and said to the the judge, "He has to be told to answer. He cannot be evasive."

Judge Jagdale put Rai's poor replies down to his memory -- "Memory is a weird thing. Sometimes one can recall something from even 40 years ago but some recent fact we cannot remember." The judge also advised that Rai had been confronted already with too many documents.

His confusion also resulted, the judge said, from "His understanding of Hindi."

Shivade to Rai: "Do you understand Marathi?"

Rai replied with a flat and loud: "Nahin."

Shivade to the judge: "In the police chargesheet it said he knew two languages" Hindi and Marathi!"

Judge Jagdale grinned.

When at points, Shivade was exasperatedly coercing Rai to change a "gaye hoga" to a "gaye the", CBI Prosecutor Bharat Badami jibed; "How could he be answering exactly the way you want him to? Why are you an advocate then?"

The jibes cut both ways with some of the lawyers muttering about the interrogation of Rai by the police in 2015 being nothing more than Rai doing "sevagiri (slang for ingratiating service)" for the police.

Many a time Shivade often resorted to this totally child-like approach to make the driver answer:

Shivade: "How far was Podar hospital (Worli, central Mumbai) from where you lived?"

Rai: "Podar hospital ke samne (In front of Podar Hospital)."

Shivade: "Yeh bata sakte hai ki kabhi se kabhi tak yahan rahein? (Can you tell us from when to when you lived here?)"

Rai emphatically: "Kabhi se kabhi tak yaad nahin (From when to when I do not remember)."

Shivade, patiently: "Were you living there in April 2012?"

Rai: "Nahin."

Shivade, painstakingly, "2013 mein?"

Rai: "Nahin."

Shivade: "2014 mein?"

Rai: "Nahin."

Shivade: "2015 mein?"

Rai: "Nahin."

There was a method to this madness: After ascertaining when Rai had not lived in the Podar hospital area, Shivade pointedly asked the driver if he was in the habit of giving the wrong residential address when he applied for SIMs for his cell phones.

Judge Jagdale laughed heartily. Rai feigned shock, as if it was not ever possible.

The lawyer then asked if Rai had carried more than one handset at any given time or any with double SIMs and if he would recognise his own handest should it be placed in front of him.

Rai said to the first that he once had two and to the second, mock earnestly, that he would try.

When probed further he repeated stiffly, his face dark with anger -- an expression that continued through much of the three-hour plus session --- that he would try.

Shivade went into a loop saying that they might need to write an application to have the phone brought from the Khar police station, north west Mumbai (where Rai was brought to in 2015 after his arrest for possession of an unlicensed country pistol).

Judge Jagdale swiftly and firmly snuffed out that line of thought.

He told Peter's advocate curtly, softening his words with a smile: "Complete your cross examination as you promised. I hope you won't disappoint me," suggesting no fresh applications could come in the way of winding up the cross examination of Rai on Tuesday.

A surprising new fact Shivade more or less nailed down on Tuesday was that Rai also used another name!

Shivade: "Aap ka naam Shyamvar Pinturam Rai hai. Yeh aur koi naam hai? (Your name is Shymvar Pinturam Rai. Apart from this, do you have any other name?)"

Rai, quickly: "Nahin."

When Shivade began to ask him about the name in his passport, Rai backtracked and began to babble about how he had put his mother's name Suryavanshi and then, in a sweet voice, prattled on aimlessly about how that was so too for some of his documents from the village Danwa, MP, where he came from.

Shivade interrupted: "I don't care if it was your Ma's name or your Mama's (uncle's) I asked you what name was on your passport."

The next 20 minutes got uglier, angrier and infinitely more interesting. Rai's use of the name Suryavanshi was not consistent. He had not started life as a Suryavanshi by surname. But at some point for unknown reasons swapped Rai for it.

Shivade charged that he changed his name to escape a "gunah" or past crime. Rai returned angrily that he had not.

Shivade: "Aap ko sach se koi matlab nahin hai (You have no regard for the truth). You have prepared false documents and (created) stories to meet the situation, aapke fayda ke liye (for your gain)."

Judge Jagdale seemed amused at Shivade's ringing speech and laughed.

Rai: "Yeh jhoot bol raha hai! (He is lying!)"

Like it has been at almost any session of cross-examination of Rai, since August, the Q and A lapsed into conversation about distances, time taken to cover a distance.

Like it has been at almost any session of cross-examination of Rai, since August, velocity, distance and time taken to cover x kilometres etc are foreign to Rai, as if -- one wonders -- he drove a tractor or a bulldozer instead of a car. And as if distance, speed etc were subjects from the realm of physics rather than the backbone of his trade.

Also foreign seemed to be knowledge of the nature of the roads and routes -- Does one pass through Khandala to get to Lonavla? No, said Rai, but on the way back, he said with baffling logic, one does -- he used for the different recces he said he did on behalf of Indrani Mukerjea in the run up to Sheena Bora's murder.

Rai's rationality is always startling.

What's more, on Tuesday, like many other days, he smiled back at the smiling room after offering what he thought was a logical answer, blissfully and sadly unaware that the room was smiling at him and not his answer.

When asked if the road he took in 2012 climbed the ghats (hills) to get from Khopoli (on the Mumbai-Pune old highway) to Khandala he said it had. When asked if he went back also via the ghats he disagreed violently. "Ghat se charte hai utarte nahin hai (You use the ghats to climb and not to descend)."

Shivade made a brave attempt to have a more esoteric discussion with Rai about whether he knew what were the "mahatvapurn (importance)" issues of the case and if he had come out with them all or there were still more in store.

In return, Rai offered rudely: "Mujhe kya maloom ki kya mahtavpurn tha? (How do I know what is important?)"

There was some banter at this point, which ended in disaster with Shivade, taking the high ground, accusing Rai of smiling when a murder had occurred.

Badami joined in: "But she is also smiling (referring to Indrani)."

Judge Jagdale intervened, "Don't go by emotions."

Rai retorted: "Mein ro kya? (Should I cry?)"

Given that Shivade is representing Peter in this case, much of the latter half of Tuesday's session dwelt on Rai's recounting of the conversation the driver alleged Indrani had on the cellphone with Peter on April 23, 2012, that effectively ended Peter's bail plea in 2016.

Indrani, after checking out and deciding on a spot for Sheena's body in Gagode Khurd, near Pen, Raigad district, on April 23, the day before her murder, called Peter, Rai alleged, and she said, 'It was a good place. Well done' and that there was a reference made to both Sheena and Mekhail, her son from her first marriage.

This particular sentence has played havoc with Peter's life.

It first appeared, Shivade tracked on Tuesday, in partial form in Rai's second statement to the CBI in January 2016.

Earlier to that, it had apparently not existed and was missing from statements Rai made to the police and the magistrate of the killa court for reasons he was unable to justify to the court, though he said in each case the statements he recorded were read out to him and explained in Hindi.

At each instance, Shivade produced Rai's statement to show him that the line was missing. CBI Special Prosecutor Bharat Badami piped in, at one point, reassuringly to Rai, when the driver was reading one of the statements, "Pura parh lo shanti se (Read the whole thing calmly)."

Shivade sarcastically: "Pura padenge to sham ho jayega (If he reads the whole thing it will be evening)."

An embellished version of the same sentence showed up, only for the second time, in Rai's testimony to the court in July 2017.

From 'Good place' it got upgraded to 'It was a good place. Well done' to Shivade's mystification, that he expressed vividly to those in Courtroom 51, including his colleagues and Indrani's lawyers Gunjan Mangla and Sudeep Pasbola.

Shivade: "Ye dekho, done ka kya matlab hai? (Listen up, what is the meaning of done?)"

Judge Jagdale chuckled.

Rai smartly:"Achcha kiya (Did well)."

A little later in the conversation Shivade asked Rai how he knew it was Peter Indrani was talking to.

Rai responded roundly: "Jab Peter sahib se baat karti thi toh moo moo karti thi (When she spoke to Peter sahib she used to make moo moo sounds, indicating she expressed some sort of affection)."

The whole courtroom laughed and Indrani, dressed on Tuesday in a cream shirt, leggings and a scarf, beamed from the back, looking with a smile at Peter, sitting just beyond Accused No 2 and former husband Sanjeev Khanna.

Finally, Shivade: "Hamara kahna hai na aise call hua, na aise baatein hua (I would like to say that there was no such call nor such a conversation)."

"Yeh jhoot hai. Yeh statement nahin bola (This is a lie. This statement was not made)," he further added, a little later.

"Peter's bail (plea hearing) was going on (then). A false statement was recorded (for that purpose). Aap CBI aur police ke dar se bola tha (You said this out of fear of the CBI and the police)."

Shivade closed his cross examination with more charges.

"I would like to say that the police has taken you into custody before your arrest (in August 2015)," and he told Rai that the police had told him what to say about the murder. "You have struck a deal with the police."

Pasbola concurred, repeating Shivade's allegation.

To each accusation Rai replied with a loud "Yeh jhoot hai (That is a lie)" or "Galat! (Wrong!)" or "Hum sab jan mil ke murder kiya (All of us together murdered)."

Shivade hit back with his final words, "Jhoot gavai de raha hai (He has given false testimony)."

Rai: "Aap jhoot bol rahein. Sach hai (You are lying. This is the truth)."

Judge Jagdale said relieved: "The evidence is now closed."

At which Badami remonstrated: "It is mammoth evidence. I have to go through it," indicating there might be need to have a fresh look at some aspects of the proceedings.

Judge Jagdale, pleased that Rai's cross examination was finally over, some 160 days later, would not leave the door ajar for Badami: "Put an application then."

Pasbola teased: "Badami is saying he is exhausted from tutoring the witness. He is not going to tutor the witness anymore."

Badami continued: "We are seeking justice. It is not only about Peter. Sheena is seeking justice," and indicated that the winding up of Rai's role as a witness was now happening too quickly.

Judge Jagdale laughed and strongly disagreed, brooking no interference in the scheduling of the next witness, Khar police station Constable Ganesh Dalvi.

Tuesday's long session drew to a close at 4.20 pm, shortly after the unsuccessful anticipatory bail hearing of Yug Tulli, partner of Mojo Bistro and an accused in the December 29, 2017 Kamala Mills fire, ended one floor up.

The four accused departed back for jail at nearly 5 pm, in trucks parked just under the giant black exterior stains outside Courtroom 34, that was affected by the sessions court fire of January 7.

Sanjeev had to undergo a series of checks for the medicines and thrillers that had been sent for him and he was carrying, since the police was not familiar with the nicotine gum he had received in an effort to kill his smoking habit.

After Rai's colourful stint before the court, Constable Dalvi, with his quiet, obedient, answers, may make for a more sober Chapter 2 in the Sheena Bora murder trial when it resumes on January 17.
Joint Statement by the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and for Children and Armed Conflict commending landmark conviction for crimes against humanity by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Kavumu child rape cases

Publisher UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Publication Date 15 December 2017 Cite as UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Joint Statement by the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and for Children and Armed Conflict commending landmark conviction for crimes against humanity by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Kavumu child rape cases, 15 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5616624.html [accessed 5 September 2021] Comments Joint Statement by the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and for Children and Armed Conflict

Joint Statement by the Special Representatives of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and for Children and Armed Conflict commending landmark conviction for crimes against humanity by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Kavumu child rape cases

New York, 15 December 2017

The Special Representatives of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict (SVC), Pramila Patten, and for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba welcome the landmark decision by military justice authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for the conviction of a provincial parliamentarian and members of the "Army of Jesus" militia for the crimes against humanity of rape for dozens of children in Kavumu, DRC. The crimes occurred on a serial basis between 2013-2016 in the town located in South Kivu province.

"The child survivors of sexual violence in Kavumu, their families, and community have shown tremendous bravery throughout the trial process," said Special Representative Patten. "I commend their courage and I hope today's judgment delivers a measure of justice for their suffering." She noted further that the "judgment and life sentences rendered by military justice authorities is a significant step forward in ending impunity for sexual violence in the DRC."

SRSGs Patten and Gamba also commended civil society actors for their role. "The case demonstrates that when there is political will, well-trained Government officials, civil society involvement, and an engaged press, there can be justice for sexual violence," said SRSG Gamba. SRSG Patten added that: "I am pleased that the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict could be deployed to assist national authorities in the military justice system appropriately to ensure that the Kavumu case was prioritized in accordance with the Joint Communique signed by my Office with the Government of the DRC in 2013."

"Rape and other forms of sexual violence against children remains unfortunately widespread in the DRC, with six parties listed for this grave violation in the latest Secretary-General report on Children and Armed Conflict. This conviction brings hope to all the other victims of sexual violence," SRSG Gamba said. "However, although the trial has concluded, the justice process is not yet over," both Special Representatives noted. "The potentially life-changing judgments of reparations that were awarded by the court to the child victims must be paid for justice to be fully delivered and the sentences of the perpetrators must be carried out." SRSGs Patten and Gamba urged "the international community to work with the Government of the DRC to ensure resources are made available for the payment of reparations to the survivors and other victims of the Kavumu atrocities."
Statement by Under-Secretary-General Ms. Pramila Patten Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Welcoming the Adoption of Security Council resolution 2379 on Accountability for Daesh Crimes

Publisher UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Publication Date 23 September 2017 Cite as UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Statement by Under-Secretary-General Ms. Pramila Patten Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Welcoming the Adoption of Security Council resolution 2379 on Accountability for Daesh Crimes, 23 September 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5618454.html [accessed 5 September 2021]

Saturday, 23 September 2017 13:52

Statement by Under-Secretary-General Ms. Pramila Patten Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Welcoming the Adoption of Security Council resolution 2379 on Accountability for Daesh Crimes

(New York, 22 September 2017)



I welcome the adoption by the Security Council of resolution 2379 on accountability for the acts committed by Daesh in Iraq. The resolution explicitly condemns forced marriage, trafficking in persons, rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, and recognises that the commission of such acts may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. I commend the Government of Iraq and the members of the Council for their unanimous resolve to ensure justice for survivors of such atrocities.



Over the past three years the United Nations Secretary-General has documented in his annual reports the use of sexual violence by certain extremist groups such as Daesh, Boko Haram and Al Shabaab as a tactic of war and terrorism. The sexual violence acts perpetrated by Daesh have not only been systematic but institutionalized as part of their ideology and instructions to their fighters. They have used sexual violence as a tool to advance core strategic objectives such as incentivizing recruitment through the promise of women and girls to the young men enlisted to their cause; fundraising through the sale, trade and trafficking of women and girls; as a means of punishing, controlling and displacing civilian populations; or as a tool of interrogation employed especially against men and boys. The use of sexual violence as a tactic of terrorism which was acknowledged by the Security Council in another landmark resolution 2331 adopted in December 2016, provides for the first time a framework to combat this new phenomenon is a more structured way.



In my interactions with the women and girls who have escaped Daesh captivity, including members of the Yezidi community, their resounding message is that the perpetrators must be held to account. They also insist that the estimated 3000 women who are still held captive by Daesh in Iraq and Syria are found and returned to their families. The survivors of these brutal crimes demand and deserve justice and dignity. This is a critical part of healing and rebuilding their lives. Accountability is also essential for the prevention of future atrocities.



This is why it is so important that the Investigation Team that is to be established under resolution 2379 includes specific expertise on gender and sexual violence to ensure the documentation of sexual violence. This is consistent with the priorities of the United Nations and the Government of Iraq, as expressed in a Joint Communique to prevent and address sexual violence that was signed in September 2016. My Office is supporting national authorities at federal and regional levels in the implementation of the specific commitments under the Joint Communique, through my Team of Experts on the Rule of Law / Sexual Violence in Conflict and the UN Action network. In this regard, I look forward to working closely with the Special Adviser and Investigation Team called for by resolution 2379.



The courage and resilience of the survivors of sexual violence is an inspiration and clarion call to action to us all. I stand in solidarity with them.


Statement of SRSG Pramila Patten at the documentary screening event "Hawar, a cry for help", 19 December 2017, UN ECOSOC Chamber

Publisher UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Publication Date 19 December 2017 Cite as UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Statement of SRSG Pramila Patten at the documentary screening event "Hawar, a cry for help", 19 December 2017, UN ECOSOC Chamber, 19 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5624554.html [accessed 5 September 2021]

Statement of SRSG Pramila Patten at the documentary screening event "Hawar, a cry for help", 19 December 2017, UN ECOSOC Chamber

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, good evening,

I would like to thank Ms. Duzen Tekkal and her organisation HAWAR, for their determination to document and denounce the atrocities committed by Daesh against the Iraqi Yazidi community, and for helping to make this event possible. I would also like to extend my appreciation to the Governments of Germany and Iraq for co-hosting this important event, to our moderator, Ms. Janine Di Giovanni, and to all of our esteemed panellists.

Ladies and gentlemen, screening tonight's documentary, "Hawar, a cry for help", provides us with an opportunity to show the world that the United Nations stands in solidarity with every victim of Daesh's crimes and every survivor of sexual violence.

Today, the defeat of Daesh in its most important strongholds, thanks to the battle waged by Iraq and members of the anti-ISIL coalition, has brought a rare moment of hope to a troubled region. Yet, for too many survivors of sexual violence, war is not over when it's over. The consequences of these crimes are profound and enduring. They live on in untreated trauma, nightmares, social stigma, and children born of rape.

The manifestations of stigma, which follow in the wake of rape, are multiple, intersecting, and often lethal. Shame and victim-blame can lead to depression, suicide, untreated infections, unsafe abortions, maternal mortality, forced marriage, and so-called "honor crimes". It can lead to public hostility, humiliation, rejection, and even revictimization.

The stigma can be compounded by having children born of rape. As a result, such children are often abandoned and left in a legal limbo: without their father's name or presence, they may be denied birth certificates and identity papers, which can cause them to become stateless. This can deprive them of education, healthcare, and other essential services. Socioeconomic reintegration will be critical to avoid a "lost generation".

All political, religious and traditional leaders must use their influence to redirect this stigma and send a clear signal that the only shame of rape is in committing, commanding or condoning it. There can be no durable peace or reconciliation, so long as the divisive and debilitating force of stigma persists.

The sexual violence perpetrated by Daesh has been systematic, institutionalized and integral to its ideology and operations. Daesh has used sexual violence as a tactic of war and terror to advance its core strategic objectives, such as recruiting fighters through the promise of wives and sex slaves, and raising funds through the sale of women and girls, including in open slave bazaars according to fixed price-lists, like livestock at a farmers' market. They have also issued so-called "Fatwas" codifying sexual slavery and attempting to justify it through Holy Scriptures.

The message that resounds most loudly and clearly from my interactions with women and girls who have escaped Daesh captivity, including members of the Yazidi community, is that the perpetrators must be held accountable. The recently-adopted Security Council resolution, to establish an investigative team, is promising. Investigation is critical to ensure that evidence is duly collected and not lost to the passage of time. However, this is not enough. Nor is it enough to defeat Daesh on the battlefield alone. We must also win the battle of ideas, which includes building civic trust and confidence in the Rule of Law. In this regard, the visible and consistent prosecution of sexual violence as a self-standing crime, is vital for precedent-setting, deterrence and, ultimately, prevention.

Justice and support to the survivors must infuse all our reconstruction efforts in Iraq in the wake of Daesh. Reconstruction does not only mean rebuilding infrastructure, but fundamentally rebuilding trust, within and between, communities. To this end, my Office, on behalf of the entire United Nations system, has signed a Joint Communique with the Government of Iraq to comprehensively address conflict-related sexual violence.

The strength and resilience of the survivors, some of whom are depicted in the documentary you will see tonight, should serve as an inspiration and a clarion call to action. This is our sacred duty of care to survivors, including women like Najlaa, who will join us on the panel. She is a remarkable and courageous woman who I had the privilege of meeting earlier this year - her tenacity inspires me to sustain the fight for justice with equal determination.

Tonight's event also allows us to highlight Germany's Special Quota Project for Women and Children affected by Daesh's atrocities. This Project provides a lifeline for Yazidis fleeing violence committed by Daesh, including sexual violence, by allowing over 1000 women and children to relocate to the State of Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany. This is a pioneering program, and I believe that history will remember the generosity and humanity the people of Baden-Wurttemberg have shown in protecting and assisting a persecuted community. I am also pleased that Germany is continuing to support reconstruction in Iraq, to ensure that all survivors of Daesh can live in dignity and peace.

Following this example, let us spare no effort to help heal the physical, psychological and social scars inflicted by Daesh, and to replace horror with hope.

Thank you.
Cite as

UN General Assembly, The situation of human rights in Afghanistan and technical assistance achievements in the field of human rights: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights , 11 January 2017, A/HRC/34/41, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a562b9d4.html [accessed 5 September 2021]
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Pune, Maharashtra -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/09/2018 --Studies conducted by major universities and business organizations indicate that less than 10% of job failures are due the lack of technical aspects of the job. And this means that more than 90% of such failures are due to lack of understanding of one's self, lack of understanding of others and the lack of motivation (in short lack of life skills and people skills). Soft skills and confidence are very important attributes in being successful.



Times & Trends Academy conducted a recent 'Skill Development & Career Opportunities' workshop recently for finance and accounts students from TTA. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Wasim Sharif, Assistant Manager  Human Resource at WNS, and was attended by students, faculties & Mr. Amit Agrawal, Founder & Chairman  Times and Trends Academy. Mr. Wasim gave insights on various career opportunities in the finance & accounts industry.



Mr. Amit Agrawal said, "Skill development is crucial for economic growth and social development. The demographic transition of India makes it important to ensure employment opportunities for more than 15 million-plus youths entering working age annually. And therefore it becomes binding on us to conduct seminars & workshops for students that help them understand the market scenario better and acquire the necessary and relevant skillsets."



Mr. Wasim listed many technical skills in finance & accounting domain that MNCs are looking in the candidates when they are recruiting. And without those skillsets, he suggested that it would be very difficult to enter multi-national companies. As human resource professional, he also emphasized on the fact that freshers seeking a job in this industry must also have good communication skills to grab the job opportunities.



He mentioned that it is more likely that a candidate with good communication skills will see growth in any company as compared to a candidate without communication skills.



Mr. Wasim also discussed various job opportunities at WNS. He disclosed various openings and corresponding job profiles for the same. After explaining the profiles, he went on to explain the work culture at WNS. WNS Global is a global business process management company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It has more than 34,000 professionals working in 52 delivery centers across the world, including India, United States, United Kingdom, China, Costa Rica, Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. WNS is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WNS. The company operates in two segments: WNS Global services BPM and WNS Auto Claims BPM. Its clients are primarily in the travel, banking, financial services, insurance, healthcare and utilities, retail and consumer product industries.



He also shared his experience as a Human Resource Professional in the corporate sector and answered queries from students. Students from Finance & Accounts domain at TTA got a splendid chance to learn and clear their doubts during the seminar. Pritam Jagtap, one of the students, said, "The seminar was very informative. Most of the times, we, as students, do not understand the interview & screening process properly as we lack industry exposure. But, such seminars are really helpful because they show you the right direction. Now, I understand what are the skillsets that I must acquire before I apply for a job position. Thank you TTA for conducting such edifying seminar."



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Mu Sochua, vice president of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, escaped her country in early October 2017 ahead of warnings she would be arrested for conspiring with jailed party leader Kem Sokha to overthrow the Cambodian government. She spoke from exile to Vuthy Huot of RFAs Khmer Service about the Hun Sen governments pressure on CNRP members and her efforts to focus international attention on Cambodias political crisis.

RFA: Have you declared your assets as required by the Anti-Corruption Unit after the CNRP officials are banned from politics?

Mu Sochua: It is unacceptable that laws are used to harass us. The laws are used as tools for the ruling elites to remain in power longer and restrict our freedom and rights. Its not a big deal whether we declare our assets. The big deal is the life of democracy in our country. We are not afraid to lose our assets as long as we do not lose our democracy. To revive our democracy, Kem Sokha must be released immediately and unconditionally and there must be free and fair elections.

RFA: Are you not afraid that you will be punished for failing to declare your assets?

Mu Sochua: No, Im not. What I fear the most is when our country has become a victim of the ruling elites who are undermining our democracy. We need to rescue our nation and democracy.

RFA: CNRP officials are lobbying the international community to put pressure on Hun Sens government. However, CPP officials say that the CNRP has failed to convince buyers to stop buying goods from Cambodia. What is your reaction to that?

Mu Sochua: I wish to specify that we are not inciting the international community to stop buying clothes or other goods from Cambodia. Big buyers are actually very mindful of their moral obligation. They only buy products from a country that respects human rights and democracy. What we are lobbying the international community for is to restore human rights and democracy in Cambodia.

RFA: Since the CNRP is dissolved, party officials have conducted protests and delivered petitions to foreign governments. How effective have these efforts been so far?

Mu Sochua: Democracy is now dead. We are finding ways to make it alive again. Our fight to get international attention is working. The international community including the US and EU have already imposed some forms of sanctions against the Hun Sen government. I strongly encourage Cambodians everywhere to continue to stay engaged in politics and stage peaceful protests to pressure for the restoration of democracy and rule of law.

RFA: What do you think about Hun Sens recent move to meet factory workers at least twice a week?

Mu Sochua: It is good that he does that. It is exactly what the CNRP has been doing. For he follows what we do now, I would like him to also follow our call for him to allow Cambodians to also enjoy their freedom, human rights and democracy fully. May I challenge Hun Sen to fight like a man. I want to challenge Hun Sen to be brave enough to allow for a free and fair election in which political parties compete for votes from the people at the polling stations.

RFA: Hun Sen accuses the president of the CNRP of treason. He also accuses some NGOs of receiving assistance from foreign governments. In the meantime, Hun Sen has received assistance from foreign governments like China. What do you think about this?

Mu Sochua: We are very concerned with Chinas influence in Cambodian politics. China has exploited our natural resources on a large scale. China is a one-party state. It is a communist country. It is very sad that Hun Sen has let go of democracy and chose communism. It is very sad that he has labeled us as traitors. However, I strongly believe that Cambodians are not fooled by Hun Sen. I really respect our people who still strongly believe in the CNRP, which is the only hope for a democratic change.

Translated by Nareth Muong.
An action plan outlined by a member of Prime Minister Hun Sens cabinet ahead of Cambodias general election warns that the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) must remove its agents from the opposition and should end support for smaller political parties in a bid to shore up power.



An email dated July 30, 2017, which was obtained by RFAs Khmer Service over the weekend, appears to show a list of talking points compiled by Minister of Public Works and Transportation Sun Chanthol for Hun Sen ahead of a meeting of the CPPs Central Committee in Koh Pich, on the outskirts of the capital Phnom Penh.



Sent nearly two months after the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) won nearly 44 percent of votes in Cambodias commune elections, compared to 51 percent for the ruling party, Sun Chanthol advises SPM (Samdech Prime Minister) to acknowledge that the CPP will have a tougher election in 2018 and urge the party to work harder ahead of the July 29 general ballot.



In a section entitled Action Plans for General Election, the minister includes the bullet points take out all CPP agents that stay with CNRP back to CPP and stop supporting the small parties, although he advises that they can participate in the election.



Another talking point stresses the need for the CPP to show the result of reforms to the people by increasing national revenue, reducing criminal activities, increasing the salary of civil servants, providing better public service, and improving the education and health care sectors.



At the national level, Sun Chanthol writes, a poll should be conducted to find out the popularity of the CPP.



Encourage the workers to register to vote where they work and increase the participation of the youth, the email says, while the PM [prime minister] will go campaigning also.



Monitor the Radio Free Asia and VOA [Voice of America], it adds, referring to two U.S. government- funded broadcasters that have aired content critical of the CPPs leadership.



On a local level, Son Chanthol writes that the CPP should strengthen the local security and militia in the communes won by the party in local elections, grow youth membership, and set up one team of youth per commune to monitor the illegal activity of the opposition during the election.



Sun Chanthol denied any knowledge of the alleged email when asked about it Tuesday by RFAs Khmer Service and said he would be busy with meetings throughout the week.



On Wednesday, CPP spokesman Suos Yara rejected the authenticity of the purported leak in an interview with government-aligned Fresh News, calling it part of a bid to mislead the public.



Election lead-up



In the months since the email is believed to have been sent, Cambodias government has arrested the CNRPs leader, banned the party outright, and placed severe restrictions on NGOs and the media.



Authorities arrested CNRP chief Kem Sokha in September on charges of treason, and two months later the Supreme Court ruled to disband his party for allegedly planning a rebellion with backing from Washington, essentially eliminating any challenge to the CPP ahead of the vote this year.



Cambodian authorities have also used a pretext of tax and administrative violations to close independent radio stations carrying reports from RFA and Voice of America, and forced the closure of the American-owned Cambodia Daily newspaper in early September. RFA shuttered its Phnom Penh bureau soon after.



In recent statements, the U.S. and EU said the CPPs targeting of the opposition, media and civil society had called the legitimacy of Cambodias 2018 general election into question, withdrawing electoral support and placing trade agreements with the Southeast Asian nation under review.



Hun Sen has maintained that the vote will proceed as planned, and said it does not require international recognition to give it legitimacy.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Five opposition commune councilors who have gone into hiding since Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved their party in November said Tuesday that they will not return home amid ongoing pressure to defect to Prime Minister Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP).



Hun Sens government arrested opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) chief Kem Sokha in September on charges of treason, and two months later the Supreme Court ruled to disband his party for allegedly planning a rebellion with backing from Washington, essentially eliminating any challenge to the CPP ahead of votes this year.



At the end of November, the National Assembly reallocated the CNRPs parliamentary seats to the ruling party and three government-aligned political parties, while the CNRPs elected local officials have been pressured to defect to the CPP or lose their positions.



On Tuesday, Chak Botha, a CNRP councilor from Battambang provinces Prek Jich commune, told RFAs Khmer Service that he and four other opposition commune councilors from Battambang who had gone into hiding following the decision to dissolve their party will not return home while ruling party activists continue demanding that we defect to the CPP.



Chak Botha said that he and the other councilors fear for our safety and would rather keep their families in a secure area, than go back to their communes, where they are routinely hounded by the CPP.



I will never serve the CPP, because the party has no intention to solve the problems of the people, he said.



I would rather stand with the people than defect. The people are still suffering social injustice.



The five councilors dare not go to work or conduct any business, he added, saying that most of them now depend on their family members working in Thailand for financial support.



Prek Jich communes ruling party councilor Muol Pin dismissed Cham Bothas claims, saying the opposition members in hiding are simply paranoid.



The local authorities have no problem with them and has repeatedly called on them to return home, he said.



Prime Minister Hun Sen used to appeal to them to defect to the CPP, but they refused, so we no longer have any bearing on their decision.



Luon Savath, an award-winning rights activist known as the multimedia monk, told RFA that CPP political harassment and threats against members of the CNRP had created an environment of fear in Cambodia.



No one wants to leave their house and hometown, but the political situation has forced these CNRP officials to go into hiding, he said.



Luon Savath urged the two main political parties to end attacks and respect one another for the sake of the national interest.



Appeal trial



Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court announced that on Jan. 10 it will hear an appeal by social and political commentator Kim Sok of his conviction on charges of defamation and incitement to cause social disorder.



Kim Sok was jailed on Feb. 17 after Hun Sen accused him of implying that the CPP had orchestrated the July 2016 murder of popular political pundit Kem Ley, though Kim Sok said that he had only been repeating what many Cambodians believe.



On Aug. 10, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced him to 18 months in prison on the charges and ordered him to pay 800 million riels (U.S. $200,000) to Hun Sen and 8 million riels (U.S. $2,000) to the state, sums that his brother has said his family will be unable to pay.



Kem Ley was shot dead in broad daylight on July 10, 2016, when he stopped in a convenience store beside a gas station in Phnom Penh.



Though authorities charged a former soldier with the murder, many in Cambodia dont believe the governments story that Kem Ley was killed by the man over a debt.



Just days before he was gunned down, Kem Ley had discussed on an RFA Khmer Service call-in show a report by London-based Global Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of the family of Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades.



Rights groups accuse Cambodias judiciary of lacking independence and say the government seeks to limit freedom of expression by using the courts to level defamation charges at reporters and critics of the ruling party.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sarada Taing. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Young North Koreans frustrated by the conditions of life in their repressive, sanctions-hit country are beginning to ask their parents for money they can use to cross the border into China, in what some are calling the best New Years gift they can hope to receive, North Korean sources say.



With the rivers that separate the two countries freezing over in recent weeks, growing numbers of North Koreans are now trying to cross into China on foot, a source in North Hamgyong province, bordering China, told RFAs Korean Service.



And young adults who are dissatisfied with the system are asking their parents to save money to help them defect, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Residents in the border areas know how much money it can cost to cross the Yalu river or Tumen river into China, and members of the younger generation are openly asking their parents for support, calling the chance to live in freedom the best gift that parents can give, the source said.



Many North Korean parents now want to send their children to South Korea by way of China, even if they cant make the trip themselves, he said.



More than 20 residents of North Korean border areas have been caught attempting to defect since the beginning of the year, a source in Yanggang province, also bordering China, told RFA.



A small number of them were able to cross the Yalu river but were later caught in China, but most were captured before they could even cross the river, the source said, also speaking on condition his name not be used.



Local warnings



Though North Korean judicial authorities rarely publicize information on defections, the attempts were revealed by neighborhood watch groups in warnings to residents not to try to cross into China, due to a now-strengthened number of guards on the border, the source said.



Defectors were called traitors to the country in the past and were sometimes shot and killed, but people continued to defect one after another, RFAs source in North Hamgyong said.



So how can the threat now of a few years locked in a labor camp hope to discourage escapes?



If the Chinese authorities ever stop repatriating defectors, there wont be anyone left in North Korea, he said.



Soldiers defect



While most North Koreans begin their escape to South Korea by crossing quietly into China and then on to Southeast Asia, last year saw four of the North's soldiers cross the heavily militarized border directly to the South.



On Dec. 21, South Korean guards fired 20 warning shots across the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas as a young North Korean soldier escaped to the South in heavy fog.



That escape came just over a month after a North Korean soldier suffered gunshot wounds as he fled comrades in a dash across the border that was caught on video and went viral on global social media.



Around 30,000 North Koreans have fled to the far wealthier South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. According to South Korea's Unification Ministry data, 1,418 reached the South in 2016, while arrivals fell 16.8 percent from January to October of 2017.



Reported by Jieun Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Customs officers in central Laoss Bolikhamxay province stopped a truck carrying contraband rosewood at the border with Vietnam at the end of December, as smugglers continue to frustrate government attempts to halt the illegal trade in timber, sources said.



Authorities confiscated the load of hundreds of logs and arrested the trucks driver, an official of the provincial Natural Resources and Forestry Department told RFAs Lao Service.



On Dec. 23, we seized 849 rosewood logs weighing over 30 tons that were buried under boxes of Red Bull drinks, the Lao official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



The trucks driver, a Vietnamese, was arrested at the scene, the official said, adding that police had received advance word that the logs would be smuggled into Vietnam through the border gate at Nam Phao and that the driver had no papers proving the wood was legally his.



Police are now looking into the case carefully for evidence of involvement by a larger transboundary timber smuggling gang, the official said.



In May 2016, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith announced a ban on timber exports as part of an effort to end rampant smuggling to China and Vietnam, where the wood is used to make high-end furniture.



However, authorities in southern Laos Attapeu province continue to turn up caches of illegally logged timber, despite a pledge by the governor to eradicate the trade when he took over administration of the region in November from his predecessor, who was removed because of ties to timber smuggling.



On Dec. 13, 2017, a provincial inspection team discovered 250 pieces of illegal timber, measuring around 180 cubic meters (6,350 cubic feet), buried underground in a forest area of Attapeu between posts 766 and 770 of the Lao border with Vietnam.



According to a senior provincial official, who spoke to RFAs Lao Service in a report at the time, the cache must belong to Lao and Vietnamese businessmen who colluded in this illegal activity.



We found it before they were able to deliver it, he added.



Local officials involved



Also in December, a provincial inspection team stopped a Toyota SUV driving through Saysetha district towards the border with Vietnam and uncovered 11 pieces of hidden rosewood timber valued at around U.S. $20,000, according to reports by local media, which said the driver was the former deputy head of the Immigration Police Division at the Phoukeua International Checkpoint in Attapeu.



In May 2017, Lao authorities seized a convoy of 27 trucks of logs owned by Seng Viyaketh, wife of Attapeus then-governor Nam Viyaketh, at the Phoukeua checkpoint. Authorities determined that the timber was illegally obtained in Laos, where logging is heavily restricted as a measure to curb widespread deforestation.



Three Lao officials from Attapeus finance, forestry, and commerce departments are being investigated for their roles in the scheme and have since been ordered to stop working.



The Politburo issued an order early in November reassigning Nam to work with the countrys National Social and Scientific Council and replacing him with Leth as part of a reshuffle of high-ranking leaders  in accordance with job requirements for the new era.



While Nam and his wife denied any connection to the trucks seized in May, an official source who inspects timber in the southern provinces of Laos told RFA that the governors dismissal was directly related to the incident, as well as conflict of interest for his family and embezzlement.



Most timber illegally harvested in Laos is obtained through conversion forestryclearing areas marked for the development of infrastructure projects such as hydropower dams, road building, and mining operationswhich is used as an excuse for large-scale logging that otherwise would not be permitted under Lao law.



Reported by RFA's Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A Rohingya refugee from Myanmar fixes his makeshift shelter at Kutupalong refugee camp in the Bangladeshi district of Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, southeastern Bangladesh, Jan. 9, 2018.

Though Myanmar has nearly completed housing for 5,000 returning Rohingya Muslim refugees, the government is still waiting for Bangladesh to send lists of those who are eligible for repatriation slated to begin later this month, officials said Wednesday.

The government will first accept refugees at two reception centers in Taung Pyo Let Wae and Nga Khu Ya villages in northern Rakhine state.

All buildings in Taung Pyo Let Wae and Nga Khu Ya will be ready for refugees on Jan. 22, Win Myat Aye, minister for social welfare, relief, and resettlement, told RFAs Myanmar Service. We can accommodate about 5,000 people at the same time by the end of January.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in November to repatriate some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled the region during a brutal military crackdown that began in August 2017, which included killings, rapes, and village burnings.

Though officials from the two countries have a working group dedicated to the repatriation program, Bangladeshi officials said Monday that the voluntary repatriations would not likely begin on Jan. 22 because the logistics are not yet in place. Those who can prove prior residency in Myanmar will be permitted to return.

But Win Myat Aye said the repatriations can begin on Jan. 22 and that the two reception centers will be expanded to handle 30,000 Rohingya.

With financial assistance from the World Bank, the Myanmar government has purchased more than 1,000 waterproof tents that can each hold 10 people, he said.

China, Myanmars major trading partner, is also providing assistance for displaced persons in Rakhine state. On Jan. 6, the country delivered about 100 prefabricated houses to accommodate up to eight people each, Chinas official Xinhua news agency reported.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the delivery, Hong Liang, Chinas ambassador to Myanmar, pledged to continue Chinas assistance to conflict-displaced people in the region as well as help develop the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone to build up Rakhine states economy, the report said.

Rights groups and the United Nations have cautioned against a hasty return of the refugees, saying that they will continue to face repression and discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and are denied citizenship and access to basic services.

They also argue that some Rohingya who want to return may not have documents proving prior residency because their homes were burned during the crackdown and they fled with few belongings.

While Myanmar officials insist that immigration officers have records to verify residency claims, they say the problem now is that they have not yet received any completed repatriation application forms from Bangladesh.

We have sent the forms for refugees who want to return voluntarily to complete to fill out, and [we have] buildings and teams of workers in place to process the returnees, said Myint Kyaing, Myanmars permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labor, Immigration, and Population. But the Bangladeshi government has not sent any forms back to us yet.

The Bangladeshi government said Rohingya repatriation can be delayed, but this is not because of the Myanmar side, because we have everything ready, he said. It is because of their process. [Myanmars} Union government, all ministries, and the Rakhine state government have willingly been working together on the refugee repatriation process.

There was no immediate response from Bangladesh to Myint Kyaings assertions.

A Myanmar military investigation team examines a mass grave where soldiers buried Rohingya Muslims they killed in Inn Din village, Maungdaw township, western Myanmar's Rakhine state, in an undated photo. Credit: Office of Commander-in-chief of Myanmar's Armed Forces/Facebook Admission of wrongdoing

In a related development, Myanmars military said on Wednesday that it would take action against soldiers who killed and burned 10 Rohingya during attacks in early September following the murder of an ethnic Rakhine man.

The killings occurred during the military crackdown that began in response to deadly assaults on police outposts by the Muslim militant group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Aug. 25

After the army announced that a mass grave containing 10 bodies had been discovered in Rakhines Inn Din village in Maungdaw township, a senior officer was appointed to investigate. His probe found that soldiers killed the 10 men, according to an announcement on the Facebook page of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmars armed forces.

The 10 men were part of a larger group of 200 Rohingya terrorists who attacked security forces with sticks and swords, the statement said.

They were captured after soldiers drove the rest away by firing into the air, the statement said.

Some villagers from Inn Din village and security forces confessed they killed 10 Bengali terrorists, the Facebook post said, using a derogatory term for the Rohingya.

The decision was made to kill them at a cemetery, it said.

The announcement came as a rare admission of wrongdoing by the Myanmar military, which has denied committing extrajudicial killings and other atrocities against the Rohingya during the crackdown.

The United Nations and United States have said that the campaign amounted to ethnic cleansing, while others have suggested that the militarys actions may constitute genocide.

London-based Amnesty International said on Wednesday that the militarys admission exposed extrajudicial killings of Rohingya during the crackdown

This grisly admission is a sharp departure from the armys policy of blanket denial of any wrongdoing, said James Gomez, the organizations regional director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, in a statement.

However, it is only the tip of the iceberg and warrants serious independent investigation into what other atrocities were committed amid the ethnic cleansing campaign that has forced out more than 655,000 Rohingya from Rakhine state since last August, he said.

It is appalling that soldiers have attempted to justify extrajudicial executions by saying they were needed as reinforcements elsewhere and did not know what to do with the men, he said. Such behavior shows a contempt for human life which is simply beyond comprehension.

Foreign extremist groups

Min Aung Hlaing said on Tuesday that foreign extremist groups are likely backing ARSA, which carried out an ambush on Jan. 5 that injured six soldiers and their civilian driver. ASRA said the attack was in retaliation for the military continuing to commit atrocities against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine.

It is most likely that terrorist organizations based in other countries are backing the ARSA extremist Bengali terrorists, Min Aung Hlaing said during a meeting with his Singaporean counterpart in Naypyidaw, the online news service Democratic Voice of Burma reported.

For that reason, Myanmar will cooperate with other friendly countries in preventing acts of terror perpetrated by these terrorists, he was quoted as saying. Several countries have endured experiences similar to those of Myanmar. Thats why we need to cooperate together more than ever.

The Myanmar government has pledged to fight back against ARSA on Monday after the group issued a statement claiming responsibility for the ambush.

Reported by Thiri Min Zin and Khin Khin Ei for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
A MOTORIST breath-tested at the roadside was found to be almost four times the drink-drive limit.

The driver, who was stopped on Claypit Lane in Rawmarsh on Monday, gave a lowest breathalyser reading of 136 microgrammes per litre of breath. The legal limit is 35.

A police spokesman confirmed the man, from the Mexborough area, had been arrested for drink driving and bailed to appear before Sheffield Magistrates Court on February 6.
(ehudlaniado.com) - Iconic Tiffany & Co. is among the most recognizable brand names in the world and one of the most valuable retail jewelry companies. A 2015 brand survey ranked it as the 66th most valuable brand name in the world, with a brand value in excess of $6 billion. Surprisingly, however, the company did not get its start in jewelry nor was it even called Tiffany & Co. The company began operating in 1837 as Tiffany & Young, a stationary and fancy goods emporium in lower Manhattan founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young. It wasnt until Charles Tiffany took control of the company in 1853 that he shortened the name to Tiffany & Company, and established the firms emphasis on diamond jewelry.
Indian shares opened on a flat note Wednesday, tracking mixed cues and amid caution ahead of macroeconomic data and key corporate earnings due this week.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was marginally higher at 34,460 in lackluster trade, while the broader Nifty index was virtually unchanged at 10,638.

Apollo Tyres lost 1 percent after it unveiled plans to invest Rs 1,800 crore on a new plant in Andhra Pradesh.

Infosys was marginally higher after it signed a tax pact with the U.S. Internal Revenue Services that would help the company reverse tax provisions of approximately $225 million.

Spice Mobility advanced 1.3 percent after divesting its entire stake in Sunstone Eduversity.

State Bank of India edged up 0.2 percent on fund raising reports.

Balasore Alloys soared 8 percent on news it will acquire 70 percent of Zimbabwe Alloys.

Shalby fell 2.2 percent on weak earnings.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Accenture (ACN) announced an agreement to acquire Stuttgart, Germany-based Mackevision, a global producer of 3D-enabled and immersive product content. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Mackevision, which was founded in 1994, has a team of more than 500 employees and has offices in Munich and Hamburg as well as in the U.S., United Kingdom, China, South Korea and Japan. Mackevision has worked on the HBO Series "Game of Thrones" - for which it was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects.

Accenture expects this acquisition to add state-of-the-art visualization capabilities to Accenture Interactive's digital services portfolio.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Philippe Coutinho says that he hopes Liverpool fans understand his keenness to join

Barcelona. The Brazilian signed with the club last Friday, having also submitted a transfer

request in the hope of joining them last summer.

Coutinho says that Liverpool will always have a special place in his heart, but that he could

just could not resists the lure of Barcelona. Since the moment I arrived in Liverpool, me and

my family have been made to feel so welcome and have made so many friends, he said.

On the pitch and off the pitch, we have experienced the beauty of this club and its fans. In

turn, I hope I have delivered memories and moments that have brought happiness to the

Liverpool supporters.

Moving to Liverpool, I knew the clubs greatness and history but what I did learn during my

time was the unique heart and soul of the place. It has its own personality and character. I

leave Liverpool because Barcelona is a dream for me.

Liverpool was a dream that I was fortunate enough to realise and I have given five years of

my life to it. A career on the pitch only lasts for so long and to play for Barcelona as well as

Liverpool is something I want to experience and enjoy while I am blessed enough to be able

to do so.

I hope the supporters understand that choosing to experience something new is not about

diminishing their importance to me or the clubs importance. Nothing will ever diminish that in

my heart.

I wish Jurgen (Klopp) and the team nothing but joy and success for the rest of this season

and beyond. This is an amazing team and they are getting better and better all the time.

Philippe Coutinho says that he hopes Liverpool fans understand his keenness to joinBarcelona. The Brazilian signed with the club last Friday, having also submitted a transferrequest in the hope of joining them last summer.

Coutinho says that Liverpool will always have a special place in his heart, but that he couldjust could not resists the lure of Barcelona. Since the moment I arrived in Liverpool, me andmy family have been made to feel so welcome and have made so many friends, he said.

On the pitch and off the pitch, we have experienced the beauty of this club and its fans. Inturn, I hope I have delivered memories and moments that have brought happiness to theLiverpool supporters.

Moving to Liverpool, I knew the clubs greatness and history but what I did learn during mytime was the unique heart and soul of the place. It has its own personality and character. Ileave Liverpool because Barcelona is a dream for me.

Liverpool was a dream that I was fortunate enough to realise and I have given five years ofmy life to it. A career on the pitch only lasts for so long and to play for Barcelona as well asLiverpool is something I want to experience and enjoy while I am blessed enough to be ableto do so.

I hope the supporters understand that choosing to experience something new is not aboutdiminishing their importance to me or the clubs importance. Nothing will ever diminish that inmy heart.

I wish Jurgen (Klopp) and the team nothing but joy and success for the rest of this seasonand beyond. This is an amazing team and they are getting better and better all the time.
Dear Editor,

Re: Woman as Head of State

The move to change the Head of State from a male to a female is already in the works to coincide with the shift in political wrangling concocted by the NWO. Since Samoa is the poster child of the UN for change. Isis, Osarius, and Horus.

The new religion of old in Egypt is coming back.

The male patriarchal dominance during Akhenatons time during the 18 dynasty where the woman didnt have a part in religion, the God head.

As we moved from Pieces to Aquarius, now is the time for the change. Thats why theres a lot of womans movement today.

Trump is stopping this from happening.

The neo conservative are the status quo wanting to preserve their dominance but its the new era that were in.

Astrologically this shift will happened, whether we like it or not Way back in time in Samoa, the women were revered as e au le inailau a tina, before the male chauvinist Christian demeaned the fafine termed to be subservient to her male counterpart.

Leituala Roger B.
The Tupai family of Nuusuatia celebrated a milestone yesterday with the blessing of their $1.08million fale Samoa.

According to Taaloga Tupai Drabble, the project was completed in less than six months.

Taaloga, a successful business woman in American Samoa, grew up in Nuusuatia; she left home, but has always wanted to return.

Home is where the heart is and while I left our home at a very young age, I knew that I had to come back to honour my grandparents who raised me, she said.

My grandparents, Ana and Tupai Logovii, despite the fact that they have passed on in the 1960s, this has always been in the back of my head and so deep down in my heart, I knew this was what I had to do.

Taaloga and her husband, Tom Drabble, own Sadies by the Sea and Sadies by the Bay, the second largest hotel in American Samoa.

The project was a combined effort between my cousins and I including, Leatuao Larry Tupai."

The fale Samoa in which I grew up in was beautiful and it was an original fale Samoa and I wanted to mimic the traditional style into this new fale."

So when my grandparents both passed away, the uncle at the time asked us to move out of the old fale and they tore down our house."

This broke my heart, given the memories of my grandparents was taken down when they took the house down."

So when I left the village, I made a vow to my grandparents (who are buried in the front), that wherever life takes me, I will return to build a house, its in traditional and original form of which our house was before it was ripped to parts; and hopefully restore the memories we have of my childhood with my grandpa and nana, she said while fighting back tears.

I got a call from my cousin Larry who sent $30,000 for the house and after negotiations; we opted to rebuild our family home as we can remember."

It was not an easy project, a lot of work went into the selection of the right Tufuga, given the uniqueness of how our original fale was, and this was the most important part."

I must admit that it was a very tiring process and time consuming, I was given three names, but when I met those Tufuga, I was not satisfied."

I was looking at building a house that reflected our original family home, but modernized and upon consorting with them, it was a dead end."

Then I called Tuatagaloa Joe Annandale who gave me the name of Fonoti Likisone Leilua and we met and the rest was history."

The fale samoa alone was about $350,000 and another $350,000 grand was spent on the extension and the rest was for the Tufuga."

At times I felt like giving up, but I had to hark back to why we are investing in this project and that is to honour the memories of our grandparents, said Taaloga.

Fonoti did an awesome job, she said smiling.

The Tufuga commended Taaloga and her cousins that despite how complex and expensive the project was they pulled through.

This is the fourth traditional Samoan project that I have worked on and this is the only project that no one has intervened which is somewhat a relief."

Even the Head of States residence, people intervened and for that I am thankful to Taaloga and her family for agreeing to build the fale Samoa.

He said this project was quite complex because Taaloga and her family wanted traditional Samoan fale and they had to use traditional Samoan effects such as the afa, the timber and the roofing.

The fale is modernized, we had to use the nails to strengthen the ceiling and of course its covered with the afa.

The foundation of the house was another intricate part of project, given that its quite high.

This project usually would take up to 12 months given how difficult it is to build on the condition, but we did it, he said.

Tom Drabble was proud of his wife.

Our family invested so much time in this project and I am proud of the fact that T (Taaloga) has opted to come back. It is quite inspiring and should also indicate to the Samoan people who leave and succeed in life, to remember their roots and come back and do something for their families."

This is very moving for 'T' to come back and help build something for her family."

She is also setting a good example not only for our daughter, but also other people out there."

This was all her idea and I couldnt have been more proud.

Paramount Chiefs of Safata and the Village Council of Nuusuatia attended the ceremony.
Dear Editor

Just a few weeks ago, Iuni Sapolu was one of the leading personnel of a peaceful protest that aimed at conserving the Faasinomaga of all Samoan people, our lands. It was a bold stance, I emphasised the value of their efforts.

Last week from the same mouth, a cry for marijuana to be legalised came loud and clear. Stunned I had to sit down for a moment and just wonder what happened. To clarify I am not without sin and have no intention to prove myself a saint but the mere fact that an educated (I suppose) woman is crying out to legalise a plant that has been illegal and most probably for some good reason is indeed hilarious.

Here are a few things that would have made a difference if supplied:

1. How is it used to become a cure and what disease will it apply to?

2. Will it be manufactured locally, used naturally or exported overseas as primary products and then we import it at triple the cost?

3. Are there any side effects in using it as medicine, pain killer or any other form of drug?

The call also addressed the economic benefits that we would get from exporting the plant. Here are a few questions?

1. Where will the destination markets for such raw products be?

2. What is the lifespan of such product, can it sustain transportation, quarantine?

3. What requirements should be put in place to ensure a stable flow of trade?

4. Are resources required for it to be exported available in Samoa or an overseas company would come in and attend to it, that would be less contribution to our economy.

Then there is a matter of the lives at stake. I read an article by one of the marchers which stated that he asked the ancestors, elderly, teenagers and finally the unborn, well metaphorically of course. This same principle when applied to this call is very entertaining.

1. Ask our ancestors and they would probably say that perhaps they were fools then when they made marijuana illegal. That they were just fools when they valued lives and family.

2. Ask our elderly and they would cry, because when push comes to shove they are easy targets for robbers acquiring money to satisfy addictions

3. Ask the teenagers and they would probably be too high to answer. We are providing them with an easy way out of commitment and education. Are they not the future of our country? Are they not supposed to be the leaders that would uphold our nation? They would rather be corner boys pushing marijuana or Lord knows what intimidating the gangster lives seen in movies.

4. Ask the unborn, they wouldnt probably understand, suffocating and influenced by the high level of drugs circulating in their mothers systems.

Just the other day, Mataafa Keni Lesa in his editorial stated that it is the obligation of the Samoa Observer to present the views of every person although they do not necessarily agree to it.

My question is what of your obligation to your readers? The different generations that has access to your paper. Are you simply going to pass the ball, discretion is an important aspect of life.

Not just publishing but producing a well informed article providing necessary information.

There is no doubt that marijuana is being sold around town, but because of the law it is being dealt secretly. The law is the thin piece of thread that is keeping sanity, respect and peace in Samoa. Now if we remove that, what is left to keep us in check, our perseverance? No we lost that when we chose to adhere to a call that was not the best intent.

Faafetai i le Malo mo le teena ma le faamanino o lona tulaga i lenei mataupu.

Samuelu Puleiata
The Samoa Trust Estate Corporation (S.T.E.C.) Interim Manager, Jasmine Leota, has rejected claims they are competing with the private sector in terms of exporting coconuts.

What competition, she said.

We are helping the small farmers and families in Savaii. We buy the popo (coconuts) off of them to fill our container. There is no competition here.

Leotas response was sought following concerns expressed by some business people in Savaii who say the government shouldnt be competing with the private sector.

The man who spoke to the Samoa Observer asked for his name to be withheld because he fears the repercussions on his business if the government finds out who he is.

But Leota is adamant that S.T.E.C. is lending a helping hand to the small farmers.

According to Leota, they have a 300-acre coconut farm in Mulifanua; however they still need the farmers assistance because of the demand for popo.

We only send one container a month to New Zealand and this market came through from the Chamber of Commerce," she said.

Keep in mind that we are a Corporation, we dont get any financial budget from the government.

We find ways to collect revenues and so we send the popo and koko Samoa off island.

And we are not competing against anyone.

We help the families in Savaii from the villages of Sapapalii, Paia, Safai and Papa."

And this is because we want to sustain the market and we cannot depend on the coconuts collected from our farm in Mulifanua and so we started a program where we ask the villages to gather coconuts from the families.

We didnt want to publicize this service, we went straight to the villages and we also offered to buy the popo from the families we see are selling their popo on the side of the road.

I personally went with my team to Savaii and we called out all interested farmers who have nowhere to take their coconuts to sell it to us, said Leota.

I have noticed that these families and because their supply is basically subsistence.

They only sell us 80 coconuts just to get money to buy food on the daily basis and we have encouraged them to start collecting the popo.

And so now most families in Savaii sell 200 coconuts to us when we come over to collect the coconuts.

So what we have done is collect all the farmers together and asked them to sell us their popo.

According to Leota, they buy the good and the bad coconut.

We use the entire coconut, from the skin to the coconut, we use all of it.

I know some of the coconut exporters only take the good coconuts, well not us, we buy the popo whether its good or bad.

She reiterated that S.T.E.C. is not competing with the private sector or any of the exporters.

There are so many coconuts out there, the other exporters can buy, we are not taking over the coconut farms in Samoa or Savaii, she said.

Leota says since the program started, they have encouraged families who have big coconut farms to hire young men to take care of their farms.

It is good money in the long run, when we are able to send out more containers, but for the time being, we only send out only one container a month.

Leota did not divulge how much they buy the coconuts for.
Members of the Samoan Solidarity International Group (S.S.I.G.) will present a petition to Parliament when it commences on 23 January 2018.

This was confirmed by S.S.I.G. member, Unasa Iuni Sapolu, in response to questions from the Samoa Observer.

We are appealing the same issue to repeal L.T.R.A. (Lands and Titles Torrens Act) 2008 due to danger of Torrens land System and history shows it wrecked indigenous land ownership in other countries, she said.

This follows the peaceful protest from Vaisigano to the Mulinuu gravesite of the late Malietoa Tanumafili II, last month.

The march is to raise awareness ensuring customary lands are protected under existing laws, said Unasa.

During the march, Unasa continuously called out the current laws on customary land have claws of monetary interest.

Many are not aware that their customary lands could be affected by the use of leases over their customary lands to secure loans and mortgages, Unasa told the Samoa Observer.

I am telling you the ownership may shift to mortgagees or lenders under the terms of lending."

We believe our customary lands are not safe and that a change to use customary land leases as securities for loans is a clear breach of our Constitution.

She also claimed the L.T.R.A. 2008 may also be associated with other issues, security for further $10 billion borrowings, from the government of China. You bet customary land is not safe, she said.

She says the S.S.I.G. is a group of patriots dedicated to protecting what belongs to the Samoan people.

The S.S.I.G. is meeting tonight (last night) to discuss a number of activities on this Saturday, then 23rd January here in Samoa, but also international projects too."

Tonight's (last night) meeting is online and S.S.I.G. Board members are spread around the world, including one in Samoa.

Unasa told the Samoa Observer that S.S.I.G. also has other projects for Samoa and they will start educational clinics in Savaii.

We are starting small whereby anyone with questions on customary lands, legal rights, processes etc. may turn up."

It starts from 10am-2pm beside the wharf in Salelologa and we hope to expand to other villages and hope more lawyers may help out, said Unasa.
The children of the late Mua Lauina of Asau and Sataua and the late Talaleu Tufuga Masoe Sua of Asau, came together earlier this month for their family reunion.

Held at the Tofamamao, St Therese at Leauvaa, families from Australia, New Zealand and Samoa attended the three-day event.

Father Penitito Mauga conducted the service on the first day at the graveside. According to Mua and Talaleus daughter, Jacinta Vaise, this is their second family reunion.

The whole idea of the gathering was for our children and their children to get to know one another, she said.

Because you know this is why cousins end up together because they had never met each other.

So its gathering such as these that help our children get to know one another. They also need to understand one another and know more about their grandparents and where they come from.

Most of us have spread out to other countries, but we should never let go of families and never forget our roots and where we come from.

This is an example that we, the children of Mua and Talaleu, are setting for our children so that when we pass on they will know and understand how things work.

Ms. Vaise added it had been a gathering of happiness.

We had so many activities including games and family items from each family as well as the young generation, she said.

Our parents would have loved to see us come together and enjoy each others company and especially our children.

We had a field trip at Manono as well and it was a day of fun and laughter.

We intend to keep it this way and the next gathering will be on 2020.

Mua and Talaleu have seven children, five are still alive and the twins have passed on.

This is their third generation. Mua passed away on October 1973 and Talaleu passed away in 1991.
The start of the year is an exciting time for the Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Samoa, Farid Mohammed.

He is particularly keen on the benefits Digicel customers will reap when the Tui Samoa Cable submarine is completed.

What everyone is waiting for at the moment is the arrival of the cable and we work very closely with the Samoa Submarine Cable Company, Mr. Mohammed told the Samoa Observer yesterday.

Our plans are at the back of this cable and theres going to be upgrades to our network in order for us to deliver to customers the best service the cable has to offer.

Commercially theres going to be a lot more promotions that weve always been doing in Samoa and we will continue to do those as when it is planned out.

But yes the big wait for this year is the cable.

And theres more. Digicel is also contructing a $35million hotel in Sogi.

Thats another big project that Digicel has embarked on, he said.

We are aiming to have that completed before the South Pacific Games so thats another major project that we have on hand.

I guess apart from that, the usual promotions that we continue to have; these are the two or three big projects that we have embarked on.

Looking back to 2017, Mr. Mohammed said it was a big year for the company.

I know weve had challenges through the year, but it has been a wonderful year with whatever we had on hand, especially from a network and data point of view, weve been able to offer our customers the best data services we can here in Samoa, Mr. Mohammed said.

The double data promotion is still on, the Meaalofa phone card is still on, they will continue to run until the end of January and in time for our new promotions to be launched.

All in all, 2017 has been a wonderful year for Digicel.

Mr. Mohammed added one of the highlights of 2017 was the All in One Bundle promotion.

It has been our biggest success that we have done in a long time. It was the first time that we have bundled voice, messages and data in one point and that has never been done in Samoa before, said Mr. Mohammed.

So it was one of our biggest highlights and we had a good run in 2017 and the number of customers who are opting in the All in One Bundle is getting better and better.

We are looking forward to making it better with the cable and more data and everything else.

Apart from that, we also did the Joseph Parker trip for the two girls to travel to Europe to watch his fight that was very well received.

We also had cash giveaway that we did last year so in between, there were two or three major promotions that we had done that were the key highlights for 2017.

Mr. Mohammed also spoke about the slow internet that many customers complained about.

However, he says this is one of the advantages of the submarine cable.

During the festive season, the internet was a bit slow because there were a lot of visitors coming in and there are a lot of users, plus the weather was not good either, Mr. Mohammed said.

Thats why we are very much looking forward to the cable because it brings more stability and reliability and it is more resilient to this weather.

So in time to come, once the cable is fully commissioned and we have access to it that will improve the overall user experience on data.

Moreover, he says he looks forward to what this year brings for their customers and Digicel.

I want to thank all the customers so far and I want to say all the best to everyone for 2018 and we are looking forward in bringing more exciting stuff.
Six months ago, officials in Imperial Beach joined six other California coastal communities in a first of its kind lawsuit: Demanding that 18 energy companies in the oil and coal sectors pay the cities for damages associated with rising sea levels and other effects of a warming planet.

Now, one of those companies  ExxonMobil  has fired back with its own aggressive legal strategy. In papers filed Monday in Texas, attorneys for the oil giant claim the cities sang a different tune about climate change when they offered bonds to investors.

Notwithstanding their claims of imminent, allegedly near-certain harm, none of the municipalities disclosed to investors such risks in their respective bond offerings, which collectively netted over $8 billion for these local governments over the last 27 years, ExxonMobil lawyers argued in a 60-page court petition.

ExxonMobil attorneys also want to question under oath many of the officials who signed off on their respective communitys lawsuits against the energy companies. The list includes three members of Imperial Beachs city government, including Mayor Serge Dedina.

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We are reviewing Exxons petition, but this appears to be the same kind of bullying tactic that the industry uses again and again to avoid accountability, Dedina said in an email to the Union-Tribune.

A young woman wades into water under the Imperial Beach Pier in April 2017. City officials joined six other California coastal communities in a lawsuit against oil companies, claiming the corporations should pay for the effects of climate change. (Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune )

The seven communities filed their suits in their local Superior Court systems in July 2017, alleging greenhouse gas emissions caused by the companies contributed to a warming planet, leading to coastal flooding, beach erosion and rising infrastructure costs.

Imperial Beachs lawsuit said coastal flooding would lead to more than $38 million in damages and estimated economic vulnerability to property in association to erosion at more than $106 million.

The Imperial Beach lawsuit said the fossil-fuel companies  including Chevron, Conoco Phillips and Royal Dutch Shell  have known for nearly a half century their products impacts could be catastrophic to the climate but nevertheless engaged in a coordinated, multi-front effort to conceal and deny their own knowledge of those threats.

The City of Imperial Beach and our taxpayers shouldnt have to pay for damages from sea level rise knowingly caused by Exxon and other fossil fuel companies, Dedina said. Thats what our lawsuits are all about and Exxon should own up to what theyve done instead of resorting to the usual industry playbook.

But ExxonMobil said it has long acknowledged the risks presented by climate change and said it has supported the Paris climate accords and backed the idea of developing a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

Exxon claims the officials from the seven California communities took their cues from a workshop held in La Jolla in June 2012 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

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Organizers of the meeting included the Climate Accountability Institute, the Union of Concerned Scientists and Naomi Oreskes, professor of History and Science Studies at UC San Diego.

A 36-page report delivered after the workshop wrapped up said attendees discussed legal strategies used in the 1990s by states to wrest billions from tobacco companies and how that could apply to climate change and major fossil fuel companies.

Oreskes declined to comment on the ExxonMobil legal action.

Imperial Beach released an assessment in September 2016 that said a rise of 1.6 feet would put multiple neighborhoods in the town at risk, expose two elementary schools to routine tidal flooding and affect wastewater and stormwater treatment facilities.

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The seven lawsuits field by the seven California communities have not been heard yet.

Exxon Mobils attorneys, in their court petition, said the Dallas-based company is considering filing a lawsuit of its own.

On Wednesday morning, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the nations largest city is filing a lawsuit similar to those put forth by the seven coastal communities in California.

The New York lawsuit singles out five fossil fuel companies, including Exxon and Shell, seeking billions in damages to fund climate change resiliency measures that the City needs to implement.

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As climate change continues to worsen, its up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient, de Blasio said in a statement.

A Shell spokesman told The Associated Press that the company believes climate change is a complex societal challenge that should be addressed through sound government policy and cultural change to drive low-carbon choices for businesses and consumers, not by the courts.

Reporter Joshua Emerson Smith contributed to this story.

This story was updated Wednesday morning to include news of the New York City lawsuit.

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rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski
Balboa Park is going global with a marketing initiative partnership through the San Diego Tourism Authority.

The authority, which advertises San Diego attractions nationally and globally, has hired its first ever director of cultural tourism for the park.

She is Jennifer Davies, a former San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer who has held various communications positions at the downtown San Diego redevelopment agency and business group, in City Council offices and for UC San Diego Extension.

Its a platform to work on with all the smart and passionate people, both in the park and the community, to come up with how best to tell the story, Davies said Monday, her first day on the job.

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The five-year program is supported by a $200,000 annual grant from the Legler Benbough Foundation and a year-by-year appropriation, starting with $1 million this year, from the Tourism Marketing District, funded from city hotel room assessments.

Balboa Park is one of San Diegos greatest assets, but awareness of the parks incredible offerings is still relatively low among visitors, said Joe Terzi, president and CEO of the tourism authority.

The San Diego Zoo, of course, is one of regions top regional draws, but it is usually marketed independent of its location within the park

Terzi had planned to capitalize on the 100th anniversary of the parks 1915 exposition but plans for that celebration fell through.

With the park celebrating the 150th anniversary this year of its creation, this new push to increase its visibility will be aimed at spreading the word through news coverage, travel stories and advertising.

Kerri Kapich, the authoritys chief operating officer, said Davies will reach out to national publications, such as the National Geographic, New York Times and Conde Nast travel and lifestyle publications, and TV networks and digital channels to propose articles and plan advertising campaigns.

High on the list of new things coming is the Comic-Con International museum on popular culture due to open next year in the former Hall of Champions building in the Palisades area, south of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

We think some of the things theyve been talking about are very exciting and could really invigorate the whole Palisades area of the park, Kapich said. Thats certainly something to celebrate and tout.

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roger.showley@sduniontribune.com; (619) 293-1286; Twitter: @rogershowley
San Diego attorney Rafael Castellanos was sworn in as board chairman of the Port of San Diego on Tuesday.

A 43-year-old Democrat and business attorney, Castellanos presides over a $188 million budget in a year when the port is working on several high-profile projects, including a massive makeover of the Chula Vista bayfront.

Castellanos wants to focus on the blue economy, a term that describes industry tied to the ocean. His favorite example is an oyster-husbanding pilot project on a barge off of downtown.

He is perhaps best known for running for San Diego city attorney in 2016. He came in third in the primary, getting 19 percent of the vote.

Castellanos has recused himself from at least 15 votes since 2015, largely because his law firm represents Sunroad Enterprises, which is negotiating with the port to redevelop part of Harbor Island.

New port chairman: Heres the full story

A 43-year old business attorney has become chairman of the Port of San Diego, an important landlord in the region with an $188 million annual budget and responsibility for 34 miles along the bay.

Rafael Castellanos took the helm Tuesday as the port faces an ambitious year with major construction proposed around the waterfront.

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The biggest is perhaps a massive overhaul of the Chula Vista bayfront, which had been dominated since the 1960s by a power plant that was finally demolished in 2013

Houston-based RIDA Development plans to build a 1,450-room hotel, a 275,000-square-foot convention center and resort-style amenities on 36 acres. Resort operator Gaylord Hotels will run the venue.

Officials hope it will spur more development of the 500-acre Chula Vista bayfront. Already, the owner of La Jollas La Valencia Hotel is planning to build housing next to the convention project.

Castellanos, who lives in Otay Mesa, called the Chula Vista projects a game changer for residents of the South Bay.

All those kids who grew up in the South Bay, if they wanted to go to a prom or a graduation, they had to come to the hotels up in San Diego, the new port chairman said in a recent interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune.

They dont have a big, fancy, nice hotel to have that kind of rite of passage special event.

Castellanos said that if the port signs a final development agreement early this year, construction could realistically begin in 2019 on the hotel-convention center cluster.

The attorneys pet project is what he calls the blue economy. Castellanos theme for the port in 2018: ocean optimism.

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His favorite example is an oyster-husbanding pilot project now in operation on a barge off of downtown. The port has invested $350,000 in the venture, which is taking advantage of San Diegos warmer seawater to grow oysters in the early stage.

Were already one of the largest blue economy clusters in the world. And were home to some of the worlds leading institutions, in both industry and academia, especially in oceanic science, Castellanos told an audience on Broadway Pier during his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday.

Many of the next great ideas and inventions will happen right here.

He replaces Robert Dukie Valderrama, who finished his second one-year term as chairman.

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A behind-the-scenes business lawyer who doesnt usually see the inside of a courtroom, Castellanos is perhaps best known for unsuccessfully running for San Diego city attorney in 2016.

He came in third in the primary, getting 19 percent of the vote, and now says he would still like to pursue public office some day.

His work as a partner at Solomon, Minton, Cardinal, Doyle & Smith since 2010 has sometimes posed a conflict of interest for the port board.

Castellanos has recused himself from at least 15 votes since 2015 -- largely because his law firm represents Sunroad Enterprises, which is negotiating with the port to redevelop part of Harbor Islands former car rental center into one or more hotels.

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Asked about that conflict this week, the attorney said his business experience is what makes him valuable to the port.

This is a small town. If you are going to look for folks who have the professional background that you need  real estate, land use, planning  if you only look at people who have no conflicts at all, its going to be slim pickings, Castellanos said.

The issue of a 2010 sexual harassment lawsuit against him and his former law firm has arisen again in the current zero-tolerance atmosphere brought about by the me too movement.

A reader emailed the Union-Tribune on Jan. 5 and questioned whether Castellanos should still represent San Diego on the port board.

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Castellanos denies any wrong-doing and points to the settlement of his portion of the lawsuit without any payment from him to the female attorney in question. He provided a copy of the settlement to the Union-Tribune.

It was fully litigated. I had my due process, and Im very comfortable that I was completely vindicated, he told the Union-Tribune this week. I wouldnt have run for city-wide office if I was afraid or ashamed of anything Id done.

Councilman David Alvarez, who nominated him to the port board in 2013, didnt return a request for comment this week but was at Castellanos swearing-in ceremony.

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include the number of times Castellanos has recused himself from port votes. The data was provided by the ports district clerks office.

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jen.steele@sduniontribune.com

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North County is pretty much built out. So is the city of San Diego. So housing developers are going where the land is  and one of those places is Santee.

To say the East County city is experiencing a housing boom would be a bit of an understatement. Its more like an explosion.

Consider:

In 2017, just 72 apartments, condos and homes were built.

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But an additional 500 homes are under construction.

And seven times that number -- around 3,500 homes -- are under review by the city.

That growth is starting to raise red flags for some city officials and residents who are concerned about worsening traffic for already tough commutes along main streets like Mast Boulevard and Mission Gorge Road as well as state Routes 125, 52 and 67.

They also fear the things that make Santee special will be lost.

City Councilman Stephen Houlahan has consistently cast the lone council vote against the steady stream of developments, citing a need for improved traffic planning.

Houlahan and other council members also want to update the citys onsite parking plan for new housing. City Councilman Rob McNelis for several years has said the city needs to realize that most people use their garage to store items, not park their vehicles, and that impacts neighborhood streets.

Last month, even as the City Council gave its OK for a three-story, 40-unit development to be built at Buena Vista Avenue and Mission Greens Road, Councilman Ronn Hall joined Houlahan in questioning the high-density condominium plan.

This whole project doesnt feel right to me, Hall said as the council passed the plan with a 3-2 vote.

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And theres more on the way.

Weston is one of 13 housing projects under construction. Its a sprawling housing development across from West Hills High School with sweeping views of Santee toward El Cajon, Lakeside and points beyond. It held a grand opening last month that drew hundreds of potential buyers.

The 415-unit Pardee Homes community adjacent to Mission Trails Regional Park and above Santee Lakes has been planned for nearly 10 years and the developers are busy grading land for the rest of the homes to go up next year.

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For the past nine years, Jason Silvas has lived in a home on Medina Drive, directly below Westons model homes. The fifth-generation San Diegan shrugs his shoulders when talking about the homes on the slope behind his back yard.

Like most residents along Medina, and Pebble Beach Drive further down the way, Silvas has learned to accept the development. But he says he is alarmed by the growth in the city he grew up in and has lived in for more than 20 years.

The growth is too much for what we have, Silvas said. I work at Costco in La Mesa and it can take me 45 minutes to get there. It used to take me 15 minutes. We havent even seen the end of the growth and the roads are already way too crowded.

I understand the need for development but the city is overdoing things. This is not taking a beautiful thing and improving it. And if Fanita Ranch comes, were totally screwed.

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The developers of Fanita Ranch have asked the city for clearance to build nearly 3,000 homes. And there are 500 additional homes being proposed.

Santee is playing a large role in the San Diego Association of Governmentss plan for the future housing needs of the people in San Diego County. SANDAG says that by 2050, the county will need to accommodate another 1.2 million residents, a half-million new jobs and nearly 400,000 new homes.

According to Santee City Planner John ODonnell, in the current Housing Element Cycle (2013-21), Santees allocation of the regions housing needs is 3,660 dwelling units.

Santee is one of the few cities left in the county that has land available for expansion. And the city of about 58,000 has been very busy filling many empty plots of land  and replacing some commercial businesses  with new housing developments.

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ODonnell said there are about 962 acres available for housing in Santee and that according to information released by Santees Finance Department, as of 2017, there were 20,566 units currently in the city.

Houlahan said he was also concerned about some of the coming changes for housing needs in California after Jan. 1.

More than a dozen bills aimed at fixing the lack of affordable housing in the state, including two that will smooth and streamline the development process, were OKd in September by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Houlahan said the new laws will make it more difficult for cities to turn down developers and make them susceptible to lawsuits should they try.

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Resident Kelly Wright said she is with Houlahan in her concerns and that his vocal stance on the traffic issue should be heeded.

I dont know anyone that wants more housing developments in our town, Wright said.  Any approvals on development should come after they improve traffic situations that we already have. Luckily, my job is within Santee but my husband gets stuck getting on the 52 in the morning. And I know traffic will be crazy for me when I have to start taking my kids to high school in 10 years if (Weston) is up and running.

We all love the small town feel of Santee, but its just going away more and more. Id like to see them take care of traffic and the homeless situation before we start adding to the problem.

Santee Mayor John Minto said he is a stickler for as much local control as possible and that Santee intends to continue to meet the needs of the residents in a very informed, caring manner.

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Minto said he absolutely understand peoples concerns about traffic, and delays caused by traffic but that developments dont necessarily add to the congestion.

The unknown factor is we dont know where these people moving into the developments work, where they recreate, Minto said. Some people work from home, some work south or east and dont go out to (state Route) 52.

Minto said the city works along with environmental groups to be sure there is the least amount of negative impact on the environment as possible as developments go up around town.

He said that the city knows the developers it works with and that those developers understand our needs and are willing to work with us.

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karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
Rabbi Laurie Coskey, a career advocate for working poor and the neediest families across the region, has left her position as president and chief executive officer of United Way of San Diego County after 18 months.

Coskey parted ways with the venerable nonprofit last month absent any public announcement.

My tenure with this fine organization was filled with many accomplishments on behalf of our mission, Coskey said by email on Tuesday. For me, it was both personally and professionally very heartwarming.

Coskey was introduced as the charitys new president and CEO in June 2016 and left the position Dec. 18, according to Michele Predko, the United Way vice president of marketing and brand strategy.

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Since its a personnel matter, we are not able to provide additional details, Predko said by email.

Predko said that nonprofit officials alerted key supporters to the change in leadership but opted not to announce the news on its website or issue a press release.

United Way did communicate the change to major donors, key workplace campaigns and community partners in December, she wrote. Its business as usual and there has been no interruption in our work as United Ways senior leadership team and staff continue to help children and families in need.

Consultant Bob Beatty is serving as the interim chief executive while an executive search for a permanent successor is under way, Predko said.

Coskey earned a doctorate in leadership studies at the University of San Diego and wrote her thesis on the United Way. She was introduced as CEO for the local United Way chapter in June 2016 with much fanfare.

We are confident that she will be the leader we need as we unite the community, helping every child to thrive, then-board chairwoman Jacqueline Parks said at the time.

Prior to the United Way post, Coskey spent 15 years as executive director of the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice, a San Diego charity that fights for better pay and workplace conditions, among other causes.

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jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
A decades-old towering sign at the former Bay Theatre in National City toppled as a storm swept across the region Tuesday.

The vertical sign, with the word BAY in yellow letters, collapsed over the marquee of the former 800-seat theater on National City Boulevard and onto the sidewalk.

No one was hurt, police said.

Southbound lanes of National City Boulevard were closed while city staff and the owner worked to secure the building that is now home to a church. Police advised people to avoid the area.

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Bay Theatre, built by Harry M. Goldfarb, opened in July 1941. It featured Spanish-language films during the 70s. In the early 1990s, an owner tried to revive it as a playhouse, but by 1996 the building was being used as a church.

Today the building is home to Ministerios Cristianos Lo Mejor Del Trigo of San Diego, a church founded in 2008.

In a Facebook live video, pastor William Galdamez asked for prayers as he stood in front of the damaged building Tuesday afternoon.

Unfortunately we suffered this mishap ... but were praying because the Lord has a purpose, he said.

Tuesdays Pacific storm hit San Diego County with rain and winds that reached 36 mph in National City.

Staff researcher Merrie Monteagudo contributed to this story.
In constant combat over the past 14 years in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, the Cannon Cockers of the 11th Marine Regiment paused at Camp Pendleton on Tuesday to celebrate the centennial of their founding by rededicating their battle colors.

Held aloft next to the American flag, the battle banner of the storied artillery unit was draped by past and present members with silk campaign streamers recalling the Marines combat service in World War II, Nicaragua, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Veterans of the 11th Marines have served in every major conflict that has faced our nation since World War I, said regimental commander Col. Walker Field during a speech honoring his unit.

In front of Walker stood a long file of Marines dressed in the battle uniforms dating from the Revolutionary War to Desert Storm, the 1990 Gulf War operation that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi invaders.

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Inclement weather forced the regiments ceremony into the Las Pulgas gym and also delayed the flight of Valentine Jones, the events keynote speaker and granddaughter of Lt. Gen. Pedro de Valle  the late World War II general who commanded both the 11th Marine Regiment and, later, the 1st Marine Division.

Formed on Jan. 3, 1918, for World War I, the regiment saw no combat in France and was disbanded in 1919.

It was reactivated as an infantry unit eight years later to suppress guerrillas in Nicaragua and was resurrected again in 1941 for duty at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before deploying to the Pacific Ocean for World War II.

The 11th Marines fought on Guadalcanal, New Britain, Peleliu and Okinawa before occupying Northern China at the end of the war.

Retired Maj. Jason Frei, a former battery commander who was seriously wounded when an Iraqi rocket-propelled grenade exploded on his vehicle during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, carried the streamer honoring the regiments World War II service so that Col. Field could tie it to the banner.

In 1950 during the Korean War, elements of the regiment deployed to the Pusan Perimeter while other crews landed at Inchon. They endured brutal battle at the Chosin Reservoir and then along the Western Front before returning to Camp Pendleton in 1955.

The streamer honoring that service was toted by Chuck Wiley, a forward observer and anti-tank section leader who survived the 1952 fighting.

During heavy shelling along Wileys front, Marines slapped wet sandbags against steel tubes so hot that they glowed red -- the only way they could cool them enough to fire, Field noted.

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In Vietnam, the regiment fought mostly as dispersed detachments but also concentrated for heavy combat during the battle for Hue City and other operations. By mid-1971 it had redeployed to California.

The streamer honoring their valor was carried by retired Sgt. Maj. Marty Vasquez, a Marine who served multiple tours in Vietnam as an infantryman before becoming the artillery regiments senior enlisted leader in 1972.

The 11th Marines provided continuous artillery support to the 1st Marine Division during Operation Desert Storm in 1990 and later delivered humanitarian relief to Bangladesh, saw combat in Somalia and fought wildfires in Southern California.

The Gulf War streamer was brought to the banner by Chief Warrant Officer- 5 Dave Thomas. He fought in Kuwait and 14 years later in the Battle of Fallujah.

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He also served in Helmand Province, the restive area of Afghanistan where members of the 11th Marines continue to fight Friday while the regiment back home celebrated the units 100th birthday.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
Under a new travel advisory system announced Wednesday, the U.S. State Department issued its highest-level warning for five Mexican statesColima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa and Tamaulipasrecommending that U.S. travelers refrain from visiting these regions due to security conditions.

The advisory lists a level 2 warning for Baja California and Baja California Sur, recommending that travelers exercise increased caution due to crime when visiting these states. The warning is the second-lowest of a new four-level ranking system now being used to evaluate security conditions for U.S. travelers to countries worldwide. It ranges from the lowest levelexercise normal precautionsto the strictest, do not travel.

For Baja California, the statement says that criminal activity and violence, including homicide, remain an issue throughout the state and that homicides had increased over 2016. It states that while most of these homicides appeared to be targeted, criminal organization assassinations, turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens.

The advisory adds that there are no U.S. government restrictions in tourist areas in Baja California. It names Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada, which includes the Valle de Guadalupe area of wineries and restaurants.

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There equally are no restrictions for travel to the Baja California Sur tourist areas of Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, and La Paz.

The aim of the new system is to make information more understandable and more accessible. It does away with the Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts, as well as emergency and security messages issued under the old Consular Information Program.

The Mexico travel advisory evaluates conditions in the country state-by-state. Tamaulipas, across from Texas, is the only northern border state where travel is not recommended. Armed criminal groups target public and private passenger buses traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers hostage and demanding ransom payments, the advisory states.

For four other northern border states, Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, the advisory cites a level 3 risk, recommending that visitors reconsider travel.

The U.S. travel warnings, updated periodically, have in the past generated protests in Mexico, especially in the tourism sectors.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

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After arrivals along the southwest border dropped in the first half of 2017, the monthly count has returned to levels typical of the last five years.

Both the number of people that Border Patrol caught crossing without authorization and the number of people coming to ports of entry without valid documents decreased dramatically in the spring of last year and began rising again toward the end of the summer, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.

Arrivals in the San Diego area followed the national trend, with those arriving at local ports of entry increasing by 150 percent from the years low of 1,313 in March to 3,226 in December. Those caught by local Border Patrol more than doubled, to 2,768 from 1,356 in the same time frame.

Those arrivals include people seeking asylum, and the increase in December lines up with reports of asylum processing backlogs at ports of entry during the month.

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The Trump administration has used the year-end total for 2017, which is down more than 40 percent from the previous year, to tout its immigration policies.

The final border apprehension numbers of 2017, specifically at the southern border, undeniably prove the effectiveness of President Trumps commitment to securing our borders, said Tyler Houlton, acting press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, in a statement released with Decembers data.

DHS released Decembers totals on the same day that members of Congress met at the White House to discuss immigration legislation that could grant protection to hundreds of thousands of young unauthorized immigrants.

Houlton said the department hoped that Congress would pass legislation to thwart the upswing of arriving families and unaccompanied children.

Current loopholes in our immigration laws have created an incentive for illegal immigrants who knowingly exploit these same loopholes to take advantage of our generosity, Houlton said. The Secretary will require fixes to these loopholes as part of any immigration package negotiated today at the White House.

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It was supposed to be Chinas grand photovoltaic highway  a solar energy-collecting, 0.6-mile stretch of road that symbolized the countrys extraordinary clean energy ambitions.

But that was last month. Five days after the road opened in the industrial city of Jinan for testing on Dec. 28, inspectors found that one six-foot panel was missing  allegedly plundered by thieves, according to the Qilu Evening News, a local newspaper. The purported thieves had also damaged seven surrounding panels. The road has since been closed.

We can speculate the damage was not done by hand, nor does it appear it was done by a big vehicle, Xu Dehao, a construction worker at Shandong Pavenergy, the company overseeing the project, told the newspaper. It was more likely done by a professional team.

Affected parts of the road appeared to be corroded by liquid, Xu said, adding that a nearby fence was damaged.

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An unnamed Shandong Pavenergy employee told the newspaper that several suspicious figures appeared by the road as it was under construction, and that some took photos and stole components. Now that the road is complete, they still come to steal, the employee said. I really dont understand why.

Others involved in the project warned against hasty judgment. It is not as bad as it says in the media, an unnamed employee at the Qilu Transportation Development Group, an investor in the project, told the newspaper. In fact, only a small strip of the road was damaged. We are still not sure if it is stolen. The police are investigating.

Jinan, an industrial provincial capital of nearly 7 million people, is a frequently smog-cloaked metropolis of factories and sprawling residential blocks. An aerial picture published by the state-run China Daily shows the road running straight through a wintry semi-rural landscape on the citys South Express Ring Road, flanking a few scattered houses and patches of barren trees.

The road has three layers, according to China Daily: an insulating layer on the bottom, a middle layer of photovoltaic devices, and a protective top layer of transparent concrete.

The top layer has good flexibility which can both withstand the pressure of large vehicles and protect the fragile amorphous silicon boards underneath, Zhang Hongchao, an engineering expert at Chinas Tongji University who helped design the project, told the state-run New China News Agency.

Zhang told CCTV, Chinas state broadcaster, that the road could generate 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to power 800 households. He added that it cost about $42.50 per square foot.

Electricity from the project could melt the snow in winter to make driving safer, state-run China Global Television Network said in a report. It could also remote charge electric cars.

China became the worlds top solar power producer last year; it produces 78 gigawatts of solar power annually, compared to 40.3 gigawatts in the U.S.. (The U.S. ranks fourth, after Japan and Germany).

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The China Daily has billed the road as the first photovoltaic highway in the world, though its not the first road to collect solar energy. The French village of Tourouvre-au-Perche unveiled a similar-looking solar panel road in 2016, intended to power streetlights in the village of 3,400 people. The Netherlands built a solar panel-embedded bike path in 2014, despite public concerns about cost-effectiveness.

The Jinan highway is the largest project of its type; its solar panels cover 63,200 square feet, about twice the area of Frances road.

China has also built a 500 foot-long solar road  not quite a highway  in the eastern province Zhejiang designed to transfer solar energy into electromagnetic waves which can wirelessly charge electric vehicles.

jonathan.kaiman@latimes.com

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For more news from Asia, follow @JRKaiman on Twitter

Nicole Liu in the Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report
Local affordable housing advocates are proposing a $900 million bond measure in November that would fund roughly 7,500 subsidized apartments for the chronically homeless, veterans, senior citizens, disabled people and low-income families.

Supporters say the measure, which would raise property taxes in San Diego by about $72 a year for the average homeowner, would provide enough affordable housing to potentially solve the citys homelessness problem.

The measure would also help San Diego secure a greater share of state and federal money devoted to homelessness and affordable housing by providing local matching local funds typically necessary for such assistance.

Without such local funds, San Diego will be eligible for less state and federal assistance than other California cities and counties that have approved similar tax hike measures addressing homelessness in recent years.

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Those cities and counties  home to roughly two-thirds of the states population  include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Alameda County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County and Berkeley.

Supporters say the local bond measure would complement, not compete with, a separate November ballot measure unveiled on Monday that would raise hotel taxes to expand the waterfront convention center, repair roads and address homelessness.

The estimated $30 to $50 million per year that measure would devote to homelessness could fund counseling and other support services at the 7,500 apartments the bond measure would fund, said Stephen Russell, head of the San Diego Housing Federation and the man spearheading the bond measure.

Russell said many of the same groups that have endorsed the hotel tax measure, including organized labor, have told him privately that they also support his measure.

Weve heard very broad support from various parts of labor, Russell said during a Tuesday morning meeting with the editorial board of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

He said, however, that public endorsements by labor groups, elected leaders and other organizations wouldnt come until after the bond measures language is finalized in late spring.

The bond measure would increase property taxes $19 a year per $100,000 of a propertys assessed valuation, which is often much lower than a propertys market value because of the protections of tax-limiting Proposition 13.

While the average sale price of a home in San Diego has surpassed $500,000, supporters say their calculations indicate the average homeowner would pay $72 per year if the bond measure passes, and that many would pay far less than that.

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Supporters say they expect it to be difficult to get the two-thirds support needed for approval of the tax hike, a challenging threshold that is extremely rare for ballot measures in San Diego County to surpass.

Thats partly because of ardently anti-tax sentiment among roughly a quarter of local residents, Russell said.

The county Republican Party has a blanket policy of initially opposing all tax increase measures, county chairman Tony Krvaric said by telephone on Tuesday.

Krvaric said that rule would apply to the housing bond measure and the hotel tax proposal, but added that his board could decide this summer to be neutral or even endorse the measures after analyzing them thoroughly.

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Russell said he hopes to widen support by convincing the construction and real estate industries to support his measure.

We really need a big tent on this because it is a two-thirds threshold, he said.

Karen Brailean, a volunteer at the Regional Taskforce on the Homeless, said last years Hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego could help the bond measure pass.

There is real danger here in keeping people in the streets without a home, she told the U-T editorial board. People that I see are much more interested in doing something now.

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Sue Reynolds, chief executive of nonprofit Community HousingWorks, said another reason for optimism is that some cities and counties where tax increases arent typically popular have passed them recently to address homelessness.

The fundamental question is whether voters believe this is fundamental to San Diegos future  its business future and its neighborhood future, Reynolds told the editorial board.

A telephone poll conducted in early November by supporters of the bond measure is another reason for optimism, they say.

The poll of 600 likely voters showed 73 percent support for a $900 million bond devoted to low-income housing. That support dropped to 71 percent when people were told how much property taxes would increase.

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Russell said supporters chose $900 million partly because the poll showed support would dip to 65 percent if voters were asked to support a $1.2 billion bond measure.

The $900 million would fund construction of somewhere between 5,500 and 10,000 subsidized units based on land costs and other factors.

Russell said supporters expect the money to cover 7,500 units, which would be divided into three parts: 2,500 units for the chronically homeless, which is called permanent supportive housing; 2,500 units for low-income families; and 2,500 units for veterans, seniors and the disabled.

He estimated that construction could begin two years from now, with the first units opening to renters in about four years and all 7,500 being open in about nine years.

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A third proposed ballot measure addressing homelessness will be presented Wednesday to the City Councils Rules Committee by Councilman David Alvarez.

His proposal would devote increases in hotel tax revenue over the next 20 years to homelessness services, shelters and permanent supportive housing. It would need only simply majority support from voters for approval.

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david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Rep. Darrell Issas announcement Wednesday morning that he would not seek re-election created a void in the coastal California district as Democrats saw the dynamic of their campaigns change in an instant and Republicans saw an opportunity to win a seat where voter registration leans in their favor.

The shake-up was rumored for months but the timing of the announcement from the Vista Republican was unexpected.

I wish I could tell you that I saw this coming but it took me by surprise, Democratic candidate Mike Levin said. I was really looking forward to facing Issa-one-on one.

Assemblyman Rocky Chavez of Oceanside quickly became the first Republican to announce he would run for the open seat. A former Marine, Chavez campaigned for U.S. Senate last year but left the race before the primary.

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Its time we come together and focus on progress, not partisan politics and gridlock, Chavez said in a statement announcing his decision. We need to celebrate what unites us, not what divides us. This has guided my work in the State Assembly. And it will guide my work in Congress, where Ill work for solutions that benefit us all as Americans  a strong economy, a strong military, rebuilding our infrastructure and protecting public safety and national security.

Former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio is also considered a possible contender, particularly since hes recently gained attention for his effort to repeal a state gas tax that funds transportation projects.

And Joshua Schoonover, a patent lawyer, said hell no longer run for the seat held by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, but has changed direction and is seeking the one Issa is leaving.

Diane Harkey of the state Board of Equalization has also been mentioned for a possible run.

With a lot of Republican talent in North County and South Orange County, I have no doubt several well qualified candidates will emerge, the chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County, Tony Krvaric, said on Facebook.

Across the aisle, Four Democrats had already declared their candidacy, including Issas opponent in 2016, Doug Applegate, an attorney. Levin, an energy attorney, and real estate businessman Paul Kerr, and Sara Jacobs, the head of an international non-profit, are also running as Democrats and had so far campaigned not so much against each other but rather against Issa.

But while they no longer have Issa to attack, they said that the district still needs a Democrat to push against President Donald Trump.

Our fight has always been not just to retire Issa, but ultimately to elect a replacement who will help take back Congress and resist the Trump agenda. The more this White House spins out of control, the more important it is for Congress to step up and do its job, Jessica Hayes, chairwoman of the San Diego County Democratic Party, said in a statement.

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The district stretches from La Jolla in San Diego and up the coast to Dana Point in southern Orange County. About 37 percent of voters are registered Republicans, while another 31 percent are Democrats and 26.5 percent do not belong to a party. While Republicans have a voter registration advantage, historically the party that controls the White House loses seats in Congress during the presidents first midterm election. In 2016 the district voted 50.7 percent for Hillary Clinton and 43.2 percent for Trump.

While Issa is leaving, the Democrats who are trying to replace him said their campaigns wont change much. In statements and interviews on Wednesday, they said theyre running to oppose Trump and the GOPs legislative agenda.

We are still living in a time when healthcare is threatened, and the country has just passed a tax proposal that benefits, to a gross extent, the large corporations and the wealthy, and that comes at the expense of hardworking Americans, Kerr said.

Jacobs, similarly, said that the campaign is about putting someone who will fight against Trump into the House of Representatives.

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This race was never about one person, she said in a statement. Its about having representation for Southern California that puts our communities ahead of big oil companies and corporate interests. Voters here want someone who will stand up to Donald Trump, who represents them and their values, and who will work every day on behalf of them and their families.

Applegate did not return a request for comment, but said that his election builds on his last campaign.

Instead of even trying to defend his empty record of running lockstep with Trump, Issa decided to show all of the moral courage that weve come to expect of him: He gave up. Meanwhile, we continue the fight we started in 2016, for our progressive vision for CA-49, Applegate said on Twitter.

Levin, who said he was confident that his latest campaign financing report and canvassing efforts will put him in the top-two in Junes open primary, said hes confident that the district will remain active.

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Theres this policy war on California that this president and this administration, with the support of the GOP in Congress, is engaged in, Levin said. And as long as thats the case, the progressive activist base is going to remain engaged.

The top two candidates in the June 5 primary will face each other in the general election where, besides their representatives in the House, California voters will consider up-ticket races for governor and the United States Senate.

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Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
As most of you already know, people often do not buy a premade PC, they create their own configuration. Pre-made still sells though, some people just dont want to go through all that trouble and simply ask for an opinion on what is in store,
They were leaning against a cannabis wind that became a gale force and blew them over.

Opponents were overwhelmed by the political surge to make recreational marijuana legal, which was fueled in part by the promise of financial riches for governments.

And when recreational pot began selling officially in California on New Years Day their voices barely could be heard amid the celebratory atmosphere at dispensaries. Some media reports made it seem like most everyone was sparking a spliff.

I dont get frustrated. All I do is continue to work, said Scott Chipman, of San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods.

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For years, Chipman was a minority voice  sometimes the only voice  at San Diego City Hall hearings on whether marijuana should be legal and how to regulate it.

Even in the legalized world, Chipman sounds as passionate as ever about his concerns with marijuana, which he called a very dangerous psychotropic drug that impacts the brain, impacts the body...

He continued to tick off at least a half-dozen other bad things he associates with pot.

Chipman has no illusion about turning back the tide, but hell try to stem it. Most cities in the region do not allow recreational sales and the county is moving toward a ban of cannabis businesses in unincorporated areas.

He contends the state and city of San Diego have cast their lot with the cannabis industry because theyre looking for a windfall of pot tax revenue.

Government now has a vested interest in continuing and being successful, he maintained.

He fears that will encourage officials to turn a blind eye when it becomes apparent hes been right all along  that marijuana will create health problems and more crime.

But most of his ire is directed at the commercialization of pot and what he says is profiteering on the addiction of our young people.

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Marijuana remains illegal under federal law and Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently signaled a possible crackdown, saying enforcement would be up to local U.S. attorneys.

Chipman said he has no desire to see individual marijuana consumers arrested. But he believes the cannabis industry is still open to corruption and illegal drug trafficking and thats where the law should come down hard.

Advocates of legalization in San Diego say local regulations require adequate vetting, background checks, security and other safeguards to keep the wrong elements out of the business.

Leaders and lobbyists in the legalization movement say they argued for tough restrictions because the last thing they want is for the industry to be connected with organized crime.

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Chipman believes those advocates were given too much leeway when the rules were drafted.

Laws in California have been designed and paid for by the industry, he said.

The San Diego Police Department seemed to agree with the former, if not the latter.

SDPD officials were clearly frustrated by the expansive approach the City Council took as it drafted marijuana rules, particularly when it came to allowing cultivation and manufacturing businesses within the city limits.

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City staff, in conjunction with the police department, had recommended limiting those operations to two in each of the nine council districts. In September, the council agreed to a cap of 40.

That is a huge jump  40 versus 18, Lt. Mark Novak at the time. We put a lot of time and energy into this to minimize the risks and make sure we affect public safety as little as possible. Its hard for me to understand.

SDPD clearly felt like it was run over by the cannabis industry.

This is an emerging industry and there are lot of unknowns and uncertainties, Lt. Scott Wahl, police department spokesman, said in September. The idea was to kind of put our toes in first and ease into it so we dont risk public safety while were going through this. But we basically just did a back flip cannonball into the deep end.

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SDPD expressed concern that though legal, marijuana businesses would still attract crime because, among other things, normal business banking options are not available to dispensaries, which have a lot of cash on hand. They further said the taxes would allow for a thriving black market of cheaper marijuana. Officials here said that view was based on research by San Diego officers who went to Denver.

Colorado legalized recreational marijuana in 2014 and still contends with a black market.

Looking forward, Wahl said on Tuesday the departments role now is to enforce the new rules. Our job is to make sure were holding people accountable to the existing laws, he said.

Opponents of legalization have long brought up the impact on public safety and teenagers. One study in Colorado showed a jump in traffic fatalities involving marijuana, while another noted an increase of marijuana-intoxicated teens showing up in emergency rooms.

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Other studies show that the level of teen use is down in Colorado, or essentially the same as before legalization. Thats disputed in an older study by an admittedly anti-drug organization.

The way forward for marijuana opponents is multifaceted. One goal is to keep legal recreational marijuana commerce from spreading. Most California cities dont allow it  though the big ones do  and theyll work to keep it that way.

Chipman said his group will continue to spread the word about what they see as marijuanas dangers, particularly to families, and join litigation to restrict its availability when it makes sense

Were not going away, he said.
A 56-year-old pedestrian was seriously injured Tuesday night in a hit-and-run crash when he was struck by a vehicle that ran a red light, San Diego police said.

The man suffered numerous fractures in the collision, which was reported at 40th Street and Orange Avenue in Normal Heights around 11:30 p.m., said police Officer Tony Martinez.

Witnesses said the pedestrian was walking across Orange when the vehicle ran a red light and hit him. The driver didnt stop.

About two hours later, a police officer was able to locate the vehicle, although the driver has not been found, Martinez said. Police did not release the type of vehicle involved in the crash.

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karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com
A 39-year-old man was struck and pinned under a Honda sedan in East Village on Tuesday after the car driver had a possible seizure, police said.

The driver turned the car onto a cul de sac near 15th Street and Imperial Avenue, where the Honda ran into a 39-year-old man in the road just after 7:35 p.m., San Diego Police Sgt. Ed Zwibel said.

Firefighters freed the pedestrian, who suffered injuries not believed to be life-threatening, including a possible broken pelvis, Zwibel said.

Both the driver and the pedestrian were taken to the hospital, Officer John Buttle said.

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teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
The San Diego County firefighter who died last month fighting the Thomas fire in Ventura County was putting out a spot fire when he found himself trapped by flames, according to a preliminary report released by Cal Fire this week.

The report details the events that led to the death of 32-year-old Cory Iverson, who died on the fire lines in Fillmore on the morning of Dec. 14.

The North County resident was married with a 2-year-old daughter. His wife is pregnant with their second child, due this spring.

Cal Fire released the preliminary report, called a green sheet, to the Union-Tribune on Tuesday.

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Iverson and four other firefighters were laying hose along a bulldozer-created fire break. All five wore packs, each containing 300 feet of 1.5-inch hose, the report states. Iverson was also carrying a scraping tool.

Iverson was attempting to put out the fire, which was on the edge of the fire line, with his hand tool.

A second spot fire flared up about 20 feet deep in an unburned area. Iverson, with 200 feet of hose remaining on his back, headed toward it.

As (Iverson) reached the second spot and began to take action, it erupted, the preliminary report states.

At the same time, more spot fires broke out along the fire line west of the original spot fire.

Those fires grew quickly, and could not be doused by the water one of the firefighters sprayed on them.

Iversons escape route was cut off, the report states. He started moving southwest, parallel to the fire break. Faced with the intense fire, he turned and headed south down the slope.

He requested air support. It was his last confirmed radio transmission.

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Others also requested immediate help from helicopters.

At about 9:25 a.m., a fire captain told Iverson that there were more fires below him.

Get out of there, the captain said.

The fire grew more intense in unburned vegetation along the fire break.

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About two minutes later came the mayday call: We have a firefighter trapped.

People in the responding helicopters saw Iverson trying to flee.

Two more spot fires erupted in his path, the report states. He turned again. He fell. He got back up and continued down the slope.

The vegetation was chest- to head-high, the report stated and in some cases all that could be seen was the top of his helmet.

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Helicopters began dropping fire retardant, then water because the turnaround time to reload was faster.

Shortly after 10 a.m., a fire captain found Iversons body in a deep gulch, the report states.

According to the report, Iverson died of thermal injuries and smoke inhalation.

The Thomas fire, which burned more than 281,000 acres, started on Dec. 4, two days into a red-flag warning that the National Weather Service issued for the Ventura County area.

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According to the report, that red-flag warning would become the longest continuous red-flag warning ever issued in the state.

The humidity was 7 percent and winds were 10 mph with gusts up to 19 mph on the day Iverson died.

The Cal Fire report was initially released Monday, and was posted that day on the website wildfiretoday.com. Website managing editor Bill Gabbert  a former wildland firefighter who worked for 17 years in Southern California at the Cleveland National Forest  said it appeared to him that Iverson was simply overrun by the fire.

Nothing in this report that I read really jumps out as something that led to this fatality, Gabbert said.

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teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

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(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
A federal grand jury is slated to hear evidence this month regarding certain transactions in Rep. Duncan Hunters campaign treasury, which has been under scrutiny since the spring of 2016 as a result of frequent personal expenditures.

A subpoena dated Dec. 21 was issued by the U.S. District Court in San Diego to a business in Hunters congressional district. The subpoena commanded the witness to appear before a grand jury in downtown San Diego later this month.

The San Diego Union-Tribune is withholding the name of the witness listed on the document, which was obtained from a third party on that condition. Federal Election Commission records show Hunters campaign spent thousands of dollars at the business in 2012 and 2014.

The subpoena orders the business to provide any and all documents, to include itemized and signed receipts, event contracts, reservation/booking details, name(s) of guest(s) ... guest folios, photographs, social media postings and any form of communication associated with six specific transactions in 2012.

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Two of the transactions were attributed to Hunter, another two to his wife and former campaign manager, Margaret, and two to Bruce Young, the campaigns treasurer in 2012. Investigators indicated that the business should produce records relating to those transactions dating back to Jan. 1, 2009.

The transactions are not among those that have come under scrutiny by the FEC and, subsequently, the Union-Tribune, which first raised questions about Hunters campaign spending in April 2016. Use of campaign contributions for personal benefit is forbidden by federal law to protect against undue influence by donors.

Hunters contributions are dominated by defense contractors and transportation companies whose businesses are affected by the committees on which he serves.

Hunter has denied intentional wrongdoing but has reimbursed his campaign for more than $60,000 of purchases including video games, oral surgery, groceries, garage door repair, family vacations, surfing equipment, dance recital trips, school lunches, school tuition and school uniforms.

Federal grand juries hold secret proceedings in which jurors hear evidence and testimony to decide if the accused should face criminal charges. If it decides there is sufficient evidence of crimes, it will hand down indictments.

Prosecutors, grand jurors, investigators, attorneys and others are forbidding to even confirm the existence of a grand jury or subpoenas. The law allows witnesses to disclose the existence of a grand jury, but courts typically request they not do so.

Greg Vega, one of the attorneys representing Hunter, declined to comment or answer questions for this article. Another of Hunters attorneys, Elliot Berke, did not respond to the Union-Tribunes questions and request for comment.

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Recently, Hunter has given radio and television news interviews in which he has sharply criticized the FBI and the Department of Justice and called into question its credibility and motives in his investigation.

During a television interview broadcast last week on KUSI, Hunter said, I think that the Department of Justice is somewhat biased. There are individuals there, they like to make big cases, they like to do big things, it makes a name for them. I think that the longer they drag this out, the worse it is for me, and they know that. So lets just get it over with.

On Tuesday, Hunter said during a radio interview, the Department of Justice and the FBI do not follow the same rules as normal Americans have to.

He added, Theres no oversight, and they can ruin your life and take you down if they feel like it.

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He said that there has been illegality and even treasonousness at some points in the two agencies activities related to President Donald Trump.

He said he has also been surprised by the agencies handling of his own criminal investigation.

I mean, I guess its one of those things where unless it happens to you, you take for granted that the law enforcers are obeying the law, that theyre not biased, theyre not political, they dont root for one presidential candidate over the other  or congressional candidate, Hunter said. But the reality is, I think its just like everything, you have people who are partisan, people that want to get famous, people that want to prosecute as opposed to finding justice, and thats what you have. And those are the types of people unfortunately that rise to the top levels of these organizations like the FBI and the Department of Justice.

SAN DIEGO, CA.- Sept. 20, 2017, Congressman Duncan D. Hunter shook hands with US Attorney General Jeff Sessions after introducing him at a press conference after he visited the Coast Guard Cutter James at the 10th Avenue Terminal in San Diego to see more than 25 tons of cocaine and heroin taken from smugglers in the waters off of Central America. PHOTO/JOHN GIBBINS, Staff photographer, San Diego Union-Tribune) copyright 2017 (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune file)

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Hunter was previously more generous in his estimation of the law enforcement agencies. Hunter introduced Attorney General Jeff Sessions  head of the Department of Justice  at an appearance in San Diego in September involving cocaine and heroine seizures.

Hunter described Sessions as a great man who is famous not just in Alabama but around the country for famously donning the Make America Great Again hat, and thats what hes doing. I would like to present to you our No. 1 law enforcement officer and the great attorney general of these United States of America, Jeff Sessions.

Kelly Thornton, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Diego, declined to comment on the ongoing investigation or Hunters statements.

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The Union-Tribune in April 2016 first questioned thousands of dollars in expenditures for video games and private school tuition, all of which Hunters campaign had reported on financial disclosures to the FEC.

In response to the Union-Tribunes questions about the online video game charges, Hunter said his son had mistakenly used the campaign credit card instead of his personal card because both cards were blue.

Hunter attributed a minority of the charges to the mix-up, but said most were were a result of fraud involving the video game vendor and were later reversed.

Later in 2016, a Washington, D.C.-based ethics watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed a complaint about Hunters spending with the Office of Congressional Ethics.

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The office referred the matter to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics, which announced in March 2017 that it had unanimously voted to defer its own investigation of Hunter at the request of the Justice Department  indicating a criminal investigation was underway.

A search warrant that surfaced in August 2017 showed investigators were looking for evidence of fraud, falsified documents and conspiracy in addition to improper personal spending of political contributions, according to a search warrant affidavit. The warrant showed investigators were looking for evidence of bank fraud in connection with the video game charges. The document suggested federal agents are investigating whether the video game refunds were themselves obtained fraudulently.

That affidavit was filed to justify a February 2017 search of the offices of Hunters treasurer in Virginia.

This months interviews are not the first time Hunter has publicly criticized the handling of inquiries into his campaign spending.

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In January 2017, Hunter supported a Republican-led proposal that would have made a procedural change stripping the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent government watchdog agency, of much of its power. The congressmen dropped the effort after Trump and others questioned the timing of the proposed change.

Defending Hunters support of the proposal, Joe Kasper, who was at that time a staffer for Hunters office, gave an interview to the Press-Enterprise newspaper in which he criticized the Office of Congressional Ethics for over-reaching in its investigation of his campaign spending.

Kasper criticized the as-yet-unreleased ethics office report on Hunter, saying findings or implications are significantly misrepresented or even exaggerated.

As an example, Kasper mentioned the offices questioning of the campaigns use of $600 for airline fees to fly a Hunter family pet rabbit in the passenger cabin. Kasper said the fees were apparently charged to the campaign credit card by mistake, instead of using airline miles racked up on the campaign dime.

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Kasper later said, If Hunter had his way, [the rabbit] would have been used for soup.

Previously: Hunter

morgan.cook@sduniontribune.com
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas  and everything after is classified.

Janet, an airline so secret the government has not yet acknowledged its existence, is in need of a new flight attendant. The job posting recently appeared on a website for AECOM, which operates a small fleet of planes that fly from McCarran International in Las Vegas to some of the most secretive government facilities in the country.

Little is known about the heavily guarded airline in Nevada, though some have joked Janet is actually an acronym for Just Another Non-Existent Terminal or Joint Air Network for Employee Transportation. Many speculate that its run by the U.S. Air Force.

The new flight attendant will be responsible for tasks typical to the position, like food and drink service, ensuring passenger safety and providing pre-flight safety demonstrations, according to the ad.

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Minimum requirements for the Vegas-based flight attendant include a high school diploma, a willingness to comply with a dress code and qualifying for and maintaining a top secret government security clearance.

According to the U.S. Department of State website, thats the highest possible level of security clearance.

Those without such clearances may still be able to spot planes from the top secret airline when theyre flying in and out of Vegas  the aircrafts include a fleet of white Boeing 737-600s with a red stripe down the middle and a smaller collection of commuter-sized turbprops with a blue strip, USA Today reported.

Jessica Schladebeck is a reporter for the New York Daily News
Five years ago this month, Gov. Jerry Brown announced his support for what was billed as the biggest change in California public education in decades. Browns Local Control Funding Formula increased funding for districts with disproportionate numbers of English-language learners, foster students and students from impoverished families to help them all have better chances at leading successful lives. The legislation also freed up school districts from having to comply with many state-imposed mandates.

This formula recognizes the fact that a child in a family making $20,000 a year or speaking a language different from English or living in a foster home requires more help, Brown said in his 2013 State of the State speech. Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice. Many school reform groups applauded the changes and the rationale.

Now the Local Control Funding Formula is again in the news with a leak about the state budget that Brown will release Wednesday that notes the formula will be fully funded this budget, two years ahead of schedule. But hold the applause. As this editorial board has repeatedly noted, instead of formula dollars going specifically to help struggling students  as Brown promised in 2013  formula dollars are instead treated like block grants by many districts. These districts use the funds to defray higher compensation costs  especially pensions, where phased-in higher payments mandated by the state Legislatures 2014 bailout of the California State Teachers Retirement System are a giant headache for every district in the state.

As for the needs of struggling students, the Brown administration washed its hands in 2016, declaring that local control means local control and that the state cant tell districts how to spend their formula dollars. That year, Brown also vetoed a bill by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, meant to bring transparency to formula spending.

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This adds up to an ugly picture of the governor and powerful interest groups using high-needs students as props to achieve their ends, then sabotaging efforts to make Brown honor his lofty rhetoric about helping those students. Even for Sacramento, this cycle is cringe- and cynicism-inducing.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
The severity of San Diego Countys flu epidemic became clear Tuesday when officials revealed the county death toll had more than doubled in one week, rising from 45 to 91, and that 2,992 new cases of lab-confirmed flu were reported over the seven-day stretch ending Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed flu cases reported since July to 10,324. The death toll stood at 11 before last weeks report.

Some good news came from the countys epidemiology and immunization services staff this week. Compared with the previous one-week report, the percentage of emergency-room visits related to flu dropped from 13 percent to 11 percent and the number of confirmed new cases dropped by about 360. That suggests the flu epidemic may have peaked.

RELATED: How to avoid the flu and how to know if you really have it

But plenty of people are still getting sick. County residents who havent yet gotten a flu shot shouldnt take any chances. Many medical offices and pharmacies offer flu shots. The county also offers free vaccinations at its clinics for those without health insurance, and clinic locations are available at sdiz.org or by calling 211. County health officials say vaccinations are particularly important for individuals with chronic medical conditions like lung disease, asthma and diabetes; people who are 65 and older; pregnant women; and those who care for or live with people in these high-risk categories. They also recommend that residents avoid sick people and touching their eyes, nose and mouth; wash their hands frequently and thoroughly; and clean surfaces at your home and work that are often touched.

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Ninety-one people are dead. Get your shot today.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Re Why San Diegos sidewalk policy is unfair to taxpayers (Jan. 6): I commend San Diego City Council member David Alvarez for his efforts to get city sidewalks repaired.

Local governments long ago sponsored legislation to exempt themselves from liability for failing to maintain their public facilities in a safe condition (Government Code Section 835).

While private property owners have a duty to inspect for any hazards, governments cannot be found negligent unless they had precise notice of a problem, notice they routinely duck, hide from, close their eyes to or pretend they never saw.

Fix that law and you will fix a lot of sidewalks and parks and streets to boot.

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Larry Stirling

Mission Hills

Thank you to David Alvarez for his commentary addressing the deplorable condition of San Diego city sidewalks.

I walk daily around my neighborhood in Bay Park. I have fallen on raised sidewalks three times in 18 months, sustaining painful injuries each time. Because I have not yet suffered any broken bones, I have not contacted the city for restitution.

But the city will surely hear from me if I break my hip in my inevitable next fall. I hope the City Council and our mayor will turn their attention to the issue of sidewalk repairs.

Lois Thompson

Bay Park

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I disagree with David Alvarezs letter stating the city sidewalk policy is unfair. The sidewalk in front of my house was being raised up approximately 6 inches, but I did not automatically blame the city for its negligence. The culprit (a large tree) was clearly on my property.

Most of the sidewalk damage talked about is probably coming from trees, shrubs, etc., that are on private property. Why should all city residents have to pay for this type of damage caused by private homeowners?

Did I like spending the money to have a contractor remove the damaged sidewalk, chop off the tree roots and replace the sidewalk? No, but its my responsibility. If you cant afford to make occasional repairs to a house or its property, you probably shouldnt be owning a house. Renting is cheaper and you dont have one-tenth of the financial responsibility of a homeowner.

Cliff Knight

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Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below.

Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook.
The film known as the worst movie ever made is finally getting the wide release in theaters that its director Tommy Wiseau always dreamed of.

The Room is a cult favorite, but it has taken on a whole new level of notoriety, thanks to James Francos The Disaster Artist (in theaters now) that chronicles the making of the The Room and for which Franco won the award for best actor in a comedy or musical at the Golden Globes on Sunday.

If you're unfamiliar with The Room, all you need to know is that an insanely mysterious man named Tommy Wisseau made an absurdly bad independent film in 2003 about a successful banker in a tragic love triangle and came up with the funding to screen it in theaters in L.A. for a short time. Soon after, the internet and movie lovers heard about the worst movie ever made, and it took on a life of its own.

Midnight screenings of the film became commonplace at movie theaters in L.A. and later across the country and even world  including here in San Diego  and Wisseau has been known to show up at them from time to time. In 2011, a book called The Disaster Artist came out with the story behind how the film was made, and then old pals Franco and Seth Rogen and others turned that book into a movie of the same name.

The Disaster Artist was nominated for best picture, musical or comedy at the Golden Globes and Franco won for his portrayal of Wiseau.

So the hype surrounding The Room has reached such a level that, for two nights only on Jan. 10 and Jan. 19, it will be played simultaneously at about 600 theaters nationwide.

In San Diego, you can see the film from time to time at Ken Cinema at midnight, but for these special nights you can check out The Room at three theaters in the county at a more reasonable hour. All of these special showings are at 8 p.m. on Jan. 10 and 7 p.m. on Jan 19.

Mission Valley 20

1640 Camino Del Rio N, San Diego

Mire Mesa Stadium 18

10733 Westview Parkway, San Diego

San Marcos Stadium 18

1180 W. San Marcos Boulevard, San Marcos

The event will feature special commercials from Wiseau, an inside look at a Hollywood screening and the trailer for Wiseau and Greg Sestero's upcoming film Best F(r)iends.

For tickets and other locations across the country, head on over to theroom.movie.

If youve never seen it before and plan on going, it might be worth doing some homework. The screenings have come to have an interactive Rocky Horror Picture Show type experience with flying spoons and chanting, among other traditions. The San Francisco Chronicle has a good guide for beginners here.

As you can see, people are pretty excited for the wide release.

For more info about The Room, visit theroommovie.com.

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
Tickets for the upcoming San Diego Womens Week will go up in price starting Tuesday.

There will be three events held this year, on March 19, 21 and 23. The first two will be held in Rancho Bernardo.

Tickets can be purchased for each event individually, or for those planning on attending everything, a discount is available via an all-week pass. For updates and to purchase tickets, go to sdwomensweek.com or call the North San Diego Business Chamber at 858-487-1767.

The Women & Wine event will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, March 19 at Bernardo Winery, 13330 Paseo del Verano Norte, Rancho Bernardo. Admission includes five wine tastings, food tastings, a souvenir wine glass, a wine bag, discount on wine purchases and unique shopping opportunities while networking.

Attendees at this event must be age 21 or older. Tickets are $25. Starting Tuesday, Jan. 16 they will go up to $35. A month later they will be $45 and the final price if purchased on event day is $60. Parking is free.

The Dare to Dream luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 21 at Sony Electronics, 16535 Via Esprillo in Rancho Bernardo. Admission includes lunch, womens networking and a yet-to-be-announced keynote speaker.

Tickets are $59. Starting Tuesday they will go up to $69 and if purchased between Feb. 15 and March 16 will be $79. No tickets will be sold after March 16 to this event. Parking is free.

The week will conclude with a leadership conference from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 23 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, 500 Hotel Circle North in San Diego.

Admission includes a luxury swag bag (while supplies last), vendor village, morning coffee bar with pastries, lunch and afternoon dessert bar. There will also be keynote speakers and a panel discussion.

As of Tuesday, the listed speakers were Lesia Cartelli, Peoples Hero of the Work and founder of Angel Faces; actress, comedienne, author and playwright Kim Coles; Auschwitz survivor Edith Eger; and Marine Corps Capt. Corrie Mays, who as a member of the Blue Angels was the teams events coordinator and squadron naval flight officer.

Tickets are $169. On Tuesday, they will increase to $189, are slated to go up to $199 a month later and if purchased on event day will be $250. Parking is $5.

The all-week pass is $199. Starting Tuesday it will be sold for $249 and as of Feb. 16 will be $289. It will not be available after March 16.

email: rbnews@pomeradonews.com
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This column by American studies professor Ben Railton is the first in a series that explores the connections between Americas past and present.

One of the great unknown American short stories, In the Land of the Free [PDF] (1912) by Sui Sin Far (Edith Maude Eaton), describes the effects of the first American immigration laws and policies on a Chinese American family. In Fars story, Chinese American merchant Hom Hing and his wife Lae Choo have immigrated to and live in the United States at the turn of the 20th century. But Lae Choo has returned to China to care for her husbands dying parents; while there she gives birth to their first child, a son. When she and her infant child return to her San Francisco home, they are detained by customs officers; eventually her son is forcibly taken away from her and held in a detention facility.

After ten long months of efforts to secure his releaseten months since the sun had ceased to shine for Lae Choo, Far writesthe family finally succeeds. Yet when Lae Choo reunites with her son, he shrunk from her and tried to hide himself in the folds of the white womans skirt. The storys tragic final line is, Go way, go way! he bade his mother.

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Immigration laws and policies might appear to focus entirely on new arrivals to the United States. But as exemplified by the earliest national immigration laws, the development of immigration policy has also consistently affected families and communities already in the United States. Many elements of these discriminatory first immigration laws were created precisely to disrupt both new and existing immigrant American families, and through them communities deemed less desirable or less American.

The first national immigration law was the Page Act of 1875 [PDF], a very specific act that defined three particular categories of arrivals as undesirable: those considered convicts in their prior country, forced laborers, and Asian women coming to the U.S. for the purposes of prostitution. The third category engaged in stereotypical (and enduring) images of Asian women as by nature lewd and immoral (the acts own terms). But in an era of rising anti-Chinese sentiment, the true goal of that category was to make it more difficult for Chinese Americans to establish multi-generational families and communities: many of the first such Chinese arrivals had been men, and limiting female arrivals would thus limit such multi-generational growth.

In fact many such multi-generational Chinese American families and communities already existed in the United States as of the 1870s. The 1880 census (the first to record ethnic/national identity) identified more than 100,000 Chinese Americans, a number likely much lower than the actual one given the difficulty of documenting those living in crowded mining camps and tenement houses. Limiting future arrivals would not be enough to eliminate, or even necessarily contain, such a significant, longstanding, and rooted American community.

Which is why the next national immigration law, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, went significantly further still. The act deemed virtually every category of future Chinese arrival as now illegal, including both skilled and unskilled laborers and Chinese employed in mining. It also made it impossible for any Chinese American to gain citizenship and stripped the citizenship of all those who had already earned it. The acts preamble argued that Chinese immigration endangers the good order of certain localities within the United States, and of course such a sentiment would have to apply to present and past arrivals just as fully as future ones.

Follow-up laws in the aftermath of the Exclusion Act further clarified these goals of dismantling existing families and communities. The Scott Act of 1888 made it illegal for any Chinese American living in the United States to leave the nation and attempt to return, an odious extension of the Exclusion Act designed explicitly to sever multi-national family and community relationships and implicitly to make it far more difficult for Chinese Americans to continuing living in the U.S. The Geary Act of 1892 extended and amplified those difficulties, requiring Chinese Americans to carry at all times a resident permit or risk immediate deportation.

Lae Choo and her infant son in Fars story were thus breaking the law (indeed, likely multiple post-Exclusion Act laws), making them illegal immigrants who were officially deserving of whatever punishment the customs officers and the government deemed appropriate. Yet Fars story underscores two fundamental historical realities: that immigration laws have artificially constructed categories like legal and illegal through the development of particular, discriminatory immigration laws; and that those laws have been applied not only to categorize certain arrivals as undesirable and thus illegal, but also and especially to do the same for existing American families and communities.

The fictional account of Lae Choo closely parallels a multitude of actual victims of these discriminatory laws. Yung Wing, one of the 19th centurys most famous Chinese Americans, had come to the United States as a teenager, brought to Connecticut by missionaries in the late 1840s. He would go on to become the first Chinese American college graduate (graduating Yale in 1854), an American citizen, and a prominent diplomat and educator. His crowning achievement was the 1872 founding of the Chinese Educational Mission (CEM) in Hartford, a program that brought 120 Chinese young men to the U.S. Yet the school was closed in 1880 due to rising anti-Chinese sentiments, and Yung experienced even more destructive results of the Exclusion era: His citizenship was stripped and he was kept out of the country and separated from his family for years. His wife passed away and his young sons were fostered out to friends. He was never legally allowed to return to the United States.

In contrast to these more exclusionary histories, America has also seen moments and laws with more inclusive visions of immigrant arrivals, families, and communities. The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, for example, prioritized immigrants with existing connections in the United States, focusing on immediate relatives such as spouses, parents and children, grandparents, and siblings in an attempt to build upon and strengthen immigrant family and community ties. The 1965 law has made it possible for multi-generational immigrant families from many previously excluded nations and culturesChinese Americans among themto once again develop and flourish in the United States.

These immigration policy choices not only affect the opportunities and experiences of new and future arrivals, but also help create and strengthen a national community in which such families and communities can exist and grow openly and successfully. Every debate over immigration law and policy, such as those unfolding in our own moment, affect American families and communities in purposeful and significant ways. Understanding past laws and how they affected families like the one depicted in In the Land of the Free can help us make informed and thoughtful decisions about the effects of immigration on our country and our communities.
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Editors note: After much pleading by the Post, Gay Haubner has graciously agreed to continue her weekly series into her college years.

For more about Gay Haubners life in the North Country, read the other chapters in her serialized memoir.

In the fall of 1971, I arrived at the University of Minnesota in the big city of Minneapolis, having finally emerged from the cocoon of the corn-fed Midwest middle-class. My parents deposited me into my fancy dorm (a bathroom that was shared with just three other girls! A comfy TV lounge on every floor! A soft serve dispenser in the cafeteria!), at the coed Middlebrook Hall. I had shed my high school boyfriend and had adopted a new persona, intellectual hippie chick. I was ready to put on my headband and purple fringed leather jacket and dive into this new world of college, a place filled with my favorite things: books, boys, and drugs.

I reveled in this Brave New World: curling up and trying to look adorable on a boys narrow dorm bed, buying sugar cube acid, five dollars a hit, from a pharmacy major, crossing the resplendently treed Minneapolis campus in still balmy September, heading to a fascinating class on Human Geography (Today well look at the consequences of the Irish Potato Famine.)

I loved living in a place dedicated to learning, no matter how obscure the subject (I was also taking Poets of the Russian Revolution) and to rampant drug use, random sexual partners, and parties that featured garbage pails filled with a deadly mixture of Welchs Grape Drink and Everclear, an overproof liquor with zero redeeming qualities. If the scales of my college life began to tip too far on the fun side, I had before me the cautionary example of Jean the Machine, who I shared a bathroom with, and who, after passing out face down in her dorm room, had to be ambulanced to the University Medical Center for alcohol poisoning, and who dropped out after two weeks without attending a single class.

My dad, who had exited from my life after his quickie second wedding and the birth of his son the following day, had been ordered by Judge Erman in the divorce settlement to pony up for my college tuition and dorm. Everything elsedrugs, tampax, long underwear, emergency baked rigatoni dinners at Mama Rosas when I just couldnt face another night of cafeteria cuisinecame out of my savings from my summer waitressing job. Since I had worked at a roadside cafe that catered to cheap ass tourists who figured theyd never be back so why tip more than a quarter, my stash of spending money vanished into pot smoke and red sauce.

By November I was standing behind the counter at my dorm cafeteria, wearing an ill-fitting yellowy-beige uniform with a dingy white collar and cuffs and a hair net. I had become a lunch lady, doling out helpings of pale haddock squares, runny lasagna, and grey Salisbury steaks that, three months into the school year, all of us Middlebrook residents were thoroughly sick of. I was paid $2.00 an hour but I had access to all the soft-serve ice cream I could eat between shifts, which turned out to be quite a lot.

I didnt care. I was out of stuffy and stifling small town Duluth, and in a place where the boys were smart and funny and the wild weekend parties welcomed cute girls with open bottles. Since I cannot live without girlfriends, the universe gave me some new ones: my roommate Nancy and our remaining bathroom-mate, Liz, who after the departure of Jean the Machine, luxuriated in a dorm room all to herself. And every day I sat spellbound in my classes, enthralled by my brilliant professors. All the knowledge and culture and history of Western Civ was laid out for me like a smorgasbord. When I wasnt in class or working in the dorm cafeteria, I was reading or taking drugs or meeting new guys. I was in heaven.

After a few weeks of flirting with every freshman, I landed a boyfriend of sorts. I have a talent for sniffing out the dangerous boys. When I inhale that mix of cigarette smoke, bit of unwashed skin, fairly recent sexual encounter, and a pheromone that tells me this boy would first fight and then take flight one step ahead of the law, that smell that lurks in a bad boys neck where it dips into his shoulder, I am head over heels in trouble.

My unfailingly stupid nose led me to the one juvenile delinquent in Middlebrook dorm, which was otherwise filled with the white-toothed, clear-skinned, shiny-haired sons of doctors and lawyers and Babbits of Minnesota. Steve Jones (could there be a more anodyne name?) was the first person I had ever met who affected an urban black swagger and patois lifted straight from Shaft, behavior as mystifying to me as it must have been to the residents of his hometown of Austin, famous mostly for acres and acres of Hormel Meats stockyards and slaughterhouses. The boys on his floor gave Steve the mocking nickname Jive Time. Steve took this as a compliment and adopted it himself, shortening it to JT.

In looks Steve was as unremarkable as his name: dirty blonde hair not quite long enough to be cool; a snub nose and a mouth that curved naturally into a sneer; medium height but with a taut, strongly muscled body that seemed ready to throw a punch.

Steve found me late one night while I was hanging out in the lounge on the freshman boys floor, kibitzing around a table of bridge players; a bunch of us had caught the bridge bug, so twenty-four hours a day there was a foursome shuffling and dealing cards, fueled on coffee or Coca-Cola. The other boys ignored Steve, as he jive walked up to me and leaned in so our arms touched. Every little hair on my body stood on end and gravitated toward him.

Steve said, If you sissies played a real card game like poker, Id beat all your asses.

Get lost, Jive Time, chorused the bridge players, as if they had practiced this line for weeks. Steve cocked his eyes at me and I followed, a lamb to the slaughter, down the hall to his dorm room. His roommate looked at us as if we were slime, shook his head, and left. Steve kissed me and the top of my head went shooting off and my clothes dropped to the floor.

Steve had dabbled in a variety of crimes: joy riding, shoplifting, breaking and entering, arson, and drug dealing, which is what finally caused him to be hauled into Austins juvie court, next stop the infamous Red Wing Reform School for Boys. (When I was a teenager, Red Wing seemed a mythic place of punishment, like Hades or Limbo. The few boys I knew who got into serious trouble were shipped off to the Judson Ranch, a boarding school in the Arizona desert a million miles from nowhere.)

Steve was miraculously rescued from what would surely have been a life of petty, ill-fated criminality. The judge gave him a choice: he could do three months at Red Wing or spend the summer learning outdoor survival skills with Outward Bounds program for wayward youth. The judge was swayed by the argument that if you can teach a boy to find his way out of the woods with three matches and a compass, that boy can learn to find his way in the world. Steve, who fancied himself more of an urban survivor, was ready to take on anything that wasnt the boys reformatory.

Steve surprised himself by flourishing in Outward Bound. He learned rock climbing, rappelling, navigating by the stars, and how to catch, skin, and cook a squirrel. His instructors loved him, the juvenile delinquent they had transformed into Daniel Boone. Steve was the success story, trotted out by the head of Outward Bound at every speech, pitch, and fundraiser, the proof that learning to kill your own food can redeem a boy headed in the wrong direction, teaching him responsibility, self-reliance, and not to sell drugs or steal. Steve went along with the Outward Bound poster boy act; he knew which side his squirrel was buttered on.

Outward Bound made Steve an offer. Spend his summers as a counselor, teaching other kids to make lean-tos and start a fire from two sticks and, if he could keep his grades up and his nose clean, he would get a full ride to college, including a room in the fancy new dorm, that luckily for me, was just a few floors above mine.

Steve did not make friends with the privileged children of surgeons and bankers; even his roommate didnt like him. He was all rough edges. Surviving in the woods did not teach him social graces or skills. He did, however, despite his promise to Outward Bound, supply our entire dorm with drugs. He was looking for customers, not friends.

One night, the two of us speedy and restless on Black Beauties, we drove to Steves hometown of Austin. It was after midnight when we pulled up in front of a ramshackle shotgun shack, that in my unpleasant altered state I barely recognized as a house. The entire structure could have fit into my familys kitchen and dining room.

Steves mom was still awake, wearing what my subconscious identified as a housecoat, smoking Kools and drinking Schells beer in front of a flickering TV that sat upon a larger, dark TV. The floor was littered with empty beer cans. Steve kissed his mom, who ignored me as she launched into a slurred speech on the shortcomings of Jim, whom I assumed was her boyfriend. Steve watched the TV and nodded while I looked for a place to sit down where I wouldnt have to move anything. Mom finally passed out while lighting a cigarette, and Steve gently transferred the cigarette from her lips to his, then led me into his old bedroom. We lay down, still ripped on the uppers, gritting our teeth, miserably awake and uncomfortable on that rack of a bed, which consisted of a bare, torn up blue ticking mattress, no sheet, no pillows, set on a metal frame. We both lay flat on our backs, staring at the ceiling, too amped to even blink. Every time we moved, the bed squeaked and the springs found new places to poke us. One spring must have hit a weird nerve in Steve.

You know that money I get from Outward Bound?

Yeah.

Theres another reason they give it to me. The guy in charge, the chairman, he wanted me to do some thingshe said if I did, Outward Bound would pay for college.

It was like being back in the claustrophobic dark confessional at Holy Rosary Cathedral, except I was the confessor. A real Catholic priest would have demanded all the sordid details: as Steve rambled on more and more incoherently I couldnt tell whether he had turned the guy down, actually done something sexual with him, or was still doing it. Waves of hot shame radiated off of Steve, pushing me into an ever more uncomfortable place. I hated this guilt-ridden version of my bad boyfriend, I hated the amphetamine buzz, the tortuous squeaky bed, the squalid house in the stinky town. Steve suddenly sat up, swallowed another Black Beauty dry, and said Lets go. We drove back to Minneapolis in the silent dawn and never spoke of Steves mysterious pact with Outward Bound again.

Black Beauties and other amphetamines were among Steves top sellers, especially during the weeks before midterms and final exams. Any kind of pill was popular at Middlebrook. We were constantly threatened that if we were caught using drugs we would be kicked out of the dorm, and probably out of college as well. But the only drug you could really be caught with was pot, with its pervasive, lingering aroma no cone of incense could mask. There were Resident Advisers on every floor, seniors who lived in the corner single dorm rooms rent-free, whose main responsibility was to be on the look-out, or smell-out, for marijuana. It didnt take us druggies long to realize if youre caught smoking pot, youre screwed. But you could ingest a wide variety of interesting drugs right under the noses of the RAs with no problem, as long as you didnt strip off your clothes and run around naked or toss yourself out of an upper story window.

The one exception to the no pot rule was Middlebrooks dorm rooms for handicapped students, the only ones on campus. These rooms were in a wing on the ground floor; if someone forgot to put a towel under the door, marijuana smoke would stream into the dorms lobby, causing raised eyebrows but never any repercussions from whoever was in charge. I guess nobody wanted to bust the handicapped kids for smoking pot.

Steves best customer was a wheelchair-bound student who lived in one of those ground floor dorm rooms. Number One Customer was mostly torso and had an oversized head with a six-inch high forehead topped with stringy white blonde hair, which he wore to his shoulders. His arms were stunted, like tyrannosaurus rex arms, and his legs were small, shriveled appendages.

My cotton wool upbringing meant that I had rarely been exposed to death, poverty, or seriously damaged bodies. Once, at the Norshsor theatre watching 101 Dalmatians, a girl sat down next to me and propped her arm, which ended at the elbow, on the rest between us. I had no idea anything that awful could happen to a kid my age and spent the entire movie trying not to stare at her stump while leaning as far away from it as possible. The same scary, sick feeling sat like a stone in my stomach every minute I spent in that smoky, weirdly equipped dorm room. I was emotionally stunted, unable to dredge up a twinge of empathy or sympathy.

Number One Customer had two things I had never seen before: a bong and an electric wheelchair. He was supposed to be brilliant, a proto-Stephen Hawking. He also had a huge pot and psychedelics habit. At least once a week Steve and I would be sitting on his couch, Steve in full salesman mode, pitching whatever he had that day, while I tried to look at anything other than the guy in the motorized wheelchair cradling a two-foot bong between his tiny palms. Number One Customer gobbled LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin, in alarming doses and was always trying to get us to trip with him. But Steve didnt like psychedelics and I was completely freaked out by the whole scene; for me it was already a bad trip. Making it even weirder was the fact that Number One Customer had a full-time student aide, Kit, who lived with him and who I had slept with during freshman orientation week. Kit did not partake in this feast of drugs: he just smiled at me through the clouds of pot smoke, as I outwardly beamed and looked friendly and inwardly squirmed, sending out a desperate telepathic message: Lets go, Steve lets go, Steve, lets go

Illegal substances popped, snorted, and smoked, fueled my romance with Steve, a romance that was fiery, melodramatic, and slightly stupid, but as addictive as a bad drug. Steve and I would cheat on each other as if it were an Olympic competition, and since neither of us bothered to hide our tracks, these infidelities spurred raging, nasty fights. Sexual jealousy ran hot in our veins, made pits in our guts. It stopped short of violence; we used words to batter each other.

Youre a stuck up bitch. Go on back to those card-playing chumps. Get your s**t and your ass out of my room.

And you go ahead and screw any other girl wholl have you, were done. You think youre all cool and black but youre just an ignorant, dirty greaser. On the tip of my tongue was You wouldnt even be in college if some old man hadnt wanted to but I always bit it back.

We would break up for weeks, looking away when we ran into each other in the dorm cafeteria or lobby. I made regular trips to the floor Steve lived on, for bridge or TV or just to hang out, to make sure that Steve would see me flirting or kissing or vanishing into a dorm room with other guys.

Making up was inevitable; our hormones demanded it, and it was as intense and exhausting as our fights. We would declare a truce, tumble into bed, and then spend every day and night together, transforming his dorm room into a fuggy, musky nest, interrupted occasionally when his disgruntled, disgusted roommate knocked to retrieve his clothes or books. I only left Steves bed to serve cafeteria haddock or to go to class. And then we would break up again.
A study of 909 exoplanets in 355 multi-planet systems discovered by NASAs Kepler Space Telescope reveals that, unlike our Solar System, other planetary systems are distinguished by strict regularity.

Universite de Montreal astrophysicist Lauren Weiss and co-authors used W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to obtain high-resolution spectra of the Kepler planet-hosting stars.

From these spectra, they measured precise stellar and planetary properties for 355 multi-planet systems containing 909 transiting planets.

Using a statistical analysis, the team found two surprising patterns:

(i) exoplanets tend to be the same sizes as their neighbors: if one planet is small, the next planet around that same star is very likely to be small as well, and if one planet is big, the next is likely to be big;

(ii) exoplanets orbiting the same star tend to have a regular orbital spacing.

The planets in a multi-planet system tend to be the same size and regularly spaced, like peas in a pod, Dr. Weiss said.

These patterns would not occur if the planet sizes or spacings were drawn at random.

The similar sizes and orbital spacing of planets have implications for how most planetary systems form.

In classic planet formation theory, planets form in the protoplanetary disk that surrounds a newly formed star, the astrophysicists said.

The planets might form in compact configurations with similar sizes and a regular orbital spacing, in a manner similar to the newly observed pattern in multi-planet systems.

However, in our own Solar System, the inner planets have surprisingly large spacing and diverse sizes.

Abundant evidence suggests that Jupiter and Saturn disrupted Solar Systems early structure, resulting in the four widely-spaced terrestrial planets we have today, the scientists explained.

That planets in most systems are still similarly sized and regularly spaced suggests that perhaps they have been mostly undisturbed since their formation.

To test that hypothesis, Dr. Weiss and colleagues are conducting a new study at the Keck Observatory to search for Jupiter-analogs around Kepler multi-planet systems.

The planetary systems studied by our team have multiple planets quite close to their star, they said.

Because of the limited duration of the Kepler mission, little is known about what kind of planets, if any, exist at larger orbital distances around these systems.

We hope to test how the presence or absence of Jupiter-like planets at large orbital distances relate to patterns in the inner planetary systems.

Regardless of their outer populations, the similarity of planets in the inner regions of extrasolar systems requires an explanation.

If the deciding factor for planet sizes can be identified, it might help determine which stars are likely to have terrestrial planets that are suitable for life.

The study is published in the Astronomical Journal (arXiv.org preprint).



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Lauren M. Weiss et al. 2018. The California-Kepler Survey. V. Peas in a Pod: Planets in a Kepler Multi-planet System Are Similar in Size and Regularly Spaced. AJ 155, 48; doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/aa9ff6
A team of researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the University of Cambridge, UK, has shown how alcohol damages chromosomes and mutates stem cells, helping to explain why drinking alcohol increases the risk of developing seven types of cancer.

This thought-provoking research highlights the damage alcohol can do to our cells, costing some people more than just a hangover, said Cancer Research UKs expert Professor Linda Bauld, who was not involved in the study.

We know that alcohol contributes to over 12,000 cancer cases in the UK each year, so its a good idea to think about cutting down on the amount you drink.

Much previous research looking at the precise ways in which alcohol causes cancer has been done in cell cultures.

But in this new study, the scientists have used mice to show how alcohol exposure leads to permanent genetic damage.

They gave ethanol to mice and used chromosome analysis and DNA sequencing to examine the genetic damage caused by acetaldehyde, a harmful chemical produced when the body processes alcohol.

They found that acetaldehyde can break and damage DNA within blood stem cells leading to rearranged chromosomes and permanently altering the DNA sequences within these cells.

It is important to understand how the DNA blueprint within stem cells is damaged because when healthy stem cells become faulty, they can give rise to cancer.

Some cancers develop due to DNA damage in stem cells, said study senior author Professor Ketan Patel, from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.

While some damage occurs by chance, our findings suggest that drinking alcohol can increase the risk of this damage.

The researchers also examined how the body tries to protect itself against damage caused by alcohol.

The first line of defense is a family of enzymes called aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH).

These enzymes break down harmful acetaldehyde into acetate, which our cells can use as a source of energy. Millions of people either lack these enzymes or carry faulty versions of them. So, when they drink, acetaldehyde builds up which causes a flushed complexion, and also leads to them feeling unwell.

In the study, when mice lacking the critical ALDH enzyme, called ALDH2, were given alcohol, it resulted in four times as much DNA damage in their cells compared to mice with the fully functioning ALDH2 enzyme.

The second line of defense used by cells is a variety of DNA repair systems which, most of the time, allow them to fix and reverse different types of DNA damage.

But they dont always work and some people carry mutations which mean their cells arent able to carry out these repairs effectively.

Our study highlights that not being able to process alcohol effectively can lead to an even higher risk of alcohol-related DNA damage and therefore certain cancers, Professor Patel said.

But its important to remember that alcohol clearance and DNA repair systems are not perfect and alcohol can still cause cancer in different ways, even in people whose defense mechanisms are intact.

The results were published online January 3, 2018 in the journal Nature.

_____

Juan I. Garaycoechea et al. Alcohol and endogenous aldehydes damage chromosomes and mutate stem cells. Nature, published online January 3, 2018; doi: 10.1038/nature25154
Caeleb Dressel

Sherridon Dressel

GAINESVILLE, Fla.  Caeleb andeach garnered SEC Swimmer of the Week honors for their performances this past weekend, as the league announced on Tuesday.recorded six individual victories over the weekend andfollowed closely with five of her own.In a 209-91 victory over the no. 19 Florida State Seminoles,came away with two individual wins, two relay wins and two B-cut times. Dressel notched victories in the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay to secure the triumph over FSU, as well as picking up wins in the 50 free and 100 free. His time of 19.40 in the 50 free and 43.57 in the 100 free both qualify as NCAA B-cuts.notched four wins in the 184-116 defeat of Florida State as well. She also won the 50 free and 100 free, posting times of 23.18 and 50.16, respectively. The sophomore was a member of two winning relays, recording a 49.85 split in the 400 free relay and a 24.14 split in the 200 medley relay.Against Florida Atlantic,recorded two more first place finishes, including a B-cut time of 1:47.63 in the 200 fly. He, along with the rest of the 200 medley relay team, registered a B-cut of 1:25.01.recorded a season-best 25.25 backstroke split in the 200 medley relay to put the Gators ahead early against the Owls. She then followed with a second place finish in the 200 free, finishing with a time of 1:50.81. She was exhibitioned in her last two races of the meet, swimming a 56.06 in the 100 fly and contributed a 23.45 split in the 200 free relay.Both Dressels are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 20 against Auburn. The meet will serve as Senior Day for 15 seniors, including Caeleb.Male Diver: Colin Zeng, TennesseeMale Freshman: Hugo Gonzalez, Auburnand Asia Seidt, KentuckyFemale Diver: Brooke Schultz, ArkansasFemale Freshman: Jing Quah, Texas A&M
The Singapore High Court dismissed a claim by Major Shipping & Trading Inc against Standard Chartered over four payments totaling $1.84m, which were made by the bank following the receipt of email instructions. Major Shipping & Trading is now appealing the case.

Major Shipping & Trading is a British Virgin Islands incorporated company involved in the trading and shipping of cement clinker and owned by Molla Mohammad Majnu and Mohammed Jahangir Alam.

According to court documents for transactions under an account opened with Standard Chartered in 2012 Bangladesh landline telephone numbers, and two Singapore telephone numbers, were provided as contacts for authorized persons to the account as well as Majnus email  a Yahoo email account.

Between 17 and 26 June 2013 the bank received six outward telegraphic transaction instructions from Majnus email in the form of remittance application forms.

The instructions bore signatures that were consistent with Majnus specimen with the bank, and the bank attempted to call the telephone numbers given for the first four transactions however all but one call went unanswered. On the call that was answered the bank officer was asked not to disturb the person who answered.

The first to fourth payments totaling $1.84m were made by the bank between 17 and 24 June. However, instructions for the fifth and sixth payments totaling $2.66m were not made due to insufficient funds in the account.

Majnu stated that he did not send the four instructions for the payments between 17 and 24 June. Evidence points to a third party accessing Majnus Yahoo email account and he ignored two SMS on 18 June that contained verification codes from Yahoo, which he claimed he did not understand.

Justice Kannan Ramesh dismissed the claim finding that the bank was not negligent and therefore liable for the claim.

The decision (which is being appealed) serves as a timely reminder to customers and banks alike of the risks involved in transacting via email, commented Karnan Thirupathy, partner with law firm Kennedys.

The judgment highlights issues with small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in terms of authorization of payments and the use of webmail accounts. It would appear the scam is what is known as a whaling attack which is a type of phishing email scam that targets high level executives such as ceos who have access to valuable information.
Press Release

January 10, 2018 Legarda Comes Home to Antique, Launches Projects for the People Senator Loren Legarda today visited her home province of Antique to launch several projects and check the progress of ongoing development projects and programs within the province. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that she wants to ensure that the programs of various agencies of government are implemented well and actually benefit the people. "I wanted to come home to my province to personally witness how the programs of government are actually benefitting the people and to assess what still needs to be done for my fellow Antiquenos and for all Filipinos. These projects that we have in Antique are the same projects that we have in the rest of the country. By seeing the implementation of these projects, we would know which are effective and which need to be improved," said Legarda. Different agencies of government updated the status of existing projects, such as the Barangay Kabuhayan Skills Training Program (BKSTP), Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), and Special Training for Employment Program (STEP), all under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); establishment of Community Fish Landing Centers (CFLP) and provision of boats and fishing gear for fisherfolks under the Department of Agriculture's (DA) Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR); scholarship programs under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); Integrated Livelihood Program or Kabuhayan Program and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disavantaged/Displaced (TUPAD) under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); medical assistance programs and improvement of health facilities under the Department of Health (DOH); and the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), among others. The Barangay Kabuhayan Skills Training Program of TESDA is a program that establishes livelihood and skills training centers in the fourth, fifth, and sixth class municipalities in order to open employment opportunities, combat poverty, and improve quality of life, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9509 or the Barangay Kabuhayan Act, which Legarda principally sponsored and authored in the Senate. TESDA's Training for Work Scholarship Program addresses the critical skills shortages in priority sectors, such as in the Business Process Outsourcing, metals and engineering, construction and tourism sectors. The Special Training for Employment Program (STEP) is a community-based specialty-training program that addresses the specific skills needs of the communities and promotes employment, particularly through entrepreneurial, self-employment, and service-oriented activities. The DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) or Kabuhayan Program is assistance for capacity-building on livelihood for the working poor and vulnerable and marginalized workers, while the TUPAD Workers Program helps reduce unemployment, especially among the disadvantaged sector in the province. The Department of Science and Technology's (DOST) Community Empowerment through Science and Technology (CEST) aims to empower the poorest and most depressed communities via science and technology interventions. The DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) is a community-based, capacity building program that seeks to improve socio-economic status through skills training, seed capital fund, pre-employment assistance, and cash for building livelihood assets. It offers two tracks--microenterprise development and employment facilitation. "Through these programs, we address unemployment by providing skills training and livelihood opportunities, assisting in the improvement of existing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and aid those who are in need of additional sources of income. We also have programs to assist our farmers and fisherfolk through the programs of the DA and its attached agencies," said Legarda. Community fish landing centers would be established in 12 municipalities of Antique, some of which have already been constructed and inaugurated. Fiberglass boats have been given and will continue to be given to fisherfolks. For the health sector in Antique, funding under the DOH's Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) will be used to construct or expand the hospitals and rural health units. Antiquenos can also avail of the Medical Assistance Program of the DOH. Antiquenos have also availed of the Tulong Dunong Program, the scholarship program under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), for school year (SY) 2016-2017 and SY 2017-2018. Legarda said that aside from these programs that directly benefit the people, there are also projects for environment protection and heritage preservation, which are the Senator's advocacies. Among these are projects lodged under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), including the Pandan Arboretum and Eco-Park, which seeks to plant endangered species of trees in order to protect biodiversity in the province; the Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Rehabilitation Program, which aims to effectively manage coastal and marine ecosystems in order to promote sustainability of ecosystem services, food security, and climate change resiliency; and the Malandog River Rehabilitation and Development Project in order to protect the river for its contribution to the province's environment, the people, culture, and economy. For cultural promotion and assistance to indigenous communities, existing programs include the Schools of Living Tradition (SLT) Assistance to Artisans, Enhanced SLT Program, establishment of weaving, natural dye and processing centers, establishment of pineapple farms and fiber extraction facilities and abaca fiber production, rehabilitation of Gabaldon school buildings, establishment of Kinaray-a Center, Local Community Archives Project, and the National Museum in the Old Legislative Building of Antique. An Indigenous Peoples Resource Center was already established at the University of the Philippines Visayas, while production of the book on Panay-Guimaras Traditional Knowledge Systems for Cultural Resiliency and Sustainable Development is ongoing. "It is important to familiarize with how national projects and programs are implemented at the local level, and know the issues and concerns of the people in accessing these government interventions. This enhances my perspective as a legislator of the entire country," Legarda said. Legarda said that she is inspired with the developments in Antique, which she hopes would continue to improve the living conditions of the people in the province. "I am hopeful that these programs will help improve the lives of Antiquenos and we shall not stop until we have fully unlocked the potential of Antique. This is also what we want to happen in all our communities nationwide. Our country and all Filipinos certainly deserve more. It is not enough that we fund programs that would address the needs and concerns of the Filipino people, we must also make sure that the people know, understand and are able to access these programs. Through these government programs, we must be able to uplift the lives of our people," Legarda concluded.
When California regulators in December adopted tough new rules to prevent power lines from starting wildfires, they based the rules on a map.

Years in development, the detailed map shows which parts of California face an elevated or extreme risk of wildfires. The higher the risk in a particular area, the tougher the rules that will apply to electrical utilities operating there.

Except the map isnt quite finished.

The California Public Utilities Commission, which adopted the new fire safety rules in December, will vote Thursday on extending until July the deadline for completing the map, whose last draft was released by the commission in November. The current deadline is Sunday, Jan. 14.

By July, Californias next fire season will already have begun. But a commission spokeswoman said Tuesday that the regulatory agency expects to finish the map well before then, even if it cant quite make the current deadline.

We are likely just weeks away from completing the development and adoption of the (high fire threat) Map, spokeswoman Terrie Prosper wrote in an email. But since an extension is necessary, the typical extension is 6 months.

The new rules govern how often utilities must inspect their equipment in the field, how far tree branches must be kept from electrical lines and how the companies prioritize safety-related repairs.

The delay in finishing the map, which the commissions staff blames on the complexity of the task, is just the latest in the long effort to adopt and enforce new fire safety regulations for utilities.

That effort began after a devastating series of wind-driven fires, sparked by power lines, ravaged San Diego County and other parts of Southern California in 2007. The commission finally approved the rules 10 years later, after deadly blazes struck the Wine Country in October and Southern California in December. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of most of last falls fires, though they are looking into whether power poles and lines impacted by high winds played a role.

The PUC continues to blow through deadlines, said state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, who will hold a hearing in Santa Rosa on Jan. 26 to discuss fire safety measures for utilities. If the map isnt adopted until July, Well miss another fire season, and God knows whatll happen then, Hill said.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is already planning its tree-trimming and field maintenance operations using the current version of the map as a guide, said spokesman Paul Doherty. That work, to prepare for next fire season, will likely get under way in mid-February, he said.

If the map changes, altering the safety standards that apply in different places, the utility can revise its plans accordingly, Doherty said. PG&E on Jan. 5 filed with the commission a letter, backed by utility San Diego Gas & Electric Co., recommending that the current version of the map be adopted. Anyone with objections, PG&E recommended, should file them by Jan. 15.

Well continue to work with the commission and adjust our plans if need be, Doherty said.

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SDG&E and Southern California Edison also plan to base their maintenance work on the latest version of the map, representatives for both companies said.

The map has been developed by staff members of both the commission and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, working along with representatives of the utilities and independent technical experts. They have studied wind speeds, vegetation types, seasonal patterns and the way different plants burn under different conditions.

An early version of the map drew complaints because it didnt mark as high-risk an area of the Sierra Nevada foothills that had already suffered a massive wildfire: the Butte Fire of 2015. Finalizing it has taken longer than expected. The previous schedule extension was granted on Oct. 6, just two days before the Wine Country fires began.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF

Online extra

For the Chronicles complete coverage, go to: www.sfchronicle.com/north-bay-fires/
A plan to close Californias last atomic power plant, Diablo Canyon, in seven years could win the approval of state regulators Thursday, despite the efforts of pro-nuclear activists to save it.

The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to decide Thursday whether to shut down the plant when its two federal operating licenses expire in 2024 and 2025.

Perched on a seaside bluff near San Luis Obispo, Diablo Canyon has been a source of controversy since long before it opened in 1985. It has also been the states single largest power plant, generating 9 percent of the states electricity without producing greenhouse gases.

The plants owner, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., in 2016 reached an agreement with several labor and environmental groups to close the plant, which the utility forecast would soon become uneconomical to run. The surprise move prompted a campaign to save Diablo Canyon by nuclear power advocates, who argued that closure would hurt Californias fight against global warming.

If, however, the commission votes as expected, both sides of the debate could come away disappointed, albeit in very different ways.

The proposed decision would authorize PG&E to shut down the plant. But it would give PG&E less money than the utility wanted  $222.6 million instead of $363.4 million  to retain the plants staff in the years before closure and retrain some of them for the decommissioning process. The commissions staff had initially proposed spending even less, just $171.8 million, but boosted the amount this week.

PG&E and the other parties to the agreement also proposed spending $85 million in the communities surrounding Diablo Canyon to help them prepare for the loss of tax dollars flowing from the plant. The proposed decision argues that only the Legislature  and not the utilities commission  can approve such a program.

Finally, PG&Es plans to start lining up replacement resources for the plants power output would be folded into the utilitys regular process for long-term power purchases, under the proposed decision.

PG&E and its allies therefore find themselves in an awkward position.

If a majority of the commissions five voting members approve the proposed decision, Diablo Canyon will close. But PG&E and its negotiating partners will have to come up with a new plan for closing it.

Its vital that we have an effective employee retention program in place to retain our highly skilled employees, PG&E spokesman Blair Jones said. We also think its critical that we get an early start in replacing the output of (Diablo Canyon) with carbon-free energy resources, and believe that the local community needs economic transition and public services assistance.

Some of the groups involved said the commissions staff appeared to ignore the hard work necessary to come up with a closure plan that could satisfy not only PG&E but labor unions and environmental groups as well.

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Were pretty dissatisfied, and think this misses a lot of opportunities, said Damon Moglen, senior adviser with Friends of the Earth, one of the groups behind the joint proposal. Were excited and proud to see theyre going to affirm the decision to close Diablo Canyon, but theyve missed huge opportunities to ensure that its replaced with greenhouse gas-free resources, whereas they should be seizing that opportunity.

Nuclear power advocates, meanwhile, consider the entire move misguided.

Pro-nuclear writer and activist Michael Shellenberger, founder of the Breakthrough Institute think tank, noted that Californias greenhouse gas emissions rose after the sudden shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station north of San Diego in 2012.

State and, reportedly, federal investigators later looked into whether the utilities commission and its former president, Michael Peevey, struck an improper backroom deal with San Onofres owners over the financial details of closing that plant. No charges were filed. Shellenberger on Wednesday sent a letter to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California urging that the investigation continue.

A reasonable outside observer might look at that and say, Hey, we need to resolve the criminal investigation into the closure of one nuclear plant before they close another, Shellenberger said Tuesday in an interview.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
Eight people connected to the racketeering and murder case of Raymond Shrimp Boy Chow were sentenced to prison terms by a federal judge on Monday in San Francisco, officials said.

The defendants  Barry House, Elaine Liang, Tina Liang, Michael Mei, James Pau, Rinn Roeun, Kevin Siu and Leslie Yun  each pleaded guilty to their roles in a vast scheme that resulted in 230 separate charges in an indictment filed by a federal grand jury on Jan. 29, 2015.

Chow and 28 others were charged in that indictment with crimes ranging from money laundering to drug and firearms trafficking, officials said. Seventeen of those defendants were also charged with conspiring to use a San Francisco Chinatown organization, the Chee Kung Tong, or CKT, for racketeering.

Chow was sentenced to life in prison for racketeering and murder in August 2016. Though he protested that he was innocent, the jury found him guilty of all 162 charges leveled against him.

Charles Breyer, the U.S. District Judge presiding over the case, said on Monday that the prosecution had demonstrated clear and convincing evidence that seven defendants that were members of CKT had conspired to engage in a criminal racketeering enterprise. Those seven defendants were George Nieh as well as Mei, Elaine Liang, Tina Liang, Pau, Siu and Yun.

The defendants sentenced Monday pleaded guilty before the Chow trial, officials said, though many have pending charges remaining against them. Nieh is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.

Yun, 51, of Oakland was sentenced to 84 months in prison on 40 racketeering, trafficking and money laundering charges. Pau, 58, of Oakland received 72 months in prison for 22 similar charges.

Roeun, 34, of San Francisco was sentenced to 72 months on six charges, including weapons trafficking and murder for hire.

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House, 48, of Pittsburg was given 48 months in prison, also for charges including weapons trafficking. Mei, 33, of San Francisco received 60 months in prison for racketeering and marijuana charges.

Elaine Liang, 55, of San Francisco was sentenced to 36 months in prison for 16 counts of money laundering and one conspiracy to engage in racketeering charge. Tina Liang, 43, of San Francisco received 18 months.

Kevin Siu, 34, of Daly City received 12 months for money laundering.

Annie Ma is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ama@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @anniema15
The Outer Sunset is full of surprises. Its quiet and hazy and monochromatic, until it isnt. Like when, in the midst of silent residential blocks, you come upon the line of chattering, hungry people waiting outside Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant. Or the colorful Tunnel Records shop punctuating a stretch of gray streets otherwise subsumed by fog.

The latest surprise in the Outer Sunset is White Cap, the new pseudo-surf bar featuring the reliably excellent bartending of Carlos Yturria. Just two blocks from the ocean and named for the waves, White Cap seems poised to become a haunt for the denizens of Ocean Beach.

On the surface, White Cap reads as a familiar story: fancy newcomer bringing more traffic, more buzz and higher prices to the Outside Lands. (See also: Outerlands, Hook Fish Co., the General Store.) Part of that narrative is true. And perhaps White Caps $12 cocktails do not belong in the same neighborhood as the Bashful Bull Too diner next door, where a glass of wine costs $2.95. (Full carafe: $8.50.)

But theres more than that to the story of White Cap.

Ive lived in San Francisco 21 years, and these guys still dont consider me a local, says Yturria, behind the bar on a recent weeknight. By these guys he means the surfers of the Outer Sunset  including avid surfer Matt Lopez, who happens to be White Caps owner.

Michael Short/Special to The Chronicle

Yturria is a surfer, too. If hes lacking in Lopezs local credentials, as a bartender hes as bona fide as they come: a Chronicle Bar Star, a partner in the Financial District bar the Treasury and a co-owner of the Missions soon-to-open Beehive, set in the former Range.

Out here at White Cap, those downtown qualifications seem to matter a little less. Making small talk from behind the bar, Yturria speaks with a surfers cadence. Man inflects the end of every sentence. Like his speech, his cocktails and his service style enact the imperturbable feeling of this neighborhood. Tonight he mostly appears to be nonchalantly polishing glasses, belying his reputation as one of this citys highest-profile bartenders.

White Caps cocktail menu, at least for the moment, is tool-themed: Drinks are named, for example, after a drill press, a monkey wrench and  of course  a screwdriver. We just came up with something random, Yturria says, with what feels like refreshing candor. An early idea had been to name drinks after neighborhood dogs, but as he points out, Trick Dog already did that.

Michael Short/Special to The Chronicle

Under normal circumstances, its safe to say, I would never order a screwdriver in a bar, but then the White Cap screwdriver isnt really a screwdriver. Its dominant flavor is of delicious, nutty Sherry, echoed by pineapple gum. Orange juice is a mere background note. The vodka, unlike in my college memories, does not burn.

Similarly, the monkey wrench is more sophisticated than the description of a rum-and-coconut slushy would suggest. Creamy rather than slushy, it barely tastes sweet, brightened by a hearty helping of lime juice. Instead of a pink umbrella, a sheet of nori crowns the drink  the ultimate tropical garnish.

In the heat gun, spicy mescal and a piquant salt rim are soothed by aloe. (By the way: This is the second time in as many weeks Ive had an aloe cocktail in San Francisco.) The mandatory Tequila-citrus item, the cats paw, adds quince for a delicate, mellow fruitiness to counter a sharp dash of lemon. And the maple hammer, this menus dark-bitter-spiritous entry, is rich in flavor, with the deep notes of maple and walnut trailing the finish.

A surf bar is often an excuse for an interior decorating fiasco, but White Cap stops short of being gimmicky. The only evidence of the sport is an abstract art piece on the wall, forged from a surfboard by Los Angeles artist Jesse Simon. The walls are otherwise bare, and the color scheme is austere  with the exception of the bright teal seats. In the afternoon, customers can be spotted with laptops. There is one small fireplace. At the risk of parodying a surfer, Ill come out and say it: The place feels chill.

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Michael Short/Special to The Chronicle

Or, in other words: White Cap is a great bar that doesnt make a big deal out of being a great bar. And its a high-quality addition to the neighborhood thats nevertheless aware of its outsider status. Yturria knows that in the close-knit Outer Sunset, even a surfer, even someone whos lived in San Francisco for 21 years, isnt quite a local. And hes OK with it. Hes just happy to make you a good drink.

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine, beer and spirits writer. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermob

To order: Screwdriver, monkey wrench, cats paw, heat gun (all $12)

Where: White Cap, 3608 Taraval St., S.F. (415) 682-4215 or www.whitecapsf.com

When: 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily
Jamie Bell describes his first encounter with Gloria Grahame and Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool as a cold, cold, cold read. He had never heard of Grahame or of Peter Turners memoir on which Matt Greenhalghs script was based, and in which he would star as Turner opposite Annette Benings Grahame. The actor assumed the story was fiction.

I genuinely thought it was such an abstract subject to base a film around: a fading Hollywood star ending her life in a small terraced house in Liverpool, Bell says. It was something I couldnt quite wrap my head around.

But then producer Barbara Broccoli told Bell that she knew Grahame and Turner personally and gave him the memoir.

I saw how similar the script was to the book, how fragmented it was, how surreal, how eccentric, Bell says, And then I saw how much heart there was in it.

Bell is only 31, born the year Turners memoir was published and 4 years after Grahames 1981 death. When she died at 57, her career had long been in eclipse. Bells unfamiliarity with her is understandable, but Grahame was, indeed, a film star: James Stewarts pal Violet in Its a Wonderful Life, Humphrey Bogarts loyal neighbor in In a Lonely Place, Lee Marvins moll in The Big Heat, an Academy Award nominee for her turn as a potential murder witness in Crossfire, and an Oscar winner for her role as a flighty Southern belle in Vincente Minnellis The Bad and the Beautiful.

Grahame married four times, husbands that included both her In a Lonely Place director Nicholas Ray and his son Anthony. (The latter couple married when she was 36 and he was 22, but the relationship began when she was still married to his father and Anthony Ray was just 13.)

By the time Grahame met aspiring actor Peter Turner in the late 1970s, leading to their affair and the events on which Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool are based, Grahame was treading the boards in regional theater in England. Bell found stardom himself as a young teen with 2000s Billy Elliot, but Grahame soldiering on long after her glory days was one aspect of Liverpool that resonated with him.

I'm constantly thinking of just how unsafe the acting life can be, and how unpredictable it can be, Bell says. People say, Where do you see yourself in 10 years? The only sane answer to that question is hopefully, still working.

What I love about Gloria Grahame, even with the tragedy of her life, she never gave craft a back seat. She just loved it, it was in her blood, she couldnt imagine doing anything else. I agree with her there. Acting is a very strange job, and a very interesting one. But I never really see it as a real job because for me its fun, and I love it. I wouldnt know what else to do, so like Gloria, Id probably be doing strange theater, in a strange place, at the end of my career.

Bening  a huge fan of Grahames with a deep knowledge of her life and career  was earmarked for the role of Grahame when Broccoli first bought the property 20 years ago. At the time, Bening was far too young to play the part. At 59, she is now the right age, but if Grahames career in her 50s was marked as a career in decline, Benings is the opposite. An Oscar nominee (her fourth nomination) in 2011 for The Kids Are All Right and an Independent Spirit Award nominee this year for 20th Century Women, she remains a marquee name, a fact not lost on her co-star.

This is a great opportunity to go toe-to-toe with a real titan of the industry; a real two-hander with someone of that caliber will challenge you, so its really exciting, Bell says. Or its a really terrible idea to be so exposed next to somebody so brilliant. ... We both wanted to make this relationship a real thing, we both knew that the film lived or died on that relationship. We both loved Peter Turner enormously  we both really wanted to do right by him.

Pam Grady is a San Francisco freelance writer.

Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool opens at Bay Area theaters on Friday, Jan. 12.
Growing up in Afghanistan, Manizgha Nassimi dreamed of being a dentist, a fantasy she knew was impossible to achieve in her native country.

I already knew that after high school I will be at home so I cannot go to college, said Manizgha, 17. But when I came to the United States, I was like, I have a goal.

Today, Manizgha lives in East Oakland with her parents and two brothers  refugees who have embraced the United States as a land of hope, promise and opportunity. Refugees like Manizgha are appreciative of what America has long represented  and theyre willing to work hard for their place in this country.

At a time when many Americans have become cynical, its uplifting to hear stories from young refugees like Manizgha, a senior at Oakland International High School. Last week, she and nine other refugee girls participated in a program to help them envision professional careers.

Manizgha comes from a country where girls cant dream out loud. They are laughed at  or worse, punished. According to an October report by Human Rights Watch, a research and advocacy organization, two-thirds of Afghan girls dont attend school.

Manizgha was lucky to attend private schools in Afghanistan, but she said she was the only girl in her classes. Her teachers were men. And even if shed graduated from high school, she probably wouldnt have received a diploma.

If you want to have a document, you have to pay a lot of money to the government and get a lot of different people to sign it for you, she said of the costly process that can take up to five years.

John Storey

In Oakland, Manizgha is delighted to see other Muslim girls in school.

When I see Muslim people, it makes me happy because I know, its not just in my country, its in other countries, they treat women badly, she said. A lot of boys I know, they think the woman should stay at home. They cannot go to school.

Girls have a lot of freedoms here. They can do whatever boys can do. That was kind of surprising.

These are some of the people the president wants to stop from coming to America.

In September, the administration announced plans to cap the refugees the country will accept in 2018 at 45,000, which would be the lowest level in almost four decades.

Thats right  its even lower than after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Obama administration set the cap at 110,000 for 2017, but only about half of that were admitted because the current administration put a hold on the refugee resettlement program as it tested the waters with travel ban executive orders.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 65 million people globally have been displaced by conflicts, persecution and human rights violations. Its the highest number of refugees since World War II.

Oakland is home to a vibrant refugee community. In 2017, 337 refugees resettled here. The number includes 86 girls, 12 of high school age. According to the International Rescue Committee, a nonprofit refugee resettlement agency, approximately 430 girls have resettled in Oakland in the past five years, 60 of high school age.

The program held last week by the International Rescue Committee for Manizgha and nine other refugee girls to help them envision professional careers had a message: In America, anything is possible and dreams can come true.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

As part of the Vision Project program, the girls were introduced to a pediatrician, journalist, architect, musician, lawyer, social worker and marine biologist.

The program culminates in a photo shoot the girls direct. Think: If a girl wants to be a doctor, she can put on the white lab coat in a hospital as if making her rounds. One girl, who wants to be a computer scientist, envisioned working in an office with a skyline view of San Francisco and a strawberry milkshake topped with whip cream on her desk.

Another girl wants to be a therapist.

I want to help people, said Adriana Mejia, 15, from El Salvador. I have had a lot of challenges that made me go through emotional problems, and I want to help people that went through the same as me.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr
In its latest gambit to crack down on both legal and illegal immigration, the Trump administration has declared that about 200,000 Salvadorans who have been allowed to build lives in the U.S. for many years must leave by September 2019.

In 2001, after two deadly earthquakes struck El Salvador, President George W. Bush allowed undocumented Salvadorans who were already residing in the U.S. to apply for the Temporary Protected Status program, which shielded them from deportation and allowed them to obtain work permits.

Since then, the Salvadorans in the program have had their status renewed several times.

There are very good reasons for this. Since the earthquakes, El Salvador has been racked by drought, poverty and violence. Transnational gangs have wreaked havoc on the nations cities, impoverished its businesses and outmatched its frail public services. Capital city San Salvador is one of the most dangerous cities on the planet.

Meanwhile, the Salvadorans in the TPS program have thrived  their employment rates are higher than those of native-born Americans, for example. Like many long-established immigrants, they own businesses, have mortgages and have U.S.-born children.

They also play a critical role in shoring up their devastated home country. In 2016, El Salvador depended on remittances, mostly from the U.S., for 17 percent of the countrys economy.

The Salvadoran government has been pleading with the Department of Homeland Security to allow this group to stay in the country.

On Monday, the Trump administration rejected this reasoning, offering the Salvadorans in the TPS program 18 months to leave or to find a way to obtain legal residency.

The decision is cruel and unnecessary. It will destabilize the lives of countless people, including American citizens. Mass deportations will also create dangerous chaos in Central America.

Its reasonable to expect Congress to step in and fix the issue.

Yet the current Congress has proven unwilling or unable to tackle even the least controversial immigration issues, including the status of the Dreamers, the 800,000 recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That program is scheduled to expire in March.

By large margins, voters support allowing the Dreamers to remain in the U.S. So if the current Congress cant agree on a clean, simple fix for them, it seems unlikely to make the Salvadorans inclusion in TPS a priority. Thats devastating for these immigrants, and its a devastating indictment of our political class.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
Handout/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

I wasnt going to watch the Golden Globes. I thought it was bull that neither Kathryn Bigelow nor Greta Gerwig were nominated for their direction in what I thought were two of 2017s best films, Detroit and Ladybird. But my partner turned on the TV and before I knew it I was glued to the couch. Seth Meyers was funny enough, but what sucked me in was the show of solidarity and support women had for one another. Oprahs speech made my heart race, not least because I know what can happen to women when they raise their voice.

Last summer, I wrote a blog post on misogyny in a certain wine circle (though it is hardly limited to one clique), and recounted a discriminatory experience I had, as well as firsthand observations and revelations of how other women are mistreated in a number of ways that include sexual harassment. Colleagues, friends and family warned me that there might be negative consequences, and let there be no doubt about it that fear of retaliation is why a lot of women are afraid to come forward.
Sen. Kamala Harris was named to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, joining Californias other Democratic senator, Dianne Feinstein, on the panel that reviews President Trumps judicial nominees.

Democratic leaders chose Harris and Cory Booker of New Jersey to fill minority-party seats on the committee. They become the second and third African American members in the history of the Judiciary Committee, following Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., who served in the 1990s.

One vacancy on the panel was created by the resignation of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., after several women accused him of groping or sexually harassing them. Democrats gained another committee position with the election last month of Doug Jones in Alabama, filling the Senate seat formerly held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Harris, elected in 2016, is a former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general.

You have my commitment that I will fight for justice on behalf of Californians and all Americans, she wrote via Twitter on Tuesday.

Booker, a Stanford graduate, was a civil rights lawyer and the mayor of Newark, N.J., before his election to the Senate in 2013.

The committee considers legislation on criminal law, civil rights and immigration, among other issues, but its highest-profile role has been to hold the first hearings, and cast the first votes, on presidential nominees to lifetime positions on the federal courts.

Trump has moved rapidly to fill judicial vacancies, nominating 66 candidates and winning Senate confirmation for 20, including Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and 12 appeals court judges, a record for a first presidential year. The uniformly conservative candidates have drawn mostly futile protests from committee Democrats.

Harris and Booker are willing to be assertive and ask difficult questions, which should sharpen the inquiry judicial nominees face before the committee, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor. The Republican committee majority has been reduced to 10-9, he said, so Democrats could defeat a nomination by persuading one Republican member to oppose it.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@egelko
A San Francisco federal judge on Tuesday night barred the Trump administration from ending a program that has protected nearly 700,000 young, undocumented immigrants from deportation, saying the government had offered no reasoned explanation for its termination.

He issued his ruling hours after President Trump, who has gone back and forth on the issue, urged Congress to pass a bill of love to provide legal status to the young immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children but were raised as Americans.

Trumps announcement in September that he would eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in March, unless Congress intervened, failed to address the 689,000 young people who had come to rely on DACA to live and work in this country, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said in issuing a nationwide injunction to preserve the program. Alsups ruling allows current DACA recipients to remain in the United States and renew their work permits, but does not require the government to accept new applications.

Now Playing: In the U.S a judge has blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to end a programme that prevented the deportation of children brought to the United States illegally by their parents. The president's decision to end the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) programme has drawn widespread protest and criticism since it was announced in September last year, and it has also been challenged in the courts. On Tuesday Mr Trump held a meeting with U.S congressional leaders to discuss the broader issue of immigration, and, referring to DACA, he made it clear that he will not be giving up on his intention to make changes to the policy. "We've been talking about DACA for a long time," Trump told reporters. "I've been hearing about it for years, long before I decided to go into this particular line of work, and maybe we can do something; we have a lot of good people in this room, a lot of people that have a great spirit for taking care of people we represent, we all represent." A U.S district judge ruled in San Francisco on Tuesday that the the DACA programme must remain in place until litigation over the issue has been resolved. Video: Euronews

DACA, established by President Barack Obamas executive order in 2012, spares youngsters who pose the least, if any, threat, and allows them to sign up for honest labor on the condition of continued good behavior, Alsup said. He said the Trump administrations claim that Obama had acted illegally was unfounded, and added that a recent tweet by the president suggested DACA might be a bargaining chip to demand funding for a border wall.

Suits to preserve the program were filed by California and several other states, the University of California, Santa Clara County, labor unions and individual DACA recipients who faced future deportation if the program was terminated.

The program allowed people who arrived in the U.S. before age 16, had attended school or served in the military and had no serious criminal records to apply for renewable two-year reprieves from deportation and obtain work permits.

In defending Trumps order, Justice Department lawyers said DACA was almost certain to be struck down in a lawsuit by 10 Republican-controlled states that successfully challenged a later Obama executive order that would have shielded parents of legal U.S. residents from immigration.

Alsup said the two cases differed, in part because DACA has been in operation for more than five years, with hundreds of thousands of recipients productively employed after turning over information to the government that could be used to deport them.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra called the ruling a huge step in the right direction.

A spokesman for the Justice Department, Devin OMalley, told the New York Times that the ruling did not change the departments stance.

DACA was implemented unilaterally after Congress declined to extend these benefits to this same group of illegal aliens, he said. As such, it was an unlawful circumvention of Congress, and was susceptible to the same legal challenges that effectively ended (Obama's program for the parents of legal residents). The Department of Homeland Security therefore acted within its lawful authority in deciding to wind down DACA in an orderly manner.

The ruling came several hours after an extraordinary, mostly televised meeting at the White House with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. At the meeting, Trump said he would take the heat for conferring what many in his own party call amnesty for the young immigrants, known as Dreamers, as long as it is paired with some form of tightened border security, a condition Democrats have agreed to. He also insisted on his well-publicized campaign promise to build a physical wall at the U.S. border with Mexico, but said it did not have to go across natural barriers such as mountains or rivers.

The pronouncements came as the White House attempted to revive stalled talks over what to do about the Dreamers.

In September, Trump set a March 5 deadline when he rescinded the previous administrations ruling that allowed the young immigrants to work, attend school and otherwise carry on with their lives if they reported their status to the government.

The move sparked a flurry of lawsuits nationwide.

At one point during Tuesdays meeting, California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein elicited a promise from Trump to back a clean bill dealing only with the Dreamers, at which point House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, interjected to correct the president, insisting that the bill also include border security.

Lawmakers said they were encouraged by the talks, but the two sides remained far apart on major issues, including the timing of any legislation and whether it would include new restrictions on two major visa categories: family unification visas, which open the way for immigrants extended families to come into the U.S., and the diversity visa lottery, which admits 50,000 immigrants a year at random from various countries.

Trump and several Republicans in the meeting said they want to restrict what they call chain migration, whereby an immigrant is allowed to request visas for relatives beyond a spouse and young children, to include parents, siblings and adult children. Democrats have strongly opposed such limits, saying they support the current policy of family reunification.

Republicans argue that restricting visas to immediate family only must be part of any legalization of the Dreamers to prevent them from sponsoring visas for their extended families. Yes, weve got to do DACA, but if we do not do something with security and we do not do something with chain migration, we are fooling ourselves, McCarthy said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said chain migration is so insidious that without including family migration restrictions with a DACA fix, DACA is not going to happen.

Trump and other Republicans in the meeting also insisted on canceling the diversity visa lottery, which was designed to ensure that immigrants who do not have relatives in the U.S. to sponsor their admission also have a chance at a visa.

In arguing for an end to the visa lottery and extended family visas, Trump several times cited a recent terrorist attack in New York carried out by an immigrant who he said entered through the visa lottery and then brought in 22 or 24 relatives. Eight people were killed in the November attack when the 29-year-old man plowed his pickup truck down a busy bicycle path.

I really dont believe there are a lot of Democrats saying, We will be supporting chain migration, anymore, Trump said.

The No. 2 House Democrat, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, warned that such demands would be an impediment to reaching a deal on DACA. Trump said everything was open to negotiation and encouraged lawmakers to hash it out. Republicans also warned Trump that they wanted some assurance from him that he would sign whatever they came up with. He promised he would.

Im not going to say, Oh, gee, I want this or I want that, Trump said. Ill be signing it, because I have a lot of confidence in the people in this room that theyre going to come up with something really good.

Feinstein later called the meeting productive, but didnt elaborate.

In a statement later in the day, the White House said that after the cameras left, the group had agreed to negotiate legislation that includes four high-priority areas: border security, chain migration, the visa lottery and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

Prospects for legislation, however, are complicated by an impending showdown between Democrats and Republicans over keeping the government open. With a Jan. 19 deadline approaching, Democrats are demanding that DACA be included in a must-pass spending bill to prevent a shutdown.

Bob Egelko and Carolyn Lochhead are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com, clochhead@sfchronicle.com
As least the Oakland As have some nice new digs in which to operate while they go back to the drawing board with their stadium search.

After providing a media tour of the As day-old offices in Jack London Square on Tuesday, team President Dave Kaval addressed stadium issues for the first time since their plans went haywire, saying that all three sites initially considered  Howard Terminal, the Coliseum and the recently squelched Laney College site  are back on the table.

Were 100 percent focused on Oakland and the best location that marries the community as well the As needs, and weve identified three final locations, Kaval said. We had a preferred location, a lot of thought went into that, and we just want to make sure before we make another announcement that were very thoughtful about how we approach it.

The As gave themselves a year to pick a site and named a spot near Laney College in September. But last month, the Peralta Community College District Board shot down those plans by abruptly ending talks.

We spent a lot of time getting it to three final sites, and those are the sites that are viable, Kaval said. I would say it would be unlikely there would be another site. ... We want to find a location and make it our home for the next 50 to 100 years.

On Monday, the As got keys to their new 40,000-square-foot offices at 55 Harrison St. Amenities include a batting cage, a mural by street-art crew the Illuminaries, a gym and a break room, along with plenty of As memorabilia, including unusual items such as the orange ball Charlie Finley proposed using.

Event space will allow for corporate and community get-togethers that include great views of Alameda and San Francisco. And, Kaval said, the plush accommodations  completed at a cost of $4 million-$5 million  will help the team compete with Silicon Valley firms for the best employees.

It shows the type of environment we want to have with a new ballpark, celebrating our past, having a very collaborative work environment, Kaval said. Its almost like a sampler.

The clubs 180 employees had been split between the Coliseum and Oracle Arena.

With more employees and a better work space, the As will be able to do more things in-house, including producing the teams TV commercials; longtime ad agency Hub Strategy no longer will produce the teams TV commercials.

Mulder out: Former As pitcher Mark Mulder told The Chronicle he no longer will be on the teams telecasts. Mulder worked as a color analyst for CSN California, doing 20 games in 2016 and 35 in 2017, and the As had spoken to him about increasing his workload.

Mulder said he had no clue what happened. They told me a little over a month ago that they were going in a different direction, he texted. The only thing I can really think of is that they are looking for someone who will maybe want the job full time. Not just part of the season like me.

Briefly: Tickets to the As free 50th anniversary game April 17 are available beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Kaval said that those with ticket stubs for the As first game in Oakland on April 17, 1968, will get the exact same seat. ... Regular-season single-game tickets will go on sale next Wednesday. ... FanFest will be Jan. 27 at Jack London Square.

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser
Researchers have uncovered a surprising trend in California migration: The populations of inland counties are growing faster than that of urban coastal counties.

Phuong Nguyen, a research specialist at the California Department of Finance, began noticing the influx of Californians to inland regions, like San Joaquin and Sacramento, around 2014.

"We were surprised at that," Nguyen said. California's coastal regions have historically drawn in-state migrants who leave their provincial hometowns in search of employment opportunity and urban environments.

The Department of Finance continued tracking the data into 2016 and 2017 and discovered the growth of California regions located further from the Pacific Ocean persisted. Nguyen expects the trend to continue in coming years.

It's a development that runs counter to the long-held narrative of small-town folks picking up and moving to their state's hubs of culture and commerce. Californians are still doing that  San Francisco's population grew just under a percentage point in 2017, per new Department of Finance data  but they may not like what they're finding. Culture and commerce? Check. Affordable housing? Not so much.

CALIFORNIA'S POPULATION: 20 million in 1970, nearly 40 million now

Cities like Sacramento are attractive to Californians on the move because of the region's thriving job market and ample supply of affordable housing, Nguyen explained.

Story continues below.

In 2017 the net domestic migration into Sacramento  the number of people who moved there, minus the number who left  was a whopping 1,466, about a 45 percent increase from the previous year. During the recession years, the net migration total hovered in the -2,000s.

By comparison, the Department of Finance found San Francisco had a 2017 net domestic migration of -2,332. Five years earlier, that number was 2,635.

Net domestic migration figures for San Francisco aren't completely trustworthy. Nguyen described San Francisco as a "gateway city"  an entry point for foreigners immigrating to the U.S. These immigrants will register with the city, but often move away within months to other parts of California.

Even then, "I would say there is a Bay Area exodus," Nguyen said. "The Bay Area is very congested and housing is not growing fast."

Sacramento, however, is "booming" and "cheaper" than its coastal counterpart, she said.

Last Summer SFGATE spoke to a handful of Bay Area natives who moved to Sacramento, and they confirmed many of Nguyen's hypotheses.

Brianna Mullen, a Concord native and UC Berkeley graduate, made the move eastward two years ago. The 25-year-old has since bought a house with a mortgage "only a couple hundred dollars more than my [Berkeley] apartment's rent."

"The financial stress of living in the Bay just wasn't worth it to me anymore," she said.

According to the Department of Finance data, that sentiment seems to be growing.

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
This story originally appeared on Hoodline.

Days after Scoot announced a new e-bike fleet, the local operator of Ford GoBikes is sharing plans to launch a pedal assisted e-bike pilot program.

In April, Motivate will deploy 250 e-bikes produced by Fremont-based company GenZe at docking stations around the city.

The bikes, which have a top speed of 18 miles per hour, feature a 345 watt-hour lithium-ion battery as well as a display that shows riders their current speed and battery charge level.

Via email, a Motivate spokesperson said the bikes must be returned to docks at the end of a trip just like any other Ford GoBike bicycle. "They will be interoperable with the current system, and customers will be able to locate the e-bikes through the app," she said.

Currently there are 262 stations in San Francisco, San Jose, Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville.

"We believe e-bikes will be a game-changer for the San Francisco bikeshare experience, vastly improving accessibility and rideability," said Jay Walder, CEO of Motivate in a statement. "All kinds of riders, no matter their fitness or riding level, will be able to zoom up hills and zip around the city."

Alix Bockleman, deputy executive director for policy at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), said e-bikes will give Bay Area residents and visitors one more option when traveling around San Francisco. He also expects it to reduce congestion as well as household transportation costs.

Bockleman's agency manages the Clipper card system, which can also be used to unlock Ford GoBikes.

Low-income Bike Share for All members who use the service at the discounted rate of $5 for their initial year will be able to use e-bikes at no extra cost during the pilot for rides lasting up to 60 minutes.

For a limited time, Ford GoBike members and riders purchasing a day pass orsingle-trip ride will also be able to use an e-bike at no extra cost.

"Electric-assist bicycles make biking possible for thousands of San Franciscans, including families, seniors and people of all ages who need to navigate our famous hills," San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Executive Director Brian Wiedenmeier said via email, adding that it's important affordable, healthy transportation options are accessible to as many people as possible.

The e-bike pilot will run for a year to gather feedback from the community and city partners, said Motivate.
Showers that had been wetting down the Bay Area all week finally began to peter out Wednesday, leaving minimal storm damage  unlike in Southern California, where rains this week caused deadly mudslides.

In the Bay Area, the last remnants of rain peppered Santa Cruz and the North Bay, where the threat of potential hillside slippage still loomed but wasnt imminently likely, said Anna Schneider, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

You can still sometimes get (mudslides) even if its not currently raining. Its still possible, Schneider said. We are not expecting anything significant, nothing like what youre seeing in Southern California.

By Wednesday evening, 17 people were confirmed dead from the hazardous weather conditions below canyons scorched by last months Thomas Fire. That blaze burned more than 281,890 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, making it the largest wildfire in modern California history, officials said.

Authorities were still trying to identify victims, and were attempting to rescue at least 300 more people from homes leveled by debris flows, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.

At least 7,000 mandatory evacuations were in place in the county, officials said.

Five hundred firefighters from across the state were responding to the disaster, and Highway 101 through Montecito (Santa Barbara County) was shut down until Thursday.

Though conditions werent as precarious in the North Bay, several minor rock slides along the Sonoma County coast have broken loose this week.

In Napa County, a motorist was killed on Highway 121 Tuesday evening after driving down an embankment when a rockslide occurred, said CHP Officer Vincent Pompliano.

The driver was identified Wednesday as 22-year-old Hernan Reyes Aguires, who was visiting family in Napa and driving home to Fairfield when a boulder weighing about 2 tons dislodged near the road and pushed his car down the embankment, Sgt. Doug Pace of the Napa County Sheriffs Office said.

Its unclear what role the burn scar in the area might have played.

Highway 121 near the 4000 block of Monticello Road remained closed in both directions into Wednesday morning, but the CHP said the roadway was reopened around 1:15 p.m.

The next bout of showers in the Bay Area will occur Thursday, mainly in the North Bay, though it likely will bring only a few hundredths of an inch of rain to the region, Schneider said.

By Friday, the sun should begin to peek through the cloudy haze throughout the Bay Area.

Temperatures should rise to the low 60s for the region, giving way to a sunny few days before clouds return on Sunday afternoon, Schneider said.

The weekend looks pretty good, Schneider said.

The next chance for showers in the Bay Area after that will be on Monday and Tuesday, but Schneider said the incoming rain wont be as strong as this weeks storm.

It could change, Schneider said. Right now, it looks like our next best chance for anything a little bit stronger is (Jan. 18), but thats pretty far out so that will probably change between now and then.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @SarRavani
A measure to raise Bay Area bridge tolls to $9 on the Bay Bridge and $8 on others over several years took a major step forward Wednesday when a key transportation committee unanimously recommended putting it before voters in June.

The Bay Area Toll Authority Oversight Committee unanimously voted in favor of the regional measure, which would increase tolls over six years, with $1 hikes in 2019, 2022 and 2025, if voters in the nine Bay Area counties approve it. The money would go toward three-dozen much-needed regional public transportation and roadway improvements.

But to get before voters, the recommendation will need approval from the full Bay Area Toll Authority, which usually follows the committees lead. A vote is expect Jan. 24.

This is not an easy decision of this commission, said James Spering, a committee member representing Solano County. I think everybody knows that. Its going to be a campaign that has a lot of controversy. ... We have a responsibility to look at 5, 10, 15 years down the road. These are projects the public is demanding.

If the authority gives the measure the go-ahead, the Board of Supervisors in each of the nine affected counties will make the final vote to place it on each countys ballot for June 5 as Regional Measure 3. If it passes, the toll hikes will affect only drivers on the Bay Areas seven state-owned bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge would be excluded. Commuters who cross two bridges to get to their destination would receive a 50 percent discount on their second crossing if they have a FasTrak pass.

CURRENT BRIDGE TOLLS BAY BRIDGE: $6 for a normal 2-axle vehicle GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE: $7.75 w/o FastTrak *GGB not included in the proposal RICHMOND-SAN RAFAEL BRIDGE: $5 SAN MATEO-HAYWARD BRIDGE: $5 DUIMBARTON BRIDGE: $5 CARQUINEZ BRIDGE: $5 BENICIA-MARTINEZ BRIDGE: $5 ANTIOCH BRIDGE: $5 See More Collapse

The measure already seems to have some headwind. In polling in November and December, a majority of the 4,151 likely voters surveyed said they favored the measure. The hybrid phone/Internet survey was conducted by EMC Research of Oakland.

To become law, the measure would require a simple region-wide majority of those who cast ballots. In all, the toll increase would raise about $4.5 billion over 30 years to pay for expanding public transportation, including BART extensions to Berryessa, San Jose and Santa Clara, and easing traffic choke points on key highways like the Novato Narrows and the Dumbarton Bridge corridor, among other things.

Youve got a tremendously eager public, said Michael Cunningham, senior vice president of policy for the Bay Area Council, a nine-county business organization. The polls show that. Every one of our lives confirms this point. The public is desperate for public transportation solutions.

Randy Rentschler, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, agreed.

The Bay Area is a jobs machine, he said. That comes with some congestion in the bridge corridors. We think people are interested in getting that solved.

For roadways, funding from the measure would be directed at expanding the Bay Areas express lane project, which converts carpool lanes into shared carpool-toll lanes for solo drivers who want to buy their way in. Interchanges at Interstate 690-Highway 4 in Martinez, I-680 and Highway 84 near Sunol and Highways 101 and 92 in San Mateo also would be upgraded.

The measure also includes a proposal to create an inspector general whose job would be to examine BART finances and operations.

Committeeman Alfredo Pedroza, who represents Napa County, said it was important to stress the $1-plus-$1-plus-$1 model to voters to avoid sticker shock.

It was interesting waking up in the morning for the past three days and seeing there would be a $3 increase in bridge tolls, he said. Its making sure we get the messaging right. Its phased over time, and this is a good step and investment in infrastructure.

Whether or not the measure turns out to be controversial, its important to move it forward, Spering said. He compared it to Regional Measure 2  which voters approved in 2004  raising bridge tolls by $1.

At the time, that took a lot of courage, and a lot of us took a lot of flak for supporting it, but it was the right thing to do, Spering said. Regional Measure 3 will be very similar. It really has an impact on the economy of the Bay Area and the social structure of the Bay Area.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter:

@LizzieJohnsonnn
Every Wednesday morning, SFGATE finds the biggest headlines in local (and sometimes national) beer. Check back here weekly for news, events, and information about special releases from your favorite local breweries.

SFGATE has launched a beer newsletter! Called the Taploid, it will contain some key stories from this column, as well as other, more nationally-spanning industry news. To sign up, head here, enter your email at the top, and check the box marked "Taploid."
As with many writers and artists, Jonathan Santlofer found himself in the weeks following the 2016 presidential election with a desire to take action.

Theres not so much somebody like myself can do, the author and artist says. And then I thought  well, I do know writers and artists.

Published a year into Donald Trumps presidential term, Santlofers idea  It Occurs to Me That I Am America  collects original fiction and art by 50 contributors. The anthology, edited by Santlofer and featuring an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winner Viet Thanh Nguyen, features work by Michael Cunningham, Joyce Carol Oates, Art Spiegelman, Alice Walker and others, all of whom will donate their royalties from the book to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Together, their works create a diverse portrait of the American identity or, more specifically, the American values and freedoms simultaneously held dear and, to some, now in peril.

The collection is all the more impressive considering its swift reaction to the Trump era.

We did it in six months, Santlofer says. It was pretty crazy. But Im not going to speak to my nervous breakdown, or my several nervous breakdowns. Many of the first people Santlofer asked to contribute to the book declined, causing a panic. And then I asked a whole bunch more, and those people all said yes.

But the book changed shape as Santlofer pitched it to contributors.

Just the idea of democracy, I think originally that was the idea, Oates recalls of Santlofers initial concept of the book. Oates was an early writer to join the project.

That initial idea soon expanded as Santlofer told writers, You could write about anything that has to do with our civil liberties, about gender, about race, about what it means to you to be an American.

What resulted is a varied range of entertaining reads and provocative artworks, all of which touch on the political, though not all in the same or explicitly topical way. Santlofers own piece, Hope, is set in the Vietnam War era, when womens rights existed under different circumstances.

I wanted something that I felt had its own history and that would be part of this moment and be beyond this moment, Santlofer says of the book.

Yet the book unavoidably carries the weight of our current experience  a nudging urgency underlying each page. Oates, whose career has spanned several periods of American life, pulled her story  a dystopian imagining of a pseudo-democratic America titled Good News!  from a novel she had been writing several years earlier.

When I was first working on it, it was all very theoretical, Oates says. But now it seems to have just about arrived. With gerrymandering and with voter suppression and intimidation of people who would like to vote  we sort of already arrived at this threat to democracy.

The book can be seen as a warning, Oates and Santlofer say, a galvanizer entering 2018. But more so, the hope is that it ages into an artifact of an isolated period.

I hope that this book will be read by people  at the moment theyre quite young  who will not even be able to comprehend how we elected this person, Oates says. They wont be able to believe it. I hope it becomes history.

Brandon Yu is a Bay Area freelance writer.

Book events

Joyce Carol Oates in conversation with Jonathan Santlofer: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23. Free. Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin St., S.F. https://sfpl.org

Denis Johnson Celebration remembers the National Book Award-winning writer who died last year, and celebrates the publication of his last short-story collection, The Largesse of the Sea Maiden. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16. Free. Green Apple Books on the Park. 1231 Ninth Ave., S.F. www.greenapplebooks.com

Daniel Ellsberg discusses his new book, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18. $10-$15. City Lights Books. 261 Columbus Ave., S.F. www.citylights.com

Maggie Nelson, poet, critic and author, appears in conversation with Julia Bryan-Wilson for an installment of City Arts & Lectures. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19. $29. Nourse Theater. 275 Hayes St., S.F. www.cityarts.net
Twitter jokers had a field day Tuesday with a widespread outage suffered by work-focused messaging service Slack.

Used by cubicle dwellers and remote workers around the world to chat with co-workers, Slack was briefly out for many users.

Tristan Cooper, an editor at Dorkly.com, tweeted how am i going to communicate with someone five feet from me without making eye contact.

But the outage may have actually increased productivity. When you dont have 20 co-workers messaging you, you might actually get some work done.

That, or go home.

Barring that, reporter Will Ganss tweeted, its time to resurrect AOL Instant Messenger. You can reach fifth grade me at PopularStar5.

Slack said it had connectivity issues but gave no further details.

Retail

Target holiday

sales up 3.4%

Target turned its stores into delivery centers, helping to boost its sales during the critical holiday period.

The Minneapolis company said Tuesday that sales at stores open at least a year jumped 3.4 percent in November and December, with heavy traffic on the companys website and in its stores.

Target stores played a part in 70 percent of online volume during the last two months of the year, accounting for about 80 percent of the companys same-store sales growth. The stores were used to either ship online orders or as a pickup point for customers who ordered online.

Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said Targets stores are at the center of the companys strategy to make shopping more effortless for customers, and Target was pleased with its holiday season performance.

The company, also citing recently enacted federal tax changes, raised its quarterly and 2017 profit expectations, sending shares up nearly 3 percent to $69.14 on Tuesday.

Kohls, Macys and J.C. Penney have all reported strong holiday sales as well, with shoppers spending more freely than in past years following the recession.

Delivery

Sprouts teams

with Instacart

Natural grocery chain Sprouts is teaming up with Instacart to expand its delivery options, a strategy many chains have been racing to adopt since Amazons purchase of Whole Foods last year.

Sprouts, which competes with Whole Foods, will start offering Instacart delivery in Phoenix and Tucson on Tuesday. It plans to roll out delivery to more markets during the year.

Delivery has become a critical area for retailers as customers want convenience. Target, for example, recently announced it would buy grocery delivery company Shipt.

Sprouts Farmers Market, which has more than 280 stores, already has a deal with Amazon to deliver groceries through its Prime Now service in eight cities.

Sprouts CEO Amin Maredia says the company plans to keep that deal and add Instacart in other areas.

Chronicle News Services
SHANGHAI  One new drug promises to stop cancer from spreading to other organs. Another would treat blood cancer. A third would use the bodys immune system to kill tumors.

All three show encouraging results, and need just one more step to be approved for use in the United States. The drugs have something else in common: They were created in China.

For years, Chinas drug industry concentrated on replicating Western medicines. Getting new drugs approved was a frustrating and time-consuming process. Companies thought plowing millions of dollars into research and development was risky and stuck to safer revenue streams.

The country is now pushing to play a bigger role in the global drug industry. Millions of people in China have cancer or diabetes, and the government has made pharmaceutical innovation a national priority. Officials have promised to speed up drug approvals, and to reverse a brain drain by luring scientists back home. The authorities are providing land, grants and tax breaks, and investing in research.

The three new drugs will have to clear U.S. regulatory hurdles. If they do, they can stand as proof of Chinas growing ability to produce cutting-edge treatments, part of a broader transformation of the countrys economy as it moves into higher-value and increasingly complex sectors.

Chinas drug development is in the earliest stages compared to the broader industry. Some experts say, however, that it is only a matter of time before Chinas medical companies stand alongside Big Pharma giants like Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

Its not whether they are going to, said Jonathan Wang, senior managing director of OrbiMed Asia, a health care investment fund. They are going to.

For now, access to quality drugs remains a problem in China. Many people buy medicines from Hong Kong and Macau  territories governed by separate laws. Online forums are devoted to discussing smuggling generics from India. Others buy the raw ingredients to make the drugs at home. Those who can afford it fly to the United States.

A growing number of companies are trying to address that shortfall. Hutchison China MediTech, a firm backed by Hong Kongs richest man, Li Ka-shing, started out in 2000 trying to develop the herbal drugs used in traditional Chinese medicine. In 2005, the company, known as Chi-Med, started developing cancer drugs.

At its main laboratory in Shanghai, upward of 350 scientists are surrounded by rodents in testing rooms. More than half the scientists are at work trying to discover new drugs.

In October, Chi-Med reported that more than 60 percent of patients in second-stage clinical trials had responded positively to its drug, savolitinib, which it is developing together with AstraZeneca. Savolitinib  the first drug of its kind  can be used to treat lung, kidney, gastric and colorectal cancers; it is often used in combination with other AstraZeneca drugs to shut down pathways that allow the cancer to spread.

Chi-Med is awaiting more data. But if further tests get positive results, the company will apply for what is known as breakthrough therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

It still needs to run Phase 3 trials, the last step before seeking full approval from the FDA, but breakthrough therapy status would allow the final stage to be sped up. The trials involve drugs being tested, often against placebos, for their safety and effectiveness on as many as several thousand patients.

Laura Nelson Carney, an Asia-Pacific health care analyst at Bernstein Research, said that based on the industry average, the probability of success in Phase 3 trials is 60 to 70 percent.

If all goes according to plan, regulatory approval could come in late 2019, at the earliest, said Christian Hogg, Chi-Meds chief executive. It takes 20 years to get an overnight success, and thats where we are at the moment, he said.

The last time China produced a new drug for the global pharmaceutical industry was in the 1970s, when Chinese scientist Tu Youyou was credited with the discovery of artemisinin after Mao Zedong asked her to come up with a cure for malaria. But global recognition did not come until much later, after Swiss drugmaker Novartis bought the Chinese patent and started producing it in the late 1990s. Tu was eventually awarded a Nobel Prize in 2015.

That is changing. Along with Chi-Med, another company, BeiGene, is already in Phase 3 trials globally for a drug used to treat a variety of lymphomas, the most common form of blood cancer, and an immunotherapy drug that aims to destroy tumors. It has also teamed up with Celgene and Merck to develop cancer drugs.

Carney said she expected 20 or 30 Chinese-made drugs to seek Phase 3 trials in the United States, the worlds biggest market for cancer drugs, within the next five years. Those that make it through will very likely be cheaper than those made by foreign companies, she said, based on current pricing patterns in China.

Meanwhile, Big Pharma is shrugging off its long-held fears of Chinas rampant counterfeiting and cumbersome bureaucracy and setting up its own labs here. Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Sanofi have all opened research centers in Shanghai to create drugs for Chinese patients. Executives say that the government has made inroads in toughening protections of pharmaceutical patents.

And the pace of approvals has also quickened. In worst-case scenarios, drug companies needed to wait up to two years to get permission just to start clinical trials, which would then take several more years. The comparable waiting period in the United States is typically 30 days.

Under Bi Jingquan, who was appointed the head of Chinas Food and Drug Administration in 2015, the agency has begun cracking down on companies making low-quality drugs and agreed to accept foreign data for clinical trials.

Now, thanks to those shifts, as well as incentives offered by the government, scientists trained overseas are returning to China.

After 20 years in the United States with Eli Lilly and Pfizer, Joan Shen moved to Shanghai in 2011 to lead clinical trials for Pfizer. She now heads research and development for a Chinese biotech firm, I-Mab Biopharma. The local government has helped secure funding for the company, and provided laboratory space in a high-tech business park.

The funds are chasing us, she said, comparing the investment environment between China and the United States, instead of us having to spend numerous hours convincing investors.

Despite the optimism, Chinese pharmaceutical companies that want to go abroad still face obstacles. Competition among drugmakers in major markets like the United States is intense, and Chinese companies are hamstrung in particular by a lack of money committed to research.

Jiangsu Hengrui, a Chinese company that has been moving toward developing new drugs from making generic ones, has the largest research budget of all Chinese drug firms. But its $180 million annual outlay pales in comparison with the $7.8 billion that Pfizer spent in 2016.

Still, with several drugs in early stage testing, it is targeting what Zhang Lianshan, the companys head of research and development, described as its ultimate goal: regulatory approval in the United States.

If you have a drug approved by the U.S. FDA, Zhang said, thats a true demonstration of innovation.

Sui-Lee Wee is a New York Times writer.
Eight people connected to the racketeering and murder case of Raymond Shrimp Boy Chow were sentenced to prison terms by a federal judge on Monday in San Francisco, officials said.

The defendants  Barry House, Elaine Liang, Tina Liang, Michael Mei, James Pau, Rinn Roeun, Kevin Siu and Leslie Yun  each pleaded guilty to their roles in a vast scheme that resulted in 230 separate charges in an indictment filed by a federal grand jury on Jan. 29, 2015.

Chow and 28 others were charged in that indictment with crimes ranging from money laundering to drug and firearms trafficking, officials said. Seventeen of those defendants were also charged with conspiring to use a San Francisco Chinatown organization, the Chee Kung Tong, or CKT, for racketeering.

Chow was sentenced to life in prison for racketeering and murder in August 2016. Though he protested that he was innocent, the jury found him guilty of all 162 charges leveled against him.

Charles Breyer, the U.S. District Judge presiding over the case, said on Monday that the prosecution had demonstrated clear and convincing evidence that seven defendants that were members of CKT had conspired to engage in a criminal racketeering enterprise. Those seven defendants were George Nieh as well as Mei, Elaine Liang, Tina Liang, Pau, Siu and Yun.

The defendants sentenced Monday pleaded guilty before the Chow trial, officials said, though many have pending charges remaining against them. Nieh is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.

Yun, 51, of Oakland was sentenced to 84 months in prison on 40 racketeering, trafficking and money laundering charges. Pau, 58, of Oakland received 72 months in prison for 22 similar charges.

Roeun, 34, of San Francisco was sentenced to 72 months on six charges, including weapons trafficking and murder for hire.

House, 48, of Pittsburg was given 48 months in prison, also for charges including weapons trafficking. Mei, 33, of San Francisco received 60 months in prison for racketeering and marijuana charges.

Elaine Liang, 55, of San Francisco was sentenced to 36 months in prison for 16 counts of money laundering and one conspiracy to engage in racketeering charge. Tina Liang, 43, of San Francisco received 18 months.

Kevin Siu, 34, of Daly City received 12 months for money laundering.

Annie Ma is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ama@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @anniema15
An ax-wielding man yelled shoot me and kill me before running at San Jose police officers and being shot to death, authorities said Wednesday.

Employees at Metcalf Energy Center called 911 at about 5 p.m. Tuesday to report a suspicious man in a Mercedes at the front gate of the power plant, Police Chief Eddie Garcia said at a news conference. Within minutes of the call, the man allegedly hopped the fence onto the property.

When officers arrived on scene, they discovered a large sword in the front seat of the Mercedes before tracking down the suspect, who was allegedly in possession of an ax, a six-foot pipe, pepper spray and throwing stars.

Two minutes after police spotted the man walking with an ax, according to dispatch recordings, officers reported shots fired. The suspect was commanded to drop his weapons at least 23 times, Garcia said.

No one really knows what he was thinking, but toward the final confrontation he was telling officers to shoot him and kill him with an ax in hand, Garcia said.

The mans name is being withheld until next of kin can be notified by the Santa Clara County Coroners Office, but Garcia noted that the suspect was in his mid to late 20s.

Both officers fired at least one round and were wearing body cameras. They have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

The suspect, who was struck at least once and pronounced dead at the scene, had a warrant in Santa Cruz County for an alleged weapons violation. He also had a history of narcotic offenses, weapons violations and resisting arrest. He was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold last September, Garcia said.

Authorities noted that the suspect had no known connection to Metcalf Energy Center, which provides power to the San Jose area and is owned by Houston-based power company Calpine. No employees were injured in the incident, said Brett Kerr, a company spokesman.

The Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office will investigate the case and review footage from the officers body cameras, Garcia said, noting that this is the citys first police shooting in 2018.

Its a sad case, Garcia said. There is no winner here. I know my officers were shaken by it. I have no doubt that this individuals family will be shaken by it.

The timing of the shooting came just a day before San Jose police announced a self-funded study that found there were no significant racial disparities in the departments use of force involving white, black, Latino and Asian suspects, according to data compiled from 2015 and 2016.

However, the report also concluded that the department had a higher average rate of using weapons, including firearms and batons, compared to other cities.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
Jacom Stephens/Getty Images

A Santa Rosa man previously convicted of sex crimes was arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography after his cell phone was turned in to the police, officials said.

James Grippe, 64 of Santa Rosa, was arrested on Friday when he went to the police department for his annual registration. Grippe first came under investigation when a cell phone containing child pornography images was traced to him in December.
Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

Since its inception in 2009, the Bay Area Youth Orchestra Festival has been an exciting and impressive opportunity for some of the regions finest young orchestral musicians to meet under one roof.

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, under Music Director Christian Reif, plays host to a handful of other ensembles, including the El Camino Youth Symphony, the Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra and several others.
Merge Records

Destroyer, the solo project of Canadas Dan Bejar, is touring in support of his 12th and latest album, Ken. The songwriter goes dark, conjuring images of hospitals and Hollywood that are worthy of horror movies, to the sound of ominous synthesizers and late-night saxophones.

Bejar, who is also a member of the indie act New Pornographers, draws inspiration from the English rock bands of his youth, such as the Cure and Suede, giving the music a dense gothic air.
Drew Reynolds / Contributed photo

From the moment Los Lobos came on the scene in East Los Angeles in 1978, theyve cemented their reputation as one of the hardest-working bands in America  with both their touring schedule and their willingness to challenge themselves musically.

Even after their breakout moment, performing songs for the hit movie La Bamba in 1987, the band continues to take new musical paths covering rock, zydeco, blues and traditional Mexican music. Los Lobos latest album is the meditative Gates of Gold. released in 2015.
WASHINGTON  California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday unilaterally released a highly anticipated transcript of the committees interview with one of the founders of the firm that produced a salacious and unsubstantiated dossier outlining a Russian effort to aid the Trump campaign.

The interview, with Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS, took place last summer and was expected to shed light on the origins of the firms work, its concerns about the Trump campaigns activities, and what the FBI may have done with the information.

The American people deserve the opportunity to see what he said and judge for themselves, Feinstein said. The innuendo and misinformation circulating about the transcript are part of a deeply troubling effort to undermine the investigation into potential collusion and obstruction of justice. The only way to set the record straight is to make the transcript public.

Simpson and Peter Fritsch, the firms co-founders, had called for the transcripts release last week in an op-ed in The New York Times in which they accused Republicans of concealing their testimony in an effort to smear the dossier and distract from questions about the Trump campaigns ties to Russia.

In the op-ed, Simpson and Fritsch said the transcripts would show that they told lawmakers that they believed the dossier had been taken seriously by the FBI because it matched reports that the bureau was receiving from other sources.

Simpson has also spoken with investigators from the House and Senate intelligence committees, which have their own investigations into Russias election interference. Neither committee had intentions of releasing the transcripts from its interview with Simpson.

Feinstein moved to do so without the committees Republican chairman, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, almost certainly escalating partisan tensions on the committee. Grassley last week rejected the firms request to release the transcript, citing concerns that its release could taint the committees ongoing investigations related to Russias election meddling and the FBIs response. He invited Simpson to instead testify publicly.

Grassley, along with another Republican on the panel, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, issued a criminal referral last week for the principal dossier author, a former British spy named Christopher Steele. The senators said they had reason to believe Steele had lied to federal authorities about his contacts with the media and urged the Justice Department to investigate. Democrats called the referral a partisan distraction.

Fusion GPS was first hired by The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website, in September 2015. And the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign later funded its work, including that of Steele.

Republicans have repeatedly and vocally raised concerns that the dossier  a set of reports paid for by Democrats  could have been mishandled by the FBI as it was opening its own investigation into the Russian effort and the Trump campaign.

Nicholas Fandos is a New York Times writer.
Porn actress Olivia Nova, considered a rising star in the X-rated film business, was found dead Sunday at her Las Vegas home. Only 20 years old, she was the fourth adult film actress to die in the past three months.

The cause of death was unknown.

LA Direct Models, which represented the Minnesota native, confirmed her death and issued this statement:

"While only represented by Direct Models for a short period of time, we came to know Olivia as a beautiful girl with a very sweet and gentle personality. Another one, way too young, we are beyond shocked and most certainly, it was completely out of the blue. Rest in peace, sweet angel."

Newsweek reported that a Direct Models rep said Nova worked on approximately 20 pornographic modeling shoots.

Nova's death follows the recent deaths of three other, more established porn stars  Yurizan Beltran (better known by her screen name Yuri Luv), August Ames and Shyla Stylez.

Beltran, 31, a native of Long Beach, Calif., and veteran of more than 200 adult films, is believed to have succumbed to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs Dec. 13.

Ames, 23, hanged herself Dec. 5 in Ventura County, Calif., after she was cyberbullied for stating on Twitter that she refused to work with "crossover" performers  men who had also appeared in gay pornography. She was barraged with comments accusing her of anti-gay prejudice, even though she insisted that her preference was based solely on health reasons.

Ames, a Canadian who acted in more than 270 films since 2013, was nominated for Female Performer of the Year at the 2018 AVN Awards later this month.

Stylez, also originally from Canada, made more than 400 videos in Southern California. Born Amanda Friedman, the 35-year-old porn queen died in her sleep Nov. 9 at her mother's home in Armstrong, B.C. The cause of death was not known.
A Placer County homeowners association is mandating that its residents keep their garage doors open throughout the day during the workweek.

The policy, according to a notice taped to residents' doors, states that people who live in Auburn Greens face "an immediate hearing notice and subjected to a $200 fine" if they do not comply. The notice states the policy was enacted in October.

According to board member Norma Brewer, the policy was put in place after it was discovered that a resident was allowing people to live in his or her garage. She would not comment beyond that.

"That's an issue that they should address differently, I feel," said Fred Waidtlow, who owns one of the units in the community.

Waidtlow cleaned out his garage Thursday and moved personal belongings inside his unit as he voiced frustration with the policy.

"If we have to have this open from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, anybody can help themselves and steal you blind. And they do it in this Auburn Greens complex," he said.

Others echoed that sentiment.

"This will just be an open door policy and saying, 'Welcome, take what you want,'" said neighbor Shally Ia, who plans to keep her garage door closed.

Auburn Greens' on-site management closed its window as KCRA 3 pulled into the parking lot and subsequently posted a sign saying the office was closed. A phone call to the office was not returned.

Property management company, Eugene Burger Management Corporation, had no comment and referred KCRA 3 to the local district manager. A phone call and email to the district manager was not returned.

A spokesman for the California Association of Homeowners Associations said it's possible for an HOA to create this kind of rule.

He added that California civil code sets the laws for making rule changes, which typically require a vote of the owners. It's not clear whether that took place.

John Sprankling, a professor at the McGeorge School of Law, said there's likely no law prohibiting this move.

However, he said the law states that a rule must be considered reasonable, which can be a difficult thing to argue.

A judge would ultimately decide whether this rule is reasonable, he said. Based on the circumstances, Sprankling believes a judge would rule against the policy because it provides security concerns -- and added that the board can find a less intrusive way of meeting its goals.
Dave Toschi, a dapper cop who became the lead San Francisco police investigator for the Zodiac serial-killer case in the late 1960s and 70s, has died at the age of 86.

Toschi died at his home in San Francisco on Saturday after a lengthy illness, relatives said.

The Zodiac terrorized the Bay Area in 1968 and 1969 when he stabbed or shot at least five people to death, writing taunting notes and cryptograms to police and newspapers including The Chronicle after his kills. Toschi was drawn into the case when he was assigned to investigate the killing of the Zodiacs only San Francisco victim  Paul Stine, a cabbie shot to death in his taxi on Oct. 11, 1969.

It was the Zodiacs final confirmed slaying. Like every other inspector looking into the saga, from federal agents to police in Vallejo and Napa County, Toschi was unable to solve the case. But he never lost zeal for the mystery, friends said.

He was a super guy and a great cop, said Duffy Jennings, who covered the Zodiac case as a Chronicle reporter in the 1970s and maintained a lifelong friendship with Toschi afterward. And he told me that he still went every year on Oct. 11 to the Paul Stine murder scene to look around and try to figure out why they couldnt catch the guy.

The Zodiac case gnawed at him, Jennings said. He said it gave him an ulcer.

Toschi was born in San Francisco and, after graduating from Galileo High School, he pulled combat duty in the Korean War with the Army. Upon his return to San Francisco in 1953, he was hired at the Police Department and stayed there until retiring in 1985.

In addition to his work on the Zodiac killings, Toschi was part of the team that solved the racially motivated Zebra murders in the early 1970s, in which four black men were convicted of the random slayings of 14 white people. In 1985 he received a meritorious conduct award from the department for arresting a man who raped senior citizens and burglarized their homes.

His penchant for bow ties, snappy trench coats and the quick-draw holster for his .38-caliber pistol drew the attention of Steve McQueen, who patterned his character in the 1968 movie Bullitt after Toschi. Clint Eastwoods Dirty Harry character was also partially inspired by him.

But it was the Zodiac case for which Toschi was best known. He worked the clues until 1978, when he was taken off the case after admitting he sent fan notes with fictitious names to then-Chronicle writer Armistead Maupin praising himself. Toschi told the San Francisco Examiner that the notes were an ill-advised indulgence.

In the brouhaha that resulted, there were suspicions that he might have also written a letter to The Chronicle that purported to be from the Zodiac. However, nothing was proved, Toschi denied it and he remained with the department as a homicide inspector until his retirement. He was portrayed by Mark Ruffalo in the 2007 movie Zodiac.

I always looked up to him because he was this Italian guy who got this crazy case, said Gianrico Pierucci, who retired in November after being the latest in a long line of homicide inspectors to head up the still-alive Zodiac investigation. He was a good cop. He said he was always happy to get up and do his job.

Of the Zodiac case, Pierucci said: Dave did the best he could. He was always very pleasant and charming, and dapper, and Zodiac is a tough case.

After leaving law enforcement, Toschi worked in the security business, including several years as vice president of Northstar Security Services.

He loved books, music and could sing with the best of them, said his daughter, Linda Toschi-Chambers of San Francisco. His greatest pleasure was his loving family, and we will miss his keen sense of humor, his gentle guidance and his unconditional love.

Toschi is survived by his wife, Carol Toschi of San Francisco; two daughters, Toschi-Chambers and Karen Leight of San Mateo County; and two granddaughters, Sarah Leight of Pacifica and Emma Leight of Los Angeles.

Private services were held Wednesday. Donations may be made in his name to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in San Francisco, or to a charity of choice.

Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChron
Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press

MONTPELIER, Vt.  The state Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would allow the recreational use of marijuana, putting Vermont on course to become the first state in the country to legalize pot by an act of the Legislature rather than through a citizen referendum.

By voice vote, the Senate agreed to the proposal that would make it legal for adults to possess and grow small amounts of marijuana but does not set up a system to tax and regulate the production and sale of the drug. The bill that was approved by the House last week, and Gov. Phil Scott has indicated he would sign it.
SAN JOSE (BCN)

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo hosted state Senate President pro Tempore Kevin De Leon in a news conference outside City Hall this morning to introduce a new net neutrality bill.

Senate Bill 460, the California Consumer Protection and Net Neutrality Act of 2018, proposes blockiing internet service providers from using deceptive and discriminatory business practices.

Specifically, it bans bandwidth throttling or the intentional slowing of service and paid prioritization or the option for an internet service provider to pay a fee to get ahead of their competitors.

ALSO READ: Massive Salesforce Tower opens for business

De Leon said the bill aims to preserve the heart of the original net neutrality rules before they were repealed by the Federal Communications Commission last month.

He said the biggest motivation for creating this bill is the protection of the fundamental rights of free speech and free expression.

Liccardo's role on the advisory board for the FCC is one of the main reasons he is backing De Leon on the senate bill.

Liccardo went into detail about "regulatory capture," a term used for agencies that are stripped of their independence to the liberties they regulate. He said he believes the FCC is victim to that process and can no longer act in the best interest of the public, but rather of larger profits.

Liccardo emphasized that the preservation of net neutrality is imperative in California not just because it is an issue of equity but also because of the need for growth and innovation.

VIDEO: California representative Ro Khanna on tech and net neutrality

While Silicon Valley and its use of free and fair internet within the tech industry were discussed, De Leon said the bill would aid the everyday man in California as well.

De Leon discussed how the FCC's repeal of net neutrality contradicts the will of the vast majority of Americans, as well as allows internet providers to pass their competition by slowing down service speed.

"There's nothing then that can stop the companies that already monopolize the internet from blocking websites or information altogether," De Leon said. "We cannot allow the interests of the internet providers outweigh the public good."

The bill is brand new but is already backed by the California Public Interest Research Group, or CALPIRG, a consumer group that advocates for consumer health and safety, financial security or right to full participation in society.

Organizing directors Ana Montes of The Utility Reform Network and Tim Molina of the Courage Campaign were among the speakers at today's news conference.

Montes elaborated on how the use of the internet has become an irreplaceable commodity for many. She talked about how it is utilized for opportunities that could potentially change someone's quality of life, like scheduling appointments with doctors or applying to job opportunities.

Molina discussed a petition in favor of SB 460 that was created last week and already has over 10,000 signatures. It asks all California legislators to support the bill in an effort to lead the pursuit for unimpaired access to free internet.

ALSO READ: 50 evacuated after iPhone battery overheats in Apple Store

Another state senator, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced a net neutrality bill last week that requires cable franchise agreements as a condition for use of public internet infrastructure and adherence to net neutrality as a condition for attaching wireless communications equipment to utility poles.

De Leon said that the state Assembly and Senate will be working together closely to further the defense of net neutrality for California.

"I do think that the bills will complement each other," De Leon said. "No one is going to have ownership specifically when it comes to this measure. It's all about finding common ground to move forward quicker."

De Leon said he plans to meet with Gov. Jerry Brown next week to walk him through the details of the bill and expects him to support the idea of protecting consumers' right to the internet.
Is it too late to get a flu shot?

We know youve been busy with the holidays, spending time in airports and on road trips to see family and friends.

But the holiday season is over and its time to get back to reality. The flu season is most certainly upon us. And you need to deal with it.

During the last week of 2017, influenza activity increased sharply in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Outpatient visits to doctors and other medical professionals by people suffering from influenza-like illnesses were above normal baseline levels in every region of the country, the CDC reported. And among the 54 jurisdictions in the flu surveillance system (every state plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands), 50 reported regional or widespread flu activity at the end of last year.

So far this flu season, at least 3,927 people have been sent to the hospital with laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza.

One child was confirmed to have died of the flu during the last week of 2017. The most recent statistics that include adults were from the week that ended Dec. 16, when 6.7 percent of deaths reported to the National Center for Health Statistics were attributed to influenza and pneumonia.

The good news, according to health experts, is that its not too late to reduce your risk by getting a flu shot.

The CDC recommends a flu shot for everyone over the age of 6 months, unless you have a specific medical reason to skip it (such as an allergy to the vaccine).

Only shots are advised this year. The FluMist nasal vaccine offered in the past has not been very effective against H1N1 strains in recent years, so the CDC says it should not be used.

You may have heard that the flu thats doing the most damage this year is an H3N2 strain, and that it is less vulnerable to the vaccine. Thats true. But public health experts still say that an imperfect flu shot is better than no flu shot.

And since the flu season could last well into March or April, theres still plenty of time for it to make a difference.

The flu may not sound like a big deal, but if youve ever had it, you know it can make you feel miserable. If youre lucky, you may have mild symptoms like a cough and a runny nose. But you can also wind up with a bad fever, chills and more serious complications like pneumonia, bronchitis and sinus infections.

If youve heard that the flu shot might actually give you the flu, rest assured thats impossible. The vaccine is made from an inactivated virus. Its able to prompt your immune system to make antibodies against the flu, so its ready in case you encounter the real the thing. But the shot itself cant infect you.

It does take a couple of weeks for those antibodies to develop, so some people may get sick soon after getting the shot. But that doesnt mean the shot made them sick, according to experts at Harvard Medical School. That just means those people waited too long to get vaccinated.

Already got your flu shot? Theres still more you can do.

The CDC asks everyone to fight back against influenza by helping prevent the spread of germs in general. That means washing your hands, using a hand sanitizer, and coughing or sneezing into a tissue or the inside of your arm.

Also, if your doctor prescribes an antiviral medication like Tamiflu (oseltamivir), Relenza (zanamivir) and Rapivab (peramivir), be sure to take it. Those are working really well this flu season, the CDC says.

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Distributed by Tribune Content Agency
Q: My companion and I had confirmed reservations from Florence, Italy, to London earlier this year on a British Airways flight operated by Vueling Airlines. When we arrived at the airport in Florence in plenty of time for the 2:05 p.m. flight, an airline representative told us we might not be permitted to board the flight or that it might be canceled because wind conditions restricted the number of passengers the plane could accommodate, and might prevent the plane from taking off.

After a wait of over five hours with no information being given to us and the other frustrated passengers by the extremely rude Vueling personnel, the flight was canceled. Vueling gave us a choice of flying to London the next day via Madrid or claiming compensation for denied boarding. We chose the latter option and were given a one-page form explaining passengers rights.

Because I had purchased our tickets from British Airways, I then submitted a claim to the airline for compensation of 250 euros for each of us.

British Airways rejected the claim because it says it didnt operate the flight. So I submitted the claim to Vueling Airlines. But Vueling rejected the case because it was a British Airways flight.

I have had not heard from British Airways in response to subsequent messages demanding action from the airline and pointing out that payment for the tickets had been made to British Airways. Can you help?

John McDonnell, Lafayette, Calif.

A: Under EU 261, the European airline consumer protection regulation, youre entitled to real money for your delayed flight. You can find out more about EU 261 and how its applied on my consumer-advocacy site: www.elliott.org/frequently-asked-questions-about-eu261/.

Your case became needlessly complicated because British Airways sold you the ticket, yet Vueling operated the flight. But both airlines are owned by the same company, International Airlines Group, so what does it matter? Normally, the airline that sells you the ticket and takes your money would also assume responsibility for any claims, including an EU 261-related grievance. But something wasnt clicking here.

In airline parlance, this is called code-sharing, even though both airlines have the same parent company. Ive seen other airlines do this, but rarely when they share an owner. Air carriers want all the benefits of code-sharing  sharing resources, information and not having to compete  but none of the responsibility. British Airways and Vueling were bouncing your case between each other, apparently hoping you would give up and go home. Im glad you didnt.

You can always appeal your case to someone higher up at these airlines. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of customer-service representatives for both British Airways and Vueling on my consumer-advocacy site: www.elliott.org/company-contacts/british-airways/ and www.elliott.org/company-contacts/vueling-airlines/.

The short-term fix is to contact both airlines on your behalf, which I did. Ill share the results in a minute. But the long-term solution is to abolish these anti-competitive and anti-consumer code-sharing exemptions. Make airlines take full responsibility for the flights they sell and operate  just like the rest of the world.

I contacted Vueling, and it processed your claim for the full amount.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Find travel tips at www.elliott.org. Email: chris@elliott.org Twitter: @elliottdotorg
The main separatist parties of Catalonia have reached a preliminary agreement to re-elect Carles Puigdemont as leader of the restive Spanish region, even as he remains in self-imposed exile in Belgium, the Catalan news media reported Wednesday.

The deal  reached over dinner in Brussels on Tuesday  would allow Puigdemont to deliver his acceptance speech this month, either by video conference from Belgium or by having another lawmaker read it in the Catalan Parliament on his behalf, according to the Catalan radio station Rac1 and other outlets.

In a Catalan election Dec. 21, the three main separatist parties won 70 of the 135 seats in the regional Parliament, with 47.5 percent of the vote  almost identical to the result in 2015.

The result was a setback for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who had called the election in the hope that voters would deliver a decisive blow to the secessionist movement. But the separatists will still struggle to form a coalition government, in large part because eight of their 70 elected lawmakers are either in jail in Madrid or with Puigdemont in Belgium to avoid prosecution in Spain.

Marta Rovira, a deputy leader of the separatist party Esquerra Republicana, met with Puigdemont on Tuesday evening. On Friday, judges from the Spanish Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the Esquerra leader, Oriol Junqueras, who has been in jail in Madrid since early November, pending his trial for corruption and sedition.

The Spanish attorney general wants to prosecute 20 separatists, including Puigdemont, on charges of organizing an unconstitutional referendum on Oct. 1 and then declaring Catalonias independence that month.

The Catalan Parliament is set to reconvene next Wednesday, under a timetable set by Rajoy, and is expected to elect a regional leader within two weeks. Puigdemonts party unexpectedly won the most seats among the main separatist parties in December, even though Puigdemont has not made clear whether he plans to return from Belgium.

Puigdemont has called on Rajoy to meet outside Spain to negotiate a settlement to their dispute, a proposal the prime minister has rejected. The Spanish leader has also described as absurd the idea that Puigdemont could lead Catalonia from abroad.

Far from ending the secessionist conflict, the election has opened another uncertain chapter for Spain. The botched independence declaration prompted Rajoy to use his emergency powers to oust Puigdemonts government and take direct control over Catalonia from Madrid. Puigdemont has not made clear how he plans to revive his independence drive.

In order to guarantee a separatist majority in a parliamentary vote this month, Junqueras and the other jailed separatists are expected to ask for special permission from Spains judiciary to travel to Barcelona for one day to cast their votes. Some of the lawmakers in Belgium could appoint substitutes to take their seats.

Raphael Minder is a New York Times writer.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras  This weeks news that the Trump administration is ending Temporary Protected Status for 200,000 migrants from El Salvador is also rattling nerves in neighboring Honduras.

A decision on the fate of more than 50,000 Hondurans living in the United States under TPS is expected in July, and it could have severe social, economic and political consequences for the Central American nation.

Experts say that, as in El Salvador, the return of tens of thousands of people  plus, potentially, an untold number of their U.S.-born children  threatens to exacerbate already-grave problems like high rates of murders and other crime, political instability, widespread poverty and income inequality.

The exit of so many compatriots from the United States would be a social bomb that will immediately explode in Honduras, said analyst Raul Pineda Alvarado.

Perhaps most immediately, there would be a hit to remittances, which typically account for about 20 percent of the countrys gross domestic product  though most of that is sent by Hondurans who would not be affected by cancellation of TPS.

Billions of dollars sent home each year help households feed and clothe children, buy a car, build a modest home and keep the lights on. Those expenditures then filter out into the broader economy.

Olga Martinez, a 42-year-old cleaning worker in Tegucigalpa, relies on the $150 a month she receives from two sons who are in the United States under the TPS program. Its a significant sum in one of the hemispheres most impoverished countries, where about 65 percent of the population is poor and many make do on the equivalent of a dollar or two a day.

If I dont have that money, I dont know what I will do, Martinez said. My life will be very hard because they will come and there is no work here.

The U.S. made TPS available for Hondurans after Hurricane Mitch ravaged the country in 1998, killing about 7,000 people and devastating the agricultural sector. The measure allows migrants to live and work in the United States legally.

Like with other countries, it was by definition supposed to be temporary until conditions caused by the disaster improved back home. But over the years, successive U.S. administrations kept it in place, believing that other problems such as poverty, corruption and gang-driven violence would have made it difficult for the country to reabsorb those citizens.

The Trump administration has made clear it is putting the emphasis back on the word temporary as it evaluates TPS, withdrawing it for some 60,000 Haitians and 5,000 Nicaraguans in November and now for the Salvadorans.

Freddy Cuevas and Peter Orsi are Associated Press writers.
TRIPOLI, Libya  The Libyan navy said on Wednesday that some 100 migrants are missing at sea and feared dead while the coast guard rescued at least 279 others off the coast of Libya.

The migrants, mostly Africans, had embarked on the perilous trip across the Mediterranean on board several vessels and the survivors were found on Tuesday. Those missing were all from a single rubber boat that capsized. Its remnants were found off the western city of Khoms, the navy said.

The other migrants were found off the city of Zawiya, also in western Libya.

Rescue and search efforts went on for more than 12 hours despite the rough sea and limited resources, the navy said. All the survivors, including 19 women and 17 children, were taken to a naval base in the capital, Tripoli, and were later handed over to Libyas anti-migration authority.

On Sunday, the Libyan navy said it rescued 272 migrants who were attempting to reach southern Europe.

The U.N. migration agency said that over 3,100 migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea in 2017.

Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Khadafy. It has since become a frequently used route to Europe for those fleeing poverty and conflict.

The vast North African country is home to competing governments and parliaments, with real power held by an array of militias, many of which make money from trafficking and packing hundreds of desperate migrants in unseaworthy boats to make the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean.

Libyan authorities, pressured by Italy, which gets the lion share of migrants, have recently stepped up efforts to stem their flow into Europe.

The high death rate among the migrants is often blamed on small dinghies and poor vessels used by the smugglers.
BANGKOK  Two journalists for the Reuters news agency were formally charged in Myanmar with obtaining state secrets, prosecutors said Wednesday, in a case seen as a key test of the countrys nascent political freedoms.

The reporters, U Wa Lone and U Kyaw Soe Oo, have been accused of violating the Official Secrets Act, a law dating to the British colonial period that carries a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison.

The journalists were brought to court in Yangon, Myanmars commercial capital, where they were arrested Dec. 12, almost immediately after being given unidentified documents by members of the police.

Before their arrest, the journalists had been investigating the existence of a mass grave in Rakhine state, where a military campaign against Rohingya Muslims has sent more than 655,000 members of the persecuted minority fleeing to Bangladesh over the past 4 months.

While the United States and the United Nations have called the campaign against the Rohingya ethnic cleansing, the Myanmar government has blocked independent investigators and journalists from the epicenter of violence, making it difficult to gather proof of atrocities.

Negotiating a scrum of journalists gathered in front of the Insein courthouse in Yangon on Wednesday morning, Wa Lone struck a defiant pose, raising his cuffed hands and later flashing a thumbs-up sign.

We are not doing anything wrong, Kyaw Soe Oo told journalists after the hearing. Please help us by uncovering the truth.

In a statement, Stephen Adler, president and editor-in-chief of Reuters, called the move to prosecute the reporters a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom.

The United States and the European Union both called for the mens release Wednesday.

Human rights groups have accused the police of entrapping the two Reuters journalists by giving them documents that were then deemed state secrets. Pan Ei Mon, Wa Lones wife, said her husband never had a chance to look at the papers before he was arrested.

Hannah Beech and Saw Nang are New York Times writers.
The New Zealand dollar dipped against the greenback as rising yields on US government bonds stoked demand for the world's reserve currency, after traders were spooked by the Bank of Japan trimming its bond purchases yesterday.

The kiwi decreased to 71.69 US cents as at 9am in Wellington from 71.79 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index edged up to 74.79 from 74.64 yesterday.

The yield on US 10-year Treasuries rose almost 6 basis points to 2.54 percent, the highest since March last year, as investors cooled on bonds as an upcoming glut of supply coincided with the Bank of Japan surprising markets by reducing its purchases of long-dated Japanese bonds. Billionaire fund manager Bill Gross of Janus Henderson Group said on Twitter that the rise in yield confirmed a bear market for bonds, saying 25-year long-term trendlines had broken in the five- and 10-year notes.

How high yields go is still a highly polarising question. But if real yields start to rise convincingly too, wed be keeping a close eye on broader asset valuations as their lofty levels may start to be questioned, ANZ Bank New Zealand senior economist Phil Borkin said in a note. The impetus for a push higher (in the kiwi) may again not be there today, particularly following the surge in US yields, but we still feel that is the main risk in the near-term.

The local currency declined to 80.77 yen from 80.85 yen yesterday after the Bank of Japans surprise move to cut bond purchases stoked demand for Japans currency. The yield on Japanese 10-year government bonds edged up half a basis point to 0.7 percent.

The kiwi rose to 91.65 Australian cents from 91.31 cents yesterday and advanced to 4.6794 Chinese yuan from 4.6161 yuan. It traded at 60.10 euro cents from 59.96 cents yesterday and increased to 53 British pence from 52.87 pence yesterday.

(BusinessDesk)

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Allied Farmers says a deal hasnt yet been reached with the directors of property developer Dave Hendersons Property Ventures Ltd (PVL), contrary to reports yesterday.

The Hawera-based rural services firm is a beneficiary of the litigation against PVL after selling various loans to a unit of the action's funder in 2013. While a deal has been reached with the developer's auditor PwC, the liquidator was still pursuing PVL's former directors Austin Forbes, Alister Johnston, Gordon Hansen, Adolf de Roos, Daniel Godden and their insurer Vero Liability Insurance.

Fairfax Media yesterday reported liquidator Robert Walker settled the claim with the directors ahead of a High Court hearing in February, however Allied Farmers today said the report jumped the gun.

"The liquidators have advised Allied that the media article is premature and that the liquidators are not aware of a final settlement having been formally reached," chair Garry Bluett said in a statement to NZX.

Bluett said he didn't know the amount of the PwC settlement or have any further insight into the suit against the directors, and "therefore is not able to provide any further guidance on the proportion of the net proceeds, if any, payable to Allied."

The company took on the loans in its ill-fated 2009 acquisition of the Hanover and United finance group's loan book that wasn't worth as much as initially thought. It sold them for $100,000, and at the time said that could rise to $500,000, but has since said if the litigation is successful it could be in for a larger return.

Allied shares last traded at 11.5 cents and have gained about 64 percent over the past 12 months.

(BusinessDesk)

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All the truckers used to take highway 93 (Great Basin HWY) to avoid scales and weight stations, it also take 1 1/2 hours longer.Now that eLogs legislation passed Dec 18th, 2017, there is absolutely no reason to take that skinny road, well unless youre looking to get laid.So my buddy, a 70 year old trucker (retire already buddy) decided to run up 93 and stop at the VIP Spa..He had a great tail of paying a $100 for a 1 hour message, and only getting 15 minutes, then paying $200 for a screw and how the Thailand lady had masculine features..I, like a great friend, pointed out several Facebook and Google links showing a growing trade in boys having sex changes and posing as women selling thier asses...He called me up yelling at me, what do you know; Thailand women all have those features, and now he wont talk to me at all.Do you think I shouldnt have told him he was poking an inverted ball sac. :lol:NOTE::: you can get some of the hottest ladies in TJ, Mexico for $50, why would anyone pay $300 for a dude. *puke*
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet's decision on Wednesday to approve 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail trading (SBRT) and construction development has been met with positive response from the industry stand. Besides opening FDI gates, the decision would also enable opening gates for the debt-ridden Air India.

The government also decided that foreign institution investors and portfolio investors be allowed to invest in power exchanges through primary market and amended the definition of "medical devices" in its FDI policy.

The decisions, taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was intended to liberalize and simplify FDI policy to provide ease of doing business.

The official statement read,"it has now been decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under automatic route. It has been decided to permit single brand retail trading entity to set off its incremental sourcing of goods from India for global operations during initial five years, beginning April 1 of the year of the opening of first store against the mandatory sourcing requirement of 30 per cent of purchases from India."

"In turn, it will lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment," continued the statement.

Arun Thukral, MD & CEO at Axis Securities suggested that opening by FDI, the economic corridors for global single brand retailers such as IKEA, NIKE, DELL etc were opened. "Hurdles for investment too have been removed," he said.

"Similarly, the FDI in construction development also has been relaxed to 100% through automatic route and foreign airlines have been approved to invest upto 40% under approval route in Air India thereby paving way for divestment of Air India. These developments will attract foreign investments and create employment opportunities in India. It will also encourage investments into supply chains thereby reviving the manufacturing sector," he added.

Kumar Rajagopalan, the CEO at Retailers Association of India hailed the move as one that would support the "Great Indian Retail Story".

He said, It is known that global companies take time to develop good suppliers as partners and hence the relaxed time frame for sourcing is conducive without compromising India's need to be a good sourcing hub for global brands. In the long run, today's reform would help boost employment, bring in wide product choices for consumers and help grow not just the economy, but the nation as a whole. The present FDI policy on single brand retail trading allows 49 per cent FDI under automatic route and FDI beyond 49 per cent and up to 100 per cent through government approval route.

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) opposes move to allow 100% FDI in single brand retail via automatic route. January 10, 2018

For this purpose, it said, incremental sourcing would mean the increase in terms of value of such global sourcing from India for that single brand (in Indian rupee terms) in a particular financial year over the preceding financial year, by the non-resident entities undertaking single brand retail trading entity, either directly or through their group companies.

After completion of five-year period, the SBRT entity shall be required to meet the 30 per cent sourcing norms directly towards its India's operation, on an annual basis.

The Cabinet also decided to allow 100 per cent FDI in construction development relating to building townships, housing, infrastructure and real estate broking services.

"It has been decided to clarify that real estate broking service does not amount to real estate business and is therefore eligible for 100 per cent FDI under automatic route."

FDI in construction welcome. Hope we get some quality in our civil engineering at least now on.  R. Balakrishnan (@BalakrishnanR) January 10, 2018

Under the present policy, foreign airlines are allowed to invest under government approval route in the capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital.

However, this was not applicable to Air India, thereby implying that foreign airlines could not invest in the national carrier owned fully by the government.

"It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India subject to the conditions that foreign investments in Air India including that of foreign airlines shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly."

Govt still unwilling to give up ownership of Air India? https://t.co/m27sHcFI3c  Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) January 10, 2018

Making changes in the sector relating to power exchanges, the government removed the restrictions on investment by foreign institute investors and portfolio investors to invest in power exchanges through primary market as well.

Under the present policy, FII and FPI purchases were restricted to secondary market only.

In the pharma sector, the Cabinet decided to amend the definition of medical devices in the FDI policy.

"At present, the FDI policy in the pharma sector inter-alia provides that definition of medical device as contained in the FDI Policy would be subject to amendment in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. As the definition as contained in the policy is complete in itself, it has been decided to drop the reference to Drugs and Cosmetics Act from FDI policy."

The Cabinet also decided to make changes relating to competent authority for examining FDI proposals from countries of concern.

As per the existing procedures, FDI applications involving investments from countries of concern requiring security clearance are to be processed by the Home Ministry for investments falling under automatic route sectors and activities.

"It has now been decided that for investments in automatic route sectors, requiring approval only on the matter of investment being from country of concern, FDI applications would be processed by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) for government approval.

"Cases under the government approval route, also requiring security clearance with respect to countries of concern, will continue to be processed by concerned administrative department or ministry."

In another change, it has now been decided that issue of shares against non-cash considerations like pre incorporation expenses, import of machinery etc shall be permitted under automatic route in the case of sectors under automatic route.
NPS was offered a boost in the previous budget with the government announcing a tax benefit under section 80 CCD (1b) and then making 40% corpus tax exempt on maturity.

February 2018 could observe the finance ministry headed by Arun Jaitley to consider incentivizing the National Pension Scheme. The ministry could either offer exemptions to investments made on NPS or improve the current slab rates.

Under the current tax environment, NPS investments, are already a last minute investment avenue. For FY 2017-18, individuals can claim NPS benefits under the tax bracket of 10%, 20% and 30%. Moreover, in cases where an employer is contributing towards NPS deductions, employees can claim additional 10% as a deductible component from their taxes.

Within the current scheme, NPS has a partial tax exemption, but there is a likelihood that the government may make it completely tax-free. Investors of the NPS scheme have a partial tax exemption on maturity amount, although the post retirement amount is taxable in the year of the receipt.

Inspite of the existing concessions, NPS still had ground to cover over products such as Employee Provident Fund (EPF). The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority's Chairman was recently quoted saying in an interview that the NPS scheme ought to be treated on par with products such as EPF on the tax front.

He was hinting towards making it more lucrative in order to get more customers. Having conceptualized in January 2004 as a complusory investment for government employees, the scheme was thrown open to the general public only by 2009. By 2016, the total subscribers in the all-citizen model was 2.61 lakh, while corporate figures fetched another 5.21 lakh customers, taking the total number of subscribers to 7.82 lakh.

The PFRDA annual report itself claims an AUM (asset under management) of Rs 1838 core, while EPF, in comparison had a staggering Rs 8.5 lakh crore assets under management.

The previous two budgets have observed the FM make minor tweaks to the National pension scheme. In 2016, the government announced a partial exemption status of 40 percent. An additional tax benefit to section 80CCD (1B) upto a limit of Rs 50,000 was also introduced in 2016.

In budget 2017, Jaitley also proposed amending Section 10. This would offer an exemption to a partial withdrawal, which would not exceed 25% contribution made by an employee. This amendment will take effect from April 1 2018 for FY2018-19 and subsequent assessment years.

Image Credit: Abhijitkumar Rajput
We all know that, among the leading stars in Tamil cinema, it is only Suriya and Vikram who promote their films aggressively in Tamilnadu, Kerala and Andhra.They take that extra effort to meet fans and interact with the media.





Vikram, who was in all his time low after the demise of his dad went to Kochi and enthusiastically participated in the promotions of his Pongal release Sketch. But strangely Sketch team is yet to do any promotion or press meet in Chennai!!





Suriya who has a huge fan following among the youth in Kerala met his fans and interacted with the media in Kochi to promote his big Pongal release Thaanaa Serndha Koottam. The Singam star danced to the chartbuster Sodakku song with his fans and he also agreed to deliver some punchlines of Mohanlal.





As of now, Thaanaa Serndha Koottam has surpassed Vikrams Sketch in terms of screen count and number of shows in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and overseas territories.




: Debt-ridden Uttarakhand businessman who consumed poison at 'Janata Darbar' in Dehradun last week, passed away in a hospital on Tuesday. Prakash Pandey, a businessman from Haldwani, created panic among ruling party workers after he went to a "Janata darbar" state minister Subodh Uniyal was holding at the BJP office in Dehradun to complain about losses he suffered, apparently as a result of demonetization and GST.

Pandey, who has been in the transport business for the past five years, then showed Subodh Uniyal an empty packet of poison that he claimed to have consumed. The revelation triggered panic in the BJP office and Pandey was rushed to the Doon hospital where he was admitted to the ICU. Doctors at the hospital said that Pandey was in a critical condition and was kept under observation.

Uttarakhand: A debt-ridden Haldwani resident allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison at 'Janta Darbar' in Dehradun, police say they are investigating the case. pic.twitter.com/pWfTIyQeOD  ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2018

A resident of Nai Colony in Kathgodam, Pandey stated that he was a transporter and had incurred losses in his business due to the notes ban in 2016.
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTUH) has released the time table for Btech degree course, that is to be held in the month of February 2018.Candidates who are about the appear for the exams may visit the official website, jntuh.ac.in for more details.

As per the official statement of the university, Regular / Supplementary Examinations for the B. Tech (CCC) I Year, (09, 08 & 07 Batches) II Year (09, 08 & 07 Batches), III Year (09, 08 & 07 Batches) & IV year (09, 08 & 07 Batches) will be held during February -2018.

The online registration process for the same will start from January 1 and close on 12.The examinations would commence from February 5, 2018 onwards.

It has to be noted that students need to pay the examination fee of Rs.150 per theory subject / lab exam (for I to IV years) and Rs. 150 for vivavoce (for final year only).

The B. Tech. (CCC) students who wish to apply for the University examination are requested to make note of the new procedure for making the exam fee payment and for the submission of the application for the Tech (CCC). Examinations.

- Visit the University Examinations portal at the URL http://registrations.jntuh.ac.in/olrccc

- Select the regular / backlog subjects, year-wise, for which the registrations are to be performed using the appropriate menu service.

- If not uploaded earlier upload your pass-port size digital photograph in the same registrations portal. Ensure that the quality of the digital photo is very good. The uploaded photograph must be in the jpg (JPEG) format size below 50kb. If it is in other format, it should be converted to JPEG format.

- Obtain the printout of the PDF file corresponding to your subject registration details from the same registrations portal.

- Make the payment online, either by using the Visa / Master credit / debit cards or by generating the SBH online challan.

- The photo copies of PDF receipt generated in case of payment by payment-gateway or the University copy of the SBH challan incase of challan payment should be taken.

- The copy of the printout of the registration receipt (item 4 above) and the payment receipt (as initem 6 above) should be tagged/stapled and send by post to B. Tech (CCC) cell, Office of the Director, SCDE, Administrative Building, JNTU Hyderabad, Kukatpally, Hyderabad, 500 085

Candidates may contact on the number 9704033577, 9989980170 if there are any registrations related problems.

Hall tickets can be downloaded from the same website, 5 days before the start of examinations, without which candidates wont be allowed to enter the exam hall.

Official dates: Click here to download the examination dates
The Radio Four documentary, The Dawn of British Jihad, discovered that Hafiz Saeed toured British mosques in 1995.

: Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the head of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), during his 1990s tour to the UK, incited Muslim youth to indulge in militancy before the event of 9/11, according to a BBC investigation.

In August that year, in Glasgow, Saeed said that when Muslims had the spirit of jihad they had ruled the whole world but today they were being humiliated.

Saeed is wanted for allegedly organising the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

He has always denied involvement in the attacks, which killed 166 people.

The BBC documentary sets out to examine the idea that radicalisation of British Muslims started well before the 9/11 bombings.

Sajid Iqbal, one of the programmes producers, told BBC Scotland that he spoke to people who were active in the 1980s and 1990s, much earlier than commonly thought.

These were different times. At that time, the theatres of Jihad were Bosnia and Afghanistan, where there was some sort of common cause, he said.

Hafiz Saeeds tour of Britain in 1995 was recorded in a magazine published by a militant group called Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT)  a Pakistani-Kashmiri group.

The articles, written in Urdu and uncovered by the BBC investigation, were written by the Iman of a mosque in Oldham who accompanied Saeed.

Iqbal said, There is non-stop talk about Jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him.

In Glasgow, Saeed addressed a large gathering at Glasgows Central Mosque. He claimed Zionists were using billions of dollars to kill the spirit of Jihad among Muslims.

They are trying to entice Muslims to the politics of power through democracy, he said. They are also using the interest-based economy to keep Muslims in debt.

Even in 1995, he was a known militant, active in Kashmir, Iqbal revealed.

Glasgow Central Mosque has not commented on the claims.

During the tour, Saeed also spoke in Birmingham where he urged his audience, Lets all rise up for jihad and denounced Hindu dogs.

In Leicester, he spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 young people. His address was reported to have infused a new spirit in the youth.

The article said, hundreds of young men expressed intention to get jihad training.

In March 2001, Lashkar-E-Tayiba, the Kashmiri militant group, promoted by Hafiz Saeed on his tour of Britain, was declared a terrorist organisation by the Home Office.

In September that year, New York and Washington came under attack by Al Qaeda.

In 2008 Lashkar-e-Tayiba made its mark in the global jihad with a deadly wave of attacks across the Indian city of Mumbai.

Lashkar-e-Tayibas founder and leader Hafiz Saeed, who toured British mosques in the 1990s is now one of the worlds most-wanted terrorists  though he has never faced trial for the Mumbai attacks and was recently released from house arrest by the government.
: The Supreme Court issues notice to the National Investigations Agency, the CBI, Maharashtra and Karnataka, on a plea seeking a SIT probe into rationalist M M Kalburgi's murder.

In September last year, sketches of two suspects who killed the noted Kannada scholar and researcher were released by the state police. The state CID also began a probe into the murder.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Caring for a family member with dementia leaves little time to focus on personal wellbeing. Circle of Care, a city-funded non-profit, is charged with making that easier.

Support is available to anyone caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or any type of memory loss or dementia. And, though consultants help with the details of care, it's not case management. The focus is on the caregiver, said Jennifer Sanchez, a care consultant for Circle of Care.

"As the illness progresses, it gets really hard to take care of them,'' Sanchez said. "We offer respite. We offer emotional support, education and counseling to families.''

Three years ago, the organization got $7.5 million from the New York City Department of Health. Services offered include individual counseling, joint enrichment, wellness and educational workshops. The funding also offers MetroCards to those who have transportation issues.

"The bulk of the work is actually getting people to accept the help,'' Sanchez said, "to realize they don't have to do this alone.''

Additionally, gift cards for transportation are available, Sanchez said, as is a free home health aide for the family member, so a caregiver can get an occasional break for errands or personal time.

"They can go take a nap or take care of their own health,'' Sanchez said. "Go to the doctor." Services are limited, determined on a case by case basis, she said.

In November, a Caregiver Appreciation Day is held. Last year's treated caregivers to reiki, guided meditation and massage.

An initial consultation can take place at home or in a neutral location,'' Sanchez explained. During those meetings, consultants will answer any questions, explain what they have to offer and offer suggestions.

"If we don't know the answer, we will find out,'' Sanchez said. "It happens so fast for some people. We help them through that."

Care stations are set up Island-wide, including the ACT Social Adult Day Center, 1698 Victory Boulevard; inside the New York City Housing Authority building on 90 Lafayette Avenue, and inside NewYork Presbyterian Medical Group Neuroscience, at 1 Harvey Avenue, near Victory Boulevard and Watchogue Road. Sanchez suggests calling ahead to be sure a care consultant is in the office, since they spend a great deal of time visiting homes.

The care consultants also operate out of libraries, meeting clients in meeting rooms and organizing educational workshops there. They're also a great referral source, publish a newsletter and conduct educational workshops for caregivers.

Fun, casual events like the ongoing Memory Cafe events, which are held every third Wednesday at Piece of Cake on New Dorp Lane, offer attendees lively conversation and, of course, cake. The next Memory Cafe will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m.

Caregivers are invited to bring their loved ones to the bakery's spacious dining room and enjoy the company of others in similar situations. "It's less intense than a support group,'' Sanchez said. "You're not self-conscious about your loved ones' behavior."

Sanchez said attendance has been good since the events began in September. "It's beneficial, and people have a great time,'' she said. "It's a big space. We're hoping (attendance) grows.''

A Care Giver Self Care Support Program is kicking off on that same day. The six-meeting commitment will feature self-care advice and support. "Some people have a lot of guilt taking time for themselves when their loved one is sick,'' Sanchez said. "They should know it's OK."

Often, asking other family members for help is a challenge for the primary caregiver, Sanchez said. They'll help with that.

"We do family consultations,'' she explained. "When they get to the point when they want to ask family members for help, it makes it easier if there's a professional in the room. It makes it go a bit smoother.''

Those interested in attending the Memory Cafe events can just walk in that day, she said. For the support program, registration is required. "And from there, we'd schedule an assessment," Sanchez said.

The sessions are a commitment, she warned. "We need them to sign up and meet with them before they enroll.''

Anyone interested in any of the services should call 1-866-665-1713, or visit pssusa.org/caregivers/caregiver-services/ online.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As word spread Tuesday that St. John Villa Academy would close its doors as the end of the school year, students and prospective students were left wondering what would happen to them.

The news came at a particularly difficult time, as eighth-graders are expected this week to receive the results of their Catholic high school admission test, or TACHS exam.

For students who listed St. John Villa Academy as their preferred high school on the exam, it could potentially affect their ability to be accepted at another school.

A spokesman for the Office of Superintendent of Schools said information regarding how to be placed at another Catholic high school in the borough would be provided in the coming days, but declined to elaborate further.

Meanwhile, current students were seen hugging, crying and holding each other outside the Arrochar school Tuesday as they wondered where they might finish their high school career.

"It's kind of heartbreaking, too, because we met all of our friends here and we're leaving," said junior Ciara Motta. "It's just terrible."

Motta said the school announced it would hold meetings within the next week to discuss options for students who need to find a new school for the 2018-2019 academic year.

"I'm emotional and sad, and shocked," said senior Julia DelDuca. "[The school] said they would be there for them and give them the support they need and help them get them to where they need to be."

The high school's principal, Sister Antonia Zuffante, declined comment when approached by a reporter Tuesday.

FINDING A NEW SCHOOL

In a letter posted on the school's website, Sister Claudette Jaszczynski, provincial superior of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, American Province, said St. John Villa would work to help find a new school for all the students.

"Along with the Archdiocese of New York's Office of the Superintendent of Schools, we will be providing resources and assistance to help place all our students in a school of their choice," the letter read. "The Archdiocese of New York is willing to assist for the placement of your child."

According to St. John Villa's website, there are 510 girls in the high school and 214 boys and girls in the elementary school.

St. John Villa started with an elementary school, and the first graduating class in 1926 had 24 students. The high school was established in the early 1930s. The current grade school building was completed in 1931 and a "new" chapel was constructed in 1937.

The current high school building on Landis Avenue was built in 1956 and, after construction of a new gym had been talked about for 25 years, the Mother Alberta Stango Gymnasium was completed in 1984.

CONCERN FOR THE TEACHERS

The students weren't the only ones concerned about their future.

"We have been in contact with attorneys and we are making a plan," said Julia Pignataro, president of the Federation of Catholic Teachers, a union that represents teachers in some Staten Island Catholic and private schools, including the high school teachers at St. John Villa Academy. "We are just shocked and saddened."

"The jobs the teachers do are remarkable," she added. "It was a shock. We certainly will be helping the teachers."

In December, a flyer was distributed to those who attended a concert event at the school:

"As of December 2017, the faculty of St. John Villa Academy High School is the lowest paid of all the high schools represented by the Federation of Catholic Teachers on Staten Island even though the tuition is comparable to these schools.

"In negotiations that have been in progress for 15 months, the school has offered wage proposals of 0.5% and 0.85% for the 2016-1017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years respectively. This proposal guarantees that your daughter's teachers would not only remain among the lowest paid teachers on Staten Island, but also among the lowest paid teachers across the Archdiocese of New York."

FUTURE OF THE PROPERTY

The decision to close the school has raised speculation about what could potentially happen to the property.

"Today is a sad day for the Villa extended family, and I know many past and present students are upset by this news," Borough President James Oddo said in a statement.

"I also know local residents and many other Staten Islanders are gravely concerned about what will become of this property, and they do not want to see it go the way of so many other institutions, such as Mt. Manresa. I share these concerns, and I am already working to ensure these buildings and this precious space remains educational facilities.

"Ultimately, my hope is that out of the heartache of today, something positive results. Three of our top education goals at Borough Hall involve the opening of new schools -- a Young Women's Leadership School, a Harbor School, and our Bridge Prep charter school for children with dyslexia -- but the common thread that has prevented us from bringing any to fruition has been the lack of adequate space. It is my hope that out of the sadness of today's news springs an opportunity to ensure this property continues to provide educational opportunities for future generations of Staten Islanders."

'STELLAR LEGACY AT VILLA'

During an editorial board meeting with the Advance in October, Dr. Timothy J. McNiff, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York, said he did not expect there to be any Archdiocese school closures for at least the next two years.

While the school is affiliated with the Archdiocese of New York and the Office of Superintendent of Schools, St. John Villa Academy is a private school, led by a religious order, which exercises wide autonomy over financial, operational and administrative matters, according to the spokesman.

"Although the decision concerning the future status of St. John Villa Academy Elementary and High School is the sole purview of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist and not the Archdiocese of New York, the Office of the Superintendent commends the sisters for 94 proud years of providing an outstanding Catholic education for thousands of young people on Staten Island," McNiff said in a statement.

"While we understand the pain and difficulty that this announcement will bring, the countless students, teachers, staff, parents and dedicated sisters have built a stellar legacy at Villa over the past century which will live on in the labors and successes of its proud alumni community," he added.

RECENT SCHOOL CLOSINGS

In announcing the school closing, Sister Claudette said: "Lack of adequate Sister personnel, a declining enrollment, and growing maintenance expenses of an aging facility have led the Sisters to this difficult but inevitable decision."

Decreased enrollment and tuition costs resulted in the closure of 60 schools over a 20-month period six years ago. On the Island, six elementary schools were closed and one was consolidated.

The first round of school closures in 2011 included four Staten Island elementary schools after they were identified as "at-risk" of losing their archdiocesan subsidies: St. Mary School in Rosebank, St. Roch School in Port Richmond, St. Sylvester School in Concord and St. Margaret Mary School in Midland Beach.

St. Peter-St. Paul Elementary School in New Brighton was created by merging St. Peter Elementary with the former St. Paul School in 2011.

St. Joseph's School in Rosebank and Immaculate Conception School in Stapleton followed, closing their doors in June 2013.

The last Catholic High School to close on the Island was St. Peter's Girls High School in 2011.

SOCIAL MEDIA REACTIONS

Students and alumni took to social media Tuesday afternoon to express their heartache over the school's demise.

I have so many great memories from Villa. I loved that place, the friends I made there, and the teachers I had. Heartbreaking to hear that its closing   Andrea Matteo (@andi_330) January 9, 2018

im completely heartbroken, my second home ... cant believe i cant graduate with my sisters next year :(( https://t.co/RZlCztMPhI  alys (@alyssamaffei) January 9, 2018
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- His cup runneth over, and it will cost him up to four years behind bars.

Ex-convict Kevin Washington, 36, of West Brighton, was sentenced on Wednesday to two to four years in prison for tossing a cup of urine at a cop.

Police said the incident occurred in March of last year at the 120th Precinct stationhouse in St. George.

Washington was being held on charges of attacking a woman he knows on March 19 in a home in his community.

The defendant put the victim in a chokehold, causing her to lose consciousness, a criminal complaint said.

When the victim regained consciousness, Washington punched her head and face, knocking out two of her teeth, said the complaint.

While in the holding cell at the stationhouse, the defendant threw a cup containing urine at an officer walking past at about 3:55 p.m., said authorities.

Washington was accused of a felony count of aggravated harassment of an employee by an inmate and a misdemeanor count of obstruction for the incident in the precinct.

The defendant was charged with felony counts of strangulation and assault, along with misdemeanor counts of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation for the alleged attack on the woman.

In November, Washington pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to the aggravated harassment count to satisfy all charges against him.

Attired on Wednesday in tan scrubs, the defendant did not make a statement before Justice Stephen J. Rooney imposed sentence.

He was sentenced as a second felony offender.

The defendant was previously convicted in 2010 of felony stolen-property possession, according to statements made in court. He was sentenced then to 10 months in jail.

"Mr. Washington has taken responsibility for his actions," Louis Gelormino, his lawyer, said outside court. "I think it's a fair sentence, and, hopefully, Mr. Washington will take advantage of any programs offered by the Department of Corrections so he can get back to his wife and family."

Assistant District Attorney Adam Silberlight prosecuted the case.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Immigration officials surprised several 7-Eleven locations on Staten Island before dawn Wednesday as part of a nationwide sweep to crack down on companies who hire undocumented workers.

The Advance has confirmed the agents visited at least two Port Richmond stores and another in Meiers Corners.

The action was part of a joint effort between the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security at 98 locations across the country, including 16 in New York City, according to an ICE spokeswoman.

Special agents served audit notices and conducted interviews with workers and managers to make sure businesses are operating with employees who have proper work authorization.

Nationwide, 21 individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally were administratively arrested and given notices to appear in immigration court.

Numbers for Staten Island weren't immediately available, but workers at Staten Island 7-Eleven locations visited by the Advance said there were no arrests at their stores.

At the 1440 Forest Ave. spot, the owner said officials showed up at around 5 a.m. to check her employees' paperwork.

"We were good," she said, declining to give her name. "Everything checked out."

Agents visited the store at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Bradley Avenue at around 6 a.m. to check employment documents.

"They were here for like 15 minutes or so, then they left when everything was good," said the location's manager.

A manager at the 1252 Forest Ave. location would only confirm the agents were at the store early Wednesday morning.

Employees were unsure if officials were there to check immigration status or to verify employment.

A 7-Eleven worker at the corner store on Forest Avenue and Richmond Avenue in Graniteville said a customer told her his son was among those who were vetted in the probe at another site. Officials did not visit that location, though.

"He said they told him (the son) that he should carry his green card around with him," she said.

The franchise sites in Bulls Head, at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Richmond Avenue, and Sunnyside, near Clove Lakes Park, were not part of the early-morning sweep, workers said.

"I know they were checking green cards," said the manager at the Bulls Head location.

The audits took place in Washington, D.C, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

"Today's actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," said Thomas D. Homan, ICE deputy director and senior official performing the duties of the director.

He continued: "Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet. ICE will continue its efforts to protect jobs for American workers by eliminating unfair competitive advantages for companies that exploit illegal immigration."

Agents targeted the stores nationwide, broadening an investigation that began with a 4-year-old case against a franchisee on New York's Long Island.

Derek Benner, a top ICE official, told the Associated Press that Wednesday's operation was "the first of many" and "a harbinger of what's to come" for employers. He said there would be more employment audits and investigations, though there is no numerical goal.

"This is what we're gearing up for this year and what you're going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters. From there, we will look at whether these cases warrant an administrative posture or criminal investigation," said Benner, acting head of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, which oversees cases against employers.

The raids were due to a 2013 investigation that resulted in charges against nine 7-Eleven franchisees and managers in New York and Virginia. Eight have pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in back wages, and the ninth was arrested in November.

In the 2013 investigations, managers used more than 25 stolen identities to employ at least 115 people in the country illegally, knowing they could pay below minimum wage, according to court documents. The documents say 7-Eleven corporate office does automated payroll, requiring franchisees provide employee names and Social Security numbers to pay workers through direct deposit or check.

The 7-Eleven stores served on Wednesday will be required to produce documents showing they required work authorization, which Benner said will become more common. Audits may lead to criminal charges or administrative penalties.

--Associated Press materials were used in this report.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After news that St. John Villa Academy will close its doors at the end of the academic year, the Arrochar school on Wednesday emailed those eighth-grade students across Staten Island who listed the high school as one of their choices on the Catholic high school admission test, or TACHS exam.

Students are expected this week to receive the results of the TACHS exam.

For students who listed St. John Villa Academy as their preferred high school on the exam, it may affect their ability to be accepted at another Catholic school.

The email, signed by Principal Antonia Zuffante, thanked students for listing St. John Villa Academy as one of their high school choices, and stated that the school will be closing at the end of June.

"I have contacted all of the Staten Island high school principals and have asked them to give priority assistance to any girl who listed St. John Villa as a choice," Zuffante wrote in the email.

"For any young lady who did not receive an acceptance from another Staten Island high school, working with the Archdiocese, we will forward your information over to the Staten Island high school principals asking them to re-examine your applicant record to see if you meet their criteria for acceptance or waitlist," she added.

Toniann Focca Miraglia's eighth-grade daughter placed the school as her second choice on the exam, and received the email.

"It seemed as though this decision was not made overnight and being that the TACHS exam was only taken a few months ago, it led me to believe they had to have some sort of clue," Miraglia said. "I do wish they would have opened up to the students about it before allowing them to put this as a choice."

A spokesman for the Office of Superintendent of Schools told the Advance on Tuesday that information regarding how to be placed at another Catholic high school in the borough would be provided in the coming days, but declined to elaborate further.

The email from St. John Villa attached a letter from the Archdiocese of New York's Office of the Superintendent of Schools, giving information if students are not accepted to a Catholic high school.

"I write to inform you that if you have not received an offer or acceptance by one of our Catholic high schools you listed among your TACHS choices, there are other Catholic high schools that have openings available," the letter stated.

If students wish to be considered for admission by schools with openings, they can send a letter with their name, address, telephone number and elementary school to the Archdiocese, at no additional fee.

It will not guarantee admission into a Catholic high school, but will allow students to be considered by additional schools besides the original three choices placed on the TACHS exam.

High schools with openings will contact students directly by letter or telephone if they wish to offer acceptance or interview students.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 10th grader from the soon-to-be-closed St. John Villa Academy has made an appeal to President Donald Trump and television host Oprah Winfrey to donate money to help save her school from closing.

"Hi oprah winfrey my school is closing and many of the girls are so upset plus all of the staff members are losing there jobs everyone was extremely sad about this news and I am asking you to please save our school We need a large donation to help (sic)," St. John Villa Academy 10th grader Taylor Star wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

"Hi President trump my school is closing and many of the girls are so upset plus all of the staff members are losing there jobs everyone was extremely sad about this news and I am asking you to please save our school We need a large donation to help (sic)," Star continued.

Hi oprah winfrey my school is closing and many of the girls are so upset plus all of the staff members are losing there jobs everyone was extremely sad about this news and I am asking you to please save our school We need a large donation to help. retweet this @Oprah pic.twitter.com/FecWbYfpTn  taylorr (@taylorstar1234) January 9, 2018

Hi President trump my school is closing and many of the girls are so upset plus all of the staff members are losing there jobs everyone was extremely sad about this news and I am asking you to please save our school We need a large donation to help. retweet this @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/nw7nvSXsC8  taylorr (@taylorstar1234) January 9, 2018

Earlier today, the school announced it plans to close St. John Villa Academy Elementary School and St. John Villa Academy High School at the end of the current 2017-2018 academic year.

The school's Provincial Superior of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, American Province, Sister Claudette Jaszczynski, said in a release to the Advance that a lack of adequate Sister personnel, a declining enrollment, and growing maintenance expenses of an aging facility led to the school's decision to close its doors.

Star said she decided to contact Winfrey because the teen heard that the talk show host was known for helping helping Catholic schools with donations.

The teen said she also tweeted at Trump because she wants to know what he has to say about her school closing.

After the announcement, Star and her friends said students gathered in the auditorium and started crying.

Star's tweets to Trump and Winfrey come as multiple media outlets have been reporting that Winfrey is thinking about running for president, but Winfrey has denied she's considering a run.

St. John Villa started with an elementary school, and the first graduating class in 1926 had 24 students. The high school was established in the early 1930s. The current grade school building was completed in 1931 and a "new" chapel was constructed in 1937.

The current high school building on Landis Avenue was built in 1956 and, after construction of a new gym had been talked about for 25 years, the Mother Alberta Stango Gymnasium was completed in 1984.

According to St. John Villa's website, there are 510 girls in the high school and 214 boys and girls in the elementary school.

The news comes at a time when the results of the TACHS exam -- the test for Catholic High School admission -- are due to be announced this week.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- St. John Villa students have become the victims of extensive cyberbullying attacks amidst announcement of the school's closure at the end of the year.

Screenshots of highly explicit Snapchats and Instagram posts demeaning the students have been shared with the Advance by concerned parents.

Some of the social media posts referred to students as "Villa gorillas," while others expressed the sentiment that the students are not welcome at other Catholic schools next year.

(Third-Party Submitted)

Many of the posts appear to come from students of other Staten Island Catholic schools, though the names have been blurred to protect the students' privacy.

One post made light of eighth-grade students who had their hearts set on St. John Villa High School next year.

(Third-Party Submitted)

Some of the social media posts contained extremely lewd content, overlaying the St. John Villa school logo onto a pornographic video.

Others took to Twitter to defend the Villa students, many of whom are heartbroken by the school's closing.

the idea that villa is closing and other high schools on the island arent being compassionate towards these girls makes me sick to my stomach.  bb-28 (@_anniewest) January 10, 2018

Hate how so many ignorant people are happy about Villa closing down when so many girls have to leave their sisters and lose the scholarships they have. Not to mention the amount of staff and faculty that will need to find new jobs!  Nicolette Lomando (@NicoletteL27) January 10, 2018

St. John Villa Academy announced Tuesday its elementary and high school in Arrochar will close at the end of the academic year.

"The Sisters of St. John the Baptist are sad to announce the closure of St. John Villa Academy Elementary School and St. John Villa Academy High School at the end of the current 2017-2018 academic year," Sister Claudette Jaszczynski, provincial superior of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, American Province, said in a release sent to the Advance.

"Lack of adequate Sister personnel, a declining enrollment, and growing maintenance expenses of an aging facility have led the Sisters to this difficult but inevitable decision. After 94 years of devoted ministry to families and their children, the Sisters deeply regret having to make this decision," Sister Claudette added.
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The man arrested after a crash that killed the son of a former Canberra politician was released on bail on Wednesday after fresh information emerged during the investigation.

Prosecutors told the court that the new information meant they would need to "reassess" their position against Kane David Kell.

Police attend the scene of the accident on Yarra Glen in Hughes earlier this month. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

It is understood a new witness statement has been produced that suggests Mr Kell was not driving about the time of the crash.

Jozef Stefaniak, 24, the son of former Canberra Liberals leader Bill Stefaniak, was thrown from the rolling car on January 2 and suffered fatal head injuries.
The RSPCA has backed the University of Canberra's decision to stop hiring a petting zoo several times a year - a former tradition aimed at helping students destress ahead of exams.

The university said it would no longer bring in Uriarra petting zoo Noah's Ark Farm Friends for Stress Less Week after receiving an email from PETA Australia arguing such businesses "contribute to a cruel cycle of breeding, abandonment, and killing".

Noah's Ark Farm Friends Petting Zoo owner Cath Rogers is disappointed that the University of Canberra will no longer bring the petting zoo to assist students during exam week and other stressful periods. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

"Although the university doesn't share all of PETA's concerns, it recognised that some of their points are valid," a spokeswoman said.

On Wednesday, RSPCA ACT communications officer Jacqueline Bunt said the organisation supported the University of Canberra's call.
Macquarie Group is chasing $US40.7 million ($52 million) from an American family that ran a billion-dollar-plus cocoa trading business, after emails between staff allegedly revealed one of the biggest fraud cases in recent US history.

Macquarie has joined forces with several other banks including Dutch financial giant ABN AMRO to sue the father-son duo that ran one of the world's largest suppliers of cocoa products, Transmar.

Transmar was one of the world's largest cocoa traders. Credit:Conor Ashleigh

The banks allege they were hoodwinked into believing Transmar was financially sound ahead of lending the company a total of $US360 million in 2016.

The civil lawsuit was filed on Monday in the New Jersey courts.
Sydney: Insurance giant QBE has appointed Vivek Bhatia as chief executive of its Australian and New Zealand business.

Bhatia is currently the chief executive of icare, the NSW government's manager of insurance and care schemes, and was formerly chief executive of Australian underwriting operations at Wesfarmers Insurance.

New Australia and New Zealand QBE chief executive Vivek Bhatia will replace Pat Regan (pictured), who has been promoted to group chief executive. Credit:Louise Kennerley

He will join QBE in the next three months, and steps into the role vacated by Pat Regan, who was promoted to QBE group chief executive in September.

Regan says with 20 years in insurance and management consulting, Bhatia will bring a wealth of experience to the role.
Ausgrid workers have voted to strike after more than three years of pay freezes.

Workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of carrying out industrial action, after three and a half years of protracted negotiations  with two different owners  failed to reach a workplace agreement.

The stop work action could commence as soon as the second week of February, a period which is typically when the power grid is under its greatest strain. Credit:Bloomberg

The stop work action could commence as soon as the second week of February, a period which is typically when the power grid is under its greatest strain.

The original agreements expired in December 2014, at a time when Ausgrid was still owned by the New South Wales state government, and since then workers have been in a pay freeze.
So Treasury didnt think Labors negative gearing/capital gains tax proposals would crack the earth asunder and spew forth toads and serpents. Nobody much else did either.

Oh, as part of their election campaign, the Prime Minister and Treasurer both said Labors policy would result in all manner of disasters befalling the nation, but put your hand up if you believe that they believed what they were saying or were just fibbing away as politicians will to get elected.

The choice here is between the credibility of the Prime Minister and Treasurer or their competence in assessing economic policy.

In the firing line: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Credit:AAP

As Peter Martin has reported: Labor's policy, or cut-down versions of it, has been supported by the Property Council, the Business Council, the head of the Abbott government's Commission of Audit, the head of its review of the financial system, the Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe, the Institute of Company Directors, and the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia.
Michael Wolff's book has become the acid test for whether people believe in the truth or are simply interested in taking down President Donald Trump at whatever cost. And it has now proven that the same nihilistic attitude toward facts that infected Trump's 2016 campaign and presidency has spread to its most dug-in opponents.

It shouldn't be this way.

In any other political climate, a book like Wolff's that is rife with inexplicably basic factual mistakes and gossip-section-quality reportage would be dismissed out of hand. The fact that he has clearly got so many things wrong would set off alarm bells and render everything else in it too suspect for public consumption.

But Wolff was smart enough to write the book that a large segment of the American public and the political press were begging for. His real trick was applying his notoriously relaxed journalistic standards and self-assigned artistic licence to the same topic White House reporters have been doggedly and much more carefully pursuing for months. He took the things those reporters have heard as rumours and were ostensibly unable to confirm and put them forward as fact.
In the lead-up to the July 2016 federal election, Malcolm Turnbull suggested that Labor's proposals on rolling back some of the tax breaks available to property investors were like a "big sledgehammer" aimed at the value of the family home. It is clear now that the utensil the Prime Minister was using when he framed those comments was a "big egg-beater".

By the contemporary standards of political discourse in this country, that was par for the course. What distinguishes this particular instance of elevating brutal party politics over sensible policy discussion is that it appears Mr Turnbull knew that what he was saying contradicted his official advice.

It appears Mr Turnbull knew that what he was saying contradicted his official advice. Credit:Mick Tsikas

Labor's policy going into the election was to limit negative gearing to new housing stock, in order to maintain supply. In addition, negative gearing deductions  the difference between the rental earned on an investment property and losses such as repair bills and mortgage interest  would apply only to income generated by other investments, not wages. Finally, the capital gains tax discount on investment properties when they are sold would be wound back by half, from its current 50 per cent.

Given existing investment properties would be grandfathered, these measures did not look like a sledgehammer aimed at the family pile, but more like a slim ray of hope for first home buyers struggling to enter overheated markets in Melbourne and Sydney.
My first CV cost my parents $100. Back in the Eighties, this was a substantial gift - but worth it, they assured me, because my fate lay in that single printed page. Mum and Dad were ambitious for me, and I was groomed to value academic and professional achievements. Coming out top in any competition and obtaining financial independence: these were goals to aim for.

I bought into this mindset, encouraged by teachers, bosses and peers. Then I had a child. And, as I slipped into a baby-centred routine of feeding, bathing and coochy-cooing, I realised that nothing in my upbringing had prepared me to appreciate motherhood.

Mothers "rear" children, standing at the back of the queue when goodies like high status and great bonuses are handed out. Credit:Robert Peet

Motherhood has become a foreign land. Its customs are out of kilter with an increasing number of women in 2018, who are busy relishing their newfound power and influence. But such victories have been won by female activists and career professionals who display extraordinary self-confidence, single-mindedness and competitive spirit - not traditionally seen as maternal qualities.

The winners in these high-profile battles against misogyny in the bedroom and the boardroom now occupy centre stage. Many see their chief role as leading others, rather than rearing children. Mothering could not be more different: even the vocabulary surrounding it denotes its self-effacing nature. Mothers "rear" children, standing at the back of the queue when goodies like high status and great bonuses are handed out. Mothers must deal with "domestic drudgery", "household chores", and the "burden of childcare".
Despoiling the environment risks triggering the collapse of civilisations, a threat that goes back at least as far as Greeks, new research by Australian-based scientists has revealed.

In a paper published in Nature Scientific Reports this week, researchers from the University of Wollongong lay claim to uncovering the earliest evidence of agriculture's impact on the environment.

Associate Professor Tony Dosseto (left) and PhD Student Leo Rothacker from the University of Wollongong examine sediment samples to reveal ancient soil erosion by farmers.

By examining changing chemical isotopes in sediment samples taken from Lake Dojran in modern-day Macedonia and Greece, scientists found evidence of a significant erosion event about 3200 years ago that they links directly to the spread of farming to the region.

"What we show for the first time now is how deep the impact [from farming] was on the environment," said Leo Rothacker, a PhD student and lead author of the paper. "Our data indicates that the soil has been pretty much been completely stripped from the landscape."
One of the nation's largest coal-fired power stations has had six failures of one of its units in the past three weeks, placing added strain on the power grid and prompting a call for fossil fuel plants to be set the same reliability standards being considered for renewable energy suppliers.

Loy Yang A station, owned by AGL, had its latest "trips" late on Tuesday evening and then two hours later at 1.10am on Wednesday, instantly shedding 230 megawatts and 161 megawatts of output respectively.

AGL said Unit One of the Latrobe Valley plant returned to service on 22 December following "a planned major maintenance outage", and had had difficulties since.

"Load may fluctuate due to minor maintenance issues that are addressed as part of normal plant operations," an AGL spokesman said. "Our key focus is on ensuring that Loy Yang continues to be a safe and reliable provider of generation to the National Electricity Market."
In NSW, the state with the best odds, there were only 2.2 job seekers for each vacant job, one of the lowest ratios recorded. A year earlier there were 2.7.

The ratio of 3.1 means there were roughly three job seekers for each vacant job, a step up from November 2016 when there were 3.7.

The latest count from the Bureau of Statistics shows there were a record 216,000 job vacancies in November and 661,400 Australians out of work, the lowest total since 2012 .

While Victoria has recorded the biggest improvement, the odds remain nowhere near as good as in NSW. There were 3.1 unemployed Victorians trying to get each vacant job in November, down from 4.2 a year earlier.

In Queensland the odds improved from 4.5 per vacant job to 3.9, in South Australia from 6.1 to 5.7, in Western Australia from 4.7 to 4.3 and in Tasmania from 7.9 to 5.7.

In the Northern Territory the odds remained little changed at about two unemployed per vacancy, and in the Australian Capital Territory they slid from 1.6 to just 1.3. But the ACT figures are unrealistic because they are biased downwards by the number of ACT workers living outside of the territory and the number who come from interstate for jobs.

The better odds in every state reflect both a surge in the number of vacancies, from 69,000 to 81,500 in NSW, and from 45,400 to 57,500 in Victoria, and also a drop in the number of Australians identifying as unemployed.
Real estate agents are pushing the Coalition to introduce a new 'property services' minister to bring the nation's multi-billion dollar housing and development industry closer to the heart of government.

However the proposal, floated in a pre-budget submission by the Real Estate Institute of Australia, has come under scrutiny for the "unclear" benefit it would deliver Australians.

The plan would see a new portfolio created at the federal or state level to tackle all forms of property policy, including law, taxation, housing affordability and the governance of real estate agents.
If you lived through the 1990s, chances are you owned a pair (or three) of Bettina Liano jeans.

Now, Olympia Christou, the daughter of the famed designer, is set to make her own mark on Australian fashion, as one of the faces of the Melbourne Fashion Festival.

The 20-something was chosen by festival bosses for her striking features, which challenge outdated norms about beauty, said the festival's chief executive, Graeme Lewsey.

"We need to get away from this Barbie and Ken idea of beauty, and look to fascination and exploration of humanity. [Olympia's] features are so curious," he said.
On top of that the household income slumped because her husband, the family breadwinner, unexpectedly had less work than usual.

Ms Wright, 36, usually puts $4000 a month through a Coles Mastercard to earn Fly Buys points. But last month there was an extra $5500 in spending  she bought her parents flights to Hawaii for her mother's 60th birthday, bought Christmas presents for her three young children, and then the family's washing machine broke down.

Jessica Wright is considering shifting her credit card debt to a balance transfer card with zero interest after a blowout over Christmas plunged the family finances into the red.

Jessica Wright, a Brisbane mother of three, is considering a balance transfer deal to get on top of Christmas debt.

"I usually pay it off in full but there's no way it's going to happen this month," Ms Wright said. "There's a little bit of remorse because when I decided to buy the tickets for my parents, I didn't realise my husband's work would be all over the place  he usually earns good money but he had three weeks off over Christmas that we hadn't planned for so that made it hard. I knew it would be a struggle but not as bad as it got and the washing machine  well, I didn't see that coming."

Ms Wright said it made no sense to pay high interest on the Coles Mastercard so she'd look for a balance transfer deal. She believes she can pay it off before the higher interest kicks in, as long as the interest holiday is longer than six months.

Reserve Bank figures show a total $27.45 billion in credit card purchases for October 2017. Over the previous three years, December spending was on average 10 per cent higher than October of the same year. If that trend holds this year, the December spending on credit cards would have exceeded $30 billion. The Reserve Bank will release the official figures in February.

Four out of five credit card holders plan to pay off their Christmas-induced debt in three months or less, according to a survey of 1450 Australians by comparison site Finder in December. One in five will take longer than three months to service their debt.
Commuters were left fuming on Wednesday after massive delays and cancellations across the Sydney rail network on Tuesday evening left them stranded.

Storm damage on Tuesday morning and a lack of staff led to long queues and overcrowding at major stations including Central, Wynyard and Town Hall. Commuters were advised to delay non-essential travel or take buses to ease pressure on the train network.

One commuter, Anita Thorsteinsson, said her usual 25-minute trip from Wynyard to Campsie took one hour and 45 minutes on Tuesday night.

"Yesterday was the worst, a few trains have been cancelled in the mornings and the afternoons; it seems every third or fourth one cancelled," she said.
Howard Collins describes himself as a "railway professional".

He is also the "Tube man", a nickname bestowed on him when he was head of the London Underground by Boris Johnson, London's former mayor who is now UK Foreign Secretary.

Mr Collins faced many challenges in his 35 years in various transport roles in London, including the Kings Cross fire in 1987 that claimed 31 lives, and the 2005 terrorist attacks.

Now as the chief executive of Sydney Trains, he is at the centre of a storm buffeting the city's stretched rail network, one that threatens to worsen at any time due to events often outside his control.
A koala found screwed to a post in south-east Queensland shows signs of head trauma but its cause of death will not be known until late Thursday at the earliest, authorities say.

Crucially, the RSPCA has been unable to definitively say the native animal was dead before it was secured to the gazebo in a Sunshine Coast hinterland park, where it was found on Wednesday.

A council worker told Koala Rescue Queensland he found this koala screwed to the pole in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Credit:Koala Rescue Queensland

Theres some injuries there but of course you don't know whether or not that was after the koala was already dead or whether it was still alive, RPSCA spokesman Michael Beatty said.

Mr Beatty confirmed the RSPCA had taken custody of the body, which would be taken to the organisations animal care campus at Wacol for an autopsy to be performed, hopefully on Thursday afternoon.
A pilot has walked away from a plane crash after the aircraft he was flying clipped a house and ended up in the home's yard.

Paramedics arrived at a property in Pacific Haven, west of Hervey Bay, to reports an ultralight aircraft had crashed just after 11am on Wednesday.

The damaged aircraft being carried out of the yard. Credit:Ten Eyewitness News.

The pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft, a 68-year-old man, reportedly managed to get himself out of the aircraft and was treated for head and ankle injuries by paramedics.

He was transported to hospital in a stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Queen's Baton has arrived on Palm Island for the first time in Commonwealth Games history.

Student Ikanau Conway, 12, was the community baton bearer and carried it from the Parish Centre to the front of the council chambers in the Town Centre Mall on Wednesday morning.

Student Ikanau Conway carries the Queen's Baton on Palm Island on Wednesday.

Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey said the occasion was a poignant and hopeful moment in the island's history.

"This year marks 100 years since our people were forced onto Palm Island, or Bwgcolman as we know it, serving as a reminder of how Aboriginals used to be treated in Queensland," Cr Lacey said.
Former Bandidos bikie Toby Mitchell shoved a female photographer minutes after appearing in court on assault and affray charges over a fight.

Mitchell, 43, pushed AAP photographer Ellen Smith's camera into her face as he made his way through a media pack after leaving Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Toby Mitchell outside Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday. Credit:AAP

He then stepped into a black car that pulled up nearby and was driven away.

Ms Smith was not injured. She said he shoved her hard as media jostled to get footage.
A fatally injured man allegedly abandoned by his friends was left alone in the back seat of a crashed car for at least 30 minutes before he was found by a passer-by, a court has heard.

Owen Sugay suffered serious injuries when the Subaru Impreza he was a back-seat passenger in crashed into a concrete pole in Wollert, north-east of Melbourne, between 5.35am and 5.45am last Friday.

Injured passenger Owen Sugay was allegedly left in this car for 30 minutes after it hit a pole on Friday. Credit:Ebony Bowden

Mr Sugay was still alive when a passer-by came across the car in Bindts Road about 6.15am, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday, and was treated by ambulance paramedics soon after, but he died at the scene.

Police allege Mr Sugay's friends, Michael Glen Ashlin, 33, and a woman in her 20s, ran away after the crash and failed to call emergency services. Police last week said Mr Sugay might have survived had he received medical treatment earlier.
In mid-2016 police divers searching for any sign of missing fishermen Nigel Kitchen and Andrew Hinds made the grim discovery of a human arm lying on the ocean floor.

Days earlier the two men, who became friends through a Perth fishing club, had set off from Coral Bay boat ramp around midday on May 26, 2016 intending to fish the afternoon high tide.

Nigel Kitchen and Andrew Hinds. Credit:Coastlive.com.au

When sunset came just before 6pm and the pair's car and trailer sat in an empty car park, friends became concerned and sounded the alarm.

Despite extensive land, sea and aerial searches to locate the two men, all that was recovered was some debris from Mr Hinds' boat and what would later be confirmed through DNA testing to be Mr Kitchen's arm.
Twelve people have been charged following a six-month investigation into the sale and supply of illicit drugs in WA's south-west.

Operation Zagros kicked off in July last year, with Bunbury detectives focussing their efforts on Manjimup.

A man is arrested following the raids. Credit:WA Police.

On Tuesday, South West District police officers, along with the Organised Crime Squad, coordinated 14 search warrants in the small town.

Those charged are alleged to have committed 58 offences.
Bangkok: Accused Australian spy James Ricketson walked into a Cambodian court on Wednesday, raised his cuffed hands and shouted "there is no evidence. I am treated like this all the time."

Ricketson then made a passionate plea to be released on bail from a notoriously harsh Cambodian jail.

Australian James Ricketson is escorted into a Phnom Penh court on Wednesday. Credit:NARA LON

"If I am guilty of espionage then the court would convict me. But it can't. Based on the law, I am not guilty and should be bailed, and the charge against me should be dropped," he said.

Sixty-eight year-old Ricketson, who has health problems, said he could not leave the country because his passport and $50,000 worth of camera equipment has been seized.
Beijing: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has weighed into the row over China's Pacific aid program, criticising loans that "impose onerous debt burdens on regional governments".

China lodged a diplomatic complaint on Wednesday, labelling an attack on its Pacific aid program by Turnbull government minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells as "full of ignorance and prejudice".

International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has been lashed by the Chinese government for saying their Pacific aid program was useless. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Fierravanti-Wells, international development minister, earlier accused China of building useless buildings, white elephants and "roads to nowhere" in the Pacific.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang responded by saying China's aid program had "brought real benefits to local people" and had been welcomed by Pacific governments.
Washington: President Trump assailed the Russia investigation Wednesday as a distraction, a waste of time and a "witch hunt" -- and appeared to call on congressional Republicans to do something about it.

"The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues," Trump tweeted. "There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes."

While Trump suggested that congressional Republicans act more forcefully, he didn't say how. "Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!" Trump said.

Republicans, who control both the House and Senate, are leading three separate congressional investigations into Russia's interference in the presidential election and possible collusion with Trump associates.
Washington: Ecuador says that it will continue to protect WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its embassy in London but indicated weariness over his prolonged asylum ordeal, saying that it "is not sustainable."

Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa told correspondents in Quito that her nation is looking for a third country or prominent international figure to help broker the stalemate over Assange, who entered the embassy in London in June 2012.

Julian Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy for almost six years to avoid being extradited to the US. Credit:LUKE MACGREGOR

"We will continue to protect Julian Assange," Espinosa said in a tweet. But she told reporters gathered for an annual news conference earlier that "a person cannot live in these conditions forever."

"We are also considering and exploring the possibility of mediation... It could be a third country or a personality," Espinosa said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Activist Caroline De Haas wrote the letter which was published on the Radio France website Franceinfo. She said the Le Monde group were like an embarrassing colleague or tiring uncle who does not understand what is happening. As soon as equality advances, even half a millimetre, good souls immediately alert us to the fact that we risk going too far, the letter said. In France, every day, hundreds of thousands of women are victims of harassment. Loading Accepting insults against women means allowing violence the (Le Monde) signatories deliberately confuse a relationship of seduction, based on respect and pleasure, with one of violence.

Many of them are often quick to denounce sexism when it comes from men in working class neighbourhoods. But a hand on the ass from men in their own milieu, according to them, is just exercising a right to bother women. Ms De Haas said her first reaction when reading the Le Monde letter had been sadness. Some people dont want the old world, the ancient world to go away, she said. But if you say sexual aggression or harassment is not bad, or not a big issue, the message you send to all victims is that its not very important and you send a message to the guy that its not a problem. There is no line between seduction and harassment, she said, and it was wrong to even put them on the same spectrum. Loading

I dont think its a difference of degree, it is not the same thing, she said. Harassment is not a seduction, its something else. Its violence. She said she felt it was important to respond to the Le Monde letter because it was being discussed in homes and workplaces across the country, and it was important to write the alternative argument, to expose and explain its stereotypes. But she said she did not believe the Le Monde letter would have a lasting impact. In France, the #MeToo movement is known as #BalanceTonPorc, which translates as call out your pig. Coined by journalist Sandra Muller, this tactic encouraged women to name their harassers. BalanceTonPorc and MeToo (is) something irreversible, Ms De Haas said. This wave is so important, so incredible, so crazy that its not possible to come back. We are the majority, we are the silent millions of people in the world.

The Le Monde article began by insisting it was not condoning rape or sexual violence. The Harvey Weinstein revelations had led to a legitimate awareness of sexual violence against women, particularly in the workplace where women men abuse their power, it said. But #MeToo had transformed into a campaign of denunciations in the press and social networks against men with no opportunity to defend themselves, it said. One co-signer was Elizabeth Levy, a journalist, essayist and editor of Causeur magazine. Levy opposed #BalanceTonPorc from the outset, writing in October last year that it was an ideological gadget that disguised denunciation as an act of courage.

She said on Wednesday that she did not believe the movement was really about seeking justice. Explain how you get justice by forgetting all the rules of justice? she said. She was fed up with hearing that women are victims, that we are living with suffering all the time, she said. The #MeToo and #BalanceTonPorc movement was transforming every woman into a victim. Most of BalanceTonPorc  say he grabbed my leg, he touched my ass, Ms Levy said. Ok, it can happen and its very bad but do you have to spend the next 10 years thinking of that trauma? After 10 years, must the man who said you have big tits lose his job? Of course pressure at work, or rape or violence is not acceptable. But if someone touched you in the Metro (subway), ok its very unpleasant but should I feel humiliated by that? Come on.
Beijing: He came bearing gifts, including a brown horse named Vesuvius plucked from the French presidential cavalry. He tried his hand at Mandarin. He journeyed to an ancient capital to pay respects to China's first emperor.

French President Emmanuel Macron, on a three-day visit to China that ended on Wednesday, has worked at every turn to win over China's leaders, hoping to reinvigorate ties between the two countries as they grapple with the strident nationalism of President Donald Trump.

French President Emmanuel Macron, second from left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, pose with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan in Beijing on Monday. Credit:Ludovic Marin

During meetings Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping articulated a vision at odds with Trump's world view. They spoke of a need for free trade and rallied against protectionism. They embraced multilateralism and praised institutions like the United Nations. And they emphasised the importance of working together to combat climate change.

Macron, speaking briefly in Mandarin on Monday, repeated one of his favourite jabs at Trump, saying it was time to "make our planet great again".
The Soyuz MS-07 rocket is launched with Expedition 54 Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, flight engineer Scott Tingle of NASA, and flight engineer Norishige Kanai of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in December. Credit:Joel Kowsky Space is at a premium in, well, space, with each inch scrutinised to pack in instruments, tools, plants and insects for experiments and other essentials such as food and water. That means the living and working quarters are tight. On the Russian Soyuz TMA spacecraft, the vehicle used to get astronauts to and from the ISS, personnel are limited to about 1.9 metres so they can fit inside the seats. That means anyone at that limit on Earth would be restricted from ISS operations. "I am a little worried I won't fit in my seat on the return trip on Soyuz," Kanai said in his initial tweet, when he thought he grew much taller than he did. Polk said the spacesuits and seat liners inside the spacecraft were designed with fluctuating bodies in mind, including expanded spines. The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS-07 space ship carrying a new crew to the International Space Station, ISS, blasts off at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on December 17. Credit:DMITRI LOVETSKY He and others are not concerned about Kanai squeezing into the seat, each one fitted with a liner customised for and molded to the body of each astronaut and taken aboard the Soyuz to ensure a tight fit during the violent reintroduction to gravity.

"To help absorb the shock of landing, explosive charges fired and instantly pushed our seats forward so that our faces were very close to the instrument panel," astronaut Ron Garan wrote in October 2011, describing reentry from the Soyuz vehicle. Once the vehicle reenters Earth's atmosphere, astronauts are again compressed to their normal height, Polk said. Taller space program hopefuls had their dreams dashed in earlier decades. The country's first astronauts, the legendary Mercury 7 crew including John Glenn and Alan Shepard, were all under 6 feet - it would have been too much for anyone taller inside the claustrophobic Mercury capsule. Later recruits could exceed that limit in the space shuttle program, though some flirted with the restriction among the celestial bodies. "According to my quick calculations here, I seem to have grown about an inch or so. So I'm now too tall to fly in space," said 6-foot-3 (1.9 metre) Columbia payload commander Richard Hieb in July 1994, after measuring himself as part of a medical experiment. "And that's without slipper-socks." While height differences are fleeting, NASA scientists and researchers are still learning about the longer-term effects of zero gravity on the human body, a vital lesson if humans reach beyond the moon to colonise Mars and other planets. The agency got a rare opportunity in 2015 when astronaut Scott Kelly spent a year on the ISS, a record, providing researchers a wealth of metrics. His twin brother, Mark, a retired astronaut, was studied so scientists could compare notes on terrestrial and extraterrestrial effects on the mind and body.

There are a host of concerns, such as plaque buildup in arteries and how shifts in bodily fluids affect eyesight. Vision problems are a common issue among astronauts - gravity on Earth tends to draw fluids downward, but that does not occur in space, and scientists believe those fluids fluctuate and build in the skull and inflame the optic nerve. An exam of John Phillips, an astronaut on the ISS in 2005, determined that the backs of his eyes were flatter and pushed his retinas forward. In six months, his eyesight went from 20/20 to 20/100. His vision later improved to 20/50 and remained there, even years later. It's a battle against biology: "Your body wasn't made to pump blood away from your brain," Polk said. But research yielded from the Kellys and others aboard the ISS suggest a resiliency in the human body, Polk said. Loss of bone density and vision issues appear to plateau after some time as the body, as with all life, bends toward homeostasis. And yet, some dangers will always be present and risks only reduced, chief among them radiation from the sun and galactic cosmic rays. A radiation detector aboard the Mars rover Curiosity concluded that a human would be bombarded with a minimum of 0.66 sieverts during a round-trip excursion to Mars, or the equivalent of receiving a CT body scan every five to six days. That would bolster the risk of cancer and other ailments. Loading
Bangkok: It was a trap reminiscent of the darkest days of the Myanmar army's half-century of repressive rule.

On December 12 as world outrage was growing over a pogrom against Rohingya Muslims two young and ambitious Reuters reporters received an invitation journalists dream about.

They were invited for dinner on the outskirts of Yangon with a pair of police officers who had worked in townships in Myanmar's western Rakhine state where Rohingya survivors had pointed to a mass grave as evidence of army-led atrocities.

Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were handed rolled-up documents and told they could view them once they got home, according to sources familiar with the case.
Randall Hansen happened to be in Washington for a conference on Friday as Michael Wolff's new explosive book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, was taking the city by storm.

"I was perking up a bit," said Hansen, the interim director at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. But his interest in the book had less to do with the political controversy it sparked and more to do with its title.

That's because almost a decade ago, Hansen wrote a book about a different kind of "fire and fury." Hansen's Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942-1945, released in 2009, earned national acclaim in Canada for its examination of civilian German suffering during World War II.

But in recent years, "very few people were buying it," Hansen said in an interview Tuesday with The Washington Post.
White House officials made the unusual decision on Tuesday to allow cameras to film a nearly hour-long immigration meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. They probably wish they hadn't.

For a moment, Democrats thought they had struck an unexpected deal with President Donald Trump. Trump had previously insisted that any deal protecting "dreamers" - undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children - should also include border security and/or a border wall. But he now says that he would support a "clean" bill protecting dreamers, and then take up comprehensive immigration reform later.

"What about a clean DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] bill now and a commitment to do comprehensive next?" said Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California.

Trump responded: "Yeah, I would like to do that. I think a lot of people would like to see that."
SIMPSON BAY:--- The Management Team of the Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) kicked off a series of meetings it will be holding with the hub partners during the first quarter of the new year with an extensive exchange of information with the Anguillan authorities.

The importance of meeting with the hub partners cannot be over-emphasized, said Michel Hyman, COO and Acting CEO of SXM Airport. It is quite essential for the continued working relationship between the Princess Juliana International Airport and all its hub partners, adding that partnership depends on timely and effective communication.

And according to Donna Banks, Chairperson of the Anguilla Tourist Board, who led the Anguilla delegation, "The long-term goals of a budding relationship was the core premise of the discussions."

Hyman said the Anguillan authorities were briefed on the overall extent of the damages suffered by SXM Airport, including the Air Traffic Service (ATS) in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and given updates on the reconstruction of the terminal building which has been rendered out of service since Irma struck the island.

The Anguillan delegation also received updates on the current operations and transit procedures at SXM as well as about the ongoing construction of the new tents to better serve the travelers.

"The Anguilla-bound transfer passengers are of great importance to SXM Airport and we are trying to fine-tune different avenues to avoid bottle-necks," Hyman added.

Other topics discussed included the ongoing negotiations for the establishment of US Pre-Clearance at SXM and how this would affect the Anguilla-based passengers.

Donna Banks recalled the days when the hub partners came together to jointly seek new airline services and expressed the wish to see this happen once again.

Hyman responded by stressing that it was the intention to reconvene the Air Service Development Committee (ASDC) meetings as soon as possible which would facilitate the joint quest for new airlines.

The Anguilla delegation included Shellya Webster, Manager of Corporate Affairs of the Anguilla Tourist Board, Patricia Harrigan, Product Development Officer at the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, Investment, Commerce and Tourism of the Government of Anguilla, and Lesly H Lloyd, Port Manager AXA-SXM Dock,

The SXM Airport delegation also included Ravi Daryanani, Chief Financial Officer of PJIAE NV, the operating company of the airport.

SXM Airport is set to continue these meetings with all the hub partners  St. Martin (French), St. Eustatius, Saba, Nevis, St. Kitts and Dominica in the coming weeks and months.

PJIAE Press Release
PHILIPSBURG:--- In the article titled, Prosecution confirms Lee under investigation, published on January 9, 2018, it stated that Honorable Minister of VROMI, Christophe Emmanuel, filed a complaint against his colleague, Minister Lee, with the Prosecutors Office in early December. This is false information.

Prior to the above mentioned article, the Daily Herald published on December 19, 2017, that during the radio program Online with Fernando Clark, Minister Emmanuel announced that he filed a complaint with the Prosecutors Office against Minister Lee for misuse of his Government-issued fuel bonds for his business and placing his Government-owned vehicle license plate on his personal vehicle post Hurricane Irma. At no time did Minister Emmanuel file a criminal complaint at the Prosecutor office against Minister Lee.

Minister Christopher Emmanuel submitted a letter on December 8, 2017, to the Council of Ministers, which was copied to The Governor, Parliament of Sint Maarten and The Prosecutors Office. The letter was in regards to Minister Lee placing the MR4 number plate on his personal vehicle and statements made in regards to the Government issued bond book for the purchasing of fuel.

What may seem as a direct reaction to the before mentioned article of the Daily Herald published on January 9, 2018, the Public Prosecutors Office of Sint Maarten published a press release on January 9, 2018 stating that there is no criminal investigation ongoing against Mr. Emil Lee at this moment in relation to abuse of car number plates or theft of gasoline/using government fuel bonds to purchase fuel for personal use in the last months of 2017 after the hurricane Irma. The press release also clarified that there is no formal complaint at the Public Prosecutors Office against Mr. Emil Lee about this subject.

On a number of occasions, The Daily Herald has published false information, which goes against the ethics and good practices of journalism. Publishing an inaccurate statement without receiving any clarification or information from the Minister of VROMI is slanderous and unacceptable.

Click here to view the letter to Council of Ministers by Christopher Emmanuel.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Finally, the books of Denise De Jongh-Rekwest, the in Curacao born author, who lives in Bonaire, could be handed over by Loekie Morales to the director of the Jubilee Library of St. Maarten in Philipsburg, Monique Alberts.

Morales met her colleague author during the Children Book weeks in Curacao, where they have presented their books and stories to the children in several primary schools on the island.

I am happy that I could bring Denises books as a donation of hers to the library. Knowing the loss of the library during the last hurricanes, Denise thought the books would be very welcome in Sint Maarten. said Loekie.

Denise De Jongh-Rekwest has published several children books, like the Kaylee series (Etiket i kroket di Kaylee, Kaylee ta hana klomp, Kaylee i su primunan ku fakansi na Korsou, Kaylee, Reina di karnaval) and a comic book Gina i Gino, amigu di kurason. All of these books are in Papiamentu and Dutch.

Denise Rekwest writes mostly in Papiamento. She is an expert in tourism and etiquette. The latter is to be found in the series of Kaylee, a little girl who while growing up, learns about how to behave nicely and do the things in a correct and respectful manner.

Another book which is Papia nechi ku Koko Lep i Koko Lap, was successful for teaching etiquette to toddlers as well. Etiket, e porta pa eksito! was Denises first book for adults. Her latest book for adults is Lanta sin Tata, dealing with the experiences of people who grew up with no father in their lives, and the effects of this phenomenon on adults. This book is a success because it is well written. Besides that, the topic is very common throughout the Caribbean, where you will find most single mother households.

In Holland, Denise de Jongh-Rekwest has studied tourism and etiquette was the subject she is specialized in. Based on her experiences she has started a company twenty years ago, called Training & Consultancy 2000 to give training in etiquette to children, teenagers and adults in Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and the Windward Islands.

Monique Alberts has accepted the books as a welcome asset to the libraries book collection.

BKE Foundation Press Release
After being designed by LEGO fan Jake Sadovich of Idaho and successfully surviving the LEGO Ideas gauntlet, LEGO has announced the upcoming release of a 962-piece ship in a bottle build set. The set will be available February 1st and retail for $70. Now that is a clever LEGO set. Obviously, I plan on buying it and building it and displaying it on the fireplace mantle with the rest of my ships in bottles. "But there aren't any." I know, this is going to be the first. "What's up with those urns?" Those are my cats. "What happened to them?" What do you mean what happened to them, their urns, not magical lamps -- they ran out of lives. Now tell me something funny now that you've got me all depressed. "Do you know what the ship in a bottle sexual move is?" No, and I don't want to -- this is a family website. "Is it though?" I have no clue, until yesterday I thought it was a really shitty dating site.

Keep going for a couple more shots.

Thanks to Cam, who agrees the key to building a real ship in a bottle is patience and not rage-quitting halfway through and stabbing your roommate with the broken bottle.
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Brussels (Belgium), Jan 09, 2018 (SPS) - the Delegate Minister for Europe, Mohamed Sidati, appealed Tuesday to the European Union to work to support the process of resolving the conflict in the Sahara Western led by the United Nations. "

The Saharawi diplomat highlighted that the visit of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Western Sahara, Horst Kohler, is an opportunity for the EU to change its policy towards the Western Sahara to play a "constructive role"

Mohamed Sidati said that "unfortunately, the EU has not demonstrated its political will to resolve the conflict and continues to provide support for the Moroccan occupation", which is reflected in the permissiveness of the plundering of Morocco of the Sahrawi natural resources, by violating the European Court of Justice ruling of 2016.

On the other hand, the high representative of the foreign policy of the EU, Federica Mohgerini, expressed the will of the European bloc to support the efforts of the United Nations to resolve the conflict in Western Sahara. SPS

125/090/TRA
Chahid El Hafed, Jan 09, 2018 (SPS) - After the general lawyer of the European Court of Justice, Wathelete, comes to the conclusion that the fishing agreement between the EU and Morocco is illegal to include Western Sahara and the adjacent waters, the Frente POLISARIO has requested by means of a communique that "all the instances of EU" consider the judgments and legal principles of its justice, in relation to the illegality of the agreements with Morocco that include the Western Sahara.

In this sense, " POLISARIO, calls for a direct dialogue to impose the right of the Saharawi people on their natural resources", and reminds the European Commission, that with the violation of judicial decisions, the suffering of the Saharawi people is prolonged and "is responsible in the legal, moral and historical."

"The POLISARIO, sends an appeal to all European companies present in Western Sahara and adjacent waters (...) that in the current state, are developing their activities in the framework of illegality," as claimed by the Attorney General.

Finally, POLISARIO urges that this judicial advance will relaunch the process of decolonization in Western Sahara, under the direction of the United Nations, a process that was blocked by the intransigence of Morocco.

It should be recalled that the general lawyer of the European Court, settled in its conclusions, published today, that the fishing agreement formed by the European Union and Morocco, lacks legality as it includes the territory of Western Sahara and adjacent waters. SPS

125/090/TRA
WASHINGTON  The fate of young immigrants brought here illegally continues to percolate in Washington, but Dreamers in Connecticut and elsewhere got a major reprieve when a court order brought the curtain down on cancelation of the DACA program that protected them.

Late Tuesday, federal Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ordered a halt to the process of deporting up to 800,000 immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children with their families.

Alsup ruled the Obama-era program that gave them legal status  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA  could not be canceled while a court case seeking to prop it up proceeded.

The ruling, which is temporary, brought the deportation process unleashed by the Trump administration last September to a halt. President Donald Trumps decision to cancel then President Obamas 2012 DACA order was slated to fully kick in March 5.

But DACA advocates say legal status for up to 15,000 recipients already has already expired.

More News News Deal on DACA and border security? CT Dems hold their breath

News of the court ruling drew a muted sigh of relief from Dreamers in Connecticut.

Although only temporary, (the court ruling) shows what we have long known  ending DACA was an immoral, arbitrary decision that had no legal ground, said Camila Bortoletto of Danbury, campaign manager for Connecticut Students for a Dream. The ruling changes nothing  DACA is still dead. Our community still needs permanent protection and we cannot let this be a distraction in that fight.

All sides in Washington, from Trump and congressional Republicans to congressional Democrats including Connecticuts delegation, appear to agree that DACA recipients  8,000 of them in Connecticut  should not be forced to leave the only country that many, if not most, of them have ever known.

But Democrats are resisting Trumps conditioning of DACA relief on construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, a marquee promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.

For Democrats, the wall is a non-starter both in terms of cost and effectiveness at repelling illegal entry.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have called for a clean bill to maintain legal status for DACA recipients, unencumbered by Trumps border-security demands.

We must redouble our determination to protect these 800,000 young people from draconian mass deportation, a continuing threat as long as President Trump refuses to reverse his cruel, unconscionable policies, Blumenthal said. Congress should waste no time in swiftly passing clean legislation to protect these young people.

On Wednesday, a flurry of proposals and counter-proposals moved across Washington with few signs that a bipartisan deal is soon to be struck.

For his part, Trump dug in his heels a bit after a remarkable televised meeting Tuesday with congressional Republicans and Democrats in which the president suggested a border wall didnt have to run the entire 2,000-mile length of the U.S.-Mexico frontier.

Trump also suggested he is open to an overall immigration deal that includes a path to citizenship  anathema to Republican conservatives and much of Trumps base attracted to the brash N.Y. real estate magnate because of his anti-immigrant message.

Trumps commitment to a border wall has never changed, the president told reporters during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. But on the other hand, we want to see something happen with DACA.
Struggle can mold a person, but how that mold is shaped is up to the person being affected by the struggle. If you really put struggle to good use, you can end up soaring through the ranks at any company, just like Uber Chief Brand Officer Bozoma Saint John.

Born in Connecticut and raised in Kenya, Saint John graduated from Wesleyan University, and on a whim, moved to New York. After spending a bit of time without a job, Saint John was directed to a temp agency that eventually landed her with a job answering phones for Spike Lee. From there, opportunity struck when she was able to review one of Spike Lee's scripts. A few marks of a red pen sent her from answering phone calls to managing accounts. That progressed even further onto marketing for Apple, Beats and Pepsi, and now it has turned into Bozoma Saint John being named the Chief Brand Officer at Uber

Saint John is a picture of what it takes to be successful in today's world. The bold and outspoken Chief Brand Officer at Uber is someone you can really learn a lot from. Here are five lessons we can learn from her amazing climb.

1. Saying "please" is important.

When asked her favorite word in an interview with The Guardian, Saint John simply replied, "Please. It gets me everything I need."

I try to take this into account every day because of the sheer power of that statement. "Please" gets you everything you need.

It's so easy, too. Try it out, and you will see a world of difference in the attitudes of the people around you. If you ask someone to do something, tack on the word please. When they do it, say thank you. One simple expression can declare so many emotions.

Related: 7 Times a 'Thank You' Is the Best Response

2. One person can make a difference.

If you have ever stopped to think about the difference one person makes, you aren't alone. Workplace apathy is a real thing, especially when you aren't entirely sure how you making a difference in the operations.

Is this your work attitude? If so, it's probably time to try your best at finding a new outlook, or a new job. You make an impact on your workplace, and one person can affect the entire operation for better or worse.

"The culture changes simply by being, right? It's like any other thing where you change one molecule and the matter changes," Saint John said to The New York Times Magazine.

This was Saint John's response to a question revolving the ability to change Uber's company culture, and it's a perfect example of how one person can make a difference. An infectious attitude is all it takes to get the ball rolling in another direction, but it's up to you to make sure it's a positive one.

Related: The 7 Qualities of People Who Are Highly Respected

3. Stay true to yourself.

To shine, you have to be you. Since there is only one of you, it's probably not the best idea to try to be someone else.

Saint John was working for a company when an older female executive told her to stay away from red lipstick. The executive wanted to help Saint John not make a splash that might ruin her opportunity for employment. It was a strategy for slowly and steadily earning the respect of the male-dominated corporate world, but there was a problem. But that strategy didn't fit Saint John's personality.

"The damage it did was made me question whether or not I could be bold in an office because I am a bold person . . . I'm bold in personality, I'm hella tall and I'm hella black . . . It's not natural to me. It would make me unproductive in what I do because I would be so focused on being quiet that I can't really show up," she stated in an interview with CNBC.

The lesson is, you have to be you to be productive at work. You can't jump from shadow to shadow and hope for success -- you have to turn on the lights to find the path.

Related: Be You, It's What True Entrepreneurs Do

4. Tragedy isn't an end, it's a beginning.

Life throws a mean curveball every now and again, and Saint John knows a thing or two about that. As she started down the strenuous pursuit of a career, her husband passed away, leaving just her and her daughter, but that didn't stop her.

"My daughter, Lael. She's fearless and fun. In her eight years, she's had traumatic events, but still gives hugs," Saint John told The Guardian.

We can all take a thing or two from a perspective like that. Admiration of the youthful spirit that can help you find motivation and drive. Children don't hate and they always want to try new things. They find fun in just about anything and amazement in new discoveries.

This is just like Saint John, who, at 40, is still blazing her own path with youthful optimism and a love for new challenges.

Related: 4 Motivating TED Talks to Help You Bounce Back From Failure

5. Listen to your gut.

During an interview with Lewis Howes, Saint John talked about listening to your gut. She reminded us that even the most talked-about person can still be wrong for you to work with.

If you meet someone new, trust your gut feeling about that person -- even if they come with the best reviews. If your gut tells you something is off when you meet them, it's probably a sign that something will go wrong in the future.

Related: Go With Your Gut: How to Use Your Intuition to Succeed in Business

Conclusion

Saint John is a great example for people looking to make a splash in their field. Her magnetic attitude is something everyone can learn from, and her words are lessons about the reality of struggle working in your favor.

If you work hard and take the time to find the right people, you can be an effective business leader, no matter where you sit in the company. It's about making yourself shine and keeping a clear head. Opportunity will strike, and you can be prepared to take it, just like Saint John.

Do you have any major players in the corporate environment you love? What do you think about the lessons taken from Saint John? Let us know in the comments below.

Related:

This Flying Vehicle Could One Day Be Your Uber

5 Lessons You Can Learn from Uber Chief Brand Officer Bozoma Saint John

Este es el vehiculo que usara Uber para viajar por el aire



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


In news that will surprise approximately zero percent of the nation, it turns out Nevada and legal recreational marijuana really do make a very good match.

Recreational marijuana sales in the Silver State crossed the $126 million mark in October, just four months after they began on July 1, 2017, according to numbers from the Nevada Department of Taxation.

That number blows Colorado out of the water. Colorado, which famously began sales of legal adult-use marijuana in 2014, saw about $22.5 million in sales in its first four months.

Whats more, the Nevada state government is also bringing in cash at a rate that will no doubt catch the eye of politicians in places such as Illinois and New York, where some officials are pushing for legalization of marijuana to help offset budget deficits.

With huge legal marijuana markets about to open in California and Massachusetts, that argument is going to get even stronger.

Related: California Unleashes a Massive Market for Legal Cannabis

October Biggest Month Yet

In October, cannabis sales in Nevada reached $37.9 million, the biggest of the four months since sales started.

Thats a large jump over the $27 million in September and more than the $33.4 million August, when Henderson, a city near Las Vegas, began allowing sales of adult-use marijuana within the city limits. Total sales in July alone  more than $27 million  eclipsed those in Colorado over the first four months.

Extrapolating the monthly average over an entire year, thats a $378 million annual industry in Nevada. But heres the catch: That number is probably low, considering sales seem to be accelerating.

Government Taxes

The state of Nevada also is doing quite well with taxes and fees in connection with legalized cannabis. The state charges a 15 percent tax on marijuana sales, with the money going into a fund for education. There is also a 10 percent tax that goes into the states rainy day fund.

In the four months that ended in October, the state collected $19 million. Almost $6 million of that was in October alone.

Related: The Year Ahead: Cannabis Legalization in 2018

Nevada officials have already projected that the 15 percent tax will bring in about $56 million over the first two years of recreational sales. That means they are anticipating even higher monthly sales figures going forward.

Thats good news for the Nevada government and for marijuana entrepreneurs. And those in the business in Nevada told the Las Vegas Review-Journal they are not concerned with adult-use sales beginning in nearby California in January. They expect business from tourists and state residents to continue at or surpass the current rate.

Their biggest concern? U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recent crackdown against marijuana sales.

Its probably also no surprise that Nevada officials slightly over-projected numbers. It is, after all, home to Las Vegas and millions of tourists.

Follow dispensaries.com on Instagram to stay up to date on the latest cannabis news.

Related:

To the Surprise of Nobody, Nevada Marijuana Sales Hit $126 Million In 4 Months

Why Jeff Sessions' New War on Marijuana Hasn't Frightened Investors or Cannabis Entrepreneurs

You Can Legally Buy Marijuana in California But Selling It Legally Is Tricky



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


Major U.S. airlines in recent years have been increasing the in-flight divide between have- and have-not customers by adding more space and perks to their premium cabins but cramming more seats into their already-crowded economy sections. And now that trend is moving into their airport facilities as well.

Travel Tips with Chris McGinnis sponsored by: See More Collapse

United Airlines, for instance, has a new restaurant for its top customers at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of its major hubs. How exclusive is it? For one thing, its name is Classified, and you cant get in unless United invites you. There is no signage or directions on how to find it. The airline only reveals the exact location of the restaurant to invited MileagePlus elite frequent flyers when they book a table. (That said, media reports indicate it is hidden behind Alain Ducasses Saison restaurant in terminal C at Newark.)
Ogden's Own gets new leader; liquor-maker still focused on growth

OGDEN  A new leader is at the helm of Ogden's Own distillery as the local liquor manufacturer moves to grow and expand. Ogden's Own, most known, perhaps, for its Five Wives Vodka, moved into a new production facility in west Ogden last year and now Steven Conlin, co-founder of the firm, has stepped down as president. Mark Fine, a veteran of the wine and spirits industry, has taken over as company president. "We want to show what's happening here in beautiful Ogden at the base of the Wasatch mountains," Fine said. One of his missions, he said, is to showcase the company's many ...
Tanzania Hosts WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism

Contact: Media Office, World Council of Churches, +41 79 507 6363



GENEVE, Jan. 9, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- Under the theme "Moving in the Spirit called Transforming Discipleship," the World Council of Churches will host a major conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Arusha, Tanzania, 8-13 March.

The WCC Conference on World Mission and Evangelism is held every decade and draws together churches from every denomination to share knowledge and engage in interfaith, secular and ecumenical dialogue.



Held in Tanzania, the conference will particularly look at the challenges and seeds of opportunities for Africa today. How can Africa shape mission theology and future practice and how can Africa enhance the understanding of mission in a unique and innovative way, are questions raised.

When: 8-13 March 2018, plus WCC Pre-conferences: 5  7 March

Where: Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge & Conference Centre, Arusha, Tanzania

Livestreaming: www.youtube.com/user/WCCworld

About the programme: www.oikoumene.org/en/mission2018/.

A special three-day exposure programme in accompaniment of the CWME,

Global ecumenical theological institute study programme (GETI) is held 5-7 March. More information: www.oikoumene.org/en/mission2018/geti-2018.

Media contacts: Please contact WCC director of communication Marianne Ejdersten; e-mail: mej@wcc-coe.org, cell phone: +41 79 507 63 63,

or Claus Grue, WCC media coordinator; e-mail: clg@wcc-coe.org, cell phone: +46 70 611 0977.

Media accreditation and practicalities: Please contact WCC communication planner, Lara Takache; e-mail: media@wcc-coe.org; office number: +41 22 791 67 04

Media accreditation:

Arusha Media accreditation application (pdf form, 93 kb)

Arusha media interview request (pdf form, 178 kb)

Arusha media information sheet (pdf, 101 kb)


MARKHAM, Ontario, Jan. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MBMI Resources Inc. (the Company or MBMI) (NEX:MBR.H) is pleased to announce that the cease trade orders (the CTOs) issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission (the BCSC) and the Alberta Securities Commission (the ASC, together with the BCSC, the Commissions) have been revoked.



The CTOs were issued by the BCSC and the ASC on June 7, 2013 and September 6, 2013 respectively, as a result of the failure of the Company, under its previous management, to file audited financial statements and related management discussion and analysis for the year ended January 31, 2013.

The Company has addressed all of the outstanding filing deficiencies and brought its continuous disclosure records on SEDAR up to date. The Company has also applied to each of the BCSC and the ASC for revocation of the CTOs. The BCSC and the ASC revoked the CTOs issued against the Company on January 8, 2018. As a condition for receiving the revocation orders, the Company has provided the Commissions with an undertaking to hold its annual shareholders meeting within three months after the CTOs are revoked.

On June 10, 2013, the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) suspended the Companys common shares from trading on the Exchange as a result of the CTOs. The Company intends to apply to the Exchange for re-instatement of trading in the Companys shares in due course.

About MBMI Resources Inc.

MBMI Resources Inc. (the Company) is a Canadian-based mining company which operates 7 nickel mineral projects in the Philippines, which include the Alpha Project, Bethlehem Project and Northern Rio Tuba Project located in Palawan Philippines (collectively, the Palawan Properties), and the Borongan-Maydolong Project, Gen. Mcarthur-Llorente Project, Balangiga-Giporlos Project and Homohon Island Project in Samar, Philippines (collectively, the Samar Properties).

The Companys Palawan Properties have been subject to a dispute (the FTAA Dispute) which led to a decision by the Office of the President of the Philippines on April 19, 2011 (the OP Decision) that cancelled a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (the FTAA) granted in April 2010 for the Palawan Properties. The FTAA, if reinstated, would allow large-scale exploration, development and utilization of minerals on the Palawan Properties.

Through a series of transactions from September 2012 to March 2014 involving the sale of the companys ownership in the operating companies (the Operating Company) that own and control the Palawan Properties and their respective holding companies, the Companys ownership in the Palawan Properties have been sold to DMCI Mining Corporation, a Philippines based mining company (the Purchaser) for an aggregate purchase price of US$25.2 million (the Sale Transactions). The closing of Sale Transactions is subject to a number of closing conditions which include, among other things, the reinstatement of the cancelled FTAA.

As a result of the Sale Transactions and the FTAA Dispute, the Company has suspended its exploration and development operations in all of its properties to focus its efforts and resources on the reinstatement of the cancelled FTAA in order to conclude the Sale Transactions.

On December 9, 2015, the First Division of the Philippine Supreme Court issued a favourable decision (the SC Decision) declaring null and void the decision of the Philippine Court of Appeals which affirmed the OP Decision without prejudice to any other appropriate remedy the parties may take against each other. It is important to note, however, that while the SC Decision is the final court decision with respect to the FTAA Dispute, it is not a direct ruling with respect to the re-instatement of FTAA that would allow the Company to meet the closing conditions of the Sale Transactions. Therefore, following the SC Decision, the Operating Companies have commenced work on the documentation required to re-engage the Office of the President regarding the reversal of the OP Decision and reinstatement of the FTAA pursuant to the SC Decision. Since there is no assurance that the Office of the President of Philippines will reinstate the FTAA, the Company, the Operating Companies and the Purchaser are concurrently evaluating other recourses including, but not limited to, binding arbitration proceedings in accordance with the dispute resolution mechanism set out in the FTAA as sanctioned by the SC Decision.

Disclosure Regarding Forward-looking Statements:

This press release contains projections and forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information can include without limitation statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results and the Companys plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice.

Cautionary Statement:

Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Press release.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pistol Bay Mining Inc. (TSX-V:PST) (FRANKFURT:OQS2) (Pistol Bay or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement with an arms length vendor to acquire a 100% interest in the Mitchell, Gerry Lake and Karas Lake Properties, located in the Karas Lake Area, Red Lake Mining Division, Ontario (the Property).



The Property consists of 33 mining claims, comprising 232 claim units, and covering approximately 3700 hectares.

Charles Desjardins, President & CEO of Pistol Bay, states, These newly acquired claims were part of our recent 2017 VTEM PLUS survey. We are very excited about the data and have given these targets a high priority for geophysical modelling.

The Mitchell Township or Fly-Moth claim group covers a 9 kilometre stretch of the Confederation Lake greenstone belt and extends to within 1.5 km of the former producing South Bay zinc-copper-silver mine. The property was explored by Selco Mining Corp., Placer Dome Inc., Kerr-Addison Mines, St Joseph Explorations Ltd., Minnova Inc./Inmet Mining and Noranda Inc. at various times between 1967 and 1999. Previous exploration has included approximately 90 diamond drill holes.

Historical work has identified numerous zinc-bearing sulphide zones across the Mitchell claims, including the Wasp Lake, Fly Lake, Trippier, Culvert, Moth and Road Zones. Following are a few highlights from previous work.

The Wasp Lake Mineralized Trend was extensively drilled by Selco; most results are unavailable. Two holes by St Joseph Explorations yielded the following:

DDH 3197-6-80: 2.79 m @ 2.96% Zn, 0.04% Cu includes 0.76 m @ 7.44% Zn, 0.05% Cu AND 4.02 m @ 2.18% Zn, 0.01% Cu, 0.26% Pb includes 0.50 m @ 8.97% Zn, 0.02% Cu, 1.17% Pb AND 3.31 m @ 1.27% Zn, 0.09% Cu DDH 3197-7-80: 7.19 m @ 1.12% Zn, 0.04% Cu includes 1.24 m @ 3.63% Zn, 0.14% Cu AND 4.29 m @ 0.98% Zn, 0.01% Cu, 0.15% Pb

This mineralized trend gave a strong conductive response on Pistol Bays recent VTEM PLUS airborne survey. The Company plans to have the geophysics modelled to assess the possibility of a deep-seated massive sulphide zone.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8bd4ad54-e6b4-41d3-b14d-3939221be936

The Fly Lake zone was tested by 4 drill holes by St Joseph Minerals in 1976 over a 50 metre length. Pistol Bays VTEM PLUS survey gave a well-defined response on 2 lines, indicating a length of up to 400 metres. Results of the St Joseph drilling include:



DDH 3197-2-79: 0.60 m @ 1.71% Zn, 0.15% Cu, 0.3 g/t Ag AND 0.27 m @ 2.00% Zn, 0.08% Cu DDH 3197-1-80: 4.51 m @ 0.53% Zn, 0.06% Cu includes 0.76 m @ 1.34% Zn, 0.18% Cu AND 11.5 m @ 1.36% Zn, 0.17% Cu includes 2.65 m @ 4.30% Zn, 0.21% Cu includes 1.01 m @ 8.25% Zn, 0.34% Cu DDH 3197-2-80: 0.30 m @ 2.69% Zn, 0.07% Cu AND 4.90 m @ 1.51% Zn, 0.06% Cu AND 0.90 m @ 1.98% Zn, 0.01% Cu DDH 3197-3-80: 8.90 m @ 1.51% Zn, 0.08% Cu includes 3.90 m @ 2.53% Zn, 0.06% Cu includes 1.00 m @ 4.63% Zn, 0.09% Cu

This zone appears to be open along strike and at depth. The Company proposes to drill for extensions of the mineralization, assisted by modelling of the VTEM data.



VTEM Anomalies: There are 9 discrete VTEM PLUS conductive anomalies that do not appear to have had any previous drill testing. Their conductivity varies from very weak to moderate. Most are in areas with little or no outcrop and one is under a lake.

The Transaction

The Company can earn a 100% interest in the Property by issuing an aggregate 500,000 common shares and paying a total of $104,000 over a four-year period. A 1.5% NSR has been granted to the vendor, of which 0.75% may be purchased at any time by the Company for $400,000.

This transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. All shares issued will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the day of issuance.

Technical information in this news release has been provided and/or reviewed by Colin Bowdidge, Ph.D., P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.

About Pistol Bay Mining Inc.

Pistol Bay Mining Inc. is a diversified Junior Canadian Mineral Exploration Company with a focus on zinc and base metal properties in North America. For additional information please visit the Company website at www.pistolbaymininginc.com or contact Charles Desjardins at pistolbaymining@gmail.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

PISTOL BAY MINING INC.

" Charles Desjardins "

Charles Desjardins,

President and Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary note:

This report contains forward looking statements. Resource estimates, unless specifically noted, are considered speculative. Any and all other resource or reserve estimates are historical in nature, and should not be relied upon. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on factors that will or may occur in the future. Actual results may vary depending upon exploration activities, industry production, commodity demand and pricing, currency exchange rates, and, but not limited to, general economic factors. Cautionary Note to US investors: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission specifically prohibits the use of certain terms, such as "reserves" unless such figures are based upon actual production or formation tests and can be shown to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions.
English Finnish

EVLI BANK PLC PRESS RELEASE January 10, 2018 AT 10.30 AM

Evli Bank Plc will publish its Financial Statements Bulletin for 2017 on Thursday January 25, 2018 at approximately 3.00 pm. The Financial Statements Bulletin will be available on the company's website at www.evli.com after publishing.



Invitation to investors and analysts

Maunu Lehtimaki, CEO, and Juho Mikola, CFO, will present the result to investors and analysts at Evli Bank (Aleksanterinkatu 19 A, 4 fl, Helsinki) on Thursday January 25, 2018 at 3.00 pm. The presentation will be held in Finnish. After the event, presentation material will be available in English at www.evli.com/investors. To participate in the event, please sign up in advance to ir@evli.com on January 23 at 4.00 pm. at the latest.

Welcome!

EVLI BANK PLC

For additional information, please contact:

Mikaela Herrala, IR and communications manager, Evli Bank Plc, tel. +358 (0)9 4766 9823, mikaela.herrala@evli.com

Evli Bank Plc

Evli is a bank specialized in investments that helps institutions, corporations and private persons increase their wealth. The product and service offering includes mutual funds, asset management and capital markets services, alternative investment products, investment research, administration of incentive programs and Corporate Finance services. The company also offers banking services that support clients' investment operations. Evli is the highest ranked and most used institutional asset manager in Finland*.

*TNS Sifo Prospera External Asset Management Finland 2017, SFR Scandinavian Financial Research Institutional Investment Services, Finland 2017 (shared first place).

Distribution: Main media, www.evli.com
Houston, TX (USA) and Courbevoie (France), Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RadioMedix Inc. and AREVA Med today announced the initiation in the United States of Phase 1 trial for AlphaMedixTM in patients with somatostatin receptor positive neuroendocrine tumors. AlphaMedixTM is composed of a somatostatin (SST) analogue radiolabeled with 212Pb, an isotope used for Targeted Alpha-emitter Therapy (TAT).

Targeted Alpha-emitter Therapy (TAT) is the wave of the future in nuclear oncology and has a tremendous potential to treat patients with NET and overcome some of the limitations of current Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT) said Dr. Ebrahim S. Delpassand, Chairman and CEO of RadioMedix, sponsor of the trial.

Building on compelling preclinical results, I trust that this study with the combination of our excellent research and clinical teams and AREVA Meds expertise in 212Pb-labeled radiotherapeutics development, will mark an important milestone in TAT added Dr. Izabela Tworowska, CSO of RadioMedix.

This open-label, dose escalation studys objective is to determine safety, bio-distribution, and preliminary effectiveness of 212Pb-AR-RMX in adult patients with differentiated NETs. Patients will be enrolled at Excel Diagnostic and Nuclear Oncology Center (Houston, TX).

Excel Diagnostics and Nuclear Oncology Center (EDNOC) was the first institution in the United States to conduct a clinical trial using Lu-177 DOTATATE PRRT, making this therapy available to NET patients. EDNOC in continuation of its tradition, will be the first center to pioneer TAT in the U.S. added Dr. Delpassand, Medical Director of EDNOC.

AREVA Med has for many years been focused on setting up a reliable production of 212Pb and developing therapeutics using this promising isotope. Our collaboration with RadioMedix and this Phase 1 trial is an important accomplishment as we believe that 212Pb-based therapies will have a significant impact on difficult to treat tumors. In this context, AlphaMedixTM could prove to be particularly appropriate for patients suffering from NETs and go beyond limitations of existing treatments said Julien Dodet, AREVA Meds CEO.





About Neuroendocrine Tumors

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a heterogeneous group of rare neoplasms that originate from neuroendocrine cells. These neoplasms occur mostly in the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas, but can also occur in other tissues including thymus, lung, and other uncommon sites such as ovaries, heart, and prostate. Most NETs strongly express somatostatin receptors (SSTRs).

About AlphaMedixTM

AlphaMedixTM is a radiolabeled SSTR-targeting therapeutic investigational drug for treatment of NETs patients. The product consists of SSTR-targeting peptide complex radiolabeled with 212Pb and serve as an in vivo generator of alpha-emitting particles. 212Pb isotope is particularly suitable for SSTR therapy applications based upon its half-life, energy and decay properties.

More about RadioMedix

RadioMedix, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company, based in Houston, Texas, focused on innovative targeted radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy of cancer. The company is commercializing radiopharmaceuticals for PET imaging and therapeutic (alpha and beta-labeled) radiopharmaceuticals for targeted radionuclide therapy in cancer. RadioMedix has also established two service facilities for academic and industrial partners: cGMP Manufacturing Suite for human clinical trials and probe development and small animal Molecular Imaging Facility for pre-clinical evaluation of radiopharmaceuticals in animal models. More information at www.radiomedix.com .

More about Excel Diagnostics and Nuclear Oncology Center

Excel Diagnostics & Nuclear Oncology Center (EDNOC) is Houstons leading diagnostic imaging and therapeutic nuclear medicine facility. EDNOC utilizes the latest generation of imaging equipment and offers a full range of imaging modalities. In addition to our comprehensive imaging services, EDNOC pioneers in targeted radionuclide therapy research and offers several targeted therapies for conditions such as lymphoma, neuroendocrine tumors, and prostate cancer. We have assembled a staff of highly skilled technical and medical professionals to meet and exceed the demanding standards of the industry. More information at www.exceldiagnostics.com

More about AREVA Med
TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sumtra Diversified Inc. ("Sumtra" or the "Company") (NEX:SDV.H) today announced that it has entered into a binding letter of intent to acquire a 100% interest in MJardin Group ("MJardin") in a business combination transaction (the "Transaction") that would constitute a reverse take-over and change of control of the Company. The final structure of the Transaction will be determined by Sumtra and MJardin to accommodate tax considerations, accounting treatments and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.



Upon completion of the Transaction, the combined entity will continue to carry on the business of MJardin. The closing of the Transaction is subject to the execution of definitive documentation, the completion of due diligence, and the receipt of all necessary regulatory, shareholder and third party consents and approvals. The Transaction is expected to close in or around April 2018.

About MJardin Group

MJardin is a highly specialized professional operating company that operates more licensed cultivation, processing and retail cannabis facilities than any other party in the sector throughout North America. MJardin provides turnkey cannabis cultivation, processing and distribution solutions including licensure support, facility design, systems implementation, facility ramp-up and the day-to-day operational management required in a large-scale, professionally managed cannabis facility. MJardin is headquartered in Denver, Colorado with an additional office in Toronto, Ontario. For more information, please visit MJardin.com.

Further Information

Sumtra and MJardin will provide further details in respect of the Transaction including a summary of material terms thereof once definitive agreements have been entered into. Trading in the Sumtra Shares has been halted pursuant to the policies of the TSXV and the Company expects that trading will remain halted pending the completion of the Transaction. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon.

No stock exchange has in any way passed upon the merits of the Transaction or approved or disapproved the contents of this press release.

For further information, please contact:

Robert G. Shoniker, President

Sumtra Diversified Inc.

Tel: 416 863-6096

E-mail: bshoniker@couragecapital.com

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of management with respect to performance, business and future events, including but not limited to express or implied statements and assumptions regarding the Company's intention to negotiate for or complete the Transaction. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. In particular, there is no guarantee that the parties will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement or complete the Transaction contemplated herein, that the Company's due diligence will be satisfactory or that the Company will obtain any required shareholder or regulatory approvals. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law.

All information contained in this press release with respect to MJardin, its business and proposed corporate reorganization and financing was supplied by MJardin for inclusion herein. Sumtra has not conducted due diligence on the information provided and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information.

Media Contact

For more information on MJardin:

Paul Wilken, MJardin Group: paul.wilken@MJardin.com, +1.720.613.4019
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Silver Bull Resources, Inc. (TSX:SVB) (OTCQB:SVBL) (Silver Bull) is pleased to announce it has identified two new zones of high grade sulphide mineralization at its Sierra Mojada Project in Coahuila, Northern Mexico.



Highlights from the channel sampling program include:

Sample N342057 @ 30.7% Zinc, 124g/t Silver, 15.8% Lead, 0.26% Copper. Sample N342060 @ 27.5% Zinc, 80.5g/t Silver, 4.18% Lead, 0.18% Copper. Sample N342068 @ 27.2% Zinc, 149g/t Silver, 14.5% Lead, 0.26% Copper. Sample N342072 @ 26.6% Zinc, 160g/t Silver, 9.23% Lead, 0.33% Copper. Sample N342063 @ 25.3% Zinc, 105g/t Silver, 4.13% Lead, 0.09% Copper. Sample N342069 @ 22.2% Zinc, 101g/t Silver, 16.05% Lead, 0.15% Copper. Sample N342071 @ 22.1% Zinc, 182g/t Silver, 9.79% Lead, 0.49% Copper. Sample N342075 @ 21.8% Zinc, 159g/t Silver, 17.6% Lead, 0.36% Copper. Sample N342064 @ 20.7% Zinc, 146g/t Silver, 4.58% Lead, 0.12% Copper. Sample N342083 @ 20.6% Zinc, 104g/t Silver, 0.18% Lead, 0.37% Copper. Sample N342067 @ 20.2% Zinc, 69.5g/t Silver, 4.23% Lead, 0.12% Copper. Sample N342074 @ 19.45% Zinc, 90.2g/t Silver, 7.47% Lead, 0.13% Copper. Sample N342058 @ 17.25% Zinc, 175g/t Silver, 3.34% Lead, 0.53% Copper. Sample N342051 @ 15.65% Zinc, 53.9g/t Silver, 4.91% Lead, 0.17% Copper. Sample N342061 @ 14.6% Zinc, 37.9g/t Silver, 2.94% Lead, 0.13% Copper. Sample N342059 @ 13.9% Zinc, 32.8g/t Silver, 2.53% Lead, 0.07% Copper. Sample N342073 @ 13.55% Zinc, 41.1g/t Silver, 3.03% Lead, 0.06% Copper. Sample N342078 @ 11.7% Zinc, 606g/t Silver, 2.16% Lead, 0.40% Copper. Sample N342065 @ 11.55% Zinc, 113g/t Silver, 4.85% Lead, 0.23% Copper. Sample N342070 @ 11.25% Zinc, 18.2g/t Silver, 1.05% Lead, 0.02% Copper. Sample N342052 @ 10.2% Zinc, 49.7g/t Silver, 2.3% Lead, 0.06% Copper. Sample N342053 @ 7.12% Zinc, 25g/t Silver, 1.44% Lead, 0.02% Copper. Sample N342066 @ 6.77% Zinc, 90g/t Silver, 1.20% Lead, 0.40% Copper.

The new sulphide zones were identified in 350 meters of previously inaccessible historical underground workings that were recently reconditioned by Silver Bull.





The new sulphide zones lie to the west of Silver Bulls recent drilling along an east-west trend which includes diamond core intercepts of 9 meters @ 20.7% Zinc, 98g/t Silver, 1.0% Lead and 0.26% Copper and 16 meters @ 396g/t Silver and 1.61% Copper.



The new zones lie within a 1.4 kilometer long east-west trending chargeability high identified through a gradient Induced Polarization (IP) survey. The chargeability anomaly remains open towards the west and coincides with a convex roll over in the sole of a thrust fault identified through drilling and underground mapping.

The channel samples outlined in this news release target two new zones of sulphide mineralization recently identified by accessing and reconditioning underground workings not previously accessible to Silver Bull. Continuous chip samples up to 2 meters in length were taken along the walls of the underground workings. The purpose of the program was to extend the mineralization of the known sulphide zone, and better understand the geology and controls on the mineralization, and confirm the overall grades of the sulphide grades historically mined at Sierra Mojada. Approximately 350 meters of new underground workings were opened up and 39 initial channel samples taken. Twenty one (21) samples recorded values over 10% zinc with a peak value of 30.7% zinc, Twenty one (21) samples recorded values over 100g/t silver with a peak value of 606g/t silver, and nine (9) samples recorded values over 5% lead with a peak value of 17.6% lead. A summary of the results are shown in the table below.

Sample ID Interval (m) Zinc (%) Silver (g/t) Lead (%) Copper (%) N342051 0.8 15.65 53.9 4.91 0.17 N342052 1.3 10.2 49.7 2.3 0.06 N342053 1 7.12 25 1.44 0.02 N342054 0.7 5.38 95 6.87 0.43 N342055 0.9 1.16 39.3 0.10 0.13 N342056 1.1 2.09 46.4 0.53 0.23 N342057 0.8 30.7 124 15.75 0.26 N342058 1.8 17.25 175 3.34 0.53 N342059 1.7 13.9 32.8 2.53 0.07 N342060 0.8 27.5 80.5 4.18 0.18 N342061 0.8 14.6 37.9 2.94 0.13 N342062 0.7 6.23 6.7 0.49 0.02 N342063 0.6 25.3 105 4.13 0.09 N342064 0.9 20.7 146 4.58 0.12 N342065 1.1 11.55 113 4.85 0.23 N342066 1.2 6.77 90 1.20 0.44 N342067 1.15 20.2 69.5 4.23 0.12 N342068 1 27.2 149 14.5 0.26 N342069 1.1 22.2 101 16.05 0.15 N342070 1.1 11.25 18.2 1.05 0.02 N342071 2 22.1 182 9.79 0.49 N342072 0.8 26.6 160 9.23 0.33 N342073 0.75 13.55 41.1 3.03 0.06 N342074 0.65 19.45 90.2 7.47 0.13 N342075 1.2 21.8 159 17.6 0.36 N342076 0.8 3.7 461 2.06 0.55 N342077 0.7 1.23 514 1.18 1.19 N342078 0.7 11.7 606 2.16 0.40 N342079 1.3 2.92 116 0.75 0.35 N342080 1.2 0.66 59.9 0.11 0.20 N342081 1 0.46 53.5 0.17 0.18 N342082 0.8 2.19 160 1.24 0.36 N342083 1 20.6 104 0.18 0.37 N342084 1.2 1.54 98.5 2.56 0.08 N342085 0.9 1.57 251 5.02 0.25 N342086 1.1 2.61 242 0.77 0.37 N342087 1.1 1.49 182 0.36 0.31 N342088 1 0.44 178 0.21 0.27 N342089 1.5 0.33 154 0.18 0.20

The Sulphide Zone: A continuous underground channel sampling program conducted by Silver Bull during the month of August 2017 identified a series of east-west trending high angle structure hosting sulphide mineralization (announced in a news release on 11 September 2017). Results from the continuous channel sampling program yielded 31.5 meters grading at 22.36% zinc, 134.5g/t silver, 2.05% lead, 0.21% copper and 10.5 meters @ 432g/t silver, 1.15% zinc, 0.05% lead, 1.22% and was the target of the 2017 drill program. The newly discovered sulphide mineralization outlined in this news release is interpreted to be an extension this this mineralization and will be targeted with drilling in the first quarter of 2018.

The Drill Program: Silver Bull is utilizing a company owned Termite drill rig to target the sulphide mineralization. The Termite is capable of drilling up to 100 meters of NQ diamond core and five drill stations are presently planned with more expected to be added as the drill program progresses. 25 drillholes were completed in 2017 totaling 1086 meters of drilling and continued results from this program are expected shortly.

Tim Barry, President, CEO and director of Silver Bull states, 350 meters of historical workings were opened up along the east-west trend of the sulphide mineralization we drilled in 2017. This channel sampling program clearly shows the continuation of high grade mineralization towards the west. Our underground geological mapping shows a number of high angle structures up to 2 meters wide containing sulphide mineralization grading up to 1,300 grams per ton silver, 42% zinc, 18% lead, and 13% copper that appear to feed into the overlying oxide zone. Our plan for the first part of 2018 is to walk our drill rig along these newly opened up east-west underground workings with the view of demonstrating continuity of the mineralization. The exceptionally high zinc numbers we see in the new area is consistent with what we see in other areas we drilled in 2017 and presents an exciting new target. In addition to the continued drilling along the sulphide trend we expect to have additional results from our 2017 drill program out to the market shortly.



About the Sierra Mojada deposit: Sierra Mojada is an open pittable oxide deposit, as disclosed in the NI43-101 "Technical Report on the Resources of the Sierra Mojada Project Coahuila, Mexico" dated June 8, 2015, with an NI43-101 compliant measured and indicated "global" resource of 58.7 million tonnes grading 3.6% zinc and 50g/t silver at a $13.50 NSR cutoff giving 4.670 billion pounds of zinc and 90.8 million ounces of silver. Included within the "global" resource is a measured and indicated "high grade zinc zone" within the Lerchs-Grossman (LG) Optimized Pit of 10.03 million tonnes with an average grade of 11% zinc at a 6% cutoff, giving 2.426 billion pounds of zinc, and a measured and indicated "high grade silver zone" of 19 million tonnes with an average grade of 102.5g/t silver at a 50g/t cutoff giving 62.6 million ounces of silver. Mineralization remains open in the east, west, and northerly directions. Approximately 60% of the current 3.2 kilometer mineralized body is at or near surface before dipping at around 6 degrees to the east.

Sample Analysis and QA/QC: All samples have been analyzed at ALS Chemex in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. Samples are first tested with the "ME-ICP41m" procedure which analyzes for 35 elements using a near total aqua regia digestion. Samples with silver values above 100ppm are re-analyzed using the Ag-GRA21 procedure which is a fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Samples with zinc, lead, and copper values above 10,000ppm (1%) are re-analyzed using the AA46 procedure which is a near total aqua regia digestion with an atomic absorption finish.



A rigorous procedure is in place regarding sample collection, chain of custody and data entry. Certified standards and blanks, as well as duplicate samples are routinely inserted into all sample shipments to ensure integrity of the assay process.

About Silver Bull: Silver Bull is a mineral exploration company whose shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade on the OTCQB in the United States, and is based out of Vancouver, Canada. The "Sierra Mojada" project is located 150 kilometers north of the city of Torreon in Coahuila, Mexico, and is highly prospective for silver and zinc.



The technical information of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Tim Barry, a Chartered Professional Geologist (CPAusIMM), and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

On behalf of the Board of Directors



"Tim Barry"



Tim Barry, CPAusIMM

Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

INVESTOR RELATIONS:

+1 604 687 5800

info@silverbullresources.com

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors concerning estimates of Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Resources: This press release uses the terms "measured resources", "indicated resources", and "inferred resources" which are defined in, and required to be disclosed by, NI 43-101. We advise U.S. investors that these terms are not recognized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The estimation of measured, indicated and inferred resources involves greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that measured and indicated mineral resources will be converted into reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that estimates of inferred mineral resources exist, are economically minable, or will be upgraded into measured or indicated mineral resources. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies.



Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations, however the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Accordingly, the information contained in this press release may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies that are not subject NI 43-101.



Cautionary note regarding forward looking statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and Silver Bull's future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the planned drill program, ability to add additional drill stations, continuation of high grade mineralization to the west and timing of future drill results. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about Silver Bull's exploration projects, the industry in which Silver Bull operates and the beliefs and assumptions of Silver Bull's management. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "targets," "goals," "projects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "continues," "may," variations of such words, and similar expressions and references to future periods, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, including such factors as the results of exploration activities and whether the results continue to support continued exploration activities, unexpected variations in ore grade, types and metallurgy, volatility and level of commodity prices, the availability of sufficient future financing, and other matters discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2016, as amended, and our other periodic and current reports filed with the SEC and available on www.sec.gov and with the Canadian securities commissions available on www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b126dd43-5b53-4fe9-9585-a095b217be0d

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/948aa437-fb24-4456-9037-142fc09a776b

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/93fa3235-6c2b-4de6-ad6d-4755408dfaad
Finnish English Swedish

Nordea Bank AB (publ) will delist the instruments as shown in Annex 1.

The instruments will be delisted the 23rd of January 2018. Until that date the instruments are marked as "Buy-Back" and thus investors can only sell their instruments back to Nordea.

During the "Buy-Back" period all investors have the possibility to sell their current holdings in the below mentioned instruments. If the investor hold the instruments until delisting date, the investor will receive a settlement amount based on the value of the instrument on the Delisting date. Settlement amount will be paid to the holder not later than 10 (ten) business days after the delisting date.

Nordea Bank AB (publ)

Annex 1
Scott Dudelson/WireImageChris Robinson is ready to embrace The Black Crowes' music again, but not as a member of The Black Crowes. Instead, he has put together a band called As the Crow Flies to perform primarily Black Crowes songs on a spring U.S. tour.

Joining Robinson in As the Crow Flies are fellow former Crowes members Adam MacDougall, Andy Hess and Audley Freed, plus Marcus King and Tony Leone. The 17-date trek kicks off April 17 in Port Chester, New York.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Robinson says he's excited to play Black Crowes favorites for fans for the first time in a long while, as his current band, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, only performs a couple of Crowes tunes. "It's been five years since I sang 'She Talks to Angels' and five years since I really sang 'Thorn in My Pride.' As time goes by I'm like, 'Wow, here's a little period of time.'"

As to whether he'll ever properly re-form The Black Crowes, Robinson says don't count on it. "I've made my commitment. I'm sorry there's not going to be any Black Crowes anymore."

However, when pressed about a reunion, Robinson added, "I mean, the only reason I could see thatit would only be for money."

When asked about his relationship with his estranged brother and former Black Crowes band mate, Rich Robinson, Chris reveals the two haven't spoken in "about five years."

In response to whether he misses his brother, Chris adds, "All of us have our lives and I wish him all the best and I only want him to be happy, healthy and safe with his family and the people that he loves. Other than that, no."

Here are As the Crow Flies' tour dates:

4/17 -- Port Chester, NY, Capitol Theatre

4/18 -- Philadelphia, PA, Electric Factory

4/21 -- Live Oak, FL, Wanee Music Festival

4/22 -- Birmingham, AL, Iron City Birmingham

4/24 -- Chicago, IL, Thalia Hall

4/25 -- Lexington, KY, Manchester Music Hall

4/26 -- Chattanooga, TN, The Signal

4/28 -- New Orleans, LA, The Joy Theater

4/29 -- Nashville, TN, Ryman Auditorium

5/1 -- St. Louis, MO, The Pageant

5/2 -- Kansas City, MO, The Truman

5/6 -- Denver, CO, Ogden Theatre

5/8 -- Las Vegas, NV, Brooklyn Bowl

5/9 -- Los Angeles, CA, The Wiltern

5/11 -- Oakland, CA, Fox Theater

5/12 -- Lake Tahoe, NV, Montbleu Resort & Casino

5/13 -- Portland, OR, Crystal Ballroom

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gumas Advertising (www.gumas.com) today announced that Craig Alexander will assume the role of President of the agency and founder John Gumas will continue to oversee operations as CEO. Craigs promotion to agency president will strengthen the agencys position as the leader in Challenger Brand Marketing, working with client companies seeking to take on larger, better-funded competitors.



Craig joined the agency seven years ago and prior to his promotion served as Senior Vice President, Client Services, for Gumas. In his new position as agency president, Craig will assume a more strategic role, opening new markets, identifying companies that can benefit from Gumas Challenger Brand Marketing approach, and working closely with current clients to expand current marketing programs.

I am very excited about assuming this new role and leading the agency in its mission to help challenger brands win against larger, better-resourced competitors, said Alexander. This promotion also helps the agency lay the foundation for expansion, allowing us to bring in new clients and broaden our services to our current clients.

Craig has been a valuable asset to the Gumas team and this promotion recognizes his contribution to the agency, providing outstanding service to our current clients and bringing in new business, said John Gumas, CEO of Gumas Advertising. The reorganization of our executive team also will give the agency an opportunity to plan for the future, expanding our market reach by applying the same tools we use with our clients to build our own brand.

Craig has more than 30 years of experience in advertising and marketing. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcasting, advertising, and journalism from the University of Southern California.

About Gumas

Established in 1984, Gumas is a nationally recognized and award-winning full-service marketing agency specializing in developing integrated branding, advertising and interactive marketing campaigns. The firm specializes in Challenger Brand Marketing strategies that help clients identify what makes their value unique and capitalizing on those differentiators to effectively compete and win against better funded competitors.

For more information, visit www.gumas.com.

Contact:

Tom Woolf

Gumas Advertising

(415) 621-7575

twoolf@gumas.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e549d0b8-e60a-418c-a916-8ce3dacc7d33
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Jones and Warwickshire Police Chief Superintendent Alex Franklin-Smith sign Warwickshire Police up to the Armed Forces Covenant. (Submitted photo)

WARWICKSHIRE Police has become the latest organisation to sign the national Armed Forces Covenant.

The force follows the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park by signing up to the national pledge to veterans and their families.

The personalised police version signed on Monday includes a commitment to:

Seek to support the employment of veterans of all ages.

Recognise the skills and competencies that veterans may bring to the organisation when considering candidates who meet the requirements of a job description.

Strive to support the employment of service spouses and partners.

Sympathetically review requests for holidays where they impact on family life surrounding deployments.

Consider special leave for employees who are bereaved or whose partner is injured.

Support employees who choose to be members of the Reserve forces, including accommodating their training and deployment where possible.

Support local cadet units.

Actively participate in Armed Forces Day.

The enhanced version of the document was signed by Warwickshire Police Chief Superintendent Alex Franklin-Smith at a ceremony on Monday, 8th January, and the Ministry of Defence's Lieutenant Colonel Richard Jones, a West Mercia Police officer, who is currently on a career break to work full-time as an army reservist.

Warwickshire Police is currently in a strategic alliance with West Mercia Police.

Chief Superintendent Franklin-Smith said: "As a force, we are proud to count a number of former serving members, reservists and spouses as our employees, and we enormously value the skills and experience they bring.

"Our police force has a comprehensive HR policy in place to cover mobilisation, annual training, pensions and pay, and the organisation also recognises skills and experience of their reservists and veterans. For example, the leadership and management skills taught to reservists closely match the skills required as a police officer.

"The positive relationship between Warwickshire Police and the armed forces is crucial, as there are many transferable skills that both organisations can benefit from."
Amsterdam, The Netherlands - 10 January 2018

As Esperite N.V. (Euronext: ESP, "Esperite" or "the Group") is completing its strategy to concentrate its laboratory activities in its state of the art and fully certified facilities in Geneva, its Belgium subsidiary company CryoSave Labs ("CSL" or the"Company") is left with no commercial activity and its facility in Neil has become redundant.

Over the past months the Group has unsuccessfully looked for parties to occupy the building currently owned by CSL (the "Building") which sale and lease back contract is consuming a substantial amount of working capital and a lot of management attention.

The average value of the Building given by two independent real estate experts does not exceed EUR 3.5 million.This amount is valuated based on full occupency, which would require remodelling investment at a minimum of EUR 0.6 million. Moreover, the working capital consumption for the sale and lease back alone amounts to EUR 3.4 million for the next 6 years and operational costs adds up to EUR 0.650 million. Therefore, the net value of the company, taking into account these liabilities, as well as its current working capital requirements results at best the negative value of EUR -2.0 millions.

CEO Frederic Amar offered to support Esperite by acquiring the loss making Belgium company CSL with a structure he controls, taking such burden without receiving any asset and liability guarantee.

Esperite has accepted to sell all the shares of CSL to a company controlled by Mr. Amar by issuing a convertible loan note of EUR 2.5 million at a conversion price of EUR 0.50. Esperite did not provide any asset and liability guarantee to the buyer of CSL.

CEO Frederic Amar has not participated in the discussions or the decision-making of the board of Directors regarding the transaction price and conditions with respect to the sell and purchase agreement, nor the conditions regarding the issuance of the note.

In addition to the significant cost saving, Esperite makes substantial progress in the goal to optimise the Group and to focus on further development of its portfolio of activities.

About ESPERITE

ESPERITE group, listed at Euronext Amsterdam and Paris, is a leading international company in regenerative and precision medicine founded in 2000.

To learn more about the ESPERITE Group, or to book an interview with CEO Frederic Amar: +31 575 548 998 - ir@esperite.com or visit the websites at www.esperite.com, www.genoma.com and www.cryo-save.com .

***

This press release contains inside information as referred to in article 7 paragraph 1 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (Market Abuse Regulation).

With respect to Member States of the European Economic Area that have transposed European Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and European Council (as amended in particular by Directive 2010/73/EU to the extent that the said Directive has been transposed into each Member State of the European Economic Area), no action has been taken or will be taken to permit a public offering of the securities referred to in this press release requiring the publication of a prospectus in any Member State.

This press release and the information it contains do not, and will not, constitute an offer to subscribe for or sell, nor the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy, securities of Esperite in the United States of America or any other jurisdiction. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), it being specified that the securities of Esperite have not been and will not be registered within the US Securities Act. Esperite does not intend to register securities or conduct a public offering in the United States of America.
TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eurotin Inc. (Eurotin or the Company) (TSXV:TIN) and Lions Bay Capital Inc. (Lions Bay) (TSXV:LBI) are pleased to announce that the Company and certain debtholders, including Lions Bay, have entered into agreements to settle some of the indebtedness of the Company (the Shares for Debt Transactions) through conversion of such debt into common shares of the Company (the Common Shares). Pursuant to the Shares for Debt Transactions, the Company will issue 19,704,763 Common Shares, at a price of $0.0525 per Common Share. On completion of the Shares for Debt Transactions, the Company will have 106,741,330 Common Shares issued and outstanding.



The Company owed Mark Wellings (Wellings), the Companys Chief Executive Officer and President, approximately $1,100,000 (the Wellings Debt), representing indebtedness for cash advances previously made by Wellings to the Company for working capital purposes. Wellings has assigned $500,000 of the Wellings Debt to Lions Bay (the Lions Bay Debt) in exchange for 4,166,667 common shares of Lions Bay, at a price of $0.12 per common share.

Wellings and Lions Bay have both agreed to convert $500,000 of the Wellings Debt and Lions Bay Debt, respectively, into Common Shares of the Company, at a price of $0.0525 per Common Share. As a result, each of Wellings and Lions Bay will receive 9,523,810 Common Shares.

Additionally, Peter Miller (Miller), a director of the Company, is owed $34,500 by the Company (the Miller Debt) for services previously rendered to the Company. Miller has agreed to satisfy the Miller Debt owed by the Company in exchange for 657,143 Common Shares.

Upon completion of the Shares for Debt Transactions, Wellings will hold, directly and indirectly, 42,793,139 Common Shares or 40.09% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares. Lions Bay will hold, directly and indirectly, 13,333,334 Common Shares or 12.49% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares.

Both Wellings and Lions Bay have a long-term view of their investments and may acquire further common shares of the Company either on the open market or through private acquisitions or sell the Common Shares on the open market or through private dispositions in the future depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other relevant factors.

As Messrs. Wellings and Miller are both directors and/or officers of Eurotin, their respective shares for debt transactions each constitute a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). Each of the transactions is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the Common Shares that will be issued to and the consideration that will be paid by each of Messrs. Wellings and Miller does not exceed 25% of the Companys market capitalization.

The Company also wishes to announce a correction to a press release dated December 21, 2017 relating to the completion by Eurotin of a $1,000,000 private placement. In that press release, the Company incorrectly announced that Wellings purchased 1,671,429 Common Shares pursuant to the private placement. Wellings actual purchase was for 71,429 Common Shares. The total amount of the private placement did not change.

Completion of the Shares for Debt Transactions is conditional upon obtaining TSX Venture Exchange approval. The Shares for Debt Transactions are expected to close on or about January 16, 2018.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the issuance of the Common Shares and completion of the Shares for Debt Transactions, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's and Lions Bays expectations are risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company and Lions Bay with securities regulators.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and Lions Bay. These factors include, but are not limited to, commodity prices, need for additional funding and availability of such funding, economic conditions, currency fluctuations, competition and regulatory changes. As a result, the Company and Lions Bay cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company and Lions Bay will only update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities law.

For further information please contact:

Eurotin Inc.

Carlos Pinglo

CFO

416-648-1626

www.eurotin.ca



Lions Bay Capital Inc.

John Byrne

Director

+61 3 9236 2800

www.lionsbaycapital.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.




Advantis Cannabis Perseveration Packaging Will be Distributed by Green Leaf into What May be the Largest Recreational Destination in the World

NEWPORT BEACH, CA, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ADVANTIS CORPORATION (OTC PINK: ADVT) CEO, Darren Cherry, announced Advantis has finalized the agreement with Las Vegas Players Network (OTCQB: PNTV), a diversified holding company operating in media and marijuana , a majority owner of Greenleaf Farms, a fully licensed cultivator and producer of marijuana in the state of Nevada. Details of the agreement include Advantis packaging solutions, other Amster-Can products, and media-related benefits where synergies exist through WeedTV, a cannabis social platform and video network owned by Players Network that will help assist in the marketing of marijuana canning.

The Advantis advantage is N2 patented cannabis canning technology, which allows select flower to be sealed in a can. The cans are injected with nitrogen that replaces the air sealing in the freshness for years.

Greenleaf Farms anticipates that it will quickly ramp up to full canning production with its first crop in the spring of 2018. The 27,000-square foot Greenleaf cultivation and production facility is in North Las Vegas and has the ability to expand to over 50,000 square feet.

Darren Cherry, CEO of Advantis, states: With our packaging getting seen across the state that requires pre-packaged cannabis, Amster-Can will get exposure to recreational users from all over the world; whether through stepping into dispensaries or by seeing us and our products featured on WeedTV. Cherry says that he anticipates over 25% revenue increase from this agreement. Players Network is a fully reporting, publicly traded holding company that focuses on investing in and promoting cannabis related businesses. Cherry adds, he is excited to finally bring it to fruition. There is a reason we have worked so diligently to court Players Network; there are tremendous synergies and it helps us both instantly expand our footprint, Cherry explained. This is huge for us. We are manning our packaging equipment in Nevada with a great marketing and distribution partner.

Mark Bradley, CEO of PNTV, states: We are very excited about partnering with Advantis to bring the canning of marijuana to the forefront of the Nevada market. Having the ability to preserve of products freshness for years will open up an entirely new opportunity to package top quality reserve flower, much like the wine industry has done with its premium reserved vintages. I feel this is the perfect product to target the 52 million tourists each year to Nevada who might want to purchase a unique gift.

Advantis wishes to thank Investors Hangout for mentioning the company in their podcast.

Links to Advantis websites can be found at advantiscorp.com , rosin6.com , elixicure.com , and amstercan.com

About Players Network (PNTV)

Players Network, Inc. is a diversified holding company operating in media and marijuana. PNTV owns approximately 86% of Green Leaf Farms Holdings, LLC (Green Leaf Farms), which has Nevada state issued cultivation and production license(s). The cultivation license enables Green Leaf Farms to grow marijuana and the production license enables them to create extracts which are used for cartridges, oils and edibles. WeedTV.com is a wholly owned subsidiary which is developing the ultimate resource for the marijuana lifestyle.

For more information please visit www.PlayersNetwork.com

Please visit our Investor Relations site https://ir.playersnetwork.com

Sign up for PNTV investor alerts: https://ir.playersnetwork.com/investor-alerts

PNTV Connect - Connect with us on social media: https://playersnetwork.com/get-connected

About Advantis Corporation

Advantis Corporation (ADVT) focuses on the development of innovative products that supply the medical, research, and pharmaceutical industries. The company additionally establishes partnerships with businesses that develop and sell proprietary pain management, and consumer products and services.

Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements made by ADVANTIS CORPORATION. All such statements included in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these statements. The following risk factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in any forward- looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions, changes in the law or regulations, demand for products of the Company, the effects of competition and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or represented in the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are typically identified by the words: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, and similar expressions or which by their nature refer to future events. The Company is not entitled to rely on the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 because it is not registered under either Act.




SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huatai Futures Co., Ltd. (Huatai Futures) including Huatai Financial USA, Inc. (Huatai USA) has named Leo Melamed as a Senior Advisor and retained Melamed & Associates, Inc. (M&A) to help establish a globally recognized presence within the exchange-traded futures and derivatives industry. Huatai is grateful to have the opportunity to leverage Mr. Melameds extensive experience as Chinas futures markets open and Chinese investors look to trade futures markets abroad.

June Zuo, president of Huatai USA, said, Leo is a legend in the futures industry. His efforts played a significant role in advancing derivatives markets and revolutionizing the world economy. He is an American pioneer in Chinas derivatives markets, having positively contributed to the current structure and growth since the 1980s. Leo Melamed and Huatai are both widely recognized and highly respected names in China. The partnership will help strengthen the Huatai brand internationally and solidify its standing in Chinas financial community. As a former CME employee, I am honored to work with Leo.

Mr. Melamed stated, It is my pleasure to become an advisor to Huatai USA. I personally know the Huatai executives and hold them in high regard. I look forward to growing Huatais futures business in both the U.S. and Asia.

Huatai Futures, as a full clearing member of all four major futures exchanges in China, is optimistic regulators will increasingly permit international access to domestic markets starting with the INE crude oil contract expected to be launched in the near future. Huatai USA will provide clearing and execution services for Chinese products to clients in the U.S. and other western countries.

About Huatai Futures Co., Ltd .

Huatai Futures Co., Ltd. (Huatai Futures) headquartered in Guangzhou City and founded in 1994 by Huatai Securities (601688.SH, 6886.HK) was one of the first futures companies established in China. Huatai Futures is a member of the Board of Directors of the China Futures Association, China Financial Futures Exchange and is a member of the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, Shanghai Futures Exchange, Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, and Dalian Commodity Exchange. Huatai Futures has 5 branches, 36 sales offices, and a network of 270 introducing brokers within Huatai Securities located throughout China. Subsidiaries include, Huatai Great Wall Investment Management Co., Ltd., Huatai Great Wall International Trade Co., Ltd., Huatai (Hong Kong) Futures Ltd., and Huatai Financial USA, Inc.

www.htfc.com

About Huatai Financial USA, Inc.

Huatai Financial USA, Inc. (Huatai USA) headquartered in Chicago was formed in 2015 as an affiliate of Huatai Futures Co., Ltd. Huatai USA has been approved by the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to offer derivatives brokerage services in the US, is a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA).

www.huataiusa.com

About Melamed & Associates, Inc.

Melamed & Associates, Inc. (M&A) was organized in 1993 by its Chairman and CEO Leo Melamed. M&A provides expert consulting services and assistance in the field of capital markets and corporate finance, including futures and financial derivatives. Based in Chicago, the capital for risk management, M&A is in a pivotal position to provide expert assistance in areas spanning from risk management to market information and intelligence.

www.melamedassoc.com

FUTURES TRADING ENTAILS SIGNIFICANT RISK OF LOSS WHICH SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD PRIOR TO TRADING AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS. PLEASE CONSIDER WHETHER TRADING IS SUITABLE FOR YOU. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION TO BUY OR SELL FUTURES PRODUCTS BY HUATAI FINANCIAL USA INC.
Aliso Viejo, CA, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OrthAlign, Inc., a leading provider of orthopedic surgical navigation solutions, announced today that Dr. Steven Haas, Chief of the Knee Service at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY, has joined the companys Executive Surgeon Council (ESC) advisory board.

The ESC works closely with OrthAligns management team and product development group, bringing innovative products to market built upon proprietary, sensor-based surgical navigation technologies. The companys flagship product, KneeAlign, uses instrument-mounted sensor navigation to provide real-time guidance during primary total knee replacement procedures. OrthAlign launched UniAlign in early 2017, bringing the accuracy and consistency of KneeAlign to partial knee replacement surgery, opening opportunities for customers to bring impactful computer navigation into surgery centers.

We are so pleased to have Dr. Haas join our very talented and engaged board of surgeon advisors, and to bring with him his wealth of experience and history of innovation in this space, commented Eric B. Timko, Chairman and CEO of OrthAlign. As we continue to expand our platform of indications, we look forward to evolving KneeAlign and building a suite of applications that make OrthAligns technologies the go-to solution for their ease of use, economics, and clinical results.

"I am excited to join OrthAligns outstanding clinical and management teams as they continue to expand and more broadly apply their proven sensor technology, said Dr. Steven Haas. OrthAlign has innovative products, and I look forward to working with them as they expand their platform."

Dr. Haas speaks nationally and internationally on hip and knee topics, and has contributed more than 90 publications into orthopedic literature. He is well known for development of ground-breaking surgical technique and instrumentation for performing minimally invasive knee replacement; along with development of high performance knee replacement systems. Dr. Haas received his education and training at Harvard, Cornell and the University of Rochester.

ORTHALIGN, INC.

OrthAlign is a privately held medical device and technology company, developing advanced technologies that deliver healthier and more pain-free lifestyles to joint replacement patients, globally. We provide healthcare professionals with cutting edge, computer-assisted surgical tools that seamlessly and cost-effectively deliver vital data and clinical results to optimize outcomes for our patients. For more information regarding OrthAlign, please visit www.orthalign.com or contact Adam Simone (asimone@orthalign.com).

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/070ff4f7-3771-4d0f-a87d-d457737c24c1
Local National Party MPs are petitioning the government to carry on with extensive roading projects promised by National before the 2017 election.

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller and Coromandel MP Scott Simpson have launched a campaign to ensure the Katikati to Tauranga four-lane Road of National Significance proceeds as planned.

The previous National-led Government had committed to a large number of important regional highway projects right around New Zealand, including the delivery of not only the Tauranga Northern Link and the Katikati bypass, but also a full four-lane motorway from Tauranga to Katikati, says Scott.

These projects would greatly improve safety and travel times, better connect our regions and boost regional economic growth. However, the new Minister of Transport, Phil Twyford, has now indicated a number of these projects are under review.

The by-pass of Katikati was warmly welcomed locally and this critical investment must go ahead with construction of the TNL beginning this year as planned. The road must also go all the way to Tauranga because that stretch of highway is currently one of the most dangerous in the country.

Todd says he is particularly focused on ensuring the Omokoroa community is provided with a grade separated connection onto State Highway 2.

This investment is critically important for Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty region and the government has wrongly thrown the project into uncertainty.

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges has also joined Hamilton East MP David Bennett in calling to extend the Waikato Expressway from Cambridge to Tirau and from Cambridge to the Kaimai Range.

Strengthening the link between the Bay of Plenty and Hamilton is fundamental to economic growth. Tauranga is New Zealands main port and Hamilton provides many services such as health and education to the south Waikato, says Simon.

Getting rid of Nationals expressway extensions would put a dampener on the great growth we have seen in Tauranga, the wider Bay of Plenty, Hamilton, and wider Waikato.

David says it would also mean longer, less reliable journey times and more deaths and serious injuries.

No one has ever died on one of Nationals four lane highways given their safety features. The further improvements we were planning would save many lives.

A spokesperson Transport Minister Phil Twyford says NZTA has advised that funding for road upgrades cannot be redirected into rail, so Nationals concerns are unfounded.

The Mill Road Corridor upgrade is an Auckland Transport project and planning is continuing. The Labour-led Government has not altered any existing roading projects except Aucklands East-West link and officials are working to identify a lower-cost, better-value option.

It important to note that the other highway projects referred to in Nationals petition do not exist. They were election campaign promises made by National in August and never costed or funded. To suggest the government isnt going ahead with projects that dont exist is misleading. And to suggest non-existing funding be diverted into rail is nonsensical.

The National Party petitions can be found here and here.
City councillor Rick Curach has been advised to inquire about organ transplants next time he visits Taurangas sister city Yantai in China.

Rick was asking Judy Shakespear for advice in terms of how councillors should engage with the sister city relationship, in the light of her warning to councillors about forced organ harvesting from Chinese dissidents.

When you go to Yantai maybe you can pose as somebody who wants an organ, says Judy.

You can go to any hospital nearby and they will gladly show you their facilities, which are unbelievably upmarket. Right up to the minute with technology and everything.

Or if you say you know somebody who wants an organ and you are just making enquiries on their behalf. They will give you all the information you require. They advertise this on websites.

Judy warned Tauranga City councillors about forced live organ harvesting being undertaken by the Chinese Communist Party, during the public forum at the December 19 council meeting.

The regime is carrying out genocide as we speak, says Judy. Forced live organ harvesting from Christians, Tibetans, the Uighur people and in significant numbers, the practitioners of Falun Gong.

This is going on in military and other public hospitals in China in a huge scale.

Falun Gong or Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline with Buddhist and Taoist influences practiced by over 100 million people throughout the world. It was banned in 1999 by the communist regime and severe persecution followed on a massive scale, says Judy. Her Chinese daughter-in-laws family are Falun Gong practitioners.

She was in the US when the crack-down occurred. Her father messaged his wife still in Beijing: Get your passport in order, pack your bag and dont tell anyone.

The facts supporting the allegations of genocide have been explored over the years since with books and videos now available online, says Judy.

One china analyst who has been investigating forced organ harvesting for more than 10 years has written a book called The Slaughter, which is available in Tauranga City Libraries.

She took along copies and provided links to Medical Genocide which provides some of the numbers involved in the practice.

She also recommended to councillors Professor Anne-Marie Bradys report "Magical weapons: Chinas political influence activities under Xi Jinping" released in September last year which focusses on the Peoples Republic of Chinas efforts to guide, buy or coerce political influence in New Zealand and other countries.

Professor Brady is Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Canterbury, a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC and a Senior Fellow at the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham.

Professor Bradys report is an eye-opener and a clarion call to action, says Judy. The Australian government is investigating the interference of the Chinese Communist Party in their affairs says Judy.

It would be remiss to think such interference is not happening here. When they come for trade or business, we must be vigilant and remember our democratic principles and not be fooled.

Judy is listed on the Falun Dafa NZ website as the Tauranga contact.
There is a lot of work ahead in the new year. Before we undertake a fresh set of challenges, it is good to take stock of the many positive outcomes and accomplishments of 2017.

Tax reform becoming law was one of the years most celebrated victories. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, it has been a privilege to be part of this years-long effort to overhaul our broken and overly burdensome tax code for the first time in a generation.

The economy is already responding. More than 100 companies across the country, including Nelnet and Pinnacle Bank in Nebraska, have announced bonuses and wage increases for employees, as well as new charitable giving and investments. With lower tax rates, Americans can look forward to higher paychecks, simpler compliance, and a growing economy.

Additionally, our tax reform bill finally eliminated Obamacares individual mandate penalty, allowing Americans to make their own health insurance decisions rather than being required to seek the approval of the federal government or face a bill from the IRS.

The confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court marked another important 2017 achievement. President Trump promised Americans he would fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia with a conservative jurist committed to upholding the Constitution, and he fulfilled this promise quickly with an impressive judicial leader.

The Trump administration also followed through on its commitment to roll back regulations. Despite an initial promise to eliminate two regulations for every new one created, the administration actually brought an end to 22 regulations for each new one. Congress also passed 15 Congressional Review Act bills, signed into law by the President, to cut through the maze of red tape put in place by the Obama administration.

I had the opportunity to join President Trump, along with Senator Fischer, at the White House in February for the signing of an executive order to roll back the Waters of the U.S. rule, known as WOTUS. This put a stop to a dangerous overreach which would have given the Environmental Protection Agency the power to dictate local land use decisions and farming practices nationwide.

Regulatory impediments to infrastructure projects have also been on the chopping block, which is especially important as we work toward modernizing our countrys aging infrastructure. President Trump signed an executive order to reduce the average time it takes for infrastructure project permits to be approved from 10 years to two years.

For those traveling by air, new Essential Air Service providers were confirmed for Kearney, North Platte, and Scottsbluff, and will soon begin serving passengers. Due to ongoing issues with cancelled flights, I introduced two amendments to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill. One would direct the U.S. Government Accountability Office to study the state of the aviation workforce, including current barriers to entry and ways to encourage growth. The other would expand opportunities for prospective pilots to accrue training hours to qualify for piloting commercial flights. As Congress considers FAA reauthorization this year, I will keep working to ensure access to commercial air service for Nebraskans.

We also passed multiple bills last year, which were signed into law, to better serve veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act provides the VA Secretary increased flexibility to remove VA employees for poor performance or misconduct, while also strengthening whistleblower protections. The HIRE Vets Act creates incentives for companies to hire veterans, and the Forever GI Bill eliminates the 15-year time limit for veterans to use their GI bill benefits, providing greater opportunities for professional and workforce development.

There is no question 2017 was an eventful year. 2018 promises many challenges and victories of its own, and we are committed to delivering more beneficial solutions for Americans.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Group Ten Metals Inc. (TSX.V:PGE) (US OTC:PGEZF) (FSE:5D32) (the Company or Group Ten) is pleased to announce that it has identified an extensive area of highly elevated platinum group elements (PGE), nickel, copper and chromium in soils at its Stillwater West project, in south-central Montana. The highly anomalous soil values, which cover the Chrome Mountain and Iron Mountain target areas and measure approximately 10km and 8km long respectively, are up to 2km in width with grades exceeding 100 ppb palladium, platinum and gold, 1,250 ppm nickel and copper, and 4,000 ppm chromium. The soil anomalies, shown in Figure 1 below, cover approximately 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) of strike length over the lower Stillwater Ultramafic and Basal Series stratigraphy and include more than 13,500 soil assays. Importantly, the correlations of these soil values with mineralization in the Basal and Ultramafic zones of the lower Stillwater Complex, as shown in Figure 2, demonstrate that soils are a highly effective tool for targeting PGE and Ni-Cu deposits in the district.



Group Ten further announces the acquisition of an additional 51 claims at the Stillwater West project, expanding the Companys holdings to 44 square kilometers (17 square miles) covering the lower Stillwater Complex. The Stillwater West project now totals 539 claims adjoining, and adjacent to, Sibanye-Stillwaters high-grade Stillwater PGE mines which occur along the J-M Reef; one of the worlds largest and richest PGE deposits with a Measured and Indicated resource of 31.3 million ounces at a grade of 17.0 grams per tonne (g/t) Pt+Pd, plus an additional 49.4 million ounces at 16.6 g/t Pt+Pd in Inferred resources1, and over 12 million ounces Pt+Pd historic production to date at similar grades2.

The Stillwater Complex is a layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion recognized as one of the top regions in the world for PGE-nickel-copper mineralization, alongside the Bushveld Complex and Great Dyke in southern Africa3. Work at Group Tens Stillwater West property has identified three broad deposit target types including Reef Type high-grade PGE-Ni-Cu deposits, disseminated PGE-Cr-Ni-Cu deposits, and magmatic sulphide-related Contact Type PGE-Ni-Cu deposits.

Group Tens Picket Pin deposit in the upper portion of the Stillwater Complex is a Reef Type deposit similar to Sibanye-Stillwaters J-M Reef deposit, with high-grade PGE mineralization associated with nickel and copper sulphides. These Reef Type deposits are similar in style to the Merensky Reef in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, which hosts some of the worlds largest and highest-grade PGE deposits.

Group Tens claims covering the lower Stillwater Complex stratigraphy include the Chrome Mountain and Iron Mountain target areas, which show potential for much larger-scale disseminated and high-sulphide PGE-nickel-copper type deposits, potentially similar to the lower Bushveld Complex.

At the Chrome Mountain target area, a newly-recognized style of PGE mineralization is associated with disseminated chromite over broad stratigraphic intervals tens or hundreds of meters in thickness. Host rocks are complexly textured Ultramafic Series lithologies that are locally pegmatoidal and have features suggesting the presence of magmatic breccias. This type of mineralization has not been previously recognized in the Stillwater Complex and is spatially-associated with the highest PGE-Ni-Cu-Cr values in soils at Chrome Mountain.

At the Iron Mountain target area, mineralization is thought to be Contact Type, being magmatic sulphide-hosted PGE-Ni-Cu hosted by lower Stillwater Ultramafic and Basal Series rocks and immediate footwall lithologies. Primary targets are accumulations of PGE enriched Ni-Cu sulphides occurring close to the base of the intrusion that are laterally extensive and up to several hundreds of meters thick. Mineralization is often associated with xenoliths and rafts of country rock, suggesting their interaction could have provided a trigger for sulphide deposition. Comparable deposits may include the Platreef, Waterberg and Mogalakwena mines in the Bushveld Complex3. The Iron Mountain target and much of the lower Ultramafic and Basal Series along strike have significant potential for deposits of this type and appear to be associated with the elevated PGE-Ni-Cu values in soils over this part of the stratigraphy.

President and CEO Michael Rowley stated, We are very excited about the size and strength of the soil anomalies for the platinum group elements and their association with nickel, copper and chromium over such a broad area, which clearly indicates the presence of a much larger, metal-rich system than was previously recognized in the lower Stillwater Complex stratigraphy. Soil geochemistry has been shown to be very effective tool at identifying potential deposit locations within the complex and we expect to follow-up with additional work during the 2018 field season. The Company looks forward to issuing additional geo-technical releases in Q1 which will further highlight the potential at our Stillwater West project. More information on our ongoing compilation work and planned 2018 exploration can be found in our updated corporate presentation on our website at http://grouptenmetals.com.



About Group Ten Metals Inc.

Group Ten Metals Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of high-quality platinum, palladium, nickel, copper and gold exploration assets in North America. The Companys holdings include the Stillwater West PGE-Ni-Cu project adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwaters high-grade Pd-Pt mines in Montana, the Kluane Ni-Cu-PGE project adjacent to Nickel Creek Platinums Wellgreen deposit in the Yukon Territory, and the Black Lake-Drayton Gold project in the Rainy River district of northwest Ontario.

Note 1: Public production records from 1992 to present.

Note 2: Report on Montana Platinum Group Metal Mineral Assets of Sibanye-Stillwater, November 2017, Measured and Indicated Resources of 57.2 million tonnes grading 17.0 g/t Pt+Pd containing 31.3 million ounces and 92.5 million tonnes grading 16.6 g/t containing 49.4 million ounces.

Note 3: Magmatic Ore Deposits in Layered IntrusionsDescriptive Model for Reef-Type PGE and Contact-Type Cu-Ni-PGE Deposits, Michael Zientek, USGS Open-File Report 20121010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Michael Rowley, President, CEO & Director

Email: info@grouptenmetals.com

Web: http://grouptenmetals.com

Phone: (604) 357 4790

Toll Free: (888) 432 0075



Quality Control and Quality Assurance

Mr. Mike Ostenson, P.Geo., is the qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, and he has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward Looking Statements: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, historic production, estimation of mineral resources, the realization of mineral resource estimates, interpretation of prior exploration and potential exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, the timing and results of future resource estimates, permitting time lines, metal prices and currency exchange rates, availability of capital, government regulation of exploration operations, environmental risks, reclamation, title, and future plans and objectives of the company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Group Ten believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include failure to obtain necessary approvals, unsuccessful exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the companies with securities regulators. Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on Group Ten and the risks and challenges of their businesses, investors should review their annual filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at



http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8d8193d2-58d7-4e2a-b9cd-aebb050f4528

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3250aee1-993b-4e71-8fd5-ad703a1758ac
Ask Brianna is a column from NerdWallet for 20-somethings or anyone else starting out. Im here to help you manage your money, find a job and pay off student loans  all the real-world stuff no one taught us how to do in college. Send your questions about postgrad life to [email protected]

Q: I never keep my New Years resolutions. But this year, I set a goal to save more money. How can I finally stick with it?

A: When we set money goals, our motivations are pure. A new year has just begun, we recently got engaged or were trying to stockpile a down payment.

But we give ourselves too much credit.

The No. 1 reason that people end up not meeting their goals is they try to do too much too soon, says Laura Morganelli, a financial adviser at Abacus Wealth Partners in Philadelphia.

Drastically cutting your spending and saving a big portion of your income might sound seductive in a dramatic, start-a-blog-about-it way. But saving a lot so suddenly is hard. Youll get discouraged. Youll fail, and youll feel like a disappointment. A disappointment who still doesnt have any savings.

So dial it back a bit. Give yourself a break. Making realistic goals to save money doesnt mean youre lazy, just pragmatic; set yourself up for small wins, and theyll add up to bigger ones.

MAKE YOUR GOAL BITE-SIZED

Maybe youve heard your boss talk about S.M.A.R.T. goals. Theyre specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. A broad goal to save more money doesnt qualify. But saving $500 for emergencies by the end of June  thats more like it.

Why? Because hitting small milestones will encourage you to keep going. You wont lose heart if you have to skip a month of savings to pay a surprise parking ticket, because it doesnt take much effort to pick back up. Instead of completely reworking your monthly spending, you can make small changes. And once you hit small milestones, youre free to exceed them  or set new, loftier goals in the future.

Most people can spare $21 a week to hit that $500 savings goal in six months, for example. Perhaps you can cut back on takeout or cancel a gym membership in favor of online exercise videos. Schedule automatic transfers to your savings account so you wont forget.

This goal is realistic, and its also the first step toward financial security. Setting aside $500 for unexpected costs, like a new tire or a dogs vet bill, means you can pay for them in cash, rather than letting them sit neglected on a credit card.

MAKE IT SOCIAL

The best of intentions can be derailed by unforeseen expenses.

Keep yourself accountable by sharing your plans with a supportive friend or family member, ideally someone with a goal you can cheer on, too. If its uncomfortable to explain the specifics of your financial situation, leave out the details. You can share percentages  Im aiming to save another 1 percent of income for retirement this year  or simply that youre saving more per month.

Brittney Castro, a certified financial planner and CEO of Financially Wise Women in Los Angeles, says she meets with her clients every three months. She recommends checking in with your chosen financial buddy on the same timeline. Tell each other whether youve kept to your plans, what prevented you from doing so if not, and how youll get back on track.

MAKE IT FLEXIBLE

Dont lose hope if you fall behind. Fearing that youll fail, in fact, can actually be a good sign, Morganelli says; it means youre paying attention, and that you want to succeed.

Take a realistic look at your expenses and adjust your savings goal if necessary. Maybe you didnt account for regular bus trips to visit family when you decided to save $100 a month. Try for $75 a month instead. Or consider ways to make extra money that youll send directly to savings, Castro says.

Theres a place for big, strategic thinking in your life. Thats what encourages people to go back to school to pursue a dream career or to sell their possessions and travel the U.S. in a retro van. But when saving money, keep the focus small  squarely on where you are right now  so youll make consistent, gratifying progress.
Serving Nebraska during the last five years has been an honor, and as I begin 2018, I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of our great state and our great people. My staff, both in Washington and throughout Nebraska, work hard to ensure that Nebraskans receive the best representation and guidance when navigating federal bureaucracy, planning a trip to the nations capital, or looking for other services that my office can provide.

My offices in Omaha, Lincoln, Norfolk, Kearney, and Scottsbluff are always ready to help you. Whether working with the VA to help you with services you earned protecting our nation, getting an answer about Social Security benefits, or obtaining passports for your next trip out of the country, my Senate staff is committed to serving you.

Sometimes problems in foreign countries can become matters of freedom, or even life or death. In 1999, Marcel Pika moved his family to Lincoln following the start of a civil war in his native country of the Republic of Congo. In 2016, after becoming an American citizen, he was arrested while visiting the Congo following their election. He was never charged with a crime.

Working with the State Department and Congressman Fortenberry, my office helped to secure his release. When I met with the Pika family, I was touched by their incredible strength and courage. I was happy to join all Nebraskans in welcoming Marcel and his wife, Josephine, home and wishing them well as they reunite with their family.

My casework staff is also dedicated to dealing with issues closer to home. In March 2017, the conservator of Bert Crum, a 100 percent disabled Vietnam Veteran, contacted my office. He hoped to obtain the service medals Mr. Crum earned during Vietnam. A fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973 destroyed his records outlining his commendations. Working with the National Personnel Records Center, we checked battle reports and contacted archivists to find Mr. Crums service records. He had earned a Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, and Presidential Unit Citation, among other awards. In May, Mr. Crum received all of his medals from serving in the United States Marine Corps.

For those who want to meet in person with a member of my staff about any issue, we also hold mobile office hours in communities all across Nebraska. In 2017, our office held 93 of these meetings  one in each of our states counties. These mobile office hours act as a convenient place where you can ask questions and share concerns regarding the challenges you have encountered with the federal government. To find more information about upcoming office hours in 2018, check your community newspapers, my website and Facebook page, or my Twitter account.

Every year, thousands of Nebraskans visit our nations capital to experience our countrys rich history and tour some of our wonderful museums and monuments. I encourage you to use my Washington office as a resource as you plan your trip. Staff can schedule tours of the White House or U.S. Capitol. They also have information about many other attractions in Washington, D.C.

If you visit the nations capital, I also hope you consider attending a time-honored state tradition: the Nebraska Breakfast. Hosted in the Senates Dirksen Office Building, the Breakfast is open to all Nebraskans and attended by the entire Nebraska congressional delegation. This will mark the 75th year of the breakfast, which Senator Hugh Butler instituted in 1943. The Nebraska Breakfast is the longest-running meeting of its kind. More information regarding the Nebraska Breakfast can be found by visiting my website or contacting my office.

Serving Nebraska families is the most rewarding aspect of my job. Please contact me if you have concerns regarding your interaction with the federal bureaucracy, are planning to visit Washington, or want to voice your suggestions on important issues.

Happy New Year and thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
One bill I believe Nebraska needs is LB611. LB611 is a carry-over bill from last year. Last year the bill advanced out of the Appropriations Committee, where it also became the committees priority bill. The bill currently sits on General File.

LB611 would require annual reporting of federal funds received by state agencies participating in the States budgeting process. The report would require every State agency to create two operating plans; the first would go into effect once federal receipts drop by 10 percent and the second would be enacted once they drop by 25 percent. This kind of reporting is necessary so that the executive and legislative branches of the State government would be prepared to act in the best interests of Nebraskans should federal funding ever be reduced.

Because our countrys national debt has now surpassed $20,600,000,000, I believe this is now the next fiscally responsible step for our state to take. Because our national debt now surpasses our gross GDP, there are no longer any guarantees about the future status of federal grant monies.

Federal grants almost always come with strings attached. Whenever the federal government turns off the money spigot, the states are left holding the hose. So, federal grants put the State at the mercy of the federal government, where we are tied to their inconsistent whims.

Federal grants come with the potential to put the State into a spending crisis. In addition, states remain bound by the unintended consequences and extra costs associated with accepting federal dollars.

Besides suddenly turning off the money spigot, federal grants often incentivize unnecessary spending at the state and local level. Because some people view these federal grants as free money, it encourages impulsive and unchecked spending. Making matters worse, states are often unable to track how these federal dollars get spent.

LB611 would provide state officials with the opportunity to see where all of their federal grant monies go. LB611 would mandate an audit of all federal funds in the State, including a report of all the strings which are attached to these federal grants.

LB611 would also allow state officials to measure the impact of a future spending crisis. The bill would require a risk assessment to identify potential vulnerabilities so that state officials may make better decisions and plans about what to do in the event of a reduction in federal funds.

More than 30 percent of Nebraskas budget is currently being funded by federal grants. Ninety-one percent of Nebraskas Labor Department, for example, is funded by federal grants, while 85 percent of Nebraskas military spending comes from federal dollars. Because I sit on the HHS committee and the Education committee, it is important to report that $2.7 billion of the Department of Health and Human Services comes from federal grants, and $580 million of the University of Nebraskas budget comes from federal grants.

The bottom line is that LB611 will help to ensure that Nebraska would be protected against Washingtons next federal funding crisis.
National Police officers are searching for a British mother-of-two who went missing from her Marbella home more than a week ago.

Rebecca Muldoon, originally from Essex, vanished from her home on January 2. The 35-year-old, who had been living with her partner and two children on the Costa del Sol for the past year, failed to appear in court to confirm her reports of domestic abuse she had suffered at the hands of her partner. Following her allegations her partner had been arrested and he was apparently being held by police when she went missing.

The authorities were alerted when a neighbour contacted Marbella police station claiming that Rebeccas children, aged eight and eleven, had been left alone in the family home.

The police contacted Rebeccas family and they immediately flew to Malaga to take care of the youngsters. The children are now understood to be in the UK in the care of a close relative while her family and loved ones wait anxiously for news on her whereabouts.

A friend of Rebeccas has appealed for information on her whereabouts in a social media campaign, saying: Rebecca has been missing for a week. She has no money, passport or clothes and her phone is switched off.

The woman's sister reported her disappearance to British police who are collaborating with their Spanish counterparts in the investigation.

Local police have confirmed they are probing the mystery disappearance and are trying to find out where she was last seen in order to trace her whereabouts.
SAN RAMON, Calif., Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WANdisco (LSE:WAND), the live data company, announced today that Envestnet | Yodlee, a leading data aggregation and data analytics platform powering dynamic, cloud-based innovation for digital financial services, used live data platform, WANdisco Fusion, to perform a live upgrade of major releases from Cloudera: CDH 4.4 to CDH 5.7.

Envestnet | Yodlee evaluated several leading market solutions for an external upgrade service and found WANdisco Fusion was the only solution that would enable an upgrade with no downtime, no business disruption and guaranteed data consistency. WANdisco ensured their existing CDH 4.4 environment stayed fully operational during the upgrade to CDH 5.7 enabling the validation of all existing customizations and thorough testing prior to going live.

Jeff Schulte, Vice President of Operations at Envestnet | Yodlee said:

We deal with over 80 million financial transactions a day with over 20 million active users. Our customers expect their data to be accurate and always available. WANdisco Fusion was the only solution that made this possible when we upgraded to a new version of our Cloudera production system. WANdisco Fusion works flawlessly on Cloudera. It was a very stress-free process.

David Richards, CEO and Co-Founder of WANdisco said:

Our work with Envestnet |Yodlee demonstrates that with our patented technology our customers can upgrade and migrate systems seamlessly while maintaining strict service level agreements across operations. This reinforces our belief that our live data platform is the only solution that can enable organizations to move large volumes of critical data without any data inconsistencies, downtime or service disruption  something many thought was impossible.

About WANdisco

WANdisco is shaping the future of data infrastructure with its groundbreaking Live Data platform, enabling companies to put all their data to work for the business  all the time, at any scale.

WANdisco makes data always available, always accurate, and always protected, delivering hyperscale economics to support exponential data growth with the same IT budget. With significant OEM relationships with IBM and Dell EMC and go-to-market partnerships with Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle and other industry titans  as well as hundreds of customers among the Global 2000  WANdisco is igniting a Live Data movement worldwide.

A video accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/52cf063f-c69f-45ba-b183-f555f74af604
Syracuse, N.Y. - Eat to Live, the food cooperative on the city's South Side, has closed again.

It's the second time in about four years the member grocery store - which was built with more than $1 million dollars in donations from Syracuse University and other area foundations - has shut its doors.

The Dec. 31 closure comes after New York state also invested more than $400,000 into the project, money meant to jumpstart the store's operations and create enough work for four full-time employees.

The larger goal for Eat to Live called for putting an affordable grocery store with fresh produce into a "food desert" on South Salina Street. Instead of creating a traditional for-profit business, leaders formed a co-op, meaning members would run the store and share in any future profits. Anyone could shop there, whether they joined the co-op or not.

The produce section at the Eat to Live Food Cooperative on Syracuse's South Side in 2017.

The market could survive, early plans showed, if the store attracted $1.1 million in annual sales by its fifth year.

Last month, the co-op did about $3,000 in sales, according to Howie Hawkins, the secretary and treasurer of the cooperative. That couldn't come close to paying the $18,000 in monthly costs, he said Tuesday.

"The sales didn't come up," he said.

In the end, despite other grocery stores being a mile or farther away from Eat to Live, not enough people shopped at the co-op.

Hawkins said he competition from other, larger stores - such as PriceRite and Tops Friendly Markets - hurt the co-op. That competition, especially from that new PriceRite on South Avenue, was a main reason Nojaim Brothers Supermarket closed late last year.

But Hawkins also said the co-op could have done a better job organizing and marketing itself to the community. "We could have done better," he said. "We need stronger support from everybody that's involved."

Eat to Live had been in the planning stages since 2006. Its main promoter was the Southside Community Coalition, a group initially organized by Syracuse University.

The market first opened in October 2013 after several sources, including SU, the Gifford Foundation and the Central New York Community Foundation, donated more than $1 million to build the building.

Yet troubles plagued the market from the beginning. Within a couple of weeks of opening, the general manager at the time was fired. Within two months of that 2013 opening, the store closed. By February 2014, a former board member said the place was running out of money.

The co-op stayed closed until April 2016, when it got an injection of help from Syracuse's other food co-op. A new manager took over and the store created the equivalent of those four jobs for six months. That meant the state sent the $400,000 it promised in taxpayer money for the project.

It also meant it was time for the co-op to start to pay its own bills. That didn't happen.

Eat to Live, file photo 2017.

Now, with the store closed, it's possible the state will ask for that money back. The money came with a five-year review period, according to a spokesman at Empire State Development Corp., the state office that oversees job creation money. If recipients of the money don't meet their minimum job promises, then the state can take steps to recoup some or all of the money. It's also possible state officials would continue to work with the co-op, to see if there's another way to keep the project -- and the jobs -- going.

Hawkins said he was unaware the state money came with any lasting requirements beyond the initial six-month period for those four jobs.

"That's news to me," he said Tuesday. "They could have the building. That would cover it. But that would put an end to it."

And, Hawkins said, he still sees a future for the co-op.

The board is meeting again this week to discuss options such as using the space for a weekly fish fry, a coffee shop and/or a CSA center. The goal is to offer a different service, with a larger profit margin, that still provides a community space and fresh food to the neighborhood.

"We're down, but we're not out," he said.
by Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com

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Harvey Weinstein slapped

Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein got slapped in the face at an Arizona restaurant on new Tuesday. Videos shows the former Hollywood mogul leaving Elements in Scottsdale when a man hits Weinstein twice in the face with his backhand. "Get the f--- out of here," the attacker, only identified as Steve, said. "You're a f---ing piece of s---." Weinstein did not call police, but TMZ reports Steve appeared to be drunk and had approached Weinstein earlier for a selfie. Steve claimed Weinstein was belligerent, but TMZ audio suggests that's not the case.

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Kevin Gates freed

Rapper Kevin Gates was released from an Illinois state prison Wednesday morning. The 31-year-old hip-hop star, whose real name is Kevin Gilyard, served nine months of a 30-month sentence for a felony weapons charge. He was first put behind bars for an alleged 2015 altercation with a female fan at a Florida concert, then released last year -- and then re-arrested that same day on an outstanding weapons-related warrant. Gates has released more than a dozen mixtapes but may be best known for the 2016 hit single "2 Phones."

>> Read more at Billboard.

Note: Video contains explicit lyrics not suitable for younger viewers.

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'Heavyweights' actor dies

Former child star Joseph Wayne Miller is dead at age 36, according to multiple reports. Miller was best known for playing Salami Sam in the 1995 comedy "Heavyweights," produced by Judd Apatow and starring Ben Stiller as fat camp owner Tony Perkis. "When we made 'Heavyweights' being around Joe Miller was pure joy," Apatow told Page Six. "We could not have loved spending time with him more. He made everyone around him so happy. What a terrible loss." Aaron Schwartz, who played camper Gerald Garner opposite Miller, Kenan Thompson and Shaun Weiss, shared a clip on Instagram mourning his co-star's death and said Salami Sam "is my spirit animal." A cause of death has not been named, but Miller's mother told TMZ that he died in his sleep in Chicago; she said he suffered from sleep apnea.

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Grammy performers

The lineup for the 2018 Grammys is heating up: Luis Fonsi, Cardi B, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Kesha, SZA, Pink, Childish Gambino, Little Big Town, Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid will all perform at this year's ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York. Cardi B and Mars, both nominated in multiple categories, are expected to perform a remix of "Finesse," while Broadway fans will want to watch Patti LuPone and Ben Platt ("Dear Evan Hansen") performing a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lenoard Bernstein. The 60th annual Grammy Awards, hosted by James Corden, will air Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. on CBS.

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Teen Titans movie

A "Teen Titans" movie is coming to the big screen for fans of DC Comics, irreverent humor and short attention spans. Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy are all part of the fun, including jokes about "Wonder Woman" and flatulence. "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies," featuring the voices of the animated series that's aired since 2013 plus big name guests like Kristen Bell and Will Arnett, will hit theaters Aug. 3.

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More Buzz

Jack White releases 2 new song from upcoming album ( RS

Taylor Swift teases new 'End Game' video on her app ( DM

Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber nominated for iHeartRadio Awards ( ET

Oprah's neighborhood devastated by Calif. mudslides ( TMZ

The Killers debut moving music video for new song 'Rut' ( RS

'Silicon Valley' trailer: HBO comedy returns March 25 ( SF

Rihanna spotted at funeral for cousin shot dead at 21 ( DM

Molly Shannon gets NSFW in elevator in 'Will & Grace' return ( ET

O.J. Simpson says he's not Khloe Kardashian's dad ( NYDN

Nicki Minaj, Quavo star in vibrant 'She Plays for Keeps' video ( RS

'Snowpiercer' TV series moving forward, coming this year ( SF

Rosie Huntington-Whitely poses topless 6 months after giving birth ( DM

PM Buzz is a weekday afternoon feature on syracuse.com where we'll post the latest in viral videos, trending topics, celebrity gossip and entertainment news.
A new report claims Mark Wahlberg was paid about 1,500 times more than Michelle Williams' salary for recent movie reshoots.

According to USA Today, the actress was paid $80 a day to reshoot scenes for "All the Money in the World" in late 2017, or less than $1,000 altogether. Wahlberg reportedly earned $1.5 million for the same work.

Director Ridley Scott called for reshoots after production wrapped, replacing Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer when Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple men. Plummer took over the role as oil tycoon J. Paul Getty in the story of his son's kidnapping, though Spacey could still be visible in one scene.

The New York Daily News reports both Wahlberg and Williams are represented by the William Morris Endeavor agency, which declined to comment.

Scott told USA Today in December that he "refused to get paid" for the reshoots and that "everyone did it for nothing," but the reported large pay gap is raising criticism.

"How on God's green Earth does Wahlberg not read the room, there? No way he doesn't know everyone else is doing it for free. He makes like $100m a year -- how do you not tell your agent to let this one go?" TV writer Michael Schur ("The Office," "The Good Place") wrote on Twitter, encouraging Walhberg to donate $1.5M to RAINN or Planned Parenthood.

"I really hope that with everything coming to light, she was paid fairly," actress Jessica Chastain tweeted. "She's a brilliant Oscar nominated Golden Globe winning actress. She has been in the industry for 20 yrs. She deserves more than 1% of her male costar's salary."

"The person who should be most ashamed of this is Michelle's agent. Their entire job is to protect against this sort of thing," producer Daniel Powell wrote.

"I wonder if the studio or Wahlberg will do something to make the situation less insane," filmmaker Judd Apatow added.

"All the Money in the World" was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, including a best actress nod for Williams and best supporting actor for Plummer.
BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. -- Police are investigating a report of a missing person on Woods Road, said Sgt. Jon Seeber, a spokesman for the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.

A call was placed to the Onondaga County 911 Dispatch at 8:41 a.m. about a missing person. Police have Woods Road, off of River Road, taped off. The end of the street dead ends near the Seneca River.

Onondaga Sheriff's cars lined Woods Road, where the investigation is happening.

A resident of Woods Road, who declined to be named, said officers went door to door asking if residents had seen a strange person Tuesday morning.

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office has scheduled a press conference about the investigation for 11 a.m. tomorrow at the sheriff's office's headquarters, Seeber said.

Seeber declined to give any more information about the identity of the missing person.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Police and deputies responded to a dozen verbal and physical domestic violence calls at the Lysander home where a husband is accused of killing his wife, according to the New York State Police and Onondaga County Sheriff's Office.

Pande "Pete" Trifunovski was charged early Wednesday morning with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence, Onondaga County Sheriff Eugene Conway said at a news conference.

Pete Trifunovski admitted to investigators he beat his wife, Snezana "Suzie" Trifunovski, 62, to death, Conway said. The husband moved her body to a storage facility in Van Buren, Conway said.

Between 2002 and 2015, police responded to calls at the Trifunovski family home at 3362 Woods Road 12 times, according to Trooper Jack Keller, a spokesman for the state police, and Sgt. Jon Seeber, a spokesman for the sheriff's office.

Six of the calls were incidents between Pete Trifunovski and his wife, Suzie Trifunovski, and four were between Pete Trifunovski and his adult son, Alexander Trifunovski. (Details were not available for two calls in 2002 and 2003.)

In a 13-year time period, Pete Trifunovski was arrested three times. He faced charges including harassment, criminal contempt and two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of unregistered handgun and one count for possession of a stun gun, police said.

The calls

Here's a look at the police calls according to state police and sheriff's office records provided to Syracuse.com:

May 2002: State police responded to a verbal domestic. No record on file of the incident. Unclear who the incident involved. August 2003: State police responded to a verbal domestic. No record on file of the incident. Unclear who the incident involved. Sept. 2004: State police responded to a physical domestic between Pete Trifunovski and his son. Alexander Trifunovski, who was 21 at the time, was charged. October 2004: State police responded to a physical domestic between Pete and Suzie Trifunovski. No injures were reported and Suzie Trifunovski requested no harassment arrest be made. March 2006: Sheriff's office responded to a physical domestic between Pete and Suzie Trifunovski. Pete Trifunovski was charged with second-degree harassment. March 2006: Sheriff's office responded to a verbal domestic between Pete and Suzie Trifunovski. Pete Trifunovski was charged with second-degree criminal contempt. August 2007: State police responded to a verbal domestic. Pete Trifunovski called to report that Suzie Trifunovski was verbally abusive towards him. Police found that no crime was committed and no arrests were made. February 2013: Sheriff's office responded to a verbal domestic between Pete and Suzie Trifunovski. No arrests were made. April 2013: State police responded to a verbal domestic between Pete and Suzie Trifunovski. Pete Trifunovski was charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, one count of a unregistered handgun and one count for possession of a stun gun. On April 2016, Pete Trifunovski pleaded guilty to harassment as part of a plea deal. His sentence is unknown. March 2014: Sheriff's office responded to a physical domestic between Pete Trifunovski and his son. August 2014: Sheriff's office responded to a verbal domestic between Pete Trifunovski and his son. May 2015: Sheriff's office responded to a physical domestic between Pete Trifunovski and his son.

Conway said officers are trained to handle domestic violence calls and often refer victims and accusers to outside agencies to get help.

"We always try to resolve the situation," Conway said. "We also know the level of violence that these situations can rise to."

Colleen O'Brien, deputy director of Vera House, said police want to help domestic violence victims, but sometimes there is not much they can do.

"Police do help," O'Brien said. "They help all the time. But we have laws that police have to work within."

O'Brien said every domestic violence situation is different and many people leave abusive relationship and are safe. While others leave and are stalked by their abuser, which puts them in an even more dangerous situation.

O'Brien said it's easy to say that the victim should leave. But that's not the right question to be asked, she said.

"Why is still OK in 2018 for someone to kill their partner?" she said. "Why does that still happen in our society?"

These are the questions that O'Brien said are more important than, "why did she stay" or "why didn't she leave?"

"The only person who could have stopped the homicide from happening was Pete," O'Brien said.

Vera House -- a nonprofit that works to help people who have faced domestic or sexual violence -- operates a 24-hour support line at (315) 468-3260. If you believe you are in immediate danger, Vera House recommends calling 911.
Pande "Pete" Trifunovski is accused of killing his wife Snezana "Suzie" Trifunovski, according to Onondaga County Sheriff Eugene Conway.

LYSANDER, N.Y. -- When Snezana "Suzie" Trifunovski did not show up at her job at a Baldwinsville nursing home and rehab center Tuesday morning, a coworker called 911.

Suzie Trifunovski, 62, lived in Lysander with her husband -- a man who had been charged with harassing her in the past, said Onondaga County Sheriff Eugene Conway. So when she missed work at the Syracuse Home at McHarrie Place, a fellow worker became concerned for her safety, he said.

Deputies responded to Suzie Trifunovski's 3362 Woods Road home and searched the area. They quickly became suspicious of Pande "Pete" Trifunovski, 68, the missing woman's husband, the sheriff said.

Hours later, investigators found Suzie Trifunovski's body in a Van Buren storage unit, Conway said. Her husband was charged with her murder.

During interviews with investigators, Pete Trifunovski admitted killing his wife, according to the sheriff's office.

Pete Trifunovski beat his wife inside their home -- repeatedly hitting her with his hands and a wooden object, Onondaga Sheriff's Office Detective Laura Collins said in a felony complaint filed in Lysander Town Court. He also put a pile of clothing over Suzie Trifunovski's face, making it hard for her to breathe, she said.

A medical examiner is working to determine Suzie Trifunovski's exact cause of death, the sheriff said.

Pete and Suzie Trifunovski had been married for about 25 years and had one son, Conway said. The couple lived together at the one-family Woods Road home.

In the past 18 years, deputies and the New York State Police have responded to 11 domestic violence calls at the couple's home, Conway said. Some of the calls involved disputes between Pete Trifunovski and his son, he said.

Pete Trifunovski told investigators he and his wife had a "history of arguments," Conway said.

Suzie Trifunovski got rides to work from a fellow employee, Conway said. Investigators were told she had to walk to Route 31 -- about 650 feet and a street away from her Woods Road home -- to meet coworkers.

"We were told that the victim didn't or wasn't able to use a car, and she wasn't able to be picked up at (her home) by coworkers," the sheriff said.

Suzie Trifunovski was last seen alive late Monday afternoon, Conway said. Sometime after, she and her husband got into a fight, he said.

The fight started as a verbal argument, Conway said. Pete Trifunovski told detectives he eventually started to beat his wife, he said.

Investigators believe the deadly attack happened between 5:11 p.m. Monday and 3 a.m. Tuesday.

The Woods Road home where Pande Trifunovski is accused of killing his wife Sneazana Trifunovski.

When his wife was dead, Pete Trifunovski washed his clothes and burned the wooden object he had used during the beating, the detective, Collins, said in the felony complaint. He then worked to hide Suzie Trifunovski's body, the detective said.

On Tuesday morning Pete Trifunovski rented a unit at a storage facility on Van Buren Road in the Town of Van Buren, Conway said. He then put his wife in his vehicle, drove to Van Buren and hid her body in his newly rented storage unit, the sheriff said.

Suzie Trifunovski was reported missing by a coworker around 8:40 a.m.

"Something tells me that they very quickly realized something wasn't right," the sheriff said.

The deputy who initially investigated the call had a feeling something was wrong, Conway said. He had responded to other calls involving Trifunovskis, the sheriff said, and was suspicious.

Pete Trifunovski eventually admitted to killing his wife and hiding her body, Conway said. The man's admission led investigators to the Van Buren storage unit where Suzie Trifunovski's body was hidden, he said.

Conway praised the deputies, detectives and evidence technicians who investigated the homicide.

Pete Trifunovski has been charged with second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence, both felonies. He is being held in the Onondaga County Justice Center without bail.

Vera House -- a nonprofit that works to help people who have faced domestic or sexual violence -- operates a 24-hour support line at (315) 468-3260. If you believe you are in immediate danger, Vera House recommends calling 911.
Gettysburg, PA, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OPEN MINDS announced a new executive summit  Designing & Implementing Innovative Treatment Programs. The summit will be held on August 14, 2018 prior to The 2018 OPEN MINDS Management Best Practices at the Hilton in Long Beach, California.

The summit will kick off with an overview of the trends driving new innovation in the health and human service market and a review of OPEN MINDS strategic framework for designing and launching sustainable treatment programs. Additionally, the day will feature case study presentations on cutting-edge new treatment programs  including their design and keys to successful implementation and sustainability. The summit will conclude with a round table discussion on the strategic challenges to innovation for specialty provider organizations, which will feature all of the days case study presenters. Annie Medina, Senior Associate with OPEN MINDS will chair the summit.

Financing and technology are not the only sea changes for organizations serving complex consumers. New sciencein genetics, in imaging, in pharmaceuticals, in robots, and moreare reshaping what is best practice, said Monica E. Oss, OPEN MINDS chief executive officer. We are launching this summit as the annual forum for thought leaders to learn about new, cutting edge treatment programs, about best practices in launching new clinical programming, and about designing these programs for long-term sustainability. In our initial year, we will be featuring eight new treatment approaches  focused on the consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs.

OPEN MINDS is currently seeking speakers for this executive summit, who have already succeeded, or are in the process of designing and implementing innovative treatment programs at their behavioral health organizations. Applications will be accepted through March 15. After a review process, selected case studies will be announced in April 2018. Applicants will be asked to describe their program model in detail, including staffing, financing, current program outcomes, and plans for the future. Applications will be accepted from provider organizations, payers, and vendors; however, payers and vendors will be required to feature one of their provider organization partners as focal point of the case study presentation.

You can apply for this summit online at: https://management.openminds.com/2018-treatment-program-summit-application/.

If you are interested in presenting a thirty-minute presentation at this summit, or have additional questions and inquiries, please call Institute Director, Stacey Cotton at 877-350-6463 or by email at events@openminds.com.

Individual and group registration for the 2018 OPEN MINDS Management Best Practices Institute is now available. We recommend registering early, as seating is limited and registrations are expected to sell out early. To register online or download a registration form, visit: https://management.openminds.com/register. To learn more about The 2018 OPEN MINDS Management Best Practices Institute, visit: https://management.openminds.com.

ABOUT OPEN MINDS

OPEN MINDS is an award-winning information source, executive education provider, and business solutions firm specializing in the behavioral health and human service field. For thirty years, weve been pioneers for change  helping organizations implement the transformational business practices they need to succeed in an evolving market with new policies and regulations.

OPEN MINDS is powered by a national team of experienced executives and subject matter experts with specific expertise and experience in markets of the health and human service field serving complex consumers. Our mission is to improve the quality of care for individuals with complex support needs by improving the effectiveness of those serving them  provider organizations, payer and insurance organizations, government agencies, pharmaceutical organizations, and technology firms. Learn more at www.openminds.com.
Cortland, N.Y. -- When Josh Payne learned to tattoo, it wasn't meant to be his life's work. He just thought it would be a good way to make money to pay for college.

As one of five boys in a working-class home in Newark Valley, he knew he'd have to figure out a way to help with some of the bills if he went to college. So he ordered tattoo equipment and learned to put the art he'd been making on paper onto people's skin.

College didn't stick, but the art of inking people did. Payne, who works out of Ascend Gallery in Cortland, is among the best tattoo artists in the country. He is one of the stars of "Ink Master" on Spike TV, a Top-Chef style reality TV about tattoo artists.

Payne is among 24 contestants in the 10th season of the show. They compete in teams for the title of "Ink Master," a prize of $100,000 and a feature on the winner in "Inked" magazine.

The show airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Spike TV. The first episode was this week. Payne survived the first challenge to make it onto Team D.J., a group led by DJ Tambe, who won Season 9 of Ink Master.

So how does a guy from a small tattoo shop in Cortland end up on national TV? Payne said his success with social media helped his star rise. He has 165,000 followers on Instagram.

But one of the things Payne said learned in his time on the show was that the playing to Instagram can also ruin the art that he's making.

It's one thing to make a tattoo that's beautiful for the split-second of a photograph. It's another to make a design that will last with the years of push and pull on human skin.

"It's really easy to get lost in that love of people tell you you're awesome -- people start tattooing for likes, popularity," Payne said.

This can lead to using too much color and detail, which will get blurred over time.

"You realize what's important and what's not," Payne said.

Payne always loved to draw, even as a little kid. He was constantly drawing on his own skin, he said.

Tattooing is a weird business. "You spend a lot of time with people, intimately," Payne said. And the client is often at least half-naked for much of that time.

"Some people are super weird and I'm like 'Dude, I don't want to spend time with you'," Payne said.

He'll also turn down business if someone wants something he doesn't agree with: no hate, no profanity.

"I don't care if you as the client want it, but I'm not going to have my name attached to it," Payne said.

Payne left Upstate New York for a while and lived in North Carolina. There, he turned down requests for confederate flags. He doesn't do them.

He said his style is constantly changing; he always pushing himself to learn new and different things.

This evolution is clear on Payne's body, as well. He's on his third round of tattoos in many places. He's had the tattoos on his arms lasered off and redone, twice.

So does it hurt? "I hate getting tattooed," Payne said, laughing. He complains about the pain, every time.

Payne's parents, James and Michele Payne, weren't expecting him to become a tattoo artist. But they encouraged him to pursue his craft because it was his dream.

Payne's mother, who worked in the Cornell library system, even let her son tattoo her.

"She let me tattoo her purely to show me that she was behind it," he said. The first tattoo he gave her was of a Russian Orthodox cross with a flower for each of her children. Payne's mother has since had her son ink a second tattoo on her that honors her parents.

While Payne's star is rising, he has no plans to move out of Cortland.

"For me, this is home," he said.

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A nurse who sold crack cocaine to a police informant has had her nursing license suspended.

The state Board of Regents took the disciplinary action against Kelly Marie Radford, a licensed practical nurse, of Syracuse.

In a signed consent order, Radford pleaded guilty to one count of professional misconduct.

The state charged her with misconduct because she was convicted in Onondaga County Court in 2015 of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, a felony. Nurses and other licensed health professionals convicted of crimes are charged with professional misconduct.

As part of her guilty plea to the criminal charge, Radford admitted she sold crack cocaine to a police informant in Syracuse in February of 2015. She was sentenced to five years probation.

The state suspended her nursing license for at least three months until she submits a report from a doctor or other health professional verifying she is fit to practice. If and when she returns to practice Radford will be put on probation for two years. She also was fined $500.

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245
N. Scott Trimble

Don't Edit

By Chris Baker

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse is the snowiest big city in the nation. Yet somehow, we've never been able to figure out how to keep our sidewalks passable.

Every winter, countless pedestrians are forced into snow-narrowed roads. For people who get around on foot, winter weather isn't just uncomfortable, it's dangerous.

For years, leaders have lamented the city's embarrassing sidewalks. The city council has failed repeatedly in efforts to help.

A "snow tax" was shot down decades ago. Multiple versions of a plan to fine property owners for un-shoveled sidewalks have been defeated. A law punishing owners who actively block sidewalks hasn't been enforced.

Now, a new mayor and new council are pledging, once again, to tackle the problem. During last year's campaign, candidates frequently cited Rochester's program as a model for Syracuse.

In the meantime, however, pedestrians take to the streets.

Tuesday, a woman was killed while walking in the street near downtown. It's unclear whether snow-covered sidewalks forced her into the road.

We walked around the city to meet some of the people whose lives are made more difficult by the continued inaction on sidewalks. Here are some of their stories.

Don't Edit

Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com

Robert McIntyre

Monday morning, Robert McIntyre found himself stuck in the middle of a crosswalk in his wheelchair. He struggled to get through the slush. He spun around backwards and tried to push himself up onto the sidewalk with his one leg.

McIntyre was on his way to an appointment at U.S. Rep. John Katko's office. He had a stroke several years ago and lives in an assisted living facility and has been discussing health facility options with the Congressman's staff.

"This is terrible," he shouted, frustrated, nearly falling out of his chair as its wheels stuck in the snow. "It never used to be this bad."

McIntyre wore an old coat Monday. He figured it would get ruined on the city streets.

Don't Edit

Downtown sidewalks tend to fare better than the rest of the city. Many property owners clear their sidewalks.

Steve Webster manages The Galleries on South Warren Street. He came to McIntyre's aid Monday morning.

Webster said he does his best to clear and salt the walks around the building. Snow in the street, however, often makes it tough to get onto the sidewalk, especially for someone in a wheelchair.

The Downtown Committee, a not-for-profit, employs a small fleet of Bobcats to help.

"Our crew...helps to clear snow on the sidewalks as a service/courtesy to help property owners," said Alice Maggiore, a spokesperson for the committee. "That way its easier for pedestrians to walk through downtown to get to their destinations and downtown employees can also get to their offices."

Don't Edit

Denise Scott

Denise Scott spent Monday pulling a cart of groceries home from Price Rite on South Avenue. She lives about six blocks away.

Traffic backed up in front of the Southwest Community Center as Scott tried to navigate around vehicles parked on the side of the road. She had to pull the grocery cart through a few inches of slushy snow on the street, which was still better than the impassible sidewalks.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com

The sidewalk at South Avenue and Daisy Street on Monday was a pile of chunky snow.

Scott is one of at least a half-dozen people who were forced to walk in the street as they carried home groceries from Price Rite Monday morning.

Don't Edit

Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com

Tasheema Johnson

Tasheema Johnson lives on Fairfield Avenue in the Valley, at the top of a steep hill that's not frequently plowed.

Monday, she walked her son to the bus stop at South Avenue and Valley Drive.

The sidewalks on that path aren't shoveled. For the most part, it's a patchwork of trampled slush and fresh powder. There's a mountain of snow piled against the sidewalk in front of Kegs & Kases, a corner store.

Don't Edit

Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com

Johnson's son, Cesar Hernandez, is in sixth grade at the Expeditionary Learning Middle School. The two walked down the street on South Avenue to catch his bus Monday.

Johnson said she's scared walking down that street with her boy, but there's no other option. She said it's like this every year.

"I try not to walk in the streets," she said. "But there's just so much snow."

Don't Edit

Plows make the problem worse

In 2015, the Syracuse Common Council passed a law making it illegal to actively block a sidewalk. That means plow operators who pile snow from a driveway or parking lot on a sidewalk can be fined $150. The property owner can be fined $100.

That law empowered Department of Public Works officials to issue tickets to plow drivers. Only police can ticket the property owners, and the system is supposed to be complaint driven.

That law has had little effect, since the city doesn't appear to actively enforce it. There were no fines issued last winter.

Plows routinely push snow against sidewalks, especially in areas where there's nowhere else to put the snow. The problem is particularly bad in places like The Valley or the Near West Side or along Wolf Street and Butternut Street on the North Side. The piled snow makes it impossible to get by and is difficult to shovel out. Those sidewalks will likely remain blocked until the spring thaw.

Don't Edit

Ben Walsh promises action

While running for mayor last year, Ben Walsh said "the current system doesn't work" for clearing and maintaining sidewalks. He's often pointed to snowy sidewalks as an important issue he plans to tackle, along with the Common Council.

Walsh pointed to Rochester's model for municipal sidewalk snow removal. That city charges a fee to all property owners, based on property frontage. They plow all city sidewalks after a snowfall of 4 inches or more.

In Syracuse, there's a city ordinance requiring property owners to clear their sidewalks. But there's no penalty for non-compliance. The city removed a $25 penalty from the law in 1964.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Michael Greenlar

We're looking for the worst offenders -- businesses or property owners that pile snow against the sidewalk. If you see one, take a picture and send it to cbaker@syracuse.com.
WASHINGTON -- About 500 soldiers from the Army's 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum will deploy to Iraq this spring as part of a regular rotation of forces, U.S. Army officials said Wednesday.

The soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's Headquarters unit will replace the 1st Armored Division Headquarters soldiers who have been deployed to Iraq as U.S. forces led an international coalition fighting the Islamic State.

The Army did not disclose the date for the deployment as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, saying only that it will occur in the spring.

Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, commanding general for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, said in a statement that soldiers have completed multiple training exercises in recent months in preparation for the deployment.

"We are honored to be part of the global coalition in support of the Iraqi Security Forces as they consolidate gains from their successful efforts to achieve a lasting defeat of ISIS in Iraq," Piatt said.

The 10th Mountain Division has been the most deployed unit in the Army for almost two decades. Its soldiers are now deployed in 13 countries globally, supporting four named military operations.

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York state is stepping in to help thousands of Salvadorans facing deportation following a decision by the Trump administration.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo says Tuesday some 16,000 people from El Salvador will be forced to return to that country after U.S. Homeland Security officials announced the end of a policy that had granted them temporary residency after a devastating 2001 earthquake. Now, those Salvadorans have until Sept. 9, 2019 to leave the country or face deportation.

Cuomo says employees at two state agencies that work with immigrants will begin an outreach and assistance campaign to ensure the Salvadorans understand their options and legal rights.

Cuomo says the decision to deport families who fled disaster to rebuild their lives in America is disgraceful and unjust.
CNY Central owner Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. will likely face demands to sell TV stations in at least 10 cities to satisfy regulators who are wrapping up a review of the company's plan to buy Tribune Media Co. -- a $3.9 billion deal that would create a national broadcasting giant.

FCC staff members in a recent discussion focused on completing the review by a self-imposed deadline of Jan. 17, according to a person familiar with the deliberations who spoke on condition of anonymity because proceedings aren't public.

The deal would create a coast-to-coast string of stations exceeding current ownership limits and Sinclair has acknowledged that it might have to sell some of the stations. It would also give a broadcaster known for its conservative leanings fresh reach into leading media markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Any sales to secure antitrust clearance from the Justice Department will most likely come in the 10 localities where both Sinclair and Tribune stations are affiliated with major networks, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Jennifer Rie and Matthew Schettenhelm said in a note.

The Justice Department is working alongside the Federal Communications Commission, which has been loosening media-ownership restrictions under Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican chosen by President Donald Trump. In a Jan. 4 meeting with the FCC, Sinclair executives "discussed the general status of Sinclair's divestiture plan and Sinclair's communications with the Department of Justice," according to a Jan. 8 filing.

Sinclair in the filing said it may seek FCC permission to leave intact station combinations in the 10 overlap localities, a possibility since the agency in a November vote relaxed restrictions on owning multiple stations in a locality.

In addition to meeting market-by-market local restrictions, the combination faces another limit: a national audience cap. As proposed, Sinclair would hold stations reaching 45.5 percent of U.S. households, compared with the FCC's limit of 39 percent. In other mergers that would have exceeded TV ownership limits, companies have offered the FCC a firm plan for divestitures to come into compliance as a prelude to agency action, indicating Sinclair would need to make an offer.

"Sinclair still needs to explain how it will honor the national cap," Schettenhelm said in an interview Monday. "It's never given a clear answer."

Sinclair in an October filing said it would need to sell stations in at least two markets to meet the national limit, but added "it is premature" to offer specific promises since the Justice Department might demand divestitures, affecting the company's plans. An FCC review of the national cap also could change the landscape, the Maryland-based broadcaster said in the filing.

Since then the agency has started its review of the national cap. It hasn't set a deadline nor declared whether it will relax the limit.

The deal for Tribune's 42 stations would boost Sinclair, which already has almost 200 stations, into a leading broadcaster serving more than 70 percent of U.S. households, including major markets such as New York and Chicago.

Sinclair currently owns or operates CNY Central TV stations CBS 5 (WTVH-TV), NBC 3 (WSTM-TV) and CW 6 (WSTQ-TV) in Syracuse. Sinclair has not said if any of them would be affected by the Tribune deal.

On Tuesday the deal was on the 172nd day of its planned 180 days of consideration at the FCC, where Pai has long called for not delaying merger reviews. At one point he even called for a rule to force the agency to adhere to the 180-day schedule; it's now voluntary.

Unless the FCC changes course, the 180-day mark will be reached Jan. 17.

Pai has sought to cut regulations and has called past FCC merger conditions "ideologically inspired extortion."

Mark Wigfield, an FCC spokesman, declined to comment as did Lauren Ehrsam, a Justice Department spokeswoman. Rebecca Hanson, Sinclair's senior vice president for strategy and policy, declined to comment.

Critics have said a combined Sinclair-Tribune would have enough heft to demand price increases from pay-TV providers in return for carrying its stations' signals, especially in markets where it would hold more than one station. Sinclair will have so many stations it could delay the planned process of reassigning TV stations to new airwaves, delaying wireless carriers' use of the frequencies they won at an auction, the Competitive Carriers Association with providers including carriers T-Mobile US Inc. and U.S. Cellular Corp. said in a filing.

Sinclair Chief Executive Officer Chris Ripley on Nov. 1 told investors negotiations with the Justice Department about local advertising markets were "an ongoing process." Sinclair thinks cable operators should be included when officials consider whether its TV stations may dominate a market, Ripley said.

A broader market would leave Sinclair holding a smaller portion of the ad business, helping to lessen arguments that it's sufficiently dominant to pose a risk of squelching competition.

Stephen Marks, Sinclair's chief operating officer, said of the Justice Department, "They are not aligned with realities of the marketplace."

The company's divestiture plan "is going to be driven by the DOJ's result," Ripley said. He said the company anticipates the transaction will close "in early 2018."
A manhunt has ended for a Michigan couple accused of killing and torturing a young child.

MLive.com reports U.S. Marshals located and arrested 24-year-old Candice Renea Diaz, and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Brad Edward Fields, on Tuesday afternoon in Georgia. U.S. Marshals in Macon, Ga., were assisted by the Lowndes County Sheriff Department, Sumpter Township Police said.

They had been on the run since Saturday when the New Year's Day death of a 4-year-old girl in Sumpter Township, about 22 miles outside of Ann Arbor, was ruled a homicide. Police were called to the Woods Mobile Home Community on Jan. 1 for a report of an unresponsive child who had severe burns to her extremities.

The girl, identified as Diaz's daughter Gabby Barrett, was taken to the nearby St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. According to WNEM, an autopsy found the girl had "multiple traumatic injuries" and "signs of Battered Child Syndrome (multiple injuries, multiple sites, multiple ages)."

Diaz and Fields have both been charged with felony murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree child abuse and torture.

Fields has also previously been accused of assaulting Diaz, shooting her dog and then shooting himself. Fields was arrested on domestic violence charges but Diaz later told police she didn't want to press charges.

U.S. Marshals offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of both Diaz and Fields.

Gabrielle's aunt, Leah Barrett, 16, told MLive.com that the family was heartbroken over the loss of Gabby, and relieved that Diaz and Fields had been found and arrested.

"She was an overall amazing kid. She was lovable. She was sweet. She was just an outgoing kid," she said. "It's nice to get some closure with this."
A Texas woman could face life in prison for allegedly damaging two $500,000 paintings by Andy Warhol on a first date gone wrong.

The Houston Chronicle reports Lindy Lou Layman, a 29-year-old court reporter, appeared in Harris County court Tuesday to plead not guilty to charges of criminal mischief.

Anthony Buzbee, a high-profile Houston lawyer, claims Layman got drunk on their date and refused to leave his home. He says he repeatedly tried to get her in an Uber, but she hid inside the home and allegedly tore down several paintings and poured red wine on the art.

"We certainly disagree with Mr. Buzbee's rendition of the facts when he spoke to the media and we disagree with what was said in probable cause court," Layman's lawyer Justin Keiter told the judge, according to the newspaper.

According to court documents, the two damaged Warhol paintings were each valued at $500,000. Layman also allegedly broke two $20,000 sculptures when she threw them across the room.

The Chronicle reports Layman is facing the maximum charge, a first degree felony, due to the value of the objects. If convicted, she could be sentenced to life in prison.

Layman is free on $30,000 bond. ABC reports the judge issued standard conditions and a no contact order.

The New York Daily News reports Buzbee is well known in the state for his political ties. He represented former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in an abuse-of-power case, held a fundraiser for Donald Trump during his presidential campaign last year, and donated $250,000 to Trump's campaign.
Warmer temperatures coupled with the chance of freezing rain could cause flooding this weekend , especially in western New York, according to the National Weather Service.

Flood watches have been issued for all of western New York except Allegany County through late Friday night, the weather service said.

Residents across New York may experience some flooding as the freezing rain and melting snow hits, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office is urging citizens to take precautions in case that occurs.

There may be hazardous driving conditions as the freezing rain hits, especially on untreated services, the weather service says. Power outages also are possible.

Winter weather advisories have been issued in Oneida County, including Boonville, Rome and Utica with freezing rain expected.

A winter storm watch has been issued from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon in Oswego, Jefferson and Lewis counties, according to the weather service.

Freezing rain is expected tonight in those areas. Heavy snow and mixed precipitation is possible Friday night and Saturday, with accumulations of six to 12 inches, along with ice.
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree GVC Holdings plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 09 January, 2018 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" YES, Ladbrokes Coral Group plc

2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



Euro 0.01 ordinary



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



1,567,000 0.5162 5,572,580 1.8357 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL: 1,567,000 0.5162 5,572,580 1.8357

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit





(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit Euro 0.01 ordinary CFD Increasing a short position 141,000 9.4698 GBP Euro 0.01 ordinary CFD Increasing a short position 70,500 9.4643 GBP Euro 0.01 ordinary CFD Increasing a short position 70,500 9.4539 GBP Euro 0.01 ordinary CFD Increasing a short position 47,517 9.4182 GBP Euro 0.01 ordinary CFD Increasing a short position 17,625 9.5150 GBP

(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)





4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



NONE





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none" NONE









(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO

Date of disclosure: 10 January, 2018 Contact name: James Gange Telephone number: 212-446-4029

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Majedie Asset Management Limited (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):



The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:



Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree



TESCO PLC (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:



For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 09 January 2018 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?



If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" No





2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



ORD 5P



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 302,628,475 3.69 (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL:



302,628,475



3.69

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit ORD 5P Purchase 3,252,168 214.0696

(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description



e.g. CFD Nature of dealing



e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit





(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type



e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description



e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing



e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)





4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:



Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:



(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or



(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:



If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO

Date of disclosure: 10 January 2018 Contact name: Matthew Hambly Telephone number: 0207 618 3900

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.




Foxconn is once again facing scrutiny over the working conditions at one of its iPhone manufacturing factories in China. A worker committed suicide on Saturday, January 6, by jumping from a window.

This adds to the countless times when Foxconn employees committed suicide over the years in China.

Poor Labor Practices

Ming Li worked at the factory in Zhengzhou, China. He was 31 years old. Li lived in the factory where more than 350,000 employees work. He had worked for Foxconn through an agency for just a little over two months.

The cause of the suicide is still not known. A video of the aftermath of Li's suicide circulated online.

Almost 50 percent of iPhones are made in Zhengzhou. Besides Apple, Foxconn's client list includes Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Blackberry, and Nokia. It is the largest private sector employer in China with around 1.2 million workers.

Foxconn has sparked outrage for its working conditions. The company allegedly pressures workers around the time of new iPhone releases and forces excessive overtime.

In November, students were found to be illegally working overtime to make parts for the iPhone X. Under Chinese law, students are not allowed to work overtime. The students were working 11-hour days at the same factory in Zhengzhou.

Suicide Problem

This new death brings attention to Foxconn and its suicide problem over working conditions. Suicides at Foxconn first came to wide attention when an employee committed suicide after losing a prototype iPhone. He was also reportedly forcefully interrogated before his death.

Foxconn faced scrutiny when it was referred to as a sweatshop in 2010. That same year, 13 suicides made headlines and brought attention to the working conditions of the Foxconn factories.

It again made headlines the following year when it erected suicide nets at its Shenzhen factory. To combat the suicide problem, Foxconn pledged to raise its salaries by 20 percent and began offering counseling to prevent suicides from happening again.

This was not enough, however, as in 2012 150 workers threatened to commit mass suicide over their working conditions. Workers stayed on the roof of the Wuhan factory for two days. They protested Foxconn's move into a new production line that caused their hands to blister due to the speed that they were expected to keep up.

Foxconn president Terry Gou in 2010 had said that he had trouble sleeping for fear that he would get news of another death.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
CRISPR has been introduced as the end-all-and-be-all solution for human problems since its inception. Genes could now be edited to get rid of problems that humans are facing.

A new study now shows that expectations may have to be tempered quite a bit.

60 Percent Of The Time, It Works Every Time

A new study shows that the CRISPR Cas9 gene editing system may not work on most humans. The problem was that between 65 percent to 79 percent of humans had antibodies that would fight the Cas9 proteins. This means that most people have an immune system defenses against what's supposed to cut genetic diseases out of genes.

This is because the enzyme in the Cas9 protein is derived from the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes, which commonly infect humans. Being common infections means that they have evolved along with humans, which means that the immune system has developed a response to both strains of bacteria.

The study has yet to be peer reviewed but can signal trouble for the companies that are investing in the gene editing system. Human trials are supposed to be around the corner, but it's still not clear if the Food and Drug Administration will allow the companies to carry out the tests.

Workarounds

There are alternatives to Cas9. Scientists are already studying other types of CRISPR that use different proteins. Besides the use of different proteins, there are also different methods for delivery into the body.

One of the methods involves removing the cells from the body of the patient, fixing the DNA, and then returning it to the body. This would make it possible for there to be little or no CRISPR proteins remaining on the cells for the immune system to fight against.

"Like any new technology, you want to identify potential problems and engineer solutions for them," said Dr. Matthew Porteus, a senior author on the study. "And I think that's where we're at. This is an issue that should be addressed."

This is a stumbling block in the development of the CRISPR technology that has shown promise as a tool in the fight against genetic diseases. Something to keep in mind is that the study hasn't been peer reviewed just yet. Clinical trials on humans are set to start this year. In Europe, CRISPR Therapeutics will begin trials to treat beta thalassemia patients.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Amazon's strategy of just swallowing up their competition seems to be working just fine. This time they're coming after Microsoft's Cortana.

Using the business model of getting maximum exposure, Alexa will be integrated into Windows 10 PCs starting in 2018.

Battle Of The Digital Assistants

Amazon is trying to get Alexa out there as much as possible to dominate the digital assistant market. Amazon Alexa will be integrated with HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer Windows 10 laptops and desktops this year. In order to be released on Windows 10 computers, there will be an Alexa app released for Windows in the spring.

The new app is being announced in time for the Consumer Electronics Show, where many of the devices that will feature Alexa integration will be unveiled.

"Hands-free access to Alexa on PCs can be helpful to customers in many ways, like making it simple to interact with your smart home, get news or weather, set timers, and more," said Steve Rabuchin, vice president of Amazon's Alexa division in Acer's press release. "This is a big step toward making Alexa available wherever customers might need her."

HP's Pavilion Wave PC will support Alexa. Another company that announced the integration is Acer, which said that the digital assistant would launch on the Aspire 5, Aspire 7, Spin 3, Spin 5, Switch 7 Black Edition, Swift 3, Swift 5, Swift 7, Aspire Z24, Aspire U27, and Aspire S24. Asus say some 2018 models of the Zenbook and Vivobook laptops will feature Alexa.

Some will use Intel's Smart Sound Technology that allows for Alexa to be able to listen to commands even over music.

Amazon And Microsoft Integration

Last year, Amazon and Microsoft announced a partnership. They promised that they would integrate Alexa and Cortana together by the end of 2017. Both companies announced the move at the end of August. This would've allowed the digital assistants to talk to each other.

Amazon says that the new Alexa app for Windows 10 PCs has nothing to do with the Alexa/Cortana integration. It would be tough to see how the two assistants would be able to cohabitate the same device without some confusion.

Amazon and Microsoft weren't able to agree on a date when both digital assistants would be able to interact. And both companies ended up missing the cross-platform integration target date.

Amazon is managing to stay ahead of its rivals but only barely. Apple still hasn't released its smartspeaker, the Homepod, yet. Google Assistant is lagging behind in the smart speaker market but can be found on smartphones.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google expanded the types of hardware powered by Google Assistant with the introduction of the Smart Display platform, and in the process issued a challenge against Amazon's Alexa and the Echo Show smart speaker with screen.

Google has been trying to catch up with Amazon in the smart speaker industry. With the launch of the platform and new allies, Google may soon close the gap.

Lenovo Smart Display Unveiled At CES 2018

In its bid to challenge Amazon and Alexa, Google teamed up with four launch partners for the Smart Display platform. Through the platform, Lenovo, Samsung's JBL, LG, and Sony, will be able to create their own smart speakers with displays, similar to the Amazon Echo Show.

Google is not manufacturing its own hardware for the Amazon Echo Show competitors, unlike for the Google Home, Google Home Mini, and Google Home Max smart speakers.

The Lenovo Smart Display was showcased at CES 2018, where the device was revealed to have two models, namely an 8-inch version and a 10-inch version. The device supports Duo video calling, Google Photos, Google Maps, and other popular apps and services offered by Google.

The devices do not have Google or Lenovo branding, with specifications that include HD resolution on the smaller model, FHD resolution on the bigger model, Qualcomm Snapdragon 624 chipsets, 2 GB of RAM, and 4 GB of storage. These will likely not matter though, as the main focus of the Lenovo Smart Display is to place a Google Assistant-powered smart speaker with a display in living rooms and kitchens.

The Lenovo Smart Display will launch in the summer at $199 for the 8-inch model and $249 for the 10-inch model.

The JBL Link View, also based on the Smart Display platform, was unveiled with an 8-inch display at CES 2018, but details were scarce. Sony and LG, meanwhile, have not yet provided details on their own Smart Display devices.

Google vs Amazon Dispute Over YouTube

The Smart Display platform enables companies to create devices that resemble the Amazon Echo Show but powered by Google Assistant instead. The announcement of the platform provides an interesting spin on the recent dispute between Google and Amazon over the removal of YouTube from Amazon's devices.

Google pulled off YouTube from the Amazon Echo Show in early December and also removed the streaming service's app from the Amazon Fire TV ahead of schedule. An electronic device without easy access to YouTube is almost unheard of these days, but to try to mitigate the problem, Amazon is apparently developing something called AmazonTube.

Meanwhile, all the Smart Display devices, due to being supported by Google Assistant and Google's Smart Display platform, will offer easy access to YouTube. This means that owners of the devices can tap into the multitude of music videos and cooking tutorials available on the streaming service.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Men who take high doses of the common painkiller drug ibuprofen for months are exposed to a higher risk of infertility and other health issues.

According to scientists, these men may also experience erectile dysfunction, fatigue, and muscle wastage, as prolonged ibuprofen usage disrupted testosterone hormones.

High Doses Of Ibuprofen Increases Male Infertility Risk

In a small study involving 31 healthy men with ages ranging from 18 years old to 35 years old, scientists gave some subjects 600 milligrams of ibuprofen twice a day for six weeks. The rest of the subjects, meanwhile, received placebos.

The research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, showed that the men who took the high doses of ibuprofen developed the disorder known as compensated hypogonadism. Under the condition, which is normally seen in smokers and older men, the body needs to boost testosterone production because normal production inside the testes has declined.

The doctors that led the study claimed that the disorder was temporary and mild among the subjects. However, with the discovery comes the concern that long-term usage of high doses of ibuprofen might make compensated hypogonadism a permanent condition.

The study provides the first evidence that long-term ibuprofen use may lead to health issues among men, and the first time that ibuprofen was shown to affect testicular health in adults.

The French National Institute of Health and Medical Research's Bernard Jegou, a senior author of the study, said that there is no problem in taking ibuprofen for short-term pain relief. Jegou, however, warned against taking the drug for months beyond what it necessary.

"The effects were very mild even after six weeks of regular consumption of ibuprofen, which is longer than is usually recommended in practice, so this data should not concern men who occasionally take ibuprofen for pain relief," added Imperial College London senior clinical lecturer in endocrinology Ali Abbara.

The scientists said that trials with a bigger number of subjects are needed to better understand the effects of long-term ibuprofen usage on male fertility.

Overcoming Male Infertility And Erectile Dysfunction

Scientists have been working on methods to overcome male infertility and erectile dysfunction, including a new technique discovered last year that created healthy, artificial sperm.

A separate study, meanwhile, showed the stem cell therapy may cure erectile dysfunction without the need for additional injections, implants, or medicine.

Of course, there is always the option to live beside a Viagra factory, as residents claimed that the fumes have arousing effects on men.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Pacific green sea turtles are on the brink of extinction as rapidly rising temperatures are turning a majority of their entire population into females, new research reveals.

The northern Great Barrier Reef serves as home to one of the world's largest populations of green sea turtles. Unfortunately, this could soon change with an extremely female-biased sex ratio among their stock.

A paper from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California State University, and Worldwide Fund for Nature Australia notes an excess of more than 200,000 females in the nGBR.

These figures reflect an extremely skewed ratio of 116 females to one male green sea turtle, with females accounting for 99.1 percent of the northern stock's juveniles, 99.8 percent of subadults, and 86.8 percent of adults.

Although male green sea turtles are known to mate with multiple females, this unhealthy ratio is more dangerous than beneficial. The paper calls for immediate action before such feminization causes a population collapse or extinction.

Warm Sand Temperatures Produce Female Hatchlings

Sea turtles are one of the species with temperature-dependent sex-determination. Nests in cooler sands produce a larger proportion of male hatchlings, while those in warmer sands produce a larger proportion of females.

Furthermore, the paper reveals that the temperature dictating the sex-ratio of hatchlings is also hereditary and its range is quite limited. Only a few degrees Celsius lie between the temperatures producing 100 percent male and 100 percent female hatchlings.

Based on previous records, scientists determined that feminization of Pacific green sea turtles began two decades ago. Sand temperatures were found to be abnormally high around that time due to global warming, causing a large proportion of hatchlings to produce females.

Feminization was then passed on from one generation of green sea turtles to another, until some of their breeding grounds, such as Raine Island and nearby coral cays, became an exclusively female-producing rookery.

A report claims that this is a huge environmental problem. Apparently, the 88-acre Raine Island is one of the biggest green sea turtle rookeries in the world, with up to 18,000 females laying their eggs at once on the island during nesting season.

WWF Australia Urges More Intensive Conservation Efforts

WWF Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman has encouraged more intensive and urgent action to save the Pacific green sea turtle population. He pointed out that conservationists have only been using practical methods such as using shade cloths to lower sand temperatures in rookeries.

"The Great Barrier Reef settlement was significant and turtles were under enormous pressure outside Australian waters," he says in a report. "An additional threat to them really does sound alarm bells. Now every large reproductive male is going to be even more important."

Scientists behind the paper will study the GBR's male stock to determine effective conservation strategies, which they plan to implement in the long-term.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
BOSTON, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DALBAR announced today that Putnam Investments has earned the Total Client Experience Award for the seventh consecutive year. This distinction recognizes Putnam for consistently providing accurate information and precisely executing transactions while delivering a high-quality customer experience to shareholders through their contact center.



Putnam earned the Total Client Experience Award by exceeding stringent benchmarks in both DALBARs Performance Evaluation of Mutual Fund Service program and an extensive audit of Information and Transaction Processing Accuracy. The criteria for these two programs covered all aspects of the customer interaction; both what transpired during the call and what happened afterward to see the shareholders objective through to completion.

Specific areas where Putnam representatives performed at a high level include:

Ensuring that customers are properly authenticated, thereby assuring account security

Having strong interpersonal relationships, including being friendly and attentive

Providing both complete and accurate information

Consistently executing flawless transactions

Communicating effectively

Ability to manage the flow of the call

DALBAR Director Brendan Yeager explains, Putnam Investments has a long history of success, having earned a DALBAR Service Award an impressive twenty-eight years in a row, and now earning their seventh consecutive Total Client Experience Award. These things dont happen by accident. They are the result of a deep-rooted cultural commitment to their shareholders. Earning these awards is not just something Putnam Investments does; it is part of who they are as an organization.

The Total Client Experience Award was earned through an objective third-party evaluation of service interactions with mutual fund shareholders and the behind-the-scenes processing that accompanied those interactions over the course of the entire year.

DALBAR, Inc. is the financial communitys leading independent expert for evaluating, auditing and rating business practices, customer performance, product quality and service. Launched in 1976, DALBAR has earned recognition for consistent and unbiased evaluations of investment companies, registered investment advisers, insurance companies, broker/dealers, retirement plan providers and financial professionals. DALBAR awards are recognized as marks of a superior standard of care in the financial community.

For more information about DALBAR, the Performance Evaluation of Mutual Fund Service program, Information and Transaction Processing Accuracy Review or the Total Client Experience Award, please visit www.dalbar.com or contact Brooke Halloran at 617-624-7273 or bhalloran@dalbar.com.




WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gary Davis, Executive Director of the Native American Financial Services Association (NAFSA), has been accepted into the Forbes Finance Council, an invitation-only community for executives in accounting, financial planning, wealth and asset management, and investment firms.

Mr. Davis joins other Forbes Finance Council members, who are hand-selected, to become part of a curated network of successful peers and get access to a variety of exclusive benefits and resources, including the opportunity to submit thought leadership articles and short tips on industry-related topics for publishing on Forbes.com.

Forbes Councils combine an innovative, high-touch approach to community management perfected by the team behind Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) with the extensive resources and global reach of Forbes. As a result, Forbes Council members get access to the people, benefits and expertise they need to grow their businesses.

I am honored to have been accepted to the Forbes Finance Council and look forward to providing the FFC community with a strong voice and perspective on issues important to Native Americans and the broader financial services sector, said Gary Davis. This is an amazing opportunity to increase the awareness and visibility of tribal financial services and economic development in Indian Country by utilizing the Forbes.com global platform.

Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, says, We are honored to welcome Gary Davis into the community. Our mission with Forbes Councils is to curate successful professionals from every industry, creating a vetted, social capital-driven network that helps every member make an even greater impact on the business world.

About NAFSA

Formed in 2012, NAFSA is a 501(c)6 trade association located in Washington, D.C that advocates for tribal sovereignty, promotes responsible financial services, and provides better economic opportunity in Indian Country for the benefit of tribal communities.

About Forbes Councils

Forbes partnered with the founders of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to launch Forbes Councils, invitation-only communities for world-class business professionals in a variety of industries. Members are hand-selected by each Councils community team and gain access to personalized connections, peer-to-peer learning, and the opportunity to share thought leadership content on Forbes.com.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6ddbd61f-6308-4462-823b-75c2d7d7007c

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6a17784e-9c9c-4095-9df1-b1d5be34cd53
ICON and GOLD teaming up to explore Earth's interface to space







Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 09, 2018





Like Earth, space has weather. Except instead of swirling winds and downpours of precipitation, space weather is defined by shifting electric and magnetic fields and rains of charged particles. At the very beginning of space, starting just 60 miles above Earth's surface, there's a layer of the atmosphere that shifts and changes in concert with both types of weather. Above the ozone layer, the ionosphere is a part of Earth's atmosphere where particles have been cooked into a sea of electrically-cha ... read more
English French

BROSSARD, Quebec, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DIAGNOS Inc. (DIAGNOS, the Corporation or we) (TSX VENTURE:ADK) (OTCQB:DGNOF), a leader in early detection of critical health issues through the use of its FLAIRE platform based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), announces today an alliance with Novo Nordisk to monitor diabetes patients.



At Novo Nordisk, we strive to empower the worldwide global community so they can better #knowyourrisk, by changing diabetes outcomes. We needed an accurate technology platform to match our high quality of standards to match our patient-centered Nuevo Yo program and the Diagnos solution filled the requirement that we were looking for , states Yiannis Mallis, Vice President & General Manager Mexico.

We will provide the best medical support and patient attention to detect and prevent blindness by also using the measurement of their cardiovascular risk using the same retina photograph that we use for retinopathy screening, said Dr. Hadi Chakor, Chief Medical Officer at Diagnos. In six months we will monitor the evolution of both critical chronic diseases in 500 patients with our non-invasive AI technology: one screening at the beginning of the program and a second screening 6 months after.

In a changing environment like todays, we do not only innovate in our AI engine but also finding new collaboration models with Novo Nordisk along with its strategic partner in the retail pharmacy stores. This is a three-party effort that reflects the willingness to offer the best combined specialties to the general public, said Mr. Guillermo Moreno, Vice President Diagnos.

About Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat other serious chronic conditions: hemophilia, growth disorders and obesity. Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 41,400 people in 77 countries and markets its products in more than 165 countries.

About DIAGNOS and its technologies

DIAGNOS is a publicly traded Canadian corporation with a mission to commercialize technologies combining contextual imaging, text and traditional data mining. DIAGNOS has developed its own Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, CARA and FLAIRE. FLAIRE is a powerful AI engine that provides the capability of analyzing large and complex data sets. Using Deep Learning methodology combined with our own proprietary algorithms we can deploy rapidly new solutions to the healthcare market

Additional information on DIAGNOS is available at www.diagnos.ca and www.sedar.com.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Andre Larente, President

DIAGNOS Inc.

Tel: 450-678-8882 ext. 224

alarente@diagnos.ca

Daniel Renaud or Thomas Renaud, Managing Directors

Arrowhead Business and Investment Decisions, LLC

Tel: +1 212 619 6889, ext. 7010

diagnos@arrowheadbid.com

This news release contains forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in these statements. DIAGNOS disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
WYNCOTE, Pa., Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IDP, an IT services and SaaS core solutions provider for the property and casualty (P&C) insurance segment, today announced Bryan Parker has joined the company as Vice President of Sales. He brings over thirty years of Insurance and insurance Application Software Sales experience working with senior insurance and risk management executives to improve carrier operations.



Bryan will lead sales and partnership initiatives focused on expanding our customer base and growing IDPs market presence, said Steven Craig, SVP Sales & Marketing for IDP. Bryans strong track record of building solid customer relationships and deep industry knowledge will be instrumental moving forward.

Parker has played a pivotal role in advising insurers to optimize daily operations and better mitigate losses, increase renewal rates, and improve customer retention and engagement. Prior to joining IDP, he has held various senior roles at Pitney Bowes Softwares Insurance Practice, SAP, AQS Systems (acquired by Insurity), and FIS (formerly SunGard Insurance Systems). Parker is a graduate of the University of Georgia with an MBA, Marketing and BS in Economics.

I am thrilled to join the IDP team, said Parker. IDPs turnkey services are the perfect solution for companies looking to gain a competitive advantage and navigate the evolving industry.

For more information about IDP or this release, please contact Steven Craig, SVP of Sales and Marketing for IDP, at 267-620-2448 or scraig@idpnet.com.

About IDP

IDP provides turnkey IT services and SaaS core systems, as well as comprehensive bureau reporting and information protection services for property and casualty (P&C) insurers, residual market plans, and program administrators. Drawing on deep insurance industry expertise and rich customer insights, IDP develops agile and affordable solutions which support new business growth, streamline processing, and produce cost savings almost immediately. For more information, please visit www.idpnet.com or call 800-523-6725.

Media Contact:

Steven Craig

SVP Sales and Marketing, IDP

267-620-2448

scraig@idpnet.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8a484184-a9d2-475a-85a7-d2b860192508
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Animal rights advocates want a federal court to make an Army base in Louisiana stop rounding up hundreds of feral horses on land it owns or uses.

Court papers say Fort Polk began escalating efforts in November and may be trying to eliminate the herds before a judge can decide whether the roundups are legal.

The Pegasus Equine Guardian Association also says some captured horses are treated poorly and many may be slaughtered.

Horse lovers say nay to Army's plan to kick horses off Louisiana base NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Horse lovers have sued the Army over plans to evict about 700 feral horses from a western Louisiana Army base and national 

The group sued in December 2016 over plans to get rid of about 700 horses the Army considers a safety risk in training areas.

A Justice Department spokesman in Washington did not immediately comment on the allegations in court papers filed Monday in Lake Charles.

The horses have been there for decades. Stories of their origins differ.
The arrest of a teacher who had just been kicked out of a Vermilion Parish School Board meeting Monday after criticizing a vote to give the superintendent a raise is drawing widespread criticism  including from two board members, who said they are appalled by the incident.

A 12-minute video of the arrest of Deyshia Hargrave shot by a local reporter went viral Tuesday, with about 600,000 views on YouTube as of 4:30 p.m. National outlets picked up the story, and there was swift outrage.

Can't see the video below? Click here.

Ike Funderburk, Abbeville's city attorney and prosecutor, told KATC-TV that he has reviewed the video and won't be prosecuting her.

"I have reviewed the video and I am not going to approve any charges against the teacher," Funderburk said. "I talked with the attorney for the School Board, and they do not wish to pursue any charges against the teacher."

Its not clear exactly what prompted an officer with the Abbeville City Marshal's office to order Hargrave, a teacher at Rene Rost Middle School, to leave the meeting. Also unclear is why the officer handcuffed Hargrave as she walked out, since the video appears to show her complying with the orders to leave.

She was basically cut off, School Board member Laura LeBeouf said in an interview, referring to when Hargrave was ordered to leave the board meeting. I know Deyshia. She serves in my district. Shes outspoken, shes one heck of a teacher.

The officer providing security at the board meeting confronted Hargrave while Hargrave addressed the board and school superintendent Jerome Puyau during a public comment period following the vote on the raise.

The board president, Anthony Fontana, had recognized Hargraves turn to speak, but interrupted her when she demanded to know why Puyau would accept a raise while teachers received nothing.

The board in a 5-3 vote approved raising Puyaus pay by about $30,000, from $110,190 to $140,188, according to KATC.

Fontana told Hargrave her comments were not germane to the agenda item under discussion at the time. Hargrave continued to object, saying Puyau was basically taking from the teachers and the employees under you, comments that drew the vocal support of several people in the audience.

This directly speaks to what you have just voted on, Hargrave said, addressing Fontana about why her comments were germane.

Puyau began to respond directly to Hargrave at the same time the officer walked across the room to confront her. The officer stood in front of Hargrave, obstructing dialogue between her and Puayau, who stopped talking a few seconds after he started.

Hes addressing me, Hargrave told the officer, who then threatened to remove Hargrave if she did not leave willingly.

Hargrave said excuse me to the officer, in an attempt to continue speaking with Puyau. The officer then moved to grab Hargrave by the elbow, causing Hargrave to jump back. A moment later Hargrave walked back to her seat to retrieve her purse and leave, pausing along the way to remind board members that Puyau had been speaking to her directly.

The incident appeared to be over, but within seconds, Hargrave, screaming in horror, was on the ground near the doorway in handcuffs.

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You just pushed me to the ground, Hargrave said when the officer told her to stop resisting. Im way smaller than you!

The officer, whose name has not been released, called for an Abbeville city police officer to transport Hargrave to the city jail, where she was booked with remaining after being forbidden and resisting an officer, according to KATC.

The Marshals Office did not return a call Tuesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana condemned Hargraves expulsion from the meeting and subsequent arrest, saying the authorities actions are unacceptable and raise serious constitutional concerns.

An attorney for the Louisiana Association for Educators, Brian Blackwell, is working with Hargrave on next steps, the association said in a statement. The statement added that the association will honor Hargraves request to refrain from additional comments, since the case is ongoing.

Blackwell said the association contacted him immediately after the incident, and that he was scheduled to meet with Hargrave Tuesday evening to discuss what to do.

Everything on this has happened extremely fast, Blackwell said.

Board member Kibbie Pillette, who like LeBeouf voted in the minority against granting a pay raise to the superintendent, criticized the way Fontana, the boards president, ran the meeting and dealt with Hargrave.

This is supposed to be a democracy. Im supposed to allow you an opportunity to state your opinion. He doesnt allow that, Pillette said in an interview. Before she finished her three minutes, he was busy telling her to shut up.

Fontana did not return a call from the Advocate on Tuesday, nor did board members Sara Duplechain, Chris Hebert and Stacy Landry. However, KATC quoted Fontana as defending the officer.

"He did exactly what he was hired to do. He followed the procedures completely," Fontana told KATC. "She's the one who made the choices that got her arrested."

Board members J.B. Moreno and Chris Gautreaux declined comment.

Puyau the superintendent, referred questions regarding the incident with Hargrave to Fontana, while defending his pay raise in an interview.

He said he agrees that teachers, support staff and other administrators also need raises, but said he hadnt had a raise since he was hired for the top job five years ago at a salary that was supposed to have been reviewed after two years and adjusted based on his performance.

Its placed my salary at a range thats a little below what the state average is for suprintendents but is commensurate to where our teachers and principals are currently being paid, Hargrave said in an interview.

Vermilion teacher arrest: School superintendent defends pay raise at center of dispute A day after the topic led to a teacher's arrest at a Vermilion Parish School Board meeting, Superintendent Jerome Puyau spoke to The Acadiana 

Advocate photographer Leslie Westbrook and KATC-TV contributed to this article.
People in Central should expect another five years of their government services coming from private contractor IBTS after the company won praise Tuesday evening from both Mayor Jr. Shelton and the Central City Council.

IBTS, the Institute for Building Technology and Safety, has spent the past seven years running government services in Central, where the number of city government employees can be counted on one hand. The not-for-profit, Virginia-based company was one of two that bid for the contract to run services that other City Halls hire government employees to accomplish.

IBTS offered its services starting at $3.9 million annually and working up to $4.4 million in the final year of a five-year contract.

"This is probably the most reputable, the most honest organization that I have ever been affiliated with," Shelton said after he recommended a new contract with IBTS to the City Council.

Central looks for contractor to provide government services, but there's an unusual requirement The contract for a private company to provide most of Central's government services is up for grabs again, but only four companies qualified t

The City Council unanimously agreed, though Shelton legally did not need its approval to select IBTS.

The other company that bid to provide Central's government services was CSRS Inc., a for-profit engineering and consulting firm with a major Baton Rouge presence. The prices for CSRS' services topped IBTS by more than $700,000 annually, Shelton said.

He said he could not justify spending more on the CSRS contract when the services they proposed were not far superior to those in the IBTS proposal. Shelton added that CSRS also still has more than $2 million in various engineering contracts with Central.

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Michael Baker International and H&O Investments LLC also sent representatives to a mandatory Central pre-bid meeting in late November, but neither company submitted a proposal.

Shelton said his next step will be to hammer out a contract with IBTS. IBTS Chief Executive Officer Ashok Goswami attended the meeting and said his company will approach the next five years with "greater rigor."

One big change Shelton said Central wants from IBTS is to beef up emergency services. The August 2016 floods exposed a weak spot in Central's privatized system of government  the lack of personnel and resources available on a round-the-clock basis to respond to disasters, he said.

IBTS' new proposal includes a partnership with Gulf Engineers and Consultants, GEC, to help with emergency response. Shelton said the partnership could bring a new level of resources to Central in case of future disasters.

Councilman Shane Evans also referenced IBTS' work during the floods, when Central was especially hard-hit. He said other municipalities are used to receiving change orders from companies that demand extra money when they work under such circumstances. But IBTS did not do that, Evans said.

"They saved lots of people's homes through their efforts to understand substantial damage risk," Councilman Jason Ellis said.

IBTS took over providing services for Central in 2011, with an initial five-year contract to provide services at slightly more than $3 million a year. The company had its original five-year contract extended for two years before Shelton opened up bidding again in late 2017. CH2M Hill provided city services before IBTS took over.
KILLIAN  A Killian alderman spoke up in defense of the town's embattled former police chief, saying an investigative audit released Monday doesn't show the whole picture.

Alderman Gillis Windham characterized the allegations against Dennis Hill as minimal compared to his service to the town during his nine-year tenure.

"Let me say this, Dennis Hill has been our saving grace during disasters," Windham said in apparent reference to the August 2016 flood.

"We slept good in our beds at nighttime because of Dennis Hill, Windham told the board of alderman and about a dozen people gathered for the meeting.

But some village officials, including the mayor, as well as residents who turned out for the town's month meeting on Tuesday suggested Dennis Hill's good works as police chief does not counter the audit findings.

An investigative report from the Louisiana legislative auditor accuses Hill of spending about $1,200 on a town credit card for gasoline when he was out of state, including on vacation, and on a suit. The audit also says he billed for $994 in overtime hours he did not work. In addition, auditors found 76 traffic citations issued over a three-year period were missing, and it was Hill's policy to transfer all tickets himself to the clerk.

Small-town police chief in Livingston Parish misused credit card, might've broken law, audit says The former Killian police chief billed for overtime hours he did not work and took a town vehicle on a personal vacation  charging the town f

The popular chief was fired by the town's board of alderman in June on a 2-2 vote as the allegations emerged. The town's former mayor, Craig McGehee, cast the deciding ballot before moving to Texas for a job.

Windham defended Hill in saying he wore the suit to solicit funds in Baton Rouge to help the town recover after the August 2016 floods. Windham also said some of the money Hill spent on gas out of state was for the town's dive team.

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The alderman added: "Over that 3 year, 8 month period, there were over 2,600 tickets written in Killian by Dennis' men, and now we've got 76 that fell through the crack. Well, my God."

Windham said other small towns have had similar violations, due to their small staffs and inability to separate duties.

"We do not have the proper amount of personnel and cannot afford the personnel for all the checks and balances a town is supposed to have," he said.

The other people at the meeting praised Hill for his efforts in the town, but said it did not justify what was found in the audit.

"A whole bunch of rights don't make two wrongs right," said resident Bob Pennington.

"A good man does not necessarily make a good administrator," said resident Vickie Parrish, who added it is time for the town to move forward.

Mayor Peter Bock said police should be held to a higher standard and that Hill could face several criminal charges resulting from the audit.

"You'll have to get me out first, before you get Hill back," Bock said.
IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The University of California, Irvine today announced that Suzanne Helbig, associate vice provost of the Division of Career Pathways (DCP), received the Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employees (MPACE) Outstanding Service Award.



Helbig was recognized by the MPACE for her ability to foster the development of career service and talent acquisition professionals.

Helbig served as regional director and board member for MPACEs Pacific South Region from 2014-2016. During her tenure, Helbigs thought-leadership significantly impacted the region, resulting in record numbers of programs developed and employer college engagement. As part of her role at UCI, Helbig has served as a mentor to two MPACE Future Leaders Scholarship recipients (an honorable and very competitive scholarship.)

MPACE acknowledged Helbig for her ability to build planning committees, increase member engagement, and extend relevant curricula and training opportunities to its members. Over her many years of service, Helbig served on eight different planning committees and task forces, in addition to speaking at multiple MPACE and National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) conferences.

We have a lot of exciting momentum right now within MPACE and its due to professionals like Helbig, said Nicole Wager, MPACE president. She is so deserving of our Outstanding Service Award, not only from MPACE, but for the way she consistently and proactively serves our profession.

Helbig, the associate vice provost of UCIs DCP, is focused on enabling UCI students and alumni to gain the information and expertise that they need to identify and enter meaningful careers. Helbig has 15 years of experience in career services, including positions in management, marketing and communications, career counseling, and employer relations. Since joining UCI in 2013, she has directed the campus Career Center and implemented Career Readiness initiatives such as the Job Shadow Program, Employer Engagement Initiative, and Handshake to provide students with internship opportunities.



It is an honor to be recognized by such a prominent and respected organization, said Suzanne Helbig, associate vice provost of UCIs DCP. My relationship with the MPACE has considerably elevated my career in higher education, opening several new opportunities for advancement. As I look forward, my involvement with MPACE and service to UCI will be focused on tying continuing education to career services to create additional impact within our industry.

ABOUT THE DIVISION OF CAREER PATHWAYS: Established in 2017, the University of California, Irvine Division of Career Pathways (DCP) serves as the hub for career development and preparation for students, staff, and faculty, as well as a recruitment center for local, regional, and national organizations. The DCP, and its close cooperation with the Division of Continuing Education (DCE), strengthens UCIs land grant mission to deliver continuing and lifelong education. Importantly, it illustrates the Universitys significant commitment and investment in its students work-ready experience during their degree programs and after graduation. The DCE and the DCP are mutually supportive and cooperative campus service units, benefiting UCI students, alumni, staff, faculty, employers, and the local community. To learn more about the Division of Career Pathways, visit www.career.uci.edu.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. Located in one of the worlds safest and most economically vibrant communities, its Orange Countys second-largest employer, contributing $4.8 billion annually to the local economy.



CONTACT: Kathy Seaton Tam

kstam@uci.edu, (949) 824-5525
Robert and Linda Melancon spent years sifting for clues and spreading the word about the old flintlock rifle they acquired from an antiques store in the French Quarter.

They scrutinized microfilm records for details about the life of the man who owned it originally, a volunteer who carried it at the Battle of New Orleans.

Robert Melancon, 77, traveled as far as Pennsylvania to speak in front of the Kentucky Rifle Association, a group of collectors with a particular interest in the type of gun that helped Andrew Jackson's forces triumph over the British in New Orleans in January 1815.

And then, one day in November while they were out of town visiting a sick relative, they found out something else about their prized antique: It had been stolen from a museum decades ago.

While they were away, Robert Melancon said, the FBI raided their home in Thibodaux and took it back on behalf of the Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans.

"There's no doubt about it  it's their gun, and I'm glad they have it," Robert Melancon said.

Authorities announced the rifle's recovery on Monday, the 203rd anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.

And while Melancon said he is happy to see the rifle returned to its rightful owner, the whole episode has left a bad taste in his mouth, not least because he thought he obtained it lawfully in 1982.

"It's heartbreaking," he said. "It really is. We got that gun in good faith. And that rifle gained prominence because of what we did."

The rifle, owned originally by a William Ross, has an estimated value of $650,000. It's the only one still in existence that is known to have been used during the 1815 battle.

Melancon recalls a fellow collector telling him about "a heck of weapon for sale" at the James H. Cohen and Sons Inc. shop on Royal Street. The shop indicated it believed the rifle had belonged to a man whose name was possibly William Bess.

Melancon said he and his wife exchanged about $18,000 worth of other antique guns for the rifle, which had an inscription on the stock mentioning the battle, as well as a military company under the command of a Capt. Thomas Beale.

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Through a family friend who reviewed records in Chalmette of the volunteers who served under Beale, the Melancons learned only one had a surname ending in a double S: William Ross, rather than William Bess.

Turning to the National Archives, the Melancons learned that Ross earned $23.48 fighting under Jackson. Local records, including old newspapers, mentioned that Ross lived out the rest of his life in New Orleans, occasionally getting involved in legal disputes with business associates.

The couple eagerly shared their findings at showcases across the country held by the Kentucky Rifle Association, including at its national meeting in Pennsylvania.

The type of gun Ross carried  built by renowned Virginia rifle-maker John Scheetz  was relatively accurate for its time and is credited with giving Jackson's troops an edge over the British invaders.

Both the Historic New Orleans Collection and the Jackson Barracks museum later exhibited the weapon. Historical writer Mark Sage wrote a feature about the gun and the Melancons for the National Rifle Association's magazine in 2013.

One of Ross' relatives spotted Sage's article and reached out to the Melancons with more information. Having come to the U.S. from Ireland, Ross spent time in New Jersey and Ohio before moving to New Orleans to work as a flour inspector. He had a son named James and a grandson named Elijah.

Officials at the Confederate Memorial Hall also saw Sage's article. They had records showing Elijah Ross, a Confederate soldier, had inherited his grandfather's gun before donating it to the Civil War museum a few years after it opened in 1891.

It remained there until more than 35 years ago, when someone made off with it, the museum said. No one knows who took it or when it or how it turned up in the Cohen shop.

Neither the shop nor the president of Confederate Memorial Hall's board immediately responded to messages Tuesday.

After spotting the magazine article, museum officials asked the FBI for help in getting the rifle back. Officials said the Melancons were fully cooperative with their investigation. Neither they nor the shop where they bought the rifle is suspected of wrongdoing, officials said.

Still, Melancon said it was demoralizing to be confronted with papers showing the rifle belonged to the museum. He said he was confused why it took so long for the rifle's owners to claim it when he and his wife made no secret of having the weapon and in fact tried to share its story as widely as possible.

Melancon declined to discuss whether he may seek to be compensated for his loss. He emphasized that he wasn't casting aspersions on anybody and had no second thoughts about giving the rifle back.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm upset, and my wife is appalled this is happening, too," Melancon said. "But if it's stolen, I don't want anything to do with it."
Although Australian-born, Streeton, like so many artists of his generation, sought recognition in the "mother country" and sailed for London in 1897. On his several trips to England, he failed to replicate the success he experienced in Australia, although he did exhibit at the Royal Academy, the Paris Salon and was a member of the Chelsea Arts Club. Together with his friend and fellow member of the Chelsea Arts Club, Tom Roberts, Streeton, at the age of 48, with patriotic zeal, early in the Great War, joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (British Army). He was stationed at the 3rd London General Hospital in Wandsworth, where he worked alongside other Australian artists, including Roberts, A. Henry Fullwood and George Coates.

Sir Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) is best remembered in Australian art through his association with the so-called "Heidelberg school" where, in the late 1880s and early 1890s, a number of young artists painted in the Heidelberg and Eaglemont areas on the outskirts of Melbourne. Here the painters combined nationalism, naturalism and a timid application of some aspects of impressionism to paint images of the quintessential Australian landscape with generous doses of juvenile romanticism.

Arthur Streeton. Ruins in Peronne, 1918 in Arthur Streeton: The Art of War at the National Gallery of Australia. Australian War Memorial.

Streeton was appointed an official war artist in May 1918, holding the rank of Honorary Lieutenant, and was sent to France attached to the 2nd Division AIF. He worked mostly around the Somme battlefields until mid-August 1918, when he returned to London. Between October 17 and November 20, 1918, Streeton returned to France, again with the 2nd Division, but this time he focused on the destruction around Peronne.

The important exhibition at the National Gallery, curated by Dr Anna Gray, examines Streeton's work predominantly on the battlefields of France, in many instances observed as watercolour drawings on the spot and later realised as finished paintings in his studio in London. The show is being held in the centenary year of Streeton's World War I art.

Streeton was an unconventional war artist; he was less concerned with the heroics of the battlefront or the movement of armies and battleline strategies, but was fascinated by the aftermath of battle and the scars that it inevitably leaves on the landscape and buildings as well as on people. There is a remarkable painting, Troops bathing, Glisy, 1918 with an idyllic and tranquil setting of naked men swimming in a river east of Amiens with the forest trees beautifully reflected in the water. At first glance, you almost fail to notice that a shell has just landed and exploded in the water and there may be further shells travelling in the sky. It is as if war has brought death to Arcadia.

Streeton combines his lyrical gifts as a landscape artist, to observe the setting with all of its charming details, and those of a narrator, who tells of unexpected occurrences, such as observation balloons being shot out of the sky and allied troops plunging to their deaths in an otherwise idyllic setting. Other memorable paintings include the war-scarred Amiens cathedral, shown in a gorgeous light-filled breathing watercolour painting as well as a heavier and more resolved finished oil painting. There are also several paintings based on the battlefield around Mont St Quentin where again tranquillity carries the scars of barbarity.
A Hong Kong airline has denied it will become Canberra's third international carrier, despite its executives meeting with the ACT's Chief Minister and internal speculation the Australian capital will become one of its next destinations.

A Cathay Pacific Airways staff forum has claimed Canberra and Cape Town will be the next destinations announced by the airline.

Cathay Pacific has hosed down chatter it was preparing to make Canberra one of its international destinations.

The forum, CX Secrets, also stated all Australian routes would be operated by A350s in 2018.

A spokesman for Chief Minister Andrew Barr revealed Mr Barr had met with senior executives of Cathay Pacific Freight on trade missions to Hong Kong to promote Canberra.
The strongest support for the greyhound racing industry has come from low-income Canberrans, ACT government polling has revealed.

Fewer than half of people (49 per cent) surveyed by Orima last May who had an annual income of less than $50,000 supported an ACT government bid to remove $1 million worth of funding from the industry when surveyed .

Greyhounds race in Canberra: 67 per cent of people surveyed by phone said they supported cutting funding to the industry. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

But 67 per cent of people who earned more than $200,000 either wholly or partly supported removing funding from the greyhound racing industry.

The polling was released under freedom of information laws in spite of the ACT government initially declaring it could not be released because it was cabinet-in-confidence.
The World Bank has joined a growing chorus predicting an end to the global economy's strong run. Stock prices are high relative to earnings and volatility is at historic lows, warnings that economists traditionally take as signs of overheating.

"There is a sense in which financial markets appear to be complacent. That makes room for disruption when there are surprises - a repricing of risk," said Franziska Ohnsorge, a World Bank economist.

Her warning echoes those of institutions including Legal and General Asset Management, which fears the US economy and markets will surge ahead this year before rate hikes burst the bubble and cause a recession.

Economist Willem Buiter at Citi also fears the business cycle is nearing its end and a correction is overdue.
The question I ask myself is: what really needs to change if we want to improve the mental health of youth in Australia?

News of the initiative has, however, already raised concerns. Will mental health programs further increase the already high demands on teachers? In practise, will they become another set of online modules that will only add to teachers' already diabolical workloads? Could a program like this exacerbate in teachers the very issues it aims to address in students?

One in seven young Australians live with a mental health condition: teachers need to know how to help. Credit:Louie Douvis

The need for this is as clear as the stats: we know that one in seven young Australians live with a mental health condition at any one time (that's more than 500,000 young people), and the number of deaths by suicide in young Australians is now at its highest in 10 years [1] . Within education, we have also noticed a clear increase in youth mental health issues.

For starters, the pressure on students during the HSC year are astronomical, still. No amount of "don't worry if you don't get the mark you need, because there are 'other roads'" seems to work. Trust me, I've tried it. There seems to be an inherent unease in young people about the level of future security and happiness open to them. And how can everything be OK when you have to jump through hoops until your mid-twenties, with "getting ahead" as the most important thing on your mind during your most formative years? NAPLAN also has a lot to answer for. Providing stressful examination experiences even earlier in students' educational journeys isn't helpful. And for all the anxiety it causes, NAPLAN doesn't seem to be improving educational outcomes in Australia.

So, what do we really want to achieve with mental health programs for teachers?

I am pushing for a nationwide rollout of understanding. Of concern for students' thoughts and behaviours, and a genuine desire to assist young people going through tough stuff. Basically, it's empathy. In this case, it is feeling what a student is feeling, despite being separated from them in life stage and level of responsibility and pretty much everything else.

When I graduated in 2008, I was already showing signs of depression, which I later developed. I had two teachers take an interest in me, and they helped me wade through the pressure I was under. As a result, I got through my HSC and did well academically. After leaving school, I soon realised that my depression wasn't confined to my HSC year, and went on to seek psychiatric help, which was more targeted and directly beneficial.

It would be fantastic if all teachers were empowered to do what mine did for me.
Almost alone in Australia, New South Wales has been expanding its number of selective schools, accompanied each time by arguments about the need to increase choice and cater for the gifted and talented. And each time we are left with one less school for local students, together with an ongoing trail of collateral damage to other schools and overall student achievement.

The Department of Education, successive governments and even peak education groups have long ignored the downsides of selective schools  until now. The NSW education minister now wants to open the doors of these schools to solve a student accommodation problem.

Year 6 students from Hurstville Public School who sat the Selective Schools test in 2017. Credit:James Brickwood

It's a real problem. In some parts of inner Sydney, families have no local comprehensive public high school, only extremely competitive selective schools, including Sydney Girls and Boys and the Conservatorium High School. Other public high schools are full, exacerbated by some being partially selective, including Newtown High School of Performing Arts (entry by audition) and Alexandria Park Community School. School choice has become illusory for many inner Sydney families wanting to access local public education.

The difficulties created by stand-alone selective schools don't end there. Education Minister Rob Stokes has unfurled a range of other reasons why we should rethink the idea of selective schools, including the need to avoid creating "a rigid, separated public education system".
OAKVILLE, Ontario, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saint Jean Carbon Inc. (Saint Jean or the Company) (TSX-V:SJL) (OTCQB:TORVF) is a carbon science company engaged in the design and build of green energy storage, green energy creation and green re-creation through the use of carbon materials. The Company is pleased to announce it has recently completed the design build of the research and development facility located in Oakville Ontario, Canada as previously announced on November 16th 2017. The facility is believed to be the only one of its kind, with the ability to process from raw material right through to anode material and actual anodes in the near future.

Images of the Oakville facility can be viewed here http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/a07b74ce-049b-42d3-9eba-076fb1585cde

The main purpose of the facility is to produce the very best quality graphite for a host of applications; lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, tools, cell phones, etc. As well as applications including, solar panels, graphene for use in fabric inks, wearable technologies, safety, health care and a vast array of other high tech applications.

The facility is also designed to showcase the Companys proprietary and patent pending technologies that have been in the design stages for many years, and are now in production. The air classification system is designed to increase the head grade of the mineralized material prior to entering the wet circuit of the mill. This means; if the head grade was 5% gC with multiple passes through the system this would increase the grade to 75%gC up to 95%gC depending on the number of passes. This greatly reduces the time and throughput of the raw material and further reducing the waste material significantly.

Over the next 6 months, the Company and the engineering group will work towards the first step of running the mill to create the very best quality material from both a graphite concentrate through to graphite for high tech applications. This will be completed through numerous mill tests and multiple series of lab studies. Each step will be documented to continue the best practices for; extraction, floatation, drying, sizing, shaping and coating the material. The second step will be optimization of the entire process from mine pit to finished anode. The significance of both steps is considered one of the most important goals for the Corporation. The first step will assure the quality meets the customer specification and the second step will assure the Company can reasonably produce the volume the customer desires at a profit. The results will create the bases of a feasibility study that the Company plans to prepare as part of the 2018 work initiatives.

Paul Ogilvie, CEO, commented: On behalf of the Company I would like to thank everyone involved in this project. The results are great and the capabilities of the facility really set Saint Jean on a clear path for 2018.

The Company will continue over the next year to add more equipment and enhance the overall services and production offerings. The Company will start to market the facility in the second quarter with a goal of providing full lab and mill services to other raw material mining companies. Further, once the Company has completed the optimization phase, an independent engineering firm will be engaged to audit the operational costing model and capital expenditure model for future planning purposes. The company through various private placements has funded the design build with an estimated cost of $2,000,000.

Dr. Christian Derosier, P.Geo., president of C.D.G.C. Inc., is the qualified person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and, acting on behalf of Saint Jean Carbon, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

About Saint Jean Carbon

Saint Jean is a publicly traded carbon science company, with specific interests in energy storage and green energy creation and green re-creation, with holdings in graphite mining and lithium claims in the province of Quebec in Canada. For the latest information on Saint Jeans properties and news please refer to the website: http://www.saintjeancarbon.com/

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Saint Jean Carbon Inc.

Paul Ogilvie, CEO and Director

Information Contact :

Email: info@saintjeancarbon.com

Tel: (905) 844-1200

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, concerning Saint Jean s business and affairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, intends budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved.

These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially. The forward-looking statements in this news release assume, inter alia, that the conditions for completion of the Transaction, including regulatory and shareholder approvals, if necessary, will be met.

Although Saint Jean believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct.

Statements of past performance should not be construed as an indication of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors, including those discussed above, could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward- looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and Saint Jean assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
In the lead-up to the July 2016 federal election, Malcolm Turnbull suggested that Labor's proposals on rolling back some of the tax breaks available to property investors were like a "big sledgehammer" aimed at the value of the family home. It is clear now that the utensil the Prime Minister was using when he framed those comments was a "big egg-beater".

By the contemporary standards of political discourse in this country, that was par for the course. What distinguishes this particular instance of elevating brutal party politics over sensible policy discussion is that it appears Mr Turnbull knew that what he was saying contradicted his official advice.

Treasury had said Labor's policies would have a "relatively modest" effect on house prices. Credit:Phil Carrick

Labor's policy going into the election was to limit negative gearing to new housing stock, in order to maintain supply. In addition, negative gearing deductions  the difference between the rental earned on an investment property and losses such as repair bills and mortgage interest  would apply only to income generated by other investments, not wages. Finally, the capital gains tax discount on investment properties when they are sold would be wound back by half, from its current 50 per cent.

Given existing investment properties would be grandfathered, these measures did not look like a sledgehammer aimed at the family pile, but more like a slim ray of hope for first home buyers struggling to enter overheated markets in Sydney and Melbourne.
Several of Sydney's beaches were deserted on Wednesday after storms caused major pollution across the eastern suburbs and the northern beaches.

The NSW government has issued warnings about debris and faecal contamination for many parts of Sydney's coast, encouraging members of the public not to go swimming.

North Curl Curl and Tamarama beaches were officially closed due to the likely possibility of pollution and dangerous surf conditions, while warnings to avoid swimming were issued for many other popular beaches, including Manly, Collaroy, Bondi, Bronte and Coogee beach.

Only 4 out of 62 beaches in the Sydney and Pittwater regions were reported to have no pollution in the water.
Federal Labor MP Michael Danby charged taxpayers almost $15,000 for flights and other expenses linked to six trips to sunny Queensland with his wife over several years, Fairfax Media can reveal.

On three of those trips  with expenditure totalling nearly $7500  Mr Danby conducted no parliamentary business at all but still used public money for flights, Commonwealth limousines and taxis.

The Labor MP, who holds the marginal inner-city seat of Melbourne Ports, said he reimbursed the Commonwealth last year for those three trips after auditing his own expenses.

On another three trips to the Gold Coast, which remain on the public purse, Mr Danby cited official business such as attending union functions, meeting a former Queensland Labor colleague and addressing a community group. The trips lasted four to six days, and Mr Danby paid for the accommodation and meals on all of them. Taxpayers paid for Mr Danby's wife, lawyer Amanda Mendes Da Costa, to accompany him, which a spokesman said was in accordance with the rules.
The 260 hectares of green pastures and lush forest used to be a cattle farm.

These days, the North Byron Parklands, near Byron Bay on the NSW North Coast, is home to two of Australia's largest music festivals, which attract tens of thousands of music fans and, organisers say, millions of dollars to the region's economy.

Byron's mayor Simon Richardson described the planning process for the North Byron Parklands as "undemocratic and disrespectful". Credit:Kirra Pendergast

However, a $42 million proposal to create a permanent festival site for up to 50,000 people has raised concerns that the staging of events such as Splendour in the Grass and the Falls Festival harms the environment, creates traffic and transport problems and affects the amenity of locals.

Byron Shire mayor Simon Richardson also attacked the planning process as "undemocratic and disrespectful".
A new kind of court will help clear case backlogs by discouraging last-minute guilty pleas, a NSW trial suggests.

But the NSW Bar Association has said adopting the approach would not do much to fix an underfunded system "near breaking point".

The rolling list court brought together senior lawyers much sooner to negotiate aspects of the case, leading to quicker resolutions. Credit:Jessica Shapiro

From March 2015, District Court judge Ian McClintock presided over a "rolling list" court where dedicated teams of prosecution and defence lawyers appeared before him alone, rather than diverting to other judges after adjournments.

Don Weatherburn, director of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, said after nearly 30 years of mooted solutions to court delays, the trial had shown "spectacular" results.
Snake sightings are an inevitable part of our Australian summer  but you don't expect to see them wrapped around your car's side mirror while you're driving.

However, that is what Nolan's Auto Parts Pambula employee Ted Ogier saw on Wednesday, January 10, when driving along the highway to Pambula from Eden.

Nolan's Auto Parts Pambula employee Ted Ogier didn't expect to see a snake on his car's side mirror when driving along the highway to Pambula from Eden. Credit:Nolan's Auto Parts, Pambula

Mr Ogier was returning from Eden after making deliveries when a red belly black snake dropped down on to his windscreen from the vehicle's roof.

After failed attempts to enter the vehicle, the excitable reptile then tried to enter the driver's side window after first wrapping itself around the car's side mirror.
A Queensland Indigenous woman sacked two days after filing an official complaint about racism is taking a government-funded domestic violence organisation to the workplace watchdog.

Case manager Samantha Cooper had worked for the Centre Against Domestic Abuse in the Moreton Bay region, north of Brisbane, since March, running a pilot program aimed at helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

After six months of alleged racial discrimination, and several stated attempts to deal with the issues more informally, she filed an official complaint on November 27 outlining a long list of alleged incidents.

The 25-year-old had been described as going walkabout, told she was quite pretty for an Aboriginal and asked if she had ever met a real Aboriginal person, she claimed.
Outside the mammoth Google Assistant booth at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, live, human "assistants"were handing out short surveys on the experience. One question asked "Have you seen the ads for Google Assistant on billboards, casinos, the monorail, and busses in Las Vegas?" Another: "Have you seen Google Assistant everywhere at CES?"

I answered yes to both. Google is unavoidable at CES 2018, and every few minutes you hear the distinctive bloop of the assistant firing up, from demos on the stands and in ads from every speaker.

'Hey Google' may as well be the official slogan of this year's CES. Credit:Peter Wells

It's a stark contrast to last year, where every other booth had Amazon's Alexa on show. The company's Echo smart speaker continues to dominate sales, with around 76 per cent of the US market, but Google is making up ground in the States, and selling in markets where Amazon isn't available. But at CES, Google is coming out with all guns blazing.

Assistant is moving into televisions from LG , Sony, Hisense and TCL, and into sound bars, speakers and headphones from Sony, LG, Bose, and Jabra.
It was one of the most important things Elon Musk has ever launched into space: a government satellite so shrouded in secrecy that virtually everything about it is classified.

Its code name: Zuma.

SpaceX launches secret mission code named Zuma.

Only now, what was supposed to be a triumph for Musk and his SpaceX has turned into a potential setback after the satellite went missing. The episode is also shaping up as a test for the billionaire's ambitions in space, especially SpaceX's hard-won ability to compete for military missions.

"They're concerned any failure might hinder their ability to get future national security launch contracts," said Brian Weeden, the director of program planning for the Secure World Foundation, a space-policy think tank. "National security payloads are a very important potential market for SpaceX."
In one high school last year, a group of girls bandied together and photoshopped the head of one of their peers onto a naked body.

So life-like was it, that the school wanted reason not to expel the 14-year-old. Her parents, on seeing the photograph, were devastated, dismissing their daughters claims it was not her.

More and more teenage girls are falling victim to cyber bullying. Credit:Richard Clark

They saw the photograph. So did their friends, and their friends friends and everyone else in the small town where they lived.

Shame coloured their days, as everyone talked about the rank pose their daughter had enacted. Quickly, their daughter stopped denying it, and in a matter of days, became a shell of the fierce and cheeky teen she had been.
DALLAS, TX, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zenergy Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: ZNGY), the nation's leading next-generation utility operating in the emerging smart energy and energy conservation industries, announced today that it has officially started cleaning up its balance sheet.



This is consistent with the Companys business objectives for the first quarter of 2018 as communicated in its recent end of year Shareholder Newsletter. Alex Rodriguez, CEO of Zenergy Brands, Inc., said, Cleaning up the balance sheet is one of three major objectives for us this quarter. I look forward to continuing to chip away at these types of debt obligations, while simultaneously introducing our companys products and services to the marketplace.

The Company made its first major step toward this objective by paying off over $100,000 of convertible loans before the debt is converted into shares of ZNGY common stock.

Rodriquez added, As we grow and get healthier, we gain increased freedom and flexibility to fulfill more Zero Cost installations, which, of course, allows us to start achieving our revenue goals for this year.

Zenergy Brands, Inc. continues to work diligently to provide long-term value for the Company and its shareholders alike by increasing revenues and executing its clearly defined growth plan that would allow ZNGY to become the premier source of smart energy, sustainability, and micro-grid solutions for commercial, industrial, and municipal customers across North America.

ABOUT ZENERGY BRANDS, INC.

Zenergy Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: ZNGY), is a next-generation energy and technology company operating in the emerging smart energy/utility industry. The Company provides energy conservation, smart controls, and efficiency-based products and services as a fully-integrated energy company. Zenergy is a public company, fully reporting to the SEC and currently trading on the OTCQB, a venture market designed for early-stage and developing U.S. and international companies. To learn more, visit www.zenergybrands.com.

Twitter: @ZenergyBrands

Instagram: @ZenergyBrands

YouTube: Zenergy Brands

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words believe, expect, should, intend, estimate, projects, variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCmarkets.com.




EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict.

George Pell's defence team is set to trawl through media interviews with people who accuse him of sexual offences, as the lawyers prepare for the court hearing that determines whether the cardinal stands trial.



Cardinal Pell's lawyers have received footage and transcripts from the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan, who has reported on and written a book about the offences allegedly committed by the former Archbishop, Melbourne Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday.



Defence counsel Ruth Shann told the court the ABC and Ms Milligan had passed on a hard drive of the footage and transcripts among the material requested by Cardinal Pell's lawyers.



More material is set to be made available later this month, the court heard.



Cardinal Pell, 76, faces charges of historical sexual offences involving multiple complainants. Details of the charges are yet to be revealed.

Cardinal George Pell pictured at Melbourne Magistrates Court in October. Credit:Justin McManus

He has repeatedly denied the alleged offending.

His lawyers have requested legal documents from Victoria Police, victims' advocacy group Broken Rites, the ABC and Ms Milligan, whose book Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell was published before Cardinal Pell was charged.
An alleged organised crime figure who police believe is feuding with powerful identities, including Toby Mitchell, has been granted bail despite police concerns he can access guns and is a risk to the public.

Nabil Moughnieh  formerly known as Nabil Maghnie  was facing charges from raids in May last year on his home, an associate's home and a storage facility, and now faces fresh charges of being a prohibited person possessing a firearm.

An out-of-sessions court hearing early on Thursday morning and a bail application in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon both heard officers from the anti-bikie Echo taskforce believe they found the 42-year-old's DNA on the trigger of a rifle found at his associate's home.

The rifle, with a scope and silencer, was found along with two semi-automatic pistols, an air pistol, $11,500 cash and a pill press at the associate's home, the court heard. Police seized $7000 cash, a Lamborghini and small quantities of the drugs ice and cannabis from Mr Moughnieh's Bundoora home.
A woman has been arrested and a man is on the run after the bomb squad detonated a suspected explosive device in Melbourne's east this morning.



A busy shopping strip on Mountain Highway in Bayswater was closed for several hours as police investigated a mysterious package found inside a parked car.

The suspicious items, which police initially believed included a pipe bomb, were found after officers spotted a Toyota Echo with false number plates about 2.30am on Thursday.

The bomb squad was called to Bayswater after a 'pipe bomb' was found in a parked car. Credit:Eddie Jim

When police doubled back to investigate, a man and a woman seen sitting inside the car earlier had run away.
Masked armed offenders robbed two service stations within a few kilometres of each other in Melbourne's north in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The violent robberies occurred almost simultaneously in Thomastown and Keon Park about 4.45am.

Two masked offenders, brandishing a hammer and crowbar, jumped the counter at a service station on the corner of Dalton Road and Keon Parade, Keon Park.
The woman charged with kidnapping a 97-year-old resident from a Melbourne nursing home in the belief the elderly woman was her mother will undergo psychiatric treatment in prison, a court has heard.

Irene Moschones, 51, is accused of pushing Dimitra Pavlopoulou in her wheelchair out of her Clarinda nursing home in Melbourne's south-east around midday last Saturday and taking her to a home in Cheltenham.

Dimitra Pavlopoulou was taken from her nursing home in Clarinda. Credit:Victoria Police media unit

Ms Pavlopoulou was returned to her nursing home on Saturday night when an associate of Ms Moschones saw the elderly woman on a mattress at the property and contacted police.

The 97-year-old was reunited with her relieved family on Sunday.
if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi...
Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diligent Robotics, an Austin-based robotics company, today announced that it has raised $2.1 million seed investment, led by Silicon-Valley-based True Ventures, and including investment from Pathbreaker Ventures, Boom Capital and Next Coast Ventures. The round follows early support by the National Science Foundation in the form of Small Business Innovation Research grants totaling $725,000. Diligent is developing an autonomous hospital service robot that is designed to take some of the busywork off the hands of clinical staff, so they can spend more time with patients.



We envision a future powered by robots that work seamlessly with human teams, said Dr. Andrea Thomaz, co-founder and chief executive officer of Diligent Robotics. The average nurse spends up to 28% of their time performing non-value-added labor, per various studies. Our goal is to help nurses make full use of their specialized skills, letting robots handle tedious fetching tasks and other routine work.

Patent-pending interactive machine learning algorithms will allow these robots to manipulate objects in their environments and quickly adapt to novel conditions.

When patients and their families enter hospitals, they expect to receive high-quality, patient-centric care. A landmark report by the Institute of Medicine (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25009849) highlights the central role of nursing in patient safety and documents that nurses are increasingly spending more time on non-nursing activities that reduce their ability to provide direct care.

Founded by two scientists with extensive experience in robotics, machine learning, and human-robot interaction, the company is tackling the greatest obstacle to more service robots in everyday life: the social intelligence these machines need to operate safely and adaptively around people.

Existing technology in the hospital service robot market lacks the ability to adapt to different nursing care environments. While these robots can autonomously move around the hospital, they do not have arms that enable them to manipulate their environment.

We build the artificial intelligence that enables service robots to collaborate with people and adapt to dynamic human environments, said Dr. Vivian Chu, co-founder and chief technology officer of Diligent Robotics. Diligent Robotics is delivering a new class of hospital service robots by building a solution with manipulation capabilities that can autonomously navigate a hospital to perform collaborative tasks with nursing staff.

In early 2018, Diligent Robotics will kick off a pilot program focused on U.S. hospital care, a market estimated at $1 trillion in 2015. Specifically, the program will focus on what is referred to in the medical community as acute care facilities (as opposed to long-term care) where patients are being treated short-term for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery. The acute care market estimated at approximately $851.5 billion.

The key long-term challenge here is creating robots that learn and adapt to the infinite variations of human interaction, said Rohit Sharma, venture partner at True Ventures and board member for Diligent Robotics. Andrea and Vivian are big thinkers who love tinkering and exploring the hardest challenges posed by learning machines. They have the right combination of expertise and drive to solve this problem.

About Diligent Robotics

Diligent Robotics is a human-centered robotics company. Our mission is to make technical advances towards robots and humans working together side by side. Diligent Robotics is developing a suite of artificial intelligence that enables robots to collaborate with and adapt to humans in everyday environments. Our first product is a hospital service robot that can assist clinical staff with logistical tasks, allowing them to spend more of their time on direct patient care, improving patient satisfaction, quality of service, and safety. To learn more, visit www.diligentrobots.com.

About True Ventures

Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. With capital under management in excess of $1.4 billion, True provides seed and Series A funding to the most talented entrepreneurs in todays fastest growing markets. The firm maintains a strong founder community and offers innovative educational opportunities to its portfolio, helping entrepreneurs achieve higher levels of success and impact. With more than 200 companies funded and multiple companies acquired, the current True portfolio has helped create over 8,500 jobs. To learn more about True Ventures, visit www.trueventures.com.
English French

Bezons, January 10th, 2018

Pursuant to the liquidity contract entered into by Atos SE with Rothschild & Cie Banque, as at December 31, 2017, the following assets appeared on the liquidity account:

0 shares

 19,551,591.00

It is recalled that as at June 30, 2017, the following assets appeared on the liquidity account:

30,200 shares

 5,652,556.00

A supplementary contribution of  10,000,000 was made on July 5, 2017.

About Atos

revenue of around  12 billion. European number one in Big Data, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing and Digital Workplace, the Group provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting-edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, Atos supports the digital transformation of its clients across various business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Energy & Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications and Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. www.atos.net - Follow us on @AtosFR

Contacts

Press:

Terence Zakka

+33 1 73 26 40 76

terence.zakka@atos.net

Investor Relations:

Gilles Arditti

+33 1 73 26 00 66

gilles.arditti@atos.net
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES



VANCOUVER, B.C., Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AbraPlata Resource Corp. ("AbraPlata" or the "Company") (TSX-V:ABRA) (OTCQB:ABBRF) (Frankfurt:1AH) is pleased to announce that, further to the news release dated January 5, 2018 announcing the Company's intention to complete a non-brokered private placement of up to 6,000,000 units at a price of $0.20 per Unit for total gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000 (the "Financing"), the Company has, in response to strong investor demand, decided to increase the size of the Financing to 10,500,000 units for total gross proceeds of $2,100,000. Other than the increase in the size of the Financing, all other terms are as disclosed in the Company's news release dated January 5, 2018.

Closing of the Financing remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. In compliance with Canadian securities laws and the rules of the Exchange, all securities issued in connection with the Financing will be subject to a hold period of four (4) months.

About AbraPlata

AbraPlata is a junior mining exploration company focused on delivering shareholder returns by unlocking mineral value in Argentina. The Company's experienced management team has assembled an outstanding portfolio of gold, silver and copper exploration assets, and is focused on advancing its flagship Diablillos property, with an indicated resource of 81.3m oz Ag and 755k oz Au, through the various stages of feasibility. In addition, AbraPlata owns the highly prospective Cerro Amarillo property with its cluster of five mineralized Cu-(Mo-Au) porphyry intrusions located in a mining camp hosting the behemoth El Teniente, Los Bronces, and Los Pelambres porphyry Cu-Mo deposits. Further exploration work is also planned for the Companys Samenta porphyry Cu-Mo property, located south of First Quantum's TacaTaca project, as well as its Aguas Perdidas Au-Ag epithermal property.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

ABRAPLATA RESOURCE CORP.

"Willem Fuchter"

Willem Fuchter

President and Chief Executive Officer

For further information concerning this news release, please contact:

Willem Fuchter

President & Chief Executive Officer

AbraPlata Resource Corp.

Tel: +54.11.5258.0920

E-mail: willem@abraplata.com Rob Bruggeman

Investor Relations

AbraPlata Resource Corp

Tel: +1.416.884.3556

Email: rob@abraplata.com

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alzheimers Foundation of America (AFA) is urging President Donald Trump to provide help to millions of family caregivers across the country by signing the RAISE Family Caregiver Act. The legislation was passed by the Senate Monday night, following approval by the House of Representatives in December.



Alzheimers disease is a growing national crisis, and until a cure is found, care remains essential. The millions of family caregivers who are on the front lines of this national health crisis need all the support they can get from the federal government, and it starts with having a national plan to support caregivers, said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., AFAs President and CEO. We applaud Congress for working in a bipartisan manner to pass this legislation and urge President Trump to act as quickly as possible. Given the Presidents own experiences caring for a loved one with this terrible disease, we are very hopeful that he will sign this much needed legislation into law.

The RAISE Family Caregiver Act would require the federal government to develop a national strategy to support family caregivers. It would bring together stakeholders from the private and public sectors to recommend actions, in a comprehensive national plan, that communities, providers, government and others can to take to make the responsibilities of caregiving a bit easier. AFA has long supported efforts to establish a caregiver advisory board and a national caregiver plan. The legislation was sponsored by Representatives Gregg Harper (R-MS) and Kathy Castor (D-FL) in the House and Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

AFA also urged the federal government to go another step further by increasing federal Alzheimers research funding to $2 billion, up from the current amount of $1.4 billion. $2 billion is the minimum amount leading scientists say is needed to find a cure or meaningful treatment for Alzheimers disease by 2025, as called for by the National Plan to Address Alzheimers Disease.

Alzheimers is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and the only one in the top ten without a cure or reversible treatment. The death rate from Alzheimers grew by more than 54 percent between 1999 and 2014, according to a Centers for Disease Control report release last May.

Over 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimers disease and waiting for a cure to be found. Passing the RAISE Family Caregiver Act was a great first step for 2018, but Congress can, and must, take a giant step forward by significantly increasing funding for Alzheimers research, Fuschillo concluded.

About Alzheimers Foundation of America (AFA):

The Alzheimers Foundation of America, based in New York, is a non-profit organization that unites more than 2,600 member organizations nationwide in the goal of providing optimal care and services to individuals living with dementia, and to their caregivers and families. Its services include a national, toll-free helpline (866-232-8484) staffed by licensed social workers, educational conferences and materials, a free quarterly magazine for caregivers, the National Memory Screening Program, and AFA Partners in Care dementia care training for healthcare professionals. For more information about AFA, call 866-232-8484, visit www.alzfdn.org, follow us on Twitter, or connect with us on Facebook or LinkedIn.

CONTACT:

Sandy Silverstein

866-232-8484, ext. 104

ssilverstein@alzfdn.org
Lotto has announced New Zealand's luckiest Lotto regions for 2017 - and the big winner? The Wairarapa.

The South Wairarapa district includes Martinborough, Greytown and Featherston. It was propelled into the luckiest top spot after a family syndicate won $19.1 million with Powerball in November 2017, with a ticket bought in Greytown.

The region has an estimated population of 9,528, and on average, South Wairarapa locals won around $2,119 per capita. This is almost $1,000 more than the second luckiest region.

Second place went to the Central Otago District, in large part thanks to an $18.2 million win in February 2017 from a ticket bought on mylotto.co.nz.

In third place is the Thames-Coromandel District - unsurprising given a Thames couple took home a massive $27.3 million Powerball prize in May 2017, the fifth-largest Powerball prize won in Lotto New Zealand history.

On average, Thames-Coromandel District locals won around $1,159 per capita.

Meanwhile, in September 2017, a Taupo syndicate took home a massive $30.2 million prize with Powerball, which was the largest jackpot won by a single ticket last year.

This resulted in the Taupo District coming in as the fourth luckiest region in 2017, with Taupo locals taking home on average around $998 per capita.

Rounding out the top 10 spots are Rodney, Tauranga, Franklin, Timaru, Waitomo and Gisborne.

Each of these regions enjoyed a first division win with either Lotto or Powerball, helping cement their spot on this year's list.

Over $546 million in prizes were won in 2017 with Lotto, Powerball and Strike, including a total of 254 first division prizes won by players around the country.

SOURCE: Newshub.
TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dundee Corporation (TSX:DC.A) (the Corporation or Dundee) today announced that David Goodman, Chief Executive Officer, will begin a medical leave of absence today as he recovers from symptoms related to post-concussion syndrome.



Dundee also announces the appointment of Jonathan Goodman to the position of Executive Chairman of the Corporation, effective immediately. Robert McLeish will assume the role of independent Lead Director of the Board. Notwithstanding the leave of absence from management responsibilities, David Goodman will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The Board has also accepted the resignation of Virginia Gambale.

The day-to-day operations and oversight of the Corporation will be managed by the Corporations executive management committee led by Jonathan Goodman and comprised of Mark Goodman, President; Richard McIntyre, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Lucie Presot, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Eric Klein, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development.

On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to wish David Goodman a speedy recovery, said Mr. McLeish. I would also like to welcome Jonathan Goodman to the company and I look forward to working with him together with our existing team towards maximizing Dundees significant resource portfolio and merchant banking activities.

We would like to thank Virginia for her contributions to the Board and wish her well in her future endeavors, added Mr. McLeish.

Jonathan Goodman has over 30 years mining investment and operating experience. He has worked as a geologist, senior analyst, portfolio manager and senior executive, operating a mining company, leading a mining-focused investment banking group, and building extensive knowledge and relationships in the global mining resource and finance sectors over a distinguished career. Jonathan held the role of Executive Chairman of Dundee Precious Metals (DPM-T) from April 2013 to September 2017, at which time he was appointed Chairman, and was its CEO from 1995 until 2013.

ABOUT DUNDEE CORPORATION

Dundee Corporation is a public Canadian independent holding company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol DC.A. Through its operating subsidiaries, Dundee Corporation is engaged in diverse business activities in the areas of investment advisory, corporate finance, energy, resources, agriculture, real estate and infrastructure. Dundee Corporation also holds, directly and indirectly, a portfolio of investments mostly in these key areas, as well as other select investments in both publicly listed and private enterprises.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking information with respect to future events. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. The reader is referred to the documents which the company files from time to time with applicable securities and regulatory authorities.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

John Vincic

Investor and Media Relations

Dundee Corporation

(647) 402-6375
Dean, College of Law

Florida International University

Miami, Florida

Florida International University seeks an energetic, practical, and visionary leader with a commitment to scholarly excellence and diversity to serve as Dean of the College of Law. Candidates with exceptional academic, public sector, or private sector experience as successful legal practitioners within complex organizational settings that involve multiple stakeholders are invited to apply. FIU is a vibrant comprehensive university offering 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in 12 colleges and schools. FIU is Carnegie-designated as both a research university with highest research activity and a community-engaged university. Located in the heart of the multicultural South Florida urban region, FIU's multiple campuses serve over 54,000 students, placing FIU among the ten largest universities in the nation. Annual research expenditures in excess of $132 million and a deep commitment to engagement have made FIU the go-to solutions center for local to global issues alike. FIU leads the nation in awarding undergraduate and graduate degrees, including in the STEM fields, to minority students. FIU's students reflect Miami's diverse population, earning FIU the designation of Hispanic-Serving Institution.

The College of Law (FIU Law) is the only public law school in South Florida, founded on the idea that a high-quality legal education should be affordable and accessible to a broad, diverse community with a commitment to public service. FIU Law's mission is to offer a high-quality legal education attuned to the challenges of globalization and devoted to serving the local, national, and international communities. FIU Law prides itself on graduating professional, globalized, and culturally savvy future lawyers committed to public service. FIU Law offers the Juris Doctor (JD) degree, a Masters of Law for Foreign Lawyers (LL.M.), a Juris Master (JM) degree for non-lawyers, and a variety of joint masters' programs. In fall 2017, the JD program enrolled 457 students and the LL.M. program enrolled 31 students from 12 countries. These students are taught by a diverse faculty of 31 full-time and 46 part-time teachers. FIU Law is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and is an accredited member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). FIU Law ranks as the most diverse law school in Florida and graduates the highest percentage of Hispanic attorneys of any law school in the nation. FIU Law ranked number one in the state in the last four July examinations administered by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.

Reporting to the Provost, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, the Dean is the chief executive and administrative officer of FIU Law. The Dean provides active leadership in the promotion, direction, support, and growth of the educational, research, and fundraising activities of FIU Law, maintenance of a high level of morale among the faculty, and encouragement of the spirit of learning among students. The Dean represents FIU Law in the community and identifies and hosts relevant community leaders and activities on campus. As chief executive, the Dean is responsible for the management and allocation of the budget, market-rate programs, and philanthropy, as well as compliance with accreditation standards, community outreach, marketing and enrollment, interdisciplinary initiatives, global outreach, and the effective management of FIU Law's administrative and financial affairs. The Dean consults with the faculty in designing the FIU Law strategic plan and sets the tone for FIU Law in encouraging excellence, recognizing achievement, and supporting appointments and promotions based on merit. The Dean is responsible for increasing academic excellence, creating opportunities for students, and fostering a collaborative spirit in FIU Law and with other colleges.

For this exceptional opportunity, the University seeks an innovative leader and strategic thinker with a broad understanding of the challenges facing legal education, and the ability to articulate a vision that positions FIU Law as a successful enterprise within a complex and growing public research university. The successful candidate will have the reputation, stature, skills, and credibility to attract strong faculty and students, to foster a scholarly community, and to obtain financial and other resources to strengthen FIU Law. S/he will possess a record of intellectual or professional accomplishments, also warranting appointment to the rank of tenured full professor; demonstrated ability in financial and human resources management, collaboration, and fundraising; a spirit of innovation; a strong external focus; and the ability to work within a diverse and multicultural environment. The successful candidate will have a record of fostering excellence in instruction, research, and service; a commitment to strengthening and supporting scholarship; and dedication to promoting faculty and student success. A JD or equivalent degree is required.

Screening will begin in mid-January and continue until an appointment is made. Nominations, inquiries, and applications (including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the names of five references) should be directed electronically to FIU_LawDean@Divsearch.com.

Kim M. Morrisson, Ph.D., Senior Managing Director or John Mestepey, Managing Director

Nancy Helfman, Vice President and Senior Associate

Diversified Search

2005 Market Street, Suite 3300, Philadelphia, PA 19103

215-656-3579
A few months back, we covered a Kickstarter campaign for a fledgling magazine about food history called REPAST. We liked the idea and talked to its founder, Emelyn Rude about the campaign and her hopes for the magazines potential fruition. Then it was only an ideabut a promising one at that.

Well, because good things do happen, I can report that the Kickstarter campaign was successful and the magazine, now rebranded as EATEN, released its first issue at the end of November. I spoke with Rude who describes the quarterly magazine as a deep-dive into the fascinating and forgotten tales of the people who have grown, cooked, and enjoyed all things edible over the centuries." She hopes that the publication will grow into a global platform of stories and recipes.

Their first issue, titled The Food of the Gods, concerns itself with ancient intersections of food and spiritual practice. In addition to an awesome essay on Tibetan butter sculpture, the issue contains a history of Roman honey cakes from writer Crystal King. Rude was generous enough to grant us permission to excerpt King's essay, a treat quite literally sent from the gods.

Below is a condensed version of Kings essay.

The first issue's cover.

If any of the ancient myths are to be believed, the gods of ancient Greek and Roman antiquity loved a bountiful meal. The stories left to us by Ovid, Herodotus, Virgil, Homer and others are ripe with stories of grand feasts enjoyed by the gods, or of the gods meddling in mortal banquets such as the feast of King Midas, in which all of the food tragically turned to gold. In fact, for centuries beyond ancient times, the wedding celebrations of Cupid and Psyche, and Peleus and Thetis have been common artistic subjects for vases, frescoes and paintings of the great masters.

The feasts on Mount Olympus were similar to those enjoyed on Earth save in abundance, superior taste, luxury and perhaps the addition of the divine ambrosia. A traditional ancient Roman banquet would have begun with eggs and ended with fruit, and the final course was often accompanied by a sweet dessert such as cake.

Photos by Valerio Necchio, Valerio Necchio

Cake is a dish that has been around for thousands of years and was enjoyed by the ancient Egyptians well before the Greeks and Romans had their fill. Paintings in the tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses II, who rules from 1304 to 1237 B.C.E., show what archeologists think might be a type of folded honey cake, likely made from flour, eggs, honey, dates and nuts. The Egyptian specialty feteer meshaltet, which is a thin folded pastry (and might even be the precursor to the French croissant), is descended from these cakes.

One of the first printed recipes for honey cake appears in Athenaeus Deipnosophistae, published in Greece in 180 B.C.E. It is called Enkhytoi and the book describes it as a flat, molded cake made from honey, fine flour and eggs. Like many recipes of the time there were no proportions listen, but modern recreations of these cakes show us that the consistency is that of a sponge cake.

Birthday cakes are also ancient, as the first century poet Ovid wrote about in his elegiac letters, titled Tristia, which bemoan his exile to Pontus (now part of modern-day Turkey):

Thou awaitest, I suppose, thine

honour in its wonted guise: a white robe hanging

from my shoulders, a smoking altar garlanded with

chaplets, the grains of incense snapping in the holy

fire, and myself offering the cakes that mark my

birthday and framing kindly petitions with pious lips.

Ovid uses an interesting turn of phrase with this passage  the offering of cakes to mark his birthday. While he himself likely enjoyed some form of cake as part of his celebration, it was the idea of giving an offering to the gods that is important in this letter.

Hooked? To read more, pick up a copy of the issue online or in a local bookstore and keep an eye out for their second installment, Roots, available this spring.
Contributed Photo / Darien Police Department / Contributed Photo

DARIEN  A dog pulled from the water off Five Mile River Road on Tuesday was reunited with its owner on shore without any injuries, police said.

Darien police and fire personnel responded to Five Mile River Road for a report of a dog in distress in the icy water of the Five Mile River.
There are probably some odd things that people would do for a good discount, but this is a new one. In Sweden, furniture maker and meatball purveyor Ikea has released its first magazine advertisement of 2018, and the company has included some, lets say interesting, technology in the ad.

The advertisement is meant for expectant families, as it features a stylish black crib and reads peeing on this ad may change your life. Yep, if youre a pregnant lady and you pee on the paper, a reduced price for the crib will be revealed as part of the Ikea Family Discount.

Related: Ikea Designers Using Mars Simulator for Ideas Understand a Secret About Creativity

The process was developed by Swedish advertising firm Akestam Holst and biotech startup Mercene Labs. And apparently, Ikea is not the first company to go for a first pee-oriented advertisement. Back in 2001, to promote a dog awards show, Animal Planet placed ads that had dog urine scent at the base of lamp posts to get a canines, and, by extension, a humans attention.

IKEA's pee ad isn't even the first pee ad.

I love this world. @Adweek pic.twitter.com/RExSZI3q5a  Bronwyn (@bronwynbails) January 9, 2018



Ostensibly you can then bring in the coupon to purchase a new crib. And so far, the response seems to be positive -- at least from fellow creatives in the ad world, who even think the pee ad is an innovative move. "With digital media prone to tying itself into knots of complexity, this traditional media print ad shows how to do interactivity powerfully," The Core Agency founder Jon Skinner told Adnews.com.

This ad seems to be the most recent in a long line of offbeat promotions -- like commissioning of a peregrine falcon statue made of Allen wrenches to open a store in Sheffield, England or the companys response to Balenciagas $2,145 leather version of its blue bag. Clearly Ikea isnt taking itself too seriously.

Still, we have some questions and concerns regarding...logistics.

Related: IKEA's 'Open Platform' Embraces Furniture Hacking

Chiefly, think of the poor cashiers and and sales personnel who might have to handle the coupon. Will there be plastic bags and latex gloves involved to get it to the store? Can you redeem it online? There has to be a better way to get a furniture discount. Were all for ingenuity and innovation, but mostly, our main question is, why?

Weve reached out to Ikea for clarification and will update with any additional information.

Related:

Ikea Is Asking Women to Pee on This Ad, and We've Got Questions

The 3-Step Formula for Successful Facebook Video Ads

What You Really Need to Know About Marketing's 80/20 Principle to Succeed

Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com
NORWALK  Claiming poverty and imploring the General Assembly to allocate needed money, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has slammed the brakes on $4.3 billion worth of planned transportation projects, including the overhaul of the Route 7-Merritt Parkway interchange and construction of new Merritt 7 train station in Norwalk.

The announcement by Malloy and Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker on Wednesday drew immediate response from local officials. Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling took comfort that the Walk Bridge replacement wasnt on the list of the projects postponed indefinitely, but he noted many other local infrastructure improvements are.

Im very disappointed about all the projects that were placed on hold in the city of Norwalk, Rilling said. I understand the reasoning behind it  if the Special Transportation Fund is not sustainable or has no money in it, we dont know where there money is going to come from  (but) I would hope everyone would sit down and figure out how we can move some of these projects forward.

Locally, the postponed projects include the widening of Interstate 95 from Bridgeport to Stamford, construction of a new Merritt 7 train station, repairing the Route 136/Stroffolino Bridge over the Norwalk River, repaving and making bridge and safety improvements to the Merritt Parkway, from Route 124 in Darien to Newtown Turnpike, and rebuilding the parkway interchange.

Halted first by a lawsuit and later by the 2008 recession, the interchange overhaul got back on track several years ago with dollars allocated for planning. The project is intended to improve traffic flow and create the four missing connections between the parkway, Route 7 Connector and Main Avenue.

State Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, said she was not surprised by Malloys action given that Redeker last fall predicted armageddon if the state didnt find money for transportation projects.

Im not surprised but Im certainly not happy, because transportation infrastructure is a fundamental priority for the state, said Lavielle, a member of the General Assemblys Transportation Committee. But you have to decide within that area what is most important, what is essential for safety and for keeping the systems that we already have operating.

State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, also a member of the Transportation Committee, said sustaining momentum in infrastructure investment will prove difficult given Malloys announcement and Redekers plan to deal with the states cuts.

More News News Gov slams brakes on $4.3B transportation projects

Everything he (Redeker) proposed sounds like very bad news, Steinberg said. We need to have a serious conversation (on the transportation committee) about the best choices given constrained resources. We need to continue to make these infrastructure investments. Its important to address Fairfield Countys infrastructure improvement needs because it remains the economic engine of the state. Fairfield Countys infrastructure needs are the states needs.

Steinberg said increased traffic and ailing infrastructure are making Fairfield County less attractive to potential residents. I wish my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would know how important it is to invest in infrastructure.

Darien First Selectwoman Jayme Stevenson, after speaking with a regional planning agency, described Malloys statement as aimed at getting lawmakers to act.

I have spoken with staff at the Western Connecticut Council of Governments and I clearly see that Governor Malloy is making a big push to make sure the legislature funds the Special Transportation Fund and this is another part of his strategy, said Stevenson, a Republican.

Stevenson said the $6.5 million project listed as Renovate Darien Maintenance & Repair, slated to start in fiscal year 2019 and now postponed indefinitely, appears to relate to the DOT District 3 building in Darien, but added she was still going through the list of projects.

Hundreds of projects postponed

The cuts announced Wednesday are across the board and impact communities across the state. They include postponing work to widen I-95 between Bridgeport and Greenwich to relieve congestion and adding lanes on I-84 in Danbury.

A $200 million plan to improve the West Rock Tunnel on Route 15 in New Haven is off the table, along with improvements to the Merritt 7 train station in Norwalk, removing traffic signals on Route 9 in Middletown and building a new train station in Bridgeport.

Even routine highway maintenance and transportation aid to cities and towns is jeopardized. The state earlier in the week proposed raising Metro-North fees by 10 percent this year and cutting back on branch lines and other services.

It wont end, it will get worse unless the legislature does something, Malloy said.

The governor painted a grim picture of the state of transportation in Connecticut and the toll its taking in terms of jobs and economic development.

You cant get through Fairfield County to get to the rest of the state, Malloy said. From Greenwich to Bridgeport it can at times take two hours. Hartford to Stamford takes two and half hours now. The problems in Fairfield and New Haven counties, and the problems that will play out in Hartford and Waterbury, will cripple our economy. People are refusing to come to the state because they dont believe the state will do whats right for transportation.

Still, the governor refused to endorse highway tolls as a source of hundreds of millions of dollars in new annual revenue for the state. But he conceded the idea will come up during the legislative session that convenes next month.

In a pickle

The governors message drew mixed reviews, with some Democrats endorsing his message and Republicans casting blame on Malloy.

Governor Malloy continues to act as if the states transportation funding problems came out of nowhere, said Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven.

But this is not a surprise, Fasano said. Over the last four years alone Gov. Malloy and legislative Democrats took $164 million from the states special transportation fund to balance their budgets. Gov. Malloy then authorized a transportation spending plan he knew couldnt be supported by the fund.

Fasano added Malloy and the Democratic majority are trying to use the problem they created to force the legislature to approve new taxes and more burdens on commuters. That has been their game plan all along.

Malloy, who spoke before Fasano was asked for comment, anticipated the criticism from the GOP. They have given ridicules plans, he said.

The state is in a pickle because it put itself in a pickle, Malloy said. When Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey were investing mightily in transportation, Connecticut was whistling by the cemetery.

Lock box

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said he favors creating an independent transportation authority that would concentrate on fixing the states roads and bridges. The authority would be able to sell bonds and install tolls if warranted.

It takes the politics out of it, Duff said. This goes back to decades of neglect on our transportation system.

Duff also favored a measure that will be before voters in November authorizing a constitutional lock box on transportation funds. That lock box would prevent lawmakers from raiding the Special Transportation Fund.

State Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill and co-chair of the legislatures Transportation Committee, said the cupboard is bare and urged his colleagues to fund transportation by authorizing highway tolls.

Without a dedicated, stable stream of revenue to the Special Transportation Fund, our infrastructure will continue to rot and decay, Guerrera said. We sit at the precipice of a transportation tragedy that can be avoided by investing in roads and bridges. We must act immediately in the 2018 legislative session and institute tolls or another revenue stream to avert the oncoming crisis.

State Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton and a co-chairwoman of the Transportation Committee, took a different view.

We have put numerous solutions on the table and they ignore it, Boucher said. And they go back to toll and taxes and mileage taxes while they raid the Special Transportation Fund. He spent more money than the STF had.

Don Shubert, president Connecticut Construction Industries Association, said the transportation cutbacks announced Wednesday mean fewer jobs.

I know one contractor who is considering leaving the state, Shubert said. There is plenty of work surrounding us. A lot of Connecticut workers are down in the Tappan Zee bridge or up in Springfield. They wont come back unless there is long term work here. It will present some challenges for us.
NORWALK  A mix-up over a legal settlement left lawmakers scratching their heads when council members learned the agreement they had yet to approve had already been paid.

The Common Council stood ready Tuesday evening to vote on a proposed $150,000 settlement with former Norwalk Public Schools Director of Special Education Christina Fensore  only to be told the check had already been cut.

A year and half ago, Fensore filed a lawsuit against then-Board of Education Chairman Michael Lyons, alleging defamation.

The issue was to authorize the mayor to accept the settlement, Mayor Harry Rilling said after the council meeting at City Hall. But its already been settled. Its already been agreed to be settled. We just found out today that the amount of money required to settle the case was just already paid  I found it out in caucus. So we have a lot of questions as to process.

Rilling said city officials plan to contact Shipman & Goodwin, the law firm that represented Lyons, and meet with a representative of the school board and try to figure out how this happened.

Paid early January

School board members met separately as part of a budget workshop in the room adjacent to the council chambers Tuesday evening. During a break in the workshop, Norwalk Public Schools CFO Thomas Hamilton said the settlement money was paid in early January as required under a deadline within the agreement.

Our board agreed to a settlement, and they executed a settlement agreement, which is within their purview as a body corporate under  state statute, Hamilton said. Based on the decision of the board, they indicated that the suit was settled, and the settlement required that a payment be made by a certain point in time.

Hamilton said the settlement claim was reserved under the citys insurance fund and he was told by the citys corporation counsel it needed to go before the council. The school board then would seek reimbursement from the city.

Thats what I was deeming it as, a reimbursement of the board expense for this claim, Hamilton said.

Tabled indefinitely

Earlier, after a brief executive-session discussion, the council voted unanimously to table action indefinitely on the settlement agreement.

We were told that it was necessary for us to approve, or give the mayor authority to execute an agreement, to settle the lawsuit, said Councilman Michael Corsello, an at-large Democrat. Weve since learned that not only has it been settled, but its been paid.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in state Superior Court in Bridgeport in June 2016, Fensore accused Lyons of unlawful and defamatory actions for malicious and intentional publication and representation of false information to the public and press.

Under the settlement agreement, the school board was to pay $40,000 to Fensore and $110,000 to the law firm that represented her, Madsen, Prestley and Parenteau, to settle claims she made against Lyons and/or the board.

Fensore, Lyons and the school board acknowledged under the settlement the agreement did not constitute any admission by Lyons or the board that either is liable to her, harmed her or violated her rights.

The court website shows the lawsuit withdrawn with prejudice on Dec. 8  an indication to Corsello, an attorney, that the money was paid.

I know from my experience that you dont withdraw a lawsuit with prejudice, which takes away your ability to reinstitute it, unless you were paid, Corsello said after Tuesdays council meeting. So I suspect very strongly its been paid.

Get it over with

Michael Barbis, the current school board chairman, stands by the settlement agreement, which was reached in court in December, approved by the board and apparently awaited City Council approval. He said the city and school board stood to pay more than $150,000 if the lawsuit went to trial.

Even though we had a very, very strong case, to actually litigate it would cost us over $100,000  probably over $150,000, Barbis said earlier Tuesday. Why spend the money? We might as well get it over with and behind us.

Fensore began working for Norwalk Public Schools in September 2012 as supervisor of special education. After the special education director resigned, she was promoted to interim director of special education in August 2013 by then-Superintendent Manuel Rivera.

On or about June 30, 2015, Fensore resigned from her position and began working as director of special services for Region 14 Board of Education on July 1. (Regional School District 14 serves the towns of Bethlehem and Woodbury).

On Aug. 6, 2015, Lyons sent an email to the Region 14 superintendent, falsely stating Fensore had left us with undisclosed liabilities in our SPED department of between $1 million and $2 million upon her departure, according to the lawsuit.

I suggest that you monitor SPED expenditure very carefully to make sure something like this doesn't happen to you in District 14, wrote Lyons in the email cited in Fensores lawsuit.

Special education changes

The Norwalk Public Schools special education department has long been an area of concern.

A 2007 review of the districts special education raised several concerns. A Capitol Region Education Council review of the utilization of resources, organization structures and processes within the Special Education Department in 2008 showed no improvement. A second CREC report in 2012 revealed minimal progress. And a third CREC report in 2015 found the district worse off than in 2012.

Since Fensores resignation, the department has gone through several interim and permanent directors. Maureen Ruby was appointed as the interim director, only to resign three months later for a new position with another district. Joseph Russo was appointed interim director in August 2015 and led the department until Lynn Toper was hired prior to the start of the 2016-17 school year.

Toper resigned after less than a year in the position, citing personal reasons. The district hired Yvette Goorevitch last summer, and many parents have said they are cautiously optimistic about the future of special education in Norwalk.

The district is working to return outplaced special education students to Norwalk schools and improve program offerings for students with special needs.
BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ADT, a leading provider of security and automation solutions for homes and businesses, celebrated one of its LifeSaver events today in Norman, Okla. where ADT Customer Gene Mendicki was reunited with rescuers who helped save him from a potentially deadly house fire.



The fire happened during the early morning of November 2 when Mendicki was inside his home with his three pet dogs.

I didnt realize there was fire until right before ADT called me, said Mendicki. After the call, I tried to escape through the laundry room and was immediately hit in the face with thick, black smoke. I barely made it out alive with my dogs.

The fire started in the homes garage where it quickly consumed a refrigerator which created intense heat and spewed toxic fumes. Within minutes, the home was destroyed.

Afterwards, a firefighter explained the smoke was so toxic it wouldve quickly killed me and the heat of the fire would have instantly cremated me, said Mendicki. I am grateful for the quick call from ADT which notified the Norman Fire Department.

To celebrate the successful outcome, ADT Vice President Eric Petrosevich presented LifeSaver Awards to five ADT employees whose jobs contributed to the save. Included was ADT Sales Rep Michael Morton who flew over a thousand miles from ADTs Customer Care Center in Jacksonville, Fla. to see Mendicki for the first time.

Meeting Mr. Mendicki was a thrill and the best day of my time so far at ADT, said Morton. I am glad I played a part in selling his security system which ultimately helped save his life.

Petrosevich also awarded $5,000 to the Norman Fire Department which urged people to be extra diligent about fire safety during the winter months.

The National Fire Protection Association reports someone dies from a residential fire every 169 minutes. Monitored smoke detectors can help prevent these tragedies.

About ADT

ADT is a leading provider of security and automation solutions in the United States and Canada for homes and businesses, people on-the-go and their network. Making security more accessible than ever before, and backed by 24/7 customer support, ADT delivers same-day service and live answer within seconds in customer operations, helping customers feel more safe and empowered. ADT is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida and employs more than 18,000 people throughout North America.

Media Relations

Bob Tucker

tel: +1 561.988.3619

btucker@adt.com
Venture capitalists and other startup investors regularly jet from coast to coast in search of the next big deal, routinely referring to everything in between as "flyover country." While there has recently been more attention given to the heartland in terms of investing -- such as AOL co-founder Steve Case's new Rise of the Rest fund -- there is still undeniably very little awareness of just how strong the entrepreneurial markets are in the middle of the country.

Related: The Majority of Startup Tech Companies Should Not Be in the Bay Area

The entrepreneurial activity in the Midwest and Plains states -- the middle of America, broadly speaking -- may not be as concentrated as the mega-agglomeration economies of California's Silicon Valley or Boston's Route 128 region or New York's quickly expanding borough clusters.

The activity is more spread out and it doesn't hit you square in the face after leaving the airport, driving to and from appointments, past corporate parks adorned with the signs of famous tech companies and VC firms. But, it's there in places like Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland and other cities with growing clusters of startups involved in a wide range of tech activities.

Some of the startups, like FarmMobile in Overland Park, Kan., are, unsurprisingly, focusing on technology tied to industries traditionally associated with the heartland, such as agriculture and manufacturing. In the case of FarmMobile, it's developing products to store, share and sell agronomic and manufacturing machine data.

But, there are other young and dynamic companies involved with technologies that have little or nothing to do with agriculture and manufacturing, such as Kansas City's Zoloz (previously known as EyeVerify), maker of identification management technology for mobile devices. It was the first U.S. company acquired by China's Alibaba Group.

Related: 5 U.S. Cities Luring Tech Talent Away From Silicon Valley

In America, entrepreneurs are increasingly starting to play to their respective region's particular economic strengths.

In particular, we happen to know about the growing startup cultures in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska because of our involvement in Pipeline Inc., a nonprofit founded in 2006 and dedicated to fostering an innovation ecosystem for talented high-growth entrepreneurs who enjoy living in the heartland and don't want to move to more crowded and expensive regions of the country. Among them are the respective founders of the previously mentioned FarmMobile and Zoloz, Jason Tatge and Toby Rush, both of whom have gone through the Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship program and remain active in the organization as they exit and start new companies -- and help others doing the same.

Pipeline Inc. expanded to a multistate organization due to a major donation from the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the world's largest foundation dedicated to entrepreneurship. Although the Kauffman Foundation recently awarded a third grant to support Pipeline's expansion, it's important to note that an increasing percentage of Pipeline's funding comes from its own entrepreneurs, angel investors, universities and community advocates all dedicated to nurturing startup ecosystems that take advantage of the region's economic strengths and abundance of talent.

This is key to understand: The foundation for successful tech clusters is already in place across much of the Midwest and Plains states.

Related: 3 Myths About Starting a Company in the Midwest

First, the region has a substantial number of wealthy individuals and families, whose fortunes are tied to past and current corporate and innovative success stories, and whose wealth they dearly want to invest in promising ventures. Second, the Midwest and Plains states really do deserve their image as a place of dreamers, tinkerers and titans, whether it's the Wright Brothers in aeronautics (Ohio), Henry Ford in automobiles (Detroit), John Atanasoff in computers (Iowa), Philo Taylor Farnsworth in television (Indiana) or Neal Patterson, Paul Gorup and Cliff Illing in health-care IT (Kansas).

While the foundation is all there, from native investors to native entrepreneurs, it hasn't, yet attracted the funding and attention that is seen in the coastal areas.

In order for promising non-coastal startups to succeed, they need access to this capital. While we are starting to see local and regional funds begin to proliferate in the Midwest, we are lacking investments from the larger and more established VC and private equity firms.

What's also needed, arguably just as important as capital, is for more corporate partnerships, joint ventures and experienced entrepreneurs serving on the boards of startup firms in America. A true tech ecosystem is so much more than just picking and choosing which firms will get dollars. It's also about a network of experienced entrepreneurs, corporate veterans and others guiding, overseeing and even partnering with young firms.

Related: 4 Benefits and 2 Challenges to Running a Tech Startup in the Heartland

Case, co-founder of AOL, and J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, which chronicled the rise and (partial) decline of the industrialized Midwest, seem to get it. The two recently launched a new investment fund called Rise of the Rest with the goal of investing in promising startups in America.

Some of Rise of the Rest's seed investors are true titans of the tech and financial world, including Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, Eric Schmidt, chair of Google parent company Alphabet, and Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR. Rise of the Rust's investors also include those with strong ties to the region, including members of the Walton, Koch and Pritzger families, according to published reports. While many in the Midwest remark that the amount of this new fund is a "drop in the bucket" of what the area needs, it is a significant step in the right direction.

In the end, we're convinced that many traditional startup investors are missing the boat by not focusing more on the potential of entrepreneurs in the Midwest and Plains states. There's real opportunity in the of the country -- as investors will find if they take the time to stop over and look.

Related Video: You Don't Need to Be in Silicon Valley to Grow Your Business

Related:

Where Investors Are Missing Startup Opportunities in America

4 Benefits and 2 Challenges to Running a Tech Startup in the Heartland

3 Myths About Starting a Company in the Midwest



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


WILTON  The retirement of the Wiltons tax assessor in late November has left the town looking for an extension on their state-mandated property revaluation for 2017.

On Monday, the Board of Selectmen voted to postpone the implementation of the 2017 revaluation until next year. The towns decision comes in the wake of the retirement of David Lisowski, the towns tax assessor, in late November.

In the month following Lisowskis retirement, town CFO Anne Kelly-Lenz reviewed the status of the revaluation with the towns consultants and town assessors, and determined there was insufficient time for a new assessor to accurately complete the revaluation within the statutory time requirements.

Our appraisal consultant, who has been a consultant with the town for eight years, who participated in our 2012 revaluation and is a certified assessor, has advised us that the volume of work required of a new assessor is too great to be completed in time to meet the state deadline for signing off on the new 2017 grand list with revaluations, Kelly-Lenz said.

Other Connecticut municipal assessors with whom we have spoken have also shared this opinion, she added.

Due to Lisowskis departure mid-revaluation, a newly hired assessor, or one contracted for this purpose, would need to review, record and verify all residential revaluations by review the work of Vision Governmental Solutions  the consultant retained to assist in the revaluation  as well as all manual changes made previously by Lisowski. The successor would also need to review and verify the revaluation of all commercial properties in town, as well as calculate any left incomplete.

In addition, due to the large number of expected appeals, the town anticipated the Board of Assessment Appeals would also be unable to complete their work within the statutory time requirements.

Since Daves departure, the town has received an unprecedented number of requests to challenge their valuations. People are viewing his departure as an opportunity for a new bite at the apple. Based on the level of increase, we are expecting a higher level of assessment appeals than we have in prior years, Kelly-Lenz said.

Based on these findings, Kelly-Lenz determined that there was insufficient time to complete these tasks by the state-required deadline. First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice and Board of Assessment Appeals Chairman Donald Drummond both supported Kelly-Lenzs recommendation, and the Board of Selectmen voted accordingly.

Wilton is not the first to try and postpone revaluation. In 2010, the state legislature passed a bill that would allow municipalities to postpone revaluation. Shortly thereafter, it was taken advantage of by the towns of Guilford, Madison, and Middletown.

Despite the boards vote, however, the town still needs some approvals before the extension can be granted. First, the town has asked state Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, to submit a bill, in the current years legislative session, to delay the implementation of the revaluation until the Oct. 1, 2018 grand list.

Such a request/bill is not unusual, though the timing of when an approval would be received is uncertain, Vanderslice said in a press release.

In addition, the town will file an application with Office of Policy and Management Secretary Benjamin Barnes for a waiver of penalties for not implementing the revaluation as scheduled. This application can be filed no earlier than 30 days after the Oct. 1, 2017 grand list is filed. The grand list must be filed by Feb. 28, 2018.

The town will also seek approval from Barnes on a one-year postponement of implementation due to the Board of Assessment Appeals inability to complete the expected level of appeals within the statutory deadlines.

Although this request is normally made once the appeals have been filed, we feel we have sufficient evidence already to expect an unusually high level of appeals, based on the number inquiries received to date and the great potential for errors if adequate time is not allowed to complete the revaluation steps, said Vanderslice.

Should the Secretary approve this request, legislative approval would no longer be necessary, but this request would be completely discretionary with the Secretary, and the more traditional route appears to be the legislative approval, she added.

If a one-year extension is granted on the revaluation, the grand list values to be used for fiscal year 2019 property taxes would remain the Oct. 1, 2016 grand list, updated for 2017 additions.

Any property owner, who identified errors in their field card as part of the revaluation mailer, can appeal their Oct. 1, 2017 assessment. Requests for appeals are due on March 20, 2018. Appeal hearings will be held during April 2018.
TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data Deposit Box Inc. (Data Deposit Box) (CSE:DDB) (OTCQB:DDBXF) (Frankfurt:2DD), is pleased to announce the release of its Email Archiving solution as part of its Cloud Platform version 2018. Data Deposit Box has entered into an NDA with a major Canadian Telco for the new service and through a partnership with Brigantia Partners Limited, Data Deposit Box has engaged a large Enterprise in the UK for the new service as the European Union new regulation known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) deadline approaches. The Email Archiving solution enables compliance to GDPR.



Data Deposit Box continues to enhance its platform for cloud backup and recovery and continues to focus on growing our core revenue as we expand into new lines of business. The new Secure Email Archive Service simplifies the task of protecting email and offers business insights into the archive. Our clients are moving towards cloud offerings like Office365 and need a simple solution that can be implemented on day zero.

The new solution includes the following features and benefits:

Search

Keyword statistics for all search results

No limitation on the number of mailboxes per search, the volume of results per search, the number of concurrent searches or timeout limitation on searches

Sends alert when newly archived messages meet saved search criteria

Flexible data export - PST, EML, NSF, PDF, HTML and TXT files

Data preservation

Archives 600 types of file attachments

Archive every message using immutable WORM storage

Deleted mailbox access - data remains searchable and downloadable

Retain intellectual property when employees leave

Security and availability

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What started as a lighthearted interview between Stephen Colbert and James Franco turned serious on CBS's "The Late Show" on Tuesday night, as the actor denied accusations of misconduct that surfaced this week on social media.

After Franco appeared Sunday night at the Golden Globe Awards, where he won best actor in a comedy for his role in "The Disaster Artist," actress Ally Sheedy posted a series of tweets.

"James Franco just won. Please never ever ask me why I left the film/tv business," she wrote. (In 2014, Franco directed Sheedy in the off-Broadway play "The Long Shrift.") Sheedy also tweeted, "Why is a man hosting? Why is James Franco allowed in? Said too much. Nite love ya #goldenglobes."

Sheedy deleted the tweets, but the screenshots made the rounds online. Later that night, another actress sent a tweet that accused Franco of sexual misconduct. She added "Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco," in reference to the pins worn by many actors that evening to support the new "Time's Up" initiative, a legal fund to fight sexual harassment and workplace inequality. Another actress's tweet directed at Franco said, "Remember a few weeks ago when you told me the full nudity you had me do in two of your movies for $100/day wasn't exploitative because I signed a contract to do it?"

Fast forward to Franco's appearance on Colbert's show, where the two chatted about his portrayal of filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in "The Disaster Artist" and welcomed Franco's younger brother, actor Dave Franco, on stage for a cameo. Then, as is now becoming a semiregular practice as harassment allegations pour out of Hollywood, the tone of the comedy show changed.

"I mentioned backstage I wanted to talk to you about this, and if you're OK talking about it, I wanted to ask you about some criticism you got on Golden Globes night," Colbert started. "Because you were wearing a Time's Up pin in support of the Time's Up movement, which has been created by many powerful women in Hollywood to say that the time is up for the abuse, misuse of women both sexually and otherwise, not only in Hollywood but around the country. ... You got criticized for wearing that. Do you know why? And do you have a response, do you have anything you want to say about that criticism?"

"First, I want to say I wore it because I do support it. I was so excited to win, but being in that room that night was incredible. I mean, it was powerful. There were incredible voices, and I support it. I support change," Franco said. He noted the fund's "50-50 by 2020" goal, which means equality for "people that are underrepresented, women, and people of color, people in the LGBT community" by the year 2020.

After some applause from the audience, Franco segued.

"There were some things on Twitter ... I haven't read them. I've heard about them," he said. "OK, first of all, I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy. I directed her in a play off-Broadway. I had nothing but a great time with her, total respect for her. I have no idea why she was upset. She took the tweet down. I don't know. I can't speak for her. I don't know."

"The others, look," Franco continued. "In my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I've done. I have to do that to maintain my well-being. I do it whenever I know that there is something wrong or needs to be changed, I make it a point to do it. The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate. But I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn't have a voice for so long. So I don't want to - I don't want to, you know, shut them down in any way."

Colbert asked Franco if there was a way to have this discussion in a format that isn't social media. "Do you have any idea of what the answer might be to come to some sense of what the truth is so there can be some sort of reconciliation between people who clearly have different views of things?" he asked. "I mean, it's a big question, but I don't know how to leave, or to further this discussion."

Franco paused. "I mean, like I said - the way I live my life, I can't live if there's restitution to be made. I will make it. So if I've done something wrong, I will fix it. I have to. I mean, I think that's how that works. I don't know what else to do," he said. "I mean, as far as the bigger issues, you know, how we do it. Look, I really don't have the answers. And I think the point of this whole thing is that we listen. You know, there were incredible people talking that night. They had a lot to say. And I'm here to listen and learn and change my perspective where it's off, and I'm completely willing and want to."

On Wednesday night, Franco is scheduled to be a guest on NBC's "Late Night With Seth Meyers" as he makes the New York press rounds. He was supposed to appear at a New York Times "TimesTalk" event with his brother on Wednesday afternoon, but late Tuesday the event was canceled.

The Times released a statement: "The event was intended to be a discussion of the making of the film, 'The Disaster Artist.' Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, we're no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein."
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Linkedin Retno LP Marsudi (Foreign Minister) Jakarta  Thu, January 11, 2018 03:21 1333 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0afce1 2 Opinion Foreign-Affairs-Ministry,Retno-Marsudi Free

Good morning and may peace be upon us all, On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year.

It is my hope that in 2018 we can continue to work hard together for a better Indonesia and for a better world.

Indonesia a true partner for world peace, security and prosperity. Indonesias diplomacy has been in full speed since the very first day of 2018.

I have just returned from Davao City, Philippines. Symbolically, on Jan. 3, I handed over 300 Indonesian passports to persons of Indonesian descent, who have been living for decades in the Philippines without a defined legal citizenship. The Indonesian Consulate General in Davao City, in cooperation with the Government of the Philippines and the UNHCR, have successfully listed 8,745 Persons of Indonesian Descent in 8 provinces in Southern Philippines. Among them, 2,425 people have been given the Certificate of Indonesian Citizenship (SPKI). The process of collecting and validating data is not an easy task. This long process needs to be undertaken because the state wishes to provide maximum protection for its citizens who live abroad.

During my visit to Davao, Indonesia and the Philippines agreed to enhance cooperation in education, particularly to improve education in Islamic schools in Indonesia and the Southern Philippines. Indonesia stands ready to provide 100 scholarships every year.

On Jan. 5, I inaugurated the groundbreaking event for the construction of the new ASEAN Secretariat building. The construction of this building is a manifestation of Indonesias contribution so that the ASEAN Secretariat will be able to perform its tasks well in the next 50 years. This building will also affirm Jakarta as the diplomatic capital of ASEAN.

On Jan. 5, I also received the visit of the Indian Foreign Minister in Jakarta. India is an important strategic partner for Indonesia. Indonesia and India agreed to strengthen and deepen the two countries strategic partnership and contribute to the ecosystem of peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, including in the Indo-Pacific, by strengthening cooperation within the IORA, ASEAN-India, and EAS framework.

2017 just left us.

The support for humanitarian issues and efforts to create world peace are two prominent elements of Indonesias diplomacy throughout 2017.

Approaching the end of the year, the world was shocked by an attempt to alter the international status quo on Jerusalem. The world rightfully responded. The majority of countries still view the issue of Jerusalem clearly, as reflected in the result of the United Nations General Assemblys voting in New York on Dec. 21, 2017. Democracy must be honored and implemented at the global level. The position that most members of the UN took should become the worlds benchmark to resolve the issue of Jerusalem.

Indonesias position on Palestine, including on the status of Jerusalem, is very clear, firm, and consistent in accordance with our Constitutional mandate. This consistent position was also reaffirmed at the OIC Extraordinary Summit in Istanbul, Dec. 13, 2017. Prior to the Summit, I met with the Jordanian and Palestinian Foreign Ministers, and following the Summit, I also met with HRVP Mogherini in Brussels.

Indonesias diplomacy shall continue to strive for Palestine for humanity and for justice. Indonesias support for Palestine is not only in the form of political support but also economic support and technical cooperation. Specifically, in the field of economy, Indonesia has applied zero tariff for various Palestinian products entering the Indonesian market. This year, Indonesia will also strengthen cooperation in water desalination and health.

Once again, Palestine is at the heart of Indonesias foreign policy, and in every breath of Indonesian diplomacy, there you will find our struggle for Palestine. On this august occasion, Indonesia once again calls upon the international community to continue providing its support for Palestine.

Indonesias contribution to world peace is also carried out in Afghanistan. Both countries will intensify capacity building cooperation through scholarships, police training, infrastructure, ulama exchange programs, and women empowerment.

Last November, I conducted a working visit to Kabul. The first bilateral visit by an Indonesian Foreign Minister after more than 50 years. With the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, I signed a grant agreement on the establishment of a health polyclinic. The polyclinic will be built in the Indonesia Islamic Center complex, where an Indonesian mosque now stands.

Indonesia also had the honor to receive the visit by the President of Afghanistan, High Peace Council, and the First Lady of Afghanistan in 2017. It is an honor for Indonesia to work with our brothers in Afghanistan in building peace.

The convening of an International Conference for World Ulama is planned to be held in Indonesia to reinforce peaceful Islamic values and peace itself.

Still on the subject of humanitarian issues, in 2017 we also witnessed with concern the humanitarian crisis unraveling in Rakhine State, Myanmar, resulting in thousands of refugees fleeing to Bangladesh. Indonesia was one of the first countries to arrive in Myanmar and Bangladesh in the aftermath of the new cycle of violence in August 2017.

Indonesia calls for:

 the end of all forms of violence;

 the restoration of security and stability;

 protection of all persons;

 the opening of humanitarian access; and

 the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Kofi Annan Report.

As a reflection of our solidarity, we delivered humanitarian aid both to Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The second phase of development for the Indonesian Hospital in Mrauk U, Rakhine State, was also commenced last month. Indonesia has been the driving force behind the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre in Rakhine State.

Indonesia welcomes the Arrangement on Repatriation between Myanmar and Bangladesh, and looks forward to its full implementation.

Indonesia stands ready to contribute in carrying out the repatriation process as well as in the implementation of the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Report. Instability in one country might as well induce regional instability. Indonesia does not want this to happen.

We also followed closely with concern the occupation of Marawi by terrorist groups. Indonesia and the international community condemn such occupation.

Indonesia initiated a Trilateral Meeting in Manila on June 22, 2017 to strengthen cooperation in the fields of defense, countering radicalism and terrorism, through hardpower as well as softpower approaches.

My visit to Davao, as I have mentioned in the beginning of my speech, was also a follow-up to the Trilateral Cooperation in countering radicalism and terrorism through education.

2017 was an important year for ASEAN. It marked the 50th anniversary of ASEANs establishment. In the course of 50 years, ASEAN has significantly contributed to the creation of an ecosystem of peace, stability, and prosperity in Southeast Asia. For the next 50 years, in addition to contributing to the region, ASEAN must also be able to enhance its contribution to world peace and prosperity. The challenges that will be faced in the next 50 years will not lessen. All ASEAN member countries must have a strong commitment to maintain ASEANs relevance.

Collective leadership and concerted action are needed to preserve ASEAN as the prominent player in the region.

For Indonesia, ASEAN unity and centrality is key.

Without unity and centrality, it will be difficult for ASEAN to preserve its role and relevance. The ability of ASEAN member countries to synergize national and regional roles is inevitable. National and regional interest must be able to go hand in hand.

Indonesia will continue to safeguard ASEANs unity and centrality.

Some of ASEANs achievements in 2017 include, among others:

 First, the agreement on the Framework of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea between China and ASEAN, and the agreement on the commencement of negotiations of a Code of Conduct. Indonesia hopes that these negotiations can be concluded as soon as possible.

 Second, the signing of the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the rights of Migrant Workers. The signing was realized after undergoing a very long process. Indonesias championing of migrant worker protection shall remain unchanged, and ASEANs commitment to the protection of migrant workers shall test ASEANs ability to create a caring and sharing community.

 Third, Indonesia has pushed for the operationalization of the AIPR (ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation) as a means to contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Indonesias diplomacy was fortified not only in the Pacific Ocean but also in the Indian Ocean. Strengthening cooperation among the countries in the Indian Ocean Rim was a priority during Indonesias chairmanship of IORA. During Indonesias chairmanship, no less than 30 meetings, programs, and projects within the framework of IORA were held in Indonesia.

After 20 years of its establishment, an IORA Summit was held for the first time in Jakarta in March 2017. The Summit produced:

 The Jakarta Concord, which reinforced the commitment of IORA member countries to uphold the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as the main norm in maintaining peace and stability in the Indian Ocean region, and;

 The IORA Action Plan, which serves as a guideline for IORAs future direction. Indonesia continues to bolster the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace and the growth of a sense of regionalism in the Indian Ocean region. Indonesia handed over its chairmanship to South Africa in November last year.

On a wider scope, Indonesia continues to benefit from, and will continue to strengthen, intra- and inter-regional cooperation frameworks, such as APEC, ASEM, and FEALAC.

Indonesias membership in various International Organizations has yielded welcoming results. Indonesia has been elected in 14 candidacies to several international organizations.

Indonesia also intensified is diplomacy in 2017 through its candidacy as a Non Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council for the period of 2019-2020. Indonesias commitment to contribute in the maintenance of global peace and stability has been positively recorded. Indonesia ranks 9th out of 125 peacekeeping troop contributing countries. The issue of membership in the UN Security Council is not an issue of how big or small a country is, because all nations have the same right. Rather, a countrys track record and commitment to contribute to world peace needs to be assured.

Indonesia highly appreciates the support given, and hopes that other countries can follow suit in supporting Indonesias candidacy.

In 2017, Indonesia submitted a report for the third cycle of the UN Human Rights Councils Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

For the first time, two Indonesian ministers participated in a UPR submission: the Minister for Law and Human Rights and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The preparation process and follow-up of the report were completed with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders of human rights issues. Indonesia appreciates the positive response concerning the UPR report from the international community.

At the regional level, Indonesia continues to encourage human rights mainstreaming effort across all pillars of the ASEAN Community such as through the strengthening of the AICHR, advancing the issue of migrant rights protection as well as human rights-based approach in dealing with victims of human trafficking.

In the midst of growing skepticism towards values, and in the face of democracy and human rights setbacks all over the world, democracy and human rights will continue to be an asset for Indonesias diplomacy.

Democracy is a tool to achieve our goal, namely peace and prosperity. The values of democracy need to be diffused through democratic ways as well.

For the past decade, Indonesias effort in advancing democracy has been carried out through the convening of the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF). Now BDF is referred by others as an international forum that discusses democracy without fear and without a finger pointing exercise.

Another breakthrough was also achieved by BDF, namely the convening of the BDF Chapter Tunis. Together with the Foreign Minister of Tunisia, I attended the Forum.

This years BDF also included the participation of university students who are the future of the world. The Bali Democracy Student Conference was held in parallel with BDF.

Indonesias commitment to strengthen the South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) was also fortified in 2017 by continuously advocating good governance, accountability, and transparency.

At least 31 countries in Asia, Africa, and South Pacific, including Palestine, have become Indonesias partners for this cooperation, including in the fields of food security, fisheries, agriculture, as well as SMEs and micro-finance.

In particular, as a good friend, Indonesia has strengthened its engagement in the Pacific through capacity building trainings and humanitarian assistance, especially during times when the countries in this region were hit by natural disasters, as a form of our solidarity as a part of the international community and the Pacific nation.

The commitment to enhance South-South and other technical cooperation shall be gradually strengthened with the establishment of a single agency that is responsible for the delivery of Indonesias international assistance.

With a single agency, the delivery of Indonesian Aid will be carried out through a single door, with an initial budget of Rp1 trillion. The establishment of a single agency will strengthen Indonesias diplomacy including humanitarian diplomacy.

Indonesia also continues to strengthen its economic diplomacy. As I have mentioned before in last years Annual Ministerial Press Statement, Indonesia prioritizes enhancing relations with Africa, South and Central Asia, as well as Latin America, including in the field of economy. These regions remain to be uncharted territories for Indonesias products and businesspeople.

The value of trade between Indonesia and countries in Africa, and South and Central Asia has drastically increased by more than 100%. Opportunities for cooperation for Indonesian companies are abundant, particularly in the fields of infrastructure and energy, as well as strategic industry.

In 2017, the Vice Minister and I conducted 3 visits to Africa as Indonesia Incorporated. A number of Indonesias private sector and SOEs have successfully penetrated Africa.

In the same year, we have also intensified cooperation through Bilateral Consultations and Joint Commission Meetings with 6 (six) Latin American countries, namely Mexico, Jamaica, Peru, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Ecuador.

The materialization of new purchasing contracts for some of our strategic industry products was also carried out in 2017, such as

 250 railway carriages from PT INKA by Bangladesh;

 radioisotope from PT Inuki by Mexico; and

 aircrafts from PT DI by Mexico and Senegal.

We take note of the increase in our interaction with some countries that are geographically distant. Costa Rica has inaugurated its Embassy in Jakarta in 2017. Some countries such as Uruguay has indicated its plan to follow suit.

In the same time, intensive effort to strengthen, expand, and deepen traditional markets such as the European Union, North America, and Asia, is always ongoing. The value of trade with European countries, such as Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, also increased to an average of more than 50%.

Meanwhile, investments by European countries, such as Switzerland and Germany, is recorded to have drastically increased to 100%. It even reached more than 500% in the case of Sweden and Denmark.

With the conduct of economic diplomacy by all Indonesian missions, Trade Expo Indonesia 2017 successfully brought in 5,045 businesspeople and foreign visitors from 116 countries, and yielded a total transaction of USD 1,4 billion or a 37,36 % increase compared to last years transaction.

The Foreign Ministry also optimized TEI activities to support the local economies, including through visits and meetings between foreign businesspeople and local stakeholders.

This effort to strengthen traditional market is not without challenges. One of the main and strategic products for Indonesias economic development, namely palm oil, faces negative campaign and discrimination in Europe and the United States.

Indonesia shall not stand by idly.

Together with relevant stakeholders, including with the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC), Indonesia continuously intensifies its efforts to counter the black campaign and promote sustainable palm oil as well as the attainment of SDGs.

President Joko Widodo specifically raised this issue during the ASEAN-EU Summit in Manila in 2017.

Efforts to intensify trade and economic cooperation were undertaken.

In 2017, 27 rounds of negotiation were carried out for, among others, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Indonesia-Chile EFTA, and ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA.

The ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA negotiation was concluded and signed in November 2017, while the Indonesia-Chile CEPA was signed in December 2017.

Progress in various trade negotiations continues to be made, including:

 CEPA with Australia and EFTA is at its final stage and is expected to be concluded in 2018;

 Indonesia-European Union CEPA concluded its third round of negotiation with an optimistic view that the negotiation will continue to make significant progress;

 The negotiations with Turkey and Peru have commenced;

 The feasibility study on developing cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union has been completed.

Economic Diplomacy is also supported by the strengthening of promotion and cultural cooperation. Indonesia was honored to be the Guest Country in the 2017 Europalia Festival, from October 2017 to January 2018. This festival is one of the biggest in Europe with more than 250 performances in 7 (seven) European countries.

With regard to investment, the new generation of the Bilateral Investment Treaty has been concluded with the United Arab Emirates.

All in all, the Indonesian government has signed 78 international agreements in the field of economy in 2017, which included trade, investment, finance, technical cooperation and double taxation avoidance.

As its new innovation, the Foreign Ministry has launched the Treaty Room site which can be accessed online. Through this site, people can access every single international agreement that have been agreed upon since Indonesias independence.

In this dynamic and turbulent world, protection for Indonesian citizens abroad has its own challenges.

In the past three years, the government has exerted tremendous efforts to ensure the presence of the state for all its citizens, wherever they may be.

Protection, care, and commitment to side with the citizens is implemented based on the principle beyond protection.

Throughout 2017, our citizen protection diplomacy has:

 resolved 9,894 legal cases;

 saved 14 Indonesian citizens from death penalty;

 repatriated almost 50,000 Indonesians abroad;

 recovered the financial rights of Indonesian citizens valued over Rp120 billion; and

 released two hostages from Southern Philippines.

We are aware that the better our performance in protecting Indonesian citizens, the higher public expectation will be. Therefore, the Foreign Ministry will continue to innovate towards a better citizen protection system.

Throughout 2017, some innovations included:

 Overseas Indonesians database, which for the first time is fully integrated with all other national database;

 Overseas Indonesians service and protection system and standard based on a Single Identity Number;

 A full version of the SafeTravel application to be a travel partner for all Indonesian citizens traveling abroad.

Today, I officially launch the Overseas Indonesians Service and Protection Portal, which can be accessed online.

By launching this, then:

 There will only be one overseas Indonesian citizens database;

 A single system, a single data, and a single standard consular service;

 Gradually, all population and civil registry service can be done in Indonesian missions.

As part of the preparation for 2019 elections, the Foreign Ministry has signed an MoU with the National Elections Commission on Dec. 6, 2017 to assert its readiness in supporting the 2019 elections.

Another priority is to protect and safeguard Indonesias sovereignty by, among others, concluding boundary demarcation negotiations.

Throughout 2017, we have conducted 35 boundary demarcation negotiations:

 11 maritime boundary settlement meetings;

 5 meetings between the Special Envoys of the Indonesian President and the Malaysian Prime Minister;

 19 land boundary settlement meetings.

Some significant progress in 2017:

 The ratification, exchange of ratification instruments, and Joint Registration of maritime boundary agreement between Indonesia and Singapore at the UN.

 The ratification of Exclusive Economic Zone boundary agreement between Indonesia and the Philippines by Indonesia. We are currently waiting for the Philippines to ratify.

 The signing of an MoU on Survey and Demarcation of the International Boundary No. 20 between Indonesia and Malaysia.

 The final ratification process of the Basic Agreement on Border Arrangements 2013 for the land boundary between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

That was an illustration of Indonesias diplomacy in 2017.

Now, we are in a new year, 2018.

The world in 2018 will still be faced with various challenges. There is an optimism surrounding world economic growth. In 2017, it was estimated to be 3.6%, whereas in 2018, 3.7%.

However, uncertainties remain.

Political security instability at the global level will still be the biggest risk in 2018. The potential of proxy conflicts in many parts of the world still exists. Many countries are backtracking from their international commitments, which leaves behind a big question mark.

Therefore we need to keep on developing partnership to respect international law and multilateralism that partnership should be strengthened in order to avoid the mighty takes all.

Democracy and global governance must always be upheld. We have high expectations of the UNs role in maintaining world peace. The spirit of co-opetition, co-operative competition, or the spirit of cooperation in a world of competitions to yield optimum results needs to be encouraged.

Building partnership is key to restore and enhance the essence of regional and global cooperation.

In the midst of regional and global geopolitical changes, Indonesia, along with Southeast Asian countries, which are located at the crossroads of the Indian and Pacific Oceans MUST continue to be the prominent player in the creation of a regional architecture.

With regard to the future regional architecture, I would like to offer my views. Indonesia wants the ecosystem of peace, stability, prosperity to be established not only in ASEAN, but also in the Indian and Pacific Oceans Rims or the Indo-Pacific.

Therefore, together with ASEAN, Indonesia will continue to contribute in advancing a strong positive cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. INSTEAD of a cooperation that is based on suspicion or worse, a perception of threat.

In this regard, Indonesia will work together with countries in the region, to develop an Indo-Pacific cooperation umbrella aimed at:

 Supporting confidence-building measures and a mutually-beneficial cooperation.

 Enhance a habit of dialogue within the regional cooperation architecture.This regional architecture will be built through a building blocks approach, namely:

 In a bilateral and pluri-lateral manner, intensifying cooperation among the countries in the Indo-Pacific in various strategic fields, especially security, maritime, trade, and investment;

 At the regional level, encourage the strengthening of IORA cooperation, in accordance with the Jakarta Concord and Plan of Action 2017  2021, to create new growth centers that support the ecosystem of peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean;

 Create a linkage among numerous bilateral and pluri-lateral cooperation, as well as cooperation architecture in the Indian Ocean, with ASEAN-led mechanisms.

The aim is to create an umbrella for cooperation that is

 free, open, inclusive, and comprehensive;

 beneficial for the long-term interest of all countries in the region;

 based on a joint commitment by the countries in the Indo-Pacific to uphold peace, stability, and prosperity.

Some strategic steps and focuses of Indonesias foreign policy in 2018 include, among others:

First strengthening ASEAN unity and centrality, Indonesia will fully support the chairmanship of Singapore in ASEAN.

Indonesia shall actively strive so that ASEAN and China could produce a practical and effective COC for the sake of stability and security of the South China Sea.

Indonesia will encourage the establishment of a Plan of Action to implement ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers.

The increasing frequency of transnational crimes in the region requires enhanced legal cooperation among ASEAN member countries. Therefore, Indonesia will push for the establishment of an ASEAN Extradition Treaty.

Further develop regional cooperation on e-commerce to assist MSMEs in increasing their trade in goods and services.

Strengthen the ASEAN Secretariat, so that it becomes more modern and effective by enhancing its human resources infrastructure facilities, starting from the groundbreaking of the new building of the ASEAN Secretariat 4 days ago.

Democracy and respect for human rights are two important elements that must continue to be developed by ASEAN. ASEANs benefit should be felt by its people.

As I have said before, Indonesia will encourage ASEAN to be active in the discussion of bolstering regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific region. Once again, ASEAN centrality has to be maintained.

Second, Indonesia will enhance its peace and humanitarian diplomacy for a more peaceful and stable world. In this context, Indonesia shall enhance partnership with like-minded countries, which will be a tangible contribution for world peace and prosperity.

The enhancement of humanitarian diplomacy, particularly concrete humanitarian aid, will be conducted among others through the management of Indonesian Aid.

Third, Indonesia will ensure the successful hosting of a number of important events in 2018.

 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang (18 August  2 September 2018);

 Our Ocean Conference, October 29-30, 2018;

 The annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group (IMF-WB) in Bali, October 8-14, 2018;

 The 2018 World Conference on Creative Economy, in Bali, May 5-7, 2018.

As coordinator of MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, Australia) in 2018,

Indonesia will continue to encourage creative economy, as a pillar of global economic growth and in order to contribute to world peace.

For the first time, Indonesia will host the Indonesia-Africa Forum, in April 2018.

Fourth, Indonesia will intensify its campaign for candidacy to be a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2019-2020 period.

Fifth, we shall continue to safeguard our borders and sovereignty through the intensification of boundary delimitation negotiations.

Indonesia expects our negotiating partners to be flexible so that the negotiations could significantly progress.

Sixth, to strengthen a beyond protection protection, the Foreign Ministry will complete and launch safe travel as a means to enhance the protection of overseas Indonesian citizens.

Seventh, to use the momentum of global economic recovery, Indonesia will intensify trade and economic cooperation negotiations in the forms of CEPA, FTA, or PTA.

We will prioritize the conclusions of the RCEP, Indonesia-EFTA CEPA, Indonesia European Union CEPA, Indonesia-Turkey CEPA dan Indonesia -Australia CEPA negotiations. We will also expedite the commencement of the Indonesia  Eurasia Economic Union (I-EEU) free trade negotiation.

A new generation of Bilateral Investment Agreement negotiation with partner countries, such as Switzerland, will also be intensified.

Eighth, Indonesias diplomacy will be further strengthened in combatting transnational crimes, including human trafficking, IUU fishing, illegal drugs, and countering radicalism and terrorism.

Before concluding, I wish to convey my appreciation to all the diplomats and staff, both at the headquarters and in our missions abroad, especially those serving in difficult and hardship posts, for your unwavering dedication and hard work.

I would also like to thank the Peoples Representative Council, especially Committee

One, for the excellent cooperation.

To all members of the media, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the solid partnership in the coverage of our diplomatic activities.

I wish to re-convey my highest appreciation to the many elements of the society as well as partner agencies of the government that have supported our humanitarian diplomacy.

Today is also a special day for the Foreign Ministry. Alhamdulillah, today we are able to inaugurate the new canteen of the Foreign Ministry.

After this event, I will inaugurate the Foreign Ministrys new canteen. I invite all guests to have lunch at our new Diplomacy Canteen.

Moreover, the Ministry is in the process to acquire 10 new buildings that will serve as Indonesian missions. All the high-level officials in the Foreign Ministry are committed to keep improving the welfare of the Foreign Ministry.

Finally, I wish to reiterate the commitment of all the staff at the Foreign Ministry in 2018 to stay focused on working hard and working thoroughly.
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Linkedin Yuafanda Kholfi Hartono (The Jakarta Post) Washington, DC  Wed, January 10, 2018 13:13 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c097b16 3 Opinion import-duties,customs-and-excise,digital-technology,digital-economy,e-commerce,#eCommerce,#digitaleconomy,#import Free

The government will go ahead with its plan to impose import duty on goods such as eBook, music, movie, and software this year.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has imposed a moratorium in customs duty for intangible products since 1998. Some countries are lobbying for the intangible tariff moratorium to be extended. Finally, the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference that was held on Dec 10-13, 2017 in Buenos Aires decided to continue the moratorium on e-commerce. The decision will be evaluated on July and December 2018 based on the reports submitted by the authorized WTO bodies and report to the next session of the Ministerial Conference.

Indonesian government through the finance ministry sticks to its plan. Law No. 17 2006 on amendment of Customs Laws No. 10/1995 accommodates this idea, since Article 8B explains that, Import or export software and electronic data can be done through electronic transmission.

There are three goals in implementing import duties; revenue purpose, protection purpose, and retaliation purpose. In this case, the planned import duty produce potential revenue for the government, and create a level playing field for both conventional and ICT industries.

The 2018 State Budget has a deficit Rp 325.9 trillion. Raising tax revenues is one of the most possible solutions to minimize the gap between expenditure and revenue.

Human resource and infrastructure, the two priorities that the government focused on, should be supported by citizens because those factors are very fundamental to stimulate economic growth. According to the World Bank Data for infrastructure indicators such as air transport that registered carrier departures worldwide, rail lines, or secure internet servers, Indonesias position is currently behind other Asian countries like China and Japan. That is why finding a new tax object is necessary to reach governments goal while creating level playing field among conventional and digital industries; this policy will also stimulate the growth of domestic players, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The eBook is a potential future for the publishing industry. Cheaper price and adjustable size are two of the advantages of eBook. Research from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) stated that readers interest in e-book increases in developed countries like the US, UK, Netherlands, and Germany. The biggest increase occurs in the US when the market share of eBook goes up from 2.7 percent in 2009 to 22.5 percent in 2015.

Indonesia could potentially follow this pattern since the number of continued to incerase. Google sales and product operations and strategy manager for Southeast Asia, Mifza Muzayan, said on Tempo.co that Indonesia recorded the highest e-commerce growth in the region. If there is no intervention from the government, it will be dangerous for domestic conventional publishers. With the implementation of import duty for digital goods like the eBook, it will stimulate local conventional publisher players to get fairly competitiveness with the digital player such as Amazon with its Kindle brand. If we do not protect it now, the domestic conventional publishers like Andi, Tiga Serangkai, and much more will be eliminated from the industry.

Local music and movie industry also need attention from the government. The music industry still suffers from piracy both online or bootleg CDs. It is very different from the developed countries where the listener needs to purchase or pay for streaming access. Implementing import duty for downloaded music file or movie from other countries can be a jumping stone to solve the issue, although there is a lot of homework for the government to make it effective, like blocking the sites hosting pirated music. This will also benefit local musicians.

How to detect digital goods trading, what kind of enforcement tools that can implement this policy, and coordination with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics are required to ensure this policy successfully implemented.

Communication with the stakeholders in e-commerce that operate their business in Indonesia is also important, like what the government did with Google. I am sure if the multinational firms want to expand their market in Indonesia, they should understand not to avoid the tax and all of the authorized rule implemented by the government.

For the technical mechanism in implementing this policy, the government can adopt mechanism from the current big players in e-commerce like Amazon.com, which calculate the tax when the buyer checks out their purchases before they do the payment via credit/debit card. It means that the government needs to coordinate with online stores that serve digital goods trade.

But in general, implementing customs duties for digital goods is a rational idea to get a new resource of government revenue while supporting local conventional industries which compete with digitalization era.

***

Yuafanda Kholfi Hartono is a Master of Public Policy Candidate in School of Public Affairs, American University Washington DC. He graduated from State College of Accountancy in 2003 and continued his study in University of Indonesia in 2008. He got a scholarship to get his master degree in 2016, and currently taking his last semester in Washington DC. Find him at Facebook and LinkedIn: Yuafanda Kholfi

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We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to academia@jakpost.com.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
IRVINE, CA, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC: CBIS), a U.S. company specializing in the development of cannabinoid-based medicines, is pleased to announce that it has established a Construction Project Management Team (CPMT) to work closely with its Security Team (CBISST) to coordinate and support the Companys aggressive growth initiatives, which include the establishment of a number of CBIS Pharmacies in Los Angeles and eventually nationwide, as well as CBIS Medical Centers that will facilitate the Companys direct interaction with its patients.



The CBIS CPMT will have overall planning, coordination, and control responsibilities for CBIS projects from initiation to completion, stated Mr. Raymond C. Dabney, CBIS President, CEO, and Co-founder. CPMT will manage and help ensure the functional and financial viability of our projects. With the construction industry experts we have on our CPMT, as well as the experienced security professionals on our CBISST, we expect our plans to build and expand CBIS Pharmacies and Medical Centers throughout California and the U.S. to be streamlined, secure, and completed on-time and within budget.

As part of its activities, the CBISST will develop a Facility Security Plan (FSP). This plan is a critical component of CBIS security program. The guidelines for CBIS FSP are based on recognized industry best practices and provide broad recommendations for the protection of CBIS facilities and CBIS employees, contractors, patients and visitors. CBIS FSP will be generally applicable to all buildings and facilities operated and occupied by CBIS employees, including but not limited to:

 Buildings and facilities owned or leased by CBIS;

 CBIS leased rooms or suites within privately owned buildings;

 Stand-alone CBIS facilities;

 CBIS campuses, research laboratories, medical centers, offices and pharmacies; and

 Individual facilities on CBIS campuses and special-use facilities where appropriate.

The CBIS Construction Project Management Team and the CBIS Security Team will work hand in hand to deliver robust secure environments wherever CBIS is operating. The Security Team will conduct various threat assessments, which is the process of identifying or evaluating entities, actions, or occurrences (natural or man-made) that possess or indicate the potential to harm or destroy CBIS assets. The threat assessment will consider the full spectrum of threats (i.e., natural, criminal, terrorist, accidental, etc.) for a given facility/location. Threat data can be derived from various resources including security organizations, intelligence community reports and assessments, as well as state and local authorities. The CBIS Security Team will periodically produce a Design-Basis Threat Report (DBT) that will be used to identify a broad range of threats to CBIS facilities and will be updated regularly based on threat trends and data provided. For example, the crime rates in areas surrounding CBIS facilities will be assessed as an indicator of the type of criminal activity that may put CBIS facilities at risk.

The Risk Management Process for CBIS facilities will include an Interagency Security Committee (ISC) Standard that is the key starting point for the development of a Facility Security Plan (FSP). Once the FSP is applied, other critical elements will be added to make the plan a more robust document. The Facility Profile for each CBIS asset will be fully-considered in the development of each FSP. Profile factors will include:

 Type of facility (e.g., single or multi-story, campus, mixed-use, etc.);

 Population (e.g., single or multi-tenant, care center, visitors, etc.);

 Mission and critical functions conducted at the facility (e.g., dispensary operations, patient administration, operations center, patient information center, continuity of operations [COOP] site, etc.);

 Utilities (e.g., power, water, gas, communications, etc.); and

 The most current facility diagrams, construction documents and specifications.

The formation of CBIS Construction Project Management and Security Teams give our Company important access to construction and security experts, stated Mr. Dabney. This will help the Company implement our expansion plans and establish CBIS Pharmacies and Medical Centers in California and throughout the U.S. We expect this important development to support our planned revenue growth in 2018 and to create value for our shareholders.

About Cannabis Science, Inc.



Cannabis Science, Inc. takes advantage of its unique understanding of metabolic processes to provide novel treatment approaches to a number of illnesses for which current treatments and understanding remain unsatisfactory. Cannabinoids have an extensive history dating back thousands of years, and currently, there are a growing number of peer-reviewed scientific publications that document the underlying biochemical pathways that cannabinoids modulate. The Company works with leading experts in drug development, medicinal characterization, and clinical research to develop, produce, and commercialize novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment for illnesses caused by infections as well as for age-related illness. Our initial focus is on cancers, HIV/AIDS, and neurological conditions. The Company is proceeding with the research and development of its proprietary drugs as a part of this initial focus: CS-S/BCC-1, CS-TATI-1, and CS-NEURO-1, respectively.

Forward-Looking Statements



This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing words such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations regarding the use and development of cannabis-based drugs. Cannabis Science, Inc., does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements. Safe Harbor Statement. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a 'safe harbor' for forward looking statements. Certain of the statements contained herein, which are not historical facts are forward looking statements with respect to events, the occurrence of which involved risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may be impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors. Information concerning potential factors that could affect the company is detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.




Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle were greeted with shouts of "we love you!" as they visited a youth radio station Tuesday in London's ethnically diverse district of Brixton.

Hundreds of well-wishers gathered to catch a glimpse of the couple as they visited Reprezent radio station, which is staffed entirely by young people and based in a community-led complex built out of old shipping containers.

They met the youngest presenter, 17-year-old DJ Gloria Beyi, chatting to her while she played a track live on air.

Reprezent mainly plays hip-hop, grime and house music and is a hotbed of new talent, having broadcast the first ever radio interview with grime star Stormzy.

"I must tune in," said Markle, who was wearing a coat by Smythe, Burberry trousers and a sweater by high street store Marks & Spencer.

Outside, Bob Marley songs played out from a nearby market stall as royal fans and curious locals strained for a view of the couple, who became engaged in November and will marry in May.

Read also: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are breaking royal tradition once again

Britain's Prince Harry (R) and his fiancee, US actress Meghan Markle walk out to meet well-wishers as they leave after a visit to Reprezent 107.3FM community radio station in Brixton, south west London on January 9, 2018. (AFP/Dominic Lipinski )

"Harry! Meghan! Over here! We've been waiting ages!" shouted one woman.

A mixed-race American actress with a history of activism, Markle is a different mould of royal princess -- and the symbolism was not lost on the largely black crowd.

"She's of mixed race, I'm of mixed race, and it means a lot to see that," said Sandra Wiltshire, a 39-year-old care assistant who spoke to the couple as they briefly met members of the crowd.

"This is the forgotten borough of London. People don't really come here so the fact that the royals are here is nice," added 23-year-old local Adedotun Spruger.

Brixton, known for its large West Indian community, was once one of London's most deprived areas, although it has seen a wave of gentrification in recent years.

"When they come here it's good -- they are not too proud," said Adedayo Olanrewaju, a 45-year-old student, adding of Markle: "She looks so young!"
YouTube is looking into further consequences for American vlogger and actor Logan Paul, who triggered uproar with a vlog that prominently featured the body of a suicide victim in Aokigahara National Forest, Japan.

The video was uploaded on Dec. 31 on Pauls YouTube channel and garnered some 6 million views before it was taken down due to widespread condemnation from netizens who accused Paul of making light of suicide.

In a statement that spans five tweets, YouTube finally responded to the backlash, saying: Youre right to be [frustrated] [] You deserve to know whats going on. Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week. Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views.

An open letter to our community:



Many of you have been frustrated with our lack of communication recently. Youre right to be. You deserve to know what's going on.  YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018

Read also: Suicide victim video by YouTube star sparks anger in Japan

As reported by The Verge, Paul rescinded the video and issued two public apologies, citing his desire to raise general awareness on mental health and suicide.

In his second apology, he said he regretted uploading the video and even recording the incident in Japans suicide forest.

The following day, the vlogger announced in a tweet that he was taking time to reflect and has not released a vlog or tweeted since.

Fellow YouTuber Anna Akana, who has openly discussed her younger sisters suicide on her channel, expressed her disdain for the video, saying: That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness.

The event has led many to question YouTubes policies, as well as how seriously and responsibly it addresses such problems. YouTube promised in a statement that it was listening to feedback and expected more from creators who build their community on the platform.

Even though Paul has deleted the video from his channel, re-uploads continue to surface on the internet.

YouTube has yet to reveal what steps it intends to take next. (afr/kes)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 19:11 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0ab1ac 1 City reclamation,HGB,sofyan-djalil,BPN,anies-baswedan Free

The National Land Agency (BPN) has refused the demand made by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to cancel all building-use permits (HGBs) issued for buildings on the controversial man-made islets of C, D and G in Jakarta Bay.

BPN head and Agrarian and Spatial Minister Sofyan Djalil said in Jakarta on Wednesday that he could not cancel the permits because the issuance was legal based on the Agrarian Law. "If we cancel the permits, the people will file a complaint," Sofyan said.

Instead, Sofyan called on the Jakarta administration to file a lawsuit to the court if it did not agree with the BPNs decision. He said if the court ordered the agency to cancel the permits, he would respect the court's decision.

On Dec. 29, the Jakarta administration sent a letter to Sofyan, requesting that all building-use permits granted to third parties on the three islets be canceled. The administration said that it was conducting a thorough evaluation of the project and that the initial review had shown the policy's negative impact because of alleged procedural errors in the project.

BPN issued the HGUs in August 2017, when the Jakarta administration was under the transitional leadership of then-governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat before Anies, who won the election, took over.

During the election campaign, Anies and Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno told voters they would end the reclamation project. (bbn)
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Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 11:11 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0910f1 1 National LGBT,Air-Force,Twitter,#LGBT,#LGBTRights,Indonesian-Military,TNI,TNI-AU,#Twitter,social-media,#SocialMedia Free

An exchange of tweets on Tuesday evening between the Indonesian Air Forces Twitter administrator and its followers has opened a debate on whether members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community were allowed to serve in the Armed Forces

It all started when the Air Force's official account, @_TNIAU, tweeted that every soldier was forbidden from committing immoral acts, and they would be discharged if they did. A follower using the Twitter handle RatnaPurba (@ratpruba) then posted a reply asking: What about the LGBT?

The Twitter administrator responded by saying that LGBT people could not join the Air Force, and that such sexual preferences were a mental disorder.

Ooohhh, tidak bisa 



Saat seleksi ada tes kesehatan jiwa, LGBT termasuk kelainan jiwa. Kalau msh banyak calon prajurit yg sehat jiwanya kenapa harus menerima yg tidak sehat?  https://t.co/Ssq8BAFxDi  TNI Angkatan Udara (@_TNIAU) January 9, 2018

There is mental health test in the selection process. LGBT is included as a mental disorder. If there are still many candidate soldiers who are mentally healthy, then why should unhealthy ones be accepted? the admin tweeted in Indonesian on Tuesday.

The response sparked a debate on Twitter, with some agreeing but many more disagreeing with the statement. Others questioned the professionalism of the administrator for tweeting in an informal manner and speech.

Its up to you if you are against [the LGBT community], but dont eliminate their right to be equal among others, @jea_hana replied.

A tweet from @_TNIAU, an official account of the Indonesian Air Force. (Twitter.com/_TNIAU)

This is a sensitive issue, but the TNI must be firm. TNI soldiers must be physically and mentally healthy [] Same-sex intercourse is a sin, right? I am really sorry, but even animals never miss their target [in mating], tweeted @_TNIAU.

Although homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, it remains a sensitive issue in public. Members of the LGBT community in the country have long suffered social discrimination and stigmatization, especially amid growing conservatism and comments from public figures condemning them.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 11:28 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c091ab7 4 Business PTDI-aircraft-industry,helicopter,plane,defense-ministry Free

PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) handed over on Tuesday five helicopters and one CN285 maritime patrol aircraft ordered by the Defense Ministry.

PTDI president director Elfien Goentoro said in Bandung on Tuesday that three helicopters would be operated by the Army, while two antisubmarine helicopters and one CN235 maritime patrol aircraft would be operated by the Navy.

Elfien explained that on Dec. 7, 2012, PTDI and the ministry signed a purchase contract for 12 helicopters and one CN235 plane. PTDI had previously delivered helicopters on Sept. 26, 2014, Dec. 22, 2016, and July 14, 2016.

With the latest handover of the three helicopters, PTDI has delivered nine of the 12 helicopters purchased by Defense Ministry, he added during the handover ceremony at the PTDI fixed-wing hangar in Bandung as reported by kompas.com.

The remaining three helicopters will be delivered in late January, he added.

Elfien said the AS type 555 AP helicopters had been produced in a collaboration between PTDI and Airbus.

Meanwhile, Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said Indonesia needed to develop its defense industry as the country was projected to become one of the worlds economic powers.

He said PTDI played an important role in developing the defense industry. At least we have produced [defense equipment] for ourselves as a step toward becoming a world defense industry producer, he added. (bbn)
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Linkedin Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Makassar, South Sulawesi  Wed, January 10, 2018 21:00 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0af459 1 National baby,kidnapping,Makassar,Makassar-Police,South-Sulawesi Free

A joint team comprising personnel of the criminal investigation departments of the Makassar Police and the South Sulawesi Police have arrested four suspected kidnappers of Hanum, a 1.5-year old baby girl, in Makassar.

The suspects identified only as Yus, Riz, Anw and Ay, kidnapped the toddler at noon on Tuesday.

The Makassar Polices criminal investigation department director Adj.Comr. Anwar Hasan said that based on information given by the suspects during interrogations, the kidnapping was initiated by Yus in revenge against Hanums parents.

Yus said he was bothered by the victims parents, whom he viewed as arrogant, Anwar told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

(Read also: Baby girl reportedly kidnapped in Makassar)

Yus is a relative of Hanums parents. He asked his three friends to help kidnap Hanum. The toddler was kept for 10 hours at the house of Ay, one of the suspects.

The baby girl was found wandering alone by local residents on Jl. Telkomas, Tamalanrea, Makassar, at 9:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

Anwar said the suspects intentionally left the toddler on a street at the Telkomas housing complex. Fortunately, a housewife found her and handed her over to Tamanlanrea Police office, he said.

Mery, the housewife who found Hanum, changed the babys clothes and gave her milk. The toddler was calm when she was with Mery, the police said.

Hanum has been returned safely to her parents. The four suspects were charged with violating Law No. 35/2004 on child protection with a minimum sentence of three years in prison. (ami/ebf)
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Linkedin (AFP) Los Angeles  Wed, January 10, 2018 06:24 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c082b37 2 World los-angeles,mudslide,death-toll,california Free

Mudslides unleashed by a ferocious storm demolished homes in southern California, authorities said Tuesday. Eight people were reported killed.

Santa Barbara County Fire Department (SBCFD) said the bodies were discovered in mud and debris during rescue operations in Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles, according to various reports.

The fire and sheriff's departments weren't immediately available to confirm the deaths, but a further 25 people were reported injured.

The SBCFD said on its Twitter feed it was using dogs to look for victims where multiple homes once stood in Montecito following heavy rain.

The department posted pictures of neighborhoods submerged in mud and roads rendered impassable by fallen trees.

"Firefighters successfully rescued a 14-yr-old girl after she was trapped for hours inside a destroyed home in Montecito," it added.

Roads were clogged throughout the region with mudflows shutting down more than 30 miles (50 kilometers) of the 101 Freeway and knocking a number of homes from their foundations.

Pounding rain weakened south-facing slopes above Montecito and flooded a creek, sending mud and huge rocks rolling into housing areas.

Emergency responders received numerous unconfirmed missing-person reports, the fire department told the Los Angeles Times.

The highest rainfall total was recorded at five inches (13 centimeters) in Ventura County, according to the National Weather Service Los Angeles.

Much of the affected area is land scorched by the massive Thomas fire last month, where there is no vegetation to soak up the excess water.

About 275 traffic crashes were logged in the California Highway Patrol's jurisdiction in Los Angeles County during the morning commute -- compared with just 30 reported collisions during the same period on Tuesday last week.

A evacuation order was issued in a section of the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, which was hit by a mudslide that pulled cars out of driveways and carried them downstream.

The slide also caused a "significant" gas leak, and repair efforts left homes on the street with no gas, electricity or water.

"There were many homes, about 40 to 45 homes, affected by it, a couple homes damaged," Burbank Fire Department Battalion Chief John Owings told local TV news channel KCAL9.

"We performed two physical rescues at approximately 7 o'clock this morning."

At Los Angeles International Airport, flooding forced the closure of the customs area in Terminal 2.

Forecasters warned that while the rain had appeared to subside by late morning, more showers and isolated thunderstorms were expected through the evening, with periods of very heavy rain.

The storm came after a 10-month dry spell in the area following torrential rains in January and February of last year. In 2017, downtown Los Angeles experienced its driest March 1 through December 31 since 1878, with only 0.69 of an inch of rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.
Residents line up to buy daily needs at a bazaar held at integrated child-friendly public space (RPTRA) Puspita, in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday. The marketplace was held to provide affordable food for low-income families registered under various kinds of social aid programs from the administration.(JP/Seto Wardhana)(RPTRA) Puspita, in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, on Tuesday. The marketplace was held to provide affordable food for low-income families registered under various kinds of social aid programs from the administration.(JP/Seto Wardhana)
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Linkedin (AFP) Beijing  Wed, January 10, 2018 16:26 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0a24a6 2 World China,Australia,infrastructure-development Free

China lodged a formal diplomatic protest on Wednesday after a senior Australian minister called Chinese infrastructure projects in the Pacific "white elephants", the latest spat in increasingly contentious relations.

Friction between the two countries grew last month after Australia singled out China as a focus of concern when it proposed laws on foreign interference, drawing a furious response from Beijing.

China has been forging closer links with Pacific island nations, with Australia's Lowy Institute estimating it provided US$1.78 billion in aid, including concessional loans, for projects in the region between 2006-16.

Australian International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said Beijing's influence in the region was "clearly growing", but criticised its development assistance as resulting in "white elephants".

"You've got the Pacific full of these useless buildings which nobody maintains, which are basically white elephants," she told The Australian newspaper.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang slammed the remarks during a regular press briefing, calling them "full of ignorance and prejudice".

"They are also irresponsible, and we have already made representations to the Australian government," he said, adding that Fierravanti-Wells should "engage in self-reflection".

Fierravanti-Wells said in her 24 trips to the Pacific as part of her international development portfolio, she had come across "nonproductive infrastructure" that was not regularly maintained and not used to full capacity.

"I've gone to (the Pacific) islands and you'll be driving along on some back road and all of a sudden you see this Chinese road crew building a road to nowhere and you think 'hmm, what's all that about'," she added.

The minister also warned that unlike loans from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Chinese financing had less than favourable terms.

"We don't know what the consequences are when (Pacific nations) have to pay back some of these Chinese loans," she said.

Lu said China "fully respects the will of the Pacific islands' governments and their people".

China's development aid "has brought real benefits to local people," he added, saying that they have been "welcomed by the concerned countries' governments".

China has diplomatic relationships with eight Pacific island nations -- the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

Six other Pacific countries recognise self-ruled Taiwan, which China sees as part of its territory.

The largest amount of aid over 2006-16 -- US$632.46 million -- went to PNG, the Lowy Institute said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 13:00 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c09656a 4 Business CigaretteConsumption,poverty,bappenas Free

Cigarette consumption is the second largest contributor to poverty in the country, following rice consumption as the largest contributor, the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) stated on Tuesday.

People shouldnt be dependent on such an unproductive habit, Bappenas head and National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said on Tuesday in Jakarta, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He added that the consumption of meat in urban areas contributed 5.71 percent to the poverty rate, while the figure in rural areas was only 2.83 percent.

Bambang called on the people to stop the bad habit and start spending on more important commodities like meat so they could provide their families with more nutritious meals.

He said the government would never support a decrease in cigarette prices; instead, it would increase prices by imposing a higher excise duty on cigarettes.

As of September 2017, cigarette consumption contributed 9.98 percent to the poverty rate in urban areas and 10.70 percent in rural areas, Bambang said.

The contribution of cigarette consumption to the poverty rate peaked in 2014 at 11.18 percent.

Meanwhile, rice consumption has remained the largest contributor to poverty in the last four years, in both urban and rural areas. Rice consumption contributed 18.80 percent to the poverty rate in urban areas and 24.52 percent in rural areas. (bbn)
NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME)  From the U.S. CONSUMER PAYMENT STUDY by TSYS We know many consumers are concerned about card security. Although those of us in the industry recognize the security features which are in place with cards, we were interested in consumers perceptions and how they rank rewards compared to security. We were rather surprised at the response: 74 percent ranked security and fraud protection as their priority, with 26 percent preferring rewards.



Shopping for a New Card: Rewards or Security

26% Ranked #1 for rewards offered

74% Ranked #1 for security and fraud protection (1)

"This research is in line with our own independently commissioned research which shows 80% of a major brands credit card holders are concerned with credit card and identity fraud," said today SmartMetrics President and CEO, Chaya Hendrick.

SmartMetric has developed a fingerprint biometric credit card that uses the card holders fingerprint to unlock the card as they insert the card into a retail point of sale card reader or ATM.

One of the features of the biometric card developed by SmartMetric is that it has a rechargeable battery inside which in turn allows the card to be used at both standard retail card readers as well as ATMs. This is an important product feature since while many credit card users may infrequently use their credit card in an ATM being able to do so is important for card customers. Discussions with leading card issuing banks has confirmed that they would not be happy issuing a credit card that did not allow their customers to be able to use it in an ATM if they chose to, said Chaya Hendrick.

SmartMetric biometric cards are available to Banks in the United States through SmartMetrics industry distributor, PROTEC. PROTEC Secure Card (PSC), based in New Jersey, have years of experience in the Credit Card industry both in the USA and Latin America. PSC is an established Visa, MasterCard and Discover certified credit card manufacturer that specializes in advanced high-quality credit card production for card issuing Banks in the United States along with Central and Latin America. The company is a leader using the most updated equipment and technologies in their secure production facility.

For more information concerning the new biometric secured credit and security card from PSC please contact Tracey Breckenridge at traceyb@protecsecurecard.com.

SmartMetric is a leading company in the field of biometrics using fingerprint scanning. It manufacturers a super thin fingerprint reader that fits inside credit card thin cards, for payments and security.

To find out more about the SmartMetric biometric card solution please visit the company site at www.smartmetric.com.

To view the SmartMetric Biometric Card please follow this link - Video of the SmartMetric Biometric Card

(1) https://www.tsys.com/Assets/TSYS/downloads/rs_2016-us-consumer-payment-study.pdf

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 18:16 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0a81bd 1 City domestic-violence,suspect Free

A man suspected of assaulting his pregnant wife out of jealousy, leading to the death of their baby boy in Tanah Tinggi, Johar Baru, Central Jakarta, faces up to 20 years in prison.

Jakarta Police general crimes unit chief Sr. Comr. Nico Afinta said on Wednesday that the perpetrator had been charged under the domestic violence eradication article of the Criminal Law and the Child Protection Law.

Based on the police's investigation, the suspect allegedly abused his 21-year-old eight-month-pregnant wife on Jan. 4 at around 10 pm. The barefooted man kicked the woman to her lower abdomen and left waist several times. During the attack he repeatedly asked his wife whether the baby was his or not.

Nico said the victim was later sent to Budi Kemuliaan Hospital, Central Jakarta on Jan. 5 for emergency surgery because of the critical condition of the baby.

"Unfortunately, a day after the cesarean section surgery, the newborn baby boy died. During the surgery, the doctor found that the placenta had already broken, and based on the autopsy this resulted in the baby suffering from a lack of oxygen," Nico said during a press conference.

Jakarta Police's Women and Children Protection Unit head, Endang Sri Lestari said that throughout 2017 alone, a total of 439 domestic violence cases had been recorded in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the victim is now in a better condition, and has returned home after undergoing medical treatment at the hospital. (roi)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 15:34 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c09e466 4 Business oil-and-gas,investment,2018 Free

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has said that the government is aiming to achieve a US$17.04 billion investment target in the oil and gas sector.

[Investment] is returning to the level between 2014 and 2016, Ego Syahrial, the ministrys oil and gas director general, said in Jakarta on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com. He added that oil and gas investment reached $20.72 billion in 2014, $17.38 in 2015 and $12.74 billion in 2016.

Ego said, however, that the sector recorded the lowest-ever investment in 2017 at only $10.18 billion, of which $9.33 billion was in the upstream oil and gas business and $845.58 million in the downstream business.

Meanwhile, Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) head Amien Sunaryadi said the government was attempting to boost investment in a number of upstream oil and gas projects in order to achieve the target.

Among these projects are the Jambaran Tiung Biru project, which will break ground this year, the capacity expansion of the Jangkrik field in the Makassar Strait, the Tangguh Train III project in Papua's Bintuni Bay, and the preliminary front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) for the Masela block in Maluku's Arafuru Sea, which is expected to commence this month.

Meanwhile, Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) head Fanshurullah Asa said the government would auction three gas pipeline projects: the 687-kilometer Natuna-West Kalimantan, the 1,800-kilometer West Kalimantan-Central Kalimantan and the 162-kilometer Central Kalimantan-South Kalimantan pipeline projects. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 15:58 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c09effb 4 Business Jakarta-Bandung,high-speed-railway,evaluation,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan Free

With the Jakarta-Bandung railway project now stagnant, Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Luhut Pinsar Pandjaitan has said the government needs to review the project, including whether the two cities need to be connected with a high-speed railway.

However, Luhut stressed on Tuesday that the stagnation had not been caused by financing problems, claiming that China, as the major investor in the project, was still committed to the agreement, which had already been signed by the governments of both countries.

So it is not a financing problem. The problem is with ourselves. We need to know, for example, whether a high speed rail link between Bandung and Jakarta, which are only 140 kilometers apart, is a necessary project, said Luhut in his office in Jakarta on Tuesday as reported by tempo.co.

Therefore, the government would evaluate the project as requested by President Joko Jokowi Widodo, said Luhut, adding that the evaluation would be completed within one month.

The President has ordered me, State-owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno and Investment Coordination Agency head Thomas Lembong to evaluate the Jakarta-Bandung high speed project. Next week, we will start coordinating, he added.

Luhut said there was no change to the financing scheme as the funding would still come from China as previously agreed. We have to respect the agreement, the minister added.

President Jokowi led the ground-breaking ceremony of the project in January 2016. The government has given the Indonesian-Chinese joint venture, Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), a fixed concession period of 50 years starting on May 31, 2019, the deadline for the project's completion. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 18:59 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0aa828 2 Business RI-Turkey,CEPA,negotiation,exports,bilateral-trade Free

Indonesia has formally kicked off negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Turkey in an effort to increase exports.

The first round of negotiations on the trade agreement, called the Indonesia-Turkey Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IT-CEPA), ran from Monday to Tuesday in Jakarta.

Delegations from both countries discussed the agreements terms of reference (ToR) as well as trade issues, such as legal matters and customs.

Indonesia was represented by Trade Ministry director general for international trade negotiations Iman Pambagyo, while Turkey was represented by the director general for EU affairs of Turkeys Economy Ministry, Murat Yapici.

The agreement could significantly increase Indonesias exports to Turkey by eliminating tariffs and other obstacles, as well as replenishing trade, which fell considerably in the 2012-2016 period, Iman said.

The main issue faced by Indonesian products in Turkey is the high import taxes compared to competing countries, which already have [trade] agreements with Turkey. We hope that the CEPA will boost the competitiveness of our products there, said Iman in a statement on Wednesday.

The commencement of the trade talks is the result of a joint ministerial statement between Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita and Turkeys Economic Minister Nihat Zeybekci in Ankara, Turkey, last July.

The initial focus of the negotiations is to reach an agreement on trade in goods, which is expected to be completed and ratified by the end of this year.

Bilateral trade between Indonesia and Turkey reached US$1.33 billion in 2016. Indonesias exports settled at $1.02 billion, while its imports were $311.1 million.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have aimed for two-way trade between the countries to hit $10 billion by 2030. (jlm/lnd)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jambi  Wed, January 10 2018

The West Tanjung Jabung District Court in Jambi has sentenced local councillor Riano Jaya Wardhana to one year in prison and ordered him to pay Rp 5 million (US$350) in fines for blasphemy.



The judges declared him guilty on Monday of violating the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law by inciting hatred and hostility toward individuals and/or groups based on ethnicity, religion, race or intergroup affiliation.



The sentence was lighter than prosecutors demand of a 15-month prison sentence.



Riano, who chairs the branch of the NasDem Party in the regency, was reported to the West Tanjung Jabung Police in May last year over a Facebook post in which he criticized the way some Muslims had treated former Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama.



He wrote: I am personally disgusted by Muslims who practice the same faith as me but are sen...
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 14:06 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c099ad3 1 City motorcycle-ban,odd-even-license-traffic-policy,police Free

The Jakarta Police traffic directorate has proposed applying the odd-even license plate policy to motorcycles from the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Jl. MH Thamrin to Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta. The idea is for the odd-even policy to replace the ban on motorcycles from entering the thoroughfares from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The Supreme Court recently found in favor of a petition from motorcyclists on lifting the ban and ruled that the regulation contravened the 1999 Human Rights Law, as public roads should be accessible to all.

"Our suggestion to the governor before revoking the [motorcycle ban] is to issue a decree to limit the number of motorcycles [entering the area] through the odd-even policy, as has been enforced on four-wheeled vehicles," Jakarta Police traffic division chief Sr. Comr. Halim Pagarra said Wednesday during a discussion on traffic management, reported kompas.com.

He said the regulation was needed to prevent clogged streets, adding that traffic congestion in the area had eased after the motorcycle ban was implemented in 2014.

"So we can't just let [all] vehicles enter Thamrin, we need to limit them through the odd-even policy. That is what we expect from the governor," Halim said. (fac)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 16:36 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0a3a97 1 City slum,anies-baswedan,Rini-Soemarno Free

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Rini Soemarno agreed on Wednesday to establish a joint team focusing on improving some 220 slum areas in the city.

There are many slum areas in Jakarta. We expect to realize programs focusing on bridging the social gap, especially by implementing better urban planning, Anies said after a meeting with Rini at City Hall.

Anies said the first step would be to form a team with the SOE Ministry.

The Jakarta administration would be represented by its city secretary [Saefullah] in meeting with the ministry team, he said.

Rini said the Jakarta administration would be focusing on some 220 slums, adding that the initiative to improve the areas could be aligned with the ministrys Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.

We can redirect the CSR programs to focus more on the citys slum areas, as well as to help improve the residents economy, said Rini. (gis)
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Linkedin Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 15:00 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c09b740 1 Politics KPK,setya,setya-novanto,graft,graft-suspect,e-ID,corruption,YasonnaLaoly,Law-and-Human-Rights-Ministry Free

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) continues to move forward with its investigation into the e-ID graft case, with investigators questioning a Cabinet minister on Wednesday.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly showed up at the antigraft bodys office on Wednesday to attend a questioning session as a witness for suspect Anang Sugiana Sudihardjo, the president director of IT consulting firm PT Quadra Solution, which has been implicated in the graft case that has reportedly caused Rp 2.3 trillion (US$161 million) in state losses.

Apart from Yasonna, investigators also summoned Dwina Michaela and Rheza Herwindo, the children of former House of Representatives speaker and graft defendant Setya Novanto.

Yasonna served as a member of House Commission II overseeing home affairs during the deliberation of the project between 2011 and 2012. A senior member of President Joko Jokowi Widodo's supporting party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Yasonna has been accused of accepting $84,000 from the graft-ridden project.

Meanwhile, Dwina and Rheza have been questioned as former commissioners of security printing company PT Murakabi Sejahtera, which is accused of having played a role in the reportedly rigged project tender.

Anang is accused of bribing a number of lawmakers through businessman Andi Agustinus, aka Andi Narogong, who was convicted for his role in the case and sentenced to eight years in prison last month. (ebf)
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Linkedin Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 10:12 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c08ea7b 1 National setya-novanto,KPK,travel-ban,corruption Free

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has asked the Law and Human Rights Ministrys immigration office to issue travel bans on four people amid its probe into a case alleging obstruction of justice implicating former House of Representatives speaker and graft suspect Setya Novanto.

The antigraft agency requested the bans be issued for Setyas lawyer, Fredrich Yunadi, adjutant Adj. Comr. Reza Pahlevi, former Metro TV journalist Hilman Mattauch and another lawyer, Achmad Rudyansyah.

We made the request to make sure theyre in Indonesia whenever investigators need to question them in the case, KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said on Tuesday.

The KPK is investigating alleged obstruction of justice in its investigation into the embattled politician.

Setya was involved in a car accident on Nov. 16. A car transporting him, driven by Hilman, hit an electricity pole in Jakarta. The police later charged Hilman with reckless driving.

KPK investigators questioned Hilman on Tuesday about the moments leading up to the car accident.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 18:47 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0a9b9c 1 Business rice,price-hikes,Enggartiasto-Lukita Free

Trade Minister Anggartiasto Lukita has blamed the recent increase in rice prices on traders accused of controlling rice stocks.

We have a food task force. We are tough against those who act suspiciously; we will not tolerate them, Enggartiasto said on Tuesday while inspecting a rice warehouse owned by the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) in North Jakarta as quoted by kompas.com.

According to the National Strategic Food Prices Information Center (PIHPSN), the price of medium-quality rice reached Rp 14,100 (99 US cents) per kilogram on average, much higher than the price ceiling of Rp 9,450 per kg.

The highest price was found in West Papua at Rp 14,250 per kilogram, compared to the provinces price ceiling of Rp 10,250 per kg. The lowest price for rice, meanwhile, was found in West Nusa Tanggara (NTB), at Rp 9,740 per kg, which is still higher than the provinces price ceiling.

Enggartiasto remained upbeat that a planned market operation to maintain stable rice availability would push down prices.

We will monitor [prices] in the coming days; they are expected to decrease, he said, adding that the intervention would continue until prices fall below the price ceilings.

Previously, Bulog president director Djarot Kusumayakti said the agency had prepared 950,000 tons of rice for the market operation in 2018.

He said the market operation was held in cooperation with the Indonesian Rice Millers and Entrepreneurs Association (Perpadi).

We met Perpadi yesterday [Tuesday] to discuss actions to lower rice prices, he added. (bbn)
PUNE, India, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acumen Research and Consulting, a global provider of market research studies, in a recently published report titled Yogurt Market (Type: Set Yogurt, Greek Yogurt, Yogurt Drinks, Frozen Yogurt; Distribution Channel: Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Independent Retailers, Specialist Retailers, Convenience Stores, Others)  Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Opportunities and Forecast 2023, estimates that global yogurt market is expected to reach the market value of around $107 billion by 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 4.6% in terms of revenue during the period 2017 - 2023. Owing to the health benefits related with the consumption of yogurt and its application in different delicacies, the market is expected to witness increased adoption in coming years. In addition, rising awareness among people for losing weight, expansion of retail market and lower or no lactose content are the main factors driving the growth of yogurt market, globally. On the other hand, addition of harmful additives & ingredients in yogurt to increase flavor options is posing threat to human health, thus restraining the growth of market.



Download Sample Pages - https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/request-sample/524

Low Lactose Content Highly Contributing to the Growth of This Market

Milk and milk products commonly consist of a sugar called lactose which is digested by lactase enzyme in the human body. Lactase deficiency and lactose malabsorption can lead to a condition called lactose intolerance among people. As per the National Library of Medicine (NLM), around 65% of the global human population has a decreased ability to digest lactose after infancy. Thus, people suffering from lactose intolerance look for dairy products with lower or no lactose content. Greek yogurt is mostly recommended for lactose intolerant people as it is strained multiple times for whey removal, giving it a creamy taste and lower lactose content. Thus, less or no content of lactose is contributing growth of this market.

Browse Full Report with Table Of Content, List of Table and Figures - https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/yogurt-market

Insights on Market Segments

Global yogurt market is segmented by type, distribution channel and geography. Based on different types, the market is segmented into set yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt drinks, and frozen yogurt. Further, yogurt drinks are sub-classified into regular and flavored. Also, distribution channel is further bifurcated into supermarkets/hypermarkets, independent retailers, specialist retailers, convenience stores, and others such as online sale and home deliveries. Based on geography market is further classified into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, LAMEA.

Supermarket/Hypermarket Segment Held Largest Share In Yogurt Sale

Supermarket/hypermarket segment held highest market share in 2017 in terms of volume and revenue. Improved and enlarged penetration of retail industry, especially in emerging region is expected to support the growth in coming years. Furthermore, consumption of yogurt via online means is anticipated to show a substantial growth during upcoming period. Increased internet penetration owing to availability of convenient purchasing of product is foreseen to be an influencing factor for online purchasing in yogurt market in the coming years.

Some of the key players operating in the global yogurt market, profiled in the report include Arla Foods Amba, Britannia Industries Limited, Chobani, LLC; Danone, General Mills, Inc. (Yoplait), Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul), Lactalis Group, Nestle S.A., Parmalat S.P.A., and Saputo Inc. among others.

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About Us

Acumen Research and Consulting (ARC) is a global provider of market intelligence and consulting services to information technology, investment, telecommunication, manufacturing, and consumer technology markets. ARC helps investment communities, IT professionals, and business executives to make fact based decisions on technology purchases and develop firm growth strategies to sustain market competition. With the team size of 100+ Analysts and collective industry experience of more than 200 years, Acumen Research and Consulting assures to deliver a combination of industry knowledge along with global and country level expertise.

Blog: http://pharmainvestmentnews.com/

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 15:13 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c09c84c 1 City motorcycle-ban,traffic-sign Free

The Transportation Agency began taking down signs banning motorcycles along Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat on Tuesday afternoon, following a Supreme Court ruling in favor of a petition from motorcyclists on lifting the ban.

The head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency, Andri Yansyah, confirmed on Wednesday that his agency would take down the signs.

We will also take down the signs between Bundaran HI [Hotel Indonesia traffic circle] and Bundaran Senayan. We will do that gradually, he said.

The Jakarta administration, under former governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, had planned to expand the ban from Bundaran HI to Bundaran Senayan in South Jakarta, however the regulation was later revoked following public protests.

Andi said he would first meet with the Jakarta Police traffic division and the Bina Marga Road Agency to determine whether motorcyclists should be permitted to drive along the thoroughfares immediately after the signs were dismantled.

Traffic division chief Sr. Comr. Halim Pagarra told The Jakarta Post that his division would follow the policy issued by the Transportation Agency.

I havent heard from the agencys head. However, if they have already taken down the signs the police will cooperate accordingly, he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Halim said that besides helping to decrease traffic congestion the motorcycle ban had also helped reduce pollution. (gis)
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Linkedin Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post) Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara  Wed, January 10, 2018 19:36 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0ac648 1 National NTB,West-Nusa-Tenggara,police,smuggling,lobsters,lobster-seeds,Central-Lombok,bali Free

Personnel of the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Police have arrested seven people suspected to have attempted to smuggle 7,992 lobster seeds worth of Rp 396 million (US$27,720) from Central Lombok to Bali.

NTB Police spokesperson Adj.Sr.Comr. Tribudi Pangastuti said the smuggling attempts were thwarted on Tuesday in two different locations.

The NTB Police confiscated 1,900 lobster seeds in the first location and 6,022 seeds were seized in the second location. We collected a total of 7,922 seeds, Tribudi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said the first smuggling attempt was uncovered at 4:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday on Jl. Bypass, Lombok International Airport. The NTB Police personnel arrested four suspects driving an Ertiga carrying 1,900 lobster seeds in 19 plastic bags.

The police later arrested three suspects on Jl. TGH Faisal, Sandubuya district, Mataram, at 7 p.m. The suspects were traveling in a Datsun Go Panca, carrying 6,022 lobster seeds in 32 plastic bags.

We suspected the lobster seeds would be smuggled to Bali using a shipping service. We are currently questioning the seven suspects, Tribudi said.

The NTB Quarantine Agency will release the lobster seeds to their natural habitat. The suspects were charged with violating Law No. 45/2009 on fisheries and Law No. 16/1992 on animal, fish and plant quarantine, which carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a Rp 1.5 billion fine. (ami/ebf)
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung, West Java  Wed, January 10, 2018 20:52 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0ae588 1 National police,porn-case,pornography,West-Java Free

The West Java Police have given a detention delay to one of the suspects of a recently uncovered child pornographic movie case, saying she is still 17 years old and therefore underage according to the 2002 Child Protection Law.

The suspect was also reportedly six months pregnant, the police added.

Therefore, we have suspended her detainment and handed her over to the Integrated Care Center for the Empowerment of Women and Children [P2TP2A], West Java Police chief Agung Budi Maryoto told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

As previously reported, the police have named six people suspects in the porn video case, which involved teen boys. They are the director of the videos, two females who appear in the movies, two mothers of the teen boys and a woman suspected to be the recruiter of the boys, who is still being pursued by the police.

Agung said the police had received information, which stated the suspect had fled outside Java. The police were still investigating the case.

We are currently waiting for the result of the psychological assessment of one of the suspects, Agung said.

He further said the West Java Police were still waiting for the result of an investigation conducted by the polices cyber crime unit to confirm whether international child porn networks were involved in the case. (ami/ebf)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Moscow, Russia  Wed, January 10, 2018 20:20 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0ada94 2 World murder-case,trial,Russia Free

A Russian ex-policeman convicted of killing 22 women went on trial Wednesday for a further 59 murders, in a case that could make him Russia's most prolific serial killer in recent history.

Mikhail Popkov, 53, appeared in court in the Siberian city of Irkutsk after confessing to 59 additional murders and one attempted killing between 1992 and 2010, Interfax news agency reported.

He is already serving a life sentence for raping and killing 22 women, and the attempted murder of two more.

Popkov killed his victims after offering the women rides late at night, sometimes in a police car, while he was off-duty around his hometown of Angarsk close to Irkutsk.

He has been nicknamed "the werewolf" and the "Angarsk maniac" by Russian media.

If convicted of 81 murders, he would exceed the total of notorious figures such as the "chessboard killer" Alexander Pichushkin, who killed 48, and Andrei Chikatilo, convicted of 52 Soviet-era murders.

Wednesday's first full hearing saw prosecutors read out the accusations against Popkov.

The hearing was closed to media to avoid making public details of his alleged sexual attacks on victims, Interfax news agency reported.

Popkov has called himself a "cleaner" who was purging his city of prostitutes, according to reports.

In an interview with Meduza news site in December, he said he used a hammer or axe to kill victims and after his first crime felt little fear of discovery.

He said he gave women lifts and targeted those who were drunk or living in a way he saw as immoral.

The crimes were committed during Popkov's career as a policeman and after he retired in 1998.

Popkov was only caught in 2012 after investigators re-examined the cases and carried out DNA testing of residents, focusing on those who drove a make of car whose tracks had been found at crime scenes.

Popkov later went with investigators to the crime scenes and showed them where the bodies were buried.

Investigator Yevgeny Karchevsky, who worked on the case, told Meduza: "His diagnosis is homicidal maniac, that is he has an uncontrollable desire to commit murders."

Popkov is seen as having a personality disorder but is judged to be sane and responsible for his crimes, the investigator said.

Victims included prostitutes and drug addicts but most were ordinary women with families, Karchevsky said.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Tripoli, Libya  Wed, January 10, 2018 08:15 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c087e69 2 World Libya,migrants,mediterranean-sea Free

Between 90 and 100 migrants were missing after their makeshift boat sank in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, the country's navy said late Tuesday.

The inflatable boat was carrying more than 100 people when it went down, according to navy spokesman Ayoub Kacem, who said rescuers had saved just 17 people, including some women.

Survivors clung to the vessel for hours before help arrived.

The boat sank off the city of Khoms, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the Libyan capital, Kacem said.

In another incident, the Libyan navy said it had also rescued 267 migrants of various African nationalities, off Zawiya to the west of Tripoli.

Women and 17 children were among those rescued, said Kacem, who added that bad weather had hampered the operation.

Over the weekend, 10 migrants died and dozens of others, including children, went missing off the Libyan coast, according to aid organisations.

Since the 2011 fall and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a key launch pad for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe, often on unseaworthy vessels.

Last year alone, 3,116 people died attempting the crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), including 2,833 from Libya.

But there has been a sharp drop in crossing attempts since the summer of 2017 following efforts by Italy to discourage migrants from trying to make the journey.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 13:56 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c098ecb 4 Business Susi,sinking-boat,policy,illegal-fishing Free

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti has insisted that she will continue to sink ships that have been found guilty of operating illegally in Indonesian waters.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said previously that Susi had been told to stop the policy, saying that foreign fishing boats were aware that the country enforced tough punishment on illegal fishing.

Susi said on Tuesday that those opposed to her policy should speak with President Joko Jokowi Widodo because the boat sinking was part of the implementation of Law No. 45/2009 on fisheries.

She stressed that it was not her personal wish to enforce tough punishments against illegal fishing, but it was a mandate ordered by the law.

She added that the ministry only sank ships that had been found guilty of operating illegally by the courts.

We only execute a court decision, she added as reported by kompas.com.

The ministry started cracking down on illegal fishing in 2015. More than 380 vessels have since been scuttled or destroyed, with last years figure alone reaching 87 ships weighing between 70 and 120 gross tonnage. (bbn)
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Linkedin Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 20:09 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c0ad8b9 1 Business Masela,industry-ministry,SKKMigas,Gas,sales Free

The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) has warned that it will find buyers by itself for gas produced from the Masela block in the Arafura Sea if the Industry Ministry still insists on asking for a further price cut.

The Industry Ministry has repeatedly called on SKKMigas to allow industrial players to buy Maselas gas for a price of US$3 per million British thermal units (mmbtu), while the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has stated that the ideal price is $5.86 per mmbtu.

If the companies [recommended by the Industry Ministry] are only willing to buy the gas at $3 per mmbtu, SKKMigas will find other buyers by ourself. We already have a prospective buyer from Teluk Bintuni [in West Papua] that is set to offtake the gas with an indicative price of $5.2 per mmbtu, Amien said Tuesday.

The Industry Ministry has previously proposed three companies to be the off-takers for gas produced at Masela, namely state-owned fertilizer producer PT Pupuk Indonesia, petrochemical firm PT Elsoro Multi Pratama and plastic product company PT Sojitz Indonesia, with a total demand of 474 mmscfd.

However, Amien accused the three companies of seeking a chance to act as middleman to resell Maselas gas at higher prices.

We wont sell Maselas gas to such middlemen, Amien said.

Masela, jointly operated by oil and gas giants Inpex and Royal Dutch Shell, is estimated to start producing 150 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of natural gas in 2027. (bbn)
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung, West Java  Wed, January 10, 2018 10:37 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c08fd5e 1 Business Pindad,revenue,2018,target Free

State-owned weapons manufacturer PT Pindad is aiming for Rp 2.9 trillion (US$203 million) in revenue this year, said Pindad president director Abraham Mose in Bandung on Tuesday.

He said the company had booked net profit of Rp 53 billion in 2017.

This year, the company aimed to obtain 30 percent of its revenue from its industrial products.

This does not mean that the defense industry is slowing down. Our largest contributor is still the defense industry, said Mose.

He explained that Pindad planned to further expand its non-defense products by producing heavy machinery.

The company will produce amphibious excavators, for example, by using technology derived from its Anoa armored personnel carriers, he added.

We have reported this to the National Public Procurement Agency [LKPP] so that our planned product is included in the e-catalog. The Jakarta administration has expressed interest. We are in the process of building the prototype, he added.

Pindad sent 29 of its Anoa armored personnel carriers to the Central African Republic in late 2017 as part of its support for peacekeeping efforts in the area. The shipment was an addition to an earlier batch of 70 other vehicles. (bbn)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Manila, Philippines  Wed, January 10, 2018 13:44 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c098b01 2 SE Asia Catholic,Philippines,ritual,death Free

One devotee died and more than 800 people were injured in the Philippine capital when millions joined a religious procession featuring a blackened image of Jesus, officials said on Wednesday.

The annual feast of the Black Nazarene, one of the world's largest Catholic festivals, drew 3.5 million barefoot devotees on Tuesday in what police described as a "generally peaceful" event despite crowds jostling to touch the icon.

However a former jail officer died of a heart attack after joining the scramble to climb onto the carriage bearing an image of the centuries-old Black Nazarene on Tuesday morning, city officials and police said.

People in the mainly Catholic Asian nation risk life and limb to kiss or touch the icon with towels, believing the Black Nazarene to possess miraculous powers.

Two people died during the 2016 event.

More than 800 people were hurt in this year's procession, including one who sustained a suspected neck and spine injury in a fall, according to the Philippine Red Cross.

The procession began before dawn on Tuesday and ended after midnight, some 22 hours later.

During the parade police shut down mobile phone signals in many areas of Manila to prevent potential terror attacks on the procession.
University of Indonesia's (UI) nature lovers community has conquered its sixth mountain of the world's Seven Summits challenge, as member Dedi Satria on Sunday scaled Antarcticas highest peak, Vinson Massif.

Ade Wahyudi, Vinson Massif' expedition team manager at Mapala UI expressed pride over the achievement and said that the team had long prepared to climb the mountain, as reported by kompas.com.

"Finally, we were able to reach the sixth peak in the series of the Seven Summits, [which was] the peak in the coldest continent," Ade said, as quoted in a statement.

Preparations to climb Vinson Massif, which measures 4,897 meters in height, had begun in February last year. Located in the southern hemisphere, the mountain can only be climbed in its warmest months, which are December and January.

Dedi, a delegate from the community, left Indonesia to embark on his journey on Dec. 25 and arrived in Punta Arena, Chile the following day, where the weather was temporarily less-than-favorable.

He continued on a flight to Antarctica on Jan. 1 and began the climb the day after. On the first day of the expedition, Dedi, along with a group of climbers, successfully hiked to the first camp, which is approximately four hours and 30 minutes from the base camp.

Read also: Indonesian students reach highest North American peak

On Jan. 3, the team remained in the low camp while practicing fixed rope skills to continue on their journey to the top.

The following day, the group embarked onward to the high camp, where they rested for two days in preparation for the summit scale on Sunday, Jan. 6. Dedi successfully reached the peak within the same day.

The UI student is an experienced climber, with mountaineering conquests including Indonesia's highest peak, the Carstensz Pyramid on Mount Jayawijaya in Papua, in May 2016. He climbed the mountain together with fellow Mapala UI members, including Mahendratta S., Fandhi Achmad and Ahmad Nadil.

In September of the same year, Dedi went on to climb Elbrus Mountain, the highest peak in Russia, which he did along with members Fandhi and Ade Wahyudi.

In February 2017, Dedi, along with Agam Napitupulu, climbed Aconcagua, the highest mountain in Argentina.

Read also: Six Indonesian mountain peaks to climb this New Year

Established in 1964, Mapala UI embarked in 1972 on climbing the Seven Summits, a mountaineering challenge consisting of the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. The university students' community began by first conquering the highest peak in Australasia, which is the Cartensz Pyramid in Indonesia.

Through various members' achievements throughout the years, Mapala UI subsequently went on to tick off the Seven Summit mountains from the list, including Mt. Kilimanjoro in Africa in 1983, Mt. McKinley in the US in 1989, Mt. Elbrus in 1990 and Mt. Acocagua in 1994.

"After a long time without any continuation to complete the Seven Summits, Mapala UI at the end of 2017 sent one of its climbers, Dedi Satria, to Vinson Massif, the highest peak in Antarctica," Ampala UI head Yohanes Poda said.

Yohanes explained that Mapala UI had lost members during past expeditions. Climbers Norman Edwin and Didiek Samsu died on their journey to conquer Aconcagua in 1992.

He expressed hope that with the recent success of reaching the top of Vinson Massif, the team would be pushed to complete the final challenge on the list, which is the world's highest mountain, Mt. Everest. (liz/kes)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Parlane Resource Corp. (TSXV:PPP) (Parlane or the Company) announces that it has entered into a binding letter agreement whereby it will engage a third party to host cryptocurrency mining activities on behalf of Parlane.



Pursuant to the agreement dated January 9, 2018, Parlane will initially acquire 500 S9 Antminer mining rigs, and will engage a Quebec based company (the Provider) to set-up, host and operate the cryptocurrency mining activities. In exchange for such services, the Provider will receive (i) 6,000,000 shares of Parlane, and (ii) 10% of all net profits generated by the mining activities. Parlane will be responsible for all operating costs, to be at an all-in cost of US$0.10 per kilowatt hour per mining rig. Parlane may add additional mining rigs from time to time. The shares of the Company to be received by the Provider will be subject to resale restrictions such that 1,000,000 shares will be restricted for four months, 2,500,000 shares will be restricted for six months, and 2,500,000 shares will be restricted for 12 months.

The above transactions will constitute a change of business for Parlane, as such term is defined in TSX Venture Exchange policies, in that Parlane will be involved in mining for cryptocurrencies rather than exploring for minerals. Consequently:

(a) the Company has halted trading of its common shares; and trading will remain halted until the transactions have closed;

(b) closing of the transactions (including issuance of shares to the Provider) is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV);

(c) closing of the transactions is also subject to the approval of the Companys shareholders. In this regard, Parlane anticipates it will obtain such approval by way of consent resolution; and

(d) Parlane will prepare and file a TSXV Filing Statement, in the prescribed form.

The transactions with the Provider were negotiated at arms length. The shares issued to the corporate Provider will be re-distributed by it to its shareholders, such that there will be no new control blocks or insiders created. There will be no change in the board of directors of Parlane, and no change of management. As such, no new escrow of any new or previously issued shares is expected to occur. Closing of the transactions is subject to a number of conditions precedent, including due diligence investigations, negotiation of a definitive agreement with the Provider, raising of sufficient funds, and shareholders and TSXV approvals; and there is no assurance all of the conditions will be satisfied.

Parlane has approximately C$2,500,000 of cash resources; and estimates it will be required to raise an additional $750,000 to finance the transactions outlined above. To that end, Parlane has arranged a non-brokered financing to issue up to 5,000,000 Subscription Receipts (the Receipts) at $0.15 per Receipt; each Receipt convertible at no additional cost into either:

(i) Units of Parlane, in the event the transactions close. Each Unit to be comprised of one common share and one-half warrant (Warrant). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.25 for a period of 12 months from the date of issuance of the Warrant; or

(ii) the return of all or a portion of the subscription cost for such Receipts, in the event the transactions do not close. Funds returned to the subscribers will be in such amounts as Parlane may realize from the sale of the mining rigs.

Proceeds from the Receipt financing will be available for use by Parlane prior to closing of the transactions, so as to allow Parlane to acquire the cryptocurrency mining rigs in advance of closing. Should the transactions fail to close for any reason, Parlane anticipates divesting such rigs and returning the sale proceeds to subscribers in full satisfaction of all its obligations. Effecting the change of business is contingent only on closing the above private placement and obtaining TSXV approval.

In conjunction with Parlanes change of business, it will also be:

1. changing its name to more accurately reflect its new business focus; and

2. acquiring the intellectual property rights to the iMining brand, including worldwide tradename, trademarks, and URL site. The cost to acquire these rights has been negotiated as $550,000 to be paid as to $250,000 in cash and 2,000,000 shares of Parlane at $0.15 per share.

Parlane does not anticipate that sponsorship will be required for purposes of obtaining TSXV approval to the transactions, and will be seeking a waiver from the TSXV in that regard.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Signed Robert Eadie

Robert Eadie, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Telephone: 1-604-602-4935  Facsimile: 1-604-602-4936

Website: www.parlaneresource.com

Contact: Robert Eadie

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Completion of the above transactions is subject to a number of conditions, including Exchange acceptance and disinterested shareholder approval. The transactions cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the Filing Statement to be prepared in connection with the transactions, any information released or received with respect to the change of business may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Parlane Resources Corp. should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
According to statistics released by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Friday, there have been 60 percent more searches of cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices at airports and border crossings during the governments 2017 fiscal year as compared to the previous year.

With as many as 30,200 devices searched, a merger 0.007 percent of the 397 million travelers who arrived from overseas were affected during the 12-month period that ended on Sept. 30, 2017.

CBP published revised guidelines on how officers should conduct these searches and handle the information they obtain.

According to The Washington Post, the reason behind the surge in device searches is that electronic devices may provide critical information on potential security threats to the country. CBP official John Wagner said in a statement that border searches were vital to enforcing US Law and protecting US residents. Information from these devices can be used to determine the admissibility of visitors, who are viewed as potential sources of intelligence on terrorism, child pornography or other criminal activity. Information that is not considered criminal, including political and sexual content, could also be used by a CPB officer to admit a visitor from abroad.

Recent years have seen travelers to the US growing astonished at requests to hand over their cell phones to officials at airports and border crossings. CBP asserts that the practice is justified and that current standards ensure that privacy rights are not unduly violated.

Travelers selected for inspection should be able to provide their passcodes and unlock their phones. They will be asked to disable data transmission from their devices, said a senior CBP official who briefed reporters earlier this month.

Read also: Enhanced checks for all non-stop flights to US

CBP officials are only allowed to search through information stored physically on a device, such as photographs and phone numbers. They are not permitted to access information stored externally or on a cloud. Such an inspection constitutes a basic search. An advanced search can be carried out in instances where officers determine they have reasonable suspicion of a criminal act or potential threat to national security. This involves connecting the device to other applications and even copying its information.

The CBP official assured that passwords provided would not be retained by the government.

US senator Ronald Wyden (D-OR) cited the new guidelines as an improvement, but noted that they were too intrusive for US citizens. Manually examining an individuals private photos, messages and browsing history is still extremely invasive, and should require a warrant, he said in a statement. I continue to believe Americans are entitled to their full constitutional rights, no matter where they are in the United States.

The CBP official revealed that a fifth of inspected travelers were US citizens. Citizens who refuse to allow inspection of their devices cannot be denied entry into the United States, but their devices could be retained for up to five days. Non-citizens who refuse the search, on the other hand, can be denied entry and sent home.

In 2017, civil rights groups in the US filed suit against the federal government in an attempt to halt device searches. (afr/kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, January 10, 2018 08:04 1334 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c086d38 1 News blind,innovation,students,Malang Free

School of Industrial Engineering students at Malang Muhammadiyah University (UMM) have developed a money sensor to assist the blind.

The project idea was inspired by the defrauding of blind masseuses.

Yoga Adi Wijaya, a member of the project team said in a press release on Saturday, We visited the blind massage training center and listened to the masseuses complaints. One of the complaints was how customers had tricked them when paying for their services.

Read also: Indonesian students win gold, silver medals in International Physics Olympiad

Following their findings, Yoga and his friends decided to develop a device called Censor Glasses for the Blind (Kasentra), an innovative product that combines glasses and a special sensor to detect an amount of money.

The device is easy to use, as the user only has to put the money in front of the glasses for it to be detected by the sensor. An audio indicating how much money is being shown will follow suit, confirming the moneys amount to the user. Kasentra is designed as a standalone device and doesnt need to be paired with a smartphone.

Bagus Arif, another member of the project team said, We developed Kasentra by assessing the plus and minuses of existing products, he said, adding that Kasentra was more efficient and affordable.

The students will continue to develop Kasentra. In the future, they are looking forward to equipping Kasentra with a sensor for braille. Yoga said, Were currently working with the School of Information and Technology to develop a reading sensor that can be attached to the glasses. (asw)
The State Liquor Authority rejected an application today for a big new venue that had been in-the-works at 200 Allen St. In an unusual move, two elected officials  State Sen. Brian Kavanagh and City Council member Margaret Chin  both appeared in person to testify against the applicant.

The project, Dos Cientos, was the latest venture by real estate developer/nightlife operator Michael Shah (hes behind Sons of Essex and Rochelles). It was meant to be a bi-level Mexican restaurant/bar for 200 patrons. The space, located near East Houston St., has been vacant since the demise of Preserve 24 in 2014.

Community Board 3 opposed the application in a May 2017 resolution. Kavanagh, Chin, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and State Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou backed it up with a letter to the liquor authority. Heres part of the letter:
SURPRISE, AZ, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corix Bioscience, Inc., (OTCQB: CXBS) a Wyoming corporation (Corix), acknowledges receipt of the lawsuit filed by a minority shareholder named George Sharp. Mr. Sharp holds 0.01% of Corixs issued and outstanding shares of common stock. Mr. Sharp has filed numerous lawsuits against publicly reporting companies alleging the same or similar claims.

Corixs Chief Executive Officer, Michael Ogburn stated, Corix denies all allegations of wrongdoing and will respond accordingly through the judicial process. Notwithstanding his claims that Corix has diminished value, Mr. Sharp has made settlement proposals to the company demanding not only financial remuneration, but also the issuance of additional stock. Corix believes this proposal contradicts Mr. Sharps allegations that the company is not viable or is being used as a conduit for fraudulent activity.

Mr. Sharp recently issued a press release dated January 2, 2018 outlining the allegations in his Complaint against Corix. Corix similarly denies uniformly the allegations in Mr. Sharps press release as inaccurate and untrue. Corix believes Mr. Sharps press release is part of a pattern of abusive litigation tactics aimed at pressuring Corix to enter into a quick settlement. In fact, courts have previously barred Mr. Sharp from issuing inaccurate or defamatory press releases in cases similar to this. An example can be found here:

http://floridalawsuit.yolasite.com/resources/Injunction%20-%20Executed%209-16-2013.pdf

Corix will provide updates to this press release upon developments in this litigation.

About Corix Bioscience Inc.

Corix Bioscience, Inc. (Corix) is a fully reporting Wyoming corporation listed as OTCQB:CXBS. Corix is the developer of proprietary cannabis and industrial hemp strains using tissue cell cultures to propagate living plants, with plans to patent the strains to be used in the pharmaceutical medical industries.

Our methods allow us to create and breed new and existing plant strains from tissue cells free of any pathogens or disease. We grow these plants to maturity and extract the oils which are the medicine part of the plant. Our sales are focused towards the medical industry and we are developing brand named products to be released in early 2018.

Company headquarters are in Phoenix, Arizona and with our laboratory and processing facility in Carson City, Nevada and we grow in Genoa, Nevada. We are currently looking at expanding our footprint into Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona. The Companys mission is to create clean and consistent products in medical grade facilities. Consistency being the key which will ultima yield a safer and superior product, better for people and the environment. For more information, please visit Corixs website at www.corixbioscience.com

Forward Looking Statement

This press release, and those statements regarding Corix Bioscience (the Company), contain forward-looking statements that relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements may be identified by use of words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," or "potential" or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends. Statements such as those concerning potential acquisition activity, investment objectives, strategies, opportunities, other plans and objectives for future operations or economic performance are based on the Company's current expectations, plans, estimates, assumptions and beliefs that involve numerous risks and uncertainties. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements and the Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes. Please refer to Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further information.
DENVER, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RLH Corporation (NYSE:RLH) announced today the opening of a Red Lion Inn & Suites in Long Island City, New York. The recently converted property features 80 guest rooms, complimentary deluxe continental breakfast, free Wi-Fi and an on-site fitness center.



Red Lion Inn & Suites Long Island City is located one block from the New York City subway, providing guests with easy access to all of New Yorks five boroughs and attractions. Located down the street, MOMA PS1 is a modern art museum set in a remodeled school, home to one of the oldest and largest nonprofit contemporary art institutions in the United States.

Red Lion Inn & Suites Long Island City is a welcome addition to the RLH Corporation family, said Chief Development Officer Paul Sacco. 2018 is set to be a vital year for RLH Corporation as we continue to grow our upscale brands. Red Lion Inn & Suites Long Island City will be an important property as we continue our aggressive expansion.

The Red Lion Inn & Suites Long Island City is located at 42-24 Crescent St. The property is just 15 minutes from LaGuardia Airport via subway and is in close proximity to all of New Yorks admired attractions.

To learn more about franchising with RLH Corporation, visit franchise.rlhco.com.

About RLH Corporation

Red Lion Hotels Corporation is an innovative hotel company doing business as RLH Corporation and focuses on the franchising, management and ownership of upscale, midscale and economy hotels. The company focuses on maximizing return on invested capital for hotel owners across North America through relevant brands, industry-leading technology and forward-thinking services. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.rlhco.com.

Social Media:

www.Facebook.com/myhellorewards

www.Twitter.com/myhellorewards

www.Instagram.com/myhellorewards

www.Linkedin.com/company/rlhco

Investor Relations Contact:

Amy Koch

O: 509-777-6417

C: 917-579-5012

investorrelations@rlhco.com

Media Contact:

Dan Schacter

Director, Social Engagement and Public Relations

509-777-6222

dan.schacter@rlhco.com
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the backlash to the #MeToo movement is the repeated insistence that men are being subjected to a witch-hunt over sexual malpractice.

In the latest addition to the international conversation we are currently having about sexual harassment, assault, and abuse of power, lauded French actor Catherine Deneuve and a number of other high-profile female French stars, academics and writers have produced an open letter claiming that men are being unjustly targeted by a furious wave of puritanism.

Published in the national newspaper Le Monde, the letter claims that a new kind of feminism, distinguished by its hatred of men, threatens sexual liberty.

Im not the first to say this, but the implicit irony in using the term witch-hunt to describe the supposed vigilante castigation of male sexual aggressors does seem just a tad naive. After all, witch-hunts historically were the product of an explicitly misogynistic culture of violence that sought to destroy women who lived somewhat on the boundaries of their communities and cultural practices. Women, in these instances, were literally burned at the stake. Men like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, who are now being treated, according to various spokespeople, to therapy in order to remedy their behaviour, seem to have got off relatively lightly in comparison.

So just why is it that the witch-hunt imagery is so very powerful to this legion of support for what the letter calls the right to flirt insistently?

Well, it seems that Deneuve and her fellow signatories believe that the conflation of rape and sexual harassment will create an environment in which men will not feel free to steal a kiss or touch a knee.

The #MeToo movement is an attack on sexual predators which, they argue, also threatens to undermine the complex language of signals, interactions, and physical prompts that we use to express sexual attraction.

Personally, Im not convinced. I didnt live through the sexual revolution, but from my hazy understanding of it, sexual freedom sprung out of greater access to contraception, the legalisation of abortion, and a youth culture looking to defy its staid predecessors in favour of a hypnotic and erotically-charged rock n roll scene.

Sexual freedom isnt the right to touch what you want, when you want, regardless of whether the object of your affections feels the same. Sexual freedom is freedom from harassment and freedom from the threat of physical aggression; it is being sufficiently informed, protected, and thereby empowered to make ones own sexual decisions in a situation in which enthusiastic consent is paramount.

Deneuve and her fellow petitioners foundational argument seems to me to be that all this talk  of consent, of propriety, and of respect  is somewhat dull. Sure, talking about proper workplace etiquette most likely isnt all that sexy. But thats because its not meant to be. The office water-cooler isnt the place to steal a kiss. A desk is a place to work, not a handy disguise for an opportunistic below-the-table knee grope.

More importantly, I think that the letters stance on men is bewildering, suggesting that dogged attempts at flirting are the natural preserve of male behaviour. The assertion that men should be allowed to act accordingly is an insult to the men I know who do not believe that sexual predation is some formative part of their essential natures. To me, it smacks of an innately belligerent and entitled misapprehension that flirting is merely a process of convincing an initially unwilling person to sleep with you, rather than a mode of interaction between two equally engaged people predicated on a discernible frisson of attraction.

Deneuve and those in agreement with her believe that rape exists in a vacuum, reserved for a special kind of evil. In fact, instances of sexual harassment  an unwanted hand on the knee, an uninvited kiss, or, increasingly in the digital age, an unsolicited dick pic  form a fundamental part of the culture that permits people like Harvey Weinstein to behave as they do, and for so long, cushioned by an unchallenged sense of entitlement and a culture that fails to investigate their actions.

Sexual liberty isnt under attack from those working to expose this behaviour. Its under attack from those who perpetrate it, and who in doing so disarm women of their ability to feel safe to make their own sexual choices, free from coercion.
STA Travels 36-hour Australia and New Zealand Flash Sale has started, and its offering flights to Australia and New Zealand for less than 400.

If you act fast, you could bag a flight to Aus for 349 or New Zealand for 399  probably less than youd spend on a package holiday to Spain.

STA Travels 36-hour Australia and New Zealand flash sale started at 10am today, and will run until 1opm tomorrow (Thursday 11th January).

This cheaper than cheap offer is for flights departing London Heathrow to selected destinations in Australia and New Zealand between 31st March and 18th June 2018.

To be eligible for the special fares, a two-night stay in Beijing, China, must be booked  so youll get to add some extra culture to your long-haul adventure.

It does add a little bit to your rock-bottom sale fare  but look what you get in return...

The (very exciting, in our opinion) Beijing stopover package includes accommodation at the three-star Chongwenmen Hotel in the city centre and a Great Wall Experience, as well as lunch at a nearby village and a soothing traditional reflexology foot massage to recuperate from your flight.

Entry to Great Wall Mutuanyu and return transfers from Beijing are included in the 175 cost. Its too good to miss, we think  time to put that Christmas money to good use!

Travellers wanting to take advantage of the deal can book in store or call 0333 321 0099.

For more information on STA Travel and the latest deals, visit: www.statravel.co.uk
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fortress Blockchain Corp. (the "Corporation" or Fortress Blockchain) is pleased to announce that the Corporation has closed a brokered private placement financing of 30,000,000 common shares in the capital of the Corporation at a price of $0.50 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $15,000,000 (the "Offering"). Desjardins Capital Markets acted as lead agent and sole book runner on behalf of a syndicate of agents, including Haywood Securities Inc.



Aydin Kilic, President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Corporation, stated We are very pleased to close this brokered financing and add many of Canadas leading institutional investors to our shareholder registry. Upon completion of our strategic acquisition of a green-energy mining facility with a proven track record of profitable Bitcoin mining, access to one of the lowest power costs in North America, and a seasoned Board of Directors and Special Advisors, Fortress Blockchain will be poised to capitalize on the increasing adoption of Bitcoin as the next financial asset class. We are all excited about entering our next growth phase.

The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to fund: (i) the Corporations acquisition (the Acquisition) of a 5MW class "A" industrial facility purpose-built and wholly dedicated to crypto-currency mining, currently operating at 2MW capacity (the Mining Facility) located in the Pacific Northwest; (ii) capital expenditures related to the acquisition of ASIC mining equipment and the build out of the Mining Facility from 2MW to 5MW following the completion of the Acquisition; (iii) the payment of a deposit for the acquisition of a new 9MW facility to be specifically designed and constructed as a wholly dedicated crypto-currency mining facility; and (iv) general corporate purposes.

The Corporation anticipates the acquisition of the Mining Facility to close on or before February 16, 2018.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or to a U.S. person (a "U.S. Person") (as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act")). The securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to a U.S. Person unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Fortress Blockchain

Fortress Blockchain Corp. is a technology-oriented blockchain mining company committed to operating in low cost North American green-energy regions. Fortress Blockchains resources are currently dedicated to achieving peak operational efficiency in industrial scale Bitcoin mining, to ultimately deliver an industry leading competitive advantage in performance. Fortress Blockchain is strategically acquiring state-of-the-art mining facilities, including a seminal Washington state facility which has been in continuous operation since 2014, which will also serve as an R&D facility going forward to optimize and build out the next generation of highly scalable blockchain mining infrastructure.

For further information, please contact:

Fortress Blockchain Corp.

Attention: Investor Relations

info@fortressblockchain.io

www.fortressblockchain.io



Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Statements

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In our age there is no such thing as keeping out of politics. All issues are political issues

 George Orwell, British writer (1903-1950)

Hello Downriver,

With a lengthy gap in between, I started writing a column on the pages of this newspaper 39 years ago.

I left the newspaper in 1992, and was asked to come back in 2010 as a guest columnist.

The invitation came from a regional editor who was seeking someone to provide a local perspective on Downriver, state, national and international issues.

And there I was.

I provide this background to put the following email into context:

Hi Craig. I look forward to reading your column in the News Herald weekly and just wanted to tell you how refreshing it was to read a column that IS NOT POLITICAL this week.

I had begun starting to read your columns and if political, skipping on to other parts of the paper, so, thanks for a refreshing change.  Jeanette

I got this email from Jeanette (Im withholding her last name) literally moments after last weeks column was posted; a column about some Downriver history.

Jeanette has written me before, and I have quite a few who have emailed me over the years  some who agree with me, many who dont.

But I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to write.

Now, no one is more interested in the history of our region than I am. By now, I think you know of the soft spot I have for River Rouge.

But my occasional walks down memory lane arent just to reminisce about what was  even though theyre often fun trips.

Just as often, these historical strolls provide context for what exists today; not just landmarks come and gone, but in the way we act and the way we fail to act.

For were products of what came before  either personally, or through our parents, our friends and our communities.

And not just Downriver, but on the state, national and international stages.

Which is where politics comes in; it lives in every corner of our lives.

It lives in the negotiations we have with our teenagers over curfews; in the relationships within couples; in the friendships with neighbors; in the transactions with co-workers  and total strangers.

We simply cant exist in the world around us without being affected by politics.

Its impossible to evaluate new tax policies without considering the political ramifications of such policies.

As Ive written before and warned about going forward, the recent GOP giveaway to the rich and powerful will have further consequences when Republicans use the growing national deficits and debt as an excuse to gut Social Security and Medicare.

Not this year (and hopefully, not ever), but likely in years to come.

Likewise, its impossible to look at the state of public education without considering the political impact of Betsy DeVos as secretary of the federal Education Department.

She is and always has been an advocate for charter schools, and for private schools to gain access to taxpayer money through vouchers.

If successful in her crusade (and it is a crusade), free public education for all could be a thing of the past, replaced by free-market, taxpayer subsidized special-interest schools.

Similarly, its impossible to examine our standing on the world stage as the greatest political, economic and military power the world has ever seen  without also shrinking, horrified, away from the spectacle of the Trump Administration.

In one year, this man has dismantled our standing in the world. By withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, hes opened the door for China to become the dominant player in the Far East.

By belittling NATO and the European Union, hes undermined relationships founded in the ruins of World War II, diminishing our status as a player on that part of the world stage.

By continuing to insist on building a wall on our southern border  to stem illegal immigration that already had slowed  the president has painted us as an isolated, paranoid nation scared of anyone who doesnt look like

Who?

Then theres the politics of not doing.

Were literally surrounded by challenges, issues, wrongs and slights that go unaddressed  or worse, sanctioned through deliberate inaction.

A case in point is the vice grip the pharmaceutical companies have on our Congress.

Our prescriptions cost too much, the drug companies push the drugs they make  and get us addicted on their use  and then jack up the price of antidotes.

Consider: Early last year, the price for the antidote for an opioid overdose skyrocketed by more than 600 percent  to $4,500 per dose, up from $690 only two years earlier.

You gotta love Big Pharm getting rich on death.

But it doesnt end there: Medicare accounts for nearly 30 percent of all national retail pharmaceutical spending as part of Part D.

Yet, Medicare  our own national health care system  is NOT allowed to negotiate prescription drug prices.

Yep, under existing law, the Department of Health and Human Services is explicitly prohibited from negotiating directly with drug manufacturers on behalf of Medicare Part D enrollees.

Even though 82 percent of the American public wants negotiations to begin yesterday.

Can you imagine the impact of 30 percent of the retail market demanding lower prices?

But it wont happen because the politics of Congress is financed by Big Pharm and other players with deep pockets.

The same players who just got the GOP to give them corporate and rich-people tax cuts at the expense of the rest of us.

Politics.

Its simply impossible to escape in life, even though Id much rather write about great memories.

*

Last week, I told you Id try to track down the governing board of SEMCA, the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance.

Known by yet another acronym  SEGA (the Southeast Governmental Alliance)  this body is unique in that it has some duly-elected officials, but none were elected to this role.

Which is to help dole out tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.

Those reps are County Commissioner Al Haidous (D-Wayne), Monroe County Administrator Michael Bosanac, Wayne County Economic Development Director Khalil Rahal, Dearborn Mayor John OReilly and Grosse Pointe Park City Manager Dale Krajniak.

This panel, in turn, ostensibly oversees a completely un-elected board of individuals who deliver the money.

Unfortunately, with so many cuts in the ranks of the working press, these panels go about their business under our noses, answerable to virtually no one.

Yet its our money.

Just like its our politics.

Sorry, Jeanette.

Craig Farrand is a former managing editor of The News-Herald Newspapers. He can be reached at c_farrand@yahoo.com.
The European Union is engaged in a two-front fight for its own survival. On the western side, the United Kingdom has voted to leave the EU, and Brussels and London are struggling to find a mutually beneficial basis for the future. To the east, the bloc has admonished the government of Poland, an EU member, for actions it deemed undemocratic. It is threatening to bar Poland from the EU decision-making process and to cut off funds that it gives Poland under its own formula. Once the Brexit vote was cast, confrontation was inevitable. But facing off with Poland, the largest country in Eastern Europe, at the same time as the Brexit negotiations was a choice  and on its face, a strange one. This oddity is compounded by the fact that Poland is not alone in facing Brussels ire. The charges made against Poland are similar to those made against Hungary, and there are similar rumblings in Brussels about the Czech Republic, although it has not matured into a full confrontation except over immigration. Put another way, a major western power is pulling away from the EU at the same time that the EU appears to be pushing away a substantial part of its membership in the east. Idiosyncrasies of Democracy On an abstract level, it would seem that the periphery of the European Union is pulling away from the center. And the center has quietly debated whether thats a good thing. There has been some talk in the central region of either creating a separate union consisting of Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, or creating a bloc within the existing bloc. The point would be for these countries to stop being responsible for countries not ready to operate at the centers level of performance. It would mean that southern Europe, with its economic problems, and Eastern Europe, with its distinctly different political culture, could go their own way. It would seem that this is what the EU is doing now, though if so, it is happening unconsciously. The European Union is not a nation-state; it operates by process. It struggles with flexibility, even when, as in the case of the Brexit talks, both parties need a deal. Similarly, participation in the bloc comes with conditions that limit what countries can do internally, and even if it is locked in painfully difficult negotiations with the U.K., the EU is prepared to challenge the eastern bloc, almost as though it were on autopilot. The EU has many problems, but perhaps the most interesting is this: It wants to be a unified entity, but the rules that create its process keep it from acting with geopolitical rationality. Brussels criticism of Poland is that it is behaving undemocratically. Last year, the government took steps to gain more control over television and radio outlets, and now it is discussing legislation that would place restrictions on foreign media. The epicenter of the storm, however, is Polands plans for judiciary reform that would give the government more control over supreme court judges and the courts in general. The counterargument from Poland is that its government was democratically elected. It did not hide its right-wing proclivities from the voters, but on the contrary, emphasized them. Everything it does now, it does with a democratic mandate. The same can be said of Hungary and the Czech Republic. So how can these countries be undemocratic? Incoming Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki gives a speech to present his program to lawmakers on Dec. 12, 2017, at the parliament in Warsaw. JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images

The countries that founded the European Union had very different institutional structures. The United Kingdom had no supreme court until 2009, and it still lacks a written constitution. For a good part of the 20th century, it had only government-funded and government-run radio and television and barred other entrants to the market, though it had a vibrant and large publishing industry. France had a law making it illegal to insult the president. Germany barred any political movement that was deemed Nazi. These are not bad laws in the least. They were variations not on democracy  which all three countries were  but on liberalism. Each built a liberal democracy based on its history, and it was understood that there can be variations on the theme of democracy. The one thing that could not vary is the right to national self-determination through free elections. When the EU was created, it was caught between two imperatives. One was to retain the right to national self-determination. The other was to harmonize the various members. Most of the harmonization that was accomplished was economic in nature, but the EU also pushed for political harmony. In practice, this meant limiting national self-determination to fit the standards of what was acceptable to the major members (with British oddities accepted but not recommended  Brussels expected written constitutions). But then the EU admitted members whose histories differed from their own. This was particularly the case with Poland and other Eastern European countries. Poland, for example, was the first country that Nazi Germany invaded, and it experienced horrors that few other European countries have. After German occupation came Soviet occupation. The countries of Eastern Europe lived through a long, dark night. East Germany did as well, and the politics of that region bear the scars. Acts of Disharmony When the Eastern Europeans finally broke free of the Soviet Union, they dreamed of becoming European, which in their minds meant joining the EU and NATO. They created governments that emulated the Western European governments. It was a period in which these countries searched for redemption, and they believed redemption meant putting their past behind them. They bought into the idea of the European as a species of human, rather than simply a member of one of several nations that had signed the same treaty. The Europeans wanted them to harmonize, and they badly wanted to harmonize. It has been almost 30 years since the Cold War ended. The generation that came to power in Eastern Europe and led their countries into the EU is mostly gone. The new generation in charge longs for the past. It is not always a pretty past, but then neither is Germanys or any other European countrys. But it is their past, and the era of obsessive harmonizing with Europe is over. What is clear about Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic is that their publics chose not to harmonize with Europe, in the same way and for the same reasons that the United Kingdom chose not to remain in the EU. The process of harmonization is based on a homogenized sense of what it is to be European.



Applied rigorously  on matters from nomenclature of cheeses, to how courts ought to be organized, to how many immigrants should be admitted  harmonization undermines national self-determination and national identity.



Given the variations that are normal among democracies, Eastern Europe would assert its own right to idiosyncrasy; no one should be surprised when Hungarians elect a government that could not be elected in Luxembourg, because Luxembourgs history is not the same as Hungarys. But in the land of harmony, an act of disharmony is a threat to the system. The European Union is following its process, but it is also trying to hold together something that is coming apart. It has tried to align national self-determination with harmonization, and it no longer works. It cant let go of harmonization or all that would be left is a free trade zone, and Europe would go back to being a continent and not a proto-state. As the situation becomes more threatening, the threats become shriller, but the threats are simply reflexive attempts to keep the periphery from flying off in all directions and taking the center with it. The periphery is coming apart. Whether those countries leave the EU, are pushed out or stay is of little consequence. The common experience of Eastern Europeans makes them unique. The experience of southern Europeans in the past 10 years makes them unique. Britain has never been anything but unique. And Germany is by far the most unique, the most unlike any other nation in Europe. What the EU doesnt want to face is that Europe is a continent of many unique nations and nothing more. The U.K. leaving and Poland being pushed out is not a strange geopolitical maneuver. It is simply part of an idea that could never have worked, and is not working.
The creator of Stripperella claims it's a shakedown.

Source: The Daily Mail

Stan Lee, 95, is accused of sexual abuse by a former nursing company. Young female nurses claim he demanded oral sex from them, groped them, and walked around naked. The nursing company caters to celebrities and high end clients and is now in a legal dispute with Lee.

The nurses were on rotation for Lee 24/7. Their duties included taking Lee's blood pressure, bringing him food and drink, and making sure he took his medication.

Lee's lawyer says that he 'categorically denies' the 'false and despicable' allegations and fully intends to clear his 'stellar good name' and suggested the allegations could be part of a shakedown. Lee is reportedly worth $50 million.

Lee's attorney Tom Lallas sent a cease and desist letter to the owner of the nursing firm on December 20. Lallas accuses one or more 'individuals' at the firm of having 'published' to others 'defamatory' claims that Lee has 'sexually harassed one or more of the Nurses who has provided Services at the Lee home.'

In a comment to the Daily Mail, Lallas said:

'Mr. Lee categorically denies these false and despicable allegations and he fully intends to fight to protect his stellar good name and impeccable character. 'We are not aware of anyone filing a civil action, or reporting these issues to the police, which for any genuine claim would be the more appropriate way for it to be handled. 'Instead, Mr. Lee has received demands to pay money and threats that if he does not do so, the accuser will go to the media. 'Mr Lee will not be extorted or blackmailed, and will pay no money to anyone because he has done absolutely nothing wrong.'

No lawsuit has been filed.
Southern Pines, NC (28387)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 64F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
As COVID-19 cases increase, hospitals handle the patient load

The vast majority of patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 have not been vaccinated. As cases increase, so area hospitalizations.
Culture

Another poignant twist: Sidharth and Shehnaaz were planning to marry in December?

"I spoke to Shehnaaz but she is not in a good state. She was just sitting at one place, staring blankly, saying nothing, lost in her own world. I went up to her, tried talking, but all she did was ask me to sit next to her," Jasleen Matharu said.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 6:51 am

Repair Cafes hit Clark County for the first time in 2017 and theyre set to return this year.

Funding is provided by the Washington State Department of Ecology's Public Participation Grant.

Last year, 40 skilled volunteers came together to use their expertise and knowledge to diagnose and fix a variety of items that generally fit into a few categories, such as small electronics and appliances, sewing, tool sharpening, bicycles as well as a catch-all category for items such as jewelry and broken ceramics.

The events were a hit. Volunteers served more than 400 community members and fixed over 220 items.

The cafe came together by a collaboration of eight different entities including city and county government departments, local nonprofits and businesses who wanted to bring the worldwide Repair Cafe movement to Clark County.

You can call your neighbor and get free labor; its the expertise, Mike Filbin, owner of Filbins Ace Hardware and part of the repair cafe sponsor committee, told The Reflector last year. These people all have some chosen expertise.

Filbin also said the events are a learning experience.

Its not just that you come in, dump your junk off and someone fixes it for you, its that you come in and sit across the table from someone who is volunteering their time and their talents to help you fix your stuff, he said.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:31 am

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee expressed a defiant attitude toward U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who announced on Thursday the rescinding of Obama-era guidelines that assisted the legalization of non-medical marijuana in Washington, seven other states and the District of Columbia.

Sessions announcement came via a memo to U.S. attorneys, in which he referenced the illegality of possessing and distributing marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. The attorney general suggested that such legislation confirms that marijuana is a dangerous drug.

The Ogden and Cole memoranda, eponymously authored in 2009 and 2012, respectively, set guidelines for federal authorities that essentially encouraged a hands-off approach to enforcing federal marijuana laws in states that had legalized the drug. Marijuana was legalized in Washington state by Initiative 502 in 2012.

In his memo, Sessions declared the memoranda to be rescinded, effectively immediately.

While the attorney general encouraged federal prosecutors to exercise their own discretion, Inslee said they would have to work in isolation, as he has no plans to use the resources of local law enforcement agencies in Washington.

Inslee, joined by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center and Rep. David Sawyer, D-Tacoma, voiced vehement opposition to Sessions announcement, calling out President Donald Trumps administration for going against what Inslee called progress. The group was gathered on Thursday in Olympia as part of the annual Associated Press session preview.

Its disappointing to see the administration want to go backwards, the governor said. The rest of the world wants to follow us.

While Inslee and Ferguson were hesitant to comment on potential legal action, the governor did not rule out the possibility of a lawsuit against the White House.

Rivers emphasized the bipartisan effort that has helped the marijuana industry flourish, and said that effort will continue, despite federal sentiment.

We have been extremely united, the senator said. We anticipate that we will maintain our system and program.

Sawyer noted that even in years of Republican control in the Washington Senate, there have been no efforts to repeal the initiative that established marijuanas legalization.

Rivers called the U.S. attorney generals position misguided, and claimed that Washington state has all but eliminated the black market for marijuana, while Sessions new federal guidelines could bring it back.

The senator from Southwest Washington also referenced economic interests, predicting that the marijuana industry could bring $750 million into the state by the end of the year.

While Washington states political leaders shared their disappointment with compatriots in Colorado, Alaska and Oregon, Ferguson made sure to point out that Sessions announcement was to be expected, and that Washington state legalized marijuana before the Cole memorandum was authored in 2013.

Inslee, Ferguson and governors in Alaska, Oregon and Colorado made several attempts throughout 2017 to meet with Sessions to discuss the Trump administrations position on marijuana, but the attorney general declined, writing back that Washington states regulatory structures were questionable.

A recurring theme in Inslees rhetoric was the power of Washington citizens, whose votes allowed for the legalization of marijuana in the first place. The governor hearkened to the history of citizen initiatives, and repeatedly opined that it was the citizens that could shape national discourse.

We should believe an uproar of public sentiment can change policy, Inslee said. We should have confidence in our ability to do this again.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:17 am

Newly-minted Woodland city councilors were not the only officials sworn in Jan. 2 as the citys new Community Development Director also took an oath on his first official day on the job.

Although a year ago Travis Goddard was in Othello in Eastern Washington, he is no stranger to Southwest Washington. The new addition to Woodlands staff spent 15 years in Clark County as the rural team leader for the county Community Development Department, focusing on the county area outside of Vancouvers urban growth boundary. He also had experience with the Environmental Services Department of the county that dissolved in 2016.

Goddard has community development experience in Juneau, Alaska, alongside Othello and most recently directed community development in Beaverton before making the move. The chance at working back in Washington came when word of the Woodland position reached Goddards wife, Donna, a fire inspector for Clark County, he said.

Initially he didnt plan on leaving the Beaverton job, though at this point in his career he saw an opportunity in Woodland given its size.

I like small jurisdictions because you have an opportunity to make more of a difference, Goddard said.

Goddard was on his third day of the job when he spoke to The Reflector Jan. 4, already hosting pre-application meetings with prospective developers. One of his first impressions of Woodland was on the breadth of activity going on in the city, from port developments to private construction of all types of land zoning types. That contrasted from Clark Countys more rural, residential work previously, though it was in line with Othellos type of development, he said.

Though the work might differ, a knowledge of the states Growth Management Act from time at the county will be an asset for Woodland, also a GMA-following jurisdiction, Mayor Will Finn said in an interview.

Finns statement on Goddards official addition to the citys staff was simple  super excited as he said in the interview. He elaborated what made him stand out which had a lot to do with his experience in the area.

Finn commented that Goddard has already left a good impression on him, recalling that for Woodland there wasnt anything unusual about its workings, but there was room for improvement  improvement Goddard said he has handled before.

Hearing that I feel extremely comfortable. Im pleased with the choice, and Im looking forward to getting a lot of work done with Mr. Goddard, Finn said.

Goddard will have to do more than make a good impression on the mayor to succeed as director, though he has a gameplan. One thing he wanted to focus on was efficiencies in the permitting process, reducing risk and increasing predictability for would-be developers.

People want to know that when they come in and apply for something that there is a predictable timeline and that they are going to get responses, as opposed to the never-ending loop of waiting for permits, Goddard said.

With the recent update of Woodlands own Comprehensive Growth Management Plan Goddard said his work would likely focus on getting parts of the citys code up to date with those changes.

Its easy to have the vision in the Comprehensive Plan laid out, but unless we have the code to make sure that we get that on a project-by-project basis nothing will come of it, Goddard said.

(With) our current code it might reflect the desires of the 1980s and the 1990s elected officials, Goddard added.

One trait Goddard feels will help him lead the Community Development Department in Woodland was an understanding of the customer service aspect of what developers are trying to accomplish, which leads to a balance Goddard needs between what is good for the community, i.e. the Comprehensive Plan, and what is good for the individual, the developer.

When you are writing code and creating policy, you are really thinking about the community as a whole, not necessarily the individual in that community, Goddard said, and then code is adopted, plans are adopted and an applicant actually comes in.

At that time my job is to serve the customer, the applicant, get them through the process and apply the standards, Goddard said. I dont change the rules while Im processing an application.  I look out after the individual while implementing what was already adopted on behalf of the community.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:26 am

The Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council (RTC) got a crash course in Oregons tolling plan at a meeting that also saw a possibility of a stance against the proposed fees die due to the lack of a motion.

The RTCs Jan. 2 meeting featured a presentation from Oregon Department of Transportation Value Pricing Feasibility Analysis Project Manager Judith Gray. The presentation followed the passing of HB 2017 in Oregon last year, a $5.3 billion comprehensive transportation package that included the ability for so-called value pricing on the sections of Interstate 5 and I-205 from the state line over the Columbia River to their eventual junction south of Portland, she explained.

Value pricing was a subset of overall tolling, Gray said, explaining that it was specifically designed to deal with congestion, whereas other tolling types might be for other purposes. Far before any implementation happens, however, a value pricing Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) has been established, a 25-member group with most spots filled by Oregon officials.

Clark County does have some representation, as Clark County Councilor Eileen Quiring, Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle and WSDOT Southwest Regional Administrator Kris Strickler sit on the committee (as well as the RTC board).

Gray presented where the process is at, with several types of tolling structures being examined as templates to start investigation on what would work. Apart from so-called bookends plans which implemented a proposed tolling policy across both interstates, combinations of different strategies on each interstate were also examined, varying on which interstates to toll and how; whether it be all lanes, one existing lane in both directions or additional lanes in both.

These are not proposals; I want to be clear. These really are concepts for evaluation, Gray said. They might be viable proposals that the PAC could recommend, but the purpose here is for us to learn about how they would work for the whole system.

The committee would be presenting preliminary findings during the Feb. 28 meeting of the PAC, the third of six meetings the group is planned to have. Before that, however, Clark County citizens will have a chance to get up to speed on the process at an open house Jan. 30 at the Vancouver Community Library.

Specific evaluation measures the committee was tasked with included traffic operations, travel time savings and delay broken down for freight and passenger, as well as diversion at least at a qualitative level, Gray said.

Oregon Department of Transportation Region One Manager (and RTC board member) Rian Windsheimer talked more specifically, saying the PAC will look at how travel times are impacted by the tolls as well as what it means to traffic diversion for putting in a certain kind of toll (one lane, all lanes, additional lanes).

This is the kind of information that when folks talk about they either love it or they hate it, Windsheimer said. It would be great to know how it performs and what kind of tradeoffs are there to talk about, really, before we start trying to pretend that we know the answer to exactly how we are going to do this.

RTC and Washougal City Councilor Paul Greenlee asked about the possibility of other corridors, specifically the Sunset Highway, U.S. Route 26. Gray responded by saying that although consultants have suggested a more system-wide approach can improve effectiveness, it would be a policy decision outside of her role.

RTC Councilor and Clark County Council Chair Marc Boldt asked about outreach measures, as well as what the upcoming open house would entail.

At this stage, its really describing to folks what the process is, what kinds of things we are going to be considering, Windsheimer said, adding that knowing specifically how the different pathways would perform wouldnt be available until the committees February meeting.

This is our initial outreach. Yes, we are going to have to have more engagement once that information is available, Windsheimer said.

For the open house the focus will be on the current effects of congestion as well as concerns or promising aspects of value pricing.

Following the presentation, the council also failed to take a stance regarding tolling as the body failed to move on a tabled action item. Previously, former RTC board member Jerry Oliver had pushed for the council to take a stance against what many see as taxing Washingtonians for Oregons transportation system, though following the Dec. 7 meeting that item got tabled with lack of time for information as the reason.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:28 am

Authorities have found and arrested one of the two men who allegedly burglarized and set fire to the home of Hockinson residents Jamon and Chyra Holmgren on Christmas Eve while they were at church.

Around 3 a.m. Jan. 5, officers from the Clark County Sheriff's Office, the Vancouver Police Department, the Portland Police Bureau, and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Joshua Rolands as he was entering the Embassy Suites on Airport Way in Portland.

Clark County Sheriff's Office officials said they believe the remaining fugitive to be armed and dangerous.

The Holmgrens captured extensive footage on their home security system of the two men who, after casing the house earlier on the day, had broke in and stole all of their electronics (a drone, tablets, computers, a phone) and some jewelry before setting the house on fire.

Fire damaged the stairs and part of the upstairs, and there was extensive smoke damage throughout the house.

The two men had set the house on fire using the Holmgrens lawn mower gas can, which they left at the entrance of the house.

Along with the security footage, officials found blood from one of the thieves after he injured himself trying to start an old chain saw.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:43 am

Mike Dalesandro was named mayor of Battle Ground last week at the beginning of the citys first council meeting of the year.

Dalesandro, who was elected to the council in 2013, replaces Philip Johnson, who served as mayor for one term of two years.

The mayor of Battle Ground is chosen from the council, by the council, biennially and can serve up to two terms. As mayor, Dalesandro will be the face of Battle Ground at various social gatherings around the city and will fill the role of presiding officer at city council meetings. His vote and authority remains equal to that of a councilor.

Dalesandro said being selected by his fellow councilors is humbling and an honor.

As the face of the city, the Battle Ground resident since 2005 hopes to be a positive connection between the city and its residents and to help foster a culture that accepts growth and increased diversity as a good thing.

One thing about Battle Ground that has always  since I moved here  stuck with me is the heart of the community, he said. Its a very caring community. A lot of people are very involved in a lot of different things.

Dalesandro is a supply chain analyst for Boise Paper in Vancouver. For 2018, He will sit on two boards in Clark County  Columbia River Economic Development Council and Urban Policy, as well as an alternate for C-TRAN and the Regional Transportation Council.

Johnson described his time as mayor as a wonderful time and joked that he got paroled after two years of almost good behavior.

Everything seemed to work out for me and work out for the city, he said. I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

Dalesandro was reelected to the council in November along with Brian Munson, Adrian Cortes and Cherish DesRochers. All four, who ran unopposed, were sworn in last week and at one point or another have served on the Battle Ground Planning Commission.

Munson has served on the council since last July 2016, when he was appointed to fill Lyle Lambs seat, who moved away to pursue a business opportunity.

After starting as a pro tem council member in summer 2016 when the late Bill Ganleys health declined, DesRochers was confirmed as a city councilor in early 2017 to fill Ganleys seat.

This will be Cortes second stint on the council, after serving from 2012-2015.
Posted Tuesday, January 9, 2018 7:29 am

Even with a shift in power in the Washington state Senate, Sen. Ann Rivers is cautiously optimistic about how the now-started legislative session for 2018 will go.

Rivers, R-La Center, sat down with The Reflector Jan. 3 in an hour-long interview covering that power shift, differences between legislative chambers, her distracted driving bill that passed last year, as well as some of what makes the job both hard and rewarding.

The shift in senatorial control came as a result of the passing of Andy Hill, a Republican senator for the 45th Legislative District, in November 2016. That led to a special election on Nov. 7 of 2017 where Manka Dhingra, a Democrat, won Hills old seat.

Rivers was aware of a possible shift with the passing of Hill, she said, and resolved to focus on her relationships, working with anyone regardless of party to get things done. Those relationships were helped out by the different dynamic the Senate has over the House, where the two-year turnover in the lower chamber inhibits the sort of relationship-building that has become integral to Rivers time in the Senate.

As an example of those types of relationships, Rivers mentioned her counterpart to the south, Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver. During Rivers time as chair of the Senate Health Care Committee last year she managed to make an impression on the fellow lawmaker  Rivers remarked how following the special election Cleveland had contacted Rivers, saying that she wished to be the same kind of chair Rivers was in 2017.

For 2018 their roles are essentially switched, with Rivers as a ranking member of the committee  what Cleveland was when the other lawmaker was chairing the committee last year.

Rivers is hopeful that the gains the majority caucus had in its five years of control will not be washed away by the sea change in the Senate. One of those policies, having a four-year balanced budget outlook as opposed to only visiting it every other year for the official vote of approval, Rivers addressed.

Thats I believe part of what has created so much stability in our state, Rivers said.

Rivers touched on how oftentimes the most contentious issues can distract from the numerous unanimous or near-unanimous votes that happen during sessions.

We agree on so much more than what we disagree on, Rivers said, but, the stuff that we disagree on is the stuff that bleeds.

She also remarked how in some cases it isnt party lines stopping the show, its the divisions between chambers causing an issue. An example was a bill Rivers sponsored looking at state park maintenance which sailed through the Senate but was completely ignored by the House.

Prior to her seat on the Senate, Rivers herself was a House Representative. Regarding different dynamics she said the Senate is more deliberative, having a full roll call for every single vote, she said. That has led to some scrambling on the Senate floor as lawmakers consult with others on why they made their vote during the roll call.

The deliberation isnt only on the floor, as Rivers talked about sleepless nights agonizing over upcoming votes. She said she has made a point to answer constituent emails regardless of the time, reasoning that if an issue is pressing enough for someone to ask for her input in the odd hours of the night, its something troubling them greatly and needs her to address it.

One of my mentors who was a former legislator once said that you will be amazed how you carry the people of this district in your heart in the decisions that you make, Rivers said. If you dont ever feel that pain, she said then you need to stop being a legislator because now you are just making decisions based on what you want instead of what your constituency needs.

Rivers said she keeps a log of every single constituent  their name, location, when they reached out to her, what she and her team needed to do to solve their issues. It makes for an interesting situation when a constituent supposedly calls her out on not responding, though often its a misunderstanding  I get confused for Annette Cleveland all the time she quipped.

The case work side of the Legislature is the aspect Rivers prefers most about being a lawmaker in Olympia. As to what was her favorite part about the job, it was when you solve a problem for someone that they say could never be solved, she said. She gave an example of an impoverished homeowner widow in Ridgefield on Social Security who after nearby development had their basement flooded, leaving it with black mold.

While she owned her home outright, she couldnt afford to make the tax payment, Rivers remarked.

When a local attorney took up the case for all the landowners, the settlement was only for matching funds, with the homeowner constituent getting almost nothing compared to the full settlement as she was unable to put up more than $300.

Rivers was able to get the constituent a settlement that they could actually use, while also assuring that other developers wouldnt try to get in on the money. Case work like that, solving the apparent impossible, made the work worth it.

For me, that was like such an amazing, amazing thing, Rivers remarked. Its really about helping my constituency with their government.

Distracted driving bill

One of Sen. Ann Rivers most notable achievements last year was the passage of a bill allowing stricter enforcement for distracted driving. Going into effect in July, initially the provision to not implement the new law until Jan. 1 was vetoed by Gov. Jay Inslee. Following public backlash (and a healthy dose of misinformation in the public, according to Rivers) the state did not begin fully enforcing the law until Jan. 1, which is what the ironically canned provision would have done in the first place.

Rivers said she had recently sat down with the states Traffic Safety Commission to go over the laws effect. Statistics from Washington State Patrol Troopers showed a 27 percent drop in distracted driving in the three weeks after the bill came out.

But then they noticed it started to creep up again, and in December it was back up to prior to  before the bill passed, Rivers said.

She was spurred into sponsoring the bill by family after family coming to her office regarding a near miss or an actual death resulting from distracted driving. Testimony from law enforcement also reinforced her decision to run the bill, with egregious cases of completely unaware drivers swerving wildly on the interstate and in one case hitting a pedestrian before driving four blocks and coming to a stop.

Make no mistake about it, this is a cultural shift, Rivers said, remarking that she anticipated similar statistics to when the state passed its seat belt law.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, with mainly clear skies after midnight. Low 23C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, with mainly clear skies after midnight. Low 15C. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%.
Footballs back in the Bear Den After postponing the start of their season by two weeks, Bears head coach Eric Parker got the call Monday morning that no coach wants to hear: Hancock Central would not be travelling to the Bear Den this Friday due to team-related COVID issues. Hoping to avoid missing three games in...

Spartans host RTCA Friday at 7:30 Edmund Burkes Spartans (0-2) may have lost the game last week, but they managed to hold the three in a row AA defending state champions to 10 points. Our kids played really hard and did not worry about winning the game; they just went out and played the game, said...

Lady Spartans drop three The Lady Spartans were hit hard by illness last week and also by their opponents. They dropped three games, two to Bethlehem Christian and one to David Emanuel. A strength turned into a weakness as the ladies were strong in the pitching numbers for the year, but three pitchers were...

Mobley, Norton win Rotary tourney Carter Mobley, left, and Noah Norton, right, were the winners of the 29th Annual Rotary Golf Tournament at Waynesboro Country Club held over the weekend. Clifford Lewis, center, tournament chairman, presented the awards. The tourney is a 36-hole, two-man Lauderdale format. Mobley and Norton shot a two-day total of 112...
TheCollections Officer is responsible for managing and undertaking a collectionsprocess for debts that have been allocated to him/her. He/she will utilise bestpractice processes and techniques, as well as information at hand, topositively influence debtors to maximise payment of debt over the shortestperiod of time. The Collections Officeris the front face of the business therefore it is important to communicatecourteously with debtors by telephone, letter, and email or by text. It isimportant to build a positive relationship as well as investigate, respond to,and progress issues and queries to a successful conclusion at the earliesttime. The Collection Officer needs to display a positive attitude and a teamethos and work effectively under pressure and handle conflict situations whilstremaining professional at all times. The Collection Officer also needs to beenquiring and recognise the importance of best collections practice andprocedures, as well as have a strong focus on achieving collection of debt in aproficient and effective manner.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in credited US President Donald Trump on Wednesday for helping to spark the first inter-Korean talks in more than two years, and warned that Pyongyang would face stronger sanctions if provocations continued.

The talks were held on Tuesday on the South Korean side of the demilitarised zone, which has divided the two Koreas since 1953, after a prolonged period of tension on the Korean peninsula over the Norths missile and nuclear programmes.

North Korea ramped up its missile launches last year and also conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, resulting in some of the strongest international sanctions yet.

Read more: Seoul, Pyongyang hold formal talks after two years

The latest sanctions sought to drastically cut the Norths access to refined petroleum imports and earnings from workers abroad. Pyongyang called the steps an act of war.

Seoul and Pyongyang agreed at the talks on January 9, the first since December 2015, to resolve all problems between them through dialogue and also to revive military consultations so that accidental conflict could be averted.

I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks, I want to show my gratitude, Moon told reporters at his New Years news conference. It could be a resulting work of the US-led sanctions and pressure.

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged threats and insults over the past year, raising fears of a new war on the peninsula. South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with the North after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.



Basic stance

Washington had raised concerns that the overtures by North Korea could drive a wedge between it and Seoul, but Moon said his government did not differ with the United States over how to respond to the threats posed by Pyongyang.

This initial round of talks is for the improvement of relations between North and South Korea. Our task going forward is to draw North Korea to talks aimed at the denuclearisation of the North, Moon said. (Its) our basic stance that will never be given up.

Moon said he was open to meeting North Koreas leader at any time to improve bilateral ties, and if the conditions were right and certain achievements are guaranteed.

The purpose of it shouldnt be talks for the sake of talks, he said.

However, Pyongyang said it would not discuss its nuclear weapons with Seoul because they were only aimed at the United States, not its brethren in South Korea, nor Russia or China, showing that a diplomatic breakthrough remained far off.

North Koreas Rodong Sinmun newspaper said all problems would be resolved through efforts by the Korean people alone.

If the North and South abandon external forces and cooperate together, we will be able to fully solve all problems to match our peoples needs and our joint prosperity, it said.

Washington still welcomed the talks on January 9 as a first step towards solving the North Korean nuclear crisis. The US State Department said it would be interested in joining future talks, with the aim of denuclearising the North.

The United States, which still has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, initially responded coolly to the idea of inter-Korean meetings. Trump later called them a good thing and said he would be willing to speak to Kim.

Lee Woo-young, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said it was wise of Moon to praise Trump, his sanctions and pressure campaign.

By doing that, he can help the US build logic for moving toward negotiations and turning around the state of affairs in the future, so when they were ready to talk to the North, they can say the North came out of isolation because the sanctions were effective.

The United States and Canada are set to host a conference of about 20 foreign ministers on Jan. 16 in Vancouver to discuss North Korea, without the participation of China, Pyongyangs sole major ally and biggest trade partner.

China would not attend the meeting and is resolutely opposed to it, said foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

It will only create divisions within the international community and harm joint efforts to appropriately resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue, he told a regular briefing on Wednesday.



Large Olympic delegation

Pyongyang also said it would send a large delegation to next months Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Washington agreed with Seoul last week to postpone until after the Olympics joint military exercises that Pyongyang denounces as rehearsals for invasion. But it also said the apparent North-South thaw had not altered the US intelligence assessment of the Norths weapons programmes.

The United States has also warned that all options, including military, are on the table in dealing with the North.

We cannot say talks are the sole answer, Moon said. If North Korea engages in provocations again or does not show sincerity in resolving this issue, the international community will continue applying strong pressure and sanctions.

Seoul said on January 9 it was prepared to offer financial assistance and lift some unilateral sanctions temporarily so North Koreans could attend the Olympics. North Korea said its delegation would include athletes and officials, among others.

However, Moon said on Wednesday South Korea had no plans for now to ease unilateral sanctions against North Korea, or revive economic exchanges that could run foul of United Nations sanctions.

Moon also said his government would continue working towards recovering the honour and dignity of former comfort women, a euphemism for those forced to work in Japans wartime brothels.

Read more: South Korea's President Moon meets former 'comfort women'

But historical issues should be separated from bilateral efforts with Japan to safeguard peace on the Korean peninsula, he added.

Its very important we keep a good relationship with Japan, Moon said.

On January 9, South Korea said it would not seek to renegotiate a 2015 deal with Japan despite determining that the pact was insufficient to resolve the divisive issue, and urged Japan for more action to help the women.



 Reuters
The FTSE 100 finished at another record high, helped by a surge in supermarket shares.

Beating the previous high of 7724.2 set on Friday, the index crept up 34.51 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 7731.02 after industry data from Kantar Worldpanel revealed shoppers had spent an additional 1billion in supermarkets compared to the same festive period in 2016.

The FTSE 250 finished up 0.09 per cent, or 18.39 points, to 20,874.95.

The upbeat data from Kantar, which also revealed that December 22 had been the busiest shopping day ever recorded, boosted grocers across the board.

Morrisons rose 2.4 per cent, or 5.4p, to 232.3p, Sainsbury's jumped 3.1 per cent, or 7.4p, to 248.4p and Tesco increased 0.1 per cent, or 0.1p, to 214.4p. Marks & Spencer finished up 2.4 per cent, or 7.5p, at 318.3p.

FTSE record: Beating the previous high of 7,724.2 set on Friday, the blue chip index crept up 34.5 points, or 0.5 per cent to 7,731.02

Roofing supplier SIG tumbled on revealing it would be undertaking a 'rigorous review' of its accounts after identifying a historical overstatement of cash.

The firm's management team discovered window dressing in the company's previous accounting processes, which made the balance sheet look better.

It said the overstatement of cash amounted to about 20million as of December 2016 and about 27million at the end of June 2017, sending shares down 5 per cent, or 8.7p, to 164.5p as a result.

It came despite the Sheffield-based company, which supplies insulation, energy management and roofing products, posting a 7.5 per cent rise in group sales to 2.8billion in 2017. UK sales were up 2.1 per cent.

The company has been battling to recover from weak trading in its UK insulation, interiors and off site construction business, and hired Meinie Oldersma as chief executive in March to help turn around its European arm.

STOCK WATCH - TASTY Shares in restaurant owner Tasty dropped 3.2 per cent, or 1p, to 30p after it admitted it expects the industry to deteriorate further this year. The firm, which owns Wildwood and Dim T restaurants, said that while trading last year had been in line with its targets, it is braced for a challenging 2018. It closed four under-performing sites last year and expects to close two more in the coming months. Tasty also announced its finance director Timothy Cundy would be leaving.

Peel Hunt said: 'The European businesses have performed a bit better and the UK activities a bit worse, partly because of the weather. The only disappointment is that the debt position is 20million-30million worse than expected.'

Financial services company Just Group was the biggest casualty on the FTSE 350, after its largest shareholder  private equity firm Permira  sold 78.5million worth of shares.

The sale, of 50m shares at 157p each, represents around 5.3 per cent of the capital.

It is understood Permira had always intended to sell-down its stake after Just Retirement and Partnership completed their 1.4billion merger in 2016.

Permira will still remain the largest investor in Just Group, holding about 17.7 per cent of shares. But news of the sale sent Just's shares down 7.5 per cent, or 12.5p, to 155.2p.

Construction services firm Carillion slumped after admitting it was clueless as to why its share price had surged earlier this week.

The firm, which saw its shares jump more than 23 per cent on Monday, said it was 'not aware of any material developments that supported the share price increase.'

Investors had hoped for a turnaround amid rumours the HS2 contractor is holding crunch talks with banks and the Government over a potential refinancing deal this week.

But the pessimistic clarification sent shares tumbling 12.7 per cent, or 3.02p, to 20.85p.

Out-of-hospital services provider Totally soared higher after securing a contract to provide GP services to prisons in South Staffordshire.

The deal, secured through its subsidiary Vocare, which it acquired for 11million last year, is expected to generate around 3million a year.

It will initially run for 12 months, with an option to extend the contract for a further 12 months.

The announcement came as Totally revealed it had raised 18million to expand its 'buy and build strategy' in the UK healthcare market. The upbeat update sent shares up 10.5 per cent, or 4p, to 42p.
Is my car safe with E10 petrol, what should I do if I accidentally fill up with it and will bills rise? E10 petrol has become the 'standard' type of unleaded being sold at forecourts
Menswear group Moss Bros saw its share price drop by 22 per cent earlier this morning, after dampening its profit forecast following disappointing Christmas sales.

The London-based group said its like-for-like sales for the 23 weeks to 6 January were down 1.1 per cent, with a 'significant reduction' in store footfall.

Predicting challenging retail conditions will continue for the 'foreseeable future', the group cut its annual profit forecast to between 6.5million and 6.8million.

Diving: Menswear group Moss Bros saw its share price drop by 22 per cent earlier this morning

Total sales over the period increased by 1.1 per cent, while like-for-like store sales in December fell by 8 per cent.

Online sales increased by 12.3 per cent compared to a year earlier, while gross margins decreased by 3 per cent.

Hire sales, which account for 10 per cent of the group's operations, dropped by 3.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

Having fallen by around 22 per cent earlier this morning, Moss Bro's share price is down 16.67 per cent to 75p.

In its trading update, the group said it was continuing to make progress 'against a backdrop of weaker consumer demand and increasing cost headwinds.'

Brian Brick, the company's chief executive, said: 'Having made considerable progress in building a strong, profitable, cash-generative menswear business which has outperformed the market in recent years and despite continued progress throughout much of 2017, we faced a very tough December trading environment, which led to a significant reduction in store footfall and a hardening of the corresponding competitive environment in which we operate.

Tough: Chief executive, Brian Brick, pictured, said the group faced 'tough' conditions

Share price slips: Moss Bro's share price is down 16.67 per cent to 75p

'This, coupled with strong cost headwinds and a desire to protect margins, led to a disappointing year end short fall to sales and subsequently to our anticipated profits for the full year.

'This is all the more frustrating given that we have continued to make progress with LFL retail and online sales and with our Hire proposition.'

Over the last year, Moss Bros closed four 'marginal' stores and opened five new ones, bringing its total number of shops to 128.

Mr Brick said the group planned to use the 'weaker' trading environment as an opportunity to boost its brand and plough ahead with investments.

Surprising: Retail analyst Nick Bubb said the Moss Bros profit warning was a 'surprise'

'We are confident of our ability to deliver enhanced returns to our shareholders', the company said.

Retail analyst Nick Bubb said the Moss Bros profit warning was a 'surprise' as the business had been performing reasonably well.

Moss Bros is reliant on its customers coming into its shops as men are reluctant to buy suits online, Mr Bubb said.

Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, said: 'This profit warning highlights the continued challenge for apparel retailers who are battling against an acceleration in structural changes sweeping through the sector.

'Burdened with too many stores, inflexible leases and spiralling operating costs, the shift towards online spending is putting profit margins under intense pressure.'
MBABANE  Changing the face of King Mswati III International Airport is on course as approximately E130 million (US$100 million) has been secured for pre-construction processes to commence.

This was disclosed by Director for Swazi based Pearl of the South Mfunwa Lukhele yesterday. He said all correspondence and relevant approval had been received giving the processing of the E130 million into the kingdom for commencement of what he termed groundwork. Lukhele said by February, they expected the funds to have been deposited into the country, for collation of documents that include, but not limited to, feasibility and environmental studies that would lay the groundwork and give direction how the project ought to be rolled out. The project is going ahead. I may not be certain as to how much will be sent through for now but we had budgeted about E130 million (US$100 million) for groundwork, said Lukhele.

The amount to be released for the groundwork, is part of the mega-project where E52 billion could be invested towards construction of the Swazi City. The multibillion projects, where over 3000 jobs could be created soon after Environmental Impact Assessment EIA approval, could be constructed courtesy of an international joint venture group involving Sellbridge International, a UK organisation run by African born philanthropist TM Hart-Jones and Pearl of the South (Shaking the Tree Foundation). Pearl of the South Managing Director Tim Smith previously said the three major projects would include the creation of a Trade Free Zone with a five star hotel and casino a world class concert arena (with plans to bring in top booking artists and world class entertainers in all areas of music), a bonded warehouse, an international mineral bank, a sovereign finance and banking district including offshore banking and possibly a stock exchange also a manufacturing zone, to bring in foreign entrepreneurs to manufacture their goods in Swaziland.

The funding could also include plans to assist Swaziland to develop a new Green Smart Town / City in the region, with all services and transport infrastructure. The project could also extend to include a totally funded 400MW power station powered by Swaziland Anthracite in two ways, near to the Mpaka area with the budget to open a fully functional coal mining operation. Smith disclosed that they recently had meetings with highly placed officials to advance the planned Sikhuphe Airport infrastructure development project. Smith said Sellbridge and Pearl of South had aligned themselves accordingly with Dene Tribes and Sovereign Bank of Dene for the Swaziland mega projects, representing Global Indigenous communities on the expansion of self-sustainability and Green infrastructure as well as a bio-friendly formatted zero-waste smart City development at a macro-economic level. He explained that Dene Tribes and Sellbridge Ltd/Pearl of South had arranged a strategic technological partnership with GHBH - Global Human Benefit Holdings of Hong Kong as a part of the World Help - Africa initiative.
MBABANE  All in the name of faith, ACASWAs over 100 gospel artists will go for 21 days without food.

Artists under the Association of Christian Artists in Swaziland (ACASWA) will come together for a fasting and prayer service. The association led by Mzwakhe Myeni is planning for artists all night prayer to be held in Manzini. The venue and the logistics of the prayer service will be finalised during the associations executive meeting scheduled for this evening. The artists will first undergo 21-days of fasting before coming together to pray. The plan is to host the prayer service on February 9 but this will only depend on the availability of the members who are yet to be informed. The association wants artists to come together and pray as the year begins.

Plans

ACASWA also wants to ask God to assist the association as it continues with its yearly plans. ACASWA is also planning to engage Apostle Justice Dlamini of the Mbabane Worship Centre as they want him to partner with them. Mzwakhe Myeni, ACASWA president confirmed that his executive was planning to host a prayer service. The year has just started and we need to pray together as artists. As artists, there are things we need to accomplish this year and the only way to do so, it is to come together and pray, he said. Myeni said after their meeting this evening, they would inform artists when the fasting will start.

Fasting

We have to seek Gods face through fasting. We have to fast for at least 21 days as we pray and ask God to be with us throughout the year, he said. The president mentioned that the executive committee had a number of plans this year which will also be included on the prayer items. We have plans which include hosting shows and workshops throughout the year. All we need as an executive is for the artists to work hard with us, he said.

Members

Among other artists who are members of ACASWA are Frans Dlamini, Shongwe and Khuphuka, Nduduzo Matse, Come to Jesus, Mduduzi Nezinceku Zamagawugawu, Apostle Vusi Maculuve, Thabile Myeni, Gcina Masuku and Shiba and Travellers.
In 2017 levels of high fatality violence in Africa were significantly lower than during the immediate post-Cold War period.

This trend has occurred in spite of the recent increases in terrorist associated fatalities in key countries such as Nigeria and Somalia. Even terrorist fatalities have declined since 2015. But the continent is still witnessing an increase in social turbulence, unrest and protests. This is being driven by development, urbanisation and modernisation, all of which are inevitably disruptive. Development has been driven by the fact that, since 1994, Africa has experienced the longest sustained period of growth since decolonialisation in the 60s. The other major factor driving unrest is the fact that democracy is expanding on the continent. Pressure is mounting on autocracies. We, therefore, shouldnt be surprised by widespread violence in countries ranging from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Burundi and Uganda. And in countries run by small elites or a family  such as Gabon, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. In the long-term only rapid, inclusive economic growth combined with good governance can make Africa less volatile.

At current population growth Africa needs average economic growth rates in excess of seven per cent per year for several decades if its to reduce poverty and increase average levels of income. This is unlikely. Current forecasts estimate average rates of growth of around half of that. Perhaps more importantly, Africa needs to find ways of reaping its demographic dividend  that is decreasing the number of dependants, mostly children, compared to persons of working age (15 to 65 years of age). Traditionally this is best achieved through improvements in female education, but the provision of water, sanitation and access to contraceptives can play a huge role. Africa also needs to place employment in formal sector at the centre of government policy. This, in turn, requires diversification of African economies as well as much higher levels of foreign investment and engagement. When it comes to investment and development aid the Institute for Security Studies found that middle income countries are making progress in attracting foreign direct investment, but poor countries remain aid dependent. Although aid is going out of fashion in favour of measures to involve the private sector, it will remain important for low income countries. It allows governments to deliver services such as water, sanitation and education more than they would otherwise be able to do. These investments in human capital development will deliver large benefits and will have long-term positive effects.

Another area of focus should be on supporting the rule of law and the delivery of effective taxation systems. Basics such as national identity systems, effective border control and functioning criminal justice systems are often absent. Many people across a wide range of countries on the continent are stepping up their demands for more democracy. Despite many setbacks, democratisation continues to advance year on year. Doing these two things simultaneously  building government capacity and responding to demands for democracy  is difficult. Marginalisation, a lack of voice, a lack of accountability often lies at the heart of instability in a continent that has experienced autocracy and bad governance for decades. Regional organisations such as the Southern African Development Community and the Central African Economic Monetary Community need to take accountable governance seriously. Unless this happens, theres a real danger that the draw of extremist groups will escalate.

Accountable governance should also extend to the security sector where reform is perhaps the single most important component in countering violent extremism. The continents military, policy, gendarme and intelligence systems are generally not held to account, they act with impunity and are often the source of many problems. Instead of protecting and serving they kill, loot and rape. Both the ISS and the UNDP have concluded that action by security forces  such as the killing or arrest of a family member  often serves as the tipping point that triggers the final decision to join an extremist group. African countries need to intensify their efforts towards a rules based world, including reform of the UN Security Council, which sits at the apex of global security governance. But the continent needs to stop hiding behind the Ezulwini consensus  this is the common position taken by African countries on UN reform that advocates for two permanent seats with veto rights and five non-permanent seats for Africa - and start thinking outside the box. Real reform is possible, but it would require a different approach, including ending the system of veto and permanent seats.
On December 24, 2017, one of the dailies in the country ran a story about how the Minister of Information, Communication and Technology, Dumisani Ndlangamandla,, demanded an apology from the Vice President of MTN International for his remarks that he (the minister) erroneously construed to incite war.

The article cited a verbatim quote by the VP that read there are battle that (sic) we fight in the open and others that we fight in the gallery. This was a response to a question posed by a reporter about the fairness of being deemed by the regulator as a dominant operator as MTN. As I continued reading the article, I had my eyes wide opened, looking for the part where the VP supposedly declared or incited war; to no avail. Thats when it dawned on me that the minister had taken the statement made by the VP to literally mean that MTN will draw its dagger and head to the battlefield. I was shell shocked by the dismal interpretation of the scenario by the minister. As a minister whose portfolio is centred on communication, surely he should know a thing or two about figures of speech. He should know about metaphors and similes. The VP was not talking about taking arms and shedding blood. For crying out loud, where is the arsenal that habours MTNs weapons. He was merely talking about MTNs modus operandi in advancing its interests as it deals with different stakeholders in its business.

But maybe I am expecting too much from the minister who has, on several occasions, made serious public relation slip-ups. He once ignored all diplomatic codes and came down on Americans in an event where he was giving a speech. It boggles ones mind why, on that day, he chose to play on the minister of Foreign Affairs turf. Even the prime minister had to distance government from his misconceived utterances and duly apologised to the Americans. This time around he has demanded an apology and a retraction from MTN for the remarks made by the VP which he claims are not in keeping with our values as Swazis. As far as I know, siSwati like any other language makes use of metaphors. For instance, we have all heard the silwa nebuphuya narrative. In addition to that, there have been several instances where the local media has used war references when reporting about the rivalry between players in the ICT sector. Why didnt the minister reprimand those reporters then? If he had a problem with the word battle as indicated in the article, he should have consulted independent linguists to put the word into context.

MTN has invested a lot of resources in the country and is a key contributor to our socio-economic landscape. As such, it deserves a little bit more deference from our people, more-so from our leaders. Such indiscretion in dealing with investors of MTNs caliber can spook potential investors and send them to countries where they will not be treated in such a disdainful manner. From where I stand, it is the minister who ought to apologise to both Swazi MTN and MTN International for his misguided approach in dealing with this matter.




MBABANE  Cabinet has every reason to dance on the tables following the validation of its decision to introduce strictly Christianty education in schools.

This is because the maiden class of the compulsory Religious Education (RE), which sat for the Junior Certificate (JC) Examinations, passed the subject with flying colours at 80.38 per cent. The class of 2017 only started learning the new curriculum during the second term of last year as there was still a shortage of textbooks and teachers, but this did not stop the pupils from passing. A total of 17 294 pupils sat for what is now a compulsory subject and of these, 13 901 passed. This translates to 80.38 per cent. However, 3 393 of the pupils failed the subject which makes a total of 19.62 per cent.

The 2017 performance is an improvement from the 2016 Religious Education results where various other religions were taught. At that point, the subject was not compulsory. The 2016 statistics show that only 5 253 candidates sat for the RE examination as it was not compulsory then and of those a total of 4 094 passed which translated to a 77.94 percentage as 1 159 failed. The move to teach strictly Christian religion in Swazi schools was announced by the Prime Minister, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini in December 2016 and it became known as the Kholwane Declaration as the decision was made at an area known as Kholwane. The schools opened last January for the new academic year under the new government orders to teach only Christianity, a move which was criticised by opponents as fuelling intolerance of Muslims and other religions that are practised in the country. Others who were against the implementation of Christianity education were Members of Parliament who, during the budget debate worked as late as 12:15am to ensure that the E20 million which had been allocated for the new syllabus was not passed.

Tempers flared as the MPs, who were against the implementation of the programme, insisted that government was not ready to roll out the programme while others, including the Minister of Education and Training, Phineas Magagula, insisted that government was more than ready. The portfolio committee of the ministry, which was chaired by Hosea MP Thulani Masuku, had initially recommended that the E20 million be sent back to the Consolidated Fund as government was not ready to roll-out the programme, however, the vote that eventually won was that the money be released immediately so that the ministry could start working. Manzini North MP Jan Sithole wondered why government was saying that it was ready to implement the programme, particularly because the ministry had said it had 840 schools and so far only had 50 teachers for the subject. He further highlighted that the textbooks were still being printed and mentioned that even the Examination Council of Swaziland had said it was not ready to set up the exams for the subject.You cannot start implementing a subject to be examined at the end of the year during the first term holidays, which is why I am saying that the state of readiness is highly questionable, said Sithole.
MBABANE  When people raise a concern, they do so with the hope of getting a solution.

For parents of pupils from Sikanye Secondary School, the bad performance in the Junior Certificate (JC) Examination has been caused by the Ministry of Education and Training, which did not take action when they raised certain concerns. The parents have argued that the ministry was to blame in that it did not do much when they raised an issue of improper conduct of some of the teachers. In 2015, parents marched to the Ministry of Education and Training, where they had an audience with the Minister, Phineas Magugula, to the effect that most of the teachers consumed alcohol excessively and frequently abandoned classes. In the 2017 JC results, the school was listed among the 20 worst performing ones and was placed at number 244 out of 260. Out of 23 pupils who sat for the JC examination, none of them obtained Merit passes while only one got a First Class pass. Eight pupils obtained Second Class passes while three got Third Class passes. Eleven of the pupils were recorded as having failed the examination and the schools overall performance was rated at 47.83 per cent.

In 2016, the school also had the same number of failures, 12 Second Class passes with no Merit and First Class passes. Moses Dlamini, one of the parents who spoke to this reporter, said they were not shocked that the results had not improved, as some of the teachers whom they reported for loving the waters of immortality were still at the school. We went to the ministry and sat down with the minister himself and his inspectors. We told him that the teachers consumed a lot of alcohol, especially during the marula season. At times, the pupils saw them dancing half-naked outside their houses, alleged Dlamini. He stated that after the meeting with the minister, he gave assurance that something would be done. We even had a meeting with the teachers themselves but only a few showed up. Right now, we want the ministry to tell us what we must do next. What is the purpose of having the school when things are going on like this? he asked. Dlamini stated that the ministry sent inspectors to the school but nothing happened afterwards and that all the misbehaving teachers were still at the school.

Called for comment, the minister of Education and Training, advised the parents to write down their concerns and submit them to the office of the regional education officer (REO). I am yet to check my records regarding the issue you are talking about. For now I would advise the parents not to just raise it verbally but make the REOs office aware so that a solution can be found, Magagula said. Head teacher, Siphiwe Shololo, sounded shocked when called as she asked where this reporter obtained her cellphone number from. When informed about the allegations against the school, she apologised and said it would not be proper for her to respond. I think when things are bad it is not proper for a head teacher to talk, especially because people will think I am now shifting the blame. Please, can I not involve myself in these issues, she said. Chairperson of the School Committee, Khabonina Vilakati, sang a different tune, saying the teachers had improved in terms of behaviour.
MANZINI  About two months in office, Malkerns only female Councillor is no more.



Councillor Tholiwe Kheselinah Tsela (56) is said to have died on Tuesday afternoon at the Mbabane Government Hospital. Tsela succumbed to a short illness.



She was the only female councillor to be elected into office and she was further elected as Deputy Finance Chairperson.

A family member, who preferred to be anonymous due to that the family was still grieving, said Tsela was fighting several illnesses which emanated after an operation. The member said Tsela got sick in November and she complained of a stomach ache.



After several days of persistent pains, it was discovered that she had gallstones in her stomach. This was after she went for a medical check-up. After being sworn in as councillor, the relative mentioned that Tsela went for an operation to remove the stones in her abdomen. However, only after a week, just when they thought she was recuperating from the operation, she developed more pain in her stomach instead. They again took her for a medical examination as they suspected that the operation was complicating.



To the familys surprise, the source said it was discovered that her liver was damaged and that she had cancer in her stomach. The lump is said to have been too big hence it was difficult to remove.

The family is still shocked because it was too short a time that Tholiwe was ill. We did not anticipate this to happen since we thought all would be well since she removed the stones that threatened her life in the first place, said the family member.




MALKERNS  Female boxer Delisile Msibis alleged murderer has killed himself after surviving a gunshot in a chase by the police.



The incident took place in the wee hours of yesterday at Makhungutsha in Mankayane, where the suspect was allegedly hiding.

A well-placed source said the police received a tip-off that the suspect, estimated to be in his mid 20s, was hiding in a homestead in Makhungutsha and they followed the lead early yesterday morning.



However, when the police arrived at the homestead, they found that the suspect had already escaped. The source said suspicions were that the suspect saw the police when they were approaching the homestead.



The source said a thorough search by the police ensued and they spotted him fleeing and they chased after him.

The police fired warning shots in a bid to stop him but in vain as he continued to flee.



Thereafter, the police shot him in the leg; he fell but managed to get back on his feet and fled before the police could apprehend him, the source said. He said the suspect took a direction towards the homestead and entered into a one-room flat, which belongs to his friend and allegedly swallowed an undisclosed number of weevil tablets which were inside his bag. The source said the police found him groaning on the floor with a strong stench of the weevil tablets. The source said it was then that they rushed him to the Mankayane Government Hospital where he was certified dead upon arrival.



Information gathered from the family where he was staying was that he asked to visit his friend and suggested that they skip the country to seek jobs in the neighbouring South Africa.
MBABANE  He was sitting in his car waiting to know why a police officer had stopped him in the middle of the road when suddenly he heard a loud bang.



The loud bang was followed by a huge stone which almost crushed his forehead and the next thing he remembers was waking up in a hospital bed.



Gill Ndwandwe, a businessman from Piggs Peak, has lived to tell the tale of how he almost lost his life when he was attacked in the presence of two officers, allegedly clad in uniform, who had stopped him right in the middle of the road.



What surprised him the most was learning that the two officers, instead of assisting him, locked themselves in their vehicle, sped off and left him for dead.

The incident, he alleged, occurred at Dark City near Sidwashini, when he was driving from Makholokholo together with his fiancee and a relative in his car, a grey Mercedez Benz registered KSD 027 AH.



Interestingly, the businessman is a former traffic police officer, who resigned after having served for eight years.

Narrating the ordeal, Ndwandwe said it was at around 10:30pm on October 29, 2017 when he was driving around Dark City and came across two police officers whom he said he believed were going about their official duties.



He alleged that one of the officers was sitting in a police vehicle while the other was attending to another car.

Both police officers are known to this publication but will not be named as yet.
ALBANY  A defense attorney on Tuesday slammed the hit-and-run manslaughter case against Jose Martinez, saying Albany County prosecutors are relying on two key witnesses who lied to police and a grand jury.

Danielle Neroni, the lawyer for Jose Martinez, told jurors that a man and woman who allegedly tended to the victim, 21-year-old Rajine Martinez, changed their story on this past Sunday.

"Are you kidding me? This is where (prosecutors) case is resting on?" Neroni said as her client went on trial charged with the Feb. 4, 2017, death of the woman in Washington Park.

Neroni told jurors the couple's car  not her client  hit Rajine Martinez, a 2013 graduate of Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School. The defendant and victim are not related.

"But for these two eyewitnesses, an innocent man would not be sitting here," she said.

Neroni's heated comments came as two diametrically opposed versions of the predawn death emerged before acting Supreme Court Justice Frank Milano.



Assistant District Attorney Michael Shanley said Jose Martinez, 31, who has a past drug dealing conviction, was not allowed to be out past 9 p.m. or to purchase alcohol or to drive a car because of his parole conditions. He noted his license was suspended. But Shanley said Martinez nevertheless was out past 3 a.m., had bought beer at a store and was driving.



Shanley said Martinez first rear-ended a 2015 Chevrolet at Henry Johnson Boulevard and Washington Avenue, fled that scene and then drove his girlfriend's Jeep east onto Central Avenue, Spring Street and Washington Park, where the couple was tending to Rajine Martinez, who was partially in the road.

"He drove through the park, forcing one of them to dive out of the way, ran over Ms. Martinez' skull, killing her instantly," the prosecutor said. "He did not touch his brakes to leave a mark in the road. He did not slow down. He did not stay after he ran over her skull and killed her. He left the scene. He went home and he lied to police about being there the night before."

Shanley said the man and woman who had been tending to the victim made a decision to tell police the woman was driving because they were concerned the man would be accused of driving drunk and hitting the victim.

"They're going to have to explain why they made that decision," Shanley said. "We'll let them explain it."

He said video would be a large part of the case.

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Neroni was far more critical. She said the couple only came forward Sunday because the video showed they were lying about the woman driving. Otherwise, she suggested, the couple would still be lying.

"This is not just, 'They switched their story,'" Danielle Neroni told jurors. "These are two despicable individuals who instead of calling 911 when a girl was dying in the street, are just trying how they are going to get their stories straight. "

The trial continues Wednesday.
COLONIE  State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli got right to it Tuesday morning.

"I think we are headed for a very, very problematic budget season," DiNapoli told an audience at the Hearst Media Center.

He cited a looming state budget deficit, the potential impacts of federal tax changes and recent calls from Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the state's pension fund to divest from the fossil-fuel industry and companies that can't achieve gender balance in their leadership.

He cautioned, as state leaders have for months, that the overall budget picture is complex and is complicated by federal tax changes/changes to other programs. He's also cautious about the boom in the markets, but said the rally will end at some point.

DiNapoli says that even stronger than anticipated revenues from Wall Street will not wipe out the budget deficit or dispel the uncertainty. Still, he says Wall Street revenues will be one of the "bright spots" as the fiscal year closed out in March.

The big vulnerability is health care," he said, referring to the federal impact.

He also said Republican House members in New York are "all going to be held accountable," noting that even if they rebuff certain federal changes (notably tax reform) they still vote for House leadership that goes along with these changes.

State pension fund

When it comes to Gov. Cuomo's proposed changes on how the state pension fund invests, namely his desire for the fund to divest from fossil fuels, and to change investment strategies to promote diversity in corporate boardrooms, DiNapoli was measured in his comments.

"At the end of the day, my responsibility is ... to make sure we keep the fund well-funded," he said.

DiNapoli notes that because the pension fund is a public fund, people have opinions on how to invest. "We don't mind the discussion."

"We do like our money to go for good purposes and causes," DiNapoli said. (Recall he has pressed Exxon on climate change as an investor). "What we believe as a long-term investment ... investing in companies that are good corporate citizens on most measures makes sense."

"I'm totally supportive of the Paris agreement," DiNapoli says of fossil fuel investments. "But the notion that we're going to lead the fight on climate change by making the pension fund sell all their energy stocks to me seems like not the smartest strategy."

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"We rarely divest, we prefer to be an investor and we engage with companies (like Exxon). We would lose that leverage if we're not at the table anymore as an investor," he said, noting that the process of divesting is a long one.

He also said the last group he wants to dictate pension fund investments is the state Legislature, because the political forces would be dangerous. He asserted that he is an independently elected official and that will not be compromised.

DiNapoli said he doesn't sense a great appetite to raid the pension fund to help fund the state budget, "but I wouldn't put anything past anybody."

Ethics reform

DiNapoli called for public financing of elections: "Democracy works if you have a competition of ideas," he said, adding money is an impediment for many people who want to jump into politics.

Regional development

DiNapoli says his office will be doing more audits in this arena and that he favors programs that don't pit regions against regions, the way it is currently set up.
COLONIE  The culture at work matters, Dawn Abbuhl, Ph.D., president and cofounder of Repeat Business Systems, told an audience of nearly 100 women Wednesday at the Times Union's Hearst Media Center.

"Our culture [at Repeat Business Systems] is helping each other ... doing what your heart tells you to do," she said, adding that her company should run efficiently so "we have a lot to give."

Abbuhl was the first speaker for Women@Work's 2018 "Changemakers" breakfast series presented by Bank of America. Abbuhl, who started her career in special education, pivoted 30 years ago to start a business with her husband, John, and over the years has continued to practice as a child psychologist. She offered women tips on what she's learned along the way, including how writing everything on her calendar a month in advance helps her to achieve a work-life balance.

"We started selling just fax machines 30 years ago and I'm not sure anyone even knows what those are anymore," Abbuhl said of her business' origins. However, the company's product line has constantly evolved to include copier-printers with cloud computing portals among other office technology and information technology services.

Since she works closely with her husband, Abbuhl said a key to their success is that they "really try to stay in our own lanes."

"The only time we have conflict is when he tries to do something in my role or I try to do something in his role," she said. "We stick to what we do best."

Although he may have a different opinion, according to Abbuhl, her husband does the "boring" work (longterm planning and financial management) and she does the fun work.

"My role is everything from running the day-to-day operations to acquiring companies," she said.

Abbuhl has learned a lot along the way. When the business first started, she and her husband sold a lot of fax machines quickly. Abbuhl had done a lot of the finances by hand. They learned they needed a more sophisticated financial planning system that could carry them five or 10 years into the future.

Six years into their business they became the leading fax business in the Capital Region but weren't profitable, she said, and the company needed to eliminate 11 positions.

"We had too many people for what we were doing," she said.

Join Women@Work Not a member of Women@Work? Sign up at womenatworkny.com - and tell a friend. Upcoming Women@Work events at the Times Union's Hearst Media Center: Feb. 14: Changemakers breakfast with Heather Howely, founder and lead pilot of Independent Helicopters LLC. Register here. March 8: Your Financial Comeback. An evening panel discussion on managing mistakes, miscalculations and everyday emergencies in your business. Register here. See More Collapse

As a president of a technology firm in a male-dominated sphere, Abbuhl hasn't been too bothered by it. Recently, she attended a conference in Florida of 750 people.

"I looked and there were no females around," she said, adding she believes men have sought her opinion because they think she knows something they don't.

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Abbuhl's passion comes through when she talks about the culture of kindness at Repeat Business Systems. If employees at Repeat Business Systems do something nice for others they get entered into a bucket list drawing, Abbuhl said. Whether answering the phone in a professional way or producing accurate invoices, they are noticed.

"I wanted to find a way ...if someone did something special they felt that we valued it," Abbuhl said. "Once per year, we take a ticket out and we doing something on their bucket list."

Abbuhl said it's not for selling the most; the bucket list drawing has nothing to do with that.

The first year Abbuhl offered this to workers, she had hired someone who had some issues in his background that wouldn't typically make for a great employee, she said.

"Every day he would come to me and say, 'I know I was a big risk and I'm so appreciative of you hiring me. Thank you so much.' And he really tried hard."

Three years ago, during the company holiday party, it snowed. Unbeknownst to everyone, that employee went outside and brushed the snow off everyone's car.

During the holiday party his name was drawn and he was asked to choose something from his bucket list.

"He started crying and said all he wanted to do was take his mother on a trip...for all he had put her through," she said.

But when that employee learned the next day his coworker's father had cancer he went to Abbuhl and asked to give the money for the trip to the other employee, instead.

"So that's what we did," Abbuhl said, adding she paid for his trip, too.
Los Angeles

The new eight-part documentary series "Chain of Command" is being promoted by the National Geographic Channel as offering an unprecedented look at the war against violent extremism and the men and women devoting their lives to it. To get that perspective, film crews were embedded during the 18 months of production with military forces in some of the most dangerous spots on the planet.

The series, narrated by Chris Evans ("Captain America") debuts at 9 p.m. Jan. 15 with a look at the battle for Mosul, Iraq, where Capt. Quincy Bahler of the 101st Airborne Division monitors ISIS fighters via drone feeds alongside Iraqi generals, debating when it is safe to strike in an effort to liberate the city.

The debut episode will be followed by another episode where in Iraq, after the American and Iraqi coalition gain control of eastern Mosul, the fight shifts to the city's west side. Meanwhile, on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, the Muslim community struggles to deal with the alarming reality of their young people leaving the country to fight for ISIS.

"It's been an amazing experience to be able to meet and then tell the stories of these heroes," said executive producer Scott Boggins. "They're inspiring individuals from the highest levels of the U.S. military to the boots on the ground. We were always with groups of men and women who showed incredible commitment, and we were there with them to tell their stories during this time where extremism affects everyone."

The series records the fight against radical threats in every corner of the world as it unfolds over one full year. This includes following Gen. Joe Dunford and the Joint Chiefs of Staff creating policy and strategy that is then executed on the battlefield, revealing firsthand how the decisions made at the Pentagon have a direct impact on service members fighting on the front lines.

Even with access, getting the story was a challenge because the teams were in remote parts of the world. The key was learning how to adapt and follow the lead of the military. Boggins said that was necessary because they wanted this to be an immersive series.

"It's the proverbial fly on the wall, so to speak, and we really are that. We are there with small groups of a crew, highly experienced producers and DPs who know how to adapt and tell stories, but it's easy because the stories that we're telling of these people, they want their stories to be told," Boggins said. "The easiest way I can compare it to is you're at an airport, and you see a serviceman or woman in uniform. First question you would always want to ask is, 'Where are you from, soldier?' 'Where are you from, sailor?'

"That's what this is. We get to know the people in such an intimate way, and then we get to tell what they do, the mission that they're on, and then we tackle the larger questions."

Jessica Phillips, a field producer embedded with troops in Iraq filming the conflict outside of Mosul, explains the military was cooperative  but to a point.

"When you think about it, when you're in an area that's in active conflict, the military, they're working on their time, and they're not going to slow down for you or your crew," Phillips said. "You have to get on their time. You have to be present 24/7.

"When things get a little hairy, you have to focus on the story and make sure that that's your focus. So, I think when you're in situations like this, it's smart to be on their schedule and be actively involved with what they're doing."

One of the concerns when a film crew or journalist gets embedded with the military is they form a bond that can change the way the story gets told. Capt. Greg Hicks, special assistant for public affairs to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stresses that the military never asked the filmmakers to add or omit anything from their stories.

What was asked of the teams, according to Hicks, was to document the lives of the men and women in uniform to tell the story of what they are doing. Hicks said that was an easy request to make because the pride the members of the military have in the work being done.

Because there was so much footage, certain things had to be cut from the documentary series. Jeff Hasler, head of development and production at National Geographic Studios, stressed those cuts were made by the film team based on what was best to tell the story and not at the request of the military.

"For us, we have a 188-year tradition at National Geographic of journalist integrity, accuracy and everyone who works at National Geographic carries that like a banner. So, it's one of those things that I can't necessarily describe to you. But we have policies and procedures," Hasler said. "We have very strict standards and practices that we all follow, in addition to hiring the most upstanding, conscientious staff we can."

"Chain of Command" will air in 171 countries and 43 languages.
THE 3RD ANNUAL HOWIE MANDEL STAND-UP GALA

The CW, 8 p.m.

Recorded at Montreal's Just for Laughs festival, this special hosted by Howie Mandel features performances from some of comedy's hottest acts.

THE X-FILES: "THIS"

FOX, 8 p.m.

An old friend reaches out to Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) in a seemingly impossible way, revealing a chilling secret.

NHL HOCKEY: MINNESOTA AT CHICAGO

NBCSN, 8 p.m. Live

Jason Zucker leads the Minnesota Wild into Chicago's United Center to face off against Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks on NBCSN.

SPEECHLESS: "THE H-U-SHUSTLE"

ABC, 8:30 p.m.

Maya (Minnie Driver) makes a new friend and Jimmy (John Ross Bowie) discovers the benefits of being tall when they're both pulled into a school fundraiser. Meanwhile, Ray (Mason Cook) explores his reckless side and Kenneth (Cedric Yarbrough) tries to win over a crowd with his DJ skills.

ALONE TOGETHER

Freeform, 8:30 p.m.

New Series! This irreverent buddy comedy from executive producers The Lonely Island (Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone) stars comedians Esther Povitsky and Benji Aflalo as misfit millennials trying to make their way in the vain and status-obsessed culture of Los Angeles. The misadventures of the platonic friends include shooting their own music video, standing in line for a Lip Kit Pop Up and trying their hand at retirement life.

9-1-1: "LET GO"

FOX, 9 p.m.

When a roller coaster malfunctions, a night at an amusement park takes a deadly turn. Meanwhile, Buck (Oliver Stark) struggles with the life-or-death nature of his career, Athena (Angela Bassett) and Hen (Aisha Hinds) respond to an unusual home invasion, and a couple's dispute leads to a dramatic rescue for Bobby (Peter Krause).

NOVA: "BLACK HOLE APOCALYPSE"

PBS, 9 p.m.

Season Premiere! Join astrophysicist and novelist Janna Levin on a mind-blowing voyage to the frontiers of black hole science, which is shining new light on the most powerful and mysterious objects in the universe.

THE MAGICIANS

Syfy, 9 p.m.

Season Premiere! The fantasy series based on the bestselling books returns for Season 3.

ROOSTER & BUTCH

A&E, 10 p.m.

New Series! In this Texas-sized docuseries, self-made multimillionaires Mike "Rooster" McConaughey and Butch Gilliam are on the hunt for new investment opportunities. In each episode, the larger-than-life pair and their buddy Gil search for ambitious entrepreneurs with American dreams that they can help achieve.

CRIMINAL MINDS: "FULL-TILT BOOGIE"

CBS, 10 p.m.

The BAU's investigation into the home invasion and attempted homicide of a police chief's wife uncovers a world of secrets in a small Virginia town.

Brought to you by the publishers of TV Guide.  TV Guide 2018
WILTON  Four Troy residents face felony charges after they allegedly shoplifted $8,000 in lingerie on Monday from the Victorias Secret in the Wilton Mall.

Saratoga County Sheriffs deputies were called to the store just after 9 p.m. They found a vehicle connected with the larceny leaving a restaurant on Route 50 in Wilton and pulled it over on I-87, according to a news release.
ALBANY  Former U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson joins Rex Smith, editor of the Times Union, at the Hearst Media Center on Wednesday, Jan. 24, for a provocative conversation based on Gibson's recent book "Rally Point: Five Tasks to Unite the Country and Revitalize the American Dream."

The book represents Gibson's effort to cut through the current partisan rancor by finding issues that can unite Americans to tackle large problems. Before serving in Congress, the Kinderhook Republican rose to the rank of colonel over the course of a two-decade career in the Army that saw four combat tours in Iraq as well as service in Kosovo.
ALBANY  On the final day of 2017, longtime Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick put in his retirement papers, the state comptroller's office confirmed this week.

However, Fitzpatrick remains in office. And the Republican prosecutor recently sent out an invitation for a late-January fundraiser  to be held at Vito's Ristorante in East Syracuse  kicking off his 2019 re-election campaign.

Fitzpatrick did not return multiple requests for comment. But available information suggests he may be planning to "double dip" collecting his state pension while continuing to collecting his full salary.

In 1995, the state Legislature passed a law curbing the practice of double dipping: Elected officials who retired and returned to their same jobs could not collect the pension if they were making more than $30,000.

But the law applied only to officials elected after 1995, and Fitzpatrick took office in 1992. In 2009, the New York Times reported that a handful of veteran state lawmakers engaged in the practice.

Fitzpatrick's salary in 2017 was $182,500, according to SeeThroughNY.net. Based on the state's formula for calculating pensions, it's likely his pension be well into six figures.

A spokeswoman for Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office said Fitzpatrick's final pension had yet to be finalized, and it could take months to do so.

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Fitzpatrick  one of the state's most prominent district attorneys  was a co-chair of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, which was disbanded in 2014 halfway through what was supposed to be 18 months of work.

Last year he skirted ethic rules for prosecutors by recording a robocall promoting a candidate for the Onondaga County Legislature, while his son was being paid to promote the same candidate.
Women working in Saratoga County make an average $18,539 less than their male counterparts. That's nearly twice the state's average pay gap of $9,558 and the national average of $10,669, 2016 U.S. Census figures reveal.

The 2016 census figures, which look at wages for year-round workers ages 16 and older, also show that Saratoga County ranks No. 1 in the state for biggest earnings gap, leading other large earning chasm counties, Putnam ($17,017), Nassau ($16,723), Richmond (Staten Island at $14,843) and Suffolk ($16,078). New York City's pay gap is $12,137.

"This is actually no surprise," said Catherine White Berheide, a sociology professor at Skidmore College who teaches classes on the pay gaps between white men and women, minorities and immigrants. "The reason Saratoga is high nationally is because the higher an average income is, the higher the pay gap."

The information was released in a nationwide study by the data-compiling service Pansop, which uses census numbers to conclude that Saratoga County also ranks number 83 out of 3,007 counties for pay gaps nationwide. In 2016, the average median income for a woman in Saratoga County was $31,551. For a man, it was $50,090.

Berheide said women need more education than a man to rank and be paid equally.

"They have to be one level higher than their male counterpart," she said. "For example, a woman with an associate degree will be equal with a man with a high school diploma. It goes up from there."

The pay gaps between men and women living in Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties, census figures show, are closer to state averages and below the national average. Albany's gap is $7,459, Rensselaer's comes in at $8,983, with Schenectady's tilting higher at $9,056. Women in Albany County earn an average of $31,360; in Rensselaer, $31,527; and in Schenectady, $27,757. Men in Albany County earn $38,819; in Rensselaer, $40,510 and in Schenectady, $36,813.

Nationally women earn $26,250 compared to $36,919 for men. In New York state, median income is $30,906 for women and $40,464 for men.

"The labor force favors elite, well-educated men," Berheide said. "They are rewarded with higher increases in pay and promotions. Men also dominate higher-paying fields, for example, STEM jobs like those at GlobalFoundries. This depresses women's wages. It's occupational segregation."

Berheide also said the career segregation is clear in health care where men are generally doctors and women nurses. When women are doctors, she said, they often chose lowering paying fields such as pediatrics and primary care. The social implications, she said, are huge.

"Any household headed by a woman will have a lower income," she said. "This affects children. The best thing we can do for children in poverty is educate women."

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Maggie Fronk, executive director of Wellspring, a nonprofit that supports victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, has seen how the income gap plays out in homes throughout the county.

"It's a true concern," Fronk said. "It's a huge obstacle for women. They will stay in an abusive relationship to have a roof over their heads and food on the table for their children because they can't earn the same. They struggle to survive. It's really a challenge."

Fronk, whose organization provides rental assistance for victims, points to another study, one from the Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council, that shows 4.2 percent of families live in poverty in Saratoga County. Of that 4.2 percent, 57.94 percent of female head of households in the county live in poverty. That compares with 12.34 percent of male head of households.

"That's a huge percentage living in poverty when the county's family poverty rate is 4.2 percent," Fronk said.

Kevin Pryor, an analyst with Pansop, doesn't see a change coming in 2018, but he has found that women's pay is increasing at a faster pace than men's, 11.3 percent versus 8.6 percent.

"It is fair to predict that the 2017 data will look similar to last year's numbers," Pryor said. "The long-term future of gender pay is difficult to accurately predict, however, past data can be used to see if any trends are occurring."

Julie Anderson, a senior research associate with the Institute for Women's Policy Research, said the problem of women making an average 80 cents per every dollar a man earns is compounded by wage stagnation. She said women saw a rapid boost in wages until about 2000 when women's wages stopped growing. Men's wages, she said, have been stagnant since the 1980s.

"If women's wages are going up and men's are staying the same, that's not that helpful," Anderson said. "It's is not a zero sum game. All wages need to go up."
Albany

Reform advocates contend a restrictive new program that privatizes the sending of care packages to prison inmates is punitive, but prison officials say its intended to fight contraband.

People are very upset and families are upset, said Jack Beck, who runs the Prisoner Visiting project at the Correctional Association of New York, a group that advocates for better prison conditions.

We are doing everything we can to stop it, said Judith Brink of the Prison Action Network, which has launched a letter-writing campaign.

At issue is a new policy in which friends and family members of state prison inmates can no longer directly send care packages of food, books, clothing and other items.

Instead they must order them from a pre-approved list of vendors that specialize in inmate needs.

The policy is in effect in three prisons: Green Haven, Greene and Taconic, but will be phased in at all New York prisons by next year, officials said.

Critics like Beck say that will make it harder for prisoners to get fresh fruit and vegetables as well as books and items like sheets and towels. Many inmates, he said, rely on care packages for their meals rather than eating prison food.

Beck also believes it is a cost savings for the state because controlling the flow of packages reduces the need for inspections, which requires manpower. Items currently brought into prisons are thoroughly inspected, which is a time-consuming process.

The approved companies are big players in the private prison service industry: E-Ford Commissary; Access Securepak; Union Supply; JL Marcus; Walkenhorst; and Music by Mail, with two more to be added in the next few weeks.

Thomas Mailey, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said the agency has been developing the plan during the past two years to reduce contraband brought into the prisons.

Secure vendor programs are used by nearly 30 jurisdictions in the country and are cited as a national best practice, he said, adding that the state gets no commissions on the sales.

He said that using the vendors with a pre-approved list of allowable items could actually make it easier for families to get care packages to relatives who are incarcerated. Thats because the prisons wouldnt have to send back items that arent allowed.

The packaging program is the latest of several steps that DOCCS has taken since the June 2015 escape of two inmates from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.

Convicted killers David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped through an inactive steam pipe underneath the prison. The escape triggered a massive search and created a national spectacle.

Matt was eventually shot and killed while Sweat was shot, injured and returned to prison. The escape, authorities said, was aided by tools that had been hidden in pieces of frozen meat brought into the prison as well as tools smuggled by a guard.

In April, DOCCS instituted a rule that prison employees had to use state-issued clear plastic bags for personal items such as lunches they bring inside.

Calling contraband a growing problem that endangers the lives of everyone in a correctional facility, the union that represents correction officers supports the state corrections department's efforts to eliminate the introduction of contraband through package rooms.

The use of a secure vendor package program "is making a difference for our fellow correction officers around the country," said Michael Powers, president of NYSCOPBA. "The department is behind the times in its implementation of this program which will ultimately save lives and protect our members."

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E-Ford Commissary offers packages of Lil Dutch Maid Coconut Macaroon cookies for $2.10, boxes of instant coffee, sneakers, a copy of the Quran for $26 and a clear, see-through cassette player for $29.95.

Walkenhorst, another vendor, offers Bibles for $7.50, decks of playing cards, a subscription to People magazine for $6.90 as well as 3 Musketeers candy bars, Cheese Nips and Spam.

The items all appear to be in see-through or sealed packages that are nonmetallic.

Another concern over the new restrictions centers on a lack of diversity in reading material.

A letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Acting DOCCS Commissioner Anthony Annucci from the volunteer group Books Through Bars, which donates books to inmates, states the vendors' book selection is limited to five romance novels, fourteen Bibles and other religious texts, twentyfour drawing or coloring books, twenty-one puzzle books, eleven guitar, chess, and howto books, one dictionary, and one thesaurus.

Others noted there is scant selection of books in Spanish and other languages.

DOCCS said that inmates still have access to prison libraries and in some cases can borrow books from local libraries.

And charitable groups like Books Through Bars can still donate books to prison libraries, just not to individuals.

Those opposing the change have made some gains. Seth Pollack with Books Through Bars said the Music By Mail vendor was recently added over concerns about book selections. It has a wider selection of books than the other suppliers.

But, Pollack said, that doesn't change the fact his group would not be able to donate books under the new policy because the vendors charge for their goods. Many prisoners, he said, have less than $10 to their name.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
An alleged pedophile and numerous bad drivers are among those being sought by State Police around New York in the latest edition of the force's Warrant Wednesday:

Nicholas Durbin, 26, is wanted by State Police in Middletown for second-degree sexual abuse after an investigation revealed that he allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact with numerous children under the age of 11. Durbin failed to return to court to answer the charges and a warrant was issued for his arrest from the town of Deerpark Court.

Asia T. Gillard, 26, is wanted by State Police in Clifton Park on a warrant issued in July 2017 for failure to appear in court for sentencing after a guilty plea for attempted robbery. Her arrest was the result of an incident outside of a Target store in September 2016 after she was confronted for shoplifting.

Albert J. Carthen Jr., 38, is wanted by the State Police in Sidney on attempted assault and criminal mischief. On Dec. 5, troopers investigated a dispute in Caroline. Carthen allegedly damaged several items and threw a frying pan at the victim, intending to strike her but missing. On Jan. 3, the town of Caroline court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Tamisha Wallace, 45, is wanted by the State Police in Niagara on an bench warrant issued on May 2, 2017, by the town of Cambria Court on charges of forgery, petit larceny, possession of a forged instrument, and unlawful possession of personal ID information. Wallace allegedly forged a fake check and electronically deposited it into an account for personal gain.

Jose G. Rosado, 22, is wanted by State Police n Brewster and the town of Southeast Court for failing to appear for court proceedings following an arrest for reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, fleeing police in a motor vehicle and driving while intoxicated. Rosado allegedly was observed traveling 115 mph in a 55 mph zone, led Troopers on a wrong-way pursuit and resisted arrest. Rosado is thought to reside in the area of Waterbury, Conn.

Armond H. Aubin III, 34, is wanted by State Police in Fulton on a felony bench warrant issued Sept. 29 from Oswego County Court. Aubin is wanted for failing to appear in court following a 2016 arrest for a residential burglary in the town of Scriba.

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Oshay Rowland, 24, from Greece is wanted by the State Police in Rochester on a warrant for aggravated operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle without a license, and operating an uninspected motor vehicle. Rowland was stopped on I-490 in Rochester for a traffic violation and it was determined that he had over 10 suspensions on his license.

Teresa L. McMillan, 44, is wanted by State Police in Buffalo on a warrant for driving while intoxicated. On Feb. 21, 2014, McMillan was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and turned over to State Police for suspicion of DWI. McMillan failed all standard field sobriety tests and was arrested for DWI.

Tarod-Rigo E. Clarke, 34, is wanted by State Police in Gouverneur for aggravated unlicensed operation. On Aug. 2, 2016, the town of Antwerp Court issued a warrant for Clarke for failing to appear on July 28, 2016, on the charge. He is thought to be residing in the Syracuse area.
COLONIE  As the number of medical marijuana companies in New York is poised to double to 10, a group of original applicants to the program brought their case against what they deemed an unfair selection system to the state Health Department on Wednesday.

A hearing initially requested by 15 of the 43 applicants to the program got underway at Health Department offices at the Riverview Center in Menands. A handful of the petitioners have maintained their original claims against the process by which companies were chosen, said William J. Lynch, an administrative law judge for the department.

The group filed its grievance with the department after an initial five companies were selected to participate, claiming that the Health Department failed to follow its own rules in selecting them. Participation was coveted, as the program, enacted in legislation in 2014, launched a brand-new industry with a statewide market of people newly eligible to try novel products.

Among complaints aired at Wednesdays hearing were that applicants who scored zeroes in certain categories on their applications were not always notified of that score and able to provide additional information. The Health Departments application guidelines said that they would receive such notification.

Health Department Attorney Mark Fleishcer said program staff did not reach out for additional information because the zero scores did not affect the ranking of top applicants.

Yet Eric Lerner, an attorney representing failed applicant Compassionate Care Center of New York, said that neglecting to contact his client in at least one case resulted in another applicant, Citiva Medical, getting points that his company deserved. Lerner said that Citiva Medical received credit for securing a retail location that Compassionate Care Center had actually leased. Citiva Medical was not one of the original five applicants selected for the medical marijuana program, but had scored high enough to make it to the second wave of companies tapped last year to join the program.

The primary focus of Wednesdays hearing, however, was the Health Departments presentation of witnesses to vouch for the application review process. Medical Marijuana Program Director Nicole Quackenbush started off with a step-by-step review of the evaluation process, including how some factors were more heavily weighted.

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Companies whose bids were rejected had access to the final score sheets department staff used in their selection, but those documents were not available to the press. The Health Department directed the Times Union to request the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Lerner complained that some information was omitted for certain applicants. A form showing department staff vetting was absent for at least four applicants, including Citiva and Valley Agriceuticals, which also lost its initial bid to participate in the program but was part of the second group selected last year.

Fleischer insisted that the information was complete.
[January 09, 2018] Robbins Arroyo LLP Announces that Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (SC) Securities Class Action Survives Motion to Dismiss

Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP is investigating whether certain officers and directors of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SC) breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders. On December 20, 2016, investors filed an amended securities class action complaint against Santander for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint alleges that Santander misclassified loans held by the company and applied an incorrect discount rate to the company's troubled debt restructurings, causing it to understate its allowance for credit losses. Because of the company's violations of generally accepted accounting principles, Santander materially overstated its net income, resulting in multiple restatements covering fiscal years 2014 and 2015, and the quarters within those periods. Before the market became aware of these overstatements and while Santanders stock price was artificially inflated, Santander's Chief Executive Officer resigned and cashed out his entire 10% ownership for approximately $928 million. On January 3, 2018, the Honorable Ed Kinkeade of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division denied Santander's motion to dismiss.



View this information on the law firm's Shareholder Rights Blog: https://www.robbinsarroyo.com/santander-consumer-usa-holdings-inc-jan-2018 Santander Shareholders Have Legal Options

Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Leonid Kandinov at (800) 350-6003, LKandinov@robbinsarroyo.com, or via the shareholder information form on the firm's website. Robbins Arroyo LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested. Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180109006811/en/

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[January 09, 2018] California Fire Lawyers and Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Feingold, LLC File New Thomas Fire Lawsuit Against SoCal Edison

Today, nationally recognized attorneys from Baron & Budd; Singleton Law Firm; Dixon Diab & Chambers LLP; Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire, LLP; and Terry Singleton, Esq.; collectively known as the California Fire Lawyers, along with the Ventura, Calif.-based law firm of Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Feingold, LLC announced that a lawsuit has been filed in Ventura County on behalf of a family who has sustained injuries or other incurred damages as a result of the Thomas fire which began on December 4, 2017 (Case No. 56-2018-00506356-CU-MT-VTA). The Thomas Fire is the largest officially recorded wildfire in modern California history. In the suit, the firms allege that the fire began when electrical infrastructure owned, operated and maintained by Southern California Edison (News - Alert) , a California Corporation ("SCE") came into contact with vegetation inspected and maintained by SoCal Edison. The suit goes on to state that damages suffered by the plaintiffs include, but are not limited to: wrongful death, personal injuries, damage to or destruction of property, loss of cherished possessions, medical bills, evacuation expenses and lost wages. "Tragically, many of our clients in Ventura and Santa Barbara were impacted by the Thomas Fire. Some of us here at Myers Widders, including myself, lost our own homes in the flames. In the legal battle for justice for victims of the Thomas Fire, we've chosen to partner with experienced and successful environmental attorneys with a history of taking on fights like this one," said Erik Feingold, a partner with Myers Widders. "We feel confident, based on the information that we've already gathered in our investigation, that there is a solid case against SoCal Edison and we're ready to bring that fight before the court." "This fire did not discriminate. It threatened lives, destroyed properties and ruined neighborhoods," said Baron & Budd Attorney John Fiske. "Unfortunately, the cause of this catastrophe boils down to something quite simple: corporate negligence on the part of Southern California Edison. Our firms are committed to holding this corporation accountable for the devastation caused by SoCal Edison's failure to protect the communities they serve." On December 8, 2017, the California Fire Lawyers filed a similar suit against Pacific Gas and Electric Company ( PG&E (News - Alert) ) on behalf of more than 295 plaintiffs who sustained damages in October's deadly Northern California wildfires. The firm now represents more than 500 wildfire plaintiffs from Tubbs, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, and Butte Counties. The environmental attorneys with California Fire Lawyers have decades of experience fighting and winning on behalf of their clients. Together, the California Fire Lawyers have won more than $650 million for 4,000 victims of other wildfires in California, including the 2007 San Diego Fires, the 2010 San Bruno Explosion, and the 2015 Butte Fire. Attorneys with the group have also been at the forefront of other major environmental litigation, including a leadership role in the Multi-District Litigation for the 2010 BP Gulf Oil Spill. If you were impacted by these fires and wish to discuss your legal options, please call us at (805) 491-9947. Additional information can be found online at: www.CaliforniaFireLawyers.com. ABOUT MYERS, WIDDERS, GIBSON, JONES &FEINGOLD, LLP



Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Feingold, LLP is one of the oldest, largest and most respected law firms in Ventura county. The firm represented hundreds of property owners damaged by the 2003 Simi Valley and the 2008 San Diego wildfires in obtaining their insurance policy benefits. Name partner Dennis Neil Jones has been named a California Super Lawyer in the field of Insurance Coverage eleven out of the last twelve years, signifying that he is in the top 5% of all California lawyers practicing in that field. Jones was also the 2008 President of the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association. Partner Erik B. Feingold was the 2017 President of the Ventura County Bar Association. He co-tried and obtained a $38.5 million jury verdict on behalf of a paralyzed CHP officer. The firm handles inverse condemnation cases against public entities, insurance bad faith cases and cases against insurance agents and brokers for underestimating replacement cost coverage. The firm is assisting fire victims in understanding their insurance coverage benefits, on a pro bono basis. The firm is joining this joint venture to assist fire victims in recovering uninsured or underinsured losses. ABOUT BARON & BUDD, P.C.

Baron & Budd, P.C., is one of the largest and most accomplished plaintiffs' law firms in the country. Lead attorneys Russell Budd, Scott Summy and Roland Tellis were selected to the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Mr. Budd has been selected to Best Lawyers every year since 2014 and Mr. Summy has been selected to Best Lawyers every year since 2006. Baron & Budd lawyers have served in leadership positions on the majority of the major, mass tort litigations in the past two decades. Mr. Summy was one of four attorneys to serve on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee in the 2010 BP Oil Spill case, and he was instrumental in negotiating the more than $15 billion settlement obtained on behalf of the individual plaintiffs. In 2014 Baron & Budd was named to the list of America's Elite Trial Lawyers by The National Law Journal. This illustrious list is comprised of 50 law firms that have achieved significant results on behalf of plaintiffs within the previous year and have an established track record of delivering impressive results. Baron & Budd has been repeatedly selected by The Legal 500 as one of the country's premier law firms in mass tort claims and class action litigation. In its 40- year history, Baron & Budd has handled over 10,000 wrongful death cases and has pioneered numerous areas of litigation. ABOUT SINGLETON LAW FIRM, APC (News - Alert) Singleton Law Firm, based in San Diego, is one of the top fire litigation firms in the state of California. Over the past decade, SLF has represented thousands of individuals in major fires all over the state of California, and has recovered over $650 million for its clients in fire cases. Lead attorney Gerald Singleton has served as Liaison Counsel and on the Executive Committees in some of the largest fires in the state. Mr. Singleton and Erika Vasquez, head of the firm's fire litigation division, currently represent over 2,000 individuals in the 2015 Butte Fire, which was a catastrophic fire started by PG&E power lines that burned over 70,000 acres in Calaveras and Amador counties. The firm recently represented the largest individual group of plaintiffs in the 2013 Powerhouse Fire in Los Angeles County, and Mr. Singleton served as Liaison Counsel for that case. Prior to the Powerhouse Fire, Singleton Law Firm was one of four firms who teamed up in a joint venture to represent over 1,600 individuals in the 2007 San Diego Fires. ABOUT DIXON DIAB & CHAMBERS LLP The lawyers at Dixon Diab & Chambers LLP have gained national recognition as being some of the top litigators in their respective areas of practice. Ed Diab leads the firm's fire litigation practice and has litigated numerous wildfire cases throughout the country. He was actively involved in the widely publicized lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric arising out of the 2010 San Bruno Gas Pipeline Explosion that leveled 38 homes and killed 8. He also currently represents numerous people in lawsuits against Pacific Gas & Electric that sustained significant property damages arising out of the 2015 Butte Fire in Amador/Calaveras County that burned over 70,000 acres. Both Deborah Dixon and Robert Chambers have significant experience litigating complex, multi-party lawsuits against entities and insurance companies on behalf of individuals and businesses. Their experience in personal injury, business litigation, products liability and class actions provide integral background for fire cases, as does their direct experience handling claims on behalf of victims who suffered personal injury and property damages because of fires. The firm also has substantial experience representing families in wrongful death cases, having handled more than 150 such claims and recovering millions of dollars on the families' behalf. ABOUT THORSNES BARTOLOTTA MCGUIRE Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire is a high-end, civil litigation firm that specializes in serious personal injury and wrongful death, condemnation, inverse condemnation, and construction defect litigation. Since its founding in 1978, the firm has recovered over $1 billion on behalf of its clients. TBM annually earns numerous commendations, among them designations by American Lawyer Magazine as one of the top 20 firms in the Nation. The firm was recognized as Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" by U.S. News & World Report and received the prestigious Tier One ranking for San Diego in the categories of Mass Torts Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation. The firm has received numerous "Outstanding Trial Lawyer," "Trial Lawyer of the Year," and "Best Lawyers in America", and just received the prestigious "Best Law Firms" by U.S. News & World Report for 2018. ABOUT TERRY SINGLETON, ESQ. Terry Singleton is a San Diego-based attorney with more than 40 years of experience in civil litigation. Mr. Singleton has successfully tried dozens of cases to verdict and has obtained over 50 verdicts or settlements in excess of $1 million dollars in personal injury, utility fire/negligence and/or wrongful death cases. This includes obtaining one of the largest verdicts ever awarded in a wrongful death case in Imperial County. Mr. Singleton has more than 20 years of experience managing utility-caused wildfire litigation, beginning with the 1993 Guejito Fire in Escondido, California. He served as one of two lead trial attorneys for the largest group of plaintiffs in the 2007 San Diego Wildfires, which included the City and County of San Diego, and recently was one of the trial lawyers who successfully conducted a jury trial resulting from the 2011 Las Conchas fire in New Mexico, where he represented individuals and the Native American Pueblos of Cochiti and Jemez against an electrical distribution and a transmission/generation cooperative. Mr. Singleton, a US Army volunteer and Vietnam veteran, is also an active member of the community. In recent years, his pro bono work has included working to free a young man from prison who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 2000. He has also routinely been recognized as a top personal injury lawyer by San Diego "Super Lawyers." View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180109006816/en/

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[January 09, 2018] Naval Group Chooses iXblue to Supply New Navigation Systems for French Navy's 4000-ton Frigates

SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE, France, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- iXblue, a specialist in maritime navigation and positioning, has been selected by Naval Group to equip five new 4000-ton frigates intended for the French Navy. Responsible for the development of these vessels, Naval Group has signed a contract with iXblue for the acquisition of Marins inertial navigation systems and Netans data distribution & processing units to equip these five new generation frigates. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/550456/iXblue_Logo.jpg ) "iXblue is proud to receive Naval Group's strong vote of confidence in awarding us a contract on this major state-of-the-art program for the renewal of French naval forces", explains Thomas Buret, Head of the Inertial Systems and Applications Division. "This contract is the outcome of a long-standing collaboration with Naval Group with whom we are working on several export programs. However, it is the first time that iXblue systems have been chosen by Naval Group to equip a new-built major combat vessel for the French Navy. This contract underlines the quality and reliability of iXblue navigation systems, which have become a standard in the naval defense market." Already selected by the English and German navies in 2016, the Marins units offer high-end inertial navigation systems meeting the military requirement of the most modern combat ships. Based on iXblue fiber optic gyroscope technology, Marins inertial navigation systems offer very high performance levels and provide very accurate position, heading, roll, pitch and speed information regardless of the environment, including GNSS denied environments.



At the heart of the navigation system, the Netans data distribution & processing unit interfaces directly with the ship's sensors, acquiring, analyzing, correlating and then distributing data to all onboard systems. The Netans range provides reliable, consistent and accurate navigation information in the most challenging operating environments, while addressing the cybersecurity challenges faced by the world's leading navies. Integrated onto a single platform, Marins navigation systems and Netans distribution & processing units precisely match the exacting requirements of major combat vessels in terms of performance, capacity and cost of ownership. iXblue navigation systems already equip more than 35 navies and coast guards around the world, including a number of French naval vessels. The entire French fleet is also equipped with WECDIS navigation software produced by iXblue (SENIN). This new contract with Naval Group reinforces the presence of iXblue in this market and further establishes the group's positioning as a leading player in the field of navigation.

About iXblue

iXblue is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of innovative solutions devoted to navigation, positioning and underwater imaging, as well as shipbuilding. Using its unique in-house technology, the company offers turnkey solutions to its Civil and Defense customers to carry out their sea, land and space operations with optimum efficiency and reliability. Employing a workforce of 600 people worldwide, iXblue conducts its business with over 35 countries. About Naval Group

Naval Group is a European leader in naval defence and a major player in marine renewable energies. As an international high-tech company, Naval Group uses its extraordinary know-how, unique industrial resources and capacity to arrange innovative strategic partnerships to meet its customers' requirements. The group designs, builds and supports submarines and surface ships. It also supplies services to shipyards and naval bases. In addition, the group offers a wide range of marine renewable energy solutions. Attentive to corporate social responsibility, Naval Group adheres to the United Nations Global Compact. The group reports revenues of 3.2 billion and has a workforce of 12,800 employees (2016 data). Press contact:

Marion Seyve

Communications officer

+33-(0)1-30-088-888

marion.seyve@ixblue.com SOURCE iXblue

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[January 09, 2018] SolarMax Technology on Track to Deliver 250MW to China Grid in 2018 Through Large Scale Solar

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- While many in the solar industry anxiously await the outcome of legal wrangling over tariffs on low-cost modules imported from China, one American-headquartered company has quietly seized business opportunities there. Those groundbreaking efforts in large-scale solar have enabled SolarMax Technology to open 2018 with 150MW of capacity - another 100 MW will come online in June - making it the largest American-based private company developing solar in China. SolarMax began its expansion into Asia in 2015 following a sweeping anti-pollution program championed by Chinese government leaders. The company secured the rights to develop and provide ongoing maintenance and operations for several utility-scale projects in the inland province of Guizhou. Another 50MW are planned there in early 2018, while the company builds out another 50MW project in the Ningxia region. The China strategy was spearheaded by CEO David Hsu, who along with partners Ching Liu and Simon Yuan, founded SolarMax in Southern California a decade ago. The Riverside, California-based company has since grown into a diversified renewable energy powerhouse through its integrated portfolio of rooftop solar, LED lighting, energy storage and utility scale projects. Mr. Hsu formed SolarMa China, a wholly owned subsidiary, by acquiring five formerly independent Chinese-based firms. The strategy enabled the company to deliver end-to-end development solutions, including engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), maintenance and operations, as well as project development.



In 2018, the company will expand its Asia presence in a space it knows well: residential solar. SolarMax has developed an innovative program with banks, utilities and the Chinese central government that effectively enables homeowners the opportunity to switch to solar with zero upfront costs. Installation financing would be provided by banks, which in partnership with the utility, establish a multi-year repayment program with the homeowner that guarantees retirement of the installation debt. "We see tremendous opportunities in China," said Mr. Hsu. "To capitalize on them, however, you not only need to know market dynamics, but a deep understanding of the unique cultural and political dimensions to doing business there. I think you can see that in the partnerships we've formed as well as the way we've structured our operations."

About SolarMax Technology, Inc.

Founded in 2008, SolarMax Technology is a worldwide leader in solar, LED lighting, energy storage, monitoring and large-scale solar. The Riverside, California-based company, which has installed thousands of residential and commercial systems across Southern California, remains one of the fastest growing companies in the renewable energy space. SolarMax employs a workforce of nearly 200 professionals across its offices in Riverside, Diamond Bar, Fresno and San Diego. It is also the largest U.S.-headquartered solar developer operating in the Peoples Republic of China, with offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing and inland provinces. CONTACT: Michael Shepherd

(949) 798-5595

michael@theshepherdgroup.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/solarmax-technology-on-track-to-deliver-250mw-to-china-grid-in-2018-through-large-scale-solar-300580474.html SOURCE SolarMax Technology, Inc.

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[January 09, 2018] Moscow Opens the Doors of the Mysterious World of Blockchain, ICO and Cryptocurrency as CRYPTO EXPO MOSCOW Goes Live in May 2018

MOSCOW, Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The mysterious world of blockchain, Bitcoins, ICO is opening its doors for visitors as Crypto EXPO Moscow goes live on May 22, 2018. One more outstanding show organized by FINEXPO is going to take place and promises to become an absolute success as crypto world extremely gained its popularity in Russia lately. Crypto EXPO Moscow is planning to welcome about 50 speakers and over 1,500 attendees from Russia and the rest of the world. The amazing show is going to be filled with exhibitor spaces, bars and seminar halls where everyone will get an opportunity not only to build their network but explore the phenomena of crypto world itself and get more concrete and detailed information. The one-day event will include not only large exhibition, panels and diversity of discussions but entertaining, lucky draws, fantastic prizes, live performances and AfterParty as well. Meetings with the best crypto experts and leading ICO/BTC companies are the unique opportunity for every visitor. The diversityof topics in the seminar halls is quite impressive and includes ICO and White Paper projects, digital AD, PR and marketing in blockchain, ICO due diligence, global capital markets, blockchain, ICO and cryptocurrency future in Russia and abroad, etc.



Crypto EXPO Moscow has become one of the most attractive crypto shows  the best way to build business connections and widen crypto knowledge. To become a part of this experience, complete the registration procedure on the official website. Each registered user will be provided with access to the world of trading. Organizer of this show is FINEXPO - first and most influential financial event and fair producing company in the world since 2002 and its history of organized events counts over 30,000 traders, investors and financial advisors with more than 3,000 financial companies, brokers and banks. (Crypto Expo Asia, Crypto Expo Moscow, Forex & Money Expo, Traders Fair & Traders Awards, Money Fair Hong Kong, Financial Expo, Investors Expo and more).

FINEXPO Inc.

Margarita Yakupova

+7 495 646 1415 Related Links Crypto Expo Moscow 2018 Crypto Expo Asia 2018 View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/moscow-opens-the-doors-of-the-mysterious-world-of-blockchain-ico-and-cryptocurrency-as-crypto-expo-moscow-goes-live-in-may-2018-300580503.html SOURCE FINEXPO Inc.

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[January 10, 2018] Basilea announces completion of the license agreement extension with Pfizer for antifungal Cresemba for China and Asia Pacific

Basel, Switzerland, January 10, 2018 - Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) reported today the completion of its extension of its license agreement with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) for Basilea's antifungal Cresemba (isavuconazole) to include China (with Hong Kong and Macao) and sixteen countries in the Asia Pacific region, execution of which was announced on December 1, 2017. The amendment was subject to customary regulatory review which has completed. Isavuconazole is an antifungal for the treatment of life-threatening invasive mold infections. Under the terms of the amendment, Basilea will receive an upfront payment of USD 3 million and is eligible to receive up to approximately USD 223 million additional payments upon achievement of pre-specified regulatory and commercial milestones related to China and the Asia Pacific region. In addition, Basilea will receive royalties in the mid-teen range on Pfizer's sales in the territory. Pfizer is granted an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize isavuconazole in China, including Hong Kong and Macao, and sixteen countries in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, India, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. In June 2017, Basilea signed a license agreement with Pfizer for Europe (excluding the Nordics), Russia, Turkey and Israel. Basilea received a CHF 70 million upfront payment and is eligible for additional milestone payments of up to USD 427 million and mid-teen royalties on sales. About Cresemba (isavuconazole) Isavuconazole is an intravenous (i.v.) and oral azole antifungal, commercialized under the trade name Cresemba. Basilea has entered into several license and distribution agreements for isavuconazole covering the United States, Europe, China, Japan, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa region, Canada, Russia, Turkey and Israel. Isavuconazole is approved in the United States for patients 18 years of age and older in the treatment of invasive aspergillosis and invasive mucormycosis.1 In the 28 European Union member states, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, isavuconazole is approved for the treatment of adult patients with invasive aspergillosis and for the treatment of adult patients with mucormycosis for whom amphotericin B is inappropriate.2 In Switzerland, isavuconazole is approved for the treatment of adult patients with invasive aspergillosis and for the treatmet of mucormycosis in adult patients who are resistant to or intolerant of amphotericin B and in adult patients with moderate to severe renal impairment.3 Isavuconazole has U.S. and European orphan drug designation for its approved indications. Outside the U.S. and Europe, the drug is currently not approved for commercial use.



About Basilea Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing products that address the medical challenge of increasing resistance and non-response to current treatment options in the therapeutic areas of bacterial infections, fungal infections and cancer. The company is committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products to meet the medical needs of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Additional information can be found at Basilea's website www.basilea.com.

About Pfizer Anti-Infectives Today, Pfizer is a leading global provider of anti-infective medicines, offering patients access to a diverse portfolio of more than 80 products. Since its pioneering work on penicillin in the 1940s, Pfizer has been actively engaged in the research and development of innovative medicines and creation of policies and educational programs to address the evolving needs of patients and physicians in the area of infectious diseases. In December 2016, Pfizer completed the acquisition of AstraZeneca PLC's small molecule anti-infective business, which includes both marketed agents and clinical development assets primarily outside the United States. To learn more, please visit www.pfizer.com. Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schroder, PhD

Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations

+41 61 606 1102

media_relations@basilea.com

investor_relations@basilea.com This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com. References

1 Cresemba US prescribing information [Accessed: January 09, 2018]

2 European Public Assessment Report (EPAR) Cresemba: http://www.ema.europa.eu

[Accessed: January 09, 2018]

3 Full indication in: Swissmedic-approved information for healthcare professionals as of August 2017 Attachments: //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4cbdb563-497f-43dd-9e43-fae793630764

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[January 10, 2018] We.Stream Welcomes Frontier Computer Corp as its First International Distributor

On the first day of CES (News - Alert) 2018, We.Stream and Frontier Computer Corp reached agreement on an exciting strategic partnership for the distribution of We.Stream in the USA. With this agreement, Frontier Computer Corp becomes We.Stream's first distributor in both the United States and Europe. We.Stream offers the world's first secure mobile WiFi (News - Alert) hotspot with embedded Cloud SIM technology to enable unlimited data access in over 100 countries. We.Stream unveiled its new product yesterday during the opening of the Holland Pavilion at Eureka Park. Frontier is a leader in providing diverse IT Solutions including hardware, software and service, and will also make We.Stream available to resellers in Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180109006901/en/ Joachim de Wild from We.Stream (left) and Michael Maitland from Frontier (right). (Photo: Business Wire) "Frontier has always carefully selected companies with only the best industry-leading products to be our distribution partners. Our goal is to provide our customers with reliable, secure access to data. We.Stream offers a unique opportunity for our resellers to offer their customers who travel abroad an easy, economical, and secure way to connect to the internet wherever they are," said Paul Wieland, Frontier President and CEO. "With customers throughout North and South America, Europe and Africa, we've experienced the unwieldy patchwork of cellular networks world traveers must navigate and therefore believe that our partners will be very eager to bring We.Stream to their clients," added Michael Maitland, Frontier director of Channel Sales.



Joachim de Wild, Co-CEO of We.Stream: "We are really proud to have signed up a distributor that has a strong footprint in both the United States and Europe. We.Stream fits super well into Frontier's existing portfolio of Internet load balancing and VPN bonding solutions, modems, switches, and other communications devices." Richard Koenders, Managing Director of Frontier Europe: "Cybersecurity is a major concern of our customers and connecting via public Wi-Fi hotspots in places like airports, coffee shops, restaurants and hotels is risky. Connecting instead via We.Stream's built-in VPN solution gives them the secure data link they need. We are proud to become We.Stream's first distributor in the US and Europe, and we believe it's a great addition to our impressive suite of connectivity solutions."

About Frontier Computer Corp Since 1976, Frontier Computer Corp. has been serving enterprise IT clients worldwide from our headquarters in Traverse City, Michigan. Frontier's 37,000 sqft. warehouse holds more than 100,000 servers, drives, and networking products. In 2002, Frontier added an office in The Netherlands to improve service to customers in Europe. www.frontiercomputercorp.com / http://www.frontierbv.nl/ About We.Stream We.Stream is an initiative of Mondicon, an international mobile data provider specializing in connectivity solutions for challenging situations. The company recently opened its office in Santa Monica, California to support its growth in the United States. We.Stream has been nominated for numerous technology awards and has won the 2017 Dutch Insipience Award for "Best Mobile Project". On the night before the CES opened, We.Stream was selected as one of the 15 top emerging startups out of 800 innovative companies from around the world, during the official CES Startup Night Event. At CES, visitors can experience a demo of We.Stream at its booth #51522.1 at Eureka Park. Product video: https://vimeo.com/249712385. More info: www.we.stream / www.mondicon.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180109006901/en/

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[January 10, 2018] Nokia to provide Telenor with optical backbone in Norway and Sweden

Press Release Nokia to replace legacy optical core network connecting 200 Telenor nodes in Norway and Sweden

Advanced Nokia optical technology paves way for SDN-ready dynamic network capabilities

Multi-terabit capacity will support evolution to 5G mobile, growing consumer demand for online video and internet usage, and the increasing use of cloud applications 10 January 2018 Espoo, Finland - Telenor has chosen Nokia as its sole supplier for the replacement of its legacy optical backbone network. The new optical core network will provide much-needed bandwidth capacity in Norway and Sweden.



As one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, Telenor Group is looking to increase bandwidth capacity by replacing its current optical core network connecting major centers across Norway and Sweden. Driving the need for the new multi-terabit capacity are the coming evolution to 5G mobile, growing consumer demand for online video and internet usage, and the increasing use of cloud applications and the associated need for data center interconnections. The next-generation optical network will featur Nokia's state-of-the-art coherent optical transmission technology. Built on Nokia's industry leading solutions with advanced wavelength routing (CDC-F), it allows for greater flexibility and dynamic network management and automation. The network offers an SDN-ready platform that will provide Telenor with a more efficient way to automate, optimize and assure network services.



As an essential part of the Norwegian and Swedish national infrastructure, Nokia's optical backbone network is a highly robust solution. Many operations have been certified compliant with ISO27001 information security standards and in other cases have satisfactorily demonstrated conformance to the ISO27001 information security standards. Nicolas Almendro, head of Europe & MEA Optics Business Development at Nokia, said: "We are excited to be chosen for this multi-year turnkey project. This highly resilient and secure optical backbone will play a critical role in deploying next-generation services to Telenor customers in Norway and Sweden, and help the customer prepare for the demands of 5G."

Key Resources: Web page: Nokia 1830 Photonic Service Switch

Web page: Nokia Optical Networking page

Web page: Nokia Network Services Platform

Video: Nokia PSE-2: The heart of the network for today and the future About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing. From the enabling infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, to emerging applications in digital health, we are shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. nokia.com Media Inquiries:

Nokia

Communications

Phone: +358 10 448 4900

Email: press.services@nokia.com

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[January 10, 2018] Visual effects leader Double Negative chooses eStruxture for Montreal Data Center

MONTREAL, Jan. 10, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Double Negative ("DNEG"), a leading international visual effects company, has chosen eStruxture Data Centers as its data center provider for the mission critical IT infrastructure at its new studio in Montreal. "We are thrilled DNEG has selected eStruxture as its data center provider," said Todd Coleman, President of eStruxture. "We were able to accommodate DNEG's significant power density demands, something that is unique to the most powerful and computationally intense applications like those used by visual effects firms." Montreal is home to a strong and growing visual effects and film production community. VFX companies often require the ability to interconnect their systems to exchange film footage and add special effects to scenes. That exchange requires very high capacity networks, and is made easier by co-locating and interconnecting at a central facility. Community members like DNEG have chosen eStruxture as the home for their render and storage farm so they can interconnect with partners, service providers and other members of the VFX ecosystem. "At DNEG, we always try o use the opening of a new studio as a way to move things forward and modernise the way that we operate," said Graham Jack, CTO, DNEG. "In Montreal, partnering with a forward thinking co-location facility such as eStruxture has given us the opportunity to experiment with new virtualisation techniques for artist workstations, which we anticipate will provide a great deal of flexibility and significantly reduce operating costs."



DNEG's new studio is creating a significant number of new jobs in Quebec. To learn more, visit dneg.com. ABOUT DOUBLE NEGATIVE (www.dneg.com)

Double Negative (DNEG) is one of the world's leading providers of visual effects and animation for feature film and television, with facilities in London, Vancouver, Mumbai, Los Angeles, Chennai and Montreal. Dneg's creative drive and close collaborative working relationship with filmmakers ensures that the projects that it collaborates on, both large and small, all receive the same high standards of creative and technical service. This has proven to be a winning approach, resulting in the company winning Academy Awards for its work on 'Inception', 'Interstellar' and most recently 'Ex Machina', BAFTA's for 'Inception', 'Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2' and 'Interstellar', and Visual Effects Society awards for 'Inception', 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Interstellar'. Projects currently in production at DNEG include 'Ant-Man and the Wasp', 'Black Panther', 'Pacific Rim: Uprising', 'The New Mutants', 'Avengers: Infinity War', 'Deadpool 2', 'M:I 6  Mission Impossible', 'Godzilla: King of Monsters', 'Venom', 'The Kid Who Would Be King' and 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'. ABOUT ESTRUXTURE eStruxture provides network and cloud-neutral data center solutions designed with the capacity, performance and flexibility to run modern, demanding enterprise applications, and the control to rapidly scale in response to unpredictable changes in business processes. Headquartered in Montreal, the company provides access to an ecosystem of over 850 customers that trust and depend on eStruxture's mission critical infrastructure and customer-centric support, including carriers, cloud providers, media, content, financial services and enterprise customers. eStruxture offers colocation, private cloud, managed services, bandwidth, and security and support services to customers of all sizes. For more information, go to www.estruxture.com.

SOURCE eStruxture Data Centers

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[January 10, 2018] The Nerdery Adds Arpit Jain as Vice President of Delivery

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Nerdery today announced the addition of Arpit Jain to its executive team as Vice President of Delivery. Jain has more than a decade of experience leading the delivery of complex digital engagements for B2B and B2C companies in retail, automotive and healthcare industries. As VP of Delivery, Jain will further The Nerderys ongoing evolution as strategic digital consultants to better meet the needs of its clients. Jain has more than a decade of experience leading the delivery of complex digital engagements for B2B and B2C companies in retail, automotive and healthcare industries. His responsibilities will include client delivery of Nerdery services, and building relationships through strategy and planning.



As we plan for a successful 2018, I couldnt be more excited about Arpit joining our team, said Adrian Slobin, The Nerderys Chief Strategy and Operatng Officer. Arpits strengths include leading the delivery of high-quality, high-value work, building great teams, and mentoring and growing people. His impact will be invaluable.



Jains responsibilities will include client delivery of Nerdery services, supporting the Client Growth and Business Development team in building relationships through strategy and planning, and contributing to a culture of customer obsession. In this era of fast-evolving customer expectations and business needs, we need to have value delivered for our clients at a brisk speed, and more importantly, at scale. said Jain. My passion is to help clients grow through the power of digital. I see that same passion at The Nerdery, along with skills and nimbleness to help achieve our clients' business goals and ambitions.

Prior to joining The Nerdery, Jain spent 12 years at SapientRazorfish (formerly SapientNitro) where he helped shape the digital future for brands  including one of the largest retailers in the Twin Cities, a leading medical technology company and a marquee automotive company  by delivering engagements of all sizes through his business and technical expertise. Jain is passionate about creating better ways of working, leading large multidisciplinary teams, executing change at scale, and immersing himself in clients businesses to deliver real value. Todays hiring announcement furthers The Nerderys ongoing transformation towards a strategic, technology- and experience-led consultancy that includes the disruption of Nerdery legacy processes as well as the addition of Adrian Slobin as Chief Strategy and Operating Officer and RJ Nicolosi as President. About The Nerdery

The Nerdery is a digital consultancy of software engineers, strategists, designers and problem solvers who create digital products and services that better peoples lives and drive business outcomes. With offices in Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City and Phoenix, The Nerderys core services are mobile applications, web applications, websites, systems integration and digital consulting. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cbd96bfe-57b9-42dc-92dc-b4d46ffc618e Mark Malmberg 612-850-3178 mark.malmberg@nerdery.com

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[January 10, 2018] FreeTheTech Finds 5000+ Technological Inventions Suppressed by Classified Patent Program

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 5000 inventions are being suppressed via the US Government's classified patent program, according to official data obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request by the Federation of American Scientists. The report for Fiscal Year 2016 shows some 5680 patents are currently classified as a result of the program initiated by the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951. This means literally thousands of potentially ground-breaking inventions and technologies are being withheld from the public. A new project called FreeTheTech.org based in Austin, Texas, is raising awareness of the issue through a variety of means, including a new website, a petition on Change.org and a Billboard fundraising program. Their primary goal is simply to make the public aware that many potentially useful technologies are being suppressed while their secondary goal is to audit the program via a citizen review panel. What exactly is contained within the government's archive of 5680 classified patents has been the source of rampant speculation for decades. However, a recent leak from the Category List of 1971 finally provides some real-world insight as categories from it include: Power Supply, Meteorology, Propulsion Systems and Unique Materils & Devices. Interestingly, leaked data from the Power Supply section shows that modern-day solar panel technology was being restricted some 50 years ago  as a result one can only imagine what is being suppressed today.



The origin of the government's program is the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951, which evolved invention secrecy from a temporary wartime agenda into a permanent one. As a result, every time a patent is submitted by an inventor today, it can be flagged for review by a multitude of government agencies and all it takes is a single opinion by one of them to keep the invention from ever seeing the light of day. Patents can be restricted not only based upon being a national security threat but also for disrupting economic stability as well. This means that any number of potentially ground-breaking inventions that challenge the status quo may be restricted and suppressed. This could include energy technologies that could eliminate the need for oil and gas, advanced propulsion systems that could eliminate the need for conventional cars and planes, and healthcare solutions that could disrupt the pharmaceutical industry by eliminating the need for costly treatments and pills.

FreeTheTech.org's aim is to finally end all the speculation by forming a Citizen Review Panel consisting of both experts and general citizens alike to independently yet privately review all classified patents in order to shed more light on the subject. They're hoping this effort will yield greater transparency and accountability so that an informed public may begin to discuss potentially declassifying some of these technologies for the benefit of the country as a whole and world at large. For more information please visit the project's main website at: www.FreeTheTech.org Contact:

Benjamin Cohen

480-238-6459

188374@email4pr.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/freethetech-finds-5000-technological-inventions-suppressed-by-classified-patent-program-300579337.html SOURCE FreeTheTech.org

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[January 10, 2018] Device Authority and Thales announce partnership to Deliver Trust for IoT with HSMs

Device Authority, a global leader in Identity and Access Management (IAM) for the Internet of Things (IoT), today announces its first HSM partnership and technology integration with Thales eSecurity, the leader in advanced data security solutions and services, delivering trust in devices and data to enable increased adoption of the IoT. Device Authority's KeyScaler platform (version 5.8 also announced today) integrates with the Thales (News - Alert) nShield Connect hardware security module (HSM) to provide high-assurance device authentication, managed end-to-end encryption, and certificate provisioning for IoT devices, ideal for medical, industrial and other smart connected products. KeyScaler delivers a scalable, device-based authentication and authorization to establish a strong root of trust and identity assurance for IoT headless devices. "Our partnership with Device Authority enables us to solve device authentication and data security challenges that are impeding IoT deployments, creating a hardened system for issuing and managing device credentials and keys that are essential to creating a root of trust for customer IoT projects," said Cindy Provin, CEO of Thales eSecurity. IoT presents considerable security risks, operational challenges and data security/privacy issues for organizations. The recent Mirai Botnet and its advanced successors, Persirai, Reaper have proven the importance of IoT device identity and credential management. KeyScaler uniquely combines device identity and end-to-end data security to address the security challenges for enterprise IoT operations. "Thales provides best-in-class hardware security which creates a high-assurance foundation for digital security, a huge benefit for the IoT ecosystem," said Darron Antill, CEO of Device Authority. "Together our joint solution is already seeing traction in critical use cases, notably medical devices. We look forward to helping our partners and customers implement strong security practices for their IoT devices, applications and data." Encryption keys handled outside an HSM are more vulnerable to attack, which can lead to compromise of critical keys. HSMs are a proven ad auditable way to secure valuable cryptographic material. Thales nShield Connect secures the generation and storage of the private keys used by the KeyScaler platform within a FIPS 140-2 certified protected environment. This provides the highest level of security and assurance against key compromise and theft.



Sign up for Device Authority and Thales eSecurity's joint webinar on February 15th to discover more about delivering trust for IoT with Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). About Device Authority

Device Authority is the leading provider of IoT IAM. Our KeyScaler platform provides trust for IoT devices and the IoT ecosystem, to address the challenges of securing the Internet of Things. KeyScaler uses breakthrough technology including Dynamic Device Key Generation (DDKG) and PKI Signature+ that delivers unrivalled simplicity and trust to IoT devices. This solution delivers automated device provisioning, authentication, credential management and policy based end-to-end data privacy/encryption. With offices in Fremont, California and Bracknell, UK, Device Authority partners with the leading IoT ecosystem providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Comodo, Thales, Dell, Intel, PTC and DigiCert ( Symantec (News - Alert) ). Keep updated by visiting www.deviceauthority.com and following @DeviceAuthority on Twitter (News - Alert) . US Capital Partners is leading the Device Authority investment raise. Please see the following link: http://www.uscapitalpartner.net/investment-overview/device-authority-investment-overview.html View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180110005512/en/

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[January 10, 2018]

Lingotek's 2017 Successes Include New Translation Apps, Connectors, TMS Enhancements & Several Top Company Rankings

LEHI, Utah, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lingotek | The Translation Network announced the companys highlights of 2017, which included several top company rankings, new translation integration connectors, and translation management system (TMS) applications (apps) to automate and integrate vendor management, linguistic quality evaluation, and multilingual business intelligence. In addition, several major enhancements were added to the Lingotek TMS in 2017.



"In 2017, Lingotek received recognition not only for the quality of our products and services, but also for our company culture, which to me, is just as important," said Rob Vandenberg, President and CEO of Lingotek. "These rankings show that Lingotek continues to lead the industry with comprehensive and integrated solutions from software and integrations to both professional and language services, that make it easier to centralize translation across the enterprise."

Top Company Rankings

Lingotek was recognized as a top company in several industry publications and national business rankings in 2017:

Translation Management System (TMS) Enhancements

New TMS UI

Lingoteks new translation management system release in 2017 included several features to enhance its User Interface (UI) and streamline project management. Version 12.23.0 updated the UI to give users more room to work in the TMS, improve navigation and provide quick access to all of the users Lingotek applications directly from the TMS.

Integrated Quality Checks

Lingoteks integrated quality checks helped translation providers deliver faster, higher quality translation in 2017. From the Quality tab inside Lingoteks translation Workbench, project managers, translators, and reviewers can run hundreds of quality checks beyond traditional spelling and grammar. Lingoteks quality checks use rules to automatically detect thousands of error types to improve overall translation quality.



New TMS Applications (Apps)

Multilingual Business Intelligence

Lingotek released a new Business Intelligence App in 2017 that is a global digital transformation game changer by providing valuable analytics on multilingual content delivery, governance, cost, and control. The app collects real-time data to inform senior level executives on strategic content decisions to increase customer experience and expand top-line revenue growth.

Vendor Management

Innovative enhancements to the Lingotek TMS included new Vendor Management capabilities that offer the automation needed to easily manage multiple LSPs, including getting quotes on projects, conducting cost analysis and running reports for invoicing.

Linguistic Quality Evaluation

Lingotek introduced the industrys first technology solution for automating linguistic quality evaluation. The new LQE App streamlines translation quality management with automated LQE scoring and reporting inside the TMS.







New Translation Integration Connectors

Lingotek added four new translation integration connectors in 2017:

Magento ECommerce Connector

Atlassian Confluence Server 6.0 Connector

Atlassian Confluence Cloud Connector

Enhanced Salesforce Connector for translation of Leads & Cases

Adobe Experience Manager 6.3 Connector

Lingotek for Mac & Windows

Lingotek Software Localization Tool

WordPress Content Analytics

Lingotek also extended access to Neural MT to 80K+ of its connector users. Google, Microsoft and Lingotek Multilingual API users now can get superior machine translation with AI pattern recognition.

Lingotek - Inside Wordpress Professional Translation & 40+ Top Rankings

In 2017, Lingotek introduced easy access to Professional Translation Inside WordPress. WordPress users can select the content they would like to have professionally translated, receive an instant estimate of the project cost, and order high-quality professional translation with the click of a button. The Lingotek - Inside WordPress Plugin continues to be one of the most popular plugins for making a WordPress site multilingual, and was mentioned on more than 40 rankings of the top multilingual WordPress plugins in 2017. The multilingual plugin has more than 10,000 active installs and 146,275+ downloads.

Lingotek - Inside Adobe Experience Manager

Lingotek continued to expand its Adobe presence with the signing of several Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) customers in 2017. Lingoteks new AEM 6.3 connector was completed in conjunction with development partner, Bodex, for the release of AEM 6.3 and is built using the Adobe AEM Translation Framework Bootstrap Connector to ensure compatibility with future releases of AEM. The new connectorwhich was certified by Adobealso allows users to set up multiple, different Lingotek translation workflows and to assign workflows depending on translation requirements.

Drupal Sponsorship

Lingotek became a Drupal.org Sponsor in 2017. As a sponsor, the company contributes to Drupal.org's Localize.Drupal.org, Multilingual Documentation, and Drupal Solutions web pages, provided a featured blog post, and participates in a Premium Technology Supporting Partnership. The company also received a Drupal Security Shield designation in 2017, which recognizes contributed modules that receive a higher level of scrutiny and support by the Drupal security team. The Lingotek - Inside Drupal Module has over 75,969 downloads and over 647 sites report using the Lingotek Drupal module.



Customer Success Stories

In 2017, Lingotek published four new case studies detailing the improved efficiency, cost savings, and customer experience of customers in several industry verticals:

Strategic Partnerships

Lingotek continues to develop a successful partnership channel. The companys Digital Agency Partners of 2017 include Connect Worldwide (CWW), a global sales, marketing and digital services company serving tourism destinations, independent hotel and hotel brands, meeting planners and travel companies with a focus on international market expansion and revenue development. CWW represents two of the top five global hotel companies, 15,000 hotels, 20 hotel brands, and 25 destinations.

In addition, the company added many more strategic partners in the US, UK, British Columbia, India and Australia, including: Almond Multilingual Digital Marketing, Appnovation, Big Blue Digital, Bodex, Boston Interactive, CTI Digital, Leal Engineering, Monarch Digital, The Playhouse Group, Sagetree, and ZYXWare Technologies.

About Lingotek

Lingotek | The Translation Network is the only cloud-based solution to connect all of your global content in one place, giving you the power to manage your brand worldwide. Our industry-leading technology pairs with the best enterprise applications and expert language services to continuously push dynamic multilingual content to all of your global markets. Lingotek is based in Lehi, Utah--also known as Silicon Slopes--and is funded by Signal Peak Ventures and In-Q-Tel.

MEDIA CONTACT

Calvin Scharffs

Lingotek

801-331-7777 ext. 115

Email: cscharffs@lingotek.com
[January 10, 2018] Trianz Acquires CBIG Consulting and Strengthens Analytics Practice

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and CHICAGO and WASHINGTON D.C, January 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Trianz, a global digital transformation consulting and technology services firm today announced its acquisition of CBIG Consulting (CBIG), a leading Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics consulting firm based out of Chicago. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626944/Trianz_Logo.jpg )

In 2013, Trianz made a commitment to focus exclusively in the areas of Cloud, Analytics, Digital, Infrastructure and Security -related services to help clients transition to digital enterprises. Trianz has grown steadily for the past 5 years, developing capabilities research, strategy, process and technology consulting and managed services capabilities. The addition is part of Trianz' ongoing strategy to scale its digital transformation services portfolio comprising of Cloud, Analytics, Digitalization, Infrastructure and Security services. Trianz has also built strong technology partnerships in these areas, emerging as a Managed Services Partner of both AWS & Microsoft Azure. Trianz is rated #1 by clients for business impact, quality of services and commitment - for 2 years in a row. Founded in 2002, CBIG is headquartered in Chiago and is present in several locations across the U.S. CBIG offers a full array of analytics and information management services - from strategy and planning to full stack technology implementations for leading enterprises that help them make intelligent business decisions. CBIG's project teams comprise of leading strategic business consultants, data scientists and analysts, data engineers and architects. The collective knowledge of these teams in over 500 engagements has helped CBIG increase enterprises' value and competitive edge. In 2017, CBIG was named as one of 'America's Best Management Consulting Firms.'



Speaking on this occasion, Sri Manchala, President and CEO at Trianz, said, "Trianz has established itself as a strong player in the digital evolution space enabling business and IT leaders drive transitions to a digital enterprise. Our goal is to continue to scale our portfolio and capabilities in Cloud, Analytics, Digitalization, Infrastructure and Security to emerge as a leading firm by 2020. CBIG brings experience in multiple industries, depth in analytics and carries strong client centricity and a commitment to their success. Trianz and CBIG clients now have access to a large practice with end-to-end capabilities from strategy to implementation and managed services. We look forward to continued client success as one team going forward." Todd Nash, a founding Principal of CBIG expressed his views, "The hallmark of our success was built on quality teams, value delivery, client satisfaction and lasting partnerships. Being part of Trianz will help us amplify this success to our clients by offering a wider breadth of services, global scale and technology depth. We are excited about joining forces with Trianz and look forward to the opportunity ahead."

About CBIG Consulting CBIG Consulting is a leader in Business Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Data Warehousing, and Cloud-based Analytics platforms. Named a top BI and Big Data consulting firm by independent research organizations and publications, CBIG's management consultants, business analysts, data scientists, architects and engineers are seasoned professionals dedicated to the analytics space. CBIG works with global enterprises, mid-size businesses, and non-profit organizations in solving mission-critical reporting and analytical needs. CBIG is headquartered in the Chicago area and has additional offices in San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Austin, Raleigh, Irvine and Seattle. http://www.cbigconsulting.com About Trianz Trianz simplifies digital evolutions through effective strategies and excellence in execution. Collaborating with business and technology leaders, we help formulate and execute operational strategies to achieve intended business outcomes by bringing the best of consulting, technology experiences and execution models. Powered by knowledge, research, and perspectives, we enable clients to transition to a digital enterprise by leveraging Infrastructure, Cloud, Analytics, Digital and Security paradigms. With offices in Silicon Valley, Washington DC Metro, Jersey City, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai, we serve Fortune 1000 and emerging organizations across industries globally. http://www.trianz.com Media Contact

Prashant Bhavaraju

Vice President - Marketing

reach@trianz.com

+1-408-387-5800



http://www.trianz.com SOURCE Trianz

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[January 10, 2018] "China Phenomenon": Chinese manufacturers turn heads at CES 2018

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AI assistants, robots, unmanned cars and VR/AR turned heads at this year's CES, which opened in Las Vegas on January 9th. Notably, the number of Chinese exhibitors on display at the event left a deep impression on American visitors. Rather than being sidelined to a minor role, as had been the case in previous sessions of the annual event, Chinese exhibitors, to quite an extent, outrivaled their American, Japanese and South Korean counterparts when they displayed some best-in-class high-tech products, becoming this year's eye-catchers. As the developer of the world's first AI TV, Chinese consumer electronics maker Changhong showcased an AI-enabled 4K laser television, serving as a further demonstration of advanced technologies developed in-house by a Chinese firm and embodying the term, "China Phenomenon". Data from the Consumer Technology Association, the organizer of CES, revealed that 4,229 firms took part in the event, of which 482 have "Shenzhen" as a part of their corporate names, well above the number of local American firms. Of the 4,229 firms, 1,551 were Chinese, one good third of this year's exhibitors. Chinese manufacturers demonstrated their strong competence in producing consumer electronics for the world via the CES platform, providing definite and incontrovertible evidence that they have completed the transition from "Made in China" to "Created in China". The presence of so many Chinese exhibitors is not in itself enough to demonstrate their competence. American firms had been the leading exhibitors of new technologies and new platforms in previous sessions of CES, while Chinese firms showcased only new productsbased on the new technologies. But, this time around, it was the Chinese firms that became the eye-catchers with their advanced technologies. Baidu debuted its Apollo 2.0 autonomous driving platform and disclosed their production plans, which, based on what they said, would make Apollo 2.0 the first autonomous driving platform to move to mass production. Following in the heels of DJI's dominating the UAV market, PowerVision Technology Ltd showcased its PowerDolphin on-water robot with the aim of becoming the leader of the segment. BYTON and Xiaopeng Motors participated in the event with their electric vehicles. Chinese exhibitors also debuted virtual voice assistants, AI, robots and home appliances, which, to date, had been fiefdoms dominated by Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. The products lineups from what could be viewed as "upstarts" more than serve as a testament to their creativity, strong competence in advanced technologies and confidence in winning in the arena of global competition.



Chinese firms are demonstrating increasingly improved creativity, not only in terms of autonomous driving but also home appliances, and the world is beginning to take note. China-based Changhong showcased an AI-enabled 4K laser television, the C7TU, at CES, the traditional "battlefield" for home appliances makers as they each roll out their latest creations. As opposed to a number of single-color laser TVs available in the market, the C7TU, the world's first tri-color laser television, provides a laser light source for red, green and blue, resulting in significantly enhanced color performance. As a pioneer of embedding AI into TV products, Changhong is heralding the arrival of the 3.0 era with AI TV solutions that integrate the technology into its latest 4K laser TV. The technology makes video and audio content recommendations that are personalized to the preferences of every family member via voice print recognition, quickly surfacing what the viewer who happens to be sitting in front of the screen is likely to want to watch. Chinese maker Hisense displayed its 80'', 88'', 100'' and 150'' 4K laser TVs and plans to launch a 300'' laser TV in 2018, as part of its efforts in meeting shopper expectations for large-size display. Some Chinese firms have shown their interest in expanding into the US market, in addition to their efforts at enhancing brand awareness at CES as a means to stimulate sales in the home market. Huawei debuted the Mate 10pro prior to the formal opening of CES. Huawei plans to make the Mate 10pro available in the US, home turf of the iPhone. ZTE, another mobile phone maker with sales in overseas markets outperforming what they have achieved in the domestic market, has also expressed interest in the US market with their showcasing of a double-screen folding phone.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-phenomenon-chinese-manufacturers-turn-heads-at-ces-2018-300580723.html SOURCE Changhong

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[January 10, 2018] Locus Robotics to Showcase Award-Winning E-Commerce Warehouse Robots at NRF's Retail's BIG Show 2018

WILMINGTON, Mass., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Locus Robotics (www.locusrobotics.com), the award-winning provider of autonomous, collaborative robots for use in e-commerce fulfillment warehouses, announced their participation at the National Retail Federation's annual convention, Retail's BIG Show, held from January 14-16 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, New York. Locus's nationally-acclaimed robots will be showcased at Booth #IL19 in the Innovation Lab's "Retail 2020" exhibit, which features technologies of the future that are transforming the way that retailers market, connect and serve their customers. "Locus is excited to participate at NRF's Retail's BIG Show this year," said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus. "It is a tremendous honor to be recognized as a technology leader alongside some of the retail industry's most accomplished companies and executives. We look forward to the event, and to continuing to improve e-commerce fulfillment efficiencies and throughput for retailers and third-party logistics (3PL) providers around the world." The Locus booth will simulate a real warehouse environment, featuring a live demonstration showcasing how Locus's autonomous mobile robots work safely alongside workers in a space that is often highly congested and dynamic. Visitors entering the 'warehouse' will have the opportunity to interact directly with the robots to experience their unique collaborative qualities and efficiency benefits first-hand. Locus's turnkey warehouse fulfillment solution enables retailers and 3PL proiders to achieve more efficient e-commerce fulfillment operations, while simultaneously lowering labor costs and effectively managing seasonally fluctuating order volumes. Locus customers, which include DHL Supply Chain and Quiet Logistics, the 3PL that ships over $1 billion e-commerce orders a year for retailers including Zara, Bonobos, Glossier, and more, are already seeing doubling or tripling of fulfillment speed with near-100% accuracy, while saving 30% or more in operating expenses.



About Locus Robotics Locus Robotics has quickly become the leading warehouse robotics provider for retailers and third-party logistics (3PL) operators looking to meet the shifting demands of the booming e-commerce market, expected to grow by 20% (CAGR) to become a $4 trillion global market by 2020 (Nielson). Locus's award-winning, innovative, autonomous robots work collaboratively alongside workers, helping them pick 100-200% faster, with near-100% accuracy, and less labor compared to traditional picking systems. This proven, powerful technology easily integrates into existing warehouse infrastructure without disrupting workflows. For more information, visit www.locusrobotics.com.

About the National Retail Federation (NRF) 2018 Retail's BIG Show NRF's 2018 Retail's BIG Show is the retail industry's most important three-day conference, hosted from January 14-16 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, New York. The show brings together the largest gather of industry executives for unique discussions and demonstrations of the latest industry trends, giving attendees an unparalleled view into how retail brands of all sizes are transforming themselves for the digital age. NRF is the world's largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. About the Innovation Lab at NRF 2018 The Innovation Lab at NRF 2018 will highlight the technologies that are transforming retail through two dynamic exhibits and a series of educational presentations. Located in the River Pavilion, visitors will be able to demo the latest and greatest in retail tech, as well as hear from cutting edge solution providers through educational sessions. For more information, visit https://nrfbigshow.nrf.com/innovation-lab. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/locus-robotics-to-showcase-award-winning-e-commerce-warehouse-robots-at-nrfs-retails-big-show-2018-300580631.html SOURCE Locus Robotics

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[January 10, 2018] The Futurist Institute Releases The Robot and Automation Almanac - 2018

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Futurist Institute has released a groundbreaking new book, The Robot and Automation Almanac - 2018. This innovative book contains essays from 23 robot and automation experts, executives, and investors that all answer one question: What will happen for robots and automation in 2018? Jason Schenker, the Chairman of The Futurist institute and the world's leading financial futurist, has been the driving force behind The Robot and Automation Almanac - 2018. "People are interested, curious, and concerned about robots and automation. So we asked the question: What's next? We are very excited that this undertaking will help people see the many different ways that robots and automation will be impacting their worlds in 2018." The impressive list of contributors to The Robot and Automation Almanac - 2018 includes Will Allen of HP Labs, Fred van Beuningen of Chrysalix, Louis Borders HDS Globl, Jeff Burnstein of the Association for Advancing Automation, Jeremie Capron of ROBO Global, Lorenzo Carver of SpreadBot and CoinSwipe, Henrik Christensen of UC San Diego, Steve Cousins of Savioke, Craig Fuller of TransRisk, John Gibson of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, Rob Handfield of N.C. State University's Supply Chain Resource Cooperative, Holly McNamara of Hyperloop Massachusetts, Jayesh Mehta of Transbotics, Laura McConney of JBT, Lou Micheletto Yale Materials Handling Corporation, Stanislaw Radominski UnitDoseOne, David Schwebel of Swisslog, Daniel Stanton of SecureMarking, Kaleb Steinhauer of Genesis Dimensions, Daniel Theobald of Vecna Robotics, Michael Walton of Microsoft, and Bruce Welty of Locus Robotics.



Schenker who edited the The Robot and Automation Almanac - 2018 and contributed to it, has written four #1 Best Sellers: Jobs for Robots, Recession-Proof, Commodity Prices 101, and Electing Recession. He is also a Columnist for Bloomberg Prophets. "The history of robots and automation is being written now," Schenker noted. "I am very excited that The Robot and Automation Almanac - 2018 and all of its contributors will be part of that history."

The Robot and Automation Almanac - 2018 was officially released on January 5, 2018. It has been ranked a #1 New Release on Amazon for Robotics and Automation. It has also been featured on Bloomberg Television. Media Contact:

Jason Schenker

+1 512 592 8905

media@futuristinstitute.org View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-futurist-institute-releases-the-robot-and-automation-almanac---2018-300580628.html SOURCE The Futurist Institute

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[January 10, 2018] FieldIn, an Israeli Startup That is Disrupting AgPest Via IoT & Big Data, Completes a $4M Funding Round

SALINAS, California, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FieldIn is disrupting the $65 Billion Agricultural Pesticide (AgPest) market utilizing IoT devices connected to its powerful analytics platform, providing growers with unprecedented control over their farming operations, while constructing the largest AgPest dataset in existence. Over the past two years FieldIn has successfully monitored over 1 million sprayed acres in real-time, to discover that more than 25% of sprays were performed with consequential errors. Moreover, according to publications, over $300B of annual world crops is lost due to problems related to pest and disease control. FieldIn's innovative technology allows growers, as well as the entire AgPest supply chain (from growers to retailers), to improve yields, decrease costs and dramatically reduce the impact of pesticides on our entire environment. "Our AgPest dataset has reached a critical-mass coverage that enables us to provide unique insights on crops, chemicals and geographies," said Boaz Bachar, Founder and CEO of FieldIn. "We started our initial activities in Israel and expect to cover over 40 percent of the citrus and vine markets in 2018. Fieldin is rapidly expanding to the US, Europe and Africa, and has landed major contracts with some of the biggest names in the industry. We are especially excited about our recent agreement with 'The Wonderful Company', the world's largest grower of tree nuts. Overseeing nearly 100,000 acres for this company is a significant milestone for us." In order to support its rapid growth, Fieldin has secured a strategic partnership with Adama, a global leader in crop protection solutions, as well as a istribution agreement with Kern Machinery, John Deer's largest distributor in California. "FieldIn offers growers a unique spray management system that is economical and easy to use. It's a strategic asset that should be part of every grower's fleet," said Larry Sitzman, GM of Kern Machinery.



Amid these accomplishments, FieldIn is now announcing that it has successfully closed $4M in funding. The round was co-lead by Gal Ventures and Germin8 Ventures along with participation of early investors, Terra Ventures. Additional participants in this round include prominent international angels and the Israel Innovation Authority (formerly the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel's Ministry of Economy). Bachar shared his plans for the future: "This funding round is an important milestone for FieldIn. We intend to increase our customer base worldwide while enhancing our unique AgPest dataset. This will get us closer to fulfilling our vision: empowering an industry in which all AgPest activities become data driven, where FieldIn serves as the authoritative data source for the entire supply chain  chemical manufacturers, growers, retailers, and ultimately consumers".

About FieldIn Tech FieldIn is a data software service that provides real time management of AgPest usage, patterns and efficacy. Utilizing advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence, FieldIn computes geospatial, chemical, biological, weather and other parameters, to provide growers the ability to dramatically improve yields, adapt to evolving pest resistance and reduce costs. FieldIn has created the largest and most comprehensive AgPest dataset in the world, enabling data driven improvements of field execution, application methods and chemicals efficacy for the AgPest supply chain. No less important, this new transparency positively impacts the environment through diminished pesticide contamination. For more information, please visit www.fieldintech.com. Team Boaz Bachar, Founder and CEO is a Law & Business graduate from the Interdisciplinary center's Zell Entrepreneurship program. Iftach Birger, the company Chief Agronomist, holds a B.A.Sc in plant sciences as well as a Masters in Biotechnology from the Hebrew University and was born and raised on an agricultural farm. The company counts 25 team members which are comprised of software engineers, data scientists and agronomists in its Ramat-Yishai offices, as well as sales and support team members in California and South Africa. The company plans to expand its teams in Israel and in California in order to support its rapid growth. For more details, please contact:

Info@fieldintech.com

Adam Ingram

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fieldin-an-israeli-startup-that-is-disrupting-agpest-via-iot--big-data-completes-a-4m-funding-round-300580685.html SOURCE FieldIn

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[January 10, 2018] Saint Jean Carbon Completes Mill

OAKVILLE, Ontario, Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saint Jean Carbon Inc. (Saint Jean or the Company) (TSX-V:SJL) (OTCQB:TORVF) is a carbon science company engaged in the design and build of green energy storage, green energy creation and green re-creation through the use of carbon materials. The Company is pleased to announce it has recently completed the design build of the research and development facility located in Oakville Ontario, Canada as previously announced on November 16th 2017. The facility is believed to be the only one of its kind, with the ability to process from raw material right through to anode material and actual anodes in the near future. Images of the Oakville facility can be viewed here http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/a07b74ce-049b-42d3-9eba-076fb1585cde The main purpose of the facility is to produce the very best quality graphite for a host of applications; lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, tools, cell phones, etc. As well as applications including, solar panels, graphene for use in fabric inks, wearable technologies, safety, health care and a vast array of other high tech applications. The facility is also designed to showcase the Companys proprietary and patent pending technologies that have been in the design stages for many years, and are now in production. The air classification system is designed to increase the head grade of the mineralized material prior to entering the wet circuit of the mill. This means; if the head grade was 5% gC with multiple passes through the system this would increase the grade to 75%gC up to 95%gC depending on the number of passes. This greatly reduces the time and throughput of the raw material and further reducing the waste material significantly. Over the next 6 months, the Company and the engineering group will work towards the first step of running the mill to create the very best quality material from both a graphite concentrate through to graphite for high tech applications. This will be completed through numerous mill tests and multiple series of lab studies. Ech step will be documented to continue the best practices for; extraction, floatation, drying, sizing, shaping and coating the material. The second step will be optimization of the entire process from mine pit to finished anode. The significance of both steps is considered one of the most important goals for the Corporation. The first step will assure the quality meets the customer specification and the second step will assure the Company can reasonably produce the volume the customer desires at a profit. The results will create the bases of a feasibility study that the Company plans to prepare as part of the 2018 work initiatives.



Paul Ogilvie, CEO, commented: On behalf of the Company I would like to thank everyone involved in this project. The results are great and the capabilities of the facility really set Saint Jean on a clear path for 2018. The Company will continue over the next year to add more equipment and enhance the overall services and production offerings. The Company will start to market the facility in the second quarter with a goal of providing full lab and mill services to other raw material mining companies. Further, once the Company has completed the optimization phase, an independent engineering firm will be engaged to audit the operational costing model and capital expenditure model for future planning purposes. The company through various private placements has funded the design build with an estimated cost of $2,000,000.

Dr. Christian Derosier, P.Geo., president of C.D.G.C. Inc., is the qualified person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101 and, acting on behalf of Saint Jean Carbon, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. About Saint Jean Carbon Saint Jean is a publicly traded carbon science company, with specific interests in energy storage and green energy creation and green re-creation, with holdings in graphite mining and lithium claims in the province of Quebec in Canada. For the latest information on Saint Jeans properties and news please refer to the website: http://www.saintjeancarbon.com/ On behalf of the Board of Directors

Saint Jean Carbon Inc.

Paul Ogilvie, CEO and Director Information Contact :

Email: info@saintjeancarbon.com

Tel: (905) 844-1200 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, concerning Saint Jean s business and affairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, intends budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially. The forward-looking statements in this news release assume, inter alia, that the conditions for completion of the Transaction, including regulatory and shareholder approvals, if necessary, will be met. Although Saint Jean believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. Statements of past performance should not be construed as an indication of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors, including those discussed above, could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward- looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and Saint Jean assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

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[January 10, 2018] NTS Launches New Website

CALABASAS, Calif., Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- National Technical Systems (NTS), the leader in advanced testing, inspection, and certification solutions in North America, is pleased to announce the launch of its newly designed website at www.nts.com. The completely revamped website features simplified design, improved functionality and enriched content areas to help customers make well-informed decisions about their testing and inspection needs in different sectors such as space, defense, aviation, nuclear, energy, technology, transportation, medical, and telecom. The website is built for companies that require rigorous testing and industry-specific solutions. "We are thrilled to debut our new company website to our customers, partners, investors and visitors," said Sarah Willis, Vice President of Marketing at NTS. "The new website makes the incredible breadth of our services easy to understandand it highlights our history as an innovator across multiple industries." The new website offers a responsive design, which is optimized for viewing on any screen size to fit the growing mobile audience. Prospects and the company's over 4,000 customers can now access NTS experts, industry information and educational resources easily from any device, including directions to any of our 28 laboratories. With an enriched user experience, customers are able to find the information they need to help them achieve their business goals. The redesigned website is part of a larger customer-focused initiative that will be unveiled throughout the year. The initiative, which includes an entirely different web experience, is centered on making it easier for customers to interact with NTS across all communication touch pointswhile providing faster turnaround times and better customer service. "We are the gold standard in our industry," explains Willis. "As a pioneer with more than 50 years of experience, we look forward to raising the bar even higher." About National Technical Systems

National Technical Systems (NTS) is the undisputed leader in environmental simulation testing, inspection, and certification services. Since 1961, NTS has built the broadest geographic presence in the United States, offering more than 70 distinct environmental simulation and materials testing categories, including climatic, structural, dynamics, fluid flow, EMI/EMC, lightning, product safety, acoustics, failure analysis, chemical, and other industry-specific tests. NTS is accredited by numerous national and international organizations and operates its inspection division under the Unitek brand, providing a wide range of supply chain management services. NTS' certification division, which operates under the NQA brand, is one of the largest and most respected global ISO registrars, with active certifications in more than 75 countries. For additional information about NTS, visit our website at www.nts.com or call 800-270-2516.







Contact: Sarah Willis, Vice President of Marketing Tel: (818) 312-8680 Email: sarah.willis@nts.com

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nts-launches-new-website-300580829.html SOURCE National Technical Systems, Inc.

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[January 10, 2018] Altman Vilandrie & Company Promotes Rivet to Principal

Altman Vilandrie & Company, a strategy consulting firm focused on the communications, media and related technology sectors, recently promoted Matt Rivet to principal. Rivet, who joined Altman Vilandrie & Company in 2010, advises the firm's Telecommunications, Media and Technology (TMT) sector and private equity clients on a range of business and technology strategy issues. He is based in the firm's Boston headquarters. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180110005941/en/ Altman Vilndrie & Company promotes Matt Rivet to principal. (Photo: Business Wire)



"Matt has made significant contributions to our growth over the past eight years and we are very pleased to welcome him to our leadership team," said Altman Vilandrie & Company COO Steve Conway. "Matt's expertise in video - both traditional TV and streaming technologies - reinforces a core focus area of our firm and has helped our clients meet their business objectives in that evolving space."

At Altman Vilandrie & Company, Rivet's strategy work focuses on go-to-market and product strategy for consumer wireless, wireline and video businesses. In particular, he has been a leader in digital media, helping to drive the annual Consumer Video survey, which focuses on consumer behaviors and attitudes around the traditional and OTT video ecosystems. In addition, Rivet advises data infrastructure and software clients on a number of strategic issues. Rivet earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a MBA from the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. A New Hampshire native, he is active in the Seacoast region business community. About Altman Vilandrie & Company Altman Vilandrie & Company is a strategy consulting group that focuses on the telecom, media, technology and investor sectors. The company's consultants are experienced in strategy, marketing, finance, M&A, technology, regulatory and operations disciplines. Based in Boston, with offices in New York City and San Francisco, Altman Vilandrie & Company enables clients to seize new opportunities, navigate mounting challenges, improve business performance, and increase investor value within complex and converging industries. Ninety percent of the boutique firm's operator clients are large- to mid-cap companies including service providers, technology and software developers, and media companies. Altman Vilandrie & Company's financial clients include many of the largest and most prominent investors in the telecom, media and technology markets. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180110005941/en/

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[January 10, 2018] The global fibre optic market will reach $3.3bn in 2017

NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05281139







Report Details

Fibre optics is the technology used to transmit information through very fine glass or plastic optical fibres from one source to another. The information is transmitted through the optical cables as rapid pulses of light. The receiving end of a fibre optic transmission translates the light pulses into binary values. Fibre optics have advantages such as increased bandwidth; electromagnetic interference immunity; decreased cost, size, and weight; low attenuation rate; electrical isolation; and data security.



Fibre optics are mostly used in various communications applications such as telecoms, premises, utility, CATV, military, and industrial. Fibre optics are also employed in non-communications applications such as sensors and fibre optic lighting. Fibre optics-based sensors are used for measuring physical quantities such as temperature and pressure in industrial applications. Optical sensors are used for detecting faults and failures during industrial operations.



Visiongain assesses that the global fibre optic market will reach $3.3bn in 2017 and the demand for fibre optics is expected to witness a high growth during the forecast period. The increasing demand for internet and growing FTTx are driving the market. Increasing internet applications such as video streaming, over-the-top (OTT) content, and the Internet of Things (loT) have resulted in demand for higher bandwidth. Advances in technology to improve bandwidth and lower the attenuation rate have created opportunities in the fibre optics market.



This report answers questions such as:

 What are the prospects for the overall fibre optic industry?

 How is the fibre optic supply chain structured?

 Who are the key players in the fibre optic industry?

 What are the demand and supply dynamics underpinning the fibre optic sector?

 How consolidated is the sector amongst the fibre optic industry players?

5 Reasons why you must order and read this report today:



1) The report provides detailed profiles of the leding fibre optic companies







- Fujikura Limited

- Sterlite Technologies Limited

- Corning Inc.

- Prysmian Spa

- Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Co. Ltd.

- Finolex Cable Limited

- China Telecom Corp Ltd.

- Alaska Communications



2) Our overview also forecasts fibre optic technologies by type to 2027

- Single Mode

- Multi Mode





3) Our study also forecasts fibre optic technologies by fibre type to 2027

- Glass

- Plastic



4) Our analysis also forecasts fibre optic technologies by Industry vertical to 2027

- Telecoms & Broadband

- Private Data Network

- Utilities

- CATV

- Industrial

- Military

- Sensors

- Fibre Lighting

- Others



5) The study reveals where the opportunities are in fibre optic technologies to 2027. We show you the prospects for the following regions:

Asia-Pacific

- China

- India

- Australia

- Japan

- Indonesia

- Malaysia

- Thailand

- Rest of Asia Pacific



North America

- USA

- Canada

- Mexico



Europe

- Germany

- UK

- France

- Russia

- Italy

- Spain

- Rest of Europe



Middle East & Africa

- Saudi Arabia

- Iran

- UAE

- Egypt

- South Africa

- Rest of MEA



Latin America

- Brazil

- Argentina

- Columbia

- Venezuela

- Rest of Latin America



Competitive advantage

This independent 170 page report guarantees you are better informed than your competitors. With 164 tables and figures examining the fibre optic market space, the report gives you an immediate, one-stop breakdown of your market.as well as analysis to 2027 keeping your knowledge that one step ahead of your rivals.



Who should read this report?

 Fibre optic companies

 Telecommunications companies

 Internet service providers (ISP)

 Utility companies

 Infrastructure companies

 Broadband companies

 Energy companies

 Defence companies

 Security companies

 Electronics companies

 Component suppliers

 Technological solution providers



And also

 Market analysts

 Consultants

 Executives

 Investors

 Business development managers

 Marketing managers

 Banks

 Government agencies

 Industry associations



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LAS VEGAS, NV -- During CES 2018, TPCast revealed the upcoming second generation of the companys wireless VR system. The new device, dubbed TPCast Plus, is an all-around improved product that should put to rest complaints about the original model.

TPCast first introduced its wireless system in China in late 2016. The company partnered with HTC China to distribute the kits as an upgrade for the HTC Vive VR system. The following January, at CES 2017, TPCast announced that the rest of the world would be able to enjoy tether-free VR within the year. It took most of the year to fulfill that promise, but TPCast began shipping units to European and North American customers in the fall. You can even get a TPCast Wireless Adapter for the Oculus Rift now.

We havent had the chance to test the TPCast Wireless Adapter, but weve seen reports from people who have purchased one complain about the shortcomings. For example, the TPCast Wireless Adapter disables the microphone in the Vive. People have also reported that their headset would lose signal from time to time, which would require a reboot of the system to correct. Furthermore, the TPCast Wireless adapter requires a dedicated router (included in the box) that makes setup complicated and cumbersome, and it can interfere with your existing home network.

Evidently, TPCast is paying attention to its customer base, because the upcoming TPCast Plus appears to address all the major concerns about the current model, and then some.

The TPCast Plus features the same wireless transmission technology as the original model, which can handle 2K @ 90Hz per eye while introducing less than 2ms of latency. The new version includes several new functions that improve the operation of the device, such as the ability to automatically restart if the system hangs, and automatic wireless channel detection to reduce interference, which TPCast said substantially improves the stability of the wireless solution. The new adapter also features updated processing hardware, which reduces the time needed to reboot the device.

The TPCast Plus system also replaces the cumbersome router with a simple USB dongle to simplify the set up process and introduces support for the microphone inside the headset.

Image 1 of 3 Image 2 of 3 Image 3 of 3

Additionally, TPCast created a head plate, which provides a location to mount the battery pack. The head plate attaches to the HMD's top strap along with the receiver module. The battery mounts horizontally across the back of the head plate. The cables for the battery run through the head plate so they wont get in the way while youre putting the headset on or moving around with it.

"The launch of the TPCAST Plus Adapter positions TPCAST as the leader in the Wireless VR Market. The consolidation of the adapter components into one Wireless VR unit allows a fully immersive user experience," stated Michael Liu, CEO of TPCAST. We expect that this upgraded product family will lead to a rapid increase of VR content that takes advantage of Wireless Virtual Reality experiences, thus bringing more consumer and enterprise customers into the wireless VR market.

TPCast said that the TPCast Plus Wireless Adapter would support the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, though we dont know if one model supports both headsets, or if the company will release two different TPCast Plus SKUs. Were also not sure how much the updated adapters will cost, but we should know more within a few months, because TPCast plans to have them on sale within the first half of the year.
Johnson County mailman sentenced for delivering marijuana A former postal worker in Johnson County was sentenced Tuesday to five years on federal probation for smuggling marijuana through the mail, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said. Terrell Dewayne Shears, 25, Overland Park, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Twenty years from now, this won't be a crime and might be available for delivery via Amazon . . . Just like liquor delivery:
Kansas City Needs Gift Of Life

Kansas City facing a shortage of blood thanks to the flu The flu is partially to blame for a blood supply emergency at the Community Blood Center. Normally the center has a three to five day supply of all types of blood available. Right now, it's down to less than a day's supply.

Show-Me Money Conversation

Kansas City Hiker Treks From Georgia To Maine, And State Auditor Investigating Delayed Tax Refunds When you think of a relaxing retirement, you don't normally consider hiking more than 2,000 miles. But you are not Deb Vacek, who took on the Appalachian Trail after leaving the professional world. Today, we meet the Kansas City adventurer.

Help Find This Local Due

KCPD looking for missing man with health issues KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City police are asking for the public's help locating a missing man with health issues. Police are looking for 31-year-old Emil Flemming. He's described as 5'11", 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen near Red Bridge and Askew on Tuesday.

Kansas City Biz Building Boom

KCK Lesson Complete

KCK Superintendent Cynthia Lane To Retire in June One of the most outspoken school superintendents in Kansas, often a lightening rod for conservatives in the Legislature, announced Tuesday night that she is retiring in June. Cynthia Lane has led Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools for eight years and spent 29 years in the district.

Kansas City Weather Report

Fog to start Wednesday, rain or light snow mix possible late Thursday Wednesday will be much warmer, and Thursday will drop us back into the deep freeze.

Behind The Local Lens

Tonight we can only take comfort inand examine just a few local news items worth checking right now.Take a peek:And this is thefor this evening . . .
kill Kansas City Democracy

There are only two "NO" votes on the ordinance the council wants to enact (171032) to get KILL our petition which requires a CITYWIDE public vote before KCMO can spend money on planning for expansion or building a new streetcar (our Question 1 initiative won approval last August with support from more than 17,000 voters across Kansas City).

Tonight at 5:00 p.m. there will be a hearing on the floor of the Missouri House of Representatives on a bill that proposes to eliminate the mail-in voting provision of the Transportation Development Statute. The bill is sponsored by Blue Springs Representative Dan Stacy.

This week City Hall threatens to cancel 17,344 votes demanding citywide support for the embattled Kansas City streetcar.Like it or not, insiders reveal the struggle todoesn't have much opposition among elected officials.Here's the word . . .And then the topic of a corrupt process is up for debate in Jeff City . . .Either way, these election issues remind us that, more than anything, the toy train streetcar helped destroy the myth of free & fair elections in Kansas City.Developing . . .
"The Community Backed Anti-Crime Tax (COMBAT) is supported by a County-wide sales tax, at the rate of 0.25% for a period of 9 years, used solely for the purpose of the arrest and prosecution, incarceration, treatment and prevention of drug related offenses and violent crimes; and the judicial processing of adult and juvenile violators of such offenses. Anti-Crime Sales Tax funds annually generate over $19 million and are used throughout the county to support these efforts."

JACKSON COUNTY INSIDERS FEAR AN EXPENSIVE FIGHT AND COURTHOUSE GRIDLOCK AS THE DEBATE OVER COMBAT ANTI-CRIME LEADERSHIP NOW MOVES TOWARD A LEGAL FIGHT!!!

"Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker will need outside counsel to represent her along with the Legislature and Executive Frank White's office will also require legal representation. The Taxpayers are going to be stuck with a bill that is going to cost hundreds of thousands WHEN this thing goes to court. In the meantime, that's money we could be spending on desperately needed repairs to the jail, for the crime program in question or any number of needs that we have on the docket."

What we've seen here is the Legislature unified in their criticism and opposition of the Exec Frank White's Administration. While these politicos don't have the same kind of name ID or recognition, they're making the case among their constituents that returning COMBAT to the Prosecutor's office will provide greater transparency and accountability to the taxpayer funded program.

This is just a preview and we'll have more on this tense Jackson County struggle for control of the. . .There are many who don't understand the scope of COMBAT - Here's a quick overview of the massive taxpayer effort:For now, let's look at the immediate implication of this Courthouse battle . . .The harsh words in yesterday's session now have denizens inside the courthouse searching for cover and getting ready for another set of EPIC payments to lawyers.Insider word:Meanwhile . . .The arguments of Exec White's Team simply call the move "unlawful" and are now moving to a court challenge of the Legislature as they lash out at the Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.Developing . . .
"We believe 2018 can be the year that our neighborhoods see true relief from violence, but it will take more than anything the police or the city government can provide. It will take you. We need each Kansas Citian to prioritize crime reduction in our community. There is no substitute for an engaged citizenry when it comes to fighting crime. "

THERE'S NOT ANYTHING NEW ABOUT THIS KANSAS CITY ANTI-CRIME MESSAGE!!!

HOW IS THIS GOING WORK IN 2018 IF IT HASN'T ALREADY???

Just now, Mayor Sly James and KCPD Chief Rick Smith offer their perspective and intention to reduce crime in Kansas City in the new year.Take a look:Money quote:Check the statement in its entirety and you decide . . . But here's the important question:And so . . .If youre like both of us, you look at Kansas Citys crime statistics and wince. Maybe you get angry. Maybe you want someone or something to blame. We get it. We do, too.But crime is complex. Criminal behavior usually isnt driven by just one thing, and we wont be able to bring down crime in our city with quick fixes. We believe 2018 can be the year that our neighborhoods see true relief from violence, but it will take more than anything the police or the city government can provide. It will take you. We need each Kansas Citian to prioritize crime reduction in our community. There is no substitute for an engaged citizenry when it comes to fighting crime.The men and women of law enforcement rely on tips from members of our community to help solve crimes. If you see something, hear something or know something, do something. Both of us are powerless to help make our neighborhoods safer without your help. To that end, KCPD recently increased the TIPS hotline reward to $5,000.While police and city government cant fix the crime problem alone, we are doing a great deal to address it. The Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA) has been working hard to stop the recent spate of homicides. In fact, the percentage of homicides resulting from group-related violence  KC NoVAs focus  has dropped steadily since the group started in 2013. However, overall homicide numbers are still going up, and were trying a number of things to stop that.KC NoVA is bringing all of our citys key players to the table to address the very small percentage of people who are responsible for a lot of the violence in Kansas City. Every morning, representatives from a host of agencies meet in person and by conference call to talk about what crime happened in the last 24 hours and any intelligence that was developed. The meeting is led by KCPDs Gang Intelligence Unit and includes a variety of internal units at the KCPD as well as our local, state and federal partners. These heavy hitters work together every day to identify the most dangerous people in our community and how we can best arrest and prosecute them.They also work to rehabilitate those who want to leave a life of crime. NoVA client advocates presently work with more than 100 people who want to avoid criminal behavior and be productive members of society. Advocates provide everything from conflict resolution skills to substance abuse treatment to job training. NoVA partners also have made nearly 100 visits to individuals who were incarcerated as the result of NoVA enforcement and worked with them to prepare for a law-abiding life on the outside. Its still early, but their rate of recidivism appears to be significantly lower than average.The Ruskin area in south Kansas City had recently experienced an elevated level of violent crime and quality of life issues. NoVA partners knocked on 697 homes in the Ruskin Heights neighborhood this past year to inform hundreds of families that police presence would be increasing, violence would not be tolerated and resources were available to help families get their loved ones back on the straight and narrow. The Violent Crimes Enforcement Division along with our NoVA partners is working with community members to identify specific neighborhood problems and concerns. We have already observed a reduction in the criminal activity occurring. Each year, we examined the date range of August through December. We found that crime categories, including aggravated assault, domestic violence aggravated assault, armed robbery, and strong-arm robbery, collectively increased from 2014 through 2016. Crime rose 56 percent between 2014 and 2015 and another 11 percent between 2015 and 2016. However, data show a 10 percent decrease for the same date range in 2017 when compared to 2016. Police will continue to work with City Codes Enforcement Officers to address blighted homes. The goal is to improve the neighborhood, reduce criminal activity and restore resident satisfaction. We intend to replicate this geographical targeted policing into other areas of the city.Another program of KC NoVA is Teens in Transition. Funded by the offices of the Mayor and Jackson County Prosecutor, this program has brought 40 teens at risk for violence together each of the past three summers. They learn conflict resolution skills, undergo job training and art therapy. Its led by artist Michael Toombs through Arts Tech. The whole time, KCPDs school resource officers work alongside the teens to build relationships and trust. The kids who graduate from the program have significantly fewer negative contacts with police than they did before they started.Youll notice many of these crime-fighting efforts are less about going out and arresting people and more about giving them the resources they need to prevent them from turning to crime. One way KCPD is doing that is through a social worker embedded at Central Patrol Division. Heres one great example: For years, officers have tried to enforce away issues with teens congregating on the Country Club Plaza in the summer and violating laws. This past summer, the social worker, Gina English, went to the Plaza and surveyed the kids about why they were there. After some citations for curfew violation the initial weekend the summer curfew went into effect, the problems on the Plaza decreased that summer. Gina identified the issues that drove idle youth to congregating and breaking laws, and those underlying issues were addressed by her social work and the responsible citizenship classes Gina taught to the children and parents whod been cited for curfew violations. It was more effective than anything police had done to address the problem. To read more about what social work is accomplishing in Central Patrol Division, check out Chief Smiths blog from last week. Like the client advocates at KC NoVA, social work is proving to be an innovative solution to public safety problems.Were about to see even more of this happen in Kansas City. The Police Department has just secured funding to embed a social worker at all six patrol division stations. More information on that will be forthcoming.The way the police department shares and acts on crime information also has changed in a way that increases accountability. A sergeant skilled at data and intelligence analysis provides both the patrol divisions and Chief Smith with detailed weekly crime data and maps, pointing out patterns, recent parolees and concerning issues that need follow-up. Every week, officers and commanders assigned to each of the citys six patrol divisions meet to discuss crime issues and neighborhood concerns in their area. Then every Wednesday, the commanders report how theyre working within their divisions to address those issues. They also discuss how they can partner with other internal divisions like Violent Crimes, Violent Crimes Enforcement, Special Operations, Traffic and Homeland Security and bring to bear the resources of those specialized units to stop the crime.We understand the need for our law enforcement community to look like, and to understand, the people who live in our neighborhoods. Were both committed to increasing the diversity of our police force. There is a KCPD recruitment fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Hillcrest Community Center, 10401 Hillcrest Rd. Department recruiters will be on site taking information from people interested in serving with KCPD and answering questions about employment. Wed love for community members from a wide variety of backgrounds to come apply.Striving for a diverse workforce is nothing new for KCPD, and its something we are always trying to enhance. In 2017, KCPD was out recruiting everywhere from urban core high schools and churches to the Bosnian Community Picnic to LGBT festivals to universities and military bases. Among a host of other diversity recruitment initiatives, KCPD has been working with Kansas City Public Schools to build a program for interested students to learn about law enforcement with the goal of having them eventually join the department. In the coming months, KCPD will be operating a career center at the Manual Career and Technical Center in downtown. The purpose is to develop and mentor young people so those students looking for jobs after they graduate from high school can pass the background examination and go into civilian positions on the KCPD (such as desk clerks, building maintenance and other spots) until they reach the age of 21 and can become police officers. KCPD also is implementing a summer youth police academy for 12- to 15-year-olds in partnership with the Parks Department. The goal is for urban core youth to have a continuum of exposure to and mentoring by police from middle school to graduation. Those young people grew up in and understand the neighborhoods that are most in need of police presence, and we need them in the department.Thats just some of what were doing in terms of internal changes in working with our community and law enforcement partners to address crime in 2018. We have the bold goal of getting Kansas City off the 10 Most Dangerous Cities list and look forward to what contributions our residents can make in helping us achieve that.We believe all Kansas Citians deserve to live in a safe and healthy environment.It takes a community to make it possible. When we work together as a community, we have the capacity to solve our citys most complex issues. Lets come together now.###################You decide . . .
Turkey is one of the main Mediterranean competitors of the Greek tourism industry and has been hit strongly by terrorism and political instability culminating in numerous coup attempts during recent years

The NGO Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) denounced on Monday what they described as an illegal detention of the Turkish officer who was granted asylum by an independent committee for refugees, saying whoever ordered it could be prosecuted, ANA reports.

"We note that for the case mentioned above, there is no law requiring his detention. Consequently, his arrest and detention are blatantly unlawful and could even entail criminal liability for whoever ordered it," the NGO stressed in a press release.

The Council argued that according to article 46, par. 1 of law 4375/2016, an asylum seeker, and especially one to whom asylum has been granted and is not in administrative detention, cannot be detained, unless he has committed other crimes. It also argued that the Turkish national has completed the maximum time allowed for detention in asylum procedures.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Mstyslav Chernov License: CC-BY-SA
Tensions between the two communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, have been going on for years but their cooperation has also been extensive enabling tourism on the island to thrive

NICOSIA  Their fate and mission remained a mystery for years under government orders, but the remains of five Greek soldiers on board a patrol boat bombed by Turkish planes in a 1964 battled were finally handed over.

The turnover came at a Jan. 9 ceremony where they were given to Greeces Alternate Defence Minister Dimitris Vitsas, the Cyprus Mail said.

The men were on board the boat Phaeton, that was old, ill-equipped and had the wrong ammunition for four of its five guns but they heroically stayed on board even while knowing they were targeted during the Battle of Tyllirias following nationalist tension between Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots.

The Phaethon was quickly strafed with 75mm rockets and burst into flames, killing seven crew members and wounding several others. Its engine still running, the surviving crew managed to guide it aground and then abandoned ship.

Speaking at the event, Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Photis Photiou said the deceased had offered their lives at the altar of Cypriot freedom, identifying them as Lieutenant Panagiotis Chrysoulis from Athens, Plutarch Spyridon Agathos from Corfu, Plutarch Nicholas Panagos from Arcadia, Antipaspostor Panagiotis Theodoratos from Kefallinia and Piertis Nikolaos Kappadoukas from Skopelos.

The losses sustained by the crew were the first battle casualties of the Hellenic Navy after World War II. Due to the top-secret nature of the mission, the Commander and crew of the boat, including the fallen, werent recognized by Greece and Cyprus until Jan. 19, 2016.

In 1964, the government of Georgios Papandreou sent a Greek army division to Cyprus to help establish the Cypriot National Guard. As part of the same policy, two patrol boats, the Phaethon and the Arion were sent to Cyprus in a top-secret mission to assist in the naval operations which were taking place at Tillyria. Upon arrival to Cyprus, the two boats raised the Cypriot flag, installed guns on the boats, started patrolling the island and became the only two vessels serving in the Cypriot Navy at the time.

Two other members of the same crew, Antipaspisist Nikolaos Niafas from Lamia, whose remains were repatriated in January last year, and Cypriot volunteer from Morphou Akis Filatas, whose body was buried in his birthplace, Photiou said.

He said Cypriot was also handing over the remains of two Greeks, Reservist Vasilios Koukousoulis, who also died at Tyllirias in August 1964, and Colonel Athanasios Fotopoulos who was killed in the battle for Nicosia airport in July 1974 during an unlawful Turkish invasion that split the island, as it remains today.

Fifty-four years after the Turkish attacks on Tylliria and 44 years since Turkeys invasion of Cyprus  we do this as the Cypriot state with a great apology for the delay due to mistakes or omissions of the past, as well as to reasons that were judged necessary in our course over time, said Photiou, referring to the deaths being kept secret.

He also thanked the staff and scientists who worked to carry out the exhumation and identification of the remains of the Phaethon crew.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Golbez License: CC-BY-SA

Source: thenationalherald.com
Tour operators in Germany are optimistic about higher sales this year, with many predicting revenue growth of more than 5%, an fvw survey reported.

After relatively slow market growth of about 2% in 2017, according to GfK estimates, German tour operators believe business will pick up more strongly this year. In particular, the stable economy, higher consumption levels and low unemployment provide a good macro-economic background for the tourism market, according to experts.

Nearly all tour operators surveyed by fvw forecast higher sales in 2018, with specialist tour operators particularly optimistic. Out of the 30 companies who provided figures and forecasts, nearly half expect revenues to increase by more than 5% in 2018, while a third are planning with growth of 2-5%. Only a handful expect lower or negative growth. The top three, TUI, Thomas Cook and DER Touristik, did not provide any forecasts for this year but indicated at their recent summer programme presentations that they expect single-digit revenue growth in 2018.

Package holidays will be in demand after the turbulence in 2017, for example in the flight market, predicted Alltours chief Markus Daldrup. Nearly all destinations are showing a clear rise in revenues for summer 2018, pointed out Schauinsland-Reisen owner Gerald Kassner.

In terms of short- and medium-haul destinations, tour operators generally predict good business for Spain, Portugal and Croatia, higher demand again for Greece and continued recoveries for Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia.

Greece is safe and hospitable. Bookings will increase again in 2018, predicted a confident Michael Karava, owner of Attika Reisen. Nevertheless, Achim Schneider, CEO of dynamic packaging operator Vtours, warned: Spain and Greece will come under pressure due to higher prices. A hopeful Deniz Ugur, CEO of Bentour, pointed out: Families are booking Turkey more strongly once again.

Among long-haul destinations, tour operators predict good bookings for Asia, South Africa and Canada, along with a recovery for the Caribbean after the impact of last autumns hurricanes. But they are sceptical about prospects for the USA which already suffered last year from a higher exchange rate and the Trump Effect. Operators are split over the chances of a comeback for Germans top long-haul destination.

On the contrary, most companies foresee strong cruise holiday sales once again. Cruises are sexy, claimed Karl Pojer, head of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and industry association Clia Germany. New ships and concepts are attracting more and more people to go on a cruise holiday.

Yet, German tour operators are also realistic about the potential risks for business this year, including political uncertainties in major destinations, the risk of terror attacks, the impact of overtourism in some crowded destinations, and the consequences of turbulence in the aviation sector.

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Source: fvw.com
Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) has opened Swiss luxury goods group Richemonts new state-of-the-art operations centre.



Inaugurated by Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dafza, the Richemont Operations Center (ROC) is a pioneering project, as for the first time, Dafza has purpose-built a facility based on a client's specific requirements.



The unique facility, designed with more than 700 technical specifications and over 2,000 shop drawings, is the result of the close and strategic collaboration between Dafza and Richemont. It provides key services for the Richemont Maisons including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Montblanc among others, retailing across the Middle East and India region in more than 100 own and partner-operated boutiques.



Sheikh Ahmed said: We profoundly welcome Richemonts great commitment towards their strategic growth in Dubai, UAE and the region which will further enhance Dubais positioning as the home of the most prestigious luxury brands in the world.



Over the last two decades, Dafza has stood out as being the most preferred free zone for multinational companies, driving and shaping the economic growth of the emirate. Dafzas constructing a built-to-suit facility for Richemont demonstrates free zones vital role in enabling growth of multinational companies. We praise such collaborations between free zones and highly valued clients such as Richemont.



Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni, director general of Dafza said: Dubai Airport Freezone is very pleased with the results of working closely with Richemont in the development of this new, technologically advanced facility to meet their growing operational requirements. The highest technology material and latest techniques were utilized in the construction to ensure that every facet of the building conforms to their global standards and international best practices.



Covering a total built-up area of about 4,500 sq m, the three-story, freestanding ROC building in Dafza enables Richemont to deliver world-class services and is designed for optimal workflows and efficiency to enable shorter delivery times. It comprises a regional logistics facility, Grade A office spaces, a state-of-the-art customer service centre that serve more than 20 countries as well as a regional data centre.



Benefiting from plenty of natural light, the building was designed with a focus on the well-being of Richemont employees. Employee-focused design highlights include an expansive breakout area with an outdoor terrace, as well as various sizes of casual and formal meeting areas to create a collaborative environment. The facility also has a prayer room, providing a dedicated space for prayers.



The facility, which is constructed in line with green and sustainability standards, features an urban, industrial-chic design with concrete floors, grey slate stones, mat-black metal and natural rustic wood furniture with an open ceiling, providing an open spacious and soothing feel.  TradeArabia News Service
Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) has announced that The Residence by Cenizaro has joined its portfolio of distinct brands, adding a collection of luxury resorts to GHAs network of more than 35 independent brands and over 500 hotels.



Owned and managed by Cenizaro Hotels and Resorts, The Residence by Cenizaro presents a portfolio of independent properties in some of the worlds most desirable locations, including Tunis, Mauritius, Zanzibar and the Maldives. Each property in the family reflects a distinctive, individual personality and sense of place, and they all embody the legendary hallmarks of excellence the world has come to know: attention to detail and intuitive, personal and discreet customer service. The resorts of The Residence by Cenizaro will also become part of Ultratravel Collection, the most luxurious and iconic hotels in GHA's Discovery loyalty programme.



Chris Hartley, GHAs CEO, said: We really do have a rich collection of brands to rival any that the global majors have to offer, and The Residence by Cenizaro adds to the wealth of choice that we offer our Discovery members.



Gary Xie, the companys executive director, said: We are delighted to be part of a worldwide alliance, which will enable us to reach a global audience of luxury travellers through Discoverys 11 million members. We are looking forward to welcoming Discovery customers to our amazing properties.



The Residence by Cenizaro is due to open its first south-east Asian property in Bintan, Indonesia in early 2018. GHAs other recent additions also include Monarch Beach Resort, an award-winning property in California. - TradeArabia News Service


IBM has signed a 10-year managed services agreement with Emirates airline, valued at approximately $85 million.



The agreement will enable Emirates to focus its efforts on highly strategic initiatives, while IBM handles the day-to-day management of its IT infrastructure.



Signed in Q3 2017, the new agreement expands upon a services agreement signed in 2016 and will see IBM manage and transform the underlying IT infrastructure which supports Emirates mission-critical global operations. This will assist Emirates to benefit from improved business application performance, a resilient, scalable, and agile environment, and operational savings.



IBM will also manage Emirates backup environment and implement a private cloud solution at the airlines two data centers in Dubai, UAE. The private cloud will provide Emirates with access to a self-service portal which will be managed by IBM and allow Emirates business teams to order infrastructure services for their internal consumption.



Emirates global footprint spans more than 155 cities, in 84 countries across six continents. In an effort to streamline Emirates global operations, IBM will also provide data center networking services to enable employees to have access to Emirates core IT environment and business critical applications remotely, at any time of the day, regardless of their geographical location.



Under the new agreement, Emirates will benefit from a resilient, scalable and agile service, as well as operational savings, said Amr Refaat, general manager, IBM Middle East and Pakistan. With its expanding global footprint, it is imperative that Emirates IT operations are streamlined and accessible to its employees anywhere and anytime, and this is where our expertise comes into play to achieve this.



Neetan Chopra, Emirates senior vice president, IT Strategic Services said: A key component of Emirates IT strategy is to transform our data infrastructure to a cloud architecture, and drive both agility and efficiency benefits. IBM has been our long standing partner and we are happy to work with them to achieve this goal.



The agreement builds off of the 10-year and approximately $300 million agreement Emirates signed with IBM in 2016 to provide IT Infrastructure delivered as a service, allowing the airline to improve the efficiency of its passenger support systems and functions. In the same year, Emirates also collaborated with IBM to enhance its Passenger Service System (PSS) to facilitate the re-design of its business processes and to streamline airport operations. - TradeArabia News Service
Brevard-Davidson River Presbyterian

This Sunday, the congregation welcomes Rev. Bob Edmunds to the pulpit. Edmunds is a retired Presbyterian minister who recently moved to Etowah with his wife, Susan.

The Chancel Choir will provide special music for worship.

Sunday worship services are at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Brevard FUMC

Mark in his Gospel tells of the time when Jesus came to the River Jordan to be baptized by his cousin, John. It is a brief story, but so profound, and with a bit of mystery, too. Why would Jesus, who was without sin, need to be forgiven. And why baptism anyway? Join Brevard First UMC this Sunday to explore the meaning of baptism.

Brevard First UMC also offers chapel worship with Holy Communion every Wednesday at 5 p.m. All are welcome. The 30-minute service is held in the church chapel.

Brevard First UMC is located in Brevard on Broad Street across from Brevard College. Three worship experiences are offered on Sunday mornings: traditional worship at 8:30 and 10:55, and a celebration service at 9 a.m. in the fellowship hall.

First Baptist

We are getting back into our regular routines after the holiday special events and programs. The AWANA group began meeting again on Sunday night with 43 children and more than a dozen adults. Then, the Young-at-Heart group had their monthly luncheon/program on Tuesday.

The womens mission action group brought 170 pounds of food and toiletries for the Sharing House to their first meeting of 2018. They do a local ministry outreach once a month.

Dr. Mike Miller, the Baptist Associational director, will give the Sunday sermon messages for the month of January as our search committee continues looking for a senior pastor.

Sunday school meets at 9:30 and worship services at 11 a.m. We also have a Wednesday night prayer meeting at 6 p.m. We welcome visitors at any time.

In The Bible Mission

Come fellowship with In The Bible Mission at Catheys Creek Community Center. Sunday service is at 11 a.m. and Sunday school is at 10 a.m.

Lutheran Church Of The Good Shepherd

Reset Wednesdays at LCGS continue weekly through Feb. 7 with a cost dinner at 5:30 p.m., followed by options for small group or individual prayer practices and a short worship/group prayer service at 6:50. Child care is available. Book club meets on Tuesday, Jan. 16, for discussion and fellowship.

Coffee office hours with Pastor Mary are Tuesdays from 10:30 a.m.-noon at College Walk and Wednesdays from 1:30-3 p.m. at Bills Boiler House. All are welcome.

For additional information regarding any of the above activities, contact the church office at (828) 883-3680 or [email protected] um.net. Good Shepherd is located at 22 Fisher Road in Brevard or visit http://www.lutheranchurchbrevardnc.com. Regular Sunday worship services are at 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. with Sunday school for all ages at 9:15 a.m.

Sacred Heart Catholic

Save these dates for the next P.A.C.K. meetings. Movie night is Jan. 14, from 4-6 p.m. Popcorn and snacks will be provided. Mardi Gras celebration is Feb. 11, from noon to 2 p.m. Contact Tricia Poche for more information.

To receive a statement for your 2017 contributions, call Jenni in the office at (828) 883-9571 or email [email protected] nc.org. If you have not been receiving envelopes but would like to, contact the office.

A new DVD lecture and discussion class began on Tuesday, Jan. 9, from 10 a.m. until noon. The series, Great Minds of the Medieval World, presented by Dr. Dorsey Armstrong, will be offered every Tuesday morning for 12 weeks. To register, contact Dorice Narins at 891-3064. Sign up soon so you dont miss any of the lectures.

Dont miss out on a compelling and inspiring learning experience sure to draw you closer to Christ through a deeper understanding of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Pillar I: The Creed is a 12-part program beginning Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. and continuing every Wednesday at 6 p.m. For more information, or to register, call Byron Phillips at (828) 447-8227 or [email protected]

The annual Baby Bottle Campaign supporting the local Center for Women begins soon. The baby bottles can be picked up after any of the Masses on the weekend of Jan. 20-21. Fill the bottle with spare change, bills or a check and return it to the church over the next three weekends. The checks should be written directly to The Center for Women. In addition, feel free to donate new baby items on the collection weekends as well. The center uses these items as gifts for new mothers. Flyers are also available with details on how to participate in a spiritual adoption and baby shower.

Masses are celebrated on weekdays at 9 a.m. and on Saturday at 4 p.m., Sunday at 8 and 10:30 a.m. Reconciliation is on Thursday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2:45 p.m. The Spanish Mass is now celebrated on Saturday at 7 p.m.

St. Philips Episcopal

This Sunday, Jan. 14, is an important day at St. Philips: Father Thomas Murphy takes the helm as Rector of St. Philips, and the annual meeting will be held Sunday morning during a slightly revised schedule. A reception welcoming the Murphy family will follow the last service at approximately 12:30 p.m.

On Jan. 14, worship services will be held at 7:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., but there will be no 9 a.m. service. The annual meeting will occur at 8:45 a.m. in Miller Hall. This important meeting will include parish reports, budget presentation and vestry elections. All St. Philippians are encouraged to attend. Sunday school will take place as usual at 10:10 a.m.

The community is invited on Tuesday, Jan. 23, when St. Philips, in collaboration with El Centro Comunitario, will host Shoshana Fried, director of the Immigration Program at Pisgah Legal Services. She will discuss the latest changes and updates regarding Dreamers and DACA recipients, including how Pisgah Legal Services is working to support this group of young people. She will also give an overview of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. The program will begin at 6 p.m. in Miller Hall.

The parish office will be closed Monday, Jan. 15, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

St. Timothy UMC

The study of the Gospel according to John continues this Sunday, Jan. 14. The study will continue through Lent and Easter. John is believed by most scholars to be the last Gospel written. It was authored approximately 80 to 100 years after the life of Jesus.

Sunday, Rev. Ann Duncan will be preaching on John 1, 25-51, Jesus baptism and his choosing the first disciples.

The Angel Project for St. Timothy in January 2018 is the Childrens Center of Transylvania County. The Childrens Center is an organization which coordinates services for children who are at risk of or have been abused and/or neglected. Gifts of diapers sizes 4 and 5 may be placed in the church gathering space.

Alternately, you may bring a check made to St. Timothy and designated for Childrens Center  diapers. St. Timothy United Methodist Church is located at 1020 Asheville Highway at the corner of Hospital Drive. Worship is at 10:55 a.m. each Sunday and Sunday school is at 10 a.m. For more information, contact the church office at 883-2985 or visit http://www.sttimothy-brevard.org.

Unitarian Universalist

Rev. Ilene Tompkins-Gillispie will deliver the sermon Our Legacy of Tolerance, at the 9:15 and 11 a.m. Unitarian Universalist services on Jan. 14.

This Sunday, we will join with Unitarians around the world in honoring the 450th anniversary of the Edict of Torda, the worlds first declaration of religious tolerance. The edict was proclaimed by the worlds first and only Unitarian king, who ruled (you guessed it!) Transylvania, Romania. Come and learn about our radical legacy as freethinkers and promoters of freedom and tolerance.

This coming Monday, join us in marching from Bethel A Baptist Church to the Porter Center (assemble at 5:30 p.m.) on our way to the annual MLK Celebration. All are welcome to join the mens group on Tuesday at 9 a.m. On Wednesdays at 9:30, bring an instrument and jam with or listen to the Eclectics! For information on more public events, check our calendar at http://www.uutc.org.

The first guiding Principle of Unitarian Universalism is the inherent worth and dignity of every person. UUTC welcomes all  persons of various ages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, theological and political beliefs, socio-economic status, educational backgrounds, abilities and ethnicities. Services are at 9:15 and 11 a.m.

The building is wheelchair accessible, dress is casual and visitors are always welcomed.

Childrens Lifespan Religious Exploration is offered at 11 a.m. Infant care is available during the service. Join us for coffee between services at 10:30 a.m.
The county wants to look at its contract with Brevard Fire Department (BFD) before considering committing to helping fund a new rescue truck for the department.

During its regular meeting Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners instructed staff to look at the contract and the services provided by BFD, which, for the county, primarily responds to fire calls in the Sylvan Valley II district.

Currently, the county funds about 47 percent of the Brevard Fire Departments overall budget to provide services outside the city limits to the Sylvan Valley II area, which encompasses 33.46 square miles and a population of about 12,000. The area includes Glen Cannon, Williamson Creek and along Wilson Road.

In the previous budget process for the 2017/18 fiscal year, the city requested replacing BFDs fire and rescue truck with a rescue vehicle. The total cost of the new vehicle being considered was $604,220. In addition, the department was requesting the purchase of rescue equipment for the truck. The proposed equipment expenditures totaled $214,658.43.

At the time, the county asked to put the request on hold until it could get some more information. The BFDs current fire and rescue truck is a 1996 model with roughly 21,358 miles and was purchased originally for fire protection response.

The countys Emergency Services staff met with the City Councils Public Safety Committee to discuss the proposal and rescue services provided in Sylvan Valley II.

The county funds the Transylvania County Rescue Squad for primary rescue services and medical first response in Sylvan Valley II, for back-up ambulance services, and for support to fire and rescue departments countywide. According to the county, BFD serves as support only for the rescue squad for rescue services in Sylvan Valley II.

An inspection found current equipment to be in good working order, according to the county, and the equipment request represents a duplication of currently owned equipment and duplication of services with the rescue squad.

Assistant County Manager David McNeill told commissioners that BFDs current rescue truck has some issues but is usable until the contract and service questions are resolved.

He noted there has been in the past some conflict between the rescue squad and BFD about providing similar services.

He believes clarification can be reached on what the BFD and rescue squad each provides and to eliminate confusion and any unnecessary service duplication.

Any request for funding a new truck would be part of the 2018/19 fiscal budget.

Brevard City Manager Jim Fatland told commissioners there was no problem in the project being delayed.

In other action:

Shelly Foreman, with Vaya Health, talked about the proposed Medicaid reform in the state.

The state, she said, is gearing up to change the whole way that Medicaid, a federal/state health insurance program for low-income and needy people, is managed.

Vaya Health is a public managed care organization that deals with Medicaid, federal, state and local funding for services related to mental health, substance use and intellectual/ developmental disability needs. It operates in 23 Western North Carolina counties, including Transylvania.

The county provides Vaya roughly $99,000 a year for its services.

Vaya is doing a lot to prepare for the changes, which will occur over the next several years, Foreman said. The changes include the state looking to private health insurance companies, as well as public health systems, such as Vaya, to manage various health-related services.

Medicaid consumers will have a lot of choices in the next five years as far as picking a health plan, Foreman said. To be competitive in this new process requires having a greater level of providers, she said.

As a part of that, Vaya Health formed a coalition with two similar entities in the state: Alliance Behavioral Healthcare, which covers the middle part of the state, and Trillium Health Resources, which covers the eastern portion.

Vaya, Foreman said, is also looking at being more efficient, so it can be more competitive. She said that Vaya is most concerned about state lawmakers not expanding Medicaid and reducing funding to Vaya. Vaya tells Meridian Behavioral Health Services, one of its local providers in Transylvania County, to provide services to all, regardless of whether someone has insurance or not.

Foreman said that for many years Vaya has been dipping into its fund balance to continue to provide services.

During public comment, Sean Trapp, co-publisher of The Transylvania Times, spoke about a proposal on the meetings agenda to allow the county to advertise for bids electronically instead of via a newspaper.

State law says local governments may advertise in the newspaper or by electronic means or may do both.

To advertise just electronically instead of in a newspaper needs the governing boards approval.

Trapp noted the issue is tied to an ongoing legal one in the state Legislature to do away with the legal requirement to publish notices in newspapers and place them on websites.

Proponents, he said, say it will save taxpayer money. Newspapers, Trapp said, were once the only way to spread this information.

Now, governments have their own websites.

He said the newspaper does make money on the legal notices but long-term, he said, changes could also have dire consequences for society.

The countys proposal pertains just to bids but it is part of a larger issue of whether legal notices need to be in newspapers, Trapp said. Legal notices should be in a central location, he said. The result of the changes could be that the town of Rosman, City of Brevard and the county publish their notices on their websites, resulting in having to check three different sites to track what the local government is doing.

We actually believe there is a real social benefit for there to be one place where you can go and look, and the government is required to publish information about all the activities they are up to, Trapp said.

Secondly, he believes it is important to have an objective third-party perform that duty.

He said the media acts as a watchdog on potential government corruption and, in that role, publishing government notices in the paper is very valuable.

Trapp said his third argument includes the value of supporting local community newspapers.

He said he doesnt want it viewed as charity, but that newspapers should be supported because they do work that is important to communities.

Trapp also noted the greater reach of newspapers, through print and websites, compared to a government website and that newspapers can do a better job disseminating information, including seeking bids.

Trapp said he would send commissioners more information on the issue.

When commissioners addressed the agenda item, Gay Poor, the countys finance director, told them that electronic advertisements are being increasingly used and are cost effective.

She said the county just wants a little more flexibility when it advertises for certain limited bids. She said it became an issue when the county sought bids for a new VHF simulcast computer system, which she described as highly technical and specialized. Staff questioned the effectiveness of seeking bids just in The Transylvania Times for this type of project.

The intent is not to completely replace the advertising in the paper but to just have some flexibility, she said.

Commissioner Mike Hawkins, who said he was against the proposed changes, noted that the law already allows the county to advertise electronically.

Poor said the county did advertise the bid electronically and has done so in other cases.

The request, she pointed out, is to have the ability to just advertise electronically.

Commission Chairman Larry Chapman said he saw the proposal as just giving the county another option when needed.

He also referenced the movement across the state to do away with the legal requirement for government advertisements in newspapers.

Hawkins said hed also like to see some data that could show how often the county may use this proposed new option for seeking bids.

Commissioners eventually decided to table the matter to their next meeting and to allow them to study the information Trapp plans to send them and any other information gathered by staff.

Commissioners approved donating two scoreboards to Brevard Middle School no longer used by Parks and Recreation.

Commissioners recognized members of the public who are stepping down from roles on various Citizen Advisory Councils, including Norah Davis (Transportation Advisory Committee), Steven Dugard (Tourism Development Authority) and Frank Porter (Brevard Planning & Zoning Board).

Commissioners approved Lake Toxaway Fire Rescue purchasing a new rescue pumper. Lake Toxaways debt service will increase by $2,700 per month starting in the 2020 fiscal year but a potential impact on the fire tax rate has not been determined.

Commissioners approved the Transylvania County Historical Society to use $3,000 in grant funds from the county for continued repairs on the Allison-Deaver House.

Commissioners approved the reclassifica-tion/combination of two part-time administrative assistants in the countys Transportation Department into one administrative assistant position, increasing hours from 23.5 to 27.5 hours. The $5,700 increase in the budget will be offset by lapsed salaries. The department has been seeing increases in ridership and service calls.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed Ecusta Road industrial building will be held Jan. 19.

Commissioner Page Lemel didnt attended Tuesdays meeting as she was in Raleigh serving on a state committee dealing with social services issues.

More from the meeting will appear in an upcoming edition.
Qtech software was recently voted as Worlds Leading Travel ERP technology provider, 2017 at the most prestigious awards in the travel industry, The World Travel Awards held in Vietnam. This year too, Qtech will showcase their flagship product OTRAMS along with some new range of products at SATTE, stand E62 from 31st Jan to 2nd Feb at New Delhi, India.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - January 10th, 2018 -

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Qtech software is empowering travel businesses of more than 45 clients across the globe. Known for their sound experience of more than 12 years in the travel domain, their flagship product OTRAMS (Online Travel Reservation and Management system) is connected with over 150 online suppliers for various services like Hotels, Flights, Transfers, Sightseeing, Insurance, activities and more. Some of the key highlights of their turnkey solution are:

Booking Management

Online Booking Interface

B2B/B2C/B2B2B/B2B2C

Customised Interface Design

Multiple Travel Services

150+ API connections

Advanced Markup Rules

Reservation Management

Accounting

Offline Bookings

Multiple User Roles

Supplier Extranet

API Redistribution with XML+JSON

Whitelabel Ready

Mobile Apps

" With award winning clients like 24x7 rooms who won the award for excellence in online booking site for B2B last year we only look forward to this year's display of our product range which is ever so evolving using cutting edge technology , said Paresh Parihar, MD & CEO, Qtech Software.

Qtech looks forward to showcase some of their latest range of products at SATTE:

Ratenet - Avail multiple supplier feeds through a single API

OTRAMS Lite - A lighter version of the Travel ERP with concise travel management options

Nucleus - A solution for hotel inventory mapping

Logistics module for fleet management

Advance packaging module with the ability to configure packages as static, Fixed series or semi dynamic

Improved transfer module with integrated driver app

Rima Sheth, COO at Qtech said We realise the immense opportunity, which is predominantly untapped as far as technology is concerned in the domestic market. Our presence in SATTE for the second year displays our commitment to this fast-growing market. We hope to capitalize on our capabilities in terms of ERP fulfilment to domestic along with international players 

Marking presence over 26 countries around the world, Qtech undoubtedly is the most promising travel technology company that has played a significant role in helping travel professionals to expand and grow their business exponentially.

About Qtech Software

A trusted Travel Technology provider, Qtech Software licenses premium enterprise level Travel Software Solutions to all of its 45+ clients over the globe.With over 12 years of experience in the travel technology space, Qtech believes that cutting-edge innovation in travel technology and round-the-clock support drives client growth. In addition, Qtech provides modern UI and UX design solutions for travel portals and mobile apps in the travel industry.

Product information - www.otrams.com

Corporate website - www.qtechsoftware.com

Press Contact

Email: swarali.kulkarni@qtechsoftware.com

Phone: +919619966059

###
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10

The central government said on Wednesday that there was no truth in rumours that it was asking public sector banks to discontinue free services from January 20.



Department of Financial Services Secretary Rajeev Kumar said in a tweet: No proposal by Banks to discontinue free services from 20th January. Pure Rumours. Pl Ignore , advises Indian Banking Association clarifying that rumours in section of social media are baseless and no such blanket removal (sic).



The Indian Banks Association (IBA) also denied any such move. In a statement, IBA said: There are reports in some segments of social media based on misinformed communications and spreading false information that all the free services of public sector banks will be ceased by January 20. In addition, neither is there a move by banks for such blanket removal of free services nor such thing is being contemplated.



However, IBA said banks looking at its commercial and operational costs would constantly examine and revise charges.



It is clarified by IBA that these rumours are baseless and false. Public should be careful and should not get misled by such messages. Such news are pure rumours and there are no such fresh RBI instructions/guidelines on this, IBA said.
singhking99@yahoo.com

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 10

Come January 20, public sector lender Bank of India will start charging for certain services which are being offered for free now. Be it upgrading your communication address or mobile number or updating KYC documents, the bank will impose charges, according to the Bank of India website.

It will charge Rs 25 for upgrading KYC-related documents, communication address or mobile number. Even if a customer sends a request for unblocking his account through internet banking/mobile banking, he will be charged Rs 25. Also, if a customer asks for an interest certificate, a charge of Rs 50 will be levied.

Though after drawing flak from various quarters for raking in a profit of over Rs 1,771 crore from customers in penalties for non-maintenance of monthly average balances in their savings accounts has forced countrys largest lender SBI to revise minimum balance amount and penalty charges, the banks are looking for new avenues to register profit. The RBI should intervene into the matter and rationalise charges, said Balraj Singh Sidhu, an employee with IT sector.

Among the charges to be levied, Rs 25 will be levied for providing statement of account, Rs 25 for fund transfer through NEFT or RTGS up to Rs 2 lakh and Rs 50 for issuing a duplicate passbook etc.

Many of the PSBs have failed to recover bad loans of big corporates that run into several thousand crores. Their enthusiasm to impose charges on petty services is deplorable, said Surender Singh, an executive working with a private firm. However, the bank officials refused to comment.
singhking99@yahoo.com

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attended an interactive session with over 40 economists and other experts, organized by NITI Aayog, on the theme Economic Policy  The Road Ahead. During the session, participants shared their views on various economic themes such as the macro-economy, agriculture and rural development, employment, health and education, manufacturing and exports, urban development, infrastructure and connectivity. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley thanked all participants for their thought-provoking suggestions. TNS
G Parthasarathy

G Parthasarathy

NEW Years Day 2018 was very different from the beginning of any earlier New Year. Most newspapers and television stations normally confine themselves to stories of traffic jams, celebrations and revelry on New Years Day. But, television stations had a different start to 2018, focusing attention on yet another news-breaking tweet by President Donald Trump in his first New Years Day in office. Describing his predecessors as having foolishly given Pakistan $33 billion as aid, Trump accused Pakistan of lies and deceit by giving safe haven to terrorists from Afghanistan, while regarding American leaders as fools. This was not Trumps first fusillade against Pakistan. Lashing out at Pakistan on August 22 in a policy speech on Afghanistan, Trump said: Pakistan has also sheltered the same organisations that try every single day to kill our people. We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars. At the same time, they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting.

Pakistan predictably responded to Trumps tirade with cries of injured innocence, claiming it had sacrificed lives for fighting terrorism. Predictably, it conveniently ignored how it had provided safe haven in Abbotabad to Osama bin Laden for nearly a decade and continued to provide haven on its soil to the Haqqani network and top Taliban leaders and cadres. The reality is that nobody in the world believes these Pakistani protestations of innocence. But few, if any, criticise Pakistan openly. Pakistan evidently believes that this was yet another effort by Trump to resort to empty rhetoric, akin to his stance against North Korea. Pakistans foreign minister Khwaja Asif has described Trumps comments as of no importance now, adding that only Afghanistans neighbours (Pakistan and China) can find a solution for regional peace and security. China has predictably voiced full support for Pakistan.

When North Korea shocked the world by exploding a thermonuclear bomb on September 3, 2017, Trump described the action as very hostile and dangerous to the US. Barely a month earlier he had warned North Korea of fire and fury if it continued provocative actions, while describing the policies of South Koreas new President, seeking reconciliation with North Korea as appeasement. While US diplomacy has led to tightening global economic sanctions on North Korea, China and Russia are clearly put off by Trumps shrill rhetoric, including allegations of violation of UN sanctions on export of petroleum products to North Korea. It has also led to South Korea reaching out to North Korea for reconciliation and North Korea reciprocating with an acceptance of a South Korean invitation to participate in the Winter Olympics that Seoul is hosting. Thus, while Trump remains hostile to Pyongyang, Seoul is building bridges with its northern neighbour, with North Koreas young dictator Kim Jong-un proclaiming that he is developing more missiles and thermonuclear weapons, while keeping their trigger in his office!

Pakistans military has also reacted in a similar manner to Trumps actions, including the US decision to withhold payment of coalition support funds that the US makes for facilities Pakistan provides for transporting American military equipment, to and from Afghanistan. Pakistans air force chief has warned that American drones operating against the Taliban and Haqqani network inside Pakistani airspace would be shot down. Pakistan has also hinted that the US would be unable to arm and equip its military in Afghanistan, as its only viable lines of communication to Afghanistan are through Pakistani territory and airspace. What causes and motivates this Pakistani bluster? The primary cause is the belief that China will not only bail out Pakistan financially, but also provide it a veto in UN resolutions on terrorism, which castigate it. There also appears to be confidence that the US will not be able to find viable alternative routes for military supplies for its forces in Afghanistan, believing that Russia will seek to prevent any American effort to route military supplies through Uzbekistan.

When the Carter administration offered a relatively modest aid package to assist Pakistan after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, president Zia-ul-Haq contemptuously rejected the offer, describing it as peanuts. Pakistan, however, soon became a US ally in Afghanistan after President Reagan offered a more attractive aid package, including then frontline F16 fighters. The reality is that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were planned and executed from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan by Osama bin Laden, who lived comfortably thereafter in Abbotabad. Pakistani support for the Taliban, which continues even today, triggered American and, indeed, global military intervention in Afghanistan. A reluctant Pakistan had no option, but to be seen to be supporting this American effort. It also needs to be borne in mind that despite Pakistans illusions about being bailed out exclusively by China, it still depends heavily on Western bilateral aid and aid from Western-led institutions like World Bank, the IMF and the ADB, where Japan is the key player. Given Pakistans precarious foreign exchange problems, the US will have to use its leverage with its European allies and Japan to ensure that Pakistan is squeezed adequately to compel it to see reason. Pakistan is already under pressure to curb terror funding through the International Financial Action Task Force.

The US today has huge leverage in relations with Saudi Arabia, given its military and diplomatic backing of Saudi Arabia and its allies. Pakistan, in turn, is heavily dependent on Saudi benevolence, because of large remittances from Pakistani workers and oil supplies at concessional terms. Moreover, Saudi Arabia wields immense influence ideologically and politically in Pakistan. Politicians like Nawaz Sharif, who recently visited Saudi Arabia for talks with the Crown Prince and members of his PML (N) Party, not to speak of Islamic Parties like the Jamat-e-Islami (JI) and the Jamat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), depend on funds and support from Saudi Arabia. It remains to be seen if and how the US uses the support of Saudi Arabia and its partners to shape Pakistani behaviour. Pakistan is heading for parliamentary elections in June and Saudi support plays an influential role in Pakistani politics. We should remember that Imran Khan, also known as Taliban Khan, would be the beneficiary of military support in these elections. India cannot be a disinterested party to whatever transpires in Pakistan in coming months.
From the time New York City first leased Hart Island from John Hunter, Jr. during the Civil War, and thereafter purchased it outright in 1868, and through the next several decades, the Island and its inhabitants were a constant source of friction between the Town of Pelham and New York City. Though the island was within the Town of Pelham, it was owned by New York City.





The examples of such friction are legion. Confederate prisoners of war held on the island during the Civil War escaped and made their way through Pelham. There were allegations that temporary residents of Hart Island voted fraudulently in Town of Pelham elections. Long after the war, non-military prisoners held on the island escaped on foot and fled onto City Island and the mainland when the local waters froze over during brutal winter months. Pelham residents were horrified when New York City quarantined yellow fever patients on the island in 1870, among many other such frictions. Many other such incidents strained the relations between Pelham and New York City when it came to Hart Island.





By 1885 Pelham essentially had had enough of New York City's stewardship of Hart Island. By then, a major portion of the island was used as New York City's "potter's field" cemetery for paupers. Paupers, prisoners, and others resided on the island and were used as workers to bury the dead on the island.





Because Hart Island was still part of the Town of Pelham, when such residents of the island misbehaved -- which was fairly frequently -- Pelham authorities, including the Town Constable based on City Island, were called to handle the situations, arrest those who broke the law, and haul them into Town Court in the Town of Pelham, all at the expense of the Town of Pelham with no reimbursement of expenses by New York City.









1884 Nautical Chart Depicting Hart Island and City Island at

About the Time Friction Between the Town of Pelham and New

York City Came to a Head in 1885. Source: "CITY ISLAND

1884," NOAA's Office of Coast Survey Historical Map & Chart

Collection (Available via Wikipedia). NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.





In January, 1885, an "indignation meeting" was scheduled on City Island in the Town of Pelham. The meeting was scheduled "to protest against the conveying of riotous paupers from Hart Island to City Island to be tried simply because the first-named is legally part of the town of Pelham."





Pelham calculated that each time its Town Court had to try any such prisoner it cost $15 per prisoner. As of January 28, 1885, there already had been sixteen such recent trials for a total expense of $240 (about $8,300 in today's dollars). Pelhamites feared the financial impact of recidivism since nearly all the trials resulted in mere 30-day jail terms in the County Jail at White Plains. Thus, the entire Town became concerned that it would become necessary for the Town to issue bonds and incur debt to fund the costs of handling unruly Hart Island residents placed there by New York City, the owner of the island.





According to one published report in late January, 1885, "A committee will be appointed to confer with the Commissioners of Emigration of New York city to provide some other method of dealing with the unfortunate denizens of Hart's Island, all of whom legally belong to the metropolis and should not be allowed to inflct special expenses upon the law-abiding citizens of City Island."





Pelham became so incensed that the clamor to force New York City to annex Hart Island grew. In the following few weeks, a local newspaper reported that a bill was pending "before the Legislature" to force New York City to annex Hart Island, further noting that the criminal reformatory on the island was a significant part of the problem. The report further noted that "

The island is small and but of little use . . . The citizens of the town of Pelham are anxious to have the Island annexed to New York City from the fact, as they say, that they have to foot the bills of the criminal expenses of the Island and the latter returns them no revenue at all."









Manhattan Picture Collection / New York City -- Hospitals -- 1899 & Earlier").

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.





Eventually, New York City annexed Hart Island -- as well as City Island, other surrounding islands, and the lands that form today's Pelham Bay Park -- thus, ending a portion of the frictions that long had plagued its relationship with its little neighbor on its northeast boundary known as the Town of Pelham.





* * * * *





"Too Close to New York.





An indignation meeting is to be held at City Island to protest against the conveying of riotous paupers from Hart Island to City Island to be tried simply because the first-named is legally part of the town of Pelham. The City Island people object to trying such criminals, for it involves a cost of $15 per prisoner, and as sixteen have already been tried and sent to White Plains Jail for thirty days only, the natives are afraid that if the paupers keep on being unruly and the City Island constable is daily called in to make arrests, it will be necessary to bond the town to pay the cost of the arrests and trials. A committee will be appointed to confer with the Commissioners of Emigration of New York city to provide some other method of dealing with the unfortunate denizens of Hart's Island, all of whom legally belong to the metropolis and should not be allowed to inflict special expenses upon the law-abiding citizens of City Island."









"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND. . . .





A bill is before the Legislature, to annex Hart's Island to the City of New York. At the present time, while the island belongs to this county, still New York controls it, having got possession for the purpose of erecting a reformatory thereon for its criminal classes. The island is small and but of little use to this county; but if New York city wants full control of it, let her compensate this county for it. The citizens of the town of Pelham are anxious to have the Island annexed to New York City from the fact, as they say, that they have to foot the bills of the criminal expenses of the Island and the latter returns them no revenue at all. . . ."









Labels: 1877, 1884, 1885, City Island, Constable, Convalescent Hospital on Hart Island, Crime, Epidemic, Hart Island, New York City, Yellow Fever
shalender@tribune.com

Washington, January 9

In a relief for Indian techies, the US authorities today said that the Trump administration is not considering any proposal that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the country. The announcement by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) came days after reports emerged that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of 7,50,000 Indians.

The reports had said it was mulling ending extensions for H-1B holders.

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The USCIS is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing interpretation of certain language in Section 104 C of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) statute that states that USCIS may grant the extensions, an official said. This provides for H-1B extensions beyond the six-year limit.

Even if it were, such a change would not likely result in these H-1B visa holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead, Jonathan Withington, Chief of Media Relations at the USCIS, said in a statement.

The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the Presidents Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment-based visa programmes, Withington said.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), a trade association of Indian information technology, had warned that any disruptive move on the visa front would be detrimental for both India and the US. The USCIS has a Congressional mandate to issue 65,000 H-1B visas in the general category and another 20,000 for those applicants having higher education from US universities in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The H-1B programme offers temporary US visas that allow companies to hire highly-skilled foreign professionals working in areas with shortages of qualified American workers.  PTI

Relief for Indian techies
laxmi@tribune.com

US President Donald Trumps executive order, Buy American and Hire American, set the tone for immigration policies and their implementation. This resulted in an increasingly protectionist stance and rising apprehensions about the future of people whose immigration status was short of permanent residency. Thus there was a scare about the norm of granting extensions to H-1B visa-holders who were waiting for their Green Cards. The latest clarification from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has brought a smile on the faces of the nearly five lakh Indian citizens working in the US on H-1B visas. No longer do they have to face the prospect of having to leave the US even as their applications for extension are pending. The USCIS has gone a step further saying that even if there were changes in the H-1B visa rules, these would not hurt the existing workforce.

The USCIS stance acknowledges the mutual dependence of US IT companies and the tech workers of Indian origin, who are now to be seen at all levels, including the very top, of such organisations. Indian citizens are the biggest beneficiaries of H-1B visas but this is directly related to the need of US companies for trained IT professionals. However, over the past few years, Indian companies have cut down the number of visas they seek in this category.

IT giants like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro are meeting the challenges of such protectionism by hiring local professionals for their projects in the US. However, there is also a need to develop alternatives that would keep the army of IT professionals they have gainfully engaged. This would involve re-skilling them so that they can handle newer challenges, especially in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The government, while betting for the rights of Indian workers abroad, should also help to create an ecosystem that would encourage more innovation for domestic and professional workers returning from foreign shores. Only those  individuals or organisations  who adapt will survive the challenging environment that the IT workplace has become.
editorial@tribune.com

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 10

The State Information Commission has issued bailable warrants against Gurugram City Magistrate Manisha Sharma for failing to appear before it and furnish a reply to an RTI activist for more than three months.

State Information Commissioner Hemant Atri has, however, given her a last opportunity to appear before the commission on February 23 and submit a compliance report of its orders for providing information to RTI activist RP Sharma from Faridabad.

On March 23 last year, RP Sharma had sought information from the Gurugram District Education Officer on the status of compliance with child safety norms in the district

for which the district authorities had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court.

When officials failed to furnish information for long and even the first appellate authority failed to help, RP Sharma approached the commission.

In his orders issued on September 20, October 30 and December 4, Atri directed the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) in the office of District Education Officer (DEO) to furnish part of the information within 10 days and ruled that the City Magistrate, who is also the State Public Information Officer in the DCs office, would furnish rest of the information.

Atri also issued a show-cause notice to the City Magistrate as well as the State Public Information Officer in the DEOs office, asking them to be present before the commission to explain reasons for non-compliance of the order.

Manisha Sharma neither appeared before the commission nor did she furnish reply to the RTI activist.

The commission takes a strong exception to the non-appearance of the City Magistrate. She has neither bothered to send a reply to the appellant as per the commissions directions nor has she replied to the commissions show-cause notice. This speaks very low on her functioning. She has not bothered to take up an RTI application which concerns a larger public interest such as measures for childrens safety in schools even after more than three months. This cannot be taken lightly, the commission said while issuing bailable warrants against her.
editorial@tribune.com

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, January 10

In a major decision taken today, the Cabinet at its meeting in the Vidhan Sabha complex decided to wound up Himachal Pradesh Beverages Limited (HPBL). The HPBL was created by the previous Congress government to trade in liquor.

The Cabinet also decided to order an inquiry into the losses suffered by the state exchequer due to the creation of the HPBL and abolition of old policy. The previous government had suspended the L-ID and L-13 D given for wholesale trade of liquor.

Instead, the government created the HPBL and transferred the entire wholesale trade to it.

At that time, allegations were levelled that selected brands of liquor were sold through the HPBL and due to delay in procurement and further distribution of liquor to retailers, the government suffered losses.

The Cabinet had asked the officials to fix the responsibility on the persons responsible for creation of the HPBL and causing loss to state exchequer.

It was also decided that the old system of wholesale would be restored and the wholesale liquor licences would preferably be given to residents.

As the announcement of the Chief Minister made yesterday, the Cabinet also decided to withdraw all politically motivated cases filed by the previous government against political opponents. The HPCA against whom many cases were filed would be the main beneficiary.

The Cabinet also decided to disengage three former Congress union ministers, Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid as counsel for representing the state in various cases, including the HPCA. The Cabinet has sought report on whose direction a huge fee was paid to the advocates to represent the state. The advocates also used to represent Virbhadra Singh in ED and CBI cases.

The Cabinet also decided to increase the procurement price of citrus fruit like kinnow, malta, galgal and oranges under the Market Intervention Scheme. The procurement price for kinnow, malta, and oranges for the B category will be Rs 7 per kilogram and for C category Rs 6.50. For galgal the procurement price will be Rs 5.50 per kg. The meeting was presided over by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
editorial@tribune.com

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 10

Giving a clear message to the Valley-based mainstream parties and separatist groups, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said the people of Jammu and Kashmir had already decided their destiny.

Mehbooba said J&K had rejected the two-nation theory based on religion in 1947 to become part of secular India. I want to put it on record that whatever the people of Jammu and Kashmir will get, they will get it only from India and nowhere else. This is my message to the mainstream parties and others, she said without elaborating who others were.

J&K should become a bridge of peace between India and Pakistan to restore lasting peace in the subcontinent, she said.

In an obvious reference to the accession of J&K with the Indian Union, she said the only Muslim-majority state of the country had decided to join secular India and had become its crown.

Emphasising the need to maintain the sanctity of the Indian and J&K Constitutions, she said: Ours is the most empowered Assembly in the country. The goods and services tax was implemented in the entire nation at once, except Jammu and Kashmir, where it was implemented only after a proper debate in the Assembly.

She said a separate flag, residuary powers and separate constitution made the J&K Assembly highly empowered.

In her 48-minute reply on the Governors Address, Mehbooba admitted that the situation was fragile in the Valley and emphasised the need to strengthen the political process to establish lasting peace.

Lasting peace cannot be established by killing militants only. When one local militant is killed, another from the same area picks up gun. It is a vicious circle which we have to break by convincing local youth to shun violence and live a peaceful life, she said. She expressed satisfaction that nowadays parents were directly appealing to their children, who had picked up gun, to join the mainstream.

We have assured parents that agencies would not harass any local militant who will return to the mainstream, she said, exuding confidence that Aligarh Muslim University PhD scholar from Kupwara Manaan Bashir Wani will come back.

Reiterating her demand of initiating a dialogue with Pakistan, she said: We cannot interfere in the foreign policy of the country but the Union Government must think that people of J&K always bear the maximum brunt of the hostility between India and Pakistan.

She welcomed National Conference president Farooq Abdullahs recent remark in which he reportedly said Narendra Modi commanding absolute majority in Parliament can resolve the Kashmir issue.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 10

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker Javid Hussain Beigh today tore into the Hurriyat Conference and other radical groups of the Valley for giving a religious colour to a purely political movement in Kashmir.

Opposing the Kashmir-centric approach of the Hurriyat Conference and other radical groups in the Valley, Beigh made it clear that the people of the Jammu and Ladakh regions were also the stakeholders.

The Baramulla MLA minced no words in attacking the mainstream parties, including his own party PDP, for maintaining silence over the killing of more than 40 civilians by militants in 2017.

Speaking on the Governors Address, Beigh, known for his plain speaking on contentious issues, sought to draw the attention of the House towards the disastrous effect of giving a religious colour to the Kashmir issue.

He said: By involving religion into political issues, we are playing with fire.

To substantiate his argument, Beigh made comparison between funeral processions of murderer of Salman Taseer Mumtaz Qadri and founder of the Edhi Foundation Abdul Sattar Edhi. Over 30 lakh people attended the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri who killed Salman Taseer but only 5,000 attended the funeral of Abdul Sattar Edhi who worked throughout his life for the welfare of people, he mentioned.

He exhorted leaders of all mainstream political parties to iron out their differences and come on a single platform to address the grievances of the people.

He said the mainstream political parties are duty-bound to ask radical groups not to give guns to innocent Kashmiri youth. The legislator said it was high time to ask Pakistan not to export bloodshed and destruction in Kashmir.

Coming down heavily on Hurriyat leaders, Beigh said children of only common people were being got killed in the ongoing turmoil. Not even a single close relative of Hurriyat leaders was killed in the violence, he said.
editorial@tribune.com

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 10

The united Opposition  National Conference and Congress  today created a massive uproar in the Assembly over the killing of a civilian allegedly in the firing of security forces at Kulgam on Tuesday.

The Opposition members staged a walkout from the Assembly on the issue. Later, they announced boycott of the House proceedings for the entire day as a mark of protest against the failure of the state government, particularly CM Mehbooba Mufti, to give a satisfactory reply on the issue.

Independent legislator Engineer Rasheed was also marshalled out from the House after he stepped into the Well and disrupted the proceedings.

The pandemonium began in the morning when Speaker Kavinder Gupta was to announce proceedings of the House. The NC and Congress legislators resorted to sloganeering, demanding the governments response over the civilians killing.

NC MLA Majeed Larmi was also seen waving a banner stop innocent killings inside the House. Mehbooba Mufti, who holds the portfolio of the Home department, was not present in the House.

Every day there is a killing in Kashmir. You (government) have been claiming that the situation has improved. When will you stop killing the innocents? You should come clean on your position, said senior NC legislator Ali Mohammad Sagar.

In the meantime, Larmi jumped into the Well, waving a banner and asked the government to come out with a statement on the issue. He was joined by NC and Congress legislators, who too trooped into the Well while raising anti-government slogans.

Senior NC leader Devender Singh Rana censured the government for its failure to work for the betterment of people and protect their lives.

Kashmir jal raha hai, Jammu sulag raha hai aur Ladakh ro raha hai (Kashmir is burning, Jammu is simmering and Ladakh is crying) and you people are saying that the situation has improved. Why the people are being killed and National Health Mission employees are being lathi-charged. Why this bloodshed every day? said Rana.

After getting no response from the government, the Opposition members staged a walkout from the House disrupting the Question Hour for almost half an hour.

After the Question Hour, the Opposition members again raised the issue and stormed into the Well of the House, seeking the governments statement on it.

Responding to MLAs concern, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Rehman Veeri said the government also equally shared the grief and concern of people over the killing of an innocent. We have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and the law will take its own course, he said.
Som Dutt Vasudeva

Som Dutt Vasudeva

IT is difficult to erase the memory of events that happened in Amritsar on the night of August 15, 1947. I was then a student of third year in the local Hindu College and was living with my grandfather in a sub-urban village, Sultanwind.

There was tension in the city following the arrival of trains from west Pakistan containing bodies of Hindus and Sikhs. The local administration had clamped curfew in the city and the adjoining areas to avoid any untoward incident. However, it was difficult to assuage the feelings of the residents of the city to the gruesome killings of innocent people.

A Baloch regiment of the army was drafted to control the situation, but instead of the tasked duty, it made Hindus and Sikhs a target of brutality. This army unit killed people with a vengeance. Even grenades were used to create fear in the minds of local residents. During the day, most Muslims had left the city for Lahore by omni-buses. There was an atmosphere of fear all around.

During this period, Jawaharlal Nehru and Liaqat Ali Khan toured the areas affected by communal riots. But the tour was just a formality as they were not made aware of the ground realities. I personally saw heaps of bodies lying in the vicinity of the mortuary of the local civil hospital before the visit of the leaders, but these were cleared before their arrival.

Standing on the roof of my house, I could see flames of fire engulf various parts of the city, especially Nimak Mandi, Shariff Pura, Hussain Pura and Katra Sher Singh. It appeared as if the entire city had become a hot furnace.

Despite this holocaust, one could witness bonhomie among most people. Hindus and Sikhs ensured that no harm was done to their Muslim friends and neighbours. There was a sizeable Muslim population in my village comprising washerman, arians (vegetable labour), blacksmiths, etc. They were escorted safely and there was almost no casualty.

I had a number of Muslim friends in the village and in the city who were critical of the division of the country on the basis of religion and openly assailed the Muslim League and its leadership. In fact, Punjabi Muslims were against the divisive politics of Jinnah.

I visited my Muslims friends in Lahore after the Partition. They said it was because of the divisive politics of leaders that thousands of innocent people lost their lives. This was not the concept of freedom that they had envisioned. Many of them are still wedded to their roots and want to return to their birthplace.

It is believed that people-to-people contact and removal of strict visa restrictions can solve many problems between the two countries since they have a common ancestry. If two Germanys can unite in national interest, why cant India and Pakistan live in peace? Instead of resorting to firing at the border, they should make an earnest attempt to end poverty and raise the living standards of their people.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, January 10

The Indian Army killed 138 Pakistan Army personnel in 2017 in tactical operations and retaliatory cross-border firings along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, government intelligence sources said on Wednesday.

The Indian Army lost 28 soldiers during the same period along the LoC, the sources said.

The sources said the Pakistan Army usually does not acknowledge the deaths of its personnel and shows them as civilian casualties in certain cases.

The Indian Army has been adopting a tough approach in dealing with ceasefire violations and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir in the last one year.

The Pakistan Army has suffered 138 fatal and 155 non-fatal casualties in tactical operations and retaliatory cross-border firings along the LoC in 2017, the intelligence sources told PTI.

A total of 70 Indian Army personnel were injured during cross-border firings and other incidents.

Asked about the fatalities on the Pakistani side, the Army refused to comment. However, Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand said India has been effectively retaliating against all ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army and will continue to do so.

According to official figures, 860 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were reported in 2017 as against 221 last year.

It seems the Pakistan Army has a policy of not acknowledging the killing of its personnel, the sources said.

They also referred to the Kargil war when Pakistan had declined to accept casualties despite proof given by India.

The sources also cited an incident on December 25 when a group of five Army commandos crossed the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and killed three Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistan Army had posted a tweet that day acknowledging the deaths but later deleted it.

The Pakistan Armys spokesperson two days later rejected reports that Indian commandos selectively targeted a post across the LoC and killed three of its soldiers.

The intelligence sources said Indian Army killed 27 Pakistani soldiers in sniper firing last year, while seven of its soldiers lost their lives in Pakistani sniper firing along the LoC.

As part of its policy of hot pursuit, the Indian Army has been carrying out tactical operations to foil Pakistan Armys support to terrorists.

In May last year, the Indian Army had said it launched punitive fire assaults on Pakistani positions across the LoC, inflicting some damage, days after two Indian Army personnel were beheaded. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10

The Bar Council of India (BCI) today told the Supreme Court that foreign lawyers and law firms cant be allowed to practise in the country unless they subjected themselves to Indian regulations.

On behalf of the BCI, senior Advocate CU Singh attacked Madras High Courts 2012 verdict that allowed the concept of fly in and fly out with regard to foreign lawyers and law firms.

While holding that foreign lawers or law firms cannot practise law in India either on the litigation or non-litigation side, unless they fulfil the requirement of the Advocates Act, 1961 and BCI Rules, the Madras HC had said there was no bar on them either in the Advocates Act or the BCI Rules to visit India for a temporary period on a fly in and fly out basis, for the purpose of giving legal advice on foreign law to their clients in India.

The Madras HC had also held foreign lawyers cannot be debarred from coming to India and conducting arbitration proceedings in disputes involving international commercial arbitration. Singh said the exceptions carved out by the Madras HC went against Section 29 of the Advocates Act which defined practice the profession of law. Fly in and fly out goes against 29 of the Act, he argued.

The BCI has been demanding reciprocity with the countries that want their lawyers to be allowed to practise law in India. He drew the courts attention to the 2009 Bombay HC judgment which held that the RBI was not right in allowing foreign law firms to open liaison offices in India. Foreign law firms could carry on their liaison activities in India only in accordance with the Advocates Act.

Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh said the BCI should frame the rules for it; else the government can exercise its powers under the Act. The courts attention was also drawn to Section 33 which permitted a person other than an advocate under the Act, to practise law.

Notice to lawmakers practising law
editorial@tribune.com

Sanjeev Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10

In a strong signal to foreign investors ahead of the Prime Ministers visit to the World Economic Forum meet in Davos, the Union Cabinet today cleared a bold package of foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalisation, including 100 per cent FDI without any government approval in single brand retail trading and allowing foreign carriers to acquire upto 49 per cent stake in Air India divestment.

The FDI booster comes weeks before the Union Budget presentation on February 1 and days before Prime Minister Narendra Modis address at Davos on January 23.

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As part of the FDI easing across sectors, the Cabinet also cleared 100 per cent FDI under automatic route in construction development, foreign portfolio investors being allowed to invest in power exchanges through primary market and definition of medical devices being amended.

The FDI easing is likely to lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment.

In the financial year 2016-17, total FDI of $60.08 billion has been received, which is an all-time high.

The current FDI policy on SBRT allows 49 per cent FDI under automatic route, and FDI beyond 49 per cent and up to 100 per cent through government approval route. It has now been decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under automatic route for SBRT.

Traders, however, are up in arms against the move. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said it would facilitate easy entry of MNCs in retail trade of India and would also violate BJPs election promise. CAIT said such a step will also result in making a large number of people jobless and this decision is a step towards allowing FDI in multi-brand retail. It added that the government is more interested in paving way for the MNCs to control and dominate the retail trade of India.

The Union Cabinet also decided to do away with the restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India. The condition is that substantial ownership and effective control of Air India will continue to be vested in Indian national.

In addition, foreign investments in Air India, including that of foreign airlines, will not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly.

The industry body said in a statement that foreign airlines have been allowed to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India with approval. This is expected to bring some capital to support a turnaround in the national carrier, it said.

Manish B Agarwal, Partner and Leader, Infrastructure, PwC India, said, Besides bringing Air India at par with others, this is also a positive move for the privatisation process, as it will enable wider participation.

As per the current policy, foreign airlines are allowed to invest under government approval route in the capital of Indian companies operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49 per cent of their paid-up capital. However, this provision was not applicable to Air India.

The move comes at a time when the government is working on the modalities for strategic disinvestment of the loss-making Air India and is expected to attract more bidders for the airline.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10

New Delhi is ready to roll out the red carpet for all ten heads of states and governments of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) as India-ASEAN commemorate silver jubilee year of ties in a summit event on January 25.

The leaders and first ladies will be hosted for a banquet at Rashtrapati Bhawan by President Ram Nath Kovind, followed by exclusive retreat summit, plenary session and gala dinner hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 25.

Leaders from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia, Laos and Brunei will attend the summit.

The next day in symbolism that will not be lost especially on Beijing, all ten leaders will be collective chief guests at the Republic Day parade and later attend the Presidential At-Home.

As India boosts its Act East and ASEAN policies, some sixteen events have been lined up in the run up to India-ASEAN summit to celebrate landmark moment in ties.

The planned events include Hackathon summit, students exchange, ASEAN-India business council, Mekong Ganga co-operation meet, ASEAN-India Youth Awards, Ramayana troupes from all ten member nations and a film festival in Goa in February.

Preeti Saran, Secretary East in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), underlined that ASEAN countries want a greater Indian role in the region.

A repeated refrain we picked up in all of external affairs ministers interactions was the desire of ASEAN countries for greater presence of India. Greater cooperation and integration with India politically, economically and people to people, said Preeti Saran.

Asked if the desire to enhance political engagements was to counter a rising and aggressive China, Saran replied, Our relationship stands on its own. It doesnt require any third party intervention or presence to give it a boost.

ASEAN is today Indias fourth largest trading partner with Indias growing interests in productive oil blocks in Vietnam, gas exploration in Brunei to coal fields in Indonesia.

India also has strong maritime cooperation and navy to navy ties with nine member states barring landlocked Laos.

Counter terrorism, de-radicalisation will be included in discussions during the leaders retreat while freedom of navigation will remain a key focus area in talks.

On South China Sea we have always maintained that freedom of navigation is an important element and threat or use of force is not acceptable. Any navigation through international waters should uphold global rules-based order, including UNCLOS, stressed Saran.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, January 10

Several Rajput organisations in Maharashtra have demanded a special screening of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis film Padmavat for the community before its theatrical release, and threaten to renew protests.



State tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal, who represents the Sindhkeda constituency in Maharashtras Dhule district and is one of the leaders who had previously demanded a ban on the movie, told reporters on Wednesday: We still do not know what scenes have been cut from the movie. Responsible people from the community must be allowed to watch the movie and decide if there are any distortions of history before its released in theatres.

The Rajput community, which first settled in north Maharashtra and Vidarbha, before spreading to the rest of the state, is an influential force in business and politics in the state.

Bharatiya Itihas & Sanskriti Rakshak Manch, an organisation headed by Rajput leader Raj Purohita BJP leader from Maharashtra who had mobilised Rajput protests in Mumbai in November lasthas also demanded a screening of the movie for the community.

Rajput protests in Maharashtra with BJP leaders active support have caused uncertainty over the movies release in the state.

The BJP government in Maharashtra has so far remained silent over whether it would ban the movie.

The movie will see release on January 25, after almost two months delay. Originally titled Padmavati for the films eponymous Rajput Queen Padmavati played by Deepika Padukone, the film was renamed Padmavat on the Central Board of Film Certifications insistence. The CBFC also ordered what it calls 5 changes to the movie.

Rajputs have been demanding a ban on the movie for distorting history.

Historians however remain divided over the existence of the Rajput queen.
editorial@tribune.com

New Delhi, January 10

Senior journalists and representatives of media associations today held a meeting under the aegis of the Delhi Union of Journalists and expressed solidarity with The Tribune and its correspondent over the Aadhaar data breach expose.

Condemning the government for registration of a criminal case, the journalists wore black badges to protest the UIDAIs action against the newspaper and its correspondent, Rachna Khaira.

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Several media organisations, including All India Newspaper Employees Federation, extended support to The Tribune and criticised the government. The speakers at the meeting stressed on unity among the media fraternity in the wake of the governments alleged systematic onslaught on the freedom of the press. The speeches of the journalists were prefaced with a message by Harish Khare, Editor-in-Chief,

Tribune Group of Newspapers, which was read by Associate Editor KV Prasad.

Khare said rather than feeling outraged, he was inclined to be thankful to the government, its empowered agency UIDAI and the police for slapping a criminal case against the daily and the correspondent.

We at The Tribune did nothing more than what any other set of editors in a newspaper would have done. We do not think of ourselves as manning the barricades. We do not subscribe to permanent insurrection. We are not chasing any revolution.

We believe in the Constitution and its values; we assiduously seek to provide space to the voices of dissent. And yet, we are sought to be hauled up for doing a spot of honest, legitimate investigative reporting; we are sought to be intimidated for practising a bit of old-fashioned journalism.

And, so, if the arrogant rulers of the day can think of wanting to arrest the reporter and The Tribune editor, which journalist in India can feel safe and confident in pursuing an honest story?

We need to be thankful to the authorities for proving once again that the state does not have any monopoly over competence; that the state depends upon functionaries who are not, and cannot be, gods; that these functionaries are often inept, inadequate and ill-equipped to be the repositories of our welfare, said Khare.

Siddharth Varadarajan, The Wire Editor-in-Chief, said what happened with The Tribune should be seen in the wider context of developments in the past about three years, marked by efforts to suppress the citizens right to know and think, and the medias freedom.

National Alliance of Journalists W Chandrakanth, Masoom Moradbadi and Pranjoy Guha Thakurta and noted jurist Rajeev Dhawan spoke in a similar vein.

Indian Newspaper Society (INS) president Akila Urankar, on behalf of INS members, expressed serious concern over attempts to browbeat the reporter. This report was eminently in public interest. This is a brazen attack on the freedom of the press and displays lack of respect for ethical media practices, said Urankar.  TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10

The Supreme Court today decided to set up a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to re-investigate 186 anti-Sikh riots cases. Almost 3,000 people were killed, most of them in Delhi, in the riots that broke out following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984.

A three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, took the decision after a perusal of a two-judge supervisory panel report that scrutinised 241 cases closed by an SIT formed by the NDA government. The report was submitted on December 6.

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The Bench, which initially wanted the government to suggest names for the new SIT today itself, posted it for formal orders on Thursday after Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand said the government needed a day.

Appearing on behalf of the victims, senior counsel HS Phoolka suggested the names of former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, former Punjab and Haryana High Court CJ Mukul Mudgal and former Delhi HC Judge SN Dhingra. The court asked him to submit the names on Thursday. The Bench made it clear that the two other persons would be a former IPS officer in the rank of Inspector General and a serving IPS officer in the rank of Superintendent of Police.

The court said it would not reopen cases in which the accused had been acquitted. The report of the supervisory panel comprising Justices JM Panchal and KSP Radhakrishnan was perused for the first time on Wednesday.

The court had assigned the task of examining the 241 cases closed by the SIT to the committee, which was to recommend as to whether the cases were rightly closed or not. The court had said if there was any material to show that a particular case had been wrongly closed, it was open to order prosecution.

More than two years after the Narendra Modi government set up an SIT to re-investigate serious anti-Sikh riots cases that had been closed, it has managed to file chargesheets only in a very small number of cases.
editorial@tribune.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10

Does compulsory recitation of prayers in Hindi and Sanskrit in Kendriya Vidyalayas during morning assembly violate right to religion of non-Hindu students?

Acting on a petition filed by Madhya Pradesh resident Veenayak Shah, a Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice RF Nariman on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre asking it to spell out its stand. Citing Article 28(1) of the Constitution, Shah submitted no religious instruction could be provided in an educational institution wholly funded by the state.

He said the common prayer was a religious instruction within the meaning of Article 28 and therefore, it should be prohibited. Since the prayer was being enforced, parents and children of minority communities as well as atheists found it constitutionally impermissible, the petitioner said. Alleging that it went against secularism, the petitioner said it created obstacles in developing scientific temperament among students as the idea of God and religious faith was given priority and instilled as a thought-process.

As a result, students learnt to develop an inclination towards seeking refuge in the Almighty instead of developing a practical approach towards the obstacles faced in everyday life, Shah said in his petition, adding, The spirit of enquiry and reform seems to be lost somewhere.

The Kendriya Vidyalayas are Central Government schools run by the Ministry of Human Resource Development for almost five decades. There are around 1,125 such Kendriya Vidyalayas across India with a uniform curriculum and syllabus, making them worlds largest chain of schools.

A perusal of the prayer shows that it is based on Hindu religion and it is very different both in substance and form from the prayers of the other religious/non-religious orientations, Shah submitted. He said since the prayer was being enforced, parents and children of minority communities as well as atheists found it constitutionally impermissible.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would constitute a fresh three-member SIT, to be headed by a former high court judge, to monitor probe into the 186 anti-Sikh riot cases, that followed the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, in which investigations were closed.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra asked the Centre to suggest names on Wednesday itself for its consideration and appointment in the proposed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, said the proposed committee would be headed by a former high court judge and consist of one retired and one serving police officer.

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It also made it clear that the retired police officer should not be below the rank of DIG at the time of his superannuation.

The apex court said the supervisory body appointed by it had found that out of 241 cases, 186 cases were closed without investigation.

The apex court perused the report of the supervisory body which was submitted before it in a leather box with number lock system.

The Bench posted the matter for a formal order on Thursday after Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand sought a days time to suggest the names for the fresh SIT. The Bench also asked senior advocate HS Phoolka to suggest names for the SIT on Thursday. With PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Jitendra K Shrivastava

Tribune News Service

Ranchi, January 10

The Jharkhand Police are likely to approach the courts, submitting a report against one Sumit Yadav, on whose complaint RJD chief Lalu Prasads two aides were sent to Birsa Munda Central Jail, allegedly to serve their master there.

Madan Yadav and Lakshman Kumar, it seems, connived with Sumit to ensure they were put behind bars the day Lalu was sent to the jail (December 23 last). Sumit will now have to face legal proceedings. He had complained that Madan and Lakshman had snatched Rs 10,000. Dramatically, the accused had surrendered before a court.

As per Sections 185 and 211 of the IPC, action is to be taken against a person who files a false case and misuses the system, said SK Sinha, SHO, Lower Bazar police station. Ranchi SSP Kuldeep Dwivedi had ordered a probe following allegations that Madan and Lakshman were in jail to serve Lalu.

Asked if the allegation was true, jailer AK Chaudhary replied: How can that be? Lalu is lodged in a special ward where no one is allowed to visit him, save those who have the requisite permission. Shakti Singh Yadav of the RJD, rubbishing all charges, said Madan and Lakshman were not Lalus aide but RJD workers. Lalu ji did not ask them to be there. The administration must check the veracity of facts.
editorial@tribune.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 10

Questioning over-dependence on Aadhaar for welfare schemes, the Supreme Court on Wednesday wondered if people without Aadhaar did not exist for the government.

"What about those who don't have Aadhaar? Do they not exist for the government at all?" A Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur asked Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary who was summoned by it to clarify certain things regarding night shelters for homeless people.

How can a homeless person get Aadhaar? the Bench wondered after the Chief Secretary said people must have some identity proof if they wanted to avail of night shelters and they were usually asked to produce Aadhaar numbers.

As the UP Government said there were other identity cards such as voter I-Card, the Bench said "To get a voter I-Card you need address proof. Then where will one get address proof if one is homeless?

This is winter and suppose, somebody is thrown out of his or her home. Will you still insist on Aadhaar? asked the Bench which is seized of a PIL highlighted the plight of homeless people during winter and the need for night shelters while posting the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

As the Bench sought to know the number of persons having Aadhaar in India, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he was not representing the UIDAI and was unable to furnish the details sought. Even the Uttar Pradesh counsel said he didn't have the exact figure. Then advocate Prashant Bhushan informed the Bench that 90 crore people had Aadhaar numbers.
editorial@tribune.com

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Kotli Surat Malhi (Gurdaspur), January 10

He was once the face of Capt Amarinder Singhs loan waiver scheme Karza Kurki Khatam, Fasal Di Poori Rakam. On October 12, 2016, Capt Amarinder, then the Punjab Congress president, visited 56-year-old Budh Singhs ramshackle tenement in this tiny hamlet in the Dera Baba Nanak Assembly segment, to launch his partys debt waiver scheme.

He was accompanied by senior Congress leaders SS Randhawa and BS Pahra.

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Budh Singh was asked to sign a form. Having done so, he was handed over a receipt amid the clicking of cameras. Capt Amarinder went on to assure the farmer that he would be the first in Punjab whose loan would be waived, if the Congress was voted to power.

Fifteen months down the line, Budh Singh is still waiting for his loan to be taken care of, as promised. When the Punjab Government held a function at Mansa to launch the scheme, I thought I would be invited there too. After all, it had all begun from my house. Also, I was promised that I would be the first to benefit from the scheme. But nothing of the sort happened. I only hope my dream of being debt-free will not be shattered, he says, looking worried.

The PPCC had zeroed in on Budh Singh because his house is near the Kotli Surat Malhi police station. Capt Amarinder was to visit the police station to air his grievances regarding a plethora of cases registered against Congress workers at that time.

Buoyed by Capt Amarinder Singhs assurance, I and my wife Sarabjit Kaur braved the morning chill to cast our votes for the Congress, recalls a downcast Budh Singh, wondering if he had been taken for a ride.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Mohali, January 10

Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday announced Rs 24 lakh for the development of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur memorial in Chappar Chiri here.

Sidhu said the fund would be used for the development of the site as well as the facilitation of tourists.

The memorial was set up in 2011 to acknowledge the valour of the Sikhs in a historic battle with the Mughals.

Sidhus visit to the memorial came after the MLA from Mohali Balbir Singh Sidhu demanded sprucing up of the basic infrastructure of the memorial, an official release said.

Sidhu announced Rs 12 lakh on the behalf of Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa for the restoration of the approach road towards the memorial as well as Rs 12 lakh from his own discretionary quota for the beautification of the memorial and facilitation of tourists.

The Punjab Government will develop historical and heritage sites of the state as tourist hubs to attract tourists from both country and abroad, Sidhu said.

He said heritage festivals would be revived in the state and his department would hold such festivals in Patiala, Amritsar, Bathinda, and Kapurthala.

The main motive is to create ample employment opportunities through the rich and glorious cultural heritage of the state, said Sidhu.  PTI
laxmi@tribune.com

DR.Gilbert Walker's presidential address at the Indian Science Congress on the 9th instant is highly interesting to those who realise the importance of applying scientific knowledge to the practical affairs of life. The war has given great stimulus to the better teaching and application of science in England and Dr. Walker pointed out that its need in India was even greater. He, however, laid emphasis on the effective manner in which scientific facts should be taught and deplored the habit, both in England and in India, of paying greater attention to the tables of facts than to ideas. Whether in the teaching of Latin or of Mathematics, he observed, more time was spent to study unnecessary matter and the time could well be devoted to more useful purposes by eliminating what was obsolete and was maintained only for examination purposes.
shalender@tribune.com

Dehradun, January 10

The government has announced a financial assistance of Rs 12 lakh and promise of a job to Kamla Pandey, the wife of the deceased Prakash Pandey.

District Magistrate of Nainital DK Chaudhari, who visited the family, made the announcement, An ex gratia assistance of Rs 12 lakh will be given to the family, out of which Rs 2 lakh will be given for their immediate expenses. We have also promised a job to his wife. Depending on the qualifications, she will be given a job on contractual or ad-hoc basis, Chaudhari said.Family members of Pandey, according to reports, had refused to perform the last rites when the body was handed over to them in Haldwani last night. His last rites were performed in the morning after the family was assured of financial assistance and job by the DM who had been camping in Haldwani since last night. Yesterday, Leader of the Opposition Indira Hridayesh met the family members and said she would press for providing financial assistance to the family. Their financial condition is not good, the son is still studying, they need to be supported, she said.

Further, the government also ordered a magisterial probe into the death of Pandey by Additional District Magistrate VS Budhiyal.  TNS
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 10

Political parties in Uttarakhand today held statewide protests over the death of transporter Prakash Pandey.

A resident of Haldwani, Prakash Pandey had consumed poison at the state BJP headquarters on Saturday. Prakash had said he suffered huge losses due to note ban and the GST. He succumbed to injuries yesterday.

The Congress took to streets against both BJP governments at the Centre and the state. Addressing a protest rally at the state party headquarters in Dehradun, state Congress president Pritam Singh alleged that both Modi government and the state BJP government had become insensitive to the concerns of ordinary people. He asserted that the deceased Prakash Pandey symbolised thousands of people in the country, who had been adversely affected due to note ban and the GST.

Pritam said it was strange that the BJP, which was responsible for the death, was blaming the Congress of playing politics over the issue. He asserted that the Congress would continue to oppose anti-people policies the BJP governments.

Congress senior vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana said note ban and the GST had hit a large number of people and traders. He also disclosed that the party would take out a candlelight march tomorrow.

Earlier, Congress leaders also burnt the effigies of both state and Central governments at Ashely Hall Chowk, Dehradun. Former Congress ministers Dinesh Agarwal and Rajendra Bhandari were prominent among the protesters.

Congress workers in Rishikesh, Tehri, Ranikhet and other areas of the state also burnt the effigies of the state and Central governments and resorted to sloganeering against them.

Meanwhile, the CPI, AAP, the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have expressed shock over the transporters death.

BJP govts insensitive

The Congress took to streets against both BJP governments at the Centre and the state. Addressing a protest rally at the state party headquarters in Dehradun, state Congress president Pritam Singh alleged that both Modi government and the state BJP government had become insensitive to the concerns of ordinary people.
gspannu7@gmail.com

London, January 10

British expatriates based in France have set a new takeaway trend for Indian food by chartering a flight to deliver their curry from the UK.

The flight, dubbed Curry Air by local media, will deliver popular dishes from the Akash Tandoori Restaurant in Portsmouth at a charge of around 36 euros per head to Bordeaux on Saturday.

Curry Air is booked to take off from Lee-on-Solent airfield on the south coast of England with Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Balti, Bengal Naga Chicken and Vegetable Paneer Korai, alongside rice and naan.

The six-seater aircraft is scheduled to land at Bordeaux Saucats airfield in the middle of the regions vineyards, where the 50-strong group of British expats and their French friends will dine in a hangar, Portsmouths The News reported.

Although there are some Indian restaurants in France, the quality of food is nowhere near as good as in England. And this is partly because French people, in the main, are not fond of spicy dishes, explains Roy Buchan, a regular at the Akash restaurant.

He had hit headlines in 2014 when he took curry worth 100 pounds back to Normandy in northern France for his Christmas lunch.

He triggered his latest French takeaway trend by posting an invitation on Facebook along with James Emery, an English expat and pilot who helped put the idea into practice.

I have been a loyal customer of the Akash for close to 20 years. Every time I popped in for a meal, I would complain about the bland and uninspiring version of Indian food we get in France, Emery said.

Faz Ahmed, the restaurants manager, said they had overcome significant obstacles to make the takeaway a reality.

We were initially concerned this idea would not become a reality. But, now I am confident it will be pulled off and cannot wait to see the outcome, Ahmed said.

With Jamess help, the restaurant was able to contact Iroise Aero Formation, a professional flying school based in Brest, which agreed to provide the use of the TBM700 aircraft.

In the UK, curry houses such as the Akash Tandoori Restaurant have their roots in Bangladesh and Pakistan which create dishes geared to the British palate.  PTI
uttara@tribuneindia.com

BRUSSELS, January 10

The European Union called on the Myanmar authorities to release two Reuters journalists after a court hearing in Yangon on Wednesday at which prosecutors sought charges against them under the Official Secrets Act.

In one of its firmest statements yet, the 28-nation bloca significant donor to Myanmarsaid that the case of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo was an important test for the country's commitment to developing democracy after years of military rule.

"Having heard the charges brought under the Official Secrets Act of 1923, we continue to expect the Myanmar authorities to ensure the full protection of these journalists' rights and to release them as quickly as possible," an EU spokesman said, adding that EU envoys had been present in court.

Describing media freedom as "the foundation and a cornerstone of any democracy", the spokesman added: "The European Union considers this case an important test for Myanmar's commitment to press freedom, an independent judiciary and the development of democratic institutions".

The EU also highlighted that the Reuters journalists had been arrested a month ago in connection with reporting on the situation in Rakhine state where hundreds of thousands of Muslims have fled a military crackdown on militants.

"The EU reiterates its call on the Myanmar government to ensure transparency and to make serious efforts in order to hold accountable all those involved in serious human rights abuses in the context of the ongoing crisis in Rakhine state," it said. Reuters
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Kabul, January 10

Middle-class Afghans turned jihadists have assisted the Islamic State group's expansion from its stronghold in Afghanistan's restive east to Kabul, analysts say, helping to make the capital one of the deadliest places in the country.

IS has claimed nearly 20 attacks across Kabul in 18 months, with cells including students, professors and shopkeepers evading Afghan and US security forces to bring carnage to the highly fortified city.

It is an alarming development for Kabul's war-weary civilians and beleaguered security forces, who are already struggling to beat back the resurgent Taliban, as well as the US counter-terrorism mission in Afghanistan.

This is not just a group that has a rural bastion in eastern Afghanistan - it is staging high casualty, high visibility attacks in the nation's capital and I think that's something to be worried about," said analyst Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center in Washington.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-K), the Middle East group's affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, emerged in the region in 2014, largely made up of disaffected fighters from the Taliban and other jihadist groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

It claimed its first attack in Kabul in the summer of 2016. Since then the Sunni group has struck at security forces and Shiites with increasing frequency, helped by its growing network in the capital.

There is no shortage of recruits, analysts say. IS has successfully tapped a rich vein of extremism in Afghanistan that has existed for decades and crosses socio-economic groups - fanned by growing internet access among urban youth.

We are talking about a generation which has been desensitised to different types of violence and violent extremism, said Borhan Osman, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.

It should not come as a surprise that some of the youth inculcated in the ideology of jihadism embrace the next version of jihadism, the most violent one.

Members and supporters of IS cells in Kabul hide in the open, living with their families and going to classes or work every day, Osman said.

The militants meet at night to discuss jihad, or holy war, and plot attacks on targets in the city they know well - well enough to adapt to changes, such as tightened security in the wake of a massive truck bomb in May that killed around 150 people.

It's an adaptive structure reacting to the counter measures," a Western diplomat told AFP.

From May to December what we have seen is different types of attacks, smaller attacks that are getting through.

An Afghan security source previously told AFP that "20 or more" IS-K cells were operating in the city.

Osman, an expert on militant networks in Afghanistan, said it was difficult to know how many IS-K fighters were in Kabul but their ranks were constantly being replenished by the group's recruitment efforts on social media as well as in universities, schools and mosques.

You can't say they are all poor - a number of them come from middle-class Kabuli families. Some are university educated. Some have a high school education," he said, adding that most have some religious education as well.

An Afghan security source agreed. "The new wave of extremists is not an uneducated farmer. It is mainly people with a good level of education," he told AFP on condition of anonymity. AFP
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Washington, January 10

A powerful and shallow 7.6-magnitude earthquake has hit the waters off the coast of Honduras, triggering tsunami threats and advisories for nearby Caribbean shores, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake struck at 0820 IST late on Tuesday and its epicentre was located some 27 miles (44 kilometres) east of Great Swan Island, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). It was provisionally considered to be shallow.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said authorities had activated the countrys emergency system, but urged people to please remain calm.

Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1,000 kilometres of the earthquake epicentre, the US National Weather Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

Tsunami advisories, which are a level below warnings were issued for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Belize and Jamaica, meanwhile, were issued threat warnings of waves between 0.3 to one metre (a foot to 3.3 feet) high.

The USGSs PAGER algorithm assigned the event a green alert, meaning a low likelihood of casualties and damage.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist, it said. AFP
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Kuala Lumpur, January 10

Malaysia signed a deal with an American firm on Wednesday to resume the search for MH370 almost four years after the plane disappeared, with the company to receive up to $70 million if successful.

The new hunt, which will last 90 days, is expected to start in mid-January when a high-tech vessel leased by the seabed exploration firm, Ocean Infinity, reaches a new search zone in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared in March 2014 with 239 peoplemostly from Chinaon board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, triggering one of the worlds greatest aviation mysteries.

No sign of the plane was found in a 120,000 square kilometre search zone selected by satellite analysis of the jets likely trajectory.

The Australian-led sea search, the largest in aviation history, was suspended in January last year.

But three firms submitted bids to resume the hunt privately and after lengthy negotiations, the Malaysian government agreed to engage Ocean Infinity on a no find, no fee basis.

I would like to reiterate our unwavering commitment towards solving the mystery of MH370, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said today at a signing ceremony for the deal.

The new search zone is an area of approximately 25,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean.

If the company finds the Boeing 777, the amount they are paid will depend on where it was located, said Liow.

If it is found within the first 5,000 square kilometres, they will receive $20 million. The amount rises gradually to a maximum of $70 million if the jet is found outside the 25,000 square kilometre search zone.

Relatives of MH370 passengers welcomed the decision.

We are grateful the Malaysian government is resuming the search for MH370, V. P. R. Nathan, whose wife Anne Daisy was on the plane, told AFP.

We do not know what happened, we need to know what happened before we can get closure.

The ship that will conduct the hunt is a Norwegian research vessel named Seabed Constructor, which is carrying 65 crew members and set off from South Africa in early January for the search zone.

It is carrying eight autonomous drones, equipped with sonars and cameras, that will scour the waters in the hunt for the wreckage and can operate in depths up to 6,000 metres.

Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.  AFP
rajivbhatia82@gmail.com

Bangkok, January 10

Prosecutors in Myanmar formally charged two journalists from the Reuters news agency on Wednesday with violating the Official Secrets Act, signaling the case will go forward despite international condemnation.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested December 12 after police accused them of violating the colonial-era law by acquiring important secret papers from two policemen.

The police officers had worked in Rakhine state, where security forces are blamed for rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims that sparked the exodus of some 6,50,000 people to Bangladesh.

Than Zaw Aung, the lawyer for the journalists, said the prosecutor formally indicted the pair at todays hearing. They face up to 14 years in prison if convicted.

Than Zaw Aung said he appealed for the two to be immediately released on bail, but the judge said he would review that request and rule at the next hearing on January 23.

We are still far from the verdict, he said.

Rights and media groups have criticized Myanmars new civilian government led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for continuing to use colonial-era laws to threaten and imprison journalists.

Such laws were widely used by the military junta that previously ruled the country to muzzle critics and the media.

Dozens of journalists wearing black waited outside the court today to protest the arrest of their colleagues, who were led into the court with iron chains on their wrists.

Their detention has caused an international outcry. After they were detained, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the arrests showed how press freedom was deteriorating in Myanmar, while US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for their immediate release.

A free press is critical to a free society_the detention of journalists anywhere is unacceptable, former President Bill Clinton tweeted Monday. The Reuters journalists being held in Myanmar should be released immediately. Amnesty International again called for their immediate release and said the arrests were part of a larger problem in Myanmar.

These arrests have not happened in a vacuum, but come as authorities are increasingly restricting independent media, James Gomez, the groups director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement.

Journalists and media outlets, in particular those who report on sensitive topics, are living with the constant fear of harassment, intimidation or arrest. This clampdown on freedom of speech must end.  AP
amansharma@tribunemail.com

London, January 10

Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys chief Narayana Murthy, is among three new Indian-origin MPs to be inducted into the UK government by British Prime Minister Theresa May following the recent reshuffle of her team of ministers.

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Sunak, 37, a Conservative party MP for Richmond (Yorkshire), has been appointed the new parliamentary under- secretary of state in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of a New Year reshuffle this week.

Sunak is joined by fellow pro-Brexit campaigner, Goan-origin Suella Fernandes, who takes charge as parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU).

Sailesh Vara, Tory MP for North West Cambridgeshire, has also been appointed a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Northern Ireland Office. The former justice minister resumes his junior ministerial outing in the latest reshuffle.

Sunak and Fernandes, who take charge of their junior ministerial roles as part of Theresa May's team, were among the prominent Indian-origin campaigners in favour of Britain's exit from the EU in the June 2016 referendum, pushing for closer ties with Commonwealth countries like India.

"From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future," said Sunak.

The UK-born son of a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner father is married to Murthy's daughter Akshata Murthy.

The Oxford University and Stanford MBA graduate co- founded a 1-billion-pound global investment firm and specialised in investing in small British businesses before his entry to the British Parliament in the 2015 general election.

Since his re-election in last year's snap election called by May, Sunak was widely tipped for a ministerial role in a government keen to enhance the ethnic mix of its Cabinet.

Sunak believes small businesses in the UK would flourish as a result of Brexit as the "vast majority of British businesses (94 per cent) do not have anything to do with the EU; but they are still subject to all EU law".

Fernandes' political career has had a similar trajectory, having entered Parliament as a Tory MP in 2015 and then re-elected in the June 2017 snap poll.

The Eurosceptic MP for Fareham has been equally vocal in favour of Brexit, which she believes will allow Britain to strike closer bilateral ties with Commonwealth countries like India and enable "qualified doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs from non-EU countries" to make a positive contribution to the UK economy.

Britain decided to leave the European Union after the Brexit referendum on June 23 2016. The country expected to exit the bloc by March 2019.

The resignation of Priti Patel, a high-profile pro-Brexit voice, as international development minister amid controversy over an Israel visit last year had left the top rungs of the UK Cabinet short of many ethnic minority faces.

The addition of Sunak, Fernandes and Vara takes the number of Indian-origin MPs in Theresa May's ministerial team to four, with Alok Sharma  Conservative Party MP for Reading West  moved from his post as housing minister to employment minister.

He tweeted that he was "looking forward" to his new role in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The British Prime Minister hailed "a new generation of gifted ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK" as part of her New Year reshuffle, seen as slightly chaotic after an incorrect announcement had to be hastily withdrawn earlier this week.

Downing Street said that following this week's reshuffle, there are more women attending UK Cabinet, more female ministers and more members of the government from ethnic minorities.

The number of women who are full Cabinet members has remained the same as before at six but the number of other senior female ministers also attend Cabinet has risen from two to four, taking the total number of women around the table to 10.

Two government departments have been renamed, with Housing added to the title of the Communities Department and the title of health minister Jeremy Hunt's brief now including social care.

The Opposition Labour party dismissed the reshuffle as a "pointless and lacklustre PR exercise", with party leader Jeremy Corbyn saying the government's "big plan for the new year is to dodge the real issues".  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

London, January 10

Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, toured the UK in the 1990s to incite Muslims to become jihadis, according to a media report.

A BBC investigation has said that Saeed, one of the worlds most wanted terror suspects, who now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in Pakistan, had toured British mosques in 1995 and his visit was recorded in a magazine published by the LeT at the time.

During the tour, Saeed spoke in Birmingham where he denounced the Hindus and urged his audience to rise up for jihad. In Leicester, he spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 young people, according to the BBC Radio 4 documentary, titled The Dawn of British Jihad, aired last night.

There is non-stop talk about jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him, Sajid Iqbal, one of the programmes producers, told BBC Scotland.

While in Glasgow, Saeed addressed a large gathering at the Central Mosque and claimed Zionists were using billions of dollars to kill the spirit of Jihad or the Holy War among Muslims.

They are trying to entice Muslims to the politics of power through democracy. They are also using the interest- based economy to keep Muslims in debt, Saeed told his audience.

The documentarys producer said he was surprised that Glasgow Central Mosque had opened its doors to a known militant because it is run by Deobandi, a different denomination of British Muslims to Saeeds Ahl-e-Hadith community.  PTI
| By Betsy Stein

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) will offer employees a huge incentive to purchase a home in one of seven nearby West Baltimore neighborhoods under an improved Live Near Your Work Program introduced Jan. 9 by President Jay A. Perman, MD. The incentive  along with a matching grant from the city of Baltimore  is expected help revitalize the communities that are neighbors to the university.

UMB employees are being offered $18,500  $16,000 from the University and $2,500 from the city  to buy a home in Barre Circle, Franklin Square, Hollins Market, Mount Clare, Poppleton, Union Square, or Washington Village/Pigtown (see map of LNYW neighborhoods).

Ashley Valis, Bill Joyner, Ebony Nicholson, and Stephanie Bowe are University of Maryland, Baltimore employees who live in West Baltimore.

We think this is a game-changer, Perman told a group of more than 75 state and city officials, University leaders, community members, and media at the event launch held at the University of Maryland BioPark. The program was grounded in the fact that its infinitely easier to build a community of strength, a community of mutual respect, a community shaped by a shared destiny when we work together and socialize together and yes, live together.

Mayor Catherine Pugh attended the event and praised Perman, UMB, and the partners that have made the program possible.

It is efforts like this, Dr. Perman, that I believe will make the difference in the growth and expansion of our city, Pugh said. You have taken up the mantle to bring about the difference that this city needs, and what is so great about the University of Maryland coming across Martin Luther King Boulevard is their investment in this community.

UMB has had a Live Near Your Work incentive in the past, but at just $2,500, it had very few takers, Perman said. The new benefit is available to full- and part-time employees and now requires they live in the house for at least five years.

Community revitalization is key to our mission, said Dawn M. Rhodes, MBA, chief business and finance officer and vice president. While showing our commitment to the community, we are providing our employees with an outstanding opportunity that benefits both our neighbors and our employees.

The University has worked with several partners on this venture, including the city, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, Southwest Partnership, Live Baltimore, and GO Northwest.

We would truly not be here today without the collaboration of our community partners, Rhodes said. There was a great deal to learn and execute. We needed the expertise of other organizations to ensure that our employees have a great homebuying experience.

According to Rhodes, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City has already, confidentially, identified nearly 40 UMB employees in Section 8 housing and reached out to them about the LNYW Program. GO Northwest will be offering homeownership workshops and counseling services on campus, and Southwest Partnership has planned a housing fair at the BioPark in March with real estate agents and developers showcasing as many as 50 homes in the area to UMB employees.

We are at a moment in time for these seven neighborhoods where there is finally a strong belief system that the diversity, the excitement, the creativity that already exists is going to be acknowledged by all of the larger partners that we have, said Michael Seipp, executive director of the Southwest Partnership. There is more to this than just buying a house. You are buying into a community of spirit and energy that doesnt exist in many of our suburban neighborhoods.

Also present at the launch was Carol Anne Gilbert, assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, who pointed out the potential to stack other grants along with the University and city incentives. The state offers the Maryland Mortgage Program, tax credits, and other grants, and other opportunities exist through Vacants to Value, House Keys 4 Employees, and Live Baltimore.

The grand-prize winner can get well over $30,000 with all those stackable incentives.  That should help a little bit, Gilbert said. We wrap all these incentives into a homebuying experience which is really a community buying experience. You are buying a house but really buying into a great community.

There has already been interest in the program, which will be introduced to employees Jan. 11. Ebony Nicholson, MSW, academic coordinator for diversity and inclusion initiatives at UMBs Campus Life Services, rents a home in Hollins Market and hopes to take advantage of the LNYW Program.

I am looking to buy a home in [Hollins Market,] she said. Im really invested in my neighborhood association.  Its an opportunity to have fun and really be close to work and lower my carbon footprint.

Ashley Valis, MSW, executive director of the Office of Community Engagement, bought a home in Hollins Market last year using the previous Live Near Your Work incentive. She and her husband found the size of home they were looking for in Southwest Baltimore at a much better value than in one of the pricier downtown neighborhoods, she said.

We have a beautiful, historic home that we can afford, and we didnt have to give up walking to the Inner Harbor or to work, explained the mother of two young children. Eliminating a work commute was definitely part of why we decided to buy in the Hollins Market area. If I have to work full time, I want to be away from the house as little as possible.

Valis said that the neighborhood is improving and that is good for the community as well as the University.

The fact that our Live Near Your Work Program is targeting all income levels for the University is really important to note, because we want all of our employees to have homeownership on their resume, and now, through this program, homeownership will be in the reach of all UMB employees, she said. No matter how much you earn, the more homeowners you can have on your block  that is really an added value to the community at large, not just to us as UMB employees.

At a Jan. 11 event held for UMB employees at the Southern Management Corporation Campus Center, potential buyers heard more details about the program and had a chance to ask questions of Rhodes, Valis, UMB Benefits Manager Emily Kordish, and representatives of community partner organizations.

Most questions centered on personal credit requirements and eligibility. "I own a home already," one woman said, expressing her concern that the program might be restricted to first-time homebuyers.

"You do not have to be a first-time homebuyer, nor is the program income-restricted," answered Liz Koontz, employer outreach manager at Live Baltimore. "The requirement is that after you purchase this home, this home is your primary residence for five years."

"What if you don't have good credit?" asked a man near the back of the Elm Ballroom.

"Our Launch Your Life Program offers financial wellness 'Lunch and Learns' here on campus, and you can sign up for that on the website," Kordish responded.

"Credit can be repaired," Rhodes added. "That's a big part of what GO Northwest will do, and they can give you tips in terms of how to repair your credit."

The LNYW application process will open Jan. 29. Eligible employees will be required to complete a homeownership counseling program, and the benefit will be taxed. For details on the program, visit http://www.umaryland.edu/live-near-your-work/.
A Syrian refugee mother and son outside their shelter in Ghazieh, Saida, Lebanon.  UNHCR/Sebastian Rich

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are more vulnerable than ever, with more than half now living in extreme poverty and over three quarters living below the poverty line  according to the findings of a new survey by UNHCR, UNICEF and WFP. Seven years into the crisis, Syrian refugees in Lebanon are finding it even more difficult to make ends meet and are more reliant than ever on international aid  amid an uncertain outlook for humanitarian funding in 2018.

The annual Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees (VASyR) reveals that 58 per cent of households are now living in extreme poverty  on less than US$2.87 per person per day. This is some 5 per cent more than a year ago. And the number of households living below the overall poverty line  less than US$3.84 per day  has also continued to rise. 76 per cent of refugee households are living below this level.

This means over three quarters of Syrian refugees in Lebanon now live on less than US$4 per day, leaving refugees with dwindling resources to meet their most basic needs. Refugee households are now spending on average just US$98 per person per month  US$44 of which is spent on food.

Borrowing money for food, to cover health expenses and pay rent continues to be extremely common, with almost nine out of every 10 refugees saying they are in debt. This underlines the vulnerabilities facing most Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Food insecurity also remains critically high  affecting 91 per cent of households to some degree. But vulnerabilities are also growing elsewhere. Obtaining legal residency continues to be a challenge, leaving refugees exposed to an increased risk of arrest, hindering their ability to register their marriages and making it more difficult for them to find daily labour, send their children to school or access health care.

Only 19 per cent of families reported that all members had legal residency, down from 21 per cent in 2016. More alarmingly, the share of households where no one has legal residency has increased considerably. Overall, 74 per cent of surveyed Syrian refugees aged 15 and above do not have legal residency in Lebanon.

The survey also revealed that only 17 per cent of refugee parents managed to complete all the steps of the birth registration process for their children  but higher percentages of families are at least completing the first two steps of the process  with nearly all families (96%) obtaining a notification of birth from the hospital or midwife, thanks to joint efforts by UNHCR and the Government.

Taken as a whole, the survey results paint an alarming picture of the growing vulnerabilities facing Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Seven years into the crisis, they are more reliant than ever on humanitarian aid  with more than two-thirds saying they had relied on some form of assistance in the previous three months. Self-reliance opportunities are extremely limited in an economy deeply affected by the neighbouring conflict in Syria. And external funding is insufficient to keep up with the growing needs; In 2017, only 36 per cent of the total funding needed to provide adequate humanitarian support in Lebanon was received, as of the beginning of December.

A further US$2.7 billion is needed to meet needs in 2018, under the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan. With upcoming conferences in Paris and Brussels aimed at mobilizing further support for the humanitarian response and for Lebanon in particular  it is more vital than ever that donors stay the course amid deepening poverty and growing vulnerabilities  which equally strain abilities to support vulnerable members of the local community who are also struggling with limited resources and help prevent social tensions between Lebanese hosts and refugees.

Background:

The VASyR survey is the fifth of its kind and involved researchers visiting some 5,000 refugee families randomly selected from 26 districts across Lebanon. It is key in shaping humanitarian aid programmes in Lebanon and revealing social and economic trends.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
Benjamin Heertje, Kris Pouw, Debra Barraud and Annegien Schilling in Berlin for The Dream Diaries project.  UNHCR/Kris Pouw

GENEVA  Four young online creators have travelled more than 7,000 kilometres across Europe to meet a dozen refugee and asylum-seeking children as part of a new project, in association with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, that lets the youngsters imaginations run free.

In the course of 16 days, Humans of Amsterdam photographer Debra Barraud and her colleague Benjamin Heertje, Dutch graphic designer Annegien Schilling and film-maker Kris Pouw journeyed through five European countries to capture the dreams of children who have fled war and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and beyond. The stories make up the Dream Diaries.

Through engaging with the many children we met, they shared their dreams with us. Once we had gathered their stories and dreams, we created an image to symbolize their realization says Debra, whose Humans of Amsterdam photography project has over 400,000 Facebook followers. Through the project, we saw the strength of these children and how with the right support they can achieve anything.

I want to become a superhero so I dont have to be afraid any more."

The series, which launches over 10 days across Instagram, Facebook and the UNHCR website and social pages, visualizes the dreams of children such as Ayham, 8, who lives with his family in Vienna, Austria, after fleeing Syria in October 2015. A portrait captures him as a superhero, with lightning bolts pulsing from his fingers.

I want to become a superhero so I dont have to be afraid any more, Ayham told the Dream Diaries team. I would end the fighting in Syria and then I would go back and kiss everything, really everything, also the bananas and the watermelons.

The Dream Diaries on film (UNHCR / @krispouw / @humansofamsterdam / @fetching_tigerss)

In 2016, more than 50 per cent of refugees were children. Unaccompanied or separated children  mainly from Afghanistan and Syria  made some 75,000 asylum applications in 70 countries during that year. Approximately one-third of people seeking asylum in Germany in 2015 and 2016 were children and young people.

"At a time when we see some people and places closing their hearts and minds to refugees, its an inspiration to see four young people embark on this great journey to tell these stories of hope," says Veronique Robert, UNHCRs deputy regional representative for Western Europe. "The Dream Diaries truly exemplifies how refugees are people just like you and me, with hopes, dreams and desires. The only difference is that they have been forced to flee their homes, loved ones and leave everything behind."

"It was interesting that we created pictures that gave people hope."

The stories of the 12 children featured in UNHCRs Dream Diaries series are told from cities in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, where they have found new homes and a chance to dream again.

The general tone of pictures of people who are refugees is very sad and hopeless and almost depressing. I thought it was interesting that we created pictures that gave people hope, says Annegien, who has nearly 1 million followers on her Fetching_Tigerss Instagram account.

Audiences are being encouraged to stand #WithRefugees by signing UNHCRs global petition, which asks decision makers to grant refugees safety, education and opportunities  turning their dreams into reality. You can follow The Dream Diaries series via Humans of Amsterdam, Fetching_Tigerss and UNHCR social pages.

See more stories from The Dream Diaries
Faheemah, now 82 and largely bedridden, fled from Iraq to Lebanon with her grandson and other family members.  UNHCR/Matthew Saltmarsh

BEIRUT, Lebanon  In the hardscrabble Beirut suburb of Sad al Baoushriye, the narrow apartment rented by the Yousifs, a family of refugees from northern Iraq, is shrouded in sorrow.

The Yousifs were forced to flee the Nineveh region near Mosul in Iraq in 2015 amid a wave of reprisals against Christians and minorities, and persecution by extremists. The family of seven, who span three generations, first moved to Erbil. Then, still feeling vulnerable, they travelled on to Lebanon, with little more than memories.

Though the security worries have diminished, life in exile has itself been fraught. Soon after escaping from Iraq, Mirna, the mother, suffered another loss  her husband, Munzer, died in Beirut of natural causes. The four children, aged between 12 and 22, who are still with her in Lebanon, were left without a father.

First my son had to leave Iraq as he was being forced to go and fight, then we followed. It was too dangerous to stay, Mirna told UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, during a visit to the apartment alongside an Iraqi volunteer from the Catholic NGO Caritas, a UNHCR partner.

As she spoke, Mirna rustled around for a photo printout of the former family home, now just pockmarked walls encasing bricks, dust and twisted metal fragments. Weve lost our home. It was completely destroyed. What have we got to go back to?

A photo of the Yousif's former house in northern Iraq, destroyed during sectarian fighting.  UNHCR/Matthew Saltmarsh

As well as keeping the immediate family together, Mirna has to care for her bereaved parents-in-law. Her mother-in-law, Faheemah, 82, is nearly blind and almost entirely bedridden, having suffered a stroke and other complications; her swollen legs only carry her from bed to bathroom, when assisted. The cost of medication has stretched family finances to breaking point.

Her father-in-law, Gorgis, 83, sometimes leaves the apartment but generally ventures no further than the local church or a plastic chair in the ground-floor car park, from where he surveys the street through glassy eyes.

Weve lost our home. It was completely destroyed. What have we got to go back to?

During the visit, Gorgis broke into a mournful Chaldean chant that appeared to an outsider to be a lament for home, and perhaps the familys current plight.

Dreams of the future are mostly on hold. The familys daily preoccupation, like that of so many other refugees, is financial. The apartment that they rent in Beiruts poor quarter costs US$700 a month. Food, utilities, medicine and other costs add hundreds more to monthly outgoings. UNHCR cash assistance helps cover some of this, but it is far from sufficient.

That means the two older children, Michael and Media, 22 and 18 respectively, have to work menial jobs in Beirut to keep the family afloat. Hence their prospects are dimming  something that is a preoccupation for refugee parents the world over.

Mirna Yousif sits in the apartment in Beirut where she cares for her four children, aged 12 to 22, as well as her husband's ailing parents.  UNHCR/Matthew Saltmarsh

Mirna's mother-in-law, Faheemah, 82, and father-in-law, Gorgis, 83, have a hard time leaving the apartment in Beirut due to their health.  UNHCR/Matthew Saltmarsh

Iraqi refugees in Lebanon attend a day centre in Beirut run by the charity Caritas.  UNHCR/Matthew Saltmarsh

Iraqi refugees in Lebanon attend a day centre in Beirut run by the charity Caritas.  UNHCR/Matthew Saltmarsh

As fighting continues in parts of northern Iraq after extremists were pushed from Mosul last year, many of those forced to flee  like the Yousifs  have abandoned hope of returning home, fearing sectarian tension may endure, and are looking at a protracted exile, or moving on to other countries under UNHCR resettlement programmes, though places are few and reserved for the most vulnerable.

Earlier in the day, at a weekly therapy and discussion session for Iraqi refugees run by Caritas, dozens of Iraqi Christian refugees spoke over black tea about the pain of limbo. It is a life of frustration at best, often leaving psychological scars.

I feel Im living on borrowed time, said Laith, a man in his 60s. I want to provide for my kids, but I cant. My son used to be top of his class in Iraq. Now hes a labourer.

Among the daily challenges cited by Laith and other Iraqi Christians at the session were depression, health issues, lost opportunities for their children and financial hardship. Most expressed a desire to move on to a new life elsewhere, if possible.

I feel Im living on borrowed time. I want to provide for my kids, but I cant.

A study published by the World Council of Churches and Norwegian Church Aid indicates that sectarian feelings in Iraq had become deeply ingrained and warned that the defeat of extremists alone will not solve these underlying dangers or ensure that minorities return to their place of origin. It stressed the need to keep providing flexible and sufficient humanitarian funding in Iraq.

The diaspora is spread wide: Last year there were nearly 260,000 Iraqi refugees registered in Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

A number of refugees at the Caritas session said they felt more at ease in Lebanon, partly because of its large Christian community.

Although the conditions here are extremely difficult, the most important thing is that we feel safe, said Josephine, an Iraqi mother whose son was an engineer in Iraq. He now gets small jobs in Lebanon, and earns no more than US$400 a month.

Minorities in Iraq have been especially affected by recent violence, not least Ninevehs Christians. In all country offices, UNHCR has measures to ensure that all asylum-seekers, regardless of their religion or background, have access to its services.

Indeed, the Agency assists all refugee communities  including religious minorities  to register, including via mobile registration units, trained outreach teams and help desks in areas where these groups are concentrated.

Back in Beirut, one thing that provides a constant for the Yousifs is the local church, where most of the family joins other Iraqi Christians to pray for better times.

Gorgis, the father-in-law, worries about the familys future while they are in limbo. Every day I ask God to help us, he said, his voice cracking as he fought back tears.

Visit UNHCR Lebanon website
January 10 2018

The University of Glasgow has applied for planning in principle to erect a HOK designed research hub as the centrepiece of its Gilmorehill campus masterplan Occupying the site of the Western Infirmary, currently under demolition, the 17,000sq/m project will offer space for up to 600 researchers to boost engagement with industry and cross-disciplinary working.Forming the western boundary of a new University Square, which it will meet with active frontages, the build will offer an internal pedestrian link to Elder Chapel Place and a cafe at its south east corner.Detailing their approach HOK wrote: In response to the Universitys brief of creating a vibrant, collaborative and interactive environment, the Research Hub has a colonnade on the east facade along the edge of the new University Square. The colonnade is formed from sculptural re-constituted stone structural columns with a polished finish and regular rhythm culminating in the entrance portico.The colonnade forms a defined, sheltered pedestrian pathway, lit at night. Along the colonnade and returning on the north and south facades the Level 2 facade is transparent revealing the internal functions of the Research Hub, including the Maker Lab and Exhibition Space and with views through to the Atrium providing an interactive showcase for the work of the research groups within the building.Proposed material finishes include the use of reconstituted stone as well as buff and red terracotta to marry with local sandstone.
Richard Plumlee found his passion for helping others while studying at UTSA.

(Jan. 10, 2018) -- Meet Richard Plumlee '15. This UTSA alumnus feeds 58,000 Texans weekly and recently provided aid to the Virgin Islands with former Spurs player Tim Duncan, to help communities ravaged by the recent hurricanes.

Born in Honolulu, Plumlee lived in various parts of the country before he put roots down in San Antonio. His passion for helping others was his primary reason for enrolling at UTSA.

While at UTSA, Plumlee double majored in public health and sociology. He also joined the Honors College. He appreciated his professors for their welcoming nature and says they helped him readjust to campus life after being away from school for two decades.

The Honors College opened a lot of doors for me, said Plumlee. I was able to study abroad in Italy and be exposed to their culture. Through the university, I was also given the opportunity to serve communities in developing countries, which furthered my desire for helping those in need.

As a Roadrunner, Plumlee helped spearhead the Public Health Student Association at UTSA, and he served as vice president for the UTSA chapter of Global Brigades, which plans and organizes mission trips for underserved communities. While working with the latter, he traveled to Honduras and Panama to provide medical and dental services to individuals living in poverty.

My professors mentored me and guided me toward the right path. The concepts I learned in my classes are principles that I put into practice every day in my job, he said.

Plumlee works at the San Antonio Food Bank as the inventory and food safety director. In that role, he manages inventory that is distributed to underserved communities. The Food Bank distributes products from the San Antonio warehouse to a network of more than 500 partner agencies in 16 Texas counties.

When Hurricane Harvey struck Texas, Plumlee and his team went into disaster-relief mode and organized the massive inventory that needed to be sent to displaced families.

We had donations come in from all over the world, he says. In one instance, we had a donation of three charter buses filled with water and supplies. It made my heart swell that people cared for others that theyve never met.

Recently, Plumlee joined former Spurs player Tim Duncan to provide aid to Duncans home community in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They were in St. Thomas with a crew of eight for six days.

We distributed food and medical supplies and taught the locals how to set up food lines, Plumlee said.

The inclement weather nearly made the mission an impossible task, but the team was determined to help the affected areas.

The team made a second trip in October to St. Croix to provide more relief to the locals.

During their third trip in November, the team supplied the locals in both St. Thomas and St. Croix with food needed to supplement a Thanksgiving meal.

Over the course of the three visits to the Virgin Islands, Plumlee and his team distributed 500,000 pounds of food, water and medical supplies to more than 30,000 individuals.

The experience has made me appreciate the things I often take for granted like food accessibility and the safety of a home that I have for my family. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, little did I know that I would get that opportunity three times, said Plumlee.

Plumlee is appreciative of the resources UTSA has given him.

UTSA has had a positive impact on my life and I know it would do the same for anyone going to college.

He credits UTSA for igniting the fire in his heart to help others. Plumlee believes service is a pertinent piece of the universitys reputation.

At UTSA, theres an essence of community involvement and giving back. Those are the values of the university that I treasure most.
Presentations on UW Science Initiative Jan. 16-17 in Fremont County

A leading University of Wyoming faculty member and a graduate student are scheduled to speak about UWs Science Initiative at Rotary Club meetings in Riverton and Lander Jan. 16-17.

Danny Dale, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and astronomy Ph.D. student Jessica Sutter will discuss the initiative that aims to revolutionize scientific education and discovery in Wyoming.

They will be at the Riverton Rotary Clubs regular meeting Tuesday, Jan. 16, at noon in the Fremont Room at Central Wyoming College.

The Lander Rotary Club presentation is at noon Wednesday, Jan. 17, at the Oxbow Restaurant, 170 E. Main St.

Dale, former head of the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy who is now associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, regularly visits the states high schools, junior high schools and middle schools, with a focus on student recruitment by sharing various science lessons with students and explaining how UW undergraduates are involved in cutting-edge research internships.

Sutter, from Portland, Ore., is researching galaxies nearby to our own Milky Way, particularly to determine how far away these galaxies are actually located.

The Science Initiative, initiated by Gov. Matt Mead and the Legislature in 2014, is an effort to enable world-class research and education related to pillars of Wyomings present and future economy. Through life and data sciences research that impacts areas including mineral extraction, agriculture, tourism, resource management and high technology, the initiative will impact Wyomings economy and give UW students a leading-edge skill set.

The Wyoming Research Scholars Program, one of the components of the Science Initiative, provides scholarships for undergraduates to study and conduct research with top UW researchers.

Central to the Science Initiative is construction of a $100 million facility at the northwest end of the UW campus, featuring flexible laboratories for interdisciplinary science research; the Center for Advanced Scientific Imaging; state-of-the-art greenhouses for plant research; a 200-seat active-learning classroom; and student collaboration areas to foster science innovation.

Mead, who describes the facility as a unique research and teaching environment that will transform interdisciplinary research and education, has recommended that the 2018 Legislature release $100 million previously appropriated for the project.


NPRs From the Top with Host Christopher ORiley, the preeminent showcase for young musicians heard weekly on Classical 89.7 KCNV, will record a radio broadcast at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Sunday, February 25, 2018 at 2 p.m.

The popular NPR radio program features the amazing performances and captivating personal stories of extraordinary young classical musicians from across the country.

Hosted by Christopher ORiley, the recording event will include an entertaining mix of interviews, personal stories, and performances showcasing inspiring young musicians from Las Vegas and across the United States.

The taping will feature two local performers: Jordan Farber, a 16-year-old bassoonist and junior at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts and Parsa Sabet, an 18-year-old guitarist and senior at Sierra Vista High School. Jordan will perform Recit et allegro by Noel Gallon and Parsa will perform Recuerdos de la Alhambra by Francisco Tarrega and Danza in E minor by Jorge Morel.

Also featured: 12-year-old violinist Kaia Kelden from Portland, Oregon, 16-year-old pianist Lauren Kim from Chicago, Illinois, 15-year-old pianist Colin Song from Glenview, Illinois, and 18-year-old tenor Colin Aikins from Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania.

This program will broadcast on stations nationwide and by podcast in spring 2018. Date to be announced. Tune in to From the Top on Classical 89.7 KCNV Sundays at noon.
Vietnams Ministry of Finance has announced 10 draft decrees on preferential tariff rates for 2018-2020 related to its 10 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Most of the goods will enjoy a zero percent import tariff in effect from January 1, 2018, in line with the countrys commitments within the FTAs framework, while others will go through a gradual reduction until 2022. With reduced tariffs leading to a reduction in import tax revenues, the government aims to offset it by an increase in domestic tax collection.

Trade agreements

The trade deals include the ASEAN FTA (ATIGA), FTAs between ASEAN and Japan, India, Australia  New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and China. Also included are FTAs between Vietnam and Korea, Japan, Chile, and the Eurasian Economic Union.

ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA)

Under ATIFA, Vietnam has already cut 6,900 tariff lines, or 72 percent of all tariff lines, to zero percent in 2014. It reduced more than 1,700 other lines to zero percent in 2015. By 2018, Vietnam is committed to removing all import tariffs.

Items to be subjected to zero percent import tariff include automobile, motorbike, vehicle components, vegetable oil, tropical fruits, home electronic appliances, milk, and dairy products.

Certain agricultural products such as poultry, chicken, citrus fruits, brown rice, processed meat, and sugar will continue to have a tariff rate of five percent.

ASEAN China FTA

Items to attract zero percent import tariffs from 2018 include chicken, coffee, raw tea, processed food, apparel fabrics, clothes, electronic equipment, and electrics.

Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA)

Under the VJEPA, zero percent rate will be applied to 456 tariff lines for items such as construction stones, steel, aluminum, sugar, machinery, equipment, and vehicle parts.

Vietnam-Korea FTA

From 2018, import tariffs for 704 tariff lines will be reduced to zero percent for items such as seafood, wheat, confectionery, diesel fuel, machinery, and electronic equipment.

Viet Nam  Eurasian Economic Union FTA

Under this Vietnam  EAEU FTA, 5,535 tariff lines have been reduced to zero percent in 2018 for items such as milk, dairy products, automobile, and spare parts, iron and steel, and steel products.

Other FTAs such as the ASEAN  Korea, ASEAN  Japan (AJCEP), ASEAN  India (AIFTA), ASEAN  Australia  New Zealand, and Vietnam  Chile will progressively reduce tariffs to zero percent by 2022. For example, under the AJCEP, the existing five percent import tax rate for various commodities will reduce to zero percent by 2019. Similarly, under AIFTA, items having current import tax rates between 1 to 3 percent will be subjected to zero percent import tariffs by 2019. Under the AIFTA and VKFTA, current import tax rates ranging from 10 to 20 percent for certain commodities will see a gradual reduction to zero percent by 2022.

Impact of FTAs

Exporters will continue to benefit from the reduced tariffs, leading to a deeper economic integration. This will further lead to an increase in foreign investments, competition, production, and business efficiency. In addition, this will also reduce the input cost for domestic firms.

As for the State budget, tariff commitments in the last decade have affected the annual growth rate of State Budget revenues of the customs. The average rate of collection increased annually by 10 percent from 2007-2014, while in 2015 and 2016, the growth rate was only 3.6 percent and 3.8 percent respectively. However, the increase in imports/exports and subsequent reduction in import tax revenues will be offset by an increase in domestic tax collection such as corporate and personal income tax.
In the spotlight: Tax inspection is actively investigating big companies to detect violations.  Photo timesofmalta.com

The biggest listed energy company PV Gas (GAS) on January 3 was told it must pay VN106 billion (US$4.7 million) in tax arrears and administrative penalties for late payment.

The Department of Taxations decision said the company followed improper procedures resulting in the tax obligations and penalties.

Earlier, DHG Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DHG) reported that it had to pay an additional amount of VN30.7 billion to the State budget for understating its income and other tax-related violations.

According to DHGs filing to the HCM Stock Exchange, the underestimate was a common data error by enterprises across the country and were not intentional, but misunderstandings.

Ha Noi Tax Department has also announced penalty of VN210 million for technology firm CMC Corporation (CMG), a VN2.2 billion penalty for Thang Long Investment Group JSC (TIG) and a VN3.3 billion penalty on steelmaker Son Ha International JSC (SHI).

All three companies on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange were penalised for value-added tax arrears, false declarations and late payment.

Nguyen Van Phung, director of Tax Administration, said enterprises did not have a clear understanding of tax regulations in many different situations and were heavily dependent on tax consultants.

Phung said tax authorities had used many communication channels to publicise new regulations to businesses, thus enterprises blaming ignorance were just making excuses.

The majority of tax-related violations is intentional, Phung told vnexpress.net, adding that tax inspectors were actively investigating big companies to detect violations and strengthen law enforcement.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Luong Nhan, managing director of audit company DFK Vietnam, attributed many violations to the negligence of auditing companies.

He said tax was an important part of a financial statement, so if things were not clear, the auditor should always request the business to ask to consult with the tax authority. If violations were detected, the blame could fall on the auditor.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last week issued the governments Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP on socio-economic development plans for 2018, which states that the economy is targeted to expand 6.7 per cent this year, building on the momentum of 2017s 6.81 per cent.

Phuc said the driving forces of the growth will be a surge in local production, foreign direct investment (FDI), and exports.

The Asian Development Bank predicted last fornight that Vietnam will grow 6.7 per cent this year, higher than the rates of most other countries in East and Southeast Asia. Around the same time, the World Bank also projected that Vietnam will grow 6.5 per cent this year.

Stronger domestic demand, robust export-oriented manufacturing, and a gradual recovery of the agriculture sector are driving Vietnams economy forward, said the World Banks lead national economist Sebastian Eckardt. Besides, Vietnam has made significant progress in improving its business climate.

Spain-based FocusEconomics, which provides economic news, indicators, and forecasts for over 127 countries, told VIR that Vietnam will grow 6.4 per cent this year, which is higher than ASEANs average (5 per cent) and the rates of Brunei (1.5 per cent), Indonesia (5.3 per cent), Malaysia (4.9 per cent), Singapore (2.6 per cent), and Thailand (3.5 per cent). The economy remains on a solid trajectory. It is expected to grow at a strong pace in 2018, thanks to a record-breaking expansion of FDI inflows and a robust performance in exports, said the FocusEconomics forecast.

In 2017, FDI inflows into Vietnam reached $21.27 billion, up 42.3 per cent year-on-year, with disbursement hitting $17.5 billion, up 10.8 per cent. The governments projections for 2018 stand at $28.5 billion and $17.5 billion, respectively.

The government also forecast that Vietnams total export turnover will increase to $231 billion this year, up from 2017s $214 billion.

Maxfield Brown, senior associate from pan-Asian consultancy firm Dezan Shira & Associates told VIR that Vietnams FDI picture will continue to thrive.

Looking towards 2018 and beyond, Vietnams understanding and policy regarding foreign investment will be more important than ever. The countrys ability to meet the expectations of investors and to effectively transfer the benefits of investment inflows to its citizens will determine if Vietnam is able to continue to rise up the value chain effectively, Brown said.

Under the new resolution, the government also stressed that improving productivity is one of the key solutions to furthering the economys growth quality and competitiveness this year. Resolution No. 01 stipulates that a national programme on labour productivity growth be developed. This programme is charged with increasing labour productivity by over 6 per cent this year, up from a 5.29 per cent climb of 2016 and a 6 per cent rise of 2017.

The resolution also targets a total-factor productivity (TFP) ratio in GDP of over 46 per cent, up from 40.68 per cent in 2016 and 44.13 per cent last year. The General Statistics Office reported that based on purchasing power parity in 2011, Vietnams existing labour productivity was equal to 7 per cent of Singapore, 17.6 per cent of Malaysia, 36.5 per cent of Thailand, 42.3 per cent of Indonesia, 56.7 per cent of the Philippines, and 87.4 per cent of Laos.
The number of deaths on French roads has been rising steadily since 2014. (Photo: AFP/Philippe Huguen)

Several previous governments had toyed with the idea as a means of reducing highway deaths, which reached nearly 3,500 in 2016, but backed off in the face of widespread public opposition.

About 55 per cent of those deaths - 1,911 victims - occurred on the 400,000 kilometres of so-called "secondary" roads across France, two-lane routes with no separating guardrail.

"Excessive or inappropriate" speed was involved in 32 percent of those fatal accidents, which far exceeded those in urban areas.

The government says the lower speed limit could save 350 to 400 lives a year.

"Unsafe roads are not inevitable," Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said after a meeting of the government's road safety council, adding that road accidents had killed 105 people in France over the recent year-end holidays.

"Lowering speeds reduces the number of accidents, as well as the severity of these accidents," he said.

The government has compared the 80 kmh limit, which goes into effect Jul 1, to the laws enacted since 1973 requiring the use of seat belts, and the installation of automatic speed radars in 2002.

'WILLING TO BE UNPOPULAR'

Those laws also drew the ire of thousands of drivers, but contributed to nearly four decades of declines in automobile deaths in France, which reached a historic low of 3,268 in 2013.

But in 2014 the toll began rising steadily once again.

The trend looks set to continue for 2017, with deaths up 0.9 per cent for the first 11 months of the year compared with 2016.

"There are 3,500 deaths and 70,000 injured each year, 70,000! After decades of progress, the toll is getting worse," Philippe had told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday.

"If saving lives means being unpopular, I'm willing to be."

In 2012, the government of former president Francois Hollande announced a plan to lower the number of automobile deaths to under 2,000 a year by 2020, and in 2015 began a test of the lower speed limit on about 80 kilometres of highways.

The test was completed last July, and while the government has said it did not lead to more traffic jams, it has not released the results in terms of accident mortality.

Opponents say speed isn't the problem, but rather the dangerous behaviour of many drivers.

"There's no reason to change speed limits: cars are getting better, as is road quality," said Daniel Quero, president of the 40 Million Drivers advocacy group.

Signs already warn drivers to slow to 70 kmh in dangerous sections, Quero said, calling the government's plan "one more penalising measure".

According to Harris Interactive poll released on Tuesday for RMC and Atlantico, 59 per cent of respondents said they were against the lower limit and 83 per cent said they thought the main goal was to increase revenue from speeding fines.

But Philippe said any surplus revenue from speeding tickets would go toward care for victims of automobile accidents.

The government also plans to crack down on the use of cellphones while driving, an infraction that currently results in a 135 fine (US$160) and the loss of three points from the 12-point driver's licence.

Police can now suspend a licence if the driver is found to have broken other laws while using a phone which could "endanger his own security or that of someone else."
DNP Water currently aims to expand its portfolio of mainly urban water treatment and supply facilities in Vietnam and is planning to increase its treatment and supply capacity by five times to one million cubic meters per day by 2025.

IFCs investment will support the growth of the company by funding the construction of new bulk water treatment plants and the acquisition of privatised water supply companies. This will help improve access to clean water in mainly second- and third-tier cities in Vietnam.

As agreed by all parties, the financing package may increase to $24.9 million to support the further growth of the company.

Binh Hiep Water, a plant owned by DNP Water

We greatly appreciate IFCs long-term funding in an important, but quickly changing sector, said Vu Dinh Do, DNP Water chairman. IFCs extensive water sector expertise will help us bring international best practices to the Vietnamese water sector and improve our sustainability standards.

With access to affordable and clean water a key development target, IFCs investment will help encourage private-sector participation in this important one and the growing privatised water sector in Vietnam, said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC senior country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao PDR. IFCs financing of a private company will help reduce the capital investment burden on the government. It will further accelerate the leveraging of the private sector for critical infrastructure and champion the growth of local entrepreneurs.

Currently only about 35 per cent of the Vietnamese population is connected to piped water. According to WB estimates, the country needs investments worth $1 billion per year until 2020 for urban water supply to meet current and future growth demands. While the government is aware of this challenge, it faces fiscal constraints and has called for increased private funding for clean water and piped-water coverage expansion.

IFC has extensive experience in supporting private sector investments in water and wastewater worldwide. So far, IFC has made 55 investments totalling at $2.2 billion.

Headquartered in the northern province of Bac Giang, DNP Water owns and operates, either directly or indirectly, four water treatment projects and water supply companies in Vietnam. Two water companies under its ownership are Binh Hiep Water and Dong Tam Water, while DNP Bac Giang Water Project and Long An Water Supply Project are currently under construction.
The prime minister is due to fly to Brussels for talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker later on Tuesday. (Photo: AFP/Attila Kisbenedek)

The prime minister was due in Brussels on Tuesday for talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, focused on the EU's unprecedented disciplinary procedure against Warsaw over its controversial judicial reforms, which Brussels says threaten the rule of law.

Ahead of his departure, it was announced that defence minister Antoni Macierewicz and foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski lost their jobs along with environment minister Jan Szyszko, among others, at an official ceremony held at the presidential palace in Warsaw.

Interior minister Mariusz Blaszczak took over the defence portfolio, while Jacek Czaputowicz, a deputy foreign minister with centrist views, will serve as foreign minister.

"We don't want to be a dogmatic, doctrinaire or extremist government; we want to be a government that draws together the economy and society, as well as the European and global dimensions with the local level," Morawiecki, who himself took office just last month, said as he greeted his new cabinet.

Warsaw-based political analyst Eryk Mystewicz described the reshuffle as "a new opening with the EU that gives a strong signal to Europe."

"Morawiecki, Czaputowicz are not people who can be accused of wanting a Polexit," Mystewicz said, adding that Czaputowicz as foreign minister "is a man from the centre who can give a new impetus to relations between Warsaw and Brussels."

'BASIC CONSENSUS'

In a major escalation against one of the bloc's biggest states, Brussels last month triggered article seven of the EU treaty over what it sees as "systemic threats" to the independence of the Polish judiciary from the nation's right-wing government.

Never before used against an EU member state, the proceedings can eventually lead to the "nuclear option" of the suspension of a country's voting rights within the bloc.

The EU gave Warsaw three months to remedy the situation, saying it could withdraw the measures if it did.

But just hours after the EU announcement, a defiant Polish president went ahead and signed the reforms into law and accused the bloc of "lying" about them.

Poland insists the reforms are aimed at banishing the last vestiges of communism from its justice system.

In excerpts of an interview aired Tuesday on German public television, Juncker said he does not want to threaten Warsaw with cutting financial aid.

"I am not in a belligerent mood, I want us to move together with the Poles towards a basic consensus," Junker said.

'GETTING BETTER?'

The row underlines growing east-west tensions within the European Union, with former Soviet bloc states like Poland and Hungary refusing to toe the Brussels line on several thorny issues, including judicial and media independence as well as immigration.

The EU has also taken Poland to court over its refusal to accept refugees under an EU quota system.

In his first interview after being sworn-in, foreign minister Czaputowicz told the right-leaning wPolityce weekly on Tuesday that "cooperation with the EU is a very important priority for Poland."

"This is also proven by Prime Minister Morawiecki's visit to Brussels today," he said, adding that "certainly relations with Mr Tusk should be seen in this broader EU context. Nothing prevents these relationships from getting better."

Up to now the the PiS government has had very rocky ties with EU President Donald Tusk, a former liberal Polish premier and PiS arch-rival.

Relations have been so tense that Poland was the only country to vote against his reelection as EU president in March.

Warsaw-based political scientist Stanislaw Mocek told AFP that the new cabinet was "aimed at improving the tarnished image of Poland abroad, especially in its relations with the EU."

He also said that the deep reshuffle made it appear that Morawiecki "had more freedom" in decision-making than his predecessor Beata Szydlo, who was regarded as working on the orders of the powerful PiS party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, widely seen as Poland's ultimate powerbroker.
A new regime of exemptions and a 50 per cent fee reduction for commercial vehicles registered in a nearby ward will be applied at the controversial Can Tho-Phung Hiep toll booth from January 20.  Photo vietnamnet.vn

A proposal to this effect has been approved by the Transport Ministry, o Hoang Trung, director of Can Tho Citys Information and Communication Department, and announced yesterday.

The announcement followed several days of protests by local drivers and residents, forcing booth owners to let vehicles go through for free.

Under the plan proposed by Can Tho City Peoples Committee, no toll will be paid by non-commercial vehicles registered in Ba Lang Ward, Cai Rang District, Cai Tac Township, Hau Giang Province.

The 50 per cent toll fee reduction would apply to cars of 10 seats or more and lorries with load-carrying capacity of more than one tonne registered in Ba Lang Ward and Cai Tac Township, provided their owners can produce transportation contracts valid for at least three months showing the vehicles will travel less than 5km.

The toll fee exemption will also apply for: 23 non-commercial vehicles that are not registered in Ba Lang Ward, but whose owners are resident there; and 126 public transportation buses registered in Hau Giang Province.

Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Nhat has asked the Viet Nam Road General Department implement the proposal from January 20.

Earlier, local drivers going through the BOT toll station had protested what they said were high toll fees by refusing to pay or paying in very small denominations that would take a lot of time to count, causing severe traffic jams on the National Highway.

The protestors paid the toll fees ranging from VND 30,000-180,000 in VN100, VN200 and VN500 notes.

Commenting on the controversy, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam, ao Minh Tu, affirmed yesterday that the VN100, 200 and 500 notes and coins were normal and valid currency.

However, he said that central bank did not support their use as a form of protest at BOT toll stations. VN100 notes are still valid tender and the central bank stands ready to provide them if the economy requires it, Tu said.

But problems at BOT toll stations need other solutions, not the use of small bank notes by drivers, he said.
Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are stuck in Greece and hope to claim asylum in the EU. (Photo: AFP/Anthi Pazianou)

Under the scheme some 30,000 refugees, mainly Syrian, have been moved from Greece and Italy to other parts of the EU, a figure much lower than the 160,000 originally envisaged, to help ease the migrant crisis.

Afghans currently make up the second largest asylum-seeking group in Europe, after Syrians, but have so far not been eligible for the relocation programme.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recommends certain categories, including "vulnerable Afghans" and "3,300 unaccompanied minors", should be included in the refugee programme, Philippe Leclerc, UNHCR representative in Greece, said at a press conference.

"Solidarity has to continue in the areas for vulnerable categories," he added.

At the moment, only asylum-seekers of nationalities with an average recognition rate of 75 per cent or higher are eligible for relocation in the EU - a rate Afghans have failed to reach overall.

The UNHCR, International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Greek Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas said "difficulties" and "resistance" from the so-called Visegrad Four - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia -- had hampered relocation efforts.

"The solidarity of Europe ... is a legal obligation," Mouzalas said.

The EU signed a deal with the Afghan government in 2016 allowing member states to deport Afghans who are not granted asylum.

Many Afghans seeking asylum argue that deportation could lead to death as militant groups, including the Taliban, are still active in their country.
For eleven years, military experts have been debating how to coordinate drones for a group attack against one target. We know that Iran and of course China, are already masters of this technique [1]. It is probable that other States, including Israel, the United States and Russia and Canada, are also capable of applying it.

In the night of 6 January 2018, drones attacked the Russian naval bases in the Syrian port of Tartous and the Russian air base at Hmeimim. Three went for the marine base and 10 went for the air base.

These two attacks are completely unconnected to the attacks on the mortar on 31 December 2017. The latter left two dead and 10 injured at Hmeimim.

During the attack, which was carried out using un-identified drones, four U.S. Navy drones for observation followed the reactions of the Russian defense.

The group making the attack consisted of 13 drones. The Russian army bought down seven of them and took control of the other six, forcing them to land. Three of these were pulverized on landing and three others have been recovered intact.

Studying the drones captured has allowed us to establish the following: that these engines, which have a flight capacity of around 100 kilometres, were travelling at around 50 km/hr and their coordination by satellite was by analogous signals not digital signals. They were transporting shells of artisanal construction meant to destroy the ships in the harbour and the planes stationed at the air base.

So what we have here is very simple equipment, which has already been used on the battlefield, both in Iraq and Syria. The novelty flows from its coordinated use by satellite.

The Russian army is now continuing its investigations. A notable objective is to determine which satellite was used in this operation and which State owns it. According to the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant, the most likely hypothesis is that these drones were armed by the jihadist group Ahrar al-Sham.

Ahrar al-Sham was established by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood before the war against Syria. It includes in its ranks several of Osama Bin Ladens companions. Its Foreign Minister, Labib al-Nahhas, is one of the British MI6 officers. At the end of 2016, Ahrar al-Sham signed an agreement with Russia recognizing the de-escalation zones; an agreement which it has clearly not respected.

The spokesperson for the Pentagon, Adrian Rankin-Galloway, declared to RIA Novosti that the drones used to attack the Russian military installations in Syria were easily accessible on the market. However, the Russian Minister of Defence assured that these drones had been put together by specialists on Syrian soil and, in particular, that they had been coordinated by satellite.

Furthermore, the Pentagon acknowledged that it had used for the first time its Global Hawks reconnaissance drones on the boundary line of Donbass, on 1 and 7 January which is in fact the day after the two attacks against the Russian military installations in Syria.

This technology failed on the Syrian battlefield against the Russian army, which is equipped with the most powerful anti-air weapons in the world (Pantsir-S1) and the means of radio electronic war, capable of bringing Nato commands to a grinding halt. Yet in a different environment, this technology could conquer.

According to the Russian daily newspaper Izvestia, the Russian Defense Minister and the FSB are studying the creation of special units for fighting the drones. The Russian Armed Forces have already been equipped with a specialist unit in defending fixed targets, which could be attacked by the drones, or with the use of simple rockets, cruise missiles, systems of precision weapons, tactical planes and helicopters for attack.

So the technology and necessary means to coordinate an attack by a group of drones has been transferred to a terrorist group. This means that even if the Anglo Saxons preserve coordination via satellite, they nonetheless announce a radical change in the Security and Defence.
United Nations Universal Postal Union Letter-Writing Competition 2018

The Royal Gibraltar Post Office in association with the Department of Education, has launched the 2018 Letter-Writing Competition on behalf of the United Nations Universal Postal Union.

The competition is open to pupils attending school in Gibraltar and aged up to 15 years on Wednesday 11th April 2018.

The theme for 2018, the 47th contest, is: Imagine you are a letter travelling through time. What message do you wish to convey to your readers?

For the examination of previous winning entries and rules / entry forms, please visit the RGPOs website www.royalgibraltar.post & the UN UPU website http://www.upu.int/en/the-upu/international-letter-writing-competition-for-young-people/about-the-ilwc.html

Local prizes will be awarded as follows:

 1st Prize - Trophy & 300

 2nd Prize - Certificate & 200

 3rd Prize - Certificate & 100

Certificates will also be presented to each individual school winner and for any letters meriting a Special Mention by the Judges.

The overall winner will represent Gibraltar at international level in the UN UPUs main competition for 2018. There will be gold, silver and bronze medals for the international winners; the gold medal may be presented at UN UPU Headquarters in BERNE, Switzerland, or any other location nominated by the UPU, with the winner invited to attend with all expenses paid.

Anna Grech, from Westside School, received a Special Mention Certificate and further prizes in 2016; the first time for a Gibraltarian.

Copies of the Rules and Entry Forms will also be made available via the Schools.

ENTIRES MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA THE SCHOOLS NO LATER THAN MIDDAY ON WEDNESDAY 11th APRIL 2018.
Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week

Last month Catt Sadler quit E! News after learning that there was a massive pay disparity between her and her male co-host Jason Kennedy. On the Golden Globes red carpet Sunday night, many A-list actresses came to her defense. In response, an NBC executive tried to clarify the pay disparity, saying that Sadler and Kennedy had different roles and therefore different salaries. Not so, says Sadder in an new interview with The Hollywood Reporter: My experience, frustration and disparity was based on Jason Kennedy and myself being apples to apples, Sadler said. We came to the network at the same time and did similar jobs. For people to use the argument that Giuliana somehow made more money than Jason, that comparison doesnt work. Theyre apples and oranges. She joined before him, she was managing editor, she had multiple shows on the network. Its unfortunate that people who dont work there are trying to be the voice for the network. The only story I can tell is my truth and the truth speaks for itself. And because the truth needs a megaphone, Sarah Jessica Parker, Laura Dern, Eva Longoria, and Debra Messing are willing to speak up, too.
Photo: J. Kempin/Getty Images

I was pleasantly surprised over winter break by director Geremy Jaspers hearty indie rap film Patti Cake$, an affecting coming-of-age yarn about a young white rapper trying to make it in, of all places, North New Jersey. Patricia, the protagonist  whod prefer to be called Killa P  is leagues more talented than the wastoids and small-time dealers populating the rap cyphers and open-mic nights she frequents around Bergen County, but no one takes her seriously. Shes a woman, and one who doesnt quite fit the buxom, bionic figure celebrated in rap mags and music videos. Townies call her Dumbo  her last names Dombrowski, but the weight joke is lost on no one  and work hard to tear her down. The acceptable roles for men who rap are infinite. You can be a cornrowed philosopher; a dreadlocked dandy; a rainbow-haired, face-tatted creep; a grizzled, bearded traditionalist; or a slick-haired, leather-clad greaser. Women in hip-hops mainstream get to be the gangsters moll, the sexpot, or the wizened bohemian. Either youre the Baddest Bitch or youre kicking that self-love conscious shit.

I admit to pigeonholing the Chicago rapper CupcakKe as run-of-the-mill X-rated sex rap upon discovering her video for Vagina in 2015. She spends most of it rolling around a living-room sofa set wearing pasties, alternating between nursing an oversize rainbow lollipop and play-fellating a large pickle, all the while chanting lines about bodily fluids and getting flown out West for trysts. I appreciated it as a lowbrow laugh riot, and snickered at it with friends the same way I did with seminal internet novelty cuts like Ladys Yankin and Riskays Smell Yo Dick. I was wrong; even in the early stages of her career, CupcakKe was a little more raw, self-deprecating, and real than the next nearest viral flash in the pan. Her 2016 cut Best Dick Sucker joked about worrying what her breath smells like during oral sex. In Deepthroat, she considered using chopsticks during the act because she just got her nails done. Her albums balanced gleeful smut like Cumshot with stressed-out venting sessions like Author and Budget.

This months Ephorize feels like a breakthrough for CupcakKe. Its a crystallization of her best and weirdest instincts refined by a tighter control of her instrument and a fearless, earnest creativity. Its apparent from the first song that shes playing a different game. 2 Minutes is a fresh twist on your textbook motivational rap anthem. It starts out clean and inspirational (Reminding you to count your blessings / Cause some aint make it to they breakfast) but by the end of verse one, CupcakKe has compared bumps in the road of life to a pussy shaved down. By verse two, shes leveling with us and admitting this pep talk is for herself too: Im dealing with real shit / My stretch marks really itch / My hair havent grown an inch / But Im still that bitch. She stays this grounded throughout the album. They always ask me if my tats hurt, but the hurts why I got the tattoos, she quips in Self Interview before deciding a few lines later that most people already skipped this song cause it aint about sex and killing.

Shes wrong. Ephorizes introspective moments give it depth to match its more colorful materials brusqueness and vulgarity. Yes, the songs about sex are likely going to be the draw, but its the rappers signature mix of kooky images and an airtight, no-nonsense delivery fueling the whole enterprise. Duck Duck Goose is pure porno slapstick: Coochie guaranteed to put you to sleep so damn soon / Riding on that dick, Im reading Goodnight Moon. Wisdom Teeth takes hilarious issue with dudes who spend money looking great on Instagram to their daily detriment: Look, young nigga, dont force it / Spent all your green on your outfit lookin like the armed forces / Look inside your pocket, you left with a small portion / Real talk, my voice would be hoarse if it was horseshit. The gay bar celebration Crayons advises anyone facing homophobia to curve that bitch like a rainbow. At her best, CupcakKe is a semi-automatic fully loaded with ridiculous puns.

Zapping from the austere 2 Minutes straight into the breakneck, demented kids-TV references of the standout Cartoons (I dont look for niggas, so fuck Waldo / Bitch, Im cocky like Johnny Bravo) and later on, sequencing the self-doubt of Self Interview, the foreboding flutes and murder raps of Navel, and the coital squeals of Spoiled Milk Titties all in a row breaks the notion that CupcakKe is or even needs to be any one kind of rapper. She can flow over lumbering trap beats and skip through lighthearted dancehall and salsa productions. She can be the Chitown teen who got her kicks remixing Chief Keef and the heir apparent to the ratchet magic of Lil Kims Big Momma Thang. CupcakKes got all her moves down. Its up to the world to figure her out.
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images via Getty Images

As James Franco was accepting his Golden Globe on Sunday night for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, Twitter started buzzing with several women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Now, two days later, the New York Times has canceled* a TimesTalk event with the actor. The event was intended to be a discussion of the making of the film, The Disaster Artist, the Times said in a statement. Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, were no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein.

After Franco won his Golden Globe, actress Ally Sheedy posted a few since-deleted tweets about Franco, one of which said, James Franco just won. Please never ask me why I left the film/tv business. Multiple other women made specific claims about Franco mistreating them. One of them, going by the name Violet Paley on Twitter, said, Cute #TIMESUP pin James Franco. Remember the time you pushed my head down in a car towards your exposed penis & that other time you told my friend to come to your hotel when she was 17? After you had already been caught doing that to a different 17 year old?

Franco has previously discussed one incident in which he flirted with an almost 18-year-old girl via social media and offered to get a room for the two of them to spend time together. That was in 2014, and at the time he apologized for his bad judgment, calling the situation embarrassing. In a post-Weinstein world, copping to poor decision-making is not likely to have the same soothing effect that it did three or four years ago.

Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that James Franco backed out of the TimesTalk. It has been corrected to reflect that the New York Times canceled the event.
On Tuesday night, Stephen Colbert did not shy away from asking his guest James Franco about recent misconduct allegations. Two nights before, shortly after The Disaster Artist filmmaker accepted his Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, multiple women came forward on Twitter with accusations about Franco. In a series of since-deleted tweets, Ally Sheedy, who Franco once directed in an Off Broadway production of The Long Shrift, wrote, James Franco just won. Please never ask me why I left the film/TV business.

On The Late Show, Franco told Colbert that he was aware of the tweets, but that the accusations were not accurate. I have no idea what I did to Ally Sheedy, Franco said. I directed her in a play Off Broadway. I had nothing but a great time with her, a total respect for her. I have no idea why she was upset. He continued:

The others, look, in my life I pride myself on taking responsibility for things that I have done. I have to do that to maintain my well-being. I do it whenever I know that theres something thats wrong that needs to be changed. The things that Ive heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice, because they didnt have a voice for so long. I dont want to shut them down in any way. I think its a good thing and I support it.

Colbert continued the interview by asking Franco if there was a way that the actor might be able to reconcile his recollection with that of the accusers. Colbert asked, In your case, you say this was not an accurate thing for me. Do you have any idea of what the answer might be to come to some sense of what the truth is so there can be some kind of reconciliation between two people who clearly have a different view of things?

For completeness, here is Colberts follow-up question to Franco in that interview. Franco reiterates that if theres restitution to be made, I will make it. pic.twitter.com/IB1gLXAo3P  Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) January 10, 2018

After starting and stopping a few times, Franco responded, If theres restitution to be made, I will make it. If Ive done something wrong, I will fix it.

On Tuesday, the New York Times decided to cancel a TimesTalk event with Franco. The Times said in statement, The event was intended to be a discussion of the making of the film, The Disaster Artist. Given the controversy surrounding recent allegations, were no longer comfortable proceeding in that vein.
Photo: Getty Images

NBCs Superstore, a workplace comedy about a big-box store in the middle of America, offers a breath of sharp, shady air in the form of Mateo. Its not because hes a gay, undocumented, Filipino-American working at a place called Cloud 9, but simply that hes fully realized as a snarky, ultracompetitive romantic. This is thanks in part to Nico Santos, who deftly takes on both the absurdly comedic (like when Mateo dresses up as a white man for Halloween), and the poignant (when he has to break up with his boyfriend Jeff, the district manager of the store, because he cant reveal that hes undocumented). We spoke with Santos on the phone about getting direction from America Ferrera, going on a gay cruise with his mom, the difficulty of having to say a homophobic line in 2 Broke Girls, and meeting Michelle Yeoh on the set of Crazy Rich Asians.

What was your career like prior to Superstore?

I did stand-up in San Francisco for a very long time, and when I moved to Los Angeles, I was really more focused on pursuing stand-up. I found it difficult having to start over, and getting to know the whole politics of the club scene in L.A. is just kind of hard. And then I got lucky and I did Chelsea Lately within the first two years I moved to L.A., so I was doing a panel for the Chelsea Lately show for a year. But what really shifted from stand-up to the acting thing was I did this CBS Diversity Showcase. This was 2014, and my manager had urged me to audition for it, and I got in as a writer. Eventually one of their Asian guys in the showcase dropped out because he got a writing job, and they were like well we need somebody Asian to read these Asian parts, so they had asked me. It was like, well, I guess well just put you in the cast. I went from like maybe three auditions in the last three years that I was in L.A. to three or four auditions a day the week after the Showcase. It was like these floodgates opened and I started booking small roles here and there, and that eventually led to Superstore.

Did they tailor the part to you? Because I assume they pull some things from your life for Mateos character.

Yeah, I mean theyve definitely taken my background as a resource and the origin for how the character came to be. None of the characters written in the pilot had any specific ethnicity in mind, except for Mateos part, which was specified as somebody of Latino descent. In the pilot, it was mentioned that he had 13 brothers and sisters and was like this tough family guy. When I was reading the sides for it, I was just like, I can definitely make this my own, because a lot of the stuff that he was saying was something somebody super shady would say. So I was like, I can turn this shit-talking tough guy character into a shady queen character, and it was my tactic going into the audition: uptight, supercompetitive, shady person. And they really liked the interpretation, and they were like, Your last names Santos, youre not Latino? And I have to tell them a mini-history lesson of Spanish colonialism and why we all look Chinese but have Spanish last names. But Im an immigrant, I moved to the United States when I was 16, so they put those elements into the background of the character.When Justin told me that they were going to make Mateo undocumented, I thought thats such a brilliant move because its such a huge part of the Filipino experience. Everybody whos Filipino who lives in this country directly knows somebody who is undocumented.

So I assume you also know people who are undocumented in your life?

Oh, absolutely. I mean members of my family were undocumented for a long time. My father was undocumented, my mother also was undocumented, and theyre now citizens. I got my citizenship when I got into this country; I was able to petition my mom to come here, but there was a different period of time where mom and my stepdad and my family didnt have their documents as well, but theyre all citizens now, which is great. Its a big part of every Filipino familys story, I think.

What do your parents think of you on the show? And your character?

Um, they love it. My moms crazy. Shes always been so supportive, I got really lucky on that end that I didnt have a tiger mom. When I told her that I was doing theater in high school, college, and eventually did stand-up, she was really supportive of it. Whenever she could, she came to a lot of my comedy shows, even if it was a shitty open mic. I would take her sometimes to gigs with me. I remember one time I got booked to do stand-up on a gay cruise and mama wanted a vacation, so she came with me to a gay cruise in Mexico. She loved it! She was the most popular person in that boat because she was just literally going up to guys asking them them what their jobs were, if they were like lawyers or doctors, because she wants me to be a doctors wife, and be like, My son is very single. My mom is definitely crazy. She would totally be a stage mom if I was a child actor.

In your stand-up, you talk about how youve worked in retail, is that right?

Yes, while I was doing stand-up in San Francisco, I worked in bougie retail. I worked everywhere in Union Square, lets see: Neiman Marcus, Christian Dior, Jimmy Choo. I did that for eight years and it was crazy because I would usually go to the open mics after my shift at Neimans or Dior, so I would still be dressed up in my retail suit, and then all these straight boys in hoodies and New Balances would be like, who the fuck is this guy? But finally, all those years working retail really has become useful in this new job. It doesnt matter if youre selling 99-cent toilet paper or a $10,000 gown, its still the same crazy people that come to the store.

Do you have any retail horror stories?

When I worked at Dior, Paris Hilton and Kathy Hilton came one time and they were kind of crazy. She just got dressed in the middle of the store and Im like, Paris, we have dressing rooms here, you dont have to just drop trou in the middle of our boutique, but she did. My crazy stories are probably just competing with all the shady queens on the sales floor because theyre sharks. Thats really who I modeled Mateo after, was all the competitive, sharky people that I worked with. On the sales floor you would work with old Japanese ladies who have been in retail for like 30 years, and the other shady queens in their 20s trying to make a living in San Francisco, and it is a free for all  like they will really stab your mother in the back to get a sale. They would be hiding merchandise for their clients or lying to you or lying to the customers just trying to get that sale. Its insane.

Theres a small scene on Superstore I think about a lot, with you, Nichole Bloom, and Jon Miyahara. It was just a shot of three Asian-American actors and it was super chill, and I feel like Ive only seen that on Fresh Off the Boat, which is a family sitcom.

Its weird, I feel like our cast is [some] of the most AAPI people in it. You have me, you have Nicole, you have Kaliko [Kauahi], who plays Sandra.

I love her.

I love her so much. She needs to be in every episode, shes so amazing. You have Chris Grace who plays her boyfriend Jerry, recurring, and then Jon also is Japanese. What I really love about our show is that everybody is represented, but its not so in your face. We just put it out there and we let it live in this world how its supposed to be, and then when youre walking through these stores, that is the people you see there. We definitely incorporate our backgrounds into the storytelling, but its never just that focus. Youre not going to watch our show and be like, oh I cant watch this because theres all these Asian people.

Mateo is a very three-dimensional character, and the plot draws on all of these aspects of being gay, Filipino, an undocumented immigrant, but the plotlines dont solely revolve around those things.

Exactly. When he first started, he was just like the bitchy employee, right? And they really added so many more layers. It is to me such a great way of representing him because I feel like what really drives Mateo more than anything is he really wants to succeed. Like every American in this country, they are just yearning for a better life, and he really is the epitome of pursuing the American Dream.

Mateo has had a lot of emotional moments on the show, like breaking up with Jeff.

Oh my god, I was so nervous about that scene. America Ferrera directed that episode and that was such a gift for me because I felt really comfortable with her behind the lens. And I actually was like, How do I do this? I almost approached it as an impression like, How do people cry? What does it look like? What does it sound like? Let me see if I can pull this off. I had rewatched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and that really emotional scene of America crying on the phone with her dad, and I was just like, This girl knows how to cry, oh my god. And that was my benchmark of how good an emotional scene could be because she was so good in that scene. But having her behind the lens of that episode was really such comfort because she really knew how to get it out of me. She knew how to ease my insecurities about not being a dramatic actor.

What did she tell you?

She just pulled me aside one time and would explain the sensitivity of the scene, and was like, just give yourself a moment and focus and try to get to that place. She was very patient and would allow me the time to refocus, because you know its stop and go, you have to be in so many takes. I felt like a crazy person because we shot not only the breakup scene, but there was a scene of me going back in the store devastated and Cheyenne comes up to me like, Are you okay? And then Jonah punches me and we had to do that over and over and over, so it was like crying, crying, crying, comedy, cut, crying, crying, crying, comedy, cut, go back to one. I think I understand why most actors and actresses are insane, because having to go through an emotional roller coaster as your job every day of your life would make somebody absolutely loopy.

Do you have any racist audition stories?

Honestly, I feel I have more where I get called to play more the gay roles. I remember I did a guest spot on 2 Broke Girls, and when I got there the sides for it, I had to say something  oh god, Im going to paraphrase this but what was originally written into the line was, I love a caftan and underage boys. And I was like, Are you seriously implying that Im a pedophile because Im gay? I was so shocked. I had just got done doing the CBS Diversity Showcase at the time, and I actually emailed the diversity people because they had become friends of mine and I was just like, Oh my god, like, Im doing this audition and I cant believe this line is in here. I was just kind of venting to my friend about it and then all of a sudden she was like, Oh, I hope you dont mind but I forwarded your email to like the head of diversity. I was like, What? Thats not what I wanted, I was just like telling you as a friend and Im bitching, like, dont ruin this job for me because Im in this position. As homophobic as that line was, Im not in a position of power, I want the job obviously, and so many times in Hollywood, we do take these jobs that are demeaning because were trying to make it, were trying to pay our bills. But she emailed the head of diversity who then emailed the head of programming or something  basically it went all the way to the top. I was just going to the audition and they were like, Your concerns are being heard, and Im like, Im not going to book this job, I literally am walking into this audition and theyre telling me that the head of programming knows Im complaining about one of their shows. Long story short, I ended up booking the job, so I dont know if me complaining helped me book the job or they just really wanted me for the role, but in the end the line was changed. It was changed to teenage boys. So I was just like, okay. Come on. At the time it was like 2015, I was like, really? Do we have to?

Did you have any struggle with whether you should take that gig?

I was just so happy that I booked the job. Booking a job in Hollywood  the odds of even being in that room and getting the job over all these people  is such a victory for me, and finally being happy about the fact that Im a working actor. At the time I was just a starving actor with nothing on my resume, so I really did feel like, take the job, take the job. You also have to choose your battles. I mean certainly if something like that comes across my desk now, theres no way, I would never, but at the time when I had a couple hundred dollars in my bank account and rent is due, you just take the job. I didnt feel like there was anything I could do about it. Ive done all that I could, Id already told my friends and already had created this email conversation, but I was scared about being blacklisted.

What can you tell me about your role on Crazy Rich Asians?Im playing Oliver Tsien. Oliver is the gay cousin. [Laughs.] Typecasting! And he meets Rachel Chu, Constance [Wus] character at a big party at a national park, and its like, hello youre Rachel, poor girl you know nothing of who these people are and what you just walked into. He kind of takes her under his wings like, Dont worry Im going to take care of you. Hes Nicks cousin and hes kind of, I would say, hes not an errand boy, but hes very close to the family and he takes care of a lot of things for the family.

Where were you shooting?

We shot in Malaysia and we shot in Singapore. It was a lot of fun. I had never been to Malaysia or Singapore before and it also allowed me to go back home to the Philippines. I havent been home in 21 years. It was great, it was really like everythings the same but everything had changed. It was wonderful and emotional and I got to see some family and friends. It was really getting back in touch with my Asian roots.

I didnt have an Asian crew that I hung out with up until I filmed Crazy Rich Asians, and now my Asian crew rolls deep. It was really awesome to be a part of this. Its really how I felt when we were filming Superstore, like were making something really special. It was amazing to be filming this big Hollywood movie, and literally the entire cast are people who look like me. Im just excited for everybody to see the final product. And I got to work with Michelle Yeoh, so I can die happy now.

Did you geek out on her?

Oh my god, she plays Eleanor Young, and I had a couple of scenes with her. Im telling you, it took all my strength not to fangirl and queen out. There were so many moments I just wanted to scream in her face, I love you! But you know I wanted to stay in the movie and stay hired, so I calmed myself down. She is the most amazing, nurturing, lovely human being in the entire world. Shes such a legend and just being that close to her, I was just like, Oh my god. Everything you could imagine Michelle Yeoh being, she lives up to that.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Two Golden Globe winners. Photo: Merrick Morton/Fox Searchlight Pictures

Unlike last year, when the battle between Moonlight and La La Land became for many viewers a proxy war for the struggle against the incoming administration, the first few months of this years Oscars race denied us the pleasures of another stark contest. In part, this was because the industry gave us enough offscreen monsters that we didnt need to turn a movie into one. But its also because, for those of us prone to treating awards ceremonies as referendums on the state of social progress, this year has an embarrassment of worthy winners: Get Out, a horror film with a clearer view of American racism than a million liberal-humanist dramas; Lady Bird, Greta Gerwigs sensitive portrait of mother-daughter tension; and Call Me by Your Name, a love story so beautiful that, as one E! red-carpet host revealed at the Golden Globes, it made his straight friends finally realize gay relationships were as real as their own.

Amid the hubbub over #TimesUp, Oprahs speech, and James Franco elbowing Tommy Wiseau, you may not have noticed something else that happened at the Globes: With its four wins Sunday night, Martin McDonaghs Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri not only became the Oscar front-runner, it was also officially inaugurated as this years La La Land, the movie whose awards success is seen as emblematic of Americas various ills.

Few people would have anticipated either of these things happening from reading coverage of Three Billboards after its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Back then, the movie was widely pitched as standing on the right side of the current political divide, with early critics seeing Frances McDormands Mildred Hayes as a standard-bearer for #nastywomen everywhere. (As Owen Gleiberman wrote in Variety, Shes woke, shes fierce, shes beyond shame or scruples, shes screaming truth to power, shes charged up with the wrath of an avenger.) Though the film won the festivals top prize and McDormand was widely assumed to be a strong contender for Best Actress, Three Billboards was marketed as something different from the usual toothless Oscar bait: pricklier, more raw, less interested in making you love it.

The film came out to generally positive reviews in November, when audiences began noticing something that the Toronto reviews had barely touched on  the films odd blind spot on race. Ill let my colleague Angelica Jade Bastien go into it further later this week, but briefly: The second half of the movie largely belongs to Sam Rockwells Dixon, a neer-do-well cop with a history of racist violence who gets some measure of redemption by the end of the film. Dixons arc has made Rockwell a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actor races at the same time as its rubbed some viewers the wrong way thanks to a noticeable bit of sleight of hand: McDonagh never lets us meet the black person Dixon is said to have tortured, which lets his past crimes stay entirely in the abstract. (Dixon does do another terrible thing onscreen, but the movie is careful to give him a very good excuse, and he subsequently suffers so much that his victim immediately forgives him.) And as Kyle Buchanan noted, the films only other black characters are all good-hearted ciphers.

On Twitter, NPRs Gene Demby has been one of the leading voices against Three Billboards, calling the films rapturous reception at Toronto an indictment of the whiteness of the critical establishment: I think festival audiences are so used to the centrality of white peoples inner lives treated as the Actual Emotional Stakes that they dont get whats janky about a movie set in a town where cops torture black [people] but the plot is about thwarted justice for a white lady, he wrote in one thread. Other media outlets soon followed suit. The Washington Posts Alyssa Rosenberg has written how the films handling of Dixon undermines its own moral convictions. At the Daily Beast, Ira Madison III, a McDonagh fan, called the film unearned, manipulative and altogether offensive. The HuffPosts Zeba Blay compared it to a white liberals racist uncle.

So yes, a whole lot of people did not like Three Billboards even before the Golden Globes. But on Sunday, the films warm embrace from the Hollywood Establishment went from something theoretical to painfully concrete. The film won in Best Supporting Actor (they loved the racist-cop redemption arc), Best Screenplay (over Get Outs Jordan Peele), Best Actress in a Drama (no one was upset about this one), and Best Drama (where Get Out wasnt even competing). Martin McDonagh may not have won in Best Director, but he was part of that all-male slate of nominees, and so indicted all the same.

Frances McDormand's Acceptance Speech at the Golden Globes

Accordingly, Three Billboards was treated to the ritual social-media dunking that greets all unworthy awards winners:

I'm actually thrilled Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won the Golden Globe for best picture because it gives us an excellent opportunity to remember that there is no justice in this world and most people are dumb sheep with trash opinions.  Jake Weisman (@weismanjake) January 8, 2018

nothing but respect for MY three billboards pic.twitter.com/oqCzZUW9DO  iana murray (@ianamurray) January 8, 2018

the golden globes ending on a three billboards win is like a film about a strong independent woman ending by finding sympathy for the violent and racist cop who perpetrated police brutality  jonny sun (@jonnysun) January 8, 2018

Three Billboards followed this up by turning in a strong showing in Tuesdays BAFTA nominations. This awards season may not have the same crackerjack finish as last years, but as least weve finally found a good villain.
Hello, and thank you for tuning in to another episode of Rich Women Doing Things. This weekend, the rich women did things. They moved the urn containing their mother around the house because it was torn up due to very important pool-moving construction. They introduced their friends to their new boyfriend who looks like a combination of David Foster and a Ken dolls father. They walked around a park in Tokyo carrying parasols, they ate ice cream, and they looked at turtles, which is pretty much how anyone would describe their perfect day.

Of all the rich women, the person we need to talk about the most is Dorit and her strange addiction. Im not talking about her getting drunk at Kyles dinner party in the dark. (That no one calls this the Black Party is a severe disappointment, if Im being perfectly honest.) Im talking about her addiction to wearing unnecessary accessories on her head. First, she shows up to Lisa Vanderpumps lunch wearing what looks like an old matrons brooch or a broken Christmas ornament on her head. Then, at Kyles dinner, she is wearing a headband that looks like an old pair of pantyhose tied behind her head. Thats when I realized that ever since we saw Dorit with the bird shit of a golden goose on her head in last years finale, shes had something totally superfluous on her head. As pioneering head minimalist Susan Powter told us, stop the insanity!

Dorit continues to drive me insane. Let us first address her drunken behavior at Kyles dinner. I mean, thats basically all there is to say about it. Dorit starts complaining about the heat, gets really mad, decides to get drunk, and then makes an ass out of herself. It culminates in her shouting, Youre a giant cunt, Camille, at St. Camille of Grammer. It is dumb because it is apropos of nothing. It shouldnt hurt Camilles feelings since there is absolutely no weight in those words. It is just the drunk ramblings of an aging party girl. But you know it is bad. Why? Because she has to be shushed by her husband, PK, an airport neck pillow stuffed with dried boogers.

Still, Camille is embarrassed because she attended dinner not only with Kimber, the replacement DeeDee and a member of the Holograms, but also her new boyfriend, David, the father of Count Chocula. I can see how that might be a little awkward because she doesnt want to be associated with such a person, but who hasnt gone to a dinner party in a partially renovated house with no power where a drunk woman started yelling obscenities at the dinner table?

Anyway, Dorit is also a pill at her photo shoot for Beverly Hills Lifestyle magazine, the premiere publication for people rolling joints in the back of Lyfts and for flipping through loudly while waiting at the dermatologists office. Lisa Vanderpump is the new editor-in-chief of the magazine, the qualifications of which seem to be that she has a pair of sparkly character glasses with which she reads the scintillating prose of the next generation of great American writers, such as myself. (Full disclosure: I have a column in BHL called Opening of an Envelope, in which I make fun of peoples outfits in pictures after they stand in front of step-and-repeats for brands that dont really exist.)

On the staff of BHL is another contributor who is, well, hes different. No, its not because hes gay and likes to wear jewelry. Its not because he dresses like Dr. Watson on his way to the train station. Its something else. Its something that, as a recapper in a modern sensitive era, I cant really bring up, but you cant help but notice. Okay, fine. Im just going to say it: Hes a ginger. Hes a ginger and I think its kind of disgusting and I dont want to ever see him on my television again because Im afraid hes going to steal my soul and all of my wealth by using his Satan-given magical abilities.

Regardless, BHL is sort of like Lisas Christmas letter except she puts it out every month and it is not only ignored by her friends and family, but complete strangers as well. Shes having a little hobby photo shoot for her new line of overly complicated jewelry and she wants Dorit to be the model. Dorit comes over and she hates that Lisa didnt give her enough time to get her own hair-and-makeup team at the shoot. Its a very common concern that everyone totally relates to. God knows I do.

Dorit hates absolutely everything about her photo shoot and criticizes the pictures right there in front of the whole cast and crew. Im of two minds about this. One is that I think Dorit is being like that pretty girl in grammar school who always had to get reshots done after picture day. Basically, she just wants to show off her pictures and have everyone go, Oh, but you look so good.

But I also think that, well, the pictures werent great. I mean, there was something a little bit amateur about them, in a certain way you always get in those magazines. Dorit wanted it to look like Vogue Taiwan and instead she gets Regional Luxury Publication Monthly. Dorit isnt entirely wrong. These pictures were a little bit more Hamlin Sisters than they were Hadid sisters, if you know what Im saying.

Speaking of which, I wish I was on Lisar and Erikas trip to Tokyo. It looks like they are just having so much fun. First of all, every one of Erikas outfits is so fierce that I want it to be a little action figure and I will collect them all and sometimes Ill make them fight with my She-Ra and theyll always win. I especially loved the McQueen kimono-inspired black dress with the pink wig they wore to be grossed-out by actual Japanese food, instead of the fake sushi that we get here in America. (Side note: I just went to Brazil and they make California rolls with mango instead of avocado there. They are more delicious than eating a banana split out of Michael B. Jordans crotch.)

The No. 1 highlight of the trip is when Erika and Lisa have dinner with Delilah and The Other One. First of all, I love that they are super into Erika Jayne and treat her like the walking Snapchat filter that she is. Second, I love that Delilah read her moms sex book and learned how to give a blow job from her mother at the age of 12, but had to read about it in a book. Third, I love how Lisa says, Our job as parents is to give our children the tools to go out into the world and conquer it, and she totally means blow-job skills because I dont care what anyone tells one, a good BJ can topple even the mightiest of empires.

The real best part of dinner, though, is watching Delilah and The Other One explain to Lisar and Erika how they just watch YouTube videos of people housing away gigantic piles of food. Erika admits that she doesnt understand it at all. Erika says, Maybe Im just  and then she does this move where her body slinks away and her hand comes out to the side like shes Ursula the sea witch taking a ticket at the DMV, and then she looks out of the top of her eyes as if shes going to set the entire universe on fire before uttering the word  old. Oh, weve all had those moments when we find out what the kids are into and know that this whole circus has just passed us by. What can you do but dress up like a goth vampire and joke about it on your reality show, you know?

But as Erika and Lisar were having dinner, across town an old woman was still playing her mandolin. She played her song, which sounded so stirring and exotic to the white women hours earlier, but so familiar to her fellow countrymen. It was like each note was beautiful but insignificant, each looking to be part of a giant landscape that leads to something uncanny, something that would make even the most jaded child model put down her phone and stop to consider nature without filtering it through the inelectable modality of the electronic. She knew that life is like that. That reality is like that. That we need everything similar but a little bit different to weave the great dramatic tapestry of life together. She bent toward her instrument a little bit and plucked harder, more quickly, listening intently to it and she swore she could hear the strings singing Eileen Davidson, as they chattered so much they nearly broke.
Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Artist, activist, and soon-to-be-author Rose McGowan came to a Television Critics Association panel on Tuesday for her upcoming E! documentary series armed with two requests for reporters: Dont say the name of her monster during the session, and be respectful.

The Citizen Rose docuseries will follow McGowan as she releases her highly anticipated memoir Brave, and it will incorporate footage she has filmed herself over the last three years. A former actress, McGowan was one of the first women to call out Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein for his decades of alleged sexual abuse. Last October, McGowan said that Weinstein raped her in a hotel room at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997, and her memoir will reveal more details she has kept to herself.

Citizen Rose showrunner Andrea Metz said she and other executives at Bunim/Murray Productions met with McGowan last year, and began filming the series in August. I personally was intrigued by her and her story and the fact that she hasnt been given the opportunity, Metz said. Shes been talking but nobodys been listening, so we wanted to be able to do that. I think that there are a lot of women all around the world that dont have the platform Rose has, dont have the means to do what she can do. I hope this messaging can help women who dont have to sit in silence for years.

The five-episode docuseries will kick off with a two-hour special on January 30, followed by four episodes scheduled to air in the spring. On Tuesday, McGowan addressed a wide array of topics during a question-and-answer session.

On losing her privacy:

Its pretty all-access and its not always pretty. I have no glam team. My brand is raw and its true and its my truth. And I am just one of so many. This is my form of volunteer work. It is a huge, huge loss. When I was on TV before, it was really hard. But the terms are different this time. The sale is different and I wont allow myself to be sold like how I was. If we all look at what we can do volunteer-wise, this is what I can do. I was waiting for someone else for so long, you guys. There was just nobody else who came.

On the Times Up movement at the Golden Globes:

I dont watch red carpets, not my thing. I was asked to lend my name to a letter to aid female farm workers from sexual harassment. I said, Of course. The next thing I know, Im endorsing Times Up [] I know the people that are behind this. I know where they have their meetings. I know whos sponsoring them. I know a lot of things [] People see from the outside, they see the red carpet. I see it from behind the scenes, so I know a lot of things. I think the system is massively broken. Thats a Band-Aid to make yourselves feel better for what youve all known about, and been silent witnesses or participants in. And no, I dont forgive.

On making the Sundance Film Festival safer for women:

I think what Im doing with this show overall will actually do that. And I think whats going on now globally will do that exact thing. A lot of people have questions for me. Im going, Wait, Im going as fast as I can. Im addressing as many things as I can [] 96 percent of directors in DGA are men. Fix that. Then you have a different Sundance, wont you?

On worries that the pendulum has swung too far:

I dont think so! I dont think the pendulum has swung too far, not by a long shot. We are talking about the recorded history of women. We all know who the real-deal people are in this town. We all know.

On believing that men can change:

I hope so. Really hope so. I dont know. Personally, I think with sociopaths, thats an impossibility. One of the producers on my album is this lovely man [] and he says he and his male friends talk about times theyve gone too far. Were viewing how weve worked, how weve operated, how weve done things. Yeah, we can reset.
To compete in The Amazing Race, contestants have to be resourceful, resilient, and willing to go the distance. To compete in The Apology Race, Full Frontal With Samantha Bees spoof of the long-running reality series, contestants have to be guilt-ridden, groveling, and ready to say theyre sorry on behalf of the entire United States. As part of the gimmick, Bee is sending her correspondents across the globe to apologize for every garbage thing Donald Trump does. She teases that Trumps poor impulse control might force us to go apologize to Korea, the entire Muslim world, or some rando. Luckily, each of her correspondents seems uniquely qualified to apologize should they be called upon to do so (which they will be).
Ansel Elgort. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Hey, Upper West Siders, Vulture here: your one and only source into the scandalous lives of your favorite La Guardia alumni. When former classmates Call Me by Your Names Timothee Chalamet and Baby Drivers Ansel Elgort were on the Golden Globes red carpet Sunday night, they exchanged some fun banter about who was more popular in high school. Ansel says Timmy, because Timmy was a noted rapper. Timmy says Ansel, because Ansel was cast in the school plays and was cool enough to be the subject of a school-calendar fundraiser. A calendar, you say? With photos?! We needed to know more. After a thorough investigation, a well-placed La Guardia alum assures Vulture that Timmy was in fact more popular. Whats more, according to our source, many felt Timmy ought to have been cast in those plays Ansel starred in. (Also, theres some drama about what actually happened to the money made from those Ansel calendars, which sounds like it would make for a very compelling second season of American Vandal.)

But back to that calendar. While that original La Guardia high school fundraiser is out of print, the photos are still available on Elgorts sisters site. Vulture readers of taste and distinction, we pose this question to you: Which month do you prefer? The month that finds our Baby Driver star accompanied by a guitar? The one that has him donning bunny ears, preparing a delicious egg sunny side up? Or one of the many, many months accompanied by shirtless photos? XOXO.
fall preview 2021

Getting to Know H.E.R. The artist is halfway to an EGOT, but shes still a mystery to the masses. You have to see her live to understand her.
The proposed Toyota-Mazda manufacturing plant will not only have a big impact on the Tennessee Valley as a whole, but also the people who live close to the future site.

People who live and work near the plant's expected location told WAAY 31 they are most excited about the 4,000 jobs the plant is expected to bring to the area.

"There will be a lot of people wanting jobs, so it's going to be a good deal," said Charlie Baucom.

Baucom lives in the Greenbrier community, and he wants the jobs to help the next generation of workers in the area.

"The future for the kids, like my grandson here, providing jobs for them for years to come," said Baucom.

Calhoun Community College told WAAY 31 they already have programs working as a direct feeder for the same type of manufacturing jobs that will become available.

The Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education, or F.A.M.E, is a program gives students the opportunity to work at plants like the one expected to be built while also learning the skills they will need to get a full-time job once they graduate.

All of that is good news to Baucom who already has a prediction for what will happen to the area around the plant.

"These farms here...they'll turn into roof tops," said Baucom

That doesn't bother Baucom because he's looking at all of the positives instead of the negatives.

"Progress is good for everybody. We didn't even have a telephone back when I was 12 years old here, so it's a good deal," said Baucom

Other people in Limestone County said they're concerned about the increase in traffic that will happen on many of the two lane roads in the area.

WAAY 31 will be working to get answers about how the City of Huntsville will handle the infrustructure needed to support the plant.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey issued her 2018 State of the State address in Montgomery Tuesday night. Below is her entire speech.

President Marsh, Speaker McCutcheon, members of the Alabama Legislature, Chief Justice Stuart, justices of the Alabama Supreme Court, distinguished guests  and my fellow Alabamians:

As we begin the 2018 legislative session, we recognize Alabama has experienced a significant transformation in government since the first day of the 2017 legislative session.

On this occasion last year, I sat where my friend President Del Marsh sits tonight. And now, due to a successful transition in state government, I humbly stand before you as the 54th Governor of Alabama.

Ive been called upon to report on the state of the state. When I became governor on April 10th, the ship of state government was adrift. We needed thoughtful and straightforward leadership.

Over the past nine months, together, we have proven Alabamians seek progress, not stagnation.

Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to report, we have successfully steadied the ship of state; I declare that the state of the state is strong and our future is as bright as the sun over the Gulf.

Tonight, lets take a brief journey to consider where weve been, where we are, and where we are going.

Most governors have three months to prepare. I had three hours. Yet, after being sworn in as governor on April 10, 2017, in the Old Senate Chamber, just across the hall from where we are gathered this evening, I promised the people of Alabama there would be no disruption in the ongoing functions of the state. Thats a promise kept.

I promised the people of Alabama, even though challenges lay ahead, we would seize the opportunity to make Alabama even better and our government more effective. Thats a promise kept.

My immediate pledge was to steady the ship of state, navigate Alabama through the storm we found ourselves in, and seek a calmer path for this state we dearly love and proudly call home. That, too, is a promise kept.

When I was sworn in, there were many decisions to be made. I was focused, committed and prepared. My first full day was the 16th legislative day in the 2017 legislative session  exactly half way through a session that I began as president of the Senate. As governor, last session, working closely with the Legislature, I signed 333 bills and resolutions into law.

Together, weve made significant progress with our budgets. We avoided proration and practiced fiscal responsibility. We renewed the Alabama Jobs Act, ensuring economic development continues, and we provided the tools and flexibility needed to attract new investments, creating more jobs for Alabama families.

Many bills I signed as governor also bore my signature from my time as president of the Senate. The smooth transition of government, brought me full circle  from the legislative to the executive  and I am better able to lead and govern because of it.

I support having a lieutenant governor who presides over the Senate. Our current order of succession serves the state well. I know this firsthand, having experienced it. I strongly support our current order of succession.

My first major effort in leading the state was to evaluate the cabinet and staff of the new administration. With this evaluation, I made changes resulting in nearly half of the 22 cabinet members being replaced.

My cabinet and staff are capable, honest and dedicated. They take their charge to serve the people of Alabama seriously. They provide the people of Alabama with the open, honest and transparent government that they deserve. My administration includes public servants who are subject matter experts and who work tirelessly to make Alabama a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

My second major effort was to connect with and hear directly from Alabamians, so that together we would restore confidence in state government.

An effective leader does four things: listen, learn, help, and lead.

To help and lead the people of Alabama, it was essential that I first listen to and learn from the people of Alabama.

Throughout July, August and September, I embarked on my Listen, Learn, Help and Lead tour where I visited communities across the state. I spent an entire day in these communities, meeting with local leaders and visiting their businesses and schools. I wanted to learn about their successes and their challenges. I wanted to hear from everyday people, not just from the politicians and lobbyists in Montgomery.

These meetings were beneficial and well received. People were excited about reconnecting with their governor.

I wanted to restore our states image. To do this, government must be efficient and transparent. With executive orders, weve streamlined state government, dissolved unneeded task forces, and banned lobbyists from appointments by the executive branch, ensuring more citizens have an opportunity to serve and contribute. I also established the Opioid Overdose & Addiction Council to address the urgent opioid epidemic that is impacting Alabama families.

Administratively, Ive appointed more than 350 qualified and diverse individuals to boards and other groups which affect the day-to-day lives of Alabamians.

One of the most important duties of government is providing safety and protection. I have worked closely with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency and local officials across our state during six weather related States of Emergency. Through coordinated efforts, we have improved our communication and our response to natural disasters.

The people of Alabama desire leadership that is willing to get things done. As a result of our team approach, I am proud to report, Alabamas economy is performing well  revenues are up, unemployment is down, economic development is on the rise and improved educational opportunities abound.

Since I became governor, over $3.5 billion dollars in new direct investments have been committed in the state. These investments will create nearly 8,000 new jobs for Alabama workers. The unemployment rate has fallen every month since I became governor. Our most recent unemployment numbers put the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent - the lowest rate ever recorded in Alabama! My friends, Alabamas economy is supporting more jobs than ever before!

News of our economic successes seem to be a daily occurrence. In fact, I am proud to announce this evening that Kimber Firearms will build a $38 million dollar production facility in Troy, bringing with it 366 new jobs! These are good, high-paying jobs, and will enable more of our citizens to provide for their families while taking part in the rich history of the Second Amendment. We are proud and honored to welcome Kimber to Alabama!

This announcement and countless others like it make one thing clear: what we are doing is working, and as a result, the people of Alabama are working and providing for their families.

When I meet with global CEOs of companies considering Alabama, or who already have companies here, they tell me their Alabama facility operates at a level that cannot be rivaled. My fellow Alabamians, that is because of you,  the hard-working people of Alabama. Companies choose Alabama because of your dedication and our skilled workforce. When a company invests in Alabama, it is investing not just in our state, but in you, our people.

We should do everything we can to help every Alabamian find work.

One of the most meaningful experiences I have had as governor was to participate in the first ever Governors Disability Job Fair with Secretary of Labor Fitzgerald Washington, Commissioner of Mental Health Lynn Beshear, Dr. Graham Sisson, Executive Director of the Governors Office on Disability, and Commissioner Jane Elizabeth Burdeshaw of the Department of Rehabilitation Services. The fair consisted of more than 95 employers looking to fill over 3,100 positions. 1,100 people attended the Disability Job Fair.

One of those job-seekers is with us tonight  Caryn McDade. Caryn walked into the Governors Disability Job Fair, on Oct. 30th, looking for an opportunity. As a teenager, Caryns learning disabilities plagued her until she saw no alternative other than dropping out of school. She took GED classes at the Birmingham Career Center and was referred to the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services to work on resume writing, job development, interviewing and placement. Rehabilitation Services paired her with Harold Reynolds, an employment specialist with Easter Seals of Birmingham, to prepare her for job interviews at the job fair. During the fair, Caryn met and interviewed with staff from Southern Hospitality Home Health Care of Fultondale. Within 48 hours, she had completed a second follow-up interview. By the end of the week, she was employed full-time as a home health care aide.

Caryn, thank you for being with us tonight. You are a perfect example of the intrinsic value we all have, and a reminder that what we do as public officials affects the lives of real Alabamians.

For Alabamians to have career opportunities, they must be prepared when the right job comes along. My education initiative, Strong Start, Strong Finish, does just that. Under Strong Start, Strong Finish, we will coordinate our efforts and bring all stakeholders to the table in order to improve education all the way from PreK to the workforce.

I instituted Strong Start, Strong Finish, because we must prepare our people for the jobs of today and for the jobs of tomorrow. By 2020, 62 percent of all jobs available in Alabama will require some form of postsecondary education. However, today, only 37 percent of our workforce has achieved such an education. We must ensure that our students graduate high school and then earn a postsecondary certificate or degree.

Effective education requires a strong foundation in a childs early years. In 2017, under the leadership of Secretary Jeana Ross, Alabamas First Class Pre-K program increased the number of classrooms to 938 statewide. Research shows us that students who participate in Alabamas First Class Pre-K program are more likely, than other students, to be proficient in reading and math at every grade level.

For the 11th year in a row, our First-Class Pre-K program was recognized for being the highest-quality Pre-K in the nation. In fact, Harvard University is currently developing a full-length documentary on Alabamas Pre-K program to share across the country with those interested in following our lead. Our First-Class Pre-K is certainly a bright spot for Alabama.

Im proud to have quickly become known as a governor focused on education. Over the past nine months, I have devoted a great deal of my time to my role as president of the State Board of Education. In less than two years, Alabama has had four different K-12 superintendents. That is nothing to be proud of. The members of the State Board of Education must ensure continuity to see progress. Board members must set goals and adopt strategies to achieve student learning at high standards. Our central focus must be on our students, not on personal agendas or political maneuvering.

Tomorrow marks nine full months since I unexpectedly became governor. A lot has happened since then. We have lifted the dark cloud, wounds have started healing, and the peoples faith in a government for and by the people is being restored.

Though it is important to reflect on where weve been and where we are  we must place most of our focus on where we are going.

Let me share with you a quote youve probably heard, that is relevant to where we are as a state, What lies ahead of us, or what lies behind us, is of little importance when compared to what lies within us.

In that spirit, I say to you, instead of dwelling on what adversity we have previously faced or what mountains we may soon climb, we must focus on being who we are  a resilient people, a people dedicated to doing whats right and to making a difference in the world.

Like always, our budgets are at the forefront of state government. However, this year, we find ourselves in an unfamiliar position related to our budgets. We are clearly in the midst of our recovery from the Great Recession. Unemployment is at an all-time low, housing prices have increased for the third consecutive year and Alabama is rated 12th nationwide for financial health.

When I came into office, the relationship between the executive and legislative branches was strained  but that too has been corrected. I have worked closely with legislative leadership, and the Senate and House budget chairs, to draft fiscally responsible budgets. Weve righted the ship of state; now, my proposed budgets will move Alabama in the right direction.

Just as Alabama families work on their budgets around their kitchen tables to get them just right, we too must get the states budgets right. I am proposing strong, manageable budgets that responsibly fund state government without raising taxes on the people of Alabama.

Our improved economy, allows us to not just fund state programs, but to expand the ones making a positive difference. It is tempting, when times arent as tight as before, to spend generously. We must resist that temptation.

As a lifelong conservative, I believe in being fiscally responsible and in being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Not a single appropriated dollar belongs to government; rather, it belongs to the hard-working men and women of Alabama who have earned it. In that vein, my General Fund Budget restores fiscal responsibility by paying down Alabamas debt earlier than required. We will fund government appropriately, but with prudence and care.

As a positive sign of progress, there are fewer people eligible for Medicaid today than one year ago. Good news on the jobs front means more Alabamians are working and less dependent on government services. Accordingly, Medicaid will require less General Fund appropriations than expected.

We are proving conservative government creates economic growth, lessens government overreach and moves people toward self-sufficiency.

Our strong economy, with ample employment opportunities, positions us not just to cover the basics, as we have in past years, but to ensure we fulfill our duty to the citizens of Alabama. We will pursue efficient government, which makes good use of our resources, while appropriately funding state services. Government is called on to serve and protect the people. My General Fund Budget does just that. We will put more state troopers on our roads and add more corrections officers, all in an effort to serve and protect Alabama families.

Perhaps our states biggest challenge is found in our prison system. For far too long we have run our states prison system in a way that risks a takeover by the federal courts. Now, one federal court has found that our prisons are overcrowded and understaffed, due at least in part to facilities that are worn and old. Correctional professionals work diligently to provide security, medical, mental health and rehabilitative services in a challenging environment. They deserve our attention and support. We must also work diligently to provide appropriate care to those placed in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

Immediately after taking office, I instructed Commissioner Jeff Dunn and his staff, working closely with my staff, to develop a viable plan to address correctional staffing, which will improve the delivery of inmate healthcare and make capital investments in our infrastructure.

We have commissioned comprehensive reviews to determine the compensation levels necessary to recruit and retain corrections staff. We have entered contract negotiations with a new healthcare provider to expand and improve inmate healthcare at a reasonable cost. I have instructed the Commissioner to hire a project management team to help us develop a master plan, so we will be able to make smart, cost-effective decisions when addressing our outdated prison infrastructure.

We will no longer guess about possible fixes. Instead, I will present to the people a workable solution to this generational problem. I am committed to meeting this challenge head-on. Together, with the support of the Legislature, we will solve this problem for generations to come. This is an Alabama problem that must have an Alabama solution. Now is the time to act.

As many of you know, I am from Camden, in rural Wilcox County. Rural communities, like Camden, have a very special place in my heart. I understand the challenges rural areas face, and it is my intention to do all I can to help make a difference in the lives of people in rural areas. Supporting rural Alabama is central to my legislative agenda.

Though we are almost two decades into the 21st Century, many of our rural communities do not have adequate access to broadband. Adequate broadband enhances educational opportunities, increases economic development prospects and develops critical communication systems. I strongly support legislation to encourage new broadband investments, and I ask the Legislature to join me in assessing our states broadband needs, to ensure resources are placed where they are most needed.

I am also proposing funding for loan repayment programs for dentists and physicians assistants who agree to work in underserved areas of Alabama. Many of Alabamas citizens live in rural areas, and we must be attentive to their needs and ensure they have the same access to quality healthcare as those in urban areas.

Just as we address the needs of our rural citizens, we must also take care of those who have taken care of us: our veterans. My father served in World War II; thus, I understand the sacrifices our military men and women make, and I am proud that more than 1 in 10 Alabamians have worn our nations uniform. Sometimes, when veterans finish their service, they struggle to find work; that is why I support extending tax credits to small businesses that hire veterans. For those veterans who own their own businesses, they need our support as well. I am proposing legislation that will give preference to veteran-owned businesses that bid on state contracts. Our veterans have given much to protect our state and nation. As a state, we must step up and repay them for their sacrifice.

Tonight, I am proposing a pay raise for all teachers and state employees. Every day, we depend on state employees. Whether its a state trooper patrolling our highways, a teacher staying late to help a struggling student, or a social worker rescuing an abused child, quality state employees are essential to good government. It is long-past time for us to honor their service with better pay.

Like the General Fund Budget, my education budget is conservative, practical and wisely funds state services, while guaranteeing every Alabamian an opportunity to achieve a strong start and a strong finish to their educational journey.

Education is the key to a better life for all. I am focused on ensuring all Alabama children get a good start and have the resources they need to complete school, be prepared for the workplace and ultimately succeed.

I am very proud that the education budget I am submitting to the Legislature is the largest investment in education in a decade.

In addition to raises for all teachers and support personnel, my proposed budget fully funds the K-12 request of $144 million dollars, and provides an additional $50 million dollars for higher education.

We will continue to implement Strong Start, Strong Finish, by increasing funding for our First-Class Pre-K program by an additional $23 million dollars. I am also proposing funding for our Pre-through-3 initiative, the Jobs for Alabamas Graduates Program, and for education scholarships for math and science teachers. These additional dollars are investments in our children and young people, and thus are investments in our future.

Education is especially effective when there is a concentration on particular subjects or skills. The Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, and the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science in Mobile, are special-focus schools which effectively prepare their students for rewarding careers. As workforce needs evolve, we must create educational opportunities that prepare our people to meet those needs.

Tonight, I am announcing, the formation of the Alabama School of Cyber-Technology and Engineering, which will be based in Huntsville. This school will prepare some of our state's highest-achieving students to enter the growing fields of cyber technology and engineering. Just as Huntsville has always been on the leading edge of the rocket and aerospace industries, the Alabama School of Cyber-Technology and Engineering will ensure that Alabama students are at the forefront of todays emerging technologies.

With this budget, we will improve educational opportunities for all Alabamians.

We are now in year two of a three year celebration culminating in Alabamas Bicentennial in 2019. Our 200th anniversary as a state, gives us an opportunity to reflect on who we are as a people.

Our Legislature has adopted an official state creed, which I would like to share with you:

I believe in Alabama, a state dedicated to a faith in God and the enlightenment of mankind; to a democracy that safeguards the liberties of each citizen and to the conservation of her youth, her ideals, and her soil. I believe it is my duty to obey her laws, to respect her flag and to be alert to her needs and generous in my efforts to foster her advancement within the statehood of the world.

As we ponder this past year, and indeed the past 200 years, and as we contemplate where we are going, we should embrace this creed. We should look to it as a guiding light for action, in hopes that it may one day be a testament to the courageous leadership which brought this state from some of its toughest times into some of its greatest.

Despite our differences, despite our varying viewpoints, despite party labels, I sincerely believe we all have one common goal  to each play our part in making Alabama a better place to live, raise and educate our children, own a home and create jobs and business opportunities.

As I look across this historic chamber filled with men and women who have made a commitment to public service, I propose a question to each of you.

Why do we serve  why have we chosen this path of public service?

These questions are not new ones. In fact, they have been around for centuries.

Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the worlds greatest composers. You probably already know this and likely agree. However, something you may not know about Bach is that he also had 20 children  can you imagine?

To say the least, Bach was a very busy man.

He was once asked, Why do you write music?

He could have said, because he had a large family to provide for, or because music came naturally. He could have said these things, but he didnt.

He simply replied that he wrote music for the Glory of God and the good of mankind.

Consider his response. It was concise, honest, and revealed the character of his heart and the driving force behind his actions. He wasnt driven by himself or even his family. His motivation was much deeper, much more significant.

How would you respond when asked the same question?

Why do you serve? Why did you swear an oath to support this nation and our great state at all costs?

You may have been motivated by certain issues, causes, philosophies or individuals to seek office  and those are good reasons to serve.

But when our efforts, actions and accomplishments are evaluated, will we leave a legacy like Bach? Are we motivated by pride, power or greed? Or are we moved by an innate desire to make a difference in our state and world?

I say we can make our state better, if our purpose is the same  to serve for the Glory of God and the good of mankind.

I challenge you to reflect on Bachs response as you enter the legislative chamber each day.

From the moment our country declared its independence, we embraced the truth that to be an American is to seek the impossible, to dare to dream despite opposition. Together, let us dream of a brighter Alabama that, in keeping with Bachs example, brings glory to God and brings about a greater good in the lives of our people.

The ship of state has been steadied. Together, lets move it in a new direction toward progress and sustainability.

I am honored to be at the helm of this magnificent ship we call Alabama, which benefits from a strong and committed crew, the good people of Alabama.

May God bless each of you and the great State of Alabama.
At the start of the new year, the University of North Alabama filed a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit against them filed by a former student.

The suit claims the university tried to cover up the former students alleged sexual assault by a former professor.

The former student who filed the suit is named as "Jane Doe." Doe and her attorney's brought the lawsuit against UNA in August 2017. Doe claims former UNA professor David Dickerson sexually assaulted her while on an overnight university trip to Orlando Florida in 2015.

According to Doe's lawsuit, the university never took a written statement about the incident from her and never reported it to police. The lawsuit also claims UNA failed to do proper background checks on Dickerson.

In a set of new court documents filed on Jan. 4, eight UNA employees from the president down to the Title IX coordinator each give an outline of the steps they took to get Dickerson off campus and what they say they did to protect Jane Doe. The documents also go into details about the university's investigation into Dickerson.

UNA's Title IX coordinator, Tammy Jacques, stated in her court filings, said she was made aware of a possible Title IX violation on Nov. 24 2015, about incidents involving Jane Doe and David Dickerson.

She said since it was close to Thanksgiving break and the information she had was incomplete she decided to contact Doe after the break. On Dec. 1 Doe and Jacques were supposed to meet, but Jacques claims Doe canceled last minute.

Jacques said in court documents, "She told me she did not want to meet with me. She told me she did not want to go forward and did not wish to file any kind of report. She would not discuss with me anything that happened on the trip -- just that she did not want to do anything."

According to court documents, UNA officials also tried to reach out to Jane Doe's roommate from the Orlando trip, but she never responded to them.

On Dec. 2 and 3 Jacques said two male students, who were on the Orlando trip and allegedly took pictures of Dickerson's behavior, were interviewed. Jacques said they witnessed Jane Doe and Dickerson "making out at the swimming pool during the Orlando trip."

In Jane Doe's lawsuit she claims Dickerson was pawing at her while she was at the pool area and kept touching her, which made her feel uncomfortable so she left the swimming pool area.

On Dec. 8 UNA officials interviewed Dickerson. At that meeting they say he "admitted to some but not all of the interaction with the plantiff in the swimming pool. He denied all other suggestion of inappropriate interaction with Jane Doe."

Later on in the documents it says Jane Doe did meet with Jana Beaver, the College of Business associate dean and gave her a verbal statement of what happened on the Orlando trip.

Beaver stated in court documents she advised Doe not to come to campus in order to avoid Dickerson, and there were only a few days left in the semester. Beaver also advised Doe not to go to any locations outside of UNA where Dickerson would frequent, like downtown Florence.

On Dec. 9, 2015 Doe texted Beaver to tell her Dickerson was having a Christmas party with some of his students at a bar in downtown Florence. Beaver thanked her for the information and said she would contact some of the students and ask them not to attend the gathering.

UNA officials met on Dec. 14 and decided to ban Dickerson from campus and not renew his contract. UNA claims had they outright fired Dickerson he could have brought grievences and drawn out the process. They said their goal was to get him off campus as soon as possible.

Just last month, Dickerson filed a $7 million claim against UNA with the Alabama State Board of Adjustment.

UNA said in a statement, "Jane Doe is claiming on one hand that UNA should have fired Dickerson before his one-year contract ran out. Dickerson on the other hand is claiming that his employment should not have been terminated at all."

UNA officials said all of the claims should be dismissed and if they are not, they will ask the court to add Dickerson as a party to the lawsuit so they court system can decide whether Dickerson is responsible for injury to Jane Doe.

You can click here to read UNA's full statement on the latest filings in the Jane Doe case.
In it, the organization reprimands the governor and "his liberal wife" as being Democrats, "work[ing] for Obama" and being friends with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The statement refers to Rauner as an "unmitigated political cancer" and a "double agent" with ties to the Daleys' "political organized crime family."

The statement focuses on Rep. Ives as a leader in the state's conservative movement that has been "the most vocal spokesperson for conservative values" in Springfield.

The statement:

We the CONSERVATIVE Republicans of the 11th Ward congratulate CONSERVATIVE Jeanne Ives for her courageous decision to run for Governor of Illinois. She has our unequivocal endorsement for this important position. Her integrity and character are unquestioned. Illinois needs serious CONSERVATIVE leadership to save us from the brink of disaster. Jeanne Ives brings a breath of fresh air to the race for governor.

Whereas Jeanne Ives has been the most vocal spokesperson for OUR CONSERVATIVE values in Springfield government and politics,

Whereas liberal Bruce Rauner and his liberal wife who worked for Obama has proved our 11th Ward correct in our warning 4 years ago, namely that Rauner is indeed a Democrat and friends with Rahm Emanuel,

Whereas Ives has led the conservative fight in Illinois to stop illegal immigration, and stem the political tide of corruption from Cook County poisoning all Illinois,

Whereas Rauner has coddled the Muslim voice by welcoming them to a seat at the table in Springfield, simultaneously oppressing all conservative Christians by forcing us Christians to violate our religious beliefs or leaving our roles in politics and in our own government,

Whereas Rauner is an unmitigated political cancer metastasizing Illinois to an undeniable political miasma, evidenced by his designating our state of Illinois as a liberal "sanctuary state" for illegal aliens,

Whereas it is painfully obvious that Rauner is a double-agent even before he appointed Democrat Bill Daley, brother of former mayor Rich Daley, to his transition team (that is the political organized crime FAMILY),

Whereas Jeanne Ives' FAMILY is a patriotic American military family (husband & 5 children) , and she herself is a West Point Graduate,

We the Republicans of the 11th Ward of Chicago, IL, proudly endorse Jeanne Ives to be our conservative standard-bearer and Governor of Illinois.

At a time in Illinois' history when an incumbent "Republican" governor is behaving like a raving socialist Democrat, and is indeed working for the Liberals, the voters of our state deserve an opportunity to elect a candidate who will truly live up to family values and fiscal responsibility. Jeanne Ives is that candidate. We urge every Republican primary voter, and former conservative democrats to support her in the upcoming primary election on March 20, 2018.

Our United States of America is in a Civil Cultural (POLITICAL) War, in which the Liberals have been defeating us Conservatives for 30 years, in battle after battle. They, the Liberals are about to silence our Traditional Christian American voice! Rauner and his wife are committed, morally-bankrupt Liberals. JEANNE IVES is a committed Christian American.

Carl Segvich, Committeeman

(Candidate for Cook County Commissioner to defeat John Daley, 11th District)
(CNN Money) -- A secret spacecraft launched by a SpaceX rocket on Sunday failed to enter a stable orbit and was lost.

The spacecraft, called Zuma, launched at 8 p.m. Sunday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

But the spacecraft apparently did not separate as it was supposed to from the upper stage of the rocket and did not reach a stable orbit, according to a U.S. administration official and two sources who were briefed on the matter. The sources would not confirm what exactly the payload was, saying it was classified.

The mission itself was shrouded in secrecy even before it failed to enter a stable orbit. The government agency that ordered the spacecraft has not been disclosed.

Northrop Grumman, the aerospace and defense company that built the Zuma spacecraft, would only say: "This is a classified program. We cannot comment on classified programs." SpaceX has also declined to give details about the spacecraft.

In a statement, the Department of Defense said, "As a matter of policy we do not comment on classified missions."

It was not immediately clear if the failure of this mission was due to problems with the SpaceX rocket, or with the Zuma spacecraft. SpaceX issued a statement Tuesday suggesting that its rocket performed as designed.

"After review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night," said the statement from Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX. "If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will report it immediately. Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false. Due to the classified nature of the payload, no further comment is possible."

Related: Your guide to commercial space travel in 2018

"Since the data reviewed so far indicates that no design, operational or other changes are needed, we do not anticipate any impact on the upcoming launch schedule," Shotwell added. "Falcon Heavy has been rolled out to launchpad LC-39A for a static fire later this week, to be followed shortly thereafter by its maiden flight."

Falcon Heavy is SpaceX's massive new rocket that will boast three times the thrust of the Falcon 9.

The fact that SpaceX says the Falcon Heavy launch will move forward as scheduled also indicates there were no issues with the rocket. When SpaceX has had mishaps in the past, it's grounded the company for months.

Because of Zuma's secrecy, SpaceX didn't live stream the entire mission as it typically does. But it did show both the launch and the landing of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket back at Cape Canaveral.

This is not the first time a payload was lost on a SpaceX mission. On September 1, 2016 a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded while preparing to test fire its engines, destroying the Amos 6 communications satellite atop the rocket that was to be used by Facebook. Additionally, a SpaceX rocket carrying supply missions to the International Space Station for NASA exploded in 2015. However, the company has completed more than ten successful supply missions to ISS.

The loss of a government payload comes at a bad time for SpaceX, which was founded by Elon Musk, who is CEO of both the privately-held rocket company and electric car maker Tesla.

It has been competing with other private companies to launch more military payloads. And it plans to carry its first astronauts into space in its Dragon space capsule later this year. Since the last Space Shuttle flight in 2011, NASA has relied upon the Russian space agency to carry U.S. astronauts to the ISS.

Correction: The headline and first sentence of this article have been updated to reflect that the Zuma spacecraft failed to enter a stable orbit.

The-CNN-Wire

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Breen, an attorney specializing in Constitutional law, will join three other members of the General Assembly representing the other Illinois House and Senate caucuses, several judges, members of law enforcement, and representatives of the Department of Corrections on the 25-member commission.

LOMBARD - State Representative Peter Breen (R-Lombard) has been selected to serve on the Illinois Supreme Courts new Commission on Pretrial Practices, as the appointee of the House Republicans. The panel will review Illinois criminal pretrial detention systems and make recommendations for improvement

It is an honor and a privilege to be selected to serve alongside some of Illinois most respected individuals in their fields of expertise on this important commission, said Breen. I look forward to providing input as we study and evaluate current pretrial detention practices and discuss ways to improve the system to ensure fair and equal treatment of defendants as they await trial.

According to Breen, the panel will conduct a comprehensive review of the criminal pretrial system and make recommendations about how Illinois laws and Supreme Court rules and policies can be amended and adjusted, to ensure that pretrial practices in all jurisdictions in the State of Illinois are applied consistently and equitably. The ultimate goal of the commission is to produce legislative and rule changes that will provide for a fair, efficient, transparent, and accountable system based on evidence-based practices.

The Commission is required to hold its first meeting within the next two months, and must issue a preliminary report of its findings to the Illinois Supreme Court within the next 12 months. A final report, complete with recommendations, is to be delivered to the Illinois Supreme Court within 24 months.

We can balance a defendants Constitutional presumption of innocence, and the need to protect society and victims of crime, added Breen. The creation of this commission is extremely important for all involved in the criminal justice system, and for the taxpayers who fund that system. I look forward to having a voice in improving our pretrial system, in ways that will improve outcomes for everyone in Illinois.
WASHINGTON DC - Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis talked immigration with Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tuesday night, following President Trump's White House open meeting with both Democrat and Republican lawmakers earlier in the day.

Davis was non-committal about his views on the immigration issue, leaving 13th CD viewers somewhat confused about exactly where he stands on the controversy coming before Congress. Will the Congressman support allowing Dreamers to stay and does he see the need for the wall Trump advocates?
WASHINGTON DC - File a complaint with the feds, Family Research Council says, if as an Illinois resident you've been discriminated against because of your pro-life stance.

Illinois is one of three states that has passed a law forcing pro-life pregnancy care centers to refer for or even promote abortion. Illinois law is the strongest in the country as it forces pro-life doctors, nurses, pharmacists to promote and refer for abortion. The law is under legal challenge in court, and is amidst a wave of anti-conscience bills targeting pro-life Americans and pregnancy care centers are under consideration in numerous states.



"If you have been discriminated against because of your pro-life stance, please read the information below and file a complaint with the federal government," Family Research Council said in a email Tuesday.
TROY - Madison County Board member Don Moore is challenging three-term State Rep. Charlie Meier (R-Highland) in the March 20th GOP primary because Meier "can't make up his mind whether he supports raising taxes or not."

Meier was among several Republican House members that voted to raise the state income tax by 32 percent in the last legislative session. After district voter outcry, Meier changed his vote and chose to agree with Governor Rauner's override veto when presented to the Illinois House. The measure passed and Illinoisans are now paying the higher tax rate.

"We need a conservative leader in Springfield who we can trust to stand up for our values and interests, and not flip-flop on the most important issues when it is politically expedient," Moore said in a statement issued earlier this week.
The desire of thousands of gravely ill Australians to die without pain and surrounded by family is going unmet because palliative care services fall badly short, the national peak body has warned.

Just one palliative medicine specialist is available for every 704 deaths each year, according to Palliative Care Australia. It has called on the Turnbull government to make palliative care a national health priority, appoint a 'national palliative care commissioner' and ensure health workers can better help grief-stricken families.

Dr George Lord, photographed in December 2016, staying at home during the final stages of his terminal illness, cared for by his wife, Jill Lord, with the help of palliative care worker. Credit:Janie Barrett

The pleas come six months after a draft Productivity Commission report predicted that without a significant policy overhaul, "tens of thousands of Australians will die in a way and in a place that does not reflect their values or their choices".

"Their end-of-life journey will likely be punctuated with avoidable, or unwanted, admissions to hospital with the confusion, loss of dignity and loss of control that comes with it. This is not acceptable," it said, adding that reforms in this area "should be a high priority for governments".
A message in red letters flashed up as Brisbane mum Lorraine Pacey applied for a childcare rebate and tried updating her marital status with Centrelink this week.

Ms Pacey, who married her wife in New Zealand in 2014, finally had her relationship recognised under Australian law when Parliament passed historic same-sex marriage legislation in December.

Brisbane mother Lorraine Pacey with her daughter Jocelyn, 11 months. Ms Pacey received a message on Centrelink's website saying Australia did not recognise her marriage. Credit:Lorraine Pacey

Centrelink's website told her otherwise when she tried changing her details on Monday while preparing to resume working after a year's maternity leave.

"You indicated that your relationship status is married and recorded your partner's sex as the same sex as yourself. Under Australian law, marriages between same-sex couples are not recognised," it said.
The pictures show families celebrating, and there is plenty to toast: weddings, graduation ceremonies, exciting careers, family dinners, and the most joyous event of all, the birth of a child.

The images, filed under the hashtag #africangangs on social media, have become a powerful campaign for members of Melbourne's Sudanese community, who are taking back the term so often levelled against them.

The spontaneous campaign has mushroomed on Twitter after weeks of emotional debate about the close-knit South Sudanese community's involvement in a recent spate of violent youth crime. On Tuesday the hashtag was trending nationwide.

It's a powerful counter-narrative to media coverage about gangs of Sudanese teenagers menacing Melbourne's west through violent home invasions and assaults.
Indian soldiers take part in the rehearsal for the Republic Day parade on a winter morning in New Delhi, India, January 8, 2018 (Photo: REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)

As part of its 'Act East' policy, India has not only invited all ten ASEAN nations to be chief guests at the Republic Day parade this year but also has invited some of the SAARC nations for the programmes that would be held on the sidelines.

The visit, which would see summit-level representation from all the ASEAN nations, also encompasses the India-ASEAN commemorative summit celebrating 25 years of India-ASEAN relations.

During the media briefing on Wednesday, Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs said, "The India-ASEAN summit will take place on January 25, followed by the Republic Day celebrations for which all the 10 leaders from the ASEAN countries have confirmed their participation in the commemorative summit as well as to be guests of honour at the Republic Day."

While the focus of the summit would be counter-terrorism, security cooperation, trade, connectivity, maritime and defence related matters, India has a full fledged agenda planned to woo the ASEAN leaders through its soft diplomacy, cultural programmes highlighting the historical ties India has with ASEAN nations.

One major theme of the summit would be "Ramayana", an "epic tale" that connects the entire region. "Ramayana remains an important epic and a theme which is played in all ASEAN countries. It is a historical and civilisational connection of ASEAN countries with India,'' said Preeti Saran.

On the issue of terrorism, the Secretary said that it has and will "always remain on the agenda".

She said, "It (terrorism) has always remained on the agenda for discussions. We don't rule it out. When leaders sit together intimately in a retreat environment, I am sure they will be discussing different aspects, including this aspect, which concerns all of us."

In addition to what has been planned in New Delhi, the north eastern state, Assam, will also host the ASEAN leaders and the neighbouring SAARC nations in order to emphasise the importance of this entire region for the development and growth of India's North-East.

To give these interactions a further boost, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj undertook a visit to three South East Asian countries - Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore - where she was accompanied by Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonwal.

Sonowal while participating in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Singapore said that his government is stepping up efforts towards increasing interactions with ASEAN countries. Swaraj introduced Sonowal as the 'symbol of resurgence of India's north-east' after the latter launched the roadshow calling investors to participate at the "Advantage Assam: Global Investors' Summit" in Guwahati.

A number of events will be held in January next year in conjunction with the 28th anniversary of India-ASEAN partnership, one of which is the ASEAN-India Business and Investment Meet and Expo on 'Promoting Economic Integration through Enhanced Economics' in January 2018.

The Thai Ambassador heads the group of ASEAN diplomats in India and will be handing over the charge to the Vietnamese ambassador after this summit. Although, Thailand would become the country coordinator for India-ASEAN relations this year. "External Affairs Minister had very successful meetings and bilateral discussions in all the three countries. But in the ASEAN context it was significant because Thailand is going to be the country coordinator for India-ASEAN relations from July this year onwards," said Preeti Saran.
While the word recession is being floated in the real estate market in the eastern states, here in the west all the talk is about recovery, movement and employment possibilities.

So if you're looking to invest in a property or buy a new home this year, here's my top eight picks for Perth suburbs with the best potential for growth.



Dianella

The major attraction is it's 8km from the Perth CBD with a good supply of post war dwellings available on subdivisible blocks. The average sale price dropped by 4.6 per cent in 2017, leaving the median sale for a house at $591,000. There is still an opportunity to purchase some amazing houses with all the bells and whistles including fantastic city views, for between $1 million and $2 million. This year the Dianella Educational Precinct was developed, providing a positive change and innovative opportunities for students, teachers, parents/carers and the surrounding community.

Luxury homes are still being sold at competitive rates in Applecross.

53 SHANNON ROAD, Dianella. Credit:Passmore Real Estate





Wembley Downs

This suburb has it all location wise. Close proximity to great schools, shops, parks and Floreat and City Beach. A great lifestyle suburb with a good smattering of retro homes on large family blocks. A home in this suburb will give you a Western Suburbs address with all the trimmings at an affordable price.



Murdoch

"Hidden Gem" describes this suburb perfectly. The only basic problem is the lack of stock available - the average homeowner in Murdoch lives in their home for 15 years. According to the recent REIWA sales records the highest price sold in the suburb over the last 12 month is $820,000. Many homes are becoming too big for the empty nester owners and will soon be placed on the market. The area has great schools, universities, hospitals, shops and a good rail link.



Morley

A very affordable area, and although the suburb has had a good run of land subdivisions the median price for a house is still $491,000, with a recent price drop of 6.5 per cent for the year, making it a suburb to consider. Morley has good connectivity to the airport and the city.



Hilton

Has an eclectic mixture of weatherboard, fibro and brick dwellings on large blocks of land. With approximately a five minute drive to the central business district of Fremantle and the Indian Ocean, the positive growth from nearby suburbs such as O'Connor and Samson give hope to the rise of Hilton. The Fremantle Council has also agreed to give the Hilton town centre an upgrade which will be a positive influence in the area.



Balcatta

This is another suburb that is low in stock, as many of the residents stay in their homes for a number of years. Prices have increased in Stirling making this the next one to grow. Many might be impressed to drive down Donnington Street and streets surrounding to see the newly built multi-million dollar homes with city views. Balcatta Senior High school is getting upgraded, which will draw young families back to the suburb.



Applecross

An affluent riverside suburb bound by the Canning Highway and the river and home to the South Perth Yacht Club. The suburb has a strong commercial base as well as a gorgeous residential aspect and the area has a mixture of homes that would cater for buyers at all levels. Although the REIWA statistics indicate an increase of 10.1 per cent in this suburb, if you are in the market for a luxury home with easy access to good schools, then this is a suburb to consider. Homes are still being sold at competitive rates in this suburb.
A third person believed to be from the same family has been arrested in relation to a series of violent incidents that took place across Canning Vale in December.

On Wednesday, police confirmed they had charged Kayed Hishmeh, 29, with intent to do grievous bodily harm to unlawfully wound another in relation to a brawl which broke out at McDonald's Livingston on December 7.

Jacob Cummins was fatally struck by a car in Canning Vale in December. Credit:Facebook

The charges come a month after 35-year-old Fahed Hishmeh was charged with intent to cause grievous bodily harm for the same incident.

The brawl, which left two people with stab wounds, happened an hour before Perth teenager Jacob Cummins, 17, was killed when he and his friends were hit by a car as they walked along a nearby street.
Australia's peak housing body predicts Western Australia's housing market is close to "bottoming out" after the state's housing construction approval figures dropped for the seventh month in a row.

Australian Bureau of Statistics November housing approval figures, released on Tuesday, showed WA detached house approvals dropped by 3.3 per cent from October, while non-detached building approvals dropped by 0.6 per cent.

WA's housing construction figures declined for the seventh month in a row. Credit:Pat Scala

Housing Industry Association senior economist Shane Garrett said his association expected, however, WA's new build market to trend into the positive from 2018 on the back of an improving employment sector.

"The WA market is approaching a bottoming out point after record highs in 2014," he said.
Washington: Federal immigration agents raided 7-Eleven stores across the US on Wednesday, making arrests and sending a message that the Trump administration is willing to punish employers hiring illegal immigrants.

A total of 21 people were arrested, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents served inspection notices at 98 convenience stores in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

Administration officials argue workplace raids will decrease illegal immigration at companies that have unauthorised workers on their payroll by placing pressure on them with fines and possible criminal charges. And to make its point, the government drew a bull's-eye on one of the country's most prominent convenience store chains, whose outlets are staples of thousands of American neighbourhoods.

"Today's actions send a strong message to US businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable," Acting Director Thomas Homan said in a statement.
Rs 1.72 cr recovered from shoes of two passengers at Kolkata airport

Customs Air Intelligence officials have seized large sums of European currency from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata. The contraband currency was recovered from the shoes of two passengers.

In Indian currency the money is worth almost Rs 2 crore.

The money was caught red-handed when the officials got suspicious about two passengers at the airport.

The officials followed and tracked the activities of both the suspects till they passed from the Customs counter. After clearance, both the passengers were heading for security check before boarding a SpiceJet flight routed to Bangkok from Kolkata.

The officials' suspicion led to the interrogation of the two passengers, Vasistha Kumar and Anoop Shrinet. Their suspicion grew when they noticed the shoes of the two passengers.

The officers cut open their shoes to have a closer look. It was then that they recovered 2,28,500 euros. When converted to Indian currency the amount is equivalent to Rs 1.72 crore.

Both the passengers hail from Uttar Pradesh and are related to each other. They have been taken into custody and will be produced before the court.

Recently in another incident, a Jet Airways employee was arrested from a flight headed to Hong Kong from Delhi. She was accused of smuggling Rs 3.34 crore in US dollars.

ALSO WATCH: Jet Airways air hostess caught red-handed carrying Rs 3.21 cr worth hawala dollars
(Eds: Updating with more inputs)

Karachi, Jan 10 (PTI) Two Chinese nationals were arrested today for allegedly involving in ATM skimming fraud in Karachi, Pakistans largest city, officials said.

The arrested foreigners were seen suspiciously doing rounds of ATM booths on Karachis Abdullah Haroon Road.

Local shop-keepers stopped the duo and handed them over to police, Geo TV reported.

Officials also confirmed that the two foreigners have been involved in ATM skimming, it said.

"We have recovered ATM skimming devices from both the suspects," Superintendent of Police Saddar Tauqeer Naeem said.

"They had come to detach skimming devices from the ATM machines," Naeem added.

In March last year, two Chinese nationals were arrested by a Pakistani law enforcement agency for ATM skimming fraud, Dawn newspaper reported.

Fraudsters use different techniques to steal a persons debit card PIN code for accessing the money in an account.

Pakistan has witnessed a rapid increase of Chinese nationals in the country in recent years due to many Beijing- funded infrastructure development projects and joint ventures under the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Some Chinese expatriates, however, have been found involved in criminal activities such as fighting and fraud, Pakistani media reports said in December.

The matter was discussed at a joint working group meeting of the home department of Punjab province and a senior Chinese diplomat in the country in December. PTI AKJ AKJ
At the invitation of the Bulgarian Presidency of the European Union (EU), WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya addressed delegates from the 28 EU Member States who were attending the meeting of the Customs Union Group on 10 January 2018 in Brussels.

Congratulating Bulgaria on assuming EU Council Presidency, Secretary General Mikuriya first wished the Presidency and delegates every success as they faced a challenging year for Customs. Secretary General Mikuriya then continued by informing the delegates that at the extraordinary session held in December 2017, the Council had elected Mr. Ricardo Trevino Chapa (Mexican Customs) as the WCO's new Deputy Secretary General, to take up his duties with effect from 1 January 2018. The Council had also discussed the issue of accession to the WCO - an issue that had now dominated two Council sessions. The discussions had led to the suggestion of a working group to examine the issue of accession. Mr. Mikuriya expressed the hope that at the June 2018 Council sessions, agreement would be reached on theTerms of Reference and composition of the working group - an outcome that would allow the Council to revert to discussions on Customs technical matters.

He went on to outline the WCO's extensive work programme for the coming year, placing particular emphasis on the six priorities identified by Members, namely: Trade Facilitation, E-Commerce, Security, Illicit Financial Flows, Customs/Tax Cooperation, and Performance Measurement. In particular, the Secretary General sought support from the European Union as regards the approval of the text of an MoU on WCO/IMF cooperation as well as the provision of information, inter alia, on Time Release Studies, in order to enhance the data available for analysis and increase the profile of Customs.

Secretary General Mikuriya also informed delegates that the vacancy notice for the post of Secretary General would be issued today and that he would be a candidate for what would be his final term.

Mr. Stephen Quest, the Director General of the European Commissions Taxation and Customs Union Directorate (DG TAXUD), explained the main issues for the EU in the coming year. He stressed the important challenges posed, and noted the convergence and complementarity between the objectives of the EU and those of the WCO. He emphasized that 2018 marked the 50th Anniversary of the setting up of the Customs Union, and both the Commission and the Members should celebrate this unique achievement by highlighting the effectiveness of the Union.

Director General Quest recalled the many highlights of 2017 that underpinned much of the work for the coming year. He said that great importance would be assigned to the implementation of the Union Customs Code, taking into account the need for a digital solution. He added that substantial work would be carried out on IT, a multi-annual strategic plan for Customs, governance, cooperation with border police, Terms of Reference for a Trade Contact Group, Tax/Customs cooperation, a VAT stimulus package etc.

Secretary General Mikuriya concluded by thanking the Bulgarian Presidency for the opportunity to address the Customs Union Group in what had now become a feature of the Group's first meeting every year.
Ahmedabad, Jan 10 (PTI) An accused in the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case, absconding for almost 16 years, was arrested in the city today, police said.

Ashish Pandey, one of the five absconding accused in the case, was arrested from Aslali locality by Crime Branch sleuths, a police official said.

A mob had attacked Gulberg Society, a pre-dominantly Muslim colony here, on February 28, 2002, killing 69 persons including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. It was one of the worst incidents of violence during the post-Godhra riots.

"Pandey was absconding ever since he was named as an accused in the FIR lodged in 2002 after the incident. He lived in Naroda locality with his family, but had fled to evade arrest and thereafter lived in different cities including Haridwar and Vapi and worked in the transport business," said the official.

Police had got a tip-off that Pandey was in the city in connection with his work, he said.

He was handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which probed the case. He will be produced before a court tomorrow.

A special court for SIT cases had, in June 2016, convicted 24 persons in the Gulberg case, awarding life imprisonment to 11 of them. Thirty-six others were acquitted.

With the arrest of Pandey, four more accused are still at large. PTI KA PD KRK BAS
Chandigarh based NGO called Human Rights Protection Council has moved Punjab and Haryana High Court to seek directions on alleged sale and leak of UIDAI data as reported in a local English daily recently.

The court will hear the PIL on Thursday. The NGO in its petition has demanded a probe into the allegations levelled against UIDAI.

The petitioner and chairman of the NGO, Ranjan Lakhanpal has informed the court that leakage of Aadhaar data is a very serious matter as Aadhaar data provides personal information about the card holder, making it a big security breach.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh has also criticized UIDAI for registering FIR against the English daily and its journalist Rachna Khera.

He said that the union government rather than making the journalist and media a scapegoat should rectify the shortcomings in the UIDAI system.
Srinagar, Jan 10 (PTI) National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah today expressed concern about the security situation in the Valley and urged the state government to tackle the "shadow of fear" looming over the forthcoming panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

The government had the right to hold panchayat polls, but it had to also ensure the safety of the people, he said.

"It is the prerogative of the government to conduct panchayat elections, but it is also the responsibility of the same government to protect its citizens and safeguard their lives,? Abdullah said while addressing party workers here.

He expressed concern over the ?shadows of fear and intimidation" in the run-up to panchayat election, slated to be held next month. Some militants groups have threatened to grievously harm candidates.

The NC president said such threats should be taken seriously by the state government.

?These alarming threats should be taken seriously by the state government and, before any decisions are taken, the security situation in the state should be taken into account," he said.

The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar also underlined the alienation of the Valleys youth, who, he said, were being drawn towards armed militancy.

?With every passing day we are witnessing educated young men taking the path of armed militancy in a trend which threatens to take the state back to the throes of turmoil and uncertainty that we witnessed in the early 90s,? he said.

In the past three years, people had witnessed "one ideological compromise after another" by those in power, which, he held, had a direct and adverse impact on the youth.

"The security scenario in the Valley is a matter of serious concern and underlines the political vacuum that has resulted in accentuating the alienation on the ground, especially among the youth," Abdullah said.

The "rhetoric of reconciliation" was of little use in view of the the growing ?disenchantment and disillusionment? among the youth, he added.

"The youth deserve more than the occasional rhetorical statement or press note,? he said.

The opposition leader added that the Central and state governments had to realise the "unimaginable consequences of allowing the atmosphere of disenchantment to persist in the Valley".

Abdullah alleged that the PDP-BJP government had ?failed? to wean the youth away from isolation because of "ideological U-turns and contradictions".

?It is the onerous responsibility of the state government to reach out to the youth and bring the Valley back to the path of stability and peace," he said.

But, he alleged, the state government continued to alienate the people-? through its "complete governance failures or numerous political compromises and U-turns".

Reiterating the need for a sustained, structured and result-oriented dialogue between India and Pakistan over all outstanding issues including Kashmir, he said there was no alternative to dialogue.

?Seeking a dialogue with Pakistan is a matter of realism and is based on our aspiration to see an end to instability, violence, death and destruction in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We have always sought dialogue both on the internal and external fronts," he said.

New Delhi and Islamabad needed to restore the "credibility and sanctity of the institution of dialogue" and stakeholders within the state should also be taken on board to make the process meaningful, he said. PTI SSB MIJ BDS
A 59-year-old man lost his testicles in the most excruciating manner possible after he contracted a rare form of Salmonella bacteria during a Tunisian holiday.

David Worsley, who was on a holiday with his wife Joanne, contracted African Salmonella, a rare form of the disease.

FYI: What is Salmonella poisoning?

A type of food poisoning caused by an infection due to Salmonella bacterium.

David was admitted to a local hospital due to severe pain in his testicles. When he returned to United Kingdom, he fell so sick that he could not eat properly for weeks.

"I woke up at about 5 am with the most excruciating pain in my left testicle. I could barely move and I was in tears from the agony," he told Bolton News. Before his testicles 'explodied', David was admitted to a hospital again after he complained of immense pain.

According to David, his testicles grew so much that he had to carry them around in his hands. "I was in for ten days and the pressure continued to grow. It got so big that I needed to carry it around in my hands. It was the size of a grapefruit. I can't even begin to explain the pain that I was in and my temperature was off the scale." he said.

David also suffered diarrhea and puking, however, he was later sent home by the doctors despite his critical condition.

The doctor who attended to David Worsley said that she had never seen anything like it in her 20 year career. "I got in the bath and it just exploded. It literally went bang and that was it. When the doctor saw it later she said that it was like a volcano exploding."

David added, "It was leaking so much that I had to get one of my grandchildren's nappies and put it around it to stop the flow. There was no embarrassment at that point as I just wanted the pain to go away. When it happened I felt like a weight had literally been lifted from me, as I suppose it had. It was almost a relief that it had happened."

David opened up about losing his testicles and said a 'big part of him being a man' has gone now. The doctors, however, told him that it won't be a barrier in his life and he can manage without testicles.
Paducah Man Arrested on Gun, Other Charges

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH, KY - A McCracken County man was arrested on a weapons charge after he reportedly threatened another man Tuesday morning.Paducah Police responded about 10:20 am and spoke to the victim, who said 39-year-old Marlin J. Brown threatened him with a handgun about 9 am near Dudley Court Apartments.Police later found Brown at a home in the 1500 block of North 11th Street, and a loaded .380 handgun was found under a bed. The homeowner said Brown didn't have permission to be there and they did not own a gun.Brown was arrested on outstanding warrants for 2nd degree fleeing or evading police, tampering with evidence and 1st degree burglary. He was also charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.Brown was booked into McCracken County Regional Jail.
Reaction: Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Passes

By Bill Hughes

PADUCAH, KY - Reaction to the passage of a new anti-discrimination ordinance in Paducah was polarized, similar to the debate on the issue at Tuesday night's City Commission meeting.The new ordinance includes age, sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes by the Human Rights Commission, which investigates discrimination claims. It passed by a 4-1 vote after an amendment to exclude businesses on religious grounds failed by the same margin.Paducah's Nathan Yancy said it was a great day for the citizens of Paducah."This is allowing the respect and the dignity and the equal treatment that the LGBT community deserves, and we're very proud of this moment for our city to be inclusive and show that we're a diverse community that cares about our citizens," Yancy said.Yancy said he was glad to see a lot of Paducahans come to the meeting to support the ordinance. He pondered how one group's perception of their community could change."I was thinking about the youth of Paducah, and how they're going to see this - the LGBT youth - and go, 'you know what? We matter as kids.' We matter as adults. We matter in this community. And I think that's very important," Yancy said.Kevin Gaunce, Pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Paducah, said he's disappointed with the outcome."I think there's already things in place for protection and we don't need to single out a particular segment of the population and equate that with a civil rights status," he said.Gaunce said he's going to get with some like-minded people to investigate if there is anything else they can do while they wait for the Kentucky and U.S. Supreme Courts to rule on cases currently before them.He said he encouraged his congregation to speak out on the issue in a dignified manner, and some of them shared opinions at the meeting.
Three Charged with Assault in Murray

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MURRAY, KY - Three people were arrested Sunday afternoon on assault charges after an altercation at a Murray apartment complex.The Murray Police Department says officers responded shortly after 2 p.m. to a report of a large fight at an apartment on Transit Way. Upon arrival officers located and spoke with the victim, who had noticeable injuries. She told officers some individuals sent her a threat and were waiting for her to leave the apartment. When she came outside the people who were waiting began attacking her, one of them hitting her with a silver object.Officers said the suspects were gone by the time they arrived on scene. They later located 20-year-old Brianna Norsworthy in a field behind the apartments. She reportedly tried to get into a vehicle and flee, but officers were able to arrest her. They also arrested the two other suspects who were in the vehicle, 25-year-old Jeanae Smith and 26-year-old Taneshia Foster. Police said Norsworthy had a concealed revolver tucked in the waistband of her pants.All three suspects were charged with assault. Norsworthy was also charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon.
FILE - In this July 12, 2008 file photo, a gavel rests on a judge's bench. PHOTO:AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File

Lawsuit Over Makeup of Retirement Board Dismissed

By The Associated Press

FRANKFORT, KY - A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that challenged Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's reorganization of the Kentucky Retirement Systems board.

The Courier-Journal reports Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled Monday that the challenge is moot because the General Assembly passed a bill last year affirming Bevin's 2016 order that restructured the board.

Former board chairman Thomas Elliott, who was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear, filed the lawsuit after Bevin issued an executive order removing him from the panel.

When Elliott initially ignored the order, Bevin ordered state troopers to arrest him if he tried to participate in a meeting.

Though Shepherd ruled in favor of Bevin, he scolded him for the tactics, describing them as "wholly unjustified ... rash and unprecedented."

___

Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com
Embed from Getty Images

Evertons co-owner Farhad Moshiri has revealed the precise reason (at least in his estimation) that Romelu Lukaku refused to sign a new contract with the club last season.

It was widely reported, not least by Lukakus agent Mino Raiola, that the terms of the improved five-year deal were 99.9 percent agreed, only for the Belgian striker to join Manchester United in a 75million transfer four months later.

Speaking at the Toffees annual general meeting on Tuesday, Moshiri revealed that everything looked to be falling into place with the Lukaku negotiations, only for a phone call between the player and his mother to scupper the whole thing (via PA Sport).

His agent went to Finch Farm to sign the contract. Then somehow during the meeting, Romelu called his mother and said she was on a pilgrimage to Africa and had seen some sort of voodoo message that said he had to sign for Chelsea.

Everton and Chelsea were desperately trying to one-up each other at the time, with Moshiri admitting that the numbers on the table were flatly ridiculous by the latter stages.

The issue with Romelu was not financial. As long as I am major shareholder (of Everton), financial issues are irrelevant. I wasted two summers to keep him. First summer with his agent, him and his family we managed to keep him. Last summer we offered him a better deal than Chelsea  whatever they offered we matched but he just didnt want to stay. If I tell you what we offered him you wouldnt believe it, but they offered him a better deal.

Lukaku then toddled off on holiday to Los Angeles, where he stayed in a mansion in the hills with United midfielder Paul Pogba. The rest, as they say, is history.

I got close to Rom, I like the boy, hes a good boy, and I used all my charm to keep him and I flatly failed. The issue was his brain had gone. He was in LA and he wouldnt come back.

Damn that voodoo hoodoo.
An Indian army soldier keeps guard from a bunker near the border with Pakistan in Abdullian, southwest of Jammu (File photo: Reuters)

The Indian Army killed 138 Pakistan Army personnel in 2017 in tactical operations and retaliatory cross-border firings along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, government intelligence sources said today.

The Indian Army lost 28 soldiers during the same period along the LoC, the sources said.

The sources said the Pakistan Army usually does not acknowledge the deaths of its personnel and shows them as civilian casualties in certain cases.

The Indian Army has been adopting a "tough" approach in dealing with ceasefire violations and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir in the last one year.

The Pakistan Army has suffered 138 fatal and 155 non- fatal casualties in tactical operations and retaliatory cross-border firings along the LoC in 2017, the intelligence sources told PTI.

A total of 70 Indian Army personnel were injured during cross border firings and other incidents.

Asked about the fatalities on the Pakistani side, the Army refused to comment. However, Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand said India has been effectively retaliating against all ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army and will continue to do so.

According to official figures, 860 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were reported in 2017 as against 221 last year.

'POLICY OF NOT ACKNOWLEDGING KILLING OF ITS PERSONNEL'

It seems the Pakistan Army has a policy of not acknowledging the killing of its personnel, the sources said. They also referred to the Kargil war when Pakistan had declined to accept casualties despite proof given by India.

The sources also cited an incident on December 25 when a group of five Army commandos crossed the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and killed three Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistan Army had posted a tweet that day acknowledging the deaths but later deleted it.

The Pakistan Army's spokesperson two days later rejected reports that Indian commandos selectively targeted a post across the LoC and killed three of its soldiers.

The intelligence sources said Indian Army killed 27 Pakistani soldiers in sniper firing last year while seven of its soldiers lost their lives in Pakistani sniper firing along the LoC.

As part of its policy of "hot pursuit", the Indian Army has been carrying out tactical operations to foil Pakistan Army;s support to terrorists.

In May last year, the Indian Army had said it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across the LoC, inflicting "some damage", days after two Indian Army personnel were beheaded.

WATCH | US suspends all military assistance to Pakistan
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has asked all lawyers-turned-MPs, MLAs or MLCs whether or not they should be barred from practicing law as long as they hold on to their posts.

If they are barred, the decision that could have far-reaching implications on the political careers of many top politicians,

Senior lawyers-turned-politicians like Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi from the Congress and many in the BJP and other parties have been asked to respond to the BCI notice within a week.

The final decision will be taken on January 22.
Puducherry, Jan 10 (PTI) A nine-year-old Irish boy, who visited Lt Governor Kiran Bedis office along with his parents today,AAAwas in for a surprise when she offered him her chair to sit for a while.

Hailing from Dublin, they visited the Raj Nivas and had a meeting with the former IPS officer.

Much to his surprise and his parents, Bedi let the boy sit in her chair and also asked him to write on a pad on her table.

"Let him write anything he feels," she said.

Bedi,AAAwho posted the video of the meetingAAAthrough her twitter handle, told the parents that on earlier occasions a few children were allowed to occupy her chair.

"We do it with many children giving them a life long memory," she tweeted.

The boys name could not be known immediately.

Bedi presented a gift to the boy and cheered him when he occupied the chair.PTI COR BN
New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) The Cabinet today approved the implementation of an earlier CCEA decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Ltd (TSPL) regarding disposal of its immovable assets, an official statement said.

The development also provides for getting the name of TSPL removed from the Registrar of Companies after setting balance liabilities of the company.

The CCEA had in December, 2015 approved the closure of the company after discharging all dues to employees and creditors.

TSPL was established in 1960 with equal equity participation of governments of Mysore and Andhra Pradesh.

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also cleared a proposal to transfer metallurgical and material handling plants to Karnataka along with 20,000 square meter land.

"It also approved selling 82.37 acres of land of the company at Hospet to Karnataka Government for use of the Karnataka State Housing Board. The land is being sold to Karnataka Government at the rate of Rs 66 lakh per acre offered by them," the statement by Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises said.

TSPL is a successor to Work shops & Machinery Division (1948) of Tungabhadra Project, which was set up with an idea to undertake manufacture of gates and hoists required for spillways, sluices and canal gates of Tungabhadra dam.

The Centre invested 79 per cent of the shares and became a major shareholder, bringing the company under the administrative control of Ministry of Heavy Industry. PTI SID ANU
(Eds: Updating with more info, quotes)

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) In big bang FDI reforms ahead of the budget, the government today permitted foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in debt-ridden Air India, and eased norms for investment in single brand retail, construction and power exchanges.

The government also relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for medical devices and audit firms associated with companies receiving overseas funds.

The decisions were taken by the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

In a move that will give a boost to foreign retailers like Ikea, the government approved 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route for single brand retail trading. Earlier also 100 per cent FDI was allowed in the segment, but it required government approval.

Amendments in the FDI policy are "intended to liberalise and simplify the policy so as to provide ease of doing business in the country.

"In turn, it will lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment," the government said in a statement.

The decision to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under approval route in Air India comes in the backdrop of governments plans to disinvest the state-owned carrier.

"Foreign investment(s) in Air India including that of foreign airline(s) shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National," the statement said.

Air India had a total debt of about Rs 48,877 crore at the end of March 2017, of which about Rs 17,360 crore was aircraft loan and Rs 31,517 crore was working capital debt.

The airline is expected to report a net loss of Rs 3,579 crore for 2017-18, as per budget estimates for 2017-18 . It had a provisional net loss of Rs 3,643 crore in 2016-17.

Overseas investment policy has also been liberalised in case of power exchanges, an online platform where electricity is traded. Currently, the policy provides for 49 per cent FDI under automatic route in power exchanges.

However, FII/FPI (foreign portfolio investors) purchases were restricted to secondary market only.

"It has now been decided to do away with this provision, thereby allowing FIIs (foreign institutional investors/FPIs to invest in power exchanges through primary market as well," the release said.

Regarding the liberalisation in the construction development segment, the government has decided to "clarify that real-estate broking service does not amount to real estate business" and is therefore, eligible for 100 per cent FDI under automatic route.

Commenting on the development, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said the decisions would help "remove roadblocks" for receiving foreign investments.

The minister expressed the hope that relaxation of norms would facilitate faster development of the economy.

"The move will not only attract additional foreign capital into the country, but will also provide an impetus to the retail industry growth, at a time when organised and retail is already seeing strong growth over the last 12 months.

"Global brands across different categories, from apparel to electronics to accessories will be aided through this, providing further options to Indian consumers and improving India?s ranking in ease of doing business," Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India said.

This is the second major liberalisation in FDI policy by the NDA government in one go after major changes effected in June 2016.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to present the Union Budget for 2018-19 on February 1.

Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek said that the move would help further improve investment climate of India.

Further, the government said that issue of shares against non-cash considerations like pre-incorporation expenses and import of machinery will now be permitted under automatic route in case of sectors does not require government nod.

Earlier approval was needed for pre-incorporation and expenses.

Relaxing a procedural requirement, the government said it has now been decided that for investments in automatic route sectors, requiring approval only on the matter of investment being from country of concern (that is Pakistan and Bangladesh), FDI applications would be processed by the DIPP for government nod.

Cases under the government approval route, also requiring security clearance with respect to countries of concern, will continue to be processed by concerned administrative department or ministry.

Earlier the applications were processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"Measures undertaken by the government have resulted in increased FDI inflows in to the country. In 2016-total FDI of USD 60.08 billion has been received, which is an all-time high," it added. PTI RR CS MR
Raipur, Jan 10 (PTI) A woman naxal was today gunned down in an encounter with security forces in the forest of insurgency-hit Sukma district in Chhattisgarh, police said.

The skirmish occurred in Kedwal-Tumalpad forests which fall in south Sukma when joint teams of troopers were conducting an anti-Maoist operation, Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI.

Several composite squads of the Special Task Force (STF), District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite unit- Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) had launched the operation in the southern forests of Sukma which is considered as a core area of Maoists military battalion no.1.

When a team, comprising STF and DRG personnel, was cordoning off jungles near Kedwal-Tumalpad, it came under heavy firing from a group of rebels, leading to a gunfight, he said.

"After the encounter ended, security forces searched the area and recovered the body of aAAAwomanAAAnaxalAAAclad in uniform," Meena said.

Troopers also recovered some weapons and explosives from a Maoist dump in the area.

The identity of theAAAkilledAAAultra was yet to be ascertained, he said, adding that further details are awaited as the search operation is still underway in the region. PTI TKP NSK
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While the number of dairy farms in Wisconsin is shrinking as small operations struggle to remain profitable, expanding commercial farms have continued to increase the states milk production.
lawmaker

(Eds: Recasting overnight story)

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) A Tanzanian lawmaker of Indian- origin has said that he was deeply concerned over cow vigilantism in India, and claimed that it has become a "nasur" (canker sore) for the country.

Salim Turky, two-time lawmaker of the Tanzanian ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), yesterday said that he has raised the issue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Part of the Tanzanian delegation, here to attend the First PIO-Parliamentary Conference, Turky was also one of the speakers at the day-long event.

"We are proud of what Modi government is doing in the world and in the country. But one thing is not good for India and I call it a nasur and that is cow vigilantism," Turky said on the sidelines of the event.

"We do not live in India, but in the news, specially the (electronic) media, you find clips of people being killed, being provoked. This is like discrimination," he said.

Turkys great-grandfather migrated to Tanzania from Gujarats Kutch region.

When asked why he did not raise the issue in the conference, he said it would have "made the atmosphere bad".

"I have raised the issue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. She said these issues have been exaggerated," Turky claimed.

His remarks come in the backdrop of incidents of violence allegedly committed by cow vigilantes in some states in the recent past.

He drew a parallel to the albinos in his country, who are killed as their body parts are considered as lucky. Turky said the Tanzanian government came hard on those involved in the killing of albinos.

In 2015, Tanzania banned witch doctors in an attempt to curb a rising wave of attacks and murders of albinos whose body parts are prized for witchcraft. PTI PR PYK ASK SRY
A high level customs official has evaded action in-spite of his naming in a drug smuggling case. Despite the main accused naming the official, there hasn't been any concrete action against him.

The case in point is of a massive drugs syndicate bust by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2016. The DRI confiscated 23.5 metric tonnes of banned Mandrex tablets worth Rs.3000 crores at Udaipur, arresting eight persons including Bollywood producer Subhash Dudani and his son Gunjan.

Indiatoday.in is in possession of main accused Subhash Dudani's statement recorded during the interrogation by Jaipur team of DRI. In his statement, Dudani had spilled the beans by exposing the role played by V.K. Agarwal, a senior customs official in the drug smuggling.

Dudani had told DRI officials that Agarwal had helped him ship Methaqualone to Nairobi in the guise of rice exports in the year 2003

In 2003-04, a shipment of five containers of rice was sent. In the fifth container, 5 metric tonnes of methaqualone tablets was sent.

V.K. Agarwal holds a strong position in Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), Mumbai. Currently, Agarwal is an additional commissioner of CESTAT, Mumbai.

CESTAT is a tribunal and forum to hear the appeals against orders and decisions passed under the Customs Act 1962, in crucial smuggling and duty evasion cases.

He has remained untouched since last one year in spite of the departmental inquiry initiated against him.

Shockingly, Agarwal is currently, residing in a flat in Matunga (Mumbai) which is owned by Dudani's company itself.

In his statement, Dudani explained how he floated a firm with the help of Agarwal.

In 2003-04, shipment of five 20 feet containers of rice stuffing was done. In the fifth container, Dudani loaded only 15 MT rice and remaining 5 MT was stuffed with methaqualone tablets.

In his statement Dudani said, "I state that subsequent to shipment of 5 metric tonnes of Methaqualone tablets to Nairobi through ICD Nagpur, I paid Rs 20 lakh to V K Agarwal for providing smooth export clearance of the consignment declared as rice. Later, Agarwal asked me to pay Rs 5 lakh for a senior officer and the amount was paid at his residence."

Shockingly, Agarwal is residing in a flat in Matunga (Mumbai) which is owned by Dudani's company

In 2004, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had conducted searches on Dudani for having links with Agarwal. During the raids, the CBI officials seized one 'diary' having details of financial transactions between Dudani and Agarwal.

Surprisingly, even after Dudani's crucial statement, since last 13 months DRI had been silent on V K Agarwal's role. Whether the DRI officials summoned Agarwal and recorded his statement is still unknown.
Kodak launched its own cryptocurrency ---KODAKCoin -- and saw its stock pop up 125%. We're seriously thinking about developing a 5ThingsCoin.-Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get "5 Things You Need to Know Today" delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)

1. Immigration

DACA is-alive -- for now. A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects from deportation about-700,000 young undocumented immigrants-who came to the US as children. President Trump had said he would end the program in March unless Congress came up with a fix.

So, how will this affect the negotiations going on in Washington about DACA and immigration? Trump's televised and nearly hour-long meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the subject, while fascinating, didn't exactly produce any clarity on the issue, partially because the President kept contradicting himself. This much we know: Democrats would rather only deal with DACA, but Republicans want some concessions on border security first.

Having a hard time keeping track of all this? (Go ahead and raise your hand, because that's all of us.) Here are-five immigration-related storylines you should be paying attention to.

2. Gerrymandering

North Carolina must redraw its congressional map in just three weeks, because federal judges say-the map is unconstitutionally partisan. This is important because it's the first time a federal court has ruled on partisan gerrymandering. Republicans control the General Assembly in the state, thus they can draw the map, but Democrats said the map was tilted too far in the GOP's favor. The three-week timeline is in place so that a new map can be OK'd in time for the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans plan to appeal.

3. Russia investigation

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, hit both Fusion GPS, which produced the Russia dossier, and Buzzfeed, which released it, with lawsuits, saying its allegations about him are wrong. Cohen, who is named in the dossier, said BuzzFeed defamed him when it published the 35-page document and an article. He says Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson, its founder, defamed him after it hired an ex-British spy to compile the document as part of its opposition research against the Trump campaign.

Meanwhile, Simpson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the author of the dossier was acting on his own when he went to the FBI because he was concerned that a presidential candidate was being blackmailed, according to the 312-page transcript of his testimony.

4. California mudslides

At least 13 people are dead after rivers of mud and debris tore through parts of Southern California. Many of the places hit are still struggling to recover from recent wildfires. A lot of the deaths were in the coastal community of Montecito. Mudslides destroyed homes there and closed-a major freeway for hours. The area -- littered with mud, rocks, downed power lines, trees and wrecked cars -- "looked like a World War I battlefield," said-Santa Barbara County's sheriff. Authorities rescued at least 50 people in Montecito alone, and at least two dozen people are missing.

5. Caribbean-earthquake

A strong earthquake rocked the Caribbean Sea, and-now, the region is-bracing for tsunamis. The-magnitude-7.6 quake struck 27 miles off the coast of Honduras.-Tsunami waves are possible for the coasts of Belize, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.-"Check on your family members that live close to the sea," a man says in a social media video filmed near the shore in Belize City.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

"I finally had the courage to lock my door at night and sit by it. All damn night."

Actress Bella Thorne, revealing on Instagram she was a victim of sexual abuse as a child. Her post was met with an outpouring of love and support from her fans.

"Everyone seems stunned."

A Breitbart employee, talking about Steve Bannon stepping down from the far-right website.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.

That's a lot of deliveries

Talk about bragging rights. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $105.1 billion, is the richest person -- in history.

Numbers game

Hulu crowed about its growing-subscriber base, now up to 17 million. Netflix, with 85 million subscribers, smiled and said that's real cute.

Lost in space

Remember Zuma, the-supersecret spacecraft that SpaceX launched?-Well, it failed to reach a stable orbit and is feared lost.

Welcome to Westeros

Send a raven. A "Game of Thrones" ice hotel just opened up in Finland.

Saharan snow

It snowed in one of the hottest places on Earth -- the Sahara desert -- and it was straight-up awesome.

AND FINALLY ...

'Hey, let's scare the crap out of Dad'

Two mischevious boys leave a special surprise for dear old dad in the leaf pile. (Click to view.)
There are roughly 30 thousand pistol license holders in Oneida County, and only a small percentage of them have re-certified. According to Oneida County Pistol License Officer Dan Sullivan, under New Yorks Safe Act, if you dont re-certify your pistol license by the deadline put forth by the State, your pistol license is revoked. If your permit was issued before January 15, 2013, the deadline to submit your recertification is January 31, 2018. If your permit was issued on or after January 15, 2013, the deadline to recertify is five years after the date the permit was issued. As a permit holder, it is your responsibility to recertify your permit whether you receive a notification letter or not.

Daniel P. Sullivan, Oneida County Pistol License Officer says "Theoretically the way the law was written is that a failure to re-certify your license is a revocation order. Its a revocation of your license. If you dont do it youre revoked."

If you are revoked and havent turned in your firearms, you could be considered a felon.

"Youre now leaving them in possession of firearms, which according to the State in the re-certification process, they dont lawfully possess anymore. So basically youre making a felon out of a legal gun owner."

Under New York State Law anyone convicted of a felony is unable to legally possess a firearm. That would include long arms.

Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol tells us the law includes other firearms. "We do have some concerns because in the law it talks about failing to re-certify would call for revocation of your permit and seizure of all guns."

Yes you heard that right. All guns including long arms. Thats raised a lot of questions for gun owners and law enforcement. One of the big concerns for local law enforcement is how the Safe Act is going to be implemented and what their role in it will be.

"I want to make sure the information is out there. That folks have to re-certify by the set date, and if not theres consequences that come with that. How theyre going to be played out and how theyre going to be handed out I do not know the answers to that."

The County Clerks are looking for a meeting with the Governors staff regarding the re-certification process as well as the shortage of staff and lack of resources to complete the confiscation process. Technically a pistol license has to be revoked by a judge, and then theres the issue of due process. District Attorneys already have their hands full from criminal cases, and in order for a judge to sign thousands of revocations would take hours upon hours. The Sheriff says it takes about eight man hours to process one revocation, and the idea of going after thousands is beyond his resources.

"Were advising folks that this is the law and this is what the law says that you have to do. At the same time weve been fielding dozens and dozens of calls on this."

Dozens of calls and still a lot of questions. Many concerned about having their guns taken away, but Dan Sullivan doesnt think thats going to happen any time soon, as the resources to get that done just arent there.

"At some point the State is going to have to reach out to the County Licensing Officers, the Judge Dwyers of the State, and the Dan Sullivans who run the office of the State and say alright we want this to work, how can we make it work."

We will be talking with the New York State Police on how they plan on executing enforcement of the Safe Act, and what those who dont recertify can expect.
Martinsburg, N. Y. -- Two people were arrested Tuesday afternoon by Lewis County Sheriff's Deputies in the Town of Martinsburg.

Angela L. Brouty, 39, and Cody J. Fox, 27, were initially pulled over on State Route 12 around 1:18 p.m. for tinted windows and unauthorized stickers. Further investigation and a K9 search led to police finding Methamphetamine, Methamphetamine making materials, and a 9mm handgun.

Brouty was arrested for Unlawful Manufacturing of Methamphetamine in the 3rd degree and was remanded to Lewis County Jail on $1,000 cash bail. Fox was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 7th degree and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon in the 2nd degree. He was remanded to Lewis County Jail on no bail.

New York State Police and their Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team assisted Lewis County Deputies at the scene.
Explosives were found in Mumbai central area where excavation was underway for metro work.

Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad (BDDS) was summoned and the explosives were retrieved from the debris.

Local police said the explosives were crude bombs and they were diffused by BDDS and the area was secured. The diffused bombs will be sent to a forensic laboratory to check the chemicals used.

Earlier last month, a security staffer at Mumbai airport was arrested in connection with planting a fake bomb threat letter in the cargo complex.

Twenty four-year-old Akshay Gaikar told police he wanted to see the panic it would cause and how officials handled such situation.

He was produced in the Mumbai local court where he had been sent to judicial custody. A three-hour search operation was launched and flight operations were even suspended for a while.
LOWVILLE, N.Y. - A Lewis County man is facing crimal sex abuse charges. He is accused of having forcible, sexual contact with a 14-year old victim.

Wayne D. Mihalyi, 66 of Lowville is charged with criminal sex act and sexual abuse.

According to New York State Police the arrest is the result of an investigation into accusations that Mihalyi forced himself sexually on a 14-year-old child.

Mihalyi was arraigned in the Town of Greig Court and sent to the Lewis County Public Safety Building on $10,000 cash/$20,000 bond pending further grand jury action.
This morning in Herkimer, state Sen. James Seward unveiled his 2018 legislative agenda.

Sewards outline of issues he plans to tackle this year range from creating a task force on Lyme and tick-borne disease, to starting a heroin task force, to investing in jobs within his district.

Seward also stressed broad-based tax relief, the elimination of outdated mandates and regulations, and an extension to STAR tax relieve. He also talked about eliminating or freezing school taxes for seniors.

Broadband in rural areas is also an absolute necessity, he said.

Here is an outline of Sewards 2018 priorities provided by Sewards office:

Increasing Economic Opportunities

Recent initiatives to reduce energy taxes, invest in major economic development and transportation projects, and expand job-training programs are all having a positive effect on New York States economy. Last year the senate successfully led the fight for the most significant workers compensation reform in a decade and expanded ride-sharing throughout the state. Moving forward, additional broad-based tax relief programs and regulatory reforms are needed to ensure job growth.

Senator Sewards economic development priorities include:

 Broad-based tax relief programs to lower the cost of doing business;

 Elimination of outdated and unnecessary state regulations;

 Extension of the STAR property tax relief program to small business owners;

 Greater workforce training  connecting educators with employers;

 Broadband expansion to rural areas.

A More Affordable New York

A record middle class income tax cut took effect on January 1, 2018. The measure, authored by the state senate, reduces personal income tax rates for more than 4.4 million New Yorkers and tens of thousands of small businesses. For middle class taxpayers, savings will average approximately $250 in 2018 and grow to $700 annually. State government has also employed fiscally conservative principles to keep spending in check. Additional measures, and an end to unfunded state mandates, will also help stop the exodus from New York.

Senator Sewards affordability priorities include:

 A two-percent state spending cap;

 Permanent property tax levy cap;

 25 percent increase in property tax rebate checks;

 Eliminate the 2 percent gross receipts tax on energy;

 Freeze and eliminate school taxes for senior citizens;

 Double the exemption on retirement income.

Education - Supporting our Future

Education aid is consistently one of the largest portions of the state budget. The 2017-18 state budget included a record level of school aid funding of approximately $26 billion  a 4.4 percent increase from the previous year. Additional steps are needed to further help schools in low wealth areas of the state. Programs to ensure students are properly trained for tech jobs and assistance to help families and students afford a college education will also be a leading priority.

Lyme Task Force

Senator Seward was recently appointed to the Senate Task Force on Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases (TBDs). The Task Force is charged with improving prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of these diseases to better protect the health of New Yorkers and their families.

Senator Seward is co-sponsoring newly introduced legislation (S.6926) to create specific protocol to notify individuals of their diagnoses related to Lyme and other TBDs. The senate bill would require the Commissioner of Health to work with health care providers to develop a standard protocol and patient notification for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and TBDs.

Heroin Task Force

As a member of the Senates Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction since its inception in 2014, Senator Seward has been a leader in enacting new laws focused on addressing the heroin crisis.
(Eds: Recasting intro)

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) In big bang reforms ahead of BJP governments last full Budget, the Centre today allowed foreign airlines to buy up to 49 per cent stake in Air India and eased FDI rules for several sectors including single brand retail and construction.

In a bid to boost growth and improve ease of doing business, the Union Cabinet allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail and construction development under the automatic route.

It permitted foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under the approval route in the debt-ridden, loss making national carrier, said an official statement issued after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Cabinet also allowed foreign institutional and portfolio investors to invest in power exchanges and relaxed FDI policy for medical devices and audit firms associated with companies receiving overseas funds.

Besides, the clarification that real estate broking service will not amount to real estate business has addressed the issue being faced by such firms. It is therefore, eligible for 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route.

The decisions came ahead of Modis participation in World Economic Forum at Davos this month where he is likely to hard sell India as an attractive investment destination.

They also came weeks before the BJP government presents its fifth and final full year budget on February 1 before general elections next year.

"By permitting FDI up to 100 per cent under automatic route in single brand retail trading, the government has eliminated the time lag for foreign investor to set up a single brand retail operations in India," said Dev Raj Singh, Executive Director, Tax & Economic Policy Group, EY India.

The changes will give a boost to FDI inflows, he said.

In a move that will give a boost to foreign retailers like Ikea, the government approved 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route for single brand retail trading. Earlier also 100 per cent FDI was allowed in the segment, but it required government approval.

The amendments are intended to liberalise and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business. "In turn, it will lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment," the government said in a statement.

The decision to allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent would pave away for global airlines to bid for government stake when it is put for sale.

"Foreign investment(s) in Air India including that of foreign airline(s) shall not exceed 49 per cent either directly or indirectly substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in Indian National," the statement said.

Air India had a total debt of about Rs 48,877 crore at the end of March 2017, of which about Rs 17,360 crore was aircraft loan, and Rs 31,517 crore for working capital. It is expected to report a net loss of Rs 3,579 crore for 2017-18.

Overseas investment policy has also been liberalised in case of power exchanges, an online platform where electricity is traded. Currently, the policy provides for 49 per cent FDI under automatic route in power exchanges.

However, FII/FPI (foreign portfolio investors) purchases were restricted to secondary market only.

"It has now been decided to do away with this provision, thereby allowing FIIs (foreign institutional investors/FPIs to invest in power exchanges through primary market as well," the statement said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said the decisions would help "remove roadblocks" for receiving foreign investments and expressed the hope that relaxation of norms would facilitate faster development of the economy.

"The move will not only attract additional foreign capital into the country, but will also provide an impetus to the retail industry growth, at a time when organised and retail is already seeing strong growth over the last 12 months," said Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte India.

"Global brands across different categories, from apparel to electronics to accessories will be aided through this, providing further options to Indian consumers and improving India?s ranking in ease of doing business," he added.

This is the second major liberalisation in FDI policy by the NDA government in one go after major changes effected in June 2016.

Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek said the move would help further improve investment climate in India.

The government also said that issue of shares against non-cash considerations like pre-incorporation expenses and import of machinery will now be permitted under the automatic route in case sectors do not require government nod.

Relaxing a procedural requirement, the government said it has now been decided that for investments in automatic route sectors, requiring approval only on the matter of investment being from country of concern (that is Pakistan and Bangladesh), FDI applications would be processed by the DIPP for government nod.

Cases under the government approval route, also requiring security clearance with respect to countries of concern, will continue to be processed by concerned administrative department or ministry.

Earlier the applications were processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. PTI RR CS ANZ SA MKJ
ANDERSON, Ind. (AP)  Federal officials are considering adding a well field in central Indiana to the national Superfund list for cleanup.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management referred the Wheeler well field in Anderson to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for long-term cleanup funding.

There is a 60-day public comment period before sites can be added to the EPAs national priorities list.

The state environmental agency reported finding volatile organic compounds, including trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene and dichloroethene, in the finished water at the areas treatment plant in 2011. Vinyl chloride was also found in raw water in 2013.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Former first lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to visit Indianapolis for an event hosted by the Womens Fund of Central Indiana.

A Moderated Conversation with Former First Lady Michelle Obama is planned for Feb. 13 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Womens Fund hopes to distribute 500 free tickets to women and girls who may not otherwise be able to attend. The event is to be moderated by Alecia DeCoudreaux, a founding board member of Womens Fund and a former president of Mills College.

The Womens Fund is a special interest fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation. The fund seeks to create options and opportunities for women and girls in central Indiana.
Center for Conservation Biology expresses concern over new interpretation of Migratory Bird Treaty Act

Incidental take: Two northern gannets tangled in a long-line fishing rig. Fishing bycatch is a major cause of seabird mortality. Bryan Watts says the new MBTA interpretation affords no protection for such accidental bird deaths. Photo by Bryan Watts Photo - of - Hide Caption

Bryan Watts, the director of the Center for Conservation Biology, has dedicated much of his professional life to keeping birds safe. Now, hes worried that a new federal interpretation of a century-old law will result in the deaths of millions of birds.

A 41-page memo issued just before Christmas by Daniel Jorjani, a deputy solicitor in the U.S. Department of the Interior, essentially changes the focus of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) by stating the DOI will only prosecute in the event of birds killed purposefully.

Watts explained that the memorandum reverses a long-standing policy that allows the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (a unit of the Interior Department) to take action in the event of accidental bird deaths  known as incidental take.

He explained that the MBTA was enacted in 1918 at a time of rampant bird killing  widespread market gunning and the hunting of terns and egrets for the millinery trade. It also was a period in which many bird species were hunted to extinction  Watts mentioned the extirpation of the passenger pigeon, heath hen and Labrador duck.

So the original intent of the act was to stop the widespread decline of all these species. It happened that the main agent of the decline at the time was hunting and most people associate the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with hunting, Watts said. But the intent of the act was not about limiting hunting  it was to protect bird populations.

Watts said the laws focus on protecting bird populations endowed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with a versatile quality that kept it relevant through the decades, long after shooting birds was the main cause of bird loss.

Today, the act is rarely used today to prosecute someone for shooting a bird. Thats just not part of our culture today, he said. Weve had generations of education of the population. It happens  people do shoot protected birds  but its not the main driver of decline any more.

In recent years, the big bird kills have been accidental events related to contaminant spills or from large-scale strikes at wind farms or other structures. All of these bird deaths are classified as incidental take, and under the Jorjani interpretation, no longer within the MBTAs purview, Watts said.

Jorjanis memorandum said the MBTA was stifling economic development, a hanging sword of Damocles over hosts of otherwise lawful and productive actions, threatening up to six months in jail and a $15,000 penalty for each and every bird injured or killed.

Watts counters that prosecutions under the MBTA were quite rare and the value of the laws inclusion of incidental-take came in a couple of ways. He said that one way was that the MBTA encouraged industry to seek the advice of the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service when planning installations.

If a company is planning on, say, installing a wind turbine, Fish & Wildlife could tell them that if they moved the turbine to a different site, it would be much better for the birds, Watts explained. The second way the pre-Jorjani MBTA worked was in fixing fines and negotiating settlements following environmental disasters.

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill killed a bunch of birds and BP was fined heavily for that. They wouldnt be now, right? Because they werent intentionally killing birds, Watts said.

There are still some legal safeguards for bird populations, Watts mentioned the usual patchwork of state laws and regulation. Bald and golden eagles have their own protections, but he points out that the federal Endangered Species Act is itself endangered. He said the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has saved millions, probably billions of individual birds and has been responsible for the viability of a large number of bird species.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is how most birds in North America are protected. Its the first line of defense to protect populations, and this pretty much pulls the rug out from under it, Watts said. This is a serious blow.

The Center for Conservation Biology is a joint program of William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University. Bryan Watts has written an opinion piece on the new interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.




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After carrying out successful counter-terror operations in Kashmir's Hajin, the Garud Special Forces of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are now likely to be deployed in Lolab area of the state under the Kilo Force of the Army's Rashtriya Rifles.

Garud teams would be deployed with the Rashtriya Rifles unit there and assigned to carry out conventional special forces' roles of searching and destroying terrorists trying to infiltrate into Indian territory across the the Line of Control (LoC), sources told Mail Today.

In the aftermath of the Pathankot operations, the IAF's special forces are being given exposure to counter-terror operations in J&K and are being deployed for short stints in the Valley for this purpose.

"The new teams would be getting inducted into counter-terror operations in the next four to six weeks where they would be given operational tasks by commanding officers of the unit under which they would be deployed," a source said.

Lolab is part of North Kashmir and considered to be close to the infiltration routes followed by terrorists and can be a challenging deployment for the youngest special force of the country.

Sources said Garuds have performed very well but they cannot be given independent deployments at the moment as they have to depend on the Army for logistical as well as operational support for carrying out actions in the Valley.

The first team of Garuds was deployed in Hajin from September-October last year with the 13 Rashtriya Rifles unit posted there, and was involved in three major operations where they killed eight dreaded terrorists and successfully managed to unearth a big cache of arms.

Sources said the size of the special force is being expanded for conventional wartime roles and securing air bases too during any attack such as the Pathankot one.

Garuds will be one of the first responders in such a scenario. During wartime, they are supposed to carry out actions to disable enemy airfields, while designating enemy radar stations and other air defence sites with lasers to be targeted and destroyed by IAF fighter planes.

"During exercises, the Garuds also carry out drills where they practice taking over enemy landing grounds following which our transport aircraft can deploy soldiers there," the source said.

Garuds were first raised in 2004 after their requirement was felt by then IAF chief S Krishnaswamy who sent a handwritten note to the defence ministry to express the seriousness of the requirement as the file was not moving fast in the ministry.

The first major operation faced by them was when Corporal Gursevak managed to engage terrorists in Pathankot where they had managed to enter the base by jumping from the perimeter wall. Gursevak was martyred in the operation.
Police were called after a man was stabbed to death on his way home from a party, according to authorities in Australia.

Paramedics arrived to the scene in Strathmerton, Victoria, to find a man suffering from stab wounds to the upper body and neck.

They tried to revive the 32-year-old victim but he soon succumbed to his injuries.

Police arrested the victims neighbor, 46-year-old Robert Strucelj, on charges of murder.

According to police, Strucelj was awoken from his sleep at 1:30 a.m. by noise from the victim and his friends. Strucelj armed himself with a knife and went outside to confront the loud group.

A fight broke out and Strucelj slashed the victim.

Struceljs immigrant father Mirko was heartbroken and cried as he spoke about his sons arrest.

Mirko said that police came to his home and arrested his son. He was shocked when police told him his son was accused of murder.
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP)  An Alaska lawmaker is seeking to change the state law that allows a person as young as 14 to marry.

State Sen. Berta Gardner is planning to introduce legislation to increase the legal age of marriage to 18 in Alaska, the Ketchikan Daily News reported.

The Democratic senators legislation would also allow emancipated minors above the age of 16 to marry.

Under current state law, a person between the age of 14 and 18 can marry with permission from a superior court judge. After a hearing with the parents and the minor, the judge may grant permission if the marria...
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism squad has arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Bilal Ahmad Kawa, who was involved in an attack on the Red Fort in 2000.

Bilal, who had been on the run for a long time, was arrested at Delhi airport.

The LeT terrorist is thought to be responsible for funding the terror attack.
Nearly 200 firearms and ammunition handed into North Wales Police during gun amnesty

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Jan 10th, 2018

Nearly 200 firearms and ammunition were handed in to North Wales Police during a recent national Firearms Surrender.

Co-ordinated by National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS), North Wales Police say a total of 194 individual items including pistols, revolvers, a replica AK47 and air rifles were surrendered across the region during the two-week campaign.

Starting on Monday 13th November, police forces across the UK appealed for people to hand over any unlawfully held or unwanted guns and ammunition to prevent them from getting into criminal hands.

Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Williams of North Wales Police said: We are really pleased with the results of the surrender and it is only right that we thank the public for their support. Every gun handed in is potentially a life saved and avoids the risk of them becoming involved in crime.

Many firearms are held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality or are overlooked and forgotten in peoples homes. One particular weapon was handed in after it was discovered in the home of a relative who had sadly passed away. The person who found it did exactly the right thing by surrendering it to us safely and responsibly.

We continue to urge people to contact us should they know of anybody involved with illegal firearms and we would also ask that anybody who may still have a firearm or ammunition that is yet to be surrendered to contact us and we can arrange for its safe and timely disposal.

If you know of anyone involved with illegal firearms, call police on 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers (anonymously) on 0800 555 111.

If you are a licensed firearm holder who wants advice please contact the North Wales Police Firearms Licensing Team via the North Wales Police website or follow them on Twitter @NWPFALicensing or Facebook.

For more information about NABIS visit www.nabis.police.uk or follow them on Twitter @NABIS_UK
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty ImagesChad Smith has shared his reaction to the death of Mikio Fujioka, guitarist for the Japanese band Babymetal, who opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers last year.

"Mikio...R.i.P. little man," Smith tweeted, referencing the guitarist's nickname. The drummer also posted a photo of himself alongside Fujioka and Babymetal while decked out in the band's signature makeup. During the last night of Babymetal opening for the Peppers on their U.K. tour, Smith joined them on stage to cover Judas Priest.

Babymetal, who combine elements of heavy metal and Japanese pop, confirmed the news of Fujioka's death Tuesday. According to his Twitter account, he died January 5 after falling from an observation deck shortly before the new year. He was 36.

In addition to opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers, the band also toured with Guns N' Roses.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) An alleged gun runner was arrested near Sangam Vihar area in south Delhi and 14 "sophisticated" pistols were seized from him, police said today.

Iqbal was arrested from M B Road on Monday evening after the police was tipped-off about his presence, Romil Baaniya, DCP (South) said.

"Iqbals search led to recovery of 14 sophisticated, .32 bore pistols, carried by him in a bag. A case was registered at the Sangam Vihar police station and investigation has been taken up," Baaniya said.

The arrest came as part of a Delhi Police investigation to bust illegal arms ring in Delhi-NCR.

During interrogation, Iqbal told the police that he was introduced to the illegal arms ring by Mufeed, a resident of his native village in Mathura district.

Iqbal admitted that he was sent by Mufeed to deliver the pistols to a contact in Delhi, the senior officer said.

The accused was paid Rs 1,000 for each illegally smuggled firearm, Baaniya said.

He visited Sendhwa city in Madhya Pradesh on Mufeeds orders, and there he bought guns from local contacts to supply them to criminals operating in Delhi-NCR, he added. PTI VIT ABH
Last week, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer made clear in advance of talks with Trump on extending protections for 800,000 recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that he supported further measures to militarize the US-Mexican border. Senator Bernie Sanders reiterated his support for stepped-up attacks on undocumented workers in an appearance Sunday on the ABC program This Week. Sanders declared he supported more security, but not a wall.

The WSWS spoke with Javier Luengo-Garrido, a coordinator at the ACLUs Immigrant Protection Project in Northampton, Massachusetts, about the recent announcement by the Trump Administration to deport over 200,00 Salvadorans over the next 18 months.

* * *

WSWS: What do you make of Sanders statement: I dont think theres anybody who disagrees that we need strong border security. If the president wants to work with us to make sure we have strong border security, lets do that.

Javier Luengo-Garrido: I think hes talking about defining how much money is allocated for border security. He is not saying lets build a wall. I do not personally agree with that. It means sending more ICE officers to the border to do more enforcement.

WSWS: How do you perceive the role of the Democratic Party in setting immigration policy?

JLG: The problem is that being the minority party, they havent been able to get anything done. They were not willing to do anything about DACA or TPS. Neither party got anything positive done when they could have.

WSWS: What about the role of the Democrats under Obama? For example, thousands of children and mothers were imprisoned in 2014 in warehouses, in order to send a message, as Obama said at the time.

JLG: I see an inability of turning the conversation into what it should be. Americans want education, health and security. Immigration is not their priority. But the Democrats should have been able to put it on the top of the list.

WSWS: But Obama did address the issue by escalating deportations, detentions, beefing up security forces at the border.

JLG: Yes, the increase in deportations under Obama and detentions did not help. Many times you have families trying to cross the border, handing themselves over to border agents. I know that he started asking ICE to go after people with a certain profile, and that did not help, because people became immediately deportable for small offenses like DUIs, which would place someone in what they call category 2 for things like domestic violence, alcohol abuse, etc. Category 1 includes people convicted of dealing drugs, murder, etc. Now a lot of people are being detained and sent back because of that.

WSWS: Can you describe conditions in El Salvador?

JLG: TPS was valid for anyone in the US before February 2001. Now you have adults with families in which most of their kids are US citizens, still under 18, so if the parent gets deported, you are leaving family members alone and sending someone back to a country where they have not lived in a decade and a half or two decades. Gangs like MS13 and Calle 18 still run those countries, so there is no reason to think that someone we send back will not be assaulted or even killed. One of the fears people have of being returned to El Salvador is that if a gang knows your family is here, they will try to kidnap you for ransom, because they know there is money here.

WSWS: What do you think of the Socialist Equality Partys position that the fight for immigrant rights is bound up with class struggle, that workers should have the right to travel and work anywhere on the globe?

JLG: I agree with that position. The way they talk about immigrants is terrible. The fact is these people, in different percentages, they work in service, construction and restaurants. The White House says that immigrants are criminals, or bad people, that they are stealing jobs, or dont have American Values. But I see people who are highly religious, work 2-3 jobs because they love their family, who help each other in the community. They want to leave thousands of children without parents, and thats not how majority people in this country think.

As far as the border issue is concerned, borders are dictated by economic powers, the result of war and economic interests. There is a lack of historical memory, for example why has the US ended up with such a high number of immigrants fleeing their own countries to get here, risking their lives, trying not to get killed? Its because the extent of American power does not end at Mexico, Canadathe reach of American power is actually fueling immigration, with American money drugs and weapons fueling violence that makes people leave. All the violence in Guatemala and El Salvador for example, its because the US interest was in keeping those countries poor and subordinated to their interests, with coups and interventions.
SNYDERWestern Texas College students will observe Martin Luther King Week with events scheduled each day to honor and evoke his message. Students, faculty, staff and the community are welcome at all events.

We have a very proactive and passionate group of students this year, noted LaVeeda Newsome, WTC MLK Week events coordinator and English Instructor.

The students strived to create events that would be meaningful and honor Dr. Kings legacy.

Starting at 11:35 a.m. on Monday, January 15, students, staff, faculty and the community can express their dreams on the Dream Board in the Student Center. Everyone is welcome to add to the Dream Board with written notes, images, or clippings. The Dream Board will be included in a time capsule called The Mountaintop with an event at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The Dream Board will remain in the Student Center until Thursday at 1:50 p.m. when students will place it in the time capsule.

On Tuesday, January 16, WTC will host the panel discussion Distinguishing Gentlemen: Looking Forward, Looking Back, in the Fine Arts Theater at 6:45 p.m. The panel includes Snyder mayor Tony Wofford and City Councilman Vernon Clay who will offer their perspectives on community, culture, and Dr. Kings legacy. WTC student Cruz DeLuna will moderate.

Students will offer their own perspectives on Dr. Kings legacy in 2018 with their own forum, Dreams Deferred, Dreams Fulfilled, on the evening of Wednesday, January 17. Beginning at 6:45 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre, student panelists will contemplate Dr. Kings vision for America in 2018 fifty years after his assassination. Assistant Professor Geron Scates will moderate.

Sophomore Kyra Lewis is scheduled to be on Wednesdays panel. I think part of Dr. Kings legacy is that we have to provoke the conversationwe have to converse, not argue, noted Lewis.

If one person is suffering an injustice, then everyone is.

The Mountaintop time capsule will be the focus on Thursday, January 18. At 2 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theater lobby, the Dream Board will be placed into the time capsule. Students may add items that future students can use for reflection.

The weeks events will wrap up on Friday, January 19, at 6:45 p.m. with the Stride for Solidarity March and Candlelight Vigil. The march will begin at the WTC flagpoles and end at the Student Commons with the candlelight vigil.

I think it is important what we are doing here, said DeLuna.

It can only get better.

For more information, contact LaVeeda Newsome at 325-574-7921. Western Texas College is located at 6200 College Avenue in Snyder.
without passport

(Eds: Edits throughout)

Mumbai, Jan 10 (PTI) Pakistan national Asif Karadia is all of 52 years of which he has spent over 50 in India on a long-term visa but without a passport.

His wife and three children are Indian citizens, he pays taxes, has documents like Aadhaar card, ration card, PAN card and even voter ID card, and wants his application for Indian citizenship, pending for the last seven years, accepted.

Coming to the aid of Karadia, the Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra government to help him with his pending application for Indian citizenship.

A bench of justices R M Borde and Rajesh Ketkar asked the state government to file an affidavit in two weeks giving details of the procedure that Karadia has to follow to get his application processed.

Karadia told the court he was born in Karachi and brought to India by his mother when he was only a few days old and has lived here ever since, without a Pakistani passport. His parents, he said, were born in Gujarat before partition.

Karadia, who works at a restaurant, said his citizenship application was pending with the Union government for over seven years now.

He approached the high court through his lawyers Ashish Mehta and Sujay Kantawala to seek a stay on the deportation notice against him. He also prayed for his long-term visa to be extended till the government decided on his application for Indian citizenship.

In 2016, another bench of the court had denied him any interim relief, observing that even if a person is entitled to Indian citizenship, he or she cannot "at any given time, be authorised to reside in the country without valid papers".

The bench had also ordered an inquiry into how the central government has been issuing him long term visa for so many years when Karadia does not have a passport.

In January 2017, a division bench led by Justice S C Dharmadhikari observed that Karadias case was "unique", and in an interim order, directed the state and the Centre not to take any coercive action against him.

Yesterday, the bench led by Justice Borde took note of the submission by Karadias lawyers that the authorities were making him run from pillar to post for the last several years and not deciding on his citizenship application.

Justice Borde directed the state to submit a timeline of the documents it had forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs to help process Karadias application. PTI AYA KRK RT SK SK
Russia has just scored a victory in its 15-year legal battle to reclaim the Stoli and Stolichnaya vodka brands.

A court in The Netherlands said Tuesday that FKP Sojuzplodoimport, a Russian state-owned company, is the rightful owner of the trademarks in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The Dutch court has jurisdiction over the vodka brand in the region -- known as the Benelux -- due to unified trademark rules.

SPI Group -- which sells Stoli and Stolichnaya vodka around the world -- has been ordered to stop selling the vodka in the three countries, and pay Russia a heap of money, court documents show.

It must pay Russia all the profits it made since 1999 from selling Stoli, Stolichnaya and a third vodka brand, Moskovskaya, in the Benelux, according to the ruling.

SPI had halted sales of these products in the region in 2015 in response to an order from a lower court.

Related: The tequila that costs $30,000 a bottle

"SPI will continue to pursue all available legal remedies in the Netherlands, including the appeal of this decision to the Dutch Supreme Court," the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Founded by Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 1997, SPI is facing similar legal challenges from Russia over the trademarks in several other European countries, the United States and Australia. SPI asserts that it owns the Stoli, Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya trademarks in more than 180 nations.

Russia disputes this claim.

"Yuri Shefler took possession of the vodka trademarks after the collapse of the Soviet Union and has exploited them since," said Hoyng Rokh Monegier, the intellectual property law firm that represented Sojuzplodoimport, in a statement.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many businessmen took advantage of a chaotic privatization process to amass assets in industries such as energy, construction and banking.

"There's lots of opportunities for the state to go back into history and question the ... asset accumulation during that period," said Timothy Ash, a Russian specialist and senior strategist at BlueBay Asset Management.

SPI said Shefler bought the company that owned the vodka trademarks in 1997, more than five years after it was privatized, paying $15 million for a controlling stake.

Joris van Manen, a senior lawyer at Hoyng Rokh Monegier, said he expected the latest ruling would force SPI to hand over "many millions" in profits to his client.

Related: How bartenders fight workplace harassment

SPI has had more success defending its rights to the vodka brands outside Europe. The Federal Court of Appeal in Brazil ruled at the end of 2017 that the drinks group owned the trademark rights in the country.

SPI said a similar case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has been stalled since late 2017. Sojuzplodoimport has been told it must provide additional documents from the Russian government for the case to move forward.

This follows a separate U.S. Court of Appeals ruling that rejected the Russian company's legal challenge in 2013.

SPI -- also called Spirits International -- said in November that it "continues to expect positive results because the plaintiffs' claims in the long-standing dispute have no merit."

SPI Group is headquartered in Luxembourg. In addition to Stoli, it produces, sells and distributes more than 380 wine and spirit brands.

-- Rachelle Peterson contributed to this report.
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Changes are on the way for the Vigo County Redevelopment Commission.

Members held a meeting on Tuesday at the Vigo County Courthouse Annex.

That's where they elected new officers.

During the meeting, Rick Burger was named as the new president.

He says he is excited to begin in his new role.

"Economic development does not happen overnight. It's a process. It's a process to get there and make things happen," Burger said.

The Development Commission also touched on the Pfizer Property at the meeting.

The group reacquired the property on November 29th.

Leaders say that through back taxes, fees, and selling of unnecessary equipment, Vigo County has recovered most of the $1 million investment in the property.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Hoosier Republican Governor Eric Holcomb addressed the state Tuesday night. In his second State of the State Address, the governor touched on issues including the economy and workforce development, the opioid epidemic and civility.



WTHI invited a small focus group to watch the speech and then offer their thoughts on Governor Holcomb's address. You will hear more from them on specific issues in the coming days.

It was no surprise to the focus group, and many others, Holcomb focused heavily on economic issues. Nearly half the address focused in some way on the state economy or workforce development.

He touted Indiana's AAA rating and the two billion dollars in the state's savings account. He went on to say the greatest challenge facing Hoosiers is a lack of education preparing them for future jobs.

Governor Holcomb outlined a list of goals to get people to work:

"More than 700,000 Hoosiers started college but didnt finish, and many of them would like to go back and get a degree. Our goal this year is to enroll 25,000 more of them in programs that help them do just that."

"Another 475,000 Hoosier adults dont have a high school diploma. Our goal this year is to help 30,000 of them obtain the education and skills they need to get a better job."

"Well also establish a state work-based learning and apprenticeship office that will increase the number of these opportunities from 12,500 to 25,000 by the end of 2019, moving Indiana into the top five in the country."

"On the employer side, by the end of this year, well engage 250 companies to train and hire employees through our Employer Training Grant Program."

"And, we wont forget the 27,000 Hoosiers in our prison system. By 2020, well graduate at least 1,000 inmates annually in certificate programs that will lead to good jobs when they get out."

The governor transitioned from the health of the economy to the health of the people and the growing opioid epidemic. Holcomb says he has a "balanced approach" highlighting steps to improve treatment, prevention and enforcement.

He presented four points. The first is requiring doctors use a statewide drug monitoring system. Second, he wants to increase the number of opioid treatment locations from 18 to 27 statewide. He says the state must improve it's recording of overdose deaths and strengthen enforcement efforts.

"If you deal or manufacture illegal drugs that result in someone's death, you will be charged with our highest-level felony and you will go to prison for a long, long time."

Holcomb touched on issues dealing with infant mortality rates, the Indiana Department of Child Services and civility. Missing from the address was any talk of cbd oil, Sunday alcohol sales or issues involving mental illness.



To read Governor Eric Holcomb's speech, click here.

To read responses to the speech, click here.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - On Tuesday, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb delivered his second State of the State address.

Read the full text here.

Here are responses from organizations around the state:

Indiana Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer

"Governor Eric Holcomb articulated a bold vision for Indiana in his second State of the State, a vision that focuses first, second and third on people.

"His first year in office was marked by incredible and transformational successes that will benefit our state for a generation to come. And now, he aims to build upon that momentum by focusing his efforts squarely on Indianas workforce, tackling the opioid epidemic and continued economic growth and infrastructure development.

"The state of our state is strong because of the proven leadership and positive results-oriented, purpose-driven agenda Republican governors and legislators have offered us over the past decade."

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody

After tonight, I cant blame Hoosiers for feeling left behind. Leaders rise to meet challenges. Governor Holcomb stepped back. He offered few details and a vision that borrows all the wrong ideas that left Hoosier families behind in the first place. Vulnerable children at DCS will have to wait. Working families swamped by the rising cost of living and stagnant wages will have to wait. Hoosiers crushed by the wave of opioid addiction will have to wait. Hoosiers need more than a caretaker, they need a governor with bold ideas who acts with urgency. On the biggest stage, Holcomb failed to share a clear vision for where he wants to take Indiana.

Indiana Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer

"Governor Eric Holcomb articulated a bold vision for Indiana in his second State of the State, a vision that focuses first, second and third on people.

"His first year in office was marked by incredible and transformational successes that will benefit our state for a generation to come. And now, he aims to build upon that momentum by focusing his efforts squarely on Indianas workforce, tackling the opioid epidemic and continued economic growth and infrastructure development.

"The state of our state is strong because of the proven leadership and positive results-oriented, purpose-driven agenda Republican governors and legislators have offered us over the past decade."

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Indiana State Director, Barbara Quandt Underwood:



"We applaud Governor Holcomb for this evenings remarks. Not only is he committed to empowering the small business community by ensuring that the economy is sound and prosperous, but he is clearly determined to develop the Hoosier workforce.

Too many employers are struggling to fill the jobs that they have created in their small businesses. They long to improve their productivity and hire additional people and the Governors commitment to further educate those seeking employment gives small business owners the peace of mind that help is on the way.

Small business owners are the driving force behind our economy, and when they have confidence in their state government, they expand their existing businesses and give back to their communities. Tonight, the Governor demonstrated his long-term commitment to ensuring that our job creators will have a cultivated and dedicated workforce. We look forward to working side by side with Governor Holcomb to do everything we can to help the vision he laid out this evening become a reality."



Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch

"Tonight, Governor Holcomb delivered a bold, people-focused message to Hoosiers as he laid out a blueprint to build on the significant progress we have made over the past year. As we look toward the future, we will provide quality training to ensure our workforce matches Indianas ever-growing and evolving economy, attack the drug epidemic and provide help to those suffering from addiction. I look forward to working with our governor and our partners in the General Assembly to ensure Indiana continues to thrive so all Hoosiers can enjoy the best life possible in our great state.
VERMILLION COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) -- Talk about "hands-on learning". That was the case for two Vermillion County Seniors on Tuesday. It was the first Commissioner's Mentoring Program Session of 2018.

It's a program that was started in Vermillion County 3 years ago by Commissioner Tim Yocum. Last year, the program won the award for Most Outstanding Board of Commissioners Award for the State of Indiana.

Adam Waldrop from South Vermillion, Judge Bruce Stengel, and Nathan Roderick from North Vermillion during the Commissioner's Mentoring Program. (WTHI Photo, Lacey Clifton) Adam Waldrop from South Vermillion, Judge Bruce Stengel, and Nathan Roderick from North Vermillion during the Commissioner's Mentoring Program. (WTHI Photo, Lacey Clifton)

Yocum says the goal of the program is to get schools involved in local government. He says several years ago that information was removed from the curriculum, so this is a way to bring it back and make it more realistic for students.

Two students, Nathan Roderick from North Vermillion, and Adam Waldrop from South Vermillion, took part in the mentoring on Tuesday.

The high school seniors were brought to the court house by the Sheriff's Department. They set in as Commissioners, and met all the important employees in the courthouse from the County Judge, on down. The students even decided to get registered to vote.

The program allows students to get acquainted with the various roles within county government.

Yocum says, "Weve got future leaders here that we really need to find, and we need to harness them, and try to direct them and encourage them to move this county, state, and country, on."

Yocum says he would like to see other counties adopt programs like this one. He adds that he would be glad to help other counties set things up!

If you would like to reach out to Tim Yocum, you can give him a call or text at 812-208-2922, or email him at duke1959@att.net.

Yocum would like to extend thanks to the many hands it takes to keep the program in motion. This includes Sheriff Mike Phelps and the Department, and each elected officer that takes the time to share their knowledge with incoming students.

Yocum says in the future, he may add an element where students get the chance to sit through court proceedings as well.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - All signs are pointing to a Vigo County man standing trial later this month on murder charges.

The judge presiding over the case of Buddy Ellinger Jr. has summoned 75 prospective jurors for the case.

The trial date of January 29th was confirmed by both sides.

The charges stem from the death of Thomas Fuller III.

He was murdered in June at the Greenwood Manor Apartments.

Police eventually tracked down Ellinger to a home on Barbour Avenue where Ellinger allegedly had a standoff with the officers.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Vigo County's Commissioners and the Citizens for Better Government in Vigo County may seem like they don't agree on much, but they do agree the county needs to pay for a special needs assessment of its criminal justice system.

Attorney Jerry McGlone says he's been advising the group for many weeks now. He came to Tuesday's meeting of the county commissioners and had a question-and-answer session with county attorney Michael Wright. McGlone said he wanted to get some answers as to where things stood with the assessment.

"Getting a firm to do a special needs assessment in order to decide what we need in the way of a new jail or whatever the conclusion may be," McGlone said.

Wright the commissioners and three county council members have interviewed a handful of firms, and two of those firms have submitted proposals to the county. And they were set to interview the third firm on Tuesday afternoon.

"They are the ones who were foremost in the Marion County reorganization of all of their systems," Commissioner Judy Anderson said. "I really feel like this is going to be a good interview."

Anderson gave no timeline on when a firm will be selected. She expects the decision to come quickly. In the meantime, McGlone is hopeful the commissioners will make the proposals public.

"I think that's essential that the public knows what the proposals are," McGlone said. "This ought not be done in secret."
chains

(Eds: With additional input)

New Delhi/Chennai, Jan 10 (PTI) The Income Tax Department today conducted country-wide searches at over 100 stores and other premises belonging to two major south-India based jewellery chains on charges of alleged tax evasion, official sources said.

The action is being carried out against Kerala-based jewellery group Joyalukkas and Manjali jewellers, I-T sources said.

"The searches are in progress," a senior official said tonight.

The raids began early morning atAAA130 premises of the two business houses in the cities of Chennai, Hyderabad, Thrissur and other locations in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal, the sources said.

The action, they said, is aimed at checking alleged tax evasion, following demonetisation, in the two firms.

Sources said the taxman was investigating the "business" links between the two groups also, as part of the action.

Tax sleuths had allegedly detected huge cash deposits and sale figures of gold, diamond and jewellery in their accounts.

The Chennai wing of the department is coordinating the nation-wide action, involving over 100 tax sleuths and a number of police teams, sources said. PTI NES VGN DIP
President Donald Trump's administration is significantly scaling back the number of immigrants granted what's known as Temporary Protected Status, which allows them to live and work legally in the US.

TPS protects these individuals from deportation, as a form of humanitarian relief for people who would face extreme hardship if they were forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict and natural disasters.

Under the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security has announced the end of TPS for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan and Nicaragua but extended it for immigrants from South Sudan. And this year, the agency will decide whether to extend TPS for five other nations: Syria, Nepal, Honduras, Yemen and Somalia.

About 435,000 people from 10 countries have TPS, according to the latest data provided to CNN by US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Some activists and experts use lower estimates, noting that official statistics likely include people who are no longer in the program because their immigration status has changed or they have left the United States.

No matter how you slice it, tens of thousands will lose TPS in the coming years, which means they could face deportation if they don't leave the United States.

Here's a closer look at the 10 countries:

TPS is ending for these countries

Sudan

Status: Ends November 2, 2018, DHS announced in September 2017. This means Sudanese under TPS will have to find a different way to stay in the US or prepare to leave.

When TPS was designated: November 1997

Number of people with TPS: About 1,000

Cause: Sudan was designated for TPS based on the "ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions." Sudan has been beset by conflicts, most notably the Darfur conflict, which began around 2003 when several rebel groups took up arms against the government in Khartoum. The situation in Sudan has improved in recent years, but concerns persist about its stability and human rights.

Why TPS was terminated: DHS' then-Acting Secretary Elaine Duke had "determined that conditions in Sudan no longer support its designation for Temporary Protected Status." The agency said nationals of Sudan could return "without posing a serious threat to their personal safety."

Nicaragua

Status: Ends January 5, 2019, DHS announced in November 2017.

When TPS was designated: January 1999

Number of people with TPS: About 5,300

Cause: Hurricane Mitch, a Category 5 storm, devastated the country in October 1998. Mitch was particularly destructive in Nicaragua and Honduras, killing about 11,000 people in Central America.

Why TPS was terminated: "It is no longer the case that Nicaragua is unable, temporarily, to handle adequately the return of nationals of Nicaragua," according to DHS. The agency stated that conditions affected by Hurricane Mitch have stabilized and that many of the homes destroyed by the storm have been rebuilt.

Haiti

Status: Ends July 22, 2019, DHS announced in November 2017.

When TPS was designated: January 2010

Number of people with TPS: About 58,700

Cause: A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck in January 2010, and an estimated 220,000 to 300,000 people died. That year, DHS announced temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who were already in the US and "whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti."

Why TPS was terminated: After seven years, the DHS stated that "extraordinary but temporary conditions caused by the 2010 earthquake no longer exist. Thus, under the applicable statute, the current TPS designation must be terminated."

Thousands of Haitians concerned about losing TPS have crossed into Canada, to seek asylum there.

El Salvador

Status: Ends September 9, 2019, DHS announced in January 2018.

When TPS was designated: March 2001

Number of people with TPS: About 263,000

Cause: A 7.7-magnitude quake struck El Salvador in January 2001 and was the worst to hit the country in a decade. The devastation, along with two more damaging quakes the following month, spurred a decision allowing immigrants from El Salvador who'd been in the United States since mid-February 2001 to apply for TPS.

Why TPS was terminated: After nearly 17 years, the "original conditions caused by the 2001 earthquakes no longer exist," DHS said. It added that the US government has repatriated more than 39,000 Salvadorans in the last two years, "demonstrating that the temporary inability of El Salvador to adequately return their nationals after the earthquake has been addressed."

Decisions pending in 2018

Syria

Status: Extended through March 31, 2018, DHS announced in August 2016.

When TPS was designated: March 2012

Number of people with TPS: About 6,200

Cause: Syria was designated for TPS because of the ongoing armed conflict. Since the civil war began in 2011, an estimated 400,000 Syrians have been killed, according to the United Nations. The Syrian conflict broke out in 2011 with the Arab Spring uprising and rebel groups' attempts to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Why it was extended: An 18-month extension was given by the DHS in 2016, because "violent conflict and the deteriorating humanitarian crisis continue to pose significant risk throughout Syria."

Nepal

Status: Extended through June 24, 2018, DHS announced in October 2016.

When TPS was designated: June 2015

Number of people with TPS: About 13,000

Cause: TPS has protected Nepalese living in the United States since a destructive, 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the country's capital, Kathmandu. The April 2015 earthquake killed more than 8,000 people, and millions of homes cracked or collapsed.

Why it was extended: Conditions in Nepal have improved following the earthquake, DHS said in its 2016 decision to extend TPS for 18 more months. But the disaster resulted "in a substantial, but temporary, disruption of living conditions," the agency stated.

Honduras

Status: Extended through July 5, 2018, DHS announced in November 2017.

When TPS was designated: January 1999

Number of people with TPS: About 86,200

Cause: Hurricane Mitch, a Category 5 storm, devastated the country in October 1998. Mitch was particularly destructive in Nicaragua and Honduras, killing about 11,000 people in Central America.

Why it was extended: DHS postponed its decision, triggering an automatic six-month extension. Its then-acting secretary Elaine Duke had announced there was not enough information to make a formal decision.

Yemen

Status: Extended through September 3, 2018, DHS announced in January 2017.

When TPS was designated: September 2015

Number of people with TPS: About 800

Cause: A civil war broke out when Houthi rebels drove out the US-backed government, led by President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, and took over the capital, Sanaa. The crisis quickly escalated into a multi-sided war leading to airstrikes in 2015. At least 10,000 people have been killed in the war, according to the United Nations, with millions more displaced.

Why it was extended: DHS granted an 18-month extension in 2017, because of the ongoing armed conflict in Yemen. It cited "continued deterioration of the conditions for civilians in Yemen" and said returning Yemeni nationals to the country would "pose a serious threat to their personal safety."

Somalia

Status: Extended through September 17, 2018, DHS announced in January 2017

When TPS was designated: September 1991

Number of people with TPS: About 500

Cause: Somalia was designated for TPS after the country descended into civil war after dictator Siad Barre's ouster in 1991. Nearing three decades of conflict, much of the country's governance structure, economic infrastructure, and institutions have been destroyed.

Why it was extended: "The security situation in Somalia remains fragile and volatile," according to DHS. The agency said Somalis couldn't safely return to the country. "Somalia continues to experience a complex protracted emergency that is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world," it stated in 2017.

Decision pending in 2019

South Sudan

Status: Extended through May 2, 2019, DHS announced in September 2017.

When TPS was designated: November 2011

Number of people with TPS: About 50

Cause: South Sudan had been designated for TPS based on "ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions." The country gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but remains torn by conflict.

Why it was extended: The ongoing armed conflict and the conditions have "persisted, and in some cases, deteriorated, and would pose a serious threat to the personal safety of South Sudanese nationals if they were required to return to their country," according to DHS.
TUPELO,Miss (WTVA)- A Golden Triangle state representative has proposed a bill to separate two holidays celebrated in Mississippi on January 15th.

Senate Representative, Kabir Karriem, proposed a bill that would move Robert E. Lees state holiday to his actual birthday on January 19th.

This would leave Martin Luther King Jr.s national holiday on his actual birthday, January 15th.

I dont think its proper for us to force folks to have to choose who they should honor that day, said Karriem.

Mississippi and Alabama are the only two states that honor the men on the same day.

Its really a slap in the face, not only to African Americans but, the progression of this state and country, said Karriem.

Its just one more way we are dividing our country. Its not about diversity but being Americans, Kelly Guthrie of Fulton said.

With the two celebrations on the same day, its easy for one to overshadow the other.

I didnt even know we celebrated Robert E. Lee day, said Guthrie.

Vincent Patrick of Tupelo was surprised as well.

The kids get out of school for Martin Luther King Day. I've never heard anything about Robert E. Lee day, Vincent Patrick said.

Karriem believes rather the two holidays being on the same day is a coincidence or not.

Its never too late to do the right thing, Karriem said.

As far as the bill passing, Karriem hopes legislation really takes it into consideration.
WEST POINT, Miss. (WTVA) - A man has been sentenced for setting a womans home on fire in West Point.

60-year-old Donald Carter pleaded guilty to arson in Clay County Circuit Court Monday. Carter set fire to a womans home on Higgins Alley in June 2015.

Carter was convicted of murder in Illinois in 1986, according to a report by our partner the Daily Times Leader. He was released in 2000 and came to West Point in 2003.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Its not every day that one gets a deeper look into a high speed police pursuit. Just a few days ago on Friday, a Tupelo man led authorities on such a chase, though much of the news that day came from Ecru where a raging fire at American Furniture demanded attention. Nevertheless, WTVAs Mike Russell spent much of Tuesday afternoon with Verona Police Chief J.B. Long, and filed this report.

TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - As is the case with most high-speed chases, this one did not last very long. The entire pursuit lasted less than 10 minutes. At one point, the man trying to evade police blasted through this intersection near Thomas Street Elementary at 97 miles an hour. But lets go back to the beginning.

It all started at a routine checkpoint in Verona on West Street just off Palmetto Rd. As 22 year old Jamiraquin Martin of Tupelo, approaches the checkpoint from the north, he ducks into a driveway and speeds off into the opposite direction. Verona Police Chief takes it from there.

"Apparently he was trying to get away from the police," said Long. "So I immediately jumped into my vehicle, went to pursue and see if I could get him stopped."

A few hundred yards down West Street, Martin loses control and does a couple of donuts in the yard of a home there. It appears he may try to ram Chief Long.

Mike Russell: "Chief, at this point you don't really know anything about the guy,right? You just know you've got somebody running away from you, right?

Verona Police Chief J. B. Long: "That's all I knew. I knew I had a guy in the car trying to get away from the police."

A little further down, West becomes Southern Heights Rd. Martin blows through a stop sign at Green Tee Road at 70 miles an hour. At each intersection, Chief Long is advising dispatch, worried about a possible collision.

"I would tell 911 he might crash because there are cars on both sides," says Long.

At Evelyn Street, Martin blows another stop sign -- and he's going so fast, he goes airborn over the hill. Then at Mitchell, he blows yet another one, then speeds west. At South Thomas Street, the traffic is picking up - and so is the risk of a crash. At Cliff Gookin, that risk becomes enormous.

Mike Russell: "So east and west traffic has the green....north and south is stopped, he goes in the wrong lane and blows this intersection without even touching his brakes, right?"

Verona Police Chief J. B. Long: "He never touched his brakes...."

Thomas Street is a long straight stretch of road -- and Martin is picking up speed. As he approaches the intersection of Bryan and Thomas close to Thomas Street Elementary, Tupelo Police officers are waiting. It's about 1:30 and some parents are early for the 3:05 school dismissal. Martin is traveling nearly a hundred miles an hour.

"I'm hoping nobody crosses this street," says Long. "No children or anything because the guy's not going to stop, so I'm just thinking disaster."

The end is near, though. Just down the road, Martin crashes into a curb, jumps out of his car and runs into the Spanish Village Court Complex. Tupelo Police approach on one side, and Chief Long from the other. Martin eventually runs out of the complex, right into the waiting handcuffs of police officers. They find out there's a warrant for his arrest in Missouri. In the meantime, Martin is booked into the Lee County Jail on Felony Fleeing and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

"Everything's about safety," says Long. "And that's why I kept letting 911 know where we were going, the direction we were going, and hoping that anybody would show up just to help get this guy stopped."

The good news? Police caught the bad guy and nobody was hurt. Chief Long says that was his biggest priority from start to finish.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - It's going to be a big year for business in Florida.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce is holding its annual Economic Outlook Summit in Tallahassee.

They announced Tuesday that Florida is on track to do more than $1 trillion in business this year which means more jobs and more money in your pocket.

According to the Office of Economic Vitality, Tallahassee has the fastest growing economy per capita in Florida.

Hundreds of business leaders from all across the Sunshine State are in town for the annual conference.
(Eds: Adds details from official release, political reax)

Dhula/Tezpur (Assam), Jan 10 (PTI) Indefinite curfew was clamped at Dhula in Assams Darrang district today after a man died as police opened fire to control a mob, which attacked a police station alleging death of a person due to torture in custody, senior government officials said.

The mob burnt tyres, blocked NH-15 and gheraoed the Dhula police station during the day claiming that one of their co- villagers had died due to torture in police custody after being picked up from his home, according to district deputy commissioner Ashok Kumar Barman.

The villagers alleged the 37-year-old man was picked up from his residence in remote Attakari village number 2 last night and demanded his body.

Officials said the man was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal arms.

The protests continued despite suspension of the police station in-charge and assurance of stern action against policemen found guilty.

District Superintendent of Police Sreejith T told PTI the mob brick-batted the police station, breaking windows and glass panes of doors. He said seven personnel were injured in the attack, prompting the police to open fire near Kharupetia to control the situation.

One person was killed in the police firing and two others, including a woman, injured, he said.

Following this, indefinite curfew was clamped in the area under the Dhula police station barring NH-15, Barman said.

Security measures in the area was also tightened to prevent any untoward incident, he said.

Those injured in the brick-batting were a deputy sub-inspector, headquarters, Kharupetia police station officer-in-charge and three security personnel of Darrang SPs office and two other constables, Sreejith said.

He said when the man, whom the police had picked up, was being taken to the police station, he complained that he was feeling unwell and was rushed to the hospital first, and then taken into the custody. He was later taken to Guwahati Medical College.

On being asked if the man died due to police torture as alleged by the villagers, the SP replied that anything can be said only after investigation.

He said that a physically challenged person who fell down and injured himself while passing through the area during the firing was admitted to Mangaldoi civil Hospital.

The district administration on instructions of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, has ordered a magisterial enquiry by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Law and Order, Naranarayan Nath. He would submit his report within 15 days, official sources said.

Meanwhile, an official release in Guwahati said Sonowal expressed concern over the incident and ordered another enquiry by Additional Chief Secretary MGVK Bhanu.

He directed that the report of the enquiry be submitted to the government at the earliest.

The opposition, however, said the enquiry ordered was "inadequate" and demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

Leader of Opposition in Assam Debabrata Saikia of the Congress alleged that incidents of firing, use of teargas shells and lathi charge by the police have become frequent in the past few months in the state.

The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti accused the BJP-led government in the state of running a "police raj" and misusing power over the common people.

"The Dhula incident is a clear case of violation of human rights. People came out on roads to peacefully protest the death of a person in police custody but they were received by bullets. Such incidents are not happening for the first time," the KMSS said in a statement. PTI COR ESB TR KK TIR
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida)- Governor Rick Scott helped launch the 2018 legislative session Tuesday with a State of the State address that focused on issues such as holding down taxes, supporting law enforcement and addressing sexual harassment.

The speech to a joint session of the Legislature was the term-limited Scotts final State of the State address.

He says state leaders need to invest in such things as the environment, education and transportation infrastructure. Scott is also pushing a proposal to require a vote by a two-thrids majority of the legislature in order to approve a tax increase.

I want 2018 to be the year that Florida voters pass a constitutional amendment that makes it harder for politicians to raise taxes," said Scott.

Many Democrats were skeptical of the governors speech. State Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando says Scotts vision for the state does not help all Florida residents.

Its very obvious that we are heading in a totally different direction as Democrats than the Republicans," said State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D- Orlando. "Not just on immigration policies, but also on how we fund our public schools.

Scott also addressed issues related to Hurricane Irma, saying he thinks Florida has come back even stronger after the storm. He also discussed the states efforts to help in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

The governor also encouraged lawmakers to pass sexual-harassment legislation, while saying he wants to spend $53 million to help fight the opioid epidemic in the state.

Unfortunately, we have seen this play out all over the country, including in Tallahassee," said Scott. "Things have to change. It has to start here. It has to start in this building. The people of Florida deserve much better than what they are reading about in the news.
MADISON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - Authorities in Madison County have arrested a man accused of shooting his step-father.

The Madison County Sheriff's Office says they were called to S&J Deli Tuesday afternoon about a man who had been shot.

When they arrived to the Greenville store, they found a male victim suffering from a single gunshot wound.

While the victim was being treated, deputies learned the shooting happened at a home on N. W. Haffye Drive in Greenville and that the victim drove himself to the S & J Deli to get help.

The victim told deputies that his step-son, Deshaun Mutch, had shot him and provided investigators with a description of the car Mutch left the scene in.

Later on, a vehicle matching the description was found in Madison and stopped by law enforcement. Mutch was identified as one of the passengers in the car and was arrested.

The case is still under investigation.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident they are asked to contact Lieutenant Investigator Doug Haskell with the Madison County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigations Division at 850-973-4152.

Mutch has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Hundreds of neighbors in Leon County met Tuesday and discussed key issues facing the community, including race and culture.

While the speeches on stage were moving to many in the crowd, organizers say it's the tableside conversations where the real learning begins.

They say the growing interest in these conversations are proof that the community is open to more chances to talk about tough issues.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida) - On the first day of the 2018 legislative session, Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran both addressed their chambers about legislative priorities for the next two months.

Negron reiterated the Senate will have zero tolerance for sexual harassment or misconduct against employees and visitors.

Other Senate priorities include addressing impacts from Hurricane Irma, making permanent an expansion in bright futures scholarships, and solving Floridas opioid crisis. Negron says those who sell the drugs should be prosecuted, but those who are addicted need support.

Men and women who come forward to seek help, we should have appropriate solutions for them, that we have appropriate treatment for them including medication-assisted treatment to give them every opportunity to overcome their addiction, said Negron.

In his chamber, Speaker Corcoran told members that the House will continue to fight to make sure that every child is afforded a world-class education. Corcoran also made clear the House will not go along with tax increases or using state reserves.

The Florida House will never support raising taxes on any individual, or any business, ever, said Corcoran.

Floridas 60 day legislative session runs through March 9, and the only bill lawmakers are required to pass is a balanced budget that would take effect on July 1.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee man was arrested after two men accused him of firing a handgun at them.

David L. Bennett, 34, faces two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. He bonded out of the Leon County Detention Center on $10,000 bond.

Two men said Bennett fired at them while they were in a pickup truck looking at house colors in Bennett's neighborhood, according to a court document. The men said they were about to get a job painting a house and were in the area of Longmeadow Lane to pick out a good color.

When fired upon Saturday, the men were about 35 yards from the front of the residence.

Bennett told a Tallahassee Police Department investigator he had been incarcerated recently and feared there was a gang hit on him.

He denied pointing a gun at the two men but said he observed two black males inside a white Ford Explorer, the victims' vehicle, that was traveling back and forth in the area as if they were "scoping his house out."

Bennett said he walked back into his home and stayed inside.

A TPD investigator detained Bennett in handcuffs while another officer brought the victims to the scene for a show-up. Both victims identified Bennett as the person who had shot the handgun.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXl) - A Tallahassee woman is accused of stealing four televisions from Walmart by taking them through an unsecured door in the automotive department.

Eva Mae Griggs, 53, remained in the Leon County Detention Center on Wednesday on $17,500 bond after her arrest Monday on two charges of grand theft. She also faces two previous grand theft charges and a charge for dealing in stolen property.

Griggs told a Tallahassee Police Department investigator she could not remember anything about stealing televisions.

On two occasions, Walmart captured Griggs on surveillance video showing her taking televisions from the store, according to a probable cause affidavit.

On Nov. 27, 2017, Griggs entered the Walmart at 4400 W. Tennessee St. after 8 p.m. and placed in a shopping cart an artificial Christmas tree and two flat-screen televisions, one 43" and the other 32."

When Griggs attempted to leave push the cart out a door, employees stopped her. She later returned to the store and pushed the shopping cart to the automotive department and through an unsecured door leading to the maintenance bay.

Outside the store, she hid the two televisions behind a storage trailer, the court document says. She got her Saturn SUV from the parking lot, loaded the televisions into the vehicle, and drove away.

On Nov. 28, after 1 a.m., Griggs returned to the Walmart and took two 32" flat-screen televisions through the same door into the mechanic bay. As before, she hid the televisions behind the storage trailers, loaded them into her Saturn SUV, and drove away.

She requested a court-appointed attorney.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates.
HAMILTON COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - A 19-year-old Florida woman is behind bars for leading a high speed chase that stretched through two states.

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said that Siyana Janyae-Princess Allen lead the chase that started on I-75 in Georgia Monday.

Deputies say the chase started in Lowndes County, Ga., came to Hamilton County, Fla., went back to Lowndes, then to Hamilton again.

During the pursuit, the car was speeding at 130 miles per hour, swerving in and out of north and southbound lanes. The chase lasted for about 25 minutes and stretched more than 30 miles.

Allen was eventually pulled over near mile-marker 457 and was then taken into custody.

Deputies say they found a small amount of marijuana in the car and discovered she may have been driving with a suspended license.

She is charged with aggravated felony fleeing and eluding by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. Charges from the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office are pending.
While projecting country's growth rate to 7.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.5 for the next two years, the World Bank said today that India with an "ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms" has "enormous growth potential" compared to other emerging economies.

Despite initial setbacks from demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST), India is estimated to have grown at 6.7 per cent in 2017, according to the 2018 Global Economics Prospect released by the World Bank here today.

"In all likelihood India is going to register higher growth rate than other major emerging market economies in the next decade. So, I wouldn't focus on the short-term numbers. I would look at the big picture for India and big picture is telling us that it has enormous potential," Ayhan Kose, Director, Development Prospects Group, World Bank, told PTI in an interview.

In comparison with China, which is slowing, the World Bank is expecting India to gradually accelerate.

"The growth numbers of the past three years were very healthy," Kose, author of the report, said.

In 2017, China grew at 6.8 per cent, 0.1 per cent more than that of India, while in 2018, its growth rate is projected at 6.4 per cent.

And in the next two years, the country's growth rate will drop marginally to 6.3 and 6.2 per cent, respectively.

To materialise its potential, India, Kose said, needs to take steps to boost investment prospects.

There are measures underway to do in terms of non-performing loans and productivity, he said.

"On the productivity side, India has enormous potential with respect to secondary education completion rate. All in all, improved labor market reforms, education and health reforms as well as relaxing investment bottleneck will help improve India's prospects," Kose said.

Noting that India has a favourable demographic profile, he said it is rarely seen in other economies.

"In that context, improving female labour force participation rate is going to be important. Female labour force participation still remains low relative to other emerging market economies. Bringing force right now idle outside of the productive activities will make a huge difference," he said.

Reducing youth unemployment is critical, and pushing for private investment, where problems are already well-known like bank assets quality issues...If these are done, India can reach its potential easily and exceed, Kose asserted.

"In fact, we expect India to do better than its potential in 2018 and move forward," he said.

India's growth potential, he said, would be around 7 per cent for the next 10 years.

The Indian government is "very serious" with GST being a major turning point and banking recapitalisation programme is really important, Kose said.

"The Indian government has already recognise some of these problems and undertaking measures and willing to see the outcomes of these measures," he said.

"India is a very large economy. It has a huge potential. At the same time, it has its own challenges. This government is very much aware of these challenges and is showing just doing its best in terms of dealing with them," the World Bank official said.

The latest World Bank growth estimate for 2017 is 0.5 per cent, less than the previous projection, and 0.2 per cent less in the next two years.

"It is slightly lower than its previous forecast, primarily because India is undertaking major reforms," Kose said.

These reforms, of course, will bring certain policy uncertainty, he said, "but the big issue about India, when you look at India's growth potential and our numbers down the road 2019 and 2020, is that it is going to be the fastest growing large emerging market."

"India has an ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms. GST is a major reform to have harmonised taxes, is one nation one market one tax concept. Then, of course, the late 2016 demonetisation reform was there. The government is well aware of these short-term implications," Kose said.

He said there might have been some temporary disruptions but "all in all" the Indian economy has done well.

"The potential growth rate of the Indian economy is very healthy to 7 per cent. I think the growth is going to be at a high rate going forward," the World Bank official said.

The big question is whether Indian policymakers would, under the necessary reforms, push its potential growth up, Kose said.

"So far we have seen ambitious policy initiatives and implementation like GST. And we have all the reasons to expect this government to continue economic policies to create friendly environment for businesses and push its growth potential up," he said.

In a South Asia regional press release, the World Bank said India is estimated to grow 6.7 per cent in fiscal year 2017-18, slightly down from the 7.1 per cent of the previous fiscal year.

This is due in part to the effects of the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, but also to protracted balance sheet weaknesses, including corporate debt burdens and non-performing loans in the banking sector, weighing down private investment, it said.

(with PTI inputs)
TEN SLEEP  During the Ten Sleep School Board meeting Monday evening, board members learned from Ten Sleep School Superintendent Jimmy Phelps that the committee was almost finished creating the policy and that the policy would be brought to the board for review during the February school board meeting.

TEN SLEEP  During the Ten Sleep School Board meeting Monday evening, board members learned from Ten Sleep School Superintendent Jimmy Phelps that the committee was almost finished creating the policy and that the policy would be brought to the board for review during the February school board meeting.

I plan to have it on the February agenda for public input, Phelps said. He added that he will also be inviting Washakie County Sheriff Steve Rakness to attend as well.

Phelps explained to the board that Rakness went over the draft policy that the committee had created and advised the committee where changes were needed last week. Phelps also told the board that the committee has a phone meeting with psychologist Jerry Post out of Cheyenne regarding psychological evaluations being a part of the policy, as recommended by Rakness. According to the Post and Associates web site, Jerry Post specializes in police and public safety psychology, performing evaluations and managing services for first responders.

Rakness stated during the October 2017 meeting that the person or persons chosen would need to be vetted extremely well and would need to have a psychological evaluation. Its going to be hard because you are going to have to pick somebody that can bear that burden. You will have a hard time finding someone to do this kind of job because its going to be a 100 percent commitment. Youre going to have a firearm with you all the times and thats a pretty big burden. Are you going to have somebody that will fit that role? How long are you going to look until you find somebody that can fit into that role, Rakness said. If you start a program here, you are going to have to keep doing it. You cant start it and let it go. If you start it you have to keep going, he added.

Once the committee finishes dotting all the is and crossing all the ts the policy is to be sent to Ten Sleep Schools attorney Tracy Copenhaver, Phelps said.

Earlier this year the Wyoming Legislature passed Wyoming statute 21-3-132 giving the board of trustees the option to adopt rules and regulations allowing employees to possess firearms on campus.

In an earlier interview Ten Sleep School Superintendent Jimmy Phelps stated, Sheriff Rakness informed us several years ago that in the event of an active shooter, it could take them up to 20 minutes to get to our campus. It would depend upon the location of the deputies at the time of the call. He added, Over the past several years, our district has done a lot of work to improve the security of our buildings and individual classrooms. At a moments notice, we can now lock down the building, each classroom, restrooms, and make individual hallways inaccessible to an intruder. At the same time, all individual key fobs become inoperable, so that if an intruder took a key fob away from a person, that intruder could not use it to gain access to the building or classrooms. This new statute gives us the ability to take aggressive action against an intruder in our building, not just lock down and hide. Sheriff Rakness and the Washakie County Sheriffs Office do a great job, but because of our distance from law enforcement, we need the ability to take aggressive action.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 01:00:19|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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5-year-old Palestinian girl Rahaf Abu Amer is seen at her slum in Nuseirat Refugee Camp, central Gaza Strip, on Jan. 11, 2018. Israeli and International reports said the United States intents to freeze or delay its financial fund to the United Nations for Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian refugees in the Far East (UNRWA) and stop aid to the Palestinians until they return to the negotiations table with Israel. UNRWA, which provides assistance in education, health and food to some five million registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East, is already suffering from a 49 million U.S. dollars financial deficit and any fund suspension would have a negative impact on its work. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar)

Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian refugee Ayman Dahlan from Shati Camp in Gaza city has been extremely concerned about the mounting U.S. and Israeli pressure on the United Nations for Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian refugees in the Far East (UNRWA), the UN agency that provides care for millions of Palestinian refugees across the world.

"Closing UNRWA is a death blow to me and to millions of Palestinian refugees," said middle-aged Dahlan, who is a father of seven.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the weekly cabinet meeting that UNRWA should be gradually shut down.

He added that practical steps must be taken to change the situation in which UNRWA perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem instead of resolving it.

His comments came after Israeli and international reports said the United States intents to freeze or delay its financial fund to UNRWA and stop aid to the Palestinians until they return to the negotiations table with Israel.

"UNRWA keeps us alive by providing us with food stuff and health care," Dahlan said as he sat in front of his shabby home at the impoverished refugee camp.

Dahlan, who has been jobless for four years, said most of Gaza residents suffer from very dire economic and financial conditions due to the blockade Israel imposed on the seaside enclave after Hamas violent takeover in 2007.

"Closing the agency will only add harm to the injury," he said.

UNRWA, which provides assistance in education, health and food to some 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, is already suffering from a 49-million U.S. dollars financial deficit and any fund suspension would have a negative impact on its work.

Meanwhile, more than 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip will suffer if the agency is shut down or its financial aid is suspended.

UNRWA takes care of some 1.3 million refugees in Gaza solely, who live in eight refugee camps.

For them, closing UNRWA would be the toughest blow after their plight of forcibly leaving their towns and cities that became part of Israel in the war of its foundation in 1948.

79-year-old Sada Mikdad is one of those refugees.

"Most of the food we consume at home is provided by UNRWA," the old lady told Xinhua.

Mikdad said Israel has always wanted the UNRWA to be closed because "the existence of UNRWA means the existence of the issue of Palestinian refugees."

The woman also complained that UNRWA has gradually reduced its assistance due to Israeli continued pressures and the limited international aid.

In response to Netanyahu's comments, UNRWA said that it would hold on its work under the mandate of the UN General Assembly.

UNRWA's media advisor, Adnan Abu Hasna, said the agency was established upon a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, where the majority of members voted in favor of extending UNRWA's mandate.

"If anyone wants to change the nature of UNRWA's work, or wants to cancel its mandate, he must go to the United Nations General Assembly to get the majority of votes to change the UN mandate," Abu Hasna said.

Otherwise, he said, UNRWA will continue to carry out its work in its five operation areas until the issue of Palestinian refugees is resolved in a just and comprehensive way.

The Palestinian refugees' struggle to return has been one of the key and thorniest issues in the final status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, as both cling to their own beliefs in this regard.

The Palestinians base their assertion of the right of return on the United Nations General Assembly resolution number 194 of 1948, which calls for allowing the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland and payment of compensation for those not wishing to go back, a resolution that Israel still denies.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 01:20:22|Editor: Yang Yi

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Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian (R, Front) and Lebanese President of the Council for Development and Reconstruction Nabil El-Jisr (L, Front) sign a project deal in Beirut, Lebanon, on Jan. 9, 2018. The launching ceremony of the Chinese government's funding project to build and equip a new Lebanese National Conservatory of Music was held here on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Dalati & Nohra)



BEIRUT, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday expressed his gratitude for China's funding for a new conservatory in Lebanon.

"I want to thank the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian for this gift that we regard valuable for Lebanon and its culture," he said during a ceremony to sign the project deal at the Grand Serail.

"It is a tangible effort to revive Lebanese culture," Hariri said, adding that the music institute would be the first project of many cultural initiatives set for 2018.

For his part, Wang said that the "Lebanese music and arts are not only Lebanese treasures, they are also cultural treasures for the whole humanity."

The Chinese ambassador said "upon the request of the Lebanese government, the Chinese government decided to help Lebanon build this conservatory which will be the first comprehensive project the Chinese government will launch in Lebanon."

Wang noted that China has provided to Lebanon about 100 million U.S. dollars in aid since 1996. He said the country has also provided humanitarian assistance to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 03:30:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at 10 Downing street before she announces new ministerial appointments to her front bench in a Cabinet reshuffle due to begin today, in London, Britain on Jan. 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Tim Ireland)

LONDON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May issued her first statement Tuesday night after completing a shake-up of her team of government ministers.

Speaking at 10 Downing Street, May commented on the new diversity of her government team.

May said: "This Government is about building a country fit for the future -- one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society.

"This reshuffle helps us do just that by bringing fresh talent into Government, boosting delivery in key policy areas like housing, health and social care, and ensuring the Government looks more like the country it serves.

"It also allows a new generation of gifted Ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK."

May faced criticism on the first day of her reshuffle which critics, including some of her own Conservative politicians described as lack-lustre.

Just one big change to her front-row team saw former Education Secretary Justine Greening resigning from the cabinet.

On day two, May first assembled her new line up of ministers at Downing Street, before hiring and firing a number of second-tier ministers.

May even posted a photo on her social media site showing her alongside a line-up of all-female MPs appointed to roles in the party whip's office. Their task is to liaise with MPs in the House of Commons.

May fired four ministers on day-two of her reshuffle as she made way for newcomer to her team.

Among those leaving were education minister Robert Goodwill and Mark Garnier, the international trade minister. John Hayes, the transport minister and health minister Philip Dunne both resigned from the government.

The Daily Telegraph reported that backbench Conservative MP Philip Davies complained that May's reshuffle has created a "legitimate concern" that white, male ministers have been "hoofed out" to make way for women or minority ethnic MPs "because they are a white male".

Davies told the Telegraph: "Time will tell as to whether these people have got their jobs on merit or whether they have got them on tokenism. It certainly does not do anyone any favors to promote people who are not ready for promotion just because of their gender or race.

"Time will tell whether these jobs were given on merit or not. But obviously any self-respecting Conservative would say that all jobs should be given on merit and we should be blind to people's gender, race or religion."

May finally completed her reshuffle Tuesday night, moving eight existing members of her government team to new posts. Home Secretary Amber Rudd was also appointed by May as Minister of Women and Equalities.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 05:01:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LOS ANGELES, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least five people have died in a winter storm that led to mudslides in Santa Barbara County in the U.S. state of California, authorities said Tuesday.

Five people had died in the Montecito area, northwest of Los Angeles, as of Tuesday morning, said Mike Eliason, a public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

"The number could be changed," Eliason told Xinhua via phone.

Strong winter storm hammered Southern California on the U.S. West Coast with heavy rain, triggering deadly mud flows.

Several homes have been wiped away by mud flows near the coastal community of Montecito, where recent devastating wildfires left charred hillsides without vegetation cover to hold the downpour.

Firefighters successfully rescued a 14-year-old girl after she was trapped for hours in the ruins of a destroyed home in Montecito.

A gas line was reportedly ruptured and several major freeways and highways were forced to be closed in the area.

The maximum rainfall generally occurred in a 15-minute span this morning near the Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria areas, according to National Weather Service (NWS) Los Angeles.

Montecito got more than a half-inch in five minutes, local media said.

"Most active rain area is just west of Sherpa Fire burn area in Santa Barbara County. Moving more North than East right now. 0.5 inch per hour rain rate by Alisal Reservoir," said the Service on its Twitter page.

The NWS also issued a flash flood advisory for southern Ventura and Santa Barbara County until 1:30 p.m. local time with heavy showers in the area.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 05:36:19|Editor: huaxia

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MAPUTO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Police of Mozambique said here Tuesday that they had arrested 24 suspected terrorists who were on their way to a district in the northern Cabo Delgado province.

The detainees are all Mozambicans and preliminary investigations indicated that the group was going to Mocimboa da Praia to reinforce the "insurgents," according to police spokesman Inacio Dina.

"Probably this group was going to Mocimboa da Praia to reinforce the insurgents that are creating panic since October of last year," said Dina.

The detainees travelled in an inter-provincial passenger bus that came from Nampula province and they claimed they were going to fish in Pemba, provincial capital of Cabo Delgado.

"This arrest is the result of investigations that police have been doing since radical Islamists showed up last year," said the spokesman.

In October 2017, a group of about 30 armed fundamentalists launched attacks against three police stations in Mocimboa da Praia, leading to the death of two policemen and a community leader.

After the authorities regained full control of the town, there are still sporadic ambushes against police vehicles on roads.

Inacio Dina said that the police were doing their best to bring peace and quiet back to that region.

"We are about to reopen the school period, and we want people who have abandoned their fields to return, as we are redoubling efforts to maintain peace in Mocimboa da Praia," said Dina.

In December, terrorists launched another attack that resulted in the death of a police officer and serious injury of five others. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 06:36:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Top U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing said Tuesday that it delivered a record number of commercial airplanes last year and sold 134.8 billion U.S. dollars worth of aircraft worldwide.

Boeing said in a statement that it "delivered more commercial airplanes than any manufacturer for the sixth consecutive year and set an industry record with 763 deliveries in 2017."

That number is up from the 748 in 2016 and in line with its forecast. Last year's deliveries also topped the prior record of 762 set in 2015.

European rival Airbus is slated to report its 2017 orders and deliveries next week.

Boeing's larger order book was driven by a high output of the market-leading 737 and 787 jets, said the aerospace giant.

It said that the company had raised to 47 the production of 737-type airplanes a month last year, setting a record high sale of 539 jets, including the delivery of 74 various types of its new 737 MAX model.

By the end of last year, Boeing struck deals with 71 customers worldwide for a total of 912 new orders, pushing its backlog to a record 5,864 commercial airplanes, equal to about seven years of production.

"The strong sales activity reflects continuing strong demand for the 737 MAX family, including the ultra-efficient MAX 10 variant that we launched last year, and the market's increasing preference for Boeing's family of twin-aisle jets," said Kevin McAllister, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Boeing racked up nearly 100 orders for its 787 Dreamliner jets and 60 orders for the 777 family in 2017.
New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) India will tour Ireland, their first visit to the country since 2007, for a couple of T20 Internationals in June before the full series in England from July to September

The T20 matches will be held in Dublin on June 27 and June 29, the BCCI announced today.

India last toured Ireland in 2007 when they played an ODI at Belfast, which the visitors won by nine wickets (via D/L method).

India have played Ireland just once in the T20 format when the two sides met in Nottingham during the 2009 World T20.

The two matches will precede the long tour of England comprising five Tests, three ODIs and as many T20s. PTI BS BS
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 06:46:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GENEVA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Road and rail access to the famed ski and winter resort of Zermatt in southern Switzerland was cut off on Tuesday as the region was facing the maximum level of avalanche risk, authorities said.

Some media reports said some 13,000 tourists were stranded in Zermatt due to the heavy snow and an avalanche risk.

A level 5 avalanche risk -- the highest risk level -- has been declared in parts of canton Valais, where Zermatt is located, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) said.

"Nobody is arriving or leaving Zermatt," Romy Biner-Hauser, president of the municipality, was quoted as saying in a local newspaper, Swissinfo reported.

No houses had been evacuated on Tuesday morning and those in Zermatt are free to move around in the village. However, authorities are monitoring the situation every 30 minutes.

According to the WSL, a mixture of predicted fresh snowfall on top of the old snow that fell in abundance over the Christmas period could lead to "numerous spontaneous avalanches of a large, and often very large, scale."

Ski areas affected include Saas-Fee, the southern slope of the Simplon and the neighbouring valleys from Visp to Zermatt, according to WSL estimates from Monday evening.

The village of Gondo on the Swiss-Italian border is also cut off due to a mudslide on Monday. In 2000, the village was hit by a landslide that killed 13 people.
This April 12, 2017 file photo shows National security advisor H.R. McMaster (L) and then White House strategist Steve Bannon arriving for a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC. (Xinhua/AFP photo)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, is stepping down from his post as executive chairman of Breitbart News, the company announced Tuesday.

Bannon's departure comes in the wake of the White House furor over his comments quoted in a new controversial book calling the 2016 Trump Tower meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest son with Russians "treasonous."

Bannon and Breitbart will work together on a smooth transition, according to a statement from the company's chief executive Larry Solov.

In the statement, Bannon said that he was "proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform."

Britain's The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday first revealed that Bannon, quoted from excerpts of the book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," described the 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between a Russian lawyer and Trump's son and son-in-law as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic."

Hours later, Trump said in a White House official statement that Bannon had "lost his mind" and had "no influence" within his government.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also slapped Wolff's book, accusing that it is "filled with false and misleading accounts," noting that Trump felt "furious" and" disgusted" about Bannon's comments in the book.

Since then, Bannon has been greatly isolated from his political allies and conservative donors, including billionaire Rebekah Mercer and her father Robert Mercer.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 08:11:41|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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SYDNEY, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Australian dollar lost ground against a stronger U.S. counterpart, which extended the previous day's gains amid a rise in global bond yields.

At 07:00 (AEDT) on Wednesday, the Aussie dollar was trading at 78.24 U.S. cents, from 78.54 U.S. cents on Tuesday.

Westpac senior market strategist Imre Speizer said in a morning note that global equities rose, with most U.S. indices making fresh record highs. Global bond yields also rose as the greenback built on its gains.

"Market chatter was focussed on Japan's central bank's reduction in bond purchases and China's central bank's apparent loosening of its currency management," he said.

Investors were looking to event risks such as China's December financing and new loans figures, added Speizer.

At 09:15 (AEDT), the Australian dollar was buying 78.21 U.S. cents.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 09:11:51|Editor: Yang Yi

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GUIYANG, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Four people were reported missing after a fire destroyed five houses in southwest China's Guizhou Province, local authorities said Wednesday.

The fire broke out at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday in Congjiang County, Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Qiandongnan, said the county's publicity department.

The fire has been put out. Rescuers are searching for the missing. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 09:21:52|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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ABIDJAN, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- A military helicopter crashed Tuesday into a river near Cote d'Ivoire's capital city of Abidjan, according to security sources.

The aircraft zigzagged before diving into the Comoe River in the sub-prefecture of Apele, some 60 km northeast of Abidjan. The three occupants onboard came out of the aircraft unharmed.

The Abidjan-based Linfodrome news portal said the helicopter belongs to the French Forces in Cote d'Ivoire, citing security personnel deployed at the scene. The cause of the crash is still unknown.

The accident happened just one month after a similar crash in which a private helicopter smashed into an apartment building in Adjouffou district near Abidjan airport, injuring five people.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 09:31:56|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BRUSSELS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU)'s top diplomat Tuesday applauded the inter-Korean talks, saying they are "an encouraging signal" and "a positive step" towards the improvement of relations between the two sides.

EU High Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the bloc welcomed the joint announcements adopted after the talks, hailing that they "can be conducive to fostering trust and de-escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula."

The EU also expected that the talks would "prepare the ground for the DPRK to engage in a broader, credible and meaningful dialogue, aimed at pursuing the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the peninsula," said Mogherini.

The senior-level, inter-governmental dialogue between the two Koreas, the first in about two years, was held in the truce village of Panmunjom on Tuesday, a breakthrough in improving inter-Korean relations and building peace on the peninsula.

After the talks which lasted for over 10 hours, the two sides hammered out a three-point joint statement, agreeing to cooperate with each other for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games to be held in South Korea's eastern county of Pyeongchang in February and March respectively.

Seoul and Pyongyang also decided to hold separate military talks after agreeing efforts should be made to ease military tensions, create a peaceful environment on the peninsula, and promote reconciliation and unity of both sides.

Under the three-point agreement, South Korea and the DPRK will honor the declarations they made in the past and resolve all issues on inter-Korean relations through talks and negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 09:41:58|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that he is open to a summit meeting with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if conditions are met.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 10:02:01|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, later this month, said the White House on Tuesday.

At the annual gathering of the world leaders, Trump will promote his "America First" agenda to strengthen American businesses, industries and workers, said the White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement.

"This is very much an 'America First' agenda. The president is still 100 percent focused and committed to promoting policies that promote strength for American businesses and the American worker," Sanders said.

The WEF is slated to take place on Jan. 23-26, focusing on creating a shared future in a fractured world, the theme of the gathering.

The event will see a congregation of world leaders, including more than 40 heads of state and government, apart from business magnates all over the world.

Trump would be the first sitting U.S. president to attend the summit in person since Bill Clinton in 2000. Last year, then Vice President Joe Biden attended the event.
Zaorigu is working in her paper-cutting studio.

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Paper-cutting, as its name suggests, is an art of cutting patterns into colorful paper with scissors or a knife. As a traditional folk art, paper-cutting is popular across different ethnicities in Xinjiang. Zaorigu Abdukerim, a Uyghur woman, is someone with an ardent interest.

Zaorigu is a native of Jinghe County, Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. Her enthusiasm for paper-cutting began in September, 2013 when an association for the art's lovers was created in the county. When she saw the intricate figures they created, she fell in love with the craft.



Zaorigu applied to the association straight away. Since then, she has learned how to carve exquisite lines and pictures under the careful watch of her teacher.

Paper-cutting, like many good arts and crafts, takes a moment to learn but a lifetime to master. The artist needs a firm hand with a nimble touch. Any hesitation or tremble in the hand creates imperfections that could damage the whole image. Zaorigu has devoted many diligent hours to perfecting her craft.

Zaorigu is making a piece of paper-cutting with an engraving knife.

"Paper-cutting is not just a beautiful piece of art, there are stories behind each one," Zaorigu said. She tells these stories to her children as she finishes her pieces.

"Art derives from life, and I want to record lives from every ethnic group in my country," Zaorigu said. To this end, Zaorigu has spent a considerable amount of time on Internet researching patterns of different ethnicities. Once in a while, she travels to neighboring regions to see different lifestyles with her own eyes.

As more and more people join the paper-cutting association, works draw influences from the different cultures and experiences that new members bring. In one exhibition, a paper-cut on display depicts "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", or "Qingming Shanghe Tu", a famous painting of daily life in the Northern Song dynasty (960 to 1127 A.D.) in the capital of the time, Bianjing (now named Kaifeng). The painting has a vast amount of figures with vivid expressions. So the paper cutting version is impossibly intricate.

Zaorigu's work was on show too, her piece is a beautiful Uyghur lady brushing her eyebrows, the eyes almost sparkle.

Zaorigu and her work A Uyghur Woman Brushing Her Eyebrows

Of all the exhibits, Zaorigu and her fellow members are most proud of the work showcasing the 56 ethnic groups of the Chinese nation. They spent 15 days on it. It was carefully framed and hung in the very center of the exhibition hall.

56 Ethnic Groups of the Chinese Nation by Zaorigu and her fellow members

When Chinese New Year comes, Zaorigu and her friends will be busy making paper-cutting gifts for locals. In the first three months before Spring Festival each year, they make thousands of big red paper characters 'Fu' (Fortune) and send them to people across the county. To Zaorigu, it is their way of giving out fortune and good luck.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 10:42:09|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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SANAA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels warned of cutting off the Red Sea shipping line if the Saudi-led coalition forces keep advancing towards the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reported on Wednesday.

"We will block the Red Sea international shipping line in the Red Sea if Saudi-led aggression coalition forces keep advancing towards Hodeidah," Saba quoted Houthi leader Saleh al-Sammad as saying.

The threat was made by al-Sammad, who is the chief of the Houthi governing body, known as the Supreme Political Council, during his meeting with visiting UN deputy envoy Maeen Sharim in Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

The warning was a "deterrent step" that aimed to exert pressure on the Saudi-led coalition, as targeting the Red Sea shipping route could have international economic consequences, according to Saba.

Recently, the ground battles backed by the coalition air strikes have intensified around Hodeidah as the coalition forces are pushing towards the rebel-held port city to recapture it.

The U.S.-backed coalition accuses Houthis of smuggling weapons through the Hodeidah port and collecting customs revenues from imported goods to finance the war, which the Houthis have denied.

Hodeidah port city, where 80 percent of Yemen's food imports arrive, is the only port kept by Houthi rebels after the Saudi-led coalition and the Yemeni government forces recaptured the southern port city of Aden along with other southern governorates in 2016.

Al-Sammad also informed the visiting UN deputy envoy their willingness to enter into peace negotiations, but required the coalition to show goodwill by lifting the all-out blockade, including re-opening Sanaa Airport, and stopping air strikes and ground battles.

"Yemen is ready for peace talks if the Saudi aggression stopped," Saba cited al-Sammad as saying during his conversation with Sharim.

According to Saba, the UN deputy envoy stressed that the solution to Yemen's conflict "must be consensual and based on partnership."

Houthis' threats came two days after they claimed to have shot down a Tornado combat aircraft of the coalition while it was conducting a military operation over the Yemeni northern province of Saada, which borders Saudi Arabia.

The coalition dismissed the Houthi claim, saying the plane crashed due to a technical fault and the two pilots were rescued.

The Yemeni war pits dominant Shiite Houthi rebels against the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which is supported by the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

The coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 after Houthi fighters captured Sanaa and expelled Hadi and his government.

The war has so far killed more than 10,000 Yemenis, half of them civilians, and displaced over 3 million others, according to UN humanitarian agencies.
New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) India said today it will positively engage in the negotiations of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade deal but wants it to be equitable and mutually acceptable, a senior official said today.

The RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement between the 10 ASEAN nations - Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei - and Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

Twenty rounds of negotiations for the deal have concluded, but the 16 participants are yet to resolve issues, including on reaching the final number of goods on which taxes will be eliminated and on matters pertaining to the services sector.

"In any negotiation, we must remember that it has to be equitable and mutually acceptable. We participated in RCEP negotiations in the hope of a balanced and equitable outcome - where there is positives on both sides. We will remain positively engaged in the negotiations and hope for a positive outcome," Preeti Saran, secretary (east), in the Ministry of External Affairs told reporters here.

Talks for the pact had started in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh in November 2012.

India has already implemented a free trade agreement with the ASEAN grouping, Japan and South Korea. And, it was negotiating similar agreements with Australia and New Zealand.

Saran said India will be happy to review the free trade agreement with ASEAN in the next round of discussion. PTI PR ABH
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 10:52:13|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Untied States on Tuesday hailed the first talks held by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea over the past two years as a positive sign, but did not voice full-throated support.

The White House welcomed the senior-level dialogue between the two Koreas, during which the two sides agreed to hold separate military talks, with the DPRK also consenting to send a delegation to the South Korea-hosted Winter Olympics next month.

"North Korean (DPRK) participation is an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearizing," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.

"Clearly this is a positive development," said U.S. State Department Spokesperson Steve Goldstein at a briefing Tuesday afternoon.

"We would like nuclear talks to occur," said Goldstein, adding that this is "a good first step in that process."

Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his willingness to talk with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK, and supported the upcoming dialogues.

"I always believe in talking," Trump told reporters at Camp David on Saturday when asked whether he was willing to engage in phone talks with Kim right now.

However, both Trump and other U.S. officials stopped short of considering a direct talk between the United States and the DPRK without any preconditions.

Trump said any talk will come with prerequisites.

"Talks are vital... but it has to occur with the conditions that we outlined," said Goldstein.

Experts urged Washington to further commit itself to the peace-making process and final denuclearization of the peninsula.

U.S. scholar on the DPRK affairs John Delury argued that actual negotiations on denuclearization, arms control and peace mechanisms will require direct U.S. participation.

"The sooner the Trump administration follows (South Korean President) Moon's lead in opening a direct channel to Pyongyang, the better," said Delury in an editorial published on the website of Foreign Affairs earlier this week.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 10:57:14|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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HAVANA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cuba on Tuesday said a U.S. Senate hearing on alleged "acoustic attacks" on American diplomats in the island nation was unacceptable and only served to impose an accusation without evidence.

The Senate hearing on the investigation of "acoustic attacks" against U.S. diplomats residing in Cuba was criticized by top Cuban diplomat on U.S. affairs as an accusation that Washington hasn't been able to prove.

Josefina Vidal, general director of the United States division of Cuba's Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference that the biggest victim of Tuesday's hearing was the truth.

"U.S. experts haven't been able to identify the cause of the incidents or its perpetrators. However, several U.S. State Department officials repeatedly used the word 'attacks'," she said.

Over 20 U.S. diplomats and their family members in the Caribbean nation suffered symptoms such as hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, headaches and fatigue since the incidents were first reported in November 2016, leading to Washington's claim that Cuba deliberately attacked the personnel.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which has partly rolled back a detente with Cuba, sharply reduced the U.S. embassy staff in Havana in response to the incident, and in October expelled 15 Cuban diplomats who worked at the island's embassy in the U.S. capital.

The U.S. administration also decided to stop all consular services, a measure that has been highly unpopular among Cubans.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 11:02:15|Editor: Yang Yi

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LONDON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Growth in China remained solid throughout 2017 and its growth slowdown was well managed, the World Bank (WB) said on Tuesday.

China's trade flows recovered markedly in 2017, with tighter enforcement of capital flow management which "helped ease capital outflows and exchange rate pressures and reverse a reduction in foreign reserves," WB said in its report "Global Economic Prospects" published Tuesday evening.

In the latest report, the bank forecast China's annual economic growth in 2017 at 6.8 percent, a two-basis point increase on its forecast six months ago.

"Currently the growth slowdown in China is very well managed. It is very steady and gradual and the authorities have managed to calibrate it properly," Franziska Lieselotte Ohnsorge, manager of development prospects group at WB, told Xinhua on Tuesday afternoon.

"Reserves are high, government debt is manageable especially compared with advanced economies," said Ohnsorge, who is one of the lead authors of the report of the bank which is headquartered in Washington D.C.

Threats to economic stability are being tackled, said Ohnsorge. "The authorities have already taken a lot of regulatory steps to cool housing markets, to slowly unwind financial vulnerabilities."

"We see the same risk as in other emerging markets, slower than expected growth," she added.

"But the authorities still have ample buffers to absorb or to mitigate any big shock," she noted.

Ohnsorge forecasts that annual GDP growth in China would be between 6 and 6.5 percent over the next decade.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 11:27:19|Editor: Yang Yi

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by Fei Liena, Lu Juan, Mao Pengfei

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 2nd Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders' Meeting is being held here Wednesday, with the leaders from the six LMC countries gathering to discuss the future development of the LMC mechanism.

LANCANG-MEKONG FRUITS, LANCANG-MEKONG SPEED

Against the backdrop of a lackluster world economy and a growing trend of anti-globalization, the LMC mechanism has been radiating a unique charm since its establishment only less than two years ago, with many fruits having been made, and many speed records having been set.

All the six countries have established LMC National Secretariats/Coordination Units ahead of schedule, and have set up six Joint Working Groups on the key priority areas of connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, agriculture and poverty reduction.

The LMC mechanism has been truly project-centered, with most of its 45 Early Harvest Projects and 13 Initiatives having already been completed or made substantive progress.

The first batch of projects of the LMC Special Fund have been completed, and other funding pledges that China has made is being honored with steady progress.

Based on the Lancang-Mekong river area, the mechanism has also set up the Water Resources Cooperation Center, Lancang-Mekong Environmental Cooperation Center and the Global Mekong River Studies Center, to protect the water resources and environment in the region.

From the specific perspective, the construction of Kunming-Bangkok Road, China-Laos Railway, China-Thailand Railway, Long Jiang Industrial Park in Vietnam, Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone of Laos, Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone in Cambodia, among others, are underway.

DRINKING FROM SAME RIVER, COOPERATING FOR SAME CAUSE

Drinking from the same Lancang-Mekong river, the six riparian countries have a common aspiration for development and prosperity.

Originating from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in southwest China, the river is called the Lancang River in China and the Mekong River as it flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the sea.

Suiting the trend of regional economic integration, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation mechanism has shown strong vitality since its birth.

Since the official launch of the LMC mechanism in March 2016, it has established a "3+5" mechanism of cooperation, referring to the three cooperation pillars -- political and security issues, economic and sustainable development, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges -- and the five key priority areas of connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, and agriculture and poverty reduction.

Currently Mekong countries are actively pushing forward the industrialization process. China has experience, technology and capital advantages on areas such as infrastructure construction and poverty reduction, thus benefitting Mekong countries and stimulating joint development in the sub-region.

China has now established comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation with all five Mekong countries. Chheang Vannarith, vice-chairman of the board of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies, said the second LMC leaders' meeting reflects the leaders' joint efforts and commitment to build a community of shared future in the sub-region.

"The second LMC leaders' meeting will be another milestone in deepening political trust, fostering practical cooperation, and promoting comprehensive regional connectivity," he told Xinhua.

The 3rd Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Dec. 15 agreed to synergize the LMC with the development strategies of each member country, the Belt and Road Initiative and relevant development programs of ASEAN.

Sok Siphana, an advisor to the Cambodian government, said the LMC would contribute to supporting the ASEAN community-building and narrowing development gaps among ASEAN member states.

"For ASEAN, we have the ASEAN Master Plan on Connectivity (2025), we have also the three pillars, which are the same as the Lancang-Mekong, so any activities that the LMC do will support the implementation of the ASEAN objectives," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 11:37:23|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SYDNEY, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- One of the world's most venomous jellyfish has been spotted off Australia's Queensland state, sparking warnings by aquatic rescue authorities for swimmers to stay out of the affected waters.

A specimen of the Irukandji, which live in Australian marine areas and is also one of the world's smallest jellyfish at about the size of a thumb, was found by surf lifesavers over the weekend near the popular Fraser Island tourist spot and sent to specialists for identification, the Surf Life Saving Queensland rescue authority said in a statement on Tuesday.

The discovery means beachgoers must be "extra vigilant about their personal safety", the authority's regional manager Craig Holden was quoted as saying, amid the peak summer tourist season.

"We're urging everyone to stay out of the water entirely on that western side of the island while conditions are hot and humid," he said.

The Irukandji's sting can cause severe pain in the muscles, chest and other parts of the body, as well as vomiting and breathing difficulties, according to state ambulances services. Victims are advised to douse the sting area with vinegar for at least 30 seconds and call for medical assistance.

A spate of serious jellyfish stings on the island reported in 2016 and 2017 prompted more checks for the marine threats and upgrades in safety advice for the region, the aquatic authority said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 11:47:24|Editor: Zhou Xin

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PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- As Cambodia and China are commemorating their 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations this year, a Cambodian ruling party lawmaker said the relationship between the two countries can be a role model in modern international relations.

In an article published in the Khmer Times on Wednesday, Suos Yara, a lawmaker from the Cambodian People's Party, said China is the engine of global growth and a core development and strategic partner of Cambodia.

"The Cambodia-China relationship can be a role model in modern international relations," he said. "It is about a special and equal relationship between a big country and a small country."

He said the Cambodia-China relationship is unique in three ways.

First, although Cambodia and China have different political ideologies and systems, they still can work closely together to advance their common interests.

Second, although China is much bigger and stronger than Cambodia, in terms of size and power, both countries treat each other equally and with mutual respect.

Equal sovereignty and non-interference are the key principles of international relations and the foundations of international peace and stability.

Learning from the past history, Cambodia is well aware of how a small state can survive and thrive. Economic pragmatism and strategic diversification are the core strategies of a small state.

Third, personal friendship between the leaders of the two countries has been nurtured from generation to generation.

Suos Yara said the friendship between the then Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai was special.

"Their friendship is the bedrock of the contemporary and future cooperation between the two countries," he said. "The current generation of leadership has nurtured and strengthened the traditional friendship."

He said the future generation of leadership will continue to sustain and advance the relationship based on a shared vision and interest.

He added that both countries can offer experiences on how two countries with a large gap in power and size, and with different political ideologies and systems, can work together to promote trust and cooperation.

According to Suos Yara, currently, China is Cambodia's top investor and donor. The investments concentrate on the garment industry, hydropower, rice milling, rubber plantation and processing, mining and construction, he said.

Meanwhile, he added that the number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia has increased from 700,000 in 2015 to around 1 million in 2017 and will reach 2 million by 2020. Air connectivity between two countries will boost tourism and business opportunities.

From 2004 to 2017, China has offered more than 1,000 scholarships to Cambodian students to pursue their education in China, and more than 700 fellowships for short-term training, he said.

Looking forward, both countries need to maintain the momentum of the bilateral relations across sectors at multi-tier and multi-track levels.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 11:52:25|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SYDNEY, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Gas exports from Australia's east coast have surged to record high levels over the past six months, thanks to a "massive increase in Chinese liquid natural gas (LNG) consumption."

Oil and gas analyst Ben Wilson, from RBC Capital Markets told Xinhua on Wednesday, that although the ramp up was anticipated, the "absolute magnitude" of increase has taken many by surprise.

"In the year to November, Chinese LNG imports are running at greater than 50 percent higher than the prior year," he said.

With Australia's largest plants operating at full capacity, the spot price is expected to hit 11 U.S. dollars per million British thermal units in February, up from 5 U.S. dollars per million British thermal units during mid 2017.

In the month of December, Gladstone Port recorded its highest ever LNG export statistics, with Santos, Shell and Origin Energy's major operations in Queensland State, shipping 1.99 million tonnes of the commodity overseas.

The figure was a 17 percent increase on the previous month and eclipsed the former record of 1.75 million tonnes during December 2016.

Further south in the Bass Strait off Tasmania, BHP and ExxonMobil's gas fields also been hit their highest ever production levels in 2017.

Wilson explained that during the last two months seasonal weather condition have helped bolster Australia's exports.

"The big increase has been due to the need for winter heating," he said.

"But more broadly, driving the year on year growth has been the Chinese government's mandated switch away from coal fired power, in order to improve air quality."

With Australia set to become the world's largest LNG supplier in 2018, the soaring rate of gas exportation has been a major windfall for the nation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 12:22:30|Editor: Zhou Xin

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HAVANA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Raul Castro and his visiting Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome Wirtu on Tuesday pledged to boost the two countries' economic and trade ties and enhance bilateral cooperation.

Called the meeting "fraternal," a statement released by the Cuban government said spoke highly of bilateral political and cooperation relations and expressed the willingness to explore new ways to expand them.

"Castro and Teshome Wirtu also discussed national and international affairs of mutual interest," added the release published by the Cuban News Agency.

The Ethiopian president on Tuesday kicked off his four-day Cuba trip, which includes visiting places of economic and historic interest, and meetings with local officials.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 12:27:32|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SANTIAGO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chile welcomed over 6.4 million foreign visitors in 2017, up 14.3 percent against 2016, the undersecretary of tourism Javiera Montes said on Tuesday.

With more than 3 million tourists, Argentina led the list of visitors, accounting for more than half of the total.

Europe was another big market for Chile with nearly 480,000 travelers in 2017, up 6.3 percent compared to the previous year.

Led by China, Asia became one of Chile's biggest tourism markets. Arrivals from China were 30,000, or 33.8 percent more than in 2016.

According to Montes, Chile has managed to overcome one of its biggest tourism drawbacks: short stays.

"Thanks to promotional campaigns, the development of new tourism products as well as destinations, and renewed diversification of experience, we have succeeded in reversing this tendency," said Montes.

Statistics showed that tourists stayed an average of 10 days in Chile in 2007, a significant improvement over the previous average of 7.5 days.

Tourism spending also rose 35.6 percent to around 4.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Chile hopes to attract more than 7 million tourists in 2018, for an 8.5 percent increase over 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 12:52:36|Editor: Zhou Xin

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government has notified Congress of the newly proposed sale of anti-ballistic missiles to Japan, said the U.S. State Department on Tuesday.

This arms sale comes as tension on the Korean peninsula has been slightly eased over the inter-Korean talks held on Tuesday.

The sale includes four Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missiles, four MK 29 missile canisters, and other support services, with a total estimated value of 133.3 million U.S. dollars, said a State Department official in a statement.

South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held the first senior-level dialogue in about two years, agreeing to hold military talks to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

In late December, Japan's Cabinet approved its budget plan for fiscal 2018, with a record-high defense spending.

Economists and political pundits critical of the ever-increasing expenditure have noted that with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to revise the pacifist Constitution and further normalize Japan's military, such increases in military spending could further unsettle the region and trigger an unnecessary arms race.
During the July 2016 uprising in Kashmir, young Insha Mushtaq lost her eyesight after a barrage of pellets hit her while she was watching the protests from her window in Sedow village.

Her injuries had led many to outrage against the use of pellet guns by the security forces, leaving Insha on the headlines for a while.

Over a year later, now, 16-year-old Insha is back on the news. This time, it is for a good reason.

Insha, who was studying music after she lost her eyesight, has cleared the Class 10 board examinations in Jammu and Kashmir, and now hopes to study further.

"This (result) is beyond our expectations. The results will inspire Insha to study more," a Greater Kashmir report quotes father Mushtaq Ahmad Lone. For Lone, his "happiness knows no bounds".

In the 2016 accident, pellets had ruptured the retina and optic nerve of Insha's eyes. Despite much effort and six operations conducted at some of the top eye care hospitals, the damage could not be undone.

Nonetheless, Insha seems to have conquered the loss of her eyesight like a champ.

Insha has qualified the test with a note that she 'needs to improve', and will have to take her Mathematics exam again. This, however, does not damper her spirits.

"The board people have shown me as having failed in mathematics, but it was not one of my subjects," a PTI report quotes Insha.

Former Jammy and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah tweeted to congratulate Insha separately after her results came out.

A special shout out to young Insha who was blinded by pellets during the 2016 protests & has cleared her 10th exams today. May Allah keep rewarding your hard work & efforts. - Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) January 9, 2018

Insha, who comes from a remote village in south Kashmirs Shopian district, is among the 43,000 students who passed the examination.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 13:52:48|Editor: Yang Yi

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The State Council, China's cabinet, appointed a number of senior officials Wednesday.

Zhuang Guotai and Ren Rongfa were appointed vice environmental protection minister and deputy head of State Administration of Taxation, respectively.

Yan Wenbin has been named vice president of Xinhua News Agency.

Newly appointed officials also include Tian Shihong, deputy director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and Han Weijiang, deputy director of the State Administration of Grain.

Cao Xuetao and Zhang Zongyi were named presidents of Nankai University and Chongqing University, respectively.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 14:37:57|Editor: Zhou Xin

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HAVANA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cuba on Tuesday said a U.S. Senate hearing on alleged "acoustic attacks" on American diplomats in the island nation was unacceptable and only served to impose an accusation without evidence.

The Senate hearing on the investigation of "acoustic attacks" against U.S. diplomats residing in Cuba was criticized by a top Cuban diplomat on U.S. affairs as an accusation that Washington has been unable to prove.

Josefina Vidal, general director of the United States division of Cuba's Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference that the biggest victim of Tuesday's hearing was the truth behind the controversial issue.

"It's clear this is an unfounded accusation against Cuba. The State Department has no evidence that allows them to claim there have been attacks against its diplomats in Havana or that Cuba could be responsible or have knowledge of third-party actions against foreign envoys," she added.

U.S. State Department officials testified at the Senate hearing that it was "incomprehensible" the Cuban government would not have been aware of what happened or who was responsible.

Vidal rejected statements made by several State Department officials, saying they were "unacceptable."

"U.S. experts haven't been able to identify the cause of the incidents or its perpetrators. However, several U.S. State Department officials repeatedly used the word 'attacks'," she said.

The Senate hearing came just a day after the Federal Bureau of Investigations published a report saying it found no evidence of "acoustic attacks" against U.S. personnel in Cuba.

Vidal said that after months of investigations it has been demonstrated that alleged attacks never took place.

"The Cuban government has no responsibility for the health incidents reported by U.S. diplomats. We are aware of our responsibilities and fulfil them in an exemplary manner," Vidal noted.

Vidal said the issue has been "politicized" in order to justify Washington's roll back of thawing ties between the former Cold War enemies.

Over 20 U.S. diplomats and their family members in the Caribbean nation suffered symptoms such as hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, headaches and fatigue since the incidents were first reported in November 2016, leading to U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Cuba was responsible.

The Trump administration, which has partly rolled back a detente with Cuba, sharply reduced the U.S. embassy staff in Havana in response to the incident last year.

Additionally, the U.S. State Department in October expelled 15 Cuban diplomats who worked at the embassy in Washington, as well as suspended all consular services, including issuing immigrant and non-immigrant visas in Havana, a measure highly unpopular among Cubans.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 14:37:57|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday started a normal operation of military hotline for direct dialogue between the military authorities.

Seoul's defense ministry was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the two Koreas test-communicated via the restored military hotline for five minutes from 8:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Tuesday).

There has been no special discussion during the test-communications, according to the ministry.

South Korea confirmed the DPRK's restoration of the cross-border military communication channel in the western region after it was informed of the restoration during the Tuesday inter-Korean dialogue.

The communications channel between the two Koreas in the liaison office of Panmunjom, which straddles the inter-Korean land border, was already reopened last week.

The two channels for direct dialogue between governments and military authorities of the two Koreas were severed in February 2016 as South Korea unilaterally shut down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in response to Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in the previous month.

The inter-Korean industrial zone in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong was the last remaining symbol of the inter-Korean economic cooperation, housing over 120 South Korean companies and hiring over 50,000 DPRK workers.

After the first inter-Korean talks in about two years Tuesday, South Korea and the DPRK agreed to hold a dialogue on military affairs without elaborating on when to hold it.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 14:53:00|Editor: Liu

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TIANJIN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- European aviation giant Airbus signed a framework agreement with its Chinese partners on Tuesday to increase the number of planes it makes at its Tianjin assembly plant.

According to a statement released by Airbus China, Airbus aims to produce five aircraft a month by early 2019 before reaching a monthly total of six jets by early 2020 at the Tianjin final assembly line for the A320-family of jets.

Currently, it produces four A320 aircraft a month at the facility. From the time it was established in 2008 until the end of 2017, the Tianjin plant assembled and delivered a total of 354 A320s.

Also on Tuesday, Airbus signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Development and Reform Commission of China.

Both sides promised to strengthen industrial cooperation in Tianjin with regards to technical innovation, engineering capabilities and supply chain expansion.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 15:03:02|Editor: Jiaxin

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MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The drones used in the attempted attacks on two Russian military facilities in Syria came from the area controlled by the moderate opposition, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement published in the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper Wednesday.

The ministry confirmed that the drones were from the Muazar settlement in the southwestern part of the ldlib de-escalation zone controlled by the moderate opposition.

The ministry has written to the Turkish military, urging Ankara to "fulfill its obligation to ensure the end of hostile acts by the armed formations under its control" and to intensify the work on setting up observation posts in the de-escalation zone to prevent drone attacks on any targets.

In September 2017, Iran, Russia and Turkey held talks in Astana,Kazakhstan, agreeing to deploy observers in Idlib. Turkish military is currently deployed in Idlib to set up observation posts and monitor the implementation of the de-escalation zones.

Earlier in January, the Russian defense military reported that 13 drones had been used to attack two Russian military facilities in Syria, but were captured or destroyed by Russian servicemen.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 15:13:03|Editor: Lifang

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NEW YORK, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China has the potential to maintain an annual economic growth rate of 6 percent until the 2030s, said former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank Justin Lin Yifu Tuesday.

Lin, also the honorary dean of National School of Development at Peking University, made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech during the "Forecast: China's Economy 2018," an event hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and Peking University's China Center for Economic Research in New York.

He attributed his confidence in the Chinese economy to the fact that "China's labor productivity will improve continuously in the years to come."

The economist explained that the way to maintain economic growth is to improve labor productivity, and the way to raise labor productivity is to "have technology innovation as well as industrial upgrading."

Lin said that compared to developed countries like the United States, China, as a developing economy, has the so-called "latecomer advantage" in terms of technology innovation and industrial upgrading.

He further stated that developing countries like China can "learn technology that has been matured in high-income countries," so that "the cost and risks of innovation are comparably low, and potentially, developing countries can grow more dynamically than high-income countries."

According to Lin, China has benefited from the "latecomer advantage" in the past 40 years and achieved an annual growth rate of 9.6 percent, which was hailed as a miracle by many all over the world.

For the years to come, he predicted that China will continue to maintain a faster growth rate compared to developed countries.

To further illustrate his prediction, Lin cited his latest study of the world economy in the past 70 years, pointing out that "In 2008, the per capita GDP of China was 21 percent of the United States, which was similar to Japan in 1951, Singapore in 1967, China's Taiwan in 1975 and South Korea in 1977."

"The four economies above all achieved an annual growth rate of 8 percent to 9 percent continuously over the next 20 years, which indicates that China can achieve around an 8 percent growth rate continuously from 2008 to 2028," said Lin.

He added that real economic growth will depend on how much China carries out current reforms to ensure social and political stability as well as on the global economic situation.

"From my observation, it is very likely that China will be able to achieve a 6 percent growth rate from now until around the 2030s," Lin noted.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 15:43:10|Editor: Lifang

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PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived here Wednesday for the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting and an official visit to Cambodia.

"I look forward to joining my colleagues in Phnom Penh for the second LMC leaders' meeting and to discussing with them future action plans of cooperation in water conservancy, education, culture, youth and many other areas," Li said in a signed article published on Khmer Times, a leading English-language newspaper in Cambodia, ahead of his visit.

"I am confident that these efforts will lead to even more fruitful outcomes," added the premier, who will co-chair the leaders' meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen.

During the meeting, leaders of the six LMC countries -- China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- will review the progress made through the sub-regional cooperation mechanism and discuss the future of cooperation, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

Initiated by China in 2014, the LMC mechanism focuses on five priority areas of cooperation: connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, as well as agriculture and poverty reduction.

The Lancang River originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in southwest China. It is called the Mekong River as it flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the sea.

As to the official visit, which comes as the two neighbors are poised to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year, Li will meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, and hold talks with Hun Sen to promote bilateral cooperation.

"It is estimated that China has built more bridges and more roads in Cambodia than any other country," the Chinese premier said in his article. "In my view, the best bridge China has built is the bridge of friendship between our peoples, and the best road is the road leading toward common development."

"The very purpose of my visit is to continue building that bridge and that road," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 15:53:13|Editor: Lifang

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The first Chinese data base of Apple Inc. will be put into operation on Feb. 28, the company announced Wednesday.

From them on, photos, documents and other personal information uploaded to iCloud accounts by Apple customers in China will be stored at a data base in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

The company will start informing its Chinese iCloud users from Wednesday, with data transferred and uploaded to the new data base automatically.

The move is aiming to increase transparency and offer Chinese customers a safer and more fluent experience of iCloud, the company said.

Apple announced the constructing of the new data base in Guizhou last July, with an investment of 1 billion U.S. dollars.

Other major technology companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, have also made similar deals to run data centers in China.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 16:38:24|Editor: Yamei

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Ri Son-gwon (L), chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), shakes hands with South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon at Peace House, a South Korean building in the truce village of Panmunjom, Jan. 9, 2018. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea have agreed at the just-ended inter-Korean dialogue to hold separate military talks, with the DPRK also consenting to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics to be hosted by Seoul next month, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Newsis)

PYONGYANG, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday cautiously welcomed the outcomes of the high-level meeting with South Korea, while warning Seoul against the U.S. ambition to keep the peninsula permanently divided.

Pyongyang's official daily Rodong Sinmun published a commentary saying the key for improving inter-Korean relations is to raise high the flag of "Our Nation Only" while opposing any intervention by outside forces.

"National independence and self reliance are (the) lifeline of movement of reunification of the fatherland and for solving all the problems of our nation. It is unlikely to solve (the) North-South problem by relying on outside forces," it said.

The daily called on the South Korean government to "scrap any illusion of outside forces" and be fully aware of the ambition of the United States to dominate Northeast Asia by sacrificing the interests of the Korean nation without blinking.

"The United States wants the Korean Peninsula permanently divided so that it can ride over this region. The South Korean government must see clearly this face of America," it said.

The Korean Central Television reported Tuesday's inter-Korean talks in a separate program in the afternoon. The Korean Central News Agency reported Monday night the event by publishing the joint communique issued by the meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom, describing the talks as "earnest."

The DPRK and South Korea agreed Tuesday to cooperate in making the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics a success, take measures to ease tension on the peninsula and continue the process of rapprochement.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 16:43:25|Editor: Jiaxin

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SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Women have better chances to survive than men in the worst of circumstances such as famines and epidemics, a new study revealed Tuesday.

Researchers at the U.S. Duke University and the University of Southern Denmark examined about 250 years of mortality data for people whose lives were cut short by famine, disease and misfortunes, to study the life expectancy gender gap between females and males.

Their findings, published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, were released on Tuesday.

The researchers found that the behavioral differences were the least remarkable between both genders in infancy and the fact that females have an edge during that period suggests at least in part that biological factors plays a decisive role in giving women a longer expectancy during adulthood.

The data covered seven populations in which people of both sexes had a hard time in 20 years or less, including famine victims in Sweden, Ireland and Ukraine in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

The mortalities of Icelanders were also studied during the measles epidemics from 1846 to 1882.

They found that more than 40 percent of freed American slaves who were relocated to Liberia in West Africa in the 1800s died from tropical diseases during their first year.

In Europe, the life expectancy of a group of people living in Ireland was cut short by more than 15 years due to an extensive crop failure.

In general, the researchers discovered that women lived longer than men by an average of six months to nearly four years.

The researchers attributed the female advantage in times of crisis to biological factors such as genetics or hormones, including estrogens that provide stronger immune defense against infectious diseases for women.
Jammu, Jan 10 (PTI) Opposition National Conference (NC) and Congress today staged a walkout from the Jammu andAAAKashmir Legislative Council alleging failure on the part of the state government in stopping civilian killings and humanAAArights violations in Kashmir.

Some agitated opposition members rushed to the Well of the Council and anti-government sloganeering disrupted the proceedings.

As the upper house of the state legislature met for the day, NC and Congress members led by Ghulam Nabi Monga and SajjadAAAKitchloo were up on their feet shouting slogans against the PDP-BJP coalition over its alleged failure to stop the killing of "innocents".

Many opposition members trooped into the Well of the House demanding a statement from the government over the killing of a youth in south Kashmir yesterday.

They expressed anger over the death of a 20-year-old man allegedly in firing by security forces following the killing of a militant in Khudwani area of Kulgam district.

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had yesterday expressedAAA deep anguish over the killing of Khalid Hussain Dar of RedwaniAAAPayeen and directed the district administration to conduct a probe into the reasons behind the incident.

After raising slogans for nearly half-an-hour, the entire opposition staged a walkout despite repeated assurances by the Speaker that the government had already ordered a probe.

The watch and ward staff tried to restrain the protesting opposition members even as the ruckus disrupted proceedings. One of the opposition members went to the Well of the House, tore a paper and threw the bits up in the air towards the Well of the House. PTI AB ADS
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 16:53:28|Editor: Lifang

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CHANGCHUN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 4th International Winter Swimming Invitational Tournament kicked off in Dunhua in northeast China's Jilin province on Wednesday. This is the fourth time that Dunhua has played host to the event.

Roughly 3,200 athletes, guests and leaders from 61 teams and 25 countries and regions attended the event. The tournament includes the likes of Algeria, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Russia, Guinea, Garner and Zimbabwe all taking part. The youngest athlete is only three years old and the oldest is 73.

Li Boyang is a Moroccan athlete who participated in several winter swimming events around the world. He says that he enjoyed this competition because of the enthusiasm on display.

Ji Guilan, who won the 50m breaststroke event, is 65 years old. She spoke highly of winter swimming and said it improved her physical and mental health.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 16:58:29|Editor: Jiaxin

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming departure of two U.S. lawmakers in charge of foreign affairs is expected to impact foreign policy in and beyond the Congress amid increasing populism, experts said.

Republican Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, announced Monday that he will not run for a 14th term. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had announced his retirement plan last year.

In a statement, Royce vowed to spend his last year of chairmanship focusing "fully on the urgent threats facing our nation," referring to Pyongyang, Tehran and Moscow, and "growing terrorist threats in Africa and Central Asia."

"With this in mind ... I have decided not to seek reelection in November," he said.

In September last year, Senator Corker also announced he would leave the official post before the end of this year.

Their retirements will contribute to the overhaul of the U.S. Congressional leadership on foreign policy, impacting future legislation and policy, experts said.

MULTIPLE PRESSURES

If he had stayed on, Royce was expected to face fierce challenges in the November mid-term elections.

Analysts point out that California's 39th Congressional District, which Royce has represented for some 25 years, has become a coveted battleground for both Republicans and Democrats.

Although Royce won the election in 2016, his district gave Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton a nearly 10-point advantage over Donald Trump, now the U.S. president. This year, Royce would have had a slimmer chance to win, considering the rising popularity of Democratic contenders in the district.

Corker's dropout was said to be more out of frustration than due to electoral pressure. His heated exchanges with Trump last year caused surprise both in and outside the party.

Corker called Trump a liar and incompetent to serve the presidency. In media interviews, he alleged Trump was turning the White House into an "adult day-care center" and would drag the United States into World War III.

In response, Trump blamed Corker for helping his predecessor Barack Obama sign the Iran nuclear deal. Trump also called Corker a "lightweight" who could not get re-elected without his help.

Commenting on Corker's exit, Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Xinhua that there were reports of the "frustration moderate senators like him were feeling about continuing to work in the Senate."

Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Brookings Institute, said many congressional Republicans are leaving because "they see a Democratic tidal wave engulfing them in the 2018 elections."

IMPACT ON U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

Experts said the departure of Corker and Royce could lead to a more conservative Congressional attitude on foreign policy amidst escalating populism in the United States.

"It is bad, in my opinion, to have a continuous leakage of centrist, experienced lawmakers," Paal said.

West said both Congress leaders "tend to be globalists who want strong American engagement with the world. They value solid relations with our trading partners and do not want there to be major barriers that limit commerce."

Pointing out that new committee chairs usually have their own perspectives that can differ considerably from past chairs', West outlined the danger involved: "There is the risk that legislators who want a tougher stance vis-a-vis the world will come to the forefront and alter congressional policy."

(Matthew Rusling from Washington also contributed to the story.)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 17:13:33|Editor: Yamei

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Ri Son-gwon (L), chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), shakes hands with South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon at Peace House, a South Korean building in the truce village of Panmunjom, Jan. 9, 2018. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea have agreed at the just-ended inter-Korean dialogue to hold separate military talks, with the DPRK also consenting to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics to be hosted by Seoul next month, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Newsis)

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The international community have hailed the high-level talks held by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea, the first in more than two years, and agreements reached during the meeting.

The two Koreas on Tuesday held the inter-governmental dialogue at the truce village of Panmunjom in the highly militarized zone dividing the peninsula.

After the over-10-hour talks, the two sides hammered out a three-point joint statement, agreeing to work to ease military tensions, hold military-to-military talks, and reopen the inter-Korean military hotline.

"The re-establishment and strengthening of such channels is critical to lowering the risk of miscalculation or misunderstanding and to reduce tensions in the region," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a statement.

The DPRK agreed to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics to kick off in February in South Korea's eastern county of Pyeongchang, and the 2018 Paralympics in March.

Guterres also welcomes the decision of the DPRK to send a delegation to the upcoming Olympic Games, Dujarric said.

"As the United Nations General Assembly has recognized, the holding of the Olympic Games can foster an atmosphere of peace, tolerance and understanding among nations. This is particularly relevant on the Korean Peninsula and beyond," he added.

"North Korean (DPRK) participation is an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearizing," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Tuesday.

Under the three-point agreement, South Korea and the DPRK will honor the declarations they made in the past and resolve all issues on inter-Korean relations through talks and negotiations.

EU High Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that the bloc welcomed the joint announcements adopted after the talks, hailing that they "can be conducive to fostering trust and de-escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula."

The EU also expected that the talks would "prepare the ground for the DPRK to engage in a broader, credible and meaningful dialogue, aimed at pursuing the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the peninsula," said Mogherini.

"Clearly this is a positive development," said U.S. State Department Spokesperson Steve Goldstein at a briefing Tuesday afternoon.

"We would like nuclear talks to occur," said Goldstein, adding that this is "a good first step in that process."

Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his willingness to talk with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK, and supported the upcoming dialogues.

"I always believe in talking," Trump told reporters at Camp David on Saturday when asked whether he was willing to engage in phone talks with Kim right now.

However, both Trump and other U.S. officials stopped short of considering a direct talk between the United States and the DPRK without any preconditions.

Trump said any talk will come with prerequisites.

"Talks are vital... but it has to occur with the conditions that we outlined," said Goldstein.

Experts urged Washington to further commit itself to the peace-making process and final denuclearization of the peninsula.

U.S. scholar on the DPRK affairs John Delury argued that actual negotiations on denuclearization, arms control and peace mechanisms will require direct U.S. participation.

"The sooner the Trump administration follows (South Korean President) Moon's lead in opening a direct channel to Pyongyang, the better," said Delury in an editorial published on the website of Foreign Affairs earlier this week.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 17:13:35|Editor: Yurou

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SINGAPORE, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Global Investor Program (GIP), which helps foreign investors to get Singapore's permanent residency, brought investments that generated business expenditure totaling 1.8 billion Singapore dollars (about 1.35 billion U.S. dollars) from 2011 to 2016.

The Business Times quoted Sim Ann, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, on Wednesday as saying that the investments created more than 6,000 jobs in the city-state.

"The primary objective of the GIP is for Singapore-based companies to benefit from the injection of capital from GIP funds and tap on the GIP investors' entrepreneurial track record," she said.

Under the GIP, foreigners are able to apply for the permanent residency of Singapore by bringing at least 2.5 million Singapore dollars (about 1.87 million U.S. dollars) of investment to the city-state. The investment can be used to start a business, expand businesses, or put into a GIP fund that invests in Singapore-based companies.

Sim Ann said the GIP funds totaled 1.5 billion Singapore dollars (about 1.12 million U.S. dollars) as of 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 17:23:36|Editor: Yurou

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JAKARTA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has rejected Moody's investors' statement that ongoing elections at provincial level across the country will disturb reforms, a minister said on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that she was confident that the elections will not hamper reform programs launched by President Joko Widodo.

"I will say the allegation that the government's efforts to keep undertaking its strong reform agenda will be disturbed is totally wrong," Minister Mulyani said.

For this year, she said the government has set agenda which is more aggressive in boosting coordination among ministries and institutions as well as all stakeholders in a bid to find solution amid acceleration of reforms.

"We conduct coordination with synergy to create a real progress in investment sector and support export," the minister added.

Moody's investor has warned in a statement that the ongoing general elections in scores of nation in Asia will slow reform agendas.

The Indonesian government expects the economy to expand 5.4 percent this year after it grew 5.02 percent in 2016. For 2017, the government forecast the GDP to expand 5.17 percent.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 17:23:36|Editor: Yurou

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Soldiers and officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) support the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's decision to transfer Fang Fenghui, a member of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), to the military prosecution authority on suspicion of bribery.

The decision to transfer Fang's case to military prosecutors shows the CPC Central Committee's clear attitude in ensuring full and strict governance over the Party and the military and its resolve to fight corruption with zero tolerance, said the PLA Daily in an article Wednesday.

Fang, also former chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, has been transferred to the military prosecution authority on suspicion of offering and accepting bribes, according to a decision by the CPC Central Committee released Tuesday.

"As a high-level Party and military official, Fang shook his ideals and beliefs, abandoned the purpose of the CPC, became politically degenerate, economically insatiable, and completely deviated from the Party's principles," the article said. "Fang betrayed the trust of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC and let the people down, and severely tarnished the image of the Party, the military and leading officials."

The handling of Fang's case is an important part of the efforts to eliminate the pernicious influence of Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, former CMC vice chairmen, according to the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 17:28:38|Editor: Yurou

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday hailed the positive outcome of talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Republic of Korea (ROK).

"It is encouraging that the two sides show each others' goodwill and shake hands at a time when the situation of the Korean Peninsula is quite tense," spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing.

The talks, the first of their kind in two years, saw agreement reached, including cooperation on the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and holding military talks to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

"China, as a close neighbor of the Korean Peninsula, welcomes and supports the moves taken by the DPRK and the ROK to thaw their relationships," Lu said.

He called on both countries to take the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as an opportunity to improve ties and advance cooperation, and made positive efforts to ease tensions on the peninsula and push the peninsula issue back to the right track of settlement through dialogue and consultation."

The international community should fully understand and support such efforts, Lu said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 17:33:39|Editor: Yurou

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COLOMBO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A tense situation erupted in the Sri Lankan parliament on Wednesday as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe read a statement to the House over a Treasury bond scam committed at the Central Bank.

Opposition legislators launched a protest in the middle of the House as Wickremesinghe read his statement, calling for the parliament speaker to divulge the details of the Treasury bond scam which had been probed by a special presidential commission.

The situation soon turned violent when an object was hurled at the prime minister.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya suspended sittings for 10 minutes in order to restore normalcy.

"I am told that never in history had there been a brawl in the Chamber like the one just now," Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Development, Harsha De Silva said on his Twitter account.

"Utter pandemonium in Parliament. Apparently someone threw an object at the PM while he was speaking in the Chamber. Didn't see who it was. Disgraceful," he further tweeted.

Even after the 10-minute suspension, a fist fight was reported between opposition and government legislators.

The prime minister was unhurt in the clash. However, Kavinda Jayawardena, a parliamentarian from ruling United National Party was taken to the Parliament medical center after he sustained injuries in the brawl.

The Treasury is said to have lost 11,145 million rupees (about 72 million U.S. dollars) due to the Treasury bond scam and other malpractices which was allegedly committed under the watch of former central bank chief Arjuna Mahendran and some bank officials when the new government took office in 2015.

Mahendran was appointed the central bank chief in 2015 by Prime Minister Wickremesinghe before the bonds scam allegedly took place. He resigned a year later.

President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a three-member presidential commission to probe the bond scam in January 2017. The commission has handed over its report to the president last month.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 17:38:40|Editor: Yurou

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TOKYO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga on Wednesday rebuked remarks made by the U.S. military, which claimed that the decision of two helicopter pilots to make emergency landings in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost Prefecture, were correct.

U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris had said that he was satisfied that the helicopter crews' decisions to make emergency landings on a sandy beach close to a residential home and at a waste disposal site near a resort hotel were correct.

He believed that the choices the crews made were preferable to the two aircraft returning to their base at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, located in a densely populated area of Okinawa.

Onaga, a staunch proponent of easing the base-hosting burdens of the people of Okinawa, slammed Harris' remarks, saying that the issue was not as much to do with the crews' decision making at the time, but the "sloppy" safety standards of the U.S. military's maintenance protocols that led to the incidents in the first place.

Onaga was referring to two incidents involving military choppers making emergency landings in quick succession recently in Okinawa.

On Monday, an AH-1 attack helicopter was forced to land in the village of Yomitan, after a UH-1 helicopter made a forced landing on Ikei Island in the city of Uruma on Jan. 6.

Along with officials in Okinawa, local residents are becoming increasingly incensed at the frequency of U.S. military-linked mishaps and anti-U.S. sentiment is steadily growing on the tiny sub-tropical island that hosts the bulk of U.S. military bases in Japan.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 17:58:43|Editor: Yurou

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DAMASCUS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A massive explosion rocked a weapon depot of the Syrian army in the eastern countryside of the northwestern province of Latakia on Wednesday, a monitor group reported.

The blast rocked the weapon depot in the town Slinfah, killing and wounding an unknown number of soldiers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The oppositional UK-based watchdog group said the blast rattled the eastern countryside of Latakia and caused big property losses.

Still, the causes of the blast remained murky, the Observatory added.

Meanwhile, pro-government activists said the blast occurred in an old weapon depot, leaving wounded people only with no casualties.

The activists also shunned aside any possibility of a terror attack in that area.

Latakia, the hometown of President Bashar al-Assad, has returned under the spotlight recently, following drone attacks carried out by rebels on the Russian-run Hmeimim air base in the countryside of Latakia.

The base, which contains a command center for the Russian forces in Syria, has been subject to repeated attacks in recent days.

The first major one was earlier this month when mortar shells hit the base and damaged several warplanes.
A rally called by Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani turned out to be a damp squib on Tuesday as it saw empty chairs and a poor turnout.

Delhi Police had deployed a large number of cops for crowd control anticipating a large turnout, but it had to withdraw a big part of it as very few people actually came out on the streets.

The rally was organised to demand the release of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad. Even though Delhi Police had not granted permission to Mevani for the event at Parliament Street citing an NGT order, the venue was fortified in anticipation of trouble.

However, due to abysmal turnout, almost 80 per cent of the police force armed with tear gas and water cannons was withdrawn by Delhi police.

"Eighty per cent of police personnel deployed for Mevani's Yuva Hunkar rally were withdrawn after we found fewer turnout. Delhi police earlier estimated that the gathering would be around 5,000," an official said, highlighting the poor turnout at the much-touted event.

Mevani, who was heading the rally, has been accused of instigating and provoking violence in Maharashtra after the Bhima Koregaon incident. The violence paralysed normal life in Maharashtra, following which an FIR was filed against him and JNU student Umar Khalid.

The rally saw former and current JNU students' union leaders from various Leftist organisations, including Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Shehla Rashid and Mohit Pandey in attendance, apart from senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan.

Despite no permission from Delhi police, the organisers conducted the rally claiming that it was being held on Parliament Street where the NGT order does not apply.

"It is unfortunate. We were just going to demonstrate peacefully and democratically but the government is targeting us. An elected representative is not being allowed to speak," Mevani said before the rally started.

The rally, which saw students from Allahabad University, Delhi University, Lucknow University and JNU, was organised to emphasise on issues such as educational rights, employment, livelihood and gender justice.

"The way corruption, poverty, unemployment and other real issues are being swept under the carpet, and ghar wapasi, love jihad and cows are being given space, we stand against that. We do not believe in love jihad, but in love. We will celebrate April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti) and February 14 (Valentine's Day)," Mevani said, addressing the crowd.
Photo taken on Oct. 14, 2017 shows the explosion site near Safari hotel in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse)

MOGADISHU, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A roadside explosion injured two people in Somali capital of Mogadishu's Hodan district early Wednesday in the latest attacks by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.

Police and eye witnesses said the explosion targeted a vehicle carrying Somali security forces around the industrial road of Mogadishu.

"The two people who were injured in the explosion at Taleh area in Hodan district were rushed to the hospital. One person was seriously injured," said a police officer who declined to be named.

No group claimed responsibility for the last attack. However, Al-Shabaab militants are often behind such attacks in the capital and across the Horn of Africa nation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 18:18:46|Editor: Jiaxin

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DAMASCUS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government forces are fighting against the militant groups in the vicinity of a key air base in the southern countryside of the northwestern province of Idlib, a military source told Xinhua on Wednesday.

The raging battles near Abu al-Duhur air base are being fought on several fronts, as the army forces are getting closer to storm and recapture that facility from the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee (LLC), the military source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

He added that the Syrian forces have captured 10 villages in the past few hours in the southeastern countryside of Idlib, as part of their push to reach Abu al-Duhur.

A day earlier, the Syrian government forces came to within eight kilometers of the Abu al-Duhur, following a two-week-long battle with the LLC in the southern countryside of Idlib.

The Syrian army is eyeing the recapture of Abu al-Duhur due to the strategic importance of that facility and its crucial role in launching further offensives against the LLC and likeminded groups in Idlib.

Idlib has emerged as the main destination of the rebel groups, which have evacuated several positions across Syria after surrendering to the Syrian army.

The area has become a home to several rebel groups from different affiliations, some of which are supported by Turkey, while others, such as the LLC, previously known as the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, are designated as terrorist groups.

The LLC has returned to the surface after the near-defeat of the IS militants in their key strongholds late last year.

The focus of the Syrian army seems to have shifted to defeating the LLC, as this group controls key areas near Damascus and much of Idlib.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 18:41:07|Editor: Lifang

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A graduate (L, front) consults employment information at a job fair in Xidian University in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 10, 2018. About 8,000 job opportunities were offered to the college graduates at the job fair on Wednesday. Xi'an will hold more job fairs across the nation until May next year to attract one million college graduates to work in Xi'an. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 18:28:48|Editor: Jiaxin

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by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's drug problem has reached epidemic proportions in recent years and its usage age has dropped dramatically despite the heavy crackdown on narcotics trafficking across the country amid a lack of sustainable solutions for addicts, warned experts and officials.

"I am clean since 5 years ago but I used cannabis, alcohol, ecstasy and other synthetic drugs for over 8 years. Because of my addiction I was in a severe health condition and had to be hospitalized in the end. I was weighing only 43 kilos when I was admitted," Seyyide Yoruk told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

This 34-year-old repentant drug addict said her family considers drug abuse as "something ashamed of" in a largely conservative and patriarchal Muslim society, which makes it very difficult for the addicts to look for a clean life and there are few state-sponsored medical facilities that can properly take care of them.

"Antalya is now the capital of heroin in Turkey. There is the real deal which is pure and difficult to reach and the synthetic one that you can buy for 20 liras (5.4 U.S. dollars) per fix. No one knows what's inside and it can cause deadly overdoses," Yoruk said.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag sounded the alarm bell last week. He said his country seizes more drugs than Europe and trafficking of drugs from Iran and Afghanistan usually goes through Turkey.

In 2017, Turkish authorities detained 47,213 people, including 232 foreigners, for drug-related offenses, Akdag said.

"However, there is another trafficking route which starts from the Netherlands, partly from Belgium and Austria and is targeting Turkey," he noted, calling on Brussels, Belgium, Austria and Poland to do more to stop drug runners in Europe.

"These substances, which are used by young people who end up in a sorry state on the streets, are manufactured in the Netherlands, Belgium or Austria and partially in Poland," the Turkish senior official explained.

He was referring to the cheap synthetic drug called bonsai which is holding a large number of youths prisoner of its effects.

Operations have led to the seizure of 5,778,593 illegal drugs in the pill-form, including ecstasy, amphetamine and prescriptions, Akdag said.

Despite harsh legislation and intense police work, synthetic drug abuse is on the rise among low-income Turkish youths, even in conservative neighborhoods in big cities.

"It's even more terrible in the east (of Turkey). Drugs have even made their way to small villages in rural areas where kids aged 9 or 10 are using it," Fatih Yuzuguler, a former addict, told Xinhua.

The 26-year-old Kurdish man said he pretty much used every drug from cannabis to cocaine and methamphetamine to heroin.

"I was responsible also for the fact that my wife started to use it with me until we ended sleeping in the streets, without income or money, food or dignity," said Yuzuguler, who is now clean and so is his wife.

Yuzuguler now tries to help new addicts and their families to sever ties with narcotics, which is a very hard task in an impoverished and conservative environment.

"To be sober is a lifetime commitment. Like a diabetic we struggle to keep away from our kind of sweets," said Yoruk.

He called on the state to establish a comprehensive mechanism for the social problem, and raise awareness of the plight of young addicts.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu stirred a controversy last week when he publicly encouraged his police force to use extra judicial methods to deal with drug smugglers.

"If a dealer is near a school, the police have a duty to break his leg. Do it and blame me. Even if it costs five, 10, 20 years in jail, we'll pay," Soylu was quoted by the local press as saying.

He argued that Turkey must fight drug dealers as it fights the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has engaged in a three-decade deadly insurgency against the Turkish state.

"What we are doing to PKK terrorists, we must also do to drug dealers. No one can poison our future," he said.

The interior ministry said last year that the PKK earns 500 million dollars a year from the illegal drug trade since 1980, with cannabis as its main source of funding.

The age of drug usage has decreased to 9 in Turkey, according to Ulkumen Rodoplu, the founding president of the Emergency Mede iMessage Association of Turkey.

"In Izmir province last week, a nine-year-old child was brought to hospital for addiction treatment," he said in a recent interview to the Turkish Daily News, warning that drug use can develop from one simple use.

"Generally, youngsters try drugs out of curiosity with the belief that nothing will happen from one use, but it's not the case," he noted.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 18:43:56|Editor: Jiaxin

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JAKARTA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Retail sales in Indonesia expanded at a faster pace in November as sales of food, beverages and vehicle fuels grew.

A survey by the Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia, revealed on Wednesday that the retail sales accelerated 2.5 percent in November from a year ago.

In October, retail sales grew 2.2 percent year-on-year due to rising sales of foods and tobacco.

For December, 700 surveyed retailers in 10 major cities across the archipelagic nation expected retail sales to improve.

They forecast the sales will increase 2.6 percent from a year ago as sales of foods, beverage and tobacco will also grow.

The retailers believe price pressure will be down in February but rise in May, prior to the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan.

Demand of foods and clothes generally rises in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, ahead of Ramadhan followed by Islamic festivity. Cost of transport is also regularly up before and after the festival as tens of thousands Muslims return home from cities to celebrate the event.

The Indonesian government has been attempting to generate people's purchasing power in a bid to boost consumption, the major contributor to the economic growth. One of the policies is to keep price of electricity and fuel stable in the first quarter.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 18:43:57|Editor: Jiaxin

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DHAKA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh has sentenced two to death and three others to life in prison for their crimes committed during the country's war of independence in 1971.

The death-row inmates are Ujayer Ahmed Chowdhury, 63, and Nesar Ali, 75, while Yunus Ahmed, 71, Samsul Hossain Tarafder, 65, and Mobarak Mia, 66, were awarded lift imprisonment.

The International Crimes Tribunal, led by Chairman Justice Md Shahinur Islam, found the convicts guilty of the charges brought against them.

The charges include rape, murder, confinement and torture of unarmed civilians during the nine-month war in 1971.

Condemned Yunus and Ujayer, who are in police custody, were taken to the tribunal for verdict delivery Wednesday morning.

The remaining three of the accused have been absconding.

The tribunal directed the secretary of Bangladesh's Ministry of Home Affairs and police chief for measures to detain the three fugitives convicted of war crimes.

After returning to power in January 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh's independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, established the first tribunal in March 2010, almost 40 years after the 1971 war.

Five Jamaat-e-Islami party leaders - Mir Quasem Ali, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Abdul Quader Molla, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid - have already been executed for 1971 war crimes.

Apart from them, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Salaudin Quader Chowdhury was executed for war crimes.

Both BNP and Jamaat have dismissed the court as a government "show trial," saying it is a domestic set-up without the oversight or involvement of the United Nations.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh was called East Pakistan until 1971. The government of Hasina said about 3 million people were killed in the war.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:04:01|Editor: Lifang

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by Fei Liena, Lu Juan, Mao Pengfei

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Since the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) mechanism less than two years ago, many Chinese companies have been active players in the cooperation, greatly boosting regional development in the six riparian countries.

Jiang Zengwei, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), told Xinhua at the ongoing Exhibition of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Achievements that Chinese companies' participation in the LMC has been promoting development of infrastructure, telecommunications, agriculture, biology and healthcare in Lancang-Mekong countries, and contributing to their economic, social and cultural advancement.

"I'm very optimistic and fairly confident of our enterprises' development in the Lancang-Mekong region," Jiang said. "I hope the Chinese companies will discover more business opportunities through this exhibition and cooperate with the companies of the other five countries to develop together and realize mutual benefits."

One of the exhibitors, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, showcased its various cooperative projects in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

"Huawei's vision is to bring a digital world to people," said Li Xiongwei, CEO of Huawei Cambodia. "On this exhibition, Huawei showed three aspects of contents, the most important of which is the submarine optical fiber cable (SOFC). We have been building a SOFC connecting Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia. We are also planning with the Cambodian government on building a China-Cambodia SOFC."

Huawei has also been Cambodia's largest information and communication technologies (ICT) provider, serving more than one third of Cambodians, Li said.

Guangxi Nongken, a Chinese agriculture company, which has been implementing the "Go Global" strategy since 2002, has investment projects or technical cooperation with other five Lancang-Mekong countries, including the cassava modified starch projects in Cambodia and Vietnam, sisal hemp projects in Cambodia and Laos, and advanced agricultural technologies cooperation with other Lancang-Mekong countries.

"The agricultural conditions in Lancang-Mekong countries, especially Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, are pretty advanced, yet the processing industry of these countries are comparatively weak, so Guangxi Nongken has invested many projects in agricultural production and agricultural products processing in these countries," said Jin Dagang, deputy chief of Guangxi State Farms Bureau.

The world-renowned China high-speed railway has also made its appearance at the exhibition sponsored by the CCPIT and the Chinese Foreign Ministry, with an exquisite high-speed train model on display.

According to Zhao Guotang, deputy chief engineer of China Railway Corp., China's high-speed railway network has been completed by 2017 with a total length of 25,000 km, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the world's high-speed railway. China's "Renaissance" high-speed train is also the world's fastest and most advanced train with a speed capacity of 350 km per hour.

"Under this circumstance, China's high-speed train's overseas journey in Lancang-Mekong countries has been very successful, with China-Laos Railway, China-Thailand Railway, Jakarta-Vientiane Railway among others, going on very well," said Zhao.

CCPIT Chairman Jiang said it is expected that all the six Lancang-Mekong countries will achieve mutual benefits and win-win through the LMC mechanism under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:14:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) arrives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018. Li arrived here Wednesday for the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting and an official visit to Cambodia.(Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived here Wednesday for the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting and an official visit to Cambodia.

Li was welcomed by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong and Cham Prasidh, Cambodian senior minister and minister of industry and handicraft, at the airport.

Initiated by China in 2014, the LMC consists of six countries -- China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. It focuses on five priority areas of cooperation: connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, as well as agriculture and poverty reduction.

The Lancang River originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in southwest China. It is called the Mekong River as it flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the sea.

The Lancang-Mekong River connects the six countries together and also binds their destiny together, Li said.

Since its inception, the LMC has seen rapid development and fruitful results as it accords with the region's common willingness to seek development and unity as well as promote development, he said.

China is willing to work with all related parties to jointly review the progress made through the sub-regional cooperation mechanism and plan its future development, so as to push forward the mechanism from its nurturing period into the growing period and inject dynamism into regional development and prosperity, Li said.

During the meeting, Li will discuss with leaders of the other five LMC countries about the future of cooperation, visit an exhibition on Lancang-Mekong cooperation outcomes with them, and hold bilateral meetings with leaders of some LMC countries.

On China-Cambodia ties, Li said the two countries are good partners and genuine trusted friends, adding that they value their ties and treat each other as true friends, with mutual respect, equal treatment and mutual support.

Noting that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-Cambodia relations, Li said he expects through the visit to renew friendship and discuss cooperation with the Cambodian side in efforts to jointly write a new chapter of China-Cambodia comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation, better benefit the two peoples, and promote common development.

During his stay in Cambodia, Li will meet with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, hold talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and witness the signing of cooperation agreements in such areas as politics, economy and trade, health, forestry, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:14:03|Editor: Jiaxin

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DAMASCUS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- As many as 1.3 million foreigners from 77 nationalities visited Syria last year, the Syrian Tourism Ministry said Wednesday.

About 237,000 of the visitors entered the country through the International Airport of Damascus, while 570,000 others entered through the Jdaidet Yabous border crossing with Lebanon, the ministry was cited by the pro-government al-Watan newspaper as saying.

Most of the people who visited the country last year were of nationalities that almost refrained from coming to Syria during the seven-year crisis, the ministry said, according to the report.

It added that among the visitors were Americans, Iraqis, Jordanians, Iranians, Pakistanis, and Bahrainis.

Those coming on religious tourism were counted at 161,000 visitors, said the report, adding that the profit share of the government-run hotels in Damascus, Latakia and Aleppo cities reached 2 billion Syrian Pounds in 2017, a 43 percent increase from 2016.
The special CBI court in Ranchi will be delivering its judgment in another case of fodder scam on January 24. The case relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 35 crore and 62 lakh from the Chaibasa treasury in the 1990s when RJD chief Lalu Prasad was the chief minister.

This will be the third case in which judgment would be coming in the fodder scam case after Lalu Prasad was sentenced to three and half years jail in Deoghar case recently and 5 years in the Chaibasa case in 2013.

The arguments in the Chaibasa case got completed in the court of special CBI judge S.S Prasad after Lalu Prasad was produced in the case today.

The Chaibasa case, RC 68A/96, related to illegal withdrawal of Rs 35 crore and 62 lakh and is part of the 950 crore fodder scam. There are 56 accused in this case.

It may be mentioned that Lalu Prasad was convicted and sentenced to three and half years jail term in connection with illegal withdrawal of Rs. 89 lacs from the Deoghar treasury when he was the chief minister between 1994-96. The special CBI judge Shiv Pal Singh had convicted Lalu along with 15 others on 23rd December and sentenced him to jail term along with Rs. 10 lacs fine on 6th January. Presently, Lalu is lodged inside the Birsa Munda jail.

According to Lalu's counsels, he will be moving the Jharkhand High Court later this week challenging the decision of the CBI court and also file petition for bail.

Lalu was found guilty of illegal sale of false documents, criminal conspiracy, embezzlement, forgery, hide evidence and misusing his post as CM. He was also found guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He was convicted under the Section 120B, 409, 418, 420, 467, 468, 471, 477A, 201, 511 of Indian penal code and under Sec 13 (1) (2) of Prevention of Corruption Act.

There are six cases of fodder scam going against Lalu, 5 in Jharkhand and 1 in Patna. The other two cases are relating to fraudulent withdrawal of money Dumka and Doranda treasury, judgment in which is expected in February.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:14:04|Editor: Lifang

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Soldiers and officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) support the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's decision to transfer Fang Fenghui, a member of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), to the military prosecution authority on suspicion of bribery.

"The decision to transfer Fang's case to military prosecutors shows the CPC Central Committee's clear attitude in ensuring full and strict governance over the Party and the military, and its resolve to fight corruption with zero tolerance," said the PLA Daily in an article Wednesday.

Fang, also former chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, has been transferred to the military prosecution authority on suspicion of offering and accepting bribes, according to a decision by the CPC Central Committee released Tuesday.

"As a high-level Party and military official, Fang shook his ideals and beliefs, abandoned the purpose of the CPC, became politically degenerate, economically insatiable, and completely deviated from the Party's principles," the article said. "Fang betrayed the trust of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC and let the people down, and severely tarnished the image of the Party, the military and leading officials."

The handling of Fang's case is an important part of the efforts to eliminate the pernicious influence of Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, former CMC vice chairmen, according to the article.

The article said that the 19th CPC National Congress had outlined a blueprint for building a strong country with a strong army, and urged strict governance over the Party, and the governing of the military with strict discipline in all respects.

"The cases of Fang and Zhang Yang, both former members of the CPC Central Military Commission suspected of offering and accepting bribes, have deeply warned us," it said.

"Although overwhelming momentum has been achieved in the anti-corruption fight, the situation is still serious and the army has a long way to go in stepping up efforts to improve conduct, building integrity and combating corruption," it said.

"There are no no-go zones; no ground is left unturned; and no tolerance is shown for corruption," the article said, urging the imposition of tight constraints and a tough stance and long-term deterrence in fighting corruption.

"All military personnel, especially leading officials, should learn a lesson from Fang's case, keep loyalty to the Party, maintain and implement a system in which the chairman of the CMC has overall responsibility for the military, and must not be a two-faced person, to strive for the goal of building a strong army in the new era," it said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:19:04|Editor: Lifang

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TIANJIN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- North China's Tianjin Municipality issued more than 4,600 pollution fines last year, tripling the number in 2016, with a total value of 220 million yuan (33.8 million U.S. dollars).

The value of the fines increased by 139 percent over 2016, said Yang Yong, an official with the municipal environmental protection bureau.

Enforcement workers were mobilized to inspect more than 34,000 companies in 2017, with the fines the heaviest compared with previous years, said Jia Chunning, head of the municipal environmental inspection enforcement team.

Average density of PM2.5 in Tianjin was 62 micrograms per cubic meter of air in 2017, meeting the goal set by the State Council, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said Wednesday.

The density dropped by 10.1 percent year on year, and by 35.4 percent compared with 2013, the ministry said on its website.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:24:05|Editor: Yurou

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by Xinhua writer Deng Xianlai

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- As the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting unveils on Wednesday, the Chinese delegation led by Premier Li Keqiang is expected to send a signal that the mechanism underscores inclusive regional development that will benefit all relevant parties.

The Lancang-Mekong Cooperation is a sub-regional cooperation mechanism first proposed by China in 2014. Countries involved in the mechanism are Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The river originates from China's Qinghai-Tibet plateau and is called Lancang in China. The lower part of the river, which flows through the other five countries, is referred to as Mekong.

The focus of the mechanism are centered on three pillars, namely political and security issues, economic and sustainable development, as well as social, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. These aspects are vital to both maintaining prosperity in the region and enhancing relations among the member countries.

Specifically, major areas of cooperation include inter-connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, agriculture and poverty reduction -- all catering squarely to the development needs shared by the parties involved.

Although a shared river has brought the six nations together, geographic proximity is not the sole factor that leads to the creation of the cooperation framework.

The essence of what makes the mechanism not only possible but also necessary lies in the fact that the member states are all developing countries. As such, they share the common goals of developing the economy and improving people's livelihood.

China, as the world's largest developing country, has always played an active role in the mechanism. When hosting its inaugural meeting in 2016, China initiated a special fund to support small- and medium-sized cooperation projects in the member states.

Some 7.3 million U.S. dollars from the fund has been allocated to carry out projects in Cambodia that covers areas such as agriculture, tourism, technology, public health, education, air connectivity and cultural exchange.

An additional amount of the fund will be invested in a total of 13 projects in Laos that will facilitate the land-locked country's social and economic development, according to an agreement signed between China and Laos in January.

At the end of 2017, China and Thailand kicked off the construction of a high-speed rail line featuring Chinese technology and connecting Bangkok and the northeast Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima. It is the first phase of a joint project that will see the railway stretch further northward and ultimately reach the Nong Khai city.

On the law enforcement front, China and other partners in the mechanism have engaged in combatting cross-border crimes, with Thailand hosting the first phase of such missions in early 2016.

The region along the Mekong River is infamously known as the Golden Triangle, a term which oftentimes reminds people of large-scale opium plantation as well as rampant drug trafficking.

In an effort to root out these illegal activities, the six countries have conducted a three-month anti-drug operation in 2016, during which liaison staff shared information and coordinated their actions. Similar joint missions are expected to continue as the countries eye strengthened law enforcement cooperation in the future.

Not only is the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation conducive to narrowing the development gaps among its member states and countries in the larger Southeast Asia region, it will also foster a more open, inclusive and balanced economic globalization that benefits all.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:24:05|Editor: Jiaxin

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WINDHOEK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Namibia has resumed imports and in-transit movement of live poultry and poultry products from Belgium.

The ban on poultry imports from Belgium was made in June 2017 after the outbreak of the highly contagious Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N8), commonly known as bird flu.

In a statement Wednesday, Namibia's chief veterinary officer in the Directorate of veterinary services Adrianatus Maseke said the lifting of the ban follows the submission of a comprehensive report on the outbreak from Belgium.

"The resumption of imports and in transit movement from Belgium is for products produced after Sept. 29, 2017," Maseke said.

According to Maseke, Belgium indicated that all affected areas had been depopulated of poultry, while properties were disinfected.

"Surveillance conducted in that country has not detected any evidence of infection in poultry for at least three months as required by the World Organization for Animal Health to declare freedom," he explained.

Maseke, however, urged poultry importers to contact the veterinary import and export office for further information on which countries are still under the ban.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:29:08|Editor: Jiaxin

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TOKYO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Japan lodged a protest with South Korea on Wednesday over President Moon Jae-in's remarks suggesting that Japan untie an "erroneous knot" over the "comfort women" issue by sincerely apologizing to the victims.

Kenji Kanasugi, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told a senior official from the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo that Moon's remarks are "unacceptable," Kyodo News here quoted a ministry source as saying Wednesday.

Kanasugi's protest followed Moon being quoted by local media as saying during a New Year's press conference that "Japan should accept the truth, apologize with a sincere heart and take the 'comfort women' issue as a lesson and work with the international community in such a way that something similar could not occur again."

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha intimated a day earlier that Tokyo should do more to atone for its past wartime crimes involving "comfort women," although maintained that Seoul would not seek to renegotiate a bilateral deal on the issue made two years ago.

Moon said on Wednesday that while it is "undeniable" that the deal is an official bilateral agreement, the "erroneous knot" with Japan over the "comfort women" issue must be untied by Tokyo apologizing to the victims.

The so-called "comfort women" issue involved soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, forcibly coercing and even kidnapping girls and women, and forcing them to work as sex slaves, servicing Japanese soldiers at military brothels during the war.

Many of the women forced into sex slavery by the Japanese aggressors came from the Korean Peninsula, as well as from other parts of Asia, including China.

Euphemistically, these sex slaves have come to be known collectively as "comfort women."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:44:13|Editor: Jiaxin

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TOKYO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Japan lodged a protest with South Korea on Wednesday over President Moon Jae-in's remarks suggesting that Japan untie an "erroneous knot" over the "comfort women" issue by sincerely apologizing to the victims.

Kenji Kanasugi, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told a senior official from the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo that Moon's remarks are "unacceptable," Kyodo News here quoted a ministry source as saying Wednesday.

Kanasugi's protest followed Moon being quoted by local media as saying during a New Year's press conference that "Japan should accept the truth, apologize with a sincere heart and take the 'comfort women' issue as a lesson and work with the international community in such a way that something similar could not occur again."

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha intimated a day earlier that Tokyo should do more to atone for its past wartime crimes involving "comfort women," although maintained that Seoul would not seek to renegotiate a bilateral deal on the issue made two years ago.

Moon said on Wednesday that while it is "undeniable" that the deal is an official bilateral agreement, the "erroneous knot" with Japan over the "comfort women" issue must be untied by Tokyo apologizing to the victims.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also rejected South Korea's requests for Japan to do more than it had agreed to in the 2015 deal.

Suga said both countries have already committed to steadily implementing the deal and that both sides agreed the deal would settle the issue "finally and irreversibly."

A day earlier, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Japan cannot accept South Korea's new policy position on a deal struck in 2015 between the two countries over the "comfort women" issue.

The steady implementation of this agreement is both countries' duty to the international community, Kono said following South Korea announcing its policy position.

The Japanese foreign minister said Japan would like further clarification as to what Seoul means by "matching Japan's contribution" and how it plans to use the funds.

Seoul, while maintaining it will not seek to renegotiate the deal, said it will plan to match the 1 billion yen (8.93 million U.S. dollars) paid by the Japanese government under the deal, with South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha saying that it will decide how to use Japan's contribution.

Under a landmark bilateral deal reached two years ago, both countries agreed that the "comfort women" issue that had led to ties between both countries becoming significantly strained, would be "finally and irreversibly" resolved.

South Korean President Moon, who took office in May, and his administration, however, have said they are revisiting the process under which the accord was made under the previous government, noting that the pact does not reflect the will of the majority of South Korean people.

The so-called "comfort women" issue involved soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, forcibly coercing and even kidnapping girls and women, and forcing them to work as sex slaves, servicing Japanese soldiers at military brothels during the war.

Many of the women forced into sex slavery by the Japanese aggressors came from the Korean Peninsula as well as from other parts of Asia, including China.

Euphemistically, these sex slaves have come to be known collectively as "comfort women."

Statues erected to pay honor to these "comfort women" such as the one installed outside the Japanese consulate in South Korea's Busan, draw the ire of the Japanese government, the right-wing forces of which have been trying ardently to whitewash its wartime atrocities.

Despite the possibility of ties between the two countries becoming strained once more, Suga said Tuesday that Tokyo is "not thinking of moving even a millimeter on the deal."

The South Korean side, however, believes that prior to the deal being made with Japan, those who served as "comfort women" were not sufficiently consulted and their feelings not fully taken into account.

"A sincere apology from Japan to the surviving 'comfort women' and for those who have already passed, would go along way towards restoring the women's honor and dignity and restoring political and social ties between both countries," a representative of a Japan-based think tank said on Wednesday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:54:14|Editor: Jiaxin

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RAMALLAH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riad Malki on Wednesday blamed the U.S. over the new Israeli settlement plan in the West Bank, saying it gave Israel the green light for settlement activity.

Malki made the remarks in response to Israel's newly declared plan to build 1,285 settlement units in the West Bank.

The Israeli move comes as a result of the U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the failure of the international community to hold Israel accountable for its acts, the minister said in a statement to the official Palestinian radio station (Voice of Palestine).

He mentioned that a meeting of Arab foreign ministers is scheduled to be held in Amman by the end of this month, to discuss the coming Arab moves in the aftermath of the U.S. move on Jerusalem.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 19:59:16|Editor: Lifang

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PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting kicked off in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Wednesday, with a theme of "Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development."

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang co-chaired the meeting, which also brought together Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar Vice President U Myint Swe.

In his opening remarks, Hun Sen said the Sanya Declaration of the first LMC leaders' meeting was a promise by the six Lancang-Mekong countries to develop the newly-established LMC into a full cooperation mechanism that would bring peace, security, economic growth and prosperity for the region.

"Our regional experience has reaffirmed that we can achieve peaceful co-existence through mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," he said.

"This is consistent with the values of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation which adhere to the principles of consensus, equality, mutual consultation and coordinated voluntarism, common contribution and shared benefits, and respect for the United Nation Charter and international law."

Initiated by China in 2014, the LMC consists of six countries - China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. It focuses on five priority areas of cooperation: connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, as well as agriculture and poverty reduction.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:04:19|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Israeli soldiers search a Palestinian's car at an Israeli checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, on Jan. 10, 2018. The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it raided the Nablus city area in the West Bank after an Israeli was killed in a drive-by shooting by suspected Palestinian assailants. (Xinhua/Nidal Eshtayeh)

JERUSALEM, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army said on Wednesday that it raided the Nablus city area in the West Bank after an Israeli was killed in a drive-by shooting by suspected Palestinian assailants.

A military statement said the army beefed up its presence in the area of the attack overnight, with soldiers canvassing the area to locate the suspected gunmen.

The forces also cordoned off the villages and set up roadblocks.

"Entrances and exits to and from the villages surrounding Nablus will be possible only after security checks," the statement read.

On Wednesday morning, Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot arrived at the scene in Havat Gilad, an illegal outpost near Nablus. He received a briefing on the attack and the efforts to find the perpetrators.

Eizenkot said the army believes the shooting was carried out by a Palestinian terror cell.

"The main mission at the moment is to locate the cell, to stop it and to prevent further terror events, and also to prepare for further activity in the area over the weekend," he said in a statement released by the military.

On Tuesday night, Rabbi Raziel Shevah, a 35-year-old man, was shot multiple times from a passing car. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but died of his wounds later.

Shevah was identified by local media as a resident of the Havat Gilad and a father of six.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement declaring that security services "would do everything possible in order to apprehend the despicable murderer and the state of Israel will carry out justice against him."

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said he had instructed his office to examine the legalization of Havat Gilad, an outpost built by ultra-nationalist settlers without Israeli permits.

Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, condemned the attack.

"There is no justification for terror and those who condone it, praise it or glorify it," he said on his Twitter account. "The perpetrators of yesterday's attack must be brought to justice."

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of providing financial support to attackers.

"Hamas praises the killers and PA laws will provide them financial rewards," he tweeted. "Look no further to why there is no peace."

Violence in the region has soared since U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, reversing a long-held White House policy.

The statement triggered protests in the West Bank and along the fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, leading to at least 13 Palestinians killed, according to local media.

Israel captured East Jerusalem together with the rest of the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Middle East war. Shortly afterward, Israel annexed East Jerusalem, claiming it part of its "indivisible capital." The move was never recognized internationally.

The U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians reached an impasse in 2014.

Following Trump's Jerusalem recognition, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the U.S. can no longer act as an unbiased mediator.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:09:21|Editor: Jiaxin

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KABUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Up to 14 insurgents were killed and eight others injured since Afghan security forces launched an operation in Paktia province, east of Afghanistan on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

"Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) has carried out a clearance operation in Zurmat district in Paktia, killing 14 armed militants and injuring eight others," the ministry said in a statement.

The security forces also found and seized weapons, the statement said, without adding if there were any casualties on the side of security forces.

Taliban militants have yet to make comments on the report.
Almost eight days after violent protests broke out between two communities during the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune district, members of Kabir Kala Manch have been booked for provocative speeches and instigating the violence.

An FIR, filed on a complaint by legal activist Tushar Damgude, is in possession of Mail Today. As per the FIR registered at Vishrambaug PS in Pune city, sections 153, 505(1)(B), 117 and 34 of IPC have been imposed on 'urban Maoists' Sudhir Dhavale, Sagar Gorkhe, Harshali Potdar, Ramesh Gaychor, Deepak Dengle and Jyoti Jagtap.

The six have been accused of delivering provocative speeches and singing provocative songs. Meanwhile, in a letter addressing NSA Ajit Doval, Vinay Joshi, convener, Legal Rights Observatory, had written, "After the violence spread all over Maharashtra on an unprecedented scale, through thorough analysis of the events, we have reached at the conclusion that urban Maoists played an important role in spreading violence."

The Bhima-Koregaon event was attended by Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, JNU student leader Umar Khalid, deceased HCU student Rohit Vemula's mother Radhika, and Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh president Prakash Ambedkar.

One FIR seeking immediate action against Khalid and Mevani is already registered. The FIR was lodged by Pune-based legal activist Akshay Bikkad.

According to police, Damgude lodged a complaint against Dhavale and five others on Monday for arranging a programme to 'spread hatred' under cover of the Bhima-Koregaon event.

Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) member Dhavale and the others had participated in 'Elgar Parishad', an event organised to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima-Koregaon at Shaniwarwada in the city on December 31.

"A case has been filed against KKM members for their provocative speeches," said Appasaheb Shevale, senior police inspector, Vishrambaug PS. Quoting the complaint, another official said KKM members used "inciting language during the programme and while distributing some books".

Meanwhile, senior officials told Mail Today that evidences are being collected, and in the next couple of days, all the people named in the FIR will be called for questioning.

Speaking to Mail Today, Damgude said there are people who are instigating youths to leave Ambedkar's path and join them. He also raised questions on the invitation given to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for the upcoming event on January 12.

In the Bhima-Koregaon protests, one man was killed and four others injured. Pune Rural Police have already registered an FIR against right-wing leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:14:24|Editor: Jiaxin

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NAIROBI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday kicked off a two-day tour in Kenya to deepen cooperation with the East African nation in health sector.

Speaking to reporters in Kenyan capital Nairobi, Ghebreyesus said the global health agency will strengthen partnership with Kenya to attain ambitious targets like universal health coverage.

"The purpose of my visit is to discuss progress Kenya has made in health sector and how we can strengthen our cooperation," he said.

The WHO chief had earlier held discussion with Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health Cleopa Mailu to discuss strategic areas of partnership aimed at revitalizing health care services in the country.

During his two day visit to Kenya, Ghebreyesus will also meet President Uhuru Kenyatta and reaffirm the commitment by multilateral agencies to help the country achieve health-related sustainable development goals.

The WHO boss is also expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Nairobi-headquartered UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that will focus on collaborative efforts between the two agencies in areas of health and environment.

The pact will specifically focus on implementation of the third UN Environment Assembly (UNEA3) resolutions on air pollution, health and environment, chemicals, water and sanitation as part of the wider health, environment and climate change coalition.

Ghebreyesus will also visit a public hospital in Kiambu County on the outskirts of Nairobi to assess the capacity of Kenya's health infrastructure to deal with the rising disease burden.

Ghebreyesus, also former Ethiopian Foreign Minister, said the international community will rally behind Kenyatta's core agenda in his second term that include food security and universal health coverage.

"A good opportunity has opened for us to contribute to one of the four pillars outlined by President Kenyatta such as food security, housing, employment and universal health coverage," said Ghebreyesus.

"Our priority is to contribute to health and well being of Kenyans," he added.

Cabinet Secretary for Health Cleopa Mailu said a partnership with WHO will help revitalize Kenya's health system in the light of devolution.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:14:25|Editor: Jiaxin

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BANGKOK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Thailand is expected to have some 9.5 million tons of rice for export this year, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

The 9.5 million tons of the Thai rice will bring some 4.7 billion U.S. dollars in export value thoughout 2018, according to acting Foreign Trade Department director general Adul Chotinisakorn.

That compared to last year's 11.48 million tons of the Thai rice which secured 5.1 billion U.S. dollars in export value, the acting department chief said.

However, Thailand has remained the world's largest exporter of Hom Mali (fragrant jasmine) quality rice, he said.

The forecast drop in the export volume of the Thai rice would apparently result from unfavorable weather conditions and the government's policy to cut down the overall producing volume for fear of oversupply to the world market.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:19:27|Editor: Lifang

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JUBA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Sudan People's Liberation Army-in opposition (SPLA-IO) led by the former First Vice President Riek Machar on Wednesday blamed government troops (SPLA) for continued cease-fire violation in the wake of the latest deadly clash on Tuesday near the capital.

"At about 10:30 am, government forces attacked the SPLA-IO base in Wunu'Lyet about 3 km away from Luri. They came on two Land Cruisers pickups but were repulsed and scattered leaving behind four dead bodies and six injured while our freedom fighters sustained two injuries," the deputy rebel spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, the SPLA spokesman Brigadier Lul Ruai Koang, said he was not aware of any clash with the rebels at Wunu'Lyet area. "I cannot confirm any clash with the rebels at Wunu'Lyet," said Koang in Juba.

The rebel spokesman also disclosed that they are aware of government troops planning to attack them in Liech State in the areas of Leer, Mayendit and Koch.

The two warring parties agreed to the Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa late December last year, but continued violations have dampened hopes of achieving a lasting solution to ending the more than four years of conflict in the nation.

South Sudan has been embroiled in four years of conflict that has taken a devastating toll on the people, creating one of the fastest growing refugee crises in the world.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 between the rival leaders under UN pressure led to the establishment of a transitional unity government in April 2016, but was shattered by renewed fighting in July the same year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:34:30|Editor: Lifang

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by Xinhua writer Xu Haijing

CANBERRA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- In a recent online survey of Chinese netizens by Chinese news portal Huanqiu.com, Australia won the title of "Least friendly country to China in 2017." The unfriendliness persists in the new year. This time, China's assistance to South Pacific island nations is under attack.

In an article published by The Australian newspaper on Wednesday, Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti-Wells accused China of providing loans to Pacific nations on unfavorable terms and constructing "useless buildings" and "roads to nowhere" in the region.

The article, like many of its kind that appeared in Australian media last year, is rich in allegations and speculations and short on hard evidence.

The minister's complaints about the use of the buildings and the directions of the roads failed to serve as a valid argument. Instead, they demonstrated her lack of knowledge about the local situation. As a reader commented on this article online, the Australian government's "default policy" for all issues is to blame China.

Australia has been investing heavily across the region, but as the result of the huge deficits in its recent budgets, foreign aid was among the first to get slashed. Fierravanti-Wells is a more suitable spokesperson for this issue than on Chinese loans to South Pacific nations.

China itself has benefited from infrastructure boom in poverty reduction, economic growth and social development. China also knows how much input is needed in developing a country's infrastructure. In helping others, China is willing to share its experience and contribute its resources and knowhow.

As a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said in June 2017, China's foreign assistance is never used as a means to interfere in recipient countries' internal affairs, and comes with no political strings attached.

"China is sincere in helping recipient countries reduce poverty and build up their self-development capacity," the spokesperson said.

While Fierravanti-Wells failed to tell how unfavorable Chinese loan terms are, the spokesperson was clear on this by saying the Chinese government offers financing support, such as interest-free loans and concessional loans, according to the debt-paying ability and solvency of the recipient countries.

In the financing process, China makes strict economic and technical evaluation of the projects to avoid causing a heavy debt burden to the recipient countries.

"In South Pacific regions, China has canceled debts incurred by interest-free loans owed to China by relevant countries. China will also step up multilateral and bilateral consultations and actively study the scale and scope for the further expansion of debt relief," the spokesperson said.

If Australia really cares about its Pacific neighbors, it should first learn from China to treat those much smaller neighbors as equals and refrain from behaving like an arrogant overlord. Then it could learn, again from China, to contribute constructive ideas, if not funds, to address the real concerns of the peoples in those countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:39:32|Editor: Jiaxin

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ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- About three soldiers of the newly-recruited Yemeni troops were killed Wednesday when a booby-trapped car hit a military convoy in the southeastern province of Shabwa, a security official told Xinhua.

"The troops were targeted by a terrorist attack with a booby-trapped car that killed three soldiers and injured a number of others in the entrance of Saeed district of Shabwa province," the local security source said on condition of anonymity.

He said that the Yemeni troops backed by the United Arab Emirates were deployed in Shabwa in an attempt to kick the al-Qaida terrorists out of their hideouts in rugged areas and villages.

The UAE-backed troops with armored vehicles entered al-Qaida-held areas and conducted an operation to track all the terrorists there, the source added.

According to local tribal sources, key leaders of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch gave up fighting and surrendered themselves after the arrival of the UAE-backed troops in Shabwa's village of Yashbum.

Elsewhere in Yemen, suspected al-Qaida militants launched an armed attack using grenades on an army base in Dawan of Hadramout's province.

The guards stationed around the army base managed to repulse the attack and killed four of the attackers at the scene, according to local Yemeni officials.

On Tuesday night, an unmanned U.S. aircraft fired missiles on vehicle carrying al-Qaida militants in the central province of al-Bayda, killing at least three members of the terrorist group.

Al-Qaida militants are intensifying their drive-by attacks on security checkpoints in the Yemeni southern provinces as UAE-backed government forces increase military operations against their hideouts in the war-plagued Arab country.

During the past months, Yemeni government forces and the UAE armed forces operating in the southern province of Aden launched a new anti-terror offensive "to root out al-Qaida militants from their strongholds in neighboring southern province of Abyan."

Thousands of southern recruits joined the campaign after receiving military training and financial support from the UAE forces.

The UAE-backed anti-terror campaign has dislodged al-Qaida militants from several villages in Abyan and in the neighboring southeastern province of Shabwa, with more than 50 of them arrested and moved to prisons in Aden.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence, especially in Shabwa and Abyan provinces.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:44:33|Editor: Jiaxin

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KABUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan law enforcement agencies have detained 16 people for alleged drug-related crimes within a week in four provinces, authorities said on Wednesday.

"Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) together with Afghan security forces busted 11 drug cases and captured 16 people in Kabul, Kandahar, Baghlan and Herat provinces over the past week," the Counter-Narcotics Criminal Justice Task Force of Afghanistan (CJTF) said in a statement.

After initial investigations, the CNPA has handed over the cases to the Central Narcotics Tribunal or CNT, a special Afghan court for jurisdiction of major drug cases, the statement noted.

Among the drugs and materials found from the suspects were 9 kg of heroin, 18 kg of morphine, over 25 kg of opium, and 69 kg of hashish, the statement said, adding the CNPA also seized three vehicles, 17 mobile phones from the arrested.

The security force also confiscated local and foreign currencies from the arrested, totaling around 4,500 U.S. dollars.

In addition, an appellant court of the Central Narcotics Tribunal has sentenced 10 drug suspects to different ranges imprisonment over the period, the statement noted.

In 2017, some 9,000 tons of opium were produced in Afghanistan, a country notorious for growing opium-producing poppies.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:49:33|Editor: Jiaxin

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SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea has taken a first step to improve relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and restore peace on the Korean Peninsula by holding the first senior-level dialogue in about two years on Tuesday, local experts have said.

The high-level talks were focused on the DPRK's participation in the Winter Olympics hosted by South Korea and scheduled for February, but the two sides agreed to hold talks on military affairs, keeping the hard-won dialogue mood alive.

The high-level, inter-Korean dialogue "was a very positive first step. (South) Korea and the United States assessed it in a similar way. I agree with that," Bong Young-shik, a research fellow at Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

The researcher said the current South Korean government played a pivotal role in encouraging dialogue on the peninsula, adding that if issues that are easy to resolve are tackled by the two Koreas step by step, it would naturally create an atmosphere for denuclearization talks.

The talks between the two Koreas started with an initial focus on improved inter-Korean relations, but the eventual goal would be the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the expert said.

Some local experts have looked into the possibility of talks between the DPRK and the United States, which will be ultimately necessary to denuclearize the peninsula. What's more, South Korea may play a mediator role between the United States and the DPRK some time in the future, they said.

The Tuesday talks between the two Koreas were the first of their kind since vice ministerial-level officials met in December 2015. The resumed talks were at a very initial stage, thus the two countries were unable to talk about the "eventual goal of denuclearization," said Bong.

The denuclearization issue, however, was predicted to be put on the dialogue agenda during future inter-Korean talks.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who took office in May last year, said in his first New Year's press conference earlier in the day that sanctions and pressures were aimed at inducing the DPRK to come to the dialogue table.

Moon said improved inter-Korean relations cannot be separated from the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, stressing that the two issues should be pursued simultaneously to create a virtuous cycle between them.

He further noted that improved inter-Korean relations will help resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue while the denuclearization efforts will help improve inter-Korean relations.

For the denuclearization of the peninsula, the United States and the DPRK should "sit down face-to-face as key players," said Bong.

Bong, however, said it is too early to discuss denuclearization talks, stressing that the most important thing is to "keep a momentum" for dialogue between the two Koreas as a first step in the right direction.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 20:49:34|Editor: Lifang

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KUNMING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tran Thi Vui, from Vietnam, runs a Pho Cuon (rice starch roll) restaurant in Hekou in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Just across a river -- and the border -- sits her hometown, Lao Cai.

Ten years ago, she fell for Bao Fusheng, a "diligent and honest" Chinese man. After they got married, the couple opened the restaurant, which became a hit among cross-border business people from the two countries.

"Vietnamese like bland flavor, while Chinese prefer spicy," said Tran, who, in order to cater to both tastes, adds Chinese spicy millet, garlic and soy sauce to the original Vietnamese fish and lemon dip.

A day's work begins at 4 a.m.: mixing fillings, grinding rice into rice milk, and steaming rice milk into skins. They sell an average of 400 to 500 rice starch rolls every day, and more than 1,000 during holidays.

Tran said that since business was booming, the two of them could no longer handle the increasing demand and have hired another five Vietnamese waitresses, three of whom have settled in Hekou.

Every morning, the two waitresses who still live in Lao Cai cross the China-Vietnam Nanxi River bridge and go through self-help customs clearance to work. In the evening, they go back home through the border.

"Traffic between the two countries has become more convenient, and the number of customers is growing," Tran said.

What she might not know is that over the years, China has become Vietnam's top source of tourists, while Vietnam has become China's eighth largest trade partner and ninth largest exporter.

The Second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting was held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh Wednesday. More concrete results are expected under the sub-regional cooperation mechanism jointly established in 2015 by the six countries along the Mekong River (known in China as the Lancang River), including China and Vietnam.

"The reason why the Lancang-Mekong cooperation mechanism has enjoyed rapid development is that the mechanism accords with the six nations' common willingness to enhance all-win cooperation and the trend of regional economic integration," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. "It has shown strong vitality since it was born."

"I hope more people from China and Vietnam will have a chance to try my Pho Cuon," said Tran, who is considering expanding her restaurant and hiring more people.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:14:39|Editor: Jiaxin

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DUBAI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Washington-based World Bank Group said on Wednesday that the economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) is projected to continue to be affected by geopolitical risks in 2018.

"The risks to the outlook, while varying between oil exporters and importers, are generally to the downside," the World Bank said in a new report titled "Global Economic Prospects".

"Geopolitical risks remain elevated, and are complicated by a variety of intra-regional diplomatic tensions," the report added.

In June 2017, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar.

"All seaborne and air travel links from the involved countries to Qatar were shut and bank lending to Qatar was restricted," said the report.

As a result, the growth in the Mena region is estimated "to have declined markedly to 1.8 percent in 2017 from 5 percent in the previous year, contributed by hydrocarbon sector-led growth decelerations among regional oil exporters."

In addition, weaker-than-expected global oil prices may further cloud growth prospects for the Mena region's oil exporters, it said.

On the upside risks, the World Bank said "long-term investor confidence has been bolstered by reforms to foreign investment accessibility and capital market development."

While economic conditions appear to be improving among the oil importers, their prospects are vulnerable to spillovers from armed conflicts in fragile economies such as Libya, Syria and Yemen.

"It remains to be seen whether OPEC and non-OPEC production cuts will affect prices in the light of the fact that U.S. oil inventories remain at high levels, despite stabilizing recently," said the report.

Earlier in the day, oil prices (Brent) surged to a near 3-year high when the barrel (159 liters) jumped to 69.23 U.S. dollars.

On Nov. 30, 2017, OPEC and its partners agreed to extend the output cut to the end of 2018, nine months longer than the previous agreement.

In 2016, the OPEC countries reached an agreement in Vienna to reduce daily oil production during the first half of 2017 to boost global oil prices.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:14:40|Editor: Jiaxin

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TIRANA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian government will assist farmers across the country through one-stop-shop counters, providing services and information, agriculture ministry said in a press release Wednesday.

The ministry informed that the first one-stop counter opened Tuesday in Fier, central Albania.

"The Agricultural and Rural Development Agency (ARDA) will open 20 agro-service counters until the end of 2018, which will act as the "Farmer's Window" for provision of professional information and service by a dedicated staff," said agriculture minister Niko Peleshi.

They will provide the service of application for grants and subsidies out of the budget funds, guidance for business plans, information and agricultural counseling, financial information as well as information on agricultural markets, the minister said.

Albania's 2018 budget for agriculture sector has increased by 15 percent or 1.4 billion leks more than that in 2017. The biggest financing goes to agricultural subsidy schemes, with a budget increase of 55 percent, according to official statistics.
A hotelier was arrested on Tueseday evening for allegedly sheltering at his suburban residence in Juhu three owners of the 1 Above pub wanted in connection with the Kamala Mills fire that claimed 14 lives last month, police said.

Two weeks after the fire tragedy, the pub owners Hitesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Mankar, continue to evade arrest despite the police widening its dragnet and issuing lookout notices for them.

Police on January 1 had arrested Sanghvi brothers uncle Rakesh Sanghvi and cousin Aditya Sanghvi, both residents of Mazgaon in south Mumbai, for allegedly sheltering them. The duo were later released on bail by a local court.

Police on Tuesday arrested Vishal Kariya, who owns hotels and pubs in the city, after questioning him in connection with the whereabouts of the trio.

Police recovered a high-end car belonging to Mankar from Kariya's place.

"Vishal Kariya, who owns hotels and pubs in the city, was placed under arrest after a team of N M Joshi Marg Police picked him for questioning," Deputy Commissioner of Police Akhilesh Mishra told PTI.

During investigation, it came to light that 42-year-old Kariya had sheltered the three owners at his residence, he said.

The Sanghvi brothers and Mankar are absconding since December 29 when the fire swept through the 1 Above pub and the adjacent Mojos Bistro resto pub in Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai.

Police booked the Sanghvi brothers, Mankar and others under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).

The Mumbai police also announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information on the whereabouts of the accused trio.

In its preliminary probe report, the Mumbai Fire Brigade said the blaze possibly started at Mojos Bistro due to flying embers of hookah and spread to the adjacent 1 Above, a terrace resto-pub.

Following the Fire Brigade report, the police last week arrested Yug Pathak, one of the co-owners of Mojo's Bistro.

Another co-owner of Mojos Bistro, Yug Tulli, a Nagpur-based businessman, yesterday filed a pre-arrest bail application before a Mumbai sessions court. The court today posted the application for hearing on January 11, saying it was not granting any interim protection to Tulli.

The police had earlier arrested 1 Above managers Kevin Bava and Lisbon Lopez in connection with the fire. Their bail applications will come up for hearing tomorrow.

In a related development, the Bombay High Court, while hearing a PIL, today said that authorities must ensure that norms are followed when giving clearances for commercial establishments.

The PIL filed by former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro seeks a judicial inquiry into the December 29 incident and also a direction to the government and the civic body to carry out a fire safety audit of all eateries and restaurants in the metropolis.

"The court should set up a judicial commission for fixing up the accountability of public officers and private persons involved in the tragic incident," the PIL said.

ALSO WATCH | Mojo's Bistro owner Yug Pathak arrested in Kamala Mills fire case
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:24:41|Editor: Jiaxin

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NAIROBI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 180 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery were reported in 2017, the lowest annual number of incidents since 1995 when 188 reports were received, a global maritime body said on Wednesday.

The latest report released in London by the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reveals that pirates boarded 136 vessels in 2017, while there were 22 attempted attacks, 16 vessels fired upon and six vessels hijacked.

Despite the fall, the global maritime body cautioned foreign vessels/masters not to be complacent as they transit the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

"Although the number of attacks is down this year in comparison with last year, the Gulf of Guinea and the waters around Nigeria remain a threat to seafarers. The Nigerian authorities have intervened in a number of incidents helping to prevent incidents from escalating," said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB.

According to IMB, in 15 separate incidents, 91 crew members were taken hostage and 75 were kidnapped from their vessels in 13 other incidents. Three crew members were killed in 2017 and six injured.

In 2016, a total of 191 incidents were reported, with 150 vessels boarded and 151 crew members taken hostage.

The report also called on shipmasters to follow the industry's Best Management Practices and continue to remain vigilant as they sail through waters off Somalia.

The report said nine incidents were recorded off Somalia in 2017, up from two in 2016. In November, a container ship was attacked by armed pirates approximately 280 nautical miles east of Somali capital Mogadishu.

The pirates, unable to board the vessel due to the ship's evasive maneuvering fired two RPG rockets, both of which missed, before retreating.

The IMB said six Somali pirates were subsequently detained by European Union Naval Force, transferred to the Seychelles and charged with "committing an act of piracy" where they face up to 30 years' imprisonment, if convicted.

"This dramatic incident, alongside our 2017 figures, demonstrates that Somali pirates retain the capability and intent to launch attacks against merchant vessels hundreds of miles from their coastline," Mukundan said.

According to IMB, there were 36 reported incidents in the Gulf of Guinea last year with no vessels hijacked in this area and 10 incidents of kidnapping involving 65 crew members in or around Nigerian waters. Globally 16 vessels reported being fired upon -- including seven in the Gulf of Guinea.

The drop in piracy incidents is however a relief to shipping companies using the Indian Ocean that had in previous years been the target of pirates, often paying heavy ransom to secure release of their vehicles and the crew.

The African maritime industry, along the Indian Ocean had until 2013 been greatly affected by piracy that raised the costs of shipping as insurance companies and private ship security companies increased their premiums to mitigate the risks.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:29:42|Editor: Jiaxin

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HANOI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU Robocon), an annual competition for technology students and founded in 2002 by Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, will be held in Vietnam's northern Ninh Binh province on Aug. 26, its organizers said on Wednesday.

The theme of ABU Robocon 2018 comes from "nem con" (shuttlecock throwing), a traditional game played by ethnic people in Vietnam's northern region in Spring Festival.

In the coming Robocon game, each team will use two robots. One robot is to hand a shuttlecock to the other which is to throw the shuttlecock through three rings at different heights.

At ABU Robocon 2017 in Japan, Lac Hong University from Vietnam became the champion.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:34:43|Editor: Lifang

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese marine surveillance plane has discovered a small area of suspected oil spill near the site of a collision in the East China Sea, according to sources with the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).

The collision, between a Panama-registered oil tanker and a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, occurred around 8 p.m. Saturday in waters about 160 sea miles east of the Yangtze River estuary.

Carrying 136,000 tonnes of highly volatile condensate, or natural gasoline, the 274-meter oil tanker SANCHI was still burning as of Wednesday afternoon. Chinese authorities are searching for its missing crew members.

Based on the ongoing hydrology and meteorological conditions, the accident will not affect coastal water at the moment, said Zhou Qing, researcher with an SOA monitoring center.

However, the condensate still poses a threat to the maritime atmosphere as it may contain a relatively high level of sulfide, said Yao Ziwei, another research fellow with the SOA.

Potential fuel leaks could also harm the environment, according to Zhou, who called for closer monitoring of the situation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:39:44|Editor: Lifang

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Discipline inspection agencies of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at various levels have been introducing more effective measures to regulate and oversee their staff.

A total of 22 officials with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the CPC's top anti-graft agency, have been investigated and about 230 officials received written or oral warnings since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, according to CCDI sources.

During the same period, more than 10,000 officials with discipline inspection agencies at various levels were punished. Among them were in-service and retired officials.

"We would like to deliver a clear message that discipline inspection agencies will not relax scrutiny over themselves," the sources said.

The agencies have also paid great attention to education and training of their staff. About 178,000 officials attended more than 1,000 training courses in the past five years.

Jointly with China Central Television, the CCDI produced a three-episode TV documentary, which featured interviews with former officials of discipline inspection agencies convicted of graft.

The documentary, aired in January last year, served as a fresh warning to all inspection officials.

To streamline anti-graft work, the CCDI issued a protocol regulating the procedure of how discipline inspectors initiate and carry out investigation and put it in a trial run in January last year.

The protocol aimed to close loopholes in inspection procedures and minimize the possibility of outside intervention and rent seeking.

"The protocol well responds to the question who to inspect discipline inspectors," said Professor Xie Chuntao with the CPC Central Committee Party School, adding that internal control measures were carefully designed and learned lessons from corrupt officials.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:44:45|Editor: Zhou Xin

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President of African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) Kaddu Sebunya (L) hands over a land's map as a symbol of the land donated by AWF to Clare Akamanzi (R), CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB), during an event of handing over the land in Musanze district, Northern Province, Rwanda, on Jan. 10, 2018. African Wildlife Foundation on Wednesday donated 27.8 hectares of land to Rwanda's national park in a bid to help the country expand habitat for the endangered mountain gorillas and other wildlife. (Xinhua/Gabriel Dusabe)

MUSANZE, Rwanda, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) on Wednesday donated 27.8 hectares of land to Rwanda's national park in a bid to help the country expand habitat for the endangered mountain gorillas and other wildlife.

The land directly adjacent to the Volcanoes National Park in Musanze district, Northern Province, was purchased by AWF last year as part of the foundation's efforts to protect mountain gorillas and boost wildlife conservation in Africa.

According to Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the 27.8 hectares will be added to the existing 16,000 hectares that is the current size of the park.

Lying along the Virunga mountains with 8 ancient volcanoes shared by Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the park is home to mountain gorillas, golden monkeys and other wildlife. Mountain gorilla is a critically endangered species, which has the population of 880, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They are found in the Virunga mountains and in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, said WWF.

Of those in the Virunga massif, Rwanda accounts for 62 percent of the mountain gorilla population, RDB said last May, adding that stringent conservation measures have significantly contributed to a rise in gorilla numbers.

The event to officially hand over the land was held in Kinigi at the foothills of the volcano mountains in northern Rwanda, which attracted thousands of people from surrounding communities including conservation enthusiasts, tourism operators, members of AWF and Rwandan officials.

Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa also attended the event.

Rwanda has taken great steps in gorilla conservation. Its most notable gorilla naming event has led to an increase in the number of gorillas hence becoming a major tourism attraction to the country, said AWF President Kaddu Sebunya at the vent.

"AWF recognizes that if mountain gorillas are going to survive in the long term, this park must be strategically protected, and we are committed to supporting Rwanda in conserving these endangered species," he said.

Sebunya added through proactive government policies, community involvement and open governance, Rwanda is demonstrating that development and conservation are not mutually exclusive.

According to RDB, through conservation efforts mountain gorilla numbers in Volcanoes National Park have increased from 285 in 1978 to 480 in 2010. Between 2003 and 2010 gorilla numbers increased by 26.3 percent, it said.

"The increase in the gorilla population has led to a decreased adequate habitat. This donation is a major step in the consolidation of conservation gains, " said Clare Akamanzi, CEO of RDB.

The Volcanoes National Park has decreased by 54 percent since its establishment in 1925, according to RDB.

According to her, the survival of the rare mountain gorillas in the longer term would depend on adequate habitat, intensified protection and conservation, sustained monitoring and community engagement.

Gorilla tourism remains the backbone of Rwanda's tourism and conservation industry. In the last nine years, gorilla tourism has generated 107 million U.S dollars to Rwanda, said Akamanzi on Wednesday.

From 2006 to 2017, over 298,000 tourists have visited the Volcanoes National Park, said RDB. Some 29,000 tourists visited the park every year on average between 2011 and 2016, statistics from RDB showed.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:44:45|Editor: Jiaxin

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DHAKA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Remittance-reliant Bangladesh expects 1.2 million overseas jobs for the country's skilled and semi-skilled workforce in 2018.

"We're planning to send some 1.2 million Bangladeshis abroad with overseas employment this year," Bangladeshi Minister of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Islam told journalists on Wednesday.

The expectation comes after over 1 million Bangladeshis found overseas jobs in 2017.

In 2016, the country's overseas employment was more than 600,000, the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) record showed.

Quoting Bangladesh Bank, the minister said Bangladesh received 13.53 billion U.S. dollars remittance last year.

He said they are planning to send more skilled workers this year and exploring further opportunities in many more non-traditional Bangladeshi labor hosting countries to bolster inflow of remittances.

Remittances, which account for around 11 percent of the country's GDP, mainly come from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, among others.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:49:46|Editor: Lifang

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SHANGHAI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai police issued a statement on Wednesday on the death of a girl from Mongolia.

Police in Xuhui district said the deceased girl was Boldbaatar Maralmaa, 21 years old. She was a student at Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University from September 2016 to July 2017.

Police said they received report of her death on Dec. 29 last year.

After investigation, they ruled out the possibility of homicide, and said she died from falling from a height.

On Jan. 2, Shanghai police informed the Mongolian Embassy in China. Police accompanied embassy officials and the parents of the deceased to inspect the scene of the incident.

The family of the deceased made no objection to police conclusion, and signed the police report Wednesday.

Forensic tests show the girl had multiple fractures and her death conformed to the characteristics of death caused by falling from high place. The deceased had wound on her left wrist and no other injuries that could have been inflicted by a person other than herself. There was a slight trace of alcohol in her blood, and no other toxins, police said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:54:47|Editor: Jiaxin

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MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed the agreements reached between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea.

"We express hope that their implementation will contribute to the de-escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and ensure stability in this sub-region," the ministry said in a statement.

It also hopes that all interested parties will support the steps aimed at resuming the dialogue between the two countries, which is the only possible way of finding a mutually acceptable solution.

Russia is ready to keep rendering all possible assistance to the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula problems, it said.

Senior government officials of the two Koreas met in the truce village of Panmunjom for the first time in about two years on Tuesday and reached a series of agreements.

The DPRK agreed to send a high-level delegation to the Winter Olympics to be hosted next month in the South Korean city of PyeongChang.

The two sides also agreed to ease military tensions and discussed possible reunions of separated families during the upcoming Lunar New Year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 21:54:47|Editor: Lifang

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PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Wednesday that leaders of the Lancang-Mekong countries reached consensus relevant to their shared future at the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting.

Leaders of China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to deepen cooperation with the principle of equality, inclusiveness and real action, Li, one of the co-chairs of the meeting, said at a press conference held after the event.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 22:29:53|Editor: Jiaxin

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NAIROBI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenya should embark on reforming the electoral system to make it more transparent and inclusive in order to reduce political tensions that escalated during the country's last electoral cycle, said the European Union election observer mission (EU EOM) in its final report on Kenya's 2017 elections released on Wednesday.

The report noted that Kenya's ability to heal from political and economic crisis that intensified during last year's prolonged election season hinges on sweeping reforms to ensure future polls are free, fair and transparent.

Marietje Schaake, the Chief Observer and Member of European Parliament from the Netherlands, said that Kenya has an opportunity to reform its electoral processes as a means to guard against political and economic upheavals in the future.

"We hope the recommendations in our final report will contribute to more resilient democracy from which all Kenyans benefit. This takes time to build, which is why it is important that steps are taken promptly to improve the legal framework, institutions and practices," Schaake said.

The EU was among foreign observer missions that deployed personnel to monitor August 8 and October 26, 2017 repeat presidential polls in Kenya.

In its final report on both polls, the EU made 29 recommendations that Kenya should adopt in order to improve electoral management and avert a political crisis that accompanies disputed poll results.

"Electoral reform needs to be carried out well in advance of any election, and to be based on broad consensus," said the EU final report on Kenyan elections.

"Actions should be taken to strengthen the resilience of constitutionally independent institutions involved in elections, to preserve checks and balances in the electoral process," it added.

The EU urged Kenyan parliament to initiate inter-party consultations on electoral reforms and proposed merit-based appointment of election officials to ensure future polls are above board.

Likewise, the EU Election Observer Mission recommended financial autonomy and infrastructure modernization of the electoral body to enhance its capacity to facilitate credible polls.

Kenya's Aug. 8 presidential elections where the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner were later nullified by the country's apex court in September last year over gross violation of electoral laws.

The Supreme Court ordered a repeat of presidential polls within 60 days and Kenyatta emerged the winner after his main rival in the opposition pulled out citing an unfair playing ground.

Foreign observer missions including the EU agreed that the repeat presidential polls were conducted in a more transparent manner despite heightened political polarization and violent protests in opposition strongholds.
In an unsettling evidence of what appears to be a covert infiltration of the ISIS ideology in the country, an India Today investigation has found several madrasas in Kerala are teaching the theo-Fascist variety of Islam.

For centuries, madrasas in the subcontinent have been the fountainheads of peace and love as embodied the holy Qur'an.

But India Today's probe discovered several of them down south in Kerala now are preaching Wahabism, a Saudi-sponsored creed of extremist Islam linked to global terror.

Aided by hawala funding from petrodollar-rich Gulf countries, these seminaries were found to be indoctrinating young impressionable minds with what has been the wicked goal of ISIS to establish a global caliphate through a world-wide war.

"There's a problem if we talk about a caliphate in public. There are many Hindu people around. If we speak about Khilafat (caliphate), the Hindus would call us ISIS men. So, we are not direct. We put it in the hearts of children bit by bit," confessed Mohammed Bashir, joint secretary of a madrasa run by the Karuna Charitable Trust at Pullorammal in Kozhikode district.

'WE SHARE THIS WITH THE CHILDREN BIT BY BIT'

Crushed by US-backed international forces last year, the ultimate ambition of ISIS had been to cover all of the earth through an apocalyptic war against disbelievers.

But India Today observed an ominous manifestation of the same ideology in non-descript madrasas like that of Bashir's in Kerala.

"Caliphate is the basis. It's the basic for the children. Only then will there be a caliphate," he declared. "The base is required. It's there in our hearts. We share this with the children bit by bit. There's no rush. A caliphate is not built in a day."

Preaching of radical Islam is not limited to one centre in Kerala, India Today's investigation found.

Several other madrasas were working overtime to produce more and more of men like controversial Islamic televangelist Zakir Naiks, now a proclaimed offender.

Abdul Malik, who runs his madrasa in Karanthur, admitted that Naik videos were shown regularly to young children at his centre.

"Each and every person knows who Zakir Naik is. Here we show Zakir Naik inviting ladies and other religious groups to Islam. Then they are seen accepting Islam in video clippings," said Manik, head of Karanthur's Islamic Centre.

FUNDING FROM UNKNOWN DONORS

India Today's investigation also found such madrasas were mostly funded by unknown donors in Gulf states.

Both Bashir and Manik acknowledged receiving financial support from the Arab world through underground hawala channels.

"It's difficult through banks. It's done via hundi (hawala)," Bashir confessed.

Convinced that India Today undercover reporters were potential financiers from the Middle East, he solicited Rs 50 lakh, saying cash deliveries would be executed without difficulty via hawala networks.

"So you want Rs 50 lakh from us?" asked the reporter.

"For now, Rs 50 lakh. Inshallah!" Bashir replied.

"Wouldn't it be difficult for your man, your agent to send such a big amount?" the reporter probed.

"He'll send it (in instalments of) 25-25 (lakh)," the madrasa official answered.

On his part, Malik revealed the global scale of the nexus between hawala operators and radical madrasas like his.

"A number of brothers are abroad in different countries," Malik said. "Black money here means what we call hundi. Hundi means if you give money there, then some agencies will directly give money here. So, we collected (it) for the construction of the building and all these things. Our majority of the funds comes from abroad," he explained.

Transactions of crores, Malik disclosed, were carried out every day the same way for various madrasas in Kerala.

Abdul Gaffar, an administrator of Koyilandy's Markazul Jamia Madrasa, said his centre was financed by several countries from across the Gulf region.

"Where are you getting these funds from?" the reporter asked.

"From everywhere. Such as from Dubai, Saudi, Oman, Qatar. From everywhere. It comes regularly," Gaffar said.

His hawala operation is based at Deira in Dubai in order to route funds from other Gulf states to his madrasa in Kerala.

"So, if the money is delivered in Dubai, will you have it sent to India for your madrasa?" asked the reporter.

"It will be definitely done, 100 percent," Gaffar replied.

REACTIONS

CPM leader S R Pillai told India Today that his party would "gather all details (on the expose) and take a call on it."

BJP Kerala president K Rajashekharan said, "Though not all madrasas are like this, some institutions are seen to have affinity to extremist organisations."

"The revelations made in the report are shocking," he added. "The madrasas are indoctrinating young minds to extremism...I'm really concerned how these children will be moulded in the future."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 22:29:56|Editor: Jiaxin

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BAGHDAD, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. ambassador to Iraq Wednesday said that there would be a new decrease of U.S. troops in Iraq in the upcoming months.

In a press conference for some local media at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Ambassador Douglas Silliman said "the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq has been decreased, especially in Anbar province in coordination with the Iraqi forces," according to al-Sumaria News Agency.

"There will be a gradual reduction of these (U.S.) forces in the coming months without replacing them with others," Silliman told reporters.

Previously, the troops were tasked to provide support of artillery fire in addition to training and advising to the Iraqi forces, but the U.S. forces are now only focusing on training the Iraqi forces on how to preserve the liberated areas, as well as providing humanitarian assistance to the displaced people until they return to their homes, according to Silliman.

Over 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces during the battles against Islamic State (IS) militants.

The troops were part of the U.S.-led international coalition that has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 22:34:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian National Security Council (ENSC) said on Wednesday the security situation in the East African country has improved over the past 45 days.

Siraj Fegessa, Defense Minister of Ethiopia and coordinator at ENSC, said measures undertaken to prevent road blockage by protesters and illegal rallies have been successful.

He also said 270 rifles, 200 handguns, 65,000 rifle ammunitions and 1,000 artillery ammunitions have been intercepted in recent days as they were about to be smuggled to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia faced in 2016 unrest that killed hundreds dubbed by analysts the gravest challenge to the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front in 25 years.

The unrest which focused on the two most populous regional states Oromia and Amhara led to an imposition of martial law in October 2016 which was only lifted in August 2017.

However, starting September the Ethiopian government has become alarmed at growing signs of renewed unrest in the two regional states.

Many ethnic Oromos and Amharas, who make about 33 and 27 percent of Ethiopia's estimated 100 million population, accuse ethnic Tigrayans who make up six percent of the total population of unduly dominating the country's political and economic scene.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 22:40:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOGADISHU, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Somalia on Wednesday launched the digital outreach section of the Centre of Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) as part of efforts to spearhead campaigns for prevention of radicalization in the country.

Abdirahman Omar Osman, the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism who opened the digital outreach section, said effective campaigns on social media will contribute to the overall peace and stability in the Horn of Africa nation.

"The ministry of information has been leading the efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism for some time and today's ceremony is evident to our commitment and determination to reach an end state where conflicts are addressed politically as opposed to through violence," Osman said in Mogadishu.

The digital section will provide accurate and useful information to young people, which in turn helps them to understand the benefits of democratic institutions in Somalia.

It also appeals to young people's emotions to stay away from joining Al-Shabaab and discredit Al-Shabaab by exposing their brutality, and hence weakening its following and public support.

According to Osman, the digital section provides a platform for the youth to exchange information and show their talents by taking part in the nation building of the country.

"Given the fact that Somali youth is estimated to be 75 percent of Somali population and majority of them are actively engaged in the social media, it is essential that digital outreach campaigns that engage with communities is established," Osman said.

He said young people also need to see how communities are building their nation and to see how nationalists and patriots can bring people together so that a united and prosperous Somalia can be established.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 22:40:00|Editor: Zhou Xin

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UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman (C) speaks during a press conference after meeting with Libyan UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj in Tripoli, capital of Libya, on Jan. 10, 2018. Jeffrey Feltman said on Wednesday that holding elections is the only way to bring stability in chaotic Libya. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)

TRIPOLI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said on Wednesday that holding elections is the only way to bring stability in chaotic Libya.

Feltman made his remarks at a press conference following a meeting with Libyan UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj in the capital Tripoli, where the two officials discussed the latest political developments in the country and agreed on the importance of issuing elections law and constitution referendum law.

"The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is committed to supporting the Libya people as they work toward a referendum on the constitution, holding elections and local and national reconciliation," Feltman said.

"We always encourage the election option. There are strong indications expressed by Libyan parties and leaders to hold elections, as the only way to comprehensive stability," he said.

"The second point is about the great interaction in the voter registration process, which demonstrates commitment of a large segment of Libyans to the elections next year," Feltman added.

"The United Nations supports the road map in Libya and will provide unlimited technical support for the democratic process next year," the UN official noted.

Libya has been suffering political division and unrest since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. The North African country has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid escalating violence and chaos.

Last September, Ghassan Salame, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, proposed an action plan to end Libya's political crisis, which includes amendment of the UN-sponsored political agreement and holding presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Libya Higher Commission of Elections recently announced that nearly 2 million voters have registered in the Commission's election register.
A gorilla is seen at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Oct. 8, 2016. (Xinhua/Ynag Mengxi)

MUSANZE, Rwanda, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) on Wednesday donated 27.8 hectares of land to Rwanda's national park in a bid to help the country expand habitat for the endangered mountain gorillas and other wildlife.

The land directly adjacent to the Volcanoes National Park in Musanze district, Northern Province, was purchased by AWF last year as part of the foundation's efforts to protect mountain gorillas and boost wildlife conservation in Africa.

According to Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the 27.8 hectares will be added to the existing 16,000 hectares that is the current size of the park.

Lying along the Virunga mountains with 8 ancient volcanoes shared by Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the park is home to mountain gorillas, golden monkeys and other wildlife. Mountain gorilla is a critically endangered species, which has the population of 880, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They are found in the Virunga mountains and in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, said WWF.

Of those in the Virunga massif, Rwanda accounts for 62 percent of the mountain gorilla population, RDB said last May, adding that stringent conservation measures have significantly contributed to a rise in gorilla numbers.

The event to officially hand over the land was held in Kinigi at the foothills of the volcano mountains in northern Rwanda, which attracted thousands of people from surrounding communities including conservation enthusiasts, tourism operators, members of AWF and Rwandan officials.

Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa also attended the event.

Rwanda has taken great steps in gorilla conservation. Its most notable gorilla naming event has led to an increase in the number of gorillas hence becoming a major tourism attraction to the country, said AWF President Kaddu Sebunya at the vent.

"AWF recognizes that if mountain gorillas are going to survive in the long term, this park must be strategically protected, and we are committed to supporting Rwanda in conserving these endangered species," he said.

Sebunya added through proactive government policies, community involvement and open governance, Rwanda is demonstrating that development and conservation are not mutually exclusive.

According to RDB, through conservation efforts mountain gorilla numbers in Volcanoes National Park have increased from 285 in 1978 to 480 in 2010. Between 2003 and 2010 gorilla numbers increased by 26.3 percent, it said.

"The increase in the gorilla population has led to a decreased adequate habitat. This donation is a major step in the consolidation of conservation gains, " said Clare Akamanzi, CEO of RDB.

The Volcanoes National Park has decreased by 54 percent since its establishment in 1925, according to RDB.

According to her, the survival of the rare mountain gorillas in the longer term would depend on adequate habitat, intensified protection and conservation, sustained monitoring and community engagement.

Gorilla tourism remains the backbone of Rwanda's tourism and conservation industry. In the last nine years, gorilla tourism has generated 107 million U.S dollars to Rwanda, said Akamanzi on Wednesday.

From 2006 to 2017, over 298,000 tourists have visited the Volcanoes National Park, said RDB. Some 29,000 tourists visited the park every year on average between 2011 and 2016, statistics from RDB showed.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 22:55:04|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The iCloud services of Apple Inc. in China will be operated by a local partner in southwest China's Guizhou Province from Feb. 28, the company announced Wednesday.

From then on, photos, documents and other personal information uploaded to iCloud accounts by Apple customers in China will be stored at a data base in Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry Co,. Ltd.

Apple will start informing its Chinese iCloud users from Wednesday, with data transferred and uploaded to the new data base automatically.

The move aims to increase transparency and offer Chinese customers a safer and more fluent experience, the company said.

An executive with Guizhou-Cloud Big Data said, "we are very proud and happy to be a partner of Apple, and look forward to the operation of the iCloud project."

Business analysts said the move will help Apple comply with Chinese law concerning customer data and allay some customers' concerns about security of their data.

Apple announced the new data base in Guizhou last July, with an investment of 1 billion U.S. dollars.

Other major technology companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, have also made similar deals to run data centers in China.

Guizhou is one of the least developed regions in China. Yet it has become a pioneer in China's big data development due to its beneficial climate, power supply and network infrastructure.

The provincial government has set up a leading group for big data, with the provincial governor as leader. Leaders at various levels are the "cloud chiefs" responsible for big data development in their own areas.
File Photo: A Standard Missile-3 Block 1A interceptor is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie during a Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Navy test in the Pacific Ocean February 13, 2013. (REUTERS/U.S. Navy)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government has notified Congress of the newly proposed sale of anti-ballistic missiles to Japan, said the U.S. State Department on Tuesday.

This arms sale comes as tension on the Korean peninsula has been slightly eased over the inter-Korean talks held on Tuesday.

The sale includes four Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missiles, four MK 29 missile canisters, and other support services, with a total estimated value of 133.3 million U.S. dollars, said a State Department official in a statement.

South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) held the first senior-level dialogue in about two years, agreeing to hold military talks to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

In late December, Japan's Cabinet approved its budget plan for fiscal 2018, with a record-high defense spending.

Economists and political pundits critical of the ever-increasing expenditure have noted that with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to revise the pacifist Constitution and further normalize Japan's military, such increases in military spending could further unsettle the region and trigger an unnecessary arms race.
A police officer sprays gasoline on packages of cocaine, seized from a ship stopped in international waters. (Reuters photo)

ANKARA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's drug problem has reached epidemic proportions in recent years and its usage age has dropped dramatically despite the heavy crackdown on narcotics trafficking across the country amid a lack of sustainable solutions for addicts, warned experts and officials.

"I am clean since 5 years ago but I used cannabis, alcohol, ecstasy and other synthetic drugs for over 8 years. Because of my addiction I was in a severe health condition and had to be hospitalized in the end. I was weighing only 43 kilos when I was admitted," Seyyide Yoruk told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

This 34-year-old repentant drug addict said her family considers drug abuse as "something ashamed of" in a largely conservative and patriarchal Muslim society, which makes it very difficult for the addicts to look for a clean life and there are few state-sponsored medical facilities that can properly take care of them.

"Antalya is now the capital of heroin in Turkey. There is the real deal which is pure and difficult to reach and the synthetic one that you can buy for 20 liras (5.4 U.S. dollars) per fix. No one knows what's inside and it can cause deadly overdoses," Yoruk said.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag sounded the alarm bell last week. He said his country seizes more drugs than Europe and trafficking of drugs from Iran and Afghanistan usually goes through Turkey.

In 2017, Turkish authorities detained 47,213 people, including 232 foreigners, for drug-related offenses, Akdag said.

"However, there is another trafficking route which starts from the Netherlands, partly from Belgium and Austria and is targeting Turkey," he noted, calling on Brussels, Belgium, Austria and Poland to do more to stop drug runners in Europe.

"These substances, which are used by young people who end up in a sorry state on the streets, are manufactured in the Netherlands, Belgium or Austria and partially in Poland," the Turkish senior official explained.

He was referring to the cheap synthetic drug called bonsai which is holding a large number of youths prisoner of its effects.

Operations have led to the seizure of 5,778,593 illegal drugs in the pill-form, including ecstasy, amphetamine and prescriptions, Akdag said.

Despite harsh legislation and intense police work, synthetic drug abuse is on the rise among low-income Turkish youths, even in conservative neighborhoods in big cities.

"It's even more terrible in the east (of Turkey). Drugs have even made their way to small villages in rural areas where kids aged 9 or 10 are using it," Fatih Yuzuguler, a former addict, told Xinhua.

The 26-year-old Kurdish man said he pretty much used every drug from cannabis to cocaine and methamphetamine to heroin.

"I was responsible also for the fact that my wife started to use it with me until we ended sleeping in the streets, without income or money, food or dignity," said Yuzuguler, who is now clean and so is his wife.

Yuzuguler now tries to help new addicts and their families to sever ties with narcotics, which is a very hard task in an impoverished and conservative environment.

"To be sober is a lifetime commitment. Like a diabetic we struggle to keep away from our kind of sweets," said Yoruk.

He called on the state to establish a comprehensive mechanism for the social problem, and raise awareness of the plight of young addicts.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu stirred a controversy last week when he publicly encouraged his police force to use extra judicial methods to deal with drug smugglers.

"If a dealer is near a school, the police have a duty to break his leg. Do it and blame me. Even if it costs five, 10, 20 years in jail, we'll pay," Soylu was quoted by the local press as saying.

He argued that Turkey must fight drug dealers as it fights the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has engaged in a three-decade deadly insurgency against the Turkish state.

"What we are doing to PKK terrorists, we must also do to drug dealers. No one can poison our future," he said.

The interior ministry said last year that the PKK earns 500 million dollars a year from the illegal drug trade since 1980, with cannabis as its main source of funding.

The age of drug usage has decreased to 9 in Turkey, according to Ulkumen Rodoplu, the founding president of the Emergency Mede iMessage Association of Turkey.

"In Izmir province last week, a nine-year-old child was brought to hospital for addiction treatment," he said in a recent interview to the Turkish Daily News, warning that drug use can develop from one simple use.

"Generally, youngsters try drugs out of curiosity with the belief that nothing will happen from one use, but it's not the case," he noted.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 23:20:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from seven countries in southern Europe would gather in the Italian capital late on Wednesday to address key issues for the European Union (EU) in 2018.

The summit would engage Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus, starting from 6:30 p.m. local time, according to a statement from Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's office.

Leaders of the seven countries were expected to discuss some "crucial deadlines" awaiting the bloc this year, Ansa news agency reported citing government sources.

The agenda would especially focus on an expected reform of Dublin Regulation (concerning where asylum-seekers are allowed to file their claim) by June, a re-organization of the EU parliament after the Brexit, the reforms needed in the Economic and Monetary Union, and migration.

Although involved to different degrees in the hot topic, all seven countries agree the migration issue can be only tackled at EU level, and special attention in the talks would be paid to the reform of the EU asylum policy.

Southern European countries -- Italy and Greece especially -- have served as major entry points for people seeking refuge or better life in Europe from Africa and the Middle East, and have repeatedly appealed for migrant and refugee inflows to be shared more evenly across the EU.

A relocation and resettlement scheme has never been fully implemented so far, despite being introduced by the European Commission since May 2015.

During the summit, the leaders are now expected to reinforce their common stance on the issue, to better counterbalance the so-called "Visegrad Group" (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Czech Republic), which strenuously opposes the idea of distributing refugees according to quotas.

This will be the fourth summit for the seven leaders, since the so-called "EU Med Group" was informally created in 2013.

After an opening summit in September 2016 in Greece, the EU Med Group gathered in Lisbon and Madrid in January and April 2017 respectively.

All together, the seven countries would represent one-fourth of the whole EU membership, contributing at least 41 percent to the bloc's budget, according to Italian media citing EU statistics.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 23:35:12|Editor: Zhou Xin

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HANGZHOU, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- An alliance between Chinese and French universities and institutions to promote artificial intelligence (AI) was established Tuesday.

Eight education institutions from China and France, including Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and Sorbonne University, established the France China AI Consortium Tuesday in Beijing.

French mathematician and Fields medalist Cedric Villani said that the cooperation would be crucial to facing common challenges.

"Strengthening international cooperation in AI will not only promote interdisciplinary research, but also help build a platform for creative talent," said Wu Fei, director of the AI research institution of Zhejiang University.
Pune, Jan 10 (PTI) Three persons were today arrested from Ahmednagar district by Pune Police in connection with the killing of a 30-year-old man during the caste clashes near Koregaon Bhima on January 1.

Rahul Phatangale was killed allegedly during the violence near Koregaon Bhima in Pune district. A case against unidentified persons had been registered.

Phatangale was allegedly assaulted by a group of people when he was on his way home.

"We have arrested three persons from Ahmednagar and all of them have confessed to attacking Phatangale with stones and sticks," said Superintendent of Police Suvez Haque.

Police have withheld the identity of the three accused.

An officer of the local crime branch said the police had obtained video footage of the attack on Phatangale.

"Faces of some of the attackers were clearly seen in the footage, and based on the video, these three persons were tracked down," said the officer.

More people were involved in the incident and police were trying to identify them, he said.

The violence occurred during the bicentennial event to commemorate the Koregaon-Bhima battle in which British imperial forces comprising Dalits had defeated the army of Peshwas.

Dalits view the historic battle as the defeat of "casteist" Peshwas who had represented the Maratha empire.

On January 1, several vehicles, shops, houses were vandalised and torched by mobs in areas near Koregaon Bhima.

Lakhs of Dalits visit the Koregaon Ranstambh (victory pillar) every year to commemorate the Koregaon Bhima battle.

It is seen as a symbol of Dalit assertion against upper- caste rulers, but some pro-Hindutva organisations had opposed celebration of the British victory against a native army. PTI SPK KRK DIP
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 23:35:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Wednesday that leaders of the Lancang-Mekong countries reached consensus relevant to their shared future at the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting.

Leaders of China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to deepen cooperation with the principle of equality, inclusiveness and real action, Li, one of the co-chairs of the meeting, said at a press conference held after the event.

The six countries also passed two major documents, namely the five-year action plan and the Phnom Penh Declaration for this year's meeting, according to Li.

Discord often arises among countries on the upstream and downstream of a river, Li said, noting that China wants to effectively handle the relationship of such kind and accommodate interests of all countries to build a community with a shared future for the Lancang-Mekong nations.

"China needs a peaceful neighboring environment to facilitate its modernization drive and poverty reduction. We propose to build the LMC mechanism due to the high complementarity between China and the other five countries," he said.

Initiated by China in 2014, the framework spans connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, and agriculture and poverty reduction, benefiting dozens of millions of people living on the waterway.

The Lancang River originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in southwest China. It is called the Mekong River as it flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the sea.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 23:45:15|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (3rd L) attends the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Li Keqiang co-chaired the meeting, which also brought together Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar Vice President U Myint Swe. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 2nd Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Leaders' Meeting wrapped up here on Wednesday with leaders from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam adopting the Phnom Penh Declaration and the Five-Year Plan of Action (2018-2022).

In the declaration, the leaders stressed the vision and importance of the LMC in contributing to the socio-economic development of sub-regional countries and enhancing the well-being of their peoples, narrowing the development gap among countries, supporting the ASEAN Community building as well as advancing South-South cooperation and enhancing the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

They noted with satisfaction that most of the 45 Early Harvest Projects identified at the First LMC Leaders' Meeting and the 13 initiatives put forward by China at the Second LMC Foreign Ministers' Meeting have been completed or made substantial progress, and they highly appreciated China's establishment of an LMC Special Fund to support the projects of the six countries.

Emboldened by the rapid evolution of the LMC from its nurturing stage into its current growth period, the leaders intended to further strengthen the cooperation in the five priority areas of connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources, agriculture and poverty reduction, and aim to collaborate on larger sub-regional projects so as to jointly build a LMC Economic Development Belt.

They pledged to cooperate in the fields of politics and security; economy and sustainable development; social, cultural and people-to-people exchanges; as well as cooperation supports.

In political and security cooperation, the LMC member countries vowed to promote high-level exchanges and dialogues among political parties, parliaments and government officials, strengthen cooperation to safeguard sub-regional peace and stability, deepen law enforcement cooperation in combating non-traditional security issues, and enhance cooperation in disaster prevention, humanitarian assistance, climate change, and food, water and energy security.

On the economic cooperation arena, the leaders agreed to enhance intra- and inter- Lancang-Mekong countries connectivity; explore the possibility of establishing an economic corridor in the region; promote cross-border economic cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, e-commerce, industrial park; strengthen cooperation on sustainable management and utilization of water resources; and encourage further cooperation in finance, among others.

The leaders' meeting also endorsed the LMC Five-Year Plan of Action (2018-2022) which will serve as a guiding document for LMC's future development. It also released the second batch of cooperative projects and reports of the six Joint Working Groups on the key priority areas.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang co-chaired the meeting, which also brought together Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar Vice President U Myint Swe.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 23:45:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAPE TOWN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A South African Parliament subcommittee met on Wednesday to deliberate rules to regulate the removal of a sitting president, amid rumors that President Jacob Zuma might resign.

This relates to Section 89 of the Constitution, which deals with the removal of the president on the grounds of a serious violation of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct, or inability to perform the functions of office, said Richard Mdakane, Chairperson of the rules review subcommittee.

The deliberation was conducted in line with the December ruling by the Constitutional Court, which ordered the National Assembly to make impeachment rules without delay to initiate impeachment against Zuma.

The court said the National Assembly had failed to set proper rules for holding Zuma accountable for his alleged involvement in the Nkandla scandal, in which Zuma was accused of abusing public funding worth 246 million rand (about 20 million U.S. dollars) in security upgrades at his private home in Nkandla.

Mdakane said although the Constitution provides for the removal of a sitting president, it does not set out the procedures of how that should be done.

Mdakane disclosed that the common thread in the Wednesday meeting was for the term "serious offence" in the Constitution to be defined.

The subcommittee resolved for a proposal to be drafted on the possible way forward on the mechanism for impeachment, he said.

The options include a panel of judges to deliberate on the removal, a body comprising of legal experts and MPs, and a Committee of Parliament constituted in a similar fashion like the rules review subcommittee, according to Mdakane.

The subcommittee expects to have a draft rules ready in two weeks and aims to conclude with the final document by the middle of next month, Mdakane said.

The latest development adds to growing pressure on Zuma to resign.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was elected President of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), reportedly was negotiating Zuma's resignation as head of state.

Newly elected ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule confirmed that the Ramaphosa-Zuma talks were underway.

The two men "are actually meeting and engaging," Magashule told reporters, without disclosing the details.

The meeting was believed to be part of the process of persuading Zuma to resign "gracefully."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 23:55:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LUANDA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is scheduled to visit Angola on Friday and meet with President Joao Lourenco, said a statement issued by the Angolan President's Civil Affairs Office on Wednesday.

During the 24-hour visit, the Zimbabwean leader is expected to brief his Angolan counterpart on the political situation in his country, said the statement.

Mnangagwa will also discuss with Lourenco on issues related to the preparations of presidential elections to legitimize the ongoing transition in that southern African country, it added.

The Angolan president is the current chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)'s Organ for Politics, Defense and Security.

Mnangagwa took office on November 24, 2017 as President of Zimbabwe after the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-10 23:55:19|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump saw possibility for the ongoing talks between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leading to a dialogue between the United States and the DPRK, multiple local media reports said Wednesday.

Moon and Trump had a telephone conversation for about half an hour from 10 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), agreeing to strengthen cooperation between the two allies, according to local media citing Seoul's presidential Blue House.

It marked the ninth phone talks between the two presidents since Moon took office in May 2017. During last week's phone conversation, Moon and Trump agreed not to conduct the springtime South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises during the South Korea-hosted Winter Olympics period.

South Korea and the DPRK held the first high-level talks in about two years Tuesday, agreeing to hold a separate dialogue on military affairs. The DPRK agreed to send its athletes and cheering squads to the 2018 Winter Olympics scheduled to kick off on Feb. 9 at South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang.

During the phone conversation, Moon and Trump saw a possibility that the inter-Korean talks can lead to the U.S.-DPRK dialogue for the denuclearized Korean Peninsula beyond the DPRK's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Trump said he would be open to talks, if the DPRK wants it, at an appropriate time and under right situations.

The U.S. president noted that there would be no military action while the inter-Korean talks go on, dismissing the U.S. media's speculation.

Trump said in last week's phone talks with Moon that he supported the inter-Korean dialogue.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:05:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WINDHOEK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A pride of lions implicated in the killing of more than 200 small livestock in Nov. 2017 and relocated to the Erongo region, west of Namibia, will be moved again after some farmers raised concerns.

Environment ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said Wednesday that the decision to relocate the lions to Etosha National Park is to avoid any further public concerns.

Muyunda said in a statement that the environment ministry takes issues of human-wildlife conflict management seriously.

"Our lion conflict reduction management strategies include capture and translocation to other areas where it is deemed that the animal will not cause conflict with people," Muyunda said.

He said should rogue animals continue to cause problems, then they can be destroyed or put up for trophy hunting.

Although the pride of eight lions has not caused any problems in their new habitat, their presence has caused some small livestock farmers discomfort.

Muyunda said if the human-wildlife management is not addressed appropriately with the necessary understanding and respect, it can harm if not destroy conservation efforts and tourism benefits for the country.

"We recognize this threat, and in this regard, we have finalized the review of the National Policy on Human-Wildlife Conflict Management which has been approved, in principle, by Cabinet and will now be presented to Parliament," Muyunda said.

The lions were relocated from the Torra Conservancy in Kunene region, north-west of Namibia about 400 kilometers from Windhoek in Nov. 2017 after they had killed more than 200 small livestock.

According to Muyunda, the lions attacked the small livestock after the first rainfall in the Kunene area that caused some prey to drift away.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:05:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MADRID, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish region of Andalusia has become the first in the country to pass a law which effectively declares war on the ever increasingly problem of obesity.

The region has the second highest levels of obesity in the country, with 16.6 of adults and almost one in four minors classified as obese.

The law, which was approved by the regional government on Monday, aims to tackle "a problem, which is a priority for public health" as well as to reduce health service costs in the medium to long term.

Among the package of measures approved by the regional government is one which requires that from now on, bars and restaurants will have to offer drinking water free of charge to anyone who requests it.

Free drinking water will also be placed next to vending machines selling high-calorie soft drinks in public spaces.

Other parts of the law oblige restaurants and bars to offer clients the option of different portion sizes, while supermarkets will be obliged to offer fresh produce in a range of packaging sizes.

The law also asks schools to program five hours of sport a week into the curriculum, and launch initiatives to distribute fresh fruit and vegetables. School shops and cafeterias will be banned from selling drinks and snacks which contain over 200 calories.

Publicity of products with exceptionally high calorific values will also be limited by the law.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:05:24|Editor: Zhou Xin

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The White House on Wednesday criticized a federal judge's decision to temporarily block President Donald Trump's ending of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, calling the move "outrageous" especially considering the ongoing bipartisan negotiations.

"We find this decision to be outrageous, especially in light of the President's successful bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members at the White House on the same day," the White House said in a statement.

Trump met with lawmakers at the White House on Tuesday, offering support for an immigration package that would legalize young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers. However, he insisted his border wall plan should be included in the deal.

The president suggested that the package could be reached in two phases, first by addressing young immigrants and border security, then by making comprehensive changes that have long eluded Congress, including end of the family-based chain migration and the visa lottery program.

Trump announced last year he would rescind the DACA program, arguing his predecessor overstepped its authority.

A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday night temporarily blocked Trump's action, ordering that the program must remain in place while litigation over the president's decision to end the program plays out.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:05:25|Editor: Zhou Xin

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MOGADISHU, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Somali government on Wednesday called on Somaliland and Puntland regional states to stop escalating tension in the northern Sool region.

The government said in a statement that it is committed to continuing reconciliation among the fighting sides in the region and across the country to help restore peace and stability.

"The federal government's intension is to stop the fight. It calls for Somaliland, Puntland local officials, community leaders, and scholars to stop the conflict, and work with the government in fostering peace and integrating brotherly people," it said.

The government called on both sides to swiftly and unconditionally bring to an end to the looming conflict and solve their differences through dialogue and reconciliation.

The government expressed concern about the fresh armed conflict at Tukaraq area this week and urged the two sides to stop the battle unconditionally and come to negotiating table.

Tension has been rising since Monday in the disputed Takaraq location in Sool region, about 90 km from Garowe town as both sides amass troops ready for combat in the Puntland administrative capital.

Puntland authorities have blamed the break-away region of Somaliland for launching offensive in Takaraq to prevent visit by Somalia president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo to the region.

The Somalia government described the current conflict in the region as unfortunate, saying such fighting would only give opportunity to the enemies of peace.

The statement comes after military forces from Somaliland Monday took control of a town under the semi autonomous region of Puntland following a fierce fighting.

Puntland State President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali condemned Somaliland for launching offensive on its territory.

"Puntland State is fighting Al-Shabaab and IS militants and the attack from Somaliland Administration gives shelter and support to the terrorist groups in the region," Ali said on Tuesday evening.

Both Puntland and Somaliland have been in contest over Sool and Sanag regions with each side claiming control.

Puntland parliament threatened force in November 2017 against Somaliland if elections took place in Sool during the presidential poll. The polls, however, went on uninterrupted in most areas of Sool.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:10:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Iran will counter a possible U.S. move to scrap the 2015 nuclear deal with rapid response that could surprise the Americans, a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official warned Wednesday.

"Iran is prepared for the worst-case scenario concerning the nuclear deal, internationally known as JCPOA," Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iranian deputy foreign minister for European and American affairs, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

Signed in 2015 by Iran and six major world powers including Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, the Iranian nuclear deal is formally called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Under the deal, Iran agreed to halt its nuclear weapons development program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions on the Islamic republic.

One cannot predict U.S. President Donald Trump's imminent decision on the deal, Ravanchi said, adding that Tehran's rapid reaction to any breach of the deal would "surprise" Washington.

"Should the United States withdraw from the JCPOA, Iran will carry out its response plan so rapidly that would surprise the Americans," he said.

On Oct. 13, Trump announced that he decided to decertify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal, in a move that did not pull the U.S. out of the deal but triggered a 60-day window for U.S. Congress to decide whether to reimpose the nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.

With no action from U.S. Congress during the past months, the ball was kicked back to Trump, who should decide in mid-January if he would like to waive energy sanctions on Iran.

So far, the deal has helped defuse the Iranian nuclear crisis and bolstered the international non-proliferation regime. Iran has repeatedly warned the U.S. against scrapping the deal, while other parties involved in the deal are also largely opposed to such move.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), tasked with monitoring Iran's nuclear activities, has so far certified for eight times Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal.
Bhartiya Republican Party-Bahujan Mahasangh Leader Prakash Ambedkar has alleged that there is a threat to CM Fadanvis' life from right wing elements.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar quoted a social media post from an alleged close aide of Sambhaji Bhide, who is accused of stoking the communal violence in Maharashtra last week.

Terming Devendra Fadnavis and another Maharashtra Minister Girish Bapat as 'insects,' the alleged post had called for eliminating them.

"Political parties, despite having differences, do not want to destroy each other. But these independent organisations are dangerous. CM has danger from such fringe and extreme right wing elements," Ambedkar alleged.

He also added that the Pune police have not given this information to the CM.

"Such organisations are dangerous and creating new Hafiz Saeed. This language is not suitable for Maharashtra. Who is (the) guru of this man? Sambhaji Bhide('s) and Raosaheb('s) photos are available. He is close to Bhide," Ambedkar further alleged.

"Political parties including RSS will have to take action against these unscrutinised saffron parties," he added.

STOP COMBING OPERATIONS

Ambedkar also demanded that the combing operations under way in Maharashtra after the Bhima Koregaon violence, should stop.

"Under the guise of these combing operations, even minors are being put behind bars. This should stop. 125 rounded up in Mumbai are under 16 years of age, and are being charged with Section 307, that is charges of attempt to murder," Ambedkar said.

The BRP-Bahujan Mahasangh leader also claimed that these operations were going on without Fadnavis' knowledge.

WATCH | Bhima Koregaon caste violence: Bandh or display of goondaism?
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:10:26|Editor: Zhou Xin

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VIENTIANE, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China and Laos have inaugurated a joint lab for study of renewable energy in Lao capital Vientiane, according to the Chinese Embassy in Laos on Wednesday.

The lab was jointly built by China's Yunnan Normal University and Lao Ministry of Science and Technology's Renewable Energy and New Material Research Institute with sponsorship of China's Ministry of Science and Technology in facility and talent training.

The inauguration ceremony was held Tuesday with the attendance of Chinese Ambassador to Laos Wang Wentian, Lao Minister of Science and Technology Boviengkham Vongdara, President of Yunnan Normal University Jiang Yongwen, among others.

After the ceremony, the Chinese ambassador to Laos and Lao minister of science and technology exchanged views on measures to further deepen bilateral cooperation in science and technology sector.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:10:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- If the sanction waivers are not extended by the United States, Iran can reactive nuclear program soon, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Wednesday.

Iran is capable of multiplying the pace of its nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment, Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by Press TV.

"Of course, the speed, the scale and percentage of enrichment as well as other activities would depend on what (the Iranian) authorities decide," he said, adding that "what matters is the capacity to implement major decisions at the AEOI."

The nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six world powers of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany in July 2015 resulted in the removal of international and western sanctions against Iran in return for the strict monitoring of the country's nuclear program.

However, over the past year, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed new sanctions against a number of Iranian and international entities which have, allegedly, had links with Iran's developing pace of missile program.

The U.S. government has said that expansion of Iran's missile program is against the "spirit" of nuclear deal. Tehran has dismissed the claims.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:15:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 23 former officials at provincial level or above were put under investigation by Chinese prosecution authorities in 2017, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Wednesday.

Since October 2014, 34 of the 100 fugitives who are wanted by China and are the subject of an Interpol red notice have either been captured or persuaded to turn themselves in, the SPP said.

China has cooperated with a number of countries to hunt down fugitives suspected of involvement in corruption. Many of the fugitives were former government officials or employees of state-owned enterprises.

Since 2017, 1,300 fugitives have returned to China, including 347 Party members and state functionaries, as well as 14 who are Interpol red notice suspects.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:25:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Wednesday that leaders of the Lancang-Mekong countries reached consensus relevant to their shared future at the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting.

Leaders of China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to deepen cooperation with the principle of equality, inclusiveness and real action, Li, one of the co-chairs of the meeting, said at a press conference held after the event.

The six countries also passed two major documents, namely the Five-year Action Plan (2018-2022) and the Phnom Penh Declaration at this year's meeting.

Discord often arises among countries on the upstream and downstream of a river, Li said, noting that China wants to effectively handle the relationship of such kind and accommodate interests of all countries to build a community with a shared future for the Lancang-Mekong nations.

"China needs a peaceful neighboring environment to facilitate its modernization drive and poverty reduction. We propose to build the LMC mechanism due to the high complementarity between China and the other five countries," he said.

Li reaffirmed China's support for ASEAN, short for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to build a community of shared future, with supplement of the LMC mechanism.

Nearly 200 project plans have been submitted for evaluation at this year's meeting, Li said, adding that all countries involved are obliged to take a lead.

"China is willing to work with all parties to make the Lancang-Mekong into a river of friendship, cooperation and prosperity," he added.

Initiated by China in 2014, the framework spans connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, and agriculture and poverty reduction, benefiting dozens of millions of people living on the waterway.

The first LMC leaders' meeting was held in Sanya of south China's Hainan Province in March 2016, at which the goal of building a community of shared future of peace and prosperity for the LMC countries was endorsed.

The Lancang River originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in southwest China. It is called the Mekong River as it flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the sea.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:30:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LISBON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese government's declaration that the current Attorney General (PGR) will not have her mandate renewed is being treated as "an affront to the president," local media reported on Wednesday.

The president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, tried to downplay the controversy, telling the SIC News channel that the issue was "non-existent". But the Expresso newspaper cited a source close to the president who said he was privately smarting.

The Minister for Justice, Francisca Van Dunem, said in a TSF radio interview on Tuesday that the PGR's "was a long and one-off mandate". This implied that the current PGR, Joana Marques Vidal, would not have her mandate renewed in October when her 6-year term expires.

The PGR is a presidential appointment, albeit one made from a government shortlist.

Marques Vidal was appointed by Anibal Cavaco Silva, Rebelo de Sousa's predecessor, having been nominated by the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) government of the time.

The center-left Socialist Party government now in power thus stands accused of rushing to make a political appointment. But the row runs deeper than which office of state ought to be leading on the matter.

Van Dunem, a magistrate, was answering from a legal perspective. Her reading of a 1997 amendment to the constitution is that it limits each PGR appointment to one mandate.

But legal opinion is divided on the matter. Rebelo de Sousa is believed to disagree, not least because, as leader of the PSD in 1997, he helped draft the legislation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:35:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's health authority has urged strengthened monitoring and treatment in face of the current influenza outbreak.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) in a circular asked medical organs at all levels to reserve enough antiviral medicines, and allocate medical resources and equipment such as respirators and monitors for timely treatment of severe cases.

The commission also demanded close monitoring of the mutation of flu virus strains, and suggested schools have daily check-ups for students.

Children, senior citizens, pregnant women and people suffering from chronic diseases need vaccinations, said Feng Zijian, deputy head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the Chinese National Influenza Center, flu has been on the rise in recent weeks, and was very prevalent during the last week of 2017 with 11,253 cases reported, up from 7,730 the previous week.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:45:45|Editor: Zhou Xin

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TOKYO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday that Japan will "properly respond to" individual cooperation programs related to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

Abe made the remarks after hearing reports from Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Yoshihisa Inoue, secretary general of the Komeito Party, about a meeting of the China-Japan ruling party exchange mechanism that they attended last month.

Inoue suggested to Abe that Japan should not miss the current opportunities to improve Sino-Japanese relations and should try to realize exchanges of high-level visits between China and Japan, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

Abe, for his part, said that he will make firm efforts to enhance high-level exchanges with China, said the reports.

The Japanese premier has signaled his willingness to improve the Sino-Japanese relationship on a number of occasions since the second half of 2017, according to local reports.

Earlier this month, Abe said at a New Year celebration party organized by Jiji Press in Tokyo that he wanted 2018 to be the year during which people in both Japan and China recognize "great improvement" in bilateral relations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 00:55:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Misbah Saba Malik

ISLAMABAD, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The transgender persons are still facing discrimination in Pakistan but they will be protected as the government has introduced a bill in the parliament which seeks to provide equal rights to them.

Rani, a 21-year-old transgender in Pakistan's northwest Peshawar city, was beaten blue by her boyfriend when she accepted an offer to dance at a wedding function of a rich man's son.

"He wants me to stick to him, but doesn't support me financially. I'll die of hunger if I don't find a work for myself. I can't get a decent job so I have to dance at wedding parties to earn my bread and butter. But every time I attended some dance parties I got humiliated by him."

Rani is one of over 10,000 transgenders registered in Pakistan in the recently held population census 2017, who are humiliated and socially discriminated by the rich, poor, men and women alike.

The transgender organizations said that the actual number of transgenders in Pakistan is about half a million to 1 million and the census failed to register them all as they shied away from registering themselves.

The community experiences rejection, stigmatization, harassment and physical violence because they do not conform with prevailing gender norms, and are also denied by official identity documents that reflect their preferred gender.

The term normally used for transgenders in local language is "Hijra" or "Khusra", a slang, which is loosely translated as impotent, or someone who is even weaker than women to stand up and fight for his rights.

Amid all these taboos and discriminatory attitudes, some rights organizations are working across the country to protect the rights of this underprivileged community.

An organization, Blue Veins which is working for the protection of the transgender community in the country's north Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, has recently launched a mobile application for android, which will enable the transgender community to report about the violence inflicted on them, and call for immediate help by just pushing one button on their mobile phones.

The organization said that the transgender community is constrained by taboos everywhere in the Pakistan, but KP is the worst record in this case where 54 transgender persons have been killed while 607 incidents of violence against them were reported since 2005.

Talking to Xinhua, Qamar Naseem, a representative of the organization, said that the actual number of the incidents of violence is much higher, but the data they quoted includes only the cases that were reported and registered at the police stations.

He said that the app, Trans-Muhafiz, translated as protector of the transgender, has been introduced with an aim to record the cases of harassment, violence, denial of services, and unfair treatment against transgender and intersex persons.

He said that the transgender person who is using the app can add the telephone numbers of his trusted ones, people from Blue Veins, police officials, family members or anyone he wants in their mobile phones and can alert them whenever they are in danger.

Naseem, who is also the program coordinator for Blue Veins, said that Trans-Muhafiz has both online and offline reporting options, and also video and audio message service. An online violence reporting system will create a more empowering reporting experience for transgender survivors, provide authorities with better evidence and data on violence, and facilitate the identification of repeat perpetrators.

"We can't ensure we can protect them every time and everywhere, but we will try to make the best possible efforts helping them with in our resources," Naseem said.

He said that the KP government is also cooperating with them for the protection of the community as for the first time in the history of the country, the community will be issued health card to get free medical facilities this week.

Arzu Khan, head of a transgender organization, said that the transgenders often face discriminatory and even shameful attitude by the people who humiliate them whenever they want and when they go to police stations to report the cases, no one pays heed to them.

"When we go to hospitals, public parks or offices, the gate keepers often bar us from entering, and when we insist they ask for body frisking and some of them touch us inappropriately during security check," Khan, a transgender herself, told Xinhua.

She said that the profession of her community is to dance in functions, marriages and other parties, making them vulnerable to violence.

Arzu said that most of the people of her community are not educated, as the society does not accept them and even if they get admission in schools, they are bullied by the fellow students and even teachers. So being the uneducated individuals, the easiest job for them is to dress up in fancy clothes, wear make up and dance in the public.

"Some of the transgenders in KP earn up to Rs. four or five lac (about 4,000 to 5,000 U.S. dollars) a month, by performing at weddings or other work," she said.

Arzu said that the newly introduced mobile application will help the people of her community complain against violence, sexual harassment and other discriminatory attitude they face on the daily basis.

"When someone from our community is in any kind of danger, she will just press one button and all of us, the organizations working for our protection and the government officials will get to know about it, and hopefully we can all do something for her in time."

While the transgenders in KP welcomed the mobile application, Sonia, a transgender who begs at traffic signals in Islamabad believes that technology cannot help them.

"I don't have a smart phone, I am too poor to have one, and even if I'll have any I don't know how to operate it. Besides no one cares about us, even if we press the button, neither the police nor our families will come to save us," Sonia said.

Some local watchers believe that the Pakistani society has started accepting transgenders as it is in the first time in the history of the country when they have been included in the census, as even many developed countries do not count the community in census.

The Blue Veins representative said that two laws are in making for the protection of the transgender community, in the country's upper house, and they will soon be passed.

Overall, the transgender community is underprivileged and they are often found begging on the streets or standing at the "dark corners" of the roads late at night to be hired as sex workers.

Though the Pakistani government is trying to give them rights in one way or the other, and rights organizations are mushrooming up to "protect" them, but there is still a long way to go for them to be accepted by the society.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 01:15:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VILNIUS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- It is shameful that distributors have to tear out or cover whole pages of foreign media publications sold in Lithuania in order to respect new alcohol advertising ban, Lithuania's president Dalia Grybauskaite said on Wednesday.

"I believe this fact is shameful. It reminds of middle ages and causes a huge international reputational harm to Lithuania," Grybauskaite was quoted by local media.

As of Jan. 1, a new legislation banning alcohol advertising entirely from TV, radio or printed media took effect in Lithuania.

Soon after the date, consumers started to complain about receiving foreign magazines and other publications with pages covered by stickers, painted over or removed, for foreign magazines distributors started either to tear out pages containing alcohol ads or to cover them using marker pens.

According to Grybauskaite, the situation must be fixed. "The legislation must be free of any gaps," she underscored.

A group of Lithuanian lawmakers submitted a law amendment earlier this week proposing a legislative exception for publications in foreign languages, issued by companies registered abroad.

"It is obvious that implementing of alcohol advertising ban lacks professionalism. Ruined and censored foreign media causes shame to our country and provokes outrage among people who expect quality publications," Radvile Morkunaite-Mikuleniene, member of the parliament, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the lawmakers group.

In recent years, Lithuania's authorities have been considering and adopting measures aimed at restricting access of alcohol, due to concerns over alcohol abuse in the Baltic country.

Raising the minimum drinking age to 20, restricting alcohol sale hours and alcohol advertising ban are among the amendments to the Alcohol Control Law adopted last year.

According to the World Health Organisation, Lithuania is among the countries with the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in Europe.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 01:20:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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AMMAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Jordan and Indonesia on Wednesday discussed coordinating efforts to find a solution following a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, and briefed him on the result of the Arab foreign ministers meeting in Amman to discuss means to face Trump's decision.

The two sides underlined the need for joint action to secure world recognition of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.

They also called for international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and realize the aspirations of the Palestinians in creating their own state at the borders of 1967.

They also stressed the need for continued coordination in this regard at all levels.
Delhi Chief Minister and Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party Arvind Kejriwal may try to woo the Maratha community in Maharashtra as he visits the state on January 12.

Kejriwal will be visiting Sindkhed Raja to celebrate the birth Anniversary of Jijabai, the mother of Maratha warrior King Shivaji.

Sindkhed Raja in Buldhana district is the birthplace of Jijabai. Lakhs gather here to pay their respects on the occasion of "Rajmata Jijau Janmotsav Sohala".

Kejriwal will be addressing a public rally on Friday. Cops had initially denied permission for the rally citing law and order issues. But now, the rally can go on as planned.

HIGH HOPES

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Maharashtra has high hopes from the rally, as this will be the first big attempt by the AAP to reach out to the politically significant Maratha community.

Marathas comprise of approximately 32 per cent of the state's population.

Kejriwal's choice of venue also underlines the agenda of the party, particularly in the backdrop of the recent turmoil in Maharashtra.

Marathas had taken to the streets last year, demanding reservations in education and job sectors.

SUDHIR SAWANT'S INDUCTION

Kejriwal will induct Brigadier (retd.) Sudhir Sawant, a former Congress MP from Konkan region, into the AAP. Sawant is a Maratha.

"We are not here to woo the Maratha community or any community for that matter. We do not believe in the politics of caste and creed. We chose the venue because we believe in the values of Jijamata which she imbibed into Shivaji Maharaj," AAP spokesperson Preeti Sharma-Menon told India Today.

"In fact we firmly believe and follow the ideologies of Shahu Maharaj who spent major part of its budget on education. Our government has emulated that in Delhi," Sharma added.

ALSO WATCH | Kejriwal: Delhi has turned into a gas chamber
Ri Son-gwon (L), chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), shakes hands with South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon at Peace House, a South Korean building in the truce village of Panmunjom, Jan. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Newsis)

MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed the agreements reached between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea.

"We express hope that their implementation will contribute to the de-escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and ensure stability in this sub-region," the ministry said in a statement.

It also hopes that all interested parties will support the steps aimed at resuming the dialogue between the two countries, which is the only possible way of finding a mutually acceptable solution.

Russia is ready to keep rendering all possible assistance to the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula problems, it said.

Senior government officials of the two Koreas met in the truce village of Panmunjom for the first time in about two years on Tuesday and reached a series of agreements.

The DPRK agreed to send a high-level delegation to the Winter Olympics to be hosted next month in the South Korean city of PyeongChang.

The two sides also agreed to ease military tensions and discussed possible reunions of separated families during the upcoming Lunar New Year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 02:06:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RAMALLAH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians on Wednesday strongly criticized Israel's new plan of constructing settlement units in the West Bank and said the policies of the U.S. administration in the Middle East have provided cover for Israel.

Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on foreign affairs, told Xinhua that Israel is using the current U.S. administration's positions and stances to accelerate its plans for settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories.

He accused the Israeli government of carrying out "an expansionist plan based on the destruction of the two-state solution and undermining the chances of peace through settlements and the confiscation of as much Palestinian land as possible."

"The Israeli efforts are aimed at annexing the entire West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and in doing so intensifies the pace of settlement construction in the absence of serious international accountability," said Shaath.

He also stressed that the Palestinian side "won't accept any peace talks that undermine the Palestinian rights to establish an independent state on all the territories occupied (by Israel) in 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital and resolve all final status issues."

The Israeli media quoted Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman as saying that he would ask the Israeli government for approval Wednesday for a plan to build 1,285 new settlement units this year in settlements in the West Bank.

Lieberman said that parallel plans would be made to build 2,500 new settlement units in about 20 different settlements in the West Bank, according to the Israeli media reports.

The file of settlement expansion is the most prominent aspect of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and one of the main reasons for the end of the last peace negotiations, sponsored by the United States between the two sides in mid 2014.

Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, Riyad al-Maliki, blamed the "international deficit and Arab weakness" in the escalation of Israel's increase of settlement construction.

He stressed that the Palestinian side "is no longer betting on the Arab supportive position, as was the case in previous times to face Israel and its settlement plans."

"The Palestinian side must rely on itself with limited means to move at different diplomatic and legal levels and the continuation of popular resistance," al-Maliki stressed.

He pointed out that a meeting of Arab foreign ministers will be held at the end of this month to determine the next Arab move regarding the U.S. declaration on Jerusalem.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Dec. 6 the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the transfer of his country's embassy to it, which stirred angry Palestinian, Arab and international reactions.

The Palestinian Central Council of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is scheduled to hold a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday and Monday to discuss the Palestinian response to the U.S. decision on Jerusalem and Israel's settlement policies.

Ahmed Majdalani, member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, said that the central council will discuss the cancellation of Palestinian mutual recognition with Israel, stop security coordination and stop the implementation of Palestinian agreements signed with Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 02:16:08|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned Philip Kosnett, the U.S. embassy charge d'affaires, over the current situation in Syria, a source in the ministry said.

On Tuesday, the ministry also summoned the ambassadors of Russia and Iran to protest the Syria government's violations of de-escalation zone borders in Idlib.

Turkey has repeatedly criticized Washington over its support for the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units militia, which Ankara views as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.
Pigs are pictured outside the European Union agriculture ministers' meeting as farmers protest against low selling prices in central Brussels, Belgium March 14, 2016. (REUTERS FILE PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia intends to challenge in the World Trade Organization (WTO) a move by the European Union (EU) to impose sanctions to the tune of at least 1.39 billion euros (about 1.66 billion U.S. dollars) on it over Moscow's ban on pork imports from European markets.

"We intend to call a special WTO panel before the end of January and ask it to determine the correctness of our actions," said Maxim Medvedkov, head of the Russian Economic Development Ministry's trade negotiations department.

"If it makes such a determination, then the EU from our point of view will lose the right to impose the retaliatory measures," he said in a telephone interview with Russia 24 TV channel Tuesday.

However, Medvedkov added that if the panel found shortcomings in Russia's actions, it "could make corrections or sit down at the negotiating table again."

In January 2014, Russia shut off its market to European live pigs and pork due to an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in Lithuania and Poland.

This left EU pork exporters, bereft of a key market, with a massive oversupply. Subsequently, the EU complained to the WTO.

In 2017, at the request of the WTO, Russia lifted the import ban on EU countries except for ASF-affected territories.

But imports have still not resumed due to a food embargo imposed by Moscow on the EU in 2014 in response to Western sanctions over Crimea and the Ukrainian conflict.

The EU recently requested the WTO's dispute settlement body (DSB) to allow it to impose sanctions on Russia in the form of taxes on Russian exports.

It asked for sanctions worth 1.39 billion euros, equal to the value of EU pork exports to Russia in 2013, with an annual increase of 15 percent to compensate the ban on imports of live pigs, pork and pork products from the EU, a DSB statement said.

Moscow has expressed "strong disagreement".

In recent years, Russia has invested heavily in pig breeding so that local producers can satisfy most of the domestic demand for pork.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 02:26:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BERLIN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Negotiators of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) and Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) still have to settle their different political views on many key issues, German media reported Wednesday.

However, unlike the failed "Jamaica" negotiators, the parties are accustomed to working with each other and first agreements are within reach, reports added.

SPD leader Martin Schulz said before the talks on Wednesday here that it would be a long day. Chancellery Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) underlined, "We still have a lot of work ahead of us."

The Union and SPD want to conclude the negotiations on Thursday. The working groups are negotiating "very, very intensively," said CSU General Secretary Andreas Scheuer.

One of the main topics will be the issue of family reunification of refugees. SPD politician Burkhard Lischka proposed a compromise of around 40,000 newcomers. This corresponds to the number of visas issued for relatives of Syrian refugees over the past years, German newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reported Wednesday.

Family reunification is suspended for refugees with limited protection status, which affects many Syrians, until mid-March. The Union demands continued suspension, while the SPD does not.

According to information from negotiators published by the Bild newspaper, family reunification will be permanently suspended for immigrants with limited protection status. The report states that the SPD negotiated a generous rule for extreme cases, the details of which still need to be clarified.

Reaching a decision is urgent. In order for the Federal Assembly to pass a law on the further suspension of family reunification in time, the bill must be passed by the Federal Parliament before the meeting on March 2.

Coalition negotiators plan to present a result on the basis of which the SPD party leadership could recommend or deny official coalition negotiations on Thursday or at the latest on Friday.

Coalition parties have now created "a good foundation of trust and collegiality," Scheuer said. It is unclear whether the self-set deadline can be met or if talks need to be prolonged even further as working groups met in Berlin on Wednesday.

According to Scheuer, negotiators have begun discussing the volume of the German government's budget. "We want to strongly develop our country, and invest in many big new challenges," he said Tuesday night. German media reports of a financial framework of up to 45 billion euros (54 billion U.S. dollars).

Free Democratic Party (FDP) leader Christian Lindner accused the CDU chairman Chancellor Angela Merkel of buying their respective coalition partners with tax money.

He told the Passauer Neue Presse: "All problems and all contradictions during the negotiations are to be buried with tax money."
A China-Europe freight train X9081 leaves Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, for Poltava, Ukraine, on Oct. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

KIEV, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The strengthening of economic ties with China was one of Ukraine's top achievements in international trade in 2017, the Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Ministry said on Wednesday.

In a statement on Facebook, the ministry said that the cooperation between China and Ukraine has witnessed progress last year, with the two sides signing an action plan on jointly developing the Belt and Road Initiative.

The visit of Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai to Kiev in December 2017 has become a powerful signal of the strengthened economic partnership, the ministry said.

Last year, the trade volume between China and Ukraine increased 18 percent to 7.68 billion U.S. dollars.

Among Ukraine's other major achievements in international trade in 2017, the ministry named the launch of the free trade deal with Canada, increase in trade with the European Union and the intensification of free trade dialogues with Turkey and Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 02:41:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia said Wednesday that prospects of peace with the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) remains uncertain as a temporary cease-fire has expired and the ELN leadership has not shown enough political will.

"The ELN has voiced very strong reservations on the implementation of the temporary cease-fire and the humanitarian commitments attached to it. And while the ELN leadership has proposed the negotiation of a stronger cease-fire, they have remained silent on their posture after the end of the temporary cease-fire yesterday," Jean Arnault told the Security Council.

As hardly 24 hours have elapsed since the government and ELN delegations have resumed their talks in Quito, Ecuador, it is therefore too early to venture a sense of what the future holds in terms of the situation on the ground and at the negotiating table, said Arnault, who was briefing the Security Council on the mission's work in the first 90 days.

Attacks against oil pipelines by the ELN have just resumed, he noted.

The UN Verification Mission in Colombia, mandated by the Security Council, began operations on Sept. 26, 2017. The mission, which succeeds a UN mission of unarmed observers to monitor and verify a cease-fire between the Colombian government and the larger rebel group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), is tasked to verify the reintegration of FARC fighters and also to watch the temporary cease-fire with the ELN.

Arnault was cautiously optimistic about the developments with regard to FARC, noting that both the Colombian government and the FARC leadership remain committed to carrying forward the peace process despite the many difficulties in the past few months.

"Much is still needed to keep the process on track and make it stronger. But with this political will, the appropriate resources and a sustained effort, much can be accomplished," he told the Security Council.

Arnault was heartened by the long-term deployment of security forces in about 600 of the more vulnerable rural districts in the areas most affected by the conflict, including the districts where community leaders, human rights defenders, promoters of coca substitution and land restitution advocates have been assassinated.

"It is difficult to overestimate the importance of that decision in our view. Control of territory by the state is inseparable from permanent physical presence of state institutions in those areas. An occasional presence is bound to leave the old or new illegal power structure intact," he said.

One of the specific objectives of the deployment is to pave the way for more proactive social and economic support by civilian state institutions, he stressed.

The disposal of FARC arms caches has resumed under the responsibility of the military and with the cooperation of former FARC combatants, he reported.

The Colombian government and FARC struck a peace deal in August 2016 after four years of negotiations in Havana, Cuba, ending a five-decade-long conflict in the South American country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 03:06:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIYADH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Saudi-led coalition on Wednesday called upon the UN to handle the supervision tasks of Al Hadida port in transferring of humanitarian aids to Yemenis.

The coalition spokesperson Turki Al Maliki highlighted in a press conference in Riyadh that the port has been the rout of the militias to target the navigation in the region, Al Arabiya local news reported.

He said that Houthis have radars to monitor the coalition forces and alleged the existence of foreign experts to assist the Houthi rebels.

He said the coalition has provided 1,800 permissions for humanitarian aids to enter Yemen through Al Hadida port.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a number of Arab and Islamic countries in the war against Houthis in Yemen since 2015 with no signs of slowing down or an end to the conflicts that left thousands of civilians dead.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 03:06:24|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The prime ministers of Italy and France are working on a new treaty between their two countries, Italian news agency ANSA reported Wednesday.

The so-called Quirinal Treaty -- named after the Quirinal Palace in Rome -- would call for "systematic coordination" on bilateral issues, ANSA said, citing sources close to the French government.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and President Emmanuel Macron of France are reportedly working on this new treaty ahead of a summit of south European countries being held here Wednesday.

The two leaders will appoint a working group to draft the text of the Quirinal Treaty, calling for "much more coordinated bilateral consultations" on a range of issues including industrial and cultural relations as well as the renewal of the European Union, ANSA reported.

The idea is to have the treaty ready by the next intergovernmental summit, to be held in Italy sometime in 2018. Gentiloni is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Macron on Thursday morning, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

He also met with Greek President Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday ahead of the start of the summit, where leaders are expected to talk about security and immigration, among other issues.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 03:36:30|Editor: Liangyu

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French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron visit the Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City, in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 9, 2018. The French president is paying a state visit to China from Monday to Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhou Gaoliang)

BRUSSELS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Upon concluding his successful visit to China, a short video showing French President Emmanuel Macron learning Mandarin endeared him to the Chinese people and demonstrated in full detail of what said he would bring to China in building a new relationship.

Determination and humility, the words he said in an interview ahead of the visit, were widely perceived by the Chinese people, not least in the video of his grappling with the Mandarin pronunciation of "make the planet great again" -- a tongue-in-cheek jab at U.S. President Donald Trump's "Make America Great" campaign slogan.

Macron was humble to try the guest's language and determined to properly execute Mandarin's difficult tones. And he succeeded.

During a tour of the Forbidden City in Beijing, he also made clear his open-mindedness: "We are here too with a lot of humility and curiosity. Humility, because you can't pretend to have it figured out in such a short amount of time. This visit allows us to pick up a little bit of the place and the depth of Chinese civilization."

The attitude, a stark contrast with the arrogance and condescendence that are sometimes seen in Western power's diplomacy, was one of the crucial factors to nurturing trust and friendship in China.

Being the first European Union member state leader to visit China since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which ushered in a new era for the Chinese people, and against a background of uncertainties in Germany and Brexit, Macron's diplomacy set a fine example for his European colleagues, not only in style but also in content.

He said France would like to take an active part in the Belt and Road Initiative, echoing China's key proposal to seek common prosperity in the international community.

Macron also pledged to work with China to address common challenges of the international community, championing globalization and multilateralism -- when it's most needed. Populism and nationalism with a strong protectionist flavor is not a solution to the problems that the world -- including Europe -- is facing.

An open global economy with a level playing field and an economic globalization process that is more transparent, inclusive and balanced brings benefits to all. The liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment should be, as China and France did, reaffirmed.

France, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is seen by China as a country of importance; one with which it is able to coordinate with on major international issues in the hope of promoting world stability and prosperity.

Neither a global policeman nor a global leadership vacuum is desired when there are so many global challenges.

And of course there is the issue of climate change, where China and France vow to stay the course. Macron, who is a well-known advocate for the environment, will find a stable partner in China, which has been cleaning up its own environment at an unprecedented scale.

Together, the two countries can help "make our planet great again."

Related:

Full text of joint declaration between China and France

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The following is the translated version of the full text of Joint Declaration between the People's Republic of China and the French Republic released on Tuesday. Full story

China, France agree to inject new impetus into ties

BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China and France Tuesday agreed to further advance their comprehensive strategic partnership.
New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) Maldives is "sensitive" to Indias concerns over peace and security in the Indian Ocean region -- this will be the message its foreign minister Mohamed Asim is expected to convey during his meetings with the Indian leadership tomorrow amidst a strain in ties.

Asim, who is also Maldivian president Abdulla Yameens special envoy, arrived here today on a three-day visit during which he will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.

According to sources, the visiting leader will again extend invitation to Modi to visit the island nation.

The visit comes amidst a strain in bilateral ties over a number of issues, including signing of an FTA between Maldives and China.

India had already made it clear that it expects that as a close and friendly neighbour, the island nation will be sensitive to its concerns in keeping with its India First policy. The Indian statement had come in response to a query on Maldives-China FTA.

There will be a reiteration that Maldives will not undertake any activity which will harm Indian interests and it will also be conveyed that the country is "sensitive" to Indias concerns over peace and security in the Indian Ocean region, the sources said.

Maldivian government has also been seeking full implementation of Indias "neighbourhood first" policy towards it. PTI PYK ASK ASK
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 03:41:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KIEV, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian government has allocated about 1.88 million U.S. dollars to revive the unique forest industry museum in the Carpathian Mountains in the country's western Zakarpattya region, regional authorities said on Wednesday.

The Forestry and Timber Rafting Museum, which is believed to be the only one of its kind in Europe and one of the two wood rafting museums in the world, is set to undergo a major overhaul this year, said the press service of Zakarpattya regional administration.

The repair works will be carried out at the dam of the museum and at the neighboring buildings. In addition, the road heading to the museum will be paved with asphalt.

According to the regional administration, the modernization is aimed at restoring the open-air museum with beautiful scenery as a major tourist attraction.

Founded in 1976, the museum, which is located in the forestry area in the Carpathian Mountains, had been showing its visitors the history of industrial wood rafting through the rivers in Europe.

The museum had been attracting thousands of tourists each year before the massive floods in 1998 and in 2001 damaged its dam.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 03:41:33|Editor: Yang Yi

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to work with Vietnam to push bilateral cooperation to achieve more outcomes, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Wednesday.

Li made the remarks while meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, on Wednesday on the sidelines of the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

The meeting drew leaders from six riparian countries -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership is steadily advancing, Li said.

He said Chinese President Xi Jinping's successful visit to Vietnam in November last year opened a new chapter in the bilateral relations.

China is willing to meet Vietnam halfway, hold the general direction for the steady development of the bilateral ties, maintain high-level exchanges in order to push bilateral cooperation in all areas to score more pragmatic outcomes and promote the two countries' development, he added.

The Chinese premier said China will work with Vietnam to enhance cooperation within the LMC framework and jointly safeguard regional peace, stability and development.

For his part, Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the top leaders of the two countries and two ruling parties had a successful exchange of visit last year and reached important consensus on cooperation.

Vietnam values the friendly cooperation with China and is willing to keep high-level exchanges and enhance cooperation in such areas as economy and trade in order to further develop the bilateral ties.
File Photo: Greeks and migrants rally in central Athens to denounce the spiralling death toll for migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean sea in Athens, April 22, 2015. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Some 200 migrants or refugees have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea in the first 10 days of the new year, the United Nations migration agency said Wednesday.

"It's very distressing that during the first 10 days of 2018 we have seen close to 800 migrants rescued or intercepted off the Libyan coast, with more lives lost at sea," said Othman Belbeisi, Chief of the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Libya Mission.

"More has to be done to reduce irregular unsafe movements of people along the Central Mediterranean route," he added.

By contrast, at a time when Mediterranean migrants' death dropped sharply, IOM recorded only 26 on the Mediterranean Sea lanes in December.

While January 2017 had witnessed some 254 deaths, this week's reports suggest that the start of 2018 may be even deadlier.

IOM reported on Tuesday that 81 Mediterranean Sea deaths of migrants or refugees were recorded in the first eight days of the year, five in Western Mediterranean waters off Spain and Morocco, the rest between Italy and Libya.

In the latest, and third deadliest, shipwreck in the Mediterranean since Saturday, the Libyan Coast Guard rescued three rubber boats with 279 migrants, including 19 women, 243 men, 13 boys and four girls, in an operation lasting at least 12 hours.

According to survivors, and a press release by Libya's Coast Guard, about 100 people on board remained missing.

The UN migration agency continues to provide support and direct humanitarian assistance to the survivors of this latest tragedy, many of whom now are at Libya's Tajoura detention center.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (2nd L) meets with his Iran's counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) in Moscow on January 10, 2018. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif reaffirmed their commitment to a multilateral deal on Iran's nuclear program here on Wednesday.

They expressed willingness to continue to fulfill obligations under the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), according to a press release of the Russian Foreign Ministry after a meeting of the two ministers.

"Possible disruption of the JCPOA's implementation due to Washington's actions would go against the task of maintaining international and regional security and stability and negatively affect multilateral efforts in the field of nuclear non-proliferation," it said.

The JCPOA was reached between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany, in July 2015.

Under the deal, Iran agrees to halt its nuclear weapon program in exchange for economic aid and lifting of international sanctions.

However, in October 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump called for decertifying the agreement, alleging Iran had committed "multiple violations," which Tehran has denied.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 04:21:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SKOPJE, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Macedonian government is offering citizenship for all foreign citizens who come to invest in the country, Macedonian government's press office said Wednesday.

According to the press office, the council of ministers handled during Tuesday meeting the applications for citizenship made by several foreign nationals, mainly Turkish investors.

"These foreign nationals can benefit citizenship based on the law regarding scientific, economic, cultural or sports' personalities in the country," the government's press office noted.

Many foreign nationals have been granted Macedonian passports in recent years based on this law.

But, for each investor there's a set of criteria as to how much he or she should invest in the country.

Macedonia's government offers citizenship to anyone who invests at least 400,000 euros or 515,000 U.S. dollars and employs at least 10 people.

Referring to an initiative launched in 2012, anybody investing over 400,000 euros can have citizenship and a passport. In addition, foreigners who buy real estate worth over 40,000 euros are allowed the right to stay in the country for a year. According to the then Prime Minister, Nikola Gruevski, this move of Macedonian government was aimed to ease residency requirements for foreign investors who buy real estate in Macedonia or invest in country's economy.

However, such rules exclude investors in the hotel and trade sectors.
File photo taken on Nov. 20, 2017 shows a member of the "Omar Gomez" Western War Front of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla holding her gun in a camp on the banks of the San Juan River, Choco department, Colombia. (Xinhua/AFP)

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia said Wednesday that prospects of peace with the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) remains uncertain as a temporary cease-fire has expired and the ELN leadership has not shown enough political will.

"The ELN has voiced very strong reservations on the implementation of the temporary cease-fire and the humanitarian commitments attached to it. And while the ELN leadership has proposed the negotiation of a stronger cease-fire, they have remained silent on their posture after the end of the temporary cease-fire yesterday," Jean Arnault told the Security Council.

As hardly 24 hours have elapsed since the government and ELN delegations have resumed their talks in Quito, Ecuador, it is therefore too early to venture a sense of what the future holds in terms of the situation on the ground and at the negotiating table, said Arnault, who was briefing the Security Council on the mission's work in the first 90 days.

Attacks against oil pipelines by the ELN have just resumed, he noted.

The UN Verification Mission in Colombia, mandated by the Security Council, began operations on Sept. 26, 2017. The mission, which succeeds a UN mission of unarmed observers to monitor and verify a cease-fire between the Colombian government and the larger rebel group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), is tasked to verify the reintegration of FARC fighters and also to watch the temporary cease-fire with the ELN.

Arnault was cautiously optimistic about the developments with regard to FARC, noting that both the Colombian government and the FARC leadership remain committed to carrying forward the peace process despite the many difficulties in the past few months.

"Much is still needed to keep the process on track and make it stronger. But with this political will, the appropriate resources and a sustained effort, much can be accomplished," he told the Security Council.

Arnault was heartened by the long-term deployment of security forces in about 600 of the more vulnerable rural districts in the areas most affected by the conflict, including the districts where community leaders, human rights defenders, promoters of coca substitution and land restitution advocates have been assassinated.

"It is difficult to overestimate the importance of that decision in our view. Control of territory by the state is inseparable from permanent physical presence of state institutions in those areas. An occasional presence is bound to leave the old or new illegal power structure intact," he said.

One of the specific objectives of the deployment is to pave the way for more proactive social and economic support by civilian state institutions, he stressed.

The disposal of FARC arms caches has resumed under the responsibility of the military and with the cooperation of former FARC combatants, he reported.

The Colombian government and FARC struck a peace deal in August 2016 after four years of negotiations in Havana, Cuba, ending a five-decade-long conflict in the South American country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 04:41:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIGA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Negative demographic trends and workforce shortage are the main concerns worrying foreign investors in Latvia, Marta Jaksona, executive director of the Foreign Investors' Council in Latvia (FICIL), said on public radio Wednesday.

The FICIL Sentiment Index 2017, which was presented at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga (SSE Riga) on Wednesday, shows that the foreign investors' overall mood improved last year in comparison with 2016.

The investors interviewed in the annual survey believe that Latvia's ability to attract investment has improved and policymakers' efforts to improve the Baltic country's investment climate have yielded some positive results.

During the first nine months of 2017, for instance, Latvia managed to attract five times more FDI (foreign direct investment) than during the same period in 2016, Arnis Sauka, an associate professor at SSE Riga and author of the FICIL Sentiment Index 2017, said in an interview with public television.

Latvia received 35 percent of all FDI flowing into the Baltics last year, while 36 percent of FDI went to Lithuania and 29 percent to Estonia.

In Latvia, foreign investors have been putting money mainly in construction and real estate, as well as IT companies, professor Sauka said.

The FICIL Sentiment Index 2017 identifies a number of issues causing concerns for the foreign investors and are likely to deter them from investing more in Latvia.

Demographic trends and scarcity of workforce are the investors' greatest concerns, as respondents in the survey have reported labor shortages across all sectors of the Latvian economy.

Latvian Economics Minister Arvils Aseradens, meanwhile, said that the government is working on a number of solutions to the workforce shortages that do not involve immigration. First of all, investments are being planned in lifelong education, and secondly, the government intends to encourage movement of people to the areas where workers are needed the most.

Other issues worrying foreign investors in Latvia include problems with insolvency rules, the judicial system, healthcare and unpredictability in the business environment, including taxes.

As professor Sauka said at the presentation of the survey, the investors just cannot believe Latvia's latest tax reforms are here to stay.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 04:41:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations human rights chief on Wednesday condemned an upsurge in civilian casualties in Syria's Eastern Ghouta amid recent escalation in airstrikes and ground-based attacks, noting that at least 85 civilians have been killed in 10 days.

"The suffering of the people of Syria knows no end," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, noting that residential areas in Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of the nation's capital, Damascus, are being hit day and night by strikes from the ground and the air, forcing civilians to hide in basements.

He stressed that all parties are obliged under international law to distinguish between lawful military targets and civilians and civilian objects.

Since Dec. 31, at least 85 civilians, including 21 women and 30 children, have been killed and at least 183 injured in Eastern Ghouta, where at least 390,000 civilians have been living under siege for four years, according to information gathered by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

On Tuesday, airstrikes and ground-based strikes hit a residential area in opposition-controlled Hamourya, reportedly killing at least 13 civilians. The previous day, two airstrikes and simultaneous ground-based strikes on a residential area near a market in the opposition-held town of Duma reportedly killed 12 civilians.

Armed opposition groups also continue to fire rockets into residential areas in government-controlled Damascus. On Jan. 4, a rocket fired into Old Damascus hit the vicinity of a bakery, reportedly killing a woman and injuring 13 other civilians.

The High Commissioner also noted that the failure to evacuate urgent medical cases from Eastern Ghouta runs contrary to its international humanitarian law obligations to collect, care for, and take measures to evacuate the sick and wounded.

In Idlib, ground attacks and airstrikes have escalated as a rapidly-moving government offensive gains momentum, jeopardizing the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians, said Zeid, noting that an explosion on Jan. 7 reportedly killed 28 civilians.

Both Eastern Ghouta and Idlib are considered "de-escalation areas" brokered in May by Iran, Russia and Turkey under the Astana process, with the aim to put a prompt end to violence and improve the humanitarian situation.
Iran warns Wednesday it can reactivate nuclear program soon if the sanction waivers are not extended by the U.S. (AFP Photo)

TEHRAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- If the sanction waivers are not extended by the United States, Iran can reactive nuclear program soon, Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Wednesday.

Iran is capable of multiplying the pace of its nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment, Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by Press TV.

"Of course, the speed, the scale and percentage of enrichment as well as other activities would depend on what (the Iranian) authorities decide," he said, adding that "what matters is the capacity to implement major decisions at the AEOI."

The nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six world powers of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany in July 2015 resulted in the removal of international and western sanctions against Iran in return for the strict monitoring of the country's nuclear program.

However, over the past year, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed new sanctions against a number of Iranian and international entities which have, allegedly, had links with Iran's developing pace of missile program.

The U.S. government has said that expansion of Iran's missile program is against the "spirit" of nuclear deal. Tehran has dismissed the claims.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 05:02:01|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VIENNA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Airlines (AUA) has seen a passenger record of 12.9 million in 2017, the Lufthansa subsidiary said in a press release on Wednesday.

This marks a passenger increase of 1.5 million, or 12.8 percent, compared to 2016.

The Austrian flag-carrier airline also saw an increase in its seat occupancy rate of 0.7 percent, to reach an average 76.8 percent per flight for the year.

It carried out 143,999 flights in total in 2017, averaging about 395 per day.

The airline attributed its record year to a boost in its European flight offerings, though the collapse of German budget carrier Air Berlin and Austrian subsidiary Niki likely also played a role.

AUA Chief Commercial Officer Andreas Otto said the company aims to set a new passenger record this year, with the addition of two new long-distance routes to Tokyo, Japan and Cape Town in South Africa.
Even as reports from France's agencies say that Mallika Sherawat and her French boyfriend, Cyrille Auxenfans, are being kicked out of their plush Paris apartment, the actress maintains that she has no house in the city. Neither has she rented one.

A December 14 ruling that was seen by the AFP on Tuesday, a French court ordered Sherawat and Cyrille to pay 78,787 euros (about Rs 64 lakh) in rent owed and expenses. The court green-signalled their furniture to be seized.

The couple began renting the apartment on January 1, 2017, for a monthly sum of 6,054 euros (about Rs 48,000), says the AFP report.

But the owner of the apartment said that the couple never paid the rent, making only a single payment of 2,715 euros. They were then dragged to court.

In December, when news first broke that Mallika and her boyfriend were being taken to court over non-payment of rent, the actress took to Twitter to clear her side of the story, "Some in the media think I hv an apartment in Paris !! It's absolutely Not True , if someone has donated one to me, pls send me the address :) (sic)"

And she is sticking to her claims even now.

The actress, who shot to stardom with the 2004 film Murder, wrote on Twitter, "I hv said it before and I am saying it again, I DO NOT OWN or RENT any apt in Paris!! I have been in Los Angeles & India since last 8 months, I DO NOT live in Paris,pls do not spread false rumours ! (sic)"

Last month, the couple's lawyer was quoted as saying that the couple did not pay rent to "show their annoyance" after they were tear-gassed and beaten up by three masked men in their Paris apartment block in November 2016. He also said that Mallika and Cyrille were facing "temporary financial difficulties".

However, their landlord's lawyer, Olivier Mayrand told Francetvinfo that the couple could easily afford to pay the rent.

The French court's current ruling says that the couple can appeal against the order. They have time till March 31 this year, when a moratorium on wintertime evictions expires.

It was courtesy the news of her being attacked by three masked assailants in 2016, that we found out that Mallika Sherawat had moved bag and baggage to Paris.

The apartment in discussion is a 350sq-m one that sits in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, which is the one of the most favoured places of residence for the city's most affluent.

From the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, to the controversial 1972 film Last Tango in Paris, top Hollywood films have been shot in the area, which is a stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower.

On the work front, the 40-year-old actress, who is known for films like Murder, Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Welcome, was last seen on the big screen in the Chinese fantasy-action-adventure film Time Raiders, in 2016.

ALSO SEE: Mallika Sherawat being kicked out of Paris apartment? No house there, claims actress

ALSO SEE: Mallika Sherawat being kicked out of her Paris apartment for not paying Rs 64 lakh rent?
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 05:07:04|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan government has approved 48 new investment projects worth 3.5 billion U.S. dollars in various sectors, the prime minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday.

The projects will create 6,190 direct jobs and 13,952 indirect ones, the statement said following a meeting of the Inter-ministerial Investment Commission under the chairmanship of Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani.

The breakdown of investments by sector shows a strong predominance of the industry sector with nearly 2 billion dollars, representing nearly 59 percent of the total investments submitted to the committee.

Seawater desalination projects hold the second position with nearly 11 percent of the planned investments, while transport sector ranks third with 10 percent of investments.

About 85 percent of the investments projects are funded by Moroccan investors, and the rest is by partnership between local and international partners. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 05:12:06|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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VIENNA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Austrian exports are to reach record highs both for 2017 and the current year on the back of a global trade upswing, the Austrian Federal Economic Chambers (WKO) has forecast.

At a press conference in Vienna on Wednesday to highlight the new forecast, outgoing WKO President Christoph Leitl was buoyant about Austria's position.

Based on currently-available data for 2017, the WKO expects a 7.9 percent increase in exports to a total value of over 140 billion euros (167 billion U.S. dollars).

A further 7.5 percent increase is anticipated in 2018, taking total exports to over 150 billion euros (180 billion U.S. dollars), Leitl said.

He noted that between 2000 and 2017, Austria's export volume has doubled.

This is in large part due to Austria's membership of the European Union, that despite being met with skepticism by many Austrians, has been the basis for the country's economic success, he argued.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 05:17:10|Editor: Yang Yi

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha here on Wednesday, and both sides vowed to further promote bilateral cooperation.

Hailing the sound momentum of China-Thailand relations, Li told Prayut on the sidelines of the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting that the inauguration of the construction of China-Thailand high-speed railway last month marks a new step forward in bilateral cooperation.

The 253-km first phase of the railway links Bangkok with northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima. China is responsible for design of the railway, supervision of construction and manufacturing of trains and signal systems among others.

Li called for joint efforts from both sides to facilitate the railway project and push forward cooperation in other areas.

China hopes to synergize its Belt and Road Initiative with Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor construction, upgrade bilateral trade facilitation and enhance cooperation in such areas as trade, tourism and technology, Li said.

Prayut, for his part, said there is huge potential in Thailand-China cooperation, noting that the railway project is of historical significance.

Thailand pays close attention to China's innovation-driven development strategy and hopes to learn from China's experience, he said.

Prayut urged to combine the two countries' development strategies and boost cooperation in trade, technology, tourism and education.

The second LMC leaders' meeting was held in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, drawing leaders from six riparian countries -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 05:22:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, warned on Wednesday that withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by the Trump administration would be a "grave mistake."

"The American economy has taken several big steps forward with regulatory relief and tax reform, and the administration deserves lots of credit. But a wrong move on NAFTA would send us five steps back," Donohue said in his annual State of American Business speech.

Donohue said the U.S. Chamber supports the effort to modernize the 24-year-old trade deal with Canada and Mexico, which should "account for the gains of North America's energy revolution and add rules for digital trade."

However, the modernization of the trade agreement "should not close markets, undermine investment protections, or limit trade with regulatory red tape," he argued.

"The bottom line is that growth will be weakened, not strengthened or sustained, if we pull back from trade," he said.

Donohue's warning comes before the sixth round of NAFTA negotiations to be held in Montreal, Canada later this month.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the NAFTA if the United States doesn't get bigger benefits from the pact.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 05:32:16|Editor: Yang Yi

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Wednesday that China will maintain cooperation with Laos to bring more benefits to the two countries.

The China-Laos relations are progressing smoothly based on the spirit of good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners, Li said while meeting with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith on the sidelines of the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

The meeting drew leaders from six riparian countries -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Li said Chinese President Xi Jinping's successful visit to Laos in November last year injected new impetus to China-Laos comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The two countries should focus on the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Laos economic corridor, accelerate aligning their development strategies, ensure smooth implementation of the construction of China-Laos railway and enhance interconnectivity, Li said.

The Chinese premier added the two countries should maintain sound coordination in regional mechanisms such as the LMC and China-ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) cooperation to better benefit the two countries and the people in the region.

For his part, Thongloun said Laos appreciates China's long-term support for its economic and social development.

Cooperation between the two countries is productive and the construction of China-Laos railway is progressing smoothly, he said.

Laos is willing to implement the consensus of bilateral cooperation and further pushing forward pragmatic cooperation in various fields, he said.

Thongloun added that Laos is willing to work with China to actively develop the Lancang-Mekong cooperation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 05:57:25|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (3rd L) attends the second Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 10, 2018. Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Li Keqiang co-chaired the meeting, which also brought together Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar Vice President U Myint Swe. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called on five nations living on the Lancang-Mekong River to consolidate political will and deepen economic ties to promote regional peace and sustainable development.

China is willing to work with others to strengthen the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) as China benefits from regional stability and its neighbors are beneficiaries of China's economic vitality, Li said at the second LMC leaders' meeting held in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

With a theme of "Our River of Peace and Sustainable Development", the meeting brings leaders of China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to the table, discussing issues such as connectivity, water management and industrial production capacity.

The LMC mechanism has produced better-than-expected progress over the past two years as the countries moved forward with the principle of equality, inclusiveness and put development as a priority.

With progress and results delivered daily, monthly and annually, a truly remarkable LMC speed has been created, and a defining LMC culture featuring equality, sincerity, mutual assistance and kinship has been established, Li said.

The Chinese premier made five proposals to secure shared future for the LMC countries as he said he believed they will become the biggest and earliest beneficiaries of China's development.

He called for stronger coordination among countries along the Lancang-Mekong River on water resource management, accommodating each other's concern, and properly handling the relations between economic development and environmental protection.

In his speech, Li also urged to map out a five-year action plan for water resource cooperation, enhance emergency management on droughts and floods, carry out joint research on water resource and climate change, and improve water quality monitoring system.

Regarding capacity cooperation in water conservancy infrastructure and other areas, Li said China encourages companies to participate in the construction of hydropower stations, reservoir, irrigation and drinking-water projects in Lancang-Mekong countries.

He proposed to nail down plans for those countries' connectivity and action plans for capacity cooperation, and push forward the construction of economic and trade cooperation zones as well as cross-border economic cooperation zones.

To expand agricultural cooperation, Li said China backs its companies to tie up with their partners in Lancang-Mekong countries on the deep processing of agricultural products and the joint development of the third markets.

China is willing to deepen cooperation with Lancang-Mekong countries in agricultural technology and build platforms for technology exchange, joint research as well as investment and trade cooperation, said the premier.

Meanwhile, Li called for upgrading human resource cooperation. China will offer short-term training and in-service education for 2,000 people in Lancang-Mekong countries and 100 four-year scholarships for undergraduates in 2018, he said.

He also urged to facilitate medical and public health cooperation. China is willing to set up mechanism with relevant countries in prevention and control of infectious diseases, carry out cross-border projects on prevention and control of such diseases, and build a network for malaria elimination, Li said.

The six countries also adopted two major documents, namely the Five-Year Action Plan (2018-2022) and the Phnom Penh Declaration at this year's meeting.

In the declaration, the leaders stressed the vision and importance of the LMC in contributing to the socio-economic development of sub-regional countries and enhancing the well-being of their peoples, narrowing the development gap among countries, supporting the ASEAN Community building as well as advancing South-South cooperation and enhancing the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The meeting, co-chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and the Chinese premier, also released the second batch of cooperative projects and reports of the six Joint Working Groups on the key priority areas.

Initiated by China in 2014, the framework spans connectivity, production capacity, cross-border economic cooperation, water resources management, and agriculture and poverty reduction, benefiting dozens of millions of people living on the waterway.

The first LMC leaders' meeting was held in Sanya of China's Hainan Province in March 2016, when the goal of building a community of shared future of peace and prosperity for the LMC countries was endorsed.

The Lancang River originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in southwest China. It is called the Mekong River as it flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the sea.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 06:07:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LUSAKA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A court in western Zambia's Mongu district on Wednesday sent a medical doctor to three years in jail after convicting him of defaming President Edgar Lungu.

The doctor had created a fake Facebook account which he used to bring the name of the Zambian leader in ridicule by posting disturbing remarks, insults and digitally altering his images, according to police spokesperson Esther Mwaata-Katongo.

She said the doctor had used the name of another medical to create the Facebook account and went on to threaten the same doctor with murder when he complained.

The police spokesperson said the judgment was welcome as it will send a strong warning to people who were in the habit of abusing social media.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 06:07:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- After German automaker Volkswagen's Dieselgate scandal, it is now the American auto giant Ford Motor that was accused of emissions cheating in a bid to promote its diesel engine trucks.

A class action lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in Detroit in the state of Michigan, claiming Ford and German auto supplier Bosch of knowingly installing emissions-cheating software devices in 2011-2017 Ford 250 and 350 Super Duty diesel pickup trucks.

According to Hagens Berman law firm, affected pickups which drivers paid 8,400 U.S. dollars more than the gasoline edition for higher fuel efficiency, could pollute the air with NOx (nitrogen oxide) at levels up to 50 times of legal limits.

However, the law firm said in a statement that Ford marketed and sold these trucks as the "cleanest Super Diesel ever," and said it used "proven technology and innovative Ford strategies to meet the latest federal emissions standards."

Hagens Berman hit Ford and Bosch with a total 58 counts of violations of state consumer laws, false advertising laws, deceptive trade laws as well as violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), adding that "Ford did not act alone," but colluded with Bosch in an organized scheme to evade emissions requirements, for sake of profit.

Neither Ford nor Bosch have reacted to the accusations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 06:17:31|Editor: Zhou Xin

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U.S. President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg during a joint press conference at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 10, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington could "conceivably" re-enter into the global Paris climate agreement, from which he announced the withdrawal last year. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington could "conceivably" re-enter into the global Paris climate agreement, from which he announced the withdrawal last year.

At a news conference with Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway, Trump said: "We could conceivably go back in."

However, he insisted that Paris Agreement, which the international community signed in 2015 with the aim of combating climate change by limiting global temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius, was "a bad deal" and "very unfair" to the United States.

"The Paris Accord really would have taken away our competitive edge, and we're not going to let that happen. I'm not going to let that happen," he added.

Trump's words may mean that his position was actually unchanged from a year ago.

Trump's decision in June last year to pull the United States out of the landmark global accord has sparked a wave of anger and dismay at home and also a chorus of disapproval abroad.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 06:22:32|Editor: Zhou Xin

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RABAT, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and Japan pledged to boost cooperation in transport field as ministers of transportation from the two sides met here on Wednesday.

The Moroccan Minister of Equipment, Transportation, Logistics and Water Abdelkader Amara met with Japanese State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Takao Makino to discuss the bilateral cooperation, mainly in the transport field.

Amara hailed in a statement the fruitful cooperation between Morocco and Japan in transport infrastructure, stressing that Tokyo has provided valuable support to his ministry not only in terms of investments, but also in training and exchange of expertise.

He underlined that Japanese firms have shown growing interest in investing in Morocco, adding that the country is encouraging these investments and facilitating partnership between Moroccan and Japanese firms.

Makino expressed his country's willingness to further reinforce bilateral cooperation in various fields of common interest.

He also highlighted the promising venues of cooperation within the framework of Japan-Africa Infrastructure Development Association, established by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in August 2016 to help promote Quality Infrastructure Investment in Africa.

Economic cooperation between Morocco and Japan has witnessed significant growth in the past decade, including an approximately fourfold increase in the number of Japanese companies operating in Morocco.

Over 50 Japanese companies are currently operating in Morocco, creating over 40,000 jobs in several sectors, especially in fishing, phosphates and the automotive sector.
The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday gave the BJP its go-ahead to hold a rally after the Mamata Banerjee administration initially refused permission.

The High Court has said the BJP needs to stick to the route cleared by the police.

The BJP had proposed a "Protirodh Sankalp Avijan" across the state, to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

The West Bengal Police had told the BJP that it wouldn't be able to give clearance, as the rally would coincide with the Gangasagar mela.

1,600 KM RALLY

BJP aims to build up momentum ahead of the panchayat polls through its "Protirodh Avijan" to counter, what it calls, "a state of chronic lawlessness and misrule" in the state.

The rally was scheduled from Contai in East Midnapore to Cooch Behar district in North Bengal covering a distance of 1600 kilometers. Accordingly, the party had sought permission from the state police in its letter on January 5, but was denied clearance.

"You are well aware that a huge number of pilgrims from within the state and various parts of India visit the mela and their smooth to and fro movement covering the entire state is very important. Your proposed rally will cause disruption to the smooth movement of the pilgrims," claimed Anuj Sharma, Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order).

Alleging that the Trinamool Congress run state government was indulging in "vindictive politics", BJP has moved the Calcutta High Court challenging the police's decision.

In a similar move last week, the Rashtriya Syawamsevak Sangh (RSS) was also denied permission to hold a yoga shivir in Howrah district. Later the Sangh conducted the programme on January 7 as per schedule after High Court's nod.

ALSO WATCH | India Today Conclave East 2017: Mamata Banerjee lashes out at PM Modi, calls him Tughlaq
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 06:47:38|Editor: Jiaxin

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Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (L) greets French President Emmanuel Macron before a southern European Union nations meeting in Rome, Italy Jan. 10, 2018. Leaders from seven southern European countries in Rome made a joint appeal on Wednesday for further economic and financial integration in the European Union (EU), and "for more solidarity" on migration policies. (Xinhua/Alberto Lingria)

by Alessandra Cardone

ROME, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from seven southern European countries in Rome made a joint appeal on Wednesday for further economic and financial integration in the European Union (EU), and "for more solidarity" on migration policies.

The appeal came at the end of the fourth summit of the so-called "EU Med Group" comprising Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus.

The seven leaders met late in the Italian capital, and acknowledged the EU was back on a path of growth after a decade of financial crisis.

Yet, in a joint declaration, they urged "further steps to complete the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)... (in order) to achieve more sustainable and balanced growth, competitiveness, quality employment and convergence."

They also called for the completion and strengthening of the banking union, and for establishing "a common backstop to the Single Resolution Fund and a European Deposit Insurance Scheme, in line with the need to combine the objectives of risk sharing and risk reduction."

Both the joint declaration, and the leaders' remarks after the summit, showed a will to present the "Southern Europeans" as a united front of countries bound together by common views on several major topics.

"We need a more cohesive EU, in which the differences between north and south, east and west, may decrease... and the time is now," Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni told a press conference.

As expected, migration was also high on the agenda, since southern EU countries have been on the frontline of the crisis, bearing the largest burden in terms of arrivals or transits.

In latest years, they have repeatedly called for migrant and refugee inflows to be redistributed more evenly across the EU. Yet, a EU relocation scheme involving quotas -- introduced by the European Commission in May 2015 -- has never been fully implemented for the hostility of other partners.

"The management of migration flows will be a fundamental challenge for the EU in the years to come, and the Southern EU countries are particularly concerned and affected, as they are at the forefront of the EU external borders," the seven stated in the declaration.

"Our fundamental role and burden of protecting those borders must be acknowledged and shared by the EU... We are strongly committed to a common European migration policy."

At the press conference, French President Emmanuel Macron specifically mentioned the need to "reinforce the mechanism of solidarity, and give a solution to the inconsistencies of the Dublin Regulation (concerning where asylum-seekers are allowed to file their claim within the EU)."

The 2017 marked a turning point in the migration crisis, and especially for Italy, which has been a major entry point for migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean in latest years.

Thanks to an agreement struck between Rome and the Libyan authorities -- much controversial in the eyes of humanitarian agencies and groups -- a sharp reduction of arrivals in the second half of the year was possible.

However, the seven leaders stressed such progresses, and this only way to deal with the issue, would not suffice.

"We have reached encouraging results in the external dimension (of the crisis), and in the fight against trafficking," Italy's Gentiloni told reporters.

"Yet, these results need to be reinforced through a common understanding not only on the external management of the crisis, but also on the internal rules of the Union," he added.

As such, in the joint statement, the EU Med Group asked for "a new and fair Common European Asylum System."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-11 07:12:42|Editor: Zhou Xin

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BOGOTA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ongoing peace talks between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group hit a snag on Wednesday, after a bilateral ceasefire expired at midnight Tuesday and rebel attacks resumed.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recalled the leading government negotiator Gustavo Bell for consultations in Bogota about what the next step should be. The negotiating teams are in Quito, Ecuador, which is hosting the talks.

"The national government deplores the ELN's decision to resume its terrorist attacks against the civilian population, the armed forces and infrastructure," Santos said in a broadcast.

"We were always willing to extend the ceasefire with that organization and negotiate a new one," he added.

In Quito on Tuesday, the two sides sat down to a fifth round of talks that were to focus on extending the truce that took effect on Oct. 1 of last year.

In the early hours of Wednesday, Colombian oil pipelines in several parts of the country were dynamited, and two marines were injured in an attack on a navy post in Arauquita, a town in northern Arauca department.

Santos described the immediate resumption of attacks as "inexplicable," adding he instructed the armed forces to "take decisive action" in response.

"My commitment to peace will be unswerving, but peace is reached through concrete actions, not just words," said Santos.

The ELN delegation to the talks issued a statement via Twitter, saying "the incidents that took place today occurred amid a complex situation of conflict the country is undergoing."

However, the attacks "should not alter the course of the talks to achieve a political resolution to the conflict," the group said.

Last year, the ELN agreed to dialogue with the government after Colombia's largest guerrilla group, the FARC, successfully negotiated a peace deal with Santos' administration that led to their renouncing armed conflict and joining politics.
A man clears snow on his vehicle in New York, the United States, on Jan. 4, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

by Xinhua writer Yang Shilong

NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Four days after her arrival at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport, Gabby Xiong has not seen her luggage sent home.

"I feel so frustrated," Xiong, who is studying at North Carolina State University, told Xinhua on Tuesday. "I've called Air China several times and was told JFK lacks manpower to handle stranded travelers' bags."

The U.S. fifth-largest airport by passenger count has seen over 7,000 flight cancellations and 200 plus diversions after last Thursday's winter storm.

About a dozen arriving international flights were stuck on JFK's tarmac for at least four hours due to a shortage of open gates.

CASCADING EFFECTS OF INFRASTRUCTURE BREAK

"It's a nightmare," said Xiong, recalling her last weekend's flight from Beijing to New York.

The young Chinese lady landed at JFK Saturday morning after a 14 hour flight on CA 989 only to sit on the plane for nearly another seven hours while it was waiting for a gate.

Then Xiong waited in vain several hours more for her baggage to arrive on a carousel at Terminal 1. At last, she had to leave her contact information with Air China before flying back to Raleigh, N.C.

"I do not blame Air China for this, though it needs to improve its crisis management service," she said. "JFK is probably responsible for a large part of the problem. The aging airport was apparently not prepared for such a storm."

The entire JFK was a mess well before Sunday when a water main broke at Terminal 4, the main international terminal, leaving three inches of standing water that knocked out the power and heat for a time.

The water main break at JFK International Airport is "an example of the cascading effects of an infrastructure break," commented Casey Dinges, senior managing director, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in an email interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.

"America's infrastructure sectors are interdependent," Dinges said. "This pipe burst was just one example demonstrating that when something with infrastructure goes wrong, it can be followed by a number of additional problems."

"Unfortunately, this pipe break coincided with other logistical and weather challenges at the airport, exacerbating the disruption to travelers," he said.

SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS ON U.S. ECONOMIC FUTURE

In its quadrennial report on U.S. infrastructure in 2017, ASCE gave the country a "D+" or failing grade for the state of its bridges, roads, dams, drinking water, ports, airports, railways and school buildings.

Since ASCE released the first Infrastructure Report Card in 1998, the overall grade for America's infrastructure has continued to receive D averages, Dinges said, adding this can be attributed to "the failure to close the 2 trillion U.S. dollar, 10-year investment gap."

"If the U.S. continues to only pay half of its infrastructure bill, we will begin to see serious implications on our country's economic future including 2.5 million lost jobs and a 3.9 trillion dollar decrease in GDP, as well as falling business productivity and a reduced disposable income for every American family," he said.

Dinges expressed his hope President Donald Trump will announce his plan for infrastructure investment within the next few weeks.

As a key part of his "Make America Great Again" campaign pledge, Trump has proposed investing 1 trillion U.S. dollars over 10 years to upgrade the country's infrastructure, which he described as being on a par with "a third-world country."

A total investment of 4.59 trillion dollars would be required to lift the U.S. infrastructure from a D+ to a B grade, ASCE projected.

"Infrastructure has been on the backburner for far too long in our country. It's time to make it the legislative focus," Dinges said.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators met with the administration officials on Tuesday to discuss drafting legislation on improving the country's infrastructure.

The U.S. currently ranks 12th out of 138 countries for the quality of infrastructure, according to the World Economic Forum.
Government has given its nod to 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail.

In an effort to improve the ease of doing business in the country, the Union Cabinet today gave nod to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail through automatic route.

This essentially means that government approval is no longer required for FDI in single brand retail trading. Earlier, FDI through automatic route in single brand retail was capped at 49 per cent, and any foreign direct investment beyond the ceiling needed government approval.

Besides retail, the Cabinet also allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent under the government approval route in Air India. The FDI provision was earlier available for all Indian airlines except Air India.

The announcements were made today through a government press release. The decisions, says government, are aimed to "liberalise and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business in the country" which in turn "will lead to larger FDI inflows" contributing to growth in investment, income and employment.

The Modi government has credited the increase in FDI inflows to its investor-friendly policies. According to government estimates, total FDI inflow in financial year 2016-17 has been at an all-time high of 60.08 billion USD, up from 55.46 billion USD in 2015-16, 45.15 billion USD in 2014-15 and 36.05 billion USD in 2013-14.

For investments in automatic route sectors, FDI applications will be processed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Investments under the government approval route will be processed by concerned administrative department or ministry.

The key decisions on FDI taken at Cabinet meet today. Source: PIB. The key decisions on FDI taken at Cabinet meet today. Source: PIB.

The key decisions on FDI taken at Cabinet meet today. Source: PIB The key decisions on FDI taken at Cabinet meet today. Source: PIB

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) opposed the Cabinet's decision to allow 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail. The association said the move will facilitating an easy entry for multi-national companies (MNCs) but hit small retailers.

"It is a pity that instead of formulating policies for the welfare, upgrade and modernisation of existing retail trade, the government is more interested in paving way for the MNCs to control and dominate the retail trade of India," the association said.

WATCH: India needs an investment led fiscal stimulus, says Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar
Hafiz Saeed , the founder of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, toured the UK in the 1990s to incite Muslims to become jihadis, according to a media report.

A BBC investigation has said that Saeed, one of the worlds most wanted terror suspects, who now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) group in Pakistan, had toured British mosques in 1995 and his visit was recorded in a magazine published by the LeT at the time.

During the tour, Saeed spoke in Birmingham where he denounced the Hindus and urged his audience to "rise up for jihad". In Leicester, he spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 young people, according to the BBC Radio 4 documentary, titled The Dawn of British Jihad, aired last night.

"There is non-stop talk about jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him," Sajid Iqbal, one of the programmes producers, told BBC Scotland.

While in Glasgow, Saeed addressed a large gathering at the Central Mosque and claimed Zionists were using billions of dollars to "kill the spirit of Jihad" or the Holy War among Muslims.

"They are trying to entice Muslims to the politics of power through democracy. They are also using the interest- based economy to keep Muslims in debt," Saeed told his audience.

'EVEN IN 1995, HE WAS A KNOWN MILITANT'

The documentary's producer said he was surprised that Glasgow Central Mosque had opened its doors to a "known militant" because it is run by Deobandi, a different denomination of British Muslims to Saeeds Ahl-e-Hadith community.

"Even in 1995, he was a known militant, active in Kashmir," said Iqbal.

Glasgow Central Mosque has not commented on the report.

Lashkar-E-Taiba, promoted by Hafiz Saeed on his tour of Britain, was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Home Office in March 2001.

On November 26, 2008, the Pakistan-based group was linked with the deadly wave of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai lasting four days, which claimed 166 lives and injured hundreds others.

WATCH | Former Pakistan PM Musharraf continues to sing pro-Hafiz tunes
A winter storm watch for northern Wisconsin and the Gogebic Range is in effect from late this afternoon through Thursday.

The National Weather Service predicts the storm could dump from 3 to 5 inches of snow tonight and another 8 to 12 inches on Thursday.

There could be a period of freezing rain and sleet when the snow begins. Ice accumulations are possible.

The band of snow was expected to produce accumulations of 4 to 7 inches for portions of east central Minnesota and areas of northwest Wisconsin, according to the NWS office in Duluth.

Travel may be hazardous.

Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland,...
By RICHARD JENKINS

[email protected]

HURLEY  Iron County is looking for a company to clear sections of Oronto and Parker creeks at Saxon Harbor this spring, after the Iron County Forestry and Parks Committee approved going out for bids on the project Tuesday.

The project will involve removing debris and sediment from Oronto Creek between the marinas boat lift and Parker Creek, as well as Parker Creek from the confluence with Oronto to Lake Superior. The work is necessary to restore the flow of the creeks to their condition before the July 11, 2016 storm that flooded the harb...
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Coun Perez reiterates warning to barangay leaders involved in drugs

07 Aug 2017 Hits:37 Comments(0)

Liga ng mga Barangay President, Councilor Jerry Perez yesterday reiterated his warning to all barangay officials from using or selling drugs. Perez said he is closely monitoring the activities of all the barangay officials and vowed sanctions against erring leaders. Aqui gane na mio barangay ya quita ya iyo na puesto cunel dos barangay leaders quien mas temprano ya sale positivo na...
An IndiGo flight returned to Mumbai after suffering an engine failure (Picture for representation)

A Mumbai to Bengaluru IndiGo flight (6E 565) returned to the financial capital after pilots declared a full emergency shortly after taking off last night.

The emergency was declared due to an engine failure, news agency ANI reported. There were around 180 passengers on board the aircraft at the time of the incident.

Once the flight landed safely at the Mumbai airport at around midnight, an alternate aircraft pressed into service to ferry the passengers to Bengaluru.

IndiGo 6E 565 flies between Mumbai and Bengaluru. It usually takes off at around 10:30 pm and lands in Bengaluru just after midnight.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has taken notice of the incident and is investigating it.

The 6E 565 route is usually flown by an Airbus A320 aircraft, according to tracking portal flightradar24.com. The flight that suffered the engine failure yesterday landed in Bengaluru at 2:03 am today, according to the portal.

(This story has been updated to reflect that an alternate aircraft was used to ferry passengers to Bengaluru)

ALSO READ | Brand baj gaya: IndiGo's week of woes not ending

WATCH | Indigo sacks staffer who manhandled passenger at Delhi's IGI airport, apologises
VILLANOVA, Pa.The Rev. Thomas R. McCarthy, OSA, 87 CLAS, an Augustinian priest and advisor in Villanova Universitys Office of First and Second Year Initiatives has been named to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. Fr. McCarthy, a 1987 graduate of Villanova, will serve as the next English-language Official of the Council, which was founded by Pope Benedict to spread the Gospel through modern and innovative forms of communication.

A native of Chicago, Fr. McCarthy has served as an Augustinian priest for over 23 years, including nine years as Vocation Director for the Midwest Province and five years as Vocation Director for the Eastern Province, during which time he helped foster a surge in young vocations to the Order.

Fr. McCarthy has been dedicated to leading retreats and parish missions, delivering over 200 missions in 14 states over the last 19 years. Currently, Fr. McCarthy resides on the campus of Villanova University, where he works as an Augustinian Advisor in the Office for First and Second Year Initiatives. The new position will require Fr. McCarthy to relocate to the Council Office in Rome.

It was with great humility and shock that I received the news of my appointment, said Fr. McCarthy. I feel blessed that my preaching ministry over the past 19 years has opened this door for me. I believe wholeheartedly in the approach Pope Francis is taking in reaching out to everyone and helping them encounter Christ.

I will miss Villanova very much, but I look forward to joining a team dedicated to kindling the flame of faith in individuals across the world. This will not only take place in an office, but by speaking to people directly about Christ and listening to their own journeys, Fr. McCarthy added.

For more information about the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, click here .

Fr. McCarthy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Villanova in 1987. While at the University, he entered the pre-novitiate formation program, and he made his first profession of vows in 1988. Five years later he made his solemn profession and he was ordained to the priesthood in 1994. He earned his M. Div. from Catholic Theological Union in 1993 and his MA in Education Administration from Lewis University.

Fr. McCarthy served as chaplain at St. Rita in Chicago from 1994 to 2000. In 2000, he was appointed President of St. Rita, and served in this position until July, 2012, when he became Chairman of the Board of the school. In 2012, he took on the role as full-time Director of Vocations for Eastern and Midwest Provinces. While he resided at Villanova, he made frequent trips back to St. Rita of Cascia High School, where he still serves as the Director of the Shrine of St. Rita.
A bullet train drives in Liuzhou City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, July 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

KIEV, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Beskyd railway tunnel connecting Ukraine and the European Union countries will be put into operation this year, Ukraine's government-run Ukrinform news agency said on Tuesday.

"The movement of trains through the double-track tunnel will start on May 25 this year," the agency said in a statement, citing its source in Ukraine's State Railway Company.

The tunnel, which is being under construction in the Carpathian Mountains in west Ukraine, will establish a new transport link between Ukraine's western city of Lviv and the Hungarian and Slovak borders.

Once completed, the 1,822-meter-long facility is set to replace the old single-track tunnel, thus enhancing Ukraine's transit capacity and cross-border trade.

The overall cost of the tunnel has been estimated by the government at about 120 million U.S. dollars.

The construction project is jointly funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank and Ukraine's State Railway Company.

The tunnel is the section of the fifth Pan-European transport corridor, which passes through the territory of Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Slovakia and Ukraine.

Earlier, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Zubko said that the Beskyd tunnel has a potential to become an important link on a modern Silk Road, boosting trade and cooperation between Asia and Europe.
District of Columbia: President Donald Trump took command of a high-profile White House meeting on immigration Tuesday, coaxing Republican and Democratic lawmakers toward a compromise on the fate of undocumented migrants who came to the United States as children.

Trump also signaled he was open to more comprehensive immigration reform to address millions of other undocumented people living in the shadows, but did not give ground to Democrats over his plans for a border wall.

"It should be a bill of love," Trump said of a measure under negotiation that would protect hundreds of thousands of so-called "Dreamers" from deportation.

"But it also has to be a bill where we`re able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. A lot of people are coming in that we can`t have," Trump added, urging lawmakers to "put country before party" and strike a quick solution.

Trump, seated at a long table with some two dozen lawmakers from the House and Senate, presided over the bipartisan talks, allowing journalists rare access to nearly an hour of the meeting.

The president said he would "take the heat" politically if lawmakers were to move toward broader action that would provide a pathway to citizenship for about 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

"You are not that far away from comprehensive immigration reform," he told Senator Lindsey Graham, after the Republican lawmaker floated the idea of more sweeping legislation.

"You created an opportunity here, Mr President, and you need to close the deal," Graham told him as TV cameras rolled.

Trump`s position appeared at odds with his 2016 campaign, when his platform focused largely on border security and immigration curtailment, and many of his core supporters raged at the prospect of legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants.

The image of Trump presiding over such sensitive negotiations appeared tailor-made for the White House to push back against a narrative -- fueled by a recent explosive West Wing expose -- questioning Trump`s mental fitness, with aides were doubting his ability to govern.In September, Trump said he was scrapping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but then delayed enforcement to give Congress six months -- until March -- to craft a lasting solution.

So-called "Dreamers" were protected from deportation under the policy enacted during Barack Obama`s presidency.

On Tuesday, Trump said a "permanent" solution was needed for Dreamers, but also insisted on the importance of border security, especially with Mexico.

"We need a wall," Trump said.

Any deal, he added, would need to be accompanied by money for a border wall, measures that limit immigrants from bringing family members into the country in the future -- a policy known as "chain migration" -- and an end to the green card lottery system.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the group had agreed to negotiate legislation that accomplishes "critically needed reforms" in the above areas, as well as DACA.

But a path through Congress remained unclear. The two parties were at odds over whether to pass the measure as a stand-alone bill, as Senate Republican leadership wants, or attach it to a federal spending package that must pass by January 19 in order to avert a government shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he will bring up a narrow, DACA-related measure unattached to budget issues or broader immigration reforms.

"There are a number of moving parts here that need to be dealt with," McConnell told reporters after the meeting, but DACA "will not be a part of any overall spending agreement."

McConnell nonetheless expressed optimism that a DACA fix could be complete before the March deadline, when the grants of legal status begin expiring.

Senate Democrat Dick Durbin, a leading proponent of codifying immigration protections, noted that about 1,000 people per day will lose their DACA status beginning March 5.

"Lives are hanging in the balance," said Durbin, who was seated next to Trump. "We`ve got the time to do it."

Not all lawmakers were optimistic about a solution.

"I don`t think they`re closer," said Republican Senator John Kennedy, who was not at the talks.

"The problem is that the Democrats, they want all the dessert and they don`t want to eat any spinach," he added. "They`re just dying to give amnesty to somebody."
Dehri on Sone: A stampede broke out during an Army recruitment drive in Dehri on Sone in Bihar's Rohtas district in the early hours of Wednesday, in which one person was killed and four others were injured, police said.

The incident took place around 3 am when the aspirants tried to rush into BMP Ground through the Police Lines gate to take part in a run, on the fifth day of the recruitment drive, Superintendent of Police M S Dhillon said.

The deceased has been identified as Mukesh Kumar from Gaya district, he said.

Kumar was declared as "brought dead" at a hospital.

Dhillon said he was among the five people who suffered injuries in the stampede.

The four others -- Vimlesh Kumar, Devbrat Kumar Shyamnandan Kumar Verma and Dharmendra Kumar -- were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital in Sasaram, where their condition was stated to be out of danger, the SP said. 1 killed, 4 injured in stampede during Army recruitment drive

Dehri on Sone (Bihar), Jan 10 (PTI) A stampede broke out during an Army recruitment drive in Dehri on Sone in Bihar's Rohtas district in the early hours today, in which one person was killed and four others were injured, police said.

The incident took place around 3 am when the aspirants tried to rush into BMP Ground through the Police Lines gate to take part in a run, on the fifth day of the recruitment drive, Superintendent of Police M S Dhillon said.

The deceased has been identified as Mukesh Kumar from Gaya district, he said.

Kumar was declared as "brought dead" at a hospital.

Dhillon said he was among the five people who suffered injuries in the stampede.

The four others -- Vimlesh Kumar, Devbrat Kumar Shyamnandan Kumar Verma and Dharmendra Kumar -- were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital in Sasaram, where their condition was stated to be out of danger, the SP said.
New Delhi: The Shree Rajput Karni Sena on Wednesday asserted that it will not reach a compromise with the makers of Padmavat, and called for a 'janata curfew' whenever the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial is released.

Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi, who is leading the protest against the movie, told media persons here: "We needed one small clarification that time that there will be nothing between Alauddin Khilji and Padmavati... We would have been content with it, but now we will not compromise in any way."

He also called for a 'janata curfew' when the movie is released.

The Rajput outfit had first expressed concern after Ranveer Singh -- one of the three lead actors of the movie -- made a casual statement back in July 2016. He was reportedly asked if he was playing the role of a villain in the film, and he had said that he could go two notches beyond playing the role of a villain if he was given two intimate scenes with the film's leading lady Deepika Padukone.

This led to the question whether the movie showcases any intimacy between Khilji and Rani Padmavati. Subsequently, activists of Karni Sena even assaulted Bhansali on the film's set in Jaipur and another set in Kolhapur was vandalised.

Bhansali and Viacom18 Pictures have been facing numerous hurdles in releasing the movie which, the director has said, is based on 16th-century Indian Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi's epic poem Padmavat.

The censor board gave it the green signal with a U/A certification in consultation with a three-member advisory panel.

Dismissing it as hogwash, Kalvi questioned why it was shown to three people when there was talk about having a nine-member panel.

He said while the Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh governments have decided against the movie's release, he is expecting other states to follow suit.

"I believe Telangana, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh will also make some announcement in a few days," Kalvi said, insisting that the movie should not be released in theatres as it twists and turns history.
Amaravati, Jan 10 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has written a fresh letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, requesting that certain projects be funded in the form of "grant" by the Centre through NABARD, instead of loans from external agencies.

The state government had earlier expressed inability to spend a quantum of funds under the Special Assistance Measure (SAM) announced by the Centre within the stipulated five years.

The chief minister had told the state Assembly during the winter session that his government saw "no immediate benefit" from the SAM under externally-aided projects (EAPs) after the Centre turned down the states plea to let it use the money to clear outstanding loans.

Naidu wrote a letter afresh to Jaitley on January 5 stating that the AP government expected to receive Rs 16,447 crore under the SAM from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

"AP Government has sent proposals for various projects to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the EAP.

"I would like to mention that projects under the EAP will consume a lot of time for grounding and completing, considering the elaborate procedures involved in getting clearance and approval from external funding agencies," the chief minister said in the letter.

"The state government will not be in a position to consume the entire special assistance amount within the five-year period ending 2019-20, including (that for) ongoing projects signed after 2015-16," he added.

Therefore, Naidu suggested, a "special dispensation amount" be provided to Andhra Pradesh for specified projects from National Bank For Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) instead of loans from external agencies.

"It should be disbursed as a grant from the Government of India so that this will not form part of the state FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management) limits. This will facilitate the state government for early commencement of projects and to avail of the SAM announced to our state," the chief minister said.

In his letter, Naidu listed six projects that require a total funding of Rs 16,725 crore.

Of these, the DEA has already approved the AP Roads and Bridges Reconstruction Project and AP Mandal Connectivity and Rural Connectivity Improvement Project (Rs 3,200 crore each) with a proposed loan from Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB).

The Rs 4,500 crore AP Rural Water Supply Project, with a loan from AIIB, has not been cleared by the DEA yet.

The cost of another project ?- Construction of Residential School Buildings ?- which too is pending approval of the DEA, has increased from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 3,341 crore as per the latest estimate submitted by Naidu. This was also supposed to be taken up with a loan from AIIB.

Now, the state government is seeking funds for these projects as a grant from the Centre and not through loans from foreign banks.

The state government has also submitted two new projects ?- Amaravati Greening Development (Rs 1,484 crore) and AP Backward Area Rural Development Project (Rs 1,000 crore) to the Centre for funding through NABARD. PTI DBV KRK BAS
Mumbai: Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who will direct Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone in a yet untitled film, says he is looking forward to work with the actress as he likes her body of work.

Talking about the film which was earlier supposed to be directed by his assistant director Honey Trehan, Bhardwaj said here: "I wrote the script of that film one to two years ago, but now I am directing it. So I am looking forward to work with Deepika because I like her body of work.

"She is a beautiful actress and I feel the camera loves her."

He is also excited about collaborating with Irrfan.

"After a long time, I am doing a full-fledged film with Irrfan as a main protagonist. After Maqbool, I worked with him in Saat Khoon Maaf and Haider in which he had small roles. So, I am really excited that I am getting an opportunity to work with Irrfan in full-fledged film," he said.

Bhardwaj spoke to the media on Tuesday at Sakhi ri song launch of his close friend Kay Kay Menon's upcoming film Vodka Diaries. His wife Rekha was also with him.

On the buzz over Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavat, which is now slated to release on January 25, Bhardwaj said: "I am really happy that Padmavat' is releasing and it is getting a proper release. But I have read that the film is not releasing in Rajasthan, so I am feeling little sad for it as I feel that film should have been released in the entire country when the censor board has given green signal to it".

In other news, the Supreme Court has modified its earlier order on playing the national anthem in cinema halls and has made it non-mandatory.

Reacting to that, Bhardwaj said: I feel we should not argue about Supreme Court's judgment because it is our apex court and they have given right verdict that it should not be mandatory."
NEW DELHI: Top Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist Bilal Ahmad Kawa, suspected behind the Red Fort terror attack in 2000, has been arrested by authorities on Wednesday evening.

The 37-year-old terrorist was nabbed during a joint operation by the Special Cell of Delhi Police and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Kawa was arrested from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport at around 6 pm.

Authorities are currently questioning the suspected terrorist.

Photo of suspected LeT terrorist Bilal Ahmed Kawa arrested in a joint operation by Special Cell of Delhi Police and Gujarat ATS from Delhi Airport for alleged involvement in terror attack on Red Fort in the year 2000. pic.twitter.com/PIDTAchwBI  ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2018

On December 22, 2000, six terrorists stormed in to the Red Fort and opened indiscriminate firing on the guards of seventh battalion of Rajputana Rifles. Three people, including a civilian, were killed.

Despite retaliation by the Army, the terrorists managed to flee through the Fort's rear wall.
New Delhi: Fruit based aerated during may be cheaper as the Food Ministry has asked the Finance Ministry to remove the cess on these drinks in the Upcoming Budget, Zee Media sources have said .

Fruit-based aerated drinks attract 28 percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) with an additional 12 percent cess. This rake up the tax on the fizzy drinks to 40 percent.

In the Budget the government my remove 12 percent cess on the aerated fruit drinks.

In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had suggested mixing at least 2 percent fruit juice in aerated drinks to help distressed farmers find a new market for their produce.

Suggesting the idea to top officials of leading aerated drinks companies, he said, "Why cant 2 percent natural juice be mixed in aerated drinks? This will provide farmers a market for their produce,"

The possibility of blending cold carbonated drinks, which are widely considered not healthy, with natural fruit juice is also being looked into.

A report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, consumption of non-alcoholic beverages is expected to increase by 16.5-19 percent over the next few years in the country.

2018-19 Budget, which will also be the last regular Budget of the NDA government, will be unveiled on February 1.
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved 100 percent foreign investment in single brand retail trading (SBRT) and construction development.

At present, FDI up to 49 percent is allowed under automatic route but any investment beyond the limit required government approval.

These are intended to liberalise and simplify the FDI policy so as to provide ease of doing business in the country. In turn, it will lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment, a government statement said.

The decision is likely to benefit big foreign single-brand retailers such as IKEA, Carrefour and Walmart. Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has strongly opposed the government decision saying that the move will facilitate easy entry of MNCs (multi-national companies) in the retail trade.

The Cabinet also decided to allow 100 percent FDI in construction development relating to building townships, housing, infrastructure and real estate broking services.

Explaining 100 percent FDI under automatic route for construction development the Cabinet clarifed that real-estate broking service does not amount to real estate business and is therefore, eligible for 100 percent FDI under automatic route.

Here are the details of amendments in the FDI in Single brand Retail Policy
Washington: With an "ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms", India has "enormous growth potential" compared to other emerging economies, the World Bank said on Tuesday, as it projected country's growth rate to 7.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.5 for the next two years.

India, despite initial setbacks from demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST), is estimated to have grown at 6.7 per cent in 2017, according to the 2018 Global Economics Prospect released by the World Bank here.

"In all likelihood India is going to register higher growth rate than other major emerging market economies in the next decade. So, I wouldn't focus on the short-term numbers. I would look at the big picture for India and big picture is telling us that it has enormous potential," Ayhan Kose, Director, Development Prospects Group, World Bank, told PTI in an interview.

He said in comparison with China, which is slowing, the World Bank is expecting India to gradually accelerate.

"The growth numbers of the past three years were very healthy," Kose, author of the report, said.

In 2017, China grew at 6.8 per cent, 0.1 per cent more than that of India, while in 2018, its growth rate is projected at 6.4 per cent. And in the next two years, the country's growth rate will drop marginally to 6.3 and 6.2 per cent, respectively.

To materialise its potential, India, Kose said, needs to take steps to boost investment prospects.

There are measures underway to do in terms of non- performing loans and productivity, he said.

"On the productivity side, India has enormous potential with respect to secondary education completion rate. All in all, improved labor market reforms, education and health reforms as well as relaxing investment bottleneck will help improve India's prospects," Kose said.

Noting that India has a favourable demographic profile, he said it is rarely seen in other economies.

"In that context, improving female labour force participation rate is going to be important. Female labour force participation still remains low relative to other emerging market economies. Bringing force right now idle outside of the productive activities will make a huge difference," he said.

Reducing youth unemployment is critical, and pushing for private investment, where problems are already well-known like bank assets quality issues...If these are done, India can reach its potential easily and exceed, Kose asserted.

"In fact, we expect India to do better than its potential in 2018 and move forward," he said.

India's growth potential, he said, would be around 7 per cent for the next 10 years.

The Indian government is "very serious" with GST being a major turning point and banking recapitalisation programme is really important, Kose said.

"The Indian government has already recognise some of these problems and undertaking measures and willing to see the outcomes of these measures," he said.

"India is a very large economy. It has a huge potential. At the same time, it has its own challenges. This government is very much aware of these challenges and is showing just doing its best in terms of dealing with them," the World Bank official said.

The latest World Bank growth estimate for 2017 is 0.5 per cent, less than the previous projection, and 0.2 per cent less in the next two years.

"It is slightly lower than its previous forecast, primarily because India is undertaking major reforms," Kose said.

These reforms, of course, will bring certain policy uncertainty, he said, "but the big issue about India, when you look at India's growth potential and our numbers down the road 2019 and 2020, is that it is going to be the fastest growing large emerging market."

"India has an ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms. GST is a major reform to have harmonised taxes, is one nation one market one tax concept. Then, of course, the late 2016 demonetisation reform was there. The government is well aware of these short-term implications," Kose said.

He said there might have been some temporary disruptions but "all in all" the Indian economy has done well.

"The potential growth rate of the Indian economy is very healthy to 7 per cent. I think the growth is going to be at a high rate going forward," the World Bank official said.

The big question is whether Indian policymakers would, under the necessary reforms, push its potential growth up, Kose said.

"So far we have seen ambitious policy initiatives and implementation like GST. And we have all the reasons to expect this government to continue economic policies to create friendly environment for businesses and push its growth potential up," he said.

In a South Asia regional press release, the World Bank said India is estimated to grow 6.7 per cent in fiscal year 2017-18, slightly down from the 7.1 per cent of the previous fiscal year.

This is due in part to the effects of the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, but also to protracted balance sheet weaknesses, including corporate debt burdens and non- performing loans in the banking sector, weighing down private investment, it said.
New Delhi: In a bid to kill a spider using a torch lighter, a man in the United States ended up burning down his apartment.

As per the US media, the fire occurred on Sunday in a block of flats in the city of Redding in northern California.

The man spotted the massive wolf spider in a room inside his flat and used a torch-style lighter to try and kill it, Lyndsey Wisegarver, a caregiver to the residents, said.

While the man lit the spider on fire, the flame did not kill it instantly. The burning arachnid scuttled away and ended up on a mattress, setting it on fire as well.

Wisegarver said the fire also spread to the drapes and a flag collection, the Redding Record Searchlight newspaper reported.

The blaze forced the residents to evacuate and firefighters were immediately called to the building.

No one was injured. However, the fire did cause about $11,000 in damage.

(With IANS inputs)
Ghaziabad: Uttar Pradesh Congress President Raj Babbar detained by police in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday afternoon. Clashes ensued between the party members and police party.

Several Congress members tried to stop the police who made their way into the crowd to detail the former Bollywood actor.

Babbar was participating in farmers' movement in Mandola, when the incident took place.

Several party members were also detained by police.

Taking to Twitter, Ghaziabad police said police force have arrived on spot and urgent action is being undertaken.

A three-time Lok Sabha MP and a two-time member of Rajya Sabha, Babbar was leading farmers rights protest rally.
New Delhi: Destiny is not designed by mere mortals like us. It is crafted by God.

These words of Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte would perhaps be remembered fondly by sisters Pooja (6) and Nandini (4) for a long time to come.

Abandoned as toddlers at a railway station in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha in 2015, the two sisters have found love and care in a couple from Malta who recently completed all legal formalities to officially adopt them. It may have been a rather long wait but the two girls are all set to now grow up in a nurturing environment.

Their tale may have a happy ending but that was not always the case.

The two sisters were abandoned at the railway station in September of 2015. Pooja was four. Nandini was two. Despite authorities mounting a hunt, the parents could not be located and the children were handed over to Child Line for their proper care. This is when they were given their names as well.

The two sisters joined many other children in the hope of getting adopted by caring parents but prospective couples were not too keen on taking in both girls together.

Just when it seemed like fate would remain cruel to Pooja and Nandini though, a couple from Malta - an archipelago in the Mediterranean - came forward through India's Ministry of Women and Child Development to adopt both girls.

In cases such as these, there are legal formalities and numerous checks that are conducted to ensure children go into safe and caring homes. After completing all formalities, the couple - Miriyam Jemik and Itini Villa - reached Vidisha on Sunday to finally unite with the children.

Interestingly, Miriyam said that she and her husband had decided they would adopt two girls even before they married each other. On Sunday, their family was complete and a visibly emotional Miriyam said that she cannot wait to take the girls home where arrangements like separate bedrooms in a freshly painted home awaits. Even the girls looked comfortable around the couple and Miriyam said that they would have every opportunity to grow up to be whoever they wish to be.

Now that is one tale that may have begun on a sorry note but also one that promises to have many happy chapters hereon.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that his government would not tolerate groups that disturb peace, even as he hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Accusing BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal of disturbing peace, the Karnataka Chief Minister alleged that there were extremist elements in the group.

BJP, RSS, Bajrang Dal have extremist elements. Government will not leave those who disturb peace, we will not tolerate it, doesn't matter if it is SDPI or Bajrang Dal, which ever organisation it is, we will not tolerate it, said the Congress leader.

This came even as BJP chief Amit Shah alleged that the government in Karnataka in anti-Hindu.

"This govt of Karnataka is doing vote bank politics, it is an anti-Hindu govt. They have withdrawn all cases against SDPI, which is an anti-India organisation," Amit Shah said while addressing the 'Parivartana Yatra' in Chitradurga in Karnataka.

Keeping up his attack on the Congress government, he said that he had come to the state to bust the myth which the CM had created that the Centre has not done anything for Karnataka. "I have come to answer the CM's question on what has Centre done for Karnataka. In 13th Finance Commission under UPA, Rs 88,583 cr was allocated for Karnataka, under our government in 14th Finance Commission, Karnataka was given 2 lakh 19 thousand crore," he claimed.
New Delhi: Admitting a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which alleges that school prayers in Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country are promoting Hindu religion, the Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Centre and sought its response on the matter.

The PIL stated that Hindi prayer songs in KVs across the country promote Hinduism and that these should not be allowed in government-run schools. It was filed by an advocate whose children passed out from KV schools.

Seeking a response from the Centre, the Supreme Court observed that it is a 'serious constitutional matter'. The apex court will decide on whether indeed Hindi prayer sung in 1100 KVs in the country promote a particular religion and if this violated the Constitution.
The Hague, Jan 10 (PTI) Seeking to attract more Dutch visitors to India, a holiday fair showcasing major Indian tourist destinations is being held in the Netherlands city of Utrecht.

Mayor of Utrecht, Jan van Zanen inaugurated the Incredible India and Kerala tourism exhibitions yesterday, a statement by the Indian Embassy here said.

Among the attractions, is a virtual reality tour of Indias select tourism spots for visitors to the Vakantiebeurs fair.

The mayor was the first to view major Indian tourist attractions in virtual reality - a novel initiative by the Indian mission in collaboration with Indias tourism department, it said.

As a special attraction, visitors also had an opportunity to take pictures of themselves with monuments such as the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar among others as well as wildlife and natural landscapes, the statement said.

Virtual reality offers immersive, 3-D experiences via videos with 360-degree perspectives through which visitors are able to enjoy the experience of visiting the Qutub Minar, Amer Palace, Khajuraho, Nalanda, Kailashnath Temple, Athirappiliy waterfalls, Alappuzha backwaters and various other cultural and natural landmarks in India.

The stalls were inaugurated with the mayor and Indias Ambassador to the Netherlands Venu Rajamony lighting the traditional Indian lamp.

Vakantiebeurs or holiday fair, is held every year in Utrecht in the heart of the Netherlands and attracts a large number of visitors.

There has been a steady increase in the number of tourists from the Netherlands to India with approximately 21,000 electronic visas issued in 2017. PTI AKV KUN RBS
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to have a separate meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, reports said on Wednesday.

Trump and Modi's attendance at Davos meet assumes great significance, as the former would be the first US president to attend an annual gathering of global economic leaders in 18 years, while the latter would be the first Indian PM to attend the mega event since 1997.

The White House confirmed on Tuesday that Trump will take his populist message directly to the world`s business and financial elite attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Trump -- who ran for president on a nationalist "America First" platform -- will mingle at the annual Alpine festival of globalism in Switzerland, and perhaps offer a few views of his own.

Not only, Trump's participation, but PM Modi's decision to be a part of the event is making headlines.

PM Modi is slated to address the plenary session of the prestigious global business meet, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu announced on Tuesday.

According to the Commerce Ministry, WEF 2018, to be held over January 23-26, will be attended by 350 political leaders, including over 60 heads of state or government, and CEOs of the world's major companies.

While Modi is slated to address the inaugural plenary session on January 23, he is to be followed by an impressive array of Indian ministers who will take part in various group sessions.

Besides Prabhu, they include Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as well as the respective Ministers of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and for the External Affairs Ministry M.J. Akbar, a Commerce Ministry release said.

According to observers, Modi's first visit to WEF is an opportunity to interact with foreign investors following the implementation of the major structural reform of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), as well as the demonetisation measure of November 2016.
LONDON: Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy's son-in-law has been inducted in British Prime Minister Theresa May's top team.

Rishi Shunak, married to Murthy's daughter Akshata Murthy, was made a part of Mays team during a reshuffle of her top ministers and secretaries on Monday.

The duo were classmates at Stanford Business School in 2009.

The 36-year-old has been appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in Britain's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Theresa May's office tweeted:

Rishi Sunak MP becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government @mhclg #Reshuffle pic.twitter.com/C46oGC7O3z  UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) January 9, 2018

This reshuffle helps us do just that by bringing fresh talent into government, boosting delivery in key policy areas like housing, health and social care, and ensuring the government looks more like the country it serves, a release from May's office said.

Rishi Sunak became a UK lawmaker after winning the constituency of Richmond in North Yorkshire in the 2015 general elections.

Educated at Winchester College and Lincoln College of Oxford University, Sunal later went to Stanford University to pursue MBA, where he met Akshata. He later co-founded a global investment firm and entered politics in 2014.

Image Credit: Facebook

The couple has two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka.
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha has launched yet another on the Narendra Modi government and the party leadership. While he accused the government of implementing policies that were opposed by the BJP during Congress tenure, he said that the current BJP is not the one of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani.

Sinha claimed that he had sought time from Prime Minister Modi 13 months back over several issues concerning the country, but was never given the appointment for the same.

According to Sinha, it was then that he decided that he would never talk to the government in the confines of a boundary and would take every issue between the public.

The veteran recalled how once every BJP workers were free to meet any senior leader of the party because the modus operandi of Vajpayee and Advani was way too different. He said that they used to consider all BJP workers equal.

He said that the current situation in the BJP is not the same, even the biggest of party workers cannot meet the high command.

Sinha further questioned the schemes of the Narendra Modi government, pointing that the same schemes that were opposed by the BJP during Congress-led UPA regime between 2004 and 2014, were now being implemented.

He also raised concerns on the condition of farmers in the country.

Sinha, a former finance minister, has been vocal against the economic policies of the Narendra Modi government. He has criticised the governments moves of demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Referring to demonetisation, Sinha had last November said that even Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351, had gone for a move like notes ban 700 years ago.

There was a ruler 700 years ago, who brought new currency and banned the existing currency at that time, he had said.

He had alleged that the move had caused a loss of Rs 3.75 lakh crore to the Indian economy.
New Delhi: The freedom of speech and expression of the media must be allowed to the "fullest" and the press may not be hauled up for defamation for "some wrong reporting", the Supreme Court has observed.

The observation came from a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra which refused to entertain an appeal against a Patna High Court order quashing a defamation complaint against a journalist and a media house.

"In a democracy, you (petitioner) must learn to tolerate," the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.

"There could be some error or enthusiasm in reporting an alleged scam. But, we must allow freedom of speech and expression to press at the fullest. There may be some wrong reporting. For that they need not be hauled up for defamation," the apex court said.

Referring to its earlier verdict that had upheld the validity of the penal law on defamation, it said the provision may be constitutional, but an alleged incorrect news item about a scam does not amount to the offence of defamation.

A woman had filed the appeal against the High Court order quashing her private defamation complaint accusing a journalist of telecasting an alleged incorrect news which she had claimed had defamed her and her family members.

It was said in the plea that a news report was telecast in April 2010 with regard to alleged irregular allotment of land in Bihiya Industrial Area by Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority to her for establishing a food processing unit.

The news channel and the journalist had made scandalous and derogatory statements against her and her family, the plea had alleged. The High Court had quashed the complaint and the apex court upheld that order.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has a message for people of the state. Addressing the state assembly on Wednesday, Mufti said that whatever the people of J&K want, they will get from India and no other country.

Hum J&K constitution ko, mulk ki constitution ko nahi maante, to kis ko maante hain? Fir aapko milne waala kya hai? Kahan se milega? (If we dont believe in constitution of J&K, if we dont believe in countrys constitution, then what do we believe in? Then what are you going to get? Where will you get anything from?) said Mufti in J&K Assembly.

Mufti further said that she wants to put it on record that whatever people of J&K would get, they would get it only from India and nowhere else.

This comes days after Mufti, in an open plea, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan to bury the hatchet and become friends for the sake of local Kashmiris and jawans on the border.

Sarhad paar Pakistan ko bhi main guzarish karti hun, apne mulk ke wazire-e-azam ko bhi guzarish karti hun- Jammu Kashmir ke logon ko is daldal se nikalne ke liye, hamare jawano ki hifazat ke liye, aapas me sulah karo, baatcheet karo, dosti karo (I request Pakistanis across the border and my country's Prime Minister to help the people of Jammu and Kashmir come out of this mess and protect our jawans by finding solutions, holding dialogues and becoming friends), said Mufti while addressing a rally in Kashmir's Anantnag district on Sunday.
ISLAMABAD: Under pressure from the United States, Pakistan on Wednesday played the victim card, claiming that India is 'distracting' it from counter-terrorism efforts.

Briefing international diplomats on the country's effort to tackle terror outfits on home soil, Pakistan's top civil-military leadership harped on how Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is contributing towards internal instability.

"Details were also provided on how Indian belligerence and unhelpful posturing is distracting Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts and how an active RAW/NDS nexus is verifiably working to undermine Pakistan's internal stability," a statement from the country's foreign office said.

The session was conducted by Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and top military generals in Islamabad.

The briefing comes days after United States blocked $255 million military aid to Pakistan, accusing the country of resorting to lies and deceit and providing "safe haven" to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

Following Trump administration's step of freezing military aid, reports of Islamabad suspending intelligence cooperation with US emerged.

The country's Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan reportedly told a large gathering in Islamabad on Tuesday that Pakistan has suspended military and intelligence cooperation with the United States in the wake of US President Donald Trump's allegations.

Khan reportedly added that the US was using Pakistan as a "scapegoat" for its failures in war-torn Afghanistan.

The US Embassy in Islamabad, however, denied receiving any such information.

Under pressure from the White House, Pakistan has already blacklisted terror outfit Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), headed by 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, and 71 other groups.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already started readying the Bharatiya Janata Party for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. And the first step in this regard is expected to be taken as early as Thursday.

Kickstarting the BJPs drill for the 2019 General Elections, the Prime Minister has invited general secretaries and state in-charges of the party for a dinner on Thursday.

The event, slated to be held at PM Modis residence, will be attended by BJP chief Amit Shah, senior leader Ramlal and ministers of NDA Cabinet, among others.

According to sources, the Prime Minister will discuss about the political scenario in different states. Besides, he will also discuss the status of different government schemes. The loopholes and highlights of different schemes will also be discussed.

The focus of the discussion on states is expected to be around Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram  which are expected to go to elections soon.

Meanwhile, reports said that the BJP is expected to target those voters, who were born in year 2000. It is estimated that such voters are more than 2 crore in numbers. The social media team of the BJP is working hard to woo these first time voters in Lok Sabha elections.

A mobile application will also be brought for the purpose. The name of the app is expected to be Millennium Vote Campaign and is slated to be launched on January 18.

Reports said that the app will not just add new voters, but will also provide them information on voter identity card.

Notably, in his last Mann Ki Baat radio show episode, PM Modi had talked about youngsters who will become eligible to vote in 2018.

"We welcome those born in the 21st century to the democratic system as they will become eligible voters," he had said.

Asking the youngsters to take part in the political system, he encouraged them to take a lead in making mock Parliaments to discuss issues. "We can have mock Parliaments in our districts, where we discuss how to make development a mass movement and transform India. The New India Youth must take a lead in this," he said.
New Delhi: Siddaramaiah once again became the topic of jokes on Twitter after the Karnataka Chief Minister was seen dozing away with not a care in the world at a Congress event in Madikeri on Tuesday.

Also known among his critics as a compulsive sleeper, Siddaramaiah was seen sleeping on stage during the party event. Interestingly, the stage had several dignitaries and party workers but despite the CM being seated prominently in the first row, no one thought appropriate to pull him out of what looked like a deep slumber.

Not known to let go off such faux pas, Twitterati burst out in laughter.

Q) Why Was #Siddaramaiah Sleeping?

A) Coz He Couldn't Get UP ?? pic.twitter.com/GHLOXZraln  Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) January 9, 2018

Rahul Gandhi to Congress - I'm your president now.

Will you all be loyal & follow what I do#Siddaramaiah - say no more my master ! pic.twitter.com/KsR3lgOBwS  Comical ????  ?? (@Comical_Locha) January 9, 2018

Siddaramaiah has been caught sleeping during public events in the past as well. On May 26 of 2017, he was again seated in the front row during a Congress press conference but that did not stop him from getting some shut-eye. And he is hardly alone in list of politicians caught off guard and eyes shut.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah appears to have dozed off during Congress press conference in Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/tgKTgdNrt9  ANI (@ANI) May 26, 2017

Several politicians - some even in Parliament - have been caught having a snooze time out of bed. A few have attempted to justify their sleep and termed it introspection and contemplation. Of course, Twitter had been amusingly unforgiving each time.

PS: Did you know? Work-time nap is officially permitted in Japan.
HOLALKERE: BJP President Amit Shah on Wednesday hit out at Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claiming that his government in the state is anti- Hindu. "This govt of Karnataka is doing vote bank politics, it is an anti-Hindu govt. They have withdrawn all cases against SDPI, which is an anti-India organisation," Amit Shah said while addressing the 'Parivartana Yatra' in Chitradurga in Karnataka.

Keeping up his attack on the Congress government, he said that he had come to the state to bust the myth which the CM had created that the Centre has not done anything for Karnataka. "I have come to answer the CM's question on what has Centre done for Karnataka. In 13th Finance Commission under UPA, Rs 88,583 cr was allocated for Karnataka, under our government in 14th Finance Commission, Karnataka was given 2 lakh 19 thousand crore," he claimed.

However, he turned the table on the CM asking what did Siddaramaiah do for the state. "Where did all the money given by the Centre go? Did it reach your village? Look for a Congressman in your village, 5 years back what used to be a thatched house will now be a huge 4-storey house with an expensive car parked in front," he added.

Siddaramaiah had accused the BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), others of disturbing peace in the state. "BJP, RSS, Bajrang Dal have extremist elements. the government will not leave those who disturb peace. We will not tolerate it, doesn't matter if it is SDPI or Bajrang Dal, whichever organisation it is, we will not tolerate it," the Karnataka CM said.
Mumbai: An elderly couple has written to President Ram Nath Kovind requesting him to approve their plea for active euthanasia be accepted. The couple has written that they have led a satisfactory life together after being married for 68 years and do not wish to live anymore.

Active euthanasia or assisted suicide is something 87-year-old Narayan Lavate and 78-year-old Iravati Lavate began contemplating upon since the much-highlighted case of KEM nurse Aruna Shanbaug. While euthanasia sought by Shanbaug - after being in vegetative state for 37 years following sexual assault - was declined by the Supreme Court, Lavates remain hopeful of a positive response from President Kovind.

This especially after Lavates' letters of request to Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule, former law minister Ram Jethmalani and other political leaders largely went un-noticed.

The Lavate's are members of Switzerland-based Dignitas which helps in physian-assisted deaths. While Iravati previously managed to get her passport renewed, Narayan did not and the couple could not travel abroad.

Residents of a chawl in Grant Road, both Iravati and Narayan now say that they have lived a complete life and do not wish for medical ailments to 'spoil their memories together.' They add that they are unsure how either would live if the other passes away.
In what could be a significant decision, the Andhra Pradesh government is planning to issue an order making it compulsory for the public representatives of the state to send their children in government-run schools.

State Minister of Tourism Bhooma Akhila Priya revealed this at a public gathering in her home town Nandyal, that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is very keen on bringing the change and wants to begin it from home.

The revolutionary law will make it compulsory that children of MLAs, MLCs and ministers of Andhra Pradesh must only be educated in government run schools of the state.

''The Chief Minister discussed this in the Cabinet meeting and have asked officials to prepare the draft order for its implementation. It shows how our Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Government is keen on providing quality education to everyone,'' said Akhila Priya, youngest minister in the AP cabinet.

According to a minister, the state government is in a process to digitise all schools and improving infrastructure before passing the government order.

The government is taking help of the NRI Telugu community in improving the educational environment in the state. Financial support in a 70-30 ratio has also been requested from them under social initiative called AP Janmabhoomi. Government is planning to digitise 5,000 schools with the help of NRIs by the end of this year.

Last year, the state education department had issued an order closing around 9,000 primary and upper primary schools across 13 districts of state citing poor strength of pupils.
MUMBAI: A man from Mumbai had to be operated upon soon after he ate vada pao. The man, a 77-year-old, had accidentally swallowed his own denture while eating the famous Mumbai local food leading to severe stomach ache.

He was taken to JJ hospital in Mumbai for treatment where the doctor told him that he will have to be operated upon. A pipe was inserted in his stomach after which the operation was conducted.

The doctors said that fortunately, the man did not have any cuts or perforations inside his stomach due to the tooth not resulting in any injuries.

Speaking of the scenario, the doctors claimed that often dentures loosen up over time leading to such an incident, hence people should go for regular dental check-ups.

The condition of the man is stable but will be kept on a feeding tube for 10 days as a precautionary measure to make sure there are no injuries.

This is not the first incident when a person has swallowed his own denture.

Earlier, a 45-year-old Mumbai man had to be admitted to SevenHills Hospital in Andheri after he accidentally swallowed his dentures while drinking water.

In another case, a man from Nepal had to travel to Mumbai to get his denture removed, which he had accidentally swallowed, as doctors there could find a solution to the same. The 8 cm-long denture had been stuck in his food pipe.
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his priority was strengthening the party organisation and he was not thinking of an alliance ahead of the "crucial" 2019 general elections.

Terming the process of talks and seat negotiations a waste of time, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who had tied up with the Congress for the assembly elections in 2017, ruled out alliances "as of now".

"The 2019 election is certainly crucial as the message from Uttar Pradesh will go out to the entire country. As of now, I am not thinking of an alliance with any party. It (alliance talks and seat negotiations) wastes a lot of time and I don't want to be in confusion (over seats)," Yadav told PTI in an exclusive interview.

Yadav said he was working on strengthening the party's vote bank.

Suggesting that the party could bargain at a later stage if an alliance materialises, he said his style of politics is different and he is open to "friendships" with like minded parties. However, his priority at present was to strengthen the organisation of the party.

The SP-Congress combine was trounced in the 2017 state elections, with the BJP and its allies winning 325 seats in the 403-member House. While SP got 47 seats, the Congress won seven.

"There is time before the elections. The Lok Sabha polls are in 2019. We are presently working on each seat, going through local equations for selection of candidates," he said.

Yadav also announced that the SP would contest the Lok Sabha polls where its organisation was strong.

"We have a strong organisational base in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. We are also working in Uttarakhand and Rajasthan," he said.

Discussing the defeat of his party in the 2017 assembly polls despite claims of good development, Yadav said the BJP had succeeded in fooling the people.

"It was not our vote bank but that of the Bahujan Samaj Party that shifted... The people still remember my regime and are now realising their mistake."

He added that the people gave BJP a chance but the party had fulfilled none of its tall promises.

"The Yogi Adityanath government has failed... They are just carrying forward our work by putting their plaques," he alleged.

In his view, the Adityanath government should demand a big package from the Centre in the budget instead of fooling the people.

"Out of 80 seats, the state has given them 73 MPs (including that of Apna Dal). It's high time the Yogi governent demands a big package from the Centre as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be presenting his last budget next month.

"After the budget, nothing can be done. If you don't have funds, you can't work," he said.

The former chief minister said he would be taking out a "rath yatra" across the state to mobilise party workers.

"The route and plan is being chalked out. I will be hitting the road again. People have expectations from us as SP is the only party which can stop the BJP."

Yadav also spoke on the issue of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

"We demand that before the Lok Sabha polls, the two by- elections of Gorakhpur and Phulpur be held using ballot papers. Doubts about the machine should be cleared."

On the much touted UP investor summit, preparation for which is underway, Yadav taunted the government and said it should first purchase chairs for the venue, the JP international centre, which was constructed during his regime.

"Will they ask delegate to sit on chairs borrowed from a tent house?" he asked.
NEW DELHI: Even as the Centre has managed to pass a bill against triple talaq in the Lok Sabha, a woman hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi area was allegedly divorced by her husband on phone.

The alleged victim of triple talaq has claimed that her better half was in an inebriated condition while he divorced her.

The alleged triple talaq victim, identified as Rosy Begum, has accused her husband of regularly physically assaulting her for the last 3-4 years.

She has filed a complaint with the police, but no action has been taken yet, Rosy claimed.

Fresh cases of triple talaq have been reported from UP, where women were given divorce on frivolous grounds.

In Uttar Pradesh's Rampur, a woman was recently given talaq by her husband because of her dark complexion.

The victim, Amreen said that her husband and his family were unhappy with her dark complexion and the less amount of dowry she brought and hence gave her divorce.

The Lok Sabha on December 28 passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, that criminalises instant triple talaq and makes it punishable by up to three years imprisonment for the husband, a development hailed by the government as "historic" but disapproved of by a section of the opposition.

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on August 22 declared the divorce pratice of triple talaq 'illegal' saying it was 'void' and 'unconstitutional'.

Under the proposed law, instant triple talaq in any form --spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS and WhatsApp -- would be illegal and void.

The proposed law would be applicable to the entire country except in Jammu and Kashmir. It would make instant talaq punishable by a jail term of upto three years and a fine, and would be a cognisable, non-bailable offence.

There is provision for subsistence allowance from the husband for the livelihood and daily supporting needs of the wife as also of the dependent children. The wife would also be entitled to the custody of minor children.
KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court will on Wednesday begin its hearing on a PIL filed against challenging the Calcutta Universitys (CU) decision to honour West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with a D.Litt degree.

The University had announced that it will bestow the honorary degree on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief, an alumnus, for her contribution to social service at its convocation on January 11.

The PIL has been filed by two individuals, Abu Taleb and Ranjugopal Mukherjee. The high court on Tuesday decided to treat the case as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

In their petition, the petitioners have argued that Calcutta University is a state-funded institution and will suffer a "credibility loss" if it confers the degree upon the highest executive authority of the state.

Petitioners also argue that serious doubts have already been raised in public domain over academic credentials of Mamata Banerjee including her so-called "Ph.D. Degree" which she herself refrains from using.

The petition claimed that the decision of the syndicate and senate of the university to honour Banerjee with a D.Litt was arbitrary and devoid of any proper reasoning.

Lawyer Shamim Ahmed said, "We have filed a PIL, challenging the decision of the university on several grounds of her ineligibility which we will place before the high court during the hearing."

"The members of the university senate are appointed by the state government, which is headed by Banerjee. The same people have decided to honour the chief minister with the honorary D.Litt," Ahmed claimed.

The convocation will be held at the Nazrul Mancha auditorium in south Kolkata, instead of the institution's own Centenary Hall on its College Street campus.
New York: A naturalized American from India has been stripped of his US citizenship, the first case under a government initiative designed to clamp down on fraudulent immigration, widened under the Trump administration.

Baljinder Singh, 43, from Carteret, New Jersey became a naturalized citizen in 2006 after marrying his American wife.

But he arrived in the United States in 1991, flying into San Francisco without travel documents or proof of identity, giving his name as Davinder Singh, the Justice Department said.

He dodged a subsequent court hearing and was ordered to be deported in January 1992.

A month later he filed for asylum under the name Baljinder Singh, which he then abandoned after getting married.

Last Friday, a federal judge in New Jersey revoked his naturalization, reverting him back to lawful permanent resident, which means that he can be subject to removal proceedings.

"I hope this case, and those to follow, send a loud message that attempting to fraudulently obtain US citizenship will not be tolerated," said US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Francis Cissna, a Trump administration appointee.

The Justice Department said it was the first denaturalization under Operation Janus, a long-running Department of Homeland Security initiative against fraudulent immigration.

Last September the initiative identified 315,000 cases where fingerprint data was missing, raising concerns that at least some may have tried to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in the naturalization process.

The USCIS has plans to refer 1,600 other cases for prosecution.

The government filed the complaint against Singh last September, along with two other cases against Pakistan-born naturalized citizens in Connecticut and Florida.

President Donald Trump has stepped up a broader crackdown on illegal immigration since taking office in January 2017.

On Monday, the US government announced the end of a special protected status for about 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants, which threatens with deportation tens of thousands of well-established families with children born in the United States.
London: Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, toured the UK in the 1990s to incite Muslims to become jihadis, according to a media report.

A BBC investigation has said that Saeed, one of the world's most wanted terror suspects, who now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) group in Pakistan, had toured British mosques in 1995 and his visit was recorded in a magazine published by the LeT at the time.

During the tour, Saeed spoke in Birmingham where he denounced the Hindus and urged his audience to "rise up for jihad". In Leicester, he spoke at a conference attended by 4,000 young people, according to the BBC Radio 4 documentary, titled 'The Dawn of British Jihad', aired last night.

"There is non-stop talk about jihad, encouraging British Muslims to join him," Sajid Iqbal, one of the programme's producers, told BBC Scotland.

While in Glasgow, Saeed addressed a large gathering at the Central Mosque and claimed Zionists were using billions of dollars to "kill the spirit of Jihad" or the Holy War among Muslims.

"They are trying to entice Muslims to the politics of power through democracy. They are also using the interest- based economy to keep Muslims in debt," Saeed told his audience.

The documentary's producer said he was surprised that Glasgow Central Mosque had opened its doors to a "known militant" because it is run by Deobandi, a different denomination of British Muslims to Saeed's Ahl-e-Hadith community.

"Even in 1995, he was a known militant, active in Kashmir," said Iqbal.

Glasgow Central Mosque has not commented on the report.

Lashkar-E-Taiba, promoted by Hafiz Saeed on his tour of Britain, was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK Home Office in March 2001.

On November 26, 2008, the Pakistan-based group was linked with the deadly wave of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai lasting four days, which claimed 166 lives and injured hundreds others.
Spiralling relations with the United States have hit a new low with Pakistan's Defense Minister stating that his country has stopped military and intelligence cooperation with its long-term ally in the fight against terrorism.

Confirming that military and intelligence cooperation has been suspended, Khurram Dastgir Khan was quoted by Pakistani newspaper Dawn as saying that the US is engaging Pakistan in a blame game rather than assisting in the battle on terror. "Pakistan does not want to put a price on its sacrifices but wants them to be recognised," he said on Tuesday.

Khan also said that the US is staring at defeat in Afghanistan and therefore, is looking to make Pakistan a scapegoat for all of its failures here. The two countries have previously worked closely in a bid to contain terror emanating from Afghan soil.

While the US embassy in Islamabad has not confirmed if cooperation in the said areas has indeed been halted, souring relations between the two countries indeed point towards a firm possibility.

Pakistan and US officials have engaged in a war of words with each other - a simmering fire set ablaze by US President's first tweet of 2018.

The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018

The US has charged Pakistan of not doing enough against home-grow terror outfits - especially the Haqqani Network. Officials in Washington have even warned that the US is capable of unilaterally taking action if Pakistan does not step up. Military aid to Pakistan has also been suspended. Earlier this week, Pentagon said US' expectations from Pakistan have already been communicated. "Taliban and Haqqani leadership and attack planners should no longer be able to find safe haven or conduct operations from Pakistani soil," said spokesperson Colonel Rob Manning.

The reaction has been almost equally strong.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif recently said that the focus of his country should be on further developing ties with China and Russia, and that dependence on the US was a misconception. Word in Islamabad's diplomatic circles is that Pakistan is also not too comfortable with US' plans of a two-pronged attack on Taliban in Afghanistan.

(Also read: US says Pakistan could lose territories to Taliban)

Some in Pakistan also see US' tough posturing in recent months as a bid to appease India. New Delhi playing a greater role in Afghnaistan's development has always been seen with suspicious eyes in Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: The multi-pronged assault on journalists in Pakistan continued right in that nation's capital on Wednesday. WION's Pakistan bureau chief Taha Siddiqui has survived an abduction attempt in Islamabad. He has been roughed up and all his belongings, including his phone and passport, have been taken.

Siddiqui has been vocal against the attacks on Pakistani journalists and 'forced disappearances' in the troubled country. He had also recently been the subject of intense hate on social media platforms for speaking out against the treatment meted out to the wife and mother of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav at the hands of the Pakistani government and the media.

Siddiqui tweeted from the handle of Dawn correspondent Cyril Almeida. "This is Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) using Cyrils a/c. I was on my way to airport today at 8:20am whn 10-12 armed men stopped my cab & forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now. Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances," read the tweet.

This is Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) using Cyrils a/c. I was on my way to airport today at 8:20am whn 10-12 armed men stopped my cab & forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now. Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances  cyril almeida (@cyalm) January 10, 2018

Siddiqui has been beaten and threatened with death. He is now at the police station where he says he is safe.

Many Pakistanis, including journalists, have condemned the incident.

Assault on @TahaSSiddiqui is a substantial escalation of a campaign of intimidation. This brute thuggery is unacceptable. It only damages Pakistan. Intimidation cannot suppress voices that do not align w more favourable narratives. Stop trying.  Mosharraf Zaidi (@mosharrafzaidi) January 10, 2018

Be careful Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) if you need a place come to my flat. #StopEnforcedDisappearances https://t.co/iF15iyskCm  Fishel Benkhald (@Jew_Pakistani) January 10, 2018

As a Pakistani national who works for a pan-Asian news network headquartered in India, Siddiqui is quite often the subject of harassment online, sometimes at the hands of social media accounts linked to Pakistan's military-politico establishment.

Even as news of the attempted abduction spread on Pakistani Twitter, Siddiqui was predictably ridiculed by many, who questioned how he was able to escape from a gang of 10-12 men.

There were others however, who stood up for Siddiqui and offered an explanation.
Russian State Duma thinks that this is the warning to the Ukrainian engineers of the missile weaponry

The deployment of S-400, the anti-aircraft missile system in occupied Crimea is the warning to the Ukrainian engineers of the missile weaponry. Dmitry Belik, the so-called MP of the State Duma claimed this as RIA News reported.

Any object that crosses the air boundary of the peninsula without the permission will be guaranteed shot down despite its destination point whether it is the Crimean Bridge or the spa resorts of Yevpatoria. Any attempt to feel out our antiaircraft defense will end sadly, Belik said.

A new squadron will control the air area over Chonhar and Armiansk near the continental territory of Ukraine as RIA News reported citing the source at the defense department of the occupied peninsula. Earlier S-400, the anti-aircraft missile system was deployed near Feodosia in spring 2017.

According to Belik, both formations are ready to reflect the potential missile threats from Ukraine.

S-400 Triumf is the Russian distant range anti-aircraft missile system. It aims to destroy the aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including those with the medium range of action and it also can be used against the surface facilities. The range of its action is up to 400 kilometers and it can destroy the objects at the height up to 30 kilometers.

Earlier it was reported that the Ministry of Defense of Russia deployed the electronic warfare system in occupied Crimea.
Journalists are known for their credibility and breaking news but what happens when they get the credit of stealing expensive cutlery from a premier property in London and become the news themselves?

That is exactly what has happened with a senior journalist who was accompanying the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee on her Europe visit to attract investments.

Didi, as she is addressed by entire country with love and respect, was invited for a special dinner in London with the extremely high profile bureaucrats, industrialists and affluent people from India and UK.

Every thing was being monitored by hidden CCTV cameras, primarily because of the high profile of the guests and the property.

But journalists, who have a knack for observing finer details, seemed to have missed the cameras, for they couldn't resist the temptation towards the sparkling silver cutlery that were placed on the dinner table.

The dining table displayed delicious delicacies but it was the silverware that attracted the journalists who didn't hesitate while picking the cutlery and putting it in their bags.

Sources say that the shocked and zapped hotel authorities had to make an announcement asking the guests to leave behind any thing that could have carried by them by mistake.

The embarrassing bit, the announcement was made intentionally not just once but multiple times to ensure that the high profile guests were not offended if checked and found guilty.

The hotel authorities had enough evidence against the identified journalist, thanks to the hidden CCTV cameras. While others placed the stolen spoons and forks back in its respective place, one journalist ignored all the warning calls.

It was a senior journalist from a leading vernacular daily who also is a senior citizen and has been reporting in Bengal for more than three decades.

He was finally made to shell out a fine of 50 pounds for picking up the cutlery.

This incident irked the entire fraternity including the Chief Minister, who now has distanced herself from the journalist.

However, many in the same fraternity feel that it's a lesson learnt on how one shouldn't take his or her situation for granted.
Valeria Lutkovska, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights spoke on the negotiations with the so-called ombudswomen of the Donetsk Peoples Republic and Luhansk Peoples Republic in the exclusive comment to 112.ua.

As at today, unfortunately, the situation formed in such way that the detention facilities remained in the occupied territories and they were not transferred to the territory controlled by Ukraine as the president of Ukraine ordered and there are also imprisoned people. 20% of all detention facilities were in Donbas and the part of them that remained there. In fact, today I am the only person who deals with the issue of the return of such people from occupied Donbas to Ukraine, she explained.

Lutkovska specified that it is easier to communicate with the representatives of Donetsk Peoples Republic. We succeed to transfer 166 people from the occupied territory of Donetsk and they serve the sentence in the territory controlled by Ukraine in accordance with the Ukrainian legislation. The talks with the representatives of the Luhansk Peoples Republic still continue and unfortunately, we did not succeed to transfer anybody from there within the agreements, she said.

According to the messages of the pro-Russian militants, Daria Morozova is the ombudswoman of the Donetsk Peoples Republic and Olha Kobtseva is the ombudswoman of the Luhansk Peoples Republic. They were present during the large-scale prisoners exchange on December 27, 2017.
Open source

Pro-Kremlin militants of the so-called DPR beat the captives; the ex-prisoner Ihor Kozlovsky said that in an interview with 112 Ukraine TV channel.

According to Kozlovsky, the militants allegedly found two grenades and demanded that he recognize these grenades belonged to him.

Most of the time, they beat me up, used something to hit me to the head  I didnt see what exactly, because I had a sack on my head. It lasted for several hours. They played the Russian roulette with me, putting the gun against my head and pulling the firing cock. I could not see so I would always listen to my blood boiling, my pain growing stronger, my heart pounding desperately. The heart ran rough They shouted: Its the Russian world that beats you, he said.

Ihor Kozlovsky is the famous Ukrainian scientist who appeared to be among the captives of pro-Kremlin militants. He spent almost two years in captivity and was released on December 27, along with another 73 Ukrainian citizens. Upon the release, Kozlovsky claimed the tortures resulted in damage to his health and he needed rehabilitation.
The Defense Ministry of Ukraine has revealed its plans regarding construction of 93 military hostels in 2018, thanks to simplified construction rules for military units introduced by the law on state budget for 2018. Yuriy Biryukov, an adviser to the President of Ukraine and an aide to the defense minister, wrote this on his Facebook page, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

Pre-construction of 2017 hostels is complete and construction tenders are about to start. Approximately 25,000 contract servicemen will be provided with housing this year, Biryukov wrote.

Altogether, the ministry hopes to build 184 hostels for military personnel. These facilities will be built on land owned to the Ministry of Defense, following a simplified procedure that does not require town-planning documentation. The largest number of newly-built facilities is planned in Donetsk (20), Mykolaiv (19), Odesa (18) and Lviv (15) regions.

Biryukov added that the start of construction of family hostels was initially scheduled for 2019, whereas the construction of private housing was not yet planned because of funding shortage in the short run.

We do not have any other options  we need to find the right balance between real money and real people waiting in line. Our plan suggests that rooms will be shared between five tenants at first. As soon as more hostels are built, they will be used to accommodate servicemen in rooms with up to three tenants. A separate program from 2019 provides for the start of construction of family hostels, he explained.

Biryukov also clarified that family hostels for junior officers and sergeants are planned as smart apartments, equipped with separate bathrooms and kitchens.

While responding to concerns that simplified procedures of obtaining permits would lead to abuse, Biryukov emphasized on the need to carry out an expert evaluation.

In the law on Ukraines state budget for 2018, The Parliament of Ukraine allowed construction of buildings with minor and average consequences (CC1 and CC2) on the premises of military units without providing town-planning documentation.
The study suggests that budget planning is characterized by excessive control and regulation, which does not give local authorities and hospitals sufficient powers to manage their finances.

Open source

As of 2015, Ukraines spending on healthcare was estimated at $77 per capita, which is the lowest across Europe. At the same time, such spending is supposed to maintain one of the largest healthcare infrastructures in Central Europe. This was the conclusion made by the authors of a study conducted by the World Bank, United Nations Development Program and Kyiv School of Economics at the end of 2017, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

According to the studys findings, Ukraines healthcare infrastructure is one of the largest in Central Europe as it provides 0.4 hospitals, 7.4 hospital beds, 4.4 doctors and 8.6 nurses per 1000 citizens.

The studys authors point out that the shortage of government spending in Ukraines healthcare sector is multiplied by its inefficient allocation and use.

Nevertheless, healthcare spending in Ukraine is skewed towards hospital services, as opposed to the less expensive preventive measures. Furthermore, the authors note the parallel non-transparent arrangement of paying for services in cash, which restricts Ukrainian patients access to healthcare.

The authors of the study draw the conclusion that budget planning is characterized by excessive control and regulation, which does not give local authorities and hospitals sufficient powers to manage their finances.

At the same time, the study finds that state government funding accounts only for around half of total healthcare spending, while a non-transparent arrangement of paying cash is operating alongside.

Most of the spending in the healthcare sector is directed towards the provision of hospital services, as opposed to first aid, which provides inexpensive preventive measures. For example, the study finds that in Donetsk region 70% of the healthcare budget is spent on hospital care, while first aid services account for only 13% of the funding.

Nonetheless, service providers (hospitals) in general tend to spend the majority of their budgets on employee wages and utilities, while medicine is purchased with what remains of the budget. Around 50% of the employees polled admit occasional shortage of medicine. Most healthcare institutions cover less than 25% of medicine needs, 63% of doctors ask patients to purchase the necessary drugs when those are not available at the hospital,- the authors of the study explain.

The studys data suggests that healthcare workers are paid significantly less than the labor rate standard. More than 3 out of 10 doctors work second jobs.

The studys authors conclude by suggesting a number of measures that could change the current situation. They believe that the implementation of the healthcare reform would allow to make budgeting decisions based on performance. Additionally, they recommend to introduce a more accurate specification of bundles of healthcare services, which, along with the introduction of mechanisms to enter into agreements, is likely to improve the way government funding is allocated and used for the provision of guaranteed medical services. Also, the authors point out that the formalization of co-payment mechanisms will allow to cover financial deficiencies and to give hospitals more responsibility for additional incomings. The research conducted in healthcare institutions in Poltava, Lviv, Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
Open source

Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament Andrian Candu, who by the decision of the country's constitutional court became the acting president, signed a law prohibiting retransmission of Russian news and information and analytical programs (the law against propaganda). The parliaments press service reported this.

The draft amendments to the Code on Television and Radio, which prohibit Russian news and analytical programs on television and radio, was adopted by the parliament on December 7 in two readings. According to the changes proposed by the democrats, the news broadcasted by Moldovan broadcasters can only be produced in the EU, USA, Canada and countries that have ratified the convention on cross-border television (Russia has not ratified it). Fines for violation of this regulation were set in the amendments.

On December 20, President Dodon returned the bill to the parliament for revision, and on December 22, the parliament adopted it again without changes. The president for the second time refused to promulgate the law, referring to "the highest interests of the people", and appealed to the Constitutional Court with request to consider its constitutionality.

On January 5, the Constitutional Court ruled out that the Parliaments Speaker Andrian Candu or Prime Minister Pavel Filip could promulgate the bill instead of Dodon.

The Constitutional Court decided to suspend the president for the first time on October 17, 2017. At that tme, the court ruled that the speaker of the parliament or the prime minister can temporarily act as president if necessary. This way, without the president's signature, the Minister of Defense Eugen Sturza was appointed. The Constitutional Court decided that if Dodon is unwilling to fulfil his constitutional duties, then appointing the acting president in his stead is justified.
He said this to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels, noting that asylum procedures in Poland are quite tough

Open source

In Poland there are more than a million Ukrainian labor migrants, of which several tens of thousands are those who "flee to Poland from the war in the east of Ukraine." Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki claimed this to the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels, Ukrinform reports.

"I also spoke about the problem of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which led to the fact that we have more than a million people from Ukraine, who are generally labor migrants. However, if we seriously study the statistical data, at least a few or several tens of thousands of people are from the war territories, without a roof over their heads, typical refugees from the territory of eastern Ukraine," Morawiecki said.

But, the prime minister noted, Poland is not going to change its position on the issue of refugees, that is, the asylum procedures will remain quite tough.

"Indeed, our asylum procedures are quite tough, there is but a handful of people who have received this status. However, we have shown thousands of requests for asylum, filed in Poland," Morawiecki said.

As it was reported earlier Valeria Lutkovska, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights claimed that the majority of 1.5 million of the Ukrainians in Poland are labor migrants and the issue is not about the refugees.

Mateusz Morawiecki earlier claimed that his country accepted more than 1.5 million of the Ukrainians, including dozens of thousands displaced persons from Donbas during the last years. According to him, Poland attempted to reduce the tension in the migration sphere due to this.

625 Ukrainians appealed to the Polish authorities with the request to provide them the international protection in 2017 and the dozens of thousands of the Ukrainian refugees are out of question. Svitlana Krysa, the Head of the Consular Department of the Embassy of Ukraine to Poland reported. According to her, the number of the Ukrainian refugees in Poland or those who want to get the international protection decreased in comparison to the previous years and the number announced by the Polish prime minister does not correspond to the reality.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko accepted credentials from the ambassadors of several foreign countries: the Netherlands - Eduard Hoeks, Lebanon - Ali Daher, Sudan - Mohamed Eisa Ismail Dahab, according to the Presidents website.

During the meeting with Ambassador of Netherlands Eduard Hoeks, the parties noted positive trends in trade-economic and investment spheres. They stated that the implementation of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement had already given positive results for the Dutch business as well.

The parties discussed interaction on bringing the perpetrators of the MH17 tragedy to justice. The Dutch Ambassador thanked for an exemplary cooperation in this issue.

They also noted the necessity of maintaining close cooperation in the UN, particularly given the non-permanent membership of Netherlands in the UN Security Council in 2018, with a view to protect Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty from the Russian aggression.

During the conversation with the Ambassador of Lebanon, the Head of State discussed the intensification of political dialogue and the prospects of developing further interaction in the trade-economic sector. The President emphasized the importance of holding the regular session of the Intergovernmental Ukraine-Lebanon Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation, as well as the Ukraine-Lebanon Business Forum in Kyiv in 2018.

In the course of the conversation with the Ambassador of Sudan, the parties noted the willingness to conduct political consultations between the foreign ministries of both countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the trade and economic sphere. Particular attention was paid to strengthening the interaction of the parties in the framework of international organizations.
The police spotted the call between the relatives that claimed that all members of the family were at home

Initially, the family of Yury Rossoshansky, the suspect in the murder of Iryna Nozdrovska gave the false testimony that all members of the family were at home and retired to bed, however, the mobile traffic betrayed them. Vyacheslav Abroskin, the Deputy Head of the National Police claimed this at the briefing broadcasted by 112 Ukraine.

Also, we saw that the suspect was absent at the time where the victim appeared in Demydiv village. He was absent about two hours and then we compare this to the testimony that all members of the family retired to bed. We understood that the initial testimony was wrong, Abroskin claimed.

According to Abroskin, Rossoshansky pleaded guilty soon but did not regret in the murder.

I personally talk to the suspect. He completely pleaded guilty and agreed for the re-enactment at the scene. He initially pleaded guilty when he was detained but during the talk I understood that he will never regret. He told me I do not regret and will never do. I plead guilty, Abroskin claimed.

As we reported Yury Rossoshansky, the suspect in the murder of Iryna Nozdrvoska was arrested for 60 days without a right for the bail on January 9.

As it was reported earlier relatives of Iryna Nozdrovska reported her disappearance on December 29th. She disappeared on the way from Kyiv in Vyshgorodska area. She investigated the death of her sister, who in September 2015 died in a car accident caused by Dmytro Rossoshansky, the nephew of a district judge, who was in a state of drug intoxication at the time of the accident.

Two years after the accident, Iryna was able to obtain punishment for Rossoshansky. At the end of May 2017 the court sentenced him to 7 years in prison, but on December 27th he almost escaped from custody: in the Court of Appeal of the Kyiv region, the lawyer tried to appeal the verdict and bring his client under amnesty, using the violations committed by the court of the first instance. As Irina's relatives said, she constantly received threats from Rossoshansky.

The mass media reported that the crime was committed by Yury Rossoshansky, born in 1954. The man is the father of Dmytro Rossoshansky - a driver who, in September 2015, killed Nozdrovska sister in a car accident - Svitlana Sapatynska. However, the defense of the family of Nozdrovska doubts such hypothesis of the investigation because Dmytro Rossoshansky could be pardoned. It will be illogical for Yury Rossoshansky to commit the murder.
Ukraines Ombudsman did not confirm or deny the information about participation of the Russian side in the recent exchange of hostages

More than 5,000 Ukrainians are held in detention facilities in Russia. This was stated by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska in an exclusive interview with 112.ua.

She stressed that she did not discuss the topic of the recent exchange of hostages, which was held on December 27 in the Donbas, with the Russian ombudsman.

"With Tatyana Moskalkova, Russian Ombudsman we actively cooperate, but its due to the fact that today there are more than 5 thousand of Ukrainians held in custody in the territory of Russian Federation. This is the main issue of our cooperation. Tatyana Moskalkova addresses me regarding those citizens who are in custody on the territory of Ukraine, "she said.

Lutkovska also did not confirm or deny the information about participation of the Russian side in the recent exchange of hostages.

"It's hard for me to say whether the Russian side took part in it. I can say about those present at the Mayorsk checkpoint at the time when we were preparing buses and carrying out the procedure with representatives of the so-called "LNR", and who then came to the representatives of the so-called "DNR." Those people really took an active part in prisoners exchange, "the Ombudsman explained.

As it was reported earlier Zarytska claimed that some of the released Ukrainian hostages in Donbas refused from the rehabilitation due to the unexpected pressure from the public and mass media

All details of the exchange process revealed at the chronicle of the long-awaited event.
According to Vyacheslav Abroskin, the murder of the lawyer was not planned

The Deputy Head of the National Police Vyacheslav Abroskin believes that the murder of a lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska was not a planned murder, but a coincidence. Abroskin said this at a briefing on air of 112 Ukraine TV channel.

"Based on what I know, I'm not an investigator but its my inner conviction, I'm sure that this is not a planned murder, this is a coincidence," Abroskin said.

Abroskin specified that Nozdrovskaya was stabbed more than 10 times with a knife.

"I cannot say the exact number of stabs inflicted, but I can say that its more than 10," Abroskin said.

As it was reported earlier the results of the expert study found out the DNA of Yury Rossoshansky, the suspect, on the body of murdered Iryna Nozdrvoska.

Yury Rossoshansky, the suspect in the murder of Iryna Nozdrvoska was arrested for 60 days without a right for the bail on January 9.

Relatives of Iryna Nozdrovska reported her disappearance on December 29th. She disappeared on the way from Kyiv in Vyshgorodska area. She investigated the death of her sister, who in September 2015 died in a car accident caused by Dmytro Rossoshansky, the nephew of a district judge, who was in a state of drug intoxication at the time of the accident.
with death

(Eds: Updating with fresh inputs)

Islamabad, Jan 10 (PTI) A prominent Pakistani journalist, a vocal critic of Pakistans powerful military, today said he was beaten and threatened with death by nearly a dozen unidentified armed men who tried to abduct him.

Taha Siddiqui, the Pakistani bureau chief of Indian television channel WION, said he was attacked by 10-12 men while he was going to the airport in Rawalpindi but managed to escape before being kidnapped, suffering minor injuries during the struggle, Dawn News reported.

Siddiqui recounted the details of the kidnapping attempt in a series of tweets.

"I was on my way to [the] airport today at 8:20 am when 10-12 armed men stopped my cab [and] forcibly tried to abduct me," Siddiqui, the winner of Frances highest journalism award - The Albert Londres Prize, said in a tweet.

"Saale ko goli maaro (shoot him)," the men, who Taha said were armed with Kalashnikovs and pistols, shouted.

In his post, Siddiqui further said that he had managed to escape the kidnapping attempt and that he was "safe and with the police now".

"Looking for support in any way possible," Siddiqui added, ending his tweet with the hashtag #StopEnforcedDisappearances.

Superintendent of Police Mustafa Tanveer confirmed that Siddiqui, who is the Pakistan bureau chief at World Is One News, approached police soon after the incident.

Tanveer said that Siddiqui was in a private taxi when he was stopped by armed men.

Islamabad Police has began investigating the case.

Siddiqui was "beaten [and] threatened with death", said journalist Asad Hashim in a tweet.

In May last year, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had issued a notice to Siddiqui, known for posting comments on social media against the military, and asked him to appear before its counterterrorism wing.

The Pakistani military has so far denied playing a role in any enforced disappearances, as has the civilian government. Militants have also targeted journalists in the past.

Siddiqui had filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court alleging that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had harassed him over the phone.

In his petition, Siddiqui had alleged that a man named Noman Bodla, who identified himself as a member of the Counter Terrorism Department of the FIA, had called him and attempted to pressure him into appearing for an interrogation at the FIA headquarters.

He had added in his petition that Siddiqui mentioned that he "was reluctant to go to the FIA Headquarters on the basis that there have been several reports in the press where such phone calls are made and once the person who is to be interrogated sets out to the FIA Headquarters, he is either picked up and disappeared or detained illegally."

On May 24, the IHC had asked the FIA to stop harassing the journalist.

Incidents of enforced disappearances have been reported with alarming frequency in Pakistan.

In November, the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, placed Pakistan among the most dangerous countries for journalists.

Pakistan was ranked 139th out of 180 countries. PTI UZM AKJ UZM
According to the document, one of the main roles was played by Investment Capital Ukraine Company

The secret court ruling revealed the way that Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine stole 1.5 billion dollars from Ukraine and the fact that the former financial advisers of Petro Poroshenko, the current President of Ukraine were involved in the fraud as Al Jazeera reported at the 95-page document declared to be a state secret.

According to Al Jazeera, the court order exposed in graphic detail the intricate company network used to steal the money, naming Investment Capital Ukraine (ICU) as brokering bond purchases made by Cypriot companies worth 1.5 billion dollars between 2012 and 2014.

ICU has close links with the current government, having advised billionaire President Poroshenko on the sale of his confectionary company Roshen. During the time of the Yanukovych fraud, the finance firm was led by Ukraine's Central Bank governor, Valeria Gontareva, a close ally of Poroshenko.

A spokesman for the president told Al Jazeera that he strongly supports efforts to fight corruption in Ukraine, while Gontareva added that when the transactions were made, she and ICU saw nothing suspicious. ICU said its role was limited to that of an agent. Campaign groups called for a thorough investigation into the role of ICU.

According to the secret document, ICU brokered the purchase of dollar-denominated bonds on behalf of eight Cypriot companies. They were later traced to Yanukovych, who was overthrown in February 2014. A military court in Kramatorsk city in east Ukraine quietly handed down the secret ruling in March 2017, listing hundreds of companies, some Cypriot, that were effectively a pipeline for syphoning cash out of the country. The whole financial network was described as a criminal enterprise headed by "Party One", Yanukovych, who is self-exiled in Russia.

Also Kurchenko, the businessmen who emerged aged 27 with a net worth of 400million dollars and a huge oil and gas business was mentioned in the document. He was considered Yanukovych's chief financial officer.

Yury Lutsenko, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine revealed 1.5 billion dollars assets earlier and announced that the papers on this issue will not be published as the state secret and this claim triggered the opposition from the anti-corruption groups.

In fact, revealed1.5 billion dollars is considered to be the stolen money by Yanukovych clan. On paper, the money belongs to a shadowy network of Cypriot offshore companies and Ukrainian Prosecutor General had to prove that the money was the proceeds of crime.

This caused the challenge for Ukraine as the prime suspects escaped from the country and the legal system of Ukraine was not design for such cases when the suspects are absent and it was impossible to bring them to the responsibility. It was impossible to hold the trial, determine the guilty persons, punish them and return the stolen money back to the state.

Due to this, the secret trial was based on Arkady Kashkin, the low-profile figure who worked as the director of companies of Kurchenko, the man trusted to run Yanukovych's financial empire. While Yanukovych and Kurchenko escaped to Russia where they are protected by Russian special forces, Kashkin cut a deal with the prosecutors, declaring that he was the unlikely mastermind of a vast network of more than 400 companies that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars.

With a guilty plea, the government moved quickly to seize the funds. Ukraine's economy is suffering as the government funds a war with Russia and props up a state that lost nearly 20 percent of its GDP in 2014. The stolen money was badly needed.

Anti-corruption groups are deeply worried by the process and are demanding full disclosure of all the court papers. They believe the legal process, behind closed doors and without the representation of the Cypriot companies, is flawed, providing grounds for a legal challenge by the company owners. That legal battle is already under way, with the Cypriot shell companies filing cases to challenge the secret judgement. Lawyers believe they have a strong case and may yet secure the return of some or all of the 1.5 billion dollars.

Ukraine's government insists it is fully committed to the fight against corruption. ICU told Al Jazeera that it carefully complies with all legal and regulatory requirements prior to entering into brokerage agreements with any client. Moreover, it claimed that the law enforcement bodies and market regulators found that the ICU did not play essential role at the bond transactions
Ex-President of Georgia was questioned on the case of financing protests at the Verkhovna Rada building

According to Saakashvili's lawyers, he was questioned on the case of organizing a protest at the parliament building.

"Voiceprint was not taken for examination today. Additional interview will be held on January 16, at that time they plan to take voiceprint," the correspondent explained.

Earlier, Saakashvili was in the Prosecutor General's Office, but refused to be questioned, demanding the transfer of his case to the Security Service (SBU). After that, he ignored several interviews in the SBU, coming to the building, but not going inside.

As it was reported earlier in Kyiv under the walls of Verkhovna Rada there is a rally of allies of the former governor of Odesa region and now leader of Movement of New Forces party Mikheil Saakashvili and a number of other opposition politicians. The organizers and participants of the event demand that parliament cancels the parliamentary immunity, amend electoral legislation, making the party lists open, and also create an anti-corruption court.

Around about 3,500 of law enforcers protect order in the center of capital, the traffic movement is partially blocked. According to various estimates, several thousand people take part in the protests under the parliament building.
Enjoy the first large-scale museum exhibition dedicated to tramp art since 1975. More than 150 examples of tramp art, concentrating on works from the United States, with additional international examples.

For Immediate Release: October 24, 2016 (Santa Fe, NM) The Museum of International Folk Art presents No Idle Hands: The Myths & Meanings of Tramp Art, the first large-scale museum exhibition dedicated to tramp art since 1975. The exhibition will present more than 150 examples of tramp art, concentrating on works from the United States, with additional examples from France, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Canada, Mexico and Brazil to demonstrate the far reach this art form has had. Additionally, the show will analyze and dismantle the myths and misperceptions about tramp art, particularly as they relate to assumptions related to class, quality, and the anonymity of the makers.

Tramp art describes a particular type of chip-carved woodwork that was practiced in Europe and the United States between the 1870s and 1940s, making use of discarded cigar boxes or crates that were then notch-carved along the edges and layered. Objects made were primarily boxes and frames, but other household objects such as small private altars, crosses, medicine cabinets, wall pockets, clock cases, plant stands, and even furniture can be found.

"Tramp art's place in art history has been troublesome. It has had detractorspeople who regard it as 'the ugly duckling' of folk artbut also numerous champions," said Laura Addison, Curator of North American & European Folk Art at the Museum of International Folk Art, and the show's curator. "This exhibition will erase any doubts about the quality and craftsmanship of the work and situate tramp art as a practice at the crossroads of cultural transformation at the turn of the 20th century," she said. Addison also pointed out that by juxtaposing historic pieces with those by contemporary artists working in the tramp art style, the exhibition frames this art form as an ongoing tradition that continues to capture the public's imaginationmyths and all.

"The ingenious objects in the Tramp Art exhibition use recycled or repurposed wood, and highlight a moment in time a century ago when artisans, many of them immigrants to the US, created a new variety of folk art," said Khristaan D. Villela, Director of the Museum of International Folk Art. "They are a testament to the ability of untrained artists to produce objects of immense beauty and complexity," he said.

For many years, tramp art was believed to have been made by itinerants and hobos, thus its name. It has been demonstrated, however, that this belief, first put in print by Frances Lichten in a 1959 Pennsylvania Folklife article, is erroneous. Nonetheless, the name "tramp art" has remained the only terminology used for this practice, and the paucity of scholarly studies to dispel the mistaken notions about tramp art have allowed the myths to persist.

Whittling objects such as wood chains and ball-in-cage whimsies was a common pastime, including among railriding "hobos," and some examples of tramp art were likely by the hand of itinerant laborers or artisans. However, this style of carving was more commonly the practice of family men and blue-collar factory workers making functional domestic objects or gifts for the women in their lives. Efforts have been made in recent years to identify makers by name and unearth their biographies; these personal narratives illustrate a very different story of the makers of tramp art. As these makers and their stories come to light, it has become obvious that home and family are central to an understanding of the practice of tramp art.

No Idle Hands will present tramp art objects according to four primary areas: Introduction/historical context, home & nation, frames & boxes and devotional objects. Works in the exhibition will come from the Museum of International Folk Art permanent collection as well as loans from a number of private and museum collections across the country. An exhibition publication will accompany the exhibition, with essays by Laura Addison, Curator of North American & European Folk Art, Museum of International Folk Art; Leslie Umberger, a curator in the area of folk art and self-taught art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum; and Eric Zafran, a retired curator of European art, most recently at the Wadsworth Atheneum.

The Museum of International Folk Art Museum Shop is located in the museum at 706 Camino Lejo (Museum Hill just off Old Santa Fe Trail). 505-982-5186.

MUSEUM OF INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART

The Museum of International Folk Art is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Museum of International Folk Art's mission is "to enrich the human spirit by connecting people with the arts, traditions and cultures of the world." Founded in 1953 by Florence Dibell Bartlett, the museum holds the world's largest international folk art collection of more than 150,000 objects from six continents and over 150 nations.

The museum's collections represent a broad range of global artists whose artistic expressions make Santa Fe an international crossroads of culture. For many visitors, fascination with folk art begins upon seeing the whimsical toys and traditional objects within the Girard Collection. For others, the international textiles, ceramics, carvings and other cultural treasures in the Neutrogena Collection provide the allure. The museum's historic and contemporary Latino and Hispano folk art collections, spanning the Spanish Colonial period to modern-day New Mexico, reflect how artists respond to their time and place in ways both delightful and sobering. In 2010, the museum opened the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience, where exhibitions encourage visitors to exchange ideas on complex issues of human rights and social justice.

Over 90,000 national and international visitors visit the Museum International Folk Art every year. Through folk art, the museum encourages all to find a common ground upon which to craft better lives for all.

Museum exhibitions and programs are supported by donors to the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and its Director's Leadership Fund, Exhibitions Development Fund, and Fund for Museum Education, as well as by the International Folk Art Foundation, also established by museum founder Florence Dibell Bartlett.
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
TIRANA, JANUARY 8, ARMENPRESS/ATA. Albanian PM, Edi Rama, has acquired a reputation among the Albanian and foreign public alike for his particular approaches as part of his duty at the helm of the government.

This distinctive trait drew attention when Edi Rama took office as Tirana mayor. The Albanian public was amazed by his style, which looked weird in their eyes at that time.

Reconstruction of Tiranas apartment blocks and his style would be soon identified with a blaze of color, which won widespread public opinion.

Edi Rama caught the eye of foreign public opinion when he was elected PM of Albania. Wearing sneakers in formal meetings was not only something of a novelty to the style of a PM.

The foreign commentators think that he intended to send out the message that Albania has not time to lose. It has to run down its path to EU integration. This year, Edi Rama, would surprise Albanians once again. In one of the most popular broadcasts, Rama was dressed up as Santa Claus to grant Leos wish. The small boy at the age of 9, who was born a paraplegic, had sent a letter to Santa Claus asking for a physical therapist and a car to take him to school every day. On this broadcast, PM Rama dressed up as Santa Claus listened to the stories of both Leo and Eriglisa, a 26 year youngster from Egyptian community whose wish was to hand out gifts to the children of this community on New Years Eve. The Santa Claus PM committed himself to helping Leo, providing him not only with the daily transport to school but also with a physical therapist to promote his ability to move. Not only did Rama fulfilled the wish of Eriglisa Lami to hand out gifts to the children of Roma and Egyptian community, he surprised her with another decision, her appointment as advisor to Minister of Health and Social Protection about the issues of this community. Albania today is like the home of a family grappling with multiple problems, but it is up to this famil y to make its choice whether it will give in or fight together in order to pave the way and build a safer future for the next generation, said Rama who fulfilled the dreams and wishes of Leo and Eriglisa. The foreign commentators think that he intended to send out the message that Albania has not time to lose. It has to run down its path to EU integration.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Numerous cultural events are being held in the French cities that have signed friendship agreements with different cities of the Republic of Artsakh. The events are being held within the frames of the Artsakh Days in France.

Artak Beglaryan  adviser to the Minister of State of Artsakh, who is in Marseille at the moment, told Armenpress that a very rich program is being implemented.

The presentation and discussion of French-Armenian lawyer Jirair Gergerians book titled Nagorno Karabakh: Between secession and self-determination was held. I also attended it, presented the history of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict, the current situation, the features of Artsakhs state institutions and economic achievements, Artak Beglaryan said.

In line with the presentation of the book, a photo exhibition of French photographer was organized dedicated to Artsakh. The event was attended by the mayor, regional senator, Artsakhs representative in France, guests, as well as the representatives of the Armenian community.

The events launched in the city of Les Pennes-Mirabeau on January 6 during which a reception was organized with the participation of the local self-government authorities, former French MPs and various figures. The Armenian cultural group from Paris performed Armenian songs and dance. Artak Beglaryan said he plans to meet with the Armenian community representatives and the local self-government authorities to discuss a number of cooperation projects.

Artsakh days in France launched in November during Artsakh Presidents delegations visit to France.




YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The US House of Representatives adopted a resolution expressing support for the anti-governmental protests in Iran, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

The resolution says the House stands with the people of Iran that are engaged in legitimate protests against an oppressive, corrupt regime, as well as condimens the government's serious human rights abuses against the Iranian people.

The resolution calls on President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on the Iranian authorities for the human rights violations.

In standing with the Iranian people, we must explain that they are not the target of our sanctions, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said. "US sanctions target the oppressive, destabilizing regime, not the people of Iran, he added.

Meanwhile the European allies of the US oppose the US interference in Irans affairs. Earlier German foreign minister said Berlin should not follow US President Donald Trump who urges the world community to support change of power in Iran.
Pakistan has suspended its military and intelligence cooperation with the United States according to Pakistan media reports.

The move comes a few days after President Donald Trump's allegation that the country has given US "nothing but lies and deceit" and suspended security aid to Pakistan.

The report said that the announcement was made by Pakistan Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan during an address at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more! - Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018

At a seminar titled 'Contours of Security Environment of Pakistan', he reportedly said that despite the US spending billions of dollars, it was facing defeat in Afghanistan and was using Pakistan as a scapegoat for its failures.

'UNITED STATES PLAYING THE BLAME GAME'

"Pakistan does not want to put a price on its sacrifices but wants them to be recognised," Dawn quoted the defence minister as saying.He added Pakistan won't let Afghanistan's war be fought on Pakistani territory.

He said that US was busy playing the blame game against Pakistan rather than helping them secure the Pak-Afghan border. The news publication claimed the US Embassy in Islamabad said it had not been informed about the suspension.

"Until the Pak Govt takes decisive action against groups including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, we consider them to be destabilizing the region and also targeting U.S. personnel, US will suspend that kind of security assistance to Pakistan" says Heather Nauert pic.twitter.com/3wMKmXMAwL - ANI (@ANI) January 5, 2018

"We have not received any formal communication regarding a suspension," Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said, according to VOA news.

When asked at the seminar, Khan said Pakistan did the right thing by blocking Nato supplies to Afghanistan following the 2011 attack at Salala check post.

Khan said that China, Russia and Iran were equally important as the US to Pakistan and reaffirmed Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif's statement signalling that the alliance between Pakistan and the US was over.

"This is not how allies behave," Asif had said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. He maintained that Washington was using Islamabad as a "whipping boy" for its failures in Afghanistan.

Watch: US suspends all military assistance to Pakistan
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The controversies between current and former presidents of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdullah Gul remain one of the key topics of the countrys political agenda, reports Armenpress.

Abdulkadir Selvi, columnist at the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, referred to this topic, stating that Erdogan declared a war against Gul.

During his January 9 speech at the Justice and Development party faction it was expected that Erdogan would touch upon the issue of cooperating with leader of nationalists Devlet Bahceli, but, surprisingly, he started talking about Gul. He said the following: Anyone who was in our party in the past, and now is elsewhere, has no right to say anything about our party.

Abdulkadir Selvi reminded the statement made from Guls Office according to which Gul will continue to share his opinions over the ongoing developments in the country. Lets see whether Gul will remain silent, or will comment on these criticisms, the columnist writes.

Trying to understand the reasons of Erdogans such behavior, the columnist reminded that Abdullah Gul opposed Erdogan and voted no during the April 16 constitutional referendum. In addition, Gul posted on Twitter regarding the decree signed by Erdogan which supposes to set immunity against all civilians who exerted pressure or harassed the participants of the July 15 military coup attempt. Gul called this step as strictly concerning.

Of course, all this played their role, but now the talk is about a far-reaching strategy. Erdogan has set a clear line between Abdullah Gul and the Justice and Development Party ahead of the 2019 presidential elections. The goal of this is to eliminate the sympathy towards Gul existing in the party. What happens in future will be clear after Guls position, the columnist said.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on January 10 signed a number of laws adopted by the Parliament, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The laws concern making changes and amendments in the law on Budget system of Armenia, changes in the law on State Debt, changes and amendments in the law on Approval of the Code of Internal Service of the Armenian Armed Forces, changes in the law on Military-industrial complex, changes and amendments in the laws on Military Police and Alternative Service.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. The traffic department of Georgias ministry of infrastructures told Armenias ministry of transport, communication and information technologies that on January 10, as of 10:30, the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is closed for all types of vehicles due to danger of avalanche, the ministry told Armenpress.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has not been absent from the country during holidays, spokesman Vladimir Hakobyan told ARMENPRESS.

President Serzh Sargsyan was in Armenia during the holidays. The media reports saying that the President was in Moscow and Europe is false, Hakobyan said.

Commenting on the absence of the President at the Christmas Mass and reports that he was hospitalized, the spokesman once again said these reports were false.

The President had a mild cold, he was at home during this time, Hakobyan said, adding that they have previously also issued a statement.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Armenian minister of culture Armen Amiryan on October 10 met with heads of a number of Armenian dance groups in Los Angeles, discussed the possibility of implementing joint projects in the field, the ministry told Armenpress.

The meeting participants expressed their readiness to cooperate and said they will bring their contribution to spreading the Armenian dance.

Based on the agreements reached, Dance Festival will be held in Armenia this year in July. Each of the LA dance groups will assume the sponsorship for a dance group operating in any province or village of Armenia (financial aid, costumes, joint participation in the Armenian festival and etc).

The Armenian culture ministry will always assist the performances of dance groups in Armenia.

Among the 2018 priorities of the ministry is the development of the art of dance in Armenia and the promotion of the Armenian dance across the world.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Lawmaker of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party Leyla Zana will be deprived of the parliamentary mandate for not attending the sessions of the parliament, Demokrathaber.net reports.

During the swearing-in ceremony on November 17, 2015, she started the text in Kurdish with Live long peace and replaced the Turkish nation concept with Turkeys nation. As a result, she was prohibited from taking part in the parliaments sessions for voluntarily making a change in the text.

On July 20, 2017, the parliaments leadership submitted the issue of depriving Zana of parliamentary mandate to the committee. At present the report on depriving her of the parliamentary mandate has been submitted for discussion at the parliaments plenary session.

If the report is adopted as a result of the voting to be held within 24 hours, Leyla Zana will be deprived of her parliamentary mandate.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Gagik Harutyunyan, director of the Noravank scientific-educational foundation, says he believes that President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and defense minister Vigen Sargsyan must continue their tenure in the top leadership of the country after April 2018.

I believe changes arent appropriate. Serzh Sargsyan with his political skills, Karen Karapetyan with his economic skills, as well as Vigen Sargsyan must be after April of 2018, he told a press conference.

Speaking on results in the economic sector, Harutyunyan mentioned that there is a significant progress in the area, but at the same time he note that despite the export growth the scientific direction is almost absent in the overall product range.

This is a consequence that Armenia is significantly yielding its neighbors in the scientific-technological development issue. And even more so in the case when our society is greatly interested in research, Harutyunyan said, nevertheless highlighting the creation of solar stations and the Big Data Center.

Harutyunyan also mentioned the agreement with the EU in terms of Armenias progress in the international arena.

He also commented on the NK conflict settlement process, stressing that he doesnt forecast progress yet, but also doesnt see probability of large scale military actions.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Armenia's ministry of transport, communication and information technologies informs that on January 10, as of 14:30, the Vardenyats Pass is partly covered with clear ice. Clearing operations are underway.

The ministry told Armenpress that all roads are open in Armenia.

The traffic department of Georgias ministry of infrastructures informs that on January 10, as of 15:00, the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open only for light passenger vehicles. The highway currently is closed for heavy trucks.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Changes in customs duties for import of vehicles from third countries to Armenia is not envisaged this year, Tigran Minasyan  chief customs inspector at the SRC tariff regulation and control department, told reporters, reports Armenpress.

No tariff change for import of vehicles from the third countries will be made this year, therefore, there will be no increase in prices, the SRC official said.

He added that due to the membership to the EAEU an increase in customs duties for cars is set from 2020. By 2020 our former tariffs will remain in force which existed before we joined the EAEU, all tariff changes of charged customs fees will be made starting from 2020, he said.

Starting from January 8, 2018 the State Revenue Committee releases information at petekamutner.am about the customs costs for import of cars from third countries.
YEREVAN, 10 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 10 January, USD exchange rate down by 0.16 drams to 484.75 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.24 drams to 578.65 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 8.51 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.06 drams to 654.02 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 146.28 drams to 20432.03 drams. Silver price down by 1.88 drams to 265.8 drams. Platinum price down by 4.99 drams to 15133.11 drams.
military aid freeze

(Eds: Updating with more inputs)

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jan 10 (PTI) The US today hoped that Pakistan would demonstrate its willingness to aggressively confront terror groups that operate from its soil, amid reports that Islamabad has suspended intelligence cooperation with America after the Trump administration froze military aid to it.

Pakistans decision to suspend military and intelligence cooperation with America came after President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to it, Pakistani media quoted Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan as saying.

Pakistan has suspended military and intelligence cooperation with the United States in the wake of US President Donald Trumps allegations against the country, Khan said while addressing a gathering at Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad yesterday.

Speaking during a seminar titled Contours of Security Environment of Pakistan, Khan said the US was using Pakistan as a "scapegoat" for its failures in war-torn Afghanistan.

"Pakistan does not want to put a price on its sacrifices but wants them to be recognised," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

The US Embassy in Islamabad said it had not been informed about the suspension of military cooperation by Pakistan.

"We have not received any formal communication regarding a suspension," Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire was quoted as saying by the paper.

In Washington, when asked to comment on Pakistans reported move, US Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein said: "Were hopeful for future cooperation from Pakistan."

"We stand ready to work with Pakistan in combating all terrorists without distinction, and we hope to be able to renew and deepen our bilateral security relationship when Pakistan demonstrates its willingness to aggressively confront the Taliban network, the Haqqani Network, and other terrorist and militant groups that operate from its territory," he said.

The US has been clear on this issue to Pakistan, Goldstein said.

"We would like Pakistan to come to the table and assist us in this effort," he said adding that the suspension of security aid is not a cutoff and no funds have been reprogrammed.

The US announced on Thursday that it would not deliver military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan.

On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said the US had conveyed to Pakistan to take "concrete steps" against terror groups to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.

Referring to his conversation with the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Goldstein hoped that Pakistan will join the US in its effort with regard to fight against terrorism.

"The Pakistani people have suffered greatly from terrorism, and its security forces have been effective in combating the groups that target Pakistans interest. So, it?s to their benefit to join with us in helping resolve this matter," Goldstein said.

"We always look at that; but again, its a suspension and not a cutoff. We havent reprogrammed the funds. We?re hopeful that Pakistan will come back to the table and do what they told us that they would do," he said.

The US and others have long complained that Pakistan offered safe haven to the Afghan Taliban and their allies, the Haqqani Network, allowing them to carry out cross-border attacks in Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies allegations but President Trump has escalated the criticism against the country since he took office last January. PTI LKJ NSA AKJ AKJ
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador of Lebanon to Armenia Maya Dagher delivered her credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan on January 10.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office, congratulating the Ambassador on the assumption of the post the President expressed conviction that she will make all the efforts to develop and strengthen the relations between the two countries. President Sargsyan noted with satisfaction that the relations between Armenia and Lebanon based on the centuries-old friendship of the two peoples deepen and strengthen year by year.

To the conviction of the President, during the 25 years of the diplomatic relations the two countries managed to build relations with high level political dialogue, mutual trust, as well as close cooperation in all the spheres of mutual interest.

Serzh Sargsyan thanked the authorities and people of the friendly country of Lebanon for the warm attitude towards the Lebanese-Armenians for decades, which gave them an opportunity to not only to preserve their identity, but also to develop and actively participate in the social-economic life of the country.

Ambassador Maya Dagher thanked the President of the Republic for the reception and congratulations, sharing the Presidents opinion that though bilateral interstate relations have a history of 25 years, they have firm grounds in the face of the friendship between the two peoples.

Ambassador Dagher praised the Armenian community in Lebanon that has an active role in the countrys development.

The interlocutors recorded with satisfaction that Armenia and Lebanon also actively cooperate in the sidelines of international organizations. The President of Armenia and the Lebanese Ambassador mutually highlighted the rising interest in the Lebanese businessmen towards the Armenian economy, stressing the importance of encouraging investments and intensifying interactions between businessmen.

During the meeting the sides also referred to key international problems and challenges.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has instructed responsible agencies to regularly inform the public about the processes in the consumer markets, Serzh Sargsyan told during the consultation convened on January 10 to discuss price rise of separate products and measures to mitigate its consequences.

We are obliged to relentlessly inform the public without taking into account many circumstances. And its not enough that one of the deputy ministers once has told the reason of price rise of this or that product. All of us sitting here are obliged to consistently inform the public about those processes. I am convinced people will assess whether what we say are objective or subjective, ARMENPRESS reports Serzh Sargsyan saying.

The President of Armenia emphasized that parallel to presenting the reasons, forecasts should be made and be responsible for them.

Those responsible for price rise in Armenia must always make forecasts and ensure everyone that the state budget indicators will be fulfilled, that yes, the price of one product has increased, but the price for one service has decreased. When we do not do this, others fill this gap. And many people try to strain the situation in some cases due to lack of professional knowledge, others due to lack of information and some others as a result of other circumstances. I reiterate, any citizen of Armenia, including all of us sitting here, have the right to possess accurate information about the reasons of price rise, President Sargsyan said.

According to the President, if really price rise of some goods have objective causes, we should think of how to alleviate the situation.

I do not want to offer any receipts now, but want to bring an example. For years we have subsidized the price of diesel fuel for rural economies. I think this is a very normal tool, and we should continue doing that, but this is not an obligation. I say this in order each of us thinks how to alleviate the consequences, President Sargsyan said.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 10, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh is a real democracy with no analogues in the region, ARMENPRESS reports Mayor of French Les Pennes-Mirabeau city Monique Slissa said.

For just this reason that country deserves our support, Les Pennes-Mirabeau Mayor told La Provence. Monique Slissa noted that one of his first decisions following assuming the position of the Mayor in 2001 was renaming one of the city squares after the memory of the 1915, April 24 genocide.

Armenian issues are close to my heart and for that reason Artsakhs issue is also important for us. We decided to establish contacts with Artsakh and Les Pennes-Mirabeau became the first French city that signed a cooperation document with one of Artsakhs regions, Martuni, Slissa emphasized.
LOS ANGELESSally D'Angelo created the entire City Girlz production company on her ow and now she is pairing up her entire portfolio with ModelCentro.

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LOS ANGELESThe Girls of Studio 20 are on their way to Los Angeles.

Several of the top cam models on the Studio 20 platform who hail from Romania will be taking their talents to Hollywood, just steps away from the infamous Hollywood Blvd., starting on January 14.



Among them are Sasha Red, who is YNOTs Best Cam Model of 2016 and a true Studio 20 veteran. With almost five years with the company she is engrained into the infrastructure of Studio 20; Ava Mystique, who describes herself via Twitter as a good girl with bad habits and is affectionately referred to as Pisique," is excited about the trip. With a special story that is all her own, starting out in the industry as a Studio 20 trainer, Mystique found herself always looking up to the top earning models and their opportunities. She has come a long way and like the other models accompanying her is very deserving of this trip.



Madelene Ray, who is currently nominated for AVNs Favorite Cam Girl for 2018 along with her Studio 20 alum Sasha Red, loves "the little things in life and is very down to earth.

I cant wait to go on the Walk of Fame and take pictures with Marilyn Monroe, Im such a big fan of hers," Ray says.



Studio 20's own child of the universe, Reene Fox, will also make the trip; and last but most certainly not least, Studio 20 LA is thrilled to welcome Scarlett Zaine.

The Studio 20 LA team is making sure everything is in order for these ladies as they will be live streaming from the Los Angeles location during the duration of their stay.



We have everything scheduled for them, even a really nice #girlsfromstudio20 van that the girls will use while on tour through LA and Las Vegas," says PR Executive Andra Chirnogeanu, who has been taking care of Studio 20 Los Angeles for five months. "The #girlsfromstudio20 LA are thrilled to meet the girls from Romania! They cannot wait to take them to all of their favorite local hot spots, and show them around this incredible city they call home!"
Tesco has recalled its Finest Chocolate Cakes after a manufacturing error, which saw Tesco Finest Carrot Cake packed into the boxes instead.

The cakes, which are manufactured by Finsbury Food Group, are being recalled as a precautionary measure as the carrot cake contains walnuts, which means it poses a possible health risk to anyone with a nut allergy.

The error was discovered yesterday (9 January) and affects a small number of boxes that have the batch code D32/18003 with a best before date of 17 January 2018.

Finsbury Food Group took rapid action to notify Tesco of an isolated packing error which occurred in relation to a small number of cakes in a particular range, a Finsbury spokesperson told British Baker. The group has taken steps to prevent this from occurring again in the future.

Customers can return their products to a Tesco store to receive a full refund. No other Tesco Finest products are known to be affected.
Now that it is fully apparent, to all who have the ability to pay some modicum of attention, that Imposter President Biden has extreme cognitive issues, in addition to being an inveterate liar: Can OUR Republic continue with this Executive Office that has completely failed, so many times, on far too many issues here at this early date in this abysmal presidency?

No, Joseph R. Biden is completely unqualified, morally and cognitively, to represent real Americans, and lead this Republic of disparate peoples.

Yes, Joseph R. Biden has started whispering again, even softer now than before; so, I know he still cares, plus, OUR media will soon stop reporting on Afghanistan in favor of OUR Socialist issues.
Democratic attorney general and Republican legislative leader unite to push protections of online consumer data



Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln, at podium, and Attorney General Josh Stein announced new data security measures at a Jan. 8 press conference. (CJ photo by Dan Way)

Redefining data breach to include new attack methods.

Requiring businesses to maintain reasonable security procedures and practices for consumer data.

Allowing consumers to put a free credit freeze on their credit report at any time to prohibit a thief from using stolen information.

Providing access to three free credit reports from each consumer reporting agency after a breach.

Requiring consumer reporting agencies to provide five years of free credit monitoring to victims of a breach.

State Attorney General Josh Stein, already a leader of the national investigation involving the Equifax security breach, on Monday announced a probe of a widescale Uber data breach.Stein, a Democrat, made the announcement at a joint press conference with state Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln. Saine said he plans to introduce a bill in the special session that starts Wednesday to toughen state laws targeting identity theft.Stein also released the North Carolina Security Breach Report 2017, the first from the state Department of Justice. It found 1,022 breaches last year - a 15 percent increase from 2016 - affecting 5.3 million North Carolinians. That represents two out of three adults.Since 2005 more than 14.2 million North Carolina residents have been victimized in 4,945 security breaches. Hacking accounts for 50 percent of all unauthorized data access, and increased 3,500 percent since 2006.Stein told Carolina Journal after the press conference North Carolina has sound identity theft laws, but must enforce them. Saine's billStein would not specify how much it might cost to enforce provisions in the bill.Stein said.During the press conference he said a security breach at Uber, the app-based transportation company, exposed personal information of 57 million drivers and riders.Stein sent a demand letter to Uber for information about the cyber crime, saying he would take legal action if necessary.Stein is on the executive committee of 48 state attorneys general investigating the Equifax breach that occurred last year from May to July. That case accounted for many of the more than 5 million North Carolinians victimized last year by data breaches. The Equifax breach affected 143 million Americans.against the company, Stein said. He has sent letters to Equifax demanding more information on how the unauthorized intrusion occurred, and what the company is doing to protect affected consumers.He sent letters to Experian and TransUnion, the other two major credit reporting bureaus, seeking information on their security processes, and how they plan to protect consumers' private information.North Carolina law requires all entities experiencing a breach to notify affected consumers and DOJ. But the language is ambiguous, stating notification must be madeSaine's bill requires notification within 15 days of a breach.Equifax waited 40 days after learning of its breach to notify consumers. Uber waited more than a year.CJ earlier questioned the "reasonable time" language in reporting on a state Department of Health and Human Services data breach, and asked whether state agencies were notifying victims promptly. There were 250 data breaches among state agencies last year, a record.Stein said.Saine said his legislation still was being drafted at press time. But he said its provisions include:Under the legislation, any company experiencing a data breach that did not maintain reasonable security procedures would violate the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Each victim would represent a separate violation.Doug Dickerson, state director of AARP North Carolina, said Saine's bill is long overdue. Cyber thieves are increasingly targeting senior citizens because they tend to have more money in more accounts than young people, and aren't as savvy about protecting their data.
Commission Announces Statewide MLK Grant Recipients for Nonviolence Education

Contact: Gena Renfrow

Gena Renfrow 919-807-2404

RALEIGH On Friday, January 12, 2018, the State of North Carolina will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with its annual Let Freedom Ring bell ringing and State Employees' Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance Program in Raleigh, NC. Governor Roy Cooper and MLK Commission Chair Rev. James White will provide remarks on Dr. King's teachings about nonviolence as written in his 1963 Strength to Love collection of sermons.The bell ringing will occur at 11:55 a.m. during the lighting of the Unity candle immediately before the annual Observance Program which begins at 12:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 99 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh.At the request of Dr. King's widow, Coretta Scott King, since 1986 the nation has commemorated the birthday and philosophy of Dr. King with a bell ringing ceremony. The ringing of the bell signifies personal conviction and community involvement and provides an opportunity for reflection.Also during the State Employees' MLK Observance Program, the winner of the John R. Larkins Award will be announced. Each year, North Carolina honors a state employee with the Larkins Award in recognition of his or her commitment to justice and equality.Gov. Cooper this week proclaimed January 15 as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in North Carolina and designated it as a Day of Service in honor and remembrance of Dr. King.Communities across the state are encouraged to host a commemorative bell ringing on the MLK Jr. Day of Service to reflect on Dr. King's philosophy of harmonious living and to remember his commitment to justice and his vision to create stronger, more unified communities. North Carolinians are encouraged to attend ceremonies and participate in public service opportunities in honor of Dr. King.To promote Dr. King's work, the MLK Commission announced today the winners of its 2018 grants to promote leadership and nonviolence education for young adults. Out of 24 applicants, six non-profit organizations were selected to receive a total of $5,000 from the Commission. The winners of the 2018 MLK grant awards are:The proposed program, MLK-JR (Making Life Kind-Just and Righteous), is designed to engage youth in a series of events from January through October 2018 to bring awareness of Dr. King's teachings. Awarded $1,000. Contact: Leon Gatewood, 704-694-3552 or 704-694-9147, www.HOLLA.ws The proposed program seeks to build a culturally responsive community that promotes and sustains the value of nonviolence. The program will incorporate digital skills to author messages including songs, video and social media for youth presentation to their peers. Awarded $667. Contact Darnell Edwards, 980-312-9569, www.joshuaeducation.org The program will engage girls ages 11 to 15 in character development and strategies to challenge peer pressure and bullying. The after-school and weekend workshops are hosted in a fall and spring series. Awarded $500. Contact Joy Nelson Thomas, 336-517-6044, www.leadgirls.org In partnership with the Boys and Girls clubs of the Coastal Plain, this multi-week program aims to engage youth in awareness of Dr. King's teachings. Each young person who participates will develop and present a personal project on Dr. King and nonviolence at a community celebration. Awarded $933. Contact Sandra Spencer, 252-758-0268, www.mceconline.org Creation of A Dream Revitalized to engage youth in identifying discrimination and its effects, identifying historic and modern-day community activism techniques and determining resources needed to participate in positive social change as a young person. A Dream Revitalized will be held in February 2018 in Orange County. Awarded $1,000. Contact Atrayus Goode at 800-956-3820, www.movementofyouth.org plans a January 2018 quiz bowl competition, a February 2018 oratory competition and a March 2018 poster competition to engage students in awareness of Dr. King's legacy of nonviolence. The events will be held in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Moore County, the Omicron Omega Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority ASCEND program, SCC Phi Theta Kappa, SCC Male Mentoring team and the SCC Ambassadors: Awarded $900. Contact Alfreda Stroman, 910-695-3872, www.sandhills.edu Created in 1993, the NC Martin Luther King Jr. Commission endeavors to promote among the people of North Carolina an awareness and appreciation of the life and legacy of Dr. King. In this 50th year since Dr. King's passing, the Commission urges each citizen to ignite within themselves the passion for fairness and justice for our communities. The Commission is part of the NC Department of Administration.
Contact: Daniel Keylin

Daniel Keylin daniel_keylin@tillis.senate.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. Yesterday, bipartisan legislation co-introduced by U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) that streamlines and eases the burden on the process whereby active-duty military, reservists and veterans apply for their commercial driver's license was signed into law.said Senator Tillis.said Senator Cornyn.The latest surface transportation reauthorization bill, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, directed the Secretary of Transportation to establish a unique, streamlined set of standards for veterans applying for a CDL. The standards exempt veterans from all or a portion of civilian commercial vehicle driving tests if that veteran had experience driving similar vehicles while in the armed forces or reserves. Additionally, the standards allow veterans' formal military training to count as credit towards the commercial motor vehicles minimum requirements to obtain a license.However, the FAST Act did not include active-duty members of the military and reservists in their application of standards for veterans with previous training in military driving. To correct this, the Department of Transportation (USDOT) granted a two-year exemption allowing states to waive the commercial driver's licenses knowledge test for current service members, reservists, and national guardsmen if they completed military heavy-training programs and had been regularly employed in a military position requiring the operation of heavy vehicles within the past year prior to their application.The Jobs for our Heroes Act of 2017 makes the USDOT's two-year exemption permanent, providing active-duty service members and reservists the same training and testing standards granted to veterans under the FAST Act.The Senators' legislation also makes it easier for veterans to receive the DOT-required health examination to hold a commercial driver's license. The FAST Act contained a provision requiring USDOT and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to collaborate and develop a streamlined and efficient process whereby VA physicians can join the National Registry for Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME). USDOT requires that all CDL holders be examined by physicians certified by the NRCME. Currently, there is an extremely low number of physicians in the VA health system certified by the NRCME, forcing veterans to either travel exorbitant distances to see a CME or pay out of pocket for a non-VA medical professional. The Jobs for our Heroes Act of 2017 Act allows all qualified VA medical professionals, including advanced practice nurses and physician assistants, to use the same new process afforded to VA physicians.
A mentally challenged girl who had gone missing a few days ago after she got separated from her family members was reunited with help of just two words that the girl had to say.

Police with the help of just two words, "satsang" and "Bhayander" tracked down her family and reunited her with them.

The police managed to reunite the 18-year-old girl by joining the words and visiting Bhayander area in Mumbai and then connecting the dots using details at hand.

Police team pulled out all details regarding satsangs that had happened or were happening in Bhayander, and spoke to the organisers and people who had attended past satsangs.

WHAT HAPPENED

On January 1, at around 5.30 pm, the Mumbai Police Control room had received a call that an unidentified woman who seemed to be unwell was lying on a footpath near BPT Colony in Wadala.

The control room informed the nearby police station in Wadala and a police mobile van with police sub inspector Sandeep Pawar visited the spot and learnt that the unknown person was a woman who could rarely speak and seemed to be mentally challenged.

The girl was initially admitted to the KEM hospital in Parel but was later shifted to the JJ hospital where a lady constable was deployed for round the clock watch on her. The lady constables who worked in shifts tried speaking to the girl but she would only say two words which were 'satsang' and 'Bhayander'.

"Following the lead, we started working on what we had in our hands, I contacted the Bhayander Police Station and checked with them if any girl's missing case was registered or if they had any information but they denied," said PSI Sandeep Pawar.

Pawar then also checked with the police station if there were any satsangs conducted recently in the area and he was told that there had been two to three such events which took place in the past week.

While visiting one such venue, Pawar showed the picture of the girl to the Dera Sacha Sauda Satsang organisers on January 7, the organisers informed Pawae that a family attending the satsang had lost their daughter who seemed to be of similar age.

The satsang organisers helped Pawar with contact details of the family whose daughter had gone missing.

"I contacted the Surat-based family and shared the picture of the girl. They immediately identified her as their daughter Falguni Patel, daughter of Dalsukh Patel from Surat who had somehow strayed while the family arrived at Vasai railway station to attend the satsang. The family arrived in Mumbai and the girl has been reunited with them," Pawar said.
The following is an interview with Vice President Mike Pence by Dana Loesch.And, Vice President Pence, thank you so much for joining us and welcome.Well, thank you, Dana. Thanks for having me on. I'm a fan, and you've got an awful lot of fans back in my home state of Indiana, I can tell you.Well, I'm a huge fan of Indiana, I tell you what, and I'm a huge fan also of just a lot of the stuff that has been going on the first year of this administration. We've gotten a lot of stuff. I mean the administration has gotten a lot of stuff done. We have a historic tax reform, a repeal of the individual mandate. We're also seeing regulations just sliced and diced. That's a lot that has happened. What are you hoping to accomplish as we move into this new year?Well, that's what the President gathered leaders of Congress at Camp David this weekend to discuss, Dana. Because for all the progress that we've made - some nearly 2 million new jobs, an economy that's already growing by more than 3 percent, after spending the last eight years growing at less than 2 percent - this President looks at 2017 for all we accomplished as a good start.But you're absolutely right to say it was an extraordinary year. I think from the conservative perspective, we accomplished more thanks to President Trump's leadership than has been accomplished in more than a generation. This President has rolled back more federal red tape than any President in American history, the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States, more court of appeals judges appointed in a single year than any time since the circuit courts were created. We've begun to rebuild our military after years of reckless cutbacks. And as you said, at the end of the year, we saw President Trump and supporters in the Congress move forward historic tax cuts, repeal the Obamacare mandate, and opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Region to exploration after more than 40 years of trying. It was a year that was a testament to strong leadership from the President of the United States, and I'm looking forward to 2018 after the discussions we had this weekend. The best is yet to come. We believe that America is roaring back because of the policies and the leadership of President Trump and our great supporters in the Congress.That's encouraging to hear. And in hearing all of this, I'm somewhat bewildered when I look at some of the headlines and hear about this - discussions of a "blue wave," which, of course, just could be super hopeful, progressive-leaning journalists that are hoping for a "blue wave" coming up in 2018 and 2020. Because these were all of the things that were promised during the campaign and now they're coming to fruition, are you concerned about midterms at all?Well, I think historically, Dana, you have to acknowledge that the first midterm election for the party in power in the White House is always challenging.But look, we've got a tremendous story to tell. You look all across this country. Look at the jobs numbers that were just released last week - manufacturing is roaring back. I always used to say when I was governor of the state of Indiana that in the heartland, we do two things well: We make things and we grow things.Today, the President will be at - he'll be at the Farm Bureau Convention in Nashville. He'll be talking about rural America roaring back. Manufacturing is coming back. And it's all because this is a President who brought a practical business experience to the Oval Office, and he's been putting into practice the kind of policies that have freed up an American economy that's been stifled under the weight of excessive taxes, excessive regulations, a heavy hand of government. And whether it be policies in all of our agencies, or whether it be a rollback of federal red tape, working with the Congress, or the tax cuts, this is a President who is getting Washington out of the way.And I really do believe that we're going to continue to see this economy roar, and we're going to have a great, great story to tell the American people in 2018 and 2020.I've always told people that you cannot lie to them about what's in their bank accounts and what's written on their checks. (Laughter.) And people are going to be seeing that very shortly.We were told, Vice President, that the passage of Net Neutrality, or that the repeal of these regulations, or the passage of tax reform, there were actual journalists who were suggesting that this was going to result in the death of thousands of Americans; we haven't yet seen that happen. What do you make of legacy media? It seems that the hysteria is at an all-time high. Do you think that the legacy press is off the rails?Well, I think the reality is that great, strong voices, like yours, all across America - conservative commentators on the airwaves of radio and television have, while outnumbered, served to create a tremendous counterweight. I mean it is amazing to me - sometimes I turn on the television in the morning with a stick because I just never know quite what's going to be there. (Laughter.)And I actually said to a friend the other day - I said, you look at a growing economy; you look at American credibility restored on the world stage; you look at our allies in Europe stepping up and investing in our common defense in NATO as never before; you see China bringing unprecedented pressure to bear on North Korea; you see Iran on notice; and all new alignments developing across the wider Middle East and the Arab world; and here at home you see a reviving American economy - and I said to a friend the other day that many in the liberal, national media remind me of what Groucho Marx used to say, which was, he used to say, "Who you going to believe me or your own eyes?"Right.The American people can see what is happening - that under President Trump's leadership, you're seeing American strength come back at home and abroad, and that's exactly what the American people voted for when they choose a man who said, we're going to Make America Great Again.Absolutely, and one of the headlines that I saw this morning, Vice President, was - first thing that I saw when I woke up was some editorials from the press discussing, "cognitive collapse" with the President. And they say, oh he's falling apart under stress.Now I, and half of the country - this is the same guy that everybody saw during the campaign. What do you make of this? All of the successes that you just listed from this administration, it seems as if this is a desperate ploy by the media to try to undermine that. What do you make of this when they say, oh, he's having a cognitive collapse? Or oh, he's going crazy and he just can't handle it anymore?It really is remarkable to hear some of the commentary that has taken place, particularly in the last week when clearly a book of fiction made its way into the national debate.I can tell you, I've not read the book. I have no intention of reading it, but excerpts that I've heard reported bear absolutely no resemblance to the President that I spend three, four, five hours a day with every day.President Trump has the energy, has the focus, he has the vision to really revive this country, and that's exactly why we've made the progress that we've made in the last year.I witnessed it this last weekend as the President brought together leaders of the House and the Senate at Camp David. We took a minute to think about what we've been able to accomplish for the country, coming together. But the President said, now we've got to go forward. We got to rebuild this military. We've got to build a wall. We've got to reform our immigration system to put the interests of American citizens and our own security first.He wants to resolve the DACA issue, but that's not without making the kind of investments that will stem the tide of not only illegal immigration, but the flow of drugs into our country.The President is committed to an infrastructure bill that will rebuild this country. After making trillions of dollars of investments in overseas and defending other nations, the President is absolutely determined to rebuild America, redouble our commitment to vocational education. All the kinds of things that are going to build even more momentum. And that's just a snapshot of this weekend.I have to tell you, you know the President have become very close. I'm obviously very fond of him, but serving with him every day, spending hours every day in the Oval Office, in one meeting after another - I just wish every American could see what I've seen in the last year. And it would give them absolute confidence that for all that we've done in the last year, we really are just getting started. And before the next seven years is out, we've going to Make America Great Again.Well, and you mentioned also, military - building up military. And one of the things that we've been seeing today, just - I mean this is in several hours, North Korea and South Korea, they're holding talks - I think this is the first time in the last couple of years - namely on the Olympic Games, but also how to improve relations between the two countries. How much of this would attribute to a stronger leadership from the Trump-Pence administration?You said previously that the President sent a message to the world with this tweet, that America is not going to be bullied. How much of that do you think could be attributed to American leadership?Dana, the President sent me over to the Asia-Pacific earlier last year, and we announced then what we've reinforced over and over that this era of strategic patience where successive administrations in both political parties have essentially allowed North Korea to run out the clock to continue to gain concessions while they develop their headlong pursuit for nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, the President sent me over to tell them that's over.And President Trump has been marshaling unprecedented economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea. And to have North Korea literally be willing, as they'll do later today, to sit down with South Korea - just on the topic of Olympics - I think is a direct result of the pressure that President Trump has been able to marshal on North Korea.And we're not going to relent until North Korea abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.And all the progress that we're making in the region, I believe, is a reflection of the strong and resolute leadership the President has been providing and marshaling among our allies and even marshaling from President Xi Jinping in China.I loved the pictures that came out of your visit, by the way, to the Demilitarized Zone. But you - we talked about this for at least a good half hour on the program because, Vice President, you threw some epic shade. I just have to say. You threw some really smart looks over there across the border. (Laughter.) Those were some - that was a great photo.Well, I can tell you my father fought in Korea. He fought in the Korean War. He came back with medals on his chest that went into the drawer and he never talked about them. But my family has always been proud that my father was one of those Americans that helped win freedom for the people of South Korea.When we arrived there at the Demilitarized Zone, the security team told us that we could stop inside and look out the windows. And I said, that's not what I came here to do. I walked outside. I wanted to look those North Korean soldiers in the eye, and I wanted to project the resolute determination of President Trump and the United States of America to stand by our ally in South Korea, and to continue to stand for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. And I hope we helped convey some of that message, Dana. But I'll tell you what, the progress that we're making is, to your point, a direct result of the clear and strong and unambiguous leadership that President Trump has been providing, and we're going to continue to provide until North Korea finally and lastly accepts the universal opinion of the civilized world that they must abandon their nuclear and ballistic missile programs and stop threatening the world.Absolutely. Well, I think you did an excellent job in conveying that.Before I let you go, Vice President, I have to say one of my - and I think a lot of people's - favorite things about this administration, in addition to all of the conservative justices on appellate courts everywhere and everything else is the commitment to faith. And I know that you've received a lot of nasty attacks in the press over that, which I think your withstanding those with unwavering faith has really encouraged a lot of Christians throughout the country.And in an era where - we watched the Golden Globes last night - so many predominantly progressive men have made headlines due to impropriety, do you feel somewhat vindicated in terms of your commitment to above-the-board behavior and your leadership and example in that with your marriage and the way you live your life? Do you feel a little vindicated after all of these nasty press attacks on your character?Dana, I really don't concern myself with the critics. The greatest blessing in my life - other than my faith in the Lord - is my wonderful wife of 32 years. And I'm humbled to think that our example may be an encouragement to others in and out of public life.But for all of the discussion that's taken place, including last night on the Golden Globes, I'm someone who believes that we are making progress as a country, and the women who've come forward, who've let their voices be heard, I admire and appreciate them. And I continue to hope for a day where we will once again really demonstrate the kind of respect in the workplace all across this country that women and men and all of us deserve.Well, I have to say, Vice President, we are grateful for your time with us today. We appreciate you taking time out of your day to speak with us and let voters and just American citizens all over the country hear what they can expect going into 2018. I know that so many of my listeners are encouraged and excited about all of the successes that we have seen under the President, and we are just looking forward to a great start to 2018. Vice President Mike Pence, God bless you as we go into this new year.Thank you so much for your time today.Thank you, Dana. Thanks for having me on. Thanks for your great voice all across America. Just you and your listeners should know - for all we've accomplished together, the best yet to come.Absolutely, thank you so much, sir. God bless.Bye-bye.White House 
It turns out that 18th-century pirates liked to curl up a with a good book.

In 1718, Queen Anne's Revenge  the flagship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard  went aground offshore of North Carolina. The wreck was found in 1996, and last year conservators discovered a mass of wet textile pieces inside a breech-loading cannon. Several of the scraps were printed with uniformly-oriented text, and the conservators realized they'd found tiny fragments of a book.

But which book could it be?

After a lot of head-scratching, one clue finally helped them figure it out: The piece you see above, with the word "Hilo" in italics. It referred to Ilo, a Spanish settlement in Peru  which is talked about in the 1712 tome A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710 and 1711.

From National Geographic:

Stories about the plunder of Spanish holdings were popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, says Kenyon. "The English audiences were eating this up." When these printed accounts didn't match with the book fragments from Queen Anne's Revenge, the researchers looked to other stories of Pacific voyages that referenced the plunder of Ilo and eventually determined that their bits of paper came from pages 177, 178, and 183-188 of the 1712 first edition of Captain Edward Cooke's A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710 and 1711. Cooke's book describes his experiences on an expedition made by two ships, Duke and Dutchess, led by Captain Woodes Rogers. Rogers also published an account of the voyage, and both books describe the rescue of Alexander Selkirk from an island on which he had been marooned for four years. That rescue became the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe.

The entire text of A Voyage to the South Sea is beautifully scanned at the Internet Archive, so you can spend tonight reading the same book Blackbeard's minions were perusing when they went to a watery grave.

(Photos via the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources)
The Trump administration won't be able to order the cancellation the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program until the outstanding lawsuits about the legality of such an order have been resolved, thanks to a ruling by Federal judge in San Francisco.

As Naked Capitalism's Yves Smith points out, some of Trump's lawyers might have had the native cunning to anticipate this, explaining Trump's willingness to talk about a deal on DACA. Of course, Trump has never been able to attract top-tier legal talent, so maybe not.



DACA was among the issues discussed at a bipartisan immigration meeting on Tuesday. Trump indicated he would support what those in the room came up with, adding that he was willing to "take the heat" to back a bipartisan deal. Trump at one point said he wants a "bill of love" to address DACA, and in another instance appeared to voice support for Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-Calif.) suggestion of a clean DACA bill while dealing with other issues, like border security, later.

THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF

CALIFORNIA and JANET NAPOLITANO,

in her official capacity as President of the

University of California v UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF

HOMELAND SECURITY and KIRSTJEN

NIELSEN, in her official capacity as Secretary

of the Department of Homeland Security [US District Court for Northern California]





Judge blocks Trump move to end DACA [Brett Samuels/The Hill]





(via Naked Capitalism)





(Image: Rhododendrites, CC-BY-SA)


I have often thought that you can divide up the risks of the big internet platforms by plotting a 2X2 grid; on one axis is "wants to spy on everything you do" and on the other is "wants to control everything you do"  Apple scores low on the first axis (they don't much want to spy on you), and high on the second (they want to control you in intimate and pervasive ways); Google is the reverse (wants to spy on you, but is so capable of following you wherever you go that it doesn't need to control you to do it), while Facebook gets top marks on both (they spy on everything you do and they want to control you from start to finish).



But with the aggressive pursuit of its Accelerated Mobile Pages program, Google is moving into Facebook territory  spying and control. AMP is a system that sucks pages into Google and redirects mobile users to them, after optimizing them to be quickly served, which is a laudable goal. But Google uses high-handed tactics  like downranking non-participating sites in search results  to force publishers to participate, and to accept Google's layout choices and infrastructure, in a way that is nontransparent to users, who may think that they're seeing a publisher-originated page when really they've been captured by Google's system.

In an open letter signed, a group of dozens of leading web developers criticize Google's choices, and propose alternatives that would allow the goal of delivering a superior user experience on the mobile web without engaging in anti-competitive tactics that undermine the open web.



If Google's objective with AMP is indeed to improve user experience on the Web, then we suggest some simple changes that would do that while still allowing the Web to remain dynamic, competitive and consumer-oriented: 1.

Instead of granting premium placement in search results only to AMP, provide the same perks to all pages that meet an objective, neutral performance criterion such as Speed Index. Publishers can then use any technical solution of their choice. 2/ Do not display third-party content within a Google page unless it is clear to the user that they are looking at a Google product. It is perfectly acceptable for Google to launch a "news reader", but it is not acceptable to display a page that carries only third party branding on what is actually a Google URL, nor to require that third party to use Google's hosting in order to appear in search results. We don't want to stop Google's development of AMP, and these changes do not require that. We also applaud search engines that give ranking preference to fast-loading pages. AMP can remain one of a range of technologies that give publishers high quality options for delivering Web pages quickly and making users happy. However, publishers should not be compelled by Google's search dominance to put their content under a Google umbrella. The Web is not Google, and should not be just Google.

A Letter About AMP

(via Waxy)
For more than a month, Iran has been rocked by mass demonstrations in its major and outlying cities, but the origin of these protests has been obscure.

It seems that the protests were sparked by the unprecedented publication of the full national budget, which revealed increased spending for Revolutionary Guards and especially their secret wings and affiliates who work to shore up Shia groups abroad, especially in Syria and Iraq; it also revealed the funds allocated to backing Shia causes in Yemen, Lebanon and Gaza.

The spending infuriated Iranians workers who had been struggling under austerity blamed on sanctions that had been partially lifted under the terms of the Iranian nuclear deal  and they took to the streets.



It's widely believed the national protests began in the north-eastern city of Mashad. However, 10 days before the break out of the national protest movement, citizens were already publicly expressing their anger on the streets at the draft budget. On the message sharing app Telegram, member of parliament Mohammad Taghi Akbarnejad shared his experience walking anonymously among people demonstrating in front of the parliament building: I was in the middle of the protests, and a woman in her late 50s came to me and asked, 'Are you an MP?' I answered, 'I am here like you.' She told me, 'If you can go to parliament, tell them I made a mistake becoming a teacher. You've turned as all into beggars. Please tell Mr. Khamenei, tell the president, tell everyone, tell them we are desperate. We don't need this revolution. We hate the clerics.' Later a woman in her 60s approached me calmly to tell me to hide my clerical robe. 'The people are thirsty for your blood!!!' I didn't take any of this personally, I tried to show solidarity.



The Draft Budget That Inflamed Protests in Iran [Tori Egherman/Global Voices]

(Image: voanews.com, PD)
The #MeToo movement seems to have made some actors a bit jumpy. At least in the case of Michael Douglas, who is defending himself against sexual misconduct accusations that haven't yet been publicly made. No, he never masturbated in front of an employee who used to work for him! And if he used "colorful language" in front of said employee, he already told her he's sorry about that. And for the record, he didn't blackball her from the industry. He only fired her.

Douglas might sound paranoid, but he's actually responding to possible stories coming out by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, both who contacted him with questions about sexual misconduct allegations.

Douglas reached out to Deadline to give his side of the story. According to Deadline:

After a storied 50 year career as actor and producer that includes two Oscars, Michael Douglas finds himself accused of something tawdry he said that he didn't do: masturbate in front of a former employee. Noticing too many of the recent stories could be best described as She Said, He's Gone, Douglas was uncomfortable waiting to be the villain in a narrative crafted by either The Hollywood Reporter or Variety, two publications he said have reached out to possibly publish allegations involving an employee claiming something happened over 30 years ago, which he vehemently denies. Even though he understands he is inviting scrutiny by volunteering details that could harm his career if other women come forward with more accusations, Douglas felt strongly enough that he would prefer to have some control over the narrative, that he asked to tell Deadline his story.

About the masturbation accusation (or, so far, non-accusation, at least publicly speaking), Douglas says, "I don't know where to begin. This is a complete lie, fabrication, no truth to it whatsoever." The woman accusing him, however, says she has three people to back up her claim.

Read Deadline's interview with him here.

Image: World Economic Forum
Andy Savage is one of the powerful, wealthy evangelical clerics implicated in the #churchtoo movement, in which congregants are disclosing the sexual assaults and harassment they experienced at the hands of faith leaders.



Jules Woodson says that when she was 17, Savage, then a 20 year old youth pastor at her church in Houston, raped her (later, when she turned to another church official for help, he blamed her for the rape and swore her to secrecy about it).

This week, Savage admitted to the rape (calling it a "sexual incident"). His congregation gave him a standing ovation when he asked for their forgiveness.



Chris Conlee, the lead pastor of the Memphis church where Savage now ministers, prayed for Savage and Woodson. "It saddens us that Ms. Woodson has not been on the same road to healing," Conlee said. "An apology does not change the fact that what happened to me was against the law and that it was wrong," Woodson said.

Pastor admits to "sexual incident" with teen 20 years ago, gets standing ovation [Jericka Duncan/CBS]

(via Reddit)
In the 1920s, young Americans kindled a new craze: Stowing away on ships bound for overseas adventures. The goal? To get famous and, in predigital media, go viral.

My friend Laurie Gwen Shapiro has just published a book about one famous stowaway who went all the way to Antarctica, and in this New Yorker piece she describes the rapid growth of the trend 

The stowaway fad, however, was a different kind of social phenomenon. It was part of the attention-seeking aesthetic of the Jazz Age, a larksome activity similar to flagpole sitting, outrageous swimming challenges, and "buildering"the art of climbing skyscrapers. But, unlike other stunts, becoming a stowaway wasn't just for kicks. Many of these rapscallions, like the New Yorker Billy Gawronski, who dived into the Hudson and climbed on board an expedition to Antarctica, were determined to see new worlds. Such youngsters wanted a taste of the adventures they had glimpsed at the movies. And, in the new age of the mass media, each stowaway's story of success incited more attempts.

The fad reached its peak around 1927 and 1928, when more than five hundred stowaways were caught and deported from Ellis Island, including many young women who were looking for a shortcut to fame. In 1929, one reporter asked, "Who are the flapper thrill-seekers who now run away to seausurping a prerogative once held solely by the boys?" The article recounted the tale of the twenty-year-old Rose Host, the eldest of five children of Czechoslovakian immigrants in Brooklyn, who had been a member of the impresario Earl Carroll's "Vanities" stage troupe, billed as a revue of the world's most beautiful women. Host had also won two beauty contests, and was fixated on a career in motion pictures. After a row with her dad, she used a visitor pass to get aboard a Panama-Pacific liner to California. With a shiny half dollar and a volume of Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays, she hid herself for several hours after the ship set sail, then presented herself to the captain, saying that she simply had to get to Hollywood, but didn't have a cent to spare. She offered him her Emerson book, certain that it would lead him to treat her kindly. It didn't wash, though he did forgo putting her in chains. She was put to use in the purser's office, stamping passenger forms. The newspapers rushed to publish her story, and when a New York producer learned about the travails of the former chorus girl, he gallantly paid for her passage. Host was set ashore in San Diego, and was almost immediately given a role in a Paramount picture, "Shootin' Irons."
New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi will make a two-day visit to Amethi next week in what would be his first trip to his Lok Sabha constituency after taking over the reins of the party.

Gandhi took over as Congress chief from Sonia Gandhi on December 16 last year, when she handed over the charge to her son after heading the grand old party for 19 years.

Gandhi will be in Amethi on January 15 and 16, party sources said.

Gandhi returned from Bahrain yesterday, after he addressed NRIs settled in the region at the conference of The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) on January 8.

The Congress chief also met Bahrains Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Foreign Minister Prince Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa during his visit to the country, where he was the state guest.

"Thank you Bahrain for an inspiring and educational trip. Special thanks to HRH @bahraincpnews, HE @khalidalkhalifa, HH @khalidbinhamad, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, GOPIO and its participants, the Bahraini people and the Indian community for their love and hospitality," he tweeted today after his return. PTI SKC ASK ASK


The Trump Administration just published a small notice in the Federal Register announcing that it would waive the outstanding criminal sanctions against some of the world's largest banks, Citigroup, JPMorgan, Barclays, UBS and Deutsche Bank.



The banks were facing sanctions stemming from a variety of wrongdoing, including the trillions' worth of fraud in the LIBOR scandal, and Deutsche Bank's role in laundering $10B for Russian oligarchs.

Donald Trump owes Deutsche Bank at least $120,000,000 (and as much as $300,000,000) which the bank loaned him after he defaulted on a $640,000,000 loan they extended to him, and then sued the bank for $3,000,000,000 for its role in the 2008 crisis, on which he blamed his default.

All told, Deutsche Bank and its co-lenders have given the Trump Organization over $2.5B in loans.

The Obama administration  whose official policy was to never jail bankers regardless of their wrongdoing and the harm it caused  had already given waivers to all the affected banks. The Trump administration has extended those waivers for years more.



All five of the banks granted waivers from the Obama and Trump administration were fined for their involvement in the LIBOR scandal that led to $9 billion worth of fines from regulators around the world. Deutsche Bank has paid $3.5 billion for its role in the scandal, more than any other bank. The scandal involved illegally manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate or LIBOR, which is used to set the cost of borrowing for a variety of financial transactions. In 2015, Deutsche Bank pled guilty in the U.S. to wire fraud for its role in the scandal. Less than two years later, in the final hours of the Obama administration, Deutsche Bank agreed to a $7.2 billion settlement with the Justice Department for misleading investors in mortgage-backed securities between 2006 and 2007.

Trump Administration Waives Punishment For Convicted Banks, Including Deutsche  Which Trump Owes Millions [David Sirota and Josh Keefe/International Business Times]





(Image: Trump's Hair)

via Naked Capitalism)

finance,banksters,impunity,fraud,guillotine watch,libor,corruption,trumpism,filling the swamp,deutsche bank,thanks obama tough-on-some-crime
News / National

by Staff reporter

Eight Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) officials who were arrested in Bulawayo on New Year's Eve for demonstrating against President Emmerson Mnangagwa's involvement in the Gukurahundi genocide have filed lawsuits against government for unlawful arrest and detention.According to NewZimbabwe.com, they are suing the police, military, Central Intelligence Organisation, Magura Charumbira and two other Zanu-PF activists Khumbulani Mpofu and Bernard Nhata whom severely assaulted them when they were arrested.Charumbira, who died in a car accident two days ago, is being used posthumously.The state, early this month, dropped all the charges facing the accused after the defence counsel led by human rights lawyer, Dumisani Dube, argued that the accused had no case to answer."We opened a case yesterday at the Bulawayo Central police station under case number IR 256/18. We want all those people who assaulted us to be identified and arrested. We have already identified some of our assailants, one of whom unfortunately died in a car accident," said Brighton Ithupeng Sibanda, the party's national treasurer who is also one of the victims.
News / National

by Khulani David Ndhlovu

Revolutionary greetings dear comrades. Compliments of the new year. I hope 2018 is going to be a golden year which will confirm that NPP is a formidable political outfit in the Zimbabwean political terrain. This is the year that will strategically position the young party in Zimbabwean politics. The upstart of yesterday will become the arbiter of the Zimbabwean political landscape.I am writing this article in pain of the loss of one of our outstanding liberation heroes, Themba Ndlovu (the deputy national chairman of the freedom fighters). He was laid to rest in his home at Mtshabezi.Its not only a loss to NPP, but also to the Zimbabwean nation as a whole. He believed in democracy and did everything and anything to champion it. He talked and walked democracy.Themba Ndlovu believed that freedom was for all citizens not a selected few. He did not believe in monopolisation of freedom and power. He thus fought against brutality precipitated upon the opposition by the current regime. In short, he believed in everything that the ZANU PF party was against.The president of NPP, Dr. Joice Mujuru asserted that :All warveterians fought for one thing, to liberate Zimbabwe . When Zipra and Zanla forces where fighting, they where fighting one enemy and even after independence they should still work together despite their political affiliations and "ethnic extraction." This was a call for unity within the ranks of the liberation comrades. Differences must not make us enemies, we must instead celebrate our differences at the same time work together to rebuild our country.We would like to thank the NPP President Cde Joice Mujuru and his vice Dr. Samuel Siphepha Nkomo, National chairman Mavaire and his deputy pastor Ernest Bulayani,David Moyo Bulawayo provincial Chairman, Terry Janure Bulawayo, Financial advisor Moffat Ndou, Youth provincial chairman, ever vocal Christopher Ndiweni, Queen Maligwa and Bancinyane Ndiweni (all war veterans) for attending the burial.As NPP youth we send our sincere condolences to his family, friends and relatives. May his great soul rest in eternal peace. Akuhlanga lungehlanga, isitsha esihle asidleli. Hamba kahle mfoka Ndlovu.Victory is certain, alluta continua.NPP National youth spokespersonKhulani David Ndhlovu
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Harare businessman today filed a civil lawsuit of almost $3 million against retired Commissioner-General of the Zimbabwe Republic Police Augustine Chihuri whom he accuses of causing his arrest, torture and harassment.The businessman, Mr Bigboy Pachirera who is represented by lawyer Mr Rungano Mahuni, also alleges that the former Comm-Gen robbed him of a Mercedes Benz ML 350, Chrysler Jeep Cherokee, several trucks and a house No. 3853 Old Highfield worth about $50 000.Mr Mahuni alleges that the property taken from Mr Pachirera was registered in Chihuri's name or his company Kidsdale Enterprises.More details to follow....
News / National

by Staff reporter

Trelawney Primary School in Zvimba South has failed to open for the school first term of 2018 as parents demand the transfer of a teacher alleged to be practicing Satanism.A Satanism scare hit the school during the last week of the third term last year, prompting parents to stage a demonstration calling for the alleged teacher's transfer.The allegations saw pupils purporting that they saw a snake enter the hand bag of the teacher while others claimed their faces changed form upon contact with the said teacher.Now the parents have taken a decision to withdraw their children from the school until the suspected Satanist leaves the institution.A team from the provincial education directorate was expected to visit the school this Wednesday for a fact finding mission after which they will map a way forward.
News / National

by Staff reporter

VICTIMS of miracle hoaxes by a Harare prophet yesterday hauled the man of cloth before a Harare magistrate who denied him bail after the State indicated that granting him bail will be a mockery to the justice system.Edson Chifunda, 27, allegedly duped Betty Mhurure, Tembowona Chiwakata, Fotunate Yakiti and Kudzai Maruto of their money and valuables.He pleaded not guilty to theft charges when he appeared before Harare magistrate Tracey Muzondo.Chifunda allegedly masqueraded as a prophet and allegedly stole money and cellphones from the four complainants during a prayer session in Mabelreign.The State, represented by Nicholas Tsanyawo charged that last year Chifunda approached Mhurure in Mabelreign and introduced himself as a prophet.Chifunda told Mhurure that the spirit had revealed to him that her daughter would die soon because of the evil acts done on her.It is alleged that Mhurure believed the prophecy and invited Chifunda inside the house to conduct some cleansing prayers.Inside the house, Chifunda instructed Mhurure to place $20 on the towel, close her eyes and join him in prayer and Mhurure complied.During the cleansing session, Chifunda took advantage that Mhurure's eyes were closed and stole the $20, before he instructed Mhurure to open the towel after three hours.Mhurure checked the towel after three hours only to find her money gone.On another count in December last year, Chifunda allegedly approached Chiwakata, introduced himself as a prophet and prophesied on her.Chiwakata believed the prophesy and allowed Chifunda to pray for her.Chifunda instructed Chiwakata to place all the money in her possession on a towel and she placed $100.When Chiwakata closed her eyes, Chifunda stole the money and later instructed her to open the towel after three hours.Chiwakata opened the towel after three hours only to find her money missing.Further allegations indicate that Chifunda also employed a similar trick on Yakiti and Maruto as he allegedly duped them of their money and valuables.He was remanded in custody to January 16 for trial.
News / National

by Staff reporter

There is a fake rumour circulating on social media claiming that the leader of the MDC-T Morgan Tsvangirai who went to South Africa for a routine medical procedure is dead but officials from the party in Harare have vehemently dismissed the claim as unfounded.Officials from the MDC-T have dismissed the rumour circulating on social media claiming that their leader is dead.Tsvangirai, who was diagnosed with cancer of the colon, says he is responding well to what has been described as a routine medical procedure.Below is a screen grab of the Facebook message.
Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

.

..This Ongoing War..09 January '18..Over at thethis afternoon, there's an important summary of information placed before the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee this afternoon ["", Lahav Harkov, January 9, 2018].If you're not already familiar with them, the data are simply eye-popping. In a society where the average income is about US$580 per month, the PA regime headed by Mahmoud Abbas gives that sort of money to anyone sentenced by the Israeli court system to three to five years in prison.But sinceterrorist offences often come with sentences stiffer than 3-5, it's worth understanding whatoffenders get paid by their perennially-broke government and what other benefits they can expect to get.
Dr Jaswant Singh Yadav, minister in Vasundhara Raje Government, is again in the midst of a controversy that is unlikely to die anytime soon.

The BJP candidate for Lok Sabha bypolls in Alwar, while speaking during a campaign, allegedly asked those who are Hindus to vote for him and Muslims to vote for the Congress.

"I had gone to Mewat to ask for votes. It got printed in the papers as well. In the villages, I was welcomed and garlands of money were also put on me. I asked the people why would you vote for me? They said 'Because you work. Whenever we went to you, you catered well to us'," Yadav quoted.

"I said that the BJP is in power in the country at the top as well as the bottom. They replied saying 'Sir, do not take BJP's name.' I asked why shouldn't I take BJP's name? Then, how will you vote for me?" added Yadav."They said 'we will give it in your name. Not in BJP's name.' I asked why will you not vote in BJP's name? They answered saying 'BJP is a party of Hindus.'

"That means Congress is a party of Muslims. So, those who are Hindus, give it to me. Those who are Muslims, give it to Congress. Take a decision," Yadav allegedly said.

Jaswant Singh Yadav is the Labour and Employment minister in Vasundhara Raje- led Rajasthan Government and BJP's candidate for Alwar Lok Sabha constituency. By-elections are to be held this month in two Lok Sabha constituencies, including Alwar and one Assembly constituency.

Earlier, it was BJP MLA from Alwar Urban, Banwari Lal Singhal, who claimed Muslims are increasing their population to rule the country by 2030. "As per a planned strategy, Muslims' population is being increased to ensure that the Muslim community takes the reins of the entire country's rule in their hands by 2030. Hindu couple is giving birth to one or two child whereas Muslim couple is giving birth to 8 to 10 - 12 - 14 children," Singhal, BJP MLA from Alwar, stated.

"Sometimes, Muslim couple buy women in order to give birth to children. Due to this, Muslim population has been increasing at a sharp pace because of which, Hindus' existence will come under danger. Due to rise in Muslim population, Chief Ministers in more and more states, country's Prime Minister and President will be Muslims. After that, such laws will be made by them that Hindus' existence will come under danger. Muslims will pit Hindus in jail and will make use of Hindus' resources themselves", he added.

ALSO WATCH | Rajasthan: BJP minister caught on cam justifying assault by his sons
While this cigar carries a premium price tag, it certainly delivers an outstanding experience and is worthy of being an ultra-premium cigar.

Wrapper: Dominican

Binder: San Vicente Mejorado

Filler: Esteli and Condega Visus, Piloto Visus, San Vicente Mejorado Visus and Piloto Mejorado Visus

Country of origin: Dominican Republic (Cigars Davidoff)

Toro: 6 x 52

Price: $35.00

Review: Davidoff  The Master Selection 2016

Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Brand): 5 ( (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)

Coming in at #10 is Davidoff  The Master Selection 2016. Earlier this year, Davidoff announced a limited edition series under its White Label brand known as The Master Selection. The Master Selection is a series of six blends that were personal blends which Davidoff Master Blender Eladio Diaz created to commemorate some of his birthdays. In this case, the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 commemorated his 63rd birthday.

The Davidoff Master Selection 2016 is a limited release that is only sold at Davidoffs Flagship stores and online retail store. Under the Countdown rules, shop exclusive cigars are ineligible for the list. There was some debate about whether or not this cigar should be considered a shop exclusive. There is no Countdown rule that prevents a company from exclusively distributing its own brand in its own stores. The majority of Davidoff Flagship stores are company owned, so we decided that this was a unique scenario and the Master Selection 2016 was eligible for consideration for the Countdown.

Davidoff becomes the second company to land two cigars on the 2017 Countdown. The Master Selection 2016 joins the Davidoff Nicaragua 6 x 60 as Davidoffs two entities on the Countdown. Davidoff has landed a cigar on a Cigar Coop Countdown for the past five years in a row.

The Davidoff Master Selection 2016 features a Dominican wrapper, a Dominican San Vicente wrapper, and a combination of fillers from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. As with each of the six installments of the Davidoff Master Selection series, the Master Selection 2016 is available in one size  a 6 x 52 Toro.

Flavor-wise, the Davidoff Master Selection 2016 is a complex smoke, delivering notes of chocolate malt, natural tobacco, earth, mixed (black and white) pepper, bakers spice, and even a slight mineral component at the beginning. This is a bolder smoke than what one would usually expect from Davidoff. It is medium to full in strength and while the flavors start out medium-bodied, they progress to medium to full by the end.

While this is a pricier cigar, it is one that certainly lives up to its value. On merit, this cigar easily justifies its spot on this years top ten.





For details of the 2017 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2017 criteria.

Photo Credit: Cigar Coop, except where noted.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Chemotherapy and radiation are the standard of care for small-cell lung cancer that hasn't spread to other parts of the body. But many patients don't receive these treatments, a new study indicates.

This less-than-optimal care is reducing survival rates, according to researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

"In order to improve access to care and address related disparities, it is critical to understand the barriers patients face when getting treated for lung cancer," said the study's senior author, Dr. Stephen Chun. He's an assistant professor of radiation oncology.

Small-cell lung cancer is a fast-growing malignancy that accounts for up to 15 percent of lung cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.

Hoping to shed light on those treatment barriers, the researchers analyzed information in a national cancer database on more than 70,200 patients with small-cell lung cancer. They focused on the social and economic obstacles the patients faced when seeking treatment. They also evaluated their survival rates.

Of these patients, about 56 percent received chemotherapy and radiation as their initial therapy. About 20 percent received only chemo, and 3.5 percent just got radiation. Another 20 percent received neither treatment, the study found.

Half the patients who received chemotherapy and radiation survived more than 18 months. Receiving just chemotherapy reduced median survival to almost 11 months, and radiation alone carried a median survival of a little more than 8 months.

Not receiving either form of treatment resulted in worse outcomes.

"Among the group of patients who received neither chemotherapy nor radiation, prognosis was dismal with a median survival of only 3-4 months," Chun said in a cancer center news release.

The researchers found that treatment at a non-academic center, lack of insurance or Medicare/Medicaid insurance were linked to less than optimal care.

Patients with Medicare or Medicaid received chemotherapy just as often as those with private insurance but they were much less likely to undergo radiation therapy, the study found.

And uninsured patients were less likely to receive either chemo or radiation.

"There are targeted access programs that provide competitive reimbursement for the administration of chemotherapy, and our findings suggest that these programs have improved chemotherapy access," Chun said. "However, these programs give no financial assistance for radiation therapy, which could, in part, explain why patients with Medicare and Medicaid were less likely to receive radiation."

The study authors stressed that proper treatment is critical for patients with small-cell lung cancer. They urge patients to advocate for themselves to ensure they receive the best treatment possible.

The study was published Jan. 4 in JAMA Oncology.

More information

The American Cancer Society provides more on small-cell lung cancer.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- A year of hormone therapy cut the risk of depression symptoms in women going through menopause and early postmenopause, new research shows.

"Thirty-two percent of women randomized to treatment with a placebo experienced clinically significant depressive symptoms. But for women randomized to hormone therapy, the risk was cut nearly in half, to 17 percent," said co-principal investigator Susan Girdler. She's a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Girdler added there were two main factors that predicted whether or not women would experience fewer depression symptoms while on hormone therapy. One factor was being in perimenopause (the transition to menopause) and the other was experiencing significant life stress, such as losing a loved one or divorce.

Surprisingly, for women with a past history of major depression -- which is a known risk factor for future depression -- hormone therapy didn't appear to lessen the risk of depressive symptoms.

Girdler said normally women going through menopause have a twofold to fourfold higher risk of depression symptoms. There are a number of theories as to why that is, including recent life stress and the idea that some women may be more vulnerable to wildly fluctuating hormones, she explained.

To see if hormone therapy might have an effect on the risk of depression, the researchers recruited 172 women between the ages of 45 and 60. All of the women were either perimenopausal or recently postmenopausal at the start of the study.

Half of the women were aged 51 or older. Seventy-six percent of the women were white, and 19 percent were black. The mean household income was between $50,000 and $80,000.

The women were randomly selected to one of two groups. One group was given an inactive placebo patch to wear. The other group received skin patches that delivered 0.1 milligrams per day of estrogen.

Every three months, women in the estrogen patch group were also given 12 days of the hormone progesterone to ensure that women who still had a uterus shed their uterine lining (endometrium), which helped to offset a potential increase in the risk of endometrial cancer related to estrogen therapy. Hormone therapy was given for a year.

The researchers also asked the women to complete a depression symptom questionnaire. However, they didn't diagnose any of the women with depression, just "clinically significant depressive symptoms."

Girdler said that significant fluctuations in hormone variability, as well as stressful life events, can destabilize the cortisol stress axis.

Cortisol is a stress hormone that "helps mobilize the body to respond to stress and to release energy stores so we can prepare for the 'fight-or-flight' response. This worked beautifully in cave people, but the problem is we still respond to stress as if there's a tiger coming after us, but instead we're just sitting at a computer," she explained.

Dr. Hadine Joffe, executive director of the Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, co-authored an editorial accompanying the new study. Joffe said factors such as hot flashes and sleep disturbances may also play a role in the increased risk of depressive symptoms.

"Those factors can be intervened with nondrug therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy," Joffe said. And, if you can improve sleep by reducing hot flashes and chronic insomnia, you may also reduce depressive symptoms.

If you can use a nondrug therapy, that's preferred if it helps, Joffe said.

The average time for the menopausal transition is about four years, according to Joffe. Girdler said it's not clear how long women would need to take hormone therapy, but she doesn't envision it would be needed for the entire transition time, particularly because the study found that hormones were most beneficial in women early in the menopause transition.

Joffe and obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Jill Rabin, from Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y., said the advice for premenopausal women remains the same. Recently, the nation's leading authority on preventive medicine, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, stood firm and said only postmenopausal women should avoid hormone replacement therapy.

"When the benefits of hormone therapy outweigh the risks, women should be on the lowest dose for the shortest time," Rabin said of women going through the early stages of menopause.

Rabin noted that women in the study did have irregular bleeding, which was a bit concerning. Girdler added that one woman experienced a blood clot.

Rabin said the study raises some very interesting questions, but that it needs to be replicated in a larger, more diverse group of people. "This was a small, pretty homogenous study," she pointed out.

Dr. Alan Manevitz, a clinical psychiatrist from Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, agreed that the study finding raises questions and needs to be duplicated.

None of the experts recommended asking your doctor for hormone therapy to prevent depression, but Manevitz urged women going through menopause who are experiencing depressive symptoms to get a depression assessment.

The study was published online Jan. 10 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

More information

For more on hormone replacement therapy, visit the North American Menopause Society.
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New Delhi, January 9, 2018Indian authorities on January 5 filed a criminal complaint against the English-language daily The Tribune and its reporter Rachna Khaira, a day after the paper published Khairas report exposing a possible vulnerability in the countrys vast national identity system, according to news reports.

For the article, The Tribune said it paid hackers 500 Indian Rupees (US$8) to buy access to the Aadhar national identity database, which contains personal information of approximately a billion people, and an additional 300 Indian Rupees (US$4.70) for software that would allow the newspaper to receive an identity card for any individual in the system.

According to the Indian Express, the complaint was lodged under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery) and 471 (using a forged document) of the Indian penal code, section 66 of the IT act (damaging computer systems), and section 36/ 37 of the Aadhaar Act (unauthorized collection and dissemination of information).

Section 419 of the penal code, section 66 of the IT Act, and section 36/ 37 of the Aadhar act all carry three year prison terms. Sections 420, 468, and 471 each carry seven year terms.

Rachna Khaira and The Tribune have done a public service in exposing the security vulnerabilities of Indias national identification database, said Steven Butler, CPJs Asia program coordinator from Washington, D.C. CPJ urges authorities to take this into account as they consider how to proceed.

A spokesperson for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that runs the Aadhar system, Vikas Shukla, did not respond to CPJs request for comment.

In a January 7 press release, the UIDAI refuted the Tribune report, calling it incorrect and misleading.

Harish Khare, editor-in-chief of The Tribune, told CPJ the paper stands by its story.

Indian authorities also filed complaints against three men Anil Kumar, Sunil Kumar, and a man identified as Raj who Khaira mentions in her report as having helped The Tribune hack into the Aadhar system, according to The Indian Express.

Alok Kumar, joint commissioner of Delhi Polices cybercrime unit, did not respond to CPJs calls seeking comment.

In a statement on January 7, the Editors Guild of India called the complaint against The Tribune and Khaira an attack on the free press, as published by The Hindu newspaper. Instead of penalizing the reporter, UIDAI should have ordered a thorough internal investigation into the alleged breach and made its findings public, the statement said.
 



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The remarks represent a major departure for Kyiv, which since 1991 has been heavily dependent on Moscow to fuel the four operating nuclear power plants built on its territory while it was still a part of the Soviet Union, Bellona reported.

The fuel shift also represents an assertion of Kyivs budding political independence from its hostile neighbor. As recently as three years ago, when Moscow began its military incursions into Ukraines east and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, Russia was still supplying 95% of Ukraines nuclear fuel.

Over the course of 2017, Nasalyk said in remarks late last month that the share of nuclear fuel Ukraine was importing from Russia had fallen to 60 percent.

He added that over the next year, that figure would fall even further to 45%, with 55% of the countrys nuclear fuel coming from the U.S.-based Westinghouse and a handful of other western firms.

Read alsoTender for Ukraine-EU Energy Bridge partner to be called early in 2018Nuclear power produced by Ukraines 15 Soviet-built VVER type reactors accounts for more than half of the energy produced in Ukraine.

However, Ukraines nuclear fuel dependence has not been lost on Moscow. Dmitry Rogozin, Russias pugilistic deputy prime minister for military affairs, threatened in May of 2014 to cut off Ukraines supply of nuclear fuel after Moscows military incursions and propaganda war heated up  a freeze that would have threatened the safe operation of Ukraines reactors.

Read alsoBill on completion of two Khmelnytsky NPP units to be tabled in early 2018Moscow is keen on using fuel embargoes to hammer away at political points, and Kyiv has learned its lesson well. The Ukrainian capital began a not-always-smooth collaboration with Westinghouse to start testing western nuclear fuels, and in the heat of hostilities with Russia, Kyiv hastily announced that by 2015 it would begin importing loading the U.S. companys fuel in some of its reactors. Over the past year, the Westinghouse supply to Ukraine has evened out, and stands to increase.

In the meantime, Kyiv is making some attempt to wean itself off its oversized dependence on nuclear energy by opening up parts of its territory to solar energy.

Read alsoEnergoatom, Westinghouse to increase nuclear power plant capacity in UkraineOne of those areas is in the carcinogenic wastes surrounding the Chornobyl disaster zone. An investment program announced by Ukraines Ministry of Ecology is seeking to offer cheap land leases and access to power transmission infrastructure to European and Asian companies willing to build solar panels on the site of the disaster.

If the investment program bears fruit, it is predicted that Chornobyl zone solar power could end up supplying half the energy that the ruined plant used to produce.
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New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) In a joint operation, the Delhi Police and Gujarat ATS today arrested a man, suspected to be involved in the 2000 Red Fort attack, here, police said.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad informed the Delhi Police that one Bilal Ahmed Kawa, who had been declared a proclaimed offender in the case, was travelling from Srinagar to Delhi, they said.

Kawa, who was suspected to be linked to Lashkar-e-Toiba, was arrested in the evening from the T-3 terminal of the Delhi Airport and his questioning is underway, the police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said Kawa was arrested around 6 pm.

Another officer said that money to the tune of Rs 29.50 lakh was transferred through hawala in various bank accounts, including those of Kawa, to fund the attack.

Kawa was on the run since 2000 and was hiding in Kashmir, the police said.

Three people, including two Army jawans, were killed in the December 22, 2000 Red Fort attack. PTI SLB DIP
Companies from Eni SpA to Uniper SE will see combined gas shipments to the east European nation fall by about that amount after a Stockholm court ordered Ukraine to resume some imports from Russia after a break of more than two years. European Union companies first started selling gas to Ukraine in 2013, with the new market helping offset a slump in domestic demand at the time, Bloomberg wrote.

Ukraine imported 14 billion cubic meters of gas from the EU last year, comparable to Belgium's annual consumption. From this year, state-owned NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy should import 5 billion cubic meters under its contract with Russia's Gazprom PJSC through 2019, and has to pay for at least 80% of that, according to the court.

Read alsoGas imports up 27% in Ukraine in 2017That volume is worth as much as $1.2 billion, assuming 5 bcm is supplied at the average price Ukraine paid for imports last October, according to the most recent data from its statistics service. The court linked the price to be paid to Russia for gas to German hub rates, Naftogaz said without elaborating.

France's Engie SA was among Ukraine's top suppliers in 2016 with a volume of more than 3 bcm. That was "a record year," while sales last year decreased by about 40% because of stronger competition, the company's press service said by email.

"With Naftogaz potentially buying Russian gas in 2018 and 2019, Engie is enhancing its strategy of selling in Ukraine to final industrial customers that was started last year," it said.

Swiss-based Axpo Trading AG, another major supplier, "is in the process of establishing a local Ukrainian company to be able to trade directly within Ukraine," its press service said.

Read alsoPoroshenko: Ukraine may start buying Russian gas if its price lowGazprom has said it's ready to resume supplies to Ukraine once all debts are paid and on the condition that deliveries are paid in advance. The court decided that Naftogaz owes more than $2 billion for volumes delivered in 2014, according to Gazprom. Naftogaz said all payment issues would be cleared up once there's a court ruling on the gas transit contract between the companies, which is expected by end-February.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Naftogaz won a gas sales arbitration case against Gazprom on all disputed issues.

The Tribunal at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce on December 22 completely rejected Russia's Gazprom take-or-pay claims to NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine amounting to US$56 billion for 2012-2017.
Ukraine in 2017 was learning to live without Donbas anthracite, continued construction within the Chornobyl disaster zone, engaged on renewables, and also argued about the impact of the "Rotterdam +" pricing formula on the cost of electricity. In 2018, we should expect some new series in a thriller starring Ukraines energy sector and a fierce struggle around the creation of a new electricity market.

The main shock for the national energy industry in 2017 was the blockade of trade with temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions set up in late January by ATO veterans and a number of people's deputies. The move deprived Ukraine of deficient anthracite coal mined in Donbas.

The country's leadership sharply criticized the act and urged activists to lift the civic blockade.

"I believe that the blockade today is a crime, precisely as regards coal ... The blockade will lead to a halt at steelmaking enterprises across the country. The steelmaking industry employs 300,000 people ... Its nothing else but an undermining of the economy," Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said.

But the blockade was never lifted. On February 15, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced emergency measures in the electricity sector, envisaging reduced consumption of anthracite while ensuring the stability of the country's energy system. In mid-March, President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on a temporary ban on the movement of goods across the demarcation line in the ATO zone.

Thus, Ukraine had to learn to live without Donbas coal: domestic energy companies managed to diversify coal supplies to ensure their flow from South Africa and the U.S. (besides Russia) and, more importantly, intensified the shifting of anthracite-fed power units of TPPs toward working on gas-group coals mined in Ukraine-controlled areas.

In 2017, the state-owned Centrenergo completed the transfer of two power units at Zmiyivska TPP to operations on gas-brand coal instead of those on anthracite coal, while Rinat Akhmetovs DTEK energy holding completed a similar transfer of two power units at Prydniprovska TPP.

According to profile vice-PM Volodymyr Kistion, thanks to such measures in 2017, Ukraine reduced consumption of scarce anthracite by almost a half, to 5 million tonnes compared with 2016.

The government also intends to increase own extraction of gas-brand coal due to increased demand. In 2018, the Cabinet plans to allocate UAH 2.5 billion for modernization of state-owned mines, while the energy minister vows that there will not be a single unprofitable mine in Ukraine by summer-end.

Nuclear independence

Ukraines nuclear industry does not lag behind in its struggle for energy independence. As part of the efforts to reduce dependence on a single supplier of nuclear fuel, Russias TVEL, Ukraine is increasing the share of nuclear fuel provided by the American-Japanese Westinghouse. In 2017, this fuel was loaded into the active zones of six reactors at two of Ukraines nuclear power plants - in Zaporizhia and Yuzhnoukrainsk.

Besides, an important step on the path to energy independence and one of the most significant news of the past year was the start of construction of the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage in the Chornobyl exclusion zone, the first stage of which will be commissioned as early as 2019, thanks to the joint efforts by the National Atomic Energy Generating Company Energoatom, the U.S.-based Holtec International, and a number of Ukrainian companies.

Now Ukraine will save $200 million annually, which the country had to pay to the aggressor state, Russia, for exporting and processing spent nuclear fuel.

In Facility will safely store spent nuclear fuel for up to 100 years exclusively from Ukrainian NPPs, using Holtecs advanced technology superficial "dry" storage. The project is launched in stages, of which there will be around 16, while the total cost of its implementation is estimated at UAH 37 billion.

During the opening ceremony at the construction site, Holtec International CEO Kris Singh assured that the facility is one of the most modern and safest ones in the world. Moreover, the storage can even withstand a crash of a large aircraft.

The contract for the Facilitys construction between Energoatom and Holtec Internatinal was signed back in 2005, but for a number of reasons, including due to changes in the political situation, the project remained frozen for a long time. The actual work was resumed only in 2014.

By the way, since 2005 Ukraine has paid Russia more than $2 billion for nuclear waste storage.

"Green" energy seeing growth

Renewable energy is an obvious trend of the modern society. Surely, many people have heard about its record pace in China and India, and even Costa Rica, which in 2017 almost totally switched to using only "clean" energy. Ukraine is not among record breakers yet but does try to keep up with the global trend.

In 2017, some 257 MW worth of new renewable energy capacities was commissioned in Ukraine, which is 2.1 times more than in 2016. At the same time, 82% of the installed capacity is solar power stations. At the end of the year, the total installed capacity of the "green" energy sector in Ukraine amounted to almost 1,375 MW, with a 1.44% share in electricity generation.

Another important news coming from the Chornobyl exclusion zone last year was the beginning of the start of construction of a private solar power plant, aimed to produce 1,024 MW of electricity annually. Private households are also trying their best in the field. In January-September, more than 1,200 families installed solar power stations at their homes, which is 1.5 times more than over the entire 2016. As of late October, a total of 2,323 households installed solar power stations with a total capacity of 37 MW, having attracted almost EUR 35 million to this end.

The increased demand for solar panels on the part of private households is primarily due to the law adopted in 2015, which sets a "green" tariff at 18.09 euro cents (about UAH 5.5) per 1 kWh for electricity produced by solar installations up to 30 kW.

In addition, local authorities are also helping people switch to renewable energy. In Lviv region, households see a 22% return from the regional budget on their loans for solar panels, and in Zhytomyr region, its 20% of the loan.

It should be noted that renewable energy in Ukraine, as already mentioned, makes up only 1.44% in total electricity production, while taking up 7.76% of the cost of all energy produced. All this is due to the fact that Ukraine has one of the highest green tariffs in Europe, which is also significantly higher than for other types of domestic generation: up to 17 euro cents per 1 kWh, which translates to about UAH 5.6 per 1 kWh.

It becomes obvious that the development of "alternative" energy at a current pace, taking into account an incentives mechanism through a higher "green" tariff may soon hit Ukrainians hard on their wallets. Therefore, the government needs to work out as soon as possible the possibility of moving to the auction mechanism for new renewable energy facilities.

If high tariffs remain in place, they will become a major problem for consumers so the support system should become cheaper, while the obstacle on adopting any changes is that the "green" tariff in Ukraine is fixed by law, not a simple regulation, according to a director of the Energy Community Secretariat Janez Kopac who spoke at the meeting of the Ukrainian Parliaments profile committee.

He stressed that the mechanism of auctions is more acceptable, as companies will compete for the opportunity to produce and sell their electricity to the grid, offering the lowest tariff.

Sale of energy companies

In 2017, the government decided to finally and irrevocably get rid of blocking shares in many energy distribution companies  the so-called oblenergos. According to the State Property Fund, they bring no dividends to the state anyway amid no effective state control over their operations. Therefore, it is easier to sell them, the SPF believes, claiming that Ukraine will be able to gain much more from their privatization.

Indeed, the treasury saw an inflow of UAH 3 billion from the sale of blocking shares in five energy companies. However, those sales took place in the absence of any competition. There was a single buyer Rinat Akhmetovs SCM.

Thus, 25% of the shares of DTEK Donetskoblenergo, Kyivenergo and DTEK Dniproenergo were sold at a starting price of UAH 143.8 million, UAH 759.6 million and UAH 728.236 million, respectively. A blocking stake in DTEK Zakhidenergo was sold at a price 20% higher than the starting one  at UAH 417.2 million, while 25% of the shares of DTEK Dniprooblenergo - at a price 2 times higher than the starting one  at UAH 1.005 billion. Therefore, Akhmetovs structures brought their share in these companies to almost 100%.

Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Francis Malige in his interview with Ukrainian journalists said that the sale of blocking shares of energy companies in 2017 was not in the interests of the state and far from international standards.

According to the official, the government bill on privatization could significantly improve the situation. This draft passed the first reading in November and now it is expected that in 2018 it will be considered in the second reading and Ukraine will finally have an opportunity to conduct transparent privatization of state assets on competitive terms. In fact, Ukraine still has plenty of assets it has set to sale, including blocking shares in power facilities still remaining in the state ownership.

In 2018, the SPF plans to sell a 25% stake in Odesaoblenergo, Sumyoblenergo and Donbasenergo, whose privatization failed in 2017 due to a lack of bids.

In addition, this year Ukraine scheduled to sell other power companies: 60.3% of the shares in Zaporizhiaoblenergo, Mykolayivoblenergo (70%), Kharkivoblenergo (65%), Khmelnytskoblenergo (70%), Cherkasyoblenergo (46%), Ternopiloblenergo (51%), as well as 99.8% of Kherson CHPP, 99.9% of Mykolayiv CHPP, 99.9% of Dniprovska CHPP, and 78.3% of shares in a state-owned power generating company Centrenergo.

Scandalous regulator, or better luck next time

As far back as in 2016, the Verkhovna Rada pompously passed a revolutionary law on the National Energy and Utilities Regulation Commission (NEURC), which provided for the creation of an independent regulator in the energy market of Ukraine in compliance with European standards.

Meanwhile, in 2017 it became evident that the government will resist until its last breath the creation of such an independent body.

Since mid-November, the NEURC has lost quorum for decision-making. The industry has since been in limbo, and hardly anyone expected such a sharp turn from the "revolutionary" law. As a result, the commission failed to take more than 150 important decisions for the industry, for example, on setting tariffs for generating companies, wholesale electricity market prices for 2018, and issuing licenses for new companies.

According to the law, for the planned re-election of NEURC members, which were previously appointed by the president, in May 2017 a five-strong bidding commission was to be created, consisting of two members from Parliament, two - from the President, and another one from the Cabinet.

This commission was to select new NEURC members to replace pairs of them, in accordance with the law, resigned every six months.

The thing is that no one rushed to appoint their representatives to the commission. The Verkhovna Rada was the first to fill their quota and it was only made on October 5! The Cabinet appointed a third member of the commission in another week, while the president took another month to take such a responsible step, while the NEURCs work had already been blocked due to a lack of quorum.

As a result, the bidding commission began to select new members only late December 2017. Thus, Ukraine's energy market is to remain without a functioning regulator until the spring of 2018, as the procedure for electing new NEURC members, at best, takes at least 2.5 months.

The Verkhovna Rada intervened, making changes to the "revolutionary" law, which granted the president extraordinary powers to appoint new members of the regulator for a period of 3 months on a one-off basis.

NEURCs operations were unblocked, and the Commission immediately began to take active measures. Within a few days a number of documents were adopted - secondary legislation required for the implementation of provisions of the Law "On the Electric Energy Market" and the future launch of its competitive model.

In particular, the regulator approved the Code of the Transmission System, the Code of the Distribution System, the Procedure for Forming Fees for Joining the Transmission System and the Distribution System, the Market Rules, the "Day ahead" and daily market rules, and the Commercial Power Accounting Code.

In addition, the commission revised the tariffs of energy companies and also increased the average annual value of the wholesale market price (WMP) for electricity for 2018 compared to the current value of 14.4% - to UAH 1,562 per MWh, which immediately provoked a strong public criticism.

Energy expert Andriy Gerus believes that a WMP increase for 2018 will lead to an increase in cross-subsidies (when prices for the population are artificially low compared to prices for industrial consumers), and to get rid of it, the government will have to raise prices for the households by 2.5 times.

Moreover, according to him, an increase in the wholesale market price for electricity will allow DTEK's energy holding owned by Rinat Akhmetov to get an additional UAH 10 billion.

It is obvious that due to the loss of public confidence in the NEURC, every important decision it takes draws a scandal and is not accepted by the public and businesses, so only the election of independent and qualified commission members could fix things.

It is also worth noting that the law on the NEURC is not the only one, the implementation of which can be hindered. In the spring of 2017, the Verkhovna Rada adopted another revolutionary law "On the Electricity Market" designed to radically change the rules existing in the segment.

Ultimately, businesses and even household consumers will be able to choose their electricity supplier, focusing on quality and price regulated by the market, not by the state. Respectively, competition will emerge between energy companies, something Ukraine has never seen.

The full-fledged implementation of the new market model was delayed for the so-called preparatory period, during which secondary legislation should be developed, the problem of mutual debts between market participants (about UAH 30 billion) - solved, cross-subsidization  eliminated, and much more.

According to the law, for household consumers, the new market should be launched no earlier than 2020, but for businesses  as early as in the summer of next year. It is obvious that for some such large-scale changes seem more than frightening so the timely implementation of the law is being sabotaged.

According to a member of the parliamentary committee on fuel and energy complex Lev Pidlysetsky, the launch of a new market for businesses can be shifted toward the end of 2019 as a result of delays in the adoption of necessary decisions by state bodies.

"Now we are lagging behind in terms of implementing all the steps that are necessary to launch the new market. The optimal period when the market can start operating is late 2019," he said.

The shift in the timing of the introduction of reformist laws seems to have already become a bad habit of Ukraines authorities. However, when it comes to energy, procrastinating is an inexcusable pleasure. The lack of reforms for over 25 years led to a disastrous result - the infrastructure needs a modernization worth of billions of hryvnias, while consumers, amid deteriorating quality of services, are only seeing annual tariff increases, not knowing where their money goes.

Therefore, all difficulties Ukraine is facing this year, it is obvious that maintaining the status quo is a no-go for anyone. The energy industry, just like the entire state of Ukraine, is on the verge of large-scale changes. The authorities are yet to accept this fact and do everything possible for their rapid and high-quality implementation.

Ihor Orel

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In Commerce's Ukraine investigation, it assigned a dumping rate of 44.03% to ArcelorMittal Steel Kryvyi Rih OJSC and Public Joint Stock Co. (PJSC) Yenakiyeve Steel due to their failure to fully cooperate in the investigation, American Shipper reported.

Read alsoEBRD provides US$350 mln syndicated loan to Ukraine's largest steel millDuferco S.A., on the other hand, was found to have no sales of subject merchandise during the period of investigation, and Commerce dropped the company from the investigation. All other Ukrainian producers/exporters of steel rod were assigned a dumping rate of 34.98%.

In its South Africa investigation, Commerce assigned a dumping rate of 142.26% for Scaw South Africa (Pty) Ltd., or Scaw Metals Group, and Consolidated Wire Industries. Davsteel Division of Cape Gate (Pty) Ltd. was found to have no shipments of subject merchandise during the period of investigation. All other South African producers/exporters of steel rod were assigned a dumping rate of 135.46%.

Commerce has instructed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits from importers of wire rod from the two countries based on these final rates.

In 2016, imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from South Africa and Ukraine were valued at $7.1 million and $55 million, respectively.

The petitioners for the antidumping investigations included Gerdau Ameristeel US of Florida, Nucor Corp. in North Carolina, Keystone Consolidated Industries of Texas, and Charter Steel of Wisconsin. Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in the U.S. market at less than fair value.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is scheduled to make its final determinations in these investigations by February 22. If the ITC makes affirmative final determinations that imports of steel wire rod from South Africa and/or Ukraine harm domestic industry, Commerce will issue antidumping orders. If the ITC makes negative determinations of injury, the investigations will end.
A new law in Oregon would make it easier for residents to pump their own gas, moving away from the framework established under a 1951 law restricting self-service gas, in place for nearly seven decades. Some Beaver State residents reacted with dismay to the change, although the laws overall effect would be limited.

People in the rest of the country, who have already been navigating a world where they are allowed to pump their own gas, took the opportunity for some lighthearted ribbing at their Oregonian friends expense. The experience reveals some of the underlying reasons why rules of this sort remain in place, and provides lessons for policymakers.

The new change is the extension of a previous 2015 modification that allowed some stations to offer self-service from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Some stations in rural areas struggled to staff the station during off-hours or found that it was not economical, and the relaxed restrictions allowed drivers to fill up at night. Starting this year, stations in 15 less-populated counties will be able to decide whether to offer self-service at any time. Places with convenience stores would not be eligible for self-service, limiting the laws effect.

Some stations have reported that they will only offer full-service because they are not equipped for self-service, or because they believe their customers will continue to prefer full-service.

These relatively minor incremental changes generated a maelstrom of consternation and concern from Oregonians. Local news station KTVL put up what it probably thought was an innocuous post on Facebook asking people for their views on the new law, only to be met with a deluge of comments worrying about the safety implications of marginally reducing the restrictions on self-service gasoline. As one indicative comment decried, I've lived in this state all my life and I REFUSE to pump my own gas This a service only qualified people should perform. I will literally park at the pump and wait until someone pumps my gas.

State regulations on hair braiders or interior designers persist for so long even though it is difficult to see a compelling case for their existence on public safety grounds. Some say that incumbents in those professions are interested in limiting competition. While these groups undoubtedly play a role, the experience in Oregon serves as a reminder that the public may support the rules in place, however unnecessary they may seem.

Restrictions such as the self-service gasoline rules in the Beaver State can create their own inertia, where residents used to the status quo cannot imagine operating without the rules in place. They are wary or distrustful of change. This inertia can play a significant role even in scenarios where people one town over, or in the overwhelming majority of states, function just fine without having the rule on the books.

Policymakers and regulators further reinforce the support for the status quo and make it harder to pursue reforms. In Oregon, legislators had no problem compiling a list of 17 different reasons it is in the public interest and necessary to keep the restrictions on self-service gas. Reasons range from Oregons weather, to the risk of fire hazards, to the supposed reduction in automotive repair facilities at gas stations due to full-service options. These reasons, often repeated by regulators or groups interested in keeping the rules in place, add to inertia.

Those outside Oregon should take care when rushing to tease their friends in the state. It might sound silly that Oregon is one of the only states in the country with rules preventing people from pumping their own gas. But is this that different than Louisiana being the only state requiring florists to have licenses to operate?

The backlash in Oregon to a minor change in restrictions on self-service gasoline should inform thinking about regulatory reform. Reports on which rules or regulations are outliers might help attenuate concerns from residents who are used to living under their shadow. Legislators should also consider submitting existing rules or regulations to periodic review or sunset to make sure they do not remain simply due to inertia.

Charles Hughes is a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter @CharlesHHughes.

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The Department of State has designated Muhammad al-Ghazali, Abukar Ali Adan, and Wanas al-Faqih as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

These designations impose strict sanctions on foreign individuals determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.

As a result of these designations, all of the terrorists' property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. citizens are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

Muhammad al-Ghazali, Abukar Ali Adan, and Wanas al-Faqih are all associated with al-Qaida affiliates: al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Shabaab, and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, all of which have been designated by the United States as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Al-Ghazali is a senior member of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula who is involved in internal security and training of the groups operatives. Abukar Ali Adan is deputy leader of al-Shabaab. Wanas al-Faqih is an Al-Qaida in the Islamic Mahgreb associate who planned the March 18, 2015 Bardo Museum attack in Tunis, Tunisia that killed at least 20 people.

These designations notify the U.S. public and the international community that Muhammad al-Ghazali, Wanas al-Faqih, and Abukar Ali Adan have committed acts of terrorism. Terrorism designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement activities of U.S. agencies and other governments.

These designations are part of a comprehensive U.S. strategy to defeat the terrorist threat, wherever it lurks.
Journalism remains a dangerous profession in too many places around the world. On October 16, Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist reporting on corruption in Malta as part of the Panama Papers investigation, was killed by a car bomb. In September attackers set fire to the car of Yulia Latynina, a columnist for Novaya Gazeta and host of a weekly radio show in Russia.

Protecting journalists and media practitioners against violence from those who may want to censor them is a core tenet of freedom of expression, said Shannon Maguire, a Media Advisor with USAIDs Bureau for Europe and Eurasia promoting independent media development.

Since 1992, more than 800 journalists have been murdered around the world, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ. Of those cases, 86 percent were killed with impunity, meaning no one has been held responsible.

In Russia, which ranks in the top 10 of CPJs list, the attack on Latynina is just the latest in a series of assaults and threats against Russian journalists and opposition figures that have not resulted in formal charges.

In Ukraine, the murder of prominent investigative journalist Pavel Sheremet also remains unsolved more than a year later.

The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, has prioritized support to independent media in Europe and Eurasia since beginning work there in 1992. Its programs focus both on the supply and demand sides of news and information, as well as advocating for greater press freedom.

One such program is the Regional Investigative Journalism Network, which helps shield reporters from attack by making it more difficult for criminals to pinpoint those who have exposed their wrongdoings.

In Ukraine, USAIDs U-Media Project has collaborated with more than 500 independent media outlets to ensure that professional journalists operate safely and protect their data in conflict areas in eastern Ukraine and Crimea while they report on the fighting and Russian occupation.

Donors, policymakers, advocacy organizations, and civil society organizations must continue to exert pressure on those involved in censorship to ensure the continuation of open, public debate and the free flow of information.

Journalists are not soldiers and their cameras and pens are not weapons, said Ms. McGuire. They shouldnt need to fear the phrase Dont kill the messenger.
Rishi Sunak, 37, recently joined the cabinet of British Prime Minister Theresa May. She introduced the Indian-origin politician into her government as a part of her new reshuffled team of ministers and secretaries on Monday.

Sunak has been elected as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Confirming the inclusion of Sunak in the cabinet, Theresa May's office, released a tweet on Tuesday, stating, "Rishi Sunak MP becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. "

Rishi Sunak MP becomes Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government @mhclg #Reshuffle pic.twitter.com/C46oGC7O3z - UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) January 9, 2018

Here is all you need to know about him:
Scores of dervishes and other demonstrators protested outside Tehrans notorious Evin prison, while anti-riot forces were lined up surrounding them, on Tuesday afternoon and well into the night.

The dervishes, of Gonabadi denomination, started protests eleven days ago, demanding the release of their fellow Dervishes; Kasra Nouri,Mohammad Reza Darvishi, Mohammad Sharifi Moqaddam and Faiza Abdipour.

Two of the detainees, Mr. Sharifi Moqaddam and Ms. Faiza Abdipour were released late, Monday night, January 8.

However, Dervish supporters continued their protest on Tuesday, with families of other protesters joining them.

In videos received by Radio Farda, the protesters were shouting, demanding the release of dervishes and detained students.

Finally, late in the nightt, the remaining two dervishes were also released, in small victory for protesters, after tense confrontation with riot police.

In an interview with Radio Fardas Mahtab Vahidi-Rad, one of the managers of Majzooban-i Noor (Spellbound by Light) Gonabadi dervishes website, Reza Entessari says, There are nearly eighty dervishes present at the sit-in, demanding unconditional release of their fellows. The four were arrested while visiting the website admin at Day hospital in Tehran.

There were many others in front of Evin sympathizing with the dervishes, while trying to receive information concerning their loved ones who have disappeared since protests against broke out on December 28 in Shiites holy city of Mashhad and swiftly spread to many other cities all over Iran.

The protests that began with slogans against high prices quickly turned to a movement against the Islamic Republic, calling Death to Khamenei and praising the founder of Irans Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Shah.

The head of judiciary based in Evin had proposed to free the dervishes provided receiving pay slips as bail.

The offer was categorically rejected, Reza Entessari said, adding, Our fellows have not committed any crime and releasing them on bail practically means admitting their crime.

Meanwhile, the commander of police called in the [anti-riot] guards to disperse the protesters.

Nevertheless, protesters have stood firm, so far.

We told the commander that we are here for being jailed. Entessari said.

He threatened to arrest us and take us to our comrades behind bars but, his promise was never fulfilled. Instead, he called the guards in which means clash and confrontation said one of the protesters in a video clip from the location.

Therefore, we asked the commander to order the guards to courageously beat and drag us into the prison. Otherwise, the presence of the guards does not make any sense, he added.

In the end, the authorities seemed to have preferred quelling the protes rather than risking further violent incidents.
The head of Israels intelligence agency, Mossad, has said the country is keeping close tabs on Iran.

We have eyes and ears and more, even in Iran, Yossi Cohen told a Finance Ministry convention in Jerusalem on January 9.

Cohen said he believes the current protests in Iran are unlikely to trigger a revolution and warned that massive Iranian-backed forces were galloping into the Middle East without hindrance to spread the countrys vision of Islam.

Iranian citizens went out to demonstrate because of the economic situation and the expectation that President Hassan Rouhani would improve the economy, The Times Of Israel quoted Cohen as saying. Thats what brought them out on the streets. Theres no need for great expectations, even though I would be very happy to see a social revolution in Iran. Maybe it will happen in the future.

According to Haaretz, Cohen said, The protesters are faced with opposing forces, but one must temper expectations.

He blamed Rouhani for being unable to address peoples demands. "The Iranian citizen is crying out against the disappointing economic situation. President Rouhani, in the public's opinion, hasn't been successful at improving the state of the economy and the society," he said, adding that "a revolution might happen tomorrow or in the future -- but they are facing forces that are no less than death squads against anybody who tries to raise their head in Iran."

Cohen then warned that "the Iranians are coasting into the Middle East undisturbed and with very large forces, in a way that virtually creates an air and land corridor that pours fighters into the region in order to actualize the Iranian vision.

The Mossad chief finished by commenting on Israel's relationship with the United States. "Our cooperation with the U.S. is exceptionally good, and it is only getting better. The U.S., over the past year, has been changing its policies, and we are beginning to see dramatic changes in the American understanding of strategic threats," he said according to the Jerusalem Post.



"We're seeing a positive shift, one that could possibly take more of Israel's security interests into account," Cohen continued. "The well-being of the entire world is threatened in the shadow of Iran's dramatically extremist ambitions and that it has the ability and the will to employ terror forces. For us, this is a positive change."

In a meeting with NATO ambassadors, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, We are absolutely committed to preventing Iran from forming such a base, a military base in Syria, and we back our words with action. He went on to warn that if Iran were to achieve its goals that would also threaten Europe as it would lead to a new wave of refugees flooding the Continent.

If Iran realizes its goal of bringing in 100,000 Shiite fighters into Iran  youll have the son of ISIS and the grandson of Al-Qaeda that will be fighting [for] this new Shiite force. Where will the spillover happen? In Europe. Where will the human flow go? To Europe, Netanyahu said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to provide grants to the citizens of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member-states for their education at Azerbaijan's universities.

According to the decree, a program of educational grants is being created this year to provide education in preparatory courses and on bachelor's, master's, doctoral, basic medical and residency levels.

The grants will cover tuition fees, visa fee, registration fee, fee for accommodation in dormitories or rental apartments, daily meal, provision with educational materials, transportation fee (except for taxi), utilities, medical care and visits to the native country once a year at Azerbaijans expense.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

Trend:

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev said that the country`s army will become more powerful and is ready to fulfill any instruction.

He made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the country in 2017 and future objectives on Jan. 10.

We are increasing our military power. According to international rankings, Azerbaijan`s army is among the world`s powerful armies. We are doing everything that is necessary for our army. The financial and technical resources of the army are being improved, President Aliyev said.

Unlike poor Armenia, we live on our own and increase our military power at our own expense. Unlike Armenia, we do not beg money from anybody, we do not apply for loans, the President added.

President Aliyev emphasized that the Azerbaijani public, as well as the enemy should know that the Azerbaijani army will become more powerful and stands ready to fulfill any task. This was evidenced by the recent history, he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11

Trend:

The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) provided with new housing will almost be doubled in Azerbaijan in 2018, Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev said.

He made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the country in 2017 and future objectives on Jan. 10.

The head of state noted that new townships, settlements for internally displaced persons will be built this year.

"If in 2017 we moved 12,000 people into new apartments, houses, then this year at least 20,000 IDPs should move to new apartments, houses. This indicator can be more," President Ilham Aliyev said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

Trend:

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev said that work on reduction of the foreign public debt should be carried out in the coming years.

He made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the country in 2017 and future objectives on Jan. 10.

"We should work to increase the revenues of the State Oil Fund. Overall, our currency reserves, the State Oil Fund's foreign exchange reserves are increasing year by year. This, of course, will allow us to allocate funds for important projects of the country and ensure economic stability. The amount and increase of the currency reserves give us economic independence and we are not dependent on any financial institution. We take loans. But, I should also note that we need to follow a more serious policy on loans, the President said.

The President noted that work on the reduction of the foreign public debt should be carried out in the years to come. "Today our foreign debt is at a reasonable level. However, I have set a task not to increase but reduce the foreign debt, President Aliyev said.

Increasing currency reserves give us economic independence. As I have said, we ourselves issue credit and we are not dependent on foreign loans. Even at the very low price of oil, we did not allow any delay in financing the Southern Gas Corridor, which is of strategic importance to the country, and almost certainly this project is about to complete. Thus, the high level of foreign exchange reserves strengthens economic independence. This, in turn, strengthens our political independence, he said.

Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is one of those countries that pursue an independent policy.

"The number of such countries is not so many, especially this is not peculiar to countries with not so big population and territory. However, we are on the path of independence and our free and independent life is superior to us. That is why our economic potential is necessary not just for the solution of economic issues. Our economic potential increases our political power, strengthens our position in the region, and allows us to define and implement the long-term strategy of our country. Of course, our economic power has played a major role in financing the Southern Gas Corridor, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, North-South projects and other key projects. We have borrowed foreign loans for the implementation of major strategic projects. But if we had not had a very strong economic situation, we would not have been able to get these loans, and we well remember that there were not many willing to lend us loans when we had not money. As we have grown up economically, the resources of the Oil Fund have started to grow, then the number of those desiring to lend us increased, and we are already making the choice.

In short, the level of our external debt should decline. This year's budget provides for repaying foreign debt. The main task is not to borrow foreign loans to the less important projects. We only need to borrow foreign loans for technologically important projects. Otherwise, it is not right to get a loan from abroad for the construction of a building or any other project that we can do using own capacities, President Aliyev said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11

Trend:

The year 2018 will be successful in terms of industrial and agricultural development in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev said.

He made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the country in 2017 and future objectives on Jan. 10.

The Head of State noted that practical steps are being taken to create industrial parks. The president noted that the Neftchala Industrial District was put into operation last year, while Hajigabul, Masalli and Sabirabad industrial sites are under construction.

"Opening of the first plant in the Mingechevir Light Industry Park is expected this year. The work at Sumgait Chemical Industry Park is very successful. Four new enterprises were opened and foundation of three enterprises was laid in late 2017. I am sure that they will be launched this year or early next year. Thus, the number of residents of the Sumgayit Chemical Industry Park has reached 15 and the volume of investment to be invested is $ 2.7 billion, which is a good result, and the $ 2.7 billion investment is a big figure, President Aliyev said.

President Aliyev expressed confidence that 2018 would be a remarkable year for industrial development: "It is planned to open ten new carpet factories, so the number of carpet factories should reach 20 by the end of this year. This means thousands of jobs. Particularly, women are working in these factories. They are nice jobs created for women, where they can show their knowledge and talent, and create good financial opportunities for themselves and for our country. Their products create wonderful opportunities for our countrys export potential and promotion of the Azerbaijani carpet in the world. That's why it is planned to open ten new factories this year, he said.

The head of state also expressed his confidence that the year 2018 will be successful for the development of agriculture: "Last year, the agriculture sector increased by 4.1 percent. This is a good indicator. Also, we are dealing with food security issues, and we develop the traditional technical field of agriculture. I have to note that Davos World Economic Forum has made a calculation over the food security, and Azerbaijan is ranked the 57th place in terms of food security index. This is a good indicator. Additional measures will be taken in the field of food security, in particular, grain production, so that to reduce dependence on imports and increase the volume of export-oriented products as in 2017, President Aliyev said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Nigar Guliyeva  Trend:

A delegation of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse, led by Managing Director Stephan Gehrig, has arrived in Tashkent.

The delegation aims to hold meetings and negotiations with the government of Uzbekistan, a number of ministries and departments, leading banking structures, state companies to discuss promising cooperation projects, the Foreign Ministry reported.

Credit Suisse is the second largest Swiss financial conglomerate. The headquarters are located in Zurich (Switzerland), in the Paradeplatz square. Credit Suisse Group has a Market Cap of 46.25 billion.
Pakistan's President House has denied media reports which claimed that President Mamnoon Hussain has pardoned the killers of Sarfaraz Shah under Article 45 of the Constitution.

A killing ordeal, which was recorded on video, shocked whoever watched it. The brutal killing by the paramilitary forces of Pakistan raised a lot of questions against the Pakistani army's abusive practices.

In 2011, Sarfaraz Shah, a 22-year-old man who went out for a walk in Karachi's public park was killed brutally by the Pakistan's paramilitary forces.

The entire episode was recorded on camera and was widely circulated around Pakistan's television and media houses.

Officials belonging to Sindh Rangers were involved in the case and were later awarded with life imprisonment in 2014.

Begging for life

In the video, the Sindh rangers were seen beating and pushing Sarfaraz. As he begged for mercy, one of the paramilitary officials pointed a gun at him. Shah, who was asking for forgiveness, was then shot by an official in the thigh. Shah bled to death due to absence of medical assistance.

The paramilitary officials claimed that he was shot as he was trying to rob someone but Shah's family denied the claims.

Killing in the name of government

According to a 2011 BBC report, Sarfaraz's brother claimed that he was a victim of extrajudicial killing. He also claimed that he went out to take a walk in the park during a power cut and was killed for no reason.

Salik Shah, Sarfaraz's brother told Samaa.tv that their family has forgiven the convicts 'for the sake of Allah'.

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) sentenced constable Shahid Zafar with a death penalty and jailed Sub-Inspector Bahaur Rehman, Lance Naik Liaquat Ali and Constables Muhammad Tariq, Manthar Ali and Afzal Khan under Section 302 (Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of ATC, 1997) in 2011.

But, in 2014, all of them were rewarded with life imprisonment by the Supreme Court.

Here's the link of the video available on social media of Sarfaraz Shah's Killing. -Link- (WARNING: Graphic content including violence and death, use discretion.)
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Jan. 10

By Huseyn Hasanov - Trend

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov discussed the construction of the Turkmenabat-Turkmenbashi highway during a working trip in Ashgabat, Altyn Asyr TV channel reported Jan. 10.

The president put forward a proposal to name the highway running from Amul (Amu Darya River) to Khazar (Caspian Sea) as the Great Silk Road.

This initiative is a real result of practical implementation of the resolutions on transport and transit corridors adopted by the UN General Assembly at the initiative of Turkmenistan in 2014 and 2015, President Berdimuhamedov said.

The Great Silk Road passed through Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan has a rich culture, various natural landscapes and unique archaeological monuments included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

Azerbaijan intends to increase the export of persimmons to Arab countries in 2018, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Association of Persimmon Producers and Exporters Gadir Yusifov told Trend Jan. 10.

Yusifov added that Azerbaijan started to supply persimmons to Arab countries in 2017, but the volume of exported products was insignificant.

"Russia, Ukraine and Belarus mainly import persimmons from Azerbaijan, but we intend to supply persimmons to other countries in 2018, he said. We started to export persimmons to Arab countries in 2017. Expansion of export of persimmons to Arab countries will be our main task in 2018."

"The association mainly focused on establishment of production and improvement of competitiveness of products in 2017, he said. A lot of work was carried out to review the situation in the markets of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. We are constantly monitoring prices in these markets."

Yusifov said over 200,000 tons of persimmons were harvested in Azerbaijan in 2017, of which about 130,000 tons were exported.

"Presently, about 50,000 tons of persimmons are stored in warehouses, he said. We are waiting for reasonable prices in markets to sell the rest of the products. I would like to stress that both the collection and export of persimmons increased in 2017."

The Azerbaijan Association of Persimmon Producers and Exporters was established in August 2017 on the initiative of entrepreneurs and with the support of the countrys Ministry of Economy.

The main objectives of the association are to increase the production of competitive and export-oriented products, as well as expand the export of persimmons.

Azerbaijan exported persimmons worth $70 million in January-November 2017, according to the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

The mortgage portfolio of DemirBank was transferred to four banks, the Azerbaijan Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund told Trend Jan. 10.

The portfolio worth 37.2 million manats is divided among MuganBank, Gunay Bank, RabitaBank and NBC Bank. A total of 1,170 loans were transferred to those banks.

DemirBanks license was revoked Dec. 23, 2017. The Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FIMSA) of Azerbaijan said the license was revoked due to a discrepancy between the total capital of the bank and the minimum capital requirement set for banks, and the adequacy ratio of the aggregate capital is lower than 3 percent stipulated by the legislation.

The bank also lacked the capacity to fulfill its obligations to creditors.

(1.7001 manats = 1$ on Jan. 10)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Ali Mustafayev - Trend:

Kazakhstan and Iran signed a memorandum on facilitation of group tourist trips between the two countries, a source in the Kazakh Foreign Ministry told Trend Jan. 10.

The memorandum was signed by the Ministry of Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Tourism of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Dec. 22, 2017.

Previously, Director of the Visit Almaty Center Assel Nurkebaeva said that after the removal of international sanctions, many sectors in Iran became open for Kazakhstan, including tourism, but the lack of a visa-free regime and the lack of knowledge about Kazakhstan among the Iranian tourists is an obstacle to development of tourism between the countries.

The memorandum signed between the countries won't be the last, and in near future the countries may expect much more favorable arrangements in the field of tourism.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 11

Trend:

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev said that the total number of ASAN Service centers will reach 15 this year.

He made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the country in 2017 and future objectives on Jan. 10.

Three ASAN Service centers will open this year in Mingachevir, Imishli and Shaki cities. This will bring the total number of ASAN Service centers to 15, the President said.

The head of state added that he gave instructions to build ASAN Service centers in five cities. They will probably be inaugurated in 2019. So in a year we will have 20 ASAN Service centers, he said.

The President said that ASAN Service centers have received about 20 million requests so far, adding that the project marked a breakthrough in the public service sector.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

Trend:

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan's non-oil exports grew by 24 percent in 2017.

He made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the country in 2017 and future objectives on Jan. 10.

The head of state noted that the country's export potential is growing. "In 2017, exports grew by 19 percent and non-oil exports increased by 24 percent. This is the result of the relevant work. The number of population is increasing. The population grows by at least 100,000 people a year. Consumption is increasing, the number of tourists is increasing. Last year, the country received almost 500,000 tourists more than in 2016. This, naturally, increases consumption. Nevertheless, our non-oil exports, including the export of food products, are growing rapidly. The growth of the non-oil sector by 24 percent during the year is the result of the work done," President Aliyev said.

The head of state noted that imports grew by about one percent, and this is natural. "Because, Azerbaijan, first of all, meets its demand at even larger volumes through domestic production, on the other hand, the purchasing power of citizens increases. So, I believe that the preservation of imports at a stable level is our greatest achievement. The positive surplus of trade balance is $6.2 billion. Economists are well aware that this is an excellent indicator. I am confident that the difference will be even greater in this and subsequent years. This is one of the very important factors for improving the macroeconomic situation, and keeping the stable rate of the manat," said Ilham Aliyev.

The President stressed that the major economic indicators are very positive.

"I think that every country can be proud of such results, and we are proud that we accomplished 2017 with such excellent indicators. The development of the regions was constantly in the spotlight. In the past year I visited over 30 regions. As part of these visits new enterprises were opened and foundation of new enterprises was laid, and I was informed about the situation in the regions. I visit the regions every year and I can say that I visited almost half of the regions last year. Of course this is very important for me, since I review the situation on the ground and give relevant instructions.

I know what is important for citizens residing in these regions. Of course, it is also very important for strengthening the discipline, because I have repeatedly visited every region of Azerbaijan and personally supervise the implementation of these instructions," the head of state said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Ali Mustafayev - Trend:

The Czech Republic intends to purchase petroleum products of Azerbaijans petrochemical plants, the Secretary for Economic Affairs and Trade of the Czech Embassy in Azerbaijan Jan Jindrich told Trend.

"Presently, we purchase only raw materials from Azerbaijan, which are further processed in our Czech petrochemical plants, but at the same time we are following with great interest the nomenclature of oil products produced in Azerbaijan and absent in the Czech Republic. In this regard, the Czech Republic intends to purchase from Azerbaijan not only raw materials, but also refined oil products," Jindrich said.

He added that the purchase of oil products from Azerbaijan will start, approximately, in 2019.

Trade turnover between the two countries increased by more than 100 percent in January-October 2017 as compared to the same period of the previous year, amounting to $924 million in 10 months of 2017, of which $846 million accounted for the export of Azerbaijani products to the Czech Republic, while the import of Czech products by Azerbaijan totaled $78 million.

The main product exported from Azerbaijan to the Czech Republic is crude oil, the volume of which totals 2-2.5 million tons per year, making up a third of the oil consumed in the Czech Republic.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.10

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

As much as 50 percent of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) route in Greece and Albania has been restored to original condition, TAP AG consortium said in a message.

Another milestone has been reached: 50 percent of TAP route in Greece and Albania (more than 380 kilometers out of 765 kilometers) being restored to original condition or better, said the message.

TAP worth 4.5 billion euros is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering allocation of 500 million euros loan for TAP project. Aside from EBRD, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will also discuss the allocation of 1.5 billion euros loan for TAP in February.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Huseyn Valiyev  Trend:

Turkeys electronic map will be available in the GoMap (www.gomap.az) system soon, Azerbaijan's SINAM company told Trend.

The GoMap.az project was initiated by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism, while SINAM acts as its executor.

According to the company, Turkeys map has been fully adapted for the GoMap platform.

The agreement on including Turkeys map in GoMap was reached with Turkish Infotech Group company, with which the project is being implemented at the partnership level.

Expanding the coverage of GoMap will make this service useful for tourists visiting Turkey.
Azercell, the leading mobile operator of the country, continues to increase the number of its stores with the new concept.

Aiming to increase the number of new exclusive stores across the capital and the regions, Azercell opened Exclusive store with a new concept in Mardakan settlement on January 9, 2018. Located at 92, Sergey Yesenin street in Mardakan settlement, the exclusive store has been designed in a new Nordic concept and provided with advanced equipment and facilities. The distinguishing feature of the store is the availability of open space, easiness of services and choices. Here, the customers can learn about any product, compare and try them. Qualified sales representatives will help the customers to make the right choice, activate services and so on. As in other Customer Service centers, this office will manage all operations, other than printing out call history details and transfer of a mobile number from one persons name to another. Customers can get various accessories and devices, supporting mobile technologies and purchase mobile phones for cash or on credit. Notably, the store in Mardakan will operate from 10.00 till 19.00 all days of the week without break.

On the opening day of its new office, Azercell introduced next favorable campaign for its customers. Thus, the customers making any purchase from Mardakan Azercell Exclusive within 3 days after the opening day will receive a gift valued at 50% of their spending.

Azercell Telecom will extend its Exclusive stores with the new concept over the country which will enable the company to provide more friendly and advantageous services for its subscribers.

The leader of the mobile communication industry, the largest taxpayer and the biggest investor of the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996. With 48% share of Azerbaijans mobile telecom market Azercells network covers 80% of the territory (excluding 20% of the occupied territories) and 99,8% of population of the country. Currently, 4,5 million subscribers choose Azercell services. Azercell has pioneered an important number of innovations in Azerbaijan, including GSM technology, advance payment system, mobile internet services, Metro coverage, 24/7 call centre service, 7 day/week Front Office service, M2M services, one-stop-shopping approach Azercell Express offices, Online Customer Care and Social Media Customer Care services, Mobile Customer Care office, mobile e-signature service ASAN Imza etc. Azercell deployed first 4G  LTE services in Azerbaijan in 2012. According to the results of mobile network quality surveys of Global Wireless Solutions company and international systems specialized in wireless coverage mapping such as Opensignal and Testmy.net, Azercells network demonstrated the best results among the mobile operators of Azerbaijan.
Yashwant

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) Two days after the Mumbai civic authority demolished parts of "illegal" construction at his residence, BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha today suggested it could be a fallout of the support he extended to the partys veteran leader Yashwant Sinhas stir for farmers in Satara.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had razed illegal extensions and constructions at Ramayana, the eight-storey residential building owned by the actor- politician on Monday.

"People are asking me if I am paying the price for honest politics based on facts, figures & truth & for supporting statesman Yashwant Sinhas support to Satara farmers. I have no answer," Sinha tweeted. "It could well be! Started with the removal of my security cover in Delhi..& now demolition at my residence. In all fairness, it cud also be a knee jerk reaction of BMC after the tragic fire in some Mumbai restaurants. If so, I welcome the reaction..hope BMC continues..2," Sinha, who has had frequent run-ins with the BJP leadership in recent times, said in another tweet.

Sinha said he was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modis stress on Swachhata (cleanliness) and toilet construction. He said he got a toilet built on the terrace for people working in the building which did not find favour with Mumbai civic body officials. "I thought I am carrying message of swachhata and toilet building by constructing a toilet at my Mumbai home on the terrace for people working in the building which has been held as illegal and razed," Sinha told PTI. According to a civic official who supervised the demolition work, several extensions and alterations were made in the building, including two toilets and a pantry in the refuge area, a toilet on the terrace, an office and a pooja (prayer) room.

All these were not in sync with the approved plan, he said.

Sinha, a two-time Lok Sabha MP from Patna Sahib had redeveloped his bungalow a few years back and built the eight-storey building where he now lives with his family.

The notice for demolition came shortly after he supported Yashwant Sinhas agitation for farmers in Maharashtras Satara. Yashwant Sinha, a former Union minister, is also not on best of terms with the BJP brass, and has been often critical of the Modi governments policies. PTI SNS SK SK
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.10

By Nigar Guliyeva  Trend:

Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov discussed the development of bilateral relations with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon during his working visit to Dushanbe, the Tajik presidential press office reported.

The sides mulled the issues of eliminating trade restrictions, simplifying the regime of bilateral trips of citizens, reducing tariffs for moving goods, restoring the existing railway route, cleaning up mined areas at the border, opening checkpoints and other issues related to the state border.

Rahmon stressed the readiness of the Tajik side to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation with Uzbekistan in the use of water and energy resources, saying that Tajikistan has never tried to create problems for the countries of the region on this issue, on the contrary, advocated for integrating the world and regional community in addressing water and environmental issues problems.

They also discussed issues of bilateral cooperation in combating undesirable threats in the region and the world, including terrorism, extremism and other transnational crimes.

Both sides expressed hope for fruitful relations between the two countries in all areas of interest.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Jan. 10

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Merdan Bayramdurdyev has been appointed as Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan.

The relevant decree was signed by the countrys president.

Turkmenistans Ministry of Finance and Economy was established recently.

The new ministry united the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy and Development.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

The Central Bank of Iran has refused to endorse Bitcoin, pledging to declare its transparent policies regarding the cryptocurrency in future.

The Central Bank of Iran in no ways endorses Bitcoin, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Valiollah Seif, was quoted as saying by Iranian media on Wednesday.

Despite the fact that the trades of Bitcoin has become common in Iran, the people should remain vigilant about the issue, he added.

The official further warned against the risks of the cryptocurrecny and said the CBI has conducted studies about Bitcoin.

The price of Bitcoin in the global markets experienced a dramatic surge over the past year reaching $14,234 on Wednesday form $1000 last January.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 9

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Renault brand cars stood at the top of Irans auto imports list during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (started March 20, 2017), Farhad Ehteshamzad, head of Iranian Automobile Importers Association, said.

Renault was the top imported brand in the 9-month period, followed by Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, Kia, SsangYong, BMW, Lexus, and Mitsubishi, Ehteshamzad said, the official website of the association said in a statement.

Renaults share from imports registered a 14-percent rise, the highest increase year-on-year, meanwhile the share of Kia from imports witnessed the highest fall in the period by 11 percent, he added.

Renault brand share from Irans car imports was 30 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year.

Iran imported 55,816 passenger cars during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (started March 20, 2017), Ehteshamzad said.

Over 69 percent of Irans car imports came from the UAE during the 9-month period, followed by South Korea, France, China, Turkey and Germany, he added.

Over 1.104 million cars were produced in Iran during the period, 16.1 percent more year-on-year.
Italy and Iran will on Thursday sign a framework credit agreement worth 5.0 billion euros whereby Rome will help Italian companies invest in Iran, a Treasury source said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

The accord foresees the opening of lines of credit to two Iranian banks by Invitalia, an Italian state-owned holding, in order to finance investment projects by Italian companies, the source said.

It will be signed by Invitalias investment arm, Invitalia Global Investment, and two Iranian banks, Bank of Industry and Mine and Middle East Bank.

Invitalia will open lines of credit with the two banks and the Iranian government will guarantee financing of projects, the source added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

An economic delegation from Germany is scheduled to visit Tehran later this week to discuss boosting mutual business ties, Behrouz Hassan Olfat, director of Europe and Americas Department at the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran(TPOI), said.

The delegation consisting of representatives from 20 German companies will participate in a business forum, headed by Mojtaba Khosrotaj, Irans deputy industry, mine and trade minister on Jan. 13 in Tehran, according to the press office of the TPOI.

Cooperation in the fields of steel, banking and finance areas, renewable energy, metallurgical equipment, medical, laboratory and pharmaceutical supplies as well as automotive and car parts will be discussed in the upcoming meeting, Hassan Olfat said.

Iran-Germany mutual trade reached $1.9 million during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (started March 20, 2017).

Germany was the top exporter to Iran among the EU countries in the 8-month period with $1.792 million worth of goods, 20 percent more year-on-year.

The European country stood fifth after China, UAE, Turkey and South Korea.

Germany shared 5.5 percent of Irans overall imports in terms of value in the 8-month period.

However the volume of the countrys exports to Iran amounted to 529,000 tons, 29 percent less year-on-year, which indicates that the European country has exported more valuable goods to Iran during the current fiscal year.

Agricultural products including fruits and dried fruits as well as medicines, handmade carpets, textiles, resins, iron and steel were Irans main exports to Germany in the period.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Officials from Iran and Azerbaijan will hold the 12th meeting of the joint economic commission of the two countries on Jan. 15-16 in Tehran, a diplomatic source told Trend.

Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Karbasian will attend the meeting.

According to the source, Mustafayev is expected to meet high ranking Iranian officials during the meeting.

Azerbaijans trade turnover with Iran amounted to almost $229 million in January-November 2017, more than $213 million of which accounted for the import of Iranian products, according to Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.
Tehran, Iran, Jan. 10

By Kamyar Eghbal  Trend:

Although the Iranian government has voiced its intention to purchase rice from farmers, the farmers still suffer from recession as dealers continue to import the staple food product into the rice-producing country.

There are talks regarding the government buying rice from farmers, but it has not yet happened, Baba Ramezani Bali, the head of the rice association of Babol county in Mazandaran Province, a major rice production hub of the country, told Trend.

I think the government should help farmers with the provision of domestic crops by providing cheaper pesticides and fertilizers to farmers, he added.

The rice market is still in recession, which is more related to the overall economic situation in Iran, which means that if the economic situation improves, the price will change for the better, as well, Baba Ramezani Bali believes.

Ramezani estimated the rice demand in the Iranian market at 700,000 tons annually, criticizing the excessive imports of the product into the country.

With this amount of imports beside the domestic products, our demand is met, but we see further imports which is not in the interest of rice farmers, he said.

Putting the countrys annual rice output at 2500 tons, he added that the annual consumption of each Iranian is about 36 kilograms.

Saying that the northern Iran is the main hub for rice production in the country, the official urged the importers to refrain from distributing imported rice in the northern provinces.

Back in November 2017, Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade issued a decree removing the ban on rice import for 7 months.

The Iranian government bans rice import annually with only a few months of break to support domestic producers.
Irans atomic energy agency said on Wednesday a reimposition of sanctions by the United States would be a violation of Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers, adding that the Islamic Republic had the capacity to greatly increase its enrichment of uranium, Reuters reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump must decide by mid-January whether to continue the suspension of U.S. sanctions on Irans oil exports under the pact, which eased economic pressure on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear programme.

If the suspension is not continued its a violation of the (nuclear deal) and the Islamic Republic of Iran will, of course, take the necessary actions, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said in an interview with state TV.

He did not specify what such actions might be. Later in the interview, he said: The capacity exists within the atomic energy agency to speed up nuclear work in various fields, particularly in the field of enrichment, which can be increased several times more than in the period before the nuclear agreement.

Enrichment, a process which can produce weapons-grade uranium, is restricted under the terms of the deal. Supporters of the pact insist that strong international monitoring will prevent Iran from developing nuclear bombs. Iran has denied that it wants to acquire nuclear weapons.

The American government should think wisely, Kamalvandi said in the interview. Even though they have shown until now unfortunately that they are not thinking or acting wisely.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, said on Monday Tehran might reconsider its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if the United States failed to respect its commitments in the deal.

The IAEA, the UNs nuclear watchdog, seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It is scrutinising Irans compliance with the agreement.

Majid Takht Ravanchi, a senior aide to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, said on Wednesday Trumps unpredictable personality made it difficult to foresee whether sanctions would be renewed.

We are prepared for the worst-case scenario, Takht Ravanchi said, according to state media. Not only in the political field but even on the economic front.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Changes in the government of Poland will not affect the high-level relations between Azerbaijan and this country, Aydin Mirzazade, Azerbaijani MP and member of the Azerbaijan-Poland working group on interparliamentary relations, told Trend Jan. 10.

No matter what political power rules in Poland, the ties between the two countries have always been and will be at a high level, said the MP.

Earlier, Polands President Andrzej Duda replaced nine ministers. In December 2017, Mateusz Morawiecki was appointed as prime minister of Poland. He took the oath along with the old composition of the Cabinet of Ministers, but promised a reshuffle in January.

Poland supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, there is very close cooperation between Azerbaijan and Poland in the issues of maintaining stability and security on the international arena, the two countries maintain strong ties, and trade and economic ties expand every year, noted Mirzazade.

He added that the changes in the governments composition depending on political conditions are based on the desire to make the countrys policy more effective.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Wednesday, compared BJP and RSS to terrorists. He said that anyone who tries to disrupt social harmony is a terrorist.

"BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal are like terrorists. Government would not tolerate anyone who tries to disturb peace in the society. Be it PFI, SDPI or VHP RSS," said Siddaramaiah.

Supporting the CM's stand, Congress working President Dinesh Gundu Rao went a step ahead and said that BJP should be banned in Karnataka as they are trying to invoke communalism in the state.

BJP Karnataka, however, hit back at Siddaramaiah and blamed him for polarising the voters in the state ahead of the elections.

BJP Karnataka tweeted "CM Siddramaiah is desperately trying to polarise elections on communal lines by calling BJP-RSS terror organizations. While Congress Working President Dinesh Gundu Rao calls for ban of BJP. What they don't realize is India is not in 1975 and Indira Gandhi is not the Prime Minister today."

Meanwhile, Congress student wing NSUI protested condemning the act of a BJP youth leader who allegedly harassed a 20-year-old girl Dhanyashree in Chickmangalore which lead her to commit suicide.

MV Anil, local BJP leader was arrested by the district police as he allegedly harassed Dhanya blaming her for being friendly with a man of another religion.

Police are on a look out for four more in the same case who are from different right from groups in coastal Karnataka.
Georgia is invited as an "important guest at an upcoming exhibition in Shanghai, China, announced Georgias Ministry of Economy Dimitry Kumsishvili today, Agenda reports.

The exhibition will be held on November 5-10, 2018 and will host exporters and producers from different countries to showcase their production.

The Chinese import fair will enable Georgian exporters interested in the Chinese market to popularise their productions in the country.

Also, as the minister announced, the exhibition will help Georgian exporters and producers establish communication with potential Chinese partners.

Meanwhile, Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and China came into play on January 1, 2018, making Georgia the first country in the region to have such a deal with China.

Starting from January 1, 2018 Georgian wine, mineral waters, honey, tea, fruit, vegetables and agricultural products will be exported to China and its market of 1.4 billion consumers, with zero tariffs, without additional customs fees and withut any transition period.
Experts from Poland and the United Kingdom will support consumer rights protection in Georgia, helping to align Georgian legislation with the European Union (EU) acquis and put in place a modern legal framework for consumer rights protection in the country, Agenda reports.

An expert mission will visit Georgia from January 15-17. The mission is being organised by the European Commissions Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) in cooperation with the Parliament of Georgia.

The aim of the mission is to support the Committee on European Integration of the Parliament of Georgia in the drafting of a new draft Law on Consumer Rights Protection, which transposes the national legal system with the main provisions of EU directives and regulations in the field.

The experts will assist Georgias legislators in the development of a comprehensive legal framework on consumer protection and consumer rights.

They will also address legal issues arising from the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement and the transposition of other relevant EU legislation.

TAIEX is a demand-driven tool that supports partner countries with the adaptation of national laws, regulations and quality standards to match those of EU Member States in the framework of Cooperation or Association Agreements signed with the EU.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

A 33-year-old Georgian citizen, Gosha Shagnadze, who is a member of the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist group, has been detained in the northeastern Turkish province of Trabzon, the Turkish media reported Jan. 10.

During the investigation, Shagnadze confirmed that he has contacts with the IS.

As a result of the search in Shagnadzes apartment, propaganda literature, as well as videos proving his involvement in the IS were found.

It is expected that Shagnadze will be deported from Turkey to Georgia.

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Someone in Donald Trump's orbit allegedly reached out to the FBI during the campaign over concerns that the soon-to-be President was being blackmailed by the Russian government, according to the co-founder of a firm that researched Trump in 2016, New York Daily News reports.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday afternoon unexpectedly released the full testimony of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, who was interrogated at length by the Senate Judiciary Committee in August over his ties to Christopher Steele.

Simpson's organization assisted Steele, an ex-British spy, in compiling what came to be known as the Steele dossier  a cache of documents alleging that the Russian government has damaging information on Trump.

"(The FBI) believed Chris's information might be credible because they had other intelligence that indicated the same thing and one of those pieces of intelligence was a human source from inside the Trump Organization," Simpson told the committee.

Later in the closed-door testimony, Simpson clarified that he couldn't say for sure whether the source was from the Trump Organization or the Trump campaign.

Simpson declined to identify the source by name for "security" reasons.
A stricken Iranian oil tanker in the East China Sea could burn for as long as one month, South Koreas Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries told Reuters on Wednesday, as the blaze raged for a fourth day following a collision with a freight ship.

Dozens of rescue boats battled strong winds, high waves and poisonous fumes to comb a 900-square-nautical-mile (3,100-square-kilometre) area for 31 missing sailors and tame the fire, amid growing concerns the listing ship may explode or sink.

We believe flames would last for two weeks or a month considering previous cases of oil tank accidents, said official Park Sung-dong.

What we are concerned about at this moment is the bunker fuel, which could contaminate water if (the ship) sinks, the ministry official said.

The tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608), run by Irans top oil shipping operator, National Iranian Tanker Co, collided on Saturday with the CF Crystal (IMO:9497050), carrying grain from the United States, about 160 nautical miles (300 km) off Chinas coast near Shanghai.

The Sanchi was delivering 136,000 tonnes of condensate, a highly flammable ultra-light crude, to South Korea. The cargo of about 1 million barrels is worth some $60 million.

The Chinese government said late on Tuesday it had not found a large-scale oil leak, and the condensate was burning off or evaporating so quickly that it would leave little residue - less than 1 percent - within five hours of a spill. That reduces the chances of a crude-style oil slick.

Still, condensate is highly volatile when exposed to air and water and concerns were growing the tanker could explode and sink. The ministry official said authorities suspect the tanker caught fire as soon as it hit the freighter carrying grain.

Park said its unlikely the oil will spread to South Korea at the moment because the tanker has moved 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the southeast.

Authorities and environmentalists worry the ship is increasingly vulnerable to breaking up and sinking the longer the blaze rages.

If that happens, it would potentially expel the tankers bunker fuel, or the heavy fuel oil that powers a ships engines. Bunker fuel is the dirtiest kind of oil, extremely toxic when spilled, though much less explosive.

Fuel oil is relatively easy to contain because volumes are lower and its viscosity means its easier to extract from water, but even small volumes can hurt marine life.

The problem is the ships heavy bunker fuel, said Chauncey Naylor, a U.S.-based director of emergency response and training at Tyco Corps oil-fire specialists Williams Fire & Hazard Control, which is not involved in the clean-up.

It burns real slow and its heavy and will lay on the ocean and on any twisted metal and create heavy smoke. Its the stuff that spills and gets on birds.

The Zhoushan fishing ground where the collision occurred is known as one of the biggest in the East China Sea, particularly for mackerel and croaker, according to Greenpeace. In 2106, the catch from the East China Sea was 5.18 million tonnes, making it Chinas largest fishing ground.

A Suezmax tanker can hold a maximum of 5,000 tonnes of bunker fuel to keep it running. The Sanchi may have been carrying about 1,000 tonnes by the time it hit the grain freighter, according to bunker fuel traders estimates.
U.S. President Donald Trump told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in he is open to talking with North Korea, the Souths presidential office said on Wednesday after they had spoken by telephone, Reuters reports.

A day after North and South Korea held their first talks in more than two years, Trump said there would be no military action while talks are ongoing, the Blue House said in a statement after the phone call.
Tunisian police on Tuesday fired tear gas on protesters in the capital who were storming a Carrefour supermarket in an anti-government protest, a witness said, Reuters reports.

Police also clashed with protesters in two districts in Tunis as demonstrations against recent austerity measures continued, residents said.


China, poised to become the worlds biggest aircraft buyer, will finalize orders for 184 Airbus SE A320 aircraft soon, French President Emmanuel Macron said after talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Bloomberg reports.

Xi has pledged to keep Airbus order volumes in the years ahead, Macron said in Beijing Wednesday. China will maintain parity on orders with Airbus and its American rival Boeing Co., Macron said. The French president also said that discussions were held on sales of Airbus A350 and superjumbo A380 models.

Macrons comments come after Airbus said Tuesday it will accelerate production of the A320 workhorse model in China to six a month by 2020 as the European planemaker seeks to meet global demand while pursuing more orders in Asias largest economy.The narrow-body build rate at the Tianjin plant east of Beijing will increase from the current four planes a month, said Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier, who is part of a trade delegation led by Macron.

The tour failed to produce any new orders for new aircraft. Airbus is offering China a production role on its A380 aircraft in an effort to secure a program-extending order for the slow-selling double-decker jet, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Russias finance ministry said on Wednesday it has fully spent its reserve fund, as planned, in late 2017 to cover budget shortfalls, Reuters reports.

The finance ministry said it converted foreign currency it had in its reserve fund into rubles and channeled more than 1 trillion rubles ($17.53 billion) to cover budget deficit in December.

As of Dec. 1, the reserve fund stood at $17.05 billion. The reserve fund is part of the countrys gold and forex reserves that stood at $432 billion as of Dec. 22.

The finance ministry said it will terminate the reserve fund, accumulated over years of high oil prices, from Feb. 1.

The ministry also said the National Wealth Fund, which is designed to help balance the pension system, fell to $65.15 billion as of Jan. 1. from $66.94 billion as of Dec. 1.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

A truck collided with a freight train in the western Turkish province of Kutahya, the Turkish media outlets reported Jan. 10.

According to the preliminary data, two people who were in the truck became injured as a result of the accident. The injured people were taken to the nearest hospital.

A criminal case has been launched, investigation is underway.

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Colombo, Jan 10 (PTI) Sri Lankan lawmakers today exchanged blows inside Parliament during a special session convened to debate the commission of an inquiry report on an alleged bond scam in the countrys central bank.

The Opposition members trooped into the well of the chamber to protest while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was speaking on the alleged corruption in a bond issue, which has dented his governments reputation.

The premier had called the special session today, ahead of its scheduled sitting after the New Year recess on January 23, to debate the report of the presidential commission of inquiry which was released last week by President Maithripala Sirisena.

The Opposition demanded the 1,200-page report be tabled in parliament before the debate.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that Sirisenas office had conveyed to him that the report could only be made available in a week. The Opposition demanded Jayasuriya to act fast to obtain the reports.

Members form both the sides came to blows as brawl erupted when the opposition demanded that Wickremesinghe should not be allowed to speak without the report.

The report had called for criminal as well as civil action against individuals connected to a central bank primary dealer firm linked to the son-in-law of the banks former Governor Arjuna Mahendran, who was hand-picked for the post by Wickremesinghe.

The company was accused of making huge profits through illegal means.

The Opposition had called for Wickremesinghes resignation taking responsibility to the appointment of the former governor, who was later sacked by Sirisena.

The report, however, had exonerated the Prime Minister from the scam. PTI COR KIS AKJ KIS
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leader of Turkeys Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli will discuss the details of presidential election, the Turkish media outlets reported Jan. 10.

Reportedly, the meeting will be held at 16:00 (UTC+3) on Jan. 10.

Earlier, Bahceli noted that MHP will support President Erdogan if he puts forward his candidacy for 2019 presidential election.

The Turkish president, in turn, expressed his readiness to discuss any topic with Bahceli.

In 2019, Turkey will hold parliamentary, presidential and municipal elections.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The main disagreements between Turkey and the US are related to the fact that Washington is equipping the Syrian wing of the PKK, PYD and YPG, and has not yet fulfilled Ankaras demand on extradition of the leader of FETO terrorist organization, the Turkish media quoted the countrys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying Jan. 10.

Cavusoglu said that actions of the US are contrary to the partnership between the two states.

The US claims that it is an ally of Turkey and at the same time, is actively arming the PYD and YPG, which pose a threat not only to Turkey, but also to the entire region, noted the Turkish foreign minister.

He said that Washington should understand that PYD and YPG do not represent all ethnic Kurds of Syria.

On July 15 evening, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country. Meanwhile, a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

The death toll as a result of the military coup attempt stood at 250 people, and more than 2,000 people were wounded.

The Turkish authorities accuse the leader of the Hizmet movement, Fethullah Gulen, of involvement in an attempted military coup and demand the US to extradite him.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The support by leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli for the Turkish government will open a new political period in the country, which will begin in 2019, the Turkish media quoted Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag as saying Jan. 10.

Bahceli proved that he and his party are committed to Turkeys stability and prosperity, Bozdag added.

Earlier, Bahceli noted that MHP will support President Erdogan if he puts forward his candidacy for 2019 presidential election.

The Turkish president, in turn, expressed his readiness to discuss any topic with Bahceli.

In 2019, Turkey will hold parliamentary, presidential and municipal elections.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 10

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party Devlet Bahceli are holding negotiations in Ankara, the Turkish media reported Jan. 10.

Reportedly, the meeting between Erdogan and Bahceli is being held behind the closed doors.

Earlier, Bahceli noted that the Nationalist Movement Party will support President Erdogan if he puts forward his candidacy for 2019 presidential election.

The Turkish president, in turn, expressed his readiness to discuss any topic with Bahceli.

In 2019, Turkey will hold parliamentary, presidential and municipal elections.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the U.S. Embassy Charge dAffaires Philip Kosnett in capital Ankara to express its discomfort over the U.S support for the PKK/ PYD terror group, Anadolu reported.

The U.S. weapons training of PKK/PYD terrorist organization members was discussed when Kosnett was summoned to the ministry, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.
KYODO NEWS - Jan 10, 2018 - 18:49 | World, All

South Korean President Moon Jae In said Wednesday that Japan needs to sincerely apologize to "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels if the long-standing bilateral issue is to be resolved.

Moon told a press conference that it is "undeniable" that a deal struck with Japan in 2015 to resolve the comfort women issue "finally and irreversibly" is an official agreement between the two countries.

However, referring to aspects of the agreement he considers seriously flawed, he said, "A knot wrongly tied should be untied."

The president's remarks come a day after the government announced it would not seek to renegotiate the deal, reached under the previous administration of President Park Geun Hye, but that it wants Japan to do more to settle the issue, a call swiftly rejected by Tokyo.

"Japan should accept the truth, apologize with a sincere heart and take (the comfort women issue) as a lesson and work with the international community in such a way that (such things) could not occur again," Moon said.

A real settlement would come if the victims can forgive, after Japan makes a sincere apology and take other actions, Moon said.

Still, Moon said South Korea will try to separate historical issues from efforts to develop future-oriented cooperation with Tokyo. "It's very important to maintain good relations with Japan," he said.

At the same time, Moon said his government would continue taking measures to heal the psychological wounds of the victims so as to restore their honor and dignity.

The dispute over comfort women -- a euphemism used to refer to women mostly from Asian countries who worked in brothels built to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II -- has been one of the major issues that have strained ties between Tokyo and Seoul for years.

Under the 2015 deal, Japan apologized and expressed remorse to former comfort women for their sufferings and provided 1 billion yen ($8.8 million) to a South Korean foundation to support surviving victims.

South Korea in return agreed to "make efforts" to remove a statue symbolizing comfort women from in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. That bronze, life-size statue, of a girl in traditional Korean dress remains in place.

The deal, however, has proven controversial among the victims and the South Korean public who felt the victims' voices were ignored, and that Japan's fresh apology over the issue was inadequate.

With some of the victims calling for the money to be returned, South Korea said Tuesday it will set up its own fund of an equal amount and negotiate with Tokyo on what to do with the Japanese contribution.

In Wednesday's press conference, Moon said, "If the money could be spent for the good purpose of resolving the comfort women issue, and Japan, the victims and civic organizations agree to it, I think it is desirable."

"I will take a bit more time in conducting talks with Japan, the victims and related organizations," he added.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga rejected Moon's call for Tokyo to do more to settle the comfort women issue, saying Tokyo "cannot accept at all" such a demand by South Korea.

Given that both countries had agreed to settle the issue "finally and irreversibly" in December 2015, Suga said the two countries are supposed to steadily implement that deal.

Later Tokyo lodged a formal protest with Seoul, with a senior Foreign Ministry official phoning a senior official of the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo.
KYODO NEWS - Jan 9, 2018 - 16:44 | All, Japan

Japan lodged a protest with the United States on Tuesday over two forced landings by American military helicopters in the past few days in Okinawa, while U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis apologized to his Japanese counterpart over the incidents.

"Frequent accidents amplify the local people's anxiety," Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono was quoted as telling U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty during talks over the phone, according to the Japanese government.

Kono told Hagerty that the Japanese government has "a serious concern" about the frequency of such accidents and incidents and called on the United States to take "fundamental measures" to prevent them.

Hagerty said the United States considers the safety of the local people the top priority and expressed his readiness to provide information quickly, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Earlier in the day, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera made a similar request to Mattis during a teleconference. Mattis offered an apology and agreed to work on the issue, according to Onodera.

An AH-1 attack helicopter from the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa was forced to land at a waste disposal site in the village of Yomitan on Monday, just two days after a UH-1 helicopter, also from the base, made an emergency landing on a beach on Ikei Island in the city of Uruma.

Although the incidents resulted in no injuries, concerns were reignited among the local government and residents.

The incidents are the latest in a slew of accidents involving U.S. military aircraft in the southern Japanese island prefecture, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan.

Last October, a CH-53E helicopter crash-landed and burst into flames, while a large window dropped from another helicopter of the same type into the playground of an elementary school in December, both on Okinawa's main island.

Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga told reporters Tuesday, "I am really speechless. Nothing has moved forward (to prevent such incidents happening)."

Deputy Gov. Moritake Tomikawa told senior Japanese defense and foreign ministry officials to urge the U.S. military to take effective preventive measures.

The AH-1 helicopter made what the U.S. military called a precautionary landing at the site, about 250 meters from a hotel, at about 4:45 p.m. Monday and the aircraft's two crew were unhurt. The aircraft took off and flew to the Futenma base on Tuesday morning.

According to the Japanese Defense Ministry's local bureau, the U.S. military said Tuesday that the crew saw a warning light regarding its tail rotor system and decided to make a landing to avoid an accident.

Senior officials of the Okinawa prefectural government are considering demanding the Japanese government and the U.S. military to ground all AH-1 and UH-1 helicopters for inspections until the causes of the incidents are identified.

Related coverage:

U.S. military helicopter makes emergency landing in Okinawa

Okinawa demands suspension of U.S. military flights over schools

Window falls from U.S. military chopper onto Okinawa school grounds
AI

Can AI help simplify federal acquisition?

For all the mystery still surrounding the future of artificial intelligence, some early governmental uses could help federal workers and contractors navigate acquisition regulations to make federal purchasing less complex.

A new joint report from the Partnership for Public Service and the IBM Center for the Business of Government pointed to a pilot program currently deployed by the Air Force as a test case for making contracting quicker and more efficient.

Strategic, widespread use of AI "could save government up to 1.2 billion work hours and $41.1 billion annually," the report estimated.

Because of the density and complexity of the current federal acquisition process, "people tend to go for what they know will work rather than where is there opportunity for innovation, saving time and saving money," said Mallory Bulman, the vice president of research and evaluation at the Partnership.

The Air Force, which spent $53 billion on products in services in fiscal year 2017 alone, will be working with two contractors and "hopes to unveil the AI system both online and as a phone application later in 2018," according to the report.

"The goal is to enable a contract officer to query how a specific contract should be structured or if a particular contract type can be used for buying a particular product or service," it stated.

The payoffs of using AI -- in terms of saving both time and human headaches -- could make purchasing easier and more innovative.

Specifically, using AI could allow businesses of any size to query the software for bidding details, as well as a list of contracts they would be eligible to bid. Making contracting easier could lead to a greater deployment of technology and even make bidding easier for small businesses.

The report noted that to prepare the system, contracting officers must first upload massive amounts of data to inform AI's decision-making -- a "major effort before the system can be helpful."

If the Air Force pilot program is successful, it would offer agencies a chance to repurpose the hours that would have been spent on the lengthy acquisition process, as well as "an AI approach to emulate to simplify and speed up what is now a mystifying government necessity."

The report also pointed to three other possible use cases: helping law enforcement, relieving human workers from tedious and rote tasks, as well as helping the country's most vulnerable populations.

However, Federal Cognitive Solutions Leader at IBM's Global Business Services Claude Yusti pointed out that AI in government is still in its nascent stages.

Right now, "AI is Kitty Hawk," he said, advising agencies not to underestimate the amount of upfront investment needed. "AI is really best suited to pick a small initiative around the problem... Pick something that can prove it can pay its way."

Bulman added that any effective AI solution "is always about the data" and agency personnel expertise.

"It really matters what type of information goes into the AI system because that is going to be the basis of the learning," she said.
Cybersecurity

Senate bill would give FTC new data breach authority

Two Senate Democrats are looking to create a new cybersecurity office at the Federal Trade Commission to police data breaches at credit reporting agencies.

In the wake of the Equifax breach, which saw more than 140 million consumer records compromised, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) are looking to establish cybersecurity standards for credit bureaus and penalize firms that are breached.

The Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act of 2018 would put the FTC in charge of regulating cybersecurity for companies that earn in excess of $7 million a year from the sale of consumer information. Under the bill, such companies would be charged with sharing with the FTC details of their strategy and methods to avoid data breaches, including information about network security, device management, software inventories, access privileges, data encryption, patch management, remote and local data storage and more.

Efforts to legislate around data breaches have typically focused on creating a national standard for notification. The Warren-Warner bill is more along the lines of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act -- creating sector specific standards around data deemed sensitive.

"In todays information economy, data is an enormous asset. But if companies like Equifax cant properly safeguard the enormous amounts of highly sensitive data they are collecting and centralizing, then they shouldnt be collecting it in the first place," Warner said in a statement.

Under the bill, companies that suffer breaches would incur a penalty of $100 per consumer, with additional penalties accruing for additional loss of personally identifiable information. Heavier fines could be levied in the case of "woefully inadequate cybersecurity" according to a press release announcing the bill. Covered companies would be required to report breaches within 10 days.

If passed into law, the measure would make credit bureaus among the most tightly regulated industries in terms of cybersecurity.

"Our bill imposes massive and mandatory penalties for data breaches at companies like Equifax  and provides robust compensation for affected consumers  which will put money back into peoples' pockets and help stop these kinds of breaches from happening again," Warren said.

Some consumer groups welcomed the news. "The credit bureaus are different from retailers or other entities that could be breached," Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said. "They hold a treasure trove of personal information valuable to identity thieves, but have long demonstrated a disdain for consumers, who they treat as products, not customers."

The bill would greatly expand the FTC's authority over data breaches in the credit-reporting sector, but a 2012 court decision affirmed the agency's basic ability to penalize companies for failing to take basic steps to protect data it collects on consumers. In a 2015 blog post the agency announced it had reached 53 settlements with companies for data security violations. That total has since expanded to 64, with the most recent settlement announced Jan. 8, 2018 against electronic toymaker Vtech over allegations that the company failed to encrypt registration information on 130,000 children using a web-based play platform.
Samsung kicked off CES keynote season today with a blockbuster set of announcements. As youd expect from a company that makes everything from washing machines to smartphones, there was a whole bunch of stuff to absorb. But luckily for you, you dont have to sit through the entire speech, because we did that for you.

Heres the four biggest things you missed.

Don't Miss: This $27 box is all cord cutters need to record live TV without a cable companys DVR

Intelligent TVs

Samsung has decided that smart TVs are very 2017, because its new TV range is all intelligent. Mostly, that means Samsungs virtual assistant, Bixby, is built into the screen, so you can shout at it to dim the lights or lock the door, just as you might with a Google Home or Amazon Echo. Theyll also have a universal, intelligent TV guide to try and surface programming that youre interested in, personalized to your tastes.

The announcement was short on details in terms of the integration with devices, so were going to have to wait and see on this one. In theory, a built-in universal guide to centralize your programming would be great, but it all depends on the integration with content providers. If thats there, well be excited.

Samsung is also pushing the use of a smartphone to streamline TV setup, allowing auto-login of apps like Spotify and Facebook. Again, if all the apps get onboard, it will make a big difference, but anything that requires third-party apps to code in updates for a niche service (setting up a new TV!) is questionable.

Smart fridges

Years after the first TV with a touchscreen showed up at CES, Samsung is still trying to push them hard. This years big innovation is a smart TV with AI and connectivity to all your other devices. That means you can check the contents of your fridge from your smartphone or TV, and it also means that Samsungs AI can recommend recipies for each member of your household, depending on individual tastes.

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Of course, you can also talk to the fridge, and like other smart assistants, the fridge will use voice recognition to learn different members of your family, and tailor its recommendations accordingly.

This 146-inch TV

Per storied CES tradition, Samsung also took the wraps off an absurdly big, absurdly gorgeous, and absurdly expensive TV. This years lust-after set is 146-inches big, with Samsungs micro-LED technology. That means no color filters, and no backlight, which means beautiful color accuracy and truly black blacks. This is the future of television, and its going to make a significant impact on our industry, Samsungs exec said, which hopefully means the tech will be trickling down to people with budgets of $1,000, rather than $10,000, in a few years.

A giant whiteboard you might actually use

The Samsung Flip was probably the most novel product Samsung showed off today. Its a giant interactive whiteboard, not hugely dissimilar to Microsofts old Surface project. You can edit slides, draw on things with a pen, and generally collaborate on stuff. You can also stream directly from a laptop, which is handy for group collaboration.

The particularly cool thing was two-way pairing with a Samsung smartphone. During an on-stage demo, a device was tapped against the screen, which quickly paired the phone to the Flip using NFC. A window then popped up on the Flip, showing the smartphones display, but you could also touch the display to control the smartphone. Theres all kinds of potential for real Minority Report-style stuff here. The price isnt disclosed yet, but it should go on sale this month in the US and Europe.

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The Supreme Court today ordered the constitution of a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to relook 186 cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that followed Indira Gandhi's assassination.

The new SIT, which the apex court said will be headed by a retired high court judge and include one serving and one retired IPS officer, will examine whether any of these 186 cases merit reopening.

The Supreme Court's action comes after a supervisory committee of retired justices KPS Radhakrishnan and JM Panchal submitted a report saying that out of the 293 cases from the anti-Sikh riots, 186 cases were closed by the original SIT without investigation.

The new SIT will re-examine these 186 cases and give recommendations on whether they can be reopened and whether a chargesheet can be filed.

1984 anti-Sikh riots case: Supreme Court to pass orders on Thursday regarding names of retired and serving IPS officers who could be included in the three-member committee, for re-investigation of the 186 cases. - ANI (@ANI) January 10, 2018

In September last year, the Supreme Court had set up the Radhakrishnan-Panchal panel to examine the decision of the original SIT to close 199 cases relating to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The panel was asked to examine whether the original SIT's decision to close these cases was justified. The original SIT in question was appointed by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre in February, 2015.

It was headed by IPS officer Pramod Asthana, while the other members were ex-district judge Rakesh Kapoor and a police officer Kumar Gyanes.

The anti-Sikh riots had broken out after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. She was killed by two of her bodyguards - both Sikhs - over her decision to allow the Indian Army to storm the Golden Temple in Amritsar in order to flush out militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

The anti-Sikh riots, which continued for three days after Gandhi's death, rocked the country and have dominated India's mainstream discourse for years. The riots had claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people.

ALSO WATCH | 1984 anti-Sikh riots: Three awarded life imprisonment
Despite a robust upswing in the U.S. stock market, American workers continue to struggle with low retirement savings rates.

A 2016 study by GoBankingRates states that 56 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement and one-third of U.S. adults have no retirement savings at all.

A separate study from Vanguard notes that the average 401(k) fund only holds $101,650 (most investment experts suggest having at least $500,000 saved for retirement), and that 38 million U.S. adults have no retirement account assets at all.

[See: 12 Steps to a Stronger 401(k).]

Don't make those mistakes, especially when companies are making it easier than ever, with generous employee matching programs and automatic savings deductions, to benefit from 401(k) plans.

But if you feel you're 401(k) savings campaign is in a rut, and that you're not saving enough for retirement, don't ignore the problem in hopes that it will go away on its own. Instead, take direct action to spice up a stagnating 401(k) plan, using the following tips.

Be diligent about maxing out on the employer match. "The best thing anyone could do, if they are not already doing it, is to contribute the full amount up to the employer match," says Adam Straseske, a money manager at Red Oak Financial Asset Management, in Round Rock, Texas. "Even if the funds themselves don't perform, the matching from company funds to your 401(k) can already be a great return."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average employer 401(k) match stands at 3.5 percent and many go as high as 6 percent. That's free money, and it's your fastest path to more retirement savings. Ask your company's human resources about maxing out today.

Increase your 401(k) plan contribution rate today. "Increase your contribution rate as much as you can," advises Jon Graff, director of participant services at Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. Even a small amount can translate to bigger savings in retirement when you factor in compounding growth over the course of your career, Graff points out.

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"Ten percent is a good target to strive for, but contributing the maximum amount allowed is even better," he says.

If you get a raise or bonus, split 50 percent off and plow it into your 401(k) plan -- it's money you won't even miss. Or, ask your employer if an automatic 401(k) contribution hike is available -- it comes right out of your paycheck and will help boost your retirement savings.

Spend an hour reviewing your plan. Life changes as you grow older, and your retirement goals and needs change as well. That's why it's so important to spend some time reviewing your 401(k) plan and reallocating assets, if needed. One study from Aon Hewitt showed only 14 percent of employees surveyed actually rebalanced their 401(k) plans -- that's a big no-no, retirement planning expert say.

[See: 9 Things to Know About Robo Advisors.]

"You have to review your investment allocation strategy," Graff says. "Chances are you haven't looked at this in a while, and life events may warrant a more or less aggressive allocation. If your 401(k) plan offers an automatic rebalancing feature, consider the advantages of having this done for you periodically."

Fight high fees with robotics-based funds. "401(k) plan fees and expenses can have a big impact on long-term returns," says Scott Schneider, president of Zacks Advantage, in Chicago. "Reducing fees and expenses wherever you can help kick-start 401(k) plan returns."

Schneider advises asking your employer about lower-fee investment vehicles, including so-called robo funds, in your 401(k) plan rotation.

"More and more robo advisors are offering 401(k) solutions for employers," he says. "If your company doesn't have that option, ask if they can explore expanding their investment options to include a robo advisor or at a minimum, an all ETF/index fund, balanced portfolio option."

Invest in stocks. Since 1926, according to data compiled by Ibbotson Associates, the average annual return for large-capitalization common stocks is 10 percent. Government and corporate bonds return around 6 percent, while cash is in the neighborhood of 3 percent.

"Time is the greatest ally of the investor, as time allows for investment return compounding, and stocks compound at the fastest rate," says Robert R. Johnson, president and CEO of The American College of Financial Services. "None other than Nobel laureate Albert Einstein is rumored to have said that 'compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it.'"

[See: 7 of the Best Stocks to Buy for 2018.]

All of the above 401(k) planning moves can be made in less than a day. So, spend some time spicing up your 401(k) as soon as possible. Years from now, you'll be thanking yourself in retirement for taking the time to do so.

Brian O'Connell is a contributing financial writer for U.S. News & World Report. A former Wall Street bond trader and the author of two best-selling books; "The 401k Millionaire" and "CNBC's Creating Wealth", he has 20 years experience covering business news and trends, particularly in the financial, technology, political and career management sectors. His byline has appeared in dozens of top-tier national business publications, including CBS News, Bloomberg, Time, MSN Money, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, TheStreet.com, Yahoo Finance, CBS Marketwatch, and many more. Visit his web site at: https://brianoco.contently.com/. Or, visit this Amazon.com link for a list/review of some of his book titles. Reach out to him on LinkedIn.
With the announcement of Toyota (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 7203.T-JP) and Mazda (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 7261.T-JP) planning to build a new final assembly plant in Huntsville, the state of Alabama is flexing its muscle and influence in the U.S. auto industry. The plant, which will employ 4,000 workers and crank out up to 300,000 vehicles annually, is scheduled to open in 2021. Once that happens, Alabama could become the fourth-biggest state in the U.S. when it comes to manufacturing new vehicles. It's currently tied for fifth, with Tennessee, in annual auto production, according to the Center for Automotive Research, which tracks vehicle manufacturing in the U.S. "With this announcement, our world changes overnight," said Tommy Battle, mayor of Huntsville. "It vaults Alabama to the top as an industry leader in producing the next generation of cars that will power our nation." That may be a bit of an exaggeration. Data from the Center for Automotive Research show Michigan built 19 percent of the vehicles manufactured in the U.S. last year. That is more than double the production in Alabama. So why is a state with 4.8 million people becoming more attractive for auto manufacturers and suppliers? It's all about location. "This plant is going to be in the center of auto alley," said Thomas Klier, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Klier has studied America's shifting auto manufacturing footprint and says Alabama benefits from being so close to other Toyota facilities. "It's a very sensible location," he said. "Toyota has an engine plant in Huntsville and two other facilities nearby in Mississippi, so this makes sense." "Our investment to establish a new vehicle assembly plant with Mazda builds on the strong success we have enjoyed in Alabama where we produce engines for the North American market," said Toyota President Akio Toyoda. Meanwhile, Mazda will become the latest automaker to establish a final assembly plant in the U.S. "We hope to work, learn and grow together with the people of Alabama and Huntsville," said Masamichi Kogai, president and CEO of Mazda Motor. Mazda plans to build an SUV at the new facility as the Japanese automaker moves to improve a model line-up that has historically relied more on cars than utility vehicles. Last year, Mazda sold just under 300,000 vehicles in the U.S.



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Heres a look at some of the companies the Yahoo Finance team will be watching for you today.

A big win in the pharma space. Bayer and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) are no longer to blame in an internal bleeding case involving their drug Xarelto. A judge overturned a $28M jury award to an Indiana couple after the physician for the plaintiff testified that additional warnings would not have changed her decision to prescribe the drug.

Microsoft (MSFT) says its new software patches that guard against security threats are slowing down peoples PCs. The tech giant released the chips after last weeks bombshell news that almost all chips were vulnerable to hacking. Shares of chipmakers Intel and AMD also fell on the news.

Apple (AAPL) is finally giving in to China. The iPhone maker says it will turn over its iCloud operations to a Chinese partner. The move complies with Chinese law that says customer data must be collected and stored on the mainland. In exchange for letting China monitor its citizens, Apple is expected to have more freedom to improve services in the country.

Toyota (TM) and Mazda are headed south. The Japanese automakers have chosen Alabama for the location of their new auto plant. The new Limestone County factory is expected to start operations in 2021 and employ about 4,000 people. The $1.6 billion plant will be funded equally by Toyota and Mazda. Theyll work together on projects including electric car innovations.
Companies that have significant growth prospects for profitability and returns can add tangible upside to your portfolio. Greencore Group and Standard Chartered are examples of many potential outperformers that analysts are bullish on. If your holdings could benefit from diversification towards growth stocks, whether it be in reputable tech stocks or green small-caps, take a look at my list of stocks with a bright future ahead.

Greencore Group plc ( LSE:GNC )

Greencore Group plc produces and sells various food products primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States. Started in 1991, and headed by CEO Patrick Coveney, the company currently employs 15,795 people and with the companys market cap sitting at GBP 1.59B, it falls under the small-cap category.

GNCs forecasted bottom line growth is an optimistic 42.66%, driven by the underlying double-digit sales growth of 16.98% over the next few years. It appears that GNCs profitability may be sustainable as the fundamental push is top-line expansion rather than unmaintainable cost-cutting activities. We see this bottom-line expansion directly benefiting shareholders, with expected positive return on equity of 14.17%. GNCs bullish prospects on both the top and bottom lines make it an interesting stock to invest more time to understand how it can add value to your portfolio. A potential addition to your portfolio? Check out its fundamental factors here.

LSE:GNC Future Profit Jan 9th 18

Standard Chartered PLC ( LSE:STAN )

Standard Chartered PLC provides various banking products and services in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Formed in 1853, and currently run by William Winters, the company currently employs 87,101 people and with the stocks market cap sitting at GBP 26.13B, it comes under the large-cap stocks category.

STAN is expected to deliver a buoyant earnings growth over the next couple of years of 35.79%, driven by a positive double-digit revenue growth of 26.04% and cost-cutting initiatives. It appears that STANs profitability may be sustainable as the fundamental push is top-line expansion rather than unmaintainable cost-cutting activities. This prospective profitability should trickle down to shareholders, with analysts expecting the company to generate a positive return on equity of 6.29%. STANs impressive outlook on all aspects makes it a worthy company to spend more time to understand. Should you add STAN to your portfolio? Have a browse through its key fundamentals here.

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LSE:STAN Future Profit Jan 9th 18

Speedy Hire Plc ( LSE:SDY )

Speedy Hire Plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides tools, equipment, and plant hire services to the construction, infrastructure, and industrial markets in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. Formed in 1968, and currently lead by Russell Down, the company provides employment to 3,666 people and with the stocks market cap sitting at GBP 320.05M, it comes under the small-cap category.

SDYs projected future profit growth is a robust 37.93%, with an underlying 12.15% growth from its revenues expected over the upcoming years. Profit growth, coupled with top-line expansion, is a positive indication. This is because net income isnt artificially inflated by unsustainable activities such as one-off cost-reductions expected in the future. We see this bottom-line expansion directly benefiting shareholders, with expected positive return on equity of 14.65%. SDYs bullish prospects on both the top and bottom lines make it an interesting stock to invest more time to understand how it can add value to your portfolio. Want to know more about SDY? Take a look at its other fundamentals here.

LSE:SDY Future Profit Jan 9th 18

For more financially robust companies with high growth potential to enhance your portfolio, use our free platform to explore our interactive list of these stocks.

To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.

The annual CES convention in Las Vegas has become a showcase for emerging car technologies, and many companies at the 2018 show focused on how to design cockpits for vehicles that are highly connected and leverage features found on cutting-edge smartphones.

In the near future, when you enter your car, it could be able to verify who you are, pay close attention to the way you drive, and potentially stop you from making dangerous mistakes.

"It's not just that vehicles are bristling with technology," says Jim Trainor, director of communications at Hyundai Motor America. "Electronics have changed consumers' mindset about everything, including their expectations about the cars that they drive."

Byton, a Chinese high-tech startup that aims to compete with Tesla in the electric-car market, showed off an SUV that its hoping to sell in 2019 that unlocks the door when its facial recognition software recognizes the driverstarting price, $45,000.

The Byton interior is dominated by a long tabletlike screen that spans the width of the dashboard. The knobs and buttons that a driver might expect have been replaced by a camera that reads five basic hand gestures.

When it comes to the basic controls of a vehicle, innovation can be a blessing or a curse. Consumer Reports has evaluated many new car interfaces at our test track to assess the balance of utility for drivers vs. the danger of distraction. For instance, in testing the hand-gesture controls found in recent BMW cars, weve found the technology to be balky and more distracting than traditional controls.

Byton promises that the cars software will recognize those people authorized to drive it and will automatically adjust the seats, mirrors, and climate control to their personal preferences. The car will sync with their phones or smartwatches and can be programmed to send messages to the people theyre meeting.

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AI On the Road

Byton says it has also integrated Amazons personal assistant, Alexa, into the car, allowing passengers to use voice commands to shop, look up restaurants, or change their destination, all in real time.

Other auto companies are also inviting Alexa into the cabin. German parts maker Continental is designing a voice-control interface that integrates Amazon's personal assistant, but its also promising to use artificial intelligence (AI) to limit the kinds of things that Alexa can do, depending on whats going on outside the car, so as not to distract the driver.

Its really important that we have a seamless transfer of information to the driver, says Tamara Snow, director of interior systems and technology at Continental. This helps have as few distractions as possible.

Connected Cars Pay Attention to You

Hyundai calls its concept in-car interface the Intelligent Personal Cockpit. The system employs voice-recognition thats enhanced by AI and can monitor the vital signs of passengers. Hyundai is one of several manufacturers promising to integrate things like Fitbits directly into car infotainment systems.

Samsung, a company best known for its phones, TVs, and appliances, worked through its Harmon subsidiary on a concept car cockpit that's ready for next-generation, super-fast 5G cellular data networks.

Samsung and Harmon hope to create a platform for software developers, envisioning the car as an electronics device with an operating system akin to a rolling smartphone. Samsung is also promising it will use AI to "create a self-learning virtual co-passenger" that will make driving both personalized and safe.

Many of these companies are also rethinking the visual interface inside the car cockpit. Swiss software developer WayRay demonstrated an augmented reality auto navigation system called Navion, which projects directions, trip details, and real-time warnings about road hazards, such as pedestrians, onto the windshield.

Some of the in-car tech shown at this year's CES can monitor drivers for potentially dangerous behavior. The Australian company Seeing Machines is already selling a system called Fovio, which is used in the 2018 Cadillac CT6. It watches a drivers eyes and face for signs of distraction. The company says the system will soon be used by auto technology companies Autoliv and Bosch.

And at least one new car interface plans to let cars communicate with their drivers through a buzz on the behind. The Clarion Infoseat can alert the driver to an urgent situation using vibrations, audible warning sounds, and lights.





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Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright  2018, Consumer Reports, Inc.
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  January 9, 2018  Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This weeks list includes Citigroup C, JPMorgan JPM, Bank of America BAC, Goldman Sachs GS and Wells Fargo WFC.

To see more earnings analysis, visit https://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Q4 Bank Earnings Will Be Messy and Noisy

Conventional wisdom tells us that the tax cuts will not only add to the economys growth trajectory but also be a boon for corporate earnings. Conventional wisdom would be correct in this respect, but we will have to jump through a few hurdles before we reach the promised land and those hurdles will start showing up as soon as the big banks start Q4 results on January 12th.

The hurdles I am referring to are the one-time accounting charges that many banks and other companies will have to take in their Q4 earnings reports as a result of the tax law changes. Two areas are particularly notable here  the value of deferred tax assets (DTA) and lowered tax on the deemed repatriation of foreign earnings. The deferred tax asset issue, which primarily pertains to prior losses that these companies can use to defray future tax liabilities, will be notable for the major banks.

Most of the major banks incurred big losses during the financial crisis and those losses found a place on the banks balance sheets as assets. But the value of these DTAs need now to be lowered given the new 21% corporate tax rate. These DTA adjustments will likely eat up the banks entire officially reported accounting earnings.

The issue is expected to be particularly notable at Citigroup, which is expected to take a $20 billion one-time charge when it reports Q4 results on January 16th. All of the other major banks and investment banks are expected to take big charges as well, though none of them are in the Citigroup league. JPMorgan, which reports Q4 results on January 12th, is expected to take a $2 billion charge while Bank of America, reporting on January 17th, is on track to take a $3 billion charge. Goldman Sachs is expected to take $5 billion in charges.

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What Are Banks Expected to Report in Q4?

Bank earnings failed to impress in the Q3 earnings season and all of the factors that weighed on Q3 results remained in place in Q4 as well, keeping expectations in check. Net interest margin benefited from the Fed rate hike, but that incremental gain likely got offset by persistent deceleration in loan growth and soft trading revenues. On top of all of this are aforementioned charges that will likely muddy the waters. Our focus will be on recurring earnings, meaning that we will be excluding all of these charges from our adjusted earnings, but the impact of lowered tax rates makes comparisons to prior periods problematic. The issue is very pronounced for the banks, but will otherwise be a recurring issue this earnings season.

Total Q4 earnings for the Zacks Major Banks industry are expected to be down -6% from the same period last year on +5.3% higher revenues. This would follow +6.5% earnings growth in Q3 for the industry and +10% growth in 2017 Q2. JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, on deck to release Q3 results on Friday, are expected to report -12.9% and -9.2% lower earnings from the year-earlier level, respectively.

Please note that the Major Banks industry, of which JPMorgan, Citigroup and others are part, accounts for roughly 45% of the sectors total earnings (insurance is the second biggest earnings contributor, accounting for about 25% of the total). The insurance industry has been hard hit by this years very active and impactful hurricane season, with estimates for insurers taking a bit hit since the quarter got underway.

For the Finance sector as a whole, total Q4 earnings are expected to be up +3.1% from the same period last year, which would follow -7% decline in the sectors earnings due to weakness in the insurance industry as a result of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Expectations for Q4

Total Q4 earnings are expected to be up +8.8% from the same period last year on +6.9% higher revenues. This would follow +6.7% earnings growth in 2017 Q3 on +5.9% growth in revenues.

Estimates for Q4 have held very favorably since the quarter got underway.

This revisions trend is the most notable positive development on the estimate revisions front in recent years. Q4 estimates for 11 of the 16 Zacks sectors have come down since the start of the quarter, with estimates for the remaining 5 sectors going up. The strongest gains have been in the Energy, Industrial Products, Basic Materials and Technology sectors.

In terms of sector focus, the strongest growth in Q4 is coming from the Energy sector which benefits from easy comparisons. Excluding the Energy sector, the aggregate growth pace drops to +6.2% from +8.8%. Three of the 16 Zacks sectors are expected to have lower earnings in Q4 relative to the same period last year, with the Conglomerates sector as the weakest of them all (-15.8% lower earnings).

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In this article, I will take a quick look at New York REIT Incs (NYSE:NYRT) recent ownership structure  an unconventional investing subject, but an important one. Ownership structure has been found to have an impact on shareholder returns in both short- and long-term. Since the effect of an active institutional investor with a similar ownership as a passive pension-fund can be vastly different on a companys corporate governance and accountability of shareholders, investors should take a closer look at NYRTs shareholder registry. All data provided is as of the most recent financial year end.

View our latest analysis for New York REIT

NYSE:NYRT Ownership_summary Dec 29th 17

Institutional Ownership

Institutions account for 68.23% of NYRTs outstanding shares, a significant enough holding to move stock prices if they start buying and selling in large quantities, especially when there are relatively small amounts of shares available on the market to trade. Although NYRT has a high institutional ownership, such stock moves, in the short-term, are more commonly linked to a particular type of active institutional investors  hedge funds. With hedge funds holding a 6.65% stake in the company, its share price can experience heightened volatility. I am going to further examine NYRTs ownership structure to check how other major shareholders can affect its investment case.

Insider Ownership

Insiders form another group of important ownership types as they manage the companys operations and decide the best use of capital. Insider ownership has been linked to better alignment between management and shareholders. NYRT insiders hold a not-so-significant 1.11% stake in the company, which somewhat aligns their interests with that of shareholders. However, a higher level of insider ownership has been linked to management executing on high-returning projects instead of expansion projects for the sake of apparent growth. In addition to this, it may be interesting to look at insider buying and selling activities. Keep in mind that buying may be sign of upbeat future expectations, but selling doesnt necessarily mean the opposite as the insiders might just be doing it out of their personal financial needs.

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NYSE:NYRT Insider_trading Dec 29th 17

General Public Ownership

A big stake of 23.51% in NYRT is held by the general public. With this size of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in major company policies that affect shareholders returns, including executive remuneration and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to decline an acquisition or merger that may not improve profitability.

What this means for you:

I suggest investors seek some degree of margin of safety due to high institutional ownership in NYRT, in particular due to the strong presence of active hedge fund investors. This may enable shareholders to comfortably invest in the company and avoid getting trapped in a sustained sell-off that is often observed in stocks with this level of institutional participation. However, ownership structure should not be the only determining factor when youre building an investment thesis for NYRT. Rather, you should be examining fundamental factors such as New York REITs past track record and financial health. I highly recommend you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
Crude prices broke out as declining inventories and robust refiner demand lead prices above 63-per barrel. The market remains buoyant, with the decline in the U.S. rig count on Friday providing the latest addition to the bullish narrative and put a temporary dent in the argument that U.S. shale production is set to expand notably. Saudi Arabia has cut back exports to the United States while refinery operations are hitting on all cylinders and are currently at full capacity.

Technicals

Crude oil prices broke out and a weekly chart of the move provides a better picture of the future landing spots for WTI. Prices pushed through resistance near the May 2015 highs at 62.51, and now are on course to define a new range. A close for the week below the 62.51 level would reject the weekly breakout. Prices have passed through the first Fibonacci retracement which was created from connecting the highs in 2013 to the lows in 2016, which shows a 50% retracement at 68.92. The 61.8% retracement level of the move would come in near 79.29.

Momentum is positive and strong as the RSI (relative strength index) which is a momentum oscillator that measures accelerating and decelerating momentum, along with overbought and oversold level. The RSI surged higher, hitting levels not seen since 2011, when prices were above the 112 level. Momentum as reflected by the MACD is positive as the index is printing in the black with an upward sloping trajectory which points to higher prices.

Saudi Exports Decline

The drop in Saudi crude oil exports, in combination with lower Venezuelan deliveries that has been due to both lower production from the Latin American nation, as well as quality issues with its crude, has meant that OPEC deliveries to the U.S. were 72,000 barrels per day lower last year than in 2016. That equates to a drop of 26 million barrels year over year.

North Korea is Friends Again with South Korea

North Korea Weapons are Only Aimed at U.S. Koreans weapons are only aimed at the U.S., not S. Korea, Russia or China according to N. Korean officials, and is not an issue between North and South Korea. They repeat that discussion of the nuclear issue would negatively impact inter-Korean ties. Seems N. Korea is continuing to take the divide and conquer tack to its nuclear program, seeking to isolate the U.S. as its main adversary.

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Small Business Optimism Dropped

U.S. December NFIB small business optimism index dropped 2.4% to 104.9, weaker than expected, after jumping 3.6% to 107.5 in November. A firmer reaction was anticipated as a result of the tax reform passage. The index was at 105.8 a year ago. The 107.5 from November was the highest since 1983. The percentage of firms planning to hire slowed to 20% from 24%, and those expecting a better economy slid to 37% from 48% tied the highest since December 2016.

Canada Housing Starts Slowed

Canada housing starts slowed to a 217.0k pace in December from 251.7k in November, nearly as expected. Multiple starts showed the anticipated tumble, down 22% to 135.2k after surging 17% to 175k in November. Single-detached starts grew 4.7% to 63.0k.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

More From FXEMPIRE:
By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - A cybersecurity company said it has found software that appears to install code for mining cryptocurrency and sends any mined coins to a server at a North Korean university, the latest sign that North Korea may be searching for new ways to infuse its economy with cash.

The application, which was created on Dec. 24, uses host computers to mine a cryptocurrency called Monero. It then sends any coins to Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, said cybersecurity firm AlienVault, which examined the program.

"Crypto-currencies may provide a financial lifeline to a country hit hard by sanctions, and as a result universities in Pyongyang have shown a clear interest in cryptocurrencies," the California-based security firm said in a release, adding that the software "may be the most recent product of their endeavors."

The company added a caveat that a North Korean server used in the code does not appear to be connected to the wider internet, which could mean its inclusion is meant to trick observers into making a North Korean connection. Kim Il Sung University, however, plays host to foreign students and lecturers, not just North Koreans.

Kim Il Sung University did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Government officials representing North Korea at the United Nations were not immediately available for comment.

Others have flagged increasing signs of North Korean interest in cryptocurrencies and underlying blockchain technology.

"With economic sanctions in place, cryptocurrencies are currently the best way to earn foreign currency in North Korea's situation. It is hard to trace and can be laundered several times," said Mun Chong-hyun, chief analyst at South Korean cybersecurity firm ESTsecurity.

Cryptocurrency watchers say technical details of Monero, the 13th-largest crypto asset in the world, according to www.coinmarketcap.com, with a total value of more than $7 billion, make it more appealing than bitcoin to those who value secrecy.

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Monero funds go to an unlinkable, one-time address generated with random numbers every time a payment is issued. That makes it less traceable than bitcoin, where transactions can be linked to specific, albeit anonymous, private addresses, cybersecurity experts said.

South Korea-based Bithumb, the world's busiest cryptocurrency exchange, is also the largest Monero trading exchange in the world, with about 24 percent of trading volume. The next largest were Europe-based exchange HitBTC and Hong Kong-based Bitfinex, as of Monday.

Marshal Swatt, an expert in blockchain technology and financial exchange, said cryptocurrencies' independence from government regulation - and sanctions - made them logical choices for covert transactions.

They don't by themselves discriminate between good and bad actors," he said. "This makes it extremely compelling for countries like North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Russia and others to exploit these non-governmental blockchain currencies for their own self-interest."

Cybersecurity firm FireEye cited in a November blog post a series of North Korean activities against South Korean cryptocurrency targets such as exchanges. Analyst Luke McNamara wrote that "it should be no surprise that cryptocurrencies, as an emerging asset class, are becoming a target of interest by a regime that operates in many ways like a criminal enterprise."

In early November, Federico Tenga, the Italian co-founder of bitcoin startup Chainside, posted on his Twitter account pictures and comments on his visit to lecture on bitcoin and blockchain technology at the Western-funded Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.

"The lectures were at a quite basic level to give a general understanding of blockchain technologies, which are also very relevant to trade, supply chains and other e-business," a spokesman for the university said.

"We believe this teaching can give the next generation of North Korean professionals additional concepts that may be valuable as they seek to develop their country," the spokesman added. "We're acutely aware of issues around sanctions, which we keep under regular review and take care to avoid any sensitive or proscribed areas."

Tenga said his lectures were geared toward explaining the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies.

"The focus of the lectures was to make the students understand what the blockchain is, how it works (special focus on proof of work) and what are the main use cases. My aim was simply to spread technical knowledge, not suggesting them how to use it," Tenga told Reuters in a series of messages.

AlienVault's report said one North Korean IP address, 175.45.178.19, has been active on bitcoin trading sites. That is the same address used to control compromised web servers in 2014-15 cyberattacks on South Korean energy, traffic, telecommunications, broadcasting, financial and political institutions, according to security firm AhnLab .

The report also observed that North Korean IP addresses have downloaded several episodes of the automotive TV series Top Gear and documentaries by the show's former presenter James May.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Haejin Choi and Marius Zaharia; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
A few days after a photo of the Syrian shoeshine boy, standing with his shoeshine stand hung on his shoulder and staring through the window of the Olimpiyat Spor gym in Adiyaman, southeast Turkey went viral, he received a free lifetime membership from the Turkish gym.

Muhammad Hussein, who works as a shoeshiner in Adiyaman province, was clicked by one of the gym's client. The owner of the gym shared the photo on Twitter asking where they can find the boy.

The Turkish people were moved by the photo and thousands of people shared the picture on social media.

The owner later found him working in the neighbourhood and offered a lifetime of free membership and some clothes to wear while working out.

With the gym proprietor Engin Dogan by his side, the 12-year-old told Daily Sabah that he was dreaming of losing weight while watching people workout in the gym.

The boy said he was very happy with the free membership.

Also watch: Image of the Day: Frozen Niagara Falls has become a world attraction in recent days
Jacob Heilbrunn

Politics, North America

Political strategist Stephen Bannon speaks at a Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore campaign rally in Midland City, Alabama

Trump not only took out Bannon, but also seems to be morphing into a traditional Republican.

Downfall: The Demise of Steve Bannon

When Steve Bannon left the White House last August, he declared, Im free. Ive got my hands back on my weapons. But his ouster at Breitbart, where Rebekah Mercer is said to have insisted on his departure, means that he is deprived of them once more, this time perhaps permanently. Its a stunning and rapid fall for the man hailed at the outset of Trumps presidency as his puppet-masterand a welcome moment for Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who was intent on the destruction of his nemesis.

The truth is that the Trump revolution is devouring its own children. Donald Trump has not only engineered the very public defenestration of Bannon. He also may sign a comprehensive immigration deal with the Democrats and will attend the annual global elite meeting in Davos. The Republican establishment, left for dead, is now reviving, while the populist movement that Bannon headed has been wrong-footed.

Bannon, a right-wing Catholic who grew up in Virginia, was suffused with resentment at what he saw as globalist elites intent on deracinating America. He ended up becoming an integral part of what Sam Tanenhaus, writing in the New York Review of Books, aptly called the new tabloid right that was forming on the Internet. Trump himself came to refer to him as my Steve.

But at the White House, his Steve also had loose lips, dialing Robert Kuttner, the editor of the American Prospect, to dismiss the idea of war with North Korea and dilating about his plans to blow up the Republican party. His incaution led to his departure from the White House. Next Bannon plotted to sabotage mainstream GOP candidates during the midterm elections. An early test case came in Alabama where Bannon staunchly supported the child molester Roy Moore in his run for the Senate. Once more, Bannon came up empty.

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The coup de grace, however, came with Bannons remarks in Michael Wolffs new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House about treasonous and unpatriotic behavior by the participants in the now-infamous June 2016 New York Trump tower meeting between the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and leading Trump officials, including Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort. Trump was enraged. He went on a Twitter spree, including dubbing Bannon Sloppy Steve, and in a White House statement disparaged his contributions to the campaign as minimal. Days later Bannon issued an abject apology, though he did not include Kushners name in it, in a desperate attempt to salvage his relationship with Trump. It didnt work.

Where does this leave Bannon? He might seek to reinvent himself as a mainstream commentator on one of the major cable networks such as CNN. Bannon would be a prize catch. Whether Bannon, who is known for his erratic work habits and hours, not to mention unusual dress, would be able to function as a regular commentator is an open question. There is a long history of former White House advisers such as Patrick J. Buchanan shuttling back and forth between government and the media. The other avenue would be for Bannon would be to keep the faith, as it were, with the populist movement he helped to create and train his weapons on Trump, in the hopes of pushing him to the right.

But it seems clear that loyalty to Trump, and Trump alone, is what animates the right and that Bannon wildly overreached in attacking him and his family. For now, Trump is sending signals that hes moving away from his base and towards the Wall Street faction, led by Kushner, Gary Cohn and Steve Mnuchin, that did battle with Bannon and his allies over the past year. Add in the tax bill, which stiffed Trumps base and was a bonanza for corporate interests, and the Trump presidency starts to look a lot more traditional. With the demise of Bannon, a new Trump, shorn of the influence of the populist wing and more receptive to the establishment wing of the GOP, may be emerging.

Jacob Heilbrunn is editor of the National Interest.

Image: Reuters

Read full article
* EU states should screen what assets China can buy -Macron

* Macron pushing for screening of deals in strategic sectors

* Macron leaves China without any major deals completed (Writes through, adds data on Chinese FDI to EU, Macron quotes, analyst comment)

By Michel Rose

BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Europe should to be more united in protecting strategic assets from foreign takeovers if it wants Beijing's respect, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday as he wrapped up a visit to China that brought no eye-catching trade deals.

The 40-year-old has deployed a mix of charm and threats on his first state visit since taking office in May. Accompanied by 50 business leaders, he has sought to recalibrate bilateral relations and narrow a gaping trade deficit.

As president, Macron has pushed for the EU to screen foreign investments in its strategic sectors and, signalling French annoyance at China's reluctance to open some of its domestic markets, that issue has been a focal point of the three-day visit.

On Wednesday, he sounded a warning to less wealthy EU states that have taken a softer line due to their perceived reliance on Chinese investment.

"Europe has often shown itself divided about China," Macron told representatives of the French community in Beijing. "And China wont respect a continent, a power, when some member states let their doors freely open."

CHINA SURGE

Foreign direct investment in the European Union traced back to mainland China has surged in recent years, to a record 35 billion euros ($42 billion) in 2016 from 1.6 billion euros in 2010, according to the Mercator Institute for China Studies.

France, like Germany, has generally welcomed Chinese investment as a boost to its economy and an opportunity to expand into fast-growing Asian markets.

But the euro zone's top two economies have been reluctant to cede control of strategic assets, notably in transport, defence, telecoms, tech and engineering - sectors in which China's footprint is expanding fast.

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The EU hopes negotiations on an investment pact with China will reach a "decisive stage" this year, the bloc's ambassador to China said separately, calling on Beijing to honour a pledge to open its economy to the world.

Macron did not say which EU countries he thought should needed to shield their assets more vigorously but, after struggling under strict austerity rules imposed by its European partners, Greece for one has embraced China's cash.

It sold a majority stake in Piraeus port, the country's largest, to China's COSCO Shipping in 2016. The port has been referred to as the "dragon head" of China's new Silk Road into Europe, a network of rail and shipping links designed to whisk commodities and goods between China and Europe.

"China, which is a great power, does not respect a country that sells its essential infrastructures to the lowest bidder," Macron said.

PLAYING A LONGER GAME?

In Xian, an eastern departure point for the ancient Silk Road, Macron said on Monday that China's equivalent modern-day "Belt and Road" trade initiative could not be one way -- a clear suggestion that Europe expected to be able to sell into China just as smoothly.

Yet two days later he concluded his trip without securing any major deals.

Airbus, he announced, would soon finalise a contract for 184 narrow-body jets, while nuclear group Areva failed to finalise a decade of negotiations with a contract to build a fuel reprocessing plant, securing only another protocol agreement.

French officials said they were not disappointed, pointing to a sales contract for CFM jet engines by France's Safran and General Electric, and the lifting of a Chinese embargo on French beef, among other deals.

Macron, who travelled with senior executives from Airbus, BNP Paribas, AccorHotels, EDF and LVMH, played down the absence of blockbuster deals. He said other countries had trumpeted big figures in the past that masked more modest realities.

"I dont want to give the impression that we made this trip to obtain as many contracts as possible," Macron told reporters.

"We have secured unprecedented openings ... which are the result of much hard work."

Jean Pierre Cabestan, professor of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University, said while France would like a larger share of the market, Macron was playing a longer game.

"Macron's visit was to set new rules," Cabestan said. "The idea wasn't we should expect results, because we're laying the ground to make our relationship more sound, more balanced."

($1 = 0.8344 euros)

(Reporting by Michel Rose; additional reporting by Philip Wen in Beijing and John Ruwitch in Shanghai; Writing by Richard Lough; editing by John Stonestreet)
* A320 deal worth more than $18 bln at list prices

* A350 and A380 deal could be announced later - Macron

* China to continue Airbus, Boeing market-share parity

* No jet order placed during Macron's visit to China (Adds deal value, comments from French official)

By Michel Rose

BEIJING, Jan 10 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said a contract with China for 184 Airbus A320 narrow-body jets would be finalised soon and that his country also had ambitions to sell A350 and A380 planes to China in coming weeks or months.

The potential A320 order, which had not been previously announced, would be worth more than $18 billion at list prices.

"On the order for 184 A320s, it's something that will be finalised shortly," Macron said during his state visit to China, adding it was confirmed to him by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"And we also have ambitions on A350 and A380 mid-range and large carriers in the weeks or months to come," Macron said.

The A320s would be delivered in 2019 and 2020, a French presidency official said on condition of anonymity.

Ahead of Macron's trip, sources had told Reuters that Airbus was in talks about an order for 100 or more jets. New jet orders have historically featured during such tours by French leaders.

While no deal has been finalised over the current official visit, Macron said China had assured him it would respect market-share parity between Airbus and Boeing.

China regularly splits large orders between Europe and the United States to cope with its fast-expanding airline traffic, but the momentum has recently been with rival Boeing, which sold 300 jets during a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump last year.

China, however, placed a large order for 140 Airbus jets during a visit to Germany by Xi last July.

Airbus signed a provisional deal on Tuesday to boost the number of A320 family jets assembled in Tianjin to six a month by 2020 from four at present.

Airbus declined to comment on Wednesday. (Reporting by Michel Rose and Beijing Monitoring Desk; additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Singapore; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Stephen Coates)
Mobile Wallet Usage

BI Intelligence

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers hours before appearing on Business Insider. To be the first to know, please click here.

Google will consolidate all its existing payment offerings into a new service called Google Pay, which will encompass in-store payments (Android Pay), peer-to-peer (P2P) offerings (Google Wallet), in-app and in-browser payments made through stored credentials in Chrome, and more, according to a company blog post.

Google Pay, which is live in the US, counts several merchant partners, including Airbnb, Fandango, and Instacart, and is likely to see more soon thanks to a wide swath of processor partnerships  its already compatible with Adyen, Braintree, Stripe, Vantiv, Worldpay, and others  that will make merchant integration quick and simple.

Google is working to build a payments ecosystem of its own, which could catalyze usage of its payments offerings, specifically in-store payment products; Android Pay, Googles in-store and in-app offering, falls below average on both the adoption and engagement fronts, counting just 10% adoption among eligible users and the smallest share of repeat users among its peers. And lack of awareness might be hurting its other offerings, like Google Wallet. Google Pay could help grow these metrics in three ways:

Reducing fragmentation through convenience: Customers are paying on their phones, they just arent doing so in-store; BI Intelligence expects US mobile P2P volume to hit $97 billion this year, and US m-commerce retail sales to hit $150 billion, compared with just $56 billion in-store. By tying more popular offerings to in-store payments, Google is creating a cohesive and convenient brand-wide payment ecosystem, which could draw users to engage more frequently with all these products, increasing volume over time.

Incentivizing users to test the product: Google is working with merchants to give customers a reason to choose Google Pay in-app or in-browser over other providers, like Visa Checkout or PayPal One Touch, through discounts and incentives. These deals might push users to test Google Pay in a friction-filled environment, find it convenient, and continue to return to the service across its use cases, since credentials are already stored.

Drawing customers away from competition: Firms across the payments space are working to build out wide ecosystems: Apple just moved into P2P through the launch of Apple Pay Cash, and P2P-focused services like Venmo are drifting toward commerce, adding in-store and online payment options. To stay afloat as volume expands over the next few years, ecosystems like Google Pay are going to become necessary to keep customers loyal.

But the firm needs to work to take advantage of the synergies for a true success. In its blog post, Google noted that the launch of the Google Pay brand is just a first step for the product.

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And though the firm has some strong justifications for building the ecosystem, that alone isnt going to be enough to see adoption balloon overnight. For the brand to succeed, Google is going to have to take some concrete steps to ensure the service remains the best payment choice for its customers, keeping it top-of-wallet across channels for all consumers. If it doesn't, Google will risk losing out to existing methods or competitors.

BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has written a detailed report on mobile payments that:

Sizes the US in-store mobile payments market and examines growth drivers.

Analyzes headwinds that have suppressed adoption.

Identifies three strategic changes providers can make to improve their results.

Evaluates pockets of success in the market.

Provides actionable insights that providers can implement to improve results.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND more than 250 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> Learn More Now Purchase and download the report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now

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Lenovos Smart Display is the first of four new Google Assistant powered smart screens.

Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is bringing its AI-powered Assistant from the smartphone to the small screen with its new line of smart displays, and the first such device to make its debut here at CES 2018 is the aptly named Lenovo Smart Display.

If it sounds like this device is aimed squarely at taking on Amazons (AMZN) Echo Show, then, well, youre absolutely right. I spent some time with the Smart Display, which will be available for $199 in an 8-inch model or $229 in a 10-inch model late this summer, and its both better looking than Amazons offering, and has one key element the e-commerce giants gadget is missing: YouTube.

A screen with smarts

The Smart Display  man, I wish it had a better name  is essentially a screen and speaker that take advantage of the power of Google Assistant. Like Amazons Echo Show, you can ask the Smart Display to pull up your schedule, check the weather and play music. But the Smart Display also plugs into all of the pieces of Google you have scattered through your life.

For example, you can ask it for directions to work, and it will pull up the best route to your office. And thanks to Googles Voice Match, results are tailored to whoever is asking a question. So your directions to work will be different than your husbands directions.

Voice Match also works for Google Photos, so when you ask to check out pictures from New York, youll see your own specific photos, and not those taken by your wife, kids or roommates.

More importantly, Assistant-powered smart displays like Lenovos will offer YouTube functionality, something Google stripped from Amazons Echo Show and Fire TV in retaliation for Amazon not selling Googles hardware products.

The joys of cooking

One of the impressive use cases Google showed off during my short time with the Smart Display was how well it works when cooking dinner. You can ask the Smart Display what you want to have for dinner and it will automatically pull up a list of suggested recipes.

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The Smart Display has an angled back allowing you to use it in horizontal or vertical positions.

You can then either tap on the display or say which recipe you want and it will provide you with a list of instructions for cooking mac and cheese or pheasant under glass. Better still, if you need help doing something like chopping rosemary, you can ask how to do just that and your smart display will pull up an appropriate YouTube video.

Thats actually a huge help, as I frequently find myself looking up videos explaining how to properly dice chicken or just what a garlic clove is.

Searching for  everything

No Google device would be complete without the ability to search for, well, everything. And while you can do that with ease on your Google Home or using the Google Assistant app on your smartphone, doing so with a smart display is a different story. So Google has created custom search results for the smart displays that appear as interactive graphics.

You can, for example, ask your smart display to find a nearby bakery and it will pull up results for bakeries in your area. You can then either tell Google Assistant which result youd like to see or select the result you want by tapping the display.

The Lenovo Smart Display comes in 8-inch and 10-inch versions. The 10-inch, seen here, gets a beautiful bamboo back.

Once you select the bakery youre looking for, you can dive in to see its Google reviews star rating, store hours, phone number and location. You can even ask Google how to get to the bakery and it will send the directions to your smartphone.

Call me, maybe

Like Amazons Echo Show, Google smart displays will let you make video calls. And while the Echo Show lets you call anyone with the Amazon Alexa app, smart displays let you call anyone with the Google Duo app.

Google says smart displays cant make voice calls just yet, but that might change by the time the products hit the market later this summer.

The search giant also says you can cast content to smart displays using devices like your smartphone similar to the way you use Googles Chromecast. For now, you can only cast Google Play Movies and TV, however, that will likely change as companies like Netflix and Hulu enable the feature for smart displays.

Stay tuned for more.

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Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
On the seventh day of the Tamil Nadu bus strike, trade unions said they were ready to accept a 2.44 per cent wage hike, and urged the Madras High Court to direct Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's government to hold talks.

The unions had been asking for a 2.57 per cent hike.

The Madras High Court, on its part, urged unions to resume work immediately. However, the bus strike will continue.

The LPF and the CITU insist that the Tamil Nadu government should withdraw the January 4 wage settlement, as a precondition for withdrawing the strike.

100 PER CENT SALARY HIKE FOR LAWMAKERS

TTV Dhinakaran, the new MLA from Jayalalithaa's old home turf, RK Nagar, said Palaniswami had "his eyes and ears closed when it comes to people's problem."

His remarks came on a day when the government tabled a bill to give a 100 per cent salary hike to MLAs. Dhinakaran and the DMK staged a walkout from the Tamil Nadu assembly, saying the MLAs's pay hike was unfair when the transport employees were suffering.

Palaniswamy said the dues of retired transport workers would be cleared in a few days, and requested workers to resume work.

"The government is hesitating to give salaries to the workers. We condemn giving high salaries to MLAs who work less than us. The government should respect the labourers," said Irualappan, a member of a labour union.

"The labourers are working day and night but they are not given a hike. Why should politicians and rich get all the benefits?" a passenger in Mandaveli asked.

Meanwhile, passengers are worried about the upcoming Pongal festival. As private buses cost a lot, many are dependent on the government's services.

WATCH | Not the workers but Tamil Nadu MLAs reward themselves, to get 100 per cent salary hike
Huawei is a Chinese smartphone company - Bloomberg

AT&T has pulled a deal to sell Huawei mobile phones at the eleventh hour, an embarrassment for the Chinese electronics giant that spoiled its ambitious plans to crack the US market.

Richard Yu, the head of Huaweis consumer division, was expected to reveal the breakthrough deal in a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Tuesday evening.

Instead, Huawei said it would be selling its flagship device, the Mate 10 Pro, directly to consumers. It is believed the deal was pulled after senators raised security concerns with the Federal Communications Commission, the US telecoms regulator.

Huawei has long been viewed with suspicion in Washington because of alleged links to the Chinese government.

The majority of phones in the US are sold directly through operators, but Huawei, the worlds third biggest smartphone maker, has never been able to agree a deal. The Chinese company has been dogged by claims that its phones and telecoms equipment are used to spy on the West for Beijing.

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro smartphone

In 2012, a US Senate report said the company was a national security threat, and the Trump administration has blocked Chinese takeovers of US companies in recent months. AT&T is Americas second biggest mobile network, with more than 130m subscribers, and a deal would have bolstered its claim to be a legitimate rival to Apple and Samsung. Huawei has often said it wants to become the worlds biggest phone manufacturer but has struggled to win over enough consumers to capture the profitable high end of the market.

The US market presents unique challenges for Huawei, and while the Huawei Mate 10 Pro will not be sold by U.S. carriers, we remain committed to this market now and in the future, a spokesman said.

China has a huge presence at this years CES, a sign of the countrys growing ambition to challenge the US as a tech hub. Mr Yus keynote was one of the three most high-profile speaking slots at the event.

The botched deal is an uncomfortable reminder of increasing trade tensions between the US and China. Last week, the US government blocked a $1.2bn (900m) takeover of money transfer company MoneyGram by Ant Financial, a division of the online retail powerhouse Alibaba.
* Deal sets timeframe of 90 days for discovery of aircraft

* "No-cure, no-fee" basis means payout only if plane is found

* Search to begin Jan. 17, firm's chief executive says (Adds chief executive comments; paragraphs 13-18)

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Malaysia signed a deal on Wednesday to pay a U.S. seabed exploration firm up to $70 million if it finds the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370 within 90 days of embarking on a new search in the Southern Indian ocean.

The disappearance of the aircraft en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 with 239 people aboard ranks among the world's greatest aviation mysteries.

Australia, China and Malaysia ended a fruitless A$200-million ($157 million) search of a 120,000 sq. km area in January last year, despite investigators urging the search be extended to a 25,000-square-km area further to the north.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said a Houston-based private firm, Ocean Infinity, would search for MH370 in that 25,000-sq-km priority area on a "no-cure, no-fee" basis, meaning it will only get paid if it finds the plane.

"As we speak, the vessel, Seabed Constructor, is on her way to the search area, taking advantage of favourable weather conditions in the South Indian ocean," Liow told a news conference.

The search will begin on Jan. 17, said Ocean Infinity Chief Executive Oliver Plunkett, who attended the signing event.

Ocean Infinity will be paid $20 million if the plane is found within 5,000 sq km, $30 million if it is found within 10,000 square km and $50 million if it is found within an area of 25,000 square km. Beyond that area, Ocean Infinity will receive $70 million, Liow said.

Its priority is to locate the wreckage or the flight and cockpit recorders, and present credible evidence to confirm their location within 90 days, Liow added.

"They cannot take forever or drag it on for another six months or a year."

'UNIQUE SOLUTION'

Ocean Infinity's vessel carries eight autonomous underwater vehicles that will scour the seabed with scanning equipment for information to be sent back for analysis.

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It has 65 crew, including two government representatives drawn from the Malaysian navy.

The ship could complete the search within three or four weeks, and cover up to 60,000 square km in 90 days, or four times faster than earlier efforts, Plunkett told Reuters.

"It was a unique problem that required a unique solution... We looked at it and said, 'Let's do something different than what other people would do,' and that's the essence of our business."

Ocean Infinity's core business is in the oil and gas industry, as well as subsea exploration services for tasks such as underwater cabling and seabed mapping, he said.

The company's shareholders would bear the upfront costs of the search, Plunkett added.

Debris from MH370 could provide clues to events on board before the crash. There have been competing theories that the aircraft suffered mechanical failure or was intentionally flown off course.

Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles out over the Indian Ocean.

At least three pieces of debris collected from sites on Indian Ocean islands and along Africa's east coast have been confirmed as being from the missing plane. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Jamie Freed and Clarence Fernandez)
Investors seeking more diversification or a different kind of bet can choose alternative investments -- things like long-short bets on credit products, or managed futures contracts.

If things followed the usual pattern, ordinary folk would gradually find easier ways to get at these more remote recesses of the investing world through professionally managed funds. But these offerings have developed only slowly and sport some red flags, such as high fees.

"Alternative investments mean different things to different investors," says David Twibell, president of Englewood, Colorado-based Custom Portfolio Group.

"For some, alternative investments are simply a catch-all category for things that don't fall into the more traditional asset classes. These can be anything from gold to hedge funds, and everything in between," he says. "For other investors, alternatives are limited to certain investments that either have no historical correlation to other markets, or aren't available in a publicly-traded vehicle."

[See: 7 of the Best Stocks to Buy for 2018.]

Sophisticated investors can buy into options like hedge funds directly, but small investors accustomed to funds have fewer options.

Still, it can be worth seeking them out if the investor really feels they might round out a portfolio, says Adam Taback, head of global alternative investments at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

"By incorporating them alongside equity, fixed income and real assets, alternative investments act as a fourth asset group and can help to smooth the volatility of a portfolio and unlock return streams different and distinct from the other asset groups, Taback says.

Not all experts agree these investments are suitable for a wide range of small investors, but Kevin Mirabile, clinical assistant professor in finance and business economics at Fordham University in New York, says they're worth a look.

"Yes, alternative investments are for everyone," he says. "In the past only qualifying institutions and high-net-worth individuals could access the world of hedge funds, private equity and other alternative investment products. Today, there are plenty of ways for the average investor to access these products using a brokerage account, mutual fund, ETF, IRA or 401(k) plan."

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Every investor benefits from diversifying, and diversification using investments with low correlation is "the best sort of diversification," Mirabile says.

"Think of it this way, you get to keep the return from an alternative allocation while lowering your risk," he says. "So even if a hedge fund delivers 85 percent of the return of the S&P 500 you can be better off if the correlation is low and your portfolio risk drops by 25 percent."

The alt-investment world offers actively managed funds, and some that attempt to mimic index funds, typically by constructing an index of their own. But pickings are slim in exchange-traded funds, which have become the first choice for many small investors in recent years.

Though many lists of alternative ETFs include leveraged ETFs, which use borrowed money to amplify results, these funds really should not be included because they march in step with the markets, while true alternative investments do not, Morningstar says.

The largest alt ETF by assets is IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (ticker: QAI), according to ETFdb.com website. It invests in a wide array of hedge funds and has a 0.76 percent annual expense ratio (or $76 per $10,000 invested), which is high for an ETF. Annual returns have averaged 2.5 percent over the past five years.

[See: 7 ETFs for a Solid Portfolio Defense.]

If that sounds weak next to the broad stock indexes, remember alternative investments are not supposed to match mainstream holdings like stocks, they're supposed to be "uncorrelated," zagging while others zig.

Investors will find more options among actively managed funds because of the careful picking and choosing required.

The big player among alt funds is AQR capital management, and its premier fund in this category is AQR Long-Short Equity Fund ( QLEIX), a managed mutual fund which seeks to profit from both rising and falling stocks. Since that takes a lot of work and active trading, it carries a nearly 1.4 percent expense ratio, extremely high compared to index funds and plain vanilla ETFs that often charge less than 0.1 percent. The fund's nearly 14 percent gain in 2017 trailed the Standard & Poor's 500 index performance of near 22 percent, but QLEIX crushed the index the previous two years.

To invest, you must start with a minimum of $100,000 for an IRA or an R6 "clean share" class for a taxable account. Clean shares are designed to avoid conflict of interests found in funds that pay advisors who recommend them.

Alt investments is such a loose term it's hard to say which investors they suit, Twibell says.

"If you want something with an inverse market correlation ... a mutual fund that focuses on shorting stocks might make sense," he says. "But if you simply want something that can perform well regardless of what happens in the overall markets -- something that is completely uncorrelated to markets -- currencies might be better."

Michael Tanney, co-founder of Wanderlust Wealth in New York, warns investors accustomed to moving money around easily to be wary of alt investments of any kind.

"We have purposely kept our clients away from alternatives because of the lack of liquidity, long hold periods, and high-performance hurdles after fees," he says.

Mirabile, however, is more enthusiastic, so long as the investor is careful.

"The key to alternative investing is not to pay away all the performance in fees," he says. "Investors need to look carefully to make sure they are getting solid performance, low fees and low correlation" with other assets, such as stocks.

[See: 7 ETFs to Trade Like a Hedge Fund.]

"Long and short equity funds are a great example. They can deliver 80 percent of stock market performance with less than half the risk and low correlation," Mirabile says. "The same is true for many fixed income relative value funds. Retail investors should stay away from highly leveraged funds and those that cannot be redeemed daily or weekly."

Jeff Brown spent nearly 40 years as a newspaper reporter, columnist and editor, including 20 years writing about investing, personal finance, the economy and financial markets. He spent 20 years at The Philadelphia Inquirer and has been freelancing since 2007.
Tuesdays ruling by federal judges that North Carolinas congressional district map must be redrawn could have significant implications on the 2018 election. But the fight over gerrymandering around the country is far from over.

A three-judge panel rejected the map drawn by the states Republican-controlled General Assembly, saying it violates the Equal Protection Clause, the First Amendment, and Article I of the Constitution. The panel gave authorities three weeks to put together a new plan.

North Carolina is hardly the only state accused of gerrymandering, though. Here are a few others that could see legal fights in the not-too-distant future:

Maryland  Some analysis of Marylands districts show its just as gerrymandered as North Carolina. In this case, its Democrats, not Republicans, accused of making things work in their favor, having redrawn districts in 2012. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments about the redistricting later this year.

Pennsylvania  Pennsylvanias 7th district has been ranked as one of the 10 most gerrymandered in the country. A federal trial about the states district map began last month, with one expert testifying that randomly drawn computer maps would be more fair. Two other separate cases are pending in the state.

Texas  While Texas is unquestionably a Republican stronghold, its 33rd district is considered one of the worst cases of gerrymandering in the country. Stretching from southwestern Dallas to the northern suburbs of Fort Worth, the area is 67% Hispanic and 16% black. Critics argue the districting limits the input of those groups. Legal cases are also looming here, with a three-judge panel ruling last year that several districts needed to be redrawn. That ruling is currently being appealed.
Many immigrants loathe and fear President Trump, whether theyre in the United States legally or illegally. Trump would send many undocumented immigrants back where they came from, if he could. Hes cutting back on legal immigration as well, and hes dismantling programs that have protected in-betweeners such as refugees who came to America on a temporary basis to avoid danger or other risks at home.

Trump recently signaled his willingness to allow roughly 800,000 dreamersyoung people brought illegally to the United States as childrento stay in the country, which would extend a policy President Obama established in 2012. But theres a catch: Congress must provide billions of dollars for the wall Trump wants to build along the Mexican border, which will require support from Democrats. If Trump doesnt get his wall, he may expel the dreamers, following through on his decision last September to end the Obama-era policy. In essence, Trump is holding the dreamers hostage to his demands for wall money.

To the Trump base, thats fine. Trumps anti-immigration policies are part of his America First agenda, and they play well with fed-up voters who feel Washington has ignored working-class Americans for years. Some of those voters blame immigrants for taking jobs native-born Americans used to do, for less pay, and eroding middle-class living standards.

While immigrants do push down wages in some instances, they also do many jobs Americans arent willing to do, such as picking produce and gutting chickens. In general, economists say, immigrants boost economic growth because they represent more people working, buying stuff and creating economic value. Immigrants are also more entrepreneurial than native-born Americans, which brings needed innovation to the economy. We actually need more immigrants, economists insist, to boost growth in the labor force as baby boomers retire and Americas population flattens out.

If immigrants help the economy, then why are they in trouble? Because Trump has exploited the anger of frustrated Americans who blame immigrants for their problems. But Democrats are culpable, too, because they did nothing to alleviate the root problem when they could have. During his 8 years in the White House, President Obama did little to address legitimate frustrations of the white working class, leaving bad feelings smoldering until Trump came along and stoked the fire.

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Obama talked over the white working class

Obama talked the talk, calling for new laws and programs that would have hiked the federal minimum wage, provided more job training for displaced workers, required paid sick leave for more workers and helped more people afford a college education. He got little cooperation from Congress during his last six years in office, when Republicans controlled first the House, and then the House and Senate both. Had Democrats controlled Congress during that time, Obamas middle-class economics program might have passed.

But there was some merit to Republican complaints that Obama was aloof and seemingly uninterested in compromise with the opposing party. Obama also spent a lot of political capital on the Affordable Care Act he signed into law in 2010, a giant new federal program that was unpopular from the outset and came with considerable downsides. While the ACA did extend health coverage to several million additional Americans, it also raised health care costs for some middle-class families who earned too much to afford subsidies under the new law. The ACA essentially harmed some Americans to help others, which left a bad taste in voters mouths. This being America, voters also disliked the new mandate that everybody had to have health insurance or pay a penalty to the government.

Voters appreciate empathy, too, and Obama didnt have much to offer the white factory worker who couldnt find a decent-paying job. Obama championed wind and solar startups, while extolling job creation in newfangled industries. But he was mostly silent about coal miners and oil roughnecks losing their dirty jobs. And while Obama spoke eloquently about foreign affairs and, occasionally, race relations, he made no connection at all with the sort of discouraged backsliders depicted in the surprise bestseller Hillbilly Elegy, published in Obamas final year in office. Obama talked over the heads of the white working class.

Trump, somehow, knew how to rally those disaffected Americansand part of his pitch was to vilify immigrants. Thats a classic populist tactic: create a villain people can pin their problems on. This doesnt mean every white working-class voter is biased against immigrants. Far from it. But many are grateful to Trump for hearing their plaints and simply acknowledging they exist. And theyre willing to consider whatever Trump suggests might make things better.

Marginalizing immigrants wont solve any problems, and it would probably make some problems worse. Blue-collar workers are falling behind because they lack the skills to compete and prosper in an economy dominated by digital technology. The solutions are better education, aggressive job training and more economic mobility, allowing workers to go where the jobs are. Penalizing immigrants for their willingness to compete on pay at the bottom of the income ladder wont help lift up anybody else. Not by much, anyway.

But that is not Trumps narrative, and now hes stuck having to make good on a campaign promise he would have been better off not making. That means Trump has to get tough on immigrationwhatever that meansin order to keep faith with voters who took that promise seriously. But he has to do it in a way that doesnt hurt the economy or make his party seem any more heartless than voters already think it is. Harder still may be helping those workers who think their biggest problem is immigration.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com. Encrypted communication available.

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Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Ohio man was charged in a 16-count indictment on Wednesday for allegedly using malware known as "Fruitfly" to surreptitiously record people by secretly taking over their computer cameras and microphones, the U.S. Justice Department said. The indictment said that from 2003 through early 2017, Phillip Durachinsky, 28, collected data from thousands of computers belonging to individuals, companies, schools, a police department and the U.S. Department of Energy. He collected a wide variety of information from computers, including bank records, photographs, peoples' Internet searches and keystrokes and potentially embarrassing communications. The malware was also designed to detect whether computer users typed words associated with pornography, allowing Durachinsky to watch and listen to them without their knowledge, the indictment said. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Kathmandu, Jan 10 (PTI) Two Indians were arrested in Nepal after 86 kg of marijuana was allegedly recovered from their possession, according to a media report.

Naresh Kumar Prasad, 24, and Nikesh Kumar, 19, were arrested yesterday from Bharatapur in Chitwan district in central-southern Nepal, it said.

The accused hail from Motihari district of Bihar, the Himalayan Times quoted Nepal Police officials as saying.

The contraband was found in a vehicle, bearing an Indian registration number, Chitwans police chief, Superintendent of Police Deepak Thapa said.

The marijuana was reportedly being smuggled to India via Birgunj in Bihar by the duo, he said.

Further probe was underway. PTI KIS AKJ KIS
By Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil's price rally this year to its highest since May 2015 may seem a source of glee for OPEC, but some in the producer group fear the gains could prompt shale companies to crank open their spigots and flood the market. Benchmark Brent crude rose further above $68 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by oil output cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia that are due to run until the end of 2018. The surge comes as a welcome boost for the revenues of oil-producing nations, many still reeling from a price collapse that started in mid-2014 when crude began to fall steeply from above $100 per barrel due to oversupply. Some in OPEC are worried a prolonged rally could stimulate more U.S. shale oil output, however, creating more oversupply that could weigh on prices and market share. "We all are excited about the rally and want to see if it will be sustainable during the year, as it will certainly whet the appetite of shale producers," an official from an OPEC country said. The oil minister of Iran, OPEC's third-largest producer, said on Tuesday that the organization's members were not keen on increased prices as such gains would encourage more shale production. OPEC has no formal target for oil prices. However, Saudi Arabia, OPEC's top producer, wants to see crude above $60 to boost the valuation of its national oil company Aramco before an initial public offering of shares this year and to reduce the gap in its state budget, Saudi sources have said. OPEC sources say Saudi Arabia has become a strong advocate of higher prices, a shift from a more moderate stance in the past, and Saudi officials have downplayed the threat of a boost in shale production. Even so, U.S. production is expected soon to rise above 10 million barrels per day, close to Saudi levels, due largely to soaring output from shale drillers, government data shows. [EIA/M] OPEC officials also think the 2018 rally has been mainly driven by unrest in Iran, rather than a tighter balance between supply and demand, giving rise to concern it may not last. "Oil prices rose because of the political situation in Iran," an OPEC source said. "There is a worry now that this would be followed by a sharp decline in prices." A third OPEC source said market fundamentals did not justify the price rally. "It is only politics that is changing the mood. The push in prices will mean the peak is near and hence prices will give up some of the gains." While OPEC sources say oil market fundamentals remain strong on the back of the supply cuts, others are worried that economic growth in consuming countries could slow and higher prices might encourage some producers to pump above their output target. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler; Editing by Dale Hudson)
Pro-democracy protesters rally outside a Hong Kong court as activists appear inside for a pre-trial hearing (AFP Photo/VIVEK PRAKASH)

Founders of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement that sparked mass rallies in 2014 appeared in court Tuesday in the latest case brought against activists.

The nine defendants face public nuisance charges related to the Umbrella Movement demonstrations, which shut down several major roads in the semi-autonomous Chinese city for 79 days.

Hong Kong's government has brought a raft of protest-related cases against democracy campaigners in the past few months. Supporters of the activists see them as political prosecutions under pressure from an increasingly assertive China.

The most high-profile case so far saw the jailing of leading student activists including Joshua Wong.

The founders of the protest campaign known as Occupy Central with Love and Peace, Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, were among the nine who appeared Tuesday.

Their campaign galvanised momentum behind the idea of a mass protest in the heart of Hong Kong to put pressure on Beijing and the local government to introduce democratic reforms.

After student groups joined the campaign and police fired tear gas to disperse protesters, it exploded into the Umbrella Movement.

Defence lawyers at a pre-trial review Tuesday questioned why the three Occupy founders faced separate charges of conspiracy to commit public nuisance, incitement to commit public nuisance and incitement to incite public nuisance.

Lawyer Gerard McCoy told the court it was "prosecution overload... unnecessarily and artificially bringing charges to increase pressure on the defendants".

He said a more appropriate charge would be unauthorised assembly, which carries a lesser sentence. Public nuisance charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years.

The other six defendants, including serving pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan, face either one or two public nuisance charges.

Prosecutor David Leung said the offences were "separate and distinct" and the prosecution would not change its position.

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Other leading pro-democracy campaigners were in the packed court to support the defendants.

Dozens of supporters outside shouted "Shame on political prosecution!" and "The Umbrella Movement is innocent!"

Lawmaker Chan said she had confidence in the judicial system.

"I hope we are going to have a fair trial today and in the future," she told reporters.

"God bless judicial independence and the rule of law," she added.

The hearing continues Wednesday.

ey-lm/sm
Federal regulators on Monday rejected a rule proposed by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that would have subsidized coal and nuclear power plants in some parts of the United States. However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission kept the issue alive by ordering the organizations that operate regional grids and power markets to submit reports to the commission on grid resilience issues in their areas.In a statement, FERC said, "We appreciate the Secretary reinforcing the resilience of the bulk power system as an important issue that warrants further attention." The decision is a setback for President Donald Trump 's efforts to prop up ailing coal-fired plants and nuclear power stations, as well as the mining industry. The proposal, known as the Proposed Rule on Grid Reliability and Resilience Pricing , was immediately controversial when the Department of Energy first revealed it in September . It would require the regional markets that set electricity prices to compensate power plants that keep 90 days of fuel supplies on site. Coal and nuclear power plants typically fit that description.Perry said the rule was necessary to keep the U.S. electric grid resilient during events such as the 2014 Polar Vortex, when disruptions to natural gas supplies during extreme cold contributed to power outages. Coal and nuclear power plants in danger of closing need to be kept online and deserved to be rewarded for the reliability they bring to the grid, he contended.Perry also directed FERC to rule on the proposal on an expedited basis, citing concerns about the integrity of the grid. FERC is an independent government agency that regulates interstate transport of oil and natural gas and electric power transmission. But opposition swelled among environmentalists, regional transmission organizations, and the oil, natural gas and renewable energy industries. They argued that power outages due to fuel disruptions are extremely rare and Perry's rule would distort prices in competitive power markets, which were designed to lower costs. They also said there was no reason to rush the process since the Energy Department and North American Electric Reliability Corp. have determined there is no imminent threat to the U.S. power grid.FERC's decisionIn its decision, FERC said that the Energy Department failed to demonstrate that current electric power tariffs are "unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or preferential" and that its proposed rule would remedy those shortfalls. As a result, there is no justification to require regional transmission organizations to implement changes to tariffs."While some commenters allege grid resilience or reliability issues due to potential retirements of particular resources, we find that these assertions do not demonstrate the unjustness or unreasonableness of the existing RTO/ISO tariffs," FERC said, referring to regional transmission organizations and independent system operators."In addition, the extensive comments submitted by the RTOs/ISOs do not point to any past or planned generator retirements that may be a threat to grid resilience," it added.FERC also noted it approved measures taken by two regional transmission organizations, ISO New England and PJM Interconnection, following the Polar Vortex that addressed fuel supply issues and contributed to the resiliency of the grid.However, FERC said further investigation of grid resilience issues is warranted. It opened a new proceeding that requires regional organizations to submit information about resilience in their regions within 60 days.The commission's decision to essentially kick the issue back to regional power markets was widely anticipated. Power market analysts noted from the outset that FERC typically seeks proposals for major changes from these organizations rather than devising them itself.PJM Interconnection, the organization that operates the grid in 13 Eastern and Midwestern states and Washington, D.C., has proposed power market changes that would value the reliability that baseload power generation from coal and nuclear power plants provide. Federal regulators on Monday rejected a rule proposed by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that would have subsidized coal and nuclear power plants in some parts of the United States. However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission kept the issue alive by ordering the organizations that operate regional grids and power markets to submit reports to the commission on grid resilience issues in their areas. In a statement, FERC said, "We appreciate the Secretary reinforcing the resilience of the bulk power system as an important issue that warrants further attention." The decision is a setback for President Donald Trump 's efforts to prop up ailing coal-fired plants and nuclear power stations, as well as the mining industry. The proposal, known as the Proposed Rule on Grid Reliability and Resilience Pricing , was immediately controversial when the Department of Energy first revealed it in September . It would require the regional markets that set electricity prices to compensate power plants that keep 90 days of fuel supplies on site. Coal and nuclear power plants typically fit that description. Perry said the rule was necessary to keep the U.S. electric grid resilient during events such as the 2014 Polar Vortex, when disruptions to natural gas supplies during extreme cold contributed to power outages. Coal and nuclear power plants in danger of closing need to be kept online and deserved to be rewarded for the reliability they bring to the grid, he contended. Perry also directed FERC to rule on the proposal on an expedited basis, citing concerns about the integrity of the grid. FERC is an independent government agency that regulates interstate transport of oil and natural gas and electric power transmission. But opposition swelled among environmentalists, regional transmission organizations, and the oil, natural gas and renewable energy industries. They argued that power outages due to fuel disruptions are extremely rare and Perry's rule would distort prices in competitive power markets, which were designed to lower costs. They also said there was no reason to rush the process since the Energy Department and North American Electric Reliability Corp. have determined there is no imminent threat to the U.S. power grid. FERC's decision In its decision, FERC said that the Energy Department failed to demonstrate that current electric power tariffs are "unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or preferential" and that its proposed rule would remedy those shortfalls. As a result, there is no justification to require regional transmission organizations to implement changes to tariffs. "While some commenters allege grid resilience or reliability issues due to potential retirements of particular resources, we find that these assertions do not demonstrate the unjustness or unreasonableness of the existing RTO/ISO tariffs," FERC said, referring to regional transmission organizations and independent system operators. "In addition, the extensive comments submitted by the RTOs/ISOs do not point to any past or planned generator retirements that may be a threat to grid resilience," it added. FERC also noted it approved measures taken by two regional transmission organizations, ISO New England and PJM Interconnection, following the Polar Vortex that addressed fuel supply issues and contributed to the resiliency of the grid. However, FERC said further investigation of grid resilience issues is warranted. It opened a new proceeding that requires regional organizations to submit information about resilience in their regions within 60 days. The commission's decision to essentially kick the issue back to regional power markets was widely anticipated. Power market analysts noted from the outset that FERC typically seeks proposals for major changes from these organizations rather than devising them itself. PJM Interconnection, the organization that operates the grid in 13 Eastern and Midwestern states and Washington, D.C., has proposed power market changes that would value the reliability that baseload power generation from coal and nuclear power plants provide.



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Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Credit: Jason Doiy/ ALM [/caption] During arguments Wednesday in a major Ohio voting challenge, Justice Sonia Sotomayor confronted U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco as to why his office broke with solicitors general of both political parties for 24 years who said using failure-to-vote as a trigger to purge voters from state rolls violated the National Voter Registration Act.Even the Federal Election Commission, nearly a decade after the 1993 enactment of the federal voter registration act, "took the position the old solicitors general were taking," Sotomayor said. "Everybody but you today come in and say the act before the clarification said something different. Seems quite unusual that your office would change its position so dramatically.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ The National Law Journal

Francisco struggled initially to respond to Sotomayor's question, which marked the first instance a justice has questioned Trump's Justice Department about the abandonment of a predecessors litigating position.The Justice Department has changed prior administration positions in two other major high court cases this term, one involving the constitutionality of union fair share fees, and the other concerning the availability of class actions in worker arbitration agreements under the National Labor Relations Act. The Francisco-led solicitor general's office opposes both.The National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act prohibit using a persons failure to vote as a reason to remove a registered voter from a states rolls. But the acts also authorize states, in an effort to keep their rolls current, to remove a voter who fails to respond to a notice seeking confirmation of the voters address and fails to vote for four consecutive years. Ohio sends confirmation notices to registered voters who have not voted for two years.In Wednesdays arguments, Ohio Solicitor General Eric Murphy and Francisco defended the states use of failure to vote for two years as the trigger for sending confirmation notices. They argued that it is not the trigger but, rather, the failure to respond to the confirmation notice and to vote for four consecutive years that results in removal from the registration rolls.Seventy percent of Ohioans who get those notices do not respond, countered the challengers counsel, Paul Smith of Campaign Legal Center. With no evidence that the voter has moved from a district, Smith said, it is the failure to vote alone that removes the voter from the rolls, and that is prohibited by law.The National Voter Registration Act was enacted in 1993 and was followed in 2002 by the Help America Vote Actboth intended to encourage voting and to make it more accessible.After that many presidents, that many solicitor generals, this many yearsthe vast majority of states, over 35, over 40, actually, who read it the way your opponents read it, most people read it that wayhow did the solicitor general change its mind? Sotomayor asked Francisco again. Do you believe this doesn't have an impact, a negative impact on certain groups in this society?Francisco said that the Help America Vote Act clarified what was at the time an ongoing debate between the Department of Justice and the states. And he directed her away from legislative history to public context.Even the most diehard textualists look to the public context in which a law was enacted, Francisco said. I refer you to Justice Scalia's opinion in Branch v. Smith and Professor Manning's article in What Divides Textualists From Purposivists? And that public context makes clear that the only thing that was in need of clarification at the time the clarification amendment was passed was precisely this question: whether states like Ohio's could use a non-voting trigger in conjunction with the [confirmation notice] process.And there's nothing in this statute that bars that, Francisco argued. I think it reflects the balance that Congress was trying to strike in the NVRA between, on the one hand, dramatically increasing the number of voters on the voter rolls but, on the other, giving states the flexibility they need to manage the issues that arise when you have overinflated voter rolls.Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, apparently not satisfied, also pressed Francisco. Was it the position of the United StatesI thought it was, but you correct me if I'm wrongI thought that the United States was taking the position, consistently, that non-voting was not a reliable indicator of residence change.Francisco replied that Ginsburg was partly correct. The Justice Department, he said, had understood the statute to include a "reliable evidence" requirement and non-voting was not that kind of reliable evidence.Our current position is that when you look at the statute, there's simply no way to read into it a reliable evidence requirement that's found nowhere in the text and that Congress, in fact, rejected, he said. [caption id="attachment_5250" align="alignnone" width="620"]

U.S. solicitor general's office at Main Justice. Credit: Mike Scarcella/ ALM [/caption] The Justice Departments switch in position spurred competing amicus briefs from former Justice Department leaders and civil rights division officials.Six former DOJ attorneys supporting Ohio argued that the lower appellate courts rejection of Ohios arguments contradicted how the Justice Department had enforced the voter law historically. In fact, during amicis tenures, the Justice Department negotiated settlement agreements that required localities to do exactly what the Sixth Circuit held was illegal here, said the brief.Seventeen former department officials, led by former Obama Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., said in a brief that Francisco explicitly stated the change in administration motivated the switch. The Trump DOJ's position, they said, rejected an interpretation the Justice Department had "repeatedly endorsed" since 1993.Unusually, the Solicitor Generals brief was not signed by a single career attorney in the Civil Rights Division, the component of the department that is responsible for enforcing the NVRA provisions at issue here, Samuel Bagenstos wrote in the amicus brief for Holder and the other former officials.Read more:US Justice Department Takes Alito's Side in New Stance Against Union FeesTrump's DOJ Switches Sides in Key Labor Case, Now Fights Class ActionsNoel Francisco Will Argue Tricky Voter CaseSupreme Court Takes Antitrust Case the US DOJ Supported, Then AbandonedTopsy-Turvy at Main JusticeUS Justice Department Has a Duty to DefendOnly When It Doesn't
By Sijia Jiang

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's [HWT.UL] planned deal with U.S. carrier AT&T Inc <T.N> to sell its smartphones in the United States has collapsed at the 11th hour because of security concerns, people with knowledge of the matter said, in a blow to the Chinese firm's global ambitions.

AT&T was pressured to drop the deal after members of the U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees sent a letter on Dec. 20 to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) citing concerns about Huawei's plans to launch consumer products through a major U.S. telecom carrier.

The letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, which was signed by 18 lawmakers, noted concerns about Chinese companies in the U.S. telecommunications industry.

The letter notes the committee's concerns "about Chinese espionage in general, and Huawei's role in that espionage in particular." A copy of the letter was seen by Reuters.

Huawei said in a statement on Tuesday that its flagship smartphone Mate 10 Pro - Huawei's challenger to the iPhone - will be sold in the United States only through open channels.

"The U.S. market presents unique challenges for Huawei, and while the HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro will not be sold by U.S. carriers, we remain committed to this market now and in the future," it said.

Huawei's Washington-based spokesman William Plummer said on Tuesday that "privacy and security are always our first priority."

"We are compliant with the world's most stringent privacy protection frameworks and requirements and have gained the trust of over 150 million customers in the past year alone," Plummer said in an email.

REJECTION OF DEALS

Huawei is the world's third largest smartphone vendor by volume after Samsung Electronics <005930.KS> and Apple Inc <AAPL.O>, but it has a mere 0.5 percent share of the U.S. smartphone market, compared with 39 percent for Apple and 18 percent for Samsung, according to industry tracker Canalys.

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Washington began to have concerns about Chinese investment in the United States before President Donald Trump took office last year, and those concerns have heightened.

Because of this scepticism, including the U.S. government's rejection of several Chinese deals, Chinese investment in the United States fell to $25 billion last year from $50 billion in 2016, according to Derek Scissors, a China expert at the American Enterprise Institute.

Among the deals killed recently by the multi-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) were Ant Financial's plan to buy U.S. money transfer company MoneyGram International Inc <MGI.O>, the purchase by China-backed Canyon Bridge Capital Partners LLC of a U.S. chip maker and plans by Zhongwang USA, backed by a Chinese aluminium tycoon, to buy a U.S. aluminium maker.

In 2012, Huawei and ZTE Corp <000063.SZ> <0763.HK> were the subject of a U.S. investigation into whether their equipment provided an opportunity for foreign espionage and threatened critical U.S. infrastructure - a link that Huawei has consistently denied.

In the United States, where telecom carriers dominate the distribution channel by typically providing subsidies and special package deals, Huawei had been unable to make any significant inroads due to national security concerns.

AT&T declined to comment.

The flagship Mate 10 Pro that was to be introduced is Huawei's most high-end product to date, equipped with its own AI-powered chips that Huawei says process data much faster than those used by Apple and Samsung. It was launched in Europe in October with a price tag of 799 euros ($955).

"This makes it very difficult for Huawei to get significant in the U.S. as the open channels account for only about 10-11 percent of the market," said Canalys analyst Mo Jia, referring to sales channels outside telecom carriers and vendors' own stores.

He said Huawei's proprietary mobile chips may have presented a bigger regulatory hurdle for its U.S. market entry in the current political climate, compared with other Chinese vendors' entry strategy that relies on U.S. chip suppliers.

(Reporting by Sijia Jiang in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco, Anjali Athavaley in New York, David Shepardson and Diane Bartz in Washington, and Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Sanders, Andrew Hay and Paul Simao)
Updated| The coal industry says that thousands of miners will lose their livelihoods and hundreds of thousands could lose their pensions and health care, thanks to a ruling by an obscure energy panel that defied President Donald Trump.

The Federal Energy Regulation Committee, a group of regulators comprised mostly of Trump appointees, rejected a request by the Department of Energy to prop up coal and nuclear power plants with a new rule that would underwrite some fuel costs.

The committee said in a statement that it might revisit the issue at a later date, handing a loss to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who had proposed a new mandate in September that would pay the operators of power plants to meet a new federal requirement to always have 90 days worth of coal on-site. The $10.6-billion cost of buying all that fuel would be passed on to consumers via surcharges on their monthly energy bills.

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I believe that the Trump administration, with the exception of Neil Chatterjee, picked three bad appointees for FERC. And they should all be fired, Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, the countrys largest coal mining company, told The Hill Tuesday.

Trump had backed the new rule, though it would benefit 10 or fewer power and coal companies, according to a study by nonpartisan energy groups.

The Department of Energy said at the time that the fuel stockpiles were necessary to prevent power outages in times of supply stress, such as recent natural disasters. But only 0.00007 percent of all major power disruptions over the past five years were due to fuel supply problems, John Larsen, a power sector researcher for the Rhodium Group, told Newsweek.

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Getty Images

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In August, the Associated Press obtained correspondence to Trump administration officials from Murray, who explicitly stated if the new policy was not implemented quickly, both Murray Energy and FirstEnergy would be forced to declare bankruptcya nightmare scenario for a deal-making president who campaigned a champion of coal.

After my personally speaking with President Trump [and suggesting the policy], he turned to Energy Secretary Rick Perry and said three times, I want this done, the letter reads from Murray reads.

Murray told officials that FirstEnergy, an electric utility company that serves six million customers in the Rust Belt and Mid-Atlantic region, would go bankrupt if the administration did not act. That would, in turn, cause Murray Energy, which relies on FirstEnergy to buy its coal, to go belly up. Murray Energy, he noted, would also be holding the bag for thousands of jobs and around $11 billion in pension and other payments.

But after the Federal Energy Regulation Committee decided against him, Murray predicted dire circumstances for Americas energy producers and their customers.

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We will now immediately observe the announcement of further decommissioning of nuclear and coal-fired electricity generation that will further exacerbate this critical situation, he said in a statement first obtained by Newsweek. He slammed the committee for sit(ting) on their hands and refus(ing) to take the action directed by Energy Secretary Rick Perry and President Donald Trump.

FirstEnergy told Newsweek that things do not look good for the company. Without some kind of change or action, we risk seeing additional closure of plants, a spokeswoman said.

Democrats, however, applauded the committee for rejecting the Trump administrations wrong-headed proposal to bail out coal and nuclear plants at the expense of consumers, said Senator Maria Cantwell, the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman added that the proposed regulation was an unlawful, thinly veiled corporate giveaway.

The White House did not respond to immediate request for comment. Secretary Perry can chose to appeal the decision, and could sue the committee over its decision.

This story was updated to reflect a new statement from Robert Murray.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
The White Houses plan to bail out Americas coal country has been shot down  by the very energy regulators that President Donald Trump appointed last year.

In an order Monday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perrys sweeping proposal to subsidize struggling coal and nuclear plants in the name of keeping power grids dependable. Instead, the commission asked grid operators to suggest their own ideas to make the system more resilient.

We appreciate the Secretary reinforcing the resilience of the bulk power system as an important issue that warrants further attention, the agency said in the order. All five commissioners were appointed by Trump; three are Republicans.

The defeat is a setback for the president, who vowed on the campaign trail to revive the battered coal industry and put miners back to work. The Energy Department plan drew criticism from natural gas producers, grid operators and others who argued it would undermine competition in wholesale power markets. Consumers in more than a dozen states would have foot the bill, which could have totaled billions.

As intended, my proposal initiated a national debate on the resiliency of our electric system, Perry said in a statement. What is not debatable is that a diverse fuel supply, especially with on site fuel capability, plays an essential role in providing Americans with reliable, resilient and affordable electricity.

Coal miners decried the decision. National Mining Association President Hal Quinn said the commissions disappointing lack of action comes on the heels of a cold snap that demonstrated the value that coal provides to power grids. Paul Bailey, chief executive officer of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, said waiting for input from grid operators may prove costly.

The electricity grid could become less reliable and less resilient while more information is being collected, Bailey said.

Read: These Countries Are Teaming Up To Eliminate Coal

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Perry ordered the commission to consider his plan in September, invoking an obscure 30-year-old statute. His idea was to pay plants a premium to store at least 90 days of fuel on site in an effort to make grids more reliable. Coal and nuclear generators would be uniquely suited because, unlike gas plants, they arent fed by pipelines. Wind and solar farms, meanwhile, require no fuel.

The payments wouldve bolstered the economics for coal and nuclear generators whove seen their profits and market share squeezed by cheap gas and renewables.

Wasnt Sufficient

The commission on Monday said Perrys plan did not pass legal muster. The order gave regional grid operators 60 days to submit feedback on how grid resilience should be assessed, if at all, and whether the commission should take any action on the matter at this time.

Theres agreement at the commission that the DOE proposal wasnt sufficient, Richard Glick, one of the agencys two Democratic commissioners, said in an interview. It was unanimous.

Energy Department Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette said in an interview that the agency would work closely with the commission as it collects comments from grid operators. Its important for folks to remember that FERC could have done nothing at all, Brouillette said. We do feel a sense of urgency and we would hope that FERC would act quickly.

Energy Undersecretary Mark Menezes said in an interview that any rule considered should be open to all generation sources, including natural gas and battery storage.

The energy commission initially had a Dec. 8 deadline to act on the proposal. The day he was sworn in, FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre asked Perry for a 30-day extension, saying he needed time to review the flood of public comments.

The Opposition

Every major U.S. grid operator strongly opposed Perrys plan, characterizing it as a threat to competitive power markets. Critics of the proposal said it could have let some coal and nuclear plants continue to operate even if theyre not economic to run. That could slow development of gas, wind and solar projects, whose growth depends on aging power plants closing.

Coal producers and a handful of utilities supported the Energy Department proposal. FirstEnergy fe , which has been considering bankruptcy for its competitive power generation business, was widely viewed as a key beneficiary of the proposed rule.

The future of FirstEnergys competitive generating facilities remains challenged, Jennifer Young, a spokeswoman for the Akron, Ohio-based utility owner said in an email. We will review the order and determine our next steps.

FirstEnergy rose 0.9% on Monday to $30.39. Exelon exc , the nations largest nuclear power generator, was up 1.1% at $38.60. The energy commission posted its decision just as the market was closing for the day, and given ongoing reforms, its very tough to be negative power in 2018, Guggenheim Securities analysts including Shahriar Pourreza said in a note late Monday.

Maria Korsnick, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute said the trade group was disappointed in the agencys order and warned that upholding the status quo would lead to the retirements of more reactors in the U.S. Once closed, she said, these facilities are shuttered forever.

First Step

Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, who has pushed for immediate aid to struggling coal and nuclear plants, signed off on the order and said in an opinion that he expected the decision to be only the first step in a more systematic effort by the Commission to address resilience.

Perry has repeatedly said that storing fuel on site makes coal and nuclear plants less prone to shutdowns than other power generators in the event of disasters and attacks. An Energy Department study released in August doesnt support that claim, finding instead that attempts to achieve fuel diversity in market designs explicitly would likely result in inefficient and potentially discriminatory practices that are inconsistent with the Federal Power Act.

Grid operators and utilities also rejected Perrys claim, contending that resilience has more to do with power lines than about fuel supply.

Perrys plan was never about making sure the lights and heat stayed on, said John Moore, director of the Sustainable FERC Project affiliated with the Natural Resources Defense Council. It was about protecting the bank accounts of plant owners with a more than $14 billion bailout at the expense of everyday Americans budgets, health, and safety.

Cheryl LaFleur, the agencys other Democratic commissioner, said in an interview that the proposal was long on generalizations but short on evidence.

If Im going to require customers to pay for something in their electric bill, I want to make sure that they are getting a benefit, she said.
After President Donald Trump promised to bring back beautiful coal power plants, a group of his appointees ruled against the idea Monday on the grounds that subsidies that would favor struggling plants would interfere in energy markets.

Trump appointed four of the five officials that sit on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission who rejected the plan Secretary of Energy Rick Perry submitted in September, arguing it would discriminate against producers of other sources of energy.

It has not been shown that the remedy in the Proposed Rule would not be unduly discriminatory or preferential, said the panel in an order rejecting Perrys proposal, noting it could impact the price of electricity and would require power producers to have a 90-day fuel supply on-site.

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01_09_TrumpCoal

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Perrys fuel supply condition would appear to permit only certain resources to be eligible for the rate, thereby excluding other resources that would contribute to a resilient power grid, the order said.

Resource turnover is a natural consequence of markets, and the reduced prices that result from greater competition are a benefit to customers, not a problem to solve, unless reliability is compromised, wrote Cheryl LaFleur, the only holdover from the Obama administration on the panel, in the decision. The panel regulates energy markets.

Since 2009, the cost of solar power generation has dropped 85 percent, making it competitive with the price of natural gas, according to a report by the asset management firm Lazard.

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Trump's former 2016 campaign chief Corey Lewandowski accused the appointees on the commission of being members of "the deep state" on Twitter Tuesday, arguing they are just "more government officials who dont support the Trump agenda"even though the president was the one who appointed them.

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Throughout the 2016 election and into his administration, Trump has vowed to bring back the U.S. coal industry, which has languished for years as power suppliers have switched to cheaper natural gas and renewable power sources.

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The president has fought against environmental policies like the Paris climate accord, which he withdrew from over the summer, because they could impact the fossil fuel industry.

We're lifting restrictions on American energy and we've ended the war on coal, Trump said as he delivered remarks about deregulation on December 14, 2017.

They said, oh coal will never come back. Now we're opening up lines and we're drilling and we're doing all sorts of things, Trump noted during a rally in Pensacola, Florida, days earlier, adding that renewable energy from windmills is wonderful, but you know what, when the wind doesn't blow they really do cause problems.

Thats not what his appointees at the energy regulator found. To the contrary, wrote Trump appointee Commissioner Richard Glick in the groups decision, the addition of a diverse array of generation resources, including natural gas, solar, wind, and geothermal, as well as maturing technologies, such as energy storage, distributed generation, and demand response, have in many respects contributed to the resilience of the bulk power system.

The record in this proceeding, Glick wrote, does not demonstrate any need for the Commission to interfere with the continued evolution of the bulk power system.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) The result of the Civil Services (Main) examination was declared today by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), an official statement said.

The Main examination was conducted between October 28 and November 3 last year.

The Civil Services examination is conducted by the UPSC annually in three stages -- preliminary, mains and interview -- to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The roll numbers of the candidates, who cleared the mains examination were made available on the commissions website-- www.upsc.gov.in -- it said, without mentioning the total number of successful candidates.

Personality test or interview of the selected candidates is likely to commence from February 19, the UPSC said.

The e-summon letter for the personality test of candidates called for interview may be downloaded from the commissions website from January 18, it said.

The mark sheets of candidates, who have not qualified, would be put on UPSCs website within 15 days from the date of publication of the final result (after conducting the personality tests) and would be available on the portal for a period of 60 days. PTI AKV IJT
President Donald Trump will tell farmers on Monday his administration has cut their taxes and slashed regulations on agriculture and food processing that amounted to a "regulatory assault on your way of life.""For years, many of you have endured burdensome fines, inspections, paperwork and relentless intrusion from an army of regulators at the EPA, the FDA and countless other federal agencies," Trump will tell the annual convention of the American Farm Bureau in Nashville Tennessee, according to excerpts released Monday by the White House.Trump will go on to say he is "proud to report that within our first 11 months, my administration has canceled or delayed over 1,500 planned regulatory actions  more than any president in history." The president will tout a figure of 22 regulations cut "for every one new regulation."Among the industries affected by this deregulation are agricultural biotech and forestry, Trump will say."We are streamlining regulations that have blocked cutting edge biotechnology setting free our farmers to innovate, thrive and grow. We are removing harmful restrictions on forestry so you can log more timber, plant more trees and export more renewable resources to other countries," the president will say to the convention attendees.Trump also plans to take a victory lap following the passage late last year of massive Republican tax cuts for businesses, and more modest tax cuts for individuals.The president will highlight recent announcements by a number of corporations that they plan to give out $1,000 bonuses to certain workers. Trump will claim that "more than 1 million workers have already received a tax cut bonus," a figure that is impossible to verify. The conservative group Americans for Tax Reform recently published a list of companies that have announced plans to give out such bonuses to some of their workers. The total number of employees that ATR predicted will get bonuses was 1,003,547. The speech is the president's first major road trip address of 2018, and it is part of a broader effort to shore up voters and demographic groups that will be critical for Republicans to win over if they intend to keep their majorities in the House and Senate in the November midterm elections.In 2016, Trump won rural voters by a nearly 2-to-1 margin over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Sixty-two percent of rural voters cast their ballots for Trump, while only 34 percent pulled the lever for Clinton.Rural voters in such traditionally Democratic "blue wall" states as Michigan and Wisconsin were especially instrumental in helping Trump win the election.WATCH: Tough times for heartland farmers President Donald Trump will tell farmers on Monday his administration has cut their taxes and slashed regulations on agriculture and food processing that amounted to a "regulatory assault on your way of life." "For years, many of you have endured burdensome fines, inspections, paperwork and relentless intrusion from an army of regulators at the EPA, the FDA and countless other federal agencies," Trump will tell the annual convention of the American Farm Bureau in Nashville Tennessee, according to excerpts released Monday by the White House. Trump will go on to say he is "proud to report that within our first 11 months, my administration has canceled or delayed over 1,500 planned regulatory actions  more than any president in history." The president will tout a figure of 22 regulations cut "for every one new regulation." Among the industries affected by this deregulation are agricultural biotech and forestry, Trump will say. "We are streamlining regulations that have blocked cutting edge biotechnology setting free our farmers to innovate, thrive and grow. We are removing harmful restrictions on forestry so you can log more timber, plant more trees and export more renewable resources to other countries," the president will say to the convention attendees. Trump also plans to take a victory lap following the passage late last year of massive Republican tax cuts for businesses, and more modest tax cuts for individuals. The president will highlight recent announcements by a number of corporations that they plan to give out $1,000 bonuses to certain workers. Trump will claim that "more than 1 million workers have already received a tax cut bonus," a figure that is impossible to verify. The conservative group Americans for Tax Reform recently published a list of companies that have announced plans to give out such bonuses to some of their workers. The total number of employees that ATR predicted will get bonuses was 1,003,547. The speech is the president's first major road trip address of 2018, and it is part of a broader effort to shore up voters and demographic groups that will be critical for Republicans to win over if they intend to keep their majorities in the House and Senate in the November midterm elections. In 2016, Trump won rural voters by a nearly 2-to-1 margin over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Sixty-two percent of rural voters cast their ballots for Trump, while only 34 percent pulled the lever for Clinton. Rural voters in such traditionally Democratic "blue wall" states as Michigan and Wisconsin were especially instrumental in helping Trump win the election. WATCH: Tough times for heartland farmers



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People typically rush into marriage, not divorces. But a curious change in the GOPs tax bill means that some couples  or individuals  might rush back to the courthouse.

The GOP tax bill signed by Trump late last year fundamentally altered many aspects of the tax code, sending accountants scrambling, and stands as the biggest change to the tax system since 1986. Despite long-standing calls to address the federal debt, the tax cuts outlined in the bill came out to be pricey, projected to cost $1.5 trillion or more, with insufficient revenue gains to pay for it.

One way the Republican bill writers tried to raise revenue to compensate for the cuts was through alimony. Under the new bill, alimony paid by one spouse to the other will not be tax deductible, and the spouse receiving the alimony no longer has to pay taxes on it. In the current system, it works the opposite way, with the payer deducting the full amount and the recipient paying taxes on the alimony at a rate of 15%. The new rule means the government will end up with more of a divorcing pairs combined money.

When news dropped that this might be included in the bill in November, things got crazy.

When everyone thought the deduction deadline was going to be Dec. 31, we had a rush of clients, said Madeline Marzano-Lesnevich, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. All of a sudden we had clients who were going to be receiving alimony demanding we get them divorced immediately.

Ultimately the law wont take effect until next year, giving divorcing couples a reprieve. But the law does set up 2018 to potentially be a wild year for divorces.

Under the new tax bill, things are going to change somewhat drastically and its difficult to predict how its going to affect parties, Sheera Gefen, a divorce attorney in New York, told Yahoo Finance.

It almost sounds like the plot of a Coen brothers movie. In some states, the alimony-seeking spouse may have significant incentive to delay the divorce settlement in order to get the tax benefit in 2019. Meanwhile, the alimony-paying spouse could try to rush it through so they could secure a deduction. What could go wrong?

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Divorces could get a lot messier

Potentially, a lot.

Attorneys like Gefen and Marzano-Lesnevich will likely have a much harder time keeping things civil and amicable in divorce disputes, because the alimony payer isnt only going to have to pay, but will also lose a key deduction.

The payer spouse could potentially suffer a much higher financial burden and thatll make settlement discussions more difficult, more difficult to swallow, said Gefen. I think its going to cause more fights  and tension between attorneys.

Perhaps the largest and most uncomfortable tension will stem from timing. One side could be dragging its feet in an attempt to delay, and the other will be trying to get a deal signed before New Years.

Depending on who youre representing you might want to drag it out, said Gefen. Im either going to likely attempt to expedite settlement of global negotiation, or I might want to delay the ultimate.

This isnt so in call cases. In states like New York, theres a formula for calculating appropriate payments and less leeway for negotiations, so timing may be critical. But for some other states, its an open negotiation.

Every state is different, said Marzano-Lesnevich. In states like New Jersey, without a formula, there is considerable incentive for both parties to hustle because the receiving spouse will end up netting less income for a similar out-of-pocket expense from the paying spouse.

An example of the change

Marzano-Lesnevich illustrated what itd be like, using a wealthy client as an example. Under the old system, if a highest-tax bracket, soon-to-be ex spouse was set to pay $100,000 per year in alimony, they would get a deduction off the top  at the highest tax rate of around 40%  so they would only be out around $60,000. The recipient would end up with $85,000 after paying a 15% rate on that $100,000.

For couples divorcing in 2019, if the wealthier spouse paid $60,000  the same out-of-pocket cost as the example above (theyd have less money without the deduction)  the other spouse would only get $60,000.

Were shifting the tax, and its not to the detriment of the person receiving the money, said Marzano-Lesnevich.

For the more than two dozen states that have waiting periods for divorce, this could present a problem for couples  or individuals in a couple  who want to rush.

But its likely many couples will try to figure things out, because many spouses would rather see more money go to the family members than the government, Marzano-Lesnevich said. And, of course, a fast divorce means lower legal expenses. According to Gefen, uncontested divorces can be resolved in under a year, so there is hope.

This isnt just a 2018 problem

But the problem wont go away in 2019 when the law takes effect. States usually use formulas to calculate alimony payment amounts, and there is no guarantee they will change the laws any time soon, Gefen said.

In New York, for example, the formula factors in tax deductibility for the payor. Judges and courts generally have broad leeway to deviate from the formula if they see fit and to establish payment amounts to account for increased take-home income for the receiver and increased costs for the payer. The legal standard in many states, like New York for example, is whether something is unjust and inappropriate. Gefen expects many attorneys to argue this until the formula changes (if it changes).

Theres no guarantee that this gambit works, however. Judges, unlike written laws, are humans, and its very difficult to predict how all of them will deal with the changes.

I do predict some judges will compensate for changes in tax law, said Gefen. I also predict others wont. Thats going to be another source of tension.

Another large shadow is cast by the new system, one that helped lead the American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers to oppose the new law, despite the conventional wisdom that a long divorce is good for lawyers. Less money to share means that for lower-income divorces, financial constraints may trap people in bad marriages.

This is going to result in uncomfortable settlement talks, and it might result in hostility between parties, said Gefen. So overall I dont see this as a good thing.

As for the rush? Marzano-Lesnevich said its died down slightly  for now: I would predict come November, December well have the same rush.

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann. Confidential tip line: FinanceTips[at]oath[.com].

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Warren Buffett told CNBC on Wednesday the appointment of two new vice chairs at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) is "part of a movement to succession over time," and has nothing to do with any change in his health. "I'm in remarkably good health, particularly concerning the life I've lead," Buffett said in a "Squawk Box" interview from Omaha, Nebraska, where Berkshire is headquartered. "Everything physical, your balance isn't as good, your endurance might not be as good and all that. So I've slipped in various ways. But I wasn't much to start with," he said jokingly. The 87-year-old billionaire is a known fast-food and soda junkie who keeps long hours. In 2012, he completed treatment for prostate cancer. Buffett told CNBC on Wednesday that if he were experiencing any health issues, he would immediately tell the board and Berkshire shareholders. "I feel terrific. I love what I do. I can't wait to go to the office in the morning," he said. "There's nothing I'd rather be doing." Earlier Wednesday, the Omaha-based conglomerate announced the appointment of Gregory Abel, 55, as vice chairman of noninsurance businesses, and Ajit Jain, 66, as vice chairman of insurance operations.

"They are the key figures," Buffett said. "They both have Berkshire in their blood." "There is not a horse race at all," he added. "They both have their areas of specialty." Buffett and his 94-year-old longtime partner, Charlie Munger , are staying in their respective positions as chairman and CEO and vice chairman. Responding to an analyst report that predicted Buffett could possibly run Berkshire for the next 10 years, the Oracle of Omaha said that sounds a bit long. "But every time I see one of my doctors, I just say, 'Guarantee me five more years.'" The hard-driving Buffett, who has been reluctant to name a successor, said in the past that Berkshire's board knows who would take over if something were to happen to him. He reiterated that on Wednesday. Speculation had centered on Abel and Jain as possible successors, and Buffett told CNBC that elevating them would have also made sense five years ago. He said he decided about six weeks ago to make the move, saying to himself, "why not now." To accommodate Abel and Jain in their new roles, Berkshire's board has voted to increase the number of directors from 12 to 14. It was Munger's idea for Abel, Jain, and himself to all have vice chair titles, Buffett said. Abel joined Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company in 1992 and currently serves as its chairman and CEO. Jain joined the Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group in 1986 and currently serves as executive vice president of National Indemnity Company with overall responsibility for leading Berkshire's reinsurance operations.





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Photo: Getty.

By now theres no question that Silicon Valley is undergoing a painful paradigm shift. Once seen as beneficent, the worlds most valuable tech companies have found themselves the target of growing criticism from legislators, users, and even their own founders. Just this week, two activist Apple investors launched a public-health campaign to warn the company that the iPhone and iPad are a primary gateway are usually designed to be as addictive and time-consuming as possible. Perhaps predictably, the industrys defenders are also now coming out of the woodwork, offering a note of caution before the backlash gets out of hand.

On Wednesday, Tom Donohue, the president and C.E.O. of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the business lobbys politely evil empire in Washington, is expected to issue a warning about the impending techlash in his annual State of American Business address. Per Axios, Donohue will note that Technology is not a single, all-powerful industry. It is now a part of every industry . . . Technology will continue to be a major driver of stronger, sustained growthand if we leverage it smartly and carefully, we will all benefit. He will also reportedly warn against broad regulatory overreach that stifles innovation and stops positive advancements in their tracks.

Apple investors, too, seemed to shrug off their fellow stakeholders concerns. Though Apples stock slumped as a result of the activist letter, Ross Gerber, the chief executive of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, was unperturbed. We invest in things that are addictive, he told Reuters on Monday. Addictive things are very profitable. Peter Jones, the vice president of research for Ferguson Wellman Capital Management, which owns 350,000 Apple shares, seemed to share his sentiment: Before Apple speaks, I think its too early to change the narrative, he said.

The backlash itself has led to a certain amount of hand-wringing from major players like Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Though some of their consternation seems genuine, the rest is a calculated marketing response. Investors willingness to brush aside concerns of backlash seems to indicate that theyre less worried about tech companies moral compasses than their bottom lines.

Story continues

This story originally appeared on Vanity Fair.

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The Wendy's Company WEN yesterday announced that it has opened its 500th international restaurant in Guatemala City.

The outlet was opened through the companys franchise organization, Alimentos Corporativos Coralsa, which operates 13 restaurants in Guatemala and employs more than 400 Wendy staff.

Wendy's president and CEO Todd Penegor stated, "this is a great achievement that we attribute to the strength of our brand and partnerships with exceptional and dedicated franchisees who are committed to developing Wendy's abroad."

We observe that shares of Wendy's have rallied 28.4% in the past year, outperforming the industrys gain of 20.1%.

Leveraging Opportunities in Less Saturated Emerging Markets

The move that followed recent openings in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Chile is part of the companys consistent efforts to build a strong international presence by expanding in less saturated emerging markets.

These markets offer significant opportunities to companies like Wendys to expand due to their relatively low per-capita consumption and rising income levels of the middle class that has led to an increase in demand for convenience food and beverages.

Wendys remains on track to achieve its goal of 7,500 global restaurants by 2020.

Boosting Earnings and Cash Flow Through Franchisee Based Model

The move is just another example of how well Wendys is focused on boosting its franchisee related revenues. Franchising a large chunk of its system lowers its general and administrative expenses, thereby boosting earnings.

Moreover, over the long term, it will generate higher return on equity by lowering capital requirements. This will also boost free cash flow, thereby enhancing shareholder returns. Besides adding to the top line in the form of royalty and rental income, it will allow the company to penetrate the market more quickly. The company targets to monetize 70% of its owned real estate by 2017 to further enhance earnings. It expects 80% of its earnings to come from royalty and rental income.

Story continues

Wendy's Company (The) Net Income (TTM)

Wendy's Company (The) Net Income (TTM) | Wendy's Company (The) Quote

Last Words

Wendy's revenues have been declining over the past few quarters due to reduced number of company-operated restaurants. Though transition to a franchise-based business model is expected to lower the companys G&A expenses and boost earnings, it may continue to weigh on its revenues.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Wendy's carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A few better-ranked stocks in the restaurant space are Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI, Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ and McDonald's Corporation MCD, all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Darden, Domino's and McDonald's 2018 earnings are expected to improve 13.4%, 23.9% and 9.9%, respectively.

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Value investing is always a very popular strategy, and for good reason. After all, who doesnt want to find stocks that have low PEs, solid outlooks, and decent dividends?

Fortunately for investors looking for this combination, we have identified a strong candidate which may be an impressive value; Huntsman Corporation HUN.

Huntsman Corporation in Focus

HUN may be an interesting play thanks to its forward PE of 14%, its P/S ratio of 0.9, and its decent dividend yield of 1.4%. These factors suggest that Huntsmanis a pretty good value pick, as investors have to pay a relatively low level for each dollar of earnings, and that HUN has decent revenue metrics to back up its earnings.

But before you think that Huntsmanis just a pure value play, it is important to note that it has been seeing solid activity on the earnings estimate front as well. For current year earnings, the consensus has gone up by 6.7% in the past 30 days, thanks to four upward revisions in the past one month compared to one lower.

This estimate strength is actually enough to push FINL to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), suggesting it is poised to outperform. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

So really, Huntsmanis looking great from a number of angles thanks to its PE below 20, a P/S ratio below one, and a strong Zacks Rank, meaning that this company could be a great choice for value investors at this time.

Huntsman Corporation Price and Consensus

Huntsman Corporation Price and Consensus | Huntsman Corporation Quote

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced plans to divest the city's pension fund of fossil fuel investments (AFP Photo/Jewel SAMAD)

New York (AFP) - New York announced plans Wednesday to sell off $5 billion in fossil fuel investments from city pension funds after suing for billions of dollars in damages from oil companies to help fund protection against climate change.

While other cities in Europe and the United States have already taken similar steps, New York hailed its move as significant as it is the biggest metropolis in the country. The city suffered billions of dollars of damage in Hurricane Sandy.

New York's $189 billion pension fund -- held for city employees such as police officers, teachers and firefighters -- currently has around $5 billion in securities of more than 190 fossil fuel companies, officials said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said staff will instruct fund trustees to start analyzing ways to divest responsibly from fossil fuel over the next five years, in a process that officials warned would not be easy and that would take time.

"New York City is standing up for future generations by becoming the first major US city to divest our pension funds from fossil fuels," de Blasio.

US President Donald Trump inflamed the world last year by announcing that the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate accord, setting off a crescendo of efforts by Democrat-run cities and states to shrink the country's carbon footprint.

A report issued at UN talks last November said those efforts would not fully counteract Trump's decision to reverse climate policies and promote fossil fuel use.

In December, the United States did not attend international climate talks in Paris, at which countries announced they were boosting investment in green energy and divesting from fossil fuels.

New York, home to 8.5 million residents and the US financial capital, is a bastion of opposition to Trump.

The city has filed a federal lawsuit seeking damages from BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell to help compensate its $20 billion plan to protect the city, economy and public services from the effects of climate change.

Story continues

De Blasio drew comparisons between oil companies and the tobacco industry, which knowingly profited out of a habit they knew to be harmful.

- Courts 'not the answer' -

"New York City is taking on these five giants because they are the central actors, they are the first ones responsible for this crisis, and they should not get away with it anymore," de Blasio told reporters.

"As climate change continues to worsen, it's up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient," he added.

Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell issued statements calling the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions a global issue that required more sweeping action than lawsuits.

BP and ConocoPhillips declined to comment.

"Climate change is a complex societal challenge that should be addressed through sound government policy and cultural change to drive low-carbon choices for businesses and consumers, not by the courts," said a spokesperson for Shell.

Hurricane Sandy paralyzed New York in 2012, causing nine-foot (three-meter) floods across coastal New York and New Jersey, and an estimated $71 billion in damage.

A study published by researchers last October warned that rising sea levels from man-made climate change could prompt catastrophic flooding in New York as frequently as once every five years by 2030 to 2045.

Last month, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also unveiled plans to divest state pension funds from fossil fuel investments.

In June 2016, the largest public pension fund in the US capital Washington said it had successfully purged its $6.4 billion fund of all direct holdings in fossil fuels.

Later that year, global movement DivestInvest said funds held by institutions and individuals committed to divesting from fossil fuel had reached $5.2 trillion.
MEET vs. WDAY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  January 09, 2018  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Rex Energy Corp. REXX, WPX Energy WPX, Antero Resources Corp. AR, EQT Corp. EQT and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. COG.

Here are highlights from Mondays Analyst Blog:

Smaller Draw, Weather Jitters Send Nat Gas Prices Down

The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a below-average decrease in natural gas supplies. Forecasts of an end to the harsh cold snap and the resultant dip in heating demand added to the bearish sentiment, bringing prices down sharply.

About the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report

The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report  brought out by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) every Thursday since 2002  includes updates on natural gas market prices, the latest storage level estimates, recent weather data and other market activities or events.

The report provides an overview of the level of reserves and their movements, thereby helping investors understand the demand/supply dynamics of natural gas. It is an indicator of current gas prices and volatility that affect businesses of natural gas-weighted companies and related support plays.

Analysis of the Data: Smaller-than-Expected Draw

Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states fell by 206 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended Dec. 29, below the guidance (of 219 Bcf decline) as per the analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts, a leading independent commodities and energy data provider.

However, the decrease was significantly higher than both last years drop of 76 Bcf and the five-year (2012-2016) average net shrinkage of 99 Bcf for the reported week. Following past weeks decline  seventh withdrawal of the 2017-2018 winter heating season  the current storage level now stands at 3.126 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), 192 Bcf (5.8%) under the five-year average and the year-ago figure.

Story continues

Fundamentally speaking, total supply of natural gas averaged around 82.4 Bcf per day, down slightly (around 1%) on a weekly basis due to lower production. Meanwhile, daily natural gas consumption jumped 23.6% to 137 Bcf.

The sharp increase in demand was triggered by a 39.1% surge in residential/commercial consumption on the back of cold temperatures engulfing much of the U.S. Moreover, natural gas consumption for power generation was up by 18.9% from the previous week.

Futures Slump Following EIA Data

Following EIAs latest commentary, natural gas prices slumped around 5.4% last week to settle at $2.795 per MMBtu on Friday. Apart from the lower-than-anticipated draw, investors were spooked by forecasts for an end to the frigid cold snap going into the middle of January leading to decrease in the heating fuels demand.

Positive Long-Term Thesis

Despite occasional hiccups, the fundamentals of natural gas continue to be favorable in the long run, considering the secular shift to the cleaner burning fuel for power generation globally and in the Asia-Pacific region in particular.

The EIA predicts global demand for the commodity to grow from 340 Bcf per day in 2015 to 485 Bcf per day by 2040. Countries in Asia and in the Middle East  led by Chinas transition away from coal  will account for most of this increase.

And it will be the worlds largest gas producer U.S., which will step up to meet this soaring demand. With domestic prices struggling to break the $3 per million Btu threshold, U.S. natural gas companies see a big opportunity in selling cheap U.S. production at higher prices to rest of the world. In fact, more than 50% of the domestic volume growth in the near future will be used for export in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). As per Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), the United States will vie with Australia and Qatar as the top LNG exporter by 2022.

Apart from the growing use of LNG and booming exports, the replacement of coal-fired power plants and higher consumption from industrial projects will likely ensure strong natural gas demand with price eventually settling well above $3.

The perceived price strength augurs well for natural gas-heavy upstream companies like Rex Energy Corp., WPX Energy, Antero Resources Corp. and EQT Corp.

Want to Own a Natural Gas Stock Now?

If you are looking for a near term natural gas play, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. may be a good selection. This company actually has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Headquartered in Houston, TX, Cabot Oil & Gas is an energy exploration company with producing properties mainly in the continental U.S. Cabot focuses on high-impact natural gas-focused drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. The upstream operators expected EPS growth rate for three to five years currently stands at 30%, comparing favorably with the industry's growth rate of 20.1%.

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New products in this field are already generating substantial revenue and even more wondrous treatments are in the pipeline. Early investors could realize exceptional profits.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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Afghan lawmakers are urging their government to undertake a range of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic steps to stop Iran from recruiting Afghans to fight its war in Syria.

Lawmakers are urging Kabul to address the issue after reports emerged this week that more than 10,000 Afghan fighters deployed by Iran to defend the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad have been killed or injured in the past five years.

Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, chairman of Meshrano Jirga, the upper house of the Afghan Parliament, says he wants Kabul to publicly address the issue.

 Iran is abusing Afghan refugees and sending them to the war in Syria and Iraq, where more than 2,000 Afghans have been killed, he told lawmakers on January 9. I am calling on the Afghan president, the chief executive, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to lodge a complaint with the Iranian ambassador on this matter.

A day earlier, Muslimyar criticized the Afghan government for refusing to actively pursue the issue on the diplomatic front.

They should formally complain and seek help from the members of the United Nations Security Council with whom we have strategic security agreements, he told Radio Free Afghanistan in an apparent reference to the United States and its Western allies.

His call for demarche has vocal backing from other lawmakers. Aryan Yoon, a female member of Wolesi Jirga or lower house of the Afghan Parliament, says Kabul needs to take a firm stand on the issue because Tehran is exploiting vulnerable Afghan refugees.

Kabul should suspend its bilateral relations with Tehran, she told Radio Free Afghanistan. The Afghan government also needs to raise this issue at international forums and even lodge formal complaints with international bodies that Iran is interfering in its domestic affairs and abusing refugees.

Lawmaker Abdul Qadir Zazai Watandost says Wolesi Jirgas foreign relations committee is investigating the issue.

This issue will be part of our general agenda after the winter recess [in February], he said.

The issue came into the limelight after Zohair Mojahed, an official for the Fatemiyoun Divison, said that some 10,000 Afghans have either sacrificed their lives or sustained wounds while fighting for al-Assad since 2012.

This brigade has given more than 2,000 martyrs and 8,000 wounded for Islam, Mojahed told Irans Shargh newspaper on January 6.

While Tehran usually avoids publicizing the topic, Mojaheds interview followed large-scale protests across Iran where many expressed anger over and questioned their governments backing for militias and militant groups across the region.

The Fatemiyoun Division is estimated to have 20,000 members, most of whom were recruited from among Afghanistans Shiite Hazara minority.

In November, Deputy Afghan Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqiq, a Hazara politician, came under fire for seeming to confirm that thousands of Afghan recruits are fighting in Syria on Irans behalf.

I thank all the warriors who cooperated in these wars from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other parts of the world, Mohaqiq said at an event in Iran where he praised Major General Qasem Soleimani, foreign operations commander of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who is credited with founding the Fatemiyoun Division.

Kabul is treading a careful line on the issue, and presidential spokesman Shah Hussain Murtazawi offered only general criticism.

We have repeatedly expressed our opposition to all kinds of proxy wars in Afghanistan, he said. Similarly, we oppose such wars everywhere. We do not want the blood of our children being spilled for foreign interests in other countries.

Sibghatullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, however, says Kabul has raised the issue with Tehran and the United Nations.

We have discussed this issue with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the relevant Iranian authorities, he told Radio Free Afghanistan. We hope the vulnerability of Afghan refugees is not being exploited and that our complaints are seriously addressed on time.

While Iranian media has frequently reported on the funerals of Afghan fighters killed in Syria, Tehran has not responded to complaints or criticism from Afghanistan.

UNHCR estimates that more than 3 million Afghans including registered refugees, passport holders and undocumented migrants currently live in Iran, which shares a 950-kilometer border with Afghanistan.

In Kabul, Abdul Baqi Baryal, a member of Meshrano Jirga, is pushing for Kabul to address this issue immediately.

He told Radio Free Afghanistan that the Afghan Constitution allows the countrys citizens to only fight under its flag.

This is a very painful issue. We need to talk seriously about this with Iran soon, he said.
By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jan 10 (PTI) The US today issued a new travel advisory for countries including India, which its officials said is "user friendly" as it is based on ready-to-understand level of advice ranging from one to four.

India has been ranked Level 2 (exercise increased caution) while Pakistan has been places in Level 3 (reconsider travel).

Level 1 advises travllers to exercise normal precaution, while Level 4, which has countries like Afghanistan, recommends "Do Not Travel".

Now every country has a travel advisory based on this system, which has replaced all the previous such advisories.

"These improvements will provide US citizens with clear, timely, and reliable safety and security information worldwide," the State Department said.

Placing India on Level 2, the State Department identified "crime and terrorism" for Americans to exercise increased caution. However, it asks Americans not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir, except for eastern Ladakh and Leh and not to venture within 10 miles of the India-Pakistan border due to the "potential for armed conflict".

The State Department explained that while it will issue an overall travel advisory level for every country, levels of advice may vary for specific locations or areas within a country.

"Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India.AAAViolent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations," the new India travel advisory said.

Terrorists or armed groups are active in east-central India, primarily in rural areas, it added.AAA

"Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities," it said.

Ranking Pakistan on Level 3, the State Department asked Americans to reconsider travel to this country due to terrorism.

It advises Americans not to travel to travel to Balochistan province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) due to terrorism.

Americans are also advised not to travel to Pak-Occupied Kashmir due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.

"Over the past six months, there have been at least 40 significant terrorist attacks across Pakistan, resulting in over 225 deaths and 475 wounded, most of which occurred in Balochistan, KPK, and the FATA. In the past, there have been large-scale terrorist attacks resulting in hundreds of casualties," it said. PTI LKJ KIS KUN KIS
Mkappa wrote:





Quote: Four hours from now, immediately after the population doubles , the scientist will destroy the entire sample



That means the population doubles at the 4 hour mark. So, from the second statement:



Quote: The population will double to 40,000 cells with one hour remaining until the scientist destroys the sample



We can infer that the doubling period is 1 hour.



So now I am confused about the usefulness of . Plus it has some nonsense questions where non-convex polygons come into play. The OA doesn't make any sense, because the stem states:That means the population doubles at the 4 hour mark. So, from the second statement:We can infer that the doubling period is 1 hour.So now I am confused about the usefulness of . Plus it has some nonsense questions where non-convex polygons come into play.

Mkappa

Four hours from now, immediately after the population doubles , the scientist will destroy the entire sample

first and only

The population will double to 40,000 cells with one hour remaining until the scientist destroys the sample

So now I am confused about the usefulness of . Plus it has some nonsense questions where non-convex polygons come into play



Magoosh Test Prep





Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Mike McGarryEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Signature Read More

DearI'm happy to respond.First of all, I believe you are interpreting the first quote incorrectly. The stem indeed saysYou are interpreting this as thedoubling period, which is not justified by the context.Let's say, right now, it's 2:00 pm. Let's say that the doubling period is every 30 minutes. That means it will double at 2:30 pm, then at 3:00 pm, etc. It will double at 5:30 pm, and the scientist will destroy the sample at six, but this statement explicitly lets us know that the destruction at 6:00 pm will take place after the doubling at 6:00 pm. In other words, the amount destroyed at 6:00 pm is the amount after the 6:00 doubling, not the amount after the 5:30 doubling. That was a potential ambiguity in the statement, and the folks wisely clarified this subtle point with this statement.You are also misinterpreting the second statement you quote:Say, the time of destruction is 6:00 pm. Say, there's a doubling event at 5:00 pm, and after this doubling event, there 40,000 cells. Does it double again between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm? Maybe, we don't know. Does it double again at 6:00 pm? Maybe, we don't know. Does it double more than once between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm? Maybe, we don't know. We can't infer the doubling period from this statement.My friend, I gather that you are a non-native English speaker, and it's perfectly understandable that the sophisticated and subtle wording of a word problem confuses you. It's important to be patient with yourself as you learn. I will suggest this blog:I want you to consider something very important. GMAT Club is a public forum, so anyone could see your words here. Other readers of GMAT Club now might one day be your boss, your co-worker, your business partner, your customer, your supplier, your consultant, etc. You never know where you meet some of these people again in the business world. It's very important to focus on making a very good first impression: psychologist tell us of the tremendous power of first impressions, and you never get another chance once you made one. In your post, you were very critical of :Professionally, the folks are competitors of my company, , but I will unreservedly say that is one of the best GMAT prep companies in existence. Those people at MGAMT are truly brilliant individuals and wonderfully gifted teachers. They command universal respect in the GMAT preparation space. You misunderstood some of the statements in this question, but rather than assume that perhaps your reading was not perfectly correct, you immediately went to criticism and blame. To be honest, my friend, this does not make you look good: it does not look good at all when you misinterpret a shortcoming on your own part as a reason to blame somebody who is widely held in respect. I am telling you this, because I want you to be successful. I want you to make a good impression on others professionally and have a wonderfully prosperous career. Especially when you are in the position of a student, humility and cautious questioning go a lot further than automatically criticizing and blaming. It's somewhat anti-intuitive, but genuine humility can allow you to go very far in the business world: in many ways, for example, Warren Buffet is a genuinely humble man, and he's one of the richest men in the world.My friend, I hope you understand that I am pointing out this difficult things precisely because I want to see you thrive and be successful in all aspects of your business school application and your business career.Sincerely,Mike_________________
Emilio95 wrote:

Hi, I had this same issue when dealing with some other MBA programs that said they only accepted 4 year degrees. I have a 3 year degree from a Canadian university however since we have a cegep "pre university" program in my province I actually have the same number of years of education as a student with a 4 year undergrad. Just to help guide you through this did you have a similar program in India ? And how many years of education do you have? Sometimes programs will also consider 3 year undergrads if you have the minimum number of years of education. In my case this was 16 years. I was also very shocked when MBA programs told me I was ineligible due to my 3 year degree, but there are always ways around this .





Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum

Thank you so much for the response. I am not sure we have the same system from India but Delhi University(the place I graduated from) is one of the best in the country and has recognized worldwide. Not sure why McCombs has a problem. This is the response I gotThe three year degree from India is not an equivalent bachelors degree and would not be eligible for graduate study at the University of Texas at Austin. In order to be considered for graduate admission at UT Austin, applicants from India need one of the following:MA/MSc/MCom awarded prior to entry.LLB awarded prior to entry.BEd awarded prior to entry.PG Diploma from an AICTE recognized institute (or UGC recognized university) awarded prior to entry.US bachelors degree awarded prior to entry.For more information on qualifying degrees, please visit: https://utexas.app.box.com/s/3hqeof9v7r ... 5fxm6ptolu Unless you have further questions, it is not necessary to respond to this email.Thank you for your interest in The University of Texas at Austin,Graduate and International Admissions CenterTo answer your qs, no of years was 3(undergrad) and 15(total). Could you throw some light which other programs have this issue?
Jammu, Jan 10 (PTI) Under Opposition fire over the governments "tough posturing", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said today that even though the situation cannot be set right by the use of police and security forces alone, things were improving in the state.

She also asserted that it was India alone that could address the issues facing the state.

"I am alive to the situation for the past couple of years...the situation is limping back to normal but is still grave. I am not saying the situation has returned to normal," the chief minister said.

She added that the situation cannot be set right by the government alone and all stakeholders had to come together to set it right through the political process.

"We cannot set it right through the use of police and security forces," Mufti said in her reply to the motion of thanks to the Governors address in the state legislative Assembly here.

She said it was only India that can address the issues facing the people of the state.

"The people of Jammu and Kashmir, whether in mainstreamAAA or outside, should understand that whatever we will get, we will get it from this country alone and not from anywhere else...Honorable position, life with dignity, opening of (cross-LoC)routes, taking trade to another level, or ending bloodshed to start dialogue. This will not be done by any other country but our own," she said.

Apparently referring to the repeated disruption of the House by opposition over killings of innocents and human rights violations, she said "the House has a genuine concern over the prevailing situation and primarily it should be because whether on borders or in the hinterland our people are getting killed, whether it is a fidayeen attack or an IED blast".

We should be concerned and the entire house is concerned over the situation, she said adding that when there is an attemptAAAto disturb peace, other issues take a backAAAseat.

Mufti said the J&K state legislature was the most empowered in the country but added "we have to safeguard its statusAAAto become truly the crown of this country".

GST was passed in the country but we passed it afterAAA discussion and implemented when we decided, she said. It demonstrates theAAAempowerment of our legislature, Mufti said.

(Former Chief Minister) MuftiAAAMohammad Sayeed used to say that the state has got from theAAAcountry its own constitution, separate flag and residencyAAApowers. We have to safeguard it as this is big treasure, she said.

"If we will say we do not accept theAAAConstitution of the state and the country then what we will getAAAand from where," she added.

The people of the country need to think whatAAAwas the reason for the present situation, she added.

"We, including the people of the country, need to thinkAAA what happened after Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim majority stateAAArejected religious partition and became part of the biggestAAAand secular nation. I have heard that Jawahar Lal Nehru having said that Jammu and Kashmir will be a showcase window for theAAAwhole world to gaze at. We have to think where the mistake happened," she said.

Mahatma Gandhi had seen a ray of hope in KashmirAAAbecause of the peaceful atmosphere and harmony, she said. Where that lightAAAhas gone? she asked.

Expressing displeasure over the absence ofAAAopposition members who boycotted her address overAAAthe law and order situation, she said this was a prolonged problem.

"Jammu and Kashmir is faced with a situation where fidayeenAAAattacks, IED blasts, cross firing and border firing is going onAAAfor a long time. I am pained when it is proudly said that we areAAAconstructing 14000 bunkers for border residents instead ofAAAensuring good hospitals, good schools, job opportunities forAAAyouth and tourism initiatives.

"Our people (on the borders) are afraid andAAAfrightened. We will construct bunkers for their safety butAAAI want to ask the people of my country what about the educationAAAof our children who got dislocated and are living inAAArehabilitation camps for the past six months," she said.

She said National Conference president Farooq AbdullahAAA had repeated what her father used to say that Prime MinisterAAA Narendra Modi has the potential to address the issue of JammuAAA and Kashmir.

"The problem (of Kashmir) is there but its solutionAAA lies in humanity. When anyone is getting killed or martyred, heAAAis a resident of the state, except those being pushedAAA from across the border," she said.

"I am talking about our civilians,AAAyesterday our youth was killed and earlier such incidents happenedAAAin Shopian, Handwara, where a driver was killed," she added.

She listed the work her government was doing to improve the conditions of the people.

"We have launched various welfare schemes but becauseAAA the discourse is something else, so many people are killed inAAA attacks, our good work and major initiatives could not beAAA projected," she said.

She said the government had money but was not able to spend it because of the situation. "Big contractors are not willing to come here and localAAAcontractors do not qualify for major projects," she said.

She said the alliance stitched (with the BJP) by her father and formerAAAchief minister has resulted in harmony and brotherhood.

"It is heartening to see the bells of temples, call forAAA prayers from mosques and prayers from gurdwaras vibrate in the air as was once the case in Kashmir," she said. PTI TAS ABAAA ADS
The first confirmed the death of a detainee came when unnamed security officials announced that he had committed suicide. Now, alarming reports say that more detained protesters have died while in custody, including a prominent human rights defender, putting the total number at five.

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer, said, I spoke to a prisoner in Evin prison and I was told that three detainees had lost their lives, Sotoudeh said. When authorities resort to mass arrests, they cannot claim to protect their rights. It is not possible in such a situation for the judicial process to take its due course. Sotoudeh told media that according to information she has, authorities claim that all three were cases of suicide.

Sotoudeh was particularly worried about the use of unofficial detention centers. During the protests of 2009 that followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejads disputed re-election as president, one such detention centre, Kahrizak, drew nationwide attention after it emerged that a number of protesters had been sexually assaulted, tortured and killed in custody.

Reformist politicians, including the outspoken MP Mahmoud Sadeghi, have warned of a repeat of the scandal. I warn the president, intelligence and judicial officials against the repeat of a second Kahrizak, he tweeted. Sadeghi, a reformist member of parliament, announced that 3,700 people have been arrested during the protests. Previously, authorities had announced the arrests of 1,700 individuals.

On Tuesday morning, Human Rights Campaign announced the names of two more detainees who died in provinces; Vahid Heydari in Arak and Mohsen Adeli in Dezful. However, the media office of Irans prisons agency say that they have no reports about a person named Mohsen Adeli having died in custody. The Tehran Province prosecutor has admiited that Heydari died in Arak, but insists that he committed suicide.

Nassim Papayianni, an Amnesty International researcher on Iran, said its investigations showed time and time again just how inhumane prison conditions are in Iran, with overcrowding, poor ventilation and the ever-present threat of torture. He added,

Were also concerned that the Iranian authorities are denying the family members of those arrested information about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. The authorities must end this wall of silence and provide family members information on those detained.
On Sunday, the IRGC declared victory over the protesters, although the Associated Press subsequently reported that the hardline paramilitarys claims could not be independently verified. The National Council of Resistance of Iran reports that unrest continued in multiple cities on Monday, and it cited several specific examples including the obstruction of vehicular traffic outside Evin Prison and attacks on a government building in Mahshahr and a Basij militia base in Mobarakeh.

Last week, the IRGC attempted to claim that only 15,000 people had taken part in the demonstrations, but other sources indicated that gatherings were taking place in at least 80 towns and cities, some of which individually comprised thousands of participants. Iranian authorities own accounts of the extent of the crackdown on these demonstrations seem to have undermined the previous efforts to portray them as not being widespread.

Whereas earlier official statements had only admitted to a few hundred arrests, Member of Parliament Mahmoud Sadeghi announced on Tuesday that at least 3,700 people had been detained, according to Al Jazeera. This more than triples the most widely-cited figures from previous days. Most outlets continue to report on a confirmed death toll of just over 20 protesters, although the NCRI has reported that at least 30 people were killed in the first week alone.

In reporting upon Khameneis latest input on the demonstrations, Reuters points out that he took the unusual move of defending the peoples right to voice their grievances, provided that they do not threaten public security.

The supreme leader is the ultimate authority in all matters of public policy in the Islamic Republic, and early analyses of the protests emphasized that he would determine the governments response to it. The above-mentioned figures clearly indicate that that response was a violent one, just as had been ordered by Khamenei in the wake of the Green Movement uprising following the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.

Despite this fact, by paying lip service to the peoples right to protest, Khamenei may be betraying the regimes concern over the possibility that the IRGC is wrong about the protests being at an end. Various independent analysts predicted the regimes violent response but also expressed the view that that would engender further demonstrations at a later date, even if it was successful in putting down the current ones. With this in mind, even hardline Iranian authorities may see it as imperative to provide at least superficial concessions to the protesters in order to forestall such an outcome.

What is surely more important to those authorities, however, is controlling the public narrative about the protests and their impact. While it is impossible for Tehran to categorically reject the legitimacy of all protesters and their demands, it may be politically viable for the regime to focus attention on the economic frustrations that sparked the initial protests in Mashhad while disregarding the broader social and political demands as the manufacture of foreign infiltrators.

This is exactly what Khamenei sought to do in his latest public comments. Reuters noted that he used Twitter to deliver a message to the US and Britain, accusing them of plotting to overthrow the Islamic Republic and declaring, Youve failed, and you will fail in the future, too.

The report adds that the IRGC had advanced similar claims about a foreign hand behind the recent unrest. Indeed, various regime authorities had been pushing this narrative since soon after the protests spread beyond Mashhad. And this strategy has not been limited to avowed anti-Western hardliners like the supreme leader and IRGC. It has also been employed by the supposedly moderate faction associated with President Hassan Rouhani.

The Associated Press reported on Monday that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had attended a security conference in Tehran that day, where he accused neighboring countries of fomenting insecurity within the Islamic Republic. Zarif declared that such efforts would backfire, in keeping with Khameneis assertions of Western failure.

While focused on the US and Britain specifically, the supreme leaders statements also made mention of the neighboring countries, led by Saudi Arabia, that Zarif was surely referring to. Alwaght noted that Khamenei blamed the unrest on a triangle of enemies, consisting of the US and Israel on one side, Saudi Arabia and its regional allies on another, and the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran as their agents on the ground in Iran.

The PMOI itself has affirmed its own role as a leading organizational force in the recent demonstrations, but it maintains that participation in those protests was an expression of genuine popular sentiment, without any sense of foreign contrivance. Regime authorities, meanwhile, have failed to cite any evidence for their conclusion that Western interference contribute to the outbreak or spread of the protests.

Nevertheless, Khamenei and others have apparently been using that narrative to justify further anti-Western rhetoric and explicit threats against the US and other Western nations. Alwaght highlighted this trend when it reported that Khameneis recent comments included praise for the blows that the US has supposedly suffered at the hands of Irans Islamic revolutionary movement. The Iran Project indicates that the supreme leader conversely claimed the US had inflicted damage on Iranian society through its alleged support of the protests. This will not remain unanswered, he added.

Irans ambassador to the United Nations, Gholamali Khoshroo, was able to voice its accusations somewhat more directly in an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that took place on Saturday, upon the request of the US. The Islamic Republic also received support during that session from some of its established allies, including Russia, which, like the United States, is a permanent member of the Security Council and a wielder of veto power.

In reporting upon the meeting, Al Jazeera concluded that it ended with member states representatives getting up perhaps more divided than when they had sat down. This speaks to the widening global divisions that seem to be emerging from the ongoing war of words between the Iranian government and the administration of US President Donald Trump. While the US, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and various other regional powers have shown increasing strategic alliance in response to their shared anxiety regarding Iranian influence, the Islamic Republic has begun to line up allies in explicit opposition to Western interests.

This latter phenomenon was expressly encouraged by Pakistani analyst Abid Ali Abid in the wake of the latest Iranian uprising, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. Leaving aside somewhat more distant allies like Russia, Abid called for unity among Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey, in the interest of countering American strategy in the region. Such commentary seems to capitalize on the official Iranian narrative about foreign drivers of domestic unrest in the Middle East.

Indeed, the head of one of the states mentioned by Abid, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, specifically endorsed this narrative on Friday in what the Algemeiner described as a verbal onslaught against the US and Israel. Expressing anger over an American courts sentencing of Turkish bank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla for systematic violations of Iran sanctions, Erdogan called the case part of a chain of plots by the US. In this way, he connected his own governments anti-US rhetoric to Irans claims of a US plot to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

Just as Iran has failed to demonstrate evidence for Western interference, Erdogan has failed to undermine the legal justification for the Atilla case. Nonetheless, both of these developments may point to the ways in which Iran and its allies can be expected to respond to other perceived threats to their domestic stability or international legitimacy. Indeed, anti-Western self-identity is central to the character of the Iranian regime, and that identity threatens to spread into a broader anti-Western bloc of nations.

Of course, it is natural that the US would express support for the recent Iranian protest movement, if only because some of that movements slogans expressed outrage at the expenditure of Iranian resources on foreign interventions that are aimed at spreading Tehrans ideology and influence.
Khamenei said: [The PMOI] have been ready since months ago  since several months ago (they were ready) to organize, and meet this person and that; and to select some people inside the country, find them and help them, so they would come and call on the people. They announced their call, and made the slogan No to high prices. Well, this is a slogan that everyone likes. They managed to attract some people with this slogan. And then, they could come to the scene and pursue their goals, and make the people follow them.

During his speech to a group of government clerics and selected agents, Khamenei also showed that he was scared of his people (as every dictator should be) who are currently chanting slogans like Death to Khamenei and Feel shame Khamenei, let go of the country.

The uprising is happening in all Iranian provinces and in 131 cities, but Khamenei dismissed it as fireworks and devious work as if the peoples rightful anger at a system that abuses human rights and steals from its people was a mere spectacle.

He also claimed, whilst acknowledging that the protests are still ongoing, that the Regimes enemies were to blame. To which many have asked, what did you expect when you became the enemy of your people?. Thats right, the Regimes enemies did start this protest because the Iranian people are the Regimes enemies.

A statement from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on Tuesday, January 9, read: The ruling mullahs must learn from their predecessors that these excuses do not work anymore. The only option is what the Iranian people are crying out with all their power: Feel shame Khamenei, let go of the country; otherwise, the people of Iran will send him and his criminal rule to the trash bin of history forever.

A week ago, the IRGC commander Jafari said the uprising had ended, while President Hassan Rouhani said it would be over in two days. In reality, these protests are not going away anytime soon.
Reports emerged this week that more than 10,000 Afghan fighters deployed by Iran to defend the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad have been killed or injured in the past five years.

Fazal Hadi Muslimyar, chairman of Meshrano Jirga, has said, Iran is abusing Afghan refugees and sending them to the war in Syria and Iraq, where more than 2,000 Afghans have been killed, he told lawmakers on January 9. I am calling on the Afghan president, the chief executive, and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to lodge a complaint with the Iranian ambassador on this matter. Muslimyar had criticized the Afghan government for refusing to actively pursue the issue on the diplomatic front on the previous day. He told Radio Free Afghanistan, They should formally complain and seek help from the members of the United Nations Security Council with whom we have strategic security agreements.

His call for a diplomatic initiative is backed by fellow lawmakers, like Aryan Yoon, a female member of Wolesi Jirga or lower house of the Afghan Parliament. Kabul should suspend its bilateral relations with Tehran, she told Radio Free Afghanistan. The Afghan government also needs to raise this issue at international forums and even lodge formal complaints with international bodies that Iran is interfering in its domestic affairs and abusing refugees.

Lawmaker Abdul Qadir Zazai Watandost says Wolesi Jirgas foreign relations committee is investigating the issue. This issue will be part of our general agenda after the winter recess [in February], he said.

An official for the Fatemiyoun Divison, Zohair Mojahed, said that since 2012 at least 10,000 Afghans have either been killed or wounded while fighting for al-Assad. He told Irans Shargh newspaper on January 6th, This brigade has given more than 2,000 martyrs and 8,000 wounded for Islam.

Members of the Fatemiyoun Division are estimated to be some 20,000, most of whom were recruited from among Afghanistans Shiite Hazara minority.

Deputy Afghan Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqiq, a Hazara politician, came under fire last November for seeming to confirm that thousands of Afghan recruits are fighting in Syria on Irans behalf. I thank all the warriors who cooperated in these wars from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other parts of the world, Mohaqiq said at an event in Iran. He also praised Major General Qasem Soleimani, foreign operations commander of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who is credited with founding the Fatemiyoun Division.

Presidential spokesman Shah Hussain Murtazawi was critical. We have repeatedly expressed our opposition to all kinds of proxy wars in Afghanistan, he said. Similarly, we oppose such wars everywhere. We do not want the blood of our children being spilled for foreign interests in other countries.

However, spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Sibghatullah Ahmadi says Kabul has raised the issue with Tehran and the United Nations. He told Radio Free Afghanistan, We have discussed this issue with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the relevant Iranian authorities. He added, We hope the vulnerability of Afghan refugees is not being exploited and that our complaints are seriously addressed on time.

Tehran has not responded to complaints or criticism from Afghanistan. Still, Iranian media frequently reports on the funerals of Afghan fighters killed in Syria.

Abdul Baqi Baryal, a member of Meshrano Jirga, is pushing for Kabul to address the issue immediately.

According to what he told Radio Free Afghanistan, the Afghan Constitution allows the countrys citizens to only fight under its flag. This is a very painful issue. We need to talk seriously about this with Iran soon, he said.
The protests are the biggest wave of discontent Iran has seen since 2009. They began in late December and led to more than 22 deaths and 3,700 arrests.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, backed a resolution condemning the regimes web censorship and the response by the Revolutionary Guards.

We all face a clear choice: stand with the protesters  who demand the basic rights and opportunities enjoyed in free societies  or stand with their oppressors  who steal the wealth of a great nation to enrich themselves and to fund violence abroad, said Royce, who added, These brave men and women are standing up against the Revolutionary Guards violent intervention in Syria and Lebanon. We must join them in demanding an end to the single greatest source of instability in the Middle East.

Royce also talked about a congressional law that would target those responsible for human rights violations during the crackdown, and another one to push the corrupt Revolutionary Guards out of the Iranian economy.

House Speaker Paul Ryan used Twitter to speak in support of the Iranian peoples right to protest their brutal regime.

On January 10th, Royce will chair a House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting to weigh whether sanctions have worked against Iran and its proxy militia Hezbollah, and examine curbs on North Korea and Russia, as well.

Trump tweeted his support of Iranian protesters almost daily during the peak of the rallies, as he gears up to make major decisions about the Iran nuclear deal. Deadlines related to the deal begin late this week. These decisions include whether to re-impose oil sanctions lifted under the 2015 deal, according to State Department spokesman Steve Goldstein. Goldstein also told journalists that ahead of these decisions, Trump is expected to meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the White House later in the week.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed that foreign attempts to turn legitimate protests into an insurgency had failed.

The regime appears to be confident that it has quashed unrest that spread to more than 80 cities. The enemy now repeatedly makes moves and they are defeated each time, Khamenei said, according to state media. Its because of the resistance, because of the strong populist and national dam.
Member of parliament Mahmoud Sadeghi said included in the 3,700 people who had been arrested, were 40 to 68 students. He added that, due to the fact that several security organizations had made the arrests, it will take some time to give an accurate count, according to the Iranian parliaments news agency.

During a speech on Tuesday, commemorating protests against the Shah of Iran in 1978, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Revolution politically uprooted the enemy and now the enemy continues these attacks but always fails and cannot achieve its goals. As reported by the semi-official MEHR News agency, he added, This is due to our peoples continued support. The solid peoples stand will again tell the US, UK and those who live in London that you failed this time and will fail again.

UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told the British Parliament Tuesday that it is vital that the people of Iran and government of Iran should understand that we in this country support right to peaceful demo within the law. He also urged the UKs friends in the White House not to throw away a nuclear deal with Iran that Trump has pledged to decertify.

It was later revealed that a 22-year-old protester died in prison. State-run Aftab News reported on Monday that Sina Ghanbari died in custody after being held in Tehrans notorious Evin Prison along with hundreds of other protesters.

According to the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency, The University of Tehran was working to track and secure the release of its students who had been detained.

On Sunday, the National Police spokesman, Saeed Montazer al-Mahdi, said that the majority of those detained had been released on bail, but that the leaders of the disturbances are being held by the judiciary, according to the state-run Al-Alam News Agency.

The violent clashes claimed the lives of at least 21 people, as many young protesters rallied against President Hassan Rouhanis government, complaining of a stagnant economy, rampant corruption and rising fuel and food prices.

Irans unemployment rate among those aged between 15 and 29 is well over 24%, according to official statistics and is said to be even higher among urban youth and women.

Washington has engaged in a fiery exchange of words with Tehran over US use of social media to encourage Iranians to protest. US President Trump has tweeted his criticism of the Iranian government and has encouraged the protests. Additionally, the US State Department openly announced that it was using its Facebook and Twitter accounts in Farsi to encourage anti-government demonstrations.
to intervene

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) An organisation representing the Bahai community in India has urged the Union government to intervene after, it said today, a court in Yemen sentenced to death a member of the religious minority because of his faith.

There are about two million followers of Bahai faith in India.

The body - The Bahais of India - condemned the death penalty given to Hamed bin Haydara, a Bahai living in Yemen, according to a statement issued by its National Spiritual Assembly.

Haydara was arbitrarily arrested at his workplace in December 2013, and was given the death sentence on January 2 this year, it said adding the verdict requires the execution, the date of which is not yet known, be carried out in public.

Haydara was taken into custody in Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Over several months, he was subjected to torture, forced to sign papers blindfolded and denied visitors, including his wife and daughters, according to the statement.

An appeal has been made to the Indian government to urge Yemeni authorities to repeal the court sentence and release all Bahai prisoners, it said.

Nilakshi Rajkhowa, Director of the Bahai Office of Public Affairs of the assembly, said the Indian Bahai community is deeply saddened by this news.

"We call upon the non-governmental organisations and people of good conscience in India to raise their voices in support of Haydara and all Bahai prisoners in Yemen," she said.

"The various forms of persecution experienced by Yemeni Bahais bear a striking resemblance to what the Bahais of Iran have experienced in their country, such as the baseless accusation, used when Bahais are arrested, that they are somehow a threat to national security and are spies of Israel," the organisation added. PTI AKV ABH
And busting all three of them

In this article, Ram Lakshmanan goes over the most popular myths about Garbage Collection. Dont worry  hell also debunk them to make sure you wont repeat the same mistakes ever again.

There are few very popular myths about Garbage Collection. Lets review those myths and reveal the truth behind them.

Minor GC dont pause the application

Myth: There are different types of Garbage Collection events: Minor GC event, Major GC event & Full GC event. Its been educated that Minor GC are harmless, as they dont pause the application. However, Major/Full GC are dangerous because they pause the application.

Verdict: This is a lie. 100% lie.

Truth: Minor GC *do pause* the application. Minor GC pause times are comparatively lower than other GC events most of the times, thus they could have been educated as harmless. However, in some cases, we have seen Minor GC take more time than all the Major/Full GC events.

Therefore, when tuning your application, pay proper attention to Minor GC pause time metrics as well.

SEE ALSO: The proliferation of Java Garbage Collection logs standards

Serial GC performance is horrible

There are several types of Garbage Collection algorithms:

a. Serial GC

b. Parallel GC

c. Concurrent Mark & Sweep (CMS) GC

d. G1 GC

e. Shenandoah GC

Myth: Each GC algorithm exhibits its unique performance characteristics. A false assumption the industry has been making is the following: Serial GCs are not meant for serious applications. Serial GC performance characteristics are horrible and [serial GCs] should be used only during development time or in prototype applications.

To validate this theory, we conducted a study on a major B2B travel application in production, which processes more than 70% of North Americas leisure travel transactions. We configured a couple of servers to use latest G1 GC algorithm and couple of servers to use Serial GC algorithm. We just used vanilla G1 GC and Vanilla Serial GC settings. We didnt pass any additional GC tuning parameters. Details about this study can be found here.

Verdict: Serial GC is not as bad as its portrayed.

Truth: Results turned out that Serial GC performance to be comparable with (in fact slightly better than) G1 GC algorithm. Of course, with proper tuning & parameters settings, G1 GC can be made to run better than Serial GC. The take away is Serial GC is not as bad as its portrayed.

GC is automatic. I dont have to worry about it.

Myth: I have heard a few developer friends saying: Garbage Collection is Automatic. I dont have to worry about it. The first part is true i.e. Garbage Collection is Automatic on all modern platforms  JVM (Java Virtual Machine), ART (Android Run Time) . But the second part is not so true i.e. I dont have to worry about it. Garbage Collection is automatic, but its not free.

Verdict: Garbage Collection is automatic, but its not free.

Truth: Garbage Collection comes at a price. In fact, that price can be very high.

Poor Garbage Collection can lead to:

Unpleasant user experience (SLA Breaches)

Increase in the bill from cloud hosting providers

Puts entire application availability under risk

To learn about the profound impact of Garbage Collection, you may want to read this article.

If you want to read more about the open source Z Garbage Collector (ZGC)  designed with the aim to remove obstacles that have previously hindered Java developers from getting access to innovations and new features, dont miss this interview.
Twelve of them have been brought since year-start. The doctors note that such an increase in the incidence is due to the fact that the children attended mass festivities during the holiday period.

Doctors say that the vast majority of infectious diseases, such as measles, chicken pox, and rubella are transmitted by airborne droplets and begin with colds or SARS symptoms: running nose, coughing, and light fever.

Read alsoUkrainian parents wary of vaccinations despite growing measles stats - mediaMore characteristic symptoms (for example, a rash) may initially be invisible, while the infected person is already a carrier of a dangerous virus.
Iranian officials have banned the teaching of English in primary schools.

Mehdi Navid-Adham, chief of Irans High Education Council, informed state television of the ban last Saturday.

The move came after Islamic leaders warned that early learning of the English language has led to a Western cultural invasion.

Teaching English in government and non-government primary schools in the official curriculum is against laws and regulations, Navid-Adham said. He added that the government may also stop non-curriculum English classes.

The reasoning, Navid-Adham said, is that the groundwork, or basis, of Iranian culture should be taught to young children.

In Iran, English language training is usually offered in middle school, to students from 12 to 14 years of age. However, in some primary schools, students may begin taking English classes at younger ages.

Some Iranian children also attend foreign language classes at private education centers after normal school hours.

The dangers of a cultural invasion

Irans Islamic leaders have often warned about the dangers of cultural invasion.

In 2016, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced concern over the teaching of the English language spreading to nursery schools.

In a speech to teachers, Khamenei said that his concern, Does not mean opposition to learning a foreign language, but (this is the) promotion of a foreign culture in the country and among children, young adults and youths.

Khamenei accused Western countries of promoting their cultures with Iranian youth as a way of expanding their influence in Iran, according to his offices website.

In the same speech, he urged Iranians to spend more time and money on the teaching of the Persian language, instead of English.

Last Saturday, Navid-Adham told state television that government officials want to strengthen Persian language skills and Iranian Islamic culture at the primary school stage. He added that it would now be against the law to teach English at the primary school level, either during or outside of normal school hours.

The Reuters news agency reported that in the past, other languages have also been targeted by Iranian officials. In 2017, Irans intelligence agency banned the publication of a Kurdish-language instruction book.

No link to protests

In his announcement, Navid-Adham did not link the new language education rules to recent anti-government protests. Irans Revolutionary Guards have blamed foreign enemies for the unrest.

A video dealing with the announcement of the ban was widely shared on social media on Sunday. A number of Iranians have jokingly called it The filtering of English. Some compare it to the blocking of the popular app Telegram by the government during the protests.

Im Phil Dierking.

Phil Dierking adapted this report for VOA Learning English based on Reuters news reports. The story also includes information from The Washington Post newspaper and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. George Grow was the editor.

Do you think teaching English at the primary school level in a non-English speaking country is cultural invasion? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

app - n. a computer program that performs a special function

curriculum - n. the courses that are taught by a school, college, etc.

filter - v. to pass something, through a filter to remove something unwanted

nursery - adj. a room where children sleep, play, and are sometimes taught

promotion - n. something that is done to make people aware of something and increase its sales or popularity

regulation - n. an official rule or law that says how something should be done
4 Roman Catholic devotees jostle to grab the rope pulling the carriage of the image of the Black Nazarene during a raucous procession to celebrate its feast day in Manila, Philippines.


A United Nations agency finds itself at the center of attention following criticism from Israel and comments by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Palestinian refugees receive humanitarian aid through the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Money for the program comes mainly from voluntary donations by UN member states.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet the agency should be closed.



Netanyahu said that UNRWA works only for Palestinian refugees and makes the refugee problem worse. He wants its financing moved to the UN's main refugee agency.

UNRWA must become a thing of the past," Netanyahu said. He said that the U.N. agency helps Palestinians believe they will get their land returned if Israel is destroyed.



The agency says as many as 5 million refugees can use its services. They are Palestinians who left their homes during the war that established Israel in 1948, or their descendants.

Today, more than 1.5 million Palestinians live in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the agency will continue its work until there is a "just and lasting solution" for the refugees.



"What perpetuates the refugee crisis is the failure of the parties to deal with the issue, Gunness said in a statement. He added, This needs to be resolved by the parties to the conflict in the context of peace talks, based on U.N. resolutions and international law, and requires active engagement by the international community.



Efforts to support peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians have been unsuccessful for several years. Tensions between the two worsened last month when the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.



President Trumps decision was a break from longstanding U.S. policy and the ideas of the United Nations. UN officials have long said the future of Jerusalem and a decision on Israels capital are issues to be negotiated.



The Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state under a two-state solution.



Trump also threatened last week to cut millions of dollars in U.S. aid to the Palestinians. Netanyahu praised the president in his own comments Sunday.



Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi rejected Trump's threat. She accused him of sabotaging the peace process and then blaming the Palestinians for "the consequences of his own irresponsible actions."



Ashrawi said further the Palestinians "will not be blackmailed."



Trump did not say exactly how much government aid would be cut.



The U.S. provides one-third of UNRWA's funding and provided more than $350 million to the agency in 2016.

I'm Susan Shand.

Chris Hannas and Cindy Seine reported on this story for VOANews.com. Susan Shand adapted their reports for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

perpetuate  v. to continue

engage  v. to discuss or to interact with

consequence  n. the result of a persons actions

blackmail  v. to demand money from someone in exchange for keeping information secret

descendant  n. someone related to a person or people who lived at an earlier time


The United States has announced plans to open much of the countrys coastal waters to oil and gas drilling.

The Interior Department released the five-year plan last week. It is much more expansive than one suggested by President Donald Trump in April of last year.

The Interior Department proposed to publicly sell 47 possible drilling rights in much of the U.S. continental shelf. That is a large increase from the 11 lease sales during the presidency of Barack Obama.

The draft of the plan would permit the sale of drilling leases in 25 of 26 offshore planning areas. The one area identified as off-limits is the waters near Alaskas far-western Aleutian Islands. The area was given special protection by former President George W. Bush.

The strongest energy superpower in the world

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told reporters last week that the United States is, in his words, going to become the strongest energy superpower this world has ever known.

Zinke also said that he wants to grow the countrys offshore energy industry instead of having to depend on foreign energy resources.

We will produce enough energy to meet our needs at home, and we will export enough energy to lead the world," he said.

The Interior Departments broad proposal is meant to begin with a 60-day public comment period. The Interior Department is responsible for setting the start date of the comment period.

Zinke said in a press release that not all areas are appropriate for offshore drilling, and we will take that into consideration in the coming weeks.

Some critics of the plan have already expressed their feelings. The opponents include environmental groups and governors from coastal states.

When the plan was first released, waters off Floridas coastline were included. However, Zinke announced on Tuesday that he is now banning oil and gas drilling off the Florida coast.

In a statement, Zinke said, I support the governors position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver.

The Interior Secretary admitted that Florida Governor Rick Scott pressured him to amend his decision.

The Defense Department has also expressed concerns about drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, where the U.S. Navy performs exercises.

The Trump administration is currently operating under a plan set up by the Obama administration. The plan is for the years 2017 to 2022. Obama had proposed drilling off the Atlantic Coast and off Alaska's Arctic coast. However, both proposals were removed in the final version of the plan.

Last year, Zinke took a number of steps to make it easier to lease and explore for oil on land and in water. He removed some safety laws that were put into place after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The Deepwater Horizon rig caught fire after an oil well explosion. Eleven people were killed. The resulting oil spill  nearly 5 billion barrels over five months -- was the worst offshore oil spill in American history.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Marissa Melton reported this story for VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted her story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

Do you think coasts should be used for energy resources or protected? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

appropriate - adj. especially suitable or compatible

continental shelf - n. the area of seabed around a large landmass where the sea is relatively shallow compared with the open ocean. The continental shelf is geologically part of the continental crust.

broad - adj. covering a large number and wide scope of subjects or areas.

drilling - v. produce (a hole) in something by or as if by boring with a drill.

lease - n. a contract by which one conveys real estate, equipment, or facilities for a specified term and for a specified rent

marine ecosystems - n. a complex of living organisms in the ocean environement

offshore - adv. at a distance from the shore

reliant - adj. having reliance on something or someone

tourism - n. the practice of traveling for recreation

unique - adj. being the only one
Acacia Mining plc, together with its subsidiaries, mines, processes, and sells gold in Africa. The company has three gold mines in north-west Tanzania, including Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi, and North Mara; and a portfolio of exploration projects at various stages of development in Tanzania, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Mali. It also produces co-products, such as copper and silver. The company was formerly known as African Barrick Gold plc and changed its name to Acacia Mining plc in November 2014. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Acacia Mining plc is a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation.

Read More
Yug Tuli, the owner of one of the pubs located in Mumbai's Kamala Mills compound where a fire killed 14 people, was spotted in Hyderabad yesterday.

A CCTV grab shows Tuli along with his wife at the Hyderabad airport. It remains unclear what Tuli's exact intention was, but officers of the Mumbai Police, who checked records at the airport, did not find any evidence of him leaving the country.

Tuli is one of the owners of Mojo's Bistro, the pub where the deadly December 29 fire broke out, according to the Mumbai Fire Brigade's report.

Mumbai Police had initially registered a case against the owners of 1 Above, an adjoining pub where all the 14 deaths took place. However, after the fire department's report the cops also registered a case against the owners of Mojo's Bistro.

The police have already arrested Yug Pathak, a co-owner of Mojo's Bistro, and remain on the lookout for the other owners as well as the proprietors of 1 Above.

Tuli was traced to Hyderabad after the Mumbai Police received information about him driving down from Nagpur in Maharashtra to Telengana's capital city.

A team from the Mumbai Police then flew to Hyderabad in order to arrest him but had to return from the Hyderabad airport empty-handed except for a CCTV grab of Tuli and information that had not flown out of the country.

Yug Tuli with his wife was seen on CCTV at the Hyderabad airport Yug Tuli with his wife was seen on CCTV at the Hyderabad airport

Tuli's current location remains untraceable; his application for anticipatory bail will be heard by a court in Mumbai tomorrow.

Meanwhile, 1 Above and Mojo's Bistro have both blamed each other for the deadly Kamala Mills fire. The owners of 1 Above have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging the Mumbai Police was being lenient with Mojo's Bistro.

Tuli, on the other hand, in his bail application alleged 1 Above did not follow fire-safety regulations. "It seems the owners of 1Above restaurant are trying to save their skin. They are carrying on the propaganda that the fire has not taken place in their restaurant. They are leaving no stone unturned to divert the attention from them," Tuli said in his application.

WATCH | BMC goes on demolition spree after Kamala Mills fire tragedy
ConocoPhillips engages in the exploration, production, transportation and marketing of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquefied natural gas on a worldwide basis. It operates through the following geographical segments: Alaska; Lower 48; Canada; Europe, Middle East and North Africa; Asia Pacific; and Other International. The Alaska segment primarily explores for produces, transports and markets crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Lower 48 segment consists of operations in the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. The Canada segment is comprised of oil sands development in the Athabasca Region of northeastern Alberta and a liquids-rich unconventional play in western Canada. The Europe, Middle East and North Africa segment consists of operations and exploration activities in Norway, the United Kingdom and Libya. The Asia Pacific segment has explorations and product operations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. The Other International segment handles exploration activities in Columbia and Argentina. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

Read More
Wall Street analysts have given VanEck Vectors Vietnam ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but VanEck Vectors Vietnam ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
Same-sex couples married in midnight ceremonies across Australia yesterday after the countrys last legal impediment to gay marriage expired.

Marriage equality became law on Dec. 9 with overwhelming support in Parliament, but Australias requirement that all couples give a months notice for weddings made Tuesday the first possible date for gay marriages.

Athletes Craig Burns and Luke Sullivan married at a midnight ceremony near the east coast city of Tweed Heads.

Its another way to show your love and appreciation of your partner in front of the people in your life, said Burns, a 29-year-old sprinter who will compete in the Commonwealth Games in Australias Gold Coast in April.

In Newcastle, north of Sydney, Rebecca Hickson, 32, married her partner of nine years, Sarah Turnbull, 34.

Hickson described the divisive build-up to a gay marriage ballot preceding Parliaments vote as a horrible time. She said the couple wanted to be part of history by becoming one of the first lesbian couples to marry in Australia.

Lainey Carmichael, 51, and Roz Kitschke, 46, married shortly after dawn before 65 guests at their home in the town of Franklin in the island state of Tasmania.

The early ceremony was mainly to avoid the summer heat, Kitschke said. New day; new era  and we don like the heat that much, she said.

Wedding guest Rodney Croome, a long-time marriage equality advocate and spokesperson for Tasmanians United for Marriage Equality, said: This mornings wedding marked the start of a new chapter in the lives of the two brides but also a new chapter in the life of the nation.

Today we are a more equal and inclusive country that treats all loving, committed couples the same, Croome said in a statement.

The Australian Parliament overwhelming voted for same-sex marriage after a nationwide postal survey found that 62 percent of respondents wanted marriage equality.

The one-month waiting period was waived for some couples who wed in recent weeks. Those exceptional circumstances included a partners terminal illness and overseas-based relatives booking flights to Australia before the official start date for the new law was known.

Civil celebrant Charles Foley has been campaigning for years to get Australia to drop the one-month waiting period, which he said is among the longest in the world.

The federal government imposed it at the request of churches decades ago so parishioners would have time to say why they may object to some religious unions, Foley said.

Ireland has a waiting period of three months.

Australia and Ireland are the only countries that have put the question of legalizing gay marriage to a popular vote. AP
Rescuers have found a body believed to be of a sailor from the Iranian oil tanker set ablaze after a collision in the East China Sea, Chinas Ministry of Transportation said yesterday, as the search continued for another 31 missing from the same ship.

The ministry said the body recovered Monday had yet to be identified but was wearing a protective suit designed to withstand cold seawater. There was no further word about the others missing since the Panamanian-registered Sanchi collided with a freighter late Saturday.

Chinese media said the tanker was still on fire yesterday and at risk of exploding.

The tanker was carrying 136,000 metric tons (nearly 1 million barrels) of condensate, a type of gassy, ultra-light oil, when it collided with the Hong Kong-

registered freighter CF Crystal. All 21 crew members of the Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States to China, were rescued, the Chinese ministry said. The Crystals crew members were all Chinese nationals.

An official in Irans Oil Ministry, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the tanker was owned by the National Iranian Tanker Co. and confirmed that 30 of the tankers 32 crew members were Iranians. The others are Bangladeshi. AP
Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosario and director of the Transport Bureau (DSAT), Lam Hin San were at the Legislative Assembly (AL) to discuss the Traffic Consultative Councils (CCT) proposal to raise the bus fares and establish a fare system that benefits residents preferentially to non-residents. This issue was raised by lawmaker Ella Lei.

During the debate, several lawmakers criticized the government regarding the new measure, expressing doubts over the need to adjust the fares, and questioning the fare change targets and whether they are justified.

The government officials refuted the criticism, noting that although the measure is unpopular, it is justified due to the low ratio of funding from users of the bus system, who, according to government figures, are currently paying only 30 percent of the true operating costs of the bus system, the rest being subsidized through public government funding.

Opening the debate, lawmaker Ma Chi Seng highlighted that the issue is directly related to the purchasing power of the population, questioning if the subsidy currently granted by the government to the bus companies is being appropriated and if there was any study done by the government to support the measures.

On behalf of the government, Rosario replied that the measure is not a result of any studies conducted, as it is not necessary to conduct a study to know this. According to Rosario, the idea of balancing the bus fares stems from the CCT and its members, and the aim of such an approach is to balance the ratio of the shares paid by the users and by the government for the public transportation service.

Rosario noted that the last update [to the fare system] was 10 years ago, and that, we believe that the majority of the people will be able to bear this expense, as increasing from MOP2 to MOP3 is not that much. Rosario further noted that in Hong Kong there is not any kind of subsidy.

Citing figures gathered by his office, Rosario said, 72 percent [of the money granted to the bus companies] is from the subsidy from the government.

The director of DSAT added that in the last few years, the distance travelled by the users in bus rides (factor used to calculate the bus fare and subsidy) has grown from around six kilometers to about 10 kilometers, creating added pressure over the companies too.

Lawmakers Angela Leong, Ella Lei, Ho Ion Sang and Mak Soi Kun called for the government to pay attention to vulnerable groups in society, especially the elderly and people with disabilities.

Rosario replied that the government is not aiming to remove the benefits enjoyed by older residents, who currently pay only MOP0.30 per ride. Instead, the proposal aims to maintain the current fare during non-peak hours, while increasing the fare to MOP1.50 during peak hours, so as to discourage them from riding the buses during these hours.

One of the main reasons for the imbalance in the fare ratio, according to Rosario, is due to the salaries of drivers that grew a lot due to the increase in passengers and the lack of bus drivers.

Lam compared the salaries of bus drivers, noting that in 2011, the [average] salary was MOP11,000, while in the last month of last year, the average salary was MOP28,000. He added that the salaries are accountable for 60 percent of the total of bus companies operational expenses, an increase of 46 percent since 2011.

Lam added that, with this adjustment we are introducing, we want to improve the convenience of public transportation as well as increase the size of some of these public transport {vehicle].

Lei and Song Pek Kei asked the government about the reasons for the fare raise, and if they were related to the lack of money from the government. In response, Rosario said that it was just an update to ensure a fair system, which had been previously supported substantially by the government. The purpose of the fare changes is to shift the proportion of funding between bus users and the government to 40 percent  and tentatively to 50 percent  when the LRT enters into operation.

Responding to doubts from lawmakers Agnes Lam and Au Kam San, Rosario mentioned that the fare update would be a demand from the companies that the government was assuming as their own initiative. Rosario explained that the bus companies (due to the contracts) will be getting the same amount, either from the government or from passengers. He concluded, Im only trying to do what you always ask me to do, that is not to waste public funds, and by balancing the ratio we will save the money that is granted to the companies by public subsidies.



Raise to have little impact over locals

During yesterdays debate at the AL, Raimundo do Rosario said that the proposal to increase the bus fares would have little impact on locals.

The Secretary for Transport and Public Works was replying to lawmakers questions on the topic, noting, the majority of the people are using the Macau Pass [cards] and not paying with currency. He added that the fare raise would see an increase of MOP1 for trips in Macau [peninsula] and MOP0.50 for trips in Taipa, although the cost of trips to Coloane would remain the same. He explained that the idea of raising the fare to MOP6.60 would only apply to users without a Macau Pass, which generally would extend to tourists and infrequent visitors to the region.

Lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong questioned the reason for the major raise to be registered in Taipa, questioning, Does this have to do with the operation of the Light Rail Transit which will begin in Taipa?

The Secretary responded, We cannot update or we can update. We can do something or do nothing, noting that the opinions collected from the members of the Traffic Consultative Council had to do with complaints from the population since 2015 that non-residents were occupying all the buses and not leaving space for residents to travel around the city.

He added that this is the reason behind the proposal that would benefit residents over non-residents.
The KEYone has apparently been so successful that BlackBerry is giving it a bronze makeover for select markets. The KEYone, to recall, is an old-school BlackBerry phone that features a physical keyboard and runs Android. Many believe the KEYone is the last of its kind, that it was on BlackBerry's drawing board long before the Canadian major hung its boots. Its towering success may propel BlackBerry to launch not one but a couple of more phones with physical keyboard in the days to come though.

According to a new Digital Trends report, BlackBerry is working on two new smartphones and both of them will be featuring a physical keyboard, more or less on the same lines as the KEYone. BlackBerry may not be looking to play the nostalgia card here though and the keyboards on-board its upcoming phones may just be more than a retro classic. That's not surprising since the keyword on-board the KEYone is also more than just another yesteryear classic. It can do so much more and BlackBerry has ensured it's fine-tuned with the times. At the same time, BlackBerry must know, phones with physical keyboards are a niche product category now since people have (obviously) moved on to an all touch-based form factor. Over the years. But, the success of the KEYone proves, there's still a market for physical keyboard-based phones and noone did them better than BlackBerry at one point of time.

Unlike the Priv (BlackBerry's last QWERTY phone) the KEYone features the physical keyboard in continuation with the touch screen. The design is old-school BlackBerry, which suggests that the phone may have been on the company's mind long before it hung its boots. The QWERTY, just like it was in the Priv, supports touch-gestures like scrolling and Flick Typing for predictive texting, as also over 50 app shortcuts. The space bar, meanwhile, gets a new fingerprint scanner up-top. The phone also comes with touch-based navigation keys.

Also Read: BlackBerry KEYone review: Work more, do more

Already it's available in two colour/hardware options. The KEYone that is available globally is black with grey/silver highlights on the edges and the keyboard and is made by TCL. The KEYone sold in India -- the Limited Edition Black -- comes in all-black and has slightly tweaked hardware and is made by Optiemus Infracom. It is getting another variant now -- the Bronze Edition -- that features the same specs as the Limited Edition Black. It will be sold in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, BlackBerry has announced. Because TCL is probably making this version, chances are it may not come to India, because Optiemus Infracom holds the rights for this marker but still we'll have to wait and watch how things pan out.

It has been sometime that BlackBerry stopped manufacturing its own phones. Instead, it focuses solely on software, something that it is already very good at. That does not mean the end of BlackBerry-branded phones however. BlackBerry, although it will not make its own phones, will outsource the job to third-party manufacturers, something on the lines of what Google used to do with its Nexus-branded phones.

Optiemus Infracom is the home-grown telecom enterprise, responsible for manufacturing BlackBerry Android handsets in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. This is similar to the exclusive, long-term licensing agreement that BlackBerry signed previously with TCL Communication for global and PT BlackBerry Merah Putih for the Indonesian markets.
King Hussein of Jordan has made his first public visit to Israels largest city, Tel Aviv, in the latest indication of the new warmth between the two countries.

The King, an experienced pilot, flew a Jordanian army helicopter to the Sde Dov airbase near Tel Aviv, where he was met by Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

At a ceremony to honor the chief negotiators who brokered the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace talks, Mr. Peres said: We still face all kinds of challenges: the greatest of them is not to let the galloping prospect of peace pass us by.

I would like to say how happy we are to have the opportunity to be with our friends, our partners in building and laying the foundations for a comprehensive peace in this region, replied the King.

Peace treaty

Israel and Jordan ended 46 years of war with a peace treaty in 1994 backed by US President Bill Clinton. The deal drew condemnation from Jordanian Palestinians, who make up 60% of the population.

PLO officials were critical of todays visit by the King, saying he should first have visited lands under Palestinian rule.

There was extremely tight security as King Husseins motorcade made its way through Tel Aviv.

A quarter of Israeli police  6,000 officers  were deployed to protect him, and central Tel Aviv was paralysed as police closed off roads and diverted traffic.

Thousands of Israelis turned out to watch him go by, giving him an enthusiastic welcome with Jordanian flags and banners greeting the King in Arabic.

King Hussein did hold talks with Mr. Peres, but diplomats stressed the main purpose of the visit was symbolic rather than political.

Later, he flew to Beit Gavriel on the shore of the Sea of Galilee for talks with Mr Peres and US Secretary of State Warren Christopher, whose shuttle diplomacy in the region continues tomorrow with a visit to the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Jordan has been largely diplomatically isolated since taking a neutral stand in the Gulf War of 1991.

However, the peace agreement with Israel and King Husseins increasing opposition to the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, have brought the country back into the international fold.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

Shimon Peres lost the 1996 Israeli elections to Binyamin Netanyahu, who campaigned against the Rabin-Peres peace programme.

The Israel-Jordan peace treaty of 1994 continues to hold fast, however, despite its continuing unpopularity with many in the region.

In September 2002, Jordan and Israel agreed on a plan to pipe water from the Red Sea to the shrinking Dead Sea that straddles the two countries.

The project, costing $800m, was the two nations biggest joint venture to date.

And 18 months later, in March 2004, the two nations agreed on a joint project to build a desert science centre on their shared border.

King Hussein of Jordan died of cancer in 1999.
Macau plunged five spots in the EF English Proficiency Index (EPI) last year, ranking 42nd worldwide and 12th in Asia, a performance that puts Macau at a low level in terms of English-language proficiency.

Although a number of high-

school graduates opt to continue their studies abroad, particularly students from international schools and from affluent families, the current performance of local students, whose first language is not English, showed poor results  a problem that may affect their choice of university in the future.

Late last year, Australia  one of the top choices for Chinese students  tightened its requirements for incoming foreign students.

This means that more than 150,000 international students will have to undergo tougher English language exams before they can start their preferred courses.

Prospective overseas students will have to take a new official test of their language skills before entering a university or vocational studies.

The Times contacted English-

speaking institutions in Macau to enquire on their standards on accepting students who are not native English speakers.

Alan Baxter, dean of the University of Saint Josephs (USJ) Faculty of Humanities noted that all students of USJ must attain a B2 Cambridge level early in their undergraduate program.

The Times is aware that students are required to attend English classes for four semesters during their four-year courses at USJ.

This is through the international Cambridge certificate test. Students can only graduate if they have a certified B2 level, said Baxter in a written reply.

Questioned whether USJ recognizes a problem in Macau in terms of English language skills, Baxter preferred to express his personal, non-institutional, unofficial opinion.

There is a general problem in this regard, yes, but there are also some notable exceptions, he said. Non-native students in any setting, in Macau or anywhere else in the world, are capable of following lessons taught through the medium of English, but they must seek to reinforce their English skills in simple, readily available means beyond the classroom.

Baxter suggested students to take several measures to improve their English proficiency such as to read newspapers in English, watch television in English and seek English speakers to practice with.

Locally, I often feel that there is a lack of interest and lack of initiative on the part of many students, with regard to second language learning, he added.

The Times also contacted School of the Nations and The International School but received no reply by press time.

The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau contested that for schools that use Chinese as the medium of instruction  and have English as the second language  the average number of such lessons must be five to seven times per week for primary students, while high school students must go through five to nine classes per week.

In addition to the provisions on the number of lessons, The Requirements of Basic Academic Attainments for Formal Education of Local Education System also sets the requirements for English ability at primary and high school education levels.

The requirements include the basic concepts, curriculum goals as well as the systematic and specific requirements for the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in a bid to expand students grammatical knowledge.

Based on the premise of following the Curriculum Framework and the Basic Academic Attainments, public and private schools [] have autonomy to develop their own school-based curriculum in accordance with their school characteristics and teaching needs, DSEJ told the Times in a written reply.

Prospective overseas students who eye studying in Australia can take an intensive English course to prepare for further studies in Australia if they fail to have qualifications showing they can study in the language.

The vast majority of language courses are providing high quality outcomes [] but some slip through the cracks and its unacceptable for that to occur, said Australias Education Minister Simon Birmingham, as cited in several reports.

According to the minister, the standard would be enforced by the national education regulator.

During the first six months of last year, there were some 580,000 international students enrolled in Australia  a figure that Birmingham believed would not be affected by the new measures, as the new measure aims to strengthen the integrity of the countrys education system.

Prospective students will have to undergo at least 20 hours of face-to-face teaching a week through the intensive courses designed for non-English speakers who intend to study in Australia.

Some students simply dont have the English language skills they need to succeed. It means they draw away from getting involved in lectures, tutorials and group study work while their classmates and teachers struggle to bridge the language divide, said Birmingham.

The Times is aware that there are a number of local students studying in English-language universities who could not keep up with the universitys medium of teaching, thus hampering the progress of the module due to the need to cater to students with poor English proficiency.

The Times also contacted the Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) to enquire on the standards of English language in universities, but it declined to comment.

As higher education institutions in Macau enjoy academic and teaching autonomy, our office would not be able to provide any information regarding your questions as it is not within the terms of reference of our office, GAES noted.

DSEJ acknowledged that there is an increasing demand for English-speaking locals and pledged that it will further strengthen the development of foreign language education in non-tertiary education, and create a good language learning environment to improve local students foreign language proficiency and ability.

In line with the Language Education Policy of Non-tertiary Education, the DSEJ strives to coordinate and implement local language education, the bureau said.

The education department also revealed that a language training center for learning, practice and testing is planned for the Seac Pai Wan area and language camps for students will be held there.

Using the immersion teaching method and providing real-life learning situations, students can flexibly use the learned language so that they can become more confident and capable, it concluded.

Higher education institutions abroad require international students to take the English proficiency tests which includes International English Language Testing System (IELTS), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Test of English for International Communication.

These students should have a minimum TOEFL score of 80 in internet-based TOEFL, and a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 on the academic test.

Currently, DSEJ provides subsidies for student and teaching staff who wish to undergo such proficiency tests.
A former chief of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Armys joint staff department was referred to military prosecutors on suspicion of bribery yesterday, state media reported, making him the latest high-ranking target of President Xi Jinpings campaign against corruption in the armed forces.

Fang Fenghuis case was transferred to the PLAs criminal prosecution body, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The move virtually ensures his conviction at court martial, followed by a sentence of life or many years in prison. Xinhua said he was suspected of both giving and taking bribes, traditionally a common route to gaining promotion and potentially amassing enormous riches.

Fang dropped out of public view last fall, shortly after an August meeting with the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, leading to speculation hed been placed under investigation.

Since coming to power in late 2012, Xi, who also leads the party and the armed forces, has launched a wide-ranging crackdown on corruption that has felled scores of mid-to-high- ranking officials.

Three former top generals have already been ensnared in corruption probes, including one who died of cancer before trial and another who committed suicide in November while under investigation. Like Fang, all had been members of the government and ruling Communist Partys Central Military Commissions that oversee the armed forces.

The campaign has strengthened Xis iron grip on the party and military, while eliminating political threats and helping make him the most powerful Chinese leader in a generation, a status cemented at last years party congress where he was given a second five-year term as general secretary.

While widely popular, the drive has been criticized outside China as trampling on the legal system since it is spearheaded by the ruling partys internal disciplinary body rather than state prosecutors.

At the same time, Xi has undertaken a thoroughgoing reform of the PLA, reorganizing its structure and shrinking the size of the Central Military Commissions from nine to seven members.

Zhang had been elevated to commander of Beijings defenses by Xis predecessor, Hu Jintao, and in 2009 commanded a massive military parade through the heart of the city to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic.

Last year, he traveled with Xi on a visit to President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate, where he was photographed seated smiling beside Ivanka Trump at a formal banquet. AP
A Hong Kong businessman charged in a United Nations-linked bribery conspiracy pleaded not guilty yesterday [Macau time] to an indictment charging him with helping to arrange millions of dollars in bribes to the president of Chad and the Ugandan foreign minister.

Dr. Chi Ping Patrick Ho, polite and soft spoken, said not guilty, judge to each of eight counts he faces in the case in Manhattan federal court. Judge Katherine Forrest said it was unlikely that a trial would occur before next year.

Ho, 68, was arrested in November on charges that he paid bribes on behalf of a Chinese energy conglomerate to secure business advantages in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ho, once Hong Kongs home affairs secretary, remains jailed without bail pending a scheduled court appearance on Feb. 2.

His lawyers indicated in a court filing Friday they would ask the judge to release him on USD10 million bail. But there was no mention of his bail request at the hearing.

After the hearing, defense attorney Edward Kim declined to comment on why the bail request was not pursued.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Zolkind said evidence against Ho includes several hundred thousand documents, along with bank records, wire records and telecommunications equipment. Authorities said they recovered from defendants and the U.S. offices of the energy conglomerate more than a dozen phones and numerous computers that must be analyzed.

Authorities have said that Ho and a co-defendant conspired in October 2014 to bribe the African government officials after wiring almost $1 million through New Yorks banking system. They say the Ugandan scheme was created at the United Nations in New York when Ugandas current foreign minister served as president of the U.N. General Assembly.

The case marks the second in recent years to involve allegations of bribe paying at the United Nations.

A Chinese billionaire, Ng Lap Seng, was convicted in July of paying more than $1.7 million in bribes to U.N. ambassadors to secure rights to build a U.N. conference center in Macau to serve struggling Southern Hemisphere nations. Defense lawyers contended that Ng only paid money when he was asked to spend it to speed the project along. The center was never built.

Former U.N. General Assembly President John Ashe was charged in that case, but he died in an accident at his home as he awaited trial. Larry Neumeister, New York, AP
An Iranian reformist lawmaker said yesterday that some 3,700 people were arrested in the days of protests and unrest that roiled Iran over the past two weeks, offering a far higher number than authorities previously released.

The protests, which vented anger at high unemployment and official corruption, were the largest seen in Iran since the disputed 2009 presidential election, and some demonstrators called for the overthrow of the government. At least 21 people have been killed in the unrest surrounding the protests.

The official news website of the Iranian parliament, icana.ir, quoted Mahmoud Sadeghi of Tehran as saying that different security and intelligence forces detained the protesters, making it difficult to know the exact number of detainees. He did not elaborate, nor did he say where he got the figure.

Previously, authorities have said hundreds were arrested in Tehran alone, not offering a total figure for arrests as the demonstrations spread into the Iranian countryside, including small towns.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli has said about 42,000 people at most took part in the anti-government protests. Sadeghis figure of arrested offered would mean nearly 10 percent of those who demonstrated were arrested.

On Sunday, Tehran prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, said that 70 of the detained protesters have been released on bail during the last 48 hours. He added that there would be more releases from detention, except for the main instigators of the riots who will be dealt with seriously.

Also Sunday, Iranian lawmakers held a closed session in which senior security officials briefed them on the protests and the conditions of the detainees, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian authorities have said that the protests are waning. Thats in part due to the government blocking access to the popular messaging app Telegram, which demonstrators used to share images of the rallies and organize. Authorities also have deployed additional police and members of the Basij, a volunteer organization affiliated with Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

It remains difficult for journalists and outsiders to piece together whats happening beyond Tehran, as Iran is a vast country of 80 million and travel there is restricted.

In recent days, government supporters have held several mass rallies across the country to protest the unrest.

The United States and Israel have expressed support for the protests, which began on Dec. 28 in Irans second largest city, Mashhad, but deny Iranian government allegations that they fomented them.

U.S. officials and analysts studying Iran say believe conservative opponents of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate within Irans clerically overseen government, started the demonstrations in Mashhad, but quickly lost control of them.

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also blamed Americans and Zionists for the protests, saying money supporting them came from one of the filthy- rich governments of the Persian Gulf.

Khamenei, however, also stressed that those with legitimate complaints about Irans economy should be heard.

We should differentiate between peoples righteous and honest demands on one side and barbaric and disruptive moves by another group, he said. These should be distinguished from each other. Amir Vahdat & Jon Gambrell, Tehran, AP
The Maputo/Catembe bridge, due to be opened in the next few months in the Mozambican capital, is the biggest China-funded infrastructure project in the African country, the total amount of which exceeded USD2.28 billion from 2000 to 2014.

The Official Chinese Funding for Africa, document recently released by AidData, a research body linked to William & Mary University in the US, shows that the construction of the new bridge in the Mozambican capital costs an estimated $725 million, of which 95 percent was covered by a loan granted by the Export Imports Bank of China (ExIm) and the remainder by the Mozambican State Budget.

Last October the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CBRC) installed the first module of the 57 that will make up the main deck of the bridge connecting Maputo to the town of Catembe on the other side of Maputo bay, which was originally scheduled for completion at the end of 2017, but which is now expected to be opened in the first few months of 2018.

Construction of the bridge is part of the Maputo-Ponta de Ouro road construction project, over a distance of 209 kilometers. The project is divided into three parts  the first section from Maputo to Katembe, over 35 kilometers; the second section comprising Katembe-Ponta de Ouro (109 kilometers) and includes the repair/construction of roads between Katembe/Bela Vista and Bela Vista/South Africa and the third section of 63 kilometers covering the repair of the Bela Vista/Boane road.

The AidData document showed that the second largest slice of Chinese funding to Mozambique was granted by the same bank in 2013, in the amount of $416.5 million, to repair the Beira-Machipanda road.

The project is part of a package agreed in May 2013 during a visit to China by former President Armando Guebuza to build a set of roads that also includes the already inaugurated Maputo circular ($300 million) and the Bene-Zumbo ($278 million), among others.

The total of $2.28 billion of Chinese funding between 2000 and 2014 also includes almost $155 million of interest-free loans granted in 2007 for agriculture, health and education projects announced during a visit to Maputo by the former Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The list also includes funding of $133 million granted by the ExIm Bank for migration from analogue to digital broadcasting in Mozambique, by Chinese company StarTimes, involving Mozambican public television and radio.

The same bank also appears in the AidData survey by granting a loan of $120 million in 2014 for the reconstruction of the fishing port of the city of Beira, in Sofala province.

In the same period, AidData identified schedule agreements and debt pardons valued at $95.4 million.

The Economist Intelligence Unit recently reported that the Mozambican government plans to strengthen its relationship with Asian countries in the coming years in particular with China [a large creditor of Mozambique]. MDT/Macauhub
Myanmar is set to put two reporters from the Reuters news agency on trial this week after they were charged under a colonial-era state secrets act, in a case that highlights growing concerns about press freedom in the country.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested Dec. 12 for allegedly acquiring important secret papers from two police officers. The officers had worked in Rakhine state, where abuses widely blamed on Myanmars military have driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee into neighboring Bangladesh.

The charges against the two are punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Rights and media groups have criticized Myanmars new civilian government led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for continuing to use colonial-era laws to threaten and imprison journalists. Such laws were widely used by the military junta that previously ruled the country to muzzle critics and the media.

Under the current government, at least 32 journalists have been charged, mostly under colonial-era laws, according to the local group We Support Journalists.

Such arrests and laws were widely used by the military junta to shut us down, the groups founder, Maung Saungkha, said by phone. But its sad to see media freedom is even worse under the so-called democratically elected government.

The arrest of the two Myanmar journalists, whose trial begins today, caused an international outcry. After they were detained, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the arrests showed how press freedom was deteriorating in Myanmar, while U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for their immediate release.

A free press is critical to a free society_the detention of journalists anywhere is unacceptable, former President Bill Clinton tweeted yesterday [Macau time]. The Reuters journalists being held in Myanmar should be released immediately.

Reuters President and Editor- in-Chief Stephen J. Adler also has called on Myanmar to free the journalists.

Their arrest and continued incarceration represent an egregious attack on press freedom  preventing them, and deterring other journalists, from reporting independently in Myanmar, Adler said in a statement.

Critics and rights groups say that in some respects, press freedom in Myanmar is more restrictive now than it was during the previous quasi-civilian administration, which bridged the former military government to the current civilian one. Suu Kyis government, which has been in power for two years, has done nothing to change laws that create barriers to a free press.

Nearly two years later, we have been gravely disappointed by the lack of progress on legal reform and the new clampdown on journalists under Suu Kyis rule, said Shawn Crispin, senior Southeast Asia representative for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

In November, Myanmar authorities sentenced two foreign journalists working for Turkish state broadcaster TRT, along with their local interpreter and driver, to two months in prison for flying a drone over the parliament building. All four were released in late December.

A few days after the Reuters journalists were arrested, Myanmar President Htin Kyaw, a close ally and confidant of Suu Kyi, the countrys de facto leader, authorized police to proceed with the charges against them.

Despite facing heavy criticism for the move, the government said it was simply implementing the rule of law.

Its up to the court to decide whether the journalists are guilty or not because as a government, we dont interfere in the countrys judicial system, said government spokesman Zaw Htay.

Wa Lone, who joined Reuters in June 2016, has covered a range of stories related to the Rohingya crisis, while Kyaw Soe Oo began working for the news agency in September. Since their arrest, theyve been held in the countrys notorious Insein prison.

More than 650,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar into Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Myanmars army began what it called clearance operations following an attack on police posts by Rohingya insurgents. The aid group Doctors Without Borders estimates at least 6,700 Rohingya civilians were killed in the first month of the crackdown.

Since the crisis in northern Rakhine state began, new restrictions on press access have made it nearly impossible for journalists to cover independently in the region.

Suu Kyis government clearly feels foreign media coverage of the Rohingya crisis has damaged its international image and now its fighting back through bogus legal threats and jailing of journalists, Crispin said. AP
Yonghua Song, a scholar in electrical engineering, assumed office as the rector of the University of Macau (UM) yesterday  becoming the ninth rector of the university.

The new rector has expressed his hope to familiarize himself with the job as soon as possible with a view to increasing interactions with the local community and carrying out more innovative projects.

Song met with members of the management team of the university to learn more about the universitys operation on his first day, according to a statement from UM.

In the same statement, Song expressed his hope to meet with more members of the university in the next few months and to hear their expectations about the universitys future development.

With the solid foundation laid for the university, we will continue to do our job well through collective efforts and we look forward to more innovation, new opportunities and greater accomplishments, Song said in an email to the faculty, staff members, students and alumni.

Song has been an appointed advisor to the Science and Technology Committee of the MSAR since 2002.

Meanwhile, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, has not announced any updates regarding the progress of the investigation of the universitys former rector Wei Zhao  information that Tam said would be announced once the investigation has been concluded.

In November, Tam had asked the Tertiary Education Services Office (GAES) to investigate the terms of Zhaos contract.

On January 1, Zhao assumed as the role of a Chief Research Officer at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates  a day after his resignation had taken effect.

As previously reported, an anonymous complaint alerted the UM that Zhao would be in breach of his contract with UM, as it has a clause that requires a cooling off period  an allegation that the university denied.

In a statement, UM explained that Zhao submitted his resignation to the Chief Executive in accordance with established procedures and obtained his approval, and that there are no requirements for a cooling-off period.

The Times contacted the office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture but was directed to contact the university instead. The GAES was also contacted, replying that it is still handling this [Zhaos case] with established procedures, with no information to be provided at the moment.

HKU chief admits to pressure from Beijing

THE OUTGOING vice chancellor of Hong Kong University, Peter Mathieson, has admitted that his executive post was filled with pressure from everybody, adding that he was also receiving advice all the time by Beijings liaison office. In an interview to South China Morning Post, the professor called on the regions leading university to continue its international approach rather than exclusively focusing on its ties with mainland China. They can tell me what they think I should do, but basically I do what I believe to be in the best interests of the university. [] Yes, there has been pressure, but I dont regard that as unreasonable, he told the Post. I wish higher education was not so politicized, he said. I think it would be simpler for people like me if politics wasnt such a complicating factor. Mathieson, who will take up the post of Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, admitted that there was no initiative from Professor Arthur Li Kwok-Cheung, a pro-establishment politician who also chairs HKUs governing body, on discussing what would follow the end of his five-year contract in 2019. Professor Zhang Xiang, a mainland-born mechanical engineering expert at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States, will succeed Mathiesons post.
A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Catholics joined a raucous procession of a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ under extra-tight security yesterday after the Philippines came under a disastrous militant attack last year.

Although the Philippine police and military said they have not monitored any specific threat, they deployed more than 6,000 personnel, including snipers and bomb squads backed by a surveillance helicopter and drones, to secure the annual procession of the wooden Black Nazarene along Manilas streets. More than 700 devotees were treated by Red Cross volunteers, mostly for minor injuries and ailments and exhaustion, by midafternoon.

Authorities imposed a gun ban, cellphone signals were jammed sporadically in the vicinity of the procession and a team of bomb experts walked sniffer dogs along the route ahead of the mammoth crowd. Concrete barriers blocked the route, partly to prevent the kind of attacks that have been witnessed in Europe, where Islamic radicals have rammed vehicles into crowds, a military official said.

Hundreds of local and foreign militants laid siege for five months last year to southern Marawi city, leaving more than 1,100 combatants and civilians dead in the worst IS group-linked attack so far in Asia. Troops crushed the uprising in October, but an unspecified number of extremists managed to escape and other small but brutal groups in the countrys south still pose threats.

Security officials said they were also concerned with possible stampedes in a dawn-to-midnight event that some say could draw millions, although its difficult even to approximate the crowd size.

Mobs of devotees in maroon shirts dangerously squeezed their way into the tight pack of humanity around a carriage carrying the life-size statue. They threw small towels at volunteers on the carriage, which was being pulled by ropes, to wipe parts of the cross and the statue in the belief that the Nazarenes powers would cure ailments and foster good health and fortune.

Ronald Malaguinio, a 38-year- old worker, carried a small replica of the Nazarene on a steel platform bedecked with yellow and white flowers for several kilometers from his home in Manilas Tondo slum district to join the procession and pray for a son recovering from a heart ailment.

If the doctor says your son has a 50-50 chance of surviving, where will you go? Malaguinio asked. If money cant cure diseases, the only other option is prayers. Ours have been heard and were here to thank the Nazarene. Jim Gomez, Manila, AP
The Epiphany celebrations in the Portuguese village of Vale de Salgueiro feature a tradition that each year causes an outcry among outsiders: Parents encouraging their children, some as young as 5, to smoke cigarettes.

Locals say the practice has been passed down for centuries as part of a celebration of life tied to the Christian Epiphany and the winter solstice  but nobody is sure what it symbolizes or exactly why parents buy the packs of cigarettes for their children and encourage them to take part.

The two-day celebrations, which ended with a Mass, include dancing around bonfires, a piper playing music and an elected king who distributes plentiful wine and snacks.

The legal age to purchase tobacco in Portugal is 18, but nothing prohibits parents from giving kids cigarettes and Portuguese authorities dont intervene to stop the practice.

Guilhermina Mateus, a 35-year-old coffee shop owner, cites custom as the reason why she gives her daughter cigarettes.

I cant explain why. I dont see any harm in that because they dont really smoke, they inhale and immediately exhale, of course, Mateus said. And its only on these days, today and tomorrow. They never ask for cigarettes again.

Jose Ribeirinha, a writer who has published a book on the Vale do Salgueiro festivities, said the roots of the tradition are unknown, but may have to do with celebrating the rebirth of nature and human life. He said the village is in a region that adheres to many traditions dating back to pagan times, and that since Roman times, during the winter solstice period villagers here have taken the liberty to do things that would be out of the norm in the rest of the year.

Ribeirinha also believes the relative seclusion of the remote village  450 kilometers northeast of the capital Lisbon  has helped keep the tradition alive. He said that the surrounding Tras os Montes region has always been the furthest from Lisbon, the most forgotten one.

Portugal, like many other European countries, has taken steps to reduce smoking, including a partial ban on smoking indoors. Helena Alves, Vale de Salgueiro, AP
Last week, security researchers found a couple of major vulnerabilities affecting most modern computing devices. Spectre and Meltdown have been reported as kernel flaws present in a majority of Intel, AMD and Arm processors. After the reports, companies like Microsoft, Google and Apple responded by issuing software updates to mitigate the flaws, but a lingering question was how this would affect system performance. Microsoft has now provided a statement, admitting that the security fixes will slow down performance on some personal computers.

Microsoft in its statement said that the slowdowns will affect performance depending on the software running on your PC. For example, users running Windows 10 are not going to notice a significant difference in performance, whereas those running older Windows 7 or Windows 8 operating systems are going to notice some slowdowns. The Redmond giant notes that Intel Haswell processors and older see the most impact following firmware updates to protect against Spectre and Meltdown. Notably, the statement explains that Meltdown and Spectre Variant 1 will have minimal impact on performance. However, firmware updates being released are largely to protect against Spectre Variant 2, which Microsoft says will have an impact on performance.

Windows Executive Vice President Terry Myerson explains that PCs running Windows 10 on Skylake or Kaby Lake processors will see performance slowdown in single digits while noticeable slowdowns will be seen on PCs running older operating systems and corporate-level server computers are going to be the most affected. "On newer CPUs such as on Skylake and beyond, Intel has refined the instructions used to disable branch speculation to be more specific to indirect branches, reducing the overall performance penalty of the Spectre mitigation," Myerson said.

Also Read: Apple confirms all Mac, iOS devices affected by Spectre and Meltdown flaws

"We're also committed to being as transparent and factual as possible to help our customers make the best possible decisions for their devices and the systems that run organizations around the world," Myerson added in the blog post.

Microsoft's statement gives us a much better picture of how the vulnerabilities are going to impact consumers. This comes following Intel CEO Brian Krzanich keynote at CES 2018 where he lauded the collaborative efforts between companies to mitigate the issue and assured that over 90 per cent of computers will be protected through patches this week. Qualcomm president Christiano R. Amon at CES also addressed concerns about the vulnerabilities affecting smartphone, and explained that they are not likely to impact the mobile industry in a major way as fixes for them have already been made available for a while.

The Redmond giant is hoping to be as transparent as it can be to avoid what happened to Apple after the latter revealed it was intentionally slowing down older iPhone models. Apple, for its part in all this Spectre and Meltdown issue has also responded quickly, admitting last week that its iOS and Mac devices are affected. However, the Cupertino giant has mitigated Meltdown through software updated issued last month while newer updates rolled out this week to mitigate against Spectre.
The Syrian National Army loyal to President Bashar al-Assad has claimed it brought down an Israeli fighter jet, after the Israeli aviation fired several missiles on a military outpost near capital Damascus.

The Israeli sorties according to the Syrian army took place Tuesday at dawn and targeted a military base in the city of al-Qutayfah, outside Damascus.

Our air defenses responded to three Israeli missile attacks on military positions in the al-Qutayfah countryside, official Syrian state media quoted military officials as saying.

Military officials told pro-Assad regime media, al-Mayadeen, that the armys air defense system was able to intercept three missiles and hit one jet.

Israel, which usually does not comment on its military operations, has not confirmed the incidents.

Israeli sources and Syrian rebels opposed to Assad indicate that the military outpost houses long-range missiles. The base is reportedly used by Syrian militarys 155th Artillery Regiment.

The Syrian army claims that the first Israeli airstrikes were launched from inside Lebanons airspace, Turkish daily Sabah reports.

According to Ronen Solomon, an Israeli freelance intelligence analyst who tracks Syrias weapons development programs, the 155th Artillery Regiment operates Scud missile launchers and has been known since 2010 as the regiment that hosts Hezbollahs advanced Scud missile base, Times of Israel reports.

Israel has complained about alleged Irans presence in Northern Syria and in Lebanon. It fears Iran is building military bases in war-torn Syria. Iran has helped shore up President Assads regime by sending thousands of fighters and trainers.

Israel in December reportedly fired missiles at a suspected Iranian military base in Syria. Twelve Iranian military personnel were killed and several buildings destroyed, reports said.
The UK will be hit with a raft of food shortages over the Christmas holiday period if the Government doesnt step up and address the continued staff shortages across the food and drink supply chain, according to Heck founder and managing director Andrew...
January 10, 2018 09:31

Taking a popular injectable contraceptive drug is likely to increase the risk of developing HIV infection by 40 per cent, claims a study.

As Zee News reports, the contraceptive depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is an injectables birth control shot that works by releasing the hormone progestin into the body which prevents the ovaries from releasing eggs and thickens the mucous layer around the cervix to block sperm from getting through.

In the study, researchers from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, examined animal, cell and biochemical research on the form of progestin used in DMPA -- medroxprogesterone acetate, or MPA.

Their analysis, published in the journal Endocrine Reviews, revealed that MPA acts differently than other forms of progestin used in contraceptives.

MPA behaves like the stress hormone cortisol in the cells of the genital tract that can come in contact with HIV.

Other reasons include decreased immune function and the protective barrier function of the female genital tract, said lead author, Janet P. Hapgood, Professor at the varsity

"Studying the biology of MPA helps us understand what may be driving the increased rate of HIV infection seen in human research," she said.

"Increasing availability of contraceptives that use a different form of the female hormone progestin than the one found in DMPA could help reduce the risk of HIV transmission," Hapgood added.

In 2016, there were 36.7 million people worldwide were living with HIV, according to UNAIDS -- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

In 2015, India had approved the use of DMPA and recommended its inclusion in the national family planning programme and administered free of cost once every three months, usually on the upper arm or the buttocks.

Previously, the use of DMPA have been associated with many health problems in women including menstrual irregularity, demineralisation of bones, abdominal bloating and discomfort, mood changes, decreased sex drive, etc.

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Elderly patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed improved overall survival (OS) when treated with chemoradiation (CRT) compared to definitive radiation (RT) alone.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. NSCLC constitutes between 80-85% of all lung cancers and more than 30% of those are diagnosed with stage III disease over the age of 65. Despite this large population, elderly patients are often excluded or underrepresented in clinical trials resulting in limited treatment options for this population of patients. Given that NSCLC is a heterogenous disease requiring a multidisciplinary treatment approach, and the limited treatment data available in this population, the optimal treatment strategy for stage III NSCLC in the elderly needs to be further explored.

A group of investigators at The Ohio State University in the United States conducted a retrospective study to compare the effectiveness of RT alone verses CRT in elderly patients 70 years old with stage III NSCLC not treated surgically. Patients 70 years old with stage III NSCLC not surgically treated from 2003-2014 were selected from the National Cancer Database. Patients were divided into two cohorts: patients treated with definitive RT and patients treated with definitive CRT. The CRT patients were considered to have received concurrent CRT if chemotherapy was delivered within 30 days prior to or after initiation of RT, while sequential CRT was defined as RT delivered ?30 days after initiation of chemotherapy. The OS between treatment groups was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression before and after propensity score matching (PSM) to reduce potential selection bias.

The results of the study were published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). The study identified 5,023 elderly patients treated with definitive RT and 18,206 patients treated with CRT. Univariate analysis revealed that younger age, male sex, white race, higher income, stage IIIB, increased distance from the treating hospital and a Charlson-Deyo score <1 were associated with higher odds of receiving CRT. These covariates were used to calculate propensity scores. Treatment with CRT was associated with improved OS compared to RT before PSM (HR=0.66, 95%CI 0.64-0.68, p<0.0001) and after PSM (HR=0.91, 95%CI 0.85-0.96, p=0.002). After PSM, treatment with CRT corresponded to a 33% reduction in the risk of death (HR=0.67, 95%CI 0.64-0.70, p<0.001). The benefit of CRT was greater for elderly patients treated with multi-agent chemotherapy (HR=0.64, 95%CI 0.61-0.67, p<0.001) compared with single-agent chemotherapy (HR=0.83, 95%CI 0.75-0.92, p<0.001). Finally, patients treated with CRT were further subdivided into those treated with concurrent verses sequential CRT with 15,840 treated with concurrent CRT and 2,366 treated with sequential CRT. Treatment with sequential CRT corresponded to a 9% reduction in the risk of death (HR=0.91, 95%CI 0.85-0.96, p=0.002).

The authors comment that, "Treatment of the elderly with locally advanced NSCLC is challenging and, with an aging population, will remain an issue for the U.S. healthcare system for the foreseeable future. To our knowledge, our study represents the largest reported cohort of elderly stage III NSCLC patients not treated surgically. We found that CRT is superior to definitive RT in elderly patients with stage III NSCLC not treated surgically. We also found that in patients that receive CRT, sequential chemotherapy and RT resulted in improved OS compared to concurrent CRT. Treatment of the elderly with stage III NSCLC should involve a multidisciplinary discussion. All patients not eligible for surgery should first be considered for CRT, with either concurrent or sequential RT. Based on our findings, multi-agent chemotherapy is preferred over single-agent regimens in suitable patients. When multi-agent chemotherapy is not feasible, a single-agent regimen is supported by our results. When chemotherapy is contraindicated or not recommended, then definitive RT alone should be considered."

Explore further Lower incidence of esophagitis in elderly NSCLC patients undergoing definitive radiation

Provided by International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
Credit: University of Oslo

What if you hardly ever consume soft drinks or eat anything acidic, but still have dental erosion on your teeth? Do genes play a role? And does it matter if you are a boy or a girl?

Dentists and scientists often find it difficult to determine why some people's teeth are affected by dental erosion and others not, despite of similar drinking and eating habits. Many studies show more severe dental erosion in men than in women. Studies have been carried out on dental erosion in wine tasters and people suffering from eating disorders with vomiting. These people frequently expose their teeth to acid, and therefore have a high risk of developing dental erosion. However, research shows that not all of these patients at risk have dental erosion. Researchers at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, are now attempting to find an explanation for this.

Not just acid

How do we explain that some individuals may have no signs of dental erosion despite frequently exposing their teeth to acid, while certain individuals who seem to do everything right, still develop dental erosion? Ph.D. candidate Marte-Mari Uhlen has been taking a closer look at this in her doctoral work.

"As dentists and researchers, we are often facing cases of dental erosion that we have difficulties explaining, and we meet patients who don't have dental erosion although their lifestyle indicates that they should. It is also a general assumption that boys tend to have more erosion and more severe erosive lesions than girls. We believe that this disparity is due to something more than just the acidic effect," explains Uhlen.

Clinical study

Uhlen and her colleagues conducted a clinical study on 66 patients with eating disorders and vomiting. The study consisted of a clinical examination and a questionnaire-based survey in which the patients were interviewed about their illness. The questionnaire included questions about the duration of the eating disorder and frequency of vomiting as well as the participants' general health, oral hygiene habits and eating and drinking habits.

The results from the study showed that 70 percent of the patients had dental erosion and that those who had been ill the longest had more dental erosion and more severe lesions than the ones with a shorter duration of disease. This finding confirms our assumptions that dental erosion is a common problem in patients with eating disorders and vomiting. Nevertheless, we were surprised to find that a third of the patients had no sign of dental erosion at all, even patients who had vomited regularly for up to 32 years," explains Uhlen.

The researchers also examined the oral environment and the tooth enamel. The oral environment includes the volume of saliva, the contents of the saliva as well as the dental pellicle, which is a protein film that covers the surface of the teeth. All these elements are important factors in protecting the teeth against acid attacks. Dental enamel consists mainly of minerals, and the formation and structure of enamel are controlled by genes.

Simulating vomiting episodes in the laboratory

In their next study, the scientists collected teeth from eight people, and placed samples of enamel from these teeth on a plate in the mouth of six other volunteers.

The plates with the enamel samples were subjected to simulated vomiting episodes: The plates were removed from the mouth and washed in hydrochloric acid twice a day for a total of nine days. "We hoped to see how the teeth would respond to being exposed to acid in a different mouth than the one they came from," explains Uhlen. "In this way, we could examine the protecting effect of both the oral environment and of the enamel itself"

An advanced microscope (white light interferometer) was used to measure the loss of enamel in tooth samples. Credit: Brge Holme SINTEF

The results revealed that susceptibility to dental erosion seems to be influenced both by the quality of the dental enamel and the oral environment: While in some subjects the degree of protection by the oral environment appeared to be most important, in others, the strength or weakness of their dental enamel was more significant.

Association with enamel formation genes

Then, the attention was aimed at genetics. Could a strong or weak enamel be inheritable? The hypothesis was that the genes responsible for enamel formation may give us more information about why a person develops dental erosion or not. Results from previous studies suggest that variations in these enamel formation genes could influence the susceptibility to dental caries and dental erosion.

The researchers then collected a tooth and a saliva sample from 90 people. Samples of enamel from these teeth were then mounted on a plate and exposed to acid. The amount of enamel loss was then measured using an advanced microscope.

The scientists extracted DNA from the saliva samples to investigate whether enamel formation genes might play a role in the susceptibility to dental erosion. Seven genes were selected. "We selected these particular genes because they are important in different phases in the formation of the enamel," says Uhlen.

Genetic variation affects susceptibility

Comparing the amount of enamel loss and the variation in the selected genes, the scientists discovered that some gene variations involved in the formation of the enamel seem to influence the susceptibility to dental erosion. The results from the genetic analyses also indicated that enamel from female donors is more protected against dental erosion than enamel from male donors. This supported the results from the eating disorder study, namely that the enamel in girls are genetically more protected against dental erosion than the enamel in boys.

"Our findings indicate that the susceptibility to dental erosion varies from individual to individual. Factors related to both the oral environment and the quality of the enamel seem to influence the susceptibility. In addition, the susceptibility to dental erosion appears to be affected by genetic variation," Uhlen explains.

Furthermore, the findings confirm an assumption long held by clinicians and researchers that men are more prone to dental erosion than women.

Clinical significance

The results from these studies indicate that what is generally considered a normal intake of acidic food and beverages may cause dental erosion in subjects at risk. It is important that clinicians and researchers recognize this difference in susceptibility and inform their patients.

"Recognition of the fact that some people are more vulnerable or susceptible to dental erosion as well as an awareness of males possibly being particularly susceptible, dental professionals can distribute their resources better and devote more time to the patients who need it the most," concludes Uhlen.

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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A computer system developed by Columbia University with Health Department epidemiologists detects foodborne illness and outbreaks in NYC restaurants based on keywords in Yelp reviews

Using Yelp, 311, and reports from health care providers, the Health Department has identified and investigated approximately 28,000 complaints of suspected foodborne illness overall since 2012

January 10, 2018 - The Health Department today announced that since 2012, 10 outbreaks of foodborne illness were identified solely through a computer system jointly created with Columbia University's Department of Computer Science. Launched in 2012, the computer system tracks foodborne illnesses based on certain keywords that appear in Yelp restaurant reviews. This strategy has helped Health Department staff identify approximately 1,500 complaints of foodborne illness in New York City each year, for a total of 8,523 since July 2012.

Improvements to the computer system are the subject of a joint study published this week by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. The Health Department and Columbia continue to expand the system to include other social media sources, such as Twitter, which was added to the system in November 2016. The computer system allows the Health Department to investigate incidents and outbreaks that might otherwise go undetected. New Yorkers are encouraged to call 311 to report any suspected foodborne illness.

"Working with our partners at Columbia University, the Health Department continues to expand its foodborne illness surveillance capabilities," said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. "Today we not only look at complaints from 311, but we also monitor online sites and social media. I look forward to working with Columbia University on future efforts to build on this system. The Health Department follows up on all reports of foodborne illness - whether it is reported to 311 or Yelp."

Each year, thousands of New York City residents become sick from consuming foods or drinks that are contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses or parasites. The most common sources of food poisoning include raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs, shellfish and unpasteurized milk. Fruits and vegetables may become contaminated if they are handled or processed in facilities that are not kept clean, if they come into contact with contaminated fertilizer, or if they are watered or washed with contaminated water. Contamination may also occur if food is incorrectly handled by an infected food worker or if it touches other contaminated food.

"Effective information extraction regarding foodborne illness from social media is of high importanceonline restaurant review sites are popular and many people are more likely to discuss food poisoning incidents in such sites than on official government channels," said Luis Gravano and Daniel Hsu, who are coauthors of the study and professors of Computer Science at Columbia Engineering. "Using machine learning has already had a significant impact on the detection of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses."

"The collaboration with Columbia University to identify reports of food poisoning in social media is crucial to improve foodborne illness outbreak detection efforts in New York City," said Health Department epidemiologists Vasudha Reddy and Katelynn Devinney, who are coauthors of the publication. "The incorporation of new data sources allows us to detect outbreaks that may not have been reported and for the earlier identification of outbreaks to prevent more New Yorkers from becoming sick."

"I applaud DOHMH Commissioner Bassett for embracing the role that crowdsourcing technology can play in identifying outbreaks of foodborne illness. Public health must be forward-thinking in its approach to triaging both everyday and acute medical concerns," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Most restaurant-associated outbreaks are identified through the Health Department's complaint system, which includes 311, Yelp, and reports from health care providers. Since 2012, the Department has identified and investigated approximately 28,000 suspected complaints of foodborne illness overall. The Health Department reviews and investigates all complaints of suspected foodborne illness in New York City.

The symptoms, onset and length of illness depend on the type of microbe, and how much of it is swallowed. Symptoms usually include vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. If you suspect you became sick after eating or drinking a contaminated item, call 311 or submit an online complaint form.

New Yorkers should call their doctor if they experience a high fever (over 101.5F), blood in the stool, prolonged vomiting, dehydration, or diarrhea for more than three days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 48 million illnesses and 3000 deaths caused by the consumption of contaminated food in the United States each year.

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Syrian youth participate in a study that measured cortisol levels in their hair to assess the impact of a mental-health intervention for war-affected adolescents. Credit: Taghyeer Organization

A new study shows that a humanitarian program to improve the mental health of adolescents affected by the Syrian war has a biological benefit: For participants in the program, it decreased levels of cortisol (a hormone associated with stress) by a third.

The study, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, is the first to use an objective biomarkerin this case, hair cortisolto assess the impact of a mental-health intervention for war-affected youth. By measuring the cortisol concentrations in hair samples, the researchers corroborated the youths' self-reporting of stress and psychosocial wellbeing.

"Our work demonstrates the utility in using stress biomarkers for tracking physiological changes in response to interventions over time. Through hair cortisol, we can examine the biological signature of past trauma, current insecurity, and stress-alleviating interventions," said Catherine Panter-Brick, professor of anthropology, health, and global affairs at Yale University, and the study's co-author and principal investigator. "We've shown that effective psychosocial interventions can have a physiological benefit, protecting the health and development of young people who live through war and forced displacement."

The researchers partnered with Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian and development organization that operates Advancing Adolescentsa structured eight-week program for 12- to 18-year-olds designed to reduce the effects of profound stress and build strong ties to family and community. The study was conducted in four cities in northern Jordan, near the Syrian border, where Mercy Corps had implemented the program. It involved a gender-balanced sample of 733 adolescents (411 Syrian refugees and 322 Jordanian non-refugees).

The researchers relied on cortisol concentration in hair, which acts as a "chronic stress diary" as levels of the hormone accumulate in hair over time. They collected hair samples from study participants at three points: before they entered the program, shortly after they completed the program, and about 11 months after the initial sample. The team conducted a randomized control trial, hiring professional hairdressers to offer youth a complimentary haircut at the time of measurement.

They found that Advancing Adolescents reduced cortisol by about 38% over the long term. The study showed that the intervention benefitted all participants, whether they were male or female, refugee or non-refugee, and irrespective of their insecurity, stress, or post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Although it lowered cortisol for most youth, the program had the added benefit of raising cortisol for those who had unusually low levels of the hormone. Both too high and too low cortisol levels pose risks for health, including depression, memory and learning deficits, high blood pressure, and impaired stress responses. These results indicate that the program benefits participants through regulating their cortisol production.

As of January 2018, 5.4 million people have been forced to leave Syriathe largest refugee crisis since World War II. More than 655,000 Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring Jordan. Half of the displaced are children under 18 years old.

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More information: Rana Dajani et al. Hair cortisol concentrations in war-affected adolescents: A prospective intervention trial, Psychoneuroendocrinology (2017). Journal information: Psychoneuroendocrinology Rana Dajani et al. Hair cortisol concentrations in war-affected adolescents: A prospective intervention trial,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.12.012
Swimming, paddling, boating and fishing account for more than 90 million cases of gastrointestinal, respiratory, ear, eye and skin-related illnesses per year in the U.S. with an estimated annual cost of $2.9 billion, according to a new report by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.

This is the first time the cost associated with waterborne illnesses contracted during recreational activities in the U.S. has ever been calculated. The study, published in the journal Environmental Health, focused on illnesses that result from participating in recreational activities on or in natural bodies of water including lakes, rivers and beaches. It did not take into account illness acquired through the use of swimming pools or water parks.

"The costs associated with these illnesses helps us put into perspective the costs of projects that aim to help make our recreational waterways cleaner and safer," said Dr. Samuel Dorevitch, associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the UIC School of Public Health and an author of the paper. "The costs of beach monitoring and notification programs over the summer months are known. But until now, we haven't known the cost associated with illness acquired through recreation on natural waters. This information should help policymakers put the costs of water quality monitoring and water quality improvement projects into context."

Dorevitch cautions that people shouldn't panic about hitting the beach. "At 90 million illnesses out of an estimated 4 billion total water recreation events annually in the U.S., the number of people who get sick is around 2 percent," he said. "However, it's not easy to identify the number of illnesses that result from water recreation. If somebody gets sick a couple days after swimming and visits their doctor, the root cause of the illness - bacteria or viruses in the water - may not be recognized or investigated."

For the study, Dorevitch and colleagues estimated the number of recreational waterborne illnesses using data from two large epidemiological studies as well as reports of water-borne disease outbreaks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.

The National Environmental and Epidemiological Assessment of Recreational Water, or NEEAR, and the Chicago Health, Environmental Exposure, and Recreation Study, or CHEERS, estimated non-outbreak or sporadic waterborne illnesses caused by contact with water during recreational activities. NEEAR evaluated health outcomes among approximately 26,000 beachgoers at freshwater and marine beaches in six states between 2003 and 2009. CHEERS evaluated health outcomes among approximately 11,000 recreators at 39 spots in Chicago between 2007 and 2009.

These two studies were used to calculate rates of mild or moderate illness caused by contact with water during recreation. Mild illness was defined as not having contact with a health care provider, but perhaps taking an over-the-counter medication. Moderate illness resulted in a visit to a doctor's office or an emergency department. Illnesses described were most commonly gastrointestinal or respiratory in nature, or involved the eyes, ears or skin.

To estimate the number of severe illnesses which resulted in either hospitalization or death, the researchers turned to the Waterborne Disease and Outbreak Surveillance System, which is maintained by the CDC. They looked at outbreaks that occurred between 2001 and 2010.

Based on the data they collected, the researchers estimated that of the 50 million sporadic, non-outbreak related cases of gastrointestinal illness, 29 million were attributable to swimming and 16.5 million were attributable to fishing. Approximately 10 million cases each of respiratory, eye, ear and skin illnesses were also attributable to water-based recreational activities.

Adults aged 20 to 54 were the most likely to experience mild illness, while children aged 0 to 10 years old experienced the majority of moderate illnesses. An estimated 333 to 1,696 hospitalizations and 16 to 67 deaths occur annually due to recreational waterborne illness.

Data from NEEAR and CHEERS showed that among people who developed a gastrointestinal illness, 50 percent took over-the-counter medications, 40 percent stayed home from work or school, about 20 percent visited a doctor's office, 10 percent took prescription medications and 1 percent necessitated an emergency room visit.

Next, the researchers estimated the cost of prescription and over-the-counter medications, time off work, visits to doctor offices and emergency departments and hospitalizations associated with the number of mild, moderate and severe cases of illness they determined were caused by recreation on natural bodies of water.

The cost of illness per case ranged from $9.50 for those with mild illness to $303,000 for the most severe illnesses.

"To date, approximately $140 million has been allocated for beach-water protection programs since 2001, or about $10 million annually, a small fraction of annual estimated illness burden," said Dorevitch. "Efforts to reduce severity of illness among water recreators should be explored to reduce total economic burden while encouraging more individuals to enjoy safe surface water recreation."

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More information: Stephanie DeFlorio-Barker et al, Estimate of incidence and cost of recreational waterborne illness on United States surface waters, Environmental Health (2018). Journal information: Environmental Health Stephanie DeFlorio-Barker et al, Estimate of incidence and cost of recreational waterborne illness on United States surface waters,(2018). DOI: 10.1186/s12940-017-0347-9
The United States-Mexico border with Tijuana, Mexico, at right. Credit: Drexel University

Health care access nosedives for Mexican immigrants and migrants once they cross into the United Statesand stays that way even if they return to Mexicoa Drexel University public health study found.

The study, published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved and led by Ana Martinez-Donate, PhD, associate professor in Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health, looked into how mobility affects the ability of people to get health insurance and access health care.

And while roughly 84 percent of Mexican immigrants and migrants were found to have health insurance before they crossed the border, that number fell into the 25 to 50 percent range afterward, the study showed.

Moreover, the ability to get healthcare dropped from 78 percent of all Mexican adults to between 47 and 60 percent once the immigrants/migrants crossed the border.

"Once in the U.S., migrants may have less access than they did in Mexico before they left their communities of origin," explained Martinez-Donate. "And then, after they migrate to the U.S., even when they are back temporarily in Mexico, they may experience barriers to health care access there because they are not covered by the Mexican insurance programs either."

The study used data on more than 1,500 people from a survey of migrant flows conducted in Tijuana, Mexico, a popular border crossing point (between 30 and 40 percent of immigrants and migrants traveled through the city). To get a sense of how the data related to moving in and out of the United States, the researchers broke the data down into different phases to measure health care access in Mexico before they left, what it was like in the United States, and how it was in Mexico once they returned.

"Aspects of health care systems on both sides of the border, such as employer-based health care and minimum-stay requirements for insurance make it difficult for mobile populations to get health care," said Felice Le-Scherban, PhD, assistant professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health who served as a co-author on the study.

Current estimates place the undocumented immigrant population in the United States at 12 million. Much of this population is believed to be young and healthy (as they are largely mobile laborers). And while there is some truth in that notion, the researchers believe that this view of the healthy immigrant/migrant might mask some serious health concerns experienced by a portion of this population.

"Traditionally, we have seen higher rates of occupational injuries owing to the more dangerous types of occupationslike agriculture and constructionand less regulated conditions under which this population works," Martinez-Donate explained. "In our ongoing analysis, we are also seeing high rates of obesity and self-reported markers of chronic disease, such as diabetes and hypertension, along with depression, stress and at-risk drinking."

All of this can add up when you forgo regular care, which the study showed a higher rate of immigrants and migrants do. Before they left Mexico, only 6 percent reported doing that, but more than 16 percent who returned said they went without needed medical care.

Additionally, 68 percent of the immigrants/migrants reported having a usual source of care before they left Mexico, compared to just 42 percent of those who returned.

"The lack of access to care impedes effective treatment and, in the case of infectious diseases, may facilitate their transmission to others," Martinez-Donate explained. "For chronic conditions, like diabetes, the lack of treatment may result in complications and the need for more expensive treatments."

Not only were levels of care below what the immigrants and migrants could have expected to receive in Mexico, they were well below U.S. standards. Roughly 74 percent of U.S. adults get regular health care compared to the 47 to 60 percent of Mexican immigrants/migrants.

Martinez-Donate believes that some important changes in policyboth in the U.S. and Mexicocan be made to better look after a segment of the population that is critically intertwined with U.S. agriculture, construction and hospitalityand also sends home $25 billion a year to Mexico.

"Some experts have suggested the development of a portable health insurance program, Matinez-Donate said. "Other options may include expanding eligibility criteria to allow migrants, regardless of immigration status and length of residence, to qualify for the Affordable Care Act and facilitate enrollment in Seguro Popularthe Mexican insurance program for the unemployedif they return."

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More information: Ana P. Martinez-Donate et al, Access to Health Care among Mexican Migrants and Immigrants: A Comparison across Migration Phases, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (2017). Journal information: Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved Ana P. Martinez-Donate et al, Access to Health Care among Mexican Migrants and Immigrants: A Comparison across Migration Phases,(2017). DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2017.0116
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Choice of words might matter when doctors communicate uncertainty of diagnosis to their patients. A paper published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care shows that the parents of pediatric patients may react more negatively to doctors who communicate uncertainty of diagnosis explicitly, such as directly stating they are unsure, as compared to doctors who use implicit language, such as discussing "most likely" diagnosis or providing several possible diagnoses under consideration.

Diagnostic uncertainty is widespread in clinical practice and physician guidelines generally recommend that doctors explain the degree of uncertainty associated with their diagnosis. However, how exactly doctors should communicate uncertainty is a matter of debate. This communication can lower visit satisfaction, decrease adherence to doctor instructions, lessen trust, and decrease confidence in the doctor.

The researchers here surveyed parents of pediatric patients who hypothetically received a diagnosis with an element of uncertainty. The uncertainty in the diagnosis was communicated in one of three ways; either with an explicit expression of uncertainty (such as "I'm not sure which disease this is"), an implicit expression of uncertainty using broad differential diagnoses (such as "it could be this disease or this other disease"), or another implicit expression of uncertainty (such as "it is most likely this disease"). Researchers found that explicit expressions of uncertainty were associated with lower perceived technical competence of the doctor, less trust and confidence, and a less willingness to adhere to doctors' advice.

"Misdiagnosis is common in medical practice and to enable improvements, uncertainty of diagnosis is something both doctors and patients will need to embrace" said Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH, senior author and researcher at the Houston Veterans Affairs Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety and Baylor College of Medicine. "Our study provides a foundation for future development of evidence-based guidance on how doctors can best communicate diagnostic uncertainty to patients to improve diagnosis and care outcomes."

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More information: "Patient Perspectives on How Physicians Communicate Diagnostic Uncertainty: An Experimental Vignette Study" International Journal For Quality In Health Care (2017). "Patient Perspectives on How Physicians Communicate Diagnostic Uncertainty: An Experimental Vignette Study"(2017). DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzx170
After launching a slew of new Moto Mods last year, the Motorola has kicked off 2018 with two new Mods - the Livermorium Slider Keyboard Mod which adds a full physical QWERTY keyboard to any Moto Z smartphone and the Lenovo Vital Mod which tracks your heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure and more.

Motorola's Moto Mods are a clever take on the modular smartphone concept. Compatible with Motorola's Z series of devices, they simply snap onto the back of any Moto Z smartphone and add new functionality. Even though the reception to Moto Mods has been lukewarm at best, Motorola is not close to giving up on the concept. The company recently launched three new Moto Mods in India along with a service to rent them at 399 rupees a week.

The Livermorium Slider Keyboard Moto Mod is the most exciting of the two new Moto Mods. The Mod started life as an Indiegogo campaign last year and is expected to ship within the next month or two for a price of 99 dollars.

Also Read: Motorola launches 3 new Moto Mods in India, service to rent Mods at Rs 399 per week

The Mod won Motorola and Indiegogo's 'Transform the Smartphone Challenge' after which Motorola pushed it through their Accelerator program and helped Livermorium bring it to life. The Mod basically adds a physical five-row QWERTY keyboard to any Moto Z series smartphone. It tilts the screen at a 60-degree angle and is backlit to boot.

Along with the Slider Keyboard, Motorola also showcased a health based Mod called the Lenovo Vital Moto Mod. At 395 dollars, it costs almost as much as a brand new Moto Z2 Play and is capable of tracking five 'vital' health metrics - heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, Pulse Ox, body temperature and respiratory rate. The Lenovo Vital Moto Mod is set to go on sale in the U.S. in April. It is not known at the moment when (or whether) any of the two new Mods will launch in India.
Credit: Vera Kratochvil/public domain

At least 61 per cent of people who try their first cigarette become, at least temporarily, daily smokers, suggests an analysis of survey data by Queen Mary University of London.

The findings, from over 215,000 survey respondents and published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, provides strong support for prioritising efforts to reduce cigarette experimentation among adolescents.

Lead researcher Professor Peter Hajek from Queen Mary said: "This is the first time that the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience has been documented from such a large set of data.

"In the development of any addictive behaviour, the move from experimentation to daily practice is an important landmark, as it implies that a recreational activity is turning into a compulsive need. We've found that the conversion rate from 'first time smoker' to 'daily smoker' is surprisingly high, which helps confirm the importance of preventing cigarette experimentation in the first place.

"The UK is seeing a dramatic reduction in smoking at the moment and this tallies with recent findings that only 19 per cent of 11-15 year olds have ever tried a cigarette, so the good news is that we are on the right track."

The researchers searched the Global Health Data Exchange for relevant surveys that included questions about ever trying a cigarette and ever smoking daily. Datasets from eight surveys were found from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand, and the survey methods were found to be on par with best practice. Data were analysed to calculate the conversion rate from ever trying a cigarette to ever smoking daily.

The team calculated that 60.3 per cent of respondents had said they had ever tried a cigarette, and among those, an estimated 68.9 per cent said they had progressed to daily smoking.

The different surveys used different methodologies and yielded different results, so the estimated 68.9 per cent 'conversion rate' from experimentation to daily smoking has a margin of error (between 60.9 and 76.9 per cent).

Given the high conversion rate found in all existing surveys, the researchers suggest that at least some of the reduction in smoking prevalence observed over the past 20 years is likely due to reduced experimentation with cigarettes among adolescents.

Professor Peter Hajek added: "Concerns were expressed that e-cigarettes could be as addictive as conventional cigarettes, but this has not been the case. It is striking that very few non-smokers who try e-cigarettes become daily vapers, while such a large proportion on non-smokers who try conventional cigarettes become daily smokers. The presence of nicotine is clearly not the whole story."

The study's limitations include the fact that surveys yielded somewhat different results, so the estimated conversion rate is only approximate. There are also questions that can be raised over the accuracy of the recall people have in surveys concerning their smoking history.

Declaration of Interests: Professor Peter Hajek provided consultancy to and received research funding from manufacturers of stop-smoking medications.

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More information: Max Birge et al, What proportion of people who try one cigarette become daily smokers? A meta analysis of representative surveys., Nicotine & Tobacco Research (2017). Journal information: Nicotine & Tobacco Research Max Birge et al, What proportion of people who try one cigarette become daily smokers? A meta analysis of representative surveys.,(2017). DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntx243
Dana M. Prince. Credit: CWRU

Feelings about the frequency of rape or other forms of sexual assault in a neighborhood are significantly tied to women'sbut not men'sperceptions of its safety, according to new research.

However, both men and women report feeling less safe in their neighborhoods based on the presence of other violence, including weapon-based fights, robberies, muggings and gang fights.

"Our results indicate that men can become more aware of how women feel about what contributes to and threatens their safety," said Dana M. Prince, an assistant professor at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and a co-author of the study. "Sexual and gendered violence affects all people, and everyone can be partners in ending sexual violence."

Neighborhoods play a key role in the behavior and development of people, previous studies show, and some conditionssuch as crime, segregation, poverty and disordercan have harmful effects on health.

"Feeling unsafe, especially in and around your home, can erode physical and mental health," Prince said. "When women carry around fears of sexual assault, it harms their well-being."

The study, published in the Journal of Community Psychology, was based on interviews with nearly 350 adults in nine neighborhoods in a major American city with high rates of poverty, unemployment and crime. Participants were asked how often particular crimes occurred in their neighborhood in the past six months.

"Our results could mean men are less aware of sexual violence, or perhaps they do not feel comfortable reporting that it makes them feel less safeperhaps bothwhile women tend to be socialized early on to be aware of the possibility of sexual attack," said Prince.

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More information: Erin E. Hoffman et al. Neighborhood sexual violence moderates women's perceived safety in urban neighborhoods, Journal of Community Psychology (2017). Erin E. Hoffman et al. Neighborhood sexual violence moderates women's perceived safety in urban neighborhoods,(2017). DOI: 10.1002/jcop.21917
Credit: Yale University

Many people with schizophrenia in Ghana spend their days chained to walls in prayer camps where they are ministered to by spiritual healers and forced to fast and pray. A new study, based on a partnership between researchers at the University of Ghana and Yale University, shows that modern medications can improve symptoms of camp residents.

The findings reported Jan. 10 in the British Journal of Psychiatry will hopefully encourage local and multinational reform efforts to upgrade conditions for mental health patients in the West African nation, the authors say.

"Once you have strong scientific evidence that human lives can be improved by modern medicine, international criticisms of the current situation will be harder to ignore," said senior author Robert Rosenheck, professor of psychiatry, and epidemiology and public health, and a faculty member at the Child Study Center.

Rosenheck collaborated with Angela Ofori-Atta, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Ghana, to study the use of anti-psychotic medication for patients with schizophrenia in a large prayer camp in the hills above Accra, the nation's capital. The symptoms of camp residents improved as much as those being treated in Western clinics, even though the number of days spent in chains were not reduced.

Resistance to reform of prayer camps is rooted in economics and hampered by a lack of trained providers, Rosenheck says. Ghana, a country of 25 million people, is served by only 25 psychiatrists and 30 clinical psychologists.

Those suffering from psychotic episodes could be referred to nearby hospitals for acute care until they no longer needed to be chained, Ofori-Atta urged.

"Thereafter, faith healing camps can provide care with professional oversight of medication," she said. "Studying the Bible and teaching of the Word can still be encouraged."

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Hospital-acquired pneumonia has long been associated with the elderly and intensive care units (ICU). But according to a new multicenter nationwide study, nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) occurs across all units in all types and sizes of U.S. hospitals, putting every patientthe young includedat higher risk for developing the infection.

The findings, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), reviewed patient data across 21 US hospitals, retroactively pulling charts from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014 to identify NV-HAP cases, in addition to assessing demographic data, outcomes, and documented preventive interventions applied.

The research team flagged 1,300 patients who acquired NV-HAP, recording a NV-HAP incidence rate of 0.12-2.28 cases per 1,000 patient days. The study is one of the first to debunk the association that NV-HAP predominantly impacts the elderly, and reverses previously held notions that patients in the ICU are at greatest risk for contracting pneumonia.

Here's what the researchers found:

Patients 65-years and younger constitute half of NV-HAP cases, both in and outside of hospitals' surgical departments.

Roughly seven in 10 (70.8 percent) NV-HAP cases were acquired outside of the ICU. Of these cases, 43.1 percent were acquired in medical-surgical departments; 8.5 percent in telemetry; 7.2 percent in progress care units; 4.9 percent in oncology; and 2.8 percent in orthopedic.

Almost six in 10 patients (57.7 percent) recorded hospital stays that ranged upwards of 15 days. Of the patients transferred to the ICU, four in 10 (40.8 percent) stayed in the hospital more than 20 days. Of the 1300 cases, 19.3 percent were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days. Patients in the ICU typically stay in the hospital for more extended periods of time and are at greater risk for mortality.

27.3 percent of patients acquired NV-HAP in the ICU, indicating that patients in the ICU continue to acquire HAP despite preventive efforts in place to counter ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Pneumonia risk can be minimized through preventive measures. But as researchers found, basic pneumonia preventive measures are often missing in patient care provided during a hospital stay. 58.6 percent of patients diagnosed with NV-HAP did not receive oral care; 81.8 percent did not receive incentive spirometry; 67.4 percent did not undergo cough and deep breathing exercises; and only 28.7 percent of patients stepped out of bed two or more times in the 24-hours prior to their pneumonia diagnosis.

Standardizing protocols for preventive care can help reduce rates of NV-HAP. In a 2012 trial conducted in one hospital, evidence-based oral care protocols aimed at NV-HAP prevention for acute care patients decreased the rate of NV-HAP from 0.5 to 0.3. This saved an estimated eight lives, $1.72 million in costs, and 500 days in extra hospital stays during the study period. By 2014, the initiative reduced NV-HAP cases by 70 percent, saving $5.9 million in NV-HAP related costs.

"NV-HAP does not discriminate; all patients across all hospital floors face a risk for acquiring pneumonia," said Dian Baker, PhD, RN, the study's lead author and a school nurse program coordinator at the California State University School of Nursing. "But from standardizing oral care protocols to tracking hospital-wide NV-HAP rates, providers can address gaps to identify new or reinforce existing preventive measures. We predict that with the right interventions to cut NV-HAP rates in half, hospitals could save roughly 10 thousand lives, 490,000 hospital days and $2.43 billion in costs per year."

Up to 35.4 million US patients are at risk for NV-HAP annuallyas compared to 3.9 million patients at risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). And while both healthcare-associated infections (HAI) have a roughly 19 percent mortality rate, NV-HAP costs health systems some $156 million, in contrast to the $86 million attributed to VAP costs. Patients with NV-HAP are 8.4 times more likely to require intensive care and/or die during hospitalization; 8.0 times more likely to require mechanical ventilation and, on average, have a readmission rate of 19.3 percent.

"Healthcare-acquired pneumonia is an under-appreciated HAI, causing patient harm, deaths, and excess healthcare costs," said 2018 APIC President Janet Haas, PhD, RN, CIC, FSHEA, FAPIC. "However, since this infection is often preventable through nursing care activities aimed at preventing aspiration, once we recognize this problem, we can improve. This study underscores the need to implement evidence-based practices known to prevent pneumonia throughout the hospital."

Explore further Study examines postoperative pneumonia prevention program in surgical ward

More information: Dian Baker et al, Hospital Acquired Pneumonia Prevention Initiative-2: Incidence of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in the United States, American Journal of Infection Control (2017). Journal information: American Journal of Infection Control Dian Baker et al, Hospital Acquired Pneumonia Prevention Initiative-2: Incidence of nonventilator hospital-acquired pneumonia in the United States,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2017.08.036
Irans top nuclear official said Monday that his country might rethink its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency if President Trump scrapped American participation in the 2015 agreement limiting Iranian nuclear activities.

The warning, from Ali Akbar Salehi, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, went beyond generic threats of unspecified Iranian reprisals if Mr. Trump reneges on the accord, reached with Iran and six world powers, including the United States.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is the nuclear nonproliferation monitoring arm of the United Nations. It polices Irans compliance with the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The agencys ability to ensure that compliance, through a strict regimen of inspections, is considered critical to the survival of the accord, which is intended to ensure that Irans nuclear activities remain peaceful. The agencys periodic reports since the accord took effect have shown that Iran is complying with its terms.
" " Traders trade bitcoin contracts at the CBOE Global Markets Exchange on Dec. 19, 2017 in Chicago. The exchange was the first in the U.S. to begin trading bitcoin futures. Scott Olson/Getty Images

In a surprising move in November 2017, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) gave its blessing for bitcoin futures to be traded on two major U.S.-based exchanges: the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the CBOE Global Markets Exchange. And just a few short weeks later, on Dec. 11, bitcoin futures trading opened for business, with investors making bets on the future price of the controversial cryptocurrency alongside conventional commodities like oil, corn and pork bellies.

With bitcoin prices surging more than 16-fold over the past year, and many more investors scrambling to get in on the action, many market watchers expected that the debut of bitcoin futures would generate the same heat.

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That's because bitcoin futures are attractive investments. For starters, they allow investors to buy and sell on a regulated, secure exchange with transparent prices and strong track records. That certainly isn't the case with buying and selling bitcoin directly via unregulated online exchanges, some of which have been hacked or gone under overnight. Poof, there goes your bitcoin.

"I've never heard of a futures contract being lost or disappearing. I've heard of people losing money  that's a different matter  but I've never heard of one just vanishing," says Simon Constable, author of "The WSJ Guide to the 50 Economic Indicators that Really Matter." "And that's the big problem with bitcoin, that sometimes the bitcoins just vanish. That will not happen in a futures market."

Second, bitcoin futures give bitcoin owners a way of hedging their bets on the volatile cryptocurrency, which can swerve 30 percent up or down in a single day. With futures, you can "short" the underlying commodity, meaning that you'll make money if the price of bitcoin goes down over a week or month or more, depending on the length of the contract. That provides an insurance policy for people holding lots of bitcoin, like bitcoin miners.

"Up until now, they had no way of protecting themselves on the downside other than buying a different cryptocurrency or going into cash," says Brian Whelan, director of ETF and futures trading at Baycrest Partners in New York.

But despite the many upsides of Bitcoin futures, trading so far has been "meh."

" " A computer screen at the CBOE Global Markets Exchange shows bitcoin futures prices and trades on Dec. 19, 2017. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Two weeks after opening, trading volume on the CME lists only 1,001 open contracts at the time of writing, while the CBOE Global Markets Exchange, which opened a week earlier, shows 2,177 open futures contracts. (Each CME contract is for five bitcoin, worth approximately $75,000 to $80,000. Each CBOE contract is worth one bitcoin, currently somewhere around $16,000 or less). Compare that to the trading volume of Bitcoin itself, which has spiked to more than $10 billion a day on occasion.

If you step back, though, it makes sense that the Bitcoin futures market would start slow. For one thing, it all happened so quickly, with trading opening just weeks after the CFTC announcement. Institutional investors like banks and hedge funds need more time to set up internal processes and permissions for trading in a new commodity.

"You always see relatively low volume when you start a futures trading operation. That's normal," says Constable, "When a contract is up and running, you have massively more volume than what's underlying the contract. For instance, the oil market. But it takes a while to get there. It doesn't happen overnight."

Whelan says that bitcoin mining operations, which are the most obvious audience for bitcoin futures, are still "getting their ducks in a row" in terms of finding brokers and clearinghouses willing to trade this new asset in larger volumes. Plus, some big banks have sworn off anything with the word bitcoin attached to it, wary of the instability of the peer-to-peer digital currency. Both JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch have banned their brokers from trading bitcoin futures.

But what about individual investors and day traders? Presumably the same advantages of bitcoin futures  regulated exchanges and hedging bets  apply to the small guy, too. So why aren't people buying up bitcoin contracts in droves? The problem is that the cost of entry into the futures market is a lot higher than with the stock market, both in financial knowledge and cold, hard cash.

Futures trading is a form of derivatives trading, says Constable, and that can be a little intimidating for your average day trader.

"Imagine we put you in the ring with Mike Tyson. It's not really fair," says Constable. "You're up against professional investors in a way that you can get slaughtered."

Plus, the margins on Bitcoin futures are steep, several times higher than buying copper or coal futures. The CBOE requires 44 percent down when buying one of its contracts, which represent five bitcoin each. At today's price, five bitcoin equals roughly $75,000, so a bitcoin futures contract would start at $33,000. And that margin goes up to as high as 80 percent at E-Trade, one of only a handful of brokers who will work with individual investors at this early stage.

But the slow start doesn't mean that bitcoin futures aren't the beginning of something really big. Prior to the launch of bitcoin futures, large institutional investors like banks and hedge funds were barred from playing the bitcoin betting game. That's because bitcoin itself is an unregulated commodity. Bitcoin futures, however, allow these big-pocketed investors to keep their hands clean by not touching the commodity itself, but rather a tightly regulated contract that's one step away.

Whelan thinks that within the year we'll be seeing the launch of more bitcoin investment vehicles, starting with ETFs (exchange traded funds) that track the performance of bitcoin futures, similar to ETFs that track the performance of the S&P 500 or other market indices. Again, those bitcoin ETFs will be betting on the price movement of bitcoin futures, not bitcoin itself. They will be a derivative of a derivative  exactly what Wall Street likes (please see the 2008 market bubble and crash).

Now That's a Good Point Before you run out and spend grandma's life savings on bitcoin futures, note that the CFTC warns investors that they "should be aware of the potentially high level of volatility and risk in trading these contracts." This is bitcoin, after all.
Netflix has revealed its ISP Speed Index for December, with Cool Ideas retaining top spot.

South Africas ISPs achieved an average speed of 2.57Mbps, maintaining the countrys rank of 50 out of 59 countries.

The index is a measure of prime-time Netflix performance on particular ISPs, and not a measure of overall performance on the networks.

Netflix said it calculates the average bitrate of Netflix content, in Mbps, streamed by its members per ISP.

We measure the speed via all available end-user devices. For a small number of devices, we cannot calculate the exact bit rates, and streaming via cellular networks is exempted from our measurements, said Netflix.

Netflix recommends a 5Mbps connection for full HD streaming, which may explain why the average speeds are all below the 5Mbps mark.

The top 10 ISPs for prime-time Netflix streaming are listed below.
US 60% of respondents disapprove of Biden's decision on Afghanistan

Merkel welcomes resumption of Kabul airport

Armenian Defense Minister: We must learn to defend our country if necessary

Russian pianists Miroslav Kultishev and Viktor Maslov are winners of 2nd Classic Piano International Piano Competition

Taliban ban shooting into the air throughout Afghanistan

Boeing 787 Dreamliner deliveries to not resume until late October

Man dies in shark attack in Australia

Death toll in ISIS militants attack in Iraq rises to 12

Alexey Shor: The Armenian State Symphony Orchestra led by Sergey Smbatyan has become a world-class orchestra

Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis burned section of road from Norabak village to Azat

Armenia confirms 423 COVID-19 new cases in a day

Saudi air defense forces destroy three mined Houthi drones

3 people killed in Washington shooting

Political analyst: It is decided in Moscow who will or will not visit Artsakh

Another fallen Armenian soldiers remains found during Artsakh search operations

President confers Hero of Artsakh title

Le Drian: France will continue assisting Armenia in overcoming consequences of Karabakh conflict

More than 5,000 people evacuated in China after damage to dam

Over 70 people killed or wounded in Afghanistan aerial gunshots

Deputy chief of North Macedonia mission to OSCE detained at Armenia's request

Taliban say they have taken control of 4 districts in Afghanistans Panjshir province

EU assists Armenia enterprises engaged in dried-fruit production, export (PHOTOS)

Grape growers reopen road in Armenias Ararat

17 people killed after indiscriminate shots fired in Kabul

4 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh

Blinken to Mirzoyan: US Embassy in Yerevan ready to assist you, your government

7 injured in New Zealand supermarket knife attack

Artsakh presidential adviser dismissed

Grape growers block road in Armenias Ararat Province

Female passenger dies on the spot after car hits horse in Armenias Syunik Province

621 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Dead body of man, 45, with gunshot wounds found on Yerevan street

Armenia army General Staff chief heads for Moscow

Google locks Afghanistan government accounts

City to be built in US desert for millions of people

Denmark to build giant 'energy island' at sea

Newspaper: 'Soros' NGOs to bring 2 large-scale education programs to Armenia

Newspaper: Satellite footage of 44-day Artsakh war could make scandalous revelations

Some 6,000 Islamic extremists surrender to Nigeria authorities

Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto to be performed in Dubai

Digest: Trial on Armenian soldiers death to begin, footballer who played in Armenia commits suicide

Mongolia exploring possibility of signing free trade agreement with EEU

Dollar gains value in Armenia

Armenia receives donation of 27,500 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from Lithuania (PHOTOS)

Hysteria brewing in Azerbaijan media: Russia MOD making purchases to send to Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

Security Council chief: Armenia ready for border delimitation, demarcation

Lavrov reveals content of 2009 letter he sent to then Armenia FM

Lavrov: Karabakh conflict settlement agreements being successfully implemented

Italian researcher searching for Noah's Ark is laid to rest near Mount Ararat

Sputnik Armenia: Commander of Russia peacekeepers in Karabakh visits arrested Azerbaijan soldier

Armenia serviceman posthumously awarded Combat Service Medal

Afghanistan's new government to be headed by Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar

Iranologist: Armenia-Iran-Russia format can be created on Goris-Kapan road issue

Goris mayor's lawyers file motion with Armenia court to release him on bail

Pentagon says US military mission in Afghanistan completed

Trial over death of 18 Armenia soldiers in 44-day war to begin

Yerevan-Tbilisi flight not operated since Thursday

3 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Armenian side denies firing on a position in Azerbaijan-occupied Shushi of Karabakh

Armenia Defense minister receives Russia MOD delegation

US Congressman Schiff says he will continue fight for Artsakh international recognition

595 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

World oil prices Friday do not deviate from Thursday's closing level

Russia peacekeepers provide drinking water to more than 1,500 residents of Artsakh

US to impose cryptocurrency tax

Classical music to be played in Dubai for a month, including by Armenian musicians

Storm Ida death toll in US northeast rises to 45

Newspaper: 44-day wars satellite footage to end up in Armenia oppositions hands?

Music for Future Foundation scholarship recipients to participate in Middle East Classical Music

Newspaper: Armenia NSS, Prosecutor's Office make internal deal in arms suppliers criminal case

Armenian PM Pashinyan receives a carte blanche, he will do whatever he wants: Why are international partners silent?

Digest: Artsakh marks 30th anniversary of republic, UK allocates 500,000 for demining in Artsakh

Dollar holding steady in Armenia

Spanish MP: Today is the 30th anniversary of the independence of Artsakh

2 bodies found in Karabakh searches

Aleppo to receive the first international flight from Yerevan on Saturday

US embassy in Armenia has new deputy chief of mission

Pontifical delegation office of the Holy See starts operating in Yerevan

Armenia official on chances of reconciliation with Azerbaijan: That basis has always been, it exists today too

UN: humanitarian catastrophe looms for Afghanistan

Residents of Azerbaijan-occupied Kashatagh region of Artsakh protesting outside Armenia government building

Two new loan agreements are signed between ARMSWISSBANK and EBRD

Armenia health minister: Young man infected with coronavirus has died

UK allocates 500,000 for demining efforts in Artsakh

15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines thrown away in US since spring

Armenia government announces 3-month military training camps for reservists

Opposition Armenia Faction MPs case goes to court

Iran introduces 3-dimensional radar capable of registering up to 300 targets

Karabakh President visits Stepanakert memorial

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan to Artsakh people: Guarantee of statehood preserving is your will to live on your land

MFA: Neither terror and threats, nor blockade, armed aggressions could break Artsakh peoples will

Taliban launch military operation against resistance in Panjshir

Armenia PM: Artsakh peoples right to self-determination is sacred

MFA: Armenia will consistently defend realization of Artsakh peoples right to self-determination

636 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Karabakh President: We have had achievements and losses

Armenia ex-President Sargsyan: For me war was unequal because the strong fought against the weak, we were the strong

Artsakh Republic is 30 years old

Armenia President: We have no right any more to make mistakes in any issue of pan-Armenian agenda

107 people arrested in Spain during marijuana trafficking crackdown
Samsung launched the affordable Galaxy S8 doppelganger phone, aka the Galaxy A8+, in India on Wednesday at a price of Rs 32,990. The Galaxy A8+, which is successor to last year's Galaxy A7 2017, brings the flagship Galaxy S8's trademark feature aka edge-to-edge Infinity display to the masses. The Galaxy A8+ in fact borrows heavily from the Galaxy S8 -- IP68-certification, micro-SD card slot, always-on functionality to name a few -- but at the same time crams in a couple of features -- dual front cameras and a bigger battery -- that are not even there in Samsung's top-tier phone. And the Galaxy A8+ manages to do all of this at a considerably lower price.

Samsung's Galaxy A line-up has always been about making the Galaxy S line-up more accessible for the masses. With the Galaxy A8+ Samsung has kind of blurred the line between flagship and mid-level some more. But more importantly, the Galaxy A8+, marks an important chapter for smartphones in general. Bezel-less phones are the future and with Samsung gunning to make them more affordable, that future seems closer than it ever was.

"At Samsung, consumer-centric innovations are at the heart of our business. With Galaxy A8+, we are bringing our customers' favorite features from our flagship smartphones, such as the Infinity Display and our first dual front camera with Live Focus, to our Galaxy A series. Galaxy A8+ comes with flagship features, never before seen on a smartphone in this price segment. It defies the ordinary and challenges the status quo. It is a phone with attitude, in all aspects," Aditya Babbar, General Manager, Mobile Business, Samsung India said.

Here's a quick look at everything that the Samsung Galaxy A8+ brings to the table.

Specifications:

Processor: The Galaxy A8+ is powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core Exynos 7885 processor clubbed with Mali-G71 GPU.

RAM: The Galaxy A8+ will be available in 6GB RAM option.

Internal storage: The Galaxy A8+ will be available in 64GB internal storage option with support for expandable storage by up to 256GB via a dedicated micro-SD card slot.

Screen: The Galaxy A8+ is a 6-inch phone with a 1080p+ Super AMOLED screen with an unusual aspect ratio of 18.5:9.

Rear camera: The Galaxy A8+ has a 16-megapixel rear sensor with f/1.7 aperture, phase detection autofocus, LED flash and 1080p video recording.

Front camera: On the front, the Galaxy A8+ comes with a dual camera system, consisting of one 16-megapixel sensor (f/1.9) and another 8-megapixel sensor (f/1.9) to aid in portrait selfies.

Software: The Galaxy A8+ runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat-based Experience user interface.

Battery: The Galaxy A8+ is backed by a 3,500mAh battery with support for fast charging.

Special features:

-- Successor to the Galaxy A7 2017, the Galaxy A8+ has been designed from ground up to offer a flagship Galaxy S8-kind of experience at a not so flagship Galaxy S8-kind of pricing. This begins with the design. Much like Samsung's flagship phone, the Galaxy A8+, is also carved out of glass (unspecified Corning Gorilla Glass) and metal.

-- The Galaxy A8+ borrows one of the biggest highlights of the Galaxy S8. The phone comes equipped with an Infinity screen, which means that much like Samsung's Galaxy S8, the Galaxy A8+ also comes with an edge-to-edge bezel-less display. The front, in the case of the Galaxy A8+, is clean and without any physical buttons.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy A8+ with 6-inch Infinity display, dual front cameras launched at Rs 32,990

-- The Galaxy A8+ is a 6-inch phone but because Samsung has shaved off much of the bezels, the Galaxy A8+ feels smaller in the hands. Also, it offers a screen-to-body ratio of close to 75 per cent.

-- The Galaxy A8+ is IP68 certified, which makes it dust and water-resistant and also it comes with Samsung's characteristic always-on display.

-- The Galaxy A8+ supports Samsung Pay out-of-the-box, has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner that's way more convenient than it is on the Galaxy S8, a micro-SD card slot that supports storage expansion of up to 256GB, and a USB Type-C for charging and data-syncing. It supports fast charging and crams in Samsung's proprietary Bixby virtual assistant. It supports facial recognition as well although it's not as high-profile as the technology on-board the Galaxy S8.

-- While the Galaxy Note 8 was Samsung's first phone to ship with dual rear cameras, the Galaxy A8+ becomes the first Samsung phone to ship with dual front cameras. The dual camera system on-board the Galaxy A8+ enables Live Focus that allows for fancy portrait shots. "The dual front camera is made up of two separate cameras so you can switch between the two to take the type of selfie you want - from close-ups with the background to portrait shots with a clear and crisp background," according to Samsung. The dual front camera system, in addition, also brings facial recognition to the Galaxy A8+.

-- The rear camera is further assisted with video digital image stabilisation (VDis) technology, and includes a hyper lapse feature for enhanced time-lapse videos.

-- Connectivity options include: dual-SIM, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC.

-- Another thing that I think most people would appreciate is the fact that the Galaxy A8+ is notably the first Galaxy A series phone to support Samsung's Gear VR.

Price and availability: The Samsung Galaxy A8+ will be available for buying starting from January 20 -- with pre-orders beginning from today -- exclusively via Amazon India in two colour options: Black and Gold for Rs 32,990.
Samsung launched the affordable Galaxy S8 doppelganger phone, aka the Galaxy A8+, in India on Wednesday at a price of Rs 32,990. The Galaxy A8+, which is successor to last year's Galaxy A7 2017, brings the flagship Galaxy S8's hallmark feature aka edge-to-edge Infinity display -- and unusual 18.5:9 aspect ratio -- to the masses. The Galaxy A8+ in fact borrows a lot from the Galaxy S8 -- IP68-certification, micro-SD card slot, always-on functionality to name a few -- but at the same time crams in a couple of features -- dual front cameras and a bigger battery -- that are not even there in Samsung's top-tier phone. And the Galaxy A8+ does all of this at a considerably lower price.

The Galaxy A8+, it seems, has been designed from grounds up to offer a flagship Galaxy S8-kind of experience at a not so flagship Galaxy S8-kind of pricing. This begins with the design. Much like Samsung's flagship phone, the Galaxy A8+, is also carved out of glass (unspecified Corning Gorilla Glass) and metal. Much like Samsung's flagship phone, the Galaxy A8+, also comes with a bezelless screen. It is longer and narrower giving users more real estate to work upon, much like the flagship Galaxy S8. It's a 6-inch phone but because Samsung has shaved off much of the bezels, the Galaxy A8+ feels smaller in the hands. Also, it offers a screen-to-body ratio of close to 75 per cent.

The A8+ is as mentioned earlier, is IP68-certified, which makes it dust and water-resistant and also it comes with Samsung's characteristic always-on display. The Galaxy A8+ supports Samsung Pay out-of-the-box, has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner that's way more convenient than it is on the Galaxy S8, a micro-SD card slot that supports storage expansion of up to 256GB, and a USB Type-C for charging and data-syncing. It supports fast charging and crams in Samsung's proprietary Bixby virtual assistant. It supports facial recognition as well although it's not as high-profile as the technology on-board the Galaxy S8.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ review: Cutting the edge and doing it in style

Another thing that I think most people would appreciate is the fact that the Galaxy A8+ is notably the first Galaxy A series phone to support Samsung's Gear VR.

Specs, features and everything to know

The Galaxy A8+ is a 6-inch phone with a 1080p+ Super AMOLED screen with an unusual aspect ratio of 18.5:9. It is powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core Exynos 7885 processor clubbed with Mali-G71 GPU and up to 6GB of RAM. It comes with up to 64GB internal storage which is expandable by up to 256GB via a dedicated micro-SD card slot. The dual-SIM phone runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat-based Experience UI and supports connectivity options like 4G LTE, NFC and Bluetooth 5.0. It is further backed by a 3,500mAh battery with support for fast charging.

The Galaxy A8+ is notably the first Samsung phone to ship with dual front cameras. The dual camera system on-board the Galaxy A8+ enables Live Focus that allows for fancy portrait shots. "The dual front camera is made up of two separate cameras so you can switch between the two to take the type of selfie you want - from close-ups with the background to portrait shots with a clear and crisp background," according to Samsung. The dual front camera system, in addition, also brings facial recognition to the Galaxy A8+.

On the rear, the Galaxy A8+ comes with a 16-megapixel sensor with f/1.7 aperture, phase detection autofocus, LED flash and 1080p video recording. The rear camera is assisted with video digital image stabilisation (VDis) technology, and includes a hyper lapse feature for enhanced time-lapse videos.

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy A8+ will be available for buying starting from January 20 -- with pre-orders beginning from today -- exclusively via Amazon India in two colour options: Black and Gold.
Unplanned moves by President Donald Trump have damaged credit and reliability of the United States, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif said.

One of Mr. Trump's policies is that he doesnt want to be predictable. Of course, he has overused this policy so much that the US is not reliable much to any of its partners, Mohammad Javad Zarif said upon arrival in Moscow to hold talks with senior Russian officials, Fars agency reported.

I believe even Trump himself is unlikely to know what he wants to do next, but certainly the Europeans are not yet aware of Trump's decision at all, he said in response to the speculations that Europeans might have been informed of the US president's upcoming decision about waivers on Iran sanctions on Friday and have called to meet Zarif in advance to discuss Trump's decision.
A culinary competition gathered over 300 chefs from China, Russia and Mongolia in Hohhot on Dec 28. The culinary professionals came to show off foods from their respective countries.

Today I made a dish with mutton and wine; a mix of eastern and western flavors, said Cheng Xixiang, director of the Culinary Department of Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics.

Food can be a tie to bind the friendships between China, Russia and Mongolia, added Cheng.

Its a pleasure to come to China and attend the cooking competition; I like to communicate with Chinese chefs and they are genuinely friendly to me, a chef from Russia told the journalist.

Chefs from Russia prepare dishes during the China-Russia-Mongolia culinary contest in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Dec 28. [Photo/people.cn]

Chinese chefs prepare dishes during the China-Russia-Mongolia culinary contest in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Dec 28. [Photo/people.cn]
no apology from Lena, but Tessa apologized for her comments. So ridiculous that she felt the need to do that, what she said was nothing but the truth.

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I know people were trying to make it look like Tessa was dragging Lena but I thought she was very diplomatically stating FACTS.



It sucks that she felt obligated to make a follow up statement when her original statement was just fine.

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And even when she was diplomatic she still got shit for it for the mere act of calling out a white woman's hypocrisy. It's sad.

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Someone in the last post said something along the lines of whenever a WOC points out anything wrong with their experiences with white women, white women tend to get super defensive and call WOC "divisive" and "hurting" the feminist cause due to "lack of solidarity" in order to shut them up. I'm not surprised Tessa was forced to backtrack.

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Its possible her PR made her apologize or strongly suggested it

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Interesting how Tessa apologized to Lena yet Lena has yet to apologize to Aurora (that I know of).

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Uh, in which of her moments was she the hero?

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maybe she feels she is our hero because of that newsletter that she has but i dont know, her mind is weird.

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this is Lena Dunham we're talking about. in her mind, she's always the hero.

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All the moments in her head.

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JFC what is it gonna take for Hollywood and the world to stop giving her a platform or even the benefit of the doubt?

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Still waiting on that public apology to Aurora Perrineau.



"The internet can't peer pressure me!" says woman after being shamed into donating $15k.Still waiting on that public apology to Aurora Perrineau.

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lol mte.



love how most celebs act like the ~internet did not pressure them into anything yet will only speak out/act after they have been called out by the masses on the internet.

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there are ZERO moments when youre the hero, lena.



spare us your bullshit.

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I'm pretty sure she has convinced herself all the hate she gets its because she is fat/woman/ugly and not you know, valid criticism.

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Lmao that response. When you're the villain more often than the hero (what's she done, maybe 3 good things in her career??), you're probably JUST a villain.





I'm still outraged someone made Tessa apologize.

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What kind of Harvey Dent shit. She really has some fucking nerve doesn't she

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This comment for real tho <3

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when has she ever been a hero lmao what a joke

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Has this woman ever done anything that didn't require an apology?

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There's a reason why there's a Lena Dunham Apologizes twitter account.

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lol

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omg

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lmao

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omg SCREAMING imma retweet that

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lmao every time

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because she was the worstttttttttt



;)

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Honestly, Ive grown to fucking love those two. I didnt really dislike them the first time, but as someone who has seen every ep probably a minimum of 12 times by now, those two really stand out as comedy gold

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What's funny is I get very very close to wanting to stab her, but then she does something to make me laugh. Like she makes a subtle face or there's a minor inflection in her voice that cracks me up.



Anyone else playing that character would've been insufferable.

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This applies to so many people. it's sad.

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I refuse to believe that people like that truly regret what they said, just the reaction they get. You can tell Lena Dunham thinks she's extremely clever every time she spews some BS.



Meanwhile Tessa Thompson preemptively apologizes for something factual she stated in a very diplomatic way.

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accurate af

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I feel really at peace with the fact that there are moments where you're the hero, moments where you're the villain and moments where you're magic and moments where you're less magic.



lena after she finished this sentence lmao



lena after she finished this sentence lmao

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Lena Dunham Apologizes For Misunderstanding The Time's Up Movement By Arriving At The Golden Globes In Blackface  Lena Dunham Apologizes (@lenadunhamapols) January 8, 2018



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this tweet had me DEAD

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OMG

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its a goldmine

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lmaooo

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lmao

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Lena Dunham Apologizes In A VICE Documentary For Basing The Look Of Her New Organic Cafe In Greenpoint On The 'Quaint, Colourful Shanty-esque Design' Of A Brazilian Favela She Drove Through On Contiki Tour In Rio De Janeiro  Lena Dunham Apologizes (@lenadunhamapols) December 31, 2017





Some are just so intricate! Some are just so intricate!

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i find her personality just so repulsive

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mmmhmmm

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Taylor Swift is that you

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lmao

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I fucking love this movie so much and quote it alllll the time.



"BUT I WAS A BALLERINA!!! GRACEFUL!! DELICATE!! They had to go."

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lol I think that's my favorite line, Debbie was a gem.

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david as javert? omg

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Mte, he's perfect for it.

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lily collins is so fucking boring on screen. being pretty doesn't save her



can't believe to the bone got good reviews. trash.



Edited at 2018-01-09 11:32 pm (UTC)

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She is cast in a new Ted Bundy movie starting Zac Efron that films soon, so either shes impressive or its her last name

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yea you have to be a real a+ actress to be in a movie with zac efron. we been knew!

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Oh man, I was thinking of Lily James wjen i read this, who is ok, but Collins is way worse

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they should have given her cosette.

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Her eyebrows are the only interesting thing about her IMO

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OLIVIA COLMAN AS MADAM THENARDIER?!? Sign me the fuck up!!!



I am hf Les Mis in any format, tbh.

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mte. Olivia is going to nail it.

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As long as it doesn't end like the Gerard Depardieu version where Valjean ends up loving Cosette in a romantic manner.

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... that HAPPENED? I totally don't remember that miniseries at all. I mean, I remember thinking the valjean stuff was really weak but I don't remember that at all, maybe I blocked it out lmao.

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It's been awhile but Valjean is speaking to (I think) Marius where he says he loves Cosette, and Marius is like 'Of course, you love her as a father,' and Valjean is like 'no, I LOVE Cosette'

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ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

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What the fuck?

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Eww...that's not how the story goes!

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God how is it even possible to fuck that relationship up



you have to be actively trying to make your movie that shitty

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Lily as Fantine?? LMAO

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i have so many mixed feelings about Dominic West after watching 'The Affair'.



He was so goddamn awful and evil in The Affair...

But the actor is actually nice...

But the character keeps doing shitty things...

But i find him so hot for some reason...



i don't know how to fucking feel.

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Thats how I feel about him in The Wire, his character was such a shithead but Dominic seems so nice irl and its heartwarming seeing him with his Wire costars

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join the club sis, he has mastered the art of making you feel charmed by him while playing douchebags. he was sort of awful in The Wire too and yet he killed it acting-wise and I was so attracted to him lol.

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Hes great at playing douchebags



Also he is hot

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I'd kill for a good adaption of l'homme qui rit



Edited at 2018-01-09 11:42 pm (UTC)

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This isn't the musical, it's just a straight adaptation of the novel



Hunchback is the better story/book, but LBR, they'd mess up the casting

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tbh, I think Hunchback is a better story, but I don't know if it reads as well as Les Mis? Does that make sense?

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idk how you'd navigate the esmerelda casting and characterization nowadays. it's a lot.

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The stage version is never gonna make it to Broadway, but the Paper Mill Playhouse version of the musical is amazing.

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Les Mis is one of my bucket list books but I wasn't planning to read it this year... I let adaptations dictate my reading schedule too much gah

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It's such a good read.

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I read it last summer, after two other failed attempts. I think that it's a great story, but honestly, Hugo could have cut large swaths of it without changing any part of the plot. Like there's 70 pages on the Battle of Waterloo, and you need the information from the last two sentences. To be fair, I think some of that is just the older style of writing. But persevere, it is worth it!

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I've heard this about Les Mis and I'm 100% ok with skimming/skipping parts of the novel in this case, oops

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no it's just that the purpose of him writing the books had little to nothing to do with the plots. He was writing philosophical treatises with some fictional color.

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Finally we get a casting!



I think David Oyelowo and Josh OConnor are amazing actors based on what I've seen them in so I'm looking forward to it.



I'm really interested to see how they portray Eponine, since it's pulling more from the book and I love her in the book so much. I wonder how it will pull from the book though? I mean, his War and Peace adaption technically pulled from the book but according to a friend of mine (who really loves W&P) the characterizations are all over the place.

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Cool, hmu when they sing Lovely Ladies.

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I love Lily but her career trajectory seems so funny to me lol

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Also forever bitter this wasn't released as a full game: https://youtu.be/LF5a1xJtPIo

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that was beautiful

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Les Mis is one of my favorite books so I'm interested to see how this turns out since the musical tends to overshadow the book a lot.



My sister also got me a book for Christmas that's all about the writing process/publication/initial reception of the novel and it's super interesting. Like I had no idea how much of a big deal the barricade boys were in the post-civil war south and how shitty most reviewers thought it was.



Edited at 2018-01-10 12:01 am (UTC)

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Yeah, it was apparently very popular to read during the Civil War years, and the Confederate army began to call themselves "Lee's Miserables."

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The book talks about there being a version that was released in the South at the time of the war that edited out speaking negatively of slavery purely because of the popularity of characters like Enjolras with Southerners, because they saw him as a romantic figure standing up for his rights like they were. The whole thing is so weird to me

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this book sounds really interesting, what's the title, if you don't mind? i'm a massive les miserables fan and i'd love to read this!

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but will it have an entire episode dedicated to the Parisian sewer system



I'm excited tho 



ugh my E/R stanning days were the best. so much fic and beautiful art. also George Blagden lmbo

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The Parisian sewer system? Of course! I'm personally looking forward to the episode on the different dialects of the different neighbor hoods in Paris.

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Jesus fucking christ Lena Dunham is the worst. I hope she took the previous statement as an apology tho and i hope this completely blindsides and really upsets her lol

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lena dunham is so fucking lame lmao!

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Ugh I hate L3n@ DUn4@m



Anywho, Tessa remains flawless and she should have been in Han Solo (Female Lead) I was so sad when Star Wars missed a bright opportunity for WOC in the Star Wars franchise and then not.

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Han Solo sounds like it's going to be a mess so Tessa dodged a bullet

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To me, its not even about that, it was about more representation in films/media.



Star Wars is a huge name brand and will make a lot of $$ (Even this flop film might get close to a billion), that means more young Black Women or Biracial Women (Tessa herself is one) will see themselves on screen and etc.



And of course they went with the illy white (Same as always SW woman who are petite, brunette, and Caucasian) was highly disappointing when Zoe Kravitz, and a slew of WOC were on the shortlist for female lead.



And how Lucasfilm were rumored to have said they were going to cast a WOC.



I hope Tessa ends up having a second chance, also eloquent/smart in her responses to this and etc. more so than

"I haven't experienced racism, but I know what that feels like b/c of Sexism" Mrs Clarke herself. RMFE.

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I swear the moment Lena dunham is mentioned, its all about the "apologies". She's useless, and always derails any conversation with her self centredness.



Thanks to Tessa, at least someone mentioned Aurora and the actual victims

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Good. Lena doesn't deserve any sort of apology, the vile opportunist.

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keep at it, Tessa. do not let the world forget the how Lena, ~champion of women, responded to Aurora!!!

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IsaidwhatIsaid.gif is basically Tessa here. She said Lena did nothing, showed up much to the surprise of others, and that's something that's being talked about *however* she doesn't want it taking away from the movement or the women who have put in work/need help. The first wasn't a drag (just facts) and the second wasn't an apology.



But now she's gonna have to clarify that this isn't something or other instead of an attempt at getting the focus in the right place.

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DAAAAAMN GO IN.

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Lena Dunham is such a fucking narcissist. She always manages to refocus the conversation around herself

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she's a publicity vampire, just draining whatever good cause she touches for her own gain

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I am so glad she mentioned Aurora by name. I hope Lena reads this and her face burns. Dumb rape apologist trashbag.

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Fuck, yes thank you yes



Die a bit, Lena

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Lena Dunham is the fucking worst. i'm glad Tessa's not backing down

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Good. I'm glad that she stands by what she said.

I cannot believe Lena's lack of shame.

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damn just when I think Lena can't fuck up more than she already has.

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Airbus Buys Colorado Training Center

The Aurora training center will help meet long-term growth in expanding markets throughout the Americas; the manufacturer added training centers in Mexico City and in Campinas, Brazil, in the past two years, and its worldwide training network has grown from five locations in 2015 to 17 locations today.

Airbus announced it has acquired the Strategic Simulation Solutions flight training center in Aurora, Colo. The facility primarily supports Frontier Airlines at this time but has significant room for growth, and Airbus' announcement said the company plans to at least double capacity in the next few years.

"This is another major step forward in our ambition to grow services around the world," said Laurent Martinez, Head of Services by Airbus. "Our Global Services Forecast predicts a need for 122,000 new pilots in the Americas by 2035, representing 23 percent of the world's demand. We want our Airbus flight training facilities to be easily accessible to our customers regardless of their location, hence this latest move."

Before this acquisition, Airbus provided training to the North American region primarily from its Miami training center. The addition of the new Aurora training center will help meet long-term growth in expanding markets throughout the Americas; the manufacturer had added training centers in Mexico City and in Campinas, Brazil, in the past two years, and its worldwide training network has grown from five locations in 2015 to 17 locations today.

"We will hold steady in our ambition to provide the most state-of-the-art, top-quality training to our customers and to continue expanding our global training capacity at its current pace," Martinez said.

"Currently," the company sad, "the Aurora training center has two A320 Family, FAA Level D full flight simulators  the highest-level flight simulators  for training of Frontier Airlines pilots on the airline's all-Airbus fleet. Additional simulators will be added at the Aurora facility in 2018 to address anticipated increased demand for training. Additionally, Airbus' innovative ACT Suite  a fully comprehensive, high-fidelity course for maintenance training can also be set up within a weeks notice and will be offered in line with demand. Airbus' modular, competency-based training services deliver a comprehensive mix of theoretical courses, hands-on practice and environment immersion using the latest technologies  including virtual, augmented and mixed reality.
The Dragonfly dual-quadcopter, shown here in an artists rendering, would land on Saturns moon, Titan, and then make multiple flights to explore diverse locations as it characterizes the habitability of the ocean worlds environment. Dragonfly was chosen as a finalist for NASAs New Frontiers program. Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Research Laboratory/Steve Gribben

Researchers from the Penn State Department of Aerospace Engineering are part of a team led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) whose proposal for a revolutionary rotorcraft to investigate Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has been selected by NASA as one of two finalists for the agency's next New Frontiers mission.

Dragonfly, a drone-like multi-rotor lander, would take advantage of Titan's dense atmosphere (four times denser than Earth's atmosphere) and low gravity (one-seventh of Earth's) to fly between widely-spaced landing sites on Titan's surface. At each landing site, Dragonfly would employ a suite of science instruments to investigate Titan's organic chemistry and habitability; monitor atmospheric and surface conditions; image landforms to investigate geological processes; and perform seismic studies.

The Penn State research team, led by Associate Professor Jack Langelaan and including Associate Professor Sven Schmitz and Assistant Professor Jose Palacios, is responsible for five areas of the concept development: rotor design and analysis, rotorcraft flight-control-law development, scaled rotorcraft testbed development, ground testing support, and flight performance assessment. All three professors are part of the Penn State Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence, one of three national research centers dedicated to rotary-wing and vertical lift research.

"We are tremendously excited and proud to be a part of the Dragonfly team," said Langelaan. "Titan's environment is ideal for flying, and the mobility of a flight vehicle will give planetary scientists access to a broad area of Titan, letting us see variations in geology, surface and subsurface geochemistry and atmospheric conditions."

The Penn State team has already built a half-scale engineering test vehicle and has conducted several flight tests. This vehicle is designed to be easily reconfigurable and will be used to develop and test flight control algorithms and examine the effects of vehicle design changes on flight performance.

Dragonfly's dual quadcopter (four pairs of stacked rotors) configuration provides excellent control of the vehicle, as well as redundancythe vehicle can fly even if some rotors fail. Since solar power is unavailable because of Titan's distance from the sun and its dense, hazy atmosphere, Dragonfly would use a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), like the Curiosity rover on Mars, to power its systems. The MMRTG would recharge a flight battery during Titan's night, and allow Dragonfly to fly tens of miles on each charge.

"We're using technologies developed for drones that fly here on Earth and modifying them so we can enable science missions on different planets. That's about as cool as it gets!" said Langelaan. "We are also using computational techniques that are being developed to help design wind turbine farms to model Titan's atmosphere: This will help us develop and test the flight control systems. And we are also developing and testing methods to protect the vehicle from Titan's cold environment."

The two mission finaliststhe APL-led Dragonfly, and the Comet Astrobiology Exploration Sample Return (CAESAR) led by Cornell University and NASA Goddard Space Flight Centerwill receive funding in 2018 to further develop and mature their concepts. NASA plans to select one of these investigations in the spring of 2019 to continue on to subsequent mission phases.

If selected, Dragonfly would have a planned mission launch in the mid-2020s with a target landing in 2034. The mission on Titan would last more than two and a half years.

The selected mission will be the fourth in NASA's New Frontiers portfolio, a series of principal investigator-led planetary science investigations that fall under a development cost cap of approximately $850 million.

Explore further APL proposes Dragonfly mission to explore potential habitable sites on Saturn's largest moon
At the outermost edges of the sun's atmosphere the temperature rises to several million degrees Celsuis. Credit: Flickr/ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Few would be surprised to learn that the sun is very, very hot. At its surface, the temperature is several thousand degrees Celsius.

But you might think that, like a fire, the temperature drops as you move away from the surface. In fact, way out in the sun's corona (the outermost part of its atmosphere) the temperature rises swiftly  to several million degrees. The reason is a mystery, but now some scientists believe they're on the verge of finding out.

Dr. Sven Wedemeyer of the University of Oslo in Norway is one such scientist. He is working on a project called SolarALMA, funded by the EU's European Research Council (ERC) to analyse groundbreaking data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an expansive radio observatory in northern Chile's Atacama Desert.

Nowadays, there are many theoretical ideas for how so much heat ends up in the corona. Some scientists believe the heat is transported there by acoustic waves, while others believe the heat is generated by the snapping of magnetic field lines  a similar phenomenon to that behind solar flares.

But no one knows if just one of these ideas is responsible, or if they are all involved in varying amounts.

"Today, the question is not how the heat gets there, but how exactly?" explained Dr. Wedemeyer. "Which mechanism contributes the most to the deposition of energy?"

Rainbow onion

Consisting of 66 radio antennas spread out over up to 16 kilometres, ALMA can study the sun's various wavelengths  similar to the different colours in visible light  of heat radiation at unprecedented resolution. In principle, each of these colours give an insight into the structure of the sun at different depths, like peeling away the layers of an onion.

Dr. Wedemeyer's job is to devise the computational tools to convert ALMA's raw data into this sort of 3-D temperature map. Similar tools have been developed before, for the study of nebulae and other astrophysical entities, but they have only been required to track changes over long periods of time.

The SolarALMA project is building thermal maps of the sun to better understand how the outer corona gets so hot. Credit: Sven Wedemeyer

For an object like the sun, which changes minute by minute, the task of developing the tools is a lot harder. But Dr. Wedemeyer points out that the challenge brings a greater reward, as he and his colleagues will be able to generate not just solar images, but solar movies.

From data collected in December 2016 and April last year, the researchers are using their tools to create their first images and movies of fibrous heat structures changing in the sun's outer atmosphere.

"It's difficult to say exactly when we will make a breakthrough, but it will come," said Dr. Wedemeyer. "This is the best shot we've had."

Still, ALMA is not the only window onto the coronal heating mystery. Orbiting spacecraft such as NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and STEREO also have the potential to delve into the structure of the sun's outer layers, albeit by probing different wavelengths.

Lost in translation

The challenge with these observations is that they cannot easily be compared with computational models of the sun. For instance, an observation might record the intensity of radiation, whereas a computational model might work in terms of temperature and density.

Professor Ineke De Moortel of the University of St Andrews in the UK is leading an ERC-funded project called CORONALDOLLS to translate between these parameters. Her goal is to uncover unique signatures within the computational models that, if borne out in the observational data, would provide evidence for a certain heating mechanism.

"If we find observable properties, we can go and look for them," she said. "If not, and it turns out that different heating mechanisms would actually look the same in the observations, then we know we need to develop a different approach."

Finding a telltale signature of a heating mechanism is not easy, but Prof. De Moortel takes inspiration from a more terrestrial-sounding field  seismology. Just as seismic waves from earthquakes can help us understand the inner layers of the Earth, she explains, so waves observed in the sun's atmosphere can impart information about its structure.

Being just two years into her project, Prof. De Moortel does not yet have any concrete answers. But her hopes are high.

"It's like a big puzzle," she said. "We keep adding small pieces all the time."

Explore further NASA sounding rocket instrument spots signatures of long-sought small solar flares
Henrietta Leavitt (left) and Kate Hartman (right)  two astronomers a century apart studying Cepheid variable stars. Credit: Cynthia Hunt (Carnegie Institution for Science)

Our entire understanding of the universe is based on knowing the distances to other galaxies, yet this seemingly-simple question turns out to be fiendishly difficult to answer. The best answer came more than 100 years ago from an astronomer who was mostly unrecognized in her timeand today, another astronomer has used Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data to make those distance measurements more precise than ever.

"It's been fascinating to work with such historically significant stars," says Kate Hartman, an undergraduate from Pomona College who announced the results at today's American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in National Harbor, Maryland. Hartman studied "Cepheid variables," a type of star that periodically pulses in and out, varying in brightness over the course of a few days or weeks.

The pattern was first noticed in 1784 in the constellation Cepheus in the northern sky, so these stars became known as "Cepheid variables." Cepheid variables went from interesting to completely indispensable in the early 1900s thanks to the work by astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. Leavitt's contributions were largely ignored for one simple reasonshe was a woman at time when women were not taken seriously as astronomers.

In fact, when Leavitt was first hired by Harvard College Observatory in 1895, she was hired as a "computer"a term which meant something completely different from what it means today. In the days before modern computers or even pocket calculators, a "computer" was a person hired to perform complex calculations in their mind, assisted only by pencil and paper. Although the work was demanding, it was not taken seriously by the male professional scientists of the timeit was seen as rote work not requiring intelligence or insight that could be done by anyone, even a woman.

So in 1908 when Leavitt discovered a relationship between the brightness (or "luminosity") of a Cepheid variable star and the time it took to go through a full cycle of change (its "period"), her work was not immediately recognized for its significance. It took years for the mostly-male astronomy community to realize that this relationship (today known as "the Leavitt Law") means that measuring the period of a Cepheid variable immediately gives its true brightnessand furthermore, that comparing this to its apparent brightness immediately gives its distance.

Sadly, it was only after Leavitt's death from cancer at age 53 that astronomers realized that she had found the key to unlocking distances to such stars everywherewhether in our Milky Way or in a galaxy in the distant universe.

Using the period-luminosity relationship that Leavitt discovered, others later calculated the distances to Cepheid variables in galaxies outside our own Milky Way. In doing so, they discovered that our universe is expanding, starting from a single point more than 14 billion years ago at the Big Banga discovery that would have never been possible without the discovery of the Leavitt Law.

More than a century later, astronomers like Hartman are carrying on Leavitt's work. Her announcement came about as a result of a ten-week summer research project at Carnegie Observatories. Hartman worked closely with her research advisor, Rachael Beaton, a Hubble and Carnegie-Princeton fellow now based at Princeton University.

The tool that Hartman and Beaton are using to improve our knowledge of Cepheid variables is the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's Apache Point Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), which is systematically mapping the chemical compositions and motions of stars in all components of our galaxy.

As Beaton explains, "The APOGEE survey is optimized to study the cool, old giant-type stars found all across our galaxy. And while Cepheid variables are younger and larger, they are similar in temperature, so they are well suited for APOGEE."

The fact that Cepheid variables appear in the APOGEE survey provides an great opportunity to calibrate the Leavitt Law, but also provides a major benefit: it allows astronomers to map young stars in the same way they map old giant stars. Mapping these two types of stars together allows astronomers to connect structures from the ancient galaxy to more recently-formed components. In this way, Cepheid variables can offer tremendous insight into the structure of our galaxybut such insight comes with complications.

The very property of these stars that allowed Henrietta Leavitt to discover the Leavitt Law  their predictable variations in brightnesscreates challenges for APOGEE. "Over a pulsation cycle of a Cepheid variable, the star's properties change," says Beaton. "Its temperature, surface gravity, and atmospheric properties can vary greatly over a fairly short time. So how can APOGEE properly measure them? I thought it would be an excellent summer research project to find out."

The undergraduate to take on the challenge was Kate Hartman of Pomona College in Claremont, California. Hartman was able to demonstrate that it is possible to get consistent measurements of the chemical makeup of Cepheid variables, regardless of when in their cycle they were observed by APOGEE.

Hartman explains, "I had to look at multiple spectra from the same Cepheid variable and measure the amount of different elements in the star. When we looked at a star's spectrum across its entire pulsation cycle, we found no significant differences in the results. That means that we're getting reliable results every time we look."

Knowing that APOGEE can reliably measure Cepheid variables is particularly important, Hartman explains, because it is the first survey to see so many, so regularly, and in so many places. Because APOGEE now operates simultaneously with twin instruments on telescopes in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, it can see the whole galaxy, as well as our neighbors the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud. This means that Cepheids can be observed in very different chemical environments, using the same instrument and data analysis process every time.

As a result of Hartman's findings, additional APOGEE observations of Cepheid variables are now well underway. Jen Sobeck of the University of Washington, APOGEE's Project Manager, explains, "the survey will observe the most nearby and well studied Cepheids with observations several times a month, will target Cepheids in the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud in January, and plans to eventually target all Cepheids in all parts of the sky we observe. These observations are an important addition to the APOGEE map of the galaxy."

With direct distances from trigonometric parallaxes to a billion stars in our galaxy coming soon from the ESA Gaia mission, the APOGEE spectroscopy is the final piece in the puzzle to complete the work started by Henrietta Leavitt in 1908 and provide an accurate calibration of the Leavitt Law in all Cepheid variable stars. And the upcoming Sloan Digital Sky Survey V will provide even better data. With all these new tools at their disposal, astronomers will be able to follow up on the work of astronomers like Leavittand Hartmanfor generations to come.

Explore further The Cosmic Distance Scale

Provided by Sloan Digital Sky Survey
A novel TB pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi, is transmitted among banded mongoose in northern Botswana through infected scent marks used in olfactory communication, allowing information and TB disease to move through social groups. Credit: B. Fairbanks

A novel tuberculosis pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi, closely related to human TB, infects and kills banded mongooses through a surprising routeolfactory communication. Now, a detailed investigation published in the journal Veterinary Pathology provides a window into how this deadly disease moves between mongooses and within the mongoose host.

The team, led by Kathleen Alexander, a professor of wildlife conservation in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment, identified a unique pathological presentation for this tuberculosis pathogen.

Infected anal gland secretions are sniffed or used to mark other mongooses, allowing this tuberculosis pathogen to invade the mongoose host through breaks in the skin or nose. This is the first case of a pathogen being transmitted through olfactory communication networks.

"Mongooses use anal gland secretions to communicate essential information to each other that is fundamental to the survival of their social group," said Alexander. "Our findings highlight the amazing ability of a pathogen to evolve and exploit the behavior of a species to increase transmission, and this has critical implications to our understanding of TB."

From 1999 to 2017, Alexander and her team examined 62 mongooses infected with tuberculosis and found that the most infected areas of the body were the lymph nodes, spleen, and anal glands.

"Given the character and distribution of lesions, we think that the pathogen spreads through the blood, the lymphatic system, or both upon entering the mongoose host," said Claire Sanderson, a research associate in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

By using histopathology, the researchers were able to look for microscopic evidence of tuberculosis lesions in formalin-fixed tissues and organs from banded mongooses in their long-term study site.

"This large-scale investigation provides a clear picture of how this unique tuberculosis pathogen infects and kills the mongoose host," said co-author Mark C. Williams of the University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.

"Tuberculosis generally infects a susceptible host through a pulmonary or oral transmission route. But this pathogen has a unique pathological presentation arising from its environmental transmission route," said co-author Mitchell Palmer of the Bacterial Diseases of Livestock Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Ames, Iowa.

"Banded mongooses live in close-knit groups and sleep in small underground dens, circumstances ideal for aerosol transmission of tuberculosis organisms and yet, lesions with this pathogen were only found in the lung of banded mongooses in late stages of the disease, if at all," said Alexander, who is also affiliated with Virginia Tech's Fralin Life Science Institute.

Infection by the M. mungi pathogen threatens the survival of smaller mongoose troops. Alexander's team has recently sequenced the M. mungi genomethe only known tuberculosis species not to be successfully cultured in vitro. By comparing the genome of M. mungi to other M. tuberculosis complex pathogens, Alexander and her team hope to find clues as to how this pathogen evolved such a unique transmission and pathological presentations.

"This organism is very closely related to human TB but can be transmitted through the environment. This provides an exciting opportunity to understand TB organisms and their potential for change, providing critical insight possibly into the biology of human TB pathogens," said Alexander.

Mongoose are a territorial species and would have limited contact with members of another troop, limiting pathogen spread. Transmission of the pathogen through olfactory secretions circumvents this barrier, allowing M. mungi to spread through the population. The first recorded M. mungi outbreak in mongoose populations in northeastern Botswana and northwest Zimbabwe occurred in 1999 and was reported in Mbio.

"This discovery changes the manner in which we must think about sociality, olfactory communication, and infectious disease spread," said Alexander.

Explore further Tuberculosis in mongoose driven by social behaviors (Update)

More information: Kathleen A. Alexander et al, Pathology of the Emerging Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi, in the Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo), Veterinary Pathology (2017). Journal information: mBio Kathleen A. Alexander et al, Pathology of the Emerging Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi, in the Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo),(2017). DOI: 10.1177/0300985817741730
Credit: Northwestern University

Through first-of-their-kind supercomputer simulations, researchers, including a Northwestern University professor, have gained new insight into one of the most mysterious phenomena in modern astronomy: the behavior of relativistic jets that shoot from black holes, extending outward across millions of light years.

Advanced simulations created with one of the world's most powerful supercomputers show the jets' streams gradually change direction in the sky, or precess, as a result of space-time being dragged into the rotation of the black hole. This behavior aligns with Albert Einstein's predictions about extreme gravity near rotating black holes, published in his famous theory of general relativity.

"Understanding how rotating black holes drag the space-time around them and how this process affects what we see through the telescopes remains a crucial, difficult-to-crack puzzle," said Alexander Tchekhovskoy, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. "Fortunately, the breakthroughs in code development and leaps in supercomputer architecture are bringing us ever closer to finding the answers."

The study, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, is a collaboration between Tchekhovskoy, Matthew Liska and Casper Hesp. Liska and Hesp are the study's lead authors and graduate students at The University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Rapidly spinning black holes not only engulf matter but also emit energy in the form of relativistic jets. Similar to how water in a bathtub forms a whirlpool as it goes down a drain, the gas and magnetic fields that feed a supermassive black hole swirl to form a rotating diska tangled spaghetti of magnetic field lines mixed into a broth of hot gas. As the black hole consumes this astrophysical soup, it gobbles up the broth but leaves the magnetic spaghetti dangling out of its mouth. This makes the black hole into a kind of launching pad from which energy, in the form of relativistic jets, shoots from the web of twisted magnetic spaghetti.

This simulation produced using the Blue Waters supercomputer is the first simulation ever to demonstrate that relativistic jets follow along with the precession of the tilted accretion disk around the black hole. At close to a billion computational cells, it is the highest resolution simulation of an accreting black hole ever achieved. Credit: Northwestern University

The jets emitted by black holes are easier to study than the black holes themselves because the jets are so large. This study enables astronomers to understand how quickly the jet direction is changing, which reveals information about the black hole spin as well as the orientation and size of the rotating disk and other difficult-to-measure properties of black hole accretion.

Whereas nearly all previous simulations considered aligned disks, in reality, most galaxies' central supermassive black holes are thought to harbor tilted disksmeaning the disk rotates around a separate axis than the black hole itself. This study confirms that if tilted, disks change direction relative to the black hole, precessing around like a spinning top. For the first time, the simulations showed that such tilted disks lead to precessing jets that periodically change their direction in the sky.

An important reason precessing jets were not discovered earlier is that 3-D simulations of the region surrounding a rapidly spinning black hole require an enormous amount of computational power. To address this issue, the researchers constructed the first black hole simulation code accelerated by graphical processing units (GPUs). A National Science Foundation grant enabled them to carry out the simulations on Blue Waters, one of the largest supercomputers in the world, located at the University of Illinois.

The confluence of the fast code, which efficiently uses a cutting-edge GPU architecture, and the Blue Waters supercomputer allowed the team to carry out simulations with the highest resolution ever achieved - up to a billion computational cells.

"The high resolution allowed us, for the first time, to ensure that small-scale turbulent disk motions are accurately captured in our models," Tchekhovskoy said. "To our surprise, these motions turned out to be so strong that they caused the disk to fatten up and the disk precession to stop. This suggests that precession can come about in bursts."

A comparison of a low resolution simulation (left) to the high-resolution simulation produced using Blue Waters (right) shows the effect of resolution on tilted accretion models. The high resolution model shows that precession and alignment slow down as a result of disk expansion due to magnetic turbulence.

Because accretion onto black holes is a highly complex system akin to a hurricane, but located so far away we cannot discern many details, simulations offer a powerful way of making sense of telescope observations and understanding the behavior of black holes.

The simulation results are important for further studies involving rotating black holes, which are currently being conducted all over the world. Through these efforts, astronomers are attempting to understand recently discovered phenomena such as the first detections of gravitational waves from neutron star collisions and the accompanying electromagnetic fireworks as well as regular stars being engulfed by supermassive black holes.

The calculations also are being applied to interpreting the observations of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which captured the first recordings of the supermassive black hole shadow in the center of the Milky Way.

Additionally, the jets' precession could explain fluctuations in the intensity of light coming from around black holes, called quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). Such oscillations can occur similarly to the way in which the rotating beam of a lighthouse increases in intensity as it passes by an observer. QPOs were first discovered near black holes (as X-rays) in 1985 by Michiel van der Klis (University of Amsterdam), who is a co-author of the new article.

Explore further the geometry of nuclear black hole accretion disks
Credit: University of Bath

Professor Ricardo Garcia-Mira is currently a Member of the Parliament of Spain, and is the Spokesperson of the Commission for the Study of Climate Change. He is a Professor of Social and Environmental Psychology at the University of A Coruna, and a Visiting Professor at the IPR, as well as the President of the International Association for People-Environment Studies.

Over the past few decades we have accumulated enough scientific evidence to show that our resource-intensive patterns and the resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inevitably lead to a greater scarcity of resources, an appreciable loss of biodiversity and a climate change that is already clearly showing disastrous effects on our lives. Current patterns of production and consumption are not sustainable and are already responsible for problems that are complex to solve  and interconnected with each other. This makes it a priority for any political leader to find the most appropriate ways to introduce a new scenario of ecological transition towards a more sustainable economic model.

The economic crisis has led to a deep recession in many parts of Europe and has underlined the need for a profound transformation of our economic institutions and government in an intelligent, sustainable and inclusive direction. Europe today faces a challenge: in addition to developing sufficient capacities to improve well-being, providing decent employment, reducing inequality, combatting poverty and preserving the natural environment, it must also manage natural resources efficiently and responsibly. It must decarbonise the economy and promote alternative lifestyles less dependent on carbon.

Growth, consumption and well-being

The ways of life in the global North, derived from an increase in wealth, have brought with them intensive consumption of resources that directly affect climate change  and despite the evidence, which shows that materialism imposes a high price on individual welfare, such consumption is still our reference point for what well-being is.

Climate change is now beginning to raise questions about the assumptions on which current socio-economic growth is sustained. It is well known that our lifestyles do not seem to lead to the expected promise of happiness or a more tranquil life. On the contrary, citizens experience more and more pressure on their time, less well-being, and at the same time they realise that our ecological footprint is increasing and that our ways of life are unsustainable.

Recent studies (e.g. Soper, 2007; Kasser & Sheldon, 2009; Kasser, 2011; Unanue et al., 2014) show that citizens of western countries experience a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the current consumer lifestyle and with the accelerated pace of modern life. Hence the equation of economic consumption with welfare has led to a dissociation between economic growth and environmental impact, involving strategies to improve the efficiency of resources on the supply side. Technological advances and carbon prices have been considered key aspects of transitions to a green economy, and all kinds of eco-efficiency strategies and mechanisms have been put in place to clean up production processes and make them more ecological and greener. However, cleaner production processes have not produced the expected effect. Rather, they have generated increases in the levels of real consumption, cancelling out the positive effects that could be rationally expected from a cleaner production process. This makes it clear that the strategies of action for production processes should be complemented by changes in consumption patterns and the reduction of resource consumption levels, while promoting a supply that is more focused on alternative patterns.

New scenarios of consumption reduction

There is a great concern throughout Europe about how new scenarios of consumption reduction might impact the economy, and how the changes that these scenarios elicit could influence employment and its distribution; the balance between work and free time; and, in general, everything that produces a negative impact. It is necessary to be aware of these new scenarios, along with the conditions, potentials and obstacles so that we can identify our priorities and design the necessary regulatory processes and action protocols. Such processes and protocols will serve as the basis for the transformation of our economic system within the framework of the transition towards a more sustainable society, towards a more sustainable lifestyle. They should also include proposals on the most effective means to support and accelerate the green transition, especially in the fields of energy, water, transport and mobility (see Garcia-Mira et al., 2016), as well as in the energy efficiency of building, agriculture and forest policy. It is urgent that we evaluate the impact that the introduction of urban transformations with solutions based on nature could have on adaptation to climate change, health and well-being, social cohesion and sustainable economic development. This implies implementing a green tax system and incentive programming capable of maintaining a constant process of decarbonisation in the economy.

The European strategy: Sustainable lifestyles and the green economy

In 2009, the European Union, in its commitment to energy efficiency and climate change, approved the Legislative Package on Energy and Climate for 2013-2020, consisting of a set of directives that set specific objectives to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions in production and management for the horizon of 2020. In response to the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel of Experts on Climate Change, the European Council recognised that by 2050 Europe and the developed countries should have reduced emissions by around 80-95% in comparison to the values of 1990 if we want to keep the increase in the average temperature below 2C, which coincides with the objective of the 2015 Paris Agreement. If we analyse current trends, it is likely that by the time the necessary changes are made in our technological processes to reduce the impact of climate change and help less developed countries to mitigate the negative externalities that they will have to face, we will still be far from the adoption of truly sustainable lifestyles being a fact on a large scale.

Sustainability initiatives that mitigate the impact of climate change

This being the general panorama, if we put the focus on the local level, there are initiatives in multiple places in Europe that are opening up spaces for a series of ecologically responsible activities (ecovillages, cities in transition, consumer cooperatives and organic food production, institutional programmes for equilibrium between work and private life, cooperatives with climate and energy models, sustainable textile production, etc.), and which are demonstrating the small-scale viability of alternative economic models, such as research carried out within the Europe 2020 Strategy and the European Strategy for Resource Efficiency have shown.

Such research analyses different sustainability initiatives in Europe (see Garcia-Mira and Dumitru, 2017) and shows that, although the collective responses to addressing climate change are not yet articulated, there is enough evidence to ensure that it is possible to move towards a more sustainable economy. This is true even though the challenges of behavioral change and support for the dissemination of sustainable lifestyles on a large scale would require a 180 change in the still-deeply rooted conceptions of what success, self-realisation and consumption mean for the majority of citizens.

The leap that these sustainable lifestyle initiatives will need to make from the micro to the macro requires alternative models that make the current understanding more complex regarding the interaction of social, economic, technological and psychological factors that either promote or restrict the adoption of sustainable lifestyles.

Sustainability, governance and the joint generation of knowledge

The transition to a sustainable lifestyle requires important urban transformations whose main goal is to guarantee an increase in the efficiency of resource management, an improvement in the quality of life and greater environmental resilience. The question of a changing lifestyle naturally involves the places and urban spaces where that life unfolds. The adaptation of cities, therefore, is a priority to be addressed, together with an exploration of the ways in which transformations take place in a sustainable direction, a need that has never been so urgent. We need to think about the most appropriate models, strategies and mechanisms, and consider which governance patterns are most appropriate, reflecting on how power constellations work and how to involve civil society organisations more.

In addition, it is urgent to highlight the importance of researchers, citizens and politicians jointly contributing to the creation of knowledge; this also challenges universities, by reinforcing the link between research and politics, while reinforcing the idea of transforming cities into more sustainable places to live. Close collaboration with citizens, professionals and politicians is characteristic of transdisciplinary research which seeks to guarantee the relevance and transfer of research results to society. Given that effective approaches to climate change require the contribution of all of us, the solutions must be built together, with the involvement of a variety of actors, and that makes the need clear to consider professionals, politicians and civil society in its multiple forms of organisation and manifestation. A new paradigm of knowledge development is therefore needed, based on methodologies that integrate citizens, users, politicians and stakeholders within an integral system of cogenerating knowledge.

A space for social innovation and participation

The creation of an appropriate space for innovation and social participation is also demanded here, where social innovation can emerge as the result of the creative processes that arise from the encounters between the different actors. Creating new spaces in which different disciplines and actors can establish common terms of reference and a shared language is absolutely necessary. But perhaps it is even more important, in addition to a shared language, to share the idea that the social and the environmental  when based on knowledge of the social sciences  can contribute to improving society. Social innovation refers here to introducing changes in the relationships between actors and institutions that incorporate new ways of approaching problems such as environmental migration, unemployment, energy poverty, climate change, inequality, marginalisation and difficulties in accessing certain services. These are new ways of responding to social needs that are not adequately covered when they fall under the exclusive responsibility of public institutions.

Social innovation initiatives experiment with new models of local economy and community relations, and are proving to be viable alternatives to existing modes of social, economic and political organisation. These social innovation initiatives also aim to empower local communities, generating international networks that are implementing changes towards a social and solidarity-based economy, towards the sustainability of our lifestyles and towards democratic regeneration. One of the most important characteristics of this new approach is that it involves bringing together different actors with different opinions, agendas, languages and expectations. Finally, it demands a consensus in the model of governance, which implies commitment to the implementation of participation mechanisms in order to build community policies.

Explore further Building a sustainable future: Urgent action needed
Couromoda to welcome Colombian buyers

Brazil

The 45th edition of Couromoda, Brazils largest trade fair aimed at the footwear and leather goods market, is to showcase over 2,000 collections of shoes and accessories.

Taking place January 15-18 at the Expo Center Norte in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the upcoming edition of Couromoda will welcome a delegation of buyers from Colombias JCT Empresarial Josh and Calzados Ibony Groups, who have great import potential, but still work very little with Brazil", according to Leticia Sperb Masselli, Commercial Promotion Coordinator, Abicalcados (the Brazilian Association of Footwear Manufacturers). Brazils footwear exports to Colombia totalled over US$40 million in 2017.

The usual Forum Couromoda will be organised, with four different presentations being scheduled during the event on the topics of Digital Influencers, Tagging on the Catwalks, Gamification, and Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship.
High-resolution seafloor topography of the Havre caldera mapped by the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry shows the new 2012 erupted lavas in red. The volcano is nearly a mile deep (1,519 meters). The top of the volcano is at 650 meters below sea level. Credit: Rebecca Carey, University of Tasmania, Adam Soule, WHOI,  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

On July 18, 2012, passengers on an airline flight over the Southwest Pacific Ocean glimpsed something unusuala raft of floating rock known as pumice that indicated an underwater volcanic eruption had occurred on the seafloor northeast of New Zealand. The raft eventually grew to more than 150 square miles (roughly the size of Philadelphia), a sign that the eruption was unusually large.

A new paper published January 10, 2018, in the journal Science Advances describes the first up-close investigation of the largest underwater volcanic eruption of the past century. The international research team led by the University of Tasmania and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) used the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry and the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason to explore, map, and collect erupted materials from the Havre volcano during a 2015 expedition. They found that the eruption was surprising in many ways.

"We knew it was a large-scale eruption, approximately equivalent to the biggest eruption we've seen on land in the 20th Century," said Rebecca Carey, a volcanologist at University of Tasmania and Co-Chief Scientist on the expedition.

"Heading to the site, we were fully prepared to investigate a typical deep-sea explosive eruption," added Adam Soule, WHOI associate scientist and chief scientist for the National Deep Submergence Facility. "When we looked at the detailed maps from the AUV, we saw all these bumps on the seafloor and I thought the vehicle's sonar was acting up. It turned out that each bump was a giant block of pumice, some of them the size of a van. I had never seen anything like it on the seafloor."

The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason lands on the seafloor at Havre submarine volcano to retrieve a heat flow monitor. Credit: Multidisciplinary Instrumentation in Support of Oceanography (MISO) Facility, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

More than 70 percent of all volcanic activity on Earth occurs on the seafloor, but details of these events are largely hidden from view by seawater. Based on the size of the 2012 pumice raft, the eruption of the Havre Volcano was estimated to be the largest documented underwater silicic eruptiona particular type of eruption that produces viscous, gas-filled lava that often occurs explosively. Despite their violence, very little is known about silicic eruptions and most knowledge about them comes from ancient rock records, which lack details such as the timing, duration, source, and water depth of the events. Scientists have never been able to study a large underwater silicic eruption shortly after it occurred in order to better understand how they happen and what they produce.

Havre is part of the Kermadec Arc, a chain of volcanoes, some of which reach the surface to form the Kermadec Islands, between New Zealand and American Samoa. The volcanoes are formed by conditions at the subduction zone where one of Earth's largest tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate, dives beneath the Australian Plate. New Zealand scientists mapped the Havre volcano, a caldera nearly three miles (4.5 kilometers) across on the seafloor northeast of the North Island of New Zealand, using shipboard sonar instruments in 2002 and again immediately after the eruption in 2012, revealing the presence of new volcanic material on the seafloor.

In 2015, scientists from the University of Tasmania, WHOI, the University of California Berkeley, the University of Otago in New Zealand, and others traveled to the region on board the research vessel Roger Revelle operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They deployed the AUV Sentry in a series of 11 dives that mapped more than 19 square miles (50 square kilometers) of seafloor. They also conducted 12 ROV Jason dives totaling 250 hours to collect samples of erupted material and to capture high-resolution imagery of the seafloor inside the crater.

The Havre volcano is located off the coast of New Zealand in the Kermadec Region, a volcanically active and tectonically complex plate boundary system. Researchers used the remotely operated vehicle Jason and the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry, both operated by WHOI, to investigate the largest recorded submarine explosive eruption in history. Credit: Rebecca Carey, University of Tasmania, Adam Soule, WHOI, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The team found that the eruption history of the Havre volcano was much more complicated than they previously thought, with the most recent eruption alone consisting of lava from 14 volcanic vent sites between 900 and 1220 meters (3000 and 4000 feet) below the surface. They also discovered that, what they thought was initially an explosive eruption that would produce mainly pumice, also created ash, lava domes, and seafloor lava flows. Mapping and seafloor observations revealed that, of the material that erupted, which was nearly 1.5 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, about 75 percent floated to the surface and drifted away with winds and currents. The rest was spread across the seafloor up to several miles away.

"Ultimately we believe that none of the magma was erupted in the ways we assume an explosive eruption occurs on land," said Soule.

Material collected using ROV Jason confirmed the diverse nature of the eruption, bringing samples of dense lava, ash, pumice, and giant pumice to the surface, including one piece measuring 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter that is the first of its kind ever collected and is currently on display at the National Museum of Science and Nature in Tokyo. The physical and chemical composition of these samples are helping scientists learn how the eruption proceeded, what made it act the way it did, and how the material changes over time.

Explore further Volcano's legacy still washing up on beaches

More information: R. Carey el al., "The largest deep-ocean silicic volcanic eruption of the past century," Science Advances (2017). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701121 , Journal information: Science Advances R. Carey el al., "The largest deep-ocean silicic volcanic eruption of the past century,"(2017). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701121 , advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/1/e1701121
Feral horses in the eastern Alps. Credit: Griff en/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Victoria's new draft feral horse management plan, released on the last working day before Christmas, will be open for comment until February 2. But will it protect the Alpine National Park? The answers are yes on the Bogong High Plains, and no in the eastern Alps.

The government deserves congratulations for planning to remove all horses from the most sensitive alpine areas around Falls Creek by 2020. These areas of the Bogong High Plains have fewer than 100 horses, but also rare snow-patch and bog communities that are extremely vulnerable.

But elsewhere, the goal of removing 400 horses a year from the eastern Alps doesn't seem to go far enough. And by refusing to countenance the idea of culling, the state government is passing up the only realistic chance of getting feral horse numbers under control.

The bulk of the plan provides grounds for cautious optimism. It acknowledges that feral horses threaten a range of native mammals, frogs and lizards, as well as displacing kangaroos and wallabies. Horses have enormous impacts on vegetation in alpine bogs and streams, and in many other ecosystems too.

The plan also makes clear that reducing horse numbers is a legal requirement. Victoria's Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 lists "degradation and loss of habitats caused by feral horses" as a threatening process. The Victorian National Parks Act 1975 calls for "exotic species" such as horses to be exterminated or controlled within national parks.

The plan also sets a realistic time frame for review (annual reviews and major review after three years), and suggests that management plans will be altered if adequate environmental protection is not achieved. All of this is extremely promising, suggesting the state government is genuinely interested in delivering tangible environmental benefits.

Numbers game

But while the aspirations are good, the details present some problems. The draft plan promises to "explore all possible control options" to deliver a low horse population in the eastern Alps.

But the proposed reliance on trapping and removal, rather than culling, suggests the government is reluctant to enter what would be a tough debate against the often vocal pro-brumby lobby groups. This reluctance is to the detriment of our native species and apparently at odds with legislation.

The problem is that the New South Wales government has already tried trapping and removing horses in Kosciuszko National Park, and it hasn't worked. Horses have continued to spread northward onto the main range, where environmentally sensitive alpine tarn and snow-patch communities occur.

It is unclear whether Victoria's "aspirational goal" of removing 400 horses each year over three years will actually be enough to reduce horse numbers, or even to stabilise them. The report mentions modelling showing that the population can be stabilised by taking 200 horses per year, and that it would start to decline if 400 were taken per year.

But none of this modelling is published, so it can't be evaluated in detail. And simple calculations suggest that these figures are incredibly optimistic.

The report says there were 2,350 horses in the eastern Victorian Alps in 2014. Horse populations can increase at up to 20% per year, so by now there could be more than 4,000 feral horses.

This means that even if the government does manage to remove the full quota of 400 horses each year, it would only take a 10% population growth rate for the numbers to keep rising. At a rate of 20%, there could be well over 5,000 horses by 2020, even with trapping and removal.

Culling option

Based on this rough calculation, the plan needs to eradicate many more horses. The draft plan claims that feral horses in the eastern Alps are "well established and are considered beyond eradication using currently available control tools". Yet this claim ignores aerial culling, which is the cheapest, most effective, and most ethical way to reduce feral horse numbers.

Highly trained sharp-shooters and helicopter pilot teams can destroy more than 50 horses per day (based on previous culls in NSW, in which three teams of three people destroyed 606 horses over three days). Three teams could solve the feral horse problem in the Victorian alpine country in a month, and at lower cost.

It cost taxpayers more than A$1,000 for each horse trapped and removed from Kosciuszko National Park. Using the NSW cull as a guide to the resources required, and assuming A$300 per day per person, and A$10,000 per day per helicopter, it might have cost around A$150 per horse using aerial culling. That's roughly 15% of the cost of trapping and removal.

Despite the risks to wildlife canvassed in the draft plan, and similar reports from NSW, there is no peer-reviewed research that defines the threats to native animals. A revised plan must include research to understand both the impacts of feral horses on native animal populations and their welfare.

The debate over culling horses typically ignores the unseen suffering that horses cause to native animals. Quantifying that suffering will be crucial for making informed decisions around feral horse management.

It is great that we have a plan for managing horses in the Victorian Alpine National Park  albeit one that seems unlikely to work in the eastern Alps. But the Victorian government needs to show courage and leadership on the issue of culling feral horses. Our alpine natural heritage will continue to decline until horses are taken out of our national parks, and that will only happen when managers can include culling among their suite of management tools.

In NSW, the feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park are growing in number, and doing real damage to Australia's highest mountains. Hopefully both states can take back the reins of feral horse management from single-issue lobby groups and exercise some real control over their feral horses.

Explore further Humane effective feral horse control essential for Kosciuszko

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Schematic of the porous film under linear strain showing enhanced lateral contraction (Poisson ratio greater than 0.5). Credit: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering

Rahul Panat and a team of researchers from CMU, WSU, and UT-El Paso have developed a new 3-D printing technique for manufacturing strain gauges that breaks the Poisson Ratio by 40%.

Have you ever weighed your car at a weighing station on the highway? Have you ever thought about how the deflections in an airplane wing are monitored? Have you ever wondered how engineers monitor the stress and bend of a bridge?

Weighing stations, airplane wings, and bridges have at least one thing in common: strain gauges. Strain gauges are simple devices used to measure strain, or pull, on an object. As you stretchapply deformation tothe strain gauge, its resistance will change, telling you how much deformation the object is undergoing. And they're everywhere.

"Anywhere there is deflection of a mechanical system, you will see strain gauges; which is a lot of places!," says Rahul Panat, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Panat is also affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University's NextManufacturing Center.

Panat has developed a new 3-D printing technique for manufacturing strain gauges, along with collaborators from Washington State University and the University of Texas at El Paso. This new method significantly improves the sensitivity of strain gauges and increases their capabilities for use in high-temperature applications.

The researchers fabricated this strain gauge using aerosol jet printing, a 3-D printing method that creates a porous film by controlled sintering of nanoparticles that partially coalesce them using heat. When stretched, this porous filmwhich contains many tiny holes that result from the 3-D printing method, also known as additive manufacturingis able to contract more than a solid film, the typical form of strain gauges fabricated using traditional manufacturing methods.

"More contraction means more sensitivity," explains Panat, "so we get a much more sensitive strain gauge by adopting this new manufacturing method, where we print nanoparticles of a material and create this porosity by controlled sintering."

This new manufacturing method breaks what is known as the Poisson Ratio, the limit to how sensitive a solid strain gauge can be. The Poisson Ratio of a material describes how much a material will contract in one direction when it is stretched in another direction. The maximum Poisson Ratio a solid material can have is about 0.5, according to Panat.

"Because of the porosity of the film, we are seeing an effective Poisson Ratio of approximately 0.7which means we have about a 40% increase in the lateral contraction for a given deformation of the film," says Panat. "That makes the strain gauge much more sensitive to measurement."

In addition to the increased sensitivity of these strain gauges, another advantage Panat found was that such strain sensors are highly suitable for high-temperature applications. Solid strain gauges fabricated using traditional manufacturing techniques are susceptible to error due to the interference of thermal heating, but the porous strain gauges fabricated with this new technique are resistant to this error.

"The reason why a material will show thermal strain is because material naturally expands when it is heated," says Panat. "In our case, the overall expansion of the porous film because of heat alone is much smaller than if it were a solid film. The films created with this new technique do not expand that much, so we are significantly reducing the error in high-temperature applications."

Md Taibur Rahman, a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, also worked on this project. This research, "3-D Printed High Performance Strain Sensors for High Temperature Applications," was published in the Journal of Applied Physics.

Explore further Researchers print materials for soft robotics

More information: 3D printed high performance strain sensors for high temperature applications, Journal of Applied Physics 123, 024501 (2018); Journal information: Journal of Applied Physics 3D printed high performance strain sensors for high temperature applications,123, 024501 (2018); doi.org/10.1063/1.4999076
Cross-cutting burrows on the margins of a sandstone injectite. Credit: Sarah Cobain, University of Leeds

Scientists have found fossil evidence of deep-sea marine life burrowing up to eight metres below the seabedfour times the previously observed depth for modern deep-sea life.

A team of scientists from the University of Leeds and the National Oceanography Centre examined remains of deep-sea burrows in rocky outcrops that were part of the ocean floor roughly 250 million years ago.

These outcrops are made up of sand-sheets that are widespread on modern ocean floors, suggesting that deep-sea burrowing marine life may be much more abundant than previously considered.

Study author Professor David Hodgson, from the School of Earth and Environment at Leeds, said: "Ocean ecology shows us that deep-sea burrowers have only become more prevalent and diverse through time.

"Their adaptability to new environments strengthens the idea that if their pre-historic ancestors were burrowing to these depths, then it's likely we'd find them there today."

The team's findings, published today in Scientific Reports, highlights the need for new future sampling strategies to better capture the depth range of animals living in modern deep-sea sands.

Collecting intact samples from the deep-ocean floor is technologically challenging. The distance to the ocean seabed and the difficulties of extracting samples makes it problematic to determine how deeply modern animals burrow. Modern deep-sea biological studies target muds as these are simpler to sample than the shifting sands of the deep seabed.

Sandstone outcrops from the Karoo Basin, South Africa Credit: David Hodgson, University of Leeds

Lead author Dr Sarah Cobain conducted this research while a PhD student at the School of Earth and Environment, she is now based at Petrotechnical Data Systems in London. She said: "These outcrops give us a snapshot of ancient deep-sea life. We know that modern marine burrowing animals are living in the same material that has been fossilised in these rocks.

"The burrowers use the networks that are already present in the deep ocean sediment below the seabed and leave behind living traces. These networkswhat we call injectites after they've been fossilisedare caused by sand-rich water being forcibly injected into mud. They provide the animals easy pathways to burrow and find nutrients and oxygen.

"Our understanding of the process by which these injectites form allows us to not only assess how these creatures lived but also how deeply they burrowed into the sediment below the seabed."

The branching structures that make up the trace fossils are believed to have been made by organisms that were previously thought to live mainly in the top 20 centimetres of sediment, rarely reaching further than 1.5 metres, due to the decline of oxygen and food in deeper levels of the sediment.

The team documented the creatures' living tracesknown as bioturbationon the margins of clastic injectites from at least eight metres below the seabed.

Burrows on the margins of a sandstone dyke Credit: Sarah Cobain, University of Leeds

In order to produce living traces, organisms would need to survive long enough to burrow for hours or even days. The size of the burrows suggests macro-infaunal invertebrates (tiny shrimps and worms).

Study author, Jeffrey Peakall, Professor of Process Sedimentology at Leeds, said: "This discovery gives us a window into a widespread yet barely explored environment on our planet. Little is known about modern deep seabed environments, and less about the ancient.

"These trace fossils can give us new insight into the possibility that the deepest organisms may be present in sandy sediments, rather than the clays and silts typically targeted in modern seabed investigations."

Explore further The worms that changed the world

More information: S. L. Cobain et al, A new macrofaunal limit in the deep biosphere revealed by extreme burrow depths in ancient sediments, Scientific Reports (2018). Journal information: Scientific Reports S. L. Cobain et al, A new macrofaunal limit in the deep biosphere revealed by extreme burrow depths in ancient sediments,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18481-w
Frequency measurements from 2015 (data: 50Hertz): the power grid frequency fluctuates around 50 Hz in the European grid and exhibits large jumps particularly in the trading intervals of 15 minutes. Usually, the grid frequency is within the yellow area but upward and downward deviations (grey) are particularly likely every 15 minutes. Credit: MPI fur Dynamik und Selbstorganisation / Benjamin Schafer

The use of renewables like the sun and wind can cause fluctuations in power grids. But what impact do these fluctuations have on security of supply? To answer this question, scientists from Juelich and Goettingen worked together with colleagues in London and Tokyo to analyse different types of fluctuations in several power grids in Europe, Japan, and the U.S., and came to surprising conclusions. Their study was published today in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Energy.

Our power grid works at a frequency of 50 hertz. Most power is generated by turbines in hydro- or coal power plants, which rotate at a speed of 50 revolutions per second. "When a consumer uses more electrical energy from the power grid, the grid frequency drops slightly before an increased energy feed-in re-establishes the original frequency," explains Benjamin Schaefer from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Goettingen and lead author of the study. "Deviations from the nominal value of 50 hertz must be kept to a minimum, as otherwise sensitive electrical devices could be damaged."

Renewable energy generation also causes grid frequency fluctuations because the wind does not always blow at the same speed and clouds constantly alter the feed-in from photovoltaic systems. A frequent suggestion for integrating renewable energy generators into the power grid involves breaking the grid down into small autonomous cells known as microgrids. This would allow a community with a combined heat and power unit and its own wind and photovoltaic generators, for example, to operate its energy systems in an autonomous manner.

But what impact would this division into small cells and additional renewable generators have on the power grid? To answer this question, scientists from Forschungszentrum Juelich and MPIDS analysed the grid frequency fluctuations in power grids in different regions of the world. Using mathematical models, they predicted potential vulnerabilities and their causes.

First, they collated measurements from Europe, Japan, and the U.S. Then they systematically analysed the data and were surprised on two accounts. "The first surprise was that the grid showed particularly strong fluctuations every 15 minutes," says Dirk Witthaut from Juelich's Institute of Energy and Climate Research und the Institute for Theoretical Physics of the University of Cologne. "This is the exact time frame during which generators on the European electricity market agree on a new distribution for the electricity generatedthis alters how much electricity is fed into the grid, and where. In Europe, at least, power trading therefore plays a key role in balancing grid frequency fluctuations."

The second surprise was that statistical grid fluctuations around the nominal value of 50 hertz do not follow the expected Gaussian distribution, which is a symmetrical distribution around an expected value. Instead, more extreme fluctuations are probable. Using mathematical models, the scientists calculated the expected fluctuations depending on the grid size and estimated the degree to which the fluctuations depended on renewables.

Power trading as a key factor

A comparison of the investigated regions showed that a large proportion of renewables did, indeed, lead to greater grid fluctuations. "For example, the share of wind and solar generation in the United Kingdom is much higher than in the U.S., leading to greater fluctuations in grid frequency," explains Dirk Witthaut. For an increased share of renewables, the scientists therefore recommend increased investment in an intelligent adjustment of generator and consumer according to the grid frequencyknown as primary control and demand control.

One of the most interesting findings of the study, however, is that grid frequency fluctuation caused by power trading appeared to be more significant than fluctuation caused by renewable feed-in.

The scientists also discovered that small power grids show larger fluctuations. "Our study indicates that dividing large and thus very slow gridssuch as the synchronous grid of Continental Europeinto microgrids will cause larger frequency fluctuations," says Benjamin Schaefer. "Technically, microgrids are therefore only an option if today's very stringent frequency standards were to be relaxed."

Explore further Alaskan microgrids offer energy resilience and independence

More information: Benjamin Schafer et al, Non-Gaussian power grid frequency fluctuations characterized by Levy-stable laws and superstatistics, Nature Energy (2017). Journal information: Nature Energy Benjamin Schafer et al, Non-Gaussian power grid frequency fluctuations characterized by Levy-stable laws and superstatistics,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41560-017-0058-z
Seismogram being recorded by a seismograph at the Weston Observatory in Massachusetts, USA. Credit: Wikipedia

An international team led by geologist Michael Strasser has used novel methods to analyze sediment deposits in the Japan Trench in order to gain new insights into the carbon cycle.

In a paper recently published in Nature Communications, geologist Michael Strasser presented the initial findings of a month-long research expedition off the coast of Japan. The research initiative had been organised in March 2012 by MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences. Strasser, who until 2015 was Assistant Professor for Sediment Dynamics at ETH Zurich and is now a Full Professor for Sediment Geology at the University of Innsbruck, took an international team there to study dynamic sediment remobilisation processes triggered by seismic activity.

At a depth of 7,542 metres below sea level, the team took a core sample from the Japan Trench, an 800-km-long oceanic trench in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. The trench, which is seismically active, was the epicentre of the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, which made headlines when it caused the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima. Such earthquakes wash enormous amounts of organic matter from the shallows down into deeper waters. The resulting sediment layers can thus be used later to glean information about the history of earthquakes and the carbon cycle in the deep ocean.

New dating methods in the deep ocean

The current study provided the researchers with a breakthrough. They analysed the carbon-rich sediments using radiocarbon dating. This method - measuring the amount of organic carbon as well as radioactive carbon (14C) in mineralised compounds - has long been a means of determining the age of individual sediment layers. Until now, however, it has not been possible to analyse samples from deeper than 5,000 metres below the surface, because the mineralised compounds dissolve under increased water pressure.

Strasser and his team therefore had to use new methods for their analysis. One of these was what is known as the online gas radiocarbon method, developed by ETH doctoral student Rui Bao and the Biogeoscience Group at ETH Zurich. This greatly increases efficiency, since it takes just a single core sample to make more than one hundred 14C age measurements directly on the organic matter contained within the sediment.

In addition, the researchers applied the Ramped PyrOx measurement method (pyrolysis) for the first time in the dating of deep-ocean sediment layers. This was done in cooperation with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (U.S.), which developed the method. The process involves burning organic matter at different temperatures. Because older organic matter contains stronger chemical bonds, it requires higher temperatures to burn. What makes this method novel is that the relative age variation of the individual temperature fractions between two samples very precisely distinguishes the age difference between sediment levels in the deep sea.

Dating earthquakes to increase forecast accuracy

Thanks to these two innovative methods, the researchers could determine the relative age of organic matter in individual sediment layers with a high degree of precision. The core sample they tested contained older organic matter in three places, as well as higher rates of carbon export to the deep ocean. These places correspond to three historically documented yet hitherto imprecisely dated seismic events in the Japan Trench: the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, an unnamed earthquake in 1454, and the Sanriku earthquake in 869.

At the moment, Strasser is working on a large-scale geological map of the origin and frequency of sediments in deep-ocean trenches. To do so, he is analysing multiple core samples taken during a follow-up expedition to the Japan Trench in 2016. "The identification and dating of tectonically triggered sediment deposits is also important for future forecasts about the likelihood of earthquakes," Strasser says. "With our new methods, we can predict the recurrence of earthquakes with much more accuracy."

Explore further Seafloor sediments appear to enhance earthquake and tsunami danger in Pacific Northwest

More information: Rui Bao et al, Tectonically-triggered sediment and carbon export to the Hadal zone, Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications Rui Bao et al, Tectonically-triggered sediment and carbon export to the Hadal zone,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02504-1
After years of examining conflict in Africa's protected areas, Princeton researchers report in the journal Nature that war has been a consistent factor in the decades-long decline of Africa's large mammals, but that wildlife populations rarely collapsed to the point where recovery was impossible. Above, an armed park ranger stands guard in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park where large-animal populations have rebounded after being nearly wiped out during that country's civil war. Credit: Robert Pringle, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

When Joshua Daskin traveled to Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park in 2012, the park and the iconic large animals that roamed it were returning from the brink of extinction. Gorongosa, among Africa's most spectacular wildlife preserves until the 1970s, had been devastated by an anti-colonial war of liberation followed by a ghastly 15-year civil war - a one-two punch that exterminated more than 90 percent of the park's wildlife.

The park's violent past intrigued Daskin, then a first-year Princeton graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology. As he explored the savannas and grasslands of Gorongosa with his advisor, Robert Pringle, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, the two researchers discussed whether similar wildlife declines might have occurred across Africa during the many conflicts of the 20th century. If so, they wondered how severe the impacts had been, and if animals generally retain the capacity to rebound like those in Gorongosa had, or if war was a human pressure that most animals just couldn't withstand.

After years of examining conflict in Africa's protected areas, Daskin and Pringle reported in the journal Nature Jan. 10 that war has been a consistent factor in the decades-long decline of large mammals in Africa. Populations that were stable in peaceful areas needed only a slight increase in conflict frequency to begin a downward spiral. But, the researchers report, while wildlife populations declined in conflict areas, they rarely collapsed to the point where recovery was impossible.

The study found that more than 70 percent of Africa's protected areas were touched by war between 1946 and 2010, an era during which the overthrow of European colonial rule was followed in many countries by violent post-colonial power struggles. Elephants, hippos, giraffes, and other large mammals perished as combatants and hungry citizens hunted animals for meat and for marketable commodities such as ivory.

Nonetheless, said Daskin, who completed the study as part of his doctoral dissertation at Princeton, the findings show that even those protected areas most severely affected by conflict remain promising candidates for conservation and rehabilitation efforts. The study was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI).

"We hope our data and conclusions will help in the effort to prioritize these areas for attention and funding from their governments and from international NGOs," said Daskin, now a Donnelley Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. "We're presenting evidence that although mammal populations decline in war zones, they don't often go extinct. With the right policies and resources, it should often be possible to reverse the declines and restore functional ecosystems, even in historically conflict-prone areas."

The study was needed to establish a general scientific expectation about how conflict typically affects wildlife populations, said Pringle, who is associated faculty in PEI. "It wasn't obvious to us in advance that conflict would have negative effects on wildlife populations," Pringle said. "Different studies of different places at different times have found both positive and negative effects of conflict on biodiversity, but the overall net effect had never been measured." For instance, previous research has shown that animal populations have increased in contested regions such as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and rural Zimbabwe during that country's Bush War of 1964-1979.

The researchers found that 71 percent of Africa's protected areas experienced one or more conflicts from 1946 to 2010. Wars occurred in a quarter of these areas for an average of nine or more years. The map (figure a) above shows protected areas in Africa and the number of conflict years each endured as indicated by the color scale. Blue indicates no years of conflict and red signifies at most 35 years of conflict. The right-hand table (figure b) lists each nation and the number of protected areas in that country (far right). The vertical lines in the colored boxes (center) indicate the average number of conflict years for each nation's protected areas. Credit: Joshua Daskin, Yale University

Daskin and Pringle, however, found that with few exceptions, frequent conflict resulted in a downward trend among large-animal populations. No other factor they evaluated exhibited the same consistent effect. There was no statistically detectable effect on wildlife trajectories from mining, urban development, corruption, drought, or even the intensity of the conflict as measured by the number of human battle fatalities.

"This enabled us to make some educated guesses about what the underlying mechanisms might be," Daskin said. "Most of the effects of conflict on wildlife populations seem to be due to knock-on socioeconomic effects that degrade the institutional capacity for biodiversity conservation, or the collective societal ability to prioritize and pay for it."

Hugh Possingham, the Chief Scientist at The Nature Conservancy, concurred that social structures ultimately determine the fate of animals and protected areas. Possingham had no role in the research but is familiar with it and has published on related topics.

"The most surprising finding is the strength of the relationship between the presence of conflict and declines in large mammals," Possingham said. "One might have imagined that the magnitude or scale of conflict would be the driver, but the mere presence of conflict seems to be a strong predictor in its own right.

"This is unusual and useful," he continued. "It suggests to me that any sort of conflict needs to be avoided, even if it's at a low level, and such conflicts may be indicative of broader social and institutional problems that are the primary drivers of mammal declines. Bottom lineto stop threats such as bushmeat hunting, governance really has to be strong."

Daskin and Pringle found that 71 percent of Africa's protected areas experienced one or more conflicts from 1946 to 2010. For a quarter of these areas, wars occurred for an average of nine or more years. Several large nations experienced an average of 20 or more years of conflict per protected area, including Chad, Namibia and Sudan (before it split into Sudan and South Sudan in 2011).

To conduct the analysis, Daskin drew from nearly 500 sources to find estimates of a specific animal species' abundance from at least two years between 1946 and 2010. He compared those estimates in order to calculate the change in population density during a given time interval. Daskin then used a series of databases to identify how many conflicts overlapped with each of Africa's protected areas during the study interval. In the end, the researchers examined the trends of 253 animal populations representing 36 species, ranging from antelopes to elephants, in 126 protected areas across 19 countries.

The researchers were inspired by the devastation and recovery of Gorongosa, where wildlife has rebounded to 80 percent of their total pre-war abundance. They wanted to study whether conflict generally took the same toll on Africa's large animals and if those populations could possibly recover. Pictured above (clockwise from upper left): a guard at Gorongosa with an endangered pangolin; a white rhinoceros at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in South Africa; a Lichtenstein's wildebeest at Gorongosa; sable antelopes at Gorongosa; zebra in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi; hippopotamus at Gorongosa; Cape bushbuck at Gorongosa; and elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Credit: Joshua Daskin, Yale University

"No one else had made the effort to assemble conflict data across this range of parks and make them talk with the wildlife data," Daskin said. "These data were all freely available, but not always highly accessible."

Gorongosa, the park in Mozambique that originally inspired the study, exemplifies the thrust of the findings, Daskin and Pringle said. From 1977 to 1992, government soldiers, anti-government militias, and refugees alternately fought in or fled through the park. For years after the war, displaced and dispossessed residents hunted wildlife. By the early 2000s, the elephant population had crashed by more than 75 percent, while successive aerial counts found that buffalo, hippo, wildebeest, and zebra numbers were hovering in the single or double digits.

Yet, none of these animal populations disappeared completely. Since 2004, wildlife in Gorongosa have rebounded to 80 percent of their total pre-war abundance. Park staff, the Mozambican government and the nonprofit Gorongosa Restoration Project have worked with neighboring communities to nurture the remnant animal populations by suppressing illegal hunting and creating educational and employment opportunities for villagers within the park.

"Our results show that the case of Gorongosa could be general," said Pringle, who serves on the board of the Gorongosa Project. "Gorongosa is as close as you can come to wiping out a whole fauna without extinguishing it, and even there we're seeing that we can rehabilitate wildlife populations and regrow a functional ecosystem. That suggests that the other high-conflict sites in our study can, at least in principle, also be rehabilitated."

Pringle and Daskin emphasized in their paper that wildlife recovery rests in the hands of local people. "I would love to see conservation and humanitarian organizations collaborate on post-conflict relief work," Pringle said. "Long-term recovery hinges on the health and hopefulness of the people, and healthy environments catalyze human health and hope. It's a positive-feedback loop."

When people have a personal and economic stake in a thriving ecosystem, they embrace protective behaviors such as preventing poaching and monitoring wildlife, Possingham said. "This publication confirms the philosophy behind that approach," he said.

"In any area where large-mammal protection is a concern, one has to get the people-side of the conservation initiative sortedestablishing alternative livelihoods, law and order, education, anti-corruption, etc.at the same time as taking habitat-protection and anti-poaching actions on the ground," he said. "If you don't tackle the ultimate drivers such as a breakdown of civil society, then taking action on the ground and investing in park management might not work."

The paper, "Warfare and wildlife declines in Africa's protected areas," was published online by Nature Jan. 10.

Explore further One of Africa's largest wildlife relocations begins

More information: "Warfare and wildlife declines in Africa's protected areas," Nature (2018). Journal information: Nature "Warfare and wildlife declines in Africa's protected areas,"(2018). nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature25194
A growing demand for sugarcane has led to rapid deforestation in Bolivia. An estimated 2000 hectares of Bolivian rainforest was cleared in preparation for the expansion of the San Buenaventura Sugar Mill, seen in this photo. Credit: Planet Labs

Democratic elections may be a catalyst for deforestation, according to new research. A study that examined deforestation rates during election years found that competitive elections are associated with higher rates of deforestation. The reason? Politicians are trading trees for votes, according to the researchers.

In the new study, researchers examined satellite images of forest cover and data on the national elections of every country in the world between 1970 and 2005. They found that rates of forest cover loss are substantially higher during election years, especially when the outcome of the election is uncertain.

The study, which was presented last month at the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in New Orleans, suggests politicians often grant their constituents access to forested lands in exchange for electoral support. The results provide evidence that democratization doesn't always improve conservation, according to the researchers.

Protecting forested lands provides local communities with many long-term benefits including flood protection, carbon sequestration, and job creation. Their destruction however, only provides one short-term benefit: the acquisition of commercially valuable resources, according to the study author.

"I think that in a lot of situations, politicians might prefer long-term diffuse benefits because they make everybody better off," said Luke Sanford, a political science researcher at the University of California San Diego who presented the new research. "But when somebody is faced with a short-term challenge, they might prefer these targeted short-term benefits."

An aerial view of the rainforest just outside Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Large swaths of this forest have been converted into grazing land for cattle. Credit: Neil Palmer, International Center for Tropical Agriculture

Sanford found that election years are associated with 50 percent higher rates of deforestation than non-election years, especially in countries that have unstable governments and nationally owned rainforests, like Brazil and Kenya. "In Kenya, there's been over 50 percent forest cover lost since 1990 and the majority of that happened during the election years," Sanford said.

The study suggests the amount of deforestation that occurs during an election year often depends on how competitive the election is. Sanford found that close elections are associated with higher rates of deforestation. Targeting key constituencies is more important when elections are competitive, he said. In Kenya, for example, votes are aggregated at the county level. Kenya's densely populated northern counties often determine the outcome of the country's national elections. As a result, most of the forested land allocated for commercial use in Kenya is located within these counties.

"If you want to win an election in Kenya, you really want to win this northern district," Sanford said. "One way you might be able to do that is by giving land to people there who don't have land."

When a country transitions from being an autocracy to a democracy, the rate of forest cover loss increases, according to Sanford's preliminary results. In an autocracy, such as a dictatorship or monarchy, the number of people who can remove a leader from power is very small. "When the autocrat wants to pay those people off to stay in power, giving them some rural forested land isn't really useful," Sanford said.

But when a country switches to a democracy, smallholder farmers who had no say in the government now have a strong say in the government, he said. "As a result, if a politician wants to remain in power they have to start paying attention to what those people want, and a lot of those people want some land."

Explore further New analysis shows Brazil slows deforestation with land registration program

This story is republished courtesy of AGU Blogs (http://blogs.agu.org), a community of Earth and space science blogs, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here.
Assistant Professor of Government Ryan Enos talks about his new book, The Space Between Us, in which he explores the influence of geography in politics and daily life. Credit: Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

Understanding geography is fundamental to understanding the world, says Ryan Enos, assistant professor of government and a specialist in American politics. People often classify places or neighborhoods simply by who lives in them, he says, and build their allegiances by asking, "Are they one of us?"

In his new book "The Space Between Us," Enos discusses the strong influence of social geography on psychology, behavior, and politics, and explains how an "us versus them" mentality can be tightly connected to a "here versus there" paradigm of place. The Gazette interviewed Enos, a specialist on race and ethnic politics, about his book and talked about what people might do to overcome the power of geography on the mind in order to increase inclusion in American cities, many of which are increasingly segregated through gentrification.

GAZETTE: One of the main arguments of your book is that geography affects people's behavior and their politics. Can you explain what social geography is and how it works?

ENOS: Social geography is the location of groups of people on the Earth's surface. It's a way to organize our world and is an important part of how we understand the world because it affects the way we perceive groups of people, how we arrange them in our minds, whether we think those groups are similar to each other or different from each other. A very prominent example that shows how social geography affects the way people vote involves how white Americans in 2008 and 2012 had to decide whether they would vote for a black man for president. I argue that one way to explain how they vote is by the influence of social geography, because they'd say, "If I'm a white person, do black people live near me?" If the answer was no, in their minds they may have subconsciously assumed that black people were different from them, and that that black man was not representative of them.

GAZETTE: You did an experiment in Boston where you found that people's attitudes toward immigration change when you change social geography. Can you tell us more about the experiment? What were you trying to prove?

ENOS: What I tried to do was change social geography and see how that changed people's behaviors. We sent two Spanish-speakers to Grafton and other places that are very white and asked them to stand in randomly selected train stations and speak Spanish for a few minutes every day. What we wanted to know was how people reacted to a change in social geography, and whether that affected the way they thought about politics. We surveyed people waiting for the train, who were largely upper class, liberal, and white, before and after the experiment, about their politics and attitudes on immigration. What we found was that people who were exposed to these two Spanish-speakerswho weren't doing anything unusual, just speaking Spanish, spending a few minutes on the train station every daychanged their attitudes toward immigration. They became sharply exclusionary, and they said they wanted to keep immigrants out of the country. The experiment was completely random, nothing else changed, and it was the mere presence of these other people, this change in social geography, that changed their attitudes about politics.

GAZETTE: Did this finding surprise you?

ENOS: In some ways, I was shocked. One of the things it teaches us, and this is one of the arguments I make in the book, is that these tendencies are deeply embedded in our psychology, and that the psychological space between us increases when the geographic space between us decreases. Being residents of Massachusetts, we tend to think that anti-immigrant attitude or xenophobia is something we don't do in this part of the country. This is not true. Anybody can be subject to these types of behaviors, and I think that is an important lesson because what it shows us is that if we want to have a harmonious society as the country continues to diversify, even places like Massachusetts need to work at it. We need to make sure we take steps as more immigrants come into a place like Massachusetts to make sure that people can get along.

GAZETTE: What are those steps? What can policymakers do?

ENOS: One point I make is that we, policymakers and the general public, don't think about social geography when we think about integration. We actually think about integration in terms of our institutions, maybe in our schools, or sometimes in very elite institutions like universities or in certain businesses that hire a very diverse group of people. But that doesn't touch a large segment of the population. And even if we integrate schools, because of the grasp that social geography has in our minds, if we look across our cities, and people still live in separate parts of the city, that's going to affect how well they can relate to each other and whether they come together politically. I think that what policymakers really need to focus on is how we can build cities that are inclusive, where we not only share public spaceswhich is important toolike parks and museums, but also that we share residential space. That's a real challenge because increasingly certain parts of cities are affordable to only one type of person, and we can see this especially in places like Boston that are becoming more and more expensive. Only the wealthy, who are often a certain racial group, can live in certain parts of Boston or Cambridge. Cambridge in some ways is becoming less diverse, and one of the areas where policymakers have a big role is in whether or not they can do things about building affordable housing for a larger segment of the population, which can lead to a breakdown of segregation. Having integrated cities, not segregated cities, is an important thing for the future.

GAZETTE: You have lived in Chicago, where you worked as a high school teacher on the South Side. Between Boston and Chicago, which one is more segregated?

ENOS: Both are very segregated. Chicago by many measures is a more segregated city than Boston. But at some point cities reach a point of segregation where those distinctions become somewhat unimportant. If you ask a white person in Boston, for example, if he or she knows where to find Latinos or African-Americans, he or she can tell you easily. You see the same thing in Chicago. People know what side of the city is theirs and what side of the city belongs to another group. That's a phenomenon in a lot of big cities all across the United States, and that's the social geography I'm looking at. You don't have to live in a place like Boston for very long to know that that affects our politics and that affects how we think about other people.

GAZETTE: Big cities across the United States are changing with gentrification. What's the overall impact of gentrification on social geography?

ENOS: The danger of gentrification is that it can resegregate our cities. In some ways, our society has made a long, slow progress toward breaking down segregation from its height 50 years ago, and there is a real fear that, as cities gentrify, we will essentially revert to the segregation we had once upon a time. Segregation once was a phenomenon where you had people of color living in the inner cities and white people living in the suburbs, and that may reverse with gentrification, where you have poor people of color being moved out of the cities and white people living in the cities. And that can really lead to a problem that may be even worse than the previous problem, because people in the suburbs are a lot easier to forget. People go to the cities to work and to take part in institutions like sporting events, shopping, etc., and don't want to go to the suburbs, so we can imagine a pattern of reverse segregation, as you may call it, that may happen because of gentrification.

GAZETTE: In your book, you also analyze Phoenix and Tucson, two cities that have dealt with immigration but have different attitudes toward immigrants. Can you explain the role of social geography in the different outcomes? Why is Phoenix more against immigrants, and Tucson largely in favor?

ENOS: One of the key factors is the level of integration, whether people are segregated or integrated across space. In Arizona, 30 percent of the population is Hispanic. In Tucson, you have people who have largely lived together for generations, Anglos and Hispanics, in a more integrated way. In Phoenix, people live in the same metro area, but Anglos and Hispanics are very divided from each other, and the presence of groups that are large and segregated is the worst possible situation for social geography. That is what leads people to think that those groups are very separate and have nothing in common, and that ultimately affects their political behavior in a way that makes them confrontational and at odds with each other. In my book, I try to imagine a scenario where the rest of Arizona would be more like Tucson, where these groups, over generations, have learned to live together, so that, in this scenario, the 30 percent Hispanic population might not matter to Anglos that much. But currently that's not the way Phoenix is, and you see that reflected in Phoenix politicswith Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who had all these viciously anti-immigrant policies and had the support of the Anglo population in Phoenix. I argue that a big part of this is enabled by segregation.

GAZETTE: You said that the outcome of the 2016 presidential election can be explained by social geography and that Donald Trump's rhetoric shows the powerful influence of social geography. Can you elaborate?

ENOS: We know there were Democrats who voted for Trump. Some of the places where we saw this were the places where we saw the biggest changes in social geography. If you look across the United States and you look in counties that had experienced, in the last 15 years or so, rapid growth of the Latino population, we see that those were the places where voters, even Democratic voters, who previously voted for Barack Obama, switched to Trump. We can't know for sure, but my argument is that this looks a lot like the experiment in Boston. And perhaps what happened was that when that social geography changed, those voters became more threatened by those immigrants, and that affected the way they voted, causing them to vote for Trump. Trump became an attractive candidate to them because of the anti-migrant rhetoric he was promoting.

GAZETTE: What would you like readers to take away from your book?

ENOS: The main takeaway is that the way social geography, the way that we're arranged out in space in our cities and our counties, affects what we think about other people. And because it affects what we think about other people, it subsequently affects our politics and whether we can be a harmonious society.

We need to think about two things. One is the public policy for changing social geography and living in a more inclusive society, and the other involves our own personal behavior, whether we can reach across that social geography and have contact with people who are different from us and learn about those people, allowing us to overcome the power that social geography has over our minds.

Explore further The influence of neighbors: Where we live and who we know can affect voting patterns

This story is published courtesy of the Harvard Gazette, Harvard University's official newspaper. For additional university news, visit Harvard.edu.
Southern right whales feed around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Credit: Carlos Olavarria

An international team of researchers, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), travels to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia this month (January) to carry out the first scientific whale survey since whaling stopped in the 1970s.

Southern right whale populations were decimated after nearly 300 years of hunting in the South Atlantic. When commercial operations stopped, populations were expected to recover. The team of eight researchers and three crew, will spend five weeks on the research vessel 'Song of the Whale' to investigate the health of the animals in their feeding grounds. In addition, they hope to solve the puzzle of why large numbers of dead whale calves have washed up on the shores around Argentina in the last decade.

Photo-identifications and satellite tagging have revealed seasonal migrations of right whales between South Georgia waters and their calving ground at Peninsula Valdes in Argentina. However, this area has had notably high calf mortalities, and a growing body of evidence suggests that South Georgia environmental conditions directly influence the breeding success of these whales. It is thought that availability of food at South Georgia is a primary factor influencing their reproductive rates.

Whale ecologist Dr Jennifer Jackson from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is leading the expedition cruise. She says:

"Very little is known about southern right whales around South Georgia. We want to know how many use these waters, where and what they are feeding on, and how healthy they are. Ultimately we want to understand how the population is recovering from centuries of whaling and to help unravel the mystery of why so many calves have been dying over the last 10 years."

The team will locate the whales using advanced acoustics previously used to find Blue whales. By listening for their vocalisation or songs, the team can detect the location of their calls and identify where they are. Once found, the team will take photographs for photo-identification, collect skin samples, and attach satellite tags to identify and track them. Team members will fly drones over the whales to assess their body condition and general state of health.

The team is seeking help from tourists, naturalists and other boat operators who will be sailing and working in the waters around the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Scotia Arc from January to March 2018. Good quality photographs and details of sightings of southern right whales will help create a benchmark and health check of the species.

Explore further Record number of whales counted in Argentina's Patagonia
NASA IMERG rainfall accumulation estimates between Jan. 2 and 8 of close to 700mm (27.6 inches) occurred in the Indian Ocean northeast and southeast of Madagascar. Highest rainfall totals over land were indicated in northeastern Madagascar where Ava came ashore. Credit: NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce

Tropical cyclone Ava dropped extremely heavy rainfall over Madagascar as it passed over the eastern side of the island country on January 5 and 6, 2018. NASA calculated how much rainfall occurred using satellite data.

Ava's drenching rainfall caused flooding and landslides which resulted in the deaths of at least 29 people. An estimated 80,000 people on Madagascar were affected by the tropical cyclone.

A rainfall analysis using IMERG was produced at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. by accumulating rainfall that fell near Madagascar during the period from January 2 through 8, 2018.

IMERG means Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM. IMERG is used to estimate precipitation from a combination of passive microwave sensors, including the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's core satellite's GMI microwave sensor and geostationary IR (infrared) data. IMERG real-time data are generated by NASA's Precipitation Processing System every half hour and are normally available within six hours.

NASA IMERG estimates showed the locations of extreme rainfall totals during the period when tropical cyclone Ava was in Madagascar's vicinity. The highest IMERG rainfall accumulation estimates of close to 700mm (27.6 inches) were shown for this period in the Indian Ocean northeast and southeast of Madagascar. The highest rainfall totals over land were indicated in northeastern Madagascar where Ava came ashore. High rainfall totals over land were also indicated by IMERG over northwestern Madagascar where the tropical cyclone caused an onshore flow from the Mozambique Channel.

NASA IMERG rainfall accumulation estimates between Jan. 2 and 8 of close to 700mm (27.6 inches) occurred in the Indian Ocean northeast and southeast of Madagascar. Highest rainfall totals over land were indicated in northeastern Madagascar where Ava came ashore. Credit: NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce

IMERG data are calibrated with measurements from the GPM Core Observatory as well as rain gauge networks around the world. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.

Ava has moved into the Indian Ocean south of Madagascar and cooler ocean waters. These environmental conditions are expected to cause Ava to rapidly dissipate.

Explore further NASA's IMERG calculated rainfall of Tropical Cyclone 03S
An artists rendering of how the iron content of a star can impact its planets. A normal star (green label) is more likely to host a longer-period planet (green orbit), while an iron-rich star (yellow label) is more likely to host a shorter-period planet (yellow orbit). Credit: Dana Berry/SkyWorks Digital Inc.; SDSS collaboration

Astronomers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) have learned that the chemical composition of a star can exert unexpected influence on its planetary systema discovery made possible by an ongoing SDSS survey of stars seen by NASA's Kepler spacecraft, and one that promises to expand our understanding of how extrasolar planets form and evolve.

"Without these detailed and accurate measurements of the iron content of stars, we could have never made this measurement," says Robert Wilson, a graduate student in astronomy at the University of Virginia and lead author of the paper announcing the results.

The team presented their results today at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in National Harbor, Maryland. Using SDSS data, they found that stars with higher concentrations of iron tend to host planets that orbit quite close to their host staroften with orbital periods of less than about eight dayswhile stars with less iron tend to host planets with longer periods that are more distant from their host star. Further investigation of this effect may help us understand the full variety of extrasolar planetary systems in our Galaxy, and shed light on why planets are found where they are.

The story of planets around sun-like stars began in 1995, when a team of astronomers discovered a single planet orbiting a sun-like star 50 light years from Earth. The pace of discovery accelerated in 2009, when NASA launched the Kepler spacecraft, a space telescope designed to look for extrasolar planets. During its four-year primary mission, Kepler monitored thousands of stars at a time, watching for the tiny dimming of starlight that indicates a planet passing in front its host star. And because Kepler looked at the same stars for years, it saw their planets over and over again, and was thus able to measure the time the planet takes to orbit its star. This information reveals the distance to from star to planet, with closer planets orbiting faster than farther ones. Thanks to Kepler's tireless monitoring, the number of exoplanets with known orbital periods increased dramatically, from about 400 in 2009 to more than 3,000 today.

Although Kepler was perfectly designed to spot extrasolar planets, it was not designed to learn about the chemical compositions of the stars around which those planets orbit. That knowledge comes from the SDSS's Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), which has studied hundreds of thousands of stars all over the Milky Way Galaxy. APOGEE works by collecting a spectrum for each stara measurement of how much light the star gives off at different wavelengths (colors) of light. Because atoms of each chemical element interact with light in their own characteristic way, a spectrum allows astronomers to determine not only which elements a star contains, but also how muchfor all elements including the key element iron.

"All sun-like stars are mostly hydrogen, but some contain more iron than others," says Johanna Teske of the Carnegie Institution for Science, a member of the research team. "The amount of iron a star contains is an important clue to how it formed and how it will evolve over its lifetime."

By combining data from these two sourcesplanetary orbits from Kepler and stellar chemistry from APOGEEastronomers have learned about the relationships between these "iron-enriched" stars and the planetary systems they hold.

"We knew that the element enrichment of a star would matter for its own evolution," says Teske, "But we were surprised to learn that it matters for the evolution of its planetary system as well."

The work presented today builds on previous work, led by Gijs Mulders of the University of Arizona, using a larger but less precise sample of spectra from the LAMOST-Kepler project. (LAMOST, the Large-Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, is a Chinese sky survey.) Mulders and collaborators found a similar trendcloser-in planets orbiting more iron-rich starsbut did not pin down the critical period of eight days.

"It is encouraging to see an independent confirmation of the trend we found in 2016," says Mulders. "The identification of the critical period really shows that Kepler is the gift that keeps on giving."

What is particularly surprising about the new result, Wilson explained, is that the iron-enriched stars have only about 25 percent more iron than the others in the sample. "That's like adding five-eighths of a teaspoon of salt into a cupcake recipe that calls for half a teaspoon of salt, among all its other ingredients. I'd still eat that cupcake," he says. "That really shows us how even small differences in stellar composition can have profound impacts on planetary systems."

But even with this new discovery, astronomers are left with many unanswered questions about how extrasolar planets form and evolve, especially planets Earth-sized or slightly larger ("super-Earths"). Do iron-rich stars intrinsically form planets with shorter orbits? Or are planets orbiting iron-rich stars more likely to form farther out and then migrate to shorter period, closer-in orbits? Wilson and collaborators hope to work with other astronomers to create new models of protoplanetary disks to test both of these explanations.

"I'm excited that we still have much to learn about how the chemical compositions of stars impact their planets, particularly about how small planets form," Teske says. "Plus, APOGEE provides many more stellar chemical abundances besides iron, so there are likely other trends buried within this rich dataset that we have yet to explore."

Explore further Planets around other stars are like peas in a pod

Provided by Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Credit: George Hodan/public domain

Two teams of researchers working independently of one another have discovered some remarkable features of liquid waterit can be chilled to 42.55C and it appears to have what is described as a singularity. The first team, made up of members from across Europe, conducted experiments designed to find the lowest temperature at which liquid water can exist. They have published their results in the journal Physical Review Letters. The second team, with members from Sweden, Korea and Japan sought to learn more about the attributes of liquid water when chilled to very low temperatures. They have published their results in the journal Science. Paola Gallo with Universita Roma Tre and Eugene Stanley with Boston University offer a Perspective piece on the work done by the two teams in the same Science issue.

While it is true that liquid water normally becomes a solid at 0C, it is also true that under certain circumstances, liquid water can be much colder than that, such as when it is chilled very quicklya fast measuring system can take the temperature of the water before it has time to form crystals. But just how cold can it get? Prior theory has suggested the limit is likely 40C. I this new effort, the researchers found it could go slightly colder than that by injecting very tiny droplets into a vacuum chamber. As the droplets moved through the chamber, some of the water evaporated, causing the temperature of the drop to fall. The team used lasers to measure the change in diameter of the drops to calculate their temperature, and found the new low record of 42.55C.

Liquid water also has another strange property, according to the researchers with the second effortthe ability to exist in two different liquid states when chilled and to jump between them at a given point, which the team called its singularity. They used a similar setup to the first group, injecting water droplets into a vacuum chamber and shooting them with a laser to measure their temperature, but they found something new. Different parts of the droplets had different densities and sometimes the molecules in the drops seemed to have difficulty deciding which state to occupy, and so moved back and forth, suggesting a singularity state.

Explore further An ultradilute quantum liquid made from ultra-cold atoms

More information: 1. Claudia Goy et al. Shrinking of Rapidly Evaporating Water Microdroplets Reveals their Extreme Supercooling, Physical Review Letters (2018). Arxiv: arxiv.org/abs/1711.02412 1. Claudia Goy et al. Shrinking of Rapidly Evaporating Water Microdroplets Reveals their Extreme Supercooling,(2018). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.015501 , On Abstract

The fast evaporative cooling of micrometer-sized water droplets in vacuum offers the appealing possibility to investigate supercooled water - below the melting point but still a liquid - at temperatures far beyond the state-of-the-art. However, it is challenging to obtain a reliable value of the droplet temperature under such extreme experimental conditions. Here, the observation of morphology-dependent resonances in the Raman scattering from a stream of perfectly uniform water droplets has allowed us to measure with an absolute precision of better than 0.2% the variation in droplet size resulting from evaporative mass losses. This finding proved crucial to an unambiguous determination of the droplet temperature. In particular, a fraction of water droplets with initial diameter of 637912 nm were found to remain liquid down to 230.60.6 K. Our results question temperature estimates reported recently for larger supercooled water droplets, and provide valuable information on the hydrogen-bond network in liquid water in the hard-to-access deeply supercooled regime. 2. Kyung Hwan Kim et al. Maxima in the thermodynamic response and correlation functions of deeply supercooled water, Science (2017). DOI: 10.1126/science.aap8269 Abstract

Femtosecond x-ray laser pulses were used to probe micrometer-sized water droplets that were cooled down to 227 kelvin in vacuum. Isothermal compressibility and correlation length were extracted from x-ray scattering at the lowmomentum transfer region. The temperature dependence of these thermodynamic response and correlation functions shows maxima at 229 kelvin for water and 233 kelvin for heavy water. In addition, we observed that the liquids undergo the fastest growth of tetrahedral structures at similar temperatures. These observations point to the existence of a Widom line, defined as the locus of maximum correlation length emanating from a critical point at positive pressures in the deeply supercooled regime. The difference in the maximum value of the isothermal compressibility between the two isotopes shows the importance of nuclear quantum effects. Journal information: Physical Review Letters , Science , arXiv

 2018 Phys.org
An artists rendering of the inner regions of an active galaxy/quasar, with a supermassive black hole at the center surrounded by a disk of hot material falling in. The inset at the bottom right shows how the brightness of light coming from the two different regions changes with time. The top panel of the plot shows the continuum region, which originates close in to the black hole (the general vicinity is indicated by the swoosh shape). The bottom panel shows the H-beta emission line region, which comes from fast-moving hydrogen gas farther away from the black hole (the general vicinity is indicated by the other swoosh). The time span covered by these two light curves is about six months. The bottom plot echoes the top, with a slight time delay of about 10 days indicated by the vertical line. This means that the distance between these two regions is about 10 light-days (about 150 billion miles, or 240 million kilometers). Credit: Nahks TrEhnl (www.nahks.com) and Catherine Grier (The Pennsylvania State University) and the SDSS collaboration

Today, astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) announced new measurements of the masses of a large sample of supermassive black holes far beyond the local Universe.

The results, being presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in National Harbor, Maryland and published in the Astrophysical Journal, represent a major step forward in our ability to measure supermassive black hole masses in large numbers of distant quasars and galaxies.

"This is the first time that we have directly measured masses for so many supermassive black holes so far away," says Catherine Grier, a postdoctoral fellow at the Pennsylvania State University and the lead author of this work. "These new measurements, and future measurements like them, will provide vital information for people studying how galaxies grow and evolve throughout cosmic time."

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are found in the centers of nearly every large galaxy, including those in the farthest reaches of the Universe. The gravitational attraction of these supermassive black holes is so great that nearby dust and gas in the host galaxy is inexorably drawn in. The infalling material heats up to such high temperatures that it glows brightly enough to be seen all the way across the Universe. These bright disks of hot gas are known as "quasars," and they are clear indicators of the presence of supermassive black holes. By studying these quasars, we learn not only about SMBHs, but also about the distant galaxies that they live in. But to do all of this requires measurements of the properties of the SMBHs, most importantly their masses.

The problem is that measuring the masses of SMBHs is a daunting task. Astronomers measure SMBH masses in nearby galaxies by observing groups of stars and gas near the galaxy centerhowever, these techniques do not work for more distant galaxies, because they are so far away that telescopes cannot resolve their centers. Direct SMBH mass measurements in galaxies farther away are made using a technique called "reverberation mapping."

Reverberation mapping works by comparing the brightness of light coming from gas very close in to the black hole (referred to as the "continuum" light) to the brightness of light coming from fast-moving gas farther out. Changes occurring in the continuum region impact the outer region, but light takes time to travel outwards, or "reverberate." This reverberation means that there is a time delay between the variations seen in the two regions. By measuring this time delay, astronomers can determine how far out the gas is from the black hole. Knowing that distance allows them to measure the mass of the supermassive black holeeven though they can't see the details of the black hole itself.

Over the past 20 years, astronomers have used the reverberation mapping technique to laboriously measure the masses of around 60 SMBHs in nearby active galaxies. Reverberation mapping requires getting observations of these active galaxies, over and over again for several monthsand so for the most part, measurements are made for only a handful of active galaxies at a time. Using the reverberation mapping technique on quasars, which are farther away, is even more difficult, requiring years of repeated observations. Because of these observational difficulties, astronomers had only successfully used reverberation mapping to measure SMBH masses for a handful of more distant quasarsuntil now.

A graph of known supermassive black hole masses at various lookback times, which measures the time into the past we see when we look at each quasar. More distant quasars have longer lookback times (since their light takes longer to travel to Earth), so we see them as they appeared in the more distant past. The Universe is about 13.8 billion years old, so the graph goes back to when the Universe was about half of its current age. The black hole masses measured in this work are shown as purple circles, while gray squares show black hole masses measured by prior reverberation mapping projects. The sizes of the squares and circles are related to the masses of the black holes they represent. The graph shows black holes from 5 million to 1.7 billion times the mass of the sun. Credit: Catherine Grier (The Pennsylvania State University) and the SDSS collaboration

In this new work, Grier's team has used an industrial-scale application of the reverberation mapping technique with the goal of measuring black hole masses in tens to hundreds of quasars. The key to the success of the SDSS Reverberation Mapping project lies in the SDSS's ability to study many quasars at oncethe program is currently observing about 850 quasars simultaneously. But even with the SDSS's powerful telescope, this is a challenging task because these distant quasars are incredibly faint.

"You have to calibrate these measurements very carefully to make sure you really understand what the quasar system is doing," says Jon Trump, an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut and a member of the research team.

Improvements in the calibrations were obtained by also observing the quasars with the Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope (CFHT) and the Steward Observatory Bok telescope located at Kitt Peak over the same observing season. After all of the observations were compiled and the calibration process was completed, the team found reverberation time delays for 44 quasars. They used these time delay measurements to calculate black hole masses that range from about 5 million to 1.7 billion times the mass of our sun.

"This is a big step forward for quasar science," says Aaron Barth, a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Irvine who was not involved in the team's research. "They have shown for the first time that these difficult measurements can be done in mass-production mode."

These new SDSS measurements increase the total number of active galaxies with SMBH mass measurements by about two-thirds, and push the measurements farther back in time to when the Universe was only half of its current age. But the team isn't stopping therethey continue to observe these 850 quasars with SDSS, and the additional years of data will allow them to measure black hole masses in even more distant quasars, which have longer time delays that cannot be measured with a single year of data.

"Getting observations of quasars over multiple years is crucial to obtain good measurements," says Yue Shen, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois and Principal Investigator of the SDSS Reverberation Mapping project. "As we continue our project to monitor more and more quasars for years to come, we will be able to better understand how supermassive black holes grow and evolve."

The future of the SDSS holds many more exciting possibilities for using reverberation mapping to measure masses of supermassive black holes across the Universe. After the current fourth phase of the SDSS ends in 2020, the fifth phase of the program, SDSS-V, begins. SDSS-V features a new program called the Black Hole Mapper, which plans to measure SMBH masses in more than 1,000 more quasars, pushing farther out into the Universe than any reverberation mapping project ever before.

"The Black Hole Mapper will let us move into the age of supermassive black hole reverberation mapping on a true industrial scale," says Niel Brandt, a professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the Pennsylvania State University and a long-time member of the SDSS. "We will learn more about these mysterious objects than ever before."

Explore further the geometry of nuclear black hole accretion disks

More information: C. J. Grier et al. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: H and H Reverberation Measurements from First-year Spectroscopy and Photometry, The Astrophysical Journal (2017). Journal information: Astrophysical Journal C. J. Grier et al. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: H and H Reverberation Measurements from First-year Spectroscopy and Photometry,(2017). DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aa98dc

Provided by Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Researchers of Spain's Universitat Jaume I of Castellon are developing new materials that will make wind turbines more resistant to the extreme climate conditions they have to withstand.

The University Institute of Ceramic Technology Agustin Escardino of the Universidad Jaume I in Castellon, Spain, is participating in the development of new materials that are resistant to extreme climate for the manufacture of wind turbines. The AeroExtreme project, led by company Siemens Gamesa, will be operational until the end of 2018 and is co-financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness as well as FEDER Funds.

Electric power generated from renewable energies such as wind power has become increasingly popular in recent years in Europe. According to WindEurope, this type of energy represented 51 percent of all energy generated in new facilities opened during 2016, replacing those that make use of fossil fuels.

Large wind turbines face adverse weather conditions such as the continuous impact of particles transported by wind at high speeds, very high or low temperatures, an abundance of dust, high exposure to ultraviolet rays, etc. To increase energy production efficiency and reduce repair costs, it is increasingly necessary to develop advanced performance materials that withstand such extreme conditions.

The AeroExtreme project studies various passive and active solutions for the blades and the nacelle (internal structure on which the blades turn) with the aim of maintaining high yields of electrical power production and high durability in extreme climatic conditions.

Wear caused by dust particles suspended in the air, the accumulation of dirt and the growth of microorganisms in the blades significantly reduces their energy production efficiency due to the damage to their aerodynamic shape. Within the framework of the project, the ITC has developed a type of material with far superior resistance to erosion than those currently used, as well as photocatalytic and antifouling coatings, witch also have hightened durability.

Vicente Sanz, main researcher of the project, says, "The previous developments of the ITC in nanotechnology and the interdisciplinary collaboration have been key elements for the success of the solutions found, whose implementation will be carried out soon."

Explore further Wind turbines with flexible blades found to be more efficient
From a vacant plot in a blighted neighborhood springs neatly combed rows of plants put in by the neighbors. They meticulously care for this small piece of land and among the drab looking buildings sprouts a patch of green. Cultivating the land may have started as a way to unite a neighborhood; to give pride to place, or it might be the project of a local high school to teach land stewardship.

The urban agriculture phenomenon has grown over the years for many reasons, each specific to the plot of land or rooftop it covers. While most of the benefits from these efforts seem to be limited and very local, when taken collectively there is a significant environmental impact that results from them.

Now a team of researchers led by Arizona State University and Google has assessed the value of urban agriculture and quantified its benefits at global scale. They report their findings in "A Global Geospatial Ecosystems Services Estimate of Urban Agriculture," in the current issue of Earth's Future.

"For the first time, we have a data-driven approach that quantifies the ecosystem benefits from urban agriculture," said Matei Georgescu, an ASU associate professor of geographical sciences and urban planning and corresponding author of the paper. "Our estimates of ecosystem services show potential for millions of tons of food production, thousands of tons of nitrogen sequestration, billions of kilowatt hours of energy savings and billions of cubic meters of avoided storm runoff from agriculture in urban areas."

The researchers analyzed global population, urban, meteorological, terrain, and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) datasets in Google Earth Engine to come to their global scale estimates. They then aggregated them by country.

Overall, the researchers estimated the annual value of four ecosystem services provided by existing vegetation in urban areas to be on the order of $33 billion. In this scenario, they projected an annual food production of 100 to 180 million tons, energy savings of 14 to 15 billion kilowatt hours (insulation properties provided by soil on roofs), nitrogen sequestration between 100,000 to 170,000 tons and avoided storm runoff of 45 to 57 billion cubic meters annually.

With intense urban agriculture implementation, the researchers estimate the overall annual worth of urban agriculture could be as much as $80 to $160 billion. Importantly, urban agriculture could help feed a world that may face future challenges in industrial agriculture as a result of climate change.

"We've known there are benefits to having these small plots of land in our cities, but we found that the benefits extend well beyond having fresh food in the hands of those who will consume it," explained lead author Nicholas Clinton of Google, Inc.

"By integrating across elements that comprise the food-energy-water nexus, our work characterizes the heterogeneous nature of ecosystem services. It is a benchmark global scale assessment," added Georgescu, who also is a senior scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU.

In addition to Georgescu and Clinton, co-authors of the paper are Albie Miles of the University of Hawaii; Peng Gong of Tsinghua University, Beijing; ASU graduate students Michelle Stuhlmacher, Nazli Uludere and Melissa Wagner; and Chris Herwig of Google.

Urban agriculture's full effect

"The most obvious benefit of urban agriculture is that it improves access to healthy foods," said co-author Michelle Stuhlmacher. "In addition to considering yield, our analysis evaluates the potential ecosystem services - such as urban nitrogen fixation, pollination, biological control of pests, control of damaging storm water runoff and energy conservation - that result from urban agriculture."

The work, the researchers say, provides more than an accounting of the effect of urban agriculture in one scenario. It can be used as a tool for future assessments of the changing urban agriculture landscape to better understand tradeoffs between urban design strategies.

"The value of this approach to the global community - research, governmental organizations, political groups - is that it provides local stakeholders with a quantitative framework that they themselves can use. For example, they can assess local implications of varying urban agriculture deployment scenarios based on current or projected urban extent, current or projected building height and facades, different yields, etc., that are all specific to the location under consideration," explained Clinton.

"The global estimates that we provide are useful because they provide a benchmark for other researchers but the societal benefits extend well beyond that because of the implementation of Google's Earth Engine platform," added Georgescu. "Anyone on the planet who wants to know whether and how much urban agriculture can provide for their locality can now do so using open data and code provided with the paper."

Looking at the future of urban agriculture, Clinton said countries that have the most incentives to encourage it share two primary characteristics - sufficient urban area, and a national-scale mixture of crops that lends itself to urban cultivation.

"Relatively temperate, developed or developing countries with the right mix of crops are expected to have the greatest incentives for urban agriculture," he said. "These would include China, Japan, Germany and the U.S."

Seeing the whole picture

"Analysis of the food-energy-water nexus sometimes leaves the impression that benefits are concentrated in one place and costs in another," said Tom Torgersen, program director for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Water, Sustainability and Climate program, which supported the research. "But that's not always the case. Urban agriculture, for example, is an underdeveloped industry that could produce food, sequester urban nitrogen, generate energy savings, help moderate the urban climate and reduce storm water runoff, as well as provide more nutritious foods."

Explore further Urban agriculture only provides small environmental benefits in northeastern US
Alyssa Gehman found that organisms infected with parasites may be more sensitive to changes in temperature. Credit: University of Georgia

Organisms infected by parasites may respond differently to changes in temperature than their uninfected counterparts, according to new research from the University of Georgia. The study of a host-parasite system in coastal waters of the southeastern U.S. found that a rise of just 2 degrees Celsius could be enough to cause the parasite to die out locally, as infected hosts are not able to survive at the higher temperature.

"Most organisms are infected by some parasite, and many populations will have a large proportion infectedin this system, up to 30 to 40 percent," said lead author Alyssa Gehman. "When that large a proportion of the population has a different response to temperature, it affects the whole population's response. So if we want to be able to predict how organisms are going to respond to environmental change, we need to be able to predict how infected organisms will respond."

The study, "Host and parasite thermal ecology jointly determine the effect of climate warming on epidemic dynamics," appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research is focused on a population of flatback mud crabs living on oyster reefs near Savannah, Georgia, and an invasive parasite that infects them. Mud crabs are a common species from Massachusetts to Texas. The parasite, a type of barnacle native to the Gulf of Mexico, is now found along the Atlantic coast from Florida to Long Island Sound. It castrates its host and develops an external reproductive organ that produces parasite offspring. These are released into the water as free-swimming larvae that seek out new uninfected crabs to serve as hosts.

Gehman, at the time a Wormsloe Institute for Environmental History Fellow and a doctoral student in the Odum School of Ecology, was working with this host-parasite system on a different research question when she noticed that infected crabs were dying in high numbers in late summer.

Intrigued by the high summer mortality rate, Gehman worked with Odum School professor Jeb Byers to design a series of laboratory experiments to establish the temperature ranges for the parasites and for the crabs at different stages of the disease cycle: uninfected, exposed (colonized by the parasite but not yet producing parasite offspring) and infected (actively producing parasite offspring). She also looked for the optimal temperatures for crab survival and parasite reproductive success.

Working out of UGA's Skidaway Institute of Oceanography in Savannah, Gehman was able to conduct her experiments adjacent to the study organisms' natural habitat. She collected crabs at all three stages of disease from local oyster reefs and over an eight-month period subjected them to different temperature treatments spanning the annual range of temperatures for the region. For crabs, she measured survival rates by infection status, and for parasites, the rate of reproduction.

She found that there were big differences in survival rates of uninfected, exposed and infected crabs and in parasite reproduction depending on temperature.

"These difference show that the parasites affect how hosts respond to temperature," Gehman said. "As temperatures rise, parasite infection lowers the hosts' rate of survival."

A flatback mud crab.

To determine what is likely to happen to these organisms as the climate warms, Gehman worked with co-author Richard Hall of the Odum School and the College of Veterinary Medicine to develop a model that represents the host-parasite system, taking into account the different stages of the disease cycle using the information gleaned from the experiments.

"Alyssa's temperature experiments provided a unique opportunity to develop models that predict infection dynamics under future warming," said Hall. "While there is increasing interest in understanding temperature effects on disease-carrying organisms such as mosquitoes, this was one of the first studies to quantify how temperature and parasite infection interact to influence host survival and parasite production. We can then use these models to explore how annual temperature variation, and future warming, will influence parasite transmission at the Georgia coast and beyond."

They ran the model using weekly mean temperature data calculated from the Georgia Coastal Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research site, which has logged water temperatures in the area for 12 years. The portion of the crab population infected showed a pronounced seasonal cycle, with infection rates highest in the cooler months of winter and early spring, dropping off in late spring and summer as the water temperatures rise and the hostsand consequently their parasitesdie in greater numbers. The model thus captured the same cyclic pattern seen in the parasite in the field data.

"The intricate measurements of real organisms' responses to temperature wedded to a mathematical model is a highly labor-intensive undertaking, and one that is seldom practiced at this level of detail for large organisms," said Byers, the paper's senior author. "But the result was well worth it, because it enables remarkable insight into a real system and sheds light on the importance of comparing host and parasite optimal temperatures and temperature ranges to sharpen disease forecasting."

To forecast how mud crabs and their parasites are likely to respond under plausible warming scenarios, the team ran the model again with weekly mean temperature increases of 1 and 2 degrees C. They found that with a 1 degree C rise, infection rates will drop; with a rise of 2 degrees C, the local population of the parasites is predicted to die out completely.

Gehman then looked at the impacts of rising temperatures across the northern part of the parasite's range, using information provided by the National Estuarine Research Reserve system, which has been collecting temperature data at sites along the Atlantic coast for many years.

They found that warming is not likely to cause the parasite to move farther north. However, for latitudes between 34 and 40roughly from just south of Wilmington, North Carolina, to just north of Toms River, New Jerseythey found that as temperatures rose there would be more weeks during the year with conditions favorable for transmission. So while the parasite's range is not likely to expand and may even be reduced if it dies out in the south, there may be more transmission in its current northern locations.

Gehman cautioned that this prediction assumes that neither the parasite nor the host will adapt to rising temperatures.

"Many mosquito-borne diseases are expected to increase in temperate regions under climate change, but this research shows that a warmer world is not always a sicker world," said Byers. "It is important to look at the specifics of the thermal responses of both host and parasite."

Explore further Strong hosts help parasites spread farther

More information: Alyssa-Lois M. Gehman et al. Host and parasite thermal ecology jointly determine the effect of climate warming on epidemic dynamics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Alyssa-Lois M. Gehman et al. Host and parasite thermal ecology jointly determine the effect of climate warming on epidemic dynamics,(2018). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1705067115
Jamie Peyton applies tilapia skin to the mountain lion cub's foot. Credit: Karin Higgins/UC Davis

In the wake of massive wildfires that burned through the Sonoma and Napa areas last fall, Deana Clifford had a bad feeling.

"I feel like we're going to get a burned animal," said Clifford, who is a senior wildlife veterinarian with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and an assistant clinical professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

She mentioned her hunch to Jamie Peyton, chief of the Integrative Medicine Service at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, who offered her expertise in pain management to any potential cases.

A couple of weeks later, they had a patientfrom the Thomas Fire in Southern California.

A 5-month-old mountain lion had been repeatedly spotted by residents in the Ventura County city of Santa Paula. The cub, far too young to be alone, also looked to be limping. He was brought to a Department of Fish and Wildlife facility in Rancho Cordova for treatment, where staff got to work treating burns found on all four of his paws.

"He was already starting to heal, but his paw pads were problematic," Clifford said.

Peyton's Integrative Medicine Service encourages vet students to combine traditional clinical techniques like antibiotics, with out-of-the-box thinking like acupuncture and chiropractic treatment. The mountain lion cub would end up receiving all that and more: His paws were treated with a salve Peyton makes from honey, olive oil, coconut oil and beeswax, and one was covered with tilapia skin as a temporary bandage.

Credit: UC Davis

"It's like having little shoes onfish shoes," Peyton joked of the "biologic bandage."

The fish skin, which to Peyton's knowledge has never before been used on an animal, speeds up the healing process and has the added benefit of being completely harmless if it's eaten by the cubsomething that can't be said about artificial bandages. She adapted the idea from a team using it on human burn patients in Brazil.

"It's the perfect idea to use for wild animals," she said.

Many of the techniques Peyton useslike cold lasers and acupunctureare commonly used on people, but veterinarians often stick to what they know, Peyton said.

UC Davis veterinary medicine student Madelyn Arbios holds the cub's paw while Jamie Peyton attaches the tilapia skin. Credit: Karin Higgins/UC Davis

"We push people to think outside the boundaries," she said.

Peyton said she's excited about the possibilities the fish-skin treatment represents, and hopes to research it further and someday use it as a treatment for companion animals. She's hoping donors will step forward to help make more research possible.

Cub's future is in Sonoma

The mountain lion cub received a fresh tilapia bandage Monday (Jan. 8), applied by Peyton with the help of UC Davis veterinary students.

The mountain lion is moved back to his enclosure after the checkup. Credit: Karin Higgins/UC Davis

"It really does seem to be helping the healing process," Clifford said.

The cub is continuing to recover at the Department of Fish and Wildlife facility in Rancho Cordova where his paws can be kept clean, but in two to four weeks, once he's sufficiently recovered, he'll be released into the care of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue. He's too young to survive alone in the wild, and that facility already has another mountain lion that needs a companion.

Explore further Mountain lion in San Francisco neighborhood is tranquilized
Credit: Northeastern University

Zooplankton are the foundation of the marine food chain. These tiny organisms provide food and energy to fish, sea birds, and other marine mammalsincluding the bowhead whale, which feeds exclusively on zooplankton. What do zooplankton eat? They feed on phytoplankton, which rely on sunlight.

But in the Arctic Ocean during winter months, there is little to no light. Still, scientists have observed that zooplankton migrate from the deep ocean up to the surface. But this phenomenon is difficult to study. Most research vessels produce light pollution, or artificial light, which alters the zooplanktons' natural behavior.

Enter Hanumant Singh, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern, who builds robots like the Jetyak, an autonomous vehicle that's shaped like a kayak and includes a gas-powered engine. Now, one of the more than a dozen Jetyaks Singh has designed for researchers around the world is being used to spy on zooplankton.

"What's been interesting is that the Norwegians went and did something very cool with the Jetyak," Singh said, referring to a project led by Jrgen Berge at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, Singh and his colleagues describe a breakthrough in Berge's ability to examine zooplankton migration in the Arctic polar night.

"For the first time, we were able to unequivocally document and quantify zooplankton behavior in relation to the natural ambient and extreme low-light climate," Berge said. He and his colleagues compared data the Jetyak collected with measurements taken in the light-polluted environment near their main research vessel and found that zooplankton hide from artificial light. Based on this discovery, Berge said it's impossible for scientists aboard traditional vessels to examine the organisms' natural rhythms within the upper 100 meters of the ocean.

Understanding how zooplankton respond to changes in light is important, especially as climate change causes a reduction in sea ice covering the ocean.

"Most Zooplankton will forage in the surface layers in the cover of darkness at night, then migrate down to depth when the sunlight returns in the morning," Berge said. "This process is characteristic of all the oceans and most lakes in the world. It is by far the largest synchronized movement of biomass on the planet."

Understanding the implications of this synchronized migration will require the use of more autonomous vehicles. Creating those vehicles is one way Northeastern is advancing research across the globe, Singh said.

"It's that kind of collaboration we want to foster. You don't need to re-invent this wheel. It's already done. Go ahead and use what we've created and see what you get out of it," Singh said. Other robots he's designed have been used to survey coral reefs, search for deep sea hydrothermal vents, and study ice cover in the Arctic.

"That's why this has been fantastic, to see us build these robots that people all over the world now are using very effectively in cool ways that we never would have thought of."

Explore further In Arctic winter, marine creatures migrate by the light of the moon

More information: Martin Ludvigsen et al. Use of an Autonomous Surface Vehicle reveals small-scale diel vertical migrations of zooplankton and susceptibility to light pollution under low solar irradiance, Science Advances (2018). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aap9887 , Journal information: Science Advances Martin Ludvigsen et al. Use of an Autonomous Surface Vehicle reveals small-scale diel vertical migrations of zooplankton and susceptibility to light pollution under low solar irradiance,(2018). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aap9887 , advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/1/eaap9887
Credit: NASA/CXC/Pontifical Catholic Univ. of Chile /C.Russell et al.

A new visualization provides an exceptional virtual tripcomplete with a 360-degree viewto the center of our home galaxy, the Milky Way. This project, made using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, allows viewers to control their own exploration of the fascinating environment of volatile massive stars and powerful gravity around the monster black hole that lies in the center of the Milky Way.

The Earth is located about 26,000 light years, or about 150,000 trillion miles, from the center of the Galaxy. While humans cannot physically travel there, scientists have been able to study this region by using data from powerful telescopes that can detect light in a variety of forms, including X-ray and infrared light.

This visualization builds on infrared data with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope of 30 massive stellar giants called Wolf-Rayet stars that orbit within about 1.5 light years of the center of our Galaxy. Powerful winds of gas streaming from the surface of these stars are carrying some of their outer layers into interstellar space.

When the outflowing gas collides with previously ejected gas from other stars, the collisions produce shock waves, similar to sonic booms, which permeate the area. These shock waves heat the gas to millions of degrees, which causes it to glow in X-rays. Extensive observations with Chandra of the central regions of the Milky Way have provided critical data about the temperature and distribution of this multimillion-degree gas.

Astronomers are interested in better understanding what role these Wolf-Rayet stars play in the cosmic neighborhood at the Milky Way's center. In particular, they would like to know how the stars interact with the Galactic center's most dominant resident: the supermassive black hole known as Sagittarius A* (abbreviated Sgr A*). Pre-eminent yet invisible, Sgr A* has the mass equivalent to some four million Suns.

The Galactic Center visualization is a 360-degree movie that immerses the viewer into a simulation of the center of our Galaxy. The viewer is at the location of Sgr A* and is able to see about 25 Wolf-Rayet stars (white, twinkling objects) orbiting Sgr A* as they continuously eject stellar winds (black to red to yellow color scale). These winds collide with each other, and then some of this material (yellow blobs) spirals towards Sgr A*. The movie shows two simulations, each of which start around 350 years in the past and span 500 years. The first simulation shows Sgr A* in a calm state, while the second contains a more violent Sgr A* that is expelling its own material, thereby turning off the accretion of clumped material (yellow blobs) that is so prominent in the first portion.

Scientists have used the visualization to examine the effects Sgr A* has on its stellar neighbors. As the strong gravity of Sgr A* pulls clumps of material inwards, tidal forces stretch the clumps as they get closer to the black hole. Sgr A* also impacts its surroundings through occasional outbursts from its vicinity that result in the expulsion of material away from the giant black hole, as shown in the later part of the movie. These outbursts can have the effect of clearing away some of the gas produced by the Wolf-Rayet winds.

Credit: X-ray: NASA/UMass/D.Wang et al., IR: NASA/STScI

The researchers, led by Christopher Russell of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, used the visualization to understand the presence of previously detected X-rays in the shape of a disk that extend about 0.6 light years outward from Sgr A*. Their work shows that the amount of X-rays generated by these colliding winds depends on the strength of outbursts powered by Sgr A*, and also the amount of time that has elapsed since an eruption occurred. Stronger and more recent outbursts result in weaker X-ray emission.

The information provided by the theoretical modeling and a comparison with the strength of X-ray emission observed with Chandra led Russell and his colleagues to determine that Sgr A* most likely had a relatively powerful outburst that started within the last few centuries. Moreover, their findings suggest the outburst from the supermassive black hole is still affecting the region around Sgr A* even though it ended about one hundred years ago.

The 360-degree video of the Galactic Center is ideally viewed in virtual reality (VR) goggles, such as Samsung Gear VR or Google Cardboard. The video can also be viewed on smartphones using the YouTube app. Moving the phone around pans to show a different portion of the movie, mimicking the effect in the VR goggles. Finally, most browsers on a computer also allow 360-degree videos to be shown on YouTube. To look around, either click and drag the video, or click the direction pad in the corner.

Christopher Russell presented this new visualization and the related scientific findings at the 231st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, DC. Some of the results are based on a paper by Russell et al published in 2017 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. An online version is here. The co-authors of this paper are Daniel Wang from University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass. and Jorge Cuadra from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, controls Chandra's science and flight operations.

Explore further Chandra peers into a nurturing cloud
Color image of the Dark Energy Survey field. Several of the streams are visible as yellow streaks. Credit: Alex Drlica-Wagner (Fermilab), Nora Shipp (U. Chicago), and the DES Collaboration.

Where do the stars in our Galaxy come from? All the stars we see in the night-time sky belong to our Milky Way galaxy, and while most stars were likely born here, in the Milky Way, many appear to have originated in other galaxies and migrated to our shores. Tell-tale evidence comes from streams of stars created when small galaxies interact with the Milky Way. Eleven new stellar streams, discovered in data from the Dark Energy Survey, currently in progress at the NSF's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), provide new evidence for this picture.

Our Galactic Melting Pot

Much like the waves of migration that brought diverse groups of people to the United States, our own Galaxy is thought to have been enriched by stars from other galaxies in discrete migration events. When a small neighboring galaxy ventures close to the Milky Way, the gravitational pull of the Milky Way draws out tendrils of stars from the neighboring galaxy, which trail behind it in a stream. Many such interactions are thought to have contributed stars to the halo of the Milky Way.

Eleven New Streams Found by Dark Energy Survey

Eleven new stellar streams, discovered in data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), were reported today in a special session held at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, DC. Prior to the discovery, only two dozen or so stellar streams were known, many of which were discovered in data from a precursor survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).

DES data have been previously used to discover numerous dwarf galaxy neighbors of the Milky Way. While finding dwarf galaxies is a challenging endeavorthey are faint and diffusestellar streams are even more difficult to pick out, because their stars are spread out over a much larger area of sky. "These discoveries are possible because the Dark Energy Survey is the widest, deepest, and best-calibrated survey out there," explained Alex Drlica-Wagner (Fermilab), a member of the DES team.

Many streams are apparent in this grayscale movie (top panel), in which each frame shows stars at increasing distance from the Milky Way. The stellar streams, which appear as dark streaks in the top panel, are identified in the lower panel. Credit: Alex Drlica-Wagner (Fermilab), Nora Shipp (U. Chicago), and the DES Collaboration.

Crowdsourcing Discoveries with a Public Data Release

Data from the first three years of the survey, which is being carried out with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the 4-m Blanco telescope at CTIO, were also made publicly available in conjunction with the announcement.

Although DES was carried out primarily to understand the nature of dark energy, "The great thing about a big astronomical survey like this is that it also opens a door to many other discoveries, like the new stellar streams," explained Adam Bolton, Associate Director for the Community Science and Data Center at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). "With the DES data now available as a 'digital sky' accessible to all, our hope is that the data will lead to the crowdsourcing of new and unexpected discoveries."

"Indeed, the DES data have already enabled diverse science, ranging from studies of Near Earth Orbiting objects to distant quasars formed not long after the the Big Bang," added Alistair Walker (NOAO), a member of the DES team and the DECam Instrument Scientist.

Ever Larger Astronomical Surveys

The public release of the DES data continues a trend toward ever larger data sets in astronomy.

Trend toward ever larger data sets in astronomy. Since the work of Annie Jump Cannon and others in creating the Henry Draper Catalog of 200,00 stars, astronomical catalogs have grown steadily in size. The Dark Energy Survey catalogs 400 million objects, roughly double that of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the premier survey of the past decade. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will soon detect billions of objects, dwarfing both surveys. Credit: J. Najita, M. Newhouse & NOAO/AURA/NSF.

"The DES data release includes measurements of 400 million stars and galaxies, about twice the number of objects in the SDSS, the premier survey of the last decade," explained Knut Olsen, the team leader of NOAO's Data Lab. "The survey data extend deep and wide, to stars 40 million times fainter than the human eye can see, covering 1/8 of the entire sky."

Survey catalogs and images will be available through the NOAO Data Lab and the NOAO Science Data Archive. The goal of the NOAO Data Lab is to facilitate community re-use of massive data sets, like the DES data, by enabling visualization, exploration, and analysis of their images and catalogs.

In the same way that DES is a successor to the SDSS, "The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), currently under construction on Cerro Pachon in Chile, is the next generation sky survey after DES," says Bolton. "In the 2020s, LSST will deliver a yet wider and deeper view of the Universefrom distant galaxies, to our Milky Way, down to the Solar Systemand not just as a still photo, but as a high-definition movie that will capture the rich variability of the sky."

LSST is expected to catalog a whopping 18 billion objects in its first year of operation, dwarfing the number of objects in both the DES and SDSS catalogs (see graphic).

Toward a Big Data Future for Astronomy

The DES results and data release have strong synergy with ongoing investments at the National Science Foundation (NSF). "This result is an excellent example of how 'data mining'the exploration of large data setsleads to new discoveries," exclaimed Richard Green, Director of the NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences. "NSF is investing in this approach through our Foundation-wide `Harnessing the Data Revolution' initiative, which encourages fundamental research in data science. We're expecting a drumbeat of exciting discoveries, particularly when the LSST data floodgates are opened!"

Bolton views the DES data release as a fantastic opportunity to prepare for this "Big Data" era. "It's a great way for all of us to exercise the new modes of investigation and analysis that will be essential in the LSST era, while also sharpening our understanding of the open questions in astrophysics and cosmology that LSST is being built to address."

Explore further Black hole research could aid understanding of how small galaxies evolve
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The public widely believes that the marine environment is under threat from human activities, and supports actions to protect the marine environment in their region, according to a new study to be published in the February issue of the journal Ocean and Coastal Management.

The study, conducted by an international team of researchers, reviews a set of public perception surveys of marine issues that reached over 32,000 people in 21 countries. It provides one of the first systematic comparisons of the public perceptions of marine threats and protection around the world.

The researchers found that 70% of respondents believe that the marine environment is under threat from human activities, and 45% believe the threat is high or very high. Survey respondents identified the greatest threats as pollution and fishing, followed by habitat alteration, climate change, and biodiversity loss.

"People around the world are aware that the ocean is threatened and what are the major threats to the ocean," says Heike Lotze, a researcher at Dalhousie University in Canada, who led the study.

The study also found that over 70% of respondents supported marine protected areas (MPAs)regions established to protect natural resources in the oceans. MPA rules vary, but may have restrictions on human uses such as fishing, habitat alteration, or oil and gas extraction in order to protect different ecosystems.

"There's a lot of scientific thought put into ocean conservation around the world. But there's much less information out there on what people actually think about the ocean and some of the protection measures," says California Sea Grant Extension Specialist Jennifer O'Leary, a study coauthor who is based at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. "This is important because anytime we are introducing protection measures, we're asking people to change their behavior. And we know from behavioral research that focusing on what people already think is important can make changes easier for people to accept."

Where the public and science diverge

While the study found broad awareness of marine threats, it also found several areas of disagreement between public perceptions and scientific assessments.

"In general, the public got the big threats right: fishing, habitat change, pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change," says Lotze. However, scientific assessments have generally ranked fishing and habitat loss as the highest threats to marine environments over past decades and centuries, while in this study, the general public perceived pollution as the highest threat.

Between countries, the researchers found some differences in what people identified as the top three threats to the marine environment. For example, fishing ranked as a top threat in North America and New Zealand, while habitat loss and climate change ranked higher in Europe. Pollution, on the other hand, consistently ranked as a top threat across all the countries in the study. The researchers suspect that could be because of the visible nature of the problem or high levels of publicity on marine pollution.

The researchers also noted that while the public showed strong support for protection of marine areas through MPAs, the rules that govern these areas vary widely in practice as is the public's understanding of what an MPA actually means.

"What surprised me about the results was that most people overestimated the amount of ocean area being protected, and thus have a more optimistic view of ocean conservation and management than there actually is. However, most people still wanted to see much more ocean area protected than currently is, thus there is a clear wish for more ocean conservation," says Lotze.

Insights for science and outreach

Lotze and O'Leary say that the study provides a useful starting point for comparing public perceptions around the world, and also points to topics that need more research. For one thing, the study was limited to countries where surveys had already been conducted, which leaves out major coastal regions including South America and much of Africa and Asia. In addition, the surveys asked different questions in different ways, which in some cases made it difficult to compare results.

Lotze says, "It would be interesting to have more surveys being repeated over time, to gain insight into changing perceptions within a population over time. It would also be interesting to have more surveys being compared between the general public and experts."

O'Leary says, "This study gives a sense of what we currently know about public perceptions, but it also highlights a tremendous need to understand public views on a much broader scale."

Explore further Increasing effective decision making for coastal marine ecosystems

More information: Heike K. Lotze et al, Public perceptions of marine threats and protection from around the world, Ocean & Coastal Management (2017). Heike K. Lotze et al, Public perceptions of marine threats and protection from around the world,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.11.004
Credit: S. Brunier; Design & Illustration: P. Vosteen

A team of astronomers has discovered what appears to be a grand exodus of more than 100 hydrogen clouds streaming away from the center of the Milky Way and heading into intergalactic space. This observation, made with the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT), may give astronomers a clearer picture of the so-called Fermi Bubbles, giant balloons of superheated gas billowing out above and below the disk of our galaxy.

The results are presented today at the 231st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C.

"The center of the Milky Way is a special place," notes Jay Lockman, an astronomer at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia. "At its heart is a black hole several million times more massive than the Sun and there are regions of intense star birth and explosive star destruction."

These energetic processes, perhaps individually or together, have generated a powerful cosmic "wind" that has blown two enormous bubbles above and below the disk of the Milky Way that are filled with gas at tens-of-millions of degrees. This superheated gas, however, shines feebly at radio, X-ray and gamma-ray wavelengths.

The bubbles appear prominently in observations made by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which is why astronomers refer to them as the Fermi Bubbles.

"One problem that hinders study of this hot cosmic wind is that the gas has such low density that its emission is very faint, so there is no practical way to track its motion," notes Lockman. "This is where the hydrogen clouds come in."

Just like a handful of dust thrown into the air can show the motion of wind on Earth, the hydrogen clouds can act as test particles revealing the flow of the hotter, invisible wind from the center of the Milky Way.

Neutral hydrogen gas, the principal component of these clouds, shines brightly at the radio wavelength of 21 centimeters. These hydrogen clouds were first discovered by a team led by Naomi McClure-Griffiths of the Australian National University using a radio telescope array in Australia. However, that survey was confined to a region just a few degrees around the galactic center, so it gave only limited information on the number and extent of these clouds.

New research with the 100-meter GBT greatly extends these observations.

A group led by Lockman, McClure-Griffiths, and Enrico DiTeodoro, who is also with the Australian National University, mapped a much larger area around the galactic center in search of additional hydrogen clouds that might be entrained in the nuclear wind. They found a gigantic swarm of more than 100 high-velocity gas clouds. The properties of these clouds allow the scientists to learn about the shape of the wind-blown region and the enormous energies that are involved.

"The signature of these clouds being blown out of the Milky Way is that their velocities are crazy," said Lockman. "Gas motions in the Milky Way are usually quite regular and are dominated by the orderly rotation of the Galaxy. In the Fermi Bubbles we see clouds right next to each other on the sky that have velocities differing by as much as 400 kilometers per second."

According to the researchers, the most likely explanation for these wildly differing velocities is that they're traveling within a cone of material that is expanding upward and away from the galactic center, so the front portion is coming toward us and the back part is flying away.

By modeling the distribution and velocities of the clouds, the astronomers found that they would fill a cone stretching above and below the galaxy to a distance of at least 5,000 light-years from the center. The clouds have an average speed of about 330 kilometers per second.

Di Teodoro notes: "What is especially puzzling is that we have not yet found the edge of the swarm of clouds. Somewhere above the galactic center, the hydrogen clouds have to dissipate or become ionized. But we have not found that edge yet, so there's still a lot to learn."

Provided by Green Bank Observatory
PolyU's research team led by Dr Yao Zhongping, Associate Professor of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, has developed a new method for rapid authentication of Chinese herbal medicines, including Lingzhi, and Tianma. Credit: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

The Food Safety and Technology Research Centre under the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed a new method for rapid authentication of Chinese herbal medicines, including Ganoderma (known as Lingzhi in Chinese), and Gastrodiae Rhizoma (known as Tianma in Chinese). The new method is quick and simple, taking around 10 minutes to analyse one raw sample, achieving authentication of genuine and counterfeit species, classification of wild types and cultivated types, as well as differentiation of geographical origins. This method can be further applied to other herbal medicines.

Lingzhi and Tianma are two of the most popular and valuable Chinese medicines. Due to their high commercial values, counterfeiting, adulterating and conflating Lingzhi and Tianma species is common in the market. Conventionally, fingerprint chromatography is adopted to authenticate and differentiate the species, as it can provide comprehensive chemical composition of a sample. However, it is a labor-intensive and time-consuming method, requiring several hours for sample preparation and the separation process for one sample.

Recently, the PolyU research team used direct ionization mass spectrometry (DI-MS) to detect the major active components of Lingzhi (ganoderic acids) and Tianma (gastrodin, parishin B/parishin C/and parishin). By directly applying a high voltage on a raw sample loaded with solvents, spray ionization could be induced at the tip of the sample to generate corresponding mass spectra within minutes. The presence of major active components in the DI-MS spectra authenticates genuine samples from counterfeit ones. Moreover, with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a commonly used dataset analytic tool, wild and cultivated types can be classified, while geographical origins could be differentiated.

Credit: Hong Kong Polytechnic University

There are approximately 80 Lingzhi species. Only two of them, Chizhi and Zizhi, are described in Chinese Pharmacopeia. Some other Lingzhi species with similar appearances are commonly confused with the official species. On the other hand, Tianma is easily confused with two counterfeit species, namely Cacalia davidii (Franch.) Hand.-Mazz. and Canna edulis Ker.

Both wild Lingzhi and Tianma are very rare, and farm cultivation has become the primary source. In general, wild types have higher contents of major active components and thus better curative effects. Samples from different geographical locations also have variations in components due to varying cultivation conditions.

The method developed by PolyU is simple, rapid, reproducible and can be easily adopted by researchers in relevant fields as no additional specialized device is required. It has the potential to be further expanded for analysis of other herbal medicines, for example, Heshouwu and Wuweizi, and is therefore expected to have a positive impact on the Chinese herbal medicine industry.

The research findings were published in Analytica Chimica Acta, a leading journal in analytical science.

Explore further Team develops new method for rapid authentication of edible oils and screening of gutter oils

More information: Wong, H. Y. et al. Rapid Differentiation of Ganoderma Species by Direct Ionization Mass Spectrometry, Anal. Chim. Acta 2018, 999, 99-106. Wong, H. Y. et al. Rapid Differentiation of Ganoderma Species by Direct Ionization Mass Spectrometry,2018, 999, 99-106. Wong, H. Y. et al. Rapid Authentication of Gastrodiae Rhizoma by Direct Ionization Mass Spectrometry, Anal. Chim. Acta 2016, 938, 90-97. Journal information: Analytica Chimica Acta
ORNL's Steven Young (left) and Travis Johnston used Titan to prove the design and training of deep learning networks could be greatly accelerated with a capable computing system. Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy. Photographed by Jason Richards

A team of researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has married artificial intelligence and high-performance computing to achieve a peak speed of 20 petaflops in the generation and training of deep learning networks on the laboratory's Titan supercomputer.

Deep learning is a burgeoning field of artificial intelligence that uses networks modeled after the human brain to "learn" how to distinguish features and patterns in vast datasets. Such networks hold great promise in the realization of numerous technologies, from self-driving cars to intelligent robots.

Due to its ability to make sense of massive amounts of data, researchers across the scientific spectrum are eager to refine deep learning and apply it to some of today's most challenging science problems. One such effort is ORNL's Advances in Machine Learning to Improve Scientific Discovery at Exascale and Beyond (ASCEND) project, which aims to use deep learning to make sense of the massive datasets produced by the world's most sophisticated scientific experiments, such as those located at ORNL.

Analysis of such datasets generally requires existing neural networks to be modified, or novel networks designed and then "trained" so that they know precisely what to look for and can produce valid results.

This is a time-consuming and difficult task, but one that an ORNL team led by Robert Patton and including Steven Young and Travis Johnston recently demonstrated can be dramatically expedited with a capable computing system such as ORNL's Titan, the nation's fastest supercomputer for science.

To efficiently design neural networks capable of tackling scientific datasets and expediting breakthroughs, Patton's team developed two codes for evolving (MENNDL) and fine-tuning (RAvENNA) deep neural network architectures.

Both codes can generate and train as many as 18,600 neural networks simultaneously. Peak performance can be estimated by randomly sampling, and then carefully profiling, several hundred of these independently trained networks.

Both codes achieved a peak performance of 20 petaflops, or 20 thousand trillion calculations per second, on Titan (or just under half of Titan's single precision total peak performance). In practical terms, that translates to training 40-50,000 networks per hour.

"The real measure of success in the deep learning community is time-to-solution," said Johnston. "And with a machine like Titan we are able to train an unparalleled number of highly accurate networks."

Titan is a Cray hybrid system, meaning that it uses both traditional CPUs and graphics processing units (GPUs) to tackle complex calculations for big science problems efficiently; the GPUs also happen to be the processor of choice for training deep learning networks.

The team's work demonstrates that with the right high-performance computing system researchers can efficiently train large numbers of networks, which can then be used to help them tackle today's increasingly data-heavy experiments and simulations.

This efficient design of deep neural networks will enable researchers to deploy highly accurate, custom-designed models, saving both time and money by freeing the scientist from the task of designing a network from the ground up.

And because the OLCF's next leadership computing system, Summit, features a deep-learning friendly architecture with enhanced GPUs and complementary Tensor cores, the team is confident both codes will only get faster.

"Out of the box, without tuning to Summit's unique architecture, we are expecting an increase in performance up to 50 times," said Johnston.

With that sort of network training capability, Summit could be indispensable to researchers across the scientific spectrum looking to deep learning to help them tackle some of science's most immense challenges.

Patton's team is not waiting for the improved hardware to start tackling current scientific data challenges; they have already deployed their codes to assist domain scientists at the Department of Energy's Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois.

Researchers at Fermilab used MENNDL to better understand how neutrinos interact with ordinary matter by producing a classification network to support their Main Injector Experiment for v-A (MINERvA), a neutrino scattering experiment. The task, known as vertex reconstruction, required a network to analyze images and precisely identify the location where neutrinos interact with one of many targetsa task akin to finding the aerial source of a starburst of fireworks.

In only 24 hours, MENNDL produced optimized networks that outperformed any previously handcrafted networkan achievement that could easily have taken scientists months to accomplish. To identify the high-performing network, MENNDL evaluated approximately 500,000 neural networks, training them on a data set consisting of 800,000 images of neutrino events, steadily using 18,000 of Titan's nodes.

"You need something like MENNDL to explore this effectively infinite space of possible networks, but you want to do it efficiently," Young said. "What Titan does is bring the time to solution down to something practical."

And with Summit to come online this year, the future of deep learning in big science looks bright indeed.

Explore further Algorithm leverages Titan supercomputer to create high-performing deep neural networks
How biological membranes - such as the plasma membrane of animal cells or the inner membrane of bacteria - fluctuate over time is not easy to understand, partly because at the sub-cellular scale, temperature-related agitation makes the membranes fluctuate constantly; and partly because they are in contact with complex media, such as the cells' structuring element, the cytoskeleton, or the extra-cellular matrix. Previous experimental work described the dynamics of artificial, self-assembled polymer-membrane complexes, embedded in structured fluids. For the first time, Rony Granek from Ben-Gurion University of The Negev, and Haim Diamant from Tel Aviv University, both in Israel, propose a new theory elucidating the dynamics of such membranes when they are embedded in polymer networks.

In a new study published in EPJ E, the authors demonstrate that the dynamics of membrane undulations inside such a structured medium are governed by distinctive, anomalous power laws.

The main building block of biological membranes is a flexible fluid bilayer of lipid molecules. In their model, the authors first define the coupling of the membrane with the two constituents of the surrounding fluidnamely the polymer and the solvent. The membrane surface defines the strength of the membrane-fluid coupling, which can either be weak (when the membrane is primarily in contact with the solvent) or strong (where both the solvent and network move together with the membrane).

The authors then study the consequences of the two types of coupling for the dynamics of membrane undulations. In the weak-coupling limit, where the polymer network does not move together with the membrane but is merely dragged along by the resulting solvent flow, the authors identify a new intermediate wavelength regime of the membrane undulations.

They conclude that for both flexible and semi-flexible semi-dilute polymer solutions, the statistics of membrane displacements associated with this intermediate regime may span several orders of magnitude in time, until the bulk viscoelasticity of polymers takes over.

Explore further Microscopic membrane could fight gum disease

More information: Rony Granek et al, Membrane undulations in a structured fluid: Universal dynamics at intermediate length and time scales, The European Physical Journal E (2018). Journal information: European Physical Journal E Rony Granek et al, Membrane undulations in a structured fluid: Universal dynamics at intermediate length and time scales,(2018). DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2018-11607-x
Engineers posed by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shortly after it emerged from Chamber A at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on Dec. 1, 2017. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn

With NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's approximately nine-month stay in Texas coming to an end, now is a good time to reflect on the memories it made in the Lone Star State. NASA has created a timelapse video that chronicles Webb's time at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

James Webb Space Telescope, or Webb, is the agency's upcoming infrared space observatory, which will launch in 2019. It spent much of 2017 at Johnson, where it underwent critical cryogenic testing inside Chamber A, a massive thermal vacuum chamber at the center.

Webb arrived at Johnson in May 2017, inside a massive, specially designed shipping container called the Space Telescope Transporter for Air, Road and Sea (STTARS). Upon its arrival, engineers moved STTARS into the Chamber A cleanroom and carefully unpacked the telescope's combined optical element and science instruments from it.

In June 2017, engineers deployed Webb's primary mirror wings and secondary mirror tripod, which is the same configuration the optical element will have when it deploys in space. The engineers then loaded Webb on a platform designed to hold the telescope inside Chamber A, and slowly and deliberately moved Webb inside the chamber along a set of rails. Even with the chamber's 40-foot (12.2-meter) diameter entrance, the fully extended secondary mirror tripod made it a tight fit for Webb.

GIF of secondary mirror squeezing below top of Chamber A entrance. Credit: Michael P. Menzel

On July 10, Chamber A's colossal door closed, signaling the beginning of cryogenic testing. During approximately 100 days in the chamber, scientists and engineers at Johnson put Webb through a series of tests designed to ensure the telescope functioned as expected in an extremely cold, airless environment akin to that of space.

Before cooling the chamber, engineers removed the air from it, which took about a week. On July 20, engineers began to bring the chamber, the telescope, and the telescope's science instruments down to cryogenic temperaturesa process that took about 30 days. Webb remained at "cryo-stable" temperatures for about another 30 days, and on Sept. 27, the engineers began to warm the chamber back to ambient conditions (near room temperature), before pumping the air back into it and unsealing the door.

Webb emerged from Chamber A on Dec. 1, riding out on the same rail system that carried it in.

Secondary mirror squeezing below top of Chamber A entrance. Credit: Michael P. Menzel

The gamut of tests Webb has endured so far ensure it will safely reach its orbit at Earth's second Lagrange point (L2) and be able to successfully perform its science mission. In early 2017, Webb underwent vibration and acoustic testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, which showed the telescope will survive the rigors of launch. Among the tests performed on Webb inside Chamber A was an important alignment check of the telescope's 18 primary mirror segments, to make sure all of the gold-plated, hexagonal segments acted like a single, monolithic mirror in a space-like environment. This test also showed Webb's science instruments were properly aligned with its mirrors and could detect simulated "starlight" within the chamber.

Webb's combined science instruments and optics next journey to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, California, where they will be integrated with the spacecraft element, which is the combined sunshield and spacecraft bus. Together, the pieces form the complete James Webb Space Telescope observatory.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world's premier infrared space observatory of the next decade. A barrier-breaking mission for engineers and astronomers, Webb will solve mysteries of our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Explore further NASA's Webb telescope emerges from Chamber A
A honey bee pollinates a Carpobrotus plant. Credit: Keng-Lou James Hung/UC San Diego

An unprecedented study integrating data from around the globe has shown that honey bees are the world's most important single species of pollinator in natural ecosystems and a key contributor to natural ecosystem functions. The first quantitative analysis of its kind, led by biologists at the University of California San Diego, is published Jan. 10 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The report weaves together information from 80 plant-pollinator interaction networks. The results clearly identify the honey bee (Apis mellifera) as the single most frequent visitor to flowers of naturally occurring (non-crop) plants worldwide. Honey bees were recorded in 89 percent of the pollination networks in the honey bee's native range and in 61 percent in regions where honey bees have been introduced by humans.

One out of eight interactions between a non-agricultural plant and a pollinator is carried out by the honey bee, the study revealed. The honey bee's global importance is further underscored when considering that it is but one of tens of thousands of pollinating species in the world, including wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies, moths and other bee species.

"Biologists have known for a while that honey bees are widespread and abundantbut with this study, we now see in quantitative terms that they are currently the most successful pollinators in the world," said Keng-Lou James Hung, who led the study as a graduate student in UC San Diego's Division of Biological Sciences. He's now a postdoctoral researcher at the Ohio State University.

Honey bees are native to Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe and have become naturalized in ecosystems around the world as a result of intentional transport by humans. While feral honey bee populations may be healthy in many parts of the world, the researchers note that the health of managed honey bee colonies is threatened by a host of factors including habitat loss, pesticides, pathogens, parasites and climate change.

The proportion of all floral visits contributed by the western honey bee in 80 plant-pollinator interaction networks in natural habitats worldwide. Apis mellifera is generally considered a native species in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and introduced elsewhere. Credit: UC San Diego

"Although they appear to have a disproportionate impact on natural ecosystems, surprisingly we understand very little about the honey bee's ecological effects in non-agricultural systems," said study coauthor David Holway, a professor and chair of the Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution in Biological Sciences. "Looking to the future this study raises a lot of new questions."

For instance, in San Diego, where honey bees are not native, they are responsible for 75 percent of pollinator visits to native plants, the highest honey bee dominance in the set of networks examined for any continental site in the introduced range of the honey bee. This is despite the fact that there are more than 650 species of native bees in San Diego County as well as many other native pollinating insects.

"The consequences of this phenomenon for both native plants that did not evolve with the honey bee and for populations of native insect pollinators is well worth studying," said Joshua Kohn, the study's senior author.

"Our study also nicely confirms something that pollination biologists have known for a long time: even in the presence of a highly abundant species that pollinates many plant species, we still need healthy populations of other pollinators for entire plant communities to receive adequate pollination services," said Hung.

The reason for this, Hung noted, is that in habitats where honey bees are present, they nevertheless fail to visit nearly half of all animal-pollinated plant species, on average.

"Our take home message is that while it's important for us to continue to research how we can improve the health of managed honey bee colonies for agricultural success, we need to further understand how this cosmopolitan and highly successful species impacts the ecology and evolutionary dynamics of plant and pollinator species in natural ecosystems," said Hung.

Explore further Media neglect puts native insects at risk

More information: The worldwide importance of honey bees as pollinators in natural habitats, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, rspb.royalsocietypublishing.or  .1098/rspb.2017.2140 Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B The worldwide importance of honey bees as pollinators in natural habitats,
Intellicheck Sees Sweeping Fraud Threat in Wake of Surging Data Breaches

JERICHO, NY  January 10, 2018  Intellicheck (NYSE AMERICAN: IDN) Interim CEO Bill White believes the real impact of the tidal wave of data breaches has yet to be fully recognized. He cautions that financial institutions, retailers and businesses in general are at a crossroads because of the unprecedented compromise of consumer information from the more than 1,200 data breaches that occurred in 2017 and what is yet to come in 2018.

Data breaches involving critical personal identifiers that include social security numbers and dates of birth have created a new dimension in identity theft that goes far beyond the threats that everyone from financial institutions to retailers have been faced with to date. Fraudsters have been provided with a treasure of information that has an infinite shelf life compared to typical stolen credit card data, White said.

The first step in tackling the problem is to recognize the missing link. The missing piece of authentication needed for a fraudulent transaction to occur is typically a picture ID that is most easily obtained by means of a fake driver license. Consumers and retailers alike need these ID documents to be authenticated now more than ever to ensure that a consumers personal data is utilized only by them, White explained.

White said there is a way to stop fraudsters. With all that personal information in hand, the one way to stop a fraudulent transaction is to validate the customers identity by quickly and accurately authenticating a verifiable, government issued ID like a driver license.

White noted that financial institutions as well as businesses must move quickly to adopt identification authentication technology solutions that thwart account-centric attacks, while engaging customers.

Sophisticated, readily available fake IDs will easily defeat old school methods like a visual inspection, but they wont stand up to the scrutiny of state-of-the-art authentication technology solutions that provide immediate, accurate results. Whether you consider online, mobile or point of sale transactions, fraudsters will continue to proliferate fraudulent activity without the right technology solution. The focus has to be on the adoption of real-time response technology solutions to defeat fraudsters, while providing a frictionless customer and adopter experience, White concluded.

The Equifax breach of 2017 resulted in the compromise of personal data for more than 143 million consumers. The 15% growth in data breaches in 2017 comes on the heels of a 40% spike in data breaches in 2016. Incidents of data breaches are expected to continue to increase in 2018. According to the Javelin consulting firm, the total loss in fraudulent e-commerce transactions alone will jump to nearly $19 billion in 2018.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this news release about Intellichecks future expectations, including: the advantages of our products, future demand for Intellichecks existing and future products, whether revenue and other financial metrics will improve in future periods, whether Intellicheck will be able to execute its turn-around plan or whether successful execution of the plan will result in increased revenues, whether sales of our products will continue at historic levels or increase, whether brand value and market awareness will grow, whether the Company can leverage existing partnerships or enter into new ones, and all other statements in this release, other than historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). These statements, which express managements current views concerning future events, trends, contingencies or results, appear at various places in this website and use words like anticipate, assume, believe, continue, estimate, expect, forecast, future, intend, plan, potential, predict, project, strategy, target and similar terms, and future or conditional tense verbs like could, may, might, should, will and would are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the PSLRA. This statement is included for the express purpose of availing Intellicheck, Inc. of the protections of the safe harbor provisions of the PSLRA. It is important to note that actual results and ultimate corporate actions could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements based on such factors as market acceptance of Intellichecks products and the presently anticipated growth in the commercial adoption of the Companys products and services, changing levels of demand for Intellichecks current and future products, Intellichecks ability to reduce or maintain expenses while increasing sales, customer results achieved using our products in both the short and long term, success of future research and development activities, Intellichecks ability to successfully manufacture, market and sell its products, Intellichecks ability to manufacture its products in sufficient quantities to meet demand within required delivery time periods while meeting its quality control standards, any delays or difficulties in the Companys supply chain, the success of the Companys sales and marketing efforts coupled with the typically long sales and implementation cycle for its products, Intellichecks ability to enforce its intellectual property rights, changes in laws and regulations applicable to the Companys products, the Companys continued ability to access government-provided data, the risks inherent in doing business with the government including audits and contract cancellations, liability resulting from any security breaches or product failure, and other risks detailed from time to time in Intellichecks reports filed with the SEC. We do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information.

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The Childrens Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage to some 9 million lower-income kids, is in danger of exhausting its funding in some states as soon as this month, because Congress cant agree on how to pay for its reauthorization.

It turns out, however, that lawmakers might be able to extend CHIP for free. In fact, doing so could even save the government some money.

Last week, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that reauthorizing CHIP for 5 years would cost the federal government a mere $800 million. Thats quite cheap in the scheme of all federal spending, of course. But today, the CBO sent Capitol Hill staffers an email stating that extending the program for 10 years would actually save $6 billion over the decade, which an aide forwarded to me this afternoon (on the condition of anonymity, which was granted).1

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How is it possible that extending a program for 10 years is cheaper than extending it for 5, you ask? The CBOs note isnt very detailed (Ive emailed the office asking for comment, but havent heard back). But according to the aide, the answer likely has to do with Obamacare. If CHIP lapses, many more children will almost certainly be enrolled in health coverage through the Affordable Care Acts insurance exchanges, where their plans will be subsidized by the federal government. And over the long term, it may actually be less expensive for Washington to cover those kids via CHIP than to pay for their private insurance. (Update, 8:58 PM): According to another Congressional staffer I spoke with, the 10-year extension also saves money because it more generously funds the program during the second half of the decade, which results in more families dropping expensive-to-subsidize exchange coverage in favor of CHIP.

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If this all sounds familiar, that may be because the CBO recently lowered its estimate of what it would cost to extend CHIP for just five years for reasons that also had to do with Obamacare. Originally, the office believed that reauthorizing CHIP would add $8.2 billion to the deficit. But it dropped that forecast to $800 million after Republicans repealed the ACAs individual mandate in order to fund their tax plan. The mandates demise is expected to drive up premiums on the exchanges, making it relatively more efficient to cover kids through CHIP.

In any event, it appears that Congress can now reduce the deficit by guaranteeing millions of children health coverage for 10 years instead of five. What more motivation do they need to pass a bill?

1 Politico Pro seems to have reported on the email earlier today, but their paywall is so impenetrable that I cant even see the headline without a subscription. Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee also sent around a press release about the $6 billion figure, referencing the Politico report.
Washington, D.C.s city council voted Wednesday to rename the stretch of Wisconsin Avenue in front of the Russian embassy Boris Nemtsov Plaza. Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister turned opposition leader, was shot dead on a bridge in central Moscow in February 2015. Five Chechen men were tried and found guilty of Nemtsovs murder last summer, but his family and supporters believe his killing was ordered at a higher level in response to his opposition activities.

D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh, who sponsored the legislation renaming the street, said she had been approached about doing so by Sen. Marco Rubio, who had introduced similar legislation in the U.S.

Senate early last year. The Senate bill was reportedly blocked by Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. The D.C. Councils motion still needs to be approved by the House Homeland Security Subcommittee, but the city is moving ahead with plans for an unveiling ceremony. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has brushed off the issue, calling it the prerogative of the city authorities.

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There is precedent for politically charged street rebranding.

In 1987, the Senateover the objections of the State Departmentrenamed the block of 16th St. NW in front of what was then the Soviet Embassy (and is now the Russian ambassadors residence) after imprisoned dissident Andrei Sakharov.

Sen. Ted Cruz has also been pushing for years to change the address of the Chinese embassy in Washington from 3505 International Place to 1 Liu Xiaobo Plaza, after the Chinese dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who died in state custody last summer. The Obama administration had threatened to veto Cruzs bill in 2016, calling it counterproductive.

Could other countries do this sort of thing to the United States? Tehran has a street named after Rachel Corrie, the American activist killed by an Israeli military bulldozer in Gaza in 2003. The Iranian capitals city council considered naming a street after Muhammad Ali following his death in 2016, describing his as a symbol of resistance to racism and U.S. imperialistic policies in the Vietnam War. However, by his death, Ali was a beloved and no longer particularly controversial in America, and there are several streets named after him in the U.S. as well.

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The Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, a primarily black and Arab immigrant community, sparked some transatlantic controversy in 2006 by naming a street after ex-Black Panther activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, then on death row for killing a Philadelphia police officer.

But frankly, given the current dynamics of U.S.-Russia relations, if the Russians really want to troll America in response, the better move is to name streets after Donald Trump.

Update, Jan. 11: Slate reader Shayan Rakhit sends along another fascinating example:
Republican California Rep. Darrell Issa is retiring:

Serving #CA49 has been the privilege of a lifetime. From the bottom of my heart - thank you - to everyone for your support and the honor of serving you all these years. My full statement on my decision not to seek reelection: https://t.co/zjlkeiqnzs  Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) January 10, 2018

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The retirement of a Republican incumbent in a blue-state district that Hillary Clinton won by seven points in 2016 seems like good news for Democrats, although theres an argument to be made that Issas traditionally conservative San Diego/Orange County district may be inclined to elect a Republican if the party can rustle up someone who isnt associated with Trumpism. (Issa himself has long been a promoter of dubious conspiracy theories on subjects ranging from climate change to Benghazi, so there would be some Frankenstein-killing-his-creator irony in the GOP losing his seat over Trump.)

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As a 2011 New Yorker story described in detail, Issa is also quite the character. He made a fortune in the car alarm business and, in his younger days, was indicted for grand theft auto and accused by a disgruntled business partner of having burned down a factory for insurance money. (The auto theft charges were dismissed and he was never criminally charged with arson.) It is Issas actual voice that instructs would be-thieves to PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE CAR when the Viper car-alarm system is triggered.

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Heres a heck of a passage from that New Yorker profile:

Issa allegedly used an unusual method to fire Jack Frantz, an employee. Frantz told the Los Angeles Times that Issa came into his office, placed a box on the table, and opened it to reveal a gun. Issa told the paper, Shots were never fired. If I asked Jack to leave, then I think I had every right to ask Jack to leave . I dont recall [having a gun]. I really dont. I dont think I ever pulled a gun on anyone in my life.

Look, he doesnt think he ever pulled a gun on anyone. Can he say that for sure? No, but who can, really?

Godspeed, Darrell Issa.
Mudslides and flooding struck Santa Barbara County in Southern California on Tuesday, killing at least 13 people in Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles. Heavy rains following recent severe forest fires that left the nearby hills dry and barren set the stage for flash flooding in the early morning hours, sweeping up debris, including homes and buildings, and sending them hurtling through neighborhoods. At least 25 people were injured by the flash flooding, some 50 people were rescued, and thousands more were evacuated, but there are still many missing and the death toll is expected to rise.

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Boulders block a road after a mudslide in #Montecito, California, in this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Several storm-related deaths reported. Details: https://t.co/lumvWV0bJZ | #CAWX pic.twitter.com/cqX2WBYOLc  Weather Network US (@TheWeatherNetUS) January 9, 2018

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The only words I can really think of to describe what it looked [like] was it looked like a World War I battlefield, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. It was literally a carpet of mud and debris everywhere.

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Search dogs look for flood and mudslide victims among damaged homes in Montecito, California - (via Santa Barbara County Fire) https://t.co/Qu7vQcNvuH pic.twitter.com/83EBKApLjW  NBC News (@NBCNews) January 9, 2018

In just a matter of minutes, pounding rain overwhelmed the south-facing slopes above Montecito and flooded a creek that leads to the ocean, sending mud and massive boulders rolling into residential neighborhoods, a Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman told the Los Angeles Times. The deaths came after a heavy band of rain struck around 2:30 a.m., causing waist-high mudflows.

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WATCH: Exclusive: 14-year-old girl pulled from rubble of mudslide in California: "I thought I was dead there for a minute." https://t.co/Qu7vQcNvuH pic.twitter.com/QNMFRtBbab  NBC News (@NBCNews) January 9, 2018

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This whole mountain has been burned, and anytime water hits its not shedding into any bushes because theyre all burned. Any water that hits the surface is coming at us and causing debris and mud to flow. Its probably going to happen again and again, a Santa Barbara County fire official told the Washington Post. This is just the first storm. Its probably going to happen again and again.

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Given everything thats happened since the start of the year, its easy to forget that just this past week President Donald Trump was tweeting what appeared to be nuclear threats against North Korea made up of equal parts Freud and a celebration of his own big-boy underpants. That tweet initially reignited a renewed debate around the 25th Amendment option of replacing a president who is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his officearguments that were soon propelled into the stratosphere by the blockbuster revelations in Michael Wolffs new book Fire and Fury.

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Whatever you may think of Wolffs dubious journalistic purity, there can be no doubt that the cumulative impact of his book has been to reconfirm everything everyone believed they already knew to be true about Trumps mental state.

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As former Bush White House official Michael Gerson offers, its incredibly hard to attribute a cognitive decline in President Trump that might necessitate removal from office when the bar was so low to begin with:

Trump is exhibiting a set of compulsions and delusions that have characterized his entire adult life. You cant have declining judgment that never existed. You cant lose a grasp on reality you never possessed. What is most striking is not Trumps disintegration but his utter consistency.

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This has always been the problem in assessing Donald Trumps mental fitness to be president. The truth is that Americansor a minority of them with an assist from the Electoral Collegedetermined that this man, fully realized as a narcissist without basic skills for executive leadership, was fit for office in 2016. But as Politico reported, the daily, almost hourly manifestations of presidential instability have led to an upsurge in discussions around using the constitutional-fitness lever to oust Trump. Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, wrote on Twitter that the nuclear-button threat alone is grounds for removal from office under the 25th Amendment. This man should not have nukes. What followed was a spate of articles about whether questioning the presidents mental health is appropriate, likely to change anything, likely to backfire, or too costly to the political cause of saving us all from his madness?

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Trump tried to smooth the waters this past weekend by reassuring us via Twitter that he is not [merely] smart, but genius.and a very stable genius at that! This message of protestation doesnt seem to have helped anything for anyone.

Rep. Jamie Raskin actually introduced a House bill last spring seeking to address these questions legislatively. The Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity Act seeks to create a body that will be prepared to assess whether the president is unable to execute the duties of his office. After I emailed him following the latest wave of 25th Amendment talk, Raskin told me this:

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The 25th Amendment was adopted in the nuclear age, and all Americans should be equally invested for the sake of our people in the basic physical, mental and neurological capacity of the president to do the job.

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We dont need Wolffs book to identify the ways in which the president is not by temperament or character fit for office.

This proposed legislation, which Raskin says has the backing of 60 Democratic co-sponsors and no Republicans, does not mention President Trump by name. It calls for an independent bipartisan body made up of elder statespersons, physicians, and psychiatrists. Per the 25th Amendment itself, such a body could only make a recommendation, which would need to be approved by the vice president and two-thirds of both branches of Congress if the president were to contest it. The implication here is this: Impeachment is inescapably and overwhelmingly a political question, but presidential capacity should overwhelmingly be a medical and practical one.

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It seems to me, though, that Raskin has identified the central irony of this political moment: We dont need Wolffs book, or even an independent commission, to identify the ways in which the president is not by temperament or character fit for office. This is all already widely known, and spoken aloud, even by his Cabinet members and Republican officeholders. The problem is in developing a process of amassing evidence to reach a conclusion that would require Congress and the Cabinet to act, in contravention of their own parochial interests and the 2016 vote. Republicans have showed no intention of acting in any way against this president. And as my colleague Jamelle Bouie notes here, that is where the system breaks down.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote a similarly dispiriting column about the ways in which Robert Muellerfollowing a scrupulous and comprehensive investigationmight produce an airtight legal case against the president. I very reluctantly concluded:

[W]e should accept the possibility that Mueller may come to represent the highest and most binding expression of law and order in America. We also must acknowledge the reality that the highest and most binding expression of law and order in America might not matter enough, to enough people, to bring the Trump train to a stop.

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It is perfectly rational to believe that Trump should currently be trapped in the pincer grip of the Mueller investigation on the one side and the mounting evidence of his unfitness on the other.

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But for either of those two scenarios to play out, it will require more than merely a return to constitutional and legal norms. It will require that Republicans in the House and Senate loudly declaim what they may only whisper to their congressional aides and anxious therapists. What we have seen, instead, is the opposite. GOP senators like Bob Corker and Lindsey Graham who were once bellwethers for norm preservation are suddenly back in the presidents corner, pompoms waving wildly.

Senators like Jeff Flake who once gave eloquent speeches about good governance have slid into constitutional screen-saver mode, with cheery plans to spend more time with their families. Senators who once threatened to go all statesmanlike if the independence of Robert Mueller or Jeff Sessions were threatened now daily threaten the independence of Robert Mueller and Jeff Sessions. Whatever minimal vestiges of Never Trump once existed among Republican lawmakers in the first year of his presidency have evaporated, just as the rest of us have come to see with perfect clarity how dangerous this presidency is.

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To be certain, constant talk of the 25th Amendment option, or of a successful Mueller probe potentially leading to impeachment, should in no way recede. It is more important than ever to go through the formal legal exercise of amassing evidence, building processes, and bolstering the legal and political institutions that should be brought to bear in a functioning constitutional democracy. But this is ultimately now a politics problem, not a legal one. Winning electionsanswering power with poweris the only solution that can possibly guarantee the future of our democracy and our country. To count on GOP participation in that project is clearly futile: It is too late for them to course-correct and long past time we recognized that.
A panel of federal judges invalidated North Carolinas congressional map Tuesday, ruling the districts drawn by the states Republican legislature constituted illegal gerrymandering in violation of the Constitutions equal-protection clause. The court ordered the state to redraw the map before congressional midterm elections later this year.

We agree with plaintiffs that a wealth of evidence proves the General Assemblys intent to subordinate the interests of non-Republican voters and entrench Republican domination of the states congressional delegation, Judge James A. Wynn Jr., an Obama appointee, wrote in a 205-page opinion. Wynn went on to say the Republicans plan achieved the General Assemblys discriminatory partisan objective. According to the order, at the time when the congressional districts were redrawn, the Republican in charge of the redistricting effort in the statehouse, Rep. David Lewis, justified the map saying: I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats. So I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the country.

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Tuesdays rebuke of Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina was extraordinary in that it was the first time a federal court had ever gone so far as to block the implementation of a congressional map writ large, according to the New York Times. It is not, however, the first time a court has taken issue with the partys efforts to get the upper hand in North Carolina. In 2016, the court rejected two majority black congressional districts drawn in 2011 saying there was no justification for using race as the predominant factor in forming them, according to the Associated Press.

The judges set a deadline of Jan. 24 for the states General Assembly to propose a new plan for drawing the congressional map. Candidates in North Carolina can begin filing to run for congress on Feb. 12, meaning time is short to overhaul the districts. If the state legislature is unable to come up with a suitable alternative, the court said it would take charge and hire an expert to draw replacement boundaries. The North Carolina Republican Party is expected to appeal the case with an eye on the Supreme Court intervening.
A former Idaho lawmaker who was facing an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse has died by suicide, authorities said Tuesday.

Brandon Hixon resigned from his position as a Republican state representative in October after the criminal investigation was revealed. No details were released about the investigation other than that it was related to possible sexual abuse, according to the Associated Press.

Hixon had also been the focus of a 2014 investigation after accusations of inappropriate touching. According to the Idaho Statesman, the victimpossibly a childcould not provide enough information for charges to be brought, but it was noted at the time the case could be reopened if there were further developments. He denied the accusations at the time.

Hixon, 36, was arrested twice after his resignation, both times for drunken driving, according to the AP. He was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest in December.

Hixons is the second death from suicide in recent weeks involving a lawmaker facing allegations of sexual misconduct. In December, a Kentucky lawmaker, state Rep. Dan Johnson, died by suicide after the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published an article alleging he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the church where he was a pastor.
Donald Trump is surrounded by a reality distortion field. It takes the form of spectaclean unending series of antics that emanate from the presidents rhetoric and his disruptive, dysfunctional behavior. Its what controversial journalist Michael Wolff describes in his new book Fire and Furywhat we see whenever the president transgresses the norms and standards that once bound his office. Its what David Brooks recently dubbed the Potemkin White House.

Its a distortion field because it obscures a key truth of the political moment: that the White House is working steadily and efficiently to turn the presidents rhetoric into policy and to advance the goals of the conservative ideological and business interests that backed his candidacy. And it has been effective in dismantling the regulatory state, rolling back Obama-era reforms in the criminal justice system and advancing its vision for immigration policy.

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The two White Houses often work in tandem. While President Trump was threatening North Korea with this countrys nuclear arsenal, the Department of the Interior was taking steps to lift prohibitions on offshore drilling. The proposal, unveiled by Secretary Ryan Zinke, would open thousands of miles of coastline to resource extraction, in addition to reauthorizing leases for drilling in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Critics, including Republicans from coastal states, blasted Zinke for the decision. The Trump Administrations plan to unleash the dangers of drilling offshore is a major, unacceptable risk to hundreds of local communities, their coastal economies and marine life, read a joint statement from dozens of environmental groups. Likewise, said the Natural Resources Defense Council, Opening our fragile shores to dirty oil and gas development is a dangerous idea that puts marine life and coastal communities at risk and contributes to the present and ever-growing impacts of climate change.

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Zinke defended the decision as a necessary part of achieving energy independence. Its better to produce energy here and never be held hostage by foreign enemy needs, he said. Its a Trump-style nationalist sheen on a move that ultimately puts the federal government firmly on the side of fossil-fuel interests.

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This competent wing of the Trump administration also made gains reversing reforms in the Department of Justice. While much of the media focused on revelations from Michael Wolffs book Fire and Fury, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new war on marijuana, rescinding an Obama-era policy that discouraged federal prosecutors from pursuing growers and sellers in states that had legalized the drug.

It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the laws of the United States, and the previous issuance of guidance undermines the rule of law, said Sessions in a statement, also adding in a memo that his decision reflects Congresss determination that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that marijuana activity is a serious crime. Sessions move fits firmly in his larger effort to relitigate the war on drugs and bring the federal government to bear on drug use through draconian use of the law. Quietly, the attorney general is making progress.

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The most dramatic advances from the no-drama wing of the White House have come on immigrationa new policy announced this week will alter the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees admitted under temporary protected status, a program that allows eligible immigrants to live and work legally in the United States if their home countries have been struck by war or natural disaster. The administration had already ended protections from deportation for Haitian immigrants admitted under TPS, arguing that the temporary nature of the program meant it had to end regardless of broader impact, and it deployed that logic again in its decision to revoke that status from Salvadoran immigrants granted entry nearly 20 years ago following deadly earthquakes in El Salvador.

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These immigrants, about 200,000 people, have spent decades integrating into American society, with homes, jobs, businesses, andmost criticallynative-born children, who are American citizens. But the administration wants the program to end and the immigrants to return, regardless of the dangerous conditions in El Salvador, remaining indifferent to the stress and harm its decision places on families.

Because of the constant focus on his offensive outbursts and ugly transgressions, its tempting to think that the worst of Donald Trump is what we see in public. And theres no doubt that these things are bad, even dangerous, just as theres no doubt that these antics are worth our attention. At the same time, the Trump administration isnt crippled.

For all the spectacle, we shouldnt forget that there is a functional administration, and it is working steadily to advance an unapologetically reactionary agenda.
Davontae Sanford was 14 years old when he confessed to murdering four people in a drug house on Detroits East Side. Left alone with detectives in a late-night interrogation, Sanford says he broke down after being told he could go home if he gave them something. On the advice of a lawyer whose license was later suspended for misconduct, Sanford pleaded guilty in the middle of his March 2008 trial and received a sentence of 39 to 92 years in prison.

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Sixteen days after Sanford was sentenced, a hit man named Vincent Smothers told the police he had carried out 12 contract killings, including the four Sanford had pleaded guilty to committing. Smothers explained that hed worked with an accomplice, Ernest Davis, and he provided a wealth of corroborating details to back up his account. Smothers told police where they could find one of the weapons used in the murders; the gun was recovered and ballistics matched it to the crime scene. He also told the police he had used a different gun in several of the other murders, which ballistics tests confirmed. Once Smothers confession was corroborated, it was clear Sanford was innocent. Smothers made this point explicitly in an 2015 affidavit, emphasizing that Sanford hadnt been involved in the crimes in any way.

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But Smothers and Davis were never charged. Neither was Leroy Payne, the man Smothers alleged had paid him to commit the murders. (Through his attorney, Payne has denied any involvement.) Instead, Smothers pleaded guilty to the other eight killings. Davis, who was never prosecuted, was convicted of an unrelated felony in 2013 and could be released from prison as early as July. Payne, who remains a free man, left Detroit in 2016. His whereabouts are unknown.

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Davontae Sanford, meanwhile, remained behind bars, locked up for crimes he very clearly didnt commit.

Police failed to turn over all the relevant information in Smothers confession to Sanfords legal team, as the law required them to do. When that information was leaked in 2009, Sanfords attorneys sought to reverse his conviction on the basis of actual innocence. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy fought back, opposing the motion all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court. In 2014, the court sided with Worthy, ruling that actual innocence was not a valid reason to withdraw a guilty plea. Sanford would remain in prison for another two years.

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In an adversarial legal system, its natural to presume that prosecutors and defense attorneys are driven by the same goal: to win. They arent. In Berger v. United States, decided in 1935, the Supreme Court famously declared that the prosecutions ultimate goal is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done. A prosecutor, the court wrote, is in a peculiar and very definite sense the servant of the law, the twofold aim of which is that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer.

Some prosecutorsthe most powerful actors in the criminal justice systemrefuse to correct life-altering errors.

Embracing this twofold aim is at the core of a prosecutors work. The government brings cases it believes are supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A victory at trial proves them right. But if new evidence is uncovered showing the conviction was error-ridden to the point of unreliability, the imperative that justice shall be done requires prosecutors to admit they were wrong. This responsibility exists even if a defendant may be guiltyif, for example, crucial evidence was obtained by illegal means. The moral imperative underpinning this precept, though, is brought into sharpest relief when it appears the defendant is actually innocent.

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Many prosecutors accept this responsibility and, when proven wrong, ask the judge to dismiss a case or settle by way of a plea bargain. But too many do not. Indeed, there is a class of prosecutors that might fairly be called innocence deniers.

These prosecutors do not do justice as the Supreme Court defines it. Instead, they delay justice and in some cases actively work against it. When a prisoner is exonerated by a lower court, these prosecutors double and triple down, filing appeal after appeal. Or they indict and prosecute the exoneree all over again, sometimes under a wildly different theory at the expense of time and resources that should be used to pursue the crimes actual perpetrator. They may also threaten endless legal challenges to wring no contest pleas from innocent prisoners in exchange for time-served sentences. The prisoners, desperate to be free, accept these Faustian bargains, which brand them convicts for life and allow prosecutors to proclaim their guilt and the state to deny them compensation. Some prosecutors are so committed to adhering to the original mistake that they fail to prosecute the actual perpetrators, even when there is evidence to convict them.

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Innocence deniers are a diverse group: male and female, young and old, white and people of color. They are Democrats and Republicans from red, blue, and purple states. What they have in common is their insistencein the face of all evidence to the contrarythat wrongfully convicted people are in fact guilty.

Simply opposing an exoneration effort does not make a prosecutor an innocence denier. Some exoneration claims are bogus and others are murky, requiring rigorous legal testing to be proven conclusively. Increasingly, conscientious prosecutors are working collaboratively with defense attorneys to reinvestigate innocence claims, keeping an open mind and doing the right thing in the end. Innocence-denying prosecutors are different. The cases collected here are extreme, either because the prosecutor in question has a pattern of reflexively denying innocence or because, even in a single case, the evidence of innocence is so manifest as to make the fight against it profoundly misguided.

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In the past quarter-century, the work of dogged attorneys and advances in forensic science have exonerated more than 2,150 men and women, 161 of those from death row. The Innocence Project, a New Yorkbased nonprofit founded by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld in 1992, has freed more than 200 people and spurred the creation of numerous smaller organizations around the country devoted to the same mission. (From 20122015, I was the director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles.) By some estimates there are tens of thousands more wrongfully convicted prisoners languishing behind bars. Nevertheless, some prosecutorsthe most powerful actors in the criminal justice systemrefuse to correct life-altering errors. (You can read more about 17 such cases here.) If we are committed to fostering a justice system that is truly just, it is imperative to call out these innocence deniers and hold them to account.

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Kym Worthy, a Democrat and the first black woman or man to serve as Wayne Countys lead prosecutor, first took office in 2004 and coasted to re-election for a fourth term in November 2016. The former circuit court judge has a national reputation as a trailblazing progressivelast April, Essence named her to its Woke 100 List to honor her efforts to achieve equality for people of color. Worthys office, however, has repeatedly refused to admit error in cases like Davontae Sanfords, where there is compelling evidence of actual innocence.

The lid was covered with bloody fingerprints, which had never been tested.

The Michigan Supreme Courts adverse ruling in 2014 wasnt the end of the line for Sanford. The court ruled against him on technical grounds and noted that there was nothing to prevent his legal team from filing a post-conviction motion for relief from the judgment, rather than making a direct challenge to his guilty plea. In 2015, attorneys for Sanford, who is black, did just that, and the Michigan State Police began to re-investigate the case. One year later, the police issued a 117-page report detailing compelling evidence that Smothers and Davis were guilty; that Sanford was innocent; and that Detroits then deputy police chief, James Tolbert, had lied to convict Sanford. It was at that point, nine years into Sanfords incarceration, that Worthy finally agreed to his releasebut only on account of Tolberts misconduct. She continues to insist that Sanford is guilty, pointing to his discredited confession. The state police recommended bringing perjury charges against Tolbert and murder charges against Smothers and Davis. Worthy declined in all three cases.

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In July 2017 Sanford filed a civil suit under Michigans Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act, and only four months later the state attorney general conceded that Sanford was innocent, had been wrongfully convicted, and was entitled to compensation, but noted that Worthys office has been consulted and disagrees. Julie Hurwitz, one of the attorneys who represents Sanford, told me she was surprised that the state acquiesced so readily but that given the crush of media attention the case has received, the attorney generals office probably knew that fighting this would be a political bombshell. On Dec. 21, a judge awarded Sanford $408,356.16.

In reference to her offices handling of Sanfords case, Worthy has said, I dont know what we could have done differently.

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David Moran, director of the Michigan Innocence Clinic, has tangled with Worthy in a half-dozen cases in which he says her office has fought his efforts to free clients. Moran, who helped lead the fight to exonerate Sanford alongside the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, also battled the Wayne County prosecutor in the case of Lamarr Monson, who was convicted in the 1996 murder of a 12-year-old girl and sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison. Monson, who like Sanford is black, claimed hed been tricked into signing a false confession stating that hed stabbed the victim to death.

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Nearly 20 years after the murder in question, Moran and his students examined the object that the medical examiner had identified as the likely murder weapon: a ceramic toilet lid used to bludgeon the victim over the head. The lid was covered with bloody fingerprints, which had never been tested. The Michigan State Police found that all the fingerprints matched a man named Robert Lewis, who was living in the same building as the victim at the time of the murder.

During a four-month-long evidentiary hearing in late 2016, the Michigan Innocence Clinic presented the fingerprint evidence and called Lewis then live-in girlfriend Shellena Bentley as a witness. Bentley testified that Lewis came back to her apartment on the night of the murder frantic with blood on him; it was dripping off his fingernails. David McCreedy, the assistant prosecutor assigned by Worthy to fight the case, didnt find this account convincing. He explained that Lewis might have wandered by the apartment while the building manager was on the phone with 911, then moved the toilet tank out of the way to help the paramedics. Moran told me that he responded: There might be 12 gullible citizens that would buy that, but thats why we need a new trial: to see if the state can find them.

The judge granted Monson a new trial; he was subsequently released on bond. Worthy, who agreed to be interviewed about Monsons caseshe declined to comment on Devontae Sanfords, citing ongoing litigationtold me her office sought to delay the retrial so it could conduct an additional investigation. Two homicide investigators were dispatched to interview Lewis, who denied committing the murder. His statements were consistent with the evidence that was available in the case, Worthy says, despite Lewis fingerprints being all over the bloody toilet lid, including around the edges, Moran says, suggesting that he gripped it. (Worthys deputies do not concede that the toilet tank was the murder weapon; one told me that the victims head could have been slammed against the back of the bathtub, causing the fatal injury.)

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In August, a few weeks before Monsons retrial, the prosecution dismissed the case. In a public statement, Worthy said Monson had lived with the 12-year-old victim, that hed had sex with her, and that hed demanded that she sell drugs for him. The decision to drop the charges against Monson, Worthy said, was not due to a belief in his innocence, but instead due to the destruction of evidence and the possible coercive conduct of the then-homicide inspector in obtaining statements from the defendant. Her office, she said, would not be charging Robert Lewis with the murder. Lewis is still free.

Moran says Worthys charge that Monson had sex with the 12-year-old victim is false and disturbing, adding that it is unethical for a prosecutor, upon dismissing charges against a defendant, to then publicly defame that defendant. His client, he says, emphatically denies that any sexual contact occurred. Asked to respond, Worthy cited Monsons statements to the policethe same statements she has admitted were possibly coerced in a manner that supports Monsons defense of a false confession.

Worthy did tell me, however, that her office is in the process of launching a standalone unit to review possible wrongful convictions. That group will be headed up by Valerie Newman, a longtime attorney at the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office, which represented Sanford before the Michigan Innocence Clinic took over his case. Worthy says that project has been in the works for some time, but became possible only after she obtained funding from the Wayne County Commission.

Moran reacted to the news with cautious optimism, saying, I hope that the Wayne County Prosecutors Office is changing its attitude and will seriously consider these cases. He has cases lined up to present to the unit as soon as it opens for business.

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In June 2016, the California Innocence Project filed a vindictive prosecution motion, arguing that the retrial of William Richards was unconscionable. A month earlier, the California Supreme Court had ruled unanimously that Richards conviction for the 1993 murder of his wife Pamela Richards should be overturned, as it had been based on false evidence. Shortly thereafter, San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos announced his office would prosecute Richards for a fifth time. There was no way that they had any legitimate purpose in prosecuting him, says Jan Stiglitz, co-director of the California Innocence Project. They would have to be deluded to believe he was still guilty.

Ramos is a prosecutor with a national profile. A Southern California Republican, he is the board chairman of the National District Attorneys Association, a powerful group of more than 4,000 prosecutors that meets regularly with the Department of Justice to offer its views on criminal justice policy. The son of Mexican immigrants, he is the first Hispanic district attorney for San Bernardino County, a jurisdiction with a population of more than 2 million people. First elected in 2002, Ramos is now campaigning for his fifth term. For the majority of his 15 years in office, he has fought the release of a man who was demonstrably innocent. Ramos isnt known for serially denying innocence claims. The case of William Richards, however, is a shocking example of how prosecutors can pursue a single individual with no regard for logic or reason.

Jan Stiglitz was shocked when he learned in 2016 that Ramos intended to prosecute Richards for a fifth time. The DNA pointed to someone else.

Pamela Richards was murdered in gruesome fashion. Although she was killed by manual strangulation, shed also been horribly beaten. Pieces of her skull were lying beside her body, and a paving stone and cinder block found nearby were covered with blood and matted hair. Police immediately focused their suspicion on her husband. The couple was having financial problems, and Pamela, who was having an affair, had announced she was leaving him.

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Nevertheless, the evidence against William Richards was weak. He had no criminal record and no history of violence. The night of the murder, he clocked out from work at 11:03 p.m., then drove 45 miles to get home. Even assuming he exceeded the speed limit by 20 miles per hour, police estimated Richards couldnt have arrived home before 11:47 p.m. That wouldve given him 11 minutes to brutalize his wife before he called 911 at 11:58 p.m. to report she was dead.

Richards, who is white, was indicted under Ramos predecessor, Dennis Stout, and tried four times by a prosecutor named Michael Risley. Two juries were unable to reach a verdict, and the judge in the third case declared a mistrial. At the fourth trial, Risley introduced new expert testimony: A dentist, Norman Sperber, told the jury a bite mark photographed on Pamelas arm was consistent with Williams teeth, and that the bite mark was so unusual as to be found in just 1 to 2 percent of the population. William Richards was sentenced to life in prison in 1997.

In 2003, Stiglitz and Justin Brooks, the co-founders of the California Innocence Project, filed a motion for DNA testing on the paving stone and cinder block found near Pamelas body. They also sought DNA testing on a hair found underneath her nails. When the results finally came back in 2007, they excluded William. A year later, the dentist recanted his testimony, stating he had no degree of certainty about his earlier conclusion and adding that, with regard to William, I have essentially ruled him out. In 2009, a trial judge overturned William Richards conviction, finding that the entire prosecution case has been undermined with evidence that points unerringly to innocence. Ramos appealed the judges order. Another six years of legal dueling followed before the states highest court agreed that William Richards conviction should be thrown out.

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Stiglitz was shocked when he learned in 2016 that Ramos intended to prosecute Richards for a fifth time. The DNA pointed to someone else, the recanted bite-mark testimony had been tossed, the timeline made no sense, and there was no other evidence. But a trial date had been set, and Ramos office opposed Richards releasehe had been transferred to jail from state prison while he awaited trialdemanding a $100,000 bond. The judge declined, instead letting Richards out on his own signature.

Eight days after Stiglitz and his colleagues filed their vindictive prosecution motion, Ramos office finally dismissed the murder charge while maintaining that no final decision had been made. Ramos spokesperson, Christopher Lee, wrote in an email to the Intercept that more time was needed to look at the defenses new evidence. The case has never been refiled.

Richards now lives with a former California Innocence Project attorney and her family. He developed prostate cancer while in custody that went untreated and, his lawyers say, is now incurable. Richards has filed a civil right lawsuit against the County of San Bernardino and six sheriffs deputies, seeking unspecified damages for actions that were done deliberately, purposefully, knowingly and/or with deliberate indifference to, or reckless disregard for the truth. Trial is set for October 2018. The San Bernardino district attorneys office declined to make Ramos or Risley available for comment, citing Richards ongoing lawsuit.

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Leon Cannizzaro has been known to fight exoneration cases for years until every appellate option has been exhausted. Local prosecutors have tremendous power, and the district attorney for Louisianas Orleans Parish uses every tool in his arsenal to reject the innocence of exonerees, and to threaten the freedom and professional reputations of those fighting on behalf of those who say they were wrongfully convicted. Cannizzaros office has gone after defendants lawyers and investigators in court by accusing them of committing crimes to help their clients, and the office has discouraged witnesses from helping to exonerate wrongly convicted people, charging them with perjury when they recant false trial testimony. Its not just the wrongly convicted who suffer under this regime: By spending resources rejecting exonerations instead of searching for the real perpetrators, Cannizzaro has prevented victims from getting the justice they deserve.

Consider the case of Jerome Morgan, who was 18 when he was convicted of the 1993 shooting death of a fellow teenager. The victim, Clarence Landry III, died after shots were fired at a Sweet 16 party in a hotel ballroom. Hakim Shabazz and another teenager were wounded, but survived. The gunman immediately fled the scene; he was chased unsuccessfully by Landrys best friend, Kevin Johnson. (Morgan, Landry, and the witnesses are all black.)

Johnson ruled out Morgan when he was shown a photo array just days after the crime. Three months later, Shabazz identified Morgan as the shooter, and four months after that Landrys mother brought Johnson back to the police station. At that point, Johnson changed his story and identified Morgan as the gunman. Based on these two identifications, Morgan was convicted of second-degree murder. In 1994, a judge sentenced Morgan to serve his natural life at hard labor in the Department of Corrections.

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In 2013, after Shabazz and Johnson recanted their identifications of Jerome Morgan (in 2011 and 2012), Morgans lawyers succeeded in getting a hearing before a trial judge to determine whether Morgans conviction should be thrown out. At the hearing, Shabazz said he hadnt known the identity of the gunman but that a detective told him Jerome shot you. Johnson described the immense pressure he felt when Landrys mother brought him to the police station. Hed set aside Morgans photograph only to have the picture put back in front of him and have the detective ask again, You sure this is not the guy? Finally, he agreed to identify Morgan as the killer.

Morgans lawyers also uncovered evidence that the ballroom had been sealed within minutes of the shooting and that Morgan had been locked inside, making it impossible that he was the fleeing gunman. Prosecutors had that evidence all along, but never turned it over to the defense.

A judge overturned Morgans conviction in 2014. At that point, hed served 20 years. After he was unsuccessful in opposing Morgans release on bail, Cannizzaro went to the intermediate appellate court seeking to reinstate his conviction. When that effort failed, he appealed again, this time to the states highest court. He also indicted Shabazz and Johnson for perjury, and then argued that his office should be allowed to introduce Shabazz and Johnsons recanted trial testimonies, as neither man would agree to take the stand at Morgans retrial given the perjury indictments hanging over their heads. The Louisiana Supreme Court shut Cannizzaro down again, holding that the state may not rely on these discredited and unreliable identifications.

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Cannizzaro, a white Democrat whos been the Orleans Parish district attorney since 2008, vowed to press on. In the weeks leading up to the retrial, prosecutor Donna Andrieu accused Morgans attorneys, Emily Maw and Kristin Wenstrom, of coercing false recantations from Shabazz and Johnson and asked that they be removed as Morgans counsel so the state could call them as witnesses. The judge, incredulous that Andrieu would accuse the defense attorneys of suborning perjury, rebuffed her request as outrageous.

In May 2016, two weeks before Morgans retrial, Cannizzaros office dismissed the charges against him, saying the high courts ruling had tied its hands. Cannizzaro professed deep sorrow for the victims family. What is most disappointing to me about this entire incident, he said, is that, as [the victims mother] lays in bed dying of cancer, the justice for which she worked so hard to obtain is ripped from her fingers and she is helpless to stop it. Maw called Cannizzaros statement dishonest and preposterous. The attorney had stayed in close touch with Landrys parents throughout the case. They fully supported our efforts and have no desire to see an innocent man in prison, she told me.

Clarence Landrys killer has never been found. Maw says that, to her knowledge, no one is looking for him. Instead, Cannizzaro, who declined to comment for this story, went ahead with the perjury prosecutions against Shabazz and Johnson. In January, a judge acquitted both men.

Worthy, Ramos, and Cannizzaro may seem extreme, but they have plenty of company. University of Michigan Law professor Samuel Gross, co-founder of the nonprofit National Registry of Exonerations, says there are a lot of these cases. Gross and his colleagues have tracked every known exoneration from 1989 through the present day. At Slates request, they provided a list of an additional 16 cases of innocence denying beyond the ones described at length in this article. We see them all the time, Gross says.

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As Davontae Sanfords case demonstrates, innocence denying means the real criminals go unpunished, posing a threat to public safety. According to the Innocence Project, 353 people have been exonerated by DNA evidence since 1989. The group has identified 152 actual perpetrators in those cases who went on to commit 150 additional violent crimes, including rape and murder.

The best-known example of this phenomenon is the case of Michael Morton, a Texan who was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife in 1987. At trial, prosecutors withheld crucial exculpatory evidence. After his conviction, they fought Mortons release tooth and nail, even though DNA evidence found on a bandana near the crime scene pointed to Mark Alan Norwood as the real killer. Norwood had gone on to rape and kill another woman in a nearly identical manner two years after Morton was sent to prison.

The lead prosecutor, Ken Andersonwho became a district court judge after securing Mortons convictionwas criminally charged with evidence tampering and lying to the judge at Mortons preliminary hearing, and eventually pleaded no contest to felony charges of criminal contempt. He has been barred from practicing law. But the prosecution of Anderson is an outlier. Worthy, Ramos, and Cannizzaro have never been sanctioned. Instead, they have each coasted to re-election while racking up accolades and awards.

If innocence denying rarely carries negative consequences, is the converse true? Do prosecutors who do everything in their power to free wrongfully convicted people stand to lose elected office and lose face because theyre seen as weak? In a word, no. Consider the story of Thomas Haynesworth, Michael Herring, and Ken Cuccinelli.

Haynesworth, a black teenager, was convicted in 1984 of raping three white women in Richmond. In back-to-back-to-back trials, all three women identified Haynesworth as their attacker. In 2009, Haynesworths attorneys got approval to test the DNA from a rape kit in one of the cases. That DNA matched a man named Leon Davis, whod been convicted of sexually assaulting more than a dozen women. Those crimes had been committed after Haynesworth was arrested, in the same city or adjoining counties, and in a manner strikingly similar to the modus operandi attributed to Haynesworth.

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Haynesworth was exonerated in that case, but he remained incarcerated for the two other rapesand in those cases the evidence had been destroyed, leaving no possibility for DNA testing. Haynesworths advocates turned to Richmond City Commonwealths Attorney Michael Herring for help.

Ken Cuccinelli calls Haynesworths exoneration the professional accomplishment I am most proud of.

Herring, who is black, was initially skeptical, but he became convinced of Haynesworths innocence. He then approached Cuccinelli, who was Virginias attorney general at the time. With his deputy, Alice Armstrong, Cuccinelli put together six-foot-high charts analyzing the evidence in the cases involving Haynesworth. They then added more charts for the multiple cases in which Davis had been convicted. It quickly became clear that this was not a question of glancing similarities: The geographic clusters, the details of the physical violence, and even the rapists wording of his threats to the victims formed an unmistakable pattern. Haynesworth, Cuccinelli believed, had spent nearly three decades in prison for Davis crimes.

In December 2010, Cuccinellia white Republican who is famous for his unflinchingly conservative positionsapproached Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and lobbied for Haynesworth to be pardoned. The attorney general then took a highly unusual step. Rather than opposing Haynesworths petition for a writ of actual innocence in the Virginia Court of Appeals, he and Herring joined with Haynesworths lawyers in asking the justices to grant it.

During oral arguments in a packed courtroom, Cuccinelli was asked how he could sanction undoing the verdicts of two separate juries when the victims stood by their identifications. My job is not to defend convictions, its to defend justice, he explained to me.

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Haynesworth ultimately prevailed by the narrowest of margins, with the court of appeals ruling 64 in his favor. Cuccinelli, now the president for the Senate Conservatives Fund, calls Haynesworths exoneration the professional accomplishment I am most proud of. Herring, who remains the commonwealth attorney for Richmond City, easily won re-election. In 2016, he received an award from the Virginia State Bar for his work in supporting the successful petition to pardon another man, Michael Kenneth McAlister.

When Kym Worthy says she plans to devote an entire unit to investigating post-conviction innocence claims, she is following in the footsteps of other district attorneys. Perhaps the best known of these units was run by Ken Thompson, the first black man or woman elected as the district attorney of Brooklyn, New York. Thompson, who took office in 2013, served only three years before dying of cancer in October 2016. But in that short time, he built up a remarkable record. In its first year, the conviction review unit freed 10 people. At the time of Thompsons death, the total stood at 23. (After Thompsons death, Eric Gonzalez became the acting district attorney. Gonzalez, who just won election for his full first term, had been endorsed by the New York Times, which noted that he took the lead in making the conviction review unit a success.)

Sharen Wilson, the top prosecutor for Tarrant County, Texas, is following the same model. Wilson, a white Republican who took office in January 2015, hired a widely respected defense attorney from a neighboring county to review questionable convictions. Recently, the Tarrant County Conviction Integrity Unit cooperated with the Innocence Project in reinvestigating the case of John Earl Nolley. That reinvestigation turned up a bloody palm print that did not match Nolley and evidence that the jailhouse informant who testified against Nolley had lied. After Wilson agreed the conviction was tainted, a state court judge overturned the conviction, and Nolley was released on bond in May 2016. The case is currently pending in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will determine whether to uphold the trial courts conclusion and Wilsons recommendation.

On her website, Wilson describes herself as putting victims first with her commitment to aggressively prosecute the most dangerous criminals. She says vacating Nolleys conviction and releasing him on bond was the right decision. Faith in God leads me to believe that we have a system that is made up of people, and people make mistakes, she told me.

There are no particular credentials that guarantee that a prosecutor will do the right thing. Prosecutors who embrace their role to seek justice must be willing to tell the truth no matter the consequences, and they need to have the gumption to fess up when they make a mistake. These are basic lessons that are well understood by an average fourth grader. Why is it so hard for so many of our top law enforcement officials to take them to heart?

Also in Slate: 17 cases of denied innocence.

Top image: San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos in 2017, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in 2013, and Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro in 2014. Photo illustration by Slate.
In our adversarial legal system, the job of the prosecutor is not to win, but to serve justice. That means prosecutors are obligated to admit mistakes, particularly when an innocent person has been convicted. What follows is a list of 17 cases across the country where prosecutors refused this responsibility, denying the innocence of those who have been wrongfully imprisoned for years, if not decades. These cases are all too common, according to University of Michigan professor Samuel Gross, who has documented every known case of wrongful conviction that has occurred since 1989. You can also read Lara Bazelons accompanying article on prosecutors who delay and deny justice by fighting to uphold wrongful convictions.

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Name: Thomas Lee Goldstein

Location: Los Angeles County, California

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 1980

Exonerated: 2004



Thomas Lee Goldstein was convicted of murder and sentenced to 27 years to life in prison based on the false testimony of a jailhouse informant and a dubious eyewitness identification. In 2002, after the eyewitness had recanted and Goldstein presented evidence the informant had lied in numerous other cases, he was granted a new trial; the prosecution appealed the decision and lost. In December 2003, a federal appeals court ordered Goldsteins immediate release but state officials refused to comply. In 2004, a state judge dismissed the charges; Deputy District Attorney Patrick Connolly responded by filing new charges against Goldstein for the same crime telling the Los Angeles Times, I am very confident we have the right guy. Five months later, after a judge ruled in Goldsteins favor once more, he was finally released.

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Name: Sylvester Smith

Location: Brunswick County, North Carolina

Crime: Child sex abuse

Convicted: 1984

Exonerated: 2004

Sylvester Smith was sentenced to life in prison in North Carolina for sexually assaulting his girlfriends two daughters. He was exonerated in 2004 after the two women admitted their grandmother had pressured them to falsely accuse Smith to cover up for a cousin who had actually molested them. Smith sought a pardon so he could obtain compensation from the state for the two decades he spent in prison, but North Carolina Gov. Mike Easleywho had been the prosecutor at Smiths trialrefused to grant him one.

Name: Marshall Hale

Location: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Crime: Child sex abuse

Convicted: 1984

Exonerated: 2017

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Marshall Hale was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl in Philadelphia and sentenced to up to 65 years in prison. Hale was convicted despite the fact that the prosecution had biological evidence excluding him as the rapist. When the evidence of his exclusion was brought to their attention in 2010, the Philadelphia County District Attorneys Office led by prosecutor Seth Williams continued to fight to preserve Hales conviction, despite having had nothing to do with the original prosecution. In March 2017, Williams was indicted on unrelated public corruption charges and handed over control of his office. Finally, on July 13, 2017, through the efforts of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the work of the newly revamped Conviction Review Unit in the DAs Office, Hale was released from prison with all charges withdrawn. By that time, he had spent more than 33 years in custody for a crime he did not commit. On Oct. 24, Williams was sentenced to five years in prison.

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Names: Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez

Location: DuPage County, Illinois

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 1985

Exonerated: 1995

Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez were convicted of abducting, raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in Naperville, Illinois. After their convictions were reversed on appeal, they were convicted again in 1989. By then a serial murderer named Brian Dugan, who had no known connection to Cruz or Hernandez, had confessed to committing the 1983 crime alone. DuPage County prosecutors Patrick King, Robert Kilander, and Thomas Knight, however, presented distorted evidence. Cruz and Hernandez were retried again in 1995 after DNA had proved Dugan was the rapist. This time, the prosecution claimed the two men had committed the crime with Dugan. After Cruz was acquitted, prosecutors dismissed the charges against Hernandezbut continued to publicly say both men were guilty. In 1996, King, Kilander, and Knight were indicted for conspiring to obstruct justice and committing perjury. They were acquitted.

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Names: Ronnie and Dale Mahan

Location: Jefferson County, Alabama

Crime: Sexual assault

Convicted: 1986

Exonerated: 1998

Brothers Ronnie and Dale Mahan were convicted of rape and kidnapping in Jefferson County, Alabama. The prosecution originally claimed that semen recovered from the victim came from one of the two men. After DNA testing proved that false in 1997, the prosecution argued that the victim (contrary to her trial testimony) had sex with her husband that day and that the rapist had failed to ejaculate. Prosecutors later switched their story again, saying shed had sex with her boyfriend. When further DNA testing disproved both of those claims and turned up a hair from an unknown stranger, the prosecution finally dismissed charges in 1998. Five years later, the prosecutor in charge, Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Arthur Green, said of the Mahans: These sons of bitches are guilty as sin, theres no question in my mind. This is not a case of innocence. These two bastards are guilty. I just cant prove it.

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Names: Dennis Halstead, John Kogut, and John Restivo

Location: Nassau County, New York

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 1986

Exonerated: 2005

Dennis Halstead, John Kogut, and John Restivo were convicted of the 1984 rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Long Island, New York. DNA testing began in 1994, and despite the fact that Halstead, Kogut, and Restivo were excluded time and again, the prosecution continued to demand more testing. Finally, in 2003, their convictions were vacated. Prosecutors took Kogut to trial a second time in 2005. After he was acquitted, the prosecution dismissed the charges against Halstead and Restivo. In 2012, the men lost a federal lawsuit seeking compensation, and Nassau County Attorney John Ciampoli said they were criminals who were responsible for what happened and had been denied a chance to turn  a heinous crime into a payday that would cripple Nassau County. In 2014, after the lawsuit was reinstated by a federal appeals court, a jury awarded Halstead and Restivo a combined $36 million.

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Name: Jimmy Ray Bromgard

Location: Yellowstone County, Montana

Crime: Child sex abuse

Convicted: 1987

Exonerated: 2002

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Jimmy Ray Bromgard was convicted in 1987 of breaking into a home in Billings, Montana, and raping an 8-year-old girl. He was exonerated by DNA testing in 2002. In 2006, Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath (who is now chief justice of the states supreme court) said under oath in a civil suit that he believed Bromgard was guilty of the crime but had not ejaculated. McGrath suggested several possible explanations for why semen had been found in the victims underwearincluding that the 8-year-old was sexually active with someone else or that her parents had sex on their daughters bed. Bromgard was awarded $3.5 million in a settlement with the state, and another man was charged with the girls rape in 2015.

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Name: Roger Dean Gillispie

Location: Montgomery County, Ohio

Crime: Sexual assault

Convicted: 1991

Exonerated: 2017

Roger Dean Gillispie was convicted in 1991 of sexual assault, robbery, and kidnapping in Dayton, Ohio. Twelve years later, DNA testing that showed that hairs found on the victims were not his. In 2011, a detective testified that hed eliminated Gillispie as a suspect way back in 1991. Even so, Montgomery County prosecutor Mat Heck kept on fighting to preserve his conviction. Gillispie was finally exonerated in 2017, 26 years after his original conviction.

Name: Juan Rivera

Location: Lake County, Illinois

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 1993

Exonerated: 2012

Juan Rivera was sentenced to life in prison in 1992 for the rape and murder of a 11-year-old girl in Waukegan, Illinois. In 2005, DNA tests on semen found on the victims body excluded Rivera as the rapist, and his convictions were vacated. Lake County state prosecutor Mike Mermel took Rivera to trial again on the theory that the 11-year-old victim was not raped but had consensual sex with someone else prior to the murder. Rivera was again convicted, but in 2011 an appeals court ruled the conviction was unjustified and cannot stand and he was released.

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Name: Anthony Wright

Location: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 1993

Exonerated: 2016

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Anthony Wright was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 1991 rape and murder of a 77-year-old woman in Philadelphia. Wrights conviction was based primarily on a confession that he claimed was false. In 2013after the prosecution fought against DNA testing for eight yearsDNA tests showed the rapist was Ronnie Byrd, a drug user who lived near the victim and had since died. Nonetheless, the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office, led by Seth Williams, took Wright to trial again in 2016, claiming for the first time that he committed the crime with Byrd. In August 2016, Wright was acquitted and released. The following year, after also fighting Marshall Hales exoneration, Williams was sentenced to five years in prison for corruption.

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Name: Fred Steese

Location: Clark County, Nevada

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 1995

Exonerated: 2017

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Fred Steese was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a 1992 murder in North Las Vegas, Nevada, despite evidence showing he was in Idaho at the time of the crime. William Kephart, the prosecutor who tried the case, was accused of egregious misconduct in the case and had been reprimanded for similar misconduct by the Nevada Supreme Court. In 2012, Steese was granted a new trial based on new evidence of innocence that convinced the judge that it was more likely than not no reasonable juror would have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt with that [new] evidence. Deputy District Attorney Pamela Weckerly told Steese he would have to plead guilty to second-degree murder (while maintaining his innocence) in exchange for immediate release or face the possibility of further appeals. In November 2017, the Nevada Board of Pardons, with the support of the governor and the entire Nevada Supreme Court, granted Steese a pardon based on innocence. Kephart went on to become a district court judge.

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Names: Jonathan Barr, James Harden, Shainnie Sharp, Robert Taylor, and Robert Veal

Location: Cook County, Illinois

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 19941997

Exonerated: 2011

Jonathan Barr, James Harden, Shainnie Sharp, Robert Taylor, and Robert Vealknown as the Dixmoor Fivewere falsely convicted of the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Dixmoor, a suburb south of Chicago. The five men were convicted even though pretrial DNA testing had eliminated all of them as the source of semen recovered from the victim. All five, who had falsely confessed, were exonerated in 2011 when the DNA profile from the semen was sent to the FBIs DNA database and the real criminal, a known serial rapist, was identified. Even so, Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez insisted the actual rapist might have had sex with the victims corpse after Barr and the others killed her. The actual rapist was finally indicted in 2016.

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Name: Daniel Larsen

Location: Los Angeles County, California

Crime: Possession of a concealed knife

Convicted: 1999

Exonerated: 2014

Daniel Larsen was convicted of possession of a concealed knife in Los Angeles, California. He was sentenced under Californias Three Strikes law to 28 years to life in prison. In 2005, Larsen presented evidence from a retired police chief and several other witnesses that the man with the knife was someone else, and that the real perpetrator had admitted as much after Larsen was arrested. The state opposed reopening the case. In 2009, a federal judge found Larsen had established that he was actually innocent and ordered a new trial. The prosecution, led by thenCalifornia Attorney General Kamala Harris, appealed and a federal appeals court affirmed the ruling. In 2014, the Los Angeles Attorneys Office finally dismissed the charge rather than go to trial again, nine years after convincing evidence of innocence was first presented.

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Name: Clarence Elkins

Location: Summit County, Ohio

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 1999

Exonerated: 2005

Clarence Elkins was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for raping and murdering his mother-in-law and raping and nearly killing his 6-year-old niece in Barberton, Ohio. The only evidence against Elkins was his nieces identification, which she later recanted. Though the police interviewed the mother-in-laws neighbor, a convicted felon named Earl Gene Mann, they never followed up on that lead. In 2002, three years after Elkins was sent to prison, Mann was convicted of raping three girls all under the age of 10. In 2004, DNA recovered from the crime scene was tested and found not to match Elkins. Summit County prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh still opposed Elkins motion for a new trial. In 2005, a cigarette butt containing Manns DNA was matched to DNA evidence from the crime scene. Even so, Walsh did not agree to Elkins release.

Months later, under pressure from the Ohio attorney general, Walsh finally agreed to the release. In 2008, Walsh secured a guilty plea from Mann and apologized to Elkins.

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Names: Derek Tice, Danial Williams, Joseph Dick Jr., and Eric Wilson

Location: Norfolk City, Virginia

Crime: Murder (Tice, Williams, and Dick) and sexual assault (Wilson)

Convicted: 19992000

Exonerated: 20112017

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Derek Tice, Danial Williams, Joseph Dick Jr., and Eric WilsonU.S.

Navy sailors known as the Norfolk Fourwere convicted of the 1997 rape and murder of a woman in Norfolk, Virginia, after being coerced into inconsistent false confessions. Before trial, DNA evidence identified a different man as the rapist, and he confessed that hed committed the crime alone. Nonetheless, prosecutors DJ Hansen and Valerie Bowen and police secured convictions against the four innocent men and fought to keep them in prison for nearly two decades. The first of the four was exonerated in 2011, and all were finally granted absolute pardons by Gov. Terry McAuliffe in March 2017.

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Name: Julie Rea

Location: Lawrence County, Illinois

Crime: Murder

Convicted: 2002

Exonerated: 2006

Julie Rea was sentenced to 65 years in prison for the 1997 murder of her 10-year-old son in Lawrenceville, Illinois. In 2004, Tommy Lynn Sells, a notorious serial killer, confessed to the crime. Reas conviction was vacated, but the prosecution took her to trial again, claiming Sells had falsely confessed. A jury acquitted Rea in 2006. Nonetheless, special state prosecutor Ed Parkinson continued to insist that Rea was guilty and labeled the defenses evidence nonsense.

Name: Kirstin Blaise Lobato

Location: Clark County, Nevada

Crime: Manslaughteroriginally convicted of first-degree murder

Convicted: 2002 and 2006

Exonerated: 2017

Kirstin Blaise Lobato was twice convicted of killing a homeless man in 2002 and in 2006. The second time, she was sentenced to 1345 years in prison. No physical evidence connected Lobato to the crime scene; she passed a lie-detector test and never wavered in her assertions of innocence. On Dec. 29, 2017, a trial judge overturned Lobatos conviction after finding that scientific evidence showed that the murder had to have occurred shortly before the victims body was foundwhen there was no doubt, even from the prosecution, that Lobato was 170 miles away. The prosecutor who insisted that Lobato was guiltyand was reprimanded for publicly maintaining that insistence, is the same prosecutor who convicted Fred Steese: William Kephart, now a Las Vegas trial judge.

Also in Slate: The innocence deniersprosecutors who not only hinder exonerations, but actively work against them.
On Tuesday, a federal district court made history by striking down North Carolinas congressional map. The decision marks the first time a court has invalidated a congressional redistricting scheme as illegally gerrymandering along partisan lines. It arrives at a critical moment for the development of a legal theory that requires federal courts to set limits on political redistricting. Tuesdays rigorous ruling bolsters the constitutional case against partisan gerrymandering, which the Supreme Court may well affirm this year. It relies heavily on the writing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who aided opponents of gerrymandering in a crucial but often overlooked 2015 opinion.

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Theres no question that North Carolina Republicans manipulated their states congressional map to disfavor Democratic voters. The GOP legislator who helped to draw the current map, state Rep. David Lewis, openly declared that the scheme constituted a political gerrymander, explaining: I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats. So I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the country. Lewis also admitted that he used political data in drawing this map for the sole purpose of gain[ing] partisan advantage, his ultimate goal. He succeeded, giving Republicans an advantage in 10 out of the states 13 congressional districtswhile noting that he wouldve preferred to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats.

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Voting rights advocates sued, alleging that GOP mapmakers had violated the Constitutions free speech, equal protection, and election clauses by discriminating against Democratic voters on the basis of their political association. The Republican-controlled redistricting committee could not plausibly deny its motives in light of ample evidence proving partisan intent. But it still insisted that its map was lawful, asserting that legislators are allowed to favor their own party in redistricting.

Theres no question that North Carolina Republicans manipulated their states congressional map to disfavor Democratic voters.

Is that true? The Supreme Court will soon decideand not a minute too soon, because its gerrymandering jurisprudence is a bit of a mess. In 1986, a badly splintered court found that partisan redistricting could run afoul of the Constitution, but failed to articulate when it might cross a legal line. Then, in 2004, a fractured court held that political gerrymandering is probably unconstitutionalbut might not be resolvable in federal court. There was no majority opinion in either case, leaving the lower courts without clear guidance in gerrymandering disputes.

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In 2015, however, Ginsburg seized upon a tangential case, Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC), to strike a surreptitious jurisprudential blow against political gerrymanders. AIRC did not involve a direct challenge to partisan redistricting. Rather, it was a challenge to an Arizona law, passed via ballot initiative, that stripped the legislature of its redistricting duties and delegated them to a non-partisan commission. In a 54 decision authored by Ginsburg, the court concluded that independent redistricting was a constitutionally permissible exercise of the peoples legislative power.

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But Ginsburg did not stop there. In several remarkable passages, Ginsburg cast aspersions on partisan gerrymandering itself. The justice began her opinion by stating flatly that partisan gerrymanders are incompatible with democratic principles. She described political redistricting as a problem that subordinate[s] adherents of one political party and entrench[es] a rival party in power. And she pointed out that this practice contravenes the core principle of republican governmentthat the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.

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Justice Anthony Kennedy expressed somewhat similar sentiments in a 2004 concurring opinion. But AIRC marked the first time that a majority opinion with precedential value would explicitly denigrate partisan gerrymandering as an undemocratic abomination. Writing in dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts dismissed the courts barbs as naked appeals to public policy. But Ginsburg was not simply leaning on her own policy preferences. She was planting the seeds of a coherent jurisprudence that lower courts could use to strike down political gerrymanders.

Those seeds have now sprouted. In 2016, a federal district court invalidated Wisconsins state legislative map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. The court used Ginsburgs definition of political redistricting as its framework, focusing, as she did, on the problem of legislative entrenchment by the majority party. It is safe to say, the court wrote, that this concept of abuse of power seems at the core of the courts approach to partisan gerrymandering, citing AIRC. The court then found that Wisconsin Republicans had, indeed, entrenched their own legislative dominance through unconstitutional redistricting. That case is now under review by the Supreme Court.

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On Tuesday, the federal court that struck down North Carolinas congressional map adopted a similar approach to the Wisconsin court.

In a decision that cites AIRC 18 times, the court adopted Ginsburgs entrenchment principle as its analytical lodestar. Quoting Ginsburg directly, the court held that a state acts unlawfully when it redistricts with the intent to subordinate adherents of one political party and entrench a rival party in power. And here, the plaintiffs put forth a wealth of evidence to demonstrate Republicans intent to subordinate the interests of non-Republican voters and entrench their own domination. Thus, the court explained, the congressional map qualified as an impermissible partisan gerrymander.

With this reasoning, the district court essentially turned Ginsburgs AIRC analysis into a standard for gauging the legality of gerrymanders. The justice seized upon the case to throw the courts weight behind a clear and concise conception of political redistricting that lower courts have already used to strike down egregiously partisan maps. If the Supreme Court soon clarifies that extreme partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional, as it appears poised to do, Ginsburg will have laid the groundwork in AIRC. Her masterful opinion has already given lower courts the tools they need to restore democracy in states where it is under siege.
Donald Trump says he has revived the American economy, destroyed ISIS, and inspired respect for the United States around the world. He says these things in the hope that youll believe them. But what a president conveys is often different from what he says. The more Trump talks, the more the public learns to decode the real message behind the fake one.

Trumps talking pointsThe stock market is soaring, Were getting tough on tradeare overshadowed, and their meaning is transformed, by his demeanor and his extended monologue. In his Dec. 28 interview with the New York Times, for example, he was asked about infrastructure. Somehow, he segued from this to a speech about his intelligence.

I know more about the big bills, he declared, than any president thats ever been in office.  I was a great student.  I know the details of taxes better than anybody. Better than the greatest CPA. I know the details of health care better than most.

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Trump continued this theme on Twitter, declaring himself a very stable genius. At a press conference on Saturday with Republican lawmakers at Camp David, he added: I went to the best colleges  I was a very excellent student.  Became one of the top businesspeople. Went to television and for 10 years was a tremendous success, as you probably have heard.

What Trump doesnt understand is you dont convey intelligence by asserting it. You convey it by demonstrating it. The more you talk about it, the more suspicious people become. They wonder why youre vouching for yourself instead of doing your job and letting others vouch for you. And they wonder why you feel the need to keep talking about it. The real message of your constant boasting isnt that youre smart. Its that youre insecure.

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Trump is incensed by Michael Wolffs book, Fire and Fury, and its tales about aides and friends who privately despise the president. On Twitter, Trump dismisses Wolff as a longtime fabricator, and he blames Sloppy Steve Bannon for letting Wolff into the White House. At Saturdays press conference, Trump again excoriated Sloppy Steve (apparently a double jab at Bannon for being unkempt and reckless) and said Wolff couldnt be trusted because he had written a hatchet-job book on Rupert Murdoch. But if Wolff had such a bad record, why did Trump speak to him and let him hang around for months? The real message of Trumps tirades isnt Sloppy Steve. Its Sloppy Donald.

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One of Trumps accusations is that other journalists dont trust Wolff. At his press conference, the president asserted: So many of the people that I talk about, in terms of fake news, actually came to the defense of this great administration, and even myself, because they know the author, and they know hes a fraud. Even as Trump invoked the judgment of the media, he couldnt resist calling it fake. By doing so, the president conveys not that Wolff is a fraud, but that his own mockery of fake news is just a game.

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At Camp David, Trump accused his predecessors, including George W. Bush, of coddling North Korea. He took credit for that countrys talks with South Korea about the Winter Olympics. A lot of people have said, a lot of people have written, that without my rhetoric and without my tough stance  they wouldnt be talking about Olympics, said Trump. He went on: If I werent involved, they wouldnt be talking about Olympics right now. Theyd be doing no talking, or it would be much more serious. All politicians boast, but Trump does it so incessantly and hyperbolically that his boasting becomes the story. The message isnt that Trump deserves credit. Its that he takes credit.

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In the Times interview, Trump tried to dispel the Russia investigation by uttering the phrase no collusion 16 times. He repeated it four more times at Saturdays press conference, even though none of the reporters asked about collusion. The collusion now is dead because everyone found that, after a year of study, theres been absolutely no collusion, Trump told a reporter who asked about the attorney generals recusal. There has been no collusion between us and the Russians. Later, the president added: Just so you understand, theres been no collusion. Theres been no crime.  Theres been no collusion. Theres been no crime. Everybody got the message: Trump is anxious about collusion.

Some people do take Trumps talking points at face value. Nearly half the electorate voted for him, and a third of the country still approves of his performance as president. When Trump says that the press is fake, that hes a genius, and that hes forcing North Korea to the bargaining table, many of these folks believe him. But one reason for Trumps slide in the polls is that people who used to hear his intended message now hear his unintended message instead. And thats because theyve learned, over time, that the unintended message is the real one.
LAS VEGASThe power went out late Tuesday morning at CESan awkward inconvenience on the second day of techs biggest show of the year. Around 11 a.m. PST, the bustling Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center went dark, confusing tens of thousands of people as they mingled and demoed televisions, VR headsets, smart refrigerators, speakers, and more. (Update: The lights went back on around 1:15 p.m. PST.)

I spoke to two employees of the convention center who told me a transformer has gone out and that Nevada Power was on the way to fix it.

They both said that in the years theyve worked there, that this had never happened. The power outage only affected the Central Hall, according to another person who works at the convention center. Exhibitors in the Central Hall incude some of the bigger ones at CES, like Panasonic, Qualcomm, Intel, and LG.

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I was sitting against the wall writing a story when the lights went out. A collective gasp could be heard across the hall as thousands of people immediately pulled out their phones to light the way. (A few booths still had lights, like the one from Casio, which must have had some kind of backup power source on hand.) It took about 15 minutes before everyone started being asked to leave. After I exited the hall to find out what happened, employees wouldnt let me back in. My college Will Oremus told me he was in the middle of a virtual reality demo and that none of the passengers noticed because their headsets didnt stop and they had headphones on.

It wasnt clear how long it will take for the lights to come back on. In the meantime, the electronics companies, some of which have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up shop here, are almost certainly really pissed off.

Read more of Slates coverage of CES 2018.
Many people in the United Statesincluding mewalk around every day carrying a smartphone that was made in China. Its been this way for a while. In fact, in 2012, CNet ran an article titled Are Any Smartphones Not Made in China? (Its conclusion: [Y]es, but not many and probably not for much longer.) But despite the fact that this has been the status quo for a long time now, the U.S. government is apparently not prepared to trust phones made by Huawei, one of Chinas largest tech companies.

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Huawei has been trying to make inroads in the U.S. smartphone market, which is currently dominated by Apple and Samsung. Huawei is the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, after those companies, and it shipped 153 million smartphones in 2017, but it has struggled in the U.S. market, where most phones are sold through mobile carriers like AT&T. Earlier this week, Huaweis planned partnership with AT&T fell through following pressure from the Senate and House intelligence committees and conversations with National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers and former FBI Director James Comey. The officials apparently warned AT&T that Huaweis technology might be used to aid Chinese espionage efforts and suggested that the partnershipwhich would presumably have brought Huawei phones to more U.S. consumerscould be harmful for security. Some reports indicate that the U.S. government has also intervened to try to prevent a similar partnership between Huawei and Verizon.

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Just as the government offered no evidence when it very publicly cut ties with Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab due to concerns about Russian espionage, very little information has been made public about why exactly Congress, the FBI, and the NSA believe that Huaweis phones are insecure. So much for my hopes that 2018 might usher in a new era of the U.S. government sharing more specific details about cybersecurity threats!

In some ways, the move to block Huaweis partnership with AT&T, and perhaps Verizon as well, is more startling than the governments decision not to use Kaspersky products. One was a decision about what technology the government itself trusted and was willing to install on its own systems. The other was about what technologies should be made available to U.S. consumers through their mobile phone carriers.

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Our government increasingly seems to think that technology designed and manufactured outside our own borders is inherently dangerous.

For the government to decide that it wanted to make it difficult for anyone in the U.S. to purchase that technology seems genuinely strange. It could, I suppose, indicate that there is very damning evidence that all Huawei phones are tools for nonstop espionage by the Communist Party of China. But in that case, wouldnt it make more sense for the government to make some clearer statement directly to consumers about the risks and maybe even take some stronger action to prevent Huawei technology from being sold in the United States? After all, pressuring U.S. carriers not to partner with Huawei does not actually make it impossible for U.S. consumers to purchase Huawei phonesyou can buy a phone thats not sold through your carrier (though you probably dont). Huawei also just unveiled a new router at CESare we supposed to assume that those, and all other Huawei products for that matter, are also under the control of the Chinese government? And how about all the other smartphones and computers coming out of China? Are we supposed to believe that the Chinese government is intent on building espionage back doors into technology at all costs but only when it comes to Huawei products? Its hard not to suspect that the goal here is aimed more at damaging Huaweis chances of becoming competitive in the U.S. smartphone market than improving security.

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If the motivations of the U.S. government are confusing here, then so too are the motivations it appears to be ascribing to the Chinese government. The presumption seems to be that China would risk ruining the international reputation of one of its biggest and most successful companies for the purposes of collecting espionage information that it could very likely intercept through other means, if it so desired. The United States has charged officers of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army with conducting illegal acts of cyberespionage in the past, and not a single one of the espionage efforts described in the indictment involves any Huawei technologyor, indeed, back doors built into any Chinese technologies. Instead, they involved a lot of phishing emails that delivered malware via innocuous-looking attachments, something we would presumably still be susceptible to whether or not we were using Huawei phones.

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Certainly, there have been signs in the past that Chinas government might be interested in conducting espionage via technology. In November 2017, for instance, security contractors discovered phone software written by Shanghai Adups Technology Co. that was installed on some Huawei products (among other Android phones) and monitored users activity, possibly for the purposes of espionage or possibly just to conduct advertising analytics. Its hard to know what to make of this revelation, or how concerned we should be about it, given how little we know about why this software was installed, but theres no evidence that points to Huawei, in particular, being responsible for it.

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And of course, the U.S. government also shares some of Chinas interests in espionageand, at least in the past, those interests have even extended to Huawei technology. In 2014, documents leaked by Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA had compromised Huaweis systems for two reasons: to figure out what ties the company had to the Chinese government and so that the NSA could itself take advantage of Huaweis products to spy on the people who bought them.

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This week, Huaweis consumer business group CEO, Richard Yu, presented his companys new Mate 10 Pro phone at CES in Las Vegas to an audience that is unlikely to have many opportunities to buy it, now that the AT&T deal has been squashed. At the end of his presentation, the Verge reports, he directly addressed the failed partnership, saying, Its a big loss for us, and also for carriers, but the more big loss is for consumers, because consumers dont have the best choice. He may well be right to feel sorry for us, not necessarily because we cant buy his phones but because our government increasingly seems to subscribe to the misguided notion that technology designed and manufactured outside our own borders is inherently dangerouseven though almost all of our technology is put together somewhere else. Ironically, refusing to trust tech companies based in other countries is a move straight out of Chinas playbook, and Yus right that its ultimately a loss for everyone.

Read more of Slates coverage of CES 2018.
Foreigners have to wait even outside Bratislava

The queue machine stops issuing tickets due to a high number of applicants at the Foreigners Police Department in Dunajska Streda.

The hall serving as the waiting room at the Foreigners Police Department in the town of Dunajska Streda. (Source: Sme)

Hello, sorry, pardon me, may I pass. These words can be constantly heard in the hall serving as the waiting room at the Foreigners Police Department in the town of Dunajska Streda. In a short, narrow hall, about fifteen people stand on two lines creating a passage between them for other people who need to go to the end of hall where the queue machine is located.

Others wanting to avoid the submarine atmosphere prefer staying outside the building where they smoke or have a chat.

Imagine it were raining now. says the Slovak cousin of a Ukrainian woman applying for permanent residence in Slovakia. Where would all those people go considering there is no space in the corridor?

He does not want to say his name, like other visitors of the department who want to avoid conflict with police officers handling their requests.

The Croatian national Ivan, who works in an international company, tried to make it to one of the two counters several times but failed due the very long wait. He eventually made it because he arrived before the departments opening hours.

"I came with an interpreter, waited a few hours, and then realized it was pointless, so I went away, said Ivan.

Read also:

Read also: Fewer worries for Slovakias aliens? Read more

The police confirmed that the number of foreigners Dunajska Stredas department has to deal with has increased. After the Bratislava office it is the second place with such problems.

Due to the increasing number of foreigners living in Slovakia, the foreigners police is preparing measures related to general bureaucracy.

Currently there are around 100,000 foreigners in Slovakia, which has total population of 5.4 million people.

Do not get scared

The foreigners police building in Dunajska Streda is a typical example of the fact that those offices originated at a time when the state expected a much smaller number of foreigners living on its territory.

Read also:

Read also: Government approves changes in Slovakias policy towards foreigners Read more

It appears old from the outside and even the state emblem is falling from the wall. A foreigner visiting the office on a wheelchair called for help because the entrance stairs were not barrier-free. Then one of the police officers and bystanders had to lift him up and later help him leave the building.

10. Jan 2018 at 15:39 | Roman Cuprik
Samsung considers leaving (UPDATED)

The company might relocate one of its plants unless hiring foreigners gets easier in Slovakia.

We have replaced the short newswire story with a story originally published by the Sme daily.

The South-Korean company, Samsung, may be one of the first firms to fall victim to the tense situation in the Slovak labour market. Employers have been pointing to the lack of workers for a long time. In the case of Samsung, the situation has caused the company to consider whether to continue their enterprise in Slovakia, or move production abroad.

Three independent sources from the advocacy, human resource and industrial sectors have confirmed for the Sme daily that Samsung is considering leaving. They point out that closing down production is just one of several options.

The Koreans are also negotiating with the government the possibility of simplifying the procedures involved in hiring foreigners, which would make it easier for the company to continue doing business in Slovakia.

Thus, it is not clear for now whether the threat to leave the country is merely to put pressure on the cabinet, or a serious intention.

Subsidies for Samsung  Galanta: employing 800 people in 2006, 35.2 mil. tax holiday, 1.2 mil. subsidy for educating people.  Voderady: employing 1,200 people in 2007, 51.2 mil. direct subsidy, 5 mil. for creating new jobs and 18.7 mil. tax holiday.  Galanta: keeping the 760 existing jobs in 2012, 19.8 mil. tax holiday.

Will they close just one plant?

Inside sources also told Sme that the closure would involve just one of the two plants in Slovakia.

Samsung has a smaller plant in Voderady with an annual turnover of 63 million, in which 568 primary employees and 1,000 externally hired people work. It has another plant in Galanta where 1,457 are employed. A thousand more are hired externally at this plant as well. This is a big plant, with an annual turnover of 2.8 billion.

The shutdown of Voderady would probably impact the production and number of employees in Galanta  and vice versa. Flat screens are produced in both plants: in one of them, parts are made, while at the other, the screens are assembled.

The possible exit of Samsung from Slovakia was already speculated about in 2011 but the cabinet of Iveta Radicova ultimately convinced the company to stay in the country while receiving state aid. However, this only concerned the Galanta plant.

10. Jan 2018 at 22:55 (modified at 15. Jan 2018 at 16:30) | Michaela Stalmach Kusnirova
Police hunt for Bratislava ram-raiders

The robbery in Bratislava of jewellery worth almost 900,000  not 500,000 as originally calculated  probably involves foreigners.

Police revealed that the sophisticated ram-raid of a posh jewellery shop in downtown Bratislava could have been orchestrated by foreigners, probably from the Balkans or a Russian-speaking country. The car used in the raid was allegedly stolen and got into the pedestrian zone through Zidovska Street, the Pravda daily wrote citing a police source.

Also, the damage done to the Sheron jewellery shop has been valued at 880,000 instead of 500,000 as originally calculated.

Read also:

Read also: Ram-raid in Bratislava Read more

Due to the camera shots and video-recordings available, criminal investigators think that foreigners could be involved, Police Corps President Tibor Gaspar said on January 9, as quoted by Pravda. Police have at their disposal several recordings from city police cameras and also private cameras from neighbouring shops and restaurants. They published a description of the clothes and appearance of the four thieves involved, with one of them also showing part of his face. The police have published a video and a call to the public for help in identifying the thieves on their Facebook site.

How was the raid accomplished?

The thieves got to Panska in the stolen car, a dark-grey BMW 530d, probably under the SNP bridge; they sawed off one of the security barriers in Zidovska Street with an angle grinder and entered the pedestrian zone from Rybne Square at around 04:00 in the morning, which would not be possible during the day. The concrete barriers safeguarding the Christmas markets (in Hviezdoslavovo Square) from potential terrorist threats had already been taken away.

Both the security company guarding the jewellery shop and the police arrived quickly but were not able to catch the criminals  the whole raid only took about ten minutes.

The original valuation of the watches stolen has been reassessed at 880,000.

The former head of police investigators and current professor of criminal law at the Pan-European University, Jaroslav Ivor, told Pravda that the robbery was well-organised, planned and executed with extraordinary courage and even arrogance. The crime will be defined as burglary and armed robbery as the criminals used a car as a weapon.

Not even the fact that the thieves are probably foreigners should prevent the police from finding and charging them, Ivor said for Pravda.

10. Jan 2018 at 23:15 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Sagans son may be baptised by the Pope

The Slovak cyclist is expected to meet with Pope Francis in a private audience. He will gift a bicycle.

It is possible that Marlon, the son of successful Slovak cyclist Peter Sagan, may be baptised by Pope Francis, the Italian daily Gazzeta dello Sport reported.

The Slovak cyclist is currently in Australia, where he will launch his season in a few days at the Tour Down Under race. As soon as he returns to Europe, he plans to travel to the Vatican to attend a private audience with the Pope, scheduled for January 24.

Apart from his wife and his son, who was born last October, he will be accompanied by his mother and sister, the Sme daily reported.

Sagan comes from a religious family. Before races, his father makes a symbolic cross on his head.

When Peter found out he might have a private audience with the Pope, he was excited, Ermanno Leonardi from the company, Specialized, told Gazzeta dello Sport.

The meeting with the Pope was also arranged with the help of the sales director of Volkswagen Italia, Andrea Calcani.

At the meeting, Sagan will give the Pope a model of the bicycle he is competing with, the Specialized Venge, in Vatican colours. It will also have the Popes coat of arms, the Argentinean flag and the inscription Francesco on it, Sme reported.

10. Jan 2018 at 23:41 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Ormat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. The Energy Storage segment consists of battery energy storage systems as a service and management of curtailable customer loads under contracts with U.S. retail energy providers and directly with large commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Dominion Energy: 96WI 8me LLC, Alamo Solar LLC, Align RNG Arizona LLC, Align RNG Arizona-Snowflake LLC, Align RNG California LLC, Align RNG California-Corcoran LLC, Align RNG Grady Road LLC, Align RNG LLC, Align RNG Magnolia LLC, Align RNG North Carolina LLC, Align RNG North Carolina-Bowdens LLC, Align RNG Utah LLC, Align RNG Utah-Milford LLC, Align RNG Virginia LLC, Align RNG Virginia-Waverly LLC, Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Azalea Solar LLC, BOE Holdings Inc., Blackville Solar Farm LLC, Blue Ocean Energy Marine LLC, BrightSuite Home LLC, BrightSuite Inc., BrightSuite Solar CT Inc., BrightSuite Solar SC Inc., BrightSuite Solar VA Inc., Buckingham Solar I LLC, CEA Americus LLC, CEA CO-Fort Morgan LLC, CEA Clovis LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Colorado LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Georgia LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Idaho LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Nevada LLC, CEA Dairy RNG New Mexico LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Texas LLC, CEA Greely LLC, CEA Mason LLC, CEA TX-Dimmitt LLC, CID Solar LLC, CNG Coal Company, CNG Power Services Corporation, Carolina Gas Transmission Corporation, Catalina Solar 2 LLC, Clean Energy Asset USA LLC, Clean Energy Enterprises Inc., Clipperton Holdings LLC, Consolidated Natural Gas Company, Correctional Solar LLC, Cottonwood Solar LLC, Cove Point LNG LP, Cove Point LNG Limited, DE Arlington Solar LLC, DE Fluvanna Solar LLC, DE Hanover Solar LLC, DE Henrico Solar LLC, DE King William Solar LLC, DE Louisa Solar LLC, DE Newport News Solar LLC, DE Powhatan Solar LLC, DE Virginia Beach Solar LLC, DECP Holdings Inc., Dairy RNG Holdings LLC, Dairy RNG NY LLC, Dairy RNG NY-Curtin LLC, Dairy RNG OH LLC, Denmark Solar LLC, Dominion ACP Holding Inc., Dominion Alternative Energy Holdings Inc., Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Dominion Capital Inc., Dominion Cogen WV Inc., Dominion Energy Fuel Services Inc., Dominion Energy Gas Distribution LLC, Dominion Energy Generation Marketing Inc., Dominion Energy Inc., Dominion Energy Kewaunee Inc., Dominion Energy Marketplace LLC, Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut Inc., Dominion Energy Overthrust Pipeline LLC, Dominion Energy Payroll Company Inc., Dominion Energy Questar Corporation, Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline LLC, Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline Services Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings II Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings Inc., Dominion Energy Services Inc., Dominion Energy Solar CA LLC, Dominion Energy Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., Dominion Energy Southeast Services Inc., Dominion Energy Technical Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies II Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies Inc., Dominion Energy Terminal Company Inc., Dominion Energy Wexpro Services Company, Dominion Equipment III Inc., Dominion Equipment Inc., Dominion Fairless Hills Inc., Dominion Fowler Ridge Wind LLC, Dominion Gas Projects Company LLC, Dominion Generation Inc., Dominion Greenbrier Inc., Dominion High Voltage Holdings Inc., Dominion High Voltage MidAtlantic Inc., Dominion Investments Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline Holdings Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline LLC, Dominion MLP Holding Company III Inc., Dominion Mt. Storm Wind LLC, Dominion Nuclear Projects Inc., Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration & Production Inc., Dominion Person Inc., Dominion Privatization Florida LLC, Dominion Privatization Georgia LLC, Dominion Privatization Holdings Inc., Dominion Privatization Kentucky LLC, Dominion Privatization Maryland LLC, Dominion Privatization Pennsylvania LLC, Dominion Privatization South Carolina LLC, Dominion Privatization Texas LLC, Dominion Privatization Virginia LLC, Dominion Products and Services Inc., Dominion Projects Services Inc., Dominion Resources Capital Trust III, Dominion Retail Gas Holdings Inc., Dominion Solar Construction and Maintenance LLC, Dominion Solar Gen-Tie LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings I LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings II LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings III LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings IV LLC, Dominion Solar Projects A Inc., Dominion Solar Projects B Inc., Dominion Solar Projects C Inc., Dominion Solar Projects D Inc., Dominion Solar Projects I Inc., Dominion Solar Projects II Inc., Dominion Solar Projects III Inc., Dominion Solar Projects IV Inc., Dominion Solar Projects V Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VI Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VII Inc., Dominion Solar Services Inc., Dominion State Line LLC, Dominion Voltage Inc., Dominion Wholesale Inc., Dominion Wind Development LLC, Dominion Wind Projects Inc., ESCT-SA-Suffield LLC, Eagle Holdco Solar LLC, Eagle Solar LLC, Eastern Shore Solar LLC, Enterprise Solar LLC, Escalante Solar I LLC, Escalante Solar II LLC, Escalante Solar III LLC, Four Brothers Solar LLC, Fremont Farm LLC, Granite Mountain Holdings LLC, Granite Mountain Solar East LLC, Granite Mountain Solar West LLC, Greenbrier Marketing Company LLC, Greenbrier Pipeline Company LLC, Greensville County Solar Project LLC, Hardin Solar Energy LLC, Hecate Energy Cherrydale LLC, Hecate Energy Clarke County LLC, Hope Gas Inc., Imperial Valley Solar Company (IVSC) 2 LLC, Indy Solar Development LLC, Indy Solar I LLC, Indy Solar II LLC, Indy Solar III LLC, Innovative Solar 37 LLC, Iron Springs Holdings LLC, Iron Springs Solar LLC, Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas, Maricopa West Solar PV LLC, Moffett Solar 1 LLC, Moorings Farm 2 LLC, Mulberry Farm LLC, Mustang Solar LLC, PSNC Blue Ridge Corporation, PSNC Cardinal Pipeline Company, Pavant Solar LLC, Phone House, Pikeville Farm LLC, Prairie Fork Wind Farm LLC, Public Service Company of North Carolina Incorporated, QPC Holding Company LLC, Questar Corporation, Questar Energy Services Inc., Questar Field Services LLC, Questar Gas Company, Questar InfoComm Inc., Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company, Questar White River Hub LLC, RE Adams East LLC, RE Camelot LLC, RE Columbia Two LLC, RE Kansas LLC, RE Kent South LLC, RE Old River One LLC, Richland Solar Center LLC, Ridgeland Solar Farm I LLC, SBL Holdco LLC, SCANA, SCANA Communications Holdings Inc., SCANA Corporate Security Services Inc., SCANA Energy Marketing LLC, SCANA Pharmacy LLC, SRFI LLC, Scana Corporation, Scott-II Solar LLC, Seabrook Solar LLC, Selmer Farm LLC, Siler Solar LLC, Sol Madison Solar LLC, Somers Solar Center LLC, South Carolina Fuel Company Inc., South Carolina Generating Company Inc., Southampton Solar LLC, Summit Farms Solar LLC, Sussex Drive Solar Project LLC, TA - Acacia LLC, TWE Myrtle Solar Project LLC, The East Ohio Gas Company, Trask East Solar LLC, Tredegar Solar Fund I LLC, VP Property Inc., Virginia Electric And Power Company, Virginia Power Fuel Corporation, Virginia Power Nuclear Services Company, Virginia Power Services Energy Corp. 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Do we need humans for that job? Automation booms after COVID

Ask for a roast beef sandwich at an Arbys drive-thru east of Los Angeles and you may be talking to Tori  an artificially intelligent voice assistant that will take your order and send it to the line cooks. It doesnt call sick, says Amir Siddiqi, whose family installed the AI voice at its Arbys franchise this year in Ontario, California.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns and leases freight railroads. It operates through three segments: North American Operations, Australian Operations, and U.K./European Operations. The company transports various commodities, including agricultural products, autos and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, coal and coke, food and kindred products, lumber and forest products, metallic ores, metals, minerals and stone, petroleum products, pulp and paper, waste, and other commodities. It owns or leases 122 freight railroads, including 105 short line railroads and 2 regional freight railroads located in the United States, 8 short line railroads located in Canada, 3 railroads located in Australia, 1 railroad located in the United Kingdom, 1 railroad in Poland and Germany, and 2 railroads in the Netherlands with a total of approximately 16,200 miles of track. The company also operates 6,200 additional miles of track that is owned or leased by others. In addition, it operates deep sea maritime containers and provides bulk haulage, including coal, aggregates, cement, and infrastructure services. Further, the company provides rail service at approximately 40 ports; rail-ferry service in North America, Australia, and Europe; and contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut.

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Yes, Simon's Cat is between the covers again The new book is called Simon's Cat vs the World and you can win your own copy, acco...
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 ART Facade Collapses Under Fresh Scrutiny; Berry's Folly Is Now Keller's "Lemon" Plus: How To Fix It And Who To Hold Accountable



Nowhere is the mess more in plain view than the ART project on Central Avenue, the subject of a



Sounds like the NM Spaceport, doesn't it?



The myriad flaws in ART include the electric buses from a California-based Chinese owned company that were



More on BYD's history of problems



WHAT NOW?



What to do? The Alligators, always eager to get in on a crisis, come with this:



--Forget the electric buses and use and/or refurbish the current Rapid Ride buses and cut your losses.



--Consider suing the Chinese company for its incompetence which has helped cause the delay and use any compensation to help pay for ART. (Can American courts even get at the firm?) (The city doesn't have to pay for the buses until the company fulfills the contract of over $20 million).



--Audit the bus purchase deal. Was it "greased" as was the



--Request that State Auditor Wayne Johnson probe the bus contract and hold the Berry administration accountable. (Or Hector probes?)



--Hold accountable the local contractors whose work is going to have to be redone because of their errors and don't use tax dollars to pay for the needed repairs.



--We may need some kind of financial breaks for businesses along Central that have been hoping and praying that the project would be up and running but now could face a year of more lost business.



--Hire more transit police to encourage more ridership on the system, the number one reason people cite for not taking the bus.



MORE ARTIFACTS







Keller made sure he said he "inherited" the boondoggle lest the public start turning on him, a public that polling shows is overwhelmingly opposed to ART.



Now Keller will soon be off to Dallas to meet with federal transit officials about $75 million in federal money that Mayor Berry said was a lock for ART. Only it isn't and Keller held open the possibility it may never come.



Build your dream, Albuquerque, only find one other than ART. That's now a dream that used to be.



MAYORAL ADVICE



Before the Mayor's new conference veteran ABQ PR man



Keller must be clear about the failure to include the public in the planning for ART. The consequences of that failure is what we are seeing now. The business owners and engaged public knew that the ART plans were not realistic or practical but were ignored. They sensed that ART was not primarily a transit project but a real estate development project. Keller must be completely honest about this failure or the Berry people will hang this failure around his administration's neck.



ART PAYNE



Former ABQ Transit Director, city councilor and ABQ attorney Greg Payne, who is on Mayor Keller's transition team for the transit department, came with this:



There really are only two possible explanations for the A.R.T. fiasco. Either this was gross negligence and incompetence on the part of city officials like R.J. Berry, Rob Perry, and Transit Director Bruce Rizzieri - or weve got some very serious Taser-like corruption on our hands that demands a full accounting and a thorough investigation.



This disaster didnt just happen for innocent or inexplicable reasons. And we shouldnt just shrug our collective shoulders as a city - like we usually do -and try to put lipstick on this latest City Hall pig. There needs to be an accounting, and people need to be held responsible.



ALMOST FULL TICKET



With the addition of a candidate for State Treasurer the R's now have contenders positioned for all the statewide executive offices on the '18 ballot--except Sec. of State:



New Mexico native Arthur Castillo announced his candidacy for State Treasurer. As the former CFO for the Treasurer and Director of Budget and Finance, Castillo has the passion for New Mexico and experience to manage the State Treasurers Office. As a proven financial planner, budgeting professional, grant writer, and administrator, I plan to restore honesty, responsibility, and accountability to the Office of State Treasurer, Castillo said.



That sounds like a slap against current Dem State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg who is seeking re-election and unopposed for the Dem nomination. He is heavily favored for another term but it appears Castillo will try to put him through his paces.



THE BOTTOM LINES







Stan leaves a tremendous legacy. Over the years he made contributions of $17 million to NM State University and he didn't even live here but resided in Las Vegas. That legacy will continue for the university since he has left a share of the ownership of Sunland Park to the school.



NMSU Chancellor and former Governor Garrey Carruthers will travel to Fulton's



This is the home of New Mexico politics.







Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.



( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018 Maybe Mayor Keller ought to give a contract to Merry Maids for a year considering the amount of mopping up there is to do of the epic messes left by Mayor Berry's administration.Nowhere is the mess more in plain view than the ART project on Central Avenue, the subject of a Keller news conference Tuesday where the ugly truth about the widely criticized bus plan finally surfaced. In short, the project is a "lemon" Keller reported and there is no way to say when it will be operational. (Full video here .)Sounds like the NM Spaceport, doesn't it?The myriad flaws in ART include the electric buses from a California-based Chinese owned company that were red flagged back in 2013. The company is called BYD for Build Your Dreams but for ABQ it's more like Bring Your Dollars--and don't expect them back.More on BYD's history of problems here here and here What to do? The Alligators, always eager to get in on a crisis, come with this:--and use and/or refurbish the current Rapid Ride buses and cut your losses.the Chinese company for its incompetence which has helped cause the delay and use any compensation to help pay for ART. (Can American courts even get at the firm?) (The city doesn't have to pay for the buses until the company fulfills the contract of over $20 million).Was it "greased" as was the city contract for Taser for police lapel cameras that was investigated by then-Auditor Keller, an investigation that still sits on the desk of Attorney General Balderas.--probe the bus contract and hold the Berry administration accountable. (Or Hector probes?)--the local contractors whose work is going to have to be redone because of their errors and don't use tax dollars to pay for the needed repairs.--for businesses along Central that have been hoping and praying that the project would be up and running but now could face a year of more lost business.--to encourage more ridership on the system, the number one reason people cite for not taking the bus. It isn't only Mayor Berry and his Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry who are responsible for what may be the most bungled capital improvement project in city history. It is also the asleep-at-the-switch City Council that apparently signed off on the Chinese buses and the entire ART concept, all the while ignoring outraged citizens who predicted the disaster.Keller made sure he said he "inherited" the boondoggle lest the public start turning on him, a public that polling shows is overwhelmingly opposed to ART.Now Keller will soon be off to Dallas to meet with federal transit officials about $75 million in federal money that Mayor Berry said was a lock for ART. Only it isn't and Keller held open the possibility it may never come.Build your dream, Albuquerque, only find one other than ART. That's nowBefore the Mayor's new conference veteran ABQ PR man John Cordova gave him this advice:Former ABQ Transit Director, city councilor and ABQ attorney Greg Payne, who is on Mayor Keller's transition team for the transit department, came with this:With the addition of a candidate for State Treasurer the R's now have contenders positioned for all the statewide executive offices on the '18 ballot--except Sec. of State:That sounds like a slap against current Dem State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg who is seeking re-election and unopposed for the Dem nomination. He is heavily favored for another term but it appears Castillo will try to put him through his paces.We were saddened to learn of the death of Stan Fulton , the 86 year old owner of the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino in Dona Ana County. We worked closely with Stan years ago when our PR firm advised him in a lengthy battle over the proposed opening of a rival casino. He was a salt of the earth guy who made a fortune in the slot machine business in Vegas and bought Sunland Park in 2000. Sunland's longtime lobbyist Scott Scanland said:NMSU Chancellor and former Governor Garrey Carruthers will travel to Fulton's funeral Friday in Maryland, bringing with him the spirit of a deeply thankful university community. RIP, Stan. . . .This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)
Security & Privacy

Ransomware Breach Strikes 700 Texas Students

A compromised computer led to a data breach in Texas affecting 39 school districts. According to a security notice posted on the Texas Department of Agriculture, an employee's state-issued laptop was infected with a ransomware virus. The machine was storing sensitive personal information on 700 students and their families, including names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates and phone numbers. All were part of school breakfast and lunch programs, which are managed by the state agency.

The agency emphasized that it had no evidence suggesting misuse of the information that was gathered through the ransomware exploit.

However, in remarks to the Texas Standard, Doug Levin, head of EdTech Strategies, said this kind of data is compiled by criminals who use it for creating fake identities and stealing "public resources." Levin maintains a K-12 cyber incident map, which has documented 286 incidents since January 2016.

The agency encouraged those affected to register with the "three major credit bureaus" to activate free fraud alerts. The list included Equifax, which was, itself, hit by a massive data breach last year, exposing the sensitive information of 143 million Americans.
David Sacks/Getty Images

If youre a seasoned cruiser, you know cruising has changed over the years. Beyond ships getting larger, you now have more dining options, amenities, excursions, beverage packages  and more fees!



One of the add-ons for passengers is a daily gratuity charge. Rather than tipping crew members during or at the end of your trip, most cruise lines have transitioned to automatically charging you gratuity.

New in 2018, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises raised gratuities 7 percent. Both increased automatic tipping from $13.50 to $14.50 per day for each person staying in a standard room.

Carnival Cruise Line's current daily standard tipping cost is $12.95. While the cruise line hasnt recently raised its rate, looking back to 2010, the cost was $10 per day.

Holland America Line and Princess Cruises charge $13.50 per guest staying in a standard room.

All five cruise lines say passengers can adjust gratuities (up or down) by visiting guest services while on board.

Norwegian Cruise Lines daily tip charge for a standard room is $13.99 per guest per day on most cruises. The cruise line says customer satisfaction is a high priority and if a guest experiences a problem, they should notify guest services so it can be resolved. Should any concerns not be met, the cruise line says guests can adjust their service charges at their discretion.

Many people will argue tipping is worth it for a week of nearly all-inclusive  and usually outstanding  service.

Compared with a land vacation, cruises measure up as an incredible deal. Looking specifically at gratuities, the cost is comparable  often less  on a cruise than youd pay on land, when you take into account the various crew members who share gratuities  dining staff, room attendants, and a number of other staff members who help to make your sailing as pleasant as possible," says Colleen McDaniel, senior executive editor of the Cruise Critic information site. She added: "Crew members depend on gratuities to supplement their salaries, so while tipping is discretionary, cruisers should think twice before adjusting or removing tips from their accounts.

And new this year, cruise lines are offering more deals. Included in one of its current packages, Holland America will pay gratuities for guests booked in a suite. Carnival is excited about its monthlong Carnivalidays promotion in January, Norwegian is featuring its Free at Sea promotion, and Princess is running an anniversary special. Royal Caribbean will unveil its newest ship  and the worlds largest  Symphony of the Seas. Among its features are a family suite for eight and a bionic bar staffed by robot bartenders. Were wondering: Will we have to tip them, too?
Take a look at part one of the series for getting an overall view of some other cheap and good eats in this city sitting on the central coast of Vietnam.

1. Continue southward on Tran Phu and youll come to Le Hong Phong to the right side, an interesting side street with several good food options. First up is Mi Quang Ech at 24-26 Le Hong Phong, which serves mi Quang pork, chicken, and frog versions for VND 30-50k.

2. Thai Market at number 17 serves Thai food in table-top shabu-shabu style for around VND200k for two people as well as memorable shrimp, clam, and fish cake soup for VND50k. Thai Market has another location at number 4 Tran Quoc Toan, just up from Bach Dang, which serves traditional Thai curries, tom yam, and pad Thai. Just decide which style you prefer and head for the appropriate location!

3. Just along Yen Bai Street from Le Hong Phong is the charming Hoi An restaurant with nice wall murals and local decorations. Hoi An features unique specialties from the city of the same name for VND30-50k.

4. Also on Yen Bai at number 120 is the well-frequented Ba Lang, which serves rice dishes including five variations of pork  two of them are freshly barbecued right outside the shop for VND50k. Dont forget the stuffed bitter melon soup for VND8k.

5. Heading back east on Le Hong Phong youll find Ba Phien at number 63 which serves wonderful fish soups with nice chunks of fresh tuna and mackerel along with fish and crab cakes ranging from VND30 to 60k.

6. One block south from Le Hong Phong is Thai Phien, with number 58 being the home of Am Thuc Ha Noi, headquarters for a yummy bun rieu cua (crab noodle soup) at VND 40k. Dont pass over the nem cua be (deep fried crab rolls), because they truly are the best around.

7. Go further east to the end of Thai Phien and youll find Com Ga A-Hai at number 94, which serves a famous version of barbecued chicken with orange rice.

8. Head toward the river along Thai Phien until you come to Tran Phu and youll be looking at Tien Thanh on the right corner. If you want a truly unique Vietnamese happy hour experience, Tien Thanh is definitely the spot to hit. Its packed from around 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm with local men enjoying beers and eating the delicious cold cut plates on offer for VND50k.

Cold cut plate

9. Along the riverside promenade Bach Dang there are several upscale restaurants including the Riverfront at number 150. The food and service are impeccable as well as the scenery of people passing by, but so are the prices, so youll easily hit VND200k per person.

10. If youre in the mood for a long walk through local neighbourhoods, get on Hoang Dieu heading south, cross Nguyen Van Linh (the street that originates at Cau Rong/Dragon Bridge) and keep going south about 500 meters beyond Nguyen Van Linh until you hit number 534. The restaurant is called Pizza Sushi, and just has a couple of tables by the street because its mostly for take-out customers. They do wonderful pizzas, pastas and sushi at local prices ranging from VND50-70k.

11. A cute little street which houses several bun mam restaurants might also be appropriate for you when you feel like walking around a bit. Walk west away from the river on Huong Vuong Street from the Han Market until you hit Ngo Gia Tu Street, hang a left onto Ngo Gia Tu and a right at the end of the first block which is called Tran Ke Xuong Street. Bun mam is often referred to as a gumbo since the ingredients vary from pork to shrimp with fresh greens and vermicelli noodles. The key to the dish is the mam (fish sauce) itself, which is too stinky and pungent for many Western palates, but the soup itself spiked with a bit of mam is out of this world. Just pick one of the many places along Tran Ke Xuong.

12. One last evening stroll type of area is beyond the north end of Bach Dang, the Han River promenade on the west side of the river. Continue going north beyond where the dinner boats are moored on the riverside, then Bach Dang veers to the left followed by a traffic circle after which the street becomes 3 Thang 2. There are several restaurants together on the left side of 3 Thang 2 just after the traffic circle. Each restaurant offers different food types, so check the menus before taking a seat. Large groups of locals frequent the places so the atmosphere is lively and fun and the prices are reasonable.

13. Last but certainly not least is a tiny hole in the wall, Cay Da (Banyan Tree, and sure enough there is a banyan tree right in front of it), a nondescript little sidewalk cafe with very low plastic tables and chairs. Its located on Bach Dang just south of the Han Market before Nguyen Thai Hoc Street with Aroi Deserts just across the street. The address of Cay Da is 124 Bach Dang, but its nearly impossible to see it. Just look for the Banyan Tree right in the middle of the sidewalk. Ive saved best for last because this little cafe serves cold drinks, nuoc mia (sugarcane juice - perfect for those hot summer days), cold beers, sandwiches, and all sorts of odds and ends. Most other places along the riverside are pricier, plus Cay Da has the perfect location - equidistant between the Han River and Dragon Bridges.

There you go foodies! Knock yourselves out in central Da Nang!
Editors note: Dr. Nguyen Minh Hoa believes that something should be done in order to stop people from migrating to Saigon, as the promised land has become increasingly overcrowded to receive them all.

As in the previous years, when the Lunar New Year is drawing near, I join my family members and my students to gather used clothes and bring them to internal migrants, to those homeless people who have to live on sidewalks across Saigon.

Saigon is without a doubt a city of generosity where people are willing to help and share the hardship of those in need, and it is surely a promised land,' but this land will inevitably become too crowded for everyone.

Whats the point of flocking to a promised land when everyone will share nothing but poverty, once there is little space for growth?

The best solution is to keep the migrants-to-be where they are, and Saigon, on its way to achieve prosperity, will never forget those needy people.

A series of rented houses for internal migrants are seen in Binh Chanh District, outside Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Empty-handed and homeless

As the cold weather this year was much more biting than in previous years, less homeless people had chosen to spend the night at the doorsteps of others. Instead, they would flock to bridges citywide such as Kieu, Thu Thiem and Chu Y for shelter.

Some said they had to do so, because people no longer allowed them to sleep in front of their houses, while others said it is easier to meet charity groups when sheltering under or on a bridge.

Members of a charity group give a warm blanket to a homeless man sleeping on a bridge in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

This year we met some old faces, who have grown much older and physically weaker after years of living in the street. And yet, some faces were missing, having succumbed to their diseases. Compared to previous years, it seems there are more homeless people in Saigon now.

Last year saw many fierce storms hitting the central region, which left numerous households empty-handed. The storms stripped away those households means of earning a livelihood, as agricultural land areas and crops were destroyed. They had no choice but to move to Saigon to make ends meet.

Some of the families living under the bridges that we have met are from the Mekong Delta, meaning climate change is also hitting people in the region once known as the land where you find fish in every drop of water.

Vietnam has become an average-income country, with a GDP per capita of more than US$2,300 a year, but it is clearly visible that the gap between the rich and the poor keeps widening, while the difference between the rural and urban areas is insignificantly narrowed.

In the central region, there are still many families who do not have a stable food supply, and the number of poor and nearly-poor households remains worryingly high.

People in the central region never cease to escape from poverty. While they treasure every of their gains, they are only one storm away from becoming empty-handed, as all fortunes saved for years would go with the wind whenever a typhoon makes landfall in the region.

Two internal migrants who work as scrap collectors are seen in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

What they need is a solid house

After every natural disaster, the number of internal migrants to Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City would spike unusually, putting even more pressure on the already overloaded infrastructure and society in those big cities.

Ho Chi Minh City has annually added 1,500 to 1,800 new classrooms in such districts as Go Vap, Binh Chanh, Binh Tan, Hoc Mon and Cu Chi over the last few years, but still fails to meet the demand. The city has also built new bridges and has put expanded roads to use every year, but traffic congestion never ceases to exist.

Albeit already too late, it is high time the government started to develop an efficient breakthrough strategy in order to support people in the areas most prone to storms in the central region.

A market is seen in the aftermath of a storm in December 2017 in Nha Trang, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Instant noodles or clothes are all precious aids, but what people are in need most is a house, which does not need to be big (about 20 square meter is good) but should be extremely solid and safe, for them to store their fortune and food. Is this a difficult thing to do? Yes, but that does not necessarily mean it is impossible.

On top of direct support from the government, we should call for donations and contributions from businesses and members of the public countrywide. We should believe that no one would say no to such a call for good deeds.

I know the architecture and construction community in Ho Chi Minh City is ready to launch a contest to design special houses for people in flood-prone areas.

Providing those people with a solid house that can survive floods will put them at rest to stay in their homeland.

After a typhoon has been through their crops may be destroyed, but their houses will still be there and this will be all enough for them to start everything afresh.

A woman stands amid the wreckage of her house, following a storm's landfall in December 2017 in Nha Trang, south-central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Without a sustainable place to live, this scenario will repeat itself every year: a typhoon strikes and people across the country are encouraged to donate instant noodles or money to those affected.

Considering that 12-15 storms hit central Vietnam a year, why dont we just give them aid once but actually help them forever, instead of giving several small donations every year?

Have anything to add to Hoas story? Comment below or email to ttn@tuoitre.com.vn.
Two of three Vietnamese girls sold to China nearly four years ago have escaped and returned home, exposing the traffickers who were apprehended by police this week.

Police in Nghe An Province said on Tuesday that they had arrested locals Ven Thi Mao, 29, and Cut Thi Thong, 29, and would investigate their alleged trafficking of children under 16 years old.

Mao is in detention while Thong has been granted bail, but barred from leaving her place ofresidence, given she is raising an infant under three years old.

According to initial investigations, Mao and Thong worked together between 2014 and 2015 to deliver three local teenage girls to China, where they were sold for up to VND100 million (US$4,400) each.

Their victims were L.T.H. (born in 1999), C.T.S. (born in 2000), and C.T.C. (born in 2001), all of whom were residents of Bao Nam Commune in Ky Son District.

The girls were bought by Chinese men who made them their wives.

Two of the victims recently managed to break free from their husbands and returned home to expose the crimes of Mao and Thong, leading to their arrests.

According to the United Nations, nearly 21 million people are lured into forced labor every year worldwide and 1.2 million children are trafficked. A third of trafficked women and children are from Southeast Asia.

In Vietnam, reports of 1,128 trafficking cases were made in 2016, but only around half of them were rescued.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
David Lettermans return to television, with long form interviews on Netflix, will debut on Friday.

Apparently called My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, it begins with former President Barack Obama.

David Letterman, the longest-serving host in U.S. late night television  the original host of Late Night (NBC) and The Late Show (CBS)  is returning to television for a new series for Netflix.

The yet-to-be-named, six-episode series has Letterman combining two interests for which he is renowned: in-depth conversations with extraordinary people, and in-the-field segments expressing his curiosity and humor. In each hour-long episode, Letterman will conduct a long-form conversation with a singular guest  and will also explore topics on his own, away from the studio. The series is set to premiere in 2018.
Gold Coast racing event Magic Millions, with seven races worth over $1 million, will be broadcast by Seven network on Saturday.

A capacity field of 16 runners is expected for the $2m Magic Millions 2YO Classic. Ef Troop is in a battle for favouritism in the feature race after drawing barrier 18, while Sunlight is also popular with punters despite also drawing wide in barrier 15. Jonker has shortened in the betting after drawing well in barrier 3.

As well as international guests including Zara Phillips MBE, the Magic Millions will also attract some of Australias most renowned trainers including Melbourne Cup winner Gai Waterhouse.

Race goers can showcase their summer racing fashion, with Fashions on the Field adding to the glamour of the event.

Jason Richardson hosts Sevens coverage, alongside experts Francesca Cumani and Richard Freedman. Hamish McLachlan will be keeping an eye on the mounting yard, hosting presentations and speaking with the biggest names on the track. Pat Welsh will keep us informed on all the action from the betting ring, while Chris Symons has interviews with the jockeys.

Amanda Abate and Kendall Gilding will team together reporting on the colour, fashions and VIP guests in and around the track.

Saturday January 13

Sydney 12.30pm Live on Channel 7, 5.30pm Live on 7TWO

Melbourne 12.30pm Live on Channel 7, 5.30pm Live on 7TWO

Brisbane 11.30am Live on Channel 7

Adelaide 12.00pm Live on Channel 7

Perth 9.30am Live on Channel 7TWO, 10am Live on Channel 7
UK Chancellor Philip Hammond and Brexit Secretary David Davis called on Germany to help forge a deal that would protect Britain's precious financial services sector after leaving the EU next year.

The pair arrived in Germany on Thursday on a mission to woo German business leaders. The EU has said financial services cannot be included in any final Brexit deal as long as the UK insists on leaving the single market.

In an article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, they repeated the UK's wish to have a special deal which could be the most ambitious in the world.

The added that it should cover the length and breadth of our economies including the service industries  and financial services.

It makes no sense to either Germany or Britain to put in place unnecessary barriers to trade in goods and services, the said.

The 2008 global financial crisis proved how fundamental financial services are to the real economy, and how easily contagion can spread from one economy to another without global and regional safeguards in place.

Europe and the UK, had worked hard to make sure such a catastrophe doesnt happen again by tightening financial regulation, the added.

That work shouldnt end because the UK is leaving the EU. On the contrary, we must redouble our collective effort to ensure that we do not put that hard-earned financial stability at risk,

However, the Financial Times reported that the EU had contacted British firms, including in pharmaceuticals, haulage and air travel, that their operating licences for the EU will lapse after Brexit if there was no final deal.

In a separate development, the UK's National Audit Office confirmed it would investigate Britain's 39bn Brexit withdrawal payment, also known as the "divorce bill".

The spending watchdog had been asked to look at the payment by parliament's influential Treasury select committee.
ExxonMobil has hit back at California communities that sued the company for the threat of rising sea levels to their jurisdictions.

The oil company has said its victim of a vast "conspiracy" from multiple cities in California.

San Francisco, Oakland and other cities and counties sued Exxon demanding it paid billions to cover the damage caused by the rising sea level due to climate change.

In a court filing in Texas on Monday, Exxon argued that the cities that sued them had contradicted themselves by saying the the risks of climate change are unpredictable.

Yet in Oaklands lawsuit against the oil company it layed out specific consequences of climate change.

They said that by 2100 it is likely that the city will have up to 66 inches of sea level rise. Along with flooding the rise of sea level could affect the sewer system costing up to $38bn in damages.

ExxonMobile also argued that while these cities warned that "imminent sea level rise presented a substantial threat to its jurisdiction...none of the municipalities disclosed to investors such risks."

Federal law requires governments and companies to unvail risks to investors and therefore Exxon accuses the municipalities of fraud. They have also requested permission to investigate potential abuse of process and civil conspiracy.

"The stark and irreconcilable conflict between what these municipal governments alleged in their respective complaints and what they disclosed to investors in their bond offerings indicates that the allegations in the complaints are not honestly held and were not made in good faith," Exxon Mobil said.

A spokesman for San Franciscos city attorney said. "it's exactly what you would expect from a company like Exxon."

And Marin County counsel Brian Washington said, We will continue to stand up for our taxpayers so that they aren't on the hook for all the costs of addressing the damage caused by Exxon and others in the fossil fuel industry."

Exxon is not the only company involved, the Bay Area cities demanded from Chevron (CVX), BP (BP), ConocoPhillips (COP)and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) tp pay for the costs of protection against rising sea levels.
Last year an interesting paper by Ivica Medugorac and coworkers presented data on introgression in domesticated yaks in Mongolia: Whole-genome analysis of introgressive hybridization and characterization of the bovine legacy of Mongolian yaks.

I have a long interest in the hybridization and introgression of genes among cattle and related species. It all started back in the 1980s when some family members were raising beefalo, a cattle breed that has a substantial fraction of bison ancestry. Hybrids of cattle, zebu, banteng, gaur, and bison featured in my 2006 paper on the feasibility introgression in Neandertals.

Whats interesting about yaks is that they have a good fraction of cattle genes despite hybrid male sterility.

Hybrid males are sterile, however, preventing the establishment of stable hybrid populations, but not a limited introgression after backcrossing several generations of female hybrids to male yaks. Here we inferred bovine haplotypes in the genomes of 76 Mongolian yaks using high-density SNP genotyping and whole-genome sequencing. These yaks inherited 1.3% of their genome from bovine ancestors after nearly continuous admixture over at least the last 1,500 years

A number of scientists have discussed whether some degree of reduced hybrid fertility is a possibility for Neandertals. The human X chromosome exhibits less introgression from Neandertals than the autosomes. Further, there are large deserts on the X chromosome with no evidence of Neandertal introgression in any living human samples.

However, in principle these features of X chromosome introgression may reflect selection over many generations rather than a great reduction in the fertility of male F1 hybrids.

The yak lineage diverged from the ancestors of cattle an estimated 4 million years ago, and male hybrid sterility is a common feature of sister species of mammals that have been separated for such a long time. Neandertals and modern humans have been separated for around 700,000 years.

An interesting historical story unfolds when thinking about female crossing and fitness within yaks. A relaxation of the intensity of breeding selection can in some instances increase the fraction of the genome that results from introgression:

Introgression was more intense during two periods (8971121 CE and 16951828 CE), which coincide with the Medieval Climate Anomaly (9001200 CE) and the DzungarQing Wars (16871758 CE). These periods of intense introgression are most likely due to increased mortality of livestock during these difficult times that forced yak herders to breed all of the females available to restore their herds, including backcross-derived animals (Supplementary Note).

I am sure that many other species of domesticated animals have similarly interesting histories. The times that human populations had to struggle actually leave a mark in the genomes of the domesticated species.
European stocks finished the session in mixed fashion amid a jump in the euro's value and sharp gains in German government bond yields.

Contributing to those moves, early in the session a Bloomberg report cited Chinese sources according to whom officials in Beijing had recommended slowing or stopping purchases of US government debt, deeming it less attractive and due to trade tensions.

As a result, at the closing bell the US dollar spot index was 0.29% lower to 92.26.

In parallel, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was down by 0.38% to 398.60, alongside a 0.78% drop in the exporter-heavy German Dax to 13,281.34.

Periphery stocks on the other hand fared better, with the FTSE Mibtel adding 0.66% to 23,157.42 and the Ibex 35 little changed at up by 0.02% to 10,428.30.

Nevertheless, as economists at Capital Economics pointed out, China had in fact not been buying US debt for the better part of the last few years. Furthermore, due to its crawling -peg versus the Greenback, they in fact had little choice when it came to the composition of their FX reserves.

Commenting on the market backdrop, Chris Beauchamp at IG said: "Like a ghost from the past, the US ten-year yield is back on the agenda today. The decades-long downtrend in the yield is under threat again, and the usual suspects are out proclaiming this will sound the death-knell of the equity rally. This sounds awfully like one of those predictions that, six months down the line, seems very silly.

"After all, this equity rally has survived a lot worse. As if to underline this fact, markets in the UK, US and Europe are all off the lows of the day. It will take more than just a shift in Chinese bond buying to undo this bull market. Indeed, the S&P 500 looks primed to register more record highs before earnings season gets underway in earnest on Friday, having held above the lows seem on Monday."

Further weighing on sentiment, German Bund yields were sharply higher, gaining eight basis points to 0.54%, although analysts at Unicredit Research attributed the move to the upcoming sale of a new benchmark 10-year issue which was expected to trade seven basis points higher than the old one.

Also on the economic front, according to INSEE French industrial production shrank by 0.5% month-on-month in November, leading to a decline in the year-on-year rate of increase from 5.5% to 2.5% (consensus: 3.0%).

Despite the weak reading, led by a 3.7% decline on the month in output of machinery and equipment, economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics said that 'all-in-all' recent readings were still pointing to a "punchy" 1.7% rise in total output for the quarter as a whole.

Meanwhile, in the corporate patch, shares of Continental were under pressure after it said it was in the early stages of discussions to restructure the German auto parts and tire manufacturer.

French president Emmanuel Macron announced Airbus would soon ink a deal to sell 184 Airbus A320s to China. During the same trip to the Asian giant, Dassault Systemes said it had entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Bovis Homes posted its results for the six months to 30 June on Monday, with an 18% jump in revenue to 412.8m, from 350.7m a year ago.

The FTSE 250 firms housing gross profit jumped 19% to 100.3m, while its operating profit grew 18% to 63.9m.

Operating profit margins remained stable at 15.5%.

Bovis reported profit before tax of 61.7m - up 15% - while basic earnings per share grew 14% to 36.5p.

Its board declared a dividend of 15p per share - up 9% on last years 13.7p interim dividend - while posting a return of 18.1% on capital employed, up from 15.5%.

Net debt at 30 June was 8m, significantly down from 59m at the same time last year.

We have delivered a record number of homes in the first half of 2016 which has driven strong profit growth, improved returns and a 9% increase in the interim dividend, said Bovis Homes chief executive David Ritchie.

Our forward sales position means we are well placed to continue this strong performance through the remainder of the year.

Ritchie said that while it was too early to judge the impact of the EU referendum and the Bank of England's monetary policy response on the UK housing market, the underlying market fundamentals for UK housing remain positive.

We have been pleased with the resilient level of interest shown by potential home buyers contacting us.

Our robust balance sheet, with debt lower than last year, means that we are well positioned to continue to take advantage of prime land opportunities at potentially higher returns, Ritchie said.

Overall, we remain confident in our strategy to deliver long-term growth in shareholder returns.
Business information and events group Euromoney has sold its Institutional Investor Journals (II Journals) business segment to Pageant Media for an undisclosed sum.

II Journals publish analysis of global investment and finance, with an online archive of 10,000 articles. The business has 12 titles available online and in print, covering various disciplines in portfolio management and finance.

Chairman and chief executive officer Diane Alfano said: "II Journals is a high-quality business but not our strategic focus. We are delighted to have found in Pageant Media a new owner which is looking to invest in the sector and to take the business to the next stage of its growth. We wish the II Journals team and Pageant well."

Pageant Media CEO Charlie Kerr said: "The II Journals are recognised across the asset management sector for their excellence in providing senior professional investors and leading academics with informed and thought-provoking technical analysis.

"We look forward to investing further in these titles and are excited to begin thinking about the ways in which the specialist knowledge exhibited in these journals can bolster the growing information and networking services we provide to our hedge fund, private equity, real estate and mutual fund communities."

At 1305 GMT, the shares were down 0.2% to 1,248p.
After a strong Christmas trading period in which online sales represented a fifth of total sales, Sainsbury's said full year profits are now likely to beat the current consensus forecast.

The long 15-week to 6 January the supermarket group increased sales 1.1% on a like-for-like basis, excluding fuel, beating the 1.0% the market was expecting and a recovery after slipping to 0.6% in the second quarter.

Total sales for the 'third quarter' period, which also took in Black Friday, were up 1.2%, with grocery and clothing up 2.3% and 1% respectively, though sales at the mainly-Argos general merchandise arm fell 1.4%.

A pleased chief executive Mike Coupe pointed to record sales in the week before Christmas, more than 340,000 online grocery orders over the quarter, "stellar growth" from Argos Fast Track delivery and collection as online sales accounted for 20% of group sales for the quarter, with an online grocery order delivered to customers every second.

Same day online grocery delivery, which is seen as key to staving off the challenge of Amazon, is now available from 93 stores, covering 38% of UK households, enabling Groceries Online to enjoy an 8.2% rise in sales. Meanwhile Argos Fast Track collection grew 39% and delivery 25% in the quarter, with customers able to make same-day delivery orders up until 1pm on Christmas Eve and the last Christmas Eve delivery made at a distinctly lastminute 6.39pm.

Fitting in the with the sector trend revealed in industry data from Kantar Worldpanel and Nielsen a day earlier, premium lines were a strong element of the performance this Christmas, with Taste the Difference food sales up on last year, although with more lines added.

Although general merchandise sales fell in the quarter, Coupe noted that these and clothing outperformed challenging markets to grow share. "Argos stores in Sainsbury's supermarkets performed particularly well and Argos saw record sales across the Black Friday period," he said.

There were 52 Argos stores opened within Sainsbury's supermarkets in the quarter, lifting the total to 164 and with 21 more expected before year-end, with 18 replacing existing Argos standalone stores to take the total number of replacement stores to 56.

Thanks to greater synergies from the Argos acquisition, Coupe said he now expects Sainsbury's full year underlying profit before tax will be "moderately" ahead of consensus, which last stood at 559m, though was 572m back in June. Earnings before interest and tax of 80m-85m from the combination is now anticipated, versus previous guidance of 65m EBITDA.

Coupe still retained a cautious modifier that market conditions "remain challenging and we are cautious about the consumer environment in the year ahead".

Sainsbury's shares, having slipped more than 3% last year, were up 1.3% to 251.7p in early trading on Wednesday.

Analyst Richard Hunter at Interactive Investor said: Sainsbury has fended off concerns that it could fall into the trap which has ensnared some of the general retailers, although by the same token its recovery remains a work in progress."

He felt it was a "generally robust" performance, with Argos continuing to confound its doubters by increasing sales and contributing a higher than expected level of cost synergies.

"There is, however, no room for complacency. The unrelenting pressure in the sector from the discount supermarkets, a potentially resurgent Tesco and recovering Morrisons, remains in evidence. For Argos, despite its bright start as part of the group, the elephant in the room that is Amazon will continue to cast a long shadow. Meanwhile, the general merchandise numbers need to claw their way to back to positive territory, whilst the general economic wariness in the UK is an overarching concern."

Neil Wilson at ETX Capital agreed the numbers were "decent", "but it still seems to be underperforming competitors in terms of sales growth in its core business", with Morrisons up 2.8% in the ten weeks to 7 January and 3.7% over the last six weeks against very strong comparators.

He stressed that the increased profit guidance is down entirely to Argos synergies, and was disappointed that there was no word on margins that are a concern after dropping sharply in the first half.

"Sales growth in groceries was solid, climbing 2.3% and this was driven by a commendable online performance where Groceries Online enjoyed an 8.2% rise in sales. Online growth is good and we note that the roll-out of same day delivery continues apace, which is proving an important weapon in market place against Amazon etc."
Fashion retailer Ted Baker hailed a good performance over the Christmas period on Wednesday as it said full-year results should be in line with its expectations.

In a trading update for the period from 12 November 2017 to 6 January 2018, the company said retail sales rose 9% or 10.5% at constant currency, with e-commerce sales up 35%, or 36.4% at constant currency, representing 30% of total retail sales.

Average retail square footage increased by 5.9% and the group opened a new store in Montreal, further concessions in Germany and Spain and with its licence partners, and an additional store in each of Malaysia, Mexico and Qatar.

Ted Baker said gross margins were in line with its expectations and it expects to end the year with a clean stock position.

Founder and chief executive Ray Kelvin said: "The Ted Baker brand has continued to perform in line with expectations over the Christmas period, delivering a good retail performance driven by particularly strong growth from e-commerce, which is an increasingly important part of our retail business. This pleasing result reflects the strength of the brand and the quality of our collections as well as the hard work, skill and commitment of our teams.

Whilst external trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the year ahead, the strength of our brand and business model means that we remain well positioned to continue the long-term development of Ted Baker as a global lifestyle brand."
Oil and gas exploration and production group Soco International , which had been in merger talks with Kuwait Energy for some time, announced on Wednesday that production from its Vietnamese operations remained in line with guidance.

Soco also said that, following strategic review, it had decided to impair $220m for non-core African assets, Marine XI off the coast of the Republic of Congo and Cabinda North in Angola.

The firm estimated production across 2018 to be between 8,000 and 9,000 barrels of oil per day net, and that capital expenditure for its Vietnam operations would be in the realm of $4m over the year.

Throughout 2017, Soco recorded average gross production of 28,506 barrels of oil per day, 8,276 of which was netted by the company.

Soco posted revenues of $156m for the year and achieved an average realised oil price per barrel of $56, a premium of $2 per barrel to the Brent North Sea oil benchmark price.

The firm's final capital expenditure forecast for the year remained unchanged at around $30m, all of which was fully funded from existing cash resources.

Ed Story, president and chief executive officer, said "Steady revenues, low operating costs and a disciplined approach to capital allocation have provided the Company with a unique financial stability from which it has delivered a $30.0m capital expenditure programme in 2017, fully funded from existing cash resources, which included the full $42.7m Mongolia payable, which we collected during the year."

"In addition, the company has distributed a $21.0m cash return to shareholders though a 0.05 dividend and has embarked on a rigorous pursuit of portfolio rationalisation and business development opportunities," he added.

The group was expected to release its full financials for the year ended 31 December on 22 March.

As of 1200 GMT, shares had slipped 2.47% to 124.84p.
Recognized nationally and internationally for his evocative abstract landscapes and unique approach to materials and techniques, prominent Virginia artist Ray Kass is being celebrated with a university-wide series of exhibitions of work from his exemplary career.

The art featured in the exhibitions range from examples of his early foundational works, silk collages, and signature polyptych, multipanel works, to his most recent still life paintings. Together, these works represent highlights from what has been a prolific, ever-evolving, and accomplished career.

Kass, professor emeritus of art in Virginia Techs School of Visual Arts in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies with an extensive record of national and international exhibitions, will be featured in three exhibitions on the Virginia Tech campus  at the Moss Arts Center, Armory Gallery, and Perspective Gallery  beginning in January.

Kass is known not only for the quality and breadth of his art but as a pivotal figure in the region, says Margo Ann Crutchfield, the Moss Arts Centers curator at large.

In addition to his thriving studio practice, Kass is the founder and director of the Mountain Lake Workshop, a series of collaborative, community-based art projects drawing on the customs and resources of the Appalachian region. Over the years the program has produced collaborative works between guest artists and members of the local community surrounding Mountain Lake in Giles County. The Mountain Lake Workshop has drawn art-world luminaries to the area, including Clement Greenberg, Donald B. Kuspit, and John Cage, and has influenced generations of artists in Virginia and the Southeast.

I curated one of Rays first one-person museum exhibitions over 30 years ago at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, so I feel this is a very full-circle and especially rewarding experience for me, explained Crutchfield, who began working on the current exhibition over a year ago. Ray is an outstanding artist, right here in our midst, whose impact has been nothing short of remarkable.

Kass work will be featured in the following exhibitions:
Fireworks on nights other than the Fourth of July or New Years Eve might be nothing more than inconsiderate neighbors, but for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the shock of noise and light may trigger a deeply learned expectation of danger.



Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute (VTCRI) have found that people with PTSD have an increased learning response to surprising events. While most everyone reacts to surprise, people with PTSD tend to pay even more attention to the unexpected.



The study was published this week in eLife, an open-access journal published by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society, and the Wellcome Trust.



Disproportionate reactions to unexpected stimuli in the environment are a core symptom of PTSD, said Pearl Chiu, an associate professor at the VTCRI and the lead author on the study. These results point to a specific disruption in learning that helps to explain why these reactions occur.

Chiu and her team used functional MRI to scan the brains of 74 veterans, all of whom had experienced trauma while serving at least one combat tour in Afghanistan or Iraq. Some of the study participants were diagnosed with PTSD, while others were not. In the functional MRI, participants played a gambling game, in which they learned to associate certain choices with monetary gains or losses.

Computer science and mathematics have given us new tools to understand how the brain learns. We used these tools to study whether and how learning might play a role in PTSD, said Chiu, who is also an associate professor of psychology in Virginia Techs College of Science. These results suggest that people with PTSD dont necessarily have a disrupted response to unexpected outcomes, rather they pay more attention to these surprises, Chiu said.

The researchers found that people with PTSD had significantly more activity in the parts of their brains associated with how much attention they paid to surprising events when the learning task threw an unexpected curve ball their way.



Fireworks unexpectedly going off after a person has exchanged fire in the field can trigger an over-estimation of danger, said Brooks King-Casas, an associate professor at the VTCRI who co-led the study. Particularly for individuals with PTSD, unexpected surprising events noise or otherwise  could be a matter of life or death. The study shows that while everyone is affected by unexpected events, in PTSD extra attention is given to these surprises.



King-Casas is also an associate professor of psychology in Virginia Techs College of Science and an associate professor in the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.



Earlier studies have connected greater attention to perceived threats and unexpected events in PTSD, but the mechanistic underpinning of this hypersensitivity to unexpected outcomes have been unclear until now.

The work by Brown and colleagues is an important step forward to be able to differentiate the brain and behavioral processes that are affected as a consequence of post-traumatic stress, said Martin Paulus, a medical doctor and the scientific director and president of the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was not involved in this study. The finding that individuals with PTSD have difficulty appropriately allocating attention to their environment when it changes has clear implications for the development of novel behavioral interventions.

Vanessa Brown, first author on the paper and a graduate student in the department of psychology in Virginia Techs College of Science, said that both the behavioral and neural findings show that people with PTSD pay more attention to surprise while learning.



This disrupted learning increases with more severe PTSD, said Brown, who is conducting her dissertation research in Chius laboratory at the VTCRI. Now that we understand how attention to surprise plays a role in PTSD, we may be able to refine our assessment tools or develop new interventions that target specific learning disruptions in people with PTSD or other psychiatric disorders.



Other contributors to this study include Lusha Zhu, a postdoctoral researcher at VTCRI; John M. Wang, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology in Virginia Techs College of Science who studies in Chius laboratory at the VTCRI; and Christopher Frueh, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University Hawaii at Hilo, with an appointment in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine.



This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veteran Affairs, and VTCRI.
ANALYSIS

Behind the curtain: A look at the government's hidden market

By now, federal contractors realize that they must own multiple award contracts to compete in the $95 billion federal market. (If we subtract classified spending from this figure, fiscal 2017 IT spending topped $80 billion).

Meanwhile, IT modernization and related initiatives such as strategic sourcing, category management, and Better Buying Power are dramatically shrinking the number of prime contracts. Best in Class (BIC) preferred and mandatory vehicles are further decreasing buying options. If you dont have the MACs, you simply cannot compete.

If you dont believe me, look at the numbers. In 2012, according to Bloomberg Government, the federal government spent $6 billion on IT products and services through IT government wide acquisition contracts (GWACs). Overall, by 2017, that figure topped $13 billion with well over 60 percent of IT spending happening through GWACs and other MACs, including agency-specific IDIQs. In that same period, set-aside spending on MACs grew 137 percent.

Examining the Deltek GovWin data on how many IT and how many professional services RFPs are released each year, we see an interesting trend. While the number of professional services RFPs has increased steadily over the past five years, the number of IT services RFPs has decreased 44 percent while overall IT spending has remained steady.

Why this discrepancy?

Because agencies are procuring IT services through other means that fly under the radar. Savvy contractors are influencing their customers to take advantage of Other Transaction Authority (OTA), Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP), and/or task order RFPs, which are largely hidden from public scrutiny.

OTAs gaining in popularity

OTAs are not subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulations and may be used by defense agencies to carry out certain prototype projects. The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act Section 845 gave the Department of Defense permanent authority to use OTAs for prototype projects directly relevant to weapons or weapon systems when it is in the governments best interest to enter into an agreement that is not a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement.

According to Bloomberg Government, DOD OTA spending has increased nine-fold to $412 million in fiscal 17 from $43 million in fiscal 2014. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Army issued most of these awards, but the Air Force and the Defense Information Systems Agency are implementing plans to use OTAs as well. The Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) also uses a related buying authority called Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO), so far constituting 61 technology buys totaling $145 million.

Use of SAP increasing exponentially

FAR Part 13 allows the use of SAP for simple supply or services requirements. The purpose of SAP is to:

Reduce administrative costs Improve opportunities for small business Promote efficiency and economy in contracting Avoid unnecessary burdens for agencies and contractors

While the SAP ceiling is relatively small at $150,000 ($750,000 for defense or recovery efforts) for contracts awarded and performed in the United States and up to $1.5 million for recovery efforts outside the United States, the threshold increases for special emergencies or test programs up to $13 million. Remember, all that is needed for a SAP proposal is a quotation, which may even be oral.

According to Bloomberg Government, use of SAP has been increasing over the past six years (to nearly $22 billion in 2017), especially because it is also a way to avoid protests. In addition, SAP favors small businesses as SAP purchases between $3,500 and $150,000 must be set-asides. SAP allows sole source under certain thresholds, therefore providing an easy way for agencies to meet small business goals. Note that most of these actions are never posted to Federal Business Opportunities (FBO.gov) and receive little to no attention.

Task order RFPs

Unless you own a GWAC or other MAC, you cannot obtain RFPs issued under vehicles until sometime after award, if at all. How many IT task order RFPs were released in 2017? There is no way to know for sure, but as captured by the Deltek GovWin database, there were $10 billion in IT services task order RFPs released last fiscal year. Of note, in fiscal 2017, the federal government spent about $61 billion on IT services through 41,000 task orders. The average number of bids received per task order RFP was only three to four, making it a relatively less competitive playing field.

It is also more difficult to protest a task order award. Task order awards under $10 million for civilian agencies and $25 million for defense agencies cannot be protested unless the award was improper because it exceeded the scope, performance period, or maximum value of the underlying contract.

The bottom line

IT companies must change the way they compete. They must steer customers to the vehicles they own and encourage the use of OTAs and SAP as appropriate. Especially for small businesses, owning Best in Class vehicles such as Alliant Small Business 2 and making extensive use of SAP to help customers meet small business goals (in addition to other set-aside advantages) is a way to propel forward to the mid-tier.

Of course, there are no advantages to being a mid-tier company, unless, like your larger brethren, you work to stay behind the curtain through MACs, OTAs, and SAP.
Wall Street analysts have given Enel Generacion Chile a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Enel Generacion Chile wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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12 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy in the last twelve months. There are currently 1 sell rating, 7 hold ratings and 4 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "hold" Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in GCTAF, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy or view top-rated stocks.
A new poll from OH Predictive Insights shows a very competitive 3-way race for the Republican nomination in the Arizona U.S. Senate race. Rep. Martha McSally leads with 31%, just ahead of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio at 29%. Former State Sen. Kelli Ward is in 3rd at 25%. In a mid-November poll by the same firm, Ward held an 8 point lead over McSally; Arpaio was not included in that survey.

McSally is the establishment favorite, and her number is little changed from November. Arpaio's share came primarily from Ward; this makes sense in that they both will appeal to many of the same voters. It is also notable that Arpaio & Ward's combined share exceeds 50%, well ahead of McSally. This indicates that a three-way race all the way to the August 28th primary may make McSally's path to the nomination easier than if Arpaio or Ward drop out at some point and endorse the other.

Arpaio just announced his entry to the race yesterday, with McSally expected to officially join the race Friday.
Ben Boyer, whose wife has been undergoing chemotherapy at a cancer center affiliated with the University of California at San Diego, recently told Newsweek that he watched in exasperation in late December as a nurse administered a drug through a syringe. It took her 30 minutes while standing to treat his wife.

According to the Wall Street Journal story, some hospital officials said they have only a day or two of supplies and are concerned as flu season generates higher demand. All but four states have experienced significant flu activity, making this the worst season in several years.

In coarse words, Ben Boyer blamed President Trump and his administration for a slow response to the shortage.

For its part, the Food and Drug Administration acknowledges the shortage but says progress is underway, as Baxter's plant has been reconnected to the Puerto Rico power grid.

Based on the information were receiving from the companies, we expect that the shortage of IV saline fluids will improve in early 2018, with continuing improvements in the weeks ahead, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said last week.
They estimated the women's average age started at 50.8 years, dropped to 49.6 years after eight weeks, and ended at 48.1 years. Lead study author Murad Alam, M.D., professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says that the exercises work by building muscle that fills out the face, counteracting the wrinkles and sagging skin that come with age. The effect is similar to the firmer arms you can achieve with bicep curls, for example.

Unlike cosmetic surgery, Botox injections and other medical interventions, Alam says, the exercise program is nontoxic, not invasive, doesnt cost much, and you can do it on your own schedule.

Plus, no sweating.

The study is welcome news for the many folks whove long been pitching facial-fitness programs  such as Facercise and Yoga Face  with no reliable evidence that they actually work.

The women in the study learned the facial exercises from Gary Sikorski, 60, who is certified in yoga facial toning and created the Happy Face Yoga program. He says the positive results were no surprise to him: Ive taught these to thousands of people and never had anyone where they didnt work. They only dont work if you dont do the exercises. Thanks to the workouts, he adds, I could probably pass for my late 40s.

Sikorski recommends doing a selection of exercises every day for about eight weeks, then a few days a week to maintain the results. A few that were used in the study (descriptions courtesy Happy Face Yoga):

Scooping

Tone sagging cheeks and drooping jowls

Smile! Open your mouth wide.

Fold your lower lip and the corners of your lips into your mouth and hold them tightly. Extend your lower jaw forward and, using your lower jaw only, scoop up slowly as you close your mouth. Visualize you are using your jaw to scoop up something very heavy. Pull your chin up about an inch each time you scoop, tilting your head slowly backward.

Open and close your lower jaw for 10 repetitions. On the final repetition, your chin should be pointed toward the ceiling. Keep the chin extended and hold this position tightly for 20 seconds, while visualizing the sides of your face lifting.

Repeat this sequence three times.

Temple developer

Reduce appearance of crows feet

Smile! Place your fingers together at your temples. Press lightly on the temples while you close your jaw, clenching your teeth together and moving your chin up.

As you clench your teeth together, putting tension in the muscle as if you were trying to make your ears move backward, concentrate and visualize the temple region. Hold your teeth tightly clenched for 10 seconds. Next, clench down on your back teeth for a count of 10, feeling your temporalis flexing with each clench. Relax.

Repeat this exercise three times.
Margareta Magnusson, the 80-plus author of the new book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, explains the phenomenon.

Q: What problems does keeping too much stuff cause your loved ones after youre gone?

A: Its very time-consuming. Why should my family take so much time  having jobs, families and everything else they have scheduled  to take care of my things?

Q: How do you decide what to keep or discard?

A: Talk about it with your family. Its a delight to go through things and remember their worth. But if you dont remember why a thing has meaning, then it has no worth, and it will be easier for you to part with.

Q: You write that you should get rid of private items  such as diaries. Why?

A: If you think a secret will cause your loved ones harm or unhappiness, then make sure to destroy such items. Make a bonfire, or shove them into a hungry shredder.

Q: How does cleaning help the cleaner?

A: The more I have focused on my cleaning, the braver I have become in discarding possessions. I have had a moment to reflect on the event or feeling, good or bad, and to know that it had been a part of my story and my life.
TOKYO  North Korea is starting off the year with a fresh diplomatic initiative aimed at wooing South Korea ahead of its hosting of next months Winter Olympics. But its sticking to a decidedly harsh  and familiar  message for President Donald Trump: back off and let Koreans solve their own problems.

North Koreas state-run media have been hitting the one Korean nation theme hard since leader Kim Jong Un struck a surprisingly conciliatory tone toward Seoul in his New Years address. And as high-level negotiators from both sides met Tuesday for the first time in more than two years, the North amped up its anti-Washington, anti-Trump criticism.

Its a tack North Korea has taken many times in the past. But it generally hasnt gotten far.

The Norths hopes for reunification negotiations that favor its position while excluding or minimizing the role of the United States are a tough sell in the South, which has a strong military alliance with Washington, benefits tremendously from being a trusted and close trading partner with the U.S. and has good historical cause to be wary of the Norths bait-and-switch tactics.

With that backdrop, Tuesdays talks were by design incremental and exploratory. Its hard to imagine any major breakthroughs or policy shifts by the South on the biggest issues  denuclearization foremost among them  without U.S. consultations. So Washington probably didnt have much to worry about.

The two Koreas agreed in a joint statement to hold future talks on reducing military tensions along their border and actively cooperate in the Olympics, with North Korea sending a delegation.

But the chief North Korean delegate complained bitterly about South Korean media reports that they had discussed the Norths nuclear disarmament. Those reports were far-fetched because all of our state-of-the-art strategic weapons like atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles are targeting the United States, not our compatriots in South Korea, Ri Son Gwon said.

As Tuesdays meeting started, the Norths ruling party made a point of slamming Trump by name in its daily newspaper, calling his claim to have set the stage for the talks with his strong position on sanctions and pressure a ridiculous sophism.

It is very deplorable to see the U.S. politicians boasting of their diplomatic failure as diplomatic success,' it said.

North-south relations are an internal affair of the Korean nation, the Norths official news agency said in a report on the eve of the talks that stressed how Koreans north and south must not allow outsiders interference and tyranny to keep the Korean nation divided.

In a separate article, it called Trump a lunatic and said the U.S. needs to accept North Korea is now a nuclear power.

As a first step after Kims speech, South Korea agreed to postpone military exercises with the U.S. until after the Winter Olympics and Paralympics end. That paved the way for the negotiators to meet and discuss a proposal by Kim to send a delegation of officials, athletes and supporters to the Pyeongchang Olympics. They also talked about other bilateral matters.

While the Norths strategy of focusing on ethnic pride and unity is also a clear attempt at prying Washington and Seoul apart, it does have an emotional appeal that resonates on both sides of the Demilitarized Zone.

The Korean Peninsula was divided after it was liberated from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. Splitting the Koreas along the 38th parallel was the idea of U.S. military planners to limit the influence of the Soviet Union and approved without a Korean presence at the 1945 Potsdam Conference.

The two sides fought the Korean War in 1950-53, with China and the Soviet Union supporting North Korea and U.S.-led United Nations forces backing the South. The war ended with a truce, not a peace treaty, and tens of thousands of U.S. troops continue to be stationed in South Korea. There are no foreign troops based in North Korea, but China continues to be an essential trading partner and political buffer in international forums.

It remains unclear exactly how Washington views the recent moves by the two Koreas and how involved it is.

Trump had previously scoffed at the futility of talking with the North, but when the dialogue was proposed last week tweeted: Sanctions and other pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea.  Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for the first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not  we will see.

The next day, he fired off another tweet, seeming to take credit for the whole thing: Does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasnt firm, strong and willing to commit our total might against the North. Fools, but talks are a good thing.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, had both said they believed the talks would be limited to the Olympics, a position that didnt jibe with what Seoul was saying. When the officials actually sat down, they discussed a range of issues that included reuniting families divided by the Korean War.

Is this the beginning of something? Tillerson said in an interview in Washington with the AP last week. I think its premature.

Possibly. But for now, at least, it appears the two Koreas have taken the reins.

___

Talmadge has been the APs Pyongyang bureau chief since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @erictalmadge.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  The Trump administration said Tuesday it would not allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida, abruptly reversing course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said after a brief meeting with Scott at the Tallahassee airport that drilling would be off the table when it comes to waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.

The change of course  just five days after Zinke announced the offshore drilling plan  highlights the political importance of Florida, where President Donald Trump narrowly won the states 29 electoral votes in the 2016 election and has encouraged Scott to run for Senate.

The state is also important economically, with a multibillion-dollar tourism business built on sunshine and miles and miles of white sandy beaches.

Zinke said Tuesday that Florida is obviously unique and that the decision to remove the state came after meetings and discussion with Scott.

Zinke announced plans last week to greatly expand offshore oil drilling from the Atlantic to the Arctic and Pacific oceans, including several possible drilling operations off Florida, where drilling is now blocked. The plan was immediately met with bipartisan opposition on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Scott, who is expected to run for Senate later this year, came out against the Trump administration plan when it was first announced, saying his top priority is to ensure that Floridas natural resources are protected.

Other Republican governors also oppose the plan, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker.

For Floridians we are not drilling off the coast of Florida, which clearly the governor has expressed thats important, Zinke said, adding that he knew when he announced the drilling plan last week that it would spark discussion across the country.

Our tactic was open everything up, then meet with the governors, meet with the stakeholders so that when we shaped it, it was right, he told reporters at a news conference Tuesday night. The president made it very clear that local voices count.

When asked what caused the administration to change its position on Florida drilling, Zinke said bluntly, The governor.

Scott said he was pleased at the administrations change of heart.

Its a good day for Florida, he said, adding, I think its very important to continue our efforts to take care of our environment.

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said the meeting with Zinke was a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott, who Nelson said has long wanted to drill off Floridas coast.

I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts. But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Floridas coast and (five) days later agrees to take Florida off the table? I dont believe it, Nelson said in a statement. We shouldnt be playing politics with the future of Florida.

Zinke said last week that the drilling plan called for responsible development that would boost jobs and economic security while providing billions of dollars to fund conservation along U.S. coastlines.

The five-year plan would open 90 percent of the nations offshore reserves to development by private companies, Zinke said, with 47 leases proposed off the nations coastlines from 2019 to 2024. Nineteen sales would be off Alaska, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, nine in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific, including six off California.

Industry groups praised the announcement, the most expansive offshore drilling proposal in decades. The plan follows Trumps executive order in April encouraging more drilling rights in federal waters, part of the administrations strategy to help the U.S. achieve energy dominance in the global market.

A coalition of more than 60 environmental groups denounced the plan, saying it would impose severe and unacceptable harm to Americas oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.

___

Daly reported from Washington.
Police have some questions for two men in connection with a southeast Albuquerque slaying last July, according to a police spokesman.

Officer Simon Drobik said Arthur Bennett and Branden Antone are being sought by police for questioning in the shooting death of 36-year-old Jaime Dimas.

He did not give either of the mens ages.

Police say Dimas was killed, during the attempted robbery of another man, on July 7 on the 1300 block of Ortiz, near Gibson and San Mateo SE.

At the time, police were seeking three suspects in connection with the shooting, a 25-year-old Native American male with a long black ponytail, a Hispanic female with dark complexion and short dark hair, and a white female with long blonde hair.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (505)843-STOP or online at www.crimestoppersnm.com/submit-a-tip/
The University of New Mexicos proposed taproom may cost half as much as originally estimated and could open as early as this fall  though it still needs the right approvals.

UNM staff presented an updated proposal Tuesday to build a taproom inside the Student Union Building, saying a scaled-back design had helped bring the costs down to $650,000 from a $1.3 million projection cited last summer.

The taproom would go in what is currently a seating area at the SUBs southeast corner and extend outside with a patio.

UNM would use Dining & Food Services money to cover half the cost. Capital investment funds provided by UNMs food service contractor, Chartwells, would pay the rest, officials with UNMs Institutional Support Services told the Board of Regents Finance and Facilities Committee on Tuesday.

A tentative schedule indicated the taproom could open by August.

But the plan did not advance out of committee. Regents Tom Clifford and Alex Romero asked for more information about the liability implications before taking any action that could potentially advance the project to the full Board of Regents.

Romero noted, however, that he supported the concept.

I just want to make sure that a year from now, two years from now, as we look back that we did the things we needed to do to ensure we had done all of our due diligence, he said.

Students first raised the taproom idea in 2016. A task force representing various groups convened to study it, and students from UNMs School of Architecture and Planning worked on the design.

The initial plan would have cost about $1.3 million, but architecture instructor Christopher Beccone said students have simplified some portions  like what had been an elaborate ceiling design  to help reduce costs.

The taproom would operate under an existing beer and wine license UNM has for the SUB, according to ISS Executive Director Melanie Sparks.

Chartwells recently issued a request for information to gauge local breweries interest in possible partnerships or involvement in a campus taproom.

Sparks said Tuesday that UNM and Chartwells are now evaluating the six responses that arrived by last Fridays deadline but did not specify which breweries answered.
Molina Healthcare confirmed late Tuesday it is losing its contract to provide coverage for Medicaid clients in New Mexico next year.

We are disappointed that we were not selected to provide services through New Mexicos Statewide Medicaid Managed Care program beginning January 1, 2019, the company said in a prepared statement in response to an inquiry from the Journal. As the largest Medicaid managed care plan in the state of New Mexico, and with 20 years of experience serving Medicaid members, we believe we are well-positioned to continue providing a high level of service to our members and providers.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Molina was serving 236,000 clients through the states Medicaid managed care program as of last March. Presbyterian Health Plans was second, with 230,000 enrollees.

More than 700,000 people are insured through Medicaid in the state.

The company said in the statement that it was trying to get more information about the states decision and was exploring our options.

The news that Molina had lost its bid with the states Centennial Care managed care program was first reported Tuesday in Albuquerque Business First.

Molina, based in Long Beach, Calif., serves about 4.5 million people in 12 states and Puerto Rico.

The company had been growing in New Mexico in recent years, more than doubling the size of its business footprint in 2015, when it leased nearly 140,000 square feet of office space downtown.

Last year, after announcing in July that it would shed 81 jobs from its 1,200-person New Mexico workforce, the company said a restructuring would lead to the creation of 250 new contact center jobs in the state.
A federal magistrate judge granted summary judgment and tossed out a lawsuit against a Bernalillo County sheriffs deputy who shot and killed a man in 2014 after the man rammed the deputys patrol car.

The judge ruled that all signs pointed toward a continuation of the attack against deputy Sam Rodriguez when he shot and killed 28-year-old Manuel Flores.

Flores had rammed Rodriguezs patrol car with a pickup truck near the 4200 block of Coors SW after Rodriguez had been called to the area on a reported kidnapping. Flores then stepped out of the truck and raised his hands when Rodriguez  whose legs were pinned in the car after the collision  fired his weapon, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office.

[I]n the short time Deputy Rodriguez had to assess whether Flores still posed a threat, a reasonable officer in deputy Rodriguezs position would have little to no reason to infer that it was Flores intention to surrender when he exited the truck. Indeed, all signs pointed toward a continuation of the attack, Magistrate Judge Steven Yarbrough said in his order, which was filed Monday.

Luis Robles, Rodriguezs attorney, said his client still has back injuries as a result of the August 2014 incident.

Rodriguez is now a detective with the sheriffs office.

The violence of this impact can hardly be understated and the motivation cannot be interpreted as anything other than an intent to seriously injure or kill Deputy Rodriguez, the judge said. Under such circumstances, it would be completely reasonable for an officer in Deputy Rodriguezs position to assume that Flores intended to continue the attack by any means available to him once he exited the truck.

Albuquerque attorney Paul Kennedy filed the civil lawsuit on behalf of Esther Vera, Flores mother. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque against Rodriguez and the county commission, was seeking compensatory damages. Kennedy did not return a call for comment on Tuesday.

In the lawsuit, Kennedy said that Flores was shirtless, unarmed and had his hands raised above his head when he was shot.

The plaintiffs argued that Flores raised his arm in order to surrender, while the defendants said Flores gesture was a sign of aggression. The shooting was recorded on a nearby surveillance camera.

The judge, in his ruling, said an eyewitness in a deposition said that it didnt appear that Flores was surrendering when he was moving his arms.

With a federal judge having reviewed this, we can rest assured that a thorough review of all the evidence revealed clearly that this was a legally justified shooting, Robles said. And that should give some comfort to the members of the community.

Robles said that the sheriffs office found that Rodriguez didnt violate any policies during the shooting. Former District Attorney Kari Brandenburg cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing.

Sheriff Manuel Gonzales declined to comment through a spokeswoman.
A year after joining the Bernalillo County Commission, Steven Michael Quezada has been elected by fellow commissioners as the governing bodys chairman.

Quezada, a Democrat, replaces commissioner Debbie OMalley, who held the post for the last year. The vote was unanimous. Commissioners also voted unanimously to make Lonnie Talbert, a Republican, vice chair.

Im good at listening to people and keeping an open mind, Quezada said after the meeting. I think I bring that kind of leadership.

He said that among the issues hed like to work on as commission chairman is a sick leave ordinance for the county thats fair to both workers and businesses. He said he also wants to continue working with the city to move important projects forward. Quezada  an actor known best known for his role as Agent Gomez in Breaking Bad  previously served as the commissions vice chair.

As chairman of the commission, Quezada assigns commissioners to various boards and committees, although those appointments go before the full commission for approval. Quezada said he doesnt expect many changes to the current committee assignments, saying his colleagues are doing a good job on the committees they serve on.
Welcome to the Land of Enchantment, where:

 If you find a wild animal caught in a trap, you can neither free it nor put it out of its misery.

 You can kill as many non-game animals  porcupines, prairie dogs, rabbits, ground squirrels, Himalayan tahrs, skunks, feral hogs, bobcats and coyotes  as you like without a permit, sometimes for cash and fabulous prizes.

Just what does this say about our state?

New Mexicos government-sponsored animal cruelty came to light again this week when a Placitas man released a fox from a foot-hold trap. The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish told Gary Miles, the founder and owner of Placitas Animal Rescue, who responded to a runners call about the fox, that he could be arrested for being in possession of the fox.

Miles said the fox escaped after it healed up real nice.

State statute 19.32.2.11 (C) says, in part, It shall be illegal to destroy, disturb or remove any trap, snare or trapped wildlife belonging to a licensed trapper without permission of the owner of the trap or snare. It raises the question why, in 2018, New Mexico endorses the use of leg-hold and other traps on public land, devices that were invented in the 1800s and have been banned in more than 80 countries, and banned or severely restricted in at least eight states.

They were banned because they are archaic, cruel and indiscriminate.

The fox story came to light around a week after an Albuquerque gun shop sponsored a coyote-killing contest outside Bernalillo County. And while that contest was on private land, the arguments that the shooters are removing a predatory threat or gathering pelts and meat or a trophy are used to disguise the real intent: killing for killings sake. Many times, the carcasses are piled up and left to rot.

Coyotes, like bobcats, are keystone species and compensatory breeders; kill too many, and they not only will make more to fill the gap, but in the interim the rodent population explodes.

But hey, thats just what wildlife biologists say. Why let science get in the way of blood sport?

The New Mexico Legislature stepped up and banned cockfighting because lawmakers saw it for what it is: barbaric cruelty that has no place in our states proud cultures.

They need to do the same for trapping and killing contests.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  A years-old debate over use of force by police could resurface in the coming 30-day legislative session, as Gov. Susana Martinez plans to push legislation that would grant legal immunity to New Mexico law enforcement officers for actions in the line of duty.

The Republican governor, a former prosecutor, says the legislation would provide a shield of sorts for law enforcement officers  provided theyre adhering to training  in a state that has one of the nations highest violent crime rates.

I dont believe that police officers should be under this constant threat of lawsuits that will often cause them to pause, Martinez recently told the Journal. If theyre following their training, there should be something that protects them.

However, critics describe the legislation as misguided and possibly unconstitutional, while citing a recent federal investigation that found Albuquerque police had a pattern of excessive force. That led to a settlement agreement between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Standing up for officers who are using excessive force and violating the Constitution is exactly the wrong way to move, said Steven Robert Allen, the public policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union in New Mexico. I dont know what problem the governor thinks shes addressing, but she seems to be going in the wrong direction.

In recent years, numerous lawsuits have been filed against New Mexico law enforcement officers, and some of the suits have led to hefty settlement agreements.

In 2014, a judge awarded more than $6 million to the family of Christopher Torres, a mentally ill 27-year old man who was shot in his own backyard when police officers tried to confront him over a road rage incident.

Stephen Torres, his father, said Tuesday that he would oppose the legislation.

We all should be a little paranoid about doing the right thing, he said in an interview. If a police officer does something wrong, he should be held accountable just like the rest of us.

However, Martinez, who is entering her final regular session of the Legislature as governor, suggested that legislation granting legal immunity to law enforcement officers would protect not just the officers but taxpayers, too.

This bill would protect citizens and law enforcement officers from the massive payouts that taxpayers are giving crooks and thieves who are hurt or injured by police officers who are doing their job, Martinez said.

Without citing a specific case, she said such a law could apply when a police officer chases a suspect who ignores orders to stop and tackles the suspect.

Several recent lawsuits filed against law enforcement officers have in fact stemmed from non-deadly encounters.

For instance, a University of New Mexico student filed a lawsuit last year in which he claimed he was knocked down and injured after walking down a skirmish line of police officers who were in riot gear with an extended middle finger. The incident occurred at a protest against right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, and the lawsuit is still pending.

In another case, a murder suspect filed a 2016 lawsuit alleging Albuquerque police injured his wrist while handcuffing his brittle arms.

Meanwhile, the governor said the immunity bill, which had not yet been filed as of Tuesday, would not shield officers who intentionally disregard internal law enforcement policies and training.

Martinez has clashed in past legislative sessions with top-ranking Democratic lawmakers over proposals to increase criminal penalties, and the immunity legislation could face an uphill climb in the 30-day session, in part because short sessions held in even-numbered years are typically focused on budgetary matters.

The session officially begins Tuesday.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correctly state the percentage of money spent on subcontracts with New Mexico women-owned, veteran-owned and small disadvantaged businesses out of the total spent with all New Mexico businesses.

Sandia National Laboratories continues to be an enormous boon to the states economy, spending more than $400 million on subcontracts with New Mexico businesses in 2017.

Thats up around $24 million, or 6.3 percent, from last year, according to the labs annual economic impact report released Tuesday.

Overall, just a very positive year for Sandia in contributing to the national economy, Sandia director Stephen Younger, who took the labs helm in May 2017, said in an interview with Journal reporters and editors Tuesday.

Of the money spent on subcontracts with New Mexico businesses, 17 percent was with small disadvantaged businesses, 16 percent with female-owned small businesses and 8 percent with veteran-owned small businesses.

Younger touted the labs use of small businesses.

In terms of economic impact, there are few things you can do with a bigger impact than creating small businesses and stimulating small businesses, he said.

In 2016, 48 percent of Sandias subcontracting dollars were awarded to small businesses. Today, Younger said its about 53 percent.

The goal is to reach 60 percent in five years, which was part of the Honeywell subsidiarys winning proposal for the lab contract.

This is going to require some serious effort, not just in waiting for small businesses to come to us, but to go out and look for small businesses, Younger said.

The lab began holding monthly open house events for small businesses in 2016 to communicate services the labs need and assist small-business owners with the complicated federal procurement process.

Another tactic Sandia has used to increase numbers of small businesses is to shift expired long-term contracts with large companies to small businesses when possible, sometimes parceling the scope of work into smaller subcontracts more accessible to small businesses.

Weve increased the number of procurements below $150,000, Younger said.

Sandia employees also spent $15.5 million in New Mexico using procurement cards, and the lab paid $83.6 million in gross receipts taxes.

The labs expenditures for fiscal year 2017, which spanned Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017, totaled $3.1 billion, continuing an upward trend over the past several years.

That number is expected to grow for yet another year, Younger said, as business continues to build.

He estimated an additional $100 million to $200 million in spending in 2018.

Were in a very interesting time right now in that the government is about to release the nuclear posture review, Younger said. Anything in the nuclear posture review that is different from today will result in increased work at Sandia.

Nuclear posture reviews are congressionally mandated, and examine the countrys nuclear policy, strategy and capabilities.

National security, including nuclear deterrence and nonproliferation, is Sandias main mission.

The workforce of the labs, which includes a smaller branch in Livermore, Calif., also has continued to swell, growing by 1,400 since 2014 to 12,258 employees.

Adding diversity to the labs workforce has also been a goal of Younger and his team, though only two women and one Native American are on the labs 12-person leadership team.

Younger called those numbers disappointing, but he said Sandia remains committed to increasing diversity among management.

Were entering a world of unprecedented complexity.  We need a more diverse set of views in understanding how the world works, he said.
SANTA FE  Addressing overcrowding at Amy Biehl Community School south of the city limits, the Santa Fe school board on Tuesday chose to cap the schools enrollment as grade levels reach capacity and to send newly enrolled students to Pinon Elementary School.

The motion to do so, made by board president Lorraine Price and seconded by board member Steven Carrillo, included an amendment for the school district to adopt an aggressive home visit program to ferret out students currently attending Amy Biehl who may not actually live within the schools enrollment boundaries.

Board members Rudy Garcia and Kate Noble also voted in favor of the motion, which was one of three options presented to the board and the one favored by district administration because it affected the fewest number of students.

Board vice-president Maureen Cashmon cast the only vote against the motion. She favored an option that would change school boundaries, which she felt would be a better long-term solution. She said that because of the expansive growth on the south side, she foresaw Amy Biehl becoming a school that in the future would exclusively serve the Rancho Viejo subdivision.

No matter what we do its not a good situation, but the reality is the south side is growing, she said. Youll also get a great education at Pinon.

Another option, which received no support, was to revoke out-of-boundary transfers to Amy Biehl for the 2018-2019 school year and not to accept new transfers.

Amy Biehls enrollment has been steadily increasing and is currently at 543, but the functional capacity at the school is considered 515.

A couple of parents complained that not enough notice was given about the proposed changes. They didnt learn of it until receiving a text message from the school district last Friday notifying them of an informational meeting on Monday.

We were hit with a bombshell last night, said parent Jennifer Trujillo, who attended that meeting.

Trujillo said if her fifth-grade daughter is forced to attend another school next year the girl will not be able to graduate sixth grade with her friends and will end up attending three schools in three years.

Thats the only school my daughter knows, the only teachers she knows, Trujillo said. Please consider the social and emotional peace for the kids being asked to leave the community.

Tara Tometich was also concerned about the social impact on her two boys attending Amy Biehl.

The school isnt just a school, its our community, she said.

Board president Price said she was deeply moved by a few parents who spoke earlier in the meeting during public forum. I dont want to tear up your families or tear up where your children go to school, she said. I dont ever want to see this again.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The board of directors of New Mexico Health Connections resigned last year in an attempt to get the state to take control of what board members said was an insolvent organization, according to a document obtained by the Journal.

It is our understanding that, with our resignations, as superintendent you will take immediate control of (Health Connections) and act in the best interest of policyholders, the board wrote in a July 31 letter to Superintendent of Insurance John G. Franchini.

Under New Mexico law, insurers that pass a certain threshold of financial distress are taken over by the state in a process called mandatory control. But the state did not assume mandatory control of Health Connections after the resignation of its board last year, Franchini confirmed Tuesday.

In December, his office approved a $10 million sale of Health Connections commercial business to one of its vendors, the Arlington, Va.-based Evolent Health. The deal gave rise to a new for-profit insurer, True Health New Mexico. The 18,000 members insured under the Affordable Care Act remained with Health Connections, albeit with a new board and management team.

The seven board directors listed on the resignation letter were Diane Denish, New Mexico lieutenant governor under Gov. Bill Richardson; Ken Carson, former president of what is now MyBank in Belen; John Ulrich, president of Ulrich Consulting Group; Anthony Zancanella, executive director of Opera Southwest; Jane Hajovsky, owner of the consulting company Perfect Solution; Simon Goldfine, general manager of Sierra Peaks Corp.; and James Delgado, a family medicine physician.

We all wanted the company to succeed, but we were effectively insolvent in June, Denish said in an interview Tuesday. Our understanding was that resigning would begin the process of putting the company into receivership. We thought that was the best thing for consumers under the circumstances.

The other directors either did not respond to a request for comment or declined to speak on the record. After its resignation, a new board was appointed by Martin Hickey, who was then the CEO of Health Connections until this year; he is now the head of True Health.

Franchini said he had not seized any accounts or property owned by Health Connections, though his spokeswoman also noted that such proceedings are confidential. He said Health Connections, one of the last health insurance cooperatives in the country, was under such close supervision by his office it was essentially the same thing as mandatory control.

There was no need (for mandatory control), Franchini said in an interview. There was complete corporate cooperation as soon as the new board was implemented. The new board did everything I asked them to do.

The new board members listed on the Sept. 30 filing are Dennis Michael Litos, former CEO of Michigan Community Health Network; James R Tryon, a family medicine doctor in Albuquerque; and Margaret Gunter, director of medical outcomes research at the not-for-profit Lovelace Respiratory Research Center.

Regulatory oversight

A spokeswoman for the superintendents office said Health Connections has been under financial supervision since 2015, primarily because the nontraditional structure of the organization  parts of it are by operated by policyholders  required additional oversight, she said. The company entered a period of more active regulatory oversight in June.

The superintendent has broad powers of oversight, and he has the experience to determine the right course of action, Hickey said. We were very appreciative of his help.

Hickey and Franchini said they did not know whether Health Connections had passed the threshold for mandatory control when the board resigned in July. State law indicates mandatory control is triggered when an insurers risk-based capital  a calculation of the minimum amount of money an insurer needs to operate  is less than 70 percent. In testimony submitted during consideration of the Evolent deal, Presbyterian, one of Health Connections competitors, claimed that Health Connections September filings indicated the organization was below the 70 percent threshold and insolvent.

Health Connections reported a 2017 loss of $10 million as of Sept. 30, according to the filings. The company had losses totaling more $40 million over the previous two years.

Hickey said the companys risk-based capital is calculated and disclosed only in an annual filing; the 2017 filing will be available in March. He said the companys risk-based capital calculation was substantially over 300 percent by the end of December as a result of the Evolent deal.

The financial statements for Sept. 30 showed about $3.5 million in capital  including the $10 million paid by Evolent.

Zone of insolvency

In its letter of resignation, the companys previous board cited a lack of guidance from the superintendent on the payment of executive bonuses and other issues surrounding Health Connections factual insolvency. They said they were concerned that paying the bonuses while in the zone of insolvency may violate our fiduciary duty to the policyholders.

For this reason, the board requested a clear instruction from you to either pay the executive bonuses or continue to postpone paying them so as not to compromise policyholders or duties to others considering our factual insolvency, the board wrote. As superintendent, you declined to give us such a directive.

The board also described a lack of agreement between the board, Hickey and the superintendents office on accurate financial disclosures, appropriate investment structure, or the need to conserve cash in the interest of policyholders.

Franchini said he had asked board members to make their own decision about the executive bonuses and other issues.

The new board decided to pay out the bonuses after the Evolent deal was finalized, according to Franchini and Hickey, though the Journal could not determine how much the bonuses were nor to whom they were paid.

Hickey dismissed the boards description of the disagreement and pointed out that the members resigned despite having a term sheet from Evolent, which Hickey said was indication that a deal was imminent.

The letter contradicts previous explanations by Health Connections about the turnover of its board. In December, a spokeswoman attributed the turnover to the normal election cycle of the seats. Asked now about the letter, the spokeswoman said it was a confidential board communication of which she was unaware.

The Evolent deal was approved over the concerns of Presbyterian, the University of New Mexico and Blue Cross Blue Shield about the continued financial condition of Health Connections and whether it could make good on about $30 million of what they say are unpaid bills  with Presbyterian raising the possibility that people insured by Health Connections could be liable for charges they incurred for medical services.

Health Connections has since described the testimony submitted by its competitors as bearing little resemblance to reality. The company has pinned much of its financial problems on the federal budget sequestration that began in 2013, which, among other things, ended millions of dollars of payments allotted to it under the Affordable Care Act.

Of the 23 not-for-profit health insurance cooperatives funded by federal loans through the Affordable Care Act, only four are still in existence, including Health Connections which initially received about $77 million in federal loans. The companys financial statements describe them as surplus notes and dont include a repayment schedule.

Asked about the future of Health Connections, Marlene Baca, the new CEO, said the Evolent deal had put the organization in a very positive financial situation, and we are confident we can stand on our own.
WASHINGTON  Its not easy to show up at the White House gates uninvited and score an audience with the president.

But Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham  wielding congressional clout and righteous indignation about President Donald Trumps immigration policy  managed to pull it off on Tuesday.

The Albuquerque Democrat, who is chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, got social media buzzing Tuesday morning when word got out that although she wasnt invited to a meeting with President Trump and congressional leaders to discuss immigration policy, she planned to show up anyway.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told Lujan Grisham on Sunday that she wanted her at the meeting, and Democratic leaders then asked the White House to add Lujan Grisham to the guest list.

The White House responded that the high-level gathering was already too crowded. Pelosi then encouraged Lujan Grisham to show up with the Democratic delegation anyway and force the White House to deny the leader of congressional Hispanics a seat at the table for an immigration discussion.

They did the right thing and let her attend the meeting, a spokesman for Lujan Grisham said.

The New Mexico congresswoman, who is running for governor in 2018, said in a phone interview afterward that she was among about 20 people at the table with Trump.

They were very gracious once I was in, Lujan Grisham said.

The congresswoman said she carried one objective into the meeting: to convince the president that he and Congress must reach agreement on a deal to give about 800,000 young immigrants  so-called Dreamers  who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents a chance to remain legally in the United States. In September, Trump announced he was phasing out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era policy that allowed them to remain legally. The program, known as DACA, expires March 5. Congress and the White House hope to strike a deal on the Dreamers as part of a spending package to keep government open beyond Jan. 19.

For me, the most important thing to reiterate to the president and the White House was that we dont have time on our side, Lujan Grisham said.   We dont have until March. We need to do this right now.

Lujan Grisham said Trump seemed to get the message.

The president said, I think we can get this done by Jan. 19  and Im quoting him  You can keep this room if you want. Hell, I could be the mediator  and help you get it done,  she said.  I think that was an incredibly valuable place to get to with the White House and Im gratified they see the urgency.
ALAMOGORDO  Lt. Gov. John Sanchez stopped by Alamogordo Tuesday as part of his pre-legislative session tour of New Mexico.

New Mexicos 30-day legislative session begins Jan. 16 in Santa Fe.

Sanchez said his main priority in southern New Mexico, particularly Otero County, is the vital F-16 mission at Holloman Air Force Base.

This is my opportunity to continue trying to bring my office out into the community versus them having to come to Santa Fe. I want to talk to our local legislators whenever possible, not just Republicans, but Democrats as well, trying to make sure that we build consensus and preparation for hopefully a good legislative session, Sanchez said. I wanted to continue the combined efforts of the community and our legislators on the continued mission of making this F-16 placement a permanent interim here at Holloman. This has been my top priority of my office and staff as we work with the different groups here in Otero County to ensure that Holloman is the permanent home for those F-16s.

He said he has visited with Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson.

Sanchez said he believes the most important thing to acquiring the F-16 mission permanently is to expand Hollomans current airspace.

My conversation with Secretary Wilson at the Pentagon approximately a month ago was that she was very pleased to see the momentum that has taken place and how the community has really rallied for the F-16 mission, Sanchez said. She said the most important thing is we have to secure the sufficient airspace in order to make this effort not only viable, but permanent. That was her message to me and to the people of Otero County.

Holloman Air Force Base officials recently said their flight training areas in Southern New Mexico are outdated and that some need to be expanded, reshaped and relocated  changes that would have F-16s flying over sparsely populated rural areas not now used for that purpose.

The Air Force has conducted open house meetings to solicit public comments on the proposal during the month of September in Carlsbad, Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces.

Sanchez said the expansion of not only the airspace, but Hollomans mission, means more jobs and economic development and growth for the region.

The mission at Holloman will bring over 600 direct jobs, thousands of regional employment opportunities and over $412 million in economic impact to the state.

Sanchez said combined with the Remotely Piloted Aircraft operations, Holloman is in position to become the nations fastest growing mission in the Air Force.

The benefit to our entire state is substantial and real. Now is the time to embrace this opportunity and secure the future of defense and national security aviation right here in New Mexico, he said. Its going to require a lot of cooperation from local, state and federal agencies, but we can accomplish and address the concerns that people have and offer them up to the Air Force. We will provide them with airspace to give them no excuse to choose Holloman as their permanent home.

Sanchez said education was a big concern for the Air Force but now that the Alamogordo Public Schools Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution to support prioritizing Holloman Elementary for a new facility, Holloman is now one step closer in becoming a permanent location for the F-16s from Hill Air Force Base.

One of their big concerns was the condition of the schools. Working with the community, we were able to take that before the necessary boards to make those decisions in Santa Fe. With that, now Holloman Elementary will now be the top priority for reconstruction, he said. We have to have good modern facilities. We want to make sure that the current residents and also future Airmen and women have the bricks and mortars that are going to be sufficient. This is going to be a state of the art school thats going to offer support for quality education and will hopefully break ground by the end of the year.

On the 30-day legislative session, Sanchez said he is partnering with Sen. Bill Burt on a bill that would exempt state tax on military and retirement benefits.

We want to attract military personnel to New Mexico and get them to retire here. One of the biggest obstacles is making certain that their retirement benefits arent taxed, and its a tough thing because its a financial hit, Sanchez said. What we have to do is educate other legislators to see the economic benefit in making New Mexico an attractive place for retirees. It affects Otero County probably more than any other county in New Mexico per capita, so thats a big piece of legislation.

He said they will also discuss exempting taxes specifically to new construction at Holloman Air Force Base for the new F-16 mission.

Again, were working with local legislators to garner support from the legislature in New Mexico to pass that. The financial state is improving but its still a challenge, Sanchez said. This F-16 mission was provided on a silver platter, we have to make sure this mission takes places because its worth billions in the long haul.



2018 the Alamogordo Daily News (Alamogordo, N.M.)

Visit the Alamogordo Daily News (Alamogordo, N.M.) at www.alamogordonews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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WASHINGTON  A new report by Senate Democrats warns of deepening Russian interference throughout Europe and concludes that even as some Western democracies have responded with aggressive countermeasures, President Donald Trump has offered no strategic plan to bolster their efforts or safeguard the U.S. from again falling victim to Kremlin meddling.

The report commissioned by the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is the first from Congress to comprehensively detail Russian efforts to undermine democracies since the 2016 presidential election. It wastes no time in calling out Trump personally for what it describes as a failure to respond to Russias mounting destabilization activities in the U.S. and worldwide. The report was obtained by The Associated Press in advance of its public release Wednesday.

Never before has a U.S. president so clearly ignored such a grave and growing threat to U.S. national security, the report released by Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland warns.

Sen. Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the committee, didnt sign on to the report. But even without formal GOP backing, the recounting of Russian operations in 19 European nations foreshadows the still-unpublished findings of the Senate Intelligence Committees bipartisan inquiry into Russias role during the U.S. election.

Cardin said the roughly 200-page report is built on both Republican and Democratic ideas, and he commissioned it to show Americans the scope of efforts by Russian President Vladimir Putin to undermine democracy.

We knew after the 2016 elections that we were vulnerable, but the 2016 elections were just a small part of Russias overall design, Mr. Putins design to try to compromise democratic institutions, Cardin said at the reports public release at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, a Washington-based think tank focused on European and North American cooperation.

Cardins inquiry lays blame directly on Putin for a relentless assault to undermine democracy and the rule of law in Europe and the United States. Concerned that Trump has failed to identify Russian aggression as a national rallying point, the report urges a stronger congressional voice in pro-democracy efforts and funding. The report calls for committee hearings and other bipartisan efforts to aid European nations in countering Russian aggression.

In a statement, Corker spokesman Micah Johnson emphasized that the GOP-led committee had pushed for tougher sanctions on Russia last year in response to brazen cyberattacks and interference in elections. He said Corker will review Cardins report but no further full committee activity is planned at this time.

Some policy changes suggested by the report have garnered GOP interest, including the aggressive use of financial sanctions aimed at Russia and pressuring social media companies to be more transparent about Russian political messaging.

The report also pushes for the administration to fully fund and utilize the State Departments Global Engagement Center, which it says is hobbled by a lack of urgency and self-imposed constraints under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The center was created in 2016 to blunt terrorist propaganda. It duties have expanded to include countering Russian propaganda under legislation last year from Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

Cardins report sketches a bleak portrait of European nations besieged by Russian encroachment. It also cites years of cyberattacks, disinformation, clandestine social media operations, financing of fringe political groups, corruption and in the extreme, assassination attempts and military operations that destabilized fledgling democratic governments in the Ukraine and Georgia. The report leans heavily on open source information as well as staff interviews with European diplomats and government officials.

Labeling Russias activities an asymmetric assault on democracy, the report notes that elections in countries such as Britain, France and Germany were reportedly targeted by Moscow-sponsored hacking, internet trolling and financing for extremist political groups. The report also credits those nations and smaller European countries, such as Finland and Estonia, for responding quickly and often with effect.

Facebook officials told Cardins investigators that Kremlin-backed trolls that stirred up political tensions on its American pages also pursued a similar strategy in the lead-up to the 2017 French political election, and likely before Germanys national election last year.

Similarly, Finnish officials told Cardins investigators that Finland has ramped up anti-disinformation efforts after Russian-leaning Twitter accounts began tweeting misinformation and fringe viewpoints before that nations 2015 parliamentary elections  foreshadowing the surge in Russian-sourced fake Twitter accounts that proliferated during the U.S. presidential election.

Senate Intelligence Committee officials have questioned efforts by Facebook and Twitter to accurately determine the extent of Russian political messaging during the 2016 U.S. election. Cardins team also noted discrepancies between the extent of Russian troll activity found by independent researchers and far lower figures claimed by social media companies in European countries.

Cardins report urges Trump to set up an interagency fusion cell on Russian interference modeled on the National Counterterrorism Center that was created after the 9/11 attacks. The report recommends that the president convene an annual global summit modeled after similar forums on combating the Islamic State group or homegrown extremists. Rapid response teams should be formed to defend ally countries after cyberattacks, with an international treaty governing the use of cybertools in peacetime.

The report also calls on the government to increase the amount of aid it provides to promote democracy in Europe and publicly to expose any organized crime and corruption links to Putin. It says social media companies should be required to publicize the sources of funding for political advertisements along the same lines as broadcast and print media.

So far, the president personally has shown little interest in addressing Russias activities. During a November trip to Asia, where he met with Putin, Trump said of the Russian leader he said he didnt meddle and added: I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it.

Other administration officials have been more skeptical of Russian behavior. Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the U.S. is prepared to deter Russian aggression in Europe, and the U.S. agreed late last year to allow sales of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Sunday on CBS Face the Nation that the CIA is working diligently to prevent Russia or any other U.S. adversary from interfering in future elections. I continue to be concerned not only about the Russians but about others efforts as well, he said.

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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Deb Reichmann contributed to this report.

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Read the report: http://apne.ws/dJu8IWO
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.  Snowfall in Flagstaff area delayed school openings in the northern Arizona city and closed Interstate 40 near Williams for several hours, while heavy rain helped cause a fatal wreck in north-central Arizona.

I-40 reopened Wednesday morning after being closed late Tuesday night due to snow, and Trooper Kameron Lee of the state Department of Public Safety says heavy rain apparently was a contributing factor to a five-vehicle collision involving fatalities and additional injuries on southbound Interstate 17 at State Route 169 Tuesday evening.

DPS also reports multiple non-injury accidents and slide-offs in the Flagstaff area.

The National Weather Service reports 4.7 inches of snow at Flagstaff where light snow showers are expected to decrease through the morning.

Flagstaff Unified School District schools delayed openings by two hours.
SANTA FE  Closing arguments were filed this week in a landmark court case that essentially put New Mexicos public education system on trial.

Now, its up to a judge to issue a final ruling, which could come by as soon as this spring.

The case hinges on whether New Mexico has complied with a constitutional requirement that all public school students  especially minorities and those from low-income families  get a sufficient education.

Attorneys with two groups that filed the consolidated lawsuit, the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Wednesday that a two-month trial held last summer proved the state had fallen short in that regard.

The state is in violation of the equal protection clause of the New Mexico Constitution when it comes to our economically disadvantaged students and our English-learner students across the state, said Ernest Herrera, a staff attorney with MALDEF.

In their closing briefs, the attorneys asked District Judge Sarah Singleton to find that the state has run afoul of the Constitution and to order state lawmakers to come up with a funding plan that ensures greater access to certain programs or services.

If the judge rules in their favor, they also asked the court to maintain jurisdiction over the case to make sure the Public Education Department complies with the order.

However, outside contract attorneys for the PED argued in their court filing that the state currently provides enough money to give sufficient opportunities to all students, citing the fact that New Mexico ranks around the middle of all states in school spending per student.

In the current budget year, K-12 spending represents 44 percent of the states budget  or nearly $2.7 billion.

The record reflects that PED and the New Mexico Legislature have made and continue to make education the number one policy priority in the state, the attorneys wrote in their brief. And the record further reflects that no one  including plaintiffs  has established that increased funding will lead to higher student outcomes.

But Gail Evans, legal director for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, said that simply spending more money would not fix the problem.

She said many students dont have access to state-funded programs such as pre-kindergarten and K-3 Plus, which adds 25 days to the school year at low-income or poor-performing schools, that have proved effective at boosting student achievement.
The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center today announced an agreement that will allow the states largest cardiology practice to provide services to patients at UNM Hospital.

Under the agreement with UNM Medical Group, the New Mexico Heart Institute will provide cardiac electrophysiology and cardiothoracic surgery services to patients at the hospital for a period of 10 years.

The contract went into effect Jan. 1.

In a statement, Michael E. Richards, the universitys vice president for clinical affairs, said the partnership ensures stability and sustainability for patients.

As New Mexicos only Level I trauma center, we provide crucial cardiovascular care when seconds count, said Richards. This partnership strengthens our ability as a health care network to diagnose, treat and save lives.

The university described the hospitals current cardiology offerings as expansive. It has a coronary care unit, cardiac catheterization lab, electrophysiology lab, echocardiography lab, heart station, nuclear cardiology laboratory and a 20-bed cardiac step-down unit.

Trena Chagnon, chief operating officer for NMHI said the company was excited to broaden its relationship with the university.

It is these kinds of relationships that positively impact the healthcare delivery system by lowering costs while creating efficiency and stability, said Chagnon in a statement. We are proud of the high quality, innovative care that NMHI physicians provide and we are confident that this relationship will benefit the residents of New Mexico. 
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

Public Service Company of New Mexico customers may receive an increase in their electric rates of just 1.5 percent over the next two years  rather than a 9 percent hike  thanks to federal tax overhaul and a new ruling by the Public Regulation Commission.

PNM had been seeking the 9 percent rate increase, or $62.3 million more in annual revenue. But this years reduction in corporate tax rates, from 35 percent to 21 percent, is expected to generate about $48.5 million in savings that PNM proposes to pass on immediately to ratepayers as part of a settlement agreement in the rate case that the PRC reviewed Wednesday.

Using the tax savings, PNM managed to lower its request to $13.8 million in new annual revenue, which would lead to about a 2 percent increase in electric rates, PNM attorney Richard Alvidrez told the PRC in the hearing.

But the PRC decided on Wednesday to slash an additional $9 million from PNMs annual revenue request, meaning the company would actually get less than $5 million more in new money if it accepted the PRCs decision. That would amount to a 1.5 percent rate increase on customer bills, to be phased in over two years.

Its not yet clear whether PNM will accept the additional $9 million cut.

We have to wait until todays order by commissioners is officially delivered so we can analyze it in detail before making a decision, PNM spokesman Dan Ware said.

PNM may well support the PRC ruling, because the PRC also reversed some decisions adverse to the company that commissioners had made in December. Those decisions were in connection with a settlement agreement that PNM and nearly all other parties in the case filed in May, and which lowered PNMs original request for a 14 percent rate hike to the 9 percent hike.

But the PRC voted 4-1 on Dec. 20 to reject parts of the agreement, including allowing PNM to recover $148 million in investments it made in the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington, although the utility agreed in the settlement to forgo any profit on those investments. One party, the Santa Fe-based environmental group New Energy Economy, opposed that stipulation, arguing that PNMs decision to continue investing in Four Corners instead of cheaper alternative sources of generation was imprudent.

Two hearing examiners in the case agreed, encouraging the commissioners to rule in December that PNM was not entitled to recover that money. At the December hearing, the commissioners agreed and also rejected the settlements approval of special, discounted rate hikes for some large industrial and institutional electric customers who had signed onto the agreement.

PNM and other settlement supporters rejected those PRC decisions and requested a rehearing, culminating in Wednesdays follow-up review.

On Wednesday, commissioners voted 3-2 to reverse both of those December decisions, allowing PNM to now recover its $148 million Four Corners investment. The PRC will instead re-examine the alleged imprudence of PNMs continued commitment to the coal plant in a future rate case.

Commissioners also allowed the discounted rate for some large customers to remain in the settlement agreement, given that the tax-reform savings and the additional $9 million in cuts to PNMs revenue request greatly offset the impact on customers bills.

The tax-related decrease will zero out so much of it, plus the $9 million, said Commissioner Pat Lyons, who proposed the reversals to the December order. I believe its in the best interests of finding a balance between ratepayers and shareholders to accept these changes than it is to go back to a full-blown hearing where we dont know what will happen.

Commissioner Sandy Jones, who also voted to reverse the December ruling, said he had a change of heart given the benefits of the tax overhaul being immediately passed on to ratepayers.

This will make us one of the first commissions in the country to get the federal tax breaks in place for ratepayers, Jones said. I believe theres value in bringing this to a resolution. We might get a better deal in new hearings, but we may not.

New Energy Economy Executive Director Mariel Nanasi argued passionately against reversing the December ruling.

They (commissioners) abdicated their responsibilities by not deciding on the prudence of PNMs investment in Four Corners, which was the main issue in the case, Nanasi said after the vote. They took back their own finding of imprudence, and reversed the findings of the hearing examiners in this case.

PNM and other settlement agreement supporters have until next Tuesday to accept or reject the PRCs new ruling.
DENVER  Theres no progress reported in talks between Colorados Republican senator and the Republican Attorney General over marijuana policy.

Sen. Cory Gardner met with Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday. Last week Sessions removed Obama-era protections for states like Colorado with legalized marijuana. Gardner acted to prevent confirmation of all nominees to the Department of Justice unless Sessions reversed himself.

Gardner emerged from a meeting with Sessions Wednesday reporting no progress. Gardner said: Nobody changed their mind in todays meeting.

Gardner has convened a bipartisan group of senators to work on legislation protecting states with legal marijuana. Other Colorado legislators are also pushing for an amendment to the spending bill thatd prevent the Department of Justice from spending money to prosecute legal state marijuana use.
HOUSTON  A funeral was held Wednesday for a Texas soldier whose 92nd Infantry Division was the only African-American Army division to fight in Europe and who was buried for decades as unknown.

The service was held at Houston National Cemetery for Army Pfc. Lonnie Eichelberger, a 20-year-old from Waco who died in heavy fighting with German forces in Italy just months before Germanys surrender in 1945.

For decades he was among nearly 73,000 U.S. service members from WWII who are unaccountable.

It has brought closure that he has been identified, said his great-nephew, Cheyenne Eichelberger, who explained that family members knew only that his uncle was killed in action somewhere in Europe.

Army officials notified the family in 2016 that Defense Department scientists had identified the remains using dental and anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence.

Pfc. Eichelberger enlisted at a time the Army was segregated and he was assigned to the 92nd Infantry Division, which in 1944 and 1945 fought at the westernmost portion of the Allied line in northern Italy, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, an arm of the Defense Department.

Thats the forgotten piece, Cheyenne Eichelberger said Wednesday. Minorities have served in every war and conflict that America has been involved in.

His uncle was declared missing after a battle near Strettoia, Italy. Remains recovered near there after the war in Europe ended could not be identified and eventually were buried in 1949 at the American cemetery in Florence, Italy, designated as remains X-193.

Decades later, information was obtained linking X-193 to two soldiers in the 92nd Infantry who still hadnt been identified, so the remains were disinterred in 2016 and ultimately one set was identified as Eichelbergers, according to DPAA.

Of the approximately 73,000 service members in WWII whose remains have not been recovered, more than 3,600 were from Texas.
A suspect who police say gunned down a man during a fight at a northeast Albuquerque apartment in December was found Thursday by U.S. Marshals in Colorado, according to a press release from U.S. Marshals.

U.S. Marshals arrested 24-year-old Michael Baitz in Denver over a month after he allegedly shot Benjamin Maldonado, 31, to death at an apartment in the 1100 block of Prospect, near Menaul and Juan Tabo NE.

Deputy United States Marshals from both the Albuquerque and Denver offices worked tirelessly until they apprehended Michael Baitz, U.S. Marshal for the District of New Mexico, Conrad Candelaria, is quoted as saying in the release.

The release states that U.S. Marshals in New Mexico found out Baitz was hiding out in Denver and he was arrested without incident.

This is another example of the United States Marshals Service capabilities, surveillance, and investigative techniques, to track down dangerous fugitives so that they can be held accountable for their crimes, Candelaria is quoted as saying in the release.

Baitz is pending extradition back to Bernalillo County to face the charges, according to the release.

Police say Baitz shot Maldonado on Dec. 2, at point-blank range, after several fights broke out between several people inside the apartment.

When officers arrived, Baitz had fled and police found Maldonado dead from a gunshot to the stomach in the apartment doorway.
Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) a prominent bank in the state of Maharashtra and Aviva Life Insurance today announced that they have entered into a Corporate Agency arrangement for distribution of Life Insurance products. With this tie-up, the Bank through its 1,863 branches will be able to distribute Aviva Life Insurance products across the country.

Under the Open Architecture system, a bank can sell insurance products of multiple insurers in the same category. This ensures that consumers are given multiple choices, and they can buy a product which suits their needs the best.

Shri. R.P. Marathe, MD & CEO Bank of Maharashtra said, Since inception in 1935, Bank of Maharashtra has built a strong network which has strived for offering comprehensive financial solutions to support wealth creation for its consumers. As per industry reports Insurance penetration in India is merely around 3.42 percent[1] as compared to global average of 6.2 percent. With our association with Aviva, we are delighted to offer superlative products to our customers and are committed in reaching out to the large section of insurable but untapped population in the Tier II and III cities, in the country.

Talking about its tie-up with the bank Mr. Trevor Bull, MD & CEO of Aviva Life Insurance said We are extremely happy and honoured to have been invited by Bank of Maharashtra to join hands, to provide wider financial security choices to its customers. With its wide reach, Bank of Maharashtra is one of the premier & most respected public sector banks in India, and through this partnership, together we will be able to serve our customers better and help increase the penetration of life insurance in India 
Its time for celebrations galore on Zee TV! Two of the channels recently launched primetime fiction offerings, Bhootu and Jeet Gayi Toh Piya Morre are achieving their first big milestone by hitting 100-episodes each! Both the shows have captured the viewers with their interesting plot twists, nail biting drama and endearing jodis making them the audience favourites.

An Indian adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, Jeet Gayi Toh Piya Morre is set in the small town of Sujangarh in Rajasthan and focuses on the rivalry between two families The Chauhans and The Rajawats. The show chronicles the story of Devi Chauhan (Yesha Rughani) who is forcefully married to Adhiraj Rajawat (Krrip Kapur Suri) the son of the rival family. The story showcases Devis journey of transforming Adhiraj from a beast into the man of her dreams. To celebrate the 100-episode milestone, the makers and crew of Jeet Gayi Toh Piya Morre decided to get together and go out for a grand dinner.

Actor Krrip Kapur Suri who plays Adhiraj said, As an actor, it feels great when your show completes 100 episodes, a first of many more milestones to come. Adhirajs character, so far, has been intense and has helped me evolve as an actor. Over the past 100 episodes, my co-actors and the makers have become my extended family, a pillar of strength and support to me. The fact that the audience is also appreciating our effort encourages us to give our best and entertain them! As we charge ahead towards the next big milestone, we look forward to entertaining our audiences with the endearing journey of Devi and Adhiraj and hope that they keep showering us with their love and blessings.

Set against the backdrop of Lucknow, Bhootu narrates an endearing story of a child ghost Pihu (Arshiya Mukherjee) who is unaware of her death and is in search of her mother. So, powerful is the bond between Pihu and her mother, that even divinity bows down to her innocent love and keeps Pihu company in the form of Bal Gopal (Viraaj Kapoor). Bal Gopal is Pihus constant companion and comrade in her quest to find her mother. Along the way, she crosses paths with Shuchi (Sana Amin Sheikh) who tries to help her. Celebrating their milestone, the entire team of Bhootu celebrated on the sets by cutting a huge cake.

Actor Kinshuk Mahajan who plays the role Aarav, Shuchis romantic interest, said, Every milestone is very special, but the first 100 episodes are more special because they are the official stamp of approval from the audiences of the show. The entire team of Bhootu has been working hard and it feels good to see our efforts paying off. The concept of Bhootu is very offbeat and I am very glad that the audiences are loving it. I hope that the team achieves many more such milestones in the future.

Watch Bhootu and Jeet Gayi Toh Piya Morre every Monday to Friday at 6:30 pm and at 7pm only on Zee TV.

Read More:

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Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, and Will Yang, Brand Director, Oppo India, describe the journey of their respective companies in 2017, as well as their key expectations from 2018. While Panasonic witnessed favourable festive season in the year just gone by, Oppo, too, saw exciting developments in the electronic gadgets space. More tech innovations and transitions are on the anvil in 2018.

Major transition in product & positioning in 2018 for Panasonic India

Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia:

The year 2017 has been productive for the company and the industry as well. With the effect of GST completely settling down, the company is right on track towards achieving the targeted goal for the year. We are hopeful of achieving 27 per cent y-o-y growth by the end of FY17-18.

We also witnessed a favourable festive season in 2017, with August and September recording the highest sales growth of more than 50 per cent. TV and washing machines were the hero segments for us during the year. While TV sales recorded 28 per cent growth as compared to last year, washing machines witnessed a growth of 25 per cent.

Expectations from 2018

2018 rings in 100 years of technological innovation for Panasonic and we will be witnessing a major transition in our product portfolio as well as positioning and offerings. We will strengthen as a comprehensive consumer electronics maker to offer solutions that fulfils the wishes of customers, while improving our individual products.

More ground-breaking technologies from Oppo India in 2018

Will Yang, Brand Director, Oppo India:

The year 2017 has been exciting regarding the trends that have come up in the Electronic Gadgets sector. 4G, digital payments through smartphones, free voice calls, phones with dual cameras and Artificial Intelligence are some of the breakthroughs we have witnessed so far. The availability of 4G meant higher data transfers, easy access to the internet and incredibly high voice quality. At the same time, for a smooth user experience, a lot of brands have started incorporating AI in their interface. The users will benefit a lot from these new developments, and in the future, we would also like to focus more on these innovations and cater to the needs of our consumers.

Our brand has always concentrated on innovations and brings out the best for our consumers. Being a part of the cluttered smartphone market, growth in technology is the only way a brand will flourish in the coming year. In 2018, we look at introducing more ground-breaking technologies for our consumers and meet their demands. The technology space is excited about Artificial Intelligence, as it is the next big thing. As for the red flags, with the market having so many competitors, a brand has to offer more solutions to its consumers to stand out in the market.

READ MORE:

https://www.adgully.com/outlook-2018-ad-industry-trends-red-flags-to-watch-out-for-75693.html

https://www.adgully.com/outlook-2018-robust-radio-measurement-system-tops-fm-players-wishlist-75656.html

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Next Radio Ltds brand 94.3 Radio One India, has recently launched the first online re-broadcast portal-www.1cast.in, streaming Indias first audio business channel, for its Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore international format network FM radio stations.

www.1cast.in has 4 major offerings. International radio listeners anywhere in India can now stream the 3 international format FM radio stations from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore from any internet connected digital device. Secondly, the business community in India can now access Indias first LIVE audio business channel which, LIVE, which broadcasts only on the internet from 9am to 3pm Mon-Friday. The Business channel will report on the stock market, Indian and world economy and key finance-related topics and sectors that impact the business community in India.

The audio business channel is a first of its kind and makes business content easy to understand and consume on the move without looking at a paper or a screen.

The portal operates on a simple browser based URL and works across all PC, MAC, Android & iPhone platforms. The simple save to home screen function in all smart devices can allow the URL icon to be saved on the desktop/homescreen for easy app like access. It eliminates the need for an app that needs contant updates and thereby keeps the listeners life simple.

Vineet Singh Hukmani, MD & CEO , Next Radio Ltd commented that,  We are pleased to be ahead of curve of all the FM radio stations by being not only the first radio station in India to re-broadcast our existing International format fm stations in Delhi Mumbai & Bangalore FM online but also to launch Indias first audio business channel streaming exclusively online. With data prices being so affordable and smart device penetration increasing by the day, we felt www.1cast.in is the perfect steaming audio content companion for our upscale listeners of 94.3 Radio One. Our research has shown that there are International Radio & news content enthusiasts outside our 7 city metro FM radio footprint mainly in Hyderabad, Cochin, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow and Eastern India. We felt internet streaming is the most economical way to spread the reach of our international network to listeners who long for global quality International Radio content in India and do not have it on their FM radio dial.

With this internet re-broadcast, we hope to establish enhanced reach of our online international radio format network in the coming 6-9 months thereby giving our advertisers enhanced engagement in new cities. We are confident that in the next 12 months, we will be able to break even on the online audio business news channel which will open doors for more digital only talk format channels for our focused upscale audiences, added Vineet Singh Hukmani.

The portal www.1cast.in will be launched using print & targeted social media in innovative ways so as to engage the listener across India to build a daily habit with the unique streaming content related to music, local city connect and live business content.

94.3 Radio One broadcasts FM radio stations in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad and will now reach on an all India upscale audience with the new online stream offering.

Read more on Radio One FM here:

https://www.adgully.com/94-3-radio-one-india-is-the-most-attractive-radio-brand-74902.html

https://www.adgully.com/search/?keyword=radio-one
Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd, Harpic toilet cleaners parent company and Baba Ramdevs Indian FMCG brand Patanjali are in a lawsuit tiff with each other over an advertisement with product similarities on their Toilet Cleaner product range.

Reckitt Benckiser has also moved to the Delhi High Court with the plea to look into the matter. The matter of concern for the company is that Patanjalis Green Flush Toilet Cleaners ad has illusive similarities with Reckitt Benckiser product Harpics ad. The Court has scheduled the next hearing on 11th January 2018.

Reckitt Benckiser claims that Patanjali had gone above and beyond aping and mocking Harpics ad and has also copied the pattern and shape of the Harpic bottle, and copied its labelling and usage instructions. It also alleged that Patanjalis Green Flush toilet cleaners advertisement is evasive and does not comply with its claim of being an organic product.
A mother is a symbol of strength and selfless love with a hint of Maa Durga that dwells within her. Sridevi-starrer MOM is one movie that truly reinforces this thought! Debutant director Ravi Udyawar gets his sensibilities spot on in this slick fast paced revenge drama portraying a mothers valour and the length she is willing to get justice for her child. Zee Cinema, Home Of Blockbusters, presents the premiere of MOM on Sunday, 14th January at 1:45 PM.

MOM marks the comeback of legendary actor Sridevi as her 300th film after a 5-year hiatus in Hindi Cinema. In the titular role, Sridevi is the greatest actor of her generation as she wins the Best Actress award at the recently held Zee Cine Awards 2018. Along with the iconic actor, this cinematic masterpiece also features a much-celebrated star cast comprising of Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna along with supporting actors including Sejal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui with striking roles. Adding to this dream team is music maestro A.R. Rahman whose heart-warming background score and music works wonders for the film. This critically acclaimed movie has been nominated at several award shows in categories including Best Female Actor, Best Supporting Female Actor, Best Debutante Director, Best Writing, and many more.

Legendary actor Sridevi commented, MOM, to me, wasnt just another film; it was an experience and a journey that I partook to show viewers the tumultuous emotions of a mother. As an actor and a mother, myself, I personally felt the rage and agony that my character Devki underwent. Every nuance, every reaction that my character has evoked on-screen is something that I have felt and experienced personally while the story was being narrated to me. MOM narrates a hard-hitting message which has become one of the biggest requirements in current times.

Speaking about the global appeal of the movie, producer Boney Kapoor commented, We are so very proud about how the movie continues to connect with the audience all over, especially Russia and now Armenia. 'MOM' exemplifies that strong performances and superior storytelling can win hearts and transcend boundaries. We knew MOM's story had the power to resonate with people across the globe.

MOM is the story of Devki Sabarwal (Sridevi), a biology teacher who longs for her 18-year-old step daughter Aryas (Sejal Ali) love and acceptance. An unfortunate turn of events leads to Devkis worst nightmares coming true; her daughter Arya is attacked and the perpetrators are acquitted of all charges. Losing all faith in the legal system, Devki unleashes her inner strength and takes it upon herself to get justice. Battling the hurdles created by an honest and diligent police inspector Matthew (Akshaye Khanna), with the help of a private detective Dayashankar Kapoor aka DK (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), Devki sets out to avenge the wrong done to her beloved daughter.

Watch MOM on Sunday, 14th January at 1:45 PM, only on Zee Cinema.

Read More:

https://www.adgully.com/jeet-gayi-toh-piya-morre-and-bhootu-hit-the-100-episodes-milestone-75732.html

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The Savannah River Site and the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility were topics of discussion during a U.S. Department of Energy modernization hearing.

During DOE testimony at the Jan. 9 House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing, S.C. Republican Jeff Duncan asked several questions, two of which were: What's the deal with MOX, and can the DOE ensure H-Canyon's future.

MOX  a billions-over-budget, federally fluctuating SRS facility that would convert defense plutonium into commercial reactor fuel  has been under construction for more than a decade.

The latest MOX estimates place construction completion at more than 70 percent: U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, corroborated that number  "It's very frustrating to hear reports that it's 30 percent complete. That's not true."  during a recent Aiken County visit.

2016 Updated Performance Baseline for the MOX Facility The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Project Management Oversight and Assessments issued this MOX progress report in 2016.

On Tuesday, Duncan asked Dan Brouillette, the DOE deputy secretary, if he believes MOX construction to be 70 percent along and, if that's really true, why completion is estimated to be 30 years out. A 2016 baseline performance report, handled by the DOE's project management division, estimates MOX completion in 2048.

"Wait a minute. We built the first nuclear weapon at the B-Reactor at Hanford in little over a year," Duncan said before Brouillette could respond, emphasizing the speed at which that project was finished.

B-Reactor was the first full-scale plutonium production reactor ever built. B-Reactor was a product of the Manhattan Project. It has since been shut down.

Brouillette, laughing, said he would like to see similar efficiency brought to the MOX project.

"It has taken quite a long period of time to get to this point," Brouillette said of MOX, avoiding Duncan's exact line of questioning, "and I think that has raised the concern of the budgeteers both here in Congress and in the White House."

The MOX project has received more than $300 million in federal funding several years in a row now. President Donald Trump had initially objected funding MOX.

Brouillette did not exactly address the completion number: "There is, to be quite honest, some disagreement about that 70 percent number," the deputy secretary said, "and whether or not they are in fact 70 percent complete."

Trump budget terminates funding for Aiken County MOX project Funding for the Savannah River Site MOX facility would vanish under President Donald Trump's 2018 budget request, drawing criticism from fello

Continuing his response, Brouillette told Duncan and the House committee that DOE is engaging in "active conversations" with "contractors on the ground."

"We're in very candid conversation with the contractors," Brouillette said. In July 2016, according to the same submitted baseline report, contractors expected MOX completion by 2029.

Duncan then shifted  he was only afforded five minutes of time  to SRS and H-Canyon more specifically.

Duncan told the DOE panel the Obama administration had "almost mothballed" H-Canyon, an SRS chemical separations facility that is the last of its kind in the nation.

Duncan was concerned with the plant's future.

"Please assure me that this administration is not going to even consider mothballing H-Canyon," he said.

The DOE's under secretary for science, Paul Dabbar, responded. He said the DOE will keep H-Canyon  a 63-year-old operation  "up and running." Dabbar said options for continued operations there are immediately available, but did not specify further.

Duncan said he appreciated any possibilities, adding that SRS is always "looking for more missions."

"I hope we can give it to them," he said.
Irans judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani has ordered a stop to executions of drug convicts in a remarkable move that many believe may decrease executions by 90%. On Jan. 9, Larijani ordered that all death sentences of prisoners convicted of drug crimes be halted and their cases be reviewed.

The new order was announced to all judicial authorities across the country. Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri is tasked with monitoring the enforcement of the order.

The important move comes after Irans parliament passed an amendment to the law on combating drugs in the fall of 2017. Based on the amendment, the death penalty for a number of prisoners convicted of drug crimes will be canceled and prisoners will instead face imprisonment and fines.

According to the new law, only those who participate in producing or distributing more than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of traditional drugs (opium) or more than 2 kilograms of heroin and 3 kilograms of methamphetamines will face the death penalty.

Previously, those who distributed or produced 5 kilograms of opium and 30 grams (1 ounce) of methamphetamines could face the death penalty.

In an interview with a local news agency on April 23, 2017, Hassan Nowruzi, the spokesman for the judicial commission of parliament, stated that this new amendment cancels the death penalty for about 4,000 prisoners. In a new interview with Jaam-e Jam newspaper on Jan. 10, Nowruzi stated the number of drug convicts whose death penalties are being canceled will be more than 5,000, as 15,000 cases are now being reviewed following the judiciary chiefs order.

Of note, on Aug. 3, 2016, Mohammad Javad Larijani, the head of the judiciarys High Council for Human rights, told state TV that 90% of death penalties in Iran are due to drug-related crimes.

Enforcement of the new order would quickly rid Iran of its status as the second-biggest executioner in the world, with reference to the number of prisoners executed.

In other news, former Deputy Foreign Minister for Euro-American Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi, who is now serving as deputy chief of staff of Iran's presidential office, said it is not clear what decision US President Donald Trump will make regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the upcoming Jan. 12 deadline to sign sanctions waivers as part of the landmark accord.

On Jan. 10, Takht-Ravanchi stated, There are various speculations about whether Trump will waive the sanctions against Iran or not. Given Trumps unpredictable personality, it is not [accurate] if a person says that Trump will 100% waive the sanctions or not.

He added, The analysis in Europe and the United States indicates that it is not clear what Trump will do. However, the international environment is positive toward the continuance of the JCPOAs implementation, and there are serious criticisms about the United States [not] honoring its commitments.

Speaking of serious disagreements between the United States and its partners on the nuclear deal, the senior Iranian official continued, In the recent session of the UN Security Council  the Security Council members and even the closest allies [of the United States] emphasized that the [implementation of] the JCPOA must be continued.

Takht-Ravanchi then warned, If Trump and the United States withdraw from the JCPOA, our reaction will turn operational quickly, and the Americans will be surprised by our speed. He added, For one year, we have prepared [for the scenario] of what will happen in the country and which way our [foreign] relationships will go if the JCPOA no longer exists.
AMSTERDAM  People had told Houssein throughout his life that there is nothing more beautiful than becoming a grandfather, but now when he sees a grandfather walking down the street with his grandchildren, he only feels aggrieved over his own loss. Houssein's grandchildren are among the hundreds of European children born in Iraq and Syria in areas formerly controlled by the Islamic State (IS). He has never seen them.

What did they go through? Do they need medical care? Do they have enough food? These are questions that are constantly going through my mind, Houssein, a Dutch citizen of Moroccan descent, told Al-Monitor. My daughter might have made a barbaric decision by joining a terrorist organization, but her children did not have a choice. They were simply born in the wrong place.

Houssein, who asked that his last name and place of residence be withheld for fear of reprisal by IS supporters, lost half of his family to the extremist organization. In early 2013, his daughter, Meryem, left the Netherlands to accompany her radicalized boyfriend to Syria. Housseins ex-wife kept in contact with her daughter, and Meryem eventually persuaded her to join them, in August 2014.

Housseins ex-wife took their son Ilyas, 14 at that time, with her. He was killed a few months after arriving in Syria, when coalition forces targeted an IS weapons depot in Tell Abyad, where Ilyas worked as a guard. Houssein lamented, A grave to mourn, a last kiss on my sons forehead, even an answer from his mother to the simple question why. IS took everything from me.

Meryem gave birth to two girls who are now 4 and 2 years old. Houssein had no illusions of ever seeing his grandchildren, but when IS' self-proclaimed caliphate collapsed, he felt a small glimmer of hope. Though uncertain, he has good reason to believe they are being held in a camp for wives of IS fighters.

Media outlets reported that with IS as good as defeated in Syria and Iraq, hundreds of foreign wives, most of them widows, and children of suspected IS combatants are being held in camps by the Syrian Democratic Forces, such as at Ain Issa, in Syria. Many of them had expressed their desire to return to their home countries, often complaining that they only did housework or had been lured by IS fighters into a lifestyle or situation they came to regret. Some foreign women are awaiting trial in Iraqi jails or remain on the run in the few areas the terror group still holds.

The foreign women associated with IS and their children present a big challenge to European nations, because most governments, including the Netherlands, do not actively help IS jihadis return home. The wives and children of IS fighters must travel to their country's embassy in Turkey, Jordan or Lebanon, but this is almost impossible, since they no longer have travel documents. Even if they did have papers, they are not being allowed to leave the camps or prisons where they are being held without mediation from their home countries, many reports show.

According to Daan Weggemans, a terrorism researcher at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University, most governments are not actively repatriating children and women because by joining IS and other terrorist organizations, they have become a security risk.

Children are the victims here, Weggemans told Al-Monitor. They were taken to Syria by their parents, sometimes with false claims, like that they were going on a holiday. Others were simply born in the Islamic State. Ideally, European governments only repatriate the children who were taken or born over there. However, they cannot just say, 'Lets take back the children and leave the mothers there.' This is not likely going to happen, due to several humanitarian and legal reasons.

From 2014 to 2016, IS is believed to have recruited and trained more than 2,000 boys between the ages of 9 and 15 as cubs of the caliphate. Even if they werent trained, they may have memories of living in a war zone, Weggemans said. Investigations show that even the youngest children are affected by it. It is a very sad story.

What about the children who were born in Syria and Iraq? In December 2017, the Belgian Council of Ministers decided that Belgian children under the age of 10 will automatically receive laissez-passers to come to Belgium if DNA research confirms that they are descended from Belgian parents.

The Dutch Children's Protection Service is taking a similar approach. Parents must go to a foreign affairs post so that DNA material can then be collected to determine if they have a Dutch parent, a spokesperson told Al-Monitor.

Belgium IS expert Pieter van Ostaeyen questions the practicality and feasibility of this regulation. It all depends on the efforts governments are willing to take, Van Ostaeyen told Al-Monitor. It is currently not clear where European fighters, and therefore their families, are located. The security situation on the spot can also vary enormously from area to area. It is a bit strange to think that children under the age of 10 can just go to an embassy in Turkey. How are the diplomats going to arrange that? How are we going to trace them? Nobody knows.

Van Ostaeyen also noted that many European countries do not have extradition agreements with Iraq and Syria. Nevertheless, it seems that some European governments are slowly starting to take action. In late December, three French-born children belonging to suspected IS militants and who were being held by Iraqi authorities were flown back to Paris. Their father was killed in the battle for Mosul, and their mother and her youngest child remain in detention in Iraq. It was the first such repatriation of French children from Iraq.

Houssein and parents of Dutch jihadis feel that the government is not doing enough and hope that more will be done in the future to get women and children back from Syria and Iraq.

We do not ask them to send an airplane, but only to contact the camp leaders in Syria, Houssein said. Now, the Netherlands is trying to look away and pretend it doesnt exist, but looking away wont solve the problem.

He added, Once they are back, you can prosecute the parents. The caliphate might be destroyed, but the IS ideology is still alive. Therefore, it is better to take control instead of letting them wander around without knowing where they are or what they are up to. That might be very dangerous, especially when it comes to Europe, where you can travel through dozens of countries without border control.

Lodewijk Hekking, a spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, told Al-Monitor that there are no plans to repatriate the approximately 80 children taken from the Netherlands as well as those born abroad. This could change if the government decides on a shift in policy. Currently, that is not the case, he said.

Houssein looks at photos of Ilyas at least three times a day. He is afraid he will forget what he looked like. He already has difficulty remembering how he sounded.

I have already lost my son and my daughter, even though she is still alive, Houssein remarked. Please help me bring my grandchildren to the Netherlands. They belong with me.
My dad arranged $20 billion for your dad, and youre whining with me about 400 shekels [$115]? This statement  uttered several times by Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an explosive recording  has shaken Israel. The release of the recording Jan. 8 was the last thing Netanyahu needed at this point in time. The police are completing two of the criminal investigations of the prime minister and his cronies, and the public debate about Netanyahus ability to continue to conduct affairs of state is heating up. Such is the backdrop to the release of the audio recording by Channel 2, Israels highest-rated news outlet.

At the center of the story stands the prime ministers controversial 26-year-old son. Two of his friends are also involved, one of them being Nir Maimon, son of Kobi Maimon, a mysterious Israeli tycoon who keeps his distance from the media and owns part of one of the large offshore Tamar natural gas fields.

The junior Netanyahu and his friends were recorded in 2015 while being driven from one strip club to another on a wild, hedonistic excursion full of obscenities and gutter talk on a Friday night in Tel Aviv. The recording touched on everything: sex, alcohol, prostitutes, money, objectification of women and more. The airing of the conversation has forced Netanyahu and his son to apologize numerous times.

These are not the values on which he was raised at home, Netanyahu said Jan. 9. He did it under the influence of alcohol. Regardless, alcohol is the last thing Netanyahu has to worry about now.

The recording has explosive potential for anything related to the natural gas outline for distributing resources and benefits between the state and investors agreed to some two years ago. Netanyahu practically killed himself getting it approved by the government and the Knesset. The recording, a true work of the devil, was taped at that time, during which Netanyahu devoted every effort in overcoming unprecedented public and political criticism of the gas deal. Critics claimed that the deal served to benefit tycoons and shareholders while dispossessing the state and Israeli citizens of natural resources that belonged to them.

Now it turns out that the prime ministers son, viewed as having great influence over his father, was a personal, intimate friend of the son of one of the gas tycoons who stood to greatly benefit. The airing of Yair Netanyahu's conversation has resurrected the issue, and the public storm above Benjamin Netanyahus head may well lead to an additional criminal investigation.

One of the questions the recording raises is why Netanyahu failed to exhibit due disclosure and make public the strong friendship between his son and the son of one of the key tycoons involved in the gas deal? Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, a personal childhood friend of Kobi Maimon, issued such a disclosure. Not Netanyahu.

Now the prime minister is forced to say, yet again, I didnt know, which is also what he said about his lawyer and cousin David Shimron representing ThyssenKrupp at a time when Netanyahu himself was promoting a billion-dollar deal to acquire submarines from the German company. Then there was the time that Netanyahu didnt know that Shlomo Filber, director general of the Communications Ministry and a confidant whom he personally appointed, was showering hundreds of millions of shekels worth of benefits on Bezeq, a giant communications and media company owned by another Netanyahu friend, Shaul Elovitch. All this happened while Netanyahu was also serving as communications minister.

The I didnt know theme has repeated itself too many times in the investigations into Netanyahu. If he did know, he is a criminal, and if he really didnt know, then his management skills are extremely dubious.

Beyond the gas affair, the recording itself is inflaming the Israeli public mainly due to the foul-mouthed talk objectifying women, all from the son of the prime minister. As noted, Yair Netanyahu is regarded as someone with great influence over his father. When US President Barack Obama visited Israel in 2013, Netanyahu boasted about his son, telling the president, He was one of my most important advisers in the [election] campaign.

The junior Netanyahu is widely believed to make political decisions and determine media policy and messaging for his father. He has also gained a well-deserved reputation for boorish behavior, foul language and problematic manners. Now, the Israeli public has glimpsed it all in one conversation, which is burning up the networks. All the prime ministers previous denials regarding the misdeeds of the boy are going up in flames.

Among the other people in the car in which the conversation was recorded were Yair Netanyahus personal security guard and the driver transporting him to the strip clubs and alcohol dens of Tel Aviv. The recording was made public amid a scathing public debate over whether the state should underwrite a security detail, a car and a driver for the prime ministers adult young son, who neither studies nor works.

The Netanyahu family believes the driver taped the conversation, which is in principle permitted in Israel, and sold it for revenge against junior. Even if true, it doesnt really matter. Former Shin Bet Director Yoram Cohen told Army Radio in a Jan. 4 interview that the agency does not recommend providing permanent bodyguards for the prime ministers two sons. Rather, the decision to underwrite the around-the-clock, around-the-world security for them was adopted by a professional committee against Shin Bets recommendation. Now the world knows where and how the young Netanyahu drags his unfortunate bodyguards and drivers until the break of dawn.

If that weren't enough, Yair Netanyahu's gutter language is arousing horror and revulsion in everyone who listens to the recording. After the comment, My dad arranged $20 billion for your dad, Yair Netanyahu berates his friend for not paying for one of his strippers. He offers his former girlfriend to the fellows as payment. Thats how Ill be able to cover my debts, he joked. The friends repeatedly talk about women as if they were chattel and about how to lure a waitress who turned them on at one of their stops, descending into the dregs of vulgarity, callousness and chauvinism.

When the recording landed on the Netanyahu family, their initial knee-jerk reaction was to accuse the news media of persecution and dismiss the whole episode with ridicule. By the next day, the prime minister had regained his composure and apologized, in his own name and in the name of his son. These are not the values on which he was raised at home, he declared. Few people believe such a statement today.
Israel's Meretz Party decided to change its internal election system Jan. 7, transferring power from the 1,000 members of its Central Committee to a primary system open to all the party's members. In this way, Meretz hopes to restore the relevance it lost after a decade of crises and political indolence. This change could have a major impact on the division of power within the center-left bloc in the next election scheduled for 2019.

Meretz will try to reinvigorate its voter profile over the next few months. It hopes to relaunch itself as a political home to supporters of the left, who are unwilling to accept Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay's sharp turn to the right. If successful, the move could generate a dramatic change in votes within the leftist bloc. Voters aligned with the Zionist Camp or Yesh Atid will be able to shift their allegiance to Meretz, if the party has the good sense to rid itself of its (justified) image as an elderly, elitist party. It could become a political home to the liberal Zionist left.

This new move, orchestrated by Meretz Chair Zehava Gal-On, transferred internal party elections from the Central Committee to all members of the party, while opening the voter rolls to new members. It all began in September as an attempt to ensure her own political survival, after the party's Central Committee threatened to remove her. For the most part, Meretz is a small opposition party with limited influence. However, this bold gambit could have a butterfly effect, sending shockwaves across the entire political system.

Successful primaries in Meretz will create another voting option for supporters of the Zionist Camp and even Yesh Atid, who consider themselves center-left or even soft right. If the anticipated movement of voters is accompanied by a similar shift among the Likud's soft core of supporters to Yesh Atid and the Zionist Camp, the leftist bloc will grow.

Acting out of sheer desperation, the Labor Party surprised itself in July by electing a semi-anonymous figure with little political experience as its leader. They chose Gabbay, who only joined the party a year earlier. Now it was Meretz's turn to take a bold step. Seemingly acting against the immediate interest of its members, it relegated the power to choose its Knesset list to its members.

In both these cases, the members realized that they must take extraordinary steps if they are to stop trudging in place while losing power and influence among the Israeli public. Over the years, the 1,000 members of the Meretz Central Committee made the party look like an exclusive private club, focused only on its internal intrigues. The party's candidates largely reflected the profile of the committee: elderly, Ashkenazi and aloof from most current political discourse.

As chair of Meretz since 2012, Gal-On's main achievement was navigating her party through two turbulent elections and somehow surviving. In the election before she became party chair, Meretz dodged annihilation by the skin of its teeth, winning just three seats after many of its voters moved to Kadima, headed by Tzipi Livni. Once Gal-On took her new position, she managed to secure her reputation as a powerful chair. Over time, however, the party proved unable to improve its situation in any meaningful way, and a significant opposition group formed within the party and began taking measures to depose her.

Forced to make a decision, Gal-On bet the entire pot. On two previous occasions, she failed in her attempts to introduce open primaries in Meretz, in which every citizen could participate after paying a nominal membership fee. In the end, she was finally able to pass a compromise: The primaries would be open to all members of the party who joined Meretz at least one month before its internal elections. Considering how hard it is to institute any meaningful changes in this old, established party, the feat was nothing less than dramatic.

Primaries for the leadership of Meretz are scheduled to be held in March. So far, Gal-On will be up for re-election, with Knesset member Ilan Gilon challenging her, but this could change. The new election system will allow anyone who joins in time to submit their candidacy for leader, meaning that there could a surprise outsider candidate like Labor's Gabbay. Quite a few people have been considering the idea, though currently there is no specific candidate warming up somewhere. After all, in Israeli politics, there arent very many opportunities to jump into an election at the very last moment and take over a party that is virtually assured Knesset seats. Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked did this on the eve of the 2013 election when they gave up their plans to run for the leadership of the Likud and found an opportunity to take over the national religious HaBayit HaYehudi, which was then in decline. Their success in this political gamble was transformative.

Even before Meretz decided to hold primaries, the party received a boost from an unexpected source. Gabbay's decision to veer sharply to the right bolstered Meretz in the polls, which now project that it could win as many as seven seats if the election were held today. Gabbay was busy flirting with Likud members by entangling himself in a series of controversial moves. He supported a law to expel asylum-seekers and announced that he opposed the evacuation of settlements. Most problematic, however, was his controversial statement: "The left forgot what it means to be Jewish." All of this caused many Zionist Camp supporters to shift their allegiance to Meretz.

With Lapid and Gabbay actively avoiding being branded as left-leaning, Meretz is just about the only natural option for ideologically liberal, secular Zionists who identify with the left. In private conversations, Gabbay says that a strong Meretz is good news for him, because he has been strengthening the leftist bloc by attracting right-wing voters. After the election, he concludes, having done so would allow him to form a coalition with Meretz. His assumption might have been valid were he talking about the Labor Party in the 1992 election, when it was headed by Yitzhak Rabin. At the time, there was no strong center party like Yesh Atid, hovering around 20 seats in the polls. In Gabbay's case, however, it looks like he is boosting Meretz and Lapid at the expense of his own party, which will have a hard time winning the next election and putting together a government.

There are currently 18,000 registered members of Meretz. The party's decision to hold primaries is a gamble that may well give it the momentum it needs to increase that number significantly. If it plays its cards right, Meretz could be the big surprise in the next election.
January is Egypt's coldest month as far as temperatures go, but things are heating up rapidly there over Turkey's recent deal to lease Suakin Island from Sudan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey just plans to renovate the island and restore Ottoman relics. But Egypt, as well as Saudi Arabia, fears Ankara's plans go much further, to include a military base that could threaten their security.

The Suakin Island deal is provoking anger in Egypt because it has ambiguous objectives, and because there is [already] a problem between the parties that signed the agreement and Egypt," Maj. Gen. Kamal Amer, the head of the Egyptian parliament's National Defense and Security Committee, told Al-Monitor.

Amer was referring to the Egyptian-Sudanese territorial dispute over the Halayeb and Shalateen triangle, and Sudans position against Egypt in Cairo's argument with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. As for Turkey, Egypt distrusts Ankara's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt considers a terrorist group.

Amer minced no words over Egypt's position on Suakin Island. Egypt has in its possession proof that there are Turkish military purposes behind [the deal] over the island. Turkey has built several military bases in Africa. To preserve its security, Egypt will not allow a Turkish military base to be built [in Sudan]," he said.

While visiting Sudan in late December, Erdogan signed 13 development agreements covering a port and shipyards for military and civilian ships in the Red Sea, a hospital, a free-trade zone in Port Sudan, grain silos at different locations, a university, power stations and a new airport for Khartoum, the capital.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said there are other plans for the island that he would discuss later.

Tarek Fahmy, a political science professor at the American University in Cairo, told Al-Monitor that Egypt is worried because Turkey has already demonstrated its desire to build a military presence in the region by recently opening a base in Somalia. Egypt fears Turkey plans to exploit the island "to tighten the noose around Egypts neck, given that the island is close to the Egyptian border," he said.

Cairo must see the Suakin deal as a declaration of a Turkish-Sudanese alliance opposing Egypt. Tensions between Sudan and Egypt escalated to the point that Sudans Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Cairo for consultation Jan. 4. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said, An integral assessment of the situation is taking place and will precede an appropriate action by Egypt.

He said Cairo has options. Egypt is able to deter the Turkish actions via different means, including to enhance relations with African countries to prevent Turkey from filling the gap, and to develop the Egyptian army in anticipation of any threat and in order to bring about a balance of power in the region," Zeid noted.

Egypts media outlets have fiercely lambasted the Suakin deal. Journalist Emad Eddin Adeeb wrote in a Dec. 25 article that Sudan has plainly granted Turkey permission to build a military naval base for defense, training and weapon storage."

"It will be built via Turkish companies and will be entirely funded by Qatar," he predicted, echoing what many have speculated.

Media figure Ahmed Moussa said Dec. 26 on Sada al-Balad channel that the deal basically allows for Turkish colonization and poses a threat to Arab-Egyptian national security. He claims Turkey seeks to exert hegemony by expanding outside its boundaries.

It's not lost on Egypt that the Ottoman empire based its navy at Suakin.

Adding to the tension, the Turkish and Sudanese chiefs of staff have agreed to develop military cooperation. In his "Facts and Secrets" show Dec. 28, media figure Mustafa Bakri said the deal will be "designed to ensure a Turkish presence in the face of the Egyptian ships.

In response to the Egyptian medias sharp criticism of the deal, Sudans Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour stated Dec. 26, We do not concern ourselves with the approving or disapproving reactions. It surprises me how some of the Egyptian media reacted, but we do not consider all Egyptians to be on the same side. Clearly, there are some who do not comprehend how relations are managed among the states.

In a Dec. 29 interview with the official Turkish TRT Al-Arabiya outlet, Ghandour said that some Egyptians are "ignoring the fact that a strong Sudan is important for a strong Egypt.

The Saudi press also lambasted the Suakin deal. Okaz daily published an article Dec. 27 saying Sudan has succumbed to Turkey's "embrace." The story highlighted Turkey's immense ambitions in Africa, noting that Turkey has not contented itself with the new military base it inaugurated in Somalia in September.

Samia Rafla of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee said the committee will be holding an important meeting about the Suakin deal, Egypt's Dostor.org reported Jan. 6.
Turkeys Foreign Ministry summoned the charge daffaires of the United States, Philip Kosnett, today, making him the third foreign envoy to be called in the past 24 hours amid rising tensions with Russia over the Syrian governments ongoing offensive in Idlib.

On Tuesday, Turkey gathered Russia and Irans ambassadors to air its displeasure, saying the offensive must be called off immediately. Turkey is protesting the Syrian regime's advances against the biggest remaining opposition stronghold in Syria on the grounds that regime troops are targeting jihadis and moderate rebels alike, thus undermining efforts to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Syrian conflict.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pointed the finger of blame at Russia and Iran. He told the state-run Anadolu news agency in an interview today, If you are guarantors  yes, you are  you should stop the regime. Its not just a simple airstrike. The regime is moving in Idlib. The intent here is different.

Cavusoglu suggested that the goal may be to make some unwilling opposition groups go to Sochi. He was referring to a planned national dialogue conference in the Russian Black Sea resort later this month. It will backfire, he claimed. It remains unclear how or whether the United States, whose military presence is confined to the swath of Syrian Kurdish-controlled territory falling between the Euphrates River and Iraq, can intervene.

Idlib is dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda-linked group that is led by the jihadis formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra. The opposition alliance, unlike the Islamic State, is composed mainly of Syrians and remains the biggest threat to Syrian President Bashar al-Assads rule.

Idlib was designated one of four de-escalation zones agreed under the Astana agreement struck between Russia, Iran and Turkey last year. The cessation of hostilities was supposed to lay the ground for a diplomatic solution to the war. At the same time, it would facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Syrians, who are currently sheltering in Idlib in the direst conditions.

Turkeys sharp reaction to the uptick in fighting suggests that the agreement struck in Astana, at least as it relates to Idlib, is unraveling. The immediate trigger appears to be the series of mysterious drone attacks on Russian military bases in Syrias Latakia province since the start of the year. Moscow apparently believes Turkey did not stick to its side of the bargain either, amid accusations that Turkish forces chose to coexist rather than curb HTS when they moved into Idlib last October as peace monitors.

The Russian Defense Ministry said drones targeting Russian facilities in Kmeimim and Tartus on Jan. 6 had come from the Muazzara settlement in the southwestern part of the Idlib de-escalation zone controlled by the armed forces of the so-called moderate opposition. Russias state-run news agency Tass noted that the ministry had sent letters to Turkish military chief Hulusi Akar and spy boss Hakan Fidan stating, It is necessary for Ankara to meet assumed obligations to ensure [compliance with] the cease-fire by the armed forces under its control. Russia had earlier hinted that the United States might be involved in the drone attacks, saying they would need the assistance of a country that possesses satellite navigation technology. The Pentagon has denied any involvement.

Aaron Stein is a senior resident fellow at the Atlantic Council who has written extensively on the Syrian conflict. He told Al-Monitor in an interview, "The basic framework at Astana was for the regime to take back control over territory as far north as the train tracks [connecting the Idlib and Aleppo governorates]. Turkey agreed to this arrangement, I would presume because there was also an assumption made that the al-Qaeda elements within HTS could be dealt with through intra-rebel pressures." For whatever reason  some argue Turkey never intended to confront HTS and is more interested in going after US-backed Syrian Kurds in neighboring Afrin  it did not work. Thus now "the regime is taking back territory by force and to do so they have to bomb throughout Idlib to weaken [opposition] supply lines. It looks like the Idlib de-escalation is falling apart," Stein observed.

In his comments to Anadolu today, Cavusoglu insisted that Turkey had been trying to enforce the cease-fire in Idlib so that civilians could continue to return, but some terrorist groups have infiltrated the region. In other words, the perpetrators of the drone attacks were not local rebels under Turkeys supervision. He then shifted the blame back to the regime saying, If there is a terrorist organization there, these groups should be identified. Careful operations should be carried out with intelligence from the ground or with technology.

Meanwhile, Syrian government forces, backed by warplanes and attack helicopters, are closing in on the strategic Abu al-Duhur air base in the eastern Idlib countryside. According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, regime troops were within several hundred meters of the air base, which is controlled by HTS and its allies.

The United Nations said at least 60,000 civilians had been displaced by the latest government offensive that began in November against the rebels in Hama and Idlib. Many are said to be heading toward the Turkish border. Turkey is already hosting over 3 million Syrian refugees and says it can ill afford to accommodate any more, another big reason Ankara wants what is beginning to look like an all-out assault against Idlib called off.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans visit to France on Jan. 5 and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglus visit to Germany a day later point to a new page in Turkeys relations with Europe. What these visits did not do, however, is provide any indication that Ankara's European Union membership is back on track.

To the contrary, the general impression among Turkish analysts of different political shades is that these visits may have sounded the death knell for membership.

Turkeys pro-European secular liberals may be lamenting Ankaras gradual abandonment of its EU perspective. This confirms for them that a less democratic and more Middle Eastern Turkey is emerging.

Pro-government nationalist and Islamist quarters, including members of Erdogans close advisory circle, however, are not perturbed. They talk about a new chapter in ties with Europe based on realism, rather than pipe dreams laced with broken promises.

This new relationship, they argue, will also disarm European countries, which, they believe, have been using the political and legal criteria that Ankara has to fulfill for EU membership to undermine Turkey.

Liberals, however, see such arguments as more proof that Erdogan and his administration have no interest in furthering European-style, liberal democracy in Turkey.

French President Emmanuel Macron was bluntly clear about Ankaras EU bid after his talks with Erdogan in Paris. He told reporters during a press conference with Erdogan that the current situation in Turkey did not allow for an outcome in the coming years with regard to Ankaras EU bid.

This was a polite way of saying, Dont expect this bid to go anywhere.

"We should  see if we cannot rethink this relationship, not in the framework of the [EU] integration process, but perhaps a cooperation, a partnership," Macron said. He underlined, however, that Turkey had to remain anchored in Europe.

Almost concurrently with the Erdogan-Macron meeting, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel hosted Cavusoglu privately in his home in the town of Goslar, which reportedly was the first time he did this for any foreign dignitary.

Talking to reporters after his meeting with Cavusoglu, Gabriel was upbeat. Its not possible to say that we agree on every subject, but we consider it a duty to overcome all difficulties, Gabriel said, adding that both sides were displaying a strong will to do this.

Cavusoglu also struck a positive note. Thanking Gabriel for hosting him so warmly in his home, he said Turkey was earnest in its desire to put ties back on track and to carry them to a higher level.

Turkish-German ties hit rock bottom in 2017 after Turkish ministers were refused permission to canvass support among expatriate Turks for constitutional changes designed to increase Erdogans powers. Erdogan sent shock waves across Europe when he accused German political leaders of acting like Nazis.

The adoption by the German parliament of a resolution in 2016 recognizing the killing of Armenians in 1915 as genocide, a claim Turkey strongly rejects, had already fouled the atmosphere.

Other points of contention include Berlins refusal to extradite Turks who Ankara is seeking over the failed coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016 and Turkeys arrest of German citizens, including journalists, on terrorism and espionage charges.

Activities in Germany by groups supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, which Berlin also lists as a terrorist organization, have also contributed to poisoning the well in Turkish-German ties.

Nevertheless, Gabriels and Cavusoglus remarks indicate a desire to turn the page in bilateral ties, despite these continuing problems. But friendly as the meeting of the two foreign ministers may have been, it provided nothing to suggest a breakthrough in Turkish-EU ties.

The sides merely expressed their desire to overhaul the 1995 Customs Union agreement between Ankara and the EU, which remains in force despite worsening prospects for Ankaras EU membership bid.

Gabriel suggested recently that the Brexit deal the EU will have with Britain could provide a model for Turkey-EU ties.

Ankara remains officially opposed to any offers short of full EU membership. Developments suggest, however, that it may also be inclined toward a new relationship with Europe that is not burdened by problems emanating from Turkeys EU bid.

Meanwhile, pro-government commentators have started to provide the theoretical thinking behind this new approach.

Moving forward, rationality must thrive over irrationality and pragmatism over idealism in order to normalize Turkey's relations with Europe, wrote Fahrettin Altun, a columnist for the pro-government Sabah daily.

Turkey's relationship with Europe cannot run on passion. Instead, it must be based on mutual interests, Altun added.

Fuat Bol, a columnist also sympathetic to Erdogan, said that during Erdogans visit to Paris Macron had finally uttered what is in European mouths. He argued in his column in Milliyet daily that Europe never intended to have equal relations with Turkey, desiring instead to see a submissive Turkey that will bend to its will.

After this bitter experience, Turkey has selected the best path.  We will follow a multidimensional foreign policy based on relations  that serve our countrys interests, Bol wrote.

Disregarding Macrons discouraging remarks about Turkeys EU bid, Erdogan returned from Paris happy. He told reporters accompanying him on his flight back that he hoped 2018 would be the year when relations with Europe would improve.

Erdogan was also buoyed by the signing of an agreement with France for the purchase of 25 Airbus passenger planes and the accord concerning the joint production of a French-Italian air defense system.

Questioned during his flight back from Paris about Macrons less than encouraging remarks about Ankaras EU bid, Erdogan used oddly evasive language to avoid criticizing Macron.

I didnt want to understand what exactly it was he meant. I preferred to concentrate on getting them to understand what I was saying, Erdogan said. He was referring to his remarks in Paris in which he underlined that Turkey was fed up waiting at the EUs door. I hope they understood, he said.

Asli Aydintasbas, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, argued in her column in the opposition daily Cumhuriyet after the Paris meeting that Turkeys EU membership bid seems to have been shelved, not to be revived again.

The meeting at the Elysee Palace between Macron and Erdogan, who get along very well having talked over the phone 12 times and met face-to-face three times, showed that Turkey has entered the privileged partnership phase with the EU, she wrote.

Retired Ambassador Ali Tuygan believes that the way to revive Turkish-EU ties is for Turkey to find the will to return to the democratic path and fulfill its obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights.

The problem is there is no will, Tuygan wrote in his blog. He wrote, however, that laying Turkeys EU project formally in its grave will be an unpleasant task even for this government.

It may not be such an unpleasant task for Erdogan, though. A pragmatic relationship with Europe, which does not entail the negative fallout from Ankaras refusal to meet criteria necessary for EU membership, could be enough for him.

The fact that this relegates Turkey to the league of an undemocratic Middle Eastern country, which nevertheless has good practical ties with key European powers, seems not to matter for him or his supporters.
ANKARA, Turkey  Turkeys Religious Affairs Directorate (DIB)  the country's highest Islamic authority  triggered uproar earlier this month by endorsing the view that girls can marry at age 9 and boys at age 12.

The controversy erupted after media scrutiny of a Glossary of Religious Terms, which the DIB ran on its website. For puberty, the glossary offered the following explanation: Experts of Islamic law have determined the threshold for puberty age as 12 for boys and 9 for girls. Having reached that age, boys enter the stage of progeneration  and girls reach fecundity age, [that is] they become pubescent.  Puberty is the period in which individuals become accountable religiously and obtain the status of adults. Able-minded individuals who reach that stage obtain full conduct capacity. As such, they become answerable to religious precepts such as worship, halal and haram, and [are] liable to punitive, financial and legal obligations.

The glossary described marriage as a necessary step against the danger of engaging in illegitimate affairs. On how the marriage ceremony should be performed, the following is advised for women: A woman who has reached puberty age can get married without [the presence of] a parent, but the presence of a parent is preferable.

The DIBs endorsement of the view that girls who reach puberty at age 9 can marry and bear children drew the fury of women's groups, civil society organizations, opposition parties and some well-known scholars of Islam.

Ihsan Eliacik, a prominent theologian known for his critical views of the government, argued on social media that the DIB was promoting views outside the Quran that belong to old, unquestioned Islamic culture. The institution is mentally frozen, he charged. Referring to the Nisa sura in the Quran, he stressed the holy book spoke of both physical and mental adolescence as a condition for marriage, without mentioning ages.

The DIB, for its part, claimed the critics had distorted the glossary text to fabricate the notion that it was sanctioning early marriages. In a Jan. 2 statement, it said, Marrying girls off before they have acquired a sense of responsibility about motherhood and family and before they have reached psychological and biological maturity is not compatible with Islam, which conditions marriage on consent and free will. Our institution has never approved of early marriages and will never do so.

The statement, however, failed to appease the outrage. In a parliamentary question to the prime minister, Sezgin Tanrikulu, a senior lawmaker for the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), said the DIB was effectively inciting people to violate Turkeys civil code. Another CHP deputy, Gulay Yedekci, said the texts amounted to officially approving the sexual abuse [of minors] under the guise of preventing adultery.

Women's groups held protests denouncing the DIB, while social media users launched a campaign calling for the closure of the institution, which takes one of the lions shares from the government budget.

Even before the latest controversy, the DIB was already under fire over fatwas on sexual matters, marriage, women, incest and even games of chance. In December, it said men could divorce via telephone call, fax, text messages and email. Earlier, it had triggered even bigger uproar when, in response to an online question, it opined that a fathers lust for a daughter by holding her [when she is dressed] in thick clothes or lusting after her by looking at her body would not have an effect on his marriage.

Amid the storm of criticism, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag ran to the DIBs defense. In television remarks on Jan. 4, Bozdag maintained that the DIBs fatwas were based on the law of God and were not supposed to comply with the incumbent laws of the state. Lashing out at the critics, he said, They are asking for fatwas and then they say the fatwas do not comply with the laws. When the DIB issues fatwas, there is only one law it should abide by, and thats the law of God.

Yet the DIBs fatwa on divorce via technological means shows that it can well take into account contemporary developments and adapt them to Islam when it deems it necessary.

Stepping back in the face of the uproar, the DIB removed the Glossary of Religious Terms from its website Jan. 4. The following day it issued a Friday sermon text for mosques across Turkey, preaching against marrying daughters off without their consent. Depriving a person of the right to live in dignity and especially subjecting children to various forms of abuse is never permissible in our religion, the text said. Forcing children into marriage while they still lack a sense of responsibility toward themselves, the Lord and the people around has no religious and scholarly legitimacy and no ground whatsoever. Trying to marry a girl who is not yet mature enough to grasp the meaning of starting a family and being a wife and a mother is never acceptable.

The head of the DIBs Supreme Council of Religious Affairs, Ekrem Keles, told the daily Hurriyet, The DIBs view is that girls should not marry before age 17 and boys before age 18. No one should marry their children at the age of 9, 10 or 15. This is contrary to Islam.

All in all, the DIB seems quite confused on the marriage age. Yet the fact that the public uproar forced the institution to step back offers a glimmer of hope on the prevention of the sexual abuse of children in the name of religion.
ASUS brought a variety of routers to this years Consumer Electronics Show and while they differ in terms of design, capabilities, and  consequently  target markets, one thing they have in common is that they look almost nothing like traditional networking devices. The ASUS Blue Cave and Lyra Trio are meant to reimagine the way in which we think about routers, and the same goes for ASUS AiMesh, a meshing solution for a broad range of the companys existing devices, as well as the two newly announced ones.

The ASUS Blue Cave AC2600 is a curious-looking device that one would hardly associate with a router, with the Taiwanese company claiming it built it specifically for the needs of contemporary smart homes. As the Internet of Things segment is steadily gaining traction, its leading to a noticeable growth in Wi-Fi network demands that ASUS is seeking to address with the AC2600 which it describes as a versatile offering thats much more intuitive to use than a traditional router. Instead of PC-only controls, the hub for managing the Blue Cave comes in the form of a mobile app for Android and iOS devices. Dual-band speeds are part of the package here, being meant to allow for seamless gaming and video streaming in 4K resolutions. The Blue Cave is powered by Intels Home Wi-Fi chip and boasts native support for a variety of IoT services like IFTTT, as well as Amazons artificial intelligence assistant Alexa. The router will start retailing in late February for approximately $249.99, or 179.99 in the United Kingdom.

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If the look of a miniature, stripped-down washing machine isnt what youre looking for in a router, you may be interested in the pyramid-like shape of the ASUS Lyra Trio, another unconventional offering from the Taipei-based company whose design is actually said to serve a practical purpose  eliminating Wi-Fi dead zones in the house through specialized antenna placement. The firm has yet to clarify on the actual engineering effort that went into designing the Lyra Trio, though it did confirm that it also supports dual-band speeds and 33 MIMO, as well as a companion app for Android and iOS meant to eliminate PCs from the router management equation. The Lyra Trio will hit the market in the coming months at an unspecified price point.

The tech giants biggest router-related announcement at CES 2018 didnt pertain to any new model and was instead solely focused on ASUS AiMesh, a network meshing platform that supports over a dozen of previously released devices from the company. AiMesh will begin rolling out later this year in the form of an over-the-air update for compatible models and allows you to turn your old routers into mesh nodes by just plugging them in and factory resetting them. The service wont provide any assistance in regards to mesh node placement like Google WiFi does but is still a much more accessible, i.e. cheaper alternative to buying an entirely new mesh setup given how it doesnt cost anything you didnt already pay for. Refer to the gallery below for an in-depth look at the latest networking offerings from ASUS.

ASUS Lyra Trio

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ASUS Blue Cave

ASUS AiMesh-Enabled Routers
Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu called the companys failed smartphone retail deal with AT&T a big loss for consumers during his Tuesday speech held at the latest iteration of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference that was focused on the stateside launch of the Mate 10 lineup of Android flagships ended with an improvised speech from Mr. Yu that saw him get emotional on stage while ignoring the teleprompter he used until that point, talking about the companys unsuccessful attempt to get its latest high-end smartphone into the hands of more America people. The deal with AT&T has been in the making for at least a year but ended up falling through just several days back amid reports that the second largest wireless carrier in the United States faced political pressure to not provide the Chinese tech giant with a major entry point into the domestic market.

The industry veteran reiterated some of his points about the Mate 10 series, claiming that the firms newest Android devices are the best of what the phone market has to offer yet wont be retailed by any carrier in the country, thus confirming the unsuccessful outcome of its effort to negotiate a deal with AT&T. The Chinese original equipment manufacturer will now have to rethink its global expansion plans and Mr. Yu confirmed as much, adding that the Mate 10 will still be retailed by non-carrier distributors which statistically sell only a fraction of smartphones moved by U.S. mobile service providers.

Huawei has been scrutinized by the U.S. government since at least 2012 and Washington isnt the only one that effectively blacklisted its products in the West, primarily due to the companys ties with Beijing but also because of various allegations and cases of intellectual property theft. A number of industry watchers in the West criticized Mr. Yus decision to label Huaweis inability to enter the U.S. market as a loss for consumers given how Chinas protectionist economic policy is much more aggressive in its attempts to prevent foreign players from competing in the Far Eastern country. As that approach directly benefitted Huaweis domestic position in the past, not everyone is supportive of the companys decision to publicly complain about being on the receiving end of a similar practice.
Huawei has announced that the Mate 10 Pro will be coming to the US next month. The Chinese company has made no secret of its plans to become the number one smartphone manufacturer worldwide, but in order to achieve this, Huawei needs to crack the US smartphone market. Now, taking their first steps towards this, the company has announced that it will be releasing its flagship Huawei Mate 10 Pro in the US in February.

Until recently, Huawei was expected to sell the Mate 10 Pro through AT&T in the US, with Verizon possibly selling the flagship at a later date. Unfortunately for the company, though, the deal with the US carrier fell through at the very last moment due to rumored security concerns raised by the US government, a decision that has proved to be a major set back for the company. But despite this, the Chinese company has continued ahead with its efforts to crack the market, confirming that its flagship smartphone will go up for pre-orders as an unlocked device in the country beginning February 4, while shipments will commence two weeks later on February 18. For those who dont know, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro features a 6-inch OLED with an 18:9 ratio and a resolution of 1080 x 2160p. On the inside, the Chinese company has equipped the device with the Kirin 970, which itself features a dedicated neural processing unit for more efficient AI. Coupled with the processor is a considerable 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Moving into the camera department, Huaweis devices features dual-Leica branded sensors, the main one being of a 12-megapixel resolution, while the secondary monochrome sensor is a 20-megapixel affair. Lastly, on the software side of things, the Mate 10 Pro ships with Android 8.0 Oreo straight out of the box along with Huaweis EMUI 8.0 overlay on top.

Although the device lacks carrier support, it will still be available at a number of big retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon, Microsoft, Newegg, and B&H. To further boost sales, Huawei has even partnered up with Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot, who will now become the companys official Chief Experience Officer and will actively provide ideas to the company regarding how to bring the companys experiences to consumers. For now, though, consumers interested in the device will have to shell out $799 and will be able to choose between the Midnight Blue, Titanium Grey, and Mocha Brown colors.
Following Huaweis unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a smartphone retail partnership with AT&T which the company essentially confirmed at the latest iteration of CES 2018, the Chinese original equipment manufacturer is likely to place an even larger focus on Europe than it already did, The Information reported Tuesday, citing one of the firms executives who wasnt named. The same source also confirmed Huawei has been exploring the idea of a partnership with Verizon but noted that the deal with AT&T was meant to serve as a basis for all similar collaborations with wireless carriers in the United States going forward. Following its failure to materialize, Huawei is essentially giving up on trying to establish a larger presence in the country for the time being.

The official described the outcome of the companys negotiations with AT&T as completely surprising and really, really bad for Huawei, adding that the OEM has no other realistic options for getting its phones to a larger number of American consumers. With U.S. carriers accounting for the vast majority of domestic smartphone sales on an annual basis, no company can hope to penetrate the market without a mobile service provider backing it and retailing its phones, especially in the context of expensive flagships like the Mate 10 series which Huawei was hoping to launch through AT&T. The lineup will still be retailed through Amazon and several other distributors but isnt expected to achieve a notable level of commercial success in the country, much like the Mate 9 which was also made available for purchase through select retailers in the U.S. early last year.

The development is said to be a direct result of political pressure in the country, with Washington effectively preventing AT&T from agreeing to a deal Huawei originally planned to announce Tuesday in Las Vegas. While the companys electronics chief Richard Yu already called the failed negotiations with AT&T a big loss for consumers, some industry watchers are quick to point out the firm immensely benefitted from much more protectionist policies in China and is now complaining for being on the receiving end of similar practices, primarily after it got on the radar of some Western governments due to its close ties with Beijing and numerous allegations of intellectual property theft.
LG has more or less confirmed that its upcoming flagship will be called the LG G7. A recent rumor said that the company may ditch the LG G branding altogether, but the companys official website just confirmed that something like that will not happen. The LG G7 is listed as the companys upcoming smartphone which will ship with support for Quick Charge 4.0, which is Qualcomms fast charging standard, and that is basically an official confirmation that the device will be arriving soon.

LG states that Quick Charge 3.0, which the LG G6 is equipped with, can charge up its battery from 0 to 100 percent in 1 hour and 45 minutes, well, Quick Charge 4.0 is 20 percent faster and 30 percent more efficient than Quick Charge 3.0, as per Qualcomm, so you can expect to see even faster charge times once the LG G7 drops. The LG G7 will almost certainly arrive in the first quarter of this year, as the phone is expected to launch at this years Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, which means that it will probably arrive at the end of next month. Nothing has been confirmed just yet, though, so it is possible that the phone will be announced at a separate event, after the Mobile World Congress ends, in March or April, as a recent rumor suggested. In any case, if the company is planning to launch the phone at MWC 2018, we will probably start seeing first teasers in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that.

Now, not many info leaked regarding the LG G7, and the same can be said for rumors, but the phone is expected to ship with Qualcomms latest processor, the Snapdragon 845. The Snapdragon 845 was announced by the company a while back, and not a single phone out there ships with this SoC just yet. The LG G6 launched with the Snapdragon 821, instead of the Snapdragon 835, last year, and that is something that may have affected its sales, but the LG G7 is expected to come with Qualcomms latest and greatest chip. The phone will ship with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, while LGs skin will be applied on top of Googles OS. The device will probably be made out of metal and glass, and it will ship with an OLED display, while a dual camera setup is expected to be included on its back.
LG Electronics has teamed up with automotive semiconductor firm NXP and German advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) developer HELLA Aglaia to create solutions for self-driving vehicles. The goal of the alliance is to create products that incorporate advanced driver assistance systems to help car manufacturers wishing to build self-driving vehicles meet the global standard for safe autonomous driving, although those regulations are not expected to take effect immediately as regulators are currently still drafting the rules.

As part of the partnership, the three companies will jointly develop commercial solutions integrated with other components to help autonomous vehicles navigate public roads safely. For its part, LG will be contributing to the initiative with its ADAS camera and image recognition system and control algorithm. Meanwhile, NXP will throw its car image processor into the mix while HELLA Aglaia will contribute its ADAS software to the project. These ADAS solutions are expected to be commercially available by 2020 as automakers are presently testing their autonomous vehicle prototypes and as regulatory standards have yet to be completed. On top of this new partnership, LG recently forged an agreement with mapping company HERE late last year with the goal of developing a business-to-business platform for communication hubs intended to be embedded in autonomous vehicles. As part of that alliance, LG Electronics will contribute its telematics technologies into the initiative while HERE will provide its Open Location Platform. Last October, LG Electronics and chipmaker Qualcomm also teamed up to create connectivity solutions for connected cars, with a primary focus on 5G and Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technologies.

In July last year, a committee within the United States House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass a bill that would accelerate the deployment of self-driving cars. More interestingly, the bill also sought to prevent States from blocking public road testing for autonomous vehicles in their respective jurisdictions. LG Electronics, along with Samsung, is also likely to benefit from the self-driving guidelines issued by the United States Department of Transportation last September, with Samsung-owned Harman International Industries supplying various infotainment systems and general electronics to automakers in the United States while seeking to boost its industry alliances in the future.
LG Pay will launch in the United States by mid-2018 and support the companys next two Android flagships, Yonhap News reported Tuesday, citing official communication from the Seoul-based firm. The first expansion of the mobile payments service is hence set to arrive approximately a year after its debut in LGs home country of South Korea which acted as a test market and provided the tech giant with enough feedback to continue improving its solution in preparation for a wider release. While the initial version of the platform is being advertised as LG Pay, the original equipment manufacturer is said to be considering rebranding it into LG Wallet. Regardless of how the service ends up being called, it should be made available in the U.S. by the end of June, with LG targeting a release in the first half of the year.

The South Korean company will offer LG Pay on both the G7 and V40 Android smartphones, according to the same report. The former is expected to launch under a different name late next month at Mobile World Congress 2018 but as was the case with its predecessor, it may not be available stateside until mid-2018, meaning the U.S. variant of the device may already support LG Pay out of the box, though the latest report indicates it might be commercialized in the West by March or April. The firms additions to the flagship V series have traditionally been unveiled at Berlin-based IFA in late summer and the upcoming LG V40 should follow suit. Besides flagships, the LG K10 lineup should also receive support for the contactless service later this year, much like other recently introduced mid-rangers from the company and its two 2017 flagships  the G6 and V30. That expansion is only planned for South Korea and wont reach the U.S. before 2019.

LG Pay is powered by Wireless Magnetic Communication, a technology thats similar to Samsungs Magnetic Secure Transmission service as it allows contactless mobile payments on regular credit card readers instead of relying on specialized equipment. As with Samsung Pay, such capabilities should increase LG Pays potential, making its adoption rates solely reliant on consumers instead of retailers, i.e. the latters willingness to invest in new readers.
MediaTek on Tuesday announced the MT5598, its latest system-on-chip designed for contemporary smart television sets which supports a variety of HDR technologies and 120Hz content, as well as 4K resolutions. Like many of the companys recent offerings, the MT5598 isnt a flagship solution but one thats meant to power smart TVs in the entry-level and mid-range segment of the market that are focused on providing consumers with maximum value for their money. UltraHD (4K) Blu-ray support is also part of the package, with the chip extending the same feature to streaming services such as YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.

The Taiwanese semiconductor company claims the chip is meant to allow for the highest quality standards in the online streaming space, suggesting it will be able to do so at a reasonable price. The silicon should become available to manufacturers in the coming weeks and may be commercialized by mid-2018. As is the case with the majority of new chipsets, the MT5598 is advertised as placing a large focus on artificial intelligence services and related applications ranging from smart home controls and voice-based interactions to content analysis and advanced personalizations technologies. TVs powered by the chip should have enough raw processing power to learn your viewing habits and better adapt to your needs while still providing you with all functionalities youd expect from traditional platforms.

The newly announced silicon also boasts a proprietary dynamic range remapping engine designed for transforming SDR offerings to HDR content with no visible tradeoffs and with the goal of improving the end-user viewing experience. The technology works in conjunction with the companys Super Resolution System that doesnt transform the entirety of an SDR image but approaches picture enhancement in a more selective manner so as to highlight certain portions of any given frame without creating artifacts in other zones less suitable for such processing. The MT5598 is likely to find a home in the value-oriented segment of the Android TV market but should also be capable of powering devices utilizing proprietary operating systems. MediaTek has recently been shifting its focus away from premium offerings due to the poor reception of the Helio X30 and while it intends to return to making high-end mobile solutions by 2019, its currently more interested in pursuing dedicated AI chips and more accessible silicon like the MT5598.
Well-established electronics manufacturer Pioneer Electronics has now debuted two new prototype aftermarket in-dash multimedia receivers at CES 2018. Thats following earlier reports about at least one new receiver  namely the AVH-W4400NEX  being demonstrated by the company at the event. As it turns out, the company is actually showcasing a total of two such prototypes falling into its NEX-branded series and both of them have at least a couple of new features that would make them very popular among in-car audio enthusiasts. Aside from the above-listed NEX prototype, Pioneer is also showing off its new double-DIN, 7-inch LCD-touting AVIC-W8400NEX.

Unfortunately, the companys press release regarding either device was relatively slim on details, which makes some sense since these are prototype devices and there is no guarantee either will even eventually be brought to market. However, if they do, the prototypes show both devices are set to arrive bearing brand new Auto EQ and Time Alignment features aimed at helping users to customize their listening experience. Primarily, those are made possible by a newly created multi-band Graphic Equalizer, which utilizes the receivers resistive touchscreen  allowing users to fine-tune sound across the board with swipes and taps on the enhanced interfaces crossover points and slopes. The new receivers large screens should make that task much easier to accomplish, as well as making navigation of the Android Auto interface less tedious.

That display will also be able to house slightly larger on-screen icons, which is going to be extremely useful for another reason. Both prototype receives have been built around Googles Assistant. While Pioneer has included a microphone to allow interaction via the standard phrase, Hey Google, that wont necessarily be useful for every driver  particularly if the music is cranked up. So, a dedicated microphone icon is included on the screen via Android Auto, offering one of three additional ways that Googles A.I. assistant can be accessed. A long-press of the units dedicated physical home key will also bring Google Assistant to life through the in-vehicle sound system. Beyond that, if the vehicle in question happens to feature steering wheel controls, the two prototypes also support access to Google Assistant that way.
Qualcomms announcements for CES 2018 continue with the unveiling of two new platforms in support of Googles Android Things under the companys Home Hub Platform-branding. The platforms are intended to provide manufacturers and developers with a cost-effective base from which to rapidly create home hub devices that specifically features Google services. That including the search giants A.I.-driven Google Assistant. In fact, at least one such product has already been revealed at the event this year  namely, Lenovos screen-enabled Lenovo Smart Display  and others are reportedly under development from Harman and Lenovo. The prominent chipset manufacturer is currently working on reference platforms for each half of its Home Hub platform, as well as custom Android Package Kits (APKs). Those items, in addition to compatibility with Google Cloud, should help bring down product lifecycle maintenance costs, overall development, and the pushing of updates for products built on the platform.

With regard to the two platforms themselves, each meant to cater to distinct segments of the market in question. Qualcomm says that both support Wi-Fi 802.11ac 22 MU-MIMO and Bluetooth connections enabled by Qualcomms own QCA9379 chip. However, aside from being designed with a similar purpose in mind, thats effectively where the similarities end. The first new platform is based on the companys SDA212 SoC and has been designated for smart home devices and appliances ranging from refrigerators and ovens to washing machines. It allows for voice interactions, connectivity, and other audio technologies to be used in the development of those kinds of appliances and also includes echo cancellation and noise suppression features. On the other hand, the second platform  which is based on Qualcomms SDA624 SoC  stacks more features on top of that, including edge computing capabilities. Qualcomm says the second platform is intended for use alongside various other multimedia and touch interfaces allowed by smart displays, home cameras, smart thermostats, and security panels  thanks to the included support of advanced tasks allowed by Googles Android Things.

For those attending CES 2018 and looking to check out the platforms represented by Qualcomms Home Hub, the company will be demonstrating those throughout the event at Central Hall Booth #10948. Meanwhile, the company says the platforms, reference designs and boards, and SoMs will be available during Q1 2018.
Dutch startup Somnox arrived to the latest iteration of the Consumer Electronics Show to reveal its creation of the same name thats advertised as the worlds first robot focused on helping you sleep better. The Somnox robot is said to rely on scientifically proven techniques for stimulating certain cognitive functions and encouraging particular breathing patterns that allow you to fall to sleep more easily. Despite not being officially described as such, the Somnox is essentially a smart pillow youre meant to snuggle with in bed so as to have your body automatically pick up on some of its cues and mimic the breathing techniques simulated by the device, allowing it to relax and fall asleep in a quicker manner.

The Somnox also comes with a companion app for Android and iOS devices that offers lullabies and other soothing audio recordings such as heartbeats and meditation guides. Should you have a particular sound that relaxes you, youre able to upload it into the app and easily access it while simultaneously activating the smart pillow so as to quickly prepare for bed. The video that can be seen below is a brief summary of the Somnoxs abilities and covers most benefits of owning it. The Dutch company says its creation is meant to be an evolution of contemporary sleep tracking solutions that are useful for gathering data but dont immediately improve your quality of sleep. Additionally, the Somnox can also be instructed to allow you to sleep longer or help you wake up in a more natural manner, the startup claims.

Somnox said the idea to create its sleep robot stemmed from the fact that many people suffer from sleep deprivation, citing a recent CDC-made study claiming a third of American adults get less sleep than they should on a frequent basis. As science suggests certain breathing techniques are more conducive to relaxing than others, Somnox seeks to subconsciously guide you toward adopting them and ultimately allow you to sleep better. The device has been in the making for approximately two years and was funded on Kickstarter in late 2017, having raised more than double of its initial 100,000 ($120,000) funding goal. While the Kickstarter campaign is now over, the Somnox can be ordered from Indiegogo InDemand for $549 (499). Original backers will start receiving their units in July, while people who supported the Somnox over Indiegogo can expect their robots to arrive in September.
Sony has announced a new app that will give Android users access to its latest announcements. Sony has made a number of announcements at CES 2018 and it appears the company is hoping to capitalize on this by introducing a brand new app which will showcase any news from the company to its users, with the main focus being mobile events.

The app will provide exclusive behind the scenes 360-degree footage to those who download it, with virtual tours of the companys booth and other content being featured. Any new product announcement or information will also be available in the app for potential customers to see. Sony traditionally has a pretty big presence at annual tech events, with CES 2018 being just one example. After all, the company typically showcases a number of smartphones at MWC in February, with this year expected to be no different. In fact, Sony is expected to showcase up to three new devices, all of which will compete in different price ranges of the flagship spectrum. These devices are rumored to be the Xperia XZ1S, Xperia XZ1 Plus, and the Xperia XZ1 Premium, with the latter being the most expensive model and successor to last years Xperia XZ Premium, and the first expected to compete in the lower end of the flagship spectrum. Aside from MWC, the company typically has a presence at SXSW, which tends to take place in March. Last year the company introduced a variety of concepts, among which was the Motion Sonic Project. The concept used a combination of microphones and gyro sensors in order to track motion in order to transform any movement into sound, while also allowing users to control music through this movement. Rounding off the year is typically IFA, where the Japanese company has a history of showcasing its second flagship device of the year and its annual Compact variant.

For those who download the app now, though, will have access to everything CES-related, with information surrounding the companys latest Xperia XA2 lineup and Xperia L2, as well as the companys new audio products and Blu-ray players. Also included will be news relating to the companys older wireless earbuds, which are set to receive Google Assistant support. For those interested, the Sony Events app is available through the Google Play Store for Android users worldwide.
Toyota has announced that it will be bringing Amazon Alexa to a number of its vehicles. The Japanese automotive company is famous for its big push towards hybrid vehicles in recent years, but it appears improving the technology inside its vehicles is now an increasingly important point for the company. Because of this, at CES 2018, the company has announced that some of its latest Toyota and Lexus vehicles will be updated in the near future with support for Amazon Alexa.

According to Toyota, select 2018 models with the Toyota Entune 3.0 App Suite will receive the update, while certain 2018 models from its luxury marque Lexus will receive a similar treatment, as long as they include the Lexus Enform App Suite 2.0. The inclusion of Alexa in Toyotas vehicles will provide Amazon with an even wider range of potential users to take advantage of, while owners of Toyota or Lexus cars will be able to take advantage of a number of benefits. Among these is the fact that Alexa connects to a range of third-party smart home products which will be able to be controlled on the go, as well as the option of asking the assistant for directions, play music or request certain information. In total, Alexa has over 10,000 skills and with this number constantly increasing, the possibilities that having the assistant inside vehicles brings are becoming endless. Toyota is yet to reveal which specific models will benefit from the virtual assistant, but considering Toyotas latest software debuted on the 2018 Camry, the vehicle is certainly a likely candidate. In terms of future plans, Toyota has also revealed that more models will include support in 2019, but it appears the assistant will be limited to US customers for now.

The inclusion of Amazon Alexa in Toyotas vehicles is only the latest product category to gain support for the assistant. After all, aside from Amazons own Echo speakers and Fire tablets, a number of new products have been announced at CES 2018 with support for Alexa, with the retail giants deals with Acer, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo perhaps being some of the biggest, due to the fact that they will bring the assistant to millions of Windows 10 users across the globe.
By Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Vasundhara Rastogi

The Labor Code of the Philippines is the general labor law that regulates the relationship between the employee and the employer, and all employment-related matters in the country. The law applies to all Philippines enterprises and joint ventures, as well as to all employment relationships between Filipino nationals and foreign enterprises in the country.

There are several other special laws specifying statutory minimum employment benefits and standards that an employer must legally comply with. These include the Social Security Law, the National Health Insurance Act, the Sexual Harassment Law, and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act among others.

The Philippines Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is the principal government agency responsible for enforcing employment laws in the country. DOLE monitors and administers companies compliance with labor standards, and addresses labor-related issues through the office of the secretary of labor and employment, or through its regional offices.

RELATED: Payroll and Human Resources Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Types of employment contracts

The Philippine labor law recognizes following five categories of employment arrangements based on the nature of the employment.

Regular employment, where the employee renders work for an indefinite period;

Probationary employment, wherein the employment is subject to a period of observation and evaluation with an aim to assess the workers suitability for permanent employment;

Project-based employment; fixed period or term-based employment; or seasonal employment where the arrangement pre-determines the expiration of the project, term, season or incidental activity.

An employment contract is concluded for each of the employment types. It may be oral or written so long it satisfies the essential requirements and the minimum statutory standards prescribed by the labor code. Any part of an employment contract that does not meet the standards is considered invalid.

In general, the employment contracts are arranged in English, however, an employer must provide a dual language contract in Filipino if an employee is a Philippine national  to communicate correctly the exact terms of the contract. Further, the contract must clearly state the terms of employment suitable to the employee type to avoid confusion or future disputes.

Following are some of the usual parts of an employment contract.

Job position and status

Job description

Pay

Employee benefits

Length and condition of probationary period, if any

Periods of notice

Code of conduct

Employee grievance mechanism

Company policies

Working hours and overtime

Maximum working hours are generally eight hours per day or 48 hours per week. Employees are entitled to a daily unpaid meal break of at least one hour or a paid meal break of 20 minutes. Employees who work in excess of eight hours per day are entitled to overtime pay equivalent to the applicable wage rate plus at least 25 percent thereof. For work rendered on a rest day, the additional wage rate may apply.

Entitlement to overtime pay, however, depends on the nature of duties and responsibilities held by an employee. Following employees are not entitled to overtime pay, or for that matter, any other minimum conditions of employment laid down by the labor code.

Government employees;

Managerial employees;

Officers or members of the managerial staff;

Field personnel;

Members of the family of the employer dependent on him for support;

Domestic helpers and persons in the personal service of another; and

Employees who are paid by results, as determined by the Secretary of the Philippines DOLE.

Leave

Employees are entitled to 12 paid regular holidays each year. If required to work on these holidays, they are entitled to a double of their regular pay. Additionally, there are three special non-working unpaid holidays.

As per the law, employees are not entitled to statutory sick leave. However, in practice, employees are granted sick leave through a voluntary employer policy or collective bargaining agreements.

Further, the Philippines labor law grants up to 78 days of paid maternity leave to female employees, and seven days of paid paternity leave to male employees  guaranteeing equal rights to all.

Social security

The Philippines social legislation requires both employees and employers to contribute to the Social Security System (SSS), National Health Insurance Program and the Home Development Mutual Fund that covers sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, deaths and funerals, health insurance and housing loans. The contribution rates are set based on the employees monthly compensation. The employer cannot deduct its share of contribution from the employees monthly contribution. The failure to make a contribution within the stipulated period may result in not just monetary liability but also criminal sanctions against the employer.

The current SSS contribution rate is 11 percent of the monthly compensation not exceeding 16,000 (US$318), with employers contribution rate being 7.37 percent and employees contribution rate being 3.63 percent.

Personal income tax rate

Foreign nationals working in the Philippines are classified as resident aliens based on the duration of their stay and employment period in the country. Income earned by such individuals is treated the same way as those of Filipino nationals and is taxed at source by the employer. In some case, income tax is deducted at source from foreign workers gross income at a rate of 15 percent before any other deduction is made.

As per the Philippines new tax reform, the income tax rates for the year 2018 to 2022 are given in the table below. After 2022, the income tax rates will further be reduced for all taxpayers, except those earning an annual income above 8 million.

Termination of contract and severance pay

The Philippines laws recognize two categories of cause: Just cause and authorized cause on grounds of which an employees contract may be terminated. An employee dismissed for a just cause is not entitled to severance or termination pay, whereas those dismissed for authorized cause receive a severance pay equivalent to at least one-half months or one months pay every year of service, depending on the reason for termination.

Conclusion

Employment contracts form an essential part of doing business in the Philippines and establishes the rights and obligations of both employer and the employees.

With a surplus of low-cost labor available in the Philippines, an employment contract can help private companies hire workers as per their business requirements, and ensure better talent acquisition. However, employers must ensure that the drafted contract conforms to all the legal requirements laid down by the Philippines labor laws to avoid any monetary or criminal liability.

Further, to ensure a legally complying and well-drafted employment contract employers must seek legal assistance about clauses to include and avoid in the contract.
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A boutique firm has worked alongside bigger firms in the development of a new suburb in Melbourne.Kalus Kenny Intelex (KKI) acted for Alphington Developments, a joint venture between Melbourne builder Glenvill and investor Joelcorp on the YarraBend suburb. The new suburb, located on the banks of the Yarra River just 6.5km away from the Melbourne CBD, is expected to contain 2,600 dwellings and various community and commercial projects.Alphington Developments and co-purchaser Alpha Group closed the deal they signed in 2013 to buy the former Amcor Paper Mill in Alphington, Melbourne, with the $120m last stage settled last month. Corrs Chambers Westgarth represented Amcor. K&L Gates acted for CVS Lane, which provided the financing for the final settlement.Alphington Developments is a long-time client of KKI. Between June 2013  when the sale agreement was signed  and the final settlement of the deal in December, the boutique has handled about $230m of pre-sales in the early-release phases of the YarraBend precincts. These sales include house and land, townhouses, apartments, and the sale of a major lot to Hong Kong developer U-Home.Founding partner Henry Kalus led the KKI team along with finance and corporate partner Denise Wightman and property partner Lisa Fowler.Property and real estate partner Nathaniel Popelianski headed the Corrs team, while banking and asset finance partner Alan Maclean led the K&L Gates team.
Two law firms have announced leaders in London. Travers Smith has re-appointed David Patient as its managing partner. Meanwhile, Locke Lord has named James Channo as London managing partner.Patient has been with the firm since his training and became a partner in 1999. He has played key roles in the firm, including launching Travers Smiths Paris office. In 2015, he became managing partner succeeding Andrew Lilley, who edged him in the running for the top post in 2009.Over the last three years David's leadership, commitment, ideas and contribution have placed the firm in a strong and enviable position in the legal market. We now have a solid platform for the future growth and success of the firm and I look forward to working with David on a range of management and strategic matters in 2018 and beyond, said Travers Smith senior partner Chris Hale.Patient said it is a great privilege to be managing partner. His second three-year term will begin in July.I have spent my whole career at the firm and, over the next three and a bit years, will ensure we maintain the winning formula that makes it so special for both our clients and our people, he said.Meanwhile, Channo moves up to managing partner at Locke Lord in London after two decades practicing in the City. He is the firms corporate practice head and international transactions practice co-chair.Channo succeeds Michael Collins, who is returning to firms Dallas headquarters after relocating to lead in London in 2015.James is well known and respected in the London legal market. He has been with Locke Lord for a number of years and understands the firms strategic objectives and ambitions, which makes him an ideal choice to continue building our presence and growing our office in London, said David Taylor, Locke Lord chair. We are confident James entrepreneurial spirit and energy will be integral to building upon the great momentum that Mike has established in our London office.Taylor said that the firm is deeply appreciative of Collins leadership and enduring commitment to this firm.
A Melbourne law firm acted alongside one of the worlds largest law firms on the sale of an Australian business.KCL Law acted for Logistics Freight Solutions (LFS), whose global group of companies was sold to US-based MNX Global Logistics. Jones Day acted for private equity firm The Riverside Company, which has MNX Global in its portfolio.The sale, which was settled for an undisclosed sum, makes MNX the largest life science logistics and freight company in the world.Special counsel Roger Rothfield led the KCL Law team, which included principal lawyer Darren Brown and commercial lawyer Girish Rao.KCL independently instructed the law firms CP Lin & Co in Hong Kong, Zhongyin Lawyers in Taiwan, and Joseph Tan Jude Benny in Singapore to assist in the complex deal in their jurisdictions.As an international logistics company operating in multiple offshore jurisdictions the sale of Logical Freight Solutions was always going to be a legal mine field. Foreign currencies and investment boards, overseas legal counsel and multilingual contracts were just some of the issues that needed to be attended to, said Steve Cheetham, LFS CEO.Having dealt with KCL Law for many years we were always confident in their abilities, however Roger and his team, specifically Darren and Girish, not only achieved the result we were looking for, but helped us navigate many obstacles that could easily have stopped this deal in its tracks. By closure, and on reflection, we would not have walked away with a result as beneficial as we did without their expert guidance, and we could not have been happier with the outcome, Cheetham said.Rothfield congratulated LFS on the sale of its business, which was established in Australia more than two decades ago.
kWh

kW

Impressive stuff through and through, but dont forget the efforts Nissan made to help the Leaf reach this status and maintain it. In addition to its affordability ($22,490 including federal tax credit), dont forget that the Leaf also plays the availability card much better than Teslas Model 3 What do you get for your money? Starting with the 40-lithium-ion battery and 110-electric motor that drives the front wheels, the Leaf S comes standard with automatic emergency braking, automatic climate control, and the e-Pedal which helps with the EPA-rated 150-mile range."The new Nissan Leaf is the icon of Nissan Intelligent Mobility because it delivers an even more exciting drive and enhanced ownership experience and contributes to a better world. It will take Nissan's EV leadership even further, declared Nissan s executive vice president, Daniele Schillaci.Deliveries for the United States, Canada, and Europe start this month, and given time, the 2018 Nissan Leaf will arrive in more than 60 markets around the world. The U.S. makes up for most of the sales (114,827 units), plus more than 90,000 cars in the automakers domestic market of Japan.The question is, is the Leaf relevant in the day and age of customers who want electric vehicles for the long haul? To combat those who suffer from range anxiety, Nissan will treat the compact hatchback with an optional 60-kWh battery, which is expected to improve the range to 225-plus miles.The bigger battery is anticipated to come with a more powerful motor (160 compared to 110 kW), but dont expect Tesla PxxD-rivaling performance from this fellow. In other news, its likely the 2019 model year Nissan Leaf will introduce a faster internal charger (22 kW) and an upper limit of 100 kW for the DC fast-charging system.
AMG

The question above might seed odd and yet we have an answer for it, albeit a virtual one. This comes from the rendering you see here, which portrays a Pagani Huayra Shooting Brake.The image comes from digital artist Rain Prisk , whose renders we've brought to you on multiple occasions - the pixel wielder seems to have a thing for S/B machines. As such, his adventures range from affordable machines, such as the Chevrolet Camaro , to uber-exclusive contraptions, such as the Ferrari F12 TDF Returning to the Italian machine we have here, the artist also mentions a front-engined conversion and this is an aspect that can be considered even more controversial than the body type change.We could hardly see how Horacio Pagani would allow the-sourced twin-turbo V12 heart of the Huayra to be relocated to the nose of the supercar.And if you're thinking of such a conversion being handled by a third party, you have to keep in mind that fitting the said V12 in the front section of the Huayra would require a front-mid-engined adventure, so that the car's weight distribution wouldn't be sent spiraling towards the point of handling chaos.Of course, such a move would probably have to see the seats of the Huyara being pushed backward, which would defeat the purpose of the S/B approach.We'll stop trying to use a rational approach for the birth of such a machine and ask you to zoom in on the cool details of the digital dream instead.
By Rashid Shirinov

This year sees the thirtieth year of the catastrophic earthquake that hit Armenias Spitak town. Although so much time has passed from the tragedy, the Armenian authorities could not provide normal housing to its victims and their descendants.

The governor of the poorest region of Armenia  Shirak  has recently upset them even more. He said that there are 2,414 of these families living in temporary housing, and it is unrealistic that all of them will receive normal apartments in 2018. Thus the Armenian government could not overcome the consequences of the disaster even in 30 years.

However, they are not the only victims of such a lamentable situation. The whole Armenia is shrouded in social problems. During the past two years, there was no increase in pensions in the country and the state budget for this year also does not include this. The same can be said about salaries.

Instead, with the advent of the new year, the government decides to increase prices of goods and services in the country.

Armenians were placing high hopes for the prime minister Karen Karapetyan for his loud promises taken when he took office in 2016. He was speaking about the fight against poverty, unemployment, corruption and many other problems of the country. However, none of these promises was fulfilled.

Unemployment is among the most serious problems of todays Armenia, but the authorities turn a blind eye on it. The unemployment rate is the highest among the CIS countries, making up about 18 percent. With every hundred new workplaces, several hundred of them are getting closed.

As a result, today, more than 200,000 of economically active people in Armenia are unemployed, and this is only the official data. The main income of many families in Armenia, especially those who live in province, is the money sent by their sons or husbands who leave to work in Russia.

There is still a hope that the plight of Armenian people will be addressed to some extent after the presidential elections this spring. However, given the high probability for the state power to remain unchanged, there id a little hope for things to grow better.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 122 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on January 10.

Armenians were using large-caliber machine guns.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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By Rashid Shirinov

Nearing presidential election raises high concerns about the new wave of protests in Armenia, the poorest country in the South Caucasus.

Mikayel Melkumyan, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament from the Tsarukyan bloc, has recently said level of poverty is quite high in the country and it does not fall below the rate of 30 percent of the population.

As for the unemployment rate, it is at 20 percent. The flow of labor migrants from the country is very large. If we compare these indicators with those of Georgia and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, we have the most negative indicators, Melkumyan said.

The MP also noted that the current social and economic situation in Armenia will have negative consequences for the economy and labor productivity in the country.

These problems alone are sufficient prerequisites for social upheaval in Armenia. In addition, there was no increase in pensions during the past two years, and this is not expected this year either. As for the salaries, last year Armenia had the lowest increase among the Eurasian Economic Union states  just slightly above 1 percent.

Strangely, the protests of 2015, often called Electric Yerevan or No Robbery protests, as well as the attack of a group of armed men on a police station in Yerevan, where they took nine hostages and demanded the resignation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, had no tangible effect on the policy of the Armenian authorities. The social situation of people has barely improved after these events.

Therefore, there is opinion that the Armenian population is today fully resigned to the incapable authorities.

The overwhelming majority of citizens have resigned to the idea that the Republicans [the ruling Republican Party] will be in power, Gevorg Gorgisyan, Secretary of the Armenian parliamentary faction Exit, has recently told news.am. He noted that many Armenians took pre-election bribes in April 2017 and therefore voted for the ruling Republican Party, and as a result, today there is a depressing picture in the country. Gorgisyan also pointed out the widespread rises in price and said that this year the price increases will continue.

As the deputy chairman of the board of the party Heritage Armen Martirosyan has recently noted, the Armenian society is in a state of deep political apathy. However, he does not exclude that some protest moods will be observed in the country this year.

Currently, majority of Armenians prefer another option to holding protests. Thousands of them just leave the country, because they know that there will hardly be positive changes in the composition of the ruling elites of Armenia. However, the plight of almost three millions of Armenians who remain in the country may result in another mass protest, as a cry of last hope.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Kevin Watkins

Sofia Begum is a case study in the power of hope. Three months ago, armed vigilantes attacked the six-year-olds village in Myanmars Rakhine State. Sofia saw neighbors killed, an uncle wounded by gunfire, and her home razed.

Miraculously, Sofia, her parents, and two younger brothers survived. After an arduous four-day journey that included evading militias and making a perilous river crossing, they reached safety in neighboring Bangladesh. Now I want to be back in school, Sofia tells me. I miss reading and playing with my friends; I want to be a doctor.

Sofias father is even more emphatic about his daughters future. Without learning, what chance will my children have for a better life? he asks. They need to be in school.

If only the international community shared that view.

The Rohingya refugee crisis is also an education crisis. More than 655,000 people, some two-thirds of Myanmars total Rohingya population, have fled to Bangladesh seeking sanctuary from the killing, rape, burning, and looting in Rakhine State. Yet, although some 60% of the displaced are children, education provision for Myanmars youngest refugees remains woefully insufficient. Few are in school, and there is no coordinated plan for universal education.

The scale of the crisis and the speed with which it has unfolded is part of the problem. In the span of just a few months, a population the size of Boston flooded into southeast Bangladesh, one of the poorest areas of a very poor country. The new refugee encampments are among the most densely populated places on Earth, and inhabitants are desperate for shelter, nutrition, health care, clean water, and sanitation. Education is just one of the many needs competing for a dearth of international aid.

Political obstacles also loom large. The government of Bangladesh has demonstrated extraordinary generosity in responding to the crisis, providing land, keeping borders open, and helping to build new settlements. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is rightly regarded as a global leader on refugee response.

But the government also insists that the Rohingya are guests, and must return to Myanmar. The two countries foreign ministers signed an agreement in November calling for the safe and voluntary repatriation of refugees to begin early this year. The Bangladeshi government worries that providing education could be interpreted as a move toward granting refugees permanent residency. Humanitarian agencies are left tinkering at the margins of education provision through a fragmented patchwork of small-scale projects.

After being denied citizenship in Myanmar, an entire generation of Rohingya is now being denied the right to education. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, has challenged the generalized neglect of schooling in humanitarian emergencies. In the case of the Rohingya crisis, insufficient funding has been compounded by wider failures by humanitarian agencies, including weak coordination, turf battles, and differences over which curriculum should be used  an apparently esoteric issue that has become entangled with questions about Rohingya childrens future status.

This is a prescription for a future without hope. The Rohingya children in Bangladesh are coping not just with displacement, but also with trauma. Getting children into a safe learning environment could help to restore a sense of normality, and provide the support they need to process their experiences. It could also help inculcate values of tolerance, respect, and peaceful conflict resolution.

Denying refugee children an education will deprive them of these benefits and the skills they will need to rebuild their lives, robbing them of hope for the future and increasing the risk of recruitment by extremist groups. The growing number of madrassas springing up in refugee settlements will magnified these risks. These Islamic religious schools, which lack oversight, could become vehicles for transmitting extremist views, as they have elsewhere.

The starting point for any strategy on education has to be a practical recognition that an early solution of the crisis is unlikely. Given the ferocity of the attacks on the Rohingya, and the failure of Myanmars leaders to provide credible security guarantees, few refugees will voluntarily return to Myanmar anytime soon. The world cannot stand by and watch as Rohingya children are punished twice  first by the failure of their government to protect them from systematic human rights abuse, and then by a lack of schooling.

Education is a right to which even the displaced are entitled. Arguing about future residency status is a distraction. Low-cost, temporary schools can be made from bamboo, with lessons delivered by refugee teachers equipped with Burmese-language material. None of this would imply permanent residency in Bangladesh. What it would do is restore the hope that comes with education.

The international community should act immediately  and decisively  to deliver universal education for Rohingya children. What is needed is a single, well-coordinated plan of action aimed at getting all children into school in the first half of 2018. In the interests of defusing social tensions, that plan should extend beyond the refugee settlements to host communities.

Financing is available. The World Bank has created a $2 billion fund to provide rapid support to countries hosting large refugee populations. Now is the time to use it. Money from multilateral organizations, like the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait, should also be deployed. Bilateral donors could do more as well.

Children like Sofia have suffered enough. They deserve our best effort to protect their right to an education. We must not let them down.

Copyright: Project Syndicate: Educating Myanmars youngest refugees

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By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed two loan agreements in the total amount of $400 million.

The agreements were signed by the Azerbaijani Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov and Nariman Mannapbekov, head of ADB Azerbaijan office.

Both loans are intended for the development of the railway sector in Azerbaijan. Under the first contract, $150 million will be allocated for the rehabilitation of the railway system. A second loan in the amount of $250 million will be spent on corporate restructuring of the railway administration.

On December 1, 2017, the Board of Directors of ADB made a decision to allocate a loan for Azerbaijan Railways in the total amount of $400 million.

The bank also imposed conditions under which, prior to the signing of the contract, Azerbaijan Railways should implement a number of measures, in particular in the field of environmental protection, staff security, infrastructure, choice of territories, etc.

The ADB was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world.

Azerbaijan joined ADB on December 22, 1999 and the country's share in the banks capital is 0.5 percent.

So far, the ADB provided Azerbaijan with loans, grants and technical assistance programs in the amount of $3.65 billion.

Earlier, the ADB has approved a business plan on operations in Azerbaijan in 2018-2020.

Azerbaijan is eligible for regular ordinary capital resources (OCR) lending in 2018-2020, according to the business plan. The estimated cost of the ADB lending program for three years is $1.6 billion. Total cost of projects, taking into account the share of the Azerbaijani government, is $1.985 billion.

ADB funds will be used for water (infrastructure), transport (road and railways), energy projects and public sector management projects.

Total volume of technical assistance that will be provided by the Asian Development Bank in 2018-2020 is $5 million. The technical assistance funds are meant to be used for improving public and private sector services in order to create infrastructure, preparing an integrated urban development project, improving the efficiency of public sector, supporting sustainable and inclusive energy.

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By Aygul Salmanova

Azerbaijan started negotiations with two major world companies on setting up accumulator production in the country.

A $25 million plant is planned to be built in Azerbaijan, which, unlike other similar enterprises, expects to bring economic benefits very soon.

First, it is planned to neutralize old batteries that are unusable, and then to dispose of them.

Finished products will be supplied not only to the domestic market, but also exported.

Recently, in addition to oil engineering, newer industries have been developed in Azerbaijan, such as electrical engineering, instrument engineering, and radio electronics.

In the recent years, in order to transform the industry into the locomotive of the non-oil sector consistent and systematic measures have been taken in Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, industrial products have a huge share in the gross domestic product composition in Azerbaijan. The country continues to compete with Russia and Ukraine, which has huge industrial complexes among the CIS countries in the industrial sphere.

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By Aygul Salmanova

Alcoholic beverages of 36 varieties belonging to Azerbaijani Tovuz-Vino Plant are sold in Ukraine and this number will be increased in 2018, head of the company in Ukraine Elimkhan Mahmudov told Azertac.

These varieties include cognacs, vodka products, white and red wines, which are from 3 to 35 years old. Mahmudov said that one sales center of the company operates in Kiev, however, the company's products are sold at major trading and sales centers, prestigious restaurant chains, and SOCARs petrol stations.

Negotiations are under way with some major markets in order to increase the sales of these products. We aim at the further strengthening of the Ukrainian market in 2018, Mahmudov said.

Azerbaijan and Ukraine enjoy sustainable prospects of bilateral relations in political, economic, energy, transport and humanitarian fields.

Main goods imported from Ukraine to Azerbaijan remains as mainly metallurgy products, machine building products, agricultural and industrial products, and chemical industry products. While main goods exported from Azerbaijan to Ukraine are generally products of fuel energy industry, chemical industry products, and agro-industrial products.

Azerbaijan is one of the main trade partners of Ukraine among the CIS countries. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Ukraine amounted to $334.18 million in 2016, according to countrys State Customs Committee.

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By Sara Israfilbayova

During 2017 the government implemented a large number of measures aimed at increasing both production and export of non-oil products. The non-oil export of Azerbaijan for 11 months of the previous year amounted to almost $1.4 billion.

Thus, the country exported 6.316 horses (for slaughter) in January-October 2017, thereby increasing export volumes by 5.5 times compared to the same period in 2016.

The Ministry of Agriculture reported that for the first time Azerbaijan began to export horse meat in 2016.

On average, in 2017, the average export price of one carcass was $148, while in 2016-$141.

Azerbaijan exports horse meat only to Kazakhstan, said the Ministry, adding that Russia and China are also promising markets for horse meat exports.

Also, the potential market, the Ministry of Agriculture considers European countries, which actively import horse meat at very attractive prices.

Moreover, in 2016 Azerbaijan agreed to send horse meat to Moldova, based on the agreement concluded between the companies of the countries.

Azerbaijan mainly exports crude oil, oil products, natural gas, vegetables and fruits, tea, vegetable / animal oils and fats, sugar, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, chemical products, plastic, cotton yarn, ferrous metals, aluminum, etc.

Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev noted that the countrys economy entered the stabilization period this year.

The President stressed that in 2017, the growth of the non-oil sector amounted to 2.5 percent, non-oil industrial production - more than 3 percent, agriculture - more than 4 percent.

The decline in oil prices in world markets has negatively affected the volume of Azerbaijans GDP. However, the share of the non-oil sector in Azerbaijans GDP is 70 percent, he pointed out.

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Memorandum of Understanding between the Azerbaijan National Library (ANL) and the UCLA Library, one of the top ten public academic libraries in North America, was signed at the UCLA Library on January 9, 2018.

The document was signed by the Director of ANL Dr. Karim Tahirov and Virginia Steel, UCLA Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian.

Director of ANL Dr. Karim Tahirov in his speech stated that the Memorandum between the ANL and the UCLA Library will allow implement the exchange of books, information, as well as experience of librarians between the two libraries on a regular basis.

It will also enhance the use of information resources for readers by utilizing the virtual capabilities of both libraries, Dr Tahirov said. He added that this Memorandum will also allow create electronic information resources that will significantly contribute to learning about and conducting research into the history, culture, science, customs and traditions of both countries. He also mentioned that this is a historic launch of a collaboration that will greatly benefit students and scholars in both countries. Dr. Tahirov expressed his gratitude to the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles for helping the ANL to establish these valuable relations with the UCLA Library.

In her remarks, Ms Steel said: We are delighted to welcome the Azerbaijan National Library to our growing list of major international partners. We look forward to developing and implementing projects that will make materials in both libraries and knowledge about both countries more broadly accessible to students and scholars around the world.

Speaking at the event, Consul General of Azerbaijan Nasimi Aghayev said that he was delighted to attend such a historic event. He stressed that this MoU between ANL and the UCLA Library would create a strong basis for a mutually beneficial cooperation between the two libraries.

The event was attended by UCLA staff, faculty and students, members of the Los Angeles Consular Corps, as well as other guests.

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By Aygul Salmanova

The National Museum of History of Azerbaijan of the National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) enriched its collection by receiving new materials of historical significance.

Among them a gold-plated pendant-case Koran, belonging to the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, and a gold necklace draw special attention.

The pendant-case Koran, which weighs 58.85 grams, belonged to the resident of Baku. The gold necklace weighs 42 grams.

Gold items were transferred to the Museum Special Fund.

These precious products are a clear example of the development of jewelry at a high level in the late 19th - early 20th century in Azerbaijan. They are also of great importance from the point of view of the ethnographic study of Azerbaijan during that period.

Additionally, ethnographic fund of the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan keeps a unique carpet of the 19th century.

The carpet, typical for the Baku school of carpet weaving, differs from other carpets by its originality. The analog carpet is not yet known. This carpet, thanks to the subjects and ornaments depicted on it, is the source of extensive information about the past pages of Azerbaijani history. It is this feature that makes it unique.

This carpet is an ethnographic work reflecting family traditions, the mythological worldview of Azerbaijanis, and awaits its researchers.

The Azerbaijan National Museum of History is one of the architectural pearls of the country, dating back to the 19th century. The largest museum in the country, was originally the private residence of Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev, who was the famous national oil baron remembered for his generous philanthropy.

Over 300,000 items are assembled in 10 collections in the museum, including a valuable library consisting mainly of unique books. The collections allow visitors and researchers to investigate the history of the country and the daily life and culture of the nation from ancient times to the present.

In recent years the Museum were restored, which enabled to return many invaluable art samples, lost abroad, back to the country. A total of 4,000 new exhibits were purchased and 1,200 exhibits gained a second life after restoration.

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Azerbaijan's capital is probable to become for the next time a platform for high-level international talks to liaison between Russia and the West.

Azerbaijan, long known as one of the most important geopolitical centers of the region, is a reliable and long-standing partner of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a strategic partner of Russia.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Baku is viewed by many as best location for hosting talks between the two sides.

NATO is expected to hold talks with top Russian military commanders later this month, BuzzFeed News reported on January 7, quoting American and European officials.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Curtis Scaparrotti will meet with Chief of General Staff of Russia's Armed Forces General Valery Gerasimov in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This may become the first such meeting since 2013, when the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama imposed a ban on personal contacts between the head of the Allied Armed Forces and his Russian counterpart.

NATOs official refused to confirm or deny information about the upcoming meeting in a conversation with Azernews saying that any future interaction between the Alliances and Russias military officials will be announced in due course.

However, NATOs representative once again emphasized that the Alliance and Russia maintain open military-to-military lines of communication, which are intended to promote predictability and transparency in their military activities.

In that context, General Curtis Scaparrotti and General Valery Gerasimov held a telephone conversation on September 14, 2017 during which they spoke about the need for transparency in exercises, the official recalled.

Baku was previously chosen as a location for the official high-ranking meeting between the chairman of the NATO Military Committee Petr Pavel and Valery Gerasimov on September 7, 2017.

In February 2017, Gerasimov also held a meeting with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford in Baku.

The sides outlined vectors of joint work aimed at easing tensions and preventing military incidents. They also exchanged views on the current state of the Russia-U.S. relations, international security situation in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and other key regions of the world, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

In 2014, NATO decided to suspend practical cooperation with Russia, while maintaining a political dialogue at the level of ambassadors and above. Russia has repeatedly stated that it was not Moscow that suspended agreements with NATO and that's why the alliance should take steps to reanimate the interaction.

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By Rashid Shirinov

The roar of guns is the sound that strikes fear in the hearts of all people. Unfortunately, civilians living near the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia have to hear this terrible sound daily over the past almost 30 years.

Not a day goes by without Armenias ceasefire breaking and provocations with the use of large-caliber machine guns, mortars and other weapons on the frontline. Moreover, the Armenian troops constantly shell Azerbaijani settlements located in the frontline regions, thus threatening the lives of peaceful Azerbaijani citizens living there.

This needless tension in the conflict zone would be long finished if the authorities of Armenia, responsible for the outbreak of the Nagorno-Karabakh war with Azerbaijan, preferred substantive diplomatic talks to guns. But this does not happen, and therefore the conflict is still ongoing.

Today the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are, unfortunately, still far from solving the existing contradictions, says Georgy Fyodorov, a well-known Russian expert.

But this is the main condition for the settlement of the problem existing between Baku and Yerevan, the expert believes.

Fyodorov, who is the President of the Aspect Center for Social and Political Studies, made the remarks in his interview with Azernews, while commenting on the outcomes of 2017 in terms of solving the prolonged Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In 2017, there were provocations and shelling in the Nagorno-Karabakh zone, and as a result, there was a real threat of escalation of tension, he noted.

Armenia, that occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, constantly stages provocations on the frontline, frequently targeting civilians. One of the most terrible provocations committed by Armenians on the frontline in 2017 took place in early July. Using mortars and grenade launchers, the Armenian armed forces shelled the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijans Fuzuli region. This provocation took lives of two Azerbaijani civilians living in the village  of a woman and of her two-year-old granddaughter.

Fyodorov also shared his expectations from the upcoming meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in connection with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Of course, the very fact of discussing problematic issues in the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan at a high level should be welcomed. However, this does not mean that the meeting of the two countries foreign ministers will produce new points of contact, said Fyodorov.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Until now, Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Rashid Shirinov

The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved through substantive negotiations involving the solution of the problem peacefully and not through bloody violence and war, Kirill Krivosheev, correspondent of the Foreign Policy Department of the Russian publication Kommersant, said on January 9.

In his interview with Day.Az, Krivosheev spoke about the obstacles to the settlement of the long-standing conflict as well as about the policy of Russia in its regard.

It is obvious that the parties to the conflict are not ready to make any mutual concessions to each other, he said. In addition, the OSCE Minsk Group also shows its ineffectiveness in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, since this issue is not in the priority of other member countries except Russia.

The Minsk Group, the activities of which have become known as the Minsk Process, spearheads the OSCEs efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. It is co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States. Although the Minsk Group deals with the issue for over two decades, its activities have brought no breakthrough results so far.

As for Russia, Krivosheev noted that the country, being the leading regional power, conducts a policy of peaceful neighborliness towards the South Caucasus countries, and this factor extends both to Azerbaijan and Armenia.

He noted that this position of Russia is connected with the fact that both sides of the conflict are the countrys closest ally and partner: Armenia is Russias closest ally, and neighboring Azerbaijan is considered a reliable strategic partner with which it has close ties in many spheres of cooperation.

Krivosheev also said that the settlement of the multi-year Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is clearly in the interests of Moscow, since the unresolved conflict poses a serious threat for the security not only of its sides, but also of the entire region.

At the official level, Russia stands for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the principle of the inviolability of its borders, but it does not unilaterally support the position of any of the parties to this conflict, he added.

Krivosheev also noted that the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict does not suit Azerbaijan and its policy of inviolability of borders.

Of course, this can in no way suit the country, since more than a million of Azerbaijanis, who lived in Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other regions now occupied by Armenia, are obliged to resettle in other parts of Azerbaijan, far from their native homes. The conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories in 1992.

The ceasefire agreement in 1994 was followed by peace negotiations, but until now, Armenia controls fifth part of Azerbaijans territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Rashid Shirinov

A group of 70 Azerbaijani servicemen was sent to Afghanistan in accordance with the plan and rotation for serving within NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry informed on January 9.

Given the importance of ensuring stability and security in this country, NATO appealed to the Alliance's member and partner countries in connection with the increase in the number of forces participating in the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

While addressing the NATO Headquarters in Brussels on November 23, 2017, President of Azerbaijan, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, noted the increase of the number of Azerbaijani peacekeepers since 2018.

To this end, the Parliament amended the Resolution On giving consent to the deployment and participation in the relevant operations in Afghanistan of a platoon of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan as part of the battalion of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey and under the general command of NATO structures on December 29, 2017.

The Defense Ministry, in its turn, in cooperation with the relevant state structures of the country and the NATO command, has completed all necessary procedures on the increase in the number of the Azerbaijani peacekeeping contingent.

Thus, in order to ensure international peace and support of partners, the number of Azerbaijani peacekeepers has been increased from 94 to 120 servicemen since 2018, including six Azerbaijani officers, who will be represented at various headquarters of the Resolute Support mission, as well as two military doctors.

Azerbaijan has several times made substantial donations to the Afghan National Army (ANA) Trust Fund. Moreover, Azerbaijan supports Afghanistan on its path of reforms towards integrating into regional and global economy. Furthermore, Azerbaijan allowed the NATO planes carrying non-combat loads for a mission in Afghanistan to fly through Azerbaijans airspace and to use the countrys airports. About 40 percent of all cargo destined for the NATO mission in Afghanistan pass through Baku.

Today, Azerbaijan actively participates in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and in restoration of the Afghan economy. During the meeting with the Azerbaijani President in November 2017, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg appreciated the country's participation in the NATO peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan and expressed gratitude for the support rendered by Azerbaijan to Afghanistan. He noted the expansion of Azerbaijan's assistance to Afghanistan can contribute to the economic development of that country.

Resolute Support is a NATO-led training, advisory, assistance, and counter-terror mission in Afghanistan, which began in January 2015. It is a follow-on mission to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed in December 2014. Currently, more than 13,000 troops from 39 countries serve in the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. About 28 countries are increasing their troop numbers in the mission.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Sara Israfilbayova

Petkim Petrokimya Holding signed an agreement on the acquisition of 30 percent of Rafineri Holding from SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S., worth $720 million.

Rafineri Holding owns 59.99 percent of the shares of SOCAR Turkey Yatrm A.S, which in turn owns 100 percent of STAR Rafineri A.S. shares.

Under the agreement concluded between Petkim and SOCAR Turkey Enerji, Petkim will directly own 18 percent stake in STAR.

The agreement also says that 30 percent of Rafineri Holding will be transferred to new owners on March 31, 2019.

Petkim will pay $720 million in three stages. The first part will be after the signing of the agreement on the acquisition of shares, the second-after the start of the test work for commissioning of STAR refinery, and the third-when the acquired shares will be transferred to the new owners.

Founded in 2008, SOCAR Turkey, officially titled SOCAR Turkey Enerji A.S., is an affiliate of SOCAR, one of the most well-established oil and natural gas companies of the world.

With its total investment volume of $19.5 billion to be realized by 2020, SOCAR is proud to stand as the biggest foreign investor of Turkey. Similarly, SOCARs group companies in Turkey, namely Petkim, STAR Refinery, Petlim Container Terminal and Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) represent the largest-scale investment Azerbaijan has made to a single country to date.

SOCAR defines its main investment fields in Turkey as natural gas trade and distribution, oil refinery and distribution, production and trade of petrochemicals and relevant operations to support these areas. Additionally, SOCAR is the principal partner of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) Project, the longest line of the Southern Gas Corridor, an infrastructure project, planned to carry natural gas to Europe and Turkey from the Caspian Sea region resources.

SOCAR includes such production associations as Azneft (the enterprises producing oil and gas onshore and offshore), Azerikimya (the chemical enterprises) and Azerigas (distributor of gas produced in the country), as well as oil and gas processing plants, service companies, and the facilities involved in geophysical and drilling operations.

The company participates in joint ventures (including ventures in Georgia and Turkey), consortia, and operating companies established with SOCARs participation.

SOCAR, which is the only producer of petroleum products in the country, conducts various petroleum activities in countries such as Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Switzerland, Germany and Ukraine, including trading activities, mainly in Switzerland, Singapore and Nigeria.

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By Trend

Turkey summoned the ambassadors of Russia and Iran to protest the Assad regime's violations of de-escalation zone borders in Syria's Idlib in recent days, the Turkish foreign ministry said late Tuesday, Daily Sabah reports.

Turkey is asking the envoys to urge the Syrian regime in Damascus to end the border violations, sources said.

Attacks on the moderate opposition by Syria's Bashar Assad's regime forces in Idlib province harm the efforts to reach a political solution, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

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By Trend

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev exempted all foreign higher educational institutions accredited in the country from payment of all types of taxes until January 1, 2023, the presidential press service told Trend.

In particular, foreign universities are exempt from paying taxes, unified social payment, mandatory deductions to state trust funds.

In addition, foreign specialists working in these educational institutions are exempt from paying personal income tax for five years, according to the press service.

Currently, six branches of foreign universities (the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics, the International University of Westminster, the Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Management Development Institute of Singapore, the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, the Polytechnic University of Turin, and the Inha University) operate in Uzbekistan, and all of them are located in Tashkent city.

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By Trend

A group of Iranian officials and experts have expressed concerns over economic implications of imposing ban on Telegram messaging app in Iran.

Most of small-sized businesses in our country use Telegram and Instagram for advertisement, marketing and communication with customers, Abbas Baghban, an Iranian android developer, told Trend.

In the meantime, there are a number of businesses based in Telegram performing as a virtual store and in some cases as the online content businesses. In fact, blocking access to these apps would eventually lead these groups of entrepreneurs to lose their jobs, he added.

Iranian officials due to security reasons decided to impose ban on Telegram over the past week after political unrests hit the country.

The unrests began after economic protests turned into anti-government demonstrations, claiming the lives of at least 21, including security forces.

Saying that the accurate statistics on the number of individuals involved in such businesses in Iran is not available, Baghban estimated that about one million people have been benefiting from small-sized online businesses through the banned app in his country.

However, a group of users access the apps through proxy websites and virtual private networks (VPN), which put their data at risk, he added.

Earlier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned against the hurdles the decision would cause.

There is a small group of people who always misuse any tools and technology, but we cannot remain indifferent about the businesses of the people and permanently restrict them, Rouhani tweeted on Monday.

Morteza Mousavian, the head of Irans digital media center, has said that 19,000 Telegram channels have been authorized through SHAMAD system in the country, out of which 9,000 channels were involved in online sells of goods and services.

SHAMAD is an online certificate created by Iranian authorities to verify the activities of content creators on the web.

According to the digital media center, those 9,000 Telegram channels that are involved in small-sized businesses have suffered serious hurdles over the past week following the recent political unrests in the country.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan plans to restore the aviation industry and create an aerospace industry. This is stipulated by the draft state program for 2018 - Year of active entrepreneurship, innovative ideas and technologies.

As part of the reforms, it is planned to develop a strategy for the formation of the aerospace industry for 2018-2035.

Until November 10, 2018, it is expected to create a draft regulatory and legal document and approve a state program of action aimed at developing material and scientific bases, training personnel, as well as attracting foreign investment to a new direction of the country's economy.

The state agency for aerospace activity, which will allow solving all issues of the sphere development in a complex manner, will be created in the country, according to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Unfortunately, in recent years, little attention has been paid to the introduction of strategic aerospace technologies in the leading sectors of our economy, the head of state said in his message to the parliament in December 2017.

Foreign investors should be involved in the implementation of projects based on public-private partnership to develop this progressive sphere and creation of the national space infrastructure for land-based and industrial purposes, according to Mirziyoyev.

The aviation industry in Uzbekistan until recently was represented by the Tashkent Aviation Production Association named after V. Chkalov (TAPOiCh). The enterprise was established on the basis of an aircraft factory evacuated to the republic in 1941 from the Moscow region. The plant produced IL-76 transport aircraft and passenger IL-114, as well as wings for AN-70 aircraft. In January 2014, the plant was renamed into the Tashkent Mechanical Plant JSC, which was supposed to preserve the production of spare parts for Il-114 and Il-76 aircraft. Currently, the main products of the plant, which is part of the structure of Uzbek Railways JSC, are building structures, household products, auto parts, spare parts for agricultural machinery and rail transport.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said during his visit to Uzbekistan in October 2017 that Russian experts will consider the possibility of the Tashkent mechanical plant joining the production of Il-114 aircraft. In addition, during the talks the parties discussed the development of cooperation in the field of space.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Trend

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leader of Turkeys Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli will discuss the details of presidential election, the Turkish media outlets reported on January 10.

Reportedly, the meeting will be held at 16:00 (UTC+3) on January 10.

Earlier, Bahceli noted that MHP will support President Erdogan if he puts forward his candidacy for 2019 presidential election.

The Turkish president, in turn, expressed his readiness to discuss any topic with Bahceli.

In 2019, Turkey will hold parliamentary, presidential and municipal elections.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan intends to launch a green corridor for the export of agricultural products to the Baltic countries.

This will significantly reduce the time of transportation of perishable goods to the Baltic coast, as well as costs for transport and customs clearance. In addition, in the future, these products, for example, can be sent to the EU countries through the Latvian ports and transport hubs.

Uzbekistan is currently working out the issues of opening green corridors for fruits and vegetables with neighboring countries - Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Belarus. This issue has already been included in the state program Year of support of active entrepreneurship, innovative ideas and technologies.

Final proposals on this issue should be formed by the relevant ministries and departments until mid-2018.

Uzbekistan and Russia have already launched a green corridor for fruit and vegetable products, providing for a simplified procedure for its customs clearance. This made it possible to increase the export of domestic agricultural products to Russia by several times. Now, the republic intends to increase the annual volume of deliveries of fruit and vegetable products to Russia up to $1 billion.

The Uzbek side also entered into direct contracts with the largest Russian retail chains, such as X5 Retail Group, Magnet, Holiday, Maria Ra and others, for the supply of fresh and processed fruit and vegetable products.

To date, Russia and Kazakhstan remain the main markets for Uzbek fruit. Currently, Russia accounts for about 60 percent of total exports.

Agreements on the supply of fruit and vegetable products for 2018 and 2019 were previously signed with South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Indonesia, Germany and other countries.

Uzbekzokovaktholding earlier announced its plans to expand the geography of exports to the countries of Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and Latin America.

The plans for 2018 also include creation of a network of logistics centers for further export, where the preparation, labeling and packaging of products will be carried out, introduction of advanced technologies in production and processing, and creation of a unified system for exporters of agricultural products.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Trend

A 33-year-old Georgian citizen, Gosha Shagnadze, who is a member of the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist group, has been detained in the northeastern Turkish province of Trabzon, the Turkish media reported on January 10.

During the investigation, Shagnadze confirmed that he has contacts with the IS.

As a result of the search in Shagnadzes apartment, propaganda literature, as well as videos proving his involvement in the IS were found.

It is expected that Shagnadze will be deported from Turkey to Georgia.

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Federal officials agreed to extend Maryland's all-payer hospital model through next year, according to The Washington Post.

Here are five things to know.

1. The all-payer hospital model, which began Jan. 1, 2014, aims to reduce Maryland's annual Medicare spending, while also increasing quality and improving health outcomes.

2. Through the program, hospitals follow regulations as far as the amount they can charge for services, and in turn the federal government covers a greater portion of Medicare costs compared to other states, The Washington Post reported.

3. The program was set to expire Dec. 31, 2018, but will be extended through 2019.

4. The one-year extension will give Maryland time to finalize and gain approval for a new, similar Medicare all-payer per capita savings model that would encompass care inside the hospital as well as from outpatient service providers such as physicians, skilled nurses and rehabilitation centers, according to The Washington Post.

5. The federal government required that Maryland save $330 million annually in Medicare costs. Officials said expanding the program will help Maryland achieve this, according to the report.

Read the full report here.

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Tom Mee, BSN, president and CEO of McLaren Greater Lansing (Mich.), has resigned, effective immediately, according to a Lansing State Journal report.

Here are five things to know:

1. A statement from McLaren noted Mr. Mee is leaving due to "personal reasons," according to the report.

2. He has served at the helm of the hospital since 2014. Prior to that, he was COO.

3. He joined Grand Blanc, Mich.-based McLaren Health Care in 2007, first serving as vice president and chief nursing officer at McLaren Lapeer (Mich.) Region.

4. Recently, McLaren Greater Lansing announced that it will consolidate its two current Lansing facilities into a new $450 million campus near Michigan State University in East Lansing.

5. McLaren Greater Lansing COO Casey Kandow will take over as interim president and CEO until a permanent replacement is identified.
Healthcare leaders across the U.S. faced numerous challenges in 2017 arising from political uncertainties, natural disasters and an industrywide transition to value-based care.

As the challenges billowed, hospital leaders rose to the test and implemented new strategies and initiatives to bolster their respective organizations. In 2017, some hospital executives helped their organizations implement new EHRs, while others oversaw construction of million-dollar facilities, worked to merge multiple organizations into one cohesive entity and, in some areas of the U.S., led their organizations through devastating natural disasters.

Although 2017 has come to a close, hospital leaders look to tackle new challenges in the year ahead.

Below are the responses from nine CEOs, from various sized-entities, on their greatest accomplishments in 2017 and a challenge or goal they hope to overcome or achieve in 2018.

Note: The responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. The responses are listed below in alphabetical order by CEO first name.

1. Alan Kaplan, MD, CEO of UW Health (Madison, Wis.)

"Developing a new vision and strategic plan, which sets us on an exciting course to build on our strengths, secure market relevance and to do good for others. [In addition,] bringing a joint operating agreement between UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter to the finish line [was a big accomplishment]. We have merged our provider-owned insurance plans and entered into a revenue and expense sharing arrangement. Through this unique partnership, between an academic health system and a community based nonprofit health system, we will be able to optimize our clinical offerings and avoid large capital expenditures. The spirit of this partnership is strong and work is already underway to achieve our patient-centered goals.

In 2018, a big challenge will be executing our strategic plan and supporting all aspects of our academic mission while addressing financial challenges and provider/staff burnout."

2. Carol Burrell, President and CEO of Northeast Georgia Health System (Gainesville)

"In 2017, after 18 months of planning, testing and training, Northeast Georgia Health System implemented a new EHR system. On Oct. 1, 2017, we went live with Epic, changing the way we deliver care across our health system. Now, our inpatient, outpatient and ambulatory services come together into one patient record and one bill. This milestone project not only improves efficiency for our patients and staff, but also unifies our clinical and revenue cycle teams. This year, we also launched our Graduate Medical Education program and received CMS approval of our ACO application to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

As we look ahead to 2018, we will continue to build our GME program, in anticipation of our first physician residents arriving in 2019. We also will continue development of our clinical integration network in partnership with community and regional physicians and continue our quest for continuous improvement across the system."

3. Christopher Dawes, President and CEO of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto, Calif.)

"Without a doubt, opening the doors of our new facility to our patients and their families was our top achievement for 2017. After more than 10 years of planning and five years of construction, to witness patient move day in December 2017 was truly exceptional. This expansion more than doubles the size of our pediatric and obstetric hospital campus and allows us to provide an unprecedented level of care to more patients than ever before. I am in awe of the dedication and passion that hundreds poured into this project, from management, staff, families, and everyone who had a hand in its development.

I think the greatest challenges of 2018 will come from that which we cannot yet see clearly. In healthcare policy legislation, protecting Medicaid funding is imperative for children with serious and chronic illnesses as well as for preventative care, and for the Children's Health Insurance Program, relied upon by 9 million children and expectant mothers. Cutting back these programs would result in repercussions for all children. This is what keeps me up at night as a leader of pediatric an obstetric hospital and healthcare network  and a challenge we will all have to work towards solving in 2018 for the health and protection of our nation's children."

4. Daniel DeBehnke, MD, CEO of Nebraska Medicine (Omaha)

"2017 was a pivotal year for Nebraska Medicine with the opening of the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. Nationally recognized clinical cancer programs and basic science laboratories are located in this beautiful 600,000-square-foot facility.

In 2018, we will continue executing on our five-year strategic plan. This plan is centered around our journey to high reliability and focuses on organizational readiness, internal and external transparency, consumerism and supporting not only the healthcare but the health and well-being of the communities that we serve."

5. Johnese Spisso, President of UCLA Health and CEO of UCLA Hospital System (Los Angeles)

"One significant focus in 2017 was continued expansion of our ambulatory clinic network throughout greater Los Angeles to increase convenience for patients and enhance prevention and wellness consistent with our population heath model. We opened six new clinics, bringing the total to 170, and streamlined oversight under a single operations chief [executive]. We also advanced several strategic business and community partnerships. We're proud to be recognized for excellence in a broad array of care by multiple entities using varied performance metrics.

Clearly, continued market disruptions driven by changes to the ACA and in the political and regulatory environment demand ongoing innovation in how patient care is delivered. [In 2018, a main focus will be] to systematically develop strategies that continue to enhance efficiencies and capitalize on our strengths as an academic health system  among them tertiary and quaternary care, groundbreaking academic research and entrepreneurship."

6. Kathy Hull, President and CEO of Illini Community Hospital (Quincy, Ill.)

"Illini is a 25-bed critical access hospital in a service area of roughly 10,000. Having easy access to primary care is essential to improving the health of any community. Implementation of [quality] principles in our rural health clinic resulted in a 44 percent increase in patient visits in 2017, which was a big accomplishment. At the same time, moving from one of six domains above the 70th percentile [on a patient engagement survey] in 2016 to five of six domains above the 70th percentile in the last four months of 2017 [was a huge accomplishment].

To start 2018, we have hired two nurse practitioner hospitalists that will allow us to provide better service and a more consistent/higher quality of care for our inpatients. We plan, and it's our goal, to have four specialty care services available for inpatient consulting via telemedicine for cardiology, GI, nephrology and pulmonology. Our plan is to allow more patients to stay in our facility as opposed to being transferred to a tertiary care facility  which is the desire of many of our local residents."

7. Marna Borgstrom, CEO of Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health and Yale New Haven Hospital

"Among Yale New Haven Health's top achievements in 2017 has been the advancement of our value strategy. We have significantly reduced serious safety events throughout our health system and increased transparency of our safety event reporting. In our annual employee safety survey we found that not only are we keeping our patients safe, but our employees feel safe and feel that they are a critical part of our culture of safety.

Additionally, [w]e rolled out new standards of professional behavior, training nearly 24,000 employees to create a common and better patient experience across the health system. Lastly, we completed the integration of L+M Healthcare into the health system  eliminating their operating losses and increasing patient demand for their services.

In 2018 we will continue to enhance the patient experience and reduce cost by reducing non-value added variation, and we will further enhance patient access to high quality care through the use of telemedicine technologies and more convenient outpatient services."

8. Theresa Larivee, CEO of Pennsylvania Hospital (Philadelphia)

"At Pennsylvania Hospital, part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, one of our most significant accomplishments of 2017 was successfully converting to a new, comprehensive EMR system that allows our clinicians to communicate across the care continuum and effect seamless care transitions. Pennsylvania Hospital served as a pilot site for this transition across Penn Medicine, serving as a model for our colleagues and maintaining its positive quality, economic, and engagement measures during this critical evolution, which impacted every patient care setting at PAH and throughout the health system.

In 2018, Pennsylvania Hospital's biggest challenge will be the same challenge that many healthcare providers are facing across the United States: continuing to meet the expectation of high-value healthcare in an ever-evolving healthcare environment. We plan to meet this challenge through investments in interdisciplinary performance improvement work and leveraging learning across our health system."

9. Toni Brayer, MD, CEO of Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation (San Francisco)

"Our top achievement in 2017 was dealing with the largest fire ever in a metropolitan area in California that forced evacuation and shut down of 13 patient care centers in the Santa Rosa Firestorm. Despite fires that were not contained and were raging for a week, we managed to restore healthcare services within 24 hours  seeing patients in one location with many different specialties crammed in and sharing exam rooms. We had doctors sitting on the floor with their laptops, staff that were themselves displaced, and an offsite incident command center that was calling critical patients with conditions  including high risk pregnancy, chemo infusions, post op wound care  and getting them the care they needed at different sites. We took care of our doctors and employees, 14 lost their homes, and took care of our patients. One lesson learned is to focus on disaster preparedness and have a plan for action. It could happen to any health system or hospital.

I am on the Sutter Health outpatient ambulatory side. For 2018 one of our main challenges is primary care recruitment at a time when the supply is not adequate, integrated care is needed more than ever and competition for physicians is heavy. Without primary care our other goals of improved service, access and quality are not achievable."
The National Labor Relations Board ruled against Ithaca, N.Y.-based Cayuga Medical Center regarding the termination of two nurses, according to The Ithaca Voice.

The ruling came from Administrative Law Judge Kimberly Sorg-Graves, who determined CMC unlawfully suspended and then dismissed Anne Marshall, RN, and Loran Lamb, RN, "in an effort to rid itself of the union organizing drive."

"CMC's claim that Marshall's and Lamb's failure to follow established procedures while performing and documenting a blood transfusion was so egregious as to necessitate their discharges is a ruse for its real motivation of removing Marshall's vocal support for unionization," she added.

Ms. Sorg-Graves made the decision after hearing arguments Jan. 9-12, Feb. 27 through March 3, March 6-10, and April 3-4, 2017.

The case stems from the nurses' allegations of unfair labor practices by CMC. The hospital claimed the nurses were fired for violating the organization's blood transfusion policy. However, the nurses contended they did not violate common practice and their union organizing efforts played a role in CMC's decision, according to a statement from the Tompkins County Workers' Center.

According to the judge's order, Ms. Marshall was the lead union organizer, but The Ithaca Voice reported Ms. Lamb also supported unionization efforts.

Ms. Sorg-Graves said in her order hospital administrators ignored information uncovered in their investigation that other nurses performed blood transfusions in the same manner as Ms. Marshall and Ms. Lamb, and "disregarded  practices of re-educating staff in such circumstances." The order also claims CMC took union literature off of bulletin boards and "deviated from providing its employees with progressive discipline."

In a statement to The Ithaca Voice, CMC denied the allegations against the hospital and said it plans to appeal the judge's decision.

"Cayuga Medical Center strongly disagrees with the ruling by the National Labor Relations Board. Patient safety has always been at the forefront of delivering high quality care to our patients. We have always maintained a supportive workplace for our employees, as we partner together to deliver patient care. We will be appealing the ruling," the statement reads.

For more on this story, including a copy of the entire order, read the full report here.

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A Florida-based gastroenterologist was arrested Jan. 5 and charged with a felony count of sexual battery for allegedly sexually assaulting an unconscious female patient during a colonoscopy at HealthPark Medical Center in Fort Myers, according to a report from News-Press.

Here are five things to know.

1. The alleged incident occurred in last May when Asif Choudhury, MD, an independent practitioner, allegedly inserted his fingers into a patient's vagina twice during the procedure. A witness reported the incident to supervisors, according to a report from NBC-2. However, the incident was not reported to authorities until November. Mary Briggs, a spokesperson for Fort Myers-based Lee Health, which encompasses HealthPark Medical Center, told News-Press the delay was the result of "a gap in communication to the individuals who are responsible for reporting."

2. Dr. Choudhury's 30-plus-page arrest warrant, obtained by the News-Press and NBC-2, details an investigation into the physician's conduct dating back to last summer. The document lists accusations of similar assaults allegedly perpetrated by Dr. Choudhury at the Riverwalk Endoscopy Center in Fort Myers last June and on multiple occasions between 2008 and 2013.

3. A witness told detectives they saw Dr. Choudhury insert his fingers into two different patient's vaginas during colonoscopies on June 15, according to NBC-2. A former Riverwalk employee told police he saw the gastroenterologist commit 10 to 15 similar sexual assaults between 2008 and 2013. After he reported the incidents, the former employee said the physician approached him and said "I know a lot of people  if something were to happen where you needed a reference or another job somewhere, you may not be able to get another job in the medical field," according to the arrest warrant cited by News-Press.

4. Dr. Choudhury denied the allegations and told investigators: "based on his proximity to the vagina there is a high chance a witness could misunderstand his actions if they are not familiar with his technique, which is very different than any other doctor," according to the News-Press.

5. The physician was released from jail Jan. 6 on $150,000 bond. A judge ordered Dr. Choudhury to cease performing colonoscopies and told him he could no longer practice at Lee Health facilities. The physician's two private practices were closed Monday, according to NBC-2.

"Dr. Choudhury is not practicing at any Lee Health facility. This is an active criminal case so we cannot comment further at this time," Ms. Briggs told Becker's via email. "The safety and well-being of our patients is our highest priority.  The alleged incident was reported because an employee spoke up. We thank our staff for their efforts to protect our patients."
Baltimore County will file a lawsuit against drugmakers and drug distributors to recoup county funds expended in response to the opioid crisis, according to an announcement made by Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz Monday.

The county, which plans to file the suit in federal District Court, will look to achieve consolidation with similar cases filed by local governments. The county has entered into a retainer agreement with a law firm representing counties and cities in Arizona, Florida and Michigan in similar litigation.

"The opioid crisis has led to a significant increase of overdoses from heroin and prescription drug abuse," said Mr. Kamenetz. "We believe that the pharmaceutical industry pressured and cajoled physicians into prescribing opioids for chronic pain, and vastly misrepresented the risk of addiction. The desire to increase profits on the part of drug companies is a leading cause of our nation's health crisis, and we must fight back."

Mr. Kamenetz did not identify the companies that will be listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

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Four San Diego healthcare organizations have come together to promote the city's position as a healthcare and biotechnology development hub.

It's all part of DestinationCare San Diego, a medical tourism program launched in November. The program involves UC San Diego Health System, Scripps Health, Sharp HealthCare and Rady Children's Hospital, which are working with the San Diego Tourism Authority on the initiative.

At the core of the program is the idea San Diego is home to beaches and mild weather, as well as excellent clinicians and the latest medical technology and resources.

"The goal is to have people choose healthcare in San Diego who otherwise wouldn't have thought about it," says Larry Friedman, MD, associate dean of clinical affairs and professor of clinical medicine and pediatrics at UC San Diego Health.

Details about the DestinationCare program are still being developed. But Dr. Friedman says the program, for now, is primarily driven by a smart website. The website advertises the city itself as well as specific healthcare organizations.

"Here, world-class hospitals and clinics share the same beach-front facilities as the greatest, most innovative biotech research institutions and companies. Some of the best medicine in America is easily available in the remarkable mix of healthcare providers," the website reads.

Patients from across the U.S. and around the world travel to the four healthcare organizations participating in the DestinationCare program to receive treatment. For example, UC San Diego Health spokesperson Jacqueline Carr says her organization, which is known for its complex surgical treatment of pulmonary clots, sees a majority of its referrals for this surgery now coming from outside the San Diego region including internationally.

Although UC San Diego Health, Scripps Health, Sharp HealthCare and Rady Children's Hospital are the initial program participants, more healthcare organizations are expected to join in the future.

Initial funding for DestinationCare came from the tourism authority and veteran philanthropist Malin Burnham, who donated $100,000 to the initiative, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Eventually, though, the program is anticipated to sustain itself, possibly through commissions hotels take in from visiting patients, hospital payments or other sources, Joe Terzi, the tourism authority's president and CEO, said in the report.

Overall, Dr. Friedman believes the program will help raise awareness of medical advances in San Diego that may not be available to out-of-town patients in their areas.

Ms. Carr says becoming a medical care destination also means offering patients the best possible experience as far as service quality, affordability, housing, transportation and other needs.

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A Cigna unit laid off 60 employees after exiting two Illinois Medicaid managed care programs this year, a Cigna spokesperson told Becker's Hospital Review.

The unit, Cigna-HealthSpring, did not rebid for a new contract to manage Medicaid coverage in the state. Illinois Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner overhauled the state's managed care program Jan. 1 to expand it and reduce the number of participating insurers.

Nationwide, Cigna-HealthSpring cut 200 positions affiliated with its Illinois Medicaid business. However, the majority of employees found jobs within the company or at other organizations, Doug Bennett Jr., business communications manager at Cigna, said.



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The emergency room at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, Calif., treated more than 200 patients during one day last week, a nearly 43 percent increase from the ER's average of 140 patients a day, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The jump in patient volume is largely due to an influx of flu cases, Wally Ghurabi, MD, medical director of UCLA-Santa Monica's ER, told the Times.

Since October, 27 people younger than 65 have died of the flu in California compared with three people during the same time last year, state health officials said Friday.

"Rates of influenza are even exceeding last year, and last year was one of the worst flu seasons in the last decade," said Randy Bergen, MD, clinical lead for the flu vaccine program for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California.

In California's Riverside and San Bernardino counties, ambulance services have seen significant strains due to an increase in flu calls, according to local health officials. ERs in Riverside County are overcrowded, leaving ambulances unable to leave for incoming 911 calls while waiting to unload patients at the hospital, said Jose Arballo Jr., spokesman for the Riverside County Department of Public Health.

California health officials are recommending the flu vaccine for everyone older than six months.
High drug prices were a hot topic of discussion at HHS secretary nominee Alex Azar's Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, reports USA Today.

Here are four things to know about Mr. Azar's stance on drug prices.

1. He agrees drug prices are too high. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., cited numerous drugs that more than doubled in price while Mr. Azar served as a drug executive at Eli Lilly. When asked if he ever lowered prices on any drugs during his tenure at the company, Mr. Azar said, "Drug prices are too high. I said that when I was at Lilly."

2. He cites a faulty drug system for high prices. Mr. Azar blamed the overall drug system for high prices, using Eli Lilly's insulin product Humalog as an example. While the list price for a vial of the drug has risen to $255, the amount Eli Lilly collects for the drug has remained flat. "No one company is going to fix that system," he told members of the Senate Finance Committee. "That's why I want to be here working with you."

3. He doesn't think HHS should negotiate prices with drugmakers. Mr. Azar does not support the proposal to allow HHS to directly negotiate drug prices with companies. To get a better deal than the private companies currently responsible for administering Medicare's drug benefit, HHS would have to create a list of drugs with approved coverage, limiting some treatments for beneficiaries. "I don't believe we want to go there in restricting patient access," Mr. Azar said.

4. He wants to tackle incentives fueling high drug prices. Redesigning the drug pricing system to reduce drugmakers' and pharmacy benefit managers' incentives for raising drug prices would be one of Mr. Azar's top priorities in addressing high medication costs.

"I don't know that there is any drug price of a branded product that has ever gone down from any company on any drug in the United States, because every incentive in this system is toward higher prices, and that is where we can do things together, working as the government, to get at this," Mr. Azar said.
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has announced an inquiry to "examine the impact of the UK's decision to leave the EU on the fisheries industry in Northern Ireland"

The impact of Brexit on the local fishing industry is to come under the spotlight at Westminster.

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has announced an inquiry to "examine the impact of the UK's decision to leave the EU on the fisheries industry in Northern Ireland".

It will look at the "opportunities and challenges" that lie ahead for the sector and examine what elements of existing EU fisheries policy help trawlermen which could be subsequently "replicated when the UK Government develops an independent fisheries policy".

"Equally, it will investigate areas where the UK Government has the potential to diverge and create new strategies to improve the sector," it said.

Committee chairman Andrew Murrison said: "Brexit has big implications for the fishing industry in the British Isles and for the communities that depend on it, towns like Portavogie, Kilkeel and Ardglass.

"The UK has decided to extract itself from a framework of fishing quotas, rights to territorial waters and sustainability that has governed the sector since the 1970s.

"There are real opportunities for growth, but we must fully understand the complexities in order to secure the right arrangements for Northern Ireland principally, but also to do the right thing by the Republic of Ireland as an enduring member of the EU.

"We want to hear from those who work at sea, in processing or any of the other support industries, about their hopes and fears for the future.

"We have set up an internet forum, where you can share your experiences, so please take a moment to give us your views."

The committee will look at a number of areas around the fisheries sector here, including what challenges it faces, and the impact export tariffs could have following the UK's exit from the EU.

It will also examine how important market access is to the industry following Brexit, and what measures and regulations could be put in place following the UK's withdrawal from Europe.

Speaking last month, Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation chief executive Harry Wick said the sector was planning for "long-term opportunities".

"This positive outlook is further enhanced by Brexit and the opportunity of added ownership and management of our fish stock over the coming years," he said.
There is "no question" the UK government is not fully behind Bombardier but it expects to lose its US trade dispute with Boeing within the next few weeks.

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee heard that there was disappointment that Prime Minister Theresa May has not spoken directly to US President Donald Trump since a massive 300% tax was imposed on sales of its jets to America.

The committee has also heard experts, including Paul Griffiths, head of aerospace hub, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, will visit Belfast tomorrow to speak to the firm about the ongoing trade dispute with Boeing.

Speaking today, Richard Harrington MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said the trade tussle with Bombardier will affect our relationships at all levels with Boeing, which has soured.

He also said his expectation is things will not be very different from what has already been determined.

Bombardier is locked in a trade tussle with Boeing, which claims it's selling its C Series passenger planes at below cost, and has been unfairly subsidised by Canada's regional government in Quebec. The US Department of Commerce has since imposed a tariff of almost 300% on sales to America.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) is set to give its final ruling later this month.

The committee also heard that the UK government is weighing up what appeal options it has, once the ITC makes its final determination this year.
Creditors of Northern Ireland construction firm McMullen Facades who are owed a total of 11.3m will not be paid after it went bust before being bought over, it has emerged.

Small firms across the province are owed money, including a Belfats forklifts firm which was due nearly 8,000 and a Co Antrim powerwashers with an outstanding bill for 580.

The purchase of the business and assets of McMullen Facades makes it likely the name will no longer be linked with the glass trade after nearly five decades.

It started out as a glass business founded by Edward McMullen in 1971. The firm was then taken over by his son Ted, who moved into glass facades.

McMullen Facades was then acquired by Lakesmere Group in England five years ago.

An administrators' report on McMullen Facades, which was based in Moira, said 400 unsecured creditors were owed money, including a German manufacturer owed 2.1m.

Administorators Deloitte sold the business and assets to UK construction giant JRL two days after it went into administration.

It describes how the company name was bought - with the result that the name of the failed firm had already been changed to MFL Realisation 2017.

McMullen Facades had been one of the UK's best-known facade contractor, working across Chester, Leeds and London. In Belfast, it worked on landmark buildings including The Boat office and apartment developmentand the Obel building.

While the firm had its base in Moira, it also opened a factory in Portadown, while its head office had been in Winchester in England since its earlier takeover by Lakesmere Group.

However, Lakesmere went into administration on November 2 - though at the time administrators Deloitte said McMullen would continue to trade.

The administrators' report details that in its most recent statutory accounts McMullen Facades reported sales of 37.3m and earnings before interest and tax of just under 1m.

The report remarks: "The company (McMullen) was profitable and had a strong net asset position. Unfortunately due to the group funding arrangement, it could not support its own cash position and was therefore insolvent on a cash flow basis."

According to Deloitte's report, the Lakesmere group had been subject to a management buy-out in 2015, which brought in more debt. Group performance then began to decline due to poorly-performing contracts, which needed to be funded.

A shareholder injected 2m into the business - but the situation continued to deteriorate, and more funding was needed later in the year. Secured lender HSBC agreed to back a plan for a turnaround. But the shareholder refused to inject more money into the business without a guarantee of repayment. However, the directors couldn't go on and agreed with HSBC that the firm should be put in adminsitration.

"This meant that due to the group funding arrangement... the company needed to stand alone on a cash basis. This was not possible given the level of creditors in the company," the report stated

And on November 15, McMullen Facades was told a creditor had filed a winding-up petition. "The company directors attempted to seek agreement to the withdrawal of the petition. However, their proposals were rejected," the report added.

The company was placed into administration on November 17.

McMullen Facades had already been marketed for sale and five offers were made. Administrators once appointed then continued to negotiated and reached a deal with JRL on November 22.

The report said sales proceeds of 2m had been reached following the sale to JRL.

The buyer has been granted licences to occupy its three properties and is to agree new leaseholds with the landlords.

A secured creditor owed 23.1m has only received 1.25m. But the report said unsecured creditors are unlikely to receive any money. All its 270 employees have been transferred to JRL.

The company's name has now been changed to JRL Unitised Facades.
Stobart Air, which operates the Aer Lingus Regional service, is to continue expanding its fleet as it eyes more franchise flying opportunities around Europe, said newly-appointed non-executive chairman Conor McCarthy.

Mr McCarthy, an aviation veteran, is the founder and executive chairman of aircraft maintenance firm Dublin Aerospace.

He's also a former Ryanair and Aer Lingus executive, and was involved in establishing AirAsia.

Mr McCarthy said that Stobart Air might also explore airline acquisitions around Europe to take advantage of continuing structural changes among legacy carriers.

Dublin-based Stobart Air is part of the UK stock market-listed Stobart Group, whose chief executive is former easyJet chief operating officer Warwick Brady.

Stobart Air, whose managing director is Graeme Buchanan, operates the Aer Lingus Regional service on a franchise basis and operates some flights for UK regional carrier Flybe, also on a franchise basis.

Mr McCarthy said Stobart Air would be interested in expanding its use of jets.

It currently has three Embraer 195s in its fleet which were previously leased to Flybe.

Stobart Air currently operates those jets in Flybe livery, using one to operate a service between Dublin and London Southend Airport, which is owned by Stobart.
with more than 60% of marine tourism operators reporting a jump in sales over the summer (PA)

Britains boat and yacht industry saw revenues hit their highest level since the financial crisis as the Brexit-hit pound buoyed sales for UK firms.

Figures released by lobby group British Marine showed revenues rising 3.4% in 2017 to 3.12 billion, a total not seen since the global market crash of 2007/08.

It helped the sector support more than 33,000 jobs in the UKs manufacturing and service industry, while British Marine said firms directly contributed over 1.3 billion to the UK economy between March 2016 and April 2017.

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British Marines chief executive officer Howard Pridding said sterlings collapse  sparked primarily by Brexit jitters  was partly to thank for the performance, as it made UK products cheaper for international buyers.

These impressive figures demonstrate how the industry has successfully cashed in on the pounds devaluation since the Brexit referendum in 2016.

In 2017, UK marine industry exports grew by 4.7% to 924 million, with the weak pound making British-made boats and products more competitive abroad.

Currency weakness was also a key factor in keeping Brits at home, with many opting for staycations over trips abroad that have become more expensive as a result.

As the pound has dipped, many Brits have rekindled their love for barges, yachting, watersports holidays and canal cruises in and around the UK, Mr Pridding explained.

Boating tourism was a major beneficiary, with more than 60% of marine tourism operators reporting a jump in sales over the summer, while a net balance of 47% of marina and boatyard companies reporting a jump in revenues.

The data was released as part of the opening of the five-day London Boat Show which runs until January 14.

The sector has now claimed its sixth year of consecutive growth, the lobby group said, adding that business confidence has increased over the past six months.

A net balance of 41% of member firms polled by British Marine said they were positive about their future prospects, but British Marine warned that a poor Brexit deal could take the wind out of their sails.

Confidence in the sector is at its highest since the credit crunch and we expect to see further growth into 2018, Mr Pridding said.

However, we are also clear on the potential challenges we are facing as an industry due to Brexit, including its potential impact on the labour supply chain and rising costs related to overseas procurement.

British boating is in good health, but a bad deal with the EU risks capsizing our success.
Theresa May is set to meet a group of financial services firms on Thursday (Philip Toscano/PA)

Goldman Sachs has said it is pleased to be meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May later this week as City heavyweights hope to stress the importance of securing a transition period after Brexit.

The Wall Street banking giant published a tweet on Wednesday confirming it was among a group of investment banks and market infrastructure firms that have been invited to meet with Mrs May and Chancellor Philip Hammond on Thursday.

Pleased to see the PM @theresa_may and hear her views on how we can keep the City a vibrant centre of finance, a tweet sent by the main Goldman Sachs account said.

Pleased to see the PM @theresa_may and hear her views on how we can keep the City a vibrant centre of finance. https://t.co/Vsv3KyfASQ  Goldman Sachs (@GoldmanSachs) January 10, 2018

The Press Association understands that up to 15 financial services representatives will be in attendance, including Goldman Sachs International chief executive Richard Gnodde, Aviva boss Mark Wilson and insurance market Lloyds of London chief executive Inga Beale.

Junior Brexit minister Robin Walker is also expected to join from the Governments side.

But Conservative MP John Glen, who was handed the role of Economic Secretary to the Treasury and city minister this week as part of the Prime Ministers reshuffle, will not be taking part.

While his portfolio includes Brexits impact on financial services, Mr Glen had already scheduled in a parliamentary debate on the role of banks in communities, which covers the recent spate of branch closures.

Given the attendance of the Chancellor and Prime Minister, his attendance was deemed less urgent given his prior engagements.

City representatives are expected to reiterate the importance of nailing down a transition period, and stress that the Government needs to shed light on whether contracts and agreements that businesses are entering into today will be valid and legitimate at the time Britain leaves the EU.

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Without a transition agreement, there are fears of an abrupt end to passporting rights which allow London-based financial services firms to conduct business relatively seamlessly across the bloc.

It is hoped the round table will help drive home the issue to the Prime Minister, as the industry heads closer to the point of no return for Brexit relocation plans.

Both German and UK regulators said last year that the value of a Brexit transition period will start eroding by the start of 2018, as banks will be forced to secure their EU business by moving staff or key operations in lieu of a transition deal.

It would result in seeing businesses flee to rival financial hubs including Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt and Luxembourg.
ITV's Loose Women hit the road this week with Belfast being the first stop of the tour.

To mark the show's National Television Award nomination for Best Live Magazine Show, Gloria Hunniford and Denise Van Outen arrived at Victoria Square in the city to drum up support and votes from the public.

The pair met a host of characters from Belfast and beyond, including Newtonabbey based Irish Dancing group Celtic Flair who performed a jig live on the show.

Also appearing for a chat was NI bog snorkeling champion Danika Maguire and the Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Nuala McAllister.

Northern Ireland presenter Gloria was full of praise for the 29-year-old, telling the Belfast Telegraph: "I think it's fantastic having a female Lord Mayor.

"I don't think that would have happened in my day, it would have been more the older man.

"And I know the city has had former female Lord Mayors, but because this one is so young it somehow breaks the mould and, as she said herself, there's girl power here in Belfast.

"I love that strength."

Looks like our Belfast fans are voting for us in the NTAs today with @denise_vanouten & Gloria! If YOU want to vote for us for FREE click here >> https://t.co/eUkhCHkYyC #VoteLooseUnderdgos pic.twitter.com/Ecz5fDYttr  Loose Women (@loosewomen) January 10, 2018

With the popular live chat show continuing in the London studios on Wednesday, Denise and Gloria kept the party atmosphere going in Belfast with plenty of locals coming out to cheer them on.

The loose ladies chatted with the crowd during their appearance and also posed for a number of pictures with their fans.

"The city has been more than amazing," Gloria said of their time in Belfast.

"Some people have travelled from all over Northern Ireland to be here just to support us and be around, it's been great."

"There's so much love for Loose Women in Belfast," added Denise.

"And I loved watching the Irish dancing - I actually got goosebumps whenever I saw the performers and they danced so well for us."

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. pictured with Belfast Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women host Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women host Danise Van Outen meets shoppers during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. pictured with Belfast Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. pictured with Belfast Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women host Danise Van Outen during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. pictured with Belfast Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. pictured with Belfast Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. Pic by Peter Morrison Loose Women broadcasts live from Victoria Square, Belfast Loose Women broadcasts live from Victoria Square, Belfast Loose Women broadcasts live from Victoria Square, Belfast / Facebook

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Whatsapp Loose women hosts Danise Van Outen and Gloria Hunniford during filming of the show in the Victoria Square. Pic by Peter Morrison

Gloria has been a presenter on Loose Women since 2014, having previously been a guest panelist.

Denise also appeared as a guest panelist on the show before becoming a regular in 2017. She is set to appear as a judge on the debut series of Ireland's Got Talent next month.

We're loving the Girl power in Belfast today! Thanks everyone who came out to join us! Vote for us for FREE here >> https://t.co/eUkhCHkYyC #VoteLooseUnderdogs pic.twitter.com/kjooQf6eFf  Loose Women (@loosewomen) January 10, 2018

Loose Women has been broadcast since 1999, and focuses on the experiences of its panelists with a range of topical issues.

It also features regular contributions from Northern Ireland's Christine Lampard.

Speaking about the daytime show's huge popularity, Gloria said: "Growing up in Northern Ireland we were never allowed to talk about sex, for example, and some of the older ladies here today were telling me just how much they loved the programme.

"I think it's because we talk about everything live on air, so they feel up to speed on any topic."

Loose Women is broadcast daily at 12.30pm on ITV.
If you are feeling lonely after the new year celebrations and dread the thought of spending another 12 months on your own then one of Northern Ireland's most successful matchmakers could help make 2018 the year you meet the man or woman of your dreams.

New research published in December shows that the health impact of loneliness - both physical and mental - can be devastating.

Loneliness is as bad for our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and worse for us than obesity. Chronic loneliness is cutting lives short and the problem is growing.

The new year is a time when people feel it more acutely, so for many it's the perfect time to vow to make a change.

Within two years of launching her matchmaking service, Soiree Society, Claire Hughes has become one of the UK's top five matchmakers and Northern Ireland's most successful.

Claire says that January and February see a huge spike in her business as people decide to fill the void in their lives.

"People get fed up of going home alone to dark houses at this time of the year and many feel they don't want to have another year on their own," she says.

"People also tell us they dread New Year's Eve because, even if they are surrounded by family and friends, they find that with all the merriment and while they are happy for everyone else, they are missing someone.

"Last January and February, our inquiries went through the roof and that was largely because people didn't want to be alone for another 12 months."

In the short time the company has been operating, it has been recognised as among the best in the business in the UK.

Last year, it won the Best Upcoming Matchmaking Agency at the UK Dating Awards in London and at this year's event, was short-listed for the Best Matchmaking Agency of the Year Award against companies in Europe.

Claire (58), a former bank manager from Castlecaulfield, launched her service in 2015 at a time when people were becoming disillusioned with online dating.

Her approach is different. She treats finding a life partner like a recruitment agency. Expect a discreet, personal service, where you go armed with your CV and wish-list for finding your ideal mate.

Claire interviews you and based, on what you tell her, she draws on a database of possible matches to try and pair you with the ideal man or woman.

The matchmaker herself is happily married to Derek (62), a paramedic, and they have two children - Andrea (33), a chartered accountant, and Paul (30), a musician who plays with the McPeake band and his own band Top Floor.

Before taking on the role of matchmaker, most of her career was spent in banking and before leaving she was in charge of four branches and specialised in business lending.

She left to start her own consultancy as a business mentor for small companies, working through Dungannon Enterprise Centre.

Setting up her own matchmaking agency was never a consideration and was something which happened by chance.

"I had a 35-year-old friend whose five-year relationship had ended abruptly," Claire says.

"She is a good looking girl with a great career and was finding it hard to meet someone new and I just couldn't understand why.

"She said she was too old for bars and felt her job was too high profile for online dating and her friends were all in relationships and going out in couples.

"I kept hearing this over and over again with other people and found that men, in particular, had little confidence.

"I also have many professional people on my books - teachers, solicitors, doctors - who felt the dating scene was tacky.

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Whatsapp Family link: Claire (left) and sister-in-law Rhona Hughes, who works for Soiree

"Everywhere I went, I was meeting people telling me the same stories - that they had no one to go out with and nowhere to go to meet a new partner.

"The more I came across it, the more I realised there was an absolute demand for a new type of service to help people to meet new partners.

"There is also a real stigma about dating in Northern Ireland. People felt that going to singles events made them look desperate. Women tend to go out in groups and this is something men find intimidating.

"Men, in particular, wanted something more private and confidential because of the stigma."

Since launching in April 2015, Claire has made hundreds of matches and has 35 couples currently in relationships which have lasted more than a year.

While most of her clients are aged over 50, she has seen a spike in demand recently from younger people aged from 25 to 45 and also in the over-65 age group.

She says young men, in particular, who want to find a life partner are struggling and turning to the agency for help.

Claire has an over abundance of women on her books, with men much more reluctant - so she says men are 'paired up' almost straight away - and she wants to encourage more to get in touch as women are literally just waiting to be matched.

Her approach is confidential and tailor-made to each client to find the person who suits them best.

She describes it as a "bit like a recruitment company does to find the perfect candidate for a job vacancy".

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There are three different types of membership at her agency, ranging from Pool membership, which is the cheapest at 100. Claire compares it to putting your CV into a recruitment firm to say you are available for a job if the right one comes up.

The next level is Gold membership, which guarantees four introductions and costs 795.

Much like a recruitment firm, the company will sift through the applicants to help find your ideal match.

Meanwhile, a new band is the bespoke membership package which costs 195 a year to be on the company's database and offers the option of paying 150 for an introduction when you want.

Claire adds: "This new option allows people to budget better for it and has been very successful, as it allows people to dip their toe in the water."

And what differentiates the service from online dating is that every person is authenticated by the company.

With Soiree, you have the reassurance of knowing each potential match's photograph is up to date, their age is correct and also with their profile, there will be a view of that person written by Soiree.

"It's not that different from being introduced to someone by a friend as we interview our members and get a feel for what they want," Claire says.

"Sometimes that is really instinctive and we know immediately on meeting someone that we already have the person who is perfect for them.

"Even Prince Harry and Megan were introduced by a mutual friend and so it is not that unusual."

Claire is very aware of the recent studies on loneliness and this year hopes to add a new dimension to her service by going into local businesses to help people achieve a better work-life balance.

It is not just the social benefits we gain from seeking a partner, but it is, in fact, good for our health.

According to the NHS, a happy relationship can help fend off angina and stomach ulcers - especially if you're a man.

One study of 10,000 men found those who felt "loved and supported" by their spouse or partner had a reduced risk angina.

Claire says: "The myth is that loneliness is typically associated with older people, but it also affects people who are surrounded by others and connected socially.

"I hope to go into local firms this year to work with them on the wellness of their staff. It is not from a dating point of view, but it's about caring.

"People work very hard and often their work-life balance isn't great and those who aren't in a relationship are known to not eat as well or exercise as much.

"People in a relationship tend to have healthier lifestyles and can be healthier, both physically and mentally."

Claire had the chance last year to meet Dame Esther Rantzen, who has championed loneliness among older people through her Silverline service, which she set up in 2013.

Also the founder of ChildLine, Esther has famously spoken about her own loneliness after the death of her husband, Desmond Wilcox, in 2000. It's also well publicised that she went on a blind date in the hope of meeting a new partner on TV's First Dates show.

Claire adds: "I met Esther at a Women in Business NSPCC ChildLine lunch and actually had a great chat with her when we met in the ladies toilet.

"She spoke at the conference about loneliness and how it does not respect gender or age and having wealth made no difference.

"She also spoke about the dreadful loneliness she experienced after the death of her husband and said it was a myth that loneliness is typically associated with being alone.

"She was aware that it can affect people who are surrounded by others and who are well connected socially, as in her own case.

"Esther asked me about my matchmaking business, which she thought was a brilliant idea, as she understood that loneliness is often about loss and the void it creates in your life and how difficult it can be to meet a partner."

For more details, visit www.soiree societyni.co.uk
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2018 Britain First leader Paul Golding(centre) arrives at Belfast Magistrates Court, along with the deputy leader Jayda Fransen(left), where he was appearing after being charged with making a hate speech at Belfast City Hall last summer. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2018 Britain First leader Paul Golding(centre) arrives at Belfast Magistrates Court, along with the deputy leader Jayda Fransen(left), where he was appearing after being charged with making a hate speech at Belfast City Hall last summer. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2018 Britain First leader Paul Golding arrives at Belfast Magistrates Court, along with the deputy leader Jayda Fransen, where he was appearing after being charged with making a hate speech at Belfast City Hall last summer. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2018 Britain First leader Paul Golding(second from right) arrives at Belfast Magistrates Court, along with the deputy leader Jayda Fransen(second from left), where he was appearing after being charged with making a hate speech at Belfast City Hall last summer. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 10th January 2018 Britain First leader Paul Golding(centre) arrives at Belfast Magistrates Court, along with the deputy leader Jayda Fransen(left), where he was appearing after being charged with making a hate speech at Belfast City Hall last summer. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

The leader of far-right group Britain First is to fight allegations that he incited hatred at a rally in Belfast, a court heard on Wednesday.

As Paul Golding appeared before magistrates in the city, his lawyer confirmed he will be contesting claims of using threatening, abusive or insulting words during last summer's demonstration.

"He's pleading not guilty to both charges," barrister Richard McConkey said.

Golding, 35, and his group's deputy leader Jayda Fransen, 31, are now set to stand trial together in April.

Allegations against the two senior Britain First figures relate to speeches made at a 'Northern Ireland Against Terrorism' rally at City Hall on August 6.

Demonstrators had gathered on the same day as a republican march organised to mark the use of internment without trial by the British Army at the height of the Troubles in 1971.

Golding, of Beeches Close in Anerly, London, was arrested last month after he arrived at Belfast Magistrates' Court for the first stage of his party colleague's prosecution.

He returned today to have the two charges of incitement to hatred put to him.

Dressed in a navy coat and tan chinos, he replied "Yes" when asked if he understood the allegations.

An investigating detective said she could connect him to the charges.

Fransen, who appeared in the same dock on Tuesday to face similar counts, has provoked a furore by appearing in a filmed update on the case while sitting in the Lord Mayor's chair.

The video clip, in which she wears council robes, was posted on the far-right group's Facebook page.

Fransen is also separately charged with inciting racial hatred by anti-Islamic remarks at peace wall in Belfast on December 13,

She was back in the public gallery with around a dozen supporters for her party leader's first appearance.

District Judge Fiona Bagnall was told the cases against both Britain First representatives in connection with the City Hall rally should be heard together.

"It's effectively the same footage," Mr McConkey contended.

With a further review hearing listed for later this month, Mrs Bagnall asked the prosecution to confirm if it will agree to a joint trial.

"It seems a logical way forward," she added.

Although Golding was excused from attending that review, his barrister indicated: "I think he's going to be here."

As the defendant and his entourage exited the courtroom a man waiting outside repeatedly shouted: "Fascist scum."

Golding and his group walked on without responding.
The deputy leader of far-right group Britain First is being investigated by Belfast City Council after she made a political statement from the Lord Mayor's chair at the City Hall.

The group posted a video on Facebook featuring Jayda Fransen which was viewed more than 15,000 times yesterday.

She had just appeared in court to learn she will face trial over comments made at a Belfast rally last summer.

In the video Ms Fransen is seen sitting in the Lord Mayor's chair in a councillor's robes saying she wanted to tell her supporters that she intended to fight the charges and clear her name for a speech "in which I mentioned the 'I' word - Islam".

Independent unionist councillor Jolene Bunting said she had facilitated a City Hall tour for Ms Fransen.

Former Belfast DUP Lord Mayor Brian Kingston said what Ms Fransen had done was an "abuse of privilege" by the councillor.

"I, like many others, show people around City Hall - but it is not for them to abuse the Lord Mayor's seat for making political statements," he said.

"Jayda Fransen has nothing to do with Belfast City Council and she should not be using the chamber to make statements.

"I am astonished.

"She is a constant attention-seeker and this is just a foolish publicity stunt to which the council should have no part in."

Ms Bunting said Ms Fransen was entitled to visit and tour City Hall as others do on a daily basis.

"I don't believe I have abused any privileges in any way, it was certainly not my intention," she said.

"I do not see why there should be such an issue with it.

"Britain First is a political party, they are political activists and they have their opinions and policies, lots of which I agree with.

"People may not agree with their opinion but they still have a right to their opinions and to having their say in our society under freedom of speech rights."

Last year Britain First came to global prominence when US President Donald Trump retweeted posts from Ms Fransen to his millions of followers - provoking a storm of anger across the political spectrum.

Ms Bunting said it was "nonsense" to describe the party as racist.

"They have members of every creed and colour and from many different ethnic minorities, including Chinese people and people with black skin.

"They have an ideology, a way of life they believe in and want to celebrate it, and they see people going against that, and when they raise it they are made out to be criminals."

Sinn Fein's City Hall leader Jim McVeigh said the sight of Britain First's deputy leader in the Lord Mayor's seat was not an image Belfast should be sending out.

"It's a disgrace someone like that should be allowed anywhere near such a democratic space," he said.

"It's not a good image for the city and we have to make sure it doesn't happen again."

A Belfast City Council spokeswoman added: "Council has been made aware of the video post and is currently looking into the circumstances.

"The usual procedures for those wishing to film or use council premises were not followed.

"We received no request nor were we made aware of these plans."
DUP leader Arlene Foster, with colleagues Simon Hamilton and Edwin Poots (right), speak with the media after talks with new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley

DUP leader Arlene Foster called for direct rule ministers to be appointed after meeting the new Northern Ireland Secretary of State.

The MLA also claimed Sinn Fein pulled out of a meeting with the Tory minister over the criticism the party received for its sanctions placed on Barry McElduff after his Kingsmill video tweet.

Wednesday marked Karen Bradley's first visit to Northern Ireland in either a professional or personal capacity.

The former culture secretary replaced James Brokenshire after he resigned from the Government on health grounds.

Arlene Foster said meeting the newly appointed Secretary of State of Northern Ireland was "incredibly useful". She said Northern Ireland's government departments could not continue on without ministers. She welcomed the ministers commitment to restoring devolution.

"We need to have key policy decisions taken. Civil servants do a vital job administering decisions but government departments need to have a Minister in place to set policy direction. Everyone in Northern Ireland is suffering because of the current vacuum. This cannot continue."

"We have made it clear to the Secretary of State that if Sinn Fein continues to block the restoration of devolution then a return to Direct Rule is an unfortunate, but inevitable consequence and the Government must move to appoint ministers."

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley as she arrives in #Belfast for her first day of engagements in Northern Ireland: pic.twitter.com/azMHcrdWoO  NIO (@NIOPressOffice) January 10, 2018

She added: "The clock is ticking in relation to the government of Northern Ireland, we haven't had a government now for over a year.

"I think she's (Mrs Bradley) heard directly today from people that they want to see government back here and if it's not going to be a devolved administration then it will have to be some sort of an administration direct from Westminster.

"Of course we don't want that - we want devolution, but we can't continue without a government here in Northern Ireland. So time is short and the clock is ticking."

Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Karen Bradley visiting Belfast Metropolitan College in the Titanic Quarter of the city, during her first visit as Northern Ireland Secretary. Liam McBurney/PA Wire PA Karen Bradley speaking with politics students at Belfast Metropolitan College in the Titanic Quarter of the city, during her first visit as Northern Ireland Secretary. Liam McBurney/PA Wire PA Karen Bradley visiting Belfast Metropolitan College in the Titanic Quarter of the city, during her first visit as Northern Ireland Secretary. Liam McBurney/PA Wire PA Karen Bradley visiting Belfast Metropolitan College in the Titanic Quarter of the city, during her first visit as Northern Ireland Secretary. Liam McBurney/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Karen Bradley visiting Belfast Metropolitan College in the Titanic Quarter of the city, during her first visit as Northern Ireland Secretary. Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill had been due to meet Mrs Bradley in person on Wednesday. Plans were however changed and a phone call was instead arranged between the two politicians, with the meeting put back to next week.

Mrs Foster claimed the reschedule was linked to criticism the republican party has received since one of its MPs posed with a Kingsmill branded loaf on his head on the anniversary of the 1976 Kingsmill massacre last Friday.

Abstentionist West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff, who apologised and insisted his social media video was not a reference to the 10 sectarian murders at Kingsmill, has been suspended by Sinn Fein for three months on full pay.

Asked for her reaction to the postponement of the meeting between Mrs Bradley and Mrs O'Neill, the DUP leader said: "It's another indication that all is not well in Sinn Fein and they are a party in disarray at present."

A Sinn Fein spokesman said the meeting had not gone ahead due to clashing diary commitments.

He branded Mrs Foster's claim as "nonsense".

"Arlene Foster might be better focusing on the denial of rights that people enjoy everywhere else on these islands," he added.

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Mrs Bradley has the unenviable task of trying to forge consensus between the DUP and Sinn Fein and avert a return to Westminster direct rule.

During her first visit to Northern Ireland she met students at Belfasts Metropolitan College in the citys regenerated docklands area as part of her first official engagement.

Her schedule on Wednesday also included face-to-face meetings with the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein.

Speaking on her visit Mrs Bradley said that her priority was restoring devolved government in Northern Ireland.

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She said: "Of course I have a very important job to do, my immediate challenge and key objective is to make sure Northern Ireland has a devolved government in place to address issues that effect everybody's lives including, health, education and the economy."

She continued: "I have spoken to all the main party leaders and whilst I fully accept there will be many challenges in the coming weeks which all parties will need to rise to. I will do all that I can to ensure we find a way to restore devolution to Northern Ireland.

"I want to find a way through this because the absolute priority is to restore devolved government as soon as possible.

"I'm here to learn, I'm here to find out, I'm here to look at what needs to be done. I know there are challenges but we need to deliver devolved government to Northern Ireland as soon as possible and that's what I'm determined to do."

In a video message as she arrived in Belfast she said: "I'm really, really thrilled to be here today in my first visit in this incredible role that I'm honoured to have been given as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

"I'm under no illusion of the challenges that we face and there is a big job ahead of me but I'm looking forward to getting down to business, getting stuck in and making sure we try to solve those challenges and address them so we can really deliver what I think everybody wants.

"Which is strong devolved government for the whole community in Northern Ireland and in the interest of the whole United Kingdom."
One of Charlottes nine tattoos, which incorporates a purple ribbon and numerals in tribute to her friend

A Belfast teenager who almost died of Inflammatory Bowel Disease says she decided to blog her journey to break down embarrassment about bowel problems and help others feel less alone in their diagnosis.

At her lowest ebb, Charlotte Lewsley (19) weighed just five stone and her parents, Christine and Charlie, were told to prepare for her death as her organs failed.

Four years later, the alternative model is thriving, with her condition largely under control, working three jobs and loving life.

She is a bastion of hope for those living with bowel conditions and their families, posting her advice and experiences on her hugely successful blog, Tattoos and Toilet Paper.

"I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease when I was 15 years old," says Charlotte. "I had been sick when I was in primary school. I always had a sore stomach and was unwell a lot of the time.

"When I was 12, I went to my GP and they kept saying it was Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or a stomach bug, and I was given antibiotics. When I was 15, it got really bad. I was fainting all the time, lost four stone and was going to the toilet 30 times a day.

"My mum took me to A&E in Craigavon Hospital one day after I fainted. I could barely stand and had to be taken in in a wheelchair. The hospital admitted me and I was there for six weeks.

"The first two or three weeks, I was tested for everything. I had blood tests, X-rays, colonoscopies. I was really terrified. I didn't know what was happening to me, or what it was. I was diagnosed with IBD after three weeks.

"My lowest ebb was when the tablets they had given me stopped working and my organs began to shut down. I weighed five stone and my mum and dad were told to prepare for the worst - that I wasn't going to make it to my 16th birthday. The doctors thought I was going to die.

"I was so frustrated in hospital and just wanted to go home. I spent my days crying and got angry at the nurses. I was so underweight that I couldn't walk, so I was in a wheelchair. The doctors did trial and error with the medication and eventually found something that worked for me and I slowly began to feel better."

Since her near-death experience at 15, Charlotte has been in and out of hospital countless times with her condition. She says she always tries to remain positive and lives a full and active life despite her challenges.

"The condition has had a huge impact on my life," she says. "With regards the social aspect, I have lost friends because of it. When I was first diagnosed, my friends didn't really understand what it was, they kind of gave up, because if you are sore, or sick, you can't leave the house.

"But my closer friends - the ones I'm still friends with now - they understand. If I'm ill, they would come to me if I can't go out. It's the same with dating. My boyfriend, Jordan, is amazing. But other boyfriends didn't really understand and would have maybe got annoyed and frustrated.

"It definitely impacts on day-to-day life. Basically, I don't know how I'm going to be from one day to the next until I wake up in the morning. It feels like you have a flu and it takes over your whole body.

"Some days I can't get out of bed, some days I'm fine. So, it is hard to make plans, because on the day in question you could wake up and be really sore.

"I used to take really bad panic attacks when I left the house. It was just down to a real fear that there wouldn't be a toilet around if I needed one. I remember when I was first diagnosed and I had a really bad panic attack when I was going on a trip to Paris. We had just got on a bus and there was no toilet on there. We had to travel from Belfast all the way to Dublin.

"My whole body started shaking, then I went numb, then I felt like my chest was tightening. With all that going on, I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom and there wasn't a toilet. It was like a vicious circle. It was so horrible."

With Charlotte's blog, Tattoos and Toilet Paper, she says she wants to smash the taboo of talking about bowel issues, help those who are recently diagnosed deal with the new chapter in their lives and also help their family and friends understand what is going on.

"Whenever I was 16 and living with the condition for around a year, I had a girl reach out to me who had just been diagnosed," she says.

"Jessica (Farr) saw that I was very open about my condition on social media. I went to see her in hospital and I sat there and answered her questions.

"I gave her mum my mum's number, so they could talk. We became good friends, we talked constantly and I gave her advice on what to expect and tried to be there for her always. She actually passed away last year, due to the condition, which was heartbreaking.

"I went to see her that first time, because I didn't want her to feel alone in her diagnosis. When I was diagnosed, I didn't know anyone with the condition, I'd never heard of it and it was very much isolating. And I didn't want anyone else to feel like that. That's why I started my blog.

"I called it Tattoos and Toilet Paper because I thought it related most to me. I am covered in tattoos - I have nine - and the toilet paper obviously relates to having a bowel condition.

"I just want to be a voice for people who don't have one and even reach people who don't have the condition, but want to understand it. I want to help people who have just been diagnosed, are scared and need someone to talk to about it.

"I want to spread the message that you can live a full, busy and rewarding life with the condition.

"I am a waitress as my day job. I do kids' parties dressed as the Little Mermaid. I am qualified in special effects make-up and I'm a model. I don't let the condition hold me back.

"I can't say it never gets me down. I was sick at Christmas and all you really want to do during that time is enjoy yourself and it's hard when you're sick in bed and in pain and feeling like the person who's always grumpy and sore.

"But I have a fantastic support group around me. My mum and dad and boyfriend are amazing. My mum is so proud of how far I've come. She's got pictures of my photoshoots all over the house and, when I qualified in special effects, she told me she knew I'd make it and that she knew I wouldn't let the sickness get me down. That really meant a lot to me."

Charlotte says she has come through so much in her life so far that it has made her stronger as a person and prepared for anything life throws at her.

"I have been told before that there is a possibility of having to have a colostomy bag," she says. "It was very nearly the case when I was 15, but they worked to ensure I didn't have to have one. But I have been told it might be a possibility at some point in my life.

"It is not something I find daunting, I most certainly did at the start, but now it doesn't bother me. I've seen so many people with them and read blogs about people with them. They have one and have just moved on with life, they take pictures of it and aren't self-conscious about it at all. It doesn't scare me anymore. I kind of just accept anything that is thrown at me at this stage.

"I have a tattoo on my arm that is dedicated to my condition. It has roses to represent growth. It has the word strength in Greek. It has the purple awareness ribbon for my friend, Jessica, who had Crohn's disease with the dates she was born and passed away around it in Roman numerals.

"And finally it has 'life takes guts' leading towards my hand. I love it."

You can check out Charlotte's blog and keep up to date with her journey at: www.tattoos andtoiletpaper.wordpress.com
Charges against Jeremiah, Christopher and Wayne Kirkwood were dismissed after the prosecution offered no evidence.

A father and two sons banned from keeping animals following a notorious cruelty case were today acquitted of breaching the order by having dogs at their east Belfast home.

Charges against Jeremiah, Christopher and Wayne Kirkwood were dismissed after the prosecution offered no evidence.

In 2014 the three men admitted causing unnecessary suffering to terrier pups, having equipment linked to animal fighting, and keeping or training bull lurchers in connection with an animal fight.

Video footage recovered as part of that case showed a cat trapped in a cage being torn to pieces.

At the time Jeremiah Kirkwood, 47, and his sons Christopher, 27, and Wayne, 24, were all given six-month suspended prison sentences.

They were also banned from keeping, dealing in or transporting animals for a 10-year period.

Fresh charges were brought after police allegedly discovered two dogs at their Island Street home in September 2016.

All three men faced two counts of breaching the disqualification order imposed under the 2011 Welfare of Animals Act.

The allegations against them were due to be contested at Belfast Magistrates' Court.

But as the defendants waited outside, it emerged that the case against them was instead being dropped.

Issues around the ownership of any animals located by police are understood to have been a factor.

A Crown lawyer confirmed: "The prosecution are in a position to offer no evidence in any of the three cases."

District Judge George Conner responded that it would have been a difficult case to prove evidentially.

He added: "Without knowing all the ins and outs, and no evidence being offered, I dismiss each case."
KY: Bowling Green Eliminates

Gun Ban in City Buildings

By Dean Weingarten. January 9th, 2018

On 2 January, 2018, the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky finalized an action that repealed the city ban on the carrying of concealed weapons in city buildings. The video of the Commissioners meeting can be seen here.

Commissioner Nash (sunglasses on top of head, tie, second from left) was the lone dissenting vote. From bgdailynews.com:

Bowling Green city commissioners approved in a 4-1 vote Tuesday lifting a ban on carrying concealed weapons in city buildings. Commissioners previously voted 3-2 on Dec. 19 to eliminate the portion of a city ordinance that prohibits the carrying of concealed weapons into city buildings. With little discussion, the motion was finalized Tuesday. When the motion was presented, Commissioner Rick Williams clarified that Kentucky law still prohibits the carrying of concealed weapons into meetings of governing bodies, such as city commission meetings.

The change was precipitated, in part, by city employees who wished to be able to protect themselves during work hours. The vote continues a trend to restore the right to bear arms in government buildings and for government employees. .......

Progress is still slow on such improvements but it has seemingly been a slow trend in the right direction in more recent times. There are still way too many restrictions on carry in various institutions, as if for some reason there is a notion that somehow they are safer than other places - that is only the most naive of thinking.

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Ambulance staff in Northern Ireland are facing redundancy following a "devastating" decision by the British Red Cross to withdraw local services.

The charity said its service, for non-emergency transfers of patients across the province, was no longer financially viable and that 23 staff would be directly affected by the move.

The GMB union, which represents ambulance workers, said the decision would mean that "loyal, skilled and hard-working ambulance staff are now facing a very unhappy New Year". It claimed more than 40 ambulance support personnel were actually at risk from redundancy.

A 30-day consultation on the job losses is to begin on January 22, with the entire service to end by April 30.

GMB organiser Michael Mulholland accused the Red Cross of ignoring repeated attempts to secure the future of the service and members' jobs.

"Our members in the Red Cross ambulance service are angry and upset at this devastating decision," he said.

"We are further concerned about the process of consultation and would ask for clarity to enable us to offer our members the support required."

The DUP health spokesperson and Strangford MP Jim Shannon urged the Red Cross to reconsider.

"It's disappointing they're unable to continue the good work that they do," he said.

"Before the end date of April 30 I would call on them to review that decision and retain the good, loyal staff they have."

The SDLP's health spokesperson, MLA Mark H Durkan, said: "This is very bad news, not only for those dedicated drivers and staff that have worked to provide a reliable and relied upon service, but also for the countless patients that they transport day in and day out."

Mr Durkan said that while the Red Cross focused its energies elsewhere, the decision "has caused distress to staff and potentially disruption to healthcare services".

He called it "imperative" that health trusts holding arrangements with the Red Cross now worked with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service to ensure that patient care is not compromised.

David Morison, operational lead for the Red Cross ambulance support service in Northern Ireland, said: "As a charity, we have a clear responsibility to make the best use of our resources and use them in the most effective and cost-efficient way possible."

He added that all other Red Cross partnership work would be unaffected by the closure and the 23 staff members were being supported throughout the process.

"We would like to take the opportunity to thank our dedicated staff who have provided a high quality and compassionate service to patients over the past two years."
Talking to those who know new Northern Ireland Secretary of State Karen Bradley, she comes across as a carbon copy of her predecessor James Brokenshire.

"She is not a big personality or someone who likes being the centre of attention," said Phil Corrigan, a political reporter with Mrs Bradley's local newspaper, the Stoke Sentinel.

"She has a very low-profile presence on social media. Unlike her Cabinet colleagues, she doesn't even have an open Twitter account, which is highly unusual, and particularly since her last portfolio included digital.

"She is a close ally of Theresa May, whom she worked under at the Home Office. She is extremely loyal and can be guaranteed to toe the party line. In choosing her to succeed James Brokenshire, the Prime Minister has replaced like with like."

The political career of the Staffordshire Moorlands MP has been largely straightforward and uncontroversial until now - almost a tad dull - and Mrs Bradley must be hoping to continue in the same vein in Northern Ireland.

The 47-year-old, who had been Culture Minister for 18 months previously, is an unknown quantity to most political parties here, bar the DUP.

Its North Antrim MP Ian Paisley has built a good working relationship with her. "As DUP shadow spokesman for digital, culture, media and sport, I've got to know her well and I very much like her," he said.

"She is solid, the consummate safe pair of hands. I dealt with her on the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, gambling and gaming rights and reform of the BBC.

"I've never seen her in a flap about anything and that will serve her well in Northern Ireland. Karen is an extremely pleasant and professional person to deal with and has a strong unionist outlook."

Mr Paisley describes the new Secretary of State as "incredibly friendly and open". He said: "She really listens to your views and is straight in her dealings. That will be her strongest asset in her new job in Northern Ireland.

"She has been thrown in at the deep end here and told to swim but she is no dozer and will be on top of her brief very quickly."

Mr Paisley predicts "a honeymoon period until some eejit calls on her to resign".

Mrs Bradley has two sons, Matthew and Thomas, with husband Neil, a transport consultant. They live in Leek, the largest town in her constituency. She grew up 12 miles away in Buxton, where her family ran the Queen's Head Hotel and Pub.

Living above the premises gave her "a unique introduction to people from all walks of life", her website says.

Mrs Bradley went to the local comprehensive and then studied maths at Imperial College London. She worked as an accountant with both KPMG and Deloitte & Touche.

She was a late convert to politics after KPMG seconded her to advise the Tories on tax policy in 2002. "I was inspired by Michael Howard in particular," she told The Times. "After seven months I went to KPMG but it was too late, I was hooked." Mrs Bradley ran for Westminster three years later and failed to get elected, but was successful in 2010.

She served in the whip's office before being made a junior minister at the Home Office in 2014.

As Culture Minister she was criticised for vetoing the appointment of black female candidate Althea Efunshile, a former deputy chief of Arts Council England, as a non-executive director on the board of Channel 4 in 2016.

Efunshile was the only one of five candidates proposed by Ofcom to join the all-white board who was rejected. In a U-turn, she was appointed by the Government in December.

Mrs Bradley doesn't come across as a natural or suave TV performer. One interview with Piers Morgan, in which she avoided answering a question on the numbers of armed police officers in the UK, was heavily criticised.

The New Statesman said her performances as Culture Minister "have mainly been defined by her ability to dodge questions and avoid saying anything of any significance on everything from Rupert Murdoch to the BBC, presumably a trait highly valued by her similarly evasive boss Theresa May".

A crime thriller fan, Mrs Bradley told the Stoke Sentinel that she had "read every Morse, Dalziel and Pascoe, Frost and Rebus that's been printed and mourned the passing of far too many characters over the years, many of whom came to very sticky ends".

She reads Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol annually "starting on December 20 with Marley's Ghost, then a chapter every day until I finish on Christmas morning... it gets me in the mood". She cites "walking in the beautiful Staffordshire Peak District" and cooking as hobbies.

The new Secretary of State was a Remain supporter. The website They Work For You reports that she has consistently voted for equal gay rights and same-sex marriage and generally voted against smoking bans and laws to promote equality and human rights.

She has almost always voted "for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas" and has once voted against investigations into the Iraq War, it claims.
James Kelly had been jailed for nine months last November for damaging five television monitors

A gambler who caused 1,550 worth of damage to a bookmaker's after staff refused to pay out what he claimed was a winning bet has had his sentence reduced.

James Kelly had been jailed for nine months last November for damaging five television monitors.

Yesterday he had it reduced to four months, suspended for two years, at the County Court in Londonderry.

Kelly (37), from Sackville Street in Derry, said he had his 20 stake accepted at McLean's on William Street in the Bogside on December 16, 2016.

However, when his horse won at odds of 8-1 the manager refused to pay out due to a technicality.

Kelly, a regular in the premises, lifted a chair and smashed the monitors.

The aggressive behaviour of Kelly, who was under a suspended sentence at the time for attempted criminal damage, was recorded on CCTV.

Defence barrister Jonathan Longman told Judge Philip Babington that Kelly had submitted a "slightly late bet on a specific event".

Speaking from the dock, the appellant told Judge Babington that his bet had been accepted and his betting docket stamped by a member of staff. He said when he presented what he thought was a winning slip the officer manager refused to pay him winnings of 180.

A pre-sentence report stated that Kelly - who at the time had alcohol and drug addiction issues - now accepted there was no justification for his behaviour, which was born out of his frustration.

Mr Longman said Kelly's behaviour was totally out of character. He explained his client had put the name of the horse on the betting slip but had not included the time of the race.

The barrister said Kelly had brought 300 in compensation to court, money he had saved over Christmas despite being an unemployed father-of-two.

Mr Longman said the damage caused to the five television monitors was covered by the bookmaker's insurance company.

Judge Babington said something was obviously wrong with the betting slip.

"I do not know what it was. Bookmakers are usually always the winners. That is why they are in a business where they make a lot of money at times," he said.

"However, your reaction to them refusing to pay out was totally unacceptable, and to reflect that I am imposing a Probation Order for 12 months."

Judge Babington replaced the nine-month jail sentence with a four-month sentence, suspended for two years, and told Kelly to pay the compensation of 300 within seven days.
Angel took ill last week and was diagnosed with pyometra, a type of infection which affects the womb

Angel and Ghost are a popular sight on the Twelfth

One of Northern Ireland's most popular dogs is on the mend after having a lifesaving operation.

Japanese Akitas Angel and Ghost - also known fondly as Ulster's Marching Dogs - have become an annual attraction at Orange parades.

Owner Sam Dickson receives hundreds of requests for them to take part in parades across the UK each year.

But Angel took ill last week and was diagnosed with pyometra, a type of infection which affects the womb.

"When we were out walking I noticed she was slowing up, I looked in between her paws and noticed a redness," Sam told the Belfast Telegraph.

"I got some antiseptic spray but it didn't clear up, and then on Saturday morning she was falling way behind on our walk, which wasn't like her at all.

"I took her to the vet and while she was getting examined she let a wee growl out of her, which is the first ever."

Angel went on to have a hysterectomy operation on Monday, which a relieved Sam has described as a success.

Sam brought her home for plenty of bed rest and care on Monday evening.

He said he was blown away by the number of people inquiring about her after he posted updates about her illness on his Facebook page.

"My fingers were nearly worn away replying to all the messages I got from people asking for her," Sam added.

"Angel and Ghost mean so much to people. Sometimes I feel I'm just along with them, they truly are the people's dogs."

The trio recently walked at their first funeral for a man who loved to watch them parade in Antrim. They've already 30 bookings for 2018 - the first an Orange parade on St Patrick's Day in Armagh.
Karen Phillips described the difficulties she witnessed in Antrim

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has called for action to address the chaos in the health service.

The organisation has hit out at the conditions in accident and emergency departments across Northern Ireland, including examples of seriously ill people enduring days on trolleys waiting for a hospital bed to become free.

And the commission has expressed frustration at a failure to implement any of the recommendations it made following its inquiry into emergency healthcare here more than three years ago.

A spokeswoman said: "Protecting the human rights of vulnerable people could be much better served than is currently the case.The reports of Northern Ireland's current circumstances are the hallmark of regression.

"Political leadership and responsible decision making is urgently needed to turn the tide."

It comes after the Belfast Telegraph revealed the ordeal of a 70-year-old man who spent five days in the emergency department at Antrim Area Hospital after suffering a heart attack on New Year's Day.

His daughter-in-law, Karen Phillips, described how she had watched nurses trying to feed and take blood from patients, and trolleys double parked in the corridors of the unit last week. The current situation comes three years after the commission initiated the first human rights inquiry into healthcare in emergency departments undertaken anywhere in the world.

It found instances where patients did not receive food, water, pain relief or assistance with personal care.

Commenting on the current situation, the spokeswoman continued: "The reported increase in waiting times at both A&E departments and for outpatient appointments is an ongoing concern.

"The commission's inquiry into emergency healthcare reported of circumstances in 2015 where patients did not receive assistance with their personal care needs, had insufficient pain relief and a lack of access to food and fluids. Cases involving end-of-life care, the transfer of older patients from nursing homes to A&E, and the experiences of those presenting in mental health crisis with dementia or disabilities were particularly concerning.

"The commission has recommended the development of dedicated ED minimum care standards rooted in human rights to provide a benchmark for patient experience.

"The commission also highlighted the need for reform across other services that need to work closely with ED services.

"Three years later, there has been no movement toward introducing such standards."
Karen Bradley speaking with politics students at Belfast Metropolitan College in the Titanic Quarter of the city, during her first visit as Northern Ireland Secretary. Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Karen Bradley statement on her first official engagement to Belfast:

I am absolutely delighted to be in Belfast and to be appointed to this important Cabinet post and I am really looking forward to getting down to work as quickly as possible. I want to work with all sections of the community here to help build a Northern Ireland that is fit for the future and that works for everyone.

"During my visit to Belfast Metropolitan College, I have been struck by the wonderful education facilities that are available to students here. Throughout the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland is highly regarded for the excellent levels of education it provides, as well as the high calibre of its students - they can hold their heads high and compete with the best from around the world;

"And of course I cant forget the marvellous tourism that this part of the world is so famous for - the Giants Causeway, the Mourne Mountains and of course the No 1 visitor attraction in the world - Titanic Belfast. I know my family are already looking forward to getting to know this beautiful part of the United Kingdom.

"Of course I have a very important job to do, and as I said yesterday my immediate challenge and key objective is to ensure that Northern Ireland has a devolved government in place in order to address the issues that affect everyones lives, including health, education and the economy. Im also conscious of the need to deliver a Brexit that works for Northern Ireland and to ensure everyone is safe and secure.

"It is fitting my first visit should be to Titanic Quarter, which reflects both Belfast and Northern Irelands past and its future. Once one of the worlds leading industrial cities and now one of the worlds largest urban-waterfront regeneration schemes.

"And I understand the importance of dealing with the past and securing a safe and prosperous future. My aim is to work collaboratively to find solutions to these issues acceptable to everyone.

"I have spoken to all the main party leaders. While there will be many challenges in the coming weeks  which all parties will need to rise to  I will do all that I can to ensure that we find a way to restore devolution to Northern Ireland."
The joint paramilitary task force has charged two men in connection with separate offences.

A 24-year-old man has been charged with the supply and possession of class A drugs after he was arrested in east Belfast on Tuesday. He will appear in court on Thursday.

Following an arrest in south Belfast another man (30) has been charged in connection with supplying contraband cigarettes and offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on 6th February.

Is is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

The paramilitary crime task force was set up as part of the Executive's action plan to target criminal gang activity in Northern Ireland with millions committed to it by both Stormont and Westminster as a result of the 2015 Fresh Start agreement.

It is a collaboration between the PSNI, the National Crime Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.
Gerard Martin McGrath - who stole the money from Drinks Inc to fund a gambling addiction - believed "one big win" would be enough to pay back the money he took from the company.

A sales representative who stole more than 70,000 from his employer over a nine-month period wept in court on Wednesday after he was spared jail.

Gerard Martin McGrath - who stole the money from Drinks Inc to fund a gambling addiction - believed "one big win" would be enough to pay back the money he took from the company.

McGrath (51) from Greenfield Park in Armagh, was handed a 16-month sentence, which was suspended for three years, after he admitted stealing 70,880 from the drink company.

He has raised 10,000 which will be handed to Drinks Inc, but has been unable to secure any additional funding.

Belfast Crown Court heard that in his role as a sales representative, one of McGrath's areas of responsibility was to collect cash payments from customers.

The father-of-two's offending emerged last May when the financial controller of Drinks Inc was informed that McGrath's cash balance owing to the company was in deficit.

Prosecuting barrister Mark Farrell said that on May 11, McGrath was contacted about the financial shortfall. The following day, McGrath sent an email to his employers, which said: "Sorry guys, can't cope any more. The end."

Concerned for his wellbeing, colleagues called to McGrath's home, where he admitted taking the cash due to his gambling habit.

Mr Farrell said McGrath was sacked last August, and when police were notified, he was arrested and gave a 'no comment' interview. He later admitted stealing just over 70,000 over a period from December 2015 to August 2016.

Defence barrister Paddy Taggart said both McGrath and his family have suffered as a result of his actions, adding McGrath's daughter has significant, long-term health issues which require assistance and support from both her parents.

Noting that McGrath has raised 10,000 which will be paid to Drinks Inc Limited, Mr Taggart said this had involved his client making "every effort possible" to secure more money, which has proved unsucessful.

Mr Taggart also spoke of McGrath's "excellent, unblemished work record" and clear criminal record prior to his offending, adding he was a "well respected and well liked" member of the community.

He concluded by telling the court McGrath "was glad he was caught ... it was always going to be discovered."

Passing sentence, Judge Patricia Smyth spoke of McGrath's breach of trust as a sales rep trusted to handle large sums of money, and the impact the theft has had on Drinks Inc.

Saying she had "no doubt" that McGrath's gambling addiction was "the root cause of his offence", Judge Smyth told McGrath: "I accept that you deeply regret your behaviour and the distorted thinking you would have a big win and pay the money back before it was detected."

After reading medical reports on McGrath's daughter, Judge Smyth spoke of the "significant impact" caused to her if her father was sent to prison.

Handing McGrath a suspended sentence, Judge Smyth said it was his daughter's health issues - "that reason and that reason alone" - that she deems his circumstances to be exceptional. She also warned McGrath that he faced immediate custody if he offending again.

Speaking after sentencing, a company representative from Drinks Inc said: "While we understand that Mr McGrath's daughter is ill, we as a company are unhappy about a suspended sentence.

"What we are dealing with here is a serious breach of trust, and the company is continuing to deal with the ramifications of what Mr McGrath did. This unfortunately includes legal proceedings, as well as the impact it has had on other members of staff.

"While we welcome news today that 10,000 that will be paid back to us, we're still 60,000 down - so we are very much still dealing with the fall-out from his theft."
A house attacked by the UDA in greater Belfast at the weekend

Two alleged paedophiles who were "outed" by an online vigilante group have been attacked by paramilitaries, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

The men, who were named on a Facebook page, both live in the greater Belfast area.

They were targeted by the UDA after they were identified on social media.

The online vigilante group claimed that the first man "arranged for a 15-year-old to travel from the city to Greenisland to perform sexual acts as well as sex".

It's understood the man was targeted by loyalist terrorists at his home on Monday night.

The Facebook group said that the second man, believed to be 51, "groomed who he believed to be a 14-year-old online, sent a picture of himself wearing nothing but a Santa hat on his p**** and arranged to pick the child up and bring to his house for 'kissing and cuddling'".

It is understood that he was targeted by the UDA on Saturday night.

In a video showing members of the vigilante group confronting the man, he admits to sending the picture of himself naked to what he thought was a 14-year-old boy.

However, he says there was "no way" that he would have gone through with the meeting, and claims it is the first time he has taken part in such activity.

When asked why he had done so, he responded: "I don't know. I had a few drinks."

The PSNI said: "Police arrested a 50-year-old man in the Greenisland area on Tuesday October 31, 2017, on suspicion of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and attempted sexual communication with a child. The man was released on police bail pending further enquiries.

"Police arrested a 51-year-old man in the Newtownabbey area on Friday January 5, 2018, on suspicion of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

"The man was released on police bail pending further enquiries."

Detective Chief Inspector David McBurney of the PSNI's Public Protection Branch said that the police had seen a "rise in incidents involving a number of paedophile hunter groups operating within in Northern Ireland" over recent months.

He added: "We are also aware of a number of incidents following these hunter group 'stings'.

"It is the role of the PSNI to deal with those allegedly involved in this type of crime and the subsequent investigations.

"We are the professionals with the expert knowledge and experience to carry out rigorous investigations to the required evidential standard.

"We are the legitimate police service and we are accountable.

"Those involved in this type of vigilante behaviour aren't in a position to ensure safeguarding issues are addressed and their actions could have a detrimental impact on the criminal justice process.

"The PSNI are committed to tackling this issue and work closely with our partner agencies when carrying out investigations to assess the risk a potential offender may pose and to safeguard any children at potential risk."

Mr McBurney said if online groups wanted to help safeguard children "they need to bring any information they have about the identity of any person engaged in sexual offences against children to the PSNI immediately".

"These groups should not make arrangements to meet these individuals and should not share that information online," he added.

"We need them to come to us with their information, so that we can convert it into evidence and ensure a thorough investigation is carried out, including gathering the best possible evidence to enable effective investigations that produce a charge and successful prosecution."
Ian Paisley has blasted Sinn Fein's Declan Kearney for lecturing the DUP for "contempt" and "disrespect" hot on the heels of the Barry McElduff furore.

In his latest blog the Sinn Fein chairman said again there would be "no return to the status quo", and criticised the DUP's "hallmark disrespect and sneering contempt" of nationalists, women, ethnic minorities and the LGBT community.

Mr Paisley last night branded Mr Kearney "the class clown" and said he was "extremely short-sighted" to overlook the Kingsmill crisis in his own party.

"This week Mr Kearney has shown himself to be the class clown," said the MP for North Antrim.

"To come out with language like this, to lecture anyone else about respect after what's happened within his own ranks, takes a brass neck.

"Did he miss what just happened? Has he forgotten what Barry McElduff did, or the part Mairtin O Muilleoir played?

"He must be very short-sighted or very forgetful.

"The fact is, Mr Kearney's words are hollow, they're meaningless.

"He showed that after he made a brave speech about all that was going to happen only for nothing to happen, to be undermined by his party leader.

"He has no clout or authority in his own party and no unionist takes anything he says seriously."

In his blog to mark the first anniversary of Martin McGuinness's resignation as Joint First Minister, Mr Kearney said: "It was untenable for Martin and other Sinn Fein ministers to remain in the Executive with the DUP given the cumulative build-up of financial scandals; that party's institutionalised bigotry and bad faith; and, the hallmark disrespect and sneering contempt shown by DUP members towards northern nationalists, the LGB&T community, ethnic minorities and women, which had come to define the political institutions.

"Martin was insistent, against the advice of others for health reasons, that he should travel to Belfast the next day to meet and personally inform Arlene Foster, before making himself available to do media.

"Afterwards he said privately that the journey from Derry to Belfast and home that day felt like climbing Everest, such was the physical toll it had on him. That particular day has now forever immortalised the phrase that 'there would be no return to the status quo,' which Martin used in his press conference.

"Those words have come to symbolise the deep-rooted nature of the unfolding political crisis at the heart of the institutions.

"Martin McGuinness' resignation was not a stunt.

"Sinn Fein's commitment not to return to the status quo is not superficial or expedient.

"When the Sinn Fein leadership repeats there will be no return to the status quo we mean every word of that.

"Our position carries the same meaning and determination one year on from when Martin immortalised the phrase.

"The denial of rights; disrespect for the Irish cultural tradition and republican and nationalist political identity; abuse of the political institutions; rejection of proper power sharing based upon a commitment to anti-sectarianism; and, refusal to implement past agreements, most notably on legacy; is all directly in conflict with sustainable institutions.

"The DUP leadership knows exactly what must be done. When these issues are properly resolved the political institutions can be re-established.

"It is not a red line to state that the days of second class citizenship in the north of Ireland are over."
There has been anger and calls for an investigation after the Britain First deputy leader took to the Lord Mayor's seat in Belfast City Hall to make a statement.

Britain First posted a video on Facebook featuring Jayda Fransen, a figure head of the controversial far-right group who had just appeared in court to learn she will face trial over comments made at a Belfast rally last summer.

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In the video Ms Fransen is seen sitting in the Lord Mayor's position in a councillor's robes saying she wants to tell her supporters she intends to fight the charges and clear her name for a speech "in which I mentioned the 'I' word Islam".

Independent unionist councillor Jolene Bunting told the Belfast Telegraph she facilitated a tour for the controversial figure. She said, like all other tourists visiting Belfast, Ms Fransen took a tour and the opportunity to don a councillor's robes and sit in the Lord Mayor's chair.

Belfast City Council, however, said the protocols for filming in the chamber were not followed and it was not made aware of the plans. It said it was looking into the circumstances.

Former Belfast Lord Mayor, Brian Kingston said the use of the chamber to make a statement from such a controversial figure was an "abuse of privilege" by the councillor and "derogatory to the democratic system".

"I, like many others, show people around city hall but it is not for them to abuse the Lord Mayor's seat for making political statements.

"Jayda Fransen has nothing to do with Belfast City Council and she should not be using the chamber to make statements and I am astonished. She is a constant attention seeker and this is just a foolish publicity stunt to which the council should have no part in.

"This is not the only time we have seen people abusing items associated with the Lord Mayor. People will think it is a prank but is is actually derogatory to the democratic system."

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Jolene Bunting told the Belfast Telegraph there was nothing wrong with the video and Ms Fransen was entitled to visit and tour city hall like many others do on a daily basis.

"I don't believe I have abused any privileges in any way, it was certainly not my intention," she told the Belfast Telegraph.

"I do not see why there should be such an issue with it.

"Britain First is a political party, they are political activists and they have their opinions and policies, lots of which I agree with.

"People may not agree with their opinion but they still have right to their opinions and to having their say in our society under freedom of speech rights."

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Last year Britain First came to global prominence when US President Donald Trump retweeted posts from Ms Fransen to his millions of followers provoking a storm of anger across the political spectrum.

Ms Bunting said it was a "nonsense" to describe the party as racist.

"They have members of every creed and colour and from many different ethnic minorities including Chinese people and people with black skin.

"They have an ideology, a way of life they believe in and want to celebrate it and they see people going against that and when they raise it they are made out to be criminals."

Sinn Fein leader on Belfast City Council Jim McVeigh said the sight of the Britain First deputy leader in the Lord Mayor's seat was not an image the city should be sending out.

"It's a disgrace someone like that should be allowed anywhere near such a democratic space. I will be contacting the chief executive and will be calling for an investigation to see how this could be allowed to happen.

"This will no doubt be offensive to many people in our city, it should not have happened. It was only last week we had Councillor Bunting talk about problematic members of our society and then go off on a rant about the Quran. The last thing we need is her flaunting her nasty opinions on the citizens of Belfast - these views are not wanted.

"It's not a good image for the city and we have to make sure it doesn't happen again."

A Belfast City Council spokeswoman added: Council has been made aware of the video post and is currently looking into the circumstances. The usual procedures for those wishing to film or use council premises were not followed. We received no request nor were we made aware of these plans.
Sinn Fein has warned Northern Ireland's new secretary of state to drop the UK government's "partisan approach" to Stormont's powersharing crisis.

As the region marked one year since the late Martin McGuinness pulled down the devolved institutions by quitting as deputy first minister, his successor as Sinn Fein's Stormont leader, Michelle O'Neill, delivered a robust message to Karen Bradley.

Mrs Bradley spoke with Mrs O'Neill and Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster in separate phone calls on Tuesday, her first day in post coinciding with the first anniversary of the Stormont meltdown.

The former culture secretary, who replaced James Brokenshire after he resigned from the Government due to ill health, has the unenviable task of trying to forge consensus between the DUP and Sinn Fein and avert a return to Westminster direct rule.

"I told the new British Secretary of State that her Government has been part of the problem to date," said Mrs O'Neill.

"If any new talks to restore the Executive are to succeed, there must be a new approach from Karen Bradley's Government.

"They must stop enabling and defending the DUP's denial of rights which is blocking a return to powersharing and which would not be tolerated in her own country."

Mrs Foster, whose party's 10 MPs prop up the Conservative minority government at Westminster, had more positive exchange with the secretary of state.

"I welcomed her to her new post and I look forward to establishing a strong working relationship in the months ahead," she said.

A DUP colleague of Mrs Foster later accused Sinn Fein of blocking progress in Northern Ireland by pursuing a narrow political agenda.

Assembly member Christopher Stalford said 12 months without a devolved government had left the region's public services facing major problems.

"The DUP wants to see progress made and we remain committed to seeing devolution restored," he said.

"There won't be progress if Sinn Fein continue to ignore everyone and everything beyond their own narrow base."

On February 9 last year, Stormont was plunged into crisis when Mr McGuinness resigned as deputy first minister in protest at the DUP's handling of a botched green energy scheme.

The structures of powersharing meant his departure forced DUP first minister Mrs Foster from office and effectively torpedoed the coalition administration.

Sinn Fein activists erected a billboard in Mr McGuinness's beloved Bogside neighbourhood in Londonderry on Tuesday quoting his declaration on resigning, "no return to the status quo".

The rift over the renewable heat incentive (RHI) affair ended a decade-long partnership between the unionist and republican parties.

Mr McGuinness died two months after he quit from a heart condition.

Optimism created by a symbolic handshake at his funeral between Mrs Foster and Mrs O'Neill proved short-lived and, despite numerous rounds of UK government-convened negotiations and missed deadlines, Northern Ireland remains without a devolved government.

Civil servants are in charge of running the region's rudderless public servants but their hands are tied by an inability to make policy decisions.

As a consequence, problems are mounting up.

Health waiting lists in the region are among the longest in the UK.

The spectre of a re-imposition of direct rule from Westminster looms on horizon.

If an error ridden boiler scheme was the cause of the meltdown, other more traditional green/orange disputes soon replaced the RHI as the main focus of the impasse.

A stand-off over Sinn Fein's demand for stand-alone legislation to protect Irish language speakers is now the main obstacle preventing the restoration of devolution.

The DUP's opposition to lifting the region's ban on same sex marriage and the parties failure to implement new mechanisms to address the toxic legacy of the Troubles are among other key sticking points.

The wrangle took an unexpected twist in June when the DUP emerged from the snap general election as Westminster kingmakers and entered into a confidence and supply deal with Theresa May's minority Tory government.

An anticipated bid to reconvene negotiations between the two main parties and UK and Irish governments has been disrupted by Mr Brokenshire's shock resignation on health grounds.

After her appointment was announced on Monday night, Mrs Bradley insisted devolution could be saved.

"It is now a year since Northern Ireland has had an effective, functioning power-sharing administration, and forming a Northern Ireland Executive, to deliver for the benefit of all, is my top priority," she said.

SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood accused the DUP and Sinn Fein of abdicating the responsibility that comes with power.

"More and more people have come to the realisation that the moment of collapse last January was the product of a deeper malaise over the course of a decade of failure," he said.

"That 10-year period tells a story of DUP intransigence and Sinn Fein weakness."

Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said Mrs Bradley should prioritise the roll out of a public consultation on proposals to deal with the legacy of the conflict.

"Any delay will just kick the can down the road and leave those waiting for justice let down once again," he said.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said the public's patience had been stretched to breaking point.

"Further drift is not acceptable, our people are suffering, budgets are being cut, services are under extraordinary pressure and no decisions can be taken to alleviate any of that," she said.

"The past year has seen not only a lack of political progress but also the already fractious relationships between several parties becoming even further damaged due to lack of respect, bad attitudes and a seeming unwillingness to resolve the issues on the table."
Karen Bradley arrives in Belfast on her first visit as Northern Ireland Secretary

Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionists have continued their war of words after discussing the Stormont powersharing crisis with the new Northern Ireland Secretary.

On her first visit to Belfast, Karen Bradley said she wanted to work collaboratively with local parties to forge an agreement that will see a coalition executive resurrected.

But the prospects of an imminent breakthrough looked bleak on Wednesday as DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill appeared in no mood to change their negotiating positions, accusing each other of preventing the restoration of powersharing.

Mrs Bradley's appointment, following James Brokenshire's surprise resignation on health grounds, came as Northern Ireland marked a year since the Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led administration imploded in a row over a botched green energy scheme.

The rift between the two main parties has widened in the intervening 12 months to take in long-standing cultural and legacy disputes.

Mrs Foster held face-to-face talks with Mrs Bradley at Stormont House in Belfast while Mrs O'Neill arranged a phone call with the new incumbent at the Northern Ireland Office.

Mrs Foster said if further negotiations failed to deliver a breakthrough then Mrs Bradley had to move to put direct rule ministers in place.

"The clock is ticking in relation to the government of Northern Ireland, we haven't had a government now for over a year," she said.

"I think she's (Mrs Bradley) heard directly today from people that they want to see government back here and if it's not going to be a devolved administration then it will have to be some sort of an administration direct from Westminster.

"Of course we don't want that - we want devolution, but we can't continue without a government here in Northern Ireland."

Mrs Foster claimed Mrs O'Neill had not come to Stormont in person due to ongoing criticism prompted by a Sinn Fein MP posing with a Kingsmill branded loaf on his head on the anniversary of the 1976 Kingsmill massacre last Friday.

Abstentionist West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff, who apologised and insisted his social media video was not a reference to the 10 sectarian murders at Kingsmill, has been suspended by Sinn Fein for three months.

Asked for her reaction to the lack of a meeting between Mrs Bradley and Mrs O'Neill on Wednesday, the DUP leader said: "It's another indication that all is not well in Sinn Fein and they are a party in disarray at present."

Sinn Fein said the meeting had not gone ahead due to clashing diary commitments and branded Mrs Foster's claim as "nonsense".

Mrs O'Neill said the DUP leader was not serious about resolving the crisis.

"The call today by the DUP leader for the introduction of Tory direct rule makes clear they have no interest in resolving the issues at the heart of the current crisis and no interest in re-entering powersharing on the basis of equality and respect," she said.

"Martin McGuinness made clear there can be no denial of the rights of citizens and no return to the status quo. The agreements make clear there can be no return to direct rule.

"Sinn Fein is ready to engage in meaningful talks to resolve the issues and re-establish the powersharing institution, however the question is are the DUP serious about partnership government?"

Ahead of her political discussions, Mrs Bradley met students at Belfast's Metropolitan College in the city's regenerated docklands area on her first official engagement in the region.

"I want to find a way through this because the absolute priority is to restore devolved government as soon as possible," she said, standing on the Titanic Quarter's fog-shrouded waterfront.

Asked if she intended to adopt a new approach to the faltering negotiation process, Mrs Bradley stressed she was still in learning mode.

"I am here to learn, I am here to find out, I am here to meet all the leaders, I'm here to look at what needs to be done.

"I know there are challenges but I am determined we will find a way through those challenges.

"We need to deliver devolved government to Northern Ireland as soon as possible and that's what I am determined to do."

The Conservative MP said she was also conscious of the need to deliver a Brexit that worked for everyone in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Bradley said she understood the importance of dealing with the legacy of the Troubles and ensuring a safe future.

"My aim is to work collaboratively to find solutions to those issues that are acceptable to everyone," she said.

The former culture secretary said the Irish government would have an "important role" to play in efforts to save devolution.

She is due to meet Ireland's deputy premier and minister for foreign affairs Simon Coveney on Friday.

The appointment of an independent chair or moving the talks venue away from Stormont have been suggested as ways to invigorate the talks process.

Mrs Foster said neither option was going to change the issues that needed to be resolved.

"An independent chair, a different venue isn't going to change what we have to do here and what we have to do here is get devolution back for the people of Northern Ireland, and I think frankly all the rest is window dressing," she said.

"What we have to do is get down to the serious negotiations to bring about a devolved government here in Northern Ireland."
DUP leader Arlene Foster, with colleagues Simon Hamilton and Edwin Poots (right), speak with the media after talks with new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley

Sinn Fein's continued "eulogising" of the IRA is thwarting efforts to build a shared future in Northern Ireland, Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster has warned.

Mrs Foster delivered a blunt message to the republican party in the wake of a furore sparked when one of its MPs posed with a Kingsmill-branded loaf on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre.

"They have to stop eulogising terrorists," she said.

"They have to stop that, it cannot continue.

"If we are building a new shared future for the people of Northern Ireland, let's build it, but let's move away from the past and move away from the eulogising of terrorists."

The DUP leader claimed the controversy around West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff's social media video was just one of many instances where Sinn Fein members showed disrespect to the victims sector.

Mr McElduff has been suspended by Sinn Fein for three months.

He has insisted the video was not meant as a reference to the republican murders of ten Protestant workmen at the village of Kingsmill in January 1976 and issued an unreserved apologies to the victims' families.

Mrs Foster was scathing in her assessment of how Sinn Fein has handled the affair as she emerged from her first face-to-face meeting with new Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley at Stormont House.

"It really is time for Sinn Fein to show respect for all of the people of Northern Ireland, it is time for them to understand the hurt they have caused, not just over the incident with Barry McElduff but over a whole range of incidents in relation to innocent victims," she said.

Mrs Foster added: "We have listened to lectures on respect for a whole year and it's very easy to demand respect, but apparently it is not very easy to give respect, and Sinn Fein have not given respect to the victims community here in Northern Ireland and, by definition, the whole wider community in Northern Ireland."

Announcing Mr McElduff's suspension on Monday, Sinn Fein's Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill apologised to the Kingsmill families.

She said the tweet was "ill-judged and indefensible" but said she did not believe it was intentionally malicious.

In the short video, Mr McElduff, who is known for his light-hearted social media contributions, is filmed walking around a shop with a Kingsmill loaf on his head, asking where the store kept the bread.

It was posted around the 42nd anniversary of the Kingsmill outrage last Friday.

The abstentionist MP has faced multiple calls to resign in the wake of the controversy.

Mr McElduff will continue to be paid during his three-month suspension from party activities.

After Monday's disciplinary meeting in Belfast, Mrs O'Neill said sorry to the Kingsmill families.

"To the Kingsmill families, I as the Sinn Fein leader in the north want to apologise unreservedly for the hurt and pain that has been caused over the course of the last number of days in regard to Barry's tweet," she said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar commented on the episode after the first cabinet meeting of the new year in Dublin.

"I think what Mr McElduff did was very foolish and very inappropriate and very hurtful to the families of people who were killed in that awful atrocity," he said.

"Obviously it's up to Sinn Fein to decide how they discipline their own members and given his previous content on social media I think perhaps it was a genuine error of judgment rather than an attempt to deliberately insult the families of victims nonetheless it was egregious and unacceptable.

"I hope that, when he runs for re-election, and if he runs for re-election, that people of his constituency will decide to elect somebody with a little bit more character."

On Wednesday evening, a fresh Twitter row surfaced when a DUP Assembly member faced criticism for tweeting a graphic political sketch on the Mr McElduff episode that appeared to depict the aftermath of the Kingsmill outrage, with blood running from a bullet-riddled van.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long urged South Belfast MLA Christopher Stalford to delete the post.

"Christopher, please. Remove this," she tweeted.

"Stop this gruesome tit for tat and show some leadership and respect."

She added: "Don't be part of politicising what was an obscene atrocity. Be better than this."

Above the image, Mr Stalford wrote "Sinn Fein: offended by everything and ashamed of nothing."

He later tweeted that he would not delete the post at the "behest of the Sinn Fein Twitter mob" and would only take it down if someone connected to the Kingsmill massacre asked him to.

Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie retweeted the sketch without comment. He said the image was challenging and stimulated debate and insisted it should not be censored.

In response to critics on Twitter, he said: "Do you condemn Charlie Hebdo for their satirical content for example?"
An Army campaign appealing to potential soldiers from different backgrounds comes amid growing concern about recruitment numbers (Andrew Matthews/PA)

An Army campaign appealing to potential soldiers from different backgrounds comes amid growing concern about recruitment numbers.

The size of the regular Army has plummeted from 159,100 in 1980 to 83,561 in 2017, official figures show.

A report commissioned by Downing Street published in July also found the Army was running at more than 30% short of its annual recruitment target.

Expand Close How the size of the UK army has changed since 1980 (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook

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The head of the Army, General Sir Nick Carter, said in Britain today there are 25% fewer white 16 to 25-year-old males, who formed the forces traditional recruitment base.

The changing demographic has forced it to widen its appeal to those from a range of backgrounds.

Sir Nick told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: What this campaign is about, frankly, is a recognition that we dont have a fully manned Army at the moment, that the demography of our country has changed and that we need to reach out to a broader community in order to man that Army with the right talent.

Since 2010, when 108,920 were serving, there has been a steady decline in the number of full-time personnel, according to Ministry of Defence statistics.

Latest figures, from the year to October 2017, reveal the size of the regular Army has dropped further to 82,207.

Sir Nick said applications to join have gone up 30% to 35% in the last nine months after the army updated its advertising strategy to appeal to new types of applicant.

He said: Our traditional cohort would have been white, male, Caucasian 16 to 25-year-olds and there are not as many of those around as there once were, our society is changing, and I think its entirely appropriate for us therefore to try and reach out to a much broader base to get the talent we need in order to stay in that combat effectiveness.

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, criticised the almost impenetrable recruitment process, which he said is contributing towards the low numbers entering the system.

Expand Close Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, says part of the problem is the bureaucracy of the recruitment process (Stefan Rousseau/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, says part of the problem is the bureaucracy of the recruitment process (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

He told BBC Breakfast he has been contacted by people who have tried to join the Army but cant get through the system.

He said: Its not because of any shortcomings on them, its not because of any concerns they have, its because of the horrific bureaucracy, and I think that needs to be addressed.

Concerns have been raised about recruitment across the armed forces.

In the year to April 2017, 12,950 recruits joined the regular armed forces, but 14,970 service personnel left in the same period.

The Royal Navy and the RAF were also failing to hit their annual recruitment target by about 10%.
Leading Brexit supporters presented the EUs chief negotiator with a hamper of British goodies when they met him in Brussels to warn that the UK will not give up its freedoms to secure a trade deal.

Among the gifts for Michel Barnier were delicacies including British wine, gin, cheese, marmalade, Marmite and PG Tips tea as well as the complete works of William Shakespeare and a biography of Sir Winston Churchill.

Looking forward to giving Mr Barnier some fantastic products from Britain including some British wine and gin pic.twitter.com/xx69gT2siZ  Steven Woolfe (@Steven_Woolfe) January 10, 2018

Critics were quick to point out, however, that both Marmite and PG Tips are owned by Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, which has expressed reservations about Brexit.

Mr Barniers adviser Stefaan De Rynck pointed out that the Dorset Hundred Dram cheddar contained in the hamper was protected by an EU regional designation while the marmalade jar bore an EU organic logo.

The EU negotiator had just seen Churchill biopic Darkest Hour, he added.

On the delegation visiting Mr Barnier were independent MEP Steven Woolfe, former trade minister and ex-CBI chief Lord Jones of Birmingham, Leave Means Leave co-chairman John Longworth and Labour Leave chairman John Mills.

Mr Woolfe said Mr Barnier had spoken to many UK Government representatives and backers of Remain but this was an opportunity for him to meet a cross-party group of convinced Brexiteers who could get across the message that EU withdrawal has significant support in Britain and will not be overturned.

We told him that a trade deal should include goods and services, said the former Ukip MEP.

Our message was that if we dont have an inclusive agreement for goods and services, the British public will say we should walk away with no deal.

Ahead of our meeting with @MichelBarnier, we sat down with @dw_europe's Inside Europe to outline our perspective on the Brexit negotiations. pic.twitter.com/LZjkufq80e  John Mills (@John_Mills_JML) January 10, 2018

Francis Grove-White, deputy director of the Open Britain campaign for close ties with the EU, said: We have reached peak Brexit.

Self-important charlatans marching around Brussels with hampers of quintessentially British products  many of which are owned by companies that have said they are deeply worried about the impact of Brexit  does nothing to further the national interest.

This is no time for ridiculous stunts. The prosperity of our country is at stake.

We must protect jobs and our economy, and that means staying in the single market and the customs union on a permanent basis.

Mr Woolfe said Mr Barnier was delighted with his gift, adding: The package was designed to send a message that we, as Leavers, didnt enter the meeting in an antagonistic way.

Of course we know PG Tips started in Manchester and is now owned by an Anglo-Dutch company  its a perfect example of how Europe and the UK can work together in future in terms of trade, but not necessarily politics.

Expand Close John Longworth said he would tell Mr Barnier that any post-Brexit trade deal must not restrict the UK's 'economic and regulatory freedom' (Ben Birchall/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp John Longworth said he would tell Mr Barnier that any post-Brexit trade deal must not restrict the UK's 'economic and regulatory freedom' (Ben Birchall/PA)

The meeting came after former Ukip leader Nigel Farage held talks with Mr Barnier on Monday.

Mr Longworth said he made it clear to Mr Barnier that no trade deal is better than a bad trade deal and there was no way the UK is going to reverse its decision on Brexit.

He added that Brexit supporters would not be prepared to negotiate away our newly-won economic freedoms to secure a trade deal with the EU.

Mr Longworth suggested that Mrs Mays hopes of a bespoke deal with the EU would be dashed by Brussels.

It is very clear that the idea of a special relationship deal that the Prime Minister keeps talking about is out of the question, he said.
SRINAGAR: Thousands of people on Wednesday participated in the last rites of slain militant in Khudwani area of south Kashmirs Kulgam district.

An eye witness said that the funeral prayers of Farhan Ahmad Wani, offered twice to accommodate the huge rush of mourners, were led by his father Ghulam Ahmad Wani.

Pro-freedom and pro-Islam slogans were raised by the mourners during the funeral, he said.

Massiveclashes erupted in the area after he was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Khudwani.

Youth took to streets and clashes with the government forces deployed in the area.

Meanwhile, a complete shutdown was observed across Kulgam and Anantnag district to mourn the killings.

Internet continues to remain suspended in twin districts of Anantnag and Kulgam since yesterday. However, the service was barred in Pulwama district on Monday following a gunfight in Chadoora area of Budgam.

Farhan was killed in a gunfight with government forces in Larnoo forests in Kokernag area of Anantnag district yesterday. Hizb commander for Anantnag district Ashraf moulvi is believed to have given a slip to the forces in an injured condition.
Two thirds of people who try cigarettes go on to become daily smokers, a new study has found (PA)

Two-thirds of people who try a cigarette go on to become daily smokers, a new study has found.

Researchers found that 69% of people who had ever tried a cigarette had gone on to become a daily smoker, even if just temporarily.

The authors from Queen Mary University of London said the study showed the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience.

aGiving up smoking for gooda a it can sound pretty daunting, but it doesnat need to be. If youare ready to go #Smokefree, weare here to help. Visit https://t.co/H19xhaRDmT to find all the free support available pic.twitter.com/E0F23Q9HM7  NHS Salford CCG (@SalfordCCG) January 1, 2018

They said that the study, published in the journal Nicotine And Tobacco Research, provides support for reducing cigarette experimentation among teenagers.

Researchers searched global databases for studies examining cigarette experimentation and smoking habits, including research from the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Data from eight surveys  with information on more than 215,000 people  were included for analysis.

In 2016, 15.8% of British adults smoked which equates to around 7.6 million people.

Northern Ireland has the highest proportion of adults who smoke with 18.1% being smokers, this compares to 15.5% of adults in England, 16.9% in Wales and 17.7% in Scotland.

Across the UK, more men are smokers than women, with 17.7% of men being current smokers compared to 14.1% of women.

In 2016, British male smokers smoked an average of 12 cigarettes a day while female smokers each smoked an average of 11 cigarettes each day.

Around 2.9 million Britons were e-cigarette users in 2016.

The team found that 60.3% of respondents had said they had ever tried a cigarette, and among those, 68.9% said they had progressed to daily smoking.

Lead researcher Professor Peter Hajek, from Queen Mary, said: This is the first time that the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience has been documented from such a large set of data.

Smoking remains the third largest cause of accidental dwelling fires for the past five years in the capital but the single largest cause of death. Become #SmokeFree today. Get support here: https://t.co/E3wfFwxf3s pic.twitter.com/mlOCm27VoR  London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) January 8, 2018

Weve found that the conversion rate from first-time smoker to daily smoker is surprisingly high, which helps confirm the importance of preventing cigarette experimentation in the first place.

The UK is seeing a dramatic reduction in smoking at the moment and this tallies with recent findings that only 19% of 11 to 15-year-olds have ever tried a cigarette, so the good news is that we are on the right track.
Chris Grayling echoed Theresa Mays much-maligned nothing has changed soundbite as he dismissed suggestions that he was angry over being wrongly announced as Conservative Party chairman during the Cabinet reshuffle.

The Prime Ministers shake-up of her ministerial team began farcically on Monday as Mr Grayling was incorrectly declared party chairman by the Conservatives official Twitter account before the job went to Brandon Lewis.

Mr Grayling has stayed on as Transport Secretary and declared nothings changed as he sought to defend the reshuffle, bringing to mind Mrs Mays mantra as she U-turned on plans for a so-called dementia tax during her botched snap election last year.

Am honoured to be made Chairman of the @Conservatives a great party delivering for people across the UK with a superb team.  Brandon Lewis (@BrandonLewis) January 8, 2018

Reshuffles  theres always endless speculation, the Transport Secretary told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

I think over the last two weeks Ive been going to be sacked, Ive been going to become deputy prime minister, Ive been going to become party chairman; actually Im the Transport Secretary whos always wanted to be Transport Secretary, whos very happy doing it.

Nothings changed.

Lots of media speculation and a mistaken tweet and that happens quite often these days.

Asked if he was angry about the mix-up over the party chairman job, he replied: No, not in the slightest. Im doing a job I really enjoy doing, I want to make a difference, I believe we are making a difference.

Off to my new role as Universities & Science Minister and looking forward to the challenges ahead - thank you for your excellent work @JoJohnsonUK. A massive thank you to all prisons & probation staff, particularly prison officers, for your incredible dedication & hard work.  Sam Gyimah (@SamGyimah) January 9, 2018

Mrs May followed her limited Cabinet-level reshuffle on Monday by sacking a number of middle-ranking white, male ministers and replacing them with younger colleagues in an apparent bid to boost diversity in the Government.

Mr Grayling denied he had survivors guilt as a white, middle-aged man.

No, I dont think so. Im getting on with the job, he said.

And referring to an item on the programme discussing the resemblance of the May administration to the Tudor courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, he said: The Prime Minister has only got one husband rather than six and I dont think shes got quite the same build as Henry VIII.
The German start-up is at CES in Las Vegas as one of Intel's partners (Martyn Landi/PA)

The idea that flying cars will one day fill our skies is one that has moved from science fiction and The Jetsons to real tech conversation in recent years.

Perhaps all those episodes of the cartoon have rooted the thought of shooting across the skies in personalised vehicles, but companies like Volocopter are only adding to it.

The German start-up is at CES in Las Vegas as one of Intels partners, and demonstrating its electric flying vehicle in the US for the first time.

Another day at CES begins with a closer look at Volocopter - the electric drone for passenger transport. Wants to be fully rolled out in the next five years #CES2018 pic.twitter.com/MZnrlOZuZz  Martyn Landi (@MartynLandi) January 10, 2018

Its effectively a drone big enough to carry two people, which users can pilot manually or be flown around autonomously.

Volocopter have been in the news before  the firm has a deal with the authorities in Dubai to test its vehicles there, ahead of a full pilot program potentially launching there in the early 2020s.

The company is now looking to make waves in the wider tech industry by appearing alongside industry giant Intel at the show.

Speaking in front of the vehicle in the central plaza of CES, chief executive Florian Reuter said Volocopter had been designed for big cities around the world, to combat congestion.

Our goal is to introduce autonomous air taxis within the next five years, he said.

Mr Reuter said he believed the vehicle had the ability to succeed because it was socially acceptable because its drone/quatcopter design meant it was quiet, while being all electric made it emissions-free.

The aim, according to Mr Reuter, is to enable Jetsons fiction, with flying taxis taking to the skies to ferry us around the worlds major cities.

Intels support and impending real world trials suggest this is far more than a pipe dream.
President Juan Manuel Santos shakes hands with Rodrigo Londono, Farc's top commander, last June, as peace talks with another rebel group hit problems (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos has said new rebel attacks have prompted him to recall his chief negotiator from peace talks with the country's last remaining insurgent group.

The reported clashes came hours after a bilateral ceasefire expired, in a setback for efforts to end half a century of political violence in the South American nation.

In a short address on state television on Wednesday, Mr Santos condemned the attacks and said he has asked Gustavo Bell to return from talks in Ecuador "to evaluate the future of the process" and ordered Colombia's military to respond to the new aggression with force.

The defence ministry announced less than an hour later that authorities had detained two ELN rebels on weapons and terrorism charges after they were found with drugs and gun cartridges.

Representatives from Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) were due to meet on Wednesday in Ecuador and were expected to discuss the terms of a new ceasefire.

Mr Santos said: "Inexplicably, the ELN not only refused, but they reinitiated terrorist attacks this morning, on the exact day new talks were slated to begin."

He added: "My commitment to peace has been and will be unwavering. But peace is obtained through willpower and concrete acts. Not just with words."

Colombia's peace delegation said there were four new attacks early on Wednesday, including a grenade launched at marines.

The nation's largest petroleum company said there was a "possible attack" on an oil pipeline in Aguazul, about 185 miles north-east of capital Bogota. Workers detected a drop in pressure and immediately suspended operations.

"These acts are not just an attack against an oil pipeline," the government peace delegation said. "They are a direct affront to the community."

A spokeswoman for the delegation said Mr Bell's recall did not mean peace talks have been suspended, instead characterising them as a "call for consultation".

Colombia reached an historic peace agreement with the nation's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, in late 2016, ending Latin America's longest-running conflict.

The end of that conflict has been hailed internationally though it has also opened a new power struggle in remote areas previously controlled by Farc rebels and still occupied by ELN combatants.

Peace talks with the smaller ELN, whose founders in the 1960s included radical Roman Catholic priests, began last February.

While the Farc peace agreement is credited with paving the way towards negotiations with the ELN, analysts say peace talks with ELN rebels also present distinct challenges

AP
Allegations about Russian involvement in Donald Trump's successful White House run were included in an unverified dossier

Donald Trump has said it "seems unlikely" that he would give an interview in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Mr Trump said "we'll see what happens" when asked if he would provide an interview to Mr Mueller's team.

"When they have no collusion and nobody's found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview," Mr Trump said during a joint news conference with the prime minister of Norway.

The special counsel's team of investigators has expressed interest in speaking with Mr Trump, but no details have been worked out.

Mr Trump's lawyers have previously stated their determination to cooperate with requests in the probe, which has already resulted in charges against four of Mr Trump's campaign advisers.

Mr Trump called the investigation a "phony cloud" over his administration.

"It has hurt our government," he said. "It was a Democrat hoax."

The comments come after Mr Trump had already lashed out at the investigations on Twitter on Wednesday morning, urging Republicans to take control of the inquiries and repeating his claim that they are on a "witch hunt".

"There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes," he tweeted. "Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!"

In a separate tweet, Mr Trump accused Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein of being "underhanded and a disgrace" for disclosing details of a dossier of allegations about his ties to Russia during the presidential campaign.

A day earlier, Ms Feinstein, who faces a primary challenge in her re-election this year, released the transcript of the Senate Judiciary Committee's closed-door August interview with an official from the political opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which commissioned the dossier.

She released the transcript of Glenn Simpson's interview against the objections of the committee's Republican chairman Chuck Grassley. She is the top Democrat on the panel.

"The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace," Mr Trump tweeted. "Must have tough Primary!"

The material was not classified, and Ms Feinstein said that she did not do anything illegal.

AP
Alexandre Djouhri is due at Westminster Magistrates' Court for a bail hearing

A French businessman will appear in a London court to face extradition proceedings over allegations of fraud and money laundering.

Alexandre Djouhri is due at Westminster Magistrates' Court Wednesday for a bail hearing.

British police say Djouhri was arrested on Sunday at Heathrow Airport on a warrant issued by France "for offences of fraud and money laundering".

He appeared in court on Monday and was ordered detained until his next hearing.

French judges have sought to question Djouhri as part of a French investigation into claims that former president Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign received millions in funding from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

France was a key player in the 2011 Nato-backed uprising in Libya that toppled and killed Gaddafi.
2 Indians held with cache of marijuana

Two Indian nationals have been arrested by the Chitwan police along with over 86 kg of marijuana.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, what say you, Biden voters?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
He will also visit a plague treatment centre, and the National Operational and Strategic Centre for Epidemiological Surveillance

The Director-General of WHO has outlined his vision for a Madagascar free of plague epidemics during a three-day visit to the island nation that started on 7 January 2018.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Madagascar can make plague epidemics a thing of the past through strategic investments in its health system  including better access to healthcare, improving preparedness, surveillance and response capabilities, and implementing the International Health Regulations.

During his first visit to Madagascar since his election as Director-General of WHO last year, Dr Tedros is due to meet with plague survivors and affected families, key Ministers and officials leading response efforts, the President and First Lady, and representatives of UN agencies and health partners.

He will also visit a plague treatment centre, and the National Operational and Strategic Centre for Epidemiological Surveillance.

On the first day of the visit, the WHO Director-General thanked national authorities for their leadership and partners for their support during the recent nationwide outbreak of pneumonic and bubonic plague that caused more than 200 deaths over four months.

"This unprecedented pneumonic plague outbreak was contained due to the tireless efforts of Malagasy health workers and partners. WHO will continue to support plague preparedness, control and response, and we call on our international development partners to help us end human outbreaks. This will include better understanding of the wider factors that allow plague to spread, and strengthening national capacities to manage similar emergencies in the future," said Dr Tedros.

Although the acute phase of the epidemic was declared over by health authorities in late November 2017, plague occurs seasonally in Madagascar, usually between September and April each year.

Dr Tedros was accompanied by WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti who cautioned that the response must be sustained until the end of the plague season and beyond.

"We must sustain a strong alert and response system to rapidly detect and respond to new plague cases as they emerge. WHO urgently requires an additional US$ 4 million to sustain response operations over the next three months and until April 2018, Dr Moeti.

Dr Lalatiana Andriamanarivo, Minister of Health of Madagascar said, With support from WHO and other partners we provided treatment to nearly all identified plague patients and more than 7300 contacts free of charge.
A written reply furnished by Dr KC to the Supreme Court on Tuesday

As CJ Gopal Parajuli has been challenging the faith, dignity and independence of judiciary, and is guilty of contempt of court, I request the judiciary to take action against him in a contempt of court case. The accusations against me are baseless. I ask the bench of all the SC justices except Parajuli to conduct a hearing on this case.
Karan Johar Was Slaying In His Turquoise Suit; Guys, You Got Goals! Bollywood Wardrobe Dona

At the cover launch of MillionaireAsia India Magazine, the ultimate dapper, Filmmaker Karan Johar was spotted in one of his coolest style books.

He was slaying it totally in a turquoise coloured tuxedo blazer from Gucci which he matched with a black shirt and black trousers. The black boots had to be a necessary pair with the suit. The Gucci blazer had a 'knife into the heart' patch which too suggested his intentions to slay people with the look.

He is always on our list of the best-styled celebrities in India and his style books never fail to amaze us.

Did you like his look?

Actor Jackie Shroff too was at the event, as usual killing it with his sassy style and attitude.
Birgunj Metropolitan City struggling to pay its bills

Recently awarded metropolitan city status, Birgunj is having a hard time paying its construction bills and office expenses. The trade and industrial hub on the Indian border is the only metropolitan city in Province 2.
Contemptible actions

The Supreme Court (SC) acted in a hurry on Monday in ordering the arrest of Dr Govinda KC, who had made statements that the SC perceived as contempt of court.
For the third time, a refugee claimant crossing into Canada on foot at the Manitoba border near Emerson has suffered serious frostbite.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/1/2018 (1335 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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For the third time, a refugee claimant crossing into Canada on foot at the Manitoba border near Emerson has suffered serious frostbite.

On Thursday night, after paying US$700 to a driver to bring him from Minneapolis, 36-year-old Kangni Kouevi said he was left in the bitter cold on the side of the road and pointed in the direction of Canada.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kangni Kouevi walked across the Emerson border crossing Thursday night. He suffered severe frostbite to both his hands in the extreme cold.

toThe man from the African country of Togo was wearing good boots, which saved his feet; however, he suffered frostbite on his hands during his walk across the border.

At the time, it was -31 C in Emerson with the wind chill.

On Monday morning, his bandaged, frostbitten fingers were too blistered and oozing for Canada Border Services Agency officers to fingerprint him.

"Im fine," Kouevi said in English, before asking an interpreter in French to tighten the belt that had become loose on his jeans.

His interpreter, University of Manitoba law student Darryl Strain, who volunteers at Winnipeg refugee assistance organization Welcome Place helping refugee claimants fill out their paperwork, obliged.

With Strain interpreting, Kouevi said theres feeling returning to his fingers and hes in great pain.

He said he fled Lome, the capital of Togo, because he faced death threats after converting to Christianity and couldnt count on authorities to protect him.

His father is a well-known faith healer in the west African country of 6.8 million people, where more than half practice Indigenous animist religions.

Witch doctors and soothsayers still have a significant role, the African Union says in its Togo fact sheet: "half-doctor, half-magician, these fetish priests have... individualized amulets that provide protection against evil spells or that increase the strength of the person on whom they are bestowed."

As his fathers only child, Kouevi said he was expected to follow in his fathers footsteps.

"He made statuettes that contained (things like) sheeps blood, feathers and alcohol," he said through the interpreter. "He would ask for answers to problems through the statuettes and God would answer through the statuettes."

Prominent people  including police and government ministers  "would come to buy the statuettes for spiritual protection," said Kouevi, who worked in Togo at a butchers shop and as a window installer.

As a Christian, he couldnt inherit the role that is passed down from generation to generation, and thats when his trouble began, he said.

"The whole community was upset and my father would threaten me with death," he said, adding he couldnt turn to the police or any government official for protection.

"Togo is a dictatorship. Theres no real protection."

Friends in the United States chipped in to help Kouevi flee Togo. He travelled to Brazil, though Ecuador and Central America to Mexico.

"I wanted to enter the States legally and properly and presented myself at the border to claim asylum," Kouevi said.

He did, and was locked up in an Arizona immigration jail for 11 months. With no legal help, his case was rejected by an immigration judge. He was released and told to wait for his removal to Togo.

"I was really worried about being deported," Kouevi said. So he went to Minneapolis and paid for a ride to Canada.

He was dropped off at 7 p.m. Thursday, farther from the border at Emerson than he expected.

Kouevi said he walked for three hours. He found an abandoned shed and took shelter. His hands were so frozen he could barely press 911 on his cellphone. The RCMP took him to the Canada Border Services Agency at Emerson and officials sent him to hospital in Morris. He was treated, then taken back to the CBSA.

A Welcome Place worker later picked him up and took him to Winnipegs Health Sciences Centre for further treatment.

A year ago, two refugee claimants from Ghana  Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal  suffered severe frostbite crossing from the U.S. on foot. Both men lost their fingers.

Hospitality House Refugee Ministry settlement director Karin Gordon is worried about Kouevi losing his as well.

"We dont know how much damage there is, or if it will heal," she said Monday after taking Kouevi to the CBSA office in Winnipeg.

"Right now, the big concern is infection," said Gordon, who retired from the HSC before running settlement services for the charity.

One of the men staying at the residence helped Kouevi shower and Gordon washed his clothes and spoon-fed him breakfast and brushed his teeth. She hopes that once Kouevis paperwork is complete, hell be eligible to get more care.

"Hes very vulnerable right now."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
An Anglican priest who used the church credit card to make $192,000 worth of unauthorized purchases  including two trips to Las Vegas and numerous stays at the prestigious Fairmont Gold floor in Winnipeg  was sentenced to almost two years of house arrest on Tuesday.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/1/2018 (1334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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An Anglican priest who used the church credit card to make $192,000 worth of unauthorized purchases  including two trips to Las Vegas and numerous stays at the prestigious Fairmont Gold floor in Winnipeg  was sentenced to almost two years of house arrest on Tuesday.

Noah James Bernard Njegovan, 35, pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 in Brandon Court of Queens Bench in December for stealing from the Anglican Church of Canada, The Diocese of Brandon between Jan. 26, 2010 and Aug. 27, 2012  where he was an executive archdeacon at the time.

It was this guilty plea, a request for mercy from the church and Njegovans parents selling their house to pay the diocese $192,000 in restitution that led to the joint recommendation between the Crown and the defence for a conditional sentence.

"The repayment of at least the amount he stole is significant," Crown attorney Jim Ross told the court. "It saves the victim from what is often a futile effort to collect a restitution order and it at least replaces the funds which were taken."

"If (Njegovans parents) had not done that, we might be in a very different position today," defence lawyer Michael Cook said. "He may have been looking to get on a bus today to Headingley (Correctional Centre), or even Stony Mountain (Institution)."

Over the course of approximately 30 months, more than 800 purchases of personal items were made on the church credit card, Ross said.

A total of $92,000 was withdrawn off the credit card as cash advances from ATMs, often late at night after the card had been used at a bar or a restaurant, Ross said.

Njegovan racked up $44,000 at bars and restaurants in 389 transactions, including a $740 dinner at Baileys Restaurant & Lounge in Winnipeg on the day of his 30th birthday.

Approximately $23,000 was used for non-business travel and hotels, Ross said, sometimes paying for two flights and two hotel rooms for Njegovan and a friend.

"The Crown can prove two trips to Las Vegas," Ross said. "One, for example, cost $3,363 in hotel and airfare  on the way back from that trip Mr. Njegovan and a buddy were stopped by the Canada Border Services agency, who found cocaine residue on the dash of their vehicle. His passenger took responsibility for that."

Other travel included approximately nine stays at the Fairmont Gold floor in Winnipeg, averaging approximately $600 a night, and multiple stays at hotels in Brandon despite living there at the time, Ross said.

Njegovan evaded detection by paying his credit card bills online with the dioceses savings account, which he had the authority to transfer money from, Ross said. He repeatedly put off audits supposed to be done by outside accountants and never disclosed his credit card statements or the transfers from the savings account.

"(Njegovan) had to tell repeated lies to conceal what he was doing from the executive committee of the diocese," Ross said. "They had a simple system that worked well for decades  Mr. Njegovan changed this procedure to allow himself to do what he did."

Reading his victim impact statement to the court, the dioceses bishop, Right Rev. William Cliff, said the revelation of Njegovans theft has had a major impact on The Diocese of Brandon, including the "drastic drop" of annual funding, which forced them to dig even deeper into savings to make up the difference.

"We will be years recovering from the financial implications of the theft and the resulting loss of trust. We may never recover to the level of financial trust we had before this incident, and we have significantly enhanced our financial policies," Cliff said.

"Nevertheless, The Diocese of Brandon does not want Mr. Njegovan to go to jail. We do not believe that a custodial sentence would either serve a purpose for us, or for him  We believe he has suffered enough  theres been enough public shame and loss of reputation to serve as a deterrent  We simply ask for mercy."

Cook reiterated Njegovans feelings of shame, adding Njegovan was going through a "dark period" at the time of the thefts, including the break down of his marriage.

"Mr. Njegovans story is similar in some respects to most people who steal. He started taking parishioners out for lunches and dinners  which was a charitable thing to do, it was a righteous thing to do, but then the boundaries started to expand a bit," Cook said. "It was a downward spiral that got him deeper and deeper into debt, and then he needed to find ways to hide it."

"$192,000, from a church," Justice John Menzies said, pausing for a moment. "An organization that preaches trust and giving the benefit of the doubt to their fellow man pays for that."

Menzies shook his head in apparent disbelief while sentencing, explaining there were many philosophical issues he had to consider.

"Is there a law for the rich and a law for the poor? A poor man who could not pay back the $192,000 would be on their way to Stony Mountain today, while someone who has access to money and can pay it back, gets a more lenient treatment," Menzies said. "Now I understand why  at the end of the day the diocese needs its money back. If theres no incentive for an accused to pay back the money they stole, then the accused goes to jail and the diocese is $192,000 in the hole."

Ultimately, Menzies accepted the joint recommendation and sentenced Njegovan to 22 months of house arrest. He must abide by a 24-hour curfew for the first 12 months, with the exception of work, emergencies, and four hours a week to run errands and purchase necessities.

For the remaining 10 months of the sentence, Njegovans curfew will loosen to 10 p.m. to 7 a.m..

"This is a horrible, horrible offence," Menzies said. "Let me tell you, without question, that without that recommendation from those two counsel, youd be on your way to jail."

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 9/1/2018 (1335 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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A woman was found guilty on Monday for pulling a knife on a pregnant woman outside a Brandon grocery store.

Johanne Wheeler testified in Brandon provincial court that she was five months pregnant at the time of the attempted attack, and was leaving Superstore with her husband and their two kids when she saw the woman running at her.

"She barrelled at me  She lunged and took a swing at me and she had a knife in her hand," Wheeler said. "My husband stood in between us and was ushering us toward our vehicle."

Kristy Elaine Shepherd, 26, pleaded not guilty to possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and breaching a probation order not to possess any weapons.

Shepherd and Wheeler know each other through family and it was no secret they did not get along, Wheeler said, which is why when she saw Shepherd in the check-out area she avoided her and continued on with her shopping.

On their way out of the store, Wheeler and her son were talking about a dead mouse they had seen on the way in, pointing in the area on the ground where it was, she said. Next thing she knew, Shepherd was coming at her from the direction she was pointing.

"She was yelling profanities, telling me that I ruined her family and that she was going to ruin mine," Wheeler said, adding thats when she saw a knife in Shepherds hand. "I didnt see the handle, I just saw the blade  it was silver and shiny, like the blade on a small paring knife or maybe even a Swiss Army knife."

Wheelers husband, Harley Scott, also testified, telling the court he saw Shepherd running toward them with her hands in her pockets in a threatening manner before stepping in front of his wife to protect her.

"(Shepherd) wouldnt stop advancing toward us  I put my body in between my wife and Kristy, turned my back and started trying to get them into the van," Scott said.

At one point, Shepherd pulled the knife out of her pocket, Scott said, enough to show him what it was.

"I know what a knife looks like," Scott said. "It was a small steak knife or something, I saw part of the handle and part of the blade."

Shepherd testified she saw Wheeler and Scott when she was checking out, and due to the bad blood between them, decided to get her friend to pay for her items and left the store to avoid confrontation.

Shepherd was outside having a cigarette when Wheeler and Scott left the store, she said, and Wheeler pointed at her and said something.

Shepherd admitted to approaching the couple, but only out of curiosity to find out what Wheeler had said, she testified. The only thing she had in her hand was the lighter she used to light her cigarette, she added.

"I put it to you that it was not a knife you saw in (Shepherds) hand, but a lighter," defence lawyer Abi Obafemi asked Scott.

"I know the difference between a lighter and a blade," Scott said.

Obafemi said that Wheelers evidence and Scotts evidence contradicted each other, as Wheeler described Shepherd waving a knife around while Scott said Shepherds hands were in her pockets.

Crown attorney Kaley Tschetter argued the two testimonies did in fact corroborate with each other, as both said Scott turned around to usher his family into their vehicle, leaving the opportunity for him not to see Shepherd pull out or wave around a knife.

Tschetter also took issue with Shepherds testimony, which she said contradicted itself.

"(Shepherds) evidence just doesnt make sense," Tschetter said. "She said she left Superstore to avoid having a confrontation with (the couple). They dont confront her at all  but she confronts them. This is contrary to why she left Superstore."

Judge John Combs ultimately agreed with the Crown and found Shepherd guilty of both charges. She was sentenced to 77 days time served, followed by one year probation.

Shepherd was already banned from possessing any weapons under a 10-year weapons prohibition.

"You now have another conviction for something that involves a weapon," Combs said. "That cant be part of your life going forward  I hope you make the necessary changes to keep your temper under control."

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
COSCAP-South Asia meet to discuss road to safer skies

The 26th Steering Committee Meeting of the Cooperative Development of Operational Safety and Continuing Airworthiness Programme (COSCAP-South Asia) opened Tuesday with the aim of taking policy decisions on practical measures to achieve the common safety goal of the region. The conference will continue for three days.
DoSM begins aggressive market monitoring drive

The Department of Supplies Management (DoSM) has started aggressive market inspections on suspicion of artificial price hike of construction materials such as cement and steel rod. On Tuesday, the DoSM cross-checked 10 trucks at the Prithvi Highway.
Air France is to begin services out of Cork Airport from May, with a new Cork to Paris-Charles de Gaulle route.

The new service will bring an additional 33,750 available seats, commencing May 26 and running through until October 27 this year.

All flights will be operated by Air France Hop! using Embraer 170 aircraft, carrying up to 76 passengers. Fares start from 129 return in economy including all taxes.

Benedicte Duval, general manager of Air France-KLM UK & Ireland stated: Demand for efficient, seamless and convenient travel from the south of Ireland continues to grow and we are delighted to be in a position to offer both business and leisure passengers in the region even greater choice and connectivity.

"The new service not only links Cork to the French capital and the rest of Europe, but it provides passengers with the opportunity to connect to our extensive network of over 180 exciting worldwide destinations.

We look forward to welcoming new and returning passengers on board Air France in the coming months.

Welcoming the new route, Niall MacCarthy, managing director at Cork Airport said: This is great news, not only for those seeking to travel to France, but also for those wishing to venture further afield.

"By flying out of Cork Airport with Air France, travellers will have easy access to many long-haul destinations from Paris-Charles de Gaulle, such as Brazil, Mauritius, Mexico and Algeria as well as easy short-haul connections to Nice, Brussels, Rome and Lisbon.

The 1h 50mins flight will depart Cork Airport daily at 4.30pm and arrive at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 7.20pm (local time).

The return leg departs Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 2.55pm (local time) and arrives at Cork at 3.50pm.

Mr MacCarthy added that Cork Airports business strategy for 2018 is focused on growing airlines, routes and connections from Cork.

The new Air France Paris route serves this aim. Ireland is ranked as the fourth most popular destination with the French and the new service from Cork will further grow inbound tourism from this key continental market to counties across the south of Ireland, he said.

Speaking on todays announcement, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: This is more good news for tourism to Cork and the south of Ireland as we prepare for 2018.

"It will certainly expand travel options for French holidaymakers wishing to visit this part of Ireland. We already work very closely with Air France and we look forward to co-operating with them to maximise the promotion of this new service from Paris.

"As an island, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated  they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism.
There are renewed calls for stricter legislation to address the gender pay gap.

Policy-makers, business reps, trade unions and academics will gather for a symposium in Dublin today to discuss solutions to the problem.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to reduce the gap, which currently stands at 14%.

Orla O'Connor from the National Women's Council said that there are a number of reasons why women are losing out financially.

"They relate to issues around reducing the cost of childcare, because the cost of childcare puts such an enormous barrier for women in terms of choosing whether they want to go into part-time or full-time employment," she said.

"We also need to look at jobs that are insecure, and are precarious, because that is one of the reasons for the gender pay gap, the fact that so many women are in low-paid, insecure work.

"And then we really need to promote women in leadership."

- Digital desk
Thailand has said former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who fled the country last year to evade a prison sentence, is in the UK after photos surfaced online apparently showing her in London.

Yingluck, whose government was ousted in a 2014 coup, was sentenced in her absence to five years in prison on September 27 for negligence in instituting a money-losing rice subsidy programme.

She fled Thailand before the verdict and has called the case against her politically motivated.

She has not been seen in public since fleeing, but it had been generally assumed that she was in Dubai or London.

Her brother, ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has homes in both cities.

Foreign minister Don Pramudwinai told reporters that a visiting British government minister had informed Thai officials that Yingluck has been in London since September.

The confirmation of her whereabouts came after several photographs of her appeared in Thai and social media in the past few weeks, including one apparently taken with another woman outside Harrods department store in London.

Mr Don said the Thai government has not made a decision on whether to ask Britain to extradite Yingluck.

"We have to do a 360-degree assessment of the situation first," he said.

Yinglucks conviction is the latest chapter in a decade-long struggle between Thailands traditional ruling class - led by royalists and the military - and the powerful political machine founded by Thaksin, who was toppled in a 2006 coup.

He has lived in Dubai since fleeing a corruption conviction he says was politically motivated.

AP
''Growth has also shifted, bringing new stars to the fore. In particular, Cairns and Canberra were some of the strongest trading markets. '' Mr Moors said appetite for hotel development in Melbourne and Sydney is growing, against a backdrop of improving tourism demand and as consumers demand a greater focus on in-room design and technology. ''Disruptors are clearly evident, but the hotel sector has a proven track-record of resilience that should absorb this inventory over time,'' he said. Karen Wales, director of transaction services, hotels at Colliers International, said the Sydney CBD hotel market has consistently high occupancy levels over an extended period and Average Daily Rates (ADR) have been increasing sharply over recent years as owners capitalise on the continuing strength of the market. AccorHotels, which has been one of the busiest operators in 2017, has opened its Sofitel Sydney at Darling Harbour and will also operate the new MGallery by Sofitel at Vicinity Centres' Chadstone shopping centre, Melbourne.

It is also due to open its new $140 million Willian Inglis hotel, the MGallery by Sofitel at Sydney's Warwick Farm. Simon McGrath, chief operating officer of AccorHotels Pacific, said he was ''thrilled to be embarking on the project with the joint co-owners of Chadstone and that the development would contribute significantly to the evolution of the world-class precinct''. We are delighted to be working on Chadstones new hotel development and are incredibly excited by the synergies it creates; bringing our high-end, boutique MGallery by Sofitel brand to Melbournes most luxurious fashion address,'' Mr McGrath said. ''Melbourne has established itself as world-class tourist destination and has the infrastructure to support the 11 million tourists which come to the city annually.'' In the coming year, AccorHotels will vastly expand with the takeover of the Mantra Group.

AccorHotels to open new $130m MGallery by Sofitel hotel at Chadstone mall, Melbourne IHG expansion The InterContinental Group has also been very busy with the development of the Holiday Inn & Suites Geelong, Victoria. IHG currently has 47 hotels operating under four brands across Australasia: InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn, Hotels & Resorts and Holiday Inn Express, with a further 15 in the pipeline including Hotel Indigo and EVEN Hotels. The next phase for IHG is the new Hotel Indigo brand which is opening by 2020 in Melbournes Docklands precinct.

The Indigo brand reflects the new Age of I traveller segment which is on that is increasingly fixated on local, inspiring and unique experiences that make them feel part of the destination. IHG's chief operating officer, Karin Shepard, who was recently appointed as the managing director, Europe, said for the ''uncompromising and nuanced travellers, run of the mill hotels is not enough''. Leanne Harwood has been appointed as IHG managing director, Australasia & Japan. ''Thats why IHG and Salta Properties have signed a management agreement to build a Hotel Indigo, the refreshingly local brand for the savvy individualist, in Melbournes eclectic and heritage-listed Docklands waterfront precinct,'' Ms Shepard said. Salta Properties' proposed new 26 storey apartment tower with an Indigo Hotel in Docklands.

IHG will also open an Indigo in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley and recently IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan, the joint venture between InterContinental Hotels Group and ANA, signed an agreement with GHS K.K. and Daiwa House Industry Co, to launch IHGs popular boutique brand Hotel Indigo in Japan. Ms Shepard said Hotel Indigo is IHGs lifestyle boutique hotel offering. No two Hotel Indigo properties are alike as each is designed to reflect the culture, history and heritage of its local neighbourhood. ''From the buildings design to the hotels artwork and locally-inspired menus, guests can look forward to an intimate boutique hotel experience with the international standards promised by a global hotel company,'' she said. The new Hotel Indigo in Seminyak, Bali is also seeing high demand in its first few months of opening. New ventures

StayWell Hospitality Group and Prince Hotels will officially sign the deal on their merger, which will see StayWell Hospitality Group acquired by Tokyo-based Prince Hotels Inc. Based in Sydney, StayWell Hospitality Group operates two high profile hotel brands  Park Regis and Leisure Inn. Together with strategic partners, StayWell Hospitality Group has a combined network of 71 properties worldwide across 14 countries with a managed turnover close to $300 million. The Melbourne-based Lancemore Group has opened its Larmont Sydney hotel at Potts Point and is keen to expand, as is the boutique group Veriu which has opened at Broadway and will operate a new hotel at Green Square, Sydney. The site of the planned Veriu hotel at Green Square, Sydney Credit:ATWD Studio Lifestyle hotels

Lifestyle hotel brands are slowly emerging as the next key growth sector in Australia, as operators look to tap into the next generation of travellers and draw millennials back to the hotel market. This was a key outtake from CBRE Hotels annual Check IN report which examines Australias hotel sector, emerging trends and the market outlook. CBREs report defines a lifestyle hotel as one that has many of the characteristics of a boutique hotel, with a heavy focus on being both creative and innovative, as well as having the potential to be replicated and rolled out across the globe. CBRE research manager Benjamin Martin-Henry noted that while the uptake of lifestyle brands hasnt been as strong in Australia as other regions, owners are recognising the threat of Airbnb and the changing accommodation preferences of millennials and Generation Z. The latest generations are becoming key drivers of the lifestyle and leisure segment, with preferences for experiences, highly social spaces, constant connectivity and availability of food and beverage services, Mr Martin-Henry said.

A major operator tapping into the lifestyle brand is the Marriot with its Moxy venture, specifically targeted at a younger demographic. On its website, it describes its hotels as being one-part razzle to one-part dazzle with 24/7 food and drinks and a lobby like a playground. Additionally, Marriott Internationals W Hotel chain has become one of the largest and most well-known lifestyle brands  with Australia preparing to welcome the chain in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The Starwood group is also updating its Sheraton on the Park in Sydney and recently opened a new-look Club Lounge and guestrooms. Brought to life by interior designer Joseph Pang of JPDC, the newly designed Club Lounge is an exclusive, residential-style haven, located on the 21st floor of the hotel. According to CBRE, it is not just millennials driving a new breed of hotels. One subcategory of lifestyle hotels is the wellness brand  which appeals to a broad range of travellers including the corporate sector.
Australian poker machine giant Aristocrat has become the world's second-largest provider of free-to-play online casino-style games after completing a $1.3 billion takeover of a US-based business.

The ASX-listed Aristocrat on Wednesday announced it had acquired Seattle's Big Fish Games, the creator of several hugely popular mobile and desktop games played by more than 12.4 million active users every month. Among its catalogue of hit gaming titles are Big Fish Casino, Gummy Drop! and Fairway Solitaire.

Aristocrat Leisure has upped its bet on the booming social gaming market. Credit:Peter Braig

"The strategic and financial benefits of this acquisition are highly compelling," Aristocrat chief executive Trevor Croker said.

"Big Fish's digital-first social casino content and industry leading meta-game capability and applications are highly complementary to Aristocrat's existing and industry-leading land-based digital content business."
The front page of Monday's Herald Sun was dominated by a photo of Tessa Sullivan in a bikini. The caption above it read "Lord Mayor Probe Bombshell" and along the side of the image were the words "Rob, I'm so lucky to have you".

Sullivan is one of two women who have accused Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle of sexual harassment.

Team Doyle lining up outside Town Hall (from left) Sue Stanley, Kevin Louey, Beverley Pinder-Mortimer, Hope Wei, Susan Riley, Arron Wood, Nicholas Reece and Tessa Sullivan.

The bikini photo came from a group chat in which Ms Sullivan was teasing her colleagues about being stuck in Melbourne's July weather while she was on holidays. The photo was not sent privately to Doyle; he was one of five recipients of a laughing text never intended for the front page of a newspaper.

It's difficult to imagine a more damaging way to depict a woman who has made a claim of sexual harassment against a powerful man. And even more difficult to imagine the effect publishing the photo in this way could have on women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted. If public humiliation is what happens to women who ask for investigation of their claims, who would want to risk it?
Yvonne Scales comes to curtin shops frequently and is worried about the future of the building. Photo: Dion Georgopoulos Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

Happy Thursday! We're in for similar conditions as Wednesday, with a top of 30 degrees and minimum of 13. It will be partly cloudy with a slight chance of a shower - so keep those umbrellas handy.

The owners of the Curtin shops promised to shut the building down if planning officials stood in the way of their high rise redevelopment. This week, they made good on their word.

The standoff between the Haridemos family and the community has escalated, after 44 Curtin Place was fenced off on Tuesday.

The owners had threatened to hoard up the building indefinitely if their bid to transform it into a six-storey building, with three basement levels, ground floor retail and five levels of units was knocked back.

Read Katie Burgess' story here.

Man accused of Hughes crash freed as prosecutors review case
The owners of Uriarra's Noah's Ark Farm Friends now know what it feels like to be a small deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi-trailer.

The farm-based small business has been bringing its petting zoo to the University of Canberra's Stress Less Week events up to four times a year on a regular basis.

That was until it popped up on the radar of global animal rights juggernaut PETA (aka People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

When PETA's outreach and partnerships officer, Emily Rice, found out about the petting zoo visits she wrote to the university.
EPG team told to keep national interest in core

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur has told the Nepali team of the Eminent Persons Group on Nepal, India Relations to keep the national interest in core when they meet with the Indian side this week for discussions on the bilateral matters.
Australian Border Force head Roman Quaedvliegs son is facing a drug possession charge. Che Roman-Dujon Quaedvlieg was due to front the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday morning, charged with one count of possessing dangerous drugs. Che Quaedvlieg has been charged with drug possession. Credit:Che Quaedvlieg/Facebook. ABF Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg has been on paid leave for more than seven months while under investigation for possible abuse of power in an unrelated matter. Speaking to News Corp, Che said he planned to plead guilty and no longer had a relationship with his father.

I went on a night out and I was carrying a small amount of MDMA, Che said. Im just trying to get back on track after a rough 2017. I lost everything. Roman Quaedvlieg pledged his complete support for his son, describing the charge to the publisher as a very minor possession charge and saying the younger man had experienced difficult personal circumstances" in the past year. Roman Quaedvlieg stepped aside from his $618,000-a-year role on May 29, as the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity investigated a possible abuse of power. Roman Quaedvlieg has stepped aside from his Border Force role. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Two company directors accused of corruptly providing kickback consultancy work for a suspended Queensland Fire and Emergency Services inspector have been barred from contacting him while on bail.

An "Australian government approved supplier" firm, which clothes Queensland's surf life savers, and a decontamination company claiming to be a leader in its field have been dragged into the allegations, court documents reveal.

Police alleged QFES Inspector Steven Sparks helped JPI Australia become the preferred uniform supplier to the organisation. Credit:Jorge Branco

Darren Paul Attard, Benjamin Philip Jones and Wayne Richard Leonard were charged under a Crime and Corruption Commission investigation that also led to four counts of official corruption being laid against suspended QFES Inspector Steven Sparks in November.

They were all given conditional bail in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where court documents revealed they had allegedly corruptly provided paid consultancy work for Mr Sparks.
Brisbane residents have complained about hoarding and squalor in the city more than 19,000 times in the past three years.

In the past financial year, the council received 6227 complaints, an increase of 364 on the previous year.

Brisbane City Council has issued about 100 public health orders to Brisbane property owners in the past two years. Credit:Brisbane City Council

The complaints resulted in 32 individual cases of hoarding being identified and managed by the council, with 10 cases ongoing for more than a year.

The cases spanned across 24 suburbs with nine areas having multiple cases.
Deadly Irukandji jellyfish are drifting further south along Queensland's coastline, however tourism chiefs aren't worried about the risk to the state's famous beaches.

Toxicology professor Jamie Seymour has "little doubt" Irukandji will keep moving down to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts after a stinger was found at Fraser Island on Sunday.

The Irukandji jellyfish sting causes sweating, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, headaches and palpitations, and has also been known to cause cardiac failure.

A boy was already stung on Mooloolaba Beach on the Sunshine Coast 12 months ago.

"It would shut beaches. It would collapse tourism," the director of the Tropical Australian Venom Research Unit at James Cook University said on Wednesday.
Contact lenses that can correct vision and prevent deteriorating eyesight are being trialled, after being developed by Queensland researchers.

A team at the Queensland University of Technology have designed the lenses, with a specific focus on slowing the development of myopia, also known as short-sightedness, which affects about 15 per cent of Australians.

Johnson & Johnson Vision has given Professor Collins and his team extra funding to continue working on improved contact lens designs while initial lenses are being trialled.

Professor Michael Collins from QUT's School of Optometry and Vision Science said myopia generally developed in people at seven or eight years of age and progressed from there.

Myopia sufferers' vision could easily be corrected, but that did not slow the condition's progression.
A former Charters Towers travel agent took more than $24,000 in payments from clients without ever actually booking the holidays she was paid to do.

Debra Lee Durrington, 57, accepted payment from three families to book five holidays that included flights, accommodation, tours and car hire between November 2015 and July 2016, according to a statement by the Office of Fair Trading.

One family was left more than $16,000 out of pocket after Ms Durrington failed to book two holidays for them. Credit:James Brickwood

However, Ms Durrington never booked the holidays before her business, Travel Experience Charters Towers, closed in August 2016.

The affected consumers requested refunds and Ms Durrington assured them they would

receive the money back but they were not reimbursed.
Prominent Liberal ministers have launched a stinging attack on one of their own - the head of the NSW Young Liberals, Harry Stutchbury - over his stance on housing affordability.

In a provocative opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald, the 26-year-old Mr Stutchbury argued the Liberal Party should abolish the exemption that allows retirees to claim the pension despite owning multi-million dollar homes. The long-standing arrangement means a person's primary dwelling is not counted in the asset test for the aged pension, and presently enjoys bipartisan support in the political arena.

Mr Stutchbury said the Liberals were "terrified of taking serious steps to tackle housing affordability", having been burnt by its attempt to curb superannuation excesses before the last election.

In response, NSW Counter Terrorism Minister David Elliott blasted Mr Stutchbury on Facebook, suggesting Liberal voters in western Sydney would use the opinion piece to light their barbecues.
Commuters are temporarily prevented from entering platforms at Town Hall to avoid dangerous overcrowding. Credit:Louie Douvis But with demand for public transport surging, Mr Collins said deferring the timetable changes in November would have resulted in people experiencing greater crowding and delays. "The choice we had was trying to do a service with not enough capacity, people bitterly complaining about crowding on several lines [and] about not being able to get on trains, particularly on weekends," he said. Wynyard station packed with commuters. Credit:SEVEN NEWS "[But] we have seen an improved service, particularly at weekends [from the new timetable]. It is true to say that, when big incidents occur, the service takes longer to recover."

Leaked internal documents have revealed that the new timetable has reduced the flexibility in the system to recover from delays caused by major incidents. Sydney's Town Hall station. Credit:Alexandra Smith Decades-old S-set trains are being pressed into service more often to allow Sydney Trains to put on the 1500 extra weekly services rolled out as part of the timetable changes. It means passengers face uncomfortable journeys on hot summer days because those trains are not airconditioned. Mr Collins admitted the "awful S-sets" were "not acceptable", but he said they would begin to be replaced from June with 24 new Waratah trains, the first of which is due to be shipped from China next month. Mascot train station was packed with commuters during peak hour. Credit:Seven News

"By next summer, all those S-sets, I want to make sure are gone," he said. On Tuesday, the T1 North Shore, Northern and Western line suffered "major delays" due both a lack of staff and lightning strikes damaging signalling equipment at Gordon in Sydney's north. The T2 Inner West and Leppington, the T3 Bankstown and the T8 Airport and South lines also had major disruptions because of the lack of staff and the need for urgent repairs to signal equipment at Yagoona in the city's west. The lack of drivers also forced Sydney Trains to use buses instead of trains on the T6 Carlingford and T7 Olympic Park lines for periods of the day. About 70 train crew called in sick on Tuesday. In all, Sydney Trains has about 3000 train crew.

Labor leader Luke Foley said the new rail timetable was "not worth the paper it's written on" because the train services were "shambolic right now". "At the moment you have to say our public train system is shambolic in its delivery. If they're this bad now, what will they be in a month's time when everyone is back at work," he said. But Transport Minister Andrew Constance said Labor was "conveniently ignoring" the new metro and light rail lines under construction, new ferries and thousands of extra buses "making journeys easier". "In total, $41.5 billion of transport infrastructure is being delivered, after Labor did nothing for 16 years," he said.

The prospect of thousands of rail workers taking industrial action also looms over Sydney Trains and NSW Trains over the coming months. A ballot of rail workers on whether to take protected industrial action during the negotiating period is due to be released later this week. The unions representing rail staff have been pushing for a pay rise of 6 per cent a year over the term of a new agreement, which is significantly higher than the 2.5 per cent annual increase Sydney Trains has put on the table. Mr Collins said most commuters would be "aghast" at what the unions were seeking, but Rail Tram and Bus Union state secretary Alex Claassens said the claim for a 6 per cent rise was a "starting point" in the negotiations which began six months ago. Mr Claassens said there had been an increase of about 2 per cent in the number of drivers and guards who called in sick over the past two days.
Go easy on the spending

The government of Nepal granted formal recognition to remittance in 1985 with the enactment of the Foreign Employment Act.
Los Angeles: At least 13 people have died and thousands have fled from their homes in Southern California as a powerful rainstorm triggered flash floods and mudslides on slopes where a series of intense wildfires burnt off protective vegetation last month.

Heavy downpours struck before dawn on Tuesday, local time, after thousands of residents in Santa Barbara County along the Pacific coast north of Los Angeles were ordered to evacuate. But only 10 to 15 per cent complied with mandatory orders, said Amber Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara Fire Department.

Emergency workers, using search dogs and helicopters, have rescued dozens of people stranded in rubble, Anderson said.

The mudslide toppled trees and demolished cars and covered blocks of quiet residential neighbourhoods with a thick layer of mud, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a news conference.
San Francisco: A United States judge has blocked President Donald Trump's administration from ending a program that shielded from deportation children brought to the US illegally by their parents.

Trump decided in September to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

However, US District Judge William Alsup ruled in San Francisco on Tuesday the program must remain in place while litigation over Trump's decision unfolds.

The ruling came as Trump and US congressional leaders negotiated broad immigration reforms.
Could a Trump presidency simply be the forerunner of an Oprah presidency? After Oprah Winfrey's inspiring speech at the Golden Globe Awards that perfectly captured the righteous anger of the #Metoo movement, she is suddenly being tipped a potential presidential candidate for 2020. Her speech has gone viral, the hashtag #Oprah2020 has gained a following on social media, The New York Times, Washington Post, and Politico all weighed in on the prospects of an Oprah presidential run, and her longtime partner Stedman Graham told the Los Angeles Times that it was "up to the people. She would absolutely do it". Actress Meryl Streep was less circumspect, declaring after the speech that Winfrey "doesn't have a choice", and adding that "I want her to run for president".

None withstanding Streep, across the political spectrum American political analysts, pundits, and operatives think Oprah would make a formidable candidate with a decent chance of capturing the Democratic Party's nomination in 2020 and unseating Trump.

Winfrey's serious and important message has earned well-deserved attention. But her status, wealth, her uplifting message, and above all her celebrity status make a presidential candidacy sound far from implausible.

Of course, Winfrey is hardly the only celebrity whose name has surfaced as a potential presidential candidate, even if most observers agree that she would be the most credible. Businessman and TV personality Mark Cuban, actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, rapper Kanye West, and first-daughter Ivanka Trump have all speculated about a run for the White House.
Berlin: Authorities in Switzerland resorted to dynamite on Wednesday to clear a route to the ski resort of Zermatt, where more than 13,000 tourists are snowed in.

Helicopter teams used controlled explosions to trigger avalanches and clear dangerous areas of snow so the rail line to the town could be safely reopened.

Services resumed shortly after 5pm local time, finally opening a route to the resort, which had been cut off from the outside world for two days.

The only way in or out had been by helicopter airlift, with many tourists choosing to pay 70 Swiss francs ($91) for a seat on a flight.
This is the progression of Stephen K. Bannon's job titles over the past 18 months:

Breitbart News chairman

Donald Trump campaign chief executive

White House chief strategist

Breitbart News chairman

Bannon stepped down from Breitbart on Tuesday, capping a stunning rise and fall from the political fringe to the West Wing to whatever is fringe-ier than the fringe.

Less than a year ago, Time magazine put Bannon on its cover and wondered whether he might be the second most powerful man in the world. Now, Bannon has been disowned and nicknamed "Sloppy Steve" by the President he worked to elect, and pressured out of the media company that helped him gain Donald Trump's confidence in the first place.
Washington, DC: The publication of a controversial dossier about US President Donald Trump's alleged links with Russia, authored by a former MI6 spy, has already resulted in a death, it has been claimed.

Glenn Simpson the co-founder of Fusion GPS, the firm which commissioned the dossier written by Christopher Steele, was giving evidence to a congressional committee during a closed-door interview last year.

A transcript of his testimony was released by the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dianne Feinstein, who said making it public would "set the record straight".

Quizzed on whether he had taken any steps to assess the credibility of Mr Steele's sources, Simpson declined to comment.
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The proof is in the building.

The developers of two polarizing towers at Brooklyn Bridge Parks Pier 6 are so sure theyve won their court battle over the legality of the yet-to-be-approved high-rises at the foot of Atlantic Avenue that theyve already dug deep into their pockets to construct nearly 10 stories of a 15-story building, critics said.

If you were in their shoes, would you be spending millions if you thought you werent going to win? said Peter Bray, head of the Brooklyn Heights Association, which sued the parks honchos in July 2016 after developers RAL Development Services and Olivers Realty Group filed plans for the 15 and 28-story buildings, claiming the towers  one of which would contain 100 units of so-called affordable housing  violate Brooklyn Bridge Parks governing document, the 2006 General Project Plan, which permits development within the green space only to generate revenue needed by the park.

But meadow attorneys repeatedly denied that charge before the benches of Justice Carmen Victoria St. George and her predecessor Justice Lucy Billings, arguing the high-rises will bring in money the cash-strapped park needs to fix the timber piles that support Pier 6, which is being devoured by wood-eating crustaceans.

In July, the developers filed paperwork to begin construction amid the ongoing legal battle, and Billings ruled that month that work on the high-rises could proceed as long as whatever went up could be undone, before being removed from the case in August after four months of arguments in order to oversee asbestos litigation, she said at the time.

And not long after workers broke ground on the site this summer, some locals complained to this newspaper that noise from the job scared youngsters who frequent a nearby playground.

Now, six months after construction began and nearly two months after St. George heard litigants final arguments, the 15-story tower that contains the below-market-rate units is nearly 10-floors high, and contractors are putting the finishing touches on its 28-story neighbors basement, workers at the site told this reporter on Tuesday.

One hard-hat said that the framework of the shorter high-rise containing the so-called affordable units  a major point of contention that St. George even suggested developers scrap in an attempt to broker a compromise  would be completed in about two weeks, and that the skeleton of the 28-story building would be finished sometime this spring.

But Brooklyn Bridge Park wont lose any cash from its allegedly measly coffers if St. George decides the towers must face the wrecking ball, according to a meadow spokesman, who said that only the developers will forfeit funds used toward construction if the judge rules against the project.

A rep for the builders said they are merely following Billings July decision.

We are acting in good faith under the terms of the ground lease and the merits of the arguments previously made in court, and will continue to act accordingly as we progress toward providing the much-needed affordable-housing component and revenue-producing housing for the park and city, said Eric Waters, spokesman for RAL Development Services.

Another critic slammed the developers for acting so brazenly while St. George continues to deliberate over her verdict, which some activists claim could lay the path for more private development in public parks across the United States if it allows the towers construction.

It is disturbing how much they have put into the ground and into the air, despite the fact that the judge has not come through with her decision, said Judi Francis, the president of advocacy group the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund.

Reach reporter Julianne Cuba at (718) 2604577 or by e-mail at jcuba @cngl ocal.com . Follow her on Twitter @julcuba.
The value of Irish food, drink and horticulture exports increased by 13% in 2017, to reach 12.6 billion for the first time. The figure increase to 13.5 billion when non-edible products such as forestry are included. This is according to a Bord Bia report released today.



Bord Bia report believe last years export performance was driven by a surge in dairy exports to over 4bn (+19%), now one third of all food and drink exports, as well as continued buoyant sales of Irish beef, up 5%, which represents a fifth of all exports at almost 2.5bn. Notable growth was also recorded for prepared foods (+17% to 2.2bn) and beverages (+8% to 1.5bn).



In terms of yearly growth rates, the dairy sector grew by almost 20% to reach 4.02 bln, confirming its position as the number one exporting sector. Within the dairy sector, the value of Irelands butter exports rose by a remarkable 60% this year alone, to reach 879mln. This growth accounted for over half of the total increase in dairy exports. Notwithstanding its impact on the overall export figures.



In addition to the dairy surge, pigmeat, seafood and beef all recorded strong results, with 14, 16 and 5% growth respectively. At a lower level in absolute terms, live animal exports also registered a big lift in sales for the year, while prepared foods (+17%) and beverages (+8%) also performed well. Edible horticulture and poultry had the lowest levels of uplift  constrained by price sensitivity and volume.

The UK remains Irelands key export market, however the percentage share of exports to the UK declined by two points to 35% of total exports. This reduction disguises the fact that sales still increased for the year by 7% to over 4.5bn.

Exports to other EU countries have risen by 16% to over 4bn accelerating last years growth, mainly driven by strong dairy exports, which rose by over 40% to 1.2bn, as well as enhanced growth for seafood and pigmeat sales, and a continued strong presence of beverages and prepared foods.

Meanwhile shipments of Irish food and drink to international markets grew by 17% to exceed 4bn for the first time. These are driven by strong sales of dairy products in North America, Africa and Asia, and beverages which performed well in North America. Dairy accounts for some 45% of all sales to international markets, while beverages represent some 19% of total international exports.

Further expansion was recorded in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, while the United States which recorded robust growth levels to exceed 1bn for the first time. Elsewhere, exports to China, driven principally by dairy and pigmeat, grew by 5% for the year to 700m.



Speaking at the launch of Bord Bias Export Performance and Prospects 2017-2018 report, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr. Michael Creed said, "Last year marked the 8th successive year of growth for total Irish agri-food exports, to reach a record of 13.5 billion. Bord Bias report provides valuable insights into the sectors and markets behind the very welcome 13% increase in the value of food and drinks exports to 12.6 billion. Industry, in line with my Departments market prioritisation strategy, is continuing to diversify, with exports to international markets reaching 4 billion for the first time."



Bord Bia CEO, Tara McCarthy added, "While Brexit remains the great unknown, we still expect 2018 to be another year of growth, albeit at lower levels. Our key export categories, dairy and beef, remain stable with further volume growth anticipated. This coupled with the significant opportunities evident in beverages, in particular Irish whiskey, provide further reasoning for the positive outlook."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Several institutional investors are backing Ryanair to bounce back from a pilot rostering mess-up and a decision to recognize unions that jolted confidence in Europe's most profitable airline.

The mishandling of staff holidays caused thousands of flight cancellations, angered passengers and helped pilots to secure union recognition for the first time in Ryanair's 32-year history, sending the share price down 9% in one day in December.

The holiday rota errors were a rare serious slip-up by Chief Executive Michael O'Leary, whose formula of dirt cheap, no-frills travel has transformed the continent's airline sector and handed his shareholders big returns.

O'Leary had said hell would freeze over before he would welcome unions into Ryanair. The company now says dialog with organized labor will help the business.

Analysts say it will inflate its costs and could reduce the flexibility that helped it steal chunks of business from traditional airlines such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM.

Top shareholder HSBC Global Asset Managers has cut a quarter of its Ryanair stake, according to a filing last month. HSBC declined to comment on the decision.

But other big Ryanair shareholders are maintaining or adding to their holdings.

"Because the share price has fallen, it has become, in our opinion, compellingly attractive," said Rory Powe, who manages European growth stocks at Man GLG and added to his Ryanairholdings in December. "I dont see Ryanairs cost advantage being eroded by anything more than an immaterial amount."

Ryanair's longer-term record as an investment may help explain why top shareholders appear reluctant to drop it.

The shares are up 150% over four years as it tackled a reputation for shoddy services and wooed higher-paying business passengers. Shares in its most successful rival, Easyjet, have barely moved in that time.

Analysts agree upcoming union negotiations will be crucial, amid questions over whether O'Leary's pugnacious management style is still appropriate for a company that was once an upstart challenger but now dominates European short-haul air travel.

"A unionized Ryanair will still be profitable, cash generative and value-creating in our view but will be a markedly different company," HSBC analysts said last week, rating the shares "reduce."

HSBC believes Ryanair unit costs could rise by 20% by 2020, with unionization and the localisation of contracts, and that Ryanair's talks with continental unions could be tough, ."..and airline strikes in these markets are commonplace."

Bernstein sees a short-term rebound in the stock but believes Ryanair is "cornered" - profitability per passenger will fall if it continues to expand at the current pace but a slowdown in expansion will cause earnings to decline.

Other big Ryanair institutional investors acknowledge the challenges but believe that, with its cost base still below rivals, it can still make bumper profits as the euro zone economy picks up steam, industry capacity growth eases and prices recover.

Ryanair has said it does not expect its costs to increase significantly.

Jonathan Fearon, who runs the Aberdeen Standard European Growth fund, said the market seemed to be pricing in the idea that Ryanair's cost advantage will disappear.

But he said staff costs were only one of many advantages in Ryanair's broad "ultra-low-cost" business model.

Fearon indicated Ryanair was still a favorite: it was a "category killer" in short-haul that stood to gain from Alitalia's troubles and as industry capacity growth slows, boosting fares.

Tony Gibb, investment director at another Ryanair shareholder, Fidelity, said the company's significant cost advantage, even over EasyJet, was "sustainable" and last month's share slump was "probably overplayed."

"There is negative press and the share price has come off quite meaningfully but that is probably more of an opportunity than anything else," said Gibb. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Govt to fix temp meeting venues, not state HQs

As confusion over fixing the capitals of seven provinces continues, the government is set to announce temporary meeting venues instead for the swearing-in of newly elected provincial parliamentarians.
One of the eight key regulatory tasks of the China Banking Regulatory Commission this year is to continue its crackdown on banking activities that run contrary to the country's macroeconomic policies. Photo: Ma Minhui/Caixin

The countrys banking regulator has indicated that it will continue to subject banks to high levels of scrutiny over funds they provide to the real estate sector.

Caixin learned from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) that one of the eight key missions that regulators have set for 2018 is to reverse economic activity that conflicts with central government macroeconomic directives. This includes the extent to which banks funnel money into the real estate sector, especially via irregular financing.

At Chinas annual Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded on Dec. 20, the central government vowed to improve long-term mechanisms to ensure the stable and healthy development of the real estate market, and reiterated that both home purchases and rentals will be encouraged. This was interpreted by the market as meaning that the regulator will not relax its grip on funding that flows into the real estate sector.

Overseeing real estate, an important part of the national economy, has been a key part of Beijings macroeconomic policies for years. In 2017, after the central governments call for homes to be used as residences rather than speculative investments, many city governments wheeled out a flurry of restrictions to subdue property transactions in a bid to stall price growth.

CBRC Chairman Guo Shuqing said in the first quarter of 2017 that loans related to real estate, including loans in which property is collateral, accounted for more than a third of the banking sectors 110 trillion yuan ($16.9 trillion) in loans, and up to 50% at some banks, piling up potential risks.

The aforementioned loans refer only to loans reflected on banks balance sheets, while loans extended by banks via irregular channels  such as trust and entrust funds or asset management plans  are hard to estimate.

A report by China International Capital Corp., a state-owned investment bank, claimed that new trust loans and entrusted loans in September totaled about 320 billion yuan, with a major chunk of this money flocking into real estate sector.

Wang Tao, chief China economist at UBS AG, said in a report last year that total loans extended by the Chinese banking sector to the real estate industry could have ranged from 54 trillion to 72 trillion yuan in 2016, making up about 24% to 31% of the total Chinese banking capital of 240 trillion yuan. According to UBS calculations, this included 30 trillion of on-balance sheet mortgage loans and borrowings from developers for real estate construction, 10.5 trillion yuan in off-balance sheet lending, and 15 trillion to 25 trillion yuan of loans backed by properties.

As a result, the CBRC carried out inspections in 2017 that required banks to check if they wrongly provided loans to real estate developers in both direct and indirect ways. The CBRC subsequently determined that banks had circumvented regulation to invest in forbidden or restricted sectors such as stocks, equity and real estate firms.

Also in 2017, the CBRC fined institutions that participated in irregular lending to the real estate sector. A Shanghai branch of the Bank of Jiangsu was fined 4.8 million yuan in January that year by the local banking regulator for providing funding to a real estate firm to buy land. This was the largest fine that the CBRC handed down that year.

Contact reporter Pan Che (chepan@caixin.com)
Launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013 as a way to build Chinas global business ties, the Belt and Road development strategy has resulted in infrastructure, trade, and investment deals with dozens of countries and foreign organizations. Photo: Visual China

The Chinese government is considering helping top companies involved in the Belt and Road initiative conduct yuan-denominated initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong, the state-owned China Daily newspaper reported Wednesday.

Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, was quoted by China Daily as saying that the move is aimed at expanding Hong Kongs participation in the Belt and Road through facilitating the initiative on the investment front and further promoting internationalization of the yuan.

Additionally, the plan could boost Hong Kongs role in offshore yuan trading, the report said. Zhang did not offer a timeline.

Launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013 as a way to build Chinas global business ties, the Belt and Road development strategy has resulted in infrastructure, trade, and investment deals with dozens of countries and foreign organizations.

Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has recently become more formally involved in the initiative. In January 2017, the regions then-chief executive, C.Y. Leung, expanded its Belt and Road office. In December, Leungs successor, current Chief Executive Carrie Lam, signed an agreement with Chinas National Development and Reform Commission that gives Hong Kong a formal role in the Belt and Road.

The agreement called for Hong Kong to use its status as a financial hub to raise funds for the initiative.

If China follows through with the plan described by Zhang, Hong Kong could see its first major yuan-denominated IPOs since 2011, when Hui Xian Real Estate Investment Trust, controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, raised 10.48 billion yuan (about $1.6 billion at the time) in the first such offering ever.

China has for years been promoting the yuans international use. The country launched two Stock Connect programs  linking the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with those in Shanghai and Shenzhen  in 2014 and 2016 respectively. In October 2016, the International Monetary Fund added the currency to its Special Drawing Rights basket, the organizations supplementary reserves.

Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macau have also been discussing a possible program to loosen restrictions on the flow of yuan between the mainland and the two special administrative regions.

Contact reporter Teng Jing Xuan (jingxuanteng@caixin.com)
The years-long investment frenzy in Chinas railway sector means that China Railway Corp. has also taken on a lot of debt. After the company was spun off from the now-defunct Ministry of Railways in 2013, its debt grew from 2.66 trillion yuan ($409.2 billion) to 4.72 trillion yuan as of the first quarter of 2017. Photo: IC

Chinas state-owned rail operator has formed an alliance with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in a move that could see it raise money from private investors to ease its debt.

China Railway Corp. (CRC) has signed a strategic agreement with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, in which the latter will help CRC to carry out plans including debt-to-equity swaps, asset securitization and mixed-ownership reform, according to Lu Dongfu, chief manager of CRC.

Lu held a meeting with Wu Lijun, president of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, on Tuesday. It is not clear which of CRCs subsidiaries will eventually be listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, or when these plans will be carried out.

The move came weeks after CRC published a long-delayed policy document in which it said it would keep promoting reforms and the reorganization of the railway system to set up efficient corporate structures and widen access to private investors.

According to the development plan, private investors will be encouraged to take part in mixed-ownership reform. Also, it will encourage railway assets with good capital flow and business operations to list on stock exchanges.

Chinas railway sector has developed rapidly over the last few years, helping the country build the worlds largest rail network, which had 127,000 kilometers (78,900 miles) of track at the end of 2017, according to CRC. High-speed rail made up 20% of the network.

However, the years-long investment frenzy means that CRC has also taken on a lot of debt. After the company was spun off from the now-defunct Ministry of Railways in 2013, its debt grew from 2.66 trillion yuan ($409.2 billion) to 4.72 trillion yuan as of the first quarter of 2017.

In what appears to be the latest sign of the railway operator moving to rein in the debt problem, CRC set an investment target this month that is 8.5% less than the 800 billion yuan benchmark it had used since 2014.

Additionally, in November Caixin learned from various sources that Beijing has tightened approval of local transportation projects in 2017 to curb risks from the debt-driven infrastructure boom. Cities in northern Chinas Inner Mongolia region had scrapped subway and expressway construction plans worth billions of dollars due to financial concerns.

Contact reporter Mo Yelin (yelinmo@caixin.com)
China is now Apples third largest market in sales after U.S. and Europe. Photo: Visual China

Apple Inc. announced Wednesday that it will hand over the operations of its iCloud data services for Chinese mainland users to a Guizhou-based company to comply Chinas cloud-computing rules, starting next month.

The U.S. tech giant said as of Feb. 28 all iCloud data services for users with Chinese mainland accounts will be managed by Guizhou-Cloud Big Data (GCBD) and all of their data will be stored domestically in China.

Use of these services and all the data stored with iCloud  including photos, videos, documents, and backups  will be subject to the Terms and Conditions of iCloud operated by GCBD, Apple said in a statement.

Apple formed the partnership with GCBD, a state-owned data management firm, to invest $1 billion to build a data center in southern Chinas Guizhou province last July. The center is managed by GCBD with Apple providing technology support.

The move reflected tightening Chinese rules on cloud services. A sweeping Cybersecurity Law, which took effect in June 2017, requires tech firms to store all of the data they generate from China inside the countrys borders.

Another industry policy issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in January 2017 stipulates cloud services in China must be operated by Chinese companies and foreign firms must partner with qualified domestic players to launch such services.

Global cloud-service giants including Microsoft, Amazon and IBM have also moved to comply with the new rules for their cloud services in China. Late last year, Amazon Inc.s Amazon Web Services sold sell assets of as much as 2 billion yuan in China to its partner Beijing Sinnet Technology Co. to help Sinnet Technology obtain a cloud services certificate needed to continue operating.

Apple said Wednesday that the transfer will improve the speed and reliability of the iCloud services products while also complying with newly passed regulations.

Previously, Chinese customers iCloud data have been stored in Apples overseas data centers.

Users affected by the change can either keep using iCloud or deactivate it. Users with overseas accounts will not be affected, Apple said.

Apple said it will communicate with its users over the course of the next seven weeks to make sure customers are well informed of the coming changes. Apple has strong data-privacy and security protections in place and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems, it said.

China is now Apples third largest market in sales after U.S. and Europe. In the last quarter of 2017, Apples total sales in Greater China, including the mainland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, grew by 12% year-on-year to $9.8 billion and rose 22% from the previous quarter.

But China sales have fallen from a peak of $18.4 billion in the first quarter of 2016. China became Apples second-largest market in the second quarter of 2015, when the country contributed $16.8 billion in revenue to the company. China remained in that position until the third quarter of 2016, when Apple reported that its China revenue fell to $8.8 billion.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)
Published On Jan 10, 2018 03:22 PM By Raunak

Kia has showcased an all-electric SUV concept based on the Niro compact SUV at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas

Hyundais subsidiary brand, Kia, has made big announcements at the ongoing 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Apart from unveiling an all-electric compact SUV concept, the Niro EV, the South Korean automaker has also announced that it will introduce 16 electrified vehicles, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, globally by 2025.

Why is it relevant to us? Since Toyota and Suzuki  prime rivals of the South Korean automaker  have already joined hands to introduce EVs in the Indian market, it is safe to assume that Kia and Hyundai would make a similar announcement in the near future.

Kia is also entering the Indian market during a period when the entire industry is seriously considering shifting towards electric mobility. Hence, it must have put EVs on priority in its India-related strategy. And it is certainly possible that the Niro EV concept could become its EV offering for the country given our market's inclination towards SUVs.

The EV concept is based on the Niro compact SUV which went on sale globally in 2016. The Niro already has a plug-in hybrid model on sale and this new, all-electric version is expected to join it soon. Style-wise, the production version will be toned down compared to the concept showcased at the 2018 CES. In fact, the front styling of the concept is reminiscent of the Niros original concept that debuted in 2013, specially the layout of the headlights.

The Kia Niro EV concept packs a 150kW electric motor (~204PS) which is powered by a 64kWh lithium-polymer battery pack, and Kia has promised a healthy range of 238 miles (~383km)! Thats pretty good as it puts the Niro EV in the league of the base Tesla Model 3 (India-bound in 2019) and the Chevrolet Bolt. It is also a major improvement of well over 100km compared to Kias existing EV offering, the Soul EV, which offers up to 132 miles (~212km) of range.

Kia is also gearing up for the introduction of connected car technologies. Alongside the new EV that already features it, Kia promises that by 2025, it is aiming to offer connected car technologies in every segment it caters to. And by 2030, its entire lineup will feature the same!
Modified On Jan 10, 2018 04:59 PM By Saransh

The TSMS will be implemented along the Dhaula Kuan-Sarai Kale Khan ring road first

In an effort to improve traffic rule compliance and curb the number of casualties on road, Maruti Suzuki and Delhi Police have come together to introduce a Traffic Safety Management System (TSMS) in the capital city. As per the agreement, Maruti Suzuki will be responsible for setting up the TSMS while Delhi Police will take care of the operational part of it. Maruti Suzuki will spend Rs 15 crore on this project and will also be responsible for maintaining the system for two years. The system will be operational in the next one year.

The TSMS will be equipped with advanced cameras with Red Light Violation Detection System (RLVDS), Speed Violation Detection System (SVDS) and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR). These advanced camera systems will enable the police to simultaneously capture red-light violations and speed violations by a vehicle. In the pilot phase, the TSMS will be implemented along the 14km ring road between Dhaula Kuan and Sarai Kale Khan, covering 10 road junctions.

Apart from this, Maruti Suzuki and Delhi Police will also collaborate with various academic institutions and social groups to spread awareness about traffic rules and safe driving practices in the national capital. Related: Safe Driving: Do's and Don'ts

This is not the first time that Maruti Suzuki has come along with a government body to make Indian roads safer. Last year, Indias largest carmaker joined hands with the government to set up 10 automated driving test centres (the number has now increased to 12) in Delhi.

Also Read: Delhi Transport Department To Add Two More Advanced Driving Centers In Delhi-NCR
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Step 1

Log on to the Canara Bank official website

Step 2

Click on the Careers tab on the right top of the homepage

Step 3

A new page will open with various options under Careers. Click on the Recruitment option

Step 4

Under the list of Recruitment options, choose the link that reads RP-2/2017 - Recruitment of Probationary Officers in JMGS-I on completion of specially designed PGDBF Course

Step 5

The recruitment details will be displayed on the screen. Click the Click here to apply Online link

Step 6

You will be redirected to IBPS page. Click on the link that reads Click Here for New Registration

Step 7

The application form link along with a dialogue box with instructions will be displayed on a new page. Read the instructions carefully and click Continue button

Step 8

Fill in the details in the space provided on the application form

Step 9

Scroll down the page and click Save & Next button
One year term extension wont do: TRC reps

As the government prepares to extend the tenures of two transitional justice mechanisms by a year, the members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has said they cannot complete the investigation in the extended time.
Fighting antibiotic resistance: CDC tool maps progress in every state, but still more to be done

Press Release For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Contact: Media Relations

(404) 639-3286

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released new data in its Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Investment Map, which shows early progress by states to combat AR. This years AR Investment Map features more than 170 state-reported successeslike rapidly identifying and containing rare and concerning resistant germs to protect communities. Each state reported multiple successes. These are the first comprehensive reports on state progress made following the first year of Congress unprecedented investment in CDCs Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative.

The AR Investment Map displays CDCs AR activities in printable state- and city-specific fact sheets, providing a comprehensive view of CDCs resources to protect Americans from antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when germs no longer respond to the drugs designed to kill them. Some germs already have become resistant to all available antibiotics, making some completely untreatable.

Antibiotic resistance has the potential to impact all Americans at every stage of life, said CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D. This interactive map showcases the work happening on the frontlines of every state and CDCs commitment to keep people safe from drug-resistant infections.

In fiscal year 2016, CDC made investments in all 50 states, six large cities, and Puerto Rico to enhance laboratory and epidemiology expertise and grow public health innovations to fight antibiotic resistance across healthcare settings, food, and communities.

These investments helped states like Oklahoma and Connecticut each successfully identify and contain a single case of Candida auris, a multidrug-resistant fungus that can cause deadly infections.

Early progress shows antibiotic resistance investments are working

Also displayed in the new AR Investment Map are successes states reported for fiscal year 2017:

In Tennessee, when a person got a rare and concerning infection, the state health department and facility immediately began CDCs containment protocol and isolated the patient. Within 48 hours, the teams fully executed the containment protocol (AR Lab Network testing, infection control assessments, colonization screening). Since then, the facility has not identified additional cases.

Michigan reduced nightmare bacteria CRE by 30 percent in 40 facilities and prevented more than 300 infections through its surveillance and prevention initiative.

Thirty-eight states and two cities now use whole genome sequencing to monitor for outbreaks and identify antibiotic resistance for Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and coli that are commonly transmitted through food and animal contact. When these outbreaks are detected, local CDC-supported epidemiologists investigate the cases to stop the outbreaks and spread of resistance. Since the end of fiscal year 2017, six more health departments successfully implemented whole genome sequencing.

In Kentucky, an aggressive and coordinated response to a rare and concerning resistance gene successfully contained the outbreak and stopped its spread.

California increased its local response capacity to combat resistant gonorrhea and increased its rapid susceptibility testing by eight-fold. Susceptibility testing shows how well a gonorrhea strain will respond to specific antibiotics. These results are used to inform local outbreak response action, national treatment guidelines, and antibiotic resistance trends.

In its mission to protect people, a significant portion of CDCs AR investments goes to enhancing infrastructure in health departments nationwide. Since 2016, CDC has provided $144 million to 56 state and local health departments and Puerto Rico to address this threat. CDC has also invested more than $76 million in more than 60 universities and healthcare partners to find and implement innovative ways to prevent resistant infections and contain their spread.

The updated AR Investment Map reflects fiscal year 2017 extramural funding and highlights CDCs collaborations that protect people worldwide. CDC continues to partner with health departments; academia; and the healthcare, veterinary, and agriculture industries to advance the science and implement strategies that protect Americans from antibiotic resistance.

Learn more about CDCs AR Solutions Initiative and ongoing work to combat AR at www.cdc.gov/DrugResistance.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESexternal icon
Cauldons six decades

ICR Research By

Published 10 January 2018

Last year saw Aggregate Industries celebrate six decades of cement production at the Cauldon plant, the first dry-process cement works in the UK. Ignacio Mirasol, plant manager at Cauldon, takes us through the plants history and how it has changed during this time to meet todays market requirements.

ICR: What was the cement plants initial capacity in 1957 when it became the UKs first dry-process cement plant?

Ignacio Mirasol (IM): When Cauldon first opened, capacity was around 175,000tpa. Today, Cauldon produces approximately 1Mta, nearly 10 per cent of all cement used in Great Britain.

To continue reading this story and get access to all News, Articles and Video sections of the CemNet.com website, please Register for a subscription to International Cement Review or Login
Multiple promotions for Lehigh Cement's Mitchell staff

ICR Newsroom By 10 January 2018

HeidelbergCement-owned Lehigh Cement Co announced multiple promotions in key management positions.

Quentin McGahey, former plant manager at the Mitchell cement plant in Indiana, is now Vice President, Cement Operations Northeast, based in Allentown (PA). McGahey joined Lehigh Cement Company in 2016 and has more than 22 years of experience in mining and cement manufacturing. McGahey also served as an Army officer before beginning his civilian career.



Jerry Miller, former assistant plant manager at the Mitchell plant, is now plant manager at the facility. Miller joined the company in 1980 and has more than 37 years of cement production and management experience at the companys facilities in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Iowa.



Cody Hall, former safety manager at the Mitchell plant, is now assistant plant manager. Hall joined Lehigh Cement Company in 1995 and has more than 21 years of cement industry and management experience.



Quentin, Jerry and Cody have been instrumental to the success of Lehigh Cement Company in Mitchell, and we are proud to recognize their contributions with these promotions, said Tom ONeill, Lehigh Cement's vice president  Cement Operations Midwest. We are confident in their abilities to support our goal of strengthening the companys position as a leader in cement manufacturing and distribution in North America.

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Protestors demand release of Dr KC, resignation of chief justice

Protestors have gathered at Maitighar Mandala on Wednesday afternoon demanding immediate release of Dr Govinda KC, arrested on charge of contempt of court.
Mexican cement producers raise prices

ICR Newsroom By 10 January 2018

At the start of the new year, Mexican cement producers have raised the price of grey cement between 6-10 per cent, according to Ramiro Paez Cruz, president of the Mexican Association of Independent Concrete Co (AMCI).



Cruz Azul and Fortaleza raised the prices of their products by five per cent while the increase by Cemex, Moctezuma and Holcim was 6.25, seven and 10 per cent, respectively.



The increases in cement prices will be passed on to the customers, said Mr Paez Cruz with concrete companies expected to put up their prices between 13-15 per cent.

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Vicem sees 3% rise in cement and clinker sales

ICR Newsroom By 10 January 2018

State-owned Vietnam Cement Industry Corp (Vicem) reported sales of 26.6Mt of cement and clinker in 2017, representing a YoY increase of three per cent.



Of the total, 23.6Mt were delivered to the domestic market, up four per cent YoY and a further 3Mt were exported.



However, the company saw a five per cent fall in revenues to VND34.16tn when compared with the previous year. The cement producers profit increased seven per cent to VND2.85tn. The company contributed VND1.62tn to the state budget in 2017, according to Viet Nam News.



Going forward, Vicem expects to produce 19.7Mt of clinker in 2018, a YoY increase of two per cent, and a four per cent rise in sales to more than 28Mt of cement and clinker. Target revenues have been set at over VND37tn with a profit of VND2.9tn-3tn. The companys contribution to the state budget is expected to reach VND1.65tn in 2018.



To help realise these targets, the producer will support its affiliates in mapping out development targets, expanding markets and restructuring products to lift production. Vicem will also focus on developing high-efficiency products to reach the market share target, according to General Director Bui Hong Minh. To enable this, the company has signed agreements with 10 affiliates to promote the sale of cement products.

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If you havent heard it before were here to tell you again: Obesity is a massive problem in the United States. It destroys your body, and thats not even taking into account the ways obesity increases your cancer risk.

The thing is, we know obesity is a problem. The ways we work, sleep, and eat all contribute, but were not doing anything to change them. We know some foods are hurting us, but we still eat them anyway. The trend is going in the wrong direction, and unfortunately, kids are packing on the extra pounds early in life.

The United Health Foundations 2017 Americas Health Rankings looks at several factors that contribute to poor health. Obesity is one of the biggest contributors to poor health, and its costing all of us. Obesity is a huge problem in the U.S., but these states didnt get the memo. They are the fattest in the country and are contributing to a $315.8 billion epidemic. Well count down to the worst of all, then well show you just how bad the problem is.

15. North Dakota

Obese adults: 31.9%

Things are going from bad to worse in North Dakota. Between 1990 and 2003 there was a 100% increase in the rate of obesity to 24%. Now close to one-third of the adult population is obese. Close to 70% of the 755,393 people living there are adults, which boils down to more than 168,000 obese people.

Next: A state taking aim at childhood obesity.

14. Iowa (TIE)

Obese adults: 32%

If there is a bright side to an obesity epidemic, Iowa might have found it. Despite a nearly 300% increase in obesity since 1990, Iowas rate has dropped slightly in recent years. The state is doing what it can to fight the problem. Obese children turn into obese adults, so Iowa is launching a program aimed at curbing childhood obesity.

Next: Now we go to the other side of the Missouri River.

13. Nebraska (TIE)

Obese adults: 32%

Nebraska is like the rest of the country with its rising obesity rate. Unfortunately, it could be doing a lot more to stem the rate of childhood obesity. According to The State of Obesity report, Nebraska is one of just a handful of states that dont require early childhood education centers to make water available to kids. It also doesnt require any amount of recess or physical education to kids in school.

Next: A few problem areas dont do this state any favors.

12. South Carolina

Obese adults: 32.3%

When nearly one-third of adults in your state are considered obese, its hard to point fingers. Several counties in South Carolina have scary statistics, but one in particular wears the crown of shame. Lee County counts 44.3% of its residents as obese, but several others in the Palmetto State are above 40%.

Next: Those who should know better are the problem in our next state.

11. Indiana (TIE)

Obese adults: 32.5%

Vice President Mike Pence was part of the winning ticket in the 2016 election, but the state he used to govern isnt winning any health competitions. Blame the people who should know better for the weight problems in Indiana. Adults ages 45-64 have an obesity rate of 38.4%. Thats nearly 5% more than the second-highest demographic (ages 26-44) and well more than double the rate for 18 to 25-year olds.

Next: Indianas nearby neighbor is in equally bad shape

10. Michigan (TIE)

Obese adults: 32.5%

The not-good-at-all news is the rate of adult obesity in Michigan. The worse news is kids have it even worse. The National Institute for Health Care Management found children and adolescents in Michigan have an obesity rate of 32.6%. That rate represents a twofold increase for kids and a quadrupling for adolescents. Is that why people dont really want to live in Michigan anymore?

Next: Very shiny silver lining with this next state

9. Oklahoma

Obese adults: 32.8%

Its definitely not good for a state to count nearly one-third of the population as obese like Oklahoma does. But as recently as 2015, the numbers were a lot higher in the Sooner State. Back then, 33.9% of the population was obese, so the state is trending in the right direction. Oklahoma could be doing better with policies to help its youngest residents, but politicians in the state capital are doing their part to fight the obesity epidemic.

Next: The majority of adults in this state are overweight or obese.

8. Texas

Obese adults: 33.6%

Just one of the 11 public health regions in Texas beats the national average in obesity rate. There was a slight dip in the rate of obese adults from 31.7% in 2010 to 30.9% in 2013, but the numbers are rising again. Things are even more alarming when you consider all overweight people. As much as 70% of the adult population is either overweight or obese.

Next: Were going to hop around one region of the country for our next few entries on the list.

7. Kentucky

Obese adults: 34.2%

Kentucky is not heading in the right direction with its obesity problem. In 2016, As recently as 2012, Kentucky counted 31.3% of adults as obese. Now that number is even higher, and its not hard to see why. A CDC report from that year found 29.7% of adults did no exercise at all over the course of a given week.

Next: Policy problems dog this next state.

6. Tennessee

Obese adults: 34.8%

Tennessee enjoyed a dip in the rate of obesity in 2014, but the trend hasnt continued. Now, close to 35% of adults are obese. The state is fighting the problem with a website devoted to tracking fitness and making healthy choices, but it doesnt seem to be working. Part of the problem is at the policy level. Early childhood educators arent required to provide meals or snacks that meet national nutrition guidelines.

Next: A round of applause for our next state.

5. Louisiana

Obese adults: 35.5%

Louisiana finds itself in the top 5, which is definitely not good. But when compared to recent history, its a big improvement. In 2015, Louisiana had 36.6% of adults classified as obese, which was the worst in the nation. So the fact that only 35.5% are now obese is a step in the right direction. The state has room for improvement in its policies that can help fight the problem, but it is working on aggressive goals in its battle with childhood obesity.

Next: The predicted number of heart disease cases in the next state is truly scary.

4. Alabama (TIE)

Obese adults: 35.7%

Want to know the bad news about Alabamas rate of obesity? Its a slight rise from the 35.6% in 2015, so the state has been fighting obesity for a long time. More than 17% of the people are food insecure, meaning they dont have adequate access to healthy foods. Another scary number? There are expected to be more than 1.4 million cases of heart disease in Alabama in 2030, a nearly 500% increase from 2010.

Next: Not a pretty picture

3. Arkansas (TIE)

Obese adults: 35.7%

When your rate of obesity goes down and youre still one of the worst states, you know theres a problem. In 2014, 35.9% of adults were obese, so the current figure is an improvement but its still far from good. A statewide coalition is helping fight the battle of the bulge.

Next: Shocking numbers across the board in this state.

2. Mississippi

Obese adults: 37.3%

The United Health Foundation rankings look only at adult obesity, and Mississippis current rate is up from 35.5% in 2015. Thats not good, and its even worse if you look deeper. First, close to 43% of adults ages 26-64 are obese. Second, 21.5% of the people food insecure, the highest rate in the nation. Last, and most shocking of all, is that 25% of kids are food insecure with limited access to adequate healthy food. When people cant get healthy food they have to eat processed foods, which are terribly unhealthy.

Next: The worst state of them all

1. West Virginia

Obese adults: 37.7%

As recently as the year 2000, the adult obesity rate in West Virginia was about 24%. Not great, but nowhere near as bad as it is now. Being a rural state with income inequality and limited access to affordable, healthy food are problems for West Virginia. The state is fighting the good fight. Several policies are in place to help curb the growing problem.

Next: Why it all matters

America is fat and its a problem

You might have noticed Colorado wasnt on this list. It can turn its nose up at the rest of the country since its obesity rate is the lowest, at 22.3%. Considering the national average is 29.9%, Coloradans can feel good about themselves, at least for a minute.

If Colorado was its own country, it would still be one of the worst for obesity. Of the 35 world power countries that are part of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United States is dead last with its rate of obesity in adults. Australia ranks No. 34 overall, at 21.3%.

All that extra fat isnt doing us any favors. An article published by Lehigh University estimates the cost of obesity is $315 billion. The United Health Foundation estimates $315.8 billion. Either way, its a cost that is costing us all.

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Read more: The States With the Loosest Marijuana Laws Let You Smoke With No Regrets
iStock/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) -- A Southern California man accused of making a hoax 911 call that led to the killing of an unarmed man in Kansas is now also wanted by authorities in Canada.



The Calgary Police Service has issued an arrest warrant for 25-year-old Los Angeles resident Tyler Barriss, who they allege made a "swatting" call on the evening of Dec. 22 to Calgary Police, in which the caller said he had shot his father and were holding his mother and younger brother hostage.



The information provided by the caller led police officers to a home on 17b Street S.W. in Calgary, and the police department's tactical unit "quickly attended the residence, contained the scene, and began evacuating nearby units," according to a police press release.



While the officers were on the scene, 911 dispatchers received another call from a woman who lived at the home, stating that she believed she was the victim of a swatting call, according to police. After she exited the home, officers confirmed that the intial report of a shooting and hostage scenario were false.



Calgary police believe the woman may have been targeted due to her online persona, adding that a "substantial amount" of resources were required to contain the scene and protect the safety of citizens.



After the incident, investigators from the police department's cyber forensics unit "quickly" identified Barriss, who allegedly had made contact with the victim earlier in the day.



The arrest warrant charges Barriss with public mischief, fraud and mischief, police said.



"We take swatting events extremely seriously and will investigate each incident thoroughly," Calgary police said. "Swatting calls have the potential to create significant risks for both public and officer safety and can require an extensive amount of resources to respond and investigate."



On Dec. 28, Barriss allegedly called police in Kansas, detailing an alleged shooting with hostages as a residence in Wichita. Authorities received a 911 call around 6:18 p.m. Central Time from a man who said he had shot his father in the head while his parents were arguing, police said.



The caller also said he was holding his other family members at gunpoint inside the home and was thinking about setting the house on fire, repeatedly giving authorities the address to a Wichita home, according to authorities.



Officers surrounded the front of the home when they arrived on the scene and prepared to make contact with the caller inside, police said. A 28-year-old man then opened the door to the home, obeyed an order to raise his hands for "a very short time," before moving them back down to his waist.



After the officers ordered the man to put his hands up again, he lowered them down again toward his waistband, and an officer fired one round, striking him, police said. His identity was not released.



The victim was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead. Police did not find any weapons on him and later learned that he did not place the 911 call, according to police.



Barriss was charged in Kansas on Dec. 29 for felony making a false alarm, according to a fugitive-from-justice warrant filed by prosecutors in Los Angeles County.



Last week, Barriss waived extradition proceedings in California, and Kansas authorities have until Feb. 2 to pick him up. He will be held in a Los Angeles County jail without bail until then.



Barriss had also made about 20 calls to universities and media outlets throughout the country in 2015, around the time he was arrested for a bomb threat to ABC Los Angeles station KABC-TV, the Glendale Police Department in Los Angeles County told ABC News.



Barriss pleaded no contest to two felony charges of a false report of a bomb and malicious informing of a bomb in May 2016, in relation to the bomb threat made to KABC-TV, court records show. He was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail.



The FBI will be leading the most recent case since the swatting calls were made around the country.



Barriss' attorney, Mearl Lottman, did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
UML, Maoist Centre form panel to prepare for Upper House poll

The first meeting of the Party Unity Coordination Committee of the left alliance on Tuesday formed a task force to make necessary preparations for the upcoming National Assembly election, finalising the Proportional Representation results of the House of Representatives, and formation of provincial governments.
North Korea claims the No. 1 spot on the 2018 Open Doors World Watch Listan annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution. With more than 50,000 people in prison or labor camps, such a ranking is little surprise for the totalitarian regime that controls every aspect of life in the country and forces worship of the Kim family.

But the new report reveals an alarming trend as countries driven by Islamic extremism, such as Afghanistan (No. 2), reach persecution levels rivaling those in North Korea. Of the 50 countries on the Open Doors World Watch List, 30 saw an increase in persecution during the reporting period.

Within the countries on the Open Doors World Watch List, approximately 215 million Christians experience high, very high or extreme persecution. Trends show that countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are intensifying persecution against Christians, and perhaps the most vulnerable are Christian women, who often face double persecution for faith and gender.

Every day six women are raped, sexually harassed or forced into marriage to a Muslim under threat of death due to their Christian faith. The 2018 Open Doors World Watch List documented 2,260 such incidences against womena number that only covers those who had the courage to report such an incident, and is estimated to be a mere fraction of those actually raped and harassed in this way.

Open Doors monitors the intensity faced by Christians around the world, and the World Watch List quantifies what we see, said David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors USA. This year, as incidents of violence related to persecution have increasedespecially those related to women, it is imperative we continue to advocate and call leaders to prioritize issues of religious freedom.

The Open Doors World Watch List is a global indicator of countries where human and religious rights are being violated, and those countries most vulnerable to societal unrest and destabilization. This is the 26th year of the Open Doors World Watch List, and it remains the only comprehensive, annual survey to rank the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Quick Facts

One in every 12 Christians in the world lives in an area, or in a culture, in which Christianity is illegal, forbidden or punished.

North Korea tops the list for the 16th year in a row.

The countries where persecution increased the most are Egypt, India, Libya, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkey.

Nepal and Azerbaijan are newcomers to the list.

Comoros and Tanzania fell off the list.

Pakistan had the most violence recorded against Christians.

Islamic extremism remains the global, dominant driver of persecution, responsible for initiating oppression and conflict in 35 of the 50 countries on the list.

Middle East

Dramatically increasing persecution against Christians in all areas of their lives, Afghanistan models alarming trends that reverberate through the top 10 on the list: no central government, extremist Muslim factions trying to control the country and an intense, conservative Islamic population.

Afghanistan and North Korea nearly tied. Never before have the top two countries been so close in incidents. Both countries are extreme in intolerance and outright persecution of Christians in every area Open Doors monitors. Afghanistan now meets the same level of persecution as North Korea in five out of the six areas. This is a tragedy considering the efforts being made by the international community to help rebuild Afghanistan are failing to ensure freedom of religion, said Curry. Reports of violence and human rights atrocities from North Korea are pervasive, while the situation faced by Christians in Afghanistan may be underestimated. It is hard for westerners to imagine a second country could nearly meet the levels of persecution seen in North Korea, but Afghanistan has reached that level this year.

In addition to Pakistan being the most violent toward Christians, the country scored the highest in churches or church building attacks, abductions, and forced marriages.

Asia

Twenty-two of the 50 countries on the list are in Asia. India experienced a dramatic rise in persecution, moving from No. 15 in 2017 to No. 11 this year. Radical Hinduism and Indian nationalism are driving factors in the increasing levels of unrest and instability Christians face. In 2014, India scored only 55 points, while during the 2018 reporting period, Open Doors World Watch List researchers assigned 81 points to the nationone of the fastest and most intense increases seen. Nepal appears on the list for the first time and lands stunningly at No. 25 due to Indias religious nationalism spilling into the country.

Africa

Ethnic cleansing based on religious affiliation is becoming common in a number of sub-Saharan African countries like Somalia (No. 3), Sudan (No. 4), Nigeria (No. 14) and Kenya (No. 32). Terrorism connected with extreme Islam continues to plague many African nations, resulting in increased persecution of Christians.

The Americas

Mexico (39) and Colombia (49) remain the only two nations outside the Middle East, Asia and Africa to make the list. Both experienced increases in persecution, primarily attributed to organized crime, corruption and governmental instability.

Top 10

According to research calculations, the top 10 nations where Christians found it most dangerous and difficult to practice their faith in 2017 were:

North Korea (94 points) Afghanistan (93 points) Somalia (91 points) Sudan (87 points) Pakistan (86 points) Eritrea (86 points) Libya (86 points) Iraq (86 points) Yemen (85 points) Iran (85 points)

Syria dropped out of the top 10 down to No. 15, while Libya jumped back up to No. 7 (since being No. 10 in 2016).

Persecution at a Glance

Christians remain one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world. While persecution of Christians takes many forms, it is defined as any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Christ. Christians throughout the world continue to risk imprisonment, loss of home and assets, torture, beheadings, rape, and even death as a result of their faith.

View the Complete 2018 Open Doors World Watch List.

Methodology

The Open Doors World Watch List is the only comprehensive, annual survey of the state of religious liberty for Christians around the world. From Nov. 1, 2016, to Oct. 31, 2017, researchers measured the degree of freedom a Christian has to live out his or her faith in five spheres of lifeprivate, family, community, national and church, plus a sixth category measuring the degree of violence. Points are given for each incident of persecution, and the total points provide the ranking for each country. For more information on the methodology of the Open Doors World Watch List, please visit OpenDoorsUSA.org.

About Open Doors USA

For more than 60 years, Open Doors USA has worked in the worlds most oppressive and restrictive countries for Christians. Open Doors works to equip and encourage Christians living in dangerous circumstances with the threat of persecution and equips the Western church to advocate for the persecuted. Christians are one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world and are oppressed in at least 60 countries. For more information, visit OpenDoorsUSA.org.

Courtesy: Religion News Service

Publication date: January 10, 2018
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Two weeks ago, the US State Department released its list of countries of particular concern (CPC)a compilation of nations that have engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

The list contains the same names as last year: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Pakistan was added to a special watch list of governments or entities that dont meet the requirements for the CPC designation yet still engage in or tolerated severe religious freedom violations.

The CPC list was about six weeks late, frustrating some religious freedom watchers, including the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which is appointed by the federal government to make policy recommendations.

The State Departments Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF)established nearly 20 years ago under the Clinton administrationis officially tasked with annual reports on the state of religious freedom around the world.

The office is responsible for passing along a list of CPCs to the president each year, who would determine if the religious freedom violations were egregious enough to merit sanctions against particular nations. Almost right awayin 1999that responsibility of naming the CPCs was shifted to the secretary of state.

But it didnt always get done. A list came out promptly in 1999 and 2000, but was running two months late by 2001 and missed 2002 entirely, in the wake of 9/11 and the early years of the Iraq war. There was a list in 2003 and 2004, and the first sanctions appeared in 2005. The spotty performances continued: A list was issued in 2006, but not 2007 and 2008, then in 2009, but not 2010, 2012, 2013, or 2015. Two lists showed up in 2016.

Congress addressed the inconsistent religious freedom reports by unanimously passing the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act in December 2016. It amended the 1998 policy and added a category of entities of particular concern to cover non-government actors such as ISIS or Boko Haram, confimed that the international religious freedom ambassador-at-large reports directly to the secretary of state, and added a 90-day deadline from the time the State Department issues its annual religious freedom report to the time it needs to present a new list of new CPCs.

Not even a year later, the State Department missed its first 90-day deadline, failing to publish a list of CPCs after its August 15 annual report.

The delay was particularly frustrating to USCIRF, which was created in the same bill as the IRF. Over the years, USCIRF has never missed a deadline, functioning as an independent watchdog and recommending lists of CPCs to the State Department. (Because USCIRF is independent, it is thought to have more leeway than the government agency, which might be more hesitant to call out countries it needs to preserve diplomatic relations with.)

Failing to designate CPCs tells the violators of religious freedom around the world that the United States is looking away, USCIRFs chairman Daniel Mark stated in November. The State Department should make such designations without delay.

A major part of the problem may have been that the office is missing an ambassador at large. President Donald Trump chose his nominee for the positionKansas governor Sam Brownbackin July, but Senate confirmation hearings have been slowed down by Democrats angry about Brownbacks stance on LGBTQ issues.

Another uncertainty is the future of the IRF itself. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wants to combine its office and duties with the Office of Religion and Global Affairs, created four years ago to advise State Department leaders on religion-related policy matters and to help diplomats navigate religious dynamics overseas. (Religious freedom experts are divided over whether the move is a good one.)

Tillerson also wants IRF to absorb the offices for religious minorities in the Middle East and Asia, the representative to Muslim communities, and the special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The efforts are part of an 8 percent cut across the entire State Department, which Tillerson is achieving through hiring freezes and reduced promotions.

His cuts extended to the introduction to this years IRF report; Tillerson used just 440 words instead of the typical 5,000 to explain overall global religious freedom issues. Instead of diving into an explanation of problemssuch as North Koreas religious prisoners, Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, and the instability caused by Islamic extremism in the Middle EastTillerson called out only ISIS.

Still, the United States promotes religious freedom as a moral imperative, he wrote then. Americas promotion of international religious freedom demands standing up for the rights of the worlds most vulnerable populations.
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Unless you think it's fine for a 10-year-old boy to form an online drag club for kids, then you can safely ignore this article. Otherwise, keep reading.

First, consider this story from Germany, which begins with this mind-bending sentence: "Germany's highest court has ruled that a transgender woman whose frozen sperm was used to father a child cannot be the child's mother."

Is this clear to you? Clear as mud?

A woman does not have sperm, and a woman cannot father a child. And if the person has sperm and fathers the child, then that person cannot be the child's mother.

In this case, the man, who now identifies as a woman, wanted to be listed as the mother of his child, which was born to his female partner.

So, this man fathers a child with his female partner (using previously frozen sperm), but since he now identifies as a woman (obviously, a lesbian woman, since his partner is female), he wants to be registered as the baby's mother. That being the case, if I'm following things, the baby would have two mothers and no father.

My heart goes out to this poor soul, but I'm glad that the German court showed some sanity.

Second, this story from Arizona: "Modern family: Mom, dad, 11-year-old son and daughter, 13, ALL identify as transgender."

This is not a joke. Not for a minute. As the Daily Mail reports, "Daniel Harrott, 41, the biological parent of two trans children, was assigned female gender at birth and is a transgender man.

"His son and daughter also say they were assigned the wrong gender at birth, and he has met a transgender woman, Shirley Austin, 62, who was assigned male gender at birth. Harrott and Austin are now engaged."

The man is now a woman, the woman is now a man, the boy is now a girl and the girl is now a boy. Perhaps there's some deeper confusion going on with this family?

I'm not condemning them as wicked sinners, but I would love to see them find harmony with their biological sex. Surely a whole family is not trapped in the wrong bodies.

Third, we return to this story reported on Lifesite News about an online drag club (meaning, drag queen club) for young children: "'Haus of Amazing,' purportedly the 'first ever drag house established exclusively for kids who are doing amazing drag, will be a 'positive, encouraging and safe on-line community for drag kids to connect with each other, according to an on-line flyer for the club.

"Desmond Napoles has been showing interest in dressing in drag since he was a toddler, a Daily Mail report said, and has gained fame on the New York drag circuit as his drag alter ego, Desmond is Amazing."

I do not find this story amazing. I find it tragic, pathetic and revolting.

Desmond needs some godly parenting. To encourage him to dress (and perform in drag) and to encourage other impressionable little kids to join in with him is inexcusable.

Fourth, this report from the Daily Wire: "Not content to simply allow children to be, well, children, a hardcore sex toy manufacturer has introduced 'TransKids,' a website and shop designed to provide burgeoning transgender children with the "supplies" they need to experiment with the opposite gender.

"As Mindy Robinson reports, TransKids is designed to serve parents of children as young as two or three years of age, and sells everything from prosthetic penises  circumcised and uncircumcised  to special 'tucking trunks' to help kids who don't identify with their birth gender more accurately portray themselves as the opposite."

Need I say more?

These are just some of the reasons I will continue to raise my voice against transgender activism, while at the same time encouraging every effort to be made to help these men, women and children find true wholeness.
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Road rage has become pandemic. People fighting, shooting  even killing  over such trivial things as lane access and speed limits, merging and parking. Social scientists are full of theories as to its rise: an increasingly polarized culture, racism, the availability of guns.

The more obvious answer, to my thinking, is the simple loss of civility. But a very particular loss. Road rage is the elevation of something that is, in fact, trivial to the level of enormity. You drive slow, I become enraged. You take "my" parking spot, it's a fight. You cut me off, I pull out a gun.

I am noticing this pattern affect other areas of life. For example, the increase of spiritual road rage. This isn't about someone driving in a way that you can't tolerate, but someone thinking or living in a way you can't tolerate.

David Aikman, in an editorial in Christianity Today, discussed how no attribute of civilized life seems more under attack than civility. He noted the extent to which certain Christians have turned themselves into the "self-appointed attack dogs of Christendom. They seem determined to savage not only opponents of Christianity, but also fellow believers of whose doctrinal positions they disapprove. A troll through the Internet reveals websites so drenched in sarcasm and animosity that an agnostic, or a follower of another faith tradition interested in what it means to become a Christian, might be permanently disillusioned."

I once read of a large church that made the news due to a problem with a persistently caustic blogger. A former member, he had become disgruntled over various actions of the senior pastor, and became further incensed that said pastor maintained the backing of the leadership. With nowhere to go with his frustration, and no means to lobby for his cause, he started an anonymous blog in order to wage a one-person campaign of accusation and bitterness. It quickly disintegrated on both sides to such a degree that suits and countersuits began flying freely.

What a God-forsaken mess.

But the article had links, which led to other links, and before I knew it, I found myself exposed in a way I had never imagined possible to the sordid world of the bitter blogmeaning blogs that seemingly exist for no other reason than to attack a particular Christian leader, church, ministry or movement. More often than not, the divides were over nothing more than a disagreement over negligible points of theology, varying philosophies of ministry or differing styles of leadership.

When I started Mecklenburg Community Church in the early 1990s, I commissioned a survey through the Barna Research Group to ask unchurched people who lived in the surrounding community a simple but direct question: "Why don't you go to church?" The leading answers fell into categories you might expect: "There is no value in attending," "I don't have the time," "I'm simply not interested," "Churches ask for money too much," "Church services are usually boring." What surprised me most was the strength of one response in particularso strong it was the second most common answer for being unchurched, representing six out of every ten people: "Churches have too many problems."

The assessment of the unchurched continues to follow suitthat the typical Christian community is inflexible, hypocritical, judgmental and just plain mean. Division and discord are perceived to be more present in church than in many other groups. Why would anyone want to become involved with something that, in their mind, is so obviously dysfunctional? As one man in the survey quipped: "I've got enough problems in my life. Why would I go to church and get more?"

Sadly, this is not new for American Christianity. I once read of a school president who was also an evangelist, who made it clear that if any faculty or student attended a certain fellow evangelist's crusade, they would be fired or expelled. If they wanted to pray for the evangelist, he suggested the following words:

Dear Lord, bless the man who leads Christian people into disobeying the word of God, who prepares the way for Antichrist by building the apostate church and turning his so-called converts over to infidels and unbelieving preachers. Bless the man who flatters the Pope and defers to the purple and scarlet-clothed Antichrist who heads the church that the word of God describes as the old whore of Babylon.

So much for Bob Jones, Sr. of Bob Jones University and his relationship with the famed evangelist Billy Graham. I am sure Bob Jones, Sr., was a good and Godly man in many ways. Just not in this way. So while sentiments of this kind have been brewing for some time, what is new is the increasingly public nature of our vitriol, its widespread dissemination through the internet, and our growing comfort and even affirmation of its manifestation.

As Francis Schaeffer observed toward the end of his life, it has almost become a matter of personal privilege, writing that,

"We rush in, being very, very pleased, it would seem at times, to find other men's mistakes. We build ourselves up by tearing other men down... we love the smell of blood, the smell of the arena, the smell of the bullfight..."

We may be pleased, but we are not being Christian.

So whether it is theological road rage fueled by making tertiary matters primary, or methodological road rage fueled by building theological fences around personal tastes, we are simply modeling the ways of the world.

And the world  rightly  wants none of it.

After all, they already have enough problems in their life.

Dr. James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, Meet Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian World, is available on Amazon. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit ChurchAndCulture.org, where you can view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on twitter @JamesEmeryWhite.

Originally posted at Church and Culture.
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Last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report showing a significant decline in teen sexual activity between 2005 and 2015.

The report obtained data on the sexual conduct of teens by analyzing 29 separate state-level Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. Overall, the percentage of teenagers that reported ever having engaged in sexual intercourse declined from 46.8 percent to 41.2 percent over this 10-year time period. The study finds declines in teen sexual activity across racial groups, grade levels and regions. Interestingly, the declines in teen sexual activity were the largest among blacks and Hispanics.

Between 2005 and 2015, the percentage of black and Hispanic teenagers who had ever engaged in sexual intercourse fell by over 19 percentage points and 8 percentage points, respectively. Teenagers in ninth and tenth grades reported larger decreases in sexual activity than teens in higher grade levels. This new study adds to an existing body of research indicating that there have been consistent declines in teen sexual activity since the early 1990s.

In fact, the new data suggest that the decline in teen sexual activity between 2005 and 2015 was actually larger than the decline that occurred between 1995 and 2005. Furthermore, data from the National Survey of Family Growth show a consistent long-term decline, beginning in 1988, in the percentage of teens who reported ever having had sex.

The 63 percent decline in the teen-pregnancy rate since 1990 is a largely unheralded public-policy success story. Analysts and commentators tend to give most of the credit for this decline to increases in contraception use. Last September, Guttmacher Institute published a study on this subject that failed to even mention the significant long-term declines in teen sexual activity.

These new statistics from the CDC demonstrate that the increasing number of teenagers forgoing sexual activity is a central reason for America's decline in teen pregnancy.

Originally posted at the National Review.
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*This article was discussed on the author's podcast, All Truth is God's Truth, recently. You can find the episode here (iTunes or Google Play). Subscribe for more interaction with culture from a consistent Christian worldview.

In an essay titled "The Wrath of God," penned for Bruce McCormack'sEngaging the Doctrine of God: Contemporary Protestant Perspectives, D. A. Carson argues,

Rightly integrated into Christian theology, the wrath of God enhances our grasp of God's love; it does not diminish it. The point has often been made but not often more intelligently than by J. Gresham Machen in a passage I stumbled across recently: 'It is a strange thing that when men talk about the love of God, they show by every word that they utter that they have no conception at all of the depths of God's love.

If you want to find an instance of true gratitude for the infinite grace of God, do not go to those who think of God's love as something that cost nothing, but go rather to those who in agony of soul have faced the awful fact of the guilt of sin, and then have come to know with a trembling wonder that the miracle of all miracles has been accomplished, and that the eternal Son has died in their stead.'

This reality is clearly seen in Jesus' story about Lazarus and the rich man. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus says,

19 "There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' 25 But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' 27 And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house 28 for I have five brothersso that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' 29 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"

Notice that Abraham points to the rich man enjoying good things on earth, but now he's in torment in Hades. God's grace on earth makes hell that much more unbearable due to being compared with the common grace previously received on earth.

"For He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45b). Also notice that the rich man can see Lazarus being comforted. This too magnifies the rich man's torment. Furthermore, Lazarus' joy is magnified by his previous suffering on earth and the current suffering of the rich man.

As Lazarus (and Abraham for that matter) peer into Hades, they are forever reminded of God's wonderful grace and justice. The rich man's suffering at the hands of a holy, just, and wrathful God magnifies the grace experienced by Abraham and Lazarus. For, if it wasn't for God's love freely poured out on us, we would justly suffer under God's wrath in a sinner's Hell for all eternity. Remember this reality the next time you sing "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me."

Moreover, this truth answers the terrible question concerning, "If my family members are in Hell, how will I enjoy Heaven?" The answer is that we'll thank God for His wonderful justice in rightly judging our family members, and we'll praise Him for His wonderful love, grace, and mercy poured out on us.

This should greatly motivate us to take the gospel to our unbelieving family members now. We weep for their souls and the rest of those who are lost today, but in eternity we shall weep no more. We will worship God, not only for His love, but also for His wrath and justice (Isaiah 66:22-25). His wrath towards His enemies, and our enemies as well (since His enemies are our enemies) will magnify His love for His people forevermore.

Jared Moore was dead in his sin and God raised him to life in Christ Jesus. Because of Christ's finished work, he will live forevermore. Jared has served in pastoral ministry in a Southern Baptist context since 2000. He currently pastors Cumberland Homesteads Baptist Church in Crossville, TN. He is married with four children. Jared has authored several books. He is also a PhD candidate in Systematic Theology and a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Kyle Claunch at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Books: http://amzn.to/2h6rpQ8

Website: http://jaredmoore.exaltchrist.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jared-Moore-134396103280214/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaredhmoore

Enjoy God Through Popular Culture: https://t.co/Bm6YFmRh9q

All Truth is God's Truth Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/all-truth-is-gods-truth/id830829832
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Most of us give up on our New Year's resolutions rather quickly. But here's one that I hope you'll keepfor life.If you're a regular listener or reader of our BreakPoint commentaries, you know that we are staunchly pro-life. And likely you are, too. Every human life, in or out of the womb, is precious and invested with a special dignity, having been created in God's image. But in our culture, life is assaulted.

Christians should, at the same time, both love unborn babies and their mothers, and also hate what abortion does to themand to our broken society.

Many of our BreakPoint listeners and readers are active in the pro-life movement. Many of you have walked a picket line, written a letter to the editor, or volunteered at a pregnancy care center. Many of you have given money, sacrificially, to support pro-life organizations.

And yet, despite all this effort by you and millions like you and the great progress made by the pro-life community, the monstrous evil of legal abortion continues.

The statistics, 45 years after Roe v. Wade, are so well-known by now that, incredibly, they fail to shock us as they should. Around 60 million unborn American babiesthink of it!60 million, have succumbed to abortion since 1973. That's more than the combined populations of Texas and New York.

Each year some 652,000 abortions are still performed in the U.S. About one in three women will have an abortion by age 45. Nearly half (49 percent) of abortions are among women and teens 24 years of age and younger. These are sobering and, if we're honest, depressing numbers.

And yet, there's good news, some really good news. First, public opinion is turning against unlimited abortion. Even young people, who are generally liberal on social issues, are quite conservative when it comes to life. A study by Students for Life of America found that just seventeen percent of millennials support anything-goes abortion. And a Knights of Columbus poll in 2014 found an incredible 84 percent of Americans want to restrict abortion to the first three months of pregnancy or less!

Second, many states have enacted laws over the years that have restricted abortion and even forced some Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to close their grisly death mills in fact, 37 abortion clinics closed in 2017 alone. Praise God!

And the best news of all is that God is with us on this issue, and He answers the prayers of His people.

Is anything impossible for God? Jesus Christ reigns over heaven and earth, He loves the little children, and He is perfectly willing and able to answer our prayers for them. And there are some things that we're called to that will only, only be accomplished through prayer.

So let all of us who love life, born and unborn, commit to praying through this New Year, asking and expecting God to act. That's something that all of us, no matter our political, financial, or social status, can do.

And so, once again, we're asking you to join thousands of others in what has now become an annual effort here at BreakPoint and the Colson Center: the 21 Days of Prayer for Life.

Come to BreakPoint.org/21Days to download a free "21 Days of Prayer for Life" prayer guide, complete with moving stories, statistics, discussion questions, and of course, prayer requests for life. Even more, each day will equip you to not only pray but also to make the case for life with friends and neighbors. And it's free. Use it in your family, your churches, your small groups. Breakpoint.org/21Days.

There's also a 21 Days of Prayer for Life app for your smart phone or computer. When you download the app, you'll not only get the 21 days of pro-life devotionals and training, but you'll receive pro-life prayer requests six days a week all 52 weeks this year. Can you imagine what would happen if thousands of Christians would pray for life and against abortion every day of 2018?

Again, that's BreakPoint.org/21days.

First published at BreakPoint.
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Last week I wrote an article sharing why I, as an evangelical Leader in the Middle East, disagree with President Trump's Jerusalem declaration. I also shared some of my frustration concerning the wider American evangelical support of this decision. As I expected, there were both positive and negative responses to my article. I am grateful for those who've written to thank me for sharing a grass-roots perspective from ground zero in Jerusalem. To those who disagreed, please allow me to share a few more thoughts.

All my memories are of Jerusalem, the city of my birth: it was in the streets of the old city that I played as a child and it was in a church in the Christian Quarter where my wife and I served for many years as pastors. My parents still reside in their ancient house along the Via Dolorosa, near the station of where it is traditionally taught that Jesus fell under the weight of His cross. To the women who wept over His agony He said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children" (Luke 23:28).

Growing up by this station of the cross has shaped my life in ways I would have never dreamed as a child. As I look over Jerusalem, I believe that Jesus is still asking us to weep over the city. The same Jesus that asked the women to weep over their children has Himself wept over Jerusalem: "As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it" (Luke 19:41). Jesus wept over the city because of the faithless inhabitants within her who rejected the "things that make for peace" and who wanted a national god more than they wanted God Himself.

There are Christians around the world that pray for Jerusalem every day, quoting from Psalm 122:6 "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; May those who love you be secure". It is my observation that most of the people who quote this verse, assume that Jerusalem is a city of faith and that it is only Jewish. Neither of these are true.

They don't realize that almost 300,000 residents of Jerusalem are Palestinian Muslims and Christiansthe latter a mere 10,000 people. The Mount of Olives, for example, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, is largely a Muslim neighborhood today. In neighborhoods like Shu'afat, the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalemmany of them people who lost their homes in 1948 and 1967are not allowed Israeli citizenship and live in walled-off, slummy neighborhoods that receive very little municipal support for things like pavement, schools, electricity and other amenities though they pay the same municipal taxes as everyone else in Jerusalem. The people who live in these densely-crowded neighborhoods are also vulnerable to home demolitions and losing their residency status if they leave the country for too long. The inequality in Jerusalem is staggering, as all who have dared to honestly observe it can attest. This inequality is also largely hidden from the eyes of the typical tourist who walks starry-eyed through the streets of the old city.

Jesus is still weeping over Jerusalem because its residents don't know Him as Lord and Savior. I would estimate that out of the 900,000 residents of this divided, segregated and broken city, there are barely 1000 committed believers.

Among those who rejoiced in Trump's declaration over Jerusalem, how many are actually concerned about the non-Jewish residents of Jerusalem and this land in general? I get the feeling that our existence is more of an annoyance to them than anything. Forgive my pain as I say this, but it seems that we Palestinian Christians are a thorn in the flesh of Dispensationalists and Christian Zionists. I think they are shocked to discover that God could save even us Arabs!

Of the negative responses that I received on my article, sadly, most of them were old-school arguments, based on misinterpretation of Scripture. None of them were brave enough to answer my primary question: What is their good news for the Palestinian people and what is their Gospel for the Arab nations in the Middle East?

Since God's "restoration plan" has not worked so far according to their plans, I hope that more of them will begin to depart from Dispensational theology. Certainly, there are many evangelicals who do not hold to such theology or eschatology; who are able to see the fulfillment of Jerusalem as more than a solely Jewish city. I am thankful for the many American evangelicals who have an open heart to embrace justice and equality for all the people here. I am glad that not all evangelicals are like those so-called evangelical advisors to Trump. I notice that these people don't represent the major evangelical denominations in the US, such as the American Evangelical Alliance which is part of the World Evangelical Alliance that has more than 600 million members globally.

If we desire to see the "peace of Jerusalem," we need to think hard about what we mean by that phrase. As Christians, we all know that real peace can come only through the Prince of Peace sitting on the throne of our hearts. If a political leader has not experienced that peace, how can he impart what he does not himself possess?

It is my desire to see my city, Jerusalem, come under the Lordship of the Savior who paid the utmost sacrifice on behalf of all creation. I long for the day when we will see the residents of Jerusalem, from all religious backgrounds, crying: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

Until that happens, may we see our evangelical brethren live up to their name. May they become true evangelists for all of Jerusalem and not a stumbling block for those who are on their way to Jesus. May we re-tune our hearts to the melody of God's salvation for all of the nations. From now on, when we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, let us pray for alland not just someof the people who live here.

Rev. Dr. Jack Y. Sara is an Evangelical Leader in the Holy Land, after serving as senior pastor for the Jerusalem Alliance Church in Jerusalem, he assumed the leadership of Bethlehem Bible College, an Evangelical institution that trains people for Christian ministry. Dr. Jack serves as advisors for some important Evangelical institutions including consultancy for the World Evangelical Alliance for the Middle East & North Africa.

Visit him on: https://www.facebook.com/JackSara44/.


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Jack in the Box restaurants became famous as the first major chain to use an intercom and the first to focus on drive-through food service. Now they're making newsfor a different reason: in honor of California's legalization of recreational marijuana, they are offering the "Merry Munchie Meal." The combo includes "the most craveable and snackable products that Jack in the Box has to offer."

The marijuana debate

On January 1, California began selling recreational marijuana. Lines formed outside stores licensed to sell the drug long before opening hours. The state is expected to become the world's largest market for legal recreational marijuana.

In related news, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama-era policy that paved the way for legalized marijuana to flourish in states across the nation. Federal law continues to prohibit growing, buying, or using the drug. However, numerous states have legalized these activities.

The Obama administration announced in 2013 that it would not stand in the way of these states, so long as officials kept marijuana from migrating to places where it remained outlawed and out of the hands of criminal gangs and children. Sessions is rescinding this policy, allowing US attorneys across the country to decide what kinds of federal resources to devote to marijuana enforcement based on priorities in their districts.

I have voiced my opposition to legalizing recreational marijuana in the past. Health issues associated with the drug are enough to raise significant concerns.

For instance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marijuana use significantly increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes and has been connected with cancer. Long-term use of marijuana negatively affects brain development. It also harms the lungs.

One in ten marijuana users will become addicted to the drug. Addicts may be at a higher risk of problems with attention, memory, and learning.

According to the CDC website, "Marijuana users are significantly more likely than nonusers to develop chronic mental disorders, including schizophrenia." The drug has also been linked to depression and anxiety. Marijuana "edibles" pose a greater risk of poisoning. And secondhand marijuana smoke could affect the health of nonsmokers, including babies and children.

Since marijuana laws were liberalized in Colorado, the state is experiencing more car crash fatalities involving marijuana-using drivers, along with accidental ingestion and poisoning of children who inadvertently consume edibles packaged as candy and soda.

Four values that changed the world

Our laws reflect our values. In the case of legalizing recreational marijuana, the values of financial gain, popular opinion, and personal freedom are apparently more important than the values of physical, mental, and emotional health.

The marijuana debate illustrates the fact that we cannot legislate morality effectively. Laws compete with each other, as in the case of federal and state laws regarding marijuana enforcement. Laws can be interpreted in various ways. And it is impossible for lawmakers to anticipate every potential ethical problem.

As a result, we need values that will guide our decisions and form our character. On this first Friday of the new year, I'd like to offer four such values for consideration.

After the miracle of Pentecost, we read that the early Christians "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). "Devoted themselves" translates proskartereo, meaning "to be committed exclusively to." These believers oriented their lives around four practices that they valued above all others:

 "The apostles' teaching"a doctrinal worldview taught by church leaders.

 "The fellowship"not just relationships in general, but intentional relationships with fellow believers.

 "The breaking of bread"likely a reference to the Lord's Supper and the larger experience of Christian worship.

 "The prayers"not just individual, spontaneous prayer, but organized, structured times of prayer with God.

As a result, "awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles" (v. 43). The believers helped each other while "praising God and having favor with all the people" (v. 47a). And "the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved" (v. 47b).

These believers soon "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) and sparked a movement that transformed their world. If we wish to impact our culture this year as they impacted theirs, perhaps we should make their values ours.

So, ask yourself these diagnostic questions: When last did reading Scripture change your life? With whom are you doing life intentionally? Is worship a daily priority for you or just a Sunday program? Do you pray systematically and passionately?

If you were to take a step closer to Acts 2 Christianity, what would you do next?

Originally published at the Denison Forum.
home World Turkey's historic Iron church reopens after 7-year restoration

A church built by the Bulgarian community in Istanbul in the 19th century reopened on Sunday after a seven-year restoration project.

Sveti Stefan, also known as the "Iron Church," is said to be the only church that was mainly made of iron. It was built on the banks of Istanbul's Golden Horn in 1898 with 500-tons of prefabricated iron components from Austria, according to Voice of America.

Vasil Liaze, head of a foundation overseeing the church, stated that the restoration project had cost TL 16 million ($4.3 million) and that TL 15 million ($4.01 million) of the budget was provided by the Turkish government.

The opening ceremony on Sunday was attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoAYan, Prime Minister Binali YAldArAm and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

ErdoAYan stated at the ceremony that the government has the responsibility to ensure that everyone, no matter their beliefs, has the right to freely practice their faith.

"Certain bitter memories in history should not be allowed to taint the long history of living side by side," the president said, adding that the government has been working since the beginning to restore places of worship of all citizens.

Borisov had vowed that Bulgaria would work to "normalize and improve" Turkey-European Union relations as his country assumes the presidency of the EU.

According to Daily Sabah, the Bulgarian Metochion, a renovated addition of the church, was reopened in 2016 and hosted an exhibition of the history of the Bulgarian community in Turkey.

The three-story building was originally built as an addition to the church but it was gradually turned into a community and cultural center for the Bulgarian community in Istanbul. Over the years, the Metochion had been converted into a school, a printing house and a nursing home before it was abandoned by the community.

The Turkish president contended that the government has supported the restoration of more than 5,000 historical artifacts in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the Balkans in the past 15 years.

"We do not separate freedom of worship in the Iron Church from the freedom of worship in the Muradiye Mosque in Filibe [Plovdiv]. That is why my friend Boyko bringing Bulgaria's Chief Mufti Mustafa AliAY to this ceremony is important," he said.

Another historic church in Istanbul's EdirnekapA district opened in early November in a ceremony attended by Turkish and Greek Orthodox dignitaries.

ErdoAYan also pointed to other examples of state-sponsored restoration of several churches, including the Great Sinagogue of Edirne, the Aya Nikola Church in GAkAeada, the Syriac Catholic church of Askenderun, DiyarbakAr's Sur Armenian Protestant Church, the Nizip Fevkani Church in Gaziantep and the Taksiyarjis Church in Cunda Island.
home World US State Department puts Pakistan on special watch list of 'countries of particular concern'

Pakistan has been placed on the U.S. State Department's special watch list of "countries of particular concern" (CPC) for "severe" violations of religious freedom.

On Thursday, the State Department announced its annual CPC list based on observance of ongoing violations of religious freedom in countries across the globe.

"In far too many places around the globe, people continue to be persecuted, unjustly prosecuted, or imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief," department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, as reported by Catholic Herald.

"Today, a number of governments infringe upon individuals' ability to adopt, change, or renounce their religion or belief, worship in accordance with their religion or beliefs, or be free from coercion to practice a particular religion or belief," she added.

Pakistan has drawn criticism for the treatment of religious minorities, such as Christians, Ahmadi Muslims and Hindus. Many have faced death and imprisonment under Pakistan's blasphemy law as sectarian violence continues to rise in the country.

A report published by U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in 2017 noted that many Hindu and Christian girls are vulnerable to forced conversions into Islam and marriage due to the lack of legal protections for religious minorities.

Pakistan's designation came as the U.S. had suspended security assistance to the country for its failure to take "decisive action" against extremist groups.

President Donald Trump said last week that the U.S. had "foolishly" provided $33 billion in aid to Pakistan in the last 15 years, but had received nothing in return but "lies and deceit."

Last April, USCIRF had recommended that Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria and Vietnam be added to the State Department's list of CPCs.

USCIRF applauded the State Department for adding Pakistan to a watch list, but it expressed disappointment that the other recommended countries were not mentioned at all.

Last year, the countries of Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have been designated by the department as CPCs. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had decided to re-designate the 10 countries as CPCs this year.

Nauert said that the purpose of designating certain countries of concern was to focus on the work needed to advance religious freedom in those nations.

"The protection of religious freedom is vital to peace, stability, and prosperity. These designations are aimed at improving the respect for religious freedom in these countries. We recognize that several designated countries are working to improve their respect for religious freedom; we welcome these initiatives and look forward to continued dialogue," she said.
Princess Charlotte starts nursery school

Britain's Princess Charlotte, currently still the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, started attending nursery school on Monday.

The almost three-year-old royal was all smiles as she walked out of her home, wearing a red coat, red buckle shoes, and pink scarf, while carrying a pink backpack.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share two photographs of Princess Charlotte at Kensington Palace this morning. pic.twitter.com/dDIOZdA7aM  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 8, 2018

The two images were courtesy of her proud mother, Kate Middleton, who took the photos before the little princess went to school. It was later posted by Kensington Palace on social media, and captioned with, "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to share two photographs of Princess Charlotte at Kensington Palace this morning."

It was earlier announced that Princess Charlotte is attending the very exclusive Willcocks Nursery School, a private school in west London. It is strategically located just a short walk from Kensington Palace.

Dubbed as "outstanding" at an official inspection in 2012, the nursery was founded in 1964 and is housed in a church hall.

Princess Charlotte is bound to get a lot of attention here, where one teacher is allotted a maximum of eight students only. According to reports, the young princess will be taught literacy, mathematics, expressive arts, and design.

In a span of three-hour classes daily, Princess Charlotte will be involved in various interactive activities, like cooking, painting, music, poetry, story time, and of course, playtime.

The two-year-old royal should be able to learn a lot. After all, a three-month term at Willcocks Nursery School costs some 3,050 or $4,127.

Princess Charlotte's first day in nursery comes just a few months since her older brother, four-year-old Prince George, started school at Thomas's Battersea, an 18,000-a-year preparatory school in London.

His father, Prince William, nervously accompanied him on his first day last September. The Duchess of Cambridge could not make it out due to hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe case of morning sickness, which she also experienced while carrying her two older children. She is expected to give birth to their third child in April.
Robert Pattinson and Emma Watson news: Golden Globes 2018 appearance sparks dating rumors

Robert Pattinson and Emma Watson were recently seen together at the 2018 Golden Globes, and fans are freaking out. Rumors started swirling that the two "Harry Potter" stars are dating.

According to In Touch Weekly, Watson just broke up with tech entrepreneur William "Mack" Knight, but she already moved on with Pattinson. The report adds that the two have been texting each other and spending secret dinners together in London and L.A. The outlet continues that the two have the same sense of humor and they always had chemistry. It also points out that the timing was just not right, which is why they never got together before.

The pair presented the Best TV Movie or Limited Series award, and this immediately sparked rumors that they went out as a couple. Fans were happy to see the two stars together on stage. Watson, 27, and Pattinson,31 have been friends since 2005 when they filmed "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Watson played Hermione Granger, while Pattinson portrayed the role of Cedric Diggory in the "Harry Potter" franchise.

However, Gossip Cop debunks the rumor saying that Watson and Pattinson are not a new couple and they did not go public with their relationship. The website adds that the two are not dating and they are not in a relationship. Despite the report of an alleged source, those who are close to the stars reveal that they are only friends and nothing has changed between them.

It was clarified that presenting an award together is not a confirmation of a relationship. Gossip Cop also says that the celebrity presenters do not choose who they are paired up with. This indicates that Watson and Pattinson's pairing was not their choice.

But whether they are dating or not, fans are just delighted that they saw their two beloved "Harry Potter" stars on stage. Many fans of the movie series expressed their joy on social media after seeing their mini-reunion.
'The Walking Dead' news: Season 8 to resume with an all-out war

Fans are looking forward to an all-out war when AMC's zombie apocalypse television series "The Walking Dead" returns on Feb. 25. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) gather their allies for a big showdown.

Many fans were left devastated after episode 8 of season 8 ended with the reveal of Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) being bitten by a walker. One fan even started a petition to fire showrunner Scott Gimple for killing off the character, and many others have rallied behind.

With the passing of the issue, Gimple keeps his job and the series pushes through. A promo video for season 8's episode 9 shows Rick in front of a grave with a cross made out of sticks. Rick is also all fired up in the video telling Negan he is the next one to meet his maker. Fans of the show point out that Rick is wearing his iconic brown jacket in the trailer. The main protagonist of the show is usually fired up when wearing the jacket.

The video also shows a glimpse of Michonne (Danai Gurira) wielding his katana and swinging it against an advancing walker.

Rick, together with the Hilltop Colony, Alexandria, and the Kingdom, will clash against Negan and the Saviors. The remaining episode will focus on "The Last Stand" between the two rival groups with the walkers still at large. There are speculations that Rick's militia will be the first to launch an attack against Negan and the Saviors. However, the teaser video shows Rick and Ezekiel (Khary Payton) in the middle of conversing and are interrupted with an explosion.

Season 8 still managed to generate impressive reviews despite the heartbreaking death of Carl. The most recent season got a 69 percent score rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Episode 9 of season 8 will air on Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. EST on AMC.
The Jewish people in adversity: The bush which never burns

In Exodus 3:14, in the midst of the burning bush, G-d tells Moses that he will always be there for the Jewish people throughout all the historical and existential crises they will have to face during their 4,000 years of existence, based on the same covenant that he originally made with them through Abraham their father.

But in the wake of the Holocaust, how on earth can the Jewish people believe that G-d has kept his assurance to Moses that he will always be there for them?

Where was G-d in the Holocaust while a third of his people  fully two thirds of the Jews of Europe  were being slaughtered by fire, gas, sword and gun, on the orders of the best-educated country in the world, while the rest of the world looked on and most did nothing to help, including elements of the Catholic Church hierarchy?

But neither has anybody managed adequately to explain why the Destruction of the Two Temples in Jerusalem happened, followed by the subsequent deportations from Israel  the home promised them by G-d himself in His original covenant with the Jewish people  to frightening, alien lands, whose goal was to destroy the Jewish people by subservience to their way of life, or worse.

And while this was the case in Babylon, Persia, Egypt, it has been especially and glaringly obvious during the last 2,000 years in Europe, starting with Spain, Rome and Germany, where Jews have lived for over 2000 years.

This ancient negative attitude to the Jewish people continues today with attacks on Israel by some extremists, both physical and verbal, by the same very same powers that never change where the Jewish people are concerned, however pious their sentiments, or plausible their demeanour.

So in our biblical passage today, what G-d is telling Moses, the shepherd of the Jewish people (and in Hebrew shepherd also means beloved) is that the difficult Exodus from Egypt is necessary and fraught with danger. The Jewish people will nevertheless eventually arrive in their promised home of Israel, but...

For in repeating the phrase 'I will be what I will be', G-d is saying that 'I will be with you more than once in your history. I will be with you throughout your entire Exodus from Egypt  the power which represents oppression and misery and where you are being treated like slaves and your children buried alive in the bricks that are being used to build up the pyramids for Pharaoh.

'You simply have to get out of that situation.

'But I will also be with you when, eventually, you will temporarily have to leave your land of Israel when others invade, destroy the Temple and the land itself and also seek to replace the religion I have given you with other religions and philosophies which hate you.'

And this is what happened. It is not an explanation. Maybe not an answer to 'why', but maybe an answer to 'who, what, where and how'.

For how can G-d's clear words: 'I will be with you  the Jewish people  in all your agonies over thousands of years, culminating in the Holocaust and the attempts to destroy My country, Israel' be interpreted by others as 'I am the great I am'? But that is what has happened.

Accurate translation has simply flown out of the window as far as the language of the Jews is concerned.

Most people don't like facts. Facts are very upsetting. But the fact is that there is no 'I am' in Hebrew. There is no present tense at all, but especially in the verb 'to be'.

So you can say 'I was' and you can say 'I will be' in Hebrew, but Hebrew, the divine language of G-d, whose letters are often picturesquely described as actually creating the world, simply cannot utter the sentiment of 'I am'.

Like the Jewish people, Hebrew is dynamic, not static. Like the Jewish people itself, when at home in their own country, the Jewish G-d represents actions not words  deeds, not utterances. From within the bush which is on fire but does not burn G-d is saying that it is what you do that counts, not what you say.

That is why Moses has a speech impediment. The greatest Jewish prophet and leader of all time can't even express himself properly and yet G-d has chosen him, the shepherd raised in an Egyptian court, to be the inspiration for the Jewish people. For G-d mistrusts smooth talk. G-d knows that actions speak louder than words, and that words and thoughts by themselves are not enough.

These three little words in Hebrew: eyeh asher eyeh, say it all. G-d cannot be pinned down. He cannot simply 'be'. He cannot simply look on while his people are extinguished. The bush which appears to be burning is not burning at all. It is an illusion. The bush is the Jewish people. 'To be' is to be the rest of the world which looks on while the Jewish people are extinguished. But G-d is within the Jewish people and will never ever allow them to be extinguished completely.

Every time people try to burn the Jewish people in a Holocaust, whether during the Destruction of the two Temples, the Crusades, the expulsion from Spain, the various massacres in Russia, Ukraine and Poland, and the most recent Holocaust during which much of the world was silent, the Jewish people miraculously survive, start again and work for the future.

And what is more, after 2000 years, the Jewish people now have their sovereign state back again with its citizen army, its brains, its creativity, its Jewish values and the knowledge that whatever the rest of the world says, they, the Jewish people, will carry on with their deeds, building up a future for their children and grandchildren while being fully aware of the past, but without regrets.

For G-d continues by saying to Moses:

'Tell the children of Israel that the Lord G-d of your forefathers, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac and the G-d of Jacob has sent me to you. This is My Name eternally and forever, and this is both my remembrance of you and your remembrance of Me from generation to generation...I have always remembered and always will remember what was and is done to you in Egypt [in this Egypt and in all subsequent Egypts] and will always act accordingly... I shall bring you up out of Egypt ... to a land flowing with milk and honey.'

And this has happened again in marked form in our own lifetime. For although we do not understand why our parents and grandparents suffered in the Holocaust, and in many cases were also exterminated by the best educated and most cultured country in Europe, every Pesach we, the Jewish people, are grateful that our children and grandchildren are now back in their own homes once again in our small land the size of Wales.

We rejoice that G-d has kept the covenantal promise he has made and will always renew with the Jewish people through the ages, as expressed in Shabbat's synagogue reading.

For in this dark season when winter nevertheless slowly morphs into spring and the days become slightly longer once again, G-d reiterates his loving assurance of companionship and eternal vigilance to a tentative Moses in the bush that (unlike the bushes of history) never burns down, as a new season of faith and hope buds up from the ground and we, the Jewish people, look forward to our next festival, the New Year for Trees and thank G-d once again for bringing us to this season.

Dr Irene Lancaster is a Jewish academic, author and translator who has established university courses on Jewish history, Jewish studies and the Hebrew Bible.
Trump adviser Paula White says send money to her for blessings  or face divine consequences

Donald Trump's spiritual adviser Paula White has told people to send her money  ideally their January salary  in order to receive blessings, or face divine consequences.

In a video on her website, White, who heads up the President's evangelical advisory committee and is pastor at the megachurch New Destiny Christian Center, in Apopka, Florida, suggested making a New Year donation to her ministries.

White said this was to honour the religious principle of 'first fruit,' which she said is the idea that all firsts belong to God, including the first harvest  and the first month of people's salaries.

'Right now I want you to click on that button, and I want you to honour God with his first fruits offering,' she said in the video.

'If God doesn't divinely step in and intervene, I don't know what you're going to face  he does,' she said.

The Pentecostal televangelist, who prayed at Trump's inauguration, remains one of the President's leading supporters. She has recently defended the state of Trump's mental health following claims Michael Wolff's book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, saying the President is 'great mentally'.

Explaining the theory behind her appeal for cash, she said: 'January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the first hours of our day, the first month of the year, the first of our increase, the first in every area of our life. It's devoted...The principle of first fruits is that when you give God the first, he governs the rest and redeems in.'

She went on: 'When you honour this principle, it provides the foundation and structure for God's blessings and promises in your life. It unlocks deep dimensions of spiritual truths that literally transform your life. When you apply this, everything comes in divine alignment for his plan and promises for you. When you don't honor it, whether through ignorance or direct disobedience, there are consequences.'

White reflected on her own 'big sacrifice' by donating her own salary for the first month of the year. 'Each January, I put God first and honour him with the first of our substance by sowing a first fruits offering of one month's pay. That is a big sacrifice, but it is a seed for the harvest I am believing for in the coming year,' she said. 'And God always provides!'

Her website says: 'When you sow a First Fruits Offering of $75 or more, I will rush to you the book, the devotional and also a Paula White 2018 wall calendar! Track throughout the entire year prioritizing God with me!'

As Newsweek noted, White was among a number of televangelists examined after the Republican Senator Charles Grassley launched a 2007 investigation into the finances of ministries that solicit millions of dollars in donations.

The report, published in 2011, did not draw any conclusions of wrongdoing, however.
I was talking with Dave Castellani, who as senior vice president and business information officer, runs IT for $25 billion New York Life Insurance Company, and we got onto the discussion of shadow IT. When Dave posited that CIOs would be better off unleashing shadow IT rather than attempting to contain it, I asked him to tell me more. Our conversation quickly became a discussion about the wholesale overhaul of the IT operating model.

---------------------------------------------

What is shadow IT?

These days, shadow IT is any activity that happens outside of the IT organization that involves coding, the purchase of a tool or equipment, or the establishment of core infrastructure. If these activities have an impact on scalability, repeatability and availability across the enterprise, they are shadow IT. This form of shadow IT needs to be controlled and contained.

What should CIOs do about shadow IT?

CIOs need to unleash all other forms of shadow IT, that is, allow business functions to own more technology resources and be accountable for the technology that they own. Most people in the business say, I need to get things done faster to meet market demands. I cant wait for IT. The reporting relationships that govern technology professionals should change in this new business climate; technology resources should be anchored in the business, rather than in a centralized IT organization. This change will allow everyone to move more quickly.

New York Life Insurance Company Dave Castellani, SVP and business information officer

It is critical to understand, though, the need for strong architecture disciplines and standards. If you are ceding control to the business, you must established standards and strong goverance. Scalablity, interoperability and repeatability are non-negotiable.

Think about it. How many people are happy with the level of service provided by the technology organization? The majority of them are not because technology resources are too far removed from where the needs for technology are located. We need to do a better job of tying process improvement experts to technology, and that means breaking up the unity of the technology organization for the advancement of business.

Are you talking about bi-modal IT?

I am. With bi-modal, you have core infrastructure  servers in the data centers, telecom, networks, architecture and security  as a core set of functions. The job of the group managing these functions is to make technology as cheap as possible with the highest availability. The cost of compute is coming down every year. This group needs to capitalize on those cost reductions. Thinks of this as the core technology services overlaid with strong security.

All of the business technology resources live in the business, including design, requirements and standards. This is agile development at scale. You have a group of people who design a new process or product, and this group is aided by technology people who work in a series of sprints that never end. IT people, product people and business process owners come in and out of the scrum, always meeting the demands of the business in an endless cycle.

Most organizations talk a good game about agile, but they arent organized or disciplined enough to execute agile at scale. When you have agile at scale, there are no project managers or due dates  just constant iteration of more services to the business at a faster and faster pace. Release cycles are a matter of days and [are] unending. But legacy organizations are not organized properly to operate this way. Facebook does agile at scale. No wonder they can bring new products to market so quickly.

Why is it so hard for legacy companies to move into this new structure?

People get stuck in their legacy org charts and operating models. They care too much about how much budget they control and how many people they manage. Dave has a $1 billion budget and an organization of 1,000 people, so Dave must have a big job. But $300 million of that budget is for core compute, and the rest of it is for business technology. Should I own that budget and those people, or should I start to think differently about how to manage those assets?

When the business comes to me with a technology solution request, I ask them, How much money do you have for these projects? Its your money. You tell me how you are going to fund this request. In IT, we will resource the heck out of it. We will be efficient, but you need to decide how much you want to invest in your business and at what pace.

What we are really talking about is a workforce transformation."

What we are really talking about is a workforce transformation. One organization will have core compute, architecture, and security, and everything will be distributed within the business. If I have 2,000 people working for me in 2017, I might have 300 directly working for me by 2020.

Open source is a major catalyst allowing us to embed technology resources in the business, since applications work together much more easily now than in the past. Remember the Intel/Microsoft duopoly? When those two companies controlled everything from the operating system to the desktop, no one understood how anything worked. But SaaS companies such as Salesforce are using open source to create a whole new partner ecosystem. We now have a more flexible environment and can allow business functions to control their own technology.

If the business controls their own technology resources, what does traditional IT focus on?

IT focuses on core compute, security and architectural standards. For example, the IT organization has an obligation to the company to kill code. IT should be reducing applications as often as possible because extra applications are sludge; they slow things down, cost more, and reduce interoperability. If you are not reducing your code at a rate of 10 percent a year, you will be in trouble. If you and I started a company today, wed have no legacy. Since that is not the case, we need to do constant pruning to create agility and speed.

About Dave Castellani

Dave Castellani is senior vice president, business information officer with New York Life. He joined the firm in September 2013. Previously, he was senior vice president at Prudential Financial. Castellani is currently also chairman of the board for Qv21 Technologies. He received a BA in history from College of the Holy Cross.
Blockchain is proving to be quite the disruptive technology. At its core, blockchain offers a reliable way to immutably store information. This core functionality has countless applications across industries. Given the number of blockchain projects that have been announced over the past months, its tough to spot an area that blockchain hasnt influenced yet.

In addition, blockchain inspires trust that other technologies have failed to foster. In the case of public blockchains, no one actually owns them and they rely on the cooperation of peers to function. This decentralization allows the technology to avoid being dependent on fallible central authorities. Given all the instances of data breaches, privacy concerns, and corporate greed in the tech industry, blockchain has become a welcome development for conscientious users.

Since the popular use cases of blockchain have been in cryptocurrencies, many of the current blockchain developments revolve around financial technology. However, blockchains key features can be used to create services that address not just commercial and business needs but address social problems as well. Here are four areas where blockchain is becoming instrumental to social change.

Democratic decisions

Citizens of democratic countries put faith in elections. However, the democratic process isnt without its idiosyncrasies. Sometimes electorates choose poorly and some elections can be rigged. These put doubt to the system but many who believe in democracys principles wouldnt have it other way. It is in this regard where blockchain can help fix the system.

Horizon State is a new blockchain-meets-democracy project that offers a decentralized engagement and decision platform. The platform serves as a digital ballot box that protects votes and voter information using blockchain. On top of this, Horizon State allows leaders to present their agenda to their constituents and even seek funding and gain insights from analytics. Through these mechanisms, voters could then choose their level of engagement and securely and confidently cast their votes on issues.

In a talk, Horizon State co-founder Jamie Skella shares, If [the founding fathers] could leverage blockchain, if they could leverage the internet and if they could leverage smartphones, how would they do things differently? I think it's pretty safe to say that they would not be asking everybody in their constituency to gather in a centralized location such as a polling booth, do so once every four years, write on a piece of paper, throw that into a box, and then just sort of pray that their representatives are really representing them.

Horizon States technology is already being used by Australian political movement MiVote which aims to have politicians act according to the collective decisions of voters. The platform is also being developed for use by publicly listed companies, unions, non-profits and other communities  basically any group that seeks to hold itself accountable to its members.

Fair value

Large corporations continue exert their influence over markets. In tech, many of the popular services act as centralized authorities. Users have to agree with their terms and conditions no matter how fair or disadvantageous they could be. These companies even have the right to change these terms at any point. For example, independent artists who publish and monetize through platforms like Spotify have little choice but to accept the services royalty rate computations even if these mechanisms have been described as unreliable.

Blockchain challenges the dominance of these centralized authorities. Many of the blockchain efforts promote decentralization to create fairer markets for a variety of verticals. Blockchain-based marketplaces provide transparency to all participants so its easy to spot overpricing and attempts at manipulation. As such, sellers are compelled to price their goods and services equitably.

Several blockchain marketplaces are already promoting this approach. BitBoost aims to decentralize e-commerce through its The Block marketplace. It uses the Ethereum network to handle smart contracts to facilitate transactions and payments. Livepeer and Voise are also offering decentralization for video and audio streaming respectively where broadcasters and content creators are compelled to create high-value content to be able to charge a premium for their work.

In real estate, Rentberry seeks to create a more equitable rent market using blockchain. The service features transparent rental auction that allows participants to see the number of active bids and the current highest bid. Prospective tenants and landlords can also negotiate prices securely. On top of these, its platform also automates other parts of the rent process such as exchanging personal and financial information, agreements, and payments.

...Blockchain in real estate... eliminates the need for middlemen like banks, notary officers, brokers, and agents. With blockchain, the entire real estate experience shifts towards a peer-to-peer model, which means there is no need to pay agents for their assistance in finding a property, notary officers for their help with validation of documents, and banks for transferring funds and exchanging currencies. With blockchain-based platforms like Rentberry, lots of spendings associated with renting sink into oblivion, reads the companys blog.

Financial inclusion

There are also other ways blockchain is helping people become more involved. Billions still live in poverty today and blockchain is helping spread and share the wealth around. According to the World Bank, financial inclusion is instrumental to poverty reduction. 2 billion people still do not have access to formal financial services which include banking and finance. Traditional institutions like banks do have their constraints. Limited physical access could prevent them from putting up infrastructure to remote locations.

Fortunately, access to technology is growing. The proliferation of cheap smartphones and internet access is giving the unbanked access to digital finance. Blockchain has already enabled cheaper and faster financial transactions which is crucial for use in developing regions and markets. Cryptocurrencies are also becoming viable alternatives to fiat in unbanked regions.

Poverty and financial exclusion continue to be Africas key concerns but there is now a growing ubiquity of cryptocurrencies in the continent. There are now more than ten Bitcoin exchanges in the region. Platforms like BitPesa and BTCGhana allow remittances from countries like the US and the UK to Africa at affordable rates. In the case of BTCGhana, recipients get the remittance in either fiat currency or mobile money.

Fighting corruption

Corruption continues to be a pervasive social ill. The 2016 edition of Transparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index reveals that, on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) and 100 (very clean), the global average of 176 countries is just 43. More than two-thirds fall below the midpoint.

Transparency and accountability are key to fighting corruption. Progressive nations have now acknowledged the strength of blockchain in this regard and are now developing e-government projects using the technology. Ghana is developing applications to use blockchain for land registry. It is a particularly critical development in such a country where 78 percent of land is unregistered and is at risk of land grabbing.

Other countries are also exploring blockchain for other documentary purposes such as business registration, records of share issuance, and even healthcare. Paper-based systems have been susceptible to forgery and fraud so shifting to a secure digital platform would curb these activities.

Disrupting the status quo

Blockchain has the potential to disrupt the status quo and help solve many social problems. These recent developments can usher in sweeping changes needed by many societies. For this to happen, people must be made aware of the strengths of blockchain and the benefits the technology brings. While the scale of crypto activities grows with each successful launch of a new blockchain app and service, efforts that focus on bringing about social change should not be overlooked. Its up to people to encourage adoption of technologies that would hold everyone accountable.
Audio Transcript

Brian Anderson: Hello, I am City Journal editor Brian Anderson. Thanks for joining us for the 10 Blocks Podcast, featuring urban policy and cultural commentary with City Journal editors, contributors, and special guests.

Seth Barron: Hi. I am Seth Barron, associate editor of City Journal. You are listening to 10 Blocks. I am joined by Max Eden. Max is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and he has been studying how schools change the way they discipline students and what the effects of those changes have been. Thanks for joining us, Max.

Max Eden: Yeah, thank you for having me, Seth.

Seth Barron: So, Max, we hear a lot about the school-to-prison pipeline. Can you describe what that is and, I mean, is it the case that schools are really feeding youth into the penitentiary system?

Max Eden: Yeah. So, the school-to-prison pipeline is a pretty clear-cut example of academics looking at a correlation and calling it a causation.

Seth Barron: Okay.

Max Eden: It is absolutely true that students who are suspended are more likely to drop out, and that students who drop out are more likely to be unemployed, be underemployed, or be incarcerated. The question is: Do the suspensions cause those things, or are these students who have problems that you cant quite get to from conventional statistics that manifest in bad behavior, in suspensions, and in bad later-life outcomes? And, whereas I think the weight of the evidence is for the latter hypothesis under the Obama administration, the consensus the academics they listened to was that it is suspensions that are responsible for these long-term outcomes.

Seth Barron: I see. So, you are saying there are some kids who have behavioral problems, who are going to cause trouble whether they are in or out of school, and their suspensions are not

Max Eden: You know, the way that I put it when I testified in front of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on this is that it is as though you have two students who look statistically similar, so far as an academic can tell, one student punches a teacher, gets suspended and drops out the next year, the other student behaves, graduates, goes to college. Do we believe that the suspension was responsible for that student dropping out? Or was there

Seth Barron: Okay.

Max Eden: were there problems going on behind the scenes?

Seth Barron: Okay.

Max Eden: And to the extent that academics have been able to try to tease out the causal effects of suspensions, they found them to be quite modest to one study, even slightly positive.

Seth Barron: Alright, now school suspension is something that happens on the local level. I mean, it is hard to get more local than schools, but you cited the Obama administration and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights  how did they get involved? What is the tie in here?

Max Eden: Yeah, so in 2014 the Obama administration released national statistics for the first time at this magnitude documenting the nationwide racial discipline gap. African-American students are suspended at about 3.8 times the rate of white students, and this naturally caused a lot of alarm and consternation in the highest echelons of government and in the media. And so, the Obama administration issued Dear Colleague guidance, somewhat similar in function and form to the Title IX guidance, telling schools that if you have racially neutral discipline policies that are administered in a fair and evenhanded way, without any bias, they could still be considered unlawful discrimination if they have a disparate effect. So, in logical form, this would mean that if you have a rule that says you are not allowed to curse at a teacher and one group of students does that more often than another, that is something that you as a school are being told you should take a lookout for, because the federal government might come in and start an investigation.

Seth Barron: But if in fact the rules are being applied impartially and, you know, perhaps one group of students does commit more infractions, well, what is a dean of students or a vice principal to do?

Max Eden: There are a few responses. You could pretend to not suspend the students. That is what we have seen in Washington, D.C., where it was, and I have been tracking school climate surveys wherever we have them wherever these things happen, and Washington, D.C., was the one city where I didnt spot harm to school climate according to students, despite a significant decrease in suspensions. It came out earlier this year, Washington Post reporters sussed out that the principals were still suspending who knows how many kids, but they werent telling the central office about it. They were circulating a list to teachers of these are the kids you are not allowed to let into the school building, and so thats how those teachers  how those principals responded to it. The other way to respond to it is to not discipline kids who the teachers think need to be disciplined, and then when that happens, negative consequences can flow.

Seth Barron: Well, I do want to hear about those negative consequences, but first lets back up a bit.

Max Eden: Yeah.

Seth Barron: To what extent are  I mean, if black kids are being suspended at 3.8 times the rate of white kids, are they committing 3.8 times the number of infractions? Is there a behavior gap? Or, is it the case as, you know, some of the media have said, that things that black kids  but white kids may do the same thing and not get in trouble for it? So, is there racism built in to the school disciplinary system?

Max Eden: One thing that education policy people have a hard time doing is accepting that things like racism could be a partial explanation for a phenomenon that they are witnessing. I think that it is eminently plausible, and in some cases documented, that racial bias plays a role in the overall suspension disparities, but I think that the strongest reading of the evidence says that it is a rather minor role. There was one study in North Carolina, these academics tried to look at teacher racial match and how that affected referral to the principals office, because every study that has had sufficient data to assess what really happens when the students are referred to the principals office has found that there is no discrimination or bias at the principals office level once you control for enough factors. So, these researchers said I wonder how much of it is when the principals refer you  when the teachers refer you to the principal, because that is probably where you even more expect the bias to play in. They looked at records of North Carolina, and in their first pass at the data they found that black teachers were more likely to suspend black students than white teachers were. This wasnt something that they particularly expected to find, and they hypothesized that perhaps principals were steering black students who had bad behavioral records to black teachers. And, so, they tested that hypothesis and they found what they thought was reasonable evidence that the hypothesis holds, they reran the calculations trying to control for that hypothesis, and then they found, yes, that white teachers are more likely to refer African-American students to the office than black teachers are for those same students. But, they estimate the difference between a black student having all African-American teachers and a black student having all white teachers to be a 2% difference in his or her likelihood of being referred to the principals office. So, it exists, but it is not 100%, it is not 50%, it is probably not 10 or 15%.

Seth Barron: Okay, so it is fairly marginal.

Max Eden: Yeah.

Seth Barron: Well then so what has been the effect of these changes that you have talked about? City Journal ran a piece last year about Minneapolis and the experience of teachers there, where they have really cut back on suspensions, and I know you have done some work on Philadelphia. Can you talk about your research and what you found?

Max Eden: Yeah. Well, Ill talk about New York first for a second

Seth Barron: Sure.

Max Eden: because thats where I have done the direct work.

Seth Barron: Great.

Max Eden: So, I published a paper last March looking at the New York City School Climate Survey data and trying to see how have schools changed, or how have students answers to questions like kids at my school get into fights all the time, kids at my school dont respect each other, there are lots of drug activities, there are lots of gang activities. We know when suspension reform happens suspensions will go down. That is no longer a marker of how safe things are in that school, but if you look at how students answer the same questions, if that changes you might be worried. And in about 55 or 60% of schools that served 90+% minority students, a higher percentage of students said that kids at my school get into frequent physical fights, a higher percentage of students said that kids at my school dont respect each other, and in about 45% of those schools a higher percentage of teachers said that order is not maintained in our classrooms. But New York was a rare case, because these school climate surveys are pretty few and far between. The Philadelphia study wasnt my work, I just reported on a couple of studies that recently came out

Seth Barron: Okay.

Max Eden: and this, the school climate data didnt exist for Philadelphia. They have since implemented it, but you cant trace back those questions far enough. But what they had was robust enough data to do as methodologically rigorous an evaluation as possible as to what are the effects of discipline reform, and they found that discipline reform had a substantial negative causal impact on reading scores, and math scores, and proficiency on behavior. At the end of the day the racial suspension gap actually rose because even as African-American students were being suspended less often for the conduct offenses that were banned, the talking back to a teacher, the acting out, they were suspended more for more serious offenses. Things like violence, things like really, really bad language. And those  being suspended more for those offenses actually raised the overall discipline gap. African-American students spent more time out of school, but they werent the only ones spending more time out of school. This wasnt a causal thing, but the trend line was profoundly suggestive. Truancy in Philadelphia had been falling rather steadily for the four or five years before this reform and it hit about 25%, which is still quite huge, and the inflection point is the year of the reform and the next three years it rose to about 42%.

Seth Barron: Wow. So, you are saying that many  perhaps some kids who are well-behaved or, you know, just regular kids, started skipping school because the environment was getting rougher?

Max Eden: You know, thats the prime hypothesis that is hard to  one cant see far enough under the hood to point that out in the data, but you put these, you put this constellation together and that is what it shows.

Seth Barron: And regarding the question of suspensions going up for serious offenses, it almost sounds like there is a kind of broken windows effect going on where if kids are, you know, allowed to talk back to teachers or, you know, do these minor things, then you are not  you are not nipping their bad behavior in the bud and you are allowing worse behavior. You are cultivating worse behavior.

Max Eden: Yeah.

Seth Barron: Is that a fair characterization?

Max Eden: I mean, this is a theory that the advocates behind discipline reform would have anathema, right? For them, broken windows theory is a byword for all sorts of implicitly racist doctrine and dogma and such. But there is a strong  a yawning divide between the activists and the teachers. One of the most interesting things to come out of a second Philadelphia study, a qualitative study by University of Pennsylvania researchers was they asked teachers  do you think that suspensions are useful? And the teachers said yes. Over 80% of teachers said that suspensions were useful to send a strong message about the seriousness of behavior, to send that message to the other students in the class, to send that message home to parents, and two-thirds of teachers believe that suspensions actually in themselves, aside from those signaling mechanisms, deter future bad behavior. So, it seems as though the consensus of teachers in Philadelphia is that this broken windows theory of you cant allow low-level offenses to go not acted upon, it makes a lot of intuitive sense to them even though it is something that is, according to the discipline reforms, that it is something that we know doesnt work.

Seth Barron: Now, Secretary DeVos rescinded the Dear Colleague letter that had been sent out regarding Title IX investigations

Max Eden: Yes, yes.

Seth Barron: is there any move, are people asking her to rescind this Dear Colleague letter on school suspensions?

Max Eden: There has been more and more discussion on this in the past few months. About maybe two or three months ago, the acting assistant secretary for the Office for Civil Rights met with a handful of teachers, actually some of whom were featured in the City Journal article, who were physically assaulted by students and found that the school districts, you know, believe the school district enabled that and turned a blind eye to it, and fundamentally felt they were at fault for it, and so after that meeting became public the debate on this has really started to sparkle out. The Senate Democrats issued a very strongly worded letter to her maybe three weeks ago telling her that she needs to tell them by January 8th, and I think it might be January 8th, it might be beyond that, that she needs to assure them that she will absolutely not rescind this letter. On the other hand, you have more people on the Right trying to pressure her to say hey, when is this going to happen, because the evidence really is continuing to mount as to the effects of these reforms. The people who wrote the Philadelphia piece, Matthew Steinberg and Johanna Lacoe from the University of Pennsylvania and Mathematica Policy Research, they wrote an article a year ago on this stuff and they said we have no idea what the effects of these reforms are because they are so new and there are so few ways to really judge. But, as I said in the City Journal piece, as the months, weeks, and sometimes days roll by, we are seeing more and more evidence, both anecdotally but also by the data of the harm that this has had, so I hope that she will act at some point in the near future. I have been rather disappointed that it wasnt one of those things that was done in the first hundred days.

Seth Barron: Oh, I see. Thanks for joining us. And if you enjoyed the podcast you can leave a review for us on iTunes. Follow us on Twitter, @CityJournal, and you can follow our guest Max Eden, @MaxEden99. Thanks again.

Brian Anderson: You can subscribe to this and other Manhattan Institute podcasts in the iTunes store. The audio edition and transcript are available on our website, www.city-journal.org. This is City Journal editor Brian Anderson. Thanks again for listening to the 10 Blocks Podcast.
The new chief executive of the Charity Commission has said she wants to focus more on advice and services to charity trustees, and hopes to use money raised from charging the sector to do it.

In an interview with Governance & Leadership magazine, published this week, Stephenson says she believes government should fund the regulators compliance and investigation work, which prevents wrongdoing.

But she suggests the sector itself should pay for advice and enabling work  the low-level permissions and schemes which the regulator is also responsible for.

She says the Commissions recent research into trusteeship, Taken on Trust, found that trustees wanted a huge amount of advice and support, and that other than each other, the regulator was the only source they trusted.

Its crucial for us to be the kind of regulator that charities deserve, Stephenson says. Its undoubtedly right to ask the taxpayer to fund compliance and investigation. But what Taken on Trust showed is that there is a huge need in the sector for more enabling work. Thats what we want to expand.

Stephenson says the Commission will not get any more money from government, and she will press ahead with the focus on charging charities that was introduced by William Shawcross, the outgoing chair.

Were unlikely to improve our financial settlement for several years yet, she says.

She says the process of consulting has gone more slowly than she would like.

In order to launch a consultation the regulator must get various permissions from HM Treasury and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, but the referendum and election effectively derailed this process.

Weve gone back to the beginning of the queue, Stephenson says. We arent able to get the discussion going.

Subscribers to Governance & Leadership magazine can read the full interview here . G&L is the only title specifically catering for charity trustees for more information, or to subscribe, click here
Marie Curie has appointed Vindi Banga as its new chair, the charity announced yesterday.

Banga holds a number of roles in the business world. He is currently a partner at private equity firm Clayton Dubilier and Rice, chair of Kalle GMBH, senior independent director at Glaxo Smith Kline and Marks and Spencer. He is also on the board at the Confederation of British Industry.

Dr Jane Collins, chief executive at Marie Curie, said on Bangas appointment: I am delighted to welcome Vindi as our new chair. He brings with him invaluable experience and insights from the worlds of business, education and philanthropy. I am looking forward to working closely with him over the following months and years.

Banga said: It is a great honour to be chosen to be the next chair of this great charity and as Marie Curie prepares to embark on a new strategic period of growth. I look forward to working with Dr Collins and the trustees and to make my own contribution to such an important cause."

Banga is currently chair of the Karta Initiative, an organisation which supports improving access to world class higher education for students in developing countries. Banga and his wife also founded their own charity, the Kamini and Vindi Banga Foundation, last year.

Former chair faces fraud charges from time as Barclays CEO

John Varley was chair of the charity up until June 2017 when he stepped down from the role. David Ereira had been interim chair prior to Bangas appointment.

Varley, who had been chief executive of Barclays, was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, following a five-year investigation the UKs Serious Fraud Office into emergency cash injections which prevented Barclays from needing to be bailed out by the government

He stood down from his role at Marie Curie on 20 June 2017, the day he was charged. He also stepped down from a number of other directorships.

Varley is expected to stand trial alongside three former colleagues and the bank itself in January 2019.
When the British government announced just before Christmas that UK citizens would be issued blue passports after Brexitreplacing the current burgundy model connoting European Union membershippopular right-wing tabloid The Sun credited itself with a stunning Brexit victory. The paper had, it said, waged a determined 17 month campaign for a reversion to the iconic former passport color, which it called a symbol of British identity and national pride.

Papers on the other side of the Brexit debate were less impressed by the blue passport announcement, ridiculing the triumphalism of The Sun and others as irrelevant parochialism. The Guardian (satirically) suggested bringing back other anachronisms like the death penalty, incandescent light bulbs, and room-temperature free school milk. A sketch-writer for The Independent called the passport story a fun festive reminder of the Spirit of Utter Drivel that so needlessly broke a nation, while the site ran news stories on successive days reminding readers that Britain could have gone back to blue without voting to leave the EU at all.

ICYMI: A viral tweet by a prominent journalist slamming Fox News was completely wrong

Passport-gate is symptomatic of the British medias widening divide on Brexit: Strongly opinionated voicesboth pro- and anti-Europeanare ascendant, while those closer to the ground are struggling to be heard. The referendum in June 2016 was originally supposed to close a festering wound in British politics, putting the question of Britains relationship with Europe to bed once and for all. The surprise result, however, deepened a schism in public opinion. The written press reflects the divisions in the country, says talk radio host and commentator Iain Dale. I think youll find, in most of the country, that the shift in public opinion has not been great since the referendum.

Acrimonious coverage aimed at a divided country should feel increasingly familiar to American readers. Since Donald Trump became president, traditionally straight-laced papers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have cut their coverage with pointed takes, while outlets that have long taken sides, like MSNBC and Fox, have doubled down on one-sided advocacyfeeding consumers hungry for news that chimes with their preconceived worldview. In the UK, this type of partisanship is a longstanding feature of the national landscape. Print newspapers, in particular, have always dictated the terms of political debate: drawing the battlelines on which politicians duke it out, and taking a tell, dont show approach to endorsements at election time.

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Brexit was a Trump moment before Trump it cleaved the country in two, and remains extraordinarily divisive. As American outlets pivot to partisanship, British papers are doubling down on the model. But there are crucial differences between Brexit and Trump. Trump is an elected politician acting out a time-limited, largely reversible mandate, whereas Brexit means irreversible constitutional reseta blank slate that puts Britains culture, self-image, and future role on the world stage up for grabs. Coverage in Britain should reflect that Brexit is not a closed book, and that all is still to play for.

As Brexit negotiations move forward in 2018, the public needs a clear-headed understanding of whats at stake. But at the moment, different outlets offer such starkly different views (and, sometimes, facts) on the same developments to the Brexit plan that the average reader is left bewildered. There isnt a concept of does the British press fairly present the negotiations? says Polly Toynbee, a columnist for The Guardian. The British press is a campaigning organization.



Brexit was cast as a case study in newspapers outsize influence on public opinion. Right-wing tabloids like The Sun, the Daily Mail, and the Express saw Brexit as the vindication of years of headlines labeling the EU a bloated bureaucratic nightmare, an impediment to Britains prosperity, and an open door to immigration. Somewhat less influential, but no less vocal, were broadsheet newspapers that backed the Remain campaign. The Guardian, the Independent, and the Financial Times all said a vote to Leave would be a catastrophic economic mistake, among broader arguments about identity and continental solidarity. (This reporter worked for the Remain campaign in the run-up to the Brexit vote.)

A year and a half on, Britains opinionated press hasnt really evolved its tone; it rehashes the vote on a near-daily basis. As media commentator Roy Greenslade pointed out in October 2016, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa Mays first big Brexit speech was hailed on the rightThe Sun called her a confident, capable female Prime Minister we can be proud of on the world stage, as the Mail proclaimed a huge moment in the nations historybut panned on the left and in the centerthe Financial Times declared Mays speech predictably heavy on patriotic emotion and light on strategy, and The Times called her message that Brexit would be costless for Britain false and irresponsible.

Since then papers on the right have grown increasingly bitter, accusing May of selling out under pressure from EU bureaucrats and pro-Europe politicians in her own partyfor example when she agreed Britain would pay a $53 billion divorce bill as a precondition for starting trade talks with Europe. In mid-November, meanwhile, the pro-Brexit Telegraph mocked up front-page portraits of 15 Conservative politicians under the screaming headline The Brexit mutineers. Their crime? Considering voting against legislation that would enshrine a precise Brexit date into law. (The Guardian reported that the politicians in question received threats after the splash.)

The Daily Telegraph this week described 15 Tory MPs as 'the Brexit Mutineers' #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/ER88WL7dpw  BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) November 16, 2017

That the Brexit debate frequently descends into angry or symbolic tit-for-tat reflects, at least in part, a long-term deficit in the British medias understanding of how the EU actually works. Where British politics is theatrically adversarial, Europe is consensual, dry, and arcane. At one point, The Sun ended up having a [story] about two aides having sex in the toilet or something, because that was pretty much the most access they could get, says Martin Moore, a media expert at Kings College London. Weve had 25 years of not covering policy within the EU, so I think the fact we arent getting that much policy discussion now isnt particularly surprising.

Some outlets are reliably covering Brexit talks, which are secretive, boring, and technical. Broadsheets like The Times and The Guardian are making a greater effort than their tabloid counterpartseven if their opinion pages sometimes lapse into glib caricature. And digital outlets like Politico and BuzzFeed, which have sprouted prominent UK arms in recent years, often boast fresher, clearer-eyed coverage of big issues than the old guard. BuzzFeeds Europe editor Alberto Nardelli has a talent for boiling complex policy points down to neat, fun explainers, while Politicos Brexit coverage has leaned heavily on its well-established team on the ground in Brussels. A recent profile of David Davisthe cabinet minister charged with engineering Britains exit from the EUfor example, was a well-rounded portrait of an increasingly divisive figure.

UK broadcasters, too, tend to pride themselves on scrupulous fairness. ITV and Channel 4 have done laudably straight journalism around Brexit. And the BBC, which has long had to balance serious agenda-setting clout with taxpayer-mandated impartiality, has approached the process with similar seriousness. We do believe that there are verifiable and accepted fact sets out there, and we think the endless relativization of news among certain parts of the audience is not good for a strong national news culture, says Jamie Angus, deputy director of the BBC World Service Group. BBC News does not believe its OK to endlessly say my fact is worth as much as your fact.

ICYMI: Merriam-Webster reveals its word of the year

But in the construction of grand national narratives, detailed factual reporting has always struggled to be heard over shouty old-school print publications. The BBC, for example, has been assailed by partisans (and the newspapers they read) on both sides of the Brexit debate ever since the referendum was called.

During the campaign, many Remainers accused the network of false equivalencycowed, by its duty to provide balance, into treating pro-Brexit lies as valid claims. They were particularly outraged when a month before the referendum, Conservative politician Penny Mordaunt told the BBCs Andrew Marr that Britain did not have a veto over Turkey joining the EU; in reality any accession to the bloc must be unanimously approved by member states. Although Marr pushed back the first time she said it, he didnt definitively overrule her, and subsequent packaging of the interview failed to provide factual context.

During the campaign, pro-Brexit Conservative politician Penny Mordaunt told the BBCs Andrew Marr that Britain did not have a veto over Turkish membership of the EUa false claim.

At the same time, many of those on the Brexit side bemoaned what they saw as the BBCs institutional pro-European bias. Despite BBC efforts to beef up analysis and fact-checking features in response to audience feedback, neither of these narratives has changed much since the vote. In recent months, a handful of pro-Brexit government ministers have even called for the BBC to be more patriotic in its reporting.

Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom, who campaigned prominently for Brexit, tells BBC interviewer Emily Maitlis that broadcasters should be a bit patriotic in response to questions about stalled negotiations in June 2017.

Angus says the fact the BBC is taking flak from both sides indicates its even-handedness. But Charlie Beckett, a former senior producer at the broadcaster who now teaches at the London School of Economics, doesnt think it constitutes a clean bill of health. This is a more fundamental crisis for them. People are undermining the BBCs role; theyre saying we dont trust you, we think youre proactively biased, he says. Theyre managing it quite well, but its a very difficult story to report on in a balanced way, because it is so polarized.

Other sections of the media that should be well-placed to report on the minutiae of Brexit are also being shouted over. Local newspapers, for example, have keen insight into the micro-level consequences Brexit could have for individual towns and cities in the UKmany of which receive significant funding for infrastructure, education, and development direct from Europe, and boast industries heavily affected by European regulations.

Local reporter Patrick Daly reports out of London for three titles in vastly different parts of the countryHull and Grimsby, which both voted heavily for Brexit, and Bristol, which voted convincingly for Remain. Nearly all politics needs to have a local prism. The reason why Hull and Grimsby hate the EU is that they are sure that the European Union killed their fishing industry, he says. For Bristol one of the big stories I wrote much earlier on in the negotiations was how Bristol Zoo could be affected by the fact freedom of movement also applies to animals.

But local news in the UK is, if anything, in even more dire financial straits than its US counterpart. Where strong local papers do persist, they rarely have the time or resources to focus on meaty policy questions handed down from the international level. In days past, they may have had their own dedicated Westminster correspondents. Now, theyre lucky if they share one, or employ one part-time. In the long term, Brexit as a story will be hindered the more we have to chop, Daly says.

British journalists and media-watchers interviewed for this piece consistently said British papers have been reliant on old partisan arguments around Brexitthose on the left catastrophizing every development, those on the right by turns triumphalist and suspicious that their victory is being secretly undermined by pro-Europe elements. While many observers understand the difficulties of reporting on uncertain and opaque negotiations, they frequently suggested papers are not doing enough to advance public understanding of the process. You get a fantastically different perspective both on how the negotiations are going and the likely results of the negotiations depending on which paper you choose to pick up, says Moore at Kings College London.

The frustrating thing is how much of this is a continuation of old battles, adds Kim Fletcher, editor of the British Journalism Review. I dont think were learning a huge amount [about whats happened]. A lot of it is an article of faith at the moment, and the two sides arent moving toward each other.

By doubling down on well-worn opinions, papers can circumnavigate the byzantine technical complexities of the ongoing negotiationswhich are difficult even for journalists to master and repackage for readers. The debate is couched around the idea of a soft Brexit or a hard Brexit or no deal, says Beckett at LSE. No one really knows what those terms mean. So for journalists, its incredibly difficult to get any handle on this.

Thats not to say the press shouldnt be sharply critical of the Brexit process when its meritedand theres no question that talks have thus far been beset by a lack of vision, and official intransigence, on both sides. I did a radio slot on the BBC on Brexit, and at the end of a five-minute interview I realized I hadnt said a single positive thing, which I felt quite bad about, says freelance journalist Marie Le Conte. But I literally could not think of anything positive to say about the way Brexit is going. And so I think it can look from the outside like its this onslaught of bad news, and negativity, and pessimism, but also most of Brexit is not really going tremendously at the moment.

But the British press should help Britain move forward in its policy negotiations, rather than holding the Brexit narrative, and thus the political scene, in a kind of stasis. That doesnt mean lightening scrutiny, but does mean taking a broader perspective on an inevitably complicated story.

There are huge realignments taking place in politics, in the media, among ordinary people. One of the problems with the media coverage is they find it almost too fascinating, too difficult, too strange, too peculiar, says Brendan ONeill, editor of online magazine Spiked. Theyre constantly trying to force it back into old narratives that dont quite work.

ICYMI: Blockbuster White House book claims its first victim

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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
A lot of journalists dont like Michael Wolff. The Vanity Fair and Hollywood Reporter columnist currently holds the top position in all the best-seller lists for his sensational new book, Fire And Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

In reviews and essays, numerous professional journalists and critics have excoriated the book. And theres a lot to critique. For example: Wolffs clearly beholden to his sourcesone senses a clear obsequiousness in his favoritism towards Trump Advisor Steve Bannon and aide Katie Walsh. Being the good courtesan, Wolff apparently shelved his skepticism in favor of stenography when offered juicy tidbits of unverified gossip. Conversely, those who refused him access and interviews suffer by comparison. Many of his critics correctly point out that his book is peppered with errors of fact (as well as simple copy-editing mistakes), and that his reporting, in general, tries to mask tabloid sensationalism behind a facade of professional journalistic standards.

ICYMI: 11 images that show how the Trump administration is failing at photography

But all this was known about Wolff long before Fire and Fury was rushed out to exploit President Trumps anger at its contents. One just has to read the profiles of Wolff published over the last two decades, or the snarky review of his Rupert Murdoch biography penned by David Carr in 2008, to get a sense of his reputation in the industry. Much of the opprobrium directed at Wolff is certainly earned.

But I suspect theres another reason for the media animus directed at Americas top-selling author. Wolff has captured lightning in a bottle and is selling it fast. His publisher is shipping copies out as quickly as they can be printed. Early indications show that this newest sensation in political journalism might achieve sales numbers worthy of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Wolff is going to make millions, if not tens of millions, on this book, at precisely the time when ethical, professional, nuts-and-bolts political journalism is collapsing.

In other words: Part of whats animating all the Wolff-hate is envy, and journalists should admit this. Some of this jealousy is rooted in the way journalists historically have prefered to see their work, as service to the public rather than as an opportunity for riches.

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From archives: Michael Wolffs digital media bloopers

The problem isnt just Wolff. Its that political journalism at every level is dying. Local newspapers are firing seasoned reporters, and the idea of dedicating a single, full-time employee to a city hall or a statehouse is now considered a luxury in many newsrooms. Journalism never paid as well as people think, and most of the journalists I know havent had raises in years. The entire culture of American journalism is suffering, as President Trump and his supporters attack a media elite that doesnt actually exist anymore outside of a very few select people in New York City and Washington, DC. Everyone else in the business is barely scraping by.

This isnt a new situation. Entry-level journalism jobs have always been notoriously underpaid. Every journalism memoir ever published contains (often humorous) stories about penurious wages earned in entry-level jobs.

A problem occasionally identified by media critics is that higher wages corrupts traditional journalism. A good reporter used to make as much as a bartender or a police sergeant; he now makes as much as the average doctor or lawyer, and probably a great deal more, H.L. Mencken complained in 1927. His view of the world he lives in has thus changed. He is no longer a free-lance in human society, thumbing his nose at its dignitaries; he has got a secure lodgment in a definite stratum, and his wife, if he has one, maybe has social ambitions. The highest sordid aspiration that any reporter had, in my time, was to own two complete suits of clothes.

As Jack Germond, the Baltimore Suns legendary political journalist, groused in 1999, the new generation of reporters tend to drink white wine or beer rather than Irish whiskey, and they carry cell phones so they can talk to their offices more than the once or twice a day I considered adequate. They go out running early in the morning, and a lot of them eat salads from room service, believe it or notMany of the men seem to view covering politics as just another assignment, a place to get your ticket punched on the way to becoming managing editor or something equally Rotarian.

ICYMI: A viral tweet by a prominent journalist slamming Fox News was completely wrong

That a journalist would aspire to middle (or upper) class comfort seemed, to legends like Mencken and Germond, a betrayal. Real journalists delight in chronicling the metropolitan struggle, fueled by nicotine and caffeine, as Jimmy Cannon once noted. The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, was how Chicago Evening Post columnist Finley Peter Dunne once described journalisms primary calling. To exploit journalism ambitiouslyto plan reporting so as to make millions and facilitate social climbingwould seem a betrayal of classic journalistic values.

Its precisely that betrayal that bothers so many journalists watching Wolff laugh his way to the bank.

On August 7, 1933, in the depths of the Depression, Heywood Broun published a landmark newspaper column articulating these exact issues. Americas newspaper publishers planned to legally classify journalists as professional men so as to avoid having to negotiate collectively with them (in accordance with the New Deals National Recovery Act). Broun knew this was just an attempt to pay reporters less than the unionized workers at the newspapers (such as printers or truck drivers), so he wrote an article calling for the establishment of new Newspaper Guild. It worked, and that same union exists today. In fact, in light of all the exploitation and salary issues existing in digital media, numerous new media startups have become unionized in the last few years. Even the Los Angeles Times, which has battled unions for over a century, is currently in the midst of a unionization drive. Just as occurred during the Depression, journalists are finally recognizing the reality of their exploitation. They are acting on the knowledge that their collective labor enriches others while their individual paychecks show little reflection of the actual value they produce for shareholders and owners.

These unionization drives illustrate the exploitative market for journalistic labor in todays media universe. Media content is now regularly confused for professional journalism, and in the world of fake news and alternative facts, information and misinformation have become interchangeable industrial products. No wonder so many journalists are infuriated by watching Michael Wolff earning millions by producing much the same content thats impoverishing their industry.

It appears that hes spreading the disease while theyre looking for the cure.

ICYMI: Blockbuster White House book claims its first victim

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Michael J. Socolow , author of Six Minutes in Berlin, teaches journalism at the University of Maine. He is currently a Fulbright Scholar at the News & Media Research Centre at the University of Canberra in Australia.
Michael Wolffs blockbuster book about the White House, which arrived with a bang a week ago, appears to have claimed its first victim, and its not the president. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who was previously ousted from Trumps inner circle and renounced by the president, on Tuesday was removed from his position as executive chairman of Breitbart News.

According to reports from multiple outlets, Bannon was terminated at the request of Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of Robert Mercer, a hedge-fund billionaire who has given significant amounts of money to Trump and to Breitbart News. In a statement posted at the Breitbart site, Breitbart CEO Larry Solov called Bannon a valued part of our legacy, and the former chairman said he was proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform.

ICYMI: A viral tweet by a prominent journalist slamming Fox News was completely wrong

The Mercers were said to be furious at some of Bannons comments to Wolff, including one where he called Donald Trump Jr. treasonous and unpatriotic for meeting with a Russian agent in an attempt to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. After the book came out, Rebekah Mercer gave a rare public statement in which she rebuked Bannon publicly for his remarks and said he didnt have her support either financially or ideologically.

Bannons case wasnt helped by a report that he had helped shop around an opposition research report during the Republican primaries that was designed to call into question Trumps ability to act as president. After the Wolff book blew up last week, Bannon tried to mend fences by releasing a grovelling statement to The New York Times saying he was sorry for some of the things he said in Wolffs book and had nothing but the highest respect for Trump and his administration. But by that point, the writing was clearly on the wall.

RELATED A reality-star-loving, tabloid-style writer was bound to grab attention

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Heres more on the rise and fall of Steve Bannon:

Staffers stunned : One Breitbart employee told CNN that staffers at the site were taken aback by Bannons sudden departure. He has been seen by many as the ideological leader of the site since founder Andrew Breitbart died in 2012.

: One Breitbart employee told CNN that staffers at the site were taken aback by Bannons sudden departure. He has been seen by many as the ideological leader of the site since founder Andrew Breitbart died in 2012. The answer is no : Just a few days before Bannons ouster from the site, The New York Times wrote a story entitled Bannon Needs Breitbart. Does Breitbart Need Bannon?

: Just a few days before Bannons ouster from the site, The New York Times wrote a story entitled Bannon Needs Breitbart. Does Breitbart Need Bannon? Room to let : Many in Washington are wondering whether Bannons falling out with the Mercers means he will have to give up residence in the Washington townhouse/party complex known as The Breitbart Embassy, which is also Breitbarts office.

: Many in Washington are wondering whether Bannons falling out with the Mercers means he will have to give up residence in the Washington townhouse/party complex known as The Breitbart Embassy, which is also Breitbarts office. Calling Trotsky: Zero Hedge, a financial blog popular with the alt-right, says Bannon broke with Trump because he became infected with the Trotskyite virus of permanent revolution and turned against his benefactor out of ideological spite.

Other notable stories:

The Committee to Protect Journalists gave Donald Trump an award for Overall achievement in undermining global press freedom, saying he has consistently undermined domestic news outlets and declined to publicly raise freedom of the press with other repressive leaders such as Turkish president Reycep Erdogan.

Harpers magazine is reportedly working on a cover story that will identify the woman who created the Shitty Media Men list, an Excel spreadsheet that surfaced late last year listing men who were known for harassing or abusing women. Some have argued that identifying her could put her life in danger.

Reporters at a Newseum event discussing sexual harassment in the newsroom talked about how The New York Times continues to employ reporter Glenn Thrush despite multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women. Some argued that the Times has not been transparent enough about the process.

The internet and social media may be everyones favorite hobby-horse, but there was a time when low-power FM radio stations were a big deal, and apparently they are becoming popular again despite an abundance of digital competition. Dozens of communities and interest groups have filed for licenses.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. interviewed an 11-year-old boy whose newspaper delivery job is disappearing because two of the countrys media chains swapped ownership of dozens of community newspapers and are shutting down more than 30.

RELATED: Trump team declares war on Bannon

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Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg.
Editors note: This article is the first of two in a series on WeChat. The second, WeChat reaches audiences conventional media in China cannot can be found here.

Flourishing social media platforms like WeChat are changing journalism in China. In place of legacy media companies, independent influencers called Key Opinion Leaders, or KOLs, are attracting both attention and money.

In a country where information is tightly controlled by the ruling party, a voracious demand for news catered to specific interests has given way to a boom in what directly translates as self-mediauser-generated content created by one person and inspired by the slogan be your own media outlet. For the savvy influencers on Chinas WeChat, who include former reporters, film critics, or other industry insiders, the financial incentives to move from traditional news outlets onto WeChat and sell stories are substantial.

RELATED: How misinformation spreads on WeChat

Once you have a following, [ad] agencies will find you and you will start to earn, said former finance reporter turned public account writer Xu Yang. While the rate depends on the makeup and size of your following, in March of 2016 comedian Papi Jiang auctioned off the right to advertise on her public account for $1.86 million. Mi Meng, one of the top earners ranked by NewRank.cna company that scores all WeChat public accounts in terms of readership, open-rate, and other parameterscharges $75,235 per banner ad.

Tencent, WeChats owner, has also capitalized on the fact that the platform is the worlds most popular mobile payment system by installing a tipping button. If a reader likes WeChat content, they can tip the creator a small amount of money with one click. WeChat columnist He Caitou said earlier in 2017 that on average he receives $602 per article, and once received $4,815 for a short piece he wrote. He used to get paid $75 per thousand-words by magazines. Tencent announced earlier this year that it will also soon roll out a pay to read function where readers will directly pay for content on their phones.

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Now, legacy media and self-media are converging. Newspapers have started publishing via WeChat public accountssix of the top 10 accounts are operated by legacy media outletsand KOLs are becoming media companies themselves with millions in venture capital and teams of content creators behind each public account. Thirty-three teams of content creators raised over $15 million in 2016 alone, according to a 2016 report by the new media research firm WeMedia. With the popularization of live streaming and podcasting, the format of self-media is increasingly diversified.

Meanwhile, the censors are catching up. In October, Chinas internet authorities banned social media from allowing users to register anonymously. All online speech can now be traced to the ID number of any citizen. This past September, a new regulation makes account administrators responsibleand even criminally liablefor censoring and removing sensitive speech in any group chat. With the help of technology like AI, the state can censor WeChat content just as easily as print.

RELATED: WeChat reaches audiences conventional media in China cannot

On the bright side, as Tencent gears up to offer a pay-to-read function, many industry observers are hoping this new business model will raise the quality of journalism by providing more funding and lowering the reliance on hits and shares. Others worry that this will create another socioeconomic divide, leaving those disadvantaged less informed.

Before the reform launched by Ding Xiaoping in the late 80s, the only organization in China allowed to gather information was the official Xinhua News Agency, established in 1931 by the Communist Party well before it took control of the country in 1949. Doubling as an intelligence agency, Xinhua would report to the party leadership, whose members would select a small portion of the news deemed safe for the public and authorize its publishing in a handful of newspapers. Those outlets, such as China Daily, Peoples Daily, and China Central Television, were entirely funded by the state and tasked with acting as mouthpieces for the party.

During Xiaopings market economy reform in the late 80s and early 90s, many state news outlets were cut off from state funding and therefore forced to establish a for-profit arm to pay the bills. Media-savvy investors started new outlets with the hope of high returns. A marketplace for commercial media took shape. Although in-house sensors still had to sign off on every page before it went to print, commercial outlets had more room to pursue stories they deemed important for their readers. Operating within the narrow bounds of censorship, publications like Southern Weekend and Caijing did their own reporting and paid their bills through advertising and subscription fees.

With the digital revolution, news outlets switched from publishing in print to online. This gave rise to the first generation of self-media, which saw individuals begin to publish blogs, podcasts, and Weibo posts (Chinas Twitter-like micro-blog). However, since most were unable to grow their readership to critical sizes necessary to make a living, the activity remained a hobby. Thought leaders stayed at established media outlets for lack of better prospects, and media consumers stayed with them.

All that changed with the deeper digital revolution from desktop to mobile phones. According to the China Internet Network Information Center, China is home to 724 million mobile internet users, more than half of its 1.4 billion population. China has more smartphone users than the US, Brazil, and Indonesia combined.

On top of that, Chinas mobile users spend a lot of time reading news on their smart devices. According to Tencent, the messaging platform had 938 million monthly, active users in the first quarter of 2017 (not all of them residing in China). Of those users, 34.6 percent spend over four hours per day on the app. Over half of them say the main reason they use WeChat is to get the news.

Over half of active users say the main reason they use WeChat is to get the news.

Mobile devices became a main channel for netizens to read news, and information explosion and fragmentation brought by the development of mobile Internet accelerated netizens demand for individualized and vertical news, reads the Statistical Report on Internet Development in China published by CNNIC in July 2016.

This tidal wave of demand proved to be revolutionary for the news industry. The massive readership of mobile platforms attracted advertising dollars, which incentivized digital platforms such as WeChat, Zhihu, and Weibo to compete for top content providers. The trend has only grown as more money floods the platforms: the number of advertisers on WeChat more than doubled between late 2015 and early 2016.

While tipping is especially important for public accounts that dont have a large readership but do have a high-quality and loyal following, said Qiao Mu, a dissident media scholar who used to receive a few hundred dollars for essays he posted on his WeChat accounts before they were blocked by censors, there are other ways to cash in. KOLs can write advertorial content for brands or sell products directly by embedding a click-to-buy button in their articles. The latter works especially well with middle-aged, professional men. They dont want to go to a store. They want to click a button and have things delivered right to their doorsteps the next daythe buying process is absolutely frictionless, Yang said after working with a brand of wine. As a KOL, you are saying: buy this if you trust me, and they do.

All legacy media in China, state or commercial, are heavily and closely censored pre-publishing, and filled with propaganda. Censors sitting in high offices in every news organization must sign off on every tabloid, broadsheet, and video clip before it goes to print or on air.

Chinas media landscape is constantly shaped by the tension between the state trying to control what information is available to the public, and the public trying to find unfiltered, trustworthy sources of information. Legacy media outlets dont have a lot of public trust to begin with. People in China have long shared a preference for overheard on the street and leaked reports.

This tension pushes readers to self-media, where KOLs cultivate an air of insider information. Many often put read this before it gets censored in the headline. If you look at popular content in the early days (of WeChat), it all looked like some underground publication, said Saisai. When we train new writers, we tell them to imagine they are chatting with the readers on the side of the street, not broadcasting to the masses.

Chinas media landscape is constantly shaped by the tension between state control of information and the public trying to find unfiltered, trustworthy sources.

However, that is mostly an illusion. In reality, WeChats censorship mechanism has improved considerably from simple keyword screenings to a combination of sophisticated tools such as big data and artificial intelligence. Mu, who has had 18 accounts censored, marveled at how effective it is. If you type the word Tiananmen, WeChat can tell if you intend to praise its beauty or talk about the incident in 1989, he said. He also suspected that the algorithm takes into account who is posting, since essays his account couldnt publish would get published by other accounts with no prior offenses or that were deemed politically reliable.

Theres also economic disincentive to disobey the censors. Tencent holds all tipping revenue for seven days before transferring to the writers account. If the content gets censored before then, the income is sent back. In severe cases, KOLs can see their accounts suspended or shut down forever. Ive invested a lot into my public accounts and I had a steady following and income, said Mu, who was demoted to a university librarian for being outspoken in 2014. Once it gets deleted, it takes a lot to gain them all back.

The lack of political representation in China also works in WeChats favor. All politics are conducted by the party, so normal citizens rarely know whats on the agenda. Even it they do, theres no opportunity to change it. As a result, most citizens only care about issues of immediate interest to their lives. For example, many Chinese people ignored President Trumps November visit to China and instead tuned into a scandal where kindergarten teachers in Shanghai were accused of using abusive methods to discipline kids.

WeChat operates perfectly in this paradigm. If an issue doesnt affect you or your friends, it has no chance of getting onto your news feed.

Saisai sums up the narrow interests of WeChat readers with something she dubs the three friends phenomenon. All they need is three friends to tell them what to read, to watch, and to buy, she said, and the WeChat news stream is perfect for that.

It is tempting to see the WeChat platform as beneficial to news dissemination in a country that has never had a free market for ideas. As weve seen with other social media platforms such as Facebook, WeChat has both made populist news more accessible while contributing to news polarization and deterioration in the quality of whats now considered journalism.

Meanwhile, Chinese publishing laws and regulations dictate that all reporters must be licensed to work. Licenses are only given to reporters at traditional media outlets credentialed by the state. Digital media are very much still in a legal gray zone and operating as unregulated. Technically, no internet media can legally conduct original reporting; it can only aggregate. Much of the work done by KOLs involves scouring small papers for stories, writing commentaries, or repackaging them.

During this process of repackaging, under pressure to maximize the number of hits and shares while unable to do further reporting, KOLs often choose to appeal to emotion rather than reason.

You have to learn the pain points of your readers, said Yang, For example, if your audience is professional women who feel guilty about not doing enough for their childrens education, come May, you should look for stories like this mom sent her child to a 300,000 yuan summer camp. 

Different accounts catering to groups across the socioeconomic spectrum may also choose to accentuate a different set of details in a story, making dialogue across socioeconomic lines difficult. When a fire killed 19 migrant workers living in a shantytown on the outskirts of Beijing in November, public accounts read by wealthy, downtown residents emphasized the fact that the migrant workers didnt comply with fire codes, while neglecting to mention that they were herded out by a campaign to drive migrants out of the capital.

The need to maximize shares also gave rise to a type of story that Mu calls social anesthesia. After a tragedy like Li Wenxings death (detailed in an article accompanying this one) or the fire outside of Beijing, members of the community feel the pain but cant do anything, as they are forbidden from organizing and dont have political representation. Public accounts would write feel-good commentaries along the lines of accidents happen all the time or such things numb the pain, said Mu.

These commentaries, in sum, actually breed political apathy. Its safe to say that the Chinese readers are never going back to print again, but it is unclear what they have gained by trading print newspapers for a small, rectangular screen. Certainly not freedom of information, but maybe higher-quality content (with some journalistic rigor) is on the horizon.

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Mia Shuang Li is formerly a Beijing-based Chinese reporter and a researcher for the Beijing Bureau of the New York Times from 2011 to 2016. She is currently pursuing a masters degree at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
Editors note: This article is the second of two in a series on WeChat. The first, How WeChat became the primary news source in China, can be found here.

The body of Li Wenxing, a recent graduate of Northeastern University of Shenyang, China, was found on July 14, 2017 in a ditch in Tianjin, a 30-minute train ride from Beijing. He was 23 years old and an autopsy showed that his stomach had been empty for days.

The news was written up in local papers but didnt get much attention. The ditch where Wenxing was found was in a district of the city where many direct sales gangs operate. Eager to make money, they hold young people hostage, force them to sell various products (anything ranging from dish soap to vitamin supplements), and extract money from their friends and relatives when they cant make a sale.

RELATED: How misinformation spreads on WeChat

For the local news desk, Wenxing was just another victim of gang violence, an out-of-town boy trying to strike gold who fell on terrible luck. But in the eyes of savvy influencers on Chinas WeChat platform, who publish text and video content that gets pushed to their followers from public accounts, this was sensational, national news. And they were right.

Often referred to as Key Opinion Leaders or KOLs, the influencers recognized Wenxings tragedy as more than local gang violence. KOLs have changed the dynamics of Chinese media, as I write in the article accompanying this piece. Heavy on emotion and light on accuracy, the most-read and shared stories on the WeChat platform are often selective with details. To them, the story encapsulated many hot-button issues that would get strong reactions from their readers.

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Lin Mo was among the first to alert her WeChat readers to Wenxings death. A former finance news reporter turned writer and administrator of the public Huaerjie account, users mostly follow Mo for her business stories.

As the only son of an impoverished rural family, Wenxing graduated in 2017 along with 8 million college graduates in China, 300,000 more than the year before and the highest in decades. Between this army of qualified grads and the countrys economic downturn, getting a job proved to be difficult, so he turned to the mobile internet for a solution.

That summer saw a boom in recruitment-app startups: Zhilian, 51job, Doumi, Dajie, and many other human-resource applications vowing to connect employers with qualified candidates raised millions of dollars in venture capital and boasted tens of millions of daily, active users. Mo had long been watching the recruitment apps turf war and had concerns over the lack of employer background checks on employers that advertise with them.

Wenxing had downloaded all of the apps on his phone and sent out dozens of job applications daily. Finally, an app called BOSS direct hiring, which ranked fourth in terms of market share at the time, messaged him that a tech company was offering him an interview for a position as a Java developer. On May 20, Wenxing traveled to Tianjin for the interview with his laptop and some light clothing. It was a setup and he was captured by a gang.

He stopped replying to texts sent by friends and family. In June, Wenxing got back in touch to ask for money from a few friends and his mother at the behest of the gang holding him hostage. But in his last call to his family on the evening of July 8, he said: Dont give money to anyone, no matter who calls you.

Wenxings uncle carried his nephews ashes back to Shandong in a backpack a week after the body was found, and days later his sister posted a short letter online in remembrance of him. This letter drew the attention of KOLs on WeChat. Unlike Tianjin local news, they immediately realized how big the story was.

For her part, Mo immediately downloaded the BOSS direct hiring app and posted a fake ad herself. Under the intentionally comical title of general manager of soy sauce, she received over 50 responses in under an hour. She then looked up the apps CEO, interviewed friends in the tech circle, and wrote an expose on why BOSS was able to have good-looking numbers in the eyes of venture capitalists and what its bad practice means for this sector of startups.

Within 24 hours, numerous stories from varying angles on the Wenxing case flooded users WeChat timelines. Public accounts that target young professionals wrote about how the high-paying jobs often seen on recruitment apps were indeed too good to be true. Accounts that target parents with college-aged children wrote about how tough the labor market is, and how dangerous the job-hunting process could be. This could happen to anyones son or daughter, one wrote. Any company can post job ads online and lure young graduates to an interview.

Those in the tech startup community wrote about the boom of HR apps and their bad practices. Other job hunters duped by BOSS shared their experiences. As more content got shared, emotions were roused.

By evening, national papers and TV news deployed reporters to Tianjin to do follow-ups. BOSS issued a public statement of apology. The entire platform was suspended on August 9, six days after the news broke. An award the company had received was revoked. The city of Tianjin deployed 6,000 police, inspected over 6,557 residences, and arrested 127 gang members.

It was all everyone talked about that day. The KOLs know their audiences extremely well and they know it when a story pushes all the right buttons, said Zhua Saisai, a KOL in pop-culture circles and the principle writer for the public account Project K. The story has all the right elements to strike the fear in the heart of their targeted audiences.

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Mia Shuang Li is formerly a Beijing-based Chinese reporter and a researcher for the Beijing Bureau of the New York Times from 2011 to 2016. She is currently pursuing a masters degree at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
One Call Announces New Amputee Offering With Broadspire

One Call Care Management, a national provider of workers compensation care management services, and Broadspire, a division of Crawford & Company and global third-party administrator, announced a partnership to develop a customized patient-centric amputee program.

The amputee program will not only benefit existing amputees requiring a replacement prosthetic, but also injured workers with recent amputations requiring a holistic review process and access to best-in-care providers.

Claims adjusters will also benefit from non-biased clinical expertise provided through an American Board Certified Prosthetist who will assist in validating recommendations to support providers and injured workers with selecting the most suitable prosthetic based on each individuals level of function.

ACIC Transitions to PCI Western Region Office

Effective January 8, ACIC will officially be known as the Property Casualty Insurers Association of Americas (PCI) Western Region office. This name change is the final step of the 2012 merger of the Association of California Insurance Companies (ACIC) and PCI.

ACIC had a long and distinguished history as a respected thought leader and advocacy voice with policymakers and the media since its inception in 1954. The association was purchased in 2004 by PCI, and they merged in 2012.

The PCI Western Region team of Mark Sektnan, Armand Feliciano, vice president of state government relations and Nicole Mahrt-Ganley, senior director of public affairs remains the same and they are available to address public policy issues for lawmakers and the media.

AmWINS Group, Inc. to Acquire Seacoast Brokers, LLC and Trident Claims Management, LLC

AmWINS Group, Inc., a global distributor of specialty insurance products and services, announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Seacoast Brokers, LLC, a South Carolina-based personal lines specialty MGA that designs, distributes and services surplus lines homeowners business throughout the United States, and Trident Claims Management, LLC, a licensed third-party claims administrator which manages claims on all Seacoast-issued policies. The transaction will close following regulatory approval.

Seacoast provides homeowners products to insurance agents covering residential properties predominantly for secondary, seasonal, vacation and investment use which are located in catastrophe-prone and/or resort-oriented communities. Seacoast partners with A.M. Best A-rated insurance companies that specialize in catastrophe property products for the personal lines segment of the industry.

AmWINS Access is a nationwide delegated authority business focused on small commercial property and casualty and personal lines. AmWINS Access provides the capabilities and market access of the largest P&C wholesaler in the United States, combined with local underwriting expertise, industry-leading technology, and access to a wide range of binding authority markets and exclusive products.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. is acting as legal counsel to AmWINS in connection with the transaction. TigerRisk Capital Markets & Advisory is acting as financial advisor and Lewis Rice, LLC is acting as legal counsel to Seacoast and Trident.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is planning to require fencing at some overpass construction sites after a Michigan man was killed when a sandbag was tossed onto an interstate and smashed through a car windshield.

The department is drafting a new rule that would require temporary fencing when workers remove permanent barriers at overpasses that are being rebuilt.

The change comes after 22-year-old Marquise Byrd, of Warren, Michigan, died on Dec. 22, three days after a car he was riding in was struck by a sandbag tossed from an overpass onto Interstate 75 in Toledo.

Authorities have charged four teenagers with throwing the sandbag and other objects at cars.

The bridge where the sandbag was dropped had fencing, but much of it was removed for a reconstruction project.

The new rule will require temporary fencing during work on overpasses that already have fencing and during projects to add permanent fencing to overpasses, said Matt Bruning, a spokesman for the state transportation department.

There shouldnt be any period of time where there isnt any fencing, he said.

A year ago, the state agreed to increase the number of highway overpasses with fencing. Plans called for adding permanent fencing to about 160 overpasses over five years at an estimated cost of just under $1 million per year, Bruning said.

Ohio agreed to add the fencing at the urging of a man whose wife suffered brain damage when teenagers dropped a rock from an interstate overpass onto their car in central Pennsylvania in July 2014. The four teenagers were sentenced to prison in the case.

The teens in Ohio who are charged with murder and vehicular vandalism in the Michigan mans death were in court last Thursday after earlier entering pleas of denial to the charges.

Lillian Diallo, an attorney for the victims family, told The Blade that Byrd had a 2-year-old son and was planning to propose to his girlfriend.

She said the teenagers should have been home instead of out late on the night the sandbag was dropped onto the interstate.

You dropped a 30-pound sandbag over an overpass, Diallo said. Where is your conscience? Where is your morality? How could you do that to another human being?

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Contractor hit with fraud charges over post-Sandy work

A contractor who performed work after Superstorm Sandy has been criminally charged with defrauding multiple New Jersey homeowners.

State Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced charges Tuesday against Jersey Pride Home Renovations and owner William Wolford.

The company based in Ocean County allegedly used deceptive practices to pressure customers into signing contracts, abandoned some projects and didnt correct substandard work that failed to pass municipal inspections.

A criminal complaint also alleged the company performed home elevations without being legally registered for that type of work.

Wolford referred questions Tuesday to his attorney, who didnt immediately return a phone message.

The complaint seeks to have the company pay back homeowners, return federal funds and pay civil penalties.

Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Insurance Fraud

A Tacoma, Wash., man will serve 30 days of confinement after pleading guilty to attempted insurance fraud and obstructing a law enforcement officer.

Vyacheslav Vizitiv was also sentenced to 334 days in prison, suspended for two years, and $700 in court fees in Pierce County Superior Court on Dec. 27. He is allowed to serve the 30 days of confinement under electronic home monitoring.

According to the investigation conducted by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidlers Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU), Vizitiv canceled the insurance on his 2002 Acura RSX on Dec. 10, 2014, because he was trying to sell it. On Dec. 24, Vizitiv was in a collision with another vehicle. He reinstated his policy with GEICO on Dec. 25 and submitted an online claim on Dec. 27, saying the Acura was damaged while parked at his apartment complex. On Dec. 28, the owner of the vehicle he hit filed a claim with GEICO for the damage to her car, including the actual date of the accident and the license plate number of Vizitivs Acura.

GEICO referred the case to Kreidlers CIU, as required by law.

Vizitiv was charged in February 2016 with one count of first-degree identity theft and one count of filing a false insurance claim. He failed to appear in Pierce County Superior Court in March 2016 to face the charges and spent more than a year on Kreidlers insurance fraud most wanted. In August 2017, Kreidlers detectives arrested Vizitiv at a relatives home in Pierce County.

Former Cocaine Cowboy Pilot on Trial in Auto Fraud Case

A pilot who flew loads of drugs for Colombian cartels during Miamis cocaine cowboys era is going on trial in an auto fraud case.

Jury selection begins Tuesday in the case of 72-year-old Mickey Munday, who has become well known through his open bragging about his past in interviews, social media posts and starring role in the documentary Cocaine Cowboys.

Some of Mundays past likely will come up in the trial. Prosecutors say its relevant because Mundays alleged role in the auto fraud ring was transporting and hiding the stolen vehicles, similar to his work in the 1980s for Pablo Escobars Medellin cartel and later the Cali cartel.

He served about nine years in prison during the 1990s after pleading guilty to smuggling charges involving many tons of cocaine.

By CURT ANDERSON, AP

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Auto insurance is experiencing its most seismic shift since it began over 100 years ago. If 2017 shook up the industry with an increasing number of carriers adopting mobile telematics programs for UBI, 2018 will break the mold.

Carriers will use data to put the customer front and center, focused on creating delightful experiences. UBI 2.0 will enable carriers to create these experiences by leveraging data in unprecedented ways and a new data-driven claims experience will begin to evolve. The hype around the connected car will continue to be just that  hype. And consumers, insurers, and regulators will introduce big new ideas to combat tragic distracted driving trends.

Heres how we see 2018 unfolding:

The customer will win. Low engagement, poor satisfaction and complicated processes will not survive in the $200 billion U.S. auto insurance market. Consumers have come to expect delightful experiences like they have with Amazon, Google and Apple, and they benchmark all company experiences against them. Auto insurance is no exception. Either incumbents will figure it out or new entrants will. In 2018, well see the battle heat up with a focus on the customer experience. Expect UBI 2.0. The results are in: Driving data is highly predictive, mobile telematics has reduced the barriers to entry, consumers are signing up, and the carriers that started early are winning. Expect carriers to leverage driving data in new and innovative ways that go broader than just price targeting high-value segments. This will include levels of personalization not possible before, using mobile channels to drive customer engagement and loyalty. Carriers that have fallen behind will scramble to catch up. A massive opportunity in claims will fully emerge. After decades of claims functioning as the old school, back office part of the business, carriers are seeing the potential for game-changing impact on the customer experience, expenses and loss costs. In five years, claims will look nothing like it does today. The mosaic will be filled in beginning in 2018. The hype around connected cars and autonomous vehicles will continue. The key word being hype. The ugly math is that it will still be at least 15 years until connected cars penetrate half the U.S. vehicle fleet. Level 5 autonomy will take even longer. Unfortunately, the auto insurance deck will likely be reshuffled before then. To prepare for the transition, carriers will look to smartphone data to help  it delivers over 70 percent of connected car data, plus distracted driving data. Smartphones also provide new engagement opportunities. And, carriers dont have to wait  more than 85 percent of drivers own one today. Outrage with distraction will reach a peak. After more than 3,400 thousand lives lost in 2015 alone and countless accidents as a result of smartphone use in cars, consumers, regulators and insurers will step up their game. Laws have generated short-term effects and general awareness campaigns have produced limited results. Smartphone-based efforts, however, have proven to reduce distracted driving by 20 percent. States will also review how theyre collecting and reporting distracted driving data, which has been significantly underreported to date. Expect some big new ideas that tilt the curve.
A new study suggests if the Houston area continues to boom for 60 years and sea levels rise, a direct hit to Galveston from a massive hurricane could destroy $31.8 billion worth of homes, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Texas A&M researchers looked at possibly building a coastal barrier about 60 miles long from Galveston to Bolivar Peninsula. Experts say potential residential destruction from a storm surge would drop about 80 percent  to $6 billion, the Chronicle reported Saturday.

The idea for a coastal barrier has been floated since Hurricane Ike hit the Galveston area in 2008 but congressional funding remains a problem.

The numbers make sense, said state Sen. Larry Taylor, a Republican from Friendswood whos tried for years to get federal funding for a coastal barrier. This investment is going to pay for itself time and time again.

After Hurricane Harvey struck in late August, Houston and state officials asked the federal government for $12 billion for a coastal barrier.

The Texas A&M study only looked at damage to homes and apartments from a storm surge  not flooding caused by rainfall  and excludes the potential harm to the regions commercial buildings and ports.

Storm relief likely will become part of the negotiations for a 2018 spending bill to be considered later this month as part of funding the federal government, said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican.

GOP Congressman Randy Weber, of Friendswood, said some Republican lawmakers have pushed back against funding infrastructure as part of disaster relief, warning of a bad precedent.

Weber said he hopes to get the coastal barrier included in an infrastructure package if efforts to include it in disaster relief ultimately fail.

This is foolish for us to just keep paying for these disasters over and over and over again, Weber said. How about something to prevent this from happening on the next go around?

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Heavy rains pounding Southern California for a second day caused flooding and loosened hillsides as officials in fire-ravaged communities warned people to stay off roads over fears of destructive mud flows.

Water and debris in lanes shut down coastal U.S. 101 and traffic accidents on rain-slicked roadways across the region slowed the Tuesday morning commute to a crawl.

Several inches of rain fell in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, where thousands of residents evacuated over fears of mudslides in areas where the states largest-ever fire raged last month.

Creeks that normally would be dry would turn into raging rivers of mud and debris and large rocks and trees, said Robert Lewin, director of the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management. These can be quite damaging. Theyll destroy roads, theyll take out homes.

Forecasters issued flash flood warnings and predicted that the cold front with powerful winds could bring higher rain totals to downtown Los Angeles than seen in the past 10 months. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for about 700 homes in former burn areas of Los Angeles County.

A winter weather advisory was in place for mountain areas, where officials warned motorists to prepare for difficult travel conditions, including gusty winds, low visibility and snow-covered roads

Flash flood watches were also issued for parts of Sonoma and Mendocino counties north of San Francisco, warning that the rains that were saturating the area Monday night could trigger mudslides in areas devastated by October wildfires.

The blazes leveled entire neighborhoods, killing 44 people and destroying more than 8,900 homes and other buildings.

A years long drought eased in the state last spring, but Northern California had a dry start to winter and hardly any measurable rain fell in the south over the past six months. The extremely dry conditions and high winds last year led to some of the most destructive blazes on both ends of the state.

Now, the storm coming in from the Gulf of Alaska could dump up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain on Northern California areas still recovering from fires before clearing up by Tuesday evening, National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson said.

In the foothills just northeast of Los Angeles, residents placed sandbags outside houses that survived a December fire that scorched more than 24 square miles (62 square kilometers), destroyed 60 homes and damaged 55 others.

The weather service also issued a winter weather advisory for portions of the Sierra Nevada above 7,000 feet (2,134 meters), forecasting about 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 centimeters) of snow and up to 1 to 2 feet (30 to 61 centimeters) on higher peaks Tuesday.

(Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and John Antczak in Los Angeles, Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco, and Eric Risberg in Santa Rosa contributed to this report.)

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The news out of Washington on Tuesday suggested 2018 could be a very different year for President Donald Trump.

It was a stunning reversal of fortune for the anti-globalist faction of the president's political base. As former Trump advisor Steve Bannon was being pushed out of his perch at Breitbart News following backlash over comments he made to journalist Michael Wolff about the president and his family, the White House announced that Trump would be going to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland  an event widely seen as the annual retreat of the globalist financial elite.

What's more, the president invited cameras in to record nearly an hour of his negotiations with Democrats and Republicans on DACA, suggesting to them he was open to a comprehensive deal on immigration reform.

As for the wall Trump campaigned on, aides suggested quietly that it doesn't need to be all that long; just so there's enough built that the president can credibly say he kept his campaign promise.

"He was always more moderate than he was given credit for," an administration official told me Tuesday. "On almost everything, with few exceptions, he is willing to deal."

"The main thing about the wall is you don't have to have a wall for all three thousand miles. You can have sections. It doesn't take that much."

All of that comes at a time when the president is being increasingly embraced by members of the the Republican establishment  even Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who once publicly doubted Trump's stability and competence, stood smiling behind the president Monday in Tennessee as he signed an order on rural broadband access, happily accepting the president's pen as a keepsake.

The moment certainly seems ripe for Trump to capture more legislative momentum.

But, once again, the details could get in the president's way. Look at the two legislative items the president has said he wants to push this year: Welfare reform and infrastructure.
In Michael Wolff's new book, trash talk went both ways. Steve Bannon said Donald Trump "lost his stuff"; the president observed of his disheveled ex-strategist: "Guy looks homeless."

And now, politically speaking, he is.

Breitbart News, the outrage-stoking far-right website that Bannon made his personal power base, cut ties with him today. Bannon's savage portrayal of the White House made the outcome inevitable. In this civil war, Breitbart and its financiers had no choice but to side with the president of the United States.

That represents welcome news for Republican Congressional leaders who never shared Bannon's initial enthusiasm for Trump. After being deposed as chief White House strategist a few months ago, Bannon returned to Breitbart and vowed to lead a 2018 insurrection against "establishment" Republicans he described as thwarting the president's nationalist "Make America Great Again" agenda.

Bannon's insurrection suffered one painful defeat when his candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama, accused child molester Roy Moore, lost a race Republicans thought they couldn't lose. Now Bannon has lost the backing of the Mercer family's billions that he had counted on for weaponry.

That hardly solves the political problems Republicans face this year as they try to hold their House and Senate majorities. Early polling shows Democrats with powerful momentum, despite a strong economy, booming financial markets, and the freshly-enacted tax-cut law.

That's partly due to political tides that nearly always recede for the party that holds the White House. And it's partly due to Trump's extraordinary unpopularity, which has repelled key blocs of the electorate including young people, women and college-educated whites.

A growing number of Republican lawmakers are choosing to retire rather than trying to ride out the 2018 storms. For those vulnerable Republicans intent on staying, strategies for mitigating the damage are limited.

One option is distancing themselves from the president, as some embattled members did when Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama faced midterm political troubles. But doing so risks splintering their base with primary challenges from the Trump loyalists on the right, even with Bannon marginalized.

Wolff's book "Fire and Fury," depicting Trump as uninformed, unstable and childlike, has amplified public discussion of the president's fitness for office. "Never Trump" conservative intellectuals sought to drive home that message throughout the 2016 campaign, as retiring Republican Sens. Bob Corker and Jeff Flake have in recent months.

But so far, neither GOP Congressional leaders nor rank-and-file party loyalists have picked up the theme. Barring devastating developments soon from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, Trump isn't going anywhere.

And that makes the GOP's choice on standing by Trump much like Breitbart's between Bannon and the president: not much of a choice at all.
CNBC's Jim Cramer has realized that it can actually hurt investors to be cynical in this beast of a market. "So much of what's driving this market can seem artificial, but Wall Street doesn't make any distinction between natural drivers and artificial ones. They're all the same," the "Mad Money" host said. And there's no shortage of artificial drivers. Credit Suisse upgraded Carnival Cruise Line's stock to "buy" from "hold" and boosted its price target  a seemingly obvious move given the broader strength in cruise line bookings  and the stock still went up. Piper Jaffray's price target increase for the stock of Amazon to $1,400 a share from $1,200 also sent it soaring. The reason for the boost? Analysts had underestimated how much shares of Amazon would rise. "Is that a good reason to buy a stock, a price target increase? Hey, it's still worse than because of an obvious earnings boost from a tax cut, or an obviously stronger consumer, or an obvious relative underperformance compared to similar sectors. It's what gets things moving these days," Cramer said. "You've got to understand that in a beast bull market like we're in, we don't look through these kinds of situations to find fault in their reasoning. We simply recognize, 'Yeah, that's enough to send a stock to go higher. I want in.'"

Tailwinds for consumer stocks

Customers navigate through the aisles during the Black Friday sales event on Thanksgiving Day at Target in Chicago, November 23, 2017. Kamil Krzaczynski | Reuters

One thing became clear to Cramer as he spoke to various consumer-facing CEOs at ICR's annual investment conference: the consumer is better off than many people think. "The consumer is alive and well and spending. The consumer wants value. The consumer wants reliability. And the consumer will pay for it," Cramer said. "It almost feels like you can throw darts at the stocks of the consumer companies ... and end up with a winner." As institutional investors and money managers chase industrial stocks for gains, Cramer found it worth turning his focus to the consumer cohort. Here are the six tailwinds he sees.

Children's Place CEO on digital advantage

Jane Elfers Getty Images

The Children's Place has undergone transformations in various key areas including inventory, distribution and digital channels under President and CEO Jane Elfers. As she steers the company towards international success, Elfers told Cramer on Tuesday that the company's digital efforts are being driven by a crucial customer demographic: millennials. "We have the dream customer. We have a 28-year-old millennial mom customer who's pushing us from a digital point of view even faster than we can push ourselves," Elfers said. "You look at some of the other traditional retailers or traditional department stores, they have a much older core customer. We have the sweet spot."

Kohl's CEO makes case for brick-and-mortar

Kevin Mansell, Kohls CEO Michael Newberg | CNBC

As major retail chains continue to close stores nationwide, Kohl's Chairman, President and CEO Kevin Mansell told CNBC that his company's success actually stems from its physical locations. "Physical presence is important in people's mindset as they think about where to shop," Mansell told Cramer on Tuesday. "Regardless of whether they shop in the store or online, if you have a physical presence, you're top of mind. So having a physical presence is critical." Speaking from ICR's annual investment conference, Mansell doubled down on the bull case for brick-and-mortar, emphasizing the need for retailers to serve "a more omni-channel consumer." "We're not in malls," the CEO said. "Ninety-five percent of our stores are off-mall, and they're mostly single-level, free-standing, easy to get in, easy to get out."

Canada Goose CEO: We don't make 'stuff'

Canada Goose's increasingly common red patch is something of a badge of pride for Dani Reiss, the president and CEO of the newly public company. "Our products are investment apparel. I think that's why we're able to grow through recessions, because during recessions, people saw our products as good purchases and the value is absolutely there," Reiss told Cramer on Tuesday at the ICR conference. "And for us, [in] everything we do, the most important thing is that we make a best-in-class product." Shares of Canada Goose are up over 90 percent since the company's IPO in March 2017, and to Reiss, that's no accident  it comes from a delicate combination of inventory management, brand management and high product standards, he said. "Our products are special. They're not commodities," the CEO said. " We're not about slapping logos on stuff. We don't make 'stuff.' We make best-in-class products. And I think that from a point of view of brand management, one of the worst things you can do is to make bad product and rush to make product because you think you can sell it. And we don't do that."

Lightning Round: Energy three-fer
Chinese electric car start-up WM Motor may be up against a crowded playing field filled with more established players, but the company has big ambitions.

"Our job is to produce mass, affordable, easy-to-use electric vehicles for the millions of households in China, just like what Henry Ford did a hundred years ago [or] like Bill Gates did [almost] 50 years ago for personal computers," WM Motor CFO Ran Zhang told CNBC on the sidelines of the Morgan Stanley China Technology, Media & Telecoms Conference.

Beijing has spent heavily in its push for electric cars and other new energy vehicles. Among other measures, the government has allocated subsidies and invested in infrastructure like charging stations.

When state support for electric vehicle manufacturers was reduced last year, however, sales continued to remain robust as Chinese consumers appeared to warm to electric cars, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Given interest in the space, it's no surprise that China's electric car market is fairly crowded, with names like start-up Nio and leading local automaker BYD among those competing in the space. Even Tesla has a foot in the door, although it doesn't receive the same level of government support as local players.

But, according to Zhang, the segment targeted by WM Motor  electric cars priced in the "affordable" range of between 200,000 yuan ($30,764) and 300,000 yuan ($46,144)  is one that remains relatively unaddressed in the market.

For comparison, rival Nio's ES8 model priced at 448,000 yuan ($68,910) while Tesla's Model X went for around 836,000 yuan ($128,587) last month.

"The car industry is not a monopolized industry. There are so many players out there and, frankly, we don't think we're going to take the cheese from everybody else," Ran said.

"We are going to help introduce new technology into this world and hopefully, everybody else is going to do the same thing. And we're going to uplift the water level for everybody."
As major retail chains continue to close stores nationwide, Kohl's Chairman, President and CEO Kevin Mansell told CNBC that his company's success actually stems from its physical locations.

"Physical presence is important in people's mindset as they think about where to shop," Mansell told "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer on Tuesday. "Regardless of whether they shop in the store or online, if you have a physical presence, you're top of mind. So having a physical presence is critical."

Speaking from ICR's annual investment conference, Mansell doubled down on the bull case for brick-and-mortar, emphasizing the need for retailers to serve "a more omni-channel consumer."

"We're not in malls," the CEO said. "Ninety-five percent of our stores are off-mall, and they're mostly single-level, free-standing, easy to get in, easy to get out."

Mansell said the strategy ties back to Kohl's three original "pillars:" brands, value and convenience.

New initiatives related to improving the customer experience and promoting personalization  both part of Kohl's "Greatness Agenda"  will update the strategy as the consumer evolves, he said.

While the CEO wouldn't comment on whether Kohl's unique partnership with Amazon will eventually result in the e-commerce giant acquiring Kohl's, he did speak to its benefits.

"We're focused on any ideas, however far-out they may seem to somebody outside our business, that would essentially drive more people into our stores," Mansell said. "Amazon's a great company [with] amazing customer engagement."

With consumer sentiment on the rise, engaging customers has become a central focus for Kohl's. Amazon's support, however contradictory, furthers that mission, the CEO said.

"Values are really important to them, but the customer experience is what's critical," Mansell told Cramer. "Those are shared values with Kohl's, and so our thinking in the Amazon pilot is, really, how do we translate their success into more traffic coming into Kohl's stores?"

An Amazon spokesperson declined CNBC's request for comment.
While President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed support for allowing the government to negotiate drug prices, his pick to head the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, Alex Azar, says he doesn't think it would be the magic bullet that would bring costs down.

"Where we can do so that preserves innovation, that preserves access for patients, I want anything that's going to help us with drug pricing  I think that we should be looking at those approaches," said Azar, who was the former U.S. president of drugmaker Eli Lilly and once served as deputy director of HHS during the George W. Bush administration.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Azar said in some circumstances it does make sense for the government to seek volume discounts for a health emergency.

"If the government is the purchaser, let's say for instance, we are going to be buying (drugs) as part of the opioid crisis program, and we're directly buying that and supplying it out to states and first responders, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the government negotiating that," he explained.

But when it comes to allowing the Medicare program to negotiate drug prices, that's where Azar splits with Trump. Under current law, private Medicare Part D drug plans administered by insurers do negotiate drug discounts, but the traditional Medicare program is prohibited from doing so.

"For the government to negotiate  we would have to have a single national formulary that restricted access to all seniors for medicines," he explained, noting that was the conclusion reached by the Congressional Budget Office under the Obama administration. "That would be only thing that could change. I don't believe we want to go there in restricting patient access."

Using formulary plans that favor some drugs over others is how insurers, large employers and pharmacy benefit management firms secure deep discounts from pharmaceutical firms.

"For Medicare negotiating to work, they would have to say that some drugs are not available because they are too expensive, effectively creating a single set of drugs available for the elderly," said Craig Garthwaite, the director of Northwestern University's Kellogg's Health Enterprise Management Program. "Frankly, that doesn't appear to be something that Americans are prepared for at this point."

In a heated exchange with democratic Senator Claire McCaskill, D.-Mo., Azar argued that the government would not be able to get any better pricing than private insurers and pharmacy benefit managers do for Medicare drug plans.

"But they're getting paid to do that. The government could do it directly  wouldn't that save us money?" McCaskill countered.

"They do it better than the government would," Azar maintained.

"To his point, it is complicated to negotiate  there are so many drugs on the market, you'd literally have to have a contract for every drug on existence," said Les Funtleyder, a health care portfolio manager at E Squared Capital Management. But he added that pricing pressures will not go away for the government or drugmakers with more baby boomers aging into Medicare.



"Even if Alex Azar is approved," Funtleyder said, "these are issues that are going to be with us forever ... until we come to a decision on how we want our health care to be."
Chinese logistics company ZTO Express said Tuesday the allegations by a U.S. pension fund that it exaggerated its profit margins have no merit.

The company was sued by Birmingham Retirement and Relief System. The pension fund alleged that ZTO left out certain low-margin business segments from its financial statements in order to inflate overall profit margins to lure investors into its initial public offering in 2016.

ZTO's $1.4 billion listing in the U.S. was the largest that year, according to Reuters. The company counts e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com as its customers.

"We don't think those allegations have any merits, we'll defend ourselves rigorously. We have engaged U.S. lawyers to help us, to protect the rights of the company," James Guo, ZTO's chief financial officer, told CNBC at the Morgan Stanley China Technology, Media and Telecomm Conference in Beijing.

Despite the ongoing lawsuit, the company has continued to outpace the industry's average volume growth in China, Guo claimed without revealing numbers. He said, however, the company processed more than 100 million orders on Singles Day last year  among the highest volume handled by a courier in the country.

Singles Day, started as a kind of anti-Valentine's day for singles, has become one of the largest shopping events in the world along with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
If you're looking for an affordable private school education, look no further than Nebraska.

The Cornhusker State is home to the lowest average tuition for private elementary and high school, according to the Private School Review, a site that gathers data on private institutions across the country.

In Nebraska, the average cost of private school during the 2017 to 2018 year was $3,155. In comparison, the national average was more than three times higher: $10,302.

On the other side of the spectrum, you can find the most costly private schools in Connecticut. There, the average private school tuition clocks in at $24,171.

Also, parents now have a new tool in the arsenal for tackling the cost of a private K-12 education: Their 529 college savings plans.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act makes these accounts  in which families can save free of taxes and can tap them for educational expenses  available for private school and not just college costs.

Further, over 30 states offer a tax deduction for households that contribute to a 529 plan.

See below for the nine other states with the lowest private school tuition costs.
With the announcement of Toyota and Mazda planning to build a new final assembly plant in Huntsville, the state of Alabama is flexing its muscle and influence in the U.S. auto industry.

The plant, which will employ 4,000 workers and crank out up to 300,000 vehicles annually, is scheduled to open in 2021. Once that happens, Alabama could become the fourth-biggest state in the U.S. when it comes to manufacturing new vehicles. It's currently tied for fifth, with Tennessee, in annual auto production, according to the Center for Automotive Research, which tracks vehicle manufacturing in the U.S.



"With this announcement, our world changes overnight," said Tommy Battle, mayor of Huntsville. "It vaults Alabama to the top as an industry leader in producing the next generation of cars that will power our nation."



That may be a bit of an exaggeration.



Data from the Center for Automotive Research show Michigan built 19 percent of the vehicles manufactured in the U.S. last year. That is more than double the production in Alabama.

So why is a state with 4.8 million people becoming more attractive for auto manufacturers and suppliers? It's all about location.



"This plant is going to be in the center of auto alley," said Thomas Klier, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Klier has studied America's shifting auto manufacturing footprint and says Alabama benefits from being so close to other Toyota facilities.

"It's a very sensible location," he said. "Toyota has an engine plant in Huntsville and two other facilities nearby in Mississippi, so this makes sense."



"Our investment to establish a new vehicle assembly plant with Mazda builds on the strong success we have enjoyed in Alabama where we produce engines for the North American market," said Toyota President Akio Toyoda.



Meanwhile, Mazda will become the latest automaker to establish a final assembly plant in the U.S.



"We hope to work, learn and grow together with the people of Alabama and Huntsville," said Masamichi Kogai, president and CEO of Mazda Motor.

Mazda plans to build an SUV at the new facility as the Japanese automaker moves to improve a model line-up that has historically relied more on cars than utility vehicles. Last year, Mazda sold just under 300,000 vehicles in the U.S.
's aggressive poaching tactics in Israel have the country's start-up community riled up, causing some companies to explore abandoning Amazon's cloud service in retaliation.

Shai Wininger, the co-founder of Lemonade, an insurance start-up that's raised $180 million, took his frustration to social media, writing multiple posts on LinkedIn and about Amazon's poaching activity.

"Just learned that Amazon is actively targeting and trying to poach Lemonade Inc. employees," Wininger wrote on LinkedIn. "I wonder if that's their idea of supporting the start-up ecosystem. Reconsidering Amazon AWS."

Wininger later followed up, saying Amazon's poaching of employees from customers, like Lemonade, is a "breach of confidence." He also added the "obscene amount of money" being offered to steal his employees could end up damaging the entire Israeli start-up market.

In a separate Facebook post, Wininger wrote, "Game on! Werner Vogels FYI," tagging Vogels, Amazon's chief technology officer.

Wininger's complaint is the latest evidence of the growing tension between Amazon and emerging tech companies. Last year, Amazon after releasing a product that looked and worked almost the same as a device made by Nucleus, one of its Alexa Fund portfolio companies. It could also cripple Amazon's effort to expand its presence in Israel, a start-up powerhouse with some of the world's best technical talent.

As Wininger's posts gained traction, Vogels eventually left a comment underneath it, indicating he doesn't support Amazon's poaching from its customers.

"Let me dive into this," Vogels wrote in the comments section of the Facebook post. "It may be a sourcing agency vs Amazon proper. I find that sourcing from our customers would be extremely counter-effective."
French President Emmanuel Macron has told China to open up its markets or face a protectionist backlash, during a three-day trade mission aimed at tapping more business from the global superpower.

One of the chief executives who traveled to China as part of Macron's 50-strong trade delegation told CNBC on Wednesday what the atmosphere was like during the trip.

"We've been listening to each other, we've been building some trust, we've been building pretty good and straightforward things, whether it be on access or rebalancing (trade), so it's been forthcoming, straightforward trust buildup," Sebastien Bazin, the chief executive of AccorHotels, said.

Bazin said the trip had been "extremely helpful" for France's corporate sector, although the visit, which took the delegation from the ancient imperial city of Xian to Beijing, had been a "long journey."

"It's been 2.5 days here (so far) and it's been a long journey. We've met a lot of people and our French president has been extremely well-prepared and to be in China and be talking with the Chinese government."

The Chinese and French governments have yet to announce any major deals, but have signed some smaller agreements.

Those announced include a 10 billion euro ($11.9 billion) nuclear contract for Areva and a partnership between Sodexo and Huawei. Airbus has agreed to boost its aircraft production from four to six planes per month in Tianjin, while President Macron said he was close to finalizing the sale of 184 A320 jets.

The AccorHotels group includes 20 hotel brands, ranging from economy to luxury, and is represented in 95 countries. It said it hosts 500,000 guests a day at its 4,200 hotel locations and has 250,000 employees.
Warren Buffett's right-hand man, Charlie Munger, blasted the frothiness in venture capital funding and bitcoin.

During a phone interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday, Munger was asked if bitcoin was a bubble.

"Yeah sure [on bitcoin] and venture capital, too," Munger replied. "There are always bubbles ... that are going to end badly."

On "Squawk Box" on Wednesday, Buffett also said the craze over bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies won't end well.

The billionaire Munger, who turned 94 on New Year's Day, said there was "too much money" in venture capital, and he compared the current environment to the dot-com bubble in 2000.

"Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies are also bubbles," he added. Investors "are excited because things are going up at the moment and it sounds vaguely modern. ... But I'm not excited."

Munger made waves when he said bitcoin is "total insanity" and avoid it "like the plague" at a University of Michigan Ross School of Business event last year.

Munger is one of the most celebrated investors in the world and was an essential partner in Buffett's success. Before becoming vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, he had quite the track record himself. From 1962 to 1975, Munger's investment partnership generated 20 percent annual returns versus the S&P 500's 5 percent.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC on Wednesday the recent craze over bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies won't end well.

"In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending," the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway said.

"When it happens or how or anything else, I don't know," he added in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box" from Omaha, Nebraska. "If I could buy a five-year put on every one of the cryptocurrencies, I'd be glad to do it but I would never short a dime's worth."
Canada is increasingly convinced that U.S. President Donald Trump will soon announce that the United States intends to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, two government sources said on Wednesday.

The sources said they expected Trump would make his move at about the same time that negotiators from the United States, Canada and Mexico meet in late January for the sixth and penultimate round of talks to modernize the treaty.

A Canadian official told CNBC that while the chances of a U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA are increasing, there is no convincing information to suggest it will happen soon.

The Canadian and Mexican currencies both weakened against the U.S. dollar after Reuters broke the news.

The Canadian dollar fell to its weakest level this year at C$1.2561 to the greenback, or 79.61 U.S. cents. The peso was trading down more than 0.6 pct at 2:50 p.m. ET, while the S&P/BM IPC stock index was down about 1.7 percent.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to walk away from NAFTA unless Canada and Mexico agree to major changes Washington says are needed to make the 1994 treaty more fair.

Canadian officials say if Trump does announce a U.S. withdrawal, it could be a negotiating tactic designed to win concessions. They also express doubt whether the U.S. Congress would approve such a move.

Canada and Mexico have rejected most of the U.S. proposals for NAFTA reforms, leaving officials with a big job if they are to bridge the large differences at the Jan. 23-28 talks in Montreal. Negotiations are due to wrap up at the end of March.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
The Canadian dollar and the country's stocks fell on Wednesday on the back of a report that says President Donald Trump could pull the U.S. out of NAFTA. The Mexican peso also fell.

The loonie fell to trade down 0.6 percent against its U.S. counterpart. The iShares MSCI Canada exchange-traded fund (EWC), which tracks Canadian stocks, closed 1 percent lower.

Reuters reported, citing two Canadian government sources, that Canada is increasingly convinced that Trump will pull the U.S. out of the trade agreement.

The news agency also said Canada plans to stay on the negotiating table even if Trump pulls out of NAFTA. The report added that trade between the two countries would continue, however.

Trump railed against NAFTA during his 2016 presidential campaign. In June 2016, he called the trade deal the "worst" in history. But pulling out of the trade deal could disrupt interconnections established by industries in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

The Mexican peso declined 0.5 percent against the greenback after the report was released.

Also falling were shares of General Motors and Kansas City Southern, which hit session lows in the U.S. stock market.
The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday that NAFTA is a vital part of the U.S. economy, and scrapping it would be a mistake.

"To pull out of NAFTA would be an absolute destruction to the advances we've made on the economy and economic growth," Tom Donohue said on CNBC's "Squawk Alley."

"We can't do that. We can improve it. We can change it. But we can't get out of it. We can't destroy it," he said.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull the plug on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Negotiations enter a sixth round on Jan. 23 in Montreal, leaving many wondering about the future of the deal with Mexico and Canada.

On Monday, Trump told the American Farm Bureau Federation's convention that changes to NAFTA could hurt farmers.

"Think about it: When Mexico is making all of that money, when Canada is making all of that money, it's not the easiest negotiation," Trump said. "But we're going to make it fair for you people again."

But Donohue, whose organization bills itself as world's largest business group, representing more than 3 million businesses, said he believes Trump understands the importance of the agreement.

"The bottom line is growth will be weakened, not strengthened or sustained, if we pull back from trade," he said.

Before his appearance on CNBC, Donohue stressed the importance of NAFTA in his annual State of American Business speech in Washington. In his speech, Donohue also warned about a growing backlash against technology.

Donohue told CNBC that progress is being made on NAFTA and in trade talks with South Korea.

He said the 24-year-old NAFTA pact helps secure America's borders and that it affects 14 million American jobs and involves about $1.3 trillion in trade.

"It's a program that keeps us safe within on our borders because of the people we're in a trading arrangement with," he said.
Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, warned on Wednesday about a growing global hostility to technology  U.S. tech in particular  saying that it could severely damage the U.S. economy, its companies and consumers.

In the annual "State of American Business" speech, Donohue said technology "is not a single, all-powerful industry. It is now a part of every industry." In the U.S., technology must be "embraced" as a growth-driver of the economy, and if it's used "smartly and carefully," everyone will benefit, he said.

"We must be careful that this 'techlash' doesn't result in broad regulatory overreach that stifles innovation and stops positive advancements in their tracks," he said.

Donohue also warned about excessive regulation in general, saying that it "stifles innovation and stops positive advancements in their tracks."

U.S. tech has suffered many black eyes over the last year, including revelations about the toxic work culture of Uber and questions about how Russian manipulation of Facebook may have altered the outcome of the 2016 election. There's also been a growing body of research showing that heavy use of social media may be bad for mental health.

Donahue also said that U.S. education and infrastructure need to be updated to meet the needs of the 21st century economy.
Grace Kim knows what the best colleges are looking for in an application. She herself received a full ride to attend Princeton, earned her Masters at Harvard University and later worked as an admissions officer for Stanford University. Today, she is a College Consultant for LogicPrep, an education company. In all of her experience, she says that being well-rounded is one of the most overrated things that a student can be. "Every university is looking for a dynamic incoming class," she tells CNBC Make It. "We are not necessarily looking for all well-rounded students."

Grace Kim at her Princeton Graduation

According to Kim, colleges are less interested in finding students who are perfect in every way than they are in finding students who are incredible at what they love to do. "Not every student who is admitted to Stanford or Harvard or Northwestern or any of these schools needs to be good at everything," she argues. "In fact, it's sometimes even more fun when you meet a student who is very angular. A student who, you know, leans very much in one direction." If a student can demonstrate that they are extremely talented in a specific area, then a college is more likely to forgive their flaws, explains Kim. "Perhaps if a student is a star in mathematics but not necessarily the strongest writer, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt in that way," she says.

Grace Kim Courtesy of Logic Prep
Domino's Pizza CEO Patrick Doyle could not be more at peace with his recently announced departure.

"I accomplished the goals that I had set out for myself when I took over in 2010," Doyle told CNBC in an interview with "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer. "We've got an amazing team in place, and so I would not leave unless I was confident that this business was going to do even better going forward."

Doyle confessed that he always thought he would be at Domino's for 10 years. Instead, he will clock out at eight and a half years at the end of June, passing the CEO role to Richard Allison, the president of Domino's International.

"There's a rhythm to these things, and this is the right time to do it," Doyle said, adding that he "couldn't be more thrilled" about Allison taking over. "I'll run hard until the end of June, take the back half of the year off and figure out what I'm going to do next."

Shares of Domino's fell nearly 3 percent on Tuesday after news broke of Doyle's departure. The stock continued to sink on Wednesday, closing the day down over 3 percent.

As CEO, Doyle engineered a turnaround for the country's largest pizza delivery chain, investing in online ordering technology, driving huge stock gains and, perhaps most important, improving the taste of the pizza.

As soon as news broke that Doyle would step down, shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill popped on rumors that Doyle would be considered for the CEO position at the troubled fast-casual chain.

Doyle, however, told Cramer he was nowhere near a decision about where to go next.

"I'm in a position that, fortunately, I can do this sequentially. So I am thinking about nothing but Domino's until midnight on June 30," the CEO said. "I'm not going to retire. I'm too young for that. I'm going to keep doing something, but I have no idea what that's going to look like and I'm going to take a little bit of time in the back half of the year and figure that out."

Even with Doyle's departure, Wall Street remained fairly bullish on the pizza powerhouse. BTIG and Credit Suisse reiterated their "buy" ratings and Wells Fargo Securities initiated coverage with a "market perform" rating.

"Doyle was viewed as one of the top CEOs in the restaurant industry (if not all of consumer), so this is a significant loss," the Credit Suisse analysts wrote. "The silver lining is that DPZ has a talented team around Doyle (not to mention a very strong franchisee network)."

Credit Suisse also maintained its price target of $220 per share for the $200 stock. Because Domino's business is 97 percent franchised, the firm said it would keep its positive outlook.

That outlook matched Doyle's, particularly when it came to his successor.

"You look at his track record in international. He's been running it for seven years. It's been growing faster with him running it than it's ever grown before," Doyle said of Allison. "Before he came, he worked with a lot of different restaurant companies as a consultant and then came here and has just lit it up as a leader. He's smart, he's disciplined and he is an incredibly good person. And all of those three things together, with the track record, make him a terrific choice."
Christopher Wray testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination to be the next FBI director on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 12, 2017.

FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein met with Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Mark Warner, D-Va., NBC News reported Wednesday, citing a senate aide.

Wray and Rosenstein were seen leaving the Hart Senate Office Building.

Thorp tweet

Burr is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Warner is the ranking member. The subject of the meeting was not immediately clear.

Wray was confirmed as FBI director last year, replacing Andrew McCabe, who took over as acting director following President Donald Trump's May firing of James Comey. Rosenstein, meanwhile, appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel in the Russia probe after Trump fired Comey. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation early in 2017.

NBC News' Alex Moe later reported that Wray and Rosenstein also met with Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, earlier this morning, citing a person with direct knowledge of the meeting.

Moe tweet

The meeting comes after the recent release of the full testimony from Fusion GPS Co-Founder Glenn Simpson with the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the infamous Trump-Russia dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele.
Firefighters from left, Mark Todd, John Cecena and Jeff Shea help Birmawood Country Club resident Terry Connery escape his home after a major storm hit the burn area Wednesday on January 10, 2018 in Montecito, California.

Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres are among the many celebrities mourning the lives lost and devastation brought upon their Montecito, Calif. hometown. Just weeks after suffering the Thomas Fire, the state's largest-ever wildfire, torrential rain struck Southern California on Tuesday, causing flash flooding and mudslides which swept away dozens of homes and cars. The storm has killed at least 15 people, 24 remain unaccounted for and over 50 people have been rescued by helicopters, according to the latest Associated Press figures. Debris from the storm further caused a ruptured gas line, as captured by Winfrey in an Instagram video she posted on Tuesday. Winfrey also demonstrated how deep the mud was in the backyard of her estate. "What a day! Praying for our community again in Santa Barbara. Woke up to this blazing gas fire," Winfrey wrote. "Helicopters rescuing my neighbors. Looking for missing persons."

Located northwest of Los Angeles and just outside of Santa Barbara, Montecito is an affluent town of 8,900 people. Other famous homeowners in the neighborhood include Alphabet's Eric Schmidt and actors Robert Lowe and Drew Barrymore. Inches deep in mud and debris, Winfrey posted another video today pointing out that although her property is fine, her neighbor's house had been devastated.

Other local celebrities also shared their distress on social media. Supermodel Bella Hadid:

Tennis legend Jimmy Connors: tweet Actor Rob Lowe: tweet Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres: tweet If you're interested in helping with local relief efforts, here are two charities you can send donations to:

Donate to the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross had more than 50 people spend the night at its shelter at Santa Barbara City College, American Red Cross spokesperson Jessica Piffero tells CNBC Make It. tweet "Red Cross volunteers are also providing those impacted with a safe place to stay, hot meals and health services. The organization's crisis counselors are supporting a family assistance center at a local church, where families wait to hear about their loved ones," Piffero said. tweet Its emergency response vehicle team also went out with first responders to provide blankets and water as residents are rescued from the landslide. Piffero says the quickest way to help people affected by disasters unfolding in California through Red Cross is to text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation, call 1-800-RED CROSS or donate right from the Red Cross website. The local Red Cross shelter for central California can be reached at (805) 987-1514.

Donate to Direct Relief
At its worst, CES is an insufferable barrage of cliches, buzzwords, and other rehearsed insincerities, but yesterday I saw a little glimpse of the big technology show at its best, and I really enjoyed it.

Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei's consumer products division, just spent a solid hour mumbling his way through an awkwardly scripted presentation of the Mate 10 Pro for the US market. He stammered, he hesitated, and he was obviously uncomfortable on stage. Part of his discomfort could probably be explained by 's last-minute decision to pull out of a deal to sell Huawei's phones in the US. This was supposed to be Huawei's big moment in the American spotlight, and AT&T pulled the rug out from under the Chinese company.

Reports indicate that the carrier's decision was driven by political pressure within the US, with apparent concern about Chinese espionage  and Huawei's particular role in that  underlying the whole thing.

The Huawei boss did something unexpected at the end of his keynote, however. Framed by a simple slide reading "Something I Want to Share," Yu proceeded to address the failure of Huawei's carrier deal directly. Shedding the earlier hesitation in his speech, he made the point that American phone buyers can't have the best and widest choice of device if Huawei products  those of the world's third-biggest phone vendor  weren't on offer. "Everybody knows that in the US market that over 90 percent of smartphones are sold by carrier channels," he said. "It's a big loss for us, and also for carriers, but the more big loss is for consumers, because consumers don't have the best choice."

Harkening back to the beginning of his Huawei career 25 years ago, Yu radiated a quiet anger at the mistrust his company is being subjected to. He said Huawei faced plenty of doubters in its native China too, being an almost total newcomer to consumer devices six years ago. "We win the trust of the Chinese carriers, we win the trust of the emerging markets... and also we win the trust of the global carriers, all the European and Japanese carriers," he said. "We are serving over 70 million people worldwide. We've proven our quality, we've proven our privacy and security protection."

I craned my neck to look at the teleprompters behind me and they were blank. Yu's most inspired and most eloquent speech, it turned out, was being delivered without any external help. It might have been just another clumsy presentation, but at the end of it, a little bit of genuine passion came to the surface. And now I'm starting to think every tech keynote should be led by a mildly simmering CEO.

More from The Verge:

This $16,000 robot uses artificial intelligence to sort and fold laundry

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Warren Buffett is coming closer to naming a successor at Berkshire Hathaway. It remains to be seen whether the company will lose its lustre without the Oracle of Omaha.

Buffett named Gregory Abel, 55, and Ajit Jain, 66, to the company's board on Wednesday. Abel will serve as vice chairman of non-insurance business, while Jain will serve as vice chair of insurance operations.

The appointments are "part of a movement to succession over time," Buffett told CNBC in an exclusive interview.

The legendary investor's departure would put the company into unchartered territory for retail investors. Buffett took the company over in 1965 and has overseen its growth ever since.

The 87-year-old businessman currently serves as chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway alongside vice chairman Charlie Munger, 94. The Omaha-based conglomerate employs tens of thousands in a variety of businesses including insurance, mobile housing and industrial concerns.

Buffett said on Wednesday that he is in "remarkably good health."

"I feel terrific. I love what I do. I can't wait to go to the office in the morning," he said. "There's nothing I'd rather be doing."

Buffett said he will notify Berkshire's board and shareholders if he experiences any health issues. Berkshire's board already knows who would take over if something happened to him, he said on Wednesday.
Kohl's plans to partner with retailers like grocery stores or convenience stores to lease the white space left by the roughly 300 stores it has "right-sized" over the past several years, CEO Kevin Mansell told CNBC at ICR's conference this week.

The department store has created operationally smaller, more profitable stores within its roughly 87,000-square-foot boxes. That downsizing leaves unused footage, which Mansell said would benefit from traffic-generating retailers like those that sell food.

"If we had our preference, we are going first after well-capitalized companies, and preferably ones that have high traffic in grocery and convenience," Mansell said.

The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based retailer has already identified "a whole list of partners" to roll out across a number of its stores.

"We are more apt to identify strong partners and then build a pathway with them through this pilot phase."

For potential Kohl's partners, the department store brings with it strong real estate, big parking lots and its own traffic. A food and apparel duo would be able to compete against a number of retailers employing similar strategies, like Target and even Walmart.
For Jean-Paul Agon, 2018 is set to be a milestone year. Not only does it mark his 12th year as chief executive of L'Oreal Group, it is also his 40th anniversary working at the cosmetics conglomerate. Even after four decades, the CEO and chairman can still remember his first day "very well," telling CNBC that he knew almost straightaway that the company was the right fit for him  and continues to be to this day. "The great thing is that immediately I felt home in this company, after a few weeks, a few months, I felt that this company was really made for me, or I was made for this company," Agon told "The CNBC Conversation." "I've never been disappointed. It has always been an exciting journey. The most interesting thing, I believe, is that these past two, three years have been the most exciting of all."

Jean-Paul Agon, chief executive officer of L'Oreal SA Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"The world is changing so fast and so hugely that the task of transforming the company to adapt to this new world is a fantastic task," he said. "And I have to say that the company has been changing more in this past four, five years, than the 35 years before. So I find my job absolutely thrilling." L'Oreal was founded in 1909 by a chemist called Eugene Schueller, when he was formulating and manufacturing hair dyes. Fast forward to the present day and it has transformed into an international conglomerate behind such brands as Lancome, Maybelline and Garnier. Since 2000, L'Oreal has been focusing more and more on emerging technologies, has acquired brands including YSL Beaute and Urban Decay, and has promoted key topics such as sustainable development and diversity. More than 14,000 of its 89,300 employees worldwide received digital training in 2016. Agon regards the fast change of pace of the digital revolution as "fantastic" and an era that he is finds exciting and is optimistic about. "I think that we're entering into a new world and it's going to be fascinating," he told CNBC. "And it's true that at L'Oreal we really want to be the pioneers of this new age, this new world. So in terms of digital, in terms of artificial intelligence, in terms of fast prototyping, in terms of everything, we want to be leading, leading the front."

Details of make up products backstage prior Le Defile L'Oreal Paris as part of Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2018 at Avenue Des Champs Elysees on October 1, 2017 Kristy Sparow | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
As French President Emmanuel Macron wrapped up his first official visit to China, there are signs that Beijing's relationship with Europe is shifting.

The French politician's first official visit to China is notable for coming as other leaders of the Western world struggle domestically. In fact, Macron appeared as "perhaps the leader of Europe at this very moment" said Philippe le Corre, a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, who herself has a China trip set for the end of January, continues to face questions about Brexit and her own leadership; Germany's Angela Merkel is struggling to form a coalition; and the U.S. is facing political turmoil under Donald Trump's administration.

For his part, Macron is "clearly eyeing" a "special strategic partnership" with China, said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at French bank Natixis, pointing to China's consumers grow hungrier for what France has to offer.

During his campaign, the French leader took a "slightly negative" approach to China by pushing for a European-level investment protection agency, but that development seems to have lost ground, Garcia-Herrero said.

Instead, Macron appears to be taking a different angle with China.

"Macron seems to have come to the realization that he had better be on the right side of the table under China's divide and conquer strategy in Europe, i.e. a more accommodating stance towards China," she wrote.

As much as Macron is wooing China, Beijing is also reaching out to Europe through its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative that aims to connect Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa with a vast logistics and transport network.

For China, France's pivot to closer ties could be beneficial for its overall standing in Europe: A "divide and conquer" strategy will help diversify its power, as sentiment toward the East Asian giant turns sour in Germany, Garcia-Herrero added.

That shift comes as China is now producing more of its own machinery and automobiles instead of importing them from countries like Germany  and it's now even competing with the European powerhouse in third markets, she said.
The new drama "All the Money in the World" debuted in theaters last month after director Ridley Scott replaced lead Kevin Spacey, the target of numerous sexual-misconduct allegations, with Christopher Plummer. Now the film has attracted attention for another personnel problem: The vast difference in how stars were paid.

The last-minute move required cast and crew to re-shoot scenes, including ones involving co-stars Mark Wahlberg and four-time Academy Award-nominee Michelle Williams. That effort cost $10 million, according to an exclusive report from USA Today. But still, it "was not as expensive as you think," Scott tells the paper, "because all of [the actors]," with the exception of Plummer, "came in [for] free."

The report, however, contradicts that claim, noting that other actors, including Wahlberg and Williams, were paid, too. They just weren't paid equally.

Although both Wahlberg and Williams are represented by the talent agency William Morris Endeavor, Wahlberg's team negotiated him a fee of $1.5 million for re-shooting his scenes, the report notes. By contrast, Williams got a $80 per diem, which comes to less than $1,000, or less than 1 percent of what Wahlberg made. (USA Today reached out to WME for comment but did not receive a response.)

Hollywood stars, including Amber Tamblyn, Reese Witherspoon and Jessica Chastain, have registered their outrage on Twitter.

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This type of gender pay gap in America isn't new. Though the Equal Pay Act, passed by Congress in 1963, mandates men and women be given equal pay for equal work, loopholes still allow women in the United States to be paid, on average, 20 percent less than men.

If you believe you're being paid less than you should be because of your gender, race or another factor unrelated to work, these expert-vetted strategies could help you fight for the salary you deserve, whether you're in Hollywood, corporate America or elsewhere.

First, do your research and understand what a fair salary might look like. To gauge your market value, you can use a salary calculator.

Be sure you're asking for an increased salary for the right reasons, not just because "you just heard the guy in the next cubicle is making $5,000 more than you," says bestselling author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch.

Next, document a list of achievements. If you're already in a job and negotiating a raise, take note of any new tasks you've taken on since you started. If you're figuring out a starting salary, note previous accomplishments that could add to the value of your work.

Don't undercut yourself. As Esquire Culture Editor Tyler Coates pointed out on Twitter, Williams's willingness to be cooperative may have cost her.

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Williams told USA Today that "I said I'd be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort."

Instead, ask and bargain for what you want. Remember that, while being a gracious and generous team player is a smart long-term strategy, you can be practical at the same time. Although only half of job seekers negotiate, the vast majority of those who try it succeed.

Wahlberg, who was named Forbes' highest-paid actor of the year in August and also the magazine's most overpaid actor, probably knows that. The movie star has "a reputation in Hollywood for driving a tough bargain" in salary negotiations, reports the Washington Post.

Still, a pay disparity this glaring is, as Judd Apatow wrote on Twitter, "so messed up that it is almost hard to believe."

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Though there are things you can do to help yourself, getting paid less may ultimately be out of your control. Some experts predict women in the United States won't reach pay equity with men until 2119.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. The "MeToo" movement and the "Time's Up" initiative, which advocate for victims of gender inequality and sexual misconduct, are drawing widespread attention to these problems.

Business and political figures, including Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, and California Senator Kamala Harris are doing their part to close the pay gap. And, some organizations are following suit, pushing for legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Last week, a pay-equity law took effect in Iceland that shows while closing the gap isn't impossible, it will take a bold and concerted effort.

Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook!

Don't miss: In the US, unlike in Iceland, it's still OK to pay a woman less than a manhere's why
Market optimism may be reaching a crescendo, with hopes that stocks will keep rising equaling a level not seen in 31 years.

Specifically, the difference between bullishness and bearishness among professional investors is at its highest since April 1986, according to the Investors Intelligence survey that gauges the outlook of newsletter authors.

Those expecting the market to move higher numbered 64.4 percent, up from 61.9 percent a week ago, according to an II release Wednesday. That's equal to the reading of early November 2017. On the other side, those looking for the market to fall tumbled to 13.5 percent, which is the lowest level since August 2014.

The spread between the two numbers is 50.9 percent, up from 46.7 percent a week ago. That multidecade high normally would represent a contrarian signal that the market is getting into dangerously overbought levels.

However, the time period when the spread was last this high inspires a particular reason for caution. Sentiment surveys can be contrarian indicators when they reach elevated levels, meaning that rampant bullishness is often a sell signal.

Bulls and bears showed a wide disparity in 1986, with optimism occasionally wavering then rebounding. That movement, of course, would yield brutal results a year and a half later when Black Monday hit the stock market and the Dow fell nearly 22 percent in one wicked October day.
"The imminent termination of the DACA program is creating an impending crisis for workforces across the country," the letter states. "Failure to act in time will lead to businesses losing valuable talent, cause disruptions in the workforce and will result in significant costs."

IBM , General Motors , Facebook , Dropbox and Blackstone are among the companies backing the effort. The letter, which will also run as a full-page ad in national newspapers Thursday, estimates that allowing the program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, to expire would result in a $215 billion hit to the economy.

The chief executives of more than 100 major companies and trade organizations are sending a letter to congressional leadership Wednesday urging them to pass legislation by the end of next week protecting the status of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children.

President Donald Trump (2nd L) welcomes members of his American Technology Council, including (L-R) Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in the State Dining Room of the White House June 19, 2017 in Washington, DC.

Companies are seeking action by Jan. 19  the deadline for averting a government shutdown  even though DACA does not end until March 5. That would provide the Department of Homeland Security with critical breathing room to make any necessary administration changes, the companies argue.

"It will take time for the agency to implement any program outlined by Congress, underscoring the absolute urgency of the January 19th deadline," the letter states.

Corporate America has been a vocal advocate for a permanent pathway to citizenship for the program's roughly 700,000 undocumented immigrants, also known as "Dreamers." Silicon Valley giants including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates founded a group called FWD.us to pressure lawmakers to act, bringing roughly 100 DACA recipients to Washington this week for congressional meetings and to rally for a fix.

The new push comes as immigration emerges as the flashpoint in negotiations between Congress and the White House to keep the government running beyond Jan. 19. Republican leadership has declared that the two issues will be addressed in separate legislation, but Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer has made a DACA deal a prerequisite for supporting a government spending measure.

"We should come up with a plan here that Democrats and Republicans can agree on in terms of DACA, add it to the large spending bill and get it done  and get it done quickly," Schumer said Tuesday.

Adding to the confusion was a California court ruling late Tuesday that halted the White House's phaseout of the program. Since the administration began winding it down in October, an estimated 122 DACA recipients have lost their protected status each day, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank. Those immigrants will be able to apply for renewal while the California court reviews the merits of the underlying case.

"This ruling underscores why a permanent, legislative solution must be passed to remove the ambiguity and uncertainty around DACA," IBM said in a statement to CNBC on Wednesday. "IBM urges Congress to act now to protect Dreamers across the country."
Newman's Own, the popular purveyor of philanthropic pasta sauce, will be forced to put itself up for sale or pay crushing fines this year due to an obscure provision in the tax code.

The household brand is facing a tax bill of up to 200 percent on the majority of its business  a penalty so steep company executives say it would effectively put them out of business. The only alternative, they say, is for the private foundation established by the late Hollywood legend Paul Newman to relinquish control of the company that bears his name.

"It's not a possibility  it's an absolute certainty that we would have to divest," Bob Forrester, chief executive of the Newman's Own Foundation, told CNBC.

On Wednesday, Forrester is slated to meet with lawmakers in hopes of a securing a last-minute legislative fix, potentially as part of any deal to fund the government past Jan. 19. Newman's Own had hoped to tuck a solution into the Republicans' sweeping tax plan that passed late last year, but it was dropped over fears that the provision did not comply with procedural rules in the Senate. Previous attempts to exempt Newman's Own from the hefty fines have garnered bipartisan support.

"It ultimately fell victim to the Senate's strict budget rules that guided our tax reform effort," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said in a statement to CNBC. "I remain a strong supporter of this protection."

This is not the future that Newman, the late blue-eyed Hollywood heartthrob and star of "Cool Hand Luke" and other hits, envisioned when he established the company more than 30 years ago. The business was a side gig for the master of marinara, a way to create a permanent and ongoing source of funding for Newman's philanthropic work. From the start, the Hollywood star donated all of the company's profits to charities. In 2005 Newman's private foundation was set up and now it distributes the money.

The model was a success for decades. Newman's Own is now a $500 million enterprise, executives say. Its pasta sauces are a staple on grocery store shelves across the country, from the original traditional marinara to the zesty Sockarooni. The company's lineup includes salad dressing, lemonade and pet food.

The company's profits have allowed the foundation to expand its footprint around the world. It donated more than $30 million to more than 600 charities last year, with much of its giving focused on improving nutrition, helping children with life-threatening diseases and supporting veterans.

"It's not a tax break," Forrester said. "This is more more like clemency, if you will. It allows us to continue to be in business and pay our corporate taxes."

But the model broke down after Newman died nearly a decade ago. U.S. tax law prohibits private foundations from owning more than a 20 percent stake in a for-profit company after the founder's death. The penalty for not complying is a 200 percent fine on the value of any additional holdings.

"The call it a tax  but the intent is obvious," said Jeff Brown, head of government affairs for the foundation.

The 1969 law was designed to target tax avoidance, but Newman's Own executives say no one envisioned at the time that anyone would want to start a company that gave away all its money  until Paul Newman came along.

Since then, his work has inspired other entrepreneurs to establish similar models. About two dozen smaller philanthropic businesses are working with Newman's Own to urge lawmakers to find a solution. Robert and Ann Sacks run Fetch Eyewear in Portland, Oregon, and donate the proceeds to their nonprofit animal shelter, Pixie Project. The couple has appealed to Ron Wyden, Democratic U.S. senator from Oregon.

"The spirit is the same," Ann Sacks said. "That got us involved with the Newman's Foundation to change the private foundation tax law."

The company had a five-year grace period after Newman's death to comply with the law. Once that was over, executives requested and received an additional five-year extension to come up with a solution.

Now, time is almost expired. The deadline is in November, and executives say they must make a decision on the fate of the company by the end of the first quarter to meet it.

The law does not allow any more extensions.

"The problem that we have, obviously, is we don't have a lot of time," Forrester said.
Oil prices hit their highest levels since 2014 on Wednesday, showing that oil production cuts by major producers are working and demand remains robust.

But there are plenty of wildcards that oil markets could confront in 2018, according to a Citi global commodities report published late Tuesday.

Led by Edward Morse, global head of commodities at Citigroup, analysts looked at the possible events that could derail commodities markets in 2018.

Focusing specifically on oil markets, the team listed a number of possible unexpected "wildcard" events, and the probability that they could occur.

Each wildcard in Citi's report was assigned a likelihood from one to 10, with one being extremely unlikely and 10 being extremely likely.

Here are Citi's wildcards for oil in 2018:

Wildcard 1: US Exiting the JCPOA

Likelihood: 6

The JCPOA refers to the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" that was drawn up between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany in 2015. The plan allowed international sanctions on Iran to be lifted in return for assurances that the oil-exporting country would abide by restrictions over its nuclear program.

, however, and threatened in October 2017 to scrap it, although he has stopped short of that so far.

As such, Citi said could be "the breakdown of the JCPOA and re-imposition by the U.S. of sanctions on Iran that have been waived, with the potential for the addition of new sanctions."

The effect of such a move would be the "dislocation of at least 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian crude oil exports, especially those going to Korea and Japan as well as to some European countries."

Citi said this would initially result in a $5 per barrel rise in crude oil prices "as customers losing oil under U.S. pressure scramble for replacements at a time when OPEC and other producers have put a lid on their output."

Wildcard 2: New US sanctions against Iran and Hezbollah

Likelihood: 7.5 (for new administered and legislated US sanctions)

Citi noted that Trump was not alone in the U.S. in his frustration regarding the design of the nuclear deal with Iran. He "looks poised both alone and through new legislation to unilaterally adopt new sanctions aimed both at the Iran missile program and the country's activities in the region," despite opposition from other signatories of the deal (China, France, Germany, Russia, UK), the report said.

Citi believed that the U.S.' possible decision to enhance sanctions on Iran would be aimed at the Iranian regime, including  especially  (which maintains internal order in Iran) and Hezbollah (a Shia-predominant political party and militant group based in Lebanon and an ally of Shia-majority Iran), the companies they own and operate abroad.

If the U.S. were to impose more sanctions it could provide opponents of the nuclear deal in Iran, who believe that the country has not gained economically from the agreement, with an "excuse to withdraw from the JCPOA, bringing a snapback of all sanctions pre-existing under U.S. law," Citi said.

Citi said the effect of this would be similar to Wildcard 1, the withdrawal of oil from the market, with the added effect of the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah seeing their ability to "influence events in the region."

Wildcard 3: OPEC's 'fragile five' supply disruptions increase

Likelihood: 4.5

After hitting a five-year low in September 2017, global oil supply disruptions could materially increase in 2018 and in short order, in particular from OPEC countries, Citi said.

Global supply disruptions ended 2017 at 2 million barrels a day (b/d), Citi said, but disturbances in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and/or Venezuela   could see disruptions climb above 3 million b/d.

"If this occurs in 2018, and particularly in the first half of 2018, then oil prices would very likely trade in the $70-80 per barrel range," Citi said.

Wildcard 4: Revenge or retreat of the 'unconventionals'

Likelihood: Mixed likelihoods for shale oil producers and OPEC/non-OPEC producers

Citi's list of wildcards for oil markets (and other commodities) comes at a time when the markets are performing well and prices are recovering after several years of turbulence due to a massive glut of supply and lagging demand.

On Wednesday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $63.44 a barrel, having earlier hit a December 2014 high of $63.53, while benchmark Brent crude was trading at $69.15 a barrel.

The decision by major OPEC and non-OPEC producers, including Russia, to curb oil output is credited largely with the recovery in prices, and there is uncertainty over

But Citi said that the oil market was facing "lumpy" oil supply scenarios (underproduction or overproduction versus expectations) in the U.S. shale industry on the one hand, and OPEC/Russia on the other hand, that "could lead to four wildly divergent outcomes for oil prices in 2018."

It said that the likelihood that the base case that U.S. shale industry overproduces or underproduces was mixed, at five in terms of a base case likelihood. "Shale could outperform by growing 1-1.2 million b/d in 2018 or perhaps well higher than that, or underperform by growing just 0.6-0.8 million b/d, instead of Citi's base case outlook for 0.8-1.0-m b/d," the analysts said.

Citi thought the likelihood of OPEC/non-OPEC producers ending their deal to curb oil output early and/or to bring back output quickly was fairly unlikely, at four on the scale of likelihood, although they thought the prospect of cuts being extended was extremely unlikely. Whether the group could decide to taper cuts when it meets in June 2018 was uncertain, at five on the scale of likelihood, Citi said.

"The joint OPEC/non-OPEC oil producer group could decide at its June 2018 review meeting to end their oil production cuts well earlier than end-2018, perhaps begin tapering the cuts at mid-year or earlier, with potential for a messier, quicker return of barrels to market," the report said. "On the other hand, the producer group might decide to hold the full cuts to the end of the year, or even extend beyond December 2018."
If President Donald Trump and his administration pulled out of NAFTA, it would be an "egregiously stupid decision," closely followed investor Dennis Gartman told CNBC on Wednesday.

Reuters reported that Canada is increasingly convinced that Trump will withdraw from the trade agreement. The Canadian dollar and Mexican peso both fell on the news, as did stocks that have benefited under the 24-year-old pact.



"NAFTA has been a creator of jobs in Canada, in Mexico and in the United States. Mexico and Canada are our two largest trading partners. To turn our backs upon them would be I think a very, very bad decision," the founder and publisher of The Gartman Letter said in an interview with "Power Lunch."

Trump has said he wants to get a better deal for the U.S. and has repeatedly threatened to walk away from NAFTA unless Mexico and Canada agree to make major changes.

Such a move would clearly be detrimental to the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso and would probably be supportive of the U.S. dollar, Gartman said. However, "the benefits that would accrue would be ill-advised," he added.

The Canadian dollar, or loonie, fell to trade down 0.8 percent against its U.S. counterpart. The iShares MSCI Canada exchange-traded fund (EWC), which tracks Canadian stocks, dropped to trade 0.9 percent lower. Meanwhile, the Mexican peso declined 0.5 percent against the greenback.

Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue told CNBC that exiting the agreement "would be an absolute destruction to the advances we've made on the economy and economic growth."

 CNBC's Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
South African President Jacob Zuma speaks in Johannesburg, South Africa, on December 15, 2017, on the eve of the ANC's 54th National Conference.

Embattled South African President Jacob Zuma's position was not considered as senior members of his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party met for the first time since Cyril Ramaphosa won its leadership in December.

Speculation had been mounting that Zuma would be ousted at the National Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday, but "the matter was not for any discussion or debate," ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule told reporters, according to Reuters.

Zuma's lingering presence, despite his unpopularity with both markets and voters, has prompted analysts to cast doubt on the South African rand's rebound, which is based on optimism surrounding Ramaphosa's potential as a reformer.

"The positive market reaction to Ramaphosa's win  which still leaves the rand way below where it was a few years ago  has gone as far as it is likely to," James Lockhart Smith, head of financial sector risk at consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, told CNBC via e-mail.
Shares of companies and ETFs that benefited under NAFTA are falling after a report that President Donald Trump could announce an exit from the long-standing trade agreement.

Canada is increasingly convinced Trump will announce that the U.S. intends to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, two government sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

General Motors shares dropped 2.4 percent, Kansas City Southern fell 3.6 percent, while Constellation Brands declined 1.2 percent after the report. Ford Motor closed down 0.4 percent.

NAFTA is a big deal for the auto industry. Under current rules, 62 percent of a car must be made in the U.S., Canada or Mexico to avoid tariffs. The Trump administration has said it wants to raise that to 85 percent and wants 50 percent of that to come from the United States. That would raise costs for manufacturers.

Kansas City Southern owns railroad track in the U.S. and Mexico. It offers significant cross-border transportation services for companies.

Constellation Brands is an international beer, wine and spirits company with operations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It also imports beer brands such as Corona Extra and Modelo Especial.

Mexico- and Canada-related ETFs also fell. The iShares MSCI Mexico ETF declined 2.2 percent, while the iShares MSCI Canada ETF dropped 1 percent.

Mexico and Canada together represent nearly one-third of total U.S. agricultural exports. American corn farmers could be big losers if NAFTA gets tossed since Mexico was the top export market for corn last year, while Canada is also a major market for the crop as well as ethanol. Mexico already has started buying more corn from Latin American countries.

 CNBC's Robert Ferris and Jeff Daniels contributed reporting.
Twelve-year-old scientist Gitanjali Rao has been inventing since she was in kindergarten. Rao says that she has more than eight inventions, but it was Tethys  a 3D printed device that harnesses carbon nanotubes and a mobile app to test water for lead contamination in as little as 10 seconds  that won her the title of America's Top Young Scientist, and $25,000. Rao says she was inspired to begin work on Tethys when she learned about communities in Michigan dealing with the devastating effects of lead-contaminated water. "I was originally inspired by the Flint water crisis," she tells CNBC Make It. After talking about the issue with her family, Rao put herself in the shoes of those who were affected by contaminated water. "I was thinking about how they felt when they actually found out that there was lead in their water  that would be a really scary thought."

Gitanjali Rao Andy King, courtesy of Discovery Education

She considered the seriously troubling side effect of lead exposure, including rashes, headaches, nausea, seizures, and even death, and set out to use her inventing experience to try help. "It started with like a way to remove lead from water, and then I realized that that's a step too far and I need to take it back and think about the detection before the prevention," says Rao. After researching water quality detection techniques, the precocious pre-teen found that she would need some hard-to-find supplies, including carbon nanotubes, chloride and lead acetate. Fortunately, Rao's parents lent a helping hand. "My parents mostly helped me with like transportation to get lead, to get carbon nanotubes," she says. "They were just overall really supportive of the choice that I made to solve this big problem. My parents like me to think outside the box, in that they want me to be aware of the world's situations that are going on."

Tethys Andy King, courtesy of Discovery Education
White House energy ally and coal baron Robert Murray on Wednesday sharply criticized a five-member U.S. commission that regulates energy and includes four Trump appointees.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday rejected a rule proposed by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that would have subsidized coal and nuclear power plants in parts of the United States.

"That does not sit with me well," the chairman and CEO of Murray Energy told CNBC's "Power Lunch."

The rule would have benefited power generators that Murray counts as customers, and he has been accused of helping to develop the proposal.

Murray accused the two Democratic commissioners, Richard Glick and Cheryl LaFleur, of political bias, saying they will never support coal or nuclear power. Two of the Republicans who voted against Perry's proposal, Chairman Kevin McIntyre and Robert Powelson, "are wrong in their decision and it needs to be overturned," he said.

A spokesperson for FERC declined to respond.

FERC is an independent government agency that regulates interstate transport of oil and natural gas and electric power transmission. It has a long-standing reputation as a highly technocratic, non-partisan organization.

Perry asked FERC in September to create a rule that would compensate plants that keep 90 days of supply on site  primarily coal and nuclear facilities  arguing this so-called baseload energy is necessary to keep the U.S. grid resilient.
An Iranian woman walks past a mural of the Iranian flag in the capital Tehran, on October 14, 2017. STR | AFP | Getty Images

President Donald Trump has multiple opportunities to scrap the Iran nuclear agreement in the coming days, and the energy market will be watching for signs that his patience with an accord he calls the "worst deal ever" is wearing thin. That 2015 deal  President Barack Obama's signature foreign policy achievement  lifted crippling sanctions against Iran in exchange for the regime accepting limits on its nuclear program and allowing international inspectors into the country. But the deal's structure has made it something of a recurring ticking time bomb in the age of Trump. The sitting U.S. president has to agree to suspend sanctions every 120 to 180 days.

The prognosis for the Iranian nuclear deal in 2018 also looks fairly bleak, and the persistent threat of a U.S. sanctions snapback could curtail foreign investment in the Iranian energy sector and imperil output expansion plans. Helima Croft RBC Capital Markets global head of commodity strategy

Starting Friday, Trump faces several deadlines to suspend key sanctions against Iran. He reluctantly waived sanctions last summer, but this is the first time he'll have to do so since telling Congress in October that the nuclear deal is no longer in the country's national security interest. Meanwhile, Congress has not delivered legislation to modify the deal that some lawmakers hoped would be ready by now. That puts the president in the position of having to extend sanctions relief to Iran under the terms of a deal he disavowed three months ago. If Trump refuses to waive the sanctions, it could trigger the collapse of the nuclear deal and put the United States on a diplomatic collision course with France, Germany, China, Russia and the U.K., which also negotiated the accord. It could also disrupt oil supplies from Iran, OPEC's third-largest producer, and potentially free the regime to pursue a nuclear weapon. The administration expects to announce on Friday whether it will continue suspending sanctions. Trump has not yet made a final decision, a National Security Council spokesperson told CNBC.

'Bleak' prospects for nuclear deal this year

Several analysts say Trump is likely to keep the deal alive this week, but the outlook for the accord remains murky beyond this month.

"The prognosis for the Iranian nuclear deal in 2018 also looks fairly bleak, and the persistent threat of a U.S. sanctions snapback could curtail foreign investment in the Iranian energy sector and imperil output expansion plans," Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said in a recent research note. Croft lists a potential collapse of the deal as a key risk to oil markets this year. Since sanctions were lifted in 2016, Iran's oil output has risen by about 1 million barrels per day to about 3.8 million bpd. The loss of Iranian exports would likely push up oil prices. Refusing to grant the waivers is Trump's most direct path to blowing up the deal. It would reimpose far-reaching sanctions that could hobble Iran's energy industry, sever it from the international financial system and put a chill on foreign investment into the country. Risk consultancy Eurasia Group gives the deal a 55 percent chance of surviving Trump's first term but says it's safe for now. The firm believes Trump will issue the waivers this week but will once again refuse to certify the deal to Congress, which he must do every 90 days under U.S. law. The next deadline for certification is also this week. Trump's rejection of the deal in October opened a 60-day window for Congress to restore sanctions under a 2015 law. Rather than take that road, lawmakers began to work on legislation that would address parts of the deal the Trump administration opposes.

Ball in Senate's court

That effort by Congress is the main reason Trump won't kill the deal, according to Eurasia Group. The campaign is being led by Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., the top lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Republican Iran hawk Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas. "Over the next few months, this bill has a decent chance, even though getting Cotton and Cardin together on anything will be tough," Eurasia Group Chairman Cliff Kupchan said in a briefing. Right now, the plan has not advanced much beyond the framework Corker introduced in October. Corker confirmed last week that no legislation is imminent. It's also uncertain Democrats will accept a pillar of Corker's outline: making the Iran nuclear deal essentially permanent. That would be unacceptable to Iran and faces significant opposition from the other parties to the deal.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday did not dismiss the prospect of sitting down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, saying, "we'll see what happens."

"There has been no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians, or Trump and Russians," the president said at a news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

Trump then changed the subject to Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent in the 2016 presidential race.

Pressed again as to whether he would meet with Mueller's team, Trump again said, "We'll see what happens," before suggesting that he might not need to be interviewed at all.

"When they have no collusion, and nobody has found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you would even have an interview," he said.

Trump's equivocating answer was a stark departure from the hard-charging optimism he expressed in June of last year, when he said he would be "100 percent" willing to testify under oath as part of the investigation.

In the months since then, Trump's former national security advisor and campaign aide, Michael Flynn, has pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators, as has another of Trump's former campaign aides. His former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's longtime associate, Rick Gates, have both been indicted on multiple counts related to money laundering.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would like to see the United States turn to hydroelectric power to help meet its energy needs.

In fact, the nation already taps the renewable energy source for a significant share of its electric power needs.

The subject of hydropower came up in a news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, when a reporter asked Trump about his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.

Trump said the deal, which aims to mitigate the effects of climate change, was unfair to the United States. That prompted Solberg to note that Norway has strict energy and environmental regulations to reach its greenhouse gas reductions targets under the agreement.

But Trump noted that Norway has a secret weapon: hydropower meets virtually all of its electricity demand.

"One of the great assets of Norway is a thing called water, and they have tremendous hydropower. Tremendous," Trump said.

"I wish we'd do some of that, but hydropower is fantastic, and it's a great asset that you have," he said.

Hydropower plants generated about 6.5 percent of the electric power the U.S. consumed in 2016. It also accounts for 44 percent of the nation's power generation from large, utility-scale renewable energy sources.

About half of the country's hydroelectric capacity is located along the West Coast in California, Oregon and Washington, but nearly all U.S. states generate at least some electricity from hydropower units.

It was not clear if Trump was calling for the United States to grow its current hydropower capacity or whether he is unaware of its current contribution to electricity generation.

Most of the nation's hydroelectricity comes from huge facilities built by the government many years ago. The average U.S. hydroelectric unit has been operating for 64 years.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration doesn't expect the United States to add much hydropower capacity in the coming years.

However, existing facilities can increase their capacity by adding or revamping turbines. Most dams in the United States aren't actually used for hydroelectricity, but some could be fitted with turbines to churn out power.

In 2016, The Department of Energy concluded that the United States could grow its hydropower capacity from 101 gigawatts in 2015 to nearly 150 gigawatts by 2050. That would be enough to power 35 million average U.S. homes.
President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that any bill to protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants should include funding for a border wall, sparking more confusion after contradictory statements in recent days.

"It's got to include the wall. ... Any solution has to include the wall because without the wall it doesn't work," the president said at a joint White House news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

At a Tuesday meeting with bipartisan lawmakers, Trump signaled that he would sign any legislative solution to shield the undocumented immigrants that Congress passes.

Democrats and many Republicans do not want to authorize federal funds to build Trump's proposed physical barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump ended the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in September with a six-month delay. Under the administration's plan, DACA would end March 5 unless Congress can pass the protections into law.
President Donald Trump is creeping dangerously close to his "no new taxes" moment.

That is, he could now renege on a signature pledge in the same way President George H.W. Bush did when he raised taxes despite his "read my lips" promise. And we all know what that did to Bush's re-election hopes.

This all became clear during Tuesday's fully televised immigration and budget meeting at the White House between President Trump and a large bipartisan congressional crowd.

Before that meeting, President Trump had been taking a hard line on the issue of the children of illegal immigrants or "Dreamers." The president had been insisting that unless the Democrats agreed to more funding for border security and the building of his famous "wall," there would be no deal on the Dreamers and the DACA policy that protects them from deportation.

But then in front of all those Democrats and the TV cameras, President Trump made the following statement:

" I will say, when this group comes back -- hopefully with an agreement -- this group and others from the Senate, from the House, comes back with an agreement, I'm signing it."

That didn't sound like a man who won't accept any immigration deals without the wall. It sounded like a politician who's ready to go along to get along. Those are the kind of politicians who lose their base and lose elections.

President Trump's performance seemed to be part of a larger shift to the middle. It came on the heels of the total break with anti-illegal immigration firebrand Steve Bannon and the announcement that President Trump would be attending the globalist World Economic Forum at Davos later this month.

Conservatives and anti-illegal immigration leaders exploded. People like Ann Coulter laid into the president. Bannon's now former online news site Breitbart News featured several articles and interviews predicting a Trump surrender on immigration. Leading conservative radio host Mark Levin urged President Trump to "come back" from that statement. FOX News anchor Tucker Carlson used his program to ask: "What was the point of running for president?"

Since he made that statement at Tuesday's meeting, President Trump has posted multiple tweets about immigration including one that said he remains committed to border security:

But President Trump is still has a lot of work to do to avoid a situation where a significant portion of his base feels betrayed.

To protect himself politically, President Trump has two jobs to do. First, he must stand firm on getting that added border wall and security money. Anything less will be a total disaster in the eyes of a critical mass of his supporters.

Second, he needs to convince his base that agreeing not to deport the Dreamers is a justifiable move and won't mean amnesty for others. He could potentially get help on that part of the job from scores of Republican politicians and former politicians like President George W. Bush, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Jeff Flake, and others from the GOP who have long advocated this kind of immigration reform.

Jeb Bush has already tweeted his support for President's comments. But since almost all of the other Republicans have either attacked or been attacked by President Trump over the last two years, their support is not guaranteed.

Still, this nuance presents President Trump with a lot more wiggle room than President George H.W. Bush had back in 1990. Bush's choice was to either give in to a tax hike or not. Bush made the wrong choice.

President Trump can claim a reasonable degree of victory if he gets that border funding. It will be even better for him if that funding leads to some kind of tangible evidence like at least a partially-constructed wall by the end of this year.

There's one other possible escape hatch that could save him with the more extreme members of his base. That would happen if the Democrats refuse to give in on border funding and follow through with threats to shut down the government. That would make President Trump look like an anti-illegal immigration stalwart.

The Democrats would then be forced to explain why they were willing to shut down the government even though President Trump was willing to compromise on DACA. It remains to be seen if the Democrats would so foolishly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

But President Trump cannot politically survive any rubber stamping of a DACA deal that passes Congress and doesn't include immediately boosted border security money. If he does, he will be punished permanently at the polls and the rest of the establishment GOP will go down with him.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Warren Buffett told CNBC on Wednesday the appointment of two new vice chairs at Berkshire Hathaway is "part of a movement to succession over time," and has nothing to do with any change in his health.

"I'm in remarkably good health, particularly concerning the life I've lead," Buffett said in a "Squawk Box" interview from Omaha, Nebraska, where Berkshire is headquartered. "Everything physical, your balance isn't as good, your endurance might not be as good and all that. So I've slipped in various ways. But I wasn't much to start with," he said jokingly.

The 87-year-old billionaire is a known fast-food and soda junkie who keeps long hours. In 2012, he completed treatment for prostate cancer.

Buffett told CNBC on Wednesday that if he were experiencing any health issues, he would immediately tell the board and Berkshire shareholders.

"I feel terrific. I love what I do. I can't wait to go to the office in the morning," he said. "There's nothing I'd rather be doing."

Earlier Wednesday, the Omaha-based conglomerate announced the appointment of Gregory Abel, 55, as vice chairman of noninsurance businesses, and Ajit Jain, 66, as vice chairman of insurance operations.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Can you recall way back when people predicted Apple would introduce true wireless charging with tech from a firm called Energous? Such hopes seemed dashed when the companys new iPhones launched with Qi wired wireless charging, but that doesnt necessarily mean those plans have been shelved because 

Wireless wearables

Following recent FCC approval, Energous launched its first shipping wireless charging solution, WattUp, at CES. It also released its first WattUp-supported product, a range of smart underwear equipped with health and activity sensors from a company called Skiin.

Now, Im not about to evangelize smart underwear on its own terms, but the notion that you can put intelligence in clothing that you never need to plug into a wall socket seems pretty important to me.

Think about it: You dont want to need to recharge your smart coat, T-shirt, pants or shoes. You want to be able to grab those items from where they are and wear them, and this new charging technology makes this possible.

Smartphones are trucks

You see, while Qi charging systems are great for gadgets, which we dont mind leaving on a mat somewhere, they aren't so great for wearables. And with smartphones inevitably heading to the PC is a truck argument in the sky, Energous WattUp is the future.

Just like wired headphones represent the past. Its all about wireless. Its all about smart everything, about existence within a computing ecosystem capable of doing whatever you need it to do through a combination of connected systems. Its like someone blew the PC apart and put pieces of it in all the different elements that comprise your life. Ambient computing.

Except for the wires

Energous makes it possible for tech firms (like Apple) to begin to imagine next-generation connected devices, from watches to spectacles, phones to completely wireless connected televisions (how good would they look on the wall?) and, yes, even pants.

While I think Apple-branded underwear may be a rather niche product, I can see some future in truly connected street wear, particularly if Apples fashion designers, Jimmy Iovine and Apple Music can add a little cool factor. Think about it. Your coat is a phone with Animojii on your sleeve, and if you ever lose it, youll be able to track it thanks to Find my iPhone. Its a flight of fancy, but this is the kind of possibility this new wireless charging solution opens up.

[ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ]

Background noise

Apple has reportedly been working together with longtime component supplier Dialog Semiconductor and others on the Wireless Power Consortium. Interestingly, the latter firm has a stake in Energous. Also rather interesting, Dialog has warned Apple may in future build its own proprietary power management chips. Perhaps thats why Apple acquired PowerbyProxi. Well see how that pans out.

All the same, if speculation Apple has spent time working with Energous is true and that the two firms have some kind of long-term plan to this effect (as hinted here), then I guess we might see this tech introduced at some point.

Is this what delayed AirPower?

An Energous press release confirms the technology isnt only about power at a distance:

As the only technology that can do both contact-based and non-contact-based wireless charging, as well as charge multiple devices at once, WattUp is highly scalable and automatically charges devices, as needed, until they are topped off, it states.

In other words, its possible to charge items up on the power mat, too. Could the wait for such approval be what delayed the launch of Apples AirPower?

More likely I think we may see it included in AirPower 2 when it ships perhaps next year along with the iPhone X2 (or whatever it ends up being called).

Meanwhile, Apple at its iPhone launch said enough to suggest it has its own ideas to improve wireless charging, and Qi is an open standard run by the Wireless Power Consortium.

It's also worth observing that Energous says its tech is manufacturer agnostic, though I guess the device will need to support it. That's good news for Dialog, which is the worldwide exclusive supplier of Energous WattUp technology.

Further out, while the company has gained FCC clearance for Near Field (charging pad) and Mid Field (at distances of 3 feet), it hasnt yet completed work on Far Field tech.

The latter promises to support recharging of devices at up to 15-foot distances, and I think is probably the kind of solution we need before wireless smart clothing really becomes convenient enough for mass market use. (I dont think people will enjoy needing to plug in their coat or leave it on a mat. We dont treat coats that way.)

Fashion statements

The same logic doesnt apply to devices. Were used to plugging these in and the luxury of being able to leave them in a specific part of the room still feels like freedom.

Meanwhile, I guess we need to look to the weaves and materials used in Apple Watch straps to get some idea of the kind of textiles the company may use in its future smart clothing lines.

After all, who else recalls when Jony Ive's chum and colleague, Marc Newson, told the Evening Standard in 2015:

We will start to see more technology embedded in garments  magic woven in. There are some incredible things that are going to happen.

Truly wireless power seems essential to such a vision. As was, and is, Apple Watch.

Thoughts?

Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and get involved with the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple?

Got a story? Please drop me a line via Twitter and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me there so I can let you know about new articles I publish and reports I find.
Alexa debuted on select Windows 10 laptops earlier this year  built into a range of newly launched HP, Asus, Acer and Lenovo notebooks  and is now available for download on all compatible devices.

There are no PC-specific controls for Alexa at this point, but Amazon said it plans to add PC-specific capabilities early in 2019.

Moving beyond managing entertainment and smart home apps, Alexas presence on Windows 10 is aimed at work productivity and serves to highlight the AI assistants rise in office environments  much as the iPhone in 2007 moved quickly from individual users to become a mainstay of the workforce.

There are now more that 25,000 Alexa skills available, including a growing list targeted specifically at business users.

Amazon is also forging deals with corporate partners. A range of companies, including Salesforce, SAP SuccessFactors, Concur, Ring Central and ServiceNow, all plan to integrate their applications with Alexa for Business  the service launched last year to help companies manage large numbers of Alexa devices in the workplace.

Amazon also recently announced that Alexa for Business has been opened up to third party device manufacturers in a bid to expand the use of the AI assistant in existing office hardware.

Are companies ready for Alexa?

The prospect of virtual assistants in the office is generally being welcomed by senior IT leaders.

We see virtual assistants as inevitable in the workplace, said Joel Jacobs, vice president, CIO and CSO at MITRE Corporation in Bedford, Mass. Home experience will set the expectation for voice interaction, inquiry, and control of other [IoT] devices. I think that soon people will expect that if they can have these capabilities at home, why not the office?

Intelligent assistants have already proven they can be of good use today and see potential for greater use tomorrow, said Jim Rinaldi, CIO and director for IT at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

He said voice interfaces can save time compared with keyboard inputs and allow multitasking in a more convenient way. I envision having intelligent assistants access the various dashboards I have to answer questions [rather than] having to access the dashboard every time I need information with a computer in front of me.

Tom Cullen, CIO at Driscolls, the $3.5 billion supplier of fresh berries, envisioned an Alexa-type device handling user self-service requests  as opposed to logging a traditional help desk ticket for issues such as password changes  or being used to enable a workflow typically dependent on another staff member.

Virtual assistants could also be leveraged for application support-type requests that a quick answer or direction on where to go for more info could be helpful, he said.

Tom Anfuso, senior vice president and CIO at National Life Group, said the company, based in Montpelier, Vt., prototyped a simple proof-of-concept Alexa skill for its insurance agents last year.

We will likely continue working with Alexa in the context of our innovation R&D program this year, he said. Although there is no firm plan at the moment to go beyond the concept, Anfuso said the company is generally bullish on the growing Alexa ecosystem.

IPG Mediabrands, the media arm of New York-based advertising firm Interpublic Group of Companies, has been exploring Alexa for Business integration in its organization, said Frank Ribitch, senior vice president, technology, for the Americas.

We have seen the benefits that virtual assistants like Alexa can bring to an individual, now were looking to exploit those capabilities to help enable existing conference room technology within our offices, he said. In my perfect world, we would be able to walk into a conference room, ask Alexa to start their video conference, and Alexa begins to work her magic.

Despite numerous advances in video conferencing technology, a video conference call often requires an IT person to be on hand to ensure everything is set up and working properly, he said. Id love to be able to remove my staff from these meetings, and have them focusing on other, more pressing issues.

Security concerns

There are still challenges to overcome, however, with the main one being protection of sensitive data. Said Cullen: The main drawback [for virtual assistants] is security.

The reason I dont have one in my house is that it is always listening and you dont really know where all of the data is going and what is being done with it, he said.

Ribitch agreed: Like many others, we have concerns about a device thats always on and always listening.

Over the past several months, our CISO and our Legal/Privacy teams have been drafting an internal policy to address IoT devices. We are taking a multiclass approach with IoT devices to help better define their capabilities, and more importantly, how to secure them on our network while also addressing privacy related concerns. We hope to have the final policies completed later this quarter.

Jacobs also questioned where data created in virtual assistant interactions would reside. For example, if the voice interpretation is in the cloud, does that mean that the voice track and transcription is being stored by the service provider? If so, how can they be used?

I dont see major drawbacks, but there will always be concerns regarding privacy and security that need to be designed upfront and not as a reaction, said the JPL's Rinaldi.

The inherent challenges facing the introduction of voice-activated smart assistants in some ways mirrors the influx of smartphones in work environments over the past decade. That revolution forced IT admins to deal with new data security headaches brought about by consumer devices showing up on corporate networks  and eventually led to the arrival of BYOD policies, along with an entirely new ecosystem devoting to managing devices and networks.
The reshuffle concludes  after failing to live up to the hype

Mrs May said: This Government is about building a country fit for the future  one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society. This reshuffle helps us do just that by bringing fresh talent into Government, boosting delivery in key policy areas like housing, health and social care, and ensuring the Government looks more like the country it serves. It also allows a new generation of gifted Ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK. Senior Tories branded the Cabinet reshuffle  which was derailed when ministers simply refused to be shifted  embarrassing and too cautious. Grandee Sir Nicholas Soames said simply: Is that it?The meltdown left Mrs May scrambling after weeks of briefing that she would carry out a major overhaul to make her team less pale and male. In the end just one woman  Esther McVey  was made a full member of the Cabinet, balancing out the departure of Ms Greening.  Daily Mail

Editorials

May should have been more ambitious  The Sun Says

Ministers can still make valuable changes  The Times Leader

>Today:

New vice-chairmen will be paid 10,000 or more from Party coffers

A party source said vice-chairmen and women would be paid varying amounts determined by their experience and past positions and suggested that claims some were being paid 15,000 were at the high end. The Conservative party refused to comment. One former vice-chairman said they were not paid when they did the job. Vice-chairmen are expected to be broadly loyal to the prime minister. Stephen Hammond was dismissed from his position before Christmas after he took part in an EU rebellion. Sir Mick Davis, chief executive of the Conservative Party, must find money from donations to pay the salaries. One senior Tory said: The Conservative Party is extremely hard-up and there are a rather large number of vice-chairs.  The Times

>Today: Priti Patel on Comment: Priorities for the new Party Chairman. He should prepare the way for Tory members to elect his successor.

>Yesterday: Priti Patel on Comment: Priorities for the new Party Chairman. Lets democratise, decentralise, cut membership fees  and open up candidate selection.

Gimson: Slash membership fees to revitalise the Tory grassroots

The Party is dying on its feet  John Harris, The Guardian

Tory members defend their selection powers  Tim Bale, The Times

Hammond and Davis join forces to send a message to German business leaders

Something dramatic needs to be done to reverse the collapse in membership. My shire Tory can remember, only a generation ago, going round collecting subscriptions from elderly ladies who could afford to pay only 2 each, but who felt that the party valued them, and enjoyed belonging to it. Events such as coffee mornings were laid on, which cost very little to attend, so were open to the widest range of local people. Nowadays, occasional smart lunches are organised in the local town, which are so expensive that about 90% of the population cannot even consider attending. The village branches have mostly collapsed, for what normal person wants to pay an annual subscription of 25 to belong to the Conservative party? That just sounds like a rip-off, devised by fancy metropolitan types for whom 25 is small change. May must know this better than most people do, for she herself started life as a village Conservative from an unmoneyed background. She and Lewis should cut the subscription to 3 with immediate effect.  Andrew Gimson, The Guardian

In a guest contribution to the FAZ (Wednesday edition) , the ministers said that they wanted to convey the message to German business leaders that a priority for the British government is a transitional period before finally leaving the internal market and the customs union. This is also clearly in the interest of the EU and Germany. London understands Germanys attitude that Britain can not on the one hand leave the Union, but on the other hand enjoy all the benefits of membership. However, the EUs priorities are not incompatible with ours: a deep and special partnership with our closest trading partners and allies, said Hammond and Davis. In reshaping relations between the UK and the continent, it is about being imaginative and inventive and not relying on recipes practiced elsewhere.  Frankfurter Allgemeine

Hancock urges action to deliver equal pay at the BBC

Sometimes the pay gap really is just about gender  Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph

Gove and May extend plastic bag tax

Matthew Hancock, the new UK culture secretary, has put pressure on the BBC to become a beacon for the British values of fairness when it comes to pay, following the resignation of Carrie Gracie, the broadcasters China editor. On Tuesday  one day after UK prime minister Theresa May appointed him as culture secretary  Mr Hancock said that much more action is needed from the BBC to close its gender pay gap and address concerns that some male staff at the broadcaster are paid more than ambassadors in the regions where they report. This is not just a matter of levelling womens pay up. Its a matter of pay equality. Working for the BBC is public service and a great privilege, yet some men at the BBC are paid far more than other equivalent public servants, he said.  FT

Theresa May is extending the 5p plastic bag charge to all small shops in the hope of ending Britains profligate waste of natural resources and throwaway culture. The Prime Minister told Cabinet ministers that a new 25-year environment strategy to be unveiled tomorrow would send a strong message to the public about the Governments commitment to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we inherited. Corner shops and other retailers with fewer than 250 employees are currently exempted from the charge in England, but May and her Environment Secretary Michael Gove will set out plans for the levy to cover almost all plastic bags.  Daily Mail

Theyre planning a plastic bottle deposit scheme, too  The Sun

The Environment Secretary switches to a reusable coffee cup (that matches his tie)  Daily Mail

Leading NHS hospital warns of shortage of specialist cancer nurses

Reinstate student bursaries  The Times Leader

Computer analysis set to improve cancer treatment  Daily Mail

Department of Health staff take double the average number of sick days  Daily Mail

Hunts new social care responsibility is not matched by financial powers  FT

A leading NHS hospital is delaying chemotherapy for cancer patients and those who are terminally ill face cuts to their treatment because of a chronic shortage of specialist nurses, according to a leaked memo. Andrew Weaver, head of chemotherapy at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, which treats thousands of patients from across the region, said in a memo to staff that treatment was being delayed. He also warned that the number of chemotherapy cycles offered to the terminally ill would have to be cut because of a lack of staff trained to deal with medication. The centre has a 40 per cent shortfall in nurses on the unit that administers chemotherapy. The proposals, seen by The Times, are believed to be unprecedented. Last night patient groups warned that they would cost lives and leave people to die in pain.  The Times

>Yesterday: Hugh Byrne on Comment: Winter pressure on hospital beds is inevitable  the NHS must adapt to manage it

How Youngs fate was sealed

As the media were preoccupied with Mays stuttering reshuffle taking place in Downing Street, Halfon made a stinging intervention in a parliamentary debate on Youngs role, called by Labour, that hastened Youngs downfall. Things have gone badly wrong here, Halfon said to Jo Johnson, the erstwhile universities ministerelsewhere at the OfS leadership, a rebellion was brewing. Nicola Dandridge, the bodys chief executive, was hearing from her former colleagues at the Universities UK group of their vice-chancellors distaste and horror at Youngs new role. Initially few were willing to go public but discussions were going on behind the scenes, with Imperial College the first to go public with opposition to Youngs appointment. More planned to follow. Halfons comments then triggered the end  and Young was cut adrift by the OfS, and he decided to cut his losses and quit. Within hours Barber was issuing a statement welcoming the move, saying many of his previous tweets and articles were offensive, and not in line with the values of the Office for Students.  The Guardian

The unions now want to drive him out of his job  The Times

Hes the latest victim of the Lefts war on supposed heresy  Daily Telegraph Leader

When will the Twitter mob take on the anti-semites, homophobes and terrorist apologists who flock to Labour?  The Sun Says

Cable says censorious student activist is not suitable for the regulator  The Times

Johnson lost universities job after clashes with Downing Street  The Times

Opinion

The Opposition has its own Toby Youngs  Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph

Chumps like him deserve a second chance  Sarah Vine, Daily Mail

His appointment was part of an ideological crusade  Angela Rayner, The Times

Key Corbyn ally proposes huge rise in council tax for millions of homes

Ecuador seeks help to get rid of Assange  The Times

Wales explores a ban on smacking

A key ally of Jeremy Corbyn has urged Labour-run local authorities to consider doubling the amount of council tax imposed on wealthy homeowners. Chris Williamson, the shadow fire minister, said the proposal would help alleviate the pressure on councils struggling financially as a result of Government funding cuts. Mr Williamsons plan would see council tax frozen on properties in Bands A to C while homes in Band D would see payments hiked by 20 per cent. The rate of council tax would then increase progressively, culminating with a 100 per cent rise for homes in Band H.  Daily Telegraph

The Welsh Government has launched a 12-week consultation on proposals that would effectively ban smacking. The plans put Wales alongside Scotland, where the Scottish Government is developing a bill to remove the defence of justifiable assault in Scots law, which allows parents to use physical punishment to admonish a child. About 50 countries  including France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Ireland  have already made the change.  WalesOnline

Will England come under pressure to follow suit?  Daily Mail

Branson accused of censorship after banning the Daily Mail from Virgin trains

Peers  including Tory Earl Attlee  attempt hijack of data protection Bill to attack freedom of the press  The Times

Britains worst rail service to get millions more funding  The Times

Trump predicts that he would beat Winfrey in 2020

The Daily Mail has accused Virgin Trains of censorship after it said it would no longer sell the newspaper because of its views on immigration and gay rights. Virgin Trains, which is part owned by Sir Richard Branson, said the newspaper was not compatible with the companys brand and beliefs. The Daily Mail was one of a handful of titles sold on trains and distributed free to first-class passengers. Virgin has now told staff that it will not be stocked on its west coast mainline services, which connect London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. An internal memo outlining the change of position was obtained by PR Week. It read: Theres been considerable concern raised by colleagues about the Mails editorial position on issues such as immigration, LGBT rights, and unemployment. Weve decided that this paper is not compatible with the [Virgin Trains] brand and our beliefs. We wont be stocking the Daily Mail for sale or as a giveaway. In response, the Mail accused Virgin of censorship and linked the decision to its news coverage of rail franchises and Sir Richards opposition to the papers pro-Brexit agenda.  The Times

President Trump said Tuesday that hed beat Oprah if talk show host Oprah Winfrey faced off against him in the 2020 presidential election. Oprah would be a lot of fun. I know her very well. I did one of her last shows  I like Oprah, the president told reporters at the White House. Trump added, I dont think shes going to runDirectly after the speech, her longtime partner Stedman Graham added fuel to the fire by telling the Los Angeles Times a presidential run isnt totally out. Its up to the people, Graham said. She would absolutely do it. Two unnamed pals of Winfreys added to the speculation by telling CNN Money that the longtime talk show host is actively thinking about a bid. The White House has already chimed in on Monday, welcoming Winfrey as a potential Trump rival. We welcome the challenger, whether it be Oprah Winfrey or anybody else, Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters aboard Air Force One.  Daily Mail

News in Brief
Damian Hinds, the newly appointed Education Secretary, inspires an admiration among politicians which has yet to be widely shared by journalists. Michael Gove, who remains (to use the curious Downing Street term) Environment Secretary, foresees a day when Hinds might contest the Conservative Party leadership against Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary.

It would, Gove says, be a contest between two northern, state-school candidates, with Williamson the tough and gritty defender of a pur et dur conservatism, while Hinds represents a form of conservatism in which the Catholic Church has a part to play and authority is tempered with mercy.

When it was pointed out that Hinds appears, both in his writings and in his appearances on YouTube, to be quite a dull user of words, Gove replied that on the contrary, even at the Oxford Union, Hinds (President in 1991, three years after Gove) was a dashing and accomplished speaker.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, an exact contemporary of Hinds at Trinity College, Oxford, was beaten by him for the Presidency of the Union, yet says of him: Hes one of my oldest friends. Hes a very decent, honest man. He doesnt seek the limelight, but I have thought since 2010 [when they both entered Parliament] he was bound to get into the Cabinet on the basis of ability.

There is nothing in the as yet rather sparse public record to suggest that Hinds, who is 48, has ever made what the press would call a gaffe. As Rees-Mogg puts it, He doesnt make mistakes.

A journalist who lunched with Hinds confirms this impression: He was enormously impressive  he didnt tell me anything at all. He was just very straight and gave nothing away,

Hinds was educated at St Ambrose College, a Catholic grammar school in Altrincham, to which he referred in a Commons debate in 2014:

on the key point of whether Catholic schools are some sort of filtering device for middle-class, wealthy and bright kids, the answer is no. That would be a fundamental misunderstanding of the demographic profile of this countrys Catholic population, the location of those schools and the communities that they serve Typically, a Catholic school may have a catchment area 10 times the size of a typical community schools catchment area. I saw a bit of that in my own schooling. The school that I went to in south Manchester had kids from leafy north Cheshire, but it also had kids from Stretford, Old Trafford, Stockport and Warrington. It really had a very wide intake. Schools must comply with the schools admissions code, and over-subscription policies mean that Catholic schools typically give priority to Catholic children over the wider area and welcome others where there is remaining capacity. That system enables more parents who desire a Catholic education for their children to get one, bearing in mind that it is a minority religion in this country, so the population is likely to be more sparsely spread.

Hinds has called on the Government to scrap the rule which requires new faith schools to admit at least 50 per cent of their pupils from other faiths. The Catholic Church complains that it is therefore unable to set up new schools, for the rule would force it to violate Canon Law, as over-subscribed Catholic schools would have to turn away children because they were Catholic.

The 2017 Conservative manifesto included a pledge to get rid of this cap, and as the Catholic Herald noted in its report of Hindss appointment, As Education Secretary, he now has free rein to remove the cap at will, a step which his predecessor, Justine Greening, declined to take.

To do this would raise a howl of protest from self-proclaimed liberals bent on exploiting the remnants of anti-Catholic prejudice. Humanists have already complained that in 2014 Hinds accepted 5,000 from the Catholic Church to employ an intern.

On being appointed, Hinds posted a fitting but somehow tremendously boring tweet:

Delighted to be appointed Education Secretary  looking forward to working with the great teachers & lecturers in our schools, colleges & universities giving people the opportunities to make the most of their lives

He has long shown a great interest in the question of how to increase social mobility, and said in a piece published in 2014 in a volume, Access All Areas, edited by David Skelton and with contributions from Robert Halfon, Nadhim Zahawi, Greg Clark, Matthew Hancock and Gavin Barwell among others:

if we are serious about nurturing outstanding talent, really equalising the odds with the independent sector, we have to think radically. There is no appetite in the country for a wholesale return to academic selection at 11, for good reasons, but why not have at least one unashamedly academically elite state school in each county or major conurbation?

This attachment to social mobility is accompanied by a commitment to liberty. Hinds voted in favour of gay marriage, which drew upon him the wrath of his local Catholic bishop, and has warned against allowing either politicians or the courts to define British values.

After leaving Oxford with a first in PPE, he worked for the best part of two decades in the pub and hotel industries, including a spell as Director of Strategy at Greene King. In 2005, he fought the parliamentary seat of Stretford and Urmston, where he also set up a credit union  another of his enduring interests.

In 2007, he gained selection for the safe Conservative seat of East Hampshire (defeating Pam Chesters, Antonia Cox and Sam Gyimah in the final round), and married Jacqui Morel, a teacher by profession, with whom he has three children.

When Hinds entered the Commons, he served on the Education Select Committee, and the whips were delighted to discover he could be called on to speak on any subject at any moment and at any length, in Goves words steering a fine line between slavishness and individuality.

In 2014, Hinds was himself recruited as a whip, after the 2015 general election George Osborne took him to the Treasury as Exchequer Secretary, in July 2016 May made him Employment Minister at the Department of Work and Pensions, and now she has put him in the Cabinet.

No one, so far as I can see, has yet managed to write an exciting article about Hinds. He has risen thanks to his good-natured competence, which is in many ways a more valuable quality, and certainly a more reassuring one.

When the EU referendum result was announced, he declared himself very disappointed, but went on in his usual lucid, undramatic manner: The people have spoken and it is now up to everyone in politics and public life to move forward with positivity and purpose.

On entering his new department yesterday with his junior ministerial colleagues, he said to them: Come on, lets go and walk the floors to meet the staff. Here is a man whose instinct is to do things together with his team.

If a Tory leadership contest happens to occur at a point when Ruth Davidson is not available, it is quite conceivable that the Left of the party, casting around for a standard bearer, will decide this liberal-minded Catholic with a genuine commitment to social mobility fits the bill.
Cllr David Meikle is a Conservative councillor in Glasgow.

Nearly a year ago I wrote an article for Conservative Home about the council election taking place in Glasgow in May 2017. When I wrote that piece I was the only Conservative councillor in the city and had been for ten years. I said then that I believed we had a real chance of increasing the number of Conservative councillors in Glasgow. And we did.

Not only did we increase the number of councillors, but we increased our vote and became the third largest party in the City Chambers. To go from one councillor to eight was an achievement delivered by hard-working candidates, a focused Association, a team of dedicated volunteers and the people of Glasgow voting for strong local voices on the Council. For me personally, I was delighted to be re-elected for a third term but also to see seven colleagues elected and have someone who could second a motion at Full Council.

What made the result even better was that we won in all parts of Glasgow. In fact, we now have three councillors covering the southside, two in the West End and three in the East End  showing that our campaign for every vote across the city paid off. To give you an idea of how successful we were our vote went up from 8,567 in 2012 to 25,018 in 2017  or from six per cent to 15 per cent.

Glaswegians who voted for the Conservatives elected a group of councillors who will work hard for local communities and over the last eight months each of us have done just that. As Group Leader I have ensured we question the new administration and try to deliver on our 5-point plan focusing on issues like creating jobs and growth, fair Council Tax, and a cleaner, greener Glasgow.

In the same article I wrote for Conservative Home, I also said that Labour was failing Glasgow, they had controlled the Council for too long and had taken the city for granted. The voters agreed and Labour lost control after four decades in power, resulting in the Council now being run by a minority SNP administration.

The SNP promised change but so far we have seen little evidence of that since they took charge. Instead it is pretty much business as usual with a timid restructure and even their aim to deliver 25 pledges in 100 days is a failure.

We will be watching to see if the SNP council works for Glasgow; is not the mouthpiece of the SNP government; and fights against centralising power in Edinburgh. We also will be watching to see if they work for everyone in Glasgow and do not use the City Chambers to campaign for another independence referendum.

This year many challenges face the Council: setting the 2bn budget in February, addressing equal pay claims, and continuing to deliver the City Deal. Glasgow Conservatives are up to the task of challenging the minority SNP administration on this and we will continue to work together to be a strong opposition.
Alex Morton was a member of David Camerons Downing Street Policy Unit.

Electoral offers must be authentic and give something our opponents cannot

Much Conservative thinking is currently focusing on ideas and policies to appeal to voters, after a disastrous manifesto sent our 2017 election campaign into meltdown. Without the electoral Brexit firewall (seven in ten of our 2017 voters were excited about Brexit), we would probably have been unable to form a Government. But the failure of the manifesto reflected a deeper problem  for what and who do the Conservatives stand for?

Labours Manifesto appealed through nationalisation, more spending, and support for working people. But even where policies were missing, they could mobilise people who saw Jeremy Corbyns party as on their side. For example, although Labour did not pledge explicitly to reverse cuts to working age welfare, those voters believed (probably rightly) that Corbyn would ditch the cuts.

By contrast, our flagship social care policy attacked the vast majority of peoples understanding of social care as an extension of health care (as Jeremy Hunts new title makes clear). Just as they would not expect to pay for chronic sickness, voters do not think they should be asked to pick up the cost of care relating to debilitating old age, and they did not care the proposals were, strictly speaking, progressive, in that they took most from the wealthiest. The rejection of the social care proposals were a victory for conservatives who argue fairness is not the same as asking the rich to pay the most. This insight will be key in fighting Labour: the British public have an instinctive view that you should get what you give  which his socialism cannot account for.

The social care proposals also mistook how you put together a winning coalition. People vote for you because you offer them something that the other side cannot match, not because you are penalising others (or them). And what you are offering must be part of a coherent whole, genuinely rooted in your approach and philosophy, or it will unsettle your existing voters while not being trusted by potential supporters. Private polling during the run-up to the 2015 election showed that extending Right to Buy did not gain huge support from the general public. But many housing association tenants strongly supported it, and it was also seen as part of a wider Tory commitment to home ownership. In effect, it might not have gained tepid universal support, but it created a positive framing effect and gained votes among parts of the electorate hard to reach with a traditional offer.

We need to nurture our supporters and outriders

The 2017 Manifesto abandoned so many of our supporters. The Conservative Party used to be the party of home ownership, small businesses, consumers, the army and much more. In addition, it had counter-intuitive outriders who supported our approach in the public sector and even the trade unions  in 1979, Margaret Thatcher won over a third of all trade unionist votes.

Philip Hammonds National Insurance row last year was a typical example of the Conservatives being too quick to bash their supporters. It often ignores or even attacks its outriders, conservatively-minded people in unusual places, rather than seeking to find ways to support them. For example, some dismiss those engaged in public service as a producer interest but to do so is counter-productive. We are not opposed to the public sector per se, but an inefficient and excessively large public sector  and effective public servants are our allies in this fight, not our opponents.

Brandon Lewis is an excellent choice as Chairman, having been a successful small businessman and councillor, to try to rebuild our sources of support. And he needs to do so  because the growth of social media makes such external voices and power bases even more important.

Social media makes external allies essential for victory

During the 1990s, Tony Blair would pick an issue and deliberately provoke the left of the Labour party through amending policy or making a controversial statement. The resulting hostility would be used in the mainstream media to show floating voters that Blair was a new type of Labour leader. Social media and the mainstream medias decline makes such an approach redundant  if it ever worked for us at all. A policy row will now get mostly picked up online by those affected and interested, meaning that such an attack would be counterproductive. By contrast, an attractive offer is shared and supported online by those affected. Thus social media makes anchors of support even more crucial. In the new era, we cannot just be a hollowed-out shell propped up by big money.

Of overseas students and soldiers

Take two recent policy debates where we are getting it wrong. The Treasury is on manoeuvres yet again to try to cut the armed forces  albeit resisted by Gavin Williamson. In 2007 it was estimated that there were 3.7 million ex-service personnel in this country, roughly the same number as the BME voter base. Hard data is scanty, but in terms of seat patterns the military and ex-military appear a core part of our electoral alliance (I suspect this is particularly true if you adjust for income).

Meanwhile, if there could ever be said to be a Corbyn core vote it would be in the higher education sector. Yet so many Tories want to spurn our own voters, who prioritise immigration control, by taking students out of immigration numbers. It is argued that this view has public support, but I suspect most people think of a handful of mathematical whizz-kid PhDs or Oxbridge students, not of 139,000 students coming to the UK in the most recent year alone.

Why should we support this change, given that parts of higher education are now, frankly, indoctrinators of left-wing attitudes. We have seen the fall of university seat after university seat to the Labour party  so why ignore our voters priorities to back a sector which is frankly actively hostile to us? We would be better off seeking voters in higher education by continuing the attempt that Jo Johnson made, as Universities Minister, to ensure that they are places of genuine debate, and reversing what is frankly a marginalisation of conservative thought and support from our higher education sector  supporting our outriders by requiring that universities support genuine intellectual plurality.

As the Conservative Party tries to move onto the front foot, it needs to support genuine allies  backing savers, home owners, small businesses, the army, and others, and extending our appeal by working out how it can apply its principles to new areas in order to draw those who are conservatively-minded to our coalition. That is how we can avoid both repeating the disaster of the 2017 Manifesto and the electoral losses it brought with it.
Is Jeremy Corbyn secretly trying to prop Theresa May up? For he gave no sign today of wanting to get rid of her. She has just carried out what this site has described as The worst-handled reshuffle in recent history  perhaps ever.

But how half-hearted Corbyn sounded as he accused her of being too weak to sack the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. The hunt for Hunt was not sustained, and no sense was conveyed that the country would be better off if Corbyn were in charge.

The Leader of the Opposition claimed Hunt had insisted on going back on board ship, and concluded: Under his captaincy the ship is indeed sinking.

Were that image true, one would have to conclude that Hunt is a very gallant officer, who knows where his duty lies. But Corbyn failed to make one believe even for a millisecond that the NHS, for all its winter difficulties, is actually going down.

Nor, in fairness, should one pretend May conveyed any real sense that the Government is prospering. She lacks the fire and eloquence to raise Tory hearts.

But she does have the doggedness to keep trudging forwards towards Brexit. That task provides her with the vital function of giving expression to the wishes of the British people.

And Corbyn did not dare ask her about that, for he knows how deeply divided his own MPs are from Labour voters about Brexit.

If Corbyn were to be replaced by a more inspiring Labour leader, May would come under irresistible pressure to step down.

If May were to be replaced by a more inspiring Conservative leader, Corbyn would come under irresistible pressure to step down.

So it is not too fanciful to regard them as locked in an unacknowledged pact. They have by accident attained a fragile balance, in which each of them compensates for the others weaknesses.

According to a French proverb, only provisional arrangements last. Well see how long this one does.
Due to unforeseen weather related hazards, the delivery of Seaway News and the Ad Bag has been delayed overnight.

Therefore the delivery of the paper is running a half day behind. Publisac has all crews out, including rural drivers, to get the work done efficiently and quickly. Excessive ice has hampered delivery over the past few weeks. Seaway News understands the difficulty in the delivery system and the safety of our carriers is our utmost concern. These weather conditions that our carriers have been facing for the past month may continue throughout the winter season.

-Rick Shaver
CORNWALL, Ontario  The Cornwall Community Police Service Investigation Division is asking for the publics assistance in identifying a suspect in an armed robbery.

At approximately 3:00 a.m. on Dec. 20, 2017 a man brandishing a hand gun entered the Macs Milk store on Pitt Street and demanded money from the clerk. The man then left the area with an undisclosed amount of cash southbound from the store. The man is described as follows:

5 8

25 years old

185 lbs.

Caucasian

wearing dark camo jacket

black gloves

black pants

black face mask

black toque

gun held in the suspects right hand

The public is asked to contact D/Cst Day at (613)933-5000 ext 2738 or ext 2404 to leave information. For a photo visit our Facebook page or Twitter account
UNITED COUNTIES of SD&G, Ontario  Freezing rain is expected to develop late this afternoon and could continue into Thursday morning.

Patchy freezing rain or freezing drizzle can be expected in the St. Lawrence Valley until after midnight and in the Ottawa valley until early Thursday morning, the warning from Environment Canada states. Accumulations are forecast to range from 1 to 4 millimetres.

The freezing rain will bring a warm front with it however. Temperatures on Thursday are expected to be as high as 9 degrees, peaking on Friday at plus 14. Rain is expected to continue throughout Thursday and Friday.

On the weekend temperatures will plunge back down with a high of zero on Saturday and minus 14 on Sunday.
Holland America Line's Master Chef Rudi Sodamin has released an art table book called "Food Faces" that features more than 150 vibrant images of edible creations that display a cast of unforgettable characters expressing a whimsical spectrum of human emotion, according to a statement from the cruise line.

Sodamin began to design and photograph his stylized Food Faces several years ago as a labor of creative love, according to a statement.

Since he created his first Food Face, Sodamin has captured hundreds of distinctive characters through his lens.

He said his artistic inspiration comes from culinary ingredients and human expression, and he created each plate personality from food items including vegetables, fruit, meats, fish, grains and sweets.





Sodamin captured the images in his photography studio, working with his perfectionistic approach to bring each piece of art to life, fine-tuning the emotional coloring of each Food Face as he adjusted lighting, depth and focus.

In the forward to "Food Faces," Thomas Keller, chef, restaurateur and cookbook author, writes: "Rudi has a keen eye, playful sensibility and a willingness to let inspiration take him where it will. Rudi puts happiness front and center."

"Rudi is an icon in the cruise industry for his culinary talent and creativity in the kitchen and is regarded as the hospitality industry's most innovative chef, but today we congratulate him for his innovation as an artist with his beautiful new book," said Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line's president. "Rudi is esteemed throughout the world for his passion for his craft and his ability to translate that creative energy into serving thousands of guests each day on our ships. 'Food Faces' allows people to be inspired by Rudi's work every day in their homes."

On board Holland America Line ships, guests who dine in Rudi's Sel de Mer pop-up restaurant can enjoy his Food Faces on limited-edition plates.

"Food Faces' has a universal appeal that crosses all ages, languages, art, cultures and food groups," said Sodamin of his concept. "Food is an international language, understood by all, and everyone in the world, regardless of race, gender, experience or social status, can communicate and connect through food."
HARTFORD  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy wants to ban bump stocks and other devices that enabled the Las Vegas gunman to convert a semi-automatic assault rifle into a machine gun and kill 58 people during a concert last year.

"Bump stocks are cheap, they are deadly, and they have no place in our society," Malloy said as he proposed a bill to ban the fire enhancement devices.

"In Connecticut, we refuse to allow federal inaction to endanger the lives of our residents, despite the best efforts of powerful lobbyists from the NRA," the governor continued."Our state has long been a champion in the fight against gun violence, and today we take a step towards further cementing our reputation as a leader in smart, safe, and commonsense gun reform."

The bill would ban possession and sale of the devices, making it a felony to sell or possess bump stocks, binary trigger systems, trigger cranks and other "rate of fire enhancement" devices. Those with the devices after the law takes effect would be subject to a misdemeanor, Malloy said.

The proposed bill immediately drew opposition from pro-gun groups committed to stopping additional gun control.

Connecticut already has a very punitive ban on the same types of firearms that were used in the Las Vegas mass murder, as well as a magazine capacity limitation to 10 rounds or less." said Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League.

"This fact already renders devices such as bump stocks mostly ineffective," Wilson said. "Lame duck Gov. Malloy is not surprisingly going back to the well of gun control yet again, perhaps to distract from his poor approval ratings."

Malloy, who is not seeking re-election this year, repeatedly mentioned the 20 children and six adults gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School five years ago as he promoted his bill. The Las Vegas mass shooting was also noted.

Imagine what would have happened if the shooter at Sandy Hook Hook had a bump stock," Malloy noted.

Po Murray, Chairman of the Newtown Action Alliance, said the Las Vegas shooter used a bump stock to turn his assault weapon into a machine gun.

"The Las Vegas gunman fired more than 1,100 rounds of ammunition in only 11 minutes, using semi-automatic rifles modified with bump fire stocks designed to dramatically accelerate the rate of gunfire and cause maximum damage," Murray said.

Murray added "After the heartbreaking Sandy Hook mass shooting incident five years ago, Connecticut passed the second strongest gun laws in the nation under the leadership of Gov. Malloy and it is time for Connecticut to act now to lead the nation once again by banning bump stocks and other dangerous accessories to keep our families and communities safe."

Wilson disagreed with the need for new legislation. It is key that the public be aware the legislation proposed today is simply feel good in nature. Wilson said.

The devices in question that Malloy seeks to ban are not needed to replicate the rapid rate of fire, Wilson explained. This effect can be easily accomplished by the use of a belt loop, a rubber band, or even just by holding a firearm a certain way. Moreover, the devices themselves can be easily made in a typical basement shop using everyday materials."

U.S. Sen Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn, said the rapid fire devices should not be allowed

"These carnage force multipliers must be banned in Connecticut and nationwide," Blumenthal said. "Connecticut is once again poised to lead the nation in the face of Congressional failure  a chance to prove again to the nation that it is possible to pass commonsense, serious solutions to protect our communities from the scourge of gun violence"

U.S Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn, added Automatic weapons are outlawed for a reason, and bump stocks are a backdoor way to make dangerous guns even worse. Im glad Connecticut is leading the nation on commonsense gun reforms. Congress needs to follow our lead and make sure no one in the country can buy these devices."

Both senators have been unable to overcome Republican majority opposition to similar gun control measures at the national level. However, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms is reviewing bump stock devices and current regulation.

Jeremy Stein, Executive Director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said Malloys bill is a "common sense" law that lawmakers should enact.
One of the ways an improved digital presence can help your financial institution is by positively impacting your Google search rankings and local listing results. And heres five reasons those search results really do still matter, and a few pro tips to help improve those rankings!

Search is Key to Banking Account Decision Making

According to Googles Zero Moment of Truth study, search is a huge factor with consumers considering a new banking product or service. They asked the question: Q2 When you were considering purchasing [PRODUCT], what sources of information did you seek out to help with your decision? As you can see from the results, 61% of those surveyed used search in their buying process.

PRO TIP: Make sure you update your website content with meaningful, keyword optimized content 1-2 times per week, or more if possible, as the recency of content on your website is a key factor in SEO.

Branch Location Information is Key Reason for Search in the First Place!

According to the same Google study cited above, the top three reasons for banking shoppers to consult the internet were:

Find locations of the financial institution Get information on a particular bank location (hours, parking, etc) Call a financial institution (from number provided online)

So, if your branch details are not accurate 100% of the time when a user searches online, your institution is going to have unhappy customers, complaints, or perhaps no new enquiries to begin with!

PRO TIP: Use an automated tool of some kind to consistently monitor ALL branch location information to ensure all details are accurate and any duplicate listings are removed. Test how your branches are showing up online today with our free tool.

The Consumer Purchase Journey Has Permanently Changed

Some people in long-established industries like financial services have seen many hot new trends come and go, and are often resistant to change. After all, who wants to re-tool their entire marketing or sales approach only to have to do it all over again two or three years later? But times have truly changed and are showing no signs of returning to the old days of branch visits and broadcast messaging.

According to the Financial Brand, Consumer visits to retail bank branches are set to drop 36% between 2017 and 2022, with mobile transactions rising 121% in the same period, and this is NOT a new trend. Its time for credit unions and community banks to pay attention to this new normal and recognize that multi-channel, mobile first, personalized messaging is going to be central to driving growth and retention for years to come.

PRO TIP: A responsive website is a MUST, but also consider designing for mobile FIRST when you create your online user experience. With 60% or more of traffic coming from a mobile device, desktop use is down and will likely continue to decline.

Meaningful Content is Key to Search Results

As mentioned above, we recommend updating a bank or credit union website 1-2 times a week, at a minimum. But this isnt with just small changes. We are talking about useful and informative content pieces that are significant in length and impact. We mean content that is helpful and addresses the pain points in your members lives. This is the type of content that positively impacts search and helps build rapport with your readers.

According to Inc.com Digital marketing, or more specifically, content marketing, is how businesses build communities, develop brand advocates, lower acquisition costs, increase conversion rates and increase customer lifetime valueall of which signal a healthy, sustainable business built to thrive in our digital-first world.

PRO TIP: Develop 2-3 buyer personas to build your content strategy around. This will help your team see your target marketing as people and then better develop useful content for those populations.

Website Speed Impacts Search AND Overall Success

According to Google, roughly half of website traffic can be lost due to slow load times, and this is only going to continue as we all use smart phones more.

Think about it, how often have you clicked a link in a search result list, only to have it spin for too long and then hit the back button and try the next one? Well, youre not alone!

In the financial industry a load time of 18 seconds can cause you to lose and estimated 34% or more of your visitors!

PRO TIP: Test your website with the free Google mobile speed tool and pass on the findings to your IT and web development teams. Ask them to work on any fixes that are possible and then check progress and continually re-test. We recommend a load time of 4-6 seconds is a great target for the finance industry.

Visit the Social Stairway Blog for more great digital marketing and sales tips or email us today to discuss your specific needs!
For Subscribers What we learned: Doug Paul works magic, Windber's 2nd romp, Township shows 'D', Meyersdale improves

Here's a look at four things we learned in Week 2 of the high school football season; conference contenders and pretenders and standout performances.
Imagine a community of 75,000 people living together in the middle of the desert, without money, without access to the internet or any connection to what we call the default world. Imagine a place of belonging, of incredibly special energy and power. Imagine a place where whatever you believe in comes true. Thats Burning Man, the annual gathering held in the Nevada desert in the US, and I live for the time I spend there every year. It refuels me and inspires the way I practise living in the real world.

In the five years of my visiting the festival, it is my experience that if you truly believe in something, it comes true. The ground at Burning Man is called the playa, and there is a saying that the playa provides  the site is filled with so much positivity and is very spiritually elevated. It cleanses you and lifts you up. A lot of people do come to Burning Man to party but speaking for myself, and the people I meet there who are now friends for life, we go there to learn, live, and share our experiences. To give of ourselves, to look after one another, to take care of one another.

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

My meeting Scott London, a San Francisco-based photographer, was also serendipitous. I was first introduced to him by Jennifer Raiser, a journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle and a good friend of mine. The two of them had collaborated on a coffee-table book called Burning Man: Art on Fire, which she gifted me during an interview. She also happened to be one of the treasurers for Burning Man and invited me for the Founders Cocktails, which is where I met Scott. He shortlists a hundred of his favourite images at Burning Man every year.

Scott liked the way I dressed and he suggested to me, Lets play a game at Burning Man. Why dont you point out people that you think are cool and Ill take their pictures? He wanted to bring in a different point of view to his work. He asked me to meet him on the right side of Robot Hearts performance and the first year, it was a bit chaotic because I was facing the spot and he was on the other side, but we eventually found one another.

Photo: Reuters

Photo: DailyO

Photo: Reuters

It has now been three years since weve been collaborating and, from last year, I dress people for Scott to photograph. For me, fashion has the power to influence how you feel. What you wear is what you become. And it holds true for each person who is part of the unique community at Burning Man. I plan the outfits in advance  its what I do, and its become a part of my identity. I believe that out there in the desert, you dress the way you think you should every day but unfortunately cannot in the real world because there are too many judgments, too many people around. A lot of people that I pointed out to Scott have made it into his top hundred, which is kind of a big deal.

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Burning Man is a way of life. I would say that what you do when you are out there in the desert is what you become. You find soul-mates with whom you can be your most honest and pure self and build bonds that are not possible anywhere else. The experience makes you a better person.

You learn to live with no intentions or expectations. No one wears a watch so you learn to live in the moment. Every tent is home to everyone so you learn to be generous. And you learn that none of us needs as much as we think we do to live  all we need is the bare minimum and we will be the happiest we can ever hope to be.

(Courtesy of Harper's Bazaar India.)

Also read: Student suicides are our collective shame. Education mustn't be a battle unto death
Two pieces, separated by eight months and reading almost exactly alike but for the minor embellishments via personal touches, such as the choice of Aadhaar-less habitat (an islet in the Maldives or abode of the Naga sadhus), echo the same, much-debunked points conflating a concern for privacy and security as mere elite paranoia.

While the writers of these two pieces are both senior journalists, at least when his piece was published in April 2017, Manu Joseph hadnt read the Right To Privacy judgment that the Supreme Court pronounced on August 24, 2017. Unfortunately, for Shekhar Gupta, who dismisses most of the criticism directed at Aadhaar as a phobia of the upper crust, upper class, wine 'n' cheese Netflix-watching social media elite, even that excuse doesnt exist.

The landmark Supreme Court judgment tore into precisely these vain, purely ludicrous points that privacy is only a matter for elites, who fear 1984 has arrived. Privacy, now a fundamental constitutional right guaranteed by the highest court in India, is as much about bodily integrity, the right to be not discriminated on the basis of bodily and sexual proclivities, the right to carve out an individuality impacting everyone human, every citizen, irrespective of class or crust, as its about having a healthy civic life.

In fact, privacy as fundamental right is a shield for those harassed by the state the most  LGBTQ, who also happen to be poor. While the elites have always had their safe spaces, it was the poor who suffered the most ignominy and discrimination, not just legal but also social and cultural, for the want of a real, tangible concept and right to privacy.

Privacy is now a fundamental constitutional right guaranteed by the highest court in India.

It must be noted that both Gupta and Joseph, in addition to unseeing the mountains of criticism piling on Aadhaar since its inception, also jeer at the critics as the Luddities, or as frightful as the Gauls who feared the sky would fall on their heads. Words like hysteria, overblown fears, phobia, sabotage are thrown around with abandon, and the use of irony is excessive in both the pieces. Its as if they know theirs is a losing argument, which must nevertheless be garnished with a high dose of pointlessly contrarian Kool-Aid.

This is the classic strategy of not engaging with the criticism at all, while caricaturing the critics as paranoids in search of victimhood. Neither Joseph nor Gupta can claim to have any substantial understanding of how the technology and the technocracy that they have rested their faith in, work, besides the promotional politics behind the states need to impose them upon citizens.

This tech-illiteracy is betrayed when Gupta compares the resistance to Aadhaar to the fear of the bubonic plague, or when Joseph claims giving biometrics to Modi (by which he probably means the government, but we cant be sure) is the same as offering up personal information on different platforms such as social media, banks, travel interfaces such as airports and railways, or just while ordering a cab on your smartphone app. What both of them miss is the element of consent in the former versus the aspect of coercion in the latter (the whole government-driven mandatory-voluntary shebang of Aadhaar). What they also miss is resistance to abuse of our informational selves and informational self-determination, an integral part of human existence now and also reiterated by the privacy judgment, is less about being a Luddite and more about trying to be self-aware citizens of a democratic republic.

Lets look at how utterly selective Gupta and Joseph have been with what they think can be printed as issues with Aadhaar. While Joseph mentions one particular case of information leak from Aadhaar database, he urges its an individual act of transgression by a banking official, therefore nothing to worry about. What Joseph completely evades are the myriad examples in which government websites were leaking Aadhaar data, how the entire portal was available with commercial entities for a little price, how enrollment centres were selling off Aadhaar data to companies mining for the new oil, how the Aadhaar Act, 2016, itself was flouted by the government when it made the UID mandatory despite it being, legally, voluntary.

Similarly, Gupta, despite penning the piece after the gross expose of the UIDAI allowing admin proliferation, and admins selling admin rights to others for just Rs 500, goes on to claim that somehow this revelation  the latest in a long line of Aadhaar breaches, leaks, hacks, sell-offs talked about in mainstream and social media  has nothing to do with the concerns aired by those he calls Aadhaarophobics. The failure to see the connections staring at his face can only mean two things: one, Gupta doesnt understand how Aadhaar works; or two, he thinks we need to all grow up and learn to love Aadhaar, in spite of its abysmal record.

Which brings us to the point about state surveillance, which both Joseph and Gupta say are natural and inevitable part of not living in a jungle. While Gupta says every state surveils, and the government wasnt dependent on Aadhaar for doing that, Joseph ridicules the Aadhaar-sceptics, saying anyone with a smartphone or a PAN card, or a bank account, is liable to be spied upon. Gupta says if he wanted to protect a source, hed use someone elses phone, not his. Hes mistaken, because Aadhaar wouldnt leave any room for that "basic journalistic hygiene".

On his part, Joseph says fear of surveillance should have prevented us from opening a social media account, or enjoying any of the modern amenities, for they all leave a footprint, they all leave a trail. Both shower uncharitable comments on Edward Snowden, with Joseph sarcastically thanking Snowden for revealing to the world that states do indeed spy, and Gupta branding him as a nihilist hiding from judicial scrutiny in [his] own democratic country.

Its plainly evident that both Gupta and Joseph conflate domestic espionage on inconvenient citizens with the all-pervasive surveillance technology that Aadhaar happens to be. Its precisely the centralisation of information about each and every one of Indians that makes Aadhaar such a risky and prone-to-abuse project, with the mandate of turning every questioning citizen into an inconvenient one. The opacity with which the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), headed and run by Nandan Nilekani, functions, is conversely proportional to the absolute transparency that the body, and therefore the state, demands from the citizens, giving it a power thats as unconstitutional as it can get.

It is exactly for this reason that Arvind Datar has called privacy a right for the future, which would safeguard the citizens interests when faced with the technocratic behemoth devoid of soul and compassion that the state is increasingly becoming, not just in India, but elsewhere too. While countries like United Kingdom have discarded a national identity system citing the immense potential for abuse and racial profiling, in addition to exclusions, both Gupta and Joseph are hanging on to the false prophecy of technocracy as the one-size-fits-all solution for every problem, insisting on being blind to the algorithms for in-built violence, discrimination and criminalisation that such forced identity projects inevitably contain and breed. Refusing to see them, in a way, makes Gupta and Joseph the enablers of that very dystopian, techno-fascist future that the Netflix series Black Mirror so ably portrays, irking Gupta, as he mentions in his piece.

Joseph says Nilekani confesses to have respect for the rights-of-the-poor gang, but doesnt admit that Aadhaar-driven problems in the PDS are not sui generis glitches but congenital problems that will only multiply exponentially with time, allowing a state to exclude the weak and the vulnerable at industrial scales. Gupta says the poor have moved on, reiterating official figures on LPG connections and money transfers to bank accounts, without even mentioning the umpteen reported instances of rations being denied to the infirm, the disabled, the old pensioners, those with calloused hands, those with losing eyesight or ophthalmological ailments like cataract.

Gupta and Joseph dont understand that its actually they in turn who devalue the poor, whom Gupta calls ganwar and gullible, by waxing eloquent about a project with in-built exclusions that will take discrimination at a yet unimagined level. An editor of a right wing portal had written a piece about demonetisation with the headline having the words cull the weak. Gupta and Joseph are subtler, but arent they saying the same thing differently?

When we add to this fan-club the American name of Thomas Friedman, the group begins to lose its sheen of steamy irony, and becomes an Aegean stable of the delusional. Friedmans column in The New York Times  hailing Aadhaar as the only non-US public sector platform to have broken the one-billion user threshold the fastest  is a piece in awe of the number, one billion, and the pace, without taking into account any of the security breaches and the gross exclusions that Aadhaar has been riddled with since the beginning.

Friedman paints Aadhaar as a digital utopia, exactly what the UIDAI and the government of India would have wanted it to be, but which its absolutely not, no matter how you look at it. In fact, Friedman lavishing praise on Aadhaar being data rich is a testimony of Aadhaar being a treasure trove, one-stop destination for transnational surveillance and data mining by global companies and powerful governments such as the United States, something the Aadhaar phobics have been red-flagging for a long time.

Moreover, Friedmans claim that Aadhaar was about giving identity to those without one flies in the face of government-driven coercion that many with existing identity proofs had to face, in case they didnt get Aadhaar. Still, Gupta discusses Aadhaar with Friedman on his Off The Cuff, where Friedman, singing praises for Nandan Nilekani, says Aadhaar is the best thing to have happened to the world.

Yes, in terms of normalising wholesale surveillance, putting Indians at the mercy of the data mercenaries, indeed that can be said of Aadhaar. However, when starvation deaths caused by inevitable Aadhaar exclusions are dismissed as mere figments of imagination or the obsession of the slightly wealthier, digitally entitled, its a sign of the times.

Also read: Aadhaar is surveillance technology masquerading as secure authentication technology
The last couple of years have seen the emergence of three youth leaders in India, Hardik Patel, Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani. What do they have in common? All of them come from disgruntled sections of our youth. They are all educated, with the sense of both entitlement and frustration that such education brings. To give them their due, they also seem to want, in their own ways, to improve things.

Not oppressed

None of them is so oppressed or backward that they can be be part of India's dispossessed underclass. At the same time, none of them is so privileged that he need not work for a living or worry about his future.

Though they come from different castes, what binds them is the class solidarity of the newly urbanised and educated lower-middle classes, who want a better life but find themselves blocked by a corrupt or resistant system of dispensations.

Hardik, the youngest, is also the senior-most in public life. Born in 1993, he joined active politics in 2015 because his sister, Monica, failed to get a government scholarship in 2015. Her friend, who had a lower score, got in through the OBC quota. Hardik, therefore, formed the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), a non-political organisation, with the specific aim of getting the Patels OBC status. In the recent Gujarat elections, Hardik and his organisation came out in support of the Congress against the BJP. Arguably, he was one of the factors responsible for reducing the ruling party's margin of victory.

Kanhaiya Kumar, born in 1987, comes from Bihar, Begusarai, a traditional CPI stronghold in Bihar. He is a Bhumihar, member of an upper caste, land-owning community. Mayawati, speaking on Ambedkar Jayanti in 2016, was quick to fasten on this fact in labelling him "anti-Dalit".

True, Kanhaiya's own family owns some land, but his background is modest. He studied in an ordinary school and college, got his MA from Nalanda Open University, Bihar, before clearing the JNU entrance test.

Kanhaiya was elected president of JNU Students Union in September 2015 on an All India Students Federation (AISF) ticket, defeating his All India Students Association (AISA), rival, Vijay Kumar, by 1,029 to 962 votes. He shot to national limelight in March 2016 when he was charged with sedition in the notorious "Bharat tere tukde honge, Inshallah, Inshallah" JNU slogan shouting incident in February 2016. During his interrogation and subsequent interviews to mainstream media, Kanhaiya disassociated himself from the objectionable, "anti-national" slogans, affirming his full faith in the Constitution.

He also said that he believed that "Kashmir is an integral part of India".

National darling

On being released, Kanhaiya became a national darling and poster-boy of Left liberals. He is frequently invited for debates by leading national TV channels and is in demand as a public speaker. Briefly, he was also projected as the youth alternative to Narendra Modi, with JNU assumed to be the purported platforms for mobilising an anti-government movement. Despite sporadic protests on other campuses, the youth against Modi movement has come a cropper. Kanhaiya, though, has done well for himself. He was quickly commissioned to write a book, Bihar to Tihar: My Political Journey, published both in Hindi and English in October 2016.Jignesh, the oldest of the trio, was born in 1982. He belongs to a Scheduled Caste family. He is a BA, LLB, and his parents are reportedly government servants. He shot to fame by leading protests against the filmed and widely publicised Una atrocity in which alleged cow vigilantes publicly beat Dalits. Jignesh led the Dalit Asmita Yatra to Una from Ahmedabad.

The march concluded on August 15, 2016, in a rally attended by over 15,000. From his rhetoric so far, Jignesh comes across as an advocate of militant activism against caste oppression. But he is also quoted as saying that he will also fight for a poor Brahmin oppressed by lower-castes if the need arises. Jignesh was recently elected to the Gujarat assembly from the Vadgam reserved constituency in Banaskantha district.Though Mevani contested as an independent, he was supported by the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, also allegedly receiving funds from radical Islamic groups such as Popular Front of India (PFI).

BJP and Hindutva

What the three also have in common is their hatred for Narendra Modi, BJP and Hindutva. Why? This is not quite clear. Is it because their brand of politics has no future in a Modi-driven India? What is clear, though, is that none of them is a liberal.

They are all statist and interventionist, with Jignesh demanding land for each Dalit, Hardik reservation for Patels, and Kanhaiya still plumbing for socialism as a panacea for the masses.

The three youth leaders, despite their talents, thus represent regressive causes. The irony is that they, as well as their political patrons and ideological well-wishers, project themselves as progressive.

Standing for divisive caste/class politics, all three capture some degree of the frustration and resentment of our youth, without offering any viable alternatives.

Until they broaden their support base as well as their vision, they will remain single agenda leaders, with a limited draw at the electoral hustings.

Meanwhile, the seniors still rule the roost, which has always been the Indian way, since mythological times. In every contest between youth and old age, the latter wins - unless, as in the fight between Arjuna and Bheeshma, the former is permitted to defeat the latter.

Knowing this, the BJP would do well to nurture a cadre of youth leaders, which will take the party forward when this lot has done its job.

(Courtesy of Mail Today)

Also read: Love not love jihad, jobs and freedom for Chandrashekhar: Notes from Jignesh Mevani's Yuva Hunkar rally
The following companies are subsidiares of Roper Technologies: 3089554 Nova Scotia ULC, AC Analytical Controls B.V., AC Analytical Controls Holding B.V., AC Analytical Controls Services B.V., Acton Research Corporation, Acumen PM LLC, Aderant CM LLC, Aderant CRM LLC, Aderant Case Management LLC, Aderant Company, Aderant CompuLaw LLC, Aderant DoD LLC, Aderant Enterprise Holdings Inc., Aderant FM LLC, Aderant Holdings Inc., Aderant Imaging LLC, Aderant International Holdings Inc., Aderant Legal (UK) Limited, Aderant Legal Holdings (AUS) Pty Ltd, Aderant Legal Holdings (NZ) ULC, Aderant Legal Holdings Inc., Aderant North America Inc., Aderant Parent Holdings Inc., Aderant RainMaker LLC, Aderant Redwood LLC, Advanced Sensors Limited, Alpha Holdings of I LLC, Alpha Holdings of II LLC, Alpha Technologies B.V., Alpha Technologies GmbH, Alpha Technologies LLC, Alpha Technologies Services LLC, Alpha Technologies U.K., Alpha Technologies s.r.o., Alpha UK Holdings LLC, Amot Controls Corporation, Amot Controls GmbH, Amot/Metrix Investment Company Inc., Amphire Solutions Inc., Amtech Systems LLC, Amtech Systems Limited, Amtech World Corporation, Ascension Technology Corporation, Atlantic Health Partners Inc., Atlas Healthcare Software Private Limited, Austria, Avitru LLC, Axium Holdco Inc., C/S Solutions Inc., CBORD Holdings Corp., CIVCO Medical Solutions B.V., Cayman Islands, Centurion Research Solutions LLC, Civco Holding Inc., Civco Medical Instruments Co. Inc., CliniSys Group Limited, Clinisys Scotland Limited, Clinisys Solutions Limited, Compressor Controls (Beijing) Corporation Ltd., Compressor Controls Corporation, Compressor Controls Corporation B.V., Compressor Controls Corporation Middle East, Compressor Controls Corporation S.r.l., Compressor Controls Ltd., Compressor Controls Pty Ltd., ConstructConnect Inc., Cornell Pump, DAP Technologies Corp., DAP Technologies LTD, DAT Solutions LLC, DCMH Group Holdings Inc., DCMH Group Holdings LLC, DCMH Holdings Inc., DI Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., DI Dutch Holdings LLC, DI Limited, Dash I Inc., Data Innovations Cooperatief U.A., Data Innovations Europe S.A., Data Innovations LLC, Data Innovations Latin America Ltda, Data Innovations Ltd., Dawning Technologies LLC, Deltek, Deltek Ajera Inc., Deltek Asia Pacific (HK) Limited, Deltek B.V., Deltek Belgie BVBA, Deltek Danmark A/S, Deltek GB Limited, Deltek GmbH, Deltek Inc., Deltek Nederland B.V., Deltek Norge AS, Deltek Pty Ltd., Deltek SAS, Deltek Sverige AB, Deltek Systems () Inc., Deltek Systems (Philippines) Ltd., Deltek Systems ) Inc., Deltek WST LLC, Dominion I Inc., Dynamic Instruments Inc., Dynisco, Dynisco Enterprises GmbH, Dynisco Enterprises LLC, Dynisco Europe GmbH, Dynisco Holding GmbH, Dynisco Holdings Limited, Dynisco Instruments LLC, Dynisco Instruments S.a.r.l., Dynisco Parent Inc., Dynisco S.r.l., Dynisco Shanghai Sensor and Instrument Co. Ltd., Dynisco Viatran LLC, Dynisco Viatran (M) Sdn Bhd, Dynisco-Viatran Instrument Sdn Bhd, FMS Purchasing & Services Inc., FSI Holdings Inc., FTI Flow Technology Inc., Fluid Metering Inc., Foodlink Holdings Inc., Foodlink IT Private Limited, Foundry, Gatan GmbH, Gatan Inc., Gatan Service Corporation, Gatan U.K. Limited, GeneInsight Inc., Getloaded Corporation, Guangzhou MEDTEC Medical Device Co. Ltd, HRsmart Czech Republic, HRsmart Germany, HRsmart GmbH, HRsmart Inc., HRsmart International, HRsmart International Holdings LLC, HRsmart Mexico, HRsmart SA (Pty) Ltd., HRsmart SAS, HRsmart Talent Management Solutions Europe Limited, HRsmart Ventures LLC, Handshake Software Inc., Hansco Automatisering B.V., Hansen Technologies Corporation, Hansen Technologies Europe GmbH, Harbour Holding Corp., Hardy Process Solutions, Horizon Software International LLC, INPUT Inc., IPA Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., ISL Finance SAS, ISL Holding SAS, ISL Scientifique de Laboratorie - ISL S.A.S., IT Holdings LLC, Innovative Product Achievements LLC, Inovonics Corporation, Input S.A.R.L., Instill Corporation, Integrated Designs L.P., IntelliTrans Limited, Intellitrans AB, Intellitrans LLC, Intellitrans Ltd., Job Access LTDA, K/S Roper Holding, K/S Roper Investments, Link Logistics Holding LLC, Logitech Limited, Louis U.K. Limited, Lumenera, MED Professional Services LLC, MEDTEC Inc., MHA Long Term Care Network Inc., MIPS Austria GesmbH, MIPS CZ s.r.o, MIPS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, MIPS Deutschland Holding GmbH, MIPS Nederland B.V., MIPS Sarl, MIPS Schweiz AG, MIPS Software Iberica SL, MPR Readers Inc., Managed Health Care Associates Inc., Marumoto Struers K.K., Media Cybernetics Inc., Medical Information Professional Systems GmbH, Medical Information Professional Systems NV, Medina Acquisition LLC, Metrix Instrument Co. L.P., NDI Europe, Navigator Group Purchasing Inc., Neptune Technology Group () Co., Neptune Technology Group Inc., Neptune Technology Group S.de R.L. de C.V., Neptune Technology Group Services Inc., Neptune Technology Group Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Nippon Roper K.K., Northern Digital Inc., Off-Campus Advantage LLC, Omega Legal Systems Inc., PAC (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PAC ApS, PAC GmbH, PAC Instruments (Thailand) Company Limited, PAC Instruments Asia PTE. Ltd., PB Bidco Limited, PB Holdco Limited, PB Midco Limited, PB Topco Limited, PGP UK Limited, Petroleum Analyzer Company L.P., Phase Analyzer Company Ltd., PowerPlan, PowerPlan Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Holdings LLC, PowerPlan Inc., PowerPlan Intermediate Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Operations ANZ Pty Ltd, PowerPlan Operations Ltd., PowerPlan ULC, Project Cobalt Acquisition Corp, Project Diamond Intermediate Holdings Corporation, Project Torque Intermediate Holdings Inc., QSC 1208 Limited, QSC 1209 Limited, Quantitative Imaging Corporation, RF IDeas Inc., RI Marketing Private Limited, RIL Holding Limited, RMT Inc., RT Merger Sub Inc., Rebate Tracking Group LLC, Redlake MASD LLC, Roda Deaco Valve Inc., Roper Brasil Comercio E Promocao De Productos E Servicos LTDA, Roper Capital Deutschland GmbH, Roper DK Sub Sarl, Roper Engineering s.r.o., Roper Europe GmbH, Roper Finance S.a.r.l., Roper GM Holdings ApS, Roper GmbH, Roper GmbH & Co. KG, Roper Holdings Inc., Roper Holdings LP, Roper Holdings Limited, Roper Holdings S.a.r.l., Roper Industrial Products Investment Company, Roper Industries ApS, Roper Industries Deutschland GmbH, Roper Industries Inc., Roper Industries L.P., Roper Industries Limited, Roper Industries Ltd., Roper Industries Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Roper Industries UK Limited, Roper International Holding Inc., Roper LLC, Roper Lux Sub S.a.r.l, Roper Middle East Ltd., Roper NL1 UK Limited, Roper NL2 UK Limited, Roper Pump Company, Roper S.a.r.l., Roper Scientific B.V., Roper Scientific GmbH, Roper Scientific Inc., Roper Scientific SAS, Roper Scot LP, Roper Southeast Asia LLC, Roper Swiss Finance GmbH, Roper UK Holdings S.a.r.l., Roper UK Investments Limited, Roper UK Limited, Roper UK Ltd., Roper-Mex L.P., Ropintassco 1 LLC, Ropintassco 2 LLC, Ropintassco 3 LLC, Ropintassco 4 LLC, Ropintassco 5 LLC, Ropintassco 6 LLC, Ropintassco 7 LLC, Ropintassco Holdings L.P., SHP Group Holdings Inc., SIRA LLC, Scotland, Shanghai Roper Industries Trading Co. Ltd., Singapore, Sinmed Holding International B.V., Societe de Distribution de Logiciels Medicaux, SoftWriters Inc., Softwriters Holdings Inc., Sohnar Pty Ltd, Spain, Star Purchasing Services LLC, Strata Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., Strata Decision Technology Holdings LLC, Strata Decision Technology LLC, Strata Parallel II Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker 2 Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs Holdings LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs L.L.C., Struers (Shanghai) International Trading Ltd., Struers A/S, Struers GmbH, Struers Inc., Struers Limited, Struers SAS, Student Advantage LLC, Sunquest Europe Limited, Sunquest Holdings Inc., Sunquest Information Systems, Sunquest Information Systems () Private Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (Europe) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (International) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems Inc., Sunquest Information Systems Pty Ltd, Switzerland, TLP Holdings LLC, Taupo Holdings Inc., Technolog Group Limited, Technolog Holdings Ltd., Technolog Limited, Technolog SARL, Tennessee, Thailand, The CBORD Group Inc., The Management Group Inc., The Tidewater Healthcare Shared Services Group Inc., Torque Acquisition Holdco Inc., Transcore Atlantic Inc., Transcore CNUS Inc., Transcore Holdings Inc., Transcore ITS LLC, Transcore LP, Transcore Link Logistics Corporation, Transcore Nova Scotia Corporation, Transcore Partners LLC, Transcore Quebec Corporation Inc., Trinity Integrated Systems Limited, UHF Purchasing Services LLC, Union Square Software (International) Limited, Union Square Software Inc., Union Square Software Limited, Union Square Software Pty, Uson L.P., Uson Limited, Utilitec Limited, Utilitec Services Limited, Utility Data Services Limited, Verathon Holdings Inc., Verathon Inc., Verathon Medical, Verathon Medical (Europe) B.V., Verathon Medical (UK) Ltd., Verathon Medical Limited, Verathon Medical Pty Limited, Verathon Medical SARL, Verathon Medical ULC, Viastar Services LP, Viatran, Walter Herzog GmbH, Wisconsin, WorkBook APAC Ltd., Workbook Software A/S, Zetec (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zetec France, Zetec Inc., Zetec Korea Inc., Zetec Rental LLC, Zetec Services Inc., iPipeline, iSqFt Holdings Inc., iSqFt Parent Corporation, iSqFt Sub Inc., iTradeNetwork Inc., iTradenetwork Limited, and mySBX Corporation.
Canopy Growth Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in growing, possession, and sale of medical cannabis in Canada. Its products include dried flowers, oils and concentrates, softgel capsules, and hemps. The company offers its products under the Tweed, Black Label, Spectrum Cannabis, DNA Genetics, Leafs By Snoop, CraftGrow, and Foria brand names. It also offers its products through Tweed Main Street, a single online platform that enables registered patients to purchase medicinal cannabis from various producers across various brands. Canopy Growth Corporation has a clinical research partnership with NEEKA Health Canada to investigate the efficacy of cannabinoids for the treatment of post-concussion neurological diseases in former NHL players; and partnership with Parent Action on Drugs. The company was formerly known as Tweed Marijuana Inc. and changed its name to Canopy Growth Corporation in September 2015. Canopy Growth Corporation is headquartered in Smiths Falls, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceutical Trading Limited Liability Company (a/k/a Pfizer Kft. or Pfizer LLC), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Korea Limited, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Pfizer Pigments Inc., Pfizer Polska Sp. z.o.o., Pfizer Private Limited, Pfizer Production LLC, Pfizer Products Inc., Pfizer Products India Private Limited, Pfizer Research (NC) Inc., Pfizer Romania SRL, Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A. (Belgium), Pfizer S.A. de C.V., Pfizer S.A.S., Pfizer S.G.P.S. Lda., Pfizer S.L., Pfizer S.R.L., Pfizer SRB d.o.o., Pfizer Saidal Manufacturing, Pfizer Sante Familiale, Pfizer Saudi Limited, Pfizer Seiyaku K.K., Pfizer Service Company BVBA, Pfizer Service Company Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Services 1, Pfizer Services LLC, Pfizer Shared Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Shareholdings Intermediate SARL, Pfizer Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Singapore Trading Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Spain Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Specialties Limited, Pfizer Strategic Investment Holdings LLC, Pfizer Sweden Partnership KB, Pfizer TRAE Holdings Kft., Pfizer Trading Polska sp.z.o.o., Pfizer Transactions Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Transactions LLC, Pfizer Transactions Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer Transport LLC, Pfizer Ukraine LLC, Pfizer Vaccines LLC, Pfizer Venezuela S.A., Pfizer Venture Investments LLC, Pfizer Ventures LLC, Pfizer Worldwide Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Zona Franca S.A., Pfizer spol. s r.o., Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn S.A. de C.V., Pharmacia Brasil Ltda., Pharmacia Hepar LLC, Pharmacia Holding AB, Pharmacia Inter-American LLC, Pharmacia International B.V., Pharmacia LLC, Pharmacia Limited, Pharmacia Nostrum S.A., Pharmacia South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PowderJect Research Limited, PowderMed, Purepac Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, Redvax, Renrall LLC, Rinat Neuroscience, Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Roerig Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Roerig S.A., Sao Cristovao Participacoes Ltda., Searle Laboratorios Lda., Serenex, Servicios P&U S. de R.L. de C.V., Shiley LLC, Sinergis Farma-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Site Realty Inc., Solinor LLC, Sugen LLC, Tabor LLC, The Pfizer Incubator LLC, Therachon, Thiakis Limited, Treerly Health Co. Ltd, US Oral Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Upjohn Laboratorios Lda., Vesteralens Naturprodukter A/S, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AB, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AS, Vesteralens Naturprodukter OY, Vicuron Holdings LLC, Vinci Farma S.A., W-L LLC, Warner Lambert, Warner Lambert Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Warner Lambert del Uruguay S.A., Warner-Lambert (Thailand) Limited, Warner-Lambert Company AG, Warner-Lambert Company LLC, Warner-Lambert Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Warner-Lambert S.A., Whitehall International Inc., Whitehall Laboratories Inc., Wyeth (Thailand) Ltd., Wyeth AB, Wyeth Australia Pty. Limited, Wyeth Ayerst Inc., Wyeth Ayerst S.a r.l., Wyeth Biopharma, Wyeth Canada ULC, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare LLC, Wyeth Europa Limited, Wyeth Farma S.A., Wyeth Holdings LLC, Wyeth Industria Farmaceutica Ltda., Wyeth KFT., Wyeth LLC, Wyeth Lederle S.r.l., Wyeth Lederle Vaccines S.A., Wyeth Pakistan Limited, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited.
The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation.
Royal Dutch Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company worldwide. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Oil Products, Chemicals segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles and marine vessels. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as gasoline, diesel, heating oil, aviation fuel, marine fuel, biofuel, lubricants, bitumen, and sulphur; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Royal Dutch Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.

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BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. It operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems, such as isocyanates and polyamides, as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for plastic and plastic processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants, light stabilizers, oilfield chemicals, mineral processing, and hydrometallurgical chemicals. The Surface Technologies segment offers chemical solutions and automotive OEM which include refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and base metal services for the automotive and chemical industries. The Nutrition & Care segment provides nutrition and care ingredients for food and feed producers, as well as pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent, and cleaner industries. The Agricultural Solutions segment offers crop protection products and seeds, such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop production products, as well as seed treatment products. The company has a strategic partnership with IntelliSense.io. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft: 87 Leonard Development LLC, ABFS I Incorporated, ABS MB Ltd., Acacia (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Accounting Solutions Holding Company Inc, Alex. Brown Financial Services Incorporated, Alex. Brown Investments Incorporated, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft mbH, Amber Investments S.a r.l., Ambidexter GmbH, Ambidexter GmbH i.L., Argent Incorporated, BHW - Gesellschaft fur Wohnungswirtschaft mbH, BHW Bausparkasse Aktiengesellschaft, BHW Holding GmbH, BHW Kreditservice GmbH, BNA Nominees Pty Limited, BT Globenet Nominees Limited, BTAS Cayman GP, BTD Nominees Pty Limited, Baincor Nominees Pty Limited, Bainpro Nominees Pty Ltd, Baldur Mortgages Limited, Bankers Trust Investments Limited, Barkly Investments Ltd., Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc, Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc., Berkshire Mortgage Finance, Betriebs-Center fur Banken AG, Biomass Holdings S.a r.l., Birch (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Blue Cork Inc, Blue Cork Inc., Borfield Sociedad Anonima, Breaking Wave DB Limited, Cape Acquisition Corp., CapeSuccess Inc., CapeSuccess LLC, Cardales UK Limited, Cardea Real Estate S.r.l., Career Blazers LLC, Career Blazers Management Company Inc, Career Blazers Management Company Inc., Career Blazers Personnel Services Inc, Career Blazers Personnel Services Inc., Career Blazers Personnel Services of Washington D.C. Inc. Washington D.C., Caribbean Resort Holdings Inc, Caribbean Resort Holdings Inc., Carpathian Investments Designated Activity Company, Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Asset Management Company Limited, Cathay Capital Company (No 2) Limited, Cedar (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Centennial River 2 Inc., Centennial River Corporation, Chapel Funding, Charlton (Delaware) Inc, China Recovery Fund LLC, China Recovery Fund LLC, Cinda - DB NPL Securitization Trust 2003-1, City Leasing (Thameside) Limited, City Leasing Limited, Consumo S.p.A., Consumo Srl in Liquidazione, Cyrus J. Lawrence Capital Holdings Inc., Cyrus J. Lawrence Capital Holdings Inc., D B Investments (GB) Limited, D&M Turnaround Partners Godo Kaisha, D.B. International Delaware Inc., D.B. International Delaware Inc., DAHOC (UK) Limited (in members' voluntary liquidation), DAHOC Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, DB (Barbados) SRL, DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Asing) Sdn. Bhd., DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Tempatan) Sendirian Berhad, DB (Pacific) Limited, DB (Pacific) Limited New York, DB (Pacific) Limited New York, DB Abalone LLC, DB Alex. Brown Holdings Incorporated, DB Alps Corporation, DB Aotearoa Investments Limited, DB Asia Pacific Holdings Limited (in voluntary liquidation), DB Asset Finance I S.a r.l., DB Asset Finance II S.a r.l., DB Aster II LLC, DB Aster III LLC, DB Aster Inc., DB Aster LLC, DB Beteiligungs-Holding GmbH, DB Boracay LLC, DB Capital Investments Sarl, DB Capital Markets (Deutschland) GmbH, DB Capital Partners Inc., DB Capital Partners Inc., DB Cartera de Inmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Cartera de Inmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Chestnut Holdings Limited, DB Commodity Services LLC, DB Consorzio S. Cons. a r. l., DB Corporate Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., DB Covered Bond S.r.l., DB Credit Investments S.a r.l., DB Delaware Holdings (Europe) Limited, DB Direkt GmbH, DB Elara LLC, DB Energy Commodities Limited (in members' voluntary liquidation), DB Energy Trading LLC, DB Enfield Infrastructure Holdings Limited, DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equity Limited, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Finance International GmbH, DB Ganymede 2006 L.P., DB Global Markets Multi-Strategy Fund I Ltd., DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology SRL, DB Group Services (UK) Limited, DB HR Solutions GmbH, DB Holding Fundo de Investimento Multimercado Investimento no Exterior Credito Privado, DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB Holdings (South America) Limited, DB IROC Leasing Corp., DB Immobilienfonds 1 Wieland KG, DB Immobilienfonds 2 KG i.L., DB Immobilienfonds 4 KG i.L., DB Immobilienfonds 5 Wieland KG, DB Impact Investment (GP) Limited, DB Impact Investment Fund I L.P., DB Impact Investment Fund I L.P., DB Industrial Holdings Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, DB Industrial Holdings GmbH, DB Intermezzo LLC, DB International (Asia) Limited, DB International Investments Limited, DB International Trust (Singapore) Limited, DB Investment Managers Inc., DB Investment Managers Inc., DB Investment Partners Inc., DB Investment Partners Inc., DB Investment Resources (US) Corporation, DB Investment Resources Holdings Corp., DB Investment Services GmbH, DB Io LP, DB Litigation Fee LLC, DB London (Investor Services) Nominees Limited, DB Management Support GmbH, DB Managers LLC, DB Municipal Holdings LLC, DB Nexus American Investments (UK) Limited (in members'voluntary liquidation), DB Nexus Investments (UK) Limited (in members' voluntary liquidation), DB Nominees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB Nominees (Singapore) Pte Ltd, DB Omega BTV S.C.S., DB Omega Holdings LLC, DB Omega Ltd., DB Omega S.C.S., DB Operaciones y Servicios Interactivos Agrupacion de Interes Economico, DB Overseas Finance Delaware Inc., DB Overseas Finance Delaware Inc., DB Overseas Holdings Limited, DB PWM, DB Portfolio Southwest Inc., DB Print GmbH, DB Privat- und Firmenkundenbank AG, DB Private Clients Corp., DB Private Wealth Mortgage Ltd., DB RC Holdings LLC, DB Re S.A., DB Service Centre Limited, DB Service Uruguay S.A., DB Services Americas Inc., DB Services Americas Inc., DB Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., DB Strategic Advisors Inc., DB Strategic Advisors Inc., DB Structured Derivative Products LLC, DB Structured Derivative Products LLC, DB Structured Finance 1 Designated Activity Company, DB Structured Finance 2 Designated Activity Company, DB Structured Holdings Luxembourg S.a r.l., DB Structured Products Inc., DB Structured Products Inc., DB Trustee Services Limited, DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB U.S. Financial Markets Holding Corporation, DB UK Bank Limited, DB UK Holdings Limited, DB UK PCAM Holdings Limited, DB USA Core Corporation, DB USA Corporation, DB Valoren S.a r.l., DB Value S.a r.l., DB VersicherungsManager GmbH, DB Vita S.A., DBAB Wall Street LLC, DBAH Capital LLC, DBAH Capital LLC, DBCIBZ1, DBCIBZ2, DBFIC Inc., DBFIC Inc., DBNZ Overseas Investments (No.1) Limited, DBOI Global Services (UK) Limited, DBOI Global Services Private Limited, DBR Investments Co. Limited, DBRE Global Real Estate Management IA Ltd., DBRE Global Real Estate Management IB Ltd., DBRE Global Real Estate Management IB Ltd., DBRE Global Real Estate Management US IB L.L.C., DBRMS4, DBRMSGP1, DBUK PCAM Limited, DBUKH No. 2 Limited, DBUSBZ1 LLC, DBUSBZ1 LLC, DBUSBZ2 S.a r.l., DBUSBZ2 S.a r.l., DBX Advisors LLC, DBX ETF Trust, DBX Strategic Advisors LLC, DBO Vermogensverwertung GmbH, DEBEKO Immobilien GmbH & Co Grundbesitz OHG, DEE Deutsche Erneuerbare Energien GmbH, DEUFRAN Beteiligungs GmbH, DEUKONA Versicherungs-Vermittlungs-GmbH, DEUTSCHE BANK A.S., DG China Clean Tech Partners, DI Deutsche Immobilien Treuhandgesellschaft mbH, DIB-Consult Deutsche Immobilien- und BeteiligungsBeratungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., DISCA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, DNU Nominees Pty Limited, DSL Portfolio GmbH & Co. KG, DSL Portfolio Verwaltungs GmbH, DTS Nominees Pty Limited, DWS Alternatives France, DWS Alternatives Global Limited, DWS Alternatives GmbH, DWS Asset Management (Korea) Company Limited, DWS Beteiligungs GmbH, DWS CH AG, DWS Distributors Inc., DWS Distributors Inc., DWS Far Eastern Investments Limited, DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA, DWS Group Services UK Limited, DWS Grundbesitz GmbH, DWS International GmbH, DWS Investment GmbH, DWS Investment Management Americas Inc., DWS Investment Management Americas Inc., DWS Investment S.A., DWS Investments Australia Limited, DWS Investments Hong Kong Limited, DWS Investments Japan Limited, DWS Investments Shanghai Limited, DWS Investments Singapore Limited, DWS Investments UK Limited, DWS Management GmbH, DWS Real Estate GmbH, DWS Service Company, DWS Trust Company, DWS USA Corporation, De Heng Asset Management Company Limited, De Meng Innovative (Beijing) Consulting Company Limited, DeAM Infrastructure Limited, Deloraine Spain S.L., Delowrezham de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Deposit Solutions, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Capital Holdings New Zealand, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Foreign Investments New Zealand, Deutsche (Mauritius) Limited Port, Deutsche (New Munster) Holdings New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Access Investments Limited, Deutsche Aeolia Power Production Societe Anonyme, Deutsche Alt-A Securities Inc., Deutsche Alt-A Securities Inc., Deutsche Alternative Asset Management (France) SAS, Deutsche Alternative Asset Management (UK) Limited, Deutsche Asia Pacific Holdings Pte Ltd, Deutsche Asset Management (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Asset Management (Japan) Limited, Deutsche Asset Management (Korea) Company Limited, Deutsche Asset Management S.A., Deutsche Asset Management S.G.I.I.C. S.A., Deutsche Australia Limited, Deutsche Bank (Cayman) Limited, Deutsche Bank (Chile), Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd., Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd., Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA, Deutsche Bank (Uruguay) Sociedad Anonima Institucion Financiera Externa, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank Americas Holding Corp., Deutsche Bank Bauspar-Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank Capital Finance LLC I, Deutsche Bank Capital Finance Trust I, Deutsche Bank Europe GmbH, Deutsche Bank Financial Company, Deutsche Bank Holdings Inc., Deutsche Bank Holdings Inc., Deutsche Bank Insurance Agency Incorporated, Deutsche Bank Insurance Agency of Delaware, Deutsche Bank International Limited, Deutsche Bank Investments (Guernsey) Limited, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A., Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A. - Fiduciary Deposits, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A. - Fiduciary Note Programme, Deutsche Bank Mutui S.p.A., Deutsche Bank Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple, Deutsche Bank Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple, Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Deutsche Bank National Trust Company Los, Deutsche Bank Nominees (Guernsey) Limited, Deutsche Bank Nominees (Jersey) Limited, Deutsche Bank Polska Spolka Akcyjna, Deutsche Bank Representative Office Nigeria Limited, Deutsche Bank S.A. - Banco Alemao, Deutsche Bank S.A. - Banco Alemao Sao, Deutsche Bank SPEARs/LIFERs Series DBE-8011 Trust, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Limited, Deutsche Bank Services (Jersey) Limited, Deutsche Bank Sociedad Anonima Espanola, Deutsche Bank Sociedad Anonima Espanola, Deutsche Bank Societa per Azioni, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Delaware, Deutsche Bank Trust Company National Association, Deutsche Bank Trust Company National Association, Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation, Deutsche CIB Centre Private Limited, Deutsche Capital Finance (2000) Limited, Deutsche Capital Hong Kong Limited, Deutsche Capital Management Limited, Deutsche Capital Markets Australia Limited, Deutsche Capital Partners China Limited, Deutsche Cayman Ltd., Deutsche Colombia S.A.S., Deutsche Custody N.V., Deutsche Domus New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Equities India Private Limited, Deutsche Finance Co 1 Pty Limited, Deutsche Finance Co 2 Pty Limited, Deutsche Finance Co 3 Pty Limited, Deutsche Finance Co 4 Pty Limited, Deutsche Finance No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Foras New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Immobilien-Leasing mit beschrankter Haftung, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Immobilien-Leasing mit beschrankterHaftung, Deutsche Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Group Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Deutsche Group Services Pty Limited, Deutsche Grundbesitz Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Deutsche Grundbesitz Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., Deutsche Grundbesitz-Anlagegesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Deutsche Holdings (BTI) Limited, Deutsche Holdings (Grand Duchy), Deutsche Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Deutsche Holdings (Malta) Ltd., Deutsche Holdings Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 3 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 4 Limited, Deutsche Immobilien Leasing GmbH, Deutsche India Holdings Private Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services (Ireland) Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services Limited, Deutsche International Custodial Services Limited, Deutsche Inversiones Dos S.A., Deutsche Inversiones Limitada, Deutsche Investments (Netherlands) N.V., Deutsche Investments India Private Limited, Deutsche Investor Services Private Limited, Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd., Deutsche Leasing New York Corp., Deutsche Mandatos S.A., Deutsche Master Funding Corporation, Deutsche Mexico Holdings S.a r.l., Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Group Limited, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Group Public Limited Company, Deutsche Mortgage & Asset Receiving Corporation, Deutsche Mortgage Securities Inc., Deutsche Mortgage Securities Inc., Deutsche Nederland N.V., Deutsche New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Nominees Limited, Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office AG, Deutsche Overseas Issuance New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Postbank, Deutsche Postbank Finance Center Objekt GmbH, Deutsche Postbank Funding LLC I, Deutsche Postbank Funding LLC II, Deutsche Postbank Funding LLC III, Deutsche Private Asset Management Limited, Deutsche Securities (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Securities (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities (SA) (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities Asia Limited, Deutsche Securities Australia Limited, Deutsche Securities Inc., Deutsche Securities Israel Ltd., Deutsche Securities Korea Co., Deutsche Securities Mauritius Limited, Deutsche Securities Menkul Degerler A.S., Deutsche Securities S.A., Deutsche Securities S.A. de C.V. Casa de Bolsa, Deutsche Securities S.A. de C.V. Casa de Bolsa, Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia, Deutsche Securities SpA, Deutsche Securities Venezuela S.A., Deutsche Securitisation Australia Pty Limited, Deutsche Services Polska Sp. z o.o., Deutsche StiftungsTrust GmbH, Deutsche Strategic Investment Holdings Yugen Kaisha, Deutsche Trust Company Limited Japan, Deutsche Trustee Company Limited, Deutsche Trustee Services (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Trustees Malaysia Berhad, Deutsche Wealth Management S.G.I.I.C. S.A., Deutsches Institut fur Altersvorsorge GmbH, Durian (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., EC EUROPA IMMOBILIEN FONDS NR. 3 GmbH & CO. KG i.I., Elba Finance GmbH, Elizabethan Holdings Limited, Elizabethan Management Limited, Emerald Asset Repackaging Designated Activity Company, Erste Frankfurter Hoist GmbH, European Value Added I (Alternate G.P.) LLP, Exinor SA, FARAMIR Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs GmbH, FRANKFURT CONSULT GmbH, Fiduciaria Sant' Andrea S.r.L., Finanzberatungsgesellschaft mbH der Deutschen Bank, Franz Urbig- und Oscar Schlitter-Stiftung Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-037, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-039, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-040, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-041, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-043, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-044, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-047, Funfte SAB Treuhand und Verwaltung GmbH & Co. Suhl "Rimbachzentrum" KG, G Finance Holding Corp., G.O. IB-US Management L.L.C., G918 Corp., GAC-HEL Inc., GWC-GAC Corp., Galene S.a r.l., Gemini Technology Services Inc., German American Capital, German American Capital Corporation, Gladyr Spain S.L., Global Markets Fundo de Investimento Multimercado, Global Markets III Fundo de Investimento Multimercado - Credito, Greenwood Properties Corp., Grundstucksgesellschaft Frankfurt Bockenheimer Landstrae GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Kerpen-Sindorf Vogelrutherfeld GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Leipzig Petersstrae GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Wiesbaden Luisenstrae/Kirchgasse GbR, HTB Spezial GmbH & Co. KG, Hollandsche Bank-Unie, IOS Finance EFC S.A., ISTRON Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH, IVAF I Manager S.a r.l., IVAF I Manager S.a r.l., Immobilienfonds Buro-Center Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben I GbR, Immobilienfonds Buro-Center Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben II GbR, Immobilienfonds Mietwohnhauser Quadrath-Ichendorf GbR, Immobilienfonds Wohn- und Geschaftshaus Koln-Blumenberg V GbR, J R Nominees (Pty) Ltd, Joint Stock Company Deutsche Bank DBU, Jyogashima Godo Kaisha, KEBA Gesellschaft fur interne Services mbH, Kidson Pte Ltd, Konsul Inkasso GmbH, Kradavimd UK Lease Holdings Limited, LA Water Holdings Limited, LAWL Pte. Ltd., Latitude Australia Secured Personal Loans Trust, Leasing Verwaltungsgesellschaft Waltersdorf mbH, Leonardo III Initial GP Limited, Lindsell Finance Limited, London Industrial Leasing Limited, MEF I Manager S. a r.l., MEF I Manager S. a r.l., MHL Reinsurance Ltd., MIT Holdings Inc., MIT Holdings Inc., MPP Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Maher Terminals Holdings (Toronto) Limited, Morgan Grenfell & Company, MortgageIT, MortgageIT Inc., MortgageIT Inc., MortgageIT Securities Corp., Motion Picture Productions One GmbH & Co. KG, NCW Holding Inc., Navegator - SGFTC S.A., Navegator - SGFTC S.A., New 87 Leonard LLC, Nordwestdeutscher Wohnungsbautrager Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, OOO "Deutsche Bank TechCentre", OOO "Deutsche Bank", OPB Verwaltungs- und Beteiligungs-GmbH, OPB Verwaltungs- und Treuhand GmbH, OPB-Holding GmbH, OPB-Nona GmbH, OPB-Oktava GmbH, OPB-Quarta GmbH, OPB-Quinta GmbH, OPB-Septima GmbH, OPPENHEIM Capital Advisory GmbH, OPPENHEIM Flottenfonds V GmbH & Co. KG, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Manager GmbH, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, OPS Nominees Pty Limited, OVT Trust 1 GmbH, OVV Beteiligungs GmbH, Opal Funds (Ireland) Public Limited Company, PADUS Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, PARTS Funding LLC., PB Factoring GmbH, PB Firmenkunden AG, PB International S.A., PB Spezial-Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, PBC Banking Services GmbH, PCC Services GmbH der Deutschen Bank, PT Deutsche Sekuritas Indonesia, PT. Deutsche Verdhana Sekuritas Indonesia, Pan Australian Nominees Pty Ltd, Peruda Leasing Limited, Plantation Bay Inc., Plantation Bay Inc., Postbank Akademie und Service GmbH, Postbank Beteiligungen GmbH, Postbank Direkt GmbH, Postbank Filialvertrieb AG, Postbank Finanzberatung AG, Postbank Immobilien GmbH, Postbank Immobilien und Baumanagement GmbH, Postbank Immobilien und Baumanagement GmbH & Co. Objekt Leipzig KG, Postbank Leasing GmbH, Postbank Service GmbH, Postbank Systems AG, QR Tower 2 LLC, Quantiguous, R.B.M. Nominees Pty Ltd, REO Properties Corporation, RREEF, RREEF America L.L.C., RREEF China REIT Management Limited, RREEF European Value Added I (G.P.) Limited, RREEF Fund Holding Co., RREEF India Advisors Private Limited, RREEF Management L.L.C., RTS Nominees Pty Limited, Reference Capital Investments Limited, RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., Route 28 Receivables LLC, Route 28 Receivables LLC, SAB Real Estate Verwaltungs GmbH, SAGITA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SAPIO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SCUDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SEDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SENA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Kamenz KG, SIFA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SOLIDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SP Mortgage Trust, SPINO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SPV I Sociedad Anonima Cerrada, SPV II Sociedad Anonima Cerrada, STATOR Heizkraftwerk Frankfurt (Oder) Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Sal. Oppenheim, Sal. Oppenheim Alternative Investments GmbH, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. AG & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Beteiligungs GmbH, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Komplementar AG, Sechste Salomon Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Sechste Salomon Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., Service Company Four Limited, Sharps SP I LLC, Singer Island Tower Suite LLC, Somkid Immobiliare S.r.l., Stelvio Immobiliare S.r.l., Structured Finance Americas LLC, Structured Finance Americas LLC, Swabia 1. Vermogensbesitz-GmbH, Suddeutsche Vermogensverwaltung Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, TAKIR Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TELO Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, TEMATIS Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., TERRUS Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., TESATUR Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Halle I KG i.L., TESATUR Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Nordhausen I KG i.L., TOSSA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TRIPLA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TRS Aria LLC, TRS Leda LLC, TRS Maple II LTD, TRS Oak II LTD, TRS SVCO LLC, TRS Scorpio LLC, TRS Tupelo II LTD, TRS Venor LLC, TRS Walnut II LTD, Tagus - Sociedade de Titularizacao de Creditos S.A., Tasfiye Halinde Deutsche Securities Menkul Degerler A.S., Tempurrite Leasing Limited, Thai Asset Enforcement and Recovery Asset Management Company Limited, Tianjin Deutsche AM Fund Management Co. Ltd., Treuinvest Service GmbH, Triplereason Limited, UKE Beteiligungs-GmbH, UKE Grundstucksgesellschaft mbH, UKE s.r.o., Ullmann - Esch Grundstucksgesellschaft Kirchnerstrae GbR, Ullmann - Esch Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Disternich GbR, Ullmann Ullmann Krockow Krockow Esch GbR, VCJ Lease S.a r.l., Vesta Real Estate S.r.l., VOB-ZVD Processing GmbH, WEPLA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, WEPLABeteiligungsgesellschaftmbH, Wealthspur Investment Ltd., Whale Holdings S.a r.l., World Trading (Delaware) Inc., World Trading(Delaware)Inc., Zumirez Drive LLC, db PBC, and norisbank GmbH.
Wall Street analysts have given Thomas Cook Group a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Thomas Cook Group wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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1. Yes. The bus service is underfunded, and the money will ensure another route.

2. Yes. Its COVID relief money, and plenty of people depend on public transportation.

3. No. The COVID funds are a short-term fix. The city cant afford a big outlay next year.

4. No. The city isnt getting much for its money. Another transit solution is needed.

5. Unsure. Its a hard to say whether HOP ridership will validate the expenditure.

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Weatherford International plc, an oilfield service company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing and fluid systems, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and drill stem test tools, and surface well testing and multiphase flow measurement services. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high-temperature and high-pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; managed pressure drilling, conventional mud-logging, drilling instrumentation, gas analysis, wellsite consultancy, and open hole and cased-hole logging services; reservoir solutions and software products; and intervention and remediation services. Further, the company provides equipment and drilling tools; tubular handling, management, and connection services; equipment rental services; and onshore contract drilling and related services through a fleet of land drilling and workover rigs. Weatherford International plc was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.

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The following companies are subsidiares of CVS Health: @Credentials Inc., ACS ACQCO CORP., ADMINCO Inc., AE Fourteen Incorporated, AHP Holdings Inc., AMC - Tennessee LLC, APS Acquisition LLC, ASCO HealthCare LLC, ASI Wings LLC, AUSHC Holdings Inc., Accendo Insurance Company, Accordant Health Services L.L.C., Active Health Management Inc., Administrative Enterprises Inc., AdvancePCS SpecialtyRx LLC, AdvanceRx.com L.L.C., Advanced Care Scripts Inc., Aetna, Aetna (Beijing) Enterprise Management Services Co. Ltd., Aetna (Shanghai) Enterprise Services Co. Ltd., Aetna ACO Holdings Inc., Aetna Asset Advisors LLC, Aetna Behavioral Health LLC, Aetna Better Health Inc., Aetna Better Health Inc., Aetna Better Health of California Inc., Aetna Better Health of Florida Inc., Aetna Better Health of Kansas Inc., Aetna Better Health of Michigan Inc., Aetna Better Health of Missouri LLC, Aetna Better Health of Nevada Inc., Aetna Better Health of North Carolina Inc., Aetna Better Health of Oklahoma Inc., Aetna Better Health of Texas Inc., Aetna Better Health of Washington Inc., Aetna Capital Management LLC, Aetna Card Solutions LLC, Aetna Corporate Services LLC, Aetna Dental Inc., Aetna Dental of California Inc., Aetna Financial Holdings LLC, Aetna Florida Inc., Aetna Global Benefits (Asia Pacific) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Bahamas) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Bermuda) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Europe) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Middle East) LLC, Aetna Global Benefits (Singapore) PTE. LTD., Aetna Global Benefits (UK) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits Limited (DIFC UAE), Aetna Global Holdings Limited, Aetna Health Holdings LLC, Aetna Health Inc., Aetna Health Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Aetna Health Insurance Company, Aetna Health Insurance Company of Europe DAC, Aetna Health Management LLC, Aetna Health and Life Insurance Company, Aetna Health of California Inc., Aetna Health of Iowa Inc., Aetna Health of Michigan Inc., Aetna Health of Ohio Inc., Aetna Health of Utah Inc., Aetna HealthAssurance Pennsylvania Inc., Aetna Holdco (UK) Limited, Aetna Holdings (Thailand) Limited, Aetna Inc., Aetna Insurance (Hong Kong) Limite, Aetna Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Aetna Insurance Company Limited, Aetna Integrated Informatics Inc., Aetna International Inc., Aetna Ireland Inc., Aetna Korea Ltd., Aetna Life & Casualty (Bermuda) Ltd., Aetna Life Assignment Company, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Aetna Medicaid Administrators LLC, Aetna Multi-Strategy 1099 Fund LLC, Aetna Network Services LLC, Aetna Partners Diversified Fund LLC, Aetna Pharmacy Management Services LLC, Aetna Resources LLC, Aetna Risk Assurance Company of Connecticut Inc., Aetna Rx Home Delivery LLC, Aetna Services (Thailand) Limited, Aetna Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Aetna Student Health Agency Inc., Aetna Ventures LLC, Aetna Workers Comp Access LLC, Alabama CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Alaska CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Company, Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Holding Company LLC, American Continental Insurance Company, American Drug Stores Delaware L.L.C., American Health Holding Inc., Arbor Drugs, Arizona CVS Stores L.L.C., Arkansas CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Badger Acquisition LLC, Badger Acquisition of Kentucky LLC, Badger Acquisition of Minnesota LLC, Badger Acquisition of Ohio LLC, Banner Health and Aetna Health Insurance Company, Banner Health and Aetna Health Insurance Holding Company LLC, Banner Health and Aetna Health Plan Inc., Beauty Holdings L.L.C., Best Care LTC Acquisition Company LLC, Busse CVS L.L.C., CCI Foreign S.a R.L. (R.C.S. Luxembourg), CCRx Holdings LLC, CCRx of North Carolina LLC, CHP Acquisition LLC, CP Acquisition LLC, CVS 2948 Henderson L.L.C., CVS 3268 Gilbert L.L.C., CVS 3745 Peoria L.L.C., CVS AL Distribution L.L.C., CVS AOC Corporation, CVS AOC Services L.L.C., CVS Albany L.L.C., CVS Bellmore Avenue L.L.C., CVS Care Concierge LLC, CVS Caremark Advanced Technology Pharmacy L.L.C., CVS Caremark Indemnity Ltd., CVS Caremark Part D Services L.L.C., CVS Caremark TN SUTA LLC, CVS Foreign Inc., CVS Gilbert 3272 L.L.C., CVS Health Solutions LLC, CVS Indiana L.L.C., CVS International L.L.C., CVS Kidney Care Advanced Technologies LLC, CVS Kidney Care Health Services LLC, CVS Kidney Care Home Dialysis LLC, CVS Kidney Care LLC, CVS Manchester NH L.L.C., CVS Media Exchange LLC, CVS Michigan L.L.C., CVS Orlando FL Distribution L.L.C., CVS PA Distribution L.L.C., CVS PR Center Inc., CVS Pharmacy Inc., CVS RS Arizona L.L.C., CVS Rx Services Inc., CVS SC Distribution L.L.C., CVS State Capital L.L.C., CVS TN Distribution L.L.C., CVS Transportation L.L.C., CVS Vero FL Distribution L.L.C., Campos Medical Pharmacy LLC, Canal Place LLC, Care Pharmaceutical Services LP, CareCenter Pharmacy L.L.C., Carefree Insurance Services Inc., Caremark Arizona Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Arizona Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark California Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Florida Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Florida Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Hawaii Mail Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Hawaii Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark IPA L.L.C., Caremark Illinois Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Illinois Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Irving Resource Center LLC, Caremark Kansas Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark L.L.C., Caremark Logistics LLC, Caremark Louisiana Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Maryland Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Massachusetts Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Michigan Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Minnesota Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark New Jersey Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark North Carolina Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Ohio Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Pennsylvania Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark PhC L.L.C., Caremark Puerto Rico L.L.C., Caremark Puerto Rico Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Redlands Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Repack LLC, Caremark Rx L.L.C., Caremark Tennessee Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Texas Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Texas Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Ulysses Holding Corp., Caremark Washington Specialty Pharmacy LLC, CaremarkPCS Alabama Mail Pharmacy LLC, CaremarkPCS Health L.L.C., CaremarkPCS L.L.C., Central Rx Services LLC, Claims Administration Corp., Cofinity Inc., Compscript LLC, Connecticut CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood Tennessee, Continuing Care Rx LLC, Coram Alternate Site Services Inc., Coram Clinical Trials Inc., Coram Healthcare Corporation of Alabama, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Florida, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Greater D.C., Coram Healthcare Corporation of Greater New York, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Indiana, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Massachusetts, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Mississippi, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Nevada, Coram Healthcare Corporation of North Texas, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Northern California, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Southern California, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Southern Florida, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Utah, Coram LLC, Coram Rx LLC, Coram Specialty Infusion, Coram Specialty Infusion Services L.L.C., Coventry Consumer Advantage Inc., Coventry Health Care National Accounts Inc., Coventry Health Care National Network Inc., Coventry Health Care Workers Compensation Inc., Coventry Health Care of Illinois Inc., Coventry Health Care of Kansas Inc., Coventry Health Care of Missouri Inc., Coventry Health Care of Nebraska Inc., Coventry Health Care of Virginia Inc., Coventry Health Care of West Virginia Inc., Coventry Health Plan of Florida Inc., Coventry Health and Life Insurance Company, Coventry HealthCare Management Corporation, Coventry Prescription Management Services Inc., Coventry Rehabilitation Services Inc., Coventry Transplant Network Inc., D & R Pharmaceutical Services LLC, D.A.W. LLC, Delaware CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Delaware Physicians Care Incorporated, Digital eHealth LLC, District of Columbia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., E.T.B. INC., Echo Merger Sub Inc., Eckerd Corporation of Florida Inc., Employee Assistance Services LLC, Enloe Drugs LLC, Enterprise Patient Safety Organization LLC, EntrustRX, Evergreen Pharmaceutical LLC, Evergreen Pharmaceutical of California Inc., Express Pharmacy Services of PA L.L.C., FOCUS HealthCare Management Inc., First Health Group Corp., First Health Life & Health Insurance Company, First Script Network Services Inc., Florida Health Plan Administrators LLC, Garfield Beach CVS L.L.C., Generation Health L.L.C., Geneva Woods Health Services LLC, Geneva Woods LTC Pharmacy LLC, Geneva Woods Management LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Alaska LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Washington LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Wyoming LLC, Geneva Woods Retail Pharmacy LLC, Georgia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., German Dobson CVS L.L.C., Goodhealth Worldwide (Asia) Limited, Goodhealth Worldwide (Global) Limited, Goodyear CVS L.L.C., Grand St. Paul CVS L.L.C., Grandview Pharmacy LLC, Group Dental Service Inc., Group Dental Service of Maryland Inc., Health Care Management Co. Ltd., Health Data & Management Solutions Inc., Health Re Inc., Health and Human Resource Center Inc., HealthAssuance Pennsylvania Inc., Healthagen LLC, Highland Park CVS L.L.C., Holiday CVS L.L.C., Home Care Pharmacy LLC, Home Pharmacy Services LLC, Hook-SupeRx L.L.C., Horizon Behavioral Services LLC, Idaho CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., IlliniCare Health, Indian Health Organisation Private Limited, Innovation Health Holdings LLC, Innovation Health Insurance Company, Innovation Health Plan Inc., Interlock Pharmacy Systems LLC, Iowa CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., JHC Acquisition LLC, Kansas CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Kentucky CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., LCPS Acquisition LLC, Langsam Health Services LLC, Lo-Med Prescription Services LLC, Lobos Acquisition LLC, Longs Drug Stores, Longs Drug Stores California L.L.C., Louisiana CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., MHHP Acquisition Company LLC, MHNet Life and Health Insurance Company, MHNet Specialty Services LLC, MHNet of Florida Inc., Managed Care Coordinators Inc., Managed Healthcare LLC, Martin Health Services LLC, Maryland CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Med World Acquisition Corp., Medical Arts Health Care LLC, Medical Examinations of New York P.C., Melville Realty Company Inc., MemberHealth LLC, Mental Health Associates Inc., Mental Health Network of New York IPA Inc., Meritain Health Inc., Merwin Long Term Care LLC, MetraComp Inc., Minor Health Enterprise Co Ltd., MinuteClinic, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Alabama L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Arizona LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Florida LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Georgia LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Hawaii L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Illinois LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Kentucky L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Louisiana L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Maine L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Maryland LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Massachusetts LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Nebraska L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of New Hampshire L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of New Mexico L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Ohio LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Oklahoma LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Oregon LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Pennsylvania LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Rhode Island LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of South Carolina L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Texas LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Utah L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Virginia LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Washington LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Wisconsin L.L.C., MinuteClinic L.L.C., MinuteClinic Online Diagnostic Services LLC, MinuteClinic Physician Practice of Texas, MinuteClinic Telehealth Services LLC, Mississippi CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Missouri CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Montana CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., NCS Healthcare LLC, NCS Healthcare of Illinois LLC, NCS Healthcare of Iowa LLC, NCS Healthcare of Kansas LLC, NCS Healthcare of Kentucky Inc. (Oh, NCS Healthcare of Montana LLC, NCS Healthcare of New Mexico LLC, NCS Healthcare of Ohio LLC, NCS Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, NCS Healthcare of Tennessee LLC, NCS Healthcare of Wisconsin LLC, NIV Acquisition LLC, Navarro Discount Pharmacy, Nebraska CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., NeighborCare Holdings Inc., NeighborCare Inc., NeighborCare Pharmacy Services Inc., NeighborCare Services Corporation, NeighborCare of Indiana LLC, NeighborCare of Virginia LLC, New Jersey CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Niagara Re Inc., North Carolina CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., North Shore Pharmacy Services LLC, NovoLogix LLC, OCR Services LLC, Ocean Acquisition Sub L.L.C., Ohio CVS Stores L.L.C., Oklahoma CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Omnicare, Omnicare Holding Company, Omnicare Inc., Omnicare Indiana Partnership Holding Company LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of Pennsylvania East LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of Pennsylvania West LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of the Great Plains Holding LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy and Supply Services LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy of Tennessee LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy of the Midwest LLC, Omnicare Property Management LLC, Omnicare of Nebraska LLC, Omnicare of Nevada LLC, Omnicare of New York LLC, Oregon CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., PE Holdings LLC, PHPSNE Parent Corporation, PP Acquisition Company LLC, PRN Pharmaceutical Services LP, PT Aetna Management Consulting, Pamplona Saude e Beleza LTDA, Part D Holding Company L.L.C., PayFlex Holdings Inc., PayFlex Systems USA Inc., Pennsylvania CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Performax Inc., Pharmacy Associates of Glenn Falls LLC, Pharmacy Consultants LLC, Phoenix Data Solutions LLC, Precision Benefit Services Inc., Prime Net Inc., ProCare Pharmacy Direct L.L.C., ProCare Pharmacy L.L.C., Prodigy Health Group Inc., Professional Risk Management Inc., Pt. Aetna Global Benefits Indonesia, Puerto Rico CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Red Oak Sourcing LLC, Resources for Living LLC, Rhode Island CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Roeschens Healthcare LLC, RxAmerica, Schaller Anderson Medical Administrators Incorporated, Scrip World LLC, Sheffield Avenue CVS L.L.C., Shore Pharmaceutical Providers LLC, Silverscript Insurance Company, Soma Intimates, South Carolina CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., South Wabash CVS L.L.C., Specialized Pharmacy Services LLC, Spinnaker Bidco Limited, Spinnaker Topco Limited, Stadtlander Drug Company, Stadtlander Pharmacy, Sterling Healthcare Services LLC, Superior Care Pharmacy LLC, Sutter Health and Aetna Administrative Services LLC, Sutter Health and Aetna Insurance Company, Sutter Health and Aetna Insurance Holding Company LLC, T2 Medical Inc., TCPI Acquisition LLC, TargetPharmacy, Tennessee CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Texas Health + Aetna Health Insurance Company, Texas Health + Aetna Health Insurance Holding Company LLC, Texas Health + Aetna Health Plan Inc., The Vasquez Group Inc., Thomas Phoenix CVS L.L.C., Three Forks Apothecary LLC, U.S Healthcare Holdings LLC, U.S. Healthcare Properties Inc., UAC Holding Inc., UC Acquisition LLC, UNI-Care Health Services of Maine LLC, Universal American - Medicare Part D Business, Utah CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., VAPS Acquisition Company LLC, Value Health Care Services LLC, Vermont CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Virginia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Virtual Home Healthcare L.L.C., Warm Springs Road CVS L.L.C., Washington CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Washington Lamb CVS L.L.C., Weber Medical Systems LLC, Wellpartner LLC, West Virginia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Westhaven Services Co LLC, Williamson Drug Company LLC, Wisconsin CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Woodward Detroit CVS L.L.C., Work and Family Benefits Inc., ZS Acquisition Company LLC, Zinc Health Services LLC, Zinc Health Ventures LLC, bSwift LLC, and iTriage LLC.
Xcel Energy, Inc. operates as a holding company, which engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits and distributes electricity primarily in portions of generates, transmits and distributes electricity in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. In addition, this segment includes sales for resale and provides wholesale transmission service to various entities in the United States. It also includes commodity trading operations. The Regulated Natural Gas Utility segment transports, stores, and distributes natural gas primarily in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan and Colorado. The All Others segment engages in steam, appliance repair services, nonutility real estate activities, processing solid waste into refuse-derived fuel and investments in rental housing projects that qualify for low-income housing tax credits. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a financial holding company. It provides financial and investment banking services. The firm offers a range of investment banking products and services in all capital markets, including advising on corporate strategy and structure, capital raising in equity and debt markets, risk management, market making in cash securities and derivative instruments, and brokerage and research. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Community Banking, Corporate and Investment Bank, Commercial Banking, and Asset and Wealth Management. The Consumer and Community Banking segment serves consumers and businesses through personal service at bank branches and through automated teller machine, online, mobile, and telephone banking. The Corporate and Investment Bank segment offers a suite of investment banking, market-making, prime brokerage, and treasury and securities products and services to a global client base of corporations, investors, financial institutions, government and municipal entities. The Commercial Banking segment delivers services to U.S. and its multinational clients, including corporations, municipalities, financial institutions, and non profit

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On a cold winters day in Halifax, travelling to Texas must sound like a pretty good idea. At least, thats why Josh Nieves and Sarah Dede think they encountered so many people from Dal while they were working in the Lone Star State.



Those introductions were what motivated the couple to come to Halifax for the Master of Architecture program.



Around the time we were looking to apply to a masters program, we happened to be working in Texas with some grads from Dal, Josh recalls. They kept trying to convince us to apply to Dals program. Sarah adds, There were also current Dal students on a work term in the office and they gave us a really good sense of what the program was like.



What they heard about the design-build focus of the program and the studio culture gave Sarah and Josh plenty of good reasons to apply. When they learned that the programs international tuition fees are more affordable than domestic fees at comparable U.S. universities, they knew it was the right choice.

Finding a good fit



Josh, whos from Hopewell Junction, New York and Sarah, who calls Wheaton, Illinois home, first met as undergrad students near Chicago.





Sarah liked math and making creative things with her hands, and saw architecture as a bridge between the pragmatic and the artistic. It really resonated with me because the practice is both technical and creative.



Josh was drawn to architecture for slightly different reasons. I loved building things, he says. When I discovered there was a profession that allows you to do that all the time I thought, Im in!



New opportunities



One of the most memorable experiences in the masters program has been the studio field trip to Cuba. As Americans, it was a unique experience. It was really interesting because we got insight into a place we dont really know that much about, Josh explains.



They traveled to Cuba as part of the Urban Systems Studio course, one of several options that incorporate a travel or off-site component. The course requires students to map at a distance, perform an on-site analysis and then bring it all together in a design project.



Sarah says this experience will pay off in the future.



Its kind of overlooked that a lot of architects will work in places theyre not familiar with, she says. Youre thrown into the culture and you have to absorb as much as you can in a short amount of time. It was good experience in something well likely have to do in practice.



Demonstrating expertise



Now that Josh and Sarah are in their final semester, theyre focused on testing and supporting their theses. Sarah is exploring how surroundings impact the human experience  specifically that of refugee communities.



Im focusing on refugee housing in the U.S. but specifically in permanent resettled areas and how architecture can help refugees integrate into their host communities and become self-sustaining.



Inspired by their travels across the U.S., Joshs thesis looks at breathe new life into disregarded landscapes.





We came across this massive open-pit mine in Butte, Montana, he recalls. Its closed off because its this big open pit thats filled with contaminated water but when you look at it, its beautiful and has a lot in common with other protected and promoted parks. Im trying to build a new narrative for how we could clean up and experience some of our more neglected and human-manufactured landscapes.



Next steps



Dalhousie Architecture is an accredited program that is professionally equivalent with American schools. That means that when they graduate, Josh and Sarah can simply return to the U.S. to complete their professional registration requirements. Picking a destination will be the only difficulty.



Weve worked in a few different places so we have all these bases across North America, Josh says. Sarah agrees, Its almost like there are too many options.



After that, they hope to pursue dreams of work in natural landscapes. Josh is eager to bring his thesis ideas to life with work in a National Park setting. To be able to work on something out in the wilderness would be great, he says.



Sarah hopes to get the opportunity to work on something very personal. Many architects dream of designing something for themselves and that would be something Id love to do  to build my own home surrounded by nature.
1:00pm 3:00pm

After a 22 month break due to COVID-19, womens soccer team returns to the field to take on the UNB Reds for their home opener on Saturday, September 11.



Due to restrictions in Phase 4 of the NS reopening plan, we are limited to 250 fans in the stands at this game. Get there early to avoid missing out
Currently FDI up to 49 per cent is permitted under the automatic route but beyond that limit government nod is required.

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is likely to review foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in certain sectors on Wednesday with a view to attract more overseas funds, sources said.

The sectors, which could be considered for further relaxation, include construction and single brand retail.

According to sources, FDI policy review in various sectors is expected to figure in Wednesday's meeting of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Last year, there was a proposal to permit 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in single brand retail trading.

Currently FDI up to 49 per cent is permitted under the automatic route but beyond that limit government nod is required.

The relaxation of policy is aimed at providing investor friendly climate to foreign players and in turn attract more FDI to boost economic growth and create jobs.

FDI during April-September this fiscal grew by 17 per cent to USD 25.35 billion.
Mumbai: Originally from Hyderabad, actor Syed Shujat is a Dubai based actor who was recently noticed for his role in Salman Khans Tiger Zinda Hai, where he played an evil bodyguard. The actor was also seen in Fast And Furious 7 and is gearing up for his Hollywood venture Twisted Blues. Syed Shujat gets chatty with Deccan Chronicle, where he talks about how he bagged 'TZH', on working with Salman Khan and more. Excerpts:

How did you bag a grand action film like 'Tiger Zinda Hai'?

I got to know about the casting through different agencies. At first, I didnt even know the films name. I just knew that Salman Khan is the lead in the film and the makers required different actors for the villains bodyguards role and I landed up as Baghdawis guard.

Syed Shujat on the sets of 'Tiger Zinda Hai'.

Being a Dubai based actor, you always wanted to do Bollywood films?

Yes, of course. Since I am originally from India, I would definitely target Bollywood movies but Dubai being one of the biggest international markets for films, I have also got an opportunity to work in two big Hollywood movies, Fast And Furious 7 and Twisted Blues which I recently shot. But India is my home, so I would surely prefer Bollywood movies if I get the opportunities in the future.

Syed Shujat on the sets of 'Tiger Zinda Hai'.

Any incident with Salman Khan you remember from the sets of TZH?

Being a very senior actor, Salman Khan is also my mentor. He is very focused while acting. I remember we were doing one scene where Baghdawi had to slap one of the guys; he wasnt doing it right as he was actually slapping him. Salman Khan saw this and showed him how to mock a slap and make it look real on screen. It was fun shooting a small fight sequence with him too.

Syed Shujat on the sets of 'Tiger Zinda Hai'.

Was it challenging enough for you to play Baghdawis guard?

It wasnt very tough but things were very spontaneous on the sets. There was one scene with Paresh Rawal, which had no script. We were mostly escorting Baghdawi wherever he was, driving those Range rovers- it was quite fun. We never felt the heat though it was 50 degrees in Abu Dhabi peak summer. It was fun shooting in Imperial palace and YRF studios in Mumbai too. It has been an amazing journey. The whole team has put in a lot of hard work especially the crew.
Due to this reason, medical associations said that those therapies which are in the clinical trial stage must not be prescribed even in the final stages.

Hyderabad: Novel therapies to prevent cancer cells from multiplying and cultivating immunity are becoming problematic as their safety and efficacy are yet to be established.

Due to this reason, medical associations said that those therapies which are in the clinical trial stage must not be prescribed even in the final stages.

Gene therapy, lipid-based capsules containing genes and cell therapy are novel treatments at the clinical trial stage, stated experts. These new treatments are not covered under the insurance claims.

A senior oncologist, on condition of anonymity, said, Patients are willing to opt for the treatment as they are assured of a cure. But when that does not happen they start talking about it. Hence, it is important that the family must be aware of the standard protocol.

Experts stated that immunotherapy is also at a nascent stage and is used in those centres where there are biosimilars available. Dr Padmaja Lokireddy, a consultant haemato oncologist and stem cell transplant from Apollo Hospitals, explained, Immunotherapy is also called antibody treatment and is targeted against particular cancer cells in diseases like lymphoma. Cell therapy is also called CART cell therapy where the ability of the cells to fight cancer is lost.

When that happens there is genetic engineering and the T-cells are injected back. This treatment is effective but needs to be continued for long. There is very limited data on this type of treatment.

Experts stated that cell therapy was found to play a huge role in treating blood cancer and it is a treatment offered to patients who are willing to comply with the longer duration of treatment.

The new treatments are tried only on those patients who are willing to come forward for trials. A senior oncologist noted, We opt for such treatments where we know that the patient is aware of the consequences. The trials allow us to get the drugs at a cheaper price and the effects are recorded. Most of them come to us when they have a relapse of cancer and they know that the existing treatments will not work. With relatives taking doctors to the courts, there are lots of checks and balances before opting for these treatments.
As per the prosecutions case Sheena was murdered on April 24, 2012. (Photo: PTI/File)

New Delhi: The former driver of Indrani Mukerjea, Shyamvar Rai on Tuesday told a special CBI Court that Indrani spoke to Peter Mukerjea on the phone during the recce of the spot where her daughter Sheena Bora's body was eventually dumped.

Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the April 2012 Sheena Bora murder case, had in November last year, alleged that her husband and former media baron Peter, with the help of accused-turned-approver Shyamvar Rai and other persons had abducted Sheena and caused her disappearance.

Indrani also alleged that she suspected Peter created circumstances and framed her, leading to her arrest in the case.

Indrani had also sought the Call Data Records (CDR) of Peters phone to ascertain if he was in touch with other persons who caused the disappearance of Sheena.

Peter had termed the allegations made by his wife as false and defamatory before a special CBI court.

Peter, in a written reply to the special court in Mumbai, said "Indrani was plotting a sinister conspiracy to drag his name into the murder case."

Soon after Peter's statement, Indrani withdrew her allegations but insisted on getting Peters call data records.

As per the prosecutions case Sheena was murdered on April 24, 2012.

According to the chargesheet, Peter Mukerjea was in London at the time of the incident and Indrani was also in the UK and came to Mumbai a few days before Sheenas murder.

(With inputs from ANI)
According to sources, FDI policy review in various sectors is expected to figure in Wednesdays meeting of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: File | PTI)

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet is likely to review foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in certain sectors on Wednesday with a view to attract more overseas funds, sources said.

The sectors, which could be considered for further relaxation, include construction and single brand retail.

According to sources, FDI policy review in various sectors is expected to figure in Wednesdays meeting of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In 2017, there was a proposal to permit 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in single brand retail trading.

Currently FDI up to 49 per cent is permitted under the automatic route but beyond that limit government nod is required.

The relaxation of policy is aimed at providing investor friendly climate to foreign players and in turn attract more FDI to boost economic growth and create jobs.

FDI during April-September this fiscal grew by 17 per cent to USD 25.35 billion.
Exclusive Retreat Summit will be held at Rashtrapati Bhawan. There will also be a gala dinner the same day hosted by PM Modi in honour of the 10 leaders.

New Delhi: The Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) wants greater economic and political engagement with India and Indo-ASEAN relations do not need a third party to give it a boost, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday.

India is set to bolster ties with South-east Asian countries with the Indo-ASEAN Commemorative Summit planned on January 25 in which all 10 ASEAN heads of government or state will participate.

The summit will be held as part of an Exclusive Retreat at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the afternoon of January 25 during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold deliberations with the 10 ASEAN leaders on the entire gamut of ties.

The summit  to mark 25 years of Indo-ASEAN ties  is being seen by observers as a clear message to checkmate Chinese influence in the region.

In another clear but veiled message to China, India said it would be happy to participate in more oil exploration projects with Vietnam (in the South China Sea). ASEAN has 10 member-nations  Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei.

A lunch banquet will be hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind in honour of the 10 ASEAN leaders.

Following that, the Exclusive Retreat Summit will be held at Rashtrapati Bhawan. There will also be a gala dinner the same day hosted by PM Modi in honour of the 10 leaders. The next day, the 10 leaders will be the Guests of Honour at the Republic Day parade in the Capital. They will also attend the Presidential At-home function in Rashtrapati Bhavan on the evening of January 26.
Top row, (L to R) Trustee of Infosys Science Foundation Nandan Nilekani, President of the Board of Trustees, K. Dinesh, Trustees, Srinath Batni and S. Gopalakrishnan, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, Infosys Science Foundation Trustee T. V. Mohandas Pai. Bottom row, (Left to right) Engineering and Computer Science winner Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Humanities prize winner Prof. Ananya Jahanara Kabir, Mathematical Sciences Prize winner Prof. Ritabrata Munshi, Nobel Prize laureate Prof. Kip Thorne, Infosys Science Foundation Trustee Narayana Murthy, Social Sciences prize winner Prof. Lawrence Liang, Physical Sciences winner Prof. Yamuna Krishnan and Life Sciences winner Prof.Upinder Bhalla.

BENGALURU: Nobel Laureate Prof Kip S. Thorne on Wednesday urged the Infosys Prize 2017 Laureates to use science wisely to educate the public and leaders of relevant scientific facts.

Taking a dig at the Trump administration in the US, he said, Problems such as climate change and the control of nuclear weapons require solutions from the field of science. Unfortunately, the world has some leaders, especially in America, who are not only ignorant of science but are also dismissive of scientific facts.

He was addressing the audience after felicitating the winners across six categories with a 22-karat gold medallion, a citation certificate and a cash prize of Rs 65 lakh.

Congratulating the winners, Prof. Thorne said, The Infosys Science Prize, like the Nobel Prize, is an inspiration for young scientists and the general public alike. It calls attention to the beauty of science, and also the power of science to make human life better, both culturally and materially.

While the discoveries of a genetic marker for breast cancer, determination of co-occurrence of HIV and cancers, and the role of white matter in Alzheimers disease won Prof. Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata the prize under Engineering and Computer Science category, Prof Ananya Jahanara Kabir was awarded under Humanities discipline for her explorations of historical elements in colonial modernity, especially for her ethnography of cultural and political life in Kashmir. Prof Ritabrata Munshi from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) was adjudged winner in Mathematical Sciences for his contributions to analytic aspects of number theory and for establishing important estimates known as sub-convexity bounds for a large class of L-functions with methods that are powerful and original.

The ground-breaking work in the emerging field of DNA architecture won Prof. Yamuna Krishnan from the University of Chicago the award in Physical Sciences.

Under the Social Sciences category, Prof Lawrence Liang was conferred with the award for his creative scholarship on law and society, while Prof. Upinder Singh Bhalla from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) won the Prize in the Life Sciences discipline for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of the brains computational machinery. The winners of the ninth edition were chosen from 236 nominations by jurors headed by Prof Pradeep K. Khosla (Engineering and Computer Science), Prof Amartya Sen (Humanities), Dr Inder Verma (Life Sciences), Prof Srinivasa S. R. Varadhan (Mathematical Sciences), Prof. Shrinivas Kulkarni (Physical Sciences) and Prof Kaushik Basu (Social Sciences).
Chennai: Punching holes in Opposition claims, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said fishermen were warned about cyclone Ockhi a day before it hit the Kanyakumari coast and that he has appealed to the Centre to continue efforts to rescue missing fishermen.

He also said though the Centre has stopped its rescue operations, the state government has been supporting the fishermen continuing their own search by taking care of the expenses incurred. The Chief Minister also told the Assembly that he has requested the Centre to set up a naval station in Kanyakumari to aid such rescue operations.

Palaniswami was responding to queries from Opposition Leader M K Stalin and Congress MLA J G Prince seeking information on search efforts and relief works in Kanyakumari district. Stalin wanted clarification from Palaniswami on defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that search and rescue operations to locate missing fishermen have ended.

Search and rescue efforts to locate missing fishermen are a task vested with the Centre. We have appealed to the Centre, Palaniswami said in the Assembly.

The government is bearing the expenditure of Kanniyakumari fishermen who volunteered and went on a rescue mission in their own boats to find their missing brethren. As many as 3,522 fishermen safely returned to their bases, Palaniswami said.

He was responding to Stalin who quoted Governor Banwarilal Purohit's address on Tuesday, which said that rescue efforts would be continued till every missing fisherman was rescued.

Answering Congress member J. G. Prince who sought advanced communication gadgets to fishermen so that they could be intimated in advance in times of cyclone, Palaniswami said he had sought a dedicated satellite radio channel from the Centre to air weather bulletins to fishermen while they were at sea.

He said when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kanyakumari recently, the State government also sought 1,500 high frequency wireless sets. You failed to do it when your (Congress) party was in power at the Centre, he told Prince.
Washington: A US judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump from ending an Obama-era programme that protected from deportation migrants who entered America illegally as children.

The ruling came hours after Trump presided over a high-profile White House meeting with lawmakers from both parties on the fate of so-called Dreamers.

Judge William Alsup in San Francisco issued his 49-page ruling ordering the administration to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, known popularly as DACA.

The government is HEREBY ORDERED AND ENJOINED, pending final judgement herein or other order, to maintain the DACA programme on a nation-wide basis on the same terms and conditions as were in effect before the rescission, he wrote.

Alsup said the Department of Justices view that the programme was illegal was based on a flawed legal premise.

Unless his order is overturned by a higher court, DACA recipients will now be eligible to submit renewal applications and the government will be required to post reasonable public notice that the programme is once again active.

The so-called Dreamers were protected from deportation under the policy enacted in 2012 during Barack Obamas presidency.

In September, Trump said he was scrapping the DACA programme but delayed enforcement to give Congress six months until March to craft a lasting solution.

The government was sued on grounds that ending the programme was arbitrary and done without following proper legal procedures. Judge Alsup wrote that he questioned the administrations argument that DACA had not been implemented legally.

Alsup said DACA must be resurrected while the legal challenge to it proceeds.Earlier, Trump had taken command of the White House meeting to coax Republican and Democratic lawmakers toward a compromise on the fate of Dreamers.

He also signaled he was open to more comprehensive immigration reform to address millions of other undocumented people living in the shadows, as long as Democrats are willing to countenance greater border security, including a controversial wall along the Mexican border. It should be a bill of love, Trump said of a measure under negotiation that would protect hundreds of thousands of Dreamers from deportation.

But it also has to be a bill where were able to secure our border. Drugs are pouring into our country at a record pace. A lot of people are coming in that we can't have, Trump added.
The Trump administration last week suspended nearly USD 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan for its failure to take decisive action against terror groups like the Taliban and the Haqqani Network. (Photo: File)

Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that India was "distracting" it from counter-terrorism efforts as it briefed foreign diplomats on the country's credentials amid criticism by the US for providing safe havens to militants.

Ambassadors and Heads of Mission of resident Missions in Islamabad were briefed by the Foreign Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chief of General Staff (CGS), Director General Military Operations (DGMO) and Director General Military

Intelligence (DGMI) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Foreign Office said that the diplomats were told about Pakistan's "achievements and challenges" in counter- terrorism efforts and combating violent extremism.

"Details were also provided on how Indian belligerence and unhelpful posturing is distracting Pakistan's counter terrorism efforts and how an active RAW/NDS nexus is verifiably working to undermine Pakistan's internal stability," the FO said.

The envoys were provided details about the success of military operations which had eliminated terrorist presence in Pakistan. They were also briefed about the terrorist threat emanating from the safe havens and sanctuaries in Afghanistan, which is resulting in loss of human lives and damage to infrastructure in Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif stated that the briefing had been arranged to inform the diplomatic corps about the massive counter-terrorism efforts that Pakistan had undertaken in the last 16 years and the developments in the last four years.

The briefing comes as the US in recent days stepped up efforts to put pressure on Pakistan to do more to combat terrorism.

The Trump administration last week suspended nearly USD 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan for its failure to take decisive action against terror groups like the Taliban and the Haqqani Network.

The members of the diplomatic corps condoled the loss of human lives in the terrorist attack in Quetta on Tuesday.

A suicide bomber on Tuesday blew himself up near Pakistan's Balochistan Assembly, killing six persons including four policemen and injuring 18 others.
Islamabad: People took to streets after a seven-year-old Pakistani girl was raped and murdered in Kasur district. Angry people took to the streets against the brutal rape and murder of the seven-year-old and demanded to hang the culprit in public.

The girl was kidnapped six days ago from Road Kot when her parents left for Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah (mini-pilgrimage). The girl was strangled to death after being raped. Police recovered her body from a garbage heap near Zaki Ada whereas her funeral prayer was also offered by Pakistan Awami Tehrik Chief Tahirul Qadri.

Mr Qadri held Punjab government responsible for the mishap and said the leaders had no right to stay in power.

A shutter down strike was observed in the metropolis against the killing while angry lawyers also boycotted judicial proceedings in district bar and urged to take action into the matter.
Congress gave students more education choice when it passed the GOP tax law. A provision in the law allows 529 plan funds  typically spent on higher education  to be spent on K-12 expenses such as private school tuition. This is a win for students, especially for vulnerable populations like those with special needs.

With the legislative session around the corner, its time for the Utah Legislature to follow suit and further widen school choice.

The truth is, students with special needs are not yet getting what they need.

At the December Utah State Board of Education meeting, relatives of two Utah students with special needs expressed concerns that their students are getting a deplorable education in their district school. A news story said that one of the concerned parents was advised of her options after the public meeting.

But the options for students with special needs are still far too few in our state.

This may be a surprise for those who know that in 2005 Utah passed the Carson Smith Scholarships for Students with Special Needs Act, a godsend of a school-choice program that has given thousands of students with special needs the money to pay for private school tuition.

The sticky question is this: What if neither private nor public schools offer what a student needs?

The solution is for Utahs education system to cover a broad range of K-12 expenses for students with special needs, not just private school tuition.

One Utah mom enrolled her son in a high-performing private school, using the Carson Smith Scholarship program, and has been happy with the education her son is receiving. Still, her son has needed extra help learning to read, causing her to search for outside reading services that the private school was able only to recommend. Wouldnt it make sense if this mom could directly spend the money dedicated to her sons education on outside reading services? Unfortunately, according to Utah law, she cannot.

Education choice should be considered a principle rather than a specific policy. More educational choices increase the likelihood that children get what they need. Nationwide, the term education choice is evolving to mean an a la carte educational experience. Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Nevada and North Carolina offer families the opportunity to spend state funds on a whole host of educational services, including private tutoring, in-home teachers, online curriculum, textbooks and special-needs therapies.

Students with special needs come in all shapes, sizes, diagnoses and personalities. One student with special needs might be better served by an in-home teacher, another student by a particular private school, and another still by a great district school.

Addressing how public funds meet the special needs of children is especially important after an eye-catching unanimous ruling made by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier last year: Federal law requires school districts to offer an individualized education program appropriately ambitious in light of the childs circumstances, not just some trivial benefit. This means we can demand more for a childs education when they have special needs.

Such a ruling should prompt a holistic question: Do our state policies allow students with special needs to receive the education they deserve?

When we give individuals flexibility and choices in education, we humanize the student. And when it comes to students with special needs, we get closer to offering the education they are entitled to obtain in public schools by law  and the education they deserve as unique individuals with incredible potential.

Utah should be the leader in providing students with special needs a meaningful education. Weve got the heart to do it  we learned that when we passed the Carson Smith Scholarships act. Now we need the political will to improve education again for these children  by giving each family a full set of education choices.

Christine Cooke, J.D., a former public school teacher, is the education policy director at Sutherland Institute.
I am writing to thank the Salt Lake County Health Department for issuing its Climate Adaptation Plan For Public Health. Its plan creates a framework to address climate change related health risks and actions needed to address the effects on residents in the Intermountain West.

It acknowledges the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning that widespread scientific consensus exists that the worlds climate is changing. ... These impacts could negatively affect public health. Climate changes will continue to affect our air quality, water resources, extreme weather events, increased pathogens, contaminates and disease vectors such as mosquitoes. Significant public health impacts should be expected.

The health departments plan addresses these likely impacts on the people residing in this region with concrete suggestions for mitigating actions that should be implemented now. Collaborators include Heat Risk Initiative, Utah Climate Action Network, Wasatch Clean Air Network and Utah Clean Cities Coalition. Many more stakeholders are needed at the table.

That Salt Lake County Health Department has brought these issues to the publics attention is commendable. Steps are needed now to identify and fund mitigation measures. Without higher-level policy changes to directly address climate change, local health officials are left to assume responsibility for damage control.

Susan Corth

Salt Lake City
Many people are actively worried about global warming. And it frustrates them that skeptics and deniers refuse to acknowledge the science of such an urgent, manmade problem.

But there may be valid reasons to dispute the theory that man is responsible for climate change. And to demonstrate why the issue isnt so clearcut, heres a basic climate question to ponder:

As the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere increases, does its ability to absorb heat increase, decrease or remain the same?

Most people will assume the answer is increase. After all, CO2 is a greenhouse gas. Adding more of it to the atmosphere should mean more heat being trapped.

The correct answer, however, is decrease.

How do we know this? Because the U.N.s very own, Al Gore-friendly Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has acknowledged in its reports that CO2 loses the ability to absorb heat as its concentration increases. The IPCC explains that CO2 follows a logarithmic dependence, which means that it takes ever-doubling amounts of CO2 to keep adding the same amount of heat absorption in the atmosphere. In fact, CO2 absorbs only a certain narrow spectrum of infrared radiation, and the IPCC recognizes that the middle of this band is already saturated.

People who fret about manmade warming may find it hard to believe that CO2 actually loses heat-trapping ability. But they should know that even the very climate-concerned IPCC admits to such limitations. They still argue that we need to fear manmade warming, however. And their reason is simply that they believe any additional heat absorbed by CO2 will be greatly amplified by water vapor feedback.

This begs the question  are they right? The answer is No.

Water vapor is the primary greenhouse gas of the atmosphere  and responsible for most of the warming that keeps the Earth habitable. In order to make their case, the IPCC theorizes that any additional warming from CO2 will lead to more water vapor in the atmosphere. And this water vapor will trap more heat, raising temperatures further. It is this feedback loop that is used to justify their predictions of catastrophic, future warming.

Its an interesting concept, but it contains an inherent problem. Water vapor added to the atmosphere inevitably transitions to clouds. And cumulus clouds not only reflect solar radiation back into space but also produce rain. And rainfall not only cools surface temperatures but also scrubs CO2 out of the atmosphere. This is why water vapor feedback remains heavily debated in the scientific community, and even the IPCC admits that an uncertainty range arises from our limited knowledge of clouds and their interactions with radiation.

One thing we can all agree on, though, is that the Earth has warmed over the past 150 years, and by roughly 0.85 degrees Celsius. But the cause of this warming may well be the significant increase in solar activity during that time. In 2016, Norwegian scientists Harald Yndestad and Jan-Erik Solheim reported that solar output during the 20th century reached the highest levels in 4,000 years. And also in 2016, at least 132 peer-reviewed scientific papers suggested a solar influence on climate.

The IPCC rejects claims of solar variability, though. They argue that changes in solar irradiance (brightness) are relatively small. But recent research from scientists like Danish physicist Henrik Svensmark demonstrates that variations in the suns output also affect the solar magnetic field and solar wind  which directly influence ionization in the troposphere and cloud formation.

As the IPCC observed in its first assessment report in 1990, global climate in recent millennia has fluctuated over a range of up to 2 degrees Celsius on time scales of centuries or more. Its very possible that the heightened solar activity of the past century has driven recent global warming. As such, there are valid reasons to question the theory of manmade climate change, and to urge greater study of the issue.

David Rothbard is president and Craig Rucker is executive director of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, a Washington, D.C.-based public-policy organization founded in 1985.
SALT LAKE CITY  Utah cornerback Casey Hughes, who started 11 games as a junior in 2017, announced via Twitter that hes leaving the program.

I want to take this time to thank everyone who has made my experience as a Ute a great one. I have learned a lot during my time here and have grown as a man and a football player. I have made friends that I will have for life and am forever grateful for all the incredible opportunities I have been provided, Hughes wrote in a lengthy post. I finished my degree this past fall and after a lot of thought I have decided it is in my best interest to pursue a graduate transfer at another university.

Hughes went on to thank Utahs coaching staff, adding that his life has been changed forever by his time with the Utes.

I will always been appreciative of everybody who has been a part of my experience. I will miss my teammates but look forward to watching them be successful and I know I will stay in contact with them long after Im gone, Hughes continued. To the fans, thank you for supporting me and my teammates. The fans, teammates and university will forever hold a special place in my heart. While this has not been an easy decision, I look forward to what is ahead.

Hughes did not mention a specific destination, The 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back made 35 tackles with two forced fumbles and a pass breakup last season. He missed Utahs games against Washington and Colorado because of injury.

After redshirting in 2014, Hughes appeared in 18 games over the next two seasons  primarily on special teams. The sociology major was a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention selection.

Hughes topped his Tweet with Utah will forever be family.

Teammate Julian Blackmon, the other starting cornerback for the Utes and Heart of Dallas Bowl MVP, was one of several teammates to respond via Twitter.

Good luck brother. Go ball out wherever you end up!! he wrote. Proud to of played with you this past year dawg.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was not immediately available for comment according to an athletics department spokesperson.
Reed Smoot, born on Jan. 10, 1862, was a prominent force in Utah's early days of statehood in more ways than one.

Smoot, a U.S. senator and apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the only LDS apostle to hold a national elected office and the "first native-born Utahn to establish a national political reputation."

An editorial in the Feb. 11, 1941, Deseret News honored him, saying: "Elder Smoot during more than fifty years of his life had moved at home, in the nation's capital, and across the seas among great figures and rendered a wealth of service to his church, his state and his nation."

Here are 14 facts about Smoot on his birthday, many taken from a Deseret News article about Smoot's life.

Smoot's father was mayor of Salt Lake City  and Provo. When Reed Smoot was born in 1862, his father Abraham O. Smoot was mayor of Salt Lake City.

When Reed Smoot was 10, his family moved to Provo, where his father served as mayor for three terms.

Smoot was first to register for classes at Brigham Young Academy in 1876. According to the Brigham Young High School Alumni Association, 29 students registered on the first day of the school's initial semester.

He graduated from Brigham Young Academy (now Brigham Young University) in 1879, according to David Gessel in the Utah History Encyclopedia.

The future senator served an LDS mission in England. Smoot was later called to the presidency of the Utah Stake (Provo) in 1895, according to Gessel.

After his mission, Smoot married Alpha M. Eldredge in 1884. The couple had six children together.

After his wife died in 1928, Smoot married Alice Taylor Sheets in 1930.

Smoot was called to be a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1900. Prior to that, he "accumulated a broad resume of business experience" along with his time spent in church leadership positions, according to the Deseret News.

Two years after his calling, Smoot received the approval of President Joseph F. Smith to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

The Utah House of Representatives selected Smoot to serve in the Senate in 1902. U.S. senators were not selected by popular vote until 1911.

It was initially controversial in Congress to seat a Latter-day Saint. The Senate held a series of hearings in the few years following Smoot's election in 1902 "intended to publicly embarrass and harass the church," according to the Deseret News.

It would be four years and numerous hearings later  where beliefs and practices of the LDS Church were aired on the national stage  before Smoot took his seat on Feb. 20, 1907.

The whole ordeal was adapted into a play. "The Seating of Senator Smoot" was a historical drama produced at Brigham Young University in 1996.

Smoot was a vocal conservative and Republican. In one instance, Smoot opposed the League of Nations, calling it "the destruction of the government and the Constitution of the United States."

Smoot also made headlines often. The Deseret News noted one instance during his honeymoon in 1930:

He made national news when, at the request of President Herbert Hoover, he interrupted a honeymoon with his second wife, Alice Taylor Sheets, to participate in the debate and vote on the London Naval Treaty.

As reported in the July 14, 1930, Time magazine:

So eager was President Hoover to maintain a quorum that he asked Smoot, only three days a bridegroom, to forgo a Honolulu honeymoon and return immediately from Salt Lake City to Washington and, with the new Mrs. Smoot, make the White House his home during the treaty session.

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930 was a controversial piece of legislation in the Great Depression's midst. According to the Deseret News, Smoot helped craft the law, intending it to protect America's economy.

However, the act added "considerable strain to the international economic climate of the Great Depression," according to Britannica.

Smoot served until 1933  more than 30 years after he was elected. He was defeated in election by Democrat Elbert D. Thomas.

He dedicated the rest of his years to his apostolic duties.

Smoot was third in line to succeed the president of the LDS Church when he died. Smoot died in 1941 on a visit to St. Petersburg, Florida.

Smoot's home in Utah County is a national historic landmark. Smoot and his family called a yellow brick house on 100 South in Provo home.

Care of the home since Smoot died in 1941 has spanned generations of the Smoot family.
SALT LAKE CITY  Utah's population is growing faster than that of any other state, but unlike other rapidly growing states, Utah's growth is driven primarily by births rather than migration of people into the state, according to a new analysis. However, experts say even in Utah  famous for large families and lots of babies  growth is slowing down.

In a nationwide analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, 24/7 Wall St. found that Utah's population grew 2 percent between 2015 and 2016, while the national growth rate was a paltry 0.7 percent. The Beehive State had 1,854 births per 100,000 people in 2016  nearly 600 more births per 100,000 compared to the national rate of 1,286 per 100,000.

Utah also had the lowest death rate, with close to 35,000 more births than deaths in 2016.

And to solidify its place as the fastest-growing state, Utah had more inbound migration than most states, its population getting a 0.8 percent boost from net migration, compared to 0.3 percent nationally. On that measure, Utah ranked ninth.

Still, Utah's 2.29 total fertility rate, while above the so-called replacement rate of 2.1, has seen significant declines recently. Whether Utah will continue to outpace the nation in terms of growth is anyone's guess, though experts find reasons to be hopeful, said Samuel Sturgeon, president of Demographic Intelligence, who was not involved in the report.

"Utah has done a good job of retaining its young people  and I don't think you can ignore the religious influence," said Sturgeon, referring to the state's dominant faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "It's not just parents having more kids. The kids are also staying in Utah."

What he called a "Mormon effect" is not the only thing bolstering a young, vibrant population, he added. The strong economy has helped the state attract young families who like the healthy job market, which also helps keep a high percentage of the young people already here as they move into new-adult life stages, like launching families and careers.

"Historically, states with younger populations have more dynamic economies. If you can get young people coming in and retain the young people you already have, from a policy standpoint, that's were you want to be," said Sturgeon. "If you can get those in their 20s who are making family decisions to decide our state's a great place to settle, it's to your advantage because you are looking at (their) multiple years as taxpayers before they become elderly."

Many of those new Utahns, who came in for work or recreation or a host of other reasons, are also having babies, so the impact of in-migration and natural growth are more intertwined than just numbers can reflect, said Pamela Perlich, director of demographic research at the University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

'Pregnant pause?'

Although Utah's still the fastest growing state, it's growing more slowly than in the past, said Perlich. And in 2016 it slipped to No. 2 in terms of total fertility rate, behind South Dakota.

Perlich said experts in her office aren't sure what factors pushed South Dakota ahead of Utah. "There are lots of reasons for waiting to form households until you're older. One hypothesis is that we're asking more and more of women. More women are on (LDS Church) missions, more are going for extended education. Those things are all good but they take time, so it is a competition for what women are able to do."

Affordable high-quality child care is expensive, and women work for a "whole lot of reasons," she added. "That becomes a factor. It's very, very hard to have a young family with a lot of children and be able to work."

Policy decisions have an impact, too, on what families decide about their future, said Perlich. Issues of employer flexibility, affordable housing, child care and other issues are related. Even student debt may play a role in decisions about when or if to form families.

Perlich was among experts who expected economic recovery to spark an increase in births, but the fiscal year ending July 1, 2017, instead showed the number of births had declined yet again, even in Utah, she said. "I thought we'd see some demand for child bearing and see the numbers going up. It didn't happen."

If the decline was simply what a Gardner Institute analysis earlier this year called a "pregnant pause," the good economy should have sparked an uptick in births. Instead, she added, it's looking like the lower rate might be a "new normal."

Still, Perlich predicts that as long as Utah is "the heart of the Mormon culture region  and for the forseeable future we will be  it will have a higher fertility rate than the rest of the nation in general." But there are many indications, she added, that Utah will "never return" to previous high fertility rates noted during the 50s and through subsequent periods of robust economy.

Turning that around would require deliberate policies to support young working families. While baby boomers had children because "it was time," the generations since have preferred to have their financial house in order first. "That's a different mindset and deliberation than 'Bam! I'm 22. I better have my first baby,'" Perlich said.

Moving in and out

While Utah's growth was fueled by newborns, other fast-growing states Florida, Washington and Nevada all grew largely based on international in-migration, the report said.

Migration has regional patterns. The new report noted that "many Americans are currently moving from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West." Western states dominated the fast-growing states list, which besides Utah included Nevada, Idaho, Florida, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona. West Virginia topped the "shrinking" list, which included Illinois, Vermont, Connecticut, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and New York.

The report noted that many baby boomers, as they age, are "choosing to leave the expensive housing and cold weather of New York for the low cost of living and tropical climate of Florida. More people moved from New York to Florida than any other state," a trend that in 2014 saw Florida surpassing New York as the third most populous state. California and Texas are No. 1 and No. 2.

An area's fertility rate matters for many reasons, not least of which is having enough young people who contribute taxes that help support programs for both old people and children.

But it means more than that, said Perlich. When people move into an area and they have children "those are people through their actions showing their belief in the bright future of a place."

She doesn't think Utah's birth rate will fall below replacement level any time soon, though it could happen if it becomes too hard to find affordable housing and child care or if employer policies make it hard for men and women to both work and embrace family life. Those are among pressures that encourage young people to put off having families or lead them to choose to have smaller families.

Perlich added that it's clear institutions and workplace policies built around 1950s-type families  where men worked and financially supported the family while women stayed home to care for children and the house  are not as applicable today.
SALT LAKE CITY  A Utah lawmaker wants to make it illegal to smoke at the state Capitol, a "symbolic" action that he says will serve as a reminder about the health risks of smoking.

Rep. Bruce Cutler, R-Murray, said he's sponsoring HB155 in part because he's an alumnus of the University of Utah, which instituted a similar policy of banning all smoking and tobacco products on campus.

"In fact, all the Pac-12 schools have banned tobacco on their campuses," Cutler said.

The bill sends a signal that smoking remains a public health issue that needs to be addressed by the Legislature, he said. The effect of the bill, Cutler said, is "more symbolic than anything."

Indoor smoking is already illegal at the Capitol, under the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act. HB155 would ban smoking on all premises on the Capitol campus except for a small smoking area. Violations would be subject to a maximum fine of $45, according to the bill.

The biggest impact would be on visitors to the Hill, Cutler said.

When asked if there had been complaints about smoking at the Capitol, he said "this is not because of that."

"There will be an accommodation location somewhere on Capitol Hill primarily for the visitors, or the employees can go out on the public sidewalk," Cutler said.

Spokeswoman Jenny Johnson said the health department is "supportive of (Cutler's) bill and his efforts to curb the use of tobacco products and the harmful effects they have on people."

State health officials have been working with the Murray lawmaker, offering support and expertise for the bill.
SALT LAKE CITY  The Army's decision to keep reserve Apache helicopter battalions in four states, including Utah, preserved hundreds of Utah National Guard positions.

In making the decision, Army Secretary Mark Esper followed the National Commission on the Future of the Armys recommendation to retain four attack-reconnaissance battalions, each with 18 aircraft, in Utah, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.

"It would have been a tremendous hit to the Utah National Guard," said Lt. Col. Ricky Smith, the 97th Aviation Troop commander. "It would have been the civilian equivalent to a layoff."

The Guard's 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, which faced elimination four years ago when the Army considered absorbing reserve Apache battalions into the regular Army, has 403 personnel and 150 full-time jobs.

Smith said battalion leaders contacted Utah's congressional delegation for help when they found out the 211th could be on the chopping block.

"We were not just going to sit down and take it and have them leave the state," he said.

The Army delegated the National Guard Bureau to come up with merit-based criteria to judge Apache battalions in nine states. It decided to keep the four highest-performing battalions.

"We kind of got lucky in Utah," said Smith, a former 211th commander. "Utah is a hotbed for very qualified people."

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said he's pleased with the decision.

"After fighting for performance-based decision-making for four years on the Senate Armed Services Committee, it is appropriate that Utahs guardsmen and women will continue fulfilling their commitments to our country through their contributions to readiness with the Apache," Lee said in a statement.

Contributing: Paul Nelson
SALT LAKE CITY  The LDS Church mailed 1,150 letters extending mission calls to young Mormon men and women on Tuesday over the signature of President Russell M. Nelson, a symbol of the transition underway in church leadership.

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is leading the church during what is known formally as an apostolic interregnum, with President Nelson leading the quorum as the senior apostle.

Even when theres an impending change in church leadership, the work of the church moves forward," President Nelson said in a news release Tuesday. "We dont want to have our prospective missionaries wait for their calling any longer than is necessary for this much-anticipated milestone in their lives."

Mission calls bore the signature of President Thomas S. Monson from February 2008, when he became the 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, until his death Jan. 2 at age 90.

President Monsons signature appeared on mission calls to 410,442 full-time missionaries, roughly three of every 10 missionaries who have served since the church was organized in 1830.

Today, nearly 67,000 Mormon missionaries serve in 421 missions around the globe.

The call to serve as an apostle is a lifetime position. When the president of the church passes away, the First Presidency is dissolved immediately and the power or keys to lead the church transfer to the Quorum of the Twelve, which is led by the senior apostle.

"This time of transition in the leadership of the church is a rare and marvelous moment," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said Tuesday. "It is, of course, bittersweet to say goodbye to one prophet and lovingly welcome another.

"It is a dramatic time for the revelation of the Lord to come to a unique body of men. The organization of the presiding quorums of the church is not something any business school would teach. It is not like any organizational chart you have ever seen in your life  threes and twelves and seventies  all kinds of unusual numbers.

"But when it comes time to say goodbye to one prophet and anticipate a new one, that organization guarantees, through all the drama of it and through all the anticipation of it, that there is never a moment when the divine apostolic keys are not in force. And with those keys in place, there is never any lack of revelatory experience. It is a little bit like the British (saying in the same breath), 'The king is dead, God save the king.' The transition is that fast, because, of course, the authority to lead is already in place."

President Nelson, as the next senior apostle to President Monson, has served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly 30 months.

By precedent, the senior apostle has become the next church president after a short interim, usually about a week but ranging from four to 11 days.

That wasnt always the case. In the early church, interims lasted 21-42 months.

"They were much lengthier in the early days of the church with a lack of precedence and other issues," said Brandon Metcalf, an archivist at the LDS Church History Library.

But in 1898, President Lorenzo Snow was set apart as the new president of the church 11 days after the death of President Wilford Woodruff.

That was President Woodruffs intent, Metcalf said.

First, there is an account of President Woodruff receiving a prompting in the temple to not delay reorganizing the First Presidency. Second, President Woodruff counseled then senior Apostle Snow to do the same in a private conversation six years before his death.

"When I go, I want you, Brother Snow, to not delay the organization of the First Presidency," President Woodruff said, according to an account President Snow dictated.

"Wilford Woodruff felt very strongly after his experience of nearly two years of an apostolic presidency in admonishing Lorenzo Snow not to delay after his funeral," Metcalf said.

President Monsons funeral is Friday at noon at the Conference Center next to Temple Square. The current period of apostolic presidency is likely to be the longest interregnum since that 1898 transition from President Woodruff to President Snow.

If the next church president is not set apart by Sunday, the current period will become the longest interregnum since the 20-month transition from President John Taylor to President Woodruff, which ended in 1889.

Elder M. Russell Ballard, the third most senior apostle in the church, said quorum business is relatively light this week.

"It's been very quiet as we honor the passing of a president," he said. "In reverence to the deceased president, we just don't do much prior to the funeral. There's not much to talk about, really, not much you can say or do or decide because there will be a new First Presidency, and then when the new First Presidency is in place, then we will be very busy, very busy."

Elder Ballard said the work of the Twelve is focused on helping church members.

"What is the most important thing we can do to help members of the church get the testimonies of the gospel from their minds down into their hearts so that they can weather whatsoever is going on out in this crazy world? The world is a lot tougher world than I think anything I've ever experienced, particularly the moral issues, the uncertainty. Social media has run away with the world. The cellphone is in control. A lot of different things. It requires the leadership of the church to think differently about how you get the message into the hearts of our people."

The quorum will meet soon after President Monson's funeral to reorganize the First Presidency. Then other business will resume full speed under the direction of a new president.

"It's a transition," Elder Ballard said, "and I would think by next week this time we'll all be wondering how we're going to get it all done."
SALT LAKE CITY  Salt Lake County has joined a handful of other Utah cities and counties urging state lawmakers to pass stricter hate crimes laws.

The County Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday urging the Utah Legislature to beef up laws to address crimes that target people because of their race, religion or sexual orientation.

County Councilman Arlyn Bradshaw, who helped draft an initial version of the resolution, spoke of how the June 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead affected him personally. Bradshaw is openly gay.

"I ugly cried when I heard about it," he said. "I still get emotional thinking about it."

Bradshaw also recalled an incident a year earlier in his neighborhood when two men walking home from a Christmas party were attacked by some men shouting anti-gay slurs.

Bradshaw, a Democrat, and Republican Councilman Michael Jensen sponsored the resolution  but a second version of the resolution was adopted after Councilman Richard Snelgrove offered a more detailed draft with a more expansive list of religious groups known to be targeted, including Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jehovah's Witnesses, Orthodox Christians and others.

"I'd like to see less hate in our community," Snelgrove said. "Less racism. Less homophobia. Less Islamophobia. Less Mormonphobia. Less anti-Semitism. It's just not right to have in our community."

Salt Lake County joins six other Utah governments that have approved similar resolutions: Beaver County, Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, West Jordan, Midvale, and Moab.

Dozens of other Utah organizations have also called for stronger tools to address crimes targeting groups, including the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, Utah Chiefs of Police Association, the Utah Sentencing Commission and Utah Sheriff's Association. Prosecutors have said the current law is unenforceable because it lacks a list of specific groups.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill on Tuesday recalled his own jarring experience that occurred after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He said as he walked out of the courtroom, some people in a white pickup truck shouted at him, called him a racial slur, and told him "go home" or "we'll (expletive) kill you."

"I thought about the community I belong to  other Indians who were going to be targeted because of what was going on," he said.

Gill said hate crimes have three victims: the person who's targeted, the community that person belongs to because of the "chilling effect" and society as a whole.

"Our common sense, our decency and our sense of fairness demand that when our citizens are in need of this kind of sanctuary ... we have a responsibility to listen to that," Gill said. "All we're asking our Legislature to do is to listen to that cry and say that there is a remedy."

In recent years, the Utah Legislature has refrained from strengthening the state's hate crimes laws, worried new laws might give special protections to certain groups over others.

Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, is sponsoring another bill after his first attempt wasn't allowed a public hearing. He introduced the bill after another Republican senator's hate crimes bill was voted down.

Thatcher, however, insists his new bill not be called a "hate crimes" bill, but rather a "victim selection" bill, one that addresses crimes targeting victims because of their sexual orientation, race, religion, nationality and disability.

Gill on Tuesday cited FBI statistics that hate crimes have risen 40 percent since 2015.

In Utah, about 566 hate crimes have been reported to the Department of Public Safety since 2007, Gill said.

On a more "granular level," Gill said, in Salt Lake County 26 hate crimes were reported in 2016  including 21 for race and ethnicity, three for religion, one for sexual orientation and one for disability.
SALT LAKE CITY  Despite a recommendation of probation, a judge Wednesday ordered prison time for a man accused in the 1988 child abuse death of a little girl he was baby-sitting.

Tears from baby Vanessa Nieto's family turned to emotional applause in the courtroom as Louis Duran, 57, was ordered to serve concurrent terms of up to five years in prison.

"This case has gone on for more than 20 years, and little Vanessa's voice has not been heard in that time," 3rd District Judge Mark Kouris said as he handed down the sentence. "Sometimes justice is slow, but justice nonetheless will take place."

Kouris said his decision hinged on the need to impose justice in the case, especially considering Vanessa's troubling injuries.

"This little tiny person sustained multiple, high-velocity injuries to her head," Kouris emphasized.

But as Vanessa's family celebrated the sentence, Duran's supporters whispered, "I love you, Louis," as bailiffs adjusted the sleeves of his suit coat, placed him in handcuffs and led him from the courtroom.

Duran pleaded guilty in October to two counts of child abuse, third-degree felonies. He was originally charged in May 2014  29 years after 15-month-old Vanessa was found dead in her crib  with second-degree murder, a first-degree felony, according to 1988 statutes.

On the day Vanessa died, Duran was supposed to be watching the baby and other children, but said he instead "was heavily under the influence of illegal drugs and slept most of the day," court documents indicate. During that time, Vanessa sustained multiple bruises and injuries to her head.

When the case was reopened, doctors at Primary Children's Hospital and the medical examiner's office reviewed old documents and photographs, determining the infant was "a victim of ongoing child abuse" over the last month of her life, charges state.

Based on Duran's plea, his attorney, Deborah Kreeck Mendez, told the judge Wednesday that the case should no longer be considered a homicide but as child abuse. According to court documents, Duran admitted only to sucking on the baby's cheeks, leaving a bruise, and biting her on the arm.

Prosecutor Rob Parrish noted Wednesday that the deal was reached because of the challenges both sides faced due to decades-old evidence, fading memories and uncertain timelines. He maintained, however, that prosecutors believe Vanessa's fatal injuries occurred while she was in Duran's care.

Though Duran agrees he was in no condition to be watching the children that day, Kreeck Mendez maintained it is unknown when or how Vanessa sustained the head injuries that killed her.

"On that day, the child was fussy and sick and crying. (Duran) didn't care or pay attention to her," Kreeck Mendez said. She went on to add, "We don't know how those head injuries occurred. Louis did not throw this child, did not hit this child."

The baby's death has weighed on Duran through the years, Kreeck Mendez said, and during that time he has made positive changes in his life. Having spent more than 602 days in jail after the charges were filed, Duran was recently been released and has been living with family, helping with cooking, cleaning and child care.

"The man who stands before you today is not the 26-year-old man that he was then," Kreeck Mendez said as she asked the judge to follow the presentencing recommendation for probation.

Reading quietly from a note, Duran stood Wednesday and apologized to Vanessa's mother, Dawn Nieto, for the years she did not get to spend with her daughter.

"She was a ray of sunshine who was taken to heaven too early in her life," Duran said of the baby. "I am sorry for your loss and pray you can find peace in your life."

Nieto did not stand to address the judge, instead handing over a handwritten letter to share her feelings. Parrish explained that the mother had hoped to speak, but found herself overcome with emotion.

On Sunday, Nieto gathered with her family and friends at the Christian Life Center Ignite Church to honor Vanessa's life, raise awareness of child abuse, and pray for justice ahead of the sentencing. At the time, she said the loss of her daughter has left her with deep emotional scars.

"I just hope justice is served," Nieto said at the time. "I'm scared it's not going to be, but I hope it is because it needs to be. I think once it is, she'll rest in peace."
SALT LAKE CITY  Mitt Romney isn't ready to announce he's running for Senate, but he's already looking for a campaign headquarters and putting together a team, one of his closest friends in Utah told the Deseret News.

"He's not announcing until he's in a position to announce," said Kem Gardner, a real estate developer who has known Romney for many years. "I think he wants to run, but he wants to be prepared to run."

Gardner said despite speculation, Romney won't use his keynote address at Tuesday's Utah Economic Outlook and Policy Summit to talk about the race for the seat now held by retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

"I can tell you he's not planning on announcing next week. He's not ready," Gardner said. The venue, a sold-out event that attracts business leaders from the state, wasn't the right place to launch a campaign either, he said.

"He's giving a speech to the (Salt Lake) Chamber. I'm the one who asked him to do it," Gardner said. "He's been working hard on his speech. It's not a political speech" but one focused on economics.

Romney likely won't even mention the Senate race, Gardner said.

So when is a formal announcement from Romney going to come? "Hopefully, before the end of the month," Gardner said.

Although there has been talk for months about a possible run by Romney, the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nominee, he was waiting for Hatch to decide whether to seek an eighth term this year.

It wasn't until last week that Hatch, 83, said he would retire after 42 years in the Senate. Romney has waited, Gardner said, because "he didn't want to look like he was crowding Orrin or doing anything to send a signal he was going to run."

Now, though, Romney can move forward with readying a campaign, he said, finding a headquarters, hiring a staff and preparing to handle what is expected to be a deluge of media interest from around the country.

"What he is doing right now is looking to put together the groundwork for an organzation he feels comfortable with. This is something that should have been done a year ago," Gardner said, given the election is in November.

People may be "not very sympathetic to the problems (Romney) faces," he said. "Here he is trying to set up a senatorial campaign" on a tight time frame. Gardner said, for his part, he's "cutting him a lot of slack. I'm not pushing him."

Romney is one of Utah's most popular politicians, winning big in the 2008 GOP presidential primary against Arizona Sen. John McCain, the party's eventual nominee that year, and in the 2012 presidential race against President Barack Obama.

He is not expected to face significant Republican opposition in Utah, a place he has called home for several years. Romney last lived in the state when Gardner helped talk him into taking over the then-troubled 2002 Winter Games in 1999.

Massachusetts voters apparently have an opinion  a mostly positive one  about Romney jumping into the Senate race in Utah.

In a WBUR/MassINC Polling Group survey posted on Masslive.com on Wednesday, 54 percent said Romney considering a Senate run is a "good idea." Twenty-nine percent said it was a "bad idea." The poll queried 503 registered voters.

Romney served one term as Massachusetts governor after being elected in 2002 following a successful Olympics. He ran an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign in 1994 against Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Meantime, the Boston Globe reported that Romney's wife, Ann, is encouraging her husband to run in Utah.

Ann Romney  a confidante for nearly all of Romneys adult life and frequent catalyst for his political ambitions  is fully supporting a campaign for Senate, another strong indicator he will run, according to four people close to the Romneys. Her own battle with multiple sclerosis is not a major factor, with all signs indicating that her health remains strong, the people said.

I think most folks would love to have the relationship Ann and Mitt have  an Ozzie and Harriet-esque, honest relationship, said one of the people, who like the others spoke on the condition of anonymity, according to the Globe. Its easy to say she would be very supportive. To say the least.

"Shes on board, said a second person. "Ann is supportive, and she thinks Mitt would be a fabulous senator."
Ukraines richest man Rinat Akhmetov has had $820m of his assets frozen in a payment dispute over his purchase of the countrys largest fixed-line provider Ukrtelecom.

Akhmetov purchased the operator in 2013 with a $100 million upfront payment, but has since paid nothing. Since the countrys pro-democracy revolution in 2014, Ukraines economy has taken a hit and investigations and legal challenges have been launched into the dealings of some of its wealthiest business people.

Cypruss District Court of Nicosia took the decision to freeze the assets of Akhmetov and nine other parties. The claimant in the case is the Raga Establishment, which is controlled by former Ukrainian banker Denis Gorbunenko, and is aiming to obtain full payment for the sale of Ukrtelecom from Akhmetov.

Currently, the government of Ukraine is attempting to bring about the renationalisation of Ukrtelecom, arguing that Akhmetovs obligations as a private owner have not been fulfilled. The company was first privatised in 2011, with the countrys government selling it to Austrias Epic investment group for $1.3 billion.

After a lower courts call for the renationalisation of Ukrtelecom was upheld by Kievs appellate business court, Akhmetovs SCM Group has confirmed that it will appeal against the ruling.
The debate regarding whether the current cryptocurrency trading craze is a bubble or not is a debate that is seeing no end. But the reality is, many people are actually investing in cryptocurrencies and seem to be making money out of it. This brings us to the question: Should you invest in cryptocurrencies or sit this one out? That decision is for you to make. But if you wish to make the investment, here is a handy guide for you. But please know that the content provided here is meant for general information and shouldnt be taken as professional advice.

A FAIR WARNING

If you wish to invest in cryptocurrency, go into it with the knowledge that you may end up losing a lot. Because at this point, no one knows whether the crypto-craze that has swept the world is just a passing fad or not. Ideally, you should set aside to invest in cryptocurrency whatever money that could afford to lose. Take whatever amount youre fine with, and leave it in for a few months to see if it make gains.

STARTING UP

First of all, you are going to need a digital account if you need to hold cryptocurrency. A digital account could be an exchange or a wallet. Either way, it would have two key features: a public key and a private key. These keys are what helps ensure that your cryptocurrency holdings are kept securely in the digital system.

The public key is very much similar to a typical bank account number. You could share this with others so that they could transfer the money to you. In other words, the public key is used to receive the money thats deposited to an account. The private key, on the other hand, is linked to the public key for the same account and helps authenticate a crypto transaction. So, now that you know about private and public keys, lets take a closer look at wallets and exchanges.

Wallet

To store your cryptocurrencies, you are going to need a wallet. The most common options include paper-wallet, hardware wallet and digital wallet.

Paper-wallet is one in which you actually print your keys on a piece of paper and keep it safe. bitaddress.com is a good option in this regard. Hardware wallet is a removable drive. Though expensive, its said to be the most secure method for storing cryptocurrencies. To buy one, you could approach an authorized reseller like Etherbit. Digital wallet refers to any program that runs as a mobile or desktop app to help you store the cryptocurrencies. BuyUcoin is an example of this. BuyUcoin also provides you with an Exchange (see next section).

Exchange

The exchange is where you buy and sell cryptocurrencies, synonymous with the stock exchange for commodities trading. We have listed the best exchanges available in India further down below. THE RISKS INVOLVED Bitcoin is the most popular and among the highest trading cryptocurrencies around. So you may wish to choose that as an investment option. But before doing that be warned that the Indian government has issued a warning that says investment in Bitcoins is very risky. So if one day the government makes buying and trading in cryptocurrencies illegal, whatever investment you have made in cryptocurrencies by that time would be as nothing.

TAXATION

As of now, there are no official rulings regarding the taxation of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin in India. This means that while filing your income tax report, the income from cryptocurrencies should be added as income from other sources. The tax slab for this category would be applicable to the income you earned from the investment. This also means that the profits from cryptocurrencies are not capital gains. Put another way, regardless of whether you redeem or not, even the notional profits would have to be shown as income. Also, you should pay the tax for the same every financial year.

WHERE TO BUY CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN INDIA?

In India, about eleven trading platforms exist from where you could buy Bitcoins and other- cryptocurrencies. These include Zebpay, Coinsecure, LocalBitcoins, Bitcoin ATMs and Coinmama and Koinex. Among them, Koinex and Zebpay seem to be getting pretty good reviews and feedback on social media. While Zebpay is only available as a mobile app, Koinex has a desktop version as well. Comparing the two, the Bitcoin buying price in INR versus the selling price is found to be not much different.

STEPS TO BUY

To give you an idea of how to buy cryptocurrencies, we are going to use Koinex as an example, to buy Bitcoins. But this is in no way meant as an endorsement (or otherwise) of those products. The general idea remains the same, regardless of the platform.

1. To sign up on Koinex, you would need the following: Aadhaar card-copies of both the front and back panels, PAN card and bank passbook. While signing up, you may encounter referral links that are posted online by people who promise a welcome gift  usually some small amount of cash in Indian rupees. You should avoid these links. Some of them could be scams.

2. Once you have given your details for signing up, wait until the KYC gets verified.

3. After the accounts gets verified, you could transfer the money into the wallet from the approved bank account. This can be done either via NEFT or through online transfer. This may incur a small fee.

4. Its now time to buy the cryptocurrency of your liking.

5. And thats it. You could log out now. You could log in again after a while  say, a month or so  to check how the currency you bought is trading.

OBVIOUS DISADVANTAGES

Yes, there are some, like these.

1. There exists scant regulation for trading in cryptocurrencies. All the associated risks that this scenario brings are yours to bear.

2. The differences in the buying and the selling prices could be huge. In the event that they are the same, they would still be significantly higher compared with the price that a Google search for Bitcoin in Indian Rupees would fetch you. This obviously is a disadvantage. But to circumvent this, your only option is to convert Indian Rupees into American dollars and sign up at a foreign exchange.

3. To begin with, the buying-selling traffic for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoins is low. Currently, the trading volume of Bitcoin in India is in the Rs 200 to 250 Cr range every month. This means that the time for you to make an exit with a profit might not be in the near future, if it comes at all.

4. Disruptions in payments and redemptions, and even the trading itself are not that uncommon with cryptocurrencies.

6. The security of trading platforms might be questionable. Hacking is a potential threat which could see you losing your investment.

TRADING V/S BUYING AND HOLDING

With cryptocurrencies, rather than doing day trading, indulging in smarter buying and selling at the appropriate times would be more beneficial. This means that its a good idea to make even small profits by selling at the right times rather than holding onto a cryptocurrency in the hope that you may one day make millions with it.

Since cryptocurrency investments are subject to the time value of currency, it could trade for years around the same price range without giving you any major returns. So, making as much profit out of it  even if it means profits in little chunks  makes sense.

BITCOIN ALTERNATIVES

Aside from Bitcoin, some of the cryptocurrencies that have gained traction with users are Litecoin, Ethereum Ripple and Dash. These might be worth considering especially given how the prices of many of these cryptocurrencies have risen in sync with that of Bitcoins.

For comparison, a Bitcoin is worth around Rs 9 Lakh. But you could buy even fractions of a Bitcoin, for as low as Rs 1,000. Bitcoins could be fragmented way more number of times compared to fiat currencies, to make it easy for you to buy. This principle holds true for many other cryptocurrencies as well.

And thats it for your guide to investing into cryptocurrencies. Heres to a safe and profitable investment journey! And if you make a buck and have a party, dont forget to invite us!
LG might be launching its next flagship device under the LG G7 moniker. After the reports that the company might retire its G-series smartphones in 2018 for a two-digit series, the LG UK website has showcased a future LG G7 smartphone on its support page. First spotted by Androidu.ro, the smartphone is shown supporting Qualcomm's Quick Charge 4.0, which tips that it might be powered by a Snapdragon 835 chipset.

It is not that Qualcomms Snapdragon 845 doesnt support Quick Charge 4.0. However, there are rumours that Samsung has already purchased the entire first batch of the Snapdragon 845 platform for its Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus smartphones. This leads to the possibility that the upcoming LG flagship could be powered by an older Qualcomm flagship processor. This would be the second instance of an LG flagship phone not powered by the latest chipset, if the rumour is true.

Recently, Android Police spotted a new LG Wallet app on the Google Play Store whose description states that its only compatible with the alleged LG G7. The app was removed after a while. Although it seems like LGs next flagship will be called the G7, a company spokesperson gave a statement to PocketNow saying, the names of all future phones from LG are speculative until the official announcement. It is common for us to use unofficial placeholders in materials until the name is finalized.

According to a previous report, LG will be retiring its flagship G-series phones which started back in 2012. Based on the report, the upcoming LG G7 was slated to be announced in February at MWC 2018 under the new two-digit series. This move by the company is speculated to be for rebranding its devices which have been overshadowed by Samsung in terms of popularity and market share.
The Nokia 6 (2018) that launched in China last week came with Android Nougat out-of-the-box. But just three days after, users have started receiving the Android Oreo update along with support for Google Play.

Nokiapoweruser reported the update arrived immediately after booting up the device. The update brings new features to the device including the picture-in-picture mode, notification controls, and under the hood optimisations.

While it was disappointing to see the Nokia 6 (2018) launch with Android Nougat, HMD Global was quick to address the issue. Additionally, the update also allows users to install Google Play services. It is optional and can be uninstalled. Note that Chinas firewall does not allow Google Play to run on Android phone in the country.

However, the ability to install Play Services will be welcomed by international travelers who otherwise had to unlock the bootloader of their phones to enable Google Play.

Meanwhile, the older Nokia 6 (review) which is available in India still has not received a stable update to Android Oreo. Last week, HMD Globals head of product Juho Sarvikas tweeted that a beta version of Android 8.0 Oreo is rolling out to the beta testers of Nokia 6 and a stable commercial roll out is well on track.
Local representatives have slammed the HSE over the failure to restore full services to a respite centre for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in south Donegal.

The HSE has been severely criticised for reducing services at Seaview Respite House in Mountcharles which is used by around 100 families.

Services were cut back early last year. The HSE said the cuts were a result of staff shortages due to illness leave and retirement. Parents protested at the HSE headquarters in Ballyshannon in June.

The HSE provided a statement to the Donegal Municipal District meeting on Tuesday after a member of HSE management who was due to attend the meeting to discuss the situation at the centre failed to show up, citing illness.

Cllr Barry ONeill (FG) said it was the third time the HSE had failed to show up at a council meeting to discuss the issue after being requested to do so by councillors .

In the statement, the HSE said the service operates three nights a week and that it is currently configuring service provision to put in place a sustainable planned respite service which will meet current and emerging need for the population of south-west Donegal.

We are working in consultation with the national system and envisage that this will realise a considerable increase in the provision of respite services.

HSE management is aware of the importance of this service for families in south-west Donegal and apologise for the difficulties that this situation is causing for everyone involved.

Cllr Noel Joran (SF) told the January meeting of the municipal district that the HSE had given a commitment in June last year that a full service would be restored.

The parents of the service users were very patient and it is not acceptable, he said.

I ask that we write back and ask why have they not resumed full services.

Cllr ONeil said he was concerned by the statement from the HSE.

To be honest the terminology in this statement would concern me, he said, It is a sad indictment of the health service.

He said he had met with families who use the service in recent days ahead of the expected attendance by the HSE at the meeting.

He said one family have two children who use the service.

 For them to get the call that respite would not be taking place in the run into Christmas was very disappointing. This is a serious situation.

He called on the HSE to come to the next meeting and explain the situation at the centre .

They need to get their house in order and not take the hand out of the most severely challenged people in society. It is an absolute disgrace.

The centre was not open three nights a week 12 months ago, he said.

People need to have the same service they would get in Dublin, Cork, Sligo; anywhere else. They should get the same service in south Donegal.
A workshop exploring past mental health care trends in Louth and mental health support services for the future will take place in Omeath at the end of the month.

The topics for discussion are Depression, Services, and Suicide.

A statement from Cooley Environment and Health Group, who are organising the event said: "This workshop will address past trends in mental health support, with particular emphasis upon Louth, and discuss what we need to do now to move forward."

The workshop, which is titled Mental Health Care in Louth, 1918-2018 and Beyond, will look at past mental health care trends in Louth.



Cooley Environment and Health Group said: "The 19th century witnessed a massive expansion in large mental asylums, with the result that following population decline after the Famine we ended up being over-subscribed with facilities.

"There was, therefore, a tendency to put the mentally ill into institutions and to leave them there. Following international trends, this situation was reversed in favour of deinstitutionalisation in the last quarter of the 20th century.

"This, for most patients, was a positive trend, but questions have begun to emerge about whether the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction and whether deinstitutionalised patients now receive sufficient support."

Speakers will include Dennis Pringle, Geographer, Lisa Butterly, Historian, Michael McCreanor, Retired Psychiatric Nurse and Local Historian, Jim Walsh, Irish Advocacy Network and Sean Crudden, Secretary of IMPERO.


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Let's face it: Your website is central to your e-commerce business. There's no way around that. Upgrading your website is one of the most important things you can do to bring in new customers and sell more products.

Sometimes, though, it's difficult to know exactly how to improve your site. To help you out with that dilemma, here are three ways to refresh your website and boost your business without breaking the bank.

1. Reconsider the Design

The overall design of an e-commerce website has a big impact on customers -- and on sales -- so regularly rethinking and tweaking your site's design is vital.

"Good Web design for an e-commerce site is something that would be a number of things done well," said Miklos Philips, principal lead for user experience at Toptal.

"This would include a clear brand identity, the use of clear visual hierarchy, easy product search and browsing via clearly laid-out navigation and omnipresent search," he told the E-Commerce Times.

An e-commerce business relies on its site not just to sell products, but to communicate a brand's identity and create an enjoyable shopping experience for customers.

"Good design is important because it needs to instill in would-be customers trustworthiness and store credibility," said Philips. "If the site appears poorly constructed and confusing, customers lose confidence in the store's ability to deliver on its promise."

It's not like you can't make sales with a poorly designed website, but incorporating effective, shopper-friendly design elements will offer long-term gains.

"Good website design communicates your brand identity, builds trust in your company, creates a cohesive and pleasant shopping experience, and naturally guides shoppers towards purchase," said Alison Garrison, director of services for Volusion.

"You can make revenue with not-so-good design, but you will make a lot more with thoughtful design that puts the shopper first and is based in solid conversion principles," she told the E-Commerce Times.

2. Make a Great First Impression

First impressions matter, since it doesn't take long for a customer to decide whether to stay or go.

"It takes about 50 milliseconds -- or only 0.05 seconds -- for people to form an opinion about a website -- that is, whether or not they like it, whether they'll stay or leave, and ultimately, whether or not they'll purchase," explained Garrison.

The homepage is the first thing customers see when visiting your site, so it's important to pay particular attention to it, and to upgrade and improve its functionality as necessary. When rethinking your homepage, start at the top of the site and work down, looking at it as a customer would.

"Consider the header and navigation," said Garrison. "This is prime real estate and should include value propositions, such as free shipping and easy return policy, and trust builders, such as a phone number and trust badges."

On that first page, consider organizing the categories you offer -- perhaps building them based on your customers' requirements, such as gender, age or particular use cases, Garrison recommended.

Creative categorizing will make the homepage at once more appealing and more useful, drawing customers deeper into your site.

3. Add Autofill

Autofill has come a long way, and intelligent autofill technology can both streamline the shopping process and boost conversion rates.

"In a word, consumer-friendly autofill depends on accuracy," said Karl Mattson, SVP of Growth for Fillr.

"How often does the autofill correctly autofill all of the fields in a shopping check-out experience? The better autofill does this, the less a user has to manually correct or input text fields in a form," he told the E-Commerce Times.

Increasingly, autofill is used in mobile shopping apps, which is another good e-commerce upgrade to consider.

"Autofill, long available only as a Web browser feature, is now available as a service that can be white-labeled into mobile shopping apps," explained Mattson.

"This is an important, critical step forward for mobile app shopping conversions," he said.

"Before, mobile app conversions were dependent solely on how well an app designer could create an easy-to-use checkout experience. Now that apps have the option of offering their own autofill as part of their conversion experience, autofill becomes an avenue whereby users can side-step the most frustrating part of mobile shopping -- manually completing a complicated mobile e-commerce check-out," Mattson pointed out.

New advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning have made autofill better than ever, which makes it a smart upgrade.

"Hand-in-hand with machine learning, autofill is evolving from a relatively straightforward text-based service to a technology that will become available across platforms -- particularly voice-assistive platforms like Cortana and Seri," said Mattson.

"As it expands to new platforms and uses, thanks to machine learning, autofill also continues to become smarter," he added. It is now "more accurate, more contextually relevant and faster."

Vivian Wagner has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2008. Her main areas of focus are technology, business, CRM, e-commerce, privacy, security, arts, culture and diversity. She has extensive experience reporting on business and technology for a variety of outlets, including The Atlantic, The Establishment and O, The Oprah Magazine. She holds a PhD in English with a specialty in modern American literature and culture. She received a first-place feature reporting award from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. Email Vivian.


As predicted, the Thomas Fire in Southern California was officially declared the largest wildfire in state history, surpassing the 2003 Cedar Fire which burned 273,246 acres and killed 15 people.

The vast blaze, now 89 percent contained, has burned through 281,620 acres, according to CalFire. More than 1,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged and two people were killed.

But the other devastating aspect? A future of even more fires due to climate change. The world's rising temperatures caused by greenhouse gases makes fires more likely to occur not just in California, but across the planet.

And in a vicious cycle, the Golden State's recent string of fires has caused a sharp increase in unhealthy air and carbon dioxide emissions, which drives global climate change. So even if you don't live in California, its fires also affect you and our future generations.

The kinds of fires we're seeing now generate millions of tons of GHG emissions. This is significant," Dave Clegern, a spokesman for the state Air Resources Board, a regulatory body, told KQED Science.

While the amount of emissions from the December fires have yet to be calculated, October's wine country blazes alone released as much pollution as motorists in the state normally emit in a year.

Additionally, burning trees not only release a powerful pollutant known as black carbon, but the loss of a forest also hampers CO2 sequestration, Jim Branham, executive officer at the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, noted to KQED.

The immense scale of the emissions could also undermine California's climate change goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030.

California Governor Jerry Brown has warned that the state's vast fires "could happen every year or every few years."

"We're facing a new reality in this state, where fires threaten people's lives, their properties, their neighborhoods, and of course billions and billions of dollars," Brown commented after surveying the Thomas Fire's damage in Ventura County. "With climate change, some scientists are saying southern California is literally burning up."

Indeed, California's fires have become more and more destructive, with 14 of the top 20 largest fires in state history having occurred since 2000.
The Trump administration re-nominated Kathleen Hartnett White on Monday to be chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) after she failed to secure a Senate confirmation last year.

The CEQ chair oversees environmental policy across all federal agencies. But during Senate hearings in November, White struggled to answer basic questions about the CEQ's role and whether she would use facts in environmental recommendations to the president. She continues to deny that carbon dioxide is harmful to the planet.

"White is a disastrous candidate who will have a profoundly destructive effect on our climate and wildlife if given this job in the Trump administration," said Stephanie Kurose, endangered species policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Her extreme views and disturbing record should disqualify her from this crucial leadership position."

White has previously argued there is a "moral case" for expanding fossil fuel development regardless of carbon dioxide emissions. She also claimed there is a "connection between the abolition of slavery and humanity's first widespread use of energy from fossil fuels."

In her current position at the Texas Public Policy Foundationa conservative think tank that has received huge donations from fossil fuel interests that include Koch Industries, ExxonMobil and ChevronWhite has worked to undermine the Endangered Species Act.

Nearly 50 organizations sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works opposing White's nomination. The letter expressed support for the Endangered Species Act, which has saved more than 99 percent of species under its protection from extinction and put hundreds of species on the path to recovery.

"White is yet another Trump appointee picked to lead an agency whose conservation mission she fundamentally rejects," said Kurose. "Confirming her to this powerful position would be shortsighted and deeply irresponsible."

The Trump administration also re-nominated Susan Combs to be assistant secretary of policy management and budget within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Combsan outspoken opponent of federal endangered species protectionbuilt her career by favoring big corporations and special interests over the needs and survival of imperiled species.
A group of three widely used agricultural pesticides jeopardizes the survival of endangered salmon, according to a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) biological opinion unveiled this week. Chlorpyrifos, malathion and diazinonall organophosphate pesticidesharm salmon and their habitat to the point that their survival and recovery are at risk, according to the report. Southern Resident Killer Whales, or orcas, are also at risk as they depend on salmon.

The NMFS crafted the report to comply with a 2014 court deadline for the agency to determine whether these pesticides threatened salmon with extinction. Upon determining that these organophosphates jeopardize salmon survival, the biological opinion offers three options for protective measures to avoid that outcome with a variety of measures including buffer zones, spray reduction technologies and pesticide stewardship programs.

"The best available science clearly shows these pesticides are a major threat to endangered salmon and to our orca whales, which need salmon to survive," said Patti Goldman, managing attorney at Earthjustice. "These pesticides are bad for people every way they are exposed to it and toxic to salmon."

Chlorpyrifos, widely used in citrus, nuts and orchards, is acutely toxic and associated with neurodevelopmental harms in children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refused to ban chlorpyrifos in 2017, despite overwhelming evidence that shows the pesticide harms children, workers and the environment.

Malathion is used in more than 100 food crops, and about half of total applications in the U.S. are on alfalfa, cotton, rice and wheat. A number of growth anomalies have been observed when fish were exposed to malathion, according to studies. Diazinon is used on rice, fruit trees, sugarcane, corn, potatoes and horticultural plants.

NMFS had a Dec. 31, 2017, deadline for completing the consultations for these three pesticides, and was on track to meet this milestone and issue a biological opinion. Dow AgroSciences asked the agencies last April to derail the consultation process. Late last year, the Trump administration asked the courts to give agencies a two-year delay but complied with the 2017 deadline after Earthjustice and the fishermen and conservation groups it represents pushed back.

"Salmon have been waiting four decades for relief from toxic pesticides in many of our rivers," said Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "The agencies should do their job."

This case is one in a series of cases that have pushed to ensure that endangered salmon on the West Coast are safe from toxic pesticides, as required by the Endangered Species Act. In 2002, a successful lawsuit brought by Earthjustice established that the Environmental Protection Agency has the duty to protect salmon and comply with the Endangered Species Act when registering pesticides for use.

At that time, the U.S. District Court in Seattle found that the federal government had failed to protect 26 endangered and threatened species of salmon and steelhead from 54 toxic pesticides. The judge ordered EPA to consult with NMFS to identify permanent measures needed to protect the salmon and steelhead from the pesticides.

Since then and as a result of multiple lawsuits, the EPA started the process of consulting with NMFS to determine whether EPA's pesticide registrations impacts endangered salmon and steelhead. The Fisheries Service delayed doing its part, which led to this lawsuit and court-ordered deadlines.

Pesticides have profound effects on Northwest salmon and are a serious factor in their decline. Now that the biological opinion has been released, fishermen and conservation groups want the EPA to move expeditiously to put the protective measures in place.

"Those of us who fight to protect and restore rivers and their critical fisheries are very pleased that the biological opinions were released," said Sharon Selvaggio, of Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides. "To protect salmon, we need to respond to what the science is showing us."

Federal government inaction puts at risk billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. As recently as the late 1980s, salmon and steelhead fishing in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Northern California brought in $1.25 billion to the regional economy and supported more than 62,000 family wage jobs, according to independent economic studies. Government studies from Washington, Oregon and California show the economic benefits of dwindling salmon have grown exponentially since then.

Salmon runs have declined because of dams, climate change, widespread habitat loss and pesticide runoff. Scientists have found that, even at low levels, pesticides can cause the abnormal sexual development of salmon and impair their swimming ability, growth, development, behavior and reproduction.

Earthjustice is handling the case on behalf of Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, and Institute for Fisheries Resources.
The Trump administration will exclude Florida from its controversial offshore oil drilling plan after a plea from the state governor, Rick Scott.

I support the governor's position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver," Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke said Tuesday. As a result of discussion with Governor Scott and his leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms."

President Trump's proposal to massively expand offshore oil and natural gas drilling off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts drew criticism from liberals and conservatives alike, who warn that such operations at sea could expose coastal areas to the risks of blowouts, explosions, catastrophic spills and seismic blasting.

Republican Gov. Scottwho usually favors fossil fuels and offshore drillingreversed course and issued an unexpected condemnation of the proposal.

"My top priority is to ensure that Florida's natural resources are protected," he said after the Trump administration's announcement last week.

Some have questioned whether exempting Florida was a " political ploy" to aid Scott, who is reportedly planning to run for U.S. Senate. Florida is also a crucial swing state and home to President Trump's Palm Beach resort, Mar-a-Lago.

"I have spent my entire life fighting to keep oil rigs away from our coasts. But now, suddenly, Secretary Zinke announces plans to drill off Florida's coast and four days later agrees to 'take Florida off the table'? I don't believe it," Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson said in a statement. "This is a political stunt orchestrated by the Trump administration to help Rick Scott, who has wanted to drill off Florida's coast his entire career. We shouldn't be playing politics with the future of Florida."

Environmental groups casted similar doubts.

"It's blatantly obvious that Governor Rick Scott and the Trump administration are colluding to earn political points in an election year," said Jorge Aguilar, southern region director of Food & Water Watch. "While the decision to remove Florida from offshore drilling is a good one, the Trump administration should drop its dangerous and foolhardy plan to drill around the U.S."

Sierra Club Florida Director Frank Jackalone said the decision was "a purely political move to aid the ambitions of Rick Scott."

"Had Zinke cared about the wishes of coastal communities or how drilling off their coasts will affect them," Jackalone added, "he would have proposed a plan that shrinks drilling even further, not proposed expanding operations to nearly every corner of our waters."

The plan to exempt Florida from offshore drilling also sparked outcry from other state lawmakers opposed to offshore drilling.

Virginia's governor (and governor-elect) have made this same request, but we have not received the same commitment. Wonder why ..." Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) tweeted Tuesday.

"New York doesn't want drilling off our coast either," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tweeted. Where do we sign up for a waiver @SecretaryZinke?"

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra demanded Zinke to "immediately" remove California from the policy.

Filmmaker and outspoken Trump critic Michael Moorewho threatened to frack off the coast of the president's Florida vacation home after offshore drilling expansion was announcedalso responded to the state's removal from the proposal.

"WAIT! WHAT? Trump's removing Florida from the list of states to do offshore drilling after I've already rented my fracking equipment to drill off Mar-a-Lago? Three days after I announce, he does this? Bastard!"
By James Blair

Local residents and environmentalists in Chile are enjoying a prolonged New Year's celebration, thanks to two major legal decisions that will protect the country's free-flowing rivers. Chile's justice system put a final stop to two controversial large hydroelectric dam developments in Chilean Patagonia: 1) Mediterraneo S.A.'s run-of-the-river project proposed on tributaries of the Puelo River near the city of Cochamo; and 2) Energia Austral SpA's three-dam power plant proposed on the Cuervo River in the Aysen region.



This double victory came on the heels of several significant green accomplishments in 2017. This included the opening of South America's first geothermal plant, a gift of more than 400,000 hectares (ha) (roughly 1 million acres) of land in Patagonia for conservation, and the Environmental Court's final ruling to uphold the momentous 2014 decision against HidroAysen's proposal to build five mega-dams on the Baker and Pascua Rivers. The latter event was the culmination of a decade-long struggle between grassroots activists and HidroAysen's two parent companies, Colbun and Endesa Chile, who just recently were forced to liquidate the hotly contested project.

The Chilean government's commitment to biodiversity conservation and renewable energy earned outgoing President Michelle Bachelet the title of UN Champion of the Earth. However, recently re-elected President Sebastian Pinera, a neoconservative billionaire, has followed a pattern of prioritizing free markets over free rivers. To safeguard Patagonia's rivers from harmful development in the long term, it will be critical for his government to go a step further and transfer water rights back to local communities, which would support conservation with Indigenous knowledge of the environment.

Here are more details about each of these two projects and why Chile's authorities put a stop to them.

"Puelo Without Towers": Upholding the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Puelo River in Chilean Patagonia Amanda Maxwell

Originating in the Puelo Lake of the Argentine Andes, the Puelo River flows west toward the Pacific Ocean in confluence with the Manso and Torrentoso Rivers. It is also the lifeblood of the local economy in nearby Cochamo, which centers on ecotourism and fishing. As the below documentary film shows, Cochamo community members and their mayor were deeply divided over the project, which risked degrading the landscape in order to construct a 60 kilometer-long (37 miles) transmission line connecting Mediterraneo S.A.'s $400 million, 210 MW run-of-the-river plant to the main grid in Puerto Montt.

The campaign to protect the Puelo River from the hydroelectric energy complex had become a protracted legal battle. Under the banner "Puelo Sin Torres" (Puelo without Towers), local community members united with environmental lawyers, activists, members of Parliament and celebrities to block the project.



The Mediterraneo dam project's evaluation process and environmental impact assessment bedeviled the environmental alliance with a series of legal obstacles. Ultimately, the Supreme Court upheld the Third Environmental Tribunal's resolution that Mediterraneo's contracted anthropological study of the socio-ecological impacts on Indigenous people was inadequate. The Tribunal accepted the claim of Jose Cayun Quirozan Indigenous environmentalist from the Mapuche community of Domingo Cayun Panicheo located in the Los Lagos regionwho pointed out a series of messy errors in the study's methodology. Mediterraneo's consultants had carried out two studies, comprising 37 families. But out of that pool, eight families were excluded from the analysis, and 14 more families were not even registered.

The politics of responsible decision-making with respect to Indigenous claims to sovereignty and territory have become particularly contentious in the borderlands of Argentina and Chile. Land disputes have turned deadly, sparking mass protests and social unrest. While the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples requires free, prior and informed consent for use of territory and natural resources, the Chilean government has labeled Mapuche people as "terrorists."

Rather than righting these historical wrongs, Mediterraneo and its Environmental Evaluation Service insisted that their research design necessitated uncomprehensive forms of qualitative data collection. They also acknowledged the presence of Indigenous communities, yet maintainedagainst an abundance of firsthand testimonythat they would not be affected by the development. Ultimately, the ethnographic evidence was insufficient to support Mediterraneo's claims.

Preserving Life in Aysen

Lake Yulton in Aysen, Chile

The Cuervo River hydroelectric power plant proposal would have been located in the remote Patagonian region of Aysen, which features stunning landscapes with exceptional biodiversity. The project's owner Energia Australa joint venture between Swiss mining company Glencore (66 percent) and the Australian firm Origin Energy (34 percent)put it up for sale after it went through environmental permitting in 2013. The $733 million, 640 MW project would have included two dams, flooding 13,000 ha (32,000 acres), and joining the Yulton and Meullin lakes. However, the Environmental Tribunal annulled Cuervo's environmental assessment because the project's owner's mitigation measures for the loss of forest cover and wetlands were insufficient.



For local citizens of Aysen, the Cuervo project was the latest iteration in a series of proposals dating back to 1990 that Chile's environmental authorities have ultimately rejected. In resolute opposition to the dam, residents formed groups like the Coalicion Ciudadana por Aisen Reserva de Vida (Citizens' Coalition for the Aysen Life Reserve), and together they pointed out why the project was so poorly planned. First, in addition to the obscene flooding of lakes and forests, the dam would have been built on the active Liquine-Ofqui fault line. The project would have put the nearest city of Puerto Aysenlocated just 46 kilometers (28.6 miles) downstreamat serious risk. And second, similar to the above lack of consent in the Puelo River case, Energia Austral failed to meet the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Convention 169 standards on Indigenous consultation for the Cuervo project. This made the false equivalencies in the company's proposed compensation measures for ecosystem loss especially egregious.

According to the Environmental Court of Valdivia, "The Owner has not been able to determine in a qualitative or quantitative manner that the forests or wetlands to be compensated are equivalent."

In addition to annulling the environmental permit, the sentence therefore orders the Committee of Ministers to reopen the procedure. If the company is unable to verify its proposed compensation of ecosystem loss, then the committee must process the previous appeals. For now, citizens and environmentalists are hailing the decision as another "tremendous success" in the popular Patagonian struggle against large hydro.

Restoring Justice Through Water Rights

These positive legal decisions give much cause for celebration, but they also mark a significant turning point in the global movement to protect Patagonia's rivers. While we should certainly relish the moment and express our contentment, it bears reminding that the fight is not over. Companies like Mediterraneo still hold considerable water concessions in Chile.

Chile's entrenched corporate elites have a clear interest in continuing their foul legacy of socio-ecological destruction. Nonetheless, the incoming government has an opportunity to provide a healthier future for Patagonia and the planet, by building on this new hopeful trend and transferring water rights back to Indigenous Peoples and civil society.

Local residents in Chilean Patagonia

Want to learn more about the ongoing threat of hydroelectric energy development on rivers and biodiverse populations in Chilean Patagonia? Check out our interactive map.


South Australiahome to the world's largest batteryis one step closer to also hosting the world's largest solar thermal power plant following developmental approval from the state government.

California-based SolarReserve is behind the $650 million, 150-megawatt "Aurora" project that will be located 30 kilometers north of Port Augusta.

Solar thermal plants are different from traditional photovoltaic panels on rooftops and solar farms. These plants, also known as concentrated solar plants, consists of a large field of moveable mirrors, or heliostats, that concentrate the sun's rays to a central tower to heat up salt. This molten salt then produces superheated steam to drive a generator's turbines.

The advantage of this type of power plant is how it can store several hours of energy, allowing for power usage when needed. Such a plant is crucial for South Australia, a state beset by frequent power outages.

South Australia, in contrast to the pro-coal federal government, has invested heavily in renewable energy in recent decades. Last month, the state switched on a 100-megawatt battery storage farm that Tesla CEO Elon Musk famously built in less than 100 days to help solve the state's energy woes. Musk's battery already proved itself late last month after responding to power outages within milliseconds.

SolarReservethe same company that operates the 110-megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant in Nevada, the world's first utility-scale solar thermal power plantboasts that Aurora's massive 1,100 megawatt-hours of storage will provide eight hours of full load power after dark.



"This means that, from storage (its 'salt battery') alone, Aurora will be capable of powering South Australia far in excess of State Government buildings, the equivalent of over 230,000 homes for eight hours, or around 35 percent of all of the households in South Australia," the company said.

According to the Adelaide Advertiser, Aurora is yet to secure its capital funding and a $110 million federal government loan still needs to be delivered.

But Kevin Smith, SolarReserve's CEO, remains optimistic, especially after securing the state's development approval.

"It is a significant step in the development of the Aurora solar thermal power station, which will bring clean power generation technology to South Australia," he said. The remarkable story of the transition of Port Augusta from coal to renewable energy  is also a preview of the future of power generation around the world  Aurora is an example of how sustainable solutions are able to foster new industries and create new jobs for South Australia."

The project, which is slated for completion by 2020, will create an estimated 4,700 indirect and direct jobs.

South Australian acting energy minister Chris Picton is similarly positive about the project.

"It's fantastic that SolarReserve has received development approval to move forward with this world-leading project that will deliver clean, dispatchable renewable energy to supply our electrified rail, hospitals and schools and other major government buildings," Picton said.

Natalie Collard, the executive general manager of the Clean Energy Council, added: "South Australia is providing the rest of the country a glimpse of a renewable energy future. Our electricity system is rapidly moving towards one which will be smarter and cleaner, with a range of technologies providing high-tech, reliable, lower-cost power."
OFT offers help with Christmas debt

The Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading is offering help to those struggling with debt after Christmas.

The organisation offers free and confidential debt counselling, and is urging those who overspent at Christmas to seek advice early.

The OFT believes more people than ever are starting 2018 in debt, leaving them likely to struggle financially in January.

More details on the debt counselling service can be found on the Government's website or by emailing debt@gov.im.
The EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect on May 25, 2018. If your company is not in compliance by now, you risk incurring significant financial penalties.

Still, more than 50 percent of companies subject to GDPR werent in full compliance by the end of 2018, according to Gartner. Thats a lot of exposure to the most significant compliance regulation to come along in many years.

eSecurity Planets 2019 State of IT Security survey found that companies confidence in their ability to comply is growing, yet compliance remains a big driver of IT security spending.

This guide will help your company with GDPR compliance. Well start with a discussion of the law and then move into strategies that can help you meet the GDPRs toughest requirements for data privacy and security. Heres a link to the official GDPR text, but a more user-friendly version can be found at gdpr-info.eu; if you do business with customers in the EU, you cant afford not to read the entire law.

GDPR Requirements

The GDPR is designed to protect the personal data of EU citizens, and to do so it regulates how such data is collected, stored, processed, and destroyed. The definition of personal data is extremely broad: It includes names, addresses, and bank details, but also data related to religion, race, mental or physical characteristics, and even IP addresses, web cookies, contacts, and mobile device IDs, if they identify an individual.

Perhaps most importantly, the territorial scope of the law is very broad. Article 3 of the GDPR states that a company anywhere in the world is subject to the GDPR if it processes the personal data of anyone residing in the EU. It doesnt matter if your company has no offices or employees in the EU, or even if no transactions are carried out in the EU. If you process an EU citizens personal data, then you need to comply with the GDPR or face the financial consequences.

Complying with the GDPR is a huge undertaking, but its important to understand that it is a business project rather than just an IT or IT security project. The IT department can help ensure data integrity and security, but new business processes may need to be put in place to ensure that individuals can access their own data, that privacy is built into all systems and services, and that all other obligations of the regulation can be fulfilled.

The good news is that GDPR compliance isnt just about satisfying some unseen European bureaucrat. Companies that study their data model and take time to understand what they have may well end up being able to manage that data throughout its lifecycle much more efficiently. Its unlikely that any but the very smallest companies will be able to achieve this manually, so GDPR compliance will very likely necessitate the use of automated processes and other enterprise technologies. (See our guide to GDPR solutions and vendors.)

The bad news is that while GDPR compliance is occupying a huge amount of IT time and resources, its not the only regulation in town. While GDPR compliance is important, it is vital not to forget about the other compliance and data privacy regulations that may apply to your organization.

GDPR Compliance Assessment

Moving your organization into GDPR compliance is a process you ideally started long ago, and there are a number of useful online tools that can help you assess how close you are to achieving compliance.

One of the most useful tools for small and medium-sized companies is the UK Information Commissioners Office (ICO) data protection assessment. This includes a GDPR checklist for data controllers and a GDPR checklist for data processors. ICO also provides a useful tool to help assess your compliance with data protection in the specific areas of information and cyber security policy and risk, mobile and home working, removable media, access controls, and malware protection.

Microsoft has also produced a quick and simple assessment tool to see which stage you have reached in your compliance effort and what steps you need to do next.

12 steps to GDPR compliance

The GDPR is made up of 99 articles that provide a detailed description of the regulation, and since every organization is different, it is impossible to provide an exact prescription that will guarantee your organization is in compliance.

There are general guidelines anyone can follow, however, and the ICO has produced a document recommending 12 steps that should be taken to fulfill general GDPR requirements:

Make sure that key people in your organization (not just in the IT department) appreciate the importance of GDPR and compliance with it. Document the personal data that you hold, where it came from, and who you share it with. To do this you may need to organize an information audit. Review your current privacy notices and make any necessary changes. Check your procedures to ensure that you can accommodate the rights of individuals to be provided with their personal data in a commonly used format, and that you can delete their data on request. Update your procedures so you can handle those requests within the required timescales (usually one month). Identify the lawful basis for your processing activity in the GDPR, document it, and update your privacy notice to explain it. Review how you seek, record, and manage consent, and whether you need to make any changes. Consider how to verify individuals ages and how you can obtain parental or guardian consent for any data processing activity. Make sure you have procedures in place to detect, report, and investigate a personal data breach. Understand when to carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA)  well discuss DPIAs in more detail shortly. Designate someone to take responsibility for data protection compliance and consider whether you are required to formally designate a Data Protection Officer. If you operate in more than one EU state, determine your lead data protection supervisory authority.

GDPR definitions and responsibilities

The GDPR includes a number of terms and responsibilities that affected companies need to understand if they hope to comply with the law. These next four sections outline the most important before we get into specific compliance technologies and strategies.

GDPR data processor and data controller

The GDPR makes a distinction between a data processor (basically, the entity processing personal data) and a data controller (the entity that decides the purposes and means of that data processing). Controllers are obligated to use processors (including public cloud operations) that implement appropriate technical and organizational measures taking into account the state of the art and the costs of implementation as well as the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing.

Data Protection Officer

If your organization is a public authority or if its core activities involve regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale or if you conduct large-scale processing of special categories of personal data (such as data about race, ethnic origin, political opinions, and religious beliefs), you need to appoint a Data Protection Officer (Articles 35-39) with expert knowledge of data protection law and practices.

Data Protection Impact Assessment

If you are handling particularly sensitive personal data, then you need to carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) of the possible impact of your processing activities on the people whose data is being processed.

Specifically, Article 35 of the GDPR states, Where a type of processing in particular using new technologies, and taking into account the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing, is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, the controller shall, prior to the processing, carry out an assessment of the impact of the envisaged processing operations on the protection of personal data. A single assessment may address a set of similar processing operations that present similar high risks.

For more on Data Protection Impact Assessments, see How a Data Protection Impact Assessment Helps You Comply with GDPR.

Right to access, rectification and erasure

One of the most onerous obligations of the GDPR is to provide Data Subjects  the people whose data you are processing  with access to the data that you hold about them (Article 15). They can also request rectification or completion of data if it is inaccurate or incomplete, and they can request that you delete their personal data (also known as the right to be forgotten).

This is onerous because Data Subjects can make requests in writing or verbally, and you need to be able to comply with the requests without undue delay, and in any case within one month of receipt of the request.

But deleting data completely can be technically difficult to achieve, warns Mark Sangster, a vice president at managed detection and response service provider eSentire. Most companies have backups and multiple versions of data in storage, he says. How do you get to all of them and delete all of a persons data? And also, how do you prove it?

He points out that when data is stored in the cloud, there may be multiple copies of it made by the cloud storage provider, and although it may be inaccessible it may not technically have been deleted.

The Right to Data Portability in Article 20 is another ambitious requirement of GDPR. It gives users a right to a copy of their data  and to have that data sent to another organization in machine-readable format, if desired.

Data Subjects also have a right to object  at any time to processing of personal data, as outlined in Article 21. The law leaves organizations an out, however, if the controller demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject. The extent of the legitimate interest provision has already been the subject of much legal debate, and will continue to be so for some time to come.

The law is already changing the way personal data is collected, with its requirement that consent be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous and that information be presented in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language.

How to protect customer information under GDPR

The GDPR is designed to protect Data Subjects, but it goes to great lengths to avoid spelling out in technical terms what you need to do to ensure that you achieve suitable levels of data security. Thats because it recognizes that making specific security recommendations is not the best way to protect personal data. Rather, it leaves the onus on organizations to ensure that they provide the appropriate level of protection.

Article 32 of the GDPR states: In assessing the appropriate level of security, account shall be taken in particular of the risks that are presented by processing, in particular from accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure of, or access to personal data transmitted, stored, or otherwise processed.

Encryption and pseudonymization

Its a common myth that the GDPR requires the use of data encryption, and some consultants appear to be pushing sales of encryption products by implying that all you need to do is encrypt all your data and you will satisfy 90% of GDPR requirements.

In fact the GDPR does mention the word encryption  but it only appears four times:

implement measures to mitigate those risks, such as encryption.

appropriate safeguards, which may include encryption

including inter alia as appropriate: (a) the pseudonymisation and encryption of personal data.

unintelligible to any person who is not authorised to access it, such as encryption

It pointedly does not mandate the use of encryption, nor does it offer advice as to what encryption algorithms could be used, or whether it is talking about data at rest or in transit, or both.

Having said all that, encryption clearly does offer a way to satisfy many of the security requirements of GDPR, so it is hard to imagine that many organizations will try to comply without it.

Any encryption initiative will likely involve an encryption product that handles data encryption as well as manages encryption keys, and may also include a cloud encryption gateway to ensure that data that is sent to the cloud for storage or processing is also encrypted.

In North America, most companies have been pushed heavily to use encryption for some time, so this is not something that many companies are likely to struggle with  as least as far as data at rest is concerned. But data transfers between companies and their supply chains are not always encrypted, and this is an area that companies will have to look at carefully, according to Sangster. Many companies will not have thought of this, he said.

For more on data storage security, see Data Storage Security: Best Practices for Security Teams.

Another important strategy is pseudonymization, or storing customer data in such a way that it cant be connected to an individual, typically by breaking that information up into several separate files so a hacker cant steal a file and get anyones full information. There are a few vendors offering pseudonymization technologies, and expect greater demand for such features in databases, CRM systems and other applications that collect and store personal data.

Data loss prevention (DLP) solutions are also important tools for protecting personal data.

See How Pseudonymization Helps You Meet GDPR Requirements, and see our reviews of top enterprise encryption products.

Other security measures

The regulation also provides guidance about what kinds of security measures may be considered appropriate to the risk, including:

The ability to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of systems and services processing personal data.

The ability to restore the availability and access to data in a timely manner in the event of a physical or technical incident.

A process for regularly testing, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical and organizational measures for ensuring the security of the processing.

Controllers and processors that adhere to either an approved code of conduct or an approved certification may use these to demonstrate compliance.

The controller/processor relationships must be documented and managed with contracts that mandate privacy obligations. Ultimately, it is the controller who has the responsibility to ensure that any processors used (including cloud processors) have suitable privacy capabilities.

Final steps: Breach notification

Article 33 of the GDPR requires companies to notify the relevant supervisory authority of a personal data breach without undue delay and, where feasible, not later than 72 hours after having become aware of it.

Theres a possible unintended consequence of this, according to Sangster. It may not be in the interest of a company to spot a breach if they have to announce it, he points out. But he added that it is important for companies to avoid that I dont want to know about a breach attitude because the sooner a breach is discovered, the sooner they can take action to minimize the impact of the breach both to customers (or Data Subjects) and to the company itself.

However, detecting breaches is far from trivial  it takes an average of 191 days for data breaches to be detected, according to the Ponemon Institutes 2017 Cost of A Data Breach Study.

To minimize the time between breach and detection, companies can:

Use breach detection tools such as intrusion detection and prevention systems and honeypots, decoy files or other deception technologies.

Use global threat intelligence and monitor attack campaigns to know where to look for signs of a breach.

Monitor logs and events to detect anomalous behavior.

Provide staff training on how to detect breaches.

Article 34 of the GDPR also requires companies to notify the Data Subject without delay that their data has been leaked when the personal data breach is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons.

Theres an important caveat here, though, and that is that you dont have to make such a notification if you have taken measures that render the personal data unintelligible to any person who is not authorized to access it, such as encryption. One way to accomplish that is through pseudonymization.

You are also off the hook when it comes to data subject notifications if you have taken subsequent measures which ensure that the high risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects referred to in paragraph 1 is no longer likely to materialise.

It is hard to imagine what those measures might be, but it could perhaps involve radical steps such as taking systems offline and keeping them offline until new passwords have been securely distributed to all customers.

Fines and penalties

According to Article 83 of the GDPR, companies that are not in compliance face GDPR fines (calculated on the organizations global annual turnover of preceding financial year) of up to 4% or 20 million (whichever is greater) for non-compliance, and 2% or 10 million (whichever is greater) for less important infringements. For companies with very large global turnovers, the GDPR fines have the potential to be very significant indeed.

But Sangster points out that there is no formal mechanism for checking that any company is in compliance. Its likely that what will happen is that there will be a complaint from a customer, which will lead to an investigation, he says.

Indeed, the EU has set up a formal GDPR complaint process, which has so far gotten quite a workout: the European Commission reported that between May 2018 and January 2019, more than 95,000 complaints had already been filed with Data Protection Authorities.

Looking for more on GDPR compliance? See Five Last-Minute GDPR Readiness Tips.
Some animals, such as geckos, can easily climb up walls and across ceilings. But currently, no material exists that allows everyday people to scale walls or transverse ceilings as effortlessly. Now, scientists report in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces a dry adhesive that could someday make it easier to defy gravity.

Geckos can scale walls because of their unique toe pads that help them quickly attach and detach from surfaces. Interestingly, gecko toe pads are covered with bristle-like layers of a stiff material called keratin. The bristle-like structure of the keratin in a toe pad helps it to stick -- each pad is covered with microscopic pillars, which then branch out at the tips into even smaller structures. Scientists have manufactured dry adhesives with similar properties, but they haven't been as sticky as gecko toes. And some methods involve the use of layers, but the first layer is usually damaged as successive ones are applied. Other methods are not easily scaled up. Hemant Kumar Raut, Hong Yee Low and colleagues wanted create a dry adhesive that was ultra-sticky but also simple to fabricate in large batches.

The researchers made a dry adhesive with stiff polycarbonate using a nanoimprinting technique to build web-like layers. This method is cost-effective, easy to perform and is scalable. To prevent damage to the first layer, the team used a sacrificial layer, which was dissolved away after the second layer was applied. In repetitive attachment and detachment tests, only a 20 percent decline in stickiness occurred after 50 cycles. This level of adhesion lasted for up to 200 cycles. The researchers say that their film's adhesion was comparable to that of a gecko. The team also placed the adhesive film on the feet of a miniature robot, which moved with ease up a 30-degree incline.

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The authors acknowledge funding from the Temasek Laboratories at Singapore University of Technology and Design and SUTD-MIT International Design Centre.

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.

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Researchers suspect that having Metabolic Syndrome makes it harder for older adults to respond to therapies for depression. (Metabolic Syndrome is a mix of conditions like increased blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels). In a new, first of its kind study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers examined whether Metabolic Syndrome in depressed older adults affects their response to antidepressant treatment.

Older adults who have major depressive disorder (MDD, also known as depression) are at higher risk for having problems thinking and making decisions. They are more likely to have trouble performing their regular daily activities and managing their personal care. These problems can lead to poorer health in general and a higher risk of death compared to older adults who are not depressed.

The study included adults aged 60 and older with Metabolic Syndrome and depression (confirmed by two separate assessments). Researchers treated participants with the antidepressant venlafaxine. After six weeks of treatment, the dose was increased if participants' depression scores were still high. Participants had follow-up visits every one to two weeks. Participants were evaluated for their response to treatment again after 12 weeks.

The researchers noted three key findings in people with Metabolic Syndrome:

Their life history of depression was more chronic.

Their depression symptoms at the beginning of the study were more severe.

They took longer to respond to antidepressant therapy.

What does this mean? The researchers said that older adults with Metabolic Syndrome may be an important group of people for healthcare providers to pay close attention to when screening for and treating depression.

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This summary is from "Impact of Metabolic Syndrome on Late-Life Depression: Associations with Disease Severity and Treatment Resistance". It appears online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study authors are John S. Mulvahill, MD; Ginger E. Nicol, MD; David Dixon, PhD; Eric J. Lenze, MD; Jordan Karp, MD; Charles F. Reynolds III, MD; Daniel M. Blumberger, MD; Benoit H. Mulsant, MD.

About the Health in Aging Foundation

This research summary was developed as a public education tool by the Health in Aging Foundation. The Foundation is a national non-profit established in 1999 by the American Geriatrics Society to bring the knowledge and expertise of geriatrics healthcare professionals to the public. We are committed to ensuring that people are empowered to advocate for high-quality care by providing them with trustworthy information and reliable resources. Last year, we reached nearly 1 million people with our resources through HealthinAging.org. We also help nurture current and future geriatrics leaders by supporting opportunities to attend educational events and increase exposure to principles of excellence on caring for older adults. For more information or to support the Foundation's work, visit http://www.HealthinAgingFoundation.org.

About the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Included in more than 9,000 library collections around the world, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) highlights emerging insights on principles of aging, approaches to older patients, geriatric syndromes, geriatric psychiatry, and geriatric diseases and disorders. First published in 1953, JAGS is now one of the oldest and most impactful publications on gerontology and geriatrics, according to ISI Journal Citation Reports. Visit wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/JGS for more details.

About the American Geriatrics Society

Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a nationwide, not-for-profit society of geriatrics healthcare professionals that has--for 75 years--worked to improve the health, independence, and quality of life of older people. Its nearly 6,000 members include geriatricians, geriatric nurses, social workers, family practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and internists. The Society provides leadership to healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public by implementing and advocating for programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy. For more information, visit AmericanGeriatrics.org.
Where do the stars in our Galaxy come from? All the stars we see in the night-time sky belong to our Milky Way galaxy, and while most stars were likely born here, in the Milky Way, many appear to have originated in other galaxies and migrated to our shores. Tell-tale evidence comes from streams of stars created when small galaxies interact with the Milky Way. Eleven new stellar streams, discovered in data from the Dark Energy Survey, currently in progress at the NSF's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), provide new evidence for this picture.

Our Galactic Melting Pot

Much like the waves of migration that brought diverse groups of people to the United States, our own Galaxy is thought to have been enriched by stars from other galaxies in discrete migration events. When a small neighboring galaxy ventures close to the Milky Way, the gravitational pull of the Milky Way draws out tendrils of stars from the neighboring galaxy, which trail behind it in a stream. Many such interactions are thought to have contributed stars to the halo of the Milky Way.

Eleven New Streams Found by Dark Energy Survey

Eleven new stellar streams, discovered in data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), were reported today in a special session held at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, DC. Prior to the discovery, only two dozen or so stellar streams were known, many of which were discovered in data from a precursor survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).

DES data have been previously used to discover numerous dwarf galaxy neighbors of the Milky Way. While finding dwarf galaxies is a challenging endeavor -- they are faint and diffuse -- stellar streams are even more difficult to pick out, because their stars are spread out over a much larger area of sky. "These discoveries are possible because the Dark Energy Survey is the widest, deepest, and best-calibrated survey out there," explained Alex Drlica-Wagner (Fermilab), a member of the DES team.

Crowdsourcing Discoveries with a Public Data Release

Data from the first three years of the survey, which is being carried out with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the 4-m Blanco telescope at CTIO, were also made publicly available in conjunction with the announcement.

Although DES was carried out primarily to understand the nature of dark energy, "The great thing about a big astronomical survey like this is that it also opens a door to many other discoveries, like the new stellar streams," explained Adam Bolton, Associate Director for the Community Science and Data Center at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). "With the DES data now available as a 'digital sky' accessible to all, our hope is that the data will lead to the crowdsourcing of new and unexpected discoveries."

"Indeed, the DES data have already enabled diverse science, ranging from studies of Near Earth Orbiting objects to distant quasars formed not long after the the Big Bang," added Alistair Walker (NOAO), a member of the DES team and the DECam Instrument Scientist.

Ever Larger Astronomical Surveys

The public release of the DES data continues a trend toward ever larger data sets in astronomy.

"The DES data release includes measurements of 400 million stars and galaxies, about twice the number of objects in the SDSS, the premier survey of the last decade," explained Knut Olsen, the team leader of NOAO's Data Lab. "The survey data extend deep and wide, to stars 40 million times fainter than the human eye can see, covering 1/8 of the entire sky."

Survey catalogs and images will be available through the NOAO Data Lab and the NOAO Science Data Archive. The goal of the NOAO Data Lab is to facilitate community re-use of massive data sets, like the DES data, by enabling visualization, exploration, and analysis of their images and catalogs.

In the same way that DES is a successor to the SDSS, "The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), currently under construction on Cerro Pachon in Chile, is the next generation sky survey after DES," says Bolton. "In the 2020s, LSST will deliver a yet wider and deeper view of the Universe -- from distant galaxies, to our Milky Way, down to the Solar System -- and not just as a still photo, but as a high-definition movie that will capture the rich variability of the sky."

LSST is expected to catalog a whopping 18 billion objects in its first year of operation, dwarfing the number of objects in both the DES and SDSS catalogs (see graphic).

Toward a Big Data Future for Astronomy

The DES results and data release have strong synergy with ongoing investments at the National Science Foundation (NSF). "This result is an excellent example of how 'data mining' -- the exploration of large data sets -- leads to new discoveries," exclaimed Richard Green, Director of the NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences. "NSF is investing in this approach through our Foundation-wide `Harnessing the Data Revolution' initiative, which encourages fundamental research in data science. We're expecting a drumbeat of exciting discoveries, particularly when the LSST data floodgates are opened!"

Bolton views the DES data release as a fantastic opportunity to prepare for this "Big Data" era. "It's a great way for all of us to exercise the new modes of investigation and analysis that will be essential in the LSST era, while also sharpening our understanding of the open questions in astrophysics and cosmology that LSST is being built to address."

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The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.
In 2021, a spacecraft the size of a Cheerios box will carry a small telescope into Earth orbit on an unusual mission. Its task is to monitor the flares and sunspots of small stars to assess how habitable the space environment is for planets orbiting them.

The spacecraft, known as the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat, or SPARCS for short, is a new NASA-funded space telescope. The mission, including spacecraft design, integration and resulting science, is led by Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE).

"This is a mission to the borderland of astrophysics and astrobiology," said Evgenya Shkolnik, assistant professor in SESE and principal investigator for the SPARCS mission. "We're going to study the habitability and high-energy environment around stars that we call M dwarfs."

She announced the mission Jan. 10, 2018, at the 231st meeting of the American Astronomical Society, in Washington, D.C.

The stars that SPARCS will focus on are small, dim, and cool by comparison to the sun. Having less than half the sun's size and temperature, they shine with barely one percent its brightness.

The choice of target stars for SPARCS might seem counterintuitive. If astronomers are looking for exoplanets in habitable environments, why bother with stars that are so different from the sun? An answer lies in the numbers.

To start with, M dwarfs are exceedingly common. They make up three-quarters of all the stars in our Milky Way galaxy, outnumbering sun-like stars 20 to 1.

Astronomers have discovered that essentially every M dwarf star has at least one planet orbiting it, and about one system in four has a rocky planet located in the star's habitable zone. This is the potentially life-friendly region where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for life as we know it, and liquid water could exist on the planet's surface.

Because M dwarfs are so plentiful, astronomers estimate that our galaxy alone contains roughly 40 billion -- that's billion with a B -- rocky planets in habitable zones around their stars. This means that most of the habitable-zone planets in our galaxy orbit M dwarfs. In fact, the nearest one, dubbed Proxima b, lies just 4.2 light-years away, which is on our doorstep in astronomical terms.

So as astronomers begin to explore the environment of exoplanets that dwell in other stars' habitable zones, M dwarf stars figure large in the search.

Taking the pulse of active stars

According to Shkolnik, while M dwarf stars are small and cool, they are more active than the sun, with flares and other outbursts that shoot powerful radiation into space around them. But no one knows exactly how active these small stars are. Over its one-year nominal mission, SPARCS will stare at target stars for weeks at a time in hopes of solving the puzzle.

The heart of the SPARCS spacecraft will be a telescope with a diameter of 9 centimeters, or 3.6 inches, plus a camera with two ultraviolet-sensitive detectors to be developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Both the telescope and camera will be optimized for observations using ultraviolet light, which strongly affects the planet's atmosphere and its potential to harbor life on the surface.

"People have been monitoring M dwarfs as best they can in visible light. But the stars' strongest flares occur mainly in the ultraviolet, which Earth's atmosphere mostly blocks," Shkolnik said.

Although the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope can view stars at ultraviolet wavelengths unhindered, its overcrowded observing schedule would let it dedicate only the briefest of efforts to M dwarfs.

"Hubble provides us with lots of detail on a few stars over a short time. But for understanding their activity we need long looks at many stars instead of snapshots of a few," said Shkolnik.

Capturing lengthy observations of M dwarfs will let astronomers study how stellar activity affects planets that orbit the star.

"Not only are M dwarfs more active than the sun when they are old, they remain more active for longer," Shkolnik said. "By the time it was 10 million years old, the sun had become much less active and it has been decreasing steadily ever since. But M dwarfs can remain active for 300 to 600 million years, with some of the smallest M stars flaring often essentially forever."

Build local, fly global

SPARCS will follow in the footsteps of other space instruments and probes originating from SESE. Already on its way to asteroid Bennu (arrival August 2018) is the OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer (OTES).

In the pipeline are the Phoenix CubeSat (built by an all-student team to study the local climate effects of cities on Earth), LunaH-Map (to measure lunar hydrogen as a proxy for water), the Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (to seek temperature anomalies on Jupiter's moon Europa), the Lucy Thermal Emission Spectrometer (to measure surface properties among Jupiter's family of trojan asteroids), and Psyche, a mission to study an asteroid made wholly of nickel and iron.

Like LunaH-Map, SPARCS is a CubeSat built of six cubical units, each about four inches on a side. These are joined to make a spacecraft two units wide by three long in what is termed a 6U spacecraft. Solar power panels extend like wings from one end.

"In size and shape, SPARCS most resembles a family-size box of Cheerios," Shkolnik said.

The spacecraft will contain three major systems -- the telescope, the camera, and the operational and science software. Along with Shkolnik, SESE astronomers Paul Scowen, Daniel Jacobs, and Judd Bowman will oversee the development of the telescope and camera, plus the software and the systems engineering to pull it all together.

The telescope uses a mirror system with coatings optimized for ultraviolet light. Together with the camera, the system can measure very small changes in the brightness of M dwarf stars to carry out the primary science of the mission. The instrument will be tested and calibrated at ASU in preparation for flight before being integrated into the rest of the spacecraft.

"We'll have limited radio communications with SPARCS, so we plan to do quite a bit of data processing on board using the central computer," said Jacobs. "We'll be writing that software here at ASU, using a prototype of the spacecraft and camera to test our code."

After launch, Jacobs said the team will do science operations at ASU, connecting up to SPARCS via a global ground station network.

A key part of the mission plan, Shkolnik said, is to involve graduate and undergraduate students in various roles. This will give them with educational and training opportunities to become future engineers, scientists, and mission leaders.

"The fast pace for development -- from lab to launch might be as short as a couple of years -- works well with student timescales," Shkolnik said. "They can work on it, start to finish, in the time they're here at ASU."

Small package, big science

Joining ASU in the SPARCS mission are scientists from the University of Washington, the University of Arizona, Lowell Observatory, the SouthWest Research Institute, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"The SPARCS mission will show how, with the right technology, small space telescopes can answer big science questions," Shkolnik said.

These include, she said, "How likely is it that we humans are alone in the universe? Where should we look for habitable planets? And can we find a new and more fruitful understanding of what makes an exoplanet system habitable?"

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From a vacant plot in a blighted neighborhood springs neatly combed rows of plants put in by the neighbors. They meticulously care for this small piece of land and among the drab looking buildings sprouts a patch of green. Cultivating the land may have started as a way to unite a neighborhood; to give pride to place, or it might be the project of a local high school to teach land stewardship.

The urban agriculture phenomenon has grown over the years for many reasons, each specific to the plot of land or rooftop it covers. While most of the benefits from these efforts seem to be limited and very local, when taken collectively there is a significant environmental impact that results from them.

Now a team of researchers led by Arizona State University and Google has assessed the value of urban agriculture and quantified its benefits at global scale. They report their findings in "A Global Geospatial Ecosystems Services Estimate of Urban Agriculture," in the current issue of Earth's Future.

"For the first time, we have a data-driven approach that quantifies the ecosystem benefits from urban agriculture," said Matei Georgescu, an ASU associate professor of geographical sciences and urban planning and corresponding author of the paper. "Our estimates of ecosystem services show potential for millions of tons of food production, thousands of tons of nitrogen sequestration, billions of kilowatt hours of energy savings and billions of cubic meters of avoided storm runoff from agriculture in urban areas."

The researchers analyzed global population, urban, meteorological, terrain, and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) datasets in Google Earth Engine to come to their global scale estimates. They then aggregated them by country.

Overall, the researchers estimated the annual value of four ecosystem services provided by existing vegetation in urban areas to be on the order of $33 billion. In this scenario, they projected an annual food production of 100 to 180 million tons, energy savings of 14 to 15 billion kilowatt hours (insulation properties provided by soil on roofs), nitrogen sequestration between 100,000 to 170,000 tons and avoided storm runoff of 45 to 57 billion cubic meters annually.

With intense urban agriculture implementation, the researchers estimate the overall annual worth of urban agriculture could be as much as $80 to $160 billion. Importantly, urban agriculture could help feed a world that may face future challenges in industrial agriculture as a result of climate change.

"We've known there are benefits to having these small plots of land in our cities, but we found that the benefits extend well beyond having fresh food in the hands of those who will consume it," explained lead author Nicholas Clinton of Google, Inc.

"By integrating across elements that comprise the food-energy-water nexus, our work characterizes the heterogeneous nature of ecosystem services. It is a benchmark global scale assessment," added Georgescu, who also is a senior scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU.

In addition to Georgescu and Clinton, co-authors of the paper are Albie Miles of the University of Hawaii; Peng Gong of Tsinghua University, Beijing; ASU graduate students Michelle Stuhlmacher, Nazli Uludere and Melissa Wagner; and Chris Herwig of Google.

Urban agriculture's full effect

"The most obvious benefit of urban agriculture is that it improves access to healthy foods," said co-author Michelle Stuhlmacher. "In addition to considering yield, our analysis evaluates the potential ecosystem services - such as urban nitrogen fixation, pollination, biological control of pests, control of damaging storm water runoff and energy conservation - that result from urban agriculture."

The work, the researchers say, provides more than an accounting of the effect of urban agriculture in one scenario. It can be used as a tool for future assessments of the changing urban agriculture landscape to better understand tradeoffs between urban design strategies.

"The value of this approach to the global community - research, governmental organizations, political groups - is that it provides local stakeholders with a quantitative framework that they themselves can use. For example, they can assess local implications of varying urban agriculture deployment scenarios based on current or projected urban extent, current or projected building height and facades, different yields, etc., that are all specific to the location under consideration," explained Clinton.

"The global estimates that we provide are useful because they provide a benchmark for other researchers but the societal benefits extend well beyond that because of the implementation of Google's Earth Engine platform," added Georgescu. "Anyone on the planet who wants to know whether and how much urban agriculture can provide for their locality can now do so using open data and code provided with the paper."

Looking at the future of urban agriculture, Clinton said countries that have the most incentives to encourage it share two primary characteristics - sufficient urban area, and a national-scale mixture of crops that lends itself to urban cultivation.

"Relatively temperate, developed or developing countries with the right mix of crops are expected to have the greatest incentives for urban agriculture," he said. "These would include China, Japan, Germany and the U.S."

Seeing the whole picture

"Analysis of the food-energy-water nexus sometimes leaves the impression that benefits are concentrated in one place and costs in another," said Tom Torgersen, program director for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Water, Sustainability and Climate program, which supported the research. "But that's not always the case. Urban agriculture, for example, is an underdeveloped industry that could produce food, sequester urban nitrogen, generate energy savings, help moderate the urban climate and reduce storm water runoff, as well as provide more nutritious foods."

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In addition the NSF, funding for the project came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a National High Technology Grant from China and Google, Inc.
An international team of researchers, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), travels to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia this month (January) to carry out the first scientific whale survey since whaling stopped in the 1970s.

Southern right whale populations were decimated after nearly 300 years of hunting in the South Atlantic. When commercial operations stopped, populations were expected to recover. The team of eight researchers and three crew, will spend five weeks on the research vessel 'Song of the Whale' to investigate the health of the animals in their feeding grounds. In addition, they hope to solve the puzzle of why large numbers of dead whale calves have washed up on the shores around Argentina in the last decade.

Photo-identifications and satellite tagging have revealed seasonal migrations of right whales between South Georgia waters and their calving ground at Peninsula Valdes in Argentina. However, this area has had notably high calf mortalities, and a growing body of evidence suggests that South Georgia environmental conditions directly influence the breeding success of these whales. It is thought that availability of food at South Georgia is a primary factor influencing their reproductive rates.

Whale ecologist Dr Jennifer Jackson from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is leading the expedition cruise. She says:

"Very little is known about southern right whales around South Georgia. We want to know how many use these waters, where and what they are feeding on, and how healthy they are. Ultimately we want to understand how the population is recovering from centuries of whaling and to help unravel the mystery of why so many calves have been dying over the last 10 years."

The team will locate the whales using advanced acoustics previously used to find Blue whales. By listening for their vocalisation or songs, the team can detect the location of their calls and identify where they are. Once found, the team will take photographs for photo-identification, collect skin samples, and attach satellite tags to identify and track them. Team members will fly drones over the whales to assess their body condition and general state of health.

The team is seeking help from tourists, naturalists and other boat operators who will be sailing and working in the waters around the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Scotia Arc from January to March 2018. Good quality photographs and details of sightings of southern right whales will help create a benchmark and health check of the species.

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Issued by the Press Office at British Antarctic Survey: Athena Dinar, Senior PR & Communications Manager, British Antarctic Survey, tel: +44 (0)1223 221 441; mobile: +44 (0)7909 008516; email: amdi@bas.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

Images of the southern right whale and the research vessel Song of the Whale are available from the BAS Press Office. Principal investigator Dr Jennifer Jackson is available for interview before departure on Wednesday 17 January.

The South Georgia Right Whale project spans two consecutive years and seasons: 2017/18 and 2018/19. The project has two research aims, which are funded separately. The first, the EU-funded SWIM project aims to carry out a 'health check' of the southern right whales that use the feeding grounds around South Georgia and find out where they are feeding. The second, funded by Darwin Plus, aims to create a benchmark population count to see if the species is in recovery. More information on the website: https://best-whaleswim.eu/about/

The southern right whale is so-called as historically they were the 'right' whales to hunt owing to their slow swimming speed, inquisitive nature which led them to commonly approach whaling vessels and because they floated once killed. Their oil was used by industry in a wide variety of products including lamps and vehicles, margarine and soap.

Right whales have patches of very rough, white skin on their heads, which have unique patterns in every individual. Good quality photographs of the heads will allow researchers to identify individuals and compare photographs to find out where and when whales are spotted. People should submit photographs to http://www.happywhale.com who are supporting the project, and report any sightings to the South Georgia museum.

British Antarctic Survey (BAS), an institute of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), delivers and enables world-leading interdisciplinary research in the Polar Regions. Its skilled science and support staff based in Cambridge, Antarctica and the Arctic, work together to deliver research that uses the Polar Regions to advance our understanding of Earth as a sustainable planet. Through its extensive logistic capability and know-how BAS facilitates access for the British and international science community to the UK polar research operation. Numerous national and international collaborations, combined with an excellent infrastructure help sustain a world leading position for the UK in Antarctic affairs. For more information visit http://www.bas.ac.uk
A five-year research project on complex fluids with potential for transformative scientific discoveries in industries from petro-chemical to cosmetics is underway at The City College of New York's Grove School of Engineering. Funded by a $5.2 million National Science Foundation grant, the initiative includes 11 partner institutions in France, Germany and Norway.

Possible outcomes of the research include:

Lubricants that enable more efficient undersea drilling of oil and gas;

Improved processes for freezing and solidifying gas for the refrigeration industry;

More efficient manufacturing processes for cosmetics.

Leading the hi-tech research, under the aegis of the NSF's Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) program, is Masahiro Kawaji, acting director of the CCNY-based CUNY Energy Institute.

CCNY's European partners are, in Germany:

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology;

Universitat Hamburg;

Ruhr-Universitat Bochum/Fraunhofer UMSICHT;

Fraunhofer ISE;

Leibniz Institut Dresden.

In France:

The National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse;

The National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture;

Ecole Nationale Superieure (ENSTA ParisTech);

Laboratoire de Chimie et Physique Quantiques.

And in Norway:

The Norwegian Foundation for Scientific & Industrial Research;

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology; and

The University of Oslo.

In addition to engaging top scientists and engineers from these institutions in what Kawaji terms "advancing knowledge and making transformative scientific discoveries that could result in far reaching innovations, in both experimental and modeling methods," the PIRE Project is also a boon for scores of students on both shores.

At CCNY, up to 30 students are involved hands-on in this invaluable opportunity for international collaborative research at the highest level. The tally includes seven PhD candidates, three postdoctoral fellows, 10 graduates and 10 undergraduates.

CCNY's Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation chapter will support two CUNY undergraduate scholars annually for summer research experiences at one of the aforementioned European partner institutions.

Other foreign research experience include attendance at annual review meetings in New York City, Norway, France and Germany, and a six-month internship for all seven PhD students at institutions in Europe.

Summing up the potential of the expansive project, whose NSF proposal name was "PIRE: Multi-scale, Multi-phase Phenomena in Complex Fluids for the Energy Industries," Kawiji said: "It could lead to improvements in energy and process efficiency in industrial systems on a global scale."

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Astrophysicists have just discovered a major new clue about the environment that is home to a series of mysterious cosmic radio signals.

A new study shows that the only known repeating fast radio burst (FRB) source is in an 'extreme' environment which is among the most highly magnetized regions of space ever observed. Such an environment has only been seen around massive black holes, but could also plausibly be caused by a combination of other extreme astrophysical circumstances. The new measurements could offer a major clue to the FRB's cause.

The findings were presented at the American Astronomical Society's winter meeting in Washington, D.C today and published in Nature. The research was conducted by a scientific collaboration that includes CIFAR R. Howard Webster Foundation Fellow Victoria Kaspi (McGill University) and Associate Fellow Scott Ransom (National Radio Astronomy Observatory).

"I had to read my email a few times to really digest it. I kept thinking, 'No way, that can't be right,'" said Kaspi, who is Director of CIFAR's Gravity & the Extreme Universe program.

"We found something that is clearly in an extreme place and the extreme location may create a phenomenon that is one of the biggest astrophysical mysteries of recent times."

Kaspi said this is a huge advance in understanding fast radio bursts. FRBs last only a few thousandths of a second but are far brighter and more powerful than any known short radio flashes, such as pulses from radio pulsars, a form of neutron star. FRB 121102 is especially unusual because it is the only known repeating burster and the first FRB to be pinpointed in the sky.

Though FRB 121102 is located three billion light years away, researchers were able to get a 'glimpse' inside its environment by examining the polarization of its radio emission in detail. The phenomenon of Faraday rotation describes the way polarized light behaves as it travels through substances in a magnetic field. By measuring Faraday rotation using data from the Arecibo Observatory (Puerto Rico) and the Green Bank Telescope (West Virginia), the scientists showed that the polarization of the radio light from this FRB must have travelled through an ultra-highly magnetic area of space dense with plasma.

A leading hypothesis to explain the observations is that the environment contains a black hole 10 to 100 million times the size of the sun. The burst could come from a neutron star near a supermassive black hole that produces huge magnetic fields, or even shoots out hot, ionizing gas. Other possible models include an ultra-highly magnetized wind nebula, created by winds from a pulsar. The researchers have also proposed an environment with an ultra-highly magnetized supernova remnant powered by a young neutron star.

These new findings raise the question of whether FRBs could be a product of their environment.

"If you have an extreme object in an extreme environment, is that just a coincidence? FRBs have these huge explosions in radio waves and we don't know why that occurs. Maybe this is a clue to the mechanism that produces these explosions," Kaspi said. She is particularly interested in speaking with members of the Gravity & the Extreme Universe program who study compact objects like supermassive black holes, including the one in Earth's galaxy.

The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, better known as the CHIME telescope, offers another way to study FRBs. The Canadian-led initiative involves a number of CIFAR researchers and is based in Penticton, B.C. Originally designed for cosmological work, CHIME's capabilities have been extended to enable it to be a world-leading FRB detector. The CHIME FRB team hopes to put a larger focus on collecting information to measure Faraday rotation now that it has proven to be critical to understanding FRBs.

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"An extreme magneto-ionic environment associated with fast radio burst source FRB 121102" was published in Nature on Jan. 11.

Media contacts:

Victoria Kaspi

Director of CIFAR's Gravity & the Extreme Universe program

Director of the McGill Space Institute

Professor of Physics at McGill University

514-398-6412

vkaspi@physics.mcgill.ca

Juanita Bawagan

CIFAR writer and media relations specialist

416-971-4884

Juanita.bawagan@cifar.ca
ITHACA, N.Y. - An international group of astronomers has found that the Cornell University-discovered fast radio burst FRB 121102 - a brief, gigantic pulse of radio waves from 3 billion light years away - passes through a veil of magnetized plasma. This causes the cosmic blasts to "shout and twist," which will help the scientists determine the source.

The research is featured on the cover of Nature, Jan. 11.

The "shouting" represents the bursts, and the "twisting" describes a physical phenomenon called Faraday rotation, which occurs as radio waves pass through a magnetized plasma, explained James Cordes, the George Feldstein Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. Measurement of the twisting provides further scientific detail on the origin of FRB 121102. The data was culled from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and confirmed by Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia.

"It's remote sensing from 3 billion light years away. These new measurements allow us to be much more specific about the immediate surroundings of the source," said Cordes.

When radio waves pass through magnetized plasma, the direction of polarization at different radio frequencies become "twisted" by the Faraday rotation.

The radio bursts from FRB 121102 twist to such an extreme - more than 500 times greater any other fast radio burst observed to date - that astronomers concluded the bursts must pass through a high magnetic field in dense plasma, making scientists believe that the youthful source of the FRB 121102 bursts may be close to a massive black hole in its own galaxy or a young neutron star cradled within a powerful nebula or a supernova remnant.

"We estimate the magnetic field and gas density surrounding the blast source, and we can link them, for example, with a model involving a young magnetar - a neutron star with an especially large magnetic field - to the central engine that produces the bursts," Cordes said. The radio source and its environment are unique, which indicates a new type of object not seen previously.

Like an enormous eavesdropping ear on the deep heavens, the Arecibo Observatory is Earth's largest single-aperture radio telescope, tuned to find pulsars and transient sources, and to observe everything from galaxies to objects in the solar system. Hurricane Maria damaged it in September, but the observatory is recovering and continues to acquire scientific data.

Laura Spitler, discovered FRB 121102 in 2014 as a postdoctoral researcher when she sifted through 2012 data from Arecibo acquired by the Pulsar Arecibo L-Band Feed Array survey that searches for pulsars and transient sources. Spitler found a mysterious burst that lasted three one-thousandths of a second. She now works as a postdoctoral researcher for the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany.

Last year, Cornell researchers and a global team of astronomers uncovered the cosmological source of that sporadically repeating milliseconds-long fast radio burst. The current work builds on those results.

Up until several years ago, fast radio bursts were a new phenomenon with no conventional explanation, said Shami Chatterjee, senior research associate in astronomy at Cornell. "New phenomena get scientists excited. It's like fresh powder snow on a ski slope," said Chatterjee.

FRB 121102 produces prodigious energy that Earth-bound scientists can detect, explained Cordes. In a flash lasting less than a millisecond, this burst source radiates enough energy to equal our sun's output for an entire day.

"This is exotic. If we had one of these on the other side of our own galaxy - the Milky Way - it would disrupt radio here on Earth, and we'd notice, as it would saturate the signal levels on our smartphones," he said. "Whatever is happening there is scary. We would not want to be there."

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Lead author of the paper, "An Extreme Magneto-Ionic Environment Associated With the Fast Radio Burst Source FRB 121102," is Daniele Michilli and the senior author is Jason Hessels, both of the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy.

Other Cornell-related authors include Robert Wharton, the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy; Elizabeth A.K. Adams, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy; Joe Lazio, Jet Propulsion Lab; Maura McLaughlin, West Virginia University; and former Cornell research associates Dana Whitlow and Andrew Seymour, at Arecibo. The National Science Foundation supported the research on this paper.
A computer system developed by Columbia University with Health Department epidemiologists detects foodborne illness and outbreaks in NYC restaurants based on keywords in Yelp reviews

Using Yelp, 311, and reports from health care providers, the Health Department has identified and investigated approximately 28,000 complaints of suspected foodborne illness overall since 2012

January 10, 2018 - The Health Department today announced that since 2012, 10 outbreaks of foodborne illness were identified solely through a computer system jointly created with Columbia University's Department of Computer Science. Launched in 2012, the computer system tracks foodborne illnesses based on certain keywords that appear in Yelp restaurant reviews. This strategy has helped Health Department staff identify approximately 1,500 complaints of foodborne illness in New York City each year, for a total of 8,523 since July 2012.

Improvements to the computer system are the subject of a joint study published this week by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. The Health Department and Columbia continue to expand the system to include other social media sources, such as Twitter, which was added to the system in November 2016. The computer system allows the Health Department to investigate incidents and outbreaks that might otherwise go undetected. New Yorkers are encouraged to call 311 to report any suspected foodborne illness.

"Working with our partners at Columbia University, the Health Department continues to expand its foodborne illness surveillance capabilities," said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. "Today we not only look at complaints from 311, but we also monitor online sites and social media. I look forward to working with Columbia University on future efforts to build on this system. The Health Department follows up on all reports of foodborne illness - whether it is reported to 311 or Yelp."

Each year, thousands of New York City residents become sick from consuming foods or drinks that are contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses or parasites. The most common sources of food poisoning include raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs, shellfish and unpasteurized milk. Fruits and vegetables may become contaminated if they are handled or processed in facilities that are not kept clean, if they come into contact with contaminated fertilizer, or if they are watered or washed with contaminated water. Contamination may also occur if food is incorrectly handled by an infected food worker or if it touches other contaminated food.

"Effective information extraction regarding foodborne illness from social media is of high importance--online restaurant review sites are popular and many people are more likely to discuss food poisoning incidents in such sites than on official government channels," said Luis Gravano and Daniel Hsu, who are coauthors of the study and professors of Computer Science at Columbia Engineering. "Using machine learning has already had a significant impact on the detection of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses."

"The collaboration with Columbia University to identify reports of food poisoning in social media is crucial to improve foodborne illness outbreak detection efforts in New York City," said Health Department epidemiologists Vasudha Reddy and Katelynn Devinney, who are coauthors of the publication. "The incorporation of new data sources allows us to detect outbreaks that may not have been reported and for the earlier identification of outbreaks to prevent more New Yorkers from becoming sick."

"I applaud DOHMH Commissioner Bassett for embracing the role that crowdsourcing technology can play in identifying outbreaks of foodborne illness. Public health must be forward-thinking in its approach to triaging both everyday and acute medical concerns," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

Most restaurant-associated outbreaks are identified through the Health Department's complaint system, which includes 311, Yelp, and reports from health care providers. Since 2012, the Department has identified and investigated approximately 28,000 suspected complaints of foodborne illness overall. The Health Department reviews and investigates all complaints of suspected foodborne illness in New York City.

The symptoms, onset and length of illness depend on the type of microbe, and how much of it is swallowed. Symptoms usually include vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. If you suspect you became sick after eating or drinking a contaminated item, call 311 or submit an online complaint form.

New Yorkers should call their doctor if they experience a high fever (over 101.5F), blood in the stool, prolonged vomiting, dehydration, or diarrhea for more than three days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 48 million illnesses and 3000 deaths caused by the consumption of contaminated food in the United States each year.

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#001-18

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Christopher Miller/Julien Martinez

347-396-4177

PressOffice@health.nyc.gov

Columbia Engineering:

Holly Evarts

212-854-3206

holly.evarts@columbia.edu

About the Study

The study is titled "Discovering Foodborne Illness in Online Restaurant Reviews."

Authors are: Thomas Effland, Anna Lawson, Luis Gravano, and Daniel Hsu (Department of Computer Science, Columbia Engineering); Sharon Balter, Katelynn Devinney, Vasudha Reddy, HaeNa Waechter (Bureau of Communicable Disease, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant IIS-15- 63785, Google Research Award "Information Extraction from Social Media: Detecting Disease Outbreaks," Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant G-2015- 95 14017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention PHEP grant NU90TP000546, and CDC/ELC grant NU50CK000407-03.

This material is based on work supported in part by a Google Research Award. In accordance with Columbia University reporting requirements, LG acknowledges ownership of Google stock as of the writing of this paper.

LINKS:

Paper: https://academic.oup.com/jamia/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/jamia/ocx093

DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocx093

http://engineering.columbia.edu/web/faculty/content/luis-gravano

http://engineering.columbia.edu/

Columbia Engineering

Columbia Engineering, based in New York City, is one of the top engineering schools in the U.S. and one of the oldest in the nation. Also known as The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School expands knowledge and advances technology through the pioneering research of its more than 200 faculty, while educating undergraduate and graduate students in a collaborative environment to become leaders informed by a firm foundation in engineering. The School's faculty are at the center of the University's cross-disciplinary research, contributing to the Data Science Institute, Earth Institute, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Precision Medicine Initiative, and the Columbia Nano Initiative. Guided by its strategic vision, "Columbia Engineering for Humanity," the School aims to translate ideas into innovations that foster a sustainable, healthy, secure, connected, and creative humanity.
At a special session held during the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C., scientists on the Dark Energy Survey (DES) announced today the public release of their first three years of data. This first major release of data from the Survey includes information on about 400 million astronomical objects, including distant galaxies billions of light-years away as well as stars in our own galaxy.

DES scientists are using this data to learn more about dark energy, the mysterious force believed to be accelerating the expansion of the universe, and presented some of their preliminary cosmological findings in the special session. As part of that session, DES scientists also announced today the discovery of 11 new stellar streams, remnants of smaller galaxies torn apart and devoured by our Milky Way.

The public release of the first three years of DES data fulfills a commitment scientists on the survey made to share their findings with the astronomy community and the public. The data cover the full DES footprint - about 5,000 square degrees, or one eighth of the entire sky -- and include roughly 40,000 exposures taken with the Dark Energy Camera. The images correspond to hundreds of terabytes of data and are being released along with catalogs of hundreds of millions of galaxies and stars.

"There are all kinds of discoveries waiting to be found in the data. While DES scientists are focused on using it to learn about dark energy, we wanted to enable astronomers to explore these images in new ways, to improve our understanding of the universe," said Dark Energy Survey Data Management Project Scientist Brian Yanny of the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

"The great thing about a big astronomical survey like this is that it also opens a door to many other studies, like the new stellar streams," added Adam Bolton, associate director for the Community Science and Data Center at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). "With the DES data now available as a 'digital sky,' accessible to all, my hope is that these data will lead to the crowdsourcing of new and unexpected discoveries."

The DES data can be accessed online at https://des.ncsa.illinois.edu/releases/dr1.

The Dark Energy Camera, the primary observation tool of the Dark Energy Survey, is one of the most powerful digital imaging devices in existence. It was built and tested at Fermilab, the lead laboratory on the Dark Energy Survey, and is mounted on the National Science Foundation's 4-meter Blanco telescope, part of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a division of NOAO. The DES images are processed by a team at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"We're excited that this release of high-quality imaging data is now accessible to researchers around the world," said Matias Carrasco Kind, DES release scientist at NCSA. "While DES was designed with the goal of understanding dark energy and dark matter, the huge amount of data in these images and catalogs will bring new scientific applications, challenges, and opportunities for discovery to astronomers and data scientists. In collaboration, NCSA, NOAO and the LIneA group in Brazil are providing the tools and resources to access and analyze this rich and robust data set."

One new discovery enabled by the data set is the detection of 11 new streams of stars around our Milky Way. Our home galaxy is surrounded by a massive halo of dark matter, which exerts a powerful gravitational pull on smaller, nearby galaxies. The Milky Way grows by pulling in, ripping apart and absorbing these smaller systems. As stars are torn away, they form streams across the sky that can be detected using the Dark Energy Camera. Even so, stellar streams are extremely difficult to find since they are composed of relatively few stars spread out over a large area of sky.

"It's exciting that we found so many stellar streams," said astrophysicist Alex Drlica-Wagner of Fermilab. "We can use these streams to measure the amount, distribution and clumpiness of dark matter in the Milky Way. Studies of stellar streams will help constrain the fundamental properties of dark matter."

Prior to the new discoveries by DES, only about two dozen stellar streams had been discovered. Many of them were found by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a precursor to the Dark Energy Survey. The effort to detect new stellar streams in the Dark Energy Survey was led by University of Chicago graduate student Nora Shipp.

"We're interested in these streams because they teach us about the formation and structure of the Milky Way and its dark matter halo. Stellar streams give us a snapshot of a larger galaxy being built out of smaller ones," Shipp said. "These discoveries are possible because DES is the widest, deepest and best-calibrated survey out there."

Since there is no universally accepted naming convention for stellar streams, the Dark Energy Survey has reached out to schools in Chile and Australia, asking young students to select names. Students and their teachers have worked together to name the streams after aquatic words in native languages from northern Chile and aboriginal Australia. Read more about the names in Symmetry magazine.

Read the papers drawn from the first years of DES data online here: https://www.darkenergysurvey.org/dr1-data-release-papers/.

DES plans one more major public data release, after the survey is completed, which will include nearly twice as many exposures as in this release.

"This result is an excellent example of how 'data mining' -- the exploration of large data sets -- leads to new discoveries," said Richard Green, director of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences. "NSF is investing in this approach through our foundationwide 'Harnessing the Data Revolution' initiative, which is encouraging fundamental research in data science. We're expecting a drumbeat of exciting discoveries, particularly when the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope data floodgates are opened!"

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This work is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

The Dark Energy Survey is a collaboration of more than 400 scientists from 26 institutions in seven countries. Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, U.S. National Science Foundation, Ministry of Science and Education of Spain, Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom, Higher Education Funding Council for England, ETH Zurich for Switzerland, National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics at Ohio State University, Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Fundacao Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico and Ministerio da Ciencia e Tecnologia, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the collaborating institutions in the Dark Energy Survey, the list of which can be found at http://www.darkenergysurvey.org/collaboration.

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. NSF is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.

NCSA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides supercomputing and advanced digital resources for the nation's science enterprise. At NCSA, University of Illinois faculty, staff, students and collaborators from around the globe use advanced digital resources to address research grand challenges for the benefit of science and society. NCSA has been advancing one third of the Fortune 50 for more than 30 years by bringing industry, researchers and students together to solve grand challenges at rapid speed and scale. For more information, please visit http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu.

Fermilab is America's premier national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance LLC, a joint partnership between the University of Chicago and the Universities Research Association Inc. Visit Fermilab's website at http://www.fnal.gov and follow us on Twitter at @Fermilab.

The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
In a paper recently published in Nature Communications, geologist Michael Strasser presented the initial findings of a month-long research expedition off the coast of Japan. The research initiative had been organised in March 2012 by MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences. Strasser, who until 2015 was Assistant Professor for Sediment Dynamics at ETH Zurich and is now a Full Professor for Sediment Geology at the University of Innsbruck, took an international team there to study dynamic sediment remobilisation processes triggered by seismic activity.

At a depth of 7,542 metres below sea level, the team took a core sample from the Japan Trench, an 800-km-long oceanic trench in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. The trench, which is seismically active, was the epicentre of the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, which made headlines when it caused the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima. Such earthquakes wash enormous amounts of organic matter from the shallows down into deeper waters. The resulting sediment layers can thus be used later to glean information about the history of earthquakes and the carbon cycle in the deep ocean.

New dating methods in the deep ocean

The current study provided the researchers with a breakthrough. They analysed the carbon-rich sediments using radiocarbon dating. This method - measuring the amount of organic carbon as well as radioactive carbon (14C) in mineralised compounds - has long been a means of determining the age of individual sediment layers. Until now, however, it has not been possible to analyse samples from deeper than 5,000 metres below the surface, because the mineralised compounds dissolve under increased water pressure.

Strasser and his team therefore had to use new methods for their analysis. One of these was what is known as the online gas radiocarbon method, developed by ETH doctoral student Rui Bao and the Biogeoscience Group at ETH Zurich. This greatly increases efficiency, since it takes just a single core sample to make more than one hundred 14C age measurements directly on the organic matter contained within the sediment.

In addition, the researchers applied the Ramped PyrOx measurement method (pyrolysis) for the first time in the dating of deep-ocean sediment layers. This was done in cooperation with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (U.S.), which developed the method. The process involves burning organic matter at different temperatures. Because older organic matter contains stronger chemical bonds, it requires higher temperatures to burn. What makes this method novel is that the relative age variation of the individual temperature fractions between two samples very precisely distinguishes the age difference between sediment levels in the deep sea.

Dating earthquakes to increase forecast accuracy

Thanks to these two innovative methods, the researchers could determine the relative age of organic matter in individual sediment layers with a high degree of precision. The core sample they tested contained older organic matter in three places, as well as higher rates of carbon export to the deep ocean. These places correspond to three historically documented yet hitherto imprecisely dated seismic events in the Japan Trench: the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, an unnamed earthquake in 1454, and the Sanriku earthquake in 869.

At the moment, Strasser is working on a large-scale geological map of the origin and frequency of sediments in deep-ocean trenches. To do so, he is analysing multiple core samples taken during a follow-up expedition to the Japan Trench in 2016. "The identification and dating of tectonically triggered sediment deposits is also important for future forecasts about the likelihood of earthquakes," Strasser says. "With our new methods, we can predict the recurrence of earthquakes with much more accuracy."

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An international team of researchers from ETH Zurich, IBM Research Zurich, Empa and four American research institutions have found the explanation for why a class of nanocrystals that has been intensively studied in recent years shines in such incredibly bright colours. The nanocrystals contain caesium lead halide compounds that are arranged in a perovskite lattice structure.

Three years ago, Maksym Kovalenko, a professor at ETH Zurich and Empa, succeeded in creating nanocrystals - or quantum dots, as they are also known - from this semiconductor material. "These tiny crystals have proved to be extremely bright and fast emitting light sources, brighter and faster than any other type of quantum dot studied so far," says Kovalenko. By varying the composition of the chemical elements and the size of the nanoparticles, he also succeeded in producing a variety of nanocrystals that light up in the colours of the whole visible spectrum. These quantum dots are thus also being treated as components for future light-emitting diodes and displays.

In a study published in the most recent edition of the scientific journal Nature, the international research team examined these nanocrystals individually and in great detail. The scientists were able to confirm that the nanocrystals emit light extremely quickly. Previously-studied quantum dots typically emit light around 20 nanoseconds after being excited when at room temperature, which is already very quick. "However, caesium lead halide quantum dots emit light at room temperature after just one nanosecond," explains Michael Becker, first author of the study. He is a doctoral student at ETH Zurich and is carrying out his doctoral project at IBM Research.

Electron-hole pair in an excited energy state

Understanding why caesium lead halide quantum dots are not only fast but also very bright entails diving into the world of individual atoms, light particles (photons) and electrons. "You can use a photon to excite semiconductor nanocrystals so that an electron leaves its original place in the crystal lattice, leaving behind a hole," explains David Norris, Professor of Materials Engineering at ETH Zurich. The result is an electron-hole pair in an excited energy state. If the electron-hole pair reverts to its energy ground state, light is emitted.

Under certain conditions, different excited energy states are possible; in many materials, the most likely of these states is called a dark one. "In such a dark state, the electron hole pair cannot revert to its energy ground state immediately and therefore the light emission is suppressed and occurs delayed. This limits the brightness", says Rainer Mahrt, a scientist at IBM Research.

No dark state

The researchers were able to show that the caesium lead halide quantum dots differ from other quantum dots: their most likely excited energy state is not a dark state. Excited electron-hole pairs are much more likely to find themselves in a state in which they can emit light immediately. "This is the reason that they shine so brightly," says Norris.

The researchers came to this conclusion using their new experimental data and with the help of theoretical work led by Alexander Efros, a theoretical physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington. He is a pioneer in quantum dot research and, 35 years ago, was among the first scientists to explain how traditional semiconductor quantum dots function.

Great news for data transmission

As the examined caesium lead halide quantum dots are not only bright but also inexpensive to produce they could be applied in television displays, with efforts being undertaken by several companies, in Switzerland and world-wide. "Also, as these quantum dots can rapidly emit photons, they are of particular interest for use in optical communication within data centres and supercomputers, where fast, small and efficient components are central," says Mahrt. Another future application could be the optical simulation of quantum systems which is of great importance to fundamental research and materials science.

ETH professor Norris is also interested in using the new knowledge for the development of new materials. "As we now understand why these quantum dots are so bright, we can also think about engineering other materials with similar or even better properties," he says.

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Reference

Becker MA, Vaxenburg R, Nedelcu G, Sercel PC, Shabaev A, Mehl MJ, Michopoulos JG, Lambrakos SG, Bernstein N, Lyons JL, Stoferle T, Mahrt RF, Kovalenko MV, Norris DJ, Raino G, Efros AL: Bright triplet excitons in caesium lead halide perovskites. Nature 2018, doi: 10.1038/nature25147 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature25147]
Scleroderma is a terribly debilitating disease with no effective treatments and the mortality rates are still upwards of 20%-50%, the highest of any rheumatic disease.

This disabling autoimmune disorder results in inflammation and fibrosis leading to the thickening of the body's connective tissue, including the skin; and for decades its treatment has been symptomatic and, at best, inconsistently effective. But new research by a team from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City may signal hope for patients suffering from the condition.

The mechanism behind systemic sclerosis is not well understood. However, new research published today in Science Translational Medicine reveals a potential breakthrough into the cause of this disease, and also provides a possible treatment lead. Led by HSS researcher Dr. Franck Barrat -- the Michael Bloomberg Chair and Senior Scientist at HSS - along with clinicians of the Scleroderma center of HSS, the work implicates what are called plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) in contributing to scleroderma.

Normally pDCs secrete a compound called interferon to help fight off infections. However, as Dr. Barrat's study revealed, in scleroderma patients these cells are chronically activated and infiltrate the skin causing fibrosis and inflammation.

"Plasmacytoid dendritic cells are known to be activated in many other rheumatic conditions, including lupus," explains Dr. Barrat. "But our findings suggest that they participate in both establishing and maintaining fibrosis in the skin as well. This is a very interesting finding as it opens new ways to tackle this condition."

Dr. Barrat found that depleting pDCs in an animal model of scleroderma prevented the disease from forming, while also reversing already existing fibrosis.

The new research also revealed that a receptor on the surface of pDCs called TLR8 is responsible for their increased activity.

Dr. Barrat fully acknowledges the limitations of the new study in particular the part where the research used animal models of scleroderma, which only partially reflect the complexity of the disease in humans. But he's hopeful that not only will the new findings help illuminate the pathology of a puzzling disease, they may also represent potential novel approaches to treatment.

Strategies to eliminate pDCs are currently being evaluated by drug companies in diseases other than scleroderma. And though these potential treatments are still years away from being available, Dr. Barrat hopes that "a better understanding of the role pDCs play in fibrosis will open up the possibility of repurposing existing drugs to treat patients with scleroderma".

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DENVER -Elderly patients with stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed improved overall survival (OS) when treated with chemoradiation (CRT) compared to definitive radiation (RT) alone.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. NSCLC constitutes between 80-85% of all lung cancers and more than 30% of those are diagnosed with stage III disease over the age of 65. Despite this large population, elderly patients are often excluded or underrepresented in clinical trials resulting in limited treatment options for this population of patients. Given that NSCLC is a heterogenous disease requiring a multidisciplinary treatment approach, and the limited treatment data available in this population, the optimal treatment strategy for stage III NSCLC in the elderly needs to be further explored.

A group of investigators at The Ohio State University in the United States conducted a retrospective study to compare the effectiveness of RT alone verses CRT in elderly patients ?70 years old with stage III NSCLC not treated surgically. Patients ?70 years old with stage III NSCLC not surgically treated from 2003-2014 were selected from the National Cancer Database. Patients were divided into two cohorts: patients treated with definitive RT and patients treated with definitive CRT. The CRT patients were considered to have received concurrent CRT if chemotherapy was delivered within 30 days prior to or after initiation of RT, while sequential CRT was defined as RT delivered ?30 days after initiation of chemotherapy. The OS between treatment groups was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression before and after propensity score matching (PSM) to reduce potential selection bias.

The results of the study were published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). The study identified 5,023 elderly patients treated with definitive RT and 18,206 patients treated with CRT. Univariate analysis revealed that younger age, male sex, white race, higher income, stage IIIB, increased distance from the treating hospital and a Charlson-Deyo score <1 were associated with higher odds of receiving CRT. These covariates were used to calculate propensity scores. Treatment with CRT was associated with improved OS compared to RT before PSM (HR=0.66, 95%CI 0.64-0.68, p<0.0001) and after PSM (HR=0.91, 95%CI 0.85-0.96, p=0.002). After PSM, treatment with CRT corresponded to a 33% reduction in the risk of death (HR=0.67, 95%CI 0.64-0.70, p<0.001). The benefit of CRT was greater for elderly patients treated with multi-agent chemotherapy (HR=0.64, 95%CI 0.61-0.67, p<0.001) compared with single-agent chemotherapy (HR=0.83, 95%CI 0.75-0.92, p<0.001). Finally, patients treated with CRT were further subdivided into those treated with concurrent verses sequential CRT with 15,840 treated with concurrent CRT and 2,366 treated with sequential CRT. Treatment with sequential CRT corresponded to a 9% reduction in the risk of death (HR=0.91, 95%CI 0.85-0.96, p=0.002).

The authors comment that, "Treatment of the elderly with locally advanced NSCLC is challenging and, with an aging population, will remain an issue for the U.S. healthcare system for the foreseeable future. To our knowledge, our study represents the largest reported cohort of elderly stage III NSCLC patients not treated surgically. We found that CRT is superior to definitive RT in elderly patients with stage III NSCLC not treated surgically. We also found that in patients that receive CRT, sequential chemotherapy and RT resulted in improved OS compared to concurrent CRT. Treatment of the elderly with stage III NSCLC should involve a multidisciplinary discussion. All patients not eligible for surgery should first be considered for CRT, with either concurrent or sequential RT. Based on our findings, multi-agent chemotherapy is preferred over single-agent regimens in suitable patients. When multi-agent chemotherapy is not feasible, a single-agent regimen is supported by our results. When chemotherapy is contraindicated or not recommended, then definitive RT alone should be considered."

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Co-authors Erin Bertino, Kai He, David Carbone, Terence Williams and Gregory Otterson are members of IASLC.

About the IASLC

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated solely to the study of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 6,500 lung cancer specialists across all disciplines in over 100 countries, forming a global network working together to conquer lung and thoracic cancers worldwide. The association also publishes the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the primary educational and informational publication for topics relevant to the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of all thoracic malignancies. Visit http://www.iaslc.org for more information.
Not all aerosols are made equally. Sea salt and some types of wild fire smoke can take flight to create clouds and, eventually, rain, while other aerosols, such as mineral dust, do not work as well. Scientists are beginning to understand exactly how these different particles influence cloud formation and resulting precipitation over land and sea.

Researchers from Texas A&M University and the University of Arizona published their latest study in Advances of Atmospheric Sciences. It's selected as the cover article of the special issue: Aerosols, clouds, radiation, precipitation, and their interactions.

"Certain aerosol types can become cloud condensation nuclei and their number concentration can dictate cloud behavior," said Timothy Logan, an instructional assistant professor in the department of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University and an author on the paper. "The dependence on aerosol type is the key to understanding under which conditions clouds will develop as well as how much precipitation comes from them."

Logan and his team previously studied aerosols over ocean and their ability to seed clouds as surface cloud condensation nuclei, which determine precipitation type and duration. In this paper, they compare those results with data collected over the Great Plains, a landlocked strip bisecting the United States.

Aerosols not only act as cloud condensation nuclei, but they can also enhance or limit the concentration of the cloud condensation nuclei. This concentration influences the lifetime, thickness, and brightness of clouds, as well as resulting precipitation. Known as the aerosol indirect effect, this relationship may be just as damaging as the aerosol direct effect, in which aerosols fill the atmosphere and block the sun. Previous research tends to rely on the number, rather than the type, of cloud concentration nuclei, according to Logan.

"Aerosol type does matter when it comes to the aerosol indirect effect and should be taken into account when modeling aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions rather than solely using the [number concentration]," Logan said.

Beyond formation, the researchers examined how clouds move, crossing from ocean to land. Logan noted wind patterns are capable of transporting aerosols hundreds to thousands of kilometers away from their source regions.

Using ground and space observational techniques, the team plans to conduct a long-term observational study and model the behavioral sensitivity between aerosols, clouds, and precipitation, with a focus on air masses that transport aerosols to regions where clouds and precipitation develop.

"Certain aerosol and air mass types are dominant during certain times of the year and exhibit a seasonal pattern," Logan said. "This pattern can be used to determine the magnitude of the [aerosol indirect effect], as well as the distribution of precipitation over land and ocean with respect to climate change."

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More than 3.5 billion people, over half the world's population, live in urban areas

'Urban Mind: Using Smartphone Technologies to Investigate the impact of Nature on Mental Wellbeing in Real Time' published in BioScience on Wednesday 10 January

Findings have potential implications from the perspectives of global mental health and urban planning and design

Researchers at King's College London, landscape architects J & L Gibbons and art foundation Nomad Projects have used smartphone-based technology to assess the relationship between nature in cities and momentary mental wellbeing in real time. They found that (i) being outdoors, seeing trees, hearing birdsong, seeing the sky, and feeling in contact with nature were associated with higher levels of mental wellbeing, and that (ii) the beneficial effects of nature were especially evident in those individuals with greater levels of impulsivity who are at greater risk of mental health issues. The researchers developed a smartphone-based app, Urban Mind, to examine how exposure to natural features in cities affects a person's mental wellbeing.

The Urban Mind app monitored 108 individuals who collectively completed 3,013 assessments over a one-week period.

In each assessment, participants answered several questions about their current environment and momentary mental wellbeing. GPS-based geotagging was used to monitor their exact location throughout the 1-week trial.

The results showed significant immediate and time lagged associations with mental wellbeing for several natural features: trees, the sky and birdsong. These associations were still evident several hours after exposure to trees, the sky and birdsong had taken place, indicating time-lasting benefits.

The investigators were interested in whether the beneficial effects of nature might vary from one individual to another, depending on their risk of developing poor mental health. To assess this each participant was rated on "trait impulsivity" - a psychological measure of one's tendency to behave with little forethought or consideration of the consequences, and a predictor of higher risk of developing addictive disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, antisocial personality disorder and bipolar disorder. This revealed that the beneficial impact of nature on mental wellbeing was greater in people with higher levels of trait impulsivity and a higher risk of developing mental health issues.

Dr Andrea Mechelli, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, said, 'These findings suggest that short-term exposure to nature has a measurable beneficial impact on mental wellbeing. The interaction of this effect with trait impulsivity is intriguing, as it suggests that nature could be especially beneficial to those individuals who are at risk of poor mental health. From a clinical perspective, we hope this line of research will lead to the development of low-cost scalable interventions aimed at promoting mental health in urban populations.'Johanna Gibbons and Neil Davidson, landscape architects at J & L Gibbons, said, 'Right now decisions on urban planning and design aimed at improving mental health tend to be based on "conventional wisdom", due to the lack of robust scientific data. Our findings provide a much-needed evidence base for the benefits of nature within urban centres. From the perspective of urban planning and design, we hope the results will inform future investments and policies, helping build heathier cities'.

Michael Smythe, an artist and action-based researcher at Nomad Projects, comments, 'This study represents a successful example of how smartphone technologies can be employed as a tool for citizen science. It also demonstrates the value of academic and non-academic researchers coming together to carry out truly cross-disciplinary work with tangible real-world implications'.

Lucia Robertson, a participant on the project, said, 'Using the Urban Mind app made me more aware of my surroundings and how these affect my state of mind. It encouraged me to think hard about what kind of city I want to live in'.

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Notes to editors

Ioannis Bakolis, Ryan Hammoud, Michael Smythe, Johanna Gibbons, Neil Davidson, Stefania Tognin, Andrea Mechelli, Urban Mind: Using Smartphone Technologies to Investigate the impact of Nature on Mental Wellbeing in Real Time, in BioScience. [Please note this link will only be live after the embargo breaks].

This project was sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It also had initial support from the Van Alen Institute and the Sustainable Society Network+.

Dr Ioannis Bakolis and Dr Andrea Mechelli are supported by the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. Dr Ioannis Bakolis is supported by the NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South London at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

For a copy of the paper, or to arrange an interview with the researchers, or for images taken by the participants, please contact:

Alex Booth, Interim Communications Manager, NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, alex.booth@kcl.ac.uk and 020 7848 0495.

Urban Mind

Urban Mind is an app that measures your experience of city living in the moment. By collecting real-time data, the researchers are able to understand how different aspects of the urban environment affect mental wellbeing. The researchers hope the results will inform future urban planning and social policy aimed at improving design & health. urbanmind.info/

Twitter: twitter.com/Urban_Mind_Proj

Facebook: facebook.com/UrbanMindProject/

Instagram: instagram.com/urban_mind_project/

The researchers will be launching an updated version of the Urban Mind app in March 2018. This new version will be translated in multiple languages, and used for a large-scale international study in healthy participants and clinical populations.

King's College London

King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (2017/18 QS World University Rankings) and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 26,500 students (of whom nearly 10,400 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and nearly 6,900 staff. The university is in the second phase of a 1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King's was ranked 6th nationally in the 'power' ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity, and 7th for quality according to Times Higher Education rankings. Eighty-four per cent of research at King's was deemed 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' (3* and 4*). The university is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of more than 600 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: kingshealthpartners.org.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

As the main funding agency for engineering and physical sciences research, our vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world to Research, Discover and Innovate. By investing 800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, we are building the knowledge and skills base needed to address the scientific and technological challenges facing the nation. Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields from healthcare technologies to structural engineering, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry. The research we fund has impact across all sectors. It provides a platform for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. We work collectively with our partners and other Research Councils on issues of common concern via RCUK. epsrc.ac.uk/

Van Alen Institute

At Van Alen Institute, we believe design can transform cities, landscapes, and regions to improve people's lives. We collaborate with communities, scholars, policymakers, and professionals on local and global initiatives that rigorously investigate the most pressing social, cultural, and ecological challenges of tomorrow. Building on more than a century of experience, we develop cross-disciplinary research, provocative public programs, and inventive design competitions. http://www.vanalen.org/

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR): improving the health and wealth of the nation through research. Established by the Department of Health, the NIHR:

funds high quality research to improve health

trains and supports health researchers

provides world-class research facilities

works with the life sciences industry and charities to benefit all

involves patients and the public at every step

For further information, visit the NIHR website http://www.nihr.ac.uk Study Limitations

The research has a number of limitations. Firstly, because the data was acquired using observational rather than an experimental design, it was not possible to establish whether the observed associations between nature and mental wellbeing reflect a direct causal impact of the former on the latter. For example, people who already feel low may be less likely to leave the home and experience natural habitat.

However, the observation of time-lagged effects, in which the beneficial effects of nature could still be detected after the participant was no longer exposed to trees, the sky and birdsong, provides indirect support to their interpretation that nature had a beneficial impact on mental wellbeing.

Secondly, the present investigation relied on self-reports which are known to be prone to potential bias. For example, people with lower levels of mental health tend to pay greater attention to negative than positive stimuli. For example, someone with low mental wellbeing might have paid more attention to aversive traffic sounds than sounds of birds or water.

Thirdly, their sample comprised of smartphone users with higher than average level of education and an average age of just 31.1 years, and therefore cannot be considered representative of the general population.

Future studies would benefit from recruiting a more diverse sample and investigating how the results change as a function of demographic and socioeconomic factors. This could be achieved, for example, through the use of "ambassadors" from a wide range of demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds who could disseminate the project and promote participation amongst their peers and communities.
East Hanover, NJ - January 10, 2018 - Helen Genova, PhD, Assistant Director of Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research at Kessler Foundation, has been awarded a $44,000 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The grant funds her research on emotional processing deficits in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune degenerative disease of the central nervous system associated with significant behavioral and emotional sequelae.

Recent research suggests that a significant number of individuals with MS have difficulty with emotional processing, specifically, in recognizing the emotions of others through facial expressions. These impairments often lead to issues in social functioning and interpersonal relationships. Dr. Genova will examine the effects of an intervention consisting of a computerized program aimed at improving facial affect recognition in individuals with MS, and interactive training that uses examples of the individual's own emotional experiences.

"We know that the proposed intervention has been effective in autism, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury and in our own pilot data in people with MS," remarked Dr. Genova. "We predict that following the treatment, neuroimaging will show increased activation in regions of the brain critical for facial affect recognition, correlating with the effects of the intervention. These data will enable us to document the beneficial effect of this intervention for this population and others."

This is the first study to apply a treatment that has been shown to be successful in other populations to individuals with MS. This project may provide important evidence showing that this strategy can be effective for improving social functioning in the community, workplace, and at home, and enhance quality of life for people with MS.

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About Dr. Helen Genova

Helen M. Genova, PhD, is the Assistant Director of Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research at Kessler Foundation. Dr. Genova's research interests have included examining cognitive dysfunction in various clinical and neurological populations including chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis (MS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). She is currently using functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to examine cognitive impairments in MS and TBI, and how these impairments relate to neuronal pathology. Dr. Genova's research is funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research, and the Consortium of MS Centers.

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. Learn more by visiting http://www.KesslerFoundation.org.

Stay Connected

Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/KesslerFdn

Facebook | http://www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation

YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/user/KesslerFoundation

Instagram | http://www.instagram.com/kesslerfdn

iTunes & SoundCloud | http://www.soundcloud.com/kesslerfoundation

Contacts

Carolann Murphy, PA; 973-324-8382; CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org

Laura Viglione, MS; 973-323-3675; LViglione@KesslerFoundation.org
Although cardiac stem cell therapy is a promising treatment for heart attack patients, directing the cells to the site of an injury - and getting them to stay there - remains challenging. In a new pilot study using an animal model, North Carolina State University researcher Ke Cheng and his team show that "decorating" cardiac stem cells with platelet nanovesicles can increase the stem cells' ability to find and remain at the site of heart attack injury and enhance their effectiveness in treatment.

"Platelets can home in on an injury site and stay there, and even in some cases recruit a body's own naturally occurring stem cells to the site, but they are a double-edged sword," says Cheng, associate professor of veterinary medicine and associate professor in the NC State/UNC Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering. "That's because once the platelets arrive at the site of injury, they trigger the coagulation processes that cause clotting. In a heart-attack injury, blood clots are the last thing that you want."

Cheng and his associates wondered if it would be possible to co-opt a platelet's ability to locate and stick to an injury site without inducing clotting. They found that adhesion molecules (a group of glycoproteins) located on the platelet's surface were responsible for its ability to find and bind to an injury. So the team created platelet nanovesicles from these molecules, and then decorated the surface of cardiac stem cells with the nanovesicles,

"The nanovesicle is like the platelet's coat," Cheng says. "There isn't any internal cellular machinery that could activate clotting. When you place the nanovesicle on the stem cell, it's like giving the stem cell a tiny GPS that helps it locate the injury so it can do its repair work without any of the side effects associated with live platelets."

In a proof-of-concept study involving a rat model of myocardial infarction, twice as many platelet nanovesicle decorated cardiac stem cells, or PNV-CSCs, were retained in the heart than non-decorated cardiac stem cells. The rodents were monitored for four weeks. Overall, the rats in the PNV-CSC group showed nearly 20 percent or higher cardiac function than the control CSC group.

A small pilot study in a pig model also demonstrated higher rates of stem cell retention with PNV-CSCs, though the team did not perform functional studies. A future follow-up study is planned.

"Platelet nanovesicles do not affect the performance of the cardiac stem cells, and are free from any negative side effects," Cheng says. "Hopefully we will be able to use this approach to improve cardiac stem cell therapy in clinical trials in the future."

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The work appears in Nature Biomedical Engineering and was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the NC State University Chancellor's Excellence Fund, and the UNC General Assembly Research Opportunities Initiative Grant. Cheng is corresponding author, as well as associate director of the Comparative Medicine Institute and leader of the BioTherapeutics Laboratory. Dr. George (Rick) Stouffer, chief of cardiology at the University of North Carolina Chapel-Hill, also contributed to the work.

Note to editors: An abstract of the paper follows

"Targeted repair of heart injury by stem cells fused with platelet nanovesicles"

DOI: 10.1038/s41551-017-0182-x

Authors: Junnan Tang, Teng Su, Ke Huang , Phuong-Uyen Dinh, Adam Vandergriff, Michael T. Hensley, Jhon Cores, Tyler Allen, Erin Sproul, Emily Mihalko, Ashely Brown, Laura Ruterbories, Alex Lynch, Zhen Gu, Ke Cheng, North Carolina State University; Junnan Tang, Deliang Shen, Jinying Zhang, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University; Zegen Wang, Soochow University; Taosheng Li, Nagasaki University; Leonard J. Lobo, Thomas G. Caranasos, George A. Stouffer, Ashley Brown, Zhen Gu, Ke Cheng, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Published: Nature Biomedical Engineering

Abstract:

Stem cell transplantation, as used clinically, suffers from low retention and engraftment of the transplanted cells. Inspired by the ability of platelets to recruit stem cells to sites of injury on blood vessels, we hypothesized that platelets might enhance the vascular delivery of cardiac stem cells (CSCs) to sites of myocardial infarction injury. Here, we show that CSCs with platelet nanovesicles fused onto their surface membranes express platelet surface markers that are associated with platelet adhesion to injury sites. We also find that the modified CSCs selectively bind collagen-coated surfaces and endothelium-denuded rat aortas, and that in rat and porcine models of acute myocardial infarction the modified CSCs increase retention in the heart and reduce infarct size. Platelet-nanovesicle-fused CSCs thus possess the natural targeting and repairing ability of their parental cell types. This stem cell manipulation approach is fast, straightforward and safe, does not require genetic alteration of the cells, and should be generalizable to multiple cell types.
Observations by NASA's Swift spacecraft, now renamed the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory after the mission's late principal investigator, have captured an unprecedented change in the rotation of a comet. Images taken in May 2017 reveal that comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak -- 41P for short -- was spinning three times slower than it was in March, when it was observed by the Discovery Channel Telescope at Lowell Observatory in Arizona.

The abrupt slowdown is the most dramatic change in a comet's rotation ever seen.

"The previous record for a comet spindown went to 103P/Hartley 2, which slowed its rotation from 17 to 19 hours over 90 days," said Dennis Bodewits, an associate research scientist at the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park who presented the findings Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in Washington. "By contrast, 41P spun down by more than 10 times as much in just 60 days, so both the extent and the rate of this change is something we've never seen before."

The comet orbits the Sun every 5.4 years, traveling only about as far out as the planet Jupiter, whose gravitational influence is thought to have captured it into its present path. Estimated to be less than 0.9 mile (1.4 kilometers) across, 41P is among the smallest of the family of comets whose orbits are controlled by Jupiter. This small size helps explain how jets on the surface of 41P were able to produce such a dramatic spindown.

As a comet nears the Sun, increased heating causes its surface ice to change directly to a gas, producing jets that launch dust particles and icy grains into space. This material forms an extended atmosphere, called a coma. Water in the coma quickly breaks up into hydrogen atoms and hydroxyl molecules when exposed to ultraviolet sunlight. Because Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) is sensitive to UV light emitted by hydroxyl, it is ideally suited for measuring how comet activity levels evolve throughout the orbit.

Ground-based observations established the comet's initial rotational period at about 20 hours in early March 2017 and detected its slowdown later the same month. The comet passed 13.2 million miles (21.2 million km) from Earth on April 1, and eight days later made its closest approach to the Sun. Swift's UVOT imaged the comet from May 7 to 9, revealing light variations associated with material recently ejected into the coma. These slow changes indicated 41P's rotation period had more than doubled, to between 46 and 60 hours.

UVOT-based estimates of 41P's water production, coupled with the body's small size, suggest that more than half of its surface area contains sunlight-activated jets. That's a far greater fraction of active real estate than on most comets, which typically support jets over only about 3 percent of their surfaces.

"We suspect that the jets from the active areas are oriented in a favorable way to produce the torques that slowed 41P's spin," said Tony Farnham, a principal research scientist at UMD. "If the torques continued acting after the May observations, 41P's rotation period could have slowed to 100 hours or more by now."

Such a slow spin could make the comet's rotation unstable, allowing it to begin tumbling with no fixed rotational axis. This would produce a dramatic change in the comet's seasonal heating. Bodewits and his colleagues note that extrapolating backward suggests the comet was spinning much faster in the past, possibly fast enough to induce landslides or partial fragmentation and exposing fresh ice. Strong outbursts of activity in 1973 and 2001 may be related to 41P's rotational changes.

A less extreme relationship between a comet's shape, activity and spin was previously seen by the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, which entered orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. The comet's spin sped up by two minutes as it approached the Sun, and then slowed by 20 minutes as it moved farther away. As with 41P, scientists think these changes were produced by the interplay between the comet's shape and the location and activity of its jets.

A paper detailing these findings will be published in the journal Nature on Jan. 11.

NASA's Swift spacecraft has conducted a broad array of science investigations for 13 years -- monitoring comets, studying stars hosting exoplanets, and catching outbursts from supernovas, neutron stars and black holes -- and it continues to be fully operational. NASA announced at the AAS meeting that the mission has now been renamed in honor of Neil Gehrels, who helped develop Swift and served as its principal investigator until his death on Feb. 6, 2017.

Swift's rapid scheduling capability, plus a trio of telescopes covering optical to gamma-ray wavelengths, continues to deliver important contributions in the study of gamma-ray bursts -- the most powerful explosions in the universe -- while maintaining a critical role in monitoring how astronomical objects as diverse as comets, stars and galaxies change over time.

"The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is a name that reflects Swift's current status as the go-to facility for rapid-response, multiwavelength follow-up of time-variable sources," said Paul Hertz, director of NASA's Astrophysics Division in Headquarters, Washington. "With Swift, Neil helped usher in the era of time-domain astronomy. He would have been very excited about today's discovery."

"Swift is still going strong, and we continue to receive four urgent 'target-of-opportunity' observing requests from the broader astronomical community each day," said S. Bradley Cenko, who was recently appointed as the mission's principal investigator. "Neil's leadership and vision continue to guide the project, and we can think of no better way to honor this legacy than with the new name."

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Goddard manages the Swift mission in collaboration with Penn State in University Park, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory and the Italian Space Agency in Italy.
Ancient DNA from the Phoenician remains found in Sardinia and Lebanon could provide insight into the extent of integration with settled communities and human movement during this time period, according to a study published January 10, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by E. Matisoo-Smith from the University of Otago, New Zealand and Pierre Zalloua from the Lebanese American University, Beirut, and colleagues. The researchers looked at mitochondrial genomes, which are maternally inherited, in a search for markers of Phoenician ancestry.

The Phoenicians were an ancient civilization who emerged in 1800 BCE in the Northern Levant and by the 9th century BCE had spread their culture across the Mediterranean to parts of Asia, Europe and Africa through their trade networks and settlements. Despite their widespread influence, most of what we know about the Phoenicians comes from Greek and Egyptian documents on this civilization.

The authors of this study analyzed Phoenicians' ancient DNA to investigate how Phoenicians integrated with the Sardinian communities they settled. The researchers found 14 new ancient mitogenome sequences from pre-Phoenician (~1800 BCE) and Phoenician (~700-400 BCE) samples from Lebanon and Sardinia and then compared these with 87 new complete mitogenomes from modern Lebanese and 21 recently published pre-Phoenician ancient mitogenomes from Sardinia.

The researchers found evidence of continuity of some lineages of indigenous Sardinians after Phoenician settlement, which suggests that there was integration between Sardinians and Phoenicians in Monte Sirai. They also discovered evidence of new, unique mitochondrial lineages in Sardinia and Lebanon, which may indicate the movement of women from sites in the Near East or North Africa to Sardinia and the movement of European women to Lebanon. Combined, the authors suggest that there was a degree of female mobility and genetic diversity in Phoenician communities, indicating that migration and cultural assimilation were common occurrences.

Pierre Zalloua says, "this DNA evidence reflects the inclusive and multicultural nature of Phoenician society. They were never conquerors, they were explorers and traders".

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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.0190169

Citation: Matisoo-Smith E, Gosling AL, Platt D, Kardailsky O, Prost S, Cameron-Christie S, et al. (2018) Ancient mitogenomes of Phoenicians from Sardinia and Lebanon: A story of settlement, integration, and female mobility. PLoS ONE 13(1): e0190169. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190169

Funding: Funding for the analyses presented here was provided by the Department of Anatomy, University of Otago to EM-S.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Rainfall changes caused by global warming will increase river flood risks across the globe. Already today, fluvial floods are among the most common and devastating natural disasters. Scientists have now calculated the required increase in flood protection until the 2040s worldwide, breaking it down to single regions and cities. They find that the need for adaptation is greatest in the US, parts of India and Africa, Indonesia, and in Central Europe including Germany. Inaction would expose many millions of people to severe flooding.

"More than half of the United States must at least double their protection level within the next two decades if they want to avoid a dramatic increase in river flood risks," says lead-author Sven Willner from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Without additional adaptation measures - such as enhancing dykes, improved river management, increasing building standards, or relocating settlements - the number of people affected by the worst 10 percent of all river flooding events will increase in many places: In Northern America from 0.1 to 1 million - while this seems not like a large number, it is a tenfold increase. In Germany it could rise sevenfold, from 0.1 to 0.7 million.

Absolute values are even bigger elsewhere: in South America the number of people affected by flooding risks will likely increase from 6 to 12 million, in Africa from 25 to 34 million, and in Asia from 70 to 156 million. The real numbers might be even higher in the future as population growth and further urbanisation is not taken into account.

+++"Even in developed countries with good infrastructure the need for adaptation is big"+++

The study is based on comprehensive computer simulations using existing data on rivers from a great number of sources. "While this data is not perfect for each and every river in the remotest corners of our planet, it certainly is sufficient for places where a lot of people live, a lot of financial values are accumulated, and where flood risks are substantial - we know enough about the places that matter," explains Willner. Data on changes in rainfall, evaporation and the like are from the worldwide largest modelling intercomparison project of climate impacts (ISIMIP), coordinated by Katja Frieler at PIK. The spatial detail of the new study is roughly ten times more precise than in commonly used climate computer simulations.

"We have been surprised to find that even in developed countries with good infrastructure the need for adaptation is big," says co-author Anders Levermann, head of global adaptation research at PIK and a researcher at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York. "Our yardstick is that people want to keep the protection level they have today - they don't want things to become worse. Consequently, in countries with a fairly good level of protection, much has to be done to keep the same level of protection and prevent that people indeed have to leave their homes due to flooding."

+++If we do not limit climate change, risks will surpass our abilities to adapt+++

An increase in river flood risks over the next 2-3 decades will be driven by the amount of greenhouse-gases already emitted into the atmosphere, hence it does not depend on whether or not we limit global warming. "However, it is clear that without limiting human-caused warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, river flood risks in our century will increase in many regions to a level that we cannot adapt to," says Levermann. "To keep people safe climate-change-induced risks must be taken seriously and money must be spent for adaptation. If we act now, we can protect against the risks of the next two decades. But further climate change must be limited by cutting greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels to avoid risks that surpass our abilities to adapt."

"The findings should be a warning to decision-makers," adds Levermann. "If they choose to ignore the issue, sadly enough disaster will come. The time has come where mitigating future climate change must be accompanied by adapting to the climate change that we already caused. Doing nothing will be dangerous."

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Article: Sven N. Willner, Anders Levermann, Fang Zhao, Katja Frieler (2018): Adaptation required to preserve future high-end river flood risk at present levels. Science Advances [DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aao1914]

Weblink to the article once it is published: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aao1914

For further information please contact:

PIK press office

Phone: +49 331 288 25 07

E-Mail: press@pik-potsdam.de

Twitter: @PIK_Climate

http://www.pik-potsdam.de
When Joshua Daskin traveled to Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park in 2012, the park and the iconic large animals that roamed it were returning from the brink of extinction. Gorongosa, among Africa's most spectacular wildlife preserves until the 1970s, had been devastated by an anti-colonial war of liberation followed by a ghastly 15-year civil war - a one-two punch that exterminated more than 90 percent of the park's wildlife.

The park's violent past intrigued Daskin, then a first-year Princeton graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology. As he explored the savannas and grasslands of Gorongosa with his advisor, Robert Pringle, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, the two researchers discussed whether similar wildlife declines might have occurred across Africa during the many conflicts of the 20th century. If so, they wondered how severe the impacts had been, and if animals generally retain the capacity to rebound like those in Gorongosa had, or if war was a human pressure that most animals just couldn't withstand.

After years of examining conflict in Africa's protected areas, Daskin and Pringle reported in the journal Nature Jan. 10 that war has been a consistent factor in the decades-long decline of large mammals in Africa. Populations that were stable in peaceful areas needed only a slight increase in conflict frequency to begin a downward spiral. But, the researchers report, while wildlife populations declined in conflict areas, they rarely collapsed to the point where recovery was impossible.

The study found that more than 70 percent of Africa's protected areas were touched by war between 1946 and 2010, an era during which the overthrow of European colonial rule was followed in many countries by violent post-colonial power struggles. Elephants, hippos, giraffes, and other large mammals perished as combatants and hungry citizens hunted animals for meat and for marketable commodities such as ivory.

Nonetheless, said Daskin, who completed the study as part of his doctoral dissertation at Princeton, the findings show that even those protected areas most severely affected by conflict remain promising candidates for conservation and rehabilitation efforts. The study was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI).

"We hope our data and conclusions will help in the effort to prioritize these areas for attention and funding from their governments and from international NGOs," said Daskin, now a Donnelley Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. "We're presenting evidence that although mammal populations decline in war zones, they don't often go extinct. With the right policies and resources, it should often be possible to reverse the declines and restore functional ecosystems, even in historically conflict-prone areas."

The study was needed to establish a general scientific expectation about how conflict typically affects wildlife populations, said Pringle, who is associated faculty in PEI. "It wasn't obvious to us in advance that conflict would have negative effects on wildlife populations," Pringle said. "Different studies of different places at different times have found both positive and negative effects of conflict on biodiversity, but the overall net effect had never been measured." For instance, previous research has shown that animal populations have increased in contested regions such as the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and rural Zimbabwe during that country's Bush War of 1964-1979.

Daskin and Pringle, however, found that with few exceptions, frequent conflict resulted in a downward trend among large-animal populations. No other factor they evaluated exhibited the same consistent effect. There was no statistically detectable effect on wildlife trajectories from mining, urban development, corruption, drought, or even the intensity of the conflict as measured by the number of human battle fatalities.

"This enabled us to make some educated guesses about what the underlying mechanisms might be," Daskin said. "Most of the effects of conflict on wildlife populations seem to be due to knock-on socioeconomic effects that degrade the institutional capacity for biodiversity conservation, or the collective societal ability to prioritize and pay for it."

Hugh Possingham, the Chief Scientist at The Nature Conservancy, concurred that social structures ultimately determine the fate of animals and protected areas. Possingham had no role in the research but is familiar with it and has published on related topics.

"The most surprising finding is the strength of the relationship between the presence of conflict and declines in large mammals," Possingham said. "One might have imagined that the magnitude or scale of conflict would be the driver, but the mere presence of conflict seems to be a strong predictor in its own right.

"This is unusual and useful," he continued. "It suggests to me that any sort of conflict needs to be avoided, even if it's at a low level, and such conflicts may be indicative of broader social and institutional problems that are the primary drivers of mammal declines. Bottom line -- to stop threats such as bushmeat hunting, governance really has to be strong."

Daskin and Pringle found that 71 percent of Africa's protected areas experienced one or more conflicts from 1946 to 2010. For a quarter of these areas, wars occurred for an average of nine or more years. Several large nations experienced an average of 20 or more years of conflict per protected area, including Chad, Namibia and Sudan (before it split into Sudan and South Sudan in 2011).

To conduct the analysis, Daskin drew from nearly 500 sources to find estimates of a specific animal species' abundance from at least two years between 1946 and 2010. He compared those estimates in order to calculate the change in population density during a given time interval. Daskin then used a series of databases to identify how many conflicts overlapped with each of Africa's protected areas during the study interval. In the end, the researchers examined the trends of 253 animal populations representing 36 species, ranging from antelopes to elephants, in 126 protected areas across 19 countries.

"No one else had made the effort to assemble conflict data across this range of parks and make them talk with the wildlife data," Daskin said. "These data were all freely available, but not always highly accessible."

Gorongosa, the park in Mozambique that originally inspired the study, exemplifies the thrust of the findings, Daskin and Pringle said. From 1977 to 1992, government soldiers, anti-government militias, and refugees alternately fought in or fled through the park. For years after the war, displaced and dispossessed residents hunted wildlife. By the early 2000s, the elephant population had crashed by more than 75 percent, while successive aerial counts found that buffalo, hippo, wildebeest, and zebra numbers were hovering in the single or double digits.

Yet, none of these animal populations disappeared completely. Since 2004, wildlife in Gorongosa have rebounded to 80 percent of their total pre-war abundance. Park staff, the Mozambican government and the nonprofit Gorongosa Restoration Project have worked with neighboring communities to nurture the remnant animal populations by suppressing illegal hunting and creating educational and employment opportunities for villagers within the park.

"Our results show that the case of Gorongosa could be general," said Pringle, who serves on the board of the Gorongosa Project. "Gorongosa is as close as you can come to wiping out a whole fauna without extinguishing it, and even there we're seeing that we can rehabilitate wildlife populations and regrow a functional ecosystem. That suggests that the other high-conflict sites in our study can, at least in principle, also be rehabilitated."

Pringle and Daskin emphasized in their paper that wildlife recovery rests in the hands of local people. "I would love to see conservation and humanitarian organizations collaborate on post-conflict relief work," Pringle said. "Long-term recovery hinges on the health and hopefulness of the people, and healthy environments catalyze human health and hope. It's a positive-feedback loop."

When people have a personal and economic stake in a thriving ecosystem, they embrace protective behaviors such as preventing poaching and monitoring wildlife, Possingham said. "This publication confirms the philosophy behind that approach," he said.

"In any area where large-mammal protection is a concern, one has to get the people-side of the conservation initiative sorted -- establishing alternative livelihoods, law and order, education, anti-corruption, etc. -- at the same time as taking habitat-protection and anti-poaching actions on the ground," he said. "If you don't tackle the ultimate drivers such as a breakdown of civil society, then taking action on the ground and investing in park management might not work."

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The paper, "Warfare and wildlife declines in Africa's protected areas," was published online by Nature Jan. 10. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant nos. DEB-1501306, DEB-1355122 and DEB-1457697) and the Princeton Environmental Institute's Grand Challenges program (project title: "Ecosystem Spatial Pattern and Development Opportunities in African Rangelands").
PRINCETON, N.J.--Examining a major road-building program in India, researchers at Princeton University and the Paris School of Economics used an innovative technique to show that political corruption increased the chances that roads meant to connect isolated areas to the rest of the country would never be built, even though the government had paid for them.

The study, published in the Journal of Development Economics, found that almost 500 all-weather roads listed in the road program's monitoring data as having been completed and paid for were never built. The researchers connected these "missing roads" to political corruption -- specifically, to local politicians steering road contracts to favored businesses in their own social networks.

"Our results indicate that corruption in this program directly harmed the 857,000 villagers whom the missing roads were meant to serve," said study lead author Jacob N. Shapiro, professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a vast public works program begun in 2000, when the Indian government estimated that more than 300,000 villages across the country weren't connected to the outside world by all-weather roads. The proposed new roads built under this program were intended to provide village residents with previously unavailable economic opportunities, and facilitate their access to government services such as education and health care. But if contractors took the money but failed to build the roads, those benefits would never materialize.

The detrimental effects of political corruption aren't easy to see or measure -- by its very nature, corruption is usually hidden from view. To seek evidence of corruption, Shapiro and his colleagues looked at thousands of elections for local representatives to the state-level legislature, who are known as members of the legislative assembly, or MLAs. After such selections, they analyzed the degree to which road-building contracts shifted to contractors who shared the new MLA's surname. Because Indian surnames are closely linked to caste, religion and geographic provenance, surnames serve as a proxy for the politicians' social networks.

The researchers found that after a close election, the share of contractors whose surname matched that of the political winner rose more than 75 percent, from about 4 percent to about 7 percent. Next, examining data for almost 90,000 roads contracted by PMGSY, Shapiro and his colleagues sought roads that had been paid for but apparently didn't exist.

"We found that road contracts allocated to politically connected contractors were significantly more likely never to be constructed," Shapiro said. "While the program as a whole appears to have been extremely efficient, political influence clearly led to lower-quality execution."

The results were surprising because PMGSY had been designed with strong controls to prevent political corruption. Contractors were to submit separate technical and monetary bids; only if contractors could meet the technical specifications were their monetary bids opened, and the lowest bidder was to receive the contract. Moreover, local politicians were given no role either in selecting contractors or in choosing where roads were to be built -- decisions that were made by bureaucrats at the regional level.

How, then, were local politicians able to game the system and steer contracts to their preferred businesses? One possibility is that the winning politicians' social networks also include connections within the regional bureaucracy that awards the road contracts, and that they ask those connections to put a thumb on the scale to favor one contractor over another. The researchers found evidence of this: when the highest-ranking district official overseeing PMGSY also shared the winning politician's surname, favoritism in the awarding of contracts was more likely. On the other hand, when bureaucrats were up for promotion and thus facing heightened scrutiny, corruption was less likely. These patterns were exactly what the researchers expected to see if MLAs were influencing contracts through informal bureaucratic connections.

Strikingly, Shapiro and his colleagues suggest that giving local politicians no formal role in PMGSY, which was intended as a measure to fight corruption, may be having the opposite effect. The researchers hypothesize that voters who believe members of the legislative assembly have no role in the road-building process won't punish these local politicians at the polls for missing roads, delays and cost overruns. "If voters held their politicians responsible for the services delivered under PMGSY," Shapiro said, "the MLAs would have an incentive to limit corruption."

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The study, "Building Connections: Political Corruption and Road Construction in India," by Jonathan Lehne, Jacob N. Shapiro, and Oliver Vanden Eynde, appears in the March 2018 issue of the journal.
At least 61 per cent of people who try their first cigarette become, at least temporarily, daily smokers, suggests an analysis of survey data by Queen Mary University of London.

The findings, from over 215,000 survey respondents and published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, provides strong support for prioritising efforts to reduce cigarette experimentation among adolescents.

Lead researcher Professor Peter Hajek from Queen Mary said: "This is the first time that the remarkable hold that cigarettes can establish after a single experience has been documented from such a large set of data.

"In the development of any addictive behaviour, the move from experimentation to daily practice is an important landmark, as it implies that a recreational activity is turning into a compulsive need. We've found that the conversion rate from 'first time smoker' to 'daily smoker' is surprisingly high, which helps confirm the importance of preventing cigarette experimentation in the first place.

"The UK is seeing a dramatic reduction in smoking at the moment and this tallies with recent findings that only 19 per cent of 11-15 year olds have ever tried a cigarette, so the good news is that we are on the right track."

The researchers searched the Global Health Data Exchange* for relevant surveys that included questions about ever trying a cigarette and ever smoking daily. Datasets from eight surveys were found from the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand, and the survey methods were found to be on par with best practice. Data were analysed to calculate the conversion rate from ever trying a cigarette to ever smoking daily.

The team calculated that 60.3 per cent of respondents had said they had ever tried a cigarette, and among those, an estimated 68.9 per cent said they had progressed to daily smoking.

The different surveys used different methodologies and yielded different results, so the estimated 68.9 per cent 'conversion rate' from experimentation to daily smoking has a margin of error (between 60.9 and 76.9 per cent).

Given the high conversion rate found in all existing surveys, the researchers suggest that at least some of the reduction in smoking prevalence observed over the past 20 years is likely due to reduced experimentation with cigarettes among adolescents.

Professor Peter Hajek added: "Concerns were expressed that e-cigarettes could be as addictive as conventional cigarettes, but this has not been the case. It is striking that very few non-smokers who try e-cigarettes become daily vapers, while such a large proportion on non-smokers who try conventional cigarettes become daily smokers. The presence of nicotine is clearly not the whole story."

The study's limitations include the fact that surveys yielded somewhat different results, so the estimated conversion rate is only approximate. There are also questions that can be raised over the accuracy of the recall people have in surveys concerning their smoking history.

Declaration of Interests: Professor Peter Hajek provided consultancy to and received research funding from manufacturers of stop-smoking medications.

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No external funding was sought for this study.

For more information, please contact:

Joel Winston

Public Relations Manager - Medicine and Dentistry

Queen Mary University of London

Tel: +44 (0)207 882 7943

Mobile: +44 (0)7970 096 188

j.winston@qmul.ac.uk

Notes to the editor

* The Global Health Data Exchange describes itself as the world's most comprehensive catalogue of surveys, censuses, vital statistics, and other health-related data: http://ghdx.healthdata.org/

Research paper: 'What proportion of people who try one cigarette become daily smokers? A meta analysis of representative surveys'. Max Birge, Stephen Duffy, Joanna Astrid Miler, Peter Hajek. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. doi 10.1093/ntr/ntx243

About Queen Mary University of London

Queen Mary University of London is one of the UK's leading universities with 23,120 students representing more than 160 nationalities.

A member of the Russell Group, we work across the humanities and social sciences, medicine and dentistry, and science and engineering, with inspirational teaching directly informed by our research. In the most recent national assessment of the quality of research, we were placed ninth in the UK amongst multi-faculty universities (Research Excellence Framework 2014).

As well as our main site at Mile End - which is home to one of the largest self-contained residential campuses in London - we have campuses at Whitechapel, Charterhouse Square, and West Smithfield dedicated to the study of medicine and dentistry, and a base for legal studies at Lincoln's Inn Fields.

Queen Mary began life as the People's Palace, a Victorian philanthropic project designed to bring culture, recreation and education to the people of the East End. We also have roots in Westfield College, one of the first colleges to provide higher education to women; St Bartholomew's Hospital, one of the first public hospitals in Europe; and The London, one of England's first medical schools.
Solar energy could be stored, bottled and shipped around the globe in ammonia as a liquid fuel with zero carbon emissions, using existing infrastructure according to Keith Lovegrove, the author or co-author of 100 research papers and 29 engineering technical reports.

These comments come at a time when ARENA, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has just announced $20 million in funding for Renewable Hydrogen For Export.

Lovegrove contributed to Australia's Roadmap to SolarFuels comparing various solar and hybrid fuels to replace coal as a new cleaner energy export economy for Australia. Japan already accounts for a third of Australian energy exports, and is investing in a hydrogen economy.

"Japan is a major industrialized country completely dependent on energy imports. They are suggesting that their future involves moving to a hydrogen economy. Australia is a pretty good place to make hydrogen," he said in a Skype call this week.

But he said that a molecule that actually packs in more hydrogen than hydrogen (H2), holds the greatest potential to unleash a clean hydrogen economy. Ammonia (NH3) bonds together 1 nitrogen atom but 3 hydrogen atoms. "Amazingly enough, there's a greater mass of hydrogen in a liter of liquid ammonia than there is in a liter of liquid hydrogen," Lovegrove explained. "It's counterintuitive, but ammonia is just a better molecule at packing together with itself."

Perhaps, instead of the future H2 economy, we should really be planning for 'the NH3 economy' he suggested. Like hydrogen, with no carbon atoms, ammonia makes an ideal clean liquid fuel, but one with an easier transition.

"I'm personally in favor of using ammonia to transport hydrogen," he said. "You can then turn it into hydrogen when you get there. Or you can even use it directly, because with adapted conventional gas turbines, you can burn ammonia directly."

Ammonia as potential energy storage for CSP

Lovegrove formerly represented Australia for IEA's SolarPACES Task II: Solar Chemistry Research and now heads the solar thermal division of energy consultancy ITPower.

His recent research, in collaboration with partners at UCLA includes a 2017 paper at Chemical Engineering Progress, Leveraging the Ammonia Industry for Solar Energy Storage - investigating NH3 as a novel energy storage material for concentrated solar power (CSP).

As storage, NH3 is decomposed and later recombined in a repeating thermochemical energy storage cycle. While the reactions take place at around 700C for storing energy and releasing it later for steam, the hydrogen and ammonia gas mix would be delivered and stored at 'room temperature' and only create heat when needed to power a steam cycle, so it can be stored for long periods till needed. But Lovegrove sees NH3 as useful far beyond CSP storage.

Shipping solar by sea opens the world's deserts to CSP

In densely populated regions, it is difficult to site utility-scale CSP, which needs particulate-free air found in quiet deserts, yet also a nearby population that needs electricity, a combination not found everywhere. But, if instead of transmitting electricity on wires, ammonia can 'bottle' solar in a liquid fuel that can be sent and used anywhere, the market grows considerably.

Solar could be produced in a desert, sent to the coast in pipelines and shipped globally. Solar exports in ammonia would supercharge the production and export of solar thermal energy anywhere in the world because sea transport of liquid fuel is extremely efficient.

"Take as a precedent the trade in oil products now. If you fill a tanker up with oil in the Middle East or wherever and you go halfway around the planet you burn up an amount of energy doing that which represents about 2% of its payload," he calculated. "So tanker transport is 98% efficient. Then the interesting question is how to similarly carry hydrogen."

H2 and NH3 can both store and carry energy, but ammonia is more ideal as an energy carrier, he said. "Ammonia production for fertilizer is one of the world's biggest chemical industries. There's plants all over the world, and ships moving it about on a daily basis, so it's a very standard thing."

Because it is already widely produced and used, with well established distribution and handling procedures, it wouldn't be a difficult transition. When ammonia is burnt as a fuel it simply returns to nitrogen and water. If it leaks into the air, it is easily detected by smell.

Why liquid fuels matter for climate

Liquid fuels are the largest untapped source for decarbonization. Even if all the electricity in the world was 100% renewable, the entire electricity sector currently accounts for only 20% of global emissions.

Thirty years of trying has not brought the solar hydrogen economy to fruition, mostly because hydrogen entails new infrastructure to transport and store it. Researchers are increasingly looking at ammonia, with shipping and containing infrastructure in place, as a potential carrier.

Ammonia can not only store and ship renewable energy, it can also be made using any renewable source of electricity.

Because Ammonia is simply hydrogen and nitrogen, it can be split chemically from just water (H2O) and air (73% nitrogen) using electricity. Any chemical reaction is basically the exchange of electrons between atoms. Hydrogen (H2) - which does not occur in nature - can be split out of water (H2O) leaving oxygen. In ammonia; NH3, each atom of nitrogen holds three hydrogen atoms.

PV electrolysis is already available commercially

To chemically rearrange these molecules, readily available electrolysis can be supplied by electricity from any renewable energy source already.

"You can walk up to Siemens for example, and you can buy a multi-megawatt electrolyzer straight away. It's commercially available, so you can just put that onto a PV farm. You can do that tomorrow morning," said Lovegrove.

In any region globally where renewable electricity costs are $30 USD per MWh or less, solar or wind electrolysis would be competitive with natural gas-based ammonia production, which emits 1.7 tons of CO2 per ton and costs between $200 and $600 per ton, according to the IEA: Renewable Energy for Industry.

CSP could cut costs nearly in half

Heat drives the current fossil-fuel-based Haber-Bosch process discovered in 1909. Purified nitrogen and hydrogen gas is heated to 400 to 650 C (emitting CO2) at pressures ranging from 200 to 400 atmospheres, after separating hydrogen from natural gas - in a process that also emits CO2. Fossil-based ammonia manufacturing already emits 1% of global greenhouse gases - just to supply fertilizer demand. Efficient solar production is essential if NH3 is to be an energy carrier.

The heat needed can instead be supplied in solar reactors, at 800 C to over 1000 C, in a process with no carbon emissions.

CSP's more efficient water splitting promises to halve the cost of hydrogen production from solar electrolysis, because in concentrating and reflecting solar flux from heliostats (mirrors) into a reactor, heat is made directly.

While splitting water in solar reactors is already being researched, the nitrogen reaction needed for ammonia manufacturing is a new research field that has just begun at Germany's DLR, which is affiliated with IEA's SolarPACES.

Ammonia as a fuel has received sporadic attention for over a century, but with today's advances in solar fuel research, NH3 holds promise for a new era of completely emissions-free solar energy traded globally as liquid fuel.

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About SolarPACES :

SolarPACES (Solar Power And Chemical Energy Systems) is an international collaboration among researchers advancing thermal solar energy, which encompasses flexible and dispatchable solar power generation, thermal energy storage, industrial applications and thermochemical solar fuels.

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+SolarpacesOrg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iea_solarpaces

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SolarPACES/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/solarpaces/

Explore further:

Chemical Engineering Progress - Keith Lovegrove, Adrienne Lavine, Hamarz Aryafar, Chen Chen

July 2017

Leveraging the Ammonia Industry for Solar Energy Storage

https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep/2017/july/leveraging-ammonia-industry-solar-energy-storage

Design and optimization of an ammonia synthesis system for ammonia-based solar thermochemical energy storage

Solar Energy, Volume 159, 1 January 2018, Pages 992-1002

Chen Chen, Keith M. Lovegrove, Abdon Sepulveda, Adrienne S. Lavine

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.11.064
LA JOLLA  (Jan. 10, 2018) Salk researchers have discovered how to curb the growth of cancer cells by blocking the cells access to certain nutrients. The approach, detailed in a new paper published today in Nature, took advantage of knowledge on how healthy cells use a 24-hour cycle to regulate the production of nutrients and was tested on glioblastoma brain tumors in mice.

When we block access to these resources, cancer cells starve to death but normal cells are already used to this constraint so theyre not affected, says Satchidananda Panda, a professor in the Salk Institutes Regulatory Biology Laboratory and lead author of the paper.

The circadian cycle, the intrinsic clock that exists in all living things, is known to help control when individual cells produce and use nutrients, among many other functions. Scientists previously discovered that proteins known as REV-ERB and REV-ERB are responsible for turning on and off cells ability to synthesize fats, as well as their ability to recycle materialsa process called autophagythroughout the day. In healthy cells, fat synthesis and autophagy are allowed to occur for about 12 hours a day when REV-ERB protein levels remain low. The rest of the time, higher levels of the REV-ERB proteins block the processes so that the cells are not flooded with excessive fat synthesis and recycled nutrients. In the past, researchers developed compounds to activate REV-ERBs in the hopes of stopping fat synthesis to treat certain metabolic diseases.

Panda and his colleagues wondered whether activating REV-ERBs would slow cancer growth, since cancer cells heavily rely on the products of both fat synthesis and autophagy to grow.

"While current cancer research was investigating established cancer hallmarks/characteristic we decided to explore something completely new," says Research Associate Gabriele Sulli, the paper's first and co-corresponding author. "Given the importance of the circadian clock in the regulation of many cellular and physiological processes we hypothesize that targeting the circadian clock with drugs may open the way to novel anticancer strategies. This study is very exciting because it sheds light on a new uncharacterized way to treat cancer with very limited toxicity."

Adds Panda, Weve always thought about ways to stop cancer cells from dividing. But once they divide, they also have to grow before they can divide again, and to grow they need all these raw materials that are normally in short supply. So cancer cells devise strategies to escape the daily constraints of the circadian clock.

Although cancer cells contain REV-ERB proteins, somehow they remain inactive. Pandas team used two REV-ERB activators that had already been developedSR9009 and SR9011in studies on a variety of cancer cells, including those from T cell leukemia, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, melanoma and glioblastoma. In each cell line, treatment with the REV-ERB activators was enough to kill the cells. The same treatment on healthy cells had no effect.

Activating REV-ERBs seemed to work in all the types of cancer we tried, says Panda. That makes sense because irrespective of where or how a cancer started, all cancer cells need more nutrients and more recycled materials to build new cells.

Panda then went on to test the drugs on a new mouse model of glioblastoma recently developed by Inder Verma, a professor in the Salk Institutes Laboratory of Genetics. Once again, the REV-ERB activators were successful at killing cancer cells and stopping tumor growth but seemed not to affect the rest of the mices cells. Verma says the findings are not only exciting because they point toward existing REV-ERB activators as potential cancer drugs, but also because they help shine light on the importance of the link between the circadian cycle, metabolism and cancer.

These are all fundamental elements required by all living cells, says Verma. By affecting REV-ERBs, you get to the heart of how cells grow and proliferate, but there are lots of other ways to get at this as well.

Verma says his group is planning follow-up studies on how, exactly, the REV-ERB activators alter metabolism, as well as whether they may affect the metabolism of bacteria in the microbiome, the collection of microbes that live in the gut. Pandas team is hoping to study the role of other circadian cycle genes and proteins in cancer.

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Panda, Verma and coauthor Alan Saghatelian, also a Salk professor, are all members of the Salk Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institutedesignated basic research cancer center.

Other researchers on the study were Amy Rommel and Matthew J. Kolar of the Salk Institute; Xiaojie Wang and Maksim V. Plikus of the University of California, Irvine; and Francesca Puca of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The work and the researchers involved were supported by grants from Worldwide Cancer Research, the National Institutes of Health, the Pew Charitable Trust, the National Cancer Institute, the American Federation of Aging Research, the H. N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, the Glenn Center for Aging Research, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Istituto Superiore di Sanita and AIRC Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

Every cure has a starting point. The Salk Institute embodies Jonas Salks mission to dare to make dreams into reality. Its internationally renowned and award-winning scientists explore the very foundations of life, seeking new understandings in neuroscience, genetics, immunology, plant biology and more. The Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark: small by choice, intimate by nature and fearless in the face of any challenge. Be it cancer or Alzheimers, aging or diabetes, Salk is where cures begin. Learn more at: salk.edu.

For more information

Journal title: Nature

Paper title: Pharmacological activation of REV-ERBs is lethal in cancer and oncogene induced senescence

Authors: Gabriele Sulli, Amy Rommel, Xiaojie Wang, Matthew J. Kolar, Francesca Puca, Alan Saghatelian, Maksim V. Plikus, Inder M. Verma, Satchidananda Panda
(New York - January 10, 2018) -- In the first study of its kind, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found an elevated rate of language delay in girls at 30 months old born to mothers who used acetaminophen during pregnancy, but not in boys.

This is the first study to examine language development in relation to acetaminophen levels in urine.

The study will be published online January 10 at 3:28 am EST in European Psychiatry.

The Swedish Environmental Longitudinal, Mother and Child, Asthma and Allergy study (SELMA) provided data for the research. Information was gathered from 754 women who were enrolled into the study in weeks 8-13 of their pregnancy. Researchers asked participants to report the number of acetaminophen tablets they had taken between conception and enrollment, and tested the acetaminophen concentration in their urine at enrollment. The frequency of language delay, defined as the use of fewer than 50 words, was measured by both a nurse's assessment and a follow-up questionnaire filled out by participants about their child's language milestones at 30 months.

Acetaminophen was used by 59 percent of the women in early pregnancy. Acetaminophen use was quantified in two ways: High use vs. no use analysis used women who did not report any use as the comparison group. For the urine analysis, the top quartile of exposure was compared to the lowest quartile.

Language delay was seen in 10 percent of all the children in the study, with greater delays in boys than girls overall. However, girls born to mothers with higher exposure--those who took acetaminophen more than six times in early pregnancy--were nearly six times more likely to have language delay than girls born to mothers who did not take acetaminophen. These results are consistent with studies reporting decreased IQ and increased communication problems in children born to mothers who used more acetaminophen during pregnancy.

Both the number of tablets and concentration in urine were associated with a significant increase in language delay in girls, and a slight but not significant decrease in boys. Overall, the results suggest that acetaminophen use in pregnancy results in a loss of the well-recognized female advantage in language development in early childhood.

The SELMA study will follow the children and re-examine language development at seven years.

Acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, is the active ingredient in Tylenol and hundreds of over-the-counter and prescription medicines. It is commonly prescribed during pregnancy to relieve pain and fever. An estimated 65 percent of pregnant women in the United States use the drug, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.?

"Given the prevalence of prenatal acetaminophen use and the importance of language development, our findings, if replicated, suggest that pregnant women should limit their use of this analgesic during pregnancy," said the study's senior author, Shanna Swan, PhD, Professor of Environmental and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "It's important for us to look at language development because it has shown to be predictive of other neurodevelopmental problems in children."

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Other researchers from Mount Sinai include Avraham Reichenberg, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry. Other institutions involved in this study include Karlstad University in Sweden, Institute of the Ruhr-University in Germany, and Lund University in Sweden.

This study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Swedish Research Council Formas and from the County Council of Varmland. About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest integrated delivery system encompassing seven hospital campuses, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 10 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in the top 50 in four other specialties in the 2017-2018 "Best Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked in six out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology and 50th for Ear, Nose, and Throat, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Geriatric patients seen by transitional care nurses in the emergency department (ED) are less likely to be admitted to the hospital, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. These findings show that interventions initiated during an older patient's arrival through the ED can have a significant impact on care.

According to the Emergency Care Research Institute, geriatric adults (65 and older) account for up to 25 percent of all ED visits, but their needs may not be met in a general ED. Programs like the Geriatric Emergency Department Innovations in Care through Workforce, Informatics, and Structural Enhancements (GEDI WISE) have been developed to meet these challenges. It's a model used at three large urban hospitals: Mount Sinai Health System in New York City; St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, New Jersey; and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

GEDI WISE includes an ED-based transitional care nurse program to identify patients with geriatric-specific health needs and coordinate their transition from ED to home. Transitional care nurses include nurse practitioners, ED nurses, and social workers.

In this study, researchers evaluated the effects of transitional care nurses on more than 57,000 patients aged 65 and older who arrived between 2013 and 2015 at all three medical centers. Ten percent of these patients were seen by a transitional care nurse, who assessed for cognitive function, delirium, agitation, functional status, falls risk, and caregiver strain. Their score-based assessment determined the extent of ED care delivered. For any given presentation of symptoms, triage severity, and illness severity, the ED was more likely able to discharge and not admit those patients seen by a transitional care nurse when compared to the same type of patient not seen by such a nurse.

At all three medical centers, individuals who saw a transitional care nurse had on average a 10 percent lower chance of being admitted. At two of the three centers, inpatient admission rates remained lower over the subsequent 30 days for patients treated by a transitional care nurse and discharged from the emergency department.

"These findings will allow hospitals and health care systems to focus on better geriatric emergency care programs for a vulnerable, aging population," says lead investigator Ula Hwang, MD, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "At a time when the national average for emergency department admissions with older adults is on the rise, programs that can reduce hospitalization risk are crucial."

Hospitalization of older adults carries risks, such as adverse drug effects, falls, cognitive decline, and ulcers. More than 30 percent of older adults develop a hospital-associated disability after an acute admission, and many do not return to their previous functional state.

Additionally, researchers say reducing inpatient admissions of older patients leads to cost savings for hospitals that are moving from a fee-for-service model to value-based care. While hospital admittance is sometimes necessary, health care providers can lower costs by providing the bulk of care in ambulatory clinics or in a patient's home.

Further study is needed to evaluate ED revisit rates among geriatric patients seen by transitional care nurses.

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West Health Institute provided funding support for this research.

The Department of Emergency Medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest in the country and treats more than 600,000 patients annually. The research division is ranked No. 2 in the country in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest integrated delivery system encompassing seven hospital campuses, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 10 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in the top 50 in four other specialties in the 2017-2018 "Best Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked in six out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology and 50th for Ear, Nose, and Throat, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. For more information, visithttp://www.mountsinai.org/, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Amelia Gallitano, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, has received a grant to develop the first diagnostic test for schizophrenia.

The $175,000 grant from the Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation funds the development of a rapid and easily administered, biologically based test that could determine whether an individual has schizophrenia, or a specific subtype of the mental disorder.

"No biological test exists to diagnose a mental illness such as schizophrenia or post-traumatic stress disorder," Dr. Gallitano said.

"We've got a huge challenge in trying to find the causes of an illness that is poorly defined, that probably encompasses multiple illnesses that change over time and that is not diagnosable with any test," said Dr. Gallitano, a UA College of Medicine - Phoenix Department of Basic Medical Sciences faculty member.

"Part of the problem is that psychological illnesses are not caused by genetics alone, but by genetics and environmental factors," she said. "We still don't definitely know a cause for a single psychiatric illness."

Dr. Gallitano directs a laboratory that investigates a family of genes activated in the brain in response to environmental events. Her research focuses on the pathways of genes activated by environmental stimuli, or the response to these stimuli. Her hope is to come up with therapies that are non-medication related.

"These genes are ideally poised to explain the risk for mental illness," she said. "Dysfunction in these genes could give rise to risk."

As a scientist and physician, Dr. Gallitano said her goal is to better understand the biology of mental illness. "By understanding the biology underlying the disorder, we have more opportunities to identify treatments - and maybe even prevent the onset of mental illness."

Earlier this year, she published a study showing that in a particular gene pathway her laboratory has described, the next gene in the line-up also will play a role in mental illness.

"This gene appears to be playing a key role in mediating the risk for schizophrenia and other mental illnesses," she said.

In the study, Dr. Gallitano collaborated with Nicholas Breitborde, PhD, who founded the Early Psychosis Intervention Center, or Epicenter, in Tucson. Dr. Breitborde studied cognitive remediation therapy, in which an individual exercises cognitive skills using brain-training techniques and computer-based exercises that stimulate the cognitive processes.

"Those stimuli were acting in part through the genes I study," Dr. Gallitano said. "This study should allow us to identify people in advance that would do well with this type of therapy, but someone else may need more intensive treatment. Certain types of medication can boost the function of this genetic pathway, which can help us create a more personalized treatment."

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Dr. Gallitano recently was interviewed for a PBS-TV special about mental illness and young people called "Not Broken." The show, including Dr. Gallitano's remarks, can be viewed at https://tv.azpm.org/notbroken/.

The Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation was established in 1999 to fund mental health initiatives. Having struggled himself with mental illness, Baer "sought to alleviate the suffering of those afflicted with mental illness." Upon his death in 2002, he left the remainder of his estate to the foundation.

About the UA College of Medicine - Phoenix

The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix admitted its inaugural class of first-year medical students in August 2007. The College inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to optimize health and health care in Arizona and beyond. The College is uniquely positioned to accelerate the biomedical and economic engines in Phoenix and the State by leveraging vital relationships with clinical and community partners. For more information, please visit phoenixmed.arizona.edu.
The public widely believes that the marine environment is under threat from human activities, and supports actions to protect the marine environment in their region, according to a new study to be published in the February issue of the journal Ocean and Coastal Management.

The study, conducted by an international team of researchers, reviews a set of public perception surveys of marine issues that reached over 32,000 people in 21 countries. It provides one of the first systematic comparisons of the public perceptions of marine threats and protection around the world.

The researchers found that 70% of respondents believe that the marine environment is under threat from human activities, and 45% believe the threat is high or very high. Survey respondents identified the greatest threats as pollution and fishing, followed by habitat alteration, climate change, and biodiversity loss.

"People around the world are aware that the ocean is threatened and what are the major threats to the ocean," says Heike Lotze, a researcher at Dalhousie University in Canada, who led the study.

The study also found that over 70% of respondents supported marine protected areas (MPAs)--regions established to protect natural resources in the oceans. MPA rules vary, but may have restrictions on human uses such as fishing, habitat alteration, or oil and gas extraction in order to protect different ecosystems.

"There's a lot of scientific thought put into ocean conservation around the world. But there's much less information out there on what people actually think about the ocean and some of the protection measures," says California Sea Grant Extension Specialist Jennifer O'Leary, a study coauthor who is based at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. "This is important because anytime we are introducing protection measures, we're asking people to change their behavior. And we know from behavioral research that focusing on what people already think is important can make changes easier for people to accept."

Where the public and science diverge

While the study found broad awareness of marine threats, it also found several areas of disagreement between public perceptions and scientific assessments.

"In general, the public got the big threats right: fishing, habitat change, pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change," says Lotze. However, scientific assessments have generally ranked fishing and habitat loss as the highest threats to marine environments over past decades and centuries, while in this study, the general public perceived pollution as the highest threat.

Between countries, the researchers found some differences in what people identified as the top three threats to the marine environment. For example, fishing ranked as a top threat in North America and New Zealand, while habitat loss and climate change ranked higher in Europe. Pollution, on the other hand, consistently ranked as a top threat across all the countries in the study. The researchers suspect that could be because of the visible nature of the problem or high levels of publicity on marine pollution.

The researchers also noted that while the public showed strong support for protection of marine areas through MPAs, the rules that govern these areas vary widely in practice as is the public's understanding of what an MPA actually means.

"What surprised me about the results was that most people overestimated the amount of ocean area being protected, and thus have a more optimistic view of ocean conservation and management than there actually is. However, most people still wanted to see much more ocean area protected than currently is, thus there is a clear wish for more ocean conservation," says Lotze.

Insights for science and outreach

Lotze and O'Leary say that the study provides a useful starting point for comparing public perceptions around the world, and also points to topics that need more research. For one thing, the study was limited to countries where surveys had already been conducted, which leaves out major coastal regions including South America and much of Africa and Asia. In addition, the surveys asked different questions in different ways, which in some cases made it difficult to compare results.

Lotze says, "It would be interesting to have more surveys being repeated over time, to gain insight into changing perceptions within a population over time. It would also be interesting to have more surveys being compared between the general public and experts."

O'Leary says, "This study gives a sense of what we currently know about public perceptions, but it also highlights a tremendous need to understand public views on a much broader scale."

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About California Sea Grant

NOAA's California Sea Grant College Program funds marine research, education and outreach throughout California. Our headquarters is at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego; we are one of 33 Sea Grant programs in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce.
Recent observations of a mysterious and distant object that emits intermittent bursts of radio waves so bright that they're visible across the universe provide new data about the source but fail to clear up the mystery of what causes them.

The observations by the Breakthrough Listen team at UC Berkeley using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia show that the fast radio bursts from this object, called FRB 121102, are nearly 100 percent linearly polarized, an indication that the source of the bursts is embedded in strong magnetic fields like those around a massive black hole.

The measurements confirm observations by another team of astronomers from the Netherlands, which detected the polarized bursts using the William E. Gordon Telescope at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

Both teams will report their findings during a media briefing on Jan. 10 at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C. The results are detailed in a combined paper to be published online the same day by the journal Nature.

Fast radio bursts are brief, bright pulses of radio emission from distant but so far unknown sources, and FRB 121102 is the only one known to repeat: more than 200 high-energy bursts have been observed coming from this source, which is located in a dwarf galaxy about 3 billion light years from Earth.

The nearly 100 percent polarization of the radio bursts is unusual, and has only been seen in radio emissions from the extreme magnetic environments around massive black holes, such as those at the centers of galaxies. The Dutch and Breakthrough Listen teams suggest that the fast radio bursts may come from a highly magnetized rotating neutron star - a magnetar - in the vicinity of a massive black hole that is still growing as gas and dust fall into it.

The short bursts, which range from 30 microseconds to 9 milliseconds in duration, indicate that the source could be as small as 10 kilometers across - the typical size of a neutron star.

Other possible sources are a magnetar interacting with the nebula of material shed when the original star exploded to produce the magnetar; or interactions with the highly magnetized wind from a rotating neutron star, or pulsar.

"At this point, we don't really know the mechanism. There are many questions, such as, how can a rotating neutron star produce the high amount of energy typical of an FRB?" said UC Berkeley postdoctoral fellow Vishal Gajjar of Breakthrough Listen and the Berkeley SETI Research Center.

Gajjar will participate in the media briefing with three members of the Dutch ASTRON team: Daniele Michilli and Jason Hessels of the University of Amsterdam and Betsey Adams of the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute.

"This result is an excellent demonstration of the capabilities of the Breakthrough Listen instrumentation and the synergies between SETI and other types of astronomy," said Andrew Siemion, director of the Berkeley SETI Research Center and of the Breakthrough Listen program. "We look forward to working with the international scientific community to learn more about these enigmatic and dynamic sources."

Are FRBs signals from advanced civilizations?

Another possibility, though remote, is that the FRB is a high-powered signal from an advanced civilization. Hence the interest of Breakthrough Listen, which looks for signs of intelligent life in the universe, funded by $100 million over 10 years from internet investor Yuri Milner.

"We can not rule out completely the ET hypothesis for the FRBs in general," Gajjar said.

Breakthrough Listen has to date recorded data from a dozen FRBs, including FRB 121102, and plans eventually to sample all 30-some known sources of fast radio bursts.

"We want a complete sample so that we can conduct our standard SETI analysis in search of modulation patterns or narrow-band signals - any kind of information-bearing signal emitted from their direction that we don't expect from nature," he said.

Breakthrough Listen allotted tens of hours of observational time on the Green Bank Telescope to recording radio emissions from FRB 121102, and last August 26 detected 15 bursts over a relatively short period of five hours. They analyzed the two brightest of these and found that the radio waves were nearly 100 percent linearly polarized.

The team plans a few more observations of FRB 121102 before moving on to other FRB sources. Gajjar said that they want to observe at higher frequencies - up to 12 gigahertz, versus the present Green Bank observations in the 4-8 GHz range - to see if the energy drops off at higher frequencies. This could help narrow the range of possible sources, he said.

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An unprecedented study integrating data from around the globe has shown that honey bees are the world's most important single species of pollinator in natural ecosystems and a key contributor to natural ecosystem functions. The first quantitative analysis of its kind, led by biologists at the University of California San Diego, is published Jan. 10 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The report weaves together information from 80 plant-pollinator interaction networks. The results clearly identify the honey bee (Apis mellifera) as the single most frequent visitor to flowers of naturally occurring (non-crop) plants worldwide. Honey bees were recorded in 89 percent of the pollination networks in the honey bee's native range and in 61 percent in regions where honey bees have been introduced by humans.

One out of eight interactions between a non-agricultural plant and a pollinator is carried out by the honey bee, the study revealed. The honey bee's global importance is further underscored when considering that it is but one of tens of thousands of pollinating species in the world, including wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies, moths and other bee species.

"Biologists have known for a while that honey bees are widespread and abundant--but with this study, we now see in quantitative terms that they are currently the most successful pollinators in the world," said Keng-Lou James Hung, who led the study as a graduate student in UC San Diego's Division of Biological Sciences. He's now a postdoctoral researcher at the Ohio State University.

Honey bees are native to Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe and have become naturalized in ecosystems around the world as a result of intentional transport by humans. While feral honey bee populations may be healthy in many parts of the world, the researchers note that the health of managed honey bee colonies is threatened by a host of factors including habitat loss, pesticides, pathogens, parasites and climate change.

"Although they appear to have a disproportionate impact on natural ecosystems, surprisingly we understand very little about the honey bee's ecological effects in non-agricultural systems," said study coauthor David Holway, a professor and chair of the Section of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution in Biological Sciences. "Looking to the future this study raises a lot of new questions."

For instance, in San Diego, where honey bees are not native, they are responsible for 75 percent of pollinator visits to native plants, the highest honey bee dominance in the set of networks examined for any continental site in the introduced range of the honey bee. This is despite the fact that there are more than 650 species of native bees in San Diego County as well as many other native pollinating insects.

"The consequences of this phenomenon for both native plants that did not evolve with the honey bee and for populations of native insect pollinators is well worth studying," said Joshua Kohn, the study's senior author.

"Our study also nicely confirms something that pollination biologists have known for a long time: even in the presence of a highly abundant species that pollinates many plant species, we still need healthy populations of other pollinators for entire plant communities to receive adequate pollination services," said Hung.

The reason for this, Hung noted, is that in habitats where honey bees are present, they nevertheless fail to visit nearly half of all animal-pollinated plant species, on average.

"Our take home message is that while it's important for us to continue to research how we can improve the health of managed honey bee colonies for agricultural success, we need to further understand how this cosmopolitan and highly successful species impacts the ecology and evolutionary dynamics of plant and pollinator species in natural ecosystems," said Hung.

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Coauthors of the study include Jennifer Kingston of UC San Diego and Matthias Albrecht of Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Reckenholzstrasse, in Switzerland.

Funding for the study included a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DEB-1501566); a Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant and an Institute for the Study of Ecological and Evolutionary Climate Impacts Graduate Fellowship from the University of California Natural Reserve System; a Frontiers of Innovation Scholar Fellowship, an Academic Senate Grant and a McElroy Fellowship from UC San Diego; a Sea and Sage Audubon Society Bloom-Hays Ecological Research Grant; and a California Native Plants Society Educational Grant.
Swimming, paddling, boating and fishing account for more than 90 million cases of gastrointestinal, respiratory, ear, eye and skin-related illnesses per year in the U.S. with an estimated annual cost of $2.9 billion, according to a new report by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.

This is the first time the cost associated with waterborne illnesses contracted during recreational activities in the U.S. has ever been calculated. The study, published in the journal Environmental Health, focused on illnesses that result from participating in recreational activities on or in natural bodies of water including lakes, rivers and beaches. It did not take into account illness acquired through the use of swimming pools or water parks.

"The costs associated with these illnesses helps us put into perspective the costs of projects that aim to help make our recreational waterways cleaner and safer," said Dr. Samuel Dorevitch, associate professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the UIC School of Public Health and an author of the paper. "The costs of beach monitoring and notification programs over the summer months are known. But until now, we haven't known the cost associated with illness acquired through recreation on natural waters. This information should help policymakers put the costs of water quality monitoring and water quality improvement projects into context."

Dorevitch cautions that people shouldn't panic about hitting the beach. "At 90 million illnesses out of an estimated 4 billion total water recreation events annually in the U.S., the number of people who get sick is around 2 percent," he said. "However, it's not easy to identify the number of illnesses that result from water recreation. If somebody gets sick a couple days after swimming and visits their doctor, the root cause of the illness - bacteria or viruses in the water - may not be recognized or investigated."

For the study, Dorevitch and colleagues estimated the number of recreational waterborne illnesses using data from two large epidemiological studies as well as reports of water-borne disease outbreaks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC.

The National Environmental and Epidemiological Assessment of Recreational Water, or NEEAR, and the Chicago Health, Environmental Exposure, and Recreation Study, or CHEERS, estimated non-outbreak or sporadic waterborne illnesses caused by contact with water during recreational activities. NEEAR evaluated health outcomes among approximately 26,000 beachgoers at freshwater and marine beaches in six states between 2003 and 2009. CHEERS evaluated health outcomes among approximately 11,000 recreators at 39 spots in Chicago between 2007 and 2009.

These two studies were used to calculate rates of mild or moderate illness caused by contact with water during recreation. Mild illness was defined as not having contact with a health care provider, but perhaps taking an over-the-counter medication. Moderate illness resulted in a visit to a doctor's office or an emergency department. Illnesses described were most commonly gastrointestinal or respiratory in nature, or involved the eyes, ears or skin.

To estimate the number of severe illnesses which resulted in either hospitalization or death, the researchers turned to the Waterborne Disease and Outbreak Surveillance System, which is maintained by the CDC. They looked at outbreaks that occurred between 2001 and 2010.

Based on the data they collected, the researchers estimated that of the 50 million sporadic, non-outbreak related cases of gastrointestinal illness, 29 million were attributable to swimming and 16.5 million were attributable to fishing. Approximately 10 million cases each of respiratory, eye, ear and skin illnesses were also attributable to water-based recreational activities.

Adults aged 20 to 54 were the most likely to experience mild illness, while children aged 0 to 10 years old experienced the majority of moderate illnesses. An estimated 333 to 1,696 hospitalizations and 16 to 67 deaths occur annually due to recreational waterborne illness.

Data from NEEAR and CHEERS showed that among people who developed a gastrointestinal illness, 50 percent took over-the-counter medications, 40 percent stayed home from work or school, about 20 percent visited a doctor's office, 10 percent took prescription medications and 1 percent necessitated an emergency room visit.

Next, the researchers estimated the cost of prescription and over-the-counter medications, time off work, visits to doctor offices and emergency departments and hospitalizations associated with the number of mild, moderate and severe cases of illness they determined were caused by recreation on natural bodies of water.

The cost of illness per case ranged from $9.50 for those with mild illness to $303,000 for the most severe illnesses.

"To date, approximately $140 million has been allocated for beach-water protection programs since 2001, or about $10 million annually, a small fraction of annual estimated illness burden," said Dorevitch. "Efforts to reduce severity of illness among water recreators should be explored to reduce total economic burden while encouraging more individuals to enjoy safe surface water recreation."

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Stephanie Anne DeFlorio-Barker is the first author on the paper. Coady Wing and Rachael Jones are co-authors on the paper.

This research was funded by grant RD-83478901 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Scientists have found fossil evidence of deep-sea marine life burrowing up to eight metres below the seabed -- four times the previously observed depth for modern deep-sea life.

A team of scientists from the University of Leeds and the National Oceanography Centre examined remains of deep-sea burrows in rocky outcrops that were part of the ocean floor roughly 250 million years ago.

These outcrops are made up of sand-sheets that are widespread on modern ocean floors, suggesting that deep-sea burrowing marine life may be much more abundant than previously considered.

Study author Professor David Hodgson, from the School of Earth and Environment at Leeds, said: "Ocean ecology shows us that deep-sea burrowers have only become more prevalent and diverse through time.

"Their adaptability to new environments strengthens the idea that if their pre-historic ancestors were burrowing to these depths, then it's likely we'd find them there today."

The team's findings, published today in Scientific Reports, highlights the need for new future sampling strategies to better capture the depth range of animals living in modern deep-sea sands.

Collecting intact samples from the deep-ocean floor is technologically challenging. The distance to the ocean seabed and the difficulties of extracting samples makes it problematic to determine how deeply modern animals burrow. Modern deep-sea biological studies target muds as these are simpler to sample than the shifting sands of the deep seabed.

Lead author Dr Sarah Cobain conducted this research while a PhD student at the School of Earth and Environment, she is now based at Petrotechnical Data Systems in London. She said: "These outcrops give us a snapshot of ancient deep-sea life. We know that modern marine burrowing animals are living in the same material that has been fossilised in these rocks.

"The burrowers use the networks that are already present in the deep ocean sediment below the seabed and leave behind living traces. These networks -- what we call injectites after they've been fossilised -- are caused by sand-rich water being forcibly injected into mud. They provide the animals easy pathways to burrow and find nutrients and oxygen.

"Our understanding of the process by which these injectites form allows us to not only assess how these creatures lived but also how deeply they burrowed into the sediment below the seabed."

The branching structures that make up the trace fossils are believed to have been made by organisms that were previously thought to live mainly in the top 20 centimetres of sediment, rarely reaching further than 1.5 metres, due to the decline of oxygen and food in deeper levels of the sediment.

The team documented the creatures' living traces -- known as bioturbation -- on the margins of clastic injectites from at least eight metres below the seabed.

In order to produce living traces, organisms would need to survive long enough to burrow for hours or even days. The size of the burrows suggests macro-infaunal invertebrates (tiny shrimps and worms).

Study author, Jeffrey Peakall, Professor of Process Sedimentology at Leeds, said: "This discovery gives us a window into a widespread yet barely explored environment on our planet. Little is known about modern deep seabed environments, and less about the ancient.

"These trace fossils can give us new insight into the possibility that the deepest organisms may be present in sandy sediments, rather than the clays and silts typically targeted in modern seabed investigations."

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Further information

Images and captions available to download: http://po.st/deepsea

The research paper: A new macrofaunal limit in the deep biosphere revealed by extreme burrow depths in ancient sediments will appear on Scientific Reports 10 January 2018 (DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18481-w)

Dr Sarah Cobain's PhD was funded by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

For additional information and to request interviews please contact the press office at the University of Leeds, on +44(0)113 343 4031 or pressoffice@leeds.ac.uk

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK, with more than 33,000 students from more than 150 different countries, and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities.

We are a top ten university for research and impact power in the UK, according to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, and are in the top 100 for academic reputation in the QS World University Rankings 2018. Additionally, the University was awarded a Gold rating by the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework in 2017, recognising its 'consistently outstanding' teaching and learning provision. Twenty-four of our academics have been awarded National Teaching Fellowships - more than any other institution in England, Northern Ireland and Wales - reflecting the excellence of our teaching. http://www.leeds.ac.uk
A team of cancer researchers from the University of Liverpool, has made an important contribution to our understanding of cancer cell regulation which could better inform future cancer treatments.

The research is funded by North West Cancer Research, which has ring-fenced 180,000 for the three year-long project which started in 2015.

Led by Professor Ian Prior at the University of Liverpool, in collaboration with researchers at AstraZeneca, the research focuses on a group of proteins found in the human body called kinases.

Their research measures how changes in kinase activity can influence the growth, development and regulation of cancer cells. They measure kinase network rewiring that occurs in cancer patients so that they can identify new strategies for killing cancer cells.

Their insights into this important family of proteins have been published in the highly regarded Cancer Research Journal and will provide a foundation for future research on the use of kinases in cancer treatments.

Some kinases are currently being successfully targeted in cancer therapies, which work by inhibiting kinases that trigger cancer cells to divide and grow. Yet there is still a lot to learn about kinases and the important role they could play within future cancer treatments.

The research has been published in the journal of Cancer Research.

Professor Prior, NWCR Chair of Molecular Oncology at the University of Liverpool explains: "Our research focused on getting under the microscope of cancer cell behaviour and understanding the effects that different proteins can have on this behaviour.

"Research into kinases, has been underway for many years now, but most attention has been focussed on only a few types, with relatively little known about the remaining types.

"Our publication in the Cancer Research Journal, highlights emerging and overlooked areas within kinase research and discusses the successes and challenges associated with treating cancer patients."

North West Cancer Research secured 4million of funding for cancer research projects across Merseyside and the North West in 2017.

This includes 1million of funding to sustain research at the North West Cancer Research Centre at the University of Liverpool until 2021.

Alastair Richards, CEO North West Cancer Research said: "As a funder of cancer research, we are always pleased to hear when projects we have supported generate important breakthroughs in our understanding of cancer.

"We are committed to funding only the best quality research to help the fight against cancer here in the North West. But we cannot do this alone. We rely solely on public donations - which is why every penny we raise is so important.

"Without the help of our supporters and fundraisers we would not be able to continue to support the lifesaving research which is being carried out on our doorstep today."

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The paper, entitled 'New Perspectives, Opportunities, and Challenges in Exploring the Human Protein Kinome', can be found here http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/78/1/15?iss=1

For more information about the cancer research funded by North West Cancer Research visit http://www.nwcr.org
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/09/2018) -- From various magnetic tapes, floppy disks and computer hard disk drives, magnetic materials have been storing our electronic information along with our valuable knowledge and memories for well over half of a century.

In more recent years, the new types phenomena known as magnetoresistance, which is the tendency of a material to change its electrical resistance when an externally-applied magnetic field or its own magnetization is changed, has found its success in hard disk drive read heads, magnetic field sensors and the rising star in the memory technologies, the magnetoresistive random access memory.

A new discovery, led by researchers at the University of Minnesota, demonstrates the existence of a new kind of magnetoresistance involving topological insulators that could result in improvements in future computing and computer storage. The details of their research are published in the most recent issue of the scientific journal Nature Communications.

"Our discovery is one missing piece of the puzzle to improve the future of low-power computing and memory for the semiconductor industry, including brain-like computing and chips for robots and 3D magnetic memory," said University of Minnesota Robert F. Hartmann Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Jian-Ping Wang, director of the Center for Spintronic Materials, Interfaces, and Novel Structures (C-SPIN) based at the University of Minnesota and co-author of the study.

Emerging technology using topological insulators

While magnetic recording still dominates data storage applications, the magnetoresistive random access memory is gradually finding its place in the field of computing memory. From the outside, they are unlike the hard disk drives which have mechanically spinning disks and swinging heads--they are more like any other type of memory. They are chips (solid state) which you'd find being soldered on circuit boards in a computer or mobile device.

Recently, a group of materials called topological insulators has been found to further improve the writing energy efficiency of magnetoresistive random access memory cells in electronics. However, the new device geometry demands a new magnetoresistance phenomenon to accomplish the read function of the memory cell in 3D system and network.

Following the recent discovery of the unidirectional spin Hall magnetoresistance in a conventional metal bilayer material systems, researchers at the University of Minnesota collaborated with colleagues at Pennsylvania State University and demonstrated for the first time the existence of such magnetoresistance in the topological insulator-ferromagnet bilayers.

The study confirms the existence of such unidirectional magnetoresistance and reveals that the adoption of topological insulators, compared to heavy metals, doubles the magnetoresistance performance at 150 Kelvin (-123.15 Celsius). From an application perspective, this work provides the missing piece of the puzzle to create a proposed 3D and cross-bar type computing and memory device involving topological insulators by adding the previously missing or very inconvenient read functionality.

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In addition to Wang, researchers involved in this study include Yang Lv, Delin Zhang and Mahdi Jamali from the University of Minnesota Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and James Kally, Joon Sue Lee and Nitin Samarth from Pennsylvania State University Department of Physics.

This research was funded by the Center for Spintronic Materials, Interfaces and Novel Architectures (C-SPIN) at the University of Minnesota, a Semiconductor Research Corporation program sponsored by the Microelectronics Advanced Research Corp. (MARCO) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

To read the full research paper entitled "Unidirectional spin-Hall and Rashba-Edelstein magnetoresistance in topological insulator-ferromagnet layer heterostructures," visit the Nature Communications website.
Mary Beckerle, PhD, CEO and Director of Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah, is this year's recipient of the Alfred G. Knudson Award in Cancer Genetics from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The prestigious award is named after Alfred G. Knudson, MD, PhD, a physician and researcher whose work added major insights to the understanding of the genetic basis of cancer. The award is presented by the National Cancer Institute each year to a scientist who has made significant research contributions to the field of cancer genetics.

Beckerle will receive the award and present the award lecture, "Interface Between Cytoskeletal Dynamics and Tumor Biology" at the NCI today in Maryland.

"It's a tremendous honor to have the cancer research accomplishments of my laboratory recognized by the National Cancer Institute" says Beckerle. "I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with many talented graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and colleagues at HCI, the University of Utah, and around the world as we have worked to understand fundamental aspects of cell biology with the goal of improving cancer treatments."

Beckerle's research has discovered a new pathway that is critical for the ability of cells to respond to mechanical signals in their environment. Such signals are now known to regulate cell growth and movement, two behaviors that are critically important in tumor biology. Her lab is currently focused on understanding the impact of this pathway on tumor progression, particularly in Ewing sarcoma, a rare but deadly bone cancer that typically affects children and young adults.

In addition to leading HCI, Beckerle is a distinguished professor of biology and oncological sciences and holds the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Endowed Chair at the University of Utah. She earned her PhD in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she was the recipient of a Danforth Fellowship. She completed post-doctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received a Guggenheim Fellowship for study at the Curie Institute in Paris. Beckerle was appointed as a member of Vice President Biden's Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel where she co-chaired the working group on Precision Prevention and Early Detection. Beckerle is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Beckerle is the 22nd Knudson award winner. Past recipients of the award include Nobel laureates J. Michael Bishop, Robert Horvitz, Harold Varmus, Leland Hartwell, and Elizabeth H. Blackburn.

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Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is the official cancer center of Utah. The cancer campus includes a state-of-the-art cancer specialty hospital as well as two buildings dedicated to cancer research. HCI treats patients with all forms of cancer and operates several clinics that focus on patients with a family history of cancer. As the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West, HCI serves the largest geographic region in the country, drawing patients from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. HCI scientists have identified more genes for inherited cancers than any other cancer center in the world, including genes responsible for hereditary breast, ovarian, colon, head, and neck cancers, along with melanoma. HCI manages the Utah Population Database - the largest genetic database in the world, with information on more than 9 million people linked to genealogies, health records, and vital statistics. The institute was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman. Mr. Huntsman is a Utah philanthropist, industrialist, and cancer survivor.
A novel tuberculosis pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi, closely related to human TB, infects and kills banded mongooses through a surprising route -- olfactory communication. Now, a detailed investigation published in the journal Veterinary Pathology provides a window into how this deadly disease moves between mongooses and within the mongoose host.

The team, led by Kathleen Alexander, a professor of wildlife conservation in Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment, identified a unique pathological presentation for this tuberculosis pathogen.

Infected anal gland secretions are sniffed or used to mark other mongooses, allowing this tuberculosis pathogen to invade the mongoose host through breaks in the skin or nose. This is the first case of a pathogen being transmitted through olfactory communication networks.

"Mongooses use anal gland secretions to communicate essential information to each other that is fundamental to the survival of their social group," said Alexander. "Our findings highlight the amazing ability of a pathogen to evolve and exploit the behavior of a species to increase transmission, and this has critical implications to our understanding of TB."

From 1999 to 2017, Alexander and her team examined 62 mongooses infected with tuberculosis and found that the most infected areas of the body were the lymph nodes, spleen, and anal glands.

"Given the character and distribution of lesions, we think that the pathogen spreads through the blood, the lymphatic system, or both upon entering the mongoose host," said Claire Sanderson, a research associate in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

By using histopathology, the researchers were able to look for microscopic evidence of tuberculosis lesions in formalin-fixed tissues and organs from banded mongooses in their long-term study site.

"This large-scale investigation provides a clear picture of how this unique tuberculosis pathogen infects and kills the mongoose host," said co-author Mark C. Williams of the University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa.

"Tuberculosis generally infects a susceptible host through a pulmonary or oral transmission route. But this pathogen has a unique pathological presentation arising from its environmental transmission route," said co-author Mitchell Palmer of the Bacterial Diseases of Livestock Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Ames, Iowa.

"Banded mongooses live in close-knit groups and sleep in small underground dens, circumstances ideal for aerosol transmission of tuberculosis organisms and yet, lesions with this pathogen were only found in the lung of banded mongooses in late stages of the disease, if at all," said Alexander, who is also affiliated with Virginia Tech's Fralin Life Science Institute.

Infection by the M. mungi pathogen threatens the survival of smaller mongoose troops. Alexander's team has recently sequenced the M. mungi genome -- the only known tuberculosis species not to be successfully cultured in vitro. By comparing the genome of M. mungi to other M. tuberculosis complex pathogens, Alexander and her team hope to find clues as to how this pathogen evolved such a unique transmission and pathological presentations.

"This organism is very closely related to human TB but can be transmitted through the environment. This provides an exciting opportunity to understand TB organisms and their potential for change, providing critical insight possibly into the biology of human TB pathogens," said Alexander.

Mongoose are a territorial species and would have limited contact with members of another troop, limiting pathogen spread. Transmission of the pathogen through olfactory secretions circumvents this barrier, allowing M. mungi to spread through the population. The first recorded M. mungi outbreak in mongoose populations in northeastern Botswana and northwest Zimbabwe occurred in 1999 and was reported in Mbio.

"This discovery changes the manner in which we must think about sociality, olfactory communication, and infectious disease spread," said Alexander.

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Other members of the research team include Peter N. Laver of the University of Capetown, South Africa; Carly Kanipe of Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine; Michelle Larsen of the Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and Suelee Robbe-Austerman of the Diagnostic Bacteriology Laboratory, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Ames, Iowa.

The work was supported by both the Morris Animal Foundation and the National Science Foundation as part of the joint National Science Foundation-National Institutes of Health-U.S. Department of Agriculture Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program.

Alexander, a wildlife veterinarian and co-founder of the Center for Conservation of African Resources: Animals, Communities, and Land Use (CARACAL) in Botswana, directs her research program at exploring and understanding the factors that influence the emergence and persistence of novel and re-emerging diseases at the human-wildlife-environment interface.
Two translational biology, medicine, and health (TBMH) graduate students at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have won National Institutes of Health research fellowships aimed at protecting people with heart problems.

Tristan Raisch, of Los Gatos, California, and Carissa James, of Townville, South Carolina, will each receive National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowships.

One of the NIH's training awards, the highly selective Kirschstein fellowship is conferred to top U.S. graduate students in health science-related fields. It supports mentored health and biomedical research training, dissertation research, and the graduate program in which the student receives training.

"These awards are an important additional step in Virginia Tech's advancement in the national biomedical and health sciences educational and training space," said Michael J. Friedlander, executive director of the research institute and vice president for health sciences and technology at Virginia Tech. "As the growth of the Virginia Tech Carilion health sciences enterprise continues on the Roanoke campus and across the entire university, the ability to compete for training and center grants at NIH will be strengthened as more individual graduate students successfully compete for these fellowships."

The awards are the first NIH Kirschstein individual pre-doctoral awards for students in the TBMH program but represent the third and fourth such awards to graduate students training at the VTCRI.

Former Kirschstein fellow Lara Moody, who continues to collaborate in the VTCRI with Virginia Tech Carilion Behavioral Health Research Professor Warren Bickel, is currently conducting clinical work at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center in North Carolina. The other recent VTCRI Kirschstein fellow is Nina Lauharatanahirun, who earned her doctorate in psychology and completed her dissertation research in the lab of VTCRI associate professor Brooks King-Casas. She is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

Under the mentorship of Steven Poelzing, a co-director of the TBMH program, and an associate professor at the research institute in the VTCRI Center for Heart and Regenerative Medicine Research and at the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in the College of Engineering, Raisch seeks to resolve a controversy regarding the roles that extracellular spaces next to structures called gap junctions play in conduction of electrical signals across the heart.

Specifically, his project will identify targetable mechanisms to preserve healthful electrical conduction in the heart under conditions of edema (swelling) or ischemia, which is a lack of oxygen that may occur in a heart attack.

Meanwhile, James also studies gap junctions, but in terms of alterations in the assembly of these structures, which allow heart cells to communicate with each other. With mentor Jamie Smyth, an assistant professor in the VTCRI Center for Heart and Regenerative Medicine Research and in the Department of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech's College of Science, James expands understanding about how proteins are synthesized and play a role in healthy cellular communication.

"In addition to recognizing Tristan, Carissa, and their research projects, the award is indicative of the national recognition of Dr. Poelzing, Dr. Smyth, and the entire cardiovascular science group at VTCRI, as well as the quality of the TBMH Ph.D. program," Friedlander said.

Raisch and James are among three currently active Kirschstein fellows at Virginia Tech, along with Benjamin Okyere, who works in the lab of Michelle Theus, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Kirschstein was a pathologist and science administrator at the NIH who developed and refined tests to ensure the safety of vaccines for polio and measles. She served as director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and as deputy director and acting director of the NIH at various times from the 1990s through 2002.

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On July 18, 2012, passengers on an airline flight over the Southwest Pacific Ocean glimpsed something unusual--a raft of floating rock known as pumice that indicated an underwater volcanic eruption had occurred on the seafloor northeast of New Zealand. The raft eventually grew to more than 150 square miles (roughly the size of Philadelphia), a sign that the eruption was unusually large.

A new paper published January 10, 2018, in the journal Science Advances describes the first up-close investigation of the largest underwater volcanic eruption of the past century. The international research team led by the University of Tasmania and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) used the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry and the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason to explore, map, and collect erupted materials from the Havre volcano during a 2015 expedition. They found that the eruption was surprising in many ways.

"We knew it was a large-scale eruption, approximately equivalent to the biggest eruption we've seen on land in the 20th Century," said Rebecca Carey, a volcanologist at University of Tasmania and Co-Chief Scientist on the expedition.

"Heading to the site, we were fully prepared to investigate a typical deep-sea explosive eruption," added Adam Soule, WHOI associate scientist and chief scientist for the National Deep Submergence Facility. "When we looked at the detailed maps from the AUV, we saw all these bumps on the seafloor and I thought the vehicle's sonar was acting up. It turned out that each bump was a giant block of pumice, some of them the size of a van. I had never seen anything like it on the seafloor."

More than 70 percent of all volcanic activity on Earth occurs on the seafloor, but details of these events are largely hidden from view by seawater. Based on the size of the 2012 pumice raft, the eruption of the Havre Volcano was estimated to be the largest documented underwater silicic eruption--a particular type of eruption that produces viscous, gas-filled lava that often occurs explosively. Despite their violence, very little is known about silicic eruptions and most knowledge about them comes from ancient rock records, which lack details such as the timing, duration, source, and water depth of the events. Scientists have never been able to study a large underwater silicic eruption shortly after it occurred in order to better understand how they happen and what they produce.

Havre is part of the Kermadec Arc, a chain of volcanoes, some of which reach the surface to form the Kermadec Islands, between New Zealand and American Samoa. The volcanoes are formed by conditions at the subduction zone where one of Earth's largest tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate, dives beneath the Australian Plate. New Zealand scientists mapped the Havre volcano, a caldera nearly three miles (4.5 kilometers) across on the seafloor northeast of the North Island of New Zealand, using shipboard sonar instruments in 2002 and again immediately after the eruption in 2012, revealing the presence of new volcanic material on the seafloor.

In 2015, scientists from the University of Tasmania, WHOI, the University of California Berkeley, the University of Otago in New Zealand, and others traveled to the region on board the research vessel Roger Revelle operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They deployed the AUV Sentry in a series of 11 dives that mapped more than 19 square miles (50 square kilometers) of seafloor. They also conducted 12 ROV Jason dives totaling 250 hours to collect samples of erupted material and to capture high-resolution imagery of the seafloor inside the crater.

The team found that the eruption history of the Havre volcano was much more complicated than they previously thought, with the most recent eruption alone consisting of lava from 14 volcanic vent sites between 900 and 1220 meters (3000 and 4000 feet) below the surface. They also discovered that, what they thought was initially an explosive eruption that would produce mainly pumice, also created ash, lava domes, and seafloor lava flows. Mapping and seafloor observations revealed that, of the material that erupted, which was nearly 1.5 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, about 75 percent floated to the surface and drifted away with winds and currents. The rest was spread across the seafloor up to several miles away.

"Ultimately we believe that none of the magma was erupted in the ways we assume an explosive eruption occurs on land," said Soule.

Material collected using ROV Jason confirmed the diverse nature of the eruption, bringing samples of dense lava, ash, pumice, and giant pumice to the surface, including one piece measuring 5 feet (1.5 meters) in diameter that is the first of its kind ever collected and is currently on display at the National Museum of Science and Nature in Tokyo. The physical and chemical composition of these samples are helping scientists learn how the eruption proceeded, what made it act the way it did, and how the material changes over time.

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This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the ocean's role in the changing global environment. For more information, please visit http://www.whoi.edu.
A new kind of mine is providing hope for a Swiss mountain village that has seen its share of misfortune over the years. Gondo, with 40 inhabitants, is no longer mining for gold, but for cryptocurrencies.

On the face of it, Gondo  an isolated community on the Swiss-Italian border  is hardly the most likely location for such a cutting-edge, disruptive and divisive technology. It has nevertheless been chosen as the venue for a cryptocurrency mine by start-up Alpine Mining.

Bitcoins inexorable rise in value has attracted more and more people worldwide to the apparent riches of cryptocurrencies. There are more than 1,000 crypto tokens in circulation with more being produced every day. Many are expected to sink without trace, but enthusiasts believe others will stay and thrive.

Enter Gondo. Gone are the days when the gold mines here were packed with 500 prospectors seeking their fortunes.

Its cryptocurrency mine is a small room full of flashing lights, humming computer servers and a tangle of wires and pipes. It works by solving complex mathematical puzzles that earn cryptocurrency rewards (see graphic).

The mine nestles incongruously beside houses, a church, hotel and restaurant built in the traditional style of the region. The main signs of modernity are three gas filling stations that serve an endless line of trucks trundling over the border in both directions each day.

Gondo is wedged between sheer mountain faces that rise steeply on either side of the narrow gorge. This geography is critical when you consider that cryptocurrency mines use a lot of power to conjure digital money from thin air. The constricted valley is a perfect location for one of Switzerlands 600 hydroelectric plants, whilst the altitude provides natural cooling.

Gondo provides a sustainable and eco-friendly source of power, as well as a very attractive electricity price, Ludovic Thomas, who co-founded Alpine Mining with Christophe Lillo, told swissinfo.ch. This is particularly important considering the debate raging in the media on how much power cryptocurrency mining consumes.

Electricity prices are also vital. An earlier crypto mining project in Linthal, canton Glarus, had to shut down because it cost too much to power.

Some of the worlds biggest crypto mines are in China, says Thomas. They burn fossil fuels and could be shut down by the authorities from one day to the next. It may cost more to mine crypto in Switzerland, but environmental credentials and stability are priceless commodities. Switzerland doesnt only offer political stability but a relatively benign regulatory stance towards cryptocurrencies.

Alpine Mining is currently holding talks with other hydropower stations in canton Valais, in southwest Switzerland. It plans to tap into this inexpensive, climate-friendly power to grow into one of the largest crypto mines in the world.

Gondo also hopes to benefit from this development. In 2000, a catastrophic landslide killed 13 people, tearing down houses in its wake. The damage has been repaired, but some residents moved away and the village has been struggling to fill the void, particularly with young people.

Many of those employed at the hydroelectric plant and at the customs border post now live in the town of Brig  about a 45-minute commute. On the day swissinfo.ch visited Gondo, a restaurant shut its doors.

Mayor Roland Squaratti hopes that Alpine Mining can help stop the rot. When they first approached us with an idea of setting up a blockchain company in Gondo we all looked at each other and asked: Do you know what blockchain is? We had to Google it to understand what it involved, he told swissinfo.ch. In a nutshell, blockchain is an encrypted digital system where cryptocurrencies are stored and transacted.

We can now see that it represents a new kind of gold mining in the area, which is a positive sign for our future. The last of Gondos original gold mines ceased operating in 1891 and now draw tourists rather than speculators.

But cryptocurrencies also attract negative headlines. Swiss banks will not touch any because they fear it is the perfect vehicle for money launderers and criminals. But Squaratti is not worried.

I am convinced that the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies is the technology of the future. It doesnt really concern me what type of currencies use it. So I dont have the feeling this could damage the reputation of our community.

He says he has received up to half a dozen requests from other crypto miners to set up in Gondo since the news of cheap, clean electricity and a welcoming atmosphere has spread. The main concern is where to house them all. Alpine Mining already uses up around a third of the villages power consumption, so the authorities have to set up a second transformer.

The company is also decking out a second, larger building to meet their expansion requirements. And there are only so many apartments to house people. The company aims to spread throughout the canton, next to other hydroelectricity plants.

We will remain in Gondo, it is our HQ, says Thomas.

Alpine Mining Alpine Mining set up operations this year. Co-founders Ludovic Thomas and Christophe Lillo first turned their hand to crypto mining at their homes in Saxon, canton Valais. They soon found that mining on such a small scale was unprofitable in the long run. Besides, neighbours were so annoyed with the incessant noise of their rigs that they threw tomatoes at the door. The company both mines its own crypto tokens, as part of a collective pool of other miners, and offers cloud services for others to rent its hardware to mine their own cryptos. Alpine Mining is not interested in bitcoin because the hardware needed to mine it cannot be put to any other use. The rigs that mine ethereum can easily be adapted to zcash, monero and a range of other digital tokens. Deciding which token to mine each day is a delicate balancing act between the level of difficulty of cracking the algorithms, the current and potential value of the token and how many other mines are competing. Just as in any other industry, keeping costs down to a minimum improves margins. The five-person full-time team, the majority of whom hail from canton Valais or neighbouring Vaud in southwest Switzerland, also turns its hand to a multitude of do-it-yourself tasks. The complex tangle of pipes that bring cold air in to the room and disperse heat were designed and plumbed in by the team. Metal frames that hold the 100+ rigs were commissioned from a manufacturer of hen coops for chicken farms. Plastic clips that secure equipment in place spew out of the mines very own 3D printer. Extracting statistics from Alpine Mining is a tough job because the company does not want to give away trade secrets to competitors. It is also difficult to judge exactly how many tokens are mined each day as the number fluctuates depending on how popular individual tokens are and how many other mines are competing for them. When it is fully operational, the Gondo mine expects to consume some 350 kilowatts per hour of energy. Turnover is forecast to reach around $1 million in its first year of operation.













swissinfo.ch






Switzerland remains an attractive tax destination for both companies and top earners in 2017, according to a survey of major global business locations published on Wednesday. But it warned planned US tax reform will increase competition.

The BAK taxation index, published by the BAK Basel economic research group, includes countries, Swiss cantons and cities around the world. Hong Kong comes top of the competitiveness index for corporation tax (9.9%), followed by Nidwalden (10.1%), the canton with the lowest corporation tax in Switzerland.

Other Swiss cantons with low business tax were Appenzell (10.3%), Lucerne (10.3%) and Obwalden (10.9%.) Even Geneva, the canton with the highest corporate tax rate in Switzerland (21.4%), remained below the global average by eight percentage points.

New York found itself at the bottom of the ranking. The city taxed businesses at 49.8%  more than any other international economic centre.

All in all, the tax load remained stable both in Switzerland and internationally, with figures virtually unchanged from the last report in 2015.

BAK was optimistic about the tax outlook for Switzerland, but warned of a calm before the storm, saying the planned tax reform in the US will lead to fiercer competition, also putting Switzerlands neighbours like France and Germany under increasing pressure.

The report also said that planned Swiss tax reform should help to stabilise the system. The reforms are meant to replace a corporate tax reform rejected by voters last year.

+ Read more about tax reform in Switzerland

Advantage for highly skilled staff

Switzerlands taxation of highly skilled workers was also comparatively low. The Zug canton was ranked in fourth place with a rate of 23%. The canton of Neuchatel had the highest rate in Switzerland (37.7%), but remained slightly below the international average of 38.4 %.

The index of highly qualified workers was calculated on a single childless person on a total income of 100,000 Euro (CHF 117,445). Such a person paid the least amount of tax in cantons Zug, Obwalden und Uri.

The taxation of skilled workers in Switzerland rose by 0.2 percent while the international average remained the same.

Calm before the storm

The authors of the BAK study warned of a calm before the storm, and said that the planned tax reform in the US will considerably improve the countrys position in the rating. This will lead to a fiercer competition which will also put Switzerlands neighbouring countries such as France and Germany under increasing pressure. The report also predicted that the planned Swiss tax reform, which is supposed to replace the last initiative on corporate tax reform that was rejected by voters, should help to stabilise the system. To move forward, Switzerland will need to accept that unequal taxation of ordinary businesses and multinational corporations is no longer accepted internationally. The country is hoping to retain its attractiveness for businesses in terms of tax and location with this new reform.













swissinfo.ch/ln






United States President Donald Trump has stirred up Switzerland by announcing he will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. It wont be an official state visit, so whats the big deal and what is WEF all about?

Trump will be the second US President to visit WEF after the Bill Clinton carnival stole the show 18 years ago. Trump is expected to arrive with a huge retinue to spread the America First gospel for the benefit of the US economy, businesses and workers.

The annual Davos congress has grown exponentially since its first incarnation as the European Management Forum in 1971 (renamed World Economic Forum in 1987). Given the breadth and depth of topics it now addresses, it should perhaps be known as the World Everything Forum.

In its nearly 50 years of existence, WEF has welcomed many global leaders, industry chiefs and bigwigs from the worlds of civil society, religion, technology and the arts. Some 3,000 delegates are willing to pay big bucks for the privilege of listening to debates, networking and deal making. Their every word is broadcast worldwide by a small army of journalists.

But US presidents have traditionally barely given it a second thought. Last year, Davos was abuzz and somewhat aghast at the shock election of Trump. The stage was left open for the first ever visit by a Chinese president, Xi Jinping. He wasted no time in promoting Chinas powerhouse credentials and lambasting isolationists  a thinly-veiled dig at Trumps America.

Commentators are speculating whether Trump plans to use this global platform to deliver a forthright answer. But beyond the rhetoric, Trump appears keen to roll up his sleeves and get down to the business of promoting US economic interests among an elite group of global power brokers.

Swiss President Alain Berset has welcomed Trumps imminent arrival and hopes to arrange a meet-up to discuss some burning issues. These could include US tax reforms or Trumps controversial trade policies. This visit can only be a good thing for Switzerland, Social Democrat parliamentarian Tim Guldimann said. But it wont do any good to use this occasion just to criticise his politics.

Protests planned

But other politicians have warned not to expect too much political progress from Trumps visit as his primary purpose is to rub shoulders with WEFs elite rather than Swiss ministers.

Hotelier Ernst Wyrsch, who used to run the five star Steigenberger Grand Hotel Belvedere in Davos, said Trumps visit willI be a bonus for the town. Trumps visit will touch Davos dramatically. For the town, canton Graubunden and Switzerland this is great. Media attention will bo focused on Davos for the duration of his stay, he told the Tages Anzeiger newspaper.

But not everyone is so happy. Protestors are also preparing for Trumps Swiss visit. Switzerland and Davos are well used to protecting powerful delegates at WEF but the security forces will now have more to ponder. Already, the Swiss campaigning groups Campax and Action Together: Zurich are planning marches on the weekend before WEF.

WEF key facts Last year the World Economic Forums Davos Congress attracted around 3,000 visitors, including some 500 journalists. Similar numbers are expected this year when it runs from January 23-26. Companies each pay between CHF60,000 and CHF600,000 in annual membership fees. For the financial year between July 2015 to June 2016, WEF generated a CHF228 million in revenues. The non-profit organisation paid a budgetary surplus of CHF1.2 million into its foundation. A study by WEF and the University of St Gallen found that the 2015 Congress meeting generated CHF50 million ($51 million) for the local economy and an additional CHF79 million for the rest of Switzerland. The Swiss government authorises up to 5,000 military personnel to provide security at the Davos event, but the full contingent is rarely used. Security costs of CHF9 million are spilt between the Confederation, canton Graubunden, the town of Davos and WEF.













swissinfo.ch






France's finance minister on Wednesday urged Germany to loosen the purse strings to help boost European growth, reminding Berlin of its wider responsibilities as Chancellor Angela Merkel struggles to forge a new coalition at home.

France has already done its bit by reducing its public spending and reforming its economy, Bruno Le Maire told Die Zeit weekly.

We expect Germany to join the movement, by adopting more offensive wage policies and investing more.

The call comes at a sensitive time for Merkel who is trying to renew an alliance with the reluctant Social Democratic Party (SPD) after an inconclusive September election.

Five days of exploratory talks are scheduled to end Thursday evening, when both sides will announce whether they have enough common ground to proceed to formal coalition talks  with public spending one of the hot-button issues.

The centre-left SPD is demanding more spending to help the disadvantaged, but Merkels conservatives want to keep the countrys budget balanced as they argue that they are saving for the ageing populations future.

Germany has already taken decisions in the right direction  a minimum wage was introduced, said Le Maire, referring to a key condition by the SPD during negotiations for the outgoing coalition with Merkel.

We are now expecting investments in big projects, in innovation, research and infrastructure, the French minister added.

 Macron waiting 

Germany is expected to announce on Friday a budget surplus for 2017 that surpasses 10 billion euros ($12 billion), German media reported, putting pressure on Merkel for greater wealth redistribution in the country.

Germany also regularly comes under criticism over its massive trade surplus, the worlds largest which swelled to around 250 billion euros last year.

France, the United States and the International Monetary Fund have long urged booming Germany to spend and invest more to push up consumption and allow other countries to benefit indirectly from its success.

Le Maire also called for a speedy end to Merkels lengthy struggle to form a new government, after the chancellors initial attempt at building a coalition with two smaller parties collapsed in November.

The sooner we have a stable German government, the better for France, he was quoted as saying.

Merkel has been largely absent from the international stage in recent months as she focuses on her domestic woes, just as a newly confident France is looking for a strong partner in Berlin to help drive President Emmanuel Macrons EU reform plans.

While staunchly pro-EU, Merkel has responded cautiously to some of Macrons more ambitious proposals for a common eurozone budget, parliament and finance minister, ideas more warmly received by the SPD.

Germanys Social Democratic foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel on Sunday said it was time that we finally support the French in their reform efforts.

Le Maire sought to play down fears of a drastic EU overhaul, saying some of Macrons more controversial plans would be discussed in due time, with tax harmonisation and a banking union first on the agenda.

The German-French connection has to be renewed, immediately, Le Maire told Die Zeit.

We need common goals that go beyond our own horizons.
Spanish authorities said Wednesday they had transferred migrants being controversially accommodated at a jail just two weeks after an Algerian man was found hanging in his cell in an apparent suicide contested by his brother.

The lawyer for the victims family said some of the migrants held in the prison in Archidona near Malaga in southern Spain had been transferred to other centres around the country, while others were deported.

Amanda Romero added that among those evacuated were potential witnesses to the circumstances surrounding the death of Mohamed Bouderbala, 36, who was found hanging on December 29.

In a statement, the interior ministry said the 572 migrants, all of them Algerian, who were in this Malaga centre since the end of November have been gradually transferred.

It did not say where they were taken and a spokeswoman refused to comment further.

The use of the new jail as a so-called CIE, a centre where migrants are held pending asylum claims or deportation after they arrive in Spain, drew sharp criticism by rights groups.

Spanish law states that CIEs must not be penitentiary in nature.

But the interior ministry said it had decided to use the jail due to a lack of space at other detention centres, as the number of migrant arrivals in Spain more than doubled last year on 2016, setting a new record at around 22,900.

The interior ministry has always preferred this solution to building temporary camps, as has been done in other countries, which dont guarantee the minimum worthy living conditions, it said.

Romero said she thought the evacuation had been enacted in direct response to the controversy caused by the death of Bouderbala, who according to an autopsy hanged himself with a sheet.

His brother Ahmed told reporters last week he spoke to Mohamed the morning before he was found dead, and that he was not suicidal.

But a judge dropped a probe into the death just a few days after the incident, prompting Romero to question the speed in which the case was closed and appealing the decision.

On Wednesday, she said she did not as yet know whether potential witnesses inside the centre, who have versions that could contradict official ones, were sent back to Algeria or remained in Spain in other centres.
Equatorial Guinea, amplifying charges that an attempted coup was orchestrated by an exile in Europe, said Wednesday the plot had been hatched in France.

The plan was organised on French territory, Foreign Minister Agapito Mba Mokuy told a press conference.

It has nothing to do with the French government, he said, adding, We will cooperate with France as soon as we have more information.

Mokuy also said that in the light of the purported coup, his country was suspending participation in a new-born scheme to allow visa-free travel among six countries in central and western Africa.

Equatorial Guinea is a small, oil-rich state that since 1979 has been ruled by President Teodoro Obiang. Critics say his rule has been tarred by brutal repression, corruption and electoral fraud.

The government says that foreign mercenaries mounted an attempted putsch on December 24 but this had been thwarted.

Last Friday, Chadian Foreign Minister Mahamat Zen Cherif said after a visit to Malabo that the author of the coup bid is believed to be an Equatorial Guinean national living in Europe.

Mokuy said 27 terrorists or mercenaries had been arrested in a manhunt after the attempted putsch, but around 150 others were still being sought.

Mokuy also said Equatorial Guinea was suspending its part in an agreement with five other francophone states  Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon and the Republic of Congo  to allow visa-free movement of their citizens among member-nations.

The bloc, called the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), began negotiations on the scheme more than 15 years ago.

The process was hampered by fears by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon  oil-rich and relatively sparsely populated  that they would be swamped by an influx of job-seekers from poorer members.

Negotiations culminated in an announcement at a summit in the Chadian capital of NDjamena on November 1 that the pact had finally been ratified by all six states.

 String of coup attempts 

Mokuy, in Wednesdays press conference, said free circulation doesnt mean that you can move around as you want.

You have to have a biometric passport, a CEMAC passport, a secure passport. So long as these conditions are not met, and given what has happened in Equatorial Guinea, we say that in order to travel to our country (people have) to go to our embassies for a visa, he said.

Obiang, 75, is Africas longest-serving president. He has faced a string of coup attempts during his decades in power.

His country is one of sub-Saharas biggest oil producers but a large proportion of its 1.2 million population still lives in poverty.

Relations with France are tense after Obiangs son, Teodorin Obiang, 48, was given a three-year suspended prison sentence by a French court in October for embezzling public funds, money-laundering and corruption and abuse of trust.

The younger Obiang is estimated to have used France to launder 150 million euros ($180 million) in misappropriated funds.

He was also given a suspended fine of 30 million euros. His lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict.
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The head of Russia's top rights group in Chechnya will be held for two months on drug charges, his lawyer said Thursday, in a case that has received international condemnation.

The regional leader for Memorial, Oyub Titiyev, was detained near Chechnyas main city of Grozny on Tuesday by traffic police who claimed they found a package with a marijuana-like substance.

A Chechen court ruled that Titiyev, 60, should be held until March 9 at the request of investigators, his lawyer Pyotr Zaikin told Interfax news agency in comments echoed by a Memorial director.

Zaikin said the ruling would be appealed.

If convicted the activist could face several years in jail.

A joint statement from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other rights groups on Thursday said the drugs charges were bogus.

Titiyevs arrest is a clear signal that authorities in Chechnya are trying to force Memorial out of Chechnya, which is an affront to everyone there who needs protection from human rights abuses, said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW.

Titiyev should not be in custody, where we fear his health and safety are at risk.

Memorial said in a statement that police officers had threatened Titiyevs relatives, locking some of them out of the activists house when they found them there.

News of the detention sparked immediate concern in Russias human rights community given Chechnyas intolerance of organisations such as Memorial and the regions use of extrajudicial arrests and punishment.

Drugs charges have been used repeatedly in the past to prosecute critical journalists and rights workers in the region.

Titiyevs predecessor as the regional leader of Memorial, Natalia Estemirova, was kidnapped and killed in 2009. The rights group said the killers were acting on the orders of local authorities.
A former Russian policeman convicted of killing 22 women went on trial on Wednesday for 59 more murders in a case that could make him Russia's most prolific serial killer in recent history.

If Mikhail Popkov is found guilty, he will join the list of the worlds most notorious serial killers over the past two decades.

Here are some of the others:

 Germany, Niels Hoegel: The male nurse was jailed for life in 2015 for murdering two intensive care patients with lethal drugs. In January 2017 investigators said Hoegel was responsible for the deaths of more than 100 patients.

 France, Yvan Keller: In 2006 police in Mulhouse, eastern France, arrested the 46-year-old homeless man, who confessed to 150 murders, mostly of elderly women, before committing suicide. Police believe he had killed at least 25 times since 1989.

 China, Yang Xinhai: Characterised an introverted drifter, he was executed in China in February 2004 after reportedly murdering 67 people during a three-year rampage in the early 2000s.

 United States, Gary Ridgway: He received 48 life sentences in 2003 after he admitted killing 48 prostitutes and runaways in a murder spree that terrified Seattle in the 1980s.

 Colombia, Luis Garavito: He was jailed for 835 years in 2000 for murdering 189 boys aged between eight and 16 over a five-year span until 1996. He gained access to his victims by posing as a charity worker, a travelling salesman, a monk, and a handicapped person, among other disguises.

 Pakistan, Javed Iqbal: He was found guilty in March 2000 and sentenced to death for murdering and mutilating 100 runaway children, dissolving their bodies in acid.

 Britain, Harold Shipman: A general practitioner in northern England, he hanged himself in prison in 2004 four years after being convicted of killing 15 of his elderly patients. An inquiry later found that he had killed more than 250.

 Ukraine, Anatoly Onopryenko: He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999 for murdering 52 people, including 10 children, between 1989 and 1996. Forty-three of his victims died in a five-month killing spree.
Russia's Vladimir Putin employs corruption, military invasions in Europe and sprawling disinformation campaigns in attempts to undermine democracies, and US President Donald Trump has been "negligent" in countering the threats, a Senate Democratic report warned Wednesday.

A searing assessment released by Ben Cardin, top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, documented the extent of the Kremlins malign influence operations including President Putins meddling in the 2016 US election and western democracies.

Putin has spent some 20 years consolidating power, enriching himself and a tight circle of loyalists, and challenging European democracies and the foundation of the transatlantic US-European alliance, the report noted.

Mr. Putins Kremlin employs an asymmetric arsenal that includes military invasions, cyberattacks, disinformation, support for fringe political groups, and the weaponization of energy resources, organized crime, and corruption, Cardin wrote in a letter introducing the 200-page report.

If the United States fails to work with urgency to address this complex and growing threat, the regime in Moscow will become further emboldened, he added. It will continue to develop and refine its arsenal to use on democracies around the world, including against US elections in 2018 and 2020.

But it also levels fiery criticism at Trump, saying he is not committed to addressing the crisis.

Never before in American history has so clear a threat to national security been so clearly ignored by a US president, the report stated.

President Trump has been negligent in acknowledging and responding to the threat to US national security posed by Mr. Putins meddling.

The report recommends actions Washington should take to neutralize Kremlin aggression, such as creating a high-level fusion cell to counter the threats, funding pro-democracy organizations in eastern Europe, expanding sanctions and freezing Kremlin-linked dirty money.

The report was produced by the Senate Foreign Relations Committees Democratic staff.

The panels Republican chairman Senator Bob Corker was aware that the minority report was being drafted but was not involved in its creation, his office said.

 No consequences 

The report landed at a time of heightened tensions in Washington over the ongoing investigation into Moscows interference in US elections, and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the presidential race.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, is heading up an independent probe, but the White House recently declined to say whether Trump would agree to be interviewed by Mueller about possible links between Russian activities and the Trump campaign.

While congressional Republicans remain hostile to Putin, they appear loathe to antagonize the commander in chief, who brands as fake news any accusations of collusion.

Instead they express support for the three ongoing congressional probes that were launched last year.

Democrats have expressed frustration at the slow pace of the work, and concern that Russia may seek to meddle in this years party primaries and the mid-term elections that follow in November.

A year has gone by, and there have been no consequences whatsoever for those who attacked American democracy, Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, complained on Tuesday.

One theme that threads through the report is that European nations, notably the Nordic states and France, are countering Russian aggression more forcefully than the United States.

France and its new president Emmanuel Macron  himself a target of cyber hacking and disinformation  are emerging as strong voices against Russian government interference and have played a leading role in Europe to resist Kremlin meddling, the report states.
"The Wire" star Dominic West is to play Jean Valjean in a new television adaptation of "Les Miserables" scripted by the master adapter Andrew Davies, the BBC said Thursday.

Spooks star David Oyelowo will play his nemesis Javert, the relentless police inspector who dogs the life of the former convict, in the six-hour costume drama, which had previously been backed by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Jean Valjean is one of the great characters in world literature, West said of the hero of Victor Hugos 1862 novel, which is regarded as one of the greatest of 19th century literature.

His epic journey of redemption is one of the extraordinary roles an actor can take on, and I cant wait to get stuck in to bringing Andrew Davies brilliant adaptation to the screen.

The veteran adapter, now 81, was the brains behind a string of BBC costume drama hits including Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch and War & Peace, most of which he adapted after retiring from his job as a university lecturer.

He described Les Miserables, the sprawling story of Valjean, who spent years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread for his starving sister, as a huge, intense and gut-wrenching.

Most of us are familiar with the musical version, which only offers a fragmentary outline of its story, which reaches its climax during the 1848 Revolution in Paris.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity of doing real justice to Victor Hugo at last, he said.

Davies also scripted the original British version of the political thriller House of Cards, as well as having a hand in the first two Bridget Jones films.

Weinstein  whose company pulled out of the project as claims that he raped and assaulted a string of actresses mounted  had said earlier that with the exception of James Bond, nobody does it better than Andrew Davies.
The Herman Trend Alert

January 10, 2018

Junk Water and How to Avoid It

For a couple of years now, our author, Joyce Gioia, has been disturbed by the increasing prevalence of what she calls "junk water". Finally, thanks to Quentin Fottrell and CBS Marketwatch, the research is now available to provide you with that long-sought information.

Water vs. soda consumption



According to the International Bottled Water Association, bottled water consumption has surged more than 2,700 percent in four decades. And last year, something unexpected happened: the consumption of bottled-water consumption in the United States (39.3 gallons eclipsed the consumption of carbonated soft drinks (38.5 gallons per capita). Finally, consumers in the US have realized what consumers worldwide have known for years: that bottled water is worth it---at least some of it is.

Junk water



Did you ever wonder why much of the bottled water now tastes so bad? According to Peter Gleick, a scientist and author of the book Bottled and Sold, it's because around 45 percent of water brands are simply bottled municipal water, i.e., tap water. The water may be "treated" through reverse osmosis, like Aquafina, or it may be adulterated with Magnesium Sulfate, Sodium, and Potassium (minerals or chemicals?), like Dasani, to hide the chlorine taste, but it is still tap water. So, what's the point in drinking bottled water? Unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in the distribution of junk water, so read the label carefully to ensure that you are not drinking extra sodium, potassium, or magnesium that will just make you thirstier.

Enter "raw water"



Raw water comes direct from the spring and has lots of minerals. However, though it may look pure to the naked eye, insidious bacteria may be lurking. In fact, according to reports from the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, published last November, in the years 2013 and 2014 alone, 42 drinking water-associated outbreaks were reported, resulting in 124 hospitalizations and 13 deaths.

The next best thing



Something called "live water" is marginally better. Live water starts with raw water and uses filtering and disinfecting techniques to ensure safety. Live water has most of the advantages of raw water, without the danger. Their bottling facility is a sterile environment and the water is tested for harmful bacteria. Live water may also be transported and stored refrigerated to protect the present probiotics.

Sugary drinks are not the answer



One alternative to drinking bottled water is drinking soda and sugary drinks. However, their consumption has been linked to diabetes and heart disease. According to a landmark study from Tufts University, a huge number of adults die every year from diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related illnesses. This massive study analyzed the consumption patterns of more than half a million people over 30 years, across 51 countries.

Water, water everywhere



Although you may find bottled water available everywhere, the water that is available may not be worth drinking. We are seeing an increasing percentage of junk water (sometimes just tap water) being given to unsuspecting consumers, especially in some resorts and on most airlines---especially in the US. Both Delta and American Airlines serve Dasani on domestic flights, even in First Class.

What the future holds



Until people begin to become more conscious of exactly what they are drinking, we expect to see a growing percentage of bottled water in the junk water category. Those among us who are more discriminating will have more difficulty finding good-tasting, safe water to drink. As the gap widens between the "haves" and the "have-nots", there will be an increasing gap in the quality of water as well. Those who can afford it will pay a premium for good water; those who can't will buy what they can afford.

Special thanks to Quentin Fottrell and CBS Marketwatch for their great information on this topic.

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THE WAR FOR TALENT IS HEATING UP: ARE YOU READY?



Are you are experiencing the increased employee turnover that we forecast would happen? You need to take action immediately to stop the loss of critical talent. We can help. Our consultants can diagnose your engagement and retention issues and give you specific actions to take to turn things around right away. Call Joyce at 336.210.3548 for a no-obligation call or email her at joyce@hermangroup.com.

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As a traditional agricultural show we hold competitions for a range of animals including cattle, sheep, light horses, heavy horses and shetlands, poultry & eggs, pygmy goats, rabbits and dogs.



We also hold unaffiliated showjumping and BSJA showjumping classes.



With hundreds of classes, take a look at our schedules on the entry forms page for more information on classes, entries, judges and prizes.

Rural Accommodation near this Show




Environment Secretary Michael Gove has used the Oxford Farming Conference to outline his vision for British farming post-Brexit.

Speaking at the annual event, he indicated that the Government would move away from current payments as the country left the European Union, transitioning to a system that encouraged farmers to protect the environment and invest in new technology to improve productivity.

He told delegates at the conference that the Common Agricultural Policy was designed for another world. It had changed over time but he said it was still a fundamentally flawed design.

"Paying landowners for the amount of agricultural land they have is unjust, inefficient and drives perverse outcomes," said the Environment Secretary.

"It gives the most from the public purse to those who have the most private wealth. It bids up the price of land, distorting the market, creating a barrier to entry for innovative new farmers and entrenching lower productivity.

"Indeed, perversely, it rewards farmers for sticking to methods of production that are resource-inefficient and also incentivises an approach to environmental stewardship which is all about mathematically precise field margins and not ecologically healthy landscapes."

'Public goods'

He said that, following a period of transition, the United Kingdom would replace the existing Basic Payments of the EU with a series of support payments for what he described as "public goods."

He said: "The principal public good we will invest in is, of course, environmental enhancement."

The Environment Secretary, who was a prominent member of the Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum, said he wanted to deliver a "Green Brexit" for the UK.

"Brexit will mean change. But, critically, what it means most of all is that we can once more decide how we shape change and how we meet the challenges ahead," he added.

"It means we dont need any longer to follow the path dictated by the Common Agricultural Policy. We can have our own national food policy, our own agriculture policy, our own environment policies, our own economic policies, shaped by our own collective interests."

'Rural resilience'

He was challenged during a press conference following the speech about how the changes would impact marginal farms, such as upland sheep units.

Michael Gove said the new support scheme would still maintain support for what he described as 'rural resilience."

He said: "When we think about rural resilience we need to think about those particular farms - and upland sheep farms are among those that are perhaps the best representative of this - whose profit margins are necessarily very tight but whose role in both preserving iconic landscapes and in keeping rural communities alive is particularly precious.

"So I have outlined a number of public goods that I think public money should be there to support and one of them would be maintaining ways of farming that have a value beyond the economic."

New technology

He responded to another question about the future availability of foreign labour following Brexit, by suggesting that the food industry should look to invest in new technology - something that the proposed new scheme would also support.

Mr Gove explained: "We want to ensure that every part of the food chain gets the labour it needs to secure a return on its investment but I also make the point that, ultimately, if you rely for too long on relatively cheap labour then your business is likely to be overtaken in competitiveness by those who invest in more capital intensive and productive methods of producing food or processing food."

He said: "We want to recognise that you cannot rely on an endless supply of cheap labour in order to maintain your competitive edge."

Free movement of people

Whilst UK farming has raised concerns about losing vital migrant workers following Brexit, the Government has accepted that free movement of people across the EU was one of the main reasons that the public voted to leave.

"We should build on the innovations pioneered by our superb higher education institutions like Harper Adams University by investing more in automation and machine learning, moving from the hands-free hectare to the hands-free farm, with drilling, harvesting, picking and packaging all automated, precision mapping of every inch under cultivation with targeted laser treatment of pests and weeds and highly-focussed application of any other treatment required."

He added: "We should invest more in the sensor technology that can tell where, when and how livestock should be fed, housed and bred to maximise both yield and individual animal health and welfare."

Transition period

The Secretary of State said that the Government would outline more details about its proposals in a Spring paper ahead of a consultation period.

But he said he envisaged a transition period to help farmers move from the current system.

He said that the Government had already guaranteed that the amount allocated to farming support in cash terms would be protected until the end of the current Parliament in 2022.

Support would continue for Countryside Stewardship agreements entered into before leaving the EU and the Government would ensure that no-one in an existing scheme was unfairly disadvantaged in the transition to new arrangements.

The 2019 BPS scheme would be paid on the same basis as now. There would then be an additional transition period until the new scheme was introduced, he told delegates.

Five years

When asked by one delegate to explain more clearly this transition period, he said: "We will continue to provide the same amount that is currently provided under the Common Agricultural Policy in cash terms for UK farmers right up until 2022.

"What I propose and what our Command Paper will say more about is that we will also continue to provide people with BPS payments for a further UK specific transition period beyond 2022 and I envisage that to be around five years from the end of the existing BPS in 2019.

"So five years when we will have broadly the same amount with a cap - how that will operate, whether it will be a hard cap or progressively reduced amount will be for consultation. The reason I mention five years is that it seems to me to be a good starting point for a debate about how we can balance the need to give people the flexibility in order to make the transition while at the same time not perpetuating the state of affairs whereby people rely on existing forms of subsidy."

He said the proposals should provide every existing farmer who received a BPS payment with a guaranteed income over an extended transition period.
The remains of two dead sheep found in fields in southern Scotland have led police to say they have been attacked by "some sort of animal".

The farmer found the sheep in two separate fields on Tuesday 9 January 2018.

Police Scotland said the fleece and two legs were all that remained of one sheep after it was attacked.

The force said the second sheep appears to have been attacked by "some sort of animal". Both are valued at around 80 each.

PC Cameron Pagan said: Investigations have started after police were alerted by the farmer. At this stage it seems one the of the sheep has been attacked by some sort of animal, either before or after it died, as there is evidence of this.

However, the second sheep appears to have been skinned in some way, and all that is left is the fleece and two legs.

We want to hear from anyone who may have been in the Holywood area late on Monday night through to early on Tuesday morning.

Anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious is asked to call us on the 101 number, quoting PDG00064101118.
Social media star and ordinary farmer Gareth Wyn Jones has asked the public to run and raise funds for stroke awareness.

Gareth, who features in the BBCs Milk Man and The Hill Farm, wants to encourage everyone to make a New Year resolution to get fitter, and subsequently reduce their chances of having a stroke.

The BBC's TV programmes follow his life on his mountain farm in Llanfairfechan, Conwy, where he is used to spending time in the fields of his hilly farm.

And now he will have his whistle to hand at the start line of the 5k, 10k and 15k races at Newborough Forest Nature Reserve on 18 March, in support of the Stroke Association.

Gareth said: Stroke can happen to any family. Years ago, my auntie had a bad stroke and she never got over it. Ive seen the Stroke Associations FAST advert  its so important for people to know the signs and call 999 straight away.

At least half of all strokes could be prevented if people made simple lifestyle changes, such as keeping blood pressure under control, eating healthily and taking regular exercise.

Running after sheep

The Resolution Runs encourages people to get fitter, thus reducing their chances of having a stroke.

Gareth added: I do enough running after sheep and dogs! I love being in the mountains, and you dont always have to run  going for a fast walk or jog is good for you, too.

Its important to remember the races arent all about winning, but getting out there and taking part and enjoying yourself, especially in such a beautiful place.

Ross Evans, Interim-Director at the Stroke Association in Wales, said: Every five minutes across the UK, someones life is turned upside down by stroke.

By signing up to a Resolution Run, each runner will help us ensure that we can continue to support stroke survivors and their families as they rebuild their lives.

The money raised through the Resolution Runs in Wales will help the Stroke Association to fund vital research and support people affected by stroke in Wales.
British growers are increasingly turning to recent developments in automation to reduce their reliance on a dwindling supply of labour.

An AHDB Horticulture survey has revealed that 82 percent of UK growers believe emerging technology in robotics and automation have helped their businesses.

Growers also report key areas for future technological investment should be focused on harvesting and improvements within the pack-house.

Areas of production with particularly high manual labour inputs  such as harvesting  are high priority for future research and investment, with nearly 60 percent of growers identifying this as an area to focus on.

Other responses highlighted a need for developments in transplanting and planting, crop monitoring, application of crop protection products, transport systems, grading and packing.

Left unharvested

Both growers and food product manufacturers further down the supply chain are concerned about produce potentially being left unharvested due to a lack of workers.

Recruiters warn that it will be impossible to replace EU workers with British substitutes due to current high employment levels.

They fear that British jobseekers will be overqualified to perform low-skill roles, while others will be unable to do physically demanding roles because of pre-existing conditions.

The farming industry is therefore aiming to identify technologies that can help reduce labour costs and pressures for businesses which will become "more critical" as the UK leaves the EU.

'Clear priority'

Dr Debbie Wilson, AHDBs Head of Knowledge Exchange, said labour utilisation is a "clear priority" in current strategy.

Its critical that our activities complement rather than duplicate existing industry developments, which is what this survey was designed to help us investigate.

Many growers look to robotics as a solution to labour availability issues for the sector, although they recognise that new developments are likely to be long term. Our plans in this area include identifying new ideas from international horizon scanning and sharing best practice.

Useful robotics

The industrys commitment to further advance automation is clear, with a third of respondents stating they have begun developing their own in-house solutions and a further third already involved in research and development projects.

Dr Becky Turner, HortSolutions who conducted the survey, said: Most growers (80%) said they knew of some research into equipment that could be useful for their systems, from sensing technology and imaging analysis to moving robots and harvesting machinery.

The results show that the current use of available automation in the industry is high with the main recent advancements being achieved in transplanting/planting, moving the crop and grading.

The use of robotics is not so widespread, with 32 percent of growers having what they described as some element of robotics in their system. The main area of use was for moving the product around on the holding.
Northern Irish farmers have by the end of January to submit forms showing the movement of organic manures off their farm, or face penalties.

Records for 2017 must be submitted by the 31st January to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has warned farmers that if the records are not submitted, the slurry export will not be included when calculating a farm's nitrogen loading.

Farmers could then find themselves in breach of the rules and they could also face a higher risk of inspection.

We are pleased that this year NIEA has introduced an online system, which will help simplify the process for farmers, UFU environment chairman Wilbert Mayne explained.

It is important that farmers act now, as it can take time for registrations to be processed. Records sent to NIEA must cover the date moved, type of livestock manure, quantity and the transporter's name and address.

The importers name and farm Business ID is now also a requirement. Exports of livestock manure to the Republic of Ireland are regulated by animal by-product legislation. This involves applying for authorisation to export.

The UFU said it fought against the requirement to submit records, but accepts that the regulations are "complex and onerous".

However, Mr Maybe said farmers still have a legal obligation to comply, regardless of whether they are claiming area-based payments.
BBC One Daytime series, The Farmers Country Showdown, is to return for a second series, with St Ewe Free Range Eggs episode airing on 10th January at 3.45pm.

Each episode will feature two families who farm similar produce or have diversified in similar ways, as they get ready for the same major event in their agricultural calendar.

Success can mean very different things for different farms. For some, it may be holding on to some much coveted silverware, for others, it may be the first time they have exhibited, or a hope to sell out their stock or make their mark in a competitive market.

Sidney Street Productions followed St Ewe over the summer. Visiting the farm in Tregony, to find out more about the day to day farming process and learn about St Ewes heritage - who celebrated their 10th year in 2016.

The farm then invited the crew to the Speciality Fine Food Fair, where St Ewe launched their Liquid Egg products, as well as showcasing their shell egg.

All-manner of British

The full series will look at farms from a wide cross-section of the industry.

It will include heavy horses, goats, dexter cattle and poultry and all manner of British food production from aromatic gins, free range eggs, to gourmet crisps and honey.

Carla-Maria Lawson, Commissioning Editor for Programming and Daytime, said: These hard-working, devoted farmers are the backbone of the rural economy  this series uniquely illustrates the changing face of farming as well as celebrating the traditional ways of working the land that live on through these families.

Karen Ross, Managing Director, Sidney Street Productions, said: We were delighted that viewers loved watching this format as much as we loved making it. It balances a heart-warming tone with a real insight into the harsher challenges of farming across the country.

With the second series we are looking forward to telling new stories from different parts of this character-filled, dedicated and driven industry.
A Welsh pork producer which specialises in cured meats has won a top award at the Food and Farming Awards ceremony hosted in the House of Commons.

Cwm Farm Charcuterie, based near Pontardawe in the Swansea Valley, is celebrating after gaining recognition from the top food industry awards for its cured meats.

At the awards ceremony, Cwm Farms Ruth and Andrew Davies were presented with a Highly Commended award in the Food Chain and Marketing section of the Food & Farming Industry Awards  prizes which recognise excellence, foster innovation and celebrate of all that is great about British agriculture.

For Cwm Farm Charcuterie, the award is another feather in the cap of a relatively new business which combines traditional husbandry and overseas inspiration.

We bought Cwm Farm at Rhydyfro near Pontardawe in 2010 with the intention of producing our own pork and sausages, said Ruth Davies.

However so positive was the feedback from friends and family, we decided to expand our production and sell the meat from our growing herd of Saddleback and Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs.

The desire to grow the enterprise led Ruth to travel to Denmark to learn more about making salami and cured meats.

Following 18 months of technical advice, butchery training and product development three varieties of salami were created  with laverbread, traditional paprika, and Moroccan spice, added Ruth.

They built their own charcuterie facility equipped with Drying Chambers, and this has enabled them to take Cwm Farm to the next level.

HCC (Meat Promotion Wales) Market Development Officer Kirstie Jones said the award shows that the pork industry in Wales competes with anyone in the world on quality and product innovation.
Varun Dhawan secretly gets ENGAGED with girlfriend Natasha Dalal; Check Out | FilmiBeat

Varun Might Win This Race

As per a Mid-Day report, the makers have approached Varun Dhawan to play the main lead in the remake of this super-hit Telugu flick.

Really?

We hear that the role has landed in Varun's lap after being passed over by Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.

An Interesting Role For Varun

The tabloid further quoted a source as saying, "The film is currently being scripted and will be amended to suit Bollywood's audience. It revolves around a philandering, alcoholic, drug addict, a surgeon who falls in love with an innocent medical student. Dhawan, who is currently busy with YRF's Sui Dhaaga, will have to sport a leaner look for the part."

We Just Can't Wait!

It would be quite interesting to watch the 'Judwaa 2' actor play the role of a doctor dealing with anger issues. With Sui Dhaaga and October lined up next, Arjun Reddy remake would be quite a perfect film for him to dish out an array of different roles this year. The Arjun Reddy remake will be helmed by Sandeep Reddywho had directed the Telugu version too.

Varun On October

The actor confessed that October has changed him as a human being He told a daily, "It feels amazing. We wrapped up the film in 38 days. October is more than a film to me. I don't want to say much about it, but this film has definitely impacted me so much as a human being. I think it has definitely changed me as a human being."
Ranbir Kapoor's Dutt biopic is one of the most awaited movies of the year after Padmavati. The day, when Ranbir's first look got leaked on the social media, fans are desperate to watch the film.

Now, we have a new update about the film and it's related to Anushka Sharma's character in the film. Wanna know what it is? Keep reading!

A source told Pinkvilla, "Unlike her contemporaries, Anushka had never done a special appearance so far. However, she immediately said yes to Raju Hirani when he approached her for the Dutt Biopic."

"Anushka and Raju share a really special bond and Anushka looks up to the director for his amazing body of work. Raju Hirani has a huge regard for Anushka's acting and he was sure that he wanted no one but her for this extremely important special appearance in his film."

Aishwarya & Kajol Are The Answers To The Industry's OBSESSION With The Khans!

"Dutt Biopic will, thus, be Anushka's first special appearance as she wants to support Raju Hirani and was happy to stand by his vision for the biopic."

The source further added, "Interestingly, Anushka's character in the biopic is the only fictional character. Details of her character will be revealed by Raju in the course of the campaign."

"Her character is extremely crucial in the biopic as everyone will find out when the campaign starts. Anushka went out of her way to adjust her personal commitment schedule as she had to fly to Bhopal and New York for the biopic."

"Anushka has shot for 2 days in New York and 1 day in Bhopal. She made it happen despite being involved with her own hectic film shooting schedules as she would never say no to Raju Hirani. Raju, obviously, is extremely happy to have Anushka in his film."

The film is slated to release on 29 June.
Furniture Seized

The French court has also ordered their furniture to be seized, as they are of high value.

Financial Difficulties

During the court hearing, Mallika and Cyrille's lawyer argued that the couple were facing financial difficulties and have to be let off.

Theft In The Apartment

The lawyer also argued that the apartment was not safe as there was a robbery and the couple lost valuable items and could not pay the rent, quoted BBC.

Dispute With The Landlord

The lawyer brought his case forward stating Mallika and Cyrille were annoyed about the theft and had a dispute with the landlord and decided to pay the rent only when the theft case would be solved.

Furious Landlord

The furious landlord then sued the couple in the court for rent dues and has now won the case on his favour. We can't blame the landlord here!

Landlord Refuted Mallika's Financial Problem Claims

The landlord also refuted Mallika's claims that she's having financial difficulties, "Ms Sherawat would have been the best-paid actress in 2016. We are talking about 46 Million Euros of income and a fortune of 140 million. We are far from the tenant in difficulty."

Really Surprising

It's also surprising to see Mallika and Cyrille defaulting on their house rent despite being rich and owing several luxury cars. Cyrille had gifted her a high end car on Valentine's Day in 2016 as well.

Cyrille Auxenfans, Business Tycoon

Her boyfriend Cyrille Auxenfans is a business tycoon in France who deals with real estate and it's surprising that a real estate tycoon would fail to pay his rent. Maybe, he knew the system inside out and tried to play his luck in defaulting the rent.

Justice Has Been Delivered

No matter how much you know about the system and try to game it, the law is above all and justice has been delivered.

Mallika Previously Denied The Rent Case

However, Mallika Sherawat had previously denied that there's a court case going on about her rent by saying, "It's absolutely not true, if someone has donated one (apartment) to me, please send me the address."
Padmavat release with 300 CUTS is fake news, says Prasoon Joshi | FilmiBeat

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chief Prasoon Joshi today said the certification process of Padmavat is complete and reports about cuts are simply "untrue".

Mr Joshi said the producers had re-submitted the film with the changes (modifications) suggested by the board's advisory panel, which reviewed the Sanjay Leela Bhansali period drama recently.

"The makers have submitted the final film with agreed five modifications, these modifications have tried to incorporate observations and suggestions given by the advisory panel and also in keeping with the sentiments of society.

"This has already been communicated by the CBFC and a U/A certificate has been given to the film.

The CBFC's process is complete and any further news about cuts etc is absolutely untrue," Mr Joshi said in a statement to PTI.

In a release on December 30, the CBFC had said that the film will get a "U/A certification along with some modifications" and a likely change in the title on the basis of the attributed creative source.

Mr Joshi today said that they have already cleared the film and the CBFC should not be dragged into the controversy anymore. "Let's refrain from utilising the CBFC's name unnecessarily," he added.

The movie, which was earlier set to arrive in theatres on December 1 last year, will now release on January 25.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who appeared before a parliamentary panel, has said his lavishly mounted 150 crore period drama, featuring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, is based on the 16th century epic poem "Padmavat" by Malik Muhammad Jayasi.

The film got stuck after various Rajput groups alleged that it distorts history, a claim repeatedly denied by the director. Historians are divided on whether Padmini actually existed.

As protests spread across various states, the film had to miss its earlier scheduled release.

On a related note, Padmavat will not be screened in Rajasthan, the state's Vasundhara Raje government said in a statement, "Queen Padmini's sacrifice is deeply linked to the state's glory and honour, she is not just a figure in history for us but a symbol of our pride. We will not let her dignity be tarnished at any cost. PTI
Street Lights

Street Lights will be Mammootty's first big release of the year. The film, which features Mammootty in the role of a police officer named James, is directed by Shamdatt. The makers have remained tight-lipped about the storyline of the movie and the recently released teaser of the movie has raised curiosity in the minds of the audiences. The bilingual movie is all set to make a worldwide release on January 26, 2018.

Uncle

Uncle, which has been scripted by Joy Mathew and directed by Gireesh Damodar, is high on expectations. The shooting of the film has been completed and Uncle has found a place in the much awaited movies of Mammootty. Well, we definitely can expect a quality film with a sensational performance from Mammootty.

Peranbu

Peranbu has found a special place in the list of the most awaited movies of Mammootty. This Tamil movie, directed by Raam marks the actor's return to Tamil film industry after a break. Reportedly, the movie is all set to premiere at the International Film Festival at Rotterdam and that speaks volumes about the quality of the movie. The film is expected to hit the theatres during the summer of 2018.

Parole

Parole is yet another film of Mammootty, which is gearing up for a release in 2018. Reportedly, the shoot of the film, which commenced by the mid 2017 has been completed in various schedules. Parole has been directed by debut film-maker Sharrath Sandith. The movie also features Ineya, Miya George, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Siddique etc., in important roles.

Bilal

Well, this one ranks up there among the most awaited Malayalam movies. The official announcement on Bilal, the sequel to Big B was made in 2017. Bilal will mark the big return of the much celebrated character of the same name and the movie will be helmed by Amal Neerad himself. Bilal is expected to hit the theatres in 2018, itself.

Maamaankam

Maamaankam is the upcoming big budget venture of Mammootty. The historical film will be helmed by debut film-maker Sajeev Pillai and the shooting of the film is expected to commence by the month of February. The film, produced by Venu Kunnappily is touted to be a magnum opus and we can't wait for the big arrival of the movie.

Kunjali Marikkar

Here is yet another big budget venture of Mammootty. The announcement regarding Kunjali Marikkar was made on the Kerala Piravi day(Nov 1). Produced under the banner August Cinema, this upcoming film will definitely be a prestigious project. Santhosh Sivan will helm this project, which is expected to go on floors by June 2018.

Abrahaminte Santhathikal

Mammootty will first join the team of the upcoming film Abrahaminte Santhathikal. Directed by debut film-maker Shaji Padoor, the film has its script penned by Haneef Adeni. The movie has been tagged as a police story and the filming has already commenced. Going by the reports, Abrahaminte Santhathikal is expected to hit the theatres by the Vishu season of 2018.
Mining company Medusahas partnered with South East Asia (SEA) Resources, signing an MOU agreement for an exploration opportunity in the Prek Kampi region of Cambodia.SEA Resources is in the final stages of securing an exploration licence grant to mine in the Prek Kampi region of Cambodia, which the Government of Cambodia has approved.Medusa and SEA have agreed to negotiate an earn-in agreement under which Medusa can acquire up to a 70 per cent interest in the exploration licence.Under the agreement, Medusa would contribute up to a total of US$3 million of exploration expenditure over a period of four years.The companies have until 1 March 2018 to negotiate and finalise the earn-in agreement.Shares in Medusaclosed flat yesterday at $0.48.




[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tokyo, January 10th - Japanese mobile game developer Ambition Co., Ltd., in cooperation with PAON DP Inc., is announcing the release of their galactic battle RPG Cosmic Eggs. This title represents the first in a new venture by Ambition to bring the best of mobile gaming from Japan overseas through their localization support service. - What is Cosmic Eggs? - Cosmic Eggs is a galactic battle RPG in which players collect, breed, feed and fight aliens in an attempt to save Earth from the invading Cosmic Bacteria Cluster. Breeding aliens with one another passes on traits and even spawns new ones, strengthening their power with each new generation. Evolutions and sudden mutations can also occur as the family tree moves on through the years, turning low-rarity fledglings into high-rarity beasts. Players can form their own team of aliens, with traits that boost and support one another in perfect synergy, then take the fight online against other players in the Colosseum, battling it out to climb the rankings and earn incredible rewards to help repel the extraterrestrial onslaught. Cosmic Eggs is available to download now on the App Store and Google Play! - Game Information - Title: Cosmic Eggs Platforms: iOS / Android Price: Free (with In-App Purchases) Countries: USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands. App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id1293635888 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.ne.ambition.cosmiceggs Official Website: https://cosmiceggs.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cosmiceggsENG Twitter: https://twitter.com/cosmiceggsENG --------------------------------------------- --- Ambition Co., LtdaCompany Information --- Company Name: Ambition Co., Ltd CEO: Masanori Fukushima Address: 3F (Reception) / 13F NBF Ikebukuro East Bldg., 3-4-3 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, 170-0013 Japan Business Sector: Web & Mobile Game Development and Publishing. Homepage: http://www.ambition.ne.jp/en/index.php For questions relating to this release, please contact us below. [email protected] --------------------------------------------- ================================================== Ambition Co., Ltd. Localization Director Chris Blake <[email protected] > Mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.ambition.ne.jp/ [Tokyo Office] Japan 170-0013 Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Higashi Ikebukuro 3-4-3 NBF Ikebukuro East Building 3F (Reception) / 13F TEL: 03-5960-0575 FAX: 03-5960-0576 [Okinawa Office] Japan 900-0004 Okinawa-ken, Naha-shi, Mekaru 180-7 Asatada Dai 2 Building 5F TEL: 098-866-5455 FAX: 098-866-5456 ==================================================
CES 2018: Motorola unveils two new health and keyboard Moto Mods News oi-Samden Sherpa Motorola has been quite steady in bringing out new Moto Mods for its Moto Z family of smartphones.

From a Polaroid camera attachment to a dedicated gamepad to a wireless charging-enabled back shell Motorola has been quite steady in bringing out new Moto Mods for its Moto Z family of smartphones. And it seems that the company is keeping its streak alive. At CES 2018, Motorola has yet again announced two new Moto Mods.

Motorola's parent company Lenovo has actually developed the first Moto Mod. Dubbed as Lenovo Vital Moto Mod, it enables users to track five key vital signs - heart rate, respiratory rate, Pulse Ox, core body temperature and systolic, and diastolic blood pressure. The Mod has an infrared temperature sensor, a finger clip for measuring oxygen, and an inflatable finger cuff. The mod's proprietary finger cuff with advanced sensors measures things like blood pressure. Motorola has said that the test can be completed in three minutes to run all five tests further allowing users to do it anytime and anywhere. The Lenovo Vital Moto Mod comes out in April for $395 (roughly Rs. 25,177).

The second Moto Mod has been created by Livermorium, a company which won Motorola's Transform the Smartphone Challenge hosted in 2017. TalKing about the mod, the Livermorium Slider Keyboard attaches to the rear of Moto Z device and features a full QWERTY keyboard. On attaching the mod the phone can slide up to about 60-degrees to reveal a full, backlit keyboard. The Slider Keyboard will hit the market later this winter and probably be priced at $99 (roughly Rs. 6,310).

Meanwhile, the success of Livermorium has encouraged Motorola to continue its "Transform the Smartphone Challenge" in 2018 to make more mods. The company is currently accepting applications and has said, "now through February 6, submit your idea for a chance to receive a moto z phone, Moto Mod Development Kit (MDK) and support from the Indiegogo team to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign. The grand prize winners will receive a trip to our headquarters in Chicago to meet with the moto mods executive development team and discuss how to bring their ideas to life."

Via

Best Mobiles in India
Samsung foldable smartphone with 7.3-inch OLED display may launch in December News oi-Chandrika The official announcement and/or launch of the device is said to take place in December this year or in early 2019.

Samsung is rumored to have been working on a foldable smartphone for years now. Referred to as Galaxy X, the device has featured in countless number of leaks and concept designs so far.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Hands-On

While Samsung itself refuses to give out any details of the foldable smartphone, a new report emerging from South Korea reveals some important information regarding the device. As claimed by the publication ET News, Samsung intends to launch its first foldable phone in December this year. The report further claims that the device will have a massive 7.3-inch OLED display.

If this report is to be believed, Samsung has finally decided to start the production of the foldable OLED displays in coming March. The company will build up towards mass manufacturing in September, in preparation for manufacturing of the whole device in the following month. Whereas the official announcement and/or launch is said to take place in December this year or in early 2019.

The latest report also gives an idea of how the foldable phone from Samsung will function. Well, the device is said to fold inwards, allowing users to use it as a book. When not folded, it will appear like a regular phone or a tablet of sorts.

The 7.3-inch display of the foldable phone will be manufactured by Samsung Display. Well, no surprises there! Another interesting piece of information that has been unearthed by the report is, Samsung will show this new technology to the industry insiders in September, but behind closed doors.

As far as the pricing is concerned, the device will not be easy on pockets. It is believed that the device will be much more costlier compared to the current premium and high-end smartphones.

"The foldable phone is targeting 'super premium', both in terms of performance and price, which goes beyond the existing premium smartphone, and aims to provide the performance, design and usability that is right for the product," an industry source was quoted as saying.

Of course, it goes without saying that this is just a rumor which should be taken with a pinch of salt or two. Having said that, the publication had been right with its speculations quite a few times before.

Best Mobiles in India

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Rethink readiness to prepare for next war, says Army's top logistics general

By Ms. Lisa Simunaci (AMC) January 9, 2018

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Army's senior logistician told National Guard leaders to ensure their units are ready for the next war, because wherever and whenever it is, it will take the total force to fight and win.

"Place yourself on the battlefield and work left," Army Materiel Command's Gen. Gus Perna said via teleconference to more than 400 leaders gathered in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the Army National Guard's Green Tab Commanders Conference Friday Jan. 5.

Perna encouraged leaders to rethink the term "readiness."

"If you get a call tonight, can you drive equipment from your motor pool to a train where it then goes to a port?" Perna asked. "Your equipment arrives at another port, where you offload it and drive into combat."

Perna told leaders it was their responsibility to ensure their units' Soldiers, equipment, maintenance, supply and administrative activities were in order.

Rather than focusing on reports and metrics, Perna urged leaders to think of their own organization in terms of its contribution to the total picture.

"I'm asking you to process readiness in a three dimensional way, beyond reporting and statistics. We must understand ourselves, know what our mission is, and understand our training, maintenance, supply and administration," Perna said.

At the Army Materiel Command, Perna noted he is focusing more on maintenance trends than fleet readiness metrics, warning that fleet readiness reports could be misleading.

"If we have 10 steps to make coffee and accomplish nine, that's 90 percent," Perna said. "But are we drinking coffee? The obvious answer is no."

Perna urged National Guard leaders to do what he is challenging his own leaders to do. "We have to see ourselves, look at things differently and challenge the status quo," he said.

As the Army Materiel Command builds breadth and depth into the global supply chain, Perna asked for the National Guard leaders' help as the organization is moving 1.2 million pieces of equipment to better equip units.

Perna acknowledged that the field is experiencing a shortage of equipment on hand. He noted that by shifting 800,000 pieces of equipment, all units across the total Army would be better than 90 percent equipped within the next two years.

When called to do so, Perna urged leaders to send their best equipment, keeping in mind the impact to the Army at large. The lateral transfers, he said, would mitigate shortages of equipment on hand across the force.

When it comes to divesting, Perna also encouraged leaders not to hang on to equipment they don't need.

"We're going to aggressively work this," Perna said. "Don't hold on to your excess -- it's not for 'just in case.' Think of what's best for the whole Army."

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NATO Secretary General discusses preparations for July Summit with President Pahor of Slovenia

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

09 Jan. 2018

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed President Borut Pahor of Slovenia to NATO Headquarters on Tuesday (9 January 2018) for discussions about the Alliance's adaptation and preparations for the NATO Summit in July. Mr. Stoltenberg thanked Slovenia for important contributions to NATO, including troops to the KFOR mission, contributions to the Alliance's mission in Afghanistan and to a NATO multinational battlegroup in Latvia.

"We are adapting the Alliance, and Slovenia is part of that. We are adapting the Alliance to a new and more demanding security environment with a more assertive Russia to the East and with the turmoil and the violence and the terrorism in the South, not in the least in Iraq, Syria and the wider Middle-East region", the Secretary General said. "NATO is responding, we are strengthening our collective defence in Europe, and we are projecting stability beyond our borders. We do that in the Western Balkans but we do it also in the fight against terrorism in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan."

Mr. Stoltenberg also welcomed Slovenia's support for efforts to strengthen cooperation between NATO and the European Union. "We have been able to bring the NATO-EU cooperation to a new level", he said. "We work together on issues like cyber, hybrid, military mobility and many other issues. And I also welcome the efforts to strengthen European defence, EU defence, but the important thing is that this is not an alternative to NATO. It is something which has to be developed in complementarity with NATO, because NATO is the organisation which is responsible for the collective defence of European NATO Allies," he said.

The Secretary General also welcomed that Slovenia has stopped the cuts in defence spending and encouraged Slovenia to gradually increase defence spending and move towards spending 2% of GDP on defence.

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Denmark and Italy help secure Baltic Airspace

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

09 Jan. 2018

Demark and Italy are to keep the skies of the Baltic safe as part of NATO's Air Policing mission in the region. Danish F-16 jets will fly from Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania, while Italy's Eurofighters will operate in a supporting role from Amari in Estonia. Allies have been taking turns to police Baltic airspace since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined NATO.

At a ceremony on Monday (8 January 2018), Denmark took over Air Policing from the United States. It is the sixth time Demark has taken part in the NATO mission. An event will be held on Wednesday (10 January 2018) to mark the handover from Belgium to Italy, it is the third time Italian aircraft have patrolled Baltic airspace.

The Belgian and Italian jets will be deployed for the next four months. Seventeen Allies have participated in Baltic Air Policing mission since 2004, an expression of the solidarity among NATO members.

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USS Ross Departs on Sixth FDNF Patrol

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180109-03

Release Date: 1/9/2018 9:13:00 AM

By Ensign Nicholas L. McGrath, USS Ross (DDG 71) Public Affairs

NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) departed Naval Station Rota, Spain, Jan. 8, to begin its sixth forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

The ship's patrol is a demonstration of the U.S. Navy's continued commitment to strengthening strategic partnerships in the European and African region.

"After a challenging and productive in-port period, Team Ross is excited to be back on mission in the European Theater of Operations. As we begin our sixth FDNF patrol, we look forward to building relations with our NATO allies and performing any national tasking assigned to us."

Ross, forward-deployed to Rota, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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Nigerian forces attack protesters demanding release of prominent Shia cleric

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 09:55PM

Nigerian government forces have opened fire on demonstrators demanding the release of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.

On Tuesday, during the third day of consecutive protests, one person was severely injured during clashes with Nigerian forces and another 50 people were detained in Abuja.

Nigerian sources told Press TV on Monday that at least two young students were killed by the security forces during the ongoing protests in Kaduna which broke out on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Human Rights Commission has called on Nigerian authorities to immediately release Shiekh Zakzaky over his deteriorating health condition.

"In view of his deteriorating health, it is now more urgent than ever to allow Sheikh Zakzaky to be allowed access to immediate medical attention in order to assess the extent of his injuries caused by the stroke and access the necessary medical treatment," read the statement.

Zakzaky lost his left eye sight in a raid, which was carried out by the Nigerian army on his residence in the northern town of Zaria back in December 2015.

During the raid, Zakzaky's wife sustained serious wounds too and more than 300 of his followers and three of his sons were killed. Zakzaky, his wife, and a large number of the cleric's followers have since been in custody.

The clergyman is said to have been charged with "criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbances."

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New Saudi airstrike leaves dozen civilians dead in Yemen's Ta'izz

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 03:29PM

At least a dozen more civilians have lost their lives when Saudi fighter jets carried out an airstrike in an area of Yemen's southwestern province of Ta'izz as the Riyadh regime presses ahead with its devastating aerial bombardment campaign against its conflict-plagued southern neighbor.

Local source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arabic-language al-Masirah television network that the victims were killed as Saudi military aircraft targeted trucks loaded with coal travelling along a road linking al-Najibiyah district and Hays region in the neighboring coastal province of al-Hudaydah on Tuesday afternoon.

The development came on the same day that Yemeni army forces and allied fighters from Popular Committees launched a barrage of artillery rounds at a gathering of Saudi-backed militiamen loyal to Yemen's resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in the city of Sirwah, which lies about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of the capital Sana'a, leaving scores of them killed and injured.

In the As Silw district of Ta'izz province, several Saudi mercenaries were killed and wounded when an explosive device went off in their position.

Yemeni soldiers and their allies also fired a number of artillery rounds at Saudi troops in the al-Ghawiyah military base of Saudi Arabia's Jizan region, located 969 kilometers south of the capital Riyadh.

There were, however, no immediate reports on possible casualties and the extent of damage caused.

At least 13,600 people have been killed since the onset of Saudi Arabia's military campaign against Yemen in 2015. Much of the Arabian Peninsula country's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and factories, has been reduced to rubble due to the war.

The Saudi-led war has also triggered deadly epidemics of infectious diseases, especially diphtheria and cholera, across Yemen.

According to the World Health Organization's latest tally, the cholera outbreak has killed 2,167 people since the end of April and is suspected to have infected 841,906.

WHO has also warned that at least 471 people in Yemen have contracted diphtheria, a bacterial disease that has been killing one in 10 Yemenis since the outbreak started in the war-torn country in mid-August last year.

The UN agency's spokesman, Tarik Jasarevic, made the disturbing announcement last Thursday, adding that the west-central province of Ibb and the western province of Hudaydah were the hardest hit by diphtheria, which is easily spread between people through direct physical contact or the air.

On November 26, the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) said that more than 11 million children in Yemen were in acute need of aid, stressing that it was estimated that every 10 minutes a child died of a preventable disease there.

Additionally, the UN has described the current level of hunger in Yemen as "unprecedented," emphasizing that 17 million people are now food insecure in the country.

It added that 6.8 million, meaning almost one in four people, do not have enough food and rely entirely on external assistance.

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Egypt extends state of emergency for three months

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 02:16PM

Egyptian lawmakers have approved an extension by another three months of a state of emergency that was imposed early last year following deadly attacks on Coptic Christians.

The lawmakers extended the law on Tuesday as local media said it would come into effect as of Saturday.

This is the third extension of the emergency situation as it had been renewed in October. Under Egypt's law, a state of emergency can only be extended once but the country's president has the power to reinstate it if deemed necessary.

The current emergency law came after a local affiliate of Daesh, a Takfiri terrorist group based in Iraq and Syria, killed at least 45 people in two bombings at churches in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria in April. The Daesh branch, which has operated mostly in the restive North Sinai, threatened after the attacks that there would be more violence targeting the minority Coptic Christians.

Some 30 Christians were killed in May on their way to a desert monastery south of the capital Cairo after they came under attack by militants. At least nine people were also killed in a gun attack last month by Daesh on a church south of Cairo. The group also claimed an attack at a church during Sunday prayers in December in Cairo. It left 29 people killed.

However, Christians have not been the sole group suffering from the attacks by Daesh and other militants. More than 300 Muslim worshippers were massacred at a mosque last November in what was described as the most high-profile attack on civilians in Egypt's modern history.

Militancy gained a momentum in Egypt when the former head of the armed forces, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, came to power as president in 2014. Many blame him for the continued unrest, saying his hard-handed crackdown on those deemed close to Egypt's former President Mohamed Morsi has fueled the insurgency in Sinai and also on the mainland.

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High-ranking Hamas figure shot, critically injured in Gaza Strip

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 01:15PM

A senior leader of Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, Hamas, has suffered a serious gunshot wound to his head, and has been hospitalized in critical condition.

Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum said in a statement that Imad al-Alami, a former member of the political bureau of the movement, was wounded on Tuesday morning while "inspecting his personal weapon in his home and is in critical condition."

Spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Interior and National Security, Iyad al-Bazm, said Alami has been taken to the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City to receive medical treatment.

Leader of Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar, his deputy Khalil al-Hayya, the movement's political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar as well as members of Hamas political bureau Nizar Awadallah and Salah Bardawil have already visited Alami in hospital.

Alami was born in Gaza City on February 16, 1956, and joined the ranks of Hamas at an early age. He was active in the movement's media work since its foundation.

He was arrested between 1988 and 1990 on charges of spreading anti-Israel rhetoric through the media committee of Hamas, and was expelled from the Gaza Strip in 1994.

Alami lived in exile for nearly 20 years and moved between several Arab countries. He played a major role in supporting the Palestinian cause. He finally returned to Gaza in 2012.

The senior Hamas leader was wounded by Israeli shelling during the Tel Aviv regime's last military aggression on Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014, and had to have his leg amputated.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in living standards as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

Under the Israeli blockade, about 1.8 million people in Gaza are deprived of their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs with proper wages as well as adequate healthcare and education.

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Defying Court Ban, Republika Srpska Goes Ahead With 'Statehood Day'

RFE/RL's Balkan Service January 09, 2018

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Bosnian Serb leaders have held the biggest celebrations ever to mark the Day Of Republika Srpska, a disputed "statehood day" in the Bosnian Serb entity that has been banned by Bosnia-Herzegovina's Constitutional Court.

Events on January 9 in Banja Luka, the administrative center of the Bosnian Serb entity, included a parade with hundreds of police officers armed with automatic weapons, firefighters, prison guards, war veterans, and members of sport clubs and the Civil Protection force.

Republika Srpska's nationalist leader, President Milorad Dodik, used the occasion to call for more Serb autonomy within Bosnia.

"The Serb people have two states -- Serbia and Republika Srpska -- and we want to be one," said Dodik, who has repeatedly claimed that the Serbs' long-term goal is secession from the rest of Bosnia.

The January 9 holiday marks the date in 1992 when the Bosnian Serbs declared the founding of Republika Srpska.

Preparations have gone ahead despite objections from international officials and Bosniak political leaders who see the creation of Republika Srpska as the prelude to Bosnia's 1992-95 war that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Bosnia's Constitutional Court ruled in November 2015 that the statehood holiday was discriminatory against non-Serbs in Republika Srpska because it is also a Serbian Orthodox religious holiday -- the day of the entity's patron saint, St. Stephen.

Authorities in Republika Srpska held a referendum in September 2016, which also was ruled illegal by the Constitutional Court, to seek public support for the holiday.

In December 2016, Republika Srpska's parliament passed a law stipulating that January 9 is a secular holiday and that the entity's government will decide how it is celebrated.

The United States and the European Union oppose the statehood holiday.

Recipients of awards handed out in Banja Luka on January 9 included former Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.

Serbia's defense and interior ministers, Aleksandar Vulin and Nebojsa Stefanovic, also joined the celebrations, along with a handful of other international guests including Anatoly Bibilov, the de facto leader of Georgia's breakaway, Russian-backed South Ossetia region.

There was an increased police presence early on January 9 in Banja Luka, where the city center was closed to vehicle traffic.

Decorations for the event have been in place for weeks.

One poster features a photograph of Republika Srpska's nationalist leader, President Milorad Dodik, alongside its wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, whose appeal against his genocide conviction is pending.

Bosnia's 1992-1995 war between its Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs resulted in the death of an estimated 100,000 people and the displacement of some 2.6 million more.

As part of the 1995 Dayton accords that mostly ended the violence, Bosnia was broken into two constituent states: a Muslim-Croat federation and Republika Srpska.

With reporting by Balkan Insight and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/republika-srpska-statehood- day-defying-court-ban/28964699.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Macedonian Deputy PM In Athens For Talks On Name Dispute

RFE/RL's Balkan Service January 09, 2018

Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Osmani has met with Greek government officials in Athens in an effort to settle a decades-old dispute over the name Macedonia.

"We are committed to finding a solution in this six months," said Osmani after the talks on January 9.

He added that "2018 is the golden year of opportunity for my country to make progress in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration."

The meeting comes ahead of a new round of UN-mediated talks between Macedonian and Greek negotiators Vasko Naumovski and Adamantios Vasilakis to be held in New York on January 17, Macedonian diplomatic sources told RFE/RL.

Greece has objected to Skopje's use of the name Macedonia since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, arguing that it implies territorial ambitions on parts of the country.

Athens also contends that, by claiming the name, Macedonia is appropriating a part of Greece's ancient history.

'Rational Solution'

Greece's objections have complicated Skopje's aspirations to join NATO and the European Union.

In 2008, Greece blocked Macedonia's bid to join NATO under its provisional name, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), because of the dispute.

NATO is due to reopen debate on inviting the country to join the Western military alliance in June.

Osmani on January 9 refused to say anything about the position of the Macedonian and Greek delegations, but said he believed Athens had the "sincerity and commitment"' to resolve the dispute.

"There are a lot of emotional layers," he also said. "We need to peel them off to find a rational solution."

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said that the talks were made possible after Macedonia's government abandoned "extreme positions." He did not elaborate.

Dozens of lawmakers and supporters of the far-right Golden Dawn party gathered outside the Greek Foreign Ministry to protest the meeting, many chanting "traitors, traitors."

Skopje's ruling coalition led by Social Democrats since last year has given priority to resolving the name dispute.

In an interview aired on January 7, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told Greece's Alpha TV that Skopje and Athens have a real chance of settling the issue by July.

And on January 4, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told reporters that Athens wants to solve the dispute this year.

"I think 2018 will be the year when foreign policy issues that have been stuck in the mud for decades will be resolved," Kotzias said.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/macedonia-greece-name- dispute-osmani-talks/28965566.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Bogota, ELN Rebels Start Round 5 of Peace Talks

Sputnik News

23:11 09.01.2018

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa says that Ecuador is supporting the peace process and the ceasefire as the Colombian authorities and rebels from the National Liberation Army group launched the fifth round of reconciliation talks.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Colombian authorities and rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN) group launched on Tuesday the fifth round of reconciliation talks in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said.

"Today we are launching the fifth round of dialogue between the negotiating team of the Colombian government and the ELN. Ecuador is supporting the peace process and the ceasefire," the minister wrote on her Twitter page.

The Colombian government and rebels reaffirmed their commitment to the ceasefire agreement launched on October 1, which is due to expire on Tuesday, and expressed hope to negotiate a new truce.

Earlier, Colombian president's office this was the first bilateral ceasefire endorsed by the rebels in its history,

The ELN is the second largest guerrilla movement after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), estimated to have between 1,500 and 3,000 fighters. The United States considers it a terrorist organization.

 Sputnik

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At Least 25 Houthi Rebels Killed in Clashes With Gov't Troops in Yemen  Reports

Sputnik News

21:34 09.01.2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  At least 25 Shia Houthi rebels were killed in clashes with forces loyal to current Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in the city of Al Bayda in the country's south, local media reported on Tuesday.

Eight Houthis were taken prisoners as a result of the clashes in the area, the Saba news agency affiliated with the Houthi rebels reported, adding that a Houthi commander was injured.

The government troops also managed to liberate three settlements in the Al Bayda province.

Yemen has been engulfed in a violent conflict between the government headed by President Hadi and the Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah.

Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request. Millions remain in need of immediate humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.

 Sputnik

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Egypt's Security Forces Kill 8 Extremists in Sinai Peninsula

Sputnik News

18:34 09.01.2018(updated 18:37 09.01.2018)

CAIRO (Sputnik) -The Egyptian security forces killed eight extremists in the north of the Sinai Peninsula during a special operation, the country's Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The extremists were killed in a shootout with police, when the security forces raided a suspected hideout in the city of Arish, according to the ministry. The Egyptian forces also seized a number of weapons and explosives during the operation.

Egypt has been fighting jihadist insurgency in northern Sinai since the army overthrew then-President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Police and security forces have frequently been the target of deadly attacks staged by Islamists in the area.

In 2014, Sinai's indigenous militants pledged their allegiance to the Daesh terrorist group. The Wilayat Sinai, the Daesh branch in Sinai, has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly attacks in the area.

 Sputnik

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Norway Strengthens Ties With US as Arctic Region Gains Importance

By Natalie Liu January 09, 2018

Norway is perhaps best known in the world as the host country of the Nobel Peace Prize, a distinction fully in keeping with its record of maintaining peace and prosperity within its borders.

Yet, beneath the tranquil surface, geopolitical currents are increasingly beating the shores of the Nordic kingdom of 5.3 million people, which lays proud claim to its Viking heritage. Those currents are bringing Norway's prime minister, Erna Solberg, to Washington this week to meet with President Donald Trump.

According to the White House, Trump and Solberg will discuss shared defense and security goals within NATO, the global coalition to defeat Islamic State extremists, and trade and investment.

Kare R. Aas, Norway's ambassador to the United States, described the United States as "Norway's closest ally" in an interview with VOA.

"Our basic and main foreign policy priority is, first of all, maintain our security through NATO; it's very important for my country to continue to build on the strong cooperation we have with the United States in areas of security and defense," he said, adding that Norway has made significant contributions  including armed forces  to U.S.-led efforts in global hot spots such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

In one of the latest developments, the Norwegian government has agreed to host 300 U.S. Marines on a six-month rotational basis for training, a trial that started in January 2017, despite Russia's openly stated opposition to the arrangement.

The rotating U.S. soldiers will "learn to ski, fight and survive in Arctic cold," according to the Marine Corps Times.

Increasing importance

Although the United States and Norway are Arctic countries, the U.S.'s claim to Arctic affinity is limited to Alaska, while close to half of Norway's land mass and one-tenth of its population lie above the Arctic Circle  a region of increasing commercial and political importance as climate change facilitates navigation and resource exploration.

In a major policy speech in November, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the Arctic region as "important today  increasingly important in the future, particularly as those waterways have opened up."

Tillerson concedes that the United States is "behind all the other Arctic nations" in paying attention to the region's growing importance. "The Russians made it a strategic priority. Even the Chinese are building icebreaking tankers. Now, why are they building icebreakers?They're not an Arctic nation. Because they see the value of these passages," Tillerson said.

Aker Arctic Technology, a Helsinki firm specializing in the design, development, engineering and testing services for icebreakers, was awarded a contract, valued at about $6 million, to perform the conceptual and basic design of China's new Polar Research Vessel, according to the company. China has also ordered a helicopter to accompany its icebreaker from the Italian company Leonardo. Both are scheduled to be delivered in 2019.

Meanwhile, Russia has identified several key national interests in the Arctic, beginning with its use "as a strategic resource base" providing potential solutions to the task of socioeconomic development of the country. It also looks forward to using the Arctic Ocean as a national unified transportation line.

'In treasure as well'

Aas once told U.S. audiences about a saying in Norway: There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes. This notion appears equally applicable as Norway outfits its armed forces in response to changing demands.

In November, Norway's King Harald V, accompanied by government ministers, stood on the tarmac at rland Air Base outside the capital, Oslo, to welcome the arrival of the first batch of the latest combat-ready fighter jets built by the American aerospace company Lockheed Martin.

Norway's decision to dress up its armed forces with 50-plus F-35As at a cost of close to $100 million each signals at once commitment toward its sovereignty and other NATO members, including the United States.

"The new combat aircraft will be a key factor in deterring any attack on Norway, as well as ensuring that we meet our obligations to the NATO alliance," Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen said at the welcome ceremony.

Norwegians have cause to not take peace, freedom and security for granted. During World War II, Norway was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany, forcing the royal family to live in exile in Britain and the United States. Norway donates a Christmas tree to Washington each year in part to express the country's gratitude for the United States' having hosted members of the royal family during the war.

While visiting Brussels last month, Tillerson met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian defense minister, and praised the latter's leadership of NATO as well as alliance member states that have stepped up to "reaffirm their commitment to the alliance, not only in words but in treasure as well."

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South Sudan Warring Parties Deny Holding Political Detainees, POWs

By Dimo Silva January 09, 2018

Both the South Sudan government and rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar say they are not holding political detainees or prisoners of war.

The declarations to VOA's South Sudan in Focus came two days after a January 7 deadline for both sides to hand over political detainees and POWs to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The deadline was set in the cessation of hostilities agreement signed December 22 in Addis Ababa.

South Sudan's information minister, Michael Makuei, said the government only detains criminals.

"The government of the Republic of South Sudan has no political detainees, and so far we have no knowledge of any prisoners of war. People in our custody are mere criminals who committed offenses and they are charged according to the law," Makuei told VOA.

Colonel Lam Paul, deputy military spokesman of the faction led by Machar, said the group is not holding POWs or political detainees, but some men that were in their custody have since decided to join their side.

"These soldiers, whenever they are arrested, many of them in fact pledge loyalty to us," Paul told VOA. "So we don't have political detainees and we don't have prisoners of war with us. We always hand them to ICRC and whoever decides to stay with us, we give them the freedom."

Paul asserted the same cannot be said of the government, and accused the government of holding more than 500 political detainees and POWs under harsh conditions.

Makuei insisted the government released all those detained for political reasons last year, after President Salva Kiir offered unconditional amnesty to all rebels who laid down their weapons and agreed to uphold a unilateral cease-fire.

"All these people were released, so with the current signing of the cessation of hostilities, we have nobody in custody. Those ones were released a long time ago when Kiir declared amnesty," Makuei said.

He challenged those speaking on social media "who claim we have them, let them produce the list of people whom they call political detainees."

The December 22 agreement called for a cease-fire, but both sides have reported violations.

Makuei contends violations are normal, but said that does not mean the agreement has collapsed.

"Whatever violations that are committed, there is a body established already to verify and to come up with a clear statement," Makuei said. "Unfortunately, some institutions and organizations have moved ahead of time condemning the two parties for violations, which is unfair."

Makuei said government is committed to restoring peace across South Sudan through the High Level Revitalization Forum, led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

The opposing parties are expected to meet in Addis Ababa next month to hammer out more unresolved issues in an effort to revitalize a 2015 peace deal.

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UN Chief Urges DRC Elections to Go Ahead as Scheduled

By Margaret Besheer January 09, 2018

The U.N. secretary-general is urging authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo not to further delay general elections but to hold them, as promised, at the end of this year.

"In the current politically polarized climate, there is a real risk that plans for the holding of the long-awaited polls could be derailed once again," Antonio Guterres wrote in his quarterly report to the Security Council on the work of the U.N. stabilization mission in DRC, known as MONUSCO.

The government and opposition signed an agreement Dec. 31, 2016, calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down after elections were held in 2017. But the promised polls have been repeatedly delayed, inciting civil unrest and prompting fears that the 46-year-old Kabila may seek to further extend his 17-year-long rule.

The elections, which are also to include legislative and provincial contests, have been rescheduled for Dec. 23, 2018.

"The government, the ruling majority, the opposition and civil society, and the Electoral Commission must all play their part in ensuring that electoral preparations proceed in a timely fashion," U.N. Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told a meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday. "Further delays in the electoral process not only risk fueling political tensions, but also compounding an already fragile security situation."

Lacroix's office oversees the MONUSCO mission which, with more than 21,000 personnel and an annual budget of over a billion dollars, is the U.N.'s biggest peacekeeping operation. It recently suffered the loss of 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers in an ambush in the volatile eastern part of the country.

On Dec. 31, state security forces forcibly put down anti-Kabila protests organized by Catholic activists, and at least five protesters were reported killed, further raising concerns.

DRC U.N. Ambassador Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta dismissed the allegations, saying the five deaths had nothing to do with the protests and were of separate incidents involving mainly criminal elements. He reiterated the Kabila government's willingness to hold elections.

"While we wait for elections scheduled on 23 of December of this year, the right attitude of all political actors and all the Congolese people should be to do everything possible to prepare for the smooth holding of these elections in a peaceful atmosphere," the envoy said.

Several security council members expressed concern about the security situation, the violation of human rights, and the need for the elections to go ahead as scheduled.

"Credible, transparent and peaceful elections leading to a peaceful and democratic transition are necessary for the stability of the DRC, and indeed the entire region," France's U.N. envoy Francois Delattre told the meeting. He warned that "stagnation in the political process" would only add to the instability threatening the region.

Ivory Coast, which joined the council on Jan. 1 as a non-permanent member, urged all parties to hold the elections on time and expressed concern at the recent violence around the protests.

"My delegation is concerned at the recent protests that led to loss of life, significant material damage and many arrests of protesters," Ambassador Bernard Tanoh-Boutchoue said. He urged all political stakeholders to exercise restraint and avoid violence.

Equatorial Guinea is also a new council member, and its envoy Anatolio Ndong Mba advocated that all stakeholders participate in "transparent, frank and inclusive, and good faith dialogue."

As part of its mandate, the U.N. mission in DRC is supporting the electoral process, and providing logistical and technical support to the Electoral Commission for voter registration and other electoral activities.

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US Navy Exploring Weaponized Unmanned Surface Vessels

Sputnik News

00:58 10.01.2018

The US Navy and defense contractor Textron reached an agreement on Tuesday to study ways to arm the Navy's Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle (CUSV).

The vessel, which also goes under the "Fleet-class" unmanned boat classification, is a small, 40-foot ship originally designed to deploy from littoral ships to thwart underwater mines. The ship sends out electronic signals to detonate mines that listen for audio or electromagnetic signals from larger ships, Maritime Executive notes.

Textron and the Navy will examine possibilities to "develop and integrate surface warfare payloads" onto the vessel, including "various missiles, designators, sensors and remote weapon stations," Textron said in a joint announcement with Naval Sea Systems Command.

The unmanned ship is guided by a remote operator aboard a littoral combat ship and can last at sea for up to 20 hours. The design of the ship was specifically tailored to be "modular," or ready to handle new uses in the future beyond mine-countermeasures, a Textron executive told USNI News.

"The ability to do that is because of the design of the CUSV  that open modular payload bay, the flexible architecture that the system is built off of," said Wayne Prender, senior vice president of control and surface systems at Textron.

While it's not entirely clear what weapons could be stored in the ship or mounted onto it, USNI News noted that a 30mm remote-controlled autocannon would be able to fit onto the ship, and the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missile is already designed for small boat anti-surface warfare.

Israel pioneered the concept of weaponized unmanned surface vessels, particularly with the Rafael-made Protector, sometimes called the "Death Shark." The Death Shark is equipped with several cameras and sensors and can be outfitted with a.50 caliber machine gun, grenade launcher or Gatling gun, USNI News said. Singapore has purchased multiple Death Sharks over the years to conduct patrol missions.

 Sputnik

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Highly classified U.S. spy satellite may be lost after SpaceX launch: media reports

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 15:52, January 09, 2018

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- A highly classified U.S. spy satellite that was launched aboard a SpaceX rocket on Sunday failed to reach orbit and might have been lost, U.S. media reported Monday, citing officials briefed on the mission.

"We do not comment on missions of this nature; but as of right now reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally," a SpaceX spokesperson said in a statement.

The mysterious Zuma satellite, built by American aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman, failed to separate from the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket and is assumed to have broken up or plunged into the sea, according to new website Time, who quoted two anonymous U.S. officials as saying.

The satellite is assumed to be "a write-off," the report said, adding that an investigation is under way, but there is no initial indication of sabotage or other interference.

Zuma was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Sunday evening.

Very little is known about the nature of the mission, as no U.S. government agency has claimed responsibility for it.

Previously, SpaceX has launched two classified payloads for the U.S. government during the past year.

Launched in May, the NROL-76 spy satellite was for the National Reconnaissance Office. The other was a non-crewed X-37B space plane for the U.S. Air Force, which lifted off in September.

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China's second aircraft carrier to hold first sea trials: expert

People's Daily Online

(Global Times) 07:37, January 09, 2018

China's second aircraft carrier might conduct its first sea trials in February, military analysts said after Taiwan media reported that China's first aircraft carrier the Liaoning sailed near the island on Friday.

China launched its second aircraft carrier in April 2017 after the Liaoning, a refitted Soviet Union-made carrier that went into commission in 2012.

China's second aircraft carrier is the country's first domestically made carrier.

"China's first homemade aircraft carrier might conduct its sea trials around Spring Festival in mid February," Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Li believed that it was possible the Liaoningcould carry training personnel from China's second aircraft carrier for them to study and gain experience.

Taiwan's defence authorities on Friday said in a statement on its website that the Liaoningpassed the west side of the Taiwan Straits on Friday, after indicating on Thursday that Liaoningleft harbor and was expected to embark on a long-distance voyage.

The Taiwan military source said that the Liaoningwas accompanied by Type 052C destroyers the Zhengzhou and Jinan, Taiwan's chinanews.com reported.

A J-15 fighter jet took off from the Liaoningon Wednesday to conduct training, according to Modern Navy, the official magazine of the Chinese navy, on its WeChat platform.

Chinese mainland military did not announce the event, probably as the "cross-sea area" training exercises of the aircraft carrier and its naval formation have been normalized, Li said.

The Liaoningconducted three cross-sea area training exercises in 2013, 2016 and 2017. Passing the Taiwan Straits is not strange for the aircraft carrier and its naval formation, Li stressed.

Li said that this time the Liaoningmight go through Miyako Strait to complete another circle of Taiwan.

Chinese bombers, jet fighters, surveillance aircraft, early warning planes and refueling aircraft last month conducted "routine training" over the Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait near the island of Taiwan that included an "island circling" mission, said a military spokesperson.

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Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning to boost PLA combat capacity: experts

People's Daily Online

(People's Daily Online) 17:06, January 09, 2018

Chinese military experts on Monday praised the country's first aircraft carrier Liaoning's increasing fighting capacity after it reportedly passed through the Taiwan Strait heading south on Jan. 5.

"The Liaoning is an experimental vessel that is used for scientific purposes. It undertakes missions to provide data and services for China's future aircraft carrier construction. It also serves as a training center, which can train qualified battle commanders and pilots, in an effort to create the country's own aircraft carrier formation," Cao Weidong, a renowned military expert, told CCTV.

Cao's remarks come after the Liaoning, along with several other navy vessels, reportedly entered the Taiwan Strait in January 2018. This is not the first time that the military vessel has passed through the sensitive area. It entered the Taiwan Strait en route to Hong Kong in July 2017, while the earliest similar cruise took place in January 2017.

According to experts, the vessel started to conduct comprehensive drills in 2016. It has already formed strong initial operational capability, and can be used to strike targets both onshore and at sea.

"We've already trained many pilots, improving the battle performance of the shipboard aircraft. The whole aircraft carrier formation's combat capability will see a significant rise in the future," added Cao.

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Senior Chinese general faces trial over corruption

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 01:36PM

A senior Chinese military commander is to face prosecution over involvement in bribery, as President Xi Jinping steps up his flagship anti-corruption campaign.

China's official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday that Fang Fenghui, a former member of the Central Military Commission, China's top military body, was subject to a graft investigation by the authorities.

The 67-year-old is the latest senior figure to be caught in Beijing's crackdown against corruption. Xu Caihou, a former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, was jailed for life last year while Guo Boxiong, who had served in the similar position, died of cancer in 2015 before he could face trial. Zhang Yang, a member of the Commission like Fang, was investigated for corruption and over his links to Guo and Xu. But he committed suicide in November 2017 before the results of the probe were known.

Dozens of other officers have been jailed or investigated over the past years over similar charges.

Fang was abruptly replaced as the chief of China's Joint Staff Department of the People's Liberation Army in August 2017. Reports emerged in September the same year showing that Fang was being questioned on suspicion of corruption. He was also among military officials replaced as part of a sweeping military leadership reshuffle in October, when the Communist Party congress replaced him as a member of the Commission. Fang was in President Xi Jinping's entourage when he traveled to Washington in April to meet US officials.

The anti-corruption campaign against senior officers of the armed forces comes as Xi struggles to modernize the Chinese military, which is the world's largest. The campaign is part of a broader and more ambitious push to purge all state institutions of corrupt officials.



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All North Korea's nukes aimed at US not 'brethren' South Korea: Pyongyang

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 06:48PM

North Korea says all of its nuclear weapons are aimed at the US not Pyongyang's "brethren" in South Korea, asserting that its nuclear program will be non-negotiable in the coming talks with Seoul, as the two foes have just begun their first official dialogue in more than two years amid escalating tension over the North's controversial weapons program.

"All our weapons including atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and ballistic missiles are only aimed at the United States, not our brethren, nor China and Russia," said Pyongyang's chief negotiator Ri Son Gwon on Tuesday, as the two sides agreed earlier in the day to hold talks aimed at resolving problems and averting accidental conflict.

The fresh talks were being held behind closed doors at the Peace House in the Joint Security Area in the truce village of Panmunjom at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the divided countries.

Ri, who is also the chairman of the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, warned in his closing remarks that Pyongyang would absolutely not discuss its nuclear weapons in future negotiations with Seoul.

"This is not a matter between North and South Korea, and to bring up this issue would cause negative consequences and risks turning all of today's good achievement into nothing," he added, after 11 hours of inter-Korean talks.

In a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, Pyongyang also made a "strong complaint" after Seoul proposed negotiations to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

The two Koreas have long had strained ties. They have been separated by a heavily militarized border since the three-year-long Korean War came to an end in 1953. The conflict ended with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty, leaving many families separated at the two sides.

The South believes improved inter-Korean relations and a series of steps agreed on Tuesday could be able to pave the way for negotiating a "fundamental resolution" of its northern neighbor's nuclear issue in the future, the South's Unification Ministry said in a separate statement.

"We will closely coordinate with the United States, China, Japan and other neighbors in this process," it added.

In the joint statement, the North also pledged to send a large delegation to next month's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South, including athletes, high-ranking officials, a cheering squad, art performers, reporters and spectators.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in a statement, praised the North's decision to participate in the Winter Olympics in the South, calling the move a "great step forward."

The organization added that it would wait for the official reports and proposals of Tuesday's meeting and then it would "discuss these proposals in particular as far as the participation, the number and names of athletes from" both countries, " and the format of their participation (flag, anthem, ceremonies, etc.) are concerned."

Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula over the past year, which saw several missile and nuclear launches by Pyongyang as well as an exchange of military threats between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Pyongyang defends its military program as a deterrent against potential foreign aggression. The North views joint war games between the US and its neighbors as a rehearsal for war, and has repeatedly urged South Korea and Japan to stop such drills.

Russia and China, which are viewed as allies of the North, have welcomed the upcoming inter-Korean negotiations.

The UN and the US have imposed a series of sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs in recent months.

On December, the UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea for a recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, seeking to further limit its access to refined petroleum products and crude oil.

The US-drafted UNSC resolution seeks to ban nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum exports to North Korea by capping them at 500,000 barrels per year.

North Korea has already demanded a halt to what it called "brutal sanctions" imposed by the UNSC, saying the previous bans imposed after Pyongyang's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on September 3 constitute "genocide."

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North Korea agrees to send officials, athletes to Winter Olympics in South: Seoul

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 05:34AM

All eyes are on the two Koreas as the approaching Winter Olympics provides a perfect opportunity for the two unfriendly neighbors to engage in some fence mending. Preliminary reports suggest North Korea has said it will send a delegation of high-ranking officials, athletes, and a cheering squad to the Pyeongchang games in the South next month.

Representatives from North and South Koreas began direct talks on Tuesday, in the first instance of face-to-face dialog in more than two years.

The fresh talks were being held behind closed doors at the Peace House in the Joint Security Area in the truce village of Panmunjom, at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the divided countries.

Shortly after the talks began, media reports quoted South Korea's vice unification minister, Chun Hae-sung, as saying that Pyongyang had said it would allow South Korean athletes, a cheering squad, and high-ranking officials to attend the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Chun said Seoul proposed that the two sides hold inter-Korean talks on how to reduce military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the reunion of separated family members in time for the Lunar New Year holiday in February.

He did not provide specifics.

The two Koreas have long had strained ties. Tensions recently skyrocketed with repeated North Korean missile and nuclear tests and increased South Korean joint military action with the United States.

Let the deicing begin!

However, a series of overtures between the two Koreas began when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un used his annual New Year address to express interest in dialog with the South as well as in North Korean participation in the Winter Olympic Games, to be held in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang from February 9 to 25.

South Korea quickly responded by proposing high-level talks with the North on January 9  today  which Pyongyang subsequently agreed to.

Kim also ordered that a telephone hotline between the two Koreas that had been suspended in 2016 be reopened.

Meanwhile, North Korea has completed technical maintenance needed to reopen a military hotline with South Korea on its west coast, a South Korean government official told reporters, with normal communications via the hotline expected to resume on Wednesday.

The last high-level talks between the two neighbors was held in December 2015 to ease border tensions but ended without any agreement.

Russia and China, which are viewed as allies of North Korea, have welcomed the new negotiations.

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North Korea Plans to Send High-Level Delegation to Olympic Games

Sputnik News

07:18 09.01.2018(updated 09:05 09.01.2018)

Pyongyang said that it has plans to send a delegation to the Winter Olympics in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang to cheer on the team, according to local media.

North Korea is ready to send a high-level delegation and representatives of the National Olympic Committee to South Korea for the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, local media reported Tuesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the North Korean delegation led by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, also proposed to send groups of fans, musicians, taekwondo demonstration teams and journalists to Pyeongchang.

The North Korean delegation is participating in negotiations with South Korea at the ministerial level on ways to improve relations and the possible participation of North Korean athletes in the Olympics in Pyeongchang, local media reported Tuesday.

Divided Families

South Korea invited Pyongyang to hold meetings of relatives separated as a result of the nation's split on the occasion of the New Year according to the lunar calendar (February 15), local media reported on Tuesday.

To arrange such meetings, the South Korean delegation at the talks with North Korea also called for the resumption of negotiations through the local Red Cross societies of the two sides, the Yonhap news agency reported. South Korean delegation also invited their counterparts to resume negotiations, including talks on denuclearization.

Denuclearization Negotiations

Seoul invited Pyongyang to resume negotiations on a peaceful settlement to the current standoff, including the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, as soon as possible, the head of the South Korean delegation said Tuesday.

Seoul offered the North Koreans the military talks to prevent accidental clashes, expressed the position that it is necessary to resume the dialogue on a peaceful settlement, including de-nuclearization, as soon as possible, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.

The two delegations, led by North Korean chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea and the South Korean Unification Minister, met in the so-called Peace House in the demilitarized zone at the border village of Panmunjom, where representatives of the two countries have repeatedly held negotiations in the past.

 Sputnik

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Korea Talks Welcomed, But With Skepticism

By Steve Herman January 09, 2018

The United States and United Nations on Tuesday welcomed steps to ease tensions between North and South Korea after the two rival states held their first face-to-face talks in two years.

Pyongyang and Seoul agreed to hold further military talks and North Korea announced it had reconnected a severed military hotline with the South and would send a delegation of athletes, high-level government officials and a cheering squad to the Winter Olympics next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The announcements, made at Panmunjom, which straddles the Koreas, represent a possible reduction in severely escalating tensions surrounding North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

"North Korean participation is an opportunity for the regime to see the value of ending its international isolation by denuclearizing," according to a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

Later in the day, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said "the next steps would be denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," calling that "our number one priority and certainly what we would like to see."

"We are encouraged that North Korea has agreed to send athletes and other supporters to the South Korean games," Steve Goldstein, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, told reporters. "We would like nuclear talks to occur. We want denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.This is a good first step in that process."

The United States will also send a "high-level delegation" to the Olympic Games, the NSC spokesperson said.

When asked to comment about the possibility of direct contacts at the sporting event between officials and delegations from Washington and Pyongyang, Goldstein said: "That's not planned currently, but we'll see how this progresses."

"Officials from our administration have been in touch with the South Korean side" following Tuesday's discussion between Seoul and Pyongyang, Sanders said in response to a question at Tuesday's daily briefing on whether South Korean President Moon Jae-in had briefed U.S. President Donald Trump on the talks.

Those U.S. and South Korean officials will "ensure North Korean participation in the Winter Olympics does not violate the sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council over North Korea's unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs," according to the NSC.

Diplomats at the State Department are taking some of the credit for getting Pyongyang and Seoul to sit together for the first time in 25 months.

"We believe that our pressure campaign could be what brought North Korea to start talking with the South," Brian Hook, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's senior policy adviser, told reporters.

Tillerson is to head to Vancouver next Monday for a Sending States Ministerial meeting, co-hosted Canada and the United States, to assess the pressure campaign "and to see how we can further boost its effectiveness," Hook said.

The re-establishment of the military hotline between the two sides is "critical to lowering the risk of miscalculation or misunderstanding and to reduce tensions in the region," according to a statement from Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The U.N. spokesman said he hoped "such engagement and efforts will contribute to the resumption of sincere dialogue leading to sustainable peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula."

It was not clear, however, whether the talks would lead to meaningful change.

Trump has, at various times, called talks with Pyongyang useless and threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea if it does not heed U.S. warnings.

"North Korea has a foul intent here. What they're trying to do is essentially buy time," said Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank in Washington.

"They're very, very close to actually developing a nuclear weapon that could hit the United States homeland," Kazianis told VOA.

A hawkish former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said the talks could be a "propaganda stunt" by the North.

Many Trump administration officials have said they are determined to resolve the standoff via diplomacy or economic sanctions, but recent media reports suggest U.S. officials are also discussing limited strikes on the North.

Abraham Denmark, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, warned against such a so-called "bloody nose" strike, arguing that it risked igniting a full-blown war on the Korean Peninsula.

Denmark, now the Asia program director at the Wilson Center, a global policy research forum in Washington, told VOA that "while I certainly can't speak for them, I think the chances that the United States will attack North Korea sometime in 2018 are 50/50."

"A lot will depend on North Korea's behavior," he added.

The North Koreans last year carried out their sixth and most powerful nuclear test, and they have regularly tested ballistic missiles. But they are thought to still be perfecting the critical technology needed to protect an intercontinental ballistic missile upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

VOA's Peter Heinlein, Bill Gallo and Nike Ching contributed to this report.

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Army ready to foil any threat: Iranian Commander

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sanandaj, Jan 9, IRNA -- The Army is ready to thwart any type of enemy's threats, Iranian top military commander said on Tuesday.

"No threat exists against our country from military aspect," said Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Kiumars Heidari while addressing a local gathering in the northwestern province of Kurdestan.

'Not only the US, but also any other enemy that seeks to make a hostile move against the country, will be given a crushing and firm response,' he added.

'As was mentioned by the Supreme Leader, America can't do a damn thing against the Islamic Iran,' said the military commander noting that such belief has been institutionalized among all armed forces of Iran.

Commenting on recent unrests in Iran, the commander said that the nation follows the guidelines of the Leader and has separated his way from those who follow enemies' orders.

After some Iranians took to the streets to protest against unemployment and high prices last week, the protests turned violent in some cases due to the provocation of certain foreign states.

Certain elements penetrated the lines of protestors to drive the peaceful protests towards violence. The US President Donald Trump has overtly supported the rioters in several tweets.

9191**1394

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Iran's missile capability is not threatening: defense minister

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Tue / 9 January 2018 / 13:56

Tehran (ISNA)  Iranian defense minister emphasized that the country's missile capability didn't threaten friends, neighbors and other countries and it has defensive use to confront just with specific and planned threats and its range, altitude and its precision are defined accordingly.

Addressing the Second Tehran Security Conference, Iranian defense minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said, "The Western Asia region has become more complicated and more harmful. This complication and insecurity in the region is because of interventions and presence of cross-regional powers that have deliberately created fake rivalries between the countries of the region, despite the fact that some statesmen in Western Asia have been deceived and their gullibility has contributed to mayhem and unrest in the region".

"Terrorism and internal conflicts are the main problems of the region. These problems are stemmed from imperialism, cross-regional powers' interventions and occupation as in the case of occupation of Palestine backed by the US support," he added.

"Regional countries have high capacity for cooperation and coexistence. We believe bringing security to the region is possible with the active presence of the regional countries in the security issue," general Hatami continued.

"We also believe that without cooperation of regional countries, it will be very difficult to overcome and manage the challenges of the region and it requires all the countries of the region to rely on internal capacity not the foreign forces," he said.

Referring to the US behavior in regard to the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), general Hatami insisted, "With such a behavior, US proved to the world that is not trustworthy".

"Iran's compliance with JCPOA proved our country's goodwill to the world but Americans proved that they are untrustworthy and unchangeable," he went on to say.

End Item

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EU, Iranian Ministers Say Preserving Nuclear Deal On Agenda At Meeting This Week

RFE/RL January 09, 2018

The foreign ministers of the European Union and Iran have said their scheduled talks in Brussels on January 11 will focus on preserving Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, which is seen as under threat from the United States.

The announced focus of the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the foreign ministers of the EU, France, Germany, and Britain came on January 8 after Iran warned that the United States may be on the verge of withdrawing from the agreement.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB quoted Zarif as saying that in light of "U.S. destructive policies," the Brussels talks will focus on the nuclear deal, not on antigovernment street protests that have rocked Iran in the past two weeks and claimed at least 22 lives.

European leaders have called on Iran to avoid violence and uphold the right of the protesters to voice their disagreement with the government. But Zarif was quoted as saying that media reports that the Brussels talks would focus on the protests are "baseless and unfounded."

An announcement from the EU late on January 8 appeared to confirm that the focus of the meeting hosted by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini would be on the nuclear deal, saying "ongoing work to ensure a full and continued implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)" would be on the agenda, using the formal name of the nuclear deal.

The meeting comes at a critical time when U.S. President Donald Trump faces another quarterly deadline for certifying whether Iran is in compliance with the deal, which requires Tehran to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Trump is a fierce critic of the nuclear accord and refused to certify Iran's compliance with the deal at the last deadline in October. Still, he has so far stopped short of withdrawing the United States from the accord.

The EU played an important role in brokering the nuclear deal and has continued to back it despite Trump's opposition. EU leaders have lobbied the Trump administration and U.S. lawmakers not to formally pull out of the deal.

But with the latest U.S. certification deadline looming in mid-month, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on January 8 said "the international community must be prepared for the U.S. possibly pulling out" of the agreement.

"It's been more than a year that the U.S. president has sought to destroy the JCPOA with all his efforts," said Aragchi, speaking at a Tehran security conference.

"We in Iran are prepared for any scenario. The international community and our region will be the biggest loser, since a successful experience in the international arena will be lost," he said.

"Our region will not become a safer region without the JCPOA," Aragchi said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi warned that any withdrawal by the United States would prompt an "appropriate and heavy response" from Iran.

"The U.S. administration will definitely regret it," he said on Iranian state television.

Separately, 52 U.S. national security experts, including retired U.S. military officers, members of Congress, and former ambassadors, signed a letter on January 8 calling on Trump not to do anything that jeopardizes the nuclear deal.

"In responding to developments in Iran, now and in the future, the U.S. should be careful not to take any steps that might undermine the JCPOA, which remains vital to U.S. national security," said the letter.

The letter was signed by Richard Lugar, a former Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency; and Admiral Eric Olson, former commander of U.S. Special Forces, among others.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and RFE/RL Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zarif-eu-germany-france- britain-foreign-ministers-meeting-thursday-focus-preserving-iran- nuclear-deal-not-street-protests/28964106.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Lawmaker Says 3,700 Arrested In Iran, Khamenei Points Finger At U.S.

RFE/RL January 09, 2018

An Iranian lawmaker says that about 3,700 people have been arrested during antigovernment protests, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is claiming that Tehran foiled what he called attempts by the United States and Britain to create unrest.

The number of arrests cited by reformist lawmaker Mahmud Sadeghi on January 9 is far higher than figures announced by the authorities.

Protesters in dozens of cities across Iran have vented anger about high unemployment and official corruption since December 28. Some demonstrators have called for the overthrow of Khamenei and the powerful conservative clerics who maintain Islamic rule.

In a tweet, Khamenei repeated accusations -- rejected by the U.S. and other governments -- that foreign countries including the United States and its allies were behind the protests.

"Once again, the nation tells the U.S., Britain, and those who seek to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran from abroad that 'you've failed, and you will fail in the future, too'," Khamenei said in a message on his official Twitter account on January 9.

Khamenei said that some of the calls being made by the demonstrators were "honest and rightful demands." He did not elaborate.

At least 22 people have been killed as a result of the unrest and government crackdowns surrounding the protests.

Citing what he said were Iranian intelligence reports, Khamenei said that "there's been a triangle pattern activating these events."

He said that "the scheme was formed" by the United States and Israel and "the money came from a wealthy government" near the Persian Gulf, an apparent reference to Tehran's regional rival, Saudi Arabia.

Khamenei also claimed that protest leaders were "henchmen" and members of the "MEK," a reference to the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (aka MKO), or People's Mujahedin of Iran, an exiled dissident group that backs the overthrow of Iran's leadership. He claimed the MKO had been "hired as minions for this plot."

State media outlets also have claimed that protest leaders have been either members of MKO or monarchists.

People's 'Legitimate Right'

But President Hassan Rohani, a relative moderate who advocates warmer ties with the West, suggested on January 8 that the demonstrations were driven by opposition within Iran to his ultraconservative rivals in the ruling elite.

The Iranian people "have a legitimate right to demand that we see and hear them and look into their demands," Rohani said, suggested the real targets of the protests had been the powerful conservative clerics who oppose his plans to expand individual liberties and promote better relations with Western countries.

"It would be a misrepresentation and also an insult to the Iranian people to say they only had economic demands," Rohani told the state-run Tasnim news agency. "People had economic, political, and social demands."

"We must simply accept the fact that the people have the last word," Rohani said. "We [politicians] must accept that we are now sitting in a glass house."

Khamenei on January 9 appeared to acknowledge Rohani's call, saying on Twitter that "there is a correct point commonly made" in "various analysis" of "the recent events."

Khamenei said that "people's honest and rightful demands" must be separated from "the violent and vandalizing moves by a certain group."

Khamenei also rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Iran's Islamic establishment was "terrified" by U.S. power.

"If we were so terrified by you, how did we kick you out of Iran in the late 1970s and send you packing, out of the entire region, in the 2010s?" Khamenei said.

Iran's religious establishment came to power following the 1979 overthrow of the U.S.-backed shah.

The United States has rejected Tehran's claims that Washington or U.S. intelligence agencies have been behind the protests.

But Trump has praised what he called the courage of the Iranian demonstrators and said that the United States would support them "at the appropriate time."

Iranian authorities have said that the protests are waning and have staged rallies by government supporters across the country to counter the unrest.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-protester-arrests -khamenei-blames-us/28964952.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Pakistani Court Grants Bail To Pro-Taliban Cleric

January 08, 2018

A Pakistani court has granted bail to pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Mohammad, days after Washington suspended security assistance to Pakistan until it takes "decisive action" against Islamic militants.

A high court in the northwestern city of Peshawar ordered the elderly cleric's release on January 8 on health grounds.

At the hearing, Mohammad claimed that he should be released "as his health is deteriorating with each passing day," Dawn newspaper reported.

"He was too old to move and was suffering from kidney problems and weakness, and was taken to hospital many times," his lawyer Fida Gul told the AFP news agency.

Believed to be in his 90s, Mohammad is the chief of the banned group Tehreek Nifaz-e Shariat Mohammadi and the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban.

Mohammad, who has been held in a maximum-security prison since 2009, is currently on trial on charges of murder, treason, terrorism, and rebellion.

The Peshawar court's decision came less than a week after the United States announced a freeze on aid to the Pakistani military.

"Until the Pakistani government takes decisive action against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani group...the United States will suspend that type of security assistance to Pakistan," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on January 4.

Pakistan has responded harshly to the move, with the Foreign Office saying Washington's "arbitrary deadlines, unilateral pronouncements, and shifting goalposts are counterproductive" to addressing the threat of terrorism.

Based on reporting by AFP and Dawn

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-pro-taliban -cleric-released-bail/28963581.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Bomb hits police vehicle in Pakistan's Balochistan, 7 killed

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 06:18PM

At least seven people, including five police officers, have been killed and nearly two dozen others wounded in a bomb blast that struck a police vehicle in southwestern Pakistan.

The terrorist attack was carried out in the vicinity of a high security area in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, on Tuesday evening.

Senior police officer Abdul Razzaq Cheema said a bomber was believed to have walked up to the truck and blown himself up.

Hospital sources said two civilians were also among the dead.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came days after two bombers stormed a packed Christian church in Quetta, killing nine people and wounding over 50. The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed the church assault.

Quetta has seen several bombings and shooting attacks in recent years.

Balochistan has long been plagued by an insurgency by nationalist and separatist groups who seek to secure bigger shares in regional resources. The resulted chaos, coupled by lack of security, has made room for the activities of criminal gangs, human smugglers and terror outfits linked to the Taliban and al-Qaeda militant groups.

In a separate development, Balochistan's chief minister resigned amid opposition efforts to remove him through a vote of no confidence. Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), quit shortly before a provincial assembly session in which lawmakers were expected to table a motion to demand a vote to oust him.

"I can confirm CM Baluchistan tendered resignation following the spirit of democratic principles," Jan Achakzai, Zehri's spokesman, said in a message posted on Twitter.

Achakza said Zehri had vowed to fight political opponents to the end but resigned to "bring an end to instability" in the province.

Mir Abdul Qudoos Bezenjo, a former deputy speaker of the provincial assembly and one of the main instigators behind Zehri's removal, said lawmakers sought to oust Zehri because of his "massive corruption" and "ignoring coalition partners" in his administration. Zehri has rejected the accusations of corruption.

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Pakistani court frees anti-US cleric amid row with Trump

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 02:16PM

A Pakistani court has ordered the release of an anti-US cleric amid growing tensions between Islamabad and Washington over the so-called war on terror and a range of other issues.

Defense lawyer Fida Gul said Sufi Mohammad was set free on health grounds and the paperwork for his release was still being processed Tuesday.

The cleric, imprisoned since 2009, went to Afghanistan with thousands of volunteers to help the Taliban fight against Americans after the 2001 US-led invasion. He is also known as the father-in-law of Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

Tensions arose in relations between the United States and Pakistan following President Donald Trump's accusations that Pakistan was harboring "terrorists." Senior civilian and military officials in Islamabad have vehemently denied the charge.

Last week, Trump said in his first tweet of 2018 that Washington had "foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years."

The United States is also withholding $255 million in aid from Pakistan against the backdrop of the souring ties.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has denounced as "counterproductive" Washington's decision to suspend millions of dollars in security aid to Islamabad.

Pakistan's central bank recently announced that it would be officially replacing the US dollar with the Chinese yuan in trade with Beijing, shortly after Washington accused Islamabad of harboring "terrorists."

Washington has long accused Islamabad of allowing the Haqqani network, which is an affiliate of the Taliban militant group, to operate relatively freely in Pakistan's porous border regions to carry out operations in Afghanistan. Islamabad denies the accusation, saying Washington is overlooking Pakistan's sacrifices in its fight against terrorism.

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Pakistan's ambassador to Washington, said over the weekend, "We have been the victim of terrorist attacks and how can we tolerate the presence of militants on our soil."

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US Denies Pakistani Claims of Suspension of Military or Intel Cooperation

By Ayesha Tanzeem January 09, 2018

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad is denying Pakistan's claims it has suspended military or intelligence cooperation with the United States.

Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said, "We have not received any formal communication regarding a suspension."

Earlier Tuesday, in a speech to the Islamabad-based, government sponsored Institute for Strategic Studies, Pakistan's Defense Minister, Khurram Dastgir Khan, said there is "... a wide field of intelligence cooperation and defense cooperation, which we have suspended." But he added, the supply lines for NATO troops in Afghanistan, formally known as the Ground Lines of Communication or the Air Lines of Communication were still open.

Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said the United States had conveyed to Pakistan "concrete steps" to take before the United States would resume hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, which was suspended after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated Pakistan had lied and deceived the United States while providing safe havens to terrorists fighting in Afghanistan.

Pakistan says the United States is scapegoating it for U.S. failures in Afghanistan.

In his address, Khan also reminded the United States it needs Pakistan in its fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. "A reminder is in order. Logistics trump strategy," he said.

Pakistan blocked the Lines of Communication for months after a 2011 attack by the NATO air force accidentally hit two Pakistani check posts, killing more than two dozen Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistan is considered the safest and cheapest route to resupply NATO troops. Other possible routes that go through Central Asian countries are more expensive and pass through a region Russia considers its backyard. Tensions between the United States and Russia have been high since Russia was accused of meddling in the latest U.S. presidential elections.

But statements from senior U.S. officials indicate that despite these limitations, the administration is serious in its stance that Pakistan needs to change its behavior.

In a Sunday interview with CBS's Face the Nation, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said, "The president has made very clear that he needs Pakistan to cease being a safe haven for terrorists that threaten the United States of America. End. Period. Full stop."

Khan said his country wants to keep engagement with the United States open and would use its leverage after the utmost care and deliberation.

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Saudis seeking to acquire Israeli Iron Dome missiles: Report

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 08:41AM

Saudi Arabia has reportedly been seeking to get its hands on Israel's so-called Iron Dome missile system amid reports that the two regimes have plans to normalize their relations and unite against Iran.

Basler Zeitung, a Swiss German-language newspaper published in the city of Basel, quoted a "European weapons dealer in the Saudi capital of Riyadh" as saying on Monday that the Saudis were seeking to buy Israeli military equipment, including the so-called Trophy Active Protection System (APS).

The vehicle-mounted system is capable of intercepting and destroying incoming missiles and rockets with a shotgun-like blast.

According to the report, Saudi military experts had even examined the Israeli anti-missile system in the United Arab Emirates' capital, Abu Dhabi.

Saudi Arabia is said to have wanted to acquire the system in an attempt to stop missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement, the report said.

The Houthi fighters regularly fire domestically-manufactured ballistic missiles at positions inside Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the Riyadh-led coalition war on Yemen.

Additionally, the Swiss daily noted that Riyadh and Tel Aviv were working together to confront Iran's growing presence in the Middle East.

The two regimes, it noted, were cooperating significantly in the military and security sectors, with their intelligence cooperation having registered "further progress."

Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, but they are widely believed to have secret liaisons.

Numerous reports have suggested growing ties between Tel Aviv and Riyadh in the past few months.

In November 2017, Chief of Staff of Israeli military, Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot, expressed Tel Aviv's readiness "to exchange experiences with moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence to confront Iran."

In an interview with the Saudi-owned Elaph online newspaper, Eizenkot claimed that Iran was the "biggest threat to the region," adding that Tel Aviv and Riyadh were in full agreement about Iran's intentions.

Israeli minister of military affairs also echoed Eizenkot's comments, saying that the Middle East now requires an anti-Iran coalition.

"The Middle East today needs, more than anything else, a coalition of moderate states against Iran. The coalition against Daesh [terror outfit] has finished its work, after Daesh, Iran," Avigdor Lieberman said.

The Tel Aviv regime has itself come under fire for colluding with terrorist groups, such as Daesh, which has been losing ground against the Syrian army.

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Saudis Reportedly Interested in Bolstering Defense With Israel's Iron Dome

Sputnik News

18:18 09.01.2018

Saudi military experts allegedly examined the Israeli military technology in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, amid reports that Israelis and Saudis are planning to join efforts in their standoff against Iran.

The prominent Swiss daily Basler Zeitung wrote that the Saudis seem to be interested in purchasing Israel's anti-missile Iron Dome system to stop attacks launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Basler Zeitung report suggests that Riyadh's "European weapons dealers" are considering the purchase of such military products as the Israeli Trophy Active Protection System (APS), which was specially developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Elta Group of Israel Aerospace Industries.

The vehicle-mounted system is capable of detecting threats and eliminating incoming missiles and rockets with a shotgun-like blast.

Although there is no plausible data about whether there are diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the Swiss newspaper suggested there was "further progress" in the field, citing observers in Tel Aviv and Riyadh. A desire to counter increasing Iranian influence in the region, feared by both countries, could lie behind the cooperation. Earlier, there was a string of reports about covert Israeli-Saudi liaisons.

In November 2017, Chief of Staff of the Israeli military, Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot, said Tel Aviv was well prepared "to exchange experiences with moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence to confront Iran." The Israeli minister of military affairs voiced the same stance:

"The Middle East today needs, more than anything else, a coalition of moderate states against Iran. The coalition against Daesh [terror outfit] has finished its work, after Daesh, Iran," Avigdor Lieberman said.

Separately, Saudi Arabia has presumably wanted to upgrade its defense capabilities to counter missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement, the report read.

The Houthi militants are known to retaliate against the Riyadh-led coalition war on Yemen by firing makeshift ballistic missiles into Saudi locations.

 Sputnik

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Russian troops remaining in Syria can fight terror attacks on bases: Kremlin

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 10:53AM

Moscow says the number of Russian troops remaining in Syria following the collapse of Daesh is sufficient for defending its bases against any possible militant attack.

"That contingent that remains, the military infrastructure that remains, at the Hmeimim and Tartus military bases, they are completely capable of fighting these occasional terrorist acts," Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said in a conference call on Tuesday.

Peskov's comments came a day after Russia's Defense Ministry said its troops had successfully repelled multiple drone attacks launched by militants on its naval and air bases in Syria on January 6.

According to the ministry's report, 10 combat drones raided the Hmeimim Airbase in Syria's western coastal Province of Latakia, while three more attempted a strike against the Russian maritime logistics base located in the western city of Tartus, Syria's second largest port city.

Russia has been conducting air raids against terrorist outfits in Syria at the Damascus government's request since September 2015.

President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Syria last month where he ordered the start of a pullout of Russian troops and held talks with President Bashar al-Assad.

Following the announcement, a group of Russian troops deployed to Syria has returned home.

The crews of Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range bombers also returned to an operational airfield in North Ossetia and later flew to their permanent bases.

Putin's decision came a few days after he declared a "complete victory" over Daesh on both banks of the Euphrates River in Syria and stressed the significance of switching to a political process to ultimately end the crisis in the Arab country.

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'Syrian army hits Israeli jet, intercepts missiles near Damascus'

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 08:45AM

Syria's army says its air defense systems have hit an Israeli aircraft and intercepted a number of rockets fired at targets on Syrian soil as the Tel Aviv regime continues its acts of aggression against the Arab country.

In a statement carried by state media on Tuesday, the army said that Israeli jets had fired missiles at the al-Qutaifa area northeast of the capital, Damascus, from inside the Lebanese airspace at 2:40 a.m. (0040 GMT).

The target of the strike in al-Qutaifa was said to be a weapons depot.

According to the statement, Israel then fired ground-to-ground rockets from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, but the Syrian defenses brought the missiles down.

It said that Israeli jets had fired a final barrage of four rockets from inside Israel, and that the Syrian air defenses brought down one, but that the others caused material damage.

Syria's official news agency (SANA) cited the general command of the army as saying that the attack had been carried out to raise the morale of the "defeated" terrorists in the Arab country.

"This flagrant aggression reaffirms Israel's support for the armed terrorist groups in Syria and its desperate attempts to lift its morale," the statement read.

The Israeli military did not comment on the reports.

During the past few years, Israel has frequently attacked military targets in Syria in what is considered as an attempt to prop up terrorist groups that have been suffering defeats in their fight against Syrian government forces.

Back in April 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially admitted for the first time that the regime's military had conducted strikes in Syrian territory.

Damascus says Israel and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups operating inside the Arab country, while the Tel Aviv regime's military carries out such sporadic strikes against Syrian government forces. The Israeli regime has even set up field hospitals to treat wounded militants evacuated from Syria.

Moreover, the Syrian army has repeatedly seized huge quantities of Israeli-made weapons and advanced military equipment from militant groups inside Syria.



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Russia Hints At U.S. Involvement In Drone Attack On Its Air Base, Naval Facility In Syria

RFE/RL January 09, 2018

Russia has hinted at U.S. involvement in recent drone attacks against its air base and its naval facility in western Syria.

In a January 9 statement, the Defense Ministry noted the "strange coincidence" of a U.S. military intelligence plane flying over the Mediterranean near the Hmeimim air base and Tartus naval facility at the moment of the attacks.

"Hardly anyone could have obtained the exact coordinates [for the attacks] based on space-based reconnaissance," it also said.

The statement comes a day after the ministry said 13 armed drones were used to attack its facilities in Hmeimim and Tartus overnight on January 5-6.

The ministry said seven of the unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down and the six others were forced to land without inflicting any casualties or damage.

'Rebel Faction'

A monitoring group, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the attacks were carried out by an Islamist rebel faction that operates in Latakia Province, where the Hmeimim base is located, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Russia has given President Bashar al-Assad's government crucial support throughout Syria's civil war and has long been at odds with U.S. support of certain rebel groups in the Syrian civil war.

The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes since it began with a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.

More than 40 Russian military personnel died in Syria since Moscow launched a campaign of air strikes in September 2015, in many cases using Hmeimim as a base.

During a visit to the air base on December 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory over "the most combat-capable international terrorist group" -- a reference to the extremist group Islamic State (IS) -- and announced a partial withdrawal of Russian troops.

'All Necessary Means'

Western officials say that the Russian campaign, particularly in its earlier stages, focused heavily on targeting rebels seeking Assad's ouster rather than IS militants.

Asked whether the announcement of a partial withdrawal could have been premature, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on January 9 that the Russian forces in Syria have "all the necessary means" to counter any challenge.

Putin said on December 28 that more than 48,000 Russian military personnel had served in the operation in Syria, and that Russia's presence at Hmeimim and Tartus would be "permanent."

On December 29, Putin signed a law ratifying an agreement enabling Russia to expand operations at its naval facility in Tartus.

With reporting by dpa, AP, and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-syria-drone-attack- air-base-u-s-involvement/28965506.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Turkey Summons Russian, Iranian Envoys Over Syria Safe Zone Violation - Reports

Sputnik News

20:30 09.01.2018(updated 22:29 09.01.2018)

Turkey has lodged a diplomatic protest over claims about attacks in Syria's Idlib safe zone by the Syrian army, Daily Sabah reports citing sources in Ankara's Foreign Ministry.

Turkey appeals to Russian and Iranian diplomats to urge Syria's government to cease violation of de-escalation zone borders' violation in Idlib, according to the newspaper.

Turkish diplomatic sources say that Ankara has voiced to the ambassadors its "concern" about the operation which is conducted by the Syrian government forces in the south-east of idlib. This operation on the ground is percieved by Turkey as "a violation by the Syrian armed forces of the borders of the de-escalation zone in Idlib, which was agreed during Astana talks between three guarantor-states."

Earlier, Ankara's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that Syrian armed forces have been carrying out attacks on the so-called moderate opposition in the province of Idlib under the pretext of fighting terrorism.

During the September round of Astana talks, Russia, Iran and Turkey, the three states that serve as guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire, agreed on all four de-escalation zones in Syria  one in Idlib including parts of neighboring Hama province, the second one in the north of the central province of Homs, the third one in eastern Ghouta near Damascus and the third one in the country's southern province of Deraa.

The sides also reached an agreement on the rules of operation in buffer zones, checkpoints and observation posts, as well as the rules of engagement for units of the de-escalation control force.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Army Reports Israeli Missile Attack on Greater Damascus

Sputnik News

09:59 09.01.2018(updated 10:46 09.01.2018)

According to Syria's state media, the Syrian Army reported that Israel had attacked targets near the war-torn nation's capital with jets and ground-to-ground missiles early on Tuesday, causing damage.

Syria retaliated, according to the statement; its air defenses hit an Israeli aircraft and intercepted several missiles which had been launched from within Israel.

The General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces announced that Syria's defense network had responded to three Israeli rocket attacks on military positions in the Al-Qutayfah area, north of Damascus.

Israeli missiles targeted military sites in Qutifah area near the capital of Damascus, SANA news agency reports.

Syria warned the Israeli side about risks posed by such attacks, according to the outlet.

There were no reported casualties. The Israeli Army has refused to comment on the incident.

This is not the first time Tel-Aviv has launched an unprovoked attack on neighboring Syria. In September 2017, Israel struck Syrian army positions in the province of Hama, near the city of Masjaf, killing two people.

In October, Israeli Air Force fighter jets destroyed a Syrian air defense battery just 50 km from Damascus, claiming the attack was precipitated by the shelling of IDF aircraft as they carried out tasks on the territory of Lebanon.

In September, a Syrian official told Sputnik that in August Israel had bombed a military airport near Damacus, adding that it was done "to encourage and support terrorists."

 Sputnik

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China attack on Taiwan unlikely during a Korean-U.S. war: scholars

ROC Central News Agency

2018/01/09 15:51:24

Washington, Jan. 8 (CNA) Two American scholars on Monday expressed disagreement with a Canadian expert's view that if war breaks out between the United States and North Korea, China would use the opportunity to attack Taiwan.

"(China) can only handle one external crisis at a time," said Richard Bush, director of the Washington-based Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies and former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan.

A North Korea crisis "would be the worst thing that PRC leaders have ever faced," he said to the press after a forum in Washington, D.C.

Therefore, regardless of what China might like to do about Taiwan, "they would restrain themselves" from any military moves at that time "because China' national security interests are so wrapped up in the North Korea issue," Bush said.

Bush was responding to a magazine editorial last month by Michael Cole, a Canadian expert on cross-Taiwan Strait relations, who said that in the event of a North Korea-U.S. war, China would take the opportunity to launch an attack against Taiwan.

"I would argue, therefore, that a decision to launch military strikes against North Korea would represent the most dangerous period for Taiwan's survival, as this could prompt Beijing to seize the opportunity created by the American focus on North Korea to resolve its historical grievance," Cole wrote in the editorial, which was published Dec. 27 last year in the U.S. bimonthly international affairs magazine National Interest.

In response, Michael O'Hanlon, another fellow at the Brookings Institution, also said to the media that he was "inclined not to agree" with Cole's outlook on the issue.

O'Hanlon, director of research for the institute's Foreign Policy program, said such action would be "another huge risk" for China.

"There is no reason to run another huge risk just because there is an action to the north that somehow creates a perceived opportunity," O'Hanlon said.

Furthermore, it would be "foolish" because it would by "no means make a Chinese attack on Taiwan automatically successful," especially since the U.S. could still use elements of its navy to support Taiwan "because most of the navy will not be needed in a future Korean war," O'Hanlon said, adding that he does not think China is that foolish.

However, that does not prevent China from using other moves to pressure Taiwan, he said.

Relations between China and Taiwan have grown chilly and tense since President Tsai Ing-wen () took office in May 2016, with Beijing targeting Taiwan's diplomatic allies, activists and efforts at participation in international organizations.

(By Leaf Jiang and Kuan-lin Liu)

Enditem/pc

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U.S. opposes China's unilateral launch of new flight routes

ROC Central News Agency

2018/01/09 17:13:25

Washington, Jan. 8 (CNA) The United States is concerned about China's unilateral activation of four aviation routes near the median line of the Taiwan Strait and opposes one-sided actions to alter the status quo across the strait, a senior U.S. policy advisor said Monday.

In a telephone interview with CNA, Brian Hook, senior policy advisor to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, expressed concerns the U.S. has regarding China's announcement made on Jan. 4.

"We are concerned about reports that Beijing has modified the use of civil aviation flight routes in the Taiwan Strait without consulting with Taiwan authorities," Hook said.

China's Civil Aviation Administration announced last Thursday it was opening four new commercial routes in the Taiwan Strait: a northbound path on the M503 route and three east-west extension routes called W121, W122 and W123.

"We oppose these kinds of unilateral actions...by either side to alter the status quo across the strait," said Hook of China's move, which has also been repeatedly condemned by Taiwan.

Noting that the U.S. has a "deep and abiding interest in cross-strait peace and stability," Hook said his government encourages "authorities in Beijing and in Taipei to engage in constructive dialogue."

"Issues related to civil aviation and safety in the strait should be decided through dialogue between both sides," Hook said.

President Tsai Ing-wen () also condemned Beijing's move on Tuesday while receiving a delegation of researchers on cross-strait relations.

Tsai said the announcement had not only affected aviation safety but also hurt the stability of the status quo that Taiwan has worked hard to preserve.

Given that the issue is of significance for the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region, Tsai expressed her hope that the international community will lend its support in encouraging dialogue across the Taiwan Strait on the matter.

Beijing suspended official communications with Taipei after Tsai took office in May 2016, and they have yet to resume.

Taiwan has called on China to cooperate on issues related to air pollution, international fraud, and most recently aviation management in the Taiwan Strait, but to no avail.

(By Rita Cheng, Yeh Su-ping and Kuan-lin Liu)

Enditem/ls

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ICAO has yet to respond on new Chinese flight routes: source

ROC Central News Agency

2018/01/09 16:46:25

Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) Taiwan has expressed its concern to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) over Beijing's recent unilateral activation of four aviation routes close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, a government source told local media Tuesday.

The ICAO has yet to respond to the concern, however, said the source, who was speaking on condition of anonymity because the individual was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

Since Taiwan is not a member of ICAO, a specialized agency under the United Nations responsible for international air navigation, the source said Taiwan has also asked friendly countries who are ICAO members to voice Taiwan's concerns, but to no avail so far.

"We know that the ICAO is reluctant to be involved in such a dispute, but our voice still needs to be heard," the source said, acknowledging that the issue will likely remained unresolved until Taiwan and China hold a new round of cross-Taiwan Strait negotiations.

That is unlikely to happen in the near future because of the standstill in cross-strait relations since the Democratic Progressive Party government took power in May 2016.

China reneged on a 2015 cross-strait agreement with Taiwan on Jan. 4 when it unilaterally activated four new aviation routes in the Taiwan Strait -- a northbound path on the M503 route and three east-west extension routes called W121, W122 and W123.

At its nearest point, the M503 route is only 7.8 kilometers from the centerline of the strait and close to the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR), while W122 and W123 are close to Taiwan's offshore islands of Matsu and Kinmen, respectively.

China's move to open the four flight routes without prior negotiation with Taiwan has sparked concerns in Taipei about potential intrusions into domestic flight routes to and from Matsu and Kinmen.

In proceeding with the latest routes unilaterally, China not only violated a bilateral agreement but also ICAO guidelines that would have required China to coordinate with Taiwan before announcing the routes, according to the source, who did not specify the ICAO guidelines being referred to.

A CNA check has found with the help of other sources that the ICAO's Air Traffic Services Planning Manual stipulates that changes to any route network should be made only after they have been coordinated with "all parties concerned."

Chieh Chung (), a senior assistant research fellow at the National Policy Foundation, a Taiwan-based think tank affiliated with the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), said it has always been common sense that before launching any new flight routes, all parties involved should be consulted first for aviation safety reasons.

China was widely condemned internationally for not consulting with others when it first introduced the M503 route in 2015, but without strong enforcement provisions within ICAO, Beijing was able to maintain the route.

In 2015, it allowed planes to fly from north to south along the route, and added south to north flights in its latest adjustments on Jan. 4.

Meanwhile, asked to comment on the new routes controversy, Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee () said the government has made clear its stance on the issue.

It is the ministry's responsibility to inform countries around the world so that they can understand why Taiwan is protesting China's move and be more likely to support Taiwan on the issue, he said.

(By Joseph Yeh)

enditem/ls

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Turkey to continue military operation in northern Syria: Erdogan

Iran Press TV

Tue Jan 9, 2018 11:17AM

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey is to keep up its so-called Euphrates Shield military operation in northern Syria, which serves to keep Kurdish militants away from its borders.

The operation spans Syria's Afrin and Manbij regions. The country launched the mission in 2016, saying it sought to fight off the Takfiri Daesh terror group. Later, however, Ankara was seen using the drive to push against the Kurds.

Turkey associates the Kurdish militants in Syria with the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting a decades-long separatist war against Ankara.

The Turkish operation, however, comes without the Syrian government's permission, prompting repeated calls by Damascus to stop its military intervention.

Despite angering Syria on the matter, Turkey, along with Russia and Iran, has made great diplomatic strides to help end the crisis in Syria.

The trio has been mediating a peace process in Astana, Kazakhstan, between Syria's warring sides since January 2016.

'US, Gulen in cahoots'

Separately, Erdogan branded a United States legal case against a Turkish banker as a "political coup attempt" and a joint effort by the CIA and the FBI to undermine Turkey.

Last week, a jury in New York found Mehmet Hakan Atilla guilty on five of six counts he faced, including bank fraud and conspiracy to violate US sanctions law.

Erdogan said the CIA, the FBI and the network of Fetullah Gulen, a US-based cleric, whom Turkey blames for a failed 2016 coup against the Turkish administration, were working together, using the case to undermine Ankara.

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Turkey Will Continue Euphrates Shield Op in Syria's Afrin, Manbij - Erdogan

Sputnik News

12:06 09.01.2018(updated 12:45 09.01.2018)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday during a parliamentary address to his party that Turkish the military will continue its Euphrates Shield operation in Syria's Afrin and Manbij regions.

In 2016, Turkey launched its Euphrates Shield Operation in Syria, aimed at the elimination of Daesh terrorists in the northern part of the country. In March 2017, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced the successful completion of Operation Euphrates Shield, during which Turkish-led forces drove out the Daesh terrorist group from a number of settlements. However, Ankara has continued its military operations against Syria's armed Kurdish groups. These are suspected by Turkey of having ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey.

In October, the Turkish Armed Forces said that Turkish military units had crossed the border into Syria's Idlib province to conduct expeditionary activities and observe the implementation of the de-escalation zone agreement. The deployment of the Turkish troops has been criticized by the Syrian government, which has demanded Turkey's withdrawal from Syria.

Afrin, located in the northwest of Syria on the border with Turkey, is part of the Syrian Kurdish region commonly known as Rojava. Turkey considers the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) controlling Afrin a terrorist organization linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) banned in the country. In December, Turkey sent military reinforcements to the region.

 Sputnik

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Erdogan Accuses US of 'Political Coup Attempt'

By Dorian Jones January 09, 2018

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday said a sanctions-busting court case in New York involving Turkish nationals is a "political coup attempt" against him and his government. With Erdogan also threatening military action against a key U.S. ally in Syria, relations between the NATO allies could deteriorate further.

Erdogan alleged the conviction of a Turkish state banker in the federal case is the latest attempt by the FBI and CIA to unseat him. He made the comment while addressing members of his AK Party in parliament.

"Those who could not succeed in the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15 [2016], are now searching for a different attempt in our country, he said. He cited the case in the U.S. as "the address of this political coup attempt."

Ankara also accuses Washington of collaborating with U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen in the 2016 failed coup that left an estimated 150 people dead. The U.S. denies the accusation.Turkey has asked the U.S. to extradite Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania and has denied all involvement in the coup attempt.

Bilateral relations between the NATO allies, already deeply strained since the coup attempt, have been further exacerbated by the conviction in New York of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a senior executive of Halkbank, on charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

The repercussions of that conviction could lead to a further ratcheting up of tensions, warned analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners.

"I see an escalation of the crisis," he said. "The United States could threaten a wide range of sanctions; even the threat would cast a long shadow on the Turkish banking system. There would be immense difficulties for Turkish entities to borrow abroad."

Turkey needs to borrow around $16 billion a month to cover its financial obligations.

Erdogan also threatened Tuesday to attack the Syrian Kurdish militia, the YPG, a key U.S. ally in the war against Islamic State. Ankara considers the militia a terrorist organization linked to an ongoing insurgency in Turkey.

Diplomatic columnist Semih Idiz of the al-Monitor website said the threat could be an effort to pressure Washington

"There is definite brinkmanship on the part of Turkey," he said. "There is no doubt about that and there is no guarantee it will get what it wants. But Ankara is banking on the fact that Turkey is vitally strategic for Washington and somewhere it can't be avoided, not that Turkey is courting Russia and all this. So I think Erdogan is trying to apply pressure to reduce whatever penalty is coming."

To U.S. unease, Turkey is increasingly deepening relations with Russia. Erdogan is also looking to France after a visit last week to Paris, with pro-government media touting France as a more reliable ally than the United States.

But with both Paris and Moscow also supporting the Syrian Kurdish militia, analysts suggest Ankara is unlikely to carry out its threats against the group. They say if the current deterioration in relations with Washington continues, Ankara's search for other allies is likely to intensify.

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To the untrained eye, it's impossible to pick the Samsung Galaxy S9 out of a lineup of Galaxy S8s. The Galaxy S9 has the same all-glass body, Infinity screen, slim bezels, and 3.5mm headphone jack as its predecessor, but if you look closer, there are lots of little changes that add up to a worthy upgrade. Here's everything that's new about Samsung's latest flagship.

Galaxy S9+ hands-on

We go hands on with the biggest new features of the Galaxy S9, including an in-depth look at AR Emoji.

Galaxy S9 review

Check out our review of the Galaxy S9, one of the best phones of the year so far.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ cases

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ have changed just enough so last year's S8 cases won't fit. So, if you're looking for some protection for your Galaxy S9, check out our roundup of best cases in every style, which we will be updating regularly.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ tips and tricks

We kept track of every single awesome tip and trick we could find while testing the Galaxy S9 and collected them all, so you can master your S9.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ design and display

Christopher Hebert/IDG

Samsung pretty much blew us all away with the 18:9, slim-bezel design of the Galaxy S8, and the S9 doesn't stray too far from the winning formula. But it's not quite a carbon copy of its predecessor:

Dimensions

Galaxy S8: 148.9  68.1  8.0mm

Galaxy S9: 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5mm

Galaxy S8+: 159.5  73.4  8.1mm

Galaxy S9+: 158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5mm

The phones are also a touch heavier than their predecessor, clocking in at 163 grams and 189 grams compared to 155 grams and 173 grams, respectively. That's due to a more rugged aluminum frame than the Galaxy S8, and thicker glass. Otherwise, the screen sizes are exactly the same:

Galaxy S9: 5.8" Quad HD+ Super AMOLED (2960x1440)

570 ppi

Galaxy S9+: 6.2" Quad HD+ Super AMOLED (2960x1440)

529 ppi

Adam Patrick Murray/IDG The Galaxy S9 (left) is a smidgen shorter top to bottom than the Galaxy S8 (right). But the display size remains static at 5.8 inches.

Around the back, the changes between the phones are more apparent. Instead of horizontal arrangement for the camera and the fingerprint sensor, which made it a little hard to reach, the Galaxy S9's camera is vertically aligned down the middle of the phone, right above the fingerprint sensor.

Christopher Hebert/IDG Rejoice! The Galaxy S9 still has a headphone jack.

On the sides of the phone, you'll find the same three buttons: power on the right, and Bixby and a volume rocker on the left. And the bottom edge features a USB-C port, speaker, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs

Adam Patrick Murray/IDG

On the inside, the Galaxy S9 is all-new, with the latest chips and a bump in the RAM for the S9+:

Galaxy S9

Processor: Snapdragon 845

Snapdragon 845 RAM: 4GB

4GB Storage: 64GB

64GB Battery: 3,000mAh

3,000mAh Network: Enhanced 4x4 MIMO/CA, LAA, LTE Cat.18

Enhanced 4x4 MIMO/CA, LAA, LTE Cat.18 Water resistance: IP68

IP68 OS: Android 8.0 Oreo

Android 8.0 Oreo Speakers: Stereo

Galaxy S9+

Processor: Snapdragon 845

Snapdragon 845 RAM: 6GB

6GB Storage: 64GB

64GB Battery: 3,500mAh

3,500mAh Network: Enhanced 4x4 MIMO/CA, LAA, LTE Cat.18

Enhanced 4x4 MIMO/CA, LAA, LTE Cat.18 Water resistance: IP68

IP68 OS: Android 8.0 Oreo

Android 8.0 Oreo Speakers: Stereo

Both models also include support for expanded storage up to 400GB, an increase from the 256GB limit on the S8.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ camera

Ryan Whitwam/IDG

Samsung's marketing materials tout the camera in the Galaxy S9 as having been "reimagined," but the specs don't tell the whole story:

Galaxy S9:

Lens: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF sensor

Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF sensor Sensor size: 1/2.55 inch

1/2.55 inch Pixel size: 1.4m

1.4m Sensor ratio: 4:3

4:3 FOV: 77 degrees

77 degrees OIS: Yes

Yes Optical zoom: No

No Aperture: Dual, F/1.5, F/2.4

Galaxy S9+

Main lens: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF sensor

Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF sensor Sensor size: 1/2.55 inch

1/2.55 inch Pixel size: 1.4m

1.4m Sensor ratio: 4:3

4:3 FOV: 77 degrees

77 degrees OIS: Yes

Yes Optical zoom: No

No Aperture : Dual, F/1.5, F/2.4

: Dual, F/1.5, F/2.4 Secondary lens: Telephoto 12MP AF sensor

Telephoto 12MP AF sensor Sensor size: 1/3.6 inch

1/3.6 inch Pixel size: 1.0m

1.0m Sensor ratio: 4:3

4:3 FOV: 45 degrees

45 degrees OIS: Yes

Yes Optical zoom: 2X

2X Aperture: f/2.4

The first thing that jumps out at you is the Galaxy S9+'s dual camera, as well as the S9's lack of one. For the first time, Samsung has opted to distinguish its two phones by more than just the size of their screens. On the S9+ you'll get a dual-camera setup like on the Note 8, while the smaller S9 has just a single lens. That means you won't be able to enjoy Samsung's Live Focus portrait mode on the 5.8-inch Galaxy S9.

Christopher Hebert/IDG The S9 doesn't have a dual camera, but it makes the most of its single lens.

Take away the second camera, the two cameras are very similar. You'll get optical image stabilization and 8X digital zoom, as well as two new features: Dual Aperture and Super Slow-mo. Where every other smartphone shoots in the lowest possible aperture and adjusts in processing, Samsung lets you choose between F/2.4 and f/1.5 when shooting in different lighting. It's not a digital trick: The lens physically opens and closes when you switch apertures.

Also new is Super Slo-mo, a video recording mode that lets you shoot in a mind-boggling 960fps. It's limited to 720p and you can only capture 20 shots per video with approximately 0.2 seconds of recording and 6 seconds of playback for each shot, but it's still a pretty cool trick. If you want to stick to 4K recording, you can capture up to 60fps.

The front camera is the same on both models:

Lens: 8MP AF sensor

8MP AF sensor Sensor size: 1/3.6"

1/3.6" Pixel size: 1.22m

1.22m Sensor ratio: 4:3

4:3 FOV: 80 degree

80 degree Aperture: f/1.7

Galaxy S9 and S9+ AR Emoji

Christopher Hebert/IDG

Samsung has added a new feature to the camera app called AR Emoji that's similar to Animoji on iPhone X. While both systems let you control a cartoon character with your face, Samsung's method is quite a bit different. For one, you aren't limited to 10-second messages like on iPhone X, and for another you can create custom characters in your own likeness. By using the front camera to snap a selfie, the S9 will make a custom "emoji" that you can use to make videos and stickers. There are a few cartoonish AR Emoji available as well, and Disney characters are on the way. And yes, you can sing karaoke if you'd like.

Galaxy S9 and S9+ price and colors

Adam Patrick Murray/IDG

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ come in four colors: midnight black, titanium gray, lilac purple, and coral blue. The prices for an unlocked phone are as follows:

S9: $720

S9+: $840

Pricing varies through the carriers, so check with your wireless provider before making a purchase.

This story, "Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know, all in one place" was originally published by PCWorld .
CES 2018 is underway and along with great innovations, there are also new versions of well-known devices. We told you about the arrival of Blackberry Motion in the US, as Keyone gets a Bronze version. We already reviewed the original unit, then had a hands-on with the Black option. Now brace for a quick hands-on glance of the BlackBerry Keyone Bronze Edition.



BlackBerry Keyone Bronze Edition vs. the regular silver version

Changes to the Keyone are purely aesthetic, the hardware stays the same, so no need to go over the benchmarks and complex data once again.

The parts that used to be in silver or black color, now have a bronze hue. The new version might look like the old one at some images, but we assure you, it's quite different in person. Because of the physical keyboard and the new color, the Keyone still has a unique vibe and will keep standing out among other 2017 smartphones.

BlackBerry Keyone Bronze Edition in all its glory

The bronze version will arrive in the EU, Middle East, and Asia. TCL Communications, the parent company of BlackBerry, told us that the Keyone has proven itself successful in these regions, and the company is giving the new color choice to its growing user base. Surprisingly for the manufacturer, the phone was a success in Germany and its BYOD environment.



BlackBerry Keyone Bronze Edition

The BlackBerry Keyone has been on the shelves for 9 months now. TCL said that the most successful markets were the UK, parts of EMEA, and Canada, but the last one is not getting the Bronze version, for now. TCL also revealed some numbers about the user base of the Keyone - about 50% of the customers are enterprise users, most of them switching from iPhone solely because of the physical keyboard.
We began this year by finding out that LG plans to rename its flagship series - hence, the device formerly referred to as G7 would be called something else. This handset is expected to become available in April.

Now though the plot thickens, since LG's own official website for the UK lists the G7. The mention is buried in a page describing fast charging and the various iterations of Qualcomm Quick Charge supported by its smartphones.

Sure enough, under Quick Charge 4.0 we can see "Future LG G7", while the G6 and G5 have shipped with Quick Charge 3.0. This may be the first confirmation that LG's changed its mind once again, or it could be that the people in charge of the UK website filled out that info before the company decided not to call its next top of the line device G7.

We'll probably only know for sure whenever the handset is announced - that might happen at MWC next month, or at a special event in March, the rumors haven't agreed on this one so far. Whatever it ends up being called, the phone is expected to sport the Snapdragon 845 chipset, an OLED touchscreen, and iris scanning.

Source | Via (in Romanian)
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Report says Huawei-AT&T deal collapsed after US lawmakers raised concerns over it

We already know the Huawei-AT&T deal over selling the Mate 10 Pro didn't materialize, and the former even confirmed it indirectly. There was, however, no information on exactly why that happened.

Until now that is, as a new report says the collaboration couldn't see the light of the day after US lawmakers raised concerned over it. Here's what the report said:

The AT&T deal died a few weeks after members of the U.S. Senate and House intelligence committees wrote to the Federal Communications Commission raising concerns about reports that Huawei had struck a deal with a major telecommunications carrier.

The lawmakers were concerned over the Chinese company's alleged political and intelligence ties.

The Dec. 20 letter cited an intelligence committee report on the Chinese firms alleged ties to the Communist Party and Chinas intelligence and security services. Additional work by the Intelligence Committees on this topic only reinforces concerns regarding Huawei and Chinese espionage,

Verizon also had plans to sell a Huawei Mate series smartphone later this year. However, reports now say the carrier is also under pressure to cancel the launch.

Source | Via




Haiti - Health : All about health services in Haiti





As part of its commitments of transparency and accountability, the Unit of Studies and Programming (UEP) of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) published at the end of 2017 the 6th Edition of its annual health statistics publication (2016). This 48-page document was developed from data collected in the country's health facilities, epidemiological surveillance results published by the Department of Epidemiology, Laboratory and Research (DELR) and also from the statistical reports of certain priority programs. This report provides updated information, inter alia, on the conditions and health status of the country's population, including morbidity; health resources; coverage and performance of major health programs; health problems in terms of major endemics; access to basic health services and resources devoted to the health of the population.



The conclusions of the analysis of statistics for the year 2016 show that Haiti faces major health challenges, characterized by, inter alia: the prevalence of both infectious and parasitic diseases and chronic diseases; the Ministry's limited leeway to operate its health facilities and at the same time ensure the management of its priority programs; limited access of the population to basic health services and low utilization of available services.



As revealed by the analysis of the state of health of the Haitian population, infectious diseases such as ARI, Malaria, Diarrhea, Cholera, HIV / AIDS, Tuberculosis, the diphtheria epidemic and the under notification of chronic diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes among others are among the main causes of attendance of health services in Haiti. The high prevalence of these diseases at the population level reflects the scale of the problem and calls for the allocation of resources adapted to the size of these major challenges.



Similarly, the chapter on the resources of the Ministry describes a situation of precariousness, characterized by shortcomings and inequalities unfavorable to a supply of services and health care among others: an insufficient health workforce and unevenly distributed on the territory ; a health budget below the recommended minimum threshold, which is most often a blocking factor in the renewal of stocks of basic equipment and medical supplies and essential drugs in health facilities.



Deficiencies in human and financial resources are a handicap to the coverage of the basic health services of the population. Indeed, since the declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978, at the end of 2016 only 3,036 health workers were listed out of a total of nearly 11,000 needed to cover the entire national territory. In addition, the ratio of hospital beds per 10,000 population (6.86) is well below the minimum standard recommended by WHO.



Download the full report (PDF) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Rapport-Statistique-MSPP-2016.pdf



HL/ SL/ HaitiLibre


















By Vasia Orion | Published on 2018/01/09

It has been a while since we enjoyed some Kim Seo-hyung goodness in "The Good Wife" and I have yet to watch "The Villainess", so I'm glad to see the actress back in action. MBC's "The Great Seducer" has not been on my radar and now that I know it is based on the novel "Dangerous Liaisons", I am wondering how it will even work in Korean drama form.

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Given the industry's highly reserved nature around sexual matters and relationships as well as an often standardized take on morality, it does not sound like such a piece would translate well. We've seen dramas attempting to adapt saucy and morally complex material fail before. On the other hand, the dramatic connections between the characters sound right up Dramaland's alley. The change into a modern setting will be an interesting challenge. I just hope no one gets it on in a Subway.

Kim Seo-hyung plays Myeong Mi-ri, a self-made, ambitious doctor who is considered a triple-threat of skill, resourcefulness and beauty. Having already established herself at a young age, she is considered an icon of the medical service field.

"The Great Seducer" will be out in March on MBC. It is written by Kim Bo-yeon-I and directed by Kang In-I.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Sources (1) (2)
Press release

BILLINGS  The Northern International Livestock Exposition Scholarship Program, funded by the NILE Foundation, is now accepting applications for scholarships for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Since 1990, the NILE has awarded scholarships to deserving FFA and 4-H students who have been actively involved in their respective programs and communities, excelled in the classroom, and participated in NILE events.

Promoting the future of agriculture through the support of youth via scholarships is a long-standing tradition of NILE, says Jennifer Boka, General Manager of the NILE. Educating todays youth to be tomorrows ag proponents is crucial to the entire world and we at the NILE are proud to support and embrace the future of agriculture.

Similar to previous years, the NILE Scholarship Committee will be awarding five levels of scholarships.

 High School One Time Scholarship  Awarded to high school seniors that meet the qualifications listed in the guidelines.

 Secondary One Time Scholarship  Offered will also be a one-time grant, for students already enrolled in college or a vo-tech school meeting the qualifications.

 Shining Star  All qualified applicants are eligible. This scholarship is for an applicant that stands out in the crowd.

 Needle In The Haystack  This scholarship will be awarded to any NILE scholarship applicant if they attend Stetsons & Stilettos in May 2018. The winner will be randomly drawn that night.

 Rolling Scholarship  The rolling scholarships will be offered to a select group of high school seniors who will have the opportunity to renew the scholarship yearly, up to four years of their secondary education. Recipients of rolling scholarships will be chosen from the pool of applicants that are current seniors in high school.

Each year the NILE touches the lives of nearly 10,000 youth through its many youth programs, events, live animal scholarships, and college scholarships. Every year the NILE Foundation provides over $55,000 in cash and live animal scholarships.

The NILE Foundation was established in 2009 as a supporting arm of the NILE organization, which is dedicated to the promotion of livestock, agriculture education, and respect for the western culture.

Scholarship applications and guidelines can be found on the NILEs website at https://www.thenile.org under Events, Youth Events and Scholarships, or by contacting the NILE Office at 406-256-2495. Applications must be submitted to the NILE Office by March 1 5 p.m. Items postmarked March 1 will not be accepted.

Applications incomplete or late will not be considered. Scholarships will be awarded and announced in early April 2018.
Press release

WASHINGNTON  U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced a slate of Farm Service Agency state committee appointees. State committees are selected by the secretary, serve at the pleasure of the secretary, and are responsible for carrying out FSAs farm programs within delegated authorities.

The State Committees will help to ensure USDA is providing our farmers, ranchers, foresters, and agricultural producers with the best customer service, Secretary Perdue said. They serve as a liaison between USDA and the producers in each state across the nation by keeping them informed and hearing their appeals and complaints. The committees are made up mostly of active farmers and ranchers, representing their peers and ensuring USDAs programs are supporting the American harvest.

The committee members appointed for Montana are:

 Committee Chair Carl Mattson  Chester

Joe Dooling  Helena

Chaley Harney  Billings

Bruce Tutvedt  Kalispell

State committees are appointed for a one-year term which began Jan. 1. Each state committee has five members, one chairperson and four members. States that are not listed here or that have incomplete lists will be announced at a later date.
Press release

Trenton Butler of Big Sandy was one of several people recently appointed to state positions by Gov. Steve Bullock.

Trenton Butler, Big Sandy. Qualification: Self-Advocate. Butler, a self-advocate who works with Big Sky Activities and owns Dude, Wheres My Coffee, was appointed to the Montana Council on Developmental Disabilities.

...
An ice auger sits next to a ice-fishing hut on Beaver Creek Reservoir Dec. 28. Beaver Creek Reservoir might be the location for a revived Havre Area Chamber of Commerce ice-fishing tournament Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 27-28. If conditions at Beaver Creek won't work, the Chamber has selected Fresno Reservoir as a backup.

After a year without its annual fishing derby, the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce has revived the tradition this month, but with some changes.

The Chamber will host the Arctic Games Ice Fishing Tournament and Raffle Saturday, Jan. 27, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 28, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Chamber Executive Director Jody Olson said the tournament will be held at Fresno Reservoir or Beaver Creek Reservoir, though Beaver Creek would probably be ideal, she added.

She said changes in wind and warmer temperatures can make ice unsafe there.

"So our backup is Fresno," she said...
Havre Police Department

Officers investigated after receiving three calls Tuesday at 7:16 p.m. from people near 14th Avenue and Fourth Street about a couple fighting in the street.



Officers arrested Eric William Koop of Havre, 35, on charges of false reports to law enforcement authorities and violation of conditions release after Koop called from First Street Tuesday at 7:52 p.m. saying that people were trying to break in.



Officers issued a summons to Lauren Runningen of Havre, 20, on a minor in possession charge after an officer near Montana State University-Northern Tu...
Montana fifth-graders encouraged to participate in 2018 Bring Our Missing Children Home poster contest

Press release

HELENA  The Montana Department of Justice and the Office of Public Instruction are working together to give Montana students the opportunity to participate in state and national poster contests which focus on the theme of Bring Our Missing Children Home.

This program will allow Montana fifth-graders to compete in state and national poster contests while giving schools the opportunity to teach students about personal safety, said Joni Turpin of DOJs Missing Persons Clearinghouse. We know Montana has very talented fifth-graders, and we hope one of the...
Coincides with MAGIE Ag Expo

Press release

Montana Pork Producers Council has invited Montana pork producers to attend the annual meeting Jan. 18 at the Mansfield Civic Center in Great Falls.

By design, the event coincides with the MAGIE Ag Expo for attendee convenience. The theme is Primed for Success, focusing on the subjects of manure management, interpersonal communication and ag safety.

Keynote speakers include Kari Smith of Montana Department of Environmental Quality, who will provide guidance to producers navigating the realm of water regulations and animal feeding operation/concentrated animal feeding...
Courtesy photo

A Salvation Army bucket rests in Havre's First Presbyterian Church. The church joined in the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign last year, placing a bucket in the church in which parishioners could drop off donations. First Presbyterian parishioners donated $300 to the campaign, in addition to whatever they donated in kettles with bell ringers.
Major shortage raises need during National Blood Donor Month, severe weather forces blood drive cancellations causing thousands of donations to go uncollected

Press release

This January, National Blood Donor Month, the American Red Cross has an urgent need for blood and platelet donors of all blood types to make an appointment to give now and help address a winter blood donation shortage.

Severe winter weather has had a tremendous impact on blood donations already this year, with more than 150 blood drives forced to cancel causing over 5,500 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected. This is in addition to seasonal illnesses, such as the flu, and hectic holiday schedules collectively contributing to more than 28,000 fewer donations than...
Havre school board members approved district policy changes during Tuesdays Board of Trustees meeting, one of which specifies the meaning of cultural-appropriate clothing.

The language (in the policy) gave us more guidance on whats appropriate, District Superintendent Andy Carlson told trustees before they voted.

The cultural-dress policy, largely aimed at accommodating Native American students, allows students to wear items like beads, or other similar culturally relevant items, on graduation caps, while also including guidelines aimed at prohibiting abuse of the policy. Exam...
Press release

HELENA  Montana ranchers interested in topics such as post-wildfire grazing management, conifer encroachment in upland and riparian areas, or recruiting more young people into agriculture will want to attend the 2018 Winter Grazing Seminar, set for Feb. 6-7 at the Radisson Colonial Hotel in Helena.

With speakers from all over Montana, as well as Oregon and Idaho, this years seminar has something for everyone, said Stacey Barta, rangeland resources program coordinator with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Its a great opportunity...
en the constant state of flux and disruption most businesses find themselves in, choosing just three emerging trends that leaders will need to be mindful of in 2018 hardly seems sufficient.However, if the task is narrowed to the emerging people-related trends that leaders must be on top of, the task is a little easier.To get a sense of what these trends are, HRD spoke to Andrew Warren-Smith, managing director of DDI Australia. He has identified three key areas that will impact how business is undertaken in 2018.Traditionally, organisations have used a narrow definition of potential. Warren-Smith suggests that organisations had a pool of maybe 20 people at each level of the company who they considered to be part of a high-potential (Hi-Po) pool.These Hi-Po heroes would be the ones to come up with the brightest ideas and to execute on those ideas in the best possible ways to keep the organisation successful through murky, challenging times.However, DDIs studies indicate that while 65% of organisations have a Hi-Po program in place, almost 70% say these programs dont work or are not effective.You have many organisations over many years that have put a significant effort into identifying high-potentials and relying and depending on high-potential programs to deliver results, and theyre not delivering the results, says Warren-Smith.Part of the problem is that the focus has traditionally only been on senior managers or executives. Warren-Smith suggests organisations should broaden and extend their view of potential. Those organisations that are doing this more effectively are thinking about potential right through the organisation, at every level.They are also factoring in a mix of timeframes, looking at short-term, medium-term and long-term horizons. That means not just looking at senior level roles and their immediate replacements but going beyond that to look at what sort of talent theyll need in the next two to three years, and then also investing significantly in the early stage leaders.To succeed in this approach, DDI encourages organisations to develop an eco-system of leadership not just more leaders. DDI has identified three critical steps that will enable organisations to surface, activate and accelerate potential.The eco-system refers to what must happen not only across the organisation but also at individual and team levels, Warren-Smith says. Then its about asking how you go about identifying and developing that leadership talent and ultimately produce better outcomes for the business.Technology is impacting how everyone works so it has obvious ramifications for leaders, says Warren-Smith. For this reason, DDI has taken the broad theme of digital as the second key trend impacting on leaders and the wider workforce in 2018.Every day we see news about the automation of jobs. In October alone, NAB announced it was laying off 6,000 jobs due to digital disruption  but the banking giant also announced it was creating 2,000 digitally-focused new jobs. Warren-Smith says any job with a narrow scope will be up for grabs sooner rather than later.On a positive note, there is still a lot that machines, computers and robots cannot do. Warren-Smith cites the example of a machines inability to show empathy. You might encounter voice recognition software when you phone the bank, he says You can move through the process by engaging with a computer. However, the computer doesnt show any empathy if youve got a customer issue.People and data will interact but there will be many roles for people and leaders beyond just the automation part of it. What are the sorts of skills people can take from an existing role and apply to the digital context? Think of problem-solving, decision-making, judgment.Just as important for leaders, he adds, is the ability to harness the technology that is available.We come at it from a leadership and people perspective so for us its how you combine both the tech and the people piece. How do you find the balance between what the AI and big data opportunities are and marry that with the human side of things?DDI sees the role of the leader in the digital world falling into three archetypes. On one end there is the Digital-Savvy Leader who is familiar with the technology and tools to enhance or improve their own individual productivity. At the other end of the spectrum falls the Inventive-Disruptive Leader  the Steve Jobs, Jack Ma, and Mark Zuckerberg s of the world, who are the disruptors of organisations and industries.These leaders are rare and there is very little one can do to develop these skills. In the middle comes the Agile-Ready Leader who is bringing about new business models and executing on the big ideas using their mix of mindset and skillset abilities to achieve business outcomes.A digital leadership mindset means being open to change and growth. In the NAB example, those people who are being upskilled will need to be open to change and prepared to go on that journey of taking on skillsets that were previously outside of their mandate.Youve got to encourage people to disrupt, encourage people to experiment and be somewhat comfortable with uncertainty, says Warren-Smith.In addition to their mindset, leaders must think about their skillset. Warren-Smith again points to the fintech environment, where the big players are being disrupted by smaller start-ups, and are requiring new skillsets from their employees. The banks and insurers are setting up ecosystems so they can collaborate with external partners because they cant be all things to all people, he says.Warren-Smith refers to this as hyper-collaboration, or the ability to collaborate with anyone, anywhere.Knowledge sharing is going to be paramount, he says. Knowledge used to be power; in tomorrows world I think knowledge will still be powerful but itll be about how that knowledge is shared across departments, across organisations and even across industries.The third trend ties nicely to the second trend: the ability to leverage people analytics to make more informed decisions. Warren-Smith says this presents a golden opportunity for HR professionals.Theres so much data flowing through organisations but HR very often lags in their ability to analyse and predict on the basis of people data. HR has the opportunity now to build analytics capabilities, to really get on top of what these digital trends are and then use technology to their advantage.Warren-Smith cites the simple example of engagement surveys, which can today be done at a moments notice as a pulse survey. You dont have to wait months to get feedback on your culture; you can get it day by day, and then compare and contrast the data, he says.He also sees opportunities for analytics to be used more widely in the D&I space. Its now possible to make informed decisions about D&I issues based on more than someones gender or background and instead look at peoples effectiveness and the contributions they make, he says.HR can utilise their understanding of people  how they think, how they operate and what motivates them  but can now back that up with data. Its a wonderful combination.
Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered that most people with osteoarthritis can be subdivided into two distinct disease groups, with implications for diagnosis and drug development.

Professor Tim Hardingham, based at The Universitys Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Researchand Division of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine says the team has identified two different patterns of disease activity.

The research, funded by Arthritis Research UK, is published in the international journal, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The discovery of the two disease groups was made by using mathematical analysis of the thousands of genes expressed from tissue obtained from 60 individual patients with knee osteoarthritis.

As the stratification is based on active metabolism in the diseased tissue, the team believe it may help predict different patient responses to treatment.

Osteoarthritis is a complex and debilitating disease which affects more than 8 million sufferers in UK, which is increasing as the population ages.

Professor Hardingham said: This is an important new discovery in Osteoarthritis, which reveals a metabolic basis for developing patient specific treatments targeted at the two different groups

It will inform the future design, set up and analysis of drug trials and may help predict different patient responses to treatment.

There is an urgent need for better treatments and we hope this research may help us along that road.

Musculo-skeletal conditions cost the NHS 4.76 billion per year in 2013-14 and there has been little advance in the treatments for osteoarthritis over that past 30 years; new approaches tested have yielded little benefit.

The team also developed a more simple method of analysis, generating a list of candidate biomarkers for detection in patients synovial fluid  found in the cavities of joints  to distinguish patients in the two Groups
Tillis not worried about Trump drag in '18 elections

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis met with farmers and agriculture leaders, including Bert Lemkes, in December.

Dont put Thom Tillis in the sky-is-falling caucus of the Republican Party.

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The first-term senator who led North Carolinas hard swing to the right as state House speaker after the Republican landslide of 2010 says his partys prospects are bright this year thanks to the best maps in a generation.

In an interview with the Hendersonville Lightning, Tillis accurately predicted a week before its final passage that well get tax reform to the president. He doesnt run from his across-the-board support of President Trump. And he says the best part of his job are days like Dec. 15, which he spent at Danny McConnells farm in Dana and at a lunchtime session with growers and agribusiness leaders to gather information to support his immigration reform bill, which seeks to preserve farm labor. Heres the Lightning interview:

What did you think of the Alabama Senate election?

Tillis: I think the people of Alabama spoke. It doesnt change our agenda and it doesnt prevent us from fulfilling the promises we made on tax reform and a lot of other things we need to get done.

How are you doing with Trump these days? Still good with him?

Actually Ive been good all along. I think some reporting agency said I voted with him 96 percent of the time. Where weve been at odds has probably been on one EPA appointment. I support his agenda. We have different styles but I support the substance of what hes trying to get done. Weve supported a lot of regulatory reform issues. Ive met with him on immigration policy. Im working on an immigration policy that the president wants, not something that he would oppose. It doesnt make any sense for us to spend time on something like this and have the president veto. On border security, on immigration policy, on tax policy, on national security theres no daylight between me and the president. Weve got a good working relationship.

Youre not concerned that the tax cut bill blows up the deficit?

The $1.5 trillion  we see that being paid for through economic activity. Were only talking about four-tenths of 1 percent incremental growth to pay for that $1.5 trillion. I dont think it blows up the deficit. I think its really funny, for the first time in my lifetime Democrats are actually worried about deficits.

What do you predict in the 2018 election?

Best maps that weve had in a generation. Ten states that voted for President Trump have Democratic incumbents; (in) five of those states, the people still view President Trump very favorably and he won by double-digit margins. Weve got a great map for Republicans in 2018. The liberal talking heads that are saying Alabama is like a bellwether for next year dont really understand what was going on in Alabama. That was a one-off race and three years from now thats going to be a Republican senator again. I predict that well keep our majority and maybe add a few in 2018 and Im pretty conservative when it comes to handicapping races and actually pretty accurate, too. Just ask the Democrats what we did in 2010.

Now that youve had the job for four years whats the best part of being a senator?

Being out here. Best part of being a senator is when Im back in the state talking to people that Im representing up in Washington. Washingtons kind of the price of admission. But being here and getting to a point where youre actually producing a result is the most rewarding.

Whats the worst part?

Worst part is probably on a personal level being away from my family and my five-week-old first granddaughter, and really just dealing with the news cycle and social media. They put out so much false information. You have to spend so much time explaining things that you should never have to even worry about. In the old days, before social media, you wouldnt have to spend an hour and a half of your day just talking people off of a ledge on something thats just patently untrue. But now you do.

Do you plan to run for re-election in 2020?

Right now thats the plan.

Youre not worried about Trump being an anchor around your neck?

What you need to do is worry less about somebody that can carry you over the finish line and do things people in North Carolina want you to get done and then you run on that record.  I believe its our record in North Carolina that got me elected (in 2014) against all the odds and $118 million spent, the most expensive race in history at the time and in 2020 itll be the most expensive race again in history again. But you run on your record, not from it.
Presentation celebrates silent movies filmed in Bat Cave

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CHIMNEY ROCK  During the silent film era, nearly 400 movies were produced in North Carolina. Films were made in Asheville, Charlotte, Wilmington, Durham and many other locations. But one hotbed of North Carolina silent movie era is a surprise to many: Bat Cave.

Nearly every major film company of the era sent companies to this rugged and beautiful spot. Between 1912 and the mid 20s, more than fifty movies were produced there, according to film historian and North Carolina silent film authority Frank Thompson. And the companies lodged at the historic Esmeralda Inn.

On Feb. 3 some of the rare films will return to the Esmeralda for a special evening  Bat Cave's Silent Movie Era. Thompson will present an illustrated talk, showing excerpts from three films produced at Bat Cave and Chimney Rock: Brother Bill (1913), The Masked Rider (1916) and Gilded Lies (1921). These motion pictures  all thought lost until recently  will be accompanied by renowned pianist Marc Hoffman (http://www.marchoffman.com).

The total package cost per person is $45  $20 for the presentation and a $25 credit towards dinner in the Inns restaurant  plus room rate and tax. For those who wish to attend the presentation without staying at the Inn, the price is $20 per person. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact The Esmeralda Inn at info@theesmeralda.com or 828-625-2999.
The Irish whiskey industry has warned that its record-breaking growth could be jeopardised by new alcohol promotion regulations.

The Irish Whiskey Association (IWA) claimed that the new Public Health (Alcohol) Bill could have a devastating impact on its industry and threaten everything from the success of new visitor centres to spin-off tourism sales.

Irish whiskey is, by sector, the fastest-growing drinks type in the world.

Jameson sales alone are set to reach 1bn by 2020, with the number of cases sold worldwide each year having increased by 1,000pc since 1988.

The American market, for 70 years the dominant whiskey market in the world, leads the way, with Jameson sales soaring by up to 37pc each year in some US states.

Irish Distillers' parent, Pernod Ricard, is celebrating the fact that a top US industry magazine has dubbed Jameson "one of the top 20 hottest brands in North America".

The number of people visit- ing Irish whiskey heritage centres last year soared by 11pc.

Pleaded

IWA director William Lavelle has now pleaded with the Government for consultation over the potential impact of the new legislation.

Mr Lavelle said that, despite repeated requests to consult the Department of Health over the new regulations, no talks with the whiskey industry have been granted.

"The repeated refusal to engage with the industry means that the consequences of this legislation have not been fully assessed," he said.

"With the Alcohol Bill due to come before the Dail soon, we are calling on the minister and TDs to engage with us on reasonable amendments. This would better balance the Bill, ensuring the Irish whiskey tourism industry is protected."

IWA concerns revolve around the potential ban on all advertising and promotion of alcohol-based products.

"This means that advertising of visitor centres could be severely constrained," said Mr Lavelle. "This is yet another unintended consequence of this Bill.

"This could prevent the advertising of whiskey tourism, negatively impact this growing industry and put jobs at risk in communities which are reliant on the influx of visitors to the local distillery visitor centre."

The IWA said the number of visitors to Irish distillery heritage centres reached 814,000 last year. That represents a 25pc hike since 2015.

"In 2017, IWA members operated 12 distillery visitor centres in Ireland," Mr Lavelle added.
The case against a man accused of sexually assaulting a homeless teenager after taking him in for the night is "totally one-sided" and "grossly unfair", his defence has argued.

Gardai investigating the complaint against Mayvine Gurriah (39) immediately decided they would believe the alleged victim and never put the accused's side of the story to the 18-year-old youth, it was claimed.

The trial also heard that Mr Gurriah denied trying to get the teen to smell from a bottle of "poppers" that he kept by his bed but said he rarely used.

His defence has asked Judge Anthony Halpin to dismiss the charge. The judge adjourned a decision to a date next month.

Mr Gurriah has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the teenager at his apartment at Seven Oaks, Sarsfield Road, Inchicore, on May 26, 2016.

He had met the young man on a city street and offered him a meal and a place to sleep, Dublin District Court heard.

The teenager alleged he woke on the couch to find Mr Gurriah with his hand down his trous-ers, touching his penis.

The alleged victim said he was in a state of shock and fear and asked Mr Gurriah "what the f**k he was at". He said the accused ran outside and locked him in the apartment.

Crazy

Interviewed by gardai for seven hours, Mr Gurriah said he was sitting on the arm of the couch and may have brushed against the sleeping teenager.

He alleged the teen went "crazy", demanding money and threatening to kill him. He was afraid and ran out, locking the apartment.

A caretaker called gardai after Mr Gurriah approached him and he saw the alleged victim on the balcony, saying: "I'm going to jump."

Defence barrister Patrick Reynolds said Mr Gurriah's garda interviews had been "oppressive".

He said there were inconsistencies in the alleged victim's evidence, which meant his version of events could not have happened, including two-and-a-half hours which were unaccounted for.

The teen had described Mr Gurriah wearing no top, but the accused had a top on when gardai arrived. A state solicitor said this could have been down to the teenager's state of shock.

Gda Kevin Lawless accepted it was "possible" that the accused's counter-allegations were never put to the alleged victim.

He said Mr Gurriah did not want to pursue a formal complaint against the teenager.
An additional charge has been brought against a solicitor accused of taking cocaine into Mountjoy Prison during a professional visit.

Aonghus McCarthy (32) was charged in November for conveying a controlled drug into Mountjoy, or to a person in the prison, on February 8 last year - a charge he denies.

Cocaine worth 25 was allegedly found when his wallet was searched, Dublin District Court heard.

Mr McCarthy told gardai yesterday that he did not know it was there after an additional charge was put to him in connection with the seizure.

His practice is at Conyngham Road, Dublin 8.

In November, the District Court accepted jurisdiction to hear the case and had ordered that his trial would take place in March.

The solicitor, originally from Co Cork but with an address at Wellington House, Clancy Quay, Dublin 8, appeared again at Dublin District Court to face an additional charge of unlawful possession of cocaine on February 8 last year.

Gda Finbarr Brennan told Judge Cormac Dunne that he charged Mr McCarthy at the court.

Bail

The defendant's reply was "I did not know it was there", the court was told. Gda Brennan said it was alleged that the value of the cocaine was 25.

Judge Dunne extended the existing bail to the new charge sheet.

Defence solicitor Michael Hanahoe said that in light of the new charge he was asking for the case to be put back to a later date for mention.

Judge Dunne remanded that his client to appear again in four weeks to indicate how he will plead to the new charge.

A state solicitor also told Judge Dunne that a new trial date was needed as a result of a witness difficulty.

The judge said that could also be confirmed on February 6, when the case and both charges will be listed again for mention.

In a summary of the prosecution evidence given in November, the court heard it would be alleged that the defendant entered the prison for a professional visit to an inmate.

He went through a search area where he put his belt and wallet on a conveyor belt to be scanned.

It was alleged that as they passed though the scanner, a prison officer observed a black object inside the wallet.

The prison officer found a bag with a "white powder substance inside".

It was suspected it was a controlled drug and gardai were called, the court heard.

Interviewed

The accused agreed to be interviewed at Mountjoy Garda Station, where he "denied having known possession of the suspected drug or that he intended to pass it to an inmate".

Mr Hanahoe had told the court that the hearing would take only 15 minutes.

There was a single issue that required the accused to give evidence, he had said.

The court has also been told there will be two state witnesses.
An artists impression of how College Green would look after it is pedestrianised with a plaza

New traffic restrictions that could potentially ban buses and taxis from the College Green area are due to be announced in the next two to three weeks, Dublin City Council (DCC) has said.

DCC chief executive Owen Keegan plans to meet representatives of Dublin Bus and taxi drivers to get agreement on measures, but indicated changes will be made either way.

Mr Keegan told councillors there will also be meetings held with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the National Transport Authority (NTA) in the coming weeks.

Agreement

"We are meeting with Dublin Bus, we'll be meeting with TII, we'll be meeting with the NTA. I know we're intending on meeting with the Lord Mayor with taxi drivers," he said.

"We're going to try and see if we can get an agreement on a set of measures.

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"Well, as far as we can get agreement."

Mr Keegan pointed out that it is taking twice as long as before to cross the street following the introduction of Luas Cross City, and added that this could worsen as the frequency of trams is increased and longer trams are introduced.

"It will take you twice as long to cross at Grafton Street, and that is something we don't think is sustainable," Mr Keegan said.

"It's bad enough in the winter where there's very few pedestrians, but in the spring and summer, to have that number of people waiting twice as long is not acceptable."

Mr Keegan added that if the council does nothing, the "system will grind to a halt" and the current situation is "unsustainable".

He said that the new measures are irrelevant to the impending An Bord Pleanala decision on the creation of a civic plaza at College Green.

An administrative error has led to a delay to an oral hearing on the plaza.

"Additional measures are required," he said. "We're meeting with all the relevant players to see if we can agree a set of measures to ensure that the city centre traffic works for everybody, pending the final decision on the plaza."

On Monday night, councillors voted overwhelmingly in favour of the city manager making appropriate traffic management changes, following a motion by Green Party representative Ciaran Cuffe.

An earlier motion to keep the status quo on traffic management until after An Bord Pleanala makes its decision on the plaza was defeated.

Mr Keegan has the authority to make changes without council backing.

It is expected that the oral hearing on the College Green plaza will be heard in mid-February.

The hearing is not anticipated to last longer than a week.
A safe house in Finglas linked to the Mr Flashy mob which was petrol-bombed and shot last year

A bitter northside feud has been put on hold after the warring factions held a face-off in a supermarket car park - because their jailed gang bosses have decided the ongoing hostilities were bad for business.

The warfare has already seen a number of attempted murders, arson attacks and shootings, but miraculously no killings.

The bizarre meeting happened on Sunday evening in the car park in Finglas, as four junior members of each faction showed up, while more senior gangsters scouted around the perimeter.

Trusted

The trusted representatives were from the rival Finglas West and Finglas South mobs.

"These gangs have decided that the feud is bad for business because of all the attention from gardai, so they had this meeting," a source said.

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"It seems a big cocaine bust last week was the final straw. They want the cops to back off and making peace is the best way to achieve this.

"They figure that all the garda checkpoints will end if the feud is seen to be over."

Despite the fact that a face-to-face meeting has taken place, gardai fear that will ultimately lead to a "double-cross" that could result in multiple murders, a source said last night.

Among the participants in Sunday's meeting was a drug dealer nicknamed 'Mr Flashy', who has been disowned by his former allies in the Kinahan cartel because of the Finglas feud.

Also present was the younger brother of a jailed armed robber who is a key member of the rival faction, and an associate of his who is out on bail because of feud-related activity.

"It was some sight - these fellas meeting up. They met in the car park because they would not feel safe doing it in a house or pub for fear of being shot dead," a source said.

"Four on four - all hooded up - standing across from each other with their arms folded. Then you had the more senior lads scouting around.

"Everyone thought it was going to kick off but both crews went their separate ways after about five minutes and there was no incidents.

"So this seems to be a truce, but anyone who knows the b*****ds that run these gangs knows that it will kick off again as soon as the gardai stop with all the heat."

Armed

Officers have had some success in jailing many of the main players and increased armed patrols in the area but this has dropped off in recent days.

Sources say the suburb is still "consumed by fear" after a spate of terrifying attacks and has a "general distrust of gardai".

Armed garda patrols have increased in the area ever since Hutch gang-linked criminal Glen O'Toole (39) was arrested in the Ashtown area while on his way to murder Mr Flashy last October.

O'Toole was arrested with a loaded firearm, a silencer, a canister of petrol and a Halloween mask by Finglas gardai.

He was charged in relation to the arrest but died by suicide in prison a week later.

It is understood he had been threatened by the Kinahan cartel-linked drugs mob before he took his own life.

Just days after O'Toole's arrest, Mr Flashy's gang was suspected of shooting up the home of an innocent member of the Hutch family in a revenge attack.

Threats

Mr Flashy's mob is also suspected of beating up another innocent Hutch family member in a daylight attack in a supermarket car park.

In the aftermath of this incident, a teenage Hutch family member fled the Finglas area and went into hiding because of threats against him.

In a revenge attack, a safe house in Finglas linked to Mr Flashy was shot at and then petrol-bombed over a local feud.

Investigations by gardai into this arson attack later gave them key information about the gang.

This included a drugs "tick list", a list of names of drug customers and how much they owe, and a bizarre set of rules for the safe house.
Appointment

10 January 2018

The IHG Owners Association, which represents InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) franchise hotel owners worldwide, has announced that Deepesh Kholwadwala has assumed chairmanship of its Global Board of Directors for 2018. Deepesh is the President and CEO of Dreamcatcher Hotel Group and Sun Capital Hotels with expertise in hotel feasibility, planning, financing, construction, and operations. Deepesh succeeds Allen Fusco, owner and operator of ANABRA Associates. Deepesh is a University of New Mexico graduate and holds a Master's in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. He started his first career at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque where he was appointed as the principal investigator to lead several Russian R&D projects aimed at nuclear non-proliferation. Deepesh became a principal member managing research projects in the Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center. Deepesh jointly holds three patents, the most recent in 2017 which deals with neural interface methods for artificial sensory. He has received the R&D 100 Award [often referred to as the Oscars of Innovation] and was the recipient of the Individual Leadership Award. Deepesh was recognized as an outstanding contributor in developing new methods in solving complex engineering problems. Guided by his father's principles of business, Deepesh raised capital and structured a successful launch of his hotel company in 2003. Today, Deepesh's company owns and/or operates nine IHG, Hilton and Marriott-branded hotels in its portfolio with an additional four in the pipeline. He leads his management team to uphold the company's mission to provide guests unrivaled and exceptional levels of hospitality. Deepesh deeply connects with the challenges of both internal and external market forces affecting today's hotel owners. He volunteers his time to lead and advocate on behalf of IHG Owners Association members from around the world. In becoming the voice for these members, Deepesh states, "the success of any brand is ultimately determined by long-term profitability of its owners, not shareholders. Every dollar improves owner's margin, and each margin point drives their future branding decision, and therefore, chains must commit to protecting and growing the owners' margins to remain a relevant choice." Deepesh serves as an Officer of the IHG Owners Association Board of Directors, Capital CDC Board of Director, Albuquerque Lodgers Tax Committee (2018), Co-chair of the IHG Owners Association Americas Council (2015), IHG OA Strategic Planning Committee (2015), vice-chair of the Governance Committee (2013-2016), New Mexico Lodging Association Board of Director (2010-2012), La Quinta Brand Council (2006-2012), and First American Bank Advisory Board Executive (2012-2015). He completed the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration Real-estate Development Program (2007, 2010), and Emory Institute Goizueta Business School Executive Global Leadership program in 2009. Deepesh's hotels have received the Newcomer of the Year and Quality Excellence Awards from IHG in 2011-13 and 2016, Hilton's Lighthouse Award (2014, 2015), Marriott Gold Guest Satisfaction (2016).
Supplier News

10 January 2018

Phoenix -- IBC Hospitality Technologies is entering the new year with a newly-formed Advisory Board. The high-profile panel of experts will lend advice and provide guidance on IBC's technology and strategy, helping the company to capitalize on opportunities in areas such as strategic partners, search, loyalty rewards, voice, artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity and sustainable growth. IBC is the world's most comprehensive solution for providing independent hotels with proprietary software to manage distribution and soft benefits along with proven digital marketing services.

"We are launching the IBC Advisory Board today to leverage the skillset of some of the most relevant experts in hospitality who will help us ensure that our programs and solutions care for the needs of all our customers," said Pamela Barnhill, IBC president and COO. "These strong minds will make us a stronger company with stronger products that will attract the strongest customers. The IBC Board of Advisors understands our dedication to serving independent hotels and alternative lodging worldwide. They will be integral to our growth and instrumental in our goal of helping hotels reclaim their revenue and guest data from the OTAs while maintaining their independence from soft brands and chains."

Members of the IBC Advisory Board include:

Scott Brennan , Chief Growth Officer, RoomIt by CWT

Scott Brennan leads the hotel division vertical, including all elements of the end-to-end hotel business. His role is to grow Carlson Wagonllit Travel's hotel business and ensure its clients, suppliers and travelers receive a differentiated value proposition. Previously he served CWT as EVP and Head of Global Supplier Management. Former posts include Global Head of Partnershps for Rocketmiles, VP of Global Strategic Partnerships for Hilton Worldwide, and a variety of leadership roles at GE.

Scott Brodows, Vice President, Hopper

Scott Brodows has spent 20+ years as a leader in the travel technology and distribution space. As VP of Hotel Supply for Hopper, he assists the leading travel app company in revolutionizing the way people shop and book trips on their phone. Prior to joining Hopper, Brodows spent 12 years at Sabre, most recently working COO of the newly acquired SynXis hotel reservations service provider business. He also held various operations and business development roles at Travel Tripper, TravelClick, Travelocity/lastminute.com and most recently at Intent Media.

Philip Ferri, Chief Executive Officer, Tnooz

Known for his strategic approach to maximizing shareholder value,

Philip Ferri sits at the helm of Tnooz, the original independent voice in travel and hospitality technology, and has been a member of the Tnooz board of directors since its inception. Prior to joining the online travel news network, Ferri served as chief financial officer for several companies, including: Phocuswright, LBF Travel, Inntopia, Alshamel Travel/Carlsonwagonlit Travel, Direct Travel, Travelation, Ernst & Young (London), and financial controller at American Express Travel Related Sercices. His expertise spans consulting to startups and growth companies in multiple industries. He also boasts extensive mergers and acquisitions experience.

Michael Fisher, President, Travelenergy

Michael Fisher is a 40 year hospitality veteran focused on travel and tourism and bringing international visitors to the United States. As president of Travelenergy, he is currently working with travel industry partners in developing and implementing global tourism sales and marketing strategies. Prior to founding Travelenergy, Fisher served as President of Gullivers Travel Associates, one of the largest global travel organizations. Michael started in the family business, Allied Tours, and for over 30 years was a catalyst for major industry innovations that propelled Allied Tours to a leadership position, and became the largest tour operator selling travel to the United States from the global marketplace.

Caryl Helsel, President & CEO, Dragonfly Hospitality Resources

Caryl Helsel boasts 25 years of industry experience. Her executive roles include directing revenue management, distribution, sales and marketing, and IT teams at Heritage Hotels & Resorts, TravelClick, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, ARAMARK Parks & Destinations and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. She also served as cofounder and partner in consulting firm Inspire Resources. Helsel co-authored two best-selling revenue management publications for HSMAI that serve as the foundation of its Certified Revenue Management Executive (CRME) certification program used by universities as the basis of their revenue management curriculum. She is a past president of HEDNA and was on the 2016 and 2017 Americas Board of HSMAI.

Richie Karaburun, Professor, New York University

Professor Richie Karaburun has been successfully assisting in the growth and expansion of travel companies for the last 25 years, providing them with his immense knowledge of sales, marketing and business development. Karaburun joined NYU as Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor at Johnathan M. Tisch center for Hospitality and Tourism. He brings unprecedented experience and familiarity of diverse international, cultural and business practices to companies. Prior posts include Managing Director at Roomer, Vice President of Global Supplier Relations at RADIUS, President at Gulliver's Travel Associates (GTA) North America, and Vice President of Product Development and Contracting at American Tours International.

Flo Lugli, ISHC, Principal, Navesink Advisory Group

A well-known expert on travel industry distribution, travel technology, and digital presence, Flo Lugli was recently recognized as one of the most influential women in hospitality technology by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP). She also was recognized as one of the "Most Powerful Women" in Travel for seven years by Travel Agent magazine and listed among the Top 75 hotel executives and Top 10 technology experts by Lodging magazine. As head of Navesink, Lugli helps businesses drive revenue growth and enhance profitability. Most recently, she served as the executive VP of marketing for Wyndham Hotel Group, and held executive roles with Travelport, Cendant Corp., and cheapcaribbean.com. Lugli is also Non-Executive Chair of the Global Hotel Alliance and has held many advisory and board of directors posts, including serving for two terms as president of HEDNA.

George Roukas, Partner, Hudson Crossing

George Roukas is an expert in product management, technology and competitive strategy. Prior to co-founding Hudson Crossing in 2007, he served as Group VP of Product Management for Travelport, where he led the strategy, development and management for all products facing Galileo's North American agency partners. Prior to Travelport, Roukas was VP of Product Management and Strategy for Cendant Travel Distribution Services' Supplier Services group. He also worked for PhoCusWright as a consultant to several well-known travel companies, primarily in the area of web site usability for e-commerce.

Steven Rubin, President and Founder, TRI Hospitality

Steven Rubin is an expert in Travel Revenue Innovation (TRI). He founded TRI to help hotels and travel companies identify new opportunities, improve risk tolerance, drive brand awareness, and anticipate consumer behavior to maximize revenue. Rubin's previous positions include VP of Revenue at Denihan Hospitality, VP and General Manager at Travelzoo, Commercial Director at YOTEL, and Regional Director of Revenue and Distribution at Kimpton Hotels. He is an active member of HSMAI and HEDNA, serves as co-chair for the HEDNA Metasearch working group, and was a primary author of HEDNA's publication "Heavy Meta: How to optimize your presence on Metasearch." Rubin is also an Adjunct Professor of Strategic Pricing and Revenue Management at New York University.
Opinion Article

10 January 2018

On my last trip to London for WTM (our company was exhibiting for the first time), I found myself at a newly built, well known and well-rated hotel that certainly missed the mark when it came to their in-room technology.

As a result, they lost my confidence as a guest in their implementation of new digital "bells and whistles".

I think of myself as very tech savvy, so I was looking forward to trying out the hotel's in-room smart TV system, smart controls and app. But it was such a nightmare to operate  the remote was your browser and was impossible to control, while the app had very little in terms of usability or information. I ended up more anxious and frustrated than delighted.

Changing times

An exciting revolution seems to be starting to take shape in hospitality thanks to the rise of mobile and emerging technologies  from chat-bots to AI, to voice assistants and robot concierges, smart hotel amenities and even entirely smart hotels.

However, hoteliers must take great care that the digitised features they are adding on are not just to appeal to a modern millennial mindset. Such changes must have a purpose. Otherwise, they only serve to feed an on-demand technology monster. Each implementation has to have one purpose and one purpose only  improving the guest experience, on-property and in-destination.

Engagement and growth in the hospitality industry isn't just about one time visits, pumping money into paid channels and optimizing conversion rates for rooms sold. What engagement entirely boils down is how successful a property is at making its guests feel taken care of and welcome, so they are likely to recommend the brand or to stay at a sister property in a new city.

Human touch

When building emerging technologies into a hotel's offerings, human-centric design is of the utmost importance. When tech isn't user-friendly, you risk confusing guests and failing to keep their business (while wasting your hotel's budget in the meantime). With competition mounting from the sharing economy, and Airbnb on track to rack up more than 100 million stays this year, hotels can't afford such mistakes.

If implemented successfully, emerging technologies can provide quite the competitive edge. A great example is conversational interfaces and messaging, which are probably the trend in emerging technologies in hospitality right now about which I am most bullish.

Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Baidu Deep Speech 2, IBM Watson, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana are among the dozens of players competing in this space. Available as voice-based or message-based systems, hotels can use conversational interfaces to provide better responses to guest inquiries about the hotel's features and services, while also using them to recommend and book tours and attractions and things to do in the cities they are in.

As I have written before, the opportunity for tours and activities keeps growing and growing, and both mobile and emerging tech will be immense drivers to the industry.

Early efforts

The majority of hotels that have started exploring and experimenting are using message-based interfaces, such as chatbots operating via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and other communication services, and that'll soon increase as voice and messaging based tech, and the AI behind it, improves.

Gartner Research predicts that 30% of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen by 2020, likely fueled by the future popularity of voice-powered searches. Mobile is a driving force of this evolution, even further cementing a "mobile first strategy" as the future of the hospitality industry.

Magnus Jern, chief information officer of Digital Management, Inc, a leading provider of mobile enterprise, business intelligence and cybersecurity services, said:

"Customers expect to communicate directly with brands from their mobile through Facebook, Whatsapp, WeChat, Twitter and other channels about any topicIf they don't get a response they will go to a competitor or other company to find it."

Chances are you've already interacted with a chatbot and didn't even know it. An important part of guest experience is indeed a personal, human touch, but these days many people are becoming open to receiving automated service if it is faster, more efficient and offers a satisfactory result. If a chatbot can provide a reliable solution or answer in half the time it takes to connect with a real person (without any of that mind-numbing "hold the line" music), wouldn't you happily use one?

Getting the message

IHG Hotels demonstrates just how a chatbot can develop brand loyalty by improving guest experience. Milda Ratkelyte, social channels manager for IHG said:

"We want travellers to interact with Hotel Indigo the same way they do with their friends, so introducing our digital Neighbourhood Host on Facebook Messenger was a perfect way for us to better connect with them through one of the world's most used platform."

The chatbot engages the guests not only pre-stay where they can plan but also during the stay, where they can get information about the city, things to do and attractions and much more.

Chatbots can engage with existing traffic, increase conversion rates, upsell and solve inquiries and complaints with more ease. It can even act as a reservation channel to facilitate direct bookings. It doesn't just have novelty appeal, and it can be an important means of getting an edge on competition and making the lives of guests easier.

However, for users to indeed build trust in a brand and its chatbot, their experience has to be seamless. As trends researcher Sabre Labs put it in it's 2017 "Emerging Technology in Travel" report:

"Chatbots must function as expected by the user. The goal is for the technology to disappear and for the user to forget about the interface. For this to happen, understanding intent is essential."

If done poorly, conversational interfaces work against its hotel adopters.

Future gazing

What the chatbots of tomorrow will be capable of is incredible. Today many chatbots are rules based rather than AI based. Artificial intelligence is set to one day advance conversational interfaces to an astonishing degree. Christina Heggie, investment principal at JetBlue Technology Ventures, runs down an interesting scenario in a Medium post.

"Imagine a world where you communicate with a conversational AI through any channel of choice to discuss a trip  from an Alexa-like hardware device to software on a computer or a digital watch. 'Book flights and hotels for my meeting next week in LA.' or an ongoing and evolving conversation: 'I want to take vacation next spring. Maybe somewhere warm. Not too expensive. Using some of my loyalty points. Where can I go?

"The software would gather a user's prior booking history, as well as other relevant information, ranging from TripAdvisor Yelp reviews to photos liked on Instagram, capturing the relative words and data points needed to establish accurate context for that traveller.

Through the analysis of this information, as well as her stated preferences, AI could produce a short, highly customized list of search results  in stark contrast to what users often experience today on online booking engines."

That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to personalized service. People will give chatbots details they wouldn't put into search engines, and rich data from a full digital footprint will flourish with specific answers that will hit the nail right on the head.

Once additional personal information is offered up, it can be collected and mined for data sets. Big data is a term that might sound impersonal and daunting, but it's actually where that human touch and technology meet. Hotels can find out more about who their guests are, their needs and desires, and in doing so be able to deliver them even better service.

I've worked on mobile, bots and emerging tech firsthand. I believe in being a practitioner. My current company has developed a mobile concierge for both the in-room and in-destination experience, and I can say that investing in emerging technologies, when implemented right, has the potential to save hotels serious operating costs and delight guests at the same.

Thriving hotels such as The Public in New York and chains such as Yotel can inspire with their fuss-free, tech-reliant models. The Public has scaled rapidly thanks to unique automated touches, such as self-check-in using iPads in the lobby and online room service orders with self-pick-up. Meanwhile, Yotel enlists the help of butler robots that take elevators by themselves to deliver amenities such as towels and toothbrushes.

But despite how exciting these advancements are, emerging technologies can only act as a complement to warm and genuine human service. The basic tenets of good hospitality should not be sacrificed for innovation, but rather propped up and made better because of it. Don't forget: excellent guest experience always has to come from the heart.
The 233-room hotel is located next to Schonbrunn Palace  one of the most important cultural and historical monuments in the country.

Radisson Blu announced the opening of its second hotel in Vienna, Austria. The 233-room Radisson Blu Park Royal Palace Hotel, Vienna, a rebranding of an existing hotel, opened its doors under a new umbrella to offer memorable and unique experiences that meet the promises of the iconic, stylish and sophisticated hotel brand. The hotel is located next to Schonbrunn Palace  one of the most important cultural and historical monuments in the country.

"The capital of Austria remains a focal market for our growth journey," said Elie Younes, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. "The additional hotel brings the groups portfolio in Vienna to three hotels  two Radisson Blu properties and one Park Inn by Radisson  with nearly 500 rooms, and we will continue to look for further opportunities in this city alongside our franchise partner Austria Trend."

The Radisson Blu Park Royal Palace Hotel, Vienna, features 233 guest rooms, including 21 suites. Guests have an all-day restaurant and lobby bar, executive lounge, gym, sauna and relaxation area at their disposal. The property also features a ballroom, with more than 600m2 of space and a total capacity of 500 people, along with nine modern seminar rooms.

The Austria Trend Hotels, Austria's largest hotel group, have already had a successful cooperation with the Radisson Blu Hotel Altstadt in Salzburg since 2001.

"Our partnership with the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, operator of Radisson Blu, in Salzburg has proven to be very positive; the figures are very satisfactory," explained Martin Winkler, Spokesman of the Verkehrsburo Group executive board. "Our aim is to strengthen the international position of the Hotel Park Royal Palace through the Radisson Blu brand."

"Radisson Blu is an established and attractive hotel brand, for guests in the leisure and business segments, as well as those from the intercontinental overseas markets  especially from the USA and Asia," added Andreas Berger, Managing Director of the Austria Trend Hotels. "The positioning of the Radisson Blu Park Royal Palace Hotel, Vienna, as a leading international hotel in the immediate vicinity of Schonbrunn Palace will be strengthened through the cooperation."

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Dale Carnegie trainer, David Osborne, will arm hospitality professionals at HT-NEXT with best practices to weather the rapid pace of change while maintaining a highly engaged and motivated staff.

Hospitality Technology magazine and Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announce that David Osborne, Executive Organizational Development Consultant, Trainer, Dale Carnegie Digital, will be a keynote speaker on Wednesday, March 14 at HT-NEXT 2018.

With employees serving on the front lines of service, interacting with guests on a regular basis, they play a key role in a guests' perception of a brand and overall experience. In this interactive session, Osborne will help executives identify best practices to prioritize business objectives, identify and debunk generational workforce myths, and weather the rapid pace of change without burning out and alienating the employees they lead.

HT-NEXT returns a second year to combine the HTNG North American Conference and HT's Hotel Technology Forum. The 2018 event will take place March 12-14 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. HT-NEXT brings together technology leaders and influencers from leading hospitality companies spanning IT, finance, marketing, distribution and operations. Industry decision makers attend HT-NEXT to learn about the emerging trends and dig in to work together to solve current industry problems. The program will feature engaging and thought-provoking keynotes, diverse educational and breakout sessions, HTNG workgroups and a technology exhibit hall for attendees to discover cutting-edge solutions. Also, the Hotel Visionary Awards and the HTNG TechOvation Award will be presented again at this year's event.

For registration or more information about HT-NEXT 2018, please visit: http://www.HT-NEXT.com/

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AVANI Hotels & Resorts announced the launch of its first hotel in the historic town of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Laos.

AVANI Hotels & Resorts announced the launch of its first hotel in the historic town of Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Laos.

The 53-room hotel is located on a narrow peninsula at the joining of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers. Currently known as the Azerai Hotel, the rebrand will be completed in March 2018.

The French neo-classical architectural design resembles the style of the grand villas found in Luang Prabang. The guest rooms offer an open plan living experience with French-styled louvered wooden doors that open out to a balcony overlooking either the pool or a private courtyard. The interior design draws inspiration from its colonial French heritage, yet the design approach is modern, functional and elegant.

The Bistro serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, indoors or outdoors. The menu favours classic Bistro and Lao dishes and the upstairs bar with its street-side veranda offers the ideal perch from which to observe the daily rhythms of Luang Prabang local life.

The AVANISPA offers two single and two double treatment rooms with a communal relaxation area. AVANISPA adopts a straightforward yet individual approach to wellness. Problematic body zones will be assessed and a treatment recommended, chosen from one of four results-driven options; Boost, Balance, Calm and Purify.

AVANIFit focuses on lifestyle elements that promote a healthy body and healthy mind and the hotels Gym will offer a range of cardiovascular and strength equipment. Daily Yoga classes will also be offered and there is a 25m swimming pool and pool bar serving smoothies, fresh juices and shared-platters.

An outdoor, covered sixty square metre Pavilion provides a multi-use space, ideal for small wedding ceremonies, social events and casual meetings.

The hotel is situated on the doorstep of the famous night market where guests will find locally made applique blankets, Hmong batik fabrics, lamps, wall hangings, silver jewellery and unusual paper.

The Hotel will offer a variety of excursions including a selection of daily and overnight Mekong River cruises and a guided hike up Mount Phousi. Other excursions will include trips to waterfalls, biking, antique shopping, cooking classes and visits to the many different Buddhist temples.

Luang Prabang has long been a bucket-listed destination for travellers throughout South East Asia with its ancient temples, beautiful French UNESCO listed architecture and stunning riverside scenery, said VP Operations, AVANI Group Hotel Operations, Alejandro Bernabe. Plus with the recently launch Mekong Kingdom Cruises, that offer day trips or overnight cruises to the resort from Thailand, the new hotel is a welcome addition to the AVANI brand.

Mr. Andrew Jannson has been appointed as the new General Manager of the property, joining from Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort where he held the position of Hotel Manager.

Launched in 2011, AVANI is a true lifestyle brand, imaginatively blending genuine hospitality and technology with savvy design and contemporary style. The AVANI experience is designed to satisfy important guest needs. When the AVANI Luang Prabang launches in March this year, it will be the ninth AVANI property in Southeast Asia, joining the growing portfolio in the region which already includes five properties in Thailand, two in Vietnam and one in Malaysia.

AVANI Hotels & Resorts currently operates 21 properties in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, most recently debuting in both Australia and New Zealand. The brand has a strong pipeline of new properties under development including in new destinations such as South Korea, the Maldives, Mauritius, Tunisia and Oman.

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 2021 Hotel News Resource
Set yourself up for success this year with Sojerns new report.

Welcome to the New Year! With the busy holiday season behind us, its time to recalibrate. We want to ensure that in 2018, you achieve your digital marketing goalsfor your property, and for your brand.

Sojerns latest release, The Hoteliers Guide to Digital Marketing in 2018 does just that. We consulted the best and brightest digital thought leaders and trendsetters in the hospitality space. They share their recommendations for elevating your online marketing presence, whether youre just getting started or looking to take it to the next level. Heres a sneak peak of some of our contributors, no particular order:

Bruce Dincin of Choice Hotels shares mobile success

The world is moving to mobile, and for travel, it is the primary tool for research and planning. While bookings still tend to occur on desktop, a mobile strategy is crucial for creating brand recognition and affinity early on in the path to purchase. However, mobile bookings are growing. In fact, one-third of all travel bookings will occur on mobile by 2020worth an estimated $60B.

Choice Hotels has been a trailblazer in developing a mobile strategy. Increasingly, people are booking via their mobile device, says Bruce Dincin, Senior Director of Customer Acquisition and Social Media, so its crucial for travel marketers to reach them in that environment. Check out the guide to find out more about their mobile success.

Gerardo Murray shares how IHG took a chance on native, with strong results

Native advertising is set to be the primary format on mobile. By 2020, an estimated 63% of global mobile ad spend will be on native ad formats.

As early adopters of the native format in the LATAM region, InterContinental Hotels Group, realizes the benefits of, targeting in a less intrusive manner, says IHG VP of Brands and Marketing for Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, Gerardo Murray. Find out just how well their efforts paid off by downloading the full guide.

Craig Fowler of Courtyard by Marriott explains how Video allows them to stand out

Video and travel are perfectly matched. What better way to create the sense of wanderlust than immersing viewers in your beautiful sights, sounds and experiences? In fact, two-thirds of travelers use video as a source of inspiration.

Courtyard by Marriott has invested in video as a way to drive consideration and engagement. Find out what Craig Fowler, Senior Director of Brand Marketing, has to say about their experience with video by downloading the guide.

Many thanks to all of our contributors to this piece, and happy 2018!

About Ashley

Ashley is Sojern's Marketing Manager, EMEA & APAC and works in the London office. Originally from Canada, she's been living in London for over four years, and is actively trying to fill all the pages in her passport. She has never met a cheese she didn't like.

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This is one for the underground hip-hop heads. Los Angeles emcee Busdriver, who has previously collaborated with Aesop Rock, Danny Brown, Open Mike Eagle, and Milo, has returned to the fold with "Gush." The track marks his first new single since 2016, when he dropped "BlondeCurd." As for a full length project, Busdriver hasn't delivered on that front since 2015's Thumbs. Still, a recent tweet from the rapper suggest big plans for the new year, writing a succinct yet effective "Im back."

And back he is, delivering the same dexterous and lyrically dense rhymes as ever. Over a lo-fi, carnival style beat, Busdriver leads the parade with abstract backpacker bars, spitting lines like "driver we need you, there's been a power outage at the barber's college, but no kink in my armor, guard the solace for your popcorn goddess." While you might need Aesop Rock himself to help decode the meaning behind Busdriver's lyrical content, it's still interesting to get a glimpse into his imaginative mind.

Quotable Lyrics

Driver we need you

There's been a power outage at the barber's college

But no kink in my armor, guard the solace for your popcorn goddess
Social media influencer, MarQuis Trill, has compiled years worth of Drake videos to debut his official, self-made Drake documentary Toronto to Houston.

MarQuis shared a trailer for his film via Instagram with a caption that reads what his project is all about. People always ask, How did you get started?'the caption reads. Well one way was filming @Champagnepapi in Houston, Texas. Every concert, event, club, or appearance that happened in H-Town, I was there. He details how 2018 marks the fifth year anniversary of Houston Appreciation Weekend and how the city impacted Drake's rise to fame.

"[Drake] credits Houston for the culture and the impact it had on him with launching his career - specifically on May 8, 2009, the show at Warehouse Live. Hope everyone enjoys my artistic documentary," he says.

There's been no word from Drizzy himself as to whether he's tied to the documentary or is endorsing the project. Toronto to Houston has no official release date but in a tweet, MarQuis says it will be arriving this summer, with the final addition being Drake's Toronto housewarming party.

We'll have to hold tight until this Winter thaws out to see if this final reveal will be all that it's hyped to be. What do you guys think? Watch the trailer below.
N.W.A's "Fuck The Police" maintains as one of the most iconic politically charged songs of all time. A lot of what they say is still relevant to how police treat citizens today. However, it looks like someone has been trying to relay this message to police officers through their police radio system.

According to Otago Daily Times, someone's hacked police frequency in New Zealand and has been playing N.W.A's "Fuck Tha Police." Officers in Otago have had to endure listening to the song several times over the weekend. Whoever did hack it also played Rage Against The Machine's live cover as well.

Inspector Kevin Lloyd has clearly not been impressed with what's been going on. He told the newspaper that the move is putting many at risk.

"It was putting people in danger." He said, "There's no question that if it carries on and if they do what they're doing it will delay a response."

The first time it was played occurred on Friday night around 9 p.m. after police were called to a man pointing a gun at a motorist. The song apparently interfered while police were trying to coordinate.

The police have also said they're confident it wasn't done through a police radio but by other means. They say there are no police radios missing and to be able to acquire police radios would require specific chargers which would be difficult to have.

The risk of interfering with police radio frequencies can be punished by up to one year behind bars.
The Pharrell x Adidas collaborations will continue in 2018, including several colorways of the popular Adidas NMD HU Trail.

Among the Pharrell x Adidas NM Hu Trails releasing this Spring are two "Holi" colorways, which are inspired by the Hindu spring festival celebrated in the Indian subcontinent, also known as the "festival of colors" or the "festival of love".

Similar to previous Pharrell x Adidas NMDs, the upcoming "Holi" rendition features embroidered text on its uppers including Hindu symbols stamped on the left shoe. The vibrant colorway is a nod to the ritual of throwing colored water at friends or strangers in jest.

According to sneaker source @YeezyMafia, the Pharrell x Adidas NMD Trail "Holi" will be available on Friday, March 2nd which makes sense considering the 2018 Holi Festival begins on March 1st and concludes on the night of March 2nd.

Check out some additional images in the IG posts below and stay tuned for a list of stores that'll have the sneakers in stock.
3rd World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress calls for abstracts

January 09,2018 | Source: TBTI

The 3rd World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress (3WSFC), which will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, during 22-26 October 2018, is now calling for abstracts.



The 3WSFC is a transdisciplinary forum for anyone interested in small-scale fisheries to participate in a discussion about the future of the world's small-scale fisheries. The congress aims to facilitate interaction, information sharing, cross-fertilization of ideas and networking opportunities for participants. Thus, it will follow a dynamic format with activities organized around five theme days:

science, community, policy, field, and action.



Abstracts can be submitted in three formats: individual papers, team papers or special sessions. Priorities will be given to abstracts that align closely with the main theme of the congress, 'Transdisciplinarity and Transformation for the Future of Small-Scale Fisheries'.



The deadline for abstract submission is 15 February 2018.



For more information about the congress and the call, please visit the 3WSFC website at https://toobigtoignore.wixsite.com/3wsfcongress.

Theme(s): Others.
Brexit impact on fishing to be probed by Ireland MPs

January 09,2018 | Source: Belfast Telegraph

The impact of Brexit on fishing is to be examined by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of MPs.



The industry is largely regulated by the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).



As well as leaving the CFP, the UK Government has announced its withdrawal from the London Fisheries Convention, which established fishing rights in coastal waters of Western Europe.



The inquiry will look at the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the sector.



It will consider which parts of EU fisheries policy should be replicated when the UK Government develops an independent policy as well as strategies to improve.



Committee chairman Andrew Murrison said: " There are real opportunities for growth but we must fully understand the complexities in order to secure the right arrangements for Northern Ireland principally but also to do the right thing by the Republic of Ireland as an enduring member of the EU.



"We want to hear from those who work at sea, in processing or any of the other support industries, about their hopes and fears for the future.



"We have set up an internet forum where you can share your experiences, so please take a moment to give us your views."

 Belfast Telegraph

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.
EU requests authorization to negotiate new fisheries protocol with Morocco

January 09,2018 | Source: FIS

The European Commission (EC) adopted on Monday a recommendation to obtain authorization from the Council to negotiate a new fisheries protocol between the European Union (EU) and Morocco.



The current protocol of the fisheries agreement, established for a period of four years, will expire on July 14, 2018.



In 2017, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, and the Moroccan Minister of Agriculture and Marine Fisheries, Aziz Akhannouch, expressed their intention to renew this indispensable instrument for both parties.



According to the CE, an independent evaluation highlights the positive outcome of the current protocol. In this regard, it points out that it has had a positive socio-economic impact for the fishing sector both in the EU and in Morocco, and that it has contributed to more sustainable fishing.



In particular, the evaluation argues that the sectoral support provided by the protocol, in addition to supporting the Halieutis national strategy for the development of the fishing sector, has benefited all the regions it covers.



Furthermore, the report highlights that the terms of the protocol to favor economic development have benefited the local population, as is the case of the discharges in Moroccan ports and the embarkation of local sailors (about 200 sailors work aboard European vessels).



The Council must now approve the recommendation of the Commission in the coming weeks, in order to allow a rapid start of negotiations. This is important to ensure continuity and legal security for fishermen and the industry when the current protocol expires.



The agreement between the EU and Morocco concerns around 120 vessels from 11 EU countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland and the United Kingdom).

 1995 - 2018 Fish Info & Services Co.Ltd

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
Every time a leader makes a decision, she or he is a placing a bet--a bet on whether or not it's wise to start a business or hire a job candidate or open an office in Paraguay. Framing choices in terms of probabilities and potential outcomes leads to better decisions, and how well you perform depends on both the luck of the draw and how you play your cards.

In the business world, making "bets" has become synonymous with conducting small experiments. Annie Duke, a professional poker player, returns to its original definition: Staking something of value under conditions of uncertainty. Duke, who has racked up more than $4 million playing poker, is the only woman to have won the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions.

In her new book, Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts, she explains that the need to "make multiple decisions with significant financial consequences in a compressed time frame ... makes the poker table a unique laboratory for studying decision-making."

Should you trust your gut or analytics?

For decades, business experts have debated the virtues of gut versus analytical decision-making. But that's a false dichotomy, Duke explains. The prefrontal cortex, which manages deliberative thinking, simply can't handle all the things we'd like it to weigh in on. So while leaders marshal their analytical firepower for big, consequential decisions (analogous to the big, consequential decisions made in the third or fourth betting round in a game of poker), they rely on their gut for smaller decisions leading up to those big bets. Often, their gut plays them false, drawing on misguided biases or beliefs. As a result, the major cumulative decision is compromised.

In an interview, Duke gave the example of a CEO who lets his sales team prioritize on a day-to-day basis nonproductive accounts they've already invested time on rather than chase new leads. When year-end results are disappointing, "the CEO decides what to do by looking at the big things: whether the product is wrong, the pitch is wrong, or they're in the wrong sector," says Duke. "He doesn't consider that the problem was in these much lower-level decisions about how the salespeople organized their work stacks, which were made because of this strong, reflexive bias people have about sunk costs."

What are the odds?

Bets are exercises in uncertainty. Approaching decision-making in terms of placing bets forces you to constantly reassess how much you don't know and to question your beliefs. For example, that bringing production in-house is the best way to ensure quality, or that starting in English-speaking markets is the smart way to globalize. Duke urges leaders to reassess such "wisdom": How do I know this? How up-to-date is my information? What similar things have I been confident about that turned out not to be true?

The next step is to assign numerical probabilities between 0 and 100 percent to your degree of certainty. That number reflects both incomplete information and the influence of luck. As more data is gathered and more potential outcomes explored, the number either rises or falls. Today, you may be 58 percent confident that a particular strategy will turn out well. By week's end, that number may be 84 or 37 percent.

Of course, no single future is ever assured. That's why leaders should get comfortable telling employees they are acting with less than perfect confidence. "Presenting something with absolute certainty is a misrepresentation of the world," says Duke. "If you express yourself with 100 percent confidence, then the people you are leading think you aren't open to exploring alternative hypotheses." That shuts down dissenting opinions and the introduction of data that might point toward a different strategy and raise the odds of a good decision.

A bad outcome doesn't always mean a bad decision.

Duke reassures that long shots pay off--like Donald Trump's election, the Brexit vote, and the astonishing artistic achievement of the Twin Peaks reboot.

When results are beyond your control, changing strategy merely because something doesn't work out can be unwise, says Duke, who calls the conflation of bad outcomes with bad decisions "resulting." She advises creating a culture that rewards people for how decisions are made rather than for how they work out.

"If employees know that they'll get blamed for a single bad outcome, and a single good outcome will get them all the kudos in the world, they are going to do everything to keep the probability of bad outcomes as near to zero as possible," says Duke. In other words, they won't place anything but very small bets.
When police in the United Kingdom's South East Organized Crime Unit wanted to catch a drug dealer who was anonymously selling large quantities of MDMA through a dark web marketplace, they called Tom Robinson. Robinson, the co-founder of UK-based Elliptic--a company that uses forensics to track criminals using cryptocurrencies like bitcoin--helped police identify the 26-year-old Portsmouth dealer, who was later arrested and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Elliptic is part of an emerging group of startups fighting crime in the burgeoning Wild West of cryptocurrency. Whether its to intercept drug sales, money laundering, or even kidnapping ransoms, startups from the U.S. to the U.K. are making and licensing forensic software to law enforcement agencies all over the world. Jason Weinstein, co-founder of the Blockchain Alliance, an organization that brings together data analysis companies with law enforcement agencies to combat criminal activity on the blockchain, says the forensic software industry making tools to track bitcoin transactions is "booming."

Criminals were some of the first wave of early bitcoin adopters because of a misconception that the digital currency was untraceable and completely anonymous. But now, says Alan Cohn, a lawyer who is the co-chair of Steptoe & Johnson's blockchain and digital currency practice, bitcoin and other cyrptocurrencies could be a criminal's worst nightmare. Every bitcoin transaction is recorded to a public ledger called the blockchain, which acts as a database that tracks every dollar ever spent in bitcoin. "Criminals should run, not walk, away from bitcoin," says Cohn, who co-found the Blockchain Alliance with Weinstein.

These crime-fighting software startups help law enforcement agencies--including Europol, the FBI, DEA, and the Department of Homeland Security--plot cryptocurrency transactions by using graph analysis to find patterns or clusters of associated digital wallets. Once they can connect wallets to specific crimes, money can be tracked across the bitcoin network to exit points through exchanges and into regular bank accounts.

Another area these startups are being wooed is by financial institutions that need to stay compliant with know-your-customer and anti-money laundering laws. Dave Jevans, the CEO and cofounder of CipherTrace, says even though over 50 percent of his Menlo Park, California-based company's revenue comes from law enforcement agencies, a fast-growing part of his businesses is from financial institutions looking to stay compliant with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department. Jevans says CipherTrace's software helps cryptocurrency exchanges avoid doing business with countries that are sanctioned by the U.S.--from Iran to Myanmar (Burma).

CipherTrace is also helping cryptocurrency hedge funds, wallets, and exchanges avoid accepting money obtained unlawfully, says Jevans. The software traces the provenance of each bitcoin involved in a transaction and can tell if money came from a money-laundering site, like BitBlender, a dark web marketplace like DreamMarket, or from digital wallets belonging to known criminals. "Our tools ensure our clients don't accept dirty money," says Jevans.

Elliptic's financial compliance software also helps cryptocurrency exchanges avoid becoming an "exit" for criminals. Robinson says criminals using bitcoin eventually want to exchange their funds into dollars by using a bitcoin exchange. His company's anti-money laundering software screens every incoming payment and outgoing payment, and if "the money came from an illegal source, it will stop the transaction and the exchange can file a suspicious activity report or close down the account."

As cyptocurrency becomes more ubiquitous, criminals continue to adapt their methods, Now, says Robinson, some cutting-edge crooks are moving away from bitcoin to more secure coins like monero, which was built to be as anonymous as cash. The software companies will have to adapt their methods to keep up, he says.

Weinstein, co-founder of the Blockchain Alliance, says his group is forming relationships between law enforcement agents and blockchain analysts because he believes as bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are adopted and understood by regulators, the less crime will go unabated.
A series of paintings depict Europeans fleeing religious persecution in the 1600s, alongside modern-day immigrants from South and Central America. So begins a short documentary on The Immigrant's Promise, partially sponsored by Stan Marek, the CEO of the national construction firm Marek Brothers based in Houston.

It's an issue that hits close to home for Marek. The entrepreneur says he's gravely concerned that 30 of his employees could be deported next year, as President Trump moves to end a protection status program for those who fled Nicaragua, Haiti, and, most recently, El Salvador. In the event that they lose legal status, Marek says, "I'd have no choice but to terminate them, and that's ridiculous," referring to the construction workers who are presently protected under the program. "It certainly would hurt the bottom line," he adds, as he anticipates a labor shortage that would force the firm to turn down projects.

Marek is among the many entrepreneurs who are balking at the Trump administration's approach to immigration policy, specifically the Temporary Protected Status program, or TPS. On Monday, the government said as many as 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants must leave the country by September 2019, or risk deportation, as it moves to end the decades-old policy. The news comes just weeks after more than 45,000 Haitians lost similar protections granted after a devastating 2010 earthquake, and as Hondurans face the same prospect. Nicaraguans, meanwhile, lost their protection in November.

Congress enacted TPS in 1990, with the original goal of helping those fleeing war and natural disasters at home. These immigrants have built homes, launched businesses, and raised children stateside, and work in various industries such as construction, landscaping, food, and retail, according to data from the nonprofit Center for Migration Studies. Generally speaking, those with protected status are concentrated in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Virginia, and Maryland.

Because TPS has allowed some migrants to live and work for more than 20 years in the U.S., the policy change stands to hurt not just families but also niche segments of the economy. A new report from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, a San Francisco law firm, estimates a loss of as much as $45.2 million in gross domestic product. Marek notes that Salvadorans, in particular, represent a large share of the already-thinning talent pool for construction, and the loss of such workers could decimate the industry.

Shapiro & Duncan, a plumbing, heating, and cooling firm based in Rockville, Maryland, is similarly concerned over the fate of TPS programs. "I hope we can work through Congress to create pathways to permanent status and even citizenship, because these workers have become a part of the fiber that makes this country great," says Mark Drury, vice president of business development at the roughly $115 million company.

Overall, he estimates that Shapiro & Duncan employs 14 protected immigrants--plumbers, fitters, welders, and technicians--the majority of whom are Salvadoran. Should those workers lose their legal status, he, like Marek, would be forced to fire them, which he expects would lead to a not-insignificant loss in sales. "If the labor force is reduced, our capacity to produce revenue is also reduced," Drury explains.

Entrepreneurs often invest in cultivating special talent, and if and when they're forced to let them go, that's money down the drain. Marek points out that his business, which has invested millions in helping to train special project managers, cannot simply go out and replace them with American workers. As Drury puts it: "There is no bench of people waiting to come work in the construction industry."

The Trump administration, however, sees it differently. Many conservatives have argued that the TPS programs allow businesses to abuse the system by relying on lower-wage, foreign labor--similar to arguments the government has made in favor of H-1B visa reforms. "In practice, the true beneficiaries of TPS were not temporary visitors, but rather people who had entered the United States illegally," suggests the right-leaning Federation for American Immigration Reform, a nonprofit.

Drury, who has received a swath of hate mail in the days following an interview with The New York Times, bristles at the notion that he takes jobs away from legal citizens. "There's an unfortunate misconception that people with TPS are illegal immigrants," he says. "They're not. They are the best of the best as far as immigrants, because they've had to stay crystal clean in order to renew their status."

He further suggests that the arguments for ending the TPS program smatter of racism. "We didn't send the Irish back after the potato famine," he continues. "This country was built on a wave of immigrants, and this is no different. Unfortunately, the previous immigrants don't like the new ones."

The argument for ending the program, to be sure, is that TPS was always intended to be temporary. The Department of Homeland Security says the conditions that initially triggered the protection for Salvadorans--namely, a pair of 2001 earthquakes--no longer exist. "The decision to terminate TPS for El Salvador was made after a review of the disaster-related conditions upon which the country's original designation was based," said DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in a recent statement. "Thus, under the applicable statute, the current TPS designation must be terminated."
When Britain voted in 2016 to exit the European Union--a move known colloquially as "Brexit"--many entrepreneurs feared the impact to their bottom lines.

Companies such as Lovehoney, a Bath, England-based retailer of adult toys, suggested the move could limit immigration, thereby impinging on their ability to hire foreign talent. Others insisted that the need to renegotiate trade deals to replace the E.U.'s free trade zone would deter investment in the British startup ecosystem.

Research suggests this hasn't been the case.

2017 was a record year for startup investment, with U.K. companies raising $7.7 billion--more than double the 2016 figure, according to Dealroom data. Jeremy Sosabowski, the co-founder of London-based risk-forecasting firm AlgoDynamix, went so far as to call the technology scene "almost worryingly robust," in an interview this week with Quartz.

Financial technology companies fared particularly well, pulling in the largest share of capital last year ($2.9 billion). Indeed, the global remittance network TransferWise alone--one of Europe's better known unicorn firms--raised 211 million ($286 million) in a November round, valuing the company at $1.6 billion. The London-based alternative lending firm Funding Circle, meanwhile, raised 81.9 million ($100 million) in January 2017.

The U.K. also remains the top destination for technical talent--though it has lost some share to neighbors Germany and France, according to a recent report from the London-based venture capital firm Atomico. Tom Wehmeier, the firm's head of research, suggests that this loss has something to do with Brexit; European nationals may no longer want to live in Britain, given the uncertainty of their work visa status. Others say it's paramount that the British government does everything it can to ensure that foreign talent will still be available to tech startups.

Even as investment surges, British optimism in the startup scene still pales in comparison with that of other European nations, according to the Atomico report. France, for instance, which recently introduced its own technology visa program, continues to revel in the election of moderate Emmanuel Macron, who has personally vowed to make France a "startup nation." Germany, meanwhile, recently celebrated the reelection of chancellor Angela Merkel, whose "steady hand" is valued by many local startups. "Everybody seems happy with her, and the way she is leading the country without drama," said Gero Decker, the founder of the Berlin-based IT services firm Signavio, in a previous interview with Inc.
The Trump administration has exempted Florida from a vast expansion of offshore oil drilling, mollifying the state's Republican governor and angering Democrats.

Continuing its effort to unravel Barack Obamas environmental legacy, the administration announced last week that it would open virtually all offshore waters to oil and gas exploration  a stark reversal of Mr Obamas move to prohibit energy extraction across hundreds of millions of acres of ocean.

While the change drew praise from top Republicans and energy industry officials, it also generated a bipartisan backlash from elected officials in states that border the ocean  among them Floridas Republican governor and senator, who warned of environmental degradation. The state is also home to Mr Trump's opulent Mar-a-Lago club, a frequent destination he has taken to calling the "winter White House".

Acknowledging Florida Gov Rick Scott's concerns, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said in a statement that national energy policy must incorporate the local and state voice and backed Mr Scotts request to block new drilling off his states coast after meeting with him.

I support the governors position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver, Mr Zinke said. As a result of discussion with Governor Scotts and his leadership, I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.

Governor Rick Scott at the White House (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

The special treatment drew a furious response from some Democrats who wondered why their states were not given a similar deal.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

California is also unique & our coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver. Our local and state voice is firmly opposed to any and all offshore drilling, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said on Twitter. If that's your standard, we, too, should be removed from your list. Immediately.

The West Coasts trio of Democratic governors has been united in opposing new offshore energy exploration, responding to last weeks announcement with a joint statement warning of the utter devastation of past offshore oil spills to wildlife and to the fishing, recreation and tourism industries in our states.

Virginia governor-elect Ralph Northam, a Democrat, had a similar request, as did a Democratic senator from Massachusetts.

But resistance has not been restricted to Democrats. Republican governors of coastal states have also warned of unwanted consequences. Maryland governor Larry Hogan called for legal measures to stymie drilling in his states coastal waters, while South Carolina governor Henry McMaster made a similar argument to Mr Scott.

We don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. We don't want to take any chances. Our tourism industry is one of the finest in the United States, Mr McMaster told reporters last week, according to the Post and Courier.

Our coast is an economic engine, just like other industries we have. We have to be sure that we do nothing to endanger lives, the people, the natural resources that represent our coast.
Ishigaki, a stunning white island in Japan's Okinawa archipelago, is the top trending travel destination for 2018 on TripAdvisor - but you'd be forgiven for never having heard of it.

The Japanese island has topped TripAdvisor's Destinations on the Rise list, which, as part of its sixth annual Travellers Choice awards, used an algorithm that measured the year-on-year increase in positive TripAdvisor traveller feedback around accommodation, restaurants, and attractions, as well as increased booking interest.

Ishigaki is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands in Japans Okinawa Prefecture and is home to many sandy white beaches, rare coral, mountains, and mangrove forests.

It's a popular destination with snorkellers and foodies, and is known for its speciality Yaeyama soba noodles, which are made of flour instead of the more traditional buckwheat, according to TripAdvisor.

The average price for a night's stay in a hotel on the island is 114 One of TripAdvisor's best-rated value hotels is the Art Hotel Ishigaki, which costs from 87 per night in June.

Okinawa has been tipped as the new Bali or Hawaii, and international tourism is growing fast. Bloomberg previously reported that the number of visitors to Okinawa rose 10.5% to 8.77 million in 2016, according to Okinawa prefecture data. This compares to the 8.93 million visitors that went to Hawaii that year, representing an increase of 2.9% comparatively.

Here are the top 10 Destinations on the Rise in 2018, according to TripAdvisor:

Ishigaki, Japan. Kapaa, Hawaii. Nairobi, Kenya. Halifax, Canada. Gdansk, Poland. San Jose, Costa Rica. Riga, Latvia. Rovinj, Croatia. Nerja, Spain. Casablanca, Morocco.

 The scary truth about earbuds and hearing loss

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Brian Stack was shot in the neck in March 1983 and died 18 months later (Irish Prisons/PA)

Gardai investigating the IRA murder of a prison officer more than 30 years ago have denied allegations that some detectives are refusing to co-operate with the inquiry.

Brian Stack, a chief prison officer in Portlaoise, was shot in the neck in March 1983 and died 18 months later.

His son Austin, who has campaigned for years to bring those responsible to justice, claimed he had been told that significant information from an IRA informer had been put on a Garda file on the killing as far back as 1990.

Mr Stack claimed he raised this information with an investigation team in January 2016. He said gardai did not acknowledge having the information until March 2017.

He alleged that the murder investigation was being frustrated by efforts to protect an informer.

In a statement on the claims, the Garda said it does not comment on the detail of ongoing investigations in order to protect them.

The force also said it does not comment on remarks by third parties.

But it added: "The investigators leading the investigation relating to the death of Mr Brian Stack are satisfied that they have been provided with all the relevant information they require from within An Garda Siochana.

"The investigation team is receiving the co-operation of all relevant sections within An Garda Siochana in order to pursue all possible lines of inquiry."

The Garda said officers were in regular contact with the Stack family to keep them informed of developments.

"An Garda Siochana is determined to bring the investigation into the death of Mr Brian Stack to a successful conclusion," it added.

It was not until 2013 that the IRA admitted responsibility for Mr Stack's murder.

He was left paralysed and brain-damaged by the shooting as he crossed a road outside the National Stadium in Dublin in late March 1983. He suffered for 18 months before dying from his injuries at the age of 47.

The admission was made after Austin Stack was driven with his brother Oliver to a location in Northern Ireland with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams for a secret meeting.

Mr Stack has previously claimed that a minority of gardai and prison officers colluded with the Provos in the early 1980s.

He said botched investigations into atrocities were more than simply poor policing and called for a public inquiry.

Mr Stack made the claim at the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in November.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan vowed to make sure the investigation was not being impeded.

"There's a live garda investigation here and I'm very anxious that anybody who is in any position to provide any information or evidence on the murder of Brian Stack would do so at the earliest opportunity," he said.

"I am assured by the garda authorities this morning that there is no credence in any suggestion that there is any impediment on the part of the gardai.

"I am of course concerned at reports that there would be any form of impediment to a garda investigation and I'll make sure there isn't."

Mr Flanagan said he would meet the Stack family.
Gardai seized 4,500 euro in cash during the raids

4,500 euro in cash seized by gardai in a crackdown on organised crime. (An Garda Siochana/PA)

A drone seized by gardai in a crackdown on organised crime. (An Garda Siochana/PA)

Two Rolex watches seized by gardai in a crackdown on organised crime. (An Garda Siochana/PA)

Two Rolex watches, a drone and 4,500 euro in cash have been seized by gardai in a crackdown on organised crime.

The Criminal Assets Bureau raided nine premises across Dublin's south inner city and in Dun Laoghaire, including a house and a number of businesses.

Gardai said officers seized a large amount of documentation and evidence, that they believed related to the proceeds of crime, and also took away mobile phones and other electronic devices.

The drone was said to be able to be used for recording.

The raids were carried out in Rialto, Francis Street and other south inner city locations in Dublin and in Dun Laoghaire.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing, gardai said.
Gardai said investigations into the find were continuing

A viable explosive device has been found at a pub in Drogheda.

Gardai were called to the bar on the junction of Cord Road and Constitution Hill at around 9pm on Tuesday night.

The pub and a number of homes were evacuated during the security alert.

The Defence Forces deployed an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team to the scene.

The bomb disposal experts made the device safe and removed it for examination at the Curragh Army camp.

It was later declared to be a viable improvised explosive.

The Defence Forces said any evidence recovered would be passed to the Garda.

Gardai said investigations into the find were continuing.
The new Northern Ireland Secretary has stated her determination to overcome the challenges at the heart of the region's powersharing crisis and restore devolved government at Stormont.

On her first visit to Belfast, Karen Bradley said she wanted to work collaboratively with local parties to forge an agreement that will see a coalition executive resurrected.

Her appointment to the role, following James Brokenshire's surprise resignation on health grounds, came as Northern Ireland marked a year since the Democratic Unionist/Sinn Fein-led administration imploded in a row over a botched green energy scheme.

The rift between the two main parties has widened in the intervening 12 months to take in long-standing cultural and legacy disputes.

The prospects of a deal to restore powersharing still appear bleak, with the spectre of a return to Westminster direct rule looming large.

Mrs Bradley met students at Belfast's Metropolitan College in the city's regenerated docklands area on her first official engagement in the region.

Her schedule on Wednesday also included face-to-face meetings with the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein.

She is due to meet Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney on Friday.

"I want to find a way through this because the absolute priority is to restore devolved government as soon as possible," she said, standing on the Titanic Quarter's fog-shrouded waterfront.

Asked if she intended to adopt a new approach to the faltering negotiation process, Mrs Bradley stressed she was still in learning mode.

"I am here to learn, I am here to find out, I am here to meet all the leaders, I'm here to look at what needs to be done.

"I know there are challenges but I am determined we will find a way through those challenges.

"We need to deliver devolved government to Northern Ireland as soon as possible and that's what I am determined to do."

The Conservative MP said she was also conscious of the need to deliver a Brexit that worked for everyone in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Bradley said she understood the importance of dealing with the legacy of the Troubles and ensuring a safe future.

"My aim is to work collaboratively to find solutions to those issues that are acceptable to everyone," she said.

The former UK culture secretary said the Irish government would have an "important role" to play in efforts to save devolution.
Teagasc has appointed Keith Kennedy as the new Principal of the Agricultural College in Clonakilty, Co Cork.

He fills the position vacated by Majella Maloney, who has been appointed as the Teagasc Regional Advisory Manager for the Limerick/Kerry region.

Keith Kennedy qualified with a degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He went on to receive a postgraduate diploma in grassland improvement, also from the University of Wales.

Originally from Rathgormack, in County Waterford, Keith started his career in 2000 as a teacher in the Salesian Agricultural College, Pallaskenry, Co Limerick.

From there, he joined Teagasc to teach in Clonakilty for five years, followed by three years teaching in Kildalton Agricultural College, Pilltown, Co Kilkenny. He then returned to Clonakilty where he filled various roles, most recently as Assistant Principal in the college.

Speaking on his appointment, Keith Kennedy said Clonakilty Agricultural College has developed and evolved significantly in the years I have been based in Clonakilty.

"We have a wider range of courses for people that seek a career in agriculture, and the agri-food sector, in both a full and part-time capacity. We have developed close education links with Cork Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology, Tralee which provide qualifications up to Level 8.

"The college has excellent resources to provide agricultural training in a farming region that has seen a marked increase in dairy production. The college, along with its strong links with Teagasc Mooreparks research programme, works with the farming community in Cork and the wider Munster region in exploiting the potential of their farms.

Congratulating Keith on his appointment, Head of Education in Teagasc, Tony Pettit said Keiths experience of having worked in three Irish agricultural colleges and having trained in Wales, brings a wealth of national and international experience and knowledge to this role.

2He has an excellent track record as an educator, and he will play a pivotal role in the leadership of agricultural education in Ireland.
Fodder arrives in Dowra from Tipperary. Eddie Fitzpatrick of Cavan IFA welcomes lorry driver Seamus Gleeson in McMorrow's Timber yard, Dowra with fodder from Tipperary. Photo Brian Farrell

Farmers in the north-west are paying up to 50 per round bale of straw to have fodder privately delivered to their farms.

IFA Sligo chair JP Crowley told the Farming Independent that the cost of delivering bales from counties in Munster and Leinster to farms in the north-west is hiking up prices considerably.

"The bales are on sale for 35 per round bale of straw but then the cost of delivery from farms in Tipperary, Wexford and Carlow mean that it can come to 50 per bale," he said.

"Transport costs are a killer and are putting an awful lot of pressure on farmers."

INHFA's Vincent Roddy said that 34 per round bale of straw is the going rate in Roscommon and added that there is without a doubt a "fodder crisis".

"Despite what some may think, there is a fodder crisis here. The ground is the wettest I've ever seen it. It's rain one day after another," he said.

Expand Close 6/1/2018 Fodder arrives in Dowra from Tipperary. Gerry McMorrow loads fodder from Tipperary onto a farmers trailer after it arrived in McMorrow Timber Yard, Dowra, Co Leitrim. Photo Brian Farrell / Facebook

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Whatsapp 6/1/2018 Fodder arrives in Dowra from Tipperary. Gerry McMorrow loads fodder from Tipperary onto a farmers trailer after it arrived in McMorrow Timber Yard, Dowra, Co Leitrim. Photo Brian Farrell

"Northern Irish farmers importing bales from the UK is alleviating some of the pressure here but there is a depressing mood amongst farmers and urgent action has to be taken."

Galway's IFA chair Pat Murphy explained that there is no straw available in south Galway at the moment and that the majority of it is coming from areas such as Borrisokane in north Tipperary for 35 per round bale.

He added that round silage bales are selling at 25 each and is worried, in the wake of Storm Eleanor, that water tables in the county will rise.

"There was lots of coastal flooding in Kinvara and Clarenbridge but the danger is that water tables will rise and lead to further flooding."

IFA's George Collier said that bales in Carlow are being donated free of charge to farmers in the north-west as part of the IFA Emergency Fodder Initiative, but that non-donated round bales of straw are being sold for up to 40 when transport is taken in to account.

Wexford IFA chair James Keogh pointed out that straw is very scarce in the county and that round bales are being sold for more than 30 per bale.

He warned that if there is a late spring, it will not only be counties in the north-west experiencing fodder shortages, but also southern areas. "The problem with straw is that it's a seller's market as it's scarce. If we get a difficult spring, even the driest land in Wexford will be affected," he said.

IFA President Joe Healy has called for the Fodder Action Group to reconvene and urged that the Government take urgent action to support affected farmers in the form of meal vouchers and transport aid.

ICMSA president Pat McCormack said that while it is not yet involved in actual delivery of bales to farmers experiencing fodder shortages, it would review the situation if the weather deteriorated.

Last week, Storm Eleanor with wind speeds of 155km/h damaged farm buildings and caused flooding in the west.
Irish-listed Amryt Pharma, which is focused on finding treatments for rare and orphan diseases, has signed a distribution agreement for the companys Lojuxta (lomitapide) product covering Central and Eastern Europe.

The deal has been signed with healthcare consultancy and distribution company GryNumber Health.

Lojuxta is a treatment for Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolaemia ("HoFH"), a rare, life-limiting disease, which impairs the body's ability to remove bad cholesterol from the blood.

The disease process starts before birth and progresses rapidly and typically results in extremely high bad cholesterol levels in blood, leading to aggressive and premature narrowing and blocking of blood vessels.

Left untreated, heart attack or sudden death may occur in childhood or early adulthood.

Areas covered under the distribution agreement include Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Amryt estimates that there are approximately 100 patients with HoFH in these countries, with requests for access to Lojuxta made by clinicians throughout the region.

GryNumber Health has a well-established presence in, and significant experience of, the healthcare markets in Central and Eastern Europe and therefore is an ideal partner for us in the region, Dr. Joe Wiley, CEO of Amryt Pharma, said.

Earlier this week Amryt announced that it had signed a distribution agreement for the companys Lojuxta product in Switzerland, while in November the company signed a distribution agreement covering its products in Saudi Arabia.

In December 2016 Amryt acquired exclusive marketing rights for Lojuxta in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Israel.
Brian Moran of Hines said the deal was a endorsement

Hines, the US real estate firm behind the sprawling Cherrywood development in South Dublin, has sold down part of the project to APG, the Dutch pension heavyweight, as part of new 450m joint venture.

The deal underscores the mounting institutional appetite for Ireland's booming property market.

Hines's decision to entice international investors was well-flagged. Last year, this newspaper reported the firm had split the entity that holds the majority of the Cherrywood strategic development zone, known as the Hines Cherrywood Development Fund Icav, into a number of smaller funds, a move that paved the way for fresh equity from external partners.

Under the terms of the deal, APG will fund the initial phase of the development and own some of the project's apartments and retail assets.

According to Hines's planning proposal, which was submitted in September, the first stage of Cherrywood will include 1,221 rental-only apartments, along with shops, restaurants, cafes and community facilities.

APG's decision to join forces with Hines on Cherrywood marks the pension firm's first significant foray into the Irish property market. It also sets the stage for future investment in the development according to sources.

Brian Moran, senior managing director with Hines Ireland described the deal as "a major endorsement for the Cherrywood Project".

"Hines has a strong existing relationship with APG in the development of real estate projects throughout Europe," he said and described the pension heavyweight as "a trusted and highly regarded international investment partner".

Mr Moran stressed that Cherrywood ranks as Ireland's first purpose-designed Build-to-Rent scheme and claimed that when complete the project "will set a new standard in modern urban living for the residents of this new town in South Dublin".

Robert-Jan Foortse, Head of European Property Investments of APG stressed he pension outfit had "made comparable long-term residential investments in other markets", including the Netherlands, London, Madrid, and Helsinki.

He said "We are continuously looking for attractive real estate investments that help us realise stable and long-term returns for our pension fund clients and their participants."

In a severely under-supplied market such as Dublin, we are pleased that this investment addresses this unserved demand in a meaningful way by enabling the development of over 1,200 dwellings."
Dublin-based Stobart Air, which operates the Aer Lingus Regional service, is to continue expanding its fleet as it eyes more franchise opportunities around Europe, according to newly-appointed non-executive chairman Conor McCarthy.

Mr McCarthy, a seasoned aviation veteran, is the founder and executive chairman of aircraft maintenance firm Dublin Aerospace.

He's also a former Ryanair and Aer Lingus executive and was involved in establishing AirAsia.

He said that Stobart Air might also explore airline acquisitions around Europe to take advantage of continuing structural changes amongst legacy carriers.

Stobart Air is part of the UK stock market-listed Stobart Group, whose CEO is former EasyJet chief operating officer Warwick Brady.

Stobart Air, whose managing director is Graeme Buchanan, operates the Aer Lingus Regional service on a franchise basis and also operates some flights for UK regional carrier Flybe, also on a franchise basis.

Mr McCarthy told the Irish Independent that Stobart Air would also be interested in expanding its use of jets. It currently has three Embraer 195 jets in its fleet that were previously leased to Flybe.

Stobart Air currently operates those jets in Flybe livery, using one to operate a Flybe service between Dublin and London Southend Airport, which is owned by the Stobart Group.

Stobart Air's fleet also includes 17 ATR-72 turboprops.

Mr Brady said that Stobart Air would benefit from Mr McCarthy's "experience, contact base and independent advice".
Overheating in the economy is not expected to occur this year, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said.

Mr Donohoe also said that he would be looking to use all the money and resources available when it comes to making spending decisions, but said some may be held back.

As the Department of Finance forecast the economy moving towards full employment, Mr Donohoe said that if overheating does begin, his department would monitor it and "take action as is needed". "I do not see overheating in the economy now and I do not believe that it is developing for this year," Mr Donohoe told reporters yesterday.

He said he wanted to ensure that any decisions made by the Government are sustainable.

"In order to ensure that the tax changes of today do not become the savage tax increases of tomorrow, and in order to ensure that the kind of changes I want to make are real, and ones that will last, we have to make these changes in a way that is sustainable and affordable," he said.

The minister said that the Government will look to increase capital spending gradually over the coming years until it reaches 3pc of national output.

Meanwhile, John McCarthy, chief economist at the Department of Finance, said growth last year is expected to be around 4pc to 5pc.

He said growth, in GDP terms, is expected to be 3.5pc this year.

Mr McCarthy said growth is now "synchronised" internationally with robust growth in the US and the eurozone performing well also.

"One big exception is UK economy which I think is best described as moving sideways rather than upwards," Mr McCarthy said.

Mr McCarthy said that after a number of years of solid growth, the economy is not entering a more "mature phase of the cycle".

He said the economy over the coming years will grow by 3pc, which he described as the "cruising speed".

He said the labour market is the best barometer of what is going on in the economy, adding that for every 10 jobs that were lost during the recession, seven have now been recovered.

"We are moving towards a position of full employment in the economy," Mr McCarthy added.

The department's chief economist also focused on the increasing reliance on corporation tax receipts coming into the State's coffers.

Mr McCarthy said corporation tax receipts have doubled since 2015.

They now account for 16pc of total tax receipts, compared with the long-run average which is 13.5pc.

About 16pc of total CT receipts are coming from companies paying less than 1 million, while 36pc are coming from companies paying less than 10m.

About 64pc of receipts are coming from firms that pay more than 10m. He said the top 10 payers account for just under 40pc of all receipts.

"Put another way, those top 10 firms account for about 6pc of total tax revenue flowing to the State," Mr McCarthy said.

"So concentration is an issue. There is an exposure on the corporation tax front. There's a vulnerability.

"And if there was a shock to the corporation tax base, there could be a problem."

Mr Donohoe also said Ireland would still continue to be competitive, even with tax reform in the US.

He also said the Government would look at what the future rates of local property tax will be well in advance of Budget 2019.
The Central Bank has thrown its weight behind a push to tighten laws on white-collar crime, recommending that the heads of financial services firms be held criminally liable in the event of "egregious recklessness".

The tougher stance - adopted almost a decade after the economic crash - was contained in the watchdog's long-delayed official response to an issues paper released by the Law Reform Commission (LRC).

If the regulator's proposals are endorsed and adopted into law, the heads of banks or other financial services companies could face criminal sanctions for "recklessly" driving a corporation into the ground.

The Central Bank's bullish approach follows the introduction of strict laws in the UK which came into force in March 2016.

Under the new regime there, senior management at UK banks face a maximum seven-year jail sentence or stiff fines if their actions cause an institution to fail.

The UK crackdown sparked debate about the burden of proof required for a successful prosecution, and top legal experts here echoed those concerns.

One leading barrister questioned whether the proposed reform "was really necessary".

But in its response the Central Bank argued there "are undoubtedly cases where misconduct by individuals is so egregious as to merit criminal sanction. The Irish legislative framework deserves to be strengthened to take account of such egregious recklessness in risk-taking by those who were in charge of failed financial firms".

Legal experts were more enthusiastic about the Central Bank's decision to support the establishment of a special investigations unit for white-collar crime.

One lawyer, who spoke on the basis of anonymity claimed the current "fragmented" and "multi-layered system" is not working and argued Ireland needed a dedicated agency similar to the UK's Serious Fraud Office.

The Central Bank said "the creation of a dedicated division within an existing criminal agency" together with a possible "specialised prosecution unit... would allow for more effective investigations into white collar offences".

The raft of proposed reforms also included a recommendation to extend the amount of time individuals can be suspended from senior positions in regulated firms.

The regulator's recommendations to the Law Reform Commission envisaged the introduction of "certain core common standards" that could be embedded "within a legislative framework", meaning they would "sit alongside prescriptive rules".

Penalties could then be enforced "where entities or individuals fall below them."

The Central Bank's response was due to be submitted to the LRC in 2016. However the document was only completed in December and it is understood the watchdog delayed the publication until this week to ensure public attention, after the festive break.

According to Professor Ciaran Burke, director of research at the LRC, the independent body will conclude work on its final position paper "by the end of the first quarter". It is expected to be published in the second quarter.

He said the report will take into account events, including the aftermath of the banking crash.
The City of London expects 5,000 to 13,000 job losses among the 1.1 million people employed in the sector across Britain

British banking, insurance and asset management job losses to the European Union due to Brexit might not be as heavy as initially feared, the City of London financial district has said.

Jeremy Browne, the City's EU envoy, yesterday said UK-based firms opening hubs in the bloc after Britain leaves next year are looking for the least disruption possible.

"It may end up for quite a lot of them being a bit less dramatic than it might appear," Browne said as Britain embarks on a new phase of talks with the EU over its exit.

"I don't think they are saying 'Shall we abandon London?'" Browne told a press briefing as he begins a five-month trip around EU states to meet policymakers.

Financial services in Britain raise over 70bn (79.4bn) in taxes annually, but Browne said new hubs will likely be staffed by hundreds rather than thousands.

The City expects 5,000 to 13,000 job losses among the 1.1 million people employed in the sector across Britain. This chimes with 10,000 losses the Bank of England said is plausible on Brexit Day in March 2019.

Consultants like Oliver Wyman have forecast losses of 75,000 or far higher, though over several years.

Mr Browne, a former junior UK foreign minister, said France sees winning UK financial jobs as a "national endeavour" led by French President Emmanuel Macron. Germany is also courting financial jobs, but in a less "emotionally attached" way. Ireland is also in the hunt but has enjoyed less success than some initially envisaged.

Britain and the EU agreed in December to open talks on a transition period and final trading terms.

Mr Browne said transition should ideally not depart dramatically from the UK's current links with the bloc, though some "tweaks" were inevitable.

"Speed is of the essence," Browne said.

The City wants an imaginative trade deal that is more comprehensive than the one negotiated by the bloc with Canada, but stopping short of joining Norway in the European Economic Area, he said.

Mr Browne refers to this as "unoccupied ground", meaning no such trade deal on financial services has been done with the EU before. Norway pays into the bloc's budget and accepts free movement of EU citizens within its borders, conditions that pro-Brexit lawmakers in Britain reject on sovereignty grounds. (Reuters)
Pre-tax profits at newspaper publisher Formpress Publishing last year dropped by 12pc to 935,370.

Formpress Publishing is a subsidiary of Iconic Newspapers and the company operates 14 local news titles here including 'The Limerick Leader', 'The Dundalk Democrat' and 'The Leinster Leader'.

The accounts show that revenues at Formpress Publishing Ltd declined by 2pc from 13m to 12.6m in the 12 months to the end of March last.

Other Formpress titles include 'The Kilkenny People', 'The Longford Leader', 'The Leinster Express', 'The Tipperary Star', 'The Donegal Democrat', 'The Leitrim Observer' and 'The Nationalist', based in Clonmel.

Formpress is 100pc owned by Iconic Newspapers which paid Johnston Press 8.7m for the Irish titles April 2014.

Iconic is controlled by British advertising executive, Malcolm Denmark. Pay to key management personnel across Formpress last year dipped marginally from 1.29m to 1.21m

Numbers employed by the company last year reduced from 165 to 161 with staff costs declining from 6.84m to 6.59m.

The profit takes account of non-cash amortisation costs of 493,833 for the year.

The company's shareholder funds at the end of last March totalled 10.8m. The company's cash pile reduced from 717,289 to 454,511. The amount paid by Mr Denmark for the titles is a fraction of Johnston Press's outlay for local newspapers during the boom.

The group had spent around 300m on all of its Irish titles before the recession hit and its venture in Ireland was hit by sinking advertising and circulation revenue.
Michelle Mone is set to shake up the lingerie market again with the launch of a new business.

The Scottish entrepreneur became a millionaire after founding the world-famous Ultimo brand.

However, she decided to sell the company to a major international brand MAS Sri Lanka in 2014.

She said that she decided to sell Ultimo because she wanted to write her autobiography and tour the world and start lots of over companies and brands.

However, at the Pendulum Summit in Dublin today, Ms Mone revealed that last week her warranties came to an end, so Im starting my own lingerie brand now next week, she said to applause.

She also revealed the other business projects she has in the pipeline.

She said that she is involved in tech companies, and started Michelle Mone interiors a few months ago, and is currently building two towers with her partner in Dubai. Ive fallen in love, hes amazing, she said about her businessman partner Doug Barrowman.

She is also launching an app  connect to Michelle Mone  which will launch in four weeks time. It will target entrepreneurs and people who want to gain confidence.

So guys, how did I get here today from the east end of Glasgow having absolutely nothing. My life was over really if you look at it on paper before it started, into now touring the world and involved in nine businesses we have launched in the last year. How did I manage to get here?

As I said through my speech, you need balls of steel. We all have our knocks, and those knocks throw us on the floor and make us feel so hurt inside that if we dont dust ourselves down and get up, we will never be able to fly higher and keep growing as human beings. I never ever take no for an answer, she said.

The Ultimo brand she founded was worn by some of the most beautiful women in the world, including actress Julia Roberts in the role of Erin Brockovich.

Over ten years, I created 1bn of free pr, and you guys can do that too, she said.

Read More

In a wide ranging speech, Ms Mone spoke about her upbringing in Glasgow and leaving school at 15. Even when the brand became successful, she encountered difficulties.

Rachel Hunter said to me one day, whats wrong with you Michelle on a beach in Miami doing a shoot. I said Im the same age as you Rachael. Look at the size of me. Im eight and a half stone over weight. Im a size 22. Im a young woman like you.

"She said: 'Michelle you are an amazing business woman. Why cant you treat your body like a business?'

Give your body kpis (key performance indicators). I did. It was like turning on a light switch. I started walking and I started running, and before I knew it, I had lost eight-and-a-half stone. But she said to me, when you lose the weight Michelle, you have to promise to do a lingerie shoot. Your own lingerie shoot. I said I cant do that.

She said: you have got to do that to inspire women around the world that they can do it too.

Read More

Ms Mone said she did the shoot and the pictures went viral around the world.

She also touched on the breakdown of her marriage. Do you know what I learned guys? There is no point being bitter in life. Life is so short, we dont know what is going to happen tomorrow.

In an interview with Independent.ie afterwards, she said it was her partner Doug who encouraged her to go back into the lingerie business.

He said you know Michelle you are the best technical bra designer in the globe, with 17 inventions. Why dont you go back. And he has been saying this to me.

I am starting up my own brand. This bra we are inventing  we know what we want to do. It is going to change the way women wear bras.

The name is not fully decided, but she thinks it will be called Michelle Mone Intimates.
He's currently causing havoc in Albert Square as Eastenders' latest villain, Aidan Maguire, but Irish actor Patrick Bergin is also a talented musician.

He has just released a new single, Crazy in Love, which is not a cover of Beyonce's hit but a beautiful bluesy ballad.

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While he's best known for big and small screen roles from Sleeping with the Enemy, opposite Julia Roberts, to TV3's Red Rock, he says, "whilst acting is my job, music is my passion".

Crazy in Love is the first in a number of releases he has scheduled for this year and once he has wrapped on Eastenders he will be touring to promote his music.

He previously had a hit with his song The Knacker in 2003, but later apologised after it was blasted by the Irish Traveller Movement.

However, he told Ryan Tubridy in 2008 that he was attempting to "reclaim" the word for them and said that anyone using it in a "derogatory sense" should be "pulled up on it".

Here's his latest offering:
Friday night's Late Late Show will see former White House press secretary Sean Spicer grace the RTE studio sofa for a chat with Ryan Tubridy.

Given the daily controversies surrounding Trump's presidency, the revelations in David Wolff's explosive book, Fire and Fury, and the memory of Spicer's tumultuous six months in the White House still raising eyebrows, there is plenty to talk about.

RTE tells us that Spicer will defend his claim that Trump's inauguration was the 'biggest ever', that he will question the accuracy of Fire and Fury, and that he will give his take on Mellisa McCarthy's portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live.

Spicer has been vocal about his pride in his Irish roots in the past and he will be given an opportunity to chat about them.

"Donald Trumps presidency is one of the most fascinating and extraordinary things to happen in our lifetime," said Tubridy in a release.

"Sean Spicer was right there watching it all in a front row seat. I am really looking forward to getting his first-hand account of what it was like to be there in that White House with the worlds media watching and his insights into whats really going on in Trumpland.

Here are some questions we would like Tubridy to ask:

On your first day in the job you said Trump had the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period. That was demonstrably and obviously false. Were you setting a precedent? Did Trump tell you to say this? Do you regret it?

Trump is the President of the United States. As his press secretary, was it possible to say 'No' to something he asked? If yes, give some examples?

In Fire and Fury, Wolff describes you as Trump's 'flunky and whipping boy' - do you think he set you up for failure in the job?

The job was a huge, huge boost to your profile - but did it not end your career as a credible communications executive? You're a punchline now...

What really went down prior to your resignation, after just six months, in July? Did you feel undermined by Anthony Scaramucci's appointment to Communications Director?

Former colleagues claim you filled many notebooks during time with the Republican National Committee, the Trump campaign, and at the White House - would you be happy to hand over those notebooks, should they exist, to special investigator Robert Mueller?

Do you think Trump was right to fire FBI head James Comey?

How could you defend 'Trumpcare' when it would see at least 22 million Americans losing their healthcare over the next decade compared to Obamacare?

Is Trump a 'stable genius'?
Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm pictured as he arrives at the Criminal Courts of Justice. Picture: Gerry Mooney

Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm pictured as he arrives at the Criminal Courts of Justice. Picture: Gerry Mooney

The selection of a jury has begun in the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm for allegedly conspiring to defraud depositors and investors.

An extended jury panel of 15 is being selected at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Prospective jurors have been told by Judge Karen OConnor they will need to be available for up to five months.

Mr Drumm (51), with an address in Skerries, Co Dublin, this morning pleaded not guilty to two charges relating so-called 7.2bn back to back transactions involving Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Life and Permanent (IL&P) in 2008.

It is alleged Mr Drumm conspired with former Anglo executives John Bowe and Willie McAteer and former IL&P chief executive Denis Casey to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2bn larger than they were.
A teenage girl has settled her legal action against Facebook over naked images being posted on a 'shame' page as a form of revenge porn.

The landmark legal action involving the 14-year-old girl was considered the first case of its kind in the world and had been likened to child abuse.

A confidential resolution to the case was confirmed at the High Court in Belfast yesterday.

The teenage girl, who cannot be identified, sued the social media giant and the man suspected of posting her photo.

Her lawyers alleged the image was blackmailed from her, and then published as a form of revenge porn.

Damages

She was seeking damages for misuse of private information, negligence and breach of the Data Protection Act.

But following out-of-court negotiations her barrister, Edward Fitzgerard QC, told the judge: "I'm very happy to be able to inform Your Lordship that the case has been settled."

Facebook will pay the teenager's legal costs under the terms of the resolution, he added.

Proceedings were launched after her photo was allegedly posted on a so-called shame page on Facebook several times between November 2014 and January 2016.

Counsel for the girl, instructed by McCann and McCann Solicitors, previously likened it to a type of child abuse.

It was contended that Facebook had the power to block any republication by using a DNA process to identify the image.

However, in September 2016 the company failed in a bid to have the action dismissed at a preliminary stage.

At that stage it was stressed that the social network always respond to any reported breaches brought to its attention.

The picture was taken down as soon as notification was received, the court was told previously.

Five days had been set aside to hear all arguments in the civil trial.

Legal experts predicted that it could open the floodgates to a raft of further cases involving alleged victims of revenge porn on social media.

However, yesterday Mr Justice Maguire praised the legal teams involved in the case after being informed that the outcome would be a confidential settlement.

Addressing the parties, he said: "Thank you very much for the work you put in today."

Facebook has insisted that it is continuously taking measures to improve its safeguards against inappropriate content being shared via its network.

But the social media giant has been under mounting pressure in recent months over its handling of content including explicit images, threats, violence and so-called 'revenge porn'.

The phenomena means that naked or explicit pictures are posted online without a person's permission, using them as a form of 'shaming' or 'revenge' against the victim.

Revenge

There was consternation last year when Facebook asked users to send the company their nude photos in an effort to tackle revenge porn, an attempt to give some control back to those who have suffered the consequences of being put through such an ordeal.

Users could send the images to be "hashed" - meaning the image in question can be identified and blocked from future uploads. Facebook is piloting the technology in Australia.

But earlier in the year the social network faced criticism after removing the famous image of a naked girl fleeing a napalm attack during the Vietnam war.
Stephen French (28) was spared jail after he pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Lorraine Higgins (inset) in a series of online messages.

An internet troll who told a Labour senator that he would fill her "rat's mouth with lead" has claimed his crimes weren't that serious.

Stephen French (28) was spared jail after he pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Lorraine Higgins in a series of online messages.

In one chilling email, he told his victim: "I'm also going to put bullets up your f***ing a*** and watch you bleed like a river."

Just hours after walking free from court yesterday, French further insulted Ms Higgins, telling the Irish Independent: "She'd do anything to keep herself in the paper."

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When asked whether he considered his crimes serious, French replied: "No, not really. It would have been if I went to jail. I suppose it would have been serious then.

"Was she called for a comment? She'd do anything to keep herself in the paper," he added.

In another email, seen by the Irish Independent, French refers to a Blaser R93 rifle and states: "I'm going to blow your big f***ing Jew nose right off," adding "nothing better than to fill a rat's mouth with lead".

A court was told that Ms Higgins was left "scared stiff" and in a position where she "rarely left the confines of Leinster House" while in Dublin.

Judge Anthony Halpin gave French a suspended six-month sentence, saying the courts had to send out the message that public representatives had the support of society and to warn people not to send them abusive comments.

French, from John McCormack Avenue, Walkinstown, Dublin, pleaded guilty to three counts of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Ms Higgins, and two of harassing her.

The offences happened between July 16 and August 21, 2015.

The accused had entered his plea previously and the case came before Judge Halpin for sentence at Dublin District Court yesterday.

"I passed you in the street, I'm so close it's unreal," another message states.

"I was training with my Blaser r93 in the borderlands at the weekend, making sure my aim is at its peak.

"When the time is right I'm not only going to fill your rat's mouth with lead, your rat's mouth is going to be so full of lead it's going to fly out the back of your neck

"I'm also going to put bullets up your f***ing a*** and watch you bleed like a river."

Following the sentencing, Ms Higgins told the Irish Independent: "I am a firm believer in the right to freedom of expression but there is a line that should never be crossed.

"I note the outcome of the case and while I am no longer involved in politics I do wish to move on from the experience and put it behind me."

Ms Higgins said today that she hopes what she went through won't put other women off entering politics.

She tweeted: "I sincerely hope my experience will not deter women from entering politics. We need female participation now more than ever."

Garda John Costello said a computer was seized by detectives in their investigation.

The court was told the accused was living with his mother, who was a widow.

"Here we have a public representative putting herself forward to represent people and then she is subjected to this kind of abuse and invective," Judge Halpin said.

Confines

"It is very stressful. It must have been a very stressful time for her - she says 'I rarely left the confines of Leinster House when in Dublin'."

In her victim impact statement, Ms Higgins said that following the threats she temporarily removed her social media accounts, deliberated about what she was saying publicly and in debates, and permanently disabled email and social media notifications to her mobile phone. She also "seriously considered not contesting the 2016 General Election".

"At that point, I realised I was paying a rather large price to be a public representative," she said.

French accepted his actions were "disgraceful" and "inexcusable" and he was "not trying to gainsay that", his solicitor Philip Hannon said.

He said, however, that a psychiatric report gave a background of "very deep, underlying and disquieting issues in relation to his mental health" which contributed to "the matters which were regrettably conveyed to Ms Higgins".

"At one stage she was scared stiff," Judge Halpin said.

"Any person would be," Mr Hannon said. "It is not only shocking, it is deeply, deeply disquieting reading it."

Judge Halpin said the offence required a sentence but noted the accused had no previous convictions and suspended it for two years.
Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm pictured as he arrives at the Criminal Courts of Justice. Picture: Gerry Mooney

The selection of a jury has begun in the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm for allegedly conspiring to defraud depositors and investors.

An extended jury panel of 15 is being selected at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Prospective jurors have been told by Judge Karen OConnor they will need to be available for up to five months.

Mr Drumm (51), with an address in Skerries, Co Dublin, denies two charges, conspiracy to defraud and false accounting, relating to so-called 7.2bn back to back transactions involving Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Life and Permanent (IL&P) in 2008.

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It is alleged Mr Drumm conspired with former Anglo executives John Bowe and Willie McAteer and former IL&P chief executive Denis Casey to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2bn larger than they were.

Wearing a navy suit and open-necked blue shirt, Mr Drumm stood and responded not guilty when the two charges were put to him this morning.

Judge OConnor told prospective jurors their role was crucial to the system of justice.

She said for the purpose of this trial certain categories of people were disqualified from being on the jury.

These include people who were employed by Anglo or held Anglo shares, as well as people who were employed by IL&P or associated companies or who held shares in IL&P or those companies.

Also disqualified are people with strong views generally about Anglo and who feel they may not be able to deal with matters fairly or impartially.

People who have expressed views in public, including via social media, about the banking crisis were also asked not to serve.

Also excluded are people who have worked for the Financial Regulator, the Central Bank, the Department of Finance or any Government body with an involvement in dealing with the financial crisis.

Qualified accountants were also excluded, as well as people with connections to professional services companies EY and PwC Ireland.

Judge OConnor warned prospective jurors they should not research any aspect of the case online.

She said material gleamed from the internet was not evidence and it was impossible to check the veracity of it.

The judge said it was dangerous to research matters online and such actions could collapse the trial, causing enormous expense and administrative difficulties.

Judge OConnor also warned that jurors they would not be allowed to talk to anyone outside the jury room about the case, including family and friends.

This included communicating with people online.

Potential jurors were read a list of 95 witnesses who will give evidence in the case and were told they could not serve if they knew any of them.

The lists includes several former senior banking figures, including former AIB chief executive Eugene Sheehy, former AIB chairman Dermot Gleeson and former Anglo chief financial officer Matt Moran.

Large legal teams are involved on both the prosecution and defence sides of the case.

The prosecution team is made up of barristers Paul OHiggins SC, Mary Rose Gearty SC, Sinead McGrath BL and Diana Stuart BL, instructed by solicitor Deirdre Manninger.

The defence side comprises barristers Brendan Grehan SC, Bernard Condon SC, Lorcan Staines BL and Tessa White BL, instructed by solicitors Michael and Rory Staines.
The wife of a man jailed for life for the murder of their two young sons has obtained a High Court judgment of 77,690 against her husband over the deaths of the boys.

Kathleen Chada, a clinic manager, of Ballinkillen, Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, sued Sanjeev Chada (45), whose address was given as Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin.

Mrs Chada sued him for assault, battery and trespass on the person causing the deaths of Eoghan (10) and Ruari (5) Chada at Skehanagh Lower, Ballintubber, Co Mayo, in late July 2013.

He was jailed for life in October 2014 after pleading guilty to the murders.

The Central Criminal Court heard the boys bodies were discovered in the boot of Chadas car on July 29, 2013, after it had crashed into a wall near Westport with him in the drivers seat.

Chada, who had ran up gambling debts, told his wife he was taking their sons bowling in Carlow but instead drove to Mayo where he strangled the boys with a rope before trying to kill himself.

The court also heard Chada had secretly mounted huge debts from online trading and had borrowed from family and friends and lost large amounts of money. He was 500,000 in debt at one stage from gambling other peoples money.

In one note he wrote before the killings, Chada said: I could not let you bear the pain of being from a broken home.

"Mammy is getting rid of me and I could not leave you behind. I have so much to teach you but I could not do that if I was not with you.

We will be together now in some way  in the most beautiful country, your mate and Daddy.

He told gardai he killed them because I love them so much.

On Monday, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan was told Chada was not contesting the judgment application.

The judge said it was not necessary for Mrs Chada to give evidence. He told her he was "terribly sorry over the tragedy that has befallen your family. It was an unspeakable tragedy and you have my sympathy".

Mrs Chada thanked the judge.

The court was told the boys' maternal grandparents had waived any claim in relation to the case as had the paternal grandmother who lives in Romford, England.

Mr Justice Noonan was also told a sum for the legal costs had also been agreed.
Thousands of students across Ireland have lined the halls of the RDS as budding scientists showcase their projects at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2018.

The iconic event, now in its 54th year, will see students address social issues such as combating fake news as well as striving to make innovations in the digital sphere.

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This year there are 550 projects on show at the exhibition.

First year student Madelyn Fahey is investigating how fake news has affected our trust in the media.

Madelyn (13), who attends Kinsale Community College in Co Cork, told Independent.ie that she chose this topic because "fake news is everywhere".

"A lot of people don't trust news anymore. I spoke to some journalists and many were angry that the public doesn't trust their work anymore."

Madelyn did a survey among 181 students in her school to see if they could identify fake news.

"I gave the students a selection of stories and asked them to choose which ones were real and which ones were fake. Girls were better at identifying fake news according to the survey."

After researching the topics, Madelyn said she was alarmed to find that over 64 per cent of Americans used social media to consume news.

"The impact of this is alarming. Unverified news spreads like wildfire on social media. A lot of children are also getting their news from social media so this needs to be monitored.

"My research has found that we need to be more aware of our news consumption. We also need education programmes in schools so children can consume news properly. People also need to take responsibility for fake news and post things responsibly online."

Transition year students Claire Cooney (15) and Ellen Murphy (16) developed a project to prevent hot car deaths.

'Baby on Board' is a device that alerts parents that they have left their child in their car.

Claire Cooney, from Laurel Hill in Co Limerick, told Independent.ie that the pair have been working on the project since last August.

"Our project works through an app and a key fob. We have developed a sensor that attaches to a child's car seat and will alert parents if a child is left in the car.

"Through bluetooth, the sensor will send a message to the parent's phone or to their key fob to remind them their child is still in the car.

"It also send the location of the car so parents can get to their child faster. We hope this project will stop hot car deaths."

The students came up with the idea after a tragic incident in Tipperary last summer where a young baby died after she was left in a hot car.

"After that tragedy, we wanted to come up with something to help. It took a lot of research and we found that some companies have a similar product, but I think ours is the best. Ours is the cheapest and works as a key fob and an app."

Claire said that the technology costs approximately 10.

"If we got more funding we could develop the project further. We're really looking forward to the exhibition."

Student Sarah Sweeney is developing a chatbot (Virtual Agent) capable of winning Alan Turing's Imitation Game.

The 15-year-old from Scoil Mhuire gan Smal in Co Cork started programming when she was nine-years'-old after attending CoderDojo.

"My first project was a chatbot called Lila. Last year, I decided to make a better chatbot that could win the Imitation Game , also known as the Turing test."

The Turing test, developed by Alan Turing in 1950, is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.

"My chatbot is a simulation of Alan Turing. I'm going to train the chatbot to know everything about Turing's work, life and relationships so that you can have a conversation with the chatbot as if it is a human. The Alan chatbot is made with a neural network which is an algorithm based on the brain," Sarah told Independent.ie.

"No-one has ever won the Imitation Game, but I want to see how close I can get. It takes years to train a chatbot because you have to gather a lot of data. The chatbot doesn't have to know everything because no human knows everything."

Sarah said that her chatbot is at the basic stages but she hopes to develop it further after the exhibition.

"At the moment the chatbot has been trained with 1,000 questions and answers. If I eventually get enough questions programmed the chatbot should be able to have a conversation.

"I have to generate training data myself because the data I want is not available anywhere else. I have written software that will curate the data and pass it to the model (Neural Network - the chatbot's "brain"). The code for the model is open source, meaning it's freely available on the internet for anyone to use.

"I have a twitter account, @ask_turing, where members of the public can send in questions they have for Alan. For the time being, it's me answering and putting in the questions and answers as training data but the long term goal, after the bot is trained, is to use the Twitter API to connect the bot to the account so it can answer the questions itself."

The age old question of why kids and adults dont like vegetables has been under the scrutiny of a group of second year students at St Joseph of Cluny in Killiney.

Cara McCrystal, Daisy Gavigan and Susie Holahan examined the conundrum of whether we are picky eaters or if our dislike for greens is genetic.

The students who are exhibiting at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition say their findings show that we are indeed genetically disposed to finding the taste of Brassica vegetables; cabbage, kale, cauliflower, sprouts and broccoli a bitter pill to swallow.

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They are joined at the exhibition by their classmates Amy Kelly, Jennifer Kestell, and Ella Jones whose project to create an app that helps detect glaucoma and other eye diseases using the torchlight and camera on a phone attracted the attention of President Michael D Higgins.

We met with President Higgins and he was extremely nice to us and interested in our project, said Amy. The week has been a fantastic experience and we hope our project will help people with sight problems.

This year's winner of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, to be announced on Friday, will be presented with a cheque for 7,500, a trip to the historic Bletchley Park and the BTYSTE perpetual trophy.

The 2018 overall winner(s) will also receive the opportunity to represent Ireland at the 30th EU Contest for Young Scientists when it is hosted in Dublin in September.

Judging begins today, and the Exhibition opens to the public from Thursday 11 to Saturday January 13.
Mass-goers are being asked to consider an alternative to the handshake or sign of peace in a bid to combat the spread of the winter flu virus.

The Bishop of Cork and Ross Dr John Buckley has written to priests in his diocese, asking them to temporarily suspend the traditional handshake.

Dr Buckley has suggested priests ask congregations to consider using an alternative non-contact gesture to reflect the symbolism and meaning of the sign of peace.

This could range from a wave, a bow or simply a smile to show friendship and respect towards other Mass goers.

The measure is being recommended on a temporary basis.

It is aimed at avoiding any type of physical contact that could facilitate the spread of the flu virus between worshippers.

The precautionary measure was originally implemented during concern about the swine flu epidemic in 2009.

Masses in the diocese of Down and Connor in Northern Ireland have also suspended the traditional sign of peace handshake this week.

A spokesman for the North's largest Catholic diocese said shaking of hands was being "suspended until the risk of infection is significantly reduced".

He added that it was a "precautionary" measure due to the "increasing risk and impact" of the two dangerous strains of flu that are currently in circulation.

"Provision should be made for all ministers to use alcohol gel or wash their hands in warm soapy water before Mass and after the distribution of Holy Communion to minimise risk of infection," he said.

It is expected other bishops in dioceses nationwide will follow their example and issue similar non-contact advice to parishes.

The measure came as the Health Service Executive (HSE) urged people with the flu virus to recover at home and to minimise any possible spread of the virus.

This has included recommending that children do not attend school until they are fully recovered from any flu outbreaks.
Cabinet ministers will today be asked to give the green light for the preparation of legislation allowing abortion up to 12 weeks.

A majority of ministers are expected to back this approach - but significantly a question marks remains over the stance of Tanaiste Simon Coveney.

In a clear sign of the divide within Fine Gael, Junior Minister Patrick O'Donovan told reporters: "Every household in the country is going to have different views on this. I have a different view to Minister Donohoe on this."

Health Minister Simon Harris will today tell his colleagues that in order for a referendum to be held on May 25 or June 1 he must begin work on potential new laws immediately.

In the absence of a full Cabinet decision, which won't be made until after the Dail has debated the issue, he wants to focus his work on the recommendations of the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment. It proposed repealing the amendment, which gives equal status to a woman and her unborn child, and replacing it with legislation allowing unrestricted terminations up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy.

However, Mr Coveney, who is seen as being on the conservative side of Fine Gael, will miss today's meeting as he is currently on a tour of Israel and Palestine. He recently told the Irish Independent: "Decisions that I make on this will be ones that allow me to sleep at night and not ones that I will judge on the basis of whether they're popular or not."

Sources said Mr Coveney discussed the committee's report with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar during the holidays and will be at a special meeting of Fine Gael TDs and senators on Monday.

Rural Affairs Minister Michael Ring and Independent Minister Denis Naughten are also believed to have strong reservations about allowing abortion on demand.

However, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe revealed yesterday that he is now supporting the recommendations of the committee and said that they "should be put to the people".
The son of murdered prison officer Brian Stack has begun gauging support within Fianna Fail about a potential run in the upcoming general or European elections.

Austin Stack is understood to be interested in putting his name forward at an upcoming selection convention.

He expressed interest in entering politics at a recent meeting with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and is believed to favour a tilt at the European elections in 2019 in the Midlands-North-West constituency.

Mr Stack confirmed that he has nearly completed his period in the prison service and will "look at all of my options at the appropriate time".

He added: "I have always had a strong interest in community and voluntary issues and have also done a lot of peace-building work behind the scenes. These are the things that interest and motivate me."

Fianna Fail effectively has no representation in the parliament after Ireland South MEP Brian Crowley quit the ALDE group, of which Fianna Fail is an affiliate.

Although Mr Crowley remains a member of Fianna Fail, he is aligned to the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), which is seen as being eurosceptic.

Paralysed from the waist down, Mr Crowley has not attended the parliament since 2014 because he has been hospital-bound.

His substitute, Kieran Hartley, has repeatedly called on Fianna Fail leader Mr Martin to intervene.

However, senior party figures have completely dismissed Mr Hartley's calls.
Unions are not ruling out possible industrial action by Irish Rail drivers after members overwhelmingly rejected a Labour Court recommendation that would have given them a 1.15pc pay increase in exchange for concessions on productivity.

In a ballot counted this afternoon, drivers belonging to the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) and SIPTU voted 93pc and 83pc respectively in favour of rejecting the Labour Court recommendation last October.

While the drivers have not balloted for industrial action, SIPTU organiser Paul Cullen said both unions are not ruling it out in the future.

If the company forces this issue, there is the likelihood of industrial action, he told Independent.ie.

NBRU General Secretary Dermot O'Leary said the ball is now in managements court to determine why the recommendation was rejected.

Our members have rejected the recommendation which was designed to facilitate a move from the currently agreed voluntarist system of training new drivers, to one where it would become compulsory for all train drivers to mentor new colleagues, he said in a statement this afternoon.

The onus is now on both sides to reflect and consider the result of this ballot (93% against); any unilateral attempt by Irish Rail to force the issue may result in a negative reaction from those who have voted to reject the compulsory element of training.

Drivers were offered the 1.15pc award on top of a 2.5pc annual pay increase over three years for all Irish Rail staff agreed to last month.

The award was designed to reflect past productivity but it also required drivers to engage in the mentoring of trainee drivers, which until now, was done voluntarily.

But SIPTU organiser Paul Cullen said some drivers are simply not interested in mentoring new drivers.

Although the Labour Court recommendation would give them a 35pc increase in the mentoring bonus  from 25 to 31 per shift  he said many drivers believe it isnt enough to cover that level of responsibility.

Its forcing drivers who never wanted to be a mentor to do it, he said.

Drivers are also unhappy with extra responsibilities they are expected to take on, he added.

They must now take on some of the duties of former station staff who are being phased out around the country, like ensuring that all passengers are safely on board before leaving the station, he said.

There were no discussions on this, he said.

Mr OLeary said drivers are also angry about the so-called Goodwill Voucher of 500 that was part of the Labour Court recommendation. But instead of a voucher that can be used anywhere, the voucher is valid at Dunnes Stores, which some members are unhappy about, he said.

But Irish Rail spokesman Barry Kenny said the current row is delaying the companys plans to introduce DART service every ten minutes and other improvements in service.

With preliminary passenger numbers issued by the NTA (National Transport Authority) last week showing that we have now equalled our highest ever passenger numbers (45.5m in 2017, matching 2007 levels), this is restricting the companys ability to meet the needs of our customers and the economy, he said.

Mr Kenny was unavailable for further comment but he said the company would be urgently considering the outcome of the ballot.
The flood protection wall being constructed in November 2015 along the Clontarf Road at St. Annes Park

Reducing the height of the Clontarf flood defence wall is "short-sighted" and a "waste of taxpayers' money", according to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

City councillors agreed on Monday night that the sea wall height would drop from 4.25 metres to 3.95 metres.

However, a number of city representatives have blasted the decision, with Labour councillor Rebecca Moynihan describing it as "bizarre".

Ms Moynihan said it was really "irresponsible" of the council to reduce the height of the wall.

The drop means that it will now not be in line with national flood defence standards.

The cost of reducing the wall will work out at 230,000, with a further 300,000 for the cost of cladding.

Dublin Chamber chief executive Mary Rose Burke said the decision is "baffling" and called for a council overhaul.

"Reducing the height means that the wall will no longer meet national flood protection standards and defies good and responsible planning," she said.

"We saw in 2011 how real the threat of flooding is to Dublin.

"Since then, Dublin City Council has responded well to ensure that Dublin is equipped to cope in the future, as global warming leads to rising tides.

"This decision serves as a kick in the teeth for other towns and cities in Ireland, which are crying out for better flood defences."

The council decision went against the recommendations of council chief executive Owen Keegan. "It doesn't comply with national coastal flood protection," Mr Keegan said.

It is understood the height of the wall may be revisited in the future and might have to be increased due to climate change and higher tides.

Fine Gael councillor for Clontarf Naoise O Muiri said that the height decrease had already been agreed following a mediation process.

He added that he stood by his vote. "There was a lot of local concern about a barrier," he said.
I found out about Sanj's embezzlement about two and a half weeks before he took the boys [the stay-at-home dad had run up mounting gambling debts and embezzled 56,000 from a local community centre]. Things were strained between the two of us but we went camping that weekend because I was adamant we were going. We'd promised the boys and they were looking forward to it.

We came back on the Monday and - with hindsight - that entire week, Sanj was calmer. I saw it as relief, that things were all out in the open, I hadn't kicked him out and we were actually doing something about it and looking to the future.

Hindsight would now tell me that he'd worked out he, in theory, wasn't going to be around and the boys weren't going to be around to face any backlash.

I know now that I was a target too [an email and suspected suicide note was later uncovered in which Sanjeev urged loved ones to "raise a glass to Kathleen and the boys"]. He intended taking the four of us together but why or how, I don't know.

I remember in the hours during the night that they were missing thinking 'he's got the boys with him so they'll be okay'. If he'd gone off on his own, I'd have worried he might do something to himself, but he adored the boys. What happened was never even a fleeting thought in my head.

My mind goes to those last moments sometimes - what was it like for them? Eoghan may have wondered why they were driving so much, but they fell asleep in the car so I have to hope they slept through a lot of that. And they were with their dad. My hope is that, right up until those last moments, they were okay. That's what I allow myself to believe.

But those last moments I don't go there, because they're too horrific and too horrendous. What he did to Eoghan was just beyond me and Eoghan fought.

I always assumed that Ruairi died first but he didn't. Sanj would say that Ruairi slept throughout everything that happened to Eoghan but I know he can't have done. With what damage was done to Eoghan, he can't possibly have slept through that.

It's the betrayal for them of it being their dad. And yet, I do believe that the boys have forgiven him for what he did to them. It's not something that brings me any comfort, it's just something I feel. I've a lot of feelings that I don't question too much, I just go with them.

I feel they are at peace. I have a deep faith and I believe I'll meet my boys again and they're with me all the time. I don't blame God for this - I know who is responsible.

In a way, it would have been easier for me to accept that Sanj was insane, it would be easier to say 'my husband was insane and killed my children' rather than my husband was an evil SOB and killed my children.

And yet, no label would ever be good enough. I'm always looking for reasons, but there is no reason. There's nothing to justify the unjustifiable. But that question of 'what was it?' is one of the reasons why it was hard for me to keep away from reading the coverage of the Hawe family inquest because it's so close to my own story. I'm always looking for that little bit of insight, the 'why' to explain what happened.

The talk about putting a mental health diagnosis on Alan Hawe, personally I think it's a very dangerous thing to do because in some ways it's almost excusing it. It takes away responsibility a bit and I would have been so angry had that been the case for Sanj. Sanj was, and is, an intelligent man. There are many people out there with very serious mental health issues that don't kill their children.

I look at Sanj and the Hawe case too and I see the same thing - shame. This was about an incredibly deep, innate selfishness where somebody did not want to lose their good name, so it came down to shame.

Like Alan Hawe, Sanj was seen as this stand-up person within the community, a good dad and a good husband. I remember last year there was a lot of criticism when Alan Hawe was still being perceived as a good guy and that wasn't fair, because that was the perception, that was the person everybody saw. That's what they saw in Sanj and I know that if he had killed himself at the same time that he killed the boys, I would have wanted to bury the three of them together. Because we were a happy family. I still have one family photo on my wall because we were a happy family, I won't have all my memories tainted.

It's the same with keeping my surname. Most people associate Chada with Sanj but for me it's a connection to Eoghan and Ruairi. The way I look at it now is that it's okay to remember that good time, that hasn't changed because of what he did.

I haven't seen Sanj again other than in court and we're in the process of getting divorced. Is he evil? I don't know. It's hard to think of him in that way. It's hard to think that I loved him, married him, had two children with him, lay next to him every night and for all those nights, he was evil. His actions? There's no doubt they were evil.

There were no indicators, no red flags, no way of predicting what happened. I find trust very difficult now. Not trusting other people, but trusting my own instincts. And yet you can't go round thinking that everybody is a suspect, that everybody can turn.

I focus on keeping going. I'm involved in a group, Sentencing and Victims Equality (SAVE), lobbying to make changes to sentencing in Ireland and I've met people in similar circumstances. We're all getting up in the morning, working and we recognise the bad days, the days when you simply can't put your foot to the floor.

I talk at Novenas, and to journalists, about my experience, not to 'normalise' it - there's nothing normal in any of this - but to try and show that it is normal to feel a plethora of emotions when you're going through grief.

I know what talking to other people who have been through loss has done for me and if something I say resonates, then that's something positive that can come out of this.

I know I am lucky to be surrounded by friends, family, community, to have met the right psychologist who I still see almost every week, that I'm a talker and survivor and that, even though there are many times when I've wished I wasn't here, I'm not going to kill myself - I would never do that to my parents.

But for every positive I can find, I'd give it all up in a heartbeat just to have my boys back with me.
MMA fighter Conor McGregor paid tribute to his training partner Ciaran Mahers son after he visited the toddler in hospital.

McGregor met the little boy at Christmas when he made a surprise visit to the hospital. However, it was only this week when he met the little boy with his father that he realised who the toddler was.

The pair met on Monday night when McGregor treated his family and close friends to a night out in Funderland, Dublin.

Great to meet this little man tonight. My training partner Ciaran Maher, his son and his wife, McGregor wrote on Instagram.

Ciaran's son was a patient in the cardiac department in Our Ladies hospital before.

I went in one day on the low a while back and visited all the patients and helped out in my way for the department, and nobody knew about it, I made sure of it, but Ciaran reached out to me out of nowhere thanking me for it and I was like how do you know about that and was blown away as he told me of his son and his journey and that his life was saved by the people in the cardiac department in Our ladies (sic).

McGregor, who pushed his son Conor Jr around the amusement park in a Bentley tricyle, thanked the Maher family for joining him.

I done this on the low and it reached right back close to me out of nowhere. Crazy. It's crazy how you just never know.

I invited the little champion, my brother Ciaran and his wife today and it was great to meet the little man, thank you for coming.

The UFC star shared numerous snaps of his family's visit to Funerland on Instagram.
The demise of diesel has been overstated

Claims that 'diesel is dead' are far too extreme.

That's the verdict of a senior Volkswagen executive in Ireland in response to Independent Motors as the campaign is ramped up by Toyota in particular.

Gerrit Heimberg, Volkswagen Ireland chief, told us the 'dead' claims are extreme as current (EU6) diesels are super clean and highly efficient.

They are also part of motoring's drive to meet EU CO2 targets, he said, warning: "If we didn't have the diesel it would be difficult to meet EU regulations."

Mr Heimberg conceded that some people don't need diesel.

"But we are convinced that with bigger cars there is a need and a reason to have diesel engines. We believe there is still a large market for diesel," the VW chief said.

He added the 'diesel is dead' campaign is similar to going from one extreme to the other when people who didn't need a diesel car bought it anyway.

He forecast that diesel will be in use "way beyond" 2020 - a watershed year when lots of automakers are bringing electrified cars to the market.

"We (Volkswagen) don't share the extreme assessments (about diesel's demise) especially in rural areas," he said.

Volkswagen suffered only a minor drop in the percentage of diesel sales last year. The market-average drop was from 70pc to 65pc, but VW's was only 1.7pc off the previous year.

"We see a decrease but it would be irresponsible to say anything other than we see 'stable demand' for diesels well into the future," the chief said.

On other fronts: VW's 'scrappage scheme' has been extended to the end of March.

And Mr Heimberg seemed to suggest that the level of secondhand imports - which comprise a high volume of used Volkswagens - will continue at 2017 levels.
Sinead Kinsella, Swissport; Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director, Cork Airport; Louise Griffin, Swissport and Daragh Hanratty, Head of Aviation Marketing at Cork Airport. Pic: Brian Lougheed

No matter how many times you visit Paris, this extraordinary city still has the capacity to surprise and captivate

Cork Airport is kicking off the new year in style with the announcement of a new, direct summer route to Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

The new Air France daily service will take off on May 26, running to October 27 on Embraer 170 aircraft that can carry up to 76 passengers.

Fares start from 129 return in economy, including all taxes.

Aer Lingus already operates a service between Cork and Paris, but Air France is one of the world's biggest airlines, and its Paris connection also offers passengers a chance to connect with 180 onward destinations.

It will also boost inbound tourism, a point Cork Airport's Managing Director, Niall MacCarthy, made whilst welcoming the route.

"Ireland is ranked as the fourth most popular destination with the French and the new service from Cork will further grow inbound tourism from this key continental market to counties across the south of Ireland, he said.

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"As an island, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated," added Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland.

France is one of the top four markets for tourism to Ireland, with some 544,000 visitors expected this year (up almost +4pc on 2017).

The news is a further boost for Ireland's second-largest airport, which was last month voted one of the happiest in the world.

Data compiled by 'Happy or Not', the airport feedback systems provider, saw Cork tie for second place among 160 airports.

More than 2.3 million passengers flew through Cork last year.

Read more:
Whats the busiest air route in the world? New York to Washington DC? London to Paris? LA to San Francisco?

The correct answer may surprise you.

The most crowded flight path on Earth, according to a new report by aviation analyst OAG, is actually the 280-mile hop from Seoul Gimpo to Jeju International.

There were a staggering 64,991 departures between these two airports in 2017  that works out at around 178 a day.

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Second on its list is Melbourne-Sydney, with 54,519, while third place goes to Mumbai-Delhi, with 47,462. In fact, all of the 10 busiest air routes are domestic services, with Cape Town-Johannesburg the longest at 789 miles.

OTP in the graphics above and below refers to the routes on-time performance.

The busiest international route is Hong Kong-Taipei, with 29,494 departures in 2017, followed by Kuala Lumpur-Singapore, with 29,383.

Europes busiest service, meanwhile, is Dublin-Heathrow, served by BA and Aer Lingus. All of the most crowded international route are, unsurprisingly, short, with Bangkok-Singapore the longest at 890 miles.

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Why are so many people flying to Jeju?

More than 26 million passengers use Jeju International each year - thats more than any UK airport bar Gatwick and Heathrow.

So what the devil is Jeju, and why are so many rushing to see it?

Its actually the capital of an island, Jejudo, which might just be the most popular holiday destination youve never heard of.

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Unesco-listed, and billed as South Koreas answer to Hawaii, it's pure Instagram gold, and home to dramatic volcanic landscapes, underground caves, hiking trails and scenic beaches.

Halla Mountain, at 1,940m above sea level, is South Koreas highest peak, while the cone of Seongsan Ilchulbong, or Sunrise Peak, is particularly spectacular.

In 2011 Jejudo was named among the New7Wonders of Nature, though there were accusations that its selection was down not just to its beauty, but also the readiness of tourism and marketing organisations to stump up cash  including taxpayers money  to support its campaign.

There are also casinos, which help lure travellers from China, and, thanks to the islands self-governing status, anyone can visit without a visa.

Bizarrely, theres also a sex-themed park, Jeju Love Land, which features phallus statues, interactive exhibits on the masterbation cycle, and other sculptures of humans in flagrante.

Love Land is said to owe its existence to Jejudos popularity as a honeymoon destination. Young newlyweds would arrive knowing next to nothing about the birds and the bees so some hotel employees offered to share their expertise. The island soon became an unofficial centre for sex education, making the theme park entirely logical.

But Jejudo also has a dark side. In 1948 and 1949, the South Korean government brutally put down an attempted uprising on the island. Villagers, including women and children, were massacred, and as recently as 2008 mass graves were still being uncovered.

Some 30,000 people died as a result of the uprising, with a further 40,000 fleeing to Japan, and the atrocities are remembered at the 4.3 Peace Park memorial.

Which is the worlds busiest airport?

Its not quite as surprising as Jeju, but not far off. Nope, its not Heathrow, Beijing or even Dubai. The busiest on the planet is actually Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International  as it has been since 1998 (that's 19 years in a row).

More than 104 million passengers passing through its terminals in 2016  thats slightly more than the population of the Philippines.

The biggest airline at Atlanta, by some margin, is Delta. It operates 72.73 per cent of flights. And a remarkable 219 cities have non-stop services to it.

Read more:

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Subscribe to The Ready Business show, in association with Vodafone via iTunes or SoundCloud.

Only 9% of businesses achieve profitable and sustainable growth over ten years, so what are the barriers to profitable growth? This was what American business writer, Chris Zook, wanted to find out and the result is his book, The Founders Mentality.

In Ireland for a recent Irish Management Institute master class series, Chris explained to Brian Purcell the three elements of the Founders Mentality that are necessary for a business to succeed:

1. Have a sharp, clear, insurgent mission  if you lose that then you just become another company. What is it that makes your company be different and insurgent?

2.Frontline obsession  the great founders have attention and curiosity of the details.

3. Owners mind-set  the urgency of the founder to take responsibility and create an organisation that gives trust and responsibility to employees. You dont shift decision-making to the corporate centre.

Most companies fail, not because of external factors, but because of internal ones, explains Zook.

Its about the inner game of strategy, he says. And the businesses that retain the founders influence and still have a founder involved are more likely to be successful in the long-term.

The three elements of the Founders Mentality are all measurable and observable and businesses should be internally measuring itself against these on an ongoing basis.

The Ready Business show, in association with Vodafone , is available via iTunes , SoundCloud and Stitcher or subscribe to the RSS feed of the Ready Business Podcast using your favourite podcatcher.

You can check out the full Ready Business Podcast series here .

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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is greeted by children as she visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is greeted by children as she visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is greeted by children as she visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visits the Reach Academy with Place2Be on January 10, 2018 in London, England

The Duchess of Cambridge arriving to visit the Reach Academy Feltham, in London, a school working in partnership with Place2Be and other organisations to support children, families and the school community

The Duchess of Cambridge arriving to visit the Reach Academy Feltham, in London, a school working in partnership with Place2Be and other organisations to support children, families and the school community

The Duchess of Cambridge arriving to visit the Reach Academy Feltham, in London, a school working in partnership with Place2Be and other organisations to support children, families and the school community

Kate Middleton is kick off 2018 in style.

After celebrating her 36th birthday on Tuesday with a low-key celebration with family and friends, it's back to business today as the Duchess of Cambridge made her first official engagement of the year with one of her most cherished organisations. The mother-of-two, who is expecting her third child with husband Prince William, made a special appearance at a school in London that works with a children's mental healthy charity to help students, parents and teachers.

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She wrapped up in a navy blue military style 'Gianna' coat by high street British brand Hobbs, a pair of her trademark L.K. Bennett heels and later showed a familiar dress by maternity brand Seraphine, choosing a blue floral dress which she wore while she was pregnant with both Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Kate, a staunch campaigner for mental health awareness in children in particular, was there as part of her work with Place2Be, which provides children's mental health services to 282 schools in the UK. She has been royal patron of the charity since 2013.

During this morning's visit, she was given a tour of the premises and met with children from their nursery programme, as well as older students.

It comes hours after she wrapped up celebrating her birthday yesterday, which she marked privately with her inner circle as confirmed by Kate's Deputy Communications Secretary. who confirmed to HELLO! Online: "She will be spending the day privately."

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This year will be another busy one for Kate and William - in addition to preparing for the arrival of their third child in April, the couple will be travelling to Sweden and Norway later this month for an official tour.
Meghan Markle has closed her social media accounts.

The former 'Suits' star has de-activated her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, 33, on May 19 at St George's Chapel in Windsor.

Meghan had nearly 800,000 likes on her Facebook page, while her Instagram account was followed by three million people and featured more than 2,000 of her pictures.

The 36-year-old retired actress had posted photos of her 'Suits' co-stars and also liked to upload snaps of her rescue dogs, Guy and Bogart.

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Meghan will also no longer be tweeting on her Twitter account which will no doubt come as a disappointment to the 475,000 followers she had on the social networking site.

She had posted 5,000 tweets during her time on Twitter but hadn't used the account since Prince Charles announced in November 2017 that she and his son Harry are to marry this year.

Meghan previously ran a lifestyle blog, The Tig, but closed the site in April last year, and thanked her readers in a heartfelt post.

She wrote: "To all my Tig friends

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"After close to three beautiful years on this adventure with you, it's time to say goodbye to The Tig.

"What began as a passion project (my little engine that could) evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity.

"You've made my days brighter and filled this experience with so much joy. Keep finding those Tig moments of discovery, keep laughing and taking risks, and being "the change you wish to see in the world."

"Above all, don't ever forget your worth - as I've told you time and time again: you, my sweet friend, you are enough.

"Thank you for everything. Xx (sic)"

Check out our gallery below for her best pictures:
Forever 21 is closing its store on Henry Street in Dublin. Photo: Gerry Mooney

The battle for the shoppers' wallets in the heart of Dublin has not produced a happy ending for American retail giants Forever 21.

Do Won Chang and his wife Jin Sook Chang founded their chain in LA in 1984, and when Forever 21 arrived into Dublin in 2010, the brand took up position directly opposite the HQ of Penneys, the fast fashion success which works on high turnover.

The scene was set for an interesting head-to-head, California glam versus homegrown fashion - and what a difference eight years make.

On paper, the LA-headquartered brand should have been well placed to succeed here with its catwalk-infused fast fashion aimed at trend-driven millennials.

There certainly was enough hype around its opening in the Jervis Street Centre in late 2010 - but despite the 10m lavish fit-out, its star failed to stay the course.

Contrast that with other American collegiate-inspired casual wear brands like Abercrombie & Fitch on College Green, and Hollister in Dundrum Town Centre.

The busy retail cockpit of Mary Street, where Forever 21 gambled on succeeding here, is home to all the key 'value' fashion players like Primark, H&M, Zara, River Island, Next and New Look.

But things were not always so fashionable.

Primark chairman Dr Arthur Ryan, who launched the first ever Penneys store on the street 48 years ago, recalled how the original two-storey, 35,000 sq ft store "was all glass windows at the front, and they were broken every weekend".

In the latest issue of 'Drapers' magazine, Primark CEO Paul Marchant discusses with his predecessor, Dr Ryan, how the retailer went from a single Dublin store to a worldwide force.

"To build the brand, we worked in the Mary Street store all day, then the deliveries would come in in the evening and we would allocate the goods to the branches; then at night we cleaned the stores, as we couldn't afford cleaners," recalled Dr Ryan.

Putting clothing into supermarkets with their sister firm Power Supermarkets was a master stroke. Dr Ryan says he saw "a big opportunity in picking up grocery leases and rental prices, and selling clothing there".

"We had a cheaper grocery lease, and all our competitors had a textile lease and were paying big bucks. We were on our way then," Dr Ryan told 'Drapers'.

Forever 21 is now shutting down its only Irish operation after making a 44m bet on Dublin - and losing.

Penneys, or Primark, expanded operations and now has 335 stores and 70,000 staff in 11 countries - the most recent being in the US.
Vehicles transporting the South Korean delegation to the truce village of Panmunjo for talks. Photo: Reuters

North Korea said after its first talks with South Korea in more than two years that it will not discuss its nuclear weapons with Seoul because they were aimed only at the United States, not its "brethren".

In a joint statement after 11 hours of talks, the North pledged to send a large delegation to next month's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea but made a "strong complaint" after Seoul proposed talks to denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

Officials from both sides said they agreed to meet again to resolve problems and avert accidental conflict, amid high tension over North Korea's programme to develop nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States, but Pyongyang said disarmament would not be part of the discussions.

"All our weapons including atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and ballistic missiles are only aimed at the United States, not our brethren, nor China and Russia," said Pyongyang's chief negotiator, Ri Son Gwon.

"This is not a matter between North and South Korea, and to bring up this issue would cause negative consequences and risks turning all of today's good achievement into nothing."

Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have exchanged threats and insults in the past year, raising tensions on the peninsula.

In spite of Mr Ri's remarks, South Korea's Unification Ministry said it believed inter-Korean ties and a series of steps agreed in the talks could lead to discussion of a "fundamental resolution" of the nuclear issue.

"We will closely co-ordinate with the United States, China, Japan and other neighbours in this process," the ministry said in a statement.
Sri Lankan politicians exchanged blows in Parliament on Wednesday during a debate over alleged corruption in a bond issue that has marred the reputation of a government elected on a platform of good governance.

The brawl erupted after opposition politicians protested in the chamber as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was speaking about the matter.

A recent presidential inquiry report said the son-in-law of a former central bank governor benefited from leaked inside information on the bond issue.

Opposition politicians first lodged a protest that they had not been given the report and later walked into the middle of the chamber while shouting slogans and carrying placards.

Government members also walked into the well of the chamber and a brawl soon broke out.

About 50 politicians from both sides of the 225-member Parliament took part in the scrum. It was unclear if anyone was injured, but some had their shirts torn off.

The former central bank governor was a confidante of Mr Wickremesinghe, who was picked by him for the position.

The inquiry report said the former central bank governor's son-in-law made a quick profit of 72 million US dollars and the state suffered a loss of about 55 million US dollars.

It also recommended that bribery charges be filed against the then finance minister, who allegedly lived in a luxury apartment paid for by the ex-governor's son-in-law.

Sri Lanka's government won election three years ago after promising to investigate alleged large-scale irregularities under its predecessors.

AP
President Juan Manuel Santos shakes hands with Rodrigo Londono, Farc's top commander, last June, as peace talks with another rebel group hit problems (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

Pablo Beltran of the National Liberation Army reads a statement at the end of peace talks with the Colombian government, in Quito (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos has said new rebel attacks have prompted him to recall his chief negotiator from peace talks with the country's last remaining insurgent group.

The reported clashes came hours after a bilateral ceasefire expired, in a setback for efforts to end half a century of political violence in the South American nation.

In a short address on state television on Wednesday, Mr Santos condemned the attacks and said he has asked Gustavo Bell to return from talks in Ecuador "to evaluate the future of the process" and ordered Colombia's military to respond to the new aggression with force.

The defence ministry announced less than an hour later that authorities had detained two ELN rebels on weapons and terrorism charges after they were found with drugs and gun cartridges.

Representatives from Colombia's government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) were due to meet on Wednesday in Ecuador and were expected to discuss the terms of a new ceasefire.

Mr Santos said: "Inexplicably, the ELN not only refused, but they reinitiated terrorist attacks this morning, on the exact day new talks were slated to begin."

He added: "My commitment to peace has been and will be unwavering. But peace is obtained through willpower and concrete acts. Not just with words."

Colombia's peace delegation said there were four new attacks early on Wednesday, including a grenade launched at marines.

The nation's largest petroleum company said there was a "possible attack" on an oil pipeline in Aguazul, about 185 miles north-east of capital Bogota. Workers detected a drop in pressure and immediately suspended operations.

"These acts are not just an attack against an oil pipeline," the government peace delegation said. "They are a direct affront to the community."

A spokeswoman for the delegation said Mr Bell's recall did not mean peace talks have been suspended, instead characterising them as a "call for consultation".

Colombia reached an historic peace agreement with the nation's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, in late 2016, ending Latin America's longest-running conflict.

The end of that conflict has been hailed internationally though it has also opened a new power struggle in remote areas previously controlled by Farc rebels and still occupied by ELN combatants.

Peace talks with the smaller ELN, whose founders in the 1960s included radical Roman Catholic priests, began last February.

While the Farc peace agreement is credited with paving the way towards negotiations with the ELN, analysts say peace talks with ELN rebels also present distinct challenges

AP
H&M has issued an apology for the picture of the boy. Photo: PA

H&M has issued an apology for the picture of the boy. Photo: PA

A leading fashion chain has apologised after its website featured a black child model wearing a 'coolest monkey in the jungle' hoodie.

H&M faced criticism online from people accusing it of being "inappropriate", "disgusting" and "negligent".

The image of the model wearing the green monkey sweater has been removed from its website, while two others featuring different designs in the same category and modelled by white children remain.

One bears the words 'mangrove jungle' or 'official survival expert', while the other has outlines of various animals including giraffes and tigers.

Referring to the green top, UK Labour MP Kate Osamor tweeted: "I was totally shocked, dismayed to say the very least to find this online imagine. @hm do you think this imagery is an appropriate representation of a young black boy?"

The Weeknd, a Canadian R'n'B star who has produced menswear collections with the chain, said he was cutting ties with the company.

Alex Medina, who works in brand design, said it was negligent to place a black child in a top with such a slogan, while white children wore others.

He tweeted: "In the year 2018 there's no way brands/art directors can be this negligent and lack awareness. We have to do better."

A person tweeting under the handle @vulkaanrots said: "So the black kid gets to wear the H&M sweater with 'coolest monkey in the jungle' and the white kid with 'survival expert'. This is beyond disgusting.

"It's a projection of your neocolonial thinking. You won't see me anywhere near your shops these days @hm."

A spokeswoman for the retailer said: "This image has now been removed from all H&M channels and we apologise to anyone this may have offended."

 Daily Telegraph, London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Lady Lucan killed herself by taking a cocktail of drink and drugs after self-diagnosing with Parkinson's disease.

The 80-year-old was found by police after being reported missing by a worried friend, who she had attended a meeting on assisted suicide with the previous year.

Police smashed a window to break into the two-storey terraced town house in Belgravia, London, on September 26 last year and discovered her in night clothes on the dining room floor. An unmarked bottle with one pill left inside was next to her body as well as a white builder's face mask which was marked with red lipstick.

Lady Lucan was worried she had developed Parkinson's after she noticed a tremor in her right hand, lost her sense of smell, felt tired, anxious and suffered from insomnia, as well as becoming forgetful, an inquest heard. A verdict of suicide was recorded.

She was one of the last people to see Lord Lucan alive before he became the most famous fugitive in the world in 1974.

 Daily Telegraph, London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Israeli intelligence has helped stop terrorists from using civilian aeroplanes in Europe to carry out major attacks "of the worst kind", Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday.

The Israeli prime minister told a group of ambassadors from Nato countries his nation's intelligence agencies had "helped save many European" lives by passing on warnings of jihadist plots.

He did not give details of the thwarted attacks, but said they "involve civil aviation".

"We have, through our intelligence services, provided information that has stopped several dozen major terrorist attacks, many of them in European countries," Mr Netanyahu said. "Some of these could have been mass attacks, of the worst kind that you have experienced on the soil of Europe and even worse, because they involve civil aviation."

Israel has a formidable intelligence apparatus and Mr Netanyahu often uses his country's intelligence-gathering capabilities as a calling card as he tries to improve Israel's diplomatic standing around the world.

He speaks often about how countries that were once hostile to the Jewish state now seek out its help in the fields of both intelligence and technology.

Jihadist groups remain determined to try to smuggle bombs aboard civilian aircraft, according to assessments by both Western and Israeli intelligence agencies.

Perhaps the most dangerous bomb-makers are Al-Qa'ida's Yemeni affiliate, Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap).

The group was behind a failed plot to smuggle bombs into printer cartridges and get them aboard cargo planes in 2010. One bomb was discovered at East Midlands Airport in the UK and another in Dubai.

The plot was foiled after Saudi Arabia intelligence tipped off the US.

Aqap was also behind the failed "underpants bombing", when young Nigerian man Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab nearly blew up a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009.

Mr Netanyahu said Israel was helping Europe by preventing Isil from setting up "an alternative territorial base" in the Egyptian Sinai desert following its battlefield defeats in Iraq and Syria.

The jihadist group has a presence in the Sinai and has carried out deadly attacks against both Egyptian civilians and security forces. Israel has carried out strikes against the group in Sinai and shared intelligence with Egyptian forces as they battle the jihadists.

He told ambassadors that Israel was also working to prevent Iran consolidating its position in Syria. "This is dangerous for you too because the conquest of the Middle East by Iran would eventually affect all of your interests," he said.

 Daily Telegraph, London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Theresa May is set to meet a group of financial services firms on Thursday (Philip Toscano/PA)

Goldman Sachs has said it is pleased to be meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May later this week as City heavyweights hope to stress the importance of securing a transition period after Brexit.

The Wall Street banking giant published a tweet on Wednesday confirming it was among a group of investment banks and market infrastructure firms that have been invited to meet with Mrs May and Chancellor Philip Hammond on Thursday.

Pleased to see the PM @theresa_may and hear her views on how we can keep the City a vibrant centre of finance, a tweet sent by the main Goldman Sachs account said.

Pleased to see the PM @theresa_may and hear her views on how we can keep the City a vibrant centre of finance. https://t.co/Vsv3KyfASQ  Goldman Sachs (@GoldmanSachs) January 10, 2018

The Press Association understands that up to 15 financial services representatives will be in attendance, including Goldman Sachs International chief executive Richard Gnodde, Aviva boss Mark Wilson and insurance market Lloyds of London chief executive Inga Beale.

Junior Brexit minister Robin Walker is also expected to join from the Governments side.

But Conservative MP John Glen, who was handed the role of Economic Secretary to the Treasury and city minister this week as part of the Prime Ministers reshuffle, will not be taking part.

While his portfolio includes Brexits impact on financial services, Mr Glen had already scheduled in a parliamentary debate on the role of banks in communities, which covers the recent spate of branch closures.

Given the attendance of the Chancellor and Prime Minister, his attendance was deemed less urgent given his prior engagements.

City representatives are expected to reiterate the importance of nailing down a transition period, and stress that the Government needs to shed light on whether contracts and agreements that businesses are entering into today will be valid and legitimate at the time Britain leaves the EU.

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Without a transition agreement, there are fears of an abrupt end to passporting rights which allow London-based financial services firms to conduct business relatively seamlessly across the bloc.

It is hoped the round table will help drive home the issue to the Prime Minister, as the industry heads closer to the point of no return for Brexit relocation plans.

Both German and UK regulators said last year that the value of a Brexit transition period will start eroding by the start of 2018, as banks will be forced to secure their EU business by moving staff or key operations in lieu of a transition deal.

It would result in seeing businesses flee to rival financial hubs including Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt and Luxembourg.
Lidl has claimed it was the fastest growing supermarket over Christmas after booking record festive sales.

The German chain said sales rose 16% in December as it experienced its highest ever footfall.

December 22 marked a record trading day in Lidl UKs history, the group said, while the week before Christmas was its strongest ever.

However, it did not give a breakdown of like-for-like sales, again ignoring an industry benchmark used by its peers.

Among the supermarkets best selling products was its Birchwood Farm whole fresh turkey, which contributed to a 10% increase in sales of the bird.

Total fresh meat and poultry sales grew by 17% over the period.

Roughly 600 tonnes of Brussels sprouts, 17 million mince pies and over 800,000 litres of Champagne and Prosecco were also snapped up by shoppers.

Boss Christian Hartnagel said: Lidl UK has had a fantastic 2017 and this was capped by our strongest Christmas trading period to date.

Customers came into our stores to buy more of their Christmas items, knowing they could find high quality products at market-leading prices.

We look forward to bringing the Lidl offering to more communities across the UK, as we continue our rapid expansion plan this year.

Lidl has been on a rapid expansion drive recently, which is helping drive its sales.

Nine new stores opened in December, taking its total to 693.

Earlier this week, Lidl said it will open five new London stores and build its largest UK warehouse to date in a move that the supermarket says underlines the scale of its expansion plans in Britains capital.

The German discounters expansion is expected to solidify its standing as one of the UKs fastest-growing supermarkets alongside fellow German Aldi, increasing the pressure on Britains Big Four, Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons.
Moss Bros has warned over annual profits for the current financial year and next

Menswear retailer Moss Bros has warned over profits after a tough December saw fewer shoppers visit its stores.

It warned 2018 earnings will also be hit in an extremely challenging year ahead.

The group said like-for-like store sales had slumped 8% since the start of December amid intense competition on the high street as retailers slashed prices to offset tough trading.

It saw overall retail comparable sales edge 0.4% higher in the 23 weeks of its second half to January 6 thanks to a 12.3% leap in online sales and a better performance in stores between August and November.

But the poor trading over the crucial festive period means it now expects full-year profits for the year to the end of January to come in slightly below market expectations, at between 6.5 million and 6.8 million.

It added that profits for 2018-19 are also expected to be impacted as it plans to continue investing in the business in the face of ongoing high street woes.

Moss Bros joins a growing list of high street firms that have suffered amid a highly promotional and difficult December, with profit warnings from Debenhams last week and Mothercare on Monday.

Brian Brick, chief executive of Moss Bros, said: We faced a very tough December trading environment, which led to a significant reduction in store footfall and a hardening of the corresponding competitive environment in which we operate.

He added: In common with many UK retailers, the year ahead looks like being an extremely challenging one, not least because of the uncertain consumer environment, wider political backdrop and significant cost headwinds we face from a weaker pound, business rates and increasing employee related costs.

But he said investment in the group was vital to protect our position, although this will inevitably impact anticipated profits for full-year 2018-19.
Steve Bannon, the former Donald Trump campaign chief, has resigned from Breitbart News after a backlash over his involvement in a critical book about the president.

Mr Bannon said in a statement: "I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform."

He was executive chairman of the alt-right website and had left the White House last summer to spend more time working at Breitbart. His departure comes after Mr Trump publicly attacked Mr Bannon when he was quoted extensively in the book 'Fire and Fury', which painted a negative portrait of the president.

Rebekah Mercer, the Republican donor and minority shareholder in Breitbart News, issued a statement last week distancing herself from Mr Bannon.

Mr Bannon had been quoted in the book saying that a meeting between Mr Trump's son and Russian-linked figures was "treacherous" and "unpatriotic".

He also called Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, "dumb as a brick" and gave a series of other unhelpful comments about the White House.

Mr Bannon's exit from Breitbart News robs him of what he used to call his "weapon" and raises questions about how much he can influence Republican politics.

Before the latest schism, he had been planning to help field a series of anti-establishment candidates aimed at unseating Republican congressmen seeking re-election this year.

It also completes a spectacular fallout between Mr Bannon, who was credited with securing Mr Trump the White House, and the president himself.

Larry Solov, the Breitbart News CEO, said: "Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions and what he has helped us to accomplish."

Mr Trump had reacted with fury to Mr Bannon's involvement in 'Fire and Fury', written by journalist Michael Wolff and based on more than 200 interviews.

The president said in a statement at the time: "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind."

He added: "Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was. It is the only thing he does well."

The comments - which amounted to a public disowning of Mr Bannon by the president - were followed by criticism from Republican figures previously close to the former adviser.

Ms Mercer, a major financial supporter of Mr Trump and Mr Bannon, issued a statement shortly afterwards saying: "I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected.

"My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements."

It is not clear whether Mr Bannon, at the heart of Mr Trump's administration less than a year ago, will continue his attempt to unseat incumbent Republicans.

 Daily Telegraph, London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Copies of the book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by author Michael Wolff on sale at the Book Culture book store in New York. Photo: Reuters

There's been a high demand from Irish readers in Michael Wolffs book Fire and Fury, which purports to give a behind-the-scenes look at Trump's White House.

'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House' has shot to the top of the bestsellers list in the US.

The controversial book, which questions US president Donald Trump's fitness for office, was expected to go on sale in Ireland on Tuesday.

However, booksellers across the country have reported that the book won't be available for general sale until Friday.

A spokesperson for O'Mahony's Booksellers in Limerick said that the book was just published in Ireland on Tuesday so deliveries to stores is expected before the end of the week.

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She said demand has been quite high and 'Fire and Fury' is expected to sell out fast.

In Dubrary Books, the demand for the book has been "quite high" across all of its stores in Ireland.

A spokesperson for the bookshop said they will have a "small batch" of the books available tomorrow but it will only cover customers who have pre-ordered the book. They'll have another delivery on Friday for general sale.

It's understood that a small number of the books are available for purchase in some of the larger Eason stores across the country.

A spokesperson from Eason said branches such as Dublin's O'Connell Street, Blanchardstown and Swords Pavilions have the book in stock but the full order will be available by Friday.

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Trump dismissed Michael Wolff's book as a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author, while also directing his lawyers to try to ban its publication.

The ban failed and the book was released in the US on Friday. It immediately shot to the number one spot on Amazon's overall bestselling books list.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in credited US President Donald Trump on Wednesday for helping to spark the first inter-Korean talks in more than two years, and warned that Pyongyang would face stronger sanctions if provocations continued.

The talks were held on Tuesday on the South Korean side of the demilitarised zone, which has divided the two Koreas since 1953, after a prolonged period of tension on the Korean peninsula over the North's missile and nuclear programmes.

North Korea ramped up its missile launches last year and also conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, resulting in some of the strongest international sanctions yet.

The latest sanctions sought to drastically cut the North's access to refined petroleum imports and earnings from workers abroad. Pyongyang called the steps an "act of war".

Seoul and Pyongyang agreed at Tuesday's talks, the first since December 2015, to resolve all problems between them through dialogue and also to revive military consultations so that accidental conflict could be averted.

"I think President Trump deserves big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks, I want to show my gratitude," Moon told reporters at his New Year's news conference. "It could be a resulting work of the US-led sanctions and pressure."

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Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un exchanged threats and insults over the past year, raising fears of a new war on the peninsula. South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with the North after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

'BASIC STANCE'

Washington had raised concerns that the overtures by North Korea could drive a wedge between it and Seoul, but Moon said his government did not differ with the United States over how to respond to the threats posed by Pyongyang.

"This initial round of talks is for the improvement of relations between North and South Korea. Our task going forward is to draw North Korea to talks aimed at the denuclearisation of the North," Moon said. "(It's) our basic stance that will never be given up."

Moon said he was open to meeting North Korea's leader at any time to improve bilateral ties, and if the conditions were right and "certain achievements are guaranteed".

"The purpose of it shouldnt be talks for the sake of talks," he said.

However, Pyongyang said it would not discuss its nuclear weapons with Seoul because they were only aimed at the United States, not its "brethren" in South Korea, nor Russia or China, showing that a diplomatic breakthrough remained far off.

North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper said all problems would be resolved through efforts by the Korean people alone.

"If the North and South abandon external forces and cooperate together, we will be able to fully solve all problems to match our people's needs and our joint prosperity," it said.

Washington still welcomed Tuesday's talks as a first step towards solving the North Korean nuclear crisis. The US State Department said it would be interested in joining future talks, with the aim of denuclearising the North.

The United States, which still has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, initially responded coolly to the idea of inter-Korean meetings. Trump later called them "a good thing" and said he would be willing to speak to Kim.

Lee Woo-young, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said it was wise of Moon to praise Trump, his sanctions and pressure campaign.

"By doing that, he can help the US build logic for moving toward negotiations and turning around the state of affairs in the future, so when they were ready to talk to the North, they can say the North came out of isolation because the sanctions were effective."

The United States and Canada are set to host a conference of about 20 foreign ministers on Jan. 16 in Vancouver to discuss North Korea, without the participation of China, Pyongyang's sole major ally and biggest trade partner.

China would not attend the meeting and is resolutely opposed to it, said foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

"It will only create divisions within the international community and harm joint efforts to appropriately resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue," he told a regular briefing on Wednesday.

Pyongyang also said it would send a large delegation to next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Washington agreed with Seoul last week to postpone until after the Olympics joint military exercises that Pyongyang denounces as rehearsals for invasion. But it also said the apparent North-South thaw had not altered the US intelligence assessment of the Norths weapons programmes.

The United States has also warned that all options, including military, are on the table in dealing with the North.

"We cannot say talks are the sole answer," Moon said. "If North Korea engages in provocations again or does not show sincerity in resolving this issue, the international community will continue applying strong pressure and sanctions."

Seoul said on Tuesday it was prepared to offer financial assistance and lift some unilateral sanctions temporarily so North Koreans could attend the Olympics. North Korea said its delegation would include athletes and officials, among others.

However, Moon said on Wednesday South Korea had no plans for now to ease unilateral sanctions against North Korea, or revive economic exchanges that could run foul of United Nations sanctions.

Moon also said his government would continue working towards recovering the honour and dignity of former "comfort women", a euphemism for those forced to work in Japan's wartime brothels.

But historical issues should be separated from bilateral efforts with Japan to safeguard peace on the Korean peninsula, he added.

"It's very important we keep a good relationship with Japan," Moon said.

On Tuesday, South Korea said it would not seek to renegotiate a 2015 deal with Japan despite determining that the pact was insufficient to resolve the divisive issue, and urged Japan for more action to help the women.
Mohsen Bahrami, of the National Iranian Tanker Company, whose oil tanker burst into flames after a collision in the East China Sea, said there is still hope of finding survivors (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The Iranian company whose oil tanker burst into flames after a collision in the East China Sea said there is still hope of finding survivors as 31 crew members remained missing and rescue efforts continued.

As the stricken Sanchin was still listing after colliding with the Hong Kong-registered freighter CF Crystal late on Saturday, a spokesman for the National Iranian Tanker Co told the Associated Press in Tehran that rescuers "likely" will find survivors.

"Since the vessel's engine room is not directly affected by the fire and is about 14 meters (46ft) under water, there is still hope," spokesman Mohsen Bahrami said late on Tuesday. "We are persistently working to put out the fire and rescue possible survivors."

The body of one of the 32 crew members has been recovered and taken to Shanghai for identification, Mr Bahrami said.

Mahmoud Abuli Ghasemabadi, the brother of missing Iranian sailor Ehasan Abuli Ghasemabadi, said he and other families remained hopeful for good news.

"I ask countries that are in that region and can offer any assistance to help us deal with this situation as soon as possible," he said.

The Panamanian-registered Sanchin had a crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, Chinese state media reported. The 21 members of the Crystal's all-Chinese crew were rescued.

The cause of Saturday's collision in the East China Sea, 160 miles (257km) off the coast of Shanghai, remains unclear.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tonnes (nearly 1 million barrels) of condensate, a type of ultra-light oil, according to Chinese authorities.

South Korean petrochemical company Hanwha Total, a 50-50 partnership between the Seoul-based Hanwha Group and French oil giant Total, said in a previous email to the AP it had contracted the Sanchi to import Iranian condensate to South Korea.

The tanker has operated under five different names since it was built in 2008, according the UN-run International Maritime Organisation. The National Iranian Tanker Co describes itself as operating the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East.

It is the second collision involving a ship from the National Iranian Tanker Co in less than a year and a half.

In August 2016, one of its tankers collided with a Swiss container ship in the Singapore Strait, damaging both ships but causing no injuries or oil spill.

AP
Senator Ben Cardin speaks to reporters as a sweeping new report by congressional Democrats warns of deepening Russian interference throughout Europe (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

A sweeping new report by congressional Democrats warns of deepening Russian interference throughout Europe and concludes that, even as some Western democracies have responded with aggressive counter-measures, President Donald Trump has offered no strategic plan to bolster their efforts or safeguard the US from again falling victim to the Kremlin's systematic meddling.

The report is the first from Congress to comprehensively detail Russian efforts to undermine democracies since the 2016 presidential election, and calls out Mr Trump personally for what it describes as a failure to respond to Russia's mounting destabilisation activities in the US and worldwide.

The report was obtained by the Associated Press in advance of its official release on Wednesday.

"Never before has a US president so clearly ignored such a grave and growing threat to US national security," the report warns.

The 200-plus page report released by Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, comes without a sign-off from Republicans on the panel.

But even without GOP backing, the report's recounting of Russian operations in 19 European nations foreshadows the still-unpublished Senate intelligence committee's bipartisan inquiry into Russia's role during the 2016 US presidential election.

Mr Cardin commissioned the report so Americans can see the "true scope and scale" of Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to undermine democracy around the world, he said in a statement.

"While President Trump stands practically idle, Mr Putin continues to refine his asymmetric arsenal and look for future opportunities to disrupt governance and erode support for the democratic and international institutions that the United States and Europe have built over the last 70 years," he said.

Mr Cardin's inquiry lays blame directly on Mr Putin for a "relentless assault to undermine democracy and the rule of law in Europe and the United States".

Concerned that Mr Trump has failed to identify Russian aggression as a national rallying point, the report urges a "stronger congressional voice" in pro-democracy efforts and funding, and calls for committee hearings and other bipartisan efforts to aid European nations in countering Russian aggression.

The Republican chairman of the committee, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, did not join Mr Cardin's report. But some of the suggested policy changes have garnered GOP interest, including the aggressive use of financial sanctions aimed at Russia and pressuring social media companies to be more transparent about Russian political messaging.

The report also pushes for the administration to fully fund and utilise the State Department's Global Engagement Centre, which it says is hampered by "a lack of urgency and self-imposed constraints" under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The centre, created in 2016 to blunt terrorist propaganda, had its duties expanded to include countering Russian propaganda under bipartisan legislation last year authored by Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio and Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut.

Mr Cardin's report sketches a bleak portrait of European nations besieged by a recent spate of Russian encroachment.

It also cites years of cyber-attacks, disinformation, clandestine social media operations, financing of fringe political groups, corruption and, in the extreme, assassination attempts and military operations which destabilised fledgling democratic governments in the Ukraine and Georgia. The report leans heavily on open source information as well as staff interviews with European diplomats and government officials.

Labelling Russia's activities an "asymmetric assault on democracy", the report shows how even elections in countries such as Britain, France and Germany were reportedly wracked by Moscow-sponsored cyber-hacking, internet trolling and financing for extremist political groups.

It also credits those nations and smaller European countries, such as Finland and Estonia, with responding quickly and often effectively.

Facebook officials told Mr Cardin's investigators that Kremlin-backed trolls that stirred up political tensions on its American pages also "pursued a similar strategy in the lead-up to the 2017 French political election, and likely before Germany's national election" last year.

Similarly, Finnish officials told Mr Cardin's investigators that Finland has ramped up anti-disinformation efforts after Russian-leaning Twitter accounts "began tweeting misinformation and fringe viewpoints" before that nation's 2015 parliamentary elections - foreshadowing the surge in Russian-sourced fake Twitter accounts that proliferated during the US presidential election.

And just as Senate Intelligence Committee officials have questioned efforts of Facebook and Twitter to accurately determine the extent of Russian political messaging during the 2016 US election, Mr Cardin's team also noted alarming discrepancies between the extent of Russian troll activity found by independent researchers and far lower figures claimed by social media companies in European countries. The report advocates for social media companies to do a better job of auditing their platforms to determine the full extent of Russian disinformation flowing across them.

Mr Cardin's report urges Mr Trump to set up an inter-agency "fusion cell" on Russian interference modelled on the National Counterterrorism Centre that was created after the 9/11 attacks launched on US cities by al Qaida.

It also recommends that he convene an annual global summit based on similar forums on combating Islamic State or homegrown violent extremists. Rapid response teams should be formed to defend ally countries after cyber-attacks, with an international treaty governing the use of cyber tools in peace time.

It also calls on the government to increase the amount of aid it provides to promote democracy in Europe and publicly to expose any organised crime and corruption links to Mr Putin. It adds that social media companies should be required to publicise the sources of funding for political advertisements along the same lines as broadcast and print media.

So far, the president has personally shown little interest in addressing Russia's activities. During a November trip to Asia, where he met Mr Putin, Mr Trump said "he said he didn't meddle" and added: "I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it."

Other administration officials have been more sceptical of Russian behaviour.

Defence Secretary James Mattis has said the US is prepared to deter Russian aggression in Europe and the US agreed late last year to allow sales of lethal anti-tank weapons to Ukraine.

CIA director Mike Pompeo said on CBS's Face The Nation on Sunday that the CIA is working diligently to prevent Russia or any other US adversary from interfering in future elections.

"I continue to be concerned not only about the Russians but about others' efforts as well," he said.

AP
New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS): Giving positive news to people in the country, the World Bank has projected India'a growth rate to 7.3 per cent in 2018.

In its report, the World Bank said: " India is expected to pick up to a 7.3 percent rate in fiscal year 2018/19, which begins April 1, from 6.7 percent in FY 2017/18."

Speaking on the growth rate in the South Asian region, the bank said: "Growth in the region is forecast to accelerate to 6.9 percent in 2018 from an estimated 6.5 percent in 2017."

"Consumption is expected to stay strong, exports are anticipated to recover, and investment is on track to revive as a result of policy reforms and infrastructure upgrades," read the statement.

The statement further said: "Setbacks to reform efforts, natural disasters, or an upswing in global financial volatility could slow growth."

This is assumed to be a positive side for India as the Centre in its own data released last week estimated that the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) will likely grow at 6.5 per cent during 2017-18  a four year low.

The CSO data shows the growth lower than the 7.1 per cent GDP growth in the previous financial year on account of slowdown in the agricultural and manufacturing output.

It says that the advance estimate for Gross Value Added (GVA) is estimated at 6.1 per cent for 2017-18, down from 6.6 per cent in the previous financial year.

All these projections are made at a time when the country implemented major economic move in the form of Goods and Services Tax (GST) last year.

In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre had banned all old Rs.500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes.

Meanwhile, in its report, the World Bank projected 5.8 percent growth rate for neighbouring Pakistan.

"Pakistan is anticipated to accelerate to 5.8 percent in FY 2018/19, which begins July 1, from 5.5 percent in FY 2017/18," the report said.
New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Cadre review of Group 'A' Executive Cadre of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

It provides for creation of 25 posts of various ranks from Assistant Commandant to Additional Director General ranks to enhance the supervisory staff in Senior Duty posts of CISF, read a government statement.

The restructuring of the CISF Cadre will result in increase of Group 'A' posts from 1252 to 1277 with increase of 2 posts of Additional Director General, 7 posts of Inspector General, 8 posts of Deputy Inspector General and 8 posts of Commandant.
Washington, Jan 10 (IBNS): NASAs Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS) dont just enable data from spacecraft to reach Earth  they provide internet and even telemedicine to researchers at the South Pole. The South Pole TDRS Relay (SPTR) system turns 20 years old on Jan. 9, 2018.

In the 1990s, the National Science Foundation (NSF) faced a communications challenge with more than a hundred scientists working at their Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica per year to study everything from meteorology to astrophysics to climate. The scientists were completely isolated at the remote station during the winter months from about mid-February to late October every year. Airplanes could not land to transport people or data, in the form of tapes, off Antarctica. Researchers were limited in how they could communicate, relying mostly on high-frequency radio to connect with the outside world or send their research back to the U.S., and it was difficult to do in a timely manner.

Additionally, polar-orbiting satellites used the South Pole Satellite Data Link (SPSDL) to move low volumes of survey mapping data to McMurdo Station, but the flow of data back to the U.S. was nearly impossible with the existing communications systems.

NSFs Pat Smith, technology development manager for the Office of Polar Programs, turned to satellites in high-altitude, high-inclination orbits to solve the problem. Inclination is the angle of an orbit in relation to Earths equator, which has zero inclination. The higher the satellite, the smaller the angle needed to provide useful communications. Together with a team at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, he developed a way to use satellites in geosynchronous orbits (about 22,000 miles above the Earths surface) that were past their primary missions to provide internet connectivity and file transfer services to the South Pole.

Smith and another team of experts began by adapting older weather satellites and experimental satellites to provide communications services, which gave Antarctica the equivalent of a dial-up connection. However, as data collection continued to become more sophisticated, they needed to transmit and receive more data at a time. In the early 1990s, the team gained access to newer spacecraft, which enabled much better communications to and from the South Pole, but the data rates were still low and services were limited.

Thats when Smith heard about TDRS, which were designed to provide communications services to spacecraft. He began working with Mike NASA Mike Comberiate from Goddard to determine if the NSF could get access to those resources from a remote location on Earth.

TDRS could provide a much higher data rate than the previous satellites NSF used, meaning more data could be sent at a time. The TDRS system also had multiple systems in place for communications, meaning there were backup options in case any of the systems failed. To make TDRS work for the South Poles needs, NASA built a communications antenna at the South Pole station and added a new system at White Sands Complex in New Mexico, where the TDRS operations center is housed, to provide this new type of support.

The first signal was sent via the South Pole TDRS Relay system on Dec. 12, 1997, and the system officially became operational on Jan. 9, 1998.

Given the power of the TDRS satellites, we were able get, out of a little 6-foot antenna, data rates that we could previously only get a fraction of with a big 9-meter antenna, said Smith. A 9-meter antenna equates to about 30 feet, or five times the size of a 6-foot antenna.

Over the next several years, the system was used for numerous purposes besides providing general connectivity to the South Pole. In June 1999, the South Pole TDRS Relay played a critical role in providing telemedicine from the U.S. to the stations physician, Jerri Nielson, who had discovered she had breast cancer while isolated at the South Pole station during the winter. They helped her perform a self-biopsy and administer chemotherapy, saving her life. Doctors leveraged the system for telemedicine again in 2002 to assist in knee surgery for meteorologist Dar Gibson.

Additionally, the system supported news events from the South Pole in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including a live New Years Eve broadcast from the South Pole in 2000.

It's hard to enumerate all the current systems that this was the pathfinder for, said Comberiate. The SPTR system was so far ahead of everything else back then that it was unimaginable.

The system was a game-changer not just for connectivity from the South Pole, but for communications in many remote locations. The use of TDRS for internet connectivity evolved from the South Pole to other ground and ship-based systems for remote science webcasts, such as for eclipses in remote locations. TDRS not only provided data services for these activities, but demonstrated the potential for the use of internet technology to support NASA missions.

This culminated in an experiment, named the Low Power Transceiver Communications and Navigation Demonstration on Shuttle (LPT CANDOS), on the STS-107 space shuttle mission in 2003. LPT CANDOS provided network connectivity to the payload bay of the space shuttle using the same TDRS equipment developed initially for SPTR. Since that time, the ability to use general internet has been added to the International Space Station and the Orion spacecraft. Future exploration and science missions will use a combination of IP and disruption-tolerant networking (DTN) as part of a solar system internet.

Over time, the SPTR system has changed and evolved. The original NASA equipment was replaced with upgraded NSF equipment, which was named SPTR-2 and became operational in June 2009. The SPTR-2 antenna has access to any TDRS spacecraft in view and can also relay science data through the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) network in between TDRS visibility windows. GOES satellites use a different communications system to communicate than TDRS.

Every year, researchers develop instruments that collect even more data at a time and require higher data rates to stay in the forefront of their scientific fields. Astrophysicists working on cosmic background research at the South Pole station expect to collect as much as 300 megabits of data per day in the next few years, so SPTR must continue to evolve with these growing needs.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds and manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), which has three, year-round remote research stations in Antarctica. This partnership between NASA and NSF commissioned a first-of-its-kind satellite communications ground terminal at the NSF Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The South Pole TDRS Relay (SPTR) ground terminal was the genesis of what is today an important data communications link moving high volumes of scientific research data daily from NSF-funded astronomy and astrophysics programs. The partnership for communications, now in its 20th year, continues with long-term TDRS access, enabling science discoveries at the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics, supporting the operations of Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and providing the important connections to family and friends for the isolated scientists and crew.

Image: NASA
New York, Jan 10 (IBNS): Probably the first case since the new government under President Donald Trump took the initiative designed to clamp down on fraudulent immigration, an Indian-origin person, who was identified as Baljinder Singh, has been stripped of his US citizenship.

On January 5, Judge Stanley R. Chesler of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey entered an order revoking the naturalized U.S. citizenship of Baljinder Singh aka Davinder Singh, and canceling his Certificate of Naturalization, the Justice Department announced in a statement.



Following Judge Cheslers order, Singhs immigration status reverted from naturalized citizen to lawful permanent resident, rendering him potentially subject to removal proceedings at the Department of Homeland Securitys discretion.



Singhs denaturalization is the first arising out of a growing body of cases referred to the Department of Justice by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as part of Operation Janus.

The action against Singh was filed contemporaneously with two other Operation Janus cases, as announced by the Justice Department on Sept. 19, 2017.



A Department of Homeland Security initiative, Operation Janus, identified about 315,000 cases where some fingerprint data was missing from the centralized digital fingerprint repository. Among those cases, some may have sought to circumvent criminal record and other background checks in the naturalization process.

These cases are the result of an ongoing collaboration between the two departments to investigate and seek denaturalization proceedings against those who obtained citizenship unlawfully.



The defendant exploited our immigration system and unlawfully secured the ultimate immigration benefit of naturalization, which undermines both the nations security and our lawful immigration system, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler of the Justice Departments Civil Division. The Justice Department will continue to use every tool to protect the integrity of our nations immigration system, including the use of civil denaturalization.



USCIS dedicated a team to review these Operation Janus cases, and the agency has stated its intention to refer approximately an additional 1,600 for prosecution.



We appreciate the dedication of our Justice Department partners as we work together to ensure the integrity of our nations legal immigration system, said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. I hope this case, and those to follow, send a loud message that attempting to fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship will not be tolerated. Our nations citizens deserve nothing less.



Baljinder Singh aka Davinder Singh, 43, a native of India, arrived at San Francisco International Airport on Sept. 25, 1991, without any travel documents or proof of identity. He claimed his name was Davinder Singh.

He was placed in exclusion proceedings, but failed to appear for his immigration court hearing and was ordered excluded and deported on Jan. 7, 1992.

Four weeks later, on Feb. 6, 1992, he filed an asylum application under the name Baljinder Singh.

He claimed to be an Indian who entered the United States without inspection. Singh abandoned that application after he married a U.S. citizen, who filed a visa petition on his behalf. Singh naturalized under the name Baljinder Singh on July 28, 2006. Singh has been residing in Carteret, New Jersey.

This case was investigated by USCIS and the Civil Divisions Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section (OIL-DCS).

The case was prosecuted by Counsel for National Security Aaron Petty of OIL-DCSs National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit, with support from Deputy Chief Patrice Rodman of USCISs Office of the Chief Counsel, Northeast Law Division and Immigration Services Officer Caroline DAngelo of USCISs Field Operations Directorate.


New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the Union cabinet meeting on Wednesday to review the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, media reports said.

The Union cabinet is expected to review the FDI policy on sectors like construction and single brand retail, report said.

Modi along with his colleagues will look to relax the FDI policy a bit to attract more investments.

It would be interesting whether the government relaxes the policy to 100% from current 49% in automated route in single brand retail.
New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Canada for cooperation in the field of Science & Technology.

The MoU will provide a mechanism and help to foster scientific cooperation between R&D and academic institutions of India and Canada, read a government statement.

The model of R&D cooperation between India and Canada will be implemented under a MoU concluded by the Department of Science and Technology with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.

Under this MoU, the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnership to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability (IC-IMPACTS) programme will be supported to promote India-Canada multidisciplinary research partnerships.

The R&D projects will be aimed at accelerating social transformation by providing solutions through application of science and technology.

The participants will include researchers from scientific organizations, academia and R&D laboratories from India and Canada.

Identified areas of mutual cooperation include safe and sustainable infrastructure and integrated water management.

This will help to develop institutional networking and support the establishment of connections between scientific organizations, scientists and specialists of India and Canada.
New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS): President of India Ram Nath Kovind, will visit Bihar on Thursday to inaugurate the 4th International Conference on Dharma-Dhamma at Rajgir.

The Conference is being organised by Nalanda University in collaboration with the Centre for Study of Religion and Society, India Foundation, and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, with an aim to provide an opportunity to academics and policy makers from India and abroad to share ideas and build collaboration for a better world, read a government statement.
New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS): Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation held bilateral talks with Dr Abbas Akhoundi, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The talks were preceded by an Indo-Iran Joint Business Seminar attended by officials and nearly a hundred delegates from the public and private sector and various trade bodies from both countries .

Talking to media persons after the talks Shri Gadkari termed the discussions as very fruitful. He said the Chabahar Port was very important for both India and Iran, and offered a win-win situation to both countries.

He said the port would be a growth engine for India as it opened up an alternate route for exports to Afghanistan and Russia. It would also open up business opportunities for investors of both India and Iran to invest in each others country, he said.

The Minister further informed that the two countries have sorted out all issues pertaining to the Chabahar Port in their discussions today.

He also said the Indo-Iran Joint Business Seminar was a fruitful exercise for exploring business opportunities in the two countries.

He expressed confidence that todays meeting would help to further strengthen the good relations between the two countries.

Dr Akhoundi spoke of various infrastructure projects in Iran and highlighted the investor friendly business environment, particularly in the transportation and logistics sector.

The Indo-Iran Joint Business Seminar held earlier during the day focussed on Chabahar Port, opportunities in Free Zone and Transit Corridors. The Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Chemicals & Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya spoke about the initiatives taken by the Government of India to enhance bilateral cooperation in the maritime sector. Presentations were made by the Managing Director, India Port Global Limited, the Managing Director of Port and Maritime Organisation of Iran and by their Deputy Minister of Transport, on Transit Corridors and Transhipment. The business event was attended by nearly a hundred delegates from the public and private sector and various trade bodies from both countries. The meeting closed with an insightful open house session in which relevant questions were posed and discussed with stakeholders and potential investors.
Guwahati, Jan 10 (IBNS) : Death of a youth in police custody has triggered massive violent protests in Assam on Wednesday.According to the reports, one protester was killed and several others, including five police personnel were injured, when local people engaged in a clash with security personnel in Assam's Darrang district after a youth was allegedly died in police custody.

The incident took place at Dhula area in Darrang district, some 110 km north from Guwahati.

According to the reports, on January 9, the Dhula police had raided the house of Hasen Ali suspecting that he is involved in illegal arms trade and pick up him to police station.

Later Hasen Ali was shifted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital for his illness but he died at the hospital on Tuesday night.

While the local people hearing the incident, thousands of people had come out to the road and protested against police act.

Protesters also blocked the NH 15 and demanding to take stern action against the accused police personnel as the youth died in police custody.

Hasen Ali was an innocent youth. But police had picked up him from the house for his alleged involvement with illegal arms trade. It is a baseless charge, a local resident of Hasen Alis native village said.

The situation turned violent after some protesters started attacking the Dhula police station by pelting stones.

In the protesters attack, at least five police personnel were injured and after police and CRPF personnel had resorted baton and used tear gas to control the situation.

Several protesters had received injuries in the police baton charge and tear gas shells firing.

While the situation turned more violent, police opened fire upon the protesters.

One protester identified as Moinul Hoque was killed in police firing incident and several others injured.

The injured protesters are shifted to nearest Dhula hospital.

Few police personnel also injured during the clash.

Meanwhile, the district administration has clamped indefinite curfew in the area fearing about fresh violence.

Following the incident, the Darrang district police suspended Ranjit Hazarika, the OC of Dhula Police station Ranjit Hazarika and taken him into police custody.

Meanwhile, Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal has directed Additional Chief Secretary MGVK Vanu to probe into the incident.

On the other, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), AIUDF protested against the police firing incident and demanded a high level probe into the incident.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS): A Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, who is suspected to have been involved in the Red Fort terror attack in 2000, was on Wednesday arrested from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, media reports said.

The terrorist has been identified as Bilal Ahmed Kawa.

The arrest was made in a joint operation by the Special Cell of Delhi Police and Gujarat ATS.

Following the arrest, Ahmed is now being questioned by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

The Red Fort in Delhi came under terrorist attack on Dec 22, 2000.

It was carried out by Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

It killed two soldiers and one civilian, in what was described in the media as an attempt to derail the India-Pakistan peace talks.
Los Angeles, Jan 10 (IBNS): India's global star Priyanka Chopra on Wednesday said third season of Quantico TV series will go on air from Apr 26.

Priyanka informed her fans when she tweeted: "And Shes back...Can't wait to share this with you! #April26 #QuanticoSeason3 #TheReturnOfAlexParrish."

She was busy recently shooting for the third season of the popular American TV series.

Priyanka gained international fame and attention with her performance in the TV series.

Priyanka plays the role of a promising FBI agent Alex Parrish in the series.

It was Quantico and the success of the first two seasons that had made Priyanka a household name in America.

Gaining international success, she also worked in Hollywood movie Baywatch.

The movie, which marked her Hollywood debut, released last year.

Image: Priyanka Chopra Twitter page
New York, Jan 10 (JEN): The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday appealed to the Israeli Government to not forcibly send Eritrean and Sudanese refugees or asylum seekers to sub-Saharan Africa.

This appeal came after some 80 cases were identified in which people relocated by Israel risked their lives by taking dangerous onward journeys to Europe.

Feeling they had no other choice, they travelled many hundreds of kilometres through conflict zones in South Sudan, Sudan and Libya after being relocated by Israel, the spokesperson of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), William Spindler, told reporters in Geneva.

He said that along the way, they suffered abuse, torture and extortion before risking their lives once again by crossing the Mediterranean to Italy.

UNHCR staff interviewed them in Rome between November 2015 and December 2017 in reception centres and informal settlements. All were adult males, some with family members still in Israel, who had entered via the Sinai.

In every case, he explained, they reported torture, mistreatment and extortion before reaching Israel, adding that some said that others travelling with them had died en route to Libya.

The majority maintained that they had been transferred from Israel to a country in Africa and provided with $3,500 dollars.

However, the situation on arrival was different to what most had expected  and with little further support provided beyond accommodation on the first night. They reported feeling unsafe, as they were known to have money, he said.

UNHCR is seriously concerned over Israel's plans announced on 1 January to forcibly relocate Eritreans and Sudanese to countries in Africa or have them face indefinite detention.

Official statements that the plans may eventually target families and those with pending asylum claims, or that asylum seekers might be taken to the airport in handcuffs, are particularly alarming.

At a time when UNHCR and partners in the international community are engaged in emergency evacuations from Libya, forced relocation to countries that do not offer effective protection and the onward movement of these people to Libya and Europe is particularly worrisome, Spindler underscored.

There are some 27,000 Eritreans and 7,700 Sudanese in Israel, however since 2009, when Israel took over refugee status determination from UNHCR, only 10 Eritreans and one Sudanese have been recognized as refugees.

While 200 Sudanese from Darfur were granted humanitarian status in Israel along with an announcement that 300 more will follow, Israel has not received any Eritreans or Sudanese since May 2016.

UNHCR stands ready to work with Israel to find alternative solutions for the protection needs of asylum seekers, in line with international standards, concluded Spindler.

Photo: UNHCR/Fabio Bucciarelli


New York, Jan 10 (JEN): Political brinkmanship and a refusal to compromise will only result in further delays in preparations for elections and deepening of the political crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has been gripped by a recent spate of violent protests, the United Nations peacekeeping chief told the Security Council Tuesday.

In a briefing to the Council, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said that despite significant progress in preparations for elections, the implementation of the 31 December 2016 political agreement remains only partial.

That agreement  facilitated by Conference Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO) mediators  allowed President Joseph Kabila to stay in power beyond the end of his term and stipulated that peaceful, credible and inclusive elections would be organized in the DRC by the end of December 2017.

The polls were reportedly pushed back to December 2018, sparking violent protests late last month.

On Tuesday, Lacroix condemned the violent repression of the demonstrations by Congolese National Security Forces, and called on national authorities to carry out the necessary investigations to bring to justice alleged perpetrators of human rights violations.

Given the stakes, it is essential that all players in the Congolese political class renounce any act that may lead to situations of violence, he said, urging political actors to play a constructive role in the implementation of the electoral calendar, warning that any refusal to compromise would only deepen the political crisis.

Lacroix also deemed it imperative for the DRC's partners to provide sufficient political, logistical and financial support for the conduct of credible elections, noting in particular that any delay would not only risk fueling political tensions but would also aggravate an already fragile security situation.

In this context, he told the Council that in recent months, armed groups in eastern DRC have launched repeated attacks on positions of the Congolese Army, with a severe impact on the civilian population.

Turning to his recent visit to Semuliki, where an attack on a base of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) by suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers and wounded 43 others. He noted that the SecretaryaGeneral had appointed former Assistant SecretaryaGeneral Dmitry Titov to lead a special investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Meanwhile Lacroix announced that preparations were under way to ensure the deployment next month of a third rapid deployment battalion. He said members of such units were training in jungle combat to enable them to evolve more effectively in the asymmetrical environment in which they operate.

He went on to stress that the asymmetrical nature of the threats posed by ADF rebels and other armed groups called for strengthening regional cooperation, as well as information gathering and analysis, but also to interrupt the political and economic support systems enjoyed by the group. In addition to targeted military operations, he called for strengthening cooperation between MONUSCO and the national Congolese security forces, known by the French acronym, FARDC.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
New York, Jan 10 (JEN): While the eyes of the world are on Myanmar's northern Rakhine and Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, more than 60,000 Rohingya children remain nearly forgotten, trapped in appalling camps in central Rakhine where the shelters teeter on stilts above garbage and excrement, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported Tuesday.

Partners have identified about 20 children separated from their families during the violence but estimate the total number to be at least 100  most of whom are in parts of northern Rakhine state that they still cannot access, Marixie Mercado, UNICEF spokesperson told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday during a briefing on her visit to Myanmar from 6 December 2017 through 3 January.

She painted a harrowing picture of the situation in Rakhine, noting that prior to 25 August, when the most recent outbreak of violence occurred, UNICEF had been treating 4,800 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition; these children are no longer receiving this life-saving treatment.

All 12 of the outpatient therapeutic treatment centres run by our partners are closed because they were either looted, destroyed or staff can't access them, she underscored.

Ms. Mercado called the inability of UN agencies to access vulnerable Rohingya children who remain in northern Myanmar troubling, saying that while the eyes of the world are focused on the 655,000 refugees who have fled across the border into Bangladesh, 60,000 Rohingya children remain almost forgotten, trapped in squalid camps in central Rakhine.

The Rohingya children who do remain in rural areas are almost totally isolated. We hear of high levels of toxic fear in children from both Rohingya and Rakhine communities, she said.

She stressed that UNICEF stood ready to work with the Myanmar Government and Rakhine state authorities to provide humanitarian relief to all children  regardless of ethnicity, religion, or status  but needed unlimited access.

The spokesperson described two of the worst camps that she visited, in Pauktaw Township  reachable only by a four-to-five-hour boat ride.

The first thing you notice when you reach the camps is the stomach-churning stench. Parts of the camps are literally cesspools. Shelters teeter on stilts above garbage and excrement, she recounted. Children walk barefoot through the muck. One camp manager reported four deaths among children ages 3-10 within the first 18 days of December.

Mercado also pointed to an acute level of fear between the Rakhine and Rohingya communities, recalling a story that parents in one Rohingya village said they hadn't had their children vaccinated against Japanese Encephalitis because the government vaccinators were accompanied by security officers  while Government workers said they dared not go to Rohingya communities without security.

Rohingya children need a political solution to the issue of legal identity and citizenship. In the interim they need to be recognized first and foremost as children, she said, stressing that the Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees rights to health, education and opportunities to learn and grow to all children, irrespective of their ethnicity or status or the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Mercado said that the Annan Commission [a report led by the former UN Secretary-General on the situation in Rakhine state]has provided a roadmap for a durable political solution so all children's rights can be protected in a sustainable, open and fair manner in the longer term.

UNICEF stands ready to support this crucial work. And we call on the global community, especially regional organizations and countries, to leverage their influence so children have better lives on Tuesday and a future they can look forward to, she said.

Photo: UNICEF/Thame
London, Jan 10 (IBNS): Amid criticisms, British Prime Minister Theresa May completed her cabinet reshuffling on Tuesday giving a shake to her ministry, media reports said.

May had faced criticisms after first day of reshuffling as some critics called it "lacklustre".

Among the front row ministers, former education secretary Justine Greening was seen to resign from the cabinet.

There were multiple names who have resigned from the second tier of ministers. Among those include education minister Robert Goodwill, international trade minister Mark Garnier, transport minister John Hayes and health minister Philip Dunne.

Commenting on the reshuffle, May told media: " This Government is about building a country fit for the future -- one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society."

" This Government is about building a country fit for the future -- one that truly works for everyone with a stronger economy and a fairer society. It also allows a new generation of gifted Ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK," the PM added.

Image: Theresa May Twitter
Islamabad, Jan 10 (IBNS): Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui on Wednesday claimed he was assaulted by 10-12 men in Islamabad when he was going towards the airport,media reports said.

The journalist used the Twitter account of journalist Cyril Almeida to share details of the incident and said he escaped a kidnapping attempt by the attackers.

The Twitter handle of Cyril Almeida read: "This is Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) using Cyrils a/c. I was on my way to airport today at 8:20am whn 10-12 armed men stopped my cab & forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now. Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances."

This is Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) using Cyrils a/c. I was on my way to airport today at 8:20am whn 10-12 armed men stopped my cab & forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with police now. Looking for support in any way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances  cyril almeida (@cyalm) January 10, 2018

Meanwhile, another journalist Asad Hashim shared images of Taha Siddiqui on his Twitter page.

In the images, blood stains could be seen on Taha's shirt.

Asad tweeted: "Taha Siddiqui, a Pakistani journalist, was beaten and threatened, and only escaped by running through oncoming traffic."

Taha Siddiqui, a Pakistani journalist, was beaten and threatened, and only escaped by running through oncoming traffic. pic.twitter.com/odsasHDa85  Asad Hashim (@AsadHashim) January 10, 2018

Asad said assault on Taha was not acceptable and it was a miracle for him to escape from the hands of those who attacked him.

"With @TahaSSiddiqui right now. It is a miracle that he escaped. He was beaten, threatened with death and his belongings taken.This is unacceptable. Journalism is not a crime," Asad tweeted.

With @TahaSSiddiqui right now. It is a miracle that he escaped. He was beaten, threatened with death and his belongings taken.This is unacceptable. Journalism is not a crime. https://t.co/HXYnBctU9l  Asad Hashim (@AsadHashim) January 10, 2018

Superintendent Police Dr Mustafa Tanveer confirmed to Dawn News that Siddiqui, who is the Pakistan bureau chief at World Is One News, approached police soon after the incident.

Image: Asad Hashim Twitter page
Kabul, Jan 10 (IBNS) : At least 21 militants including foreign nationals were killed in the latest airstrikes conducted in western Farah province of Afghanistan.

Local Khaama Press quoted a statement issued by the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan as saying that the new airstrikes were carried out in the vicinity of Khak-e-Safid district.

The statement further added that seven Pakistani nationals were among those killed and at least three vehicles and several weapons were also destroyed.

The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the report so far.

Farah is among the relatively restive provinces in West of Afghanistan where the anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in some of its districts.

A senior Taliban leader who was in charge of the Red Unit command of the group for western Farah province was killed during a counter-terrorism operation in the same district late last year.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri said the Taliban leader Daud Muzamil was initially injured in an airstrike conducted in Khak-e-Safid district and subsequently died of his wounds.

Gen. Waziri further added that Muzamil was in charge of the Red Unit command of the Taliban besides he was appointed as the military commission chief of the group for Farah.

He said at least eight people were killed in the airstrike and eight others including commander Muzamil were wounded.

According to Gen. Waziri, commander Muzamil died of the wounds he had sustained during the airstrike.
Kasur, Jan 10 (IBNS): The alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Pakistan's Kasur district triggered massive protest in the area on Wednesday,media reports said.

People reportedly protested against perceived police inaction follwoing the rape and murder of seven-year-old Zainab.

The minor, a resident of Road Kot area of Kasur, was kidnapped on her way to a tuition centre on January 5, according to police, reported Geo News.

Four days after she was abducted, her body was reportedly found in a garbage pile in Kashmir Chowk area.

The initial postmortem report of the minor stated that she was strangled to death after being raped multiple times, Geo News reported.

The parents of the minor were in Saudi Arabia to perform umrah when the incident occurred.

They claimed that the police did not cooperate in finding their missing child.

"If the police would have acted immediately, the culprit would have been caught," Zainab's father was quoted as saying by Geo News.

Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has directed for all out support to the civil administration for the arrest of those behind the crime.

He tweeted: "COAS condemns cold blooded murder of innocent Zainab. Responding to appeal by the aggrieved parents to COAS, directs immediate all out support to civil administration to arrest the criminals and bringing them to exemplary justice."

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif also instructed authorities to immediately arrest the culprits.

Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif tweeted: "Deeply pained about murder of a 8-year old girl in a child molestation case. Those societies that cannot protect its children are eternally condemned. Not going to rest till the perpetrators of this dastardly act are apprehended & given severest possible punishment under the law."

Just presided over a meeting of police & administration officials. Made it absolutely clear to them that lip service would not work. I want the culprits involved in this heinous crime behind the bars. Those failing in their duties will be proceeded against. Very painful incident! https://t.co/FFSBbNhtrr  Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) January 10, 2018

"Just presided over a meeting of police & administration officials. Made it absolutely clear to them that lip service would not work. I want the culprits involved in this heinous crime behind the bars. Those failing in their duties will be proceeded against. Very painful incident!," he said.

Led by Pakistan Awami Tehreeks Tahir-ul-Qadri, the funeral prayer of the deceased was held on Wednesday.

The political community of the country reacted strongly against the incident and demanded justice for the girl.

Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called it 'devastating'.

"The horrific crime perpetrated in Kasur is devastating. Pakistan needs to reevaluate how it deals with such crimes, especially those against children. My prayers and heartfelt sympathies with the family. We must all stand with victims of abuse,"

he tweeted.

The horrific crime perpetrated in Kasur is devastating. Pakistan needs to reevaluate how it deals with such crimes, especially those against children. My prayers and heartfelt sympathies with the family. We must all stand with victims of abuse. https://t.co/YLEmW5sBXU  BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) January 10, 2018

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, the youngest daughter of late former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari, said: "#JusticeForZainab she was only 7 years old !!! Zainab was an innocent child and she was horrifically tortured & murdered, my heart breaks for her family. May Allah give them strength #UniteAgainstChildAbuse."

#JusticeForZainab she was only 7 years old !!! Zainab was an innocent child and she was horrifically tortured & murdered, my heart breaks for her family.



May Allah give them strength #UniteAgainstChildAbuse  Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) January 10, 2018

PTI chief Imran Khan posted: "The condemnable & horrific rape & murder of little Zainab exposes once again how vulnerable our children are in our society. This is not the first time such horrific acts have happened. We have to act swiftly to punish the guilty & ensure that our children are better protected."

The condemnable & horrific rape & murder of little Zainab exposes once again how vulnerable our children are in our society. This is not the first time such horrific acts have happened. We have to act swiftly to punish the guilty & ensure that our children are better protected. pic.twitter.com/9f7OM3hYT1  Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) January 10, 2018





Image: Imran Khan Twitter page
Davos, Jan 10 (IBNS): US President Donald Trump will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos this month, officials said on Tuesday.

"But as we said earlier today in a statement, the President will attend and he welcomes the opportunity to go there and advance his America First agenda with world leaders. And he is very much looking forward to being part of that process," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told media during the daily news conference.

She said Trump will focus on promoting policies which will aim at strengthening "American businesses and the American worker".

"This is very much an America First agenda. The President is still 100 percent focused and committed to promoting policies that promote strength for American businesses and the American worker. And thats going to be the same whether hes in the U.S. or any other place," she said.

She said details on the President's trip to Davos are still being worked out.

Sarah Sanders, however, confirmed that a number of senior members of the Cabinet and administration will be part of this event.

" Were finalizing the details, but you can expect that a number of senior members of the Cabinet and administration will be part of this event. Some will stay for a more extended period of time than the President," she said.

Speaking on the bilateral meets that the US President might join during the visit, she said: "Again, were finalizing the details of the trip. As all of those things are locked in, well certainly make sure you guys are well aware."

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the World Economic Forum in Davos.

During the visit, Prime Minister will deliver the keynote speech at the plenary session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland on 23 January 2018. He will also have a bilateral meeting with Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation on 22 January, the MEA said in a statement.

The theme for this years WEF is "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World. The plenary session will be moderated by Prof. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, WEF.

This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the WEF since the earlier one by Deve Gowda in 1997.
Toronto, Jan 10 (IBNS): Tim Hortons is suddenly facing heat from its own consumers as many of them have boycotted the restaurant after it denied benefits to its employees over the Ontario's decision of pay hike.

Son of Tim Horton's co-founder, Ron Joyce, and his wife issued a letter in December stating the employees will not get the benefit of paid breaks and also they will have to pay half the cost of dental and health benefits from Jan 1, 2018.

The reduction in the benefits by the company came after the province increased the hourly wage of employees from $11.60 to $14.

The company owns two restaurants in Ontario.

The consumers of Tim Hortons took to social media and started a #boycottTimHortons campaign to support the restaurant employees who are suffering the aftermath of the province's call.

Canadian Norm Jones tweeted: " Tim Hortons We would not fault you for increasing prices to the actual costs for labour. We object to passing those costs on to workers, this is a slap in the face to your employees and a disgrace of your vision statement. You do not value employees at all. #boycottTimHortons."

Tim Hortons We would not fault you for increasing prices to the actual costs for labour. We object to passing those costs on to workers, this is a slap in the face to your employees and a disgrace of your vision statement. You do not value employees at all. #boycottTimHortons  YY Norm Jones YYYZ (@NormJones1) January 5, 2018

Slamming Tim Hortons, Deborah Marry said: "Shame on 2 TimHortons locations in Coburg, Ontario that are franchise/owned by Tim Horton Jr. and his wife the daughter of Ron Joyce himself!!! Why with all the money you both have would you punish your employees for making a living wage? #TimHortons #boycottTimHortons."

Shame on 2 TimHortons locations in Coburg, Ontario that are franchise/owned by Tim Horton Jr. and his wife the daughter of Ron Joyce himself!!! Why with all the money you both have would you punish your employees for making a living wage? #TimHortons #boycottTimHortons  Deborah Marry (@ticat14) January 5, 2018

Chris Jakubowski clearly stated that he will not visit any outlet of the restaurant for coffee until the policies are changed in favour of the employees. "British Columbian standing with Ontario workers to #BoycottTimHortons I will not visit another Horton's until policies are in place to treat workers fairly and with dignity. Not even paying for breaks when they are on their feet all day? Shame. "

British Columbian standing with Ontario workers to #BoycottTimHortons I will not visit another Horton's until policies are in place to treat workers fairly and with dignity. Not even paying for breaks when they are on their feet all day? Shame.  Chris Jakubowski (@wirelesswebs) January 4, 2018

In a similar tone, another Twitter user Octavia Daenerys voiced anger by saying: "Please DO NOT ask me to go to, pick up from or take you to the morally bankrupt .@TimHortons after reading this I feel absolutely SICK to my stomach that they would find a loophole to f-their employees..."

Please DO NOT ask me to go to, pick up from or take you to the morally bankrupt .@TimHortons after reading this I feel absolutely SICK to my stomach that they would find a loophole to f-their employees over https://t.co/isbmrtML9d #BoycottTimHortons  Octavia Daenerys (@OctaviaDaenerys) January 4, 2018

Steve Carroll termed the way Tim Hortons is treating its employees is "un-Canadian". The tweet reads: " OK - This may be the least Canadian thing I've ever tweeted, but I'm boycotting @TimHortons. You simply can't treat your employees that way. THAT'S un-Canadian. "

OK - This may be the least Canadian thing I've ever tweeted, but I'm boycotting @TimHortons. You simply can't treat your employees that way. THAT'S un-Canadian. #TimHortons #boycottTimHortons  Steve Carroll (@DrSRCarroll) January 4, 2018

Onatrio premier Kathleen Wynne sharply reacted to the development few days ago.

Wynne's reaction was quoted by Financial Post: "When I read the reports about Ron Joyce, Jr., who is a man whose family founded Tim Hortons, the chain was sold for billions of dollars, and when I read how he was treating his employees, it just felt to me like this was a pretty clear act of bullying."

"I hope that he understands this is really not a decent thing to be doing in a place as wealthy as Ontario" she added.

Expressing concern for the employees, the Ontario Premier said: "I hope he recognizes that his employees need to be treated decently."

Hitting out at the company, Wynne said Tim Hortons should restrain itself from taking a toll on the employees because of the pay hike by the Ontario. She said the company must walk up to her if it wants to challenge the Ontario government policy at all.

She even urged Tim Hortons to reverse its decision of cutting the employees' benefits.



(Reporting by Suman Das)
Ottawa, Jan 10 (IBNS): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not clarified whether he has any intention to meet for the second time former Taliban captive Joshua Boyle, who is now facing 15 criminal charges, media reports said.

Trudeau met Boyle, who is now in jail, in December. It was after the PM's meet that Boyle was framed in multiple charges.

In an interview with Halifax radio station 95.7 FM, Trudeau was asked whether he has regret over the meeting.

Trudeau's reply was quoted by Global News: " Weve been very, very active on consular cases. Weve had a number of successes in bringing people who were stuck in difficult situations overseas home, bringing them to safety, and the engagement which my office has directly with those cases has led me to meet with a number of people who have been released."

"So these kinds of things are something that I do. I always try to defer to meeting with more people rather than fewer people, and particularly people for whom weve been working hard over the past years. I think thats something thats important to do" the PM added.

Boyle is facing 15 charges including assault, sexual assault, unlawful confinement, uttering death threats, causing someone to take antidepressant and misleading police.

His next hearing will be on Jan 15 where the former Taliban captive might get a bail.

All of his offences have occurred in a period of 45 days, starting from Oct 14 to Dec 30, 2017.

Boyle, his wife Caitlan Coleman and their three children were rescued from the hands of Taliban affiliated Haqqani Network from Pakistan by the country's forces last year.

They returned to Canada on Oct 13, 2017.

Joshua Boyle (34) and Caitlan Coleman (31), who were kidnapped by the Taliban linked Haqqani network in 2012 as the couple crossed into Afghanistan, reached Canada in October last year.

Coleman was pregnant at the time when the couple was kidnapped.

Interacting with the media, after reaching Canada, Boyle said: "The stupidity and evil of the Haqqani network's kidnapping of a pilgrim and his heavily pregnant wife engaged in helping ordinary villagers in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan was eclipsed only by the stupidity and evil of authorising the murder of my infant daughter."

(Reporting by Suman Das)

Image: twitter.com/BoylesVsWorld
Pea exports from Ukraine traditionally turned down in November, but they nevertheless were much higher than in past years. Ukraine exported some 22.6 KMT of peas in November 2017, or 40% more than during the same month in 2016 (16.1 KMT), 77% more peas were exported from Ukraine for the first five months in the 2017/18 season than at the same time a year ago: 475.1 KMT against 268.4 KMT in July-November 2016/17.

Traditionally, India was still the largest end market for Ukrainian peas at the time. Its export share equaled 41%. In the first five months of the current season, Ukraine already supplied 16% more peas to the Indian market than for the whole last season (194.2 KMT). The second top importer was Turkey, which purchased 100.5 KMT (up 64% year-on-year).

Growing demand is reported from the European Union, too. EU countries imported 35.7 KMT of peas from Ukraine in the above-mentioned period, or already 69% more than for the whole last season. Among EU countries, the top buyer of Ukrainian peas is the Netherlands, which has absorbed roughly 70% of their total shipped to the EU this season.

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The tickets are booked, the bags are packed and you're raring to go. You're thinking, nothing can come between you and your travels. Except may be not knowing how to behave like a local in the places you're visiting. Behaving like a local doesn't mean you end up looking like them but it does entail brushing up on a little etiquette before you head out. The things you consider to be most banal in your hometown could be really offensive on the other side of the world. So, here's a little guide straight from locals across the globe that will help you chart your journey better.

You've been warned.

1. Germany

MARK ADRIANE/unsplash

Don't wish someone a 'happy birthday' before it's their birthday because according to local superstition, something bad can likely happen (like dying). Also the Nazi salute here is a big no.

2. Turkey

Sweet Ice Cream Photography/unsplash

It's okay if you ingest some of the residue from your cup of tea if you're in India. But in Turkey it's usually frowned upon and apparently something of a joke among waiters serving at more touristy places there.

3. Singapore

Lily Lvnatikk/unsplash

This one goes out to all us Indians. You can't litter in Singapore, it's a criminal offence. You also can't have a drink in public between 10.30pm and 7am.

4. Dubai and UAE

Alejandra Quiroz/unsplash

Kissing in public is possibly the worst thing you could do in Dubai, probably not as bad as having sex before marriage anywhere in UAE though. Also electronic cigarettes are banned in the UAE, so no point pretending they're better once you're there.

5. Japan

Wikipedia

This much you may have gauged from movies based on the country but they usually like to keep the outside, outside (read: shoes). Meaning, the next time you're invited to a local's home, leave the shoes outside. Also because you're sort of expected to. Don't be lazy either - make sure you have a clean pair of socks on.

6. Belarus

davide ragusa/unsplash

You could be jailed for clapping in the public in Belarus. It was in 2011 that not clapping became one of the ways in which citizens there protested against the president.

7. Brazil

reddit

Don't make the 'O.K.' hand gesture in Brazil because turns out, it's not as universal a hand sign as you may have thought. In Brazil it has a more offensive meaning. So, not okay.

8. China

Eduardo Santos/unsplash

Like with India, China's society instills a sense of respect for the elderly. When here, don't be in a rush and don't exit a room before a person older than you. In fact, you're expected to hold the door for them. Also, don't bring up Tibet. And speaking of how Indians love their tea, don't ask for milk for your cuppa here - it's insulting.

9. Jamaica

Hugo Doria/unsplash

I know right. Jamaican music is already playing in your head as you relax and think a giant doobie will be perfect right about now. Not in Jamaica it isn't. In fact, it's illegal.

10. Israel

Josh Pepper/unsplash

Given the political stickiness in the region, joking about a bomb on the plane or just security in general could land you in thick, hot soup.

11. Russia

Lizzie/unsplash

Here, when giving someone a bouquet make sure the flowers are even in number. Bouquets with an odd number of flowers is meant for the dead. So unless you're sending someone a message, don't do it. Additionally, that original Russian vodka, it's meant to be finished in one gulp otherwise it's just plain rude.

12. Ireland

jwlez/unsplash

The Irish are so jovial and friendly, they may take offence if you keep refusing to have a cup of coffee or tea. It's best to say yes to at least one because things can get touchy. Also, here, the Isle is not part of the British Islands. At least not until your tea is finished.

13. Thailand

Evan Krause/Unsplash

Don't wash your feet in the sink at a public bathroom - there's usually a sign you'll spot that will caution you. If you do it anyway, you could attract a fine of up to 1000-baht (Rs 1900).

14. Peru

Scott Umstattd/unsplash

Don't flaunt your birthday suit at the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. You'd be surprised how many tourists have been arrested for doing so.

15. Italy

Wrif

The 'rock on' hand gesture here is insulting. It's like you telling someone their wife is cheating on them. Also Italians may be as loud as Indians and all about family etc., but eating with hands here is considered rude.

16. Austria

Alisa Anton/unsplash

Here, your passport needs to be in the same area as you at all times. So, don't leave it in the hotel room, carry it with you.

17. Czech Republic

Max Tarkhov/unsplash

This isn't India. Jaywalking here is illegal big time. If you're looking to get to the other side of the road, always take the crossing and wait for the little man on the signal to turn green first.
Everything changed for Meghan Markle when she embarked on a journey of love with Prince Harry. The American actress who is all set to become a member of the British royal family is excited about her brand new life.

Instagram/kensingtonroyal

From quitting acting to now deleting her social media accounts, Meghan is taking major steps to keep in line with royal tradition. Kensington Palace confirmed that Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle has shut down her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The palace said Markle "is grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years" but "she has not used these accounts for some time." No worries, though, for royal watchers. Kensington Palace has accounts of its own.

Word of the change came after the two visited a community radio station in Brixton that trains youngsters in media skills. Hundreds of people lined the streets to welcome them. It was the couple's second official visit since they announced their engagement in November.

The U.S. actress and the queen's grandson will marry May 19 at Windsor Castle.
Kashmiri teenage girl Insha Mushtaq, who was completely blinded by pellets fired by security forces during the 2016 protest in Kashmir, has passed her class 10 examination.

Insha was blinded bilaterally after a barrage of pellets hit her, while she was watching protests from a window of her home at Sedow village.

Her father Mushtaq Ahmad Lone said that their happiness knew no bounds, this result is beyond our expectations.

twitter

According to her result, Insha will have to appear in Mathematics paper again. She has been declared qualified with a note that "she needs to improve'.

The image of Insha whose pellet ridden face had gone viral on social networking sites, overcame her disability and took her tenth class examination.

twitter

Insha was grievously injured on the evening of 12th July 2016 at her residence in Sedow, Shopian, when a patrol party of security forces fired pellets at the window of her house where she was standing. The injuries resulted in total blindness in both her eyes, apart from a long ordeal of recovery from brain hemorrhages and skull fractures.

twitter

In February last year, Insha returned to her home after months of treatment at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital Mumbai and many other hospitals for brain infection and surgeries that attempted to bring back some vision in her left eye. Her right eye was completely eviscerated due to the injury.
Jammu and Kashmir police have confirmed that an 18-year-old terrorist, Farhan Wani, has been killed during an encounter in Anantnag on Tuesday. The killing of Wani also ends the hopes of a family in Kulgam that their son would shun militancy one day and return to his loved ones.

The teenager, a class XI student had gone missing in June 2017, on his way to tuition centre never to return again.

A couple of weeks later police told the family that Wani had joined Hizbul.

Not losing hope, his father Ghulam Mohammad Wani, a school teacher, then posted a message on the teenager's Facebook wall, pleading him to come back.

My dear son, since you left us, my body has started to betray me. I am screaming of the pain which you have given and still believe that you will come back home I dont want to die but am not left with any choice. I am sorry. You will have a lot to learn but I will not be there to teach you, to scold you, to help you, he wrote.

But, his efforts could not change the mind of the young militant, who according to his parents was a brilliant student in school.

All these while Wani's mother Gowhar used to prepare her son's favourite chicken dish, hoping that one day he will definitely come back, The Indian Express reported.

With even the cops encouraging young locals who joined militancy to return and resume a normal life, the family had hoped their son too would do the same.

They (security forces) have promised that there will be no cases against Farhan, his father said.

But that was not to be the case, Wani was killed in an encounter on Tuesday while trying to shield some senior commanders fleeing the security forces.
bccl/representational image

The government has allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India, paving the way for Indian players to tie up with foreign airlines to bid for it. Read more





Here's more top news of the day:





1) Yogi Govt Forms 'Navy' Of 500 Turtles To Clean Parts Of Holy River Ganga In Uttar Pradesh

The government of India has been making grand plans to Clean river Ganga, considered to be the lifeline of Uttar Pradesh. Once more, the Yogi Adityanath-led government of UP will release close to 500 turtles into the river Ganga in a renewed attempt to clean the river. Read more





2) Gwalior Girls Collecting 1,000 Sanitary Pads For PM Modi With A Request To Scrap GST On Napkins

BCCL

Students from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, have started a campaign by collecting messages on napkins and once such 1,000 napkins are collected, they will be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to get rid of the argumentative 12 per cent GST on sanitary napkins. Read more

3) India Will Recover From Demonitisation, The Economy Will Grow The Fastest It Has In 3 Years

Reuters

World Bank has now predicted that India will not just recover from demonetization, it will also expect to grow at 7.3 percent (our highest forecast in 3 years). Read more





4) Ernakulam Is India's 1st Disabled-Friendly Railway Station, Thanks To This Resilient Woman

india rail info

We all are aware that it is really difficult for the 'specially-abled' to do many things on their own, not because of their incapability but because of lack of facilities for them. Travelling is one such thing that these people find it difficult to do. Read more





5) Kerala CM Allegedly Used Cyclone Relief Money To Hire A Helicopter For Private Trip

BCCL/ File

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has courted controversy after it emerged that his government spent Rs 8 lakhs from the State Disaster Response Fund to pay an aviation company's bill for a private trip. Read more
We all want to help the poor people, but seldom we are able to do so because most of us are barely able to meet our monthly expenses. Left with nothing, we only hope that one day there will be a chance to help the needy persons around and at that time we will not disappoint them. Harikrishnan V Nair, a business development manager working in a firm in Dubai has got a chance to help the poor, that too in a big way. He has just won a lottery worth $3.2 million (Rs 20.8 crores), which is also the biggest-ever raffle prize money.

Nair, who originally hails from Kerala is the winner of e Abu Dhabi international airport's 'big ticket' lottery.

Speaking to media, Nair said initially he could not believe that he was the winner and thought it was a prank.

"I overlooked the first couple of calls... But later, when some radio stations and mediapersons started calling me, I asked my wife to check the lottery website, just in case. And she said we had actually won. We are still in disbelief," Nair said.

It was third time lucky for the 42-year-old who has been living in Dubai since 2002 with his family. His past two attempts didn't bring him any luck and he wasn't expecting anything different this time either.

BCCL

With his new found luck, Nair is planning to travel the world, and also buy a new house in his hometown.

"I would like to plan for my son's education and buy another house in India. I want to take good care of my mother and my wife's mother too, who are in India," he said.

Charity is also on top of Nair's agenda.

"I have always wanted to help people in need, and by God's grace I can do it now. That is something I will really do," he said.
Two men arrested by Uttar Pradesh police in connection with the gang rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Bulandshahr have confessed to their involvement in the crime.

Zulfikar Abbasi and Dilshad, both in their late twenties, confessed that on the day of the crime, they first watched a film and drank alcohol, after which they set out in a vehicle to kidnap a girl from the highway "for fun".

BCCL/ Representational Image

"They (the accused) happened to spot the girl, who was returning home from tuition. They dragged her into their car on NH 91, just near the girl's village of Chandpur. Then they gang-raped and strangled her to death.

Later that night, they dumped the body in a canal in Bil Akbarpur village in Greater Noida and fled," said a police officer. Police said a third accused, identified as Israil, is absconding.

The girl was kidnapped on last Tuesday evening while she was returning from tuition classes to her home in Chandpur.

BCCL/ File

Despite the girl's family alerting the cops who recovered her school bag and bicycle from the spot, they refused to file a complaint, claiming that it was a case of "love affair" and that the girl had eloped.
Weve been waiting for flying cars for decades, we know Uber's flying taxi is coming out by 2020. Intel not only believes were on the cusp of developing that technology, but also demonstrated its possibilities by flying a helicopter-car hybrid inside CES 2018.

At CES 2018 this week, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich showed off the Volocopter, an autonomous passenger drone the company is calling their version of the flying car. It comes from a German company that carried out its first flight in 2013, and began testing in Dubai last year.

The Volocopter isnt intended to have a pilot, but youll be able to summon it to a landing pad nearest to your location through a smartphone app. The idea is to build an Uber for the skies, and Krzanich believes that future is very close.

The Volocopter has 18-rotors to lift itself and passengers up vertically about 200m, and is capable of cruising at 50km/h, with a maximum flight speed of 100km/h. It boasts a 30-minute flight time, thanks to nine independent battery systems, and even has a ballistic parachute on the top that deploys if too many of the rotors fail for some reason.

Uber's flying taxi concept

Unfortunately the Volocopter was only on display at CES 2018 and won't be operating in the US anytime soon, thanks to the federal aviation administration (FAA) having not yet authorised it.

Hopefully well at least see it officially beginning services elsewhere before the year is out.
Apple ended 2017 on a bad note, and 2018 hasn't started off on a good note for the Cupertino giant. In fact, it's all bad.

REUTERS

Now reports are emerging that an iPhone exploded inside an Apple Store in Zurich, Switzerland, which led to 50 people to evacuate from it due to smoke hazard.

That's right, an iPhone caught fire -- an iPhone, not a Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Zurich police has since confirmed the incident, which took place as a repair worker was removing the iPhone's battery, which overheated and burned his hand, according to Reuters.

"At the same time, there was a slight build-up of smoke, which led to around 50 customers and employees having to leave the business temporarily," a statement by Zurich police confirmed.

REUTERS

While it's unfortunate the accident occurred inside the Apple Store, Zurich police applauded Apple's Store staff which responded correctly to the accident. Reacting to the iPhone battery fire, alert staff inside the Apple Store sprinkled sand over the overheated battery so that the smoke could be contained and sucked out after switching on store's ventilation.

Apple didn't immediately comment on the incident in which seven people had to receive medical treatment but weren't necessarily hospitalized. Forensic specialists were examining what caused the incident, police said.

Apple didnt have a great ending to last year, facing multiple class action lawsuits for slowing down iPhones with older batteries. Let's hope this iPhone catching fire incident was a stray one.
Despite initially scrambling to update its Windows operating system after the discovery of the Meltdown and Spectre processor flaws in December, Microsoft is now halting the distribution of update patches to some older AMD-powered computers and servers.

Why? Because the update is crashing the PC's it's supposed to fix. Hilarious!

PC users with older AMD processors began complaining earlier this week that heir computer werent booting up after the patch, a problem AMD has now acknowledged. It appears the issue is AMDs documentation is the problem here.

ALSO READ: Intel Is Facing Three Class Action Lawsuits Thanks To The CPU Bugs Meltdown And Spectre

Microsoft has reports of customers with some AMD devices getting into an unbootable state after installing recent Windows operating system security updates, a Microsoft spokesperson said. After investigating, Microsoft has determined that some AMD chipsets do not conform to the documentation previously provided to Microsoft to develop the Windows operating system mitigations to protect against the chipset vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown.

As a result, AMD PCs are not receiving the crucial update anymore, in order to stop bricking any more of them, and Microsoft is working with the chip manufacturer to resolve the issue. In the meantime, affected owners will need to visit Microsofts support site to restore their unbootable systems.

AMD is aware of an issue with some older generation processors following installation of a Microsoft security update that was published over the weekend, an AMD spokesperson told The Verge. AMD and Microsoft have been working on an update to resolve the issue and expect it to begin rolling out again for those impacted shortly.

DON'T MISS: That Major Chip Flaw Isn't Limited To Intel PCs, But Affects Smartphones & Other Gadgets Too
The families of the missing Korean ship MV Stellar Daisy call for finding the black box, full disclosure and proper health and safety protection for all seafarers

Appeal From The Families Of The Korean MV Stellar Daisy For Finding the Black Box, Full Disclosure And Proper Health And Safety Protection For Seafarers[the families of MV stellar daisy] Published on Jan 8, 2018We look forward to your solidarity.[Korean Families of the Missing Crewmen of MV Stellar Daisy]Progressive KoreaCampaign concerning the disaster of the MV Stellar Daisy, a South Korean ore carrier.-Support NeededThe South Korean ore carrier, MV Stellar Daisy, sank in the South Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Uruguay, on March 31 2017.Two Philippine sailors were rescued, however, 22 crew members (8 Korean and 14 Philippine sailors) are still missing. We suspect they are on a life raft designed for 16 people, and there is still a chance they may be alive, due to their professional emergency training, fishing kits, and survival gear.After the sinking of the ship, the Uruguay MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre)conducted basic search and rescue missions, but only a limited area was covered. The U.S. Navy also joined the air search, but, on four occasions. We are hopeful survivors will be found, yet we must profess profound disappointment at the assistance offered to date by all parties involved.In addition, we are also concerned about the safety of other sailors employed by the Korean Polaris Shipping company. The maximum life of a carrier is typically 20 years, yet 17 ships in this fleet are up to 25 years old, which makes them dangerously outdated.Working conditions on these "Floating Coffins" are horrible. The crew barely have time to eat and sleep, and the internet service on board was cut off by the company, which leaves crew members isolated from the outside world. The sinking of the MV Stellar Daisy has the first accident on the 52 converted carriers currently on the world's oceans. Unfortunately, given the conditions and their age, we fear it will not be the last.Please help us with this difficult situation.We call on:The South Korean government, to uphold its duty to protect the lives of its citizens by resuming the search & rescue mission for the missing crew members as soon as possible, and to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the disaster and punish those responsible.The U.S. government, to respect the rights of the affected families, by investigating the facts about their loved ones and disclose to the families all information, including photos and videos so far attained, especially concerning the possibility of the unaccounted life raft; first sighted by the U.S. Navy.International organizations, to work closely to impose stricter safety regulations, to prevent future accidents occurring on these outdated carriers.International labor unions, to collaborate in a united effort to improve overall working conditions of maritime crew.Sincerely,The Korean Families of the missing crewmen of the MV Stellar Daisy*For further inquiries on this campaign, please contact us at stellardaisy2017(at)gmail.com--Progressive Korea
Prince Charles' ex-aide quits charity role amid honor claims AP - Sun Sep 5, 6:07AM CDT LONDON (AP)  A former close aide to Prince Charles stepped down temporarily from his role as chief executive of a royal charity amid reports that he helped secure an honor for a Saudi donor. $SPX : 4,535.43 (-0.03%) $DOWI : 35,369.09 (-0.21%) $IUXX : 15,652.86 (+0.31%)

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A Victoria-based man who allegedly misrepresented himself as an insurance representative for cash has been arrested after failing to appear for his court summons.Samuel Tessa, charged with five counts of dishonestly for obtaining a financial advantage by deception, was arrested at Melbourne Airport upon his return to the country on December 26, after he failed to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court the week before.Tessa was charged following an ASIC investigation into his dealings in the Melbourne automotive repair industry, where he allegedly acted as a broker to dishonestly receive payments he claimed were required for insurance premiums.Tessa has been granted conditional bail, and is set to reappear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on March 29.
icare NSWs John Nagle has taken on a new role as the social insurers interim managing director and CEO, following the resignation of Vivek Bhatia, who was recently appointed CEO of QBEs Australian and New Zealand operations Nagle, icares group executive for workers insurance, is a highly experienced insurance executive who has played a key role in the formation and running of icare and its predecessor since 2014, icare said in a statement.icare chairman Michael Carapiet acknowledged Bhatias contributions as icares inaugural managing director and CEO, and wished him good luck with his career move.Vivek leaves icare well-advanced in delivering its vision of providing world-class, customer-centric services to the NSW community, Carapiet said. Vivek has been an outstanding leader at icare, constantly striving for better customer outcomes. Under his leadership of the states insurance schemes, we have achieved significant improvements to all of the schemes administered by icare.Carapiet also expressed confidence that with Nagle taking over Bhatias role, icare will continue its transformation journey.While we are very sad to see him [Bhatia] go, he does so with our fullest support and we have every confidence in the strong executive team currently in place, and in John Nagle as interim managing director & CEO, to continue the tremendous improvements and maintain the innovation mindset at icare, he said.Bhatia will stay with icare over the next few weeks to help transfer his responsibilities to Nagle.
Specialist law firm Sparke Helmore has started the new year with five promotions in its insurance group and eight others in its government and corporate and commercial divisions.Perth-based Joanne Clarke, Ben Coppin, and Colby Treasure were appointed as the firms newest special counsels; while Deirdre Pennock, also from Perth, and Melissa Scriva, from the firms Sydney office, were promoted to senior associates.Clarke acts for insurers in various claims including motor vehicle and treatment liability, asbestos, public and general liability, and workers compensation claims, and has extensive experience instructing counsel on a range of liability and quantum matters. Coppin is an insurance and commercial litigator who specialises in public liability and commercial insurance. Treasure, meanwhile, advises insurers and employers on general insurance matters, including workers compensation, employers liability, and third-party motor vehicle insurance; assists with investigations on workplace accidents, and represents clients on litigious matters.Pennock advises and represents insurers and their clients in a range of commercial insurance matters, predominantly motor vehicle injury, public liability, and property claims and recoveries, and also regularly manages catastrophic injury claims. Scriva, on the other hand, advises clients on workers compensation claims and specialises in administrative law, immigration law, statutory compensation law, and litigation.Also promoted this new year were Naomi Simmons as special counsel for corporate and commercial; and senior associates Hannah Alcaro, Rory Alexander, Sarah Berry, Daniel Forster, Cavelle Lindsay, and Andrew Pacey, for corporate and commercial, and Mia Donald for government.I am thrilled to start the New Year celebrating the success of 13 of our talented lawyers, said Phillip Salem, national managing partner. Congratulations to each one on their well-earned promotion.Salem said he was also pleased that more women are moving into senior positions, with half of the firms special counsels and two-thirds of senior associates female.Gender equality continues to be a key focus for the firm following the recent launch of our Diversity & Inclusion 2020 Strategy, which aims to attract, develop, and retain top female talent and to continue to improve the gender representation in our leadership roles and decision-making forums, he said.
Who says the insurance industry cant attract millennials?Gateway-Acentria Insurance is keen to prove that theory wrong by swooping on a fresh graduate in the form of Alex Gonzalez (pictured).Gonzalez will join the firm at its Fort Lauderdale office and will take on the role of commercial agent following his graduation from Florida State University. His particular focus will be on the emerging cyber insurance area, as well as solar energy and additional lines of coverage such as construction and workers compensation.Im looking forward to the opportunity to provide exceptional customer service and proper coverage to local business owners. I strive to cultivate meaningful business relationships and look forward to networking in our business community, Gonzalez said.Gonzalez boasts a Bachelors degree in economics and political science and enjoys spending his free time biking.We are excited about Alex joining our team, said Gateway-Acentria Insurance President, Brian Stanton. He brings a high level of professionalism and energy to Gateway-Acentria Insurance and our customers.
The full consequences of one of 2017s biggest cyber breaches have yet to be realized. When hackers stole the social security numbers of 143 million US citizens from Equifax, it was hailed as one of the worst data breaches in US history. Other cyber attacks may have taken the headlines since, but the after-effects of the Equifax hack have the potential to run and run like no other.I expect a lot of personal cyber issues to arise this year as a result of the Equifax breach, said Jeremy Barnett, senior vice president of marketing at NAS Insurance Services. That data is going to be exploited during tax season this year and my expectation is that many individuals are going to be affected by fraudulent tax filings.Although interest in personal cyber insurance policies is on the rise, the reality is that those individuals affected by a fraudulent tax filing as a result of the Equifax breach will be forced to deal with the consequences independently.Those people are going to have to deal with the potential for identify theft, fraud issues, and attacks on their own systems or devices, Barnett said. They will also have to arrange a forensic exercise to figure out who has what data and what has been affected. Have loans been taken out with that social security number? Has someone filed taxes under that social security number with a different name and address and arranged for a refund to be sent out?The fallout from the Equifax hack looks set to become a major stressor for millions of Americans, however such large scale breaches do represent an opportunity for insurers to reassess how theyre approaching risk.When someone like Equifax has a breach, it certainly calls into question what level of security insurers should be assessing when underwriting, Barnett said. When companies with the most sophisticated security systems and networks have an incident, it means there must be a better way to evaluate the things put in place in the underwriting process.With each new incident, the entire industry learns a lot about where the vulnerabilities are. When we all understand more about the vulnerabilities that get exploited and what that really means, then we can use that knowledge to advise our clients about their own possible weak spots.
The global nutraceutical market was worth around US$383.06 billion in 2016, and is expected to reach a value of US$561.38 billion by 2022, according to market insights from Mordor Intelligence.Spearheading this fast-developing global market is the United States of America, where a demand for preventative healthcare and a trending social awareness of lifestyle-related conditions has resulted in a multi-billion-dollar industry.Nutraceutical product innovation has led to a growing need for new insurance solutions, something that specialist lines underwriting agency, CFC Underwriting , has taken note of with the launch of a new nutraceutical solution in its life science suite of products in the US.Weve had a lot of success with our life science and medical devices products, so providing a policy for the growing nutraceutical space felt like a natural next step in developing this suite, said Sean Burke, life science team leader at CFC. We have the perfect distribution network at the moment and a very good set of US wholesalers on board.The nutraceuticals market is growing steadily, and people are starting to take a far more proactive approach to their general wellbeing. Its an exciting market with lots of product innovation and room for growth.The insurance solution includes products liability coverage, commercial general liability, cyber, and has the option to include broad product recall, to protect against a wide range of risks such as accidental contamination, malicious product tampering, cyber malicious product tampering, product extortion and government action.It provides a products liability limit of up to US$5 million and a general liability limit of up to US$7 million, with premiums starting from as little as US$2,500. Burke described it as a well-rounded and price competitive solution.Right now, the coverage is only available in the US because its the biggest market in the world for nutraceuticals, Burke told Insurance Business. If we were to look at rolling the product out in other markets, we would most likely look at Canada, the UK and Australia  Canada being one of the faster-growing markets for this product class.I would advise brokers thinking about getting into the nutraceuticals market to look beyond product liability. Its certainly one of the cornerstones of our policy wording but we also address emerging risks like cybercrime, accidental contamination, recall events and more.
Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA), a Hampton, N.H.-based alliance of independent insurance agencies in the U.S., has hired Lizah Carey as a business insurance development specialist for its Business Insurance Advantage (BIA) program.

The BIA program is a training and mentoring resource that assists member agents in growing their commercial insurance lines of business. Since its inception, nearly 600 member agencies have taken part in the program.

In her new role, Carey will work with SIAAs master agencies and member agencies to meet demand for its BIA program, said Steve Tombarelli, vice president of SIAAs BIA program, in a company press release. By doing this, he added, she will help independent agents diversify and strengthen their client roster by adding small commercial policyholders.

Carey joins the BIA program with years of experience in insurance and small business. Before joining SIAA, she worked as an operations manager and licensed property and casualty producer for an independent agency in Middletown, Conn.

Source: Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance

Topics Agencies Commercial Lines Business Insurance
Billionaire Ira Rennert has filed a $214 million malpractice lawsuit against his former law firm, after a jury found him liable for looting his magnesium company to build a huge mansion in New Yorks Hamptons.

Renco Group Inc, Rennerts holding company, said neither it nor the mining mogul would have been liable had Kaye Scholer and partner Peter Haveles objected to faulty jury instructions that Rennert has said led to an irrational February 2015 verdict.

The lawsuit, filed late Monday in the state supreme court in Manhattan, may be the last chance for Rennert, 83, to avoid a big payout, after the U.S. Supreme Court in October rejected his appeal of the verdict and resulting $213.2 million judgment.

Both had been upheld by the federal appeals court in Manhattan last March.

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, the successor firm to Kaye Scholer, did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment. Haveles, now a partner at Pepper Hamilton, referred a reporter to his former firm.

Rennert is worth $3.8 billion according to Forbes magazine, and has denied the looting allegations. His current lawyer, Steven Kaufman, was unavailable for comment on the lawsuit, which also seeks interest.

The case arose from the 2001 bankruptcy of Magnesium Corp of America.

Lee Buchwald, MagCorps bankruptcy trustee, accused Rennert of diverting money from the now-defunct company to help build his 21-bedroom, 43,000-square-foot mansion known as Fair Field on 65 oceanfront acres in Sagaponack, on Long Island.

The property was valued last March at $248.5 million, real estate records show.

Jurors in Manhattan federal court found Rennert and Renco liable for $118 million to the MagCorp estate. The trial judge, Alison Nathan, later added interest.

Rennert has long said the verdict made no sense because jurors thought MagCorp was solvent at the time of the alleged transfers.

In Mondays complaint, Renco said its former lawyers wrongly failed to object both to jury instructions that led to the inexplicably inconsistent verdict, and to the jurys dismissal after the verdict was read.

Had the lawyers spoken up, the jury would have announced a verdict consistent with the 27 interrogatories it answered finding 27 separate times that the (Renco) subsidiaries were not insolvent or inadequately capitalized, Renco said.

The case is Renco Group Inc v Kaye Scholer LLP et al, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 150184/2018.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Topics Lawsuits New York Medical Professional Liability
A state official says a fire at a northern New Hampshire logging business has destroyed several buildings.

WMUR-TV reports the fire started at about 2 a.m. Monday at A.B. Logging and Trucking in Lancaster, N.H.

Executive Councilor Joe Kenney visited the site Monday afternoon to meet with the owner and discuss possible state help. Representatives from the state fire marshals office and insurance adjusters also were on the scene.

Kenney said the companys headquarters and repair shop were destroyed, as well as a new skidder and about half a dozen other utility vehicles. The company employs about 30 people, and the owner said he will continue to pay them for as long as he can.

Information from: WMUR-TV

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed a former management consultant John Glen as the new City minister to oversee a financial services sector facing upheaval as Britain prepares to leave the European Union.

Glen, whose formal title is economic secretary to the Treasury, will be responsible for financial services policy and the governments relationship with firms such as banks, insurers and asset managers.

He replaces Stephen Barclay, a former banker popular among industry executives, who was appointed health minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle meant to stamp Mays authority on the government after months of divisions over Brexit, scandals and an ill-judged election.

The new City minister takes over amid concerns that Brexit could threaten Londons status as the financial center of Europe and that banks are preparing to move thousands of jobs to the continent to preserve their access to the single market.

Glen, who has a Master of Business Administration degree from Cambridge University, previously worked for Accenture helping to manage its relationship with the World Economic Forum before entering parliament.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Angus MacSwan)

Topics Europe London Uk
The stricken Iranian oil tanker in the East China Sea could burn for as long as one month, South Koreas Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries told Reuters on Wednesday, as the blaze raged for a fourth day following a collision with a freight ship.

Dozens of rescue boats battled strong winds, high waves and poisonous fumes to comb a 900-square-nautical-mile (3,100-square-kilometer) area for 31 missing sailors and tame the fire, amid growing concerns the ship may explode or sink.

We believe flames would last for two weeks or a month considering previous cases of oil tank accidents, said official Park Sung-dong.

What we are concerned about at this moment is the bunker fuel, which could contaminate water if (the ship) sinks, the ministry official said.

The tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608), run by Irans top oil shipping operator, National Iranian Tanker Co, collided on Saturday with the CF Crystal (IMO:9497050), carrying grain from the United States, about 160 nautical miles (300 km) off Chinas coast near Shanghai.

The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tonnes of condensate, an ultra-light crude that is highly flammable and to South Korea, equivalent to about 1 million barrels and worth about $60 million.

The Chinese government said late on Tuesday it had not found a large-scale oil leak, and the condensate was burning off or evaporating so quickly it would leave little residue  less than 1 percent  within five hours of a spill. That reduces the chances of a crude-style oilslick.

Still, condensate is highly volatile when exposed to air and water and concerns were growing the tanker could explode and sink. The ministry official said the authorities suspect the tanker caught fire as soon as it hit the freighter carrying grain.

Park said its unlikely the oil will spread to South Korea at the moment because the tanker has moved 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the southeast.

(Reporting by Yuna Park in Seoul; writing by Josephine Mason in Beijing; editing by Michael Perry and Kenneth Maxwell)

Related:

Topics Energy China Oil Gas
London-based broker Beach & Associates announced Acrisure LLC has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the companys equity from existing shareholders.

These shareholders include Aquiline Capital Partners, a private equity firm led by Jeff Greenberg, as well as current and previous Beach management.

The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and is anticipated to complete in the first quarter of 2018. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Under new ownership, Beach will retain its name, identity and business strategy and will continue to operate as an independent advisory and transactional broking business within Acrisure, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retail consulting and insurance broker.

All of the existing Beach management team will remain following the transaction and have elected to become shareholders in Acrisure upon completion.

It is difficult to imagine a more suitable way for us to transition from private equity ownership than to become part of such an extraordinary business as Acrisure, said Grahame Millwater, chief executive officer of Beach.

The cultural fit is remarkable, our business ambitions are aligned, and we have a deep regard for Acrisures management team and their strategy, he added. This transaction gives both us, and our clients, long term clarity and we are excited about being afforded the support to pursue ambitious growth plans. Aquiline has been a deeply supportive investor and we are grateful for their contribution to our success so far.

For our first acquisition outside North America, we were looking for a strong management team, international reach and significant reinsurance and insurance portfolio expertise, commented Gregory Williams, chief executive officer of Acrisure. In Beach we have found all of that and more.

We have been delighted to have been associated with Beach over the past three years, said Jeff Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of New York-headquartered Aquiline, which invests in financial servies and financial technology firms. Grahame and the team are first rate insurance and reinsurance professionals, and they have found an ideal solution for their next stage of development in a future partnership with Acrisure. We wish them all the best for the future.

Source: Beach & Associates

Topics Mergers Agencies Michigan
Britains Prime Minister Theresa May will meet executives from major finance companies on Thursday to give them a clearer idea of what Britains European Union exit will mean for them.

There are concerns that Brexit threatens Londons status as the financial capital of Europe and that banks are preparing to move thousands of jobs to the continent to preserve their access to the EUs single market.

The meeting is one of a regular series with business leaders and will also be attended by finance minister Philip Hammond and junior Brexit minister Robin Walker, a spokesman for May said.

A stand-off between Britain and the EU over the future access to single market for Londons vast financial services industry is shaping up to be one of the key Brexit battlegrounds before Britain is due to leave the bloc in March 2019.

Britain and the EU will soon begin the much harder task of defining their future trading relationship, after settling the broad terms of their divorce settlement last month.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said there will be no special deal for one of Britains most important industries, which accounts for more than 10 percent of GDP.

But British officials are confident the EU will be flexible, partly because they say European countries risk damaging their own economies if they are cut off from Londons markets.

Chancellor Philip Hammond and Brexit minister David Davis, who are visiting Germany, wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that giving Britain a good trade deal could help avert such a catastrophe as another financial crisis. We must re-double our collective effort to ensure that we do not put that hard-earned financial stability at risk, by getting a deal that supports collaboration within the European banking sector, rather than forcing it to fragment, they said.

Among those due to attend Thursdays meeting are Jes Staley, chief executive of Barclays, Mark Wilson, chief executive of insurer Aviva, and Richard Gnodde, chief executive of Goldman Sachs International, sources familiar with the matter said.

The firms involved declined to comment.

Britains financial sector employs 2.2 million people and its executives say the industry deserves to be a priority in the Brexit negotiations because it is the countrys largest exporter and accounts for about 12 percent of its tax revenues.

But banks and insurers are already enacting contingency plans to shift parts of their European operations from Britain if Brexit means the country does not maintain access to the EU single market.

The Bank of England has said it is plausible that 10,000 jobs may leave by the time Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.

Consultants such as Oliver Wyman have forecast losses of 75,000 or far higher, although over several years.

(Additional Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Carolyn Cohn; editing by William Schomberg and Alexander Smith)

Related:

Topics Europe London Uk Brexit
Britains information regulator said on Wednesday it had fined Carphone Warehouse 400,000 pounds ($539,400) after a 2015 cyber attack exposed the personal data of more than 3 million customers.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) said the electrical goods and mobile phone retailer, owned by Dixons Carphone, left its systems vulnerable by failing to update its software and carry out routine testing.

A company as large, well-resourced and established as Carphone Warehouse should have been actively assessing its data security systems, and ensuring systems were robust and not vulnerable to such attacks, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said in a statement, adding that the fine was one of the biggest that the ICO had issued.

Carphone Warehouse should be at the top of its game when it comes to cyber security and it is concerning that the systemic failures we found related to rudimentary, commonplace measures.

Cyber attackers used valid login details to access Carphone Warehouses system through an out-of-date version of content platform WordPress, the ICO said.

The compromised personal data included names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, marital status and, for more than 18,000 customers, their historical payment card details.

Records for some employees of the retailer were also compromised, although the Commissioner said there was no evidence of identity theft as a result of the attack.

A spokesman for Carphone Warehouse said the company had co-operated fully with the investigation and accepted the ICOs decision.

We moved quickly at the time to secure our systems, to put in place additional security measures and to inform the ICO and potentially affected customers and colleagues, the spokesman said.

Since the attack in 2015 we have worked extensively with cyber security experts to improve and upgrade our security systems and processes.

(Reporting by Kate Holton and Alistair Smout, Editing by Stephen Addison)

Topics Cyber
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Insurance underwriter Aubrie Hoopingarner says she wound up working in insurance the same way many people in the industry start their careers, she kind of stumbled into it!

Now, nearly a decade into a successful career with Portage, Michigan-based managing general agent and surplus lines broker J.M. Wilson, Hoopingarner was picked as the winner of Insurance Journals inaugural What is the Coolest Part of Your Job? Contest. Its an honor she says she is thrilled to accept.

I absolutely love my job, Hoopingarner said. The best feeling is when I have one of my agents come to me and its the eleventh hour, they are down to the wire, and they need the quote as soon as possible. When I am able to find them a quote and get them a policy for their client, it is the best.

Indeed, Hoopingarners winning entry for Insurance Journals contest featured Hoopingarner as a super hero  or Super Underwriter  fighting bad guys like Cat Loss, Cat Burglar and Slip & Fall to get the quote and help the client in a comic strip she created.

Never Fear! Super Underwriter is here! If there is a way to write it, I will find it! Super Underwriter Hoopingarner exclaims in the comic.

While Hoopingarner doesnt don a cape or take flight for her daily adventures as an insurance underwriter, she says she loves diving into the interesting risks that come across her desk.

I thrive on how every day is different and you never know what will come up, she said.

Hoopingarner has been with J.M. Wilson since she took a temp job processing policies for the company in Michigan nine years ago. Not too long after, she was hired on full-time and then later promoted to underwriter. Three years ago, J.M. Wilson decided to open an office in South Carolina and Hoopingarner jumped at the chance to move South.

She is now a senior underwriter specializing in garage insurance. She said she picked that niche because she wanted to do something out of the ordinary.

Insurance is what you make it and I think its cool. I try to make it cool, but like any other job it can be boring if you let it. Its all about your attitude, she said. I see some really interesting things and its different and I love that.

Hoopingarner keeps a positive attitude and likes to have fun in the office and with clients, but she also understands the importance of her job. She said most people dont understand how important insurance is.

One of our VPs always emphasizes how the world wouldnt run without insurance  and it really wouldnt. I wish people would stop and think about that, I think they take it for granted, she said.

She said most young people arent aware of the opportunities and experiences available in the industry, and how challenging and satisfying the work can be.

There is a stigma that it is all old people in the business and not a lot of young people, and I wish people would realize that you can be in your 20s and 30s and have a job in insurance, she said. Its a lot of fun and you learn things that you couldnt in a different job.

She thinks the industry, particularly carriers, could do more to recruit young people into insurance careers in ways they will respond to, such as on social media.

Thats why I think the [Insurance Journal] contest was so good because it was geared towards younger people instead of just everyone in insurance, she said.

Offering training programs or financial assistance to achieve insurance designations would also be a good way to recruit younger people into the industry, she said.

But most important, the industry needs to lighten up, she said.

Getting down to [young peoples] level, and relaxing a little would help. The industry can come across a little stuffy  it is insurance. But more companies need to make a point that this is fun, and we want you to join our team and loosen it up a little, she said. I think it would really help attract young people into this business.

Hoopingarners submission to the Insurance Journal contest was one of 66 entries by agents under 40-years-old answering the question What is the coolest part of your job? without any spoken words. The contest was put on in partnership with the Insurance Careers Movement (ICM), a collaborative, cross-industry initiative to promote career opportunities in risk management and insurance. More than 850 insurance carriers, agents/brokers, trade associations and industry partners are currently involved in the ICM.

Hoopingarners comic strip entry was selected from a drawing on Dec. 4 on Facebook Live. As winner of the contest, Hoopingarner received an Amazon Alexa and a one-year membership to the Insurance Journal Academy of Insurance.

Education, Hoopingarner said, is crucial to helping young people get started in the industry. She tries to be a resource to new people because she knows how overwhelming it can be. She said she works on educating and training her newer colleagues, and plans to use the Academy of Insurances offerings to help in those efforts.

Her advice to young agents is to be patient and reach out if help is needed.

When I first started underwriting I was scared to death of my first bind and if I got it right. It takes awhile to get comfortable and you are not going to know everything when you just start, she said. Its a process and it takes time. Dont be afraid to ask questions there is a lot to understanding insurance and you wont know it all right away.

Topics Agencies Underwriting Talent Training Development Insurance Journal
The judge overseeing U.S. cities and counties lawsuits against makers of opioid painkillers said he hopes a sweeping resolution can be worked out by the end of the year that will have a meaningful impact on the burgeoning drug epidemic.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster on Tuesday told lawyers representing drugmakers, including Purdue Pharma Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, and governments that he intends to push for a settlement that does more than just moves money around.

We have to dramatically reduce the total number of pills out there, and make sure the pills that are out there are being used properly, the Cleveland-based judge said. We all know a lot of those pills have gone walking with devastating results referring to the resale of the drugs on the black market.

Polster is overseeing more than 200 cases filed by local governments accusing drugmakers and drug distributors, such as McKesson Corp., of creating a public-health crisis with their mishandling of the powerful drugs, which are blamed for killing 150 Americans daily.

Purdue officials confirmed in November that they are in settlement talks with a group of state attorneys general and trying to come up with a global resolution of the government opioid claims.

The opioid makers are accused in the lawsuits of downplaying the addiction risks and overstating the effectiveness of their drugs. Some of the states hired big-name plaintiffs lawyers in hopes of generating a Big Tobacco-style settlement. Cigarette makers agreed in 1999 to pay $246 billion to settle states suits that sought to recoup the costs of smoking to society.

Polster sequestered groups of plaintiffs lawyers representing cities and counties and drugmakers defense lawyers in separate courtrooms Monday in hopes of laying the groundwork for a settlement.

If no deal can be reached, Polster said hes prepared to try the state of Ohios claims against opioid makers in 2019.

Ill try the case I have jurisdiction over, he said. The judge added the opioid crisis is 100 percent man-made and federal courts are unlikely places to find solutions.

The case is National Prescription Opiate Litigation, 17-md-2804, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio (Cleveland).

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits USA Legislation Drugs
American International Group Inc. may be back in the market for large-scale deals.

The insurer was in talks to buy Voya Financial Inc. in a transaction valued at more than $10 billion before negotiations fell apart in November over the price, according to people familiar with the matter.

Its unclear whether the discussions will be renewed, said the people, who asked not to be identified talking about possible purchases. But they signal AIG Chief Executive Officer Brian Duperreaults interest in completing big transactions after years of retrenching and cost-cutting following the companys near demise during the financial crisis.

I want us to be better and better balanced and have more diversification on earnings stream, Duperreault told analysts in a November conference call. In thinking of deals, My first thought is, is it strategic? Is it something that makes us better? Do we get better people or better technology or better market penetration?

Voyas shares climbed 4.4 percent to a record high of $52.75 at 2:03 p.m. in New York and have gained 30 percent in the past year. AIG advanced 1.4 percent to $61.10.

Duperreault joined AIG in May of 2017 after the firm tussled with activist investors, who were pushing for a break up of the insurer. In his first earnings call as CEO, Duperreault said he would use excess capital for improving the business and pursuing acquisitions. Billionaire Carl Icahn, who won representation on the companys board, eased off his demands for asset sales to give the executive a chance to execute his plans, people familiar with the investors thinking have said.

Streamlined Operations

Duperreault has said he would consider transactions in areas such as life insurance, international markets, personal lines and small- to middle-market U.S. firms. Its a shift for AIG, which had sold nearly $100 billion of assets since 2008, first to repay a government bailout and then to streamline operations. U.S. regulators also decided in September that AIG would no longer be labeled a systemically important financial institution, clearing the way for the insurer to expand.

Cindy Leggett-Flynn, a spokeswoman for New York-based AIG, declined to comment, as did Voyas Christopher Breslin.

Voya also has gone through a transformation. CEO Rodney Martin in December struck a deal to offload $54 billion of volatile insurance obligations to investors including Apollo Global Management LLC, sending the insurers shares to a record high.

More Attractive

AIG wasnt aware of those plans while negotiating its deal last year, and the Apollo sale may now make Voya a more attractive takeover candidate to a wider array of suitors, the people said.

Martin, who previously was an AIG executive, has been scaling back some businesses and cutting risks since the company split off from Dutch insurer ING Groep NV. The firm agreed in 2015 to sell $90 billion of life policies to Reinsurance Group of America Inc. to help free up capital. Voya has offered buyouts to customers for certain annuity products and exited a business to take on pension obligations from employers.

Voyas December deal with Apollo, Crestview Partners and Reverence Capital Partners is expected to generate $500 million immediately, which will used for buybacks, and a $2.3 billion after-tax reduction to shareholders equity, the insurer said.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Mergers AIG
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Wednesday promoted two of its top executives, Gregory Abel and Ajit Jain, cementing their widely viewed status as potential successors to Warren Buffett as the conglomerates chief executive.

Abel was named Berkshires vice chairman for non-insurance business operations, and Jain was named vice chairman for insurance operations.

Both were also added to Berkshires board, increasing the number of directors to 14 from 12.

Abel is the chairman of the companys Berkshire Hathaway Energy unit, which he joined in 1992, while Jain is executive vice president at National Indemnity Co. and oversees Berkshires reinsurance operations. He joined Berkshire in 1986.

Investors and analysts have long considered Abel and Jain the top candidates to eventually succeed Buffett, 87, as chief executive, though Abel is more than a decade younger.

For now, Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, 94, will remain responsible for Berkshires major capital allocation and investment decisions, including acquisitions.

Berkshire has long said that it will be ready to install a new chief executive should Buffett step down, die or become incapacitated.

Speculation that Abel and Jain were the top candidates grew after Munger singled them out for praise in a 2015 letter to Berkshire shareholders.

Buffetts investment deputies, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, are in position to eventually succeed Buffett as Berkshires chief investment officer, while Buffetts son Howard is expected to become Berkshires non-executive chairman.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Aparajita Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr and Chizu Nomiyama)

Topics Berkshire Hathaway
A bid is afoot to take AmTrust Financial Services private.

Stone Point Capital Partners, along with AmTrust Chairman and CEO Barry Zyskind and Director George Karfunkel (and his wife, Leah Karfunkel), have proposed to acquire all outstanding shares of AmTrust that they dont already own.

A spokesperson confirmed that the bid, if accepted by the AmTrust board of directors and approved by shareholders, would take the New York-based multinational property/casualty insurer private.

The Karfunkel-Zyskind family owns or controls about 43 percent of outstanding shares of AmTrust common stock. They propose paying $12.25 per share for the rest of the company, a nearly 21 percent premium over AmTrusts closing stock price on Jan. 8, 2018.

According to the announcement of the proposed share purchase, the idea behind the bid to take AmTrust private is designed, in part, to allow the carrier to focus on the long term without the emphasis on short-term results.

Expectations are that a special committee of independent AmTrust directors will consider the proposed transaction and then make a recommendation to the full board. Plans involve the special committee hiring on independent legal and financial advisers to help review the proposed share purchase.

For AmTrust to go private, the special committee must approve the proposed share purchase and shareholders outside of the Karfunkel-Zyskind family must also sign off on the idea. If the bid to go private does not go forward, the Karfunkel-Zyskind family intend to continue as long-term stockholders of AmTrust, according to their announcement.

A Busy Period

A move to take AmTrust private would cap a tumultuous period for the company.

In March, AmTrust delayed its 2016 annual report by a few weeks so it could conduct an audit and restate financial statements for the year, along with related disclosures for 2014 and 2015. After attributing the delay to its former independent auditor BDO USA, the company said it boosted its internal financial controls and also created a chief accounting officer position.

The insurer also took a number of initiatives over the past year to stabilize itself, including raising $300 million in new capital from the Zyskind family and the sale of its personal lines policy management system to National General Holdings for $200 million. The company also plans to make about $950 million by selling a majority equity interest in some of its U.S.-based fee business to private equity firm Madison Dearborn partners.

For the 2017 third quarter, AmTrust lost $174.7 million, compared to $80.7 million in net income during the 2016 third quarter. The companys combined ratio also reached 134.4 for the quarter, compared to 93.2 in Q3 2016. Part of the issue stemmed from hurricanes and other extreme weather events, though Zyskind at the time said AmTrust was continuing to focus on promoting longer-term stability, raising money and improving its balance sheet.

This article was originally published by Carrier Management, Wells Media Groups publication for P/C insurance C-suite executives.
A crash involving more than 30 cars closed the northbound lanes of an interstate in north Georgia as light freezing rain fell across wide swaths of Georgia and Alabama on Monday.

No serious injuries were reported in the pileup, but it led to lengthy traffic backups on the freeway that connects Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The pileup happened about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Chattanooga. The crash and icy conditions caused all northbound lanes of I-75 to close about 8 a.m. Monday, WRCB-TV reported .

In northeast Alabama, emergency managers reported ice on highways and bridges. Several school systems delayed Monday classes.

Many school districts across north Georgia were closed.

Most of north Georgia  including metro Atlanta  was under a winter weather advisory.

South of Atlanta, a deadly, four-vehicle crash closed all northbound lanes of Interstate 75, Clayton County police tweeted . That crash left one person dead and another critically injured. Police havent said whether icy conditions contributed to the wreck, but the county was under a winter weather advisory at the time.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Georgia
How much money does the average day trader make? The question is impossible to answer. Few day traders disclose their results to anyone but the Internal Revenue Service. Moreover, results vary widely given the myriad of trading strategies, risk management practices and amounts of capital available for day trading.

To be sure, losing money at day trading is easy. A research paper from University of California researchers Brad Barber and Terrance Odean found that many individual investors hold undiversified portfolios and trade actively, speculatively and to their own detriment. Day traders can also incur high brokerage fees, so picking the best broker and creating a manageable trading strategy with proper risk management is essential.

Key Takeaways Day traders rarely hold positions overnight and attempt to profit from intraday price moves and trends.

Day trading is risky but potentially lucrative for those that achieve success.

Several factors come into play in determining potential upside from day trading, including starting capital amount, strategies used, the markets you are active in, and luck.

Experienced day traders tend to take their job seriously, remaining disciplined, and sticking with their strategy.

What Day Traders Do

Day traders typically target stocks, options, futures, commodities or currencies, holding positions for hours or minutes before selling again. Day traders enter and exit positions within the day, hence the term day traders. They rarely hold positions overnight. The goal is to profit from short-term price movements. Day traders can also use leverage to amplify returns, which can also amplify losses.

Setting stop-loss orders and profit-taking pointsand not taking on too much riskis vital to surviving as a day trader. Professional traders often recommend risking no more than 1% of your portfolio on a single trade. If a portfolio is worth $50,000, the most at risk per trade is $500. The key to managing risk is to not allow one or two bad trades to wipe you out. If you stick to a 1% risk strategy and set strict stop-loss orders and profit-taking points, you can limit your losses to 1% and take your gains at 1.5%, but it takes discipline.

How to Get Started in Day Trading

Getting started in day trading is not like dabbling in investing. Any would-be investor with a few hundred dollars can buy shares of a company and keep it for months or years. However, the Financial Industry Regulator Authority (FINRA) sets rules for those they define as pattern day traders. These rules require margin traders who trade frequently to maintain at least $25,000 in their accounts, and they cannot trade if their balance drops below that level. This means day traders must have sufficient capital on top of the $25,000 to really make a profit. And because day trading requires focus, it is not compatible with keeping a day job.

Pattern day trading rules apply to stock and stock options trading, but not other markets such as forex.

Most day traders should be prepared to risk their own capital. In addition to required balance minimums, prospective day traders need access to an online broker or trading platform and software to track positions, do research and log trades. Brokerage commissions and taxes on short-term capital gains can also add up. Aspiring day traders should factor all costs into their trading activities to determine if profitability is attainable.

Earning Potential and Career Longevity

An important factor that can influence earnings potential and career longevity is whether you day trade independently or for an institution such as a bank or hedge fund. Traders working at an institution don't risk their own money and are typically better capitalized, with access to advantageous information and tools. Meanwhile, some independent trading firms allow day traders to access their platforms and software, but require traders to risk their own capital.

Other important factors that impact a day trader's earnings potential include:

Markets you trade : Different markets have different advantages. Stocks are generally the most capital-intensive asset class. Individuals can start trading with less capital than with other asset classes, such as futures or forex.

: Different markets have different advantages. Stocks are generally the most capital-intensive asset class. Individuals can start trading with less capital than with other asset classes, such as futures or forex. How much capital you have : If you start with $3,000, your earnings potential is far less than someone who starts with $30,000.

: If you start with $3,000, your earnings potential is far less than someone who starts with $30,000. Time: Few day traders achieve success in just a few days or weeks. Profitable trading strategies, systems and approaches can take years to develop.

Example of a Day Trading Strategy in Action

Consider a strategy for day trading stocks in which the maximum risk is $0.04 and the target is $0.06, yielding a reward-to-risk ratio of 1-to-1.5. A trader with $30,000 decides their maximum risk per trade is $300. Therefore, 7,500 shares on each trade ($300 / $0.04) will keep the risk within the $300 cap (not including commissions).

Here's how such a trading strategy might play out:

60 trades are profitable: 60 x $0.06 x 7,500 shares = $27,000.

45 trades are losers: 45 x $0.04 x 7,500 shares = ($13,500).

The gross profit is $27,000 - $13,500 = $13,500.

If commissions are $30 per trade, the profit is $10,500, or $13,500 - ($30 x 100 trades).

4x The maximum that rules permit a pattern day trader to trade in excess of the $25,000 maintenance margin.

Of course, the example is theoretical. Several factors can reduce profits. A reward-to-risk ratio of 1.5 is used because the number is fairly conservative and reflective of the opportunities that occur all day, every day, in the stock market. The starting capital of $30,000 is also just an approximate balance to start day trading stocks. You will need more if you wish to trade higher-priced stocks.

The Bottom Line

Day trading is not a hobby or occasional activity if you are serious about trading to make money. While there is no guarantee you will make money or be able to predict your average rate of return over any period of time, there are strategies you can master to help you lock in gains while minimizing losses.

It takes discipline, capital, patience, training and risk management to be a successful day trader. If you're interested, review the best stock brokers for day trading, as the first step is to choose the right broker for your needs.
What Is a Blocked Account?

A blocked account generally refers to a financial account that has some limitations or restrictions placed upon it, temporarily or permanently, which can occur for various reasons and rationales.

Key Takeaways Blocked accounts restrict account owners from unlimited and unrestricted use of their funds in that account.

Accounts may be blocked or limited for a variety of reasons, including internal bank policies, external regulations, or via a court order or legal decision.

An account that has become completely blocked is referred to as a frozen account.

Understanding Blocked Accounts

Very broadly, a blocked account refers to an account that does not allow for unlimited or indiscriminate withdrawal or other access but instead has certain restrictions or limitations on when, how much, and by who, capital can be withdrawn. Accounts can be blocked in such a manner for several reasons, which may be imposed by a bank's own rules or by external legal rulings - such as in the case of splitting marital assets during a divorce or in the case of a personal bankruptcy.

For instance, a bank may limit cash withdrawals by policy to $2,000 a week for its basic customers, or a judge may rule that no party to a divorce spend more than $500 from bank accounts per week for personal expenses.

If an account becomes completely blocked, it is said to be "frozen". Account freezes are normally the result of a court order and, in some cases, they may be done by the bank itself. This usually occurs when the account holder has unpaid debts to creditors or the government, or when there is suspicious activity detected through the account.

Foreign Exchange Controls

A blocked account can be an account that is subject to foreign exchange controls in a country that restricts the amount of its currency that can be transferred to other countries or exchanged into other currencies.

In Germany, blocked accounts work something like this, for foreign students not from EU member states. As a foreign student, you must provide proof that you have the financial means to pay for your course of studies, and for supporting yourself during your studies. And, to prove adequate means often requires a blocked account. This account is not freely accessible to the account holder. Students have to pay a minimum of 720 euros for each month they plan to be in Germany, and may not withdraw funds until they arrive in the country, nor can they withdraw more than 720 euros per month, unless they have paid more than the minimum amount.

Deposit Account Controls

A blocked account can sometimes refer to a Deposit Account Control Agreement (DACA), which is an agreement between a borrower (or debtor), the secured lender, and a bank maintaining a deposit account. Control under the DACA is established when the bank agrees to comply with directives from the secured lender, without needing the express consent of the borrower.

Frozen Assets

It can also refer to accounts that are frozen, either by the U.S. government for political reasons, or for other reasons (such as the death of the account holder.) A blocked account is typically more serious than a frozen account, and the implication of the term is that it is long term in nature. Once an account in the U.S. is blocked by government mandate (such as during a time of war or distress), no funds in the account can be accessed without a specific release from the U.S. Treasury.
What Is a Check?

A check is a written, dated, and signed instrument that directs a bank to pay a specific sum of money to the bearer. The person or entity writing the check is known as the payor or drawer, while the person to whom the check is written is the payee. The drawee, on the other hand, is the bank on which the check is drawn.

Checks may be cashed or deposited. When the payee presents a check to a bank or other financial institution to negotiate, the funds are drawn from the payors bank account. It is another way to instruct the bank to transfer funds from the payors account to the payee or the payees account. Checks are generally written against a checking account, but they can also be used to negotiate funds from a savings or other type of account.

In some parts of the world, such as Canada and England, the spelling used is cheque.

Key Takeaways A check is a written, dated, and signed instrument that directs a bank to pay a specific sum of money to the bearer.

It is another way to instruct a bank to transfer funds from the payors account to the payee or that person's account.

Check features include the date, the payee line, the amount of the check, the payors endorsement, and a memo line.

Types of checks include certified checks, cashiers checks, and payroll checks, also called paychecks.

How Checks Work

A check is a bill of exchange or document that guarantees a certain amount of money. It is printed for the drawing bank to give to an account holderthe payorto use. The payor writes the check and presents it to the payee, who then takes it to their bank or other financial institution to negotiate for cash or to deposit into an account.

The use of checks allows two or more parties to make a monetary transaction without the need of actually exchanging physical currency. Instead, the amount for which the check is written is a substitute for physical currency of the same amount.

Checks can be used to make bill payments, as gifts, or to transfer sums between two people or entities. They are generally seen as a more secure way of transferring money than cash, especially when there are large sums involved. If a check is lost or stolen, a third party is not able to cash it, as the payee is the only one who can negotiate the check. Modern substitutes for checks include debit and credit cards, wire transfers, and internet banking.

The use of checks cuts out the need for one party to transfer a large sum of physical cash to another party.

History of Checks

Checks have been in existence in one form or another since ancient times. Many people believe a type of check was used among the ancient Romans. While each culture that adopted a form of check had its own system, they all shared the basic idea of substituting the check for physical currency.

In 1717 the Bank of England was the first organization to issue preprinted checks. The oldest American check dates to the 1790s.

Modern checks, as we know them today, became popular in the 20th century. Check usage surged in the 1950s as the check process became automated and machines were able to sort and clear checks. Check cards, first created in the 1960s, were the precursors to todays debit cards. Credit and debit cardsand other forms of electronic paymenthave since overshadowed checks as the dominant means of paying for most goods and services. Checks are now somewhat uncommon but still used among the general population.

Check Features

While not all checks look alike, they generally share the same key parts. The name and contact information of the person writing the check is located at the top left-hand side. The name of the bank that holds the drawers account appears on the check as well.

There are a number of lines that need to be filled in by the payor:

The date is written on the line on the top right-hand corner of the check.

The payees name goes on the first line in the center of the check. This is indicated by the phrase "Pay to the Order Of."

The amount of the check in a dollar figure is filled out in the box next to the payees name.

The amount written out in words goes on the line underneath the payees name.

The payor signs the check on the line on the bottom right hand corner of the check. The check must be signed to be considered valid.

There is also a memo line on the bottom left hand corner of the check underneath the drawing banks information. The payor may use it to fill in any pertinent information, such as a reference number, an account number, or any other reason for writing the check.

A series of coded numbers are found along the bottom edge of the check, directly underneath the memo line and the payors signature line. These numbers represent the banks routing number, the payors account number, and the check number. In certain countries, such as Canada, the routing number is replaced with an institution numberwhich represents the banks identifying codeand the transit or branch number where the account is held.

Image by Sabrina Jiang  Investopedia 2020

The back of the check has an endorsement line for the payees signature when the check is negotiated. The receiving bank stamps the back with a deposit stamp at the time it is negotiated, after which it goes for clearing. Once the drawing bank receives the check, it is stamped again and filed. In some cases the check is sent back to the payor if they request it.

Types of Checks

Checks can be used for several different purposes.

Certified check

One example is a certified check, which verifies that the drawers account has enough funds to honor the amount of the check. In other words, the check is guaranteed not to bounce. To certify a check, it must be presented at the bank on which it is drawn, at which time the bank will ascertain its authenticity with the payor.

Cashier's check

A cashiers check is guaranteed by the banking institution and signed by a bank cashier, which means the bank is responsible for the funds. This type of check is often required in large transactions, such as buying a car or house.

Payroll check

Another example is a payroll check, or paycheck, which an employer issues to compensate an employee for their work. In recent years physical paychecks have given way to direct deposit systems and other forms of electronic transfer.

Bounced Checks

When someone writes a check for an amount larger than what is held in their checking account, the check cannot be negotiated. This is referred to as a bounced check. The check bounces because it cannot be processed, as there are insufficient or non-sufficient funds (NSF) in the account (the two terms are interchangeable). A bounced check usually incurs a penalty fee to the payor. In some cases the payee is also charged a fee.
What Is a Stop Payment?

A stop payment is a formal request made to a financial institution to cancel a check or payment that has not yet been processed. A stop payment order is issued by the account holder and can only be enacted if the check or payment has not already been processed by the recipient.

Issuing a stop payment order often costs the bank account holder a fee (generally $30 although bank policies differ), which is levied by the institution. There are several reasons that a stop payment order may be requested. For example, the account holder may have sent a check for the wrong amount or may have canceled a purchase after having put the check in the mail. Occasionally, if the stop payment is not requested in time and/or incorrectly, the financial institution will not be able to halt the process.

Key Takeaways A stop payment is a request to cancel a payment before it has been processed, for example by cancelling a check before it has been deposited.

There are many reasons why a stop payment might be requested, including cancellations of goods or services, or human error in writing the wrong amount on a check.

Issuing a stop payment order often costs the bank account holder a fee for the service.

A stop payment request can expire if the check or payment isn't found by the bank.

How a Stop Payment Works

To request a stop payment, an account holder generally provides specific information about a check that is in progress to the banke.g., check # 607 for $250 written to Johns Cleaning Agency. In an ideal scenario, the bank would then flag the check and prevent it from clearing the account.

If a bank is unable to locate the check, it will often continue to look for the check for six months, although policies differ among banks. Some banks offer the opportunity to extend or refresh the stop payment, via a verbal or written request.

If the check is never found, the request for stop payment usually expires, and the check could potentially be paid.

Special Considerations

In addition to issuing individual stop payments, additional measures for securing checks and personal finance information more generally are becoming mainstream. This protection is important if an account holder is concerned about error or fraud.

One method that has been updated over time is the addition of a padlock feature on personal checks. The Washington-D.C.-based Check Payment Systems Association (formerly Financial Stationers Association) created the padlock feature as check fraud grew pre-2000. The padlock feature completed a triumvirate of features, incorporated into a check, to add complexity and make it more challenging for fraudsters to reproduce it.

Online banking, which is now used by all major banks like Bank of America, TD Bank, Citibank, Chase Bank, is designed to improve the efficiency of depositing, transferring, and withdrawing funds, along with balance-checking and other, relatively simple personal finance tasks. With individual financial information now stored onlinethe potential for secure encryption is highalong with the ability of cyber-criminals to steal data. Despite such threats, many have chosen to bank fully online. In this way, issuing stop payments, among other tasks, become more efficient.
For some parents, taking their child to see the doctor can be an exercise fraught with anxiety as the very notion of being poked and prodded (no matter how gently) by a stranger can cause stress and trepidation among very young patients.

But thanks to fictional medics on television such as Dr Brown in Peppa Pig, some youngsters have not only lost their fear of doctors but actually, encourage their parents to bring them for a check-up to have their ailments investigated and a cure promptly prescribed.

Welcome as this may be, a doctor in the UK has warned that this may not be such as good thing as many children, and even their parents, have come to expect medication when in fact none is required.

Sheffield-based GP Dr Catherine Bell wrote in the British Medical Journal that programmes such as Peppa Pig, which is broadcast in 180 countries and has 11m viewers, is clinically inappropriate and can have a significant impact on parental expectations of GP services.

I hypothesise that exposure to Peppa Pig and its portrayal of general practice raises patient expectation and encourages inappropriate use of primary care services, she says.

Laura Erskine, spokesperson for MummyPages.ie, Irelands biggest digital parenting platform, agrees and says members of their online forum are concerned that their judgment may become clouded by cartoon characters on TV.

Our MummyPages mums have raised concerns within our community regarding the portrayal of doctors and the role of medicine for minor ailments in childrens television programming, she says.

While our mums are happy for visits to the doctor, dentist, or even hospital to be explained in a child-centred way in order to remove any fear of the unknown which may be experienced by the child, some mums believe that certain cartoons have gone too far.

The biggest culprit is Peppa Pigs Dr Brown who frequently administers medicine for relatively common illnesses such as colds and coughs. The result is that our nations children are growing up believing that they really need medicine any time they sneeze, cough, or graze their knee. Previous generations were soothed with a kiss, some warm blankets, or a cold drink.

However, the influence of some medical television characters on children today, coupled with the introduction of the free GP scheme for those less than six years of age, means that over-the-counter medicines and antibiotics are in danger of being taken when not needed.

ASKING FOR A CURE

Sarah Maloney says she is guilty of expecting a prescription every time she takes her two young children to the doctor.

Both of my young daughters (aged 3 and 5) watch Peppa Pig and love Dr Brown, says the Wexford woman. I think its a great way for them to become confident about visiting our own GP and they literally have no fear now whatsoever.

But they do always want to be given some sort of cure whether it is a cream or a pill; I suppose its something they have come to expect from watching cartoon doctors. And I have to admit that I probably take them (to see the GP) more often than necessary and feel somehow cheated when I dont walk away with a prescription.

If Im being really honest with myself, I know they dont need to visit the doctor with a cough or a cold, but they always ask and I suppose subconsciously I have become used to seeing this as the way to deal with things  so, yes, I do believe that both I and my kids have been influenced by what we see on TV.

Dr David Carey, director of psychology at City Colleges and dean of the College of Progressive Education, does not agree and says anyone who takes guidance from a childrens cartoon should give themselves a good talking to.

Where is the evidence that this show, a childrens cartoon, is influencing anyone? he says.

As far as I can tell, one GP speculated that Peppa Pig was an influence  so this is not evidence. We live in the age of paranoid parenting where every little thing is turned into a major upset and if parents are being influenced by Peppa Pig to bring their children to the GP more frequently, then they must be about the dumbest parents on earth  as far as Im concerned its a cartoon  so they should get over it.

Heres a simple rule, if it isnt bleeding, they dont have a fever and they are not vomiting, then they arent sick enough to see a doctor.

Laura Erskine , who has two young children of her own, agrees and says while youngsters are being heavily influenced by fictional characters on TV, parents need to learn when and where medical intervention is needed.

When I was a child a grazed knee was fixed with a kiss and a hug, with only the more serious injuries requiring a plaster, she says.

Todays children, including my own daughter Lucy, are fixated on getting medicine or worse still, feel the need to see a professional doctor in order to have their illness assessed and suitable medication doled out.

Lucy loves the taste of medicine, particularly the sweet orange and strawberry flavours, and she would often request it if she was upset. But while children are very easily influenced by television and their peers, their biggest influence should be their parents. And unfortunately, we have become a nation which is very quick to visit the doctor without trying home remedies first.

Erskine says she has learned how to mollify her daughter and offer other solutions rather than medicine or a trip to the doctor. Children take their cue from us and if we are heavily reliant on doctors, they may see that as the only solution to illness, she says.

Ultimately they like to feel special when under the weather but often a day at home with plenty of tender loving care will go a long way to a quick recovery.

My eldest child, James, regularly attends Crumlin hospital for check-ups as a result of an ongoing medical condition and his sister can get jealous of the attention he is given during this time and often wishes out loud that she could have a turn to go to the hospital. So instead we placate her need for attention with a mummy and daughter day instead.

I have learned that quite often a sticker for a brave child who has had a bump is far more effective and conducive to a speedy recovery than a tablespoon of medicine.

And if, on the other side of the coin, children are too afraid to visit their GP, straight-talking Dr Carey says parents should ensure they do their best to alleviate these fears by alerting their doctor rather than switching on the TV.

Instead of relying on a cartoon, ring up your GP, tell them about your childs fears and try to organise an after hour visit, he says.

This way your doctor can show the children around the surgery, let them play with a stethoscope, look at any medical devices that may be present, and have a friendly chat with the doctor or nurse, which might include a nice lolly or sticker at the end.
Burma Detained Reuters Reporters Ask for Bail on Trumped Up Charge

Ko Wa Lone, one of two detained Reuters reporters, displays his handcuffs before being taken back to Insein Prison after the pairs court hearing on Wednesday in Yangon. / Chan Son / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  We were arrested on a trumped up charge so as to prevent [journalists] from reporting true news, said Ko Wa Lone, one of two detained Reuters reporters, during his appearance at the Yangon North District Court on Wednesday.

Ko Wa Lone and his colleague Ko Kyaw Soe Oo have been detained by police since Dec. 12 and are charged under Section 3 of the colonial-era Official Secrets Act for allegedly acquiring information from police officers about the violence in northern Rakhine State illegally.

Defense lawyer U Than Zaw Aung said the defense team asked for the reporters release on bail and added that the next hearing was scheduled for Jan. 23.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Yu Naing, the plaintiff, did not show up on Wednesday. But 25 witnesses, including the two police officers who reportedly gave the reporters the documents, were presented to the court.

The Home Affairs Ministry has said it would take action against the two police officers Captain Moe Yan Naing and Lance Corporal Khin Maung Linn  but has not yet made public whether it actually has.

The Information Ministry reported that the two reporters unlawfully obtained important documents related to the violence in Rakhine State with the intention of sharing them with foreign news agencies. But the families of the reporters claim they were arrested before even reading the records they were handed.

When the pair was escorted back to the prison van after the court hearing under a heavy police escort, Ko Kyaw Soe Oos cousin said in tears that she never expected to see her baby brother in handcuffs.

Please support him and Wa Lone. Please set them free, she said.

Ko Wa Lones wife, Ma Pan Ei Mon, said her husband was diagnosed with a hernia and back pain and that she submitted the doctors prescription to the police.

I dont know if he will get the treatment he needs, she told The Irrawaddy.

Local and foreign media have called the Reuters reporters arrest a threat to press freedom, and Western countries including the US, UK and Canada have urged the Myanmar government to release them.

We are disappointed by todays decision to pursue charges against Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under the Official Secrets Act. For democracy to succeed and flourish, journalists must be able to do their jobs. We call for their immediate release, the US Embassy said in a statement it released Wednesday.

This charge is nothing to do with us, said Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, urging his fellow journalists to take care of their own security while uncovering the truth.

Id like to urge people to protect journalists. We will continue to uncover the truth, he added.

The Protection Committee for Myanmar Journalists campaigned for their release at Wednesdays hearing.

Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo were questioned at the Aung Tha Pyay police interrogation center in Yangon Regions Mayangone Township for 15 days before appearing at the Mingalardon Township Court for the first time on Dec. 27.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Govt Hides Rohingya Landmine Incidents on Intl Stage, but Devices Continue to Be Used at Home

Landmine expert Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan discusses the various types of landmines present in Myanmar at a press conference at the Royal Rose restaurant in Yangon. / Thet Htun Naing / The Irrawaddy

YANGONDespite the Myanmar governments assurances to the international community that the countrys military is forbidden to use landmines, a number of Rohingya people have been killed by mines produced by the Army in northern Rakhine State in recent months, according to a new report.

On Wednesday, Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan, Myanmar Research Coordinator for Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, launched the groups 19th report at the Royal Rose restaurant in Yangon. The anti-personnel landmine watchdog compiled casualty figures from medical assistance groups and non-governmental organizations, as well as information obtained by its own local researcher during visits to refugee camps on the Bangladesh border.

A military crackdown against the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in Maungdaw district in August 2017 caused around 660,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Some of them walked into minefields while attempting to cross the border, according to the report.

Moser-Puangsuwan played video footage during his presentation showing what he said were Rohingya refugees using a shovel and bamboo sticks to unearth an M-14 landmine. This anti-personnel weapon is produced by the Army at the Kapasa factory, a state-owned enterprise based in Ngyaung Chay Dauk in western Bago Division. He was unable to provide a precise estimate of Rohingya casualties.

You can see that one person is taking away the mine with a shovel, and eventually a person picks it up by the outside [edges of the device]. These mines were found on the Myanmar side of the border, he said.

He disclosed that Myanmar had abstained from voting in the UN General Assemblys December 2016 resolution in support of its existing global landmine ban, despite senior Myanmar Army (or Tatmadaw) officials having told the watchdog that it and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were seriously reviewing landmine policy.

The watchdog coordinator added that the commander-in-chief of the Defense Services last month sent a letter to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, an international anti-mine lobbying group, stating that any use of landmines is forbidden. The same month, the government delivered the same message to the president of a meeting of state parties to the mine ban treaty.

Since December 2017, 162 countries  over 80 percent of all governments  have ratified the Mine Ban Treaty. Myanmar has refrained from doing so, however. According to the report, the group has also discovered aerial bombs in Kachin State and Abandoned Explosive Ordinance (AXO) in some ethnic regions.

The group estimates total landmine casualties in Myanmar from 1999 to 2016 at 4,000, including 488 fatalities, 3,385 injuries and 118 unknown outcomes. He said that 1,080 people had been affected by landmine incidents in the six years since peace talks began. The group says that the actual number of casualties is likely higher than the figures in its report indicate.

Do we believe [that these figures represent a full accounting]? No. We get most of the information from medical assistance groups. Guess what. They dont give medical assistance to dead people, Moser-Puangsuwan said.

According to the report, 71 townships from 10 states and regions of Myanmar are affected by antipersonnel mines. Shan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Mon and Rakhine states are the worst affected. It said both the government and ethnic armed groups plant landmines in the areas under their control, adding that the issue of mine clearance had not been seriously addressed at peace negotiations.

We believe this is a humanitarian issue, not just a military one. And the landmines still in the ground todayeven if you get a peace agreement tomorrowwill continue to produce war victims for many years, Moser-Puangsuwan said.

The timeline for mine clearance is still vague, as the signatories to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement are as yet still unwilling to give up what they see as a key defensive weapon.

In terms of mine incidents in Maungdaw region, mine expert Moser-Puangsuwan explained that all of the devices confiscated by the Army are technically defined as remote-controlled bombs, which can be detonated by radio, among other means.

A total of nine landmine monitoring organizations have applied to conduct mine-risk education activities in Myanmar, but only three of these have been granted permission to begin surveying in high-danger mine areas in 2018. They are prohibited from putting up fences or signs in areas deemed to contain mines.
Burma Security Officials, Villagers Executed 10 ARSA-Linked Rohingya: Army

Army officials visit a burial site where 10 bodies were found near a graveyard in Inn Din village in southern Maungdaw. / Office of the Commander-in-Chief

YANGONA Myanmar Army investigation panel has determined that villagers and security forces killed 10 Rohingya allegedly affiliated with Muslim militants who launched a series of attacks on security outposts in northern Maungdaw last year.

The Army investigation followed the discovery of 10 bodies near a graveyard in Inn Din village in southern Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State in December.

According to a press release issued by the panel on Wednesday afternoon, a five-member team led by Lieutenant-General Aye Win visited Inn Din village between Dec. 20 and Jan. 2 and interviewed 21 Army witnesses, three Border Police officers, 13 members of No. 8 Security Unit, six Inn Din villagers and six civil servants.

The 10 Rohingya were involved in attacks organized by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)a Muslim militant group denounced by the government as a terrorist organization after a series of attacks last yearand arrested on Sept. 1 during a clearance operation in Inn Din village.

While they should have been handed over to the police station, the security forces at the time were too busy implementing security measures in the surrounding areas to do so. So it was decided that the Rohingya would be executed at the village graveyard, the statement reads.

The executions occurred on Sept. 2. They were carried out by three villagers using knives and four security force personnel armed with guns, according to the press release. Two of the villagers involved were taking revenge for the killing of their father at the hands of Rohingya militants, according to the statement.

As the villagers and security troops confessed to the killings, they will be prosecuted according to the law, it reads.

The team determined that security officials involved in the incident did not report it to their superiors. Those officials found to be responsible will be punished and their actions made public, according to the statement.

Since the ARSA attacks in August last year, northern Rakhine State has been ravaged by clearance operations by Myanmar security forces, causing an exodus of more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to nearby Bangladesh. Some of the refugees have reported witnessing or being subjected to arbitrary killings, rapes and the torching of property by the security forces and local vigilantes.
News Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Named Worlds Biggest Backslider in Press Freedom: CPJ

CPJs press freedom oppressors, clockwise from left: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Donald Trump. / CPJ

YANGON  The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) named Myanmars State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to the press oppressor awards along with other world leaders including US President Donald Trump, Turkish President Erdogan and Xi Jinping of China.

CPJ said in a statement that in response to President Trumps announcement via twitter of his planned The Most Dishonest & Corrupt Media Awards of the Year, it is recognizing world leaders who have gone out of their way to attack the press and undermine the norms that support freedom of the media.

The New York-based advocacy group announced the winners and runners-up in five categories: Most Thin-skinned, Most Outrageous Use of Terror Laws against the Press, Tightest Grip on Media, Biggest Backslider in Press Freedom and Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom.

Myanmars de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was named the winner of the Biggest Backslider in Press Freedom category. President Andrzej Duda of Poland was named the runner-up of the same category.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was barred from becoming president under the military-drafted 2008 Constitution, has come under strong international censure for failing to criticize the militarys actions against the Rohingya and address accusations of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State.

CPJ said as the Myanmar government granted a presidential pardon soon after it took power to five journalists who had been serving lengthy sentences, hopes for media freedom were high, but most of the legal structure that has long restricted the press remains in place and journalists continue to be imprisoned.

Security officials obstruct and harass journalists trying to cover what the UN has termed a textbook example of ethnic cleansing by authorities in the countrys northern Rakhine state, CPJ said, citing the recent arrest of two Reuters journalists covering the crisisKo Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo.

Including the two Reuters journalists, at least 12 journalists including two foreigners were brought to court last year in Myanmar under various repressive laws, with most cases filed by the countrys military.

Despite a civilian government assuming power in Myanmar, the military retains a powerful influence under the Constitution. The army chief appoints three key ministers: Defense, Border Affairs and Home Affairswhich oversees the countrys police and prisons.

Among the 12 journalists who were brought to the court, five were sued by the military, one by a nationalist, one by the chief minister of Tanintharyi region, and the remaining five others by the police.

President Trump won the Overall Achievement in Undermining Global Press Freedom award and was also named the runner-up for Most Thin-skinned in response to his regular attacks of outlets and individual journalists on Twitter and in speeches.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won two categories, Most Thin-skinned and Most Outrageous Use of Terror Laws against the Press with 46,193 cases of insulting the president or insulting the country, parliament, government or institutions of the judiciary over the course of 2016 against journalists, news outlets and social media users.

Chinas President Xi Jinping won the Tightest Grip on Media, as China was the second worst jailer of the press globally in 2017, with at least 41 journalists in prison and the use of a combination of traditional censorship and Internet controls to keep the news media in line, CPJ said.
News Five Civilians Injured in Shan State Landmine Blasts

One of five victims of a pair of landmine explosions in Stan State on Monday. / Tsap Mung Lawt

YANGON  Five men were seriously injured after two of them stepped on landmines on Monday morning while collecting firewood in northern Shan State, according to a local priest.

The victims include four ethnic Kachin and a Chinese man, all in their 50s. They are receiving treatment at a local hospital in the border town of Mansi, said Zau Ra, a priest with the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) in the town of Mong Ko, in Muse District.

Two of the victims stepped on two separate landmines while collecting firewood near a village about two miles from Mong Ko.

They went to the old Man Jub village to chop firewood. The village was empty, but government troops are deployed there. The soldiers told them not to go beyond the village. But they thought it would be fine, and unfortunately the mines exploded, Zau Ra told The Irrawaddy.

Three of the five men were injured in the first blast. The other two were injured by the second mine while going to their aid.

Wayawng Zau Kaung, one of the Kachin victims, had both of his legs amputated at the knees. The other four were injured in their legs and abdomens.

All five of the victims had been staying with relatives after their houses were destroyed during armed clashes in 2016. The KBC is covering their medical expenses.

Most of the locals still cant go back to their houses because of landmines. Man Jub is a big village. But nobody dares to live there since the clashes. Villagers lost their livelihoods, so they went to the town, said Zau Ra.

Mong Ko was hit hard when fighting broke out in northern Shan State in November 2016 between the Myanmar Army and an alliance of ethnic armed groups including the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Arakan Army, Taang National Liberation Army and the Kachin Independence Army.

The Myanmar Army claims that more than 100 police, soldiers and allied militia members were killed during the fighting in Mong Ko in November and December of 2016.

Local sources say more than 40 civilians also died in the fighting and that thousands have fled to China.

We want to go back home, but we dare not because of mines. I have children and Im really afraid of mines, said Nang Kham Lao, who fled Mong Ko for another part of Muse after the clashes in 2016.

The government and Myanmar Army reportedly resettled local residents after the fighting subsided in December that year, but locals say it is safe to live in town only because of the persistent danger of landmines and that houses have not yet been rebuilt in surrounding villages.

According to Mong Ko authorities, the town had more than 8,000 residents before the fighting in 2016. Its current population is not known.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
News Irrawaddy Regional Parliament to Appoint New Chief Minister

The Irrawaddy Parliament / Salai Thant Zin / The Irrawaddy

PATHEIN  The Irrawaddy Regional Parliament will convene an emergency meeting on Jan. 15 to appoint a new chief minister following the resignation of Mahn Johnny from the post.

In separate announcements dated Jan. 9, the Presidents Office approved the resignations of Irrawaddy Region Chief Minister Mahn Johnny and Agriculture, Livestock, Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Minister U Ba Hein.

We have arranged an emergency meeting on Jan. 15 in accordance with parliamentary by-law Section 32, U San Min Aung, the regional parliaments deputy speaker, told The Irrawaddy.

At the meeting, regional lawmakers will be asked to approve a candidate for chief minister nominated by the president.

Mahn Johnny will continue to serve as a lawmaker representing Kyonepyaw Township in the regional parliament.

He is 77 years old. Everyone knows he is not very fit because of his age. I was told that he submitted his resignation on grounds of ill health, and that the Presidents Office approved it, U San Min Aung said.

Mahn Johnny, a former political prisoner and long-serving member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was elected in the 1990 election, the results of which were rejected by the military.

He contested the 2012 by-election and was elected as a lawmaker representing Irrawaddy Regions Myaungmya Township in the Lower House of the Union Parliament during U Thein Seins administration. He served as chief minister of Irrawaddy Region from April 1, 2016 to Jan. 8 of this year.

Under parliamentary law, President U Htin Kyaw must nominate a lawmaker serving in the Irrawaddy Regional Parliament to take over the chief ministers post.
News Philippines to Protest to China Over Apparent Airbase on Manmade Island

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (L) and other government and military officials inspect Philippine occupied Thitu Island in Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea, April 21, 2017. / Reuters

MANILA  The Philippines will make a diplomatic protest to China, which it described as reneging on a promise not to militarize artificial islands in the busy South China Sea waterway, the Southeast Asian nations defense minister said on Monday.

The United States has criticized Chinas build-up of military facilities on the artificial islands and is concerned they could be used to restrict free movement through the key trade route.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzanas comment followed a Dec. 30 broadcast of aerial footage by the official China Central Television (CCTV) showing Fiery Cross Reef, which appeared to have been transformed into an airbase.

The Chinese government said some time ago that they were not going to militarize those reclaimed islands, Lorenzana told reporters, adding that the protest would be made through the foreign ministry.

If it is true and we can prove that they have been putting soldiers and even weapons systems, that will be a violation of what they said.

There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials.

China and the Philippines have long sparred over the South China Sea, but relations have improved considerably under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been courting Beijing in hopes of winning business and investment.

China has assured the Philippines it will not occupy new features or territory in the South China Sea, under a new status quo brokered by Manila as both sides try to strengthen their relations.

Reports about China militarizing reclaimed islands were not new, presidential spokesman Harry Roque told a regular news briefing.

We have always been against the militarization of the area, he added. It is certainly not OK, because it constitutes a further threat to peace and security in area.

China is holding to a commitment not to reclaim more islands, Roque added, however.

There is still no breach of the good faith obligation for as long as China has not embarked on new reclamation, he said, when asked about the situation on the reef.

China has denied US charges that it is militarizing the South China Sea, which also is claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The reef has a hospital with more than 50 doctors, high-speed mobile connections and an airport with a runway of 3,160 meters (3,456 yards) to serve what Beijing calls a weather station equipped with radar, Chinese state media say.

In the last 27 years, Chinas navy has sent more than 1,000 soldiers to guard the reef, state media have said.
Wednesday, January 10th, 2018 (1:43 pm) - Score 4,643

The Information Commissioners Office has today hit Carphone Warehouse with a 400K fine after a 2015 hack, which resulted in a major breach of personal data for 3.3 million customers + 1,000 staff and indirectly affected the CPW hosted mobile site for UK broadband ISP TalkTalk.

According to the ICOs report, CPW was subjected to an external cyberattack between 21st July and 5th August 2017, which originated from an IP address in Vietnam but also used more than one IP from other locations. The hacker scanned CPWs system and identified a considerably out-of-date installation of the WordPress content management system, which was known to have security flaws (apparently the attackers also made use of valid login credentials for the system).

The company eventually cottoned on to the problem but by then the attacker had compromised customer data, including names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, marital status and, for more than 18,000 customers, historical payment card details. The records for some Carphone Warehouse employees were also accessed.

One lesser known fact is that the incident also affected TalkTalks mobile.talktalk.co.uk website (news), which back then was still being hosted by CPW. At the time TalkTalk acknowledged that the site had been subject to a sophisticated and co-ordinated cyber attack, along with a number of other similar websites and warned that some of our mobile customers data may have been accessed by the criminals.

Sadly the incident occurred just a couple of months before TalkTalk suffered its own devastating cyber-attack (here), which also resulted in a 400,000 fine from the ICO (here).

Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner, said: A company as large, well-resourced, and established as Carphone Warehouse, should have been actively assessing its data security systems, and ensuring systems were robust and not vulnerable to such attacks. Carphone Warehouse should be at the top of its game when it comes to cyber-security, and it is concerning that the systemic failures we found related to rudimentary, commonplace measures.

The incident is said to have exposed inadequacies in the organisations technical security measures. As state earlier, important elements of the software in use on the systems affected were found to be out of date and the company failed to carry out routine security testing. The ICO added that there were also inadequate measures in place to identify and purge historic data.

The Commissioner did however acknowledge the steps that Carphone Warehouse took to fix some of the problems and to protect those affected. She also acknowledges that to date there has been no evidence that the data has resulted in identity theft or fraud, although in reality its always very difficult to link such cases back to a specific incident.

A Spokesperson for Carphone Warehouse said: We accept todays decision by the ICO and have co-operated fully throughout its investigation into the illegal cyberattack on a specific system within one of Carphone Warehouses UK divisions in 2015. As the ICO notes in its report, we moved quickly at the time to secure our systems, to put in place additional security measures and to inform the ICO and potentially affected customers and colleagues. The ICO noted that there was no evidence of any individual data having been used by third parties. Since the attack in 2015 we have worked extensively with cyber security experts to improve and upgrade our security systems and processes. We are very sorry for any distress or inconvenience the incident may have caused.

Elizabeth Denham added: The real victims are customers and employees whose information was open to abuse by the malicious actions of the intruder. The law says it is the companys responsibility to protect customer and employee personal information. Outsiders should not be getting to such systems in the first place. Having an effective layered security system will help to mitigate any attack  systems cant be exploited if intruders cant get in. There will always be attempts to breach organisations systems and cyber-attacks are becoming more frequent as adversaries become more determined. But companies and public bodies need to take serious steps to protect systems, and most importantly, customers and employees.

The ICO has the power to impose a monetary penalty on a data controller of up to 500,000, although so far it has tended to keep below that level even when major breaches are involved. Meanwhile the ICO has told CPW that it will reduce the fine to 320,000 but only if they pay in full by 7th February 2018.

The future introduction of new GDPR data protection rules could result in massive multi-million pound fines being levied for such breaches.
American multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company Qualcomm admits some of its processors are vulnerable to the Meltdown and Spectre bugs but has refused to provide any clarity on exactly which products are affected.

However, since Qualcomm uses Arm CPU cores in some of its products some clarity can be gained by checking on the Arm cores which are vulnerable.

In Arm's advisory, it said that there were three main variants of the exploits:

Variant 1: bounds check bypass (CVE-2017-5753)

Variant 2: branch target injection (CVE-2017-5715)

Variant 3: rogue data cache load (CVE-2017-5754)

Additionally, Arm cited a fourth exploit which it called Variant 3a. The details of the Arm cores which are vulnerable are here.

Meltdown removes the barrier between user applications and sensitive parts of the operating system while Spectre can trick vulnerable applications into leaking the contents of their memory.

Security Week, the Snapdragon 653, 652 and 650 platforms use Arm Cortex-A72 processors. According to an Arm advisory, these are vulnerable to both Spectre exploits and a variant of the Meltdown attack.

Additionally, the Snapdragon 845 mobile platform, which Qualcomm launched recently, uses a customised version of the Cortex-A75, which is also vulnerable to both Spectre and Meltdown attacks.

A Qualcomm spokesperson provided the following statement, when asked: "Qualcomm Technologies is aware of the security research on industry-wide processor vulnerabilities that have been reported.

"Providing technologies that support robust security and privacy is a priority for Qualcomm, and as such, we have been working with ARM and others to assess impact and develop mitigations for our customers.

"We are actively incorporating and deploying mitigations against the vulnerabilities for our impacted products, and we continue to work to strengthen them as possible.

"We are in the process of deploying these mitigations to our customers and encourage people to update their devices when patches become available."
Disaster recovery and business continuity software vendor Zerto says the move to the cloud will only increase in 2018, but security and resilience should not be forgotten.

Andrew Martin, vice-president for Zerto Asia Pacific and Japan, spoke to iTWire about his four predictions for 2018. Unsurprisingly, Martin sees cloud transformation continuing to be a big topic, but cautions businesses not to forget the importance of business continuity plans.

Zertos prediction #1: Digital transformation will drive the need for greater IT resilience.

The continued move towards a digital economy will see a greater transformation of customer experiences through, Martin states. To capture this opportunity, enterprises need to embrace new operating models that can dramatically improve and enhance the digital customer experience with customers increasingly expecting an always-on experience.

Enterprises will thus look to converge solutions addressing both short-term and long-term data protection. This will help simplify operational efforts and increase flexibility.

IT environments will become more complex, storing and protecting huge amounts of data being generated, and will be increasingly platform agnostic, moving away from dependence on specific hypervisors or operating systems.

Downtime will not be tolerated, especially if an outage has serious financial or repetitional ramifications.

Prediction #2: Cloud will be used more extensively to support data-intensive activities.

We will start to see more data-intensive activities move to the cloud as organisations increasingly look to consolidate data centres, migrate data and workloads to drive efficiencies, reduce risk and cost. With cloud storage costs expected to decline, the cloud will be an increasingly attractive option to IT professionals and the finance department, Martin said.

In ANZ, we are seeing greater adoption of these technologies across nearly every sector, particularly the financial services and insurances sectors. This region will also see more companies that service the retail sector such as those that offer POS and ERP systems for consumer transaction enablement, adopt these technologies.

Prediction #3: Increased convergence of DR and IT security strategies.

As data breaches and ransomware attacks continue to impact organisations and result in outages and loss, businesses will seek holistic approaches that embrace security and disaster recovery in their IT strategies.

Organisations will have to accept that their first line of defence is going to be breached from time to time and its no longer a matter of if but when it will happen, Martin says.

Prediction #4: Tape for backup will meet its demise.

As newer storage technologies are developed, the long-term storage backup mainstay tape will finally meet its end.

Tape is a liability for many organisations due to its high cost. Organisations are increasingly finding there are other options for archiving large amounts of data as cheaply as doing on tape. Making the transition from tape can have its challenges so organisations need to ensure they have a robust and resilient DR strategy in place, Martin says.
By Benjamin Jumbe:

The archbishop of Kampala Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has asked government not to look at religious leaders as opponents or enemies.

Dr Lwanga was delivering his condolence message during a national service for the late archbishop of the church of Uganda Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo at the Anglican martyrs shrine in Namugongo.

Dr Lwanga said religious leaders have a duty to guide on matters of governance and as such should not be looked at as fighting the government vowing to continue acting as the conscience of the state.

This comes at a time government has been increasingly on spot after the lifting of the presidential age limit
Australias healthcare system is rated as one of the best in the world, though not without its flaws. Real-time wire data security analysis vendor ExtraHop says its committed to helping healthcare workers remove their IT burdens.

Albert Kuo, ExtraHop vice-president Asia Pacific, says, Public hospitals are not keeping up with the growing population, operating at capacity rather than increasing to meet the growing demand for healthcare services, and just under half of urgent Emergency Department patients are being seen within a recommended timeframe. Australias hospitals are under increasing pressure to perform and relieve health burdens for Australians; however, without significant change, they soon will not be able to provide adequate support.

This is a serious issue, Kuo states. Australians need to know they can rely on their emergency healthcare system, he says. A call to triple-zero ought to be relied on to connect people to emergency services, MRI and X-Ray machines must be in excellent working condition, and patient records must be accessible to the properly authorised people when and as needed.

Perhaps most importantly, Australians want to feel cybersecurity is a priority in the healthcare industry, Kuo states.

Security firm Gemalto last year identified healthcare as the largest target for data breaches, with malicious parties knowing system outages could literally be a matter of life and death, and counting on healthcare providers to be more likely to pay ransoms. This was, sadly, visibly demonstrated with 2017s enormous global ransomware outbreaks, affecting at least 16 hospitals in the UK alone. Some were forced to cancel patient operations, and most did indeed choose to pay the ransom.

Australia was fortunate enough to escape the brunt of the attack, but Cyber Security Minister Dan Tehan admitted Australia as a nation was not fully prepared when it came to cyber security, and could be vulnerable to any targeted attacks.

The challenge for companies like ExtraHop then is how to wield technology to bolster security, and free staff to focus their attention on patient outcomes instead of fighting IT fires.

The spread of ransomware, phishing attacks and other modern exploits prove conventional firewall and virus protection systems are not enough.

As much as we can hope, ransomware will never be eradicated, and so it seems pointless to focus solely on prevention of infection, Kuo says.

As technology advances to create more advanced malware, the only hope we have is to use technology to enable early detection within our systems. Its not a matter of if a business will be hacked; its merely a question of when, so its crucial that they are prepared.

Its thus important that healthcare organisations have visibility and understanding of what is happening in their environment at all times, and be equipped with the insights to keep data, systems and patient data secure.

ExtraHop says real-time wire-analysis tools are the key to achieving this, delivering such insights that mean an organisation can react immediately when malicious activity occurs on the network.

Providing a real-world example Kuo states, We recently helped Wood County Hospital detect a ransomware attempt, helping the hospital avoid potentially catastrophic consequences.

Despite being rated as one of the worlds best, the Australian healthcare system is under increasing pressure, but technology takes away the unnecessary and allows hospital workers to get back to what they are recognised as doing best  providing great outcomes for Australians.
Sacked Google employee James Damore has filed a case against the search behemoth, claiming it discriminates against white men who do not subscribe to the prevailing dominant political view at the company.

Joining in the case is another former employee, David Gudeman, who left Google in December 2016 and has been self-employed since then.

Last year, Damore (below, right) wrote a screed on diversity on an internal company mailing list which did not exactly gell with the company's views. After his thoughts leaked out and became fodder for many publications to chew over, he lost his job.

The lawsuit, which seeks monetary, non-monetary and punitive remedies, claims: "Googles open hostility for conservative thought is paired with invidious discrimination on the basis of race and gender, barred by law.

"Googles management goes to extreme  and illegal  lengths to encourage hiring managers to take protected categories such as race and/or gender into consideration as determinative hiring factors, to the detriment of Caucasian and male employees and potential employees at Google."

The suit includes numerous screenshots from internal Google communications which appear to show employees supporting intolerance towards certain points of view.

"Google employees and managers strongly preferred to hear the same orthodox opinions regurgitated repeatedly, producing an ideological echo chamber, a protected, distorted bubble of groupthink," the suit claims.

"When Plaintiffs challenged Googles illegal employment practices, they were openly threatened and subjected to harassment and retaliation from Google. Google created an environment of protecting employees who harassed individuals who spoke out against Googles view or the 'Googley way', as it is sometimes known internally.

"Google employees knew they could harass Plaintiffs with impunity, given the tone set by managers  and they did so."

The suit points out that people who disparaged and disagreed with Damore's views were rewarded by the company.

"The Google Recognition Team allowed employees to give fellow employees 'Peer Bonuses' for arguing against Damores political viewpoints. Peer Bonuses were typically reserved for outstanding work performance or for going above and beyond an employees job duties. Defending the liberal agenda, or defending violations of California employment law, is not in any Google employees job description," it said.

This is the second case filed by employees against Google; three women who worked for the company filed a lawsuit in September 2017, claiming that they had been paid less than their male counterparts.

Additionally, the company is facing a Labor Department investigation into alleged systemic pay discrimination. Google denies it indulges in any such discrimination.
By Ruth Andreh:

The Director of Public Prosecutions Mike Chibita has withdrawn murder, Robbery and kidnap charges against former Kampala CPS DPC Aaron Baguma.

However in a withdrawal letter dated 21st/December 2017 presented by state attorney Alex Ojok before High court judge Flavia Anglin Ssenoga, the DPP states no particular reason for discontinuing proceedings against Baguma but only states that the law empowers him to do so.

Consquently Justice Ssenoga has discharged Baguma and fixed the case for hearing on 5th / February in respect of the other 8 accused including the proprietor of Pine car bond Muhammad Ssebuufu.

Today Baguma , Ssebuufu and the group had been expected to plead to charges of kidnapping and murdering a city businesswoman Donah Betty Katushabe in October 2015 over failure to pay a 9 million shillings debt which was balance of a car purchase she had made at Pine car bond .

However Earlier before dropping Baguma from the case , DPPs evidence pointed at him to have neglected his duty as a person in authority who allegedly saw Ssebuufu and the group torturing Katshabe but refused to rescue her .

Meanwhile Katusabes family members expressed disappointment with the DPPs decision promising to push on with the civil case in which they want court to compel Baguma and his co-accsued to compensate them for the loss of their relatives life .
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By Nick Turse | ( Tomdispatch.com) |  

At around 11 oclock that night, four Lockheed MC-130 Combat Talons, turboprop Special Operations aircraft, were flying through a moonless sky from Pakistani into Afghan airspace. On board were 199 Army Rangers with orders to seize an airstrip. One hundred miles to the northeast, Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters cruised through the darkness toward Kandahar, carrying Army Delta Force operators and yet more Rangers, heading for a second site. It was October 19, 2001. The war in Afghanistan had just begun and U.S. Special Operations forces (SOF) were the tip of the American spear.

Those Rangers parachuted into and then swarmed the airfield, engaging the enemy  a single armed fighter, as it turned out  and killing him. At that second site, the residence of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, the special operators apparently encountered no resistance at all, even though several Americans were wounded due to friendly fire and a helicopter crash.

In 2001, U.S. special operators were targeting just two enemy forces: al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In 2010, his first full year in office, President Barack Obama informed Congress that U.S. forces were still actively pursuing and engaging remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. According to a recent Pentagon report to Congress, American troops are battling more than 10 times that number of militant groups, including the still-undefeated Taliban, the Haqqani network, an Islamic State affiliate known as ISIS-Khorasan, and various other insurgent networks.

After more than 16 years of combat, U.S. Special Operations forces remain the tip of the spear in Afghanistan, where they continue to carry out counterterrorism missions. In fact, from June 1st to November 24th last year, according to that Pentagon report, members of Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan conducted 2,175 ground operations in which they enabled or advised Afghan commandos.

During the Obama administration the use of Special Operations forces increased dramatically, as if their use was a sort of magical, all-purpose solution for fighting terrorism, William Hartung, the director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, pointed out. The ensuing years have proven this assumption to be false. There are many impressive, highly skilled personnel involved in special operations on behalf of the United States, but the problems they are being asked to solve often do not have military solutions. Despite this fact, the Trump administration is doubling down on this approach in Afghanistan, even though the strategy has not prevented the spread of terrorist organizations and may in fact be counterproductive.

Global Commandos

Since U.S. commandos went to war in 2001, the size of Special Operations Command has doubled from about 33,000 personnel to 70,000 today. As their numbers have grown, so has their global reach. As TomDispatch revealed last month, they were deployed to 149 nations in 2017, or about 75% of the countries on the planet, a record-setting year. It topped 2016s 138 nations under the Obama administration and dwarfed the numbers from the final years of the Bush administration. As the scope of deployments has expanded, special operators also came to be spread ever more equally across the planet.

In October 2001, Afghanistan was the sole focus of commando combat missions. On March 19, 2003, special operators fired the first shots in the invasion of Iraq as their helicopter teams attacked Iraqi border posts near Jordan and Saudi Arabia. By 2006, as the war in Afghanistan ground on and the conflict in Iraq continued to morph into a raging set of insurgencies, 85% of U.S. commandos were being deployed to the Greater Middle East.

As this decade dawned in 2010, the numbers hadnt changed appreciably: 81% of all special operators abroad were still in that region.

Eight years later, however, the situation is markedly different, according to figures provided to TomDispatch by U.S. Special Operations Command. Despite claims that the Islamic State has been defeated, the U.S. remains embroiled in wars in Iraq and Syria, as well as in Afghanistan and Yemen, yet only 54% of special operators deployed overseas were sent to the Greater Middle East in 2017. In fact, since 2006, deployments have been on the rise across the rest of the world. In Latin America, the figure crept up from 3% to 4.39%. In the Pacific region, from 7% to 7.99%. But the striking increases have been in Europe and Africa.

In 2006, just 3% of all commandos deployed overseas were operating in Europe. Last year, that number was just north of 16%. Outside of Russia and Belarus we train with virtually every country in Europe either bilaterally or through various multinational events, Major Michael Weisman, a spokesman for U.S. Special Operations Command Europe, told TomDispatch. The persistent presence of U.S. SOF alongside our allies sends a clear message of U.S. commitment to our allies and the defense of our NATO alliance. For the past two years, in fact, the U.S. has maintained a Special Operations contingent in almost every nation on Russias western border. As Special Operations Command chief General Raymond Thomas put it last year, [W]eve had persistent presence in every country  every NATO country and others on the border with Russia doing phenomenal things with our allies, helping them prepare for their threats.

Africa, however, has seen the most significant increase in special ops deployments. In 2006, the figure for that continent was just 1%; as 2017 ended, it stood at 16.61%. In other words, more commandos are operating there than in any region except the Middle East. As I recently reported at Vice News, Special Operations forces were active in at least 33 nations across that continent last year.

The situation in one of those nations, Somalia, in many ways mirrors in microcosm the 16-plus years of U.S. operations in Afghanistan. Not long after the 9/11 attacks, a senior Pentagon official suggested that the Afghan invasion might drive militants out of that country and into African nations. Terrorists associated with al-Qaeda and indigenous terrorist groups have been and continue to be a presence in this region, he said. These terrorists will, of course, threaten U.S. personnel and facilities.

When pressed about actual transnational dangers, that official pointed to Somali militants, only to eventually admit that even the most extreme Islamists there really have not engaged in acts of terrorism outside Somalia. Similarly, when questioned about connections between Osama bin Ladens core al-Qaeda group and African extremists, he offered only the most tenuous links, like bin Ladens salute to Somali militants who killed U.S. troops during the infamous 1993 Black Hawk Down incident.

Nonetheless, U.S. commandos reportedly began operating in Somalia in 2001, air attacks by AC-130 gunships followed in 2007, and 2011 saw the beginning of U.S. drone strikes aimed at militants from al-Shabaab, a terror group that didnt even exist until 2006. According to figures compiled by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the U.S. carried out between 32 and 36 drone strikes and at least 9 to 13 ground attacks in Somalia between 2001 and 2016.

Last spring, President Donald Trump loosened Obama-era restrictions on offensive operations in that country. Allowing U.S. forces more discretion in conducting missions there, he opened up the possibility of more frequent airstrikes and commando raids. The 2017 numbers reflect just that. The U.S. carried out 34 drone strikes, at least equaling if not exceeding the cumulative number of attacks over the previous 15 years. (And it took the United States only a day to resume such strikes this year.)

President Trumps decision to make parts of southern Somalia an area of active hostilities gave [U.S. Africa Command or AFRICOM] the leeway to carry out strikes at an increased rate because it no longer had to run their proposed operations through the White House national security bureaucratic process, said Jack Serle, an expert on U.S. counterterrorism operations in Somalia. He was quick to point out that AFRICOM claims the uptick in operations is due to more targets presenting themselves, but he suspects that AFRICOM may be attempting to cripple al-Shabaab before an African Union peacekeeping force is withdrawn and Somalias untested military is left to fight the militants without thousands of additional African troops.

In addition to the 30-plus airstrikes in 2017, there were at least three U.S. ground attacks. In one of the latter, described by AFRICOM as an advise-and-assist operation alongside members of the Somali National Army, Navy SEAL Kyle Milliken was killed and two U.S. personnel were injured during a firefight with al-Shabaab militants. In another ground operation in August, according to an investigation by the Daily Beast, Special Operations forces took part in a massacre of 10 Somali civilians. (The U.S. military is now investigating.)

As in Afghanistan, the U.S. has been militarily engaged in Somalia since 2001 and, as in Afghanistan, despite more than a decade and a half of operations, the number of militant groups being targeted has only increased. U.S. commandos are now battling at least two terror groups  al-Shabaab and a local Islamic State affiliate  as drone strikes spiked in the last year and Somalia became an ever-hotter war zone. Today, according to AFRICOM, militants operate training camps and possess safe havens throughout Somalia [and] the region.

The under-reported, 16-year U.S. intervention in Somalia has followed a similar pattern to the larger U.S. war in Afghanistan: an influx of special forces and a steady increase in air strikes has not only failed to stop terrorism, but both al-Shabaab and a local affiliate of ISIS have grown during this time period, said William Hartung of the Center for International Policy. Its another case of failing to learn the lessons of the United States policy of endless war: that military action is as likely or more likely to spark terrorist action as to reduce or prevent it.

Somalia is no anomaly. Across the continent, despite escalating operations by commandos as well as conventional American forces and their local allies and proxies, Washingtons enemies continue to proliferate. As Vice News reported, a 2012 Special Operations Command strategic planning document listed five prime terror groups on the continent. An October 2016 update counted seven by name  the Islamic State, Ansar al-Sharia, al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, al-Murabitun, Boko Haram, the Lords Resistance Army, and al-Shabaab  in addition to other violent extremist organizations. The Pentagons Africa Center for Strategic Studies now offers a tally of 21 active militant Islamist groups on the continent. In fact, as reported at The Intercept, the full number of terrorist organizations and other illicit groups may already have been closer to 50 by 2015.

Saving SOF through Proxy War?

As wars and interventions have multiplied, as U.S. commandos have spread across the planet, and as terror groups have proliferated, the tempo of operations has jumped dramatically. This, in turn, has raised fears among think-tank experts, special ops supporters, and members of Congress about the effects on those elite troops of such constant deployments and growing pressure for more of them. Most SOF units are employed to their sustainable limit, General Thomas told members of Congress last spring. Despite growing demand for SOF, we must prioritize the sourcing of these demands as we face a rapidly changing security environment. Yet the number of countries with special ops deployments hit a new record last year.

At a November 2017 conference on special operations held in Washington, influential members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees acknowledged growing strains on the force. For Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the solution is, as he put it, to increase numbers and resources.

While Republican Senator Joni Ernst did not foreclose the possibility of adding to already war-swollen levels of commandos, she much prefers to farm out some operations to other forces: A lot of the missions we see, especially if you look at Afghanistan, where we have the train, advise, and assist missions, if we can move some of those into conventional forces and away from SOF, I think thats what we need to do. Secretary of Defense James Mattis has already indicated that such moves are planned. Leigh Claffey, Ernsts press secretary, told TomDispatch that the senator also favors turning over operations to capable indigenous forces.

Ernsts proxies approach has, in fact, already been applied across the planet, perhaps nowhere more explicitly than in Syria in 2017. There, SOCOMs Thomas noted, U.S. proxies, including both Syrian Arabs and Kurds, a surrogate force of 50,000 people are working for us and doing our bidding. They were indeed the ones who carried out the bulk of the fighting and dying during the campaign against the Islamic State and the capture of its capital, Raqqa.

However, that campaign, which took back almost all the territory ISIS held in Syria, was exceptional. U.S. proxies elsewhere have fared far worse in recent years. That 50,000-strong Syrian surrogate army had to be raised, in fact, after the U.S.-trained Iraqi army, built during the 2003-2011 American occupation of that country, collapsed in the face of relatively small numbers of Islamic State militants in 2014. In Mali, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Honduras, and elsewhere, U.S.-trained officers have carried out coups, overthrowing their respective governments. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, where special ops forces have been working with local allies for more than 15 years, even elite security forces are still largely incapable of operating on their own. According to the Pentagons 2017 semi-annual report to Congress, Afghan commandos needed U.S. support for an overwhelming number of their missions, independently carrying out only 17% of their 2,628 operations between June 1, 2017, and November 24, 2017.

Indeed, with Special Operations forces acting, in the words of SOCOMs Thomas, as the main effort, or major supporting effort for U.S. [violent extremist organization]-focused operations in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, across the Sahel of Africa, the Philippines, and Central/South America, its unlikely that foreign proxies or conventional American forces will shoulder enough of the load to relieve the strain on the commandos.

Bulking up Special Operations Command is not, however, a solution, according to the Center for International Policys Hartung. There is no persuasive security rationale for having U.S. Special Operations forces involved in an astonishing 149 countries, given that the results of these missions are just as likely to provoke greater conflict as they are to reduce it, in large part because a U.S. military presence is too often used as a recruiting tool by local terrorist organizations, he told TomDispatch. The solution to the problem of the high operational tempo of U.S. Special Operations forces is not to recruit and train more Special Operations forces. It is to rethink why they are being used so intensively in the first place.

Nick Turse is the managing editor of TomDispatch, a fellow at the Nation Institute, and a contributing writer for the Intercept. His website is NickTurse.com.

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Alfred McCoys In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power, as well as John Dowers The Violent American Century: War and Terror Since World War II, John Feffers dystopian novel Splinterlands, Nick Turses Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardts Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Copyright 2018 Nick Turse
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Middle East Monitor |  

A recording emerged yesterday of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus son Yair boasting that his father had set up a $20 billion business deal for businessman and gas tycoon Kobi Maimon.

Published by the Israel Television News Company, the report has stirred renewed controversy at a time when Netanyahu is being investigated on allegations of corruption.

The recording dates back to 2015 when, during a night out, Yair Netanyahu and his friends were reportedly ferried from one strip club to another by Netanyahus government-provided security.

Bro, you got to spot me. My dad made an awesome deal for your dad, bro, he fought, fought in the Knesset for this, Yair can be heard saying in Hebrew. My dad set up $20 billion for your dad, and youre fighting with me about 400 shekels ($115)?

The 26-year-old later reveals on the recording that the 400 shekels was for a prostitute and can be heard suggesting that he arrange a meeting for his friends, adding that he took down a strippers phone number.

After a lawyer for the Netanyahu family demanded that the Israel Television News Company not air the tape again, Yair responded to the recording in an official statement last night.

Tonight I watched a disgraceful, yellow-press report that presented illegal recordings of a conversation that took place two and a half years ago. In a night conversation, under the influence of alcohol, I spoke nonsense about women and other things that were better left unsaid, the response read.

In addition, the things I said to Maimon were a dumb joke and joking around with him, as anyone could tell. I never took an interest in the natural-gas framework agreement and never had any idea about its details, he concluded.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under investigation in a number of cases including one dubbed Case 2000 which sees him face allegations of negotiating a deal for more favourable media coverage with Arnon Mozes, publisher of popular Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

After grilling Netanyahu six times, last month Israel Police also announced that Case 1000, in which the prime minister is accused of receiving bribes from prominent businessmen, had been strengthened by the testimony of Australian billionaire James Packer.

Packers Israeli liaison Roman Abramov is also believed to have been among the group of Yairs friends in the recording.

Yair has attained a reputation for crass and offensive behaviour and is currently involved in a lawsuit against left-wing think tank Molad for libel. After being rebuked for arriving 45 minutes late to arbitration meeting with representatives of the organisation last week, he reportedly cursed Molad staff and walked out.

He has also been criticised for his activity on social media, after he posted a status deriding American left-wing groups as more dangerous that neo-Nazis, less than a week after the white supremacist terrorist attack in Charlottesville last summer, which left one person dead.

He came under fire again a month later after he posted an anti-Semitic caricature suggesting a conspiracy was behind his familys growing legal issues. The image was shared by former leader of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke and neo-Nazi news websites.

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Via Middle East Monitor
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

Irans clerical leader, Ali Khamenei, gave a speech in Qom on Tuesday, in which he warned Donald Trump that his crazy games would not go without a response. Western news outlets such as the NYT tried to represent this speech as a threat, and some outlets translated crazy as psychotic in search of hyperbole. As usual, if an unfriendly government warns Washington not to interfere in its affairs, that is interpreted as an aggressive threat against Washington.

Iran is awaiting a decision from the Trump administration on sanctions that could destroy the JCPOA or nuclear deal. American hardliners have called for ratcheting up sanctions on Iran, instead of, as the deal requires, reducing them.

Khamenei said that recent events were the result of the anger and sense of defeat among American officials. He denied that the Iranian government was panicked, and noted that it had been cool-headed enough to kick the US out of Iran and then more recently to kick it out of the Middle East.

He said that the American leader (Trump) is admitted by the Americans themselves to be unbalanced psychologically, and warned that his crazy games would not go without a reply. He said that if the US again tried to interfere in Iran, it would fail again.

He also said Americans had no standing to criticize Iran for repressing violent protests, given that US police killed 800 people last year. (Actually many of the protests in Iran were not violent, and actually two wrongs dont make a right).

Over twenty Iranian protesters were killed in the past few weeks and hundreds or perhaps thousands were arrested.

Khamenei said that the US analysis of Iran as an oppressive government is wrong and that the Islamic Republic derives from the people of Iran themselves. (If he is now admitting the principle of poplar sovereignty, then he should stop excluding liberal candidates from running and let the people decide).

He dismissed the violent protesters in recent weeks as saboteurs and tools of the devil and foreign agents, speaking of a conflict between the nation and the anti-nation, Iran and anti-Iran, and Islam and anti-Islam, which he said was destined to continue. It is striking how close this diction is to that of ancient Zoroastrian Iran, where people spoke of Iran and non-Iran in a dualistic way. He blamed the United States and the UK for their steadfast opposition to the Islamic Republic and ridiculed counter-revolutionary Iranians resident in London.

Despite beginning with this dismissive tone, he took a leaf from elected President Hassan Rouhanis book, going on to say that a firm distinction must be made between the legitimate demands of peaceful protesters and the mindless destruction of others, and that the demands of the former must be taken seriously. It was a small (very small) olive branch to the protesters from the head of the hard line faction.

He accused the more hooligan-like protesters of cursing Islam and the Quran and of burning the Iranian flag. You wonder if hes giving away more than he realizes.

He blamed the protests on 1) the US and Israel, 2) Saudi Arabia, and ) the Mojahedin-e Khalq or MEK cult, which has cooperated with Saddam Hussein and the American right wing in hopes of overthrowing the current government and implementing their vision of Islamic Marxism.

Needless to say, crowds protesting the price of eggs in Quchan had nothing to do with any of these, and Khamenei is just slandering the protesters.



Related video:

Al Jazeera English: Irans supreme leader vows response for unrest
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TeleSur |  

Steve Bannon resigned as chief executive of Breitbart News, the right-leaning website said on Tuesday

The resignation occurred after the former White House ex-strategist was attacked by President Donald Trump for criticizing his eldest son.

Bannon, who was fired from the White House in August, was quoted in the book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by journalist Michael Wolff, saying that a meeting in 2016 with a group of Russians  which attended Donald Trump Jr. and the main campaign advisers of the now-president was treacherous and unpatriotic.

The comments provoked a furious response from President Trump, who said that Bannon had lost his mind.

Bannon, long considered a close ally of the President, joined the Trump crusade and helped the newcomer beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential contest.

Losing his position in Breitbart threatens Bannons dream of leading a new political movement that challenges the Republican leadership and boosts his United States First agenda, a further right shift of the Republican platform that many have criticized for its links to white supremacists groups.

After the disclosure of his statements, he found himself isolated from his former political allies. His financial supporters turned their backs on him. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said last week that Breitbart should fire him.

Via TeleSur

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

Euronews: Ex-Trump aide Stephen Bannon steps down from Breitbart News  company CEO
THUNDER BAY, ON, Jan. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED ("Premier" or "The Company") (TSX:PG) is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a Nevada-focused exploration and development agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation, through several wholly-owned subsidiaries ("Barrick"), that includes the following:

Barrick will have an option to earn a 60% interest in the exploration portion of Premier's McCoy-Cove Property (the "Joint Venture Property") by spending US$22.5 Million in exploration before June 30, 2022 (See Figure 1).

Premier will retain 100% ownership over the Cove Deposit portion of the McCoy-Cove Property that includes the high-grade Helen, 2201 and CSD/CSD Gap Deposits.

Premier will secure a one-time bulk sample processing arrangement for the planned test-mining program at its 100%-owned portion of the McCoy-Cove Property.

Premier will have an option to acquire a 100% interest in Barrick's Rye Vein Property ("Rye"), subject to a back-in right by Barrick, by spending US$3.0 Million in exploration before December 31, 2019. The Rye Property adjoins Premier's Goldbanks Property option.

"Consistent with Premier's strategy to secure accretive partnerships, this arrangement will broaden our already positive working relationship with Barrick in Nevada and provides certainty in processing a one-time bulk sample of underground ore from the upcoming development and test-mining program of the Cove deposit," stated Ewan Downie, President and CEO of Premier on the Company's C-Suite Blog (http://www.premiergoldmines.com/news/c-suite-blog). "The agreement with Barrick will expand and accelerate the regional exploration at McCoy-Cove while Premier retains full ownership of the core deposit. Our option to earn a 100% interest in the Rye Project, provides exposure to one of the highest potential epithermal vein projects in a world-class mining jurisdiction."

McCoy-Cove Exploration Earn-In and Option

Under the terms of the agreement, Barrick will hold an option to earn a 60% interest in the Joint Venture Property subject to the following:

A firm commitment to spend US$6.0 Million in exploration prior to June 30, 2019 with Premier as Operator at the direction of a Steering Committee, following which Barrick will have the option to become the Operator

An additional required spend of US$16.5 Million in exploration on the Property prior to June 30, 2022 with Barrick as Operator

Following completion of Barrick's 60% earn-in, funding for the Joint Venture Property will be on a proportionate basis. Barrick will hold a right of first refusal over the "Cove Deposit" until the earliest of 5.5 years or one year following the completion of the earn-in on the Joint Venture Property

The Joint Venture Property will exclude the "Cove Deposit" portion of the McCoy-Cove Property which will be retained solely by Premier (see Figure 1)

Premier will retain the right to use the Joint Venture Property for milling, tailings and other ancillary facilities related to the retained property, subject to the priority of the Joint Venture Property requirements once Barrick completes its Earn-in obligation, but in each case subject to a reasonable site plan that is mutually approved by the Joint Venture Property and Premier Gold.

Exploration on the Joint Venture Property is expected to begin early in 2018 and will include detailed surface mapping and sampling followed by drilling to test several prospective targets.

Bulk Sample Toll Milling Processing Agreement

Barrick will process, at a pre-arranged price, up to 120,000 tons of refractory ore (at a campaign or blended basis at Barrick's option). Efforts will be made to ensure the most efficient and economical return.

The processing agreement will provide certainty for Premier to proceed with its planned underground development program that will include the construction of a ramp for definition drilling and potential test-mining prior to completing a full feasibility study. Premier anticipates that underground development will commence in H1-2018.

In addition, the parties will work cooperatively to conclude a long-term processing arrangement for ore delivered to Barrick's processing facility from production arising from the Cove Deposit and the production from any joint venture formed pursuant to the Earn-in and Option Agreement.

Rye Vein Property

Premier has the right to acquire a 100% interest in Barrick's Rye Vein Property ("Rye") subject to the following terms:

Premier will perform a minimum of US$3.0 Million in expenditures on Rye before December 31, 2019

Barrick will retain a 1.0% Net Smelter Return Royalty ("NSR") on Rye where there is no existing royalty

Barrick will retain a back-in right to purchase a 51% interest in Rye in return for a cash payment to Premier equal to three times Premier's cumulative work expenditures within 90 days following Premier announcing a reserve and/or resource of 2.5 million ounces of gold or gold equivalent or greater (the "Threshold Resource"). In the event Barrick exercises its back-in right, Barrick's NSR shall be terminated

In the event that Premier elects to bring the project to production prior to meeting the Threshold Resource, Premier will pay to Barrick lump sum cash payments as follows: Upon commencement of commercial production, US$10 per ounce for reserve ounces based on the most current NI 43-101 report available, subject to a maximum of US$10 Million Upon production of 1.0 million ounces of gold or gold equivalent, an additional payment of US$10 Million Upon production of 1.5 million ounces of gold or gold equivalent, an additional payment of US$5 Million Upon production of 2.0 million ounces of gold or gold equivalent, an additional payment of US$5 Million



Rye is located in the East Range, approximately 50 kilometres south of Winnemucca, Pershing County, Nevada. Rye is a gold-bearing, low-sulfidation epithermal vein system with the potential to host "bonanza-grade" gold mineralization.

Numerous low-sulfidation epithermal veins are present in the area, including on the adjoining Goldbanks Property where Premier currently holds an option to acquire a 50% interest from Kinross Gold Corp. The Rye vein is the largest known vein of this type in the district having been traced on surface over a strike length of more than 2.5 kilometres with mapped widths of up to 30 metres (100 feet). Previous shallow drilling having returned numerous significant intercepts with gold grades of up to 139.2 g/t or 4.06 ounces per ton. Figure 2 represents a section displaying previous holes drilled to test the Rye vein system and the potential at depth. Premier expects to begin exploration at Rye in Q1-2018.

"The Rye Vein Property augments Premier's asset portfolio with a potentially high reward opportunity," stated Charlie Ronkos, Executive Vice-President of Premier.

Schendel/Nevada Sunrise Properties

Premier has signed agreements to acquire properties from Kurt Schendel and Nevada Sunrise adjoining the Goldbanks and Rye properties. These acquisitions complete the consolidation of the core part of a district that hosts one of the most extensive epithermal vein systems in North America. Both the Schendel and Nevada Sunrise properties have been offered to Kinross to be incorporated into the Goldbanks joint venture.

All abbreviations used in this press release are available by following this link (click here).

Stephen McGibbon, P. Geo., is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.

Premier Gold Mines Limited is a gold producer and respected exploration and development company with a high-quality pipeline of precious metal projects in proven, accessible and safe mining jurisdictions in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Premier's team is focused on creating a low-cost, mid-tier gold producer through its two producing gold mines; and two advanced multi-million ounce development projects where permitting and pre-construction initiatives are in progress.
TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - January 10, 2018) - BRIO GOLD INC. (TSX: BRIO) ("BRIO GOLD" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive results from its recently completed drill program at its Riacho dos Machados ("RDM") mine, which includes 9.4 metres of 12.04 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 5.2 metres of 12.02 g/t gold (true thickness), both within wider high-grade zones of 24.0 metres of 5.41 g/t and 18.0 metres of 4.96 g/t, respectively. The program also extended the open pit resource down dip, with higher than average mine grade intercepts that verify the geologic model of resource continuity consistent with greenstone belt deposits typical in Brazil.

The drilling program achieved four resource objectives: 1) To expand the Mineral Reserves of the existing planned life-of-mine (LOM) pit. 2) To demonstrate the continuity of mineralization down-dip from the current LOM pit into areas that were previously underexplored. 3) To develop a high-grade Mineral Resource near the pit bottom that extends to depth. 4) To test these wide high-grade zones for underground mining potential. This potential may allow for supplemental gold production within the capacity of the existing plant, by supplanting some lower grade open pit tons with high grade underground production in the LOM plan.

All drilling data will be incorporated into an updated Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimate. The updated Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimate is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

The exploration program completed in 2017 at the RDM mine consisted of a total of 3,365 meters of core drilling contained within 11 resource holes intended to extend the mineralization down-dip (see Appendix A for a drill hole location map). The new resource holes were generally 100-meter step outs to the previous drill locations. All intercepts are consistent with the down-dip projection of the mineralized zones encountered in the current open-pit mining operation. Higher-grade mineralization is focused along southeast plunging mineralized zones or "shoots", within the plane of the tabular mineralized zone. See Appendix B for representative cross sections. See Appendix C for a grade thickness map and an interpretation of the higher-grade zones, which demonstrates higher intensity at depth. A summary of significant intercepts is provided below.

Drill Hole From To Length (m) Gold Grade (g/t) FRM331 296.2 311.6 15.4 0.70 FRM331 326.5 329.0 2.5 0.80 FRM332 260.7 266.0 5.3 0.89 FRM332* 280.0 304.0 24.0 5.41 Includes* 281.7 291.0 9.4 12.05 FRM333 373.2 376.0 2.8 2.02 FRM333* 391.0 409.0 18.0 4.96 Includes* 394.9 400.3 5.4 12.02 FRM334 252.0 257.0 5.0 0.89 FRM334 279.0 286.0 7.0 2.23 FRM335 258.7 262.0 3.3 1.99 FRM335 275.0 286.6 11.6 0.81 FRM336 87.0 91.1 4.1 0.58 FRM337 111.4 114.5 3.1 0.60 FRM338 247.0 252.0 5.0 1.38 FRM338 261.0 266.0 5.0 0.68 FRM338 292.0 305.4 13.4 1.03 Includes* 292.0 295.0 3.0 3.51 FRM339 347.5 358.0 10.5 0.75 includes 347.5 351.1 3.6 1.44 FRM340* 353.9 357.3 3.4 3.76 FRM341 247.5 267.0 19.5 1.04 Includes* 254.50 258.10 3.60 3.73

* Denotes highlighted intercepts. Note: intercepts lengths are approximately true thickness.

The Company is planning additional drilling with the objective of continuing to expand the high-grade horizons down plunge and along strike. In addition, Brio Gold intends to further advance RDM by completing a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the viability of an underground operation supplementing the existing open pit mine production. The objective of the PEA will be to determine if the RDM Underground Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Mineral Resources have the potential for economic extraction, and warrant more detailed and specific analysis. This study would also evaluate the most optimum LOM open pit if the operation was to include an underground contribution.

RDM Project Update

The water storage facility at the RDM mine was completed on time and on budget in early 2017. With the start of the rainy season in November 2017, the reservoir is now building large water reserve volumes. Given the current stored volume and the rain forecast over the remainder of the rainy season, the Company expects storage of more than enough water for a full production year in 2018 and beyond.

The installation of the main powerline and substations, which will connect RDM to the power grid and replace the diesel power generators, remains on track for commissioning in the second quarter of 2018. Following the completion of the power line and additional minor modifications to the crushing circuit, the plant throughput is expected to increase from its current run rate of 7,000 tonnes per day to 9,000 tonnes per day. Cash costs are expected to substantially decrease as a result of significantly lower energy cost and economies of scale.

Sample Handling and Quality Control

Brio conducted its drill hole sampling and analysis in accordance with best practice protocols using industry-standard methods. All analytical work is conducted using a Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) program. Samples were picked up from the mine site and transported to an independent, certified commercial laboratory, ALS Brasil Ltda., a division of ALS Global, with sample preparation in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and fire assays at their Lima, Peru facility. Sample preparation and fire assays were conducted with laboratory standard protocols. Brio's complete analytical QAQC program, included the routine use of standards, blanks, and duplicates, applied to all samples analyzed by ALS Laboratories. Duplicate checks were conducted on a regular basis by a second independent commercial laboratory located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Qualified Persons

Mr. Mark G. Stevens, Registered Geologist and C.P.G, is Vice-President, Exploration for Brio Gold and provided executive assistance during the drilling campaign and subsequently reviewed and confirmed the technical information contained in this press release. Mr. Stevens is a Qualified Person as defined in Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and confirms that to his knowledge all information contained in the press release is accurate and reliable.

About Brio Gold

Brio Gold is a new Canadian mining company with significant gold producing, development and exploration stage properties in Brazil. Brio Gold's portfolio includes three operating gold mines and a fully-permitted, fully-constructed mine that was on care and maintenance and currently is in development to be re-started at the end of 2018. Brio Gold produced approximately 190,000 ounces of gold in 2016 and at full run-rate expects annual production to be approximately 400,000 ounces of gold.

Drill Hole Location Map




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan. 10, 2018) - Lundin Gold Inc. ("Lundin Gold" or the "Company") (TSX:LUG) (OMX:LUG) is pleased to announce that soft tunneling was completed in December 2017 and mine development is now into hard rock at its Fruta del Norte gold project ("Fruta del Norte" or the "Project") in Ecuador.

Further Highlights

Award of all major process plant equipment packages

Mobile equipment packages, including underground mine scoop trams and haul trucks, have been awarded

Process plant excavation is progressing ahead of schedule

1,000-person construction camp is nearing completion

Approval of powerline Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA")

"Tunneling through soft clay was a significant risk factor to underground mine development due to the potential for ground failure. We were able to get through this challenging task, and the mine development is now advancing at a quicker pace," said Ron Hochstein, President and CEO of Lundin Gold. "We are also ramping up other major projects, including the process plant and powerline."

Mine Development

The Company transitioned from soft tunneling to hard rock tunneling in December 2017, working through 77 metres of saprolite (soft clay) in the first decline and 69 metres in the second. Drilling and blasting in hard rock commenced on December 7th in the first decline and December 17th in the second, and currently the advance in hard rock reached 100 metres and 78 metres, in the first and second declines, respectively.

Process Plant Equipment Procurement

In October 2017, Lundin Gold awarded the long-lead time grinding equipment packages, including the SAG and ball mills (complete with motors) and the flotation and filtration packages to Outotec Chile S.A.

The gravity mill, CIL and detox tanks, and ADR plant and gold room packages were recently awarded to FLSmidth USA Inc. TelSmith Inc. will provide the crushing packages for both the process plant and aggregate quarry crushers. ABB Inc. has been awarded switchgear and substation equipment and transformers packages.

Mobile Equipment

Most of the mobile mine equipment orders have been placed. Importadora Industrial Agricola S.A./Caterpillar will provide the underground mine scoop trams and trucks, as well as the surface earthworks and quarry equipment. Orders for the mine jumbos and bolters are expected to be awarded this quarter.

Powerline

The EIA for the powerline received final approval at the end of 2017. Easement agreements have been reached with 91% of affected landholders, and the Company expects the remaining easements to be obtained this quarter. Detailed engineering and procurement is well underway, and the engineering, procurement and construction contractor is on track to begin building the powerline this quarter.

Major Earthworks

Regardless of difficult ground conditions, site earthworks are on schedule. Earthworks on the process plant is 13% complete with concrete mill foundations planned to start this quarter.

The North Access Road is progressing well, and 32% of the road has been built. A second earthworks contractor was mobilized at El Pindal, where the North Access Road will link to the national highway system. Approximately six kilometres needs to be built to connect the North Access Road from either side.

Construction Camp

All other construction disciplines are actively working on the 1,000-person construction camp which is nearing completion, with over 60% of the units currently available for occupancy. Combined with the existing camp, there are more than 1,200 beds available. During the last month, approximately 800 people were at site, including contractors.

About Lundin Gold

Lundin Gold, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is developing its wholly-owned Fruta del Norte gold project in southeast Ecuador. Fruta del Norte is one of the highest-grade and largest gold projects currently under construction. The Company's board and management team have extensive expertise in mine construction and operations, and are dedicated to advancing this project through to first gold production in 2019.

The Company operates with transparency and in accordance with international best practices. Lundin Gold is committed to delivering value to its shareholders, while simultaneously providing economic and social benefits to impacted communities, fostering a healthy and safe workplace and minimizing the environmental impact. The Company believes that the value created through the development of Fruta del Norte will benefit its shareholders, the Government and the people of Ecuador.

This press release has been reviewed and approved by Ron Hochstein, P. Eng., a metallurgical engineer and the Company's President and CEO, who is a Qualified Person under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.
TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - First Cobalt Corp. (TSX-V: FCC, ASX: FCC, OTCQB: FTSSF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce positive assay results from two holes intersecting cobalt mineralization on two separate veins in the Woods Extension area of the Cobalt Camp, Ontario. One intersection occurs along strike of the Watson vein and the other is likely a new vein between the Woods and Watson veins. These intercepts, in conjunction with previous results from this area, suggest a broad deformation zone of mineralization may exist between the Woods and Watson veins.

Highlights

0.57% Co and 1.40% Ni over 0.40m in hole KF-WV-0003 on a new vein between the Woods and Watson veins

in hole KF-WV-0003 on a new vein between the Woods and Watson veins 0.34% Co over 0.40m in hole KF-WV-0007 in the Woods Extension Area representing a possible extension of the Watson vein system

Several carbonate veins have now been intersected in the Woods Extension area to the north of the Keeley-Frontier mine, suggesting a broad deformation zone of mineralization may exist rather than discrete individual veins

Trent Mell, President & Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Drill results from Woods Extension continue to prove exciting during these early days of our Cobalt Camp drilling. All drill holes in this area have hit meaningful values of cobalt or other metals and the mineralization is open along strike northward. It is noteworthy that cobalt mineralization has been intersected to the north and south of the historic Keeley and Frontier mines, where the focus was silver mineralization."

Possible Deformation Zone at Woods Extension Area

The Woods and Watson veins accounted for over 80% of the production in the southern end of the Cobalt Camp area known as Silver Centre. The veins were previously believed to have ended at an east-west fault. Assays in this area, however, show the vein system extends northward beyond the historic mine workings, in an area previously unexplored (Figure 1).

Nine drill holes were completed at the Woods Extension area to the north of the Frontier mine to test the possible extension of the Woods and Watson veins. Assay results have been received from seven drill holes. Calcite veins have been intersected in most holes and five holes returned anomalous cobalt (>0.05% Co). A number of samples from these five drill holes have also returned anomalous silver (>10 g/t) as well as other metals Cu, Zn and Pb, which may represent a broad zone of mineralization rather than discrete individual veins. The lower grade of silver mineralization may explain the lack of mine development to the north of the historic Frontier mine, but this area remains prospective for cobalt mineralization.

Hole KF-WV-0003 intersects a calcite vein containing cobalt occurring between the Woods and Watson Veins (Figure 2), including 0.57% Co and 1.4% Ni over 0.4m. The higher grade nickel is noteworthy as this has not been described previously in this area. Elevated nickel is commonly associated with cobalt-silver mineralization elsewhere in the Cobalt Camp suggesting this vein may be part of a network developed in a broad deformation zone between these two major veins.

Early results from hole KF-WV-0002, which is collared at the same station as KF-WV-0003, were reported November 2, 2017. Further interpretation of KF-WV-0002 indicate an intersection of the Woods Vein at 111.9m, where cobalt was assayed above (>0.05% Co) and below (0.03% Co) historic mine workings, thereby providing support to the view that KF-WV-0003 encountered a new vein.

KF-WV-0007 to the north KF-WV-0003, returned 0.34% Co over 0.4 metres (Figure 3). Hole KF-WV-0008, which was reported November 2, 2017, is collared from the same station as KF-WV-0007 and contains 0.83% Co and 30 g/t Ag over 0.48 metres. These two intersections are believed to be part of the Watson Vein. Multiple holes were collared from the same drill station in many locations during this program to determine the dip of the major veins within the Keeley-Frontier mines. Although only a few intersections are now interpreted in this area, the Watson vein does appear to bend around mafic and felsic dykes, therefore could easily have been missed by mining along a single narrow drift.

Potential for further mineralization north of the Keeley-Frontier mine remains high.

Table 1. Assay Results Summary

From To Length Co Ag Ni Cu Zn Pb Hole ID Vein m m m % g/t % % % % KF-WV-0003 new 107.1 107.5 0.4 0.57 2 1.40 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 KF-WV-0007 Watson 38.5 38.9 0.4 0.34 3 0.01 <0.01 <0.01 <0.01

The strike extension and dip orientation of the Woods and Watson veins had been assumed from the location of the mine workings prior to drilling. Based on logging of these nine holes and the current assay results, several carbonate veins have been intersected suggesting either a broad deformation zone, where a cluster of cobalt veins have developed or that the Woods and Watson Veins are not linear as historical records indicate.

Other Targets

First Cobalt has completed 61 holes in its maiden drill campaign in the Ontario Cobalt Camp. The initial diamond drilling program was designed to test vein sets mapped in outcrop in ten areas known to be cobalt-rich over a two kilometre strike length encompassing the past producing Keeley, Frontier, Haileybury and Bellellen mines.

First Cobalt previously reported assay results confirming the presence of three cobalt bearing veins to the southwest of the Keeley mine. Drill hole KF-KD-0005, reported December 19, 2017, intersected three different cobalt veins including 0.12% Co over 5.50m in the Woods vein, >1.00% Co over 0.42m, pending over-range assays, in the KeeleyCo#1 vein and 0.60% Co over 0.38m in the KeeleyCo#2 vein. KeeleyCo#1 and KeeleyCo#2 veins are interpreted as parallel structures to the Woods vein. Zinc and lead intersected as part of a hydrothermal halo around the vein systems provides another example of previously unknown metal zoning now seen elsewhere in the Cobalt Camp.

At Frontier 1, results from five of nine holes included a previously reported new silver-bearing vein grading 27.75 g/t Ag and 0.10% Cu over 9.53 metres, as reported November 2, 2017. Assay results from other holes along the Frontier 1 vein encountered anomalous cobalt (>0.05%) and results from the other drill holes are pending.

For a table of drill hole locations and assay results to date, visit https://firstcobalt.com/projects/greater-cobalt-project.

Next Steps

Additional drilling has been planned in the Woods Extension area following the program at Bellellen due to commence shortly. Borehole electromagnetic (EM) geophysical surveys were not possible in most holes in the Woods Extension area due to open historic mine workings and some collapsed holes. Ground EM survey tests are being considered.

The 2017 drill program was designed to test structures to learn more about vein orientations and determine the grades in the host rocks to known Ag-Co calcite veins and in the veins themselves. 2017 surface sampling results from Drummond, Juno and Silver Banner mines in Cobalt North, the Caswell mine in Cobalt Central and the Bellellen mine in Cobalt South, together with 2017 drilling assays have been integrated into First Cobalt's geological model to plan the 2018 drill program.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

First Cobalt has implemented a quality-control program to comply with common industry best practices for sampling and analyses. Samples are collected from drill core from a range of 30 to 100cm length. Half-core samples are submitted for analyses. Standards and blanks are inserted every 20 samples. Duplicates are made from quarter core splits every 20 samples. Geochemical data were received from AGAT Laboratories in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. No QA/QC issues have been noted. AGAT Laboratories has used a sodium-peroxide fusion and ICP finish for analyses on all samples.

Anomalous cobalt is defined as >0.05% which reflects over 10 times values above average mafic volcanic rock and diabase within the Keeley-Frontier mine area. Silver values in these rocks are typically below detection limits (1 gram per tonne), so a value of 10 gpt is considered here to represent an anomalous threshold.

Qualified and Competent Person Statement

Dr. Frank Santaguida, P.Geo., is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. Dr. Santaguida is also a Competent Person (as defined in the JORC Code, 2012 edition) who is a practicing member of the Association of Professional Geologists of Ontario (being a 'Recognised Professional Organisation' for the purposes of the ASX Listing Rules). Dr. Santaguida is employed on a full-time basis as Vice President, Exploration for First Cobalt. He has sufficient experience that is relevant to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code.
September 1, 2021 - TheNewswire - Vancouver, British Columbia - Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSXV:HPY) (OTC:HPYCF) (Happy Creek or the Company) announces the intention to raise up to C$250,000 by way of a non-brokered private placement of up to 5,000,000 common shares at a price of C$0.05 per common... Read More
286 Shares Share

Recently, pharmacy giant CVS agreed to purchase Aetna for an astounding $69 billion dollar sum. The company allegedly plans to reduce health spending by developing an integrated system touted as a new front door for health care in America. This merger is actually an acquisition, entailing transfer of ownership. The central aim of an acquisition is to increase market share, expand the scope of services provided, and improve financial stability. CVS hit the jackpot on all three objectives. While Wall Street investors celebrate, many of us knowledgeable in the delivery of health care services are wondering who will bear the responsibility for the patients harmed by this experiment?

Aetna has compiled vast amounts of data from 22 million health plan members. CVS provides pharmacy benefits management to nearly 90 million consumers. Together, with 10,000 stores and 1,100-minute clinics already in the CVS network, this acquisition will create a Walmart for health care. Applying bulk-purchase business strategies to the sale of merchandise is one thing, while providing health care services by trial and error to human beings is another matter entirely. Bypassing physicians to deliver health care by protocol categorically jeopardizes patient safety.

Executives at Aetna-CVS plan to utilize pharmacists and nurses in the evaluation of acute illness and management of chronic disease. If an insurer, drugstore, and pharmacy benefit manager unite as one, it will usher in an era of medical segregation, with segregation defined as the isolation or separation of a race, class, or group by enforced or voluntary restriction, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means.

CVS-Aetna executives are hypothesizing these clinicians working independently can provide separate but equal health care services at a lower cost than physicians. There is no scientific evidence their assertion is true or even possible. Their innovative business model will be, in a word, an experiment on citizens of this nation. In Brown v. The Board of Education in 1954, the Supreme Court already ruled unanimously separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and are in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment equal protection clause (no state  shall deny to any person  the equal protection of the laws.) Why is separate but equal acceptable for health care? It is not.

For example, recently, a mother brought in her 18-month-old with a fever, runny nose, and ear pain. On examination, he had an ear infection and was prescribed Amoxicillin. The next evening, he refused oral intake, and developed a rash in his mouth, and on his hands and feet. The mother took him to a retail clinic after work that evening. MinuteClinics are convenient because they accept walk-ins, charge by the visit, and order tests by protocol, like when ordering dessert, a la carte in a restaurant.

At the retail clinic, a rapid flu test was negative, and a rapid streptococcal test was positive. Using this information to guide diagnosis and treatment by protocol, his strep throat infection in conjunction with a rash was assumed to be scarlet fever, which was theorized to be resistant to Amoxicillin. The clinician prescribed Omnicef inappropriately, believing something stronger was required for streptococcal bacteria.

Having regular commercial insurance, the mother returned to my office for medical care when her son continued complaining of ear pain despite the stronger antibiotic two days later, and his oral lesions continued to multiply. His exam revealed herpangina (a variation of the hand, foot, and mouth virus) and his eardrum was now bulging with pus. I recommended restarting the amoxicillin and for her son drink cool liquids until the oral lesions resolved; the child recovered uneventfully.

Pharmacists and nurses will be thrust into independent roles for which they are ill-equipped to handle, and if using this shotgun approach, costs will continue their upward climb. First, children under two rarely get streptococcal throat infections, so strep tests should not be routinely administered in this age group. Secondly, symptoms of streptococcal infection are narrow: sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and abdominal pain in the absence of a runny nose and cough. A positive test in this child indicated they were a carrier which needs no intervention. Third, scarlet fever looks nothing like herpangina, which is a virus and resolves on its own. Fourth, Omnicef, at a cost of $150 per course, is not a first, second, or even third-line treatment for group A streptococcal infection; the first line choice is amoxicillin, costing less than $5.

If this ill-advised merger between Aetna and CVS proceeds, millions of lives will hang in the balance. This new business model reminds me of the scene from Dickens A Christmas Carol, when Ebenezer Scrooge sees the Cratchit family mourning the loss of Tiny Tim. Research has shown life expectancy is proportional to the ratio of primary care physicians available per 100,000 population. How many children, like Tiny Tim, will be harmed before lawmakers and the public refuse to accept a future devoid of primary care physicians?

Thankfully, time has a way of revealing truth. CVS considers having a medical degree to be an obstacle to affordable medical care, which they plan to eliminate with one-stop shopping, having pharmacists and nurses practicing medicine by protocol. A segregated, two-tiered health care system will ultimately emerge as Aetna members are directed to MinuteClinics without access to physicians while those on other commercial insurance plans will see the physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant of their choice. Changing the delivery of health care services by circumventing physicians to save money is equivalent to gambling with patients lives. This vertical business model should induce fear and panic in all of us; we should run for our lives, literally and never look back.

Niran S. Al-Agba is a pediatrician who blogs at MommyDoc.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
A second serious sheep kill in the last number of weeks, by marauding dogs, has prompted action from Kilkenny County Council.

At least seven sheep were killed and three seriously injured in the incident last Wednesday in Danesfort, four miles from the city.

The worry is that many of the ewes in the 120 strong flock are heavily pregnant and the farmer involved fears there will be a number of still births because of the attack.

The dogs were not caught. It is the second such incident in recent weeks.

Kilkenny County Council has reminded people of the dangers of allowing dogs access to rural areas without supervision.

Kilkenny County Councils, Joan McLoughlin said that any breed of dog, given the opportunity, can attack sheep.

She added that dog owners are in a position to prevent all episodes of sheep worrying.

Dogs must be kept under control at all times, preferably on a lead.

The dog owner is liable for any damages arising and In certain situations it is legal for farmers to shoot dogs, on sight, if they are trespassing on their lands.

Please take care of your dog and the livestock of others, and help ensure that no sheep worrying incidents occur in our county over the next few weeks, she said.

If your family pet is out of sight and control, for even a short period, it could become involved in a sheep attack, she said.
A list of responsibilities issued by Kilkenny County Council to its housing tenants last week has sparked some concern among local residents.

A new Tenants Handbook came through the letterbox for council tenants early in the new year. The document sets out one page devoted to council responsibilities as landlord, and two full pages of tenant responsibilities.

While most of them are standard, several have caused some concern. A number of city residents, some of them elderly, have contacted their local councillor as well as this newspaper, worried about their obligations as set out.

Internally, these include repairs to internal plaster cracks, and the draught-proofing of doors and windows. Externally, tenant responsibilities also include repairs and maintenance of fences, boundary walls, gates, footpaths, and the cleaning of silt and leaves from gutters and downpipes

One local councillor, Patrick McKee, says he did not get to see the document before it was issued. He says he has significant concerns around some of the wording therein.

It portrays a fundamentally different relationship between local authority tenants and Kilkenny County Council than I thought existed, he told the Kilkenny People.

While the standard of local authority homes is generally very good, since the publication of the new tenant handbook I have been contacted by tenants who are concerned about the state of repair in some local authority houses. They now believe it is their responsibility to repair and make right things which any landlord would be expected to repair and make right. It has caused worry and confusion.

I will be seeking clarification and answers at the next meeting of Kilkenny County Council and I hope my concerns can be addressed, and that the best interests of our tenants is the primary concern of all of us.

RENT REVIEW

Additionally, in a letter accompanying the updated Tenant's Handbook, director of housing Mary Mulholland advises tenants that a rent review is to take place in the first quarter of this year. It will be effective from a date to be agreed in Quarter 2.

It came as a complete surprise to me that the local authority intended carrying out a rent review in the coming weeks, said Cllr McKee.

In my view the timing is completely wrong.

The council says it will be in contact with tenants again to request their income details.
Kilkenny Animated is a brand new festival of visual storytelling, hosted by double-Oscar nominated Kilkenny animation studio, Cartoon Saloon and produced by Naoise Nunn and local festivals and events company Schweppe Curtis Nunn.

The festival will celebrate the creativity and craft of the many aspects of animation, cartoons and illustration set among Kilkennys medieval streets and slipways. This is all against the background of the huge success of Cartoon Saloon, established nearly 20 years ago by Tomm Moore, Paul Young and recent Golden Globe nominee, Nora Twomey. The studio has been nominated for best animated feature Oscars for Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea and there is growing expectation that Nora Twomeys The Breadwinner may be named as the studios third Academy Award nominee when nominations are announced on January 23.

Added to the success of Cartoon Saloon has been the setting up in Kilkenny of another animation studio, Lighthouse Studios  a joint venture between Cartoon Saloon and Canadian studio Mercury Filmworks  which already employs dozens of highly skilled animation craftworkers with hundreds more posts in the animation industry expected to be filled by the end of this year. All of this is helping to develop Kilkennys reputation as a global hub for animation.

Kilkenny Animated takes place between February 23 and 25 in Kilkenny and will feature a broad programme of exhibitions of cartoonists and illustrators; standup comedy shows with animation, screenings of animated shorts and features; projections on buildings, dance shows that incorporate live animation; workshops for kids and grafitti installations. The aim of the festival is to make accessible to everyone the enjoyment and appreciation of all aspects of visual storytelling.

One of the centrepieces of the festival will be the special hometown premiere of The Breadwinner at the Watergate Theatre on Sunday, February 25  an opportunity for Kilkenny people and visitors to see the multi-award winning animated feature in the place is was made and with a special post-screening interview and Q&A with director Nora Twomey.

Comedians Bec Hill and Howard Read (together with his animated sidekick, Little Howard) will present a special standup comedy show which integrates animation in brilliant and surprising ways; there will be screenings of TG4s animated series Cul an Ti with accompanying live music performances; and there will be performances from a ground-breaking Hungarian dance group which uses live animation in its shows.

Cartoonists and illustrators who will be exhibiting include Matt Diffee of the New Yorker magazine; Peter De Seve, one of Disneys most prolific character designers ("Scrat" from Ice Age, Mulan, Finding Nemo, A Bugs Life and Tarzan); Carter Goodrich (lead character designer on Despicable Me, Hotel Transylvania, the CROODS and Brave; Jose Luis Agreda; Mattias Adolfsson; Nick Galafianakis; Dave Coverly (Speedbump); Ale Mercado and Annie West. The full programme will be announced next Tuesday, (January 16). There will be a very special graffiti installation in the Abbey Quarter in a former Smithwicks Brewery building featuring local artists Dan Leo and Mick Minogue.

Kilkenny Animated is supported and funded by Failte Ireland and Kilkenny County Council. For more see www.kilkennyanimated.com
By Yoon Ja-young



The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has shown full satisfaction with nuclear reactors currently being built there by Korean companies and suggested that Korea and the UAE cooperate to jointly win nuclear power projects in other countries, Korea's energy minister said Tuesday.



Trade, Industry, and Energy Minister Paik Un-gyu and Khaldoon Khalifa Al-Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi, had a breakfast meeting in downtown Seoul. They discussed how the two governments should cooperate for successful completion and operation of the nuclear power plant.



Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) is currently building the UAE's first nuclear power plant in Barakah in a consortium with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC), following a deal reached in 2009. One of the four nuclear reactors in the power plant will be completed this year.



In a media briefing following the meeting, Paik said that the UAE envoy highly evaluated the nuclear power plant currently being built in the UAE by Korea.



"Chairman Al-Mubarak highly evaluated the overall construction, showing satisfaction about Korean constructors and everything going on budget, on time.' He said that he was recommending Korea to other countries for nuclear construction, and I thanked him for promoting Korea's nuclear reactors," Paik said.



Al-Mubarak has been in Korea since Monday as a special envoy of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, meeting National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun as well as GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. The two conglomerates are closely related with the Middle East country for energy and construction.



He also met Im Jong-seok, the presidential chief of staff who visited the United Arab Emirates as a special envoy of President Moon Jae-in last December. Al-Mubarak was accompanying the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi when he met Im. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party has been raising speculation that Im's sudden visit is to resolve the UAE's concern about President Moon's nuclear-free policy. The current administration plans to increase the ratio of renewable energy instead of nuclear and coal-fired energy.



Paik negated such speculation by the opposition party, stressing the UAE's satisfaction with Korean nuclear reactors.



"Chairman Al-Mubarak said that it was an excellent decision to choose Korea back in 2009," Paik said, adding that the two agreed on a future-oriented partnership between the two countries.



"We agreed that it should last for the next 100 years since the nuclear reactor should be operated for the next 60 years."



The two countries also agreed that they should cooperate to win nuclear orders in other countries, and Al-Mubarak could help Korea win order in Saudi Arabia, according to Paik. They would also expand ties to renewable energies such as solar energy from nuclear energy. Korea and the UAE signed an MOU to cooperate to win orders in other countries back in 2009.



"Saudi Arabia and UAE are close to each other, like brothers. Chairman Al-Mubarak gave us concrete advice on how to advance into Saudi Arabia, and we also discussed cooperation in not only nuclear reactors but also solar cells," the minister said.



He said that Korea, which has advanced technology in solar modules, could be good partner for UAE which is engaged in the solar energy business in Saudi Arabia.



"Korea has global competitiveness in solar energy. The two countries can cooperate in this," he added.
Bruce Kim, who leads Korean restaurant KOPAN, media outlet Naked Denmark and travel agency Insight Denmark, poses in front of the restaurant. / Courtesy of Kim



By Choi Ha-young



For most of Koreans, Denmark is a faraway country with an unimaginable welfare system that Korea does not dare imitate. That's not the case for Bruce Kim, 33, founder of KOPAN, a Korean restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark.



Seven years ago, Kim arrived in the Scandinavian country as a student majoring in engineering. As one of a handful Koreans staying there, he was often contacted by Korean media aimed at framing Denmark as the "happiest country."



"As a student there was a dearth of information. Is the happiest country' all about Denmark? I concluded that I needed to meet diverse people and starting a restaurant was the best way to do it," Kim told The Korea Times.



In his early days, he only sold hotteok, or Korean-styled pancakes filled with sugar and seeds. "I thought the winter season street food would appeal to Danish people, but what they wanted to taste were well-known Korean foods such as kimchi and bulgogi," he said. Then Kim created a fusion hotteok stuffed with kimchi and bulgogi.





Copenhagen's Korean food restaurant KOPAN's signature menu, from top, kimchi hotteok, bulgogi hotteok and seed hotteok / Courtesy of Kim




Deputy Governor for International Marketing of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Santi Chudintra speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in the village of Ban Mae Kampong near the northern city of Chiang Mai, Jan. 4. Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre
By Kim Yoo-chul



Korea's leading financial institutions are reconsidering their investment banking strategies in the face of challenging market conditions, heated competition and dwindling profits. They increasingly turn to the international market.



In recent years, lenders have attempted to cut their longtime reliance on the local market. But the results have been mixed in terms of profit growth. Many of them failed to chalk up good results due to lack of business focus.



Nonghyup Financial Group Chairman Kim Yong-hwan is trying to make a difference. The group is attempting to actively take part in large financing projects through close collaboration with banks and life insurance companies. Its eventual goal is to become the Korean version of Goldman Sachs.



"Nonghyup handles deals worth about 6 trillion won from overseas, annually. I want NH Investment Securities, the group's securities unit, to lead the way for external growth of corporate investment financing business. All Nonghyup bank branches in the country are asked to revamp their business structure," Kim said in a recent meeting with newly promoted executives.



"If everyone follows the same business model, a systemic risk tends to rise. We have to facilitate resources to continuously grow our investment banking business. Nonghyup Financial is the only financial holding company in Korea which holds more than 200 trillion won management in assets."



Nonghyup's focus on the investment banking sector would surprise its competitors, which have mostly relied on traditional retail and corporate banking.



Commercial banking and investment banking are totally different businesses and have different logic. Hence, a powerhouse of the former does not automatically develop into a leader of the latter.



The chairman has pushed for improving communication between front and back offices and for swifter implementation of strategies.



"All key information relating to investment banking businesses must be shared between relevant group affiliates. I believe the latest wins in mega project financing deals were the results of the partnership between our units," the chairman said.



Nonghyup aims to achieve 1 trillion won in profit by the end of this year. Kim hopes Nonghyup Bank would take up 78 percent of its year-end profit target.



He said the bank will expand its business territory beyond Korea to make the financial group more sustainable. Nonghyup is in talks with several banks in Indonesia with an aim to acquire stakes. It also plans to invest in banks in Cambodia and Vietnam.



Despite repeated efforts for external growth through mergers and acquisitions, Korean players still lag far behind major overseas investment banks.



As of 2015, Goldman Sachs, a top-tier investment bank, was known to have over $100 billion in net capital, while its rival Morgan Stanley was known to have more than $85 billion.






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Having two daughters and three sisters has given Laois TD and Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan an insight into 'the barriers and inequality that women face', he has told a conference in Dublin.

Minister Flanagan made his remarks in an address to the National Symposium: Rising to the challenge  addressing Irelands gender pay gap.

"On a personal note, Id just like to say that this event and this policy area is very important to me. It is now over 20 years since I was appointed Vice-Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Womens Rights.

"As the only male in my family with three sisters and as the father of two daughters, I am conscious of the barriers and inequality that women face," he said.

Minister Flanagan outlined what steps are being taken to see women achieving pay equality but said it would take time.

"As an old Irish proverb puts it, you must sow in Spring before you can reap in the Autumn. You have to undertake the preparatory work in order to achieve the desired results," he said.

Speech in full below.

Deputies, Senators, moderator and distinguished speakers and guests,

It gives me great pleasure, with my colleagues, Heather Humphreys T.D, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation and David Stanton T.D, Minister of State with special responsibility for equality, immigration and integration, to welcome you this afternoon to this symposium, here in Iveagh House. One advantage of being a former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is that I am very familiar with this building and I formed the view that it would be an ideal location for todays important event.

I would like to extend our thanks to Mr Cathal Mac Coille, who has agreed to take on the task of steering us through todays programme, and to all the speakers who are kindly giving of their time today. I look forward to what promises to be a dynamic sharing of expertise and diverse perspectives.

In acknowledging my Oireachtas colleagues, I want to particularly recognise the work of Senator Bacik in promoting greater gender equality over many years and thank her for agreeing to speak at this symposium.

On a personal note, Id just like to say that this event and this policy area is very important to me. It is now over 20 years since I was appointed Vice-Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Womens Rights. As the only male in my family with three sisters and as the father of two daughters, I am conscious of the barriers and inequality that women face. Significant progress has been made in Ireland, much of it as a consequence of our EU membership, but we still have a distance to travel. This year, a century after women in Ireland achieved the right to vote, it is now time for a great stride forward.

We have brought you together for this symposium as experts in your own individual fields - from the worlds of politics and government, of business, trade unions, the professions, academia and civil society. Todays symposium is intended to raise awareness of the factors underpinning the gender pay gap. However, it seeks to go further than that. We want to set you a challenge, to begin the process of identifying the actions that can be taken to address the gender pay gap in Ireland.

Over the past twelve months, the gender pay gap has gripped the public imagination as never before. This is the case not just in Ireland, but across the EU, in the US, in Canada, Australia, India and so on. It has indeed become a global concern. The gender pay gap has been highlighted in public discourse, in the media, and in social media, as a reflection of an imbalance of power in our societies to the disadvantage of women. However, the current interest in the gender pay gap offers us a welcome opportunity to harness public awareness of the issue and to recognise that we each can play our part in combating it. We need to seize the opportunity of the present moment to identify what needs to be done and to undertake a plan of action.

When this Government took office, we placed the objective of empowering women as a key theme in our Programme for a Partnership Government. We knew that the gap in the average earnings of men and women  the gender pay gap  has a significant impact on economic independence for women. We know that, over a lifetime, the gender pay gap can reduce womens pay and pensions significantly. Our Programme for Government therefore commits us to take measures to reduce the gender pay gap - inclusive of increasing investment in childcare, and reviewing the lower pay of women and gender inequality for senior appointments.

In the past year, my party colleagues Frances Fitzgerald, the former Tanaiste, and Minister of State David Stanton, published a National Strategy for Women and Girls, setting the direction of Government policy to 2020 to advance equality for women and girls. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge Frances work in promoting measures to address inequality over many decades as a politician and as an advocate and social worker.

My very hard working colleague, Minister Stanton, chairs the Committee steering the implementation of the National Strategy for Women and Girls. The Strategy reflects the priorities identified through consultation with members of the public, civil society organisations, employer and employee representatives and others. As expected, economic empowerment and the gender pay gap featured strongly in the consultation process as issues of concern. In response, three actions have been included in the Strategy with the stated outcome of reducing the gender pay gap. These are as follows:

Action 1.21 Undertake a package of measures to tackle the gender pay gap.

Action 1.22 Initiate dialogue between union and employer stakeholders to address the gender pay gap. Develop and promote practical information resources to explain and increase understanding of the multifaceted aspects of the gender pay gap and its causes (i.e. traditional role models, gender-segregated education and labour market, the challenges of balancing work and family life, the difference in participation of men and women in family responsibilities, the availability of quality, affordable childcare facilities and out-of-school hours care, and processes within organisations where imbalance needs to be addressed). Develop practical tools to assist employers to calculate the gender pay gap within their organisations and to consider its aspects and causes, mindful of obligations regarding privacy and data protection.

Action 1.23 Promote wage transparency by requiring companies of 50 or more employees to complete a wage survey periodically and report the results.

My Department and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation have been working together to advance the implementation of these commitments.

As an old Irish proverb puts it, you must sow in Spring before you can reap in the Autumn. You have to undertake the preparatory work in order to achieve the desired results. Conscious of the wisdom of gathering knowledge, last August, Minister Stanton and I launched a public consultation on measures to tackle the gender pay gap.

The consultation paper two important questions. In order to reduce the gender pay gap, it is important to understand why it exists. So we asked for views in particular on the factors creating the gender pay gap. We also asked for views on the actions needing to be taken. We then asked respondents to consider how they personally, as an individual or an organisation, could contribute to implementing the actions that they had suggested.

This consultation process closed on 4 October. In all, we received 38 written responses. 14 came from individuals and 24 were made on behalf of organisations. Submissions were received from employers, unions, civil society, professional bodies and individuals from varied backgrounds. I would like to thank all of those who made a submission

My Department has now analysed these responses. I want to outline some of the key points made in the submissions.

In relation to question of why the pay gap exists, there were no real surprises. Responses largely reflected six of the contributory factors identified by the EU Commission in its research as the main causes of gender pay gap. These are:

 occupational and sectoral segregation  whereby women and men carry out different jobs and often work in different sectors, with more women than men in lower-paid employment;

 undervaluing of work and skills associated with women;

 a lack of women in senior and leadership roles;

 difficulties balancing work and family responsibilities, including access to childcare;

 gender roles and traditions, such as the association of caring responsibilities with women; and

 perceived discrimination in the workplace.

Respondents came back with a nuanced range of issues associated with another of the factors identified by the Commission, namely workplace practices and pay systems. The issues highlighted were:

 that more women than men were in part-time employment;

 the prevalence of precarious work and zero-hour contracts;

 unconscious bias;

 lack of flexible work practices;

 non-transparency of pay structures; and

 initial and unequal salary negotiations disadvantaging women.

Turning to the second question, in all 253 suggestions or 172 individual actions were proposed to address the problem of the gender pay gap:

 45, or a quarter of the suggested actions, were directed at non-transparency of pay structures;

 Occupational and sectoral segregation, including the prevalence of women in low-paid work, was referenced in 25 suggested actions, or 14% of the total;

 24 actions, or 14% of the total, were directed at gender roles and traditions, such as at the association of caring responsibilities with women;

 A further 17 actions, 10% of the total, addressed difficulties in balancing work and family responsibilities and in getting access to childcare; and

 Unconscious bias was addressed by 16 actions, or 9% of the total.

Actions relating to pay transparency were raised repeatedly in submissions. These included improving data collection and Government statistics, undertaking company wage surveys disaggregated by gender, encouraging transparent pay scales, promotion of information and awareness of the gender pay gap, and sector-specific recommendations.

Other examples of actions put forward were:

 suggestions to increase paternity leave and to introduce mandatory shared parental leave;

 promoting continuous unconscious bias training at all levels in business and education;

 introducing gender-neutral job evaluation criteria, and introducing affirmative recruitment systems;

 promotion of STEM subjects and apprenticeships to girls and young women, and reviewing the subjects offered by girls schools to ensure a full offering of STEM subjects;

 various actions to address the availability and affordability of paid childcare; and

 tracking gender trends against economic cycles.



This is just a very brief overview of the response received.

These submissions, as you will have gathered by now, have provided a very rich source of ideas, all of which will reward more detailed consideration. A summary of the findings is being published online today for the information of the public. Hard copies are available for participants today.

The results of this consultation will inform the development of a package of measures to tackle the gender pay gap, and will help to identify issues to be advanced through further discussion with union and employer stakeholders.

A number of organisations also offered assistance with actions to address the gender pay gap, which is very encouraging, and we will be following up as appropriate in due course.

The Government is planning a multi-faceted response, ranging from the substantial increase in investment in childcare announced in Budget 2017 to legislation to introduce paid parental leave. Legislation to improve pay transparency will be a key part of the Governments response and the shape of that legislation will be influenced by factors including this Symposium. In this regard, I want to refer to the Private Members Bill introduced in the Seanad by Senator Bacik and her colleagues, and recognise the important work the Senators have done on the issue.

I will conclude by encouraging you all, not only our speakers, but also our audience participants, to give freely today of your knowledge and experience. Today is an occasion for listening and sharing insights, and enriching our common understanding of the gender pay gap as it is manifested in the Irish economy and labour market.

In conclusion, Id just like to say that I hope you will find this event valuable; I know we will.

Thank you very much for being here.
The Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee believes the Minister for Health has wrestled control of decisions the future of Portlaoise hospital from the Health Service Executive.

The committee issued a statement this week in response to an interview Minister Harris gave just before Christmas around the time that he announced he wanted to engage locally on the plan which would see A&E, ICU, paediatrics, maternity and most surgery pulled from the Midlands Regional Hospital Portlaoise.

Minster Harris told Susan Mitchell of the Sunday Business Post that, rather than the HSE undertaking further work on this plan, his Department would "directly engage with the clinical community in the Midlands" asking for their ideas.

"I genuinely feel and I think if any of you talk to people working in the Portlaoise Hospital or indeed providing GP services in Portlaoise that they have ideas about how to make the services safer. They dont feel they ever got an opportunity to input. So my Dept and I have now decided we are going to directly engage with them," he said.

In an interview with the Leinster Express late last year Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, chief executive, Dr Susan O'Reilly said she wanted to engage with the public on the downgrade plan during its creation. She insisted that the Department of Health requested that such interaction would not take place. The plan was first submitted to the Department of Health in 2016.

Minister Harris claimed he wanted more consultation to have happened.

I think theres a difference between consulting on a fait accompli, theres a difference between saying - here is the plan tell us what you think rather than actually (asking) people who are responsible for the delivery of services in Portlaoise. And it is very unusual.

We dont have a good record in relation to reconfiguration in this country. In fact were dealing with the impact with not doing it right in many parts of the country including in the Mid West in relation to the fact that a number of hospitals were closedadditional supports were not put into other hospitals, he said.

Replying to this Action Committee Secretary, John Hanniffy claimed the Minister had taken the fate of the hospital "out of the hands of the HSE".

"We feel that Minister Harris has heard and gives some credit to our claims that the process was not above board. It is as if he has lost some confidence in their mandate, something we asserted early on in this campaign, he said.

MINISTER HARRIS IN CONTACT WITH LAOIS GPs

PRO, Eimear Holland said that "after-the-fact consultation" is merely a tick-box attempt to claim that all voices were involved and taken on board. She said allowing people to disagree with a plan which they know is already set in stone is not consultation.

"Consultation should genuinely seek to give people a voice in order to inform and shape a plan, which will genuinely work for all concerned. Anything less isnt good enough, she said.

The Action Committee said it respects and appreciates the Ministers intention to correct the process and hope that it will be genuine and meaningful, resulting in a plan for Portlaoise Hospital which provides equal access to consistent and equitable health care. They also welcomed Minister Charlie Flanagans statement, that Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee would be included in this process.

"We look forward to working with Minister Harris and his team in producing a plan, which is fit for purpose for the people of Laois and surrounding areas," he said.

Last November, the Minister said he would consult locally after reaching an 'agreed position' with the HSE on the draft plan to downgrade the hospital.

Because downgrade is a policy decision, the final call on downgrade wrests with the Minister and because of its implications, the Government.

TROLLEY COUNT ALMOST DOUBLES AT PORTLAOISE
The HSE has been labelled as 'incompetent' and its plan to downgrade Portlaoise hospital in the midst of a trolley crisis as 'ridiculous', according to Laois TD Sean Fleming TD.

The Fianna Fail TD said nobody was satisfied with the approach taken by HSE management in drafting up the new plan for the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise.

"There had been no proper consultation with the clinicians in the hospital, GP's in the region or with the people who use the hospital and the wider public in the region. Accordingly that report was fundamentally flawed and I am again calling on the Minister to formally scrap this report and to publically say so," he said.

He said the HSE's plan to remove A&E, ICU, maternity, paediatrics and most surgery form Portlaoise could not be seen in isolation from the trolley crisis.

"The country is again in the middle of an A&E trolley crisis including the midland region. Unfortunately, it is little wonder that this is happening due to gross incompetence of the HSE Senior Management.

"When you think about their contribution to dealing with this issue is to produce a report to say to close the A&E Department in Portlaoise can only be described as ridiculous. Such a report has no place in the Irish health system," he said.

Dep Fleming welcomed a report that the the Minister for Health, Simon Harris has stated that he has requested the HSE to step back from their plans to downgrade Portlaoise.

At a meeting on the 15 December 2017 attended by the three Laois TDs, he did confirm that the Department would be taking a direct role.

MINISTER HARRIS IN CONTACT WITH LAOIS GPs
A Laois community hospital that the HSE wanted to shut down should be expanded and refurbished as part of measures to tackle the trolley crisis, according to Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley.

The Laois TD is calling for Abbeyleix Hospital to be expanded and refurbished to cater for the growing number of elderly people in Laois. He said it could also be used as a step-down facility which would free up beds in Portlaoise Hospital.

Since the campaign to stop the hospital from closing in 2012, there has been no capital investment by Government. It is registered as a 20 bed unit with HIQA and currently has two long stay patients and the others for short stay respite care.

He said that in February 2016 the HSE told me that it proposed to develop an Intermediate Care Service in Abbeyleix. This would see it becoming a a step down and step up care facility.

He was told that this new service model would facilitate earlier discharges from the acute hospital and also prevent acute hospital admissions from the community. It would also provide a range of services which will significantly help to relieve the burden on the Acute Sector while ensuring that people receive the best possible treatment in their own local community.

Dep Stanley said the clearly stated intention of the HSE and Government to use it for intermediate care and relieve the burden on the acute sector such as in Portlaoise.

In reply to a recent Dail Question the HSE confirmed to Dep Stanley that the occupancy level and staffing levels at Abbeyleix would be maintained for the foreseeable future. They also stated that they had no plans for capital works in 2018.

"This is very disappointing. Given the overcrowding in Portlaoise and other acute hospitals this opportunity is being missed. The Government and the HSE have shown little or no regard or interest in the public nursing sector. The delay in bringing forward a plan for Abbeyleix demonstrates the paralysis at the top of the HSE and Government in terms of driving forward important capital projects in the public health sector.

HSE Management are due to meet the Abbeyleix Hospital Action Committee along with myself and other Laois TDs on 18th January. I dont want a fobbing off event and will be seeking straight answers and a clear way forward for this important facility for Laois, he said.

The hospital's closure was halted after a big public campaign which involved a number of elderly residents taking the HSE to the High Court.

At the same time as the HSE wanted to close Abbeyleix, it also wanted to close a similar facility near Portlaoise, St Brigid's Hospital Shaen.

PORTLAOISE A&E TROLLEY NUMBER DOUBLES IN 72 HOURS
In the midst of his Laois Residency, Spoken Word artist, Stephen James Smith, gathers together fellow poets and performers for Unexpected Poetry at the Dunamaise Arts Centre this week.

With special guests Tony Walsh, Richard Brennan and the band cua, this will be a lively, engaging event harking back to the ancient oral tradition of poetry.

Renowned UK poet Tony Walsh, visiting Ireland for First Fortnight Festival gigs in Dublin and Cork, takes a welcome detour to Dunamaise for the first time.

Tony was already an integral part of the UK spoken word poetry scene having performed at Glastonbury and beyond.

Richard Brennan is an important figure in helping to shine a light on Spoken Word in the midlands hosting regular Scene of The Rhyme events in Tullamore so its only fitting to have him as part of this event.

And following their recent Songs of the Hollow album launch gig on the Dunamaise Stage, dont miss this chance to enjoy more close up tunes by brilliant Laois based trad/folk band cua.

This fantastic line up of spoken word, music and song featuring international and local acts, takes place in the intimate setting of Dunamaise Mezzanine Bar this Thursday, January 11, at 8pm.

There is limited capacity, so advance booking is recommended.
Would you like to see the best set and presentation in Ireland? This is your very last chance.

Victors Dung, the short play produced by the Moat Club, was awarded the gong for best set and presentation at the prestigious all-Ireland one-act drama finals in December.

The club will stage the show for one last time on Friday, January 19, at 8pm in the Moat Theatre before breaking up the winning set forever.

The tragi-comic story of curmudgeonly farmer Victor McGuire represented the Moat Club in amateur dramas most prestigious competition for short plays, having swept the boards at five qualifying drama festivals.

Director Padraic Doyle and his cast were delighted to come away with the adjudicators award for best presentation at the festival.

It means a lot to me that all the people who worked so hard behind the scenes were recognised with this award, said Padraic.

Katie OConnell designed and helped to build the set. We needed something that was not quite real because there are flashbacks in the show, and some wacky scenes from Victors imagination.

The dung heap in particular was a major challenge. The set for a festival play must be capable of being put in place in just ten minutes and taken down after the performance in five minutes. To design such an elaborate set that was also highly portable was a real feat. 

Presentation also includes sound and lighting as well as costume.

The lighting effects, which were designed by Jill Higgins, and the sound effects, designed by Paul OBrien, were highly praised in every competition.

Jill also operated lights and sound for every show. Costumes were customised by the cast with the help of Doreen Ryan, Angela Doyle and Katie OConnell.

The play is a sad story wrapped up in a barrel of laughs. Victors Dung tells of an isolated, cantankerous, Westmeath farmer whose war with the world is interrupted by a phone call from the hospital.

Whilst Victor questions his existence and his God, we are treated to his memories, fantasies, poetry and despair.

Among the many characters from Victors life whom we meet, love shines through in the form of his deceased wife Josie, his dog, his rooster, and his good friend Fr Johnny.

The cast of the three-man show is: Victor  Conor OConnell; Dung One  Conor Sweeney; Dung Two  Brian Lyons.

Victors Dung was a huge hit with audiences at the Moat, selling out many times. Dont delay in getting your ticket. Victor McGuire will definitely be leaving the building after the show on January 19.

Tickets 10 from 045 883030 or on www.moattheatre.com.
In a healthy pregnancy, the fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus. In an ectopic pregnancy, the egg attaches itself somewhere outside the uterus  usually to the inside of the fallopian tube.

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus or not within the uterine cavity. The word "ectopic" refers to something medically that is in the wrong place or position.

In about 98 percent of ectopic pregnancies, the fertilized egg implants within a woman's fallopian tube, the narrow tube that links the ovaries and uterus. This is also called a tubal pregnancy.

In rare cases, the fertilized egg can implant in a woman's cervix, or in a scar from a previous Caesarean section, according to the Mayo Clinic. Rarely, it can also attach directly to a woman's ovary, or to her cervix, or to an organ in the abdomen, such as the abdominal wall.

During twin pregnancies, it's possible  but rare  for one embryo to implant in the uterus while a second implants at an ectopic location, outside of the uterus.

An ectopic pregnancy can be dangerous because when an embryo implants in a location other than the uterine wall, it's unable to develop normally. Locations other than the uterus don't have enough space or the right tissue for the embryo to grow, according to the March of Dimes.

As the embryo grows, it can cause the organ it attaches to, such as the fallopian tube or an ovary, to rupture. If this occurs, it can lead to severe internal bleeding. In some cases, a pregnant woman might die.

"The uterus is a unique organ that can stretch dramatically with a growing pregnancy," said Dr. Jennifer Kickham, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and the medical director of the outpatient gynecology clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "No other tissue in the body has the ability to grow to accommodate a nine-pound baby or twins," she said.

An ectopic pregnancy can be life threatening to a woman when the embryo implants onto locations outside the uterine cavity. That's because the tissue in these areas can't stretch like the uterus and if the embryo implants into the vascular supply, blood vessels can start bleeding, Kickham said.

Although an ectopic pregnancy can be a life-threatening gynecological emergency, most women who experience one can be treated and can have normal pregnancies in the future, she explained.

In the United States, an ectopic pregnancy can affect 1 to 3 percent of all pregnancies, so it affects a significant number of women and is more common than people realize, Kickham said.

Symptoms

Usually the most common complaints of women with an ectopic pregnancy are vaginal bleeding and/or pain in the abdomen or pelvis, especially on one side of the body, Kickham said. Some women may have shoulder pain or lower back pain. There may also be some dizziness or fainting, because of blood loss. Some women may have no symptoms at all until the fallopian tube ruptures.

It's most common for women to experience the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy 6 to 10 weeks after a missed menstrual period, Kickham said.

Risk factors

Anything that affects the ability of the egg to travel down the fallopian tube into the uterus  such as prior damage to the fallopian tubes, tubal abnormalities or infections that may block the tube  can increase the risk of having an ectopic pregnancy.

The following women may be at higher risk of having an ectopic pregnancy:

Women who have had a prior ectopic pregnancy.

Women who have a history of infertility.

Women who have had sexually transmitted diseases, such as infections caused by gonorrhea or chlamydia.

Women who have had pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection that can damage the fallopian tubes, uterus and other parts of the pelvis.

Women who have had endometriosis, a condition in which cells that normally line the uterus implant and grow elsewhere in the body, such as the ovaries or bladder.

Women who have had scars inside the pelvis from a burst appendix or past surgeries.

Women who have become pregnant while using an intrauterine device (IUD) or after having their "tubes tied," which is known as a tubal sterilization.

Women who smoked cigarettes prior to becoming pregnant.

Women with a history of multiple sexual partners because this may increase the risk of pelvic infections.

Causes

An ectopic pregnancy is likely caused by a combination of prior medical history and lifestyle factors, Kickham said. It is not genetic, she explained.

As described above, anything that affects the functioning of a woman's fallopian tubes, such as prior tubal surgeries or pelvic infections, can increase the risk of an ectopic pregnancy. In addition, factors that can slow movement in the fallopian tube, such as cigarette smoking, can also make a woman more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy.

Diagnosis and tests

To diagnose an ectopic pregnancy, a woman who may be complaining of vaginal bleeding and pelvic pain, may be given a blood test to determine her levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone that's only present when a woman is pregnant.

Home pregnancy tests measure hCG levels in the urine, but if an ectopic pregnancy is suspected, doctors will look at the results from a blood test instead to measure the amount of hCG present. In a normal pregnancy, hCG levels will roughly double in a period of 48 to 72 hours, but levels may rise more slowly in an ectopic pregnancy, Kickham said.

Besides measuring levels of hCG, women will also need a test known as a transvaginal ultrasound, in which a wand-like device is inserted into a woman's vagina to examine the reproductive organs, including the uterus, ovaries, cervix and fallopian tubes. Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to create images that can identify whether a pregnancy is located inside the uterus or somewhere else.

Sometimes transvaginal ultrasound can detect that this is not a normal pregnancy and the embryo is growing outside of the uterus, and sometimes ultrasound may not be able to pick up an ectopic pregnancy. But if levels of hCG are between 1,500 and 2,000 mIU/mL, an ectopic pregnancy is suspected even if it's not seen on ultrasound.

Once a diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy is made, it can be upsetting for a woman to learn that she is not having a normal uterine pregnancy, Kickham said. Some woman may ask, "Is it possible to move the pregnancy to the uterus?" she said, but unfortunately, there is no medical technology available to move the pregnancy to the uterine cavity.

Risks to mother

An ectopic pregnancy can be a gynecological emergency because it may be life threatening to a woman, Kickham said. She said that ectopic pregnancies are the leading cause of maternal death during the first trimester, accounting for 4 to 10 percent of all pregnancy-related deaths.

Although ectopic pregnancies usually happen in the first trimester, they can occur later but these are typically the rarer kinds of ectopic pregnancies, Kickham explained.

A woman who has had a prior ectopic pregnancy has an increased risk for having another ectopic pregnancy, Kickham said. But she also added that a lot of women do go on to have a normal intrauterine pregnancy.

Treatment and medication

For a woman who has minimal symptoms, meaning that there is not a concern that her fallopian tube will rupture, treatment for an ectopic pregnancy typically involves medication, Kickham said. She said that women are given an injection of methotrexate, a drug used in cancer treatment. This medication stops the growth of the embryo, which then allows the body to resorb the tissue. A benefit of this treatment is that it does not affect the fallopian tubes.

Methotrexate is typically given as a one-time injection. A woman needs to have her blood drawn twice, on the fourth and seventh days after receiving the drug, so that doctors can see that her levels of hCG have dropped by 15 percent or more during this time period, Kickham said.

If a woman's hCG levels have not been reduced by at least 15 percent, she will need a second injection of methotrexate to make sure her hCG levels are falling. An ectopic pregnancy ends when hCG levels have dropped to zero.

But not all women are good candidates for medication and some may need to undergo surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy, Kickham said.

Surgery may involve removing the entire fallopian tube, for example. This operation can be done laparoscopically, which is a form of minimally invasive surgery that requires a smaller incision. For that reason, the surgery can typically be done without a woman needing to stay in the hospital overnight, and she will have a shorter recovery time after the operation.

In some situations, a larger incision in the abdomen may be performed during surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy. Sometimes the fallopian tube may be removed if its damaged and sometimes it can be surgically repaired.

When a woman has a heterotopic pregnancy, where one twin is growing in the uterus and the other twin is an ectopic pregnancy usually in the fallopian tube, it is too risky to treat the woman with medication. A mother will need surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tube, but she will be able to go into labor and give birth to the surviving twin developing in the uterus, Kickham said.

Usually, a woman who has had an ectopic pregnancy is encouraged to wait at least three months before attempting to becoming pregnant again, Kickham said. Since an ectopic pregnancy is a type of early pregnancy loss, a woman should take the time to heal from it, both physically and emotionally.

Additional resources

Learn more about ectopic pregnancy at:
A man in Spain who was declared dead by three doctors was actually still alive, which doctors discovered only when he began snoring on the autopsy table, according to news reports.

The man, 29-year-old Gonzalo Montoya Jimenez, was a prisoner at a jail in northern Spain. He was found unconscious in his cell on Sunday (Jan. 7), and was believed to be dead, according to the Spanish news outlet La Voz de Asturias. Three forensic doctors allegedly examined Jimenez and certified his death.

But 4 hours later, right before Jimenez's autopsy, he was heard making noises on the autopsy table, and was found to still be alive. This discovery was not a moment too soon  Jimenez's body even had the marks painted on it to guide the autopsy, a family member told La Voz de Asturias.

He has now regained consciousness and is in the intensive care unit at the Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA) in Oviedo, Spain.

But how, exactly, does something like this happen?

Determining whether someone is dead or alive might sound simple enough, but there are not universal guidelines for exactly when doctors should pronounce someone dead. "You're dead when a doctor says you're dead," Dr. James Bernat, a neurologist at Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine in New Hampshire, told Live Science in a 2014 interview.

Broadly speaking, a person may be declared dead when one of two things happens: Their heart stops beating and doesn't start again, or they are "braindead." A person is considered brain-dead when he or she no longer has any neurological activity in the brain or brain stem  meaning no electrical impulses are being sent between brain cells.

Doctors perform a number of tests to determine whether someone is brain-dead, such as checking whether the individual can initiate his or her own breath, Dr. Diana Greene-Chandos, an assistant professor of neurological surgery and neurology at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Live Science in a 2014 interview.

In the recent case, Jimenez's family said Jimenez had epilepsy, and they suspect the condition may have played a role in the unusual circumstances of his presumed death, according to La Voz de Asturias. Some people with epilepsy can experience a condition called catalepsy, or a "trancelike" state in which their muscles become rigid and they are unresponsive to stimuli.

This isn't the first time a person has been pronounced dead when they were actually alive. For example, in 2014, a 91-year-old woman in Poland was declared dead and spent 11 hours in a mortuary before staff discovered her body bag moving and found her alive, according to the BBC.
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A pair of spectacular images of an ethereal spiral in the night sky may show the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket after it launched a secret satellite for the U.S. government on Sunday night (Jan. 7).

The photos, posted on Twitter, show a brilliant spiral that appeared in the night sky shortly after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Zuma satellite on a mystery mission for the U.S. government. Some media reports, citing anonymous government officials, have reported that the Northrop Grumman-built Zuma spacecraft may have failed after it launched into orbit. SpaceX representatives have said their Falcon 9 rocket performed as expected during the Zuma launch. A Northrop Grumman representative said the company cannot comment on the mission due to its classified nature.

One photo, taken by Dutch pilot Peter Horstink, shows a dazzling aerial view of an object in the sky, taken as Horstink flew on a freighter aircraft. The object appears as a greenish-blue spiral, seen as Horstink flew 35,000 feet (11,000 meters) above the Earth's surface near the city of Khartoum, Sudan, according to veteran satellite tracker Marco Langbroek, who posted the photo on Twitter.

Another photo in Sudan, taken by Sam Cornwell, shows a view of the spiral from the ground.

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Langbroek said both photos show what appears to be a normal venting of excess fuel by the upper stage of the SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket after separating from its payload. Such venting procedures are typical after launches, done to avoid explosions after spacecraft separation, Langbroek wrote on his satellite-tracking website.

SpaceX launched the secret Zuma spacecraft on Sunday night from the company's Space Launch Complex 40 pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was built by Northrop Grumman for a U.S. government agency, but which agency that is has not yet been revealed.

The mission was SpaceX's first launch of 2018 and the company's third classified launch for the U.S. government. In May 2017, SpaceX launched a classified spy satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, following that in September with the launch of an X-37B robotic space plane on a secret mission for the U.S. Air Force. The X-37B space plane is still in orbit on its classified OTV-5 mission.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Excavations at Monticello

(Image credit: Copyright Thomas Jefferson Foundation)

Archaeologists are contributing to the Mountaintop Project at Monticello, an effort to restore Thomas Jeffersons 5,000-acre plantation in Charlottesville, Virginia, to the way it might have looked 200 years ago. Last year, they excavated the South Pavilion, the first brick building on the property, which had been repurposed as bathrooms 50 years ago. [Read more about the Monticello excavation.]

Original kitchen

(Image credit: Copyright Thomas Jefferson Foundation)

The South Pavilion was completed in 1770 and its cellar housed Monticellos original kitchen. Jeffersons living quarters were on the top floor of the building while the main Monticello mansion was being built.

Hidden cellar

(Image credit: Copyright Thomas Jefferson Foundation)

The cellar had been converted to a wash-house in 1809, with dirt used to raised the level of the floor so that it matched the level of the South Wing that connected the South Pavilion to the rest of the mansion.

Artifact-rich dirt

(Image credit: Copyright Thomas Jefferson Foundation)

Archaeologists had to dig through 3 feet (about a meter) of dirt to get to the original brick floor of the South Pavilion kitchen. They found thousands of artifacts in the process.

Brick floor revealed

(Image credit: Copyright Thomas Jefferson Foundation)

Along with the brick floor, archaeologists also uncovered the foundations of stew stoves in the original kitchen.

Stove foundations

(Image credit: Copyright Thomas Jefferson Foundation)

Stew stoves were like 18th-century cooktops, useful for slowly heating dishes and working with multiple pans. But this type of kitchen feature was not common in North America during Jefferson's time; it could only be found in the homes of people who were wealthy and socially ambitious, with skilled chefs who could prepare cuisine influenced by French cooking.

Recreated stoves

(Image credit: Copyright Thomas Jefferson Foundation)

During his five years in Paris, as U.S. Minister to France, Jefferson had his enslaved servant and chef James Hemings trained in the art of French cooking. Jefferson likely had the stoves built after his time in France. Hemings came back and cooked French-style meals in this kitchen until being granted his freedom in 1796. These are recreated stew stoves in Monticello's second kitchen.
There is little material record of Hemings' life beyond a few surviving recipes for desserts like "snow eggs" and a written 1796 inventory of utensils from the kitchen at Jefferson's Virginia plantation, Monticello. But archaeologists at Monticello recently uncovered the remains of the stoves where Hemings prepared dishes for the future president and his guests.

"His trajectory was pretty extraordinary," Fraser Neiman, the director of archaeology at Monticello, told Live Science, adding that the discovery of the stoves is one of the "really rare instances where we can associate a workspace and artifact with a particular enslaved individual whose name we know." [See Photos of the Excavation at Monticello]

The stoves were unearthed last year in a cellar at Monticello's South Pavilion, the first brick building constructed on the estate, where Jefferson and his wife, Martha, lived while the main mansion was under construction. The excavations took place as part of a larger project to restore the estate to the way it would have looked during Jefferson's lifetime, including the places where hundreds of enslaved people lived and worked.

The cellar had been off-limits to archaeologists for over a half century because it had been repurposed as visitor bathrooms; the managers of Monticello had feared that hordes of tourists would come to the site for the Bicentennial events of 1975 and 1976, Neiman said.

These are recreated stew stoves in Monticello's second kitchen. (Image credit: Copyright Thomas Jefferson Foundation)

"That was, in retrospect, a boneheaded decision," Neiman said.

Once the bathroom was demolished, archaeologists had to dig through 3 feet (1 meter) of dirt from the kitchen yard that was used to bring up the floor level of the cellar when it was converted to a washhouse in 1809. They found thousands of artifacts in this fill, including animal bones, toothbrushes, broken ceramics, fragments of glass bottles and beads, said Crystal Ptacek, a field research manager at Monticello, who presented the discovery here at the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology last week.

And, finally, underneath the dirt, the team found the original brick floor of the kitchen where enslaved cooks working in the cellar would have made food to be delivered to the Jeffersons in the top story. The remains of a fireplace and the foundations of four stew stoves were also intact.

"It was one of those surreal experiences," Ptacek said.

Those four foundational compartments of the stew stoves would have been the clean-out, where the ash would have fallen. The actual stoves would have been about waist-high, Ptacek said. Each stove would have had a small hole for hot coals from the fireplace. An iron trivet would have gone above the coals to hold pans. Stew stoves were essential for making dishes that required slow heating and multiple pans. The setup was the equivalent of a modern stovetop, but it was uncommon in North America at the time because it required special training to use.

Stew stoves first became popular in 17th-century France, Neiman said. Previously, during the Renaissance, the cuisine of the rich in Europe involved heavy use of spices imported from far-flung parts of the world. But that changed when spice prices plummetedafter European powers took control of resources and trade routes during colonial expansion across the Atlantic and into Asia. [How the Spice Trade Changed the World]

"All the sudden, highly spiced foods are no longer the way you signal you're wealthy," Neiman said.

The new type of cuisine perfected by French aristocrats as a form of status competition was extremely labor intensive. Their "sumptuous multicourse meals," Neiman, said, involved fresh veggies, fresh meats and slowly heated sauces based on cream, butter and eggs, without a lot of spice so that the natural flavors of the food could shine through.

Jefferson had an affinity for French cooking, and he likely first encountered stew stoves during his education at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was a frequent guest at the colonial governor's palace in Williamsburg, which was one of the few places to have stew stoves at the time.

But Jefferson must have become much more familiar with this style of cooking when he served as the U.S. minister to France from 1784 to 1789. As soon as Jefferson took this diplomatic position, he wrote to his future secretary that he wanted to take then-19-year-old Hemings to France "for a particular purpose," which turned out to be having him trained in the art of French cooking. The archaeologists at Monticello think the stew stoves were likely part of a kitchen upgrade Jefferson made when he returned from Paris.

Hemings trained under a pastry chef, a caterer and the chef of the Prince de Conde before becoming the chef at Jefferson's private residence in Paris. Hemings was technically a free man on French soil. He was paid small wages and used part of his earnings to hire a French tutor. Why Hemings did not initiate the legal process to gain his freedom in France is a subject of debate among historians; staying in France would have cut Hemings off from the rest of his family in Virginia.

Hemings returned to Virginia enslaved, but he did strike a deal with Jefferson to gain his freedom. The chef passed on his training in French cooking to his brother Peter before he left Monticello a free man at age 31 in 1796. Hemings came back to run the kitchen at Monticello for the summer of 1801, the year Jefferson became president. Weeks after he left, Hemings died from an apparent suicide in Baltimore. Throughout his lifetime, Jefferson owned more than 600 people, and freed only two of them.

In her 2008 book "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family" (W. W. Norton & Co.), American historian Annette Gordon-Reed wrote that it's impossible to put ourselves in the mindset of James Hemings, a man "born into a society that allows his half sister and her husband to hold him as a slave." Hemings was among several enslaved half siblings of Jefferson's wife, Martha. (Martha's father, John Wayles, had six children with his mixed-race slave Betty Hemings.) James' younger sister Sally Hemings is thought to be the mother of several of Jefferson's children. (She also accompanied Jefferson in Paris.) [6 Civil War Myths Busted]

"The connections between these two men are so divorced from anything resembling what could be recognized today as 'normal' human relations that they can be recovered only in the imagination and, even then, only with great difficulty," Gordon-Reed wrote of James Hemings and Jefferson.

A new exhibition at the South Pavilion is set to open over the summer so that visitors can see the archaeological remains of the original kitchen and the artifacts that have been found during excavations.

Original article on Live Science.
An alligator sticks its snout out through the ice at Shallotte River Swamp Park, in North Carolina.

A video showing alligator snouts poking out though an ice-covered swamp in North Carolina during last week's cold snap may look like the preview of an avant-garde art installation, but it actually depicts an adaptive trick that helps these reptiles survive in winter weather, a wildlife ecologist said.

Unlike mammals, alligators rely on ambient temperature to keep their bodies warm, which is why they can often be found basking in the sun or hanging out in air-pocketed burrows they've dug into the banks of rivers and lakes.

But when it gets so cold that their ponds freeze over, some alligators are known to swim to the surface and poke their snouts above the icy water so they can breathe properly, James Perran Ross, a retired associate scientist of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida, told Live Science. [Alligator Alley: Pictures of Monster Reptiles]

"It's an interesting behavior because it's opposite of what most crocodilians do," Ross said. "The normal response of most other crocs when it gets really cold is to come out of the water and try to bask to get warm again."

But getting out of the water on a cold day isn't a good idea; the air is usually colder than the water itself, meaning that these ectothermic (or cold-blooded) creatures typically freeze to death, Ross sad.

Luckily, because they live in tropical habitats, crocodilians generally don't face freezing temperatures. But the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), a member of the order Crocodilia, sometimes finds itself in chilly conditions, especially the individuals that live as far north as North Carolina on the East Coast and others that live in the southern half of Arkansas, above Louisiana, Ross said.

In the video, posted to Facebook on Jan. 5, several alligator snouts can be seen poking up through the ice at Shallotte River Swamp Park, in Ocean Isle Beach, a seaside town in southern North Carolina.

"[They're] giving themselves the ability to be able to breathe, even though it's all iced up," the videographer says. "Here, we are in our freezing last few days, and the alligators are doing their thing."

However, this snout-above-water trick doesn't always work. In 1977, a male American alligator stuck its nose through a 4-inch-diameter (10 centimeters) hole after the reservoir where it was living in South Carolina froze over, according to a 1982 study in the journal The American Midland Naturalist.

The alligator periodically lifted its nose out of the water to breathe, the researchers observed. But they discovered its dead body a few days later, floating below the recently iced-over hole. Because no one saw the alligator die, it wasn't clear whether the alligator died before or after ice covered its breathing hole, the study authors wrote.

The takeaway? Cold water causes alligator body functions to slow down. So, whether or not they have a breathing hole, alligators have trouble surviving in water that's below about 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius), the researchers wrote.

Original article on Live Science.
Up to 2,000 people in Utah who visited a 7-Eleven store may have been exposed to hepatitis A, officials warned this week. But exactly how do people contract the disease?

On Sunday (Jan. 7), the Salt Lake County Health Department announced that a 7-Eleven employee in West Jordan had worked while sick with hepatitis A. Because of this, customers of that store may be at risk for hepatitis A exposure if they visited the store from Dec. 26 to Jan. 3 and used the restroom there, or consumed certain food or drink items. These items include fountain drinks or other self-serve beverages, fresh fruit or hot food items such as pizza, hot dogs, chicken wings or taquitos, the health department said. Customers are not at risk for hepatitis A exposure if they bought items such as bottled beverages or packaged food.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

In general, people become infected with hepatitis A through the "fecal-oral" route  that is, when small amounts of stool from an ill person contaminate objects, food or drinks that are then touched and ingested by another person, the CDC says.

People can also contract the disease through close contact with an infected person, such as through sex or caring for someone with the virus; or through the sharing of equipment related to illicit drug use (including both injection and non-injection drugs), the CDC says.

Symptoms of hepatitis A infection can range from mild to severe, and include fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, dark-yellow urine, joint pain and jaundice (a yellowing of the skin and eyes), according to the CDC. People usually don't show symptoms until two to six weeks after they've been infected with the virus.

People with the infection usually get better on their own without a specific treatment, but in some cases, the infection can lead to liver failure, particularly in older adults or people who have other liver diseases, according to the National Institutes of Health.

In the Utah case, officials are urging customers who are at risk for hepatitis A exposure (either because they used the restroom or consumed specific food items) to contact the health department for information about receiving the vaccine.

The vaccine can prevent hepatitis A infection, but those who've been exposed to the virus must receive it within a short time after the exposure for it to be effective, according to the Salt Lake County Health Department.

As of Monday (Jan. 8), about 250 people in the area had contacted the health department and been told they should get a hepatitis A vaccine because of possible exposure at the 7-Eleven, according to local news station Fox 13 in Salt Lake City.

The 7-Eleven employee case appears to be part of a larger hepatitis A outbreak in the Salt Lake County area, which started in August 2017. The 7-Eleven involved in this case has now been sanitized, the health department said.

Original article on Live Science.
There has been a surge in the number of patients presenting to GPs all over the country with flu-like illnesses, according to local GP and Chairman of the IMO GP Committee, Dr Padraig McGarry.

The dominant strain of the virus in Ireland at the moment is the same one that hit Australia during its last winter.

The flue claimed the lives of 300 of people in Australia, earning it the nickname 'Aussie Flu'.

Only months later, as the flu hits Ireland, hospital and GP waiting rooms are seeing an influx in patients presenting with the flu.

Cases of swine flu and the B strain have also been detected in Ireland.

Most people who are well should be able to get over it themselves by taking something like ibuprofen, Dr McGarry explained to the Leader last week.

But some will require more treatment, such as the elderly, pregnant women, or those with chronic illnesses such as diabetes.

The HSE has warned that the deadly H3N2 virus could spark the worst flu outbreak in the country in 50 years and, ahead of the reopening of schools on Monday, Irish people were warned to keep their children home if they were showing any flu-like symptoms.

Symptoms for the flu arent just sniffles and coughing, though you will often have those too, combined with a high temperature, Dr McGarry explained.

Flu symptoms are things like shivers or chills, aches and pains - youre flattened with it. Its much more severe than sniffles and a cough.

And the advice if you do have any of those symptoms would be to stay home, because if you go to school or work, youll share that virus with others.

If you feel you have symptoms, you should consult undertheweather.ie and thats a great resource.

If you are concerned, ring your GP and talk to a nurse, and if you feel you need further care, your doctor will see you.

The HSE has been providing the annual flu vaccine for those at risk of contracting the virus.

The annual vaccine contains both the A and B strain flu virus, which are the current strains running at the moment, said Dr McGarry.

Weve been giving it out since September and early October to the elderly and those at risk.

If you havent received the vaccine, its not too late to get it. It takes a week to ten days to set in.

People in at risk groups such as pregnant women or those over the age of 65 can get the flu vaccine itself free of charge.

This is because they are at much greater risk of becoming seriously unwell if they catch flu, and may need specific treatment or hospital care.
Local GP and Chairperson of the IMO GP Committee, Dr Padraig McGarry has called on the government to start supporting the need for an amended GP contract in 2018.

Dr McGarry sent out a tweet on New Year's Day demanding that serious action be taken this year.

The current GP contract is 40 years old and it was developed in a different time when there were different requirements, Dr McGarry explained to the Leader.

 It needs to be updated to deal with the issues that GPs are currently facing.

Negotiations have been going on for nine or ten months but, to date, there has been no solid commitment by the Government to fund that.

Only 3.6% of the health budget goes to general practice, Dr McGarry explained, adding that, in other jurisdictions, that figure is a comparable eight or nine percent.

There is no way we can have another contract under the current funding model, he continued.

Everybody from all strata has agreed that the General Practice is severely underfunded.

We can talk all we like about a new contract, but until that funding is provided, it wont happen.

One of the issues for General Practice is attracting new GPs into the service, as many newly-qualified doctors are opting to go to other jurisdictions with a better contract.

It is estimated that by 2025, there will be 2,500 new GPs needed, Dr McGarry explained.

Many GPs at the moment are over the age of 60 and will retire in the next five years and it is unlikely that, under the current contract, they will be replaced.

Until General Practice becomes a career which people opt into as a first choice, we will not be able to attract new GPs and that will become a huge problem especially in rural Ireland.

And the question Ive asked is Is the government up for it?

Minister for Health Simon Harris TD responded to Dr McGarry's tweet with a simple: I'm up for it! But Dr McGarry says that unless he can get the full backing of the Government, this won't be enough.

I have no doubt that he is up for it. But this will only come about if the government gets behind the department of health to provide the resources necessary, he concluded.
Tech & Science, Local News, Crime, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: January 10 2018

Unmanned Aerial System Program will be Used to Enhance Public Safety, Assist in Natural Disaster Response.

Albany, NY - January 10, 2017 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the launch of the new State Police Unmanned Aerial System program, which will be used to support law enforcement missions, including disaster response and traffic safety. The first four State Police aerial drones will be put into service this month in Troop A, which serves eight counties in Western New York, Troop D, which serves seven counties in the Central New York region, Troop F, which serves five southern counties west of the Hudson River, and Troop G, which serves ten counties in the Capital Region. By April 2018, an additional 14 aerial drones will be deployed throughout the state.

"This state-of-the-art technology will improve emergency response, improve operational and cost efficiencies and increase Trooper safety," Governor Cuomo said. "We will continue to implement innovative technologies to improve our ability to protect New Yorkers across this great state."

The State Police will use Unmanned Aerial System technologies for law enforcement and public safety missions, taking advantage of the flexibility and efficiencies that aerial drones provide. Acquiring and operating the systems provide a significant cost savings over manned aircraft, and will be deployed in multiple locations across the state, reducing response times and making operations more efficient and cost-effective. The aerial drones can also be used in dangerous situations and environments, including natural disasters, keeping State Troopers out of harm's way.

The Unmanned Aerial System can document and help reconstruct serious motor vehicle crashes in less time than with current methods, resulting in shorter road closures, lessening the impact on motorists. Investigators will also use the aerial drones to document and photograph crime scenes.

State Police members who will operate the Unmanned Aerial System will be FAA certified and undergo 32 hours of hands-on training with the systems.

State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said, "The aerial drone systems we are deploying bring substantial benefits to our Troopers in the field, and are representative of our ongoing efforts to provide the tools they need to deliver outstanding service to the public. I want to thank Governor Cuomo and the Trooper Foundation for their continued support of the State Police."
Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Arts & Culture

By Long Island News & PR Published: January 10 2018

Director Susan Lacy, director Laurie Simmons, and writer Yaron Brook will be Tom Needhams guests this Thursday on WUSBs The Sounds of Film.

Stony Brook, NY - January 10, 2017 - will feature exclusive interviews with Spielberg director Susan Lacy, My Art director Laurie Simmons, and the Executive Chairman of the Ayn Rand Institute, Yaron Brook. Tom Needhams The Sounds of Film will feature exclusive interviews with Spielberg director Susan Lacy, My Art director Laurie Simmons, and the Executive Chairman of the Ayn Rand Institute, Yaron Brook.

Award-winning filmmaker, Susan Lacy, is widely known as the creator of PBS American Masters. Besides being the long-running series executive producer, Susan also directed multiple films for the series including documentaries about David Geffen, Joni Mitchell, and Judy Garland. Susan recently left PBS for HBO, where she has made the acclaimed documentary, Spielberg. The film features interviews with Tom Hanks, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Harrison Ford. Susan will be speaking to Tom Needham about her intimate portrait of the worlds most successful filmmaker.



Laurie Simmons in My Art. Credit: The Sounds of Film



In addition, Susan will be speaking about her efforts to help restore the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Centre, which burned down over a year ago. The Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Centre is presenting the American Values Film Series featuring screenings of movies like All the Presidents Men, Casablanca, and Chicago at area venues until the theatre is rebuilt. The series will feature an amazing lineup of guest speakers including Julie Andrews, Laurie Anderson and Isabella Rossallini.

Laurie Simmons is a widely recognized artist, known for her photographic strategies as part of The Picture Generationa name taken from a 2009 exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art that included Simmon, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, among others. Her work is included in the collections of The Brooklyn Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum, among others. In 2006, she wrote and directed a short film, The Music of Regret, starring Meryl Streep. Her film, My Art was an official selection at the Venice Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival. This is Lauries first film that she has written, directed and starred in, along with her daughter, Lena Dunham, Parker Posey, and Blair Brown. The film tells the story of an artist who tries to reinvent herself as she pursues recognition in the art world. The film opens at the Quad Cinemas in New York City on January 12th.

Lastly, the Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Center, Yaron Brook, will be speaking with Tom Needham about his upcoming debate with economics editor, Gene Epstein, as part of the Soho Forum Debate at the Subculture Theater on January 16th. Yaron and Gene will be having a debate about selfishness. Yaron hosts the radio show The Yaron Brook Show and is the co-author of Equal is Unfair: Americas Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality.

About the Sounds of Film
by Ray Schultz , January 9, 2018

Sendwithus, a communications management company, has ramped up its executive team in the wake of its recent $5 million Series A funding round, naming Megan Tobin as vice president of marketing and Will Warren as vice president of engineering.

The firms mission is to help companies create global, targeted transactional emails quickly and at scale, the company says.

Tobin has led marketing strategy for several B2B cloud technology companies and SaaS providers, most recently serving as director of creative and brand for HR software provider TriNet.

Warren was most recently co-founder and CTO of GroupBy Inc., and helped grow the firm from zero to 70 team members in four years. He has one awarded patent and several pending.

Sendwithus serves a variety of mid-market, high-volume clients  its bread and butter  but has discovered that large enterprise mailers are also using its email tool  large-scale enterprises with many brands and product lines, Tobin says.

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It will launch a tailored enterprise solution in the spring to help those companies with their email workflows. It is now in beta, Tobin adds.

Tobin says she is drawn to companies that help clients resolve problems. Sendwithus staffers are avid fans of listening to feedback and truly solve the problem, she says. Matt Harris, Co-founder and CEO of Sendwithus, states that Tobin and Warren will bring considerable bench strength to the company.
by Melynda Fuller , January 9, 2018

Following the fallout from Michael Wolffs book Fire and Fury, which quoted the former White House insider blasting President Trump, his family and advisors, Steve Bannon is stepping down from his post as executive chairman at conservative news site Breitbart.

According to The New York Times, Rebekah Mercer, a financial backer and board member at the publication, forced his ousting. As Bannon left the publication last year for a post as chief strategist inside the White House, he liquidated his financial stake in the operation, ultimately leaving him in a vulnerable position upon his return.

Following the publication of Fire and Fury, Bannon attempted an apology, claiming he was misquoted and taken out of context in Wolffs book. However, those associated with the right-wing publication ultimately chose the president over their former editorial leader.

In an announcement on the Breitbart website, Bannon stated: Im proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform.

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Bannon, who became closely associated with the core editorial message of the website after the death of its founder, Andrew Breitbart, in 2012, is reportedly working with the publication for a smooth transition.
by Ray Schultz , January 10, 2018

Alphabet Communication (AlphC) has been granted a U.S. patent for its process that assigns an email address to every physical address in the world.

With this platform, the geo-coded email created can be used as the universal form of communication linking the entire global population, states Shafin Valla, the founder of AlphC.

AlphC authenticates email addresses via cell phone verification, and links all occupants of an address to a geo-coded email created for that physical address, the company says. It adds that these geo-coded emails cannot be duplicated.

Once an address is authenticated, we reverse code it based on latitude and longitude and drop these coordinates in the email created (which you don't see, Valla explains. You only see the address. This is the patent granted.

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This is optimal for marketers, but the firm does not allow this process to be used for targeting exact addresses.

"We would license to a firm, and based on panning the area marketers would know that in that particular area 100 or 5000 clients fit their needs, Valla says. The exact locations would not be available (privacy).

The platform enables governments to reach citizens at their home addresses for emergency communications during disasters.

The company is seeking licensing agreements that provide autonomy to countries and authorities based on local needs and privacy issues.

Valla notes that the firm has not yet deployed, as we are seeking licensing agreements with the government. For example, FEMA or Homeland Security. They would then deploy based on their needs and those of the individual states and counties.

In addition to these services, population migration can be tracked, allowing for the management of resources and infrastructure. Population mapping can also be facilitated by data transfer from drivers licenses and other government data sources.

The product can also assist in the prevention of crime and terrorism, the company states.

The two year-old Toronto-based company, which specializes in emergency and crisis communication, is not to be confused with Google parent Alphabet. It has trademarked the name Alphabet Communications, Valla says.

The U.S. patent granted the firm is No. 9,860,203
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, January 10, 2018

Online classifieds site Backpage will ask a federal appellate court to block Missouri Attorney General Joshua Hawley from proceeding with an investigation of the company, court records reveal.

Backpage, which is fighting multiple lawsuits by sex-trafficking victims, recently sought a court order preventing Hawley from enforcing a demand for seven years' worth of records related to operations and editorial practices. Hawley's investigation centered on whether Backpage's ad practices -- including its controversial practice of allowing thinly veiled prostitution ads -- violated a state consumer protection law that bans unfair and deceptive practices.

Last year, Backpage said it would shutter its "adult" ads section. But since then, many of those ads appear to have migrated to other sections of the site.

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In late November, U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia Cohen in St. Louis denied the company's request to enjoin Hawley, ruling that the federal court lacked grounds to get involved in the battle between Backpage and Hawley. "In this case, there are (or were) adequate opportunities for Backpage to present its federal claims in the state-court action," Cohen wrote.

The company recently filed the paperwork to appeal that decision to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Backpage had argued to the trial judge that Hawley's investigation should be blocked on the grounds that the Communications Decency Act protects web sites from prosecution for illegal ads posted by users.

Hawley countered that Backpage may not be entitled to immunity due to evidence that it "played a direct and active role in creation, soliciting, and promoting advertisements for illegal commercial sex on its website."

Cohen dismissed Backpage's request without ruling on whether the company was entitled to immunity for ads related to sex trafficking.

Congress is considering amending the Communications Decency Act by allowing sex-trafficking victims to pursue civil lawsuits against some websites that ran prostitution ads, and enabling state officials to prosecute businesses that violate federal sex-trafficking laws.
The United States is in the grips of what some have dubbed an opioid epidemic. New research explores how pediatric surgical patients fit into this bleak picture. Share on Pinterest A new study investigates opioid use in a young population. Across all age groups, opioid prescriptions have been steadily rising since the 1990s. This has, in turn, led to an increase in opioid addiction and, consequently, opioid-related deaths and heroin use. Between 1997 and 2012, adolescent opioid use rose by 176 percent and heroin use rose by 161 percent. Following surgical procedures, opioids are very useful for treating pain. For many people, this is their first contact with opioids. In fact, research has shown that postoperative pain management is a significant risk factor for prolonged opioid use in adults.

Opioids in adolescents and young adults Postoperative opioid prescribing varies widely for both adults and children. In some instances, large doses are prescribed, even after more minor procedures. Although children seem to be more vulnerable to drug addiction than adults, very little is known about prescription opioid use following surgery in adolescents and young people. A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, set out to address this gap in our knowledge. As the study authors explain, Our study is the first in which researchers evaluated persistent opioid use after surgical care in the adolescent and young adult age group. The researchers carried out a retrospective study that included 88,637 surgical patients who were aged 1321, none of whom had taken opioids before their surgery, and none had any further surgery in the 6 months following the original procedure. This group was compared with a control sample of almost 3 million 1321-year-olds, who had not had surgery.

Persistent opioid use The team investigated the percentage of surgical patients who continued to use opioids for longer than would normally be deemed necessary. In this case, persistent opioid use is defined as filling one or more opioid prescriptions between 90 and 180 days after surgery. In the surgical group, persistent opioid use was found in 4.8 percent of patients, compared with just 0.1 percent of the control group. It was also noted that many of these filled prescriptions of substantial quantity [] equivalent to refills of 40 tablets of hydrocodone (5-milligram tablets) or 26 tablets of oxycodone (5-milligram tablets) at 6 months after surgery. The percentage of people who continued to use opioids depended on surgery type. The lowest usage rates were seen following orchiopexy, a procedure to move an undescended testicle (2.7 percent), and the highest were observed following colectomy, which is the removal of part of the bowel (15.2 percent). Further research is needed to understand why there is such a large difference between surgical procedures. Other factors that increased the likelihood of continued opioid use included age (older children were more at risk) and sex (females were more at risk). As the authors explain: These findings raise concern that acute exposure to opioids for postoperative pain management may be associated with a risk of long-term use for a significant number of adolescents and young adults. They continue, [P]rolonged perioperative opioid refills may be placing vulnerable adolescent and young adult patients and their local communities at a higher risk than previously appreciated.
HIV therapy involves a combination of drugs that must be taken once or twice daily, making treatment adherence challenging for many people. But researchers may have found a solution to this problem, in the form of a pill that only needs to be taken once per week. Share on Pinterest Researchers have developed a pill for HIV that would only need to be taken once weekly. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brigham and Womens Hospital  both located in Boston, MA  have developed an ingestible capsule that can slowly release 1 weeks worth of antiretroviral drugs. The teams novel creation has the potential to transform HIV therapy, as it means that people may only need to take a single pill once every week, rather than multiple medications every day. Co-lead study author Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT, and his colleagues believe that their pillbox in a capsule could combat the current problem of adherence to antiretroviral therapy; research has indicated that up to 30 percent of people with HIV fail to stick to their treatment regimen. Langer and his colleagues recently reported the details of their new creation in the journal Nature Communications.

HIV and antiretroviral therapy HIV is a virus that attacks and destroys immune cells that are important for staving off infection and disease. If left untreated, HIV can progress to AIDS, wherein a persons immune system is so severely damaged that they become vulnerable to serious illnesses. In 2016, there were around 36.7 million people across the globe living with HIV or AIDS. Of these individuals, around 1.8 million were newly infected. Just 30 years ago, HIV was considered by many as a death sentence. Today, the virus can be successfully managed with antiretroviral drugs, which work by reducing the level of HIV in the body. A combination of different antiretroviral drugs must be taken every day in order for treatment to be successful, but patients can find it hard to stick to such a regimen. One of the main barriers to treating and preventing HIV is adherence, notes the studys co-author Giovanni Traverso, of the MITs Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. The ability to make doses less frequent stands to improve adherence and make a significant impact at the patient level. These slow-release dosage systems perform equal or better than the current daily doses for HIV treatment in preclinical models, he adds.

Building the pillbox in a capsule With this in mind, the researchers decided to build on an idea that first emerged in 2016, which was an ingestible capsule that could remain in the stomach for 2 weeks and deliver drugs. In a previous study, Langer and his colleagues demonstrated how the capsule could help to treat malaria by slowly releasing controlled doses of the malaria drug ivermectin. For their latest study, the team looked at whether the capsule could be effective for the treatment of HIV, but some design changes were required. The original capsule consisted of six arms made of a single, strong polymer. Each arm was loaded with drugs and folded in. After ingestion, the arms folded out and released the drugs. For the treatment of HIV, however, the capsule would need to be able to release different drugs at different rates  something that the original design did not allow. As such, the team adapted the design. The main structure of the new capsule is still built from a single, strong polymer, but each of the six arms can hold a different medication, thanks to the addition of release polymers. In a way, its like putting a pillbox in a capsule. Now you have chambers for every day of the week on a single capsule, says Traverso.
Indian princess-turned-spy Noor Inayat Khan is one of the most underrated figures in world history. Born to Hazrat Inayat Khan she was the direct descendant of Tipu Sultan, a Muslim ruler in 18th century India, and her life as a British spy during World War II is one of the greatest untold stories of our times.

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Noor Inayat was born in Moscow but World War I forced her father to relocate the family to Suresnes, France where the family had to settle at the time. Inayat, from a very young age was deeply interested in the arts. She learned to play the veena as well as the harp and developed a fondness for reading children's books.

The quiet, sensitive and dreamy Noor Inayat Khan had to take on the responsibility of her younger siblings after the death of her father in 1927. And so, when France was overrun by the Germans in World War II, Inayat and her family decided to flee to Bordeaux and from there to England by sea in 1940. At just 25, she finally began her career as a writer and published a children's book titled Twenty Jataka Tales.

Deeply disturbed by the Nazi propaganda from a young age and the rising hate in the society, Noor Inayat decided to enroll herself in the fight against Nazis by volunteering for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in 1940 and thereby formally trained as a wireless operator. In 1942 she finally joined Churchill's Special Operation Executive task force that was meant to dissect the enemy territory in France through resistant movements and spy craft.

Although she failed mock interrogations quite often during her training, Noor Inayat's determination to contribute in the fight against Nazis kept her afloat. She was still dissed by her seniors with one of the commanding officers commenting that her recommendation for duty was 'nonsense'.

 Wikipeda

Finally, during her training as a W/T operator Noor Inayat Khan finally found her calling. Since she was an instrument player, her style of tapping made her a natural signaller. And so, in June 1943, Noor Inayat was parachuted into Paris as SOE's first undercover female radio operator in France. All women officers before her were sent as couriers and this was a huge responsibility for her.

But barely one week after her batch landed in Paris, most of the SOE's operators were caught by the Gestapo after a tip by one of the French pilots who were in the know-how of the British secret mission. But Inayat managed to escape and refused to be extradited to Britain, fully aware of the risks if she was caught.

After three months of intelligence, the Gestapo finally caught Noor in Paris. Barely hours after her arrest, Noor decided to try and escape through the bathroom window. She was, however, caught by the guards and beaten mercilessly. Still determined to escape, Noor tried it once again unsuccessfully and was reprimanded into solitary confinement and violent interrogations. After a year of captivity, she was finally transferred to Dachau concentration camp and was brutally tortured before execution. Her last word before being shot by the Nazi Shooting squad was liberte.

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Noor Inayat then, was a symbol of true grit and service to humanity in the darkest phase of human history. Because of her service and kind spirit she was awarded the George Cross, Britain's highest civilian decoration in 1949. She was also awarded the Croix se Guerre, France's best known military decoration.
Let's get a few things straight, no robot can ever replace our furry friends no matter how intelligent they are. Having said that, Sony showed off their awesome robot pet at CES 2018 again with the robotic dog Aibo.

 Reuters

According to Sony, It forms an emotional bond with members of your household while providing them with love, affection, and the joy of nurturing and raising a companion. umm, maybe?The robot itself moves along 22 axes and has actuators that are tiny in size to help make it move smoothly. The robotic dog's eyes are made up of two OLED panels which can display emotions. The robotic doing itself cannot last that long on a single charge and according to Sony, it can prance around for almost two full hours. The annoying bit about the robot is that it requires at least three hours to be fully charged.

 Reuters

According to Sony, Aibo can learn about its owners and what makes them happy; adjusting its behaviour in accordance with the data it gathers. The dog is also capable of seeking out owners on its own if it feels lonely. The digital dog uses deep learning technology and can also interact/analyse sounds/images. Aibo also uses cloud computing to learn about experiences from other Aibo dogs and owners.

 Reuters

Aibo works in sync with an app that can be used to download new tricks, access images taken from its eyes and also adjust settings. Sony will charge a subscription fee i.e. $26 per month for a minimum of three years. The subscription will give owners Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, cloud backup, and access to the app's features.

The robotic dog costs about $1700 and will only be sold in Japan as of now as there aren't any plans yet to release it outside of Sony's homeland. If you want to see how the robot dog functions, we recommend you check out the video below:
The new mill will focus on replacing the countrys imports of alloy steel, bolt steel, wire steel, spring steel and steel cord, which total more than 1 million tpy, company chairman Fuat Tosyali said, although he did not offer any details.

Construction of the plant will start in the first half of 2018, and is planned...
The U.S. Army on Wednesday announced the upcoming deployments of two armored brigades and two headquarters elements to South Korea, Europe and the Middle East.

This spring, the 3rd infantry Division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team will deploy to South Korea as part of a regular rotation of forces to the peninsula, according to a Jan. 10 Army press release.

The 1st ABCT, which is stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, will replace the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

"The Raider Brigade has a proud history of answering the nation's call. Our unit recently completed a rigorous training cycle that culminated with a decisive action training environment rotation to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California," said Col. Mike Adams, 1st Armored Brigade commander.

"We are trained and ready to perform our mission as part of a long-standing alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States."

This deployment marks the historic return of the 3rd Infantry Division to Korea, according to the release. The division supported combat missions of the Eighth Army until 1953, fighting valiantly during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir and at the Chorwon-Kumwha area, Jackson Heights, and Arrowhead outposts.

The Army's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, will deploy to Europe this summer, the release states.

The 1st Armored Brigade, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, will replace 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, as part of a regular rotation of forces to support Operation Atlantic Resolve.

"The Ironhorse Brigade looks forward to returning to Europe to continue working with our NATO and regional partners," said Col. Wilson Rutherford IV, commander of 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. "We are a trained armored brigade combat team which is fully prepared to conduct a full range of operations in support of U.S. Army Europe. Our professional leaders and soldiers are honored at the opportunity to contribute to this long-standing strategic alliance."

The Army also announced the deployments of two headquarters elements scheduled for this spring.

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) headquarters, stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will deploy to Afghanistan to replace the 3rd Infantry Division's headquarters as part of a regular rotation of forces to support Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the release states.

"The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) remains, as it did 75 years ago when it was forged during the maelstrom of World War II, ready to answer the call to fight and win our nation's wars," said Maj. Gen. Andrew P. Poppas, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) commander. "This will be the division headquarters' fourth deployment to Afghanistan in the last decade. We know the terrain, we know our partners and we know our mission."

Also this spring, 10th Mountain Division Headquarters, stationed at Fort Drum, New York, will deploy to Iraq to replace the 1st Armored Division Headquarters as part of a regular rotation of forces to support Operation Inherent Resolve.

"During the last several months, the 10th Mountain Division staff and leaders have worked hard and completed multiple training events to include an intense warfighter exercise in preparation for Operation Inherent Resolve," said Maj. Gen. Walter E. Piatt, commanding general of Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division.

"We are honored to be part of the global coalition in support of the Iraqi Security Forces as they consolidate gains from their successful efforts to achieve a lasting defeat of ISIS in Iraq. We will build upon the success of the 1st Armored Division as we look forward to partnering with the coalition forces and the Iraqi Security Forces as they build long-term stability through credible and ready security forces."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
Congress Wants to Know How the Air Force Will Get a Better F-35A Engine

The legislation calls on the Pentagon to tell lawmakers how it would integrate the propulsion system being developed under...
Anna Mae Hays -- an Army nurse who served in malaria-infested jungles during World War II, pioneered the service's nurse corps and became the U.S military's first female general -- died Jan. 7, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Hays, 97, died of complications from a heart attack, the Post reported.

Hays retired from the Army in 1971 after making history when she became the first woman to be promoted to brigadier general on June 11, 1970.

She joined the Army in 1942 and deployed to Ledo, Assam, India, with the 20th General Hospital in January 1943, according to a biography on armyheritage.org.

The hospital was stationed at the entrance to the famous Ledo Road, which cut through the jungles into Burma.

"Assam was one of the worst, if not the worst, malaria districts in the whole world. So, most of our staff suffered from malaria and, of course, there were hundreds of patients with malaria," Hays said in a 1983 interview as part of an oral history collected for the U.S. Army Senior Officer Oral History Program and housed in the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Hays also helped treat wounded men from the Army's famed Merrill's Marauders commando unit.

"I can definitely recall how the patients would come to us in the operating room in need of emergency surgery, full of caked mud, and how it would have to be scraped off their bodies prior to surgery," Hays said in the oral history.

"Sometimes, we just didn't have time to clean them. We had to operate on them immediately," she said.

When war broke out in Korea, she mobilized with the 4th Field Hospital, and participated in the Inchon Landing, according to her biography on armyheritage.org.

The 4th Field Hospital cared for more than 25,000 patients between September 1950 and July 1951, one night receiving 700 patients.

In July 1967 she was promoted to full colonel and, on Sept. 1, 1967, Hays was sworn in as the 13th chief of the Army Nurse Corps, a position she would hold until her retirement, her bio states.

During the Vietnam War, Hays traveled to Vietnam three times to assess the state of nursing there and oversaw formation of new training programs and a dramatic increase in the number of nurses deployed overseas, according to her bio.

After retiring on Aug. 31, 1971, Hays missed the Army.

"Well, I have to be very honest: One day being responsible to the surgeon general for 21,000 men and women, who represented one-fifth of the more than 103,000 Army Medical Department personnel, and then the next day, not having any responsibility, is quite an adjustment to make," she said in her bio.

"However, I think I did very well. All sorts of things kept me busy. I've missed the Army. I miss being part of a moving, dynamic situation," she said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
While rumors of service members unintentionally opting-in to the military's new retirement system surfaced on social media this week, Pentagon officials said they have not received any reports of problems.

The program, known as the Blended Retirement System (BRS), launched Jan. 1 and includes automatic Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions with government matching.

Current service members with less than 12 years of service as of Dec. 31, 2017, or Guard and Reserve members with 4,320 retirement points or less can elect to move into the BRS from the current "high three" system, but forfeit the traditional military pension program by doing so.

Troops who joined the military Jan. 1 or thereafter are automatically enrolled in the BRS.

"To our knowledge, there have been no issues with the MyPay BRS opt-in system functionality," Army Maj. Dave Eastburn, a Defense Department spokesman, said in a statement to Military.com.

Related: The Blended Retirement System Explained

Troops can move themselves into the BRS through several clicks in their online MyPay account by first selecting the home screen "Blended Retirement System Opt-In" link.

Visiting that takes the user through a series of four steps:

In the first, the user confirms he or she has taken the mandatory training.

A second screen requires the user to click a button acknowledging that the decision to opt-in is irreversible.

A third step asks the user to update home address and date of birth, as well as click yet another button acknowledging the decision is irreversible.

A final, fourth screen again states that the decision is irreversible, and instructs users to click a main menu button to finish the process.

Despite those on-screen warnings, some service members and at least one military spouse have reported completing the steps and locking themselves into the new system without meaning to do so.

Eastburn cautioned users to utilize the steps only to complete the opt-in process, not to learn more information about the program.

"The MyPay opt-in link is designed to allow members to opt-in once they have already made a decision," he said.

"It is not designed to be an information source, which is why the first screen asks if the member has already completed the mandatory opt-in training, which, along with DoD's BRS policy, clearly informs members that the BRS opt-in decision is irrevocable," Eastburn said.

-- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com.
When Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller told Marines deployed to Norway in December that he believed a war is coming, the prediction made international headlines.

But asked Wednesday about Neller's remark, President Donald Trump said he sees things differently.

"I hope I'm wrong, but there's a war coming, there's a big a-- fight coming," Neller told Marines at Vaernes Garrison, near Trondheim, during a brief visit. " ... It's coming and your unit's responsibility is to get you ready. Your responsibility is to exert yourself in that preparation."

Military.com exclusively reported the remarks.

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During a joint press conference between Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Trump at the White House on Wednesday, a reporter from a Norwegian broadcasting organization asked the president about the remarks.

"Mr. President, how imminent is that big war, and where will it take place?" the reporter asked.

Trump said he sees things differently, predicting a "long period of peace," in the nation's future.

"Maybe [Neller] knows something that I don't know," Trump said. "I would say this: We have a very powerful military. We're getting more powerful by the month, by the day. We're ordering a lot of the equipment that you're ordering. We're ordering it, but in larger amounts, to put it mildly. We're building up our military to a point that we've never been before."

During the presser, Trump also discussed Norway's purchase of the American-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, saying the United States makes the best warfighting equipment.

Trump said he predicts "peace through strength" and said he is optimistic about talks surrounding North Korea.

"I think the military will be stronger than it ever was in a short period of time, and that's my opinion," he said. "That's not the general's opinion, but I think my opinion counts more right now."

Neller, who made the remark on a nine-country tour of deployed Marine units, did not specify which country he thought presented the greatest threat of war.

In addresses to Marines in the following days, he appeared to walk back his initial comments somewhat, saying he did not know if war is imminent and hoped that it is not, but that Marines nonetheless should be prepared for any fight.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
The U.S. military is poised to launch a secret payload, code-name Zuma, this weekend on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, if the weather doesn't get in the way.

California-based SpaceX, headed by Elon Musk, announced via Twitter the launch -- which has been repeatedly delayed since November -- has been pushed back to Jan. 7.

"Team at the Cape completed additional propellant loading tests today. Extreme weather slowed operations but Falcon 9 and the Zuma spacecraft are healthy and go for launch -- now targeting January 7 from Pad 40 in Florida," the company tweeted Thursday, referencing Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The mission, Zuma, remains shrouded in mystery. The payload is some sort of "spacecraft" that will conduct a low-Earth orbit, according to the mission's press release. Indeed, it's not even clear which government agency is responsible for the effort.

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In September, the U.S. Air Force's covert X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle hitched a ride for the first time aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, marking the fifth mission for the experimental craft.

The company also is planning to launch its Falcon Heavy rocket soon.

The heavy-lift booster rocket will make its operational, maiden flight sometime this month. Musk intends to send his 2008 Tesla Roadster deep into space atop of the rocket, the CEO announced Thursday via Instagram.

If the launch of the Falcon Heavy is successful, it will make the rocket the most powerful in the world thanks to its 27 Merlin engines, which produce roughly 5.1 million pounds of thrust.

That is "equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft. Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit," according to SpaceX.

Falcon Heavy is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center's launch complex 39A, originally built for the historic Apollo missions.

-- Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office was responsible for the mission. The story was updated to correct this reference.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
The days of treating amphibious ships like shuttle buses that get Marines to the fight are over.

The commandant of the Marine Corps wants his troops to be able to "fight to get to the fight," and that may mean shaking up the loadout of the amphibious assault ship -- and possibly leaving some personnel and gear off in favor of equipment that boosts the ship's lethal power.

Speaking at the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium near Washington, D.C., Marine Maj. Gen. David Coffman, the Navy's director of expeditionary warfare, said he wants to get the service thinking differently about how to use its beloved amphibs.

Years ago, he said, the ships were viewed exclusively based on what they could carry.

"How many aircraft can you embark and operate, how many landing craft ... vehicles, rolling stock, square footage, how much cargo ... how many troops can you put in racks," he said. "That is important. But that's not an amphibious warship; that's a truck."

When troops are transiting through the Straits of Hormuz or the Bab Al Mandab on a ship, the reality of the potential threat they face comes home, Coffman said.

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In fall 2016, the crew of the destroyer Mason had to employ defensive measures when it was fired on in the Bab Al Mandab by missiles shot by Houthi rebels from the coast of Yemen.

"I make the captain do the lifeboat drill. Then I walk [around] and ask the Marines, 'Why are we doing this drill?' " Coffman said. "Because you might get sunk. And how tragic if all this combat capability, not to say the lives, are at the bottom of the ocean because we could not figure out how to integrate, physically, technically and operationally, such that we can win both the sea control and the power projection fight."

It's about minor trade-offs, Coffman said.

"The 1,232nd lance corporal in [battalion landing team] 1/1 is not as important to me as what he's doing with C5I on that ship," he said, using the acronym for command, control, communications, computers, collaboration, and intelligence.

"The 1,230th to 1,252nd lance corporal on that ship and the last seven Humvees and other stuff, get rid of all of them. You mean I'm going to get some special ops, irregular warfare capability; you mean I'm going to get some enhanced [signals intelligence]; you mean I'm going to get some better radars; you mean I'm going to get fires to do some of my own killing?" Coffman said. "Thank you, Marines, for your interest in national service. We'll see you at the beach, or we'll get you there another way."

This shift is already taking place to some extent. The LX(R) future amphibious ship design includes 650 berthing spaces for Marines, compared with 700 in the San Antonio-class amphibious assault ship that LX(R) is planned to succeed, a design change spurred by cost concerns and capability needs.

The Corps has also begun actively exploring ways to add lethality to the amphibious ship.

In a proof-of-concept exercise in October, the service fired a HIMARS rocket from the amphibious transport dock Anchorage while it was off the West Coast, obliterating a land-based target 70 miles away.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller has also publicly discussed his interest in using the available space for vertical launching system, or VLS, cells aboard the San Antonio-class amphibs to enable the ships to fire missiles.

Other technology or capability additions may be yet to be determined.

"Here's a deck on a future [amphibious] ship. What's going to go on there? I don't know yet," Coffman said. "Whatever the right person buys. Or ... what the commandant buys."

Coffman emphasized than any loadout trade-offs for amphibious ships will be on the margin, rather than wholesale swaps.

"The main battery of the L-Class amphibious assault warship is the embarked [Marine air-ground task force]," he said. "We wouldn't buy [amphibs] just to do sea control. We'd buy cruisers and destroyers or future combatants. Our proposition is, we probably need the diversity of all those things."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
CBS recently released a story about toxic chemicals at Air Force bases and their link to severe health problems, like cancer and birth defects, but this is in no way new information. In 2001, the Deseret News raised the same question: Do military bases have links to cancer?

The correlation, at least, is astounding.

In 2001, communities near Hill Air Force Base in Utah showed a high risk of developing brain cancer, while Fallon Naval Air Station was investigated for acute childhood leukemia incidents, and Kelly Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas, was revealed to have contributed to water and air pollution when clusters of cancer and leukemia popped up.

At the time, however, officials kept to a firm statement: Correlation does not equate causation.

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In other words, it was clear that military bases were contaminating the water, air, and environment. It was clear that there were higher-than-expected cases of severe illness. It was not clear that one caused the other.

Air Force bases, in particular, show high cases of contamination for a few reasons: jet fuel is extremely toxic by itself, but it is also highly flammable, requiring toxic flame retardants. These leak into the ground and contaminate water supplies; jet fuel is also known to pollute the air, especially in areas like airports or flight lines, where there are high volumes of active engines.

In 2016, residents near Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan discovered that the water they drank, bathed in, swam in, and fished in was contaminated with jet fuel, cancer-causing chlorinated solvents, and toxic fire retardants. Military families and members of the local community have since reported cases of hypertension, lung disease, nervous system issues, blood vessel damage, asthma, spinal defects, and thyroid problems.

And now, in 2018, the communities near Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, are considering a class action lawsuit due to the health defects linked to contaminated water.

The number of people -- service members, their families, and civilians in communities near military bases -- affected is in the millions (as of 2014, there were 21.8 million living veterans alone).

So, while it has been clear since the first World War that the United States and its military has a global impact, and therefore an imperative to maintain military superiority so we may continue to defend not only our way of life, but the livelihoods of our friends and allies, the question remains: at what cost?

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We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty.
America knows former Maricopa County, AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio as one of President Trump's earliest supporters and one of Steven Seagal's close personal friends. But did you know he's an Army veteran, serving from 1950-1954?

Why is this news? 85-year-old Sheriff Joe has announced that he's running for the U.S. Senate seat that currently belongs to retiring Senator Jeff Flake. He'll be 86 on election day and would be 92 when his term ended in 2025. If you think that's too old, Sheriff Joe would certainly remind you that SC Senator Strom Thurmond was still a Senator at the age of 100.

Why is Sheriff Joe running?

I am running for the U.S. Senate from the Great State of Arizona, for one unwavering reason: to support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to Make America Great Again. https://t.co/ANppBdDOtp  Sheriff Joe Arpaio (@RealSheriffJoe) January 9, 2018

Also of note: President Trump pardoned Sheriff Joe after he was convicted on a federal criminal contempt charge. Arpaio refused to follow a 2011 judicial order that his deputies not detain undocumented immigrants simply because they were undocumented. There also had to be evidence of a crime. He ignored the instruction and, in 2017, he was convicted.

Trump and Arpaio first connected over their shared belief that President Barack Obama faked his Hawaiian birth certificate and the friendship has continued all the way to the White House.

Will Sheriff Joe be Arizona's next Senator? Did you realize he was an Army veteran? How many of you were even born when he was serving as a military policeman in France in the early 1950s?
In a recent data release, Statistics Canada found that foreign nationals hold ownership of 7.9% of the condominiums in Vancouver and 7.2% of those in Toronto, a much higher proportion than previously thought.These were the findings of the most detailed Canadian government housing study to date, Bloomberg reported. Condos accounted for about 53% of foreign property ownership in Vancouver, and 44% in Toronto.For all types of real estate, foreigners owned 4.8% of properties in Vancouver and 3.4% in Toronto, Statistics Canada added. The purchases tended to be concentrated in downtown condos in both cities.Read more: Demand spreading to communities surrounding major markets The Ottawa-based agency is stepping up reporting efforts on housing in Canadas two most expensive markets after foreign buyers were blamed for pushing prices beyond what many residents could afford. Officials have consistently cited gaps in the data that made it difficult to pinpoint who was buying homes.The figures reported late last month were gathered as of May 2017 for Toronto, the month after the provincial government announced measures to cool the market. For Vancouver they were compiled as of June 2017.
Under the newest lending rules, credit unions have emerged as among the most reliable lenders brokers can use.Principal broker and Owner of CLN Mortgages Raj Babber says credit unions, which operate outside the purview of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions regulations, have been instrumental in closing deals.Theyre regulated under DICO [Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario], as opposed to OSFI, and theyve come out and said, As of right now, its business as usual, and the rates are fantastic, said Babber. Theres going to be a big switch to credit unions with brokering or mortgages being sent there. Theres only so much money that can be sent, and they do have quite a bit, but theyre going to be selective of the people they deal withpeople who are providing them volume and are efficient with closing, so its important to establish a relationship and build a good rapport with them.Although credit unions may be selective with whom they partner in the broker channel, most reputable brokerages already have strong relationships with them, and theyll merely need cultivation.Babber has been working with DUCA Credit Union and Meridian, as well as smaller ones like FirstOntario, and he exalts their rates, which he called competitive, if not better than whats being offered out there.Shane Bruce, founder of the ACME Group of Companies, says his base of St. Johns, Newfoundland, doesnt have the same resources larger provinces do, but that credit unions have emerged an excellent solution to helping clients secure mortgage financing.Most credit unions in our area arent part of the broker channel; its different when youre in bigger markets like Ontario and B.C., so we use off-the-book, he said. Ive always felt credit unions have so much to give and could take over the entire market, but they dont have the funding to take on the crazy level of business out there.In some cases, added Bruce, credit unions are by far and wide the best available option for clients, and hell refer the former to the latter, even though he doesnt make money off the transaction.What well do is bring their information to our contact at the credit unions. They (credit union) dont pay us for this, but its all about the greater good of the customer. And we dont charge the customer. We make no money off them, but the hope is the customer will come to us later and tell a friend who will tell another two friends.
Mexicos Economy Minister signaled there is common ground over a key U.S. objective in the Nafta talks, saying that strengthening the regional content rules for cars offers an opportunity to score a victory for all three nations. The peso pared its loss.

The solution is without a doubt for a strengthened rule of origin in regional automotive content, Ildefonso Guajardo told a gathering of Mexican diplomats in the nations capital on Tuesday. The list of traceability for some automotive components needs to be rethought for new technologies to send adequate signals about the strengthening of the value chains in North America.
TOP Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) officers, who had recently besieged Elphida Farm in Domboshava, beating, harassing and evicting A2 farmers on the property, have been ordered to move off the farm and barred from interfering with activities.

The top military personnel were cited in court papers as Brigadier General Stanley Mangena, Commander ZNA, Lieutenant General Edzai Chimonyo, Minister of Defence, and Minister of Lands and Agriculture Perrance Shiri.

Farmers Samuel Harry Mandiri, Alex George Mushinyi, Dzikamai Ngoshi, Isdore Mafuriranwa, Ponciano Govere and their five other colleagues claimed senior military officers invaded the farm on December 22 last year and ploughed on already germinating crops before replanting their own.

Through their lawyers Justin Zuze and Bruce Maruva, they said although the ZNA had been given the land by the responsible authority, its personnel had no right to physically and forcibly evict the farmers whose compensation for their land and alternative farms had not been provided by the government.

This is an urgent petition for an interdict against the first respondent (ZNA) from harassing the applicants and interfering with their use, possession and occupation of their respective A2 farms under Elphida, Domboshava area, which was declared to be a military establishment (cantonment) by third respondent (Chimonyo), pending relocation and compensation of the applicants by the acquiring authority, the lawyers said.

The lawyers said their clients took occupation of the land in 2002 after being allocated by government and had been living on the land for over 15 years.

They added for purposes of developing the farming area some farmers had taken loans for irrigation infrastructure, drilled boreholes and laid underground pipes, overhead irrigation system, drip irrigation facilities and fenced their farms.

The first respondent (ZNA), through the second respondent (Mangena), attempted to evict us from our pieces of land without regard to our rights of occupation arising from our offer letters which to date remain unrevoked by the fifth respondent (Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Perrance Shiri), said one affected farmer.

The matter was heard on January 2 this year by High Court judge Justice Edith Mushore, who granted an interim relief barring the military personnel from harassing the farmers.

She also interdicted the military from assaulting and harassing the applicants and all those claiming occupation through them for purposes of taking over and occupying farming units belonging to applicants.

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By Enrico Verga, a writer, consultant, and entrepreneur based in Milan. As a consultant, he concentrates on firms interested in opportunities in international and digital markets. His articles have appeared in Il Sole 24 Ore, Capo Horn, Longitude, Il Fatto Quotidiano, and many other publications. You can follow him on Twitter @enricoverga.

In 1716, Christopher Bullock said, Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes.

But before death comes old age. China is no exception, and many are concerned about the ramifications, not least the leadership of the Asiatic Dragon.

A Brief Step Back in Time

The father of the Chinese state, Mao Zedong, had an expansive vision of the future, anticipating that the Chinese would in time have a strong presence throughout the world. Consistent with this dream, his policies promoted large families. The fertility rate (the number of births per woman) stabilized around 5.9 in the 1970s.

The pace was unsustainable and in his last years, Mao proposed a new vision: Wan, Xi, Shao (later, longer, fewer). The new program aimed at slowing the birth rate by encouraging people to live longer with less children, and in fact it was not unsuccessful.

Nevertheless, Maos successor Deng Xiaoping opted for a stricter approach. Around 1980, the one-child policy was instituted throughout China. Judging by the intimacy of its reach and the sheer number of individuals affected, it could be considered the most extensive social engineering operation in the history of the world. In view of the current state of China, it will not be the last such operation.

According to quantitative analyses produced by the Chinese government (which should be examined seriously, but must be taken with a grain of salt given the governments track record massaging figures), this policy has impeded approximately 400 million births.

The Current Situation

One result has been an aberration in the gender of newborns. There are no reliable figures for the number of abortions that have taken place in China in order to make sure that boys are born rather than girls. There is now a surplus of circa 60 million males, who will often experience serious problems finding romantic partners.

In addition to these issues, there is a less visible trend: aunts and uncles are disappearing  after all, if you are an only child, you have no siblings. This phenomenon has frayed the fabric of rural life, propelling more towards the cities and suburban centers. The tradition of children caring for their elderly parents in homes was once a familiar sight (as in Europe), but is now fading away.

A child that is born now will, in about twenty years, (averaging the contributions of those who do and do not undertake advanced studies), turn into a worker unit that produces income, pays taxes, and underpins social services, including provision for the elderly. Given the demographic premises just explained, the problem of a potential collapse in the work force is acute and explosive. It is a not-unforeseen tragedy in the making, one China is trying desperately to stave off.

Increasing the Birthrate?

Recently, the Chinese government has decided to end the one-child policy. The current birthrate is reported as 1.5 per woman, while to maintain a stable population the rate should be approximately 2.1. Earlier policies have created an abnormal generational pattern, with at least one generation that will have to support a disproportionate number of seniors. The Chinese are therefore to be encouraged to have more children.

This could be more difficult than is generally assumed.

The more well-off Chinese have absorbed into their worldview the idea that multiple children are an investment of time and money that is ultimately unaffordable. The Chinese megacities are extremely socially competitive, with the costs of high class schools in the stratosphere.

There is a rich elite that might decide to have a few more children, although of course not at the rate of times past. Meanwhile, the emerging bourgeoisie, intent on clawing its way up the social ladder, sees one child as an expensive investment and two as insanity.

An aging China is thus not an issue that can be addressed by simply dropping the older policies. At the same time, the implications are serious.

Certainly the Japanese outlook is rather bleak, as seen vividly in this NYT portrait a couple of years ago of a rapidly aging nation in which entire villages are abandoned.

For China, the demographic collapse would mean a loss of productive power, with possible implications for military credibility. Current estimates indicate that by 2050, the Dragons next door neighbor, India, will be the nation with the most youth in the world. It will face a China in decline.

On the internal front, the problems are even more serious.

Chinese policies have moved 250 million people into urban centers, another social experiment that could have taken place nowhere else. One of the purposes of this forced urbanization strategy could be more efficient management of public resources in ways that might benefit the forthcoming elderly. The new urban population could be educated into buying more goods made in China, so as to create a stable demand for domestic goods and services. But while the idea seems promising, putting it into action is another matter. An aging population could work at cross-purposes to the consumption patterns required. Nor, statistically speaking, will an elderly China produce as many excellent students.

All of this is in addition to the fundamental problem of the costs of caring for an enlarged population of seniors.

Other Proposals

While the issues seem fundamentally difficult, there is nonetheless a patchwork of measures that could potentially alleviate the demographic crisis, given that the Chinese are very competent at applying ideas on a systemic scale.

Industry 4.0 could address the looming void of workers in Chinese factories: human work could in theory be substituted, at least in part, by robotic labor.

On paper it seems like a great idea. However, it has to be kept in mind that the employment crisis does not involve factories with a high level of technological inputs, but rather the opposite, and plausibly this will continue to be the case. Chinese employers have made out well during recent decades due to a favorable conjunction of low salaries, exploitation of non-specialized labor, and rural to urban migration. It is hard to imagine them now turning around and investing in supertechnology.

Industrial China is also trying out another model for substitution of Chinese labor. The idea is to use labor forces from countries where China wishes to produce and sell products. This notion has been bruited about for years: the Guardian was already outlining it in 2009. While the approach is an interesting one, it is embryonic at this point  up to now, Chinese efforts away from home have been primarily focused on attempts to lower the cost of goods sold by cutting out the costs of sea transport, rather than on hiring local workers.

If solutions to the economic and social problems associated with an aging population cannot be found soon, it is plausible that another rather drastic solution will be informally considered by the authorities.

This study shows an alarming picture of suicides among the Chinese population. The rate is particularly high among the rural elderly.

Since reliable statistics (as mentioned above) do not exist, it is possible that the incidence of suicides is above what the local media report. A recent study published in Nature supports this idea.

Given what we do know about the numbers, it is unsurprising to learn that many Chinese have distinctly open minds on the subject of euthanasia, as the China Daily reported already in 2013.

Although officially illegal, it would not be too shocking if, over time, discreetly and without fanfare, certain local authorities were to become more permissive (or negligent) in allowing their elderly Chinese citizens to accelerate their final march towards a glorious future.
Why dolphins are deep thinkers Guardians. Not news if you follow research. A Columbia philosophy professor was asked to consider the question of what it would take for another species to be a non human person. He was encouraged to study dolphins as his test case. He concluded that dolphins met the criteria he established (sadly Google is so crapified it is hard to find his book, whose title unhelpfully isnt the most transparent). Other scientists support this view. India not long ago similarly declared cetecans to be non-human persons.

Waist-deep California mudslides kill 13 BBC :-(

AT&T and Comcast finalize court victory over Nashville and Google Fiber ars technica

A letter about Google AMP AMP Letter. Important. Google being evil, as usual.

NATOs Fraudulent War on Behalf of Women Counterpunch

How New York City is tackling a mental health crisis spurred by Hurricane Sandy Grist. From late last year, but germane because we are only going to see more of this sort of thing.

India knocked its new, $3 billion nuclear-missile sub out of commission  by leaving a hatch open Business Insider (David L)

Brexit

Catalonia

Syraqistan

Russia presses EU to pay up for rebuilding Syria Financial Times

Imperial Collapse Watch

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Facebook may be ready to invade your physical world with an outrageously priced video device Quartz (margarita). This is enough to make me consider using a voice masking device and donning a fake nose and mustache every time I leave the house. When Intelligence Agencies Make Backroom Deals With the Media, Democracy Loses TruthOut (TF). Important, particularly if you arent familiar with or have forgotten the details about the Church Commission.

Trump Transition

Health Care

The Healthy Way To Hold A Conspiracy Theory Caitlin Johnstone (UserFriendly)

Report: 60+ Immigrants Killed After Being Deported, Despite Warnings to U.S. Officials Daily Beast

Senate bill to block net neutrality repeal now has 40 cosponsors The Hill (allan)

Judge: Drive to recover Colin Powells emails could be fruitful Politico (furzy)

Oprah Boomlet. Could also be classified under Kill Me Now

North Carolina Congressional Map Ruled Unconstitutionally Gerrymandered New York Times (Kevin W)

New McCarthyism

Resisting Internet Censorship: Online discussion with Chris Hedges and David North WSWS. A webinar for next Tuesday, January 16, at 7:00 pm EST. It will be live streamed on YouTube and Faceborg. They were kind enough to ask me to provide a statement, but I am not sure what would be useful and different from what others would say. By virtue of how the site has evolved, NC is much less vulnerable to being stomped on by Google and FB than most alternative news and commentary sites, but the cost of being less vulnerable is less reach, which translates into lower traffic and most important, probably lower acquisition of new readers.

Fake News

Weinstein activists are just puritans, say Catherine Deneuve and Catherine Millet The Times

Catherine Deneuve and Others Denounce the #MeToo Movement New York Times. Ive seen only a few reaction, but the denunciations seem big on straw manning and/or seem to view sex as so inherently a matter of male domination so as to pretty much prove the point about Puritanism, that sex is so fraught for women that they have to approach it with extreme caution.

Only in America

Joerg Sprave Hacks a Robot Vacuum So That It Can Carry and Fire a Glock Core77. Under only in America because even though Sprave is German, his subscribers are overwhelmingly American. Plus who would want to modify a Roomba so it could no longer be a cat toy?

Police State Watch

Gundlach Says S&P 500 Will Have Negative Return for 2018 Bloomberg

SEC Halts Trading in my Biggest Blockchain Stock Hero Wolf Street (EM)

Guillotine Watch

Class Warfare

In Defense of Economic Populism Project Syndicate

Antidote du jour (Tracie H). Meet Jeremiah:

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Yves here. While some readers will recoil at the suggestion, late in the article, that the US Federal government move towards less progressive taxation, looking at taxes alone is a misleading guide as to whether government interventions are progressive or not. For instance, taxation in Europe is regressive due to the large role of the value added tax and other consumption taxes. However, most countries have very progressive spending. By contrast, as top tax expert Lee Sheppard described the US tax system pre the passage of the Trump reforms:

US income taxes are progressive. Spending is not, so the system as a whole is not redistributive.

By Maxximilian Seijo, a graduate student in the Humanities & Cultural Studies Department at the University of South Florida

On November 15th, 2017, Paul Ryan spoke on the House floor in support of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act. He said:

I want to especially thank Senator Patty Murray for her willingness to work together on this issue. We may be on different sides of the aisle, but theres one thing we passionately agree on: what government does, it should do well. The taxpayers money should always be protected, and that is exactly why we came together to write this bipartisan legislation.

Perpetuated by both Republicans and Democrats, the orthodox conception of taxpayer money, as seen above, permeates contemporary fiscal discourse.

This conception concludes that federal spending is contingent on tax revenue, and calls upon the taxpayer to make sacrifices to ensure supposed fiscal solvency. In doing so, it artificially constrains the federal governments ability to appropriate funds to meet the needs of its polity, and perpetuates continued unemployment.

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has long argued against this orthodox vision, attempting to educate academics, policymakers and the public at large that fiscal spending is not constrained by deficits, but real resources. Given the recent passage of the Republican tax bill, and Paul Ryans call for entitlement cuts in its wake, this debate surrounding the taxpayer is as urgent as ever.

In order to shatter this orthodoxys stranglehold on it once and for all, I argue, we also need to construct an alternative image of the taxpayer, one that empowers everyone in a shared potential for public prosperity.

At the recent International Conference on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) in September, 2017, some scholars on the Humanities panel  to which I also contributed met this challenge with nuance and vigor. During the panel, professor of rhetoric William Saas provoked attendees present and online by putting a positive spin on the taxpayer trope, which MMT expressly rejects. In his talk, Saas affirmed MMTs basic theses on taxpayer money. Namely, money is an unlimited public monopoly and the taxpayer in no sense funds fiscal expenditures. Somewhat counter-intuitively, however, Saas then sought to recuperate the figure of the taxpayer in service of MMTs broader political project.

First, Saas drew attention to the taxpayer tropes wide social appeal. Next, he claimed that, rhetorically speaking, the tropes function is not primarily to reify neoclassical conceptions of money and fiscal policy but, rather, to call government officials and policymakers to account for their stewardship over the economy. As he put it,

When people object to [Steven] Mnuchins government-funded getaway or the expenditure of trillions of dollars to finance our military, they are probably objecting first to the perceived bad behavior of their representatives and other officials in Washington rather than to the violation of some sacrosanct principle of home economics.

Last and most important, Saas argued that the taxpayer figure calls into being a far more capacious political subjectivity than either the generic figure of the person or the exclusive category of the citizen permit. Neither a de facto emblem of zero-sum economics nor a necessary lightning rod for sexist and racist resentments, the taxpayer is first and foremost a political subject who is capable, in Saas view, of making a robust and inclusive claim on representative government.

Saas intervention caused quite a stir, and his paper dominated much of the panels question and answer session. Many attendees rebuffed Saas challenge, cautioning of the dangers of attempting to turn the taxpayer trope toward positive ends.

However, MMT heavyweights like Bill Mitchell and Warren Mosler seemed more amenable to the provocation. To one attendees rejoinder that the taxpayer is not an open and inclusive political subject since not all persons are subject to a tax, Mosler asserted that taxation must be understood in a more general sense as any monetary obligation to government, be it a tax, fee, or fine. Because every money user owes the currency issuer in some form or another, Mosler suggested, the taxpayer does involve the sort of inclusiveness for which Saas is arguing.

Here, I want to deepen and complicate Saas critical gesture. To be sure, the taxpayer, and the tax that they pay, are central figures in the governance project MMT describes. Yet I would go further. I contend that MMT permits us to redeem the tax as a social form and to make it the basis of a political demand for full employment.

As MMT demonstrates, taxation drives a currency by obliging persons to work for money that will satisfy their obligation to the government. It does so by disemploying the populace, creating unemployment as a ubiquitous condition involving all currency users.

What MMT reveals, then, is that the ubiquity of tax-induced unemployment lies at the heart of the money relation and the social production it enables. For this reason, I claim, it is essential to foreground the tax relation in MMTs call for full employment. The result would reimagine the form of the tax itself. If approached thoughtfully, this reimagining could initiate a broad shift in social attitudes that frame the potential of governance with greater force and clarity.

We cannot continue to rely on liberals to define the tax relationship. We must reconstitute it on MMTs own terms, divorced from failed concepts of revenue or redistribution. We must conceive of the tax as a ubiquitous socializing force and mobilize its potential for inclusive prosperity.

The Sacred Burden of Money

The link between the tax and unemployment emerges in the origins of modern chartalism, which consists of a fusion of the works of A. Mitchell Innes and Georg Friedrich Knapp. Knapp concludes that money is the definitive means of payment originating from a creation of law. To create this definitive means of payment, Innes explains, the government obliges the populace to become its debtors by levying a tax. This initial debt forces subjects to work for the currency in which the tax is denominated. Thus the tax for these early chartalists sits at the center of social obligation and production.

In setting forth this argument, Knapp and Innes imply that the tax is a qualitative, in addition to a quantitative relationship. MMT would later tease out this qualitative dimension.

Whereas the quantitative understanding serves orthodox politics of redistribution, the qualitative character of the tax affords a wider array of policy possibilities. I want to place the qualitative dimension of the tax at the center of contemporary employment politics and rethink the structure of the tax in such a way that foregrounds the reciprocal obligation between the currency issuer and users. We are bound in a covenant wherein money users owe labor to society and the money issuer owes employment to its populace. What is the best way of making this qualitative relation felt?

We find hints of how we might do so in Innes own writing. In his canonical essay, What is Money?, he characterizes the money relation as a sacred one. He speaks of the sanctity of the [debt] obligation. The word sanctity being defined as the state or quality of being holy or sacred.

Within this context, Innes statement that the sanctity of an obligation is, indeed, the foundation of all societies is a radical claim that places the qualitative indebtedness of the tax central to all social existence.

Further, the sacred aura of this statement could be extended in ways that Innes doesnt address. The broader historical context of modern Christendom provides an interesting frame in this regard. A recent essay published by Scott Ferguson and Brendan Cook contrasts the quantitative limitations of modernity with a more open and qualitative understanding of governance within Christendom.

Where the Reformations underlying zero-sum logic made the limitation of public spending seem natural and inevitable, the era of Thomas Aquinas and Dante envisioned a capacious and expansive understanding of law, government, sovereignty, and, above all, of currency as still possible. The possibility in the era of Aquinas and Dante can be tied to its openness to a co-present sense of being, a sense that God was everywhere all-at-once. Evocative of abstract money, this sense enabled an open and expansive understanding of currency.

To create taxation that mirrors this sacred sense, we must make evident that taxation and money are literally everywhere, at all times, furnishing social production and consumption through the sanctity of co-presence. It is often easy to forget, as we all rightly indict orthodox thinkers for claiming that taxation funds government spending, that taxes actually do fund government spending, but not quantitatively as orthodox thinkers suggest. Taxes fund government spending qualitatively by enabling this co-presence in the social covenant of obligation.

Emphasizing the qualitative dimension of the tax in this way should seem radical. Both moneys all-at-once-ness and Innes debt obligation are radically illiberal descriptions of modernity. They reject contracted reality and conceptions of will and voluntarism that form the ideological commitment of liberalism. They make clear that societies do not form from amalgamations of marginal economic contracts, and that the realm of the political is not furnished by liberal notions of the social contract. One doesnt choose to be a member of a society, membership is determined by a centralizing obligation to participate in a society, an obligation that exists everywhere in this sacred co-presence.

In deriving social understanding from these foundations of chartalism, we must recuperate the tax as a ubiquitous socializing mechanism. Because we are now free from the liberal confines of quantitative revenue, our tax policy must first and foremost be tasked with foregrounding this ubiquity.

Reclaiming Tax Policy

Before we rethink the nature of taxation and spending in this vein, it is worth asking how these notions take shape as policy.

One area of the world that partially elucidates how this conception of taxation could function is Western Europe. In Western Europe and Scandinavia, the burden of taxation is closer to being ubiquitously present than it is in the American context. In 2016, every OECD country with a tax-to-GDP ratio greater than the OECD average of 34.3% was European, with all but two (Greece & Slovenia) hailing from Western Europe or Scandinavia. In comparison, the United States comes 31st with a tax-to-GDP Ratio of 26%.

Many of these European countries with high tax-to-GDP ratios dont spend nearly enough to overcome the un-employing and deflationary effects of this tax burden. In fact, this under-spending is directly tied to political constraints that have crippled many EU economies.

Notwithstanding, it is evident in the fiscal design of many of these nations that theres a social and cultural openness to universal social programs and fiscal intervention that correlates with further foregrounding taxation as the central socializing force of social obligation.

In contrast, the vast burden of debt in the United States originates from private sources. One could even conclude that the US relative acceptance of privatization is significantly contributed to by this dynamic

My claim is, then, that baseline taxation regimes  excluding Pigouvian measures like wealth taxes, carbon taxes, alcohol taxes, etc.  should be less progressive and should foreground the indebtedness of all citizens in a sacred public relationship.

To make up for the inequality effects of these proposed burdensome tax regimes, government spending must nearly always outpace its revenue through even higher levels of money creation. In short, governments must spend even more to offset the un-employing, deflationary effects of an evenly distributed baseline of taxation that is qualitatively necessary. This could take the form of multiple structures, designed to address specific national needs. One design that jumps out as potentially viable is the per capita lump-sum tax.

Often called a head tax, the per capita lump-sum tax is lauded by orthodox economists for its supposed Pareto efficiency. Of course, I am proposing it here for vastly different reasons. In my mind, an equal lump-sum tax assessed to each man, woman, and child in the country gets closest to making complete the ubiquitous co-presence of the debt obligation.

It goes without saying that any regime that would ascribe a $10,000 tax bill to every man, woman and child in the United States would need complimentary spending programs that ensured that every man, woman and child had the means to pay such a debt. Such a tax would function as a social baptism that makes ubiquitously evident the nature of social existence within our modern apparatus of state governance. Now that we are free from the constraint of revenue, we are free to perform our taxation. The context of performance as conceived here owes much to Judith Butlers post-structuralist gender theory. Butler posits that structures of gender are malleable, and that the best way to make evident their malleability is through performativity. The most obvious example of this idea is the performance of a drag queen. When a biologically male person dresses flamboyantly and adopts the female gender role, they make evident that previously assumed gender structures are conceptions of orthodoxy that mustnt persist as a rule of natural law. Likewise, my baptism of taxation performativity seeks to make evident that antiquated orthodox notions of taxation are failed conceptions of a liberal era. In transcending this failed era, we must understand that the form of the tax itself is the only thing that provides us with a claim on governance and employment. Without it, we are left adrift in the wind of uncentered privation.

Coda

When Saas noted that the category of the taxpayer is a more robust and inclusive claim on representative government than the category of the citizen, he lifted the veil on an idea with profound public policy implications. In fact, the tax is the most robust and inclusive claim on representative government. Therefore, if we are to reclaim the state, as MMTers Bill Mitchell and Thomas Fazi propose in their recent book, the left must re-establish the tax as the ubiquitous claim on governance that it always was.
(Natural News) Another study has added to the growing body of evidence that links the fluoride found in water with lowered intelligence quotients (IQ) in children.

A study, which was published last year, confirmed the dangers that water fluoridation has when it is consumed by children, particularly on their IQ. Not only that, fluoridated water was also shown to adversely affect the cognitive ability of babies when this is consumed by their mothers during pregnancy.

A total of 299 mother-child pairs in Mexico were examined as part of the study. Researchers looked into the link between fluoride levels in the urine of pregnant mothers and the IQ test results of their children. The results of the study revealed that toddlers born from mothers with higher fluoride levels often had lower tests compared to those whose mothers had lower fluoride levels.

Morteza Bashash, one of the authors of the study, explained: In this study, higher prenatal fluoride exposure, in the general range of exposures reported for other general population samples of pregnant women and nonpregnant adults, was associated with lower scores on tests of cognitive function in the offspring.

In 2012, a study on the impact of fluoride on the neurological development of children was published by Harvard School of Public Health. While the study was mostly disregarded by legacy media (e.g. print media, radio, television, etc.) it gained traction when it was shared on social media in the following years and it spread awareness about the dangers of fluoridated water and how to avoid it. (Related: More science confirms fluoride exposure damages brains and lowers IQs in newborns.)

The chemical sodium fluoride, commonly known as fluoride, has been classified as a neurotoxin, along with arsenic, lead, and mercury. However, according to an article that appeared in the Waking Times, the chemical is still being added to Americas water supply for what some claim protects the health of our teeth.

Fluoride-related health risks

To the unaware, the results may be shocking, but this isnt anything new to anyone who has read up on the dangers of fluoride  at least 50 studies have examined the connection between fluoride and decreased IQ in humans. In addition to this, there are at least 45 studies pointing out a lessened cognitive ability in animals due to fluoride exposure. While evidence like this has persuaded a handful of health authorities worldwide to remove fluoride from public drinking water, it could take more than data from studies to ensure that politicians are held accountable for their involvement in the propagation of this health risk.

In other studies, researchers have determined the link between fluoride and diseases such as arthritis, cancer, dental fluorosis, diabetes, Downs syndrome, and osteoporosis. This link is possibly due to fluoride variants such as hydrofluorosilicic acid, a chemical byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer and aluminum industries. The article opines that this chemical is probably added to public water not out of concern for public health but to protect industries from lawsuits regarding environmental damage.

Dr. J. William Hirzy, Senior Chemist at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), expressed his disbelief and said, If this stuff (hydrofluorosilicic acid) gets out into the air, its a pollutant; if it gets into the river, its a pollutant; if it gets into the lake, its a pollutant; but if it goes right straight into your drinking water system, its not a pollutant. Thats amazing.

Tips to minimize fluoride exposure

To avoid the dangers of fluoridated water, follow the tips listed below:

Do not drink fluoridated water  On a daily basis, tap water consumption is the main cause of fluoride exposure consumption for individuals who reside in areas that allow the fluoridation of water. Avoid fluoride through these three options: Use water filters Drink spring water Try water distillation

 On a daily basis, tap water consumption is the main cause of fluoride exposure consumption for individuals who reside in areas that allow the fluoridation of water. Avoid fluoride through these three options: Dont let your children use/swallow fluoride toothpaste  A major risk factor for disfiguring dental fluorosis, fluoride toothpaste is usually the major source of fluoride intake for young children.

 A major risk factor for disfiguring dental fluorosis, fluoride toothpaste is usually the major source of fluoride intake for young children. Eat healthier  Food and beverages made with fluoridated water will also contain fluoride, so simply eating healthier will minimize your fluoride intake. Avoid processed foods whenever possible.

You can read more articles about other toxins and how to avoid them at Toxins.news.

Sources include:

WakingTimes.com

TheLancet.com

FluorideAlert.org
(Natural News) An animal study published in the journal Nature revealed how excessive alcohol intake might lead to the subsequent onset of cancer. A team of researchers at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge gave mice models ethanol to examine the effects of alcohol on the animals.

The experts then analyzed the animals DNA structure and observed that alcohol exposure resulted in DNA damage within blood stem cells. This damage permanently changed the sequences within cells, the researchers explained. The scientists added that the chemical induced breaks in both strands of the DNA double helix, which lead the structure to become jumbled up.

Some cancers develop due to DNA damage in stem cells. While some damage occurs by chance, our findings suggest that drinking alcohol can increase the risk of this damage. Our study highlights that not being able to process alcohol effectively can lead to an even higher risk of alcohol-related DNA damage and therefore certain cancers. But its important to remember alcohol clearance and DNA repair systems are not perfect and alcohol can still cause cancer in different ways  even in people whose defence mechanisms are intact, lead author Professor Ketan Patel told Daily Mail online.

Excessive alcohol intake linked to seven various cancers

The research was only the most recent one in a slew of studies that connect high alcohol intake to cancer onset. In fact, a 2016 study published in the journal Addiction showed that high alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing up to seven types of cancers.

There is strong evidence that alcohol causes cancer at seven sites in the body and probably others. Even without complete knowledge of biological mechanisms [of how alcohol causes cancer], the epidemiological evidence can support the judgment that alcohol causes cancer of the oropharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon, rectum and breast. The highest risks are associated with the heaviest drinking but a considerable burden is experienced by drinkers with low to moderate consumption, due to the distribution of drinking in the population, researcher Jennie Connor said a TheGuardian.com article.

The findings underscore the need for conducting more education campaigns to educate the public about the dangerous connection between alcohol intake and cancer, the researchers said. The experts added that the results also stress the importance of alcohol-free days for regular drinkers and the addition of warning labels on alcoholic products.

Study: High alcohol levels compromise womens health

Another study published in the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention revealed that excessive alcohol consumption might increase the risk of developing breast cancer among African American women. A team of researchers pooled data from the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk consortium and examined more than 22,000 women as part of the study. The scientists took into account all breast cancer sub-types in examining patient data.

The health experts observed that consuming seven or more alcoholic drinks per week may increase the odds of developing breast cancer across all sub-types. The scientists also found that participants who previously drank alcohol but eventually stopped were less likely to develop the disease than those who had recent alcohol intake. The results suggest that women may reduce the risk of breast cancer by cutting back on alcohol intake, the researchers said. (Related: High alcohol consumption linked to an increased risk for breast cancer among African American women.)

Visit CancerCauses.news and be on the lookout for the latest news about various causes of cancer.

Sources include:
(Natural News) By 2027, an artificial island in the North Sea could soon be providing renewable energy for at least 80 million individuals in Europe.

Dubbed the North Sea Wind Power Hub, the artificial power island will house a small team of permanent staff. The island will send electricity via long-distance cables to Britain and the Netherlands, and will also power Denmark, Germany, Norway, and Belgium.

The island could be built along Dogger Bank, which is located 78 miles (m) (125 km) off the coast of East Yorkshire coast. The potential shallow and windy location could be the site for the 1.3 billion ($1.75 billion) project, which would have its own buildings for staff housing, an airport, a small network of roads, green spaces, and even an artificial lake.

TenneT, a Dutch power grid operator that will back the project, recently issued a report which claims that the artificial island is going to be billions of euros cheaper than conventional wind farms and international power cables. Tennet believes that the North Sea Wind Power Hub will be an ingenious way of making offshore wind power more affordable because the available space by the coast will be filled up. Turbines will then be driven to more expensive spots further out to sea.

Rob van der Hage, the manager of TenneTs offshore wind grid development program, shares that the industrys dedication to continuing on with this cost reduction path is crucial. He added, The big challenge we are facing towards 2030 and 2050 is onshore wind is hampered by local opposition and nearshore is nearly full. Its logical we are looking at areas further offshore.

Dogger Bank, which is about 15 to 36 meters deep, is shallow enough that it could possibly reduce the cost of the challenging project. However, the island will require a costly and enormous network of underwater cables, and it will need at least two to 2.3 square miles (sq mi) (five to six square kilometers [sq km]) of land to accommodate the equipment required to run it.

The plans for the island were drawn by energy companies from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany, such as Energinet, a Danish state-owned energy operator. Talks with the energy companies and industrial partners who will finance the project are ongoing.

The roadmap for the artificial island will be published this year in the Netherlands. Once successful, the island could be operational by 2027. Van der Hage adds that the wind farms will follow.

The power hub, which is based on a hub and spoke principle, was designed so it could help the European Union (EU) meet targets for cuts in its carbon dioxide emissions. Peder stermark Andreasen, Energinets CEO, revealed that the project can spearhead a further reduction in prices of grid connections and interconnections. (Related: Huge turning point for renewable energy: Solar power is becoming the cheapest form of new electricity.)

Meanwhile, TenneT announced its wish to improve partnerships between the Netherlands and Germany. Plans for the island include five gigawatts of new offshore turbine farms that TenneT will provide infrastructure for.

In a statement, TenneT CEO Mel Kroon shared, The ongoing coupling of the European energy markets will lead to more convergence of electricity prices in the various European countries, and will make electricity more affordable for end users.

The pros and cons of wind energy

If you have the resources to purchase a wind turbine for home use, you could enjoy some of the pros of this particular kind of renewable energy, such as:

Wind energy is clean, and harnessing wind energy doesnt produce harmful by-products.

Wind is free and it is also 100 percent renewable.

Even though wind turbines are expensive, they pay for themselves after a few years.

Power companies will even pay you back if you produce extra electricity.

The local or federal government may offer tax incentives for those who install wind turbines in their property.

Read more articles about the benefits of renewable energy at Power.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.com

TheSpruce.com
(Natural News) James Damore, a former Google engineer who was fired from the tech giant filed a class action lawsuit against Google in a Santa Clara Superior Court in Northern California Monday.

Article by Cristina Laila republished from TheGatewayPundit.com

Damore previously sent out a ten-page viewpoint diversity essay that made its rounds online which ultimately led to his firing in early August of 2017.

Demore claims Google discriminates against white males with conservative political views.

Tech Crunch reported on Demores lawsuit against Google:

His claims: that Google unfairly discriminates against white men whose political views are unpopular with its executives. Damore is joined in the suit by another former Google engineer named David Gudeman, who spent three years with Google working on a query engine. According to Gudemans LinkedIn profile, he left the company in December 2016 and has been self-employed since. The lawsuit, filed by Dhillon Law Group, says it aims to represent all employees of Google whove been discriminated against due to their perceived conservative political views by Google, due to their male gender by Google and due to their Caucasian race by Google. More specifically, it accuses Google of singling out, mistreating and systematically punishing and terminating employees who expressed views deviating from the majority view at Google on political subjects raised in the workplace and relevant to Googles employment policies and its business, such as diversity hiring policies, bias sensitivity or social justice

The suit accuses Google of singling out, mistreating and systematically punishing and terminating employees who expressed views deviating from the majority view at Google on political subjects raised in the workplace and relevant to Googles employment policies and its business, such as diversity hiring policies, bias sensitivity or social justice

Also according to the filing Google has illegal hiring quotas to fill its desired percentages of women and favored minority candidates, and openly shames managers of business units who fail to meet their quotas, in the process, openly denigrating male and Caucasian employees as less favored than others.

The suit also describes the atmosphere at Google towards white males as toxic. The presence of Caucasians and males was mocked with boos during companywide weekly meetings.

In contrast, women were celebrated at Google solely due to their gender.

Demore and Gudeman are seeking monetary and non-monetary and punitive damages.

Read the full lawsuit here.

Read more at: TheGatewayPundit.com
(Natural News) Times are truly changing especially for green power. Renewable energy, once limited to off-the-grid energy sources which pale in comparison to traditional energy, is steadily gaining ground. In November last year, Norway, one of Europes largest oil producers, had announced that it is looking to divest its funding of international petroleum companies. The countrys own oil giant, Statoil, has already expanded its reach by investing in large off-shore wind-energy projects. The move follows on earlier decisions by other institutions to divest some of their shares in fossil fuel to other energies.

The world is taking note of the need to develop more sustainable fuel aside from fossil fuel. The World Bank, in a landmark decision, announced that it would cease financial support for all oil and gas exploration project by as early as 2019.

New York state is also making a move. Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the state will decarbonize its portfolio, amounting to over $200 billion in assets. New York City has followed suit with its unveiling of a fossil fuel-free strategy for the citys pension fund.

Those are two of the 20 largest funds on the planet, according to environmentalist Bill McKibben. They were saying, No, we dont think this is good business anymore.'

He also mentions that the smart money is now with alternative energy and not with the fossil fuel industry, which has been the primary source of energy for the last 200 years. Smart investors looking ahead can see where the future lies, he continued. Think about the scale of economic activity that comes from having to make the transition for the entire energy system off of fossil fuel and on to something else. The upside potential is enormous.

Other countries are now following suit. China, which has been plagued by pollution has already made steps in curbing its emissions. Factories in the country are now capped to a fixed amount of carbon that they can produce annually. The move incentivizes lesser carbon emissions and puts the worlds largest emitter on board with reducing emissions. Smog, which has enveloped the most developed cities in China, and has put serious health risks for its residents, is now being addressed, thanks to the construction of solar- and wind-powered facilities.

You hear these stories about smog in Beijing or smog in Shanghai and those images are real and those [harmful effects] are being felt by the people, Akshat Rathi, who covered the countrys move to reduce emission, explained. So even though it has a strong-handed government, it needs to keep its people happy and reducing fossil fuel emissions does work in their favor.

In the U.S., the clean energy revolution is slowly gaining traction in the country, with key expansion in renewable energy. This creates enormous economic activity and is expected to develop further in the future. The Department of Energy lists six main players in the field  including solar, wind, water, geothermal, bio-, and nuclear energy to be the future of clean energy. (Related: Energy specialists review alternative fuel solutions available to the consumer.)

All in all, the world is seeing a shift from traditional means of energy to sustainable, alternative forms. While it is still at the beginning, experts believe that this will only move forward, and create cleaner forms of energy that we can use over and over again.

For more stories on fossil fuel and alternative energy, go to Power.news.

Sources include:

PRI.org

NYTimes.com 1

NYTimes.com 2

WorldBank.org

Energy.gov
(Natural News) If humans are ever going to achieve interplanetary space travel, you can bet that somehow, the U.S. National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA) will be involved. Its latest plans involve first sending an unmanned spacecraft to one of the nearest star systems, and then figuring out how or where to proceed from there.

This is according to a recent report on NewScientist, which details part of what the experts from NASAs Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) want to undertake. Their project reportedly aims to reach a nearby exoplanet in order to look for signs of life. Though the mission is still unnamed, and the craft with which the team plans to do it still doesnt exist, theyre already working on the details of their plan.

Interplanetary search for life

The projected launch date for this groundbreaking mission is set on the 100th year anniversary of the first moon landing. That means its scheduled to happen in 2069, which gives NASAs JPL just a little under 50 years to turn the dream  that is, reaching a nearby exoplanet on the nearest star system  a reality.

The star system that is being targeted, in this case, is none other than the three-star Alpha Centauri constellation, which lies 4.4 light years away. Using a space shuttle that can travel at a maximum speed of about 17,600 miles per hour, its possible to reach it after about 165,000 years. Of course, that would be sub-optimal. Instead, NASAs JPL scientists plan to use a spacecraft that can travel at 10 percent the speed of light, and projects that it would reach its destination after only 44 years.

That puts the projected arrival date at some time around the year 2113, almost a century from now. Since that would be quite a ways from the day of the launch, NASA is also reportedly considering using tiny probes powered by lasers that could, in theory, reach a quarter of the speed of light, and therefore arrive at Alpha Centauri even before the yet-to-be-created spacecraft gets there.

At this point in time, NASA has already created and sent out one interplanetary spacecraft into space. Its called Voyager 1, and as of this times writing, it has traveled around 13 billion miles into space ever since it was first launched in 1977. It is currently the farthest man-made object from Earth. Current estimates say that if it were traveling to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, it would take Voyager 1 around 70,000 years.

The why and the how

There are many reasons why NASA wants to pursue this mission to fly to the nearest star system. For one thing, it can aid them tremendously as they continue their search for signs of life outside of the planet. As a matter of fact, the announcement of this mission was made after a former head of the Pentagons secret UFO-hunting bureau said, We may not be alone, in reference to reportedly compelling evidence that supports the idea of alien life.

But above all else, its just sound science for NASA to conduct an expedition into the unknown depths of space, which may or may not contain habitable worlds, and yes, possibly even life. The space agency now has at least a handful of decades to figure out exactly how it can accomplish the tasks at hand. And if it actually manages to exit the solar system by way of a probe or a future space ship that can travel at some fraction of the speed of light in a hundred years time, it will assuredly be a spectacle thats going to be worth the wait.

Read more about space exploration by visiting Space.news.

Sources include:

Independent.co.uk

NewScientist.com
(Natural News) Could health education help combat childhood obesity? That question is what Tabitha Blasingame of the Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital sought to answer in her paper. On determining whether or not health education could contribute to better food and lifestyle choices, she discovered that it very well could.

For her study, Blasingame recruited 15 high school students (eight males, seven females, and one unknown) between 18 to 19 years of age. The participants were then tasked with answering a 16-question pre-test one week prior to an educational lecture about healthy choices and living. The lecture itself consisted of a podium presentation and handouts. Blasingame administered a post-lecture test that also comprised of the same 16 questions a week afterwards.

There was a marked difference between the pre-test and post-lecture test results. Out of the 16 questions, 11 demonstrated an increase in knowledge, while only one question showed a decrease. Item eight (The American Heart Association recommends that children and teenagers get at least- minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.) was noted for having the most improvement, with 93.30 percent of the participants answering it correctly, post-lecture. In the pre-test, only 46.70 percent got it right, meaning that the rate shot up by 46.60 percent.

In conclusion, the participants had an overall improvement in test scores. It is assumed that an awareness of knowledge was evident based on the scores from the post-test grades. Empirical evidence demonstrates an improvement when education is combined with behavioral change, stated Blasingame. (Related: Positive health trends accelerated by consumer education and champions of health freedom.)

She cited a study from 2015 wherein an educational program resulted in the members of low-income families to make notable lifestyle changes to manage their obesity. As per the researchers of this particular study, the families consumed healthier foods and increased their physical activity through specific skills theyd learned for the express purpose of increasing their movement. Future studies should consider using these parent-identified outcomes as secondary measures of program effectiveness, wrote the researchers.

The importance of health education

Childhood obesity has become a global epidemic in recent years. According to Blasingame herself, this phenomenon has more than quadrupled since the 1980s, with well over 41 million infants and young children falling under the classification of obese. The problem has become so prevalent that, as per WHO.int, the number of obese infants and young children could grow to 70 million by the year 2025. This puts 70 million children at higher risk of developing all kinds of health complications by the time they reach adulthood. Cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, colon cancer, and insulin resistance are but some of these issues.

Fortunately, obesity is preventable. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended surrounding children and adolescents with policies, communities, and environments that support healthy food choices and physical activity. This is especially important, as children have to be provided with a framework that they can work off of. As Blasingame explained it: Educating on the epidemic of obesity in adults and children is not enough. People need to know the difference between healthy behaviors and unhealthy behaviors. Unhealthy behaviors are behind the obesity epidemic.

Adults should be considered in the paradigm that is to be used. Educating children and offering community projects is a piece to the puzzle but should be followed up with the support of the parents or guardians. Children and adolescents need the support of their caregivers to make it a lifestyle and behavioral change that last through their lifespan.

Stay abreast of the obesity epidemic by going to Sweeteners.news, where you can read up on various studies and articles tackling obesity, its causes, and what can be done about it.

Sources include:

Childhood-Obesity.IMedPub.com

NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov

WHO.int
(Natural News) Yoga is known to improve the health of a person in different ways. A team of researchers from India carried out an investigation on how Isha Hatha yoga affects the core stability and standing balance in healthy volunteers. The research team designed a quasi-experimental study at Isha Yoga Center at Isha Foundation in Coimbatore, India.

For the study, the participants involved in the study attended a training in Isha Hatha yoga provided by a residential program that the Isha Yoga Center. The training lasted for 21 days and included not only Isha Hatha yoga, but also Upa yoga, Surya Kriya, Angamardhana, Bhuta Suddhi, and asanas.

Hatha yoga is not an exercise, but is a way of understanding the mechanics of the body, creating a certain atmosphere, and then using body postures to drive the bodys energy in particular directions, according to an article published on the website Isha.Sadhguru.org. It is the science of using the body to boost an individuals evolutionary process. It is the way of working with the body, disciplining, purifying, and preparing the body for greater levels of energy and possibilities. (Related: Yoga is a life changing practice that reduces bipolar symptoms, anxiety, depression, and more.)

Prior to the training, the study participants took the single-leg stork test and the plank test. Then, they also took these tests again after the training. The standing-stork test is a way to monitor the development of an individuals ability to maintain a state of equilibrium or balance in a static position. On the other hand, the plank test is a simple test to assess the strength of a persons core muscle. It is mainly used to measure the control and endurance of the back or core stabilizing muscles.

The results of the study revealed that there were significant increases in the standing-stork test scores on the right and left sides of the participants. In addition, the plank test scores also increased. The researchers therefore concluded that training in Isha Hatha yoga significantly improves the core strength and balance of an individual.

The health benefits of yoga

Aside from improving balance and increasing strength, yoga provides other health benefits. It improves the life of a person not only physically, but also emotionally and mentally. Listed below are some of the health benefits of yoga.

Reduces stress  It is known to provide relaxation and decrease stress. Previous studies show that yoga can help decrease stress and lower the production of cortisol in the body, which is the main stress hormone.

Relieves anxiety and fights depression  Several studies suggest that practicing yoga can result to a decrease in symptoms of anxiety and depression. Being present in the moment and finding a sense of peace could help a person cope with it.

Reduces inflammation  Some studies indicate that the practice of yoga may reduce inflammation, although further studies are needed to confirm its anti-inflammatory effects.

Supports heart health  Yoga alone, or in combination with a healthy lifestyle may help decrease the risk factors for heart disease.

Reduces chronic pain  Chronic pain caused by injuries or arthritis can be reduced with the help of yoga, according to some studies.

Improves quality of sleep  Poor quality of sleep has been linked to obesity, high blood pressure, and depression. Practicing yoga could help improve sleep quality because of its effects on melatonin and its influence on some common contributors to sleep problems, such as stress, depression, anxiety, and chronic pain.

Improves breathing  Because yoga involves many breathing exercises, it could potentially improve breathing and lung function.

Read more stories on the health effects of yoga at MindBodyScience.news.

Sources include:

NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov

BrianMac.co.uk

TopEndSports.com

Isha.Sadhguru.org

HealthLine.com
U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., will not seek re-election in 2018, he said Wednesday.

Issa released an announcement on his decision, in which he called his 18 years in Congress "the privilege of a lifetime." Read the statement in full at the bottom of this article.

Issa is the 18th Republican member of the House to announce their retirement ahead of the 2018 elections, according to NBC News, while six Democrats have announced they are retiring. Earlier this week, powerful California Republican Rep. Ed Royce, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also announced he wouldn't seek election at the end of his term



The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee immediately released a statement crediting grassroots activism in the district.

"California Republicans clearly see the writing on the wall and realize that their party and its priorities are toxic to their re-election chances in 2018," DCCC spokesperson Drew Godinich said.

Issa was one of a handful of Republicans who rejected the GOP tax plan, which is likely to hit residents of high-tax states like California harder.



"On the average, it reduced taxes," he acknowledged in an interview with NBC 7 San Diego at the time. "But if youre not average and your taxes go up, youre asking 'How did Issa let that happen?' And I said it wasnt going to happen on my watch, and Ill do what I can to stop it."

While Issa was often careful to not align himself too closely with the president, he would also not fully rebuke him.



After serving in Congress for nine terms, Issa was reelected in 2016 by fewer than 2,000 votes, while Hillary Clinton received more votes for president in Issa's district than Donald Trump.

Democrats across the country are anticipating better results in the 2018 midterm elections. The party has seen recent electoral victories in Virginia, New Jersey and even Alabama, and it has a strong generic ballot, according to the most recent NBC News/WSJ poll, which found that 50 percent of respondents preferred Democrats controlled Congress compared to 39 percent who wanted Republicans.

Challengers for Issa's seat include former Clinton policy advisor and one-time U.S. State Department official Sara Jacobs, real estate investor Paul Kerr, environmental lawyer Mike Levin and retired Marine Col. Doug Applegate (who Issa beat in 2016).

"We may have not always agreed, but he has always been a friend," said U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas (D-51st District). "I wish him the very best in his retirement."

"Darrell played a pivotal role in our delegations work together to secure $500 million to modernize the San Ysidro Border Crossing," said U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-52nd District). "I wish him, Kathy, and the Issa family all the best upon his retirement later this year."

Issa's 49th District includes Camp Pendleton, the largest Marine Corps training facility in the United States, and the northern portions of San Diego County and southern Orange County.



Here is Issa's statement in full:

Two decades ago, when I stepped away from the business I'd built to enter public service, I never could have imagined that a long-shot bid for U.S. Senate would lead to 18 years in the House of Representatives and endless opportunities to make a meaningful impact.

From the first successful recall of a sitting Governor in California history, to establishing new and stronger standards for government accountability, to protecting the Internet from harmful regulation, and enacting the nation's first open data standards, we attempted and achieved much in the service of our nation.

Together, we put an end to abusive Congressional earmarks, strengthened the Violence Against Women Act, empowered better oversight of the executive branch, and cleared the course for better intellectual property protections to stop the piracy of American ingenuity.

Throughout my service, I worked hard and never lost sight of the people our government is supposed to serve. Yet with the support of my family, I have decided that I will not seek re-election in California's 49th District.

I am forever grateful to the people of San Diego, Orange and Riverside counties for their support and affording me the honor of serving them all these years. Most humbling for me -- and for anyone who represents this area -- has been the special privilege of representing the Marines and Sailors of Camp Pendleton and their families. On countless occasions, and in every corner of the world I met them, I was inspired by their bravery and humbled by their sacrifice to keep us all safe from harm.

Representing you has been the privilege of a lifetime.

While my service to California's 49th District will be coming to an end, I will continue advocating on behalf of the causes that are most important to me, advancing public policy where I believe I can make a true and lasting difference, and continuing the fight to make our incredible nation an even better place to call home.


It's too early to say that romaine lettuce is the source of an E. coli outbreak that has made at least 24 people in the U.S. and 40 in Canada sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

"The likely source of the outbreak in the United States appears to be leafy greens, but officials have not identified a specific type of leafy greens eaten by people who became ill," the CDC said in a statement on its website.

The CDC added seven people to its count on Wednesday. The agency said it's hard to say the outbreak is over when the true source is not known, and blaming a single crop too soon could leave people at risk if something else is spreading the bacteria. Meanwhile, Canadian health officials said they traced the bacteria to romaine lettuce and have declared the outbreak over in the country.

The CDC's statement comes after Consumer Reports acted on its own last week to warn people not to eat romaine lettuce. The company said that even though it didn't have "100 percent certainty that romaine lettuce is the cause of the E. coli outbreak in the U.S., a greater degree of caution is appropriate given that romaine lettuce is almost always consumed raw."
Three people were struck by trains in the East Bay Wednesday morning and at least one of them has died, according to an Amtrak spokeswoman.

Capitol Corridor train No. 535, running from Sacramento to Oakland, struck a person on the tracks at 11:30 a.m., Amtrak spokeswoman Beth Toll said in an email.

The scene is north of Iron Triangle Court, according to Richmond police.

Details about the victim were not immediately available. There were 56 passengers and crew on board at the time of the strike and none of them were injured, according to Toll.

An earlier strike in Richmond was reported when train No. 937 fatally hit a person where the tracks cross 22nd Street, near the intersection of Broadway and Carlson Boulevard, around 4 a.m.

Police responded and found the body before turning the investigation over to Union Pacific.

There were no passengers onboard at the time, according to Amtrak.

A third person was struck by Capitol Corridor train No. 522 in Emeryville around 6:40 a.m. in the 5800 block of Horton Street, near the Emeryville Amtrak station.

There were 11 people on board, including passengers and crew, according to Amtrak.
The flu is wreaking havoc across California and now pushing Bay Area hospitals past capacity as patients are overcome by their symptoms.

In John Muir's urgent care center in Walnut Creek, staff are extending hours until 11 p.m. Monday through Friday to help meet the increase in need. On Monday night, the center saw 26 patients between 8 and 11 p.m.

"It's been a challenge," said Dr. Thomas Greely with John Muir Hospital. "Daily calls twice a day in order to evaluate our patients both critical care and non-critical care. We've upstaffed, but staff has been effected by the flu so that's been part of the challenge."

The need is not just in the Bay Area, but nationwide. California has already recorded 27 deaths, with five of those reported locally. The deaths have prompted the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a stern warning: get vaccinated.

Health officials said even when it is not 100 percent effective, vaccinations do offer important protection and will lessen the number of cases that happen, lessen symptoms, and lessen complications.

The CDC is now saying this season's flu vaccine is 30 percent effective, up from the original thought of just 10 percent. It holds the H3N2 strain that is the most common as well as three other strains.

Doctors say those already suffering with the flu may not be able to get Tamiflu because the Bay Area is experiencing what they call "spot shortages," meaning there just is not enough to go around.

Doctors also said that just because Tamiflu may not be around now, the manufacturer has told them there is enough. The CDC anticipated we have at least two more month's of flu season.
Former Vice President Joe Biden made an appearance in San Francisco on Tuesday night, speaking about one of the hardest years of his life and addressing the current political climate in the U.S.

Biden appeared at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco as part of his American Promise Tour. He spoke about his book, his late son Beau and what he hopes the American people will do in the coming years.

An estimated 450 people greeted the former VP in a sit-down discussion with former Homeland Security Secretary and current University of California President Janet Napolitano. He dove into his new book, which details a year of hope and hardship.

"He was the finest man I've ever known, and his brother and sister share that view as well," Biden said of his son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.

Biden wrote about balancing and living up to his responsibilities that year as his eldest child battled the debilitating disease. He said he wanted to detail his son's life and help those who've lost a loved one.

"They're part of you; they never go away. Never go away," Biden said. "The time will come when the memory of that beloved person you lost will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye. That's when you know you can make it."

Biden also shared anecdotes from his time in the White House, how he and President Barack Obama had a deep friendship and how his mom and son helped convince him to accept the vice presidential nomination.

What Biden was not asked and didn't address was whether he has future plans to run for president.

Tuesday's stop was Biden's only public event on the tour. When he was asked about the current political climate, he said, "Get to know the opposition, get to know people. Once you know someone and their problems, it's hard to not like them and show them respect."
An orphaned mountain lion cub rescued from the wild in the Sierra Nevada is recovering at the Oakland Zoo after coming close to dying, officials said.

This most recent arrival on Dec. 23 was about 6 to 8 weeks old and near death, unable to stand or walk from severe dehydration and starvation. She has not been named.

According to zoo officials, her starvation was so severe her body was consuming its own muscles.

But zoo officials said she is now walking and showing signs of life after she received continuous intravenous fluids for six days and round-the-clock bottle-feedings by zoo veterinary staff.

She is now eating solid foods regularly, showing spunk and playing with items meant to keep her engaged.

She was found early in the morning Dec. 21 on the side of a road in Coloma, an unincorporated community in El Dorado County.

A couple who discovered her said she stayed in the same spot for hours and tried unsuccessfully to drag herself away when the couple approached her.

The couple got in touch with Sierra Wildlife Rescue, which got in touch with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Two other orphaned cubs have come to the zoo in fewer than 60 days from Orange County where they were found separately 2 weeks apart.

The latest arrived Dec. 11. Both are males and are now about 4 to 5 months old.

Zoo officials are going to conduct DNA testing to see whether they are siblings since they appear to be the same age and they were found in the same area about 15 miles apart.

An adult female mountain lion was struck and killed by a motorist close to where the cubs were rescued so she may be their mother.

Zoo officials say they can't send the cub back into the wild because she was separated from her mother before learning survival skills.

Mountain lion cubs need their mother to learn how to hunt effectively.

The three adopted cubs will live in a new area that will be part of the zoo's 56-acre California Trail expansion.

The cubs' new home will be ready next month or in March and is expected to open to the public in June.

It will include mature oak trees where the cubs can climb, rest and perch and rocky outcroppings that create caves where they can rest and hide.

The new home for the cubs may be the largest mountain lion habitat in the world at 26,000 square feet.
The victim of a fatal crash on Page Mill Road near Palo Alto Monday afternoon has been identified as 45-year-old Stanford University doctor Juergen Willmann, according to school officials and the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office.

Willmann, for reasons yet to be determined, lost control of his vehicle when he was heading east in the left lane and struck a tree in the median between Coyote Hill and Deer Creek roads just outside Palo Alto city limits, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Art Montiel.

Montiel said that Willmann was unrestrained when his car drifted out of the lane and crashed just before 12:25 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Willmann was a professor of radiology and a member of Stanford's biosciences and cancer institutes, according to his profile on the university's website.

Willmann attended Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg in Germany, interned at the University Medical Center Freiburg and was a resident at University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland.

The crash is still under investigation by CHP.
Dozens of actors  and a University of California, Berkeley activist  used the 2018 Golden Globe Awards to send a message against sexual harassment.

What started as the #MeToo movement became the Times Up initiative at the awards ceremony.

Eight activists, including Rosa Clemente, Ai-jen Poo and Tarana Burke, were invited by celebrities to attend the Golden Globes. Another was Saru Jayaram, who is fighting discrimination and harassment in the restaurant industry.

Jayaraman, the co-founder of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley, said Sunday's 75th annual Golden Globes gave her a national platform to address sexual harassment in the restaurant industry.

Jayaraman recalled receiving a message from "Parks and Recreation" and "Saturday Night Live" actor Amy Poehler, which read: Hi Saru. This is Amy Poehler. Will you come with me to the Hollywood prom?

The comedian wasnt joking in her text, Jayaram said, with a laugh.

For the past two decades, Jayaraman has been leading the fight to end discrimination in the restaurant industry. She said attending the Golden Globes was historic and its already leading to real policy change.

I have gotten texts from restaurant owners from all over the country saying, I want to do something. Lets talk, Jayaraman said. And thats huge!

The restaurant industry is the fastest growing and second largest sector of the U.S. economy. But those jobs are among the lowest paying and are plagued by a high rates of sexual harassment.

Half the rate of harassment in our industry in California is still the highest rate of harassment of any industry in California, Jayaraman said.

Employees in the restaurant industry are dependent on tips so they put up with a lot of inappropriate customer behavior, she said. Jayaram advised restaurant owners that ending the customer is king approach to service is one way to help reduce sexual harassment.

Now as Hollywood says that times up, Jayaraman says its time to focus on women in the restaurant industry.

Its a world in which they are told to dress more sexy, show more cleavage in order to make more money in tips, Jayaraman said. So if we want our daughters to have a good experience at their first job, because that impacts them for the rest of their lives, we have got to change this industry.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday that the state's top federal prosecutor should focus on the opioid crisis instead of the marijuana market operating within state law.

Baker says he is looking forward to speaking with U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, who refused Monday to offer federal immunity to the "state-level marijuana trade," saying determinations about such prosecutions would instead be made on a "case-by-case basis."

"He mentioned in his remarks that he has limited resources," Baker said. "I would like to see his limited resources focus on the elements that are killing many people every day here in the commonwealth, which is fentanyl. And that's going to be my message to him  let's focus on the stuff that, right now, is wreaking havoc across our commonwealth."

The governor has long been an advocate of combating the opioid epidemic. He said he would stress to Lelling that the Bay State, like other places, is in the midst of a major public health crisis.

"The big message to the U.S. attorney's office should be, 'If you have limited resources, let's focus on the thing that's killing people here every day in the commonwealth,'" he said.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is pushing back against U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, who would not promise federal immunity to marijuana businesses operating within Massachusetts law.

Baker, who did not support the ballot initiative that brought legal marijuana to Massachusetts, added that it has the support of the people, and that he would tell Lelling he should "recognize and understand that the voters of Massachusetts voted to create a legal, regulated recreational marijuana market here in the commonwealth."

He also explained the importance of medical marijuana to those who have come to rely on it.

"For people for whom that's a viable and appropriate way of dealing with all kinds of issues  nausea, anxiety, a whole variety of things  that's become an important element in how they get through their day," he said. "We need to factor that into the way that we think about it."

Across the aisle from the Republican governor, the Democratic speaker of the house said Monday that Lelling's statement brings uncertainty to the entrepreneurs and investors who are compliant with Massachusetts law.

"I'm not sure what type of message that sends or what type of security that gives you," said Robert DeLeo. "Or lack of security, I should say."

U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling refused to offer guarantees that marijuana businesses legally operating under Massachusetts law would be exempt from federal prosecution.

"I did get an email this morning from a couple of dispensaries that said ... 'Because of the comments of the US attorney, we are no longer able to use debit cards,'" Will Luzier of the Marijuana Policy Project of Massachusetts said.

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The Cannabis Control Commission, a five-member panel created to regulate marijuana in Massachusetts, has pledged to continue the process overseeing the imminent opening of commercial pot shops. Baker threw his support behind the commission Tuesday.

"Their basic approach, at this point, is to move forward as originally intended, and to put in place a recreational market by July," Baker said.

"We've got a job that was mandated by the voters of the state and we're going to continue to do that job and build and regulate this industry as well as we possibly can," said Steven Hoffman, who chairs the Cannabis Control Commission.

The remarks from Lelling, a nominee of President Donald Trump, came in response to the questions raised when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum, an Obama-era policy that calls for the U.S. government not to interfere with states' marijuana laws. Eight states, including Massachusetts, have legalized recreational use for adults.



Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
State police are hunting for a suspect they say tried to hit a trooper on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Boston.

Police say the state trooper stopped a rented 2018 Nissan Pathfinder on I-90 eastbound at Exit 25 in South Boston around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. As he walked over to the SUV, police say the driver cut the wheel and tried to hit him.

The trooper jumped out of the way, and the suspect kept going east on I-90 until turning around at the ramps for Logan International Airport. Massachusetts State Police chased the driver west until around 7 p.m., when they called off the high-speed pursuit.

The SUV was later found abandoned about 40 miles from the airport on the Mass. Pike in Grafton. Footprints were seen heading into the woods. The Massachusetts State Police Air Wing and a K-9 unit were searching for the suspect, but no one has been found.

No further information was immediately available.
The largest teachers union, the Illinois Education Association, is endorsing Democrat J.B. Pritzker for governor. The 135,000 members of the IEA represent the state's largest education employee's organization.

IEA President Kathi Griffin noted: "It was Pritzker's strong commitment to funding K-12 education, his promise to invest in higher education, his pledge to protect collective bargaining rights," as well as his support for a progressive income tax that lead to the endorsement.

Pritzker said he is pleased to have received this endorsement.



"Every child in Illinois deserves a quality education, no matter their zip code," he said.

All candidates, Democrats and Republicans, were invited to complete a questionnaire as well as in-person interviews. Republican candidates State Rep. Jeanne Ives and incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner did not participate in the IEA endorsement process.
Apple shareholders are calling on the company's board of directors to study the impact of smartphones on children.

Parents have expressed concern about the amount of time kids spend on their smartphones, and now some investors in the Cupertino-based tech giant are concerned as well.

Jana partners and the California State Teachers' Retirement System sent a letter to Apple's board urging the company to study screen time impacts and offer parents solutions.

While many adults can be seen glued to their phones, parents say their kids are even more tuned into their screens.

"If you take it away, they start crying, whining, throwing a tantrum," said Ann Kraft of Connecticut. "Why don't you play with a ball?"

Kraft added: "They're watching TV on the phone, texting, face timing, Instagramming. Everything they do is on the phone. It's a lot of screen time."

Apple shareholders are saying there is a growing body of evidence that, for at least some of the most frequent young users, it may be having unintentional negative consequences.

Clinical psychologist and Cal State East Bay professor Michael Stanton says there are impacts.

"We know social media do contribute to anxiety and depression, especially among kids in regards to social comparisons," Stanton said.

Stanton says screen time also impacts sleep. He says more study is needed to get the full picture.

Parents hope Apple gets to work.

"These kids are the first generation that have had extended screen time," Kraft said. "We suspect there are impacts, but we don't know what it is until you study. We're just guessing."
Getting around Connecticut could start costing more in 2018 as the Department of Transportation (CTDOT) searches for more revenue amidst a funding crisis.

Starting in July, the CTDOT is proposing a 10 percent hike for Metro-North and Shoreline East rail fares, followed by an additional five percent increase in 2020 and 2021. Bus fares would go up 25 cents.

Renee Pearsall from Meriden takes the train several times a year from New Havens Union Station to New York Citys Grand Central in order to visit her children.

"I think its a little bit excessive. I mean, every time we turn around the fares are going up," Pearsall said.

A round trip peak ticket on the New Haven Line to Grand Central would cost an additional $4.70 if the proposed fare hike goes through.

The CTDOT is also proposing reducing weekday off-peak service on Shore Line East, Danbury, Waterbury and New Canaan branch trains, as well as eliminating weekend service on those rail lines.

On Main Street in downtown Hartford, people who depend on the bus to get around told NBC Connecticut they do not like the idea of paying 25 cents more.

"I dont think its a good idea considering a lot of people already struggle for the bus," Shedalis Rijos of Hartford said. "$1.75 is enough already just to get from here to the corner."

Raising fares and reducing service is needed because the states transportation system faces a major financial crisis in part because gas tax revenues are going down, according to the CTDOT.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has also warned major transportation projects could be canceled without new revenue.

"Clearly, we are at a crossroads, were either going get off the road and stop what were doing because we wont have the money to do it which means we will be uncompetitive with states like Massachusetts and New York," Malloy said on Tuesday. "Or were going to wake up smell the coffee and compete."

Some lawmakers have suggested adding electronic tolls to Connecticuts highways as a new source of revenue, but its unclear how popular that would be during an election year.

Next week, the CTDOT plans to announce a schedule for public hearings on the proposed fare increases.

On Wednesday afternoon, Malloy and CTDOT Commissioner James Redeker are holding a news conference about the status of the Special Transportation Fund.
The extreme cold this winter has more people looking for cheaper ways to heat their homes.

West Hartford homeowner, Paul Scierra, is turning to Citizens Co-Op to save money on oil.

"Last year it cost me I think $1,600 to heat this house," Scierra said. "Had I been paying retail, it probably wouldve been about $2,200."

Citizens Co-Op Vice President, Rosie Stanko, said they have about 6,000 members in Connecticut.

"Were usually about $0.40 cheaper than other full service companies," she said.

Members pay an annual fee to the co-op and then they negotiate the prices with the oil companies.

"Prices on oil has really jumped up in the last couple of days because its been so cold," Stanko said. "Its really causing people to look at what theyre paying and especially with how much theyre burning right now."
Crews once again resumed the search for a 56-year-old snowmobiler who has been missing since December, then they pulled the units from the area because of a lack of visibility on Tuesday.

The search for John Dubois started around 6 p.m. on Dec. 16 after a snowmobile was found with no operator near the Pachaug Pond boat launch on Voluntown Road.

Officials believe Dubois went through the ice and officials said the search was deemed a recovery mission.

Tuesday DEEP EnCon and Connecticut State Police went back to Pachaug Pond and drilled a hole in the ice. State police have deployed a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that goes underwater to assist with the search.

Sgt. Jim Kane with EnCon Police said crews were waiting until the ice was at least six inches thick to resume their search. The last time crews were out was on Christmas Eve, he said.

But eventually, with so much snow cover, the area being too dark and covered in weeds, searchers called off their efforts on Tuesday because Kane said searchers only had about six inches of visibility.

"We had some still pictures taken from a drone the evening of the incident. We also had some still pictures of the next morning and we triangulated it in there and got the highest probability of where the hole in the ice was relative to where we found the machine," Kane said.

Dubois daughter, Jaqueline, said she just wants some closure. While she is glad police are searching for her dad, shed love them to be out every week trying to find him.

Dubois did get to meet his first grandson, Bennett, who was born in November before he disappeared in December.

Jacqueline described her father as an "adrenaline junky." She said Dubois had just gotten that snowmobile and he had to try it out.

"I just want them to find him because everything is in limbo until then. Its a really hard limbo. I grew up in this house, my parents got married in this house, and its really hard just staying here and looking out on the water knowing that hes there," Jaqueline said.
Warmer weather brings with it melting snow, and when temperatures dive back down below freezing, everything turns to ice.

Its become a problem for several areas in Waterbury, especially on sidewalks near schools.

Parents pointed out a patch of ice and frozen slush just two blocks from Chase Elementary, a popular spot for parents to drop off their kids.

The city said that while these paths were cleared after the snow storm, they admit the refreezing is becoming a problem.

A slip on the sidewalk is a concern for little ones. Phil Caron said he's been more protective of his grandson on their walk to school.

"We have to hold his hand and make sure he doesnt topple over," Caron said.

City officials said theyve heard the complaints and are taking actions.

"These unshoveled sidewalks here in the city of Waterbury, and of course around the state of Connecticut, are a concern. Theyre a public safety concern," said Joe Geary, the citys chief of operations.

Geary said that while the city is responsible for treating more than 300 miles of road, businesses are responsible for clearing paths near their properties, many of which are near schools like Chase.

He told NBC Connecticut that the city is being more vigilant about enforcing these laws, and admitted the city will need to pick up the slack too.

"Theres certainly room for improvement," Geary said. "We dont want the vulnerable school children to get out into the roadway, when they can safely get out and walk on the sidewalks."

Reporting problematic areas is encouraged, so the city knows what areas to tackle, but residents are encouraged to help.

"We would also ask our residents if they can throw some sort of an ice melt down, or a sand to give a good traction," Geary said.

On top of clearing those spaces, with rain on the way DPW crews are going around Wednesday checking the citys 3,000 storm catch basins.

If there are any problematic spots of ice, snow, and slush on sidewalks that youd like to report to the city, contact the mayors office at 203-574-6710, or at the citizens' service center at 203-597-3444.
U.S. immigration agents descended on dozens of 7-Eleven stores before dawn Wednesday to open employment audits and interview workers in what officials described as the largest operation against an employer under Donald Trump's presidency.



Agents targeted about 100 stores nationwide, six of them in the Dallas area, broadening an investigation that began with a 4-year-old case against a franchisee on New York's Long Island.

The audits could lead to criminal charges or fines over the stores' hiring practices.



The action appears to open a new front in Trump's sharp expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40 percent increase in deportation arrests and plans to spend billions of dollars on a border wall with Mexico.

Hardliners have been pressing for a tougher stance on employers.



Derek Benner, a top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Associated Press that Wednesday's operation was "the first of many" and "a harbinger of what's to come" for employers.

He said there would be more employment audits and investigations, though there is no numerical goal.



This is what we're gearing up for this year and what you're going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters. From there, we will look at whether these cases warrant an administrative posture or criminal investigation," said Benner, acting head of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, which oversees cases against employers.



"It's not going to be limited to large companies or any particular industry, big medium and small," he said. "It's going to be inclusive of everything that we see out there."



7-Eleven Stores Inc., based in Irving, with more than 8,600 stores in the U.S., didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Though agents arrested 21 people suspected of being in the country illegally during Wednesday's sweep, the action was aimed squarely at management.



Illegal hiring is rarely prosecuted, partly because investigations are time-consuming and convictions are difficult to achieve because employers can claim they were duped by fraudulent documents or intermediaries. Administrative fines are discounted by some as a business cost.



George W. Bush's administration aggressively pursued criminal investigations against employers in its final years with dramatic pre-dawn shows of force and large numbers of worker arrests.

In 2008, agents arrived by helicopter at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, and detained nearly 400 workers.

Last month, Trump commuted the 27-year prison sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, former chief executive of what was the nation's largest kosher meatpacking operation.



Barack Obama's administration more than doubled employer audits to more than 3,100 a year in 2013, shunning Bush's flashier approach. John Sandweg, an acting ICE director under Obama, said significant fines instilled fear in employers and draining resources from other enforcement priorities.



Trump is pursuing "its own kind of unique strategy" tied to its broader emphasis on fighting illegal immigration, including enforcement on the border, Benner said.

Some workers may get arrested in the operations but authorities are targeting employers because they are job magnets for people to come to the country illegally.



"We need to make sure that employers are on notice that we are going to come out and ensure that they're being compliant," Benner said "For those that don't, we're going to take some very aggressive steps in terms of criminal investigations to make sure that we address them and hold them accountable."

Wednesday's operation resulted from a 2013 investigation that resulted in charges against nine 7-Eleven franchisees and managers in New York and Virginia.

Eight have pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay more than $2.6 million in back wages, and the ninth was arrested in November.



In the 2013 investigations, managers used more than 25 stolen identities to employ at least 115 people in the country illegally, knowing they could pay below minimum wage, according to court documents.

The documents say 7-Eleven corporate office does automated payroll, requiring franchisees provide employee names and Social Security numbers to pay workers through direct deposit or check.



The 7-Eleven stores served on Wednesday will be required to produce documents showing they required work authorization, which Benner said will become more common.

Audits may lead to criminal charges or administrative penalties.



In Los Angeles' Koreatown, seven agents arriving in three unmarked cars closed a store for 20 minutes to explain the audit to the only employee there, a clerk with a valid green card.

Agents, wearing blue jackets marked ICE, told arriving customers that the store was closed briefly for a federal inspection. A driver delivering cases of beer was told to wait in the parking lot.



The manager was in Bangladesh and the owner, reached by phone, told the clerk to accept whatever documents were served. Agents said they would return Tuesday for employment records they requested.



Neither 7-Eleven nor was its parent company, Seven & i Holding Co. based in Tokyo, was charged in that case.



"Just as the IRS performs audits of people all the time of their tax returns, the same purpose here is to ensure a culture of compliance in this area," he said.

NBC 5 reached out to 7-Eleven for a comment. The company released the following statement:
The Dallas County medical examiner has confirmed the body found Tuesday in a southern Dallas garage is that of a woman who had been reported missing.

Jacqueline Hughes, 34, was last heard from on Christmas Day.

The woman's brother, Clifton Hughes, told NBC 5 that she sent text messages on Christmas Eve that said she was at the address where police eventually found her body.

Police were called to the home Tuesday in the area of Castle Hills Drive and Bishop College Drive, near Paul Quinn College.

One day prior, Dallas police investigators said they received information that led them to believe Jacqueline Hughes may be in danger.

Her family says she would never leave her two daughters or not call them.

The medical examiner has not provided a cause or manner of death.
Texas health officials are providing funding to mental health facilities as part of a $300 million endeavor to revamp the state's crumbling psychiatric hospital system.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced Monday it's releasing the first round of funding that lawmakers approved last year to improve the 10 state hospitals in the system.

The first disbursement of money is about $48 million. More than $15 million of that will go toward creating a master plan to replace the 160-year-old Austin State Hospital, which has struggled with severe nursing shortages and policy violations on restraining patients.

The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston will receive about $6 million of the first disbursement to build a new 300-bed psychiatric hospital next to the university-run Harris County Psychiatric Center.
There are several big North Texas companies unveiling innovative technology at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.



The annual show is where nearly 4,000 companies, big and small, go to unveil the latest in tech products. Four companies from Dallas-Fort Worth are making headlines with their products and services.



Alexa Coming to Toyota and Lexus

In 2018, Toyota and Lexus are bringing Amazon's smart, cloud-based assistant to vehicles later this year. Amazon Alexa is a major step forward, and were very excited about the road ahead," said Zack Hicks, with Toyota. Drivers and passengers will be able to access everything Alexa has to offer, including directions, smart home access, playing music, etc. Read more about this here.



Autonomous Pizza Delivery

Toyota is also announcing a joint project with Pizza Hut, E-Palette, that may bring pizza to your home via a driverless vehicle. They have a history of innovation, and when we think about the technology thats going to power driverless vehicles, and what that does from an efficiency standpoint, you could see in the future that we could use these as mobile ovens to bake the pizza, to deliver it hotter and better when the customer arrives it, so the possibilities are really endless here," said Zipporah Allen, with Pizza Hut. Read more on the vehicle and see a rendering here.



Elevate Over DFW With Air Taxis

Engineers from Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter flew to Las Vegas with the latest designs for Bell's Urban Air Taxi, the on-demand concept that within five years could be whisking Uber passengers across the Metroplex from vertiport to vertiport. Read more on Uber's Elevate vision for North Texas here.



AT&T Showcasing Smart Cities Initiative

Dallas-based AT&T is showing off the company's newest smart cities initiative. Places on bridges and overpasses, sensors can monitor the structure to determine their worthiness while measuring for any cracks or tilts.

[NATL]In Photos: The Best New Gadgets at CES 2018 in Las Vegas
A University of California, San Diego senior faces deportation after his roommate made a wrong turn at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing south of San Diego.

Orr Yakobi, 22, is an Israeli citizen who is in the U.S. under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. The immigration program allows those who entered the U.S. as minors to stay in the U.S. with some restrictions including traveling outside of the country.

Yakobi and his friend, Ryan Hakim, were shopping at an outlet mall in San Ysidro Sunday when the pair got on southbound Interstate 5 instead of northbound Interstate 805.

"Once we got onto the ramp, we couldn't turn around. We couldn't pull over," Ryan Hakim said. "We were forced into Mexico."

Hakim was behind the wheel and said they had no intention of crossing the border.

"We're freaking out about his documentation. How is he going to get back in? How are we going to get back in," Hakim said.

When the men attempted to return to the U.S, officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped the vehicle and checked Yakobi's documentation.

Under the DACA program, he is permitted to stay in the U.S., but cannot leave the country.

As a result, Yakobi was detained at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Now he's in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement-- detained in Otay Mesa and facing deportation.

"Its very political. Depending on what the mood of the government is right now, what ICE is willing to do, Immigration Attorney Jacob Sapichnick said.

His attorney is negotiating his release and getting support from state and federal lawmakers, among others.

It is unbelievable. In 24 hours we've got Todd Gloria, we've got Scott Peters, we got people from other states," Sapochnick said.

Yakobi, a math and computer science major, was well on his way down the road to success. He was just two classes from graduating and already working as a freelance programmer.

Yakobi was brought to the U.S. by his parents when he was 5 years old.

Yakobi is in good spirits and remains hopeful. Meanwhile, his classmates are garnishing support on campus from students, faculty and administration.

"I want to see Orr back at home. We all just want to give him a big hug," Hakin said. "We want to see him do what he wanted to do with his career. I want to see him achieve his dreams."

Yakobi 's DACA status expires in March. The student was detained because he didn't have a travel permit to leave the country.

His attorney is hoping to bond him out of detention so he might finish school while the case makes its way through the courts.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to prevent Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while their lawsuits play out in court.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. court system is -- in his words -- "broken and unfair."


A man who had been staying in Palm Springs with his mother, who was found dead inside the trunk of his SUV following a nearly 50-mile New Year's Day police chase in South Dakota, is facing a murder charge in Riverside County.

Tosten David Walsh-Lommen, 30, remains in custody in Pennington County, South Dakota, in lieu of $2.5 million bail in connection with the pursuit and subsequent discovery of the body of Michelle Nanette Walsh, 58, who was found wrapped in a blanket in the rear of the SUV.

Palm Springs police Sgt. William Hutchinson said the Riverside County District Attorney's office would work with South Dakota authorities "in the near future" to extradite Walsh-Lommen back to California.

According to autopsy results released Monday by South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley's office, Walsh died of "blunt trauma to her head and hemorrhage anterior neck musculature." An arrest warrant declaration alleges that Walsh-Lommen admitted choking his mother to death, then "freaked out and attempted to clean up the crime scene with bleach."

Prior to his arrest, Walsh-Lommen had been staying in Palm Springs with his mother at a home on Icon Way, where Palm Springs investigators found bleach and blood stains on the carpet, the declaration states.

Investigators believe Walsh-Lommen killed his mother either late in the evening of Dec. 30 or in the early morning hours of Dec. 31.

Hutchinson said last week that officers searched the Icon Way home following Walsh-Lommen's arrest, but did not reveal what was found. He also said officers had "responded to that address" previously and "have had contact with (Walsh-Lommen) in the past," but did not provide details on those encounters.

The chase began around noon Jan. 1 when a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper saw Walsh-Lommen driving on Interstate 90 at more than 100 mph, triggering a pursuit that ended some 50 miles later, when officers put down a spike strip that disabled the SUV, according to Jackley's office. Walsh-Lommen then allegedly made an unsuccessful attempt to flee on foot.

Riverside County prosecutors charged him with murder on Monday. He is also facing charges in South Dakota related to the pursuit.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a voting rights case Wednesday brought on by a Navy veteran and software engineer who is challenging the system Ohio uses to remove voters from a database, NBC News reported.

In Ohio, the local election board uses change-of-address data from the U.S. Postal Service to identify voters who have moved without providing updated information. The election boards will then send out notices to those ineligible to vote. If there is no response or vote within an four-year time period, their registration is canceled, NBC News reported.



"If the court sides with Ohio," said Professor Rick Hasen, an election law expert at the University of California at Irvine, "you'll see more red states making it easier to drop people from the voter registration rolls, and it's going to continue what I call the voting wars between the parties."

The Supreme Court will hear about the issue of what a state can assume from a resident's failure to cast a vote in more than one election.



Civil rights groups argue the system deters the minority groups while the state has argued the tool helps keep voter registration lists accurate, NBC News reported.
What to Know About 5,000 bags still haven't been reunited with their owners following the weekend's chaos at JFK airport, sources say

It comes a day after images obtained to News 4 show hundreds of bags sitting in the snow under a ramp at the airport

Now the Port Authority says former Obama transportation secretary Ray LaHood will lead an investigation into the airport meltdown

Former Obama transportation secretary Ray LaHood will lead an investigation into the meltdown at John F. Kennedy International Airport following last week's winter storm, the Port Authority announced Wednesday.

LaHood, who's now a senior policy advisor at global law firm DLA Piper, will study everything that led to the fiasco and make recommendations about what needs to be fixed, according to Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.

The chaos started Thursday, when a winter storm hit New York amid unusually cold weather. Some terminal gates got tied up, leading to a backlog of international flights trying to get in and out. The freezing temperatures impacted equipment.

Then a water main burst and flooded a terminal Sunday.

"We are committed to understanding where and why failures occurred, and making whatever changes are necessary to assure these failures never happen again," said Cotton.

LaHood, who worked under former President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, will examine how Kennedy Airport prepared for the storm that walloped the city with over a foot of snow; how it handled closure and re-opening; how it dealt with Sunday's water leak; and how it handled the thousands of pieces of luggage that got separated from their owners during the chaos.

As of Wednesday afternoon, about 5,000 bags left at JFK Airport still haven't been returned to their rightful owners, two sources familiar with the situation told News 4. At the height of last weekend's dysfunction, the airport had tens of thousands of bags that had been separated from its owners, according to the sources.

Dozens of frustrated travelers who are still missing their luggage have contacted News 4 after the station reported exclusively that there were dozens -- possibly hundreds -- of bags still piled underneath a terminal ramp Tuesday, alongside the snow.

"It's quite crazy there's no plan B," said Dan M. Lee of Rockaway Park, whose luggage was lost by Virgin America after he returned from the UK. "In event of an emergency, that's no way to store bags."



"How is this OK? Why aren't there people working 24/7 to get their bags back?" said Christie Vonk, who got a stranger's bag returned to her instead of her own after flying back from Atlanta on Sunday.

The Port Authority said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that it "shared the public's outrage and has directed the airlines to have all bags out of JFK and on their way to customers by day's end. "

"This unacceptable delay has inconvenienced too many travelers and we continue to work with the airlines to aggressively address the situation and provide assistance as needed," the Port Authority added.

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There did appear to be activity at the Queens location of Business Express Airlines, the company contracted by Delta to return hundreds of bags, Chopper 4 over the area showed late Wednesday afternoon. News 4 cameras also on the ground showed vans being loaded with the bags, though no workers wanted to speak with the reporter.

Delta said in a statement Wednesday, "Delta is delivering bags to customers and expects to reutrn its baggage operation to normal levels tonight."

But the airline made similar statements Tuesday.

Sources said about 3,800 of the missing bags were on Delta flights, and that the airline had returned an additional 4,000 on Tuesday. Another 800 bags belonged to Air China customers. That airline was not immediately available for comment.

JetBlue, which operates out of Terminal 5 at JFK, says it wasn't impacted to the same degree as other terminals; there are about 100 bags being held for pickup or delivery. On Wednesday, it received about 60 bags from international partner carriers at JFK that the airline is working to reunite with customers who connected on JetBlue routes.

JFKAIT, which operates Terminal 4, was not available for comment on Wednesday.

Equally frustrating for travelers is the lack of communication and updates from the airlines.

"When you try to call or email, you can't get in touch with anyone," said Haley Thompson, a student at Rosemont College in Pennsylvania. "Seems like they abandoned all their passengers."

An exasperated Vonk said, "Every time I call, it's the same, 'We're sorry, this is hard on us, too.' They're getting paid to deal with this. I paid money to deal with this."

One man in the Hamilton Heights section of Manhattan, Nano Chlimon, had to go days without his wheelchair, after sitting and waiting for it for hours in the airport, only to be told it wasn't even on the plane. It finally arrived at his home Wednesday evening.

"Now I'm good, but before I was calling and calling, and nobody answered -- two days in a row, yesterday and today," he told News 4.

Mary McAnelly in Austin, Texas, says the lesson she has learned is "anything important, put into your carry-on."

Are you in the tri-state area and still missing luggage from JFK? Please fill out the lost luggage survey in this article (above) and contact us at tips@nbcnewyork.com.
What to Know Images given to News 4 show dozens, if not hundreds, of bags sitting outside in the snow at JFK Airport

Chaos at the airport last weekend left people stranded for hours on idling planes and separated them from their luggage

Some people have been told they may have to wait as long as two weeks to get their bags

UPDATE: Former Obama Secretary to Investigate JFK Airport Fiasco

If you left John F. Kennedy International Airport without your baggage during last weekend's weather-related meltdown, there's a chance it might be sitting outside, underneath a ramp. (Update: As many as 5,000 bags, sources say.)

Images provided to News 4 show dozens, if not hundreds, of bags piled underneath a terminal ramp alongside snow piles on Tuesday afternoon, more than five days after the airport shut down for the day amid last week's blizzard conditions. The closure set off days of overcrowding following the airport's reopening that was compounded by a pair of planes that clipped wings and a burst pipe that flooded the privately operated Terminal 4 over the weekend.

Chopper 4 footage from over Terminal 4 at the airport Tuesday also showed piles of luggage being held outside amid the snow.

Airport sources told News 4 that Port Authority managers instructed ramp supervisors to remove bags that piled up over the weekend and stick them under the ramps so passengers would not see piles of luggage. The images provided to News 4 were taken earlier in the day Tuesday.

The sources added that the terminal operator was issued summonses for improperly storing baggage.

A Port Authority spokeswoman reiterated that the agency had directed airlines to immediately return all bags to customers who were impacted by the weekend's events and that bags are sometimes temporarily placed under outdoor ramps.

"In the process of returning baggage to customers and as baggage comes in from other airports from rerouted flights, and for passengers transferring to other flights, airlines temporary place and sort bags at various points in the airport including the outside ramps," the spokeswoman said. "These are not storage areas."

(A spokeswoman said Wednesday morning that "the vast majority" of remaining bags would be shipped by the end of the day.)

Also looking like power has been lost in the terminal too. Some Delta flights are diverting away from #JFK due to the water main break pic.twitter.com/058IPY7ZZd  Alex (@Airline_Alex) January 7, 2018

Wow! Total meltdown at #JFK after a power main break led to a power outage and no luggage for anyone #welcometonewyork @Delta pic.twitter.com/oHUAq0TULu  bubbly&bella (@bubblyandbella) January 7, 2018

And a spokeswoman for JFKIAT, the owner of Terminal 4, told News 4 Tuesday evening that "T4 has made significant progress returning bags to passengers and has been working to increase personnel and manpower with airlines and delivery services to do so."

But it's not appeasing the thousands of travelers who are still trying to track down baggage they could not claim during the weekend's conundrum.

On Tuesday, Peter Wyngaard told News 4 he and his fiancee lost their bags while making a connection from Detroit to Paris the same day the water pipe burst. He said they made it to France nonetheless, but their airline still doesn't know where their bags are.

Another couple, Jeff Loria and Amy Litchenfeld, said they found out on Tuesday that their bags lost when their flight to Colombia was canceled actually made it to Bogota. But they don't know how they'll get them, since they won't be making the trip anymore.

"It's complete frustration at this point," said Loria.

Others reported waiting for hours for luggage, only to see their flight numbers disappear from baggage claim boards. At least one NBC employee who arrived at the airport early Sunday said that an airport employee handed out pieces of paper for passengers to file a report and were told to leave a message on a voicemail inbox that was already full.

Another traveler, Rosemary Owuo, told News 4 she was told to leave her luggage at the terminal after Sunday's chaos, and airport employees told her she'd have to wait two weeks to get them back.

"I couldn't wait two weeks," she said. "There are important things in the bags."

International airlines have committed to have baggage reunited by passengers in New York City by Tuesday morning, said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton on Monday.

But passengers Tuesday weren't convinced.

"We are stunned by the lack of leadership by the Port Authority and the airlines," he told News 4 over Skype. "Why are they not showing up and personally help lead the charge?"

We are sharing a gate with another airline, and they have just cancelled there flight, causing the disturbance and the police being called. Our flight is operating and our teams are now moving our customers through the gate so they can board our aircraft. ^RM  Virgin Atlantic (@VirginAtlantic) January 7, 2018

"It just seems like there's very little effort taking the bags back," said Loria. "No one is taking responsibility for the back not being back at this point."

Are you in the tri-state area and still missing luggage from JFK? Please contact us at tips@nbcnewyork.com.


What to Know Coogan's in Washington Heights announced it would be closing its doors in May after 33 years in business

The bar cites rising rents from landlord NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as the reason for the closure

The bar has long been a community hub and post-race spot for runners competing at The Armory Track and Field complex down the street

Coogans, the Washington Heights pub that became a community stalwart and haven for runners of all paces over the last three decades, is closing.

The Irish bar and restaurant announced on Wednesday that it would be closing its doors later this year after its landlord, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, told its owners it would be increasing its monthly rent by $40,0000, "a level that is simply impossible" for Coogan's to survive.

Please know that Coogan's always put the community first and we will miss it tremendously, the bar's partners said in a statement. Our number one priority will be to secure employment for our employees when we arrive at the time to finally close.

About 40 people work at Coogans; the partners who run the restaurant said they will use their connections to find new jobs for all of them.

The World's 50 Best Bars Have Been Revealed and 7 of Them Are in New York City

Coogans said it will stay open until its lease runs out in May. The bar opened in 1985 when Washington Heights -- and the city at large -- was a seedier place. But it quickly became a hub for firefighters, cops, doctors and nurses who worked at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the diverse Washington Heights community.

The bar, just down the street from New York Road Runners Armory indoor track and field facility, also bills itself as Americas No. 1 runners restaurant. Coogans said runners from Olympic 100m gold medalist Carl Lewis to weekend warriors training for its yearly Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5k race (which has been on the New York Road Runners yearly calendar since 2013) have filled the bar on a regular basis.

It is commonplace to see the worlds greatest athletes and Olympians hoisting a brew or chowing down while the owners ask about their families, the bar said.

Other famous patrons of the bar include former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and singer Alicia Keys.

And the community has already responded to the announcement. Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer said she planned to hold a rally at the bar at noon on Sunday, and more than 4,000 people had signed a change.org petition on Wednesday demanding NewYork-Presbyterian lower rent so the pub can stay open.

The announcement comes on the heels of a pair of closures from another two New York City staples: Langans, a beloved Irish pub in Times Square; and the Greenwich Village dive bar Grassroots Tavern. Both bars cited rising rents for their closures.

Top Tri-State News Photos
What to Know A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation

A new study has found older adults who get the shot every flu season were less likely to die or be hospitalized with severe complications

The New York Times has canceled a public event with James Franco days after the Golden Globe winner was accused of sexual misconduct

Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here.

Judge Blocks Trump Decision to End Young Immigrant Program

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation. U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to prevent President Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while their lawsuits play out in court. Alsup said lawyers in favor of DACA clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants "were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm" without court action. The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial. DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. The program includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the program would be phased out, saying former President Obama had exceeded his authority when he implemented it in 2012.

Search for SoCal Storm Victims That Killed at Least 13 Continues

A storm that slammed a California coastal community is over. The search for its victims is not. Authorities in Santa Barbara County were still trying to reach new areas and dig into the destruction to find dead, injured or trapped people after a powerful mud flow swept away dozens of homes. At least 13 people have been confirmed dead, at least 25 were injured and at least 50 had to be rescued by helicopters. Those numbers could increase when the search is deepened and expanded, with a major search-and-rescue team arriving from nearby Los Angeles County and help from the Coast Guard and National Guard along with law enforcement. They'll focus first on finding survivors. A sheriff said it's likely they'll find more people amid that destruction.

Magnitude 7.6 Quake Hits in Caribbean North of Honduras

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between the coast of Honduras and the Cayman Islands, shaking the mainland and causing officials to briefly post advisories warning of the threat of possible tsunami surges around the region. There were no early reports of serious damage on land. Officials in Honduras said shaking was registered across much of the Central American nation and there were some reports of cracks in homes in Colon and Atlantida provinces along the northern coast and Olancho in eastern Honduras. Tsunami warning centers initially issued advisories stressing that people in Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands as well as on the coasts of Mexico and Central America should aware of the tsunami danger. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said later that the advisories had been canceled. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a preliminary magnitude of 7.6. The tremor struck in the sea about 125 miles north-northeast of Barra Patuca, Honduras, and 188 miles southwest of George Town, Cayman Islands. The tremor occurred about 6 miles below the surface.

Ex-White House Strategist Steve Bannon Leaves Breitbart News After Break With Trump

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is stepping down as chairman of Breitbart News Network after a public break with President Donald Trump. Breitbart announced Bannon would step down as executive chairman of the conservative news site, less than a week after Bannon's explosive criticisms of Trump and his family were published in a new book. A report on the Breitbart website quotes Bannon saying, "I'm proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform." Trump lashed out at Bannon for comments made in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," which questions the president's fitness for office. As Trump aides called him disloyal and disgraceful, the president branded his former chief strategist on Twitter as "Sloppy Steve," an apparent reference to Bannon's often unkempt appearance, and declared that "he lost his mind" when he was pushed out of the White House last August.

Repeat Flu Shots Offer Lingering Benefits in Elderly, Study Finds

There's a good reason not to skip the flu shot this year: a new study has found that older adults who get the shot every flu season were less likely to die or be hospitalized with severe complications, NBC News reported. People over 65 who got the flu shot every year but were taken to the hospital with influenza were twice as likely not to get severe complications of flu or die, according to the study, published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. "We probably only get exposed to influenza, the virus, every three to five years on average," said University of Rochester Medical Center immunologist David Topham, who was not involved in the research. "That's plenty of time for your immunity to wane." The flu season is off to a strong start in the U.S. this year, with some emergency rooms filling up.

James Franco's New York Times Talk Canceled Amid Allegations

The New York Times has canceled a public event with James Franco days after the Golden Globe winner was accused of sexual misconduct. The Times Talk event was intended to feature "The Disaster Artist" director and star and his brother and co-star, Dave Franco, discussing the film with a Times reporter. The Times said in a statement that "given the controversy surrounding recent allegations" it was canceling the event. Actress Violet Paley and filmmaker Sarah Tither-Kaplan have recently accused Franco on Twitter of earlier instances of sexual misconduct. Franco was in attendance at Tuesday's National Board of Review Awards gala in New York City to present his film's adapted screenplay award. He did not comment on the allegations. An email seeking comment from his publicist was not immediately returned.
On the morning of Dec. 8, Nellyan Velazquez and her 3-year-old daughter left Puerto Rico for New York, unaware of what their fate would be. After a long wait at the Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (PATH) building in the Bronx that lasted past midnight, a school bus arrived and took them to Brooklyn.

Once in Brooklyn, they spent the night in a building without an elevator. Their room was super disgusting. The mattresses had no sheets. Velazquez did not even remember the address. They arrived at 2 a.m., asleep. By 6 a.m., with the temperature at 40 degrees, they were outside of the building again with their suitcaseswaiting for the bus to return to the Bronx office to see if they would get a temporary shelter.

That day, PATH, a program of New York Citys Department of Homeless Services, put them in a Coney Island apartment where they spent the second night in another room that Velazquez described as horrible.

[[468645103, C]]



Ill tell you this: cockroaches would crawl into the drain, through the pipes of the sink, in the kitchen, behind the refrigerator. Cockroaches were everywhere. One night, Im turning over in my bed to see my daughter sleeping in the shelter and right then a cockroach crawls across her pillow. You have to be in the shelters by nine. You have to sign in to enter and exit. They really arent places you can live in The other day when I spent my overnight, I saw three Puerto Rican families arriving, Velazquez said.

Families from Puerto Rico who lost their homes to Hurricane Maria are showing up at homeless programs in New York mainly through third-party referrals, but without information about the Federal Agency for Emergency Management (FEMA) Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program, which offers temporary stays in hotel rooms.

[PATH] is putting them in cluster buildings. Theyre putting them in shelters, which you know, I appreciate that they are offering them, but  I was the one who took her out of that shelter, said Sonia Velazquez, a Puerto Rican community leader from New York who familiarized Nellyan with the FEMA program and then took her to a Brooklyn hotel that was working with the federal agency.

That hotel was providing rooms for several Puerto Rican families displaced by the hurricane: a man living alone; a 50-year-old woman and her sick mother; a woman living alone; a 43-year-old woman with her husband and three daughters. All their homes in Puerto Rico remain unlivable with no power. The children have missed school. The adults have lost their jobs. The sick lack medical services.

Meanwhile, both the Puerto Rican and federal governments continue to struggle in the recuperation process. Three months after the hurricane, almost half of the islands population still does not have power. FEMA has not distributed emergency funds, while Puerto Ricos unemployment rate is around 10.8 percent and people leaving the island could fluctuate between 100,000 to 200,000 people per year.

According to Velazquez, who has been in the Brooklyn hotel since Dec. 12, there are between 28 and 30 families living there. Velazquez would not give an exact number of people who live there or are arriving daily at the hotel, citing security reasons.

The number of people living in Puerto Ricos government shelters reached a peak of 15,000 right after the hurricane, but that number has been decreasing since October. Meanwhile, starting on Oct. 30, the number of people seeking help through FEMAs Transitional Sheltering Assistance program in U.S. hotels has increased.

As of Jan. 9, there are 11,533 people from Puerto Rico in the FEMA program, according to data provided by the agency. The vast majority of these people are living on the East Coast.

The Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI) identified a significant increase of 3,180 people in the FEMA program between Dec. 14 and Jan. 9. In addition, the current number of people in this program is greater than the number of people who received shelter from the Puerto Rican government two days before the hurricane. That number was 11,105, according to the islands Department of Housing.

Florida is the state with the largest number of families in FEMAs Transitional Sheltering Assistance program at 1,755. Massachusetts is next with 578. In New York, there are 208 families, and Pennsylvania has 176 families. As of January, there are 922 families in hotels on the island. The program allows people to stay for five to 14 days. After that, participants must request an extension. According to FEMA, 1,192 families have already completed the program. In addition, there are 19 families whose relocation status is unknown. FEMA contractor Corporate Lodging Consultants, a provider of hotel service in the United States, tracks the status of the program.

As of this publication of this story, 78 percent of the families in the FEMA program have yet to resolve their permanent housing needs. In addition, 280 people are still in Puerto Ricos government shelters.

Outside of the numbers, FEMA chose not to give profile information about the people in the program. The CPI asked the agency for data about age, gender and family unit categories. FEMA press officer Joann Diaz said that this information is confidential, noting that a report must be created. Diaz also indicated that she does not know when the agency could provide the data requested by the CPI.

A Journey With No Return

Nellyan Velazquez lived in the town of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico. She sought shelter from Hurricane Maria at the home of her maternal grandmother, and had to wait until some streets were passable to head back to her house. When Velazquez went back home, it was horrible, she said. Mud, leaves and water were everywhere. She had to toss out everything that got wet.

She is 25 years old, with a bachelors degree in criminology and a special concentration in advertising and marketing. Before the hurricane, Velazquez worked in two stores at the Las Catalinas Mall in Caguasone that sold shoes and another that sold eyeglasses.

The mall is already open, but for me its not feasible to work three or four hours to maintain a generator and buy food, which gets damaged every day. And my daughter is allergic to many things too, and the medications for that. For me, it is not feasible to stay in a country thats really going backwards instead of moving forward, said Velazquez, who wore a padded, thick jacket to protect herself from the cold.

In Puerto Rico, some friends told her about Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing (PATH) in New York. She searched the internet for information, found an address and saw a photo of the building. Velazquez called, but no answered. Without any further information and with airfare her mother bought, Velazquez and her daughter took their trip in early December.

Like many others on the island, which had been facing a decade-long fiscal crisis, Velazquez had already thought about moving to the United States before the hurricane. But she always resisted.

Because I had my work and although it wasnt a big salary, I was a team leader in one job and a regular employee at the other one. It wasnt much, but I could, for example, pay my rent, my bus and manage with my daughter. Yes, I could do it. But when the hurricane passed, obviously everything went backwards. So I thought about it and since Ive always wanted to go to the United States, this would be a great opportunity to start from scratch. And although life is more expensive here, there are more job opportunities. I want to establish myself. I dont want to return to Puerto Rico, Velazquez said as her daughter walked around her.

Velazquez was sitting in a large room on the first floor of the hotel that for the time being has become her home. Unlike the PATH shelters, she said, there are no strict rules here.

In my case, since I have a baby, I have two beds, a bathroom, a kitchen. I have a table. I have a television. In the shelters, there are no televisions. I have a pillow, blanket You can go in and out whenever you want. We go to other rooms of people we made friends with. We cook and have a good time. The people that have food stamps, since theres a kitchen here, they provide us with pots and utensils and plates, and we can cook here, and we eat here. I had [food stamps] in Puerto Rico. I closed that case so I could open it here when I arrived. The process was super fast, Velazquez said.

For now, life in New York outside of the hotel is filled with paperwork. Velazquezs daughter is in state care. And Velazquez attends Nutritional Assistance Program appointments and medical appointments. She plans to take courses to perfect her English. Velazquez still does not know how long she can stay at the hotel, but she is already applying to FEMAs temporary housing program.

The Moyet Family

Fernando Moyet, a resident of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, decided to leave for the United States after his wife had two operations canceled due to Hurricane Maria. They spent almost a month in a hotel assigned to them by PATH in Brooklyn, until Sonia Velazquez informed them about the FEMA program, and they moved to the hotel where other people from Puerto Rico live.

First, I found out that to go to a shelter, we had to go to an office called PATH. You get there with your family. First, we were alone because the girls were in school, and all the family members have to be there. We went the next day. We arrived at nine in the morning. Do you know what time they took us from that site? At eleven oclock at night, to do an overnight as they call itone night in which they get us the hotel for us or in the shelter for us, because they are little hotels that they have turned into shelters, Moyet said.

They took us [from the PATH office] on a school bus filled with people. There were Puerto Ricans but also from here, African-Americans and Mexicans. And they told us that then they would put us in a better place. That overnight I remember was the most horrible thing in the world. My wife has mobility issues. To climb five floors? She cant do it. How did they not give her a first floor? That was a rat cage full of cockroaches, full of cement. I had no bedsheets, Moyet added.

We started getting sick. The meals are horrible, all microwave. You felt like you were in confinement because you have to arrive before nine oclock at night. If you dont, you stay outside. For every movement you make, you have to sign in and out. And I said come on, Im not on probation. Thats what it looked like. But thats their system. With three girls and me and my wife, the five of us got sick, and I said no, I have to do something. I kept looking for information, said Moyet, who has already found work as a chef in Manhattan. In Puerto Rico, he worked as a civil employee at the U.S. Army Buchanan base in Guaynabo.

We Lost Belief in the Government

We didnt simply lose the facilities and good things in life, because people see that Puerto Ricans always live with good things. We didnt lose that. We lost the family. We lost our dream. We lost the future of our children. We lost belief in the government, trust in everything, said a 43-year-old Puerto Rican woman at the hotel, who chose to protect her identity.

She was sitting at a table in the hotel lobby, waiting for more Puerto Ricans to arrive so she could help them. Next to her were two other women who were also in the FEMA program and assisting newcomers.

You arrive without any direction, with no one to guide you I dont know any English but nothing has held me back. I have followed all the ways and means to have people understand me, and if not, I dont move. I need someone in Spanish and if they do not look for that, Ill find it somewhere else. And then leave my family, my mom who I have in a home in Bayamon, but I have to settle myself so I can bring her here. And I even had to leave my dogs, three puppies who are my life, the 43-year-old woman said, holding back tears.

My house was filled with sewage. I slept in a garage. How do I explain that to my daughters? We have to sleep with the sounds of gunfire from nine oclock at night on. My daughters slept with my hands holding their hands, because at nine oclock at night that place [Puerto Rico] was a no mans land I never thought to leave at all, because that is my island, she recalled.

Another woman who was at the Brooklyn hotel for a month-and-a-half did not go through the PATH shelters, but first stayed at a relatives house, which had also become like its own shelter.

I came to a relative and stayed there for a few days, and obviously other people who were there had also come. We had almost twelve people in a very small place, in a very small space, and from there we decided to find another place. Right now there is someone here with two kids who doesnt know where to live or where to stay, and all she does is walk around here. I hope that the little information we have gotten her can help her a bit, said a 50-year-old Santurce woman, who preferred to not reveal her identity.

I totally ignored all this. I didnt know there was help. I didnt know we could be staying in one place. I didnt plan to leave Puerto Rico, but then my mothers condition, so I come here, and thats why I decided to stay, because in the house where I lived there, everything was damaged, flooded, and we were without power, sleeping on the floor, sleeping practically with everything open. I saw that there were better conditions here, and thats why I decided to stay, she said.

Other Places in the FEMA Program

The CPI visited two other New York hotels listed in the FEMA program. One was a two-story cement and wooden structure on Glenwood Road in Brooklyn. The FEMA list identified the place as a bed and breakfast, but upon arrival, a sign said it was a day-care center called Dels.

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It was 1 p.m. There were barely any cars moving on the street, and one or two people were occasionally walking down the sidewalk. The small buildings gate was open, but no one answered the doorbell. When the CPI called and asked if they accepted people from the FEMA program, one employee said yes, but did not know if people from Puerto Rico were staying there.

Another place in Brooklyn was called the Park House Hotel, located in Borough Park. The hotel confirmed that there was a Puerto Rican woman in the FEMA program, but the CPI did not have access to speak with her.

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FEMA evaluates each family that participates in the Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program every 30 days, since they must demonstrate that repairs are being made to their home, said Delyris Aquino, a FEMA press officer in Puerto Rico. In the case of non-owners, they must submit information from a landlord and demonstrate progress in getting a secure home with the financial or direct assistance granted by FEMA.

The Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program must last three months from the moment it was activated, which in the case of Hurricane Maria was Oct. 31, 2017. But the Puerto Rican requested an extension that was approved, so the program will be active until March 20.

This date will be re-evaluated in 31 days to verify if it is eligible for an extension, said Diaz, the FEMA press officer. The CPI asked if there was a guide or document with all the requirements for this program, but Diaz said that the Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program does not have it.

The system does it and it is internal, she added.

The CPI asked New York Citys Department of Homeless Services for information about how many families from Puerto Rico it has served since September 20. The CPI also told the department about the complaints about the shelters conditions and was asked why people who arrive at the PATH office due to the hurricane do not receive information about FEMA services.

Isaac McGinn, the departments press secretary, replied with the following e-mail message:

Our goal is to help evacuees sign up and receive FEMA services immediately after seeking help, and connect with friends and family to get a place to stay.

This story first appeared at Periodismoinvestigativo.com. English Version by Julio Ricardo Varela | Latino USA. Leer en Espanol.

The story was made possible by the Futuro Media Group as part of a collaboration supported by the Ford Foundation.
With opioids killing more people than any other health crisis in Pennsylvania's modern history, Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday declared a disaster emergency that suspends regulations hindering access to addiction care.

It's the first time a disaster emergency has been declared for a public health crisis in the commonwealth. Usually, disaster emergencies are reserved for major weather events such as a hurricane or for a terrorist attack.

"I don't take this action lightly. We know that this crisis has taken far too many lives. It has broken far too many families. It has decimated far too many communities and it has gone on for far too long," Wolf said at an event formally announcing the declaration at the State Capitol in Harrisburg.

The move eases some regulations that have been barriers to help for the addicted and their families. It will expire in 90 days as required by the state Constitution.

The opioid epidemic has hit the commonwealth hard over the past few years. Pennsylvania has the fourth-highest overdose death rate in the United States. Preliminary data shared by Wolf shows 5,260 people died from drug overdoses in 2017  the highest tally ever recorded and a nearly 15-percent jump over the previous year.

The proliferation of illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid designed for use in medical settings that can cause an overdose in minuscule amounts, has been a principal cause in large jumps in overdoses and deaths. Cities and states across the country have been grappling with the same issue.

Last year, Philadelphia began implementing recommendations from Mayor Jim Kenney's Heroin Task Force, including increasing access to medicine-assisted treatment and court diversion programs. The Philadelphia Fire Department will launch an EMS unit this summer that's dedicated to responding specifically to drug overdoses in the city's Kensington and Fairhill neighborhoods. Officials have also been mulling establishing the nation's first safe-injection site, where users could take drugs in a monitored environment.

Philadelphia is home to the highest overdose numbers in the state, which city officials say may have hit 1,200 deaths last year. They're still certifying the final numbers.



The emergency disaster declaration waives a state requirement that a doctor must have a face-to-face interaction with a person before admitting them into a treatment program. Hospitals won't be required to get a separate license to offer treatment, either.

Jennifer Smith, secretary of the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, said she'll be able to quickly say yes to removing requirements set on the state's 800 treatment providers.

"The declaration enables us to waive requirements on a broad basis without the need for those providers to submit specific requests to us," she said. New laws cannot be created under the emergency.

Fees to have a duplicate birth certificate produced will be waived. The certificates are often required as proof of residency for insurance and treatment programs and can be a surprising barrier to getting into treatment.

"Hopefully with this emergency declaration, were able to smooth things out so we can get people into treatment when theyre ready, which is the important thing," said Dr. Brian Work, an internist at Penn Medicine who volunteers at the addiction clinic Prevention Point Philadelphia.

See NBC10's national award-winning special report on the opioid crisis, Generation Addicted, right now by tapping here.



Medics responding to overdose calls will be able to leave behind additional doses of naloxone, so drug users can prevent death if another overdose happens in the future.

Pharmacists will be asked to provide the overdose reversal drug widely, likely for free or at a reduced price. Currently, anyone can purchase naloxone at a Pennsylvania pharmacy.

The Pennsylvania physician general will reclassify fentanyl and similar drugs as Schedule 1 narcotics to limit access and open drug dealers to steep criminal penalties.

Better data collection is required under this declaration as well. It requires that overdoses and neonatal abstinence syndrome  the medical term applied to children born addicted to drugs  are added as reportable conditions and tracked by state and local entities. Often, health officials only have coroner data to rely on.

An Opioid Operation Command Center will launch within the state's emergency management agency and be staffed by employees of nine state departments including health, state police, and others.

Wolf has made the fight against the opioid crisis a major area of focus for his administration. The state launched a prescription drug monitoring program to cut down on doctor shopping and identify pill mills. His administration also provided funding to create treatment centers of excellence and increase access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan.

Pennsylvania is the eighth state to declare the opioid crisis a disaster emergency. Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Virginia have previously made similar declarations.

Wolf acknowledged that the declaration is not a "silver bullet," but hoped it would streamline the state's attack. He didn't rule out signing another emergency declaration in three months should officials need more time to better address the crisis.
A New Jersey doctor is accused of hiring a man to kill his wife after she planned to divorce him and expose his illegal drug operation with the Pagans motorcycle gang, prosecutors said Tuesday.



Dr. James Kauffman, 68, of Linwood, New Jersey, is charged with murder, first-degree racketeering and first-degree leader of racketeering.

The new charges come more than five years after Kauffman's wife, April Kauffman, a New Jersey radio host, was found shot to death inside their Linwood home.

Officers found April Kauffman face down in the second floor bedroom of the couple's Woodstock Drive home on May 10, 2012. The 47-year-old had suffered several gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.



A local businesswoman who hosted weekly talk shows and advocated for military veterans, April Kauffman received a governors award for outstanding community service a few days before her death.

After five years of investigating, prosecutors say they have cracked the case of the killing of April Kauffman. Her husband Dr. James Kauffman and Ferdinand Augello are accused of murder-for-hire.

For several years, the killer remained at large despite accusations from April Kauffman's daughter that her stepfather, James Kauffman, was to blame. He denied any involvement at the time and still does now.



The reality of the crime was even more than the daughter could have imagined, authorities said.



The doctor, according to Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner, hired a hit man to kill his wife after she threatened to expose his alleged drug enterprise.

Photos: 8 Face Charges in Connection to Murder of April Kauffman

James Kauffman and 61-year-old Ferdinand Augello, of Petersburg, New Jersey, worked with the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang to illegally distribute drugs from Kauffman's Egg Harbor Township medical practice, prosecutors said.

Investigators allege he wrote free prescriptions for highly sought after and addictive opioids  including Percocet, Oxycontin and Oxycodone  to people who were sent to his office by Augello.

Augello allegedly received $1,000 in cash per prescription or a predetermined number of prescription pills once the script was filled. Those who did not have insurance were required to pay anywhere between $100 to $250 per visit, according to investigators.

Tyner said April Kauffman learned of the operation in 2011 around the same time she planned to file for divorce from James.



"She threatened to use this as leverage to expose him to gain a favorable divorce settlement," Tyner said.



With his self-described "financial empire" in jeopardy, James Kauffman and Augello began propositioning several people to murder April Kauffman, according to Tyner. For a year, they were unsuccessful.

Then, in 2012, Augello found Francis "Frank" Mullholland, Tyner said.



During the early morning hours of May 10, 2012, Frank Mullholland received a ride to the Kauffman home and was given a gun. He then allegedly went inside the home through an unlocked door and shot April Kauffman twice before leaving, according to investigators.



After the killing, Mullholland received an unknown payment from a member of the motorcycle gang, according to officials. Mullholland said he received around $20,000 in cash though investigators speculate the amount was higher.



Mullholland was found dead 18 months later. Investigators at the time said the manner of death was an accidental drug overdose.

James Kauffman's drug operation continued for five years after his wife's murder, officials said. Every person involved in the enterprise was either a Pagan, former Pagan or an associate of a Pagan, according to investigators.

The operation finally folded when James Kauffman was arrested on weapons charges following a standoff with police at his Egg Harbor Township medical office on June 13, 2017.



Atlantic County investigators, the FBI and local police officers searched his home and office that day as part of a wider probe into alleged prescription fraud in the Atlantic City area. During the search at his medical practice, James Kauffman allegedly confronted the officers while brandishing a Ruger 9mm handgun.

The man yelled, "I'm not going to jail for this," as officers worked to take him into custody, police body camera footage obtained by NBC10 showed.



New video obtained by NBC10 shows officers involved in a stand off when they showed up to search the office of Dr. James Kauffman, the husband of a radio host who was murdered several years ago. NBC10s Ted Greenberg has the details.

James Kauffman eventually surrendered and was taken for a psychological examination. He was jailed on weapons charges and has remained in custody at the Atlantic County Justice Facility since that incident.

For years, April Kauffman's daughter Kimberly Pack said her stepfather was responsible for the murder and pressured prosecutors to keep the case open. In 2014, she filed a lawsuit stating James Kauffman was "responsible for the intentional killing" of her mother and that he should not get the $600,000 in life insurance money he had sought.

"This is a really emotional day," Pack said during a news conference Tuesday. "My mom used to say the squeaky wheel gets the most oil, and I feel like that is definitely true here."

Pack's lawsuit is still pending.



Ed Jacobs, James Kauffman's attorney, said his client is "innocent."

"I can tell you putting it in writing doesn't change anything. He is innocent of any complicity in his wife's murder before this indictment. He is innocent still," Jacobs said.



In addition to Kauffman, police also arrested Ferdinand Augello; Joseph Mulholland (no relation to Frank Mullholland), 52, of Villas, New Jersey; Beverly Augello; Glenn Seeler, 37, of Sanford, North Carolina; Paul Pagano, 61, of Egg Harbor Township; Tabitha Chapman, 35, of Absecon, New Jersey; and Cheryl Pizza, 36, of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

Ferdinand Augello is charged with first-degree racketeering, first-degree leader of racketeering, the first-degree murder of April Kauffman and conspiracy to commit the murder of James Kauffman. The remaining six suspects are all charged with racketeering.


The announcement Monday that the U.S. plans to end temporary protections for Salvadorans residing in the U.S. filled many Savladoran families with anxiety, raising the possibility they will be forced to abandon their roots in the country and return to a homeland they havent known for years, even decades.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen gave Salvadorans with temporary protected status until Sept. 9, 2019, to leave the United States or face deportation.

The decision, while not surprising, was a severe blow to Salvadorans in New York, Houston, Washington and other major cities that have welcomed them since at least the 1980s.

Orlando Zepeda, who came to the U.S. in 1984 fleeing civil war in El Salvador, said the lack of surprise does not ease the sting for the 51-year-old Los Angeles-area man who works in building maintenance and has two American-born children.

"It's sad, because it's the same story of family separation from that time, and now history is repeating itself with my children," Zepeda said.

In September 2016, the Obama administration extended protections for 18 months, saying El Salvador suffered lingering harm from the 2001 earthquakes that killed more than 1,000 people and would be unable to absorb such a large wave of people returning.

But Nielsen said Monday that earthquake damage didnt justify another temporary extension and that El Salvador has received enough international aid to have mostly rebuilt its infrastructure.

Guillermo Mendoza, who came to the United States in 2000 when he was 19, was anguished about what to do with his wife and two children, who are U.S. citizens.

"What do I do? Do I leave the country and leave them here? That is a tough decision," said Mendoza, a safety manager at Shapiro & Duncan, a mechanical contractor company in Rockville, Maryland, near Washington.

Many immigrants hope Congress can deliver a long-term reprieve by September 2019. If that fails, they face a grim choice: return to El Salvador voluntarily or live in the U.S. illegally under an administration that has dramatically increased deportation arrests.

A small crowd gathered outside the White House Monday, NBC News reported, to protest the planned end to protections, chanting Donald Trump, shame on you, and Congress, fix it now.

Maryland resident Jose Monge, who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, said he fears for the future of his family, including his two sons who are 10 and 14.

"I cant take them back to my country, because theres no future in my country for them," he told NBC Washington.

Democratic leaders and immigrant advocacy groups sharply criticized the move. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called it "a heartbreaking blow to nearly a quarter of a million hard-working Salvadorans who are American in every way." Rep. Bennie Thompson, ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said it was "just the latest in a string of heartless, xenophobic actions from the Trump administration."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called it "heartbreaking" and said "many families will be devastated."

However, groups advocating immigration restrictions called it an important step for the humanitarian program's credibility.

"The past practice of allowing foreign nationals to remain in the United States long after an initial emergency in their home countries has ended has undermined the integrity of the program and essentially made the 'temporary' protected status a front operation for backdoor permanent immigration," said Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA.

The action presents a serious challenge for El Salvador, a country of 6.2 million people whose economy counts on money sent by wage earners in the U.S. Over the past decade, growing numbers of Salvadorans  many coming as families or unaccompanied children  have entered the United States illegally through Mexico, fleeing violence and poverty.

The 18-month delay was small comfort for Teresa Salmeron, a Salvadoran woman who has relatives working in the United States.

"What are they going to do here? There is no work here," she said. "I live on the money they send home."

The U.S. created temporary protected status in 1990 to provide safe havens for people from countries affected by earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, war and other disasters. It currently shields people from 10 countries, more than half from El Salvador.

The benefit, which includes work authorization, can be renewed up to 18 months at a time by the Homeland Security secretary.

Cristian Chavez Guevara, a 37-year-old Salvadoran immigrant in Houston who is raising two American stepchildren and a young cousin, said the decision would tear apart his family. He was unsure what to do.

"I have been building dreams for the future and raising hope for a better future not just for me but for my family," he said. "All of that came to a halt."

In November, Nielsen's predecessor, acting Secretary Elaine Duke, ended the protection for Haitians, requiring them to leave or adjust their legal status by July 22, 2019, and for Nicaraguans, giving them until Jan. 5, 2019. She delayed a decision affecting Hondurans, leaving that decision to Nielsen.

Last year, the Trump administration extended status for South Sudan and ended it for Sudan. Other countries covered are Nepal, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
The D.C. Council unanimously passed a health bill that would allow women to get birth control without a doctors prescription, leaving the mayor and Congress to accept or reject the measure.

The Defending Access to Womens Health Care Services Amendment Act of 2017 would allow pharmacists to prescribe birth control, meaning women wouldnt have to schedule a doctors visit for a prescription. D.C. would be the eighth state to support such a law, NBC Washington reported in December.

Insurers would also be required to pay for contraceptives under the law.

The bill will now go to Mayor Muriel Bowser, who must sign it ahead of a 30-day congressional review. The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

No other state or local jurisdiction in the country has to worry that a random congressman is going to try and meddle with a locally-passed law, Council member Charles Allen, who authored the bill, said in a statement. But I am worried that with a congress obsessed with overturning a law that protects women from being charged more for basic care, we need to be ready to fight back and say hands off DC.

The bill does not specify how pharmacists could prescribe birth control, nor does it lay out who would be eligible to get birth control directly from the pharmacy. The D.C. Board of Pharmacy will be tasked with making specific rules and regulations if the bill passes mayoral and congressional scrutiny.

The bill also aims to enshrine other provisions of the Affordable Care Act into local law in case the federal bill is repealed.

Under the law, insurance companies would be required to pay for a number of preventative health services, including breast cancer, diabetes and HIV screenings; well-woman exams; counseling for domestic violence survivors and breastfeeding support. Insured residents could access those services without paying anything out of pocket.
Three people are being questioned by police after a possible kidnapping in Rockville, Maryland.

Officers were called to the 5400 block of Randolph Road about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for a report of an assault. A 911 dispatcher taking a call about a theft from the property heard sounds of a scuffle before the call ended aburptly.

A short time later, a person who saw the SUV about a mile away called 911 after seeing what they thought was a person being forced into the vehicle.

Police say they are investigating the report of a kidnapping.

A description of the vehicle was sent out, and officers stopped it about 9:45 a.m. on the 1500 block of Bradley Avenue.

Two men and a woman were detained and are being questioned by police.

No further information was released.
The body of a man with dementia who went missing in Maryland amid freezing temperatures was found Tuesday, a week after he vanished, officials say.

Daniel DeHaven's body was found near a wooded area just south of Baltimore-Washington International Airport, police in Anne Arundel County said. Someone out for a walk saw the 65-year-old's body near Dorsey and Asphalt roads in Glen Burnie. Police responded about 4:55 p.m.

There is no reason to suspect foul play in DeHaven's death, police said.

It's still unclear how DeHaven got from the store in Beltsville where he was last seen to Glen Burnie, which is about 20 miles away.

DeHaven's family thanked the police departments and volunteers who searched for their loved one around the clock for days.

"We would like to thank everyone for their time, energy and efforts towards trying to find our Dad. We could not have accomplished any of what we were able to, without the overwhelming support and love from the community, [Prince George's County police] and supporting agencies," the family said on Twitter late Tuesday.

DeHaven, who was nonverbal, disappeared during record-cold temperatures, with windchills dropping below zero. Police looked for him using helicopters, dogs and large search crews.

DeHaven's family had hoped he was safe and had found somewhere warm to rest.

"We're just trying to stay focused on keeping hope going, and focusing on the search," DeHaven's son, Kevin, previously said.

"We're not going to stop, because he wouldn't stop," he continued. "If it were any of us, he wouldn't stop."

Kevin DeHaven described his father as kind and approachable.

"If you see him, he's not able to communicate, necessarily, but if you call out 'Danny,' he'll know his name and most likely, you'll be greeted by a smile," he said.

DeHaven's death hit home for Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker; his wife has Alzheimer's disease.

"I understand what it's like to have a loved one who's non-verbal. My wife is nonverbal," he said. "So, it's really important that we all pay attention, that when you see something, you say something. "

DeHaven was last seen alive seven days earlier, on Jan. 2, at a Costco store on the 10900 block of Baltimore Avenue in Beltsville.

A driver may have picked up DeHaven while he walked along Route 1 and dropped him off on the 800 block of Annapolis Road in Gambrills, Prince George's County police said. That location is about halfway between the Costco and the area where DeHaven's body was found.

If you encounter someone who appears to need help, don't hesitate to intervene, Deputy Police Chief Sammy Patel said.

"Drop them off to a local hospital, a police station, a fire station, a church -- somewhere they can get additional assistance," he said.

A medical examiner will determine DeHaven's cause and manner of death.

To see resources the Alzheimer's Association offers in the D.C. region, go here.


President Donald Trump is expected this week to extend relief from economic sanctions to Iran as part of the nuclear deal, citing progress in amending U.S. legislation that governs Washington's participation in the landmark accord, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the administration's deliberations.

But Trump is likely to pair his decision to renew the concessions to Tehran with new, targeted sanctions on Iranian businesses and people, the six people briefed on the matter said. The restrictions could hit some firms and individuals whose sanctions were scrapped under the 2015 nuclear agreement, a decision that could test Tehran's willingness to abide by its side of the bargain.

The individuals  two administration officials, two congressional aides and two outside experts who consult with the government  weren't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. They cautioned that Trump could still reject the recommendation from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster and that no final decision had been made. They said heated discussions were going on within the administration and with key Republican lawmakers.

The State Department and White House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump must decide by Friday to extend the nuclear-related sanctions relief for Iran's central bank or re-impose the restrictions that President Barack Obama suspended two years ago.

The old, central bank sanctions largely cut Iran out of the international financial system, and are considered to be the most powerful of the penalties imposed by the U.S. during the Obama era, along with global penalties for buying Iranian oil. Some Iran hawks want to see both sets of restrictions return, but the six people with knowledge of Trump's plans say the president isn't planning to reinstate either at this point.

The individuals said Trump's top national security aides appear to have successfully made a different case to the president: Waiving anew for 120 days the nuclear-linked sanctions while simultaneously imposing new measures to punish Iran's ballistic missile testing, alleged terrorism support and human rights violations.

Such a balance could satisfy Trump's demand to raise pressure on Iran, while not embarking on a frontal assault on the most central trade-offs of the nuclear agreement. While the U.S. and other world powers rolled back economic restrictions on Tehran, the Iranians severely curtailed their enrichment of uranium and other nuclear activity. Trump has complained that many of the Iranian restrictions expire next decade and has vacillated between talk of toughening the deal and pulling the U.S. out entirely.

A senior State Department official told reporters Wednesday that Tillerson and Mattis would be meeting with Trump on the matter before an announcement Friday. Trump, Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence were scheduled to have lunch Wednesday at the White House after a formal Cabinet meeting.

The decision coincides with the administration's efforts to secure a face-saving fix from Congress on the requirement for Trump to address Iran's compliance every three months. In October, Trump decertified the nuclear deal under U.S. law, saying the sanctions relief was disproportionate to Iran's nuclear concessions, and describing the arrangement as contrary to America's national security interests.

Tillerson told The Associated Press in an interview last week that he and others were working with Congress on ways to amend the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, or INARA, to resolve concerns Trump has with the deal. That will be coupled with diplomacy with European government on addressing Iran's missile testing and support for the Hezbollah militant movement, Shiite rebels in Yemen and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"The president said he is either going to fix it or cancel it," Tillerson said of the overall deal. "We are in the process of trying to deliver on the promise he made to fix it."

On the INARA law, it's unlikely Congress could move fast enough to codify changes by Friday. So Tillerson and others are hoping to convince the president there's enough momentum to warrant another extension of sanctions relief and not jeopardizing the entire agreement. The goal would be for Congress to make the changes sometime before May when Trump is next required to address the sanctions.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the Iran deal, one of Obama's signature foreign policy achievements, as the worst ever negotiated by the U.S. He has particularly bristled at having to give Iran a "thumbs up" every few months by acknowledging that it is meeting the requirements to invest in foreign banks, sell petroleum overseas, buy U.S. and European aircraft, and so forth.

Iran hawks in Congress and elsewhere worry the changes being discussed don't strengthen the nuclear deal enough.

One would automatically re-impose, or "snap back," suspended sanctions if Iran commits certain actions, possibly including things unrelated to its nuclear program. Currently, Congress must act for the sanctions to snap back.

Another proposal would require snapback if Iran refuses a request from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s atomic watchdog, to inspect a military site not currently being monitored. Iran hawks worry the IAEA, fearing a confrontation with Iran, won't even ask for such an inspection.

Other debates center on Iran's missile testing. Hardline Republican Sens. Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz want sanctions back if Iran launches any ballistic missiles capable of targeting territory outside of Iran, such as Israel or Saudi Arabia, and not just an intercontinental missile.

Senate Democrats, generally more supportive of the nuclear deal, are pushing their own suggestions. One would let a simple House and Senate majority stop any effort to snap back sanctions, unless the president vetoes the block. While such a mechanism is unlikely to threaten Trump in the short term, some anti-deal Republicans fear it could be used against them under a future Democratic president.

President Donald Trump angrily accused Iran of violating the landmark 2015 international nuclear accord, blaming the Iranians for a litany of sinister behavior and hitting their main military wing with anti-terror penalties. But Trump, breaking his campaign pledge to rip up the agreement, did not pull the U.S. out or re-impose nuclear sanctions.

He still might, he was quick to add. For now, he's tossing the issue to Congress and the other nations in the accord, telling lawmakers to toughen the law that governs U.S. participation and calling on the other parties to fix a series of deficiencies. Those include the scheduled expiration of key restrictions under "sunset provisions" that begin to kick in in 2025, as well as the omission of provisions on ballistic missile testing and terrorism.

Without the fixes, Trump warned, he would likely pull the U.S. out of the deal  which he has called the worst in U.S. history  and slap previously lifted U.S. sanctions back into place. That would probably be a fatal blow for the pact between Iran and world powers.

"Our participation can be canceled by me, as president, at any time," Trump declared Friday in a carefully delivered speech read from a teleprompter in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House. He added later, speaking of Congress, "They may come back with something that's very satisfactory to me, and if they don't, within a very short period of time, I'll terminate the deal."

Under U.S. law, Trump faces a Sunday deadline to certify to Congress whether Iran is complying with the accord. That notification must take place every 90 days, a timetable that Trump detests. Since taking office, he has twice reluctantly certified that Iran is fulfilling its commitments.

On Friday, he said he would not do so again.

Trump alone cannot actually terminate the accord, which lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for concessions regarding its nuclear program. But withdrawing the U.S. would render the deal virtually meaningless.

That would be risky, though, and could badly damage U.S. credibility in future international negotiations. The accord was struck after 18 months of negotiations between the Obama administration, Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union and then endorsed by a unanimous vote in the U.N. Security Council.

Trump's main national security aides have all argued for staying in the deal. So have key allies in Europe who are leery of altering an accord that they believe has prevented Iran from assembling an arsenal of atomic weapons.

Overseas reaction to Friday's speech was swift.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country would continue to stick to the nuclear deal and that the U.S. was isolating itself, "more lonely than ever," by condemning the accord.

Indeed, the leaders of Britain, Germany and France urged Trump in a joint statement not to do anything rash.

"We encourage the U.S. administration and Congress to consider the implications to the security of the U.S. and its allies before taking any steps that might undermine the (deal), such as re-imposing sanctions on Iran lifted under the agreement," they said. Still, they added, "independent of the (deal) we need to make sure that our collective wider concerns are being addressed."

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump and said the U.S. president had created an opportunity to "fix this bad deal" and roll back Iran's aggression. Netanyahu has long warned that the accord failed to address Iran's support for militant groups who act against Israel.

Trump opened his speech by reciting a long list of grievances with Iran dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the seizure of the U.S. Embassy and American hostages in Tehran. He then noted terrorist attacks against Americans and American allies committed by Iranian proxies, such as Hezbollah, and Iran's ongoing ballistic missile tests.

"We cannot and will not make this certification" that Iran is complying with the accord, he said. "We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror and the very real threat of Iran's nuclear breakout."

But "decertifying" the deal stops well short of pulling out and simply moves the issues over to Congress. Lawmakers now have 60 days to decide whether to put the accord's previous sanctions back into place, modify them or do nothing.

Republicans face a heavy lift in rallying GOP lawmakers and Democrats behind legislation that would make the accord more stringent and please Trump. Some GOP senators, like Marco Rubio of Florida, question whether the pact can be fixed.

Further complicating matters, a GOP lawmaker who will be at the center of what's sure to be a stormy debate is Bob Corker of Tennessee, who recently compared Trump's White House to "an adult day care center" and said the president could be setting the U.S. on a path toward World War III.

Ahead of Trump's speech, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the administration wants lawmakers to come up with legislation that would automatically re-impose sanctions that were lifted under the deal should Iran cross any one of numerous nuclear and non-nuclear "trigger points."

Those would include illicit atomic work or ballistic missile testing; support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and other groups that destabilize the region, or human rights abuses and cyber warfare, Tillerson said.

Also Friday, Trump said he was hitting Iran's Revolutionary Guard with sanctions for supporting terrorism. But the U.S. is not adding the Guard to the formal U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. That step would force the U.S. to take even further steps against the Guard that Tillerson says could be problematic.

AP writers Deb Riechmann and Richard Lardner contributed to this report.
Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle introduced legislation on Tuesday that would require future presidential nominees to undergo a medical exam and have those results released to the public.

Under the Democrat's STABLE GENIUS Act proposal, major party nominees for president would submit to a medical examination by the Secretary of the Navy. The results would be filed with the Federal Election Commission and publicly accessible before that year's presidential election.

The bill's name is derived from President Donald Trump's personal assertions that he is "a very stable genius" and mentally fit to hold office. It's also an acronym for Standardizing Testing and Accountability Before Large Elections Giving Electors Necessary Information for Unobstructed Selection Act.

Boyle, who represents Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district covering parts of Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County, is a fierce Trump critic who regularly questions the president's ability to lead the country.

He said Trump's "reckless, erratic behavior has exposed a critical flaw in our existing election process."

"Before voting for the highest office in the land, Americans have a right to know whether an individual has the physical and mental fitness to serve as President of the United States," Boyle said.

"While it is necessary to take the current Presidents concerning behavior seriously and I support legislation to address these ongoing concerns, I believe we must also be proactive and do all we can to ensure a situation like this does not arise again."

The President believes he is a "stable genius." I do not. Today, I introduced the



Standardizing

Testing and

Accountability

Before

Large

Elections



Giving

Electors

Necessary

Information for

Unobstructed

Selection



Act to ensure that Presidential candidates are fit to lead. pic.twitter.com/ZalCqySlo8  Rep. Brendan Boyle (@CongBoyle) January 9, 2018

A request for comment from the White House was not immediately returned.

During an interview with Fox & Friends on Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said its "absolutely outrageous" to question whether the president is mentally fit to hold office.



"It's absolutely outrageous to make these types of accusations and it's simply untrue, and its sad that people are going and making these desperate attempts to attack the president," she said. "What I think is really mentally unstable is people that don't see the positive impact that this president is having on the country."

Recently, the author of a controversial book about Trump administration claimed that Trump's staff openly discusses the 25th Amendment, which outlines the chain of succession should a president, among other things, be deemed unable to discharge the duties of the office.

"Everybody in this White House, and I keep saying 100-percent because it is 100 percent of the people closest to the president, to Donald Trump, believe that there is something wrong here, something fundamentally wrong, something that scares them," Michael Wolff, author of "Fire and Fury" said Monday on MSNBC's Morning Joe. "As a matter of fact, if there is any reason they stay in the White House now its because they are scared, they believe they have a responsibility to the American people."

During the 2016 presidential election, Trump and some Republicans questioned Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's physical fitness for the job. Clinton fell ill at an event at Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2016 and needed to be helped into an SUV. She was later diagnosed with pneumonia.



Trump will undergo his yearly physical at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday.


Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he's running for the open U.S. Senate seat in his home state of Arizona so he can support President Donald Trump, who pardoned him last year after Arpaio was convicted of disobeying a judge's order barring him from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants.



"I am running for the U.S. Senate from the Great State of Arizona, for one unwavering reason: to support the agenda and policies of President Donald Trump in his mission to Make America Great Again," Arpaio tweeted Tuesday.

The tweet included a link to a news story about his announcement, in which the former sheriff of Maricopa County told a Washington Examiner reporter that he's not concerned about being 85 years old or his poor reputation among non-white voters and that he thinks he could win.



"I'm not here to get my name in the paper, I get that every day, anyway," Arpaio told the newspaper.

The seat Arpaio is running for is being vacated by Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, a vocal critic of the president's, at the end of his term in early 2019.

Arpaio earned a national reputation by taking aggressive action to arrest immigrants in the country illegally, but the courts said he had used immigration patrols to racially profile Latinos.

He was handily defeated by a Democrat in the 2016 election, during which he campaigned for Trump.

In July 2017, Arpaio was found guilty of a misdemeanor contempt-of-court charge in a trial that was prosecuted by the president's own Justice Department.

But within a month, Trump issued his pardon on the night that a Category 4 hurricane was bearing down on Texas. He later defended the timing from critics who said it seemed like the administration was burying the news during a disaster: "In the middle of a hurricane, even though it was a Friday evening, I assumed the ratings would be far higher than they would be normally."

The White House said Arpaio was a "worthy candidate" for the pardon, citing his "life's work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration."

Refresh this page for more information on this breaking news story.


Police in Massachusetts are on alert after receiving reports about an anonymous porn website featuring photos of local women who did not give their consent.

Attleboro Police say they received word about the site in late December and have since had to reach out two women who had no idea they had been exposed.

"Of course we find it concerning," Detective Lt. Timothy Cook said. "These people are being victimized without their knowledge."

Whoever is posting the images seems to have some knowledge about the women. Some of the posts include not just photos, but the names of women and where they live. Some are from the Attleboro area, as well as other cities and towns in Massachusetts.

The site, called Anon-V, is one of many that allows users to upload photos and videos anonymously without registration and without verification.

Attleboro is consulting with other local departments who are dealing with the same issue, as well as federal law enforcement. The fact that they tracked down the site's server to an island off the coast of Africa makes it even more difficult.

"They won't honor any warrants or issue to shut down from foreign law enforcement," Lt. Cook said.

For now, police are spreading awareness in hopes of sending a warning to anyone thinking of sending inappropriate photos without consent. They are monitoring the site and working with the victims to get their photos taken down. Anyone found to be a contributor could face charges.
For the second time, a Rhode Island man is facing charges in connection with child pornography, according to state police.

David B. Hamlin, 36, of West Warwick, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with possession and transfer of child pornography after a court-authorized search warrant was executed at his home.

Rhode Island State Police and officials with the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes Unit/Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force said Hamlin was already on probation stemming from an arrest on Oct. 5, 2016, where he was charged with transfering child pornography. He pled no contest to an amended charge of access to computer for fraudulent purposes.

Following the Tuesday search at Hamlin's home, ICAC seized numerous items of digital media that they say could have him facing additional charges.

Hamlin is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday at the Noel Judicial Complex in Warwick.

It's unclear if he has an attorney.
A Rhode Island rapper whose songs include "Sell Drugsz" and "Feds Watching" was sentenced this week to three years in federal prison for trafficking heroin and fentanyl.

Michael Persaud, aka "Montana Millz," 30, of Johnston, pleaded guilty in October to five counts of distribution of fentanyl and one count each of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of heroin.

Prosecutors said he was arrested following a 4-1/2 month investigation during which an undercover East Providence police detective arranged for several purchases of heroin and fentanyl from Persaud, totaling nearly 22 grams of fentanyl and 2 grams of heroin.

In several instances, prosecutors said Persaud used other people to assist in the delivery of the drugs. On at least two occasions, he was driven by his girlfriend and mother of three of his children to deliver fentanyl to the undercover detective.

Last March, East Providence police and members of the Rhode Island Drug Enforcement Administration Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at the home of the mother of one of Persaud's children, where they seized 44 grams of fentanyl he had hidden in the residence.

Persaud also faces sentencing on similar charges out of Pennsylvania, where he was convicted in August as a result of an investigation into his drug trafficking activities in that state back in 2016.

The Lebanon County, Pennsylvania district attorney said Persaud and a female accomplice sold heroin to an undercover police officer during a month-long investigation. The district attorney said they sold 70 bags of heroin to an undercover officer in Lebanon and were arrested.

The Lebanon County district attorney said police raided the couple's hotel room and found more than 2 ounces of heroin worth about $11,500.
Vermont is poised to become the first state in the country to approve the recreational use of marijuana by an act of the Legislature rather than through a citizen referendum.

The state Senate approved the legislation Wednesday by voice vote. Republican Gov. Phil Scott has indicated he will sign the bill, which was approved by the House last week. It's unclear when that signing will take place.

The bill would allow adults over 21 to possess of up to one ounce of marijuana and have two mature marijuana plants or four immature plants. The legislation does not contain a mechanism to regulate the production and sale of marijuana, as has been done in some other states.

Some backers of the proposal call it a baby step and say they hope the Legislature will pass a tax-and-regulation system.

Scott vetoed a marijuana legalization bill last May, but indicated he only did so because of the bill's timing.

Fifty-seven percent of Vermont voters support legal marijuana for adults, according to a March 2017 Public Policy Polling survey.

Once the bill is signed, Vermont will become the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, following its New England neighbors in Massachusetts and Maine.

"Vermonters should be proud that their state is becoming the first to do this legislatively, rather than by ballot initiative," said Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Legislatures in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island are also considering bills that would make marijuana legal for adults this year; New Hampshire's House approved a bill on Tuesday.

The Vermont Senate's vote comes amid growing concerns over the future of legal weed after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era Justice Department memo that allowed the legal marijuana industry to flourish in states that had approved it.

"Now that yet another state has rejected marijuana prohibition, there is even more pressure for Congress to take action to prevent any federal interference from Attorney General Jeff Sessions," said Matthew Schweich, interim executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "It's time for the federal government to respect the authority of states to determine their own marijuana practices."
In response to the increasing informal sharing of human milk, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) has published guidelines to minimize the risk of this practice while enhancing the health benefits. The position statement is published in Breastfeeding Medicine, the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Breastfeeding Medicine website until February 8, 2018.

"Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine's 2017 Position Statement on Informal Breast Milk Sharing for the Term Healthy Infant" discusses strategies to maximize the safety of community-based breast milk sharing, including 1) medical screening of the donor and 2) safe milk handling practices. Donors should have no medical illness where breastfeeding is contraindicated nor on any medication that is incompatible with breastfeeding. Mothers can further reduce the risk of infections by performing home pasteurization of donated milk prior to giving it to her infant; however, pasteurization can decrease some of the beneficial components of human milk. ABM also emphasizes that while informal milk sharing has potential health benefit, "internet-based milk sharing is not recommended under any circumstances."

"Informal breast milk sharing is becoming increasingly common for healthy term infants as 21st century families desire to feed their infants human milk," says Dr. Timothy Tobolic, president of ABM. "Physicians and other health care providers can help mothers and families evaluate the risks and benefits of informal milk sharing."
A recent study conducted by researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley's Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health (CERCH) found that worry about deportations was associated with multiple cardiovascular health risk factors in Latinas from California's Salinas Valley, an area with a large immigrant community. The study was published in the journal, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, on January 9.

The current study is the first data-driven research into the connection between deportation fears and measured cardiovascular risk factors. While past descriptive studies have documented the impact of fear of deportation on the mental health of immigrants, their families, and their communities, none have examined how this fear gets "under the skin" to affect physical health.

Researchers gathered data between 2012 and 2014 from 545 women enrolled in the internationally recognized Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) cohort, the longest-running study based in a U.S. farmworker community. They asked mothers in the cohort about how much worry deportation caused them and monitored vital signs and other health information. Using these data, the UCSF and CERCH team created statistical models to look at the relationship between deportation worry and health outcomes such as blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference, which have previously been linked to other structural and societal stressors like discrimination.

Almost half of the women expressed a lot of worry about deportation. Overall, those who were more concerned had significantly greater waist circumferences and odds of obesity as well as higher body mass indexes, all risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke. The researchers also found that greater worry about deportation was linked to higher systolic blood pressure (the pressure in blood vessels when a heart beats) and pulse pressure, an important indicator of heart health.

The findings held even when controlling for measures of socio-economic status, age, time spent in the United States and nativity. The researchers also explored how depression may affect worry about deportation and cardiovascular risk factors, since the disorder might drive them both.

"These results are not surprising, given what we know about the effects of other societal stressors on physical wellbeing, including cardiovascular risk factors," says Jacqueline Torres, first author of the study and assistant professor at UCSF. "They are nevertheless heartbreaking, because they suggest that individuals who are targeted by immigration enforcement practices - and live in fear of the effects on their family and community members - might bear a dual burden related to the adverse consequences of this immense stress on their physical health."

Dramatic increases in deportations over the last two decades, along with local police forces working more closely with federal immigration authorities, have fostered an environment of fear across many U.S. immigrant communities. According to a national survey fielded last year, almost half of Latinos living in the United States worry about deportation, either for themselves or someone close to them. The consequences of this fear and stress can extend beyond day-to-day life and impact overall health and wellbeing.

The broader literature on the health impacts of psychosocial stress points to several ways that deportation fears may affect heart health. Persistent worry may chronically activate a person's stress response system or increase sensitivity to other factors, such as food insecurity, that increase stress. This fear could even affect sleep quality and duration, and chronic stress has been linked to inflammation, with can affect cardiovascular health.

Though no one study is sufficient to draw causal conclusions about the effects of fear of deportation on clinical risk factors, this study suggests there may be potential long-term health consequences of immigration policies on adult women.

These data were collected during the Obama administration, when deportations reached previous peak levels. Recent reports suggest that deportation rates are rising further under the Trump presidency. The researchers began this study because of concerns about the impacts of deportation on the community. Members of the CERCH team have been working with the same group of women for decades - some as early as 1999 - and heard firsthand about the impacts of these immigration enforcement activities on the lives of these women.

"Given the current immigration policies, I am especially concerned about the adverse effects of deportation fear on the mental and physical health of the children in these families, many of whom are United States citizens," says study co-author Brenda Eskenazi, director of CERCH, principal investigator of CHAMACOS, and professor at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.

"These farmworker families are critical to the success of the agricultural economy in California and deserve our support," adds Torres.
Researchers have developed a new gel formulation for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. This gel formulation contains nitrates or nitroglycerine that is being used to treat angina chest pain and also an important ingredient in making explosives.

The oily, colourless liquid that is prepared using nitroglycerine has been found to work 12 times faster that Viagra. It also acts by releasing nitric oxide gas or NO. NO is responsible for immediate widening or dilatation of the blood vessels of the penis over which it is applied. This leads to erection. The blood flow to the penis increases remarkably.

The team conducted a study at University College Hospital in London and other centres around the country. They noted that in 44 percent of the men, an erection of the penis was noted after five minutes of use of this new gel formulation. They tested a total of 232 men with erectile dysfunction and found that 70 percent of the men achieved an erection within 10 minutes of application of the gel. The results from this small study were published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

The 232 men participated in two different studies, each lasting four weeks. In one trial they used a new topical gel called MED2005 that contained 0.2 percent glyceryl trinitrate or nitroglycerine. Then they switched over to the other trial where they were given an inert placebo gel to use before intercourse without their knowledge. In each of the trials they had to rub a pea-sized quantity of the gel onto their penis before they had intercourse.

A quarter of the users noted a significant improvement in their erection. This was assessed using a set of questions that were provided to the participants to answer. Questions included confidence in getting and maintaining an erection as well as hardness of the penis and satisfaction with the intercourse. On the other hand 14 percent of the placebo users also reported satisfactory improvement. While Viagra and other medications take almost an hour before they can start to act, this gel worked within 10 minutes in 70 percent individuals say researchers.

According to researchers, the best advantage of this formulation is its ease of use and fast onset of action. The gel however, like most other drugs that contain nitroglycerine leads to side effects such as headaches, hot flushes, nausea. Alteration of some of the components could address this problem say the scientists.

This gel is in for further studies and human trials until it is deemed safe and effective for use among humans. It is being speculated that the gel formulation could cost as little as 1. It is found to be most effective among those with mild forms of erectile dysfunction say researchers.

Erectile dysfunction is the most prevalent of the male sexual dysfunctions (prevalence age 30 to 80 years) at 19.2% as compared to 31% for all types of male sexual dysfunctions. It has deeper physical as well as psychological impact and a treatment that is noninvasive and effective would be more than welcome.
While refining ways to grow arterial endothelial cells in the lab, a regenerative biology team at the Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison unexpectedly unearthed a powerful new model for studying a hallmark of vascular disease.

The team, led by Morgridge Institute Fellow Dave Vereide, describes in the Jan. 9, 2018 issue of Stem Cell Research a new method of creating human arterial endothelial cells from cord blood and adult bone marrow sources. These cells, which have been notoriously difficult to grow in stable quantities, are essential to any future tissue engineering efforts to combat heart disease.

But a second feature of these cells may prove more influential. Vereide says the cells exhibit two distinct states: One that retains its healthy arterial properties over many generations of growth; and a second that fairly quickly shifts identity to a compromised cell type that is strongly linked to arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.

This change in identity, known as the endothelial to mesenchymal transition, is widely recognized as a major risk factor for congenital heart disease, fibrosis of vital organs, hypertension and heart attacks.

Vereide says the structural changes in the two cell types are quite visible. Endothelial cells have an elongated shape, and tend to grow in smooth, single-cell layers that comprise the inside surface of the artery. By contrast, mesenchymal cells become more star-shaped and they can deposit a calcified extracellular matrix that is prone to building up in the artery. Vereide says mesenchymal cells also can pile up on one another, leading to a thickening or buildup in the arteries that constricts blood flow.

Having these new cell lines neatly assemble in a dish in two forms -; one resistant to the mesenchymal transition, the other remarkably susceptible to it -; could be a huge boon not only to understanding the basic biology of this change, but in discovering drugs to suppress it, Vereide says.

"We think we've found this really interesting reservoir for new studies and insights on a major disease factor," says Vereide. "The fact that we have these two states makes it really easy to study, because you can sort of corral the biology into a corner and whittle down the distinctions between the two."

In creating the new cell lines, the team used two transcription factors -; or proteins that control specific genetic functions -; that were known to be important for a wide range of cell types. But it turned out that when combined, they almost exclusively regulate arterial endothelial cell growth.

That was a "super-lucky" coincidence, Vereide says. For the vast majority of things that can go wrong in the human circulatory system, almost all of them relate to artery dysfunction. That makes the arterial endothelium a prime target for discovery. Until recently, scientists had trouble getting these cells to grow in vitro, relying on arterial cells from cadavers that quickly lose their arterial traits and do not proliferate very long.

This advance provides a second valuable source for these cells. The other advance, which also came from the Morgridge regenerative biology lab in summer 2017 led by stem cell pioneer James Thomson, produced, for the first time, functional arterial cells from pluripotent stem cells at both the quality and scale to be relevant for tissue engineering, including the creation of arterial banks for use in heart surgery.

"Now we have one line of research focused on cellular therapy and another focused on drug discovery, so we're covering all the bases," he says.

What is happening in the endothelial to mesenchymal transition? Vereide says it's likely a normal process gone awry.

"My suspicion is there is a naturally occurring transition that's probably healthy, like in a response to injury," he says. "This is probably part of the normal homeostatic balance. What I think happens during disease progression is that the balance shifts, and now there's too much transition taking place and you get these massive deleterious effects."

The next big challenge will be to find the genetic differences between these cells that makes one group more resistant. Vereide says the hope is finding targets for drugs or small molecules that could restrain this disease transition. In the same way that a broad class of statin drugs has revolutionized treatment of high cholesterol, there could be a new class of drugs that attack this prime precursor to arteriosclerosis, he says.

It could also have value for cellular therapies. "You could imagine a test to predict whether your cells are going to be permissive or resistant to the transition and steer clinicians to the cells that will perform best in the human body," he says.

Arterial stem cell research is a primary focus of the Thomson lab. The vascular system in humans collectively stretches over 60,000 miles and supplies the oxygen and nutrients for every part of the body. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.
insights from industry Dr. Thomas Mueller Director of Product Management Bruker Nano Surfaces

An interview with Dr. Thomas Mueller, Director of Product Management at Bruker Nano Surfaces conducted by April Cashin-Garbutt, MA (Cantab)

What is the importance of meetings, like the AFM Biomed Conference, to you and the AFM research community?

The AFM BioMed Conference is a great conference because it is very focused and brings together biomedical, biophysical, and biological applications of AFM. For us, at Bruker, it is a very interesting opportunity to interact with the community, to show them our latest technology and see where leaders in the field see it going.

Weve been sponsoring AFM BioMed for 10 years now and it is a conference where we're very actively involved in showing our latest technology. We even launched one of most important BioAFMs at an AFM BioMed Conference  the BioScope Resolve.

This year, in Krakow, we launched a new version of BioScope Resolve, one which lets you do new things and for the first time, it lets you get statistical data on live cell samples. So, it is no coincidence we are launching it here to this community as this is really the best place to do that.

What are the main life science applications of AFM?

We see quite a range of applications of BioAFM from molecular to cellular to tissues. In fact, when we developed the BioScope Resolve, we had that in mind. We made sure that it has an excellent high resolution imaging tool with PeakForce Tapping and worked closely with the community in developing and fine tuning. So BioScope Resolve excels at molecular imaging, one of the important applications. Say, as a benchmark example resolving the double helix structure of DNA and the major and minor groove. Resolving it so well, that you can see local variations at the single molecule level, for example as a protein binds.

BioAFM is also a great cell imaging tool. In fact, it was also working with people at this conference here, such as Hermann Schillers for instance, that we found out that with our improvements in PeakForce Tapping, we are able to resolve individual microvilli on live cells. No other AFM can do that.

AFM is also a really great tool for mechanobiology, for examining, and quantifying forces on and between cells. So, there's also a lot of technology for that in the BioScope Resolve aside from PeakForce Tapping. This includes FastForce Volume, giving us the broadest range of ramp rates for force mapping and time dependent studies. And ramp scripting, addressing cell viscoelasticity. Its not just modes and software features. We optimized the entire mechanical loop, which enabled both, highest resolution imaging and more consistent force measurements.

Regarding consistency in AFM force measurements, the AFM BioMed community is very active in asking itself the question how do you quantify, how do you calibrate those kind of measurements, and came up with protocols for that, what they called initially the Dubrovnik method.

In BioScope Resolve, we actually implemented a workflow and we launched probes that let you follow that exact workflow. Conforming to that best-known method for quantifying forces, force measurements with cells together with its core performance will allow Resolve to advance Mechanobiology.

Bruker BioScope Resolve: An AFM Made for Biological Research Play

How has the market responded to the BioScope Resolve since its introduction?

BioScope Resolve gained very fast traction in the market, immediately after its introduction at the AFM BioMed conference in San Diego. We saw early customers immediately embracing the new capabilities, for example work by the Mueller and Alsteens groups in high resolution recognition mapping and quantifying virus binding kinetics, combined with optical integration.

Can scanning be made faster to improve imaging even further?

Yes, in fact with Resolve we showed new levels of imaging speed while imaging whole cells, and even faster speed on molecular samples - while retaining force control, keeping fragile molecules intact. Faster imaging is of interest for a number of reasons. One there is the ability to do more. Not just plain productivity, but also obtaining statistically valid data sets.

This is a direction we are enabling with Resolve with faster imaging as well as the high accuracy stage where we automatically execute measurements on dozens of cells, within the whole motorized stage range, and with no loss in performance.

And then there is the interest in dynamics, at the whole cell level, as well as dynamics of large biomolecules. In both cases the combination of AFM and probe technology have allowed advances seen in BioScope Resolve.

Bioscience applications of AFM have been at the forefront on AFM technology since its inception some twenty years ago. How do you think the technology has changed since the early adopters started using this technique and where do you see the next logical development step for BioAFM technology?

Clearly, the last twenty years have witnessed a great expansion of BioAFM, especially where AFM data is correlated with a range of optical microscopies. We have seen a wealth of high-speed dynamics work, high-resolution molecular imaging, live cell imaging, and cell mechanobiology. Clearly one trend that we see continuing into the future is probing of single cells, beyond topography imaging to single cell manipulation, injection, recognition and force mapping, and mechanobiology.

This is where PeakForce QNM plays a key role and we see it combined also with super-resolution, and this is where AFM can play out its unique advantage as high resolution physical probe employing quantifiable forces, and advancing the growing field of mechanobiology.

Where can readers find more information?

For more information on AFM from Bruker: https://www.bruker.com/products/surface-and-dimensional-analysis/atomic-force-microscopes.html

About Dr. Thomas Mueller

Dr. Thomas Mueller is the Director of Product Management in the AFM business unit of Brukers Nano Surfaces Division.

Thomas has been with Bruker for 12 years having held positions in applications and product management, and is the author of over 50 publications, reviews, and application notes.

He received his Ph.D. in 2000 from Yale University on developing new linear and nonlinear spectroscopic probes of molecular structure and dynamics, followed by postdoctoral research at Columbia University focusing on scanning probe microscopy as a tool for interrogating self-assembly and chemical reaction specificity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Romaine lettuce alone cannot be blamed for the outbreak of E. coli infections that has already affected 57 people in the United States and Canada. The infections are all due to E. coli O157:H7 strain of the bacteria that produces the Shiga toxin.

Romaine lettuce - Image Credit: Trong Nguyen / Shutterstock

Ian Williams, chief of the CDC's Outbreak Response and Prevention Branch has said that there have been no new cases of E. coli infection since December 2017 but warned that the outbreak is not yet over and caution is warranted. He said that once crop cannot be blamed for it all since people might remain at risk by avoiding just that crop while the actual cause maybe something else altogether. What is worrying, he added, was that the source of the infection is yet to be found. Until the source is known, the outbreak cannot be safely said to be over he explained. Not all of the people infected have said that they have had romaine he said. Similarly the Canadian health authorities have blamed the romaine lettuce but not identified the actual source of the infection i.e. the distributor or the farm that is contaminated with the said bacteria.

Consumer Reports, on its own has issued statements warning people against eating romaine and have criticized the CDC and the US FDA for not warning people. But Williams confirmed that no particular farm or distributor could be pinpointed and thus the warnings could not be issued.

The 17 cases of the infection are spread across 13 different states including California (3 cases), Connecticut (2 cases), Illinois (1 case), Indiana (1 case), Michigan (1 case), Nebraska (1 case), New Hampshire (2 cases), New York (1 case), Ohio (1 case), Pennsylvania (1 case), Virginia (1 case), Vermont (1 case) and Washington (1 case) between from November 15 and December 8, 2017. and the CDC is trying to find the common link among these people. The genetic picture of the bacteria that affected people in US and Canada appeared to be the same said the CDC. Williams explained that the teams were reaching out to the affected people and trying to piece together the places and foods that these people ate the week before they got ill. Not all of them could remember having romaine lettuce or even green leafy vegetables he said. Further, not all people who got infected went to the doctor or got their stool samples checked. This means that there are many more who escaped this radar said Williams.

In addition, lettuce has a short shelf life. This means that most of the contaminated lettuce by now is either consumed or thrown out and cannot be tested for confirmation. Another problem with E. coli infection is that it can contaminate the food at any stage of its production. An infected person can spread it to clean food which means that the farm or the distributor may not be the source of the infection at all. Williams says that the contamination can take place anywhere between the farm and the fork.

According to the CDC reports, 48 million Americans get infected annually due to infections carried by foods. At least 3,000 of these are killed and 128,000 need hospitalization for their infection. Another wave of the infections is likely warns Williams.
Researchers have successfully created artificial human muscles in the laboratories that are tiny but fully functional. These small muscles actually respond to the nerve stimulations, says the latest study reporting this scientific breakthrough.

The muscles cells have been created from skin cells that have been stimulated to turn into muscles. This could be a great deal for several diseases and ailments the scientists add. These muscles could be used to understand and study muscular disorders and also test new drugs that could be used on these diseases. The research is published in an article this week in the journal Nature Communications.

It is not new to make one kind of cells from a different kind of cell such as skin cells by coaxing them to turn. However making muscle cells from skin cells is a novel finding that has never been tried before.

The team of researchers first took samples of skin from humans and turned them into pluripotent stem cells or cells that are capable of becoming any type of human cell. These stem cells then were turned into muscle stem cells by the researchers. These were termed myogenic progenitors.

Senior study author Nenad Bursac, a professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University in North Carolina explained that these induced pluripotent stem cells could be made into muscle stem cells by making them create a protein called Pax7. This protein is the key that signals the cells to become muscle cells he explained.

The whole reprogramming takes around three weeks he added. These muscle stem cells then multiply rapidly to create thousands of cells. Once there were enough cells to work with, the team successfully turned the Pax7 protein off and now used a 3D culture or scaffolding with nutrients and growth factors or nutrient gels that helped these cells to grow into organized muscle fibres.

Lingjun Rao, a postdoctoral researcher in Bursac's laboratory and first author of the study explained that this study has been the result of years of trial and errors. They succeeded because of the 3D matrix that was used instead of the 2D cell cultures that were earlier used he said.

Within the culture solution, in around three weeks a muscle tissue was grown that measured 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) long and 1 millimeter (0.004 inches) in diameter. Once this was successfully achieved, the muscle tissue was subjected to physiological tests to check for its viability. Bursac said these muscle cells that come originally from skin cells are weaker than the earlier version they had created using muscle cells as origin around three years ago. This was something that the team was working on  to strengthen these muscle cells that come from reprogrammed skin cells. Also the blood vessels that supply blood to the muscle tissues were small and so bigger samples could not be created. The size limit is another hurdle that needs to be overcome he added.

According to researchers worldwide, this is a major scientific breakthrough and provides hope for people with several genetic muscular diseases including Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Until now to check for new drugs and the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the disease, muscle samples were needed from these pediatric patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who already had weak muscles and a low reserve. Now that part could be addressed by using these artificially created muscles tissues said Bursac.

New treatments can also be tested on these samples he added and these would be more accurate in their results than trying the new agents on lab animals he explained.
Who is Ironheart / Riri Williams and how will this Marvel character be integrated into the MCU?

Riri Williams brings Black Girl Magic to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But who is Ironheart?
US hopes Pakistan would 'come to table' to fight against terrorism

Islamabad : The United States of America has expressed hope that Pakistan would 'come to table' and share its willingness to fight against terrorist groups operating from its territory.

This comes amid reports that Islamabad has suspended its military and intelligence cooperation with America.

As per media reports, Pakistan's decision to suspend military and intelligence cooperation came after Donald Trump accused Pakistan of giving US just lies and deceit, leading to suspension of military aid.

US Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein said: Were hopeful for future cooperation from Pakistan.

We stand ready to work with Pakistan in combating all terrorists without distinction, and we hope to be able to renew and deepen our bilateral security relationship when Pakistan demonstrates its willingness to aggressively confront the Taliban network, the Haqqani Network, and other terrorist and militant groups that operate from its territory, he said.

The US has been clear on this issue to Pakistan, Goldstein said.

We would like Pakistan to come to the table and assist us in this effort, he said adding that the suspension of security aid is not a cutoff and no funds have been reprogrammed.
The International Committee for Ultrahigh Intensity Lasers provided a 56-page report on global ultrahigh power laser projects.

Ultra-intense lasers are lasers with capabilities exceeding 10^19 Watts per square centimeter (10 quintillion watts per square centimeter). This community is rapidly increasing in size both in terms of capability and investment. The cumulative laser power from all ICUIL qualifying lasers in 2010 was estimated to be ~11 PW. By present estimates this total will exceed 120 PW by 2018. Ultra-high intensity laser projects worldwide now total more than $4 billion in research investment and involve more than 1500 FTEs of technical staff.

Multi-petawatt power capability projects.

* Chinese initiative at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM) is advancing towards a 10-PW laser facility

* 100 Petawatt Station for Extreme Light (SEL) at the proposed Shanghai Coherent Light Facility (SCLF).

* Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) activated their multi-kJ Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) PW scale laser and the PETAL laser at CEA began operations toward the 2-PW level in 2017.

* In South Korea, the Gwangju Institute for Science and Technology is presently commissioning a 4 PW capability that should be available to users in 2017.

* The University of Rochesters Laboratory for Laser Energetics continues to work on the OPAL multi-phase laser initiative that could evolve from 5-PW to 75-PW capability.

* European ESFRI roadmap project, the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), consisting of ELI-Beamlines (Czech Republic), ELI-Nuclear Physics (Romania), and ELI-ALPS (Hungary), is rapidly approaching initial operations.

ICUIL and ICFA (International Committee for Future Accelerators), another arm of the IUPAP Working Groups, are now jointly promoting the development of efficient, highpower, laser technology to enable laser-driven wakefield acceleration for future high energy accelerators.

Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI)

ELI is a pioneer among the research infrastructures contained in the European ESFRI Roadmap in that it is using EU structural funds and not science funds for construction of its facilities. ELI consists of three separate sites of roughly equal funding magnitude: ELIBeamlines,

ELI-Nuclear Physics, and

ELI-ALPS (attosecond science pillar).

ELI-NP, a European research center to study ultra-intense lasers interaction with matter and nuclear science using gamma and laser driven radiation beams is located in Magurele, Romania. The total cost of the facility will be 300 million Euros and commissioning is scheduled to take place in 2018. The ELI-NP facility combines a high power laser system (HPLS) with two arms of 10 PW having intensities on the target in the range of 10^23 W/cm2 (100 Sextillion watts per square centimeter). A gamma beam system (GBS) will deliver up to 19 MeV photons with extreme brilliance and bandwidth and is based on Compton scattering of a high repetition pulsed laser beam on a relativistic electron beam produced by a warm linac of 720 MeV.

A High Power Laser System (HPLS) is being constructed for the ELI-NP (Nuclear Physics) pillar in Magurele, Romania. The HPLS consists of two main beams, each delivering 10 PW peak power at a repetition rate of 1 shot per minute. In addition, each leg will be capable of delivering 100 Terawatt at 10 Hz and 1 PW at 1 Hz. The ELI-NP team recently achieved compressed pulses with 28 J at 1 Hz with 21 fs pulsewidth, yielding 1.3 PW in a beam measured to have a Strehl ratio of 0.92.

National Energetics is working to deliver the L4 beamline, a 10 PW (1.5 kJ in 150 fs) at 1 shot per minute, to ELI Beamlines in Czech Republic. The laser system is based on Nddoped glass as a gain medium. The thermal management of the power amplifiers includes liquid cooling of multiple slabs in a split-disk configuration. The spectral width is increased to support 150 fs pulses by mixing Silicate and Phosphate glass amplification media.

Texas Petawatt Laser

Researchers at the University of Texas, Center for High Energy Density Science have benefitted from a successful project to improve the pulse contrast on the Texas Petawatt Laser while reaching 150 J in 150 fs. This laser has produced the brightest ultrashort pulse

neutron source yet measured (over 10^18 n/cm2 in a 50 ps pulse), the highest measured positron to-electron ratio pair creation in a solid (~50% in a Pt rod), and high energy (~100 MeV) proton yields. Following improvements to the laser wavefront and focusing system, the Texas group expects to reach intensities above 10^22 W/cm2 (10 Sextillion watts per square centimeter).

International Center for Zetta-Exawatt Science and Technology

IZEST endeavors to unify a number of exawatt class facilities around the world. Almost 30 laboratories in 13 countries have signed a collaboration agreement. A new pillar within the IZEST organization, known as ZeptoScience, was formed. A ZeptoScience team is performing experiments to test the methods to efficiently compress existing laser technologies to the few-cycle, femtosecond regime with a sufficient intensity to pursue the creation of zeptosecond pulses. This work is being performed by a team based at Ecole Polytechnique (France), National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR, Romania), and ELI-NP (Romania).

100 Petawatt laser and X-Ray Free Electron Laser at Shanghai Coherent Light Facility

The Shanghai Coherent Light Facility (SCLF) is a newly proposed high repetition-rate X-ray FEL facility, based on an 8-GeV CW superconducting RF linac. It will be located at Zhangjiang High-tech Park, close to the SSRF campus in Shanghai, at the depth of ~38 meter underground and with a total length of 3.1 km. Using 3 phase-I undulator lines, the SCLF aims at generating X-rays between 0.4 and 25 keV at rates up to 1MHz. This paper describes the design concepts of this hard X-ray user facility.

We are currently witnessing a rapid progress in X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) development across the globe, among which the superconducting RF (SCRF) linac based high-repetition-rate XFELs are leading ones. European XFEL [1] achieved its first lasing in early May 2017, and started operational phase in early July 2017. The LCLS-II [2] construction is now under way, and is scheduled to become operational in 2020. An energy upgrade proposal to LCLS-II, the LCLS-II-HE project, has also been initiated [3]. Considering this international context, and in response to the rapidly growing demands from Chinese science community on the high peak and high average brightness X-ray sources, and the needs from Zhangjiang Comprehensive National Science Center in Shanghai, a high repetition-rate XFEL, the Shanghai Coherent Light Facility (SCLF), was proposed.

The rapid development of new XFEL user facilities around world has opened up a new paradigm for X-ray sciences. The proposed Shanghai Coherent Light Facility is aimed to join this exclusive club as one of the most advanced user facilities by delivering fs-scale X-ray pulses from 0.4 keV to 25 keV, up to million pulses per second. The 8 GeV SCRF linac based SCLF will enable the probing of structural and functional properties of materials, including the physical and chemical behaviors in condensed matters and biomaterials, in the fundamental length (~A) and temporal (~fs) scales. In addition, SCLF will work together with a 100PW laser facility to serve for a dedicated end-station for strong field QED physics.

In 2015, we were at 2 petawatt lasers, now at 10 petawatts and soon 100 petawatts

In 2015, Japan fired a 2 petawatt laser and believe this could be a pathway to commercial nuclear fusion.

Ultrapowerful lasers have been increasing in power by 1000 times every ten years for the past forty years.

In 2017, ten petawatt lasers were fired.

The formulation for the glasses needed for exawatt lasers is known.

Liquid cooling can enable one shot per minute or better. There are other laser types that have lower power but very high repetition rates. One of many goals is to increase the power and increase the repetition rate.

30 Petawatts once per second with 30kJ of energy should be enough for proton boron fuel commercial fusion

In 2015, researchers at the Japan LFEX 2 petawatt laser calculated that 30PW picosecond laser pulses with 30kJ energy irradiating a solid cylinder of HB11 fuel of centimeter length and millimeter radius in a 10 kilotesla magnetic field may produce more than 280kWh electric energy (worth about $28). The calculation assumed a spherical reactor of more than 1 meter radius around a central reaction unit that is charged to 1.4 million volts. This voltage stops the generated alpha particles and converts their kinetic energy into electric energy. A very small fraction of this energy is needed to drive the lasers, and we further estimated costs of about $18 per shot associated with replacing the HB11 fuel and the reaction unit (which is destroyed each time) and recharging it. At a rate of one reaction per second, the generated electricity would produce a net income of over $300 million/year.

In 2017, there was work by the startup HB11 Energy to commercial nuclear fusion with lasers taht generate 10 kilotesla fields.

Two recent scientific breakthroughs have opened a new way to laser fusion reactions according to startup HB11 Energy. It involves the reaction between hydrogen H and the boron isotope 11 (HB11) as uncompressed solid state fuel within an extremely high trapping magnetic field. Both of these conditions have been demonstrated by experiments and following predictions from computations.

* a 1 kilojoule laser boosts a magnetic field to 4500-10000 tesla for over one nanosecond. About 100 times stronger than powerful superconducting magnets

* a second laser causes a nuclear fusion chain reaction

* lab experiments have been performed which indicate fusion yields increase by a billion times.

* energy production with a proposed system would be four times cheaper than coal
Dominion Energy will purchase SCANA Corp., a major player in the failed V.C. Summer nuclear venture, in a $14.6 billion deal that promises relief for South Carolina Electric & Gas customers.

The deal, announced Wednesday, Jan. 3, includes a total $1.3 billion refund to SCE&G customers affected by the V.C. Summer-related surcharge.

Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion Energy chairman, president and CEO, said the deal locks in "immediate savings" for customers and would reduce the impact of the failed nuclear project in Fairfield County.

The $1.3 billion would come as a cash payment within 90 days of the merger, according to a Dominion Energy announcement. The average SCE&G customer would be reimbursed $1,000, Dominion Energy has said. SCE&G is a Cayce-based, SCANA-owned utility company.

Farrell said, to his knowledge, the planned refund is the "largest utility customer cash refund in history."

Dominion Energy, a utilities company that operates in 18 states, has also promised an additional 5 percent rate reduction. That's equal to a $7-per-month savings for the average SCE&G customer.

The deal would make SCANA a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion Energy, a company that already owns pipelines in South Carolina and Georgia, and is looking to expand along the Atlantic coast.

"We believe this merger will provide significant benefits to SCE&G's customers, SCANA's shareholders and the communities SCANA serves," Farrell said in a prepared statement.

Last year, SCE&G announced it was giving up  alongside state-owned Santee Cooper  on the decade-long, $9 billion adventure to build two nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer site.

Since the abandonment, state and federal probes have been launched, SCANA's value has tanked, and local legislators  like state Rep. Bart Blackwell, R-Aiken, and state Sens. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and Nikki Setzler, D-Lexington  have filed legislation that would reset the committees that oversaw the project. The same legislators have called for ratepayer refunds.

In total, 11 bills regarding V.C. Summer have been prefiled by the Aiken County delegation. State Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, said with the legislative session beginning again Jan. 9, there's a lot of work  and rethinking  to do.

"We have been told that the first week or two of House debate will be centered on all of the legislation that was in response to the nuclear financial meltdown," Taylor said.

Massey, the Senate majority leader, said he had heard the same, adding his V.C. Summer legislation will go unamended.

"At this point, it doesn't change my push," he said Wednesday afternoon. "The timing of the announcement clearly is meant to have an impact on that legislation."

Blackwell agreed. He said the announcement might "change the conversation a little bit" in the House, but, otherwise, the legislators will "push ahead."

Taylor did say, though, that he hopes the "business people" will solve the "business problems," citing his opinion that government is "rarely the solution."

"We should see how this develops," Taylor said. "There should not be a rush now."

Massey said his "initial reaction" was that the takeover is a "positive step."

"It appears to be, based on the bullet points, a better deal than what we've seen so far," Massey said. "But I don't know if it's good. I'm still having a hard time thinking that customers ought to keep paying for V.C. Summer."

Under the current deal, customers are still on the V.C. Summer payoff hook  for roughly 20 years. Massey said that was a bit of a contradiction.

"They're leading with the refund portion, which makes perfect sense because it's the most appealing," he said.

Taylor, too, said he was "generally pleased" with the news, but courted a conservative approach.

"It's premature to evaluate the entire deal," Taylor said, "cause the devil is always in the detail."

Blackwell was of a similar opinion.

Gov. Henry McMaster described the possible takeover as "progress."

"Under the proposed agreement between SCANA and Dominion Energy, SCE&G ratepayers will get most of the money back they paid for the nuclear reactors and will no longer face paying billions for this nuclear collapse," McMaster said. "But this doesn't resolve the issue."

Aiken County delegation keeping busy ahead of next legislative session More than 80 bills have been prefiled in the S.C. Senate. More than 150 have been prefiled in the S.C. House of Representatives.

McMaster ended his statement by saying, once again, that Santee Cooper must be sold.

"There is more work to be done," the governor said, "but today, we are headed in the right direction.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., though, said he was "absolutely thrilled" with the merger news, one that involves a "trustworthy" company  Dominion Energy, specifically.

"This is a very solid company," Wilson said Wednesday in Aiken, "and they'll be providing rebates to the customers, which is me."